Scene Listing || Scene Schedule || Scene Schedule RSS
Owner Pose
Petra Soroka     The night after preparing for the expedition, leaving the Pokemon world goes the same as it did before, with a lullaby degrading into wordlessness. Returning is predictable as well, a week later, when falling asleep is followed immediately by waking up to Meloetta's smooth radio announcements. It's practically routine, and that's practically insane, a fact that Petra is more than willing to mutter to herself repeatedly when she's called back early in the morning to help with last minute prep.

    After the rest of you wake up in a, perhaps mercifully, Petra-less room, the flurry of morning activity quickly puts you on the way with the rest of the expedition. The Elites and Spinda are joined by a handful of other Pokemon, including Tinkaton and Ceruledge but not Liligant. They're sent off with waves and cheers, as well as meals prepared and packaged with help from Petra. True to Valence's word, she's not leaving the town, so neither is Petra, and Petra makes sure to complain about that between diligently double-checking supply lists and handing out meals to people. She stops after handing a lunch and backpack to Cinder, and the minus signs on her cheeks spark when she looks down at the green scarf around her neck.

Petra: "........."
Petra: "... I-I-I feel like it'd be cuter if you-- if you actually looked like y-you, right now."
Petra: "But... um...."
Petra: "Yeah. You'll be safe."
Petra: "See you, like, at work, tomorrow, I guess."

    Tinkaton leads the group to the coast near where the Elites first woke up, where the cluster of Woopers are waiting. Behind them is a massive whale, heaved partway up onto the sand so that the wooden platform affixed to its back is accessible by a ladder down to the beach. A pair of the Woopers are spraying steady streams of water out of their mouths, hydrating the Wailord while the Expedition Team climbs on.

Wooper: "Welcome to your Wooper Troupe voyage."
Wooper: "Now boarding Wailord."
Wooper: "One-way trip."
Wooper: "Yup."
Wooper: "No set destination either."
Wooper: "Paid in advance."
Wooper: "Well, they got a ticket back also."
Wooper: "That's one-way too."
Wooper: "That's true."

    Spinda insists on climbing the ladder themselves, which predictably results in them slipping on the way up-- and possibly worse, fumbling their Verdant Gem out of their backpack and into the sea, which they immediately dive in after to retrieve. Once it's recovered, one way or the other, there's just a few hours of sea travel atop Wailord's back to their destination... which is where, exactly?
Petra Soroka Spinda: "I think my gem glow-ows more in... this direction!"
Spinda: "It's hard to tell. It'll be easier to tell when we're clo-o-oser."
Tinkaton: "According to our map, it should be somewhere around that mountain."
Tinkaton: "So once we're there, we'll use your gem! KA-B--"
Tinkaton: "................."
Tinkaton: "I shouldn't do that here."

    The mountain that Tinkaton is referring to is the same one you all saw across the sea upon arriving. A massive pile of mismatched types of stone, shoved together and piled haphazardly like boulders, it looks almost like a multicolored anthill, if you were all the size of ants.
Ru Li Cheng      The awakening is novel, now. The shift from god into strange, alien creature - the shuffle from biological, machinery, and divine woven together into mere biology(?) - it's novel, rather than unnerving, and when Ru Li awakens in his strange catlike form he almost enjoys it. Yes, it isn't his body, and he doesn't belong in it, but it's...different. The only ticking is from the key in his back, which he's fairly sure isn't part of the Pokemon but is instead some sort of armor. And there's something distinctly unique about not having to touch the ground at all.

     Indeed, from the moment he wakes in his alien form, it's as if the ground is too base and debauched to lay hands upon him. The sensation of it - of swimming through the air with a thought - is what he always imagined the Maintainers must be like, the gods created by the Engine of Heaven rather than human hands, of which he was a mere echo.

     As he follows along the party he makes sure to help Dysnomia - since Mia had helped him with his problem controlling his thoughts, it's only right that he do the same to help with Mia's problems moving. He's very polite about it, too.

     Once they're on the ship, Ru Li settles down to watch the water go by, floating just above the boat. His senses are extended quite far out at the moment. He wants to touch and taste the alien water even from here, to see and feel it and hear it. He wants to experience this world through the eye of the creature he's in, and the senses that are so like his own, but not quite.

     And, honestly, he's just enjoying the ride.
Hellwarming Trio Without having to worry about traveling back anywhere or preparing for a long walk/flight, the trio from hell are looking well-rested this time around! Two of them are, anyway, with Utsuho (the Fletchling/bird) and Rin (the Litten/cat) sliding out of their respective sleeping spaces easily enough and already full of vim and vigor. Satori (the Ralts/???) takes a little while longer, though, like she didn't get enough sleep or something the night before.

Either way, their preparations are pretty fast. It's not as though they have gear to worry about, and the only thing they really need to do is eat some breakfast and help out a bit with whatever other supply prep is needed before it's time to go. They're all careful with taking the food from Petra and company, too, although it's not clear where they're holding all of it.

Utsuho: "Thanks! You need a pick me up before we head out?"
Rin: "Yeah, we might be gone for a while!"
Satori: "I think that's why Valence is with her. But... Be careful, anyway. We'll be back before long, I imagine."

Climbing aboard the giant Wailord, Utsuho and Rin still have some energy to burn and take the ladder up while Satori half-floats half-climbs to make it easier on herself. They get up right about when Spinda drops the Gem into the sea, drawing looks from the trio as none of them seem too keen to follow the panda Pokemon into.

They look worried, but not that worried.

Utsuho: "What do you think we'll find out on that place?"
Rin: "It's rocky and mountainous over there, right? Maybe somethin' closer to home!"
Satori: "I don't know if it'd be quite the same, but..."
Satori: "It doesn't hurt to be optimistic."
Kale Hearthward > "... I-I-I feel like it'd be cuter if you-- if you actually looked like y-you, right now."

"... Hey. Do you know if they sell anything like black fabric in town?" says Right Kale, to Valence, in passing, as Left Kale works on getting the backpack equipped and the straps adjusted. "For like a cape?"

Spinda jumping into the water gets concern from about one half of Kale ("Obviously they can swim or they wouldn't have jumped in, stop worrying,") and then he himself nearly falls off the ladder as well, due to lack of coordination with himself on the proper way of climbing up it using feet and beaks.

A couple minutes into the journey...

"We never tested if we could fly."

"Well, we can't do it now, we're out at sea. What if we fall in?"

"We'll be fine. Ru Li will fish us out. C'mon."

After another couple minutes of arguing back and forth (and not actually informing Ru Li of his part in the plan), Kale trots over to one end of the Wailord platform, turns, extends his wings, gets a running start... and leaps.

It's a heck of a leap, the sort of thing that with the right angle and timing would grace the cover of Kanto Geographic. Wings extended, legs tucked in, heads ducked forward - and with enough forward momentum and aerodynamics to easily clear the edge of the Wailord platform by several feet.

Out in the middle of the air, above the water, Kale starts flapping his wings, at first with confidence and then with increasing panic as he fails to stay stable and aloft, and ends up spinning out and dropping like a rock into the water.
Angela The Cinderquil seems pretty thrilled with the scarf, using her little flipperarms to hold it close to her neck. While her pokemon body is tougher to read than Cinder herself, it isn't exactly unclear how thrilled she is with the scarf. It kind of just...puts her at ease and makes her feel a little stronger. Cinder used to think she was pretty strong, then she saw the horror of the Wings. Then she saw Petra just...handle one of those horrors like it was nothing. She's fallen for her ever since.

"Y-yeah but..."

"It's really sweet, you know?"

Cinder actually is starting to feel the opposite of finding the poke-forms cute largely because they are both separating her from someone she'd like to be with right now but also is like actually causing problems with letting Petra go where she wants to go, but the sad truth is that adorable animals will be adorable and that speaks to a primal aspect of humanity that Cinder can't just discard out of spite.

But the real deal is definitely cuter, Cinder agrees. "Yeah I ah... See you tommorow. ... We'll figure this out real quick!"

Cinderquil says that with her brand of determined optimism against the face of all evidence, taking the Porygon Eggpack with her and--

"Ah I can also--"

"Nope! We're overdo our own friendship adventure, ''Angie''."

Today is the worst day of her life, Angela thinks bitterly as Cinder takes her along up the Wailord. "You can't be stoically distant from everything all the time." Cinder adds as she plunks herself down up top.

She waves a little flipper at Ru Li chipperly.
Timespace Riders Woz: "Good morning, my Demon King--"
Woz: "..."
Sougo: "Mm, good morning, Woz--oh! You're a kitty again!"
Woz: "Indeed. I suppose there is no point bemoaning it."
Sougo: "If things still work the same way... today should be the expedition! Let's hurry and meet Wailord and the Wooper...!"

    The Eevee king and his Purrloin retainer arrive at the departure point in short order--the king with a particularly eager spring in his step. Sougo goes up first, Woz following closely behind. The two get situated beside one another, as could probably be expected.

Sougo: "You said you had that gem for years, when we first met--how did you find it, Spinda? And why did those bullies want it so much?"
Dysnomia Dysnomia: "Don't you DARE! Don't you...!"
Dysnomia: "No! Put me down!"
Dysnomia: "PUT ME DOO--!"
Dysnomia: "Oh, stars."
Dysnomia: "Don't drop me!"

    A little Dratini squirmed furiously in the open air, as Ru Li lifted her psychically with him, after she had spent too long trying to find a way of her own to navigate up the ladder onto wailord's back.

    Set down on the platform, she curled into a sullen little ball, nursing the wound to her pride.
Blemishine     Being on a seeming week-by-week schedule does indeed make it awfully routine, although as far as a certain knight is concerned, that makes it easier to be good and prepared for what's to come. All things considered, she's gotten somewhat used to hoofing it - literally - on four limbs instead of two, and she's also starting to get hints of how she'll be able to be more useful like this, too! Being somewhat occupied during their big breakfast before can be attributed to spending some time on that.

    Needless to say, Blemishine is all geared up - not literally - and ready as they head over to the coast.

Maria: "It's gigantic...! Amazing! I've never seen anything like it!"
Maria: "And I don't think I'll ever get to enjoy another trip like this, either!"
Maria: "Huh. I guess if there's two different tickets for two one way trips, that'd be ri...gh...--"
Maria: "Ah! Spinda--!"

    In the middle of steadily figuring out how to efficiently climb the ladder, she almost dives in after them - then realizes she /definitely/ doesn't know how to swim like this. Instead, she squints her eyes shut really hard, the horn on her head shining--and as Spinda gets back to the surface with the Verdant Gem, a nearly-invisible force surrounds them and starts caaaaarefully hefting them and their treasure back up on top of Wailord with everyone else.

Maria: "Phew! I don't know if I'm ever going to get used to that! Is it like that for you too, Mr. Ru Li...?"
Maria: "You're going to have to be more careful than that by the time we make it to the mountain you know, Spinda!"

    Two seconds into smiling at their teetering little friend, she lifts her head to watch Kale take off and then promptly plummet.

Maria: "M-Mr. Hearthwaaaaaard...s!? I don't think your body is meant for that...!"
Petra Soroka     Having set out from the Guild early in the day, the air is still crisp and the sun is low over the sea when the Expedition starts. Water Pokemon bob in and out of the sea, curious about the Wailord-- Horsea, Magikarp, and even a glimpse of a Milotic for anyone looking over the side, or for Kale, who feels its long form brushing up against the bottom of his talons before Ru Li fishes him out.

    All in all, the trip feels... gentle, in a way that's practically alien to the constantly strung-out Elites. Sougo's question brings the tone back around, though, reminding them what's changed, and what's at stake.

Spinda: "Yup! I've had my Verdant Gem for ye-ea-ears!"
Spinda: "Ever since I was little!"
Spinda: "As for how I got it..."
Spinda: "I don't kno-o-ow!"
Spinda: "I forgot."
Spinda: "I lost basically aaaallll of my memory back then."
Spinda: "People say that I wa-andered into the forest and vanished for days! And came back with it!"
Spinda: "They think I hit my hea-ea-ead or something."
Spinda: "Ehehehe."
Spinda: "........."
Spinda: "Pokemon have been really gree-eedy ever since the dungeons appeared."
Spinda: "I think they can feel that something's wro-o-ong."
Spinda: "So I won't bla-ame them for trying to take it."
Ru Li Cheng Ru Li: <Do not worry. I won't let you fall. I'm growing quite accustomed to this. Though the range isn't very far, I'm afraid. I can sense further out than I can touch. Still, it's sufficient to carry you as long as you need, and if you like you can climb on my shoulders, too. I'm quite certain this body is strong enough to carry much, much more than it appears. Just...ahaha...a lack of fingers.>

Ru Li: <'Mister' isn't necessary - Ru Li encompasses my title and all necessary formalities. Ah, like...what? Oh, moving things with my mind? No, it's really quite...it's...I don't fully know how to explain it. It's as if I have a new muscle, or a new mechanism, that, once I understood its existence, became very simple to operate. I wonder if the Maintainers->

     Splash. Kale dives in over the edge. Ru Li, who was not informed of this at all, suddenly has a dose of wet bird intrude on his otherwise serene experience.

Ru Li: <What in the world...gah, the taste of soggy feathers is not a pleasant one!>

Ru Li: <...wait, did->

Ru Li: <A...a moment, then...>

     The creature that Ru Li is flows down from the back of the Wailord and hovers above the water, watching Kale flounder perplexedly. Eventually the thin arm snaps down and a psychic pressure grabs onto Kale's necks. Ru Li then flows back up along the side of the Wailord, depositing Kale on the creature's back. It seems like he doesn't really 'fly', just...psychically hold himself off a surface and move along it.
Ru Li Cheng Ru Li: <You know, I'm given to understand that, in most cultures in the Multiverse, people pray to invoke a god's aid *before* they do something foolish, rather than afterwards...>
Meika Kirenai     It's starting to feel like a gentle replacement for dreams, to be back here again. As awkward and disconcerting as so much of it is, the alternative has fewer adorable whales to get to ride on the back of. She tries not to rush up the ladder, and see what it's like up on the wooden deck, but does so anyway. Boating is fun! Even if it's on a sentient being's back!

    She notices Spinda's tumble only from the splash, running across to the other side of the deck to watch helplessly as- the little buddy is fine, completely, lifted up by Maria. Meika covers up a little smile, and goes back to seagazing through the journey.

    As the living whale-boat approaches it, Meika stares out at the cobbled-together mountain, transfixed. That can't be right, that's so silly. It looks like something built in a garden or playground, to put twig and moss houses around and pretend people live there. Not a real mountain, sized right for itself.

Meika : "Is that really the place? Are you sure? That's so-"
Meika : "ACK-"

    Meika pre-emptively (and, unfortunately, needlessly) braces for the expected outcome of Tinkaton raising up his hammer- covering her ears with her paws, and ducking. When it doesn't come, she slowly, one at a time, lets go of them, and they pop back upright.

Meika : "C-come on, don't do that..."

'They think I hit my hea-ea-ead or something.'

    Overhearing that answer, Meika audibly gasps, worried.

Meika : "Spinda, that's.. not something to laugh about. That sounds really scary."
Meika : "And.. even if something's off.. it's not- it's not fair to you for them to be like that. You should..."

    She trails off, realizing maybe she doesn't quite have the heart to tell Spinda off for being... kind of a pushover. It doesn't seem to ever stop them from getting back up, at least.

Meika : "Yeah. It's just still not fair."
Angela Cinder fails at attracting Ru Li's attention but, to be fair, this is because he has to stop Kale from drowning. Cinder was just looking for someone to chat with and she considers Dysnomia who...

...who seems like she's had better days and seems to be in a sullen mood. Cinder is still empowered by having a scarf so she says, "Hey Mia! It's tough getting around without arms huh?" Or legs really in her case. "Don't worry I bet once we get into the dungeon proper it'll...uh...probably be fine for a variety of bodytypes."

Cinder doesn't have it in her to tell someone off for being a pushover either--at least not a pokemon who uh--seems pretty content right now. "Were they not greedy before?" She asks Spinda before agreeing mildly with Meika. "She's not wrong..."

Angela is momentarily distracted.
Vantablitz Remnants Ahn: "P-please don't do the hammer thing here, yes."
Lotus: "Afraid of falling, all of a sudden?"
Ahn: "No. Just. Mister Wailord."
Lotus: "Ohhh."
Lotus: "--Are they all called 'Wooper'?"
Lotus: "How do they . . ."
Ahn: "Aren't you all called Lotus?"
Lotus: "Mmm."

    All together again, Ahn spares a sorry look for Dysnomia, rendered so comically helpless in this form, and mumbles her routine thanks for the intrepid local Pokemon helping them out. Leaping to the rescue at Spinda falling over and dropping their treasured possession (somehow, Ahn did not predict this, and Lotus thought it was funny) happens apace, and then after a ride where the two alternate shockingly long periods of companionable zoning out between random intense chitchat about hyper-specific topics, an uneasy sort of atmosphere comes over them when returning to the site they remember starting at.

Ahn: "E-ehn?! Spinda?!"
Ahn: "That's pretty-- That's so mean! That's such a serious thing to happen; I can't believe they were so cavalier about it!"
Ahn: "I'm so sorry! They really should have done a lot more to make sure you were okay!"
Lotus: "Mmm, not many people come back once the Forest has called to them like that."
Lotus: "Hearing that hum, falling under its thrall, marching to that throbbing green heartbeat . . ."
Lotus: "Perhaps you're special~?"
Timespace Riders Woz's sour demeanor is eroded somewhat by the sights along the way. It's hard to stay annoyed when traveling over a sparkling blue expanse, broken by graceful denizens of the sea.

Sougo: "You forgot, huh..."
Sougo: "Well, if you ever want to know exactly how you got it, I can help."
Sougo: "If I was going to guess, though..."
Sougo: "I'd say that someone in that forest saw something special in you."
Sougo beams at Spinda.

Sougo: "You're new to this dungeon stuff, right?"
Sougo: "I'll watch your back, if you watch mine!"
Hellwarming Trio First it was Spinda, then Kale. Once again, the trio exchange looks on what to do about his experiment, and then... Utsuho and Rin start trying to burn the ocean. Maybe it'll make it a little easier for him to know which way to head to get to the surface! Or it'll just make it more threatening to resurface, but at least they're trying! ... Right?

Utsuho: "You sure this is gonna work?"
Rin: "Not as sure as I was a couple o' seconds ago."
Utsuho: "Oh, hey. Ru Li's got him."

While they're trying to help with that (and thankfully stopping when Ru Li works his own psychic powers), Satori continues to be tired and listens to Spinda giving a little more history on the Verdant Gem thanks to Sougo's prompting.

Satori: "Of course you can be angry at others trying to take your things."
Satori: "It's yours. Meika is right."
Satori: "Them changing doesn't make it any better."
Dysnomia Dysnomia: "If you're going to keep fussing like this?"
Dysnomia: "I GUESS I can take you up on it."
Dysnomia: "I don't need it here, though."

    Mia tried her very best to conceal her relief. Slithering up to watch the water on the way. There was something about the crash of the waves that felt so soothing to her. Her tail thumped happily against the platform as they sailed, on and on.

    She found herself by Spinda and the others. Dysnomia's eyes twitched again, and she stared into the horizon, and past it as Sougo and Lotus give their input on Spinda's importance.

Dysnomia: "I can't see as well as I used to, but..."
Dysnomia: "Maybe they're right. Maybe you're part of something more."
Dysnomia: "Can't be sure, but it feels right."
Dysnomia: "There's a reason we're here."
Kale Hearthward > "M-Mr. Hearthwaaaaaard...s!? I don't think your body is meant for that...!"

"It's a bird! It should be able to fly!" calls Kale as he falls.

Then there's more squawking as Kale feels something brushing against his talons.

Fortunately Ru Li gets him back out. Kale is now a soggy, frustrated, grumpy two-headed pile of feathers and fluff and bird, slouched over on the deck.

> "You know, I'm given to understand that, in most cultures in the Multiverse, people pray to invoke a god's aid *before* they do something foolish, rather than afterwards..."

"Yeah, but there was a whole... *thing* about asking forgiveness being better than asking permission," says the soggy pile of feathers. "Someone vandalized a perfectly nice door over it."
Petra Soroka     Once the sun is high up in the sky, after hours of seeing the massive mountain grow on the horizon, Wailord finally reaches the coast across the sea. Which means, the Expedition team gathers together, and it's finally time to--

    Eat! It's lunchtime, and it seems like a significant portion of the food supplies packed were for Wailord. Tinkaton, Ceruledge, the three elemental monkeys, Duosion, and a handful of others set up on the beach, settling down for their meals and spreading out Wailord's as payment.

Wailord: "Thanks, Guildmaster."
Wailord: "Let me know when you need a ride back."
Wailord: "Usual way."

    Right, of course the Wailord can speak too. It's still a little uncomfortable to be faced with a oblong whale a hundred times your size, casually chattering before ducking back into the water.

"Were they not greedy before?"

Spinda: "Huh?"
Spinda: "Why wou-ould they be?"
Spinda: "Everyone had what they nee-ee-eeded."
Spinda: "And then when the wor-orld got dangerous, they didn't anymore."
"Perhaps you're special~?"

Spinda: "I like to think e-e-everyone's special!"

"Well, if you ever want to know exactly how you got it, I can help."

Spinda: "Oh!!!"
Spinda: "You can do-o-o that?"
Spinda: "Then we should!"
Spinda: "What if the fate of the wor-orld rests on it!"

"There's a reason we're here."

Duosion: "Mmm. Mhm, mhm."
Duosion: "And you all, being aliens, don't know that reason?"
Duosion: "'Special' shouldn't even begin to cut it, mmm?"
Duosion: "I would be delighted to be elucidated on how you *came* here at all, mhm mhm."
Duosion: "As a matter of, hm, curiosity."
Duosion: "Perhaps precaution as well, hmmm."

    Duosion's incredibly snotty tone is somewhat undercut by the fact that he has a large purple jelly bean floating inside of his gel, with his tiny little hands grabbing on so he can take tiny little bites out of it. As everyone is wrapping up lunch, Tinkaton motions to gather around the Verdant Gem, examining it for reactions to being this close to the supposed epicenter of the Mystery Dungeons in the region.

Tinkaton: "AlRIGHT! KABAM!!"
Tinkaton: "MAN that feels good."
Tinkaton: "The hope's that Spinda's Verdant Gem will show us to the entrance."
Tinkaton: "No use walking around the whole mountain looking! Hahahah! KAPOW!"
Tinkaton: "Or, it might be a key to open something deeper--"
Petra Soroka     Tinkaton is cut off by a violent rumble in the ground, knocking him off-balance and sending his hammerhead slamming into the beach with a plume of sand. Spinda, already wobbly, only wobbles more rather than falling over, teetering a dozen feet to one side and then tipping back to the other leg to return to the tumbled group.

Spinda: "Wha-wha-what was that!"
Spinda: "It felt like a fight!"
Spinda: "We have to go-o-o-o help!"

    Spinda scrambles in the direction the rumble came from, and in absence of an Earthquake, manages a few steps diagonally tangent to where they mean to go before falling over. In a flash, they push themselves back up and keep teetering towards it, recovering even faster than Tinkaton does from the splash of the attack.

    Further onto dry land, around the rocky base of the mountain, the source of the quake is clear. A Pikachu and Treecko lay sprawled out on the ground, their bag knocked open and its contents-- gold coins, Orbs, and various trinkets and treasures-- spread out around them. Their presumed assailants, a Lairon and Phanpy, pick through the loot, snickering to each other.

Lairon: "Heh heh heh."
Lairon: "Looks like waiting outside Undersea Alleyways paid off."
Lairon: "There was no way we could make it in there ourselves."
Angela Cinder ultimately just kind of settles down to relax for a bit on her own for a while, failing to get Angela to communicate with her much--Angela primarily responding in short phrases to keep the conversation as economical as possible. Angela seems pretty content to be quiet. In truth she's not entirely sure what to do with herself in this adventure. For one, she's stuck to the backpack and is not that much more able to engage the material world than she would normally be. But the other issue is is that this kind of dogoodery ... seems a bit dogooderish for someone such as her. She's killed too many people and while she doesn't feel THAT guilty about it--seeing as she had no choice in the matter--this sort of work still feels like a job for someone who never had to do that sort of thing at all rather than someone like her.

Cinder pokes her in the face a few times with a flipper and Angela just stares out over the Wailord instead.

''I like to think e-everyone's special!''

"I do not know if being special is what it is cracked up to be."

Cinder perks up when Spinda answers her and says, "Oh! Uh. Really? ... Wow, that's weird. Like... Post Scarcity? ... It's really a shame that it didn't stick around that way. Maybe if we can explore the dungeon a bit more we can help bring back their peaceful lives, eh Angela?"

She nudges Angela with a flipper again.

Angela sighs. "It would be nice if there was one world that wasn't a late stage capitalistic hellscape of which its citizenry is forced to engage with at the expense of their dignity."

And then...suddenly...aA MUGGING!

"A mugging!" Cinder shouts. "We have to stop them! That's not right!"

"Hm." Angela says. "But simply utilizing violence and force of arms to dissuade them from their greed isn't very appropriate either. Allow me to try talking to them."

Cinder takes Angela that-a-way and Angela clears her throat.

"Excuse me. Are you not ashamed of yourselves for denigrating into thievery of someone else's hard work? If you are in need of assistance, perhaps we can lend a hand instead of committing to base theft."

Angela is perking up a little. She has a good feeling about this.

Cinder seems skeptical.
Timespace Riders Sougo: "Sure, Spinda! Once we're done here, I'll take a look."

    Woz senses a worthy rival in Duosion.

Woz: "I have knowledge of much, Duosion."
Woz: "'The reason we are here' is merely a drop in the proverbial ocean."

    He slowly sweeps a paw towards the ocean. The other holds a banana. Munch.

Woz: "The means of our transference is a connection between two separate spacetimes."
Woz: "Simply put, if I have not found a precaution against it, neither will you."

    Sougo finishes his orange slices, and Woz, his banana. Before Sougo can interject, and before the retainer may opine further, they are both shaken by the explosion.

    One cross-genre scene transition later, the two come across the site of some brigandry in progress.

    Woz extends his claws, striking one set against the other to sharpen both.

    Sougo's tail fluffs out and sticks straight up.

Sougo: "Hey!! Why are you laughing? That's not funny!"
Ru Li Cheng      This whole experience is sort of like a replacement for dreaming, isn't it? But for a creature that never sleeps, it's even more unusual. It's something that exists, separate from Ru Li, and yet part of his consciousness. He's tried very hard not to think about it too much - because, honestly, Woz is right. There's no point in looking for a way to prevent it (and he probably wouldn't want to), and the reason is really sort of irrelevant.

     And besides, there's a mugging happening.

     The mugging gets Ru Li's attention in the middle of feeding himself (and probably Mia), since...he's not actually touching the ground, only feeling it from afar. He flows along behind everyone else, content to simply be the Big Weird Scary Thing for the moment.

     Angela brings up a fair point. Isn't reverse-mugging still mugging?

Ru Li <Erm...well, sort of? But isn't using force to defend necessary in the face of someone using force to attack?>

     The catlike creature crosses its arms and ponders this as it stands there in the air, again, basically just being big and imposing while everybody else decides how they want to deal with the mugging.
Blemishine     It's a bird! It should be able to fly!

Maria: "Mr. Hearthward's, you do know that, um...not all birds are able to do that, right...?"

    After dropping that revelation of the century, and reaching their goal pleasantly quickly, it's time to eat up! There's a moment of slack-jawed surprise at Wailord's response, before he happily sees him off with a smile before he dives back away. When it comes to eating, she seems to be in equal parts leaning down to eat from the set-out spread, and telekinetically lifting things up to take ample bites.

    She's still not /quite/ used to this, the way Ru Li is. So this is a good chance to flex her (mental) muscles a little more! The short break is a good time to listen in and chat things up, too.

Maria: "Everyone had what they needed... ..."
Maria: "These Mystery Dungeons really did mess up how peaceful everything was, huh?"
Maria: "I really want to know what's responsible for them showing up in the first place..."

    ...And if it's connected to why they were brought here. But that's a question that can't possibly be answered right now, so she huddles in for Tinkaton's...well, huddle. Just for a rumbling that's certainly /not/ from the Guildmaster's gigantic hammer to rock the beach.

    Her footing goes to heck in the face of the unexpected quake, and she spends a second toppled over before struggling back to all four feet. Spinda's speed of recovery is honestly really impressive! Maybe that's not surprising when they spend so much time tottering over themselves.

Maria: "Oh no...! We're right behind you, Spinda!"
Maria: "Don't tell me there are troublemakers even all the way here..."

    Fortunately, following after Spinda at a sprint, it's not Ledian's gang having somehow came all this way. Come on, how would that even make sense? Unfortunately, it definitely /does/ look like another attempted robbery not so different from the one they all encountered upon first stepping foot into this world. And just like that time...

Maria: "Hold it right there!"
Maria: "If you couldn't make it yourselves, you should think about /working/ with other Pokemon, not robbing them!"

    It's time to interrupt it, of course. She skids to a stop in an aggressive and readied stance, horn glowing with faint light. Her point is probably, just a little bit, backed up by the sheer amount of them who are going to be coming onto the scene.
Meika Kirenai Meika : "Oh! Wailord, you can talk!"
Meika : "Oh. You can... talk..."

    The Zangoose balks, embarrassed, and stares down at the pre-prepared lunch in her lap. She starts up again, mumbling in the vague direction of the humongous Pokemon, before silencing herself by stuffing food into her mouth.

Meika : "U-um. Thanks, for... for carrying us here..."

    Once the meal is finished and packed away, Meika joins the huddle in time to get, once more, surprised by Tinkaton's exclamatory hammering. Covering her ears helps, until the unexpected and entirely unrelated Earthquake aftershock rings out!

Meika : "Oh, come on!"

    She too nearly falls over, arms waving, ineffectually trying to counterbalance with a tail she's not quite used to. Her ears flatten against her head, embarassed, when she does properly manage to right herself again. So many things are so noisy here...

'A mugging! We have to stop them! That's not right!'

    Cinder's exclamation is enough for her to blink scowling eyes back to focus, though, and look her way.

Meika : "H-huh? Right, yeah, we should-"

    A strange look Angela's way.

Meika : "But if it's someone in trouble, and words don't.... Hngh.."

    She does follow along as those two and the others dash off to interfere, regrettably holding back, arms crossed, in a stance that just passively winds up exuding an angry glare no matter her intention.

Meika : "O-oh. By words you meant... being mean to them. That's- that might work better, huh."

    This gets a snicker out of Meika, breaking composure to cover her mouth, and talking loud enough for the robbers to overhear. She can use words, too! And be just a little rude with them on purpose!
Kale Hearthward > "Mr. Hearthward's, you do know that, um...not all birds are able to do that, right...?"

"What, no, they all can fly.
"Yeah, I'm right, if they couldn't fly they wouldn't be a bird."

Lunch! As it turns out, Kale shares one stomach, so there's usually been a bit of bickering at mealtimes over who gets to taste the food going down.> "Everyone had what they nee-ee-eeded. And then when the wor-orld got dangerous, they didn't anymore."

"Another reason to fix things up... this world really does need our help."
"Still doesn't make bringing us here like that right."

> "Looks like waiting outside Undersea Alleyways paid off."

Another mystery dungeon here? Right Kale makes a mental note to remember that for his syndicate board report later. Left Kale, though, has a different focus. Everyone's confronting the robbers, and...

"What the heck are you doing?"

That isn't directed at the robbers. That's directed at the rest of the party.

"What are you doing talking - obviously they're bandits, they aren't going to just listen to you talk up the importance of love and friendship and smarmy maple syrup feelings - hurry up and attack!"

If nobody stops Kale, he charges at them and starts pecking at both!
Hellwarming Trio 'It's a bird! It should be able to fly!'
Utsuho: "But your wings... Uh. Where are they?"
Rin: "Yeah, you don't have 'em, bro! Are you holdin' 'em in that body of yours somewhere?"

'Everyone had what they nee-ee-eeded.'
'And then when the wor-orld got dangerous, they didn't anymore.'
Satori: "That's important context, I guess."
Satori: "It doesn't fully excuse their behavior, but it explains it."
Satori: "It certainly makes things more complicated."

Even with so much excitement onboard the Wailord, the three youkai still find it fairly easy to relax during the rest of the journey. There's little else to do but chatter with everyone about idle things, nap, or even watch Utsuho circle around further overhead to get the kinks out of her wings from not using them for so long. They're all relieved to reach dry land, of course, and they join in the eating festivities with gusto.

The three also don't bother hiding that they're watching Ceruledge to see where the food goes.

When Duosion expresses interest in how everyone got here, Rin laughs and crosses her paws under her head as she takes a break from eating.

Rin: "That makes all of us! Would love to elucidate ya on that if I could."
Rin: "This whole thing's been one question after another, ya know?"

After they finish eating, they join Tinkaton at the Verdant Gem, lingering nearby to stare at it as though it'll give them A Signal of sorts. Said signal comes from the sudden rumbling in the ground that gets all three of the youkai flattening themselves out on the ground, staying there to keep their balance instead of trying to stay up.

Utsuho: "A fight? I was waiting for one!"
Rin: "Lemme at 'em! We found this place first!"
Satori: "Don't get too worked up, girls. We still have a long way ahead of us, I bet."

Spotting the unconscious pair next to the Lairon and Phanpy picking through their stuff with that incriminating snickering and commentary, it's fairly apparent what happened. Before Utsuho and Rin can starting adding fire to the already heated situation, though...

'Allow me to try talking to them.'
They look over at Angela, then at Satori who holds a hand-thing up to keep them from rushing in. Waddling over besides Angela and Cinderquill, Satori does a little mind-probing, sifting through toughts to find out if the Lairon and Phanpy are celebrating an actual mugging or just lucking upon and looting the two unconscious creatures.
Vantablitz Remnants     Ahn ends up blinkstaring dumbly at Wailord's unusual eloquence, watching long after the giant Pokemon is gone. Or more like,
Ahn: "I kind of expected it to be like . . ."
Ahn: "Really loud. Shaking my guts, kind of."
Ahn: "What a nice guy."

    Speaking of people with 'unique voices', Lotus is meanwhile engaged with Spinda.

Lotus: "Oh? Ahn has told me as much as she can about that before."
Lotus: "The old world. Why some people were greedy and some people weren't."
Lotus: "I've heard a lot about how people change when they feel secure and when they feel threatened, even when they don't realize that's what it is. How whole societies can be like neighbours or like enemies, if everyone has their share, or some people are taking up too much."
Lotus: "I even see a little bit of what she means, when she goes out to work with the village."
Lotus: "Hu-- . . . People are fascinating, aren't they~? I love hearing about it."
Lotus: "Feel free to tell me more~ What they need and don't have anymore."

    A staticky little coarse vibrato laugh follows.

Lotus: "Maybe that's a little true~ But I think you're probably special in a way most people aren't~"
Lotus: "Maybe that's not a better kind of special, but it's a different kind."

    Ahn wanders back to rejoin the group. Her idea of lunch is, again, bafflingly light, even for her little cubone form right now. She seems to have an equal lack of any kind of difficulty with Duosion, to the point she doesn't even seem to be affecting it. Like just a unique tone is sort of fascinating. Even Tinakton's random explosive enthusiasm seems to entertain her as much as it startles her a little. She sits and watches them converse like a fun little movie.

Ahn: "Well, I'm not really an alien or anything."
Ahn: "Though I guess that might be true depending on your point of view about the theory of migration from the astral plane and the cultural transplant of higher realms of the thirty-one planes."
Ahn: "Actually, I don't know if this place is more Gioi Duc Kamadhatu or a kind of So Thien Brahma? It kind of has the vibes, but it'd be kind of presumtive about distinctions in . . ."
Ahn: "Maybe it is down to enlightenment actually?"
Ahn: "But there's no way these guys would be Arhat . . . Hmm."
Ahn: "Oh! I actually don't mind walking around the mountain! I'm actually a pretty skilled mountaineer and all; I actually live on one! It'd be--"

    The rumble in the earth takes priority.

Lotus: "You feel it too."
Ahn: "A fight?! What kind of . . ."
Lotus: "A good one~"
Ahn: "No way it is! These guys are so cute! They shouldn't be fighting!"

    Ahn is, surprisingly again, extremely fast for a first stage evolution type of goober. She's able to bound over to the disturbance with a series of rapidfire leaps of the kind that'd be comic onomatopoiead in the 'tak-tak-tak' variety. Lotus, as ditto, surges onto her shiny little back, but doesn't seem to be 'carried along' in any meaningful way; the way her goobery little jellyself is attached feels like something 'halfway', or 'tensed and ready'.
Vantablitz Remnants Ahn: "H-hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

    Ahn is already leaping straight into the way, brandishing the big bone club she hasn't thought about since she got here in front of her.

Ahn: "Why does this keep-- Leave them alone!"
Ahn: "If you're trying to get somewhere, how does this . . ."
Anh: "No, that's not the point! Put those down! They aren't yours! If you need help, you can just ask!"

    Lotus does not, actually drop back down to ground. A little green-dot eye slides from behind Ahn's shoulder, the single solid flower on her ending up on the opposite side of the one somehow fixed into(?) the cubone skull mask.

Lotus: "If they're that casual about fighting, they shouldn't mind a little rough play, right~?"
Lotus: "This group seems like the kind that'd complain about the easy way, where nobody gets hurt."
Lotus: "But I bet they all love scuffling."
Angela ''By words you meant... being mean to them.''

Porygon Angela avoids looking directly at Meika which is pretty easy since she's still a backpack. "...Yes." Meika must never know the truth. "Tactical meanness."
Dysnomia Duosion: "As a matter of, hm, curiosity."
Duosion: "Perhaps precaution as well, hmmm."

    Dysnomia took no offense to that...It was kinda hard to. She shoved her face into a bowl of fruit, taking a messy bite, before Ru Li picked it up, letting it hover in her reach.

Dysnomia: "I could have done that..."
Dysnomia: "We'd also like to know."
Dysnomia: "We were taken here, somehow."
Dysnomia: "We followed a...Signal, to see what it was."
Dysnomia: "And we were taken here."
Dysnomia: "Made to fit."

    She took another CHOMP of apple, repositioning it with her tail to get at it from another angle.

Dysnomia: "I'm sure you've got more questions."
Dysnomia: "So do we. But we don't have many answers..."
Dysnomia: "...This is good!"

    The interruption, when it shook the earth, sent Mia sprawling facefirst into the sand. She shook her face, scattering it all away before following after, slithering across the ground, getting good traction...And then, ANOTHER mugging?

Dysnomia: "How about you thieves put it all down."
Dysnomia: "And maybe you won't get hurt."

    Her tail slapped at the ground, probably aiming to be intimidating. But her high pitched, adorable growl stole whatever gravity it had.
Meika Kirenai 'Tactical meanness.'

    This gets yet another giggle out of Meika, right as Angela says this- slightly before she's even finished talking, actually..

Meika : "Well, it's a better tactic than what these robbers are doing. I mean, can you imagine? In broad daylight? Isn't that just kind of.. pathetic, or desperate? I mean, they're even... bragging about being too weak, right?"
Meika : "...Do you think it'd be right to feel bad? I feel a little bad for them."

    She makes sure not to look at the two robbers with her own injection of tactical meanness. It's fine if it's to help. It's better than hurting them, right? That'd feel bad, maybe. They're- we're all kind of like animals right now, so wouldn't that be... The surrounding flurries of action cut that thoughtline off before it finishes.
Petra Soroka "The means of our transference is a connection between two separate spacetimes."

Duosion: "Hmm hmm, of course, of course."
Duosion: "Two separate spacetimes..."

    This Pokemon does not have a clue what 'spacetime' means.

Duosion: "I noticed, hm, that you seem unable to elaborate on the *means* of your transference."
Duosion: "That you proclaim yourself an expert, while also being at the whims of something greater than you..."
Duosion: "............."
Duosion: "Well, who am I to make, hm, assumptions."
Duosion: "But it's something to watch out for, mhm?"

The three also don't bother hiding that they're watching Ceruledge to see where the food goes.

    Ceruledge side-eyes them, fiery eyes flickering in his helmet. Not knowing exactly why they're watching, he waits for a moment to see if they'll say anything, and then goes back to eating. He spears an apple with one sword, then swings the other up to slice it in half, and the arc of purple fire sears the youkais' vision for just a moment and-- the apple's already gone.

"Feel free to tell me more~ What they need and don't have anymore."

Spinda: "Okay!"
Spinda: "Back when things weren't scary, no one needed to be sca-a-ared."
Spinda: "Things weren't per-er-erfect."
Spinda: "But whenever things were ha-ard, there was alway-ays someone you could ask to help!"

Spinda: "Now the things that people need help with aren't as si-imple."

Spinda: "For people you can ask to he-elp with a Mystery Dungeon..."

Spinda: "It's mo-o-ostly just the Guild."

Spinda: "So those Pokemon that can't ask anyone for help... get scared and lo-onely."

Spinda: "And when they get stro-ong, then they're stro-ong *and* lonely."

Spinda: "Lo-o-o-ots and lots of people have helped me. That's why I want to be a pa-a-art of the Guild!"

    Spinda beams at Lotus so earnestly that they practically sparkle, with their paws clasped together. The pure belief they have that 'Pokemon helping each other' is the driving force of everything good is infectious to the point that it's possible to conclude that economic factors just aren't considered at all, whether in Spinda's mind or in the world as a whole. After a little excited sparkling after their monologue, their expression drops, becoming more thoughtful.

Spinda: "There's sto-o-ories about Legendary Pokemon who can grant any wish."
Spinda: "A lo-ot of Pokemon think we should find them and ask them to fix *e-e-every* Mystery Dungeon!"
Spinda: "But I think...."
Spinda: "It's a li-i-ittle unfair to ask one Pokemon to do a-a-all that."
Petra Soroka     "Though I guess that might be true depending on your point of view about the theory of migration from the astral plane and the cultural transplant of higher realms of the thirty-one planes."
"Actually, I don't know if this place is more Gioi Duc Kamadhatu or a kind of So Thien Brahma? It kind of has the vibes, but it'd be kind of presumtive about distinctions in . . ."

Spinda: https://i.imgur.com/8ZJVLgC.png
Tinkaton: https://i.imgur.com/lkXp6i4.png
Duosion: https://i.imgur.com/5SpwzfX.png
Ceruledge: https://i.imgur.com/2FMF1gJ.png

Tinkaton: "You should ask Lily!! BANG!"

> Satori

    Before everyone goes charging in to start tussling or Tactically Insulting the bandits, Satori reaches out to touch their minds, a phenomenon that seems to have a visual element in this world. Focusing her energy on the Lairon and Phanpy to briefly distort and double-up, like she's viewing them through water, with a thin high-pitched noise. Besides that, though, mind-reading them mostly just reveals that they're not performing any of the rascality for show-- they're not starving, secretly forced into these circumstances, or particularly self-loathing about their own actions within their circumstances.

    What they *are*, though, is freaking out.

Phanpy: "Lairon!"
Phanpy: "Look out!"
Lairon: "The Guild?! All the way out here?"
Lairon: "Just our luck!"

    Kale running in, beaks a-pecking, seems like the result they were immediately expecting and on-guard for. Lairon charges towards him in return, letting Kale's attack scrape off of his heavy steel skin, and then skids to a halt with rocks scraping underfoot when he instead starts getting bullied.

Lairon: "Ashamed of myself? Why would I be!"
Lairon: "That just means I'm stronger than them!"
Phanpy: "Or smarter!"

Phanpy: "Not everyone can work together!"
Phanpy: "That's too simple!"
Phanpy: "And besides-- we wouldn't even *want* to work with goody-two-shoes like you!"

    Lairon, right in front of Kale, rears up on his back two legs and then *slams* down into the ground. The ground shakes again, but worse--! The side of the piecemeal mountain shakes, and boulders come loose, tumbling down the side to crash into the Elites. With Lairon trying to physically block and bully them, Phanpy stays behind him and curls up into a cute little elephant ball, rolling along the ground increasingly quickly, veering behind the front line to crash through Mia, Satori, and Ru Li. Spinda wobbles their way between rocks, dodging most of them, before being hit by one and getting knocked away like a doll, squealing.
Ru Li Cheng Ru Li <I suppose that's bandits for you...conviction only at the end of a knife, one way or another.>

     The floating god-turned-cat-thing floats forward, swimming in the air. He holds out a hand to stop the little elephant-ball in its tracks, three fingers spreading, ready to intercept with all of his mental strength and simply pin the thing-

     -wait, why isn't it stop-

Ru Li <Wha->

     Thump.

     The god-turned-cat-monster gets run right the heck over. He's knocked down, backwards, and into the water with a loud and meaningful 'splash'. It is at this point that he begins struggling, because, very simply, very importantly:

     Ru Li does not know how to swim. He's partially *metal* and he's never needed to learn to swim in his life. He certainly doesn't know how to swim in a body he's never used before, laden with unfamiliar metals and unfamiliar blood and unfamiliar functionality.

     He thrashes about in the water as he starts to sink. Small mouth opens, desperately gasping for air as the water begins to claim him. Then, in a moment, he's gone. The heavy key on his back is probably weighing him down.

     From underwater, there is a surprisingly faint, surprisingly composed, thought that escapes, which is probably proof that he's not Entirely OK right now.

Ru Li <Oh dear.>

     A somewhat-panicked trail of thoughts (including "hold, hold, hold" and other autonomous functions being carefully pruned away for focus on circulating as much breath as possible underwater) escapes the water before anything else does. His calm mind has been thrown out the window in favor of panic and confusion. But in that power and confusion is still a god, and a god with enormous physical *and* psychic power in this body.

     A moment later, the whole shore shakes. The cat-thing comes soaring out of it, not gracefully, not heroically, but instead as if he had simply *leapt* with all his might and found 'all his might' substantially more than he bargained for. He ascends, high, high into the sky.

Ru Li <Uh-oh.>

     And then he comes falling down, down, down, down, down, without any real landing plan, his mind racing (audibly to the whole world) through his various autonomic functions as he attempts to brace himself. With the force of a comet, he hits the earth. The earth ripples like water at the blow before exploding upwards into a shower of particulate matter.

     The cat-like creature, meanwhile, is face-down in the dirt, because it clearly did not know how to slow its descent fast enough.

Ru Li <Ah...>
Ru Li <O...ouch...>

RU LI used STRENGTH! It hurt itself in its confusion!
Dysnomia Dysnomia: "Your funeral."
Dysnomia: "...Wait."
Dysnomia: "Stars!"

    Mia sought to reach out with her will, but this form just didn't have the leverage to make it real. Her eyes shot, between the rolling Phanpy and reared up Lairon, as if just now grasping the difference in size between them.

    She raised her wing-ears, released a trilling attempt at a battlecry...

    And is rolled right over, the full weight of the pokemon crushing her into the sand like a string of taffy stomped into carpet.

    She was quiet, for a moment, before a muffled, distressed squeak sounded. Her tail began to flail where she'd been embedded in the sand.
Timespace Riders "Not everyone can work together!"
"That's too simple!"
"And besides-- we wouldn't even *want* to work with goody-two-shoes like you!"

Sougo: "That's right, it is simple..."
Sougo: "Which means you don't have an excuse for acting this way!"

     As boulders tumble down the mountain, Woz intercedes on Sougo's behalf. The feline retainer's sharpened claws strike dramatic, gleaming lines as he leaps into the air, swatting away two boulders on a trajectory for Sougo. After a frontflip sets his hind legs back on solid ground, his tail snatches up one half of a split boulder and flings it at Phanpy as the little elephant passes through.

     Meanwhile, Sougo takes advantage of the opening to charge in on Lairon, opening up with a deceptively strong shouldercheck for his small frame. The impact sends an uncomfortable vibration through the little Demon King's fluffy form, but despite a cartoonish 'euuuugh' he grits his teeth and fights through it.

     Striking a second time, this time with a double hind-leg kick, he seems both less phazed by his opponent's bulk and stronger in his offense.
Aidan Proudpick "That makes sense. A lot of people are just afraid. They want more because they are afraid of having nothing, right? And some people are just afraid so they might lash out." Aidan the PAT RAT nibbles thoughtfully on a berry.

IN MEDIA RES

"Well, if you don't want to work with people, it doesn't just mean you can HURT them!" The gopher's four feet on the floor bounce up and down, knees bent, limbs ready, trying to find a good angle to attack the two pokemon. They have armoring and all he has is TEETH! Phanby rolls into a ball, charging in and Aidan quickly moves out of the way. But at the last moment, his eyes dilate. He sees the rock moving in slow motion, side stepping around it as it lands, already looking for the next one, and moving around it. It almost seems like the little gopher is dancing around each rock as he moves in towards the Phanby. "I don't want to hurt you, but if you are going to make us!"

One final rock. Aidan leaps, bounding on top of the rock, then towards Phanby, mouth open, teeth exposed for a BITE ON THE TRUNK!
Kale Hearthward Kale used: PECK! It wasn't very effective...

Kale goes in for the twin peck on Lairon, and ends up almost hurting himself more than Lairon.

"What's this guy made out of, steel?"
"This isn't working, we'd win this easily if we had Periactus, or Gobo, or Tabtrack, or our wind magic, or our crew and ship, or-"

He feints back as Lairon rears up and slams down, but then pauses as soon as he's out of range. The resulting earthquake... is *entirely* unsold.

"Ah-ha. Ground moves... don't work *at all* against flying types. I knew memorizing the type chart between trips was a good idea," crows Right Kale.

Ground VS Flying: 0x damage!

Then he pauses. "Wait, maybe I shouldn't have used a normal type move against a steel type. That's why it just bounced off."

Flying vs. Steel/Rock: .25x damage!

"Anyway, your ground type moves won't even touch us! So there! You can't even hurt us, hah!"

Immediately after declaring that, the rocks that were knocked loose by the earthquake come rolling across the path, a sizable one smacking right into Kale's side and sending him flying in a heap of feathers and angry heads.

Rock vs. Flying: 2x damage!

"Okay, that does it - if pecking isn't going to work, then we'll try something else! We'll just... hit him quicker before he can get his guard up! Hah!"

Kale learned: QUICK ATTACK!
Normal vs. Steel/Rock: .25x damage!

"Ow, ow... okay, then we'll just... hit it a bunch of times. One of them will have to break through his defenses!"

Kale learned: FURY ATTACK!
Normal vs. Steel/Rock: .25x damage!

"Hang on does - does *anything* we can do have any sort of effect against steel types? That isn't doing negligible damage?"
"Um..."

One WING ATTACK (flying), PLUCK (flying), and DOUBLE HIT (normal) later - the answer seems to be a resounding no, Kale is incapable of so much as scratching Lairon's health bar.

"This is absolutely unfair."
"We need some better moves..."
Blemishine Maria: "Goody two-shoes--"
Maria: "Too simple!?"
Maria: "I'm sure that can't be how you thought before the Mystery Dungeons sprung up..."
Maria: "...But if it's how you feel now, then you'll see just how far working together gets you!"

    At least Ledian's gang had the sense to back off when they realized they were outmatched. It looks like these thugs have no intention of doing the same though - and if they're set on fighting, the only thing to do is stop them, especially so that those two can get all their stolen belongings back.

    Lairon crashing down nearly makes Blemishine lose her footing entirely again--but it's what comes with it that's a much bigger problem, with the boulders coming crashing in towards them. Getting out of the way physically while she's still recovering isn't going to work, and that'd also mean anyone behind her would be at risk of getting hit instead...! If only she still had her shield right now...

    ...Her shield?

    Squinting her eyes shut and focusing on that image as hard as she can, the horn on her head shines with light as it had when she pulled Spinda up out of the ocean--and a shimmering, glass-like Barrier pops into existence about a meter in front of her--slightly cracking on impact with the large stone, but otherwise holding up.

    One eye opens back up, she has a moment of surprise that something like that actually worked...and then she swings her head up, the psychic barrier following along with the motion! She's scooping that boulder up and tossing it right back at Lairon!

    Does that make this a Rock Throw, technically...?
Angela Angela is still shaken by her genuine and earnest attempt to reach out to these pokemon as being 'tactical meanness'. It's enough to make an AI wonder if maybe she's just tactically mean by nature but she definitely isn't going to admit this to anyone in front of Pokemon and the multiverse.

This makes the blow of the pokemon she was talking to just saying that they're just stronger and smarter and shouldn't feel bad at all about mugging other pokemon!

"I see. Then if we defeat you, you'll have to do as we say? This seems fair. Cinder, set them on fire"

Cinder hesitates and then says, "I... I can't."

Angela, perturbed, "Why not?"

"...I ... I might catch the scarf on fire if I do that? And Petra gave it to me and..." The Cinderquil blushes fiercely. "It means too much to me..."

Angela frowns. Like the actual Angela frowns. Should she continue applying ''tactical meanness'' instead then or tell Cinder to try another move or tell her to TAKE THE SCARF OFF. She feels like she went to a lot of trouble getting Cinder trained up and now she's just not doing the moves she's asking her to make. This cannot stand.

...Wait, did the pokemon call her a goody two-shoes? Angela knows it's an insult but it is kind of thrilling being called a goody-two-shoes instead of as an uncaring monster though maybe that's because they are pokemon and they'd use something else?

RU LI hurts itself in its confusion. This isn't going well!

So instead Angela reaches forward, intent on using one of the extendo-arms to grab at Phanpy and presses a button.

Instead of an Extendo-Arm...

PORYGON HAS USED ZAP CANNON

An electrical surge crackles at the end of the Porygon's face, sending an electrical ball bursting out towards Phanpy.

Angela blinks twice at her console before pressing that button repeatedly.

"Very well, if we're stronger and smarter than you have to obey us." She decides. "Cinder, aim me appropriately."

Cinder has no idea what that means.
Hellwarming Trio EARLIER

They miss the eating animation. How unfortunate. Utsuho (Fletchling) and Rin (Litten) just let out disappointed little sighs before joining Lotus and Spinda to just listen to the dizzy Pokemon's retelling of how things were in he past. Satori (Ralts), however, keeps staring for a little while longer to try and puzzle out the secret without resorting to her usual methods of listening to idle thoughts or forcing others for answers. A mystery's not satisfying if she can just cheat the answer out, after all!

Utsuho: ""Lonely, huh? Sounds like..."
Rin: "Strong, huh? Definitely is..."
Utsuho and Rin: "A job for us!"
Hellwarming Trio NOW
Satori jumps a bit when she sees something appearing before her rather than just being able to read and listen. Even though she's used to poring through thoughts, actually seeing them physically reflected in front of her is a new experience entirely. Still, she stays the course, and she sees that lack of starving, no shadowy pressure, no guilt.

Satori: "Not a hint of shame, these two..."
Satori: "It's almost a relief. Go on, girls."

Despite that command, it's the trio that get caught on the back foot! Lairon's ground shaking throws them a bit off balance, and the combination of falling rocks and the Phanpy rolling around at the speed of fast means all three of them only have a moment to react. Utsuho and Rin both move up to try and intercept the Phanpy, but the falling rocks knock them off course, forcing Satori to take to the...

Ground. Can this green and white thing not fly? This body is terrible.  Satori, too, gets knocked spiraling backwards, and there's a bit of a scramble as they regroup to get their bearings straight. Once they do, though-

'Not everyone can work together!'
'That's too simple!'

Rin: "Really? Even we know how to work with these Guild folks."
Utsuho: "... Heh. Guess you're even dumber than us if you can't pull that off."
Satori: "Now, now. Girls, don't be rude."
Satori: "Let them catch up."

With that moment to get their shit together, the yokai-turned Pokemon go on the counteroffensive! Although they're still largely unaware of the nuances of using their new forms to fight, Utsuho and Rin know that they still have the power of fire on their sides, and they use it to reckless effect as they target the Phanpy. Utsuho goes for the obvious straight-forward approach, of course, blasting flames from her beak to try and just shoot them faster than the Phanpy can avoid them, and Rin launches her own fire breath at where she's anticipating the Phanpy will go!

With the fire-breathers trying to keep the Phanpy off of her, Satori turns her attention to the Lairon. Suspecting her memory-based attacks might not work, she tries to just start shooting... Something at the armored Pokemon. No fire breath, no ice, no weird magic bulles, but she feels something building up (funky psychic energy), and opts to just release it at the Lairon to see what happens!
Vantablitz Remnants     Ahn, in the middle of trying to break down where Pokemon fit in the structure of her particularly insane brand of Vietnamese Buddhist Occultism, looks up at the people listening to her with a little starter when Tinkaton replies; perhaps if only in preparation for a BANG.

Ahn: "Oh."
Ahn: "Would Lily know?"
Ahn: "Lily must be really smart, then. I wish we'd talked at the guild . . ."

    Lotus, meanwhile, may possibly be taking Spinda the most seriously out of anyone here. It's hard for her to show it at all, but she really must have meant it that Ahn tells her about this sort of thing, in a more than casual way. Her outline, if you pay really close attention, vibrates ever so slightly.

Lotus: "Aren't as simple?"
Lotus: "You mean they're scarier? Or more complicated."
Lotus: "A Mystery Dungeon shouldn't be any reason they can't ask for the things they always did, no?"
Lotus: "Ahaha~ But scared and lonely--"
Lotus: "And strong, scared, and lonely . . ."
Lotus: "That reminds me of someone~"

    She undulates silently for a few seconds, as if physically chewing on Spinda's words, with her whole body.

Lotus: "Asking one person to fix everything is always unfair. It's horrible for them."
Lotus: "Sometimes, they have to, because there's no one else who can do it, no matter how much they try."
Lotus: "Even then, though, nobody has a right to get mad if that person were to give up, or just say no. But they always feel like they can't, don't they?"
Lotus: "I'd like it if we could do everything we can to see if we can fix it ourselves, without putting everyone on just one soul."
Lotus: "Because . . ."
Lotus: "That reminds me of someone too~"

    But in the meantime . . .

Ahn: "You can't say that if you don't even know if it's true!"
Ahn: "You can't say that people can't work together, and then say that you'd never try asking anyways!"
Ahn: "That's just your own personal dislike! And you can't make let your own petty feelings like that hurt other people!"
Ahn: "It's not that little guy's fault you don't like people! He shouldn't have to bear the consequences of what you want!"
Lotus: "Ahn~ You can always tell them that after you beat them up, you know~"
Lotus: "Focus on fixing what's right in front of you. Like always."
Ahn: "Y-yeah. Right."

    Lairon's attack is the precise moment where Lotus goes from hitching a piggyback ride on Ahn to becoming the nearest thing to the same person. Rather than copy any of the other Pokemon, the ditto flows over the cubone's body below the skull helmet, and Transforms itself into so many more cu-bones; nobody here is familiar with what it normally looks like anyways, but the janky skull-themed bone armour snapping on with unnervingly toothy sounds like an especially CG heavy Toku monster henshin isn't really the same.
Vantablitz Remnants     What is more or less the same is the way they respond to a rockslide attack by jumping up onto the lowest rock, the closest rock that on, and so on and so forth until they're completely above the landslide. Wordless little martial arts sounds come out from Ahn with each precarious leap, accompanied by the subtle creak-vibrato of Lotus tensing in perfect synchrony with her movements. When they break out of the top, Ahn aims her fall on top of Lairon, choosing to ignore the Phanphy for the moment, raising her bone club high over her head, and-- falling ten times as fast as she should. A purple-white texture ripples over the exterior of Lotus, briefly matching Ru-Li in the moment the two accelerate.

Ahn: "If you won't ask, then don't whine when I tell you!"
    It's a fakeout. It's actually Ahn's foot that shoots out right at the last second, dropping a high-speed rider kick on Lairon, then bouncing off and swinging the bone club as part of the ensuing somersault. The two of them land and Lotus briefly takes on Dysnomia's colour in the same iinstant. A twister of wind and a thin stream of purple fire accompanies a spinning sweep kick, aimed first at catching Phanphy rolling past, then taking out Lairon's legs on the opposite side.
Meika Kirenai     Meika's eyes shoot wide as Lairon sparks a homemade earthquake. Her posture hunches, tail waving half to counterbalance, and half out of anxious anticipation. The boulders come tumbling down the hill, and turn the fight into a painful game of knock-off Frogger.

Meika : "H-hey, watch it! The whole hillside's-"

    Dodging and weaving between an avalanche of rock quickly degrades to a fit of scampering and cursing, hopping one-footed, getting dinged by pebbles, and frantically vaulting over larger ones with very little room to breathe. Friends and allies go flying, intentionally and unintentionally, and one-handed, Meika fishes a small little page of paper out, and crumples it in her paw.

'That just means I'm stronger than them!'

Meika : "What's so strong about- about stealing like this? I'll- I'll show you-"
Meika : "Ouch!"

    As she speaks, a boulder clips her shoulder, knocking her to the ground, and continuing to roll on over- until a bright flash rings out, and the boulder stops, dead in its tracks on top of the knocked-down Zangoose. With bright red ribbons streaming, tied around her arms, and complementary to the jagged red striping of her fur, Chevalier Vermillion presses the boulder up, and hops to her feet with it nigh-effortlessly hoisted up above her head.

Chevalier Vermillion : "Yeah, okay. How about you go and choke down a taste of your own medicine, huh? Vermillion Crash : Eat Boulder, Nerd!"

    The magical girl dashes forwards in a blur, kicking up a wake of rock dust from the sudden motion, and tries to bring the boulder down on top of Lairon, cracking the stone in half in the process!

Chevalier Vermillion used: REVENGE!
Kuroto Dan      Surely, there was probably a bunch of team building during the time Kuroto Dan was seemingly away. Perhaps there was laughing, loving, and genuine connections be formed. If there was, he'll never know, and honestly, he does not care. He's above that. He's the pinnacle. He shouldn't be lowering himself to understand these people, they should be raising themselves up to understand him.

     He did however, make a promise, one he intends to keep. Spinda will achieve their dream, if only because he wills it.

     There's a flash of red and black as a small figure pops up out from behind a rock, blazing past Blemishine as it beelines straight towards the Larion.

     There's no snide remarks, no gloating, just a narrowing of the eyes as the Pawniard delivers a swift kick at the steel-type pokemon's shin as it uses the monster's own weight against it to trip it over.

     Genm:"As promised, I've returned to be the hero you all desperately needed.Now..."

     Kuroto Dan pauses mid-sentence as he jumps back far and high, doing a midair flip before landing on Blemishine's back. There are no reins for him to grab onto, so he instead just grabs onto both sides of her neck with his bladed hands as he kicks his tiny feet into her sides.

     Genm:"My usual mode of transportation isn't available to me here, so YOU will have to make do. Consider yourself honored, very few have the privilege to be used by ME!"
Petra Soroka     Tinkaton and Ceruledge aren't far behind the Elites when they initiate the fight. Tinkaton runs surprisingly quickly even with that enormous hammer upraised, and Ceruledge seems to practically glide across the ground, facing into transluscence momentarily with each step. Tinkaton smashes a boulder into powder with a thunderous BANG!!!, giving Ceruledge a path through to swing his twin ghostly swords up through a pair of rocks threatening to barrel through Kale.

Ceruledge: "Lairon and Phanpy."
Ceruledge: "This must be Team Tough Hit."
Ceruledge: "Small fry."
Ceruledge: "Lairon is right. This is terrible luck for them."

    Finally, Tinkaton jumps straight over Satori, scooping Mia out of the ground mid-air with the haft of his hammer, and then twists to swing the massive head into the side of the mountain directly. The rockslide is drowned out by the KAPOW!!, and somehow, the blow forces all the rocks of the mountain to resettle into place, ending the attack.

Tinkaton: "Okay, tough guys! You had your fun!"
Tinkaton: "POW!!"
Tinkaton: "But now how about you--"

    Ka-BOOM-- unfortunately, not with Tinkaton's ansi. He's knocked away by Ru Li's atmospheric reentry, cut off mid-declaration to instead land on the ground thirty feet away with a thud. On the bright side, Lairon isn't anticipating it either, and gets tackled-- body slammed-- by the furry creature half his size, wobbling and then falling over with a crash. Still, even getting double-kicked and double-hit, which are different things, while on the ground, Lairon still manages to get back to his feet, violently shaking his heavy body to knock the frailer Pokemon away.

    After Phanpy plows through the Elites, he curves around in a long arc, speeding up while staying in ball-form. His efforts to pick up speed through multiple passes are stymied by Aidan and Woz presenting physical barriers in the form of their body and a rock respectively, but try he must continue to do, because he's locked into the move for five turns. Bowling through Aidan doesn't come without a cost, but scrapes and scratches don't draw blood through Phanpy's thick skin, no matter how hard he attacks-- even getting hit doesn't hurt *that* bad, really. Purple and orange fire splashes across him, flickering with residual embers that don't dissipate even when scrubbed against the ground while he rolls. Phanpy slows down, then explodes in a burst of crackling electricity, and when it fades, he's sprawled out across the ground, legs and trunk splayed.

    Lairon doesn't have time after getting up to get a counterattack in before numerous weaponized boulders crack against his head, splintering into sharp fragments as he staggers back. Spinda, having bounced up from where they were pummeled into the ground by the rockslide, wobbles nearly horizontally beside Lairon to hit him in his unarmored underside, making him recoil. Genm trips him again right then, and that's when it becomes totally clear that the battle's over. Lairon sinks down into the ground, burrowing with his back feet instead of just falling, and pops up a few feet away.
Petra Soroka "Very well, if we're stronger and smarter than you have to obey us."

Lairon: "No!"
Lairon: "It means we have to..."
Lairon: "Run!!!!"

    Lairon rears his head back and then bellows out an earsplitting roar, the sound slamming into the air hard enough to knock the Elites back. Phanpy scrambles up to his feet, looks back at the Elites, and blows an obnoxious parting trumpet before running.

Phanpy: "We won't work with you just 'cause you're stronger!"
Phanpy: "And we won't help other Pokemon just 'cause they're weaker!"
Phanpy: "But we'll still do our best for ourselves!"

    It's definitely possible to stop them from running, with a dozen-strong Pokemon on the Guild's side, but to what end? They've made it clear they don't want to work with you, there's no prison to haul them to-- probably?-- and the treasure bags they were filling with loot have already spilled all of their contents, so the knocked-out Pikachu and Treecko haven't lost anything but health. Duosion, who was totally absent in the fight, hovers over to start telekinetically repacking the unconscious explorers' gear, helped by Spinda.

Spinda: "........"
Spinda: "We di-i-id it!"
Spinda: "That was a re-e-eal fight we won!"
Spinda: "And I helped!"

    The quality and quantity and Spinda's help in the fight is questionable, but they're right that they're still standing. Tinkaton cheerfully saunters up, hammer in one hand and Verdant Gem in the other, and holds the gem up for inspection.

Tinkaton: "Alright!!"
Tinkaton: "Good JOB, gang!"
Tinkaton: "All you NEWBIES really PULLED YOUR WEIGHT! KABAM!"
Tinkaton: "Now let's go FIND that Mystery Dungeon!"

    In the background, Duosion is feeding Pikachu and Treecko some blue berries, slowly rousing them from unconsciousness. Once they're set with their gear, the Guild follows the direction of the glow from the Verdant Gem, leading around the mountain to a jagged split in the pieced-together boulder pile. The gash extends down, like a diagonal chasm, descending into and below the mountain and fading into darkness-- even unfamiliar with what Mystery Dungeons look like, it can't be anything but the entrance to Clastic Cavern.
Ru Li Cheng Ru Li <Ka...ka-bam......>

     Yeah Ru Li might be a little out of it. The big cat thing lifts itself off the ground like a puppet - arms first, then head, then the bulk of its body, righting itself with psychic power as the god's head clears and he remembers he can do that. He shakes his head furiously to clear it. Ka-bam indeed.

     He follows along in the air once again, unable to trust either his own balance or his raw physical strength (he's beginning to worry that if he unleashes it inside Clastic Cavern he'll cause some kind of very bad situation). This concern only amplifies to visible levels as his one eye widens at the sight of the dark chasm; if there's another eye under the eyeplate, it's probably widening too.

     Not that the dark is much problem. Actually, the dark is where Ru Li operates very well. He can taste the walls. He can feel the walls. He can feel the floor, taste the floor (more literally), hear the vibrations. For Ru Li there's no need for light - his senses are still perfect and radial. At least he has that going for him.

     As such he's able to keep an eye out for people about to slip. He hovers off the side of whatever path there is, ensuring that, if anyone slips, he can catch them and put them back before anything happens. It's a small service, but it's something that makes him feel useful.
Timespace Riders "We won't work with you just 'cause you're stronger!"
"And we won't help other Pokemon just 'cause they're weaker!"
"But we'll still do our best for ourselves!"

Sougo: "Okay!"

     Sougo, like many Riders, is quite used to someone taking their licks and going home to fight another day. Sometimes the people that do that are sympathetic, and sometimes, they really aren't--these two aren't people whose recuperative malding he'll lose any sleep over. He doesn't attempt to stop them running, either.

Sougo: "Thanks for helping, Spinda. And you, too, Duosion!"

     The Eevee King gives a cheery attempt at a thumbs-up. He realizes a second later that he doesn't have thumbs, and decides to just wave, instead. Seeing that the would-be victims of Tough Hit are being cared for, Sougo nods in agreement with Tinkaton.

     He and Woz both enter into the cavern, but even the retainer, the more graceful of the two, has a difficult time in the dark.

Woz: "Ru Li, was it? I thank you for your assistance."

     The mild gesture of thanks is one of the nicest, most sincere things Woz has said this entire adventure--and even that was only pried from him because he nearly tripped and stumbled off the path in the dark.
Blemishine Maria: "Ah!? Huh? Huh??"
Maria: "Mode of transportation? Huh???"

    Did the incredibly smug Pawniard just start riding her!? He doesn't even know that his hands are tiny little knives--or he doesn't care! This predictably provokes an immediate, automatic response to try to get Genm off, which in her current state, takes the form of that psychic power she's beginning to get a handle on suddenly lashing out. A powerful vision-distortion haze of energy surrounds the smaller Pokemon, and--!!

It doesn't affect Genm...

    Perhaps she should have also studied the charts that Kale had mentioned, as then she'd be aware that Psychic-type attacks don't work on Evi--I mean Dark-type Pokemon.

    Blemishine would lament more about this, if her attention wasn't caught up by Phanpy and Lairon making their expedent retreat. Better late than never...probably? Although it doesn't sound like they have any intention of mending their ways...nor is there anything they can really do about that in the long term right this second.

Maria: "Good grief...there they go."
Maria: "--And great job, Spinda! You were even the first one rushing to help!"
Maria: "It looks like there shouldn't be anything stopping us from moving on now, so..."

    After making sure Duosion has those two unfortunate explorers properly cared for, and that Team Tough Hit is vanishing off into the distance...Blemishine has to address the Donphan in the room, craning her neck back to look at Genm. She frowns.

Maria: "Can you /pleaaaaaaase/ get off of me now!? The fight is over!"
Aidan Proudpick If you've never actually bitten into another living thing with your teeth, it's WEIRD. The still moving thing, as well as the tough hide of the Phanpy, and the awkward 'not really sure how hard I should bite and let go' nature of the attack leads to Aidan falling off quickly. He hits the ground, not quite as gracefully as he normally would, only to let out a GACK of surprise as the pokemon ROLLS into him, bowling him into a wall with a mighty OOF. A light pain, a burning bruising sort of pain.

Aidan rolls back up to his butt, rubbing at his head. "Ow. Well, even if they are bullies, at least they are just bullies." Aidan goes over to push the rock off Spinda so that Spinda can help packing. "You did great!"

"We all did great! This mystery dungeon stuff is really easy!" Granted, everyone else has much more flashy powers. Putting up shields, throwing boulders, letting out ZAP CANNON Pause. "Wait, we aren't in the mystery dungeon?"

dungeon

dungeon....

Aidan looks down the chasm, eyes focusing in on the darkness, taking everything in. "Oh. Oh okay." Aidan takes a position further behind Ru Li, who seems to know where he is going, somewhat behind Puppy And Cat Duo.
Kale Hearthward > Ceruledge: "Small fry."

The Kales give Ceruledge a look that says a lot. (It's easy to say a lot with a look when you have two faces.) It communicates a very clear 'Thank you for the rescue but did you have to call the opponent I'm struggling against a small fry'.

Genm jumping on Blemishine and using her as a steed gets another double look. This one has a much more clear message, which doesn't really need two faces to convey in full.

"Pretty sure this one doesn't have a one-quarter type disadvantage," mutters Right Kale, sizing Genm up.

Onward, regardless. The Kales need a little bit of help from Ru Li because they don't look where they're going (of course). Even after a slip, they still seem unfocused.

"Really, no moves that aren't pecking or just 'hitting a thing'? Maybe there's something instinctual we haven't found?"
"Instinctual? If you haven't noticed, all the body seems to want to do is bounce around and dance if one of us isn't focused on it."
"... Yeah, that's useless. Nevermind, stupid question."
Angela Angela is smiling. This is the first time violence on her behalf actually did something useful. Violence CAN be useful, she realizes, it's not just a waste of time and effort for no appreciation. Of course, Phanphy doesn't agree to help but she does say, "Stronger and smarter!" with intense smug villainess energy. Then she remembers she's mimicking some kind of adorable baby elephant thing and she immediately clams up. The one saving grace is that nobody saw her grinning from ear to ear for a moment since Porygon's face is, well, as expressionless as Angela's face usually is.

Cinderquill meanwhile kind of hugs her scarf to herself, beaming happily, glad she didn't have to either remove the scarf or protect herself. This is a great day for Team Not Those Guys!

"Do we have our own team name?" Angela asks, having clearly not paid a lick of attention to the actual plot here. She spent most of that time fretting over Petra and feeling weird about sort of having a body here but also definitely not inhabiting that body. But she can shoot electric blasts through it so in some ways it's better than a body if you really think about it.

"Sounds good." She tells Tinkaton.

"Yeah! Glad we could help!" Cinder tells TInkaton despite having been completely useless.
Hellwarming Trio Rin: "Hey, Master! Were there always so many... Uh. Hers?"
Satori: "I don't believe so. But..."
Satori: "Don't fret. Those two are our friends, too."
Utsuho: "Where'd that other one go, anyway?"
Satori: "..."

After getting momentarily distracted watching Lotus turn Ahn into an even bigger pile of bones, then having mixed response of amusement and concern at Genm hitching a ride on Maria (Satori being the most amused and Utsuho being the most concerned), the trio's attention returns to the battle with Team Tough Hit! It goes much better once they settle into the groove with the rest of the group, and when the duo start retreating...

The three yokaimon seem content with leaving them be and letting them flee. Little fights and contests over lesser things are a dime a dozen back home, after all, so something like this is just another random occurrence for them. Instead, they move to check on the knocked out pair instead, with Utsuho and Rin actually taking the lead to join Duosion for moral support.

Utsuho: "Piece of cake! Alright, let's wake these two up."
Rin: "Yeah, come on! Those two didn't bang ya up too hard, did they?"

Satori, meanwhile, waddles over to Spinda and gives them a reaffirming pat on the back along with nodding lightly in agreement with Maria's assessment of the panda.
Satori: "You did rather well, yes. Good work, Spinda."
Satori: "Just don't push yourself too hard and too fast nor get too comfortable in the back, either. We still have the Mystery Dungeon to explore."

When it's time to head towards/into the Clastic Cavern, Rin and Utsuho are both ready at the sides of the group to aid in their own way. They light small fires in front of themselves and keep them going steadily to help light the way, making it easier to not fall off the sides or miss some obviously shiny objects on the way. That leaves Satori to check on Sougo and Woz by the time they get inside.

That gesture from the latter towards Ru Li has her raising an eyebrow, then shuffling over to nudge Sougo gently with a slight smile.

Satori: "How are you adjusting, Mister Tokiwa? To walking like that, and to..."
Satori: "... Have you discovered any particular abilities yet?"
Dysnomia Dysnomia felt herself wrenched from the earth, thrashing feebly in Tinkaton's grip before she could comprehend what was happening to her...And then the sand below rippled, like still water struck with a pebble, and she was sent flying through the air, out of Tinkaton's grip, spiraling in the air and landing with a skidmark in the sand.

Dysnomia: "C-copy that sir! All hands on...deck..."
Dysnomia: "...Ooogh."

    "All you NEWBIES really PULLED YOUR WEIGHT! KABAM!"

    Mia bristled, her ears trembling as her stomach twisted. It felt like a knife. An accusation, to the girl who had spent the fight thrown about.

Dysnomia: "Sure. Whatever."

    She had to move, or she'd be rebuffed. Dysnomia couldn't let insubordination stain her record. She slithered forward, her senses slowly returning to her, ironically clearer in the dark than most of the others.

    Approaching Spinda, dead weight appraising the dead weight, her eyes locked on the Verdant Gem in their hands.

Dysnomia: "I guess you were right after all."
Dysnomia: "Maybe you were also right about The Wish of The Forest."
Dysnomia: "Whatever that is."
Kuroto Dan Genm:"The battle is over? Says who? You? Bikes shouldn't talk! There will be no quarter for filthy parasites like thieves."

     Genm does not seem to notice, or care, that Blemishine tried to remove him, but he just ineffectually kicks into her sides again to try and get her to move, all while pointing towards the fleeing pokemon.

     Unfortunately, he can't really control her, but he's not about to give up on his endeavors either, so he simply crosses his arms in defiance as he's carried wherever the Ponyta decides to go, which just so happens to be where they should be going.

Genm:"I will remove myself when you LISTEN, and not a moment before! And if anyone should be praised right now, it should be ME!"
Genm:"If you wish to blame anyone for your current fate, perhaps you should blame the false gods who decided to make you a convenient beast of burden."
Blemishine Maria: "I'm not a beast of burden, or a--"
Maria: "--...bike? Did you just call me a bike?"
Maria: "Oh, whatever. Don't say I didn't warn you!"

    Blemishine does not, in fact, try to buck him off, or anything so crass. And she can't simply psychically lift him up and off either, as an unfortunate result of type immunities. What could she have possibly meant by that, then?

    Probably that the entrance down toClastic Cavern is dark, steep, and relatively dangerous if unprepared for, and Genm is being a Defiant little jerk with crossed arms sitting on top of her. So on the trip down, he'll be the one in for a bumpy ride without any particular consideration given to keeping him on board, unless he embarrasses himself by holding on tighter than he'd probably like to be seen doing.

    Especially when, just as her earlier attempt to uproot him completely failed, Ru Li also won't be able to telekinetically nab him if he slips. Your pride shall be your undoing, Dan Kuroto.
Petra Soroka     The path leading down into Clastic Cavern is angular and crooked, only thick enough for two Pokemon to go shoulder to shoulder before getting uncomfortably close to the sharp dropoff. Getting deep enough that the afternoon sun vanishes behind tons of dubiously-stacked rock doesn't leave the Expedition in complete darkness-- veins of glowing crystal web through the ceiling above, casting down just enough light to see. That's not to say that Ru Li's efforts to keep people on the path are wasted; with the sharp turns and rocky floor, anyone could potentially slip off the narrow path. Especially...

Spinda: "Woa-oa-oah!"

Spinda: "Wahh--!"

Spinda: "Uuu-- Whoops!"

Spinda: "A-a-a-ah!"

    After getting telekinetically rescued from certain death for the dozenth time in the first few minutes of their first Mystery Dungeon ever, Spinda flops down onto the ground limply. At first, it seems like they've given up, limp from exhaustion... but then, they curl up and start inching along the path like a worm.

Spinda: "Okay!"
Spinda: "I've got it!"
Spinda: "Thanks so much for helping, Ru Li!"

    If anyone offers to carry them, after seeing them drag their face against the ground for however long...

Spinda: "Nope! I'm an explorer now!"
Spinda: "I have to learn how to explore."

"Maybe you were also right about The Wish of The Forest."

    Like this, Spinda and Dysnomia are practically the same height, and same mode of travel. Spinda beams at her, holding up the glowing green gem while inching along. Even now, its light is clearly concentrated on one side of the gem, no matter which way they turn it, pointing to *something* deeper in the dungeon.

Spinda: "Yay!"
Spinda: "Thanks for believing me, Mia!"
Spinda: "The Wish of the Forest...."
Spinda: "That's just what I call it."
Spinda: "Because that's what it feels like!"
Spinda: "The Verdant Gem holds a wish inside..."
Spinda: "And whoever made it can't ask for it any other way."
Spinda: "So I want to grant it! Even if I don't know what it is!"

    'Mystery Dungeon' means something very specific, though, and the path can only be simple for so long. Eventually it widens out and plateaus, forming columns of rock suspended in the seemingly endless chasm that still goes down deeper into the mountain, broken up by unevenly thinner segments and rock formations to force careful navigation. Inhabiting the Mystery Dungeon is-- more Pokemon! As hostile and skittish as Team Tough Hit aboveground, but without even the pretense of banditry to justify it, Pokemon dislodge from the walls, or leap up from their perches, or even burrow up from the ground to harrass the Expedition before scurrying away after they retaliate.
Petra Soroka     Similarly iconic to the Mystery Dungeons, from all the stories that have been told about them, is the presence of treasure. Seemingly arbitrarily hidden, tucked in alcoves within the rock or in secret passageways activated by obscure puzzles, Duosion is happy to investigate and collect any treasure the Expedition comes across.

Duosion: "This is an Orb."
Duosion: "It has, mmm, some kind of unique power, intrinsic to it, that triggers upon its use. Magic, of a sort."
Duosion: "But it's impossible to discern it is until Gothorita looks at it, mhm."

Duosion: "This is gold."
Duosion: "Hmm, its only discernable use is giving to Keckleon."
Duosion: "He has a particular fondness for it, hmmm."

Tinkaton: "THIS is a SECRET TECHNIQUE!"
Tinkaton: "Don't get your feathers in a twist, Kale!"
Tinkaton: "Study up on THIS and maybe it'll teach you something that makes you STRONG! KABAM!"

    There's plenty of passages to explore, with the Elites' wildly varying skillset letting them discover hidden treasure after hidden treasure if they focus their powers on searching. Tinkaton hands Kale a stone disc that was revealed from one of them, slapping him on the back encouragingly. What 'studying' means is left unstated.

    Whether they focus on searching for treasure, or simply following Spinda (upright, except on the narrow segments) and their Verdant Gem's light, conflict is unfortunately inevitable within the Mystery Dungeon.

    Ru Li and Cinder are harrassed by a Golbat, swooping down from the ceiling to bite at Cinder's head while dodging Ru Li. Kale and Ceruledge are beset by a tough-looking Bastiodon, each step shaking the cavern as it charges at them with its heavy, blunt head until-- Ceruledge steps in front of Kale and cuts it down again, heat sizzling from the ephemeral swordslash. Kale gets a second chance later alongside Aidan, when a squad of Roggenrola drop down to start pelting both of them with rocks!

    Sougo, Woz, and Mia are tripped up by an Aerodactyl that tries to pick Mia up in its jaws and carry her away, and the youkai are trapped on a narrow passageway when a Rhydon charges down the lane at them! The brave and noble knight Genm and his steed have to cooperate or die-- or get pretty banged up-- when a Misdreavus confuses both of them to make them stumble into walls and potentially off the edge!
Dysnomia Spinda: "The Verdant Gem holds a wish inside..."
Spinda: "And whoever made it can't ask for it any other way."
Spinda: "So I want to grant it! Even if I don't know what it is!"

Dysnomia: "People will say those feelings of yours don't make sense."
Dysnomia: "But sometimes they don't need to."
Dysnomia: "People are closer to the world than they realize."
Dysnomia: "Yet, they let themselves forget how to listen to it."
Dysnomia: "But not you."
Dysnomia: "Treasure that, Spinda."

    Eventually, she breaks away from Mia finds herself acting as Sougo and Woz's eyes in the dark, to lessen the burden on Ru Li. Rocks crumbling over the face of a cliff, plummeting down a sheer drop to an abyss far below.

    Mia peeks her head over the edge, then pulls away, turning back toward her two four-legged friends. (She appreciated that they were of height with her, at least) As she turned, a shadow fell from above, diving toward her.

Dysnomia: "Coast is clear."
Dysnomia: "But be careful of the ledg--"
Dysnomia: "--Ga!"

    The predatory creature fell upon her, leaving her making a strangled sound as its claws tightened around Dysnomia. Its wings beat, and she felt herself being lifted into the air by a prehistoric killer.

    Was she going to die here? Like this? No. No, it can't be. It can't! Her wing frills curled back, and she thrashed, and she cried, her body flickering with light as she projected her internal energy. A pulse of power throbbed around her and through the Aerodyctal, trying to make its muscles lock up, to stop it...

    Dysonmia used Thunder Wave!
Timespace Riders Sougo: "You make it easy to believe in you, Spinda!"
Sougo: "You have the spirit of an adventurer, I think."
Sougo: "So, I'm happy to be part of the Spinda Squad!"

     Sougo and Woz depend heavily on the crystals' glow, when it's available. When it isn't, the two of them edge closer to Dysnomia, who seems able to find her way better than the two of them. Doing that also reduces the number of times they have to have a save from Ru Li, too--though neither of them is quite comfortable moving in this environment.

Woz: "Thank you, Dysnomia--"

     When the Aerodactl appears to spirit Mia away, this plays out once more--there is an ungainly moment of scrambling confusion between the two as they are forced to find their bearings. Woz stumbles as his paw catches a loose stone.

     After that initial moment of confusion, Sougo leaps for a crystal embedded in a wall, paws scrabbling across its surface for purchase before he pushes off. Letting loose a little battle cry, he makes a bullet of his body and surges forward in a light, quick attack, headbutting before rolling to hopefully solid ground below.

     Woz, meanwhile, cuts across Sougo's angle of attack, a split second later, anticipating the Aerodactyl's pain response. With a short shout of effort, Woz brings his back leg across for an airborne cross kick; a perfectly timed assurance meant to force it to let go.

Sougo used Quick Attack!
Woz used Assurance!
Angela Angela finds Spinda almost too cute for her. She wonders if it's possible to bring Spinda down to her level. Not all the way, she's not that cruel, but a little bit so she could probably recognize him. Hug a teddy bear too tightly. Or maybe get hugged by a teddy bear too tightly. She's more familiar with that kind of bear than the other.

Cinder DOES offer to drag him, but Spinda's an explorer now! Cinder apparently doesn't need to drag Spinda down to any level because she's able to communicate clearly, "You got it, boss!"

This stirs Angela out of her thoughts. "I'm your boss."

"Yeah but you know." Cinder makes the closest thing she can do to a shrug in this body. She is all too aware of the real Angela now to be defeated that easily. So they go together as it goes. Angela, as Porygon, minds her own business and Cinder exults over every new weird thing she sees. She occassionally rolls into a pokemon that fronts on the group.

But eventually...A GOLBAT BITES CINDER'S HEAD and Cinder yelps, holding the scarf close to her body as Angela, who only knows the move Zap CAnnon since she's uneasy about pushing other buttons right now, shoots electric blasts at it.

"Wrap it around your head like a bandana or put it in the backpack for safekeeping." Angela snaps.

Cinder will get to the former eventually to free up her fire move list.
Hellwarming Trio Utsuho: "Whoa... See that?"
Rin: "See what?"
Satori: "Spinda... Crawling?"
Utsuho: "Not just that. I mean what they're doing."

Rin and Satori exchange briefly confused looks, the former actually being confused and the latter playing along to let Utsuho feel smarter.

Utsuho: "They're learning as they explore."
Rin: "Hey, yeah... Go, kid, go!"
Satori: "... Hmm. Yes, keep it up. This is the sort of drive you'll need to grant that wish in there."

The trio doesn't offer help after Utsuho makes that observation, although they do slow down a bit to make sure that they don't pull too far ahead of Spinda nor Mia should they eventually need a hand up or otherwise. That does mean they might not be far up ahead of the group to get first dibs on the treasure or even get to it before Duosion can collect it, but it does give them a chance to listen and absorb more information about what's being collected while also letting them act as unofficial DEFENDERS OF THE FLANKS.

Utsuho: "Gothorita...?"
Rin: "Didn't we meet her once?"
Satori: "Different Rita."

They do end up diverging from the group occasionally, of course, but as a trio with the power of action economy on their side. Such an advantage normally works best at the end of a hallway, of course, but it just so happens that they happen to see a charging Rhydon while they're in the middle of one instead. Just trying to spew flames and magic at the charging beast normally wouldn't be a problem, but being stuck in a narrow passage makes doing even that a huge risk!

Just as Rin and Utsuho are prepared to turn it into a battle of attrition with fire versus rock types with whatever friendly fire might be involved, however, Satori steps around the two and holds a hand up to quiet their protests. It's a little terrifying to see the Rhydon charging right at her, but it's the perfect opportunity to test the limits of her new body!

Projecting her psychic powers forward, Satori starts trying to compel the Rhydon to think about anything other than rushing them down. She speaks as she tries overcoming its will with her abilities, too, all in the hopes that this body can indeed do the same sort of thing at all before the Rhydon can run right over the three of them.

Satori: "There's better food somewhere else. Fighting here isn't worth it."
Satori: "Or... Just go to sleep right now. You have better things to do than this."
Kale Hearthward >"Don't get your feathers in a twist, Kale!"

"They're not in a twist, they-AWK!" "AWK! HEY!" Kale's feathers were in a twist, as were his necks, which they didn't realize till Right Kale moved to address Tinkaton.

Once Kaleduo finishes unknotting their necks, they take the disc, resting it on top of their backpack, and then they both stare at it for a bit.

"Um." Right Kale turns to look at Tinkaton again. "How are we supposed to, um, study it?"

"Got it, figured it out."

Right Kale's attention snaps back to their backpack - where the disc has disappeared.

"What - got what, where did it go? Did you do something with it?"
"Isn't it obvious? I used it."
"Used it, like, uh... what? How exactly did you 'use'-"

Monster attack! Oh, no, wait, Ceruledge got it already.

"What was I asking? I feel like it was something important...

Monster attack again!

"Thanks Ceruledge, but we've got this one. Okay, whatever it is that disc taught, hopefully it's good against - rocks? I think those are rock type."
"Don't worry a bit, it's not normal or flying - it'll work! Here we go!"

Kaleduo crouches a bit, and then dashes at and then past the Roggenrola, hip-checking one of them in passing hard enough to send them rolling away. And Left Kale is now holding a berry in his mouth, which he stashes in his backpack.

"Sweet, they had a berry."
"Wait - did you just *mug* that one?"
"Well the move is called 'Thief' actually-"
"What the heck? We're not thieves! We used to *hunt* bandits and sky pirates!"
"It's just the move's name, it doesn't make us-"
"We can't use this - it's awful!"
"It's dark type, it's supposed to be a bit awful. Like how dark types are."
"Wait, is that speciesist? It sounds speciesist. Ugh, I doubt one of these discs could have contained a worse move..."
Petra Soroka     Like all entertaining and mysterious but in practice moderately dangerous things, the Mystery Dungeon must come to an end. The ledges slope downwards gradually, backtracking and zigzagging to drag out the inevitable downwards progress, but there *is* progress. Pokemon stop attacking after some time, and the narrow path leads into a crevice split into rock, with the apparent bottom of the cavern finally, dimly, within sight below.

    At this depth, the eclectic mixture of rocks are crushed together into compact sheets, to form solid walls instead of the haphazard hills and arches of further up. Glowing rock faintly illuminates the shape of the bottom of the cavern that you've spent hours descending into-- thin cliffs of rock jutting up from an unremarkable stone floor, stretching upwards and away into the no longer visible start of the dungeon. After all of the movement and treasure of higher up, the bland base of the structure feels alien in an indiscernable way, the flat stone monolithic and lifeless.

Spinda: "............."
Spinda: "It's a little spoo-oo-ooky..."
Spinda: "But the Gem says to go for-orwards!"

    Filing into the crack in the wall where the passageway leads, it's small enough that Ru Li needs to duck and Tinkaton needs to drag his hammer across the ground. Without the light from the rock structures, Utsuho's flickering firelight is the only way to see, casting everything in eerie shadow. Penned in and isolated like this, it's too easy to get startled when a haunting song echoes down the tunnel walls. Spinda squeaks and falls over in shock, Ceruledge jumps, but Tinkaton looks relieved, even quieting down his signature shout to not deafen everyone in proximity.

Tinkaton: "Haha! Looks like Meloetta's got a statue down here! Kabam!(!!)"
Tinkaton: "She's the Legendary Pokemon that watches over us explorers."
Tinkaton: "Means we'll be safe for a bit, even down in THIS place."

    The tunnel finally opens up into a proper cavern chamber, lit with faint light from only one source. In the center of the room is a statue-- sort of. Looking like a jukebox, but stone and clearly nonfunctional, the faint green light radiating off of it illuminates the-- also stone-- figure resting on top of the jukebox too. Laid out in magazine-perfect posture is a fairly feminine Pokemon, with arms like quarter notes and hair that looks like a music bar, sitting on top of the jukebox with her legs crossed as if she's mid-song.

Meloetta: --"And for those of you just tuning in, I hope you're having a wonderful evening, and staying safe unless that isn't your style. Now, on to the next song, requested by--...."

    Like Tinkaton said, it's safe to rest in this room. Safe enough, apparently, that sleeping through the night is something that Tinkaton insists on, before going deeper in. The second-to-last meal that Petra and Valence prepared is set out for dinner, and then everyone can settle in for the night, making this a perfect opportunity for Sougo to approach Spinda about their memories, which they agree to as enthusiastically as ever.
Petra Soroka     Stepping into Spinda's past, Sougo is transported into a field of multicolored flowers, yellow and blue and pink, in a sun-dappled forest. The flowers are almost up to his chin, since he's on all fours, though since he's insubstantial in the past, they don't tickle him at all. Spinda isn't even visible at first-- all Sougo has around him is the forest, and the gentle sounds of Pokemon calls chittering and chirping in the distance, along with a familiar, sourceless tune, echoing between the trees.

    Soon, he hears the sound of fluttering wings, and the humming that had seemed to emanate from everywhere now shows its source. A green fairy-like Pokemon, her head shaped and colored like a green onion, floats through the air, a woven basket on one arm. She picks flowers to gently lay in her basket, seemingly arbitrary in which ones she chooses, hovering for seconds over each before deciding whether she plucks it or not. Approaching her, Sougo can get a glimpse of a wooden hut farther beyond the clearing, intertwined with flowering vines, but as soon as he does he's distracted by the focal event.

    Spinda, much smaller than they are now, is heard before they're seen, with twigs crackling underfoot. They stumble into the flower field, giggling as they take an unstable step to precisely avoid squishing any of the flowers, but becoming unbalanced enough that they faceplant into the field anyways.
Petra Soroka Spinda: "Oh... yo-ou must be that pretty voi-oi-oice that I heard!"

    The fairylike Pokemon sighs and tries to hide the way her expression immediately flattens out upon Spinda's arrival. She doesn't do a great job, though, and Sougo can tell that her shoulders slump and a little bit of the music leaves her voice when she addresses them.

????: "That's correct, traveller."
????: "I am Celebi, the Voice of the Forest."
Celebi: "Only those with a strongly held wish in their hearts can pass through the woods, so as the legends state, I will grant it to you, to the best of my abilities."

Spinda: "Celebi!! I'm Spi-i-inda! I hope we can be friends!"
Spinda: "I don't kno-ow about wishes!"
Spinda: "Everyone at ho-ome already does so-o-o much for me."
Spinda: "Can I just play-ay-ay with you for now? I'm sorry I don't have an answer, ehehe~"

    Spinda kicks up from the ground, to Celebi's obvious shock, and after she recovers, she lights up when Spinda chatters with her, excitedly showing her the flowers and inaudibly explaining her reasoning. Sougo feels a light touch on his back, even here in the past, and the scene speeds up, the sun setting within seconds.

    With the flower basket full and berry juice staining around both of their mouths, Spinda and Celebi lounge in the flower field together after a long day. Spinda turns to look at Celebi.

Spinda: "Oh... I kno-ow what I want now."
Spinda: "I want to be so-omeone you can rely on, Celebi!"
Spinda: "That's my-y-y wish."

Celebi: "Spinda...."

    Celebi floats up out of the grass and looks towards the door of the cabin with a melancholic expression, then back to Spinda. She takes a pink flower out of the basket and holds it in her hand, transforming it into the Verdant Crystal, which she offers to Spinda.

Celebi: "This is goodbye for now, Spinda... it has to be."
Celebi: "But if it's you, maybe then...."
Kuroto Dan      Fool that Maria is that she thinks Genm can feel embarrassment. He will NOT be dismounted by his steed, no matter the cost. If he has to hang tightly to do so, so be it. He may look like a small child who's struggling to stay up right on a horse, but he's also a winner, he's him, he is not about to be beaten by someone who is basically a literal who as far as he's concerned.

Genm: "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!? I'LL KILL-"

     Genm is cut off from his threat as he's suddenly confused by an ambushing Misdreavus, causing him to fall of his mount as his head starts spinning. How dare they? How DARE they! He may have done something similar, but this is different! He's going to get them back for this, just as soon as he can get past this metaphorical cloud obstructing his thoughts.

     It takes a bit, but Genm eventually thinks he's got it. He's mentally going through what he can do in his head, much like one goes through a list. Hitting this petulant ghost is easy. He's just gotta...

     A dark, evil aura pools around the Pawniard's feet before pulsing out around him in a large wave that spreads across the room, hitting both Blemi and the wild Misdreavus.

     Surely, if he had angled it a bit better, maybe he could have left his 'ally' out of this. But that's fine, it was all part of his plan. It definitely wasn't because he's seeing double, he'd never make a mistake like this on purpose.

Genm: "Had you jumped anyone else, you'd have lived, but unfortunately you had the sorry luck to challenge a God!"
Genm: "Behold, my bike! My steed! The power I hold! You would be wise to join yourself with me!"
Aidan Proudpick Aidan is just staring at Spinda worms across the floor. As soon as Spidna demands that they are learning how to be a proper explorer, an actual tear comes to Aidan's eye. Spinda is so mighty. So powerful. He is distracted long enough to find himself in a corner of the area with Kale. What. Where. Aidan snaps his head around, eyes up, peering around. "Where did everyone go."

"What are you TALKING about? It's a ROCK!" He watches the little spheriods waddle back and forth, and Kaleduo slam past, stealing a berry. Aidan stares for a while, watching the two complain as they talk over a berry. "This... this way more annoying than there just being one of you."

FLASH. The Patrat leaps aside as a rock rolls past him. Then Aidan leaps on top of it! It's a rock. It's a... living rock. But this is fine, right. Just do it, just do it, just do it! Aidan opens his jaw wide and snaps down, sinking his buck teeth into the roggenrola! It works just fine, before Aidan leaps off again.

"Just attack them! I don't know why you are even having a proble-AUGH!" Aidan bounces away from a line of caltrops on the ground, scrambling away quickly!

Aidan comes out of the mystery dungeon, covered in spiky rocks, holding a piece of gold under one arm. He is rather miffed, but watching the tunnel and the statue brings that gaping awe to Aidan's face again. "A statue? Down here? And it sings, wow... This really is a special place.

Aidan mutters but he is good at roughing it. He scampers around, but without any leaves, he has to just sort of pile up dirt into a soft nest. He shuffles around into a circle, staring up at the top of the chamber. "This is a lot less skeletons and traps than I imagined listening to radio stories."
Dysnomia The blows are enough to shake off the pokemon, leaving Dysnomia curled up in a little ball, her little body rising and falling, rapidly, until her little head turned toward Sougo and Woz, her face visible even in the dark.

Dysnomia: "I..."
Dysnomia: "Th..."
Dysnomia: "Tha..."
Dysnomia: "We should go."
Dysnomia: "Before it comes back."

    Her eyes lingered on Sougo and Woz, shimmering with...something. She turned her head away, guiding them away from the ledge, putting herself between the pair and the ledge, leading them down, and down, and down...

    ...Until one by one, they and the other pokemon began to reunite. Her tail slapped the ground with excitement before she managed to still it.

Dysnomia: "Sougo. Woz. Wait."
Dysnomia: "...Appreciate that."
Dysnomia: "I guess."

    She slithered around the statue, curling up, laying her head on her body. Waiting for the lullaby to care them home.
Blemishine Maria: "Waitwaitwait, you're hitting /me/ too...!"

    Descending into Clastic Cavern and the many mysteries the dungeon contains, dealing with the local Pokemon trying to fight them is a matter of course. Given how resistant to negotiation that Ledian's gang and also Team Tough Hit were, Blemishine really doesn't even pretend that it's going to be a viable option down here. The only choice is to fight their way through the cavern, as adventurers do!

    ...She just didn't expect to be taking super-effective damage from her own ally, while also in the process of stumbling around unsure of where she's even going. More than once, she nearly staggers right off the path and straight into danger, only to stop herself short. Friendly fire or not, unbidden rider or not, if they don't work together...!

    If the confusion is stopping her from getting a clear read on the Misdreavus, she simply needs to stop flailing around and get her bearings back. Concentrate and focus, see them in your mind's eye...visualize them even without sight, as one does when predicting a swordsman's next move...

    On a delay, Future Sight smashes right into the ghostly assailant with a rapid burst of psychic energy, and Blemishine once again looks surprised at the result.

...

    A little bit later, and a little more banged up for the effort, she's very relieved to find the safe room, once they're reassured it's actually safe. She personally has no complaints to getting in some rest, especially given the long trip to get here in the first place. Once she starts thinking about rest - and demands Genm ask before he does anything like that again - the tiredness takes over before she even realizes it.

    Looks like it'll be another trip away and back...
Timespace Riders      Woz gives Mia a little bow, one paw over his chest.
Sougo: "No problem!"

     In the safe room, the king seems much more at ease. He takes a moment to physically rest, enjoying the music.

Dinner passes without much incident, until Sougo remembers a promise he'd made.

Sougo: "Oh! Hey, Spinda!"
Sougo: "If you want, now that we're safe, we can learn about what happened in the forest."

     From Spinda's perspective, there is a visible flicker of Sougo Tokiwa--

     Sougo blinks in confusion, his little head poking above the flowers. Looking down, he smiles. At first, there's a bit of aimless wandering, until the music reaches his ears. It doesn't take long--and having wandered a little ways off the mark from Spinda, Sougo finds himself runing through the flowers to catch up. An clumsy little gallop later, and he's there.

     The sight of Spinda draws a smile to his face--though he has to blow a little puff of air to ward off a flower tickling his chin. Twice. Sometimes, it seems relatively rare to Sougo, to see nice things in the past--not explanations, justifications or the missing piece to a mystery, but moments of genuine warmth.

Company is uncommon, but not unheard of. Sougo smiles, softly, at the sense of the presence on his back. Without turning around to look, he offers an apology, as the day fast-forwards by.

Sougo: "It's easy to lose track of time, when you find someone 'different,' isn't it?"
Sougo: "...thank you for bringing Woz here with me. And for showing me this."

    And then--Spinda makes the wish. At first, Sougo smiles even wider. But--something is wrong. Celebi looks... so sad. Why? No--she said so. 'It has to be.'

--from fine to misty-eyed, bittersweet smiling.

Sougo: "Oh! ...Sorry, haha. Sometimes I see things that are really pretty."
Sougo: "That gem you have is from your friend. She gave it to you, a long time ago, because you wished to be someone she could depend on."
Sougo: "I think... granting the wish made it so that you've had to be apart all this time. And that's really sad. But..."
Sougo: "The place the wish came from is beautiful."
Sougo: "And I think... if we can pull through, you'll meet Celebi again."

Sougo: "I'm gonna turn in, I think... but thank you, for being you."