Episode 12: Operation Rescue Shelly

“Shelly headed towards the Shadow Palace. It’s a replica of the Greenhouse Palace, gaining its name because it’s always enshrouded in darkness,” Kusha explained as they walked. She floated along beside the group. “I attempted to investigate the place once, but I didn’t get very far. I couldn’t find a way in.”

“Hopefully it stays that way and we find Shelly on the road or something,” Ruby grumbled. She kept her head down, though she was at the front of the group. Esther was the only one that had been left behind, secretly hidden in Elise’s room before they left.

“Up there. It’s just over that hill,” Kusha came to a stop and pointed.

The group looked up to get exactly what she meant by ‘replica’. From where they were now, a few miles deep into the fields behind the Greenhouse Palace, they had a view of the Shadow Palace. It looked exactly as the Greenhouse Palace did when they were the same distance away, only it barely stood out in the night.

Royal towers peeked over the hill, shaped just like the triangular towers of Shelly’s home. All of it was pitch black, save for the circular windows which were perfectly white. If not for the cloudless, starry sky as a backdrop, the palace would be invisible.

“This is your fault, you know,” Crystal said.

“How is it my fault?” Ruby retorted. “It’s not my fault Shelly’s a weak dumb idiot who wants to misinterpret what I say.”

“If it wasn’t for your stupid ‘strong man’ ideology, Shelly wouldn’t have thought to do this in the first place!” Crystal raised her voice. “We could’ve been dealing with whatever’s going on properly, together. Instead, all this is going on!”

“I didn’t tell Shelly to run off on his own to do one of the Shining Warrior trials. I never said doing something that stupid would make someone a man!” Ruby shouted.

“But you must’ve have said something that planted that implication in his head. Do you really not understand that?” Azu cut in. Ruby growled. “I’m serious, Ruby. This is a problem that pervades seemingly everywhere in our world.”

“If I’m understanding the situation correctly… you feel like Shelly isn’t very masculine because of his quiet behaviour, don’t you?” Lucca asked.

Ruby growled even louder. “That’s right? Ain’t it? It’s a thing.”

“From a young age, we’re taught a lot of harmful things by grownups who have suffered thanks to their own misguided upbringing,” Azu began. “We’re criticised for not fitting into stereotypes, and harmed if we’re not capable of often impossible expectations.”

“Don’t get all wordy, you know I don’t get it when you talk all nerdy,” Ruby complained.

“Rgh, can’t you just pay attention for once?” Crystal cried.

“Shelly isn’t any less of Shelly just ‘cos the lad’s not strong or loud. That’s why he’s got me,” Elise stated. Ruby turned to her with a sceptical look. “We have this whole thing going on. I’m the sword of the couple, while he’s the shield. I’m plenty loud for him!”

“But how does that make him a hero? We’re supposed to save the world, right?” Ruby questioned.

“A better question is, why wouldn’t his abilities make him a hero?” Lucca asked. Ruby raised an eyebrow. “What’s a hero in your definition?”

“Eh y’know, do I really gotta explain that? Someone who’s strong, can stand up for themselves and other Pokémon. They have no trouble beating up the bad guys,” Ruby replied. “Heroes are smart, strong, they can do lots of cool skills, they never make mistakes… If they’re boys, they’re super mature and wise, and they always know what to say. Y’know, we can always count on ‘em.”

“Ah, so not me,” Lucca stated.

“… Huh?” Ruby slowed down. “You’re totally a hero.”

“By your definition, hardly. I hate saying this about myself, but just by look alone, am I really ‘manly’?” Lucca clarified, standing on his tail. His ruffles swayed in the light wind, and he had to hold them down like a skirt. Ruby turned away to hide a blush.

“You… kinda are, in my eyes,” she mumbled. Now is not the time to be pretty, Lucca.

“I’ve been learning all about Heroica since I came here. Did you forget I didn’t even know how shops worked before I met you guys?” Lucca chuckled. Ruby choked on her own breath.

“Yeah. I wouldn’t forget,” Crystal said, half-lidded. “So you definitely don’t fit the ‘smart’ part.”

“Wait, you don’t know how shops work?” Brine commented.

“And that whole strength thing, too? Yeah see my Father really wanted me to learn to fight with one sword. I couldn’t get that at all though, and it was stopping me from fighting altogether. I was terrible in battle; Mimia can vouch for that!” Lucca continued, glancing at his friend. Mimia barked and snickered in agreement. “But when I learnt how to dance? And use two, way lighter swords? I got strong in my own way. I got good at sword dancing, and that led to where I am now. Physically speaking, I’m not strong at all. My power to fight comes from the momentum I put behind all my movements.”

“B-but Shelly’s not good at any kinda fighting. What’s your point?” Ruby asked.

“You trained with him, right? He’s not good at your kind of fighting,” Azu answered. Ruby went quiet. “Fate decides the Shining Warriors. He has to have been good at something to be chosen but fighting the way you like isn’t it.”

“Like I said, it’s being a shield!” Elise cried. “Shelly’s really smart and handy with tools and technology and stuff. He’s the only one who can use the Treasure Orb.”

“That weird orb that he pulls random items out of?” Ruby asked.

“Yeah, that thing! He’s the only one who figured out how to get it to work. He helps all the scientists build orbs and stuff, too,” Elise explained. “You should see him when we do knight training. I’m always getting banged up and torn, and he fixes me right up. You’d never guess, lookin’ at me now!”

“Tsk, why didn’t he ever—” Ruby hissed but cut herself off.

“There’s more of those lines you didn’t read between, either,” Azu continued. “Elise, you and Shelly grew up here, right? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I don’t mind. The Shining Warriors can ask me anything,” Elise bowed. “Yes. Me and Shelly grew up right here on Van Aken. The day we were allowed to leave the palace was the day we discovered the lad was a Shining Warrior. Until then, we learned all sorts of stuff in the palace.”

“You’d never even left?” Crystal gasped. “Then how did we meet him at Beau Falls?”

“When Mama found out he was a Shining Warrior, she stopped us from leaving the palace again. But Kusha and a few of the guards didn’t get it, because the Shining Warriors are here to save the world, right? Mama shouldn’t stop us from doing that, so Kusha helped him escape,” Elise explained. “I was meant to come too, but it was too hard to get me. Now that he’s here though, Shelly promised me we’d all travel together!”

“That’s a big promise,” Ruby grumbled.

“That answers a lot of questions, though,” Lucca nodded. “Shelly was the only boy, a water type Pokémon growing up in a kingdom of grass type women. It’s only natural he wouldn’t develop the traits you typically find in male Pokémon elsewhere.”

“Add science into the mix, it explains why he’s so short and underdeveloped. He grew up outside of his intended environment,” Azu explained. “Everything we’ve been through has been his first experience with the outside world. That honestly makes me feel pretty bad about how rough it’s been.”

“And then you go about telling him everything he’s ever known is wrong and not what a boy should act like,” Crystal stated. That made Ruby gawk and growl. “He’s probably so lost and confused right now. He’s forcing himself to do something neither of you really understood.”

“Ugh, enough already, I get it!” Ruby roared. “Let’s stop wasting time and go rescue the dumb kid already.”

The group came to a stop, besides Elise and Ruby. Crystal sighed loud enough to get them to stop, and Ruby growled at her again. “What?”

“You really don’t get it at all, do you?” Crystal groaned.

“What the hell does it all matter? If that kid dies then everything was for nothing. The longer we mess around chatting like this, the more time there is for that to happen. So let’s stop wasting time and go already!” Ruby stomped her feet.

“Oh Ruby,” Crystal sighed.

“I don’t agree with the tone, but she does have a point. Our priority should be recovering Shelly,” Brine stated, resuming their walk.

“Well aren’t you just full of empathy,” Crystal muttered. Azu gave her a tap.

“There’s no point in inciting arguments. Let’s focus,” Azu added. Crystal sighed.

“When we rescue Shelly, assuming he needs rescuing, then we can all sit down and talk about this. That’s what I’m getting at,” Brine explained.

“If we even can! We still gotta deal with that stupid queen!” Ruby snapped.

“Mama?” Elise asked.

“Ack! Yeah, uh, right. Your mother. We’ve gotta convince her to let you guys leave and stuff,” Ruby said.

“One thing at a time. Shelly first,” Brine stated. Ruby gurgled a complaint but gave in after that.

I swear to the gods, when we find you I’m gonna give you such a piece of my mind, she promised herself.

When they reached the palace, differences started to make themselves known. This palace had a moat with a drawbridge wide enough that a couple of Snorlax could fit through. Ruby couldn’t help but halt, however. She couldn’t see beyond a few inches of inside the place. The moment she got close, the world around seemed to halt with her. The river below was motionless. The wind stopped. Her fur crawled as a chill seeped down to her bones.

“Strange how there’s an entrance this time. It’s impossible to miss, yet I’m certain this was not here before,” Kusha stated. “Do we have ways of lighting the place up?”

“This came in handy after all,” Lucca said as he pulled the Anima Flower from their belongings. Ruby flared her back, too. The combined lighting didn’t go very far, but it was better than complete darkness.

“U-um… it’s so dark. W-would Shelly really come here?” Elise asked.

“You don’t have to come with if you don’t want to,” Ruby replied, and wandered in.

“Wha? It’s just… h-how did Shelly get through?” Elise cried, sticking an arm out. Ruby was drawn to the leaf on her bracelet, which had turned blue since learning Shelly ran away. Right now, she could have sworn the leaf was a darker shade of blue, however. “And, well, y’know, I’m a grass type and all…”

“Would you like me to wait here with you?” Kusha asked with a smile. “This is a Shining Warrior trial site, after all. I don’t believe we’re supposed to be here. That may be why I was kept out originally.”

“Tsk. You’re both dumb cowards,” Ruby turned away.

“Ruby? What’s gotten into you?” Crystal objected.

“I’m just telling it how it is. You called yourself your husband’s sword, but you won’t run into a place like this to save his ass?” Ruby clarified, glaring at a shocked Elise. “And you wanted him to take you on this journey to begin with?”

“I didn’t know we’d have to go somewhere so dark and scary!” Elise cried.

“And this is only the tip of that iceberg. Whatever. Get yourself together or stay here like a coward,” Ruby turned to walk off. The whole group was shocked.

“Clearly, Ruby is very worried about Shelly,” Brine shrugged.

“Don’t start sayin’ stupid stuff like that! If it is my fault he could get himself killed, then I’m gonna correct it. That’s all,” Ruby pouted and pointed at the Pikachu.

“Alright, I’ll go. No, you’re right lass. I can’t be scared. Just, gimme a sec,” Elise gasped. She cast another Sunny Orb up, surrounding herself in another beam of light. “I’ll fall asleep if this runs out, so let’s hurry.”

“That’s more like it,” Ruby smirked. Crystal dragged a flipper down her face and followed.

Contrary to her speech, Ruby walked slower than ever. It was difficult to see where she could go. The walls of the Shadow Palace weren’t transparent, nor were they very wide, either. The floor was cold, the walls were cold, and a chill in the air kept her shivering, even though she kept her back flared for light. This was going to be a long mission.

“Stop,” Azu hissed after a minute, and the group paused. Her ears were raised high, and she turned to Elise. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Huh?” she replied. Her legs were knocking together.

“It is really cold in here for some reason,” Brine admitted. “If your flames aren’t helping, then I’m not sure what would.”

“But that’s not it. I hear whimpering,” Azu said quietly.

“Well, it’s not me,” Elise shook her head.

“Shelly,” Crystal whispered in concern.

“If you can hear him, that helps. Elise gives off the most light, too. Would you two lead the way?” Lucca suggested.

“Is my light not good enough?” Ruby asked.

“Oh, it is, don’t stop. Just you know, actually walk with us so someone besides only you can use it?” Crystal replied.

Ruby groaned as she obeyed. “Y’know, you’re being kinda a jerk right now. Maybe you guys could walk faster? I’m not even going fast!”

“We’re the jerks? After what you did?” Crystal squeaked.

“Girls! There’s no point arguing right now,” Azu snapped at them.

“Um, this way. I think the layout is the same as home,” Elise pointed out as she walked ahead.

The group slithered behind her as she led the way. There were a few mutterings here and there between Elise and Azu, usually when they reached the end of a corridor where the path split. There were no doors, and empty candle lamps lined the walls.

Strangely, Ruby couldn’t tell what colour these walls were, or that they were even walls at all. Between her fire, the Anima Flower, and Elise’s Sunny Orb, the group had a light source that only enabled them to see a couple metres around them. Everything else was completely black. When they reached a wall, the only thing that implied it was a wall was the way the light shone on the corners where the wall met the floor. It was as if they were walking through an optical illusion.

Despite this, Elise picked paths quickly, shuffling along as if to keep the noise of her footsteps to a minimum. The further they went, the deeper the chill became, so much that even Ruby found herself shivering and sniffling. It didn’t feel cold, so it must have been part of the illusion.

“U-um, girls?” Crystal stopped everyone after a while. “Can you shine your light here, please?”

“What’s up?” Lucca asked, holding the Anima Flower to it. There was another wall here beside them, and soon after he shone light on it, the wall began to light up, too.

“I thought I saw something. Look, these markings are the same as the Fossil Hill temple!” Crystal bounced excitedly.

As she revealed that, candles around them lit up with blue flames, while the light from the markings began to spread across the ceiling and floor. Before they knew it, the darkness was replaced by a blue hue that resembled being underwater.

“Wait a minute—” Ruby gasped and covered her mouth. I didn’t think we’d be underwater!

“Ruby?” Lucca cocked his head. Bubbles came out of his mouth as he spoke, surprising him. Mimia barked however, and his voice wasn’t hindered in the slightest. “Wow, it’s like we’re in the sea again.”

“But there’s magical blue flames,” Azu remarked, slowly twirling around to admire it all.

“Is this what Shining Warrior trials are like? It’s so beautiful and cool,” Elise added, entranced by it.

“Is everyone breathing alright?” Kusha asked.

“It is strange to look at,” Brine remarked, paws held loosely over her mouth. “It’s as cold as the sea, there’s the bubbles, but I’m as dry as before. We’re not underwater at all.”

“You hear that, Ruby? You can breathe,” Crystal pointed out.

Ruby was still holding her breath. Bubbles even seeped from her nose and lips, really driving the impression she was underwater. Seeing everyone else was fine, she opened her mouth for a second to test it. Water didn’t rush into her, so she dared to breathe through her nose. Everything was fine. Mimia barked at her and gave her a happy wave, too.

“Well we can see now, so let’s go?” Lucca said.

“Okay but where?” Azu replied.

The group all looked around again, realising they were deep in a labyrinth more complex than the Fossil Hill temple. Now that they could see the hallways and walls, they spotted countless paths leading every which way. Right now, there were at a four-way intersection, but each path only led to splits with even more paths.

Even worse, the transparent glass walls from the Greenhouse Palace became a thing, so they could see all the paths they couldn’t reach. Hallways above and below them, crisscrossing at angles so varied they might not have even been attached to the palace. All the mysterious vegetation in between the walls helped to keep the optical illusion as irritating to stare at, too.

Mimia barking snapped everyone into focus. He was being approached by a trio of Wishiwashi who were crying at him like sirens. The group reflexively drew their weapons but didn’t attack.

“Wait a minute, what’re they trying to do? See who can make the most noise?” Ruby complained.

“Shh! He’s talking to them,” Lucca hissed. A round of feral dialogue was exchanged, although it really didn’t sound like talking. Neither Mimia nor the Wishiwashi stopped making noises once. A minute later, Mimia whined and shuffled back.

“What’s up?” Lucca asked. Mimia replied to him with whines and sad sounds. “He says they’re just reciting strange words. It’s all incomprehensible.”

“Well what exactly are they saying? Maybe we can figure something out?” Azu asked.

“Do not. Anger. The pawns,” Mimia recited. Eyebrows were immediately raised.

“The pawns? What pawns?” Brine replied.

“Eyes open. Here they come!” Kusha warned as she threw herself into a spin. Her axe tore through the trio of Wishiwashi, silencing them. She landed to find her attack had missed them completely, but the trio were split up and fled. “Oh, er…”

“That explains how Shelly got this far. The ferals here are weaklings,” Ruby remarked.

“Hey, I’ll take it. We really should move before they come back, though,” Lucca commented as everyone sheathed their weapons. The others nodded. “Can you still hear anything? It’s up to you to lead the way.”

“Huh? Oh no, the sound’s gotten too awkward to hear. This weird magic water’s in the way,” Azu complained, rubbing her face.

“We’re on our own, then,” Brine sighed.

Lucca led the way this time. He was able to take advantage of the water effect and swim through the air, making him quicker than ever. For Ruby however, she was drawn to how natural it looked for him. It was a bad time to think about this, but a positive thought in a train of negative ones: Lucca was truly beautiful.

The way his whole body swayed side to side, with the light shimmering off his ruffles and fur, it wasn’t like any other Pokémon she knew. She could picture his expertise at dancing, pulling off those cool moves he does in battle with natural athleticism she wishes she had. Despite his appetite, he maintained a sleek figure that paired well with a slightly pudgy face she could only describe as truly cute. No matter how she looked at him, he was perfect to her.

No, Ruby. The wanted poster, she recalled. Not the horrible drawing, but the text on it. He’s a grownup, nearly ten years older than me. I couldn’t do anything even if I wanted to. And now this stuff with Shelly?

Ruby shivered hard and almost pinched herself. I dunno jack crap about relationships! What the hell am I supposed to say or do? How do I talk about this? WHO do I even talk to? I just shouldn’t think about this stuff anymore. Who am I kidding myself, thinkin’ anyone could like me, anyway?

“They’re here again!” Elise squeaked.

This time there were two formations of Wishiwashi, and each one had a group of four. Mimia rushed forward and barked at them again, so the group held back to let him talk. The result was the same, and he soon shuffled back with a sad whine.

“Nothing new?” Lucca asked. Mimia made more noises. “They’re talking about missing friends.”

“Oh, so our story. Sorry, but we’re not leaving until we find our missing friend,” Crystal stated, pointing at them.

Crystal squealed as the Wishiwashi came charging at her in their groups, each one in a formation that made them shaped like sharp spikes. Lucca was first to swim over and slashed one group with one sword before spinning to slice them with the other. The group separated, and the individual Wishiwashi fled again. Kusha defeated the other group with a similar action. She took their tackle to her belly first, and then swung her axe through their ranks. In a flash, the group were alone again.

“Uh… thank you,” Crystal huffed, surprised at how easily she was saved.

“Can I ask? How’re you doing that?” Lucca asked, turning to Kusha.

“Doing what?” the Wigglytuff replied.

“Wigglytuff aren’t a bulked-up species, yet you’re swinging that axe around like it’s a feather. It looks heavy even for me, and I’m quite strong, if I may say so,” Azu clarified.

“Is Kusha not meant to be that strong?” Elise cocked her head.

“Well, she’s strong enough that I don’t need to do anything. No complaints from me,” Brine giggled, tucking her paws behind her head.

“I don’t really like talking about it… it’s thanks to premature evolution,” Kusha answered.

“Oh,” Azu replied, her excitement gone.

“Premature evolution?” Ruby asked.

“Pokémon like me evolve through exposure to certain stones, you know that, yes? If we are made to evolve from an exceptionally young age, it can cause some rather… incorrect mutations in the evolution process,” Kusha explained. “In my case, my power is bolstered to unnatural levels. I’m considerably stronger than a Wigglytuff should be, but it comes at the cost of me not being able to control that strength.”

“Oh yeah? How much stronger?” Ruby asked with a cocky smirk.

“Over one hundred times,” Kusha stated. Ruby choked. “My parents did it hoping I would survive. Then they abandoned me because they didn’t know how to handle me.”

“The Sound War?” Azu commented.

“Good. I don’t need to explain any more,” Kusha said.

“Why would a Pokémon do that? That sounds so mean!” Elise asked. “Did your Mama really leave you just because you got super strong?”

Kusha turned away and shut her eyes. “If you do end up on this journey Elise, then you are going to learn a lot about the outside world. I’m sure you’ve heard before that Heroica is a dangerous place.”

“That’s why Mama made me and Shelly do knight training before we got to leave, right? I know how to fight feral Pokémon in the fields. How much worse can it be?” Elise asked. She sounded more and more disheartened by the second. “Mama wouldn’t leave me if I got super strong, would she?”

“Pokémon haven’t had Bestia energy for the last few decades now. The result is civil unrest and Pokémon needing to find new ways to maintain their strength in order to survive,” Azu explained. “A species line like Wigglytuff doesn’t have high physical strength, or a body that’s convenient for using weapons, don’t you think? So they’re completely vulnerable to predators. When you think about it, something as distasteful as mutation through premature evolution doesn’t seem that surprising.”

“And that sound wars, thing?” Lucca asked.

“Sound-based Pokémon moves like Sing and Hyper Voice do not require Bestia to work at all,” Azu stated. This time the whole group stopped.

“Wait, they don’t?” Ruby was first to gasp. Lucca was so shocked his mouth hung open.

“I… thought that was common knowledge. Pokémon that rely on those moves had to go into hiding because while they were too weak to use weaponry, their advantage made them sought after. Seriously, it was a huge civil war,” Azu explained. “This happened when Bestia shortages became a thing, so we’re talking centuries ago, maybe longer. Around the same time that the Undine vanished into the sea, in fact.”

“Does that mean Pokémon like Wigglytuff are rare to see? Or anyone who knows moves like Sing and Hyper Voice?” Lucca asked. He had a flipper by his chin.

“Now you know how special it is to have me as your retainer,” Kusha giggled. “Survivor of war and a mutation. I feel like I’m rarer than a shiny.”

“That’s so sad, though. You’re just like me,” Elise said. “I didn’t know it was so dangerous outside that everyone had to hide from each other.”

She actually has a point there. Shelly wasn’t allowed to leave the palace, Suzie never wanted me and Crystal to leave the village, Azu lived in the middle of nowhere, and Brine’s that half-Undine thingy… What’s the difference? How many Pokémon out there are being hidden from each other? If we all tried to live together without Bestia, would we all just fight like ferals? Ruby realised and hung her head. How did taking away Pokémon powers do this to everyone?

“If I may? We don’t have all night,” Brine spoke up, arms folded.

“Ah, she’s right. But where do we go from here? I’ve sort of been leading randomly,” Lucca came to a stop.

Mimia leapt forward and started barking again, and more Wishiwashi promptly appeared. They swam through the walls, floor and ceiling to gather into formations. Four groups appeared this time, and each one was shaped like a Pokémon.

“More of them? What’s up this time?” Crystal cried, hiding behind the group. Once again, Mimia exchanged a round of feral words, and then turned to the group with a confused look. “Well?”

“They said it’s time for punishment, or something. Gather the Queen in the core,” Lucca translated, just as confused.

“So much for being lazy. It looks like the longer we take, the more of these things show up,” Brine commented as she stepped forward.

The Wishiwashi gathered to look like Sentret. Their shape was that of the normal type Pokémon, but their forms wobbled with the jittery movements of the individual fish. There must have been dozens gathered into each spot, as it was irritating to stare at. These Sentret’s eyes glowed bright blue, as that was where the Wishiwashi eyes were most gathered.

Otherwise, it was like facing ordinary Sentret. They bounced on their tails to make themselves tall and surrounded the group, who stood back-to-back with their weapons ready. Crystal and Elise were kept in the centre, although the latter was eager to fight.

“If they’re going to keep coming, then we need to figure this out, and now,” Lucca stated, watching the enemies intently. One Sentret launched itself at him, but he knocked it back with his sword.

“There is something I noticed,” Elise said.

“Don’t hold back. What’s up?” Brine replied. Another Sentret flew at her, but she stopped it with a thrust of her palm. A wall of water formed in front of it, and the Sentret bounced right off. “Okay, good. My moves still work.”

“This place still looks exactly like the Greenhouse Palace. The most important thing’s gotta be in the throne room, aye? I think I can lead us there,” the Steenee explained.

“You managed to figure that out even with all the other crap around?” Ruby replied. She blocked an attack with her Parashelter, and then quickly spat fire at it, making the fish disperse. “Oh wow, my fire still works, too!”

“At this point, we’ve got to try something. Elise, on the next attack, charge through,” Lucca instructed.

“Got it!” Elise nodded and bent her knees to be ready to sprint.

During their short conversation, more groups of Wishiwashi appeared from all angles. They gathered to take the forms of small Pokémon like Sentret and Zigzagoon, and each group cried in perfect sync, too. Soon, the team were surrounded by these fishy fakes, their thoughts drowned out by siren-like wails.

There’s so many of ‘em, and they’re not even strong. This is so annoying! Ruby realised, taking down what must have been her fifth enemy with a swing of her umbrella. “Forget waitin’ for a path, I’ll make one!”

“Ruby, be careful!” Lucca cried.

She ignored him, inhaling deeply. Elise seemed to catch on to her plan and pointed to the left, so she let her flames loose to the left. Ruby’s fire tore through the Wishiwashi, splitting their groups with ease until there was a clear line through the surrounding enemies.

“Now!” Azu shouted, scooping up Ruby. Everyone sprinted right through, while Kusha and Lucca kept to the sides of the group to stop other Wishiwashi from closing in.

“What’s going on? They’re everywhere,” Brine complained. Not long after they started sprinting, they were almost stopped by more groups of Wishiwashi appearing through the walls and floor. A quick blast of water or fire took care of them, but they showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

“Don’t complain, just keep up with her,” Lucca shouted.

It was more frantic than Ruby anticipated. Azu put her down to sprint beside them, and there wasn’t more than a couple of seconds to focus on just running. She shot fire to the left, ran, and immediately had to shoot more to the top right. She almost tripped up as more enemies came from the floor in front of her, and she bashed through them with the Parashelter.

This was all the while the others had to do similar. Kusha kept herself inflated to fend off the Wishiwashi’s attacks, and swung her axe around to keep moving and defeat them. Lucca danced through the air with grace, slashing at every fish he saw with all his might. Even Azu kept close by, using her staff and tail to hit any that came near.

Just as Ruby felt her breath run short, she found herself on a staircase and had to stop for a moment. Elise was leading them down a long hallway with descending steps every now and then. “Why’re we going down?”

“I-I don’t know. I promise. In the real palace, these stairs go up,” Elise shook her head, confused as well. She squeaked as a blast went off, but it was only Brine attacking more fish.

“It clearly leads to something, so let’s do this,” the Pikachu replied. Elise nodded and ran ahead.

A large set of double doors sat at the end, and the walls surrounding those doors were solid unlike the walls of the Shadow palace. Nobody thought twice, they barged through and skidded to a stop once they were inside. Everyone instinctively stood back-to-back to get a proper look around the new room while they caught their breath.

Now this was familiar ground. The floor was perfectly flat and tiled, with the lines between the tiles illuminated with blue light. This room had the strange water effect in it as well, but the surrounding walls and ceiling were all pitch black. It almost looked like there were no walls at all, even though that made no sense. It certainly felt that way too, with cold wind ruffling their fur. The water flowed like a current with said wind, but it couldn’t be heard.

“Shelly!” Crystal was the first to cry out. He was in the centre of the room and spun around at her call. He looked terrified however, and then calmed a bit when he realised who it was. His leaf turned green, too.

“Thank goodness. We actually found him,” Azu sighed in relief.

“It is… it really is you!” Elise sighed as well, and then put her hands on her hips. “Alright mister, start talking. What’s the big idea, running off on your own? You had me so worried!”

“Miss Elise,” Kusha muttered as the Steenee marched off to the centre of the room.

“Don’t you try and stop me, Kusha. This is a husband-and-wife emergency!” Elise pouted at her. Shelly hid his face in embarrassment.

“This girl really doesn’t get it,” Ruby shook her head as the group walked after her.

At that moment, she noticed the lights on the floor were different to what she remembered. It wasn’t the lights between the tiles, but several glowing spots that flowed below them. The little dots swayed side to side as they began to gather by the centre of the room, right below Shelly and Elise.

“Wait, those are- Shelly, look out below!” Ruby gasped.

To her surprise, her shout only made Shelly flinch and gasp at her, and then stare at the floor. He had more than enough time to react as the lights gathered and took form as whatever they were meant to be. A dark silhouette formed below the couple, taking up more than half the room, and yet he and Elise merely exchanged glances. Colour washed from their faces, and they both went silent.

No! Why did I hesitate? Ruby cursed herself and lunged forward. She felt the others beside her move as well, but all of them were clearly too far away to help.

All of them, besides Crystal.

The Piplup had run over the moment Ruby called out, and dove through Shelly and Elise just as the Wishiwashi below them took form. A second later, she was in the maw of an enormous monster as it emerged from below, while Shelly and Elise lay in a heap beside it.

They were hairs from being eaten as the monster rose from below. A monster that resembled an amalgamation of fish. It had three tailfins, each one larger than Kusha. Its body was ovoid and the darkest shades of blue possible, illuminated by the floor lights. A ring of glowing blue eyes ran around the centre of its body, while eerie blue flames made up its actual eyes.

“C-Crystal?” Ruby whispered and shivered. The monster made a gesture to gulp, and then angled itself to stare down at the group. If she was ever to be scared of monsters in the dark, then this was why.

“Did… did she just?” Elise gasped. She glanced at Shelly, then the monster, and then the leaf on her bracelet glowed so dark a navy blue it was as if it was on fire. She screamed so loud everyone’s ears rung.

Ruby had never seen anything like it. She knew to challenge the Steenee, but she never imagined they would freak out like this. Elise had turned white, latched to Shelly like a Shellder to a Slowpoke, and wouldn’t stop scrambling to get away. All the time she screamed panicked lines like a helpless child. Ruby felt remorse for her earlier comments.

On the contrary, Shelly was shouting back at her for keeping him off-balance. He was angry, fierce, almost warrior-like, with the leaf on his headband a fiery red. His attention was on the giant fish, and at some point, he had taken off his scalchop and readied his Treasure Orb. He was still helpless and his voice had a frightened tone, but his body said otherwise. She had never seen him like this.

“That didn’t just happen, did it? Please tell me that didn’t just happen,” Lucca shouted as he appeared beside Ruby, both swords pointed forward. “Spit her out you freak!”

The monster growled at the group, its low tone causing the entire room to rumble. It merely glared at them, as if using its size to try and intimidate them. It was certainly working – Ruby didn’t know where to begin with attacking this thing. It was so dark, its body was so big and gross, and the way it constantly rippled made her fur crawl irritably. She wanted to turn away, to scream and run just like Elise, hide her face, anything to stop staring.

I can’t. If you’ve hurt Crystal, I’ll kill every last one of you, she told herself, flaring her back.