Chapter 21 - Pass-by-Cave

"Um, Vulpix? Where are we? And where are the others?" I asked Vulpix, who was walking next to me as we walked along a stone-tiled path in a familiar-looking forest. It wasn't the same forest as yesterday, but it felt oddly familiar.

"Don't you remember? The others realized how useless they were, so they left. Besides, I think this is much better-just the two of us and no potential backstabbers like Sneasel. Don't you agree?" Vulpix asked.

"Uh, I guess. I still have no clue as to when we got here. Where are we going? You didn't answer that."

"Oh, I guess I didn't. We are heading down a better path than that boringly small Mystery Dungeon. I know this one will be way more fun and adventurous. You like that, don't you? Adventures?"

"Yeah, who doesn't love a good adventure, but why didn't you mention that yesterday?"

"It wasn't relevant until now. Come on, just follow me. Don't you trust me?"

"Yes, of course I do."

"Great! Then don't worry about everything; just leave it all to me."

I was confused, but I decided to trust Vulpix, even though all my sensors were screaming at me. With a weird silence growing between Vulpix and me, I decided to move onto my favourite pastime activity with the lack of technology: sightseeing.

I examined the area, as I do, but I couldn't help but notice that something was not right. The trees seemed to be shifting around, almost dancing in place like when you experience intense heat, like in a desert, and the world seemed to be wobbling.

The more I looked around, the more things started to get even weirder, and the more I recognised this forest. It almost looked like one I used to play in when I was human.

"Hey look! We are almost here. Just up ahead, can you see?" Vulpix shouted, startling me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, that place I totally know we are heading towards. Yep, that one."

"Heehee, I always like that about you," Vulpix said, laughing in a way I had yet to hear. It felt almost unsettling. "Have a look; see that cabinet? That is where we will find the entrance to the dungeon." Vulpix pointed towards using her snout.

I took a look towards where she was suggesting, and low and behold, a wooded shack, just smack in the middle of a large clearing of cleanly chopped tree stumps at the end of the stone path. As we got closer, I was able to make out that this cabin was not the best kept of things. There were two overly large windows on either side of the wooden door, with both windows smashed up and bared with wooden planks.

The roof also had bits and pieces missing from it, and now that I was closer, there was a clear rotting substance in patches of the wood. The door also had bits that looked gnawed at by some small rodent.

The closer and closer we got, the more this place reminded me of a classic horror movie I used to watch.

"And here we are!" Vulpix cheered with glee. She bounced up the small step that raised the porch up a tad. She walked over and sat by the front door. "Well? Are you coming? You're not scared, are you?"

"What? Of course not. I'm just cautious about this dilapidated, mould nest you brought me too," I replied, standing just shy of the first step.

"And you said you trusted me. Were you telling me the truth, or just trying to reassure yourself?"

"What? Why would you suggest that? You know what? Move over, I'm coming up."

I wanted to jump up, but with my pudge frame, I chose to stumble up the steps instead. I moved over towards Vulpix, who opened the door with her left paw. "After you," she ushered me in.

Taking a deep breath and puffing out my front, I started to move inside the cabin. Something I noticed, though, was Vulpix's eyes. It was only a glance, but I swear her once chocolate eyes were now a bright blue. As I moved in, I tried to recall if they were that shade earlier, but then I never got a good look at her eyes.

Once I was clear inside this dusty cabin, I asked Vulpix, "Hey, have your eyes always been that shade of blue?"

There was a deep chuckle that sent pure chills down my spine, before the swishing sound of the door closing was heard, followed by a very loud slam. Turning back to the door, it was indeed shut. I wasted no time trying to open that sucker up with my vines.

I tried and tired with all my might, even trying to feed energy into my vine, but that was a moot effort since I couldn't feel my reserve for some reason. Feeling red in the face, I stopped trying to open the door.

"Hey, Vulpix? I think I'm going to need your help with this. The door is stuck tight."

Silence was all but heard from the other side.

"Vulpix! Hellooo, I would rather not be stuck in this spooky hut or cabbing things all by myself."

Nothing again.

"Well, that's just great. She is going to get a serious lashing about teamwork when I'm out of here. Alright, me, let's assess the situation."

Turning my trapped butt back around, I scanned my surroundings. Something was really, really strange. At first, I did notice a cosy little cabin setting: you know- a fireplace with a deer head mantle, a couch hidden back in the corner of the large room, and some book shelves. The kicker was a singular chair, one that was stained red with some paint by the looks of it. The deer head caught my eye. It wasn't a deerling, even though that is a bit morbid, but an actual deer head.

My curiosity at its maximum, I wandered over towards the chair, only for a screeching noise to fill my head the closer I got, yet I couldn't stop moving towards it. Once I was in front of it, I started to recall where I knew this chair from.

"That's right, you know this familiar chair, don't you?" a booming voice that loomed over the entire room. If I had hair, then they would be at the end by now, for that voice was Machoke. Quick as a cat, I turned around to meet him.

"You?! I thought you died!" I shouted in a defensive position, vines rearing and ready to attack.

"Oh? Is that what you thought? You fool, oh well, take a seat and let's catch up, hehe," Machoke taunted with a malicious smile.

"Oh, hell to the no! Ace is outta here, you psycho!"

Looking around for an opening against the surprisingly still Machoke, I found that something had suddenly wrapped around all four of my legs. My now widened eyes shot down, and I found it to be some leathery fabric that came from the chair. Like a fisherman reeling in his prize catch, the chair pulled me back into itself. I tried to struggle as best I could, but I could feel my strength fading.

The singular door opened with a creak, and in walked Vulpix. Hope filling my soul.

"Vulpix! Argh! Help me!"

"Oh, I don't think I will. Don't you remember that it was I who brought you here?"

"What are you talking about!?"

"Well, I double-crossed you, of course."

I wanted to shout out for more information as to what Vulpix was talking about, but I was rapidly being dragged to the chair. Nothing I could do could free me, and I was eventually placed upon it with the wrappings keeping me in place. Machoke walked up to me with that haunting smile on full show.

With my mouth now gagged with a rag, I looked for Vulpix for hope-that maybe I was mishearing things.

"Have fun, boys," Vulpix called out, then left back through the door. It slowly closed, and then it was just Machoke and I.

"Shall we begin?"

"Aaaargh!" I screamed wide awake. Fear filled my mind and sweat poured down my face while I tried to keep my breathing in check.

What was that? A nightmare? What type of nightmare was that? I've had lucid dreams before, but that was something else, something that felt almost real. No matter how hard I tried at the moment, I was not able to brush this nightmare off, that just hit differently.

"What's going on? Are we under attack?" Servine asked as she looked around vigorously for potential attackers.

"Ace had a nightmare; he is prone to them. Sorry, every Pokémon. Nothing to worry about; sorry for disturbing your sleep," Vulpix announced to all the other Pokémon who had been sleeping before my screaming.

The door to Simipour's house burst open, and out came Simipour in a battle stance, startling Scorbunny who gave a little shout. Once it was explained that it was just me, she quickly calmed down.

"So, no attackers. Just a night terror," Vulpix finished explaining.

"My, my, that must have been one nightmare. Well, I'm glad we aren't under attack, then. Would he like some water? That always calms me down after a terrible nightmare," Simipour asked.

"Yes, please."

Simipour turned back around and went into her house to fetch the water.

"Is, um, is Ace okay?" Scorbunny asked.

"I'm not sure. He has never been this shaken up from a nightmare before."

No matter how hard I tried, I could not catch my breath. I could only recall the nightmare I had, the fear of finding out that Vulpix had betrayed me and what Machoke did while I was stuck to that chair.

"Ace? What's going on?" Vulpix asked just a few feet from my face.

Fear struck me for a second before I had an idea. Vulpix was in my nightmare and was the source of the fear I was stuck with, but there was one small detail I was able to notice about said dream: her eyes. I got right up to Vulpix, who had taken a step back with a mixed expression of concern and a tad of worry.

What was I doing? I was examining Vulpix's eyes, of course.

Vulpix was silent the whole time I examined her eyes. Her eyes were her normal chocolate brown, a different color than the Vulpix from my nightmare had.

Taking a step back, I felt some breath return to my lungs.

Feeling all the eyes of strangers and our group preying on me, I felt a bit embarrassed.

"What are you all looking at?" I said.

"Geez, how about the Pokémon who suddenly shouted like he got stabbed or something? What sort of nightmares are you having?" Servine asked.

"None of your business, that's the type." The more I tried to insist that they should mind their own business, the more it seemed to pike their interest. "I can't handle this, I'm going for a walk."

"A-alone, at this time of night?" Vulpix asked, while taking a gulp. "Well then, if you are going, then I'm coming with you."

"Fine."

"So no water then?" I could hear Simipour's muffled voice asking.

Ignoring all remarks and comments coming from the others, I made my way to the forest with no care for any dangers that may lay ahead. If something attacked me, I would relish in the chance to vent some of this anger I had.

Vulpix continued to follow me in silence. From the quick glance backwards I took, I could see Vulpix frantically looking around in every direction. Seeing as she was trying to keep up, but was held by fear, I slowed down, so we were walking side by side. I felt a bit better now that she was beside me.

"Where are we going?" Vulpix asked.

"To a lake Scorbunny and I stumbled upon yesterday. It's not far, so don't worry," I replied.

"I-I'm not worried or scared, or anything. Eeep!" Vulpix screamed when a twig snapped nearby. A smile dawned on my face for a split second.

We eventually arrived at the lake, and the very first thing I did was head straight for the water and dunked my face in its ice-cold embrace. Feeling the water's ice bite, I was finally able to calm down since the cold shock had basically rebooted my system.

I just sat down, looking at the lake, while the scuffling of Vulpix could be heard, timidly approaching.

"That was no normal dream, was it?" She asked in a gentle tone.

"No, no, it wasn't." At first I was tempted not to talk about it and to kinda let it blow over, but recalling how good it felt to talk with Scorbunny yesterday, I lamented. "It felt real, Vulpix. I swear on my grandpa's name that I could feel true pain and not that fake dream pain."

"Wait, what happened in that dream?"

I explained in detail that normally I would be lost when waking up about what happened in that nightmare. I explained that she had led me to the cabin, ushered me inside, and that Machoke, alongside that chair, was inside.

"I see, and you are saying you could feel Machoke hitting you?" Vulpix asked.

"Yes, I swear it felt real, if not a bit faded. Like getting hit while drunk."

"Oh, well, I'm not too sure what this all means. Do you have any idea?"

"I don't know. With the stress of past memories and all this unknown aura stuff, it could be anything at this point."

"Well, just know I would never lead you into a cabin like that. I would be too scared to even approach it," Vulpix said with a small smile. A small chuckle escaped my throat.

Gazing back at the lake, I wasn't sure, but I swear my reflection was smiling maliciously back at me with bright blue eyes, like the dream Vulpix's eyes. Doing a double take showed just my normal reflection. Curiouser and curiouser- yeah right, more like concerning and even more concerning.

"What am I going to do, Vulpix?"

"I'm not too sure, but know that whatever you have to do, you aren't alone. Not anymore."

It's easy to say that I was not able to get any more sleep that night. Vulpix tried her hardest to stay up with me, but she found herself asleep. She needs her rest more than I do. While I may get mentally tired, I can always rely on my backup energy source to get me through.

Sneasel was the first to awaken. She was initially startled to find me awake too, but she was able to find her spine shortly after because she got some food from Simipour, who was awake earlier.

"Um, I've got you some. It's, uh, some soup from last night," Sneasel said. She was holding two bowls of soup with wooden spoons. She took a deep breath and, albeit timidly, walked over to me and placed the soup in front of me. Sneasel then went back to her spot on the other side of the fire, and started to eat her soup.

I just eyed the soup, confused as to why Sneasel would do such a thing. Yeah, I'm not eating that, I thought while eyeing the soup.

Vulpix, who had been sleeping next to me the whole time, started to stir out of her slumber.

"Gzz, ah, good morning, Ace. Were you able to get any sleep?" Vulpix asked as she continued to spurn to life. She leant forwards to stretch her back out, followed by her legs and one big yawn to finish it off.

"Sleep is suggestive to one who can eat sunlight," I replied.

"So you weren't able to, then. Oh, you've got yourself some breakfast. I'm glad to see you taking the initiative for some breakfast for once."

"No, Sneasel brought that over. It's yours if you don't think it's poisoned."

"You know, even if it was poisoned, you would be fine since you literally cannot get poisoned. So the only reason you didn't eat was out of spite."

"Whatever, you know I only need to bathe in the sun and drink water to carry on."

"Yeah, but that doesn't give you all the nutrients you need. How about this: you eat one of the apples we brought with us, and I will eat breakfast this morning. If you don't eat, then neither will I. You don't want to see me starve, do you?"

"Argh, fine, I'll eat some damn food. Happy now?" Vulpix smiled and nodded approvingly. I fetched a red apple from my bag. Vulpix, who now had the soup in front of her, looked at the apple I had and waited. "Geez, Fine I got it already."

With the apple's life coming to an end to satiate my stomach, Vulpix nodded approvingly, then ate her breakfast. I did notice that Sneasel had a slightly upset look on her face. Did she really want me to eat that soup that badly? This only made me more suspicious of her true motive. Okay, I'm drawing up blanks as to why, but there is something malicious there, I just know it.

The others eventually sprung to life, ate their own breakfast, and started to help pack up the camp. I was informed by Servine that one does not leave a messy camp if they wish not to feel the wrath of Simipour. They apparently have a reputation for weird punishments if you don't clean up after yourself.

We said our thanks to Simipour, a few pleasantries were passed with one last wave, then off we were towards our next destination: Pass-By-Cave.

As we travelled along the path, the group was in relatively good spirits- all for Scorbunny, who had been stealing glimpses at me when he thought I wasn't looking. It was starting to get on my nerves after the fifth time he did it. Ever since last night, he has been acting strange around me, it's like he is walking on eggshells around me.

Deciding that it was annoying me too much, I sped up my walk to where I was at the front of the group, next to Servine.

"Oh, welcome to the front of the group. Glad to have you here. Even if you scared off Sneasel in the process," Servine said.

"Who cares about her? I'm only here because Scorbunny keeps looking back at me, and it's getting on my nerves," I replied.

"So you thought moving to the front was a better idea?"

"Out of sight, out of mind. Look, I'm not really in the mood for talking, so can we just walk in silence?"

"Okay."

"What? That's it? You aren't going to pester me, like you normally do, or say a snarky comment?"

"Nope. I want you in good spirits for this cave. So, I will not annoy you. For now, at least. Enjoy it while it lasts, for I will double annoy you when we arrive at Zaprock, ruiner of sleep."

"Oh, great. I'm already looking forward to it."

We walked in silence for a while, and as requested, Servine said nary a word to me. She would talk to the others when prompted, but she actually left me alone. It was- I don't know- appreciated? It did leave me some time to organize some of my thoughts about things, but that was quickly dropped when all it did was start to stress me out.

After about half a day of walking, we finally arrived at a large, sloped pathway that led to the mountains. It was kinda narrow and steep, so we had to take some extra care in how we moved. Servine announced that the entrance to the cave was just at the top of it and to be wary of large rocks that might suddenly spring to life. Geodudes and Gravelers have been said to sit in silence and, when approached, tend to leap out of hiding and attack.

Lucky for us, no such rocks were found.

The once soft, trodden dirt was now replaced by a hardened, rocky surface that was killer on the heels. Coming to the top of the slope, it started to hug the mountainside.

With a calm trip, yet still looking out for the trappers from yesterday and wild Pokémon, we arrived at the mouth of the mountain. Appropriately titled since from how the mouth was shaped more mouth like and how some of the stalactites formed at the top, gave it a really sharp toothy mouth look.

Scorbunny, not looking where he was going, bumped into my backside.

"S-sorry Ace. I'm so sorry, please don't be upset. I'll just leave you alone," Scorbunny apologized while shaking his arms around rapidly. I was about to tell him it was not a big deal and that he should stop freaking out around me, but Servine spoke before I could.

"Alright, kiddies, after a long day's travel, we have finally reached the Pass-By-Cave," she announced in front of the cave.

"Okay, I'll ask: why is it called Pass-By-Cave?" I asked.

"Well, my inquisitive, green ally, it is called that because the folks would prefer to pass this cave by rather than enter it. So, since no Pokémon really gave it a name, since they would just say, 'lets pass by this cave,' It was eventually shortened to 'Pass-by-cave.' No Pokémon has thought of a better name, so it kind of just stuck around. Cool, right?"

"I've heard of dumber reasons to give a terrible name."

"Well, don't let that mislead you, for there is a reason most would prefer to pass this cave by, even if it's the fastest way to Zaprock and the other major cities on that side. Because this is a level three-star Dungeon."

"Um, miss Servine?" Scorbunny spoke up, "why are stars involved in Mystery Dungeons again?"

"No, idiot. I explained this to you a hundred times," Sneasel said. "Alright thick head, listen up, level one stars are simple Mystery Dungeons where you can enter and leave as you please, right? Level two are the ones that close off behind you as you enter, and level three are ones where traps litter it inside them. There is a level four rating where supposedly there are godly monsters inside it, but not that many Pokémon have actually encountered such a dungeon, so it's mainly just a rumor of where they could exist. So, get it through your thick skull already."

"Wow, so there are traps in this one?"

"Yep, there sure are, bunny boy," Servine confirmed.

"What do they look like?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm surprised you don't know. In short of making fun of your lack of knowledge, just think shinier squaring of floors. I'm sure Sneasel will point it out to you since you will be upfront with her."

"What? Sneasel is up front with me? I never agreed to this!" I shouted, furious from the sudden news.

"Yeah, well, I kinda have to put you both at the front. As Vulpix describes, you prefer to stick to acting as the vanguard and have great reactions to upcoming danger. With Sneasel's tracking skills it makes trap finding easier, you two are one mean power team. So unless you want to step on a trap and potentially explode…"

This only angered me. How dare they suggest I work with that rat! I was about to huff and puff and let Servine have a taste of my thoughts, when Vulpix came into view.

"Ace, I know you don't like this, but think: the sooner we get through this Dungeon, the sooner you can get away from Sneasel. The more you fight it, the longer this is going to take and the longer you have to be around her," Vulpix calmly suggested.

"I hate it when you make sense like this… Fine! I won't attack Sneasel, unless she acts shifty. The sooner we get this over with, the better."

"Ace, you need to stop threatening your party members."

"Works for me," Sneasel agreed, while offering me her hand for a handshake. I just stared at the hand with a raised eyebrow. I'm guessing she wants me to use my vine or something, but all she succeeded in doing was to annoy me. So, like a mature adult, I started to audibly build up a loogie, making Sneasel quickly retract her claw.

"Great! Now that we are all in agreement to work together, let's set off. Shall we?" Servine asked, gesturing to the cave. The group started to fall in, with Vulpix being a bit timid at first, but she followed in when I gave her a small nod.

Now inside the cave, we all spread out to take a look around. I did a double take, and the cave entrance has now been replaced with a crumbling pile of rocks blocking any sort of escape. The weird thing though, was that I never even heard the rocks falling in the first place, they were just there now. Spooky.

On the other side of the large, cavernous room lay three separate paths that diverged from each other. One leading straight ahead, while the other two lead off to the sides of the cave.

"Wow, so this Pass-by-Cave. I like it!" Scorbunny said it enthusiastically.

"Shush, Scorbunny, we don't want to attract any unwanted attention so soon. This dungeon may take a while to complete, as we have slept before coming here. Would hate to have to spend the night here," Servine chastised. She continued to explain things to Scorbunny, who seemed like a sponge already full, trying but failing to take in anything else.

Soft murmuring was heard to my side, where Vulpix was. Vulpix was low to the ground, with her ears and six tails all low to the ground. She seemed to be trying to pump herself up, for I was able to make out things like, "you can do it," over and over.

"Hey, look at that," I said to Vulpix. I gestured towards Scorbunny. Vulpix stopped her murmuring for a second to look up at me and towards where I was pointing to. "Is it just me, or does Scorbunny look like he is about to explode?"

Vulpix continued to look towards Scorbunny, who was now getting drilled by both Sneasel and Servine. His head was now turning a bright red while he tried desperately to listen to the two. He eventually just collapsed on the spot while rotating his head in circles from information overload.

"Oh, look, his brain overheated. Ironic."

"You might be right. I think I can see steam coming from his ears," Vulpix noted with a small smile.

"Much better," I said, making Vulpix tilt her head.

"What do you mean? You like seeing Scorbunny's brain overheat?"

"No, I like seeing you smile. Fear just doesn't suit you. Come on, let's save Scorbunny from having an aneurysm."

"O-okay."

Saving Scorbunny from the severe brain punching he was receiving, we ventured off deeper into the cave. Our party's formation consisted of Vulpix at the back for range support, with Servine acting as the shot caller slightly in front of her. Scorbunny was in the middle, for he was the quickest out of all of us and could help whoever needed help, plus with Servine and Vulpix at the back, they could keep an eye on him. Leaving yours truly with a potential knife in the back next to him: Sneasel.

Since the other two side paths curved off, meaning we couldn't see that much ahead if we chose to head that way, we decided to venture straight ahead.

I was surprised to see a Geodude so early in our exploration, but he stood no chance from my vine whipping.

Eventually we stumbled upon a Zubat, well, I say stumbled more like it literally got the drop on us and screeched at me. Scorbunny was quick to defend me while I was dazed from the intense noise.

What was weird was he again apologized to me for taking my kill, so to speak. I wanted to ask what was going on with him, but I was urged to keep moving from Servine, so I just logged in to the old reliable and ever growing 'find out later' vault in my mind.

Room after room, we steadily trekked through, taking out any attackers along our paths. When it came to the simple enemies, such as Geodudes or Roggenrolas, Sneasel's metal claw attack was all we needed to handle them.

Eventually, we arrived at the largest room so far. This one had large stalactites hanging from the roof and a slope with the staircase leading down to the next floor in the middle of the, which I was told was the entrance to the next floor. There was only one problem; this was the boss's room, it seemed. And by that, I mean there were three Geodudes roughhousing with each other.

"Alright, all we have to do is defeat them, and then we will be able to move on to the next room," Servine announced. We all gathered closer together to hear the whispering of Servine.

"Ew, get away from me," I said to Sneasel, who was next to me. I moved away and cut in between Vulpix and Servine to my left. "Why are we having a team huddle? It's just Geodudes. I could handle these chumps by myself," I declared.

"Don't underestimate the dungeon. If you do, you may find yourself regretting it."

"Ah ha, whatever you say. Time's up, let's do this!" I shouted, charging at the now aware Geodudes.

"Ace, wait, don't be reckless!" Vulpix called out.

Now, normally I would have been more calm and thought this out and all, but with that nightmare from earlier lingering in my mind, I really needed to smack around more things. The few creatures we ran across earlier barely satiated my bloodlust. So, charge headfirst into the storm, I like to say.

The three Geodudes all decided to charge at me. Taking advantage of my ranged capabilities, I attempted to vine whip the two off to the left. They both dodged out of the way, but that was what I was looking for since one was away from the group now.

"There, get that one!" I shouted, pointing at the straggler. Sneasel was the first to react, and she did as I asked and charged at the solo Geodude with her claws steeped in a sleek grey.

Servine, following up my tactics of separation, ran to flank the rightmost Geodude, with Scorbunny not far behind her. Scorbunny, faster than anyone else, ran and kicked the rightmost Geodude after Servine ordered so. Angered by the flimsy damage it received, the rightmost Geodude hurled itself after Scorbunny and right into Servine's ambush.

That just left our Geodude, who was now right on top of me. It threw a haymaker down at me, but I was able to dodge away, retaliating with a vine whip attack of my own. Geodude recoiled back from the intense damage he just took. Like, you could very clearly see a large gash in his rocky body. I still have no clue as to how grass beats rock like this, but hey, I'm not complaining.

Wising up from his damage, the Geodude looked at a large rock that was just waiting to be thrown. It got down to picking up the rock. "Aww, no, you don't! Vulpix, you know what to do!" I shputed.

"I'm still not happy with how you charged ahead recklessly," Vulpix said. She started to charge up for some embers when a small figure dove down in front of Vulpix and screeched in her face. Scared by the sudden flying rodent known as Zubat, Vulpix fumbled her attack, which backfired, exploding smoke into her own face.

"Vulpix! Are you okay?" I asked her. I felt like I was forgetting about something, and I was quickly reminded whyat by a rock colliding with the side of my head. Anger flared up in my gut. "Oh, you are going to pay for that one. Vulpix, can you still fight?"

She coughed a couple of times before answering. "Yeah, just a bit smoky at the moment," Vulpix replied.

"Alright, prepare for another attack at Geodude. I'll handle the rest."

"Okay,"

Vulpix did as asked and prepared herself for another attack. Acting as I hoped, the Zubat returned to disrupt Vulpix when I launched one of my vines at Geodude. What it didn't count for was a second vine!

With the Zubat making another screech attempt, it soon found itself wrapped up in my vine and unable to move. "Fire!" I shouted. The little bugger didn't stand a chance for three direct embers at such close range and was down for the count with 'Xs' for eyes. My vine was a bit worse for wear, basically sindered, but it was fine. I can't feel pain in my vines, and it was only a bit from the tip.

"Nice work, now let's finish up this chump," I smiled. Vulpix, using her quick attack, ran over and tackled the Geodude. It didn't do anything besides slightly pushing the Geodude back, with Vulpix slightly dazed from tackling into a sentient rock. Geodude attempted to counter with a punch, but my vines said no, for they wrapped around its forearm. With Geodude in my grasp, I raised it in the air and, with my free vine, repeatedly whipped the consciousness out of this poor Geodude.

I released the Geodude, and it fell to the ground with a thud, knocking up some dust.

"And the victors, by a landslide, are yours truly!" I boasted.

"It isn't over yet, there are still two Geodudes left," Vulpix said.

Taking a look at Servine and Scorbunny, they were fine. Geodude tried to send a rock hurtling towards Servine, but Scorbunny kicked it out of the way, leading Servine to finish off Geodude with a razor leaf.

The last Geodude was on its last legs, so to speak, since its body was covered with large gashes. Sneasel was a little beat up herself, so, like a good teammate, I just watched. Vulpix went to assist when she realized I was not going to lift a vine to assist, but it was a wasted effort for Sneasel, who got under a thrown punch and upper slashed with a razor claw, finishing off the Geodude.

"Wow, good work, Sneasel," Vulpix complimented. Sneasel was huffing and puffing, trying to catch her breath.

"Thanks," Sneasel replied, still breathing hard.

"Well, besides for mister Patient, that went as well as it could," Servine said. "Just please don't do that again. These dungeons will get harder the deeper we go along. We should be fine, I've been through this one with less Pokémon, but you forgot about traps, didn't you?"

"Bah, what're you whining for? It all worked out fine. I'll be more cautious, maybe. Depends on the enemies, really," I replied, not really listening or caring about her warning.

"Aaace."

"Onwards! Deeper into the belly of the beast!" I shouted, moving towards the descending staircase.

We climbed down the stairs, which looked surprisingly like they had been chiselled by someone before, making me question the origin of these dungeons for a second. When I asked Vulpix about it, she just said that most, if not all, others don't really think about it; it is what it is, so to say.

We arrived down the stoney staircase to the next floor. There were only two paths this time, with one being occupied by an underground river stream that stretched into the main room. The water was only moving at a slow pace, so we could, in theory, go down that path if we so chose. Of course, we would be avoiding that at all costs since we have two whole fire types plus no water types.

"Wow! An underground river! So cool!" Scorbunny shouted. He ran towards the river and leaned over the bank to get a better look at it, scanning it up and down.

"Uh, Scorbunny, maybe you should avoid getting near the water," Sneasel warned, walking up to Scorbunny.

"Hey, there's something in the water."

"What? Get away from the water then!"

"Oh, silly me, it's my reflection."

"Same old stupid Scorbunny," I remarked.

"Oh, sorry for being dumb; heh, I'll try to be smarter," Scorbunny said, rubbing the back of his head while looking at me.

"What? Why? What's going on with you?" I asked.

Scorbunny seemed like he was conflicted with how to reply, but fate told him to put a cork in it, for a large blue figure jumped up from the water and with its large, white fist, delivered a haymaker onto Scorbunny's surprised, fluffy face. Scorbunny was not even able to raise his hands to defend himself before being violently thrown backwards. The white fisted Pokémon then landed back in the water.

We all ran towards Scorbunny to make sure he was alright. Turning him around, he seemed fine, if not for a bloody nose and being a bit disoriented.

"Hey! You are going to pay for that!" shouted Sneasel, who brandished her claws in a wide-armed stance. She ran towards the still-bobbing water Pokémon with her arms dragging behind her, ready to deliver her revenge.

"Wait! Sneasel!" Vulpix shouted.

Ignoring Vulpix's sound warning and continuing her charge actually made my morning, for when the tadpole-looking Pokémon rose up from the water when Sneasel got close enough, it shot Sneasel point-blank with a very high-pressure water gun. The water gun was so powerful for Sneasel's small form that it actually sent her flying into the wall on the opposite side of the room.

Water gun- yeah, right, it should be called a water cannon at this point.

So for an extra good news sandwich, I was able to make out that this Pokémon was a Poliwhirl. I was thinking Poliwrath at first, but this thing was way too small to be its muscular evolution.

The water Pokémon jumped out of its watery haven and onto dry land, brandishing its arms with a mighty flex, revealing its well-developed muscles.

"What is that?" Servine asked.

"Never seen a Poliwhirl before? It's a water type, if you couldn't guess by now," I answered.

"Well, team, let's take it down!"

"Wait, what about Sneasel?" Vulpix asked. "She got thrown pretty far."

"Who?" I asked.

"We will have to worry about that after we defeat this foe. That water gun was pretty powerful for a typical water type. I'm guessing it's about to evolve."

I was about to correct the fact that Poliwhirls only evolve with the use of a water stone, but that would have to wait, for Poliwhirl was about to act. The tadpole Pokémon took a deep breath and filled its cheeks to the brim with the hidden valley of water that seemed to dwell inside of its small body.

The tadpole Pokémon shot two smaller shots, one right after the other, at both Vulpix and Servine, making them dodge. Vulpix then shone a brilliant white light and was gone in a blink of an eye. Vulpix used a quick attack! I charged straight on while Servine continued to flank around; this chump was going to eat it.

Poliwhirl took the quick attack well, only really stumbling backwards and tried to shoot at Vulpix again, who just jumped out of the way. It tried once more at Vulpix, but the same thing happened. Furious at missing its target yet again, this tadpole looked forwards at me, then the top of its white area on its stomach swirled up into a smile. Huh, guess that's where its mouth is.

Poliwhirl sucked in a deep breath and shot again, this time straight at me. I was about to dodge out of the way, but then it hit me- this thing was actually aiming at Scorbunny, who was still sitting down, dazed from his smack earlier.

"Scorbunny, move!" I called out, but it was pointless because the Scorbunny was way too dazed to understand me. Preparing myself, I grounded myself and took the attack full force.

That water gun hit me square on, making me slide backwards from the sheer power of this attack. It didn't hurt that much, besides the water hitting me like a punch. I would hate to think how much this would hurt if I were a fire type or something. Lucky for four legs too, for this pure pressure was threatening to uplift me from the ground.

Once the attack was finally over, I spat out some of the water that got into my mouth. "Oh, yeah, that hurt. And I love getting hit with spit, it feels great," I sarcastically said.

A loud shout came from the Poliwhirl. Taking a look at what was going on, even though it was a bit hard to see from the water still affecting my eyes, I could see Servine's tail glowing a bright green. She spun around, making her tail shoot out like a leaf towards the cut-up Poliwhirl.

The Poliwhirl decided that the first razor leaf was good enough and dodged to the side, nimbly avoiding the attack. Seeing Servine glowing again, this time all in green, the tadpole Pokémon tried to back away, but a swift tackle from Vulpix knocked it towards Servine.

Servine finished charging her attack and sent a small tornado made of leaves at Poliwhirl. Poliwhirl had no chance of getting out of the way and was subjected to a water type's worst nightmare. Completely engulfed by the leafy carnage, the Poliwhirl could only scream in pain before the tornado finally came to an end by throwing the Poliwhirl back into the river.

"Nice assist, Vulpix. I can see why Ace likes you on his team." Servine winked.

"Oh, um, thank you," Vulpix replied bashfully to the praise. They both turned towards Scorbunny and I. For some reason, they ran past us and towards the other side of the room. Oh, yeah, Sneasel was a thing.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," I remarked.

"Are you okay?" Vulpix asked Sneasel.

"I'm fine, just winded," Servine replied, taking breaths in between words. Ignoring what else they were doing, I decided to check in on Scorbunny.

"You okay?" I asked him. He was in a sitting position while his face looked down to the floor. A faint sniffling could be heard. I turned my head to the side in an attempt to get a better look at his face. "That was a hell of a punch. I bet even the toughest of bastards would at least have had their eyes water up from that one," I was saying before I was interrupted by a sudden surprise hug from Scorbunny.

"Uh, did you get a concussion? Do you need an Oran berry or something?" I offered.

Scorbunny's soft sniffing turned into full, snot-filled sniffles. "You don't hate me!" Scorbunny cried out very loudly.

"What? Did Poliwhirl knock out the last of your two brain cells? Why would I hate you?"

"Y-you said yesterday that you would h-hate me if I did something to upset you!" Scorbunny cried out. He then decided that my shoulder was the best alternative to a tissue, for he whipped his snotty nose on it.

"Yuck! If you do that again, I might."

"I'm sorry!" he cried out very loudly.

"Scorbunny!" I shouted over his sobbing. He stopped and stood stiff like a child getting yelled at. I pulled back from Scorbunny so I could actually look at him. "Look, what I mean is if you try to betray me to a villain or try to kill or hurt myself or some Pokémon I love, then I would hate you. In fact, most would. But annoying me by wiping your nose on me will upset me for a while, but I'm not that shallow to suddenly hate you forever for something so minor. You are my friend, so can you go back to your usual clueless, slightly annoying, bouncy self? I prefer you that way."

Scorbunny stared at me and devolved back into crying with his arms raised back for another hug. Before I could even try to dodge, I was tackled again by his hug attack. I just embraced the hug while my shoulder continued to gather more snot. "There, there."

Now, after Sir Snot-Field let it all out on my shoulder, the team finally came to my aid to remove the snot factory from my shoulder. This guy had some serious bear-level strengths when it came to hugs. When Scorbunny finally let go, he got a good look at the slime pool that rested on my shoulder.

"Hehe, sorry," Scorbunny said while rubbing the back of his head. I just sighed.

"Nothing I can't wash off." I started to move towards the river, keeping a watchful eye for enemies. The risk of a second surprise attack was well worth it, for I swear this goo pile is starting to come alive.

Vulpix did warn against going near the river, but when I showed her the goo that I swear was starting to move on its own, she nearly threw up. Servine actually offered to assist me with cleaning my shoulder.

"So," Servine said after splashing some water at my shoulder, "I bet you are going to take this trip more seriously now, aren't you?"

"Ha! Are you kidding me? I'm having a blast."

Truth be told, I was actually having fun. If it wasn't for Sneasel being here, I would dare say this is the most exciting place I have explored so far. Something about that idea of traps, tougher enemies, and the fact you have to complete the dungeon is just tickling my adventurer spirit.

"Hmm, well, enjoy it while you can, for these dungeons will test how tough you are, in more ways than one."

I don't really understand what Servine was complaining about. This was a breeze! For the next couple of floors, we barely had an issue. It was mainly just a handful of weaker, first-evolution Pokémon that we were fighting. The only real issue we faced was when a Boldore decided to give it a shot at defeating us, but even though it was a sturdy Pokémon, we just had the numbers and type advantage.

It was only on the fourth floor that we finally stumbled upon a trap. Sneasel had told the group to halt, when she sensed something was off. She got low to the ground and checked out a particular area of the rocky floor.

"See here, every Pokémon?" Sneasel asked. "Notice how the ground is more shiny and sleek than the rest of the stoney surface?" Sneasel pointed her claw towards an area that was indeed very sleek. I would've described it as more of a plastic texture than anything else.

"Yeah?" Scorbunny replied.

"That is how you tell that the floor is trapped in a cave. Other biomes have different tells."

"So, what does this one do?" Vulpix asked, sniffing at the trapped floor.

"If you want to find out, then you should keep getting closer, Vulpix. So I suggest backing up." Vulpix did as asked and backed away. "While traps are only activated through touch, you should still be careful. And to answer your question, I have no clue. Unless you have an expert-level trap detector, it is extremely difficult to tell the difference."

"Of course you can't tell. Class dismissed; let's go," I impatiently said.

"Hey, I just told you how to find out where traps are."

"What do you want, cookies, a pat on the back, and a crisp high five? You did your job and nothing more. Let's go."

"Ace, that was a bit harsh. She is only trying to help out," Vulpix said.

Keeping my flaring anger in check, I stormed off, keeping an eye out for that type of plastic surface.

The next two floors were more interesting than the others. The floors were increasing in traps, getting tougher, and having more Pokémon. Servine explained that it's because we are spending a decent amount of time inside it, and we really should be getting a move on. It was also explained that, on average, this dungeon had about ten floors, so six down, four to go.

On the seventh floor, the simple cave design opened up to a beautiful crystal cove. The large room was home to a large amount of small pink crystals that jutted out from the walls. There was also a small stream running down the center of the room and down the cave, cutting us off from the other side of the room.

While the previous floors were extremely game-like, this cave felt more like an actual cave than anything else.

We took our time, occasionally defeating a Poliwhirl, Geodudes, and some Bagons that wanted to test their might. With nothing being able to stop our number advantage, we pressed on until we came across a side passage.

"Hey, what's that?" Scorbunny asked.

"What is it, bunny boy?" I asked.

"I think it's a Pokémon. Over there," he pointed down the passage.

"Alright, let's check it out. It could be a trapped civilized Pokémon," Servine said.

Walking down the side passage, it opened up into a smaller pocket. In the middle was a figure, just standing there.

I took the initiative and started to approach the stranger.

"Wait, Ace. I don't like this," Vulpix timidly warned.

"Hey, it'll be fine. Hey, bub, are you wild or a civilized Pokémon?" I asked the stranger. Nothing. Getting closer, I was starting to make out the figure. It was like a very rough-looking Mankey. The closer I got, the more this thing just didn't look right, I had my vines on standby just in case.

"Ace, Wait!" Sneasel shouted. I turned back to see her running towards me with her claws raised out at me.

"Did you just call me-" I was about to chastise Sneasel before my foot pressed down on the floor, and instant regret filled me because this texture was unlike the other floors: it felt like I just stood on a really smoothed-out bit of floor. The area I just stood on started to shine to a blinding level as Sneasel pressed her claw on my shoulder.

I was able to get a look at Vulpix's worried expression while she was running to my aid before my vision was completely engulfed in a blinding white.

End Chapter 21