A pine needle fell on Tanner's head as he walked alongside his team through the forests outside Mayweather. The pine needle was soon pushed off his head by the slow waving of his ghostly fur, though Tanner flicked his ears to help.
It was particularly windy today- the trees swayed and shed loose pine needles as they danced in the wind. A pinecone fell on Landon's tail, which made the Mightyena yelp and jump in surprise.
Tanner laughed about that.
He and his friends were well-outfitted for going into the dungeon. Tanner had his power band around his neck, half buried in his fluff. Landon wore a pair of goggles and had a few bags strapped across his back. Tessa had a ribbon wrapped around her arm and a side bag as well. They had all been training hard for the past few days. Tanner was definitely good at scratch, and while he couldn't use snarl yet, he could release puffs of shadows. It wasn't much, but he was proud of it.
Despite their ample preparation, Tanner was nervous. He was going to get in a fight in this dungeon. He trusted Landon and Tessa's skills, but from what they said, dungeons were unpredictable. There were traps and strong ferals to think about.
"Are you nervous?" Tessa glanced down at Tanner, with blue trails following her sensors.
"No." Tanner lied even though he knew that she could see his emotions. It was just a big deal and he didn't want to seem scared.
"Well, good. You shouldn't be, you have a strong will. Remember now and whenever we're together, you can trust us. We're here for you." The Lucario wore a sly smile as she responded.
"We aren't going to go very far anyways. Only through the forest. We won't go into the cave." Landon hopped over a puddle as he spoke.
Tanner nodded slowly. There were a few things he was nervous about, and fighting was only one of them. "Do you think we'll hear the Legendary pokemon who brought me here?" Tanner asked .
A moment of quiet passed, filled with the sounds of their footsteps on the dirt path.
"I've wondered that myself," Tessa pondered. "If so, it will be a good thing. Maybe they can give us a direction to continue on our journey. Tessa responded.
Tanner nodded. They had explained their worry earlier - They had been expecting Tanner's Legendary to be one of the big, majestic ones. Trickster Legendaries were known for getting into trouble, and while they weren't bad, it was something to be careful about.
"Where's the entrance?" Tanner asked.
"The location of the entrance changes, but the dungeon will show itself to us when it's ready." Tessa looked around the forest as she walked.
Almost a few seconds later, Landon spoke-
"There." The Mightyena announced, pointing his snout towards what could be best described as a hole in the forest. Trees and plants bent oddly up around a circle in the woods. Through the circle, Tanner could see a trail and plants that weren't visible elsewhere, and a path that didn't exist in the rest of the forest. It was like looking through a portal to another dimension. It would have been scary if he didn't know that it was the entrance to a dungeon.
The three approached and paused. They checked their equipment and the orbs and seeds they brought, making sure that they were ready.
"Here we are." Landon looked down at Tanner and wagged his tail slowly. "Remember what we talked about. Be careful, don't take risks, and follow our directions. If you get separated, stay where you are, and we'll find you.
Tanner nodded. They had discussed this dungeon extensively. Landon and Tessa would do most of the work, his job was to be in a fight and scratch things when he felt it was safe to do so.
"Ready?" Landon asked.
Tanner looked through the hole. Through that portal was an anomaly that was connected to the power that brought him here. A step through there was a step closer to going home. Tanner hesitated, then walked into the dungeon.
The dungeon itself looked very similar to the pine forest they came from, though there was a game trail in front of them that led deeper into the woods. Running alongside the trail, the trees and foliage were dense, making the path the clear way forward. It was much quieter than before- no wind rustled the trees and bushes. Instead threatening caws and hoots of ferals cried out in the distance. The group followed the twisted path around trees and rocks until they came to a clearing that opened up to a grassy field. In the middle of the field was a glass ball, sitting next to a group of colorful flowers.
"Hey, an orb," Tanner noted.
"Really?" Tessa asked as she walked forward, aura swirling around her sensors. "Let's go see what it is, and you can keep it. Just be- Tanner, wait!" Tessa cried out as the zorua got close to the orb. As Tanner was walking through the flowers, a small creature jumped out in his direction and rested on a particularly large flower. It looked like a little imp, with a large head and ears. It screeched in surprise and fear at seeing Tanner so close by.
"AHHHH!"
Tanner jumped as well and slashed towards the creature with a practiced motion. Energy coated his claws, and he swiped across the weird pokemon's face!
It fell back into the flowers, unconscious.
Tanner froze. Was he supposed to do that? He was surprised and just slashed it out of instinct! He didn't mean it… Tanner glanced over towards Landon and Tessa.
"Did you get her?" The Mightyena asked as he padded up next to Tanner. He sniffed the fallen pokemon, then sat next to Tanner, wagging his tail. "Yep, she's out. Well done."
"I beat it?" He beat his first feral pokemon. He wasn't expecting it to be so easy. It almost just fell over…
"You did. Be careful, there are other Flabebe nearby." Tessa walked forward and put the orb in her bag, then patted Tanner on the back. "You're a true adventurer. We'll save this for you for later."
Tanner paused for a moment, looking down at the pokemon he scratched. That was easier than he expected. He was sure that other enemies would be stronger but... maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
The three carefully continued on, following the path out of this clearing, and deeper into the dungeon.
They continued for some time, moving between forest clearings, and pausing to pick berries or quietly discuss how dungeons worked. It was starting to grow darker, though. Light no longer beamed through the forest canopy overhead, and the trees beside the path grew thick and impassable. What was worse, a low fog crept in from the trees, making it much harder to see. What was once an exciting journey through a magical forest was quickly becoming spooky.
"How much further before we find the cave?" Tanner whispered.
"It shouldn't be too much farther. The first floor isn't usually more than a few rooms. How are you feeling?" Landon asked.
Tanner shrugged. "It's pretty easy."
"The dungeon has been kind to us so far, although..." Tessa paused and looked farther up ahead. "Seems our luck has run out."
Tanner looked up slowly. Between the gnarled branches overhead was an intricate web of spider silk that stretched between the trees. The blanket of webs above them glinted with rainwater, outlining the shimmering webs.
"Bug types..." Landon mumbled. "Can you see how many?"
"Three," Tessa said as aura swirled around her sensors.
"What do I do? He asked. It was probably spiders. Tanner wasn't scared of spiders. He was scared of dying. Some spiders could make that happen.
"Stay safe and get hits where you can. We'll try to catch them by surprise." Landon whispered as he crept forward.
Eventually they came upon another clearing. Webs coated the floor and the trees, forming glistening white walls. A Spinarak and two Ariados rested in wait on their spiderwebs. On the far end of the room, the webs opened up to a lightless cave shrouded by fog. Tanner shivered and looked towards his friends.
Landon glanced down at Tanner and nodded.
"Stay close." He whispered. The Mightyena looked over at Tessa and nodded, then he lifted up his head and howled.
The Spinarak's heads jerked up unnaturally, and they chittered at the intruders.
Tessa was the first to jump into action. She ran towards the nearest Ariados and leapt up towards it. Aura trailed behind her sensors as she flew through the air and struck the Ariados' abdomen with sharp claws. It screeched in pain and gnashed at her with its mandibles.
Another spider skittered towards Tanner and Landon. Tanner's fur stood up on end - even without his previous experience with Ariados, it was creepy.
Landon took a few steps forward and growled at their attacker. He opened his mouth and dark shadows followed an intimidating snarl. The darkness blasted into the spiders, but they continued forwards, unphased. An Ariados crept forwards and leapt towards Landon, clicking at him with its mandibles.
Tanner watched the chaos unfold. Fortunately, none of the ferals had attacked him, but Landon and Tessa seemed to be slowly getting overwhelmed. It was risky going into a fight but... Tanner didn't want to just sit here. He wanted to help.
Moving with a stealth natural to a fox, Tanner snuck around Landon's side. Then when he was close enough, he leapt forward, and scratched it!
His attack hit, but it didn't seem to faze the Ariados.
At that moment, Landon glanced down at Tanner. Darkness flowed out of his mouth as he shouted. "GET IT!"
The Mightyena opened his mouth wide and bit down on the spider's leg. He clamped down and inky black shadows seeped into its leg.
The Ariados screeched in pain. Its legs flailed towards Tanner, trying to push him away. It then twisted around and jabbed its stinger into Landon. Landon yelped but continued to hold on.
Tanner didn't hesitate this time. The sound of Landon in pain was more than enough motivation. What was more, he was in a perfect position. Tanner slashed at the feral again and again, swiping at it as much as he could. It continued to jab Landon, though it soon slowed, focusing rather on trying to release itself from Landon's grasp. Landon held firm through the attacks, and the Ariados soon relented, falling unconscious.
Landon dropped the feral and winced, before looking over at Tanner. He spoke through pained, gritted teeth. "Great job - I'm impressed."
"Well, you did most of the work."
Landon and Tanner turned their attention to Tessa, who was still fighting her own battle. One Spinarak was unconscious, and Tessa was covered in webs. She continued fighting, spinning, and kicking, aura trailing her every move.
Landon moved to help, though slowly and with effort. They watched as the other Ariados collapsed with a sharp, empowered kick from Tessa, leaving them alone in the room.
Tanner was impressed with Tessa, but just as impressed with himself. It wasn't as hard as he thought, but he still beat an Ariados. He beat the first feral who attacked him when he came to Mayweather.
"Well done, team." Tessa said as she came over. She glanced over at Landon, seeing his pain. "You alright?
"Thanks…" Tanner responded sheepishly.
Landon nodded, and pulled out a few berries and wolfed them down. "I'm fine. More importantly, you should have seen Tanner fight. He was ferocious. With more training, you'll change the world."
Tanner beamed. He couldn't help but feel satisfied with himself. It wasn't far, and it wasn't too hard, but he beat his first dungeon. Hopefully, there would be more to come.
"Let's get out of here and get something to eat. Tessa?" Landon flicked Tanner's ear playfully, then sat next to him.
Without another word, Tessa pulled out an escape orb and smashed it, teleporting the whole group back to the forest in a flash of bright light.
It took Tanner a moment to re-orient himself. The flashing light, the teleportation. It was all a little unfamiliar.
His eyes adjusted to see a pokemon levitating above the forest floor, grinning widely. It was purple and lavender, with gold hoops ornamenting its body. Behind it, a portal through which an alien landscape of fire and ash burned.
"Finally." Hoopa grinned greedily.