"Good mooooorning!" Hoopa's voice singsongs through Delcatty's bedroom. "Ugh, Hoopa? What time is it?" Delcatty groans. "I hate it when they do that," Ampharos says to no one in particular. "And I hate it when you sleep in! Do you have any idea what time it is?" "What time—" "IT'S TIME YOU DID THE MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS!"
If there was any chance I could've gone back to sleep, it's definitely gone now. My ears are ringing so much I instinctively reach for a phone. "Ugh…do they do this every morning?" I ask Delcatty. "Nope! Just when the payoff is good enough. One wake-up call, ten chumps to wake up!" They laugh while flying around—with how much energy they have, it's clear they at least got enough sleep. Although, as they're not a normal pokemon, maybe they don't even need it.
We make our way down to the Explorer's Lounge, where Delcatty, Ampharos, and Cradily take the stage, apologize for the late arrival, and make their morning announcements. I guess they can't really afford to stay up half the night often.
"I am pleased to tell you all the Exploration Center will be holding their first ever battle tournament!" Delcatty announces to the crowd. "Tournament?" "Sounds like fun!" "Ugh, do we have to?" The crowd murmurs. "Yes my friends, a tournament! Exploration teams can sign up after the meeting, following which its members will be randomly paired off and matches will be prepared!" She continues, beaming. "The final three pairs will battle 1-on-1, and the winners of those matches will be joining yours truly on an exclusive expedition!"
Now the crowd sounds amped up. Over the chatter someone calls out, "cool! Where are we going?" "Settle down everyone!" Delcatty says, her voice getting lost amidst the chatter. "QUIET!" Ampharos booms, punctuating the word with a small but loud thunderbolt that lands in front of the crowd. "…thank you," Delcatty says, before returning her attention to the now deadly silent assembly. "Now then, I…unfortunately cannot divulge the full nature of the expedition as of yet. But rest assured, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and the Center needs its best and brightest to make it a success! The treasure we may find there is unparalleled!" She says grandly. Wherever it is, it sounds remarkable. I wonder what kind of 'treasure' she's referring to? It must be unlike anything I saw at the Artifact's Wing for her to make such a display of it. Either that or she's just trying to get everyone as excited as she is, and it seems to be working—everyone seems swept up into the hype.
She goes through the rest of the day's announcements, then dismisses everyone. We've been given new assignments too—it seems she's really trying to pack as much in to our limited time here as possible. Today I'm with Cradily, Noivern, and Stephanie on a rescue mission.
"Yep, our client, Magby, got stuck in a place filled with water types—the Bubbling Caverns—so we're just gonna go and save them. It's a mystery dungeon with many water types, so you'll especially need to be careful." She says, turning to Stephanie. "Don't worry! I've got you guy's backs!" Noivern grins. We help Cradily gather some supplies, then depart.
About an hour later, we stand at the gaping mouth of the cave, marking the entrance of the mystery dungeon. I get a wave of deja vu—it rather reminds me of when Delcatty and I found the cave oasis in the Windswept Desert where Dragalge was hiding, lost and confused.
"Alright team! Let's get going!" Cradily says, leading the way. We enter the cave, and the humid air washes over me, making my fur frizz. "Heh, loving the cotton-candy look!" Stephanie laughs. "You should see your ears!" I grin upon seeing what the humidity has done to the orange tufts of fur. I'm surprised she can hear me at all through it.
A path branches out before us, water surrounding it on either side. It's bubbling slightly—hence the name of the dungeon I suppose. "It's bubbly, but not because it's boiling, so there's all kinds of pokemon swimming in there!" Cradily informs us cheerfully.
As we make our way deeper in the cave, visibility starts going down. "At times like this, using a Luminous Orb can help!" Cradily says, producing one from her bag, then illuminating the path a few paces in front of us. "If you didn't make me forget Sunny Day, I could've done that," Noivern pouts. "But Air Slash has been way more useful, don't you think?" I reply. "That's true I guess…but it was still a neat party trick," they grin.
Dr. Laurel had evidently tried to make Noivern stronger by teaching him a collection of TM moves. His whole movepool was TM based; he knew all kinds of weird things that didn't really work together, Sunny Day being one of them. What's the point of knowing that when neither you nor your teammates have any fire type moves for it to strengthen? Through our training, we eventually replaced most of his moves to help bring out his natural strengths.
We run into opponents every now and then—most attacking from the waters. "Ah!" Stephanie cries in response to being hit by what looks like a Water Gun. "Steph!" I turn and see a finneon poking its head from the water, laughing. "Noivern, get them with Dragon Pulse!" Noivern flies over the water and delivers the move, sending the finneon swimming back to the depths.
"Steph, you ok?" I fuss. "It's nothing…I'm fine," she grimaces slightly. "Well done team! But remember, you're each responsible for your own moves. Gwen, instead of telling Noivern what to do, try using your moves next time, 'kay?" Cradily suggests gently. Oops, I guess I went into trainer mode again. When I saw Stephanie get hit, I totally forgot I even had moves. "Thanks for the advice…sorry about that…" I stammer. Cradily smiles and walks ahead. "Tell you the truth, I'd have picked Dragon Pulse too," Noivern says, leaning to me. "Well, at least we're in sync," I smile in response.
We continue on, battling wild pokemon as they crop up. I manage to get a few of my attacks to land, even scaring a few opponents away. I must say, I'm starting to feel a little better about my abilities, even if these are pretty low-leveled pokemon.
Stephanie used a few of her own attacks—despite the type disadvantage, I can tell the pokemon on the receiving end are feeling the heat. "It's interesting having a disadvantage this time," she says after recovering from a stray Water Pulse. "Much tougher than the last mission!" "Well, you wouldn't know it watching you. You make it look easy!" I smile. I wonder if it's easier for her, never having done pokemon battles in our world, to just…get into it? I still feel the barrier of my past experience—I'm trying not to give directions to Noivern, but, just like with Dragalge at the last dungeon, I can't help but think about his position in the battlefield more than my own.
But I try to take Delcatty's advice—namely getting out of my own head and being more present in the moment. It's actually quite similar to Stephanie's advice, I realize. Maybe it's not just an issue I have when battling…I do have a way of getting lost in my own thoughts…
"Gwen? Did you hear me?" Stephanie says, touching my shoulder and startling me. Case in point, I suppose. "Huh? Sorry, what was that?" "I was asking how you feel about the tournament. Excited?" She grins. "Yeah, pretty excited…I doubt I'd get to go on the expedition, but even participating would be cool, especially with one of the team," I say, wondering who I could end up being paired up with. Maybe Serperior? We certainly have the most experience battling together, although not in this context. Or possibly Rotom? She's got a lot good moves, but would she take it seriously, or just zap me when I least expect it for a laugh? She's not one to pass up a good prank opportunity. Or maybe even Stephanie—imagine, two humans literately competing in a pokemon tournament! I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun, whoever I end up with. Maybe we'll even win a match or two, I think with a small smile.
"Don't sell yourself short! Maybe if we work hard we can both go!" She smiles. "Yeah? That's a unique couples bonding experience if I ever heard one!" I laugh. "What are you two giggling about back there?" Cradily says, looking back at us. "Just talking about the tournament! Are you excited? Who do you think you'd be paired with?" I ask. "Excited, yes, but Ampharos, Delcatty and I won't be participating. Someone needs to help moderate the matches," "oh…but then how will you compete for a spot on the expedition?" Stephanie asks. "We won't, sadly…Delcatty will of course be leading it, but because it sounds like a fairly long term expedition, it means Ampharos and I need to stay and manage the Center in her absence. So the other three spots are open to any competitors." She replies, sounding just a little disappointed.
"Ah…that's too bad…" I say, then have a realization; "by the way, where is the expedition? What is Delcatty looking into?" If anyone would know, it'd be Cradily and Ampharos—maybe I can convince her to spill it. Call me nosy, but how can I hear about such a high profile mission and not be expected to fish for details?
"Well…the thing is, Master Delcatty hasn't actually told us yet…" Cradily says, looking down and pawing at the ground. "Whaaat? How can she not even tell you guys?" Noivern asks, incredulous. "Oh, it's no big deal, really, she just wants to keep it low profile, and then probably only reveal it to the winners, at least until after they've returned." Cradily says, not quite meeting our eyes. "Low profile huh? Holding a tournament in the name of the expedition just screams discreet," Stephanie smirks. "She can be quite…secretive at times, but it's only because she's trying to make everything perfect and run smoothly," Cradily continues. I suppose…I mean, I certainly know she can be secretive, given our…prior experiences. If she really thinks it's the best call…well, she's the Master of the Center, not me, so it's ultimately her choice. But it feels a little strange to keep it so hushed. Maybe whatever it is might be compromised if everyone in the Center was talking about. What could such a thing be, I wonder?
I guess the only way to find out is to be one of the winners. That, or extract it from one of my teammates if they win, which is much more likely.
We run into a few more opponents, during which I try, and sometimes even succeed, in focusing on my own moves and abilities as a pokemon. I eventually get the routine of Shadow Sneak down; it's a great move, way better than Slash and Leer. Hopefully soon I can learn something else.
We round a corner, and there, lying facedown in a clearing, is Magby. I guess the water types already got her.
We rush over, Cradily covering important protocol to follow when a client is injured. "First we check if they're conscious," she says, while nudging Magby gently and calling out her name. I get a flashback to waking up in the forest the first time I ever came here, Delcatty—Skitty back then—poking a stick in my side. I smile at the memory.
Magby eventually stirs slightly and offers a few groans, showing she's at least alive. "Next we offer some healing supplies, like berries or seeds, depending on the type and nature of the injury. This just looks like a case of low HP, so a couple of oran berries should do it," she says, fishing them out of her bag. I realize they don't appear to have things like Potions in this world—maybe I can bring a few next time and they could try emulating the recipe. It's certainly easier to spray a nearly unconscious pokemon instead of trying to make them eat berries.
Magby eventually comes to, but still looks a little disoriented. I don't blame her, I wouldn't want to be alone in a dungeon like this if I was a fire type.
"Ough…thank you so much…I was looking for treasure, but got overpowered…" "not to worry! Next time, try going with a partner, it's easier when someone else has your back," Cradily smiles.
She thanks us again, then we use our badges to return to the Center. I must say, I feel I'm starting to get the hang of this exploring thing a little more—once you get past the differences between battling here and in my own world, it's not so bad.
Magby is sent to a dorm to rest, while we take in the scene at the Explorer's Lounge. Everyone is gathered around the stage, chattering excitedly. I hear words like "tournament," and "matchups" float through the air. I look around and see some of our other teammates back from their own missions. Stephanie, Noivern and I join them as Delcatty takes the stage.
"Welcome explorers! I'm glad to see many of you have returned from your day's assignments!" She smiles into the crowd. "I just wanted to let you know that I've been through the signups, and have the official team lineups for the tournament!" She holds out a paper, "I will put this announcement, which contains the randomly assigned teams of two, along with the first round brackets, on the announcement board!" She says, I assume meaning the bulletin board were the day's news and assignments are normally posted.
Everyone speaks excitedly at once while she puts up the notice. "So please, rest up and get yourselves ready! Matches will be starting in one week!" She smiles. "Once you have checked the announcement, you are dismissed," she says, stepping away from the board.
I try to see the board, but it's pretty tough being so short and in the back of the crowd. As pokemon pair off with their teammates and head out, I finally get to see some of the names. "Hey Steph! Ready to kick their butts?" Rotom says, grinning. "You know it!" She replies, going for a high-five. "Dang! Dragalge, do you wanna switch to my team?" I hear Seviper ask after seeing she's been partnered with Noivern. "Your team?" Noivern frowns the same moment Dragalge responds with, "I don't think we can, dear." "Don't try and stick him with me! He's your problem now!" Serperior replies heatedly. I scan the list, and see. Out of everyone I could've been paired up with…
"Well look at that! Hope you're gonna be ready for the tournament, partner!" I turn and see them hovering behind me.
My battle partner…Hoopa.
—
Well, I'd say today was a great success!
I was amazed at how many teams signed up for our tournament! It's going to be incredible, seeing everyone test their strength against each other! I wonder who will prove to be the strongest?
And we really do need the best the Center has to offer for this mission. I haven't told anyone about where it is yet, but it's essential we give it everything we've got.
I felt bad, pinning Gwen with Hoopa, especially when everyone else's pairs were randomly generated, but at least I know if they get to the finals, Hoopa will win. I couldn't risk her winning this thing. I can't even risk her finding out where the expedition is—if she found out I was going back there…
Even though she came to my rescue, I still feel its presence cling to me. Looking at her, I know she feels the same way. The only way to truly be free, and make sure no one ever goes through that again, is to go back and destroy it at the source.
So that's why I need the best the Center has to offer. We're going to need all our strength if we're to make it through and defeat the Echoing Ruins.
