Ñako and Travis only walked a few steps into the room before finding a stone tablet the size of a hand lying on the ground, words carved onto its surface.

"Told you they were gonna make us read," huffed the ninja, offended.

"…How do you do this again?"

"Read?"

"Yeah, that," confirmed Travis, kneeling down and picking up the tablet. He squinted at it. "Cool, it's a sinister dungeon… with instructions."

He handed the tablet to Ñako, who read it aloud after letting out a sigh.

"Let's see… 'If you want to find the exit, yadda yadda, one of you must head to the wall opposite to the way you came from...' great. You go, I'm on reading duty."

"Ugh."

Ñako waited until Travis reached the wall and pressed his back against it, like the instructions said. As soon as he did so, a sharp whirr whined through the air. Two pairs of iron restraints jumped out of the spaces between the bricks, closing around the boy's wrists and ankles and securing them in place.

"U-uh…"

There was another, even louder whirr as the stone floor under him opened up into what certainly looked like a bottomless pit.

"It's getting spicy," Ñako pointed out. "Let's see… 'Any mistake will cost you greatly'. Huh, guess it's like one of those Kantan game shows."

"T-that's all it says?" asked Travis, looking more nervous over the fact he couldn't hit his drumsticks together than anything else.

"Oh, right, here's more," said Ñako, squinting. "Er… 'They're the only two with this type in the entire region'. Riddles… great. I knew my bloodlust would be satiated in the FUCKING DOOR OF WISDOM!" he yelled up at the sky, offended.

Travis mumbled nervously. "W-well, come on, answer!"

"Ah, right… about that. I've got some bad ne–"

As he was saying that, Meowth walked close to him and meowed loudly, slashing at his leg with one of his paws just softly enough not to actually make him bleed. Ñako looked down at him and frowned, having lost his train of thought

"Could you keep it down?," he reprimanded him. "I'm trying to tell this guy that I don't know the answer and that he's gonna fall to his death."

Travis' face went deathly pale at the ninja's words. He kept moving his drumsticks between his fingers unconsciously, almost therapeutically. Meowth, meanwhile, stood up and turned away from his owner, arms folded in offense.

"Whatever you tsundere cat," he said. "... Wait… Tsundere? Meowth? That girl with the stupid hat and the blue worm!"

He slammed his fist against his palm and let out a triumphant chuckle.

"You must have a drummer god up there somewhere looking out for you, because I just realized I know the answer."

"That's good," said Travis, gulping. "Hurry up and get me down from–"

"Just a second. First off, you and I need to have a little talk," said Ñako, smiling and wiggling his eyebrows.

"That's bad."

"But I will get you down from there."

"That's good."

"Only we'll make a little deal first."

"That's bad."

"I'll let you down this time without asking for anything in return."

"That's good."

"That would be your get out-of-jail free card. Since I let you down for free, I'd get one too. And from now on whenever one of us falls into a trap, the other one will have to answer a question for them… and eat a spoonful of potassium benzoate."

Travis fell silent and he even stopped moving his drumsticks, eyes wide in confusion.

"That's bad," Ñako confirmed. "Meowth I owe you a treat… and a name."

"Can I get down now?" asked Travis.

"Right, yes. The answer is… Dratini and Dragonair!" he yelled out into the air. "Or wait… do I have to say it in the form of a question?"

As answer, the floor beneath Travis slammed shut again, and the restraints keeping him against the wall retreated back into the wall. The boy fell to his feet and let out a painful grunt. He immediately went back to slamming the drumsticks against each other, though judging by his squinting his wrists probably hurt from that previous ordeal.

Ñako looked down at his own wrists, and noticed a small discomfort as he moved them as well. Then he looked up at the thread of light connecting them.

"Hm… sorry for this, but I gotta test a theory out."

"What are y–AGH!"

He punched Travis hard in the arm, and almost immediately that same pain exploded in his own body, making him flinch.

"Cut it out, dick!"

"Sorry, sorry, just had to check," said Ñako. "At least this confirms that I need to keep you healthy at least until we get out of here. So if you get hurt don't worry, I'll make sure to heal you.

Travis frowned. "Wait… why wouldn't you just heal yourself? If we share the pain then we should also share the… heal?"

"True," admitted Ñako, smiling. "But this way is more intimate."

----------------------------------------

"You never ended up answering me, boy scout." Sid cackled to himself as they walked through the dark hallway together. "How's the waste of space doing? Are you feeling like a proud parent yet?"

A hint of anger rose from Siegfried's stomach, but he forced it down and took in a deep breath.

"He is doing wonderfully, thank you," he replied politely. "And I hope your Pokemon are doing just as well, Sid."

"Tsk."

It wasn't long before they made it to the site of their trial; a simple, dull circular room illuminated by a multitude of torches alight with purple flames. There was no visible exit, so they stopped in the middle of the room, and waited.

"We should ready ourselves," said Siegfried. "It's possible we w–"

Every torch in the room went out, plunging them into total darkness. Siegfried didn't jump, didn't gasp, he simply took a step back and grabbed a Pokeball from his belt, ready. For a moment his hand hovered higher, over a certain object hiding in his pocket, but he stopped himself. Not here. Not anymore.

"Sid, can you hear me? Do you have any Pokemon with Flash?"

No answer came.

"…Sid?"

Again, all that met him was darkness and silence. Even as he tried walking around and finding him by touch, there was nothing.

I suppose this is an individual trial, then.

As if to confirm his theory, just then he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, and then again in front of him and on the side. Three bursts of pearly mist rose from the ground, only to solidify into three identical mirrors, square-shaped and just about as tall as he was. However, they didn't seem to reflect what was in front of him.

The first mirror showed Sid, smiling and laughing in a way that didn't seem possible knowing him. He held a young Poliwag gently in his arms. The second mirror showed him again, only this time his face bore a terrifying smile of sharp teeth, eyes wide and frenzied, hands covered in blood. In the third mirror, Sid grinned as he counted a thick stack of bills, an avaricious glint in his eyes.

Inside his mind, Siegfried heard an unknown woman's voice.

"You must only break the mirror that shows the truth."

"I see…" Siegfried held his chin for a moment, pensive. "So this is the trial we must overcome. Sid must be faced with a similar choice just now. I…"

He sighed. There was very little chance he would choose correctly, considering his assumptions about him. But that was something for him to worry about.

"Alright," he said, approaching the mirror showing a happy, smiling Sid. "Here, something must have happened to him."

And he hit the mirror with the back of his hand.

The glass shattered into a hundred pieces, but the ethereal Sid behind him didn't vanish. Instead, he looked straight up at Siegfried, his smile vanishing. The mist that had formed the mirror turned to a deep, purple shade and enveloped both the young man and the Pokemon, giving them a dark aura as their eyes shone crimson.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Wrong mirror," muttered the fake Sid.

The Poliwag in his arms jumped at Siegfried, ready to attack.

----------------------------------------

Not a single word was exchanged in the three minutes Muffin and Dick walked through the dark hallway. Partly because Dick was too nervous to talk to her. Partly because Muffin would have preferred literally anyone else as a partner –even the creepy guy with the robe and scythe– to someone who looked as though he would pass out if she even addressed him.

Considering her past friendships, one might've thought Dick being the exact opposite of said friends would've enticed her to talk to him. But that person would be wrong.

She sighed as they stepped out of the hallway, shoulders slumping in defeat.

I hope at least this trial is f…

The light retreated back onto the sun above, and suddenly the two of them found themselves in the open air, in the middle of a city. A city Muffin knew very well.

…un?

"The heck?" she muttered, blinking confusedly. "Is this… Goldenrod?"

"I-it appears s-so, Miss!" exclaimed Dick, fidgeting nervously. "B-but I wonder w-why we've been put in h–"

"Ha! And one more for good measure!"

They jumped in place and immediately turned toward the source of that rough voice, Pokeballs in hand. Muffin blinked in surprise. She hadn't noticed the group of people across the street. There were three of them standing in a dark alleyway between houses; they looked like teenagers or young adults, wearing the same disheveled school uniform and sporting similar ugly hairstyles.

"What are they…?"

Something moved in between their feet. Muffin gasped, feeling her stomach drop.

"Is t-that a Pokemon?" asked Dick, raising up his glasses. "Are they… hurting it?"

One of the men laughed and kicked at the creature between them, making it cry out in pain. Muffin's hands unconsciously curled into fists.

"I see… it must be some kind of powerful illusion," Dick concluded. "H-however, I don't think it w-will affect us too badly if we don't interfere."

Muffin turned sharply to look at him, the sheer disgust on her face more paralyzing than a Tyranitar's glare. A sharp yelp left Dick's mouth. He took a step back and looked away, ashamed.

"We have to stop them," she whispered, voice dripping with rage. "Milkshake, come on!"

The light of the Pokeball curled around her shoulders as the Dratini materialized and looked around lazily, eyes half-lidded.

However, the noise caught the attention of the three men, who turned their heads around in confusion before finding the source. Suddenly, Muffin and Dick were being stared at by three pair of very malicious eyes. Only the latter cowered against them.

"Now… what do we have here?" asked the one in the middle, spitting to the side. "Spectators?"

The other two laughed lazily, taking a step forward toward them.

"Think they wanna give this thing the last hit?" asked the one on the left, pointing back over his shoulder.

"Heh. Seems good to me," said the third one, shrugging. "So, which one of you wants to finish the thing off?"

Muffin's nails dug into her palms. "Y-you…! Milkshake, use…

"U…use…"

She trailed off, voice dying as her gaze landed upon the creature behind the three men, finally in view. It was a long, serpentine Pokemon of shining blue scales. Its sheer beauty and elegance would've captivated any trainer at first sight, but this one was anything but in prime condition. Cuts, bruises and blood doted its body all over, and one of the small wings coming out of the side of its head seemed to have been cut off partway.

Muffin opened her mouth to say something, but no voice came out. Realization dawned on her like a bucket of cold water being dumped on her, and a memory rushed through her mind.

》A multitude of people stood across the street from an enormous, ancient-looking building of polished black stone, the recognizable sign of which declared it a Pokemon Gym hanging proudly above the massive steel doors. However, their attention was centered not on the building itself, but on the woman standing on the edge of the roof, looking down upon them.

----------------------------------------

The sun behind her shadowed her figure, but a hint of blue hair could be seen, as well as a long, black cape billowing behind her. The woman grabbed a Pokeball from her belt and raised it high, before releasing the beast inside.

The proud, beautiful Dragonair flew through the air majestically, like a Vaporeon in water, earning bountiful cheers from the audience on the other side of the street.

With a simple order from the woman, the Dragonair shot up into the sky, the gem atop its forehead glowing brightly, and a moment after the sky was darkened by clouds. A sudden rain fell upon the gym. Thunder roared through the skies.

Then, a second later, it was all gone. All that was left behind was a stunning rainbow, through which the Dragonair pretended to fly as the people below cheered with even more might.

Amidst the audience, blending into the crowd, a four-year old Muffin gawked up at the spectacle, a huge smile on her face and a sparkle in her eyes.《

----------------------------------------

Muffin yelled out an order, but she wasn't sure exactly what it was, all she could hear being the rush of her blood through her veins. Milkshake obeyed. She jumped out from her shoulders and slithered toward the three men, who regarded the Dratini with little concern.

That is, until Muffin herself followed too.

"M-Miss? Miss Muffin, w-what are you–?"

Only a couple steps from the three men, Muffin yelled out.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU HAVE AGAINST THAT DRAGONAIR YOU LIMPDICK LOSERS!? WHAT, JEALOUS BECAUSE SHE'S WAY PRETTIER THAN ANY OF YOU? HOW ABOUT YOU MESS WITH SOMEONE AS UGLY AS YOU LIKE A GARBODOR, YOU PIECES OF SHIT!?"

And then she kicked the one in the middle straight in the balls.

----------------------------------------

They were on their way toward the next part of their trial when Ryan spoke.

"Sammy, I'm guessing you already know what we'll be up against at the end of all of this." He shot her a furtive glance. "And Sabrina… I guess it'll help for you to be aware too. What do you know about the Elite Four?"

Sabrina almost stopped in her tracks, the question catching her like a sudden slap to the face.

"…Only what I saw on T.V. a long time ago," she said, faintly remembering the small, skinny brat with her nose pressed against the screen, fascinated by League matches. A memory that almost felt a lifetime ago.

Still, she didn't like Ryan's implication one bit; a battle against someone on the level of an Elite Four was absolute suicide. But what would one of them be doing in a place like this? What did they have to do with this situation? It didn't–

Wait, what is…!?

That single pensive moment had been enough to make her miss the fact that they'd already entered the next room, which didn't make itself wait before springing a trap on them. It was another circular room full of torches burning with purple flames. This time, however, the flames exploded as soon as they set foot inside, growing tenfold as they shifted and coalesced into forms that Sabrina was very familiar with.

Six Gengar and six Misdreavous. As they materialized upon the room and started approaching, the woman's voice rang in their minds once more.

"The last trial. Survive."

The ghosts started flying around the room in dizzying, impossible to follow patterns, swirling balls of darkness forming in their hands and mouths as they readied to fire.

"Ah," said Ryan, looking up gormlessly at their opponents. "That ain't good."

Sabrina couldn't help but gulp. This was getting out of hand; with these many opponents, how were they supposed to…? And even if they survived, no less than an Elite Four waited for them at the end of the tunnel.

That masked bastard sent us to our deaths. If I leave this place alive I'm taking legal action… or at least ask for a raise.

She laughed at her own ridiculousness. Get out of here alive. Right, as if.

Sabrina closed her eyes tight, and she could almost see it again. Bloodied hands, a silver cross between his thin, pale fingers, snow tinted a deep scarlet. For the briefest moment, his voice resounded in her mind, giving her the faintest burst of strength.

'P-promise me… don't ever stop. Destroy those walls. Y-you have to… you have to see that horizon, no matter what. C… c-can you promise me that?'

She opened her eyes, and found that her hands were trembling.

"I'll do it," she whispered to no one, grabbing a Pokeball from her belt. "I'll survive!"

"Damn right we will!" bellowed Ryan, his voice gaining strength all of a sudden as he did the same. "I'm not planning on dying today! Mackin, let's go!"

"Rokon, light them up!"

The Magmar and Vulpix materialized before their enemies and, in unison, jumped up and shot a wall of flames toward the volley of attacks that fell upon them.

----------------------------------------

Rhin and Wolfswift moved in unison, standing between Charity and the family as they produced Pokeballs on their hands.

"…Mommy?" asked Luna, looking at them confused. "What…?"

"I-is there something wrong? Why do you have your Pokeballs out?" Valerie asked, kneeling and grabbing onto her daughter. "Charity? What's happening?"

Charity laughed earnestly, rubbing the back of her head. Her Magby imitated her movements.

"Oh man, I thought I'd told you guys! Maybe you didn't pay attention or I just forgot, I've been told I'm very scattered. Scattered, what a nice word… oh, yes right." She cleared her throat, then raised her glove so that they could see the emblem on it. "The government sometimes asks for my help with certain… issues, you see, because they know I'm a breeder and have access to strong Pokemon. In exchange they turn a blind eye to my family's business, unlike with every other breeder in the region," she explained. "And right now, I've been employed to… keep an eye on this family, as collateral to make sure our dear Mike is doing his job."

"W-what!?" asked Rhin, eyes going wide. "Collateral?"

Wolfswift scoffed. "I figured it'd be something like that."

"N-no!"

The sheer terror in Valerie's voice sent a chill down the two trainers' spines. She grabbed onto her daughter and held her in a protective embrace, her entire body shaking.

"M-Mike's done everything you told him to!" she argued, terrified. "He's been loyal!"

"…Right, yeah, this is awkward." Charity sighed. "See, your husband's group already screwed the pooch once before, and we've received reports that dear Mike has been… less than enthusiastic regarding this second assignment. Boss sent me here to find a way to motivate him, let's say."

At that, her gaze fell upon the small girl in Valerie's arms, and the smile that she formed just then looked carved by a knife.

"How would you like to hang out with me for a while, Luna?" she asked. "I promise as soon as your daddy fulfills his side of the contract, we will let you go."

Luna's lips quivered. She didn't look nearly as entranced with the young girl as before. "I-I…!"

"NO!" protested Valerie, tears staining her eyes. "P-please, I swear Mike will do what he needs to do! Please don't take her, w-we'll…"

"Tsk." Wolfswift shook his head. "You needn't worry. We won't let her get to you."

Charity raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Are yo usure about that, Wolfsweet? And here I thought my new job offer might interest you."

"Job offer?" asked Rhin, distraught. "Charity, what are you talking about!?"

"Didn't I tell you that my boss was arriving soon? After traveling with you all the way here, I realized that you two could be of use, so I recommended you to him," said Charity, smiling cheerily. "Wouldn't you rather work for the government? I assure you, they pay a lot better than anyone else in the region. All you need to do to prove your loyalty… is step aside and let me get the girl."

The two trainers exchanged a quick, meaningful glance, and then nodded in unison as they threw their Pokeballs up in the air. There was a burst of light, and two Pokemon appeared before them. Keroro the Croagunk and Sousuke the Larvitar readied themselves for a fight, while behind the latter Wolfswift unholstered his pistols, a determined look on his face.

"If you want to take them," muttered Wolfswift, face scrunched up. "You'll have to get through us."

"There has to be some other way to resolve this, Charity!" begged Rhin. "I know you, I know you're not a bad person! Please, let's just talk about this!"

Charity's face was mostly expressionless as she looked them over, from their Pokemon to them to the woman and her daughter huddled behind them. Then she sighed and grabbed a Pokeball from her own belt.

"I'm sorry, Ron, but that is not how this works," she said. "I'm afraid you two will have to serve as… collateral, too."

Rhin clicked his tongue angrily. "Damn… fine, but not this way. Hey, Valerie! Is there an exit on the back somewhere?"

The woman yelped before answering. "Y-yes! We can get out through the window on the back of t–"

"Oh, I don't think so. Flamethrower."

"WH–!?"

Wolfswift tried to raise his pistols, but Charity was too fast and the burst of light blinded him for a moment, which was all the time the girl's Pokemon needed. Before the light had even faded, they heard the crackle of fire. A second later, a rolling mantle of flames the size of the entire room fell upon them.

"S-shit!"

"Valerie, stay–!"

But the flames didn't wash over them. Wolfswift raised his arms in front of his face and Rhin stood protectively in front of Valerie and Luna, but the attack only fell upon the walls around them, as well as through the hallway which led to the back of the house.

"W-what th–HGK!"

Rhin inhaled a lungful of smoke, and had to keel over slightly to cough, eyes watering. The room around him slowly filled with heat, and all he could see was shifting red and yellow as the flames licked up at the walls, and a crackling inferno raged behind them, through the hallway.

And in front of the only remaining exit stood a massive Arcanine and Charity, a look of disappointment on her face.

"Sorry guys, but you know how it is," she shrugged. "'fraid I'll have to kill you and take both the girl and the mom. Should've listened to me when you had the chance."