Hey guys! I'm glad you liked the last chapter! I've just beaten my PMD2 Time with a Skitty and a Pikachu, and now I'm just a few missions away from going on the expedition on PMD2 Darkness with a Pikachu and a Cyndaquil. This chapter will contain many Shadow Wolf encounters by various exploration teams so you can see how the other characters act and fight.
Petunia is Native American for flower, Helaku is Native American for sunny day, and Chenoa is Native American for white dove. And yes, I know you usually can't recruit anyone on guild-assigned missions but I couldn't resist typing Shelly's reaction to a new member. Onto the chapter!
Chapter 7: Shadow Wolf Attacks and Waterfall Cave
"UP AND AT 'EM! IT'S MORNING!" Loudred bellowed.
"Ugh! I'm surprised my ears haven't popped yet." Flare groaned, rubbing one ear.
"Me too, Flare. I'm glad we haven't seen anymore of those stone statues." Shelly mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. They had completed another mission the previous day, saving a Starly named Robbin and reunited her with a Bulbasaur named Matt. "Better see what's happening today."
Team Moonlight got up and headed for the main room. After their morning cheers, everyone separated. "You there!" Chatot called.
"Huh?" Shelly asked. "Us?"
Chatot nodded. "You two, come here." Once Team Moonlight was in front of him, he spoke again. "You've become quite good at your work. I'm impressed by your capture of Drowzee. That was very admirable!"
You call nearly killing Drowzee admirable? Shelly thought. Oh yeah, you guys don't know about that.
"So!" Chatot continued. "You all will finally be assigned a mission worthy of a proper exploration team."
"R-really?! Yes!" Flare cried.
"All right!" Shelly cheered, grabbing the Vulpix's paws and spinning around happily. "We're going on a real exploration now! How cool is that?"
"Shelly, let go! I'm getting dizzy!" Flare complained.
"Oh! Sorry," The Pikachu let go of her dizzy companion. "So, what is it? Come on, Chatot, tell us already!"
They sure seem eager, Chatot noticed. "Let me see your Wonder Map." Flare opened the Wonder Map for the bird to see. "Treasure Town is here. And over here is where you will be investigating." He pointed to a strange waterfall not far from Treasure Town's location. "See? There is a waterfall flowing here. By all appearances, it's just an ordinary waterfall. But we've received intelligence that the waterfall may conceal a secret. And that's where you come in! We want you to investigate the waterfall and determine what's there. That's all. Do you understand what this mission entails?"
"Understood, sir," Flare nodded.
"Good!" Chatot said. "I'll leave you all to thoroughly investigate the waterfall!"
Suddenly, Flare started shivering. "Flare, what's wrong?" Shelly asked.
"Huh? What's wrong? You're shivering." Chatot asked.
"..." Tears appeared in the corners of her eyes.
"Waah! Flare, what's wrong?" Shelly cried, shaking her Vulpix friend. "Flare!"
"A-are you all right?" Chatot asked. Maybe this mission's too hard for her!
"Yes. I'm okay." Flare finally said, smiling. "It's just the anticipation that's making me nervous. This will be the first time we get to do a real job as an exploration team. I'm feeling a little worked up..."
"A little?! Flare, you're freaking crying! That's not a little!" Shelly shouted.
"I'm sorry, Shelly. Oh, I feel like I'm gonna burst from excitement!" Flare exclaimed.
"Then be happy or something! But whatever you do, just stop crying!" Shelly cried. "Just stop...crying. Just stop, please...please..."
"Shelly, are you okay?" Flare asked. What just happened? I started crying and Shelly completely flips. Does she not like it when others cry?
Shelly sniffed. "Sorry, it's just...I dunno, it's stupid. I just hate seeing you crying, especially when you're supposed to be happy."
"It's okay, Shelly. I didn't mean to worry you. I'm sorry." Flare apologized.
"Thanks, just...don't do that again, seriously. I'll shock you if you do. Be happy or something, not sad." Shelly mumbled.
"Okay," The Vulpix wiped away her tears, smiling. "Let's do our best, Shelly!"
"Sure, we will. This is our first mission, Flare." Shelly pointed out. "Plus, we always do our best. What would stop us now? Nothing! Abso-freaking-lutely nothing!"
"Right!" Flare nodded.
These two are quite the strange duo, aren't they? From happy to crying to happy again... How odd indeed, Chatot thought.
As the duo headed up to the upper floor and attempted to go above ground, a voice caught their attention. "Oh! Shelly! And Flare too!" Chimecho called from behind a rounded stone desk on the far left end of the upper floor.
"Huh? What's Chimecho doing there?" Flare asked. They wandered over to her. "Hello! What's going on here?"
"I just started an Assembly here. Today, in fact." Chimecho replied.
"Assembly?" Flare asked.
"What's an Assembly?" Shelly added.
"Yes! For assembling your team!" Chimecho laughed. "Have you ever considered adding members, Flare?"
"Other members?" Flare wondered. "Well, sure! It'd be cool to add other members! If there were more than just the two of us, it sure would help when we explore dungeons!"
"Well then! You need to start recruiting new members!" Chimecho said.
"Oh! How do we start?" Flare asked.
"Huh?!" Shelly yelped. Other members? But I thought it would be just us! What's going on here?! "Hang on a sec!"
"I'll just ring the Friendship Bell for you, Team Moonlight!" Chimecho explained. "Here goes! Hey-yah!" She rang a bell behind her. "Now Team Moonlight has the power to recruit new members!"
"R-really?!" Flare cried happily.
"Ugh!" Shelly groaned. It was just supposed to be us, Flare. What am I gonna do when weird Pokemon start to want to join us?
"Yes! From now on while battling Pokemon in dungeons, you may earn respect from some of them and those Pokemon may ask to join Team Moonlight. Once you have recruited a Pokemon, you may bring it along with you on dungeon explorations. To bring a Pokemon along, visit my Assembly and choose which members shall join your team for the exploration. Always see me when you want to assemble a team that includes recruits!"
"Oh, wow! Thanks, Chimecho!" Flare thanked.
They headed outside and were about to head for the waterfall when they saw a sign by the path. "Assembly Post: For service, please ring the bell! Chimecho," Flare read, looking at the bell hanging by the sign.
"How am I gonna get used to having others on our team, Flare?" Shelly asked. "I like it just the way it is now."
"Come on, Shelly!" Flare said. "Having more teammates might be fun. Plus, we'll make new friends!"
"I like being friends with just you!" Shelly whined.
"It won't be so bad, I promise." Flare vowed. "Now let's go drop off some items and money before we head for that place."
"Sure, whatever." Shelly followed her friend into Treasure Town. After dropping off excess items and all of their poke, Shelly noticed something. "Hey, what's that place?"
"Oh, that's the Marowak dojo. It collapsed into ruin not long after I got here, Shelly. Maybe they opened up again." Flare muttered, leading them there.
Once inside, a brown lizard with a white bony skull looked surprised to see them. "...V-visitors...? F-finally...m-my...first visitors!" He walked toward them and smiled. "Welcome to Marowak Dojo. This is my place! It's dedicated to the training of exploration teams. The dojo went to rack and ruin, then to a pile of rubble, but...it has now risen from the dust to its former glory! But...I haven't had any visitors...There hasn't been even one. It saddened me to my very marrow...But then! Along came you two! You are my first customers! From my very marrow, I'm feeling overjoyed! I don't even want money! Keep it! Just train here, that's all I ask!"
"Um, sure. Why not?" Shelly smirked. "It actually sounds fun."
Marowak led them to a hole in the wall. "There's the entrance to the training mazes. I have to tell you one thing...Training mazes aren't like ordinary dungeons. There's this icky part, you see. When you go in, you hand over everything that's in your Treasure Bag. To avoid losing the items in your Treasure Bag, put them in Kangaskhan Storage before you go in."
"That is a definite 'must do' for this place." Flare muttered.
"There's more!" Marowak explained. "If you get KO'd, you don't lose the new money or items you find in the maze. You get to keep them! There's no risk to you, so you can go all out while you train. So, yes, make me happy. Train your team here. How about it?"
"Sure, we will! We need to get a bit stronger before we head for Waterfall Cave." Shelly said. "We just need to drop off all of our items in Kangaskhan Storage. We'll be right back!"
Heading for Kangaskhan Storage and dropping off all of their items, they returned to Marowak Dojo fully prepared. "We're ready to go! Let's do this!" Flare barked happily. They entered the mazes, ready to fight.
They barely managed to defeat the Normal/Flying Maze and Grass Maze, getting KO'd at the Poison/Bug Maze. Shelly grew to Level 12 and learned Thunder Wave. Flare grew to Level 12 and learned Quick Attack. After leaving the dojo and putting excess items away, they headed down the path toward the Secret Waterfall.
Team Moonlight stood on a ledge pointed at the falling sheet of water that was the waterfall. "So this is the waterfall that supposedly has a secret..." Flare muttered, stepping closer. She reached out touch it and was sent tumbling backward. "Yow!"
"Flare!" Shelly cried. "Are you okay?"
"I think so," the Vulpix whimpered, getting shakily to her feet. "That water is coming down hard! Try getting close to it, Shelly."
"Sure, I will!" The Pikachu stepped closer and noticed how fast the water was falling. It's true! This is incredible! I can barely stay standing near this deluge! She stepped even closer and was hit by some of the water. Spinning her arms wildly, she attempted to keep her balance but slipped off the edge of the ledge. "Waaah! Flare, help!" she screamed.
"Shelly!" The Vulpix leaped and grabbed her friend's hand as Shelly slipped over the edge. Keeping a tight hold, the Vulpix slowly inched backward. "Hang on, okay? Don't let go!"
"I won't! I won't!" the Pikachu cried.
Flashes of light crossed her vision. Hmm... Something seems familiar. It's that dizziness I felt before. Darkness and that strip of light revealed the vision. There was a storm and voices could be heard. She saw no one but could hear them shouting. "No, don't let go! Just a little longer! Come on, hang on!" Another voice screamed and the vision ended. What was that about?!
Shelly dared to look down. She saw smoothed stones far below and, from what she could see, pure white bones. She screamed and dug her feet into the ledge side, trying to climb back up. "Get me out of here!"
"I'm...trying!" Flare growled, tugging her friend up and over the ledge to safety. Tumbling away from the waterfall, the two lay panting for a while before getting up. "See? It's intense."
"I can see that," Shelly gasped.
"If you were to fall under this waterfall, you'd probably be battered." Flare muttered, looking at Shelly in fear. Like she almost did... "I didn't think it'd be pouring down this powerfully! Where should we even start looking?"
Suddenly, Shelly saw flashes of light covering her vision. What? Another one? Not again! Darkness and a strip of light started the vision. A strange shadowed figure was standing on the ledge before the waterfall. Backing up, it leaped forward and went through the waterfall to tumble to a cave behind it. Looking around, it headed for the cave mouth at the far back of the cavern.
Shelly blinked, feeling the vision end. It happened again! I saw something...but what did I just see?
Flare noticed the shocked look on her partner's face. "Huh? What's the matter, Shelly?" Shelly told her about the vision. "What?! You had another one? And you saw a lone Pokemon jump into the waterfall?"
"Yeah, and it fell into a cave behind the waterfall." Shelly finished.
"Hmm...But it looks like the water is coming down really heavily." Flare whimpered, looking fearfully at the waterfall. "Imagine if there was actually a solid cliff wall behind that waterfall! Ouch! If we tried to jump through, we'd be pounded badly!"
"I know but it's worth it, right?" Shelly asked.
"So, Shelly, do you really think we should do this?" Flare asked. "Is there really something behind this water? Are you really convinced that there is a cave there?"
"Positive," the Pikachu replied.
"Well...OK. I'm putting my faith in you, Shelly!" Flare declared. "Yes! I totally believe in you, Shelly." They backed up, preparing to leap through it. The Vulpix shivered. "Yikes!" Then she shook her head. "No, I gotta be brave now. If I get scared and fail to leap through at full speed, I'll be smooshed no matter what I do! If I'm doing it, I have to do it without hesitating. Be brave...be the bravest ever!"
Flare, Shelly thought. She's trying so hard to be brave. I have to try too. I have to show her that we can both be brave in the face of danger. "Ready, Flare?"
"Ready! Let's go, Shelly!" Flare nodded, facing the waterfall. Father has done worse things to me. A jump through a waterfall should be nothing compared to that! But why am I still so scared? "Three...Two...One...Now!" They jumped through, bracing for an impact with a cliff wall. "Waaaah!"
They hit something all right but it wasn't a wall. More like a stone floor. They had tumbled into the cavern behind the waterfall! "I was right!" Shelly cried after recovering. "See, there was a cave!"
"Yowowowow!" Flare whimpered, shaking herself off. "W-what is this? Yes, it is a cave! You were right after all, Shelly! Let's go explore this cave, Shelly. Let's see what secrets it holds!" The entered the cave mouth at the back of the cavern, just as the lone figure in Shelly's vision had done.
Drenched Bluff, Floor 8...
Molt and Freeze crept quietly through the corridors of Drenched Bluff on a B-ranked mission. This would be their final mission as a Bronze-ranked team and if they succeed, they would be Silver-rank at last.
"Grrr..." Freeze growled angrily. He was angry at Molt for disobeying him but didn't mention it. Today was special, after all. Becoming Silver Rank today was way more important than his brother's stupid crush.
Their mission was to catch a rogue Magmar that had been causing trouble lately and they finally reached the floor he was supposed to be on. Oddly enough, the Magmar wasn't behind him like most criminals tended to be. Now they had to go looking for him, which was a huge pain. Molt's fur was soaked but it didn't bother him since he was wearing the Fire Collar. Freeze barely noticed the cold water he was walking through.
"So, Freeze, did you see the collar Flare gave me? It's great, right?" Molt asked. He'd been talking like that since they came in and the enemies' water attacks became useless. Man, I love this collar so much!
Freeze groaned, becoming more annoyed. First Magmar was missing and now his brother was chatting away again. How annoying. "Concentrate on the mission and stop talking about that Vulpix." He hissed, peering around a corner. Where's that stupid Magmar?! Is the whole world against me today?
Molt remained silent as they searched the whole floor. Coming to the room with the stairs, Molt quickly pointed something out. Freeze just stared in shock. "Freeze, what is this?" Molt whimpered, backing away. "The criminal, he's..."
Then it started to get darker. Freeze looked around wildly, getting a bit spooked. Then he remembered what Flare said about the Shadow Wolf attacks. He could teleport through shadows and make any brightly lit place dark. He turned the room we were in pitch black and came in through the floor. "Molt, get behind me now!" he shouted just a lupine shape with glowing blue eyes stepped out from the floor.
"Is that one of the Shadow Wolves?" Molt stuttered, cowering behind his brother.
"You should not be here." The wolf said. Its voice echoed around the pitch black room, sounding like a call from the darkness. "My leader has ordered that no one come to this floor of Drenched Bluff. Leave now or I will make you leave."
Freeze stood tall, showing no fear in the face of the wolf. "Are you the one who turned Magmar to stone?" he demanded.
"Indeed, it was I." the wolf nodded, blue eyes glinting in the darkness. "But that was because he had no honor. There is nothing I hate more than to see someone fight with no honor. We fought but he resorted to tricky means and that is why I turned him to stone. Someone like him deserves it."
"There's never a right to do that to a Pokemon, no matter how bad it is!" Freeze barked, fur bristling angrily.
"I disagree but you have a right to your own view." Then the wolf stepped closer, barring its fangs menacingly. "But enough about that Magmar. Now is the time for you both to leave."
"What if I say we're not going to?" the Glaceon asked, standing his ground.
"Freeze, are you insane?!" Molt cried. "That's a Shadow Wolf! We don't stand a chance against him!"
Freeze ignored him, getting into a fighting stance. He nodded toward Molt and the Flareon backed off. Freeze could tell that the wolf could take Molt down but at least Freeze could hold it off long enough for his brother to reach the stairs.
"Hm..." the blue-eyed Shadow Wolf hummed. "If you wish to fight me, I shall not deny you but I shall not go easy on you. I never go easy on anyone."
"Neither do I!" Freeze spat.
The two charged at one another. As Freeze leaped to strike, he expected the wolf to dive into the shadows but this one didn't. It twirled around and kicked him out of the air, throwing him to the floor. Then it charged at him and struck with its claws, crashing him into a wall. As Freeze struggled to his feet, he saw Molt staring in horror at them. Why isn't he leaving? Why hasn't he run away yet? Why?!
The wolf stood over him, sighing. "I thought you would be stronger than this but it seems I've overestimated your power." Freeze could tell it was male now from the voice. "I guess that was a waste of effort." Looking up, the Glaceon saw a collar made f azure blue stones encircling the wolf's neck. The Unown letter D was engraved in the larger middle stone.
Suddenly, a blast of fire made the wolf yelp and jump away. Molt stood in front of his brother, fur standing on end. "Stay away from my brother!" the Flareon yelled. "I'll fight you!"
"Molt, you idiot! Get out of here!" Freeze yelled, getting up. "I'm fine on my own!"
"You just got kicked and tossed around, bro! I'm helping whether you like it or not!" Molt declared.
"Well now, this is a surprise." The wolf muttered, limping out of the shadows he had taken shelter in. "I never expected a tag-team effort. This may be worth the fight after all. What are your names?"
"I'm Molt! And this is my brother, Freeze!" Molt replied. "We're Exploration Team Frostburn!"
"An exploration team?" the wolf repeated. "Very well, I am Oswald of Troop D. Prepare to battle!"
"Gladly! Come get us!" Freeze dared.
Oswald smiled and charged. The two brothers unleashed an Ice Beam and Fire Blast combo, hitting Oswald head on. The Shadow Wolf raced out of the smoke and slammed into Molt. Freeze jumped and bit Oswald's ear, making the wolf howl in pain as he shook his head to dislodge Freeze. Molt was about to charge when Freeze told him off.
"This guy wants an honorable fight and a two-on-one isn't honorable!" the Glaceon cried, keeping a tight hold on Oswald's ear. "Get to the stairs and warn the guild that the top floor of Drenched Bluff is off-limits! I'll catch up, I promise! Now go!"
"But, bro!" Molt started.
"Get the hell out of here!!" Freeze shouted, letting go off Oswald's ear. He was thrown off and crashed into a wall. Molt hesitated before bolting, racing up the stairs and leaving the dungeon behind. Freeze winced, getting up. "Now it's just you and me, wolf."
"I'm surprised you wished to fight alone instead of using him to your advantage." Oswald commented, placing a paw on Freeze's back and shoving him back down. "How honorable of you...yet it would have been foolish to do around any wolf but I." He removed his paw and limped away. "Live and grow strong, Freeze of Exploration Team Frostburn. We will meet again in the near future, I can assure you." With that, he vanished into the shadows and the room brightened up again.
"Darn...it..." Freeze muttered. I can't believe I lost. I can't believe it...I can't... He closed his eyes, blacking out. Someone...help...
Beach Cave, Floor 3...
"Flamethrower!" Raven the Vulpix cried, releasing a blast of fire from his mouth. The Shadow Wolf dodged the attack, red eyes glaring angrily. "Kitty, you ready?"
"Ready!" the Skitty nodded. Only moments ago, Team Fire Flower had stumbled across the stone statue of a Corsola they had been assigned to save and engaged in a battle against one of mysterious Shadow Wolves. "Assist! Water Gun!"
"Foolish little brats!" the wolf, a female wearing a collar made of silvery-white stones with the Unown letter X on the center stone, growled as she leaped into the air. "Petunia of Troop X never loses a fight!"
"Well, prepare to lose now!" Raven barked. "Kitty, now!"
"Right, Raven!" The duo unleashed Water Gun and Flamethrower together. Petunia jumped away and attacked, only to be knocked away by the combo move. "We did it! They aren't so hard to beat!"
"Oh, really?" Petunia laughed, getting up. "We'll see about that! Dark Blade!"
The Shadow Wolf spun around once, lifting her back feet off the ground and releasing a barrage of black blades of energy. Crashing into the rocks behind them, Team Fire Flower screamed as the rocks crashed on top of them. Once the smoke cleared, the duo was trapped. Petunia laughed and fled.
"I guess it wasn't that easy after all, Raven." Kitty chuckled nervously.
"What makes you think that?" Raven asked sarcastically.
"Well, aside from the fact that we just lost in one hit..."
"Kitty, let talking and more helping. We need to get out of here."
"Okay!"
Mt. Bristle, Floor 6...
Team Storm Pulse dodged the Dark Blade attack. Boulder the Riolu forced himself to charge forward and attack. "Force Palm!" he cried as his paw connected with the Shadow Wolf's chest. The wolf howled in agony as it crashed into the staircase, a few sickening cracks following it. "Ah! I didn't mean to do that much damage!"
The wolf, a male named Helaku wearing a yellow stone collar with the Unown letter F on it, slowly staggered to his paws. Pain shot through his left side, signaling that the Riolu had broken a few ribs. Leaping away from the staircase, he aimed to use Stone Bite on the puppy.
"Look out!" Icy the Glaceon warned, leaping in and throwing Boulder out of the way. "Icy Wind!" A blast of freezing wind threw the wolf a few feet backward.
"My turn now! Bubblebeam!" Pippy the Piplup cried.
"Like hell I'll be taken down by a bunch of bubbles," Helaku hissed, jumping into a shadow to avoid the attack. Appearing behind Pippy, he aimed a Dark Blade at her. 'Now die!"
"Endure!" Boulder growled, throwing himself in front of his team leader. The attack would've knocked him out if he hadn't used Endure to save both himself and Pippy. "Icy, help me!"
"Right! Icy Wind!"
Helaku snarled, leaping away again. "Dark Claw!" he howled, his claws glowing black as he tore them across Icy's back. As the Glaceon fell, he repeated the move on the other two. As all three lay crumpled on the floor from their wounds, he readied a Stone Bite. "Stone—"
"Helaku, we must leave!" a second voice, this one female, hissed. "I sense master wishes to speak with us. He's summoning everyone!"
Annoyed that he was being taken from his prey, he stalked away. "Fine, Chenoa, I'm coming. Until next time..." He slipped into the shadows with the female, who wore a purple stone collar with the Unown letter S on it. In moments, they were gone.
"Ugh...Are you guys okay?" Pippy asked shakily.
"I think so," Boulder groaned. "You?"
"Fine for the most part. Icy?"
"I'm still here, leader." The Glaceon mumbled.
"Now what, leader?" Boulder asked.
"What else? We go home." The Piplup replied, pulling out her badge. They vanished in a flash of light, transported back to the guild.
Waterfall Cave, Floor 6...
Shelly yelped, splashing into a puddle of water after being attacked by a Wooper. "Flare, help!" she wailed.
As the Vulpix searched frantically through her bag, the Wooper ended it with a Water Gun. This is it, the Pikachu thought. Our first exploration and we fail just like that. Are we that pathetic or what? Suddenly, one of the Reviver Seeds in the bag glowed and Shelly was back to normal. "What the? I'm okay?"
"It must have been the Reviver Seed, Shelly." Flare explained. "Their effect is to revive you if you faint. We have two from Glameow and we found one at Mt. Bristle. We only have two left, so let's try to save them."
"Roger that!" Shelly nodded, shocking the Wooper and beating it.
"Are we almost there yet?" asked Tangle, a Tangela that asked to be recruited after Shelly beat him. Shelly didn't trust him but he seemed innocent enough, so they said yes.
"Almost, tangle. Just hang in there, okay?" Flare encouraged.
"Yes!" Tangle nodded. "Ooh, this is so exciting!"
I can't believe this. Why should we recruit someone who tried to kill us? Makes no sense to me. The guild's rules are messed up! First handing over most of our money and now recruiting enemies. What next?! Shelly groaned, rubbing her ears. Her head hurt.
They went up two more floors and found the stairs almost immediately on the final floor. "Let's see what this place has to hide!" Shelly cried, leaping down the stairs. With Flare and Tangle at her heels.
They ended up in a room filled with different colored crystals. "Wow! Look at that, Shelly! Look at all the gems sparkling! Whoa, look over there! It's a gigantic gem!" Flare pointed to the back of the cave. A huge pink gem was imbedded in the ground.
"Pretty!" Tangle cooed, eyes wide in awe.
"Wow! I've never seen a gem this huge!" Flare gasped. I've seen plenty of big gems in my day but this one's the biggest! Father always got mother big and beautiful gems that he found but this one even prettier than them.
"Holy!" Shelly said, stepping back a few paces just to see the whole thing. "This is incredible, Flare! And we found it! Us, a group of rookies, found such a big treasure! Cool!"
"This is an incredible treasure, Shelly." The Vulpix agreed. "Everyone will be amazed if we bring this back." She tried to pull the gem from its place in the ground. "Urrrrgh! Urrrrgh! Ugh..." She backed away, panting. "Nope, it's not budging...It's really stuck tight. Can you give it a try, Michael?"
"Sure! I'll show you what true strength is!" The Pikachu walked over and grabbed the gem, trying to pull it free. "Grrrrr! Come on!" Whoa! This is really stuck! It won't budge! She backed away, beaten. "Urrrrgh...ugh..." Nope, no good...
"So you couldn't move it either, Shelly..." Flare muttered. So much for true strength, Shelly, she thought, giggling. "But we can't just give up! If we try hard enough, we'll have to get some kind of result! I'm giving it another go, Shelly!"
The Pikachu moved out of the way and stood by Tangle, who watched on it awe. "Come on, you can do it! You're stronger than this, Flare! You can do it!" he cheered. "Come on, pull! Pull!"
Hmm...It's not budging one bit, Shelly thought. Suddenly, flashes of light crossed her vision. Huh? Oh no, come on! Not again! It's happening again, for the third time today...It's... Darkness and the strip of light began the vision. She saw the same strange figure in the cave with the gems. Walking over to the giant gem, it pressed down on the gem and waited. A loud roar sounded and a tidal wave of water crashed into the cave, washing the figure away. The vision ended.
But that was...! Shelly's eyes widened in fear as she turned to Flare. "Flare, hang on! I have to tell you something!"
"Urrrrrrgh! Urrrrrrgh! Ugh..." Flare backed away from the gem again. "It's no good. I can't pull it out...What is it, Shelly?" As Shelly babbled about her vision, Flare noticed something and placed her paws on the gem, pressing down.
"Gah! Flare, I just told you not to do that!" Shelly screamed.
"What? You did?!" Flare cried, instantly alarmed. "Ah! I'm such an idiot!" The cave started shaking viciously. "What's going on, Shelly?!"
"You just triggered a trap, Flare!" Shelly yelled.
"A trap? What trap?!" Tangle cried, looking around wildly.
Flare was the first to see the wall of water rushing toward them. "Waaah! It's a flood!" she shouted.
"Aaah! We're gonna die! We're gonna die! We're gonna—" Tangle started yelling.
"Run!" Shelly roared.
But no matter how fast they ran, the water caught up with them and swept them away. "Waaaaah!" Shelly could hear her friends' screams. Just great! We're gonna end up just like the strange figure in my visions! The water erupted from a geyser, blowing the trio into the air on the fountain of water. When the water vanished, they fell...into more water. But this water was...
"Huh?" Flare muttered, sitting up. This water's warm! "What...? Where are we?"
"Blub blub blub blub!" was the only thing Shelly could say.
"Waah! Shelly, wake up!" The Vulpix shook her Electric-type friend awake. "Are you okay now, Shelly?"
"I...I think so." Then Shelly noticed something. "Hey! Why's Tangle up there while we fell into the water?!"
"I dunno," Tangle shrugged from his place on the rocks surrounding the poll of warm water. "I guess I got lucky."
"Lucky, my tail!" Shelly hissed, sitting up. "Hey, where are we, anyways?"
A young Teddiursa swam closer to them. "Hi, hi! Are you two okay?" it asked. "You plopped down from nowhere! Oh, you startled everyone!"
"Where are we?" Flare asked again.
"This is the Hot Spring." Teddiursa replied.
"H-Hot Spring?" Flare yelped.
"How did we get here?" Shelly asked. "Though, on second thought, I'm glad we landed here. The water feels nice..."
An old red turtle with a black shell stepped forward from his resting place on the rocks nearby. "Indeed! This is the Hot Spring. The Hot Spring works wonders on tired muscles and creaky joints. Many Pokemon visit here. Tell me, youngster, have you a map?"
"Map? Oh, if you mean our Wonder Map, yes, we have one." Flare nodded. "Elder Torkoal, right?"
Torkoal nodded. "Yes, that's me. Unfold your map for me." Once unfolded, he pointed to a marking on the map. "This is where the Hot Spring is."
"And here's Waterfall Cave!" Shelly pointed out. "Holy! Look how far the Hot Spring is from Waterfall Cave, Flare!"
"The water carried us all the way from over here." Flare pointed to Waterfall Cave.
"Oh my goodness!" Torkoal gasped. 'It was the water that carried you all the way here? What a long journey it must have been. Let the Hot Spring wash away your fatigue before you make your way home."
"Good idea. We'll do that. Thanks, everyone!" Flare nodded.
"Hey, are they an exploration team?" Shelly asked, pointing to two Pokemon wearing Silver Exploration Badges on their bandannas.
"Oh my! It's Team Shooting Star!" Flare gasped. "They're a Silver-ranked Exploration Team that recently lost their leader, Starlight the Lopunny. That's Tyranny the Tyranitar, a former criminal that reformed himself after Starlight saved him. And that's Inferno the Charizard, Starlight's overprotective partner."
"Then where's their leader?" Shelly asked.
"Starlight got into an accident on a mission and broke her leg." Flare replied. "She was forced to resign from her position but she vowed to return once she got better. Her daughter is Mimi, the Buneary that helped show us around with Bidoof."
"Is she like her daughter?"
"No, not a bit! Starlight's really sweet and kind to everyone. They're pretty famous, actually." Flare explained.
"Okay..." The Pikachu sank lower into the water. What a crazy day this turned out to be, she thought. We get our first real exploration, we recruit our first new member, we find these gems and didn't get a single one, triggered a booby trap and were sent flying into a nearby Hot Spring. Man, Chatot's never going to believe us!
She looked up and saw Flare chatting happily with Tangle, only to gasp as Tangle pulled out three small gems. "I managed to pull them out while you were trying to free the big one. I'm glad they didn't get lost when we were blasted out by the flood." He handed a sparkling red one to Flare and tossed the purple one to Shelly, keeping the blue one for himself.
"Well, at least we didn't go back empty-handed." Flare smiled.
"I say we keep these to ourselves, Flare." Shelly suggested. "Knowing that thieving bird, he'd take them from us and claim them as treasures for the whole guild."
"...I guess you're right. We won't tell anyone." The Vulpix reluctantly agreed.
"Yep!" Tangle nodded. "These will be our little treasures from our first exploration ever!"
Well, I guess it didn't turn out to be too crazy of a day, Shelly decided. At least we get to come home with treasure that nobody else can have. I have to say our first exploration was definitely...a blast! She giggled, making bubbles underwater.
"I think we should head back now, Shelly!" Flare called. "You coming?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm here!" As the Pikachu pulled herself from the warm water, Team Shooting Star lumbered over. "Hey, you going back too?"
"Yeah, we are. Mind if we join you?" Inferno asked.
"S-sure, why not?" Flare replied hesitantly, pulling out her badge. In seconds, they were transported back home to the guild. But a surprise would be waiting for them once they returned home, a surprise in the form of many reports...reports of Shadow Wolf attacks on exploration teams!
--
Well, I hope you all enjoyed it! I added the last part about them getting gems because I thought it wasn't fair that after all that hard work, you got nothing to show for it. Also, I might be putting up the first chapters of my other stories so they aren't taking up space on my profile and so you can all see what they're like and if they're worth continuing later on.
I found a song that I think kinda fits Flare about the relationship with her father in the past, present, and future of her life. It's called Falling Apart by Trust Company. Check it out if you want. Please review!