"You shall not pas- oof!"
The Nidoking flew through the air before he even finished his words. His eyes bulged, the force of the hit knocking the air out of his lungs.
Azumarill calmly retracted his fist. He glanced around, making sure no Ghost-types would suddenly take advantage of the brief opening when he attacked.
"Ninetales, that was the last Pokemon you detected on this floor, right?"
"Yes, Brother Azumarill."
"Good."
Azumarill headed to a corner of the room to check for any items. The others also scattered to do the same, before they gathered at the stairway that led to the next floor.
"We should be close to the dungeon's core. Let's take a quick break. "
Dante said as he glanced at the dungeon walls. They were still the same dark tree as the previous floors. However, if one looks closely, the branches have become wider and more overhanging.
"Too bad. I thought this dungeon would reach at least 50 floors. Turns out it's just 30ish"
Pikachu mumbled as he drank a Max Elixir.
"It's better this way. It's already past midnight. If this dungeon is deeper than expected, we'd be forced to camp out here."
Dante said. They found and entered the dungeon at 12 noon. And they spent 20-30 minutes on each floor. Right now, it was already nearing 1 AM. They were currently on the 28th floor- one of the deepest dungeon floors they've ever been.
"Yawn~ can't we go back to the human world and sleep first, Dad? Continue exploring tomorrow?"
"Sorry, princess. We'll only take a little bit more. See how dense those branches are now? It means there's only 1 or 2 more floors to go through. I promise we'd use an Escape Orb to quickly go back and rest."
Dante said in a placating manner while staring at the drowsy Ninetales. Not just her, even Eevee was yawning from time to time.
Unlike the other members of the team, the two girls had to constantly use more energy in taking down the Pokemon of this dungeon. Especially in these last few floors. The Pokemon here had grown to have 120 stats each- much more than the two even though they had grown past level 50.
They could return to the human world right now to rest first and continue their exploration tomorrow. But from his previous tests, that would just use up his daily Exploration Opportunity, causing them to be unable to explore another dungeon.
"Has everyone rested? Come on, let's see what's hidden in the deepest part of this place."
"Yosh! I can already smell the treasure!"
"Really? I don't smell anything, brother Pikachu."
"Hoho, that's because you're still a newbie. After exploring the same number of dungeons as I, you'd be able to awaken your Explorer Soul, little Eevee."
"OHH!? Explorer Soul!?"
"Don't believe his lies. Pikachu always says the same thing when exploring a new dungeon."
"Hey! The Explorers Soul is real! It's because you don't believe that you can't feel it, Azumarill."
"Okay. Whatever you say."
The team joked around as they climbed the stairs leading to the 29th floor. The walls were still formed by the same trees, though the branches had become even more entangled.
"This should be the last floor before the final chamber. Ninetales, please."
"Yawn~ On it, Dad."
Ninetales closed her eyes, then opened them with a puzzled expression.
"What's wrong?"
"Um, Dad, I…didn't detect any other Pokemon except us."
"Hmm?"
Dante raised his eyebrows. He looked around the room, at the two hallways on the side, and confirmed that yes, they were still at a normal dungeon floor and not in some boss room or something.
"...let's check the other rooms first. Maybe the Pokemon here are all Ghost types hiding in the void. How about the items? Did you find them?"
"Yes, Dad."
"Good. Let's head there for now."
The team followed Ninetales' direction to collect all the items on this floor. However, until the end, they encountered no Pokemon.
"Weird. It's like everyone just vanished or something."
Ursaring scratched his head. This was the first time that they encountered this phenomenon.
"...let's head to the stairs. Maybe we'll find our answer on the next floor."
Dante's eyes narrowed. If something abnormal occurred in the dungeon, then the most likely explanation is due to the action of Pokemon themselves.
To clear out a single floor, then this Pokemon must be strong, possibly even a Legendary.
Thinking about this, Dante's body trembled with excitement. It had been quite a while since their team fought a Legendary. To be exact, it was only that one time against Zapdos. He doesn't count Groudon since he was just an Illusion.
Since that period, their team had grown massively in strength. Dante had been itching to fight another Legendary, especially as a test to see how their team would fare against Dialga in the future.
Uxie would have been the perfect opponent. Sadly, until now, no trace of the God of Knowledge is yet to be found.
Zapdos is also alright. However, their team had established an agreement to not disturb him. Dante is not someone who would break his promise just because of something like this.
"Get ready, everyone. Especially you five, Ursaring, Mawile, Riolu, Eevee, and Ninetales. Our team might face our strongest opponent yet."
"Huh? Wait, do you mean!?"
"Yes. There's most likely a Legendary up ahead."
—
"Tsk, what's taking them so long."
Cofagrigus held his four hands across his chest. His fingers tapped rhythmically as he stared at the entrance of the room.
The Yamask around him cowered, the aura from Cofagrigus making it difficult for them to breathe.
Just as he was about to order one of them to check up on the floor below, the sound of footsteps echoed from the entrance. Then, a head of white fur showed itself, followed by a yellow rodent and a golden bunny.
Five more Pokemon stepped in after the trio, their heads swiveling as they looked around the room.
Cofagrigus met the eyes of the white-haired Pokemon in the lead. At first, he noticed the fox Pokemon had a wide grin on his face, but it quickly fell after seeing him.
Heh. Cofagrigus smirked. He must have felt fear from the depths of his soul at the aura he was emitting.
This was something he had emulated, to make his aura obtain a similar property to the Pressure Ability of the Legendaries. He calls it: Pseudo-Pressure!
"It's good of you to finally show up. A Hisuian Zorua, Pikachu, Shiny Azumarill, Ursaring, Mega Mawile, Riolu, Ninetales, and Eevee. What a unique group of Explorers you are. I applaud that a ragtag group like you can make it so far."
Cofagrigus floated forward. Three Yamask stood at each side of him, forming an imposing appearance.
"Now, two choices lie before your team. One, surrender and follow my orders. Or two, defy me and die."
Cofagrigus turned on his aura to the maximum as he said so, bombarding the whole group.
"Dad, is he…a Legendary?"
"No. But he does feel much more powerful than ordinary Pokemon."
Dante took note of the aura emitted by Cofagrigus. From his estimate, it was just a step lower than Zapdos.
But…this didn't really garner any fighting spirit from him. They were in a 5-star dungeon. He had expected at least this level of strength if there was a boss.
"We choose the third option. Pummel you and take your treasures. Pikachu, please."
"Aye aye!"
Cofagrigus froze in confusion. What is going on? He stared closely at the group. Except for the Eevee and Ninetales, the other six seemed to not take him seriously at all. Was his Pseudo-Pressure not working?
Cofagrigus looked to the side. Seeing the cowering Yamask, he confirmed that it was, in fact, working. So, there should only be one reason why it didn't affect them.
"I see. You are the stupid types. Not caring about the danger and just rushi-"
"Blah, blah, blah. Stop yapping. If you wanna fight, let's fight. "
Pikachu stepped forward. His cheeks were sparkling with electricity as he faced Cofagrigus and his henchmen.
"...not just stupid, impatient too. Then, let me show you the folly of your ways."
Cofagrigus' eyebrows twitched. Ghost-type energy gathered around his body and coalesced into four Shadow Balls on each of his hands. The Yamask also started to hover forward, their eyes staring menacingly at Pikachu.
"Although I say it's a fight, it probably won't even amount to that."
Pikachu muttered under his breath. With just the boost from Ursaring's Cheerleader skill and the Light Ball, his current attacks have reached a similar level to when he severely injured Zapdos with an all-out Thunder.
He gazed disinterestedly at the four Shadow Balls Cofagrigus threw towards him and at the 6 Yamask charging forward. Then, he let out a Discharge of electricity.
His attack first encountered the four Shadow Balls. They held on for a millisecond, before bursting like a balloon. The Yamask's were hit next. Just like the other Pokemon in this dungeon, they trembled at being electrocuted before falling to the ground. And the last was Cofagrigus.
He stared wide-eyed at the countless tendrils of lightning that occupied his whole field of vision. Before they hit, he only had time to place his four arms together to shield his body.
"AHHH!!"
Cofagrigus screamed. As the electricity coursed through his body, a single question constantly echoed in his mind.
How can this Pikachu be so strong?!
The lightning dissipated, leaving the scorched body of Cofagrigus to slump to the ground.
"Done. Hehe, now…it's treasure hunting time!"
Pikachu turned to Dante and the others with a wide grin on his face, not even looking fazed after releasing an attack of that level. For him now, that was just a casual blow.
"Let's hope this Cofagrigus has some decent stash. Since this is a 5-star dungeon, maybe they even have a Mega Stone or some-"
*THUMP!*
"HE, HEHE, HEHEHE!"
Dante turned to the source of the sound. There, Cofagrigus had dragged his scorched body to stand up from the ground. He used two of his hands as a crutch, while the other two clutched his aching body.
*THUMP! THUMP!*
"H-HEHEHE! cough, Fools! Dare underestimate me, do you? I have countless Reviver Seeds stashed within me!"
Cofagrigus laughed maniacally. And not just Reviver Seeds, he had stored countless recovery items within his coffin body. He had prepared it in case a Legendary ever came to attack his lair. He didn't expect it to use it now.
*THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!*
"That so? What do you say, Dan? Do we take turns knocking him out until he's out of Reviver Seeds?"
"Heh, it's too late. I have set my masterpieces to awaken! Now, witness despair!!!"
With Cofagrigus' shout, a crashing sound was heard from deep in the forest behind him. Then, a yellow bolt of lightning zoomed in from the distance.
Pikachu stood in front of the group to absorb the fast electric attack. However, the lightning suddenly stopped behind Cofagrigus.
As it turns out, it was not a bolt of lightning at all. Instead, it was a round, yellow Pokemon with seven pink dots on its face that resembles the letter X.
Just as Dante and the others were surprised at its sudden appearance, a whistling sound was heard from above the skies.
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
Four heavy objects landed behind Cofagrigus. They stirred up a large cloud of smoke, shielding Cofagrigus from view.
"If this is your plan to get away, then you've clearly underestimated us."
Pikachu said in amusement. He opened his palms and waved at the air, creating a powerful gust of wind that blew away the smoke.
"Run away? Hohoh- cough cough. It seems you still don't understand what you're up against."
Cofagrigus grinned evilly as he crossed two of his arms in front of his chest. Behind him, five large Pokemon imposingly stood, their red, beady eyes flashing constantly.