Hello again, everyone! Ta-Ni here, bringing another chapter to you. Sadly, it's a little short, but I'm setting up for a big difference from the game's story, as well as tying into something I mentioned a while back. Enjoy!

A few days later, I wake to a fairly violent tremor, one that's large enough to knock my water pitcher off the table. Thankfully, it's a wooden one, so all that happens is the dirt floor soaks up the spilled water.

"That hasn't happened before," I comment to myself. "I wonder if things are getting worse…"

Shaking the straw out of my fur, I step around the damp spot, and find Sparky waiting outside. Before we can start the usual greetings, however, Lombre runs up to us.

"Hey, Shiftry's gathering everyone in the Square!" he declares. "All the rescue teams are present, except you guys."

"All of them?" Sparky exclaims. "I wonder what's up? Let's go, Lauren."

We quickly head into town. Sure enough, a lot of Pokémon crowd the center of the Square, many with rescue badges gleaming in the sunlight. Most are Bronze Rank, with a few Silver and a rare Gold. (We're at Silver Rank ourselves, though we're close to claiming Gold.) It seems with Team ACT around, few teams want to excel beyond that rank, despite rumor of a legendary explorer who had their own rank named after them.

"Ahem…excuse me, everyone?" A voice cuts through the idle chatter, coming from the far side of the Square; Shiftry stands on a hastily-made stage to lift himself above the crowd. "I'm not used to speaking like this, so bear with me. I have called everyone here for a reason: It's been a week and a half, and Team ACT has yet to return from their quest to quell Groudon."

This causes a murmur of concern to rise from the crowd; Sparky and I look at each other in worry as well. It shouldn't be taking this long…right? We thought.

"Since we have no news on their well-being," Shiftry continues. "I ask that we form a temporary rescue team to venture into Magma Cavern and retrieve them. We want the best of the best, to hopefully ensure success."

This starts a tumult of noise from the various teams, as team members try to volunteer each other for a chance to be on this team. I can tell Sparky wants so badly to join, but I hold him back by the tail in my teeth (see how he likes it for once!). Finally, the crowd parts as a hulking blue turtle with cannons on her back step into the stage.

"That's Blastoise from Team Hydro!" Lombre exclaims beside me. "Her team may only be Silver Rank, but she's known for being the strongest water type in the land."

"Groudon is obviously a ground type," she says in explanation. "Ground is weak to water. I should have no trouble with him."

Then, a large walking boulder steps up onto the stage, standing next to Blastoise. "Not if I bury him with my rocks first!" he boasts.

"That's Golem, the leader from Team Rumblerock," Lombre explains. "They can be a bit hard-headed, but they are Gold Rank like ACT, so they must be strong."

Lastly, a bright red octopus crawls up on stage, standing on Blastoise's other side and almost shoving Shiftry off the side. "Well, I can bind him long enough for either of you to finish him," she claims haughtily.

"That's Octillery, from Team Constrictor," Sparky chimes in this time. "She's made quite a name for herself as being tenacious and clingy, despite her team being only Bronze."

Most of the noise has calmed down, as the various teams see the three volunteers as better candidates than themselves. Shiftry applauds with his leafy hands, congratulating the three hardened leaders for coming forward, and bids them good luck in rescuing Team ACT. With that, everyone is dismissed, but a few mill about here and there.

"I still think we could have volunteered…" Sparky pouts good-naturedly.

"Let's get to Gold Rank first, so we have some ground to stand on," I counter. "Besides, we'd need more of a strategy for fighting Groudon other than just iron tail."

"Fair," he nods, then runs off in the direction of the Bulletin Board. I make to follow, but pieces of conversation catch my attention.

"…recently reopened…upgraded to B…powerful electric type…right near town…"

Coming to a stop, I turn to the gossiping duo and ask, "What's that you're talking about?"

"Oh, we just heard about a new dungeon opening up," one of the Pokémon replies. "Apparently, due to all the tremors, a formerly-buried cave entrance has reopened. It's really close to town, near the Friend Areas, but the surprising thing is the Mystery Dungeon behind it. The Guild is calling it Scarred Terra Point, because of the odd markings on the walls, and it's a B rank dungeon."

"Rumor has it there's a Strong Pokémon deep within the dungeon," the other chimes in. "And it's an electric type, which is odd given most of the wilds are rock and ground. There's also record that there used to be mention of a dungeon around the same spot, but it was nowhere near as tough."

I leave the two Pokémon to keep gossiping and head for the Post Office, passing Sparky along the way. They usually have records of all the known dungeons and their rankings. Sure enough, there's a B rank dungeon by that name, with mention that the presence of a Strong Pokémon may be the cause. With a secret smile, I walk back to Sparky with the coordinates in my mouth.

"What's this?" he asks me, taking the paper so I can speak normally. Looking at the coordinates, his eyes widen, which I take as confirmation of my theory.

With a genuine grin on my muzzle, I ask nonchalantly, "Want to go rescue your brother?"

Cliffy! Like I said last chapter, this won't be too long of a wait, but next time, Team Scent will be delving into a original dungeon not found in the game! Only two more chapters until Groudon, and then a couple more until the end. We're in the home stretch!

Please read and review, and may your Ember never fade!