Once down the slope, they landed in the middle of a vast sandstone canyon, true to the Mystery Dungeon’s name. Grasses and other plant life covered about half the ground, like thousands of islands in a sea. The temperature here was noticeably cooler, something George welcomed after the trek through the desert. The grass in particular was pleasant to the touch: After miles and miles of hot gravel, it was just the right temperature to relax a little. There was plenty of shade to go around as well.

And best of all? Upon turning the first corner, they were face to face with a clear stream. Pristine. Untouched by sand. No ferals anywhere in sight. George ran for it without a care in the world.

“Haha! Finally!” he shouted.

“Othersider! Don’t!” Terez shouted.

But George wasn’t in the mood to listen. The water splashing all around spoke for him. From the first few drops seeping into his fur, a wave of relief crashed over him. All his problems just washed away in that one moment. His body jumped for joy from all the water splashing into his fur.

“George!”

He reached down, cupped his hands into the water, and threw it into his face. The warmth, the tiredness, it all melted away. He reached into the water again, his sights set on the dryness in his throat, which disappeared and was missed like tears in rain..

“George!!”

“What’s wrong?” the Oshawott asked. “It’s fine here! You can drink this!”

“It’s not about that!”

Confused, George sat down in the stream. ‘ What are they talking about? This is great! Can’t see any wild Pokemon around here, ’ he thought, lazily drumming his belly while the water flowed under and over his tail and legs. ‘ No Pokemon, it’s cool, the air is… bitter? Wait a -’

A burst of flame flew right past him. George keeled over forward as if it was meant for him. That’s what he thought at first, anyway. When the fireball exploded behind with a high pitched wail, however, that idea was put to bed: He looked over his shoulder - the leftovers of a Cacnea were lying on a brown rock, sizzling away.

‘Oh my god… I’m an idiot.’

The crackling of a tail and stomping drew near. “Othersider, what were you thinking? You never run in blind through a Mystery Dungeon!” Terez’ voice was almost as bitter as the air was. George bit his lip.

“I… I made a small mistake. I just wanted something to drink.”

A metallic grumble came out of Skal’s throat. “Ain’t just a mistake there, kiddo. Coulda died there! Cacnea ain’t no joke for small fry like ye!”

George smacked himself on the forehead. “Yes, you’re right, you’re right,” he said, struggling to keep his teeth off his tongue. Of course they were right, they had years of experience exploring Mystery Dungeons, they would know. Alas, instinct was easy to get lost in.

Even then, accepting others’ wisdom was a difficult bridge for George to cross. Even with survival on the other side, the planks of the bridge had a habit of breaking whenever he’d make the crossing in the years prior. He had the headmistress to thank for that. Her wisdom only made him miserable. But this wasn’t the fosters’ home anymore.

Terez shook her head as she got down on her knees. She looked George straight in the eye, placing a slender hand on the back of his head: her dress became wet in the process..

“If it wasn’t for your friend, that could’ve ended real ugly.”

“I know,” George said with a weak voice. He glanced beside him; the first glimpse of Blitzer made him close his eyes. “Sorry. I’m an idiot. That shouldn’t have happened.”

“Don’t sweat it, kiddo. Just keep yer eyes peeled from now.”

Skal walked up to the stream and took a clawful of water from it, then threw it straight down his gullet. He chuckled a little afterward.

“Heh, can’t blame ye though. This is why we weren’t avoidin’ the Mystery Dungeons. Water here’s fresher and cooler than anything we’ll find outta here, and that’s a fact.”

George eyed the water at his feet. For all the sand and dust on the rocks out here, the water sure wasn’t affected by it. Quite to the contrary, it wasn’t just clear and refreshing, but cleansing as well. His fur was clean to the touch, and felt well kept despite a lack of grooming. And then there was the cool breeze flowing through the canyons, taking any excess heat with it. George smiled a little at that.

“Nice, ain’t it?” Skal said. Behind him, Terez stood keeping her eyes peeled for threats.

“Sure is,” George said. “You know what this reminds me of? Water coming from a shower head. It’s also this clean, except warmer. I miss it, actually.”

The slight nostalgia didn’t last long. In part because it didn’t mean much, and also because of Blitzer.

“What’s a shower head?”

George bit his lip. ‘Oh. I just did it again.’

“Something from his world,” Terez filled in. “But we’re wasting time here. This is not a safe place to stay in. Ferals are never happy when intruders step into their territory. We should get moving before they become more aggresive,” she explained.

“Yeh, yeh. Let’s just go ‘an take things easy, yeh? Been walkin’ non stop for the past few days, and this is about as good a place for a breather as we’re goin’ to get.”

Skal threw himself forward onto his arms, keeping himself balanced with his tail as he stuck his iron face into the water, gulping water by the truckload. Terez rolled her eyes.

“Never said we weren’t doing that…”

“I-it’s okay for us to drink, right?” Blitzer asked. He stood by the edge of the water, anxiously dipping the tips of his claws in while keeping a fierce grip on his tail. George raised an eye at that.

‘It’s only a little water. I know water and him don’t get along, but…’

“Well, he’s doing it, isn’t he?” Terez directed Blitzer towards the Aggron with a hand. “Go ahead. I’ll make sure nothing sneaks up on you, since, you know…”

“Oi! Happened onshe!” Skal shouted, water dripping from his jaws. He crushed two clumps of grass with both claws as he dug back in.

“One time too many,” Terez growled. She closed her eyes for the moment, raised her hand, then opened her eyes once more. Some kind of shift had happened in the air: everything just felt more ‘agreeable’ in a sense, though nothing had physically changed. To George, it was akin to a cherry being put on a cake. Nothing special, just a little mood booster.

“But yes, be my guest,” Terez said with a nod. “There’s still plenty of sand and gravel to go over, dungeon or not.”

Blitzer cracked a slight smile in response and George matched it. Even in the dreariest of times, you had to keep your chin up. In the middle of nowhere wasn’t an exception to that.

After everyone had drank their fill, washed their faces and done whatever else they felt necessary with the water, they got a move on. During their stop, the surroundings had mysteriously changed: Instead of the stream flowing to their northeast, now it snaked about eastwards, the north be damned.

They followed the stream for a while, only encountering a handful of other Cacnea who were soaking up water themselves. They were easy to dispatch: Blitzer made sure of that. He didn’t wait to see if they’d back off. Grass types he saw, flames he spat. In his words, he wasn’t going to let George down. Not today.

Upon encountering an intersection in the canyons, Terez closed her eyes and raised her hand; a psychic wave shot out of it and synergized into the sandstone walls and dried grasses. George looked around, confused: Blitzer and Skal kept their eyes on the stream ahead.

“This way. We’ll find a path out this way.” Terez pointed into the canyon.

“Ye sure of that?” Skal asked with a tilt of his head, to which Terez nodded.

“I’m certain of it. The energy of this dungeon suggests a switchback leading out of the canyons in this direction. We should make it through if we follow this path.”

Blitzer took a few steps forward, tail in hand. The wind howled deeper inside, carrying a creature’s musk. He gritted his teeth in response, shiftily eyeing the canyon walls above. “I don’t know about this. I feel like we might get jumped if we go here.”

Terez nodded. “Very perceptive. Rest be assured, we can defeat them. We are more than strong enough.”

“What makes you say that?” George asked while scratching on a scalchop-induced itch on his stomach. Terez kneeled before him.

“My psychic senses are finely attuned to the workings of Mystery Dungeons, Othersider. We may not know how these places form, but there is a living component to them, an energy of sorts. I can sense this energy and read it. Trust me. The stream will lead us nowhere.”

“Yeh, she’s right. Stream’s just about disappeared, look.”

Skal kicked some sand in the stream’s direction. George and Blitzer were stunned to see that the stream was now flowing straight into the wall of a canyon: There was a gap that the water was disappearing into, too narrow to even let George through, let alone the others. Let alone with gallons upon gallons of water pressing into their backs.

“I… never knew this,” Blitzer mumbled with wide open eyes. “They always change, but I’ve never seen any Mystery Dungeon shift so drastically!”

“Indeed,” Terez continued. “These are strange realms. No one knows for sure what governs them, but this shifting is a constant. Simply looking away can cause the environment to shift. Even the forests and hills you’ve seen shift, they simply mask it better.”

“Wow…” the Charmeleon muttered.

Terez cleared her throat. “Let us make haste now. The dungeon can shift again at any time,” she said, wiping some dust off her dress.

* * *

Onwards they went, their eyes removed from the stream as they traversed the canyon deeper into the Mystery Dungeon. The wind howled once more; George looked back, only to see a canyon wall where the stream had once been. He gasped.

‘Man. No wonder Nero and Nera didn’t like us going out there, we could’ve gotten lost just like that.’

The canyons tightened, then widened again. Now that they were away from the stream, there was a slight rise in temperature. Just a sliver, but extra heat wasn’t what George was asking for. Being tired by itself was bad enough, being tired and feeling as if his fur was about to melt off was even worse.

The path forward inclined upwards, and the grassy dirt became intermingled with gravel. The wind howled once more, sweeping across the gorge and over their heads, bringing the musk with it, this time stronger. George turned up his nose.. Whatever Pokemon this was had to be drawing closer.

George eyed the canyon walls up and down. Something about the bottom part of the wall didn’t feel right. Had the others noticed anything off? The two black scarves were as cautious as ever, and Blitzer’s attention was focused squarely on George. His gaze was stern, and his claws were spread open: He must’ve been spoiling for a fight. Or rather, it looked like he was, then his gaze and posture grew timid all of a sudden..

“Is something wrong?” he asked, as he messed around with his scarf using both claws.

“Uh?” George didn’t even realise he was grimacing until he felt his mouth move. “Oh, I, yeah. I’m getting the feeling there’s something coming up.”

“I’ll get ‘em!” Blitzer shouted with a growl. His eyes shifted back ahead. Nothing but canyon in front of him. “Oh. Well I’d get them if they were attacking. But I don’t see anything.”

Terez suddenly channelled psychic energy into her hands. “The Othersider is right, we’ve got company. A few Sandshrew at minimum, and they are not friendly. Be on your guard!”

George immediately reached for his scalchop. Right as Terez finished, the wind howled once again, blowing through both her and George’s hair. A fight was close; she felt it coming, and he did too. While they prepared, the other two were more reserved. Skal’s mouth hung half open, and he appeared to have second thoughts. Blitzer looked like someone was shining a flashlight in his face.

“Huh? Is that what this smell is?”

Skal punched himself in the chest, producing a metallic clanging sound in the process. “Never smelled Sandshrew before, kiddo?”

“No,” Blitzer muttered, tail flopping onto the ground. “This smells more like Turtwig.”

The Aggron threw his claws wide open, his tail swaying around as he stomped his feet several times. “Lissen kiddo, ya ain’t got yer wings yet! Groundlings ain’t nothin’ to take lightly, trust me.!”

Blitzer shied away. “They kinda smell like Drilbur, too…” he muttered. George winced at that.

‘That’s some bad memories right there… focus, though!’

“Enough chatter, here they come!”

A low rumble rushed up to the surface. Gravel burst loose as many a Sandshrew dug themselves out, their otherwise pale bellies covered in smears. They got up on their toes, throwing their arms out and baring their teeth. George studied them carefully, tightening his grip on his scalchop. It seemed like they were warning, not planning to attack. He wasn’t exactly intimidated by their performance, either. Teeth tiny enough to chew up an ant, bright beaming eyes, they seemed cute more than anything.

Still, they had to get through them. As bad as attacking cute animals made him feel, George could tell they weren’t going to back down, something Skal confirmed when he emitted a sharp growl.

‘No other choice, unfortunately… besides, I’m an animal now too, aren’t I?’

George spat a jet to his immediate right, hitting a Sandshrew square between the eyes. He was knocked against the wall, shook his head and screamed at George. The others were enraged.

Right then, everyone struck: Sand and rocks flew, waves of psychic energy flew across the small gap, and George aimed to finish what he started. The Sandshrew he’d hit staggered forward: George pulled on his energies and blasted it with water once again, this time hitting it in the chest. It keeled backwards, causing the second half of George’s attack to hit its chin instead. It squealed over the splashing water and the rocks landing, falling unconscious as the water pressed into its dry hide. George looked at his handiwork with a tough smile.

‘Darn, I’m getting the hang of this!’

Feeling confident, George went and attacked another Sandshrew flinging sand from the back. He tried something different by holding the energy in his mouth for a few seconds before firing, but the Sandshrew threw gravel in his face before that: George spat wildly in the air, hitting nothing but the canyon walls. He wiped the sand out his eyes.

‘...well, nice thought while it lasted, I guess.’

Ultimately, the Sandshrew were no match. Even as another group rushed in to attack, Terez swatted them away like flies. Some she just pointed towards, and they’d cry out clutching their heads before collapsing. Others fell to beams that seemed to athropy their limbs; they fell with twitching limbs, drifting off into unconsciousness.

Eventually, Skal roared before bulldozing his way through the Sandshrew. He was surprisingly fast for his bulk. All he took his time with was raising his foot to stomp on a Sandshrew with the full weight of his body. The snapping of its bones cracked through the canyon. The others nearby turned tail when they heard it, screeching.

Blitzer meanwhile had gotten over his earlier fears, jumping into the fray much like Skal did. With his size though, the Sandshrew were less spooked: One jumped and bit his shoulder.

“Aah!”

Blitzer flamed it, but it wouldn’t let go. The fangs dug into his scales: Blitzer panicked and tried punching it off. In the end, George had to knock it away for him. The remaining Sandshrew had retreated by then.

“Hey, you okay?” George asked.

Blitzer held a claw over the bite mark. “Agh, I’ve been through worse.”

George got beside the Charmeleon and offered him a hand, which he accepted. But he hadn’t realised the weight Blitzer had put on since evolving. Instead of helping Blitzer up, Blitzer yanked him right down.

“Aah!”

“OH! Sorry, sorry!”

The Oshawott face planted right into Blitzer’s cream colored belly. His tail went flat against the Charmeleon’s side. He raised his head back up, unamused as he was greeted by the amused stared of both Skal and Terez.

‘Who knew lizards retained heat so well…’

“Sorry about that,” Blitzer repeated with a soft chirp at the end. He had a saddened frown on his face. “I wasn’t expecting that, to be honest.”

“Honestly, I should’ve figured myself,” George said, shaking his head. “You’ve gotten taller, and definitely a lot stronger though, that’s for sure.”

A low crooning sound came out of Blitzer’s throat. “I don’t George, it doesn’t feel like it.”

“What do you mean?” George asked. The wind blew through his fur.

“RIIIIGHT!” Skal shouted. “Alright boys, time to get goin’. Gotta whole bunch more dungeon ahead of us.”

Blitzer sighed as he got back onto his feet. “Just didn’t feel so useful there, that’s all.”

The group moved past the beaten Sandshrews laying strewn about over the gravel. At the top of the incline they had been going over, the gravel turned back to sand. The canyon forked into three paths: Terez reached out with her hand; she selected the left hand path without any hassle.

“Follow me. We’re about halfway across; keep your eyes peeled,” the Gardevoir ordered. “There may be a large pack approaching from the other paths, I’m not certain.”

“Pfft, whad’ye mean, yer not certain?” Skal slapped himself on the thigh. Terez sighed in response.

“Dungeon Pokemon live their own lives, Skal. I’ve told you this a thousand times already.”

Skal roared in laughter. “Harharhar, not so good at readin’ dungeons now, are we- OI!

“Will you just shut it and watch for ferals already…”

“Already was.”

They entered the leftmost canyon, a corridor of grasses and rocks. Some Pokemon were in the way: a handful of Cacnea wandering through the gorge, a Maractus who sprung to life the moment they passed, a Geodude rolling down to the bottom of the canyon, even a couple of Rattata and Bunnelby with coats dirtier than the ground they were burrowing in. How that was possible, George didn’t know. Mystery Dungeons were odd places.

Due to the ferals either ignoring or attacking in low number, they weren’t a threat. Either Skal or Terez would step up: Whichever spotted first did the dirty work. Not that it made a difference for the fearls, given how ruthless both black scarves were.

And ruthless was not an understatement: Throwing the Pokemon into the canyon wall, breaking them through heavy blows or ear splitting headaches, they showed little restraint. George grimaced whenever it happened, a cold pulse spreading through him. Sure, Skal and Terez may just be strong in general, but this was beyond excessive. Downright cruel, one could say.

But the job got done. No ferals posed a threat, and it was a long way before they reached safety. George had to accept it for what it was. Had it not been for Skal and Terez, he’d have been taken captive by now… or worse. Besides, they must know how dangerous feral Pokemon truly were, far better than George could ever guess. Awful as it might be, he didn’t protest, and Blitzer did neither.

And so, onwards they went. Through canyons of grass and gravel, past refreshing streams nad gorges. Over cliffs and through a tunnel, past rocks jutting out into the air like a clawed hand trying to break free. The mystique wasn’t lost on George. It felt as if he were travelling through the blood vessels of a large creature.

An hour or two passed. They had to have been close to the other side when George suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, putting a hand over his chest.

‘I’m feeling something again…’

Terez stopped right after. “We may have a problem here.”

Blitzer sauntered up to her with his tail held in his hands, his feet leaving drag marks over the ground. “Please don’t say that we’ve been going the wrong way all this time.”

“No. This… is something very delicate,“ the Gardevoir said, squeezing one eye shut while reaching out with her hand. “I’m trying to spot where exactly it is, be patient for a minute.”

Blitzer himself looked out over the canyon. Nothing but grass until the beginnings of a path upward at the far end of the gorge. “Hey, the way out’s over there-”

“Patience! Before you get yourself killed!” Terez shouted. Blitzer shivered with his tail in his claws. George frowned at her from behind.

‘Jeez, some kindness would go a long way!’

“Ah, lemme guess. One of ‘em, ain’t it?” Skal asked, looking up from the rock he was crushing underneath one foot.

“Nail on the head,” Terez replied.

George nervously eyed the canyon ahead. “Uh, what do you mean with ‘one of them’? I can’t see anything.” ‘But I’m not getting a good feeling about it, that’s for sure.’

“Right over… there.”

The Gardevoir pointed a finger into the gorge, past the grasses to the left of the exit. George’s eyes were forced that way, Blitzer’s and Skal’s following right behind. She directed them to a rock; or rather, the creature resting on top of it. George’s heart sank from the moment he realised what Terez was hesitating for. A Pokemon covered from top to toe in black vapour.

‘One of those…!’

The Pokemon lay simmering in its own shadows. George’s ears went flat against his head. Memories of him and Blitzer escaping by a hair came rushing back.. First there was one, then there were dozens. Hundreds. All around him, eyes glowing in a haze of bloodlust.

Terez got in front of the group. “Do either of you know what an Anomaly is?” she asked. She sounded entirely unconcerned, asking a question she seemed to already know the answer to.

“One of those?” George asked. Terez nodded.

“Indeed, Othersider. Anomalies… odd, aren’t they? Ordinary Pokemon that are completely covered up in darkness. No one knows how it happens, but no one’s seen them outside of Mystery Dungeons before. Do the math. They’re created by the dungeons. Aberrations… or Anomalies. Sounds a lot nicer, doesn’t it?”

Terez looked towards the shadowy Pokemon. She messed around with her scarf, fixed up her long, tangled hair, then beat the dust out of her dress. Humming a dull note, she encouraged Blitzer to come closer to her; his eyes were practically locked onto the shadow, all while his tail sparked.

“Make no mistake though, they are highly dangerous. They fight with zero restraints whatsoever. We’re best off avoiding them, the risk of serious injury isn’t worth it.”

George wiped down his brow. ‘You could say that again, phew.’ “We were unlucky enough to run into some one time. It was awful.”

“Several times?” Terez folded her arms. “Talk about being unlucky. One is-”

Skal suddenly stomped right next to her. “Oi, OI! Kid, where do ye think yer going?!”

“RAAAGH!”

George and Terez were both caught off guard by a sudden roar coming from ahead. They turned to see Blitzer charging like a bull towards the Sandslash, flames falling from his jaws, setting the grass in his path ablaze. The Sandslash woke up, visibly reeling in surprise before Blitzer pounced onto him.

“TAKE THIS!”

Blitzer screamed right into the Sandslash’s face before blasting it with a torrent fire. The Anomaly flailed around with its claws in a desperate attempt to try and shield itself, but it was too late. The flames from Blitzer’s jaws had scorched the face blacker than the vapour already covering it.

“Hey, HEY! Blitzer, stop that!” Skal roared as he stomped his way over the sand, Terez and George running after him. “BLITZER! ”

All the while, the Charmeleon grabbed the Sandslash by the neck, hyperventilating all the while. His tail was raging, his face was filled with anger as he stared his prey down, claw raised. He was prepared to tear that feral’s throat out. With a scream, he struck, slashing wildly at the feral with both claws.

The Anomaly wasn’t resisting anymore by the time Skal pulled Blitzer off. The light had left its eyes; all that’s left was a dark husk of a Sandslash. Several gashes ran across its chest. Nevertheless, Blitzer still scowled at it. There was no pride, no sorrow, no joy or regret in his eyes. Just an infantile anger.

Terez then pulled Blitzer’s arm and dragged him away from Skal. “Are you happy with yourself?” she said. Blitzer didn’t respond. All he did was look away, pouting all while his tail flared and lashed out behind him.

“Kid, ye know how dangerous these are, right? Coulda been more around and ya just wail on one like that. Alone.”

Blitzer clenched his fists. “Well, it would have attacked us anyway, buddies and all! And if one of us gets injured because I held back, I would never forgive myself,” he said, the last bit with an eye kept to George, who gave him a light smile in return.

‘Even when he’s angry, he’s still the same Blitzer I know. Thank goodness…’

Terez waved a finger in front of Blitzer’s face. “Don’t be so foolish. That could have gone wrong in ways you can’t even imagine. We should have bypassed it. Everyone in the Alliance knows this, we’ve all had experiences with Anomalies, come on!”

Blitzer shook his head. “I don’t believe you.”

The Gardevoir sighed back at him. “You’ll find out one way or another. I can only hope it’s my preferred way, mister.” She let go of his arm. “Let’s just get out of here, yes? The exit is right there. I’ve had my fill of this place.”

Just then, the canyon right next to them shifted. A stream criss crossed its way through. Skal felt the ground underneath him shift as well, and immediately turned to see it.

“Well, well. Look what we got here! Ain’t no other shadow buggers around, so we can drink up, yeh?”

“I prefer getting out of here,” Terez deadpanned.

But Skal had already made his mind up.