Chapter 14: Found a WHAT?!

-Rio's POV-

After wading through the ocean path and taking a left at the fork that led to Blizzard Island, we arrived at the massive ice wall that blocked entrance to the Surrounded Sea. After walking around it for a while, we found the gap in the permafrost. Walking inside, there was a hole that led down.

Siltram shook with excitement, "So it's true!"

Dash took a step forward, but I held my hand out in front of him, "No charging off this time. We're exploring as a group."

He grinned, "I know, I know. I'm just trying to see how far down the hole goes. Never thought I'd be going underwater."

A small chunk of ice chipped off the wall, surrounded by a blue glow. It floated over the hole and Rose said, "I'll test how far the drop is." The glow disappeared and the ice chunk fell into the hole. After about one second, we heard a splash of water.

I crossed my arms, "Doesn't sound too bad." I turned to Siltram, "How long will we have to swim down before we're in the dungeon?"

"Sunflora said that once we're in the water, we'll be warped to the dungeon. There'll be air, once we get through."

"All right, then. Let's go!"

We jumped into the hole and I heard a massive splash before feeling a pulling sensation under the water. Holding my breath as we were pulled, I felt my head break into the surface and took heavy breaths of air, looking around. There were light blue walls in the dungeon and we were all standing in waist-deep water.

"Whoa…" Dash was looking up and his jaw was hanging open. I followed his gaze and saw the surface of the water above us. The ocean was shimmering and moving above us, held back by the mystery dungeon to allow air. After appreciating the sight for a bit, we moved on to explore the dungeon.

With all of the Water-type Pokémon around, we really depended on Dash's electric attacks and Rose's Magical Leaf attack. Dash was slowed down in the water, but Rose managed to keep up her psychic-enhanced running. Occasionally, Siltram would sniff out a rare item and bring it back to us. He found a number of boxes that were being held by opponents and a Water Pulse TM.

Siltram tried fighting with his newly evolved body, but was hard pressed to dodge without using Minimize. He kept getting pelted with Water Guns and Bubble Beams. Often times, he turned into a puddle and oozed into the water whenever he was under heavy fire. His bow helped with the Slowbro and Slowking, but he was hard-pressed to find a way to fight well.

Finally, when a Seadra was hosing him down with Hydro Pump he reached with his arm, expanding his hand and stretching it across the open ground. His body slimmed as he did so and his hand slammed the Seadra into the water, halting his attack and he retracted his arm, his body filling back out, and he had the Seadra in his grip. He used a close-range Sludge Bomb and sent it flying back into the water. Seeming satisfied with his new discovery, he practiced expansion while we were going through.

As we went deeper into the Surrounded Sea (for it was actually very deep), it got tougher to keep on going. We used up two Reviver Seeds before we got to the bottom. Once we got to the end of the dungeon, there was a small stack of three treasure boxes. Rose picked one up and Siltram picked up the other two and Dash ran forward, looking around in the next chamber.

"This must be the exit," he said, pointing with his front leg to a Warp Tile on the ground. They each stepped on it in turn until I was the last one in the room. I walked towards it, but my leg tapped something in the water. Stopping, I reached in and picked it up. Holding it in my hand, I wasn't sure what to make of it.

Is it some sort of strange gem? Well, it might be important; I'll keep it.

I slid it into my Treasure Bag and walked onto the Warp Tile, leaving the dungeon. I met up with the others at the entrance of the dungeon and we began the trip back to Treasure Town.

-Cherubi's POV-

I moved through the forest, trying to head as deep as I could to hide from the police and set up a hideout.

It'll be perfect. This fog is so dense in this forest that no one will ever find me.

I felt a gust of wind blow by, but I ignored it and kept walking. But then I felt a breath down my neck and I turned around. There was nothing there, but I kept looking around as best as I could. The fog made it difficult to see more than a half a meter.

"Maybe I shouldn't have picked an area with such low visibility."

"I agree."

I turned around and looked, but there was nothing there again. I kept looking behind me and walked backwards, trying to get to the next corridor.

The voice seemed to flow all around, "But, oh, the others are soooo boring and I am positively delighted that you're here now… You're a new face…" I heard a rip sound and two halves of paper came floating down. One of them landed near my foot and it was a wanted poster of me!

O-others?! D-d-does he have m-more in captivity?! N-nobody would q-question if outlaws w-went missing…

"Hm, hm, hm, hm. Don't be afraaiiid… I just want to have fun." I started shaking and turned to run into the hall, but I saw a blur of black and got sent flying by something back into the center of the room. The voice said, "Did I say you could leave? I don't want to lose my play-thing…"

I quickly got back up to my feet, "Wh-whatever you are, l-leave me alone!" My only answer was silence. I looked around, "H-hello?"

I-is it gone? Oh, thank goodness.

I turned to run from the room, when a horrifying entity appeared in front of me, mouth wide open, "RaaAAaaAaGghAaaAaAaGggHhHh!"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" I blacked out.

-Vlad's POV-

"AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Oh, that was excellent! My best work yet! Surprise-scares are good and all, but I so seldom get to prepare such a thorough fright! AH-HA-HA-HA! I must remember to thank Meowth and Rio later, this was quite a treat!"

I wiped a tear from my eye and looked at my badge. It was glowing now giving me the option to leave.

I sighed, "Very well, then; fun's over." I reached down and hefted up the outlaw by her leaves. I took a quick look around Foggy Forest again and chuckled.

If I hadn't joined an exploration team, I wouldn't get to see this place, or any of the other places that I've had the privilege of visiting. Soon, there may not be a single location without my metaphorical footprints.

I looked down at the outlaw again as the badge started to glow brighter.

"Yes… Soon… Very soon. I know he's out there somewhere…" I warped out of the dungeon with the outlaw in tow.

-Hogan's POV-

Huffing through the Dragon Maze, I dodged a Zen Headbutt and used Karate Chop to drop another Bagon. I've been going through the same maze for a while now, making sure to take breaks in between. So far, I've learned Scary Face. Only one more move before I have nothing left to learn and go to evolve.

After about 7 hours of training, I found Damus waiting in the lobby when I came out of the maze. I waved, "Hey, Damus! Done for the day already?"

Nodding, he held out a TM, "There was another TM in the reward with the Thunderbolt. This contains Rock Slide. It will be useful for helping you fight against Flying-types." I took it and thanked him. He nodded and left. I held the TM to my forehead and felt a zap before the disk turned black and I learned Rock Slide.

Rotating my bad shoulder, I winced a bit as the burned skin pulled. I better stop for the day. Else I'll be too sore for missions tomorrow…

I perked up at the thought of a new mission. That's it! Siltram is busy today, so maybe I could check out the mission boards today! Might even check out the Swap Shop.

Still hanging onto the TM, I waved bye to Marowak and left the dojo.

On my way to the guild, I bumped into Savage. After asking how his mission went, he said, "I beat the s*** out of him and got the item; the end. Ancient Power was a real b**** to deal with though. Wanna fight later?"

I shook my head, "I stopped for the day, actually. I was just on my way to the guild to check for missions and rare items."

"Fine. I'll find Primeape."

"That eager to get your ass kicked?"

"F*** off." He walked up the stairs ahead of me. I was about to follow when somebody stopped me. A Beautifly fluttered up to me and was holding an envelope.

"Are you a member of Team Righteous?"

Taking a page from Meowth's book, I said, "Who wants to know?"

"A strange Pokémon asked me to give this to you." She shoved the envelope into my hands and I looked at the triangle seal. It was gold and had a "P.E.T." on top of an "F". She started flying backwards, "Just so we're clear, I've definitely delivered the letter." She fluttered off and I looked at the letter again. I held it in my hand and filed it under "things to ask Meowth about."

Walking up the stairs again, I went to the boards and saw Savage and Vlad waiting at the Outlaw Notice Board and Penny and Cathy waiting at the Job Bulletin Board. Deciding to visit the Swap Shop first, I went down to the basement floor and walked up to Croagunk. After asking what was in right now, he gave me a list of items currently up for trade. I saw one that we didn't have that would be useful, so I left. On my way back, the others were gone, so I checked the mission boards. But I didn't find anything that seemed urgent or that had any items we needed for the team.

Walking to Sharpedo Bluff, I met up with Meowth. He had two bags sitting next to him and was running a Silver Spike with some shiny string attached through two pieces of fabric, apparently making a third one. He grunted a greeting without looking up.

"Meowth, I have a few questions." He looked up, and I went on, "First, why are the bags so small if we're going to be using them for exploration? They barely look bigger than the first one you loaned me." He smiled and put down the bag and tossed me the spool of string. I looked at it; sure it was shiny, but what was he trying to say?

He smiled wider, "Pull it."

I unwound a small bit from the spool and tugged. The string stretched out and when I let go out of surprise, it snapped back to its regular length. Looking at the spool, I said, "What is this stuff?"

He took the spool back and sat back down, picking up the unfinished bag again, "Spinarak silk; I put in a special order for da stuff a few days ago and ta have it woven to be stretchy. I used it ta sew these bags an' it'll make it easier ta store more items in a small space. Least I hope it will; dat stuff cost a bundle. Now, what were your otha questions?"

Oh, right. Getting back on track, I held out the envelope, "A Beautifly gave me this mission letter, but she was acting really weird about it." Meowth took the envelope and glanced at it before putting it down, and resuming his sewing, "It looks important; maybe we should wait 'til everybody's around ta hear dis."

"One other thing; there was a rare item for one of our team members in the Croagunk Swap Shop. I'd like to withdraw some money from our account to open up some boxes for rare items to trade."

He thought about it for a bit, probably accounting for the money he had spent on the string. "Done. If it'll help da team, then feel free. But who's it for?"

"Thanks. It's for Rose; it'll help her fight against Dark-types." Walking back up the stairs, I headed back into Treasure Town to make all the stops I needed.

-Cathy's POV-

"I'm just saying that I'm not entirely sure yet."

"And I'm saying that I don't care and it's your business."

Looking at the guild entrance, I huffed, "You know, anyone could be by any minute. Vlad likes sneaking up on others; try to act a bit more concerned."

She sighed, "All I'm saying is that you shouldn't need my opinion on which evolution you should go with. I get that it's a real big deal for Eevees, but it's your decision, why do you need to ask me about it?"

After rescuing Fearow, he gave us a Frozen Rock as a reward. A Frozen Rock is one of the items that let me evolve. But once I evolve, I can never take it back. Not that I don't want to evolve, but I just could use a second opinion.

"Because I'm not sure what would be best, Buttercup. There are only three forms that I can evolve into that don't have an equal type on the team already; fire, grass and ice. I was thinking about being a Vaporeon." I glared at her, "But then you had to show up, didn't you?"

She puffed out her chest, "It's not my fault that this team has good taste in fighters."

I shook my head, "You know you'll never find a mate with that arrogance."

Penny blushed, "Big deal! Who said I wanted a mate?!"

I snickered, "Awww, is widdle Penny wonely?"

"SHUT UP!" She stomped off. In my opinion, it was worth losing my second opinion for that reaction. After she was gone, I sighed. I was still no closer to making a decision about my evolution.

I began to walk down the stairs when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and Vlad was behind me. Odd; from what I've heard, he likes sneaking up on people. Why would he be so straightforward?

He cleared his throat, "I couldn't help but overhear your little dilemma, and I'd be happy to offer you some advice from a veteran."

"'Veteran'? You haven't been here that long. And what do you know about this kind of thing? Maybe I should ask Damus."

He flicked me on the nose, "Longer than you; and Damus would just give you the same royal brush-off that your 'new bestie' did."

I panicked for a moment, but he held up his hand, "Not to worry; I'm a tight-lipped individual. This won't reach anyone else's ears." Somehow, it only made me more nervous that Vlad was the only one that knew.

He casually put a hand on my shoulder and said, "Walk with me, and I'll offer you some strategic advice on your evolution." He led me down the stairs and on toward the beach. When we got there, he said, "So what do you feel your options are?"

I looked at the ocean, thinking it over, I said, "Well, there are a ton of options that are kind of useless, since there are members that cover those types. Unless I want to be a repeater (heck, even Hogan isn't quite a repeater since he learns different moves than Rio), my options are Flareon, Leafeon and Glaceon."

Vlad's hands floated as if he was crossing his arms and he looked up as he thought. "Well, a Grass-type, while it would be a novel addition, wouldn't be of much use. Rock and Water-types are already covered by numerous members of our team. And Ground-types are already covered by the little firebrand Water-type and Rose, with her Magical Leaf."

I looked back at the ocean, "Well, what about a Flareon?"

"NO."

Surprised by the cold tone he used, I turned to him, but he was smiling and said, "What I mean to say is that all of the types that Fire has are already covered. Penny knows Peck now, and word from the grapevine is that Hogan knows Rock Slide now."

I raised an eyebrow, "Well, all that leaves is Glaceon."

He raised his hands as if he were shrugging, "Look at it this way, you'll be the first one to have an advantage against Dragon-types."

"But it has so many weaknesses…"

He put a hand on my shoulder, "You'll have your comrades to protect you from those weaknesses, the same as you'll be able to help protect them against Flying-types. You don't have to evolve right this instant, but I'm just trying to give you some advice."

"Yo! Guys!" Dash ran onto the beach, "Rio's calling everyone in for reports!"

-Meowth's POV-

After I finished my fourth bag, I noticed a glimmer from my badge and plucked it off of my scarf. The gem changed from yellow to red. We must've gone up another rank.

During the day, I had also picked up a TM from storage to help widen my type advantages. By the time I was halfway through my fifth bag, I noticed that it was already sunset. Soon after, Rio came in with the Treasure Bag and he sat down. After giving him a moment, I said, "So what's da word?"

He spent the next few moments telling me about what everyone did today. How Hogan learned a new move, Penny and Cathy were getting along better now that they had done a mission together, Savage's mission raised our rank, and how Damus got the TMs for Hogan and Dash from his rewards. Last, he told me about his exploration in the Surrounded Sea.

"You should've been there, Meowth! It was beautiful! The water was suspended above us by the dungeon, seeing it shimmer and move; it was a sight beyond words. Oh! And I also found this. I'm not sure what it is. I think it's some kind of weird gem…" He ruffled through the Treasure Bag and pulled out a round blue and orange object.

I got up and looked at it, "'Weird' is right…" Ain't ever seen a gem like dis…

Something in the center moved slightly, and I raised an eyebrow.

Wait… Gems don't have movin' parts. And da shape…

My eyes shot open. Oh no…! He couldn't 'ave…!

"RIO! DAT AIN'T A GEM! DAT'S AN EGG!"