October 30th, 2025
Floor 10
Everyone, excluding myself, waited outside the large doors that led into the tenth floor's dungeon boss—the first unknown boss to beta testers. With the usual 30ish Pokémon together, though in a somewhat smaller amount than the past couple floors, everyone was ready to attack the mystery boss.
At the doors' very base, the green insect, Scyther, and steel-based bird, Skarmory, were glaring at each other with a very intense power struggle. They muttered phrases under their breaths and came up with their own version of how the battle should be fought. However, the ultimate leader in this fight was Monferno of "The Frontliners," a new guild starring the very first person I helped when the game started. What began as a timid monkey turned out to be the making of a hardened warrior; the concept seemed strangely poetic to me, though I found almost everything terribly depressing at the time.
The Frontliners had fewer battles than either of their teams; the Golden Warriors and Flying Fighters had the same amount of players. Monferno's group had his mere party of six, however their synergy was enough to take a chunk out of the other teams. Monferno didn't let the numbers dictate who really held the power though, because he quickly raised a furry orange arm into the air.
"We need tranquility, not differing opinions! How are we supposed to defeat the floor boss when you can't even decide who is covering what flank? It's pathetic. While you two attempt to patch things up, I'd like to call out names and make sure everyone is here."
The two veteran commanders became embarrassed and quickly set their hatred aside. Monferno got a list of names out and began calling for people. After learning everyone from the three main guilds was present, he started on the solo players. My own group would have been dispersed into the "solo" group, however Fletchinder joined the Flying Fighters and Shieldon sided by Scyther and the Golden Warriors.
Monferno called out the solo players. Buizel, Buneary, Cubone, Dewott…the list kept going. Budew was not included because she quit battling in the raid parties altogether, but otherwise everyone was present. Everyone except me.
Monferno had shakily read my name, reluctance obviously in his voice. Buneary had told me about it later. Buizel, too, had skipped the dungeon just before, but he was present for this one. He stayed alone, no friends nearby for comfort or even regular support. He isolated himself from everyone, not just me.
"Riolu is still missing?" Buneary whispered. "Is he okay?"
"I haven't seen him since the ninth floor," Monferno said.
The raid party mumbled and murmured, however one voice was much louder than the rest—Fletchinder's. The bird had evolved in Skarmory's care and even advertised his training abilities because of it. He was just a few experience points away when he was with me. I was the reason Fletchinder was even a contender in the raid battles.
"Riolu is beta scum," he yelled.
Buneary raised an eyebrow and pushed several Pokémon around to get to the annoying bird. She looked him straight in the eyes and gave her best attempt at intimidation.
"Oh, really? I seem to remember you also being a beta tester. All six of you were, and there was nothing bad about that. You helped us all the way here with very few problems. What's wrong with that?"
Fletchinder spat right at her. "I only have natural moves in my arsenal—I have Ember, Peck, Agility, and Quick Attack. You have no proof that I was a beta tester."
Buneary stepped back in surprise. "You had Tailwind in the first boss battle!"
"I don't seem to recall having that egg move. Does anyone else? Does anyone have message logs for proof? If no one is willing to speak up, and you also have no proof, then you may as well give up. You can't prove anything," Fletchinder smirked, looking backward at the others.
Many Pokémon mumbled, but none of them stood up for Buneary. Shieldon shrunk behind his guild members and Buizel didn't move to say a word. I felt empty inside knowing that Buizel wouldn't even vouch for our past and prove our innocence in any wrongdoing. To think that he would just let it go like that…
"Budew, Buizel, and Riolu used their beta knowledge and egg moves for battles and quests. They were selfish. Riolu has won six of the past nine boss bonuses. You, Buneary, won one of them, Buizel did, and Scyther did. Seven out of nine last attack bonuses went to the beta testers. Budew quit battling altogether and Buizel is an emotional train wreck. Neither of them are battle fit anymore, so Riolu is the only real threat to us. Beta testers like him should be condemned to fighting on the lower floors!"
A few Pokémon cheered awkwardly, but they could tell the hostility wasn't over by a long shot. Buneary glared at Fletchinder so hard that it was almost like she had learned the move herself. The two stared each other down while everyone else merely watched in a large ring of spectators.
"I wanted to be an Aerodactyl," Fletchinder shouted aloud. "I didn't want to be a dumb old Fletchling, but that's what I got!"
Fletchling had chosen his Pokémon so he could get the Gale Wings priority boost on Roost and Brave Bird. He was a complete sham in trying to procure such a despicable trust with the others based on falsehoods and generalizations.
"I…I did want to be a Nincada," Geodude muttered.
"And I wanted to be a Riolu," Scyther admitted.
Suddenly, mutters of agreement filled the room. Many others agreed with the popularity of Riolu that, when I heard the news, I was suddenly guilt-ridden by choosing my first pick. Was it unfair? Was it rude that I let my own selfish know-it-all tendencies to guide my own choices? Is that what made my friends leave in the first place?
"I wanted an egg move," Skarmory announced. "Stealth Rock. But since my application wasn't hand-picked in the beginning, I got a metal bird with only a part of its competitive viability."
"I wanted Roost," Staravia agreed.
Many Pokémon were starting to get angry at the beta testers. Our applications were picked for separate reasons, reasons beyond my own knowledge. It wasn't fair to blame the entirety of the unfairness on the beta testers when they were just using what was given to them. Perhaps True Reality wished to see such a turn of opinion change on a pivot floor like this.
Buneary went over to Buizel and looked meaningfully into his sullen eyes. They were full of dullness; the life that once filled them, the goofy clumsiness and terribly hilarious storytelling were gone. The eyes of a warrior were now the holes of a decaying corpse. While Buizel was still fighting fit, he wasn't the same in his mind.
"Aren't you going to take up for him? He's your best friend!" Buneary pleaded.
The orange sea otter scratched at his flotations ac and shook his head. He looked around at the foggy forest and glanced back up at the giant wooden doors. They seemed ominous in such an unsettling situation; they foretold what kind of mischief everyone would get involved in after this floor. Floor 10 started a new story, a new progression in what was to become the ultimate fight of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Online.
"I can't believe you. Especially you, Buizel. He offered knowledge and tactics and everything! Scyther, he saved your life on floor one. Buizel, he saved yours more than you give him credit for, yet you'll gladly blame him on your sister's death? Do you really want to lose your friends, too?" she shouted at his ear, though he showed no resultant cognition.
Buneary panicked and kept looking from Monferno to Scyther, and sometimes to Skarmory. Scyther looked away at the mention of his name and Monferno trembled at the thought of his idol being subjected to such infamy. However, he still said nothing. Buneary was the only one taking up for me.
Fletchinder, sensing the awkward tension of indecision rising in the air, spoke up. "His knowledge is useless now. This is our time to shine. Let's show him—and the other beta testers—who knows how to play this game! Beta testers just want all the glory, but now it's ours!"
Eventually, everyone agreed, and Buneary's head fell in defeat as they rallied to fight the next boss. A few people put a paw on Buneary's shoulder, however most paid attention to the residing leaders of the raid party. Monferno, Scyther, and Skarmory stood up. The Fire-, Bug-, and Steel- typed guild leaders were all upset by the overall attitude everyone seemed to suggest, however they opened the doors anyway to reveal the mystery boss on this tenth floor.
The doors creaked open as they slammed against either side of the wall. Everyone peeked in to see a rather unusual situation: a battle was already in progress. The torches were already lit along the wall and the sound of battling could be heard from the middle of the room. Buneary bounced to see who was in the room and shrieked when she learned who: me.
"We're the only raid party," Scyther whispered.
"That's not a raid party," Monferno said with admiration. "That's Riolu."
. . .
When I had opened the doors—and closed them—a few moments before they'd arrived, I saw a small purple blob gooped up in the middle of the room. I poked at it and two eyes sprang forward. I immediately recognized the Pokémon was a ditto, but it seemed out of place as a boss on the tenth floor…we're already one-fifth of the way through PMD:O and we had a Ditto this far in the game?
When I had touched the Pokémon, its body vibrated in a jellylike consistency, but it quickly morphed into a purple version of my body. As if a paint bucket was dumped over the Ditto's head, the coloration my VR sprite possessed poured over the figure and turned it completely into myself.
It was like looking a mirror, though with a slightly goofier, fun-house type side effect to the situation. Anyway, seeing myself in a time like this was devastating. It was like looking at the man that killed your family. I looked in his hollow eyes and they stared blankly back into mine. Were they really that two-dimensional? Could my goal really be described by my physical appearance?
You might have wondered at this point why I would even attack a boss alone. Wouldn't I want to team up with someone who was willing to work with the sister murderer? No, my reputation was tarnished completely. Wouldn't I try to rekindle things with Buizel? I couldn't show my face around him. Buneary? Same problem. I was nothing, and so I felt like if I was going to survive in this game, I needed to prove to myself that I was something. I would attack this boss by myself and if I survived, then I kept living. If I didn't, then my guilt would disappear as my avatar was destroyed. I almost wished the second option was the more viable one, however there was something in me that wouldn't let Fletchinder win.
I couldn't let him win, I couldn't let Sableye win. What would they think if I just died? Would they care? Would Buizel? With all my attention suddenly reversed completely, I felt like I was dead weight to the group…or maybe to myself. I wasn't completely sure. It was the sort of cheesy moment that someone said an action must be done by himself, and I at least understood that.
Anyway, I battled as if my life were at stake, but even more so than usual. I had watched the Riolu Fake morph, but at this point it was ready to attack. I dodged a Quick Attack and quickly used Force Palm on the up-close Pokémon. It was knocked back and suffered a decent chunk of HP. I kicked off the ground and started running up the wall in a Quick Attack motion so I could chisel away at the HP bar. Ditto sustained more damage, but he used a Force Palm as I came in close. The attack left me almost completely paralyzed. Only the upper half of my body could move, and it stung whenever I tried to resist the status. I luckily managed to rummage in my back to find the item I was looking for.
While I used a Cheri Berry to heal up, and eventually an Oran Berry when I had the chance, I was forced to take more damage. When I could move again, I dodged a Force Palm by rolling over, but I got slammed with a Quick Attack three times in a row. I stumbled over and allowed a fourth one to overcome me. Soon enough, the paralysis started to wear off. I could move a foot, then a leg, and as I noticed another attack coming my way, my whole body.
I jumped to my feet, but my HP was already very low at this point. I was breathing heavily and the Ditto hadn't sustained enough damage to even attempt calling the battle a tie right now. I used Quick Attack to do more damage but had to just barely dodge a Force Palm. I grabbed the arm that Ditto used and rammed it into the ground. He jumped in a Quick Attack and smacked his head on my face, causing me to fall back in pain. I dodged another Force Palm and attacked with one of my own. We were both low in HP, and I had somehow managed to bring his bar down into the same amount of yellow that I had.
I ate another Oran Berry in exchange for suffering a priority move's damage during my cool-down period. Once I healed up most of the way, I noticed a strange look in the eyes of the Riolu clone: dread. It was the same dread that had beset me not to long ago. It was terrifying to see my own internal destruction. I felt like I was looking in the eyes of a murderer.
He used Force Palm straight away and I countered with a Force Palm of my own, causing a super-energized high five that knocked us both back. I used Quick Attack and slid against the Riolu's torso, knocking him farther. A white light followed me in my movements.
Defeating this boss alone wouldn't help me with my emotional distress, but it could help with my confidence and will to survive. Perhaps beating myself would knock the hate out of me. I wasn't sure, but I could at least try to move on to the next floor. I snapped out of my thoughts just in time to dodge another incoming attack, this time a Bullet Punch. That egg move was a waste of time, to be honest. I didn't have a need for it. I dodged the attack and punched the Riolu in the stomach. Besides, ignoring my egg move might be the smarter approach when I could hear Fletchinder say something about beta testers from the outside.
It was at this time that the doors opened. I didn't look over there, but I could feel everyone watching me in awe. I kept moving. I dodged a Quick Attack kick and grabbed the Riolu's leg, but he used his other leg to kick me in the face. I staggered and threw the Pokémon down against the hard floor of stone. My HP was getting close to the red at this point, but so was the boss's. I got on top of the body and used Force Palm to deal more damage, but he quickly jumped back up and slammed me with another of the priority moves.
I heard a shriek from the gaping hole in the dungeon. "Riolu, stop!" Buneary screamed.
I dodged the Pokémon's last Quick Attack and grabbed the collar around his neck. I held him up in the air, the innocent-looking but deservedly-guilty expression just watching me, and I threw him to the ground once more. I was badly scratched up. I felt savage, maybe insane. I was gasping for air, but I kept going with my momentum. I gave one last acknowledgment to the helpless Riolu, trapped in a world such as this, and got my Face Palm ready. My hand started glowing white. Small currents of static ran around my hand.
A tear ran down my face as I put my palm against the detained Ditto. It turned back into a purple blob and quickly shattered into a million pieces of worthlessness. It was like breaking my mirror image. Distorting the water's reflection. I had killed myself, in a sense. I was on my knees, but I had to push against the floor with my hands so I wouldn't fall face-first when the body disappeared. I stayed in that position, huffing, and felt the sweat and tears dripping down.
"Congratulations!" a screen appeared at the top. It was the same pointless message every time. I got another Last Attack bonus, a Silk Scarf. I had no use for it, but I kept it anyway. Maybe I'd find a Normal-type that would want it, or maybe I would keep it for the sake of collecting all the bonuses.
Everyone in the doorway started to pour in. I imagined they wanted to make sure what just happened was real. I walked to the large stairway without looking back. I didn't glance at Buizel. I was too ashamed. I had let him down more than I ever could have imagined. I wasn't ready to see him again, not like this. I couldn't handle it.
I felt like I should move on. I got my point across. I staggered to the stairs and fell at their base. I heard running in the dungeon and looked to see who'd bother to help a murderer, a beta tester, a waste of data like me.
It was Buneary. She grabbed a berry from her bag and told me to eat it. Apparently I was paralyzed slightly, though I hadn't noticed the icon before. No wonder I was struggling. She healed up my wounds while everyone else kept looking at the spot the dungeon boss had fallen.
I looked at the ground and at my hand. I was paralyzed—because I killed the life I was building so perfectly. I was stuck. Literally. I closed my eyes and shut them until my eyelids could almost bleed. I screamed out in pain, emotional pain, and tried to keep walking. I fell again on the third step. I moved my hands and pathetically tried crawling up the stairs. I didn't want help. I didn't want pity, or congratulations, or happiness. I just wanted to be left alone so I could clear this game myself.
I screamed again. Had I just murdered my own innocence? Was there a way to turn back now? Just a floor ago, I had it made. I was with the perfect guild working as a perfect team on perfect missions. My own quest caused my best friend to lose his sister. It was my fault, and now I've just severed any connection with bringing that back. I gulped.
"Riolu," Buneary said quietly.
"I need to keep going," I struggled to say.
"Just stop it," she whispered. "Stop hurting yourself."
I didn't understand what she was saying. I opened my eyes to see that I was using Force Palm on my own arm. I was damaging myself. My HP bar slowly plummeted and I realized I was killing myself in front of everyone. I quickly gasped and let go of my arm. My HP stopped in the yellow once more. I looked at Buneary, who had tears about to stream down her face, and turned to see everyone else.
They all were dead silent. No one, not even Fletchinder, could describe the scene that had witnessed. I wasn't sure whether they thought the spectacle was beautifully human or disgustingly inhumane. In the back of the crowd, I saw Buizel. He wouldn't even look me in the eyes.
. . .
Floor 11
The restaurant music playing was admittedly catchy. I caught myself trying to learn its tune as I entered the building and sat at a table. Floor eleven was known for its factories—the town was named Facton as a result. It was created as the major production center for material goods, include edible items. Buneary thought it would be a good idea for me to get something to eat, so she took me to the most expensive restaurant on the floor: the Gummi Emporium.
We entered the building, a two-story diner with outside seats and umbrellas and everything. I was impressed by the detail. We entered the glass doors and an audible bell sound came about. The restaurant was completely empty since we were the first ones on the floor. Sure, it was about an hour after the portal was opened, but most people were looking for houses or the many item shops. Not many people could afford to just buy so many gummis as a meal. The most convenient way would be to find them in the dungeons.
The time on my menu clock said 7:59 PM. She told me to come before her since she knew I would be late. She was supposed to arrive in exactly one minute. The NPC waitress, an Audino, asked for my drink of choice, but I told her I needed more time to think it over. I've told her that same message four times. I felt sort of bad, but I partially forgot the fact that she only understood my command, not the irritating displeasure behind it. My clock ticked once to 8 at night and I heard the door open.
I turned around in my seat to see Buneary step in. She was wearing a small vest, obviously a distraction in battle, and a bow in one of her cotton balls that laid on her ears. I was wearing nothing special. Technically, I was wearing nothing at all. I was just my natural avatar.
Buneary stood at the table and waited a second. I took the hint and stumbled out of the chair, falling over and attempting to grab at the top of the table, and landed with a thud. I got up and pushed Buneary's chair back for her. She sat in it and brought it in herself. I quickly went back to my seat and acted professional and intelligent.
"Hey, Riolu, how are you feeling?"
I was quickly struck with grief. This couldn't be her attempt to get me back into a good mood, right? I was trying to be nice, but I wasn't going to skip along and slay enemies like I used to. It's not the same as before.
I ultimately didn't answer. The waitress gave us our item menus for the drinks. We both pressed the translucent button on the screen that read "water." After that, the food menu popped up. I clicked the button that let me wait a minute to decide and began scrolling through the list. As I looked over the menu, I noticed there weren't any prices by the item names. That wasn't a good sign. I mean, yeah, I wasn't broke or even ranked among the middle class. I had some dough. The issue was that I didn't want to lose it.
Meanwhile, the waters were created in front of our eyes. First, the schematics for the item was projected in green outline, but the glass resemblance was eventually colored in and the water was filled after that. Watching the items appear like that was always cool, but I wasn't in the mood to appreciate much.
"I'll take the White Gummi Plate," Buneary announced as she laid her red menu down. She scrolled through the food list and clicked the food she had decided out loud. Grinning, she watched the food appear in front of her own eyes.
I chose the Orange Gummi Plate and had an identical reaction. However, I still hadn't spoken during the meal. The Audino walked away and Buneary looked me in the face as she ate. I felt a cold stare go right through my soul. I felt like an open book.
"So my first team skill is apparently Last-Minute. Do you know what that does?" she asked.
I grabbed a small gummi from my plate and plopped it into my mouth. I didn't want to answer.
"It means my evasion goes up when my HP is low. What do you have?"
I still kept my mouth shut. My mind wandered to Buizel. We both dreamt of the possibilities of team skills making us unstoppable machines. When, in the beta, my first skill had something to do with item finding and not offense, I was devastated. Now, though, I at least had the Intimidation skill. I caused flinching just by looking.
"Yeah, that's cool…" Buneary frowned. "You know, I'm doing this for you. You need some sort of relief from all the grief going on."
I looked at my plate once more. I connected the gummis to macaroni noodles, however these were limp and cheese-less. I picked up a gummi again and ate it, though I wasn't satisfied by its taste. Something was off about it, or maybe something was off about me. I couldn't tell; I had been so emotional the past day or two that everything just seems wrong.
"What was it like beating that boss all by yourself?"
I shrugged. She stared blankly at my distasteful reactions and I felt like every shrug or head movement stung her a little bit. I felt bad for the girl; she was only trying to make me feel better. She just wanted be back on the front lines so I could hunt for spawns, item drops, and the boss room.
"You know, I'm on your side. I know you did nothing. Fletchinder can yap all he wants to—he says he's not a beta tester? Ha! He was bragging to me about how he chose his ability and had new priority and blah, blah, blah," Buneary said loudly.
I looked around to see if anyone was awkwardly staring at the scene she was making, but then I remembered the whole restaurant was empty. I felt better about the embarrassment, however her yelling still made me flinch. Maybe she had Intimidation.
"I'm not going to follow his rebellion. Beta testers have helped us come this far, so I don't know why he's making a big deal out of everything. It doesn't make sense."
I wanted to tell her that it did make sense, that I understood what he was doing: he was trying to cast the blame of their hardships, their unfamiliarity, on us, and specifically on me. So many newcomers died those first few days because they didn't know where to go for items or experience traps. We veterans tackled all the best places and tactics so that we could have a lead on the game. In the end, we decided to help everyone when Arceus had explained how we're trapped, but that gap in knowledge made many fall short of becoming warriors, and some lost their lives. The people who suffered from emotional pain needed a medium to hate on, to let their anger out on. Fletchinder made that be us. He stabbed his own minority in the back just so he could remain in good ranks with the Flying Fighters.
Buneary went into her inventory menu and selected some button. I figured out soon enough when a bottle of honey materialized by her side. The bunny lathered her gummis with the honey and got a fork on her side. She dug into the plate like it was a bunch of baked beans and soon stopped when she saw me barely eating.
"Here," she said, smoothing some honey out on top of my orange gummis. "I got this honey from a nice Combee on floor three. I helped him out and, in exchange, voila! How is it?"
I tasted the honey and immediately felt a sensation that brought me back home. My mother used to make these wonderful sandwiches with just a twinge of honey lathered in. While I played video games and ate mine, my sister would always take them all to her room. I never really thanked her for the honey taste even though that extra flavor made the sandwiches much more tasteful. I should have thanked her for the honey, however I just nodded silently and kept eating.
"You should go on a quest later," she suggested while she played with the last few gummis on her plate. "It might help out on your stress. I can go with you…but you should probably go alone to find yourself," Buneary added at the last minute. "It might do you some good."
The honey taste was still on my mind. She was talking about my well-being, but I couldn't resist but ask: "Where did you get that honey from again?"
Buneary gritted her teeth and slapped me on the left cheek. I stumbled out of my chair and quickly balanced myself on its seat. I got up, a red circle mark now on my face, and rubbed the bruising area in pain. It quickly faded, however, since we were in a town.
"Were you even listening to me?!" she screamed, her face turning red. "Riolu, I swear—I have never known anyone so annoying!"
She stopped ranting and eventually copied my actions and finished eating. My face seemed to almost still hurt, but I knew it was my imagination. Somewhere deep down, that slap felt wonderful.
"Buneary," I eventually said.
Hearing me speak again startled her. She coughed and nearly choked on a gummi.
"What?"
I put my paws on the table and leaned in close. I glanced around to see if anyone was watching. I looked her dead in the eyes and put on my most serious expression.
"There is a greater evil at work here. Fletchinder isn't the problem. Let me know if you find something suspicious, okay?"
Buneary stood up to leave. She nodded her head and began to turn away from me, however I quickly grabbed her right wrist before she could leave me.
"Oh, and Buneary…" I said in a lower tone.
She turned her head back towards me. Our eyes met. My heart was beginning to beat faster. I could feel myself grow warm because of the computer-programmed eyes staring back at me. There was emotion in those eyes. Was it possible to capture such a humane concept in a device of technology?
"Just—thanks," I finally said in a hushed voice.
She smiled understandingly and blinked for one long second. I felt the need to say something else.
"Do me a favor and join a good guild. Get in with some people that will protect you. Stay in large numbers. Don't let yourself get carried away with loners like me. Work your way up in the guilds while you still have a reputation," I told her.
She began to protest about the protection part, but she paused and slowly nodded. "I will, thanks."
Buneary went towards the door as the waitress came to inform me of the total. The rabbit put a hand on the doorknob as the check was being announced.
"Wait!" I called. "You didn't pay for your meal!"
Buneary opened the door, causing the bell to ring. She smiled at me again and winked hard. "Thanks for the gummis, Rio! Waitress, put my bill with that nice fellow—the dog in blue!"
With that, I made a disgusted face as she ran out the door and into the streets of Facton. The bill popped up on my screen and I screeched upon seeing the price.
"5,000 Poké for a plate of gummis?!"
However, with Buneary's bill added on, that quantity immediately had a small "2x" next to it. I had to give 10,000 Poké for some IQ points.
"You women are all the same!" I barked. "Treat a guy to a dinner and make him pay ten thousand for some gummis! Well you know what? I don't need your gummis!"
The whole time, I couldn't help but smile.
. . .
After the dinner meeting with my friend and warrior companion, I did end up doing a quest to see if it improved my mood. Floor 11's dungeon was actually factory-based as well. Machines that couldn't be messed with, as they were purely for decoration, ran in the background. Electric- and Steel-type Pokémon were running amok within the dungeon's interior.
The quest actually came along during a stroll through the dungeon. The NPC I had found on floor 15 of the factory wanted to return home, so I let the NPC Pichu use an Escape Orb and we both beamed to the edge of town. It was then that he realized he left an item somewhere on one of the lower floors. I had to return to the dungeon and climb all the way back to the twelfth floor just to find the Plain Seed my customer had wanted.
When I picked up the seed and stashed it in my inventory, I heard the clanging of a nearby battle. I told the menu that I wanted to remain in the dungeon, which was fine since I had another orb with me. I ran through, defeating Pikachu and Magnemite, to find the source of the noise.
I run through another hallway and struggled to see due to the dim lighting of the factory and my limited vision in the game. I made it to a large room and saw five Pokémon. Two of them had the green friendly cursors, but the other three were spawned monsters. I debated on whether or not to help them; they could hate me with a passion, but when I heard their desperate need for help, I couldn't resist.
I used Force Palm on a Magnemite coming their way. I didn't want them to be swarmed with more angry monsters. I killed an Electrike as well. Once I made it to the five, I was able to put names to them. There was a Cubone, a Dewott, two spawned Magnemite, and a refrigerator. Wait…a fridge?
Cubone finally used Bonemerang to hit Magnemite, knocking it down to its Sturdy ability. The bone he threw went flying away, but it eventually came back and knocked the Magnemite clean out. Cubone jumped up, grabbed the bone, and landed powerfully on the ground. The Pokémon was peculiar; its tan body was offset by the large skull sitting on its shoulders. I knew the stories about the Pokémon, but if they were randomly generated, possibly to suit one's personality or abilities, what does that mean for this Cubone?
Dewott was more of an otter, somewhat like the sea weasel friend I used to have. He looked much more ninja-like, though. His light blue skin had a darker blue fur sitting on its legs. In that fur, there were two scalchops. Dewott grabbed one of them and zipped up to the Magnemite despite his type advantage. He used Razor Shell, slicing its HP bar into the red with a critical hit, and landed to the left of the enemy. Magnemite's defense stat fell, causing a blue rain-like animation to come over him.
In return, Magnemite used Thunder Wave. It unleashed a wave of electricity that hit and paralyzed Dewott from the back. Cubone rammed it with a Bone Club attack, slamming his bone down on the creature, and it exploded. I watched in awe as the two quickly tried to recover from the fight.
They didn't see the Rotom-Frost sitting behind them. The Pokémon had opened its refrigerator doors, the purple electric outline spreading around its machine, and started giggling. It used a strong Blizzard attack that brought Cubone into the red and Dewott dangerously close. They both fell over, but Dewott's leg was now frozen in a thick chunk of ice. His mobility was gone and Cubone couldn't attack a Pokémon with Levitate. I didn't even know Rotom could spawn here.
I jumped in and used Force Palm on the strong Pokémon, making it focus on me. Cubone and Dewott watched as I dodged a Blizzard attack and hit it with a Quick Attack, though the attack didn't do enough to knock it into the red. It was still sitting in the yellow.
I started running toward the refrigerator so I could Force Palm it again, but it used Charge Beam to deplete my HP by a significant chunk. Its Special Attack stat rose, the rain effect reversing. I landed my Force Palm, but a sliver of its health was still stuck. This Pokémon's defense was amazing.
I dodged another Charge Beam, and then a Blizzard, and rolled on the ground to avoid any other attacks, but I need a priority attack that would hit hard enough. I hated using this move, and I'm going to replace it to conceal my beta tester background, but I figured it was worth it to save these two Pokémon.
I started running to the Rotom-Frost. Its refrigerator doors opened—it was planning to finish me off with Blizzard. It sucked in air and began cooling it down. I knew I needed to hurry. I ran even faster. I could feel my fists both turn metallic and heavy. The Blizzard was about to come. I ducked down and slammed the Pokémon with an iron fist that knocked it into shards and gave the three of us decent experience. When the match was done, my hands turned regular again and I slumped to the ground to get an Oran Berry to eat.
I healed up and realized Cubone and Dewott were still watching me.
"How did you do that?" Cubone asked.
"That Rotom must have been one of those rare spawns," Dewott told us.
I nodded. I knew from the early floors that there was a small chance of a rarer, harder-to-beat Pokémon showing up. On floor one, it was only a Metapod, but here it was apparently a Rotom form.
"Are you okay?" I asked the two Pokémon.
I gave both an Oran Berry and offered Dewott a Heal Seed. They ate up to recover health and sat down in an attempted triangle-shape. I felt obligated to finish the triangle, so I sat down with them for just a minute.
"What level are you?" Cubone wondered.
I looked in my menu and discovered I was already at level 23. I had been fighting all day and so I guessed that Rotom helped me level up. They both seem impressed by the number and begin to describe their own experiences.
"We're both at level 21," Dewott explained. "We both wanted to catch up to the ground and get an LA one day, so we temporarily partnered up. Don't think we're buddies running together in a mystery dungeon; it's not like that. We usually go it alone."
I couldn't help but chuckle and Dewott's attempt to impress me. "Trust me, being with a partner isn't a bad idea in this game. My team…" I stopped.
They both nodded. "We know who you are. Fletchinder may have the guilds convinced, but most of the solos in the raid aren't mad."
I knew they were familiar! Both Pokémon were frequent frontline battlers. They were in the last raid, so they must have seen me attack that Ditto on my own earlier. I hoped they would dodge the attempt in interviewing me, and I was relieved when they did.
"Well," I began, "I should probably get back into town. I was just doing a quest."
Cubone got to his feet and shook his head. "Please, Riolu, accompany us to the twentieth floor. That's the rest stop area—once we get there, everyone can get there. We're the only ones in the dungeon right now because all the guilds are sleeping. We want to make it that far so we can beat the boss in a few days."
Floor 20 was only eight away, so I agreed to go with them for a little while longer. This was the first time I had actually initiated a conversation in I don't know when. I couldn't exactly get one out for Buneary, but these guys somehow remind me of myself or something.
. . .
Floor 18 felt like the one hundredth by the time we got to it. There were so many Magnemite floating around that I was using Max Elixirs like crazy. Once we got up there, I spotted a yellow gummi and ate it. Despite the fact that I ate a million of my favorite gummis not too long ago, this one apparently gave me just the points I needed to upgrade to a new Team Skill—"Danger Seeking." The special skill was described as a Monster House locator. This would have come in handy back with my other friends, with Whismur and Buizel, but I was at least happy to have a detection for them now.
We climbed the marble stairs up to the nineteenth floor and my skill started flashing an MH sign on my menu. It was supposed to be in a large room to our right. I told my companions and, after they asked me how I knew and everything, we managed to dodge the Monster House. We could probably take them all on with just the three of us, but we just wanted to go up one more floor.
I wished so badly to peek in and see what kind of experience I could be getting. I told them I'd be right back and went to the edge of the room. I just needed to enter the short hallway, look in, and run from the spawned creatures.
When I peeked at the hallway's darkness, I saw the silhouette of a Pokémon—a Sableye. I rubbed my eyes and it was gone. Had I imagined it? I couldn't tell. Whatever the case, my adrenaline was pumping and I busted my way into the Monster House.
"Riolu?!" Cubone called. "What are you doing?"
Dewott started behind me and caught up to join me in the Monster House room. Cubone reluctantly lagged behind. We could hear his worried whispering as we walked in.
Sableye was nowhere to be seen, but eight Electrike spawned right in front of me. I told the other two to go back, to retreat, but they stayed by my side. I was sort of happy, but I didn't want them to be put in danger. Cubone and I KO'd the Pokémon while Dewott ran around to collect items. Many Electric attacks shot at Dewott, but Cubone stretched his bone to absorb the attack and cause the electricity to run though him and go into the ground. I jumped on Cubone's head with one foot and used it to boost myself into the air to knock out the last remaining Electrike with a strong Quick Attack.
When we were done, we were all huffing and coughing. The room wasn't hard, but it wasted our energy. Luckily, the steps ended up being in this room, so I wasn't completely crazy for going in. Still, though, Dewott and Cubone looked at me with suspicion. I didn't know if they were mad or concerned, but I imagined a mixture of both.
"What's wrong with you? Are you nuts?" Cubone squealed.
"No," I said. "I thought I saw someone…someone who's been harassing me this whole game."
"Harassing you?" Dewott repeated questioningly. He glanced at Cubone and focused back on me. "Explain."
"Well, back in the beta test, this Sableye tortured us, us being Fighting-types, for the fun of it. I asked Combusken about a stalker and she said a Sableye asked about me back on the earlier floors. I've been seeing his face and silhouette ever since. I'll admit that it has been driving me sorta crazy," I sighed.
Dewott nodded. "Cubone, we've seen something like this before."
My curiosity kicked in and I begged to be clued in on their inside conversation.
Cubone ushered us to start walking to the steps and continued the explanation. "It sounds to me like you're be iced."
I was confused. "Iced?"
"'Iced' is just an expression we made up. It means you're one of the victims of the Black Ice guild."
Dewott looked around for eavesdropping and then acted more secretive in his speaking. "It's known by a few for its mischief. We had a friend, a Pignite, that recently had a problem like that. A Lampent came from the shadows and absorbed Pignite's Normal-,Fire-, and Fighting-type moves. It was powerless and, well, he was killed by a Monster House a few days back. It's been rough without him, but we've pulled through.
I was shocked. This Black Ice guild has been targeting others as well? And, somehow, Sableye was connected to this guild. Perhaps he was its ringleader. I wasn't sure how to reply, but I thanked them for the information once we made it to the twentieth floor.
"Thanks," Cubone panted as we ran up the last step. "Thanks for helping us get here. This'll make the next boss battle happen quicker."
I nodded and went toward the green portal leading back to town. As I parted with my friends, Dewott grabbed my arm. I looked back to see both of them giving me an assuring smile.
"Wait! Riolu," Dewott said. "We don't believe in what they're all saying. You're not a bad person, beta or not. That doesn't make you a criminal.
Cubone agreed. "We're sorry about your party. You'll do better by yourself. Going solo provides fewer…distractions."
I knew he was right. Friendship, love, sympathy—all useless responsibilities hindering my full potential. I had lost my friends and I had to accept that. It's time to move on. I had to put my opinions, my own survival, above everything else. It wasn't about everyone surviving. That's already too late. I needed to move on.
I stepped into the portal, waved, and dematerialized from the dungeon. Cubone and Dewott kept looking at the portal as I disappeared. I wondered if they wanted me to come back.
Either way, the rest of the day was dull. I claimed my prize, which ended up being a Ring Target. Later that day, I sent a message to Combusken. There were two goals I had created myself. I would find the Black Ice guild members, and I would find Sableye. I had to find out why these people were toying with my emotions and mind. I had to find out why they chose me. And I wanted to find out now.