PMDU Task 2 - Rocky Rumble

“Theo!” Casper cheered from the serving table, waving his plate. The Meowth battled hard but he finally came victorious with a precious piece of Figy sweetcake.

But somebody tugged on his shoulder. Casper glanced curiously over his shoulder at the stranger. A strange Helioptile with mismatched eyes was giving him a rather goofy smile and maintaining unblinking eye contact.

“Hai der!” The Helioptile exclaimed. The Helioptile didn’t seem to want to say anything else to Casper, despite staring at him with his big eyes.

Casper hesitated before replying, “Hey there?” The way the lizard was eyeing him sent small shivers down his spine but he remained silent in case the stranger wanted to speak.

“My name’s Layron! Are you’s going to eat dat?” The Helioptile asked, pointing at the sweetcake Casper had worked so hard to get.

Casper bit down on his lower lip, reluctant. He worked so hard for it and to share… “Errr. There might be another piece on the table,” he offered, pointing towards a platter.

Layron just continued staring at Casper, his attention apparently having deviated away from Casper’s cake. This strange Helioptile was acting like a small, curious child, despite being big enough to be in his 20’s.

Casper slowly inched away from the Helioptile’s uncanny gaze. It was beginning to creep the feline out to be constantly stared at. It eerily reminded him of someone familiar yet he quickly shook his head to dispel the thought.

“Can I help...you?” Casper was hesitant to ask but if there was any way to get the lizard away from him, he would take it.

Suddenly a Fennekin burst through the crowd behind Layron. Grabbing his left frill sharply, she turned the Helioptile around.

“How many times do I have to freaking tell you this Layron?! You don’t make friends by staring at them like you’re about to unhinge your jaw and swallow something whole!” The Fennekin yelled at him.

Casper flinched as the Fennekin leapt into the scene. At first he paled, believing the fox was after him till she yanked on one of the Helioptile’s frills. He let out a silent sigh of relief as he watched her reprimand the lizard for his uncanny behavior.

“It’s okay!” Casper interjected when the Fennekin was growing much too loud. “No need to cause a scene! He just wanted a piece of my cake.”

The Fennekin sighed and asked Casper to wait where he was. She charged through the crowd, fighting her way to the serving table where she grabbed another cake. Then she fought her way back, carefully balancing the cake on a plate held by her mouth, and returned to Casper. First she took Casper’s cake, to his alarm, and gave it to Layron, who smiled happily and started eating it. Then she gave the cake she’d just gotten to Casper, much to his relief.

“There. All problems are solved.” The Fennekin said, a bit of finality in her voice. “Sorry about that, but he was fixated on your cake so he probably wouldn’t have calmed down unless you gave it to him.”

“Calmed down?” Casper’s questioning gaze fell on the Helioptile who happily enjoyed his piece. He shuddered at the idea of Layron having a true outburst. “Well I'm glad it's over... ,” he muttered. He snapped his digits sharply, looking sheepish as he focused on the fox once again, “I'm sorry! I didn't say my name! It’s Casper! I know your friend here is Layron but what's your name?”

“I’m Mithora.” She replied, giving him a much friendlier smile than Layron had been a moment ago. “I’m part of the Explorers Guild - Team Freedom. It’s nice to meet you, Casper.” The confidence with which she presented her introduction came off as surprising to the Meowth, a sharp contrast when compared to her friend.

“Oooo. You’re part of the Explorers too?! That's great!” He cheered. “I'm part of ‘em too. You’re talking to the leader of Dreamy Legends! And my partner is…” He trailed off, his ears drooping lower than ever. “No… I don't have a partner,” he whispered, his voice nearly silent.

Unfortunately for Casper, if there was one thing Mithora was good at it was calling bullshit. However, the Meowth seemed like a friendly sort. Mithora figured that he was hesitant to speak of his partner out of embarrassment rather than suspicious reasons.

“I see. That’s rather disappointing.” Mithora remarked. “Having a partner is always helpful, especially for missions like that dungeon we had to go through to get here. Those Barboaches may have been weak but it’s hard being a fire type and navigating a dungeon full of ground and water types.”

“I wasn’t alone completely! I was with my friend, Theo and I know he had a tough time dealin’ with ‘em too! We barely made it out of there the first time,” he sighed, a paw circling his wrist. “We had to redo the whole dungeon to get here but we’re finally here now.”

“You had to redo the whole dungeon?” Mithora asked, rather perplexed. She interpreted the statement as having to backtrack through the entire dungeon just to find a route through the area. “Sounds rough. Maybe next time something like that comes up, I could help ya?”

“Havin’ another team ‘round woulda definitely helped. We thought we could handle it but one of the tunnels collapsed and… injuries happened,” he explained quietly. “A stupid trap wrecked everything for us so we had to return. But everything is fine for now. I hope…”

“I hope so as well.” Mithora remarked. She turned to Layron, who was now bothering another Pokemon eating some meatroot. She groaned and chased after Layron, leaving Casper to himself.

With a chuckle, Casper watched the duo depart before leaving himself to bring plates to his friend. “I was just talking two Explorers,” he explained at the sheep’s questioning look, “They seem pretty cool and all!”

“Oh r-really?”

“Yeah! I don't doubt we’ll see them tomorrow! Now let’s eat!”

~

The next morning, the little town had calmed down for the most part. The cookout had expended the energy of most everybody in town, except for the Explorer admins who were standing at the edge of the village. Gavina in particular was calling any available Explorers to arms. Two teams showed up immediately - Team Freedom and Formidable Dawn.

“I’m glad to see you up and adams after that party last night.” Gavina said to the teams. “I hope you’re up for some old fashioned rescuing - We’ve been told that a group of merchants have gotten themselves in a bind by entering the desert before the sands would permit them, and now they are being endangered by the local Gabites in the area. It is our duty to locate them and bring them back to safety, preferably with the objectives (and their items) in tact. Any questions so far?”

“Do w-we at least have a general location of the merchants?” Theo spoke up quietly with a timid raised hand. He shuffled on his hooves nervously yet his eyes were firm on Gavina. This was a more serious task to take part of but that did not help his nerves in the slightest. A paw was placed upon his shoulder and he glanced at the small reassuring smile Casper gave him. It helped but not by much.

With a nod, Gavina replied “As a matter of fact, we do. Approximately a mile to the west of our location, up on a large rock formation. It’s the only thing keeping the Gabites away from them at the moment, as I understand it.”

“Dat sounds easy enough!” Layron exclaimed. “So all we gots to do is fight the horde of Gabites and save da merchants right?”

Gavina shook her arms in worry. “No, no not at all! Fighting those things is as low on the priority list as it can get. We need to avoid the Gabites if at all possible. Combat in the desert will only attract more of the land sharks.”

“Merchants first then we run for it!” Casper slammed his paw together with a look of determination. “We can do this!”

“I-I don't k-know…” the Flaaffy stammered. Theo couldn't help but to look at Lapis worryingly, who hitched a ride on his tail for the time being. “

“We have another team to help out this time! We can totally do this!” Casper encouraged, leaning against Theo slightly.

“A-At the first sight of trouble…”

“We’ll run, okay? I know how much Lapis means to ya’ now.”

“If guys are done,” Gavina started, gaining everyone’s attention, “It’s time to set out! We have to get there before the sun starts to set. There's no telling what can happen when the sun falls! Remember! Our priorities are to save the merchants but we can also salvage their items, it's a bonus! They might even give you an item for your efforts! If you need any help, signal for any of us! I will be airborne to scout ahead so I'll see your signals in a heartbeat. Let's go teams!”

The Hawlucha gave a salute, springing to take to the sky.

With the objectives on their minds and a Flaaffy with a heavy heart, the teams set forth in hopes to rescue the merchants in time!

However, some distance away, an Emboar was hanging about. He managed to listen the rescuers’ conversations, a few ideas popping up in his head. As he watched the groups departed, he smiled. “Looks like those kids are off to rescue some merchants.” He said to himself. “Those knobs could be worth a quick buck if we get to their target first. What do you think Finn?” He turned to his side, though his partner wasn’t there. “Finn? Where did you go, Finnibar?”

A Gallade teleported beside him in a poof of smoke. “What’s up?” He casually asked.

“Stop fooling around you lazy Tauros! There’s things going on and we can make some money.”

“The Captain’s got plenty of money already. We don’t need to do anything but stick around here, remember?”

The Emboar partner huffed. “That’s just like you, never taking opportunity when it’s stuffing itself in your face. You’d starve to death before you’d do any work.”

“Alright, alright. Chill out Peyton.” Finnibar replied, sighing in grief. “We’ll get to it. C’mon.” The two vanished in another puff of smoke.

An hour passed, and the group traveled deep into the desert.. “Gee! I didn't think the desert was this hot!” Casper complained, wiping sweat off his brow as the sun beated down on him. His tail dragged along as they traversed the sand. In an effort to cool, he panted, inhaling in short burst but the humid dry air only made him more parched and drained.

“It’s because you’ve got fur.” Mithora explained to him. She was rather hot herself, but unlike him she was actually doing better for it. Extremely hot conditions gave fire types a good boost. The Helioptile partner seemed to be doing well too, bounding around the group in circles like a small child with a sugar rush. “We can take a break if you want.”

“We hafta keep… going,” Casper breathed, ears drooping. “We hafta save those… merchants.”

“A b-break seems better right now, Casper,” Theo offered, his face filled with concern. The heat didn't faze him as much as Casper but the effects were slowly starting to wear him down. “Also it's b-best if we start talking about how to approach this…”

A loud, nearby stomp suddenly grabbed everyone’s attention. They turned to see a big Emboar standing before them, fists clenched and flames burning bright. “Hold it right there.” He said to them, a touch of aggression in his voice. His eyes widened “So you’re the lot that was sent to rescue those merchants? If you lot weren’t a bunch of kids, I would have thought you’d gotten here quickly. But I’m just going to attribute that to beginner’s luck.”

Mithora paused. “Who the hell are you?”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m here because we’ve already helped the merchants. I’m the one who’s taking credit for this. If you think you’re going to get in the way, then you’ve got another thing-”

The Emboar was interrupted by a poof of smoke next to him, a floating Gallade appearing beside him. “Hey.” He said, giving a casual and friendly wave to the Explorer group. “Ya, so about that, Pey. Turns out they’ve been having to beat off a few Gabites while stuck on those rocks, and the land sharks aren’t too happy about that.”

“Then why haven’t you teleported them out of there?!” The Emboar, apparently named Pey, demanded to know. “Can’t you think on your own for once?”

“Hey! You the Gallade!” Casper called, ignoring Theo’s tapping protest to keep quiet. “Think ya’ can poof us to the merchants?! I'm sure we can help ‘em out together!”

Peyton huffed and turned to Casper. “You think you’re going to get any credit for this? We’ll see about that! Finn, occupy them while I tend to this issue.”

The Gallade shrugged and made the Emboar teleport away in a poof of smoke. “Alright, listen.” He said. “I don’t really like fighting. I’m more like one of those stealth guys - ya know, those kinds of guys who do sneaky stuff in the night, like robin hood and all that stuff. But it’s whateves. The point is, I don’t wanna fight ya. So why don’t we give Peyton a few minutes to realize how horribly outmatched he is, then I’ll take ya to him. A’ight?”

“Ya’ sound like those ninja folk that were troubling folks before in the city,” Casper muttered, his voice skeptical. Despite how nonchalant the Gallade was, the Meowth couldn't help but to feel suspicious of his motives.

“H-Horribly how matched??” Theo spoke aloud to himself. How bad could the situation be?!

“Weeeeell... let’s see here. Peyton’s record is 200 and 0, with about eighty of those wins bringing him to his knees. He’ll hold them back, but you’d better believe it’s not going to last long.” Finnibar motioned for them to climb up to the hill with him. The group got over the top of the rocks and saw in the distance that the merchants were nearby the whole time!

Peyton was on the rocks battling a horde of Gabites emerging from the sand. One by one, the sharks climbed out of the sand and charged at the Emboar, but he beat them down and tossed them back into the sand in two hits or less. It was an impressive feat of prowess from the Explorers’ perspective, but Finnibar could see his partner struggling; with each foe Peyton managed to push back, another was able to strike him before he could redirect his attention. All those blows started to add up quickly and Peyton’s efforts began to slow down.

“Mmm, not good,” Finn remarked to the Explorers. “I don’t know why he does this stuff, man. I mean, look at him. He’s old as hell. He shouldn’t be doing this stuff anymore.”

“Shouldn’t you be helping him?!” Mithora asked, shocked that the Gallade hadn’t taken action yet.

Theo thought the same thing, his eyes widened as he watched the Emboar take down the sharks with ease. Despite this Gallade’s remarks, he thought Pey could literally take down the rock if he wanted to with as much power he was demonstrating.  

“Can’t you, little girl?” Finnibar said to Mithora, raising an eyebrow. “I heard you little foxes are supposed to be witches or warlocks or that sort of thing. Ya know, like, psychic mages or something?”

Mithora shook her head in reply. “I wish I could... I pray to god that I could be, but no matter what I try I just can’t use my psychic move. The whole world just goes... blurry whenever I use it.”

“Come on, Pey! You can do it!” Casper cheered on, eye glistening. He was always aspired to be as strong as fighting types and this Emboar was no different from his dream. To be as strong as him one day!

But then the axe fell. One of the Gabites glowed bright as Peyton threw it back into the sand. A moment later a great, roaring Garchomp emerged from the ground, hatred flaming in its eyes and its sight directed at Peyton. Peyton aimed a hand at the dragon and unleashed a powerful Incinerate attack, burning it for a good ten seconds. But when the flames cleared, it seemed hardly fazed. Then the Garchomp retaliated, leaping into the air and shooting a Hyper Beam at him. Peyton was struck in the head and was knocked out on the spot.

“Alright, NOW we’re going to help him.” Finn remarked. Before anybody could offer thanks or protests, he teleported the whole group onto the scene. The Garchomp roared and dove back into the sand. He started circling the rock, probably waiting for a good moment to attack again.

Theo fretted, careful not to make a single step off the rock. Lapis made frantic little squeaks as she watched with fear as a fin circled the rock. All my attacks are useless against this thing! He looked at Casper for assistance but the feline focused on the fin with deadly focus.

The beast leapt onto the rocks and roared, his claws glowing with draconic power. But he was knocked back into the sand when Layron leapt up and socked him in the face - to their surprise, it sent him flying. “Nice Bulldoze.” Mithora said to him.

“At least we can keep him off the rock with that.” Finn observed. He took aim and threw a Psycho Cut at the shark while it swam around, but it failed to penetrate the ground. “We can’t get it while it’s under the sand.”

Theo’s ears sprang at an idea. “Casper! You have a sound move, right?!”

“Well yeah-” He started, snapped out of his focus.

“Use it where you think it’s going to be next! The move should flush it out, maybe even stun it long enough for us to hit!” Theo exclaimed excitedly.

“Ooo, dat’s a good idea!” Layron remarked. “I’ll bets it’ll come out right dere!” He pointed to a seemingly random spot in the sand. To their surprise, the shark fin moved towards that spot.

Is he psychic?! Casper barely gave the idea much thought as he inhaled deeply, gesturing Theo to cover his ears. Then he shouted, large sound waves emitting from his mouth striking the area Layron pointed out.

The Garchomp roared and pulled its head out of the sand. It opened its mouth and charged a hyper beam. “Glack him, now!” Finnibar yelled.

Everyone who could attack from a distance fired what they could. Layron shot his Parabolic charge (which of course did nothing) and Mithora shot her Psybeam (which of course missed). Casper and Finn had a much better time; the Meowth inhaled to unleash another Hyper Voice once more in hope to this time to disorient it.

Theo stand back, paralyzed at the sight of gathering energy forming in the Garchomp’s mouth. Move body! A soft weight on his head as Lapis squirted a Water Gun at the dragon with determination. Resolve formed in him then. If she could attack, so could he! He opened his mouth, firing a strange rainbow beam that emitted a strange sound at the Garchomp.

The dragon roared in anger and dived back into the sand. “It’s working. Let’s keep that up,” Mithora exclaimed “but everyone should move around to make sure he doesn’t try to learn our attack pattern.”

The dragon roared and leapt up from the sand high into the air. He flew above the group and fired off a Hyper Beam which streaked across the rock.

With a squeal and a firm grip on Lapis, Theo dove out of the way with Casper following suit. Their attacks seemed ineffective on the Garchomp which surprise him the most. It's tough exterior, built for swimming through sand as if it was water, no doubt provided some amount of protection from the attacks but still. It has to have a weak spot!

“Layron, can you see any weaknesses in its armor?” Mithora asked. Her eyes darted back and forth, trying to predict where it would come up next.

The Helioptile shook its head. “Nopers! Its body armor is untouchable.”

The Fennekin turned to the others. “Aim for its face. It may be the best shot we have.” Before they could ask why she believed this, she explained “Layron can realize a lot of things we can’t. It’s just part of who he is. You gotta learn to read his words, too.”

Trusting Mithora’s words, Theo nodded, looking at Casper, “Can you use another Hyper Voice?”

Casper appeared winded but nodded, “I got about one more in me to lure it out. We gotta finish it then otherwise…” He didn't want to think of the repercussions. Only focus on the task at hand. “Hey Layron! You know when it’ll pop up again? Be ready to attack then!”

Layron paused and rubbed his chin, apparently going into thought. The shark continued to circle around them, serpentining in the sand to confuse them. Layron pointed to a spot finally, and the shark sank its fin beneath that point in the sand.

Casper’s tail swayed, uneasy. If it burst through the sand again to do another Hyper Beam, he was unsure if he had the energy to dodge again. He inhaled deeply to release another Hyper Voice on the sand with a silent prayer that this time things will go correctly.

Upon impacting the sand, the Garchomp emerged from the sand, roaring in anger. “Wail on him!” Mithora barked, throwing everything she had alongside the group. They all aimed for its head and managed to land quite a few blows. The shark ended up collapsing back into the sand, going quiet.

“I-Is it down..?” Theo whispered to himself, watching the Garchomp with wary eyes. It appeared to be KOed but it could be a trick. Casper stepped forward to his surprise, Theo reaching out to stop him. “W-What i-if it's-” A firm stern shake of the head from Casper quelled him but he couldn't help but to watch nervously.

Cautious, Casper approached the shark, tapping its’ rough scales. For good measure, he shut his eyes, singing in a soft voice, golden notes of light materializing in the air to dance around him. To his surprise, Layron pulled out an ocarina and joined him with an accompaniment. While the two of them sang the shark to sleep, Mithora and Theo finally turned their attention to the merchants and inspected them for injury. Luckily, they were unharmed and their goods were in tact.

Despite the Singing that was going on, the Garchomp began to stir. It picked itself up and glared at the two singing Pokemon. It opened its gaping mouth and charged another Hyper Beam, intending to obliterate the two. The singing seemed to do nothing against him.

“Casper!” Theo exclaimed. Before he could stop, an electric yellow beam fired from his mouth, striking the Garchomp. Oh no… He misfired using Charge Beam instead of Signal, the move completely ineffective on the shark.

The Garchomp redirected its sights to Theo and, by extension, Mithora and the merchants. Mithora was already charging a Psybeam when it turned its attention to them, but she hesitated. I can’t miss this time! I just can’t! Mithora thought. She focused her sights on the Garchomp, but no matter how much she tried her focus kept wavering. The whole world was a blur to her, a blend of blurry colors and lights which she couldn’t focus herself in. Come on, do this! Mithora begged herself. You have to! Please! Everyone is in danger!

Then, for just a moment - one tense, exhausting moment - Mithora saw her vision fall back into place. She immediately fired her Psybeam and hit the Garchomp square in the face, causing it to reel back and fire its Hyper Beam into the air. It yelped in fright, covering its face for a moment. From his angle, Casper was able to see what had happened - The Garchomp’s face armor had been cracked open. Without another word, the Garchomp jumped into the sand and fled.

“Did you see that?!” Casper gushed, rushing over to Mithora. “You smack that shark right in the middle! He done turned tail and ran! Good aim there! You really saved our hides and the merchants here!”

“Y-You really did! I didn't think we were going to get through that thick hide but all our attacks must have gotten through somehow. Weakened it and..” he stared down below noticing the Gabite fleeing in the direction of the Garchomp. No doubt with their boss beaten, they were now frightened of them. “Should w-we signal for help now?”

“Yeah...” Mithora said, her breath ragged. “Yeah... we should... call for help...” With a groan, she collapsed on the spot.

The merchants gasped in shock. Layron rushed over to her and inspected her body. “It’s ok! She’s just exhausted.” Layron said, grabbing her friend’s paw and giving it a squeeze of friendly support.

“Yeah! She's totally alright! I am too…” Casper trailed off with a wobbly thumbs up, collapsing on the spot.

Theo came over, shaking his head at the smile on the Meowth’s face. “He's just tired… I think we all are but at least we managed… But how are getting back now?” Carrying his friend back and to make sure the Merchants had a safe trip back home suddenly seemed like another large task on their shoulders.

One of the Merchants volunteered to help, however. “We can put them in our wagon.” He suggested. “It’ll be a rough and bumpy ride but at least they’ll be safe.”

“Or, ya know, I could just teleport them back to the town.” Finnibar suggested, raising his hand. Unlike Theo and Layron, he had not gone to help his partner. “Pey needs a rest too, the dumbass...”

Before any of them could say any more, the injured Pokemon were warped away in a poof of smoke. Theo, Lapis, and Layron were left to tend to the remaining issues in helping the Merchants. Thankfully, Layron’s strange sense of direction got them on track and they were all able to start marching back towards the village. To their relief, the trip was uneventful.

The teams were reunited back at the town, although they found that Finnibar and Peyton had mysteriously vanished. Mithora and Casper were unable to explain why as they hadn’t seen them leave. Regardless, the merchants were very thankful for the rescue and offered them some tokens of thanks up front.

Meanwhile outside the village, Finnibar was standing next to Peyton, observing the groups interaction. “They’re alright, wouldn’t you say Pey?” Finn asked his partner.

The Emboar simply huffed and replied “If it wasn’t for that stupid dragon, I would have wiped the floor with those little pests.”

Finnibar chuckled and teleported the two of them elsewhere. “Whatever you say, man.” He said as they vanished in a cloud of smoke.