Nosepass and Pinsir
Bess like to contemplate things. There was a lot to think about: the universe, the nature of the gods, the weather, the plants, the rocks, the seas, the Pokemon, and more. When she worked on one philosophical problem, it often lead to dozens of others, a whole web of knowledge and wisdom to consider. She listened to the masters, experts, and scholars, absorbing what they knew and thought. She had read many books and scrolls, often thinking and learning through the night and day. One day, maybe they'd call her a sage.
For now, though, she was being hurled through the air. She knocked into a wild Lopunny. As a Nosspass, it didn't hurt her much, but it knocked out the other Pokemon. Bess tumbled back onto the ground, whirling about until she was back on her feet with her long nose pointed north. After having been thrown like this hundreds of times, she could do this unerringly, without wasting energy in moving too much. She took a momentary break from her thoughts and looked over the wild Pokemon there. Still alert were a Spearow and a Roselia. She lifted a red arm and summoned a mass of rocky spikes to burst from the ground, knocking out the former. For the latter, she just waited.
Moments later, a Pinsir burst into the forest opening. "Back off, petalhead!" she shouted, twisting her body so that one of her pincers caught hold of the Roselia's leafy hand. Then she clamped down and ripped out a large portion of the petals. Shrieking, the wild Roselia bolted from the field to hide in the trees. The Pinsir laughed heartily. "Ha ha, and a coward too? Not that I'd blame you. All of you should be afraid of Tess the mighty!" Then she took a few steps to face Bess. "You doing all right? It's been quite a dungeon."
Bess saluted with her right arm. She was fine. Besides, as usual Tess had done much of the fighting.
"Good, then let's keep at it. We'll get to the depths of this place by nightfall, I feel it!" Then she picked up the Nosepass in her pincers and began carrying her over her head. Bess wasn't afraid or bothered by this. This was how they always explored dungeons.
As they went on, Bess thought about the dungeon, only taking a break when Tess had thrown her into battle and her skills were needed to take out threats to her partner. But here in Mystery Jungle, there were far more threats to her with all the Grass Pokemon around. Tess was having a field day. Yes, she took to every exploration with enthusiasm, but forests were her favorite. And a special forest dungeon like this, where the entrance was hidden with a password spoken to a particular tree, the Pinsir was bound to be louder and more boastful than normal as she was so happy.
Mystery Jungle... this was said to be the home of Mew, a legendary Pokemon that may have had a hand in creating all normal Pokemon like themselves. The password to this place hadn't been that hard for them to uncover. In fact, it had come from a traveler who stopped in the local cafe; he said that it was passed from person to person with surprising frequency. Finding the particular tree had taken some hunting and observation, but wasn't too hard. However, it was said that very few actually met with Mew here. Maybe this wasn't the legend's home. Or maybe the legend was better at hiding.
And things might be better off if such legends continued to be elusive and hide. These Pokemon were so powerful that they could make miracles happen. When they did something, everyone around them was affected; sometimes even Pokemon far away were affected. If they demanded tributes and absolute obedience, most normal Pokemon would not be able to fight for their freedom to choose. Their immediate presence would also lower the efforts and will of normal Pokemon. After all, if there was a problem, all they would have to do is go to the legendary Pokemon and ask for a miracle to solve it. Without that easy way out, Pokemon could develop the will, persistence, and talents to solve their own issues. Even if the issue at hand was meeting with a legendary Pokemon just for the novelty of it.
Bess found herself being hurled at another wild Pokemon, this time a Sceptile which was promptly knocked out. When she looked at the Pokemon there, she noticed there was already a battle going on. Some were wearing bags attached to belts, sashes, and headbands, all signs of civilized Pokemon. There was quite a group of them, but they looked much worse off than herself and Tess. It must have been a hard dungeon for them.
Tess rushed into the room and knocked out a second Sceptile, breaking up the pressure on the other group. Once they had taken out their last foe, the first team looked over the Pinsir cautiously. "Thanks, but who are you?" a Medicham asked. From the medal around his neck, he was the leader of the five of them.
Pounding on her chest with two arms, she said, "I'm Tess, and this is my bess friend Bess, and we're the amazing Team Huntress! Glad to help; who are you bunch?"
"We're part of the Golden Guild, which doesn't split up into smaller teams," the Medicham said. "As long as you're not a band of thieves."
"Of course not," Tess said cheerily. "Need any help with anything else? We got time and energy to spare."
He shook his head. "No, we're out of time ourselves, just waiting on a clear room to get out of here. We've been on this level for nearly a full day, trying to find the gateway to the next area. But there's nothing but strange stone tablets around. It's very frustrating, so you might as well leave too."
She laughed at that suggestion. "Nah, we're good. I'm the brawn and she's the brain, so we'll figure something out."
"If you think, but you'll probably be leaving in the same way yourselves," the Medicham said. He waved to his allies, then used an Escape Orb to teleport with all of them out of the jungle.
Tess picked up Bess again. "You know, I always thought that if they'd allow partners like us to stick together, I wouldn't mind being in the Golden Guild. A lot of their explorers become fabulously wealthy thanks to secrets they're said to keep."
"They allow their members no freedom in what jobs they take," Bess said, recalling what many travelers and ex-members of the Golden Guild had said. "They would not allow a pair to go on the same mission together twice. And the Guildmaster and his associates control everything about the lives of regular members."
"I guess that would stink," Tess said. "I like my freedom! Now, let's go find that hidden gateway!"
After several more battles, they came across an opening with two stone slabs that were taller than Tess. They matched similar slabs that had been scattered across this level, made of a bluish-gray stone and carved into a pentagon that had been stretched tall. There were no wild Pokemon in the meadow yet. "The two stones are twins, only one room has two stones, the twins hold the key," Bess recited from several similar slabs they had come across. "This is where we need to be."
"All right, here you go." she dropped Bess in front of the southern face of the slab, which thankfully was the one with writing on it. "I'll keep any troublemakers from bugging ya." She clicked her pincers, amused at her own joke.
The Nosepass looked up at the slab. The riddle it was inscribed with was odd. 'This is or is not Mystery Jungle. The next level is or is not the last level of the dungeon. There is or is not many wild Pokemon on the next level. There is or is not a market on the next level. The way is or is not found in the following method: place the blue or red stone in this or that slab, and place the blue or red stone in this or that slab. The gateway will or will not appear between the two slabs. You will or will not face a challenge from Mew if you arrive at the next level.'
At the foot of the slab, there was a round blue stone. Up on the peak of the slab, there was a circular insert where the stone could be placed. But, it would help to read the other slab in order to solve the riddle correctly, intentionally rather than accidentally. Bess could not turn easily, as her nose, and therefore her face, always had to face north due to magnetism. But she could turn her waist about, then take tiny slow steps with her small stubby feet.
She hadn't even moved two inches when Tess picked her up. "Come on, you should know to ask me. In front of the other one?"
"Sorry. Yes." Sometimes she was so intent on solving a riddle that she forgot how slow her pace was and how quick Tess could become impatient.
Once she was in front of the other, she noticed that all of the lines of this slab were questions. Most of them would require a simple answer of yes or no. And if these two stones were twins, then the answers to this one had to point out the correct statements on the other.
"Would you stand in front of the other and help me solve this?" Bess asked. "It has many options, but I will tell you which is the correct one."
"Gotcha," Tess said. She darted over, glanced around for wild Pokemon, then looked over the words. "Man this is weird."
The first question was, 'Is this place dark?' The aura of this dungeon and the thick canopy of leaves kept light from being strong here. "The first one is the positive choice."
"Okay, then... 'This is the Mystery Jungle.' Well duh, everyone knows that."
"That tells us we understand this key correctly," Bess said, looking over the next question. It was, 'Do Roselia live here?' They had run into many, so, "The second one is positive."
"'The next level is the last level of this dungeon.' Ha ha, those Golden Guild losers gave up right at the finish line!"
"The last may be toughest," she reminded her partner. Reading on, the next question was, 'Does this dungeon have less than ten levels?' They had already passed through nearly thirty, so, "The third one is negative."
"'There is not many wild Pokemon on the next level.' Well that's a bummer, cause there will be less fights! That sounds boringly easy." Tess shook her pincers, then glanced aside at a wild Pokemon coming into the room. It didn't seem interested in them yet, wasn't even close enough to see what it was.
Continuing on, the slab asked fairly simple questions. Paying attention to the form of the dungeon and what went on inside it gave the answers to all of them. This led the other slab to telling them that there wasn't a market on the next level and the slabs would lead the way to the next level. The next questions she could solve on her own. 'What color is the sky?' and 'Which stone asks questions?' meant that the blue stone went in this slab, while 'What color is a campfire?' and 'Which stone states things?' meant that the red stone went in the other slab.
The last two questions startled Bess: 'Are you one who always faces north?' and 'Is your friend one of large pincers?'. It seemed to pick out the two of them precisely. But, these words were carved in stone. This had to be the place of a legendary Pokemon, to make such accurate questions. "The last two are both positive," Bess said in a hesitant voice.
"Then the gateway will appear between these slabs, and we'll face Mew in battle. Awesome! I can't wait! Let me get these thingys in the right spots." She carefully plucked the blue stone up with her pincers and came over to put it in the slot of the stone Bess was in front of, then did the same for the red stone in the other.
"Mew must know so much," Bess said to herself. Maybe they could stay to talk with Mew for a little while. Tess might get antsy, but she would love being able to hear the knowledge and wisdom of such an ancient Pokemon.
Once the stones were in place, a beam of energy passed between the two stones. There was a blinding flash, and then a golden gateway appeared in front of them. Such gateways were rare, and they dissolved once used until their key was used or solved again. Tess picked Bess up and walked them both through the gateway, magically transferring them to the next level of Mystery Jungle.
Tess at least had the courtesy to put Bess down when they came across Mew, waiting in a large meadow for them. It was a smaller Pokemon than either of them, a pink feline with a long thin tail, floating in the air. "You found your way to me," Mew said in a delighted voice. "I hope that you'll play with me a little while."
"We sure will!" Tess said, clicking her pincers together.
"You chose for us to find you, rather than the other group of explorers," Bess said. "Why did you do that?"
"Huh, you did?" the Pinsir asked, puzzled.
Mew twisted its tail about so that it was holding it in one paw. "I did. You two have a strong bond of friendship, one that deserves to be honored. They have a weak bond and will easily break in the face of adversity." Then Mew flipped around in midair, speaking once it was facing them again. "And if you can defeat me in a play battle, then I may have a mission for you. But you must prove yourselves."
Was this dungeon, including the stone slabs, a test for a special mission? Bess felt that it may be so, and with some thought she might be able to say if it was or not. But then Tess picked her back up. "We'll show the strength of our bond to anybody who dares test it!" the Pinsir shouted before hurling the Nosepass at Mew.
Another battle had begun.
…
Nosepass Sapphire entry: Nosepass has been said to be completely unmoving, with its magnetic nose pointed due north. However, close observation has revealed that the Pokemon actually moves by a little over 3/8ths of an inch each year.
Pinsir Leaf Green entry: If it fails to crush the foe in its pincers, it will swing around and toss the opponent.
I need to name my next Explorer game's heroes and team after this pair; they turned out unexpectedly fun.