Decided to ditch the "x" part "n" chapter titles for something a bit more creative. If you don't understand the reference of this title, obviously, you don't (circle one each) watch/read enough cartoons/comics with clever title references.

Chapter 6: 20,000 Leagues Above the Sea

-Hogan's POV-

"You just had to pick a fight with the one Pokémon with bigger anger issues than you, didn't you?"

"F*** off! I was winning before you tried to stop it."

"Riiiight."

*Flashback*

"Here are your items, sweetie. Oh my! What happened?"

I started putting the items in the bag Meowth made for us, "It's just my partner, he'll stop eventually."

She pointed past me, "Well, I think he's already stopped, but the one he's fighting hasn't!"

I dropped the bag and turned to the fight, seeing Savage on the ground with the Primeape still stomping on him, veins throbbing on his forehead, marking each syllable with another stomp, "Don't-e-ver-try-to-blind-side-me-a-gain!"

I ran and spent the next ten minutes calming down Primeape enough to get him off of Savage and apologizing for attacking him, giving him an Oran Berry to heal his injuries.

"Seriously, Savage, I hope you learned something about challenging random strangers."

"F*** yeah, I did. I learned that I'm going for a rematch! Finally, something to do back in Treasure Town!"

I sighed. Well, at least he'll stop bugging me for sparring matches while we're on standby.

We reached the peninsula where Shimmer Hill was and a Torterra waited at the entrance. He looked down at us and said, "Are you my escorts? I expected someone more… experienced."

Anger grew in me from the insult, and I could hear Savage take a breath to probably tell him where he could shove his experience (and I was tempted to let him), but I quickly clamped my hand over his mouth and said, "I'm sure you'll find us more than enough to protect you, sir." The word "sir" left a bad taste in my mouth, but our goal wasn't to make the client hate us. A while back, since Meowth figured out that Savage and I would one day be good enough to handle missions as a tag team (and since I was the calmer of the two), he gave me some lessons in "schmoozing", as he phrased it. He said that it works great for working with stiff, uptight clients.

I continued, "Terribly sorry that our leaders were too busy to take this mission. And might I say that it is very impressive that you discovered this dungeon. But where are my manners? I'm Hogan and this is Savage. We're members of Team Righteous."

"Team Righteous, eh? Glad to hear I got attention from such a well-known team."

I smiled, "You're too kind."

He let out a laugh, "You can stop now, kid. I already knew who you were and that you were my escorts. That was a test. Far too many teams let glory go to their head and need a slice of humble pie. I'm not really that much of a hard-head. But it looks like your leaders train their speakers well for you two to not get angry about a jab at your strength. C'mon, let's go explore this mystery dungeon."

He turned around and led the way. I let go of Savage's mouth and he glared at Torterra's back whispering, "F***ing jackass."

-Rio's POV-

We made our way to the mountain path, skirting around Apple Woods. As we walked down the path, Siltram kept taking looks behind us. Finally, it got to Meowth and he asked, "Sumpin' da matter, Siltram?"

He shuddered, "Bosses, I get the weirdest feeling that we're being watched."

Raising an eyebrow, I reached out with my senses, not detecting anything in the immediate area.

"Rio, ya pickin' up anythin'?"

"No, noth-" Suddenly a high emotion source was closing in fast from where we came from, "Whoa! Something just showed up! It's almost right on top of us!"

We all closed ranks and something turned the bend of the path, obscured by a small dust storm. It charged straight at us and kicked up another cloud of dust as it stopped right in front of us.

"Woo-hoo! Glad to see I'm not late to the party!"

Something clicked in my mind, the voice was a bit deeper, but still familiar. The dust cloud cleared away and a Manectric stood in front of us with an Explorer Badge pinned to the center of his torc, which had expanded to fit his neck.

Meowth laughed, "Dash! You're back from Luminous Spring already? Ya made real good time!"

Dash grinned and shuffled on his feet excitedly, "I know, right? My feet feel so light, it's like I can run around the world! But let's move on. I was running as fast as I could so that I wouldn't miss the moment we got to Shaymin Village. That'll be one for the scrapbook!"

I smiled at the memory of Dash showing us drawings of the most memorable times he had seen or heard of from us or the other recruits in a blank book. Of course, with no thumbs, the drawings were mostly smeared Octillery ink paw prints, but it was a nice gesture anyway.

We turned another bend, Dash bouncing excitedly as he walked. After we finished turning, we were greeted by the sight of a lush, green valley with low huts made of branches and leaves. The place was filled with Pokémon. Some from Spinda Café, one group of three I'd never seen before (probably the survey team), and the rest were all one kind of flowery Pokémon I'd never seen before. More than that, the valley radiated a sense of joy and peace. The wind blew through and ghosted across our faces, bringing the smell of spring.

"Wow…" I breathed out.

"Ya took da word right outta my mouth…"

Dash moved in front of us, "This… is… AWESOME! Are those Shaymin?" He ran off to go talk to one of the flowery Pokémon in the village.

Siltram gaped, "This place… it's so calm and… clean."

Meowth tapped us both on the side of our arms, "Whelp, let's go see what we heard about from Spinda."

We walked into the village and saw Dash chatting with one of the Pokémon. When we arrived, Dash returned to our side and the Pokémon spoke up, "Welcome to the Shaymin Village! It's nice to meet you. My name is Shaymin. I live here in this village." Spinda was right, Shaymin are cute! "Then again, all the residents of this village are Shaymin… That makes it hard to tell us apart, doesn't it?"

Meowth let out a good-natured chuckle, "Nice ta meetcha too! We're Team Righteous."

Shaymin tilted his head, "Did you come to climb Sky Peak too, Team Righteous?"

I nodded, "That we did. I'm guessing you know the mountain pretty well?"

Shaymin nodded, "That's right. We've lived here for a very long time. We're here to guide travelers up the mountain. But we haven't actually done that in quite some time. That is, the earthquake that happened here quite some time ago destroyed the mountain path that led here… So explorers from outside couldn't get here very easily, and they stopped coming. We were pretty surprised when the survey team walked into our little village."

Meowth nodded, "Yeah, dat would be a shock. And it explains a few tings. But, one other thing, we heard about some great treasure at da top of dis mountain. Dat a fact?"

Shaymin giggled, "What do you think? Our job is not limited to simply acting as your guides. But in the end, those climbing the mountain must discover some things for themselves. We are merely assigned to assist in those discoveries."

"Really? Sounds deep… I'll hafta tink on dat."

"By the way… Now that we've discussed all this… If you're interested, I could be your guide. What do you think? For some reason, while talking to you, Team Righteous, I've begun to really want to climb the mountain with you."

Meowth and I looked at each other.

Meowth turned to the recruits, "Huddle up, guys." We moved closer and formed a circle to talk to each other. "Whaddya all tink? It'd be good ta have a guide to lead us across dis here mountain, but that'd mean dat one of us'd hafta go back ta Treasure Town. If y'all want, I can-"

"No," I cut in. "You're our strategist. If we're in for a long exploration, you'll be needed. Plus I can't make heads or tails of half the items you use. I'm fine with staying back. Whether or not I'm here, this exploration will be in our team's name."

"Bosses," Siltram sighed. "You're both too important to stay behind. I'll do it. I'm just a scout. It's no big deal."

"Guys, guys. I have a question." We turned to Dash, "All that matters is that one of us leaves the group so that Shaymin can guide the team, right?"

Meowth thought about it, "Well, I guess-"

"All I need to know. I'll leave the group." He turned to Shaymin, "Shaymin, our team would be happy to have you as our guide. I'll be leaving the group to make room for you."

"Yay! Okay, I'll be waiting at the mountain path entrance for you. The mountain path is straight ahead from here. Please come once you've finished your preparations. See you later!"

Meowth turned to Dash, "Are ya sure dat you're okay wit' dis, Dash? What about da scrapbook?"

Dash smiled, "It won't be a problem. Don't worry! I'll see you off at the mountain path entrance."

I was in awe of Dash right now. Just a few days ago, he cracked jokes and acted like an all-around clown and now he was making such a decision. Does evolution cause a change in personality too? Dash is suddenly so mature about this…

While we prepared at the Kangaskhan Rock, almost all of the Pokémon in the village that weren't Shaymin left through the mountain path entrance. And then we met Shaymin at the entrance and confirmed that we were ready. We gathered at the entrance and Dash walked up beside us. I waved, "Well, I guess we'll see you back at Treasure Town, Dash."

He turned to us, "Treasure Town? When did I say anything about that?"

We all said, "Huh?"

A mischievous grin split his face, "Last one to the top is a Grimy Food!" Then he charged through the entrance heading up the mountain.

All of us, including Shaymin, were shocked speechless. He just charged into a giant unknown dungeon by himself! Why did he do that?! He said he was… "leaving the group"… I retract that previous statement. I am 100% sure that evolution has no effect on personality.

I sighed and Meowth looked up the path as far as he could, "Well, dat's one way ta solve a problem of too many members. Shaymin, what're his odds of finding his way on his own?"

Shaymin seemed a bit worried, "Slim to moderate. The mountain is vast and tricky, but like all mystery dungeons, there is a way forward. With his speed, and a little luck, he'll probably find a way through."

Meowth raised an eyebrow, "'Probably'? Ain't exactly reassuring… Well, now we got two missions ta dis place. Explore da mountain and find Dash. Much as he was outta line goin' alone, we can't move on wit'out 'im."

Siltram and I nodded and Meowth continued, "Well, Shaymin, we'll lead and keep ya safe, but we'll need ya ta tell us which way ta go." Shaymin nodded, "Right. Don't worry; I'll get us through as quickly as possible."

Sorry, everybody! I faded away for a while without explanation, but now I have an explanation. Sorry that this chapter has been put off for so long! It's getting to that time where I need to focus on my classes in preparation for the final sprint and final exam. Just like last semester in A New Life, I'll need to put the fan fiction on hold until the heat's off. I may post a few updates before the semester's over, but I don't see very many happening.