Tanks dotted the landscape, old time world war two tanks. Holes punched through them, rusted to hell, what looked to be the ruins for a military base scattered amongst it all. My body refused to remove itself from its position, the battlefield drawing my undivided attention to its all encompassing question...

What in the ever living hell happened here?

"Is something bothering you about the ruins?" Scarlet asked as she stared out with me.

I pointed to one of the tanks. "Do you know what those are?"

"No, I thought they were buildings."

I couldn't help but narrow my eyes. I wonder if Ronin knows anything about this. This isn't even a 'Mystery Dungeon' according to Kira, meaning this is just straight up the remnants of humanity right here. But something wasn't right, different tanks were on either side, like it was an actual battle ripped straight out of world war two. Something destroyed these tanks and this base, and judging by the holes in all of it, it wasn't just Pokémon.

Was there infighting between humans? A war between two human factions and the Pokémon cult? Or were they similar to me in that they got zapped here for no apparent reason? Also was there possibly weaponry down there for me to nab… like maybe a German machine gun. Wait, were these even Germans?

I spun around looking for a certain Gardevoir, maybe she'd know what this place was. "Where is Kira-"

"Here," she announced with a tap on my shoulder. "Did you need something before you went down?"

"I wanted to know if you or maybe Ronin knew anything about this place." I asked with growing curiosity.

She stared out into it, taking a deep breath. "No, hardly anything is known about this place. Some say it's cursed though…"

Well damn it, maybe somebody else will know. Best case scenario, I find out what happened and snag myself a weapon and a lot of ammo to go with it. Assuming it works somehow. And I already know what the worst case scenario is, better move quickly then. Sooner we get this out of the way the better.

"Something wrong?" Kira's voice snapped me out of my stupor.

"Eh, I'm just a little… weirded out. I'll tell you later after we finish, it's not relevant right now."

She nodded, waving for us to follow her. "If you insist. Anyway, I'll be making sure nothing happens to either of you during the run. Ace needed you both as well, you're starting everything off."

Kira weaved us through the dense and rowdy crowd. A myriad of different Pokémon present, small ones, flying ones, metallic creatures that I could only imagine their weight. A Metagross stood amongst the metal-types, its eyes glued to me.

That didn't bode well. Especially for the paranoid side of me that damn well knows that something bad will happen the very second there isn't peer supervision to stop them. We walked past them regardless, it's emotionless eyes boring into me.

Out of the crowd, Ace was slightly above everyone, though I couldn't quite tell what he was perched up on. Merek was beside him, tentacles wrapped behind his own back like he was about to give a speech. He waved us over.

"Sorry about spreading you all out like that," Merek said as he slightly bowed his head. "You'd be surprised how hard it is to properly coordinate other psychic Pokémon on where to focus their energy to even out a group teleport."

Group teleports? Wonder how much energy it took, especially with how many Pokémon there were that came out here. "It's fine, we're both ready to go now if we can."

"Well your job is simple, in the area you'll be teleported to are various badges. You're going to find one for each of you, then you'll move over to that mountain over there and do a reset of an actual mystery dungeon…"

"Reset?" I asked. Was this referring to when they switch up their layout and whatnot?

He narrowed his eyes, pointing to the mountain. "Sometimes the dungeon changes a lot, sometimes it changes very little. But when you frequent it, you'll notice a pattern. An event if you would, a common variable that happens every time before each reset."

"What?"

"It's hard to explain thoroughly," Kira remarked. "Imagine lord Dialga resetting time at a certain point. Whether or not the event that lord Dialga resets time on happens properly or not is irrelevant, only that after a set period of time it begins again from the beginning."

"So then why does it randomize itself if it just resets?" I have a hunch, one that'll explain the world war two tanks and battle. Is this world a melting pot for timelines? Things randomly showing up here with no explanation seems to be the norm, except for me, apparently I'm something new.

That scares me a lot more than I want it to.

Scarlet shook in her sheath, guess I wouldn't be getting my answers yet. "Thanks for the history lesson, but can we please be going now?"

"Of course," Merek smiled as a glow formed around his eyes. "Remember, no interfering with other other fletchling teams."

Everything whited out as my breaths stopped for the briefest of seconds. The procedure of teleportation was something I'll never get used to. A cold sweat was upon me, seemingly bringing up fears of unknown dangers. We were amongst the ruins and rusted tanks, far enough away that I couldn't see the cliffside we were on. This place must have stretched out for a while if that was the case, or maybe it was just the lush green trees and thick vegetation that was preventing me from seeing them.

I took the rock out, smooth was its surface. The red Honedge rustled in response. "Oh Arceus above, I swore we'd never make it here."

"Some patience would do you well-" she grabbed my arm with her ribbon, the handle grasped tightly in my hand. "Alright fine, where do I start?"

She wearily sighed. "To your left, near the 'hilt' as you'd call it."

I saw what she was talking about, a grey splotch of metal that seemed to be out of place. I started rubbing it with the stone. It sounded like I knew it would, an odd grinding sound that wasn't exactly unpleasant. No, it felt more like something you'd hear elsewhere, like it a blacksmith if they have those around here.

Wouldn't it be more effective to use a grindstone? Maybe it's because their blade apparently grows chipped bits off that she didn't mention it, or maybe they're rare…

"Now it's near the tip, same side." As her instructions stated, a much bigger patch was there. I started to glance around the area subconsciously as I sharpened her. I didn't like the idea of a potentially angry Pokémon jumping out at me and trying to kill me, at least with animals they don't have a ranged attack as an option. These Pokémon? Oh man I was probably forgetting some of the horrid things they can throw at me.

From acid, all the way up to something that'll probably knock the soul out of my body. Guess it's a good thing nobody has guns except me, last thing I want to deal with is someone like Kira or Ronin with a gun. Truly the only thing to get me quaking in my boots at the mere thought.

I adjusted my blue police hat to block out the sun, reminded that the elements are just as harsh here as they are back home.

"Almost done, flip my blade around and it should be on the same side." More splotchy bits of metal, localized to a single part. Should be simple still. After a few scrapes it came off with relative ease, though I wondered how much of a hassle this would have been if she'd been in worse condition.

I stopped and eyed my work, seeing nothing there but a sharp edge. "Anywhere else?"

"Thankfully no." She unwrapped her ribbon from my arm, floating off and doing a mock cut of the air in front of her. "And everything is in order for us to continue ahead... thank you, human."

"No problem, are there other ways you can sharpen yourself? Or is this the only way?"

A dark chuckle came from her as her ribbon glowed a purple energy. "I can sharpen myself using the lifeforce of others, like I partially did with Ace. But I wasn't able to completely get my blade back as you saw since I didn't draw enough energy."

"You can theoretically kill someone with that, right?" I blurted out, biting my lip as I realized the implications.

She laughed, hopefully taking it as little more than curiosity. "It can do that… but I can also use it to just knock someone out cold. Besides, if it makes you feel any better, I'd be more inclined to keep you alive so the source doesn't run dry."

"Ah, so I should just worry about…" I trailed off, stopping short as I eyed the remains of a tank. It seemed sealed off on the inside, perfect place to maybe have something salvageable.

Scarlet tapped me on the shoulder, her red ribbon tearing my attention away from the remains of the conflict long gone. "Are you alright? Did something catch your eye?"

I silently approached the tank's front, the long barrel still attached to the tank itself. It seemed oddly structurally sound, despite being here for so long. Rust had claimed it though, just like the others. I climbed to the top, hopping onto it and clambering for the hatch.

For some odd reason, I felt like I've been here before.

The hatch heaved as I tried to pry it open, the metal creaking with resistance. I wasn't getting anywhere with my own strength alone. "Can you bust this open?"

"Wait, that is a hatch? What are these things?"

"Old human war machines," I stated matter of factly, a deathly silence suddenly between us. "They're broken, and I doubt any of them will work. But I think I can find something worth salvaging in them for… future use."

She stood still, staring at me in a stupor. "You- you are telling me these things are human weapons used in war?"

"Fun fact, that thing you're hovering just above? That's the main gun, and when it's fired off, whatever it's aimed at disappears." I swore I saw shock flash across the weird crystal that served as her eye.

"This can make things disappear? How does that work?"

"Not literally," I sighed, remembering that I probably shouldn't be making sly comments on things that she doesn't understand. "It fires a projectile that explodes on impact or that punches through armor. So if this worked I could fire this at a tree, it'd be turned to little more than splinters."

She unsheathed her blade, a glow around it as she aimed for the hinges. The creaking of metal echoed out as something shot out of the end of her blade, the hinges popped off in a cloud of smoke. With a heave, I lifted off the hatch and threw it onto the grass below me.

I carefully climbed down into it, surprised by how much better the tank looked inside. There was little rust at all, no breaches in its armor either, all the tank ammunition long since gone to who knows where. Perhaps that would be for the better, would rather not set something off.

Scarlet gasped as she tapped me on my shoulder and pointed behind me. "Is that-"

"Yes, this would appear to be one of the tanker crew. Alone, huh, normally there'd be more than one…" a human skeleton was sat against the wall. Alone and cold, its right hand clutching what looked to be a picture long faded away from the ravages of time. Poor guy.

"It took more than one human to use these things?"

"You had to load the shells manually." I pointed to the ammo rack and barrel entrance. "You put one in there, close the mechanism up, then prayed it didn't misfire, explode inside the barrel, or miss. So yes, having more than one person inside was the standard."

She shook side to side, probably the equivalent of shaking your head for a rigid object. "Your kind is insane, why would you need these things? And from what you've told me, I wouldn't be surprised anymore if they moved."

"Because flesh is weak to bullets, but metal isn't. Also they do move."

She spun around, looking for something that I doubt she'd find. "HOW DOES A HUNK OF METAL MOVE WITHOUT A SOUL?"

"Ask the guy that created them, not me." I started rummaging around, seeing a tarp wrapped around something beside the skeleton. "From what I've seen, you Pokémon have no such need for these things because you have powers and such."

I unfolded the tarp, finding a well sealed box. "Something is off…" I muttered.

"What is wrong with it?"

"I feel like I've seen this before," I opened the box, revealing a pistol. A good ol' nineteen-eleven. Seemed to be in great condition too, perfect. I noticed some notes that were still there, in English. But one stood out, one written in one that wasn't...

Fin, Orik, the other human artifacts are to be stored north of here, they must be kept clean and we cannot afford to lose them. Mystery Dungeons give what they want after all, and it may be ages until we ever find similar artifacts in the future. I'll be waiting.

"What's north of here?" I asked.

She peered at the notes. "The mystery dungeon, if I am remembering things correctly... why do you ask?"

"Somebody hid this here, along with a request to two other Pokémon to take any human artifacts to a secondary location north of here. " I took my new pistol in hand, seeing that it wasn't loaded. The parts of it seemed fine, not the cleanest thing, but I think it'll shoot straight.

Scarlet looked at this new weapon with great interest. "How is this one different from your other one?"

"Easier to load and shoots faster." A few magazines were scattered throughout the box, the bullets inside them seemed fine to shoot… I'll trust them for now anyway. I put them in my vest pockets, sliding one into the gun itself with a few satisfying clicks.

"How… marvelous," Scarlet paused before looking back at the notes. "How can you read that anyway? Is that some kind of human dialect?"

I turned my head to face her, the air seemingly becoming thicker. "Wait, you can't read that?"

"No I cannot, but you clearly can."

"Then that'd mean… wait," If they're speaking a different language entirely and I can understand them, but they can't understand mine… what's going on? "Back when you first found me, was I hit with some kind of psychic attack?"

She shrunk back a little. "One was trying to get inside your mind, but I slashed at their chest before they could get through completely. You might have… broke just before that."

"What does that even mean?"

"They got through to your head just as I got to them, the shock might have… allowed you to accidentally take some of their memories maybe." she seemed flustered. "You said that this place was familiar, right? Maybe they stashed some goods around here and you are remembering that subconsciously perhaps."

I shook my head, a headache starting to fester. "Hopefully I didn't take anything more than just the guys' memories, let's go complete this damn trial. Then we can question Kira on it later." She nodded as I climbed back out, the fresh air of the forest flooding my lungs again.

Time seemed to grind to a halt. Our search began with our spirits high, having found me my newest pistol in the tank and a possible lead. But as we trudged and marched through this green hell, I realized we had no idea what we were even looking for.

We stumbled upon what looked to be a pond, at the bottom of it, two shiny objects that must've been badges resided. Both of us thought it'd be easy to swipe them, she touted how she could use 'shadows' to do it with ease. I agreed, having remembered seeing what she did against Luson.

Scarlet disappeared in a purple glow, the ground seemingly absorbing her as the badges were taken by her ribbon. She appeared beside me, emerging from the shadow entirely drenched.

"You alright?"

She tossed me one of the badges, pinning the other to her own ribbon. "Just wet."

"Alright," I pinned the badge to my vest, right over my heart. "Now what do we do?"

A branch cracked behind us. [It's just me,] a voice echoed out softly in my head, stopping my hand from reaching for the weapon on my hip. The familiar sight of a Gardevoir stepped out of the bushes. [Seeing as you both found your badges, you can go directly to the Mystery Dungeon if you want.]

"Uh quick question before we get teleported… would it be possible for a psychic type to mess up some kind of process and end up accidentally giving me their memories?" I awkwardly asked.

She widened her eyes briefly, regaining her composure along. A look of worry came across her face as she slowly approached, keeping her eyes on the ground in front of her. "I don't know what sprung this question, but yes that is possible. Did you and Scarlet figure something out?"

"The short version is that, apparently, I got hit by a psychic who tried to take my memories or something before you found me."

"Well, that changes things…" Kira narrowed her eyes. "If you come across anything that seems familiar to you around here, be careful." a bright pink glowed from her eyes. She outstretched her hands towards us. "I'll try my best to keep an eye on you both while you're in there. Just remember this; the deeper you go, the less predictable it gets. Good luck."

A flash of light took my vision again, air stolen from my lungs as I gasped to breath. My knees collapsed onto themselves, meeting the cold rocky ground. My throat was hoarse suddenly. "That… hurt… what happened?"

"You are supposed to breathe out during a teleport, if you can breathe anyway. Or else something weird happens with the air, you should be fine." Scarlet lifted me to my feet and dusted me off using her ribbon. A surprising amount of strength in it.

We were on the side of a mountain, I'd guess it was the one I saw in the distance from the cliffside. Trees were mostly gone, replaced by rocky encampments and patches of grass. Rock types probably called this place home, and I don't want to know how resistant they are to my bullets.

Maybe I should invest into a melee weapon… other than Scarlet.

A cave was right in front of us, a sign hung above it on some rope.

Narkin Roost

"Why the hell would you name a Mystery Dungeon 'Narkin Roost'?" I sarcastically asked.

Scarlet started to enter, slowly floating along with me right behind her. "Who knows, I don't exactly live around here after all."

"I don't even come from this world entirely, surely you have some insight I can gain?"

"You're a curious one, aren't you?" she chuckled heartily. "But I guess that's a human thing. Honestly, I do not know what thought went into making that name."

"I think you mean the lack of thought-" I stopped short, seeing two figures marching out of the darkness right towards us. I thought they could've been another team, but the one cloaked in a hood looked far too human to be coincidental.

Something was off in the air, like pressure was crushing me from everywhere at once. I stared into its eyes…

Like a twisted mirror, I saw that they were mine.