Chapter 11: Under the Sea-cret Tunnel

Special Arc 1: The Gift That Will Stop Giving

These events take place sometime in the past, before Ezera’s arrival to the Pokémon world.

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As the moon rose higher into the sky, joyous chatter filled the Kaiyo Adventurers’ Guild. Granted, there was chatter every night, but on this night all its members were present, providing a rare opportunity for them to have fun amongst themselves. Inside the mess hall, its members were gathered in a half circle formation facing the archway. The room was certainly living up to its name, as a large amount of food and plates were strewn across every table, some eaten, some untouched. 

“Two hundred and fifty Poké says you can’t make this shot!” Pichu teased, mouth stuffed to the brim with pastries.

“You and what Poké?” Deuce replied, nocking an arrow into his right wing. He squinted, getting a clear shot of the target.

Gana stood completely still on top of the tables gathered together, keeping the Perfect Apple balanced in between her horns. “Pichu, stop trying to ruin his focus! He hits me, I’m slime-ing your room!”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Pachirisu shouted below.

“Calm down, children. Our Deuce never misses,” Thievul said, picking his teeth with a claw.

“Aye, we all know he can hit his marks. We need to spice it up!” Wartortle added.

Morpeko stopped nibbling on her slice of cake. “What if we made him close his eyes and spun him around a bunch reallyreallyreally fast?!”

Wartortle jumped to his feet. “Morpeko ye genius!”

“Wha- wait just a minute,” Deuce interrupted, un-nocking the arrow.

Inteleon put his hands around Deuce and began spinning him. “Relax. What’s the worst that could happen?” he said, smiling dubiously.

Next to the kitchen, at the northeast corner of the room, Rockruff looked on with a goofy grin plastered to his face. “We’re all a little crazy inside, aren’t we?” he said to his partner.

“The normal can’t live with the crazy, so where do you think they send them to?” Litleo responded, sharing an amused look.

Rockruff jumped down from the stool. “Ah, you admit you’re crazy?”

“I made the decision to travel with you. I think that qualifies,” Litleo said, hopping down as well.

Rockruff’s grin grew wider. Under other circumstances, he’d tackle Litleo to express his appreciation. But one, tackling her would result in a long string of curses. And two, he didn’t have his species signature pebbles around his neck. Nuzzling her without them would probably give the wrong idea. ‘And I’ve got just the idea to compensate for it,’ he mused, eyeing the pale orange scarves he and Litleo wore.

“I’ve been thinking about paying a visit to my family,” Rockruff said, observing Deuce get spun rapidly.

“Really? You never talk about your family,” Litleo said.

“Neither do you.”

Litleo frowned. “Right. That’s true.”

“Wanna talk about it now?” he said, giving her his attention. “I promise to go if you go first.”

“I’ll pass. I don’t want to sour my good mood thinking about them.”

“Not too fond of them, huh?”

“I’ll tell you about them when we’re in a better setting. Maybe,” she dismissed, flicking her tail.

Rockruff nodded, having grown accustomed to those kinds of answers from her. She’d been like that since they met. Not that he minded, anyhow. The way she kept parts of herself closed only made him want to know more what hid behind that shell.

“When do you plan on leaving?” Litleo asked.

Rockruff scratched his ear with his hind leg. “In a couple days. I’ll be there for a couple too. Try not to be too helpless while I’m gone this time.”

“Helpless? If I recall, you’re the one who’s helpless without me.”

“Are you absolutely sure about that? When I met you, you were-“

“Oh shush!” Litleo bumped him with her hip and crouched into a fighting stance. “You want to go now, mister?”

“Hehe, you know I’ll win anyway!” Rockruff said, shoulder bumping her back.

“Let it FLYYYY!” Wartortle shouted.

Rockruff and Litleo directed their attention to the center of the room. THWOK! Deuce loosed his arrow mid-spin. It flew to Gana’s right, missing the apple entirely and instead knocking Corla off a table and to the ground. Laughter erupted from a few of the members.

Deuce opened his eyes. “I do not think that was the apple,” he stated, swaying on his feet. “Sorry to… whoever I hit.”

Corla stayed on the floor, expression unchanged. “Oh… I’ve fallen…”

Dewott walked over and helped Corla to her feet.

“Yo that was hilarious. Let’s do it again!” Vibrava commented.

“And what if the Guildmaster or Vicemaster see what we’re doing?” Corvisquire argued, batting a wing over Vibrava’s head.

“See you doing what, dear?” Rapidash said, appearing under the archway alongside Sirfetch’d. She raised an eyebrow at the mess before her. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say all of you were born yesterday.”

“Why? What’s going on?” Sirfetch’d asked.

“We’re playing some games. You’re welcome to join us!” Yamper said. He laid upside down with Purrloin on his stomach.

“Oooh yes,” Purrloin purred, “having the leaders join would be interesting.”

Rapidash shook her head. “I’m afraid I will have to decline your offer.”

“Oho, I won’t. Count me in!” Sirfetch’d exclaimed, walking further in.

“Just… clean up after you finish. Applin can’t do all the cleaning by himself, okay dears?” Rapidash left, quietly chuckling to herself.

Rockruff glanced at Litleo. “Should we go join them? I think they’re about to suggest one of our favorites.”

“Whatever you want,” Litleo answered.

“Join it is!”

The guild members played their activities late into the night until sleep called them. Once the mess hall was arranged back to its original setup, they bade each other goodnight. Rockruff followed behind Litleo, entering the third floor before he stopped.

“Oh! I just remembered something I wanted to do. Go on ahead. I’ll be there shortly,” Rockruff said.

“You’re not about to run out on me, are you?” Litleo asked, turning to him.

“You know me too well.”

They laughed and Litleo began heading to their room. “Don’t take too long,” she said.

Rockruff bounded up the staircase to the fourth floor. This floor acted as the Veteran teams’ quarters, although it didn’t house as many rooms due to the few number of Veteran teams that existed. Instead, the remaining space was transformed to fit the entrance to the two spires atop the guild.

‘If I’m gonna grab help, then the best team to do that would be…’ Rockruff halted at the second archway on the left. ‘Team Piksqueak.‘ A regal yellow painted Team Piksqueak’s quarters. Thunderbolt designs were scattered randomly on the walls. Each side of the room housed one comfy looking bed, and a window with a shutter sat installed in the back. Pichu and Pachirisu were huddled with their backs turned to Rockruff. Morpeko laid fast asleep on the left side bed.

“Hiya,” Rockruff whispered.

Pichu and Pachirisu jumped up, startled. They swiveled around and hid something behind them.

“Oh, it’s only Rockruff,” Pachirisu said. “We’re safe.”

“No, he has to pass the tattletale test first.” Pichu cleared her throat and straightened out her yellow scarf. “Are you a tattletale?”

“Depends. What are you doing that I have to tell on you?” Rockruff replied.

“Don’t be difficult! Just say yes or no,” Pachirisu huffed.

“My mouth is sealed,” Rockruff said, throwing his paws up.

Pichu stepped to the side, revealing a wooden basket. “Great! Now we don’t have to worry about you telling Indeedee and Reuniclus we’re putting something extra in their lunch basket.” Before Rockruff had a chance to ask why, she and her teammate scampered up to him. “What brings you to the amazing Team Piksqueak’s headquarters?”

“I have a favor to ask, but seeing how sugar crazed you are right now… maybe I should wait until morning.”

“It doesn’t matter. We never sleep!” Pachirisu proclaimed, puffing her chest.

“Mhm, mhm!” Pichu agreed. A snore escaped Morpeko. “Correction, me and Pachirisu never sleep. So tell us. What is it, what is it?”

“You can keep a secret, right?” Rockruff asked.

Pichu gasped. “Did you commit a crime and need us to cover up for you?”

“We’re reaalllly good at that,” Pachirisu said.

Rockruff tried containing his laughter. “No, no, it’s nothing like that. See… I want to get a surprise gift for Litleo.”

“A surprise gift? That’s so cuuuute!” Pachirisu exclaimed, hopping up and down.

“Sssshhh! It’s gonna be hard to keep it a secret if you two keep shouting it out loud for me,” Rockruff joked. The two electric-types used their paws to cover each other’s mouth. “Okay. The thing is, the gift I want to get her isn’t something that can be bought. I have to find it first, and I can’t get there on my own. Not alone or with my type disadvantage.”

“Is it a treasure hunt?” Pichu said, tilting her head.

“Of sorts. It’s a tip I picked up from a ‘mon I helped a while back. Have you heard of the Sea Kissed Wastes?”

“Isn’t that a deserted mystery dungeon? They say items from the beginning of this continent’s birth are hidden in there,” Pachirisu said.

“Which is also a myth! No ‘mon has ever found proof of the place or those items,” Pichu argued, leaning on her teammate.

“It could be. But the hint I have could prove it’s not,” Rockruff said. He laid the bait, now all they needed to do was take it…

Static crackled on Pichu’s cheeks. “What hint?”

“Ah, ah. Is that a yes to coming with me?” He could feel their excitement rubbing off on him.

“Hmmm… what do we get out of it?”

“Anything I don’t choose for my gift you can take. But I think there’s a lot of Poké in there…”

Pichu’s eyes gleamed. “Count us in! Morpeko’s asleep but she’ll follow what we do anyway. What’s the hint?”

Rockruff grinned. Easy as luring a munchlax with food. “You’ll find out when we leave in two days.” Electricity jumped from Pichu to Pachirisu, then to him. “Ow!”

“Oops. I didn’t mean to do that, but it serves you right! Only we get to be cheeky,” Pichu pouted.

“Why two days and not tomorrow?” Pachirisu questioned.

“I wanted to give Litleo a heads up at least. And I might’ve told her that I’m visiting family, which I will after we finish,” Rockruff explained, turning to leave.

“All this work for some goodies that might not exist. You must really like her,” Pichu said. “Do you, do you?”

Heat rushed to his face. He forced his tail to wag slowly. “I do, but only cause she’s a great friend. That’s all.”

“He definitely likes her,” Pachirisu commented, giggling with Pichu.

“Anyway,” Rockruff said, desperate to change the subject, “I’ll see you at the front of the guild in two days.” He rounded the archway. “G’night!”

“Goodnight! Don’t let the durant bite!” Pichu replied.

Rockruff returned to his quarters. He found Litleo sitting up on her cushion, staring out the window. She spared a quick glance as he entered.

“Right on time. I was about to chase after you,” she stated.

“As you can see, there’s no need. I am a timely and trusty pokémon,” he said, hopping onto his cushion.

“If I could say the same for myself…”

Rockruff paused fluffing out his pillow. That was unlike her. She continued speaking.

“Listen. After you visit your family, I’ll tell you about mine. And if I feel up to it, maybe more.”

“Oh…? Alrighty. Then I’ll do the same! I’m looking forward to knowing you more, Miss Leo,” he said, prodding her side with a paw.

Litleo curled up facing him. “Yeah, yeah. Goodnight, Ruffers.”

“Hey! I didn’t tell you my wildmon name just for you to make fun of me,” Rockruff said.

“Too… sleepy… can’t hear you…”

Rockruff set his head down atop his paws. ‘That’s the Litleo I know… and I wouldn’t have it any other way.‘

Two days later, Rockruff basked in the early sunlight. He sat in the courtyard, watching the sparse clouds in the orange covered sky. His tail thumped the grass at a steady rate. ‘I won’t be giving her a lame gift like gold or jewels. I wouldn’t care for that, and neither would she.‘

“It needs to be something more…” Rockruff muttered. His ears perked up as he heard faint scuffling. Team Piksqueak came into view.

“Ewwww, being up early stinks,” Pichu whined, eyes half open.

Morpeko shook Pichu’s shoulders, sending zaps of electricity at the same time. “Snap out of it, great leader! Our chance for richness is here!”

Pachirisu double checked the inside of her item bag. “Only if we find it first. We are ready!”

“Where’s our destination?” Pichu asked.

“We’ll take the Drednaw Ferry to Bubula Cove. Sea Kissed Wastes’ entrance supposedly lies inside the waterfall to the west of there,” Rockruff elaborated.

“Then let’s move, move, mooove! No time to waste!”

Team Piksqueak ran off to the bridge.

“Definitely hyper, but not hyper enough to beat me there!” Rockruff sprinted after them, and soon passed them. “Come on, slakoth move faster than you three!”

“You can’t say that, your legs are longer!” Pichu shouted.

Rockruff laughed and they continued to Kaiyo Town’s docks. ‘Litleo’s present will have to be timeless.‘

---

Rockruff and Team Piksqueak hit the beach’s white colored sand, saying goodbye to the two drednaw they rode. A lavender scent wafted into their nostrils.

“Aaah, we should make time to lie in the sand here,” Pachirisu said, closing her eyes.

Morpeko pinched her nose. “Ick! Big nope from me. This smell is nasty.”

Rockruff observed the stone cliff bluffs looming up ahead. The ledges stuck out in layers, enough where baby palm trees grew out on them. Thin leafed shrubs sprouted next to the trees, and each housed spike shaped fruit that danced slightly to the sea breeze. A rough, rocky pathway was cut in between the cliffs, but that would lead them to Bubula Town. ‘I’m not going there quite yet,‘ Rockruff thought. He focused his gaze to the west. He could hardly make out the skinny waterfall in the distance, almost being blinded by the pearly white sand.

“Sooo, Ruffy, about the hint you mentioned, you wanna tell us about it?” Pichu asked. She and her team stared at him with wide, expectant eyes.

“Ruffy? Interesting nickname you’ve picked out for me,” Rockruff responded, raising an eyebrow.

“You can’t expect me to call you Rockruff, that’s too long! Ruffy is nice and short. It sounds better too!”

“I forget you do this for all the members.”

“Yup! Now spill!”

Rockruff winked. “Not yet. Consider it the big reveal of our adventure.”

“Boooo…”

The four of them made their way forward, hearing the gentle roar of the waterfall grow louder. Rockruff stuck his forepaw in the narrow stream of water flowing out to sea.

“It’s not too cold. We should be okay getting wet,” he said, squinting to see the entrance behind the waterfall.

“I like water, but won’t no sun mean we’ll be cold down there?” Pachirisu said. She gripped her tail.

“If we get cold, that means it’s huddle time!” Morpeko declared, hugging Pachirisu.

“I’ll go first just in case some wildmon is lurking nearby,” Rockruff stated.

Pichu stopped him. “Nuh uh! We’re the Veterans so we’ll go first. We know what we’re doing. Watch and learn.”

“Er, alright. After you, m’lady.”

Pichu held her breath and motioned her teammates to follow. They stepped into the stream and advanced slowly, dipping their heads as they walked through the wall of water. Rockruff readied himself in case he needed to jump in. Moments later, a chorus of screams pierced his ears.

“EEEYYAAAA!”

‘Uh oh.‘ Rockruff dashed into the cave. He shook the water off him and averted his eyes as a flash of yellow light erupted. A short screech rang out. Rockruff turned back expecting a fight, but found a noibat flapping their wings in retreat. Team Piksqueak collectively sighed.

“That was too close,” Pichu said.

Rockruff eased his stance. “You three made me think something deadly had already eaten you.”

“Did you see that noibat’s mouth? It could’ve gobbl- waaaaiiiit, what do you mean already?!”

“The way seems clear enough,” Rockruff continued, “now that you’ve scared every ‘mon who might’ve lived here off.”

“We’re doing them a favor. Who likes living in a place this mangy?” Pachirisu stated, brushing grime off her tail.

Morpeko raised her arm. “I would! It’s dark, private. Good place to snack all day…” The three pokémon stared at her in silence. “What?”

“You prefer this dark, ugly cave over the beach?” Pachirisu questioned.

“It’s not ugly! It’s charmingly ugly.”

“How does that change the fact it’s still ugly?!”

Pichu jumped onto Rockruff’s back. “Yadda, yadda. Onwards, companions! The Poké is calling. Ruffy will take point.”

“Hey, I’m not a skiddo you can ride on when you feel like it…” Rockruff said.

“You’re fiiiine. I don’t weigh much.” She tugged the knot on his scarf. “Best you get going,” she said, mimicking Sirfetch’d’s voice.

He started moving forward. “Down into the depths we go then.”

Rockruff led Team Piksqueak down the stony passage. The ceiling hung low, but width wise it didn’t leave them wanting for space. Luminous Mushrooms- the distant relatives of Luminous Orbs- provided blue light sources, allowing them to see the path start to slightly decline. Rockruff felt moisture seeping into his feet, which he surmised was due to the lower sea level. After a few twists and turns, Pichu spoke up.

“I think now would be a nice time to let us in on your secret, Ruffy,” she said, tapping her paws on his head. “Please, pretty please?”

“Hmm, true. Might as well tell you while it’s calm,” he replied. “The hint I received is a riddle.”

“A riddle? Meh, I can never make sense of those,” Morpeko interjected.

“Yep. It goes, ‘In the dark of night, far down you may realize. In circles you’ll fight, lest you break the disguise. To head to the light, do as this will advise. Go left and stick right, but back to your first tries. Stay mid and carve bright, the center of my eyes. When I achieve sight, you break the web of lies.'”

“The lies, eyes, and what now?” Pachirisu repeated.

“It’s definitely a mouthful,” Rockruff said. “It took me days to fully memorize it.”

“But you’ve solved it?”

Rockruff let out an awkward laugh. “Ah… I haven’t yet.”

Pichu released mini currents of electricity into Rockruff’s fur. “Eeeeh?! Then you should’ve told us earlier so we could figure it out while we walk!”

“Hey, that tickles!” he said, shivering. “I just thought it’d be more fun to solve it while we’re here. We’re adventurers, aren’t we?”

“Adventurers don’t need to play brain games! That’s for Re-Re and Helin.” Pichu rubbed her cheeks. “My brain is already turning to mush as we speak. Ooooh yes, very mushy…”

Pachirisu leapt up and slapped Pichu. “There! Still mushy?”

Pichu blinked. “Yes.”

“Oh, well I tried.”

“What’s the first line again?” Morpeko questioned. “‘In the dark of night?’ Does that mean we should’ve come here at that time?”

Rockruff shook his head. “I doubt it. I think it’s only referring to how dark it is down here.”

“Whoever wrote it stinks. Or anymon who writes riddles. Just tell us what you mean!” Pichu exclaimed.

“I don’t think shouting at their spirit is gonna help,” Rockruff said, tilting his head up to look at her.

Their group halted as the path split into three directions, going northwest, north, and northeast. Each trail looked identical to one another, being dim and having some strange markings on the wall.

Pichu frowned. “How are we supposed to know which is the correct way?”

“Trial and error?” Morpeko suggested.

“What if it leads far but ends up being a dead end? We’ll have wasted a buncha time,” Pachirisu rejected.

Rockruff raised an eyebrow at the single line inscripted into the ground below him. He bent down to sniff it, but only picked up dust and mold. Not helpful. “I agree with Pachirisu. I’d prefer to make it back today, just so I can make my ‘lie’ not really a lie. And Litleo’s going to be real angry with me if I’m not back in time…”

Morpeko’s eyes gleamed. “Boys should fear girls’ attitude. When we get mad, we get mad.”

“You’d know a thing or two about that, wouldn’t you?” Rockruff awkwardly remarked. ‘I don’t want to say her hangry mode might trigger if we’re down here for too long.‘

“Myyyy inner-winner gut says the correct path is straight ahead!” Pichu announced, sitting up straight.

Pachirisu tilted her head. “And you came to that how?”

“My smartness, duh!”

“So cool, great leader! Amazing work,” Morpeko complimented.

“Intelligence aside, I can’t smell anything that’ll give us a hint on where to go. It doesn’t hurt to see what lies ahead,” Rockruff said.

They all proceeded down the middle path. It grew increasingly darker the further they went. Even standing so close to one another, the outlines of their bodies were hardly visible. Pachirisu and Morpeko clung to Rockruff’s sides.

“He- hey, what’s wrong? If we need to fight, I’m not sure trapping me will be an effective plan,” Rockruff quipped.

“Aren’t you scared of the dark?” Pachirisu asked.

“Mm, I had to learn not to be when I was little. For myself and others.” He smiled. “But what’s there to be scared of if we’re all together right now? If something approaches, I give all three of you permission to shock me and the thing.”

Team Piksqueak giggled. A hint of light appeared in the distance, drawing the group’s gaze.

“Look at that! Let’s hurry,” Morpeko said.

The four of them rushed into the mini clearing ready to cheer, only for confusion to enter their faces. Rockruff’s brow furrowed. ‘Another three way split? We’re going to have to memorize which ones we take if we backtrack.‘

“Where to this time?” Morpeko said.

“Let’s go middle again,” Pichu answered, pointing her paw.

They quickly followed through the middle tunnel. Upon exiting, they once more found themselves faced with three paths. ‘Isn’t this… where we just were?‘ Rockruff examined the floor. The single line from earlier was drawn into it.

Pichu dismounted Rockruff. “What gives? Are all the rooms going to be three choices?”

“No, see here?” Rockruff rubbed his forepaw at the line. “We’re back at the start.”

“EH?! We went forward. How can we go forward and end up backwards?”

“Did the tunnel loop but we didn’t notice? It was pretty dark,” Pachirisu said.

Morpeko gasped. “What if this is like those stories where the group of adventurers gets lost forever, and their spirits haunt the halls of where they-“

“MORPEKO!” Her teammates scolded.

‘No use dwelling on how we went in a circle, but why,‘ Rockruff pondered. ‘Circle, wait.’ A Luminous Orb went off in his head. “The riddle!”

Pichu and Pachirisu paused muffling Morpeko’s mouth. “What about it?” they both said.

“‘In the dark of night, far down you may realize. In circles you’ll fight, lest you break the disguise,'” he recited. “I think this is where the riddle comes into play. We’re going in circles from this ‘disguise.'”

“Woah. You figured that out fast.” Electricity jumped out of Pichu’s cheeks. “Are you lying about not knowing what the riddle means just to prank us?”

“No no, I’m not! The line, it makes sense doesn’t it?” Rockruff countered.

“He’s got a point,” Pachirisu added. “What are the next lines?”

“‘To head to the light, do as this will advise. Go left and stick right, but back to your first tries.’ Sounds like directions to me,” Rockruff said.

“That are conflicting.” Morpeko reached into her right fur pocket and pulled out a small, roasted berry. She nibbled on it. “How do we go left AND stick right?”

“Maybe we go on the left path but stick to the… right… wall? Naaah, never mind,” Pachirisu said.

Rockruff gave a reassuring nod. “I like the idea. We can try it. Any objections?” Pichu and Morpeko shook their heads. “Alrighty. Left it is, and we’ll hang on the right side of it.”

They walked into the left pathway, making sure to hug the right wall as close as they could. Like before, they emerged to find the same familiar scene.

“That was wrong,” Pachirisu said, crestfallen.

“Actually, you were correct,” Rockruff said, pointing at the floor. Two lines were scrawled into it, unlike the one line in the previous area. “This tells us we’ve moved forward at least.”

Pichu’s eyes widened. “True, true! What’s next?”

“Based on the line… hmm. Now I’m wondering if it doesn’t matter what we choose, just as long as we stay next to the right wall.”

“So you wanna go left again?”

“Sure, why not?”

Rockruff and Team Piksqueak repeated their action, except they quickly found themselves on square one. The one line room was back.

“‘Okay, that’s not it then…” Rockruff muttered.

Morpeko raised a paw. “Hang on. Isn’t this a guessing game now? Even if we get the wrong choices, we’ll go through each of them eventually, won’t we?”

“Which is also the problem,” Pachirisu stated, knocking on Morpeko’s head. “We don’t know how many we need to go through to reach the end.”

“Oh. I get it.”

Their group returned to the two line area. Rockruff inspected each path carefully.

“Maybe it’s telling us to go on the right path after the left, but that doesn’t explain the phrase that comes after it,” he said. ‘We ended up at our first try and nothing changed. Ah, I’ll worry about it after we try this plan.‘ Rockruff and Team Piksqueak went in the northeast path. He breathed out a sigh of relief as they exited it, glimpsing three lines drawn into the ground. “So far so good.”

Pichu’s ears drooped. “This is booorrriiing. When we leave here we’re all going to be looking like master Sirfetch’d. Slow and old.”

“I hear he’s surprisingly fast despite his age,” Pachirisu said, tugging Pichu’s ears back up.

“Chin up,” Rockruff encouraged. “If we solve this, you’ll be rich and old. As I like to say, ‘The harder the problem, the better reward once we solve’em!'”

They took the northeast path once again and ended up back at the start. Retracing their steps, the four pokémon then tried the middle and left path, only to discover those led them to the beginning as well. Pichu stomped on the trio of inscripted lines angrily.

“I don’t get it. All the tunnels are wrong!” she complained.

“Maybe they’re wrong cause we’re cursed,” Morpeko said. “We’re cursed, and now we’re sitting duckletts for whatever is about to devour-“

“MORPEKO!” Pichu and Pachirisu cried.

‘It’s strange. We’ve been following what the riddle says. Go left, then right. Afterward, no matter what we pick we end up at the start. Could that be our first tries?‘ Rockruff shut his eyes, tuning out Team Piksqueak’s talking. ‘The next line tells us to stay mid. Mid sounds like middle. I have to try it.‘

“I want to test something. Can the three of you stay here for a moment?” Rockruff requested.

Electricity jumped out of Pichu. “You’re- you’re going alone?! What if you get lost from us?”

“I promise I won’t. I just want to run through an idea. It’ll take twenty seconds, tops.”

“Please hurry,” Pachirisu said.

Rockruff nodded and sprinted into the left tunnel. He came out into the single line area, as expected. ‘Now if I go middle here… will it be something different?‘ He ran into the center path, heart rising in anticipation. Unfortunately, he stumbled out to the same scene. Rockruff exhaled, stifling his frustration. ‘Calm down. Anger won’t get us through this.‘ He pictured one of Litleo’s rare smiles. ‘I am going to solve it, no matter what.‘ He hurried through the tunnels back to Team Piksqueak.

“Ruffy! Did your idea work?” Pichu asked, breaking out of their huddle.

“No, sadly. I um, dunno what else to try,” he replied, tail dragging behind him.

“Lucky for you, we do!”

His tail instantly rose. “Oh? What’d you come up with?”

“Why don’t we go backwards?” Morpeko said, pointing to the pathway Rockruff came from.

“Backwards…?” Rockruff said.

“Yeah! The riddle says ‘back to our first tries,’ doesn’t it? And if the paths in front of us don’t work, why don’t we try the one behind us?” Pachirisu elaborated.

Pichu posed along with her teammates. “Pretty smart of us, right? Right?”

A grin hit Rockruff’s lips. “Ingenious. Okay, let’s do it.”

With new resolve, they entered the previous tunnel and held their breaths. As they exited, one tunnel greeted them in front. The north and northwest tunnels sat to the side. Their first instinct was to inspect the floor for new markings. Sure enough, a fourth line had been added. Team Piksqueak opened their mouths to cheer.

“Don’t celebrate yet,” Rockruff said, holding a paw up. “I think we need to go back one more.” For the final time, they traveled through the back tunnel, arriving to find a fifth line inscripted. “We’re close to the end. I know it.”

“Quick, say the final part of the riddle again,” Morpeko said.

“‘Stay mid and carve bright, the center of my eyes. When I achieve sight, you break the web of lies.'” He pivoted to his right. “Now… now we take the center path.”

He plodded forward, with Team Piksqueak trailing closely behind. Pitch blackness surrounded them on this path. Rockruff’s heart and mind began to race, until his snout ran into something hard.

“Ow. There’s something here,” he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“It’s so dark, I can’t see a thing,” Pichu said.

“Let me through. I can try creating a small Electro Ball to give us some light,” Pachirisu said. She scurried in front of Rockruff. A blue ball of electricity formed in the curl of her tail, illuminating the object Rockruff hit.

“Is this a… I don’t recognize what this is,” Morpeko said.

“It’s a stunfisk, isn’t it? I knew one where I grew up.”

Indeed, a bronze statue of a stunfisk stared at them. It was tilted vertically, with the face hovering above the ground. Traces of rust ate away its edges. Spots of green also appeared among the main body.

Pichu sized the statue up. “Why is this here?”

“It’s the last piece of the riddle. We have to carve bright the center of its eyes. It should be talking about the mouth,” Rockruff explained.

“How do we carve something bright into it?”

“Good question…”

Morpeko hopped forward, pushing Pachirisu out of the way. “Ooh, ooh! I’ll aim a Thundershock at the mouth. That’s bright.” No ‘mon had a chance to object. Morpeko unleashed a thin lightning bolt at the stunfisk’s mouth. The mouth hummed with energy, absorbing it all.

Pachirisu’s Electro Ball faded. “Did we do it?”

CLICK! The statue and wall slid aside, producing a box-like room. Giant mushrooms glowed on the right side, exuding neon yellow spores. On the left, a jagged half wall acted as a barrier to a steep dropoff.

“We solved the riddle! Good job team!” Pichu celebrated, hugging her partners.

Rockruff wanted to join them, but his skin itched at the suspiciously dark ceiling. He couldn’t see how high it went. ‘Why do I get the feeling we’re being watched above?‘

“What now? The cave stops,” Pachirisu stated.

“It doesn’t stop if you feel like cliff jumping,” Pichu said, pointing to the half wall.

Rockruff conjured a small pebble around his tail. “Before we decide… we might have some company.” He angled his shot and slung it high into the darkness. He waited to hear it clack against the stone, but it didn’t arrive.

“SCREEEEE!”

Rockruff and Team Piksqueak covered their ears. The mushrooms’ glow intensified, lighting up the entire room. Fwoosh! Looking up, a pokémon hung upside down. They unfolded their pair of green wings with red membranes, revealing a dusk gray underbelly. Their snout had a distinct V shape.

“This is not cash Poké,” Morpeko commented, mouth agape.

“A wildmon, careful team,” Pichu warned, static racing to her ears.

“Not just any wildmon, a noivern,” Rockruff added.

Noivern glared at them with his sharp golden eyes. “Children, this is no place for you.”

“For such a high pitched scream he’s got quite a deep voice,” Pachirisu whispered.

“And for such tiny children you’ve got quite the nerve coming here.”

“We are not children!” Pichu exclaimed jumping up and down.

“My mistake. You did solve the riddle,” Noivern said.

Rockruff’s eyes widened. “Did you create it?”

“Do I look the wordy type to you?”

“Er, not really.”

“Smart.” Noivern dropped from his position, gliding to them at an alarming speed. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

“Double shock, stat!” Pichu ordered.

Pachirisu and Morpeko arced bolts of lightning from their bodies. Noivern barrel rolled to the right, easily dodging their attacks. Large sound waves left his circular ears. BWOOM! Rumbling overtook the cave and the four pokémon were thrown against the half wall.

“Ouchie…” Morpeko said, getting to her feet.

“He’s charging another one!” Rockruff yelled. He summoned three big stones around his tail and launched them toward Noivern. Noivern canceled his move and flew low. Unbeknownst to him, Pachirisu aimed her electro ball there. Noivern’s left wing was clipped and he flapped to a stop.

“Gogogogo!” Pichu said. She charged at Noivern, covering herself in electricity. Morpeko ran alongside her, forming an electric wheel. The Volt Tackle and Aura Wheel sent their target recoiling. Rockruff shot another Rock Slide, combining it with Pachirisu’s torrent of star-shaped rays. Noivern screeched and ascended as they hit. His body shimmered momentarily before multiple copies of himself appeared.

Rockruff spun around trying to pinpoint the real Noivern. “What’s he going to do?”

“I’m using Discharge. Brace yourself!” Pachirisu declared. She was too slow, however. Bursts of sound waves traveled out of all the Noivern copies. Their group doubled down, pinned by the noise. A solid purple beam battered them. Rockruff fell on top of Team Piksqueak, taking the brunt of the Dragon Pulse.

“Oooogh,” Rockruff groaned, vision growing hazy. He felt paws pry his mouth open and shove an Oran Berry in it. He blinked the black spots away. “Thank you.” Rockruff glanced at their foe. White light enshrouded Noivern, healing his injuries. ‘So he knows Roost… We can’t give him a chance to use it again.‘

“Hit me, girls!” Pachirisu said.

Pichu and Morpeko each grabbed one of her paws. “You got it!” they cheered. Electricity transferred from their bodies to Pachirisu, restoring her health.

“So this is some of your team’s technique, huh?” Rockruff said.

Pichu beamed proudly. “Her Volt Absorb ability is just one of our secrets.”

“Charming as it is, I’m getting sick of playing with runts,” Noivern called. “It’s time to play in the dark.” He emitted a lower pitched screech, dimming the mushrooms’ light considerably.

“Nope! Too dark, too dark!” Morpeko cried.

“Don’t worry team, sight never- ECK!” Pichu’s sentence was cut off as Noivern slammed into her. She rolled to a stop near the entry wall, too dazed to get up.

Morpeko looked around frantically. “Pichu? Where- AH!” Noivern’s pointed claws picked her up and tossed her into the air. She let loose a feeble Thundershock. Noivern twirled, evading it. He retaliated by shooting a condensed beam of energy. The beam sent Morpeko crashing into a pile of mushrooms.

“Aaaah!” Blue electricity crackled all around Pachirisu. Noivern grunted from a few stray zaps grazing him. He inhaled, readying a Boom Burst.

Thanks to Pachirisu’s light source, Rockruff saw it coming. Using Rock Climb, the ground rose beneath his feet and he leapt into the air. His jaws connected with the top of Noivern’s left wing. He chomped down tight, hoping his Crunch would bring Noivern to the ground. Noivern’s Boom Burst went astray, striking the ceiling. Chunks of rocks collapsed down. Pachirisu yelped in surprise, ending her Discharge.

“What a troublesome… CHILD!” Noivern bellowed. He twisted until Rockruff fell, launching another Dragon Pulse. Rockruff hurled a number of rocks to intercept it. Smoke exploded as the attacks met. Rockruff safely touched the floor.

‘This is bad. The darkness and smoke is perfect for Noivern’s Double Team, Roost combo,‘ Rockruff thought. “Pachirisu, if you can hear me, I need you to use Discharge again!” he barked.

“On it!” Pachirisu complied.

Light emanated from her, allowing Rockruff to glimpse Noivern copies forming.

“Ruffy, give us a boost!” Pichu ordered, back in the fray. She and Morpeko were running side by side.

Realizing what she meant, Rockruff summoned a staircase of boulders beneath them. Morpeko dashed through half the Noiverns with a burst of speed. Pichu Volt Tackled through the other half, colliding with the real one before he could Roost. Noivern dropped down.

“This is it, team! Triple Spark tackle, go!” Pichu commanded.

She, Pachirisu, and Morpeko’s bodies filled with static electricity. Noivern attempted to fly too late. Team Piksqueak piled on him, releasing all the stored up power. Tons of volts ran through Noivern’s body.

“A-a-a-a-argh!” Noivern yowled. He stayed still for one second, then face planted into the ground, knocked out.

The mushrooms brightened, returning light to the room. Team Piksqueak huddled and went to Rockruff.

“Another achievement for Team Piksqueak,” Pichu proudly claimed. “Taking down a weird Noivern.”

“You three did great. I was right to bring you along,” Rockruff said, grinning.

“You’re not too bad yourself,” Pachirisu said.

Morpeko pulled out another roasted berry. “This calls for a snack!”

“Do celebrate, adventurers. It won’t be long before you move on,” Noivern calmly stated. The four pokémon spun to see Noivern perched on the half wall.

Pichu pointed an angry paw at him. “How are you up already?! That’s creepy.”

“That is irrelevant. Surely you have a better question, such as where is this ‘Sea Kissed Wastes?’ Am I wrong?”

Rockruff took one step forward. “Please, can you tell us what you know about it?”

Noivern began singing a tune.

“Sink or swim in the depths of sea~

Fall or fly as you come to me~

One more challenge ’til I’m all spent~

Facing me is the last event!~”

“Huh? What’s that mean?” Rockruff said.

“See you soon, children.” Noivern leaned back and fell into the darkness.

Pachirisu scratched her head. “That’s unsettling. Is it another rid-“

The right wall with mushrooms burst forth, bringing a crashing wave of sea water. Rockruff and Team Piksqueak were swept up in the current, unable to escape. The tide carried them over the half wall and into black emptiness. Their consciousness faded as they fell down and down…