Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: The Search of a Soul

Chapter 2

"That should be the last one," Riri said in between bites.

We had taken way more time than we originally thought to get everyone out of the cells. The keys were ancient and so were the locks. It took at least fifteen minutes just to get the key in the lock and about ten more minutes to turn the key to unlock the door. I had no idea how the prisoners had been locked inside in the first place. Then again, all these Rock types were pretty huge and strong, so maybe it was just easier for them because of that. We had also been giving out food from Raven's bag to any Pokémon that seemed like they really needed it. Hence why Riri was shoving her face as she was talking to us.

"You're absolutely sure about this?" Raven said, attempting to jam the key into the last cell door.

"Absolutely positive." Riri assured us.

"This is taking way too long, they could be coming with reinforcements." I said worriedly.

"Well what do you suggest?" Raven asked, clearly frustrated.

I studied the cell door for a second, then thought of something, "Mind if I try something?"

She scoffed, "Sure, knock yourself out.

She backed away from the door; as soon as she was clear I mustered the energy of Iron Tail again and precisely slammed my tail into the space between the lock and the wall. The door squeaked open and Raven stood in amazement.

"What on earth was that?" she asked.

"Iron Tail, it's never entirely accurate so I didn't know if I would hit the right spot." I said sheepishly.

"That seemed pretty accurate to me." Raven said, eyeing me warily.

"Just lucky I guess," I said quickly.

She didn't seem entirely convinced. I didn't blame her, I was doing a terrible job at remaining inconspicuous without also being suspicious. If I'm being perfectly honest, I'm not entirely sure what's going on myself. Everything has been happening so fast it's hard to keep track of everything.

"That's the last of them," Raven said as she counted the prisoners, "we should be good to get the heck out of here before reinforcements arrive."

"I think it's a little late for that," Riri said, "There are multiple beings upstairs waiting for us."

"How do you know that?" Raven asked.

"Riolu have the innate ability to sense the aura of others." I quoted out of habit.

"Y-yes... I do," Riri said slowly, "but how did you know that?"

"Like I said, I've been around." I said quickly.

Raven seemed to accept that explanation, "Well we gotta find a way to get past them, and I think I have an idea. Follow me."

"Do we get to know what the plan is?" I asked as she bolted towards the staircase.

"It'll be a surprise!" she shouted.

"I don't like the sound of that," I muttered, but Riri was already following close behind, "I hope this doesn't end up backfiring on us."

I followed them up the staircase and spotted the large mob of Pokémon that had assembled at the top. They all seemed to be extremely wary and on edge. Raven faced them, looking confident in her plan. She reared up and I realized she was about to launch an attack. I grabbed Riri and ducked behind a large boulder. A wave of heat surged over us as Raven unleashed her attack. I waited a few seconds before poking my head over the boulder. Most of the mob had been knocked off their feet, but a few were still standing. I realized immediately that the Pokémon that were left standing were Houndour and Houndoom. This was really bad. Their ability, Flash Fire, made Fire attacks ineffective and actually boosted the power of their own Fire attacks.