Chapter 15 – Foggy Memories of a Foggy Lake
by acti_nerdington“Humans, huh?” Xero asks, the four gathered around together inside one of the tents the guildmaster had set up at the base camp, all comfy and cozy, away from the shivering cold of the morning.
Lexxi nods her head in response. “Mmhm. We found a tape in one of the rooms, it showed some kind of announcement for the building we were stuck in, built by humans to house their kids and their Pokemon.”
“Okay, but wait though.” Zorora interrupts, brows furrowed with skepticism. “Humans building that thing, sure, I’ve heard they do a lot of wild stuff. But there’s absolutely no way they’re capable of doing what we saw in there. That place was freaking alive. The drawings on the walls were coming after us, the layout of the place was changing, felt more like a prison than any sort of happy resort like it made itself out to be.”
Rickety hums to himself, paw tapping on the ground as he stares down, racking his mind trying to think of an explanation. “The last time we got sucked into one of these places, it was completely empty aside from those faceless Pokemon. We didn’t run into any changes like we did this time, but it still felt off, wrong. Maybe there’s some sort of connection between everything…”
Zorora scoffs softly, chuckling to herself. “That’s a mystery you and Lexxi can handle for yourselves. If either of you decide to start jumping into those things willingly, you can count me out of it. Dying to some weird, creepy Pikachu drawing isn’t exactly on my bucket list.”
“And that’s assuming we don’t run into something like this again.” Xero says. “As… Strangely fascinating as this was, I wouldn’t exactly want to relive it either.”
Rickety chuckles softly, giving a playful smirk. “You guys make it sound like we enjoy getting stuck in these situations. Nah, we don’t plan on venturing into more rifts any time soon.”
“If we can help it, anyway.” Lexxi adds with a nervous, sheepish smile.
“Howdy, folks! Sorry to have kept y’all waiting!” Commotion could be heard beginning to stir outside the tent, the group going quiet as Xero peeks outside. Seems Bungie and the rest of his team had finally arrived to the base camp.
“You’re all late!” Chatot squawks, his wings flapping frantically. “Everyone else arrived a long time ago! We were starting to get worried!”
“Oop- Sorry, sorry! Our mistake!”
“Well, it’s not exactly our fault that somebody kept slowing us down, hey hey…”
“The amount of hangups in the underground made traversing difficult for us.”
Xero muffles a quiet chuckle to herself. “The final guests of honor have arrived, which means the expedition is probably going to start soon.” She glances back at the rest of the group with a smile. “Let’s meet up with everyone else, shall we?”
The surrounding area, much to nobody’s surprise, was very densely foggy. Coupled with the early morning sun just barely managing to shine through all the misty fog, it brought forth a rather ethereal feeling as everyone gathered at the center of the base camp, Chatot taking his place in front of them with Wigglytuff standing off to the side.
“Now then! It seems that everyone has finally made it to the base camp safe and sound. We just have a few more things left to go over before we can finally begin the exploration of Fogbound Lake.” He ruffles his feathers, beak curling up into a smile as he gestures to the woods around them. “I’m sure you all remember what we mentioned back at the guild, rumor goes that somewhere within this forest, Fogbound Lake is supposedly concealed. But right now, that’s just it, a rumor! Many times, exploration teams have come out in search of it, but all have yielded no results.”
“…Y’know I didn’t realize until now how freaking weird what we’re doing is.” Zorora speaks up. “Why the heck are we trying to find a place that might not even exist in the first place? If it’s really as hidden as everyone else says, and nobody’s found it, what makes us any different?”
“Of all the people to be the party pooper, did it really have to be you, Zorora?” Xero chimes in, arms placed behind her back as she glances up at her partner.
“I’m just saying!”
Chimeco leans forward a bit, glancing back at the group. “Errm… May I have just a moment?” The rest of the group all turn to face her, curiously. “While we were traveling, we picked up on another rumor about Fogbound Lake, a legend, so to speak.”
“Oh?” Chatot tilts his head quizzically, nodding. “Do continue.”
Chimeco nods and smiles, clearing her throat a bit. “According to the legend, there’s a Pokemon that resides here at the lake. A Pokemon named Uxie that treats the lake as their home. And apparently, the legend goes that should anyone venture into Fogbound Lake, Uxie would lock eyes with them and wipe their memories completely clean.”
This immediately captures the attention of Lexxi, who feels her heart skip a beat in her chest as her eyes go wide. There’s no way, is there? If she were to have come here in the past and encountered Uxie? But that would make no sense. But at the same time…
Chimeco continues to speak. “And that got us wondering. Perhaps that Fogbound Lake does exist after all, but Uxie prevents anyone from sharing its existence, to protect it and whatever it might hold…”
“It’s a pretty hair-raisin’ tale, ain’t it?” Bungie chimes in. “Couldn’t stop thinkin’ ’bout it the whole way to the camp!”
“THAT doesn’t sound good!” Loudred speaks up, plainly, clearly, and of course, loudly. “What will I do if MY memory is wiped?”
“I don’t think you have that much to worry about, anyway…” Sunflora mumbles quietly to herself.
Chatot’s eyes glance back and forth over the group, clearing his throat. “While such a tale does seem a touch concerning, places such as Fogbound Lake often have such wild stories and legends associated with them. Our guild has conquered far more daring feats in the past, and the guildmaster and I believe this will be no exception either.~”
“That’s correct!” Wigglytuff finally chimes in after being silent for the whole meeting, waddling forward with a big smile on his face. “We’ll be perfectly fine!~ So let’s all do our very best and try our hardest!~”
Chatot simply smiles and nods along with the guildmaster, turning his focus back to the group. “With all that out of the way, let’s get on with our plan.~ The guildmaster and I will stay here at the base to gather intelligence from our teams in the field. You will all go off into the forest in teams and begin your search-“
Zorora immediately bolts off, dragging Xero in tow with her, waving back at the group as they run off into the fog, a flat, rather unamused expression on Xero’s face. “We’re gonna find out first if it doesn’t exiiiiiiiiiist!~”
As the two fade into the fog, Chatot stares off into the distance, exchanges a rather weary glance with the still-smiling guildmaster and sighs as he turns back to face the group. “As I was saying… Visibility within the forest is restricted because of this fog, as the lake’s name would suggest, being the reason why it’s eluded discovery for so long. This may seem like a tall ask, but if at all possible, our second goal is to find a way to potentially lift this fog. Be sure to report back to the guildmaster and I if either is accomplished. Now, with all that said, let’s give it our best as always!~”
With all the final announcements out of the way, the group begins to go in separate ways, all chatting amongst each other as they start making their way into the forest. Rickety and Lexxi tail behind at the backend of the group, Lexxi’s brows furrowed, deep in thought. She glances up at Rickety, trying to catch up next to him. “Did you hear what Chimeco said, Rickety? About Uxie?”
He glances down at Lexxi, nodding a few times. “About the memory wiping thing? Yeah, I was thinking the same back there. It’s too much of a coincidence, isn’t it?”
“Yeah…” Lexxi gives an uneasy nod, eyes darting about the forest. “On top of that, I’m getting that same feeling of deja vu I felt in the funhouse. I swear I feel like I’ve been here before. What if… What if the reason I lost my memory was because of Uxie?”
“Hmm… It’s strange, though, if you think about it.” Rickety hums, slowing down to keep at pace with Lexxi. “How would you have wound up by the beach if you were all the way here? And why would Uxie turn you into a Pokemon?”
Lexxi’s mind scrambles around, trying to make any sort of connection, but the more she tries to make sense of it, the more any sort of logical reasoning falls apart. “I don’t know… But now we have to find Fogbound Lake and find out if it’s real. If I have been here before, if Uxie did wipe my memories.”
Rickety smiles confidently as he nods at Lexxi. “We’ll find it for sure! We’ll…” He drifts off as his attention is drawn to something else, something behind Lexxi. “Hang on. Lexxi, look.”
Tilting her head, Lexxi glances behind her. There seems to be some sort of faint, red glow coming from one of the bushes lining the forest pathway. Curious, she pokes her little stubs into it, grabbing ahold of something, something smooth, warm. With a grunt, she pulls it out of the shrubbery, holding a big, glowing red stone-like orb in her arms. “What in the…?”
Rickety kneels himself down, staring curiously at the orb. “Gosh, that looks pretty… I’ve never seen anything like it. What’s it doing all the way out here?”
As Lexxi holds the orb, she feels another strange sense of familiarity rise within her, another feeling of deja vu. Trying to think about it just makes her head hurt, so she just focuses on the orb itself to distract from those feelings. “It’s unusually warm, like it’s being heated from the inside.” She hands it off over to Rickety.
As Rickety holds the orb, he takes a closer look at it, trying to examine it closely as he presses it against the side of his face. It shakes it around a bit, as if to listen to anything inside. “Well, I don’t think it’s lava. Strange, though… I’ll hold onto it for now, might be worth bringing up to the guildmaster when we come back later.”
Lexxi nods, smiling softly. “Good idea. Come on, let’s get searching!”
Had it been hours? It certainly felt like it. Wandering aimlessly through a labyrinth of fog was starting to weigh Lexxi and Rickety down. Too many a time had they asked each other “didn’t we pass by that same rock just a few minutes ago?” and “that tree has the same marking on it, right?” among other things.
Soon enough, though, they’d manage to stumble upon something they hadn’t seen quite yet.
They were pulled in by the sound of rushing water, guided by the roaring noise coming in the direction of a path. At last, some progress!
It was a clearing, a welcome sight after the miles of forest they’d been trekking through. Dozens of waterfalls rained down from the fog-covered sky, all crashing down into ponds scattered throughout the clearing. At least, as far as they could see, anyway.
Rickety and Lexxi both gaze in awe at the sight before them, the ponds shrouded by the fog, the mysterious waterfalls crashing down from the sky, the lush, vibrant greenery that just barely manage to poke through the fog.
“I know we’re kinda lost, but… Man, this place is pretty.” Rickety says, chuckling softly to herself. “Like look at it, the way the fog hides everything but it just sliiiiiiiightly peaks through? Haunting, but kinda calming.”
“Beats being stuck in a funhouse, that’s for sure.” Lexxi remarks, slowly looking around. “Where are we, though? Is this the deepest part of the forest? It’s already hard enough figuring out where to go…”
That’s when a familiar voice in the distance catches their attention.
“Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyy! Hey hey!”
They’re able to make out the faintest outline of Corphish through the fog, both excitedly running over towards him. “Corphish! It’s so relieving to finally see someone else out here.” Rickety chuckles nervously.
“Could say the same to you!” Corphish’s claws pinch and clatter happily. “You two find anything regarding the lake yet?”
Lexxi shakes her head in response. “Nothing on our end, sadly. You?”
“Well… Sorta. Come here, take a look for yourselves.” He gestures for them to follow, his little crab legs quickly skittering through the grass. Through the fog, Corphish leads the two to a statue partially buried in the ground. A statue of a tall, lumbering Pokemon. Its body was made of armored plates with intricate patterns etched across them, massive spikes sticking out from the sides of its neck, body and tail. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Pokemon like this before, but-“
“I recognize this Pokemon!” Rickety suddenly and excitedly speaks up, quickly running over to the statue to examine it closer. “It’s Groudon! It was this big, scary Pokemon in the past, and legends say that it created land, which is why we have the continents! And in the past, it faced off against another Pokemon of its size named Kyogre! Who’s also said to have created the oceans! And- Heck, I’m rambling again- But it’s a statue of Groudon!”
Corphish blinks in surprise, glancing briefly at Lexxi, who just gives a playful smile. “Just let him have this.” She says quietly, giggling softly to herself.
Rickety’s eyes carefully sweep over the statue, looking it over top to bottom, until eventually, his gaze lands on a plate embedded into the side of the statue. “Hey, there’s an inscription on it! It’s written in footprint runes, though, so I’ll go ahead and read it.”
Reignite the life that burned within Groudon.
Then the sky shall blaze with the sun’s heat.
The path to treasure shall be revealed.
Rickety’s eyes light up upon reading that last line, turning to the group with an eager expression on his face. “Guys, this could be our break! I think we’ve found the big clue to finding Fogbound Lake!”
Corphish, still a little stunned and surprise, chuckles happily. “Hey hey! Well that’s a step in the right direction, at least! Now we’ve got to figure out what it all means, though.”
Rickety turns to the plate again, re-reading the footprint runes. “Reignite the life that burned within Groudon… What could that mean? That has to be some kinda hint, right? Something to do with the statue, maybe?”
Lexxi slowly steps forward, closer to the statue. Perhaps there was one way to figure out what the riddle means. She reaches out, placing her little stub against the statue, focusing deeply. Slowly but surely, she began to feel that same dizzy feeling she’s felt all those times before. Her vision goes white.
Nothing. She can’t see anything. It’s completely dark. But she can hear a voice. “That’s it! It’s here! It’s here!”
Wait, why is it fading so quickly?
She’s being pulled out.
Lexxi stumbles back, clutching at her head, already pounding despite the incredibly short vision. Or is it hearsion?
“Lexxi?” Rickety quickly hops over to her, kneeling down to her. “You get anything?”
Lexxi glances up at him, still holding her head. “I don’t know, I…” That dizziness is already coming back, vision blurring a bit. “Hold on, I’m…”
Her vision goes white once again.
Still pitch black, total darkness. She just hears voices, two voices. One’s a bit tinnier than the other, but that’s all she can discern from the voices.
“Place the Drought Stone in Groudon’s Heart, huh? That’s what you got from it?”
“I think so, yeah! That should lift the fog!”
“Heh. Great work. Now we can-“
It’s fading fast again. Forcefully ripped away.
“Lexxi?!”
“Urrrghh, I-I’m fine, I’m fine, mind’s just reeling from getting hit with this dizziness twice.” Lexxi groans, the Skitty shaking her head to clear her mind. “I have no idea what I just picked up on. I only heard voices, voices that were talking about… What were they talking about?” She mutters to herself, rubbing her head.
“Place the Drought Stone in Groudon’s heart, that lifts the fog… Wait a second-” Lexxi quickly stands up and turns to the statue, examining it closer. Upon further inspection, she notices a hollowed out indentation within Groudon’s chest, perfectly circular shaped. The pieces are starting to click together. “Rickety! Do you still have that stone we picked up?”
“The stone? Oh- Yeah, the stone!” Rickety sets the backpack down, hauling the glowing orb out of it.
“Uh- Hey hey! Where did you two find that?!” Corphish stammers, staring at the orb, confused.
“Just before we headed out, I think everyone missed it because they were in a hurry to explore.” Rickety explains, before turning back to Lexxi. “What now?”
Lexxi gestures to the hollow indent with her tail, pointing at it. “Try placing it here. I think this’ll clear the way to Fogbound Lake.”
Rickety glances down at the orb, then back at the indentation within the statue’s chest. Smiling to himself, he stands on the tips of his paws as he slowly, gently pushes the orb into the statue’s chest until it was nice and secure.
Nothing seems to happen, at least, not at first. The statue’s eyes suddenly begin to glow a bright red, and before any of them have the chance to properly react, the whole area begins to shake violently.
“Uhh- Everybody step back and get down!” Rickety shouts, the three quickly running away from the statue and ducking down to the ground, everything going completely white.
…
They’re not dead, that’s a plus at least.
Rickety slowly uncovers his paws from his head, carefully looking around. It’s a lot brighter than it was before. And hotter, too… “The fog is gone! We did it! We- Oooooohhhhh…” Rickety’s attention is drawn to the giant, towering structure in the sky, as is Lexxi and Corphish as they both get up from the ground.
Directly above them was a giant mass of land sticking out from the ground, dozens of waterfalls pouring down and raining down the ground below. There were a few trees and shrubbery at the very top from where they could see. “THAT’S what the fog was hiding?!” Lexxi exclaims in surprise, gazing in awe. “So that’s why Fogbound Lake was hidden for so long…”
“Hey hey! You’re saying it’s up there?” Corphish blinks a few times, having do a few double takes himself. “…Well! Certainly not the time to be gawking!” He chuckles, turning to the two of them. “I’ll head back to base camp and let everyone in the guild know! You two go on ahead! Be seeing you, hey hey!”
Lexxi and Rickety nod in approval, giving their goodbyes as Corphish begins to skitter on back to the camp. Rickety is practically bouncing with excitement as he begins to walk with Lexxi. “Gosh, I still can’t believe this! We’re actually going to discover Fogbound Lake! We might be the first ones to find it in years! Come on! Let’s go!”
Lexxi smiles, giggling to herself, tail swishing back and forth from Rickety’s clear excitement. But… Something’s not right. She senses something wrong. Her senses feel heightened, the noise of the surrounding area all fading out. She hears the sound of a twig snapping in the distance, something charging… Wait a minute. Oh. Oh no.
Without thinking, she quickly runs up to Rickety and tackles him down to the ground, the two of them just narrowly avoiding the blast of a shadow ball that whizzes right past them, falling into the pond with a large splash. Rickety’s eyes are wide, confused, glancing at Lexxi, at the pond. “What the-“
“Aww, and we thought we’d gotten the jump on ya, too.”
That voice.
Rickety and Lexxi glance behind them, and coming out from behind one of the many waterfalls, a familiar Skuntank, Zubat and Koffing. “Can’t the two of ya ever learn to just, stand still? That makes it easier to hit ya!” The Zubat hisses angrily, wings flapping violently.
“Team Skull?!” Both Lexxi and Ricikety exclaim, picking themselves back up off the ground.
“What are you doing here?! How did you even get here?!” Rickety shouts, paws immediately balling up into fists, on edge.
“What do you two think we’re doing here? We’re here for the treasure, obviously! Ho-ho!” The Koffing chuckles, his gas just adding its own smoggy fog to the area surrounding him.
“See, that little scuffle we had, back in Apple Woods? We tried tellin’ Wigglytuff ’bout that, get yous in trouble for pickin’ on such a nice, welcomin’ guest team.” Chief sneers, eyes narrowing and his brows furrowing. “But our choices of words were poor and he cut his deal with us. But ain’t no way that was gonna stop us from gettin’ back at all of yous.”
Lexxi blinks a few times, eyebrows furrowing as her tail begins to puff up, standing close to Rickety. “Do we need to remind you that you were the ones who lost the fight last time? We took you on the first, the second, and we can do it again.”
“Hmmph. That was two on two, we wasn’t at our full strength cus someone stood a little too close to the noxious gas combo.” Chief side-eyes the Zubat, who just shoots an annoyed glare back at him. “We ain’t messin’ around this time, you little twerps. We’re pullin’ out all the stops. All three of us against you two.”
“Ain’t no way you can take us all on at once, heh-heh.” The Zubat grins, flying a tad closer. “Y’see all these little ponds around here, yeah? They go deep, nice and deep. Plenty big, too, perfect home for a couple of brats, don’tcha think?”
Rickety’s body tenses up, his breaths getting a little shakier as he glances down at his necklace. If only he could get it to work now… But- That doesn’t matter, he and Lexxi can definitely take on all three of them at once, right? Two against three? That’s manageable, surely. “That supposed to scare us? If you wanna fight, come fight!”
Team Skull all smirk, getting right to strike. “Comin’ right at-!”
“Wait wait wait wait waaaaaaaaait for me!” A panicked voice shouts from the distance. Just as the two teams are about go at each other, a Perfect Apple comes rolling out from behind the waterfall, stopping between the two teams.
Team Void and Team Skull both stare at the perfect apple in confusion, stopping dead in their tracks, their gaze slowly turning towards the waterfall as a panicked Wigglytuff comes running over. “Perfect Apple! Perfect Apple!”
“Aw, crud…”
Team Void awkwardly takes a few steps back as Wigglytuff quickly snatches up his Perfect Apple, holding it closely and dearly to him. “Got you!~ You didn’t think you could get away from me, could you?~ No no no, I’m not letting you get away, nuh-uh!~” He says, nuzzling his apple affectionately, his eyes briefly glancing at the two. “Oh! Team Void! It’s nice to see you out here!~ How’s your-“
Wigglytuff’s expression drastically changes when he glances over to Team Skull, who are all staring, just as equally dumbfounded as Team Void is. “…What are ex-friends doing here? You weren’t trying to hurt Void friends, were you?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know, ya big pink- Ghrrk!” Zubat speaks up, but is promptly whacked by Chief’s tail, who’s shooting a glare at him.
Wigglytuff glances back at Team Void, smiling. “Hmmmm, you two shouldn’t be dawdling around, should you? You have an exploration to get to, after all!~”
“Huh?” Lexxi blinks, tilting her head to the side confusedly. “But-“
“Nuh-uh! No buts!~” Wigglytuff giggles softly. “You wouldn’t want to disobey your guildmaster, would you?~ Go on! Get exploring, friends!~”
Rickety, staring back, seems to understands what Wigglytuff is trying to convey. He nods a few times. “Right. Thank you, guildmaster.” He glances down at Lexxi, gesturing her to follow, before the two run off in search of Fogbound Lake.
“Good luck, friends!~” Wigglytuff chimes happily, waving goodbye to Team Void, before slowly turning back to Team Skull, still smiling. “Now then. Should ex-friends be told to leave? I sure think so!~”
Team Skull all stare at each other, exchanging awkward gazes with each other. “Uhh… Chief? The heck’re we s’posed to do? We can’t let those brats get to the treasure first!”
Chief furrows his brows, turning to Wigglytuff. It’s… Just Wigglytuff, only Wigglytuff. He slowly smirks, laughing to himself. “You just made our jobs easier! Three against one, this’ll be a piece of cake. You’re goin’ down, Wigglytuff.” And just like that, both Koffing and Chief unleash their noxious gas combo upon the guildmaster.
The entrance into the moountainside of Fogbound Lake was tall, imposing. Small crevices were puffing out steam, the surrounding air hot and humid. Lexxi and Rickety slow down as they approach the cave, with Lexxi letting out a quiet sigh. “Which dark, spooky cave number does this make? Five? Eight? I’ve lost track at this point.”
“Well, just look at it this way,” Rickety’s smiles, eyes looking up towards the lake above. “It’s another dark and spooky cave, yeah, but it’s one we’re finally exploring that nobody else has! At least- One that nobody might remember exploring if they managed to get here through the fog but, you know! We’re going into uncharted territory!” He chuckles softly. “Gosh, I’m getting excited just thinking about it.”
Lexxi muffles a giggle to herself, eyes roaming up the side of the mountain. There could be answers waiting here, all of them, everything she’s been wondering ever since she woke up on the beach. Only one way to find out, and that way is up.
“…Rickety, I just noticed something.”
“What’s that?”
The two made their way down another staircase, the surrounding area dark, aside from a few mysterious light occasionally sparkling off in the surrounding darkness. Lexxi glances back at the entrance to the staircase, head tilted in confusion. “If we’re going up the mountain, how come all the staircases go down?”
“Uhh…” Rickety blinks a few times, stopping in his tracks as his brows furrow in confusion. “Good question. We probably shouldn’t think about it too hard.”
The surrounding darkness disappears as the two reach the bottom of the stairway, another long, winding maze of humidity and rocks amongst the mystery dungeon. The two continue their way forward, but they hear… Something in the distance, echoing throughout the cave.
“GROOOOOOHHHH…!”
Rickety pauses as he peers around a corner, stewing on that for a moment as he glances back at Lexxi. “I didn’t imagine that, did I? You hear that too?”
Lexxi nods in response. “I guess if explorer’s instinct is anything to go by, the horrifyingly angry roar is a sign we’re close to the end of the dungeon?”
Rickety gives a nervous chuckle and a nod. “Yeah, see? Now you’re starting to get it. If there’s obvious signs of danger and a looming sense of dread, then that means you have to keep going, because you’re almost the-“
The dungeon seems to warp in a strange way. The colors all distort, the surroundings become blurry and mushy together. Within the span of a few seconds, the dungeon changes into something that doesn’t resemble a dungeon. It has the same exact layout, but everything else has completely changed. The walls are lined with tall metal lockers, the floor tiled, the color of the walls a smooth, flat white.
Rickety and Lexxi’s eyes widen at the sight of this, Rickety gasping and backing into one of the lockers, making a metallic clanging noise, his breathing quickening. “Wait wait wait no no no no- The heck is happening?! We’re not supposed to-!”
The dungeon warps and distorts again, and in the blink of an eye, everything seems to be back to normal. The rocky walls are back, the tall metal lockers and tiled floors are gone, the dungeon is back to its normal self.
Lexxi stands there, just trying to take everything in that just happened in the last few seconds, while Rickety’s eyes dart around the dungeon, still breathing a bit heavily. “Uhhh… Okay, okay. Let’s just hurry up, move and-“
The dungeon distorts once again, the long hallways and tiled floors returning, only for the biefest of moments, flickering in and out of existence.
“Let’s just run!” Lexxi suggests, glancing back at Rickety and gesturing for him to follow before she starts making a break for it, with Rickety following closely behind her. With every flicker of reality, even the Pokemon in the mystery dungeons seem to flicker out of existence as the environment changes.
“GROOOOOOOOOOOHHH!”
The roaring gets louder as they continue to run, turning the winding corners of the dungeon as it keeps changing back and forth faster and faster.
A light! A light at the end of the cave! That’s it! Not much further now!
They keep moving, pushing past any pokemon in the dungeon, not wanting to waste any more time, until finally…
An opening. They can see the sky again. The sun is starting to set, the bright blue sky having turned into a deep, vibrant orange as the stars are just beginning to peek through the sky. Lexxi and Rickety take a moment to catch their breath, both of them glancing back at the exit to the cave, then glancing at each other. “Really getting sick of this,” Lexxi mutters, panting heavily. “Feel like I’ve had enough reality breaks for one lifetime already.”
“Wish I could say this place was any better,” Rickety stands back up straight, paws clenched into fists as his eyes sweep the area. “It feels… Weirdly oppressive here.”
Lexxi’s tail begins to puff up, feeling herself being put on edge, eyes darting around, looking at the tall rocky walls that surround them, the emptiness of the area seeming to stretch on forever. “Yeah… Feels like I’m being crushed.”
“GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH!”
That same roar they had heard in the dungeon is much, much louder out here now than it was before. It sounds close, dangerously close. The ground begins to shake, thudding and vibrating, much like the snorlax back in the funhouse with each step it took.
Their eyes look forward, spotting a pair of glowing red eyes in the distance.
“And you say you saw the guildmaster come out all the way here, Corphish?” Chatot asks, the group all seeming to gather around the giant Groudon statue, some looking at it closer.
Corphish nods his head, claws snapping. “I’m sure I’m sure! I tried to say hello to him, but he ran past me trying to chase a Perfect Apple he lost!”
Chatot’s eyes narrow, taking a slow, deep breath, closing his eyes and furrowing his brows as he lets out a long, irritated sigh. “Of course he was…” He shakes his head and rolls his eyes, turning his attention back to Corphish. “You said that Team Void came through here too, yes? It’s possible the guildmaster might have gone after them.”
Before Corphish has the chance to answer, they all feel the ground quaking slightly, in a rhythmic thudding motion. Diglet and Dugtrio, of course, take the most note of this, exchanging a knowing glance with each other.
“GROOOOOOHHHH…!”
“…That’s a sign that we should likely get a move-on. Corphish, continue on!”
The group continues forward, the sound of the roaring waterfalls drowning out everything else surrounding them.
…
Including the disgruntled, pained moans of a defeated Team Skull, laying just behind the waterfall.
“Ghhhuuhh…” The Zubat moans out, just barely managing to move his head. “How long’ve we been layin’ here?”
“Too long. Urrghh…” The Koffing groans out, about as flat and deflated as a balloon. “That Wigglytuff… He’s a freak of nature. How the heck did he just shrug off our noxious gas combo like that?”
“I ain’t ever felt more humilated in my entire life.” Chief weakly utters, laying flat on the grass. “Feels like nothin’s gone our way since those little punks showed up…”
“Gonna kill those- Ghhkk, freakin’ brats when we get the chance… Stupid kids.”
“H-He’s… He’s alive.” Rickety stammers to himself, trembling where he stood as he takes a few steps back, the spitting image of the statue so far below now stomping directly towards him and Lexxi. Groudon stomps forward, the ground cracking beneath its feet.
“GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!”
It stares directly at them, showing nothing but anger behind its glowing eyes, its voice speaking up, loudly. “You! You’ve come to desecrate this place! Haven’t you?!” It stomps forward again, the whole area quaking as a few rocks tumble down the sides of the walls. “Leave now!”
“L-Look,” Lexxi stammers, trying to speak up. “We don’t mean any harm, honest! We’re just trying to get to Fogbound Lake!”
“Those who seek to invade Fogbound Lake are met with death! For I am GROUDON! The guardian of Fogbound Lake!” It takes another step forward, its claws raise up high into the air. “And I will ensure that neither of you intruders will escape with your life!”
“Err… Ahem, Mr. Chaot, sir?” Corphish speaks up, the whole group slowly traversing the cave Team Void has previously ventured through. “Rickety had told me all about this ‘Groudon’ when we found the statue. Do you know anything about it?”
Chatot scoffs to himself, ruffling his feathers up. “Do you think I’m the guild’s intelligence for nothing? Of course I know! What of it?”
“Well…” His claws snap a few times. “What if one were to fight Groudon in battle? Rickety made it sound so strong and fantastical.”
Chatot arches an eyebrow, tilting his head. “Fighting?” He slowly shakes his head back and forth. “If one so foolish enough were to actually challenge Groudon in a battle… They have a deathwish.”
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