Chapter 14: A Great Loss
Saltriv's Home
Saltriv
In, and out. In, and out. Deep breaths, feel the sunlight on my leaf. Let it revitalize and energize me.
The sunlight from my room's skylight never felt so good.
We had made it out of the blanket fort. We were safe. We were safe.
"Are you all alright?" Acacia said. I looked over at him, and saw him lying down, neck draped over Lidequir near a scattered board game.
"I am!" I said, with a wave of my leaf. Truth be told…I wasn't entirely sure. But I'd manage!
I glanced over at the picture on the wall I drew, of me, Burhalla, and Gen. The sleepover was just last night, but with everything that had happened it felt like it was ages ago. I hoped they were doing alright.
"I…think I am," I heard Gen say. I glanced over at him. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing heavily. Our episode in the Mystery Dungeon must have really shaken him…I can't imagine what this would all be like for someone who barely had any memories.
"I'm still in a bit of shock. If our blanket fort became a mystery dungeon, then…" Burhalla said, trailing off. What was left unsaid didn't need to be said. We all knew what it meant.
At least we'd be able to demolish the blanket fort easily. If the entire village went the way of Mossy Town…
"It'll be ok. We just need to find the next human, and then we can fix all this," Lidequir said, his usual joking tone gone.
"Kids, don't worry. We'll make it through this," mom assured us, a gentle smile on her face. "This is just another calamity. We—"
I heard shouting from the main room. Before I could react, Drakloak rushed into my room, looking panicked.
"Team Seedlings! I need your help! It's terrible!" she stammered, her tail lashing from side to side.
Wait, why was Drakloak here in my room?!
"Drakloak? What are you doing here?" Mom asked, looking down at the dragon. "Shouldn't you be watching the shrine right now?"
"I…I…"
"Calm down, what is it?" Acacia asked, his petals tensing up.
"Th-the monster…it took Dreepy! And I can't go look for them myself, I have to watch the shrine soon!" Drakloak shouted, shaking her head.
The monster had attacked again?! First PNS-NT, now Dreepy! Someone had to put a stop to it!
"We'll go find Dreepy!" Burhalla shouted. "We found one of your coworkers once, we can do it again!"
Right! We were a search party now, we could look for them ourselves!
"Wait, us?! But we just got out of the blanket fort!" Gen protested. I looked over at him. He didn't seems hurt, but he was reacting to the idea of going off to find Dreepy like he'd just been cut by a Leaf Blade. Considering what we'd all been through, it was hard to blame him. But now wasn't the time! Dreepy was in danger!
I laid a vine on him. "It'll be ok!" I said, smiling. "We found Flapple the day after we found you you, we can do this too!"
Gen hesitated a bit, before sighing. "I…ok," Gen said, though he remained frowning. I hoped he'd be ok.
Acacia put a foot forward, petals tensed up and eyes wide.
"Are you sure about this?" Acacia said. "I know you're excited to be a search party, but you just got out of there!"
"Yep! I'm sure!" I said. Plus, if I stayed here, then they might ask about…
I wasn't ready for that yet.
"Yeah! It'll be our first search mission since becoming an official team!" Burhalla cheered, digging into his bag and raising his badge into the air. "Team Searchlights, to the rescue!"
Acacia still seemed unsure, while Lidequir looked at me with a warm smile. Mom's petals drooped slightly as she let out a sigh.
"...alright, good luck, all of you," mom said, patting my leaf with a vine. "Stay safe, and if things get too much for you, come back immediately, alright?"
"Here, take this," Lidequir said, handing Burhalla a connection orb. "I'll have PNS-NT Recycle it after you go out."
"Thank you!" He said, before smashing it on the ground. Gen flinched and I put my vine on his shoulder. He was so jumpy! I wonder if he was like that before he lost his memories, too.
"Let's go!" I said, beginning to walk out of my house, with my teammates by my side.
Our first search mission since becoming an official team. Part of me was nervous about it, for Dreepy, and how we'd do fresh out of one Mystery Dungeon, especially when there was the monster involved.
But we'd already come far in just a couple days. We could do this! We had to, for Dreepy's sake!
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Overcast Village
Gen
What was Burhalla following? And what was that orb? It didn't look like an escape orb. It looked more like a Pokeball than anything else. But if it was a Pokeball, then why did he shatter it? Why would Pokemon even have Pokeballs at all?
I wanted to go home. I wanted to be back where I felt safe and things made sense.
But here I was, dragged along for another adventure not even an hour after escaping from that blanket fort.
Was this just going to keep happening? Maybe I should quit the team—
No! No, I couldn't do that! If I did that, then Saltriv and Burhalla would probably hate me, and I'd probably be kicked out of Saltriv's house, and then…
I'd be all alone. Just like…
then. I couldn't go through something like that all over again.
I just… I just needed to hang in there and endure this. Endure this weird, uncomfortable body, endure these terrifying adventures, endure the constant fear of losing my only friends here, until I could finally go home.
But would I even ever go home? The entire time I was here, I was no closer to finding out how I came here, or how to go back. Lidequir was apparently human and she'd been here for
years. Was that going to happen to me too?
…no, I had to hold onto hope. If I was brought from my world to here, then there had to be a way back, too.
I just…needed to find it.
Burhalla weaved around a building, and headed into the forest. A flurry of smells assaulted my new nose: orans and pechas and cheris and many other berries. But what I was most curious about was what Burhalla was doing. It was like he knew exactly where to go, almost like he was following some sort of guide.
"Um, Burhalla? What are you doing?" I asked, scratching the side of my head.
… It couldn't make it past my new whiskers. I missed being able to reach my forehead.
"Following the connection lines!" Burhalla answered with a grin. "They're lines I can see for a while after shattering that connection orb. They—"
"Woah, there's something weird up ahead!" Saltriv interrupted.
I looked ahead of us, and saw…a dome of darkness. I couldn't see into it at all.
"That's…huh. Never seen a mystery dungeon entrance look like that before," Burhalla said, frowning. "And last I checked, Twig Woodland was the only mystery dungeon this close to the village."
It looked like the entrance to Blistering Shore, except instead of being like a wall, it was…this.
…this was a mystery dungeon, wasn't it?
"Are…we going in?" I asked, glancing over at the dome.
"Of course! We should investigate and tell everyone all about it so no one accidentally wanders in! Plus, the connection lines lead here, so Dreepy is probably inside!" Saltriv said with a wave of their leaf.
"Yeah! And we have an escape orb in case it's too much for us," Burhalla added.
Another mystery dungeon, so soon after the blanket fort. More of those confusing passageways and mazes. More of those horrid dungeon mon attacking me and ambushing me when I least expected it. I… didn't think I was ready for that.
But…it was at least better than being alone.
I took a deep breath, and said, "O…Ok. Let's go."
"That's the spirit!" Saltriv cheered, before darting into the dome with Burhalla.
I hesitated for a few seconds, before following after them.
Illusory Grotto 1F
As we walked into the dungeon, I looked around. The walls were made out of blankets, and—
No, no no no no! Not
here! Not
this place again!
The pain it hurt it hurt it hurt I remembered it so clearly the Shuppet and the Curse and Missingno and it's all flooding back.
I wanted to go home. I wanted out of here. I wanted to go back. I wanted to go. I wanted to go.
I let out a wail. I tried to run back out the entrance. I stumbled over something. I landed on my stomach.
Help help help I needed to get out of here I needed out I needed out I needed out—
Something warm and scaly wrapped around me and I screamed and thrashed in its grip. No no no! Help me!
Help me—
"Gen! Gen, it's just me!" Burhalla said, and I realized that the warm scaly things were his arms, hugging me. "It's ok, nothing bad happened!"
"B-but the blanket f-fort…and…and…" I whimpered, feeling myself tremble. I saw Burhalla and Saltriv glance at each other with concerned looks on their faces.
"It's ok. If you don't feel safe here, you can go back ahead of us. We won't judge you. I know you went through a lot back in the blanket fort," Burhalla said, rubbing my shoulder.
"N-no! I…" I managed to say between rapid breaths. I couldn't stay here. I couldn't go back or I'd be alone. I couldn't. I couldn't I couldn't I—
"Let's go back," Saltriv said, leaf drooped over their back. They were shaking too. Were
they also scared right now? "Gen, you can stay with mom and Team Seedlings while…we explore here."
"NO! I…" I hesitated, then said, "I…I want to stay with you."
I needed to endure this. I needed to endure this or I'd be alone.
For a moment, stopped shaking, and frowned at me.
"Are you sure? You look really scared…" Saltriv said.
"I'm…I'm sure," I said. I didn't know if I really was, but it was either this, or being alone without my only friends in this world.
I'd choose this in a heartbeat over being alone.
"...alright, if you're sure," Burhalla said, letting go of me.
I took a deep breath, then, clutching onto my reunion cape for comfort, I stood back up.
Just…endure it. Just endure it. I just needed to endure it all. It wouldn't be forever. It
couldn't be forever.
There had to be a way back. A way away from all of this and back to the safety of my home and family…
"Wait, why
does it look like the blanket fort anyways? It's all the way back in my room!" Saltriv said, looking around, and I followed their gaze. There were blankets of every color I could think of, reds and blues and greens and yellows and it was almost like I was right back in the rainbow void—
No, I had to stay calm. Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
"I…have no clue. This is really weird, now that you mention it," Burhalla said, before staring at something near my feet.
"Um, what is it?" I asked.
"Gen…look down," he said, with wide eyes. I looked down, and saw a green orb with yellow spots. There was a pure white silhouette in the center, looking almost like some sort of sprouting seed. That must have been what I stumbled over. What was so special about it, though?
Saltriv's leaf kept twitching as they stared at the orb. "That's…that's a Revive All Orb!"
"Uh…wh-what's that?" I asked, tapping the orb with my foot.
"It's an extremely rare orb! They're only rarely found with really strong dungeon Pokemon!" Saltriv said, before looking around. "But I don't see any dungeon Pokemon here at all…"
…those strong Pokemon were right around the corner, weren't they?
"We'll have to brace ourselves for a really tough time here…unless…" Burhalla let out a gasp. "The rumors must be true!"
"What do you mean? What rumors?" I asked, trembling.
"'There's said to be strange, illusory dungeons that appear from time to time.' Ones that also have revive orbs in them, but without strong Pokemon," Burhalla said, pacing back and forth. "They're called Illusory Grottos, and they take the appearance of other mystery dungeons. I always thought they were just a bunch of made-up stories, but if this dungeon looks like the blanket fort, and we found a Revive All Orb here…"
"Then this must be an Illusory Grotto!" I realized, my eyes widening. "Um…h-how dangerous are they?"
"Not very dangerous at all. They don't even have dungeon Pokemon…at least, according to the rumors," Burhalla said, frowning.
"Wait, but are we
sure this is an Illusory Grotto? Don't those only appear to those who have recently suffered a great loss?" Saltriv asked, swaying their leaf to the side.
"Yeah, that's what all the stories about them say," Burhalla said, picking up the orb. "That's why I thought they didn't exist. None appeared to me after…mom died."
I saw his tail flame dim a bit. Maybe we shouldn't continue this conversation.
"Um…can we continue on?" I asked, glancing around at the blanket walls. "I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to."
"Sounds good to me, really. We can talk as we explore," Burhalla said, heading towards a corridor to the left. Me and Saltriv followed after him, and I saw Saltriv glancing towards me, head tilted.
"Gen, do you think the great loss is something that happened to you?" Saltriv asked, and I felt myself tense up.
"What do you mean by a 'great loss'?" I asked, fidgeting with my reunion cape.
"Something really bad happening to you, like losing a loved one," Burhalla answered, swishing his tail.
…that…sounded a lot like what happened to me. Being ripped away from my family and world and forced into this body was really really bad.
"And you think…that happened to me?" I asked, looking down at myself.
"Everything seems to be pointing to it, at least. And you
did lose your memories… something bad could have happened to you before we met you," Burhalla said. "Maybe… you lost your family? It'd explain why you were all alone."
My eyes widened, and I felt my breaths begin to speed up. Was… was that why this dungeon appeared? Because I got separated from my family? Did that mean that I'd never see them again? There had to be a way back, right? Right? What exactly was the criteria for a "great loss" to cause an Illusory Grotto? Would just me being temporarily separated from my family count? It had to, right? Wait, did this mean the dungeon knew what happened to me? Was it alive somehow? Was it being controlled by someone? Did whoever was controlling it know I was human? Was—
"Burhalla, don't you think you're overthinking it a bit? Maybe this loss is just Gen losing his memories?" Saltriv suggested, breaking me out of my thoughts.
"I… don't think so, Saltriv," Burhalla said, scratching his forehead. "None of the humans encountered Illusory Grottos soon after waking up. Why would it be different for a normal Pokémon who lost his memories?"
Wait… did the other humans lose their memories? Was…was that why Acacia and Lidequir thought I might be one?
Oh no.
They were onto me because of my lie about being amnesiac.
This… I'd really gotten myself into a big mess, hadn't I?
"Oh, there's the staircase!" Saltriv said, as we entered another room. Just like they said, there was a staircase, and a sprouting seed that looked very similar to the silhouette in the Revive All Orb.
"Oh, nice, a reviver seed!" Burhalla said, picking the seed up and putting it in his bag. "Let's go!"
Together, we headed up the stairs, as my mind raced with thoughts about how screwed I was.
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Illusory Grotto 2F, Five Minutes Later
Burhalla
As we trekked through the Illusory Grotto, my mind raced with thoughts about what sort of great loss could have caused it. The allure of the reviver seeds we kept finding did little to stave those thoughts away.
It couldn't have been mom's death. That was two years ago.
Could it have been from Saltriv having shadow powers now? I still didn't know what to think about that, though they were definitely still my best friend. Maybe that was it, though it still seemed a bit far-fetched. They didn't seem that bothered by it after the initial shock.
It most likely had something to do with Gen. I still knew so little about the mysterious Oshawott. He lost his memories, he has problems with anxiety, he doesn't like being alone, and he woke up next to Saltriv in the middle of Twig Woodland. That's all I knew about him. For all I knew, he could have suffered a great tragedy before I found him. Nobody said you had to
remember your great loss for an Illusory Grotto to form, right?
It honestly worried me sometimes, having a teammate that I knew so little about. Still, I didn't regret letting him on the team or being friends with him one bit. Sure, he was cowardly and struggling with moves, but he was kind, I could see he was trying his best, and he hadn't lied to me at all.
What could have happened to make him lose his memory, though? He couldn't have been a human, or he'd have mentioned it long before now, like all the other humans. Could whatever happened to him to cause that also have something to do with whatever that great loss was?
Gah, I had no idea! There's so many pieces of the puzzle, but none of them fit together, no matter how hard I try!
There has to be a solution, though. There has to be a way to make it all make sense! I had to figure it out, I had to! I told Gen we'd uncover what happened to him! If we can't do that, then…
I had to find out. For my new friend.
"Um…maybe the Illusory Grotto didn't form for us? Maybe it appeared for someone else, and we just…found it?" Gen suggested, glancing around at the blanket walls.
… I suppose it'd be a possibility, but…
"That seems unlikely. Illusory Grottos are said to only last a couple hours. We'd have to be incredibly lucky to stumble upon one for someone else," I said, flicking my tail.
"Maybe it was for Drakloak?" Saltriv said, swaying their leaf to the side. "This was on the way to Dreepy."
That…was a good point. They had just lost Dreepy, after all.
"That's true…" I said. I hoped not, though. That almost certainly wouldn't mean anything good for Dreepy.
"The staircase!" Saltriv exclaimed, and I looked up. There it was! I wondered how many floors this would be.
Nonetheless, we had to keep going! We had to find Dreepy!
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Illusory Grotto 3F, Five Minutes Later
Gen
Deep breaths. In, and out. In, and out.
This was a safe place. There were no dungeon Pokemon here. Nothing was coming to hurt me. I wasn't going to get hurt. I wasn't going to get hurt.
I needed to keep going, or I'd be all alone.
My eyes kept glancing around at the blanket walls. With all their different colors, it was almost like…
Like the rainbow void.
No no no no no stop thinking about that stop stop stop no no no I wanted to go home I wanted to go home help help help—
"Are you sure you're ok?" Burhalla asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.
I took a few deep breaths. I couldn't let myself be left behind.
"...yeah. I am," I said. I needed to keep going. I needed to.
"Alright," Burhalla said. He picked up a seed off the floor, and we pressed on.
Soon, we came to an open room. I could see a light at the back of it. That must be the exit. We were almost out. We were almost out—
I yelped, as
something started to appear in front of us. It looked to have three ferocious heads, ragged, three-part wings, and a torn tail.
Oddly, though, it seemed…translucent?
Nevermind that, how were we going to beat a Hydreigon?! Aren't they super hostile and aggressive?!
"I thought there weren't supposed to be dungeon Pokemon here!" I screamed, clutching tightly onto my reunion cape.
"There
aren't!" Burhalla said, getting into a fighting stance. "We can take it, though! We're almost out!"
I braced for battle, and saw my teammates do the same. I didn't feel confident, though. Dragon-types resisted all three of our types…
Wait, why were Saltriv's eyes wide?
"Wait…I think that's the Voice of Life!" Saltriv exclaimed.
Wait, what? Did that mean it was really powerful or something?
"Voice of Life? What do you mean?!" I asked, trembling.
The Hydreigon looked straight at me. I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest! But…it only gave me a sad, sympathetic look.
Then, just as quickly as it appeared, it faded away, like it was never there to begin with. My grip on my reunion cape only got tighter. What just happened?! Was it still there, or was it gone? Was it going to attack?
"What…what was that all about?!" I asked.
"I…don't know," Burhalla said. "I didn't know that the Voice of Life could appear in these places. Then again, I didn't even know these even really existed until we entered here."
"Was it something to do with Gen, maybe?" Saltriv suggested, and my eyes widened in fear. Did that Hydreigon somehow know I was human? Was it going to tell my teammates, or anyone else?! If it did know that I was human, how? Could anyone else figure it out?
"Let's discuss it as we go on. We have to find Dreepy!" Burhalla said, and Saltriv nodded.
"Let's go, then," I said, letting go of my reunion cape. Finally, we'd be out of this place.
But what just happened? Why was that "Voice of Life" looking at me like that? What was the "great loss" that made this place? What did this all mean for me?
I'd have to worry about that later. I didn't want to spend another second here.
Together, the three of us exited the illusory blanket fort.