Saptami Village Outskirts

"Yes! I see civilization!"

"WOO HOO!" Cheers rang out from the group of traveling pokémon, ecstatic at this piece of information.

Xavier couldn't help but feel overjoyed. After a day and a half of unbearable marching, he was looking forward to resting his aching feet.

His…friends…looked just as glad as he did. Yvette was jumping up and down, the Torchic's entire body shaking with anticipation. Next to them, Zachary was far more mellow – he was the quiet one of the group, so it wasn't unexpected.

"We're there, everyone!" Zairian yelled from up ahead. Next to her, Vicky the Hawlucha was trying to use Thunder Punch and Fire Punch simultaneously. "Saptami Village. We'll spend the night there, and then we'll continue on our way to Grifflet's Valley. Sounds cool?"

Everybody shouted in approval.

They walked for another twenty minutes before Saptami Village materialized. First the thatched houses built from wood. Then the blue roof of a Persian bank. Then the dusty square, with long shadows stretching across it like dark fingers in the early evening light. A bunch of Patrat were clustered behind a Watchog and a Quagsire – obviously their parents – who kept staring at the expeditionary group warily as they walked further and further into the village.

"Let's stop here, Zairian," Vicky said, pointing at a structure not too far away. Said structure was fairly bigger than the rest of the buildings, with a wooden sign that said: Saptami Bar.

The Azumarill shrugged her shoulders. "Sounds good to me. Vicky, could you find an appropriate inn for our group if there is one? Meet us at the tavern, alright?"

Vicky sighed. "Fine."

Zairian smiled as Vicky began to separate from the group. "Okay, everyone!" She rubbed her palms excitedly. "Let's have a drink or two!"

"I thought alcohol was illegal?" Xavier said to his friends, perplexed.

Zachary rolled his eyes. "Yes, but there are other kinds of drinks, too."

Xavier blushed. "Oh. Sorry."

They followed the Guildmaster inside. The interior was a bit rustic, but thankfully not unhygienic, like he'd imagined the tavern to be. There were enough tables to seat more than thrice the number of their group, but only a few of them – perhaps three or four – were occupied by pokémon/majuu.

The expeditionary force scattered around. Team Claws took their own private table and prevented anyone else from sitting with them – not that anyone wanted to, Xavier noticed. The rest of the teams decided to mix up, with Zachary choosing go sit with Whis the Exploud and Whitney the Flaaffy of Team Strike Now, leaving Xavier and Yvette alone.

In the end, the two remaining members of Team XYZ chose to sit with the Guildmaster and Goldeenson the Mightyena of Team Trickster and Poppy the Skiploom of Team Splash.

"There don't seem to be a lot of majuu in here," Goldeenson mused aloud. The Mightyena's snapped towards the dimly lit counter. "Yo! Barman!"

"Yes?"

Everyone whipped around too see a no-nonsense looking Ambipom standing at their table, wiping a dusty mug with a rag. His tail-hands each held a jug, ready to fill them with whatever drink a client wanted. Next to him was a Shuckle, eyeing the table of majuu speculatively.

"What's up with this place?" Goldeenson pressed on gruffly. "Looks like nobody lives in this place no more."

The Ambipom smirked creepily. "That's because no one did. Not as of yesterday, at least."

Zairian frowned. "What do you mean?"

The barman sighed. "Look, amigo, I ain't gonna keep answering your questions, if that's what you came here for. I run a respectable business, so if ya ain't buyin' somethin', then I ask you to sincerely go fuck yourselves."

"How dare you!" Zairian raged.

Next to the Ambipom, the Shuckle spoke up in a weedy, nasally voice. "Look, we're sorry, man. It's just that Salvatore here's a bit mad 'bout what happened here. Cut him some slack."

Salvatore huffed.

Zairian didn't look forgiving, but she didn't look mad anymore, either. "Would you mind giving us details?"

The Shuckle nodded its rounded head affirmatively. "Around two days ago, some otherworldly shit happened, man. Late at night, we were all going about our own business. Caught everyone by surprise. Majuu started disappearing, then we heard some weird sounds as they did. Then some damn black rings – like portals, I guess – appeared in the skies, man. I'm telling ya, man, someone don't like us.

"Most of the majuu who weren't taken left the place. Saying that Giratina was taking them all to the Distortion World, or aliens had arrived, shit like that," the Shuckle confided. "Anyway, I don't think them majuu will be coming back. We're thinking 'bout closing the business."

Salvatore, tired of his companion's tirade, slammed the thick, glass jug on the wooden table. "Now that Jimmy here has told ya whatever y'all wanted to know, mind orderin' somethin'?"

Zairian, who seemed stunned by this news, nodded. "One Venusaur, please. And for the rest…" She looked at the others.

Xavier didn't know anything about the drinks in the pokémon world, so he just went along with it. "I'll have the same," he said.

"One Charizard mojito, please," Yvette said. Xavier blinked. It was the first time he'd ever heard her say please.

Goldeenson grunted. "I'll have a berry soda, Chople."

"Same," Poppy the Skiploom ordered.

Salvatore frowned. "So y'all want two Venusaur, one Char' mojito, n' two Chople sodas. Is that right?" Everyone nodded, and the Ambipom and Shuckle left.

"What an unpleasant majuu," Zairian voiced, glaring at the back of the Ambipom.

They spent the rest of the time talking about the treasures stored in the depths of Grifflet's Valley. Zairian had their undivided attention as she told them of her personal experiences there, most of them ending with the Azumarill finding a truckload of gold, gems, ancient artifacts and whatnot. She ended her tirade by saying that Grifflet's Valley was a place of victory, where everyone would achieve success in their goals there.

Salvatore appeared quickly, along with Jimmy. The Ambipom handed over Yvette's, Zairian's and Xavier's drinks, but withheld Goldeenson's and Poppy's for a moment. Everyone grimaced collectively when the Shuckle frowned in concentration, causing a thick, viscous purple goo to ooze out of the holes in his shell and pour onto the bubbly drinks in Ambipom's hands.

"Here ya go," Salvatore said dispassionately.

Goldeenson looked furious and disgusted. "What the hell was that!?" he raged.

Jimmy smirked. "Don't you know that the best berry juices are created like this? Or are ya one o' those rich folks who likes everything to be immaculate?"

"Damn pricks," Yvette grumbled as the barmen left. Her drink was clear in color, but what really caught Xavier's attention were the small tongues of flames on the surface. She grabbed the mug's handle with a talon and held it to her beak, ignoring the warmth of the flames. Her eyes lit up. "This is good!"

"Really?" Xavier eyed his mug with suspicion. His drink was a violent shade of green, with slices of Cheri berries floating in the drink. He looked at Zairian, who took a tentative lick from her drink. Her eyes widened and she shouted, "BARMAN!"

Salvatore appeared in a jiffy. "Yeah?"

"This has alcohol!" she yelled, outraged. Everyone, save for the Ambipom, gasped.

"So?" the ape said. "Don't you like it?"

"Alcohol is illegal!"

The Ambipom smirked. "Who gives a shit, lady? It ain't like you're gonna rush to the authorities and tell 'em 'bout this. N' even if ya do, I could just hide my stash away and deny everythin'. You should've told me that ya didn't want the happy juice in your drink."

"Fine…Make all our drinks again without alcohol!"

"Say the magic word," the Ambipom sang.

Zairian was shaking with barely suppressed rage, but she gave in. "…Please."

Salvatore smirked. "That's all ya had to say, lady."

XxXxX

The group of majuu spent the night in one of the deserted buildings of Saptami Village. There was only one inn for travelers, but the innkeeper hadn't been present, so Zairian took a risk by simply deciding to sleep there for free. It was a good thing that no one from the village decided to start a fight and prevent them from spending the night in the comfortable rooms, because otherwise it was back to camping in the great outdoors.

Xavier didn't sleep much that night. His mind was still on what that Shuckle had told them back in the tavern. Pokém— majuu disappearing overnight, and rings appearing in the sky? Either the Shuckle had mixed something white and powdery in his drink, or there was something extremely weird going on here.

He contemplated the possibility of this event and him being brought to the pokémon world being connected. It was a possibility, sure, and he tried to connect the dots. He'd been brought here mystically, without reason and randomly. The majuu of Saptami Village had been taken mystically, without reason and randomly. He made a mental note to look into it.

That night the gecko had a dreamless sleep, for which he was eternally grateful. One night without the Voice blabbering about his 'destiny' was one night he could sleep without waking up clammy and in his own sweat. He lay in his bed of soft straw – This place is really outdated, he'd mused once they saw the rooms, but it was comfortable nonetheless.

He woke up the next morning by himself. It was odd to not have Whis come up to their room and bellow at the top of his lungs, but he decided that the remaining residents of the village wouldn't take kindly to being woken up at the crack of dawn by an eager Exploud.

The Treecko walked over lazily to the water fountain in the inn, waiting in line as his comrades slurped down the cool liquid. When it was his turn, Xavier chugged down eight canisters of water, before finally deciding that that would be enough for the day.

"Okay, people," Zairian said, gaining everyone's attention. They were currently walking through the dense forest of Grifflet's Valley, heading towards Grifflet's Cave, which was the main event of the expedition. "Here's my plan. We'll be exploring Grifflet's Cave for two days, trying to salvage and procure as much treasure as we can – it's a big Dungeon, so we have to make the most out of everything. Since you are part of the expeditionary force, you all will be given your own guildgears. Vicky, if you will please hand one over to each one present."

Vicky nodded, calling for everyone to form a line. Xavier complied, a bit perplexed. He didn't have a clue as to what a guildgear was, but from the anticipation and excitement on everyone's faces he concluded that it was something good.

When it was his turn, Vicky handed over something similar to a wristwatch. With an ornate silver color, it resembled something like a pokeball, much to Xavier's amusement, with tiny wings on either side of the top half. The protruding nob in the center protruded slightly and Xavier found out that it was a button - one that set the nearest guildgear – Zachary's – into a beeping fit until Zairian pressed the button on her own with a sigh.

"The guildgears are handed over only to those majuu who have joined the guild on a yearly expedition," Zairian explained proudly, "a requirement that you all fill. Press the middle button if you're in a pickle; it will send a signal to my own guildgear and those nearest to you. To end the signal, simply press the button again. Or simply use one of your escape orbs."

Everyone nodded. Xavier noticed everyone putting it on their wrists – or ankles, in the case of the quadrupeds – so he did the same. The Treecko found out that the adjustable strap was so smooth that he barely felt anything save for the cool metal of the gear.

"Now that that's done," Vicky said gruffly, the Hawlucha putting her talons on her hips, "let's get going!"

The squadron yelled out cheers, although they quickly shut off once Zairian put up her hand in the universal sign to stop. "Before we proceed, I have something to say," the Azumarill declared. "To promote inter-team unity, I have decided to not allow you to navigate the mystery dungeon in your original groups, but to split the lot of you into mixed teams!"

There were cries of outrage and grumbling.

Vicky sighed. "I told you that wasn't gonna sell."

"The next person to talk will be sent back to the guild immediately!" Zairian screamed. Everyone fell silent. "You have no say in this; if you do protest, kindly leave. Anyone objects? Good."

And so the Guildmaster began to rattle of the temporary teams, much to everyone's disappointment. Xavier was sad to see Zachary teamed up with Kuronova and Spyke of Team Claws, while Rachel of the same team was paired up with Xavier, Goldeenson and Yvette. The Weavile was not pleased.

"Why do I have to be teamed up with these pipsqueaks!?" Rachel hissed.

Yvette scowled. "Nobody wants to be with you, bitch!" the Torchic yelled angrily.

"Enough!" Zairian roared. "My orders are final, and if you don't like it, then you can very well fu—"

"O-kay," Vicky interrupted. "Y'all better not complain anymore, 'cause when the Guildmaster starts cursing then shit's about to get real." Zairian huffed and didn't say anything about it. Yvette and Rachel relented, but the two were still glaring daggers at each other. If looks could kill, the two of them would be dead a hundred times over.

"Let's go, everyone!" Zairian and Vicky said. "Onwards!"

Xavier and Zachary fist-bumped. "Watch out for those two," Xavier told his original team leader.

The Croagunk grinned. "I could say the same to you." He pointed over Xavier's shoulder, where Yvette and Rachel looked ready to rip into each other. Xavier sighed, wondering what the heck Zairian had been drinking while making the teams up.

XxXxX

Grifflet's Cave – B1F

Xavier looked at Goldeenson. "Can I ask you a question?"

The Mightyena nodded. "Sure."

"Why's you're name Goldeenson? I mean, from the perspective of an actual Goldeen, let's say, it would seem as a ridiculous name."

Goldeenson grinned, but it was more like he bared his sharp fangs. "Before I joined the guild I used to live in a monospecies tribe," said the hyena-like pokémon, "so we all kinda had tribal names. For example, my pa's name is Crag, because the first thing his pa saw after he was born was a Graveler. My parents named me Goldeenson because I loved being near – or in – water. Ma even used to tell me that I spent more time with the Magikarp than my tribe."

Xavier blinked. "That's…Interesting."

"Oh, shut up," Rachel groaned, the Weavile absent-mindedly sharpening her claws. "You're boring me to death, the lot of you."

"I hope we succeed," Yvette growled. Rachel heard it, and that sent the two of them in another glaring contest.

"Can the two of you be done with it?" Goldeenson snapped. "Y'all are driving me crazy."

It had been an hour since they'd entered the dungeon – well, it felt like an hour. Xavier had read up that time was faster in Mystery Dungeons, so an hour outside would be little over five minutes in Dungeons. Space was oddly distorted, too. It looked like there was an infinite amount of space, but they could only explore a finite amount of it. And the worst part was finding the passageway to the next level, which, for some reason, appeared as badly sculpted marble stairs that mysteriously warped them to the next floor. So far Xavier hadn't explored any Mystery Dungeons, but the Treecko mused that if they existed in his world, scientists would have a field day.

"Don't forget, chicken, I could crush you in a minute," Rachel hissed.

"Just make sure that my flames don't burn you too badly," Yvette replied in a mock-sweet voice.

By God, Xavier groaned in his mind. If they keep going at it, they'll be dead before any wild majuu can get at them.

"I just hope we get to the next floor as quickly as we can," Xavier said aloud. He was elated for doing so, as the next clearing they entered into had a set of jagged, granite stairs smack in the middle of the room, leading straight into the ground. There were only a few steps visible, as the rest blurred into oblivion.

It was only a second later that the Treecko noticed two other entities in the room – a Girafarig and a Camerupt – both feral.

The Camerupt roared, drawing the Girafarig's attention away from it and towards the motley crew of four expeditionary majuu.

"Take 'em out!" Goldeenson roared, a brutal grin of bloodlust on his face, similar to the one on Rachel's. The Mightyena and Weavile immediately rushed towards their opponents, who were doing the same.

"Holy shit!" Yvette squeaked. "This is awesome!"

Seeing little point in staying at the sidelines, Xavier shrugged before joining in. Yvette went to aid Goldeenson, who had avoided a sudden Iron Head from Camerupt, and retaliated with an Ice Fang. The Mightyena clamped his jaws shut onto the Camerupt's neck, sending it screaming in pain as Yvette drop-kicked it with a Night Slash, her talons scraping its eyes.

Xavier let loose a Dragonbreath that licked and seared the fur on Girafarig's left flank, causing it to shriek in anger and pain. The problem was that it was a lucky shot – he knew that the tail was nothing but another head capable of independent decisions and actions, which meant that it never kept its eyes off Rachel and Xavier. The tail kept attacking Rachel with Razor Winds and Crunches, while the main head kept Xavier busy with Psybeams and whatnot.

Xavier jumped back, using Protect to deflect the Zen Headbutt straight for him. The impact sent the Girafarig a bit stunned, and taking this chance Rachel struck it on the left flank with a Night Slash, the Weavile's claws too strong and sending her opponent to the side. The psychic-type groaned and tried to rise up, but Xavier was ready to keep it down for good.

"Take this!" the Treecko said, pulling out a blast seed from his satchel and hurling it at the fallen Girafarig's underside, where it exploded upon impact. The detonation knocked it out and knocked it several feet away, its limp body unmoving on the ground.

Rachel grinned despite herself. "Nice touch, Treecko."

"Thanks," he replied shortly. Not far away, Goldeenson sank his fangs further into the Camerupt's flesh until it essentially stopped flopping.

"There." The Mightyena's long tongue cleaned his teeth of whatever blood he had drawn from the feral Camerupt. "Tasty."

Xavier made a face, but the rest didn't seem to disturbed. "I thought cannibalism was a crime?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but he just drew blood. Ain't a big deal, Treecko."

"My name is Xavier," the Treecko in question ground out.

Rachel shrugged. There was a glint in the dark-type's eyes. "Never said I give a shit."

Before Xavier could respond, she moved her claws in a 'come hither' motion. "Let's go before we get any more ferals on our asses."

XxXxX

Grifflet's Cave - B2F

Descending the stairs wasn't the worst feeling he'd experienced, but it definitely made on Xavier's top five list. It felt like his insides had been pulled through his nose before being shoved back in through his rear-end. When his feet hit the floor, he stumbled and clutched his stomach to prevent himself from puking, but he did it anyway.

"Xavier!" Yvette reprimanded. She looked disgusted, and even Goldeenson looked miffed.

Rachel simply guffawed outright. "Oh, you pipsqueak! When I was in my first stage it took five stairs before I even felt like vomiting!" Xavier glared at her.

"Shut up."

They passed through another labyrinthine corridor and got into another scuffle. An Omanyte decided to make its presence known from the waters surrounding them by spitting a jet of water at Yvette, but Xavier intercepted and took the hit, allowing his grass-type to make it ineffective, even though it stung a little. Still, it only took an Absorb for Xavier to drain all the energy out of the aquatic creature, letting its unconscious form float on the water as they moved on.

Xavier spent most of the time trying to figure out Mystery Dungeons. He'd asked his companions and they'd responded by saying that nobody cared much about studying them. Were they simply dimensional anomalies? Or the results of Dialga's and Palkia's residual energy merging to form such locations? As silly as it sounded, it could be true. He'd never thought of a human being transported to a world solely inhabited by pokémon, either.

"I found something!" Everyone's attention turned to Goldeenson, who had bounded off after a few seconds of sniffing. Following him, they found an unconscious Spoink, but what caught their attention was the object the Mightyena had kept a paw on.

Goldeenson looked proud. "Lookit this!" he said smugly. "Look what I found!"

It was a pitch-black plate that looked like it had been made out of pure obsidian. There was something…off…about it. Xavier felt a spark of hopelessness in himself. Goldeenson and Rachel, on the other hand, looked like Christmas's had come early (if they did celebrate Christmas here). Goldeenson seemed to be affected the most. He looked…hungry.

Rachel's eyes widened in awe and not a tiny bit of envy. "A Dread Plate? No friggin' way!"

"Yep." The Mightyena nodded. "And it's mine."

"Sod off! Give it to me!"

"I found it first!"

"I called dibs, you dumb mutt!"

"Who gives a shit, you freaky fuck?"

"Shut up!" Yvette screamed. Rachel and Goldeenson went silent. "Stop acting like a bitch, Rachel, it's his. Goldeenson found it first. If you've got any problems then find your own treasure! You don't own anyone except for the two clawed shits that keep following you everywhere!"

Rachel narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything except for, "Fuck off."

Yvette promised Goldeenson to keep his Dread Plate in her satchel until they exited the Dungeon, the Mightyena casting a final scowl at Rachel before they moved on. It seemed like the Weavile had a tendency to piss off even the friendliest of guildmembers.

They found a few more treasures – evolutionary stones, color shards, gems, even a TM for Teleport, to name a few – and battled several feral pokémon. They tried to leave the sleeping ones alone, but Rachel took particular pleasure in waking them up with her ice attacks and knocking them out with a flurry of Metal Claws once they were awake and momentarily stunned. The Weavile was ruthless, Xavier analyzed.

There was only one time when a majuu caught them off-guard. The Raticate was pretending to be asleep, and sank its claws into an overconfident Yvette the moment she came too close. It knocked her out when everyone was surprised by the sudden movement, but with the combined efforts of Goldeenson and Xavier the savage rodent was taken care of. They even brought Yvette back to the realm of consciousness with one of their revival seeds, so there was very little harm done.

"Sleep seed, now!" shouted Yvette as she scratched a Marshtomp across the face. The amphibious majuu groaned and clutched at its face before Goldeenson complied, taking a sleep-inducing seed from the satchel and spitting it at the distracted Marshtomp. The seed burst softly, grey powders being released as they entered Marshtomp's bloodstream via its nose and mouth. Within a second it hit the floor, and Rachel lunged forward to finish it off.

Once she was done, she dusted her claws and grinned maniacally at her companions.

Yvette nodded. "That was good, but I'm gooder."

Xavier blinked. "You mean better."

"Whatever."

The Treecko shrugged. "Forget it. Anyway, we're low on seeds right now. We only have three more revival seeds, so we've got to be careful. And we only have four escape orbs. We can't lose them. Also, we—"

"Blah, blah, blah," Rachel cut off with a roll of her eyes. "We got it, Greenhorn. Can you stop with the professor act?"

Xavier flushed angrily. "Well, we'll see how well you do when we don't keep track on such useful necessities—"

"Honey, I've been exploring Mystery Dungeons before you were even born!"

"How old are you?"

Rachel looked smug. "Twelve." She said that as if it ended the argument.

Xavier blinked. What the…Twelve?! Xavier though, incredulous. Well, pokémon do age faster than humans, both physically and mentally so it doesn't come as a surprise…Hmm…I wonder how old I am…

"Hey! Dreamer Boy!" Xavier jarred out of his thoughts once he heard Yvette shrieking. The Torchic looked annoyed. "We going or what?"

XxXxX

Grifflet's Cave - B16F

"Hey, guys!" Xavier exclaimed, moving his hand in a come hither motion. "I think I found something!"

The sound of footfalls loudened with splashes as Yvette and Goldeenson approached, their feet wet from walking in puddles. The mystery dungeon was getting damper and damper with each passing floor. "What's up?" Goldeenson growled, his large, pink tongue flicking out as he licked his nose.

"I found this." Xavier pointed at the small, brown treasure chest a few steps in front of him. It looked like a typical chest, except there was no visible keyhole. What even?

"Oh, you found one of these." Goldeenson scrunched his face in annoyance. The Mightyena scowled. "I hate these things."

"What's going on, ya chumps?" a voice drawled. Xavier resisted the urge to glower as Rachel walked closer, her entire posture lazy. "Did ya find a gravelerock or something?"

"No, you stupid bitch," Yvette hissed, the Torchic nudging her foot in the treasure chest's direction. "We found this?"

Thankfully, Rachel ignored the insult as she examined the loot. "Oh," the Weavile said a moment later. "Another one of these."

"What are they?" Xavier, asked, curious.

"These things are the best safes ever," Goldeenson explained. "Exploration teams get these when they have really precious stuff that they don't want to lose. The only problem is that sometimes, they either lose these safes, or they're left behind when exploration teams perish during a mission. Other teams collect these safes, but they're a big pain in the ass and can only be opened by exerting a strong amount of psychic power."

"Which means that we can't open this here," Yvette added.

"Know any psychic moves, Rach?" Goldeenson quipped.

Rachel shook her head. "Nah," said the Weavile. "Even if I did, I don't think I'd be able to open this shit, anyway." She seemed a bit reluctant to admit this. "Let's take this to Jezebel – she'll be able to open it."

"Jezebel?" Xavier said, confused.

"Jeez, Treecko, don't ya know anything?" Rachel said sarcastically. "Jezebel's our local seer. She's a Xatu, so it helps a lot. She tells our fortune too if we pay her a couple hundred Poké, but she also opens psi-safes."

"So we can take this back to Gem Town and then split the loot three ways," Goldeenson suggested.

Yvette frowned. "Don't you mean four?"

"Goldeenson shook his head. "Look, you and Xavier here are part of the same team," he explained. "So we group you together! Don't you get it?"

Yvette puffed up angrily. Noticing a brewing argument, Xavier butted in, not in the mood for another fight. The group expedition had seemed fun at first, but monotonously roaming through dungeons was getting boring. "Why don't we figure this out later?" he suggested. "Instead of wasting time, we might as well grab some more loot over here."

The rest agreed, and Xavier ignored the glare Yvette sent in Goldeenson's direction. "Can we continue? We're wasting time."

They continued pillaging the cavern for what felt like an hour, finding another psi-safe, fresh fruit, a dusty, used TM that Xavier kept anyway, and a cluster of blast seeds that had only been found due to Goldeenson's keen sense of smell.

"I dare you to throw them all at once," Goldeenson urged with a grin, looking at the blast seeds Xavier was stuffing carefully in their knapsack.

Xavier shot him a disgruntled look. "I'm not signing my own death certificate, Gold."

Suddenly, the guildgear on their wrists began to beep frantically. Xavier jumped at the sudden sound, but quickly calmed down and stared at the other three majuu.

"Someone's in trouble," Xavier said with a frown.

Rachel shrugged. "Eh. Someone else'll get to 'em."

"We have to help them," Goldeenson said.

"Unless you're too scared to fight off some feral pokémon," Yvette said.

Rachel scowled. She extended her claws, the Weavile's talons flashing dangerous. "I'm not scared of nothing!" she said. "C'mon. Let's find the idiots who've managed to get into trouble."

XxXxX

Grifflet's Cave — B23F

The air was getting thick with water vapor with every dungeon level they passed. It felt cool to Xavier's skin, and the Treecko actually liked the damper atmosphere compared to the dry wasteland that the upper levels of the dungeon were. It didn't bother Rachel, who just kept walking on ahead with a cool gaze, but Goldeenson and Yvette were a completely different story – the Mightyena had turned disgruntled with the way his thick fur had turned wet, and Yvette simply didn't like the damp atmosphere, what with her being a fire-type and all.

Their guildgears had finally stopped beeping a while ago, which was a relief, since it tended to wake up the sleeping feral majuu residing in the dungeon. But apart from a clearly powerful Machoke, they had no trouble beating their opponents into submission.

"This is getting boring," Xavier grumbled as they took a break. The unconscious form of a Dragonair lay several feet away from them, its cascade scales frozen due to Rachel's powerful Ice Beams. "How long do you think we've been here?"

Goldeenson bit a chunk from his apple. "Hard to tell." The Mightyena shrugged, then proceeded to finish the rest of his fruit. "Time is faster in the dungeon. If you spend five minutes in here—"

"It's actually a few hours outside, I know," Xavier said. The Treecko sighed. "I want to get out of here as fast as I can."

Rachel scoffed. "And you wanna become the best exploration team there is," she said disparagingly.

Xavier ignored her.

They spent a some more time relaxing, before they packed up their supplies and got up to continue their trek. Before they could, however, Rachel walked over to the unconscious Dragonair and inspected it carefully. "What are you doing?" Yvette asked her in puzzlement.

"Just a minute." Then, to everyone else's horror, she slashed her claws at the frozen scales on the dragon-type majuu's body and ripped them off. The iridescent blue scales came off, leaving the flesh of the Dragonair exposed, but Rachel quickly fired another Ice Beam to shut the wound.

"What was that?!" Xavi exclaimed, horrified as he saw the Weavile pocket the scales.

Rachel looked at him in surprise. "What? Dragon scales are quite rare. Some people will pay a high price for just one."

Xavier looked at her in disgust; then he realized that this was probably the same way many people acquired dragon scales in the human world. That didn't make his mood better, however.

"C'mon." Xavier grunted. "Let's find the next staircase."

Surprisingly, there were no more twists and turns here – instead, it was a straight path, surrounded by tall, tropical trees and barely any pokémon. They steered clear of any sleeping ferals, but they did manage to fend off an incredibly large Tropius whom Yvette had managed to aggravate by trying to use one of the bananas for target practice. In the end, the monstrous grass-type had walked away after Goldeenson threatened it with an Ice Fang.

At the end of the path was no staircase – just two, tall pillars, like totems carved out of black stone, with the head of a Rhydon on top. It seemed like the entrance to a palace, or something.

"What's this?" Yvette asked in curiosity. The Torchic looked excited.

"Probably the last level," Rachel mused. "I bet there's a load of treasure here. Let's go!"

The next thing they was simply blew their minds.

A vast expanse of colors met their eyes, greeting them in full as the four majuu slowed to a halt to take in every single detail presented in front of them. Lush green grass covered the ground, with tulips and daffodils blooming in random spots. Large boulders were placed helter-skelter, with moss growing on them, and the ceiling, which seemed to be as high as the sky, was embedded with glittering jewels. A large mountain was placed at the far end of the cavern, a waterfall cascading down and forming a ginormous, bubbling lake. It looked like something out of a fairytale.

"Holy shit," Xavier mumbled.

The Butterfree carrying pollen suddenly stopped, and stared at the four explorers. For a second, there was no sound. Then a high, keening screech erupted, blending in with several others, the piercing sound making Xavier, Goldeenson, Yvette and Rachel wince in pain.

"Ow!" Yvette said.

The lake bubbled.

All of a sudden, a spout of water burst from the lake, curving down high up in the air and heading towards them. The four majuu screamed and leapt away, the blast of water crashing exactly where they'd been standing a few seconds ago. The grass sizzled as the boiling hot water drenched it, tendrils of smoke rising from it.

"Wh-What?!" Xavier exclaimed, as the water formed into a large ball before dispersing and leaving a new majuu in their presence.

"You dare?" the creature bellowed in anger.

Its purple mane shook and the white ribbons fluttered as a gust of wind blew into the room. Sharp claws sprouted from the beasts paws, it's blue and white fur glistening from the water that had soaked it. The diamond-shaped hoop on top of its head shone with power, and its red eyes swiveled to glare at the four explorers who stared at the legend in shock.

"Intruders," the Suicune snarled, a growl bubbling in the back of its throat. "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"