The night at the lodge went by without a hassle. George and Blitzer were welcomed in, given a meal, a wash and rest, then were sent back on their merry way the next morning. Their progress over the next three days was just as peaceful. They travelled as far as they could when the daylight was out, then spent the night at an inn or Alliance safehouse. How fortunate that the Alliance presence in the region was so consistent. Every stop along the road had at least some, though all the aid they could provide were rest stops. No help with Soldiers or Mystery Dungeons to speak of.

As they progressed into the Ruby Province proper, the yellowed grasslands gave way to brown hills and thin valleys through which rivers snaked, with vegetation contained to select clusters. Hilltops ranged from bare, to cultivated, to overgrown. With the change in environment, the number of green-scarved Pokemon on the road only increased. Outposts and checkpoints dotted the road, forcing detours up the hills or through other valleys, or they had to try their luck sneaking past. The Soldiers weren’t making it easy: Lookouts watched from the skies, and the more populated valleys were under heavy patrol.

Had all the Soldiers been looking for them, they wouldn’t have stood a chance. But the Soldiers had worse trouble on their hands. The Mystery Dungeon situation in the Ruby Hills was far more intense than the one in Agate or the Kronn, or even what they encountered on the road so far. Entire towns swallowed whole by the Dungeons, and their feral population lusted for more. Some Soldier outposts were in the middle of fending off attacks from Anomalied ferals when George and Blitzer passed, and the defenders were looking mightily exhausted. Nevertheless, they had to fight on, and they had little energy to go chasing after two teenagers.

But if anything, George, Blitzer and the Soldiers were all lucky to be doing their thing in the Ruby Hills. Skal and Porov said “you wouldn’t find a friendlier bunch,” and they sure hadn’t been joking. Fire, dark or steel types for the most part, all had a thick accent, and all were more than willing to lend a hand. It’s like ‘no’ wasn’t in their dictionary. Taking care of injured Soldiers, helping George and Blitzer hide from the Soldiers or tell them of a secret route, and so much more on their third day of travel alone.

And then came their fourth day of travel. After leaving the safehouse for the day, their first stop was through a populated valley town. They entered with full bags, and left it with their mouths and claws full of some kind of melon.

“Ooi, ye don’t go runnin’ off too far eastward, eh? Ain’t nothin’ but nasty beasties and pain there! Safe travels!”

A Houndoom lady waved them off as they left the valley, Blitzer making a chirping noise George associated with whistling.

“Man, and I thought we back in Greenfield were a nice bunch. We’re total jerks compared to the people here, geez. We can barely take five steps without having someone try and fatten us up around here.”

“It’s like everyone around here learned from Skal,” said George as he wiped his brow down. “No one here accepts no for an answer, sounds like.”

Blitzer took a large bite out of the chunk of melon he was holding. “Other way ‘round,” he said, voice muffled from chewing, “Skal took his lessons from here. Ain’t no way he taught everyone ‘round these parts, y’know.” He spat the melon seeds out one by one, most flying off the road and down into the gorge. They weren’t far from being out of this particular valley. George put a hand over his eye, melon chunk in hand, then took a bite.

“Pretty crazy that they got a culture like that, though. You think all the mystery dungeons have something to do with it?”

“Wha?” Blitzer’s cheeks were full of melon, juice running down his chin as George stirred his bite around in his mouth.

“You know, all the mystery dungeons. There’s tons, and they can’t ever catch a break. And then you have all the Soldiers runnin’ around doing their thing, and yeah.” George swallowed his bite, then telepathically brought the remaining seeds out of his mouth and slingshotted them down the gorge.

Blitzer shrugged back at him. “Hard to think of anything else that’s responsible. I mean, why else do it? Decoration? I know I’d like to believe they just stay around so they can intimidate and bully everyone, but that just seems counterproductive. And I’m telling you, if there’s anyone who’d buy that, it’s me.”

“Fair enough,” George said. “Still, crazy there’s so many Soldiers… Do you think the dungeon problem’s that bad here? We both know how far they’ll go just for us.” He bit his lip. ‘If anything, that’s a good excuse to step it up further… but what do I know. Whole world doesn’t spin around the sun just because I’m on it.’

“Have you seen those injuries?” said Blitzer as he took another bite. “No way those are fake. It’s the real deal, alright.”

“I see,” George said, then licked his lips. ‘Got to count your blessings when living in a place like this, I guess.’

Both melon rinds were thrown in the gorge by the time they reached the end of the valley. Two rivers crossed paths here, joining together into one flowing westward. Much like the rivers, the two paths running along them crossed as well, albeit suspended far above the waters. To the east, a suspension bridge ran off into a dark gorge. To the west, the banners of the Crest beckoned in the mist. Ahead, a steep hill covered in dried vegetation blocked progress.

George’s eyes panned across all three options, before being drawn to the road signs above. They were attached to a wooden pole in the ground, far too crude were it not for the stone fence at the road’s edge it was attached to. The path south led nowhere. The road east had all its destinations scratched off.

“What’s this? Look, there’s nothing written here.”

Blitzer held his tail up to the sign, then let out a soft growl as he grimaced. “Nghr, looks like someone wiped the sign out.”

George squeezed the fur on his chest. “Do you think the locals did that? That might be an extra warning to not go there.”

“Has to have been the locals,” Blitzer replied as he let go of his tail. “You heard it yourself, right? Everyone talked about pain and nasty beasties. I’m guessing they mean ferals and dungeons.”

George got on his toes, then gazed out over the bridge once more. The gorge beckoned, its shadows twisting and flickering in unnatural ways. Despite the place screaming out the danger written all over its walls, A longing to cross the bridge and dive into the darkness stirred inside George. Like the call of the void, except far more literal. The Oshawott hissed in a breath, then backed away.

“Yikes… let’s not go there. Not at all. Not in a million years if we can help it,” he panted. “It’s not, not even where we’re supposed to go, right? What was that city called again… Rustborough?” ‘Why does that name sound so familiar?’

“Yeah? It’s written right here,” Blitzer said, tapping on the topmost sign, which pointed westwards. “But ehh, listen. We don’t exactly have much of a choice here.”

George nodded. “You’re right, we shouldn’t go eastwards at all, and we’ve got to head… west… anyway…” His enthusiasm for the westward path faded once he remembered a crucial detail. One which had found more mists to hide behind. “...damn it. Of course it’s crawling with Soldiers over there, how could I even forget that?” he wondered out loud. “But, what’s the alternative? Going east to that… that place?” ‘No, no no no no, that’s even worse.’

Blitzer chittered, then fell into a squad. “Don’t like it either, but it looks like we’ve gotta at least… skirt the edge.” His tail suddenly sparked. “Look, I’m not going in there either, in case you were nervous about that. I’m not stupid. When everyone tells you something’s a bad idea, you better not do it. But running past Soldiers when the sun’s right over us?”

George shook his head. “There’s gotta be a better way… some other way up the cliff.”

“We’d be lucky if there was,” Blitzer said. “But we can’t just go over the river. You can, but I’d be finished…” he shivered in his scales. “Look, see that bend there just before the shadows? If we cross there, we got the hard part out of the way.”

“If you say so…” George peeked at the gorge again from the corner of his eye. For a moment, he felt something stare back at him, and gulped. With the alternatives being turning back or ending up in a Crest prison, he reluctantly agreed to follow Blitzer to the edge of the void. Just when he had sort of come to terms with his decision, an itch pulsed through his body. Legs, neck and chest were most affected, eyes and fur weren’t far behind. It was as if someone had sealed it in for him.

* * *

Once over the bridge and down the path, they stopped just at the bend. The edge of the Dungeon. George bit his lip as he left the path and headed for the water. This was far from his first dungeon. He wasn’t alone, either. That he’d feel afraid now of all times made no sense. Yet that call coming from the gorge awakened fear unlike anything else. Emotions were irrational, but good luck telling yourself that.

In case tension wasn’t running high enough as was, the rope bridge made awful creaking noises as they crossed the chasm. George had to swallow to ease his nerves a little, his footsteps having slowed down until Blitzer egged him on. Even going downhill, which normally would be an opportunity to blow off some steam by running, he was holding back.

“George? C’mon, this isn’t like you… we’ve handled dungeons before, right?” Blitzer said once they’ve reached the bottom. The darkness ahead now towered over them. Again, George wasn’t fond of their prospects. “George! We’re not going in there, remember? Let’s go already!”

“Yes! Y-yes. Sorry.” The human turned Oshawott smacked himself across the face. ‘My body just doesn’t want to cooperate… It’s just like getting over fear of the dark, I’ve done it before… no wait, I never did. I sure don’t now, and my legs don’t either… damn itch.’

“Are you coming already?”

“Yes, hold on!”

Blitzer’s patience was running thin. Usually, that was a curse. Today, it was a blessing. No excuse would hold off the inevitable now. George walked forward with bated breath as he got in lockstep with Blitzer, like some kind of juvenile gang patrolling their turf. Dungeon ferals would scurry: They were an intimidating duo together. Well, in George’s mind, anyway.

‘Gotta distract myself somehow…’

Eyes darting all over the place, George landed on a pile of rocks in the distance. Three large ones with a bunch of smaller ones scattered all over. A meagre bush stuck out between. Right next to it, a rickety old house. The residents must’ve lived here for a long time.

Or rather, they had lived here for a long time. Not anymore. Those rocks and that house, and everything beyond were all dungeon terrain now. A thin black shadow was all separating them from the civilised world. George breathed in, and out. Somehow he felt calmer and horrified at the same time. It was like looking into limbo, rather than the gates of the underworld. Whichever one was preferable was a mystery best left unsolved.

“Turn here.”

Ten steps removed from the dungeon’s border, they turned a sharp left away from the path, running towards the river coursing through the valleys. From the outside, the waters appeared unaffected by the Dungeon they had come out of. Since the current flowed away from the Mystery Dungeon, everything seemed alright, except for one small detail.

“George, sorry man, but you’re gonna have to help me get across.”

‘You can’t be serious…’ George shook his head before looking Blitzer straight in the eye. “What? The water’s not that deep here.”

Blitzer grimaced, his tail dimming as it fell flat on the ground. “It is. It really is…”

George wasn’t amused. “This isn’t high…” He stepped into the water. “Look, it doesn’t go any higher than my scalchop. That’s knee height to you at most. Don’t chicken out now.”

“I-It’s awful, alright?!” Blitzer spat out, his voice reeking with desperation. “I don’t like water. You do, but I don’t.”

“Didn’t you get trained in this too? Especially after we ran through Drasal there, remember?”

“Y-yes, so?”

“You were trained! Even the Alliance thinks it's ridiculous for you to get stopped by a river,” George said, now tapping his foot while glancing over his shoulder at the opposite bank on the river. All the while he stood in the middle of the river, firm and without any trouble. “Just come, okay? I don’t like standing this close to the-”

A dull, crocodilian growl emerged not far. George’s ears shot up, as did Blitzer’s eyes widen. The Charmeleon had all the right reasons to be surprised. Just ten steps from him, a Krokorok stood with its maw wide open, shadows pouring out over his body.

“G-g-groundling!!”

As Blitzer panicked, the Krokorok lunged straight at his neck. The Charmeleon screamed, then growled, his claws glowing white like steel as he desperately deflected the Anomaly storming at him. First he was bit on his left hand, then further up his arm.

“AH! HELP!”

George tossed his scalchop into his hand, then spat jets of water at the Anomaly. The Krokorok was knocked five steps backward. Right as George’s water stopped, however, it stomped its feet, causing the earth to rumble like it had been pounded with a battering ram. George fell face forward on the bank of the water, and Blitzer stumbled onto his back.

Krokorok once again went for Blitzer’s throat. Reflexively, Blitzer threw his claws up. A few inches was all that separated his neck from the Anomaly’s jaws. All the while, George stumbled back to his feet, spotted his Scalchop floating down the stream, and was far too occupied in pulling it back to his hand, his undeveloped psychic skills be damned.

“Grr! Grrrrr!!”

Blitzer’s claws alone weren’t getting Krokorok off. Then, one nip clamped down on his scarf. He could feel the fabrics loosen from his neck, and that singular feeling boiled all his fear down into rage. Suddenly the Charmeleon threw his tail up against the Anomaly’s, the flame at the end surging out of control much like the flames spewing from his mouth. Blitzer shoved, then lunged back, biting Krokorok on the nose.

Krokorok hissed out from the pain, and it pulled its claws off Blitzer’s chest to try and slash him to pieces. Blitzer blocked with little effort, when a sudden blue slash crossed Krokorok on the side. George sliced with his scalchop, his shell cutting through like a razor before blasting Krokorok with water from his mouth. The Anomaly shrieked out as it fell back into the dungeon, shadows pouring off its limp body.

“Ngh…” Blitzer became dazed as his flames died down, and George helped him back onto his feet.

“Quick! We need to get out of here before-” The growl of a Camerupt overpowered what George said next. They both glanced back into the dungeon to see said Camerupt running their way, with an Excadrill backing it up. “Let’s just get out of here!”

Blitzer gasped the moment his eyes crossed paths with the Excadrill. “And fast!!” he shouted after George, now sounding desperate for breath. Worse, he heaved, like he was coming up from the bottom of the ocean. Within the blink of an eye, he ran halfway across the river before panic set in.

“H-heelp!”

“Just get across, forget the water and just move!” George shouted as he crossed. He glanced over his shoulder. Blitzer gasped, hopped in place and flinched as if stabbed, then flung himself across the rest of the river, crashing belly first into the dirt.

Camerupt and Excadrill were staring with ravenous glints in their eyes from the side. George spat a loogie in their direction. The Anomalies held back just long enough for Blitzer to jump back on his feet, eyes wide and mouth agape.

“Fast, fast!! Get out get out get out get out get out!!!”

With one final blast of water, George spun around and dashed away like a mad man. Neither he nor Blitzer looked back, their minds too frantic to consider anything the Anomalies were doing. Blitzer ran ahead, smacking the vegetation aside without a thought. George struggled to keep up. He had little energy to spare. Even thinking about their situation was too much.

A minute after fleeing, however, he slowed down. He couldn’t hear any footsteps that weren’t his own and Blitzer, nor any rumbling below the ground. Neither did he smell anything odd. One look back confirmed that the danger seemed to have passed. The two Anomalies must’ve retreated into the Dungeon. George bit his lip as he walked backwards.

‘Did we really have to run there? Pretty sure we could’ve handled that.’ “Blitzer! Blitzer? Can you stop?” George called out, but Blitzer was still running. “Blitzer!”

Turns out the Charmeleon was selectively deaf. A pensive frown appeared on George’s face. “HEY! BLITZER! STOP FOR A SECOND!” he now shouted with a stretched arm, causing the vegetation at Blitzer’s feet to sway around like there was a heavy wind.

Upon seeing this, Blitzer almost fell over forward, staying on two feet with a wild balancing act that ended up torching a bush. He spun around with a scowl.

“What are you doing? We gotta get out of there!”

George shook his head. “Coast is clear, those two went back into whatever hole they crawled out of!” He stepped aside to give Blitzer a clearer look. It took a few seconds, but the Charmeleon sighed in relief, a growl leaving his throat as well.

“Excadrills and me just don’t get along, man…”

“Is this still about the Drillburs?” George said as he came waddling over. ‘We’ve been through worse than that, haven’t we?”

Blitzer put his claws around his horn. “Yes,” he chirped, “that’s something you just don’t forget. Drillburs, Excadrills, they’re actually terrifying, George. It was bad enough when an Excadrill stayed in town once. He tried to say hello and I screamed and ran. They’re actual monsters!”

George stared pensively at Blitzer. ‘Says the literal dragon.’ “Okay, it might’ve been… surprising and all, especially with the Krokorok right before that, but really, we could’ve had ‘em.”

Blitzer tilted his head, then pulled on his scarf. “But you wanted to run before I did, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, that’s true, but that’s in the moment,” George said. “When you think about it, they’re really not that dangerous. Sure, they’ve got the advantage against you, but not against me. This time we weren’t entirely surprised like before. And we’ve fought against two opponents before this and come out fine.”

“That wasn't against crazy ferals though,” Blitzer replied. George folded his arms.

“So? A Pokemon’s a Pokemon, isn’t it. And if you want to talk about bloodthirstiness, you heard Typhlosion, didn’t you?”

that

Blitzer chittered a few times. He chose now of all times to pat the dirt off his chest. “Yeah, but he also just up and disappeared, didn’t he. Ferals don’t. Least of all these… anomalies.”

“If you say so,” George replied as he leaned backwards to scratch the back of his head. “Look, what I’m trying to say is, we probably could’ve had ‘em and come out fine. We’ve gotten more than enough training to not just get killed.” He sighed out a deep breath, before turning his eyes towards the steep hills. “Enough about that. I don’t see a way up, do you?”

“Not if you look at it like that, no. I see plenty of ways up.”

George glanced up towards the very top of the hill. On the way there, the bushes and odd trees gradually turned into a clumpy mess of rocks and boulders that had a reddish shine to them. Any paths up? Not a chance, unless the definition of ‘path’ was stretched to include hiking and rock climbing.

“You don’t mean to say that you want to-”

“Just climb up? Yeah, exactly. You can just climb up, you know. Didn’t you get trained in that?”

“Not that high!” George grumbled. ‘And that was out of a pool and maybe up a pile of rocks, not turning into a mountain climber, for- ugh!’

Blitzer chuckled. “Well, no time quite like the first, right?”

After a tiny protest, George gave in, following the Charmeleon uphill while pressing his scarf against his face. Once Blitzer had set his eyes on something, no matter how stupid it was, you weren’t ever getting him to change his mind. This left George with more than a small problem. How was he going to get up there? Blitzer wouldn’t have much of a problem, what with his sharp claws and long limbs. He was born to climb mountains. What was a stubby legged otter like George going to do?

After a solid five minutes of stumbling over the first rock, George was already prepared to throw in the towel. Or scarf, rather. His chest fur was now a reddish brown in places, and the itchiness underneath was all the worse after sliding over rocks several times.

“This is ridiculous… how am I supposed to get up there?!”

Blitzer, already halfway up the rocks to the top, had found a boulder to sit cross legged on. He did just that, as he smiled down at George.

“Thought you’d figure it out on your own! You can get up way easier than I ever could!”

George gritted his teeth. “You’re just saying that because it’s funny!” A frown grew as he saw Blitzer’s toothy grin widen. “Look, you can’t stop laughing at yourself!”

“Just think out of the box! You can’t get over the rocks, right?”

“Yeah, like you can plainly see.”

“But can you move the rocks over you?” the Charmeleon said, wagging his finger over his tail flame. George folded his arms, then glared at a particularly large rock that he’d rolled right over his last attempt.

‘Move the rock over me… what is he talking about this time? Does he- wait a minute…’ He smacked himself on the face. “Oh my god… do you mean me riding the rock while I pull it upwards? With telekinesis?”

Blitzzer winked right back at him. “Damn straight! And don’t say you can’t do that, ‘cause I’ve seen you do better than that!”

“Urgh…” George groaned as the beginnings of a headache fired right up. ‘I’ve never done anything that big, let alone with those big eyes of his watching!’ “Fine, I’ll do it. But if this doesn’t work out, you’re helping me. Deal?”

“Deal! No need to say no when I don’t even have to do anything!” Blitzer said with another wink. With gritted teeth, George tapped his foot.

‘All the smug must’ve rubbed off on him… thanks Skal. Really appreciate it.’

Groaning, George stepped onto the rock. What a brilliant idea this was, becoming a rock jockey with the handful of psychic lessons Terez had given him. Sure, the rock might’ve been big enough to fit three Georges without any problems, but actually lifting it up while he was on it? He might as well have cut to the chase and lifted himself up the cliff. What a stupid idea. Terez would've slapped it right out of Blitzer had she been here.

Damning his misfortunes, George put his hand out, then breathed in deep through his nose.

‘Just have to lift… the rock… this isn’t going to work, is it.’

Even as a blue shine came over his eyes, the rock wasn’t budging an inch. Ten seconds later, the shine faded from George’s eyes as he dropped his arm back.

“This is beyond ridiculous, Blitzer. Don’t say you’re not seeing it either.”

“Oh I see it alright,” Blitzer’s voice shouted from above. “You’re not even trying! You just kinda held your arm out because you had to. That’s nothing like how Terez uses psychic powers. That’s not even how you do it! You’re not putting any oomph into it. Oh, and you’re not concentrating, you’re looking at the wall.”

To this, George rolled his eyes. “Fine, have it your way, then.” ‘If it gets him to drop this whole idea… preferably without me getting injured.’

Upon breathing deep through his nose once more, George shut his eyes, then shoved his hand out with commanding force. His concentration on the rock was stronger, more thorough. As if the rock was a part of his body, and thus subject to his every whim. In the blink of an eye, the rock vibrated on the ground, rumbling as if the earth was splitting open underneath.

Then, the sound fell away, and a gust of wind passed through the valley soon after. The excitement was so palpable that George didn’t so much as buckle. Just his tail moved. Flat against the rock he was standing on. Part of him wanted to let out a yawn so Blitzer would take the hint.

But those plans were blown away by another gust, this one strong and cold enough to put Thundurus to shame. George cracked his eyes half open, and was stunned to see the rock wall in front of him moving.

“Wh- what?!”

It was no daydream or hallucination. A connection between his mind and the rock had been established, and no surprise could tear it apart. There was no struggle. No sweat. No tears. No pain from any fall. Just pure concentration, even his eyes opened fully, in time to see a Charmeleon’s beaming smile cross his path.

“Yes! Yes!! Haha, I knew it!!”

Blitzer jumped up and down several times before leaping further up the cliff, constantly looking over his shoulder to watch George rise further into the air. The Oshawott’s body language shifted to sheer determination: His stance stronger on the rock, his arm stretched to the limit as he commanded the rock to reach the top of the hill, winds be damned.

Once at the top, the focus turned into an accomplished smile. George hopped right off,lifted the rock over his head, then let go far from the edge. The rock crashed back down like a cave collapsing in on itself. Satisfied with his performance, he spun on his feet back to the edge. Half of Blitzer’s body had reached the top, and it only took one good pull for the rest to be there as well.

“Phew… heh. Ha! See what I mean?”

George laughed as he shook his head. “I dunno, do I? Or was that just dumb luck?”

“Dumb luck? Man, if that’s your idea of dumb, I’d hate to see what smart looks like to you,” Blitzer said with a wild swing of his tail. George shrugged back with puffy cheeks.

“Maybe dumb ain’t the right word, but- look, I’m not some genius. That’s probably the biggest I’ve managed so far.”

“Yeah! Imagine how much higher you can go!” Blitzer said.

“Literally or figuratively?” George asked.

“Either or, doesn’t matter” Blitzer said, then blushed. “Man, I’d be terrified to go up against a fully evolved you! You’d be a monster!”

George chuckled so much that he had to force himself to shake his head. Even then, he wouldn’t reply until they had started walking again. “Hello? You’re gonna have wings? How’s some dinky rock moving going to help with that?”

“You’d be surprised,” Blitzer said. “Anyway… Rustborough!”

“Uh, yeah, Rustborough.” George bit his cheek. “How far away is it now?”

“Dunno exactly, but it shouldn’t be much further!” Blitzer shook his half empty bag around. “The name on the sign was getting bigger, so we gotta be close-”

“Sounds like one big coincidence to me- wait, what are you looking at?”

“Right there!” Blitzer pointed to an enormous flock of birds rising into the clouds in the distance. Once they had risen far enough into Rayquaza’s domain, the flock split apart in several directions. By the looks of it, they all had some kind of bag dangling from their necks.

“The post service! George, we’re close! We’re real close!”

Blitzer hadn’t finished his sentence before he took off running. Seeing his legs shift like so many times prior, George wasted no time running right after him.

“Slow down! Do you have to be there in five minutes?”

“Nope, in three!”

“Pfft.” ‘Should’ve seen that one coming.’

They ran over the hills, zigzagging between the few trees that had made their home up here between all the rocks. There was enough dirt to go around, fortunately for their feet.

Some ten minutes after their run started, Blitzer stumbled to a stop, and George stumbled right beside him. The trees had given way to a stellar sight.

“Oh wow…”