Explorers of Origin: A Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Fanfiction, Volume 1

Chapter 17: Reporting to Base

Darkness and light: one cannot exist without the advice of the other.

Arriving above a wooded area ten kilometers northwest of Koruno City, Salamence prepares to land on top of the trees. This throws off Mawile and her teammates initially, since no proper landing platform appeared to be set aside for any Flying-type Pokémon. Salamence's approach towards the treetops shatters their insecurities upon realizing what was hiding atop of the natural roof system.

"There's an actual floor for him to land?"

"That's right, Pikachu. This is the outermost portion of our base. Only we UPF personnel know how to open the trapdoors that let us go in."

"How can you tell from all that dirt?"

"Ches and I designed that trapdoor system you'll get to see, with entryways for troops of all sizes. It allows easier accessibility, keeping everything secret from any enemies, of course."

"Why does this sound like some poorly made parody of a generic military movie?"

"It ain't, little guy. No need to spell you your doubts. Watch this!"

Motioning Pikachu and his teammates to focus on the ground, Chesnaught pulls out a flip switch from his bag, activating it while aiming towards the area his allies observed. Quiet mechanical sounds emit their presence from the ground, revealing three uniquely sized ellipses splitting into six halves. Taking this opportunity to gain a head start, Salamence instructs the riders to proceed.

"Once you all get off, follow Chesnaught through the network of walkable logs that we all set up on the right. The width of each path is designated based on a Pokémon's size, so take the narrowest path you can step on."

"What about those entrances? How wide are they?"

"The three trapdoors are divided into three widths, as well: a one-meter, a three-meter, and a five-meter. Once each Pokémon goes through the smallest entry he or she can fit into, the paths merge into the hallway leading to the interior of our base."

"How much tough-talk do we have to get over? Chesnaught?"

"None, actually. We're all pretty casual around here, Pikachu. It's only when stuff gets serious do we behave firmly. You'll see when we go in."

The team abides by Salamance's recommendations and take the appropriately-sized paths. Pushing through countless tree branches and leaf clusters, they look down on the path every three seconds to ensure that there isn't a risk of slipping through any gaps that force them down. One of the elements that impressed Espeon was the semi-organic zigzag design, allowing extensive security and privacy measures to be implemented that prevent sabotage and compromises conducted by outside sources. Her impressions remained on the high end as she finds the bottom portion of one entrance, with the other two eventually entering her peripheral vision. She follows Mawile and Pikachu through the narrowest path while Gardevoir accompanies Chesnaught and Salamence on the middle path. Just before they go inside, their ears detect motions of agile slithers coming from their west. All six Pokémon quickly face towards the rummage emitted from the slithers, slowly piecing together the incoming shadow approaching them.

"Who the hell's that supposed to be?"

"Looks like a shadow of some snake."

"I think so, too. Can you see more of it, Chesnaught?"

"Hold up... I know who it is..."

"You sure?"