Pokémon Nuzlocke Novels: Ancient Scarlet
Chapter 11: Tearing Up Tera Dens
After getting lost and having to ask a passing Trainer for directions, Milo was eventually able to track down the large gate that led out of Mesagoza, out to the west. The teen stared at the gate for several long moments, gulping nervously as he considered what this actually meant. The Voice's reappearance today meant that the Nuzlocke Curse was most definitely still in effect. And that meant his life was on the line with every battle he took.
Remember…You made this deal.
"I know that!" Milo growled back as glanced skyward, exhaling hard as he tried to get his emotions under control. Looking at the young man, however, you wouldn't even be able to tell how frustrated and scared he truly was. "You can't imagine what it's like! You know, I could just stay in school and travel around normally. Avoid the Gyms and Titans and all the other stuff! What do you have to say about that?"
I'd say that you would be completely squandering your second chance and the possibilities open to you. What's better, kid? Defying the odds and truly embracing life? Or hiding like a coward because you're too scared to take a risk?
Milo looked down and truly considered the words that the strange presence was saying. Because as much as Milo didn't want to admit it, the Voice was completely correct. He had chosen this and he had made the deal. Was he really that much of a coward that he wouldn't even take the risk to try and explore the wonderful new world he was a part of?
He had two new friends and a strange acquaintance asking for his help to do extremely interesting things. Hell, if it wasn't for the fact that he was being kept in the dark about Team Star, he might've gone off to tackle that particular challenge first. It was frustrating to admit, but the Voice was right, and it was actually trying to help him for some unknown reason. This sort of experience was why he wanted to move to go to Naranja Academy in the first place.
"Fine…You're right. It's hard trying to really process all of this." Milo sighed and closed his eyes, focusing on calming himself down for several moments before adding, "Thanks for setting me straight. You're still awful, but I do appreciate you not being a total asshole for five minutes."
Remember that the next time you get sassy with me, Florian.
The presence of the Voice faded as Milo cringed from his own name being used against him like that. Milo heard the ringing of his Rotom Phone and jumped up with some surprise, even as it flew out of his pocket to show that Nemona was calling him. Confused as to why she was calling him even though he had seen her less than two hours ago, Milo answered the phone.
"Hey! It's me, Nemona!" the girl yelled out from over the phone, the sound of wind in the background. Milo wondered if she was riding her Paldean Tauros much like he was riding Koraidon. "We should call and catch each other up on how things are going from now on!"
"Sounds good to me. I'm about to head out of Mesagoza."
"You decide to set out heading west from the school, right, Milo?" Nemona asked her neighbor, who snorted with amusement. Naturally she had guessed that sort of thing.
"Yeah, I ended up deciding to tackle the Gym out west. You said it was about a two or three day walk from the city, right?"
"Yeah! Starting from there, you'll be pretty close to Cortondo! With Koraidon, I wouldn't be surprised if you got there by nightfall if you made a beeline straight for the town!" Nemona gushed, causing Milo to smile at the girl's excitement. "Anyways, that's where you'll find the Bug-type Gym! You can go take on the Gym Leader if you want!"
"Bug-type, huh? With Reggie that shouldn't be too hard." Milo remarked, causing Nemona to laugh. A loud moo sounded off in the background, followed by the cries of several Pokémon. Milo wondered if his neighbor was battling wild Pokémon while on the phone with him, or just not paying attention to where she was going.
Truthfully, both options made equal amounts of sense for Nemona.
"Anyways, I'm sure you can beat her, Milo! Good luck-I'll call you soon!" Nemona called out, causing Milo to blush in response. The Champion hung up then, giving Milo a chance to regain his composure before heading out the west gate…
The adventure had truly begun.
As the doors swung open, Koraidon ambled out of the gates and Milo was unable to stop himself from grinning with excitement. Before him was a well-worn dirty path that wound through a grassy cliff, with the faint roar of a river rushing nearby audible in the distance. The rolling green fields of Paldea stretched out to the south…and in every direction there were wild Pokémon.
Some Milo recognized, like Sunkern and Mareep. Others he didn't, like the strange green seed-like Pokémon that fled as soon as he tried to get closer. Either way, Milo ended up laughing softly to himself before calling out, "Alright Koraidon, let's get in some trouble!"
"Aigiasss!" Koraidon growled in reply before darting forward, bounding across the path past a startled young woman preparing for a picnic. But Milo was too focused on the road ahead, directing Koraidon as it navigated around the wild Pokémon by responding immediately to Milo's directions.
"This is what I've always wanted. To be a Trainer! To experience the Wilds with nothing but my Pokémon at my side!" Milo thought with a fierce rush of joy as he spurred Koraidon on, leaping off of a small cliff and easily landing twenty feet down onto a patch of grass before charging towards a flock of Mareep.
An idea occurred to Milo then, and a moment later the teen unclipped a Poké Ball from his belt and hurled it. Cocoa the Paldean Wooper appeared, smiling as she landed on the ground.
"Wooopa!" Cocoa cried out as the five Mareep nearby stared at them with concern on their faces.
"Cocoa, let's get some training in! Mud Shot bombardment, just like we practiced!" Milo called as his Wooper leapt into the air, raining down blobs of mud upon the Mareep who quickly began to scatter at the sudden attack. Two fainted immediately after being struck, and the remaining three lashed out with Thunder Shocks that struck Cocoa and did nothing. Milo winced at the Nuzlocke Curse gripping his heart, but pushed through and kept commanding Cocoa.
Three Mud Shots later and Milo was returning Cocoa and moving on to another batch of Mareep, and so on and so forth. Milo sent out Reggie to deal with several floating bands of Hoppip not too long after, and used Sparky to deal with some roaming Psyduck and Fletchling. Milo hadn't had too many chances to head outside of Mesagoza to train, instead relying on bouts with Nemona and class battles to keep his Pokémon in fighting-fit shape.
The trio of Pokémon enjoyed themselves immensely, finally able to let loose for the first time in about two months and knocked out Pokémon after Pokémon. Milo grinned as he watched his Pokémon continue to do their thing, taking time to heal them whenever they got too fatigued.
Milo knew the Nuzlocke Curse would only take effect if he directed the actions of his Pokémon, so he made sure to only do so when it was against Pokémon he knew that they would win against. In any other circumstance, he just had his Pokémon do their own thing. Either way, Milo had made sure to invest in a few Poké Dolls before leaving Mesagoza.
After about two hours of training alongside the cliffs by the large river winding through the route he was on, Milo took a break and ate a pre-packaged sandwich he had bought from the school the day before and fed his team as well, thanking them for their hard work. It was while taking this break that he noticed something odd in the distance.
It was a strange crystal-like structure in the distance, shooting a beam of energy into the sky. Milo couldn't tell exactly what it was so far away, however.
"What's with the pillars of light?" Milo muttered quietly as he packed up his things and returned his Pokémon, hopping aboard Koraidon again. Milo then let out a startled yelp as his phone began to ring, and after pulling out his phone, he blinked in surprise at who exactly was calling him.
"Professor Sada?" Milo questioned as he tapped the Accept Call button and the woman appeared on his screen, sitting down in an armchair with one hand tapping away at a nearby keyboard, though her attention was directed at him. The Professor offered the student a friendly wave as Milo spoke. "Um, good afternoon ma'am. Is there a problem?"
"Greetings, Florian. It has been some time since I checked in on you and Koraidon. I simply wanted to follow up with you, after all. I can see that you're already making use of Koraidon's other form to make your way across Paldea." Professor Sada noted, smiling warmly as Koraidon growled a greeting to its friend and Trainer. "Hello to you too, Koraidon. I can see that you're outside of Mesagoza and have entered the beautiful Wilds of Paldea. I was able to detect your departure three hours ago, as a matter of fact."
"How were you able to tell?" Milo asked, raising an eyebrow. Sada chuckled with amusement, putting a finger to her chin.
"Once upon a time I put a special tracker on Koraidon to keep track of it while I was distracted with other matters here in Area Zero. Thanks to that, whenever it's not in its Poké Ball, I can keep tabs on it." Professor Sada explained, much to a surprised Milo. He hadn't noticed a tracker or device of any kind on the creature in the entire time it had been under his care.
"Um, the tracker doesn't hurt it, does it?" Milo asked, concern in his voice.
"Not at all. I'd explain the specifics, but it'd involve quite a bit of jargon that would require even further explanation. Ask Director Clavell about it. We worked together for quite a while and he's familiar with the tracker agent. These days it's used in Pokémon Conservation efforts, in particular by the Aether Foundation to track Pokémon for data analysis." The Professor shook her head, a rueful smile on her face. "My apologies, I'm rambling. Anyways, I simply wanted to check in on you both. My studies here in Area Zero do keep me very busy, but Koraidon's rehabilitation and overall happiness are also a great concern of mine. How has it been adjusting to your school life?"
"Pretty well. The other students think it's awesome and it's a big softie, despite looking intimidating. It gets along well with the other Pokémon as well." Milo responded as he rubbed Koraidon's neck, earning a happy wriggle from the draconic mount.
"Fantastic! I'm happy to hear it's being well taken care of. It's been through a lot, and seeing it being cared for well proves I was right to entrust it to you." Professor Sada praised Milo, clapping her hands together with a wide smile on her face. Milo flushed at the compliment, unfortunately still not used to hearing such heartfelt praise.
"Well, that was honestly all I required from you, Florian. Is there anything I can assist you with? Any questions you may have? That aren't related to Area Zero, of course." Professor Sada then chuckled, shaking her head. "As much as I'd like to shed more light on the important work I do down here, that information is classified and unable to be released to anyone not of a Champion-Rank or higher who has also been given special clearance by the Top Champion of Paldea."
"Top Champion? Where have I heard that before?" Milo muttered under his breath before shaking his head. Thankfully he didn't really care about Area Zero right now, but he did have other concerns. "Actually, I do have a question while I have you on the phone. Do you know anything about those weird crystal things shooting out of the ground?"
Milo flipped the phone around to show her the nearby crystal in question. Professor Sada hummed for a moment before responding. "Ah, that's a Tera Den. It is the home of a special Pokémon that has been empowered by Terastal Energy. They've been cropping up more and more with each passing year. I've been looking into it as best I can, but I have no promising leads at the moment on why they have been growing in number."
"Pokémon live in that thing?" Milo questioned, raising an eyebrow and turning the phone back around. Professor Sada nodded sagely, leaning back in her chair slightly.
"Yes. I would recommend exploring them, Florian. I know for a fact that the Pokémon League employs enterprising students and skilled Trainers to help keep the Tera Dens from appearing too frequently around Paldea. The Pokémon you can find within could be a valuable asset while on your Treasure Hunt."
"How do you know about that?" Milo asked, surprised by the sudden mention of the independent study. Professor Sada chuckled at the boy's shock, leaning forward in her chair.
"My husband was the one to suggest such a thing to Director Clavell years ago, when we worked together in my old lab. He was even briefly a teacher at the Academy for a short while." Professor Sada explained to a surprised Milo. "To see the Treasure Hunt happen twice in two years makes me quite happy, as we always suspected it was a great way to explore the true potential of Trainers within Paldea."
"Aiigass!" Koraidon cried out, with Milo rubbing the creature's head with a smirk on his face. Professor Sada considered the scene for a moment before saying, "Do you have any further questions, Florian? As always, if you require anything at all or wish to update me on Koraidon's recovery, I'm just a phone call away."
"Nope, that's all. Thanks for answering my questions, ma'am. Take care!"
"You as well, young man. Thank you for helping me with Koraidon." Professor Sada said gratefully, bowing her head for a moment before ending the call. It was at that moment that the Voice made its presence known.
So, about those Tera Dens. Those are the fulcrum upon which your entire journey will rest on. From here on in, you will be able to expand your team by making use of the Tera Dens scattered throughout Paldea.
"Wait, what?"
In-between Objectives you are allowed to choose three Tera Dens and attempt to catch the Pokémon within. Once you choose a Tera Den, you either catch what's inside or move on and lose your chance to catch a Pokémon inside of it. Once you clear any of the eighteen Objectives, you will be given another chance to delve into three Tera Dens and expand your team further.
"That's…insane. Let's back up a few steps and go through that all again." Milo tried to say, only for the Voice to sigh with annoyance.
I could explain, but if I went into the details of how your world operates you'd go insane. And that's boring for me. So just accept that this is your way forward and prepare to go exploring.
"You're so unbelievably unhelpful sometimes."
Too bad, so sad. Oh, wait. I should probably take this time to mention that due to the strange nature of the dens, any fainting or knock-outs that happen when attempting to subdue the Tera Pokémon inside of the Tera Dens won't trigger the Nuzlocke Curse.
"Wait, really? Why?" Milo asked, surprised by this sudden nugget of knowledge.
Truthfully it's because of how these battles are set up. It's weird as hell and difficult to keep track of, so the Curse doesn't actually trigger despite a battle occurring. For lack of a better way of explaining it, Tera Raids are too chaotic for the Curse to keep track of, so knock-outs inside them don't count.
Milo waited for some kind of elaboration, but he didn't get one. "...Okay. So what aren't you telling me?"
Ha! You're not wrong. There is more I can tell you. But I won't do that because what's life without a little mystery? Or misery, for that matter.
"You enjoy doing that, don't you? Offering some information, but withholding the whole story and taunting me with what could be?" Milo demanded as he directed Koraidon over to the nearest crystal he could see, which happened to be a vibrant purple-colored one. Milo hopped off of Koraidon and walked over to the gemstone, amazed at the size of it and wondered idly whether or not they were actually worth anything.
Milo tentatively reached out and touched the crystal, and his entire body went rigid as a pulse of energy suddenly shot through his arm and through his body.
The student's mind went blank, save for the image of a shadowy silhouette of what looked like a Pokémon. A dog of some kind, perhaps. He could also see a single star floating above the image as well, as well as the faint impression that this Pokémon was…Poison-type? Milo wasn't sure.
Suddenly the vision broke and Milo staggered backwards, panting from the strange connection that had been forged between his mind and the crystals. Koraidon nudged Milo worriedly, growling softly as Milo gathered his bearings. He then shook his head and swore quietly before noticing that there was a small hole inside of the crystal, just big enough for him to crawl inside of.
Go on. Hop down the hole.
"If it wasn't for the fact that Professor Sada already assured me this was safe, I'd seriously consider telling you to piss off." Milo grumbled, sliding into the hole as carefully as he could. Milo then yelped as his grip slipped on the crystal and he fell several feet before landing roughly on the ground.
"Howdy! We were hoping we'd get some more helpers down here!" A young woman's voice cried out brightly, much to the confusion of Milo as he adjusted to the strange light of the cavern he found himself in. To Milo's amazement, there were three people already inside of the cavern.
"Um, hi? What the hell are you all doing down here?" Milo asked the two young women and a young man about his age. Even more surprising was the fact they were all wearing Naranja Academy uniforms.
"Oooh, a newbie. This'll be fun." The girl remarked, grinning with excitement. Milo then noticed some more details about the other students. The other woman hadn't spoken yet, and stood next to a Stunky, leaning lazily against a wall. The young man was sitting down on the ground next to a Pawniard.
"You all just hang out down here or what?" Milo asked, raising an eyebrow as the girl helped him to his feet.
"Not quite. I'm going to assume you have no idea what these things are, but if you're willing to lend us a hand, we'll be more than happy to explain. Long story short, we're the Crystal Containment Crew. 3XC for short. We're a club at Naranja Academy that's sponsored personally by the Pokémon League!" The brown-haired girl then gave Milo a wide smile. "I'm Eli and this is my Kirlia."
"Kiiir!" the green and white humanoid Pokémon greeted Milo with a slight bow. Eli then gestured to her two other cohorts and said, "This is Gianna and her Stunky, and Henry with his Pawniard. They're part of the group as well."
"So what do you all, um, do down here? You said you were the Crystal Containment Crew, but I don't know what that is." Milo asked the trio, who allowed Eli to explain.
"You're familiar with the Terastal Phenomenon, right? The thing that lets us Paldeans Terastallize our Pokémon to power them up and even change their types, right?" Eli explained to Milo, who nodded and even pulled out his own Tera Orb.
"Well, out in the Wilds of Paldea, there are all sorts of large crystals that pop out of the ground. These crystals give off the same energy as our Tera Orbs. These crystals lead into little dens and caverns like these, and if a Pokémon gets into it, then it gets….well, empowered by the crystals here. They get a big power up and they're really hard to battle. That's where we come in!" Eli said as she put a hand to her chest.
"There's all sorts of theories out there about how and why these things happen. Some say it comes naturally from the core of the planet. Some say it's Arceus itself spawning the crystals here, or even that it's some kind of uber-powerful Legendary. It may even be some kind of insane experiment in the Great Crater of Paldea gone wrong." Eli remarked with a shrug, seemingly uncaring. "The point is that they crop up occasionally and are a bit of a nuisance. The light they shoot out can be distracting and the Pokémon that escape the dens and run around are really tough, which can make traveling through the area a bit tough."
"So the Pokémon League made a special program with the Academy to deal with the crystals?" Milo asked, crossing his arms as he attempted to make sense of it all.
Eli nodded smartly. "Yep. Naranja Academy gets a nice boost in funding for helping out the League and we get extra credit for lending a hand. We even got authorized to hand out goodies to fellow students who help us out, even if they're not a part of the team!"
"So, you want in?" Henry asked from the back of the cavern, drawing Milo's attention. "Protocol says not to try and fight these things unless we've got a team of four. It'd help us out and you can get some good rewards out of it. All you have to do is help us beat the Tera Pokémon inside and get rid of this crystal. Easy enough, right?"
"What happens to the Pokémon after we beat them?" Milo asked, with Eli fielding the question.
"Usually we just knock out the Pokémon. The Tera Den eventually shifts itself around and the Pokémon gets deposited outside after a short time, if they don't flee as soon as the Terastal Energy fades away from them. You're totally welcome to catch them yourself!" Eli said before putting a finger to her chin. "I think that's everything. So, you want in?"
"So this is what you were talking about, huh?" Milo thought at the Voice, who chuckled darkly within his mind.
Sure is. Because of how these battles work, the rules of the Nuzlocke Run don't apply to it. So if your Pokémon gets knocked out, you can heal it back up with no penalties. You're free to catch three Pokémon within the Tera Dens before you'll be able to catch any more. You're also free to keep going into them, if only for the experience and items you can acquire from these weirdos.
"Weirdo? Isn't that kind of harsh?"
They jump into holes in the ground for extra credit at school. That's weird as hell. And that's coming from me. And I'm just a voice in your head.
Milo directed his attention back to reality and nodded at Eli. "Sure thing, I can lend a hand. Just tell me what I need to do."
Eli quickly explained how the Tera Dens actually worked. Using one Pokémon each, they would team up and battle against the single Tera Pokémon that was now linked to the structural integrity of the cavern within the Tera Den. Milo was told that due to the strange properties of the cavern, he couldn't use multiple Pokémon, so he had to choose one and stick with it.
Milo was also informed that there was a time limit to win the battle once the Tera Pokémon was engaged. If the group took too long to defeat it, then the Tera Pokémon would blast them with energy and force them out of the cavern.
After sending out Reggie, Milo was escorted deeper into the cavern. To his surprise, the group quickly stumbled upon the lair of the Tera Pokémon itself.
The cavern's main chamber was circular and had a circumference of around thirty meters. Every inch of the chamber they found themselves in was coated with bright purple crystals, with a strange light shining faintly off of them. Milo's skin tingled slightly, feeling the strange energy in the air that very much reminded him of when he used his Tera Orb. However, his focus was on their target, the Tera Pokémon that dwelled within the chamber that was currently growling angrily at them.
The Tera Pokémon itself was shining brightly with energy, but Milo was able to make out that the Pokémon in question was a dog of some kind that he vaguely remembered seeing out in the fields earlier that day. It wore a purple shimmering Tera Crown that resembled a skull and crossbones symbol and stood atop a raised platform made of crystals tinted a darker shade of purple.
"A question before we start. Do you want to catch it, or let it go?" Eli asked Milo, who nodded in response.
"Catch it." Milo responded as Reggie tensed beside him. All four Trainers slowly fanned out, surrounding the Tera Pokémon as it growled even lorder at them.
"It's a Maschiff! This one's a Dark-type normally, but it shouldn't be too hard. Let's get it!" Henry called to all of them. Each of the four Trainers nodded in unison, and the Tera Raid Battle began.
"Confusion!"
"Metal Claw!"
"Acid Spray."
"Reggie, Ember!" Milo called out as the other three Trainers called out commands. The Fuecoco nodded and let loose a small fireball at the Maschiff as it bit and snapped at the air, even as the wave of attacks struck it. Upon getting struck with Ember, the canine barked loudly before bounding forward, slamming hard into Pawniard and Stunky before turning towards Reggie and biting him.
The Fuecoco yelped as he was tossed around before being thrown onto the ground, with Maschiff quickly returning to the platform to avoid an attack from Stunky. Maschiff whirled around once it reached its perch and let out a vicious Snarl, releasing a dark shockwave of sound that washed over all of them.
All three members of the 3XC and Milo were blasted backwards as the attack washed over them all, dealing damage to all of their Pokémon and throwing the Trainers to the ground. Thankfully for the Trainers, the brunt of the attack had hit the Pokémon, so the wave of force from it was what was left by the time it reached them.
"This one ain't so bad!" Henry said with a laugh as he got back to his feet, punching forward and calling out. "Metal Claw!"
"This isn't too bad?" Milo thought Pawniard leapt forward and delivered two slashes to Tera Maschiff before being smacked away by the glistening canine. Milo had Reggie attack with Round, sending a wave of sound at the Tera Pokémon and causing it to whine in pain before Reggie and Milo earned a furious glare from the crystalline Pokémon.
Reggie and the rest of their team was struck with another Snarl, knocking him onto the crystallized ground and stunning him for several seconds before he regained his bearings and got back up. Kirlia and Stunky pressed the attack, sending waves of energy at the Tera Pokémon as it roared in pain.
This is slightly more chaotic than normal. You all shouldn't be struggling this hard against a One-Star Pokémon.
"Do you have to constantly chime in? I'm kinda busy here!" Milo thought before ordering Reggie to keep shooting Embers at the Maschiff as it tackled Stunky hard enough to send it flying into a nearby wall.
Get used to it, kid. You're going to be doing a lot more of these before you're done.
"This is pure chaos…" Milo thought before his eyes widened in surprise, watching as Tera Maschiff suddenly dashed forward and collided with Kirlia, a faint blast of white-colored energy erupting from the blow that sent the Emotion Pokémon hurtling into the crystal walls of the chamber they were in.
"Kirlia!" Eli called out as her Partner fell onto the ground unconscious, with the Tera Maschiff howling in triumph before turning its angry gaze to Gianna and her Stunky. Milo saw a surge of energy flow through the entire chamber, making it reverberate as the energy seemingly flowed into the Tera Pokémon they were all facing.
"Hey kid! Terastallize your Pokémon!" Eli shouted to Milo, who frowned at being called a kid, but nodded as he pulled out his Tera Orb. It was shining faintly, which it hadn't been earlier. Milo decided to ignore why that was and prepared himself for the next phase of the battle.
"Reggie, let's turn up the heat! Terastallize!" Milo shouted as he held up his Tera Orb, which quickly generated a whirling burst of Terastal Energy. With a bright flash of light, the Tera Orb was primed and thrown over to Reggie, who became engulfed with crystals and became a Tera Pokémon. Reggie and the Maschiff glared down at one another, growling fiercely as the room began to shine even brightly.
"Ember!" Milo shouted as Reggie's Tera Crown let out a burst of flames, even as Reggie growled softly and opened his mouth. A sphere of raging fire quickly formed within the Fuecoco's maw before firing off like a cannonball towards the other Tera Pokémon. The sphere of raw flames exploded in the face of the Tera Maschiff, knocking it off of the platform and causing it to tumble onto the floor of the Tera Den.
"Damn, that's got some punch! Come on, let's keep up the pressure!" Eli called out encouragingly, doing an excited fist-pump.
Tera Maschiff slowly got back to its feet, shaking its head for a moment before locking eyes with Reggie and returning to the platform, releasing another Snarl that battered the Pokémon as they continued trying to bring the Tera Pokémon down. Another wave of attacks from the 3XC and another Tera-boosted Ember from Reggie somehow made the Maschiff even more agitated.
The crystal hound bounded forward with a small roar, dashing through the squad of Pokémon and tackling through each one of them, a loud ethereal growl of anger erupting from the jewel-empowered Pokémon. Shining light trickled from the Tera Maschiff as it returned to the platform yet again, spinning around. It then narrowed its eyes ominously, striking all of the remaining Pokémon with a Leer, weakening their defenses. However, it was obvious that the Tera Pokémon was tiring.
"Just a bit more!" Henry shouted as his Pawniard dashed forward, using Aerial Ace to deliver a swift strike to Tera Maschiff. The Tera Pokémon let out a howl of pain, stumbling forward as one of its legs gave out. Milo then remembered a very important fact that had completely escaped him until the last second.
"Wait a sec, isn't Dark weak against Fairy? Reggie, Disarming Voice!" Milo shouted as the Maschiff released a powerful Snarl, with the shockwave of sound ripping across the cavern and knocking back Eli's Kirlia, sending her to the ground as well as knocking out Stunky. Reggie hopped forward and released its own burst of sound at the Tera Maschiff, causing it to grunt in annoyance but do little else.
"Remember, it's Poison-type now! Fairy won't do anything to it!" Eli shouted to Milo, causing him to blink a few times before muttering a curse under his breath. He had forgotten about the type change, and an attack that should have done serious damage had done next to nothing at all. Milo ordered Reggie to fire off one last Ember, boosted by the Fire Tera Crown resting atop the Fuecoco's head, and the sphere of raging flame exploded against the side of the Tera Maschiff as it attempted to attack Gianna and her Stunky.
The Tera Crown resting atop the head of the Tera Maschiff shattered and released a powerful shockwave throughout the entire room. The Tera Pokémon staggered atop the platform, clearly dazed. Eli gasped and then looked at Milo urgently.
"Catch it! Pull out a Poké Ball and hold it out!" Eli shouted to Milo, who dug through his bag for a few moments before he pulled out a Poké Ball, holding out the capsule. To his surprise, some of the latent energy in the air seemed to converge on the ball, causing it to sparkle.
"Alright…time to see if those ball-throwing lessons at the Academy paid off!" Milo thought as he spun around and chucked the Poké Ball as hard as he could at the Tera Maschiff. The ball spun rapidly through the air, picking up both speed and more energy as more and more Terastal Energy converged on the sphere, causing a swirling mass of light to envelop it. Milo's eyes went wide as the Poké Ball he had thrown crystalized completely before stopping a short distance away from the Tera Maschiff, who looked weakly up at the sphere before it shot out a beam of light, sucking the Tera Pokémon inside of the Poké Ball.
Finally the crystal around the Poké Ball shattered as it fell to the ground. It shook a single time before clicking, signifying that the capture was complete.
"Hell yeah!" Henry called out, punching the air as Eli sighed with relief. Gianna silently clapped her hands a few times, seemingly applauding Milo for his catch of the Tera Pokémon. The crystals around the room seemed to lose their luster almost immediately, with some even cracking the moment Milo had destroyed the Tera Crown.
"That was intense. I can see why you all team up and tackle these things together." Milo said as he picked up Reggie, who let out a happy growl. "Good work, buddy. You did great." Milo then returned Reggie as the 3XC healed their teams, with Eli walking over to Milo with an impressed grin.
"Here's your reward for helping us." Eli said as she dug through her bag. She handed Milo two Rawst Berries, a shining Pearl, and several small candies shaped like a pyramid. Eli helpfully explained the concept of Exp. Candy, which helped boost the experience of a Pokémon to make it stronger.
"We'll hang around for a bit to make sure we didn't miss anything. You can head on out." Eli said to Milo, who nodded before glancing down at the Poké Ball containing the Tera Maschiff.
Milo made his way over to the Tera Den entrance and with some effort pulled himself out of the pit. He rolled onto the ground and took a minute to catch his breath before staggering to his feet and calling out his newest Pokémon. Without the coating of crystals, the Maschiff was a rather scraggly-looking dog with brown fur, save for a black patch on its face and stomach and a streak of yellow fur on its back. Milo pulled out his Rotom Phone as the canine looked at him quizzically, tilting its head.
"Maschiff. The Rascal Pokémon. It always scowls in an attempt to make opponents take it seriously, but even crying children will burst into laughter when they see Maschiff's face. This Maschiff is Female and has the Ability Run Away. Its Tera Type is Poison." Milo stowed away his Rotom Phone and looked down at the canine looking up at him expectantly.
The teen knelt down and held out a hand, smiling at the Maschiff who had now become his fourth official Pokémon. "Hey there. You're a good girl, aren't you?"
The Maschiff barked in response, and Milo scratched her on the head and then behind her ears, causing the Maschiff to close her eyes and kick her back leg a few times, showing that Milo had found the perfect scratching spot. The teen smiled at the dog for several moments as he brainstormed, trying to think of a name.
"Pepper. Because you're a puppy, and and I'm still awful with names. How's that sound?" Milo asked the Maschiff, who tilted her head at her Trainer before barking out, sniffing him several times before licking his hand. Behind him the three members of C3 began pulling themselves out of the Tera Den.
Milo walked over to help them out, earning a grateful look from Henry and Gianna. Soon enough the trio were out of the cavern and looking towards the setting sun.
"So, are you heading to Cortondo or gonna hang out in the Wilds a bit more?" Henry asked Milo, returning his Pawniard as he did so.
"I'm going to get some training in and catch a few more Pokémon. I'm definitely interested in learning more about the Tera Dens though." Milo answered, though inwardly he was thinking. "If I'm stuck using these as my only way of catching Pokémon, I'll have to learn more about them."
"We're always looking for new members. Or folks who just want to help out without the commitment." Eli remarked with a grin, stuffing her hands into her pockets. "If you're around tomorrow, I'll still be in the area knocking out Tera Dens. Feel free to help out!"
"Sounds good. You all take care!" Milo said as he shook each of their hands, with the trio departing to tackle more Tera Dens. Milo glanced at the setting sun yet again and decided now would be as good of a time as any to wind down for the day. Milo then looked down at Pepper, who was sniffing Milo's shoes curiously.
The teen knelt down and petted the Maschiff, causing Pepper to lick him on the cheek. Milo laughed for a moment as he called out Koraidon, who promptly licked his other cheek without warning.
Pepper was understandably terrified of Koraidon, and it took several long minutes before Milo managed to convince her that it was a friend. By the time Milo had done that and made his way to the nearest Pokémon Center Outpost, nightfall had come.
Milo sighed with exhaustion as he hopped off Koraidon and stretched his sore muscles, but he knew he needed to set up camp sooner rather than later and couldn't relax just yet. Milo handed over his Poké Balls to Nurse Joy and started working on erecting his tent. Nearby, there were a few other tents set up, with three more in the process of being set up just like Milo's.
According to Arven, many Trainers tended to camp close to the Pokémon Center Outposts scattered throughout the region due to the security these facilities provided. While not an actual building Trainers could get rooms at, the Outposts allowed Trainers to achieve similar results if they had come prepared with their own camping equipment.
The outposts had state-of-the-art security systems, along with plenty of cameras to deter thieves and bandits. It was also an unspoken rule for Trainers when it came to these Outposts to treat them with respect and to be polite to the workers, since these facilities were open 24-hours a day.
Even Pokémon tended to avoid the facilities, mostly due to the light and the constant jingle echoing out from the buildings for most of the day. So security and safety were assured so long as you camped close to the Outpost.
Nemona had told Milo and Juliana a few stories where Trainers were able to escape certain death or great injury thanks to the help of the workers at the Pokémon Center Outposts. Milo had even been told that underneath the Pokémon Center Outposts were secret rooms set up in case of severe weather or for other emergencies, but neither Nemona or Arven were able to confirm that.
By the time Milo's team was healed, he had set up the tent and even eaten a light dinner before taking his team from Nurse Joy, who he thanked for her help before walking over to his tent and calling out his team. He ducked into the tent and changed out of his uniform and as he opened his sleeping bag, wondered whether or not his Pokémon would want to sleep beside him outside.
This question was answered a moment later when a long tail opened the tent flap and Sparky, Cocoa, Reggie and Pepper scampered into the tent excitedly. Milo looked at Koraidon with a raised eyebrow as the massive lizard allowed the tent flap to fall, but Milo could have sworn he saw it smiling. He noticed that just outside of the tent that Koraidon had curled up around the entrance, and Milo was initially confused as to why. He also realized Koraidon wasn't lying down to sleep, but had its head up and was completely alert.
After a few minutes of thinking about it, Milo realized what was going on. "It's not sleeping…it's protecting all of us by keeping watch since we're out in the Wilds. If anyone or anything wants to get to me and the rest of the team in the tent, they've got to get through Koraidon."
"Thanks buddy." Milo said to the strange Pokémon as he leaned out of the tent. Koraidon's response was licking his cheek and causing Milo to laugh as he wiped the slobber off of his face. He then retreated back into the tent and began getting his team settled for bedtime. Milo got into his sleeping bag and laid down, already feeling tired.
Unsurprisingly, most of the group was ready to doze off right then and there, curling up on the tent's floor and passing out. Pepper the Maschiff and Reggie slept pressed up against Milo's side, much to his surprise and delight. It looked like the newest addition to the team was already warming up to everyone.
Milo grinned as he huddled into his sleeping bag, closing his eyes and relaxing as he thought over the events of the day. He had a path forward and the makings of a team now, with two more catches hopefully rounding out what would be a full team of six. He was feeling more than ready to take on his first true challenge as a Trainer. Sure his life hung in the balance and he was still a rookie, but this was just the first Gym Leader.
How bad could it be?
That's all for now, folks!
I'm going to explain some of the rules that the Voice covered in this chapter.
Milo is able to catch three Pokémon in-between each Objective by going to the Tera Dens throughout the region and battling the Pokémon within, catching them if he's able to defeat them. Aside from being allowed to catch and use Shiny Pokémon that he encounters in the overworld, this is the only way he can catch Pokémon.
While battling the Tera Pokémon, due to the format of the Tera Raid Battles themselves, the KO-equals-dead rule is suspended temporarily due to the different nature of the Raids and how your Pokémon is instantly revived if it gets KO'd. That's not something the player has control over, so I'm rolling with it.
This is done to add the essential element of random chance to the Nuzlocke Challenge as well as make a challenge like this possible in the open-world format of Pokémon Scarlet/Violet.
On top of that, this challenge will use Hardcore Rules. This means that whatever Objective Milo will be attempting, he is unable to use a Pokémon stronger than the strongest Pokémon he'll encounter for that Objective. So for Katy, Milo can't use a Pokémon over Level 15 when he tries to battle her. The second something goes past the level cap, it cannot be used for an Objective weaker than its current level.
Which'll make things in the late-game very interesting.
So from Naranja Academy to whatever his first Objective is, Milo can catch three Pokémon. After that, he can't catch any more until he completes an Objective, in which case he's permitted to catch three more from the Tera Dens.
Hopefully I was able to convey the rules clearly enough. If you have any questions, please let me know in the review section and I'll see if I can clarify things better.
Also, to answer a question asked in the review section last chapter. Cameos and appearances from Radiant Sun are absolutely happening. But not quite yet, since some of them would spoil events in the story that I haven't gotten to as of this upload.
Shoutout to SolanaLeonhart and BraviaryScout for reviewing the last update. You both are legends and I appreciate you immensely!
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and have a very happy new year! Take care and stay awesome!
Until next time, FlygonNick out!