When they got to Mindscape, they went up to the screen they normally went to. Eventually, scrolling through missions using the orb in the wall, they came across a simpler one.

“This one involves rescuing a Swirlix who ended up wandering out into Beach Expanse for some reason,” Pachuku read. Sanvu still had a hard time reading the screen, even with automatic translation; it still took a while for him to register the actual words, so Pachuku had pretty much taken over all of this in stride.

As they selected the mission and turned to leave, behind them were none other than the Electabuzz and Duosion from earlier.

“You goin’ for that mission too, huh?” Tenab hinted, hands on his hips and donning an overconfident grin. Sanvu wasn’t surprised to see Pachuku twitch away again, and their silent acknowledgements made the larger Electric-type laugh. Derjie spoke up next.

“We were just sent out there ourselves for some kind of clean-up. Figured we might look for the Swirlix on the way.”

“What’s it expected to look like?” Sanvu asked.

“Pink and fluffy. It wouldn’t be that much bigger than, say, Pachuku.”

Pachuku scoffed, rolling his eyes, “Why’s it always gotta be the pink ones going missing,” he grunted. Derjie seemed to pick up on his attitude, a little perplexed.

“I mean, it’s more than just the pink ones, Pachuku. Any little bit helps, right?”

Pachuku shrugged, but seemed satisfied enough to stop trembling. “If you say so.”

“I’ll go an’ get some items. We’ll hardly need ‘em since we’re so overpowered, but it’s more for the sake of ease,” Tenab grumbled as he left. Derjie stuck around a moment, leaving them to get snuck up on by Didra.

“Was just about to wish you off, is something up?” She asked.

Sanvu had to keep himself from assuming the worst given her actions the prior day. But she truly didn’t look like she was aware of anything had happened, so he asked anyway, despite his caution.

“Did you ever find out if the others came back from their ‘rest’ yet?” he probed. She looked distant for a second, before responding with, “I’ll look into it. Their absence is quite… peculiar. I’d thought they were only supposed to rest for a day. But I’ll handle that.”

She made a motion with her hand that suggested something dismissive, “Good luck out there,” she imparted, leaving. Derjie watched with confusion, before asking “Who’re you talking about?”

“One of our teams was set to look into Stony Enclose. We went there yesterday, but the dungeon vanished,” Sanvu recounted. Pachuku piped in, “We think they’re trapped inside the dungeon, but Didra’s convinced she just sent them on break.”

Derjie didn’t seem shocked or even that sad, but his voice did take on a softer tone, “Well, it’s not as if you can really do anything about a dungeon that collapsed, regardless of what you think happened,” he mused. Before he could continue, Tenab returned with a stuffed bag.

“Y’all ready to save that Swirlix?”

“Yeah,” was all the two smaller grounded Pokemon could muster.

---

During their trip there, Sanvu and Pachuku had recounted their own failed mission here, explaining the details to the Cognition. Neither of them reacted negatively, assuring them that it wouldn’t be repeated.

“The Swirlix is only, on, like, the 7^th floor. We won’t be goin’ to the depths or anything!” Tenab assured confidently. It didn’t do much to reassure them, but they continued onward anyways.

As they traversed, Sanvu couldn’t help but be bothered by something. He wasn’t able to put it into words though.

“You ever seen a beach as large as this?” Tenab supposed, waving his right arm, to where they could hardly see beyond more sand.

“Quite stunning, really,” Derjie commented. Eventually, they came to the dungeon entrance, which almost looked deeper, but they could hardly tell. The water still exhibited its odd behaviour from before with the rhythmic waves, but the Cognition seemed to ignore this, leaving only the Minders to be aware of these oddities.

“Well, let’s find the fairy,” Tenab grunted. Sanvu had already been informed that it was Fairy-type from Pachuku earlier in their trip, so the larger Electric-type’s little quip didn’t confuse him nearly as much as it would have prior.

As they travelled, Tenab often left it to Derjie to deal with their enemies due to the fact he couldn’t actually hit them.

“I hate that for some reason Electric moves don’t work on ‘em,” he grumbled in annoyance.

“Are they supposed to?” Sanvu felt that that was the case, but he wanted to acknowledge their plight anyways.

“A little. I chalk it up to all this weird stuff going on with memory. Maybe the dungeon’s forgettin’ what the rules’re supposed to be,” he joked.

“Or maybe they’re changing the rules? It wouldn’t be a surprise, friend,” The floating blob retorted. Sanvu couldn’t be sure.

“What’re the rules meant to be?”

“Electric-type moves are supposed to be able to hit Ground-type Pokemon, but it’s not very useful anyways,” Pachuku explained, his brows creased, looking away. “They resist it quite heavily, so the immunity isn’t shocking.”

“That’s a good one!” Tenab chimed in. Pachuku cringed a little upon his own realisation at what he said, and Sanvu could only lightly smile at the levity. It wasn’t long however before more apparitions appeared, and so they were back to battling.

As they descended, it was practically a sweep for Derjie and Sanvu, who were the primary battlers in the dungeon. Tenab could sometimes kick an opponent with Low Kick, but Pachuku wasn’t often doing anything. It got to the point where they’d sometimes hear crackling just walking around just behind them.

“Is that you?” Sanvu asked, hearing Pachuku once again on the 5^th floor. It was often loudest due to him being right behind.

“I’m not gonna get you, I’m just bored. They aren’t even coming from behind all that much.”

The dungeon was serving a distraction from the anxiousness they felt from the prior day. Being here was dredging up worry of all kinds, the Aerodactyl hopefully a distant memory despite their anticipation, but they couldn’t exactly relax with the other teams so distant.

At one point, Sanvu was holding down, in his vines, a Binacle by each of the heads. Derjie had emitted a Psywave to shut it down, its essence collapsing enough for him to let go. Both of their anxiety had been well noticed by the more experienced members, despite that Sanvu was dispersing enemies at a quick rate.

“You mind tellin’ what’s up?”

“You guys always seem worried on these missions. It’s not good to be keeping secrets bottled up.”

Both gave a worried glance at each other, before Pachuku spoke up.

“Ever since yesterday, when we found out Stony Enclose closed up, everyone’s just… been acting so weird.”

“How so?”

“Well, Didra’s outright lying to us, for one, doesn’t it make you suspicious of why she’d suddenly claim that another team of ours is just ‘on rest?’ Feels like she’s avoiding it for some reason,” Sanvu pointed out, which got both of them to be confused.

“So you think she might have somethin’ to do with it? With why the dungeon vanished?” Tenab grunted, as he peered towards yet another hallway. The floors had been squarish and long, but nothing particularly hard.

“N-no…” Pachuku quickly clarified, shaking his head, “It’s just… she’s been super weird and hasn’t even, like, sent anyone to check on them or anything. Whenever we bring them up, it’s like she…” he started shivering, shaking his head again, “I dunno, and that’s what worries me most.”

“Check on who?”

“The Treaders. What were they, a…” Sanvu scratched his head trying to recall their species. He could remember with full clarity what they looked like.

“Spoink and a Spritzee,” Pachuku chimed in over Sanvu.

“You think someone went in there and they vanished?” Tenab wondered, shrugging. “Real shame, but it’s not like you can smack down somethin’ that isn’t there.”

“Besides, there’s someone here that needs us now,” Derjie interjected, “It’s a real awful thing that Didra’s being so off about it, but I’m sure she cares in her own way. If she were behind it… there’s no reason she’d go to so much effort to find ways to protect us from all this.”

Sanvu and Pachuku didn’t change expressions from their dejection, but couldn’t find it in either of them to argue back. Tenab continued further down the rocky cavern, leaving them to follow. Sanvu looked at Pachuku, who while otherwise anxious, was much closer to Sanvu now than previously.

They continued, onward when Sanvu and the others heard a click ahead of them.

“Ah goddur-“

His voice cut off, and they made to rush forward, when Derjie stopped them, “No, don’t, it’s a trap!”

“What?”

“Tenab stepped on a Warp Trap” he pointed with his arm, slightly turning around in the hallway they had been in. They noticed a strange indent in the ground, complete with a purple orb of some kind. “He’s somewhere else on the floor, since we have badges, he’ll follow us up no matter what, so long as we find the stairs.”

“Can you blame us for being a bit worried when people disappear given what we just told you?” Sanvu chastised.

“No, I’m not, but don’t let that get in the way of what’s literally right in front of you.”

They walked around it, in doing so, they found out they were being tailed by-

Pachuku attempted to knock it inside the hallway they came from; it resembled a rock with a face and arms, a Geodude, Pachuku called it, but he was flung back. Sanvu could swear he saw his cheeks sparking as Pachuku flew away behind him. Derjie almost destroyed it with yet another spit of pink mist, when it only took a tap of an extended vine to cause it to melt.

Sanvu went to get Pachuku up, feeding him an Oran. Pachuku was still sparking though.

“You okay? It’s gone.”

“I know, that’s not all I’m mad about,” Pachuku growled. The floating green orb approached them, motioning them onwards. They reached about two rooms in a straight line when they encountered another apparition, this time a Diglett.

This one slammed Sanvu directly into the wall by Tackling him, the force hitting like a truck. While he was stuck there, he heard crackles and the humming of moves. Pachuku went and picked him up, grateful for the save. As the squirrel was searching through their bag, they heard Derjie shout happily down the hall.

“Oh, phew! We found you!”

Tenab appeared, with a few more scrapes on his body but was otherwise still standing.

“Yeah, I just wish these dungeons gave us more expy, at this point they’re nothin’” he grunted. Sanvu’s head tilted at the strange word.

“Experience,” Pachuku muttered. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

They continued with their now reunited party. Pachuku would still bother collecting most items he came across, and sometimes ended up triggering some traps on accident, like one that ejected spikes from the floor, or another that made him trip. The others would try to dissuade him from doing so after the few he would come across, but it couldn’t really be helped, he would continue regardless. They didn’t argue much though, for despite this, he was still somehow able to procure numerous amounts of berries and elixirs. Sanvu still often wondered how they grew in a cave, to which Pachuku excused with “dungeon stuff.”

Eventually, they finally reached the 7^th floor, and the Swirlix was basically right next to the stairs, and they happened to spawn close to the stairs, making for an easy exit.

“Oh finally!” the pink cloud shouted in exasperation. “Never thought coming in here would run so deep, but that’s my own fault I guess.”

“Well, mission accomplished, yeah, gang?” Tenab pumped his fist.

They saved the Swirlix, sending themselves all back to Mindscape.

---

Upon their return, nothing really appeared to be wrong. The Cognition and the Minders left on somewhat agreeable terms; got their rewards and the like. But, even while Didra was reassuring them she still had their worries in mind and was figuring things out, the Minders still felt that something was wrong.

When they made it back home, the day near its end, Pachuku noticed this, and clapped his paws together.

“Okay, so, stuff’s wild. The Treaders are gone, Didra’s being weird, and that’s throwing us for a loop. So, I guess we can try and talk it over what we can do.”

“As in… what about? Didn’t they mention we wouldn’t be able to do anything?”

“Yeah, but… I don’t exactly want to just forget about it like they have.”

Sanvu thought about that, before quickly sighing. “My head hurts.”

“I guess that dungeon took a lot out of you, huh,” Pachuku noted, before Sanvu went back to staring at the slip, though he was more staring through it, rather than actively looking at it.

Pachuku somewhat noticed this as he was pacing about.

“Any progress on your past?”

Sanvu shook his head in disappointment. It took several minutes before he spoke up again.

“These have to be related to why I can’t remember them. These… disappearances and weird things going on.”

“Hmm…”

“How… much do you know about humans, really, in this world? No one I’ve noticed has been… particularly fussed about it, or me, for that matter. Yet, I recall you said something about us being… like… a fairy tale or something, or made up? Why has everyone basically been so… nonchalant about me?” Sanvu wondered, looking up at Pachuku with his usual creased face of confusion.

Pachuku pondered this for a second, before answering.

“There are a couple of stories related to humans. The most often told stories are the ones related to them saving the world, but there are many who came here who haven’t done much of anything. No one really knows that much about them, sometimes there are tales claiming they don’t exist, but it’s not really well accepted, at least, to my knowledge, at least not these days.”

“Any of humans losing memory, or even getting any of it back?”

“It varies, but I wouldn’t know about it.”

“So what do you know, then?”

“Well, um, I could maybe tell the particularly big legends? There’re three of them, I’m familiar with one in particular, and little of the rest beyond some basics.”

Sanvu’s head tilted, eyes narrowing in expectation.

“In this particular story, I think the human didn’t lose their memory. They were summoned to um… stop some giant non-Pokemon snowflake-like thing called the Bittercold, which was feeding off of all the Pokemon’s negative energy, and using it to literally explode.”

“Negative… energy?”

“Like, hatred and sadness and stuff. Anyway, they lived on the Mist Continent, which is pretty far away from us, here on the Water Continent.”

“So, you name your continents after elements?”

“Oh yeah,” Pachuku informed, smiling. “There’s a lot of water here, on the Water Continent, normally speaking. The ‘beach,’ if it was underwater would’ve been a pretty big indicator of that, there’s loads of ponds and stuff outside of here.

“Anyway, to return to the story, apparently, Pokemon then were pretty upset with the state of the world. They all thought things couldn’t improve, but then this human was summoned by the Voice of Life, out of hundreds of humans, who destroyed the Bittercold.”

“Why couldn’t the Pokemon do it? Why’d the Voice of Life need a human, or even, many?”

“Apparently all that negative energy made it hard for anyone to breathe near it. Humans… weren’t as susceptible to this energy, somehow. Nobody knows why.”

Sanvu thought this over. “Sounds kinda like our circumstances.”

“It does, a bit. But it’d be a bit silly to assume that every human was summoned or that they came along for some divine purpose. It’s pretty common to hear of humans who were just… brought here, for one reason or another. Some still say they’re fairy tales, but those Pokemon are usually much… weirder.”

Sanvu gazed down at the bed, Pachuku continuing. “It’d seem a bit silly to presume you were the fault of all of this. You’ve lost most of your own memory, so what does your being a human have to do with all this?”

“I guess that makes sense,” Sanvu concluded, “If you view humans as heroes, there’d be no reason for you to assume anything would be wrong with me.”

“I mean, would there be anything wrong? I don’t know much about what a human is, despite what you’ve said and all. I’ve only known them as Pokemon that claim to not be Pokemon, so, I’d like to know more one day, but, well, the world’s in a bit of a spot right now to where I can’t, kinda.”

“I wish I could tell you more,” Sanvu murmured, “But besides what I’ve said, it’s like I wasn’t even there.”

“Anyway, I’d think that’s why the others haven’t brought it up. I think most know better than to assume that a human isn’t telling the truth.”

“Yet… you didn’t? That’s kind of the reason you brought me there, right?” Sanvu voiced. Pachuku cringed.

“In this day and age, it’s hard to tell if someone’s really being truthful with what you’ve already seen. So… uhh…” he shook his head. “I-I’m sorry-“

“It’s fine, I’m not that bothered,” Sanvu quickly acknowledged, waving his right arm dismissively. “You thought I was simply another Pokemon, and figured my head was wrong, right?”

“W-well, yeah! I just didn’t… know how bad you had it. I… didn’t really mean it; I believe you now.”

“Really, I’m not bothered, it’s fine. You’re not exactly wrong.”

“At least you really aren’t bothered by it. I wouldn’t be able to live with it if you were, I don’t think.”

“Maybe we just need to sleep. It’s been a long day.”

Pachuku agreed, leaving him to simply prepare the smallest of meals before tucking themselves away for the night. Sanvu watched the outside dark before he slept; thoughts astray as to what Pachuku had meant earlier. He’d had to put up defences because whatever he brought up, Pokemon were ignoring him, and nothing was being done.

Could Pachuku himself hold relevance in this whole situation? If not at least to why everything was happening, why things seemed to change constantly, frequently, to the point where it made him second-guess things?

Sanvu idly hoped he wasn’t summoned for any divine purpose. He could hardly call himself a hero in this sorry state of a team. But he hoped that Pachuku was right about every little bit helping all the same, before it spelled disaster for their world.