Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Memories

Chapter 7: The Exploration Team

Treecko's head bobbed side to side with the weight of the book. He had to hurry back and grab the translation before he was away from Sophia for too long and before anyone noticed he had returned alone. Mankey was Treecko's actual partner, but he had been itching to get away from that furball since they had been assigned to be together. Now that he and Sophia were partners, he couldn't let her down like Mankey had done many times to Treecko. Plus, Treecko wasn't sure she trusted him yet, so it was better for him to return swiftly.

Sure, their partnership had started off with Treecko threatening the girl, but Treecko realized that she meant him no harm. The whole gamble paid off in the end; everything could have gone far worse in retrospect. Sophia sounded like she was going to continue helping, and Treecko was in possession of the book. Only a few more steps and then Treecko could evolve into Grovyle. Then...

Then what?

Treecko didn't really have a reason for evolving other than getting stronger so he didn't die to the crooks that kept chasing him. He longed for the moment where he could sleep peacefully. It took Dialga knows how long for him to drift off with the paranoia and the fear constantly swirling inside of him.

The terrain became more familiar as Treecko continued his trek through the barren wastelands. The hills sloped down into a swamp with slouching trees and mossy waters. The thick layer of film on the water hid the paused streams that once flowed. There, in the center of the disgusting lake, was a tree with a gnarly trunk. Treecko bounded from rock to rock with off balanced leaps. He moved slowly to avoid dropping the book into the sludge. He landed next to the tree where a mud-covered rock that was draped in moss sat. Despite the camouflage, the blue and red hues of the rock still stuck out to Treecko's trained eyes.

Treecko approached the jagged rock, checked his surroundings for foreign entities, and knocked. He struck the stone once, waited, struck the stone twice in quick succession, waited for the same amount of time, then hit the rock one last time.

"You have a lot of nerve coming back here, Treecko," a muffled voice said. The rock heaved itself out of the moss then shuffled to the right to reveal a hole in the ground.

"Nice to see you too, Gigalith," Treecko replied. "How is it going? I'm doing good, thanks for asking. I'm here to see the guild."

"Whatever, it's your funeral," the rock-type muttered.

"Great talk," Treecko said. He looked down into the darkness below and jumped.

The grass-type landed clumsily with one hand being occupied by the book. He stumbled before inevitably falling to his knees. The book thudded down next to him.

The light above him eclipsed as Gigalith shifted back into place. The grumpy guardian of the gate groaned unintelligibly. With the light from the cloud covered sun fading, the lights further in the cave became a vibrant beacon pointing the way.

Peering down beyond the sheer drop provided Treecko with an all too familiar view. The dripping water from the lake above hung stagnant in the air, recalling its last moments before time stopped forever. Chunks of rock suspended in midair provided a spiraling staircase down to a clearing filled to the brim with colorful creatures milling around stands and makeshift huts.

Treecko leaped down from rock to rock. His mouth drooled due to the oversized book that he grasped between his jaws. His toothless gums ached, but he held on tight. He feared that if he dropped it into the marketplace below, he wouldn't find it again without paying for it with coins that he didn't have. Once he reached the ground below, he removed the book and carried it with both hands through the crowds.

Other than elderly Pokémon that had existed for centuries, everyone was rather small. The largest species were those that didn't have an evolution or those that were blessed with a long life that extended from when time flowed to the current reality. Some were given the blessing after time had stopped too, but it was a well-guarded mystery how they had managed that. A mystery Treecko would soon get to the bottom of. As for the rest of the motley group of Pokémon, most stood only a little taller than Treecko, who wasn't much taller than a tree stump himself.