POKEMON MYSTERY DUNGEON: THE SAGA OF TEAM SUPERNOVA!

Welcome to Pokemon Aus24's official Pokemon Fan-Fic written, created and owned by the talented FocusPresenceEndurance. Below is the introduction and prologue to the story and every so often I will update with a new chapter.

Chapters 1-3 Here
Chapters 4-6 Here
Chapters 7-9 Here
Chapters 10-12 Here
Chapters 13-15 Here
Chapters 16-18 Here


~Chapter 7

Seeing the Destruction. A Likeable Client!

“Um… Tristan?” Totodile spoke for the third time in a row. It was still morning, but as they approached Uproar Forest, it sure didn’t feel like it, “Are you absolutely sure we’re going the right way?”

Tristan gave an irritated look, “Look, Totodile!” he snapped, pulling the map out of the toolbox once again. “The map says we’re headed towards Uproar Forest, okay!? Don’t ask me if this is the right place, I’ve never been here before!”

Team Supernova, with their client Meditite were now making their way into Uproar Forest… or what used to be Uproar Forest. By seeing the faces of his teammates, Tristan could tell that something was terribly wrong. He scanned the area again and thought to himself, “I wonder what this place used to be like?” The landscape was barren. The grass that used to cover the forest floor was now dead. The soil was hard and had begun to crack from the sheer dryness in the region. Dead leaves and dust blew lifelessly in the wind. With very little shade, it was near impossible to escape the heat of the sun, which radiated from a cloudless sky. It was going to be a rough day if this was how the morning felt.

“But that’s impossible!” cried Torchic in disbelief. “This place was a thriving forest. Mushrooms grew all over the place and there was standing water wherever you looked!”

“A THRIVING FOREST!?” Tristan repeated incredulously, “NOT THIS WASTELAND!?”

Totodile gave a troubled look as he thought aloud, “What could have happened here?”

Tristan thought a moment, then replied, “Remember what Beedrill said? He said that the world temperature was on the rise. That it would cause drastic changes in the weather. That must be what’s happening here.”

“Now that you mention it…” Torchic said, thinking back, “I do remember Beedrill saying something like that. At first I thought he was nuts! But it makes sense now.”

Totodile gave a sigh, “I really hate hot and dry weather… Anyway, Meditite. What happened to Tyrogue that caused him to get lost?”

Meditite had been silent up until now. Overall, she was roughly the same height as Totodile, though she did appear taller then everyone there since she was hovering slightly above the ground with her legs crossed. She was mostly blue with the exception of her small white feet, wristbands that were at the end of her arms, what appeared to be a small article of clothing that she wore like shorts and her uniquely shaped head. It looked as if she was wearing a helmet that swirled to point at the top. On either side were her ears, which looked like small swirls. As well, she had small red marks on her cheeks, just under her large eyes. For a Meditite, she seemed quite fragile. She replied with a sassy look on her face, “Tyrogue is, like, my boyfriend’s bratty little step-brother. My boyfriend, like, is on a rescue team, so he, like, asked me to watch out for him for, like, when he was gone. The brat, like, took off on me and, like, got hopelessly lost.”

“… I see…” Tristan answered.

“My boyfriend will kill me if he finds out I, like, lost him,” she finished, “or worse, he might, like, dump me!”

“Ah… right. Well… anyway…” Totodile began, as he changed the topic. “Are you really paying 500 Poke?”

“500 Poke is like, nothing, why, is it, like, not enough?”

“No, no! It’s plenty, it’s plenty!” Totodile dismissed waving his hands. “And where did you hear about us?”

“You guys were, like, the only available team that I’ve heard of on, like, such short notice. I, like, heard two Pokemon talking about a Team Supernova in the Pelliper Post Office, so I like, asked for you when I, like, couldn’t find anyone else. It’s, like, so unstylish to post on the bulletin board.”

“Oh…” Totodile said, put down. “So you chose us not because you wanted us, but because you didn’t have a choice.”

“Yeah, that’s, like, pretty much it.”

“It’s okay, Totodile, come on, it’s okay,” Torchic tried to reassure him, “We have to start somewhere, don’t we? Hey Tristan, help me with Totodile. Tristan? Not you, too! Now what’s the matter!?”

Tristan was a little separated from the rest of the group, cringing from something. He answered feebly, “No… more… likes…” It was obvious that he hadn’t taken a liking to Meditite’s speech.

As Team Supernova progressed deeper into the once-been forest, the conditions grew steadily worse. Hours later they were about five stages into the dungeon. Here it had become so dry, that the soil was beginning to turn to dust. All the surrounding trees were dead, none of them bearing a single leaf. It was an eerie sight to see a once thriving forest, with all the life wrung out of it. Heat could be seen rising from the ground, as the blazing sun beat down upon the team.

“Guys…” Totodile commented weakly. “I don’t feel so cool. This hot and dry weather is getting to me.” He looked exhausted; every step he took was beginning to take more and more of an effort.

Torchic looked at him with concern. “I wish there was something I could do to help,” she said. She motioned to Tristan to give her the toolbox for a while. After receiving it she reached in for an item. “For now, eat some of these berries we bought. They at least have some moisture to keep you hydrated.” She passed a few Oran berries to Totodile who received them gratefully. “You should also avoid using water gun, you would waste valuable water.”

“Thanks, Torchic.”

“Hey, we all have to look out for each other, right?”

Totodile gave a small grin, “Yeah, of course.”

Tristan, who had also been trying hard to bear the heat, had been silent, keeping it to himself. He figured since he didn’t have it nearly as bad as Totodile, that he shouldn’t place an extra burden on the team. A subtle movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Something had darted from behind one tree trunk to another. “EVERYONE, STOP!!!” he shouted loudly and suddenly. Doing this would at least cause them to stop to see why he yelled.

Totodile looked up startled from Tristan’s sudden shout. “What’s up, Tristan?” he asked, “Is something wrong?”

Quietly, he whispered to everyone, “Don’t move a muscle.”

Everyone froze. Tristan scanned between the trees, trying to find the cause of the suspicious movement. All he could see, though, were the bare trees and dusty ground. A breeze came through, blowing dust into his eyes, making him squint. Breaking the silence, Meditite was the first to speak. “OK, its, like, totally obvious that there is, like, nothing here. So can we, like, get a move on so we can like find Tyrogue? I don’t, like, want to spend, like, all night here.” With that, Meditite continued on.

“GOTCHA!!!!!” yelled Tristan spinning to face Meditite. He grabbed for one of his Gravlerock and whipped it directly towards her.

“EEEEEEK!!!” she cried, dropping to the ground, trying to cover her head with her hands fractions of a second before the projectile shot past her. Even then it was close enough for her to feel the displaced air from it. A moment later she stood up, trying to recover from the shock of being attacked by her own employee. “The nerve!” she thought. She screamed in a high-pitched voice, “LIKE, WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM!!! WHY DID YOU, LIKE, ATTACK ME, YOUR CLIENT!?”

Tristan turned away and continued to walk down the path, tossing what remained of his rock a couple times. “I did it to protect our client,” he answered calmly.

“Err… what?” she asked, confused as she turned around. “EEEEEEK!!! W… w… when did that get there!?”

Behind her was a wild Venonat, lying unconscious on the ground. It had a round body covered in purple fur, with a pair of clodhopper feet and stubby forepaws. It also had a pincer-like mouth, red compound eyes and long white antenna. “Wow,” commented Totodile, amazed, “You knocked it out in one hit!”

“Yeah, well,” shrugged Tristan, “It was nothing. You probably could’ve done it.”

Meditite scowled at Tristan, her hands on her hips. She was the only one who was upset. “You could have, like, told me there was a Pokemon behind me!” she complained. “I mean, what would have happened if I, like, hadn’t ducked!?”

“Sorry,” Tristan apologized waving it off. He wasn’t actually sorry though; in fact he was a little satisfied. All those likes were getting annoying and he just had to do something to shut her up, “There wasn’t enough time to tell you. And I knew you would have ducked in time.”

Meditite shuddered. With that accuracy and force, had it hit her frail body, that would have been it for her. She crossed her arms and bitterly turned her head away.

The team was about to depart when they heard a feeble voice from behind. “… water…” The team turned to see that the Venonat was back on its feet. It was in rough shape, even without the Gravlerock from Tristan. “…water…”

“What’s that?” Totodile asked, “You want water?”

“… water…”

“I’m really sorry,” Torchic apologized, “But we don’t have any water either.” She turned to the rest of her team, “Who was the idiot who didn’t pack water!?”

“We’ve never needed it before!” Totodile replied defensively, “How was I supposed to–”

“Water!?”

“No,” answered Torchic, more sternly this time, “We don’t have any!”

“WATER!!!” The wild Venonat clearly didn’t seem to get the message. Instead it began staggering towards the team and their client.

Tristan looked back at the approaching Venonat. “Hey guys,” he said nervously, “I think there’s something really wrong with that Venonat… It’s not acting right.”

“What do you mean!?” Totodile asked becoming worried.

Before Tristan could respond, the wild Venonat shouted at the top of its lungs, “WATER!!!!!” It charged towards Tristan, diving headlong with a tackle attack. Tristan sidestepped mere seconds before it would’ve hit, causing the Venonat to soar past him, to make a rough landing to the dusty ground.

“We have no water!” Totodile called, trying to make the Venonat understand.

“It’s no use,” Tristan told him, “Your words aren’t reaching it! I doubt it even knows what its doing!”

“It’s the weather…” Torchic said, looking at the surrounding landscape, “The lack of water is driving the Pokemon to insanity! How are we supposed to help them!?”

“We can’t help them now,” Totodile answered, “All we can do now is try to find out what’s happening, and try to fix the entire problem. No doubt there are similar things happening in other places.”

“WATER!!!!! WATER!!!!!”

“Like, what are you waiting for!?” Meditite shrieked, as the Venonat fixed its gaze on her, “Just, like, finish it off! Hurry!!”

Heeding her client’s orders, Torchic went at a running speed toward the out-of-control creature, diving in with a powerful and super-effective peck attack. The Venonat was again knocked back, this time sending it tumbling and rolling along the ground until it came to a stop near the edge of the clearing, unconscious.

“Let’s move out before it wakes again,” mentioned Tristan, and with that, the team departed hastily from the clearing.

The search for Tyrogue continued as the team went deeper and deeper into the dried out forest. Though, the farther into the center of the forest they went, the drier and dustier the forest became. It was early afternoon and what seemed to be about eight stages into the forest. The bare parched branches of the trees seemed to be trying to reach to the sky as if hoping for the slightest drop of rain, but the merciless sky would give no such luxury. All the ground was dust now, and with no grass to hold it down it was picked up easily by the wind, making travel difficult. The forest was literally turning into a desert. The trees, though there were no leaves, were spaced so close together that made it difficult to see very far. It was beginning to be hard to walk on the heated ground. The only one among the team members who was unaffected by all this was Torchic, who was thanking her lucky stars for being a fire Pokemon.

“Can’t… you guys… like… find Tyrogue a little, like… faster?” complained Meditite, wobbling as she levitated along. “I mean… I, like, don’t think I’m, like… getting my, like… 500 poke worth…”

“We’re… we’re… we’re trying as hard as we… can,” gasped Totodile, who was suffering the most. Being a water Pokemon, he was having the hardest time of all. The heat, the dry air and the dust were all weighing heavily down on him.

“Don’t… waste your energy Totodile,” Tristan said, “just focus on walking… and eating the berries we gave you.”

“H… hey…” Meditite mentioned, pointing out between the trees, “like… look over there… I, like… think I see… water… I’m going.”

Torchic looked to where Meditite pointed. “It’s just a mirage,” she said, disappointed, “just keep going.” After that they didn’t hear any more from Meditite, and they continued to walk until they reached the next clearing. Again, the clearing turned out to be the same as all the others. Dusty, dry and hot, the team felt they would go insane if they stayed much longer. What the team wouldn’t give for a little shade. If Tristan could, he would’ve hollered out in frustration.

“Is everyone alright?” asked Torchic turning around.

“I’m… fine,” Totodile managed to speak, even though he wasn’t fine at all.

“Same… here,” joined Tristan.

A silence followed.

“Torchic?” Totodile asked, confused, “what’s wrong?”

On Torchic’s face, was an expression that troubled Tristan. It was as if she didn’t want to believe what she was seeing, yet was seeing exactly what she didn’t to want believe. Panic stricken, she managed to speak, “Our… our… our client… our client… she’s… SHE’S MISSING!!!!!”

“WHAT!?” shouted Totodile and Tristan together, turning around frantically to where Meditite should have been.

“She was with us a minute ago!” cried Tristan.

“Where could she have gone,” joined Totodile “What’re we gonna do now!?”

“Uh…” answered Torchic with a very grim look on her face, “that’s not all we have to worry about…”

The empty clearing was empty no longer. Surrounding them, were teams and teams of Seedot and Nuzleaf. Seedot were Pokemon that resembled acorns with small feet. The Nuzleafs had brown skin and looked more human-like, with what resembled armour covering their waists and thighs. They wore masks that covered around their eyes and their pointy noses. Protruding from the tops of their circular heads were leaves, which in this weather were wilted and dry like all the other leaves. They all stared at the Team through bloodshot eyes. Their feeble, yet desperate voices chanted the same thing, “…water…” “water!” “…water,” “WATER!” “…water!” “WAAAATEEEER!!!!!”

“I… I’ve heard… of this kind of situation before…” Totodile struggled to say.

“Yeah… what is it,” asked Tristan, almost not wanting to know the answer.

Torchic answered, “They call it… a monster house!”



~Chapter 8

Worst Case Scenario! A Desperate Struggle!

“Uh… where’s, like… the water?” Meditite had finally arrived to where she thought she’d seen a pond. As the gap between her and the pond closed, however, it shrunk, getting ever smaller, until it vanished entirely. Just like Torchic had said, it was just a mirage, and she was fooled by it. She fell to the ground, too weak to levitate, and tried to dig desperately into the sand. Her efforts were useless. Under the scorching heat, her thirst had driven her here, to what only turned out to be more desolate wasteland. She turned around see the team she hired, but they were nowhere to be seen. “Where… like, where are… they?”

She picked herself up and began to walk aimlessly, unsure of where she was going. She just knew she had to find water.

***

Meanwhile, Team Supernova was in a much more serious situation. While Meditite had wandered off, the three teammates found themselves in a monster house, surrounded by teams of Seedot and Nuzleaf, each one driven to insanity from water deprivation. The scorching heat didn’t make anything better either. The day’s travels had heavily worn out the team, especially Totodile, who wasn’t in any shape to fight. The Pokemon that surrounded the team all seemed to chant the same, desperate word, “…water…” “Water!” “…water,” “WATER!” “…water!” “WATER!!!!!”

“This isn’t… good,” Tristan struggled to say, “We… we don’t have time for this!”

“Well,” started Torchic, “We’ll just need to finish them off as fast as we can! But don’t kill them!”

Totodile was exhausted, trying to think straight under all the stress, he answered, “Al… alright… WATER–!”

“NO!” interrupted Torchic.

“What!?”

“DON’T USE WATER GUN!” shouted Tristan, “You’ll waste too much water! You hardly have any as it is!”

Totodile backed off, humiliated with his mistake. “O… okay,” he answered lowering his head in shame. “Then I’ll use this!!” He jumped forward, swinging his claws as he struck a nearby Seedot, knocking it out instantly. These opponents wouldn’t put up much of a fight, being already weakened from the heat. But there were so many of them. They couldn’t afford to let their guard down. Totodile panted heavily, his attack had taken a great deal of effort. A Nuzleaf came up from behind, but Totodile wasn’t prepared to counter.

A bone whipped out of nowhere, hitting the offender square on the side of the head, knocking it out. Tristan jumped in front of his blue friend, catching the bone again and bracing for another attack.

“Th… thanks… Tristan.” Totodile panted.

“It was… nothing. Just take it easy… okay?” replied Tristan, as another Seedot came charging head on in front of him. Tristan countered with a head-butt, sending it flying into the air. It landed directly on another Seedot causing them both to pass out.

“Take… it easy…” Totodile asked, “In… a place like this?”

“GET BACK!!” shrieked Torchic, who was off in her own fight. She was surrounded, but she had a fierce look in her eye, “I’m warning you! Don’t step any closer unless you want to get burned!” The opponents didn’t heed her words, closing in closer and closer. “Fine then,” she said bitterly as she began to spin on the spot shooting flames out of her mouth. As she did this she cried out, “FIRESPIN!!!” Flames engulfed the surrounding Pokemon, and as soon as the dust cleared at least a dozen fallen Seadot and Nuzleaf surrounded her. These were perfect conditions for a fire Pokemon. The dry air, the bright sun, and the grassy nature of the opponents, in this situation they seemed nothing more than toothpicks.

“Great… work Torchic!” Tristan called over. He turned around just in time to see a Nuzleaf come in to attack. In a split second he caught the bone he’d just thrown and came down on the unfortunate Pokemon with a powerful bone club.

Totodile was struggling to maintain his balance. He charged another Seedot, lunging with another scratch attack.

The clearing was getting emptier, but there was still a long way to go.

***

As Team Supernova’s fight continued, Meditite had ventured deeper into the forest. She was exhausted, and her throat hurt as she swallowed. Where was Tyrogue? She squinted into the distance as something caught her eye.

“W… water? Is… is that… like… really water?” She quickened her pace, breaking into a run as she drew nearer. The pond did not seem to shrink this time, in fact, it got clearer. In the middle of the clearing, the water sparkled in the bright sunlight. A small patch of green grass surrounded the pond; the only green she’d seen in the entire forest. She walked right up to the water’s edge, gazing down in disbelief. “Am I, like, dreaming?” she thought as she crouched down and touched the water with her hand. It was cool and wet, just like water should be. Quickly, she drank as much as she could, as fast as she could. Moments later, when she had just started enjoying the refreshing taste, she heard footsteps behind her.

“And just what do you think you’re doing!?” came a voice from behind.

“Yeah! That water belongs to us!” came another, “Go find your own!”

“You’ll pay for drinking our valuable water!” a third voice sounded.

Meditite turned to face the speakers, only to see three figures advancing on her. She gave out a long terrified cry, “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!!!”

***

A terrified shriek broke through the noises of fighting. “Did you hear that!?” Torchic asked. After a long hard battle, most of the Pokemon in the monster house were defeated. The few that remained were starting to retreat back into the forest, hoping that they would come across other travelers who wouldn’t put up such a fierce fight. “I thought I heard Meditite!”

“I did, too!” Tristan answered, “I think it came from that direction!” He pointed down another dusty trail, which would eventually lead to another clearing.

“SCRATCH!!!” Totodile shouted as he took out the last of the remaining Seedots. He stood there for a moment, his knees wobbling under his weight. He felt exausted and sick to his stomach, as if he’d just run five marathons one after the other. “We… we… we… have… have to go… find…” he wheezed through his parched throat as he struggled to finish his sentence, “… her…” Finally, with a thud on the dusty ground, Totodile collapsed.

“Totodile!” Tristan shouted, “This isn’t the time… to be taking a nap!”

“I’ll go ahead to see what happened,” Torchic said, starting to run off down the trail, “Take care of Totodile!”

“WAIT!” Tristan called after her; “We shouldn’t separate!” But by then she’d already left the clearing. “Just great… this is just great!” he said under his breath. “Well… I guess I should follow her. But what’ll I do with you…” He looked down at Totodile's passed out body. “I can’t carry you… I have spikes on my back… I guess the best I can do is drag you along with me, I can’t just leave you lying around to be attacked again…”

With that, Tristan followed after Torchic, dragging Totodile along with him. Fortunately, the dusty ground didn’t make for a rough ride. The sun was lowering in the sky now. Without the sun directly above them, the heat began to ease off. The bare trees were beginning to cast longer and longer shadows on the ground. Tristan, however, was still very thirsty. Even if the air became cooler, it was still as dry as ever.

***

“Water!?” Torchic exclaimed, entering a new clearing. To her utter shock there was a small pond before her eyes. “An oasis? Here?” She walked up to the edge of pond, looking at her reflection. No doubt that this time, it was the real thing. She would have to tell Tristan and Totodile right away. But where was Meditite? She could have sworn the scream came from here. And she was sure it had belonged to Meditite.

“Hey! Get away from our water!” A voice called from behind.

Torchic turned to see three Mankey's standing in front of her, all three seeming to be in good condition compared to the other forest inhabitants. All three had white fur, long flexible tails, prehensile hands and feet, as well as pig shaped snouts for noses. What bothered her was the fact that none of them had as much as a scratch on them. “You… You’ve been hogging this water to yourselves haven’t you!?”

“So what if we were!” replied the one on the right. “Finders keepers!”

“While all the other Pokemon in this forest are suffering, you sit back and watch them struggle!?” Torchic shouted angrily, “What kind of Pokemon are you!?”

“The smart kind,” The left one spoke. “If we let all the Pokemon drink here like they drank from all the other ponds that have disappeared, there would be nothing left!”

“But perhaps… if you give us a chestnut…” the one on the right said, twiddling his thumbs.

“Idiot!” The middle one spat at him. This one had been the first to shout at Torchic, “Water’s what counts now! We’ll worry about chestnuts later!”

As the three began to bicker, Torchic looked past them to see Meditite and Tyrogue tied to a dried up tree. She hadn’t seen them when she entered. Then again, she had been focused more on the water than anything. They were both unconscious, though Meditite did seem to at least have a drink from the pond. She was actually relieved to see them this way. Even though the Mankeys were selfish enough to hog the water to themselves, they didn’t seem to actually have the guts to kill their hostages. “You better let them go!” she demanded angrily, interrupting their argument.

“No!” answered the middle Mankey, “They tried to drink from our precious water!”

“That’s our client!” she shouted, “I won’t let you lay another hand on her!”

The right Mankey spoke, chuckling slightly as exchanged a look with the left one, “This is your client? That means you’re part of a rescue team.”

“A pretty crummy rescue team to let their client wander off,” commented the left one.

“What did you say?” Torchic asked, a flare of anger in her eyes.

“Well,” the middle one answered, “We don’t take kindly to rescue teams, no matter how crummy they are. Ever since that Team Blue beat us up, and forced us to work for them! You ain’t leaving!”

All three approached Torchic, each one preparing to attack. Thinking quickly, she immediately took advantage of the terrain, using sand attack. Fine dust was kicked into the air, creating a smokescreen effect, buying her both cover and time. “Okay, I know that they're fighting type, so they should be weak against a… flying move!” With that in mind, she charged into the dust cloud, jumping straight in with a peck attack. She hit one, but she wasn’t sure how strong the hit was. She came out on the other side and turned to see how she did. The dust settled revealing that one Mankey had taken the hit full on but wasn’t out yet. She looked twice. There were only two Mankeys there now. Where was the third?

A shadow came over her, blocking the sun for an instant. She looked up the second the missing Mankey came down on her, his hand opened and flat for a Karate chop. The next thing she felt was the attack, hitting her right between her eyes. It felt like her head had split in two! She stumbled back crying out in pain. Her eyes watering from the strike she looked up to see all three were approaching her again. But she was nowhere near ready for them. She closed her eyes anticipating a world of pain.

“OH NO YOU DON’T!!” came a new voice from the edge of the clearing. Tristan, with Totodile lying on the ground behind him, wasted no time shooting three Gravlerocks, hitting each enemy. The Mankeys withdrew from this new opponent, snarling defensively.

“Tristan!” Torchic cried, “you're here already!?”

“I thought there’d be trouble here, so I came as fast as I could.” Looking closer at Tristan it was clear that he’d had been running hard. Very hard. He was still breathing rather heavily. He glanced at the bruise on Torchic’s forehead. “I just wish I’d arrived sooner.”

“Who do you think you are!” accused the first Mankey, “Do you know who you’re dealing with!?”

“We’re the Mankey Gang!” came the second.

“So,” replied Tristan. This information actually meant nothing to him. “I wouldn’t care if you were Team Blue! DON’T ATTACK MY FRIENDS!!!”

All three Mankey's were suddenly taken aback. “You… you!” the first one snarled becoming enraged, “How dare you mention the name Team Blue to us! We hate Team Blue!” All three teamed together once more. “Finish them!”

Torchic was now at Tristan’s side. “Any ideas?” she asked.

Tristan thought a moment, “I’ll take out the weak one. You weaken the other two, alright!?”

“Gotcha!”

Again, she used sand attack, hiding them from the enemy. Tristan suddenly appeared out of the cloud hurling his bone using Bonemerang. The bone struck the already injured Mankey, knocking him out.

“Why you…!" the first Mankey growled, “You’ll pay for that!!”

“Don’t let your guard down!” called Torchic from behind. It was her turn to appear out of nowhere. “FLAMETHROWER!!!!!” Scorching flames shot out of her mouth, enveloping the two remaining Mankeys.

The second Mankey received the brunt of the attack, becoming heavily burned. “Y… you show ‘em… boss…” With that final breath he, too, passed out, leaving one Mankey left to fight.

“That’s it! You leave me no choice!” he hollered dashing towards his captives. He never was known for fighting fair. He had no problem sheilding himself behind other Pokemon.

“Not so fast!” Tristan called after him.

“I said don’t lay a hand on our client!”

But the Mankey wouldn’t listen. “I need to gain the advantage again,” he thought quickly, “Taking a hostage will turn the tides.” Both the Cubone and the Torchic began yelling something else now, something different. But that didn’t matter, he was almost there.

“FIRE HAMMER!!!!” both Tristan and Torchic yelled at the tops of their lungs.

“Huh!?” Mankey said as he turned to see what was going on. He’d never heard a move like that. The Cubone was leaping into the air, his bone held high. It was lit with a blazing fire from Torchic’s flame-thrower. Before Mankey knew it, the bone flaming bone had swung from the side and as the name implied, hit him like a hammer. The blow sent him skidding across the dusty clearing, and with a loud SPLASH, caused him to land in the water, where his unconscious body bobbed up and down.

“Finally…” Torchic panted, “it’s over…”

“We’re not done yet,” Tristan mentioned, “now we just need to wake our clients, and Totodile.” Tristan proceeded to drag Totodile into the water, where he awoke quite surprised.

After a few gulps of water he asked “Wh… what happened!?”

“You passed out from the heat,” Tristan answered.

“But you put up a good fight!” assured Torchic, seeing the sudden look of despair on Totodile’s face.

“I… I passed out?” asked Totodile, disappointed. He looked around at the three Mankeys, “I… I missed the final fight… didn’t I?” He looked down shamefully. “I’m weak…” he thought.

Torchic woke up Meditite and Tyrogue. Meditite opened her eyes to see the rescue team in front of her, “It’s, like, about time you came!” she complained as she stood up, brushing the dust off.

“Yeah, Meditite! How long were you planning to wait to send someone to save me!?” The small Tyrogue replied smartly. Tyrogue was a purple human-shaped Pokemon, with white bands around his wrists and abdomen. He also wore what looked like red shorts and red shoes. He was the tallest one there, being slightly taller than Totodile, but didn’t seem to have much power in his muscles yet. There were three spikes sticking out of the top of his head. He bore a very annoyed expression on his face. “Couldn’t find someone to hire, or just enjoyed your time without me!”

Meditite answered angrily, “You, like, shut up!”

After bearing a couple hours of tense silence, Team Supernova, along with their clients, arrived back at the Pokemon Village that evening. Having been exposed to the heat all day at Uproar Forest, the evening at the Pokemon Square seemed quite cool. The sun was setting, casting a reddish hue over the entire sky. “Thank you for rescuing us,” said Tyrogue appreciatively.

Meditite though wasn’t pleased, “Hmph! I, like, decided not to pay you, like, 500 poke. I don’t think you, like, deserve it.”

“But,” Torchic started, “you said 500 poke wasn’t much right?”

“Yeah,” she answered, “But, you guys are, like, not even worth 500 poke!”

“Hey, hey!” Tristan began to yell, “After all we did–“

“No… no,” said Totodile putting up his hand to stop Tristan, “what the client says goes…”

“Well,” Tyrogue butted in, a devilish look in his eye; “I have to put up with her every day. I think that a day spent with her alone should be worth about 500 poke.” Meditite gave him a warning look. “Stop? Stop what? Being honest? I'll tell you what, if you pay the 500 poke you promised, then I won’t tell my step-brother that you waited so long to rescue me, because I know you waited!”

“You, like, wouldn’t!” she gasped.

“I would do it in an instant,” he said, eyes narrowed accompanied with a wide grin.

“Grrrrr! You little…!” She took a moment to breathe and calm down, “OK, like, fine! Take the 500 poke! I don’t, like, care anyway!” She said this grabbing the 500 poke throwing it into the faces of the team, the team that had just saved her. “There! We’re leaving!!” She stormed down the path back to the village entrance, followed closely by Tyrogue. “NO GUMMIES FOR YOU WHEN WE GET HOME!!” her voice shouted, trailing off into the distance.

“… That was rude,” Totodile said, looking at all the coins scattered around the ground, “couldn’t she have just handed it to us?”

“Not like the last time we saved someone,” Tristan said. “Last time we didn’t get much, but they were at least grateful.”

“You know, I don’t want to think about it,” Torchic dismissed, “I’ve gotten angry enough today. And I don’t want to waste any more energy over her.”

A figure entered the empty square. It was Tyrogue. “Hey.”

“You’re back?” Totodile asked.

“Yeah, I told Meditite I forgot something. I just wanted to say sorry for the way she treated you.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Tristan answered.

“Yeah, but I think what she did was very childish. C’mon, I’ll help you pick up the money.” He bent down on his knees, and began pick up some of the individual coins. He was joined by the other members of the team, and soon all the 500 hundred Poke was in someone’s hands. “It’s the least I could do for you rescuing me. I’ve stayed too long though, Meditite will probably lock me out if I stay any longer. I just didn’t want you to place me in the same boat as her.”

“Thanks for your help then!” Totodile called after him as he departed the village once more.

“See ya!” he replied looking back, waving while he walked.

“We should get some rest,” Torchic said with a sigh, “It’s been such a long day… I’m beat.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” answered Totodile tiredly.

“Finally,” replied Tristan, “I thought today would never end.”

And so, the three team-members of Team Supernova, like their clients before them, left the village and parted, heading to their respective areas for the night. Each one of them, tired from having accomplished their second mission as a rescue team. The hard day's work in Uproar Forest caused each one fall asleep instantly. Beedrill’s words echoing in their minds as they wondered what was happening to the world. “… The earth’s temperature is rising rapidly…” That was what he’d said. What would be causing this? How could it be stopped?

In addition to these troubling thoughts Tristan still wondered why he was in this world, and what his purpose was for being here. So many questions. Why couldn’t things just be simple? That would make life so much easier.



~Chapter 9

Dark and Stormy Night. Memories Resurface.

“Where do I remember this place from…” Tristan thought as he gazed around into the green and empty haze for the third time. “Maybe it’s because… IT’S THE SAME STUPID DREAM!!!” By now Tristan was becoming very annoyed and aggrevated. He knew this dream was supposed to mean something, but he couldn’t figure out what. He already knew that he had to meet someone. Who though? That was what bothered him. He listened carefully. Soon a faint voice would be coming, and he wanted to hear as much as possible this time.

“Nice to finally meet you, Tristan,” a cheerful came voice from behind.

“WHAA!!!” Tristan jumped and spun around to see what spoke. He wasn’t expecting the voice to be so clear, and loud. It almost hurt. Standing in front of him was a tall and skinny Pokemon who appeared to be wearing a long white dress. She had a red crest protruding through her chest was shaped in a half of a heart.

“Who are you!?” Tristan demanded, pointing up at her, “What are you doing in my dream!?”

The new Pokemon answered, gazing at him through one of her deep red eyes. Her other eye was obstructed by her mid-length green hair. “My name is Gardevoir,” she said, giving a warm smile. “I’m here to tell you why you are here. The role you have in this wor-.”

“Wait a minute,” Tristan cut in, putting out a hand, “You're that annoying voice from my other dreams aren’t you?”

“Well…” Gardevoir said losing her smile, “I’ve been trying as hard as I could to contact you. Its hard to make a connection if I don’t know where you are.” She gazed down to where the ground would have been. “Did I really come across as annoying?”

“Actually… forget it,” Tristan said, feeling a pang of guilt. His words hadn’t come out right. “I didn’t mean anything by it.” He paused a moment, then asked, “So, what’s with this role thing?”

She looked up again, only to shake her head. “I’m sorry. But I can’t tell you that part yet. I must tell you when the time comes. But for now, there is something else you must do.”

“Does it involve having to meet someone?”

“Oh? How did you know already?” she asked, surprised.

Tristan rolled his eyes. Apparently she hadn’t realized how clear she came across to him before. “Just a wild stab in the fog I guess.”

“Well… yes, that is right,” she continued. “You need to meet with the human who saved the world three years ago. The one who called upon the power of Rayquaza to stop the falling star.”

“The leader of Team Blue right? Yeah, I’ve heard about him. What’s the guy’s name anyway?” Tristan marveled at the fact that nobody had even told him the leader’s name yet.

“His name? Yes, I can tell you his name,” she answered happily, “His name is–”

BOOM!!!!!

“WHAAA!!!” Tristan again jumped at another unexpected noise. He was awake now, though it was still the middle of the night. He looked out one of the windows, seeing the sky light up with a bright flash of lightning, followed by the low rumble of thunder. The rain was coming down in sheets, heavier than he’d ever seen. The wind was blowing hard against the team base and whistling through the trees. Cool air rushed into the room from the strong downdrafts high up in the storm.

“Grrrrr,” he thought angrily, “Stupid storm! Just when that Gardevoir was about to tell me…” It wasn’t all bad though, now he at least knew who he had to meet.

His thoughts were interrupted by loud bangs. It took a moment for him to realize that they were coming from the door. Who would be knocking so late at night? And in this storm, no less? He crossed the room, almost grabbing an apple from the table before remembering it wasn’t morning yet. As he began to open the door, the wind took hold of it, swinging it violently open. Now the person who knocked was in clear view.

“Torchic!?” Tristan exclaimed.

“Hey, Tristan… Sorry to bother you…” Torchic said weakly. She was completely drenched in water, which alarmed Tristan. Surely she hadn’t walked through this storm. “But the place I’m staying… Scorched Plains… couldn’t protect me from… from…” She sneezed to the side, and tried to shake off some more water. Tristan resisted a faint urge to chuckle. Her sneeze was barely a sniff. “Couldn’t protect me from this storm… can I stay here?”

“Of course!” Tristan answered hastily, ushering her in, “This is your team base too, after all!” He struggled to shut the door behind him. Once he did, he turned back to his new guest. Observing her, he asked, “You didn’t come all the way through this storm, did you!?”

She was shivering from head to toe, and looked rather ill. “Yep…” she answered weakly, “I… I…” She sneezed again. “I don’t feel so… so good...” She lost her balance and fell down on the floor, “I’ll just sleep here…”

“Oh Torchic!” Tristan exclaimed at her sleeping body, “Why did you have to walk through the rain like that!?” Easily, he picked her up and set her down in the straw bed. Hopefully she would dry off and warm up. “She could use an Oran Berry…” he thought with another glance over her. With this, he made his way to the toolbox near the door. But as he reached in, he couldn’t find any berries. He’d forgotten that Totodile had eaten them all in Uproar Forest. If he wanted one, he’d have to make a trip to the Pokemon Village. But the storm was still very strong. It wouldn’t be a simple stroll.

He didn’t even have to debate about this, though, before he decided what to do. He moved to the door, bringing the toolbox to bring with him. Before he could open the door though, more loud bangs came from behind it. “Who this time!?” he thought opening the door.

This time it was Totodile. A bolt of lighting struck nearby followed by the roar of thunder. Totodile yelped as he dived into the base covering his head with his hands. Tristan struggled to close the door again before turning back to his second guest that night. “What brings you here?”

“It’s Rub-A-Dub River!” exclaimed Totodile standing up to face Tristan. “The water level is too high and too fast, it almost swept me away!” A flash of lightning lit the window again, causing him to jump. “I… I also hate lightning…”

“Well,” Tristan said pointing towards Torchic. “Now the whole team’s here.”

“Torchic, too!?”

“Yep. She came the same reason you did.”

“She doesn’t look so good. I hope she didn’t walk in this storm.”

“She did,” Tristan assured him, “I was just on my way to Kangaskan’s Storage to get her an Oran Berry. Wanna come?”

“What!? Out in the storm!? In… in the LIGHTNING!?” Totodile asked, panicking, “Wh… wh… why not use the berries in the toolbox!? Is something wrong with them?”

“You ate them all.”

“Oh… yeah…” Totodile said, remembering his poor performance on their last mission. “I… I’m sorry about that…”

“Well it’s okay. I’m going now though. You can stay here if you want.” Tristan began to head for the door, but stopped when he heard a strange sound. Totodile was facing the other way. “Totodile? Is… something wrong?”

“Hey Tristan?”

“Yeah? What’s up?”

He turned to Tristan. There was something about his expression that wasn’t right. “Do you … do you think… I… deserve to be on this team?”

Tristan gave a confused look. “What are you talking about?” This wasn’t like Totodile at all.

Totodile looked down to the ground once more. “I realized this on our last mission. Oh… I couldn’t do anything right! I did nothing good on our mission! I was useless…”

Tristan shook his head in disagreement. “That’s not tru–”

“STOP!!” Totodile shouted suddenly, surprising even himself. He lowered his voice again and continued, “Just… stop. I… I know you’re just trying to make me feel better. You know I’m right though. After all…” He pointed at the toolbox Tristan was still holding. “Who wants someone who hogs all the berries to himself. And… and who wants someone who is so stupid that they forget to pack the water?” His eyes were beginning to become moist, his speech beginning to tremble slightly. “Who passes out in the middle of a battle? Who… who lets their client just… walk off!? And… who misses out on the final battle!? What single thing good have I done for this team Tristan!?” He rubbed his eyes, preventing a tear from forming. It couldn’t have been just the mission that caused him to break down like this, it must have been something more. “I just… drag the team back… Oh I was so stupid to try to start one! Who was I kidding!? How did I think I could save them!? They meant everything to me! I just wanted to make them prou-!”

“TOTODILE!!” Tristan snapped. Totodile jumped again, not from the boom of thunder, but from the boom of Tristan’s voice. “What the heck has gotten into you!? Get a hold of yourself!”

“But I-”

“But what!?” Tristan interrupted, “Do you even hear what you’re saying! What on earth would cause you to think you’re useless!?”

“Well I… Because I-”

“Who is the one who always tries to keep the team’s spirits up!? The one who is always optimistic!?”

“… me?” Totodile answered, heavy with doubt, “But that doesn’t mean anyth-”

“Who is the one who came up with those great strategies in Silent Chasm when we fought Beedrill!?”

“I… I did,” he answered more confidently. Blazing-vapour-bone was his idea after all. “It still doesn-”

“Who was the one who worked so hard, even to the point of passing out!? That sounds like someone who’s pretty dedicated!”

“I… I worked that hard?”

“Who was the only one who believed me when no one else did!?”

“T… Torchic and I.”

“Don’t you see!?” Tristan ploughed on; “You’ve done a lot of work on this team! Is it your fault you’re a water Pokemon!? No! It's not your fault you struggled back in Uproar Forest! Is it your fault we forgot water!? No! Nobody expected that it would be as dry as a desert there! Is it your fault that all the berries were been eaten!? No! You ate them in order to stay to last as long as possible, which was long enough to really help out in that monster house! Still think you’re useless!?”

“Tristan… I… I…” Totodile said wiping another tear from his eye, “I don’t know what to say…”

Tristan lowered his voice, turning back to the door. “You don’t need to say anything. Now, I’m off to get that Oran Berry. Coming?”

“Yeah…” Totodile said getting to his feet to follow Tristan’s lead, “Yeah! I’ll come! Thanks Tristan!”

“It was nothing,” answered Tristan, barely tapping the door handle before it flung open. It looked less vicious from the inside than the outside. Reluctantly, they both stepped out, heading towards the village after working together to close the door again. He turned to Totodile, trying to speak over the howling wind. “I don’t want to hear you ever say something like that again! Okay!?”

“Sure thing!”

The rain fell as hard as ever, feeling like sharp little daggers against Tristan’s skin. Lightning lit the clouds every few seconds, accompanied by the ever-constant low rumbles of thunder. Totodile didn’t show it, but Tristan could tell that he was extremely nervous. At any moment he could be struck down instantly. The wind, though, had eased off, making it at least a little easier to run. As they were crossing the bridge to enter the Pokemon Village, Totodile stopped to look over the rail.

“Look at the river,” he commented, eyes wide with wonder, and worry, “I’ve never seen it like this.”

Tristan looked too. It wasn’t the calm river he saw a few days ago. The runoff from the hills caused it to become as turbulent as rapids, and way above its usual level. Inches beneath the deck, brownish water sloshed and churned, threatening to wash the entire bridge away. Tristan couldn’t explain it, but looking over the bridge made him extremely anxious. He partly blamed his earthy nature, but it was also as if he was being reminded of a past experience as well, though he had no idea what. All that mattered, though, was getting off the bridge as quickly as possible.

“You alright?” Totodile called after getting off the bridge.

Tristan nodded. “Don’t mind me!” he called back, “It’s nothing!”

A few minutes later, they had arrived at Kangaskan’s Storage. It took a minute to wake her up but eventually she was ready for service. “Dears?” she asked rubbing her eyes sleepily, “What are you doing up so late? And in this storm?”

“We need some Oran berries,” Totodile answered, “Torchic is sick.”

“Well… It's after hours, but for you, I think I’ll make an exception. Just give me a moment.” She disappeared back into her storehouse, but soon after returned with the requested items. “Here you go, best wishes to Torchic, okay dears?”

“You bet!” answered Totodile.

“Thanks,” Tristan added.

“Anytime dears,” she said cheerfully, “Except maybe not so late next time, alright?”

“Alright,” Totodile replied as they began to head back to their team base.

The storm went on with renewed fury, and by the time they’d reached the bridge again; Tristan’s eyes met a troubling site. To his dread, the river level had risen further, and now the deck of the bridge lay beneath an inch of the rapid water. It creaked and groaned under the stress as water pushed passed it.

Totodile didn’t seem to notice, and just walked right out into the middle of the bridge. “Tristan?” he asked turning back. Tristan hadn’t even set foot on the bridge. “Come on. I wanna get out of this storm.”

Tristan wanted to move, but his legs would simply refuse to do anything. What was going on? Why was he feeling this way? Was it because he feared being pushed off the bridge?

“It’s just a bitta water!” Totodile called. Now at the other side other side of the bridge.

“Easy for you to say!” Tristan snapped back. He turned his attention back to the bridge. Now there were two inches of water, and still rising. If he waited any longer it might be all but impossible to cross. He plucked up his courage and took his first step. The water was cold to the touch and accompanied by the pounding rain Tristan felt he too might need an Oran Berry. He took a couple more steps, trying to hold onto the flimsy railing for support. With every step he drew closer and closer to the middle of the bridge, where the water was fastest. With every step the water pushed harder and harder against him. The bridge continued to groan under his feet, and even began to sag under his added weight. The water was already up to his knees, and still rising! The railing he was clinging to bent further and further towards him forcing him to let go of the only support he had! He’d never felt so scared before in his life. But he didn’t want to admit it.

“You’re doing great!” Totodile cheered form the other side of the bridge, “Only halfway left! You can do it!” He jumped slightly as another bolt of lightning struck somewhere in the forest.

Tristan checked his progress. Indeed, he was halfway, though he felt he should have been all the way by now. It was only a few minutes ago that the fifteen-foot bridge seemed like just a hop, step and a jump. But now it might have well have been a hundred feet. He felt he would be swept away, and into the raging river. “I… I… I can’t!!” Tristan shouted back.

“What!?”

“I… I can’t make it!!”

“Sure you can!! Just take a couple more steps! Then it’s all calm water from there!”

The bridge suddenly lurched to the side, causing Tristan to stumble, barely holding on! It groaned and creaked louder than ever, sounds of wet snapping wood came from below. Would the bridge actually fall apart? Hesitantly, he raised his foot to take another step. Or, at least he tried to. Of all the times! Why now!? Suddenly he was struck by a powerful blast of wind. He lost his balance, looking up to the sky as the current swept him off his feet! High above him was a blurred figure in the shape of an enormous bird, with a blue shimmering trail behind it. Then he was in the water.

From his lips he cried a word he’d been trying to repress. “HELP!!!”

“TRISTAN!!!” he heard Totodile's voice scream, “TRISTAN!!! NO!!!”

***

“Oh man… am I dead yet?” Tristan opened his eyes, and shivered slightly. Suddenly he jumped to his feet, recalling the events that night. He was back in the base, in the straw bed. Torchic and Totodile were talking a slight distance from him.

Totodile turned his attention to Tristan, giving a relieved sigh. “Now that was thrilling.”

“How are you feeling?” Torchic asked.

“Better. You?”

“Oh I feel great now. As soon as this storm ends I’ll be good enough to head back to my place.”

“That’s good,” Tristan answered, satisfied. It was clear that she’d taken the Oran Berry. He too felt the sweet aftertaste of on Oran Berry in his own mouth. He gazed over at Totodile; “You saved me?”

“Yep,” he answered proudly, “You sunk like a rock, you know that?”

Tristan couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “Yet another reason why you’re not useless.”

“Yeah, you’re right!” Totodile answered happily.

Torchic looked between them, confused, “Did I… miss something?”

“I’ll explain later,” Totodile answered hastily, “Hey look, the storm’s eased off. We can probably head back now.”

The sound of pounding rain had eased off, replaced by the faint taps of drizzle. Looking out the window, Tristan could see the moon in the sky with clouds retreating to the west. The storm had finally passed. With no further to do Tristan, Torchic and Totodile walked to the entrance, saying their good-byes. If Uproar hadn’t made them tired, then this storm certainly did.

“Hold on!” Tristan spoke out just before his two friends left. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you!”

“Ask away,” Torchic answered.

“The leader of Team Blue. What’s his name?”

“Hang on,” Totodile said, surprised with himself; “we haven’t told you his name yet?”

“Nope.”

“I thought for sure we did,” Totodile continued.

“Well, sure we can tell you,” Torchic answered happily, “His name is Dave.”

“Dave?” Tristan repeated.

“Yep,” Totodile said, “That’s him.”

Instantly, Tristan felt as if a part of his human memory had just been shoved back into his brain. Dave... Dave had been a friend of his from the human world... He also had the memory of being lonely. Dave was his only best friend, and… Dave had disappeared just over three years ago. That was all Tristan could remember, that Dave, the only person who Tristan got a chance to get to know, the only person he could actually call a best friend as a human was here, in the Pokemon world, all this time. After so many years, he would finally be able to meet his old friend once more.

“You know what,” Tristan started to say, Torchic and Totodile giving him curious looks. “I… I think I do remember something from when I was a human after all.”

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