Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Quenched Torch

Chapter 1: Brave New World

Help me...

Please... someone, anyone...

It hurts...

It hurts so much...

...I can't hold on... the poison's setting in...

I'm so sorry...

...

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The sun beat down relentlessly on the dense forest, the only reprieve to those within being the occasional cloud obscuring the searing heat. Among the seemingly endless rows of trees the mystery dungeon boasted, an odd sight could be seen: a Quilava, hunched over digging through the tall grass quietly muttering to himself. Apparently unsuccessful in his search, he picked a single sticker from his paw as he groaned, sitting down to rest.

"Why does it always have to be a seed?" he groaned to himself. Swallowing the grit in his mouth, he set his pack down next to him, then dug for his canteen. It had been emptied about half an hour ago, but honestly, he wasn't complaining as long as he could get a few drops. Fire-types like him were known to be resistant towards heat, but even they could only take so much before they started to show their wear. Of course, for the Quilava, that wear meant his core literally burning him alive from the inside out. He preferred not to think about that.

Reviver Seeds were nothing anyone would want to lose, of course, especially an entire bag of them, but did it have to be Team Apex that had to find such things? Now, Quinite Forest was not exactly the most forgiving mystery dungeon to inexperienced explorers, as was the case with many of the dungeons in these lands, but still...

A sharp whistle rang through the dense forest. The Quilava perked up, a small excited spark escaping from the vents on his back. He trotted through a long, path-like clearing towards the source of the whistle: a Leafeon standing over a small, pale yellow seed. The Quilava picked it up gingerly, praying that this would be the start of what they were searching for. He looked it over for about a minute as the Leafeon waited, only for her to notice his eye beginning to twitch. She backed away as flames erupted from his back, his trembling paws clenched tightly around the seed. With a strangled yell, the Quilava threw it at the nearest tree, which promptly detonated with a loud bang. The Leafeon watched on, her eyes wide as the Quilava turned around panting, his paws clenched into tight fists.

"Another fucking Blast Seed," he said between clenched teeth.

The Quilava crumpled down and put his paws on his head, still seething as the Leafeon slowly approached him.

"Ardie, it's okay, you-" she began, only to be interrupted by her partner's exasperated sigh.

"Please, just don't, May," Arden whispered.

He had lost count of how many false positives the team had had over the day. Even May's usual demeanor was no match for the seemingly endless feral onslaughts, the scorching summer heat, and the maddeningly labyrinthine nature of Quinite Forest. He chuckled bitterly as he stood back up.

"Remember the good old days, back when Team Apex meant something? You know, when the most important thing we'd be doing at any given moment meant more than just finding some Pokémon's seeds? Victini as my witness, we've clocked a damn legendary between its eyes, and look where we are now..." May looked on as he continued to sulk. Arden knew that doing jobs like these was for the greater good, but still, there were moments like these where he wished for something more like the good old days...

"Honestly, I'm about ready to just pull out the Escape Orb. Sure, Arcanine wouldn't be very happy, but it can't be worse than another eight hours in here, right?" he said.