Trevor felt a familiar sense of numbing fear as he stared down the gaping cave entrance which towered imposingly over him. From within the seemingly endless cavern shone a reddish glow which made the cave opening seem more akin to a portal to the underworld as opposed to the entrance to a mystery dungeon. Trevor gulped, his breathing become harsh and shallow as he imagined becoming swallowed up upon entering.
"Could you... relay the mission one more time?" the Meowth tentatively asked in a desperate attempt to delay entering the giant maw.
Aiden rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Treph, we've already been through this twice now!" She reached into Trevor's satchel and pulled out a flyer acquired from the Bronze Rank request board. "Our mission is to go into Crimson Cave," she motioned towards the massive, glowing hole, "and find ourselves a Thunderstone. Some green rock with a lightning bolt on it. It's not that complicated."
Trevor looked back towards the cave entrance with a reluctant expression. "Is this really worth it? I mean, look at this place! I know we need the money and all, but is there no other mission we could have chosen?!"
Aiden puffed her chest outwards in an attempt to subdue her own feelings of nervousness. "We're gonna be fine!" she shouted loudly, pointing her nose high in the air. "Stalling is only gonna make this harder on us! We can't let this stupid dungeon scare us, not if we're gonna make it big as top-level explorers! Now c'mon, let's go!"
Straightening his scarf and adjusting his goggles over his eyes, Trevor followed Aiden into the mouth of the Crimson Cave and swiftly disappeared into the depths of its eerie, red interior.
Any questions regarding the source of the crimson glow instantly dissipated as Trevor entered the mouth of the Crimson Cave. The interior was filled with rows upon rows of crystals, each of which pulsed a brilliant, red light which lined the walls with an ominous glow. The dungeon's towering walls were awash with a murky shade of red which starkly contrasted both Trevor and Aiden's black, stretched-out shadows.
It didn't take long for their first crawler, a blank eyed Cranidos, to jump out from behind a pair of boulders to face the pair. After scraping the ground a few times with its spiked feet, it began charging headfirst towards the pair at a breakneck speed.
"Treph!" Aiden shouted, "Like we planned!"
Shaking away his surprise, Trevor pulled a Blast Seed from his bag and threw it towards the ground in front of the Cranidos, the resulting explosion causing the crawler to halt its momentum as it stumbled slightly. Aiden swiftly rushed in front of the crawler, and with a single flashy movement, flashily kicked the crawler with enough force to send it hurtling backwards; her flame engulfed legs formed a brilliant wheel of fire which caused Trevor's jaw to go slack from sheer amazement. Upon crashing directly into one of the many glowing crystals illuminating the area, the crawler let out a violent hiss and scurried away.
"Yeah!" Aiden gleefully proclaimed, giving Trevor a playful slap on the back, "We're awesome, aren't we?! Alpha won't know what hit him the next time he tries messing with us!"
"You bet. That was all you," Trevor muttered dazedly before noticing the glowing shards of crystal which now littered the ground. An idea surfaced onto his mind as he hastily began scooping the pieces and shoving them into his bag. The pair made their way further into the cave shortly thereafter.
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"Aiden, I've been wondering," Trevor suddenly said after some time had passed.
"Yeah? Shoot."
"You mentioned the Legend Rank a couple days back. The highest ranked explorers." Trevor's eyes subtly lit up in excitement. "Who's the strongest?"
YOU ARE READING
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rising Spirits
Adventure"All things... must eventually come to pass..." Trevor, a timid human turned Meowth, has been thrust into an unfamiliar world of talking Pokémon who view his kind as inexplicably tied to the looming, unseen threat which threatens their world. With n...
