Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Midnight

Chapter 4: Prodigies

Echo, Fathom and Fern itched to get to the job boards, and Echo could hardly keep herself from yelling at the elevator to move faster.

/Now that I think about it, being on an exploration team sounds fun. I wonder what our first mission will be?/

The three of them dashed out onto the crystal second floor, only to slip and fall. Summit sure did a good job at polishing to get it so smooth. "Careful now," teased Char. "Don't want you to get hurt before you even start your first mission."

A lot slower this time, Team Dawnbreak picked themselves up and headed to the job board. They had already begun picking out a job before Char caught up with them, but when he did, they were informed that all new recruits did an outlaw job as their first mission. Speed walking over to that board, they immediately began quarreling over which job to pick, ignoring Char entirely, who made several suggestions of his own. They finally agreed on a job to defeat and arrest a Vullaby.

"Fine, have it your way," said Char with a sigh. "But when you come back with black eyes and not a single Poké to your name, don't say I didn't warn you. That Vullaby is a tough one."

Team Dawnbreak seemed to ignore him, rushing out the door. "Thanks, Char, for all of your help!" Fathom called before they left.

The three of them crowded into the elevator, the precious job in Echo's jaws. Dropping it and spreading it out on the floor, she squinted at it. "Uh, we have a problem," she said, looking up from it. "Where the heck is 'Coastal Cave?'"

"Uh..."

"No clue..."

"Great." Echo began pacing, and picked up the paper as the elevator came to a stop. "Just great. Our first mission and we don't even know where we're going."

"Maybe we could ask someone in town?" suggested Fathom.

"WAIT! I think I remember where it is!" cried Fern. "Remember that cliff on the beach?" asked Fern. She took care not to mention anything about meeting Echo, or the fact that she was human, as Fathom was clueless about it, and they weren't ready to tell him.

"Yeah. What of it?" asked Echo.

"There was a cave in the cliff a little ways down the shore. Maybe, just maybe..."

"Fern, you're a genius! That's probably the place!" The trio gleefully raced out of the city into blinding light, stopping for a moment to catch their breath and adjust to the brightness. Then they were off again, a green, yellow and brown blur among the peach hues of the beach.

They skidded to a halt as they neared the cave Fern had described, letting out a whoop of excitement before running in recklessly. Their surroundings instantly dimmed, and a deep fog obscured their vision. After a few steps forward, the fog cleared, to reveal that the entrance wasn't there anymore. They were in the Mystery Dungeon!

It was hard to see, but a dim, grey light spread across the cavern, providing some vision. Echo couldn't tell exactly where the light was coming from, but this WAS a Mystery Dungeon; it wasn't the most explainable place.

She reared back as a Zubat suddenly swooped at them from overhead, zooming over to sink its fangs into Fern. Fortunately, she pulled out of the way a moment before it hit her, and it squealed in frustration before swerving around. It headed for Fern again, but Fathom leaped up and scratched its wing, getting its attention. It had its sights set on the little mouse Pokémon now, but Fathom wasn't able to evade its attack; instead, it sunk its fangs deep into his arm.

The effects were visible almost immediately; Fathom began to get woozy, and he started to look tired. When Echo realized this, she shot forward and sunk her teeth deep into the creature's body, causing it to screech and let go. It wasn't until it was hardly struggling anymore that she let it go, and it flew off on an irregular path.