Chapter 6:
After another good meal, Roll and I then fell asleep and I got a dream this time... only this time, it wasn't one where I spoke to Gardevoir. It was a memory in the form of a dream! I saw that I was in an area that looked like a field and that I was setting up shop with the other members of the circus before I heard a voice in my head.
"Cher..." I heard, me being confused at that, since no one was immediately around my vicinity, since I was setting up the podiums for the animals. I ignored it at first before I then heard it louder. "Cher, do you hear me?" I heard the voice ask again.
"Who's there?" I asked... only for me to get a response from the visage of Gardevoir appearing directly in front of me, me looking shocked at her appearance as I fell on the ground on my ass. "W-What the... is this a mirage? Is someone playing a prank on me with the projectors?" I asked in shock.
"Um, no... I am as real as you are," Gardevoir said, me rubbing my eyes a bit and Gardevoir walking over to me through the air. "I am trying to find a trustworthy human to save my world... and I have attuned that your heart could be a good candidate," Gardevoir spoke, me looking around a bit and seeing that the other members of the troupe weren't paying me any attention.
"Could we... um... could we go ahead and speak in a more private area? Away from others?" I asked.
"Of course," Gardevoir said as she then used the move Teleport on me and herself and we then appeared in a verdant field. I then looked around and tried to pinch myself to see if I was asleep.
"This is too freaky... I'm seeing a Pokemon right in front of me... and you're a Gardevoir... what's going on?" I asked her.
"I will explain everything to you... you see, my world is currently being afflicted by a curse, causing natural disasters the world over. If they continue, then-" she was about to finish before I somehow finished for her.
"Then it will end up destroying the world... and you need a human like me with a good heart to find out and defeat the curse, right?" I asked, Gardevoir gasping.
"How did... how'd you know?" Gardevoir asked in surprise.
"Well... I know it sounds crazy... but this sounds exactly like a video game I played before... something I did for entertainment. And if this is exactly just like the game, then you're currently cursed by a Ninetails because of your human friend pulling on its tail, right?"
"Correct once more... so then you know the conditions that are going to happen if you decide to go through with this?" Gardevoir asked.
"I do. I'll turn into a Pokemon based on what my personality is after you give me a small test. And afterwards, I'll lose almost all of my memories," I said.
"Right... so would you like to prepare first? Or would you rather wait for a small amount of time before I ask questions about your personality?" Gardevoir asked.
"Why don't we start now? So long as, afterwards, I can find some way to go back and forth between the two worlds... is that possible?" I asked with a smile.
"Of course it is. You just need to decide if you'd rather be a human, a Pokemon, or a mix of the two when you return back to the world of Pokemon soon after," Gardevoir said.
"Okay, that makes me a bit more relieved... alright, I'm ready for the quiz. Hit me with your best shot," I smiled.
"Of course," Gardevoir smiled at me as the dream then ended and I woke up.
When I woke up, I smiled at how Roll nudged me awake again and I smiled. "You were mulling in your sleep again. You had a dream, right?" Roll asked.
"Yeah, I did. And I remembered something important, but I'll explain when we're on the job and away from prying ears," I smirked.
"Really? It's a secret, huh?" Roll asked.
"Yep, it is," I smiled at her as we then left the house and we saw we had a visitor that I immediately recognized. "Um... what are you doing here, Jumpluff?" I asked her.
"Well... I need help," she said.
"But didn't Shiftry go to help out your friend?" Roll asked.
"Well... he went to go find and free my friend... but he hasn't returned yet," Jumpluff said, me gasping at that.
"Never came back? It's been roughly 2 days and he's not back yet? From what Alakazam said, the job would've been super easy for him!... Damn, looks like we have to rescue the rescuer," I said with a smile.
"Right, let's get prepared and head out. Jumpluff, you think you could lead the way when we head off?" Roll asked her.
"Of course I can! We'll need to head off to Silent Chasm after you get prepared," Jumpluff smiled at us. We then went and stocked up on food and Reviver Seeds while also putting most of our money in Felicity Bank just in case something happened, since Roll said that if we happened to get defeated in a dungeon, we'd lose all our money and half of our items. We then met back up with Jumpluff and smiled at her. "Ready?" she asked, both of us nodding. "Okay, let's get going," she said as she jumped forward like she were lighter than air and we went forward, me wondering how she got around if she were very light.
"Hey, Jumpluff? How did your friend get stuck?" I asked her on the way.
"Well, we Jumpluff usually move around the world by riding the winds. But for some odd reason, despite the clouds being full of storms, barely any breeze happens. Like, there's only a tiny gust here and there, not enough to help out with our mode of transportation. In fact, a sudden gust of wind is what got my friend trapped in the first place, since there was no other wind in the area to get her unstuck," Jumpluff explained.
"Well, that doesn't sound too good... but if Shiftry hasn't returned, there has to be something else to the story," I frowned as we finally reached the area in question and we saw why it was called the Silent Chasm. You couldn't hear a single thing other than the thunderclouds above us. And the chasm near us was so deep that you couldn't see the bottom of it.
"So what's the deal with this place?" Roll asked.
"Well, it's a place filled with the worst of the thunderstorms around the place, but no breeze ever blows through. Only very rarely does a breeze come through this place... but there's also a story about this place. It's said that a fearsome monster resides in this place... I fear for my friend and Shiftry's team if something may have disturbed it," Jumpluff said with a shudder.
"Pardon... did you just say there's a monster that lives here?" I asked, me seeing that Roll looked a bit frightened.
"Yeah, but it's just an old myth. No one knows if it's true, it's just something to keep in mind," Jumpluff said as I noticed that Roll looked very scared and I smiled at her.
"Hey, Roll? You doing alright? You look a little blue," I said, her then losing her fear as she started to laugh at that. "See? No need to be scared," I smirked at her.
"Okay, okay... thanks, I needed that, Cher. I did get a little frightened when I heard that, but if Shiftry's team and Jumpluff's friend are in danger, no way we're going to abandon them! Let's get going!" Roll smiled.
"My friend should be on the 8th floor of this chasm. Be careful not to fall down into the pits, there are a lot of them," Jumpluff warned.
"Thanks," I smiled at her as we then moved forward into the area a bit and we came across a couple of interesting Pokemon, namely Trapinch, Dustox, Yanma, and Houndour. But we did manage to find a couple of Pokemon to join our team on the way through the dungeon, those being Paras, Poliwag, and even a Beedrill decided to join us. And I distinctly remembered that Beedrill in general had very nasty tempers, so having one on our side felt awesome. We made it to the 8th floor with little to no issue, me and Roll learning a new move each in the form of Ice Ball for Roll and Cotton Spore for me. Ice Ball could hit an opponent over and over until you eventually miss and Cotton Spore could lower the opponent's speed, making them slower for easy pickings.
We continued on until we finally made it to the 8th floor, where we could see the thunderclouds above us were pretty intense. And then we saw a Pokemon appear in front of us. It was another Jumpluff. "Are you okay, miss?" I asked her.
"Y-Yes... but..." she said with worry.
"Don't tell me... Shiftry, right?" Roll asked.
"Y-Yes, he's up ahead..." Jumpluff said, me and Roll rushing forward and seeing that Shiftry and his two team members were on the ground and they were covered in a paralysis effect.
"Shiftry! Are you okay?" I asked him in worry.
"Forget it... leave me... get away..." Shiftry said with pain in his voice as I saw the thunderclouds above us were growing more intense and much more violent, thunder striking down all over and even hitting me as well! "It's coming!" Shiftry said with fear as the clouds then split apart and a giant bird coated in electricity soared down to our area and looked very ticked.
"Zapdos..." I gawked at it.
"You! Leave this place and don't ever return!" Zapdos exclaimed in fury as I stepped forward bravely.
"Not without Shiftry and the Nuzleaf!" I exclaimed at him.
"BAH! These assholes woke me up from my slumber in the rudest way possible! And I'm furious at them!" Zapdos exclaimed as it then focused its electrical energy on the trio of grass types and we then gasped as, out of nowhere, the trio disappeared in the blasts of lightning!
"T-They're gone!" Roll gasped.
"If you want to see these miserable jerks again, meet me at the summit of Mount Thunder!" Zapdos exclaimed angrily before it then shrieked loudly and disappeared in a giant lightning bolt!
"So that's it... Zapdos is the monster of the Silent Chasm... this is very, very bad..." I said with worry, knowing for a fact that if we wanted to save Shiftry and his two friends, we'd need to do as Zapdos said. Climb Mount Thunder and get them back by any means necessary. We then, begrudgingly returned to town with both of the Jumpluff and we went over our options.
"Okay... good news, we managed to assist in rescuing Jumpluff... bad news, Zapdos is madder than a Primeape having a bad hair day and has kidnapped Shiftry and his Rescue Team," I frowned at that fact.
"Zapdos?" I heard a voice ask from the town area... it was none other than Alakazam!
"Yeah, Zapdos... it said that Shiftry woke him from his slumber and that's why it was so royally pissed off," I frowned.
"No, it was merely the trigger. The thunderclouds raging above the Silent Chasm as well as the absence of wind made Zapdos furious. He's also been affected by the outcrop of Mystery Dungeons... and sadly, the only way to save Team Shiftry is to confront and defeat Zapdos in a battle," Alakazam said with a frown.
"Yeah, and Zapdos is a Legendary Pokemon, one that has much more power than even a fully evolved Pokemon... but still, don't count me and Roll out just because Zapdos is intimidating. We're going to save Shiftry and the Nuzleaf no matter what!" I said with grit and determination.
"Sorry, but that'd be a fight you might not win. Zapdos is filled with electrical power. Even to a Mareep, his thunderbolts are nuclear," Charizard said.
"I got zapped by one of his storm's thunderbolts dead-on and I was barely fazed by it. No way I'm going to be scared of a thunderbolt attack!" I said with seriousness.
"Zapdos is wickedly tough. He might decide to have you as a snack," Tyranitar said with seriousness, me frowning at that.
"If you're so worried about that, then why are you the ones that say we can't do it? If you're saying this stuff to try and scare us, it doesn't seem like you, the Gold Rank and well-respected Rescue Team, are being brave at all," I said, Alakazam frowning as Charizard and Tyranitar looked a bit upset by my words.
"What did you say, punK?!" Tyranitar growled angrily before Alakazam looked at him with a stern gaze.
"No. The Mareep is right. Who are we to say that a Rescue Team would be incapable of rescuing others? We shall allow you to live up to your growing credibility, Team Snowfleece," Alakazam said, me smirking at that and Roll smiling back at me with seriousness in her eyes as well. "We must prepare for the dangerous trek to Mount Thunder, as Zapdos is not an opponent to be taken lightly. We will proceed tomorrow at dawn in two separate groups. We shall go as our own unit while you will go as yours. Though I will say this much. Don't underestimate Zapdos for even a second. As you stated, Legendary Pokemon are not slouches at all when it comes to battles. In fact, Zapdos was once in a fight with its brethren in Articuno and Moltres, and the fight was so intense, it required another Legendary Pokemon in order to break up the squabble, which itself could be described as a fight that threatened to destroy the world," Alakazam said.
"Believe me, I know already the power that Zapdos wields. Lucky for us, however, we have the power of a ton of Reviver Seeds and good move coverage to use against that large spiky bird," I smiled at him.
"Your courage is admirable, I will admit that... hmm..." Alakazam said as he stared at me for a few seconds before shaking his head slightly. "I wish both of our teams nothing but the best of luck and good will. You must depart only when you have fully prepared," Alakazam said, me nodding at that.
"I wish you the same thing, Team IQ. Starting tomorrow, we go on the journey to Mount Thunder," Roll smiled widely.
"Very well," Alakazam said with a smile as he and his two partners went off down the path and me and Roll looked at each other with smiles as we then looked at the Jumpluff soon after.
"You two are very brave to be doing this task. I pray for both of you to return safely with Shiftry's team in tow," the one Jumpluff said... me noting that the only real difference between them was the the one on the left had pink cheeks and the one on the right had green cheeks.
"So... how do we address you? Because the only thing to tell you apart is your cheeks," I said with a frown.
"Oh, you want to know our names? Well, I'm Fluff and my friend's name is Dust," the Jumpluff with the green cheeks smiled.
"Okay, so green is Fluff and pink is Dust. Got it," I smiled, the duo giggling at that.
"We'll probably stay in the town until the winds can return to normal, so we'll be nearby to give you support," Fluff smiled.
"Okay, it's getting near sunset soon. Would you like to join us for dinner?" Roll smiled.
"That'd be happily appreciated," Dust smirked at us as we then went inside and we then prepared a meal for four.