Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Altered Bonds

  Chapter 23 — Bandit Bane Bewilder

  “They took my freaking Gracidea!”

  Shaymin, freshly thawed and stuck in Land Forme due to her former frozen state, seethed in front of the cavern entrance to Green Ridge. Lucario wisely kept his distance from the enraged hedgehog.

  Pretty much everyone was furious. Weavile’s theft had scored his bandit group two Treasure Bags with a Prism Scale, to Feebas’s dismay and Hattrem’s revulsion, along with Shaymin’s Gracidea and Togetic’s ‘Evolution Crystals’ — a special item in Haven Archipelago that apparently could be used as an alternative way to evolve. That had left Togetic silently fuming, the angelic grumbling to Eira the Vulpix. Even the kid looked very, very annoyed by the whole situation.

  Lucario couldn’t blame them. They freaking dive-bombed us! he hissed to himself, his sense of justice burning him from the inside out. Why were they just standing here? Every second they wasted here was an extra second that Weavile and the others used to get away scot-free!

  He threw an impatient look toward Gabite and Braixen, the two leaders quietly arguing about how to handle the situation. “Can you quit the yap already?” snapped Shaymin. “If I have to run in alone, I swear—”

  “You’d get ganged on,” stated Gabite, turning around. “And we’re done. Braixen?”

  The fox spoke no further, only gesturing with his paw. He waved Heliolisk toward Team Heavendust and the dungeon entrance, then motioned to Golisopod, Feebas, and Hattrem, signalling that they hang back with him. Golisopod made a grumbling noise with his mandibles, and Feebas and Hattrem looked similarly unhappy about needing to stay out, but they listened.

  Weavile had taken Hattrem and Togetic’s Treasure Bags, but not Gabite and Braixen’s. The latter threw his bag to Heliolisk, quietly muttering something about how the lizard always ended up being the one using its items. Gabite went running right into the cavern entrance the moment Heliolisk caught the bag, and the others took a brief moment to process his actions, before Shaymin rushed after him. Then Togetic and Heliolisk. Lucario threw a quick glance at Eira, the false Vulpix meeting his eyes with a frown, before they joined too.

  Their bodies tingled as the dimensions shifted, the cave rippling for a single moment. Then they emerged, and Lucario gawked at the tall cliffside they were on, swaths of forested, rocky hills beneath them. A second cliff hung at the opposite side with its own odd-looking cavern, and a bridge section hung above the forest and far beneath the two cliffs. It seemed suspiciously simple to jump or fly down there, if not for how the bridge area seemed to distort and twist before Lucario’s eyes, like a mirage.

  Red-purplish mist swirled within his head, forming sigils that then turned into simple, readable words. North Green Ridge Entrance.

  It’s not an actual floor?

  Before he could take it in, Gabite, Heliolisk, and Togetic were all shoving orbs into Lucario’s palms. Rollcall Orbs, to be precise, the same orange orbs with triangle patterns that Swellow used. To his curiosity, he sensed two ‘knobs’ to the orbs — one that connected a person to the orb, and another that could activate it, teleporting over anyone who had made a connection. He tapped the first knobs for each, and twitched as he felt something of himself worm into the three orbs.

  Then Eira was given the orbs, the girl understanding at once as she quickly linked herself, before they were taken back by their respective owners. Heliolisk, Lucario noticed, also had donned a red hood on his head, the two ends knotted together around his neck. “Uh—”

  Gabite pushed him without further preamble, the jackal stumbling onto a raised, rocky platform similar to the one he had seen in Stormsoaked Shores. Shaymin, Heliolisk, and Gabite hopped in immediately after, Togetic briskly pulling Eira along to join them. A noise left the girl as, the moment she stepped on, the stone platform flashed with red-purplish light.

  Spikes burst out of its edges like prison bars, encasing them like a birdcage. Lucario nearly lost his balance as the platform dropped unexpectedly into pitch-black void, one arm clutching the spike bars to orient himself. Oh joy, magic rock elevators, he deadpanned to himself. Aerodactyl’s prehistoric ancestors must’ve loved riding these.

  As suddenly as it started, the platform crashed into solid earth and crumbled, Lucario tumbling as he found himself on floor B1F of North Green Ridge. Starch-colored stone hills dotted the landscape, with trees and shrubbery about. Swaying rope bridges randomly connected some of the hilly areas together, Lucario spotting a cobbled set of stairs that led up to one of the higher elevations. It offered a ruin-like feel to the area, a place of nature disrupted by the infrastructure of madmen who had planned all the roads of a future town but none of its buildings.

  Heliolisk took a moment to glow with purplish energy, which rippled out and enveloped the others. Lucario raised a brow as the world felt sharper, his feet lighter and his mind faster. “Never seen someone use Agility on others?” Heliolisk said with a grin.

  Unable to fly, Shaymin hopped onto Togetic’s back, riding her as the duo flew toward the various hills. “They’re scouting for exits overhead. The rest of us go together,” barked Gabite, immediately taking them in one direction. “Except Heliolisk, he’ll scout the remote corners of the dungeon before teleporting back to us with his Reunion Cape, in case the exit platforms are there. Pull up your aurasense, Lucario, and Vulpix, think grateful thoughts as often as you can, it’ll help Togetic and Shaymin track us.”

  Heliolisk saluted them as he launched into a Quick Attack, scaling up a hill and leaping off into parts unknown. Eira the Vulpix shaped her lips into an ‘o’, impressed at the level of planning Gabite had done with Braixen. “A bit extra, isn’t it?” questioned Lucario, letting his eyes glow up with blue light.

  “We’re racing against the clock, of course I’m being extra.” With Agility’s help, Gabite blurred toward the first Pokespawn he saw, slicing apart a Geodude before the floating rock Pokemon could so much as turn around. “Weavile’s likely doing a similar strategy — giving his team Rollcall Orbs so they can spread out through each dungeon floor, then summon each other when they find an exit. If they make it to the south side of Green Ridge, they’ll be able to use an Escape Orb to reappear at the other dungeon entrance, and I doubt Eevee’s going to stop them in time.”

  Lucario grimaced, realizing he never told Eevee of Weavile’s existence — he wouldn’t be able to recognize they were thieves right away. “And leaving Braixen and the others behind?” he asked.

  “They’d slow us down. We need ambushers at the north entrance anyway, otherwise Weavile could use his Escape Orb early, playing us like fools by exiting from the north instead of the south.”

  Ah, mind games. Lucario could easily imagine the sneer Weavile would have, laughing with his band of thieves as they emerged back at the north entrance and ran off, leaving a stupid explorer team on a goose chase inside the Green Ridge dungeon. Dang, Gabite, you and Braixen are good at this, he thought.

  “It’s experience, pal, you learn these things as a leader.” Gabite gave a ghost of a smile. “Wouldn’t have taken your kid too, but she’s agile enough and status moves like Disable are valuable against targets like Weavile.”

  Eira seemed to blush at the thought of being a valuable member. Gabite’s jet engine-shaped ears swiveled to the side, and his faint smile turned corporeal, like the dead given life. “This way, I think I’ve found it.”

  He did. Around one hilly corner they went, and there stood the stone platform they sought. “Echolocation,” Lucario said in recollection.

  “If it saves time, I’m using it.” Gabite stepped onto the platform. “Are Togetic and Shaymin nearby?”

  Not far, Lucario saw with aurasense. They’d taken the higher elevations, searching over the hills, and had started darting toward them. Was it that Togetic saw their sudden stop through her purity sense, or did Eira’s gratitude tip Shaymin off?

  They joined them rather quickly. Not a word left Togetic nor Shaymin, the duo merely nodding as they all got onto the platform. This time Lucario caught on to a tingling sensation, the jackal feeling a lever in the part of his mind invaded by the dungeon’s red-purplish fog.

  Gabite flicked it right away, and the platform lit up, spikes trapping them inside. “Wait, Heliolisk,” blurted Lucario, flinching for a moment as they dropped toward unnatural darkness. “He’s—

  “Here!”

  “Gah!” Lucario smacked the Heliolisk that had just magically appeared an inch from his face. The lizard took the hit with a smug expression that was begging for several more smacks.

  Startled as she was, even Eira couldn’t resist a traitorous smile, Lucario’s glowing eyes illuminating her face in the darkness. “He’s linked to me,” said Gabite, keeping himself from snickering at Lucario’s misfortune. “When he’s too far away, he warps back.”

  If he’s linked to you, why isn’t he in your face? Lucario inwardly grumbled.

  Agility’s effect wore out as they transitioned between floors. Heliolisk kindly reapplied it though, the team splitting up to search for the next exit platform. No signs of Weavile yet. “Wouldn’t Quick Seeds help here?” asked Lucario, as they ran up a short stairway to an upraised section of the hilly dungeon forest.

  Gabite gave a dismissive wave. “Entering new floors will remove the effect. And I don’t have many. Not enough for both Vulpix and I, anyway.”

  Eira pressed her lips, silently nodding at Gabite’s statement. That was true, the kid had no moves for movement. She didn’t know Quick Attack like Lucario did.

  Well. Not yet.

  “Can you gather energy from your spirit?” Lucario asked Eira. The girl raised her brow a tiny bit, but nodded. With her training with Mismagius, Lucario figured she had a rudimentary understanding of how to control her spirit’s power, and how to direct it. “I want you to push it outward from your paws. No need to give it any energy typing, just treat it like you’re taking the same energy from your Disable and applying it to your legs.”

  Eira seemed to pick up on what Lucario was aiming for. With a little spark of wonder, she did as Lucario asked, a white glow emanating around her feet. She pushed the energy outward.

  She yelped as Quick Attack, boosted by Agility’s effects, propelled her straight into the earth. Lucario winced as she tumbled head over tails like a bowling ball, while Gabite let out an involuntary laugh.

  It took a moment for the embarrassed girl to stop herself, flopping to her side and flattening clumps of dungeon grass. Lucario and Gabite halted beside her, Eira craning toward Lucario. A pained smile squirmed onto her face.

  “L-like that?” she asked.

  Despite himself, Lucario couldn’t stop himself from laughing too, the jackal elbowing Gabite with a hint of smugness. “Way to raise a move-learning maniac of a child,” muttered the dragon-shark. “Let her get used to Quick Attack first, then we’ll pick up the—”

  His head snapped upward. Lucario and Eira followed, blanching at the Graveler leaping down from a cliff above. Its rocky body burned with the smell of sulfur and smoke, and a manic smile ate its entire face.

  Eira Disabled it on instinct. The airborne Graveler looked shocked for a moment as its Explosion fizzled out, before Lucario leapt up and struck with Force Palm. Gravity failed the Graveler as Lucario’s strike redirected all of its momentum, sending it flying into the thickets.

  “Pace.” Gabite snorted, gesturing to move on. “Don’t bother finishing it off, we’ve got a time limit here.”

  It was shortly after when Lucario felt a tug at his form, before everything shifted. His feet, along with Gabite’s and Eira’s, suddenly stood upon a stone platform, Heliolisk giving a smirk in greeting. Togetic and Shaymin appeared too from the effects of his Rollcall Orb, the lizard pulling out a new orb for them to link up to.

  Spines shot up and caged the platform. They descended to floor three, and after another Agility boost from Heliolisk, they wordlessly split off again.

  Eira adjusted to Quick Attack’s effects fairly well, careful not to propel herself too much and crash again. Gabite caved in once he saw her progress, downing a Quick Seed, and the trio blurred through the sparse forests and rocky hills of Green Ridge in record time. Lucario grew worried at the lack of Weavile’s aura, time silently ticking in the back of his head.

  “The number of floors?” he asked Gabite.

  “Six,” he replied. “The connection between North and South Green Ridge is floor seven.”

  Too few. They’ll escape us at this rate.

  Far from being stressed, however, Gabite put on a pleased, toothy smile, his head tilting toward a path on the left. A strangely aggressive Grotle stood there, instantly locking eyes with them. It bellowed, the bushy tortoise charging in fury.

  Gabite ignored it, darting to the path on the right, and Lucario and Eira hurried after. “Several dungeon items and Pokespawn that way,” Gabite explained. “That implies a triggered Monster House.”

  Lucario picked up on the hidden message behind his words. “You mean—”

  The world shifted before he could finish, Lucario and company finding themselves upon the rocky platform. “Weavile’s on the next floor,” Gabite stated, making a startled Togetic and Shaymin spin around and Heliolisk raise a brow, the Rollcall Orb in his claws shattered into fading motes of light. “Be ready.”

  They descended another floor with solemn faces, passing another Rollcall Orb around for Heliolisk to carry. Only Lucario knew the sea that was their collective rage, aura feelers tingling at the shared desire to bring Weavile and his crooks to their knees.

  He saw them the moment the platform crashed into floor B4F. Three red blobs of aura, scattered throughout the dungeon. At the same time, Heliolisk pulled out a green orb with a triangular blob inside, activating it. The blob broke out of the Radar Orb and turned into two bright red lights, settling over Heliolisk’s eyes, and he too saw. Togetic had a smaller range, but her purity sense saw enough as well.

  Golduck on the left side of the dungeon, close to them. Swellow to the right. Weavile at the opposite side, as far away as possible.

  Heliolisk enveloped them with Agility’s power. “We’ll beat them to the next floor exit,” Gabite said, before Lucario could inform him of the positions of Weavile’s gang. “Same tactics as before, but feel free to give Weavile’s group a little love if they get close.”

  Scarcely could they split up, however, when Golduck and Weavile’s aura suddenly shifted, grouping together with Swellow. “They warped!” Togetic exclaimed, Shaymin making a ghoulish face at the inconvenience.

  Gabite took it in stride, however, tossing the Quick Seed he grabbed from his Treasure Bag toward Togetic. The angelic understood his silent command, swallowing it, and Shaymin nearly fell off as Togetic flew at astonishing speeds toward Weavile’s group.

  To Lucario’s confusion, however, Weavile and his group didn’t disappear from the floor as expected. They moved a little frantically, as if they’d realized something was amiss, but otherwise stayed put. Wouldn’t they only teleport when one of them found the exit? Or—

  Danger warnings went off in Lucario’s head as Weavile moved at similarly astonishing speeds toward Shaymin and Togetic. “Shoot,” he breathed, swiping Gabite’s Rollcall Orb and running as fast as he could. Aurasense made him privy to Gabite and the others’ brief moment of confusion, then the alarm that came from Heliolisk.

  Up a hillside, past two Formantis that blinked at his blurring form, and past trees he went. Shaymin and Togetic were fighting with Weavile, and Swellow and Golduck’s auras were approaching their way too, assisting their boss. Togetic should’ve used her Rollcall Orb by now — but it never activated.

  Stolen.

  Swellow’s aura abruptly twisted toward him, and Lucario didn’t spare another second. Feeling the Rollcall Orb in his paws, he triggered it early.

  An orb crashed into his skull, brown in color and with a clawed hand inside — a Mug Orb. It came just a little too late, however, the Rollcall Orb bringing his teammates over. Gabite, Heliolisk, and Eira snapped to attention at once, taking notice of the Swellow flying overhead. Togetic and Shaymin too warped over, exhaling in relief, their forms bruised and peppered with shards of ice.

  Swellow tsked, then darted off. Lucario gave chase, leaping out into a small clearing with a rocky platform. Red-purplish spikes had already encaged it, Swellow smirking from the other side. Golduck leisurely sat to his right, holding the stolen Treasure Bags and taunting him with a wink. As for Weavile, he stood on the other side, stoically watching the jackal with red tracking lights over his eyes. Two Rollcall Orbs were in his claws, one of them being Togetic’s.

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  “Rough week, brat?” he said.

  Lucario fired an Aura Sphere. Ineffective. A strange energy burst out from the cage spikes, shielding the thieves from the attack. The platform dropped at the same time, Weavile scoffing as they seemed to phase through the very floor.

  Then they were gone. Lucario growled in frustration, his sense of justice smoldering. The others joined him at that moment, a harrumph leaving Heliolisk’s lips. “Clever fellas, those thieves,” he said. “Their boss’s got a mind as keen as yours, Gabite.”

  “He took my orb like it was some kind of magic trick! I don’t even know how!” Togetic patched her injuries and Shaymin’s with Life Dew, looking extremely fed up with Weavile’s gang. “I didn’t see any moves being used or anything, all I did was kick him when he ran toward us!”

  “Weavile’s dead to me,” Shaymin said, her voice unsettlingly emotionless.

  The stone platform reformed, appearing at the same spot it had been moments ago. Gabite leapt onto it at once. “Two more floors,” he reminded the group. “We’re not done yet.”

  They jumped on without a second thought. Eira huddled close to Lucario, her eyes flaring with a tinge of spiteful energy. She spoke not a word.

  They’re not getting with it. They’re not getting with it.

  The words were like a mantra for Eira the Alolan Vulpix. They kept the cold energy within her body from burning up entirely. The descent of their rocky platform felt too slow, too long for her antsy nerves.

  They entered B5F of Northern Green Ridge with a jerky crash. By now Eira was used to it, pulling herself up right away. She waited for Heliolisk’s Agility, itching to move already, then craned her head when she found the lizard rummaging through his Treasure Bag.

  He pulled out a strange yellow seed, shaped like a miniature carrot, or a long strawberry. Instead of leaves, however, a germinating sprout grew out of its top. A green vine wrapped around the center, similar to a Warp Seed.

  Togetic and Shaymin perked at the seed, like it was a godsend. Heliolisk shot Gabite the shortest of grins, and Gabite silently nodded in agreement. At once, Heliolisk ate it, clutching his Rollcall Orb tightly.

  He vanished. Then Eira felt the telltale pull that came with teleportation, her body shifting through the fabric of the world itself. A brief disorientation followed, before she found herself in a different section of the forested dungeon, in front of a rocky platform.

  Her eyes went wide, as did Lucario’s, her guardian spinning toward Heliolisk. “Pure Seed,” he said, stepping onto the platform, along with Gabite. “Quick, before Weavile thinks to warp us away.”

  The Rollcall Orb Weavile stole, Eira realized — he could ruin their advantage and launch an ambush by warping them to his side. She hopped on at once, Shaymin and Togetic joining her. Lucario came a half-second after them, his tail curling as red-purplish spikes shot up inches away from its tip.

  The platform took them to B6F. Eira winced as they crashed onto the new floor, a long path ahead of them with trees sinisterly flanking its side, and a Graveler and Morelull loafing about. Her heart sped up a little upon noticing the clearing at the other side, the rocky platform lying there in wait. “We’ll ambush them at the bridge between the north and south side,” Gabite instructed.

  Shaymin and Togetic didn’t need to be told twice. The Graveler let out a gravelly yell as the former slammed a paw into the ground, a flare of energy erupting where the Graveler stood. Following up on the Earth Power, Shaymin pelted it with Energy Balls, until the Graveler shattered into red-purplish wisps. Togetic, meanwhile, fired a Tri-Attack on the Morelull, drowning it in swirling beams of red, yellow, and light blue.

  Eira moved to assist, flinging Ice Shards at the Morelull until it joined Graveler in the graveyard. Heliolisk enveloped them in Agility’s aura once the second Pokespawn broke into wisps, and they ran down the path right after, not willing to wait for Weavile to make a surprise appearance. “The Pure Seed?” Lucario asked.

  “Just a rare, mutant kind of Warp Seed that only works in dungeons,” Heliolisk said. “Takes you straight to the floor’s exit point. Believe me, if this wasn’t an emergency, I wouldn’t waste those bad boys.”

  They reached the platform without a hitch. Eira braced as the spikes jutted out, the platform dropping into absolute darkness. Her legs jolted when it slammed into solid earth, Eira taking in the cliffside they now stood on.

  A sturdy, medium-sized wooden bridge hung in front of them, linking to another cliff on the opposite side. Rocky platforms existed on both cliffs, allowing travel in either direction. Beneath the bridge stood a hilly forest with several jagged formations of rock, looking a lot like a top-down view of Green Ridge’s mazelike floors. It seemed to twist and distort before Eira’s eyes, as if it wasn’t really there.

  Up above were more cliffs, similarly distorted. Red-purplish mist churned in Eira’s head, and the words Green Ridge Bridge formed.

  “Guard the bridge,” ordered Gabite. The group moved, moving onto said bridge, its wooden boards not making so much as a creak. To Eira’s paws, it felt too smooth, too polished. The symmetry was too perfect, each board the exact same shape and texture.

  They stopped at the centermost portion of the bridge. Wind coalesced in front of Shaymin’s paws, forming her signature Air Slash blade, and Togetic conjured a ball of red, yellow, and blue hues — a premature Tri-Attack. Lucario readied a crackling Aura Sphere, Heliolisk’s frills flared out as electricity coursed through his form, and Gabite pulled out a Blowback Orb from his Treasure Bag. Eira readied herself, her eyes tensing.

  Weavile might use Togetic’s Rollcall Orb to mess them up. It’d be a question of who acted quicker, and how they’d adjust. I’m really doing this, aren’t I? Eira idly thought. I’m fighting Weavile.

  Thoughts of being put underfoot by Weavile, of him nicking her throat and threatening to rip off her wristband, made her tremble inside. She feared him. Among her party, she was the obvious weak link — Weavile would target her for sure, and it scared her.

  But he took evolution items and a Gracidea.

  Prism Scales were how Feebas often evolved, and Togetic’s Evolution Crystals were similarly precious. And Shaymin’s flower? She couldn’t fly without it. Just thinking of it made Eira fume inside — those items meant too much to her friends.

  They’re not getting away with it. And that was that.

  Minutes passed, as if the thieves were trying to stall for time. Or maybe they used an Escape Orb, preferring to spring Braixen’s trap instead of theirs. The suspense, the uncertainty, it ate at her. But then—

  Gabite lobbed the Blowback Orb at three figures emerging into existence at the northern cliffside. The others followed suit, launching their attacks, Eira’s eyes glowing a dark blue as she tried to Disable Weavile. To her surprise, she felt no feedback, the move bouncing off.

  No, more than that. Weavile, Golduck, and Swellow each had transparent barriers surrounding them, attacks crashing harmlessly against them. Even the knockback from the Blowback Orb was absorbed. An All-Protect Orb? Eira thought, recalling what Gabite had taught her and Lucario. Are you kidding?

  It wouldn’t last forever though. If she understood correctly, once the thieves moved, the shields would go down, and they could attack again. At the moment though, they had a stalemate.

  Weavile sighed, clutching his two Rollcall Orbs — one from Togetic, one belonging to him. “You’re making me almost feel bad,” he said, lazily gesturing to the stolen Treasure Bags Golduck held for him. “Didn’t expect a haul this rich today. I don’t suppose if I kept one of the Evolution Crystals and gave back everything else, you’d let us go and get back to chasing your Abhorrent cultists?”

  Gabite twitched. “You know we’re handling matters that could put lives at stake, and yet you still steal from us?”

  “I said I’m willing to bargain. I had my petty little revenge with you lot, for what it’s worth — don’t really feel like being enemy number two for a bunch of explorers that can fight some Aerodactyl lich able to rattle a Lugia. And I suppose I got a bleeding heart or whatever.” Weavile spread his arms out. “But let’s be honest. No amount of bribery’s gonna let you turn a blind eye to us, is it?”

  Dark stares all around. The spiteful part of Eira flared up, incensed by Weavile’s words. Bribery? Of their own goods?

  Weavile observed the explorers he’d ticked off. “Justice-loving freaks,” he said. “Too blind to think about what matters more.”

  “Maybe I should’ve ignored them when I saw them passing by?” asked Swellow.

  “Eh, I gave you the green light to give them ‘special treatment’ if they passed by. Doesn’t matter. Golduck?”

  Golduck unslung one of the Treasure Bags. Sensing an impending move, Heliolisk bathed Eira and the others in Agility, the girl’s limbs feeling light like a feather.

  From their pouches, Golduck and Weavile grabbed Quick Seeds. Their shields dropped the moment they bit into them, both moving as several elemental attacks struck the spots where they stood. The two swapped items — Golduck taking Togetic’s Rollcall Orb, and Weavile grabbing the angelic’s Treasure Bag.

  “The orb!” Gabite yelled, rushing in with Lucario and Heliolisk. Swellow’s shield dropped as he moved to intercept, slamming straight into Lucario, and Heliolisk grunted as Golduck flung him aside with Psychic.

  With a start, Eira caught Weavile biting down on a blue seed with a green vine circling it — a Warp Seed. She spun around as he warped, suddenly a few feet behind Eira, Shaymin, and Togetic. He didn’t so much as even look at them, immediately sprinting for the exit, Rollcall Orb in hand.

  A split second later and Eira felt herself shift, being warped beside Golduck along with Heliolisk and the rest of Team Heavendust. The use of Togetic’s Rollcall Orb didn’t faze her, however — she immediately launched forward in an Agility-boosted Quick Attack, hurtling down the bridge toward Weavile.

  She Disabled him. Weavile didn’t anticipate it, tumbling over his feet. He recovered quickly, only for an Aura Sphere to crash into his arm, destroying the Rollcall Orb he held and eliciting a yell from him.

  Even still, Weavile managed to hop onto the rocky platform. Right on his heels, Eira leapt after, her eyes flickering to the side as she found Lucario joining her. Spikes jutted out to encapsulate the platform, under Weavile’s command, and Eira caught a furious snarl from Shaymin as the livid hedgehog crashed into them, too late by the slimmest of margins.

  The platform rose upward, with just her, Lucario, and Weavile inside. Ah, Eira thought as Weavile sized the two of them up. The sky dissolved into darkness as they flew toward it, with only the red lights over Weavile’s eyes and Lucario’s aura gaze letting her see anything.

  Weavile dropped the stolen Treasure Bag. Then, in a move that completely failed to surprise her, he jumped at her. So did Lucario, the two colliding and grappling with each other. Eira moved to Disable Weavile again, but the weasel kept Lucario’s body in front, keeping her from locking on to him.

  Weavile managed to pull out a spiky red seed from his Treasure Pouch. He slammed it against Lucario’s back, hissing as the Blast Seed burst out in an explosive conflagration and branded his arm. It worked in his favor though, for the searing light blinded Eira’s eyes, and Lucario flopped to the side, banging against one of the spikes.

  Claws clutched her, Weavile shoving her face down to prevent further Disables. The platform crumbled beneath her feet, Eira feeling a sudden jerk in momentum as she abruptly felt herself pressed against hardened dirt and grass blades.

  Because of course. All this effort, and it just led to yet another hostage situation.

  Weavile didn’t even give Lucario any chance, Eira’s eyes moving as far up as they could to watch a Stun Seed strike his head, leaving him immobile. “Feels horrible that you can’t indulge in sweet justice, eh, little jackal?” Weavile taunted. “That’s animal instincts for you. Trust me, I know the feeling.”

  What?

  “You might know even better, little lady,” Weavile went on, making Eira’s blood run cold. “Spiteful bunch, your type. I saw it in those eyes. Doesn’t it stink, how your lovely guardian’s naturally inclined toward justice and other goody two-shoes nonsense, and we’re stuck with more debased urges?”

  The comparison rankled her. Him, calling out her spite? Comparing her to him?

  “Cause really, I didn’t wanna be a thief. Never did. But then one bad day comes up where I couldn’t help myself, and—” A chuckle left Weavile. “Well, I guess I just wanted to give advice, from one kindred spirit to another. Doesn’t look like your base instincts did you any good in this situation, now, did it?”

  Even if there was something sincere in the words, they still were provocative. An insult to injury, meant to mock her inability to stop him and get back their items. Eira couldn’t stand it.

  Can’t let him get away with it.

  She felt him shift, had the premonition that he was done monologuing and intended to leave. His grip on her loosened, and she made one last attempt to stop him.

  An Ice Shard formed in her paw. She flicked it toward Lucario.

  To her indignation, Weavile twisted at the same time, making the shard pointlessly veer toward a rocky hillside. Eira yelled, pushing her legs against the ground and imbuing them with Normal energy. She sprung toward Weavile with Quick Attack—

  His free claw shot toward her. Eira the Alolan Vulpix felt her entire body incinerate at once, crying out in agony as she writhed and morphed before Weavile’s eyes.

  The thief let out a bloodcurdling scream, tossing her to the ground and jumping several feet back. Eira groaned out, eyeing her tawny palm. Human. No wristband.

  Her gaze snapped to Weavile’s shaking claw. Wristband. She gritted her teeth.

  “Really?”

  Weavile stepped back as she pulled herself onto her knees, the stolen Treasure Bag left forgotten. Her soul churned, resonating with her agitation, and Weavile gasped as her eyes flashed a spiteful purple. Ghoulish specters burned their way out of his body, Weavile falling to the ground as their malice stole his energy. His claws went limp, the wristband fluttering out of his grasp.

  Pulling herself up, Eira walked over, Weavile scooting back in absolute fear. She ignored him, snatching back the wristband and placing it back on her right arm, where it belonged. The forested canopy covered them in shadows, one appearing to wear it like a sinister cloak, while the other appeared to be strangled by the bewitched darkness.

  “Really?” spat Eira, a novice mage with the false bravado of a scorned archwizard. “What was the point of that? You had nothing to gain by stealing a plain old wristband, but you did! Of course you did, and now here we are!”

  She shifted back into her Vulpix form, still managing to look down at the prone Weavile. Thunderclouds stormed in her mind, leaving her unable to focus on anything but the loathsome thief who had ruined her disguise. “Are you happy?” she said. “Happy with what you’ve done? I can’t believe—”

  “Ill omen.”

  Weavile’s hoarse words pierced through Eira like a flaming spear. She jerked back, the archwizard turning back into the scared novice mage she was inside. “H-how,” she blurted, “How do you know that?”

  Weavile slowly pulled himself to his feet. His eyes watched her intently, fear slowly turning into apprehension. “How do you know?” Eira repeated. “W-what do you know?”

  No response. Eira silently eyed the Treasure Bag at her feet, tails grabbing it. Keeping watch of Weavile, she slowly dragged it to Lucario, wincing at how she’d forgotten about his stunned state. Dropping the Treasure Bag, she formed an Ice Shard and struck him with it.

  Even before he’d been freed of his immobility, her guardian’s eyes had been large and bloodshot, filled with a furious cocktail of emotions. The moment the Ice Shard struck him, those emotions were laid bare, Lucario flashing fangs as he silently pulled himself up.

  Weavile’s gaze drifted to him. “So it’s here,” he said, a broken laugh leaving him. “She’s here. To think I’d be fated to—”

  All three of them turned to the side, as if suddenly compelled to. Hidden behind trees, a Graveler silently stood in the darkness, its eyes white and spiral-shaped, like spinning galaxies. It cast a shadow, darker than dark, swallowing the shade of the trees whole.

  The shadow was too large and misformed, not matching the Graveler in the slightest. Eira stared at it. It stared back at her. The entire Mystery Dungeon, she could’ve sworn, stared at her.

  Lucario seemed to forget about Weavile entirely, stepping in front to guard her with wide eyes. The Graveler took a step forward, uncaring, arms raised in a zombie-like fashion. Paused. Its shadow writhed, snaking forward before snapping back, the Graveler shuddering where it stood.

  It sagged. Then melted, stone magically turning into a red-purplish goop. Eira let out a quaking breath as its shadow shrunk away, leaving a pile of otherworldly sludge. It fizzled and bubbled, slowly dissolving into thin air.

  “Them.” Horror possessed Weavile’s voice, the weasel looking like he’d just watched one of his nightmares crawl out into reality. “T-they noticed you.”

  “They?” Lucario said in a raised voice.

  Weavile clasped his chest, not hearing him. “The primal spirits, they know. Darn it, why did I let them know? W-why did I take that wristband?” His brows shot up. “The Frostlord! He needs to be—”

  His claw blurred, suddenly holding an Escape Orb. Lucario flung an Aura Sphere at once, and Eira hurried to Disable him — but to no avail. The orb shattered as soon as he took it, his form vanishing as a pillar of light consumed him.

  A second later, Heliolisk crashed into the spot Weavile just stood, electricity crackling around his body. His eyes narrowed, as did the red lights floating over it. “Well stab my frills,” he grumbled, before spotting the Treasure Bag Eira had taken back. A loud sigh of relief left him at once. “Oh, neat, at least he didn’t get away with the goods though! Sorry about the wait, the platform ditched me and Gabite on the opposite side of the dungeon. Everything’s in the bag, right?”

  Lucario and Eira the Vulpix blankly stared at him. “Uh,” said Heliolisk, before suppressing a shudder, suspicion creeping up on his face. “Man, something feels really off about the dungeon air. Why does it feel unspeakable creatures of the void had their gazes lingering around here?”

  Weavile bolted as soon he reemerged from the cavern that marked the southern entrance to Green Ridge. A Stun Seed flew at him — he dodged, frowning at the irate Gabite waiting for him outside the cavern mouth. It was just him there, the red lights over Weavile’s eyes revealing no other glowing figures beside him.

  “Ill omen?” he whispered to Gabite.

  The words shook the explorer. Foolish mistake. Weavile immediately peppered him in Ice Shards, making him drop to his knees, before fleeing into the forest. His leg groaned — Lucario had bruised him there during their grapple, curse that jackal. His strikes left him too sore to run at full speed.

  The guardian of the harbinger. Him?

  Weavile turned on a dime with his good foot, grunting as a grand sphere of Fairy energy imploded several feet from where he stood, and a Flamethrower burned the grass in front of him. Through the foliage of the trees, phantoms eerily pursued him, shaped like Eeveelutions. The Radar Orb’s power barely detected them — their figures had the faintest of glows, with ethereal lines tying them to a central source that the orb could detect.

  An Eevee. He leapt from branch to branch, sporting a maddened smile, with blue lights floating over his eyes. Eight colorful crystals adorned his head like a cursed crown, tying the phantoms to him. “Friendly friend,” he said, Weavile feeling his skin crawl at his insidious tone. “Why do you run?”

  Abhorrents. Pokemon altered with the essence of primal spirits. On an ordinary day, Weavile would’ve freaked out at their appearance — why had this one been waiting here? “Your kind can sense it?” Weavile wondered aloud. “The anomaly they caused?”

  He ducked, electricity sparking over his head. “They?” repeated Eevee.

  The Abhorrent seemed a little distracted. Weavile didn’t dwell on it, pulling a Warp Seed from his pouch and biting down on it. Trees and bushes shifted, Weavile finding himself on the edge of a short, steep hillside. He slid down, running as far as he could.

  Swellow and Golduck. They’re captured. Weavile scowled at himself. I’m sorry, boys. I’ve bigger things to do than bailing you out.

  The ill omen had shaken his entire world. His descent into criminal life? His guilty pleasures? Meaningless. Her presence meant the archipelago’s downfall was imminent. He had even considered surrendering to the false Vulpix and her guardian, so broken was he.

  But the Frostlord. He had to be warned. His last shred of honor screamed for it.

  Could I have killed the omen?

  Weavile slowed briefly, dread shrouding him at the thought that he could’ve stopped the whole problem from manifesting. That he could’ve finished the transfigured human off before she could usher in her dead winter. And then he shook his head.

  No. I couldn’t. Of course I can’t.

  I’m just a dumb thief, not a killer.

  His footsteps kept the uncomfortable silence at bay. Weavile ran. He ran, his life given back a purpose to exist.

  The Eevee used a Scanner Orb. Weavile frowned, recalling the blue lights hung over the Abhorrent’s eyes. Why? Was he expecting me to gain some item from the anomaly?

  Eevee stared vacantly at the forest floor. His spirit siblings swarmed him, their minds abuzz.

  Weavile was gone. It didn’t matter though. Gabite had emerged from the dungeon, warning that thieves had taken their Treasure Bags, complete with supplies, evolution items, and Shaymin’s Gracidea Flower. The Weavile clearly had no bags on him though — and Eevee had used a Scanner Orb to inspect the items in his pouch. Nothing precious, just three basic orbs and a couple seeds.

  He moved, returning toward the Dungeon entrance. Gabite was waiting there, along with Heliolisk, Lucario, Eira the Vulpix, and Shaymin. The latter looked immensely relieved as Lucario plopped down what looked like Togetic’s Treasure Bag, checking it to find all their goods inside. Heliolisk had the Hattrem’s bag as well, in addition to Braixen’s. Togetic wasn’t with the group, Jolteon silently suggesting that she’d been sent to retrieve Braixen and the others from the northern entrance. It sounded reasonable enough to Eevee.

  Two other figures lied nearby, sprawled on the earth. A Golduck and Swellow, out cold. Eevee smirked. Then had Espeon mentally nudge the explorers.

  Their heads shot toward him. The guilty look on Eira’s face made Eevee’s soul grow cold, Vaporeon letting out a tsk and Flareon spitting out an angry curse within their hivemind. Glaceon and Leafeon quietly exchanged glances with each other, and Umbreon gave a silent sigh.

  Something bad came up, he said.

  Oh, tell me about it, Sir Obvious, Eevee snapped back. Espeon?

  Heliolisk is on edge, Espeon responded with a heavy gaze. He almost certainly sensed something from the aforementioned anomaly.

  Pity. “Weavile implied there was some kind of Missing One incident,” Eevee openly told the group, to the shock of Gabite and Shaymin. “What happened?”