Pitch Black Pandemonium

Energy: 31 - 20 (entrance fee) = 11

What Raze was about to get himself into next was pretty much what he imagined by exploring. One friend, one cave, and only one goal; to find something worth talking about. He tightened his Joy Ribbon that clung snugly around his neck, a cheerful expression on his face to hide his anxiousness. I know Ghost types like dark places, but I'm sure this place is fine, right? I'm probably just nervous about nothing! I mean, what could possibly go wrong? It's a nice day, I'm up bright and early, and I dragged Ashen here with me to go exploring in a dark, spooky cave. This is what I call adventuring! Still, one bad coincidence and I'm hightailing it... he thought, trying to coax himself into following her.

"You want to try to give us some light in there or should I? Apparently someone told me that the place is like a labyrinth inside. Lots of dark twists and turns and tunnels! I figured that since you're a Dark type that you might want to take the lead here. Not trying to say you'd be naturally better at it than me, but you know how it is," he explained. The less energy he had to waste on using electricity to make himself a living torch, the more he had to use should they run into trouble. A few useful items rested in his bag, which in turn rested on his shoulder. What am I worrying about? I've got a Trawl Orb just in case my items run out. Everything is going to be just fine!

[Energy: 22 - 20 (Entrance Cost) = 2] 
[Held Item: Lucky Ribbon (Reduces cost of every item rolled by 1)]

Donning a ghoulish-looking dress fashioned from a Reaper's Cloth and a dark, tattered bow on her head, a certain hellhound looked like the last Pokemon on the entire planet that would declare herself a servent of Arceus. In fact, at first glance, she actually actually seemed to be more of the Yveltal-worshipping type... Looks can be very deceptive.

Several hours prior, Ashen the Houndour had been inspired by the bold promises of Ivirar the Eevee, prophetess of Arceus. A future of peace and tranquility was certainly a cause worth fighting for... But was it worth attempting to take on a legendary Pokemon? The prospect of trying to fight Mewtwo, a Pokemon Ashen had read was engineered to be the ultimate battler, was terrifying. And even more terrifying, all of this would be happening in the pitch black darkness of Serene Cave! She couldn't imagine a scarier combonation of a mission and a location.

When Ashen voiced this sentiment to the others listening to Ivirar, they assured her that Arceus would protect her from any harm, as long as she had faith in her god. This managed to convince her to embark on the dangerous journey... Not alone, of course.

"I figured that since you're a Dark type that you might want to take the lead here. Not trying to say you'd be naturally better at it than me, but you know how it is."

Suddenly, Ashen zoned back into reality, nervously looking back at her electric travel companion as they entered the mouth of the cave. The last time the two had gone exploring together was far from ideal (the mouse ended up throwing up all over her), but she was sure that he wouldn't make the same mistake again. Ashen shuddered, and instinctively attempted to get some distance from the Minun before choking out a reply. 

"Uhm, Raze... I-I can take the lead, b-but... I-I'm actually terrified of the dark," The Houndour shakily responded, blushing slightly in embarrassment. She hoped that Raze would reconsider after hearing about her ironic phobia of the dark...

Energy: 11

Raze couldn't help but tilt his head at Ashen's reply. How could a Dark type be afraid of the dark? It was a truly trivial matter, considering that he could do it himself if she felt that he should. "Well, the thing is... Nevermind. I can definitely do this! I mean, what's the worst that could be in there? It's not like there's some super powerful Pokémon or something, right?" he joked with a lighthearted smirk. He paid little attention to the current events happening around the region, only perking his ears up to listen when they spoke about danger and the unknown. No idea what they were rambling on about, but the minute they say danger means there's gonna be some really cool things around! If I'm gonna make a name for myself, it would be now of all times! the mouse thought with a giddy grin. With that, he held out his arm and allowed sparks to began crackling on the tip in a shower of golden-yellow light as he began to step toward the cave. "Just stay close: I want to keep this as low as possible. We'll need as much energy as we can to keep going, am I right?"

After a few seconds, his visibility shrunk to the range of his tiny light. Was this what it felt like to face reality and realize that he was small compared to most other Pokémon? For all he knew, there was a giant feral staring at him and grinning, which sent a slight chill down his spine. "Really creepy down here... Hey, Ashen? Did you listen to what those Pokémon in town were talking about? I tuned them out, but I'm starting to wonder if they actually had something important to say. N-Not that I'm afraid or anything, just making sure...!" Raze stated, faltering at the end on accident. Playing brave definitely worked until that slipped out. This area was completely new to him, so he had to remember when to use his items and where he was going.

In other words, they were pretty much stuck until a miracle happened or until Ashen decided to take the lead. Letting someone like Raze navigate would be a terrible idea that would most likely lead them into dead ends and trouble for the duration of their exploration.

Ashen hung her head low in embarrassment when her travel companion reacted to her fear of the dark. He wore a very confused expression on his face, as if such a thing were completely unbelievable... Not that Ashen didn't understand his shock. After all, Dark types like her were supposed to thrive in areas where light levels were low, using their stealth, superior senses, and wit to take out unsuspecting enemies. Unfortunately for Ashen, she had none of these things. Well, her ears and her nose were pretty good, but being able to detect enemies without seeing them only gave her crippling anxiety.

The skittish hound let out a small sigh of relief when Raze took the lead, completely unaware of how catastrophic the decision to let him do this would be. He told me that he's an explorer, right? Yeah, I think he did... Must have a good sense of direction, then. As long as we can stick together, we'll make it out okay, She thought to herself, forcing a smile. Besides, with Arceus watching over us, nothing could possibly go wrong... Right?

Of course, what little confidence she had left was completely shattered when Raze joked about their objective: battling Mewtwo. She cringed at the mention of the powerful Pokemon, letting out a nervous laugh. "Ehehe, yeah, it's not like we're gonna try to fight a legendary Pokemon..." Ashen added, shuddering at the thought. Arceus help us...

Just as the light from outside completely disappeared from the duo's view, Raze began to produce sparks from one of his arms, illuminating a small area around the two. When he told her to get closer, she didn't even think twice; the last thing she wanted to do was get lost in the darkness, even if it meant walking right next to the same guy who vomited all over her. Ashen brushed up against his side, perhaps getting a little too close... But she was too terrified to notice. 

Ashen's temporary partner went on to admit that he hadn't actually been paying attention when being told the details of their mission. She tried not to sigh in annoyance, well aware of the Minun's short attention span from their previous adventure. "Uhm, y-yeah, I-I listened... W-want me to fill y-you in...?" She asked sweetly, wearing a halfhearted smile.

Energy: 11

"Uh... Ashen? I like having close friends as much as the next guy, but this is a bit too literal." the Minun teased, continuing to power his lantern-like glow radiating from his arm. A fear of the dark was completely rational, but being close enough to brush up against his side? It was a bit unsettling, to say the least. I can't exactly tell her to get off, that would make me a little bit of a jerk. But at the same time, this feels so weird... Whatever. Guess I'll just have to bear through it for the time being. Raze thought, scanning the area. It was still too dark to make out any definitive figures other than the cave walls. Was something already following them? How far had they gone in? The entrance of the cave seemed to have vanished after what felt like mere moments to the duo.

When Ashen offered to explain the situation of the so-called "prophets", Raze couldn't help but get excited. Was it some long, historical story that could possibly make him a renowned hero if they performed an action? Could it simply be nothing more than factless banter? What if it was just an odd phenomenon and had no relevance to the rumors whatsoever? Perhaps some combination of the three or none at all? Possibilities filled his mind before he forced them all out and decided to hear the truth. "Yeah, that'll be great! If anything, it'll break the awkward silence for a while." the mouse answered with a smirk.

"Eh...? Uhm, s-sorry! I-I didn't realize I was so close, honest...!" Ashen shakily replied, feeling her whole body heat up as a heavy blush formed on her face. She took a small step away from him, although interestingly enough, this made her feel a little bit more vulnerable... Perhaps the physical contact was reassuring to her in some way. Or maybe it was because she was getting further from the light. Whatever the reason, Ashen was too embarrassed to think about it anymore. At least he seems to have a good sense of humor about it... 

Luckily, Ashen was immediately presented a way to take her mind off of what just happened. Raze seemed very interested in the details of the current events (although apparently not interested enough to listen the first time), so she was going to fill him in. "R-right, uhm... S-so you know about the three prophets, right...? W-well, they're talking about a... Uhm, a war." Ashen started, shuddering at the mention of such a violent conflict. She gulped, and continued. "A war between the legends that will... D-determine the f-fate of the world. I-if we can find M-Mewtwo and d-defeat him, he'll join our side, I-I think... "

Energy: 11

The moment Raze heard "determine the fate of the world" was when his heart skipped a beat. The whole drama was about a war between legends to decide what would happen to the world? It took every ounce of the Minun's willpower to contain his excitement. This was finally his chance to try and cement himself into history! "That is so cool! Come on, let's hurry it up, Ashen! This is gonna be awesome, I'm gonna beat Chew-Two or whatever his name is, and I'm gonna tell everyone about it!" he beamed, trying to usher her forward. The only thing he knew about this Mewtwo Pokémon was that it was mentioned in a story that his sister used to tell and that it was very, very powerful; some even say it is strong enough to obliterate anything in its path with just psychic power, but he didn't believe the legends one bit... Which could be a blessing. After all, it's probably hard for a psychic to read the mind of someone who rarely used it.

In his excitement, he had caused quite a loud noise to echo down into the darkness of the cave as he anxiously continued onward, making sure Ashen was keeping up. Though the Electric type couldn't wait to try and look for the legendary Pokémon, he didn't want to just leave Ashen all alone by herself to stumble around in the dark. She did have fire to use for light, but considering her fear of the dark, it wouldn't necessarily guarantee that he would still be her friend afterwards. Besides, it's nice having someone to talk to. And maybe by having Ashen there to help me, it'll be a whole lot easier! After all, he might be really big. If that's the case, I'll need a bit of help trying to take him down. He's probably not legendary for nothing!

MCLikeANinja carried out 10 launched of one Serene Cave :

, , , , , , , , ,

Energy: 11 - 17 (rolls' results) = 0

As usual, Raze was on a completely different page than Ashen by the time she finished ranting. It took a few moments of pondering before he finally gasped in realization. "...Wait, there's Pokémon lives at stake here? Why didn't you just say so?! I thought just the legends were fighting, not regular Pokémon! Duh, of course I'd do it for them! Geez, sometimes you can be so vague about this. What part of 'I didn't listen to a word those prophets said' did I not make clear? If beating this guy means that they don't die, that makes it all the more important to win!" he explained, allowing his usual stupid grin to reappear on his face. Ashen's scolding did dampen his mood by quite a lot, but showing it really did mean that this was hopeless. If there was one thing the Minun memorized about adventuring, it was the importance of morale and keeping positive relations between allies. Hearing these words did have a bit of a negative impact on their success (even though he technically deserved them), but Raze refused to let it interfere with the objective at hand. This "fun cave exploration" had just turned into a hunt for a legendary Pokémon of story and song.

...Not to mention that karma was right around the corner.

The minute the mouse turned around to continue onward, however, was the minute he was regretting even stepping foot in the cave in the first place. One footfall triggered some sort of shockwave in the floor, sending a powerful pillar of stone to send him flying into the roof of the cave. Hitting the top and scaring away two Swoobat roosting peacefully from the ceiling, Raze felt the passageway spinning as he hit the floor again, struggling to get up. His first impression was that Ashen had somehow used an attack to punish him for the heartless comment. "L-Look, I'm sorry, okay?! Geez, no need to throw me against the freaking ceiling! Damn, that hurt..." he cursed under his breath, still too disoriented to notice how the attack had not come from Ashen and instead from an unknown source out of sight. The impact had caused the Electric type to lose the sparks radiating from his arm, plunging the two into a darkness unlike any other Raze had ever seen. Whatever was out there had total control of the situation until the two could figure out how to get a steady light going.

Energy: 0

Watching Ashen look at something above him made Raze's blood feel almost ice cold. The Minun could muster little more than a squeak as he turned around, backing up next to his companion. "Um... Ashen? I think we have to fight this guy." the mouse muttered while staring up in horror at the creature who had just stepped into the light. All thoughts of positivity and anticipation went out the window and were replaced by pure fear. Arceus, if you're watching? Tell Mom and Dad that I'm sorry, okay? That, and maybe being able to walk out of here alive would be good too... he thought, nodding. The smirk it had on its face was almost as terrifying as a Haunter's sadistic smile in his eyes, causing him to question why he even agreed to do this.

"Also? We might want to... You know. Start hitting him and stuff." Raze mumbled, trying to signal Ashen that he had a Discharge already charged. Once he finished his statement, the rodent grit his teeth, closed his eyes, and released the blast. Though he could tell that the attack struck Mewtwo, it was mere nanoseconds before the Electric type could feel a force powerful enough to give him a splitting headache in mere moments. Trying to keep up his Discharge was pointless, seeing as the current stopped abruptly and refused to keep going. Without any time to react, a barrage of energy rocketed into the Minun. The Swift attack knocked him against the cave wall once again, striking a few times before finally letting him drop to the floor. Tears pooled in his eyes as he tried to force himself into a kneeling position.

"Ashen, run!" he shouted, still struggling to charge his attack. The truth was that his Discharge had been disabled, leaving him almost helpless without the only attack that would deal any damage whatsoever had already been shut down. He refused to believe the truth about how futile his struggle was at the moment, still struggling to get it together and concentrate.