Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Seasons of Heaven

Episode 35: Put Him To Rest

The Teleportal dropped the group off on the edge of tall hill, but the edge was so sharp it resembled a cliff. From here, they had full view of the disturbing scenery of the world around them, and were amazed at it being nothing like they had ever seen or imagined.

That was at first glance, anyway. Lute could draw parallels between this place and Pokétopia in that skyscrapers and lively streets defined the place. Complete with neon signs and warm, colourful lights that gleamed like stars in the nightlife, this place even had wind.

The major difference was that this entire world was drowned beneath an ocean that seemed to have no end. All the lights from the buildings glistened from beneath the surface of the water, as if the sun was setting behind it – but there was no sun, just the crumbling ceiling of the Earth above. A few skyscrapers poked above the water, and strangely, every last one of them was intact.

"What is this place? There's nowhere but underwater," Esther said as she slowly spun around. They were on a small island, and that was all that stood out of the water.

"This is the sixth continent. Cistern Citadel. A city once cultivated by Carbink, and their ruler, a mythical Pokémon called Diancie," Azu said. She hopped down the cliff and stumbled, and then continued to the edge. "I believe it was something to do with a second royalty being born when they shouldn't have been, causing a civil war. The continent expanded into two more lands: Moand Dia, and Balunercc."

"So Balunercc's an island?" Infia tilted her head. "But that doesn't make any sense. Isn't Moand Dia that world inside the planet? Normal Pokémon can't go there."

"Normal Pokémon can't go there now. Those are practically two worlds now, and they're protected by their respective mythical Pokémon. Moand Dia is protected by Diancie, and Balunercc, a royal called Artemis," Azu explained. "I honestly never considered it at first, but it seems that Naivie is Artemis' champion. She's trying to bring Artemis and Balunercc back to the world."

"Oh, I get it. So something happened that turned Balunercc into a planet. Now that the weather is back to normal, Naivie's trying to get to Balunercc because Artemis is there, right?" Esther said.

"Something like that. I couldn't tell you the full details, to be honest. All I know is that this is what remains of the Carbink's continent. Somewhere here is a way leading directly to Diancie, and that your Sylveon friend is way ahead of you in finding it," Azu informed. "You'll want to find Diancie and talk to them yourself if you want to know how to stop Balunercc from crashing into Aseria."

"Sophitia went here? How, the whole thing's underwater!" Kuri said.

"Somehow I don't see that being much of an issue for her," Lute said, staring at it. He said that, but the idea of her diving deep into this underwater city made him nervous. She may have been excellent at swimming, but she was no Vaporeon, and he had certainly seen her drown before.

"Well it's a good thing I came then, isn't it? I had better get to work," Marina said, and stretched her legs. "I'll find the Teleportal and head back here. Hopefully it's in a place where I can lead you all to it."

"I hate underwater travel," Infia slumped

"We could always go as Esthia," Esther suggested.

"Thanks, but that's not going to solve the clothes problem," she said with a groan.

"Hahaha, you kids really are adventurous. I love it! You think you'll last exploring a place like this? Where the portal is, the pressure would probably kill you," Azu remarked. She inhaled deeply and puffed up her chest and belly to nearly twice her size, and then gradually exhaled to form a large bubble. She made several of them and each one was bigger than her. "Okay, get in."