The Ruby Files

I haven't really planned that far out, so it'll just be 2-3 floors at a time for now.
 
File #12: The Maze of Darkness (part 2)


Thunderwave Cave, B3F

As we headed down onto the next floor, we arrived in a room with two exits--one going north, and one going west. Lita's natural instinct was to head north first, so we followed her through a narrow passageway. The large open room we arrived in had a lot of items on the ground according to my X-ray glasses.

Lita grabbed three tiny rocks lying on the ground by my feet, but before Mizu could pick up an Oran Berry lying nearby, a Rattata snatched it away! I could hear her cries of "Come back here!" and "Give that back!" echoing through the room as she grappled with the Rattata, who had no intent of giving the berry back.

The tug of war went on for a good while, until I saw Mizu startting to tire. I crept up behind the Rattata and gave it a hard scratch on the back. Mizu caught the Oran Berry as the Rattata fell to the floor with a plop, defeated.

"Good shot, Sammi!" Lita gave me a pat on the back. "For a minute there, I thought we were going to have to keep fighting for that Berry!"

"Don't mention it." I replied as I tossed an apple into the toolbox.

The last item turned out to be another Blast Seed--and a Rattata was guarding it! Before I could approach, it barreled into me, sending me onto the floor with a plop. As I woozily stood up, I felt something hit me--an Oran Berry! Just like before, the berry cracked open at the point of impact, allowing the juice to be absorbed into my body. With this newfound strength flowing through me, I charged into the Rattata, making it drop the seed as it fell. With the Rattata out of the way, I slipped the Blast Seed into the toolbox before leading everyone through a western passageway.

"Um..." Mizu started. "In case you were wondering who threw the Oran Berry..."

An awkward silence followed as Mizu wondered how to phrase her sentence. "In case you were wondering who threw you the Oran Berry earlier...that was me."

"It was?" I was surprised--so far, Lita had been the one throwing me items, so why had Mizu thrown me one earlier?

"Yeah...I wanted to return the favor for you helping me get that other Oran Berry back from the other Rattata." Mizu explained.

"Well, that was very nice of y--" I started when Lita interrupted. "We've seen so many Rattatas in here that I forget which one that had the Oran Berry!"

"I think it was Rattata #24." I replied, playing along with Lita. She laughed a little before she interjected "I don't get it."

"It's a running joke in a popular human movie..." I explained. "The joke is that the opponent you just defeated or item you just found was the same one you fought back in the 24th part."

It took a minute for Lita and Mizu to grasp the connection, but once the lightbulbs had gone off in their minds, they burst out laughing. They were still giggling over it as we shared an apple together and trooped down to the next floor...

Thunderwave Cave, B4

"Remember--" Lita started, before she saw me struggling to keep balanced! "Sammi!" She hurried over and caught me just before I hit the floor.

"What happened?" Mizu was by Lita's side in a heartbeat.

"Sammi tripped on some Gravelerocks and was about to fall." Lita explained as she deposited three more tiny rocks in the toolbox.

So that was that hard thing I stubbed my toe on.. I thought as I brushed myself off and eased my X-ray glasses back on. "You were saying, Lita?" I asked.

"Oh...be sure and eat something when you start to feel hungry." Lita cautioned. "If you don't, you'll grow weaker and weaker until you faint!" I swallowed hard at the thought of fainting--could I actually die if that happened?

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of something metallic rolling in our direction. I wasn't sure what it was it first--it sounded too heavy to be a Poke Ball. Not only that, but Poke Balls didn't exist in this world. I finally turned around to see a Voltorb rolling towards an unsuspecting Mizu. "Look out!" I called.

"Huh?" Muzu turned to look and screamed as the Voltorb began to spark intently--a Charge attack!

"Yah!" I cried as my claws dug into the metallic shell of the Voltorb, making it short-circuit. At the same time, Mizu started to glow blue for a second. When the aura had faded, I asked. "What new power did you learn?"

Mizu was about to answer when she noticed an Elekid sneaking up behind me. "BUBBLING SPRAY!" she called as she blew some bubbles into the Elekid's face. That bought me time to scratch it in the belly; knocking it out.

Suddenly, I felt warm as a red aura surrounded me for a few seconds. It was as if I could feel a new power rising within me! "Guys! I learned a new power too!"

"Oh?" Mizu was interested. "I learned Bubbling Spray..."

"Well, I learned Glowing Ember--for real!" I added, giddy with excitement. If we kept fighting and growing stronger, even better powers would probably awaken inside of us!

"Cool...maybe the first time you used it against Team Kage, it surfaced from your anger." Lita said.

"It's not uncommon for a power to temporarily awaken before it is actually learned..." Mizu added. "One circumstance would be due to emotions, like Sammi did..." She let that hang as we trooped down the stairs...

To Be Continued....
 
File #13: The Maze of Darkness (part 3)



Thunderwave Cave, B5F


Mizu paused to light another torch as we entered the fifth floor of the cave. "We're almost there...Shock should be someplace on the next floor."

"Great." I replied. I was tired of tromping through this spooky old cave; but I also had the duty to find and rescue this lost Magnemite. It would not look good on our resumes if we retreated now.

"This is nothing compared to the dungeons Team Pluto goes through every day." Lita cautioned. "99 floors of Pokemon, mazes and traps!"

"Ni-n-n-n-....I'm not worthy!" I yelped.

"That's not all..." Lita continued. "The traps are much worse...they can splatter mud all over you..."

I winced at this. Getting dirty in a dungeon with no sources of water didn't sound very fun.

"Some of them spray sleeping gas..." Lita continued, all the while approaching me menancingly. Now I was shuddering--What if I never woke up from the gas induced coma?

"Lita..." Mizu warned. She was not amused by Lita's attempts to scare me. "Stop scaring Sammi, please!"

"But can't I tell her about the--" Lita started.

"DON'T TELL ME!!!!!!" I screeched, making my voice echo through the chamber we had entered.

Mizu sighed, embarrassed by my yelp. "Come on...the stairs are over here." With that, she led us into the southern exit and down the stairs in the next room.

Thunderwave Cave, B6F

We arrived in a large open room with a stream running through it; and the first thing I noticed was a lone Magnemite looking at himself in the water. His lone eye was half drooped as a tear fell from it. Every so often, he would release a very tiny spark before releasing another tear.

"Shock?" I called to the crying Magnemite.

The Magnemite perked up at the sound of his name and hovered over to me. "Are you...the rescuers my brothers sent?" he tensely asked.

"Yes." I replied. "They're on the surface, and worried sick about you!"

Shock was elated to the point of sending out a celebratory shockwave, making the three of us dive for cover. "Wonderful! Someone finally came to save me!" he cried joyfully.

"Come on then." Lita said, motioning for Shock, Mizu, and I to join her in a circle. "I'm going to use our rescue badge to get you out of here."

Once we had all circled around Lita, she held our Rescue Badge in the air, making it glow with a faint white aura. "Pokemon Rescue....Ruby Flash!" she called. This made the ruby on our badge glow with a bright red light, which consumed us and warped us outside.

We arrived on the surface seconds later, where Flicker and Coil were waiting. Shock flew over to his brothers, and the three of them spun on the grass in a moment of jubilation.

After all three of them had calmed down a little, Flicker hovered over to me. "Thank you so much for finding our brother!" he said as he offered some coins to us. "It's not much, but take 500 credits as thanks."

"And this Reviver Seed!" Coil gave Lita a seed with a heart emblem on it.

"And this berry I found in the cave." Shock added, adding a Rawst Berry to our toolbox.

"Thank you for the coins and gifts..." I replied. "But just seeing the three of you happy is the best payment of all!" We all laughed, said our goodbyes, and headed for home, our first mission completed.

We all went to bed that night exhausted, but happy. For most of the night, I dreamt about the three Magnemite Bros. playing together. Judging from how they had spun and whirled about, they were probably very close, and rarely, if ever, fought over anything.

But suddenly, a hazy green feeling started my next dream. I was confused--what was this dream going to be about?

The haze was very thick, but I could make out a white form off in the distance. I couldn't tell who or what it was, but it seemed to be thinking very hard about something.

I was about to approach it and ask who it was when a loud ringing jolted me awake! I rubbed my eyes as Lita hopped from bed and trooped downstairs. Mizu was also awake, since my still sleepy eyes could see her turning off the ringing alarm clock. I just brushed off the dream for now--if it happened again, I'd ask Lita about it...

END OF FILE
 
File #14: Just Peachy!



Despite my odd dream the night before, breakfast passed without incident. In fact, Lita didn't even ask about what had happened--she probably had just chalked up my tossing and turning as attempts to getting comfortable.

After we had eaten, Mizu was the first to speak. "Lita...did you know that today marks the first day of the Flower Festival?"

"It is?" Lita asked, turning to look at the calandar--or what I thought was a calendar-- hanging on the wall by the front door. "So it is!"

"Wait...what's the Flower Festival?" I asked.

"It's the festival commorating the spring." Lita explained. "A lot of Grass Pokemon come of age during that time."

"The best party's in town!" Mizu continued. "Want to come with us?"

"Well..." I was a little unsure. I didn't know what to expect, since I had never really been to a festival in this world before.

"Come on, please?" Lita begged.

"Okay..." I nervously smiled. "Besides, what could happen at a party in this world?"

"So what are parties like in your world, Sammi?" Mizu asked as we set out on the road to town.

I tried to think of a holiday my new friends would understand. Pokemon Master Day, September 10, was out of the question--I'd have to spend the whole walk telling them about who Master Ash was. Christmas and Easter were out, too--I was worried they wouldn't understand the deeper meanings behind them. After debating between several other holidays and festivals, decided that birthdays would be the best place to begin. "Well, we hold a celebration when someone turns a year older...their birthday."

"Is it a big deal, or what?" Lita asked.

"Some families make a big spectacle of it, while others just hold private parties with families and friends." I explained. "The person turning a year older gets a special cake with candles, and everyone sings a song called "Happy Birthday to You". Once the song's over, the person blows the candles out in hopes their special birthday wish comes true."

"How many candles do they put on the cake?" Mizu was now interested.

"One for each year the person has lived." I replied. "My last one had ten candles on it."

"What happens then?" Lita was now listening intently.

"Usually there's gifts for the person having the birthday, and they get opened after the cake is eaten."

"WOW!!!!" Mizu was excited at the thought of presents. "Maybe if you stay long enough, you can hold a birthday party for me!"

I smiled, partly flattered both by Mizu's giddiness and the festive decor looming overhead as we approached town. "I'll see what I can do..."

Mizu shoved a calendar in my face, which had one date circled on the third page down from the current month. "It's the seventh day of the month of the Phoenix."

I assumed that Mizu ment Moltres when she mentioned "the Phoenix", so the month of the Phoenix would equal July on the human calendar. The current month, the month of the Forest, would probably equal April. It was so amazing; this world had its own calendar very much like ours!

No sooner had we walked into town, did I notice a dropped calendar similar to the one Mizu owned. I started to thumb through it, oblivious to the games, performances, and festivities going on around me. The months of the year here were eerily familiar--the month of the Time Keeper; Dialga, was first, next was the month of the Lover, Luvdisc. The month of Thunder follwed, followed by the month of the Forest. They all corresponded to January, February, March, and April, respectively.

My fascination with the calendar made me bump into a tree. As I rubbed my head in pain, a Chikorita peeked out from a branch. "Everything okay down there?"

"Yes..." I replied back, albeit still in pain.

The Chikorita climbed down from the tree and massaged my wound. "There we go..."

"Thank you...um..." I stammered, unsure what my helper was named.

"Name's Peach." the Chikorita replied. "My friends and I watch over the festival from the trees...if someone needs our help, they knock on the trunk and down we come!"

"Interesting...." I replied.

"It gets pretty lonely up there." Peach continued. "and boring, too...you don't get to take part in the festivities or anything!"

"How awful! But why do you do it?" Lita interjected.

"I wanted to do it to help, but many times no one comes seeking our help." Peach sighed. "I wish there were some way I could actively help someone instead of waiting for them to come to me."

"You could join a Rescue Team!" Lita offered, flashing our badge before Peach.

Peach seemed surprised by our badge. "How is a Rescue Team any different than waiting in the tree?"

"Instead of waiting for someone to come to you, you come to them!" I explained.

A thoughtful look came over Peach's face--she was clearly weighing the pros and cons of joining us in her mind. We just stood on the outskirts of the square, waiting for Peach to make her decision.

Finally, it came: "I'm kissing this tree goodbye! Waiting for someone to help sounds boring compared to rescuing them!"

"Then welcome!" Lita produced a spare bandanna and tied it around Peach's neck. "Welcome to Team Ruby, Peach!"

"Team Ruby, huh? Has a ring to it." Peach laughed before falling in behind me to partake in the festival...

END OF FILE
 
File #15: Another Shocking Mission



After a wonderful day at the festival, we decided to head for home with our new recruit once the nightly fireworks had ended. Thankfully, Peach and I seemed to get along rather well, so the walk home wasn't too interesting. Aside from Peach's chatter about how excited she was to be with us and Mizu raving about the acrobats on the main stage, there wasn't that much conversation either.

"Nice place you've got here..." Peach smiled as we walked up the front walk to the house.

"Thank Lita..." I laughed. "She's the one who built it!" Lita softly giggled at Peach's look of amazement, flattered by my compliment.

"You really built this all by yourself?" Mizu was impressed too. "It must have taken you a very long time!"

"It didn't." Lita assured both Mizu and Peach. "I had help from some townsfolk." We nodded, then made our way inside, where we all got comfortable for the evening. I had particularly eaten a lot at the festival, so I wasn't too hungry for the meal Lita was starting to prepare. I decided to humor Lita and eat a little bit of the vegetables, including the onions she was slicing. Peach was helping by peeling carrots. Mizu was boiling some meat on the stove to add to the mixture. I figured they would be a while, so I pitched in by doing what odd jobs I could.

When the meal was ready, I served myself a tiny helping of the stew. Despite the fact I had eaten a lot of burgers, fries, candy and other treats in town, this too was great food. I had to get Lita's recipe--if and when I got home, I could make it for my family.

"How is it, Sammi?" Lita asked.

"Very good." I mumbled as I swallowed a bite. Mom would make this a lot back home, but hers had too much vegetables in it and not enough meat. Lita's, on the other hand, had a perfect balance between the meat and the vegetables. "Thank you."

"I had a great time today." Mizu smiled as she ate.

"I'm glad to be here with you all." Peach agreed. "Beats the healer's old creaky house with a leaky roof." We all laughed at this. "The master healer never fixed it because he thought it would stop on its own, but it never did."

"So what did you do?" Lita asked.

"We put up with it by putting buckets under the leaks and emptying them when they got full." Peach explained. "This was fine for a while, but after roughly six weeks, we were all getting annoyed with the old Meganium for not fixing it. The poor fellow was blind as a Zubat, so he couldn't really tell what was wrong."

"Aww..." Mizu said. "That's sad."

"Then what happened?" I was now mildly interested in Peach's story.

"The last straw came when a patch of the roof caved in during a storm." Peach continued. "The master healer finally sensed a problem and begged our forgiveness for not noticing it sooner. We forgave him, of course; but cleaning up the mess took at last a month!" She waited for our nervous laughter to calm down before concluding "Ever since then, he paid attention when one of us told him about a leak."

"Lucky for you, I made the roof nice and watertight, so it won't leak!" Lita smiled as she got up to clear the table. Once everything had been washed and put away, we trooped upstairs to bed.

Lita and I slept in one bedroom, and Mizu and Peach in another. The bathroom was across the hall from either of the occupied bedrooms, and two more bedrooms were a little further down the hall. Assuming that each bedroom could comfortably hold two occupants, we had enough room for eight team members in the house.

Yet the four of us were comfortable enough for now. I drifted to sleep dreaming about the various games and shows I had seen at the festival. As for the odd dream with the white blob, that one did not recur.

I rose early the next morning and walked out to the mailbox. It was still early, and Nigel would not be coming for at least another hour. However, I still noticed a slip of paper hanging from the box.

Curious, I took the paper and looked at it:

Dear Team Ruby:

We were out on the nature hike in Tiny Woods yesterday, and one of my children got seperated from the group. No rescue team has found him yet, so I've spent the better part of the night worried sick! If you could investigate and look for him, I'd be very grateful.

--Ampere

I carefully folded up the letter and brought it inside. When Lita came downstairs, she noted the Magnemite print letter at my place. "What's that?"

"A rescue job that came last night." I explained. "From someone named 'Ampere'"

Peach's eyes lit up. "Isn't Ampere the rich Electrode that owns the Highland District?"

"Yeah!" Mizu smiled. "The Highland District is where all the richest Pokemon live." she explained. "It's an honor that common people get to go up there...."

My mind was racing--one of the richest Pokemon in the area had asked for our services?

END OF FILE
 
File #16: The Voltorb Roundup



As we trooped off into the woods, I took comfort in knowing that Tiny Woods was presumably much shorter--and much safer--than Thunderwave Cave. In fact, it didn't take us very long to find the missing Voltorb, either.

He was resting by a pool when I called out to him, "Your father wishes you to come home!"

Surprisingly, I got a snide response: "My father, asking a novice rescue team, to come rescue me from the woods? HAH!!!"

Peach glanced at our Rescue Badge, then shouted back to the Voltorb "Novice or not, your dad asked us to find you, so come on!"

"No." and with that, the Voltorb rolled off to another part of the clearing.

Mizu sighed. "Of all the missions we could possibly go on, we get the one where the client doesn't want to be rescued!"

"It didn't say anything about stubbron clients in the Rescue Manual!" Lita agreed.

"Guys, the only way to get this Voltorb to come home is to somehow lure him to his dad." I suggested. "So any ideas?"

"I think I have one!" Mizu grabbed a blueprint from the toolbox and started to draw on it.

Peach sighed. "What's so complicated about luring a Voltorb back to its dad?"

"You know Mizu--has to think everything out methodically." Lita replied as Mizu continued to draw.

---------
"Okay!" Mizu began as she unveiled her blueprint. "Here's how we'll lure the Voltorb to us and rescue it!"

"This better be good, Mizu..." I groaned. Deep down, I was hoping to Arceus that this plan didn't go horribly wrong.

"All right...When the Voltorb passes by this spot..." Mizu paused to point out a grassy spot by the pool that was marked with an X on the blueprint. "Peach will wrap him up in a vine so he can't escape."

"Mm-hmm..." I motioned for Mizu to go on.

"Then, that will give either you or Lita time to use Ruby Flash and send him back to daddy Ampere!" Mizu concluded. "So, let's try it!"

"DADDY Ampere?" Peach was a little unnerved as we waked to the marked spot, a pile of grass and leaves by a tree.

"Mizu must've eaten too many Pecha Berries for breakfast today..." I sighed as I used my tail to burn the image of an X into the grass. Peach nodded and glanced out towards the pool for any sign of the Voltorb.

After roughly ten minutes, I heard the metallic rolling of a Voltorb in the distance. "Here he comes!"

Peach waited until the Voltorb had rolled on the X, then fired a vine at him! "ENERGY VINE!!!"

"Wha..." The Voltorb had no time to react before the glowing vines plopped him into our circle. "Hey, Let me go!" he protested as he fruitlessly struggled to free himself.

"Hurry, Lita!" I yelped.

"Pokemon Rescue...Ruby Flash!" Lita called, enveloping us and the Voltorb in light.

When we arrived before Ampere a few seconds later, he sheperded the Voltorb to his side and began. "My son, the rescue team was only trying to help...why did you have to give them so much trouble?"

"Well, I only wanted to explore the forest..." the Voltorb explained.

"But resisting the team that only wanted to help you is not acceptable." Ampere continued a little sternly. "You had me worried sick!"

The Voltorn teared up. "Father, I only wanted to see the forest, nothing more."

"Exploring is quite all right, but please--be sure to inform me of your planned return from now on." Ampere sighed before turning to us again. "Here...take some coins for your trouble." With that, he nudged a huge pile of coins to us. "This is my thanks to you."

"Wow! Thank you!" Lita smiled as she gathered up the coins.

---------

"1,997...1,998...1,999...2,000 credits!" Peach announced as she deposited the last coin in the money box.

"That's a lot!" Mizu was shocked.

"And fitting considering that Ampere is the local rich Pokemon." Peach smiled. "But, he uses his billions for good reasons--that's how he became so respected around here.

"I see." I smiled as we trooped up to bed, another day and mission completed.

END OF FILE
 
File #17: Friends and Foes Alike



Not long after our mission to recuse the Voltorb, word about Team Ruby began to spread. For the next few days, we were getting a deluge of letters. Some asked us to find a lost Pokemon, like we'd been doing for a while. Others wanted them escorted through a dungeon to find someone who had gotten lost. Still others wanted us to deliver an item to them.

It was after one of those missions when I noted Melody's coupon sticking out of the toolbox. "Hey..."

"Hmm?" Lita asked as she led us into the line to see Aunt Wendy.

"Can we go see Melody after we drop off these Gummis?" I asked as Lita gave Wendy a few extra Gummis.

"Why?" Mizu was confused.

"Well...I was thinking that I should use it." I replied as I checked its date--it would only be good for another day after today.

Okay, then. Let's go see Melody." Lita smiled. With that, she lead us a little farther down the square and down to where the Friendship Club, where Melody was singing as happily as ever. We ran to get a place in line, but just as our place got reserved, I saw a letter floating down to the ground.

"Excuse me, pardon me, sorry..." I mumbled as I slogged through the crowds of Pokemon. I reached out a paw to catch it, but missed. I tried again as a breeze lifted it back in the air, but still missed.

"Need help?" a Bulbasaur standing a few places behind us asked.

"Please..." I replied as I fruitlessly grabbed at the envelope dancing in the wind.

"ENERGY VINE!!!" The Bulbasaur lashed out out a vine, catching the envelope before the wind could blow it further away. "Here you go." he smiled as he gave the envelope to me. "It says 'To Team Ruby'...

"That's my team." I replied as I took the envelope. "Thank you!" I called to the Bulbasaur as I raced to rejoin my teammates in line,

"Anytime!" the Bulbasaur called back.

"What was that about?" Peach asked when I returned.

"An envelope addressed to us was delivered by air mail." I explained. "I couldn't get it, so a Bulbasaur grabbed it with Energy Vine"

"That was very nice of him." Melody smiled as we approached the counter. "Now...what can I do for you today?"

"I'm hoping this is still good..." I stammered as I showed Melody my coupon.

"Oh it is!" Melody assured me as she took the coupon from me. "How many Friend Areas shall I unlock for you? One or two?"

"One--nah, make it two" I replied.

"Okay!" and Melody began to sing again, making two more bright flashes appear. Thankfully, I knew they were coming, so I didn't shield my eyes this time.

"What was that about?" said a voice. I turned to find the three Magnemite Bros. flying through the crowd, with Flicker leading. "Shock's been bugging me to let him join you guys for a week now...

"I've unlocked the Power Plant and Mt. Deepgreen for you." Melody explained, but that was all Shock needed to hear before flashing some celabratory static.

"Hold your Ponytas, Shock..." I laughed as I draped a Team Ruby bandanna around him. "There...now you're on the team!"

"Oh thank you, Sammi!" Shock replied before turning to leave. "I'll be waiting in the Power Plant if you need me!" With that, he and his brothers departed. We decided to head for home as well, but as we walked along the path out of town, I felt a sick feeling in my stomach. I glanced at a bush to see a pair of menacing eyes looking at me and swallowed hard. Could Rocko have been following us?

END OF FILE
 
I'm... super-special-awesomely impressed with your description and characterization as usual, Emeraldo-chan. (Wait, hold it, are you 'chan'? You're a girl, but I can't tell whether I'm older then you, dagnabbit!) And with the filler arc finally coming to a close, I'm getting really excited, because now we're finally seeing some...

Hold up. Did you just send everyone back to the tiny woods?

I understand that this is probably a reference to the in-game "Go on a generic mission before you go to Mount Steel" bit, but despite the amusing premise of the non-wanting-to-be-rescued client, the chapter pretty much screams "Shoot me, I'm a glorified filler! Shoot me, I'm a glorified filler!". I feel like I'm watching the actual Pokemon anime sometimes- seven episodes and nothing that actually happens has a bearing on the plot of the story. To put it bluntly, while your descriptions and characters are charming, and bring to mind the backdrops of a Disney-esque movie setting, your plot is kinda boring. I'm waiting for something more interesting then "New team member joins!" or "New move is learned" or "Another exciting mission to the wimpiest dungeon ever invented!" (I have a very low opinion of the tiny woods.)

Also, I'm kinda dissapointed in the fact that there have been, maybe, three serious battles that I can remember in the seventeen or so chapters you filled up with this fanfic, and none of them were that gripping in comparison to other things, like the movie theater and the brick-oven-pizza type thing. For cryin' out loud, this is mystery dungeon! You can't go two blocks in-game without tripping over some insane Pokemon who wants you for dinner! I'm not saying that you're doing a bad job, because you aren't, I'm just asking that you pick up the pace a little.
 
Things will start heating up here in the next few episodes, don't worry!

(eg. the Skarmory event, and Shiftry will be introduced)
 
I apologize if it's taking so long, I'm trying to generate a suitable run of Mt. Steel to write in.
 
File 18: Nerves of Steel (part 1)


Peach looked at the envelope I had received earlier as we entered the house. "Wonder what it says?"

"Shall we take a look?" I replied as I reached for it and carefully opened it, only pausing to take the letter inside. After unfolding the ground type Pokemon print mail inside, I began to read: "Okay...it says..."

Dear Team Ruby:

A few nights ago, my work crew and I were digging a new tunnel into Mt. Steel, when a Skarmory kiddnapped one of the workers. We are well aware that Skarmories live inside the mountain, and we trade any jewels we find to them in exhange for supplies. However, the foremen have come to the conclusion that this particular Skarmory was a rogue bent on disrupting our work.

Everyone is worried sick about the kiddnapped worker's fate, so if you could find him and defeat the Skarmory, we would be most grateful.

Sincerely,

Koudo

Lita swallowed hard. "This is serious..."

"Koudo's one of the premiere tunnel diggers around here..." Mizu explained. "If his crew can't dig, how will we pass through the mountains safely?"

"Mizu's right..." Peach explained. "We need to find the lost worker alive so Koudo can dig."

Mizu pulled down a map of the world and pointed out a large mountain in the highlands, northeast of Thunderwave Cave. "Here's Mt. Steel...it has many jewels inside, which digging crews trade for metals and supplies." My question was: why would one Skarmory want to kidnap a crew member? I thought about this as we departed for the highlands.

After passing Thunderwave Cave and following a small pathway up to the base of the mountain, where a group of Digletts, Sandshrews, and Arons were digging, with a Dugtrio overseeing them all.

Mizu flashed our Rescue Badge to the Dugtrio. "Team Ruby, at your service!"

The Dugtrio abandoned the radar he was watching to meet with us. "Welcome, Team Ruby...I am Koudo, leader of this crew. We've currently halted our tunnel to find the kidnapped worker, an apprentice Diglett named Daichi."

"Do any of the foremen know where the rogue that swiped Daichi lives?" Peach asked.

"I do..." a Sandshrew interjected. "I'm Terra, foreman of the team Daichi was part of..."

"Okay then, Terra..." I asked. "What happened the night of the kidnapping?"

"We were about to break through to the third level of the tunnel, where it would merge with a second path another team had already dug." Terra explained. "Once our path joined with that path, it would complete the route on the mountain's third level. That was our objective that night."

"And then?" I beckoned Terra to continue.

Terra paused to adjust her hard hat, then continued. "Moments before we broke through to the other tunnel, we all heard this horrible screech. Daichi wanted to know what it was, so I told him it was a Skarmory coming inside the tunnel. Assuming the Skarmory wanted to trade, we offered it some rubies we had found.

"He wanted no part of trading, so he scattered the rubies everywhere and dragged Daichi away. That was the last we saw of him."

"We've had a few promising leads on his location." Koudo interjected, giving uis a map of the tunnels. "This should help you find your way through the mountain."

"Thanks!" I replied as I accepted a hard hat from an Aron. At least we wouldn't need any torches on this mission.

"Good luck, Team." Koudo called as we approached the mountain's entrance. "Hopefully, Daichi is still alive." He and Terra watched as we disappeared into the darkness, with only the lights on our hard hats lighting the way.

END OF FILE
 
File #19: Nerves of Steel (part 2)



Mt. Steel, B1F

When we arrived in the network of tunnels, Peach noted something gray by my feet. "Nice...someone left some Gravelerocks here!" With that, she deposited the three tiny rocks into the toolbox.

"It's possible that in their panic, the miners dropped some of their supplies." Mizu explained as we rounded a corner to turn left at a fork. "While I'm sure Koudo would understand if we had to use the miner's supplies, let's try not to use anything that we don't need."

"Promise!" Lita replied.

"You have my word of honor." I replied, followed by attempting to make the Trainer Scout sign--index, middle, and ring fingers together, with the thumb holding the pinky down. Since I only had three tiny claws and not five, this was difficult to do.

Lita was piqued by my attempt to make the sign. "What does that sign mean, Sammi?"

"Well..." I started, trying to think of a way to make Trainer Scouts easy for my new friends to understand. "In the human world, one of the many things you can do is join a group of boys and girls and help the community. These kids and teens are called Trainer Scouts."

"Scouts? Like the spy on an evil team kind?" Mizu was interested now.

"No...these scouts ae more focused on bettering themselves, their community, others, and the world." I explained. "The sign I was trying to make was the sign that symbolizes the Scout's promise--'On my honor, I will try'. I had said that promise many times at award ceremonies, so it was still fresh in my memory. "Whenever a group of Trainer Scouts say that promise, they make that sign."

"Kinda like a secret password." Peach added.

I was about to tell Peach that the sign was not a password when I heard the flutter of wings approaching behind me! "GLOWING EMBER!!!" A Spearow squawked and fluttered away as it tried to extinguish its burning feathers.

"ENERGY VINE!" Peach lashed a glowing vice at an unsuspecting Zigzagoon approaching from the right, knocking it out.

"Thanks, Peach..." I smiled as I lead the way further down the tunnel.

"Anytime!" Peach replied as we turned down another corner and into an open room--which turned out to be a dead end.

After picking up the Gravelerocks in the room, we retraced our steps back to the fork, where we passed the Zigzagoon Peach had battered earlier. By now, he was awake, and breathing, just stunned from Peach's attack.

Peach hurried over to the Zigzagoon and examined the gash the Energy Vine had created. "No hard feelings, okay?" she smiled as she healed the wound with a soothing mist. "I was just startled by your sudden appearance and thought you were an intruder!"

"It's okay..." the Zigzagoon replied as he eased himself to his feet. In fact...as thanks for helping me out, I want to join your team."

"Hey, Lita..." I motioned for Lita to hand me the Rescue Badge. She complied, and I called "Ruby Flash!" sending the Zigzagoon out of the dungeon.

"Where'd he go?" Peach was mystified.

"Easy...I sent him to a Friend Area, where he can rest until we need him." I explained as we continued down the pathway and turned right. "By the time we finish this mission, he should be ready whenever he wants to come along."

"I see..." Peach replied as we trooped down the stairs.

Mt. Steel, B2F

No sooner had we arrived downstairs, did i see a pair of Spearows sleeping by my position. "Okay...let's try not to disturb these two." I cautioned as I began tiptoing past the two Spearows. Lita, Mizu, and Peach followed along behind me.

One of the Spearows ruffled its feathers, making us freeze for a moment. The last thing I wanted was for them to wake up and see us, which would probably lead to a fight. Thankfully, it didn't awaken as we kept tiptoing towards the right entrance of the room.

After entering another room and assuring myself that the Spearows couldn't hear us any more, I called "Okay guys...we can walk now."

"Bout time..." Peach replied as she scooped up some stray coins on the ground by the stairs. Hopefully we wouldn't have to sneak again as we ventured further into the dungeon...

END OF FILE
 
A little explaination of the plot so far:

I'm attempting to show the gang's thoughts and how they solve problems. Sometimes they solve a petty problem quickly, and sometimes they need to discuss the problem before deciding what to do. Likewise, what seems petty to the audience might be worth discussion to the characters, particularly Sammi. She wants to earn and keep her new friends' trust, so she is carefully considering every choice she makes, no matter how trivial.

I'm taking a little creative liscense with Friend Areas...they are warped to the Friend Area if there are already four members (which there were), but I will be bending that rule of thumb a little later on, but only for one part of story.
 
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