Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Magic

by Strayan Phoenix

Bon Voyage

CHAPTER 2

[Day One of the Expedition To The West]
[Roughly two kilometres west of Sharpedo Bluff]

“... Well, now for the long, boring part,” CJ sighed, “crossing this ocean!”

The group was now a good distance away from home, but Sharpedo Bluff was still visible on the horizon behind them.

“Oi Archie,” called Zappo, “How’s the view?”

Archie, who was milling about lazily overhead, scanned around, “Nothing but water, dude. A couple of Wingulls out and about, but little else, sorry”.

“So, how’s your life, Gemma?” asked Zappo.

“Meh,” Gemma tilted her head, “Nice and quiet, really. We went searching for water geysers around Blizzard Island the other day. That turned out to be a big waste of time. Nothing there except Piplups and well... blizzards”.

“What about you, Steve? How’s life treating you?”

“Same here, buddy. I often travel this way when I’m going to see my mother, who hangs around out there with her friends,” explained Steve, “Once we reach their usual rendezvous point, the destination will be within visual range”.

“Estimated time to destination?” asked Zappo.

“Six or seven days,” replied Steve nonchalantly.

Zappo gawked in horror. "And I thought the trip to the Hidden Land was long...!"

“How long does it take your mother to get there?” asked CJ.

“She lives out in that direction,” replied Steve, “So maybe ten, fifteen minutes tops”.

“You’re really keen to get to this place, aren’t you?” asked Gemma.

“Why shouldn’t we be?” asked CJ, “This is new and uncharted territory for Pokémon-kind! Of course we’re impatient to get there!”

“Ugh, this is gonna be soooo boring!” Zappo sank in despair.

“Not really,” CJ murmured, “I’m sure we can find something to talk about. For example, do you remember the time we went on that escort mission to the Northern Desert? With that Wooper..?”

“Please don’t remind me!” Zappo held his head in frustration.

“What happened?” asked Gemma.

“Here we go,” Zappo muttered.

“Well,” CJ began, “the mission was to escort a Wooper to see his friend out in the Northern Desert...”

[Flashback, Northern Desert Entrance]

“Don’t lag behind, please!” CJ the Snivy urged, “It won’t take that long, but there’s a lot of bad guys in between here and your friend!”

Wooper just made a huge, silly grin, “Derrrp!”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’, then?” Zappo the Pikachu frowned, “Let’s get going!”

As they made their way across the maze of caverns and dunes, several hostile Pokémon suddenly jumped at them near a small spring.

“Ambush!” cried CJ as a Bone Club struck him across the head, sending him backwards. He countered with Vine Whip, knocking the Cubone out with a blow to the neck and super-effective damage.

Zappo dove underground to avoid a Sand-Attack with Dig, and resurfaced, striking the Trapinch with an uppercut to the jaw and knocking it out of commission.

A Sandshrew and a Larvitar surrounded Wooper on either side and pounded it with Fury Swipes and Rock Throw respectively. Wooper simply giggled and ran about in a circle. CJ quickly dispatched both assailants with Vine Whip and quickly glanced around for any more attackers.

Wooper then ran headlong into Zappo from behind, in turn knocking him straight into the path of an Aron’s Headbutt. Zappo cringed in pain as the attack connected, silently cursing Wooper’s clumsiness, and then dove underground for another Dig attack. The Aron blinked and peered downwards, only to cop a punch to the chin as Zappo rushed back up, the super-effective attack knocking it out instantly.

“And that’s the last of them for now, I think,” sighed CJ, “Let’s get the little guy and move on”.

“Hah, that’s funny,” Zappo looked around, “Where’d he go?”

“Oh bugger,” CJ facepalmed, “He’s walked off on us”.

A voice echoed from further up the cavern, “Herrrp! Derrrp!”

“What the...” Zappo frowned.

“He’s obviously gone on ahead of us,” CJ started running, “I hope he doesn’t do anything too stupid!”

“When we find him, I’m gonna kill him!” Zappo muttered.

They rushed into a clearing to see a Baltoy and a Carnivine throwing the hapless Wooper around like a ragdoll.
Zappo launched forward with Quick Attack, collecting the Carnivine in a fierce tackle. Baltoy looked about in confusion.

“What the-” was all it could utter before a Vine Whip to the face made it silent.

“And stay down!” shouted Zappo.

“Herpa-Derp!” yelled Wooper gleefully, jumping around.

“Come on, you!” Zappo grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and dragged it along, “I swear if you wander off on us again, I will let the wild Pokémon bash you to a pulp!”

“Zappo!” CJ caught his attention, “Look over there!”

Zappo squinted to see a Sandslash in the distance, dragging a Burmy along behind it.

“Isn’t that the Pokémon in the letter that it has to meet?” asked CJ.

“I reckon so,” Zappo frowned, “Looks like a Burmy to me”.

“We’ll have to rescue it from that Sandslash by the looks of things,” CJ murmured.

“Say no more,” Zappo grinned, dropped the Wooper and dashed straight towards the Ground-Type Mouse Pokémon.

“Hmm?” Sandslash turned about, “What the-”

Zappo dove straight underground for a Dig attack as Sandslash jumped back a step.

“Where on earth...” Sandslash frowned as CJ twirled about, unleashing a Leaf Tornado. Sandslash instinctively rolled into a ball as the attack ploughed into it, sending it rolling.

“Herpa-Derp!” Wooper recognised its friend.

“Derpa-Herp!” replied Burmy with a big grin.

“Oh arceus, there’s two of them!” Zappo looked exasperated as he emerged from underground.

“Let’s get these two out of here before-” began CJ.

“What the Hell was that for?!” Sandslash exclaimed furiously.

“-he comes back,” he finished.

Zappo leapt in front of the raging Ground Type, “Because we’re after that Burmy”.

Sandslash briefly looked confused, then sneered, turned and walked away, “Be my guest! Friggin’ prick’s nothing but trouble anyway...”

CJ stared in confusion, “What, that’s it? No epic fight scene?”

“Keep the bastard! Get ‘im away from me! I honestly don’t give a flying...” Sandslash trailed off as it stomped away.

“Herpa-Derp!”

“Derpa-Herp!”

CJ and Zappo gave each other confused expressions as they activated their Explorer badges, teleporting all four Pokemon back home in a mysterious flash of light.

[End Flashback]

“I don’t get it,” frowned Steve, “What was so bad about that?”

“Those two were fuckin’ MORONS!” exclaimed Zappo, “That’s EXACTLY why we stopped doing Escort missions shortly after because we didn’t want to have to put up with anyone like them anymore!”

“I see...” Marco mused.

“It wasn’t the trigger, but it was a big factor that lead us to that decision. The last escort we went on, the client nearly killed herself with her own stupidity,” CJ murmured loud enough for everyone to hear, “She walked right onto a Warp Pad trap and ended up in a Monster House of all things. It was a miracle we rescued her in time”.

“She looked a right mess when we got back though,” Zappo added, “The only thing that kept her alive was our supply of Reviver Seeds and Oran Berries, which were entirely spent”.

“Was the mission a success in the end?” asked Gemma.

“Miraculously enough, yes,” replied CJ, “All we had to do was take her sight-seeing”.

“Well what an adventure that was then,” said Steve, raising an eyebrow.

“Bloody nightmare, more like!” Zappo muttered.

There was an agonisingly long moment of silence, with the exception of the waves rushing about and the wind in their faces.

[Day Two]

“Hmm... I spy with my little eye...” Zappo looked around them, “...something beginning with ‘C’”.

“Oh let me guess,” CJ rolled his eyes, “Clouds?”

“Yup,” Zappo started drumming his paws against Gemma’s shell in a rhythmic pattern, “Alright then... something beginning with ‘W’”.

“Water,” came the instantaneous reply.

“Damn, you’re good,” Zappo frowned, “Alright then...”

“Something starting with ‘S’!” shouted Archie from above.

“The Sea,” Zappo deadpanned.

“Nope. Sharpedo!”

Everyone turned as a large pack of Sharpedoes menacingly closed in on the convoy from several directions.

“That doesn’t look good!” CJ exclaimed, “Battle stations, gang!”

Zappo flashed a wicked grin, “Bring it!”

The Lapras all started manoeuvring about as the Water/Dark Type swarm rushed in with their fangs bared. Everything suddenly exploded into motion as they assaulted from all sides, trying to bite and attack the lone travellers.

“Eat THIS!” Zappo shouted as he unleashed a Thunderbolt in all directions. Multiple scores of assailants were brought down by that single salvo, however that vast electrical power affected the three Lapras as well, causing them all to cringe in pain.

“Please don’t do that again!” Marco grit his teeth as he swerved to avoid a Bite attack.

A Sharpedo leapt out of the water straight for Gemma’s neck. A blast of fire from above slammed it back down and out of the way.

“Thanks Arch!” yelled CJ as he Leaf-Bladed another leaper across the face.

Archie didn’t seem to respond, and instead shifted his Flamethrower blast at another target.

“Do you usually come across a mob like this?!” asked Zappo as he batted away an attacker with Focus Punch, “Ugh! Arseholes and their flamin’ Rough Skin ability...”

“No, this is the first time!” Steve yelped as he blasted a Sharpedo with Ice Beam, “I have heard that gangs like this occasionally patrol these waters, but I never knew that was true!”

“Go away!” Gemma screeched, “They’re everywhere!”

“It’s a Zerg Rush!” exclaimed Steve as something nipped at his tail.

“Good thing they’re real easy to knock out then,” Zappo remarked, punching away another Sharpedo.

Marco suddenly screamed loudly, “AHHHRRGH! Getitoffgetitoffgetitoffgetitoff!”

“What?” Zappo swivelled about in concern.

Marco thrashed about, revealing a Sharpedo with its jaws latched firmly around Marco’s left fore-flipper.

“I got this! Hold it up for me!” Archie dove down straight at him. He grabbed the Brutal Pokémon by the jaws, flapping his wings frantically to avoid getting wet, and pulled with all his might. A Sharpedo leapt straight up and latched itself on Archie’s leg.

“Get off him, ya bastard!” Zappo launched a Thunderbolt without hesitation, engulfing both the target and Archie, which triggered a chain reaction. The electricity then passed from Archie into the Sharpedo he was wrestling with, on into Marco, into the water, crippled the remaining Sharpedoes and fried the other Lapras again. Archie cringed and caught himself from falling. The Sharpedo grunted and released its grip, falling and disappearing into the depths with the rest of its pack.
The convoy all looked around warily for any signs of more attackers, and then relaxed.

“What the Hell was all that?!” exclaimed CJ.

“A Sharpedo attack,” Gemma stated the obvious, “You’ve never seen one before?”

“Not one like that, no,” replied CJ.

“That’s gonna smart in the morning...” remarked Zappo, noticing a trail of bright red blood emitting from a bite pattern on Marco’s damaged flipper.

“Screw that, it’s smarting now!” Marco cringed.

“Just settle down,” said CJ soothingly, “and we’ll grab an Oran Berry for you to much on- ” He stopped when he noticed that three of the four crates were missing.

“Oh that’s not good! Cargo overboard!” he went into a panic, “They must’ve fallen off during the battle or something!” They all looked around frantically, spotting them floating away in the distance behind them.

“Bugger!” Zappo slammed his paw on the rim of Gemma’s shell. He leapt across onto Marco, and checked the contents of the remaining crate. “We’ve lost everything except the berries and the elixirs,” he shook his head, “So no food until we get to our destination”.

“Or any Reviver Seeds in case of another attack,” murmured Archie.

“We’re gonna have to really move now then, if that’s the case!” said Gemma.

“Don’t worry,” said Marco, “We’re not going to starve to death after just one night without food. We’ll just be really hungry when we get there, that’s all”.

“Oh that’s just going to be swell!” muttered Gemma.

[Day Three]

"C'mon, get out of it, ya mongrel!" Zappo snarled, tugging on his backpack with all his might, using a protruding shell spine for leverage. The Basculin on the other end growled menacingly, until an Ice Beam blasted it from behind, causing it to lose its grip.

"Stupid fish," Marco snorted derisively, breathing out whisps of condensation as he spoke.

[Day Four]

"He's on the left! He's on the left!" CJ exclaimed, staring intently into the water, "Get ready, Zappo!"

Gemma and Marco drifted apart as a Gyarados surged from the depths, making another attack pass, throwing up a plume of water.

As it twisted about in mid-air to attack Gemma, Zappo tensed up and launched a Thunderbolt to keep it at bay. The quadruple-effective attack made short work of the beast's consciousness, and it plummeted back into the sea with a resounding splash.

"Damn Gyarados, thinking they can waltz in and attack whenever they feel like it, just because they're big," muttered Steve.

[Evening of Day Six]

“This sucks,” grumbled Zappo, his stomach gargling loudly. All the berries were now gone, leaving a handful of elixirs left.

The sunset was starting beginning on the horizon, and the line of sight was becoming limited.

“What a beautiful picture,” CJ stared around them, “To think, we saved the world from a future that didn’t have anything like this anymore. I’m telling you, it really is something we take for granted”.

“Hmm,” Marco cast his gaze to the horizon, “It is, isn’t it?”

"Just one more sleep, and that'll be it!" CJ grinned excitedly, "I can't wait to see what this new land will be like!"

"About bloody time. I don't I'd be able to take another day out in the middle of nowhere doing nothing," Zappo yawned and shuffled about to find a good resting position, "Big day tomorrow, making history again and all that. Good night”.

CJ watched the waves for several more minutes and dozed off himself.

[The Following Morning]

“Oi! Zappo! Wake Up!”

“Huh, what?” Zappo shot up with a start, using his paw to shield his face from the piercing sunrise.

“We’re at the rendezvous point,” said Steve, “See?”

Zappo blinked and saw a fourth Lapras talking with several other Pokémon.

“Hi mom!” yelled Steve with a wave of his flipper. The Lapras smiled and waved back. “Look, you can see the coastline from here!” He continued, pointing.

Zappo strained his eyes, and sure enough made out a series of cliffs and beaches far off in the distance.

“This is it!” exclaimed CJ, “There’s no turning back now!”

Archie was already overhead meandering about and watching the coast with excitement.

“Archie, what’s the view like?” asked Zappo.

“It’s... utterly amazing! From here, I can already make out lots of trees and hills, as well as mountains further off. I’m guessing that it will be similar to where we’re from in many respects. Similar climate, similar greenery, lots of forests, stuff like that”.

“Where there’s forests, there’s food,” Zappo assured the group.

“And adventures!” CJ started shivering with excitement, “and new faces to meet! I still can’t believe this is actually happening!”

“We’re gonna be pioneers!” smiled Marco.

“Last one there’s a Slowbro!” yelled Zappo.

“No, don’t say that!” exclaimed Steve.

“You’re on!” smiled Gemma, bolting forwards and leaving the other two behind.

“She’s always been the more competitive one...” Marco shook his head as he took off after her.

“I didn’t know you were this quick!” CJ held on for dear life as water splashed in his face, “Even Marco wasn’t this fast when he took us to the Hidden Land...”

“Marco’s the relaxed one of our group, so he doesn’t get into physical activity all that much, except for when he goes to the Hidden Land,” replied Gemma, “And even then...”

Zappo and CJ could clearly identify the shoreline and the beaches which slowly grew bigger as they approached. After what seemed like an hour, Gemma finally came to rest on the beach, panting slightly from the exertion.

CJ stared at the ground in awe, “... We’re here! We’re actually here!”

Zappo jumped off and took a few paces around. The sand was nice and warm, and heated up the soles of his feet. There was a moment’s silence as they listened to the waves crashing against the rocks further up the coast. He gazed at the forests in the distance and turned around with an affirmative nod, “Not bad. Not bad at all!”

END CHAPTER 2

Comments

[Romaji]

“That’s gonna smart in the morning...” remarked Zappo, noticing a trail of bright red blood emitting from a bite pattern on Marco’s damaged flipper.

“That’s gonna start in the morning...” remarked Zappo, noticing a trail of bright red blood emitting from a bite pattern on Marco’s damaged flipper.

[Tehpikachu]

Hmm, so this place was there this whole time, within reach, no less, and not a single Pokemon has been here before? :/

[Xx-Sniper_Masters-xX]

LOL DERRRRRRRRRRRRRRP

[Nuhri1995]

2578131 I'm afraid you're wrong there, lad/lass, seeing as some words like 'smart' can have multiple meanings depending on it's use.

[forevertheDoctor]

Lol Wooper XD

[catfire13]

HERP A DERP

[Crescent Quill]

i just have one question did the whole wooper story really happen?

[Ocean Waves]

Now the big question? How do they plan on getting back home?