CHAPTER 8: Team Indigo
Our trip to the dungeon was uneventful. Kit lead the way, but we didn't talk much apart from the usual 'Are we there yet?'.
The first sign that we were arriving was the fact that the trees and bushes began growing in number. Then, the path stopped being flat. That's when Kit signaled us to stop.
"Alright. We are not very far from it now. I'll give you a quick summary of the dungeon before entering. As far as I know, there are six floors. There are mostly bug types, with a few flying types sailing the skies overhead, so it will be a piece of cake for Ember. Remember that the mission is to retrieve the Power Band, which, if I'm not mistaken, is brown, so we will have to keep an eye for it. Got it?"
"Yep" I said while smiling.
Kit can be so tactical sometimes...A pity that it acts as a kid most of the time.
Pushing my thoughts aside, I began walking forward, going between more and more trees.
Finally, I saw a sign, but I didn't know what it meant.
"Hey! I found a sign here! Tell me what it says!"
"Never would I have thought that I'd hear those words coming from a teenager"
"I'm no ordinary teenager, you know that"
"Can we focus?" Interrupted Ember.
"Yeah, sorry. I'll read it for ya, Jakey. You gotta promise you will learn to read soon, though"
"I would if I knew how!"
"Anyway. The sign reads: You are entering Treeshroud Hills! This is a Mistery Dungeon, and only trained explorers can enter! Turn back now!"
"So we are in the correct place..."
"Did you not trust my sense of orientation?"
"Not really. Do I need to remind you of the time you took me hiking? That we got lost and almost couldn't find our way back?"
"Yeah. Good ol' times"
"Alright, lets enter then"
Both of them nodded, and we headed farther into the woods.
The fact that we entered the dungeon wasn't as seemless as with the cave. Since it was coated in darkness, I couldn't see anything, so the change from darkness to apparent full brightness was instant.
This time however, I could see a gradual change of scenary. Firstly, the trees began increasing in number exponentially, to the point that there was no way you could barely pass through them.
Then, the lightning began to become stronger and stronger, until you could clearly see your surroundings.
The last indication that we had entered a Mistery Dungeon, was that we stumbled upon a clearing, and when I looked back, there was no sign of the path that we followed, and the space between the trees was too tight to squeeze through.
Despite that, I clearly saw how Ember and Kit passed without any issues.
"Alright! We must be inside now. Lets go, we've got a band to find" Kit commented.
We both nodded.
It's just looking for a piece of clothing. It can't be that hard, can it? Worst case, we will just have to search again.
"Alright, so now that we have these badges, should we split? I think it would make looking for an item a lot easier, and we can just keep in touch with each other through them" I remarked.
"You are the leader, aren't you? You decide"
"But I think you should have a say in the matter, so tell me, Ember. What do you say?"
"I don't see why not. I think you two should go together. A few bug and grass types will be no match for me, but they could be for you"
"I agree. You okay with that, Kit?"
"Sure. I'm not sure about needing the badges, though. I'm certain that we will hear her screams from the other side of the dungeon when she gets swarmed by a few Spinarak. I hope she doesn't forget how to fight~"
Ember punched Kit on his shoulder. A clear redness on her face was visible.
"Anyway. I'm taking left. Whoever finds the stairs first should report to the other group"
"Ok. See ya Ember"
She pulled the stick in her tail out, and began marching out of our sight.
"Alright Jakey! Now that we are alone, lets discuss the plan"
"The plan? Walk around and search for a Power Band"
"Ohh, come on! Don't be such a boring guy! Lets make it fun!"
"No. Come on, Kit! We are in a mission now! Can you not act like that? Just for this one? We can't fail this mission if we want to be recognized as a real team! I promise I'll do something "fun" with you when we are done"
Kit frowned, but nodded. "Fine... It's your dream and all of that. You better not be silent for the whole mission, though"
I chuckled and began walking, to which Kit followed. "You really are like a kid, you know?"
"That's the only thing I kept from my evolution! The only thing I miss is my hairstyle. You had to see me back then! I spent hours in the bathroom brushing my fur every day, and I didn't have half as much as I have now!"
"Really?"
"You know how hard it is to make a tuff of your fur stand still for the whole day with just water and your front paws, while also trying not to fall?"
"I'm pretty sure we have something back in the human world to help with that"
"Well, I could have found that thing back then! It sure would have been really useful!"
"But why do that when you were a kid? I suppose it was a trick to flirt with your classmates?"
"For your information, I was in the "cool kids club", so I was constantly getting cornered by girls! I didn't like it, though. It wasn't my thing"
"Yeah, act humble just after you bragged about being one of the populars and saying that you had a lot of girls wanting to be with you"
"I never bragged! I literally said I didn't like it. I just wanted to tell you that grooming yourself is a good way to increase your chances!"
"Alright, buddy. If you say so..."
A small Scatterbug jumped from the bushes, hissing at us, but I quickly kicked it away back where it came from. It didn't come back, so that was good.
We scouted all of our part, with a few lonely bugs ocassionally jumping at us.
We only found a few remains of burnt leaves, signaling that Ember had already passed through here.
Not too long after, we found the stairs leading to the next floor, and Ember was there, doing her best to find a way to use the badge as a communicator.
"Maybe if I press this...nothing. How the hell does this work?"
"Have you tried pressing the big button on top?" Kit said, making her jump a bit.
"You scared me!"
"Did you find anything?"
"No, just Pokémon"
"We are wasting time, then. Lets go! I am still waiting for a real challenge!" Said Kit while running up the stairs.
Ember just sighed, putting her badge back on her bag. "I hope he didn't give you a lot of trouble"
"Nah. In fact, I feel like we are going to know each other a lot better after this adventure"
"Maybe you can finally make him act like a decente adult for once!"
"Nope. I like this Kit"
Ember rolled her eyes, but chuckled. "I honestly do, too. Wouldn't change him even a bit. Lets go, we already waited enough"
I nodded and walked up the familiar stairs. Now that I thought about it, I realized the stairs were made from something similar to concrete. It felt really similar. But how could a dungeon from a whole different world know what concrete is like?
The familiar dizzyness snapped me back to the real world, and the next floor. Kit was dealing with a Combee, and it didn't last long at all.
"Alright, same plan?" He asked.
"Yep. I call dibs on the left side again. See ya!" Said Ember as she disappeared out of view, leaving us Kit and me alone again.
Sighing, I motioned Kit to follow me, as we prepared to scout yet another floor.
And here I thought she didn't like exploring...
This floor was steeper than the last one, reminding me that we are in Treeshroud Hills. Nothing my new endurance couldn't cope with.
"Sooo...about that lot of girls that were after you..."
"Yeah?"
"Do you have a girlfriend?" I said with a small teasing smile.
It did not have the reaction I thought it would have, as Kit's ears droopped and his smile faltered.
"I used to, yeah. At first it was great! Never thought we would become a couple, you know? But...things didn't work out. To put things simply, she...changed. Drastically. I haven't heard of her in a long time..."
Oh.
"I'm...sorry to hear that. I shouldn't have asked..."
"It's ok. It was time for your payback for my teasing anyway" He said while recovering his smile, as if it never disappeared in the first place.
"You sure?"
"Yeah! Lets focus on the mission again shall we?"
I turned around to face him, and sure enough, he didn't appear sad at all.
He has probably got over it a long time ago.
What caught my attention, however, was not Kit, but what was behind him.
A Scyther. And it was preparing an attack!
"Kit, behind you!"
It was too late. The Scyther had already prepared the attack and launched it a Kit, throwing him forward...and to my direction.
We both fell on the ground, but Kit was quick enough to stand up and help me do the same.
We looked at the Scyther. It pointed one of his scythes to us, and then it did the 'I'll kill you' expression.
I shuddered. "Is that normal?"
"For Scyther? Yeah. Now lets kick some bug ass! I have something especial for 'im!"
He ran towards the mantis Pokémon and kicked it in the face, which it responded with kicking Kit back.
I ran behind Kit and jumped, readying a Force Palm, but this time, the Scyther was quick enough to dodge my attack
It also managed to use Air Slash on me, which knocked the wind out of my lungs, and knocked me backwards.
I got up and barely dodged a Slash comming from the feral. Now that it was close, I kicked him in the stomach, but it endured it, and quickly used another Air Slash on me.
I was beggining to wear out, but I couldn't show it. If I really started to lose energy, I could try to use Reversal again.
I charged one last time, and in the last second, changed my path to slide between the Scyther's legs.
Now that I was behind, I used Force Palm, and hit it with a painful blow. However, it did something I didn't expect. It used the momentum from the impact and his small wings, and flew upwards, using another Air Slash, knocking me onto the ground this time. A few drips of blood fell from my nose.
The Scyther landed, and proceeded to do a victory pose.
"Nice distraction! Now lets heat things up!" Shouted Kit from nowhere in particular.
Suddenly, a stream of flames appeared from thin air, enveloping the Scyther fully. When they dissapeared, the Pokémon was nothing more than mist.
On que, Kit appeared in front of me and helped me up.
"Was that an illusion?!"
"Nope, it was Flamethrower. I bought a TM a long time ago. It was ages since I spat some flames"
"You could have told me that!"
"It wouldn't have been a surprise then, would it?" He said grinning.
"Hey! Is this thing working? Can you hear me? " Came Ember's voice from our badges.
"We hear you, loud and clear. Did you press the big button?"
"Shut up. I called to tell you that I found the stairs and I will move forward to the third floor, so don't wait for me "
"Got it. Leave a mark to let us know what path you took"
Saying that, Kit left the badge back on his bag. "Cool, isn't it?"
"Yeah! How is that even possible? It's just a piece of metal!"
"A piece of metal coated in psychic energy. You'll see, and most importantly, feel, what that can do, I'm sure"
"Lets keep moving"
We scouted what was left of the floor, but there were still no sign of the Power Band. I was beggining to feel bored. With only a few bugs appearing from time to time, I began to miss the thrill of fighting those criminals yesterday.
Wait, yesterday?!
After a few uneventful room searches, we decided to look for the stairs, climbed them and kept moving.
"Third floor, half of the dungeon explored!" Cheerfully yelled Kit.
"If you say so..." I said rolling my eyes.
I looked around the room, and found that this time, there were three paths to choose from. Despite what I thought, the mark Ember left for us was on the center corridor instead of the left one.
"So the center is picked. Left or right? You choose, Kit"
"Lets go left. Have a good feeling with this one"
"Hey! I am supposed to be the one that feels things!"
"Not this time! Lets go! I'll cover your rear"
We took the corridor and walked for a long time. It didn't seem to ever have an end. Luckily, this exploration was turning to be everything except boring.
"Jake"
"Yeah?"
"I wanna know more about you. Time for your turn to answer questions!"
"Didn't we get attacked the last time we got distracted talking?"
"So what? It's not like it will happen everytime!"
"Fine, you win. Ask me. But remember that I still don't remember everything!"
"Alright. So, how do humans look like? There is nothing written about how they are physically"
"Now, that is a question I can answer! Well, the most important part of humans would be that they are tall. Like, really tall. Even with your age, you wouldn't be taller than the average teenager"
"No way"
"Yes way. In fact, I think I was taller than you by a long shot"
"If you say so. Now go to the physical details. I want to hear everything "
"You aren't planning what I think you are planning, are you?"
He grinned mischievously. "It depends on what you can tell me..."
Trying not to think on the repercussions of telling a fox that can shapeshift into anything the appearence of the apparent mythical creature that humans were, I began explaining everything I could remember.
I told him how we looked like, with our almost hairless bodies and our limited limbs. I told him how there is not a human that is exactly the same as another one both in personality and in appearence.
I told him how we were probably the lamest creatures in the entire planet, as we couldn't breathe fire or spit water.
Honestly, I never knew I needed to tell this to someone that would actually believe me. I skipped talking about anything that had nothing to do with appearence.
"Not even moves like Quick Attack?"
I shook my head.
"Woah. Now I understand why you didn't even know how to use your aura thing. It must have been tough what happened to you"
"Oh, you don't say?" I said rolling my eyes.
After some silence, Kit spoke again. "What actually happened to you?"
"A girl pushed me off a cliff. When I woke up, I was like this, with no memory except for that moment and the fact that I am human"
"A GIRL DID WHAT?!"
"Exactly. I still don't get why that happened"
A Crustle jumped from another set of bushes. We knocked it out with a combo of Force Palm and Night Slash.
"Do you remember anything else? Like, did she say anything?"
I tried going back to that moment. It hurt to even think about it, but I kept trying. That's when something came to my mind.
"Next time you chase me, try bringing a parachute"
"What?"
"That's what she said before attacking me. 'Next time you chase me, try bringing a parachute'"
"Why were you chasing a girl? I knew you were desperate, but I don't think that's the way, y'know?"
"No, you dork! I was not chasing a girl! I was chasing a Pokémon! At that time, I had no time to think, but now it makes sense! That girl must have been a Pokémon!"
"That makes sense! But...how could that be possible? Did you see how they were?"
"Ummm" I tried thinking about the appearence of the Pokémon, but I could only picture the girl, with her innocent smile.
Murderer.
"No. I can only remember the girl, but I doubt that's gonna help"
"So a Pokémon disguised as a human girl attacked you because you were chasing them? That doesn't seem reasonable"
"So what are the suspects?"
A Lokix tried attacking Kit, but he kicked it towards me and I used Force Palm again, making it retreat.
"Well, not many Pokémon can do that, you know? That helps us greatly, as the main suspects are either a Ditto, a Zorua, or a Zoroark. It could also be a Ninetales, but that's a lot less probable"
"Did you say a Ninetales?"
"Yep. Maybe you came across a really powerful one. Those can create small illusions that can trick those who aren't careful enough"
"It could be. I don't remember the appearence, but I do know that the silluete was from a big Pokémon"
"So we leave the Zorua out! See, this is going great!"
"It would be even greater if I remembered correctly..."
"Come on! You can't feel guilty if you can't remember! You survived a fall and a transformation! That's more than enough"
"Thanks Kit. I think I needed that"
"No problem. Hey, look! The stairs!"
Sure enough, the stairs were right in front of us, with their polished appearence.
"You think Ember passed through here already?"
Kit walked to the plants and bushes that surrounded the room, examining the big quantity of burn marks present.
"I think so. And judging from the burned plants, I can say she fought against a Monster House by herself. Just what is this girl doing? I'm pretty sure that not even a day ago she didn't want to fight against criminals, and now she fought a horde of ferals! They grow up so fast, don't they?"
"Come on. The next floor is the fourth one, and we still have no sign of the band. Not even from Ember. Lets go up before she decides to move"
Kit nodded and we walked up the stairs. The starting room of the next floor was huge. It could probably fit a whole truck and still have room left. Next to us, there was Ember, who apparently decided to take a rest.
"Finally you guys show up! I had to fight a whole horde of Pokémon by myself! I had to use one of my Orans and I almost didn't make it!"
"Hey, it's not our fault! We had a pretty relaxed scouting walk" Said Kit.
"Of course you did, because everyone was waiting for me in that damn room! For Arceus' sake, I think the whole dungeon was there!"
"But you beat them, didn't you? Thanks to you getting focused on by that Monster House, we were able to talk without any interruptions!"
Kit cleared his throat. "With almost no interruptions!" I corrected myself.
"So what? Do you know each other better now?"
"Yep. And we were just discussing how Jake was brought here"
"Really? You have to tell me!"
I quickly summarized to Ember everything I told Kit.
"I see. So you think it could have been either a Ditto, a Ninetales or another Zoroark?"
"Those are the most plausible options in my opinion, though I could be wrong. It will all depend on what Jake can remember"
"Well, good luck with that, I guess. And that girl really pulled and act on you"
"I know, but lets keep moving. We have this, and two more floors to explore, don't we?" I said standing up.
"We do" Answered Ember
"Lets keep moving!" Said Kit.
"So, do we split?"
"No way. I'm not fighting a whole Monster House alone again"
"If I'm not mistaken, you wanted to go alone, didn't you?" Said Kit.
"That was before I knew there were Monster Houses here! You could have told us!"
"I can't know every single thing about every dungeon! Plus, what's an adventure without surprises?"
"Whatever" Sighed Ember.
"Come on, this floor has to have something! I know it!"
"That's the spirit, Jake! Lets keep it up!" Said Kit.
"You two are exactly the same, you know that?"
"That's what you get for leaving us alone!"
We began walking to the other end of the room, avoiding a pair of sleeping Scizor, and keeping our eyes open for any sign of the band.
"Guys! I think I found something!"
There was a small piece of clothing on the ground. It looked like a red scarf, with its endings being white.
"Do you think that could be what we are looking for?" I asked.
We walked a bit closer to it, and Kit spoke. "No. That looks like a Detect Band. It's also useful, but not what we are looking for"
"Detect Band?"
"It's a band that increases your ability to evade attacks" Answered Ember.
"Lets take it then!"
I grabbed it and took a look at it. It didn't seem any different from the regular scarf you can find in a regular store.
"Who should wear it?"
"Not me. I think that my Agility is enough to dodge attacks" Said Kit.
"I think you should take it, Jake. You aren't exactly the best at dodging, no offense" Said Ember.
"None taken. I think you are right"
I put the scarf around my neck and... didn't feel any different.
"It looks awesome on you!"
"Whatever you say, Kit. Lets keep moving"
We scouted the whole floor, but there were only enemies, and still no sign of the band.
"Really? Still nothing?"
"Nothing"
"That's a pity"
"Hey, Jake?" Said Ember.
"Yeah?"
"You said that a Pokémon turned into a girl and pushed you off a cliff"
"Yes?"
"You also said that girl talked to you before attacking you"
"Get to the point!" Pressed Kit.
"How did she talk to you if she was a Pokémon? Didn't you tell me that you couldn't understand them when you were human?"
That made me stop. How could I have not thought about that?
"Humans can't understand Pokémon?"
"Not now Kit. You are right, how can that be possible?"
"So our suspect is bipedal, can transform into other creatures, and can also talk for you to understand..." Summarized Kit.
"I never read anything about Ditto being able to mimic voices"
"That just leaves two suspects then..." Began Ember.
"The Zoroark and the Ninetales" Finished Kit.
"Wait...Something doesn't feel right"
"What is it?"
"I feel like we are missing something! Like, a detail that can tell us exactly who we are looking for!"
"That detail has to come from you Jake"
"I'll tell you as soon as I remember it. Thanks for helping with this, guys"
"Anytime" Ember said.
"We are friends, aren't we?" Kit added.
With all of this, I forgot about where we were heading, and tripped with the first step of the stairs.
"Hey Ember, I think Jake found the stairs"
"How could you tell?"
Both of them were trying to hold their laughter. I stood up, and I removed all the gravel and leaves from my fur.
"Guess I couldn't sense that, huh?"
"Lets just...continue"
The next floor was...different. Instead of the usual small room that branched into a few paths, this one was big, and didn't look like it had any corridors branching from it.
There were also no stairs on sight.
"Oh no"
"What's wrong Kit?"
"This is a boss floor"
"What?! But we are on the fifth floor, aren't we? I thought boss floor only appeared on the last floor of a dungeon!"
"Maybe this dungeon has five floors and I just forgot?"
"Woah, hold on. Boss floor?"
"A floor where a powerful Pokémon resides, and you can't escape until you either beat it, or get beaten"
"But we didn't find the band!"
"I don't think we need to, look!" Said Ember while pointing upwards.
A Beedrill flew overhead, and changed its direction to land in front of us. A pair of Weedle appeared from nowhere and crawled near the Beedrill, which was...wearing the Power Band.
"Shit! This guy has the band!" I yelled.
"We have to beat them, or else we won't get out of here!"
"Do we have a plan?"
"A plan? Ember pushes the Beedrill with her fire attacks while we take the Weedle out! You may not feel it, but bug type attacks really hurt me!"
"It's settled then. Lets go!"
"Aye!" Yelled both of them.
Did we have a plan? Yes. Was it a good one? No. But what else could we do? That Beedrill had the band, and we also needed to defeat it to get out.
Ember began her attack with a Flame Charge, but the Beedrill began flying up and completely dodged the attack.
Meanwhile, we rushed to the two small Pokémon that were near the Beedrill, with a Force Palm and a Night Slash prepared.
The small bugs used Poison Sting, which hit us, making Kit stumble and missing his attack, but thanks to my poison inmunity, I didn't budge, and hit one of the Weedle.
Despite my attack being far from effective, it was enough to throw it against the walls, making it dissapear in smoke.
"You ok, Kit?"
"Yeah. I didn't get poisoned, so lets keep it up"
The other Weedle screeched in terror as he saw both of us closing in, but it quickly used String Shot, trapping me in a fresh cocoon.
As much as I squirmed, I couldn't break the silky prison, rendering me unable to help for now.
"You ok there?" Yelled Kit dodging a Pin Missile attack coming from the Beedrill, and a fire attack coming from Ember which I couldn't identify.
"Yeah! Just focus on knocking the Weedle out and help Ember! I'll find a way out!"
"Got it!"
Kit used Agility to appear behind the Weedle and straight up kicked it towards a wall, making it dissipate like its partner.
Alright Jake, think quickly. How to get out of here?
The cocoon seemed strong and sticky, with no intention to break anytime soon. I couldn't battle like this, but I needed to help Ember and Kit fight that Pokémon.
This thing is too strong to break it using brute force. If only I had a knife, or some other sharp tool...
That's when I realized something. Despite my body being tightly wrapped, my chest was a bit looser.
Then I remembered the training session.
That's it. What's a better way to get out of here than to use a pure metal spike attached to my chest and hands?
I made myself face the ground and began moving up and down as to force the spike to tear the cocoon. Surprisingly, after a few bounces, it began to feel as if I was doing something, until...
The cocoon teared apart after making a hole with my chest spike, which set me free, making me able to stand up at last.
Natural anatomy, you saved me this ti-
Ember was thrown at me, launching us both back to the ground.
After processing what happened, I got Ember off me, putting her on the ground, and realizing she was unconscious.
"Kit! Ember's down!"
"Shit!"
He backflipped his way out of an attack, and searched his bag.
"Jake! Grab this!"
He throwed me what looked like a seed, which I caught in the air.
The Reviver Seed.
"Make her touch it!"
I pressed the seed against Ember's forehead and it began glowing for a few seconds, turning into a different shaped seed. Just then, Ember loudly gasped for air.
"Ember! You are alright!"
"That's what Reviver Seeds do! Now lets kick some bug ass!"
I offered her my paw, and helped her stand up. Today was 'throwing people' day apparently, since Kit landed next to us, thankfully still conscious, but heavily hurt.
He grabbed the Oran berry from his bag, and ate it quickly, slowly healing his injuries.
"That band is making it hard to win!" He said.
"How are we doing on moves?" I asked.
"I'm pretty good!" Said Kit.
"I think I used all my energy to launch Embers!" Ember added.
"Alright Kit, cover us from afar! Ember will use Flame Charge, and I'll try to use Force Palm!"
"Got it!"
"Lets do this, team!"
Kit's eyes glowed red, and suddenly the Beedrill was surrounded by tenths of Zoroark, while Ember and me were quickly running to the Beedrill, covered in an illusion.
All of Kit's clones jumped at the Beedrill, before suddenly disappearing, and revealing us at mere inches from it.
Before it could realize it was tricked, Ember slammed against it with Flame Charge, followed by my own Force Palm.
The Beedrill buzzed in annoyance, readying a Poison Sting, but was quickly stopped by the real Kit using a Flamethrower on its back.
The Beedrill screamed in anger, as it flew upwards, preparing to tackle Kit.
"Watch out!"
He quickly used Agility to get away, and tackled it the moment it hit the ground.
"You aren't doing so great against the three of us, huh?" Teased Ember
The Beedrill screeched in a pitch that almost blasted my eardrums, and flew at its top speed against Ember.
Caught unprepared, she didn't dodge, and was thrown against the room's walls, knocking her out again. That attack must have used a lot of its energy, as I could swear it was panting.
"Kit! Ember's down! AGAIN!"
"We haven't got any seeds now, just make sure she doesn't get hit too hard!"
This was bad. Ember was down, which meant that all we had were fighting and dark moves. And even though Kit's moves were probably far stronger than the Beedrill's, he wouldn't break a sweat, but me? It didn't look so good.
"Lets give it our all!"
"That's what I want to hear!"
Kit used Dark Pulse, and directed it to the wasp's wings. It was a direct hit, breaking part of it, and making the Beedrill have to stay on the ground.
"All yours, Jake! Use every bit of power you have!"
I nodded and closed my eyes, focusing on the Beedrill and its aura. It didn't look like it had a lot of energy to spare, and with its broken wing, it couldn't escape.
You are mine.
With every bit of strength I had left, I ran to the wasp and unleashed the most fierce Force Palm I had ever seen. The shockwave was huge, and it hurt both me and Kit, raising a very big wall of smoke.
My heart was beating so hard. I fell on my knees panting. I used all of my energy on that attack, and if it wasn't enough...
The smoke slowly settled. And on the ground...was the Beedrill. It was still buzzing, but this time, it sounded more like a plead.
I forced myself to stand up, and walked in front of the Beedrill. It looked up, and our eyes met.
"You put up a good fight, but it's over. Good luck next time, I guess"
Just then, the Beedrill fell limp, and dissapeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving the Power Band on the ground.
I picked it up, and showed it to Kit. A smiled formed on my face, and I raised my hand with the band on it.
"WE DID IT!"
"Hell yeah! That Force Palm was amazing!So much that I also got hurt from the shockwave!"
I smiled even more. Our first mission, passed with an straight up A grade. It was then that I felt my body began to feel heavy.
"You ok Jake?"
All the power I used for that attack was taking its toll on me. And I could feel myself beginning to feel faint.
"No" Was everything I could say before everything went black.
...
...
"...ke up!"
Huh?
"Come on, sleepyhead! Wake up already!"
I slowly opened my eyes, and saw Kit looking at me with a worried look on his face.
"Kit?"
He sighed in relief. "Thank Arceus you are alright. Couldn't take using that attack, huh?"
I slowly straightened myself on what looked like a hospital bed. Next to me was another bed with Ember, still unconscious.
"Where are we?"
"The town's clinic" Said a familiar voice.
I looked next to Kit, and saw Blaze. The Quilava had a big smile on his face.
"Exactly. You don't know how hard it was to carry both of you here. If it wasn't for the Power Band, I wouldn't have been able to bring you both here"
Speaking of the devil.
"We did it, didn't we?"
"Yep. Congratulations on that, by the way. Seems like it was a bit harder than I thought, huh?"
"Nothing we couldn't handle. That's why we are the best upcoming team! We still have to think of a name, you know?"
"Later. Where is the client?"
"Both her and her daughter are waiting for you outside. When you are ready, go to the waiting room. I'll be leaving for now. If you need me, I'll be in the town hall!"
"Bye!"
And just like that, the Quilava left the room, and left us alone.
"So you carried us both back?"
"Yes. What was I supposed to do, leave you there?"
I giggled at that. "You look in perfect shape, though! How?"
"Nothing a few Orans can't solve"
Just then, Ember began to open her eyes, and muttered something.
"Where...?"
She also took a sitting position, and looked at us.
"Did we do it?"
"Does this answer your question?" Said Kit, showing her the band.
"Heh. We did it. We actually did it! I can't believe it!"
"Well, you fainted first. Twice "
"Shut up, Kit!"
"Anyway, the client is waiting outside, so we should head out" I interrupted.
"Sure. I was waiting for you to wake up"
"Lets move, then" Ember said, standing up.
We exited the room, and headed to the waiting room. We came across a lot of what looked like nurses going back and forth. Chansey, Audino, Indeede, and more were rushing through the hallways.
Sure is weird being in a clinic and seeing no Nurse Joy...
Not too long after, we finally arrived at the waiting room, and saw the Emolga and Pachirisu waiting for us. The latter, however, looked sad.
"Hey" I waved.
The Emolga perked up, and jumped from her seat to greet us.
"You three! Thank Arceus you are alright!"
"It was nothing, ma'am. We are an exploration team after all"
"I suppose so"
Kit rummaged his bag, and pulled out the band. "Is this what you asked for?"
The Emolga looked at it, and jumped in joy.
"Yes! It is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you all three for getting it back! Is it okay if I ask where it was?"
"A Beedrill managed to put it on and give us a bit of a headache, but we managed to win"
"A feral Beedrill was wearing the band?!"
"Yes ma'am. And let me tell you that it works. Without it, I wouldn't have been able to carry these two back here"
"That is good to know! Thank you for everything, team! I think I owe you something. Dinny, if you please..."
The Pachirisu also jumped from her seat, and without looking at us, pulled a small bag of coins, an orb, and a seed.
"Take these items as a token of my gratitude. The promised money, a Totter Orb, and a Blast Seed"
"Ma'am, we can't accept that..." I began.
"Hush! I insist"
Reluctantly, I picked up the items and the money, and placed them in my bag. The Pachirisu still looking upset about something.
"Umm...Kid, are you alright?" Asked Ember.
"..."
"I'm sorry"
"What?" I asked.
The Pachirisu began crying, and repeated. "I'm sorry! It was me! I was the one that took the band to the dungeon!"
Silence fell over us.
Did the kid...just say...
"What do you mean, Dinorah?! Is that true?!"
"Look, I'm sorry, ok? It's just that you are always working and you never have time to play with me! That and with dad always being away, I never have a chance! I wanted you to play with me, so I took the band to the dungeon! But I never knew that a Pokémon would use it, much less put a team in danger! I'm so sorry!" At this point, the kid just bursted in tears, and her mom put a hand on her head.
"Dinny, is that true?"
The Pachirisu weakly nodded.
"I never knew that you felt that way. Despite not liking the way you acted, I can understand your reasons. And you are right that I'm always working and never have a chance to be with you, but that's not an excuse to do something careless like that! Promise you won't do that again, and that you will tell me next time"
"I-I will mom" The Pachirisu sobbed.
"Now come here"
Both mother and daughter hugged each other, both visibly crying.
"That's cute " Ember whispered.
After some time, both of them broke the hug. The Emolga turned to look at her daughter again.
"Now, I think you owe this team an apology"
The kid, Dinorah, turned to us, and muttered. "I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me"
"Of course we can! I know how it feels to not be given attention" Said Ember.
"Yeah, and you gave us the chance of taking a big fight! I hadn't felt like that in ages!" Added Kit.
"The point is, don't worry about it. But listen to your mother and don't do that again, got it?" I finished.
"O-Ok. Thank you!"
The Emolga looked at us, and said one last thing before going away. "You are welcome to our home whenever you want to. Maybe next time we can actually have something to drink?"
"Sure, ma'am" I waved.
"Goodbye! And thanks again!"
We all waved her goodbye.
"So...what now?"
"We ought to go to the town hall. We have to pick a name, don't we? And it's almost nighttime, so..." Said Kit.
"Nighttime!?" Yelled both me and Ember.
We went outside and sure enough, the sun was beggining to set, casting an orange light on the sky.
"We've been the whole day in that dungeon?!"
"More like until the evening. You took a few hours to wake up"
"Lets head to the town hall, then"
The building's reception was neatly decorated, with a few orbs brightening the area.
The walls had a bunch of posters, which mostly were old pieces of news and 'Keep quiet!' posters.
The receptionist was a Chansey, who I presumed was the same that was with the mayor when he asked me those questions.
We walked to her and she looked at us, smiling.
"Welcome! I suppose you want to choose your team name?"
"Yeah! We have to get one, don't we?"
She giggled and showed us a paper. The same one that she was writing on back then.
"Just write your name down there. You have all the time you need, don't rush!"
I looked at the paper, and then back to my friends.
"Any sugestions?"
"How about team Unbeatable?"
"That sounds a bit too much, don't you think, Kit?
Kit grumbled a bit, but nodded.
"Maybe something with our initials? Like, EJZ?" Suggested Ember.
"That sounds a bit weird. How about our species' name? Like BLZ?" Said Kit.
"Really? I think we should..."
While those two were discussing, I thought about a name that inspired confidance withing me.
"How about..." I interrupted. "We honor one of the big leagues back where I'm from?"
"What do you mean?"
"What do you think of...team Indigo?"
They both pondered my idea for a bit, and finally, Ember talked.
"Honestly, it may not be the best name, but we don't have a lot of options, so that's fine by me!"
"Yeah!" Added Kit. "I don't get what you are trying to honor, but the name sounds sick! And indigo is one of my top colors too!"
"So team Indigo it is!"
I turned around and prepared to write our name in the paper, when I realized something.
"Um...guys?"
"Gotcha"
Kit took the pen and wrote our team name on the paper, using those letters I still wasn't used to.
"Alright! You got it. Now you should go back to your house and rest. You earned it"
"Sure! Goodnight, miss!"
She waved us goodbye. "Goodnight, team Indigo"
We exited the building, and headed towards the plaza, which was beggining to be our little place to hang out.
"What a day, huh?" Sighed Kit.
"Yeah, I'm beat. But somehow, I still want to do more of that!" I said.
Ember giggled and answered. "You don't have to worry about it! You'll have more tomorrow, but you have to rest for now"
Kit stopped, and turned to the street where his house was. "Well, guys. I'm off to sleep. See ya tomorrow, here at the same time!"
"Sure!"
"Night, Kit!"
And with that, he went away towards his house.
"Man, I'm beat! I don't know if I'm gonna make it back home!"
"Same here. For our first day, and what looked like a simple quest, it was harder than I thought. Especially when I had to fight that Monster House alone"
"You gonna keep reminding us about it every day?"
"Until I die"
Our small laughs echoed through the soon to be empty street. It was cool, just to feel the quiet breeze hitting my face, with the girl that saved my life with me.
"I'll never get used to this"
"You better! You won't want to look dumb when you are alone!"
"No, I mean, to the peacefulness of this town. No sound, no chatting except the small couple of people going to their houses,... Back where I'm from, this was an impossible experience"
"I'm glad you like it. And honestly, I do too. This small town is always a pleasant place to be"
After a small moment of silence, Ember spoke again. "Thank you"
"Huh?"
"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have dared to test my luck with the team. It was thanks to your efforts that I got over it. Thanks to you, I get to live my childhood dream"
She turned to me. "So thank you"
"You are welcome, but I think Kit did a lot more than me, y'know?"
"Kit gave up a long time ago. You made him want to try again"
"Is that so? I'm sure you are happy you took that chance with me back then. I know I told you already, but I wouldn't be here without you"
"Are we even, then?"
"I guess"
I smirked and opened my arms. "Thank you hug?"
She laughed loudly. "You are something else! Fine, but just this time!"
And just like that, we hugged each other for what felt like hours.
Thank you for everything.
After we broke the hug, we began walking back to Ember's house. I could feel a bit of heat rush to my cheeks. Finally, we arrived at her house, and got inside.
"You wanna eat anything?" She asked.
My answer was just throwing myself on the sofa, giving a loud pain moan.
"I see you don't. Goodnight, Jake"
"Night, Ember"
As always, she switched off the lights and walked inside her bedroom, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I swear that hug felt...different. Ember and I already hugged, but it wasn't like this.
I smiled.
Maybe Kit was right after all.
I shifted my position on the sofa and let the sleep overtake me, a dumb smile still on my face.
"Come on, where the hell are they?!"
Rummaging through the stacks of papers in the office was not an easy task.
After what seemed like hours, I finally found what I was looking for: Those losers' team file.
"Lets see, what do we have here..."
Team Indigo? That's a stupid name. Befitting for a group of stupid Pokémon.
Apparently, they had completed their first mission with flying colors. No wonder how they beat those rookies at the cave.
I looked at what was planned for them tomorrow, and...
Oh no. This has to be a joke.
The sound of footsteps made me jump. Someone was coming, and I had to act fast! I quickly left the paper back where I found it, and used my powers to disappear inside the floor.
From the door, a Quilava entered.
Him. I hate that guy. Always so cheerful.
"I swear I heard something..." He said looking around.
"Whatever. I must have imagined it"
He quickly checked every part of the room, and when he saw that everything was still there, he left.
I floated from inside the floor, mentally cursing to myself.
I'm sure this guy had to be the one that gave that idea.
I left the room, and flew back to our base.
This better be worth it.
END OF CHAPTER 8
Hello everyone. This has been, by far, the longest chapter I have ever written.
I apologize for making you wait this much, but class is really boring and couldn't find a lot of free space.
Anyway, I hope you don't have to wait a lot longer for the next chapter.
Hope you liked this one, and if you could review, that'd be great.
Goodbye, for now. Have a great day/night!
