Here we are again! Just in case, don't expect too much dungeon crawling for a long time after what happened in the first chapter, that's something that will be reserved for main plot points. Also, about the two guilds that Ari mentioned about his past, that's something that won't be too relevant in the plot, aside from backstories. With that said, enjoy this chapter!
It was a peaceful morning. It was really cloudy it seemed, guessing by the low amount of light falling upon the Riolu's head. Ari slowly opened his eyes and turned to see his Archen companion, expecting to see the bird still resting beside him, in his smothering way.
He wasn't there. In fact, this wasn't the forest they were sleeping in, but a cave. He found himself in a jail cell made out of rocky columns. It wasn't a peaceful morning.
Ari stood up in panic and looked around; Nimb was nowhere to be seen, but he could hear other pokémon screaming in fear nearby. He approached the rocky bars and looked outside. He was in a high place, in the middle of a corridor with other cells just like his.
On the other side, he could spot around 8 cells, so there must be a total of 16 cells in that corridor, Ari thought. There was a pokémon trapped in each of them. A sleeping Linoone, a crying Dolliv, a depressed-looking Flaaffy…
Nimb was nowhere to be seen, at least from there. Ari began pacing, worrying for his newly found companion. Given the situation, the Archen was likely having a really bad time, trapped in a cell, inside a cave, without knowing what they would do to him, and away from the only pokémon he felt safe with for some reason. Poor thing… And of course, his bag wasn't there either.
"This is fine, I can solve this! Come on, think… There has to be some way out…"
The Riolu stopped in place and raised his fist, starting to glow with a reddish aura. He then charged for the rocky bars, trying to break them with a rock smash, but even with his power boost, it wasn't enough. Ari recoiled from the hit, his fist aching, and waited for about half a minute to try again, but nothing happened. He tried a third time, but it was useless.
"I just need something to boost me a bit more, come on…"
But before he could do anything, a big figure approached the cell and stopped in front of it.
"What do you think you're doing?" A Rhyperior shouted.
Ari jumped backward, startled. "Y-you are the one who put us here? Let us out right now!"
Rhyperior laughed and stomped his foot on the ground. "Tough luck, I won't! It would be really boring to just let you out without a little fun."
Ari frowned. "... What do you mean?"
Out of nowhere, an Amoonguss hopped in front of the cell and released a cloud of spores in Ari's direction, and he recoiled.
"What's this? Wait… Stun spores?" As soon as he finished that sentence, he started coughing hard and dropped to his knees, until his body couldn't take it anymore and fell on the ground, unmoving. "Ugh… Why…?"
"Because uhhh we don't want you to run off as soon as we uhhh open the cell," the Amoonguss said.
Rhyperior stomped his foot again, the rocky bars suddenly opening, and he took Ari and walked out of the corridor. "If you're going to keep complaining, you might as well make it up to me by entertaining me."
"Enter…taining?"
"Shut up, don't waste your energy, you're going to need it."
Ari took a glance at the cave they were traversing. It was mostly composed of narrow paths and stalactites here and there, it was a miracle Rhyperior could even walk there without getting stuck. There was some decoration consisting of just… weird engravings made in the walls by just scratching with very sharp claws. Ari deduced they were made by that big guy when he was still a Rhydon, judging by the shape of Rhyperior's current claws, which didn't seem very useful now.
"Stop staring!"
"Uh… S-s-sorry…" Ari looked away and started inspecting anything else. Which was, probably, nothing at all, since the cave was emptier than Ari's stomach. Oh, right, he hadn't had breakfast yet. That was unforgivable. "Excuse… me, g-good… sir. I'm kinda… hungry…"
"I don't care. You'll eat when we're finished."
Eventually, they reached the only wide room in the cave. It had a big throne on one side, and in the center, there was some kind of big rocky jail… or maybe a ring (was this about wrestling?), also, those claw markings were everywhere in the room.
The kidnapper stomped his foot and some stalagmites that were surrounding the central cell/ring retreated into the ground, then, he threw Ari inside and, with another stomp, the stalagmites returned, blocking the entrance. Ari realized that those rocks were made of stone edge, and if that big guy could control it with that much ease, he could be a tough opponent.
"Why did you throw me here?"
"Stay there and be quiet while I go fetch the other," Rhyperior said. And so, he left again.
Ari stood there until the effects of the paralysis wore off, analyzing the room and trying to find any weak spots on the rocky columns. That Rhyperior sure was strong, he couldn't even damage the stone edge back in his cell, so he didn't bother wasting his energy now. He'd have to think of something later, but for now…
Rhyperior eventually returned with another pokémon under his arm. Doing the same as before, he threw it inside the rocky prison and closed it back. Rhyperior sat on his stone throne, the Amoonguss from before standing beside him.
"What are you waiting for? FIGHT!"
"W-w-what?"
Rhyperior raised his arm and a stone edge appeared below Ari, who barely avoided it.
"Do what I say, or else! Whoever wins will get to eat today. Go on, entertain me."
Ari couldn't believe this. He was capturing people to make them fight so he could watch? They were being used as toys for a… stupid unoccupied tyrant? As if it wasn't enough, Ari turned to see the other pokémon he had to fight. It was… a Sneasel.
"You gotta be kidding me."
The Sneasel was trembling slightly, but he made the first move, trying to scratch Ari with his sharp claws. He jumped backward, still processing what was happening.
"Wait, I don't want to fight you!"
"B-but we have to, I don't want to die…"
Ari couldn't manage to attack. Every time he looked at the Sneasel, he saw him. Sure, he wasn't a coward at all and did have some physical differences, but still, hurting a Sneasel was painful for Ari.
"We can turn against that guy and escape this place! Isn't it a better plan than fighting each other?"
"You think we can take THAT guy down? You're crazy!"
"I might be, yup."
Sneasel suddenly jumped at Ari and tackled him at a high speed, sending him flying back. The Riolu quickly stood up and embraced for the next attack, still not wanting to hurt his rival. Sneasel slashed with his claws at Ari, but he blocked it with a protect barrier.
"Why aren't you fighting back?"
"I already told you, I don't want to fight you!"
"But he'll get angry at us at this rate!"
Ari took a glance at the Rhyperior sitting on his throne. He looked annoyed, ready to release another stone edge at any moment. Was it really the only option? Did he have to fight an innocent pokémon who clearly wasn't enjoying that and, on top of that, reminded him of his-
Sneasel jumped towards him, his claws shining with a metallic glow, and Ari could only react. Before he could even think about it, Ari instinctively raised his arm and launched an aura sphere forward, hitting the Sneasel in the stomach and sending him flying. He crashed on one of the pillars and fell to the ground, unmoving. Ari looked at him, distressed. It was only one hit. An effective one, true, but still.
He approached the Sneasel. "A-are you okay? I'm sorry, I got nervous and…"
As he got no response, Ari sat and stared with remorse at the fainted rival, but then turned to glare at Rhyperior, who still looked annoyed. Before Ari could insult him, the tyrant spoke first.
"Ugh, you're so boring, this was the worst battle I've ever seen. Can't you fight like a normal pokémon?"
"... Do I have to fight to be normal?"
"That's what every 'mon does. If you don't, then you are not worthy. Pokémon are meant to fight, that is the only thing we are good for."
"Wow, talk about self-esteem…"
"Shut up! Do it, Gus!" Rhyperior said. The Amoonguss approached the ring and released another stun spore, paralyzing Ari once again.
"Urgh… I really… Hate that…" Ari could only watch as the Rhyperior entered the ring to grab him and the Sneasel again, leading towards the narrow corridors of the cave.
After a while, they reached the corridor with the cells, and both pokémon were put back inside their respective ones. The kidnappers left a pair of berries and walked away, and, after a while, Ari could move again. It wasn't like that would change anything, actually.
Ari stood there, trying to put his thoughts in order. Thinking of any way out, of any chance he could take, whatever it could be, but his thoughts were blurry. There wasn't a way out, was it? He didn't want to spend the rest of his life there, being used as a toy for entertainment. Defeated, he took one of the berries and started chewing it. At least he could fill his stomach. He was getting really hungry; after all, he didn't have breakfast.
But the others in that cave… They were trapped as well, and they wouldn't get any food unless they won in battle. What about the Sneasel, then? Ari couldn't bear the thought. He finished eating the first berry, and as soon as he took the second one, his mind returned to a certain bird.
Nimb! He was left alone all this time… Would he be okay? Worried about him, Ari tapped into his aura powers and started scanning the room. He could feel the sadness, the hopelessness, the hunger… But, above all, he could feel the true panic, anxiety, and… something else he couldn't pinpoint, coming from a specific pokémon that was right below his cell.
"Is that you, Nimb? Are you down there?" He waited, but no one answered. It was hard not to hear that, so Ari couldn't help but worry about Nimb's mental state. He was in such a panic he couldn't hear him yell. And he couldn't let that be. Ari stood up, raised his fist, and glowed with a reddish aura. He could only hope this would work…
Ari hit the ground as hard as he could, trying to dig a hole. It didn't do much. He waited a few seconds and tried again. He was starting to see it break. He continued using rock smash repeatedly, the hole getting wider and deeper. It went like that for about 15 minutes. It hurt a lot, and the Riolu was already running out of energy, but he couldn't stop. He wouldn't stop now.
Eventually, the ground trembled and a crack opened, quickly turning into a big hole, where Ari fell before he could step aside. The impact was loud, and it was a miracle that Ari didn't get crushed by the rocks. He then raised his head, in sudden realization. What if he had crushed Nimb in the process? He looked around trying to find any corpse-
Fortunately, Nimb was okay. Well, at least physically. He was curled into a ball, struggling to breathe, and his eyes were twitching rapidly. He looked like he was having a really strong panic attack. Ari quickly got to his feet and approached the Archen.
"Nimb, I'm here! Are you okay?"
He didn't answer, not having spotted him still. In fact, it looked like it was getting worse, shaking more violently, and Ari got really scared.
"Please, talk to me! I'm… I'm right here! You have to calm down! Nimb…"
Nothing happened, and he kept shaking, so Ari desperately embraced him in an attempt to calm him down, as it was the only thing he could think of. He really didn't know how to deal with that kind of situation.
"Please, just… Nimb, talk to me. I'm here, it's… it's gonna be okay…"
To his relief, he could feel Nimb slowly calming himself. His breathing was getting slower, and he was shaking less than before. That bird really felt safe whenever he was with him, huh. The thought alone was still strange to Ari.
"A… Ari?"
"Finally, you spoke to me! Are you feeling better?"
"Y-yes… Kinda."
Ari tried to stand, but Nimb embraced him back and didn't let go.
"I was so scared… It was like my mind stopped working…"
"Yeah, you were having another panic attack, but it's okay, I'm here now," Ari said as he pulled Nimb closer.
"But we're trapped here… What are they going to do with us, anyway?"
Ari's face darkened. "They are using us… For their own entertainment. They're making us fight so they can watch."
Nimb widened his eyes. "F-Fight? But I barely know how to fight…"
"Don't worry, they're not gonna force you to fight, I won't let them," Ari said with a determined look. His expression then morphed into a sad frown. "I'm sorry, I should have chosen a different place to sleep, maybe that way they wouldn't have captured us…"
"Hm? But how could you know?" Nimb asked with a tilt of his head.
"I don't know, I just… I should have known."
Nimb didn't look convinced, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He couldn't think straight with an empty stomach, but he didn't have to mention it since his stomach growled loudly and Ari knew what that meant.
"Here, eat this, you must be really hungry." Ari offered the berry he saved from before, unable to hide his amused smile.
Nimb quickly took the berry and devoured it in a matter of seconds. It wasn't much, but it was enough to clear his mind. Ari watched as he ate in silence, surprised by the bird's munching speed. He shouldn't be that surprised, though, given the bird's beak size.
Eventually, Nimb broke the silence. "Why are they like this…?"
Ari perked up. "Hm? You mean… those guys who captured us?"
Nimb nodded, looking devastated. "Making us fight for their entertainment… Why is fighting so important to them?"
Ari thought about that. He was used to seeing other pokémon being into it, but not to that degree. "I don't know… Wild pokémon have their own culture, I guess. Fighting is like a tradition in the end."
"But I'm a wild 'mon and I don't like fighting," Nimb said.
Ari's eyes widened a bit. "Oh, you're wild? Hmmm, I guess it does make sense, but I didn't think of it since you're softer than average."
"Is that… a bad thing?"
"Oh, no, don't take me wrong! I'm so glad to have someone by my side who's not always looking for trouble. It's comfy, and it makes me feel like I'm not the only one like that." Ari emoted a subtle smile at that. "Even if I had a friend who was pretty much a battle machine. He was still nice."
Nimb nodded. "I see… But those kidnappers aren't nice at all."
"No, they're the worst. But hey, don't worry! We'll take them down and we'll be out in no time!" Ari smirked, trying to act cool.
"Uh… I hope you're right…" Nimb took a deep breath and decided to take a look outside the cell. His eyes stopped in the claw markings on the walls. "This place is so weird… What are those marks?"
"Ah, you noticed," Ari said. "I'm not sure, but maybe that Rhyperior wanted to use the walls to sharpen his claws or something. Or maybe he was just trying to express ideas or scenes with drawings."
"But… Some of them barely look like drawings at all. It's like his claws weren't deep enough to make decent engravings, and those in particular have holes around them."
Ari tilted his head, glancing at the engraving Nimb was pointing to. "That's… right. It kinda looks like he punched the wall and called it a day."
"I don't know why he would do that, but he sounds like a c-crazy pokémon, so…" Nimb shook his head, trying to avoid any scary thoughts, and he finished the last bit of his berry.
Ari stood up. "Yeah… Anyway, now that you're finished, we should think about how to escape this place."
"Right… Are you going to break us out?"
Ari smiled sheepishly. "I… I already tried to break the bars, but even with rock smash, it's really hard. That Rhyperior's stone edge is really powerful. If had my bag, I could use some items to get us out, but they took it from me, as expected…"
Nimb winced. "Does that mean… We're really trapped here? Forever?"
A different voice interrupted the conversation from another cell. "Shut up already. Yeah, we're trapped, deal with it."
"Excuse me?" Ari retorted, leaning to look for the source of the voice. It was that Linoone he had seen before. Nimb hid behind Ari, fearing any social interaction.
"If you're so worried about being trapped here, then I have some bad news for you. There's no way to break those bars. They're just stones, but Rhyperior makes them reaaaally strong. So yeah, tough luck."
Ari shrugged. "Well, I literally just dug a hole in the ground. We don't have to escape through the bars."
"Then good luck digging your way out before he notices."
Another voice joined the conversation. "I… I want to escape too… If you're digging out, could you open a hole here too?" The Dolliv said.
"Right, of course! We just… Have to be quick," Ari said.
Nimb looked concerned. "Are you sure you can do that? Your hands look really damaged from the hole you did before…"
"Don't worry, I can do this! It doesn't hurt that much."
"But… You dug a hole because it was a thin ground with open space below, you'd need to know the move 'dig' itself to do that…" A Flaaffy said.
"Uhhhh… I haven't considered that."
"Stop wasting time and dig already! I want to get OUT!" A Whirlipede said.
"Yeah, they could come anytime soon!" A Gumshoos added.
Ari rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, just let me concentrate first, I need to-"
Suddenly, a roaring voice interrupted the conversation. "What is the meaning of this?" The Rhyperior and his loyal companion Amoonguss entered the area, having heard all of the commotion. They inspected the corridor, watching as some pokémon hid deeper in their cells and looked at them in fear.
"You weren't planning on escaping, right? You know what I do to anyone who tries." The drill pokémon stomped his foot hard on the ground, making the whole corridor tremble. Most prisoners cringed or yelped, but Nimb did both and clung onto Ari. Rhyperior noticed that and approached. "Wait, how are you two in the same cell?"
"Uhhhhh you threw me here by mistake?" Ari wasn't a quick thinker.
"And that hole in the ceiling?"
Ari looked up. "Oh, that. Hm. Yeah. Whoops."
Rhyperior roared again, making both Ari and Nimb flinch harder. "If you want to be together so bad, then so be it! Gus, come on!" The Amoonguss leaned closer and spread his stun spores once more. Ari and Nimb embraced each other, trying to stick together once the paralysis hit.
The cell opened and Rhyperior took them both under his arm, going back into the narrow corridors of the cave. Muttering from the cells could be heard, the pokémon growing concerned with losing their only chance to escape.
Amoonguss followed the Rhyperior, jumping and trying to keep pace. "Are you uhhh going to make those two uhhh fight? They seemed rather, uhhh… Not willing to fight."
"Uhhh uhhh uhhh DON'T CARE!"
Amoonguss flinched. "Uhhh… Rude."
Nimb tried to complain, but only whimpers escaped his mouth. Instead, it was Ari the one who spoke. "Please… We don't want to… Fight…"
"Do I look like I care?" The Rhyperior responded.
"You do look… Like you don't know… What you want."
Rhyperior stopped. "Excuse me? Who do you think you're talking to?"
Ari suddenly lost his courage and remained silent, not wanting to make the situation worse. He wasn't in any position to say anything, being paralyzed and trapped with such a big and aggressive pokémon.
"... Yeah, better keep your mouth shut."
While being taken to the main room, Ari could see a bit more of the other areas of the cave, including a bedroom, a kitchen, and what looked like a storage room. Who knows what could be in there…
Eventually, they reached the main room again, and just as before, Ari and Nimb were thrown into the ring before they could say anything. The effects of the paralysis didn't take long to wear off, but it left an unpleasant feeling in the body. Ari stood up slowly, groaning as he was still tired from digging and rock-smashing. Nimb, on the other hand…
"I-I don't want to… Uh, this feels horrible…"
"Shut up! I wanna see you two fight. It's even more interesting when the battlers are friends!" Rhyperior said, and he sat on his throne, smirking.
Ari glared at the tyrant. "This is going too far! I'm still sore from before, and Nimb is numb! Uh, I mean…"
"If you don't fight, then I'll make you fight. And that's a THREAT," Rhyperior said, generating a stone edge from the ground near Ari, who flinched and fell on his rear.
"Please, wait!" Nimb shouted. "O-okay, I'll fight! I think…"
Ari turned to him, surprised by this. "What? Are you… sure about that?"
"I… Not actually…"
Nimb started trembling again, hesitant about what to do next. Ari noticed this, and couldn't help but feel responsible for him. He was the one who walked them in a random direction, accidentally ended up in a mystery dungeon, and decided to sleep near the exit. In a twisted way, it was his fault. Ari started thinking hard, trying to find some way out, but Rhyperior expression told him not to waste any more time, so he had to act quickly.
"Hey, Nimb," Ari whispered. "Let's pretend to fight."
"What? Are you sure?" Nimb whispered back.
"Yeah, just try to make it look like we're fighting, but we'll miss our moves on purpose! I just need time to come up with a plan." Ari smirked, but Nimb couldn't help but feel there was something weird there. "Don't worry, I got this!"
"O-okay then…"
Ari then started running in circles around Nimb at a high speed, while Nimb only watched confused, and tried using rock throw, only… Missing by about 2 meters. Ari threw some punches randomly, approaching Nimb to make it credible but still missing. Ari flinched to pretend to get hit, just in case.
Rhyperior raised an eyebrow, suspicious of their awful battle style. Still, he kept watching without a care in the world, fidgeting with his claws on the rocky throne.
"Any ideas?" Nimb said, dodging a poorly directed quick attack.
Ari swallowed. "Uhhh… J-just a moment! I'm almost there, you'll see."
Nimb kept moving randomly, watching as the Riolu frowned, bouncing between ideas without deciding on anything. They were running out of time.
"Ari, are y-you sure you know what you're doing?" Nimb asked.
Ari dodged a poorly aimed rock throw and forced a smile. "Uh? Yeah, yeah, don't worry, we're getting out! I just… I just need…"
Nimb frowned. "Why are you trying to sound so confident? Isn't anything that happened today affecting you or what?"
Ari flinched. "It's not that, I'm just sure that we can escape this and-"
Nimb shook his head. "Stop faking it, please! You don't need to prove anything to me!"
That snapped Ari out of it. He stopped, looking back at Nimb with widened eyes, as the Archen looked back and they stayed in silence for a moment. Meanwhile, Rhyperior was growing impatient.
"... Okay, this is messed up," Ari eventually said, his shoulders slumping and a frown overtaking his face. "I don't… I don't know how we're going to get out of this, and I don't know if one of us is going to starve eventually because of this, but… I just don't want you to be scared and hopeless."
Nimb hesitated. "Is that the real reason? Were you really doing it… just for me?"
"Well, that's… I-I don't know." He looked away. He did know the reason, actually. But that wasn't something Nimb needed to know. "But I do know that I want to keep you safe!"
"But what about you?" Nimb yelled.
"You're… more scared than I am. I'm supposed to be strong and brave, so it's my responsibility to lift the group's mood!"
'Are you really?' Nimb thought.
"Well, that's it!" Rhyperior yelled, stomping a foot on the ground. "I'm tired of hearing your stupid stories, come on and fight already!"
But Ari didn't want to fight. He barely had time to come up with an idea, and Nimb's terrified look made him determined to come up with anything as soon as possible. In his mind, many thoughts were happening at the same time. Ari thought of the Rhyperior and his stone edge. Of the corridors in the cave, the rooms, the engravings in the walls…
The engravings. Rhyperior's claws. Maybe…
"Wait! I'm tired of only being used for fighting!" Ari said.
Nimb perked up. "What are you…?"
"Stop complaining!" Rhyperior shouted. "Pokémon are meant to fight, and that's what you're gonna do!"
Ari put his fists against his chest as his eyes sparkled. "But I wanna be an artist, not a fighter! I want to draw a lot and become famous for it!"
Rhyperior's left eye twitched, and Ari noticed it, already feeling his idea working.
"You think you can become an artist? Don't fool yourself, you'll only waste time! You're a pokémon, you can't become something like that. But fighting… is in our nature, you can't fail at that."
"No, I can do so much more than fighting! If you let me prove it…"
Rhyperior rolled his eyes. "Prove it? You're stupid if you think you can fool me. Can you even properly hold a pencil with those paws? It's- ugh, why am I even explaining this?"
Ari slowly leaned closer to the bars and subtly gestured at Nimb to follow him. "Then I'll evolve and use Lucario's hand spikes to engrave instead of drawing!"
That touched a nerve.
"Shut up… Shut up, shut UP SHUT UP!" Rhyperior shouted. He then jumped from his throne and approached the ring while generating stone edges from the ground inside the ring. Ari and Nimb jumped desperately trying to avoid them, while also keeping close to the rocky bars.
"Why… so… angry?" Ari wondered while evading a wave of attacks. "I'm just… a guy with a… bright future… ahead of me… thanks to my evolution!"
"I SAID SHUT UP!"
Luckily, one of the stone edges crushed a few of the bars that blocked the way out. That was their chance.
Ari grasped Nimb's wing and ran for it. Rhyperior saw that and desperately tried to land a hit on them, but Ari was already boosting his speed using the energy from his pearls, adding a quick attack to the equation, to get some distance. Nimb went limp in Ari's grasp, being dragged at a high speed.
"Waaaass thaaat your plaaaan?" Nimb stammered.
"Yes, well, kinda. I noticed the engravings in the walls couldn't be made by Rhyperior because his claws aren't really useful for that, so I figured he made them when he was still a Rhydon."
"Thaaaat makeees seeeense," Nimb said, starting to get dizzy.
"Yeah, and the engravings formed pictures that looked kinda nice. I thought he may have gotten really sad when he evolved and couldn't do his art anymore, hence the smashed walls next to the poorly made engravings. That's why he was so obsessed with the idea of fighting being the only thing one could be good at."
"Wooow, you noticeeed all that juuust with thaaat informatioooon?"
Ari smiled. "Yup! But my original idea was to convince him to try other ways of doing art so he could redeem himself and set us free, but… he got mad so fast that I changed my plans, heh."
That sounded like a horrible idea, Nimb thought. But he couldn't deny he was happy to see Ari regaining his confidence, and he wouldn't complain about being finally free.
Rhyperior's shouts could be heard really far away now, so Ari used that advantage to do a little detour. Ari slowed the pace a bit so Nimb could run instead of being dragged.
"Where are we going to?" Nimb asked.
"To the storage room. I saw it before and I think there's something there that we need," Ari said.
On the other side of the cave, Rhyperior and Amoonguss kept running in a desperate attempt to catch the escapees.
"Couldn't you run a bit faster?" Rhyperior complained.
"Well, uhhh I could if it wasn't because uhhh I don't have feet and I have to jump all the time?" Amoonguss said.
Rhyperior rolled his eyes. "Damn it, I swear, if they somehow manage to find the exit, I'm blaming you for this!"
"Uhhh relax, dude, it was you who let them out with your attacks! And still, it's not like uhhh they're going to be able to do anythi-"
Suddenly, a huge tremor shook the whole cave, and in the blink of an eye, a huge portion of the walls in the cave had vanished just like that, except for a few columns that kept the cave from collapsing.
The duo looked to their left, where the corridor with the cells used to be. Now it wasn't a corridor anymore, and all the prisoners stood there, glaring at them. Dolliv, Sneasel, Linoone, Flaaffy, Persian, Galvantula, and many others were ready to fight for freedom… And the Riolu and Archen in the middle.
"What…? What happened here?" Rhyperior asked.
"One-room orb. Erases all walls within a 50-meter range. Yeah, I found my bag in the storage room," Ari replied with a smirk.
Rhyperior's eyes widened in disbelief. "An orb? So you're a guild brat?"
"...Well, we're doomed," the Amoonguss said.
"Urrgh, you ruined everything!" The Rhyperior shouted. "You're going to pay for this!"
"I'm sorry for having erased your engravings from existence," Ari said. "You could have tried new ways of expressing your art and have a bright future, but you decided to waste it all and turn into a criminal. But… it's never too late to do the right thing, you know?"
"SHUT UP!" Rhyperior shouted, and Ari flinched a bit at that. He then started throwing rock shards that he generated from his hands and launched them at the prisoners. And so, the battle royale began.
Ari took Nimb and jumped to evade one of the attacks, others doing the same, while the Linoone charged toward the kidnapper, doing little to no damage. Rhyperior hit him with a stone edge, but couldn't see the Dolliv's razor leaf coming. Another wave of stone edge invaded the area, some pokémon avoiding them while some others getting badly hurt, but there were still many of them fighting.
Amoonguss tried to spread his stun spores, but he was quickly taken down by the Sneasel, who hit him from behind. He was quite surprised to see how little it took to defeat the sus- uhm, the mushroom pokémon.
Galvantula launched her electric web to immobilize Rhyperior, and Flaaffy and Persian took their chance to tackle him. He threw them off and launched sharp rocks at them, but they avoided all of them. Before Rhyperior could do anything, he got hit by an aura sphere, which finally did some important damage.
"Did you know about type advantages?" Ari said, a cocky but shaky smirk on his face.
Rhyperior glared angrily at him and charged onwards. Luckily, he was slow enough so Ari could evade. When the drill pokémon turned around, he found all of the pokémon still up charging towards him. Dolliv launched a barrage of leaves, Linoone did something similar but with small splinters, and Galvantula used sucker punch.
That made Rhyperior stagger, but the attack wasn't finished. Sneasel was upon him with a metal claw, while Flaaffy tackled him with all her body. Persian then launched a ray from his forehead gem that finally made Rhyperior fall on his rear, and Ari took that chance to use rock smash, his pearls shining with their reddish aura.
That last attack landed on his stomach and he was knocked flying a few meters away. Rhyperior tried to get back up, but he was overwhelmed with so many attacks; he couldn't take it anymore and fainted.
The battle was over, and the prisoners were finally free. The crowd of pokémon began celebrating, some running towards the cave entrance, some crying out of relief, some jumping and laughing. Ari sat on the ground, tired but happy. Nimb looked around from behind the column he was hiding in and approached Ari.
"So… Is all over?" Nimb asked.
"Yes, I think so," Ari said with a growing smile.
Suddenly, Nimb jumped towards Ari and started crying on his chest. Ari, for once, saw this coming and didn't flinch.
"Bwaaaaaah, I was so scareeeed!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know… You're safe now, that's what matters," Ari soothed him, giving him gentle pats on the head.
A voice could be heard in the distance, echoing through the cave. The ex-prisoners looked in the distance and saw three pokémon approaching: a Breloom, a Grumpig, and a Floatzel. They were all wearing red striped scarves around their neck.
"Heeeey! Are you all okay?" The Floatzel said.
Ari perked up. "Wait, you guys are explorers, right?"
As soon as they arrived with the rest of the pokémon, the Breloom answered. "Yeah, we're Team Frenzy from Hoondoom's Guild in Farlight Town. We heard about missing pokémon in the area and came here to investigate."
"Yeah, well, you're so late! We already dealt with those guys ourselves!" Linoone said, annoyed.
Team Frenzy looked around and saw the fainted outlaws and the weirdly open space there was in there.
"Oh… Well, I see those two are the cause of all this mess," Breloom said "At least we can bring them with us so they can be put in jail for their crime."
Grumpig saw the scarf Nimb was still wearing as a bandage and approached him. "Hey, are you an explorer too?"
Nimb quickly hid behind Ari and looked shyly at them. "I… Uh, I'm not…"
"I'm the explorer, actually. That scarf is mine," Ari said, smiling awkwardly with the bird gripping his back.
Grumpig crossed his arms. "Oh, I see… Then those outlaws made a terrible mistake by kidnapping you."
Ari shrugged. "Well, if it weren't for all the other pokémon, we couldn't have taken them down."
"I see… Whatever, we better take care of these outlaws before they wake up…"
After a few conversations, pokémon here and there asking questions and finding out which were the ones they were looking for from the reports of disappearances, Team Frenzy used an escape orb and left with the outlaws and some of the prisoners. The rest of them left the cave for themselves, and everyone went on with their own ways.
Ari and Nimb continued their journey to who-knows-where, now with the sunlight bathing their fur and feathers.
"Ahhh… This is so much better, I don't like narrow spaces…" Nimb said.
"I can tell, you're a flying type, it makes sense," Ari responded.
Nimb looked at the sky as they walked, thinking deeply until he spoke. "Hey, Ari… Next time, don't pretend everything's fine. You don't have to sugarcoat it for me, I know I'm younger than you, but I can take it."
Ari looked at him, a hint of hesitation in his eyes. "But… I-I guess you're right, it's just that…"
Nimb tilted his head at him. "What is it? Is there more to it?"
"Well…" He sighed. "I guess I wasn't being honest with myself. It's not just about you, I wanted to pretend like nothing could be too much for me because it just… scares me to feel like I'm not in control of the situation."
Nimb frowned. "So that's why, huh…? You know, even if you're not always in control, you're still very strong and smart. You proved it by taking both of us out of there, something I can't say for myself."
Ari didn't know if he should be flattered or concerned about Nimb. "I appreciate that, but… You were the entire reason I could do that. Not only you helped giving me enough time to think of a plan, but you mentioned the holes around the bad engravings, and pointed out they didn't look like they were made with proper claws. You gave me the idea in a way, Nimb, you're smart as well."
Nimb blushed. He couldn't believe all that; it was probably the nicest thing someone had ever said to him. "Y-you think so?"
Ari nodded. "Besides… I wouldn't have been motivated enough to do anything without a friend by my side."
"A… friend?" Nimb looked at Ari with hope. Ari smiled at him and nodded, and that made Nimb smile as well. "That… means a lot. Thank you."
Ari chuckled. "It's nothing. I'm just glad I stumbled with a specific anxious bird."
Nimb chuckled as well, a bit embarrassed. "By the way, I forgot to give this back to you." He unwrapped the scarf he was using as a bandage and offered it.
"Oh, right, the wound must be healed already," Ari said. He took it hesitantly, knowing it still was dirty from the wound, so he opened his bag and stored it inside to wash it later. While doing so, he spotted his other scarf, the yellow one, and he stared at it, lost in thoughts.
"Ari? You look sad, is everything okay?" Nimb asked. Ari shook his head and came back to the real world.
"Uh, yeah, don't worry."
Nimb tilted his head. "Okay, then… Hey, so you said you were an explorer, huh?"
Ari turned back to his cheery self and nodded. "That's right!"
"But that big guy knew you were just because you used that… What was it called, an orb?"
"Yup! Wands and seeds can be found out there in the wild, but orbs are special items that are made specifically to be used by explorers, rescuers, or other institutions. It would be a horrible idea to let anyone use them since they're too powerful. So you can't find them or buy them anywhere," Ari explained.
"I see…" Nimb became silent for a short while before asking again. "Did you have to fight a lot in the guild?"
Ari stopped. "Uh? Well, sometimes, yes. I did have to take down outlaws or confront some territorial pokémon in order to proceed with some missions. You can just avoid conflict all the time, even if… if I would prefer to."
"...Then I don't think I'll ever want to be an explorer," Nimb said, unable to hide his disappointment.
Ari rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, you don't have to. And it's not like I'm going to go back to it anytime soon either… But I still want to help pokémon in need if I can."
Nimb looked back at him. "I… would like to help too, but I'm too scared to even talk to other pokémon…"
"Take your time, don't worry," Ari said with a gentle smile. "And, just so you know, guilds aren't the only option out there. There are many ways of helping others."
"Really?" Nimb asked.
"Yes, I know there must be something that you're pretty good at, but you still didn't know. Forget what that wild Rhyperior said, pokémon aren't meant to fight. Some choose to do so, but we're capable of so much more," Ari reassured. Somehow, he was really good at giving advice that he couldn't apply to himself.
"Oh… Just like you want to be an artist?"
Ari frowned. "What? Oh, that? Nah, I made that up. I suck at drawing."
Nimb laughed at that, and Ari smiled at him, happy to finally see him expressing such happiness. He wondered if he could help his bird friend find himself, seeing how lost he looked when they met.
Ari's mind then went back to that moment, when the Archen jumped on him looking like he just saw a monster. He had forgotten about that, but he still wanted to solve that mystery. Just what even had happened to Nimb…?
And while he investigated that… Ari hoped he would eventually find him.
Well, that was chapter 2! I must thank everyone that's supporting my story even if it only just started, I'm loving hearing everyone's opinions on the story so far!
27/08/24 edit: This chapter has been rewritten to make it actually relevant instead of a self-contained filler chapter. Many other fixes were made as well.
Next time: Nimb tries to confront his social anxiety.