Hey, everyone! Ta-Ni here. Sorry it's been so long since I uploaded, but my computer broke down, and I had to scramble to rescue my Porygon from it. Now, I'm back and ready to bring another chapter of The Mystery Makes Scents. Now, I am deviating from the normal gameplay, but I think it works. Enjoy!
The next morning, Sparky and I plan out a routine we would follow each day, in hopes of reaching the same rank as Team ACT. We would meet up in front of our base/my house each morning, about when Pelipper III arrives with the mail. After taking any missions we want from there, we would head to the Square and sort out our items, buying what we need and saving up for more Friend Areas. Then, we search the Board for more requests, take as many as we can in one dungeon, and head back to base to set out.
Our first return to Mt. Steel, one of the spearow got up after we beat it, and suddenly spoke! "You guys are really strong," she chirps. "Can I join you?"
As the leader, Sparky looks to me for confirmation, so I nod and reply, "Of course. What's your name?"
"Sally," she replies, as she flies to stand behind Sparky; we find it easier to travel the narrow passages of the dungeons if we're walking in a straight line.
After we finish our missions for the day, we teleport back to the Board for our rewards, and any recruits we obtain in the dungeon (like Sally), or ones we bring with us, head back to their Areas. Sparky usually leaves soon after, and I head to bed afterward. However, unbeknownst to him, I tend to do some training in Tiny Woods on my own. It's small enough that I cannot get lost, and yet I can get decent experience from the enemies there. One of the downsides of using my scent tracking on missions is we don't get into many fights with the wild Pokémon. I also keep an eye out for jobs in Tiny Woods, taking them without Sparky noticing and hiding them in my Defense Scarf for later. I end up sneaking through town late at night, though; thankfully, most of the shopkeepers are heavy sleepers. Only Princess sleeps lightly, since she keeps watch over her vault; I gotten quite adept at sneaking past her.
Our usual routine is interrupted a few days later, when a jeering voice disrupts Sparky's morning greeting. "So, this is Team Scent's base, huh? What a dump!"
I step around my friend to see three Pokémon standing in the road, facing the base. One looks like a purple snake with some yellow rings; he has a strong swampy scent, so he must be a poison type. Another is a muscular figure wearing poofy pink pants; she smells of sweat and incense, so she's fighting and psychic type. The last is a large purple figure with a huge evil grin on his face; his scent catches me off guard. It was the same scent I briefly noticed earlier: grave soil, swamp, and something else…
Sparky whispers their names to me softly, just loud enough for me to hear: "Ekans, Medicham, and Gengar." I subtly nod my thanks.
Suddenly, Medicham points and shouts, "Look, a full mailbox! Let's raid it!"
Gengar's grin gets even larger, and he starts walking for it. I growl unconsciously at his audacity, and charge at him with my Tackle. However, I just pass through him! I turn for another attack, but I meet his eyes instead. They glow for a moment and seem to multiply, spreading and surrounding me. Intense fear of those eyes spread throughout my body, keeping me from moving anything. Thus, I cannot dodge as Medicham throws a lightning-fast punch at my side.
Immense pain lances through me as I am sent flying off to the side, landing hard on my stomach in the road. Despite the pain, I try to stand, but I'm still paralyzed by Gengar's gaze. I do manage to open my eyes to see Sparky wrapped in Ekans's coils, so tightly he can't generate any sparks in his cheeks.
Gengar rifles through the mailbox, taking a few of the requests and dumping the rest in the dirt. He steps on the discarded letters, grinding them into the ground as he comments idly, "Now is that any way to treat a fellow rescue team?"
Sparky manages to choke out, "But…those…are…our…jobs…"
"Not anymore," Ekans hisses in his ear. "They now belong to Team Meanies, the rising star of rescue teams!"
"We're intent on world domination!" Medicham chimes in with a singsong tone.
"Besides," Gengar finishes as he steps away from the ruined papers, passing the ones he held onto to Medicham. "It doesn't matter WHO does them, as long as they get done, right? May as well be the best team around! You should stay out of our way, if you know what's good for you…"
He sinks into the ground cackling, while Medicham runs off down the road, Ekans not far behind. As they disappear, the paralyzing effect on me fades, allowing me to shakily climb to my feet; the pain of the super-effective move had subsided to a dull ache, thanks to toughening up my body through my training. Sparky tries to launch a Thundershock at the retreating Ekans, but it falls short.
"What a bunch of jerks," he growls. "And they call themselves a 'rescue team'; they're nothing but bullies!" He turns to me, massaging his sides where Ekans gripped him. "Are you all right, Lauren? That punch really hit you hard; why didn't you dodge it?"
"I couldn't move," I explain. "Gengar's gaze had me completely paralyzed."
"Oh, that must have been Mean Look," he comments. "It holds a Pokémon in place, unable to move or evade. We'll need to be careful of that in the future." He looks at the pile of ruined papers. "All those requests…destroyed…what a waste. What do we do now?"
At that very moment, I hear the familiar flaps of Pelipper's wings, and see him land as he always does. He notices the destruction and says, "I'm guessing it was Team Meanies?" I nod, and he shakes his head. "They've done that to a few teams now; thankfully, we've been making copies of the requests we send out, so they get added to the Board just in case. In the meantime, here's your mail!" He takes it out of his bill and places it in the mailbox, and then flies off.
Sparky breathes a sigh of relief. "That's good; I hate to think what would have happened if the requests we turn down go unfulfilled. Regardless, let's heal and prepare for the day!" I nod enthusiastically, and we grab a couple of Oran berries before resuming our routine.
And there you have it. I felt better having them actually fight, rather than just stand there. Anyway, next time, Team Scent embarks into a new dungeon, as well as getting revenge on Team Meanies. Stay tuned!
Please read and review, and may your Ember never fade.
