The First Exploration

To the east of Treasure City, undisturbed vegetation dominated the landscape. Much of the Grass Continent was occupied by carpets of flora, rolling hills, dense forests, winding mountain ranges and, of course, mystery dungeons. The ruthless geography left room for only a handful of settlements scattered around the coasts and water bodies.

Unlike humanity, Pokemon society did not build a network of roads between every settlement and dungeon. Citizens and dungeoneers alike accepted the challenge to traverse the untamed land as it is. They allowed nature to thrive and coexist with civilization.

After pestering many citizens of Treasure City for directions, Team Venture were on their way to their first dungeon, Drenched Bluff. They crossed a barren, snake-like path sandwiched between thickets of vegetation. A few dungeon teams were passing by, all on their missions.

Surge raised his snout at the towering Sun. “How much time has passed?” he said. “It looks like it’s been hours.”

“We’re probably approaching noon,” replied Rhyzo. “Let’s get to Drenched Bluff before any teams catch us.”

They continued to walk along the path, but there was no bluff in sight. A panting Surge retreated to the shade of a stray tree to catch his breath.

“Rhyzo…” Surge spoke under the stress of his mouth. “Remember the Pokemon… who said we should go… to the southwest?”

“That Linoone?” said Rhyzo, looking at the squat shadow of the tree. “He gave us vague-ass directions. Can’t know the hell where is east and west with these stumps for shadows.”

Rhyzo took a moment to appreciate the verdant field and the shining Sun. He couldn’t bask in the beauty of nature before a certified team apprehends him and Surge. Nevertheless, his knowledge of the location of Drenched Bluff was an ambiguous mess assembled from the mouths of strangers. He was itching for a reliable source of directions; what’s the point of not asking?

He spotted a Raichu, a Qwilfish and a Cinccino from afar. His contingency plan had unfolded.

“Hey, Raichu!” Rhyzo called to the incoming team. “Can you help me out with something?”

The team accelerated as they reached the Rhydon. Rhyzo and Surge saw scarves tied around the Pokemon’s necks, indicating their status as a certified team. Surge wished he and Rhyzo had their necks clothed too.

“What’s your problem, traveler?” said the Raichu in a squeaky, friendly voice. She had a sling bag over her shoulder.

“Where’s Drenched Bluff?” Rhyzo asked. “And what does it look like?”

“You want to go there? It’s about half a mile from here, if you’re curious. You’ll find a rocky hill with a stairway.” The Raichu’s voice lowered in suspicion. “By the way, why didn’t you bring your gear?”

“What gear? We’re gonna test our mettle without ’em!”

“You’re not having any missions?”

“This is a training session.”

“Then aren’t you… unauthorized?“

Shit. Rhyzo’s cover was blown.

Surge came running from the tree and pleaded, “No! Our guild allowed us a day for training. Please believe us!”

“Then where are your bags?” said the Qwilfish, puffing up his belly. “How will you carry items?”

“This means you don’t even have badges,” the Cinccino pointed out. She took out a badge from her own bag, shaped like a circular emblem with wings sprouting from either side.

“I’m sorry, Lucario,” stated the Raichu. “For the sake of your lives, please turn back and return to your hometown. You don’t want to get caught wandering inside a dungeon, right?”

Surge slunk to the tree. He and Rhyzo were lucky to avoid capture but the necessity of badges made exploring a tall order. Given every dungeoneer they’ve seen wore gear, their bare bodies would make them conspicuous targets.

Once the team deserted him, Rhyzo grabbed Surge’s paw. “Psst,” he whispered. “Let’s follow those suckers behind their backs.”

Surge nodded. He tried to run but Rhyzo stopped him. “Not now,” warned Rhyzo. “They’ll detect us. Stay at least a yard away.”

---

From a sizable distance, Team Venture skulked behind the Raichu and her allies on their way to Drenched Bluff. As they advanced, the path became rockier and rockier until it ended at the foot of a small hill. The hill was covered in vegetation and a fountain was visible at its peak.

Surge and Rhyzo hid behind two of the boulders scattered around the entrance. The Raichu’s team ascended the stairway and disappeared into the hill. After some cautious minutes, Team Venture closed in on the entrance and went up the stairway.

A few steps in, the surface of the hill engulfed Team Venture like an Arbok swallowing an egg. Surge and Rhyzo could feel space itself wrap around their arms and push them into the hill. They were swept into a void of darkness. Gravity tugged at them and dragged them deep into the void, sending them into fits of frightened yelling.

The fall lasted a few seconds and Team Venture plopped onto stony ground. Rhyzo helped himself to his hooves and found himself inside a spacious cavern. A few puddles of water dotted the floor. There was a natural tunnel at opposite sides of the cavern.

“Surge,” Rhyzo held the Lucario’s paw and brought him to his feet. “We’re finally in Drenched Bluff. Looks cool, isn’t it?”

Surge felt moist air bristle against his fur. The scent of moss wafted from the walls. As he looked around the cavern, he likened the climate of the dungeon to the aftermath of a downpour.

“The weather’s pleasant,” Surge said, smiling to Rhyzo. “Not a bad choice for our first mission!”

“Alright, now you must learn to battle,” Rhyzo told. “The move your kind is famous for is Aura Sphere. Every Lucario learns it upon evolution. I’m sure it’s already in your repertoire.”

“What’s a move?”

“Moves are the magic tricks all Pokemon can do. For example, my Rock Throw.” Rhyzo manifested a stone in his palm and tossed it away. “As a Rock-type, I can create rocks from thin air and chuck them at enemies.”

“That’s really useful. Imagine what a boon it would have been in a construction job.”

“Don’t bring that up.” He didn’t want to be reminded of the thought of abandoning his vendetta against the Renegades. “Anyway, my Rock moves pale in comparison to yours. You can shoot balls of blue fire!”

“That’s Aura Sphere?”

“Yup. Ain’t it kickass?”

“How do I perform it?”

“It’s simple.” Rhyzo demonstrated the move. “First put one leg in front, then retract your paws and cup them like this.”

Surge did as told. “Where’s the blue fire?” he said in the midst of his position.

“For that you must concentrate. Keep your eyes on your paws and think about only Aura Sphere. Don’t let any irrelevant crap creep into your mind.”

“This sounds tough. It could take a while to achieve the peak of concentration.”

“Then say the move’s name out loud! That helps your mind focus on the move. It’s a tactic I use.” Rhyzo made a mock-up of the move. “Auraaaaa… Sphere!”

“Aura…” Surge uttered as he eyed his cupped paws. A blue glow erupted from inside and stretched against his paws. The glow ballooned into a brilliant ball of blue energy which lit up the cavern.

“Great!” Rhyzo praised. “This is only the first half of the move. Keep focusing on the blue fire. Now you must shoot it. Look at the wall, thrust your body and arms out, let your paws free and say ‘Sphere’!”

Surge aimed for the wall in front and propelled his arms forward with the momentum of his torso and knee. “Sphere!” he yelled. He loosed the energy ball from his paws. Letting himself free, Surge watched the Aura Sphere rocket at the wall.

The Aura Sphere made a vertical U-turn. It reversed its direction and charged at Team Venture.

Surge gasped in shock. “Why didn’t it hit the wall?”

The Aura Sphere targeted Rhyzo. The Rhydon winced at the incoming meteor of energy and tried to escape. “WHAT THE FU-“

Surge’s attack hit Rhyzo’s head, making a small blue explosion. Rhyzo was knocked off his hooves.

“Original One!” Surge exclaimed, covering his mouth and staring at Rhyzo in shame. He scampered to his teammate.

“I told you to target the wall, dipshit!” Rhyzo barked, shoving Surge away.

“I was targeting the wall only!” whined an abashed Surge. “The Aura Sphere turned on its own!”

“Don’t make Mukshit excuses!” Rhyzo got back on his hooves.

“Can’t you give me some slack? I have to relearn my battle skills all over again!”

Right then, something jabbed Surge in the stomach.

Clutching his stomach in pain, Surge found a Chingling poking him. “Excuse me,” he urged. “Why are you attacking me?”

The Chingling opened its mouth, revealing a glowing red orb inside. The orb made inarticulate noises as the Chingling rammed into Surge once more.

“It’s a feral!” Rhyzo yelled. He grabbed the Chingling’s rope appendage and hurled it at the ground with a clang.

The Chingling hopped back up and floated at Rhyzo, jangling like a bell shaken in haste.

Rhyzo slapped the Chingling with so much force that it was tossed across the cavern. It crashed against the wall with a clatter and fell to the ground.

“Most ferals can’t think rationally,” Rhyzo explained, pointing to the fainted wild Pokemon. “They attack us sapients on sight, scent or whatever is their best sense. That’s where our powers come in.”

“What move did you use?” said Surge.

“That’s not a move. I got rid of the feral with a natural attack. It’s how I conserve my offensive energy.”

“Offensive energy?”

“That’s what powers moves. Moves may be stronger than natural attacks, but they use up your offensive energy. When you use too many moves, you’ll reach a point where every move injures yourself more than your foe. It’s called ‘struggle’.”

“Oh. That’s sounds awful. From where did you gain this knowledge?”

“From them. I can’t remember how many times I knocked myself out struggling.” Memories of pain seethed under Rhyzo’s tough hide. “Those bastards…” He looked at each tunnel. “Surge, look at me.”

Perplexed, Surge looked at Rhyzo.

“Now close your eyes.”

Surge closed his eyes. Instead of complete darkness, there was light. It startled Surge into blinking his eyes open.

“Keep them closed, idiot!”

Surge kept his eyes shut and he saw Rhyzo in the form of a glowing silhouette of brown with gray outlines.

“I can see with my eyes closed,” Surge expressed with restrained awe. “What is this ability?”

“Aura vision. Every Lucario has it. Keep your eyes closed and look around. Do you see anything?”

Surge turned to each side of the cavern. He discovered many different glowing silhouettes beyond the walls. But were they dungeoneers or ferals? Surge was not cognizant of which species were native to Drenched Bluff, let alone what Pokemon each silhouette represented.

“Rhyzo,” he said, opening his eyes. “I can see Pokemon on both sides. But I don’t recognize them. How will we know if they’re ferals or dungeoneers?”

Damn your amnesia, Rhyzo railed at Surge in his mind. If only I remembered this little shit! He yanked Surge’s paw and charged toward the tunnel in front of them, yelling “Let’s not give a crap!”

Team Venture slipped into the tunnel, a narrow corridor which only barely fit both of them. As they edged closer, they found a horde of Lileep scuttling around.

Rhyzo stopped and breathed a sigh of relief at the Lileep’s silence and huddling behavior. “Surge, use Aura Sphere on those Lileep,” he ordered.

“Why?” he questioned, backing off.

“They’re ferals. They’re gonna attack us.”

“But they’re not drawing near us. Can’t we let them mind their own business?”

“Fast! Before the dungeoneers catch us!”

Surge stepped in front of Rhyzo and sprinted to the horde, planning to jump across the Lileep and leave them unscathed.

Sensing an incoming sapient, one of the Lileep used Wrap, extending the tentacles on its head at Surge. The tentacles wrapped around Surge’s ankle, causing him to trip and fall on the horde with a yelp.

“I told you so, you coward!” Rhyzo snarled, rushing at him.

Surge was caught in a chain of Lileep tentacles stinging him all over. With his arms and legs bound, an Aura Sphere was a fool’s matter.

“Say ‘Metal Claw’!” Rhyzo tried to bail him out.

“…Metal Claw!”

As Surge spoke, three stalks of silvery energy sprouted from the spike on his right paw. The stalks grew into claws as long as his forearms and snapped the tentacles of two Lileep near the paw.

With his survival instinct ignited by the light of the Metal Claw, Surge tried to fight back against the Lileep. He poked his Metal Claw at the Lileep around it. He could only manage slight twitches in the muscles of his immobilized arms, restricting the Metal Claw to a whimper. “Help me, Rhyzo!” he cried.

“Drill Run!”

Rhyzo leapt and a magical force flung and rotated his own body at the Lileep, turning him into a raging gray tornado. He crashed into the horde and scraped against the Lileep, causing them to loosen their tentacles in pain. As Surge was freed, he was caught in the Drill Run, yowling at the damage to his back and retracting his Metal Claw. The chain of impacts shoved his snout into the ground, eliciting even more pain.

Rhyzo let go of the Drill Run and landed on the ground, leaving a trail of unconscious Lileep behind him. A battered Surge lay next to him with pain pulsing in his arms, legs, back and especially his snout.

“Look what your cowardice has done,” Rhyzo chastised, glaring at Surge. “I had to use friendly fire just to get you out of this mess!”

Surge slowly got up and touched his snout to inspect the pain. To his horror, he felt a viscous liquid against his paw. Its red color could not be seen well against the paw’s black skin. “Is that…” he mumbled with a chill down his spine. “…blood?”

“Of course it is,” Rhyzo replied, inducing a gasp from Surge. “Let’s find an Oran Berry to patch you up.”

As Surge was led across the tunnel, he observed the rest of his body while keeping his paw on his snout to arrest the blood loss. To his surprise, the Lileep’s attacks did not inflict the bloody bruises he feared. The only evidence he recognized was the chaotic tousles of his fur. Against his convictions of physics, the edge of one Drill Run struck more pain on his back than multiple Lileep tentacles all over his body.

In spite of the tempered impact, Surge wanted to throw his fight with the Lileep so deep into his subconscious that it could never be retrieved again, but the chaos anchored itself in the skies of his mind, fueled by the blood oozing into his paw. Why was he dragged into battles with mindless beasts instead of saving citizens or collecting treasures? Why was his chosen path full of injuries, stunts and blood? Why was this his first experience of a job whose description is ‘save and help Pokemon’?

Surge and Rhyzo emerged from the tunnel and arrived at another, smaller cavern. Limited by the dim surroundings, they were forced to navigate every nook and corner of the cavern in search of an Oran Berry. Amidst the cloaked surroundings, Surge’s Aura vision blended with the scarce light and illustrated a signature in front of him.

“Rhyzo, look!” Surge alerted, showing him a stray Anorith. “There’s a Pokemon inside. Don’t disturb it.”

Rhyzo’s eyes darted to the Anorith and he stormed to it. Surge bombarded him with objections which failed to pique his ears. Once Rhyzo got close, he gave a hard kick to the Anorith with his stout hoof, knocking it out.

“Why did you attack the poor little thing?” Surge chided, rearing his head away.

“The Anorith could have attacked you if it were let free!” Rhyzo grumbled defensively. “In this state, you would have fainted.” And why should I ignore a free, quick battle?

Team Venture went through the tunnel to the north and searched it. Still, there were no Orans in sight. They scoured every cavern they encountered, taking notice of an incomplete stairway of stone along the way. Luckily for Surge, they didn’t stumble into any ferals or dungeoneers.

Finally, about two rooms from the stairway, they got hold of a flash of calming cobalt in the middle of the monochrome room. It was the flesh of an Oran Berry which Surge didn’t hesitate to finish. The wound on his snout clotted with almost magical speed. The lingering pains from the battle of the Lileep were washed away. Surge was glad to exorcise his injuries, but the memories of the brutal battle continued to blaze in his mind, knowing it could take weeks or even months to abate.

“Let’s go back to the stairs,” stated Rhyzo.

“Do you mind if I wash my snout first?” Surge replied, prickling up his ears at a quiet gurgle of water.

“Where? There’s only puny puddles on this floor. You’ll get more mud in your snout than water.”

Surge turned to his west and found a pond at the edge of the cavern. “I found a pond here,” he reasoned, edging close to the pond. Unable to determine the water’s clarity under the dim light, he activated a Metal Claw and dipped the glowing claws in the water. “And the water’s clear,” he added as the Metal Claw’s light lit up the pond, revealing its lack of stagnant dirt.

“Fine.” Rhyzo bought time for his teammate.

Surge retracted the Metal Claw and thoroughly washed his face and snout, giving him much-needed relief from the tribulation of the dungeon trek. Once he was done, he glanced at his reflection in the water, seeing his new face for the first time. For many seconds, he stared at his pointed blue ears, the pair of black feelers at each side of his head, the mask of black skin stretching from his forehead to the tip of his snout and his vermilion eyes, which were rather large and soft for a Lucario.

“Don’t waste your time gawking at your face like a diva!” Rhyzo called out. “We have to hurry before we get caught!”

Surge rose from the banks of the pond and accompanied Rhyzo to the cavern with the incomplete stairway. The stairs consisted of a few steps and ended a few feet in the air, spanning less than half the height of the cavern it occupied.

“Who built this stairway in the middle of a natural dungeon?” Surge said, examining the moss-laden top of the stairs. “And why didn’t they complete it?”

“It’s made of the same stone as the floor,” Rhyzo remarked upon closer scrutiny. “Why don’t you ascend it? Must be the product of the dungeon itself.”

Surge took a closer look at the foot of the stairs. It indeed merged seamlessly with the floor, reinforcing Rhyzo’s inference. He wondered how a natural location could make its own structures. Why, this is a mystery dungeon after all. If it could suck him beyond its surface, appear larger on the inside and maintain its own climate, what were the boundaries of realism? After a few seconds of caution, Surge put on toes to the stairs and ascended the steps with care.

Once Surge reached the top, an invisible force erupted from beneath his feet and ejected him upward. Instead of being tossed airborne, Surge dissolved into the air. A stunned Rhyzo took flight of the stairs to save him.

When Surge rematerialized, he landed on the floor of another cavern. He swayed his head around in search of Rhyzo, but all he could find was a small glint on the ground.

Before Surge’s confusion could decay into worry, Rhyzo rematerialized next to him. The reunited team exchanged puzzled looks.

“Did the stairs push you up here?” said Surge, eyeing the pond-less environment.

“Yes. Those stairs must have taken us to the next story. I knew they’d do something.”

Surge turned his attention to the glint. He kneed to the ground and got a closer view. There was a small pebble with a streak of gold ore along its surface. Surge picked up the pebble, which was small enough to fit his paw, got up and showed it to Rhyzo. “Look at this. I’ve found gold ore.”

“Awesome,” Rhyzo commended. He grinned at the sparkle of the pebble. “We can earn money from that thing! Now we should find the stairs of this floor and all the rest until we reach the top. Understood?”

Surge nodded, a clear goal finally etched into his mind. Thank goodness our objective doesn’t involve any fighting. Rhyzo yammered about becoming stronger in these explorations, didn’t he?

There was only one path from this cavern and Team Venture crossed it. Both sides of this path were flanked by water.

Admiring the gold ore, Surge asked. “Where do I store this? I can’t use Aura Sphere with a single paw.”

“We don’t have any bags,” replied Rhyzo, focusing his sharp eyes on the next cavern. “We have only our own bodies.”

“But the ore might scratch against our skin…”

“Doesn’t scratch mine. My hide is as hard as rock.”

Surge’s eyes scanned Rhyzo’s body for potential places to store the ore. The small horn at the top of Rhyzo’s head sparked him. Surge reached for Rhyzo’s head and pushed the barren side of the pebble against the small horn. The pebble remained inserted like meat on a stick. If he weren’t so spiky, their predicament would have been worse…

In the next cavern, they encountered a Shellos. Surge cooed at its cherubic eyes and diminutive stature. “Aww, what a cute Pokemon you are! What’s your spe-“

The Shellos shot a stream of water at Rhyzo’s face. The Water Gun struck his hide with the impact of a giant needle and he squalled in pain. “Use Aura Sphere, Surge!”

Recognizing his partner’s peril, Surge reared back and charged an Aura Sphere in his paws. He locked his eyes onto the hostile Shellos and released an incandescent missile of blue at it. The Aura Sphere thrashed the Shellos into unconsciousness.

A drenched and beat-up Rhyzo trudged to Surge. “Good thing you… followed my orders… belatedly…” he mumbled. “Now I’m the one… who might fall over… any second…”

“Why do you sound so worn out?” Surge said with a twinge of guilt at the back of his head. “You don’t have any injuries.”

“I have… a quadruple weakness… to Water-type moves… My types are… Ground and Rock…”

Surge remembered their first discussion at the beach. “Does water erode you?”

“Not exactly… I have a sturdy hide… but it destroys me… on the inside… Will you get me an Oran?”

As Surge guided Rhyzo through many caverns and corridors, he regretted his defeat of the Shellos. Why did he risk one life in exchange for another? Yes, Rhyzo saved him and guided him through this unfamiliar world, for all his rudeness and pugnacity. But this situation was like selling your furniture to afford a house. Why can’t the ferals listen to him? Why do they always attack sapients on sight? The Anorith was an exception, but Rhyzo went with fighting fire with fire regardless of actual temperament. And why did every encounter with a feral necessitate a fight before rational thought?

By the time they found another Oran Berry and Rhyzo consumed it, Surge’s ears identified coherent noises from a corner.

“Where’s the Escape Orb?”

“On the fourth floor, according to our mission.”

“Wait. I’ve found two new scents around here…”

Are those dungeoneers? Surge suspected. Two new scents… “Rhyzo, I can hear dungeoneers from that corridor,” he whispered in his pointed ear. “They must have tracked our scents.”

“Shit!” Rhyzo race-walked to the opposite corridor with Surge, ruining his solace of restored health.

“Hello! Did you get hurt by a feral?” cried one of the dungeoneers.

“Don’t panic. Team Unravel are here to help you!” assured another.

Team Venture blitzed through the caverns and corridors in their straight path at the maximum speed Rhyzo could manage. Fortunately for them, they discovered and seized a stairway at the end of this path.

Unfortunately for them, they materialized in the next floor in front of a four-strong horde of ferals. Two Lileep, an Anorith and a Chingling, in question.

“Surge, crush those two Pokemon with Metal Claw,” Rhyzo instructed, gesturing to the Anorith and the Chingling at one side of the cavern. “I’ll take care of the Lileep.”

The bell and the crawler? Surge manifested a Metal Claw and swiped the air with a fit of manufactured anger in an attempt to scare off his foes. If they can’t understand diplomacy, why not intimidation?

Perking up at Surge’s aimless attack, the Anorith and the Chingling lunged at Surge together. They hit Surge’s torso before he could even make a decision.

Expecting to be knocked off his feet by the simultaneous attacks, Surge scooted away from his opponents. At the other side of the cavern, Rhyzo had already downed the two Lileep.

“Rhyzo, I can’t defeat those two!” Surge cried behind Rhyzo’s spiky back. “When I try to shoo them, they-“

Rhyzo turned around with a growl. “Can’t you save your own ass as well as mine?! You’re a Lucario. You’re supposed to make short work of stuff like this!” He pushed Surge back at the Anorith and Chingling, who were preparing their attacks.

Surge turned back and slashed his Metal Claw at the two remaining ferals. He shut his eyes and turned his head away to avoid seeing their pain. His suppressed focus made his arm swing above his targets, making Rhyzo groan.

The Chingling breathed out a Psywave, at the Anorith, challenging it to a battle of competition for this incompetent sapient. Sighing in relief, Surge left the two fighting ferals alone and escaped to the next cavern with Rhyzo.

Team Venture hunted the stairs and ascended every floor of Drenched Bluff, running into many ferals along the way. Rhyzo was forced to do all the work as Surge failed to get the hang of his moves. His reluctance made his Metal Claw glaringly miss his targets, he was attacked in the middle of charging Aura Spheres and refrained from fists and feet altogether. On the way, they found two more gold ores, a Cheri Berry and a wondrous blue orb.

Somewhere on the sixth floor, they came across a pink scarf strewn on the ground. “You can wear this,” Rhyzo said, picking up the scarf and breathing in its sweet, fruity smell. “It’s a Pecha Scarf. It’ll make you look more like a dungeoneer.”

“Why me?” asked Surge, holding the Blowback Orb with both paws. “You are free to wear it too.”

“The dungeoneers will trust you more than me. They’ll think you’re another heroic Lucario explorer with a Rhydon escort.”

As Rhyzo tied the scarf around Surge’s neck, three dungeoneers entered the cavern they were in.

“Hey, those two aren’t wearing gear!” pointed out a Shiftry.

“That Rhydon’s holding the Lucario hostage!” gasped a Mothim.

“Defeat him, Team Unity!” ordered a Boltund.

“SCRAM!” Rhyzo grabbed Surge and hurried into the opposite corridor. Team Unity were hot on their heels. Buoyed by her superior speed, the Boltund accelerated and prepared to jump at Rhyzo.

“Use Quick Attack, Surge!” Rhyzo yelled.

Surge mouthed the name of the move, and a gigantic burst of speed propelled him and Rhyzo so fast they became a blur. The Boltund crashed behind them, chomping the air with her Bite attack.

Unable to control his reflexes under the Quick Attack, Surge was flung to the ground with Rhyzo, letting the Blowback Orb roll in front of them. He was relieved by the way his head landed; on his lower snout rather than his fragile nose.

“I’ll take care of him!” the Shiftry stated, entering a fighting stance. He swung his left arm, tossing glowing, razor-sharp leaves from his leaf fingers.

Surge got up and took the Razor Leaves by accident. They only made weak pinches against his fur.

“Keep using Quick Attack!” Rhyzo goaded, clutching Surge’s paw with one hand and reclaiming the Blowback Orb with the other.

Before the Shiftry could fire another Razor Leaf, Surge darted across the corridor with Rhyzo in continuous Quick Attacks, losing his balance every time.

“Why is the Lucario helping him?” the Mothim wondered.

“He must be forced to be the Rhydon’s henchman,” said the Shiftry.

“But why is he following him? Any other Lucario would have abandoned that criminal.”

“Pines! Flutters!” barked the Boltund with her ears arched back. “Don’t waste your time chatting! The Rhydon’s going to escape!”

“Yes, Energy!” The Shiftry and the Mothim nodded loyally to the Boltund. Team Unity resumed their chase, gaining speed on the dashing Team Venture.

Surge’s Quick Attack spree screeched to a halt when he collided with a wall at the end of the corridor. He fell down and clutched his snout in pain. “This is a dead end,” he remarked, looking at the wall and the advancing Team Unity behind him. “Now how do we escape?”

Rhyzo gave the Blowback Orb to Surge and his large horn started to spin like a drill. He drove the horn into the wall and initiated a Drill Run. Surge gaped as Rhyzo drilled a tunnel into the wall. He followed Rhyzo into the tunnel.

At the other end of the tunnel, Surge found a stairway in at the corner of the cavern. He rushed to the stairway and was transported to the next floor.

Instead of Rhyzo, there was another stairway in the next cavern. Guessing that Rhyzo snatched the stairs on sight, Surge ascended it without a second thought.

---

He found himself under open skies, standing at the end of a rocky path. There was a small fountain at the other end of this path. Two dungeon teams prospected the fountain’s water.

“Surge!” Rhyzo called, poking his head out of a pile of dense vegetation at one side of the path. “Jump in these bushes!”

Surge approached Rhyzo and jumped into the vegetation. Team Venture retreated into the foliage. Rhyzo tore out a strip of foliage to make a hole for them to see through.

“There must be something in that fountain,” said Surge, keeping his voice low. “Is this the top of the dungeon?”

“Must be,” said Rhyzo.

“Then there are no ferals to attack us!” Surge smiled, feeling water lap against his feet.

When they peeked from the bush, the teams were nowhere to be found. Team Venture clambered out of the bushes and walked to the fountain.

Just then, another dungeon team appeared out of thin air at the beginning of the path. Spotting the team, Surge and Rhyzo dove back into the vegetation.

“Damn it!” cursed Rhyzo. “Why are there so many teams in this dungeon?”

“I think it’s rich in precious items.” Surge saw the gold ore pebbles inserted in Rhyzo’s spikes. “Like gold ore.”

Suddenly, Surge and Rhyzo felt the space warp around them. Their vision began to distort into waves. Team Venture were immobilized in tangled space and a burst of white enveloped their eyes.

When their vision returned to normal, Surge and Rhyzo found themselves back at the entrance of Drenched Bluff.

“What…” Rhyzo uttered, finding the same rocks they used to hide from the Raichu’s team. “We’re back at the entrance?!”

“It could be the dungeon’s way of congratulating us,” reasoned Surge. “We reached its top.”

Rhyzo heard a snarl from his stomach. “I’m hungry as hell. I can’t climb that damned dungeon again.”

Surge heard the same snarl from his own. “I’m hungry too. Should we go back to Treasure City?” He felt the glassy surface of the Blowback Orb.

“Not without a fill, you hasty idiot.”

Team Venture deserted Drenched Bluff, looking for fruits in the verdant wilderness. The placid green of the grass gave them respite in the wake of a harsh introduction to dungeon crawling storming with bloodthirsty ferals, barren surroundings and vigilant dungeoneers.

A halo of success hovered above Rhyzo’s horn, happy to avoid capture and lay beatdowns on ferals to build his strength, though the Water attacks were a chore to withstand. For Surge, however, it was a nightmare, brutalized by ferals and forced to inflict pain from his own paws. There were no Pokemon to save, only Pokemon to fight and escape from.