Only thing Matt hoped they didn't have to do while helping Josh do this was go swimming. But alas, Matt's wish for that was looking very slim. Oh well, he was a powerful swimmer, he just hated how much he swam within these past months. For now though, he was soaring high in the sky on Oto, the duo speeding towards the meeting spot.

Oto flew in front of the sun, cawing loudly, as he dove to land into the sand near Josh. Trilling and showing off his chest feathers. Matt chuckled at him, sliding off the birds back and patting his neck. "Guess he needed the exercise." Oto cuffed at him, turning his head up.

"So, where are we going from here?"

Josh Devlin Isaac Merlo

[nospaces]

Josh waved toward both of his friends as the duo made landfall astride a Pidgeot and Mantine. "Thanks for coming. There's no way I could do this myself." At least the weather was sunny and calm, which was a rarity around Mount Pyre. "So I dunno if I told both of you this, but I was at the meteor on that horrible day. When the Silent Icelands were born, Kyurem shattered Twilight's Absolite. Thankfully, a couple of League bigwigs were able to help me locate a new one."

He led them to the center of the island, next to a large cave mouth. "Absolite readings were by far the strongest here, but it's not gonna be easy. Rangers won't even come out here to rescue people who are in trouble. Too dangerous, supposedly." This may have sounded familiar to Isaac, who explored an equally dangerous cave with Shalin Nariya recently. He had experience.

The sound of running water could already be heard the moment Josh floated inside atop his Dragonair. Perhaps he should have brought a more amphibious ride like Winky, but he also had to come prepared to deal with Water-types, such as a horde of Veluza launching AQUA CUTTER at them!

---

OST: Great Bay Temple

Matt Vice Isaac Merlo

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
                             ♥♥♥♥
Josh          Human          ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Twilight      Absol          Good
Illumina      Lanturn        Good
Blitz         Luxray         Good
Resheph       Dragonair      Good
Snacker       Sharpedo       Good
Ulysses       Dewgong        Good

{WC: 202}
{PC: 2}

Matt listened, trying to not give away his facial expression as he mentioned the meteor. He should be glad he made it out alive. Chewing the inside of his cheek to silence his thoughts, he glanced to Isaac. "Still say you look better than Razz." A smirk, before peering towards the cave.

"You sure picked the wrong one for water and cave battles askin' me. Half my team-" As he said that, it seemed someone on his team didn't appreciate being forgotten!

A loud, thunderous bark came, as his own Manetric came roaring out of a pokeball on Matt's side. The electric canine barked again, commanding the Thunder itself down onto the fish that dared attack his trainer and his- well, friends? Were they friends? Totally friends.

"Zeus! Ah!" Out of reflex he went to snatch Josh and Isaac out of the way if he could.

Josh Devlin Isaac Merlo

[nospaces]

While Resheph and Zeus were nimble, the two were simply unable to get the Dragonair out of the way of all of the blades of AQUA CUTTER headed her way. While her aquatic dragon scales let her largely bounce away the attacks, Josh was not so lucky; he let out a loud scream that echoed all over the cave's top floor. Blood sprayed from his upper left arm as one of the SHARPNESS-enhanced water attacks cut into him. Resheph, feeling the unsteadiness in Josh's left hand, took over control for him. The dragon was smart enough and close enough to Josh to have a good idea of how he wanted to approach exploration and combat.

The two Electric-types were easily able to clean up the horde of swift, large fish, securing the way to the second level. "Holy...that hurts, and bad," Josh hissed, Resheph leading the way to the lower level, the sound of running water getting louder.

"Thanks, both of you." His eyes shifted toward Matt's Manectric as he led the way down. "I just want to be the best Elite Ranger I can. Wow, that's a really nice Manectric you've got there! You really like my Pokémon, don't you?" he flattered the former Ranger. "When things calm down again, I'd love for Zeus to meet Saber. Might be fun going riding around Hoenn again! Just like old times."

Lord British was an electric ride Pokémon Josh was familiar in passing with, but hadn't caught one yet. "Your Pokémon is impressive, too," he complimented Isaac. "Once I get used to King Zing, my Beedrill, I might try to catch a Vikavolt for myself."

With that, Josh headed down to the second level. The cavernous pass gave way to what appeared to be a tall, disused waterway that ships may have used long ago. Its top level was submerged ankle-deep, and its bottom level was deep enough for most water Pokémon to comfortably swim in. As the Leader circled the room's perimeter, he noticed a draft coming from its northwest corner. Upon closer examination, the wall was cracked in several places, though the cracks were above deep water, making it difficult for land Pokémon to get to. "This is... not what we thought was down here at all," he remarked, also pointing out a tunnel on the south side of the room leading further west. Other than the sound of rushing, falling water from beyond the tunnels, it was quiet. Too quiet.

Returning to where he found the draft, Resheph carried Josh above the weakened wall. "My Dragonair can probably blast this away with a Hyper Beam, but if you have a less destructive way to do so, have at it!"

---

Matt Vice Isaac Merlo

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
                             ♥♥♥♥
Josh          Human          ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Twilight      Absol          Good
Illumina      Lanturn        Good
Blitz         Luxray         Good
Resheph       Dragonair      Good
Snacker       Sharpedo       Good
Ulysses       Dewgong        Good

{WC: 457}
{PC: 3}

Matt waved his hand as Josh said that about Zeus. "I like dogs." He said simply, letting it fall there. Honestly, he had gotten the dog as a gift from.. some unknown stranger. Who just gives out shiny pokemon? Oh well, Zeus was his now, and he made may Zeus-fu jokes to nicodemus unken about it, and soon Isaac.

"Wait you idiot." Matt growled, sounding a lot harsher than normal. Pulling out some ace bandages from his side pack, he would motion for Josh to get in front of him. "We'll get the wall when I patch up your hand." He said, stern in his position about it. But Zeus was soon giving a low growl, hackles raised.

Then Matt noticed it was quiet..

"It's too quiet in here..."

Isaac Merlo

[nospaces]

Two different people could love the same Pokémon for different reasons. After all, just like Pokémon, people had their own personalities, too! When Matt offered to patch Josh up, he pulled back on Resheph's reins with his good hand, prompting the Dragonair to stop and simply hover. While Matt's bandage stopped the bleeding, it didn't stem the pain. Nemesis' PAIN SPLIT, though, did. The Mimikyu's overall stamina greatly exceeded the Gym Leader's, completely healing his wound. "Isaac, thank you. You're as reliable as ever," Josh gratefully replied.

Rather than blast the wall away, Lord British disassembled it, though Josh did wince a bit when the bug-type buzzed a bit closer than he'd like. Those wings were loud at point-blank range. Really loud. Vikavolt were more than large enough to bear a rider, and he needed to keep his collection of electric ride Pokémon complete. But would such a chaotic ride Pokémon be worth it? This kind of ride seemed something that his platonic girlfriend would enjoy more than he did.

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/996935022286209055/1051780378999926835/OOT_Secret_Sound.mp3[/player]

"Good one!" Josh chirped. He was feeling better. Leading the way through the now-opened sluiceway, he got a good view of the next part of the Watery Grave, which ultimately convinced him that this place was not natural like past reports had indicated. It was man-made, as though an an ancient city had existed here many moons ago. Beyond a wall of iron bars, he could see a lowered sluice gate on the north end of the lower level. Rolled up in the northeast corner of the overlook was a thick paper scroll. Unrolling it, he saw what appeared to be a sluiceway map, followed by hearing the clink of a small, metallic object touch the ground. Peering beneath him and backing up, he sighted a silver key, scooping it up.

You got the MAP! You can use it to see your current position and the rest of the dungeon.

You got a SMALL KEY! This key will open any one locked door. You can use it only in this dungeon.

"Mind holding this for me so I can snap a photo of it?" he asked the two. Provided they both complied with his request, Josh would do so, then forward the photo to their phones in local mode, given they wouldn't have a network signal so far underground. He would then wheel his Dragonair to the lower level and hover above the dirty, ankle-deep water. Opening the locked door leading to the opposite side of the barred chamber, a long lever with an illegible label was in sight. Once he made sure no one was on the lower level, Josh pulled the lever, it creaking while rotating to the opposite position. The sluice gate opened, making it now possible for the three to reach the west exit farther down the waterway.

The intersection before them was enormous, the sounds of splashing Pokémon filling the lower level also covered in ankle-high water; another set of sluice gates kept the water in the previous sector from flooding this one. The northwest and north corridors were both under lock and key, but they were free to explore elsewhere... once they handled the small army of Marshtomp and Swampert about to fling MUDDY WATER at the intruders!

---

Matt Vice Isaac Merlo

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
                             ♥♥♥♥
Josh          Human          ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Twilight      Absol          Good
Illumina      Lanturn        Good
Blitz         Luxray         Good
Resheph       Dragonair      Good
Snacker       Sharpedo       Good
Ulysses       Dewgong        Good

{WC: 558}
{PC: 4}

Once bandaged and good, Matt let Josh go. "Didn't you use to yell at me for being reckless?" He teased, going to step back. Looking at the map, he held it up and blinked a few times. "Well..." He shrugged. "Your adventure, bro. Lead the way- oh for fucks sake."

A glare was given at the water-types sending a roaring wave of muddy water at them. "Zeus." He ordered, his voice almost cold. The dog barked into action, summoning another Thunder to split the waves in-two and hopefully spare their friends a watery surprise!

If not... hopefully someone has towels?

Isaac Merlo

[nospaces]

"...I guess what goes around comes around, huh?" Josh sheepishly laughed. His pursuit of Raikou really had made him more reckless, hadn't it? Especially after what happened on the meteor, the wannabe Beast Rider had become a white knight to a fault, throwing himself into danger for the sake of others he barely knew. One of these days, it was going to get him -- not his Pokémon, him -- seriously hurt.

The impact of Zeus' THUNDER deflected the waves away from the party, but it had a nasty side effect: it electrified the entire wave of water and the shallow standing water near it! Though the mud within the water absorbed the majority of the electric shock, what was left was still nasty to absorb, that being of a Manectric's most powerful attack!

Lord British was again there to save the day, the bug-type's large wings churning fast enough to push much of the electrified water out of the way long enough for Josh and his Dragonair to get to the high ground, where they would be out of trouble. Isaac's two Pokémon, along with a HYPER BEAM from Resheph, was enough to dispatch all the wilds. On top of a pedestal in the center of the room was a large, green, and ornate treasure chest with a similarly-proportioned lock in its center. Unsurprisingly, when Josh and Resheph tried to lift its lid, it would not budge.

With a cage of iron bars blocking the way north and a lock blocking the way northwest, Josh and his now-recovered Dragonair led the way south, Swampert and Marshtomp tracks everywhere in the fairly narrow sluiceway. Peering around, he noticed a ladder leading upward to a narrow access tunnel of some kind. "Hold on, I'm gonna take a peek." Pulling out a flashlight he was saving for emergencies in case his electric Pokémon all fainted, Josh climbed the ladder and crawled to the tunnel's other side, getting a good view of the room beyond the northwest locked door. There was a pile of debris blocking the way westward, as well as a closed sluice gate and a lever similar to the one they operated to the east of the waterway's main junction. At its very end was another SMALL KEY and a round, magnetic device that swung in several directions, most prominently toward the large, green chest in the previous passageway.

You found a SMALL KEY! This key will open any one locked door. You can use it only in this dungeon.

You found the COMPASS! Now you can see the locations of many things hidden in the dungeon!

Josh crawled back out of the tunnel and down the ladder, landing back astride Resheph. "I know what we need to do." Taking his newly found key back to the main intersection, he used it to open its northwest lock, the lever operating the western sluice gates in plain sight. Giving the lever a yank, he opened the gate with a heave that nearly knocked him on his rump, water coming crashing in from behind the gate and sweeping the rubble away. While it would be filthy to swim through, the flowing water would let the trio continue to the far west side of the waterway in search of Absolite.

---

Isaac Merlo Matt Vice

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
                             ♥♥♥♥
Josh          Human          ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Twilight      Absol          Good
Illumina      Lanturn        Good
Blitz         Luxray         Good
Resheph       Dragonair      Fair
Snacker       Sharpedo       Good
Ulysses       Dewgong        Good

{WC: 548}
{PC: 5}

Matt felt like he was in some dungeon crawler-game with two extra players. Honestly, it was kin d of fun- the type of thrill Matt missed. But that wasn't the topic right now. As the chaos went around, he groaned. "I'd kill to have Aki right now." He muttered, seemingly forgetting the other two knew of the shy girl as well.

Seeing Josh disappear, Matt clicked his tongue. He passed a glance towards Isaac, a brief frown came- as if to speak without talking. But it soon ended as Josh returned, squinting at this.


"Bro did you teleport us into a game or something? This is pretty rad."

Isaac Merlo