Chapter 18: Carry on, My Wayward Son

-The Next Morning-

I woke up and saw Meowth already awake and staring out over the sea, "Good morning, Meowth!" I turned to the spot where Manaphy's bed was. I looked at it sadly.

As if he could tell what I was thinking, Meowth said, "'S for the best Rio."

I sighed, "I know… If Chatot and Wigglytuff trust Walrein, then I'm sure that he'll raise Manaphy well. And maybe… we'll see him again, someday."

Meowth turned around, "Maybe. But we shouldn't sit around moping all day. I don't tink Manaphy'd want dat. We might not be able ta get over it right away, but we can carry on. Ya with me?"

I nodded. He nodded back, "Good, cuz we got work ta do. We're hitting da dojo."

I raised an eyebrow. We haven't been to the dojo since we graduated. "Why?"

"Let's face it, Rio. In da last three missions, we had ta get our tails pulled outta da fire by our recruits, twice; one of those being a really important mission. We've gone soft."

My eyes widened as I thought about it. He's right… Ever since we graduated, we haven't had a full day of training once. We were just so sure of ourselves…

Meowth nodded, "'S kinda embarrassin' when ya tink about it. Just cuz we saved da world doesn't mean there aren't more powerful Pokémon out there. We may've taken down Dialga, but dat was when he lost half his marbles. I dunno if we could take him, now dat he's got 'em back."

He tossed me an Apple, "Anyway, eat up. You'll need all o' your strength. Today, we take on da Final Maze."

I took a bite and couldn't help but get excited all over again at the idea of a new challenge to test my limits. I guess it comes with being a Fighting-type Pokémon.

We met up at Spinda Café, and told the recruits that we were all going to an all-day training session at the dojo. Vlad raised his hand, "Excuse me, but I trained yesterday, and made quite a bit of progress mind you. May I do something else?"

Meowth looked through the stack of missions he had and pulled out one with a gold seal, "Ya can recon World Abyss. When ya do that, ya can have da rest of da day off. But be ready ta train wit' da rest of us tomorrow."

He took the envelope, reading the location, "Fiiiiine…" He floated up through the ceiling and left the room.

"Now dat dat's settled, anybody else wanna go on a mission instead?"

Everybody else shook their head, giving various comments.

I chimed in, "Then everybody pair up. Meowth and I will be tackling the Final Maze. You all can take your picks. Try to pair up so that you cover weaknesses."

Damus paired up with Hogan, Rose with Cathy, Penny with Savage, and Dash with Siltram.

Meowth raised his paw, "One other thing, if ya feel like souping yaselves up wit' a TM or two, feel free. There are plenty in storage."

They nodded and Meowth said, "'Kay, then let's move out… ta train!"

-Cathy's POV-

After stopping at storage, we all moved as a group to the dojo, Vlad passing by us again on his way out of town. He waved with two fingers, "Ta-ta~ Have fun!" I shook my head. Sheesh, what a weirdo.

When we arrived at the dojo, Marowak was surprised. He had seen us all at least once, but never as an entire team. Rio and Meowth walked forward and started explaining what our plans were for the day.

Everybody started making plans with their partners while the two leaders talked with the owner, so I walked up to Rose. She seemed to be deep in thought, muttering to herself.

Maybe this training session will give me some bonding time with another girl in the group. Goodness knows I won't get anywhere with Penny; she's far too tomboyish.

As if to prove my point, I looked over to see her and Savage shouting at each other, seeming to be in an argument about strength.

"Don't you write me off like that! I'm just as powerful as you!"

"How about you try me then, shortstop?!"

"Shut up! I'm going to be ready to evolve any moment! If anybody's gonna be the shortstop, it's you!"

"F*** you!"

"F*** you!"

Oh, great… Now both of them have the same colorful language… Oh well, I have a much more elegant Rose to chat with.

But before I could start, Marowak shouted, "WHAAAT?!" effectively silencing the room. Rio and Meowth stood calmly in front of the shocked Marowak. "Do you realize what you are attempting?! I've warned you that that maze is dangerous! You shouldn't go in there!"

Rio calmly nodded, "We know that it will be dangerous, but we've trained in the other mazes and we feel that we can at least put up a decent fight in this one."

Marowak calmed a bit and he leaned forward, "If you go in, I cannot guarantee your safety. The Final Maze is absolutely brutal."

Meowth waved his hand, "We've taken some brutal beatings. We've figured dat, ta prepare for tough odds, we need ta have tough odds for our training."

Marowak sighed, "Very well. It is your decision."

They started heading for the hole on the left side of the wall. Wow… They want to train that much because of one near-loss? Men and their silly pride! Now, back to socializing.

-Damus's POV-

After Meowth and Rio left for the Final Maze, I stuck around for a while to watch the other recruits. Seeing everyone interact, it gave me a chance to observe their character more closely. To be completely honest, upon meeting the team up close and personal at Spinda Café following their mission at Crystal Cave, and every recruit since then, I put a mental label and note on each of them. This may seem a little cold, but I've always been good at reading others, and I find it easier to interact with them by setting up these reminders.

Rio: Kind Leader (though a little naïve), Meowth: Strategic Leader (has obviously seen a lot), Hogan: Muscle (not much else), Savage: Foul-Tempered and Mouthed Muscle (works bad with everyone except Hogan, for some reason), Siltram: Toady (although good at what he does), Dash: Hyperactive Jester (also hypercompetitive), Rose: Weak-kneed (needs confidence), Vlad: Annoying (unfortunately necessary), Cathy: Melodramatic Socialite (complains too much), Penny: Tomboyish Daredevil (needs humility).

Everybody, so far, has stayed to those impressions, though Rose has proven to be more dependable when given the opportunity, if the story of the mission at Miracle Sea is any indication.

If given the chance, I would have liked to observe Meowth while he was looking after Manaphy. Unlike Rio, who always wears his heart on his sleeve, Meowth always seems to have his guard up. However, with a child and his closest friend, Rio, he would have most likely let it down. I surmised that it was for this reason that he was even more guarded and serious since that mission.

Seeing this, in addition to hearing of Rose's accomplishment, it made me think that perhaps there is more to the other members of the team as well. However, soon the other pairs started leaving for the regular mazes, with only Rose, Cathy, Hogan and myself lingering behind, I decided to reflect on this later. Cathy seemed to be engaged in a rather one-sided conversation with Rose as they walked forward and I turned to Hogan, as he was doing some stretches. I patiently waited for him to finish.

After he was done, he turned to me, "Once we're in the maze, how about a quick spar before we start training? We're about evenly matched; it might do us some good."

Maintaining my usual taciturn attitude, I nodded. We headed into the Dragon Maze. Once we were inside, we moved to the center of the room we were warped into. Standing a good distance apart, Hogan brought his arms up in front of him. While we were at a standoff, I drew upon everything I knew about Hogan's fighting style.

He has no ranged attacks. I won't be able to use Double Team, since he has Foresight, but I have the superior speed. He can take a beating though, so this won't be easy.

As he charged me, I immediately activated Future Sight. As I activated the attack, I saw that he was going to try sweeping my feet first, so I brought my front legs up to dodge his Low Kick and brought them back down on him, using Scratch. I started charging Razor Wind and jumped back to avoid his next punch. I was getting ready to fire my attack, but he slammed both fists into the ground. Cracks traveled along the ground and raced up the walls to the ceiling. I looked up and saw that Hogan had used Rock Slide.

I've never heard of one using the attack by hitting the floor instead of the wall.

Concentrating on the rocks, I put more energy into my Razor Wind and fired a storm of wind blades to slice the rocks apart, making them miss me. However after I did this, I felt myself be grappled. I looked down and Hogan was lifting me up from the side.

A diversion?!

As I tried to struggle free, Hogan was looking around. Something seemed to catch his eye and he hefted me off the ground and turned. I looked up and saw my own Future Sight attack coming right at me! He threw me into it and the psychic energy detonated, blasting me while keeping a distance away from him. I was perfectly fine, of course, since Psychic-type moves don't affect me, but this move was enough to give me pause as I stood back up.

He used Rock Slide as a diversion to make me waste my own attack and render my other attack useless.

I looked and Hogan was back into his first stance, seeming satisfied with the move he just made.

I smirked and tensed my legs, readying Quick Attack. "Clever move, but I hope that isn't all you have to offer, because I won't fall for it again."

Hogan grinned and his left fist glowed as he readied Brick Break. I used Quick Attack and he brought his fist up, using it to block. Realizing that I was open again, I jumped back, dodging his Karate Chop from his other hand.

Using a charged fist as a shield? It seems that I've underestimated Hogan's intelligence. Let's see what else he's come up with.

My claws glowed and lengthened as I readied Slash, electing to fight Hogan on his terms to stall while I figured out a new plan and try to draw out any more of his innovations. As I charged forward, I made a new note.

Hogan: Muscle (watches and learns)

-Vlad's POV-

Hmm… You know, for a place called "World Abyss", there aren't that many Dark-types.

I was able to take advantage of the natural darkness of the dungeon to move about freely instead of through the walls. I simply slipped into the floor when an enemy was passing by. As a reconnaissance mission, I was just supposed to take account of all Pokémon residing and leave. The Escape Orb I was carrying in my mouth would assure that there would be no danger to me (see, all items that I'm not wearing need to be carried within me to phase through walls).

More importantly though, it seems that the object of my search isn't here either. I would certainly be able to notice him, or at least the light he gave off, if he were here.

And here I thought that the deepest, darkest hole in the world would be the place to look with all the luck I've had finding him. No matter… I'll just keep looking, because that's what I've always done. Kept on trying.

I knew that I would find him. He may have hidden in a far off place, maybe even undiscovered, but I know that I'll find him.

I paused for a moment to think of a time not so long ago. A time where I would do nothing but search. Every single minute of every day (it's not like ghosts require much sleep). I would search every place that I could, hoping to catch a glimpse or a hint of his path. I was a mess. I saw nothing beyond the search. Never interacted with anyone; I was obsessed.

To think that Meowth was the one to give me hope again.

Back then, I had just so happened to be out and about searching, when I saw Meowth and Rio running while carrying a Marill. Despite my conviction to my search, for back then, it was my only concern, I had wondered about what could be going on, so I followed them (invisibly, of course). After the ordeal with Drowzee, I developed a piqued interest in Meowth from his brutal reaction to Drowzee. So, deciding to put off the search for one night, I followed them back to their room and listened in on the following conversation.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that Meowth used to be an outlaw.

My first instinct was to report him to the police, but then I listened to his story of how he left his life of crime, and his world, for a fresh start. It seemed a little hard to believe, but I decided that, as long as he didn't step out of line again that I could look the other way. Besides, seeing how he moved on and concentrated on the future instead of dwelling on the past, I decided that I could eventually move on as well.

I started to get more rest in between my searches and became slightly more approachable, aside from developing the hobby of scaring people for fun, but I was still serious about my search. I rejoiced when I happened upon Meowth and Rio discovering a new dungeon. I searched it and turned up empty, but it gave me an idea.

That was why I kept tabs on them up until they graduated. Why I gave such a generous reward for a simple mission to retrieve an item in a weakling dungeon. What better way to search everywhere than to join an up-and-coming exploration team? But they were no use to me until I would be able to search alone. I didn't want anyone breathing down my neck or slowing me down or asking probing, uncomfortable questions.

Like Cathy.

I shook my head. It had to be done. If she continued to snoop, she might've discovered my secret. Not that it would be any threat to the team, but most, if not all, would disapprove. I am wholeheartedly committed to the team. I would always be indebted to the one who inadvertently showed me that, no matter the past, one can decide to let it go and move on to a better future.

I just had one loose end to tie up.

One, very, very horrible loose end.

A loose end called revenge.

Only then would I be able to move on and dedicate myself entirely to the team.

However, that moment is not now, unfortunately.

I opened my mouth and sighed, opening my mouth for the first time since arriving and pulling out the Escape Orb. I had already committed all of the species of Pokémon in this dungeon to memory.

I raised my hand and started to throw down the Escape Orb beneath me. When I released it to shatter on the ground, a shadow appeared and latched onto the arm that I just used to throw it. I only had a brief moment to be surprised before the light engulfed us both.

-Rio's POV-

One good thing that became readily apparent from training in the Final Maze was the grade of items to be found. We quickly learned to ration any and all food that we found after fainting from hunger the first time around. Turns out that this maze isn't five floors, like the others. So far, we've been knocked out three times and the longest we've been able to travel is 12 floors.

Another difference is that all of the Pokémon from all of the mazes are here. One other thing to capitalize the difficulty is that when we lose here, it's like losing at a regular mystery dungeon. Meaning, we lose half our money and a good portion of our items.

As such, when we found some TMs, we used them right away, if we liked them. Meowth learned Protect and Toxic; suitable for a tactical fighter, like him. I learned Rest and Rock Tomb. Rest for free health recovery after clearing out a tough group of enemies, and Rock Tomb for Flying-types and trapping foes long enough to use Focus Punch. With a bit of practice, I learned to make Rock Tombs come out of walls or ceilings too.

We also found a weird colored TM for a move called Rock Smash, but it wouldn't activate when I tried to use it. Right now it's in our bag and we're focusing on trying to find an Escape Orb so that we can get out of here with the rare items and treasure boxes that we've found so far and put them in storage before we go back in.

Problem is that we're having a hard time finding one, and the enemies aren't making it easy to search the rooms. When Marowak said this maze was brutal, he wasn't kidding. But we have to get stronger.

After Meowth and I entered the maze, I asked him why he had a sudden interest in training. I remember always having to nearly drag him to the dojo unless it was something pressingly important. It took a few tries, but he finally gave his answer.

He turned to me and said, "We thought we were hot stuff, but we almost couldn't protect Manaphy. Ta me, dese last few missions were a slap in da face remindin' me dat life ain't always fair. Ta prepare for dat, we gotta have trainin' dat ain't fair."

And, indeed, the Final Maze is not fair. I can't even count the times I had to use Endure to prevent myself from fainting. One advantage is that only one of us really needs food now. As long as I take a quick Rest by meditating for 2-3 minutes every once in a while, I don't need food. I need to be careful though; during fights, my energy goes down faster, since I'm running on an empty stomach.

As we fought another group of enemies, Meowth sprayed Toxic gas out of his mouth at a Bagon. I used Force Palm on a Shroomish, but a dusty substance got on my hand and I felt poison enter my body.

Damn, I'm so used to having my Pecha Scarf…

I looked around at the remaining enemies and decided to try hitting them while creating a few openings. I formed a ball of air in my hands and clapped my hands together, using Vacuum-Cut. The vortices buffeted the enemies and Meowth rushed forward using Night Slash. The Bagon, Shroomish and Doduo went down and the Poochyena started to run away.

Meowth retracted his claws and shouted, "Let's scram!" We ran away between the remaining enemies and dodged through different corridors before stopping right before the staircase. I put my hands on my knees, weakened by the poison.

"Meowth," I panted. "Do you mind if I Rest for a moment?"

He sat down, "Sure, I could take a breather myself."

I sat down and crossed my legs. I saw a pale blue light shining around me as I closed my eyes.

When I woke up, Meowth was standing up and a Shroomish was standing a few feet away. Meowth turned to me as I stood up, and said, "One of 'em followed us; won't tell me why, though."

I walked forward and looked at the Shroomish. "What do you want?"

The Shroomish just raised his eyebrows expectantly, as if we should know.

Meowth waved his paw, "Well, go on; spill it. Why'd ya follow us?"

The Shroomish opened his mouth, but said nothing and then shook his head, seeming sad. But he looked at the ground and then reached forward with his foot and drew a picture of our exploration badge in the dirt, followed by a question mark.

I looked at it for a while, thinking for a moment before I made the connection, "You want to join our team?"

The Shroomish nodded eagerly, smiling.

I turned to Meowth, "I don't think he-"

I stopped as I heard a stomp on the ground. The Shroomish was frowning now and seemed upset. Reaching forward with his foot again, he drew a circle with a plus attached at the bottom.

Meowth and I looked at it before realizing what the Shroomish was trying to say.

I tilted my head slightly, "Sorry."

Meowth and I discussed it for a while before deciding to accept her offer.

"'Kay. You're name'll be Mel. Welcome ta Team Righteous." (AN: Short for "Melody".)

We continued on until we found an Escape Orb two floors later. Mel proved herself to be a very capable fighter, despite being mute. She couldn't get our attention normally, so she would often take the initiative, using Seed Bomb to attack opponents that tried to approach us from behind as well as alerting their presence to us. She also knew a variety of powder moves to attack the opponents with, including Spore, which put a whole room of opponents to sleep.

After we escaped the dungeon, we found everybody already waiting in the lobby. I looked around, "How come you all aren't training anymore?"

Cathy stepped forward, "We were waiting for you. Marowak said that you were in there for over half an hour.

My eyes widened, that meant we spent over a day on one run of the dungeon. As if my body just registered this fact, my stomach growled loudly from having gone so long just renewing my energy with Rest.

Everybody chuckled and Hogan said, "How about you take a break, and get something to eat and drink? You sound like you could use it."

I nodded and, as we walked, Meowth introduced Mel, who nodded politely. When we got an Apple and an Oran Berry from storage, I ate the Apple on the way to the café. As we got to the crossroads, a light shone and Vlad appeared, seeming to be trying to shake a dark-looking Pokémon off of his hand.

"Unhand me, you brute! What is the meaning of this?!"

The Pokémon's voice warbled as he was being shaken back and forth, "Ca-a-a-alm do-o-o-wn! I ju-u-ust ne-e-e-e-eded a-a-a ri-i-i-de O-U-U-U-U-T!"

Vlad stopped shaking his hand and the Pokémon, which turned out to be a Murkrow, shook the dizzyness off before detaching from Vlad's hand. The instant he opened his eyes he groaned and shielded them with his wing, grumbling for a minute before he started talking.

"Sorry for latching onto you like that. I just needed to hold on to an active exploration team member using an Escape Orb, so that I could get out of that hole. My name is Levi."

Meowth raised an eyebrow, "Ya already have a nickname?"

Levi nodded, removing his wing since his eyes adjusted, "Indeed; for I was a member of Team Renegade. Was."

Hogan raised an eyebrow, "'Team Renegade'? Never heard of 'em."

Levi seemed surprised and turned to Vlad, "Where are we, again?"

"Treasure Town," Vlad supplied.

Levi nodded, "That explains it. Team Renegade is an all Dark-type (or half-Dark-type, like me) exploration team led by a Mightyena. Thinks he's so great; goes by Fenrir. They work mainly on the east side of that massive mountain range. That's probably why you never heard of them. They probably don't even know this town. I only know because I read about it in a book."

Meowth was interested now, "Ya read?"

"But, of course. Can't get enough information on the world and on myths, with a dash of fine literature here and there. Made me the weak link on my old team, unfortunately. Once they started evolving, they said they didn't need a bookworm on their team anymore, so I was dismissed. I thought, 'Fine, it'll give me a chance to focus on my books,' for I had collected a good amount in a nest somewhere. Unfortunately, my badge sent me back to my place of origin, World Abyss. It was really boring."

"Wait." Damus stepped forward, "Your team was able to evolve? But Luminous Spring was fixed just recently."

Levi tilted his head, "It was broken?"

Meowth and I were taken aback. I stepped forward, "Time stopping everywhere; didn't you hear?"

"I've spent the last year and a half in a hole, waiting for somebody that I could escape with. Care to fill me in?"

As we told him the story, Vlad floated over and introduced himself to Mel, since he'd never seen her before. After we finished, Levi seemed fascinated, "Wow. Amazing what one misses. So you two saved the world?"

Meowth and I nodded. Levi seemed to think for a moment before his eyes lit up. "How about I join your team?"

Meowth and I both raised an eyebrow. "Why the sudden interest?" I asked.

He smiled, "Well, I think that I'll be able to contribute a bit of knowledge to this team. I have an extensive collection of books from my journeys with Team Renegade and I'll be able to bring them closer and build a nest near Treasure Town. There is very little that I don't know or can't look up."

Meowth's eyes narrowed and he leaned forward, "Super. Now tell us da real reason."

Levi's smile dropped slightly, but picked back up with a slight amount of mischief, "Fine. With your team's growing reputation, it's only a matter of time before you get a challenge from Team Renegade. Mightyena is so prideful, that it's bound to happen. And I am more than a little sore about them leaving me in that hole, so I want to join and beat them, so I can rub his big, round muzzle in it. But I really will contribute everything that I have to the team. The air is different here." He looked past the two of us to the recruits, who were laughing as Vlad huffed, "You all seem to stand together as actual teammates, not just coworkers."

He turned back to us, "However." He paused, for effect, "Since I wasn't technically defeated, I'll join you if one of your recruits beats me in a one-on-one battle. However, it wouldn't be fair to have one of you two or one of your fully evolved recruits fight. So, take your pick."

I looked through our recruits. Hogan, Rose, Vlad and Mel all had a type disadvantage, and I wasn't so sure that Penny or Cathy could take him on. Meowth called for a huddle-up of the candidates.

After discussing for a bit, we were leaning towards Hogan since he knew Rock Slide. But Rose spoke up and said, "I can do it. Just give me a moment." She teleported away and, after about a minute, came back with her bow in her hair.

Meowth tilted his head, "Are ya sure Rose? You'll be at a major disadvantage."

She tapped the bow, "This will even things out. Rio can tell you." She started walking forward and Meowth turned to me with a raised eyebrow.

I explained, "That bow lets her Psychic-attacks affect Dark-types. Not only that, it makes them strong against Dark-types. She's right; it will make things even."

Some of the recruits settled for waiting in the café. Meowth, Cathy, Hogan, Damus and I followed Rose and Levi out of town. They stood a good distance away from each other and Levi swept one wing forward as he took a bow. He looked up with his eyebrow raised at Rose's confusion.

"In my books, two opponents bow before fighting in a duel." Rose gave a short bow before they both got ready to fight.

Levi spread his wings and took flight. Rose tracked him with her eyes and shot a Magical Leaf attack. Not very much damage, but guaranteed. She moved her hand as the leaves tracked Levi. Levi turned around and shot a Night Shade attack from his eyes, destroying the energy leaves. He turned back to Rose, who still hadn't moved, and dove down.

Rose calmly teleported away and Levi flapped his wings furiously to right his course, hovering just above the ground. A bunch of Rose clones started appearing, as if they had just teleported. They all clasped their hands and started glowing gold, using Calm Mind.

Damus shook his head, "Her strategy is too predictable…"

Levi continued hovering before taking off into the sky again, "Think you can dupe me, little lady?" He beat his wings and black mist started spreading everywhere. The clones started flickering and the gold aura faded away on Rose. (AN: Haze, in the games removes all status buffs and debuffs, so I decided to include that.) While Rose was looking at her disappearing clones, Levi dove down at her and knocked her over.

Hogan called out, "C'mon, Rose! You've got this!"

Rose got back up and looked around to find where Levi went. Then she seemed to notice something and looked around even faster. Levi landed on the ground a few meters away from her and he had something in his claw. I looked closer and saw that it was Rose's bow!

I heard Levi say, "You took too long to prepare your psychic attack, and I knew from the beginning what this was. Now you have no ch-"

Rose moved in a blur and kneed Levi in the stomach. I cringed sympathetically as I thought about the force of the hit. While he was stunned, Rose took the bow back and glowed blue as she sent Levi flying with Psychic. He was knocked back for a while before he span and flapped his wings to right himself.

I heard Hogan cheer, "Alright!" I smiled. Now I see why she wanted to do this.

Levi used Haze again, and then dove, but Rose sidestepped by dashing a few feet away and then caught him in Psychic, doing damage while holding him still. Levi flopped to the ground.

Rose stepped forward gingerly, while Meowth whispered, "Don't, it's a trap!"

As if on cue, Levi swept Rose's feet out from under her with Faint Attack. After she fell to the ground, a black ring flew from Levi's eye and hit her. Rose's legs were covered in a purple aura, and she tried to get up, but her legs wouldn't budge.

Levi flew up to get some height, and then dove down as his wings glowed. Rose looked up at him, supporting her upper body with her arms, and Levi suddenly froze in mid-air, his eyes glowing purple.

Hogan tilted his head, "Is that…?"

Damus nodded, "It would seem so… That must be Imprison."

Rose held up one of her hands and Levi was surrounded by a blue aura and the energy pulsed as it applied the force. Rose hit him with two more Psychic attacks before the purple faded from his eyes and he flopped to the ground, utterly exhausted. The purple aura faded from Rose's legs and she stood up.

We all moved closer and each of us congratulated Rose as Levi caught his breath.

"All right… hah… You win…" Levi panted. After a few tries, he sat up. "Now, officially, may I join your team?"

Meowth and I both nodded, and Meowth said, "Welcome ta Team Righteous."

A badge appeared on Levi's chest, and he looked up, "Wait, did you say Team 'Righteous'? Ha! Oh, the irony."

"Ya better rest up today. We got long days o' trainin' ahead of us."

Picked the chapter title because it's right after saying goodbye to Manaphy.

Levi is a character created by Antex-the-Legendary-Zoroark:
www dot fanfiction dot net/u/4223584/

Levels between Rose and Levi, Rose: Lv. 39, Levi: Lv. 42

It wound up being a looooong chapter. Well, it's set before a slight time-skip (just a week, mind you), so I guess it's appropriate. Plus I just couldn't find an appropriate stopping point. But I really am going to be level-grinding for a while. Because I wasn't lying when I wrote that I had a hard time with Miracle Sea and Gyarados. And I can only imagine what volumes that speaks of the time I'll have in future dungeons if I don't get the team in gear. New levels of the team will be posted in the next chapter. That way I can skip the overview and get right to the content.