The Next Day
On the Way to Secret Waterfall
"Oh, I hate this part of the job!"
Victor sweats as he sits on the rock. The team is resting after walking for a few hours to the location they were assigned to explore, the Secret Waterfall. Victor made sure to wake each of them early so they wouldn't arrive late, but waking Sabo and Tesla is a chore for Victor because both brothers are heavy sleepers and require Loudred-scaled noise to wake them up.
Fortunately, physical damage works.
Sure, Victor ended up getting shocked and burned for waking them up. But after explaining the reason, their anger towards him disappeared, and they were too distracted by the fact that they finally got to do a 'true' exploration mission. But that excitement is short-lived when they discover they need to walk there, similar to how they went to the Hot Spring.
"Seriously, is there no other way to get there?!" Tesla exclaims as he violently bites off the apple. Victor made sure to stock as many apples as possible to prevent starvation.
"If we had, I wouldn't even let torture myself," Victor says in a deadpan manner as he chews his apples. "Besides, we can't teleport there with the badge since we didn't register the location with the badge."
"I wish we had teleported back to the guild instead of walking when we visit then Hot Spring yesterday; my legs are still sore." Sabo groans.
"I blame those bastards for this," Tesla growls.
"I understand your frustration, but please. I think they didn't want us to rely on the Guild's teleporting device." Thorn tries to defend the seniors. "Besides, I think we all agree we're out of shape, given how easy they all walk from the Hot Spring to the Guild without looking tired. Just think of this as endurance training."
"Endurance training, my ass," Tesla mutters.
"Come on, guys. Don't start any argument," Victor says with a groan. "If we plan to be explorers, there's going to be a lot of walking unless you're going to another island or continent, and based on the Wonder map, we have other places far from our guild we have yet to explore."
This earns a groan from the rest of his team before they all grumble. This made Victor look at Thorn with a raised eyebrow, causing the Bulbasaur to look away with a blushing face. Victor snorts and lets out a chuckle before shaking his head.
"Victor?" Victor turns to face Sabo, raising his eyebrow. "Do you think you could tell us more about the human world?"
"It depends, what do you want to know about my homeworld?' Victor asks as he finishes his apple.
"I have so many questions!" Sabo exclaims excitedly before his expression turns Mareepish, realizing he was way too excited. "M-maybe basics on how your world works?"
"...I hope you don't mind if I simply tell the basics," Victor says. "For starters, we humans were normal; we don't have powers, magic, or anything that Pokémon or whatever the story about us says. We're just basic living organisms. We make up for our lack of supernatural powers with science, creating technology to assist us with most of our jobs, advanced medicines to cure many deadly diseases, and knowledge to be passed down to the next generation to help humans grow. We…are not perfect; conflicts exist in our world, leading to war. Our world has a ton of history of wars, and they're….not good at all. To be honest, I…believe humanity is slowly losing it."
"How so?" Sabo can't help but ask.
"… let us not talk about it," Victor says darkly, causing his friends to sweatdrop. Just how bad was it?
"Unlike this world, where every Pokémon uses a universal language, humans use multiple languages based on which country they reside in, and each country also uses multiple languages," Victor explains. "Each country has its own culture, and it gives people from each country different perspectives."
"Wow, humans are quite divided," Thorn says with a frown as Victor gives him a helpless smile.
"You have no idea, especially with how many conflicts are caused by humans," Victor says. "From a simple argument to conflicts between countries, there's always been one. I honestly wonder how they never get tired of it."
"…humans aren't as impressive as I thought they'd be," Tesla says with a disappointed look.
"You can say that again," Sabo mutters, seemingly disappointed with what he found.
"Sorry to be a total disappointment," Victor says in a joking tone. "But, I suppose I can understand that the previous hero has set a high standard for humans."
"…" Sabo can't help but feel like he has just unintentionally called Victor a disappointment. Sure, Victor didn't say anything about it, but the way he said it makes him feel that way.
"Speaking of humans, they also invent a lot of things, specifically technology. They manage to invent tools that allows us to communicate with others far from us, the tool that helps us to search for news or information, a navigation tool where it helps generate a map along with the path, distance, and time required to get there, and even transportation that allows us to move from one place to another faster by doing minimal work." Victor explains.
"…do you know how to make the last one?" Tesla asks, looking desperate. The rest of his team shares the same look, which makes Victor chuckle.
"Unfortunately, I didn't have that knowledge," Victor admits, causing everyone to groan. "Sorry, but I never learn about it since I didn't plan my future to invent new technology."
"Speaking of the future, what is your dream?" Sabo asks curiously.
"When I was a kid, I wished to be either a pilot, someone who drives a transportation called an airplane that helps humans to fly from one country to another," Victor says as they all widen their eyes. "Or a firefighter, someone who puts out fires in the house, building, or sometimes the forest, while rescuing people or animals. Or an astronaut, someone who is trained to explore space."
"You guys explore space!?!" Sabo asks in shock and disbelief. Space is still a complete mystery for Pokémon as no Pokemons can fly that high except for a few. So, hearing a human capable of flying beyond the sky sounds amazing.
"Well, yes. But, we only explore like what? Not even a tiny fraction of space. We're still having difficulties even traveling to another planet without wasting so many resources." Victor says with a scowl. "Anyways, back to the topic, I used to dream of becoming either of those, but as time passed, I abandoned those dreams."
"B-but why?" Thorn asks with a frown.
"…people change," Victor says with a sad look, and silence takes over. Neither of them says anything until Victor gets up and stretches his limbs. "Alright, I think that's all for the story, and we had enough rest. Let's continue."
Victor is met with a loud groan from his team member, eliciting a chuckle from Victor. Sabo grumbles before looking at the Wonder Map and hums.
"Based on the map and the information we gather, I think it'll take less than an hour before we reach the waterfall," Sabo says, causing Tesla to groan even louder.
"Oh, come on," Tesla whines. "It's still that far!?"
"It's better than walking to the Hot Spring," Thorn mutters. Team Dawn continues to walk to their destination, and they're able to arrive at the Secret Waterfall in half an hour.
"Wow, it's quite huge…" Victor mutters as he looks at the giant waterfall. The background is filled with the sound of the water streaming down, similar to a roar of thunder. Victor walks to the edge of the cliff and looks down to see the river flowing; he can't help but shiver slightly at how high it is.
"This might be a nightmare for those with acrophobia," Victor mutters before looking at the waterfall. Narrowing his eyes, he tries to find any proof that there's a cave behind the waterfall, like the game. But the intensity of the waterfall made it harder for Victor to see, and he couldn't help but feel anxious. Seeing the waterfall in the game and real life are two different experiences, and he fears what will happen if he truly jumps. Will he be able to get through the waterfall, or will the water push him down, letting him fall into a possibly dangerous river?
"Victor?" Thorn asks, getting Victor's attention. "Is something wrong?"
"Ah, sorry. I was deep in thought," Victor says while rubbing the back of his head. "Did you guys find anything?"
"Nothing," Thorn says while shaking his head. "It looks like an ordinary waterfall. Sabo and Tesla had looked around as well, trying to find a single clue. But, there's nothing here. No sign of Pokémon life, no sign of strange things, nothing."
"Did…did guildmaster lead us to a dead end?" Sabo asks as Tesla growls.
"I swear to Arceus, if that's the truth!" Tesla says as he slams his fist to his palm, looking angry.
"Do you find anything?" Thorn asks.
"…I find nothing as well," Victor admits, causing the team to look dejected. "But, I had some thoughts…"
"What is it?" Thorn asks curiously.
"…I need you to wrap your vine around my waist," Victor says, causing Thorn to look at him like he had grown a second head. "Just…trust me,"
"…okay," Thorn says before wrapping his vine on Victor's waist.
"Try to extend the vine as far as possible," Victor says as Thorn looks at him.
"Are you going to explain about it?" Thorn asks with a frown.
"I can't be sure unless I confirm it myself, but I believe there's a cave behind that waterfall," Victor says, causing Thorn to raise his eyebrow.
"How do you come up with that conclusion?" Thorn asks as Sabo and Tesla look at Victor questioningly.
"A lot of adventure stories," Victor says while shrugging.
"…you're joking, right?" Tesla asks in a deadpan manner.
"Nope," Victor says before taking several steps back.
"Is this even a good idea?" Thorn asks in concern.
"I made sure to have a safety precaution," Victor says as Thorn looks at his partner in disbelief. Before Thorn could say anything, Victor immediately rushed towards the edge of the cliff and jumped through the waterfall. Thorn and Sabo can't help but scream in panic as Victor crashes through the waterfall, along with Thorn's vines tied to his waist. Thorn winces as the water crashes into his vine, feeling like his vines are getting smashed by hammers multiple times.
"Victor!?! Are you there!?! Answer me!" Thorn shouts as loudly as possible, making sure his voice can be heard by Victor. The sound of the waterfall made it harder for everyone to hear any sounds. There was silence for a few moments before he felt a tug on his vine.
"I'm okay!" It was faint, but Victor's voice could be heard. This made the entire team sigh in relief. "I was right! There's a cave hidden in the waterfall!"
"Y-you crazy bastard," Thorn laughs in disbelief before he retracts his vine, still wincing at the pain, before shaking his head.
"Okay, that's great and all, but you're all forgetting one thing!" Tesla exclaims. "Sabo can't get hit by water! He's a Fire-Type for Arceus' sake!"
"Big brother, I think I can handle that. It'll be like in the hot spring, it won't affect me that much," Sabo explains.
"…can you honestly answer if you could jump through that waterfall?" Tesla asks in concern.
"I…could jump first and catch you guys from the other side using my Vine Whip," Thorn suggests as both brothers look at him.
"I-is it fine?" Sabo asks.
"We're teammates, remember? We should've helped each other," Thorn says before Sabo nods hesitantly. Meanwhile, Victor is standing behind the waterfall, hoping his voice is loud enough to be heard by his friends while anxiously waiting for them. He waited for a minute, and he was greeted with silence, but suddenly, he saw a shadow from the other side of the waterfall. Then, Victor sees Thorn appear out of the waterfall, causing him to move and cushion Thorn before he could hit the ground.
"Oww!" Victor groans in pain. "That hurt!"
"A-ah, Vic!" Thorn immediately gets up and moves away. "S-sorry! I didn't know!"
"I-it's fine, I was the one who tried to catch you before you hit the ground," Victor grimaces, rubbing his body.
"Oh…" Thorn mutters before slapping Victor's back. "That's for scaring everyone!"
"Yeah, I deserve that," Victor says Mareepishly, as Thorn huffs before looking at the waterfall.
"Tesla! Sabo! You can jump now!" Thorn shouts as loudly as possible, making sure they can hear him. There was a silence for a few moments before they saw two shadows approaching the waterfall. Then, Tesla and Sabo burst out of the waterfall. Tesla is fine, but Sabo looks like he got knocked off course due to the waterfall. Thorn immediately uses his vines to catch him while Victor cushions Tesla's fall.
"I got you!" Thorn exclaims before pulling Sabo towards him. Sabo looks pale, and Thorn couldn't blame him; the poor Cyndaquil almost got washed away by the waterfall. Meanwhile, Tesla immediately gets off Victor after noticing he's in pain.
"…thanks," Tesla mutters as Victor merely gives him a shaky thumbs-up before he gets up. Tesla turns and rushes to Sabo, calming the poor Fire-Type down.
"I need to up my training, because that was embarrassing," Victor mutters before looking around, as he didn't get the chance earlier due to focusing on getting his friends through the waterfall. The cavern room is filled with a lot of stalagmites around the cavern, a water puddle around the cave, leaking water from the tiny cracks on the ceilings, and a giant cave entrance that leads to darkness.
"We're gonna need a light if we're exploring there," Victor mutters before looking at Sabo, who's still shaken but feeling better. Victor internally beat himself up for not checking on the poor Cyndaquil.
"You're okay, Sabo?" Victor asks in concern.
"A bit late to ask that, don't you think?" Tesla asks as Victor winces.
"Yeah…my fault," Victor mutters apologetically.
"I-I'm okay," Sabo says shakily.
"I-I'm glad, and sorry for not checking you sooner," Victor says as Sabo shakes his head.
"I-it's fine," Victor wants to argue that it's not, but Sabo's pleading look begs him not to argue more. Victor merely sighs and nods as Thorn looks around.
"I can't believe you're right," Thorn mutters as he looks around the cavern.
"Wait, so you never trusted me in the first place?" Victor asks jokingly.
"W-what!?! No! T-that's not what I was trying to say!" Thorn says while shaking his head, causing Victor to chuckle.
"I know, I know," Victor says.
"…how do you guess there might be a cave behind the waterfall?" Thorn asks curiously.
"Like I said earlier, from adventure stories," Victor says before sweatdropping. "Way too many adventure stories…."
"…let's not risk our lives by relying on fantasy elements," Tesla mutters in annoyance.
"If necessary, I will take the risk to confirm it first," Victor says before Thorn uses his vine to yank Victor's head appendages. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!!!"
"No risking lives again," Thorn scowls at Victor, who nods rapidly before Thorn lets go. "Honestly, what were you thinking?"
"I didn't," Victor says as Thorn deadpans at him.
"It was a mistake choosing you as our leader," Thorn mutters.
"T-To be fair, Victor did say he's a bad choice," Sabo replies with a shaky smile.
"Yeah, and it's our fault for not heeding his warning," Thorn deadpans as Victor merely gives them a wide grin. Tesla merely rolls his eyes at the team's interaction before they all walk towards the entrance together. Upon taking a single step, they all feel the entire space warp.
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Waterfall Cave
1F
Victor shakes his head before opening his eyes to see a giant cave maze with water streaming down the wall. He turns and sighs in relief to see his teammates beside him. He has always been doing this because he fears the possibility of his team splitting up due to the Mystery Dungeon. Sure, there's never been a report that it ever happened, but he isn't willing to take the risk.
"A mystery dungeon…" Thorn mutters in surprise. "I would never expect one to be hidden in this kind of place…"
"I would," Tesla mutters. "If one can be hidden above the sky, a waterfall wouldn't be weird."
"…I hate when you're right," Thorn says in a dry tone.
"Wow…" Sabo looks around the dungeon in utter awe, especially at the glowing crystal hanging on the dungeon's ceiling.
"…at least, the light inside a dungeon makes a lot of sense here," Victor comments.
"You're not going to stop complaining about the weird things that happen in a dungeon, will you?" Sabo asks in amusement.
"Come on, you must agree with me that some things are just straight-up bullshit!" Victor exclaims. "I mean, sunlight in a dungeon? Not just a random dungeon, but a cave dungeon! Then, there are these stairs! Why are stairs in a dungeon!? You're telling me Mystery Dungeons are formed through a natural phenomenon, and somehow stairs existed!?"
"You have complained about it a lot of times, Victor," Sabo huffs in amusement.
"Because all of you act like it's something normal, and it's driving me nuts!" Victor exclaims, causing Sabo and Thorn to chuckle. As they talk, something lurking in the shadow, observing the team silently, specifically at Victor, who looks completely distracted.
Then, the creature lunges as a pair of strands lunge towards Victor and wrap around Victor's hand, catching everyone off guard. Team Dawn turns to see a creature made of vines wrapped around it like a ball, a pair of eyes at the center of its body, and a pair of legs. The Pokémon is Tangela, and it looks angry.
"Okay, we just got here, and we have already encountered a Dungeon Pokemon," Victor says in disbelief before he grabs the vines with his other hand and pulls, causing the Tangela to fly towards him. Victor coats his hand with MP before socking it right between Tangela's eyes, instantly disintegrating it.
"…that's gruesome," Thorn mutters, his face turning slightly pale. Then, several rocks covered with a blue aura fly towards them. Thorn uses his vines to smack them away, looking at where it comes from and sees a humanoid yellow duck looking at them with eerie glowing blue eyes.
"Psyduck," Thorn says with a growl. Tesla's ears twitch as he hears something and turns to see a fish Pokémon with a long and thin body, gray scales, and blue whiskers. It's a Barboach, a water/ground type Pokémon.
"You're kidding me…" Tesla says in disbelief, wondering how bad his luck is. Of all Water-Type Pokemons, he had to face one that is immune to his attack. Sabo turns to see a tiny blue froglet with a lily pad on top.
"I think we both have the worst luck here," Sabo says nervously. Victor looked around, both of his fists coated with a golden aura. He wonders which of his friends he should assist first, but his thought is interrupted when he notices a purple droplet falls from the ceiling. He looks up and pales when he sees purple sludge start to leak out of the crack before a pair of eyes appears in the sludge.
"Get away!" Victor exclaims as the team looks up and moves before the sludge falls and suddenly forms a body and a pair of hands. Victor immediately guessed that the Pokémon in front of his is Grimer.
"Wanna switch enemies, Tesla? I think your electricity is more effective against this than the catfish?" Victor asks, looking at the Grimer in a grimace.
"I thought you'll never ask," Tesla says as the Barboach hisses before coating itself with water and charging at Tesla. Grimer hissed before splashing acid sludge towards Victor. Both swaps position before Tesla dodges the acid and blasts an Electro Ball at the Grimer, while Victor uses V-Punch on the incoming Barboach. The attacks hit and knock both Pokémon at the same time.
Meanwhile, Thorn uses Protect to shield himself from psychic-thrown rocks, not risking the damage caused by Psychic-Type moves on a Poison-type Pokémon like him. Then, he launches Energy Ball on the Psyduck, who tries to counter with Confusion, but before it can do anything, the Energy Ball hits it right on its face, knocking the Pokémon down. As for Sabo, he rushes away from the Water Gun blasting from Lotad's mouth before rushing towards the Lotad with Quick Attack. The dungeon Pokémon tries to stop his advance using Water Gun, but Sabo slams right into the Pokémon and knocks it back before blasting a point-blank Flame Burst right onto the underside of Lotad. Sabo lets out a relieved sigh when the attack successfully knocks it down.
"…honestly, I was expecting more from this," Victor admits, seemingly disappointed as he looks around the unconscious Pokémon slowly disintegrating. "Also, I never ask, why do these Pokémon disintegrate like that?"
"I thought you already knew based on the knowledge you had on us from the human world," Thorn says while raising his eyebrow.
"Unfortunately, not every piece of information is accurate or even given, including this," Victor says as he gestures at the disintegrating Pokémon.
"This happens whenever you beat the Dungeon Pokemon; they're merely constructs created by the Mystery Dungeon itself," Sabo explains. "Kind of like guards tasked to keep intruders away from the house."
"If that's true, then there must be something hidden in the Mystery Dungeon that it wants to keep. Maybe a treasure?" Victor muses.
"It's…not how that works. Sure, there's some dungeon with treasures in it, but even those who have discovered and lost their treasure still act that way. It's kinda like how you didn't want intruders entering your house, even if you don't have anything valuable," Sabo explains as Victor sweatdrops.
"I suppose that makes sense," Victor replies before noticing a piece of meat appearing from the Barboach he had knocked out. "…"
"Ah, right. Most meats were from beating down Dungeon Pokemons," Victor shudders before picking up the meat. He wonders why in the world he never got it until now. "Not…every dungeon Pokémon is edible." He thanked Sabo for answering before he asked, making things less awkward.
"Thanks…for the information," Victor grimaced before deciding not to think about it and put the meat into the bag. He notices several Gravelerocks besides it and picks them up. "This might come in handy."
"Only Pokes and an Oran Berry," Thorn mutters in slight disappointment. "And it's only 10P."
"An apple…" Sabo mutters as he picks it up and puts it into the bag.
"Nothing…" Tesla says, looking slightly relieved. If anything is dropped from the Grimer, the item will be covered in sludge, and he didn't want that.
"I don't see any more items," Victor muses as he looks around the room. "Well, before we go deeper into the dungeon, does anyone need an Oran Berry for recovery?"
"Nope."/"I'm good,"/"No thanks," His teammate says in unison as Victor nods before they walk deeper into the dungeon, continuing their intended task to discover anything from the Secret Waterfall.
To Be Continued