Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Legacy of Hatred

''This castle is pretty frickin' sweet.'' Evan whispered up to Shiva.

''What, you gonna buy it for me?'' she teased, as they both continued to follow the group. "But whatdya think, want me to Brave Bird 'em?"

"Yeah, and then I'll go in for the kill." Evan said, smirking.

"Don't tell me you're gonna use Hyper Beam? I don't want to have to carry you through this dungeon." Shiva sighed.

"What? No, they're obviously gonna try to attack us after you go in on them. I'll just have to strike first."

"Alright, gonna go down on them now." Shiva mumbled, preparing to Brave Bird the shit outta them.

"You may wanna rephrase that."

First to the castle were the Titanium Bandits. They gawked for a moment before Rhapsody tapped her partner and motioned for the two to hide. They slithered behind a pillar.

"Drat, looks like we just ended up at the same place," Hallows said. "How are we supposed to get the Mystic Power without them noticing?"

"Mm, patience," Rhapsody whispered. "Maybe the two groups will take each other out."

---------

Team Ionize ended up on the other side of the castle, entering through a back entrance.

"Woah! This is neat!" Barek said, wide eyed. "Looks like we struck gold!"

"Hm, it's not going to be that easy." Eser said. "Look, there's sentinels crawling around everywhere you look."

The three peered around a corner and saw what Eser was talking about. Golurks, several of them.

"Great, how are we supposed to take them out?" Sorin questioned.

"We'll have to sneak through."

The group cowers at the sight of the Chandelure, with Menti bursting into tears. She grabs onto Ambes's arm and makes him flinch from the force she applies. The phantom makes a low chuckle as she floats over to them.

"Yes, you'll... you'll be very delicious... Tee hee!" 

The Pikachu rolls his paws into fists and closes his eyes.

"... We're not going to run away." - Ambes mutters to himself despite his entire body shaking out of fear.

"I don't know man, this seems like a really good time to run away. No point in looking cool if we're dead." - Hall whispers to Ambes.

[Current OST: SPMD: Boss Battle Expedition Society]

"Valid point, but... this is the only chance we have! We are explorers and we're not going to let this stop us!" - He yells back.

"Ambes... Wow..." - Menti sniffles.

Ambes makes a battle stance with Hall nervously making the same pose. Menti dries her tears and smiles as she points at the Chandelure. The ghost stares at the group with a dumbfounded look on her face.

"We're Team Rodere! No Pokemon on this planet is going to stop us from getting to our goal!" - She yells out.

Ambes's cheeks spark with energy as Menti and Hall disperse to the opposite sides of the room. He fires a bolt of electricity that the Chandelure dodges by a small margin. Her expression changes from dumbfounded to worried as she barely evades other volleys.

Hall makes her flinch by throwing rocks at her from the side. Her flames grow intense with rage only for Menti to charge into her back with an Aqua Jet. The Chandelure lands onto the ground with a thud.

"Oi! Stop! That's enough!" - The Chandelure yells out as she looks back up at them.

"... What?" - Ambes remarks.

The group stops their assault as the Chandelure hops back up into the air with an annoyed look on her face.

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"... Don't think we didn't expect visitors." - Nina remarks as she senses Shiva's presence.

The Meloetta turns around and fires a ball of psychic energy at Shiva mid-Brave Bird.

Immediately, Evan took off towards Nina in a Sucker Punch.

"Betcha didn't expect this, though, hun.'' Evan taunted.

Evan glanced over to Shiva, who was looking way worse for wear, somewhat struggling to keep afloat.

"...Rest, Shiv, I'll take care of the rest.'' Evan muttered, as Shiva flew back down to the ground.

"You're gonna get creamed by that Primarina, you know that right?" Shiva wheezed. 

"I know, I'll...uh...think of something.'' he muttered.

And think of something he did. A very stupid something but a something nonetheless.

"Hey ladies.." he stumbled a bit. "This dungeon stuff is neat but you know what's neater?"

He winked, as a bunch of pink hearts were released from his body.

"Me.''

If Shiva had hands, let alone arms, she would be face-palming right now.

"Guess the little Espeon was right," Rhapsody whispered. "These guys are just taking each other out. Makes it all the easier for us to get in."

"Whaddya say we pick off the winners once they're done here?" Hallows snickered. "This is too easy."

---------

The three explorers dashed behind a pillar and waited.

"This is awesome," Barek whispered, trying to contain his excitement. "We're just like super thieves!"

"Don't get too excited," Eser muttered. "If one of those Golurks find us, we're toast."

The Espeon nodded, and ran for a nearby ledge for their next cover. The other two followed without being seen.

"Essy, at this rate, the others at the entrance will catch up to us," Sorin whispered. "We need to pick up the pace."

Eser flattened his ears in annoyance. "Well, we could make a break for it, but we'd attract attention for sure..."

[Current OST: Demon's Party]

Menti and Hall walk back to Ambes as the Chandelure floats over to them.

"That Aqua Jet did really did a number on my back, damn! You sure aren't any normal kids, that's for sure." The ghost remarks as she rubs her back.

"B-but I thought you wanted our souls?" - Hall asks.

"That was just an act, good god! Apparently my acting was so good that I managed to convince you three into thinking you were in real danger." - The Chandelure sighs.

"Then what's with all of the red stuff on you?" - Ambes asks as he points at her.

"I had to make it extra convincing... so I had miss Rolo spray some hot sauce on me before I came here. What's supposed to happen is that I hop out and you run away with the items at the end of the room. That or you run out with nothing and you fail the test. Nobody was in any real danger this entire time." - The Chandelure remarks.

Ambes and Menti look down to the ground while Hall puts an arm behind his head.

"S... sorry about that. We're just a little on edge from yesterday because we had to fight an actual criminal Tyrantrum with my grandmother." - Ambes says with a frown.

"Oh no... Is your grandmother alright?' - The Chandelure asks with a worried expression.

"Oh, she's fine, but... I guess the whole spooky ghost act kind of put us into attack mode cause it reminded us of that." - Ambes remarks.

He makes a nervous grin but it breaks back into to a frown. Ambes's ears droop as he looks away from the Chandelure.

"... Again, I'm really sorry we attacked you."

"Awwww... I can't really blame you. Anybody in your position would have done the same thing. It's alright. You're free to give me a hug if that'll make you feel better." - She remarks as she opens her arms.

Ambes turns around and embraces the Chandelure in a hug, with Menti and Hall joining in.

"You know, you kids are really something. Everyone either runs away or tries to sneak away with the item.. hell, you stood and fought even if it was going to be hard. We don't get much of that here. It helps that you're powerful too, because I'm one of the strongest associates our guild has and those attacks still smarted. What I'm trying to say is that your future's bright." - The Chandelure remarks.

"Wow... Thank you miss-- um... what's your name?" - Menti asks.

"Call me Candelabra, sweetie. Or Candy if you want to be cheeky."

"Nice. So what's the deal with the grave, miss? Is this where you sleep, or..." - Hall asks as he points at the grave.

"That's a prop. However, I did used to be a Quilava when I was alive. It's just that my real grave is somewhere else." - Candelabra remarks with a chuckle.

"... Oh." - Hall quietly replies.

Candelabra floats to the end of the cave and returns with a basket of food in one of her metal joints. She hands it over to Hall, with him and his friends gazing at the food inside.

"Oh wow! There's bananas and apples and all sorts of snacks in here! ... Wait a minute, was the point of this to give food to miss Rolo?" - Ambes remarks with an annoyed grin.

"She has a bit of a sweet tooth." - Candelabra giggles.

"Haha, nice. But yeah, all we have to do is hand this to her and we're registered?" - Hall asks.

"Yeah. I mean, the point of this whole thing was to make sure you're brave and strong enough to go through a dungeon and... well, to say any more would be redundant. By the way, we cycle out the traps from time to time and today it was my turn." - Candelabra remarks.

"Oh. Well, it was nice meeting you now that we're sure you're not a soul-eating ghost. Maybe we can work together on a real mission someday?" - Ambes smiles.

"Do you have any stories about exploring dungeons?" - Menti asks with a sparkle in her eyes.

Candelabra laughs and turns them towards the exit.

"Come on kids, there's only so much cute I can handle. I'd like to see you again, but right now you have to get this over with. You don't want to make Rolo worried."

"Okay! See you later, miss Candy!" - Hall yells.

He runs back to the entrance while holding the basket over his head. Ambes and Menti run after him.

"Thanks for the basket!" - Menti remarks.

The Chandelure waves at them until they vanish from her sight.

"... Maybe we should contact an associate to help them out. They have what it takes, I think." - She ponders out loud.

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The force of Evan's Sucker Punch flings Nina against the ground. Her wounded body lies at the foot of the Reshiram statue with Thalassa looking on in horror.

She scowls at Evan's attempt at Attract, but the hearts hit her in the chest. She gives him a love-struck look but immediately breaks out of it and makes a devilish smile. 

"Impressive, but I've already fallen out of the vapid bad boy phase of my life. You deserve a little gift."

The Primarina stands up on her tail and sings, with large orbs of water appearing out of thin air. They surround Evan and, with a high pitched note, explode around him.

Evan smirked as the hearts hit, but that smirk fell when he was hit by the Sparkling Aria, knocking him off balance.

"If you call that a gift, I shudder at what you give to your loved ones." Evan moaned, but still with a hint of sarcasm.

"Quite a nice display." Shiva said in wonder.

"SHIVA!"

"Well, it was!" Shiva said, motioning a wing to Thalassa. "But sorry, Primadonna, but we need this relic. Or else, a whole lot of bad shit will probably go down."

"You really think ol' Blanchey would kill us if we failed?" Evan muttered.

"Not outta the question." Shiva said, but then she paused as she went over what Evan said in his head. "...Did you just air our allegiances out in the open?"

"Well shit."

The two bandits smirked.

"One down," Hallows whispered.

---------

"Alright, let's go!"

The three darted out from their hiding place and ran for the back entrance to the castle. They didn't look back to see if they attracted any attention, but Eser was sure someone had seen. Just as they were about to enter the castle without any issue, however, a giant Golurk blocked their path.

"Urgh, of course," Eser grumbled. He glowed a faint purple aura and the air around the Golurk distorted. It flinched back at Eser's Psychic attack. "Remember it's got our types beat when you attack it."

"Got it!" Sorin flapped his arms, Air Slashing the Golurk as well. Barek skidded to a halt and thought a moment.

"Uh... Can't use electricity... can't use normal moves... Oh, I know!" Barek ran up and bit down on the Golurk's ankles, since it was the only thing he could reach.

Ambes and his two friends exit the cave with basket in hand. Rolo hops up from a checkered blanket on the grass and walks over to them with a large smile on her face.

"Oh you got the picnic basket! Good job! I'll be taking that, thank you!~" - She says with a sing-song tone.

The Slurpuff grabs the basket and the practice backpack from Hall. She places the backpack on a pile while the basket goes on the blanket alongside a bottle of ketchup and a twelve-inch sandwich.

"So what happened that took so long, honey? All of the other kids ran out of here, but only a few of them qualified due to bringing back what they needed. Did something happen?" - Rolo asks with a frown.

"Well, kinda." - Menti remarks with a nervous chuckle.

"We uh... met miss Candelabra." - Ambes whispers to Rolo.

"... Oh! Oh my. What happened?" - The Slurpuff says as she holds both paws over her mouth.

"We sort of thought she was an actual enemy and attacked her." - Menti says as she looks away from Rolo.

"... Well then, I guess that's something we have to work on if we have to bring her out again. But she is alright, yes?" - Rolo asks.

"Of course! Heck, she even gave us a hug and gave the basket to us when we calmed down." - Hall nods.

"Oh thank goodness. Still, what you kids did was very reckless! But... seeing as you not only brought the basket back, you stood up against what you thought was a threat... I think it'd be appropriate to say that you passed with flying colors! Here, take these official Guild badges." - Rolo says with a warm smile.

She hands three sun-shaped badges to Ambes and his friends, with each badge glowing with an ethereal light. Their faces beam with delight as they stick the badges against their chests.

"Team Rodere is now officially registered as an exploration team! You are now free to scan the mission board for any job requests, although as a Normal rank team you're prohibited from doing any job above green. You see, we use a color system to indicate the difficulty of a mission..." - Rolo says with a nod.

"I've been waiting for this moment ever since I saw my sister become the leader of her own team. I guess you could say she's one of my influences." - Ambes chuckles.

"Oh wow, you're following in your sister's footsteps? You're going to make her proud, I just know it. How about you two?" - Rolo says as she points to Menti and Hall.

"Oh me? I want to see the world and study up on history. I want to learn about what's out there and chronicle what I find for future generations to take in." - Menti nods with a large grin.

"You could say I'm starting off with an advantage because my mom and dad work for the magistrate herself. Sure, we have the money, but I don't want to just live in the shadow of what my parents have done. I want to strike out my own path... That's sort of why I'm with this crazy sucker to begin with." - Hall laughs as he gently taps Ambes's arm.

"Quite the dynamic, hee hee. You kids will do great out there - just know that me and 'the spooky ghost lady' will be rooting for you to succeed, although I should warn you to be careful because there are a disturbing amount of bandits out and about lately. The world is a scary place, so promise me you'll stay safe, alright?" - Rolo nods.

"Yeah, we'll be fine. You don't have much to worry about." - Hall says with a grin.

"Alrighty. You're free to leave. I'd share my lunch, but there's barely enough for just me, so sorry."

"Oh, it's okay. My grandmother has food at home." - Ambes says as he, Menti and Hall go back into the registration building.

"I hope we see each other again!" - Rolo says as she stuffs the sandwich into her mouth.

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

The Primarina gives Shiva and Evan a cold stare the more they talk.

"... Blanchey? I can't say that name rings a bell, but something tells me you'll have to come with us regardless if my team personally get the Mystic Power that's supposed to be here. High Command did brief us about a group called Khamsin before we arrived here..." - Thalassa remarks.

"Eeeeeey, you guys did it!" Vidar cheered, waving them over.

"It was pretty scary, right?" Vesa said. "I kinda feel bad for not telling you guys. But you're not supposed to..."

"I'm surprised actually that you didn't spill the beans." Vidar muttered. "You're usually the first one to crack."

Vesa scrunched up his face and huffed.

------

"We are not part of a group like that, I swear." Shiva lied, staring Thalassa in the eyes. "It's just..."

"We were going to sell it." Evan interrupted, finally coming up with a convincing lie. "We're in dire straits at the moment and we kinda...lack the basics. It really sucks. And ah yes, we were kidding around when I said my old pal Blanche was gonna kill us. She's our roommate. She's really chill, really calm. So yeah, there's the story. We needed this to pay rent and food."


Evan cracked a smile.

"Sorry for all the stuff I did to you guys. Musta looked like real edgelords there." Evan said, lifting up a paw for a shake.

"Aw man, they're tryin' a truce!" Hallows hissed.

"Trying to sell it? They could use the Mystic Power to take all the money they wanted..." Rhapsody chuckled to herself. "But don't fret too much deary, no group with a 'High Command' would let a Mystic Power be sold to the highest bidder. We may have them take each other down still."

-----

Despite their attacks, the Golurk drew its arm back. It took aim at Eser, and threw a shadowed punch. Thankfully the Espeon had anticipated having to dodge an attack, but it was still too close for comfort.

"Damn, one Shadow Punch and I'll be knocked cold..."

Eser looked over to Barek, still gnawing on the Golurk's foot. The golem raised its other foot in preparation to attack. Just before it could stomp on the little Shinx, Eser telepathically withdrew Barek.

"Woah, I'm floating!"

"And heavy..." Eser grumbled. "Here, take this!"

"What... Whaaa!?"

Eser flung Barek back at the Golurk's head, causing him to crash into the giant, teeth bared.

"Yeah, it was pretty terrifying. But you know, at least she was a nice person beyond the act." - Menti remarks.

"So now that we're an exploration team... do we just go and sign ourselves in for a mission?" - Hall shrugs.

"Of course! There have to be a ton of easy ones we can do to get our team rank up." - Ambes states.

The group walks back into the lobby and faces the Medicham at the counter.

"We cleared the test and we want to start taking missions. How do we do that?" - The Pikachu asks as he hops up to the counter.

"Oh you'll want to have this, then. They're special devices called Contact Gears that get updated with new missions daily and tell you where to find them via a built-in map. Good luck, kids." - The Medicham remarks.

She pulls out a red rectangular-shaped device from under the counter. It has a small orb in the center of a sun symbol and a smooth, glossy surface. The kids stare at it in awe as its small screen lights up.

"Rad." - Hall remarks.

"Oh, wow! This is really cool. Thank you miss!" - Menti states.

"Take good care of it, because you'll need it to turn in missions." - The Medicham smiles.

Ambes and his friends walk out the door. Hall fiddles his finger against the Contact Gear's screen with a grin on his face.

"Dude, it's like a tiny laptop... we should show your grandma when we get back home!" - The Minccino remarks.

"There's a function for missions, a map, a close-range Pokemon scanner and even a thing for our team in particular... and that's just getting started! I can't believe everyone gets one of these when they start an exploration team." - Ambes states.

"Do you and your brother have one too, Vidar?" - Menti asks.

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

Thalassa's glare intensifies.

"... You're desperate? Hmm. I would normally feel sorry for you if it weren't for the fact that you and your friend tried to ambush us. You also missed a small detail: even a Normal rank team would get reprimanded or even arrested if they tried to sell a world treasure like the Mystic Powers... it's a rule even a child would know about."

She makes a small, confident grin as more water bombs form out of thin air.

"Nice try, but at this point I'm justified to take you i--" 

A Bisharp in a black cloak jumps in from above and smashes their metal fist against the Primarina's face. The force of the punch throws Thalassa back and knocks her against the ground. She looks up with blood running down her nose and growls.

"Who are you supposed to be?!" - Thalassa yells.

The Bisharp pulls out an orb from their cloak and shatters it against the ground. A blinding flash of light washes through the courtyard, with the Bisharp grabbing both Evan and Shiva in the confusion.

"Of course we do." Vidar said. "It's really a technological marvel."

"They're so awesome, aren't they?" Vesa cheered.

"And they're pretty simple to use too." Vidar held out a hand. "C'mon, I'll show you."

---

Evan was metaphorically pissing his pants at this point.

"D-don't be so hasty now!" Evan stammered.

And then it was all a blur. A Bisharp, blood, some sort of orb. When the chaos cleared, both him and Shiva were in a small chamber inside the castle.

"What...what just happened?" Evan asked, dumbfounded.

"Looks like we just got our asses saved." Shiva said. "Thanks for that, by the way."

Hallows and Rhapsody were left shocked.

"The fuck was that about?" Hallows said, no longer bothering to keep his voice down. With the Absol and Golbat gone and the other two hurt, there wasn't much of a reason to stay hidden. Seemed like his and Rhapsody's plan of letting the two teams take each other out went fairly well, but the Bisharp was unexpected.

"Interesting about the tight security around selling the Mystic Power though," Rhapsody said out loud. "But really, who'd want to sell such a valuable tool anyway?"

The two looked up at the castle before them. "Dang, maybe we should just live here," Hallows whistled.

-----------

The direct attack on the Golurk caused the giant to topple over. Though he was dizzy and confused, Barek seemed to be fine.

"Come on!" Eser said, running by. "Let's go before more show up!"

Sorin floated over and helped Barek back to his feet, just in time for the three of them to duck inside the castle before even more Golurks could retaliate.

Ambes and his friends return to Sonia's cabin. The Audino is resting on one of the couches and has her eyes fixed on a book until the children walk in.

"Oh, you're back! How did it go?" - Sonia asks.

"We made it as a team, miss Sonia! Rodere's official, and to top it off we got this fancy device." - Hall remarks.

Ambes and Hall puff out their chests with large grins on their faces while Menti smiles. Sonia puts aside the book she was reading and embraces the kids in a large hug. 

"I'm so proud of you, love. Soon enough you'll be exploring with your mother and your sister. Sure, it'll start out slow, but you'll be chasing the big treasures with them in no time." - Sonia remarks.

"Awww... thanks, grandma. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little bit nervous about the kinds of missions we'll go on." - Ambes remarks.

"It's your first time, so it's natural to get a little worried... Besides, it's not like they'll throw anything dangerous at Normal rank teams. At worst, they're volunteer work." - Sonia remarks.

"Yeah... so grandma, have you seen something like this before?" - The Pikachu remarks as he hands the Contact Gear over to her.

She stares at it with slight confusion at first but makes a small grin as she slides her finger across the screen.

"... I really have been gone a long time if this is what the new exploration teams use now. To be fair, I have seen your sister use one at least, but she never got to stay for long. So this doodad is what you use to keep track of your team and your missions?" - Sonia remarks with an amused tone.

"... Doodad?" - Hall snickers.

"Yeah. I wanted to show you because I thought it was cool." - Ambes nods.

"It sure is, love. But you know, there's something missing." - Sonia says as she puts a hand to her chin.

She inputs some information on the screen and hands it back to Ambes with a mischievous smile. The screen is opened to the "team-setup" page and has Sonia's information listed among Ambes, Menti and Hall's profiles.

"... No way. Grandma, did you just--?" - Ambes states.

"Wow, miss Sonia! You really want to be part of our team?" - Menti remarks while hopping up and down.

"Of course, sweetie. I may be an old woman, but I like to stay fit. Not to mention, going on adventures with my grandson and his friends would be too good to pass up. I can even be your mentor when it comes to the harder stuff." - Sonia says with a warm smile.

"That's great! I didn't expect this, but I'm glad to have you along!" - Ambes remarks as he gives her another hug.

"Haha. Well, I just have to call Leon to take care of the house in my absence. After we go past Normal rank, we'll have to start moving all over the place to complete missions. We might even get called by the Guildmaster High Command once we reach a high enough rank." - Sonia remarks.

"... High Command? How far up does this whole thing go?" - Menti asks.

"Long story, but seeing as we were a Master rank team back in our day..." - Sonia states.

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

Thalassa takes a paw off of her eyes when the light clears. The Bisharp had disappeared with Evan and Shiva, leaving only her and the Meloetta behind.

"... What in the world was that all about? They're just gone?" - She states.

The Primarina looks around and notices Nina's wounded body on the ground next to the Reshiram statue. She rushes over to Nina and pulls out two Oran Berries from a bag on her hip.

"Nina, are you alright?" - Thalassa asks.

"... Peachy. That Absol got me good, so I figured I should play dead and not risk getting hit by another one of those Sucker Punches." - Nina remarks.

"Smart idea. Here, take a berry to feel better." - Thalassa remarks.

Thalassa slides the berry into Nina's mouth. The Meloetta sits up and stretches, only to make a sharp gasp when she sees the blood running down the Primarina's face.

"Ooooh, that Bisharp really messed your face up. Maybe you should take one too." - Nina states.

"Hah. I'm not even going to deny that it hurt like a bastard." - Thalassa laughs.

The Primarina swallows the other Oran Berry and wipes the blood off with a small napkin.

"So the competition is about as fierce as we imagined. How are we going to get the Mystic Power now?" - Nina asks.

"Maybe we don't. Maybe we do. We just have to make sure those people aren't the ones to get it." - Thalassa remarks.

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The Bisharp crosses her arms and leans back against the wall.

"You're welcome. Madam Blanche sent me as backup once she realized that sending only two people on a mission as big as this was a bad idea. We've probably met before." - She states with a small smile.