Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Legacy of Hatred

"Great! It's settled. We're gonna be awesome partners, I know it!" - Ambes says as he does a fist pump.

"Now there's just the issue of actually registering. We'd have to go meet up with the local guild center in Rose Meadow and do one of those exams. Speaking of which, how was it like?" - Menti asks Vidar as she plops onto one of the sofas.

Sonia comes into the living room with Cheri Berry shakes and distributes them among the kids.

"Here you go. I hope you like them." She smiles.

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

[Current OST: Murasaki Forest]

A sign near Balle and their companions reads "Welcome to Echo City". The road ahead has brick buildings lined on each side with a large skyscraper in the distance. Pokemon walk through the streets with a cold breeze running through the air. The skies are covered with white clouds.

Machokes and Gurdurr wearing construction hats can be seen in the distance working on a new building. A flower shop has a ragged Scrafty next to it holding out a cup with a plea, with people throwing in small Poke' coins in the cup. The scent of a nearby bakery wafts through the air as Magnemites with police badges fly down the sidewalk at a rapid pace.

"It was...."

"The exam was a bit of a challenge, but the both of us passed with flying colors!" Vesa interrupted his brother.

"....Yeah, I guess what he said. Don't get too worried though, you'll be fine." Vidar said. "You seem to know a lot about explorer teams and the like."

Vesa wiggled in glee.

"Thanks, Miss Sonia." Vesa said, sniffing at the shake. "It smells really good."

"Bet it tastes even better." Vidar said. "Thank you so much again for your hospitality."

And they both began to drink them.

"These truly are amazing." Vidar said. "Never tasted anything like them."

Balle walked through the busy streets of Allford, followed by Hallows and Rhapsody. They were headed towards downtown, but Rhapsody enjoyed walking the big streets. She looked at the shops as they passed, trying to find one that would interest her two companions.

One of them seemed promising.

"I'm telling you, we should do some... heist work," she said to Balle.

"Not enough jewelry for you?" Balle grunted.

"Not this shop." She leaned on the window and pointed a claw. Hallows looked into the shop.

"Oh, you're just stirring up trouble, aren't you?"

Balle rolled his eyes and looked as well. Sure enough, inside was a perfectly round stone with a gray marble pattern inside, faintly looking like a strand of DNA. Balle growled quietly. It was a busy street, in broad daylight. Not an easy target. And truthfully, his mega form looked kind of fat.

But oh, that power.

"Alright little missy, and how do you propose we hit this place?"

Rhapsody put a claw to her chin and grinned.

"Well I'm glad you like them. Say... Since I mentioned the concept of Mega Evolution, perhaps I should show you kids the Mega Stone I own." - Sonia states.

"... You still have it, grandma?" - Ambes remarks as he drinks the last of the juice.

"Of course, dear. It's one of my most valuable treasures... seeing as your grandfather bought it for me as a wedding gift a long time ago." - Sonia swoons as she clasps her hands.

"Awwwwww, that's so sweeeet!~" - Menti remarks with a beaming smile.

"... Nice." - Hall says as he tips his hat.

"Ooooh! Really?" - Ambes asks.

[Current OST: Fallen Down]

Sonia nods her head and walks upstairs. She returns a minute later holding a small gold box and presents it to the children. She opens it and reveals a round white stone with a red streak in the middle. Sunlight from a nearby window glistens off of its surface.

"It's beautiful!" - Menti says with a gasp.

"Yooooooo! That's pretty cool. So with this, you can mega evolve just like that Solo guy?" - Hall asks.

"Why yes, Hall. However, I'm a bit out of practice due to... well, not participating in exploration missions for several years." - Sonia says with a nervous smile.

"Wow grandma, that's amazing! So how much did it cost pappy to get?" - Ambes asks.

"Oh... if I'm not mistaken, it took him about forty-five thousand Poke... and that's not covering the expenses for the wedding itself." Sonia smiles.

Ambes and Hall drop their jaws in shock while Menti giggles.

"Hoooh boy! You must have been one big high-roller, miss Sonia!" - Hall chuckles out loud.

"Oh, stop. Ambes, your grandfather was one of the sweetest men I've ever met in my life... a bit reckless, but bless his soul. I'm not sure where he is now, but I'd love to meet him again." - Sonia sighs.

"You still love each other after all this time... it's so romantic." - Menti states.

"Yeah, no kidding. This is all amazing stuff!" - Ambes says with a bright grin on his face.

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

Inside of the store were a handful of other Pokemon including the clerk, a gray Mimikyu wearing a red scarf. The interior had white marble floors and glass cases with jewels lined inside. The mega stone was located at the end of the room sealed behind a glass case next to diamond-shaped crystals with symbols marked on them.

".....Wow." Vidar mumbled. "He musta loved you a whole lot. I guess since you haven't seen him...he's out exploring?"

"Forty five thousand? Can....can you even make that much money?" Vesa said, shocked.

"Yes....yes, Ves, you can." Vidar said. "There are even more expensive things out there, I bet."

"Woooooow." Vesa said with a grin. "We can do it, we can get rich like that!"

"I guess we could....." Vidar said.

After deciding on their course of action, Rhapsody and Hallows sulked off into the darkness on the sides of the shop. Balle took a deep breath, and lowered his head. In a single motion, he rammed his steeled horns through the glass window of the shop, easily shattering it. He menacingly walked inside, cracking broken glass beneath his feet.

"This is a fine shop you have here!" he announced, smashing another window on the way in. "I think I'll take some! You there, be a dear and pack up some of these jewels for me, would ya?"

As Balle made as big of a disturbance as he could, the Weavile and Salazzle carefully creeped their way into the shop and started moving towards the back, making their way to the Mega Stone.

"Well kids, I hope you rest up for the big exam. Lord knows I need a break after all of our excitement today..." - Sonia sighs. 

She walks back upstairs holding the box with the mega stone inside.

"... Well, now what do we do?" - Hall asks.

"How about video games?" - Menti shouts as she holds a case in her hands.

The game she is holding has a Probopass on the cover with the letters in a bright, cartoonish font reading "Vino Party 3".

"Oh, okay, I guess if you want to make us sit through RNG: The Game then I'm down." - Hall snickers as he sticks out his tongue.

"You're just salty that I always beat you at the mini-games." - Menti scoffs.

"... So who wants to go first?" - Ambes says with a sweat as he pulls out a pair of controllers.

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

[Current OST: Threat]


The people inside of the jewelry shop screamed in terror and hid away from Balle as he made his forceful entrance. The Mimikyu ducks underneath her desk and holds a shadowy hand over her head. She is visibly shaking as she scrambles to fill a bag with Z-Crystals.

"Eeeee! O-okay, sir! Whatever you want! Just don't hurt me!" - She squeals.

Meanwhile, a Magnemite wearing a police badge notices the scene at the jewelry shop and scrambles towards the opposite direction. Their badge glows yellow as they transmit a message.

"WE'VE GOT A ROBBERY ON 10TH AND 12TH STREET! SUSPECT APPEARS TO BE AN AGGRON AND IS HEAVILY ARMED, REQUESTING BACKUP -" They yell as they trail off into the distance.

"Sure, that game looks fun." Vidar said. "Hopefully we have enough controllers."

"Wow, there's a third one of these. We only have the first!" Vesa chattered.

"Yeah, we're a bit....behind on the video game front." Vidar laughed. "But we have fun playing the original Vino Party and Vino Kart, and sometimes I'll play a bit of TerraTwist."

"Vidar will never let me play it." Vesa pouted. "He says it's too challenging for me."

"It's a pretty difficult game, you'd probably get stuck immediately." Vidar said with a small smile. "But hey, next time we go home again, you can try it out."

"Yes! Finally!" Vesa celebrated.

Balle chuckled. This was a rather kind store keeper, she was very obedient.

"Let's wrap it up!" the Aggron announced. "Cops'll be here soon!"

"I'll take that," Hallows said and took the sack full of Z-Crystals. In his other hand was the Aggronite. Rhapsody was busy admiring and swiping any necklaces and earrings that caught her fancy. With a growl from their leader, the two scuttled out the broken shop windows.

"Thanks for the service ma'am," Balle smiled as he left.

--------

"I dunno, you sure she'll be alright?"

"Well she made it so far being blind, and she won't die of shock."

Eser, Sorin, and Barek returned to the edge of the city.

"I wonder what the professor is up to?" Barek mused.

"Some incomprehensible calculations, probably," Sorin said.

[Current OST: Heist]

As Balle and his crew flee the scene, a crowd of Pokemon wearing police uniforms charge after them. A Magnezone with a Breloom clinging onto them charge out the furthest.

"Freeze!" - The police shout out in unison as they converge towards the bandits.

Meanwhile, the Mimikyu inside of the ruined jewelry shop is sobbing loudly with both shadowy hands over her face.

"W-what am I going to tell mister Abalon?! All of our hard work importing these things and they just get stolen!" - She shouts as tears roll out of the eyes on her "stomach".

Meanwhile in Miraja...
---

"Ev, I'm hungry." a Golbat sighed. "...Lemme guess we don't have any money, do we?"

"...Only about 25 Poke." the Absol grumbled. "That last job was supposedly to pay us handsomely, but we're lucky if we can even get a single apple out of this deal, Shiva."

"That Lucario in the Ruined Lands ripped us off. How dare she call herself "the most trustworthy in the land of lies"?" Shiva griped.

"We should be thankful we got anything at all before that Blaziken came storming in, screaming her head off." Evan muttered. "What a fucking nutcase."

Evan and Shiva watched as the crowds passed by.

"Ey, that Torracat over there seems to have some goods on them." Evan said. 

".....I'll go butter them up."

Shiva sauntered over to the Torracat.

"Hello there, that's a lovely bag you're carrying. May I ask where you got it? I'd love to have that kind of bag in like a purple color." Shiva put on her charm.

But the Torracat was not impressed.

"Over there." she pointed, as she walked past the Golbat.

.....Which gave ample time for Evan to Sucker Punch her from behind and grab her purse.

And then they bolted.

"OH, FUCK YOU GUYS!" the Torracat screamed, trailing them as the two thieves ran.
--------

Later...

--------

"I can't believe we made it outta there." Shiva said. "Never thought that bitch would let up."

"Bet there are guards searching around for us now." Evan said. "So we have to lay low."

Balle growled as the police quickly gained on them.

"You take the jewels and go," he commanded. "I'll cover for you."

"Huh?" Hallows and Rhapsody stopped to make sure they heard their orders correctly. "But what about you?" the Salazzle said. "They're going to catch you."

"Nothin' I ain't gotten outta before," Balle grunted. "Jus' make sure you come back for me, hear?"

"Aye boss," Rhapsody nodded and continued to run. Hallows followed after her. The two ran down the road and passed the three explorers on their way.

Balle meanwhile turned to face the police officers and got down on all fours.

"You're under arrest for theft and vandalism, dirtbag!" - The Breloom yells.

"STAND DOWN AND MAKE THIS EASY ON ALL OF US." - The Magnezone reverbs as they float in the air.

They notice Balle's stance and get into battle poses.

"... It's gonna be one of those days, isn't it?" - The Breloom sighs.

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

[Current OST: The Trial]

A crowd of Pokemon gather into a circular room with blue carpets, marble floors and statues of dragon Pokemon placed against the walls. At the end of the room was a stained glass window depicting a large and fearsome black dragon Pokemon locking eyes against a white, more vulpine dragon.

A Salamence and a Goodra wearing crowns and blue robes sat on high thrones while the other Pokemon took their seats around the room. A Haxorus stands triumphantly next to the thrones with both arms crossed behind his back.

A Zoroark and Weavile couple wearing dark-red cloaks accompanied by a blood-red Aegislash glare at the crowd with curious grins. An Electivire with a disgruntled expression saunters up to his seat while his small Eevee assistant walks next to him with a smile and her nose pointed up.

A towering Celesteela and her much smaller origami samurai follower gently make their way over to the seats before noticing a young Hoopa accompanied by two muscled genie Pokemon on both sides.

A pouting, black-clothed Diancie and a Sableye with a wide, toothy grin are already seated at the end of the room. They glare at the dragons on the throne.

A hearty Kangaskhan enters the room along with a Vespiquen and her Beedrill bodyguard that cautiously eyes the others. An Oranguru levitates his way over to his seat while in a lotus position with an Empoleon nervously strolling his way inside.

"Good. I see we're all here, barring Mani. It's not often all of the leaders are around... but I feel it's the perfect time to talk about Monvel's current state of affairs." - The Salamence says with a deep voice.

"Primarily, the issue with the Ruined Land borders and all of the rumors regarding incredibly rare treasures and 'hidden' mystery dungeons. People have been curious as to whether said treasures are Mystic Powers or not, with several high-end exploration teams on the rise to find them despite the danger. At this point, the only thing stopping most of them is the lack of an official statement from Guildmaster High Command." - The Goodra remarks with a stern tone.

With a mighty grunt, Balle tore into the ground, unearthing several large boulders that hurled themselves toward the Magenzone and Breloom in a rock slide.

"Well we sure picked an interesting time to come home," Eser said as the three explorers watched from further down the road.

"Aw, I feel really bad for the shop owner," Sorin said. "We saw the thieves, maybe we should try to get them back!"

"That's not a good..."

"Let's do it!" Barek smiled. He and Sorin gave chase to the two thieves.

"You're not even fully healed yet..." Eser grumbled.

--------

"Do we have any information on whether these rare treasures really are the Mystic Powers?" the Sableye asked. "Seems like something the council will want to have in our possession, rather than leaving it up to random explorers and bandits to find."

Just outside Miraja, on the borders of the Ruined Lands, Evan collapsed to the ground.

"I don't think they're trailing us anymore." Evan mumbled. "Fuck, I'm so hungry."

"I know. At this rate, I'd eat a friggin' Oren Berry from whatever skeevy stands are out here." Shiva sighed. 

The two pokemon suddenly felt a buzzing on them.

"....We're being summoned." Evan muttered angrily. "In such sorry states as this."

"Relax, Ev, Madam will get us food and everything will be fine." Shiva said. 

Evan grumbled incoherently to himself as he and Shiva headed to their meeting place.