Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The Azure Sun Rises (Ch2)

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Azure Caves
B4F

	“Lurantis, I may not be the smartest Pokémon around, but I’m not stupid,” Stoutland said as they descended the staircase leading to the next floor. “Even I can tell you’re not handling this situation well. It’s pretty obvious. But listen up: I used to be afraid of mystery dungeons, too, but that fear went away over time. Eventually, I got used to mystery dungeons, and now I can handle them without any real problems.”

	“But you don’t need the sun like I do,” Lurantis said. She was still choked up, and she had trouble getting the words out, but she was recovering somewhat from the incident with the Carbink. Still, she wished Stoutland hadn’t started talking about this subject.

	As they spoke, they reached the bottom of the stairs and found themselves in a small room, lit by the same type of crystals from before, but these ones were noticeably brighter. Still too dim to photosynthesize with, and too dim to light up the room to a comfortable degree, but it was a hint that perhaps the lower levels of this dungeon were actually better lit than those above. However, Lurantis had little time to investigate the crystals and ponder their implications, as Stoutland continued talking.

	“It may be true that I don’t need the sun,” he said, “but my point is that even for someone like you, who clearly doesn’t do well in the dark, it’s okay to be nervous at first. What’s important is that you overcome that nervousness eventually. I don’t care how you do it, but you need to stop freaking out about mystery dungeons. Maybe not during this expedition, but definitely at some point.”

	“I think I’d rather just never enter another one again,” Lurantis said quietly, her head hung low.

	“You know, ordinarily, that wouldn’t be a totally bad idea. But that’s not practical now.”

	“What do you mean?”

	“Maybe you haven’t heard, but more and more mystery dungeons have been appearing for the last month or so. Even spots along the roads between towns are turning into dungeons, and that means it’s sometimes tough to go from one place to another without entering them. I even had to go through one on the way to Azure Village. Have you heard about what happened to Azure Shore?”

	“I only heard some rumors about it, but they said that it became a dungeon. Did it?”

	“It did. It’s north of Azure Village, and it turned into a mystery dungeon a week ago. I had to go through it on the way to Azure Village, because there was no easy way around it. That kind of thing is happening more and more often. Lots of well-traveled places are turning into mystery dungeons, and if it keeps up, you simply won’t be able to ignore them anymore. Eventually, you’ll probably have to enter one for one reason or another, because they’re just so common nowadays. So, being able to overcome your fears and enter another place like this is especially important now. Got it?”

	Lurantis gave a slow nod. By now, she was mostly recovered from the fear that had struck her before, but she still felt very nervous about being in this dungeon, and even Stoutland’s encouraging words didn’t help her very much.

	“I’ve got an idea,” Stoutland said suddenly, once they had gone through another tunnel and entered another large room, this one lit by crystals and devoid of enemies just like the last one. “If you can’t use any of your moves, I might have something to make up for it. Check my bag. Look for any rocks.”

	“Y-you carry rocks in there?” Lurantis said, forcing the words out past the lump in her throat as she went to Stoutland’s side and opened the pouch.

	“Not just any rocks. They’re Geo Pebbles,” Stoutland said, while Lurantis fished through the bag and withdrew a couple small grey rocks. “Since you’ve never been in a dungeon before, you probably don’t know about them. They’re special rocks that can be thrown at enemies, and that means they can make up for a lack of attacking moves.”

	“How is that different from any other rocks?”

	“To be honest, I don’t know. But for whatever reason, they’re widely considered special, and there’s no denying that they’re useful. Grab some and hang on to them, and try using them against enemies. Speaking of which…”

	Stoutland bared his fangs, glancing down a nearby tunnel. Lurantis stepped back, holding a single Geo Pebble carefully and placing the others on the ground at her feet. Out of the tunnel came another enemy Pokémon, but as soon as it appeared, Stoutland’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

	“Aw crud,” Stoutland whispered as he stared at the wild Pokémon. “Lurantis, this is bad.”

	The Grass-type looked at the approaching Pokémon, and gasped at the sight of a hulking Pangoro. The Fighting/Dark-type loomed over both Pokémon, standing well over twice the height of Lurantis and just under twice that of Stoutland. The wild Pokémon glared menacingly at the Normal-type, focusing on him as it entered the room. Lurantis realized that Stoutland was at a severe disadvantage against this enemy, and that explained his reaction to seeing it.

	“This is why I wanted to get a companion for this dungeon,” Stoutland said. Lurantis noticed with some surprise that his voice was shaky. “The Azure Caves dungeon contains mostly Ground, Rock, and Fighting types. I can handle Ground-types, and with my Bite attack, I can even deal with Rock-types, assuming they don’t resist it like that Carbink from earlier.”

	Stoutland glanced back at Lurantis. “But when it comes to Fighting-types, I’m way too outmatched. I can’t fight this enemy. And you can’t fight anything. Lurantis, we need to run!”

	Stoutland turned and ran from the Pangoro, who roared and gave chase, the ground shaking slightly as it lumbered after the Normal-type. Fortunately, it ignored Lurantis, focusing on the fleeing Normal-type. But Stoutland was too fast for the Pangoro to catch, and so the Fighting/Dark-type gave up the chase quickly.

	It then proceeded to turn its attention to Lurantis.

	The Grass-type stood there, immobilized. Stoutland's words had frozen her in place, once again bringing up the fears and anxiety that she had been ignoring. And now, as the Pangoro lumbered towards her, terror of the new threat paralyzed her completely. The beast soon towered over her, and she stared up into its blank black eyes.

	Move.

	Lurantis agreed with her thoughts, and she knew she had to move, to run, to escape this Pokémon, but she could not do anything at all. Her legs did not work. She felt weak all over. The Pangoro glared at her, and its fists began to glow as it charged an attack.

	Move, you idiot.

	But despite her thoughts goading her on, the only motion Lurantis could achieve was shuddering uncontrollably as the huge Pangoro raised its fists above its head, clasping them together and preparing to use a powerful attack.

	Move.

	Just get out of the way.

	Run!

	Lurantis’ thoughts screamed at her, pleading with her to flee, but as much as she wanted to heed them, she could not move from that spot. She stared up as the Pangoro slammed its fists down at her in a Hammer Arm attack. She wanted to run. But all she did was tremble and tear up, her body refusing to listen to her mind, even as the Pangoro’s fists connected with her head and knocked her out instantly.

	I really am useless.


***


	Lurantis woke with a splitting headache on the rocky ground of the cave. Opening her eyes slowly, she weakly rose to a cross-legged sitting position and glanced around, soon spotting Stoutland standing nearby. The canine was pacing about the cavern, and once he noticed that Lurantis was awake, he walked over to her. Her eyes widened and her breathing quickened with fear as she realized he was glaring angrily at her.

	“You’re awake,” Stoutland said. “That’s good. That means I can finally have a talk with you and tell you what’s about to happen.”

	“W-what’s about to happen? What do you—”

	“Keep quiet. Listen up. I want you to know what happened because of you. I started running from the Pangoro, but I realized you weren’t with me. So I turned around, and I was just in time to see it knock you out in one hit. I didn’t want you to get killed or anything, so I had to run over and fight it myself. And to put it bluntly, it didn’t go well. Look at this.”

	Stoutland suddenly bucked, knocking his pouch open and launching several items from it. They flew over his head and landed on the ground next to Lurantis. She looked at them, noting their identities as four small yellow seeds and a cracked and dull disc that could only be a used TM.

	“This is what I had to use to beat that Pangoro,” Stoutland explained, his gruff voice growing ever lower and more menacing as he spoke. “Four Reviver Seeds and one TM, which could teach Thunderbolt. All those seeds got used up because that Pangoro kept knocking me out, so now they're useless Plain Seeds, and the once-valuable TM is now used up and worthless too. I’d been planning to keep it for later, and maybe sell it or trade it for something, but because none of my other attacks could do much damage to that Pangoro, I was forced to use the TM and teach myself Thunderbolt, which paralyzed the Pangoro and let me defeat it. Problem is, I’m not good with using special attacks, so using that TM on myself was a waste. Just like having to use up those four seeds.”

	Stoutland paused, and his voice dropped even lower. “And just like bringing you with me into this place.”

	Lurantis stared up at her companion, surprised by his last line. Did he really mean that? Did he really consider letting her join him to be a waste? Surely she had some redeeming traits that he was overlooking.

	But though she thought deeply for one, none came to her mind.

	Stoutland continued, eyes narrowed and voice low. “If you followed me when I told you to, we could have escaped that Pangoro and everything would have been fine. But because you stayed behind, I had to come back and save you, and that made me use up all those valuable items I wouldn’t have needed to use otherwise. You made me waste those items, and that’s something that you can’t make up for. They cost me a lot, and money’s hard to come by. And apparently, so is good help.”

	Lurantis looked at Stoutland in silence. She wasn’t even really seeing him anymore. Her eyes had lost their focus as fear clouded her mind. What was he about to do? He was clearly enraged, though he was keeping his anger in check, avoiding any violent outbursts and limiting himself to harsh words. But would he keep that up, or soon lose his temper and do something worse to her? The thought scared her, and she continued to shudder as Stoutland glared down at her and resumed his rant.

	“This was the last straw. You’re not only unable to help me fight; you’re also making me lose items I wouldn’t have lost otherwise. You’re a detriment. So, listen up, Lurantis. I don’t care what you do now, just don’t follow me. From now on, we’re not companions anymore.”

	The Grass-type just kept staring at Stoutland. She tried to protest, to voice her anger and her fear of being left alone, but the only sound she could emit was a strangled squeak.

	Stoutland frowned at the items he had thrown on the ground, and turned around, leaving them and his former companion behind. He paused before he left, though, and glanced back at Lurantis one last time. “Good news is, without any Reviver Seeds, the next KO you suffer will warp you out of here. Remember what I told you before? That the only two ways to escape a dungeon are to reach the end or get KO’d? Well, here’s my advice for you, Lurantis: knock yourself out. Literally.”

	Stoutland looked forward and walked away, saying nothing more to Lurantis. He went down a tunnel at one end of the cavern and turned a corner, the light of his collar fading as he walked. And as the light vanished, so too did Lurantis’ last shred of hope.

	She stared down the tunnel, her eyes frozen on the last spot she had seen Stoutland, her body rooted to the place where Stoutland had left her. She tried to shout at him to stop, but that same choked-up and pitiful squeak from before was the only sound she could make. The cavern, though decently lit by the blue crystals in the walls, seemed to grow dimmer and dimmer, and the air grew colder with each second. Lurantis began to shiver, silently begging anyone at all for help.

	And at last, she snapped. Hot tears flowed down her cheeks, her breath came quickly and sharply, and a strangled scream echoed throughout the mystery dungeon.


***


	Stoutland paused as the distant scream reached his sensitive ears. Lurantis. He frowned and lowered his gaze, folding his ears close to his head. He did not want to hear her screams, or look back, or doubt his choice. He had given the Grass-type a chance, and she had failed him. Due to her incompetence, he had been forced to waste too many valuable items. Leaving her was the best course to take. It would save him from having to worry about her and protect her constantly, and she was in no real danger, as fainting would send her out of Azure Caves.

	It was the right thing to do, he told himself. It had to be.


***


	Underground.

	Stoutland gone.

	Emptiness, darkness.

	Long tunnels without end.

	Enemies attacking, slashing, piercing.

	Someone help me!

	Someone


Azure Caves
B5F


	Stoutland stepped off the stairs and into a brightly lit room. Like on the last two floors, glowing blue crystals in the walls illuminated the cavern, but they were far more abundant here. The cavern was devoid of enemies, and Stoutland took a moment to pause and take in his surroundings. He was amazed at how bright this room was. He wondered if it was bright enough for Lurantis to photosyn—

	He shook his head, cutting off his thoughts and trying to wipe the Grass-type from his memory. He had done the right thing by abandoning her, he told himself. Leaving her behind was a necessary sacrifice for him to reach the end of the dungeon. If he had kept her with him, he would have needed to focus more on keeping her safe instead of reaching the end, because she was useless.

	Useless. There was that word again. He frowned as he remembered how she had reacted when he called her that, and the thought caused him pity the Grass-type. He wondered if maybe he had been too harsh with her, but he let out a sigh as he considered that it was all in the past, and there was nothing he could do about it now. He could only continue on his way, and hope that Lurantis forgave him. She had to know he had no choice but to leave her behind. If he stayed with her, they both would have been defeated. She would have only been a distraction.

	Right?

	“I can think about that later,” Stoutland growled. “I’m too close to the end to let anything get to me. This is the last floor, after all. Assuming those Pokémon from the Dungeon Delvers Guild who explored this place before are right, of course. If they are, then the next staircase should lead to a room full of treasure. And after that, I can finally leave.”

	As he crossed another dimly lit room of the dungeon and made his way towards a tunnel set in its crystal-spotted wall, a wild Corsola hopped out of the darkness of the corridor and into the room Stoutland was in. It spotted him quickly and immediately fired a Bubble Beam at him. Stoutland dodged the attack and, thinking quickly, opened his mouth and fired a bolt of electricity out of it, summoning the power he had gained from the Thunderbolt TM. The Corsola toppled over backwards with a cry, and rolled back and forth as it tried to get back up after the super-effective attack. Stoutland rushed forward and delivered a swift Bite, which knocked the Corsola out.

	Having defeated the Corsola, Stoutland walked past its unconscious body and down the tunnel that it had emerged from. “Seems like that TM might not have been a complete waste after all,” he mused as he walked. “It’s good for some extra type coverage, even though I can’t use its power too effectively. Makes me wonder if having to use it up really was such a bad thing.”

	Stoutland grimaced and shook his head. “No, stop thinking like that. You’re doubting yourself. If you start thinking that wasting items is a good thing, you’ll start thinking that letting useless Pokémon like Lurantis hold you back is a good thing too. You can’t do that.”

	But even as he spoke, Stoutland’s thoughts kept returning to Lurantis. He imagined her sitting terrified where he had left her, and eventually being discovered by an enemy Pokémon. She wouldn’t stand a chance. Even if she was warped out of the cave when she fainted, she would still be injured by the Pokémon. The more he thought about it, the more he regretted his choice to abandon Lurantis.

	But it was the right thing to do, he told himself. It had to be.

	“Was it really, though?”

	He suddenly stopped in his tracks, surprised by what he had just said. The more he thought about it, though, the more he was inclined to agree with whatever part of him had led him to say such a thing.

	“Imagine how terrified she must be. She can’t use any moves, and she doesn’t even have any items, except for those Plain Seeds and that Used TM I left behind. And she probably didn’t pick those up. I wouldn’t be surprised if she left the Geo Pebbles behind, too. She doesn’t stand a chance.”

	Stoutland wanted to ignore the voice, forget Lurantis, push his worries and his guilt far to the back of his mind. But he found the voice, memories, and guilt alike to be immovable. They stayed in the forefront, weighing him down, even as he tried to keep moving on.

	“I can’t stop here, though; what good is stopping, anyway?” Stoutland growled, resisting his doubts. He continued walking forward, pushing through the guilt that held him back. “She’s probably already fainted by now. And if she hasn’t, she’s probably still on the previous floor. And there’s no going back to a previous floor once you’ve left it. If she’s overcome her fear and started making her way through the dungeon, then I’ve got nothing to worry about. And if she’s fainted, then everything’s still fine, because that means she’s outside now.”

	“But what if she’s still in here?” a voice in his head asked. “It’s possible to take damage without fainting, you know. She may be hurt, but not have been warped out yet. She could still be in here, suffering and terrified. And all because of you.”

	“I did what I had to do!” Stoutland shouted at the voice. The voice was his own, but it felt like a different person entirely. “It was for the best! I had to leave her behind!”

	“No, you didn’t,” the voice of his guilt said. “You abandoned her in her time of need. And no matter how you look at it, that hurt her immensely. You might think she’s useless… but you’re something far worse. You monster.”

	That made Stoutland lock up. Guilt paralyzed him, just as the Grass-type’s fears had frozen her in place before. The Normal-type gritted his teeth, and hung his head low with a grimace as he felt tears fall from his eyes despite his best efforts to hold them back.

	“What have I done?”


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