Fandom Pokémon Mystery Dungeon - Into the Depths

[Aron the Aron]

Unknown area - Mystery Continent

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The town had come a long way from being a humble base camp several months ago; the steady inflow of ambitious Exploration Teams seeking the glory and satisfaction diving into the mysterious labyrinth. The massive stone tower that served as the entrance to the dungeon stood tall amongst the town and camps that had cropped up around, and all sorts of Pokémon scurried around its well-trodden paths either prepping to enter the dungeon or supporting the former.

If he was being honest, Cobalt was more than a little nervous setting foot in town for the first time. The Riolu was about as far from his home in Capim Town as he aimlessly strolled the grass and dirt paths of the town. From the hastily-placed tents littering the grounds, to the abundance of crates and barrels filled to the brim with berries and seeds; the Town still had traces of the rudimentary basecamp it once was if it weren't for the scale of Pokemon populating the camp. At the least: it provided an Explorer with the essentials they would need to explore. An Item Shop run by an amiable Kecleon, a Deposit Box for any supplies, a bank run by a Cofagrigus, a little place run by Klefki that opened Treasure Boxes found for a small fee; someone even managed to get a cafe up and running in the Town!

Too bad the Riolu had come alone. It was abnormal for a young Explorer like him to be solo, but he didn't exactly have much of a choice...

 

[Aron the Aron]

mdebourg

 

[mdebourg]

Topaz would soon set foot into this town himself, Topaz being a Buizel. He would see the beginnings of a developing town with at least the main 'essentials' for exploration of any dungeon, the kecleon running the store the cofagrigus running the bank and the kangaskhan running the storage area, at least it was something.

Topaz himself would be a bit excited upon arriving here, the idea of exploring many different unknown places appealed to him greatly, his dad, a Floatzel, inspiring him to pursue this, and now he would essentially be following in his dad's footsteps. He would take in a few breaths of air as he arrived, steeling himself for the adventures ahead before heading over to the main guild hub. While he had come alone, he knew of the rules of adventuring 101 the first one being 'Never venture alone!' as such, he now needed a partner to go with him into the great unknown.

For the next few minutes he would wander around the town for awhile, a mix of getting to know the facilities as well as possibly finding at least one other to tag along with him. For the moment, he wasn't having much luck as most of the others were already formed groups of two to four that weren't accepting any others. Perhaps there was someone that was by themselves?,

 

[Aron the Aron]

Spoiler: Our Riolu deuteragonist!

A massive tent at the epiccenter of the Town served as the heart of all operations involving the new dungeon, and Cobalt soon found himself openly gawking at the crowded masses of Explorers milling about and making their necessary checks for the day. It was more than a little intimidating just seeing so many high ranking Explorers; the Gold Rank Explorer's Badge sitting proudly on his worn scarf felt inferior compared to the mass of Ultras and Hypers running around. Heck, Cobalt didn't need to look very far to see glimpses of the Master Rank's signature black badge...

It was also readily apparent that Cobalt was completely alone when it came to company. Nobody wanted dead weight in a foreign dungeon, and being an unevolved Pokémon with a low Exploration Rank made Cobalt undesirable for any half-decent Explorer. Duos and trios suddenly were full when Cobalt dared to ask to join, and more than a few snobbish Explorers mistook the Riolu for being a lost child.

After several minutes of fruitless searching, one significantly deflated Riolu had been left with the uncomfortable conclusion that he wouldn't be able to go into the unknown dungeon anytime soon. If only he could find some sort of kindred spirit close by...

 

[mdebourg]

After wandering around the town for a good amount of time, Topaz would catch a glimpse of this large, no huge, tent. He immediately heads there and is met with the same rather cold reception from the other high tankers, most giving 'nopes' or head turns away from the Buizel as they show their disdain for 'newbies'.

"This is tougher than I thought " he muses to himself as he continues looking for fellow guppies in a ocean of sharks. 10 minutes of getting 'Snubbulled' later and he was starting to feel like he wouldn't find that one fellow newbie that wasnt with any of those high ranking, high on their Ponyta snobs...

Then the Riolu appeared, a fellow Gold rank explorer, you had to be gold minimum to even attempt this dungeon, lower than that and you were simply too green. As for Topaz's other Gold members, they didnt want to try this dungeon anyway. As such, seeing the riolu that isnt around the others is a breath of fresh air and he isnt passing this up. Topaz hurries on over to the side of the fighting type, Excuse me, but are you perhaps looking for a partner to explore this new dungeon?" Topaz mentally prays for this to be a yes.

 

[Aron the Aron]

"Excuse me, but are you perhaps looking for a partner to explore this new dungeon?"

"ACK! WHAT DI-!?"

Okay maybe Cobalt wasn't exactly the kind that liked to be approached from any direction besides the front, judging by how high he jumped while spooked out of his wits by Topaz's surprise question. "Aeugh! Don't just talk to someone when they aren't looking your way; I think I lost a few years off my life..." Sucking in a healthy few gulps of air helped settle down the Riolu, and soon enough he had calmed down, just as everyone who had turned their heads towards the commotion went back to their business. "Anyway, you were saying something about 'partners' and the new dungeon? If you're asking if you want to team with my group; I'm bum outta luck with you. I don't got any team to call my own in this town."

It wasn't hard to see why, for Topaz. Compared to all the other Pokémon around them, the gold gems in their Explorer's Badges were quite pathetic. Nobody aside from the two were low-rankers that had plans to go diving into the new dungeon; everyone else were well-travelled Ultras and Hypers with tons of experience...

Man, if only Cobalt had his grandfather around to lend him a paw...

 

[mdebourg]

Aeugh! Don't just talk to someone when they aren't looking your way; I think I lost a few years off my life..."

"S-sorry about that " says an equally jumpy Topaz given the other pokemon's reaction, perhaps he should have expected that, and now the other pokemon around were staring! Not a proper start at all, he couldn't be more embarrassed.

"Anyway, you were saying something about 'partners' and the new dungeon? If you're asking if you want to team with my group; I'm bum outta luck with you. I don't got any team to call my own in this town."

"Same here, no one else wants me as part of their team." ( though with that introduction, it's not hard to see why) " How about we make our own team... I-if you want to that is" suddenly catching himself for being very forward. He mentally facepalmed looking at Colbolt for what he thinks is going to be an inevitable 'no' from him and that he blew a chance to explore one of the newest dungeons known to mon.

 

[Aron the Aron]

Cobalt crossed his arms and hummed as he mulled over Topaz's offer. Part of him was tempted to refuse and continue to take his chances looking for an open team of more experienced Explorers, but he wasn't that blindly optimistic that he would come across an accomodating Exploration Team anytime soon. As wary as he was in trusting a fellow Gold Ranker that he knew next to nothing about, the fact was that going solo was suicide at best; going as a duo was infinitely better despite it being two rookies (well... comparative rookies)

If things ever came down to be the worst case scenario, he could always use the Buizel as a distraction...

"Hmm... Well unless some Master Rank Explorer shows mercy and takes us under their wing, I think teaming up is our only real option here. Alright, you got a partner for the near future. Name's Cobalt."

 

[mdebourg]

"Hmm... Well unless some Master Rank Explorer shows mercy and takes us under their wing, I think teaming up is our only real option here. Alright, you got a partner for the near future. Name's Cobalt."

"Glad to hear that, the name is Topaz, nice meeting you Cobalt." he would introduce himself as well,he was mainly glad he accepted in the first place really. At least now he had a partner, rank at this moment be darned. Sure it would be better with more experience but fate wasnt that kind to either of them today. Now comes the possibly harder part of this,having to see what they both have to offer in the actual dungeon, that is barring any super explorers showing up.

 

[Aron the Aron]

...

...

...

If Cobalt was being honest with himself, he really didn't have much of an idea how to dispel the awkward silence that had settled between him and Topaz. Everyone else in town seemed to have something to do, so the Riolu quickly decided that the best thing to do was get to work on preparing for their own foray into the dungeon. "Well, we'd better not waste any time now that we have a team. We'll need all sorts of supplies for this one: Oran Berries, Pecha Berries, Rawst Berries, Reviver Seeds... I'm not even sure that those kinds of items will do us much good in this dungeon if the rumors are to be believed..."

Cobalt was of course talking about how everyone said the dungeon wasn't like a Mystery Dungeon. It didn't follow the rules of a Mystery Dungeon, which had baffled the first Explorers who braved themselves into being the first inside. No random layouts and the ability to return up and down the floors of the dungeon were the key features of the decidedly "not a Mystery Dungeon"...

 

[mdebourg]

"Well, we'd better not waste any time now that we have a team. We'll need all sorts of supplies for this one: Oran Berries, Pecha Berries, Rawst Berries, Reviver Seeds... I'm not even sure that those kinds of items will do us much good in this dungeon if the rumors are to be believed..."

"That is a good question actually. I think the berries should work but not sure about the reviver seeds, nevertheless we should buy those as you noted. We can change the idea once we see the marketplace as well as the items inside the dungeon , if we find any anyway. At least there was the Kecleon Shop that at least sold all of these items, assuming either of them had any money.

 

[Aron the Aron]

At least there was the Kecleon Shop that at least sold all of these items, assuming either of them had any money.

...

Why did it feel like Cobalt was missing a key detail he was currently overlooking?

"Well then, let's have our first order of business be preparations! Now we just need to... head to the Keckleon Brothers'... shop..." The Riolu began trailing off as it dawned on him that he was a complete enigma to the makeshift town he was standing in the middle of. He had no idea where every facility was; any bank run by Cofagrigus or Duskill, no storage like that kindly Kangaskhan back in Treasure Town; he didn't even know if the shop and wares were run by Keckleon! Maybe Topaz could throw him a hand or two?

"... Er, I don't suppose you know where any shops are?"

 

[mdebourg]

"... Er, I don't suppose you know where any shops are?"

"I do actually, though it seems they are run by different pokemon than we are used to in Treasure Town." Topaz would then begin walking in a eastern direction where there would be a bank but run by a Murkrow instead of the normal Duskull, the bird just look with its steely gaze right through them, "Here we have the bank" he nods, the bird not saying anything for now seeming to be interested in the yellow shiny stuff only.

Topaz then goes away from there heading slightly north from the bird to what would be the Kecleon shop, minus the Kecleon bros. Instead of them, it was a Smergle and a Dedenne, "Hello there, I see you finally found a partner to go with you?"

"Yes Dedenne, it certainly took awhile though" Topaz nodded before turning to the Riolu, "I sell various basic wares and Smergie here handles the more special stuff, happy to help" the Smergie nickname drawing a glare from the painter dog

"Don't call me Smergie" he spouts annoyed with a sigh as Topaz heads off in the direction of the storage, this being a bit southwest of the store so that they formed a sorta triangle shape. The storage run by a Greedent, the chubby rodent giving the two a wave.

"Here is the storage" Topaz says while the chipmunk works on storing other explorers stuff.

Hello there, seems I'm going to have more to store away huh? Well I wish you both good luck" he quickly says before getting back to work.

 

[mdebourg]

hey Aron the Aron just checking on you

 

[mdebourg]

your fine! no worries, just glad your back

 

[Aron the Aron]

"I do actually, though it seems they are run by different pokemon than we are used to in Treasure Town." Topaz would then begin walking in a eastern direction where there would be a bank but run by a Murkrow instead of the normal Duskull, the bird just look with its steely gaze right through them, "Here we have the bank" he nods, the bird not saying anything for now seeming to be interested in the yellow shiny stuff only.

Topaz then goes away from there heading slightly north from the bird to what would be the Kecleon shop, minus the Kecleon bros. Instead of them, it was a Smergle and a Dedenne, "Hello there, I see you finally found a partner to go with you?"

"Yes Dedenne, it certainly took awhile though" Topaz nodded before turning to the Riolu, "I sell various basic wares and Smergie here handles the more special stuff, happy to help" the Smergie nickname drawing a glare from the painter dog

"Don't call me Smergie" he spouts annoyed with a sigh as Topaz heads off in the direction of the storage, this being a bit southwest of the store so that they formed a sorta triangle shape. The storage run by a Greedent, the chubby rodent giving the two a wave.

"Here is the storage" Topaz says while the chipmunk works on storing other explorers stuff.

Hello there, seems I'm going to have more to store away huh? Well I wish you both good luck" he quickly says before getting back to work.

If there was any sort of image Cobalt internally had about the facilities, he promptly chucked them into the bin when he saw just how... Underwhelming everything was. For an upstarting basecamp/town that was populated heavily with high-rank Exploration and Rescue Teams, there was a shocking lack of logistics that was available to the elite, let alone a hopeless duo of Gold-Rankers like him and Topaz. At least the shop and storage seemed like friendly folk; the Murkrow on the other hand didn't feel like the sort anyone would feasibly trust with their coin... or anything for that matter.

"Well... I guess we do have all the basic necessities we'd need before an expedition." The Riolu sighed, awkwardly reaching into the worn out Treasure Bag that he had slung over his shoulder. The sack of coins he held inside felt a tad light when he brushed his paw against it, a piddling 10,000 that was not an insignificant chunk of his life's savings. Maybe it was enough to outfit his bag with a small compliment of Oran Berries and Reviver Seeds that were almost mandatory for long explorations such as these, but that was it. Cobalt was already far from the wealthiest Pokemon around, and just travelling to the new dungeon and it's bordering town took quite a bit for him...

"Hrmm... We're going to have to be frugal or hope that whatever this dungeon is is generous with supplies we can forage for ourselves. I doubt I've enough to outfit us for a day's worth exploration."

 

[mdebourg]

"Hrmm... We're going to have to be frugal or hope that whatever this dungeon is is generous with supplies we can forage for ourselves. I doubt I've enough to outfit us for a day's worth exploration."

After seeing that Cobalt only had 10,000 coins with him, Topaz agreed "Yeah this is going to be maybe a floor or two to start, perhaps it was designed that way?" he guessed, that would at least feel like it was meant to be a slow sense of progress. Topaz himself only had another 8,000 coin with him at the moment and that Murkow didn't exactly feel like the generous type. "But at least we can get some reviver seeds and a few berries or some other things to at least explore the first area. Should we at least see what that first area is like or did you want to look for another member before heading out?"

 

[mdebourg]

(here it is)

 

[Aron the Aron]

"But at least we can get some reviver seeds and a few berries or some other things to at least explore the first area. Should we at least see what that first area is like or did you want to look for another member before heading out?"

The Riolu gave a pessimistic look around himself and Topaz before shaking his head. "I don't really think we're gonna find anyone else who's going to even consider coming with us. As it is we may as well be apprentice Explorers with how green we are compared to everyone around us." He sighed aloud. His hopes weren't the most uplifting for getting ready to explore, but his mood was understandable to an extent. Still, he was already there; it wouldn't do to have gone all this way without setting foot in the dungeon at least...

"Alright, let's start out with getting a map and a few berries and apples. Arceus knows what's down there, and I don't have any paper or charcoal to write anything down anyways..."

Seeing a shop not run by the Keckleon brothers was a strange sight to Cobalt as he approached the small, but busy shop. The Smeargle and Dedenne running it appeared well-stocked if the unopened crates lying around their hastily-raised tent was anything to go by; the shared funds Cobalt and Topaz had pooled was probably enough to supply one foray into the dungeon, maybe two if the Riolu was extremely stingy with what they used...

"Er... Excuse me! Mind if I trouble you two to do business?"

 

[mdebourg]

"I don't really think we're gonna find anyone else who's going to even consider coming with us. As it is we may as well be apprentice Explorers with how green we are compared to everyone around us.

"Yeah thats fair" Topaz nods but once we get some experience and sure this will change for the better," he nods again. "Your right though that we should at least get a map berries and some apples "

The two coming across a dedenne that was a bit of a pack rat but provided some very useful items, albeit for a bit of a pricey amount

"Er... Excuse me! Mind if I trouble you two to do business?"

"Sure " the dedenne nods, What do you guys need?"

Topaz would speak up here, "A map and some oran berries as well as the status healing berries please. 2 of each"

"That would be 700 poke please" Dedenne nods.

"Should that work for a first trip Cobalt?" Topaz asks.

 

[Aron the Aron]

Cobalt was... more than a little surprised at the apparent prices Dedenne was offering for the team's meagre supplies. "Eugh, if that's what we have to pay for a map and a few berries we'd better hope exploring the dungeon pays off in dividends..." He grumbled as he fetched the worn cloth sack out of his Treasure Bag, sorting out the necessary change before paying and storing away their new rations inside. The blank parchment and charcoal would definitely be more than enough for even a large dungeon floor, assuming the dungeon was anything remotely resembling a Mystery Dungeon. But because of the rumblings and gossip flying through town, he was probably better off erring on the side of caution in bringing such a map...

"Well, we got what we came for." He sighed to Topaz. "You got any last business you think we should take care of before we head off to the dungeon, cuz I got nothing coming to mind."

 

[mdebourg]

"Well, we got what we came for." He sighed to Topaz. "You got any last business you think we should take care of before we head off to the dungeon, cuz I got nothing coming to mind. "

"Nope I certainly don't at this time, besides once we explore this for the first time we should have a better clue how to handle preparations for this right?" This weird dungeon was both exciting and terrifyingly at the same time. At least they both knew how normal mystery dungeons worked, this was just bizarre. But they at least had the bare essentials in terms of maps and berries, it was about as good as they would do for now.

( I can make those prices cheaper if needed)

 

[Aron the Aron]

( I can make those prices cheaper if needed)

(Nope; once you've got something down on paper it's in stone. I don't like retconning, so we're sticking with this)

"Nope I certainly don't at this time, besides once we explore this for the first time we should have a better clue how to handle preparations for this right?"

"Well... I can't exactly argue against that logic, mostly because I'm not even thinking properly right now..." The little grumbles and mumbles spilling out of Cobalt's mouth were a little disconcerting, but it wasn't enough to dampen his own mood on the whole matter any further. "I guess the only thing we've got left to do is march into this dungeon itself and see how things pan out."

---

Now loading the next area...​

---

Cobalt would claim to have seen a lot of strange things in his short and relatively young career as an Explorer; Mystery Dungeons hidden under a quicksand desert and a vast ocean Mystery Dungeon being among the highlights back in the Grass Continent. Seeing a gaping tear in the ground open up to a surreal, almost alien forest that seemed uncaring of the circumstances definitely ranked up there as one of the most peculiar sights the young Riolu could ever boast witnessing with his own two eyes.

The smooth cobblestone path he and Topaz had been on for the past half-hour had led them far from the makeshift tent city they had just been in, and now that it had stopped in front of the anomalous "dungeon", Cobalt was now starting to feel a little bit of trepidation. The rumors did no small favors to his sensibility, running wild with all sorts of speculation on the nature of what many Exploration Teams were already labelling a Labyrinth rather than a Mystery Dungeon.

"Well... We've already come this far..."

 

[mdebourg]

(No problem there, most stuff early tends to be expensive anyway

Topaz just gives a slightly reassuring nod, more for himself than anything, "We can do this. Right?"Surely with his decent amount of experience in actual mystery dungeons, Topaz thought he had seen it all.

Oh how wrong he was.

The area outside the tent city now had opened up to rather expansive forest, and that wasn't even part of the dungeon yet! It's as if Shaymin had just decided to run rampant, only this wasn't that mythics doing. The cobblestone path just acting as a pathway from A to B in this alien landscape, Topaz now having his own speculations on just what in the pecha berry this dungeon was. The cobblestone path stops right in front of possibly the only sense of familiarity they could both see, a set of stairs going downward.

"Well... We've already come this far..." he heard Cobalt mutter

"That we have, better get going," Topaz answers back, and then descends to stairs into the unknown abyss

(Shall we follow the 1st stratum theme of being a forested area?)

 

[Aron the Aron]

(Shall we follow the 1st stratum theme of being a forested area?)

(The whole nine yards: layout and everything)

---

1st Stratum: Emerald Grove​

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As Cobalt and Topaz braved themselves into the Labyrinth, immediately things set off alarm bells in Cobalt's head. He knew for sure that he had just gone down into an underground forest, so the fact that sunlight was still brightly lighting the whole underground forest was a touch off to him; the forest felt more like any other old forest he could find anywhere else rather than one that was supposed to be underground...

Aside from that, the forest seemed to resemble that of a typical Mystery Dungeon layout. The foliage and greenery of the forest created natural barriers that formed rooms and corridors that both Riolu and Buizel could find in any old Mystery Dungeon, so they had that sense of familiarity to fall back on. No sight of any Pokemon however, be it friendly or hostile...

"Huh... We've not even taken a few steps inside and already this feels kind of like a Dungeon. Something feels off about the place though; I can't put my paw on what the heck is up with this place."