83Dun dun dun duuuuuun! My baseline PMD Story is a-go! Thanks for the wating guys, and I hope you enjoy!
-Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Firestorm Origins-
-Chapter 1: Two's a Team
-?'s POV-
Why is the wind picking up?! This wasn't supposed to happen!
I felt the shock of lightning on my back, and I shouted in pain, "Gah!"
I floated in midair next to my partner, who clutched onto my hand, "A-are you alright?!"
I felt a gigantic surge of power course through me, and I shielded my partner as another bolt hit me. I grunted in pain, and my partner shouted over the wind, "No, you have to hold on! We're almost there!" When suddenly… Nothing. I blacked out entirely.
When I came to, it was in waves of consciousness, my vision fading in and out. I was barely able to stay conscious, but I felt… Water lapping over me. I grunted, feeling a massive pain in my chest as the water hit my body. I passed out again to the sound of the water.
-Vulcan's POV-
I paced back and forth in front of the pink tent on the hill… I just couldn't bring myself to step forward. It was Wigglytuff's Guild, the most renowned exploration team training facility in the known world. It certainly looked intimidating, in spite of the… Strange colors. There were torches, and a big iron gate in front of me, and on the ground in front of that was an iron grate.
I sighed, my flaming tail flicking back and forth in anxiousness, "Come on, Vulcan… You're a Charmander, what is there to be scared of? You'll be a Charizard one day!"
I took a deep breath, "One… Two… Three!"
I stepped onto the grate, and looked into the darkness beneath it. I heard a high-pitched voice from far beneath me, "Pokemon Detected! Pokemon Detected!
A low voice shouted, "Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"
The high-pitched voice replied, "The footprint is Charmander's! The footprint is Charmander's!"
I stumbled backwards, thinking that water or something would shoot up and douse my tail flame, "Gah!"
I took a small stone from around my neck, and I stared at it… It was a strange stone, with an intriguing mark on it… It didn't look like anything I had ever seen before... It gave me inspiration and bravery, so I thought that having it with me would help, but I couldn't seem to find the courage to just stand on the grate.
I spat fire into the dirt, and I stood up, "Come on, Vulcan… Seriously? A water trap, of all things? How idiotic can you get?"
It didn't help matters, only discouraging me more, and the sun was setting, so I crossed my arms in disappointment, "You'll get 'em tomorrow..."
I took off down the stairs carved into the stone of the hill, and came to the crossroads, with a well in the upper left corner, facing the hill with the tent on it, where you could write down your adventures once you had an exploration badge.
I walked further downhill, to the small beach directly across from the Guild. I heard the Krabby scuttling throughout the cliffside, and I saw the bubbles that they blew on clear days like this during the sunset. The bubbles always caught the dimming sunlight just right to where it made a rainbow of colors that webbed through the air, sparkling off of the almost sky blue water. I always came here when I was feeling down. The beauty of this place always cheered me up.
I saw a Wailord breach pretty far out, and crash back into the water. I stood up, grabbing my tail as the larger wave crashed into the shore. When it receded, I heard some mumbling to my left.
I glanced over, curious as to what it was, and when I found the origin of the noise, I dropped my tail, letting it drag in the wet sand, "Oh my gosh, are you alright?!"
It was a mudkip, and it had a nasty wound in its chest that went straight through its back, like a hole. I could see straight through it, like a stab wound. It groaned in pain, but somehow it managed to stand up and tackle me to the ground faster than I could move out of the way. I stayed calm, because I didn't know what this pokemon was capable of, but it looked… Afraid.
I slowly asked, "Whoa… Chill out, you were just unconscious…"
Geez, this pokemon is a tank… Whoever it is.
It backed away from me, and eyed me warily, "Who are you?"
It was a male pokemon, from its voice. It was somewhat deep, and sounded nice enough. I smiled, trying to mask my nervousness, "I'm Vulcan the Charmander! Nice to meet you! I haven't seen you around Treasure Town before, though. I don't recognize you... Who are you?"
He was panting, and he looked down into the sand, "You probably don't recognize me… Because I'm a human."
"I don't mean to sound rude, but other than that wound through your chest, you're a perfectly normal Mudkip."
He gasped, "No… N-No I'm not!" Then for the first time since getting up, he looked at himself, sitting down and moving his small arms, flexing the fin on his head, and he hefted a boulder from the sand experimentally. It flew maybe twenty feet out into the water, making a giant wave. I grabbed my tail, keeping it above the water that crashed in, and he grunted, "So… I am a Mudkip..."
I laughed, "The first thing you resort to is hefting a boulder? You're not playing a trick or something, right? 'Cause usually only mudkips know about their super strength thing."
He seemed kind of confused, but he replied, "No, of course not! I-I would never…"
"Well… What's your name? I told you mine, now it's your turn!"
He nodded, "I do remember that… My name is Connor."
I shook my head in shock, "Wait, you're saying that you don't remember anything else?"
He shook his head, "No… Only that I am-er, was, a human, and my name is Connor…"
I nodded, not really wanting to argue with him, "Alright, I believe you… There's been a lot of outlaw activity lately, and a pokemon can't be too careful, right?"
The Mudkip nodded, then tensed up. Before I could respond, I was tackled from behind, knocked into the sand. I heard a stuffy voice, "Well, I do beg your pardon." It was absolutely pouring out sarcasm.
I rolled up off of the ground, "What's the big idea?!"
I turned, and a Zubat was fluttering in my face, but it wasn't the stuffy voice. This one sounded kind of high-pitched, squeaky, "Heh-heh-heh! Can't figure it out? We wanted to mess with you! Can't face up to us, can you? That's yours, isn't it?"
I felt around my neck, and my relic fragment was gone! I looked around, and saw it on the ground in front of me, "Hey! That's-!"
The Zubat scooped it up in its long, slender legs, and took to the air, "Sorry, kiddo. We'll take that!"
I stood there in shock, mouth gawking. How did I lose it so easily?! Those little-!
The Koffing gloated, floating just out of reach, Whoa-ho-ho! Not gonna make a move to get it back? What's the matter? Too scared?"
I lit my hands on fire, clenching my fists, "I don't want to hurt you…"
He smirked, "I'm callin' your bluff!"
My flames fizzled out, and he laughed, "I didn't expect that you'd be such a coward!"
He turned to the Zubat, "Come on, let's get out of here."
They flew past us, and just before they vanished into the Beach Cave, the Zubat chuckled, "See you around, chicken. Heh-heh-heh."
I growled in frustration, "I need to get that stone back!"
Connor strode up to me, "What was that? You made a threat, and didn't follow up?"
I shrugged, ashamed of myself, "I don't want to hurt anybody…"
He smiled warmly, which made me feel better, "Vulcan… You want that stone back? Show them that you're strong enough to get it!"
I nodded, putting on a smile, "Alright, I will! Let's go!"
I was relieved that this mudkip came along when he did… I wouldn't have had the courage to go alone… Pathetic, I know… I knew ember, fire punch, and scratch right now… Pretty good attacks, but that Mudkip… If he really was a human, then he must have worked with a mudkip or something, because he knew water gun and tackle, and he really knew how to use them, even though we didn't hardly run into any wild pokemon in the cave this time. Which was weird, because Kangaskhan, the pokemon that runs the storage back in Treasure Town, said that it's normally crawling with Shellos and Kabuto. I guess that the Koffing and Zubat took them out for us while they were running through it.
I found a blast seed, marked by the orange zig-zag line running across the center of it horizontally, and I grabbed it, "Connor, you know what this is?"
He shook his head, and I answered, "This is a blast seed. You eat it, then you breathe fire for a second. It'll help in a pinch."
He nodded, and I looked at the hole in his chest, "Hey… Are you sure that you're up to fight them? That wound looks really bad…"
I wonder what the heck he got it from… And how he's still up and moving!
He smiled, but grimaced, "Of course. This is important to you, right?"
I nodded my confirmation, and he let a slight huff out, "Good. Let's go kick their butts."
We kept heading up the floors, marked by mossy staircases that lead into midair. When we climbed up them, we were in another section of the dungeon.
We made it to the bottom soon after, and the Koffing was talking to the Zubat at the end, in a clearing. I couldn't make out what they were saying, and I had to get their attention, so I spoke up, "Um… Hey!"
They both turned to us, "Well, well, well, if it isn't our friend, the big chicken!"
Connor stepped forward, "Leave him alone. He didn't do anything to you guys."
The Koffing smiled cruelly, "Oh, I'm sorry, who are you?"
He stepped forward, "I am Connor, and we're going to get that stone back!"
I added on, "It's really important to me!"
They looked at each other, and then back at us, and the Zubat mocked, "Important, you say? So this thing really is valuable, huh?"
The Koffing added, "It could be worth more than we'd hoped for, I'd say. We ought to try selling it. Who knows? It might get a good price. Whoa-ho-ho! All the more reason not to give it back!"
They both laughed, and I was shocked that these pokemon were laughing at our expense!
They quieted down, and the Zubat teased, "If you want it back that badly… Come and get it! Heh-heh-heh!"
Connor stepped next to me, "You take the Zubat. Rain fire on him to bring him to the floor; He's going to try to stay high and maybe use supersonic. If that hits you, you'll be out for a minute. I'll take the fat one."
I smiled slightly at that remark, then thought about what he said. Rain fire… Let's do this!
We all charged forward, Connor bellowing water, dousing the Koffing right out of the gate. The Zubat did exactly as Connor said: it flew straight up, "Nyeh, nyeh! Can't catch me!"
I lit my hand on fire, and swung with all my might. A fireball flew from my hand, and I laughed, "Yes! It worked!"
The Zubat dodged, the fireball hitting the ceiling above, and he laughed, "You call that an attack? Try this!"
His mouth opened wide, and I heard a strange noise that distorted my senses… Connor shouted, "Block it out, Vulcan!"
I heard rumbling, and I looked up at the Zubat. He stopped his supersonic, and a stalactite hanging from the ceiling came loose, and almost landed on the Zubat. It hit one of his wings, and he went spiraling into the ground.
I heard Connor shout to my left, "Toss me the Blast Seed!"
I grabbed it from my little satchel that I had made, and tossed it through the air. He munched down on it, and fire flew out of his mouth, straight into the Koffing. The gasses coming from its body exploded, and Connor used water gun to douse the fire before it enveloped the entire space.
The Koffing was barely floating, and Connor finished him with a tackle attack. He landed next to the Zubat, and moaned, "Owowow…"
"Ugh… We got roughed up…"
Koffing rolled and used his inertia to take to the air, and Zubat flapped his wings. One was damaged, so he was hovering kind of lopsided, and Koffing huffed, "B-blast it… How'd we lose to wimps like them?"
Zubat just scoffed, "Bah! Here you go. Take it, then!" He tossed my relic fragment to the ground in front of us, and the Koffing muttered, "Whoa-ho! Don't think that you're so awesome. Your victory was a fluke!"
"Yeah, you just remember that," Zubat shouted as they ran off.
I picked up the relic fragment and put it back around my neck. How is the string not broken? I don't care, that was… Fun, surprisingly. Battling.
Connor saw a hole leading out to the ocean in the side of the cave, and he leapt into the water. He grunted, probably from the saltwater on his wound, "Come on, the beach is right around the corner."
I looked at the water, "No, thanks…"
He rolled his eyes, "The water won't kill you, Vulcan!"
I sighed, "Maybe… I despise it though."
He smirked, "Maybe it's because you're a fire-type? He faced the exit while treading the water, "Hop on my back. I know I can swim really well."
I hopped on hesitantly, holding my tail above the water, and he swam through the opening, and we circled back around to the beach.
I stepped onto the sand, and Connor shook the water off of himself, "So what was so important about that stone of yours?"
I looked at it, tied around my neck, then back at him, wondering if I could trust him… There were so many bad pokemon… But I decided to give him some credit for beating the snot out of that Koffing. "Um… Well, it was a gift, first… From Team Core."
The Mudkip looked confused, "Team Core?"
I nodded, "Yeah; Quint, Seth, Maris, and Lucerna! They live in Treasure town; Everybody knows them! Quint doesn't really like the attention, though. "
I quickly got back on topic, "Team Core had always been like my family. I never knew my real parents… One day, when I was really little, Maris pulled a box out from Kangaskhan storage. She opened it, and there was a mysterious stone inside. She said that it was a gift from my father, to me. She said that his last request was that I keep this safe. He said that it belonged to something, somewhere, and that only I could find it. That's why I want to be a famous explorer, solving mysteries of unknown lands, finding treasure troves massive enough to make the banker Duskull whine like a Growlithe. In reality, it'd be nice to find out where this goes. But… I needed to be apprenticed at Wigglytuff's Guild first. I went there earlier to sign up, but I wussed out…"
A light clicked in my head, "Say, Connor, what are you going to do now? You have amnesia, and somehow you turned into a Pokemon. Do you have anywhere to go?"
He sat there silently, so I continued, "If you don't, then can I ask you something? How about we make an exploration team? You and me? We worked really well together beating Koffing and Zubat, so what do you think? Please?"
He seemed to be in deep thought for a little while, but eventually nodded, "Alright."
I sort of sat there, dumbfounded, not expecting a yes, "You will? Awesome! Thank you! I know that we're going to be the best team in history, just you wait!"
Connor sat in the sand, and nodded, "Yeah... This Team Core… Can I meet them?"
I nodded, standing up from the sand and brushing myself off, "Of course! Quint and Maris always love meeting newcomers in Treasure Town!"
Connor seemed interested, so we both walked back up the path, this time taking a left at the crossroads to get back into Treasure Town.
Alrighty! I did my best introducing as many OC ideas as I could without changing the story up too much, so bear with me as the story progresses!
Also, if you haven't read Grovyle's story, it's on my profile. I'd suggest that you read it, because there's a lot of stuff in this story that ties into those. Although, if you haven't played the game yet, then you might not want to due to spoilers and stuff, but seven years after the game's come out... Yeah, you get it.
There's also going to be a file for my OCs as another story thing later, listing all their fighting stats and stuff like that. So... Yeah! Feel free to leave a quick review if you enjoyed, let me know if you want more. (I'll upload anyways) And PM me suggestions for OCs in the next stories to come if you want to see them!
-PS: The Viewer-submitted teams that appear in this story are Team Core and Team Virus. I will introduce Team Hope and the Pokemon Mafia Group, as well as any others submitted in the sequels to come. Much Love!
-PL