Leaderboard

The first to reach the stairs was the Zorua, bounding up with surprising agility. Coming after, a Clobbopus, as clumsy as the Zorua was graceful, limbs sticking to the floor with every awkward step. Third, a Rotom, floated over, every so often pausing with a static shiver before whizzing in a zigzag pattern. The fourth, a Chespin, walked on two legs, tail dragging behind him. Finally, the others approached the steps in single file, save for a Cubone clutching a spike from a Falinks trooper. Yet, strangely, it seemed they all arrived at the next floor at the same time. Each Pokémon, upon reaching the top, would notice the rest of the group with them as soon as they surveyed their surroundings. BGM: Tiny Woods | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red and Blue Rescue Team The party found themselves in a smaller room than the previous one. Walls hemmed them in from three sides, the remaining side being mostly open, with multiple corridors branching off like spindly legs into the shadows. A small pool of water lay calm and still nearby. A cheerful voice rang in each of their heads, breaking the silence while they regained their bearings. Hello? Are you there? Can you hear me? There was a pause. If you can hear me, I should tell you, you're in a mystery dungeon right now! A mystery dungeon is a strange and dangerous place filled with Pokémon who won't hesitate to attack you. You could say it's a side effect of the dungeon's powers. You might have trouble adapting, but with your numbers, I think you'll be fine. I'll try to give you tips from my end as well, so good luck! If you can reach the end, there'll be a prize…maybe. ♪ OOC

Alois, Penelope, and Citron "I'll just sleep outside tonight." "Oh, no ye ain't," Mene said. "You'll catch yer death o'cold out there. I ain't lettin' no one be asleepin' outside." She would've said more, but stopped upon hearing Penelope's quiet comment. The words took the wind from her sails as easily as puncturing a hole through them. But whether Alois's mother was dispirited or else remained to be seen. Her shoulders sagged, mouth softening, but her eyes had narrowed into sharpened brittle. The woman said nothing as she busied herself with cleaning, eventually leaving the house and shutting the door behind her to let the trio talk amongst themselves. Until the others arrived. Gunther, Tsetseg, and Raki "Oh, yes, that. You know them well?" "By hecky I do—weel, nae really." Timmy scratched his head. "They're, uhh, whaddaya call it, infamous." He glanced around, as if fearing the trees and bushes would carry away his words. "A'body in town knows o' em. Pylauses is as highfalutin' as ye can get, thinks the sun comes up jest to 'ear him crow. An' Hanikap jest does whate'er Pylauses asks o' him." He then moved on to his explanation of how he ended up in the quarry pit. — Phai's expression, which had sunk further into a hangdog frown, lifted slightly as she listened to Tsetseg. "Oh, so that's where you must have met the fluffy foxes then. Where was that again?" However, Gunther's words brought her back to painful reality. "I still can't believe they would do that. How could anybody do such a thing? When we're all suffering, trying to work together… Why would they do something like this?!" "'Cause they're grown-ups, and sometimes grown-ups are bad'uns," Timmy explained with the simple wisdom of a child. After Raki asked his question, were the others to expand upon what happened, both Phai and Timmy would listen, though Phai would seem much more interested. Timmy, in contrast to Phai's rising panic, beamed like nothing was wrong when they passed his father Paulos, giving a giant wave. The man waved back, unsurprised to see the group he has sent after Timmy had grown from Gunther, Tsetseg, and Lassie to include Sienna, Raki, Phai, and Icleias. Or he just didn't care. It was hard to tell. Alois, Penelope, Gunther, Tsetseg, Citron, and Raki Eventually, the crowd reached Mene's house, with the woman outside sweeping away stray debris with a broom. Every so often she would lean over to pat a nearby peach-colored wyvern who was sleeping nearby. "Heyo Mene, it's Timmy! Ah've got some news fer ya." The boy's shout was loud enough to be heard even from inside the house. "Timmy." Mene set the broom aside, wiping her hands off on her apron as she approached. "What can I do ye for?" Her smile widened when she noticed the wyvern rider with him. "And Raki too! What a surprise. Not that I'm complainin', mind." She winked. "Hopefully, with everythin' going on, the mayor won't mind an extra face or two." Timmy pointed at Raki. "Me an' Raki, we were oot in the woods, an' 'eard some real nasty business." He explained what the Isaurian had gone over earlier to the group. "Ah reckon they're fixin' to pull off some grand ol' scheme o' sorts. Ah knows fer sure it's bad, cuz when Hanikap saw me, he pushed me inter the quarry pit all apanicked, so's at least it's summat ah wasnae supposed t'hear." Mene clucked her tongue in worry. "That Edrick boy an' the girl with the horse jest left recently fer Pylauses's house. Tweren't long afore that an' they were mightily injured." She frowned. "Come t'think of it, that young man in green headed out afore them. An' that young lady too… methinks 'er name was Cat somethin'." She paled. "Dear Dragon… Mayhap the mayor was right 'bout Pylauses. He never did trust 'im. But I never paid him much mind. Fact is, he could do with a little more trustin'." Timmy nodded. "Ah always thought they were strangelike, though I ain't never was 'spectin' them to go pushin' me inter holes an' such." Phai paled, before firming her expression. "I'm…I'm gonna go grab Acantha. And maybe Cora, if I can find her. We need to get this straightened out, especially if they're up to no good! I-If it's nothing though…" she trailed off. "We can just…apologize. Yeah! …Hopefully that'll work." She glanced at Tsetseg. "D-Do you wanna come with? Or not… Whichever you decide, I'm fine with." Edrick and Ciela Hanikap sputtered out some protests when Edrick slipped past him. "Oi, I mean, hey, wait! Please, uhh, stay in the parlor, good sir!" When nothing happened, the man sighed, but continued to climb the stairs, chasing after the others with exhausted desperation. "Oh, rats, Lord Gaston is going to kill me," he muttered. Link The door opened, only for Pylauses to slam it shut immediately. "What in the azure blazes?!" he shouted. "Demned animals!" The door swung open again. This time, the man marched inside in high dudgeon, shooing the pigeons back to their holes. During all of this, he neither noticed Link nor was he paying attention to the doorway. OOC

Probably anything that tries to generalize an issue that's more complicated than what the writer makes it out to be. Like, say the writer believes one thing can be achieved a certain way, but it would only be viable in a perfect world while in reality there is so much more to consider that they either don't seem to know or refuse to try and understand.