Two days later, both Trevor and Aiden stood side by side at the appointed location as sent by mail, awaiting instructions for the entry exam that would determine Team Spirit's status as an official team. In front of both Pokémon was the dim entrance to a jungle, the ground matted with thick, twisting vines that contorted unnaturally as they snaked along the mossy floor. The leaves and branches from the trees above were so thick to the point where the entrance of the jungle seemed to lead towards an unending, dark abyss. Aiden, based on how she was fidgeting around seemed eager to enter and explore whatever lied beyond the darkness. Trevor, meanwhile, stood rigidly, not daring to move a muscle as if doing so would release whatever horrors were hiding in there. Despite his wounds having healed and his bandages removed, he still grimaced as his heart felt like it was being dragged by an invisible set of weights.

After a brief period of waiting, the pair were greeted by a gentle-looking Simipour who walked up to the pair from within the darkness, a large knapsack sagging over his shoulder. His curly, blue locks as well as his spout-shaped tail swayed in the wind as he gave a welcoming smile to his new applicants. Following the Simipour was a what initially appeared to Trevor as a fluffy ball of thick, purple fur shuffling around. Upon closer inspection, Trevor found that it was an Espurr, it's giant, unblinking eyes and other facial features having been obscured by the darkness of the jungle's entrance.

"It's nice to finally meet you future explorers," the Simipour said with a soothing, deep voice. "My name is Apollo, and I'll be test administrator for today. This lovely lady behind me is your test supervisor, Oro, who will monitor you throughout the exam's entirety." The silent, unblinking Espurr gave an abrupt head movement that more so resembled a muscle spasm than a nod. "This test," Apollo continued, "organized by the fine members of the Explorer Association, aims to gauge your abilities, teamwork, and competence in order to ascertain whether you are qualified to become an official exploring team. Members of—let's see—Team Spirit! Are you both ready to continue?"

"Yeah, bring it on!"

"Uh, y-yes!"

"Great! For this test, you will be entering the Obscuring Jungle, the entrance of which is right here." Apollo pointed towards the dark, gaping entrance behind him as if it wasn't completely obvious. "It's about a level three on the intensity scale, so it should be an easy enough romp for any competent team. Your goal is to find a flag hidden in the deepest part of the dungeon and come back here within a reasonable time. You both will be judged on a variety of factors, including time taken and injuries sustained..."

Aiden's words from two days prior reverberated in his head, "Arceus, this feels weird; it's like I'm talking to a child! Alright, mystery dungeons are basically these massive labyrinths scattered across the world that periodically change their layouts. A lot of them have been popping up recently, and you never really know what you're getting into when you go in one. One dungeon could have nothing particularly strange in it while another could be chock full of weird and unpredictable junk. It's what makes them a blast to explore, you never know what to expect! Err- anyways, the unpredictability of a given dungeon is determined by its 'intensity scale,' which measures a dungeon's weirdness as well as the strength of its crawlers—you've seen those—on a scale of one to ten."

"Before you two set off, take these," Apollo instructed as he dropped the knapsack he was carrying, undid the rope sealing it shut, and rummaged through its contents. He pulled out two badges, which he handed to the pair with a relaxed smile. Upon inspection, Trevor found saw that the badges were miniature versions of the winged Pokéball symbol he had seen etched on the golden fountain from Sunrise Town.

"These badges are imbued with a psychic energy that will ensure that Oro here will know your exact location at all times. It also serves as a communicator which allows us to speak with and hear from you while traversing the dungeon. If you find yourselves overwhelmed, let us know and we'll send one of our security Pokémon surrounding the perimeter will come and get you. For your sakes, please take care not to lose them."

Trevor gripped his badge tightly and nervously peered at Aiden, who looked almost as if she was about to collapse from boredom. "Can we start the test now?" she pleaded.

"Looks like there isn't anything left to explain, so go right ahead! Just remember to give us a holler if you need to be escorted out for any reason." Apollo calmly walked out of the pair's way and invitingly extended an arm out towards the jungle's dark, imposing entrance. "Good luck, future explorers!"

As Aiden silently motioned Trevor to follow as she stepped towards the entrance to the jungle, he recalled her explicit instructions. "When we go into the dungeon, just follow my lead. Don't wander off or try to do your own thing unless you want to get killed. And don't mention the fact that you're human either, just don't do anything rash. I'll take care of any crawler that comes our way, so you don't have to do much. All you really need to do is carry my bag and give me any items in case I need them, okay? Let's ace this test together, Treph!"

While Trevor didn't really get the sense that they were really "doing it together," he decided that he would treat Aiden's instructions as law anyways. Aiden led the way with Trevor nervously following as the members of Team Spirit were swallowed by the gaping, dark abyss leading into the ominous mystery dungeon.

-

It wasn't long before the pair encountered their first crawler, a ferocious, blank-eyed Mankey, which suddenly jumped out from a patch of tall grass to attack. Trevor recoiled in horror and let out a terror-filled scream before Aiden swiftly landed her foot directly on its pig-like snout, sending it flying backwards. Sparks flew in all directions, then abruptly dissipated as the crawler's contorted, hairy body lay motionless for a few seconds before disintegrating into dust.

"You'll be fine," Aiden said dismissively as Trevor sunk to the ground, panting heavily while clutching at his heart. "It's a level three, the crawlers here shouldn't be too difficult to deal with. As long as I'm around, you won't get hurt. Now c'mon, we can't waste time here!"

The duo traversed the giant maze of a forest, passing through vast walls of trees and thorny vines making up its thick, impassable walls. From time to time, the occasional crawler jumping out from an overhead tree, or a patch of tall grass or shrubbery would elicit a terrified response from Trevor, only for Aiden to take them out in a matter of seconds. "Wouldja please stop screaming at everything?" Aiden grumbled as she punted a third Rattata crawler into an overhead tree, her voice tinged with annoyance, "It isn't exactly doing us many favors with trying to be stealthy." Trevor put both paws up to his mouth, his face turning a bright shade of red as he turned his gaze downwards in shame.

Despite Aiden's initial confidence, the pair found themselves making little progress as they rushed onwards, attempting to traverse the labyrinthian jungle. After walking for what seemed like hours, the flag Apollo had mentioned was nowhere to be found as the pair steadily became more lost as time passed. Aiden, in turn, found herself becoming increasingly irate. "Where's that flag? She began muttering, violently tugging on her ears. "Why does this have to be so difficult?" The angrier she became, the more her pace quickened, causing Trevor to struggle in trying to keep up.

"We need to go left," Trevor muttered suddenly as the pair came across a familiar split road.

"Huh?" Aiden stopped and abruptly turned to face him, her eyes twitching in barely-suppressed anger.

"We've been here before - we've passed that rock over there twice now." Trevor pointed to a jagged, moss-covered rock, its tip chipped off and pointing northwest. "Every time we take the right path in this crossroad, we end up making backwards progress. So, let's try going left."

Aiden stared into Trevor for more than a few seconds, causing him to divert his gaze towards his feet.

"Please." Trevor added tentatively.

The two remained still and silent for what seemed to Trevor like an eternity before Aiden gave a brisk nod. "Fine, whatever," she muttered indignantly before briskly storming through the left path, leaving Trevor to sheepishly follow her.

-

As the pair finally began to close in towards the dungeon's middle point, Oro remained stationed near the entrance while relaying information in a monotone voice. Apollo listened calmly while laying nearby, his human-like hands locked behind his head. "Looks like Team Spirit finally learned to pay attention," Oro stated flatly, "They're nearing the flag right now, and it looks like the crawlers aren't too tough for them. The Meowth keeps screaming for some reason, though."

Apollo chuckled lightly, "It's just test nerves. Looks like we have a pair of future explorers on our hands!"

"Wait, what?!" Oro's brow creased as her already massive, pearly eyes narrowed in confusion. "How could this be?"

"What's wrong?" Apollo pulled his body up to a sitting position with a strained grunt.

"I'm receiving word that three unidentified Pokémon have entered the dungeon."

"Impossible! We have the area secured, there's no way that anyone could have entered!"

"I'm being told," Oro said as she put a paw to her temple, "That all of our guards has been rendered unconscious. There's no sign of any battle, it's as if he was put to sleep on the spot."

"Put to sleep..." Apollo whispered, an expression of horrible realization seeping across his face as he swiftly jumped to his feet. "Oh no. No, it can't be! After so long!?" He frantically grabbed Oro's shoulders. "Can you contact Team Spirit right now? Tell them to get out of there!"

"I can't. It looks like their badges have been intercepted by another psychic force. I can't hear them, much communicate with them. Though that's rather odd. Even for other psychic types, channeling one's psychic waves to intercept the extrasensory link of a badge takes precise skill and a fair amount of prior experience. Most psychic types, even really powerful ones, shouldn't be able to do so."

"That's because the Pokémon in there aren't any ordinary miscreants!" Apollo rushed in front of Oro's, his relaxed demeanor having completely disintegrated from panic. "I'm going back into the dungeon to try and find Team Spirit. In the meantime, contact the sheriff of Sunrise Town and have him organize a task force as fast as possible! If the other Pokémon in there reaches our future explorers, then...they may never be able to explore again!"