Blue looked at the map for the millionth time, more annoyed than ever. The rushing rapids of the waterfall bore into the Bidoof's head as he tried to focus on his surroundings. The water crashed down into the lake far below, shredding his concentration. Blue hoped the entrance wasn't down there. The climb wouldn't be fun.
"You're sure it's here?" Pana asked for the millionth time. She looked around the rivermouth, to see no sign on a dungeon entrance. Scales was stomping around, trying to find some kind of hidden door, and Rio had been standing near the edge with his eyes closed.
"That's what Mr. Thesus said!" Blue shouted back, unable to hold his frustration back. After a long few days trek, they finally get to the spot marked on the map, the spot Mr. Thesus told them about, only to find nothing. It was maddening! If they messed this up, Blue's dream would be dead. He couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't.
"Nothing on this side," Scales said, ceasing his stomping. "What are we looking for?"
"Metal," Blue said. "Anything metal. A clang, some rust, anything!"
Blue looked back to Rio, who was now crouching near the edge. The Bidoof watched as he stuck his head over the cliff, staring into the lake below. It made Blue really nervous, but the others didn't seem phased.
"Do you think he's screwing with us?" Pana asked.
"No," Blue answered immediately. "He's always serious. If he intended to turn you in without a chance, he would have just done it."
Rio took a step back from the cliff, summoning his Bone Rush. He twirled it around absently, clearly thinking about something.
"Then what the hell!" Pana growled, as the Riolu stabbed his bone into the soft dirt. He tested it, pulling it towards him. The bone remained firmly rooted as the Riolu nodded his approval.
"Hey Rio?" Blue asked. "What are-"
Without warning, Rio grabbed one end of his staff, and took a step over the cliff. The Riolu plummeted, staff in hand.
"RIO!" Blue shouted running over to where he jumped. He didn't notice that the staff was still rooted in the ground af first, to distracted by his new friend and teammates apparent suicide attempt. The staff had gone limp at the top, stretching to follow its master over the abyss. Blue stared at the makeshift anchor as the rest of his team rushed over to see.
"What?" Rio shouted over the waterfall. Blue carefully peered over to see Rio just fine, dangling by his makeshift rope bone.
"When did you learn how to do that?" Pana asked, just as confused as Blue was.
"Just now! Cool, right!"
"Why didn't you warn us?" Blue asked, still in shock.
"Got excited," he answered. "Feels like Scales thought it was funny."
Blue turned back around to see the Hakamo-o sniggering, his scales clanking together as he tried to shut up. Unfortunately, Pana heard him too. Without warning she slammed her paw right in his stomach. The dragon crumpled, wheezing in agony.
"It was..." Scales wheezed in pain. That only made the Pancham more angry. She punched him again, this time in the back of the head. The dragon didn't seem as hurt by the second blow, head only slightly bobbing.
Blue turned his gaze back to Rio, who was now swinging by his makeshift bone-rope. He watched as the Riolu hit the wall, and heard the clang of metal ring out around them.
"Found it!"
The bone shrunk back in on itself, pulling Rio back from his reckless experiment. His grin didn't let up as he pulled himself back from the brink, clearly excited.
Pana stomped forward, her glare looking like it could kill. Rio's grin grew even wider as she got closer, her annoyance obvious to everyone.
"I'll kill you later." Pana growled. "Let's go."
"Question," Blue asked. Pana and Rio turned to him immediately. "I'm not sure you've noticed, but I'm lacking some necessary features for a climb." He sat down and waved his front legs, showing his lack of limbs that could grab things. "What do I do?"
Without another word Rio summoned another Bone Rush, this one much shorter than his usual length. The middle went limp, like a rope. He grinned at Blue, and the Bidoof gulped in response. He didn't like where this was going.
...
Blue learned something new today. A Hakamo-o's scales, in addition to being loud, are very uncomfortable to be tied to. Especially while it's climbing down a cliff.
He did his best not to look down, but the Bidoof's curiosity got the better of him. He took one peak, and instantly regretted it. The drop would be long, into the usually beautiful water below. From Blue's current perspective it looked like a refreshing way to die.
He decided to pay attention to something else, like the only thing keeping the Bidoof from falling to his very messy death. Rio's Bone Rush felt like any other rope, but he could apparently change that. The move bound him tightly to Scales as he climbed down the cliff, making handholds with his strong claws as he went. He glanced up to see Pana making use of them, not far behind Scales.
He looked to the side to see Rio, grappling down with his new bone rope trick, stomping watching the wall as he extended his lifeline. Blue had never seen any move used in so many ways, which made his lack of moves look even less impressive. Why they put up with him, Blue had no idea.
"Hey," Scales said, getting Blue's attention. "Could you stop moving. Feels weird."
"Oh, sorry," Blue said,
"Did you find a way in yet?" Pana shouted over the waterfall.
"Just wall," Rio shouted back. "Wait, something's different,"
Rio stopped, and stomped where he stood. Once, twice. The Riolu crouched, and jumped far off the cliffside, thankfully still clutching his rope bone. He swung back, and Blue took notice that his bottom paws, his feet, were now glowing light blue. The Riolu slammed back into the cliff face, and his feet exploded on contact.
Granted, it was a relatively small explosion, but it still made the ground Rio landed on give out, and he fell into a perfect hole in the cliffside, the sound of striking metal rigging out. The disguised piece of metal gave away under the Riolu, and he dropped a little. HIs bone ripe stopped him from completely falling in.
"I think I found it!" he shouted. Blue was still trying to get over the fact that his new friend just casually exploded.
"We're not supposed to break anything!" Pana shouted back. "And you're not supposed to use that!"
"Look we needed a way in and now we got one. Are you complaining?"
Pana grumbled, but said nothing further as Rio let his rope extend a bit more, descending into what he assumed the Dungeon entrance was. Scales snickered as he made his way over, making Blue suspect that this wasn't the first time he'd done something like this.
Fortunately the hole was just big enough for Scales and Blue to fit in. Blue noted the remains of a metal ladder, some bars missing and rusted, but Scales just used his claws to make holes in the comparably weak metal. Rio's rope, the one he used to climb down, faded after a bit. The rest of the climb went without any more explosions, much to Blue's relief.
The room they dropped into was old. The off-white floor was tiled and cracked. A large rusted door on the other side of the room seemed to lead further in. Strange black tendrils were snapped, crackling with electricity. Some of the tiles were stained, or burned. Blue couldn't exactly tell. Shattered glass was sprinkled all around the floor, but Blue barely noticed that. What was really getting his attention was the rainbow sludge.
The multicolored ooze glowed and pulsed. The Bidoof's first thought was that maybe it was an Island Grimer, but they didn't live this far inland. The lack of eyes also helped disprove that suspicion. Still, the light it gave off was unsettling to say the least.
It was too bad Rio decided to crouch down and start poking it.
Thankfully, the Riolu had enough sense not to use his bare paws. He used his Bone Rush to poke at the sludge. It didn't seem to react.
"Get the hell away from that!" Pana shouted, landing last. "You don't know what it'll do!"
"It has Aura?" Rio said back. "But it's not exactly alive..."
Without another word Pana stomped over, grabbed Rio by one of the weird tassels hanging from his head, and pulled him back over to Blue and Scales. "OW! Hey, let go!"
"Stop for a second at least!" Pana yelled. "This shit could kill you!"
"Well I'm not dead yet!"
That earned Rio a swift knock on the head. He clutched the new bruise in pain as Pana continued to speak.
"Let's keep it that way, huh?"
Rio glared at her, but said nothing in response.
"Um," Blue said, speaking up for the first time since they got inside. "Could you let me go now?"
The Bone Rush remained around Blue and Scales through that entire exchange, and now the Hakamo-o's scales were digging in even further. It was starting to get painful.
"Shit, sorry," Rio said, quickly walking over and touching the makeshift rope. It blinked out of existence in less than a second, and Blue dropped unceremoniously to the floor, landing on his side. Thankfully, he managed to avoid any glass shards or rainbow goop as the Bidoof got to his feet. Scales, for his part, scratched where the Bidoof had been tied to him, seemingly unbothered by the ordeal.
Now that he was free, Blue could fully appreciate their surroundings. This was a human lab, a place where the missing species created wonders a Pokemon could only dream of. What secrets could lie in here? What could they find that Mr. Thesus couldn't? What-
"Blue!"
The Bidoof snapped out of his musings at Pana's yell. The rest of the team had gathered by the large, old door. He wasn't sure how it was possible, but the Pancham looked more annoyed than usual. "Come on! The Dungeon's through here!"
Blue rushed over, kicking himself for getting distracted. He wouldn't be a burden, not here! Scales had his claws on the door, and Rio had another Bone Rush ready, lighting up the dark room with a soft blue light.
"Everybody ready?" Scales asked casually. They all nodded at once as Scales shoved the doors open, letting them slam into the wall. Blue cringed at the damage, and Pana gave him a glare as Team Disaster started on their first real expedition.
...
The slam shook the fluid of the thing's pod, rousing it from it's long sleep. The fleeing moment of consciousness faded soon after, but the genetic abomination had one thought before falling into its slumber once more.
I'm not tired anymore...
