"Where's Team Tasty?" Boon wondered. Other than the campsite they left behind, there was no trace of the Exploration Team remaining. "You think they're out patrolling or something?" Or looking for us. "I'm thinking we can either stick around here and check what they got, or go straight to generator number three. There might be some good supplies to loot here, but it's up to you, man." I wave towards the various tents and the two of us begin our search. We enter each one, ransacking drawers, crates, footlockers, everything we can get our hands on. Their hay beds are spread apart by our search, yet I'm unable to find anything more than a couple of sticks and rocks. Who the hell would carry so many? There must be thirty stones in each tent! I return to the outside of camp where Boon hands me a sheet of paper. "This and a Luminous Orb were all I could find. I wonder if they took the Orb from the ceiling; it looks charged but you never know. Man, these things can blind a Pokémon for a good bit of time if used that way." He said. Luminous Orbs are flashbangs? Good to know. The paper is once again written in Footprint so I hand it back to my ally whom stares at me and begins reading.
"First time… something something… never something something… blah blah blah, blah bleh bloo bloo… Sunflower blah blah explore group tunnel find money…. Screaming blah blah-" Boon lowers the paper and raises a brow. "And then the rest of the entry is about the evils of Torchic Noodle soup or something. Dude, I told you my Footprint Rune is out of practice. The only reason I bothered learning it in the first place was because it sounded kind of cool at the time. Blame the Explorer from the future." No comment. "And whoever wrote this has terrible handwriting. None of them had hands so I guess it makes sense but still." The Pikachu packs the paper and tugs on his satchel's strap. "Come on, we'll get someone to translate it later." The Luminous Orbs along the ceiling cut on at that moment, although the light they provide is minimal. "Oh! Look at that!" Boon points out. "Nice! I guess they are running at half power. Let's fix that!"
East of the chamber with Team Tasty's camp is another room with exits in all compass directions. Each tunnel has a way for the track from the southern exit to snake through, and ultimately the northern tunnel immediately connects to the same room as the eastern exit, just in a spot a few meters further. We take this path regardless of its perceived redundancy.
"What's the story, overwatch?" An Explorer ahead asks. Boon and I press ourselves against the wall and out of sight.
"All clear! No sighting of either the Charmander or Pikachu!" Looks like another fight is going to happen. I peek around the corner and get a good feel of the room. In front of the two entrances are rocks and stalagmites, the entrance just below us has a minecart resting within the cluster of potential cover. Our entrance's track continues east (where a minecart is) but has the option to switch south and join the lower track roughly two quarters of the room away from us. There are two carts in that part of the track as it continues south, then sharply twists back east and finally returns to exit south out of a tunnel in the southeast corner. It creates a shape of an 'L' connecting to the top of a '7'. In the southwest corner is a Mystery Dungeon we need to avoid, and the northeast has an exit below and above a cliff. The cliff is accessible by a ramp facing north directly south of the first floor exit in that corner of the chamber. Two Explorers stand lookout on the cliff, directly below them are stacks of wooden crates encircled by metal barricades. It is by the ninety degree elbow of the metal sheets where an Explorer examines the boxes. The cliff, boxes, and cavern wall work with the 'L' of the track with two minecarts to box in an Exploration Team camp consisting of two metal barricades and three teepees. One Explorer stands in the elbow of the track bend while another waits in the center of camp. Between the carts a final Explorer stands guard. My ally and I return to the previous room where I draw a map in the sand and go over the plan.
"Okay, I think I got it." Boon nods. "It was a little hard to get with your stutter but we're far enough to plan this out with time." He repeats my instructions for final confirmation and the two of us go back to the next chamber through the same path as the first time. "Careful with the tail." Boon warns. This plan will require stealth for the beginning, but I'm certain I set up a path where my fire would not be a problem. "Okay," the Pikachu whispers. "Oddish is by the boxes, Burmy and Blitzle are in camp, Shroomish is in the southwest, Swinub and Snorunt are on the cliff. If those ice-type lookouts see us they can spray this whole room with a blizzard!" For the first step we dart behind a large rock closest to our entrance; this is where we will have to split up. "You got the Orb?" Boon checks. I hold it at eye level to let him know I do. "Alright, let's do this!" As I rush behind the minecart resting on the southern entrance's track Boon runs to another large rock south of the track. He keeps a trained gaze on me while waiting for me to signal the next move. Much like I would a grenade, I lob the Luminous Orb towards camp , watching it sail to its destination. Quickly I advert my eyes as to not be blinded by the resulting flash and move northeast behind a cluster of stalagmites— at that same moment Boon moves southeast behind a pile of his own.
"Agh! I can't see!" One of the Explorers yells. I take that as my cue to rush to Oddish while using Smokescreen on the walking root.
"Oh snap!" It shrieks as I close the distance. Without stopping for a moment I perform Ember on it and press my back along the northern crate barricade, sliding along its width ever closer to the cliff's ramp. Oddish meanwhile drops dead mutilated by fourth-degree burns. That's one. I can hear the shuffle of various Explorers rushing to combat positions and in a spurt of curiosity check above cover for a fleeting moment. The Explorer between the minecarts in front of camp—a zebra-like Pokémon with strong emphasis on the black—moved to the southern edge of the crates. The Explorer in the center of camp hides behind a barricade just north of the camp's center. I cannot get a good look at it but it appears to be some type of larvae with a coat of leaves. A green spotted mushroom Explorer with a face changes position from the southwest edge of camp to the side of the closest minecart.
"Snorunt! You got a Powder Snow ready?" The Zebra shouts to one of the lookouts.
"Yes! Where is he?" Snorunt yells back. Boon moves to the opposite side of the minecart where the mushroom is.
"Uh… Holy shit! He got Oddish! Try north barricade by the cart!"
"Moving!" Alright motherfucker, come at me. I'm ready for you. Snorunt is a triangular imp with a yellow cloak, and as it bounds down the hill with the intent to attack I rush up the hill and burn it alive with two rapid Embers. It tumbles the rest of the way lifelessly. That's two. The spotted mushroom is quickly dispatched with the use of multiple electric shocks (That's three) but Boon is forced back into cover behind the cart by the larvae Explorer announcing his position.
"They got Shroomish! There's another one at the southern carts!" The Explorer calls out. A brown lump of fur with pink nostrils is the last remaining lookout.
"Powder Snow!" It shouts shaking its nose. Fine blue powder comes from its nostrils spraying the mine in what must be a frigid mist. Sheesh, I can feel the temperature dropping and I'm not even in the Move's path.
"Agh! Cold cart! Cold cart!" Boon yelps. "Get that Swinub!" I shove the ice-type off the cliff and SmokeScreen it on its way down. "Thanks!" Boon fries the larvae covered in leaves and runs to its cover. That's four. I hop off the cliff and land on top of Swinub, immediately digging my glowing claws into its hide. That's five. Where's number six? The zebra is no longer at the crates—it must have moved at some point. Fucking shit, where is it? I refuse to have three Pokémon get loose looking for vengeance! Boon directs my attention to one of the tents by shooting electricity in its direction. "I missed!" He wails. "Browley! Blitzle's in there!"
We stand at either side of the tent's entrance and consider our options. There is only one way in, so it is fully possible for Blitzle to attempt picking us off as we enter. I hold up a hand for Boon to wait where he is and throw open the tent's entrance flap from my side. As expected a beam of electricity courses out of the entrance sparkling and crackling.
"You come in here and I will blow you!" The zebra shouts. "…Away!" This isn't going to work…
I rush into the adobe house and press my back against the wall. Shit shit shit shit shit. Bullets are already pounding into the building, chipping away at it bit by bit. If I stay here much longer my cover is going to be destroyed. I blind fire my CETME rifle out the doorframe but it doesn't make a bit of difference. From my knowledge the DER guys shooting at me are hiding in the brush. They have a beat on me but unfortunately I don't know exactly where they are hiding.
"Cover me! I'm moving up!" One of them shouts.
"Who the fuck are you to give me orders?" Another replies.
"Easy there… we're all friends here." Are they arguing? I look around the door and immediately am forced to pull my head back in by a bullet zipping past, breaking a piece of pottery within the building. I really need to find a back entrance or something to get out of here. Staying close to the floor I scamper to the only other room where I see a shelf with different nick-knacks along the wall and an open window large enough for me to climb out of. Judging by where DER's bullets are hitting the window should allow me to exit outside of their view. I check the shelf and spy my saving grace: a beer bottle filled with gasoline—A checkered cloth hangs from its opening. I grab the Molotov and climb out the window where I see the brush where DER is wraps around the house. From my position I can probably burn them alive without exposing myself if I throw the Molotov into the section of brush where they aren't. The resulting fire should spread quickly enough to them. With that plan in mind I switch on the fire at the end of my flamethrower and use it to light the bottle. In fact… better idea. I rush to the corner of the house and check the general area where I believe the rebels are currently located. They are still shooting the doorway, not having realized I changed positions yet. My Molotov soars to their direction and shatters a foot short of the brush… Well fuck.
"What was that!?"
"He's there! Behind the house!" Alright! First idea would have been fine! I spray flames into the brush nearest me and return to cover. As planned the fire spreads and within seconds I hear the screams of rebels roasting. I switch to my Colt. and pick off a total of five DER guys running out of the brush with their clothes ablaze.
What am I doing? I place my tail over the tent and wait for the fire to light the building. If Blitzle won't come out then I'll cook him. Seconds pass… nothing happens. Come on, light you stupid piece of shit. I wiggle the tail around to try to get more fire on the tent, yet the freaking thing refuses to spread. Is the fabric fireproof? I look to Boon who simply shrugs in mirrored confusion. This sucks, what am I supposed to do now? Suddenly my ally snaps his fingers and reaches into his satchel. He pulls out an Orb and winks at me.
"Sandy Orb out!" The Pikachu shouts and tosses the glass sphere into the tent. Immediately Blitzle barges out and is hit with a Thunder Wave. "Ha! That was just a Rollcall! I can't believe you fell for that!" I yawn and burn the twitching Zebra with an Ember.
Outpost secured, Boon and I exit out of the northeast tunnel. It curves north and breaks into two paths—the immediate path goes into a spacious chamber which connects to various Mystery Dungeons and the previous room's ramp, while the other path heads back west towards the next generator. We take that direction and enter a large room with boulders scattered about and a pile of metal pipes towards the northern wall. Our eastern entrance is only one of two; the other is across the chamber.
"You know the drill." My ally says.
"Halt!" A voice booms from the western tunnel. Boon sighs and works on charging the generator in the center. "We are Team Punisher of the Armaldo Guild! Cease this resistance at once! We are in control of the situation! You have thirty seconds to surrender! If you do not we will make you!"
"K-k-keep charging." I order my ally.
"Twenty-five seconds!" What's in the monkey's bag? Any Orbs? I'm counting five. "Fifteen seconds!" Boon looks the Orbs over and shrugs.
"I have no idea what half of these ones are. That one right there," he points at a red Orb with pink speckles "I think is a Trap Orb. Those ones should only work in Dungeons though. But then again we did see that Wonder Tile so…"
"Five seconds!" Screw it. I toss the Trap Orb to where the western tunnel comes into the room and watch as for a brief moment a section of ground glows red, becomes distorted, then reverts to normal. "You asked for this!" Six Pokémon attempt to rush into our room —Boon calls them out as a male and female Nidoran, a Machop, A Weedle (which is riding the Machop's back), an Emolga, and a Gothita. Are these guys seriously sending an infant at us? That's horrible. Oh well, guess I'll have to kill it too. First time for everything. As the Pokémon cross where I threw the Orb, they each are bombarded by a hail of spiked plants which appear out of thin air.
"Agh! Chestnut Trap!? But this isn't a Mystery Dungeon!" Machop yells. Weedle is knocked clear off the Pokémon's back and Gothita is thrown onto its face, a chestnut remains firmly planted into the back of her skull. In the chaos the Nidorans run northeast towards the stack of pipes, when suddenly the ground beneath them explodes. Tiny pieces of rodent Pokémon splatter the surrounding area and reshaped pipes fly across the room; I nearly lose my head to the shrapnel. I did not plant that one!
"The heck!? I think that was a Self-Destruct Trap!" Emolga screams. Machop shoves a blue berry into Gothita's mouth and yanks out the chestnut. I run to the pipes and pick up one the explosion shortened enough for me to use. The end is glowing orange in heat and jagged enough to tear through flesh with ease. Boon, still charging the generator, scratches his bandages in bewilderment.
"Wow." The Pikachu says. "I'm not sure how to feel about this." He grins. "Guess you guys aren't in control of the situation, are you? Ha! Sorry, I shouldn't be laughing at your losses…" I shove the end of my pipe through Weedle's skull and am tackled to the dirt by Machop.
"DON'T! TOUCH! MY! FRIENDS!" He yells between punches. I try to block his blows with my hands and pull myself out from under the Pokémon but to no avail. His body weighs down on my chest too much and the constant barrage of Machop's fists makes my mind turn fuzzy. Boon thankfully paralyzes him with Thunder Wave and I'm able to free myself from his form. Oh God, now I have a headache like no other. What's the flying squirrel and baby doing? Getting shocked by Boon? Good. I pull my pipe from Weedle's cranium and bash Machop's open. I'm left with a bent-ass weapon so I toss it to the ground and lean against a wall attempting to see straight.
"Browley! I refuse to kill a baby!" I shake my head and return to the action with only one thought on my mind—this is going to be awkward. I wonder how quick I can make this… My hands firmly grip the back of Gothita's head where a large visible puncture from the Chestnut Trap is located.
SNAP
If that thing was human I might have more regrets about what I just did. Emolga is twitching from a Thunder Wave so I Scratch it out of commission. That's another wave clear-
BOOM
The fucking southern wall blows up and a monstrous pig Pokémon stands in the new tunnel. It has such large girth, flames emitting from its neck, and strapped around its torso are shitloads of TNT.
"OH SHIT! EMBOAR!" Boon squeals.
"I'm a power load! Watch me explode!" The final Pokémon shouts with a crazed smile. The juggernaut lights more explosives using its flaming neck and tosses them fucking everywhere. Unlike Blast Seeds the TNT actually works how it's intended to. Huge chunks of rock are busted apart and avoiding the blasts is pure luck at such close quarters.
"He's going to bring down the whole mine!" Then do something!
"W-Wave it! NOW!" I order. Boon does so and Emboar is unable to move or continue blowing shit up for the moment. Alright, I only got a few seconds for this. I use Smokescreen to blind the beast and madly pull out its explosives and toss them to my ally who is sending as many Thunder Shocks as he can. Emboar regains movement and screaming in rage swings a massive arm at me. Thanks to the Smokescreen he misses but the blow does leave a sizable dent in the ground. "N-n-nother Wave!" Emboar is once again paralyzed and with the explosives removed I use all the Scratches I have left and retreat to Boon's position at the generator. "H-hh-h-nd me a t-t-t-t-" The Pikachu gives me one of the explosives and Thunder Waves Emboar again. Alright, time for my tail to be useful—don't fail me now. I yank my tail towards the fuse and… the thing doesn't light. Fuck! Light the fuse dammit!
"I'm out of Thunder Waves!" Boon shouts. No no no no no! A pillar of fire jets above our heads and we dart out of the way. Fuck fuck fuck why doesn't my flaming tail work!? Emboar takes a charging stance so I blind him with another SmokeScreen. Regardless he becomes surrounded in a whitish-blue aura and shoots in my general direction head first. I'm saved by his blindness causing the pig to crash into a wall and get electrocuted by one more of Boon's Thunder Shocks. "I'm dry! EEP!" He yells as Emboar barely misses a flame-engulfed elbow-charge. "Smoke him!" Fuck I need to end this now! I don't think I have enough SmokeScreens to do this all day! The moment Emboar's eyes are no longer clouded over I fill them back up with black smog. The TNT is still in my hands. I look at it, look at Emboar, and get the worse idea of my life.
"H-h-hey! Right-…-here!" I yell for the pig's sense of sound. It raises both fists high and slams them down unaware I have already moved out of the way. This is going to kill me! I hop on its arms and stretch the TNT as far as I can to its neck. Sure enough the fuse lights and I shove the dynamite into the beast's open jaws before it swings me into a wall. Pain… The fuse runs out and the explosives detonate, utterly decimating the enemy. Emboar's head splits apart and separates from the rest of its body; blood comes down in buckets and my tail flares up to great extents while Boon's cheeks glow blindingly bright. Whew—I can't believe that worked.
"Browley?" Boon asks pulling me to my feet. "How many major fights have we been in down here?" That's a good question. Four? "We've been hit pretty hard in them; you especially. But we haven't had to use an Oran Berry to lick our wounds once. It's like they just heal themselves…" At this point I would be shitting myself if they didn't. "I'm beginning to think this place is becoming a Mystery Dungeon. There's Wonder Tiles, Trap Tiles, and our boo-boos are fixing themselves—like a Dungeon. I don't know for sure why, but this place is halfway between a Mystery Dungeon and a normal place." The Pikachu studies the damage of our latest clash with the Explorers and shakes his head. "After that there is no way—no way more are going to want to fight us for awhile."
Boon looks exhausted, yet smiles all the same. "I think I can feel a new Move in me. You?" I'm not sure what I'm looking for, but my chest does feel slightly heavier. Not from the pain; from something else. "I'm going to see what I got." He drops to all four legs and within the blink of an eye is sliding to a stop on the other side of the chamber. "No. Way! Quick Attack!" He gushes. "Dude! This is like, the parkour move! One of my childhood idols Weavile Knievel uses this one all the time! This is awesome!" Boon bounces across the walls using Quick Attack, seemingly forgetting about all the dead Pokémon still sharing the space with us. Speaking of which, they are starting to reek. "You have to have a new Move too! What is it?" Calm your tits and I'll see. I sigh and try out the new attack. Energy rises from within to my mouth and releases in the form of a steady stream of blue fire. Hold the phone, that's different! I try it again and still am greeted by a short ranged blue flamethrower. Boon looks surprised. "Dude! Your eyes are all white when you do that! What move is that? Oh wait, how would you know? You're a human. Nevermind!"
Boon finishes up the third generator and we look over the map. "Wonder what that room over there is." Boon says pointing at the chamber to our west and downing a Max Elixir. "That's where the Explorers came from, so maybe they have a camp there. It should be cleared out now."
There is indeed an Exploration Outpost situated in the dead end chamber, four tents and no Pokémon in sight. Much like Team Tasty's camp we look around for anything which may prove useful. Boon finds a handful of Blast Seeds and what he calls a Zinc Band. "Good for taking ranged Moves." He explains. In my search I found a diary entry, thankfully written in Unown. The Luminous Orbs along the walls chose to begin glowing slightly brighter than before, lighting the shadows still remaining. Silently I read the filled pages as Boon packs our other spoils.
"I wish we were allowed to bring money, but the Guildmaster firmly told us we would have no use for it. While it is true we are not allowed to visit any of the villages on these islands and would therefore not have access to any of their shops, what about their trade caravans? Every once in a while on the surface I see a couple Pokémon moving wares here and there. Sometimes during rest stops they spread them all out on a carpet! I want to buy something, but without any Poké the only option I have is to steal! I'm certainly not going to do that! It wouldn't shock me for less moral Teams to do so..."
"Can we take a breather for a bit?" Boon requests. "I'm bushed." Normally I'd want for him to suck it up and press on but I myself am pretty sore from all the fighting. I fought with guns before; it is much less tiring to point at someone and pull a trigger than it is to fight in a Pokémon battle.
We follow the rails back to the Hub, finding there is a straight path able to do so. Along the way we find our track is the same one we crossed when I used my first All-Mach Orb. It is also the same track we crossed when leaving the Hub to start this long task. None of the bodies remain; someone must have moved them.
"So um… wanna use these explosives to check out those 'wails of agony'?" Boon starts up a conversation along the way adjusting the TNT satchel's strap. "We can drop them off at the hotel, hit the next generator, and come back." Upon entering the Hub the fruits of our labor are already apparent. Three thirds of the area is lit up by glowing Luminous Orbs along the walls and ceiling. It is now that I can see the Hub is fucking gigantic. The place is practically an underground city compared to Timburr Town. Children run around playing tag while parents nearby watch and work. Mine carts are pushed along the tracks running every which way going through tunnels and entering some of the buildings. There are buildings made from wood, rock and others are carved into the walls. In the center of the Hub is a huge spire from the floor to the ceiling where mine tracks run into and out of. Other openings serve as doors and windows—this spire is obviously the hub of the Hub. Hubception.
"Well." Boon dumbly states staring at the structure. "How did we miss that our first time through?" Amazing how much lighting can do. "I think we're going to get in big trouble if we enter that place with all these explosives. Do you remember the way back to our room?" No. Boon frowns at my head shake. "Crap. I don't either. We went upstairs though, so let's try that and look around. So we spend the next couple of minutes dodging workers and looking for our hotel until eventually Boon asks for directions.
"You're on the opposite end of the Hub." A talking rock with four arms and small feet under its body tells us. "From here the fastest way is to follow the tracks to the Stalk, and go around the outside until you find the one going to the northwest corner of the Hub. You'll be able to see the door from the Stalk, so don't worry about which one is northwest."
"Okay! Thanks sir!" Boon gratefully replies.
"Wait a moment." The rock continues raising a hand. "You're an Electric-Type, ain'tcha?"
"Um… yes? Why?" The Pikachu asks with ears angled.
"Well sand my butt and call me Ishmael! You two are the kids responsible for fixing up the power!"
"We're not done yet though. We still have another generator to go."
"Regardless, ya have my thanks for that. In fact, let me do more than say thank you. Stay right there for a moment." The Pokémon tucks its arms in and rolls off to the Stalk. When it returns, it carries a small burlap sack. "Here, take this. It's for the work you've done." I accept the offering and check inside; gold coins sparkle within. "It ain't much, but four hundred fifty Poke is all I can spare right now."
"Th-th-th" I fumble my words.
"He says thanks." Boon saves. "Stutterer." I glare at the mouse.
"No problem." The rock Pokémon smiles and rolls back to work. Following the instructions, the two of us get back to the hotel without any problems. We head upstairs to room 205 and I unlock the door; standing on the other side is a giant flaming monkey not looking pleased.
"Infernape!? Er, sir?" Boon gasps.
"Hello boys." The monkey greets with his hands behind his back. "You've been gone for a while longer than expected. Stop. Don't explain, I've already asked around. Judging by the lights coming back on you've been doing what you promised to these workers—this is good. But according to Excadrill and his daughter, you two are being hunted by Exploration Teams in this mine—this is bad. Fortunately I may be able to make a few suggestions." No, we are not going to turn ourselves in. "Steal their badges. Keep at least one each for yourself, but always make sure your badges don't come from two separate teams." What? "In my youth I was a member of a Rescue Team, and while I may still be called to action should the situation arise, I am out of practice. But there are some consistences between Rescuers and Explorers, one of which is the badge system." Infernape leans to our level with his hands still clutching each other behind him. "Team badges have weak telepathic communication abilities. These are useful for teams in Mystery Dungeons in case of separation—a split team can still function. However, we would often use them outside of Dungeons as well for similar circumstances." I think I get it; Explorer Badges are like radios. "There are limits to these devices. Their range only goes so far and Explorers may only use them with current team members. This means that Team X cannot talk with Team Y using badges. Furthermore," Infernape raises a finger. "only four may be activated simultaneously. Some Pokémon require more telepathic energy than others, which can potentially mean some allies will carry more than one. Nevertheless, four is the limit. This is the reason why Exploration and Rescue Teams allow only four members into a Mystery Dungeon at a time. Though the Team itself may number in the hundreds, they separate into groups of four when Dungeon Crawling." Boon's boss steps outside our room and stops in front of the stairs. "My point is, by using the badges of Teams you down, you will be able to pick up on the orders not audible by your ears alone. Far more advanced Explorers will utilize their equipment more than the rookies who do not know all of their badges' abilities. For each Team you will have to switch badges to stay on top of the game. Additionally, if you manage to eliminate one of these amateur teams of small numbers completely, you can use their badges to communicate with one another without compromising your plan of attack. Stay in control. Stay safe. Stay alive. The more Explorers you kill—and I know you are doing that—the more likely they are to treat you the same."
Boon fidgets in his spot. "Why are you telling us this? I thought you'd be mad for us… well, killing Pokémon."
"Sell the history book you bought in the library and get one that goes back further. Forty years at least. You'll understand. Jichi isn't willing to forgive and forget so soon." Infernape parts from us with those final words and Boon scratches at his bandages.
"I knew I should have paid more attention in History…" He murmurs.
I decide during our little break to rest my eyes for a moment. All I need is a small nap and I'll be right as rain. Laying on a spread of hay with eyelids shut I tune out the scratching noise of Boon fidgeting on his spread. I don't know how long I lie there; but at some point I pass from the real world to the dream world.
"And where am I to stay?" A voice echoes through my head. Someone else, someone with an inflection which would suggest their tone is normally one of merriment, replies.
"You can find a room at the Brooke Hotel on the southern islands. Your objective is clear, correct?"
"Yeah. Find the target. Kill it. Your end of the bargain? You remember it, right?"
"…But of course. A life for a life. Now get ready, time is of the essence for both of us."
Eventually I awaken, fully rested but unsure what I dreamed of. Brooke Hotel… where have I heard that before?
Find Brooke… explain everything.
I remember, from another dream. Brooke holds significance to what's happening to me in some way. Not as a person, but as a place. I find this hotel, I find out what happened to me. Infernape knows some things about this island Boon and I don't—perhaps he knows a thing or two about Brooke. First things first I'm going to finish the generator task so Boon can be let off of his debt and I can have some backup. I cast my attention to the Pikachu on its bed playing with our Blast Seeds like they are toys.
"Shh… it's going to be okay… shhh…" Boon murmurs while bobbing an upright seed slightly with his right hand's fingertips; another Blast Seed lies underneath it.
"B-B-Boon?" I try. With his left hand holding a third seed upright he shakes it ever so slightly and changes to a deeper pitch.
"It's just a Ponyta. Ponytas die."
"Boon?" I try again. Then he switches back to the seed in his right and changes his voice.
"She's in pain…" Switch to the left. "Not for long. I need you to step back." Back to right. "Wait! W-w-w-wait! There's a tear! See? Right here!" Left. "Elizabeth, it's just-"
"BOON!" My ally snaps up and stares at me.
"Yes?"
"T-t-t-t-ti-ti-time to g-go." I stutter. Boon's ears droop in disappointment and he plops on his back.
"Already? Can't we wait 'till tomorrow?" He whines. No, I want to hurry up and get this done. Today. What time is it anyways? I can't tell underground.
"N-no. Get up."
"But it's haaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrd!"
"C-c-come on. Last gener-g-gen-gener-"
"No!" Boon says and turns away from me. He reaches for the seeds and brings them back to his front, continuing his private puppet show. I sigh rubbing my temples.
"I'm g-g-going to look around th-th-th-the Hub. S-ss-see the Stalk. S-stay here and I'll g-get you later." I wish I could leave him for good, but on the off chance I run into more Explorers or worse—Wartortle— I'm going to need some backup. I swear to God guns would make this so much quicker-why did I have to be a lizard? Even if the fire powers are cool… I check Boon's satchel he unceremoniously dropped on the floor and pull out the paper we got from Team Tasteful. That was their name, right? Whatever. While I'm out maybe someone can translate this garbage. I leave the room but when I turn around to close the door Boon is standing up beaming and ready to go.
"You're going to the Stalk? That's all you had to say!" Shutup.
Our entrance to the Stalk is on the second floor, and the spire is utterly hollowed out. Tracks run this way and that above and below us, yet all meet in a central point in the third floor's center—the top floor. From our low angle it is impossible to see what all is happening above, but judging by the abundance of gears and wires connecting to that central point from the Stalk's walls it must be something important.
"Hey! You two are the Light Bearers aren't you?" A four armed brute of a Pokémon asks from behind. Each arm is used to carry large scraps of metal and it wears a golden belt and thong.
"Light Bearers?" Boon mumbles. "Oh boy, here we go again."
"You can call me Machamp! I tell you, we really appreciate what you two are doing for us. It makes construction of these here tunnels much easier when we can see what we're blowing up!" Why the thong? You know, I keep telling myself I'm not going to question stuff like this anymore, and sometimes I believe I have gotten to the point where I can pull it off, but this is ridiculous. I want to believe Pokémon are super powered animals—I really do. But when things like this show up… I just can't do it. The number of similarities to humans these creatures have not just in culture, but in appearance as well is astonishing. Fuck it, they're aliens. Makes things much simpler. Boon nods and says his thanks to Machamp while I go back to staring at the third floor. "Say friend, you look interested in what we're doing." Machamp points out. "If you want I can let you get a better view of what we're working on upstairs. After all, you two are powering it!" I shrug and follow the worker up a stairway along the walls. "So what you got there, Charmander?" He asks eying the journal entry I still am carrying.
"Uh… J-j-j-ju-ju-jus-a-" I can't say a word at the moment. On my behalf Boon tells Machamp we found it in the tunnel and can't understand what it says. Sweet half-truth.
"Hey Machoke! Get over here!" Our guide calls to another worker. It looks similar to Machamp (clothing included) but only has two arms instead of four.
"What man? Can't you see I'm busy?" Machoke's eyes widen at the sight of us. "Is that-"
"Yep, pleased to meet you. We're glad to help." Boon interrupts. The two armed worker scratches its crotch (Oh God) and with the same hand rubs its eyes (Oh God).
"Right. What can I do for you?" I hand the paper to him and Machoke gives it a once over. "Can you not read this?"
"We don't know Footprint very well." My ally explains.
"Well shit, I can help you out with this. Son of mine wanted to be an Explorer and begged me to help him learn this. Can't see why he wanted to but he was dead set on it."
"Heh heh, yeah…" Boon tensely laughs. "Did he ever get in?"
"Naw, it was just a phase. First he wanted to be a Rescuer, then an Explorer, then a HAPPI agent, and now he's talking of fighting Pokémon with the plague. Too many campfire stories if you ask me." Boon wipes a bead sweat from his brow. "Anyways, let me read this for you then I need to get back to work." Machoke coughs into his palm and begins reading. "First time writing a journal… never cared to in the first place. Bah, I bet a thousand Pokémon have written that in theirs. One of the fine folk at the Wigglytuff Guild stopped by today—Sunflora to be exact. She was under orders to check up on the various Exploration Teams in these tunnels to see if they discovered anything relating to the Lost Treasure. I told her of the wailing in the walls other teams have reported, yet she seemed skeptical." Machoke grunts. "So am I." he comments. "Nevertheless at my further insistence Sunflora promised me she would ask Diglett to investigate." I'm handed back the journal entry and after saying his goodbyes, Machoke returns to working and we return to walking upstairs to whatever is being created on the third floor.
The thing they are working on is actually some sort of propellant device. A machine is centered on a sturdy base above the open Stalk with a circular base indented through its flooring. Rock bridges with and without mine tracks keep the machine and the section of stone it rests on from falling and squashing the workers below. Pokémon running tests are using large handlebars jutting from the base to turn the device where a trench opening can connect to all the mine tracks running to the device. Inside the trench are two cylindrical strips of I-don't-know-what which other engineers working on demonstrate their ability to rotate as well. The device is like a giant Hot Wheels motor on a turntable.
"Ain't she a beauty?" Machamp asks setting down its metallic scraps in a marked storage box.
"Um… What is it?" Boon inquires.
"This is my pride and joy." A familiar voice answers. Out from behind the machine steps Excadrill wearing a pair of red goggles over his eyes. "Work related at least. I call her the Timely Industry Trade System!" Boon and I stifle our laughter. "By the end of five years, I hope to have one of these babies by every major town in Jichi! Imagine traveling from Timburr to the capital and back in minutes! All by use of an underground railway! If you were a merchant you could move your wares through these tunnels in speed only beatable by teleportation! And I think we all know the dangers of teleporting." Excadrill shudders. "Work is back on track, and I have you two to thank for it! To think I almost killed you little Charmander." Yeah… about that… can I get an apology? "All I need for this puppy to work is full power, and you boys are seventy-five percent there!"
"I thought we were powering the lights." Boon says.
"You are! But this too! Now get your stinking asses downstairs and power up my last generator!" The drill Pokémon commands. "And take my daughter with you."
Boon and I go back downstairs and meet up with Drilbur, who doesn't appear very happy to see me.
"What do you want?" She spits.
"We're powering this place up! Your dad wants you to come with us to get the last generator." Boon explains. Drilbur thinks about it for a moment and sighs.
"If dad says I have to, I guess I don't have a choice. Besides," Drilbur smiles. "I have to give you two credit for helping out the workers. But know that if the entire Exploration Team Federation comes down on these mines I'm blaming your fire-breathing friend." Fair enough…?
Final generator is in the southeast corner of the mine. To get there from the first floor of the Hub we need to exit out the main entrance up north and take the four-way crossing east. We'll hit a track we can follow until it takes us where we need to go. The three of us follow that route and within minutes are in the room immediately north of the generator's. The tracks split north to where we fought the Explorers with the lookouts and it splits south to where the generator room is. One complication is the generator room has two floors, and the tracks take us to the section higher than where needed. To remedy this there is another exit in our chamber's southwest corner which will take us to the lower section with the generator. The other complication we face is that the chamber we are currently in has an Explorer outpost in it. Thankfully nobody appears to be present at the time, but we cannot be certain how long things will remain that way.
"Hurry up and go." Drilbur orders. "We don't need any more trouble." Our trio rushes to the southwest tunnel and follow its path. We pass by two Mystery Dungeons within its enclosed walls until accessing the final room.
"Um… uh oh." Boon says checking the generator.
"Uh oh?" Drilbur asks crossing her arms. "What do you mean 'uh oh?'" My ally scratches at his bandages and looks at the generator's interior and then us.
"Well, uh… I don't know how to break it to you gently but… the E. Stone's missing." Drilbur shoves Boon aside and takes a peek for herself. Upon validating Boon's situation report, she slams the E. Stone compartment shut and looks towards the chamber's exit.
"Dammit—he's right. One of these Exploration Teams must have stolen it. They want to set up a trap on their turf. These mines have guards at both exits so unless they have someone digging their own tunnels the thieves couldn't have gone far. I say we hit every single outpost those Explorers have until we find the stone." Sounds good; while we're at it we can steal some badges. So the three of us exit the generator room and survey the camp in the previous chamber from the generator's first floor tunnel. There are three Explorers at this outpost—two Sentret and a Sneasel—this should be fairly easy. Sneasel is out front but looks like it hasn't slept in days; good chance is this Pokémon is going to be the worst lookout in history. Boon approaches from the south, Drilbur comes from the north, and I close in from the west.
"Can I help you?" The Sneasel asks too busy cleaning its claws to look up at me. Ember and a Scratch kills it and catches the attention of the Explorer's allies.
"Sneasel! You alri-Oh crap! It's the Charmander!" Both Sentret race towards me but before they can land a hit they are caught in Boon's Thunder Wave. Drilbur jumps to a Sentret with her claws crossed and glowing, and then cuts the raccoon-squirrel in two with an "X" like fashion. The remaining Explorer is electrocuted to death by Boon's Thunder Shocks.
"Well… that was easy." The Pikachu declares. "Drilbur, do you know how many of these camps we have to hit?"
"Last time I checked there were… I think there were four." Drilbur picks at her pink nose and nods. "Definitely four."
"Really?" Boon wonders. He counts his fingers and laughs. "Then this is our last one! Wow! Great thing we hit them when we did, huh Browley?"
"Hold up hold up." Drilbur interjects. "You two have been clearing these places this whole time?" Boon sheepishly rubs the back of his head.
"Um… yes?"
"Well damn… I know there were some rough Explorers in these mines; I saw a freaking Emboar. Did you two deal with that?" Drilbur snorts. "No wonder my dad's been so happy."
"How would your dad know what we've been doing?" Boon asks. "We haven't told anyone but you. Actually, my boss from Timburr Town stopped by and knew about what we did. How does that work?" How does that work? I'm curious to know why Excadrill is aware of our rampages myself.
"Dad has eyes and ears everywhere underground." Drilbur answers. "Watch this. HEY DUGTRIO! GET ME AN ORAN BERRY?" Suddenly three brown heads burst from the dirt balancing a blue fruit on the middle one's head. Drilbur takes the fruit and tosses it to Boon. "Thanks boys."
"Don't mention it!" The three heads all say at once before burrowing away.
"Sometimes I wish they gave me a bigger picture of the mine, but dad says that won't happen for another few years." The mole states. Boon and I stare slack jawed at the spectacle, and it is he who finds the ability to speak first (big surprise).
"You mean we could have asked for help at any time!?" He shouts in dismay.
"Pfft, no. They take orders from me and dad. You want their help you have to go to one of us first." An army of construction workers to call upon when needed… that sounds useful. It might be in my best interest to stay on Drilbur's good side in case I ever need a favor. "Now go search their tents and look for that Energy Stone!"
Generator charging goes without a hitch, and after thanking us and paying 500 Poké for completing our work, Drilbur runs off to help her father on his invention. Along with the E. Stone Boon and I found three Explorer Badges, which we kept. I'm not entirely sure how they work yet, but we'll figure it out later. Now we are at the wall where supposedly screams can be heard. Oddly enough, when we passed by Team Tasty's camp, they still weren't there. At the wall there is a small hole drilled which upon further examination looks like it leads into another chamber, although it is too dark in the hidden room to see. Sitting inside the hole is sheet of paper with large sloppy Unown text reading 'CONDEMED'.
"Looks like they beat us to it." Boon says rubbing his hands along our TNT. "Sucks. You think they took everything?" I shake my head; the hole looks too small to move much out of, and judging by the slip of paper Diglett probably dug through the wall, took one look inside, and came straight out. "Oh. Well then let's check this stuff out! You wanna go in first or should I? Meh, I'm already halfway in—might as well finish. Boon crawls in once I have my full body in the opening and follows me through. "Man, your tail kind of sucks! I have my face like, centimeters away and I'm not getting any heat!" Get off my ass. "Is my idea of fire wrong or are you wrong?" Shutup. Halfway through the crawlspace a low buzzing sound echoes from the other end sounding like dialup internet. The fuck…?
"Spearow?" I freeze.
"AH! Oh… it's just you, Rattata." The voices are distorted as if spoken through a really old radio, barely understandable.
"What are you doing in here? Diglet said to stay out of this place!" The first voice reprimanded.
"Diglet isn't the boss of me."
"Swellow will kick us out of the Team if he found out!"
"Just come on, coward. Swellow doesn't have to know." The buzzing becomes more aggressive as seconds tick by.
"Spearow! The light!" Rattata cries.
"Bah! Stupid match! I knew I should have brought more!" The buzzing grows louder and Boon grips my tail. Our confined space feels more and more dangerous. "Wha…?" Spearow trails off after a moment of silence from either Explorer. The buzzing grows in volume still, becoming slightly painful to listen to. In a split second both Explorers outbreak into a long fearful scream, Boon's grip tightens, and then… silence. All sound cuts off—the screams, the distortion, the buzzing, everything.
"Browley?" My ally whispers letting go of my tail. "Wanna just… head back?" Um, sure. This doesn't sound like the tactical choice at the moment. At the end of the tunnel however I spot a round object, although it is too dark to see what. Boon crawls out of the hole the way we came and I crawl forward. "Dude! What are you doing!? Let's go!" For a moment I ignore him and focus on what's ahead. Almost there… I reach a hand out and my fingers touch it. Shit, that's thing is fucking freezing! Nevertheless I pull it into tunnel with me, then crawl backwards to Boon. Once I'm back where we started the light from the Luminous Orbs shows me what I snagged. It is an ice sculpture shaped like a pouch with tiny crystals growing from its edges. The top is sealed by a white cover of frozen water which instantly melts when I touch it. To my surprise sound comes from within the sculpture, much like those of my tape recordings but perfectly clear— it is as if there is someone within speaking.
"My deepest pity for the non-believers out there. How woeful it is they have turned from the truth to worship the false idols, Arceus and its army of demons. I cannot deny they exist. That fact was further solidified by the Explorers of Time and Darkness. But they. Are not. GODS! Shamefully the Pokémon of today have cast their eyes towards those behemoths. The truth will be their undoing! The truth will be their judgment! And the truth will be our ascension!"
Author's Note: This was a long one, and I still haven't hit everything I wanted to. Funny thing is, some parts were just plain out forgotten about while revising and I ended up cutting them out entirely to get this chapter out sooner. Other parts were added in at a moment's notice in the middle of writing, but they work out okay I guess. I also tried a few things with formatting for dreams and Africa flashbacks.