Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventurers of the Universe

Voyage through the Canyon

"Wow! This place is gorgeous!" Lani's breath is taken away as she and Zeke arrive at the Great Canyon.

"Incredible. You see that plateau over there?" Zeke points out, "That must be the Hill of the Ancients. But the only way up..." He scans the canyon below. "Is a treacherous path down the canyon and back up."

"Are you ready?" Lani asks.

"Ready as I think we'll ever be for this." Zeke responds.

And so into the canyon they went, the sun rising behind them.

"Woo! Loose rocks around here." Lani notes as she nearly falls to her demise.

"Careful! If you were to fall, you'd spend the rest of your life here."

"So what, the following three hours of pain?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

The "path" down stops and turns right, into a cave. "Looks like the only way down." Zeke says.

They enter and are attacked by Cacturne instantly. The two dodge the Needle Arm attacks and count their foes. Four. Lani uses Swagger, and Sucker Punches the lot of them while they're still in a dizzy rage. Zeke runs in and finishes them off with a Psych Up + Aerial Ace combination.

Moving throughout the rest of the dungeon floor, they pick up a few Warp Seeds and an Escape Orb. They find the floor's exit and learn that they'd spent a whole hour on that floor, though made it to the canyon's bottom.

They run next to the creek in the canyon, avoiding enemy Houndour, Vileplume, Skiploom, and Cacturne. After about an hour of dodging and weaving, they run out of energy and pause for a break. Big mistake.

Their stomachs grumble and the enemies close in on them.

A Houndoom approaches Zeke from behind. Before chomping down on him, it hears a chomp on an apple. It bites his head with fire fang and raises Zeke in the air. Zeke burns brightly before being reduced to ashes.

Lani smirks. The illusion wears off. The Houndoom bit a log and Zeke was in the place of Lani. He's munching on a perfect apple. The Houndoom, and really, everyone behind it, turn around at the sound of wind and music.

In the air, Lani plays the Sky Melodica. The Skiploom are the first to go, whipped around by the winds. Next are the Vileplume, struck by Razor Winds. The Cacturne run off before they can sustain too much damage. Leaving only the Houndoom.

Lani plays faster, then suddenly stops. Floating in air, she puts the melodica away. Then she flies at the Houndoom at incredible speeds, immediately breaking the sound barrier. "Sky-Sound-Speed! Hybrid Attack: Airborne Ultrasonic Boom!" And the Houndoom is smashed into the ground.

"Wooo!" Lani shakes, and once the dust settles, she and Zeke proceed with no threats nearby. Nobody wants to mess with them and their unusual attacks.

"It's just up ahead." Zeke says, looking up to the Hill of the Ancients. "Climb these stairs and we are there."

And so the two of them climb the stairs. It goes by slowly at first, but them they remember that they can both use Extreme Speed. After their realization, the stairs are scaled within the half hour.

The sun sets. It's beautiful. They walk further up on the hill, not realizing there's a Xatu next to them. "Good evening, younglings."

"Wah!"

"No need to be frightened by me. Be frightened by... that." And the elderly Xatu points towards the sun. "Look closely. That's not the sun. Sol is gone. Only that mass of doomed souls remains. It has taken the light and is slowly killing it. If my friend can come and bring the card needed to save this doomed planet, it'd be greatly appreciated."

"Huh?"

A cloaked figure appears at the top of the stairs and, in a recognizable voice, says "Hey."

Lani and Zeke turn around, and the figure takes off their hood. "Xat! I got those apples ya wanted!" It can't be! It is! Ario Ishihara, the Riolu. "Oh! What's up, guys? It's me... Ario... what's with that stare..?" He pulls back. "Oh! Did I do something wrong again?!"

"No, no, Ishihara, my boy. They're just shocked to see you." Xat the Xatu, Elder of the Air, says. "If you could bestow upon them the Wind Card?"

"Ah, yes. Here ya go!" Ario reaches into a pocket in his cloak and pulls out the artifact. "One Wind Card, comin' right up!"

"Thank you so much!" Lani and Zeke thank Ario. They put it away and hold their Escape Orb up high. They teleport, returning back to Baram Town.

The town's in flames. Buildings are collapsing. Someone shouts, "Everyone get to the boats!" And citizens scramble to the docks. In the thick of the mayhem is someone Lani can recognize immediately, even though she'd only seen him once. As Zeke quivers, she mumbles, "Daikama..."