[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-img"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-w-1"]

If you had asked Riley to guess what he'd be doing a weekend off... well, stumbling into a different fucking dimension wouldn't have been in his top five, to say the least.[break][break]

Disaster had approached slowly... and then, all at once. But let's start at the beginning: a weekend trip out to Dewford Town, in an attempt to get some wildlife photos for an assignment. Simple, right? It had started that way. After arriving on the island, he'd taken a few of his pokémon over towards Granite Cave, hoping to see some makuhita and the like in their natural habitat. And for a while, it had gone swimmingly.[break][break]

But then, in the depths of the cave, they'd found it. Something... odd. They'd seen the glow first; Asta, his espeon, had been walking at his side, providing light using MORNING SUN. But as they'd turned a corner, they'd seen a strange blue light, pulsating in the darkness. Inviting them in.[break][break]

"Do you see that?" Riley had asked. Asta looked to him, face inscrutable, before nodding once. Blue, his oshawott, had been dozing on Riley's shoulder, but this was even enough to perk him up. The three of them had continued walking, now more cautiously than ever, until they turned another corner, coming face to face with the portal.[break][break]

It took Riley longer than he'd like to admit to shake off his shock. Asta seemed stunned as well, his light flickering for a moment, while Blue had cautiously approached the portal, his eyes sparkling.[break][break]

He'd read about these—something about rifts, opening up in various areas of Hoenn after the 99943 meteno crisis. The idea had fascinated him: portals to other worlds. But he'd never be stupid enough to go into one. Was Granite Cave a reported location already? Had he just totally missed that in the news, somehow?[break][break]

"We need to report this to someone," Riley had said, looking to Asta. "Does the league care about stuff like this?" Then again, maybe they already knew, and he was just an idiot. "We should probably head back regardless, it isn't..." As Riley had turned back to look at the portal, he'd frozen up, reality hitting him like a bucket of cold water. "...Safe."[break][break]

Blue was nowhere to be seen.[break][break]

Looking back, Riley wasn't proud of how much he hesitated in that moment. His mind whirred. He'd done the mental calculus: how much was his oshawott worth to him? Yeah, it was an absolutely fucked loss, but if he followed Blue into the portal, there was a good chance Riley would also never be coming back. But in the end, only one answer had come to Riley's mind.[break][break]

Leaving Blue behind hadn't been an option. His pokémon would've been sure to agree.[break][break]

Pulling Asta back into his pokéball for the trip, Riley had stared at the portal, setting his jaw. With a long, slow breath, he'd set down his camera equipment, rolled up his jeans to mid-shin, and tied his hair back. Then, not letting himself hesitate any longer than he needed to, Riley had strode forward towards the portal, his fists clenched.

---

When Riley stepped out of the portal, the first thing he did was breathe a long, shaky breath of relief.[break][break]

The second thing he'd done was immediately start scanning the ground for his troublesome oshawott. Thankfully, this didn't take too long—the little guy was playing with some vegetation, which also seemed to resemble seaweed. As Riley approached, the oshawott turned to him and let out a small squeak of surprise. His eyes started to round with a pleading, guilty look on his face.[break][break]

"Nope."[break][break]

Riley returned Blue to the pokéball immediately, and then turned around. And for the second time that day, his heart absolutely plummeted to the bottom of his chest. The portal wasn't there. The portal wasn't fucking there.[break][break]

How could this have happened? Sure, he'd been mostly focused on finding Blue as opposed to paying attention to his surroundings, but he hadn't wandered that far. Or maybe the portal had closed behind him? Were they supposed to do that? He was truly so far out of his fucking depth here.[break][break]

For a moment, Riley felt the urge to cry. He wasn't normally the type, but something about the utter helplessness of this situation was enough to push him over the edge. But he stopped himself, before he got off-track. His fingernails dug into his palm. He took a long, slow breath.[break][break]

He could get out of this. This was just a puzzle to crack, and Riley enjoyed a nice puzzle. Opening his eyes, Riley took a shallow, shaky breath—then he started to properly take in his surroundings. And for a brief moment, any tension he was feeling was overwritten by pure awe.[break][break]

He stood near a precipice, overlooking what appeared to be some kind of underwater cavern. Light filtered in from above, though Riley couldn't see from what source. The light caused the walls of the cavern to glisten and glow, creating a mysterious, enchanting atmosphere. Behind him, there was a series of tunnels, leading deeper into... who knows where. And when he looked down, off the edge of the precipice...[break][break]

He took a sharp step back. It had been like staring into a yawning abyss.[break][break]

Okay. It was time to turn the artist brain off—now the survivor brain was kicking into gear, as he started to make a plan. He tried to ignore the little tickle in the back of his brain. Curiosity. It desperately wanted to know the answer to one single, terrible question:[break][break]

What is waiting at the bottom of an abyss like that?[break][break]

expedition: ultra deep sea - first

[attr="class","body"]

Despite the fact that the main rift entrance into the Ultra Deep Sea was guarded by League personnel at all hours of the day, they could not guard all the smaller, random rifts that periodically appeared, let alone stop them from opening in the first place.[break][break]

As a result, Gunner was completely unsurprised to see a familiar stranger back away from the precipice overlooking an enormous chasm. He suppressed a sigh and trudged over, his black-furred Raichu hopping along at his side.[break][break]

"It's you again," he said to the young man who'd been at the bank robbery. "Are you lost?"[break][break]

All around them, a deep and unsettling heartbeat echoed. Gunner was used to the sound, having visited this realm many times to help with mineral extractions.[break][break]



[break][break][break]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-img"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-w-1"]

Coincidence was a funny thing.[break][break]

Just as Riley started to calm himself down and make a plan, a voice called out from behind him. A stern, strangely familiar voice. Turning around, Riley was met with the familiar face of Agent Gunner Graves, from that bank robbery a while back. Riley didn't know if he was surprised or not. "Oh. It's you." Riley echoed back, his arms crossing his chest.[break][break]

Truthfully, he'd been halfway certain that the secret agent bit was entirely fabricated, but now... well, it seemed more plausible. Who else would come to a place like this willingly? No, he was more surprised by the sheer unlikelihood of the reunion. Sure, there couldn't be that many secret agents wandering around Hoenn, but this was sort of like a needle in a haystack.[break][break]

Still, he couldn't help but be relieved to see the agent... though he did his best not to show it. While he wasn't exactly a fan of authority, just seeing another human here was the best thing he could ask for. Riley noted the oddly-coloured raichu at the man's side, before reaching down and grabbing a pokéball of his own. Alarm bells were ringing in his head, and he wasn't about to be caught off-guard.[break][break]

"You could say that," Riley replied, sighing. "It's a long story." The silence that came after was filled with that strange sound—a slow, steady pounding, like the pulse of a heart. It rumbled all around them, like they were in one giant vein. Riley looked around, unsettled but also strangely curious. "...Where the fuck are we?" He asked, unable to stop the dread and awe from slipping into his tone.[break][break]

Riley shifted to look back at the yawning chasm ahead of them. As he looked over the ledge, his stomach lurched. Looking down like this, he felt as though the darkness of the chasm was going to draw him in and consume him. But before he could think on that any further, he stood up a bit straighter. "...And what the hell is that?" he added, pointing.[break][break]

On the opposite side of the chasm, lodged into the side of the cliffside just a ways down from them, there appeared to be some kind of... ship. What used to be a ship, anyways. It was clearly in disrepair, though to what extent it was damaged was unclear, as it was still shrouded by the darkness of the abyss. And from Riley could tell... it had been sitting there for a long, long time.[break][break]

expedition: ultra deep sea - first

[attr="class","body"]

"Sure." It normally was a long story, when it came to why civilians found themselves wandering in the Ultra Wilds.[break][break]

Gunner suppressed an annoyed sigh and gestured all around them. "Welcome to the Ultra Deep Sea, where dangerous Ultra Beasts dwell and prolonged exposure can cause anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations."[break][break]

He spoke with the straightest face and most serious tone.[break][break]

"I'm here to investigate that," he continued with a nod at the wreckage that had caught the other man's attention. "Our reports suggest it's of Megalopolan design, so there may be information in it that can help us fight them."[break][break]

There'd been a rash of Megalopolan attacks on civilians and League personnel alike since the late summer. Though a few had been captured and interrogated, law enforcement still had no idea what their numbers were like.[break][break]

"It's probably better for you if you come with me," Gunner said. "There's safety in numbers out here. Enid, can you SURF us over there?"[break][break]

The Raichu, who had been squinting suspiciously at the stranger, nodded and conjured an enormous wave from thin air. It swept up the humans and Pokémon in its tumultuous motion and deposited them directly to the entrance of the ship.[break][break]



[break][break][break]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-img"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-w-1"]

"Huh." Riley replied, deadpan. "Charming place."[break][break]

Still, the more Gunner spoke of it, the less terrifying it seemed. Unpleasant? Absolutely. But there was... a mystery here, like an unsolved puzzle, one that had started to slowly worm itself into his brain. Ultra Beasts, Megalopolans... these were all things he had only heard about in passing. And now, by sheer happenstance, he'd found himself tossed into the thick of the action. He wasn't going to waste the opportunity.[break][break]

"Sure," Riley said, in response to Gunner's suggestion that he come along to investigate. He couldn't keep his surprise from slipping into his voice. He'd been anticipating a reprimand, or being shoved back home, or something. In their admittedly limited interactions, Gunner had struck him as... well, a stick in the mud. Maybe the mission was just too important to risk a detour?[break][break]

He wasn't going to complain, though. He wasn't going to give up the opportunity of a lifetime.[break][break]

With that out of the way, Gunner requested that his raichu SURF them across to the other side of the chasm. Soon enough, they were on the deck of the ship. As they landed, Riley released his umbreon from its pokéball, Gunner's mention of Ultra Beasts still ringing in his head. Rook appeared in a flash of light, and though it took him a second to adjust to their strange environments, he immediately glued himself to Riley's side.[break][break]

Being on the deck of the ship was... unnerving. Like all of the hairs on his arms were standing on end. There was something in the air of this place that made his stomach churn. It smelled of death, and rot, and decay. The absolute worst part was the sounds: absolute, dead quiet, except for that faint, pulsing heartbeat in the distance.[break][break]

Nearby, there was a door which appeared to lead into the ship itself. Approaching it, Riley found that the door seemed to be locked from the inside. Though he knew that he or Gunner could probably just have one of their pokémon blow the hatch open, he had a better—and much quieter—way forward.[break][break]

"Hang on," Riley said, kneeling down. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a set of lockpicks, and got to work. The lock wasn't a model he'd ever seen before, though whether that was because it was from another world or just because it wasn't found in a shithole like Orre remained to be seen.[break][break]

After half a minute, Riley was able to crack the door open. It let out a small hiss as it slid open, revealing a path down into the interior. Riley stood, dusting off his pants, before gesturing to Gunner. "After you," he said. He was the civilian here, after all.[break][break]

expedition: ultra deep sea - first

[attr="class","body"]

Gunner raised an eyebrow at the young man's lockpicking but said nothing until the door slid open with a hiss. "Useful skill you have there," he said, mentally taking note. The stranger either had a criminal past or a very unique hobby. "You do this often, then?"[break][break]

Without waiting for an answer, Gunner entered the darkened hallway. He removed a small flashlight from his pocket and turned it on with a soft click. Enid hopped ahead, sniffing the air and keeping her eyes open for anything amiss.[break][break]

"You never told me your name, by the way, but you know mine."[break][break]

Not that Gunner minded, either way. The likelihood of them running into each other by chance a third time was very low. And he wasn't there to make friends.[break][break]

Ahead of them, something darted in the shadows. Gunner pointed his flashlight in its direction, but the beam found nothing, only derelict metal walls.

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-img"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-w-1"]

"Thanks," Riley replied tightly, as the door clicked open. He was well aware of the optics of this particular skillset, and in fairness, Gunner's assumptions weren't inaccurate. When Gunner asked him if he did this often, Riley turned towards him, affixing him with a stare, eyes sharp. Questioning. He didn't know how much of a hardass this agent actually was, but considering he'd been surprisingly loose with the rules so far...[break][break]

"Not anymore," he replied, answering the unstated question as well.[break][break]

Allowing Gunner to take the lead into the derelict ship, Riley was mildly surprised when the other man pointed out that he'd never actually given his name. He hadn't even realized. "In my defense," Riley replied, his mouth forming a thin smile. "You weren't exactly looking for a conversation last time." He'd basically needed to badger the agent with questions to get him to talk.[break][break]

After a moment, he added, "My name is Riley. Riley Maddox, if that matters."[break][break]

Inside, Riley caught the same flash of movement that Gunner did, and his body tensed. At his side, Rook snarled, taking a defensive step closer to his trainer as his silver rings glowed. Something shifted behind them, and Riley whirled around, finding himself staring at an empty corridor. What had Gunner said... this place could cause paranoia and delusions? Maybe that was true, but something in Riley's gut told him that they weren't alone.

expedition: ultra deep sea - first

[attr="class","body"]

"Riley Maddox. Noted." Gunner set a mental reminder to check the civilian database later, more to satisfy his own curiosity than anything else.[break][break]

He continued making his way through the ship. In a large room, his flashlight's beam fell upon a gruesome sight: several skeletons scattered across the floor or slumped against a table. Gunner approached them slowly.[break][break]

Each one had jaws lined with serrated teeth.[break][break]

"Megalopolans," he murmured, frowning.[break][break]

Suddenly, his danger sense went off, causing all the small hairs on his body to stand on end. Whirling around, Gunner caught sight of two Nihilego as one reached its tentacles toward his companion.[break][break]

"Riley! Look out!"[break][break]



[break][break][break]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-img"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-w-1"]

Following Gunner deeper into the ship, Riley was unsurprised by what they found, gruesome as it might have been: the scattered, skeletal remains of the ship's inhabitants.[break][break]

It was expected, after all, that they find something like this in a crashed ship. It would have been arguably more distressing if they had found nothing—it certainly would have prompted more questions, at any rate. Riley took a moment to look at the strange, serrated teeth of the Megalopolans. He'd never seen anything quite like it. Unfortunately, it was at that moment, with Riley letting his guard down, that the unseen predators lurking in the ship decided to strike.[break][break]

A warning from Gunner snapped Riley to attention, and he shifted out of the way immediately, just narrowly avoiding one of the strange creatures as it attempted to latch down on his head. It did, however, manage to wrap some of its tentacles on his arm, causing a burning sensation to flood through him.[break][break]

"Rook," Riley hissed, and the umbreon leapt into action. Using the wall as a launchpad, Rook covered himself in shadow energy and rocketed towards the strange creature, slamming into it with SHADOW BREAK. The creature let out a strange, distorted cry, detaching itself from Riley and floating away. Its companion, on the other hand, had turned its attention to Gunner and Enid.[break][break]

Leaning against the wall of the ship, Riley could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Adrenaline, maybe? No, this felt... different. He felt freer, almost. Stronger, even. More than anything else, any lingering concerns he'd felt about the Ultra Deep Sea had vanished into thin air. And more than anything else, one question played in his mind, desperate for an answer: what waited at the bottom of the abyss?[break][break]

Standing taller, Riley moved back towards the entrance of the ship, like a venomoth to flame.[break][break]

expedition: ultra deep sea - first

[attr="class","body"]

Gunner's warning came too late; one of the Nihilego managed to wrap its tentacles around Riley's arm. But before Gunner could wrench the other man away, the second Nihilego advanced toward him, prepared to poison him in the same manner.[break][break]

His Raichu intervened, shocking the approaching Pokémon with SHADOW BOLT. The jellyfish reeled back, only to regain its composure and retaliate with VENOSHOCK. Enid cried out, a mix of frustration and pain in her voice.[break][break]

"Enid!" Gunner yelled. "Hit them both if you can!"[break][break]

She obeyed, releasing a DISCHARGE at both Nihilego. Between her and Rilely's Umbreon, the jellyfish seemed to decide the humans here weren't worth the effort. They retreated into the darkness of the ship.[break][break]

Only then did Gunner realize Riley was missing. "Riley? Hey, Riley! Where are you?"[break][break]

He started back the way they came at a brisk pace.

[break][break][break]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-pkmn-2"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-img"]

[attr="class","francie-lb-w-1"]

In the end, it was Rook who saved him.[break][break]

With the nihilego toxin flooding through his veins, Riley felt stronger than he'd ever been before, and utterly fearless. All he knew was that he wanted to find out what sat at the bottom of the chasm. This place was mysterious, and horrifying, but also endlessly fascinating. That unbridled curiosity tickled at his brain, pushing him forward, demanding that he find answers... even if it meant throwing himself into the chasm and sinking to the very bottom.[break][break]

And then Rook bit into his ankle.[break][break]

"Ow... hey!" Riley snarled, turning to face his umbreon. The shadow pokémon snarled, digging his teeth in deeper, his eyes glowing a violent shade of red. And something about that was enough to snap Riley back into focus. Maybe it was because he'd only received trace amounts of the nihilego's venom, or maybe it was because his conscious mind won out, but... it was enough to cause those strange sensations to fade.[break][break]

"Here," Riley called, hearing Gunner call for him. "I'm over here." Eyes still narrowed, Rook released his grip on Riley's ankle. Riley bent down, placing a hand on the umbreon's head. It was nice to see that, even with his shadowy nature, his Rook was still in there somewhere. "Thanks, bud."[break][break]

When he reunited with Gunner, Riley was checking out the minor sting that the creature had left on his arm. "Sorry about that. One of them grazed me and..." He shook his head, sighing. "Doesn't matter. So that was one of those Ultra Beasts, huh?" He paused, looking around. This ship was giving him the creeps, but he was still curious about the Megalopolans they'd found here. "Where to next?"

TYhXd6xx

expedition: ultra deep sea - first

[attr="class","body"]

Frowning, Gunner peered at the red rash on Riley's arm. "Nihilego toxin is extremely dangerous and you often need an antidote to counter it," the agent explained. "But it does look like this was very slight contact."[break][break]

He stepped away to give the other man some space. Turning, he regarded the ruin of the Megalopolan ship. A pair of Nihilego floated out from an unseen opening and drifted away, in the opposite direction.[break][break]

"I need to explore more of the ship, but you," Gunner glanced back at Riley, "need to get back to safety. So I'll escort you back to the rift, first."[break][break]

He sighed and started down the path back to the main rift, the one that always stayed open.[break][break]

"It's best that we don't stay here for too long, anyway, and Arceus only knows how long you were lost before I ran into you."[break][break]



[break][break][break]