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Sojaveña Wilds Silver Ravine Mystery Dungeon

Reader mode
Seth would make a much better heel, Archie figured. Faces were boring – even the best face wasn’t half the showman of even the most mediocre heel. And above all else, the Lycanroc was a performer at heart. They’d’ve loved him over at Pokestar Studios… Man, Archie missed movies. Well, there was nothing else for it. Seth was asking if he wanted info on the remaining Cipher admins, and the Dewott figured he’d be a fool not to take the Lycanroc up on that offer.

“Yeah! Dakim mentioned four names back at Terminal Two – Ardos, Eldes, Gorigan, and Nascour,” Archie said, “And then there’s also Miror B. and his four lackeys. Are we missing anyone else?”

Anything Seth knew would be helpful, the man had fought Cipher for years after all!
 
Seth nodded, tallying the names on his paws.

"Yeah, that's all the important ones that see field duty. The top brass probably ain't on Forlas, too much political bullshit to deal with back on Earth for them to waste their time here."

Seth grinned, obviously enjoying the chance to be the one in the know, and give valuable information.

"For starters, the 'four lackeys'. That'll be Magmar Trudly, Electabuzz Folly, Zangoose Reath, and Seviper Ferma. I mentioned earlier that anyone goin' up against those guys would wanna be taking them on one by one, yeah? Acting together, they're a serious threat. Individually, not so much. That goes double for their boss – don't expect to nail him first before you get the rest of 'em. Take out the goons, and you'll soften up that ridiculous fucking bird they work for."

Seth curled his lip in contempt. He didn't even want to say Miror B's name – that was real hatred in his eyes.

"Gorigan's a regular asshole. Short temper, easily riled up – ended up as a Vigoroth. I haven't run into him so much as the rest of them, but I know he's not on great terms with the top dogs in the syndicate. Could be he'd turn on them if he felt the wind blowing a different way? I don't know, man. Anyway, he's smarter than his attitude would imply, and last I checked he was in charge of a bunch of grunt-level dickheads, too, so watch out for that."

He waved that one away, evidently not considering Gorigan a serious threat.

"Ardos and Eldes are the twin sons of one of the highest-up motherfuckers in the organisation. The heirs, I guess. They have this whole dignified, presentable act. Might try to charm or persuade you. Don't believe a fucking thing they promise you, I swear on Entei's asscrack. Haven't fought them on Forlas personally, but I heard some goons talking about them like they were a 'fire and ice' pair or something? Could be that those are their Types, now. Maybe that means something to you guys? Whatever."

The Lycanroc sniffed contemptuously. Moving on.

"Nascour... That is one cold bastard. Never could figure out what his deal is, but back on Earth he had this weird, fucked up energy to him. Red eyes, even the whites, like a Shadow 'mon. Strong as hell, ruthless... Haven't fought him here either, but whatever he ended up as, you should consider him a serious fucking problem."

Seth frowned, considering something he seemed less sure of.

"There's one other guy. Not really a battler, or anything, just... He was governor of Orre for a while. Cipher's puppet politician. His term's up, and Cipher will probably have shuffled some other shitheel behind his desk, so... Could be they'll deploy him somewhere on Forlas. No idea what species he'd turn up as, and he'll sure as hell be using an alias, but I knew him as Snattle. Pompous, self-satisfied fucker. Just... Remember that just 'cause someone's an elected official, it doesn't mean they're not a scumbag. You knew that already, right?"
 
Reath and Firma they’d encountered before, at Timeless Oasis. The pair bickered like nothing else, but they still managed to work together effectively despite that. Trudly and Folly, on the other hand, were new to the Dewott, at least. There was definitely wisdom in trying to separate and bag them one by one, especially if they were all humans. The hows of that would be something Archie would have to work out with the others later.

Vigoroth Gorigan was definitely more of an interest to Archie than he seemed to be to Seth. Anyone who might be convinced to switch sides made their lives easier in the long run. On the other hand, an opportunist who switched sides with the wind could also be very dangerous – Dakim at least seemed the honorable sort who was willing to divulge info to those who bested him, would Gorigan be so willing to provide real, actual assistance?

Ardos and Eldes, potentially a Fire and an Ice Type, and the children of some Cipher bigwig or other. Which probably meant the pair had been indoctrinated into Cipher’s ideology from a young age. They’d be unlikely to get through true believers like that, not even rational self interest would likely be enough to sway them.

“Uh, if I had to guess, one’s very passionate, and the other’s a stoic,” Archie cut in to explain. At least, that’s usually what people meant when they described someone as fiery or said they had an icy personality? And if there as something about someone’s soul that had a determinant factor on the kind of Pokemon they’d become, it was as good a reason as any to suppose the pair were the types Seth theorized.

Seth had nothing real new to offer on Nascour – no idea of what kind of Pokemon the man might have become. But it was good to get confirmation from a more friendly source than Dakim that Cipher’s fixer was not someone to be easily trifled with. Red eyes and an energy reminiscent of a Shadow Pokemon even as a human. If Ein hadn’t died, it might’ve been handy to ask the man more about the process of creation Shadow Pokemon – and if it worked on humans. Maybe Lovrina would know? It was worth a shot, at least.

And finally, a new name added to the pile – Snattle. A politician, not much of a battler, unknown species and likely using an alias. Pompous and self-satisfied, for a moment Archie thought of Ignatius, but, no, that particular penguin had been a Pokemon all his life, it was some ancestor that had been the human. Pompous and self-satisfied was just a normal thing for career politicians.

“Well, we did overthrow the mayor – uh, the former mayor, now – as our first major action after arriving here,” the Dewott hummed, with obvious amusement. The election had been called, hadn’t it? Who had won again? To be honest, aside considering encouraging Steven to run, Archie hadn’t paid too much attention to the race. Hopefully that wouldn’t come back to bite them.

He clasped one of the Wolf’s paws in both of his, and grinned up at the Lycanroc, deciding not to stress himself over something that was beyond his control. “Thanks Seth, this is all really helpful. I’ll be sure to pass it along to the others!”
 
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Seth snorted, and waved away the praise. It wasn't the same dismissive motion he made so commonly, but a kind of showy, 'it was nothing' gesture – he was being cocky, and obviously pleased.

"Well, y'know, just be sure that you beat them soundly with all that intel then, alright? Don't go embarrassing yourselves. You'd better come back in one piece, or you'll make me look bad."

Still the same old Seth, expressing that he cared through warnings and banter, but at least his tone was more obviously teasing now. Less of a growl in the timbre. He even chuckled.

"Gods, you must be from someplace downright plush for you to be such an earnest, optimistic little fucker, eh?"
 
“I don’t plan on it!” the Dewott replied, showing a little bit of bravado of his own. Not that he expected the remaining Cipher admins to go down easily, he wasn’t that foolish. But, they’d met every challenge that they had faced so far and come out on top, eventually. If they kept getting stronger, eventually they’d be able to pose a challenge to even Nascour. Plus, it was hard to be dour while Seth was in one of his more positive moods.

Though, the mention of his world did take a bit of the wind out of the Dewott’s sails. It was true, Spencer’s world was pretty idyllic. Sure, there were problems. Mystery Dungeons were dangerous, there were plenty of outlaws to capture, and every day seemed to bring more news of some new trouble or other brewing on the continent. That’s why the Adventurers Guild existed! It was the Pokemon that called that world home that made the difference. They were more cooperative, more willing to find compromise. No one was ever truly beyond redemption, even the most heinous outlaws weren’t evil to their cores. Then again, they were also less sophisticated, the level of technology was fairly primitive, and a number of the pressures that existed in the modern day world – or even a steam age world like Forlas – hadn’t developed yet. Resources were plentiful, space was abundant, there wasn’t really a need to compete on a systemic scale.

“My original world was much like yours, I think. Though I was fortunate to be from a less… Rough part, than Orre,” Archie said, “Did you have an Unova on your world? That’s where I’m originally from.”

He folded his arms, a small smile gracing his muzzle, “You’re right, though, the world I ended up on before Forlas was a lot friendlier than either of our homeworlds, or here for that matter. That world shaped me into who I am today, both mentally and physically.”

His smile grew into a smirk, and moved his paws to his hips before adding, “Made me stubborn enough to get through to you, for example!”

Well, that part was probably more Spencer’s doing. The Treecko stood out even among the other residents of his world for his friendliness and belief in the goodness of others. In his attempts to emulate his partner, the Dewott had ended up picking up some of those attitudes as well. He may not have believed in the inherit goodness of others as an Unovan Ranger, but as an Oshawott Adventurer, he was certain of it, and that had carried forward into Forlas.

“But, I figure I’ve made you suffer through enough mushy stuff for the day,” Archie said, “And I figure you’re going to be looking for something to feel like a badass again, so… Up for a spar?”

<><><><><><><>​
 
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Ch06: The Nature of Storms
  • Threadmarks
    • As autumn weather swept across the Soja', clouds from the north collided with dry desert air to produce fantastically tall thunderheads towering above the rugged landscape. Tonight was one such occurrence--spears of lightning lanced through the sky in a terrifying display of nature's raw power. Each flash lit the silhouette of the ravine's walls against the sky, and each thunderclap reverberated through the cliffs. No rain managed to reach the earth, all lost to the dry air.

    And in between flashes, if one paid close attention, the distinct outline of an jagged avian figure racing along the clifftops could be seen, even from far below at the heart of the dungeon...
     
  • Threadmarks
    • With talks of the Wayfarers heading for the city, Nova thought he might try to go through one of the Soja's dungeons and scrounge for items like the bum living under a rock he'd practically become. What he wasn't counting on was giant thunderclouds overhead and brilliant lightning lighting up the sky. He'd slotted in his ground memory for safety's sake and went about his business, but the clouds didn't seem to move anywhere. Dungeon fuckery? Nova had no idea.

    But he thought he saw a bird around the clouds. He blinked a few times. Hadn't some of the others dealt with a bird making storms a little while back?

    Eh, it didn't really matter. He was here to gather berries and seeds and stuff. If that bird was trying to scare him off with a fancy light show, it wasn't going to work. So, like an old curmudgeon refusing to budge from his favorite rocking chair, Nova continued forward, eyes focused mostly on the ground. He spotted a berry and headed toward it to add to his bag.
     
    When lightning crosses over the Silver Ravine, you will find me there.

    Not that Leaf was sure what the point of finding the Roaming Cyclone was. She'd been the one to ask, yeah, but she still wasn't a hundred percent sure why she had. It'd just seemed... important? Somehow? To not lose a chance to see a wild legendary again. Even if it wasn't one that seemed to have anything to do with why they were here. Even if it wasn't really the one that mattered to her.

    So. Here she was. At the edge of the ravine, panting a little from the heat of racing to reach one of Betel's waypoints in a dry storm, standing out a lot more like a lightning rod than was probably advisable in weather like this but oh well, for. Reasons. Reasons that'd make themselves clear in time, no doubt. Or else new ones would just manifest at some point, retroactively make all this a great idea and definitely worthwhile. They usually did. She was, after all, basically the best there was at winging it.

    Making her way down the side into the dungeon proper was plenty easy enough, especially now she'd been out with more experienced Rangers a few times—even with everything doing the dungeon shuffle, there was almost always a way to find the best path down. The nighttime bit wasn't a huge help, but at least all the showoffy lightning made up for it. (Kinda.) It also lit up the Cyclone's silhouette, sprinting so fast he was in a completely different place each time the sky turned white. It also also lit up...

    "Nova?I What are you doing here?" Was he... picking berries? Hell of a night for that. Nothing at all like the fantastic and flawless reasons she had.
     
    "Um, yes?" Nova blinked a few times, then slowly put the Oran in his bag. "Is the storm supposed to scare me or something? I got flattened by a meteor earlier in the week."

    He looked back at his dusty torso. Gone was the void ash, but a lot of dirt remained.
     
    The weather was spectacular.

    Ridley had thought he was past the point of lamenting the loss of his rotomphone, but he ached with the wish for some sort of record of this. It was all too glorious, too raw and beautiful, to be condemned to live only in the fallible mists of his memory.

    Towering thunderhead clouds in furious yellow and grey dominated the skyline, occasionally lighting up the world with stark white explosions of lightning. Thunder rolled in at the exact instant the lighting flashed, a deep reverberating rumble of sound which rattled Ridley right down to the bones he no longer had. Ridley had never experienced a dry storm before; his Galarian soul longed for the background patter of heavy rain, but, more practically, he was grateful for its absence. He'd spent enough time recently in a sodden disguise.

    Now and again, here and there, Ridley thought he caught glimpses of the figure he'd come here hoping to meet. Would Zapdos be anything like Articuno had been?
     
    So-called Saint said:
    “When lightning crosses over the Silver Ravine, you will find me there.”
    Click to expand...

    The words had been pushed to the back of Koa's mind until he'd felt the tingle in the air that told him a storm was coming, and saw the thunderheads and flashes of light. This was the storm, he felt certainty in his bones.

    Though Koa had long since forced himself to make peace with the idea that Saints here were not like his legends back home, it was hard to ignore his innate curiosity. Even if the memory of their fight with the Cyclone still left a faint bitter taste. And Leaf would be there, so maybe another teammate wouldn't hurt, considering how it'd treated Dave... And he'd found that his Electrike body rather enjoyed stormy weather.

    However, he was surprised to find not just Leaf when he arrived, but Nova as well. "Hey Leaf!" he called. "Hey Nova... Uh... Wasn't expecting to see you out here." What did he want with the Saint? As he spoke, he kept watch for the Saint.
     
    Okay, Leaf's arrival Nova would've been able to dismiss a coincidence. But Koa, too? This was, like, totally a meetup or something, wasn't it? He blinked several times.

    "I'm gathering berries," Nova said. "I wasn't... aware you two had booked this dungeon for your date." He looked skyward. "At least you've got good mood lighting?"
     
    The Roaming Cyclone stood poised at the edge of the ravine, having just taken a flying leap from one side to the other.

    Flash.

    The silhouette's head now faced downward, toward the impromptu gathering of Wayfarers on the dungeon trail below.

    Flash.

    The silhouette was gone. Dust trailed from the ravine's edge as Zapdos slid down the sheer vertical drop, talons gripping the canyon wall until he was low enough to spring from its surface and land on the dusty trail no more than twenty paces from the party.

    "Here to watch the show?" Zapdos crooned, inclining his pointed beak toward the sky.
     
    Nova acknowledged the big-legged bird with a tilt of his head. "Uhh, no? I'm just here to find some berries." He glanced at Koa and Leaf. "Ohh, did you guys schedule a dinner party with Drumstick here?" He shook himself out. "Welp. This is awkward. Now I feel like a third wheel."
     
    "Not specifically, but it's a nice bonus," Ridley said. He gave an awkward little wave, half to Zapdos and half to the other Wayfarers. "Did you put it on special just for us?"
     
    "...What?" Leaf stared at the mention of meteors, then frowned at the mention of a date. "No? Just— just why wouldn't you do that when it's light—"

    And then he was in front of them. (Like lightning.) Still full of himself, but not attempting to put his foot through anyone's head, so that was an improvement, right.

    "Yeah," Leaf said, because it was pretty spectacular, and also because she didn't have a better answer. "Are you making it do all this? Seems more like a Stormbringer thing to me."
     
    Whatever Koa was planning to say to Nova and Ridley vanished from his mind at the appearance of a familiar orange-feathered avian.

    "Something like that," he said neutrally. He wasn't sure why he had come, it wasn't as if he believed he could change his mind. And the Saint had kept his end of the agreement. "Not a bad show though," he added. It reminded him of the night he'd briefly run into Raikou.
     
    Zapdos chuckled at the strange cloth-clefairy's question. "I don't make storms of this sort, I only ride them." He inclined his beak toward Leaf. "This one is correct--these were the Stormbringer's domain. His would span the entire Soja, flooding valleys in the wet season and sweeping brushfire across the hills in the dry season." There was a flicker of wistfulness in his eyes for just a moment as he turned his beak skyward.
     
    Zapdos regarded Nova with a single eye, head still tilted upward. “He believed in power of storms to bring great destruction, and for new growth to follow in their wake.” His tone was offhand, and it was hard to tell what he was thinking.
     
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