Chapter 5- Rise to the Occasion

Linus Treecko’s POV

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I used Quick Attack to dart forward in front of Sir Cooper and the others. We’ve gotta catch this bastard! “Let’s show ’em what we’re made of!” I yelled, smacking Glade on the shoulder. 

The Totodile flinched for a second but pumped her fist. “Yeah, grab ’em Nevada!” 

“I’m on it!” the Charmander replied, dashing forward. 

 

Okay, now where is that Fidough? The second I turned my head I saw him. “So what happened?!” I asked. 

The Fidough slowed down slightly and turned my way. “That big old Charcadet took my little sister!”

 

In the sea of Pokemon the bright red, yellow and black Pokemon with a small set of armor and flaming top bun stuck out like a sore claw. I’ve heard of the falling out of two talented Expeditioners from the Jovian Continent who are the evolved forms of Charcadet, Armorouge, and Ceruledge. Beside them was a rather large Capaskid and bulky Finizen.

The Capaskid was usually a small two-legged dark green Pokemon. But this one was a big fella! From what I saw from my cousins a while back Capaskid had a giant tooth, and spicy crest leaves.

The Finizen was a bottle shaped Pokemon that looked like a mix between a Seel and a Wailmer, with little white markings on them. I’d heard they are very intelligent and crafty so I’m not too thrilled to see ‘em working with Wicked Blow of all groups. 

 

All three of them wore black and white striped scarves with a similar toned claw mark of two. Arceus-damn Wicked Blow for sure! In the Charcadet’s arms was a small Maschiff. She wriggled and fought hard, trying to claw her way out. 

“Hey! Get back here!” Glade roared.


“No can do!” the Charcadet laughed. “We can’t let our grunts do all the work!”


Grunts? Are these guys in charge of other Wicked Blow Pokemon? “What work?!” I yelled.


“Recruitment!” the Capaskid cackled.  “Our branch is looking a bit small, and is always in need of more Pokemon!”



“Especially ones like these!” the Finizen beside them gestured to the Maschiff. “Let’s ramp it up!” 

The three broke off from the normal streets. With the fire-type, and water-type paired up, heading into an alleyway. Just before we split away, Libra and A-san turned to me and nodded. I guess they’ll chase the Capaskid? 

“I see ’em!” Nevada yelled, following suit.

“We’re right behind you!” Glade called out, struggling after them. “I wish I was faster!”

 

Me too Glade, me too. Something else we need ta work on.

 

“Let go of her!” the Charmander growled, as they vanished out of sight, grabbing the Charcadet’s arm.

 

Those guys sure are fast! We need to catch up! “Come on!” I squinted my eyes as the light of the back lanterns lit up. Navy Valley sure is a futuristic town, did those go automatically? Suddenly as they jumped over empty crates, and dashed across stairs I saw the Finizen pull something out of one of the bags they had and tossed it at Nevada.

 

“What in tha world!?” I yelled, watching them pull back and forth.

Suddenly there was a loud whoosh. Then I heard Neavda scream. I shot forward through the alley with Glade and saw the Finizen and the Charcadet shoving our Charmander friend past something. That something was a railing! They were pushed over the railing and towards the river below!

 

“Shit! Glade catch ’em!” I shouted, darting down to the edge of the river wall.  The pads of my claws had tiny suction cups that kept me attached to the stone and I held my hand out. 

Glade leapt into the river as Nevada fell and struggled a little bit in the fast current. As the Charmander reached the water, the Totodile caught them. With bated breath I watched as she held Nevada up, she propelled herself out of the river with a Water Gun.


She then Scratched the river bank wall to climb even higher. Then Glade threw Nevada towards me. I grabbed their claw and pried myself off the wall with a jump full of light, my Quick Attack flinging us way over the edge. 

We landed on the floor with a thud, my thick tails cushioning me from most of the pain. I let go of Nevada as Glade climbed up from the river and we lay panting for a moment.

“Oh wait!” I shot up, narrowing my eyes to see the faint flames of the Charcadet running past another building. “Come on!”

Nevada, Glade, and I ran after them as they headed downtown and toward a dark deep pit. “What’s those bastards hit ‘cha with?” I huffed as we trailed after Wicked Blow.

 

“An X-Eye Seed!” the Charmander grumbled. “Tried to freaking drown me!”

 

The Fidough from before ran up beside us with Coordinator Cooper and Team Blue Heroes. “Those guys are heading into a Mystery Dungeon!” he explained.

“Yeah!” Glade replied. “Doesn’t look like the biggest one, this one is called Aquamarine Abyss right?!”

Nevada counted to three on their claws and shook their head. “Yup, it can lead to Navy Stone Valley though!”

 

“And I’m coming too!” the Fidough said.

“Are you sure?” the Charmander asked. “We can handle it for you, er-“

“My name is Hernando!” the Fidough barked.

The Totodile scratched her chin. “You know how to use your moves?”

 

“Yes!” 

“Have you been inside a Mystery Dungeon before?” Nevada fixed their League sash.

 

“Yes!”

He sounded determined enough, and was able to keep up with us. “Alrighty fella,” I grit my teeth to steady myself as we got closer to the Mystery Dungeons entrance. “Ya can come with us, just follow our directions okay!?”

“I got it!” Hernando replied, running closer to me. 

Then without looking back we jumped inside the Mystery Dungeon. “Okay, ain’t no turning back!” I yelled. A wall of dark teal earth slowly surrounded the area behind us, trapping us inside. Coordinator Cooper Sir, Libra, and A were right on our tails somehow.

 

Though we were inside a Mystery Dungeon called Aquamarine Abyss, the sky above was bright and cloudy. True to its name, the stone that made up the floor and walls had dark grey, black, and silver swirls and stripes in them, with specks of bright aquamarine gemstones inside them.


“Your evaluation is still in progress,” Libra said as we all got our bearings.


“These aren’t  the requests you were asked of, nor is this the Mystery Dungeon you were assigned, “A-san added. “However this is an urgent mission involving Wicked Blow, and could be treated as Extra Credit for the evaluation.”



“Understood!” I clenched my fist. “We won’t let you down!”

And then there was a cylinder of a Pokemon that flew through the air, the shiny glow of steel on where I presumed the head was. Headed straight from the Fidough beside me!

“Woah!” I yelped, picking up Hernando, and launching out a Mega Drain to block whatever steel-type move it was. My eyes could barely see the glint of metal in the dim light of the Mystery Dungeon. It’s too dark in here! “Nevada, I need flames!”



The cylinder then dug into the cave and re-emerged on the other side of the walkway. “I don’t know if I can hit them!”

“You won’t know until ya try!” I offered.

“Blast ’em now!” Glade called, when the majority of the Pokemon’s murky body seemed to be above ground.

“Here goes!” The Charmander stepped away from me and then fired out an Ember from where the steel came. The area lit up at that moment, as an Orthworm was revealed! They caught on fire instantly, a small blaze burning strong through their entire body.

“Okay this an Orthworm, a steel-type!” I yelled.



The Fidough in my arms shivered and pressed his head into my side. “Do you think you can put me down now?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. 

“Yeah, in a bit!” I replied. 

Glade stepped beside me and took in a deep breath, then shot out a Water Gun at the Pokemon. The high intensity of the spray startled them, but not dousing the fire. Then the Orthworm shook their body and slapped the Charmander beside me with a small but thick torrent of mud with Mud Slap, trying to snuff out their flames.



Nevada yelped in shock and nearly collapsed onto the floor. “Hang in there!” I put Hernando down before a burst of energy from Quick Attack sent me crashing into the Orthworm. I had to do something, even if they resisted most of my moves!  “Nevada I need you!” I called.

 

Nevada was finally able to wipe all the mud off their front and spat out a final Ember at the Orthworm. The Pokemon struggled through the heat before they fainted.


“Where are we going to go now?” Hernando asked, sneezing a bit before shaking his fur. 



“Through here,” I pointed at the straight opening in the room before our group. Just our luck there was a staircase leading down. “Next floor now y’all, come on!”

There was a Mudbray who stood in the room, a white and black scarf around her neck, and a rather large saddleback across her side. “You damn League brats!” I heard her shout loud and clear as she dashed forward, from my guess aiming directly towards Nevada. “Gamma 9 will reign forever!” 

 

“Not so fast!” Glade yelled, stepping in front of the weakened Charmander and taking the brunt of the Bulldoze. “You’re dealing with me!” the Totodile then took in a deep breath and shot out a large Water Gun at point blank instantly fainting weak Wicked Blow ruffian. 

Just as we defeated her, two more Pokemon made their way into the room. A Nacli and another Orthworm, both wearing black and white scarves, albeit in interesting positions somewhere on their unique bodies. Wicked Blow bastards.

“How dare you!” the Orthworm said, crawling forward. 

 

“Your reign of terror ends today!” I yelled. “Ya should never try and hoard all the power in the world, especially when that means misuse the Mana Artifacts!”

 

The Nacli next to them dragged themself along the ground quickly. “You think you’re better than us?” they asked, spitting pebbles. “All you do is hold yourself back! You’re not after true power!”

 

Enough with that bouf-crap for Arceus’ sake! “Alrighty let’s go y’all!” I yelled, tossing out a Mega Drain at the Nacli. 

“Even me?” Hernando asked, moving from beside me. 

“Yeah, I’ll grab ya when that Orthworm gets close!” I said, watching Nevada pelt the Orthworm with an Ember. 

The Nacli weakly stumbled forward and tossed out a white crystal mass of Salt Cure at Glade. Why would they do that? Wait, that Pokemon species we’ve fought before! They’re aiming to drain her stamina with that sodium heavy attack! A small wave of pink speckled Fairy Wind from our Fidough client blocked the Salt Cure at the perfect time.

“Nice work Hernando! Gonna move you for a bit!” I cheered picking him up just as the barely conscious Orthworm set their sights on him. This Orthworm moved in close and captured me in a weak Wrap of their cold body. As they held me, Nevada was able to launch an Ember at them, their grip released and I jumped away from them as they fainted from the fire.”You’ll finish it?” 

 

“You bet!” Glade roared, shooting one final Water Gun at the Nacli, who fainted once the spray subsided. Finally all the Wicked Blow Pokemon in the room had fainted. 

 

I checked their belongings and then pulled out my Normal Rank Badge. After pressing on one of the wings a chime sounded. “Rescue Team Federation of Constellation Heartland! How can I help you?” a voice came out of the tiny speakers. 

 

“Team Sharp Claw down in Aquamarine Abyss Floor… Floor 2, heavy Wicked Blow presence in the surrounding area. Requesting retrieval,” I replied, trying my best to speak quickly.

 

“Understood,” the voice noted. “A unit will be on its way.”

 

I put back on my badge and headed into the room to be greeted with more stairs leading downward. We hopped down them one by one. 

The Fidough narrowed his eyes before he raised his tail. “So you liked it when I put Wicked Blow in their place huh?”

 

“Ya, yer a great help Hernando!” I grinned.

 

“But what do you want me to do if we run into a Mystery Dungeon Pokemon who I’m strong against?” he asked.

“I want to see you give ‘em your best shot!” Glade said, rubbing his smooth head. “But you’d ought to wait for our instructions alright.”


“Okay,” he sighed.



“If any Mystery Dungeon Pokemon hit you, hit them back,” I stepped into the next room. I scanned the area and noticed three branching pathways. “Let’s go!”



The whole lot of us ran down into a thin hallway, one that could only fit one Pokemon at a time. As Team Captain I’ll go first so we can save our client’s little sister. And fast. 

 

After a while the cave’s hallway started to widen. We had options, one pathway had three options, a path heading straight, and one left the other right. I decided on leading us through the left, the stone on the floor looked more traveled compared to the other side. 

“So do you know why those Wicked Blow Pokemon took your sister?” Nevada asked, just when I thought the silence was getting unbearable.



“Well, she and I are Keepers,” Hernando barked. “That Charcadet said they are looking for as many Keepers as possible to capture and use.”



“Use them?” Glade grumbled. “Their boss definitely means forcing them to join Wicked Blow and get in Pokemon’s way!”

“Like they did today. I heard from those other League members that you were supposed to go to the other Mystery Dungeon,” the Fidough said.


“Yeah, that’s true,” the Totodile groaned.

 

“One good thing is this Mystery Dungeon has the freshest mana,” Hernando grinned before suddenly his ears perked up. “Speaking of mana, did Wicked Blow capture Pokemon to mess with the mana inside of us?”

 

“Yes, even Sentinels have mana from our elemental type and have to take in the worlds to use moves, we just don’t have presences others can feel,” Glade explained. “But the world’s mana was unstabilized after the Disruption, so we all aren’t as strong as we used to be.”

“Some Pokemon in Wicked Blow are fine though,right?” the Fidough asked. 

“Only because some Keepers in Wicked Blow used those same Mana Artifacts on themselves to steal from the world and boost their moves strength at times!” I answered.

“They’ll also use Pokemon to help Wicked Blow gain more power while everymon else suffers!” Nevada panicked, their tail flame bursting.

 

“Oh,” Hernando let out a gasp. “So that’s what those damn guys are doing.”

 

I raised my brow at the Fidough’s comment as we ventured into a large seemingly empty room. All seven of us spread out to cover ground more easily. We are wasting our time here! Stupid con’sarn Mystery Dungeon! 

If we ran we’d be out of here and into the next room in no time flat. I picked up the pace and dashed forward towards one of the exits on the top corner of the room. The second I reached the pile of dirt, I was immediately thrown onto the floor adjacent to it, my vision blurry and head spinning.

“Watch it Linus!” Nevada grabbed hold of my claw and pulled me off the floor. 

 

In my daze I noticed Glade approached me and grabbed my shoulders. “Try not to do that again!”

 

“Yeah yeah,” I groaned. “Let’s, let’s keep going.” 

“You mean step in Totter Traps right?” Hernando tilted his head as we walked through a winding pathway. “It’s not his fault, that crap was buried deep.”

 

“Yeah but he’s Team Captain, he should know better than that,” Glade jeered, clapping her claws together. She was right about the rushing part. I needed to be patient.

“You would have stepped in it too, you know Glade!” Nevada grumbled smacking the Totodile. They then glanced my way, flame dimming. “Let’s change the subject.”

“Yeah,” I sighed, leading us up another set of Mystery Dungeon stairs and onto the next floor. “So what were you two out doing before Wicked Blow showed up?” 

“We’ve, well my sister, I and the other younger teens have been busy doing jobs around town so we don’t always know what’s up,” the Fidough explained as we entered a new room. 

 

I ran my hand along the wall and sighed.I just noticed something interesting. The caverns down this deep were made up of a darker, and slightly harder stone than the previous floors, to make a dent in here you’d need a Blast Seed or powerful move. 

 

When we passed through a tiny, cramped room, a Patrat sank their teeth into me. It took all four of our stronger moves to knock out that hardy Dungeon dweller, and left me limping a tad bit. “It’ll be okay partner, the mana in Mystery Dungeons can heal wounds with every step ya take!” I tried to ease my Team’s and Hernando’s worries.

When we made our way into an opening in the pathways it was a dead end room, but more importantly there was a Pokemon waiting for us. There was a jet-black Tarous, digging his hooves into the dirt. But more importantly there was a black and white striped scarf under his neck. Another Wicked Blow son of a Ditto for us to deal with. I’m so sick of ’em.


“Okay Hernando we- er I am going to need your help,” I whispered, holding out my arms to keep everyone back. “What moves do you know again?”


The Fidough tilted his head to the side. “Fairy Wind, Lick, Tackle and Baby Doll Eyes.”

“Okay,” Glade squeezed in close. “Use Baby Doll Eyes first to weaken his attacks for us cause Black fighting-type Tarous hit hard.”

“Got it! Here I go!” Hernando waited for my Quick Attack to tag the Wicked Blow member before afflicting him with the status, a pink set of rings circling him and floating away.

“You think that can stop me!? Think again!” the Tarous fumed, shaking side to side and racing forward.

 

Just as planned, that Pokemon turned around and tapped me with one fierce kick after another from Double Kick. It barely put a dent in my stride.

 

I smirked and snapped my fingers. Nevada and Glade stepped back and then dashed forward. The Charmander sliced at the Tarous with a Scratch while the Totodile followed up with another fierce swipe of her claws in Scratch too. To finish him off the Fidough jumped in with a burst of Fairy Wind, knocking the Wicked Blow grunt down onto the ground. 

 

In the next room there were some more stairs, and the wall beside it looked battered down by some Pokemon. “This should be the end.”

“Oh wait!” Nevada waved their claws down at me. 

“Yeah?”

 

“There’s a Seed on the ground over there, maybe we can use it on those Wicked Blow bastards!” they picked up the seed and clenched it in their claw.

 

“Will this be enough?” the Fidough beside us asked 

 

“Don’t worry Hernando,” Glade patted his head gently. “We know how to use what’s given to us. What type of Seed is it?”

 

Nevada held up the item and brightened their tail flame. A green sprout drooped from inside the seed, a spiral imprinted onto the skin. “A Totter Seed. It causes a Pokemon to get confused and dizzy when eaten or the sprout bursts from pressure.”

 

I placed my foot on the first stair step and pumped my fist. “Alright, here we go!” We dashed up the staircase and found ourselves in a dimly lit cave, one with two tunnels, one that led to the bright outside.  Next to it there was an upward sloped path that sparkled and shimmered off the torchlight of the area, shiny yellow-orange crystals studded the rich navy stone walls of the Navy Stone Valley Mystery Dungeon. 

As we headed outside we noticed a thin break in the rocks that led to a secluded area, it had a turn that possibly led to an opening so we crept through it slowly. “Let’s stay cautious,” I said as I leaned forward. Then I heard the voices of the Charcadet and the Finizen. 

“You think we’ll get a bonus for getting this dark-type?”

“Well she’s a runt so we’ll have to change that.”

 

“She’s also a Keeper, Captain Oinkologne and Captain Hawlucha will make perfect use of her if we find that dark-type mana key.”

“It’s not on this Continent dude.”

 

“Not yet.”

The Capaskid mumbled something and they all burst into laughter. 

 

I can’t wait to set these Pokemon straight. They could be productive members of society. Voidlands, if things went another way they could have been our Leaguemates! Now their best fate is ending up at the reformation guild in some months. Nevada tapped my shoulder. “I want to try and l lead,” they whispered, holding the Totter Seed. 

Then the Charmander jumped through the passageway and we hurried in one by one. Immediately the Pokemon inside fell off their makeshift saddlebag seats and onto the floor.


“They found us!” the three Wicked Blow members shouted, before spreading out across the ground, blocking our way to the Maschiff. “Well come get some! We’re vice captains! Gamma 9’s forever strong!”

“Shut yer trap Wicked Blow scum!” I yelled, my voice echoing loud through the mountain.  

“Make me!” the Charcadet got up first and ran towards us, the Finizen and Capaskid following behind.

 

Nevada tossed the Totter Seed directly in between the Charcadet’s eyes, the sprout bursting on impact and dazing the Pokemon. He turned to face the Capaskid beside him and bellowed out a whip of flames, encircling the Pokemon with the Fire Spin before collision ensued.

“Det’ you idiot!” the Capaskid yelled, flailing around in the small fire. The Finizen turned away from us to try and put out the flames with a jet of water, failing miserably.

Now’s my chance! I got beside the Finizen and launched out a Leafage, the thin burst of leaves cutting their skin.

 

“Here!” Glade yelled running up next to me. “Let me help you!” the Totodile fired out a Water Gun, drenching the Charcadet completely, the blow sending him tumbling over.

Capaskid pulled their head back and coughed a small Seed Bomb back at Glade in retaliation, the explosion of flora stabbed through the Totodile’s scales, knocking her down. She groaned on the ground, struggling to rise. Drat, another one of those and she might faint!

 

Nevada rushed to the side to help her up before firing out an Ember at the Capaskid, fueling the flames around them further. But these guys weren’t done. “Watch out!” I yelled, watching as the Finizen rushed towards the weakened Charmander in a watery cover of Aqua Jet. 

 

We have enough Reviver Seeds but getting enough to afford them again is hard! I should’ve told them to stop attacking and go eat an Oran to recover! These Wicked Blow vice captains are tough! 

 

Something unexpected happened. Just before the Pokemon rammed into Nevada, Hernando jumped in between them with a Tackle, neutralizing only some of the Aqua Jet, but taking part of the damage.

 

“No!” I yelled, racing towards the Fidough without second thought, a wall of flames from that Charcadet’s Fire Spin burning through my scales instead of our client’s body. I nearly sunk to the floor and collapsed as my vision blurred, all the grass mana I had inside me suddenly growing, my Overgrowth coming in strong.

That bastard! “Keep him out of this!” I roared, using the last of my strength to toss a massive ball of Giga Drain at the Finizen, which knocked them out and revitalized me. Their energy was now mine.

Glade grabbed hold of the Charcadet as he was caught off guard and shot him point blank with a Water Gun, finishing the Charcadet off. Then there was a whistling sound and I glanced behind the Totodile in horror.

 

Three, no four Bullet Seed Rounds were fired directly at her, the super-effective move sure to make her faint. “Glade!” I yelled, warning her of the attack. She slowly turned around and suddenly a huge fireball of Ember blasted through the Barrage and straight into Capaskid. Nevada staggered up triumphantly as the Wicked Blow Pokemon fainted, before crumbling onto the floor.

 

“Delieza!” Hernando barked. “It’s safe now you can come out!”

“It is?” she questioned in a soft whine.

 

“Yeah,” I followed the Fidough to the corner where his Machiff sister was. She looked at us and then crept forward, shivering all the while. “Don’t worry, Team Sharp Claw took care of those Wicked Blow brutes, you can go back with your brother now.”

 

Delieza sniffed my body for a moment and frowned. “Can you take us back into Navy Valley city?” 

 

“Of course we’d escort you,” I rubbed my shoulder before heading back towards the exit. “It’s down this way, my Team and League mates will come too.”

We did it. We saved Hernando’s little sister from Wicked Blow. My Team and I walked the Maschiff and Fidough siblings, all the way up towards the city and waiting by the request board. Thankfully Glade and Nevada managed to perk back up as their energy returned.  

 

A Dollive carrying a basket, one of the Smolive line appeared in the street waving his arms. “Hernando! Delieza! Mis amors!” 

 

“This Dollive is your guardian?” I asked the two.

 

“Yes, he’s one of the adults at the orphanage we stay at,” Delieza answered.

“Thank you so much League Pokemon,” he held out the basket before shuffling around inside it. “I only have 300 poke, and some assorted Berries to share, is that okay?”

 

“Yeah,” I watched as the two siblings snuggled up to the Dollive who then presented an Oran Berry, a Sitrus Berry, a Cheri Berry, and a Pecha Berry along with the 300 poke in three pouches. “Wow, that was mighty generous of ya!”

 

“My pleasure,” the Dollive replied. “Take care!”

 

We waved the three off and placed our rewards in our nearly empty Team bag. “Remember we’re still here,” some familiar voices called out of nowhere and I almost fell over. 

 

It was A and Libra, oh and the Coordinator too. “Yes?” I replied, trying to compose myself.

 

“We’ve come to the agreement that you all have passed your evaluation,” Libra smiled. “You’ve shown us your teamwork, willpower, and knowledge on proper League behavior.”

 

Glade and Nevada both grabbed my claws “We did!?” they screamed, earning a wince from our superiors. 

“Yes,” Coordinator Cooper Sir answered, clapping his paws. “We can go on back home to the League.”

What? “But we didn’t get to do our requests!” I looked down across the city. “I think we could do those before we came back.”

 

“No, I have something I want to practice with you all, you may have passed the evaluation but you’re still inexperienced,” the Granbull patted my shoulder.

“But-“

“Hey!” another familiar voice called out. “There they are!”

 

“Huh?” I turned around and saw a Groyvle and Charmeleon heading our way. 

 

“Yoshiko and Austin of Team Blue Heroes?!” Glade yelled. 

 

“What are you guys doing here in Navy Valley?!” Libra questioned.

 

“That’s what I wanna know,” A leaned back. 

 

“We managed to catch up,” the Charmeleon started, trying to catch his breath. “Yoshiko and I have some stuff we need to show you guys at the League.”

 

“What? For real?” Glade sighed.

“Yes,” the Groyvle narrowed her eyes. “The Chief called us to say that you will have a request in a couple of days.”

“Who is the request for?” Neavda asked.

 

“The Committee, they would like Team Sharp Claw to escort one of their wards in a Mystery Dungeon. More details will come later,” Yoshiko crossed her arms. 

 

“And on top of that Team Aegisdrip and Team White Light wants you,” Austin added. 

 

“We’re wanted now eh?” I smirked. “I told you we could do it, Team Sharp Claw will be the greatest Rescue Team since the-“

 

“Don’t get full of yourselves now that you’re busy,” the two Pokemon grumbled. “If you want our respect then earn it!”