Waterfall Cave
Peak
Victor lets out a heavy breath as he glances at the unconscious Buizel in front of him, lying on the crater created by smashing his entire body into the ground. Victor sighs before collapsing to the ground, wincing at the bruises he got from fighting the Buizel.
He makes a mental note on how to deal with speedsters for future training. He was lucky that this Buizel is a glass cannon, or else his gambit would never paid off.
"…you know, you bastards can come out now. It's no point hiding," Victor says in annoyance while staring at one of the cave pillars. He is greeted with silence before his teammates crawl out of the pillar. Each of them gives him a Mareepish expression. "Really? I was dealing with battle hungry Pokemon, and all you guys did was watch my ass kicked by him?"
"T-to be fair, the Poliwag convinces us not to intervene," Thorn says while rubbing the back of his head with his vines.
"What did he do even to convince you all to agree with this Tauros shit?" Victor asks in a deadpan manner.
"His full backstory," Sabo says honestly, making Victor blink before slapping his face and dragging his hand down his face before giving them all a deadpan stare.
"Is that it? Backstory? Lemme guess, he lost his parents and Poliwag, who turns out to be his family's hired caretaker, was tasked to protect and raise him, and this caretaker chose this Mystery Dungeon as a hiding place due to some reasons?" Victor asks sarcastically, causing the rest of the Pokémon to blink Noctowlish.
"…when did the Buizel get to tell his backstory?" Tesla asks, making Victor's left eye twitch. What is this shonen manga/anime Tauros shit?
He had to stop his train of thought and remind himself that he's basically in an Isekai manga/anime Tauros Shit.
"I was being sarcastic," Victor grumbles before looking at the unconscious Buizel. Then, the Poliwag pops out of its hiding place and approaches the Buizel in concern.
"Oh, Kid!" The Poliwag exclaims in panic, causing Victor to look at the Poliwag before looking at the Buizel. He let out a sigh before pulling out a Reviver Seed he came across after beating one of the Dungeon Pokémon and fed it to the Buizel.
"V-Vic, is that wise?" Thorn asks in surprise, not expecting his leader to carelessly use his resource.
"I'd rather not let a fully sentient Pokémon get killed because of the dangerous nature of the Mystery Dungeon," Victor says with a scoff. "Besides, we could buy some in the Kecleon Shop. One Reviver Seed is worth saving a life."
"T-thank you…" The Poliwag meekly says as Victor looks at the Poliwag.
"So…might explain more about this Buizel?" Victor asks with a raised eyebrow. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting Pokémon who aren't created by the Dungeon to appear here."
"Wild Pokemon," Sabo explains, getting Victor's attention. "Pokémon that are raised in the wild and are naturally born are called Wild Pokémon. They are fully sentient like the civilians, but unlike us, they don't exactly have the basic etiquette we learn by being part of society."
"The kid isn't wild! I made sure to teach everything he needed to survive the life of a civilian!" The Poliwag shouts indignantly.
"...I want to be rude to you, but I would rather not do it in front of a supposed child," Victor says while pinching the bridge of his nose and looking at Poliwag, who looks very offended. "May I ask who even is this Buizel? And why is he obsessed with fighting me?"
"…I suppose I owed you one," Poliwag mutters. "You see, the kid is not just a simple Pokémon. He was born to two Guild Explorers who focus on researching the Mystery Dungeon and how it formed. Sadly, the research attracted dangerous foes, and his parents were hunted for the research. As you guessed, I was tasked with taking care of the child in his parents' absence while they destroyed the research."
"I see," Victor muses, not expecting that kind of backstory. He looks at the Buizel with a sign of pity. "So, the reason you both stay in this dungeon…"
"Yes, I fear the Pokémon is still around," The Poliwag mutters in fear. "The kid has walked out of the dungeon multiple times, but my fear keeps him here in this dungeon."
"You do realize staying in this dungeon is much more dangerous than the outside world, right?" Tesla asks with a raised eyebrow.
"I can handle Dungeon Pokemons, but whatever hunted young master's parents, it was beyond anyone could handle…." The Poliwag says in fear.
"…may I ask any clue regarding who hunts his parents?" Victor asks.
"…I didn't take a close look, but…the culprit has overwhelming darkness covering its body except for its eyes. An eerie glow is emitting from its blue eyes." The Poliwag says.
'…that sounds eerily like Darkrai…' Victor thought before noticing the Buizel groans and slowly getting up.
"O-oww…that hurts," The Buizel groans before looking at Victor. "W-what happened?"
"Y-you've lost, kid, I mean Boss." The Poliwag said as the Buizel was silent, processing what he heard.
"…awesome!" The Buizel exclaims, surprising everyone as the little guy approaches Victor. "Let's fight again! This time, I won't lose! Oh, and Poliwag, you can stop calling me Boss! Call him Boss!"
"Wait, what?" Victor looks in disbelief before staring at Poliwag. "I need some context here!"
"You...don't know?" Buizel asks cluelessly. "But, Mr. Poliwag taught me that when you beat someone, you get to be the Boss. And since you beat me, you're my Boss."
"..." Everyone stares blankly at the Poliwag, who simply blushes in embarrassment.
"Anyways, let us fight again, Boss!" Buizel exclaims in excitement.
"Maybe not now," Victor says with a grimace. "I am not planning for a second fight."
"Aww, come on," The Buizel whines. "Please?"
"No," Victor says in a deadpan manner. "Besides, you promised to remember? Just one fight?"
"….no…." The Buizel wails dramatically as he collapses to the ground, causing everyone to sweatdrop.
"Besides, we've got more important things to worry about," Victor mutters as he rubs his forehead before looking at the Poliwag. "So, may I ask why you even allow him to fight me?"
"I apologize for that." The Poliwag says with an apologetic look. "You see, young master is not…knowledgeable when it comes to socializing, and so do I, so I taught him the traditional way of how Pokemons bond…and due to how he's naturally gifted in battle, he could beat anyone easily and believes the one who bested him could be his friends…."
"...So, bad parenting, got it." After hearing this, Victor decided to 'screw it' and choose the rude option, causing the Poliwag to flinch, and Thorn smacked the back of Victor's head. "Oww, what!?!"
"Don't be rude!" Thorn exclaims.
"I wasn't planning to until I had to deal with this! I was forced to do something meaningless because someone didn't teach a kid how to socialize, and forced to live in the wild!" Victor exclaims, causing the Poliwag to flinch again before Victor looks at Buizel. "Also, don't call me Boss. Call me Victor, or Vic."
"Okay, Boss Vic!" Buizel exclaims, earning a snort from Tesla.
"He has reasons," Thorn explains.
"Why are you even defending him?" Victor asks incredulously before Thorn pulls Victor close and leans into where his ears are supposed to be.
"Vic, I know how strange all of this is because you're human, but this is normal for any Pokémon. Most young Pokémon were taught that battling with each other is the basic method of bonding," Thorn whispers.
"Well, can you blame me? In the human world, the basic way of making friends is simply bonding, like how we did when we first met. And for a few weeks, I never saw anyone who did this basic bonding method," Victor replies quietly.
"Yeah, I know. That was my mistake for not informing you about it, so please, give the poor Poliwag and Buizel a break," Thorn begs quietly.
"…once we get back, you're gonna need to give me a crash course on Pokémon culture," Victor says as Thorn nods.
"That's the plan," Thorn mutters before they look back at the Poliwag, who looks downhearted. Victor grimaces while rubbing the back of his head, feeling awkward after acting so harshly towards them.
"Look, what you did was inexcusable, but I understand, so let's not think too much about it," Victor says, causing the Poliwag to perk up. The Buizel seems completely confused about the entire conversation. "Anyways, I suggest you should do something regarding your young master's living condition and future. I bet you didn't want him to continue living in the wild, right?"
"Y-yes…" The Poliwag mutters.
"…" Victor rubs his chin, pondering something.
"Victor, what are you thinking?" Tesla asks while narrowing his eyes.
"….a crazy idea," Victor replies, glancing at the Buizel and the Poliwag.
"What crazy idea?" Tesla asks in annoyance.
"… what do you guys think of letting them come and stay with us?" Victor asks, causing his teammates to widen their eyes.
"What!?!" They all asked in disbelief.
"Vic, I understand wanting to help them, but letting them come and stay with us is a bit much," Thorn says in concern.
"That is why I am starting the discussion instead of deciding on my own," Victor says. "I'm asking them to come with us, but with certain conditions. The Buizel will come with us whenever we explore dungeons, not only assisting us in fighting against more dangerous Dungeon Pokémon, but it also helps hone its skills while also satisfying the Buizel's thirst for battle. Not to mention, having the Buizel join our party will also help cover our team's major weakness, specifically against Rock, Ground, and Fire types."
"… It is quite beneficial, but I think you forget that a possible murderer might target the Buizel," Sabo says.
"Let's be blunt here, if the murderer is capable of beating skilled Guild Explorers, they are capable of clearing the dungeon and chasing after the Buizel," Victor says bluntly, causing the Poliwag to stiffen before he looks slightly ashamed, not thinking things through. "It was clear the Buizel is not targeted, and he's always been safe."
"…so, you're telling me my mission of keeping him safe in a Mystery dungeon has always been meaningless?" The Poliwag mutters.
"…I'm sorry, but yes," Victor says apologetically, putting both hands together and pointing them towards Poliwag.
"Don't be…" The Poliwag sighs before smiling helplessly. "That means I don't have to worry that the young master isn't in any danger."
"Y-you mean," Buizel widens his eyes. He had been listening to Victor's suggestion of coming with him and hearing that the Poliwag no longer had to be concerned, which means he's finally allowed to go outside.
"…I suppose letting Buizel join us would help," Thorn mutters. "The pros outweigh the cons."
"Yeah," Sabo says with a smile. "Besides, having new friends would be nice."
"We're friends?" The Buizel asks, tilting his head in confusion.
"If you want to," Sabo says with a smile as he extends his hand towards the Buizel, who looks at him before looking at Victor.
"Are we friends? But, you're supposed to be the Boss," Buizel asks, getting Victor's attention. Sabo is comically petrified at the background, cracks forming on his body. Tesla glares at Buizel, who is oblivious to what is happening as he ignores Sabo and focuses on Victor.
"Um, sure. There are no rules that anyone can't be friends with a...boss..." Victor says the last part hesitantly, knowing the young boy won't stop calling him that. The Buizel brightens up and hugs Victor's arm happily. Victor simply sighs before patting the Buizel's back gently. 'I know we complain a lot about boring dungeon exploration, but the sudden shift of the event caught me off guard. How many branched timelines have I torn to shreds?'
"Well, with everything resolved, let's get the hell out of this place," Victor says.
"Wait, before we get out of here," Thorn says before using his vines to point somewhere. Everyone turns and sees a giant crystal embedded in the ground. Sabo is snapped out of his petrification and excitedly rushes towards the crystal.
"Oh, the giant crystal." The Poliwag comments. "We never get to do anything about it since we live here, just simply ignoring it while living our daily life."
"This is it! This is what I'm talking about exploring! Finding treasures!" Sabo exclaims excitedly, jumping around the giant crystal.
"What is exciting about that stupid giant rock?" The Buizel asks in confusion, looking completely oblivious. "It seems useless to me."
"Oh, it seems you have so much to learn, Buizel!" Sabo suddenly appears beside the Buizel, startling everyone.
"H-how do you do that?" The Buizel asks, looking surprised and confused. Tesla looks around the crystal before tapping it. Thorn tries to pick it up using his vines, but it doesn't budge.
"Damn, the crystal seems to be stuck in the ground." Thorn grunts. "We need more force." Everyone started joining forces to move the crystal, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Victor looks around the cave, specifically at the crystals. One crystal seems to gain his interest, a yellow ore with a marble-like orb stuck right in the middle of the ore.
'What luck, a Mega Stone. No idea whose Mega Stone this is, though,' Victor thought before putting it in the bag.
"Victor!?" Thorn asks, his voice shows signs of struggle. "A little help!?"
'Should I even tell them what this could do?' Victor thought, sweatdropping as he looked at everyone trying to move the crystal, but to no avail. '…oh, well. I think a quick trip to the Hot Spring is what we need after this crazy ass exploration.'
Victor approaches the crystal as the mark on his forehead and the back of his hand, along with his eyes, start to glow gold. Victor lends a hand at moving the crystal, and after pushing the giant crystal for a moment, they manage to move it, and a loud click can be heard. The sounds alert everyone as they stop moving it and look at the crystal in confusion.
"Um…why does moving the crystal end up making that sound?" Sabo asks in confusion. "I'm pretty sure that's not how it works."
"And did any of you guys hear that sound?" Tesla comments as he hears something in the distance. Since the source was far from him, he couldn't hear it clearly. Then, suddenly, the ground started to shake violently.
"Okay, what is going on?!" Thorn asks in panic.
"I have no idea! We never bother to try to move the crystal, so it never happens before!" The Poliwag replies. Then, out of nowhere, Victor holds onto everyone firmly, making sure no one is separated.
"Uh, Victor? What are you doing?" Thorn asks in confusion.
"Embracing what's coming," Victor says ominously.
"…you know what's coming, aren't you?" Thorn says accusingly. "Tell us, what's going on!"
"I don't know what's going on, but I am accepting my fate. I think you should do it as well." Victor says ominously.
"Accepting your fate-!?" Thorn's words were cut off when the sound got louder. They all turn around and see a massive body of water crashing towards them. "Oh, my Arceus-!"
It was the last thing everyone heard before they all swept by the massive water, not noticing a trollish grin plastered on Victor's face.
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Hot Spring
"Ah, what a relaxing day in the Hot Spring," Cole comments as he lies his body down in the hot spring, letting the hot water soak his entire body. "I can feel my old body rejuvenate every time I visit here."
"I don't think that's how it works, elder Cole." An Ursaring comments while huffing in amusement.
"Even so, I do feel this way," Cole says with an amused smile. "So, how was your day, young Uma?"
"It's fine. Still had to deal with my son Ted causing a bit of ruckus, but other than that, everything seems fine in the household." The Ursaring named Uma comments as she soaks her entire body in the hot spring. As she says that, her son, a young Teddiursa, can be seen chasing after a migrating Butterfree that happens to pass by.
"Parenthood is never easy," Cole says with a smile. "You need a lot of patience, care, and love to raise your child. And let us not forget to teach them discipline, a lot of Pokémon seem to forget to teach their children that, which always leads them to be quite unruly."
"I know, elder Cole. You have reminded me that a bazillion times," Uma says with a sigh as Cole laughs.
"Better be safe than sorry. You have no idea how many Pokémon I had advised, and they ended up forgetting it." Cole says while chuckling. Uma nods at him before she feels the water shaking.
"…Elder Cole, do you sense that?" Uma asks before getting up, looking around.
"Oh, I did," Cole says before looking at the back, specifically the huge rock right beside the hot spring. Cole notices water slowly leaking out of the rock before it bursts out like a geyser, followed by Pokémon screams.
"…did a geyser just appear out of nowhere!?" Uma asks in disbelief before looking up. "And are those Pokemons coming out along with the geyser!?!"
"WAAAAHHH!!!" They watch as a Bulbasaur, a Cyndaquil, and a Pikachu fall first into the water, causing water to splash everywhere. Then, it follows with Poliwag.
"Woohoo!" Then, it follows with a Buizel diving straight into the water.
"Cannonball!!" A familiar-looking figure curls up as it falls into the water. Then, one by one, they emerge from the hot spring, soaking wet.
"…yeah, I'm out of here," Umi mutters before walking out of the hot spring. She had had enough hot springs for today.
"Oh, my Arceus!!!" The Bulbasaur, which Cole immediately figures out is Thorn based on his voice, and he recognizes it since he and his team visit the spring quite often, exclaims in fear. "I almost died!!!"
"I feel like my soul is leaving my body," The Cyndaquil, which Cole recognizes as Sabo, mutters shakily as he turns pale.
"This is the worst day of my life!" The Pikachu, Tesla, based on Cole's memories, complains shakily.
"Wow, that was the most fun I ever had in my entire life!" The Buizel, which Cole didn't recognize, says excitedly.
"It is fun, but I think I'd rather not experience that again," The weird-looking dragon, which Cole immediately recognizes as Victor, says while chuckling. Said dragon turned and looked at Cole. "Oh, hey, Elder Cole."
"Hello there, young Victor," The Torkoal returns the greeting, similar to a certain space wizard, and Victor tries to stop himself from snorting. "Interesting day you have, hm? Getting shot out of a geyser and ending up in the Hot Spring?"
"Yeah," Victor says with a laugh.
"Victor, be honest…" Thorn says as he side-glances Victor. "Do you know anything about the geyser washing all of us out of the mystery dungeon?"
"Nope," Victor replies seriously, not wanting his friend to know that he's lying and trying his hardest not to grin mischievously. It didn't help that doubt has taken over him since so many changes in this world that he feels his in-game knowledge was sometimes unreliable.
"…." Thorn continues to side-glance his friend before deciding to let it go, as it wasn't worth the headache. Besides, now that he's in the Hot Spring, he should not think about the stressful stuff and just relax.
"I feel so relaxed…" The Buizel mutters, his eyes wide in awe as he lies down, his entire body floating around the hot spring. "I never feel anything so good…"
"…does this kid never experience a hot spring? He sounds like it's the first time he ever experienced this." Cole points out while raising his eyebrow.
"He's…a Wild from one of the Mystery Dungeons," Sabo explains.
"That explains a lot," Cole comments as the Poliwag indignantly complains that the kid is not a Wild.
"…if the job ends with going to a Hot Spring, then maybe I would be more enthusiastic while doing it," Tesla comments.
"…you youngster must've quite an adventure, huh?" Cole asks as Victor chuckles nervously, not giving any response to the elder's question.
"…there's one thing that made the adventure quite disappointing," Sabo mutters. "We didn't find anything valuable in the dungeon."
"…does this count as one?" Victor says before pulling out the mega stone ore, showing it to everyone. Sabo perks up and stares at the ore in awe.
"Wow! I've never seen a crystal like that!" Sabo exclaims in awe. "Awesome! The first treasure of our first exploration! Thank you, Vic!" Sabo immediately tackled Victor into a hug and crashed into the water, surprising him before he let out a chuckle.
"No problem, Sabo," Victor says with a smile. "Well, let's relax here a bit before returning to the Guild, how does that sound?"
"A splendid idea!" Sabo exclaims cheerfully. "I'm getting some food!"
"I'm just gonna lie down and relax…" Tesla mutters before lying on the hot spring, letting his body float.
"What kind of food is there? Is it raw?" The Buizel asks curiously while the Poliwag let out a sigh, muttering apologies to the deceased parents for failing the young child again and again. Victor let out a relieved sigh before sinking into the hot spring and humming a song, specifically a soundtrack of the Wigglytuff's Guild.
"Huh…what song is that?" Thorn asks curiously as he swims towards Victor.
"Just a song that stuck in my head for a while now," Victor replies.
"…look, Vic. I'm sorry about earlier." Thorn apologizes.
"Sorry about what?" Victor is confused by the sudden apology.
"About…not helping you when you're facing Buizel," Thorn says. "I know we have reasons why we didn't intervene, but that doesn't excuse what we did. Or more like, the lack of action. I should've done more, especially after I promised everything."
"Oh…um, don't worry about it," Victor says while waving it off.
"You're not mad? Or even pissed?" Thorn asks in surprise.
"I am annoyed, but not angry," Victor admits. "Especially since it involves a tradition I have zero idea about. But it's not something I should hold a grudge about. If I did, I would just be stupid, vengeful little shit." Thorn snorts at Victor's choice of words.
"…again, sorry," Thorn mutters as Victor pats his head.
"Again, don't worry about it," Victor says with a grin as Thorn huffs.
"…let's hope we get to a better area to explore, or maybe anywhere that didn't have that much bad luck," Thorn says as Victor rolls his eyes.
"Please let us not tempt fate by saying that," Victor says as Thorn looks at Victor in confusion.
"How does saying that tempt fate?" Thorn asks in confusion.
"Trust me, fate is a bitch." Victor replies in a deadpan manner.
"…I want to say you're bullshit, but after Tesla proven me wrong several times, I shouldn't say anything at all," Thorn deadpans.
"Good," Victor praises before they both giggle in amusement. Cole watches from a distance and smiles at their interaction, happy that despite how bad the world slowly becomes, friendship still prevails.
"...oh, by the way. I do have suspicions about the geyser. I just choose not to tell."
"You motherfuc-!"
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Later
Wigglytuff Guild
"Interesting! A secret cave hidden behind a giant waterfall that leads to a Mystery Dungeon!? And a giant crystal gem at the deepest part of the cave that acts as a trap that flushes anyone to the Hot Spring!?! What a discovery!" Charlie comments excitedly. "Not to mention, you all managed to get one of the crystal ores in the cave! I say you all did your job very well!"
"Thank you," Victor says politely before showing the ore, ignoring Thorn's glares. "Also, I think it's no ordinary gem."
"No ordinary gem?" Charlie looks puzzled before taking a glance at the ore and letting out a gasp. "A Mega Stone!"
"Mega Stone?" Tesla asks in puzzlement.
"It's a special stone that allows some Pokémon to trigger a phenomenon called Mega Evolution! Of course, no wonder it looks so familiar!" Sabo exclaims before slamming his palm into his forehead. "Dummy, that symbol at the center should be obvious!"
"You mean, we can evolve further? Even after I evolve to Floatzel?" Buizel asks curiously.
"Sadly, only a few Pokémon are capable of Mega Evolution. And I say Floatzel isn't one of them, or maybe it hasn't been discovered yet." Charlie explains while shaking his head. "From the color alone, I say this Mega Stone belongs to Slowbro."
"Aww, I was hoping it was Venusaur," Thorn grumbles. He knows a thing or two about Mega Evolution, as one of his family members had displayed such ability before.
"I think discovering one is already rare enough; discovering the specific stone you seek requires more luck and effort," Charlie says. "But still, all of you did your job very well. I say you all deserve to be credited for your discovery. Congratulations, Team Dawn."
"Yeah!" Sabo and Thorn cheer before high-fiving while Tesla smirks a bit. Victor smiles at the scene, happy for them. It was the right decision not to say anything regarding whether William had once discovered the cave, or maybe he hadn't discovered it yet. He has no Dimensional Scream to verify his in-game knowledge, so he just keeps it to himself.
"Also," Charlie says while looking at Buizel. "You say that this Buizel was found in the dungeon, who is supposed to be the son of Guild Explorers?"
"Yes," The Poliwag finally spoke.
"May I ask who his parents are?" Charlie asks curiously.
"A silver-rank explorer, Tidal and Tsunami of team Wave Crash," Poliwag answers as Charlie looks surprised by the identity.
"You mean, the famous dungeon researcher who went missing a year ago?" Charlie asks in surprise.
"A year!? I have raised a young master for more than a decade!" The Poliwag exclaims. "I made sure to count the time!"
"That's impossible!" Charlie says in disbelief. "It was just a year! We have calendars and newspapers to prove it!"
"Um, is it possible due to the nature of the Dungeon?" Victor says, getting their attention. "I mean, all of us had explored Mystery Dungeons several times, and usually, there's always a time difference between the dungeon and the outside world."
"Yes, time dilation is not something new in Mystery Dungeons, but it was never at this scale," Charlie says while refusing to believe it.
"Then, could it be that it was caused by the mess in the flow of time?" Victor asks, catching Charlie off guard as the entire room's temperature drops by several degrees. "I mean, you all have been saying how the time flow is messy and how some parts of the continent were frozen in time."
"That…that is concerning…" Charlie mutters before looking at Victor. "Thank you for your suggestion, Victor. I shall report this issue immediately to our Guildmaster." Victor merely nods as Charlie hops away.
"…" Both Sabo and Thorn stop celebrating after hearing Victor's discussion, looking concerned by everything. It was supposed to be a happy moment, yet what they found had ruined the mood.
"Sorry for ruining the mood," Victor says after noticing how his friends' reactions.
"No, no." Thorn shakes his head. "I think it's better than being ignorant." Thorn frowns as he looks at the Poliwag, looking like he has an internal crisis. "I feel bad for them..."
"Yeah.." Victor mutters before sweatdropping when he sees Buizel, who seems like an innocent child, oblivious to anything. "But, with how he reacts, I don't know if I can feel bad for him..."
"True..." Sabo sweatdrops.
To be Continued