A/N: Ooooo, new chapter! Hyped? Good! Because in this chapter, there's actually gonna be some action! 'Bout time, yeah? You know, since the last two chapters were nothing but exposition, I'm sure you'll enjoy some actual battling! Although, this chapter's gonna be told in Clay's POV- because, storytelling. No really, you'll understand in a few minutes. 'Till then, enjoy!

Review Replies:

Imagination is king: I...I probably shouldn't even say this...there will be a Zoroark in this story. What role he/she will play...I'll leave you to figure that out!

TheSeekerOf: Alright then, thanks! I'm glad you like some of the characters already, I wasn't expecting that! You'll be happy to know that Duke's going to play a bit of a bigger role later on. That won't be for a little while, though.

Chapter 3: Southern Savanna

As Clay trekked through the wilds of the Southern Savanna, he had a few things on his mind. Specifically, what the duo at the café had said. They made it sound like going into the Mystery Dungeons was like signing your own death warrant. Surely leaving the town wasn't that dangerous, right? Granted, Clay had been to some pretty wild places before, but Southern Savanna seemed pretty tame. Herds of Blitzle and Zebstrika, grazing Rhyhorn, some Girafarig eating the leaves on trees, but none of these Pokémon paid any attention to the wandering Excadrill.

Then there was Dune. From what he had heard, the old Krokorok had been a famous explorer years ago, and had done many great things for the town. For reasons nobody went into specifics on, Dune had given up exploring and stayed in the town. Still, residents highly respected and adored him (not that he seemed to like it). Some explorer. Based on what he told Clay, it seemed as though he loathed the idea of going out to strange places, the idea of looking for adventure...and the idea of helping somebody else.

Clay shook his head to clear his thoughts. Oh well, he'd show Dune he was capable of surviving out here. He'd find that Sandslash and prove he could be just as good as an explorer as anyone else in the world. After all, if the entire Dungeon was as mild as this, it shouldn't be too hard...

"Hey, who the heck are you? " a scratchy voice said nearby. Clay turned to see a Zebstrika with two Blitzle next to him glaring at the intruder.

"Oh, sorry, was I interrupting you three?" Clay asked, stepping back. He could easily take down these Electric-types, but he had come far without any trouble, and he didn't want to start now.

"Ah, no, no. We were just about to have some nice grass here, but you could come and join us if you want," one of the Blitzle suggested with kindness that didn't look too genuine.

"Um...no thanks, I'm just passing through here..." Clay replied, feeling a little uncomfortable now with the three Pokémon circling him.

"Nah, we insist, " the second Blitzle urged. "We don't get many visitors around here, and we were hoping you could stay a while."

Suddenly, the Blitzle both launched a Thunderbolt attacked at Clay, while the Zebstrika fired Shock Wave. Now, to any other Pokémon, a three-way attack like that would destroy any Pokémon, or possibly paralyze them. Unless you were a Ground-type like Clay, however, in which case Electric-type moves would have no effect on you. And it was the fact that Clay was still standing after the onslaught that confused the opposing trio.

"What the-!? HOW is he still standing!?"

"You idiot! I told you he was Ground-type!"

"I thought he was Steel!"

"He's brown, that clearly means he's Ground!"

"Not always!"

As Clay watched to two Blitzle argue, he couldn't help but think that these Pokémon weren't exactly the brightest in the world. Seriously, are these guys for real? They threaten me, then they don't even realize I'm a Ground-type...

This was a strange place.

Zebstrika growled. "Idiots! Get him!"

The bickering Blitzle stopped and turned to Clay again. They remembered they were supposed to be fighting him, and both used Quick Attack, sprinting towards the Excadrill. Clay decided there was no turning back now; as soon as the Blitzle got close enough, he raked his claws against their faces with a Metal Claw attack. They yowled in pain and jumped back. He decided to finish them off with by using an Aerial Ace on both of them, which knocked them out. Zebstrika was by himself.

"Both of you are useless!" he shouted at his knocked out companions. Zebstrika then faced Clay, glaring daggers, and lowered his head. He then charged, and soon caught fire as he did. It didn't take long for Clay to know Zebstrika was using Flame Charge. He decided to counter this with his favorite move: Drill Run.

Clay rushed forward and formed a drill using his steel hands and heads. Spinning his body rapidly, he collided with the charging Zebstrika. He broke through the flaming attack and struck the Zebstrika at full force. Because the Thunderbolt Pokémon was an Electric-type, and Drill Run was a Ground-type move, he didn't stand a chance. Clay landed on the grassy terrain and faced his opponent.

Zebstrika had collapsed onto the ground, defeated. When he got up, he seemed to acknowledge that he had been defeated, but he still had a look of pure hatred on his face.

"You two! Get up and get over hear!" he barked. The Blitzle duo shakily stood up.

"Did we win?" asked one.

"Does it look like he's knocked out!?" the other shouted, pointing a hoof at Clay.

"C'mon, we're going," Zebstrika ordered, gesturing to the Blitzle to follow. They quickly ran up to him and followed close behind. As Clay watched them go, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. Maybe these Pokémon had seen the Sandslash! Clay gave himself a mental slap in the face. Why hadn't he thought of that before he fought them!?

"Hey hey, wait!" Clay called, briefly pursuing the trio. Zebstrika turned around and snarled, "What now!?"

"Did any of you happen to see a Sandslash come through here? You know, yellow, brown quills, big claws?" Clay briefly explained. Zebstrika and the Blitzle looked at each other, as though expecting one another to have an answer.

After a minute, Zebstrika answered, "No, we haven't. And even if we did, we still wouldn't tell you!"

As the trio of Electric-types walked away, Clay was disappointed that he had lost his one, and possibly only, lead. He sighed. Well, back to square one...

The longer Clay explored the Southern Savanna, the less hopeful he was of finding the Sandslash. When Pokémon weren't attacking him, he tried to ask them if they had seen the lost Pokémon. All had said they hadn't (or maybe they had, and just wouldn't tell Clay). By this point, the Excadrill had lost track of time. How long had he been out here? Hours? Days?

Now, Clay was very tired. Part of him warned that sleeping in a place like this was suicide, but the other part told him to take a nap. Clay decided to listen to the other half, and so he walked towards a nearby tree. It was shady enough, so he figured it was as good as any place. He sat down against the tree trunk, savoring his respite from the now burning sun, and let his eyes droop. It would be nice to take a short break...

Then, just as he was about to drift into slumber, something caught Clay's eye. At first, he thought he was imaging it, but yet...Clay tipped his head to one side, and saw it again. There, by a tree farther away, was a small glint of light. He forgot all about being tired as curiosity pulled at him. Clay followed the light to that tree, and soon he could tell just what it was that grabbed his attention.

Clay picked it up. It was a book- a small book, but seemed to have lots of pages. It had a dusky brown cover that was worn with age. Yet, there was a strange, silvery pattern on the cover. The pattern itself was that of a small, circle with a ruby in the middle and four silver points pointing in different directions; north, east, west, and south.

Clay figured this was what had shone before. He flipped through the yellowing pages. The book had multiple pictures- pictures of what Clay presumed to be Pokémon (not that he recognized them)- but the text was written in footprint runes, so he couldn't tell they said.

Then Clay saw what was on the back cover. First, words written in faded ink that read:

Property of Morrin

This perplexed Clay. Who was Morrin? There was a good possibility that they were the owner of the book, but where were they? Then there was something else on that cover- a footprint. Not just any footprint; Clay could tell this was a Sandslash footprint, based on the circular foot and the two toes. Yet, it seemed like it was made more recently than "Property of Morrin". Still, Clay couldn't help but think Sandslash and Morrin were the same Pokémon.

All this, then he noticed something else that was on the ground- footprints. Footprints that matched the one on the back cover. Not to mention they were made EXTREMELY recently- maybe in the last hour or so! This got Clay excited; finally, after all this time, he may finally find this mysterious Sandslash! Wasting no time, he pocketed the book, pinpointed where the footprints were going- northeast- and sprinted in said direction.

Although the footprints faded after a little while, Clay could still scent where Sandslash was going. Then, he soon scented something else as he came to an open clearing. Something...singed. Odd. Clay couldn't see smoke, so nothing could be burning...so where was the charred smell coming from?

"Grrrrrrr..."

The low growl interrupted Clay's thoughts. He slowly turned around, afraid of what was behind him, then saw the dark brown pelt, lighter brown legs, and long, flowing red and gold mane of a female Pyroar. Her azure eyes were laced with rage as she bared her fangs at Clay. Then, three more appeared behind her, all growling.

"Umm...hi?" Clay greeted with a sheepish wave. The Pyroar didn't take too kindly to that, and all four of them unsheathed their claws and pounced. Clay yelped in terror and shot a Focus Blast at one, causing her to fall to the ground, then turned and ran. He tried going back the way he came, but was cut off by two more Pyroar.

Clay turned and ran again, this time towards the clearing. Clay had a sneaking suspicion that this was the end of the Dungeon, but he didn't care- he just wanted to escape. He cut in between two trees and jumped behind a cluster of shrubs. He then formed a drill again and dug beneath the ground.

Clay didn't know how long he had been hiding underground, but eventually the sound of the Pyroars' footsteps faded. He emerged from his hiding spot, seeing that they had, in fact, left. Even so, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were still hunting for him. With that, Clay turned back the way he came and prepared to leave...when he saw something. It was some sort of pack...brown cloth and a single strap.

Hm. Clay must have missed that during the pursuit. He walked over to inspect it further, the noticed there was a large gash in its side. Taking a closer look, Clay realized that the size of the hole looked big enough for the book he found to fall out. To confirm this, Clay took out the book and slid it into the hole- it fit perfectly.

This...can't be a coincidence. Clay thought. A book appearing in the savanna, footprints leading in this direction, and now this pack...actually, now that Clay looked around, the ground around his vicinity was scorched. Shrubs were burned, slashes were cut into the ground and the tree trunks, and the dirt was churned up. It looked like a battle had just taken place.

How in the world did I miss this? Clay thought. Well, at least it explained the burned smell. He smelled the air, and that's when be smelled something else. Clay recognized it- it was the smell of the footprints. Did that mean...no. No, that Sandslash couldn't be here. He couldn't see any yellow bodies, any large brown quills. Then again, where was the scent coming from?

Clay sniffed the air again. Yeah, it was strong...it seemed to lead...to Clay's right. He turned, and then saw something by a rock. He couldn't tell clearly, but whatever that was, it was yellow...and, were those claws? A sudden feeling of dread gripped Clay's heart. No way...don't tell me that's...

Dropping the bag, he rushed over to the rock to find out if his suspicions were right. When Clay got there, he learned he was right- the scent belonged to a Sandslash. Not just any Sandslash- Clay knew this had to be the Pokémon he was searching for. Although, she was in terrible condition. Sandslash was unconscious and had various slashes and bites all over her body, and terrible burns seared her skin. One of her arms was scorched completely black, and one ear had a notch in it.

Clay grimaced and quickly checked for a pulse. Luckily, he could feel one. This is bad. Clay thought. I just know those Pyroar did this. I gotta get her out of here before they come back.

Too late, Clay felt a strong rise in heat behind him. He turned around, and came face-to-face with three of the Pyroar chasing him before. He backed up a little, but was met with the other three Pyroar (one of which was the one Clay had used Focus Blast on earlier). The Fire-type Pokémon bared their fangs and circled the Excadrill menacingly. He was surrounded.

Then, a loud roar cut through the area. The Pyroar stopped and turned around. Two of them stepped back, allowing a seventh Pokémon to arrive. This was a male Pyroar- same brown fur, but it's mane was much bigger.

It seemed like an eternity before he finally spoke in a booming voice, "You, traveler. What gives you the right to come onto the territory of the Blazing Pride uninvited?"

Clay gulped. "Uh...hello there...I'm, uh, sorry for coming onto your territory, sir."

"'Sorry' will not save you," Pyroar replied coldly. "This savanna belongs to us...to ME, the great Blaze!"

The other Pyroar roared as their leader spoke his name. "To those that trespass...we will show NO MERCY!"

Clay's heart sank as the entire pride roared in unison, like one big war cry. He assumed this was what happened to the Sandslash- she had come here for some reason, and was defeated by the Blazing Pride. Well, it's seven against one, he thought. That's hardly fair!

"It seems that more Pokémon are trespassing on our land..." Blaze muttered, gesturing to Sandslash. "So, I'll make you a deal. If you, Ground Pokémon, can defeat us, then both of you get to go free. If not, well...the Blazing Pride shall eat well tonight!"

Once again, Blaze's pride roared in anticipation, as if they couldn't wait to eat the unfortunate Pokémon. Clay knew he had no chance of winning. There were too many opponents to fight at once; they'd overpower him in no time. Then again...Sandslash needed his help, whether she was aware of it or not. He had come all this way...he couldn't just give up!

I have to try...I have to at least try! Clay thought. He raised his claws in a battle position, showing the Blazing Pride he had chosen to fight. Blaze smiled cruelly.

"Blazing Pride..." Blaze roared. His Pyroar got into their own battle positions. "ATTACK-"

"Well, ain't this a sight," a new voice interrupted. "Don't ya think seven against one is a little unfair?"

Clay recognized the voice, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it. It couldn't be...he turned around. There, standing face-to-face with Blaze, was the old Krokorok explorer.

It was Dune.

What was he doing here? The explorer made it very clear he wanted nothing to do with Clay's mission. What made Dune change his mind?

Blaze scowled. "What's it to you, intruder?"

"Everything," Dune replied. "Ya see, those two are coming with me. So, unless ya want these fangs in yer throats, yer all gonna let us through nice and easy."

Clay couldn't believe it. How was Dune talking to Blaze like that- wasn't he scared at all?

"Hm, a bold one," Blaze said. "And what if we don't?"

Dune scoffed. "Well, I don't think ya'll wanna know that. See, I know all about you and this pride of yours. I could take down each of you all by myself, and I'm just trying to make sure your little ego doesn't get broken."

Blaze roared and stood to look Dune in the eye. "Are you challenging me?"

Clay was sure Dune would relent by this point, but the Krokorok just looked calmly on. "Look, I don't think yer listening. I'm just trying not to give ya'll any more trouble-"

Dune didn't get a chance to finish that sentence. Just then, Blaze lashed out at him, slashing his claws against Dune's snout. He staggered back as Blaze smiled with satisfaction. Clay flinched- how was Dune going to react this time? The Krokorok turned around, his eyes no longer having the calm shine in them- now they were burning with rage.

"Clay!" he yelled. The Excadrill turned in his direction. "Brace yerself!"

Clay didn't have time to ask what he meant. Dune raised his foot, and stomped it into the ground. Within seconds, the area erupted into violent shaking, which caused the Blazing Pride to panic and let out cries of pain. Clay knew what was happening- Dune was using Earthquake.

Before any Pokémon could recover, Dune let out a battle cry and flung himself at Blaze. His tail glowed with a silvery light, making it look like it was made of metal. Dune smashed an Iron Tail into the male Pyroar's face, knocking him backwards. The six other Pyroar roared in anger and lunged at Dune. Wasting no time, he ducked under one and fastened his jaws on her hind leg with Crunch. He then hurled her at a second Pyroar, sending them both crashing to the ground.

Another one launched herself forward with a Fire Fang, but Dune was fast enough to sidestep, causing the Royal Pokémon to bite one of her allies. Then, two more of the lionlike Fire-types aimed simultaneous Flamethrowers at the Krokorok, but Dune was still ready. He used the Rock-type move Stone Edge to blast through the fire, then striking both Pyroar hard.

Clay stared wide-eyed and slack-jawed at Dune. He couldn't believe the old Krokorok was fighting the entire Blazing Pride single-handedly...and winning! Clay had heard from the Pokémon in Alpha Town that Dune was a spectacular fighter, but still! He himself had seen great explorers where he once lived, and yet Dune seemed to put them to shame!

As Clay watched, he realized Blaze himself was sneaking up behind Dune, ready to pounce. Clay was about to call out, but it seemed he didn't need it. Just as Blaze jumped, Dune turned unleashed another Stone Edge directly at him, sending him flying into a tree. The Krokorok then stormed over to the fallen Pokémon.

"Beat it," Dune snarled. "NOW!"

Blaze, hauling himself up, gave Dune one last angered glare before beckoning to the other Pyroar. He realized he had been defeated.

Once the Blazing Pride left, Dune walked over to Clay.

"Th-that was amazing!" Clay stammered, overtaken by awe. "Where did you learn to fight like that!?"

"You gonna ask questions, are you gonna help me with this?" Dune asked, kneeling down besides the Sandslash. "We gotta get this Pokémon back to town. C'mon!"

Dune took her badly burned arm and draped it over his shoulders. Clay took the hint and did the same with the other arm. His companion said nothing as they half-dragged half-carried the Sandslash through the grasslands. Together, they left Southern Savanna behind and returned to Alpha Town.

A/N: WOW. Okay, I did NOT intend this chapter to be this long. Then again, what was I expecting? This chapter was a Dungeon one...matter of fact, I think you can expect nearly ALL the Dungeon chapters to be like this! Unless I decide to make it a multi-parter. Either way...I personally think this was a MAJOR improvement over the previous chapters! Do you think so? Do you think I need to change some stuff? Let me know! And I'll see you all in the next chapter! I shall see you there!