[ti]closed[/ti][Instance][C/Alicia] LEVEL-3: Moonlit Grotto

"And what's that?" Josh asked the clearly disturbed Gardener. Her silence spoke volumes; whatever it was, it was serious. If it could shake a fearless warrior like her, then did Josh stand a chance against whatever it was? "...You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But I'm here for you, whatever it may be."

The battle Josh expected wasn't with Rhyperior; weren't those supposed to be in really high-level dungeons? If they were in LEVEL-3, then what was in later LEVELs? Alicia and her Hydrapple seemed to be able to handle it just fine, her trainer procuring another SMALL KEY once the dragon's sticky breath had dried. He laughed alongside his friend, the Hydrapple quite the handful. Each head seemed to have its own personality. How exhausting it must have been. "Remind me not to raise a Pokémon with multiple heads like that," Josh half-joked. "Even if I'd love to saddle a Hydreigon someday."

That was a Pokémon that was downright dangerous to ride; with an aggressive demeanor and a huge mass, even compared to other dragons, it was trivial for them to unseat trainers they did not like.

"You sure you'll be okay by yourself?" Josh asked. Assuming she was insistent about it, he would take the Veluza with him all the way back to the entrance. And she was right. There was something odd about it, but it was a bit different. Taking a look at it from every angle he could, it seemed this one would fall from an explosive blast. While it wouldn't be a physical explosion, he did have an idea. Taking out Xira's Poké Ball, the trainer hurled it toward the large mushroom and ordered the Pokémon to land on its stalk. "Xira, use SCREECH!"

The bug-type began to vibrate, though all it achieved was widening a crack in its stem - one that had been long since filled with new growth. "Turn up the power, Xira!" he cried, urging the dragonfly to give it everything she had. He gasped as his Pokémon began to glow with a brilliant light, nearly doubling in size. His buzzing noise went from loud to deafening, Josh forced to cover his ears. Surely, even Alicia Westfield could hear the racket, even if she was all the way on the other side of the dungeon.

Were she to follow the source of the noise, she would see the newly evolved Xira's three pairs of compound eyes staring at her, as well as a MAP in Josh's hands.

Information> You got the DUNGEON MAP! View it in the Dungeon Menu. The dark rooms are the ones you haven't been to yet.

"Certainly wasn't expecting this," Josh said as soon as he noticed the enormous bug's wings at rest. "But I've got my first aerial ride now... once I reach level 11."

{Map}

It truly was serious; from what Josh understood, Alicia was one to share her woes with him. Because he was a friend she could trust. His somber mood changed as she described just how much of a headache the Hydrapple was. "So that's why you refer to Yggdril with the pronoun you do, heh," he let out a single laugh.

While they waited for her to return, the Veluza mused about their time in the lab and that Tikani never showed up. Josh had last seen Tikani there, and she had seen them white out.

Had Tikani wound up in the Everworld?

He shed a tear of the thought of losing his starter Pokémon... or any of them, really. "I... I won't press her about it," Josh replied, frowning.

Even by the time the syrup-covered Alicia returned, Josh still looked a little mopey. She may have been able to tell how blue he was until he perked up in her presence, doing everything he could to hold a smile back at how drenched in sticky goop she was. "You need a shower?" he asked. "I do have Ulysses with me if you need one."

Whether it made her mad, grateful, or full of laughter, whether she accepted the offer or not, Josh would answer her question. "I did. There was something we missed. If you pull up your Dungeon Menu, you should see a map of the place. And it's obvious where we need to go."

Heading a few chambers north, Josh would point toward a gaping hole in the floor. "That's where we need to go." If he couldn't mount the Yanmega, whether by virtue of being indoors or being too low a level, he could at least use her to avoid taking fall damage. "Xira, can you latch onto me?" Josh asked the Yanmega. With a louder cry than when she was a Yanma, she grabbed Josh's hands with her six legs and flew down the hole.

Were Alicia to follow, the duo would find themselves surrounded by Spinarak, Ariados, and Goomy. Six Pokémon in total, three from the north and three from the south. Overwhelmed with their numbers, Josh and Xira dashed eastward to what appeared to be four dead-ends over a bottomless void that none of their Pokémon would be able to clear. "...What's the point of this room, you think?"

{Map}

Josh gasped when he heard the measures Alicia had taken to protect herself against the Moonlit Grotto's hazards. "Poison Powder, Stun Spore, and more? Geez. So many status ailments," the scout huffed as he clicked open his Dewgong's Poké Ball, Ulysses swimming in mid-air. "We need an AQUA RING for Alicia, please," he kindly gave his Pokémon orders. A cascade formed from the ice-type's horn, gentle, concentric rings of water washing away the Hydrapple's nasty goop. The water would be cool, but not cold; just enough to make the skin tingle, but there would be no danger of hypothermic complications. "Sadly, no," Josh answered on the poisoning. "That's part of the reason I'm looking for a Ponyta. There aren't a ton of steeds that are dedicated healers, and Galarian Rapidash is one of the few." As it turned out, when a trainer put on restrictions that disallowed more than 75 percent of Pokémon to be used, often times the Pokémon that could fill a specific type and role could be counted on the fingers.

Xira's vibrations were numbing. How was he supposed to ride such a Pokémon? The issue wouldn't be with controlling her; it would be doing so while maintaining the ability to move his own body. This would surely take quite some time to adapt to... and perhaps several other adventures with his friends. Even so, an agile flying steed like a Yanmega would no doubt be worth the trouble.

Upon Alicia's suggestion, Josh opened the map. "...You're right. Good eye, Alicia," he complimented the Gardener on her deductions. "We just need a way to hit those stalks at range. The ones in these two rooms were too far away to strike," he pointed.

Josh nodded at Alicia's question. "She does," he answered. On the Gardener's cue, the duo would execute their plan, assaulting the six wilds with a bevy of flying-type, dragon-type, and steel-type attacks. A big smile came upon his face as he watched experience bars fill, though none of it would go to Xira. Despite their coordinated efforts, the attacks were simply too numerous for the giant dragonfly to withstand them all. Reduced to zero hit points, the Yanmega's use in the Moonlit Grotto was over.

"Oof, that's rough," Josh huffed as they made their way around the winding basement, using Ulysses' ranged ICE SHARD to take out some grass Pokémon on the way to the basement's far southwest corner. "Might need to assign her to a class before our next adventure. I just don't have the BYTES to unlock all the slots right now. As it turns out, 2,000 for the Identity Parlor is a... bit much."

{Map}

The way Alicia was able to wash herself clean was an indicator of her acquisition of the Swimmer class. Josh made a note of that for later; they would be returning to Ostellia for a deep dive in the near future, almost certainly.

"Believe me, unlocking class slots is a priority once I have the money to get into the Identity Parlor," the scout exhaled after Giyun had taken care of the rock-type behemoth... at great expense to the Duraludon's own health. "I saw the numbers... that was incredible. That Rhyperior must really have outleveled us. I wonder if there was a puzzle element we missed." He glanced toward his HUD, and Aqua Ring appeared to still be on cooldown. "It's still recharging. We might be here a hot minute."

It wasn't like they were out of things to do; with the COMPASS that Alicia found, a large amount of information appeared on their DUNGEON MAP. "Let's go into the Map subscreen and try to plan this out. Looks like all the chests are marked on the map now, and that skull has to be the boss." It was all coming back to him. No wonder this looked so familiar.

"Have you played any of the Game Boy Zelda games before, Alicia?" Josh curiously asked. "They might be before your time. This looks... frighteningly similar to a dungeon from one of them." His genre savviness could make the difference between victory and defeat in the Moonlit Grotto. "

Once the AQUA RING use was recharged, Josh would send Ulysses back out to patch up the Duraludon. Due to presumed very high maximum HP, the bath might not be as effective as Alicia would have liked, but it was better than the steel-type being in critical HP. He wondered if she had to listen to grating beeping until Giyun was out of the red.

"Alright, let's head up," Josh pointed to the stairs leading up. As he expected, it took them to an alcove near the entrance, able to see the open chest. "This is where I found the map," he pointed before heading to the west, their COMPASSES sounding a curious tone upon entering a small chamber at the far southwest of the grotto. "What kind of shape you think it wants us to make with these?" he pointed toward the six movable blocks surrounding a singular, discolored rock tile in the center.

{Map}

Josh couldn't help but let out a coo as the Duraludon and Gardener cuddled. It couldn't have been comfortable, which was one of the reasons Josh preferred furred or feathered friends, but it showed just the affection they had for one another. Seeing the two do so, Josh clicked open his Manectric's Poké Ball and gave the electric dog some love as well. His hair stood on end from the static surge, but that was a small price to pay to hear the large Pokémon whine and squeal like a tiny puppy would.

As Alicia related her experiences with Zelda, Josh frowned. "Let me guess. Forsaken Fortress? I didn't care for that part of the game, either. A huge stealth sequence you have to restart from the very beginning if you're spotted? I signed up to play Zelda, not Metal Gear."

As Alicia solved the room's puzzle and claimed the missing key, Josh sighed upon getting the notification she did. "Remind me to do a search of ride Pokémon with Aroma Therapy or Heal Bell when we get back to Briarbane," the scout said, trying to cheer his friend up some.

With the missing key in hand, Josh and his squad led the way, Saber launching THUNDER WAVE after THUNDER WAVE at Pokémon that wanted to pick a fight. Experience mattered, yes, but not when it came at the cost of party Pokémon. "On the way back, we'll need to come down and up that pit to burn the stalk," he pointed as they made their way to the northwest part of the upper floor. The wild, camouflaged Foongus had other ideas; as the unsuspecting explorers passed the hidden Pokémon, they discharged clouds of RAGE POWDER. Covered in irritating, red pollen, the models of Josh and his Manectric turned shades of blood red, a BERSERK icon next to his name in the HUD.

Dashing at full speed, he rounded the corners to the chamber's upper level, slamming open the treasure box at its top so hard that the bottle containing its contents cracked -- but not shattered.

You obtained a BOTTLE OF MUSHROOM DROPS! Try sprinkling them over a patch of soft soil!

Violently stuffing it in his inventory, Josh stormed through the north exit. Were Alicia to follow him, a pillar of foliage would rise behind her, sealing both of them inside. The chamber had two major features: a trough leading west, and a mushroom cap much like the ones they had been knocking down... only this one was surrounded with a wide, bottomless pit, this one leaving its seemingly never-ending stalk well out of melee range.

{Map}

The battle in the next room was long enough that by the time Giyun had finished the "puzzle boss" off, Josh's BERSERK state had worn off. Sweating, he slowly joined Alicia, huffing. "I need... a minute or two..." he trailed off, at first bracing himself against the large treasure chest in the room's center. It was only when he sat down and listened to the music that he noticed just how short its loop was. How could a song that looped in under 30 seconds be so catchy?!

Once he was feeling somewhat better, Josh cracked open the treasure chest, finding the key that uncorked the entire dungeon... even if it wasn't a literal key.

Information> You got the PHANTOM DOUBLE! This hold item extends the range of a Pokémon's melee attacks. It can even cause them to reflect off up to one surface.

"That's the component we've been missing," Josh said, smiling for the first time in a while. Applying it to Raiden, he commanded the horse to use a FLAME CHARGE toward the out-of-reach mushroom. An illusory double of the Zebstrika slammed directly into the stalk. bringing its cap all the way down to the floor. As if on cue, the locked door to the south opened, letting them head back to previously explored areas of the dungeon. "Now, where were those last two stalks we couldn't get to? Do you remember?"

{Map}

"Got it! See you in a few!" Josh waved before doing as instructed. With his new item acquisition and some backtracking, knocking the pillar down would be easy enough. Provided Alicia Westfield was able to navigate to hers (which should be simple, given the Map showed staircases), Josh would hear the loud sound of the third stalk falling. "Raiden, FLAME CHARGE!" he ordered.

An illusory duplicate of the flame-wreathed horse reflected off the rock wall, incinerating the otherwise inaccessible stalk. Josh covered his ears in anticipation of the banging noise he was used to.

Information> There was a loud sound far off, like something being knocked loose!

Just as he uncovered his ears, an even louder crash pounded at his eardrums, earthquake-like vibrations knocking him and his Zebstrika both off their feet. "Owww..." he groaned, landing on his back and banging his head against the grotto's hard floor. Gently shaking his head, he slowly rose to his feet as an iconic "puzzle solved" jingle made music to his ears.

Information> It sounds like something heavy fell down below!

Having expected Alicia to hear and feel a similar tremor, he waited for the Gardener to rendezvous with him as planned.

{Map}