Chapter 5: The Sky's the Limit

-The Next Day-

I let out a yawn as I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Yesterday was pretty rough on all of us since we were catching up on backed-up missions, but today should be easier. We can look around for missions again and start with a lighter workload. I looked and Rio was already up and about, eating an Apple for breakfast. He tossed me one and asked, "So what are we going to do today?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Eh, I figured we'd wing it today and see what's available."

I ate the Apple and got up, stretching out before Rio and I started making our way to Treasure Town. I stopped off at Kangaskhan Storage to drop off the Shiny Stone and we were about to go meet the rest of the team at Spinda Café, but there were a coupla Pokémon, a Mr. Mime and an Octillery, looking at the sign outside of the place.

I walked up and, when I got closer, I could hear chatting coming from inside the café. I waved at the Pokémon standing in front of the sign, "Yo! What's all da hubbub?"

Mr. Mime turned to us, "It seems like there's some happy news for all the explorers."

The Octillery tilted her head, "I wonder what kind of happy news. Now I'm really interested. I'm going to find out."

Octillery went down the stairs and Mr. Mime followed soon after.

I raised an eyebrow, "Huh. Déjà vu. Whaddya think, Rio? Wanna check it out?"

Rio just shrugged, "I don't see why not."

We went down and quickly found the rest of our team in the crowd. Taking our spot in the crowd, we waited for Spinda to begin.

Spinda raised his arms and called out, "May I have everyone's attention, please? First of all, I'd like to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules!" Everyone was quiet now and he went on, "I've got some happy news for everyone today! Has anyone ever heard of a mountain called Sky Peak?"

There was someone in the crowd, repeating the name, before Mr. Mime spoke up, "I've heard of it. It's a rally tall mountain to the east. It's said that the mountain is so tall, it almost reaches beyond the sky. But it's surrounded by an impassable mountain range, so the route there has been lost. That's why it hasn't been fully explored yet."

Spinda nodded, "Yes, that's absolutely right. You sure do know your stuff. Just as Mr. Mime said, Sky Peak has not been fully explored… So it still holds many mysteries. High enough to reach beyond the sky! A mysterious mountain that still holds many secrets…" he threw his arms up and shouted, "That sounds like enough to catch the interest of any explorer! Let's go and see! See for ourselves!"

He calmed back down and said, "If that's what you're thinking, then we are ready to fulfill that wish through Project P… We've been working on reclaiming the path to Sky Peak…" He shook with excitement, and then threw his arms up again, "And finally, a couple of days ago… we succeeded!" Everybody cheered happily. "Furthermore! Fur-ther-more! Not only did we succeed in reclaiming the path… We also made a discovery! At the base of the mountain, we found a small, hidden village!"

Everyone cheered again, somebody making a comment about how ninjas might be there. Spinda said, "Of course, it's not a village of ninjas… Instead, some very rare Pokémon known as Shaymin live there."

One of the Pokémon asked about Shaymin, but Spinda said, "I'm afraid I don't know much about them either… But they are incredibly cute!" An awkward silence fell on the room. I heard somebody behind us mutter, "I-I'm interested…"

"Furthermore! According to the survey team's report… On the outskirts of the Shaymin Village, they've found a mountain path to the Sky Peak Summit! This is a huge discovery! This mountain has not been properly surveyed in some time… Piles of treasure! Opportunities for new discoveries! So I think!"

I could feel the tension in the room start to rise. Oh, so dat's how it's gonna be…

"Furthermore, legend says that there is an incredible treasure hidden there that rivals all other treasure!" The room exploded in cheers and everybody was talking about the possibilities.

"Yes! And it is all waiting for you! I'll show you the location of Shaymin Village!" He unrolled a giant, more detailed map and traced out a path through the mountains with his hand. He stopped at the base of the giant mountain in the center with clouds around the peak. After everybody, including Rio, marked it on their maps, he rolled it up and handed it to Wynaut. "For more details, please direct your requests to the Project P survey team already on location. So, everyone, let's get moving, with hopes and dreams on our minds and smiles on our faces!"

Some of the Pokémon left, while others stayed in the café to talk to each other. We went to our usual table and we all started talking about it.

"Well!" Rose said, "That's one way to start the day."

I smiled, "No kidding, Rose. Dis is big. More than dat, it's a race."

Rio turned to me, "A race? How so?"

Vlad floated next to Rio and leaned in, "He means that the mention of treasure and the chance at new discoveries, ergo glory, will set off a mad dash to be the first team to fully explore the mountain."

Dash grinned, "Hey, I'm all for a race. The competition makes it even more exciting!"

"Unfortunately, not all of us can go." We looked at Damus, and Vlad sighed dramatically, "Why, you're just a ray of sunshine, aren't you?"

Damus narrowed his eyes, "It is the truth. Nothing more."

Rio sighed, "Sadly, he's right. Only four members of a team can be in a group at a time when exploring a dungeon."

Everybody was quiet, but I could feel what they were thinking. "You're the leaders, so you're going, but who's going with you?"

I thought about it really hard. "A mountain dat reaches beyond da sky"… We'll need serious supplies for dat. And we don't know what we're facing, so we'll need wide type coverage. Can't take da newbies wit' us though, they need training.

Taking a breath, I said, "Siltram, Dash, you're coming wit' Rio and me. We'll need a lotta different types of attacks, since we don't know what we'll be facing." Wit' Rio's Fighting-type, my Dark and Ghost-type moves, Dash's Electric type and Siltram's Poison-type and Mud Bomb move, we'll be pretty square.

Rose and Damus took it calm; I guess they saw the strategy. Hogan just shrugged his shoulders, saying, "Maybe next time." Vlad gave another dramatic sigh. Savage was just Savage, crossing his arms and looking pissed with the decision.

I continued, "Rose, Vlad, you two need training. You'll be spending the day training at Marowak Dojo. Damus, couldja oversee it?"

He frowned, "Must I?"

I raised my eyebrows. It'd been the first time Damus had questioned orders. Not that we abused his loyalty, but it still surprised me. He glanced pointedly at Vlad.

I rolled my eyes, "I know, he's annoying, but you know da ins and outs, strengths and weaknesses of our team better than I do, so you can figure out where they can fit. Also, there's no one better in da group for training those two. I don't got too good a grasp on psychic attacks or ghosts, Hogan and Rio are more 'hands-on' kinda guys, and Savage, well he's Savage. But you, you're like a middle ground. Plus, I don't want them ta get hurt too badly training in da mazes. You're going to help them wit' the enemies, 'til they can handle themselves." I waved for him to come closer and I whispered, "And I don't trust Vlad ta not get bored an' try scaring Rose."

Damus seemed to think about it for a moment, before nodding.

Vlad chuckled, "Don't worry, Sunshine, I'll be good."

Damus groaned quietly. I turned to Hogan and Savage, "You two have a mission today." I slid them an envelope, "The client discovered a new dungeon at da peninsula to da east called Shimmer Hill. He wants an escort to protect him and offers a Poké reward, plus any treasure found in da dungeon. It's a 4-star rank mission, though. Think you can handle it?"

Hogan smiled and nodded. Savage growled and said, "Why do we get stuck with the normal mission when you get to go to f***ing Sky Peak?"

I looked at Savage and said, "I just figured you'd like da chance ta explore a new dungeon, where you can fight some tough opponents, more than sitting around and being on standby."

I could hear the gears squeaking in Savage's mind as his eyes narrowed, "… I know you're playing me, but you're right. Consider it done."

"Oh, before I forget…" I reached into the Treasure Bag and pulled out a fabric sack.

Rio looked at it and his eyes widened, "You still have that?"

It was the same bag that Grovyle had used to carry the Time Gears. I kept it, but it just gathered dust in the bluff. After yesterday, when I had ta fight with only one item to help, I figured that using it would help for when we had multiple squads going out. I wanted to make more of them, whenever I got some more fabric.

I handed it to Hogan, "Here. It'll hold a good amount of items. S'not as good as da Treasure Bag, but it's better than going in wit' no items."

I turned to face everyone again, "Alright, you all have your jobs for da day, so it's time to move out."

Everybody got up and Hogan and Savage were the first ones to start moving out of the café. Rose left after them, saying that she was going on ahead to the dojo. She was shortly followed by Vlad and Damus. The rest of us left Treasure Town, deciding to save some time by stocking up at Shaymin Village. There's always a Kangaskhan Rock at the entrance of huge dungeons.

-Hogan's POV-

"Yeah I need five Oran Berries, two Reviver Seeds, two Heal Seeds, and a Power Band." Kangaskhan went into the back to get the items I requested. With so little space for items, I had to be smart about which ones I picked. I would just have to hope that we would be able to resupply along the way in the dungeon.

Savage was waiting angrily behind me. "Why the f*** do we even need items? Items are for pansies."

I just looked over my shoulder, "You took an item with you last time."

"Yeah, but that's cuz I knew that prick Luxio would try to- HEY! Watch where you're f***ing going!"

One of the citizens of Treasure Town, a Primeape, had accidentally bumped into Savage. He shook his head and said, "Hey, it wasn't me. I was just minding my own business when I felt-"

"Don't give me that f***ing s***! You f***ing did it on purpose! C'mon, let's go right f***ing now!" He tackled the Primeape, who had no choice but to defend himself. I just sighed, "Excuse me, Miss Kangaskhan? I think we'll need two more Oran Berries," I called from across the counter.

I looked and the fight had devolved to a brawl with a dust cloud surrounding it. I slapped my hand to my face. That Pokémon truly does have a hair-trigger temper.

"Um, excuse me, Hogan."

I turned and saw one of the most recent additions to our team, Rose. I said hi and she nodded, holding her hands behind her back. She smiled then said, "I'm glad I caught up to you. I just wanted to wish you good luck on your mission."

I smiled, "Thanks, Rose. And good luck with your training today. Just a heads up, Damus might be uptight, but he's just trying to help."

She looked down to the ground, "T-Thank you. I'll see you later." She turned and ran off.

-Meowth's POV-

Right when we were on the outskirts, Rio stopped and looked over his shoulder, an eyebrow raised. Then his eyes widened and he turned back forward, walking again, trying to focus on the path.

I raised an eyebrow, "Poké for your thoughts?"

He walked faster, pulling ahead of Dash, Siltram and me, "Just… sensed something. It's not too important right now. Let's just focus on getting to Sky Peak." He pulled the Wonder Map out of the Treasure Bag and looked at where he marked the start of the path.

Dash looked as the map was held out, "We'll be passing by Luminous Spring, right?"

Rio looked at him, "I guess. We'll have to travel north quite a distance to get to the path in the mountain range."

"Could I run ahead to take a quick detour to Luminous Spring? I think I'm ready to evolve."

I raised an eyebrow, "Ya'd hafta get through Mystifying Forest wit' enough time ta catch up ta us."

He nodded, "I know. But I know I can do it if you let me run on ahead. Please?"

I sighed, "Alright. D'ya know where ta find da path?"

He nodded, smiling, "You bet I do! Thank you! I won't be long, just continue to Shaymin Village and I'll catch up." And with that, he ran off ahead, leaving a trail of kicked up dust.

Siltram leaned in, "Uh, Boss, are you sure he'll be able to catch up?"

Rio looked at me too and I just shrugged my shoulders, "Eh, if he says he can, then we should trust him. Now which way do we go, Rio?"

Rio looked back down at the map, "Uh, we'll have to follow along the curve of the inlet first and then turn right at the Waterfall Cave. After that, it's a straight shot passing around Apple Woods to where the path starts."

"Then let's move out."