Celes looked at the growlith that was attacking the group, who then got KO. Josh then asked Spruce to have a word with him. She guessed it was cause of how he was reacting to Anthony, and she had it right when she heard what was being said. Having good ears does permit you to hear what was going on anyway. She breath deeply and simply moved forwards, not wanting to get into the conversation right now. She did try to speak to Spruce about it when it came to that other shadow pokemon... she didn't want to hear about it that much anyway. She kept moving, looking back at the group.
"I think we should change our tactic a bit. Water type moves here won't work as effective here. I know how I will fight here at least." she then said. Hidden power... she knew her hidden power was ground type, which would be a huge advantage in a place like this. She breath deeply and keep moving with the group.

---

Eralion heard about what was being said, about a teddy bear and cute. He looked down. Seriously, he had to be called that? He couldn't really be seen as though as long as he was that small. He had to try to evolve soon. He had to become stronger. He moved forwards as he then sees the dratini's attack the group. He then attacked using bullet punch at one of the dratini, actually KO-ing it in one strike. All this training might have paid off. He felt bad cause they looked like children... but they were hostile... He didn't understand why they were hostile though.
"Lets take care of the last one and continue on please." he then says, a bit annoyed right now.

It was very strange; Team Crescendo was buffed and pretty much using the zombie as a punching bag, but it showed as little signs of slowing down as it did of hurting it’s opponents. Rebecca didn’t dare mention this observation, however, out of the fear that the situation would actually get worse if she did. It was the way these situations worked, after all.

“This is taking a while…,” Rebecca noted agreeably, “Hey, uh, undead abomination thing? You’re doing a really nice job with this whole creepy schtick, but you’re also really good at being a damage sponge. I don’t really have a problem with that, I mean, that’s a pretty valuable talent, but I also feel like you’re also pretty heavily outmatched. So if you could just sort of call it a draw, I’m pretty sure we could all move on to something a little more productive and save ourselves some valuable time. I guess that’s not really as valuable to you as it is to the rest of us, but no one likes wasting things, so I think it’s a fair request.” Her words manifested themselves in the form of her Disarming Voice, the sheer number of her words providing a convincing amount of force to the attack.

Kamina

Normally, Kamina would be upset that he was being left out of the fighting (as everyone dispatched the foes rather quickly). However he understood that he had an important job to do; tanking. A place like this was a death trap for poor Spruce, as every enemy here knew moves that could wreck him fast. While Kamina on the other hand, could shrug off those very same moves. Hell, he could probably tank a Blast Burn from a Pokemon his level without much problems. So yeah, Kamina wasn't too worried about his health in this place, as he would be surprised if anyone but the legendary here was able to do him serious harm. "Alright! Onward to adventure and other such awesome stuff!" Kamina made sure to be at the front of the group, so that he would get hit before anyone else, if they got ambushed. He was also trying to distance Spruce and Anthony 'I just don't understand why these guys can't get along. In fact...why were they even fighting in the first place"'

---
Tini

Tini had already had enough "No!" He leapt towards the three Dratini...including the knocked out one. "Bad children, bad! Attacking random strangers without issuing a formal challenge is very naughty! What would your parents think if they saw you acting like this?!" he lectured them, not noticing that one was knocked out "my friends and I are here to reunite two lost lovers, and you're getting in the way of that. How would any of you feel if your parents were apart for so long...only for someone to get in their way when they tried to reunite? Not very happy about it I would hope. So just run along now, and think about what you've done."

[Spruce]

We finished off the pokemon in the area, however, before we could continue on, Josh stopped me to ask if we could talk for a moment. "Sure, talk away, Josh," I responded, and he continued on by asking me what my problem was with Anthony. I had to think about that for a moment, and... I couldn't come up with any concrete answers, unfortunately. "Um... I... I don't know. Maybe it was just from when he made us all wait for hours back at the start of the adventure? I really don't know why I don't get along with him... I'll try to get along with him, though, I can tell it's starting to make the rest of the team worry," as I said that, Daniel flew overhead, and I recalled when he helped me through the forest... I didn't like him that much until after that... hm... maybe I just don't like Anthony because of his time as an outlaw, because of his slow speed at the start of this adventure, and because he hasn't done anything of that magnitude to help us, yet? That seemed a little selfish, but, maybe that was it... I then felt bad for thinking that way about him, and tried to focus on his more positive traits, on the things he's helped us achieve. I recalled when he took a fire attack for Mile, and how he boldly went on ahead of the team to see if we were safe, and, when we weren't, he even took a super-effective attack to the chin. I then turned towards Anthony, who stayed behind to hear all of this, and finally said "Anthony... I'm sorry for being a jerk. I... I dunno what happened, I dunno why we couldn't get along, and it was probably my fault," Anthony smiled, and said "Thanks. I'm sure I did something to provoke this too, so, sorry," things seemed a little bit less hostile after that for some reason.

---

[Anthony]

For some reason, Josh asked why Spruce didn't like me, and... I decided to listen in, as this interested me, as well. Unfortunately, it seemed as though Spruce had absolutely no idea what made him act like this, and, just as he was saying that, Daniel flew over his (and Kamina's) head. Daniel was probably thankful that he has wings, else he'd have to walk on this hot metal, which probably wasn't too comfortable for Celes, or Spruce before he got on Kamina's head. Spruce then did something I never thought he'd do... he apologized for acting like a complete jerk, and I responded with "Thanks. I'm sure I did something to provoke this too, so, sorry," either the heat of this place was getting to his head, or he genuinely wanted our teams to finally work together, for once. Either way, the place seemed somewhat less hostile, and a set of stairs was found, and thankfully, no wild pokemon were around them. Things were really looking up for us, by now. I headed up the stairs, only to find Daniel eating an apple. That only reminded me that I didn't have much to eat, yet, and the look on my face must have given that thought away, as Daniel offered me another. I had no idea where he got it from, but I took the apple, and ate the thing in one bite. "Thanks Daniel, but... where'd you get this from?" He responded with "Well... there's a bunch in the next room. It's like some sort of buffet, or something. They're all in these vases, and boxes,"

---

[Bonnie]

I nodded grimly at Eralion telling the team to finish off this group of children, and Tini gave them all a speech about how their mothers would respond to this, and how this is a bad thing to do... however, the one that was awake didn't want to hear any of it, and used twister on Tini, probably still unaware that he's a fairy type. I was a little conflicted, but I ended up using frustration on the last one, finishing it off. "Sorry, Tini, but I don't think they're willing to listen. Maybe something else is controlling them and making them do evil things, or something," I explained to Tini as the group moved onward. I tried to make sure I was at or near the front, mainly to protect the client, who started talking about how amazing her boyfriend is, and how sad it is that he had to get lost in a place like this. I had to agree, as the last thing we'd want was an angry or annoyed client. "...anyways, I didn't like the color of the badge he gave me, but it's the thought that counts, right?" she asked after her long speech about her birthday. I was about to respond when a druddigon ran up to me, and used night slash. It hurt, but not nearly as much as it should have, for some reason. "Huh!? HEY! THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HURT YOU MORE!" The thing yelled at me in rage. I took note of his gender, and used attract, which had him mumbling about me within moments. "Sorry, Tini, but I had to do it... I don't want to touch his rough skin," I said to Tini, who would probably be angry at me for using that move. The druddigon tried to attack... however, he took one look at me, and just decided against it.

---

[Nina]

Thankfully, Dexter's last bout of Ember, not to mention Rebecca's disarming voice was enough to finish off the buneary... again. Once it was done for, more of that weird stuff just blasted out of it, thankfully missing all of us, and that stuff, whatever it was just dissipated into the air soon enough. "So, Dexter, this is the kind of stuff we have to deal with every day. Do you believe us about the weird... thing trying to kill us now?" I asked Dexter. I would seriously be surprised if he still didn't believe in whatever we were fighting after all of this. "So... mission on Mt. Dragoncoil, let's hope this one's normal, am I right?" I then told the group, probably reminding them of what we were supposed to do in the first place. I then ran off to Mt. Dragoncoil, as if I was in a hurry to prove myself in a mission... or maybe even prove whether or not this thing controls ALL wild pokemon.

[Josh]
Josh didn't think Spruce would try to make amends with Anthony.
"Well, that went better than I expected." He whispered, mostly to himself. Now that the conflict between them was over, they had one less problem to deal with. Finishing this mission would be a whole lot easier now.

After the group climbed a set of stairs, Daniel found a room with what appeared to be some kind of food storage. There were vases and boxes filled with apples, berries, and other food items.
"This seems a little suspicious." Josh pointed out. To him, this seemed like some kind of trap. "I might just be paranoid, but it's best to keep our eyes peeled."

---

[Dexter]
That last Ember was enough to finish the Buneary off. Dexter was starting to believe Rebecca and Nina's story, at this point.
"I'd have to be a fucking idiot to not believe you now." He said. "You still got a lot to explain, though. You obviously got some idea of what this thing is."

Celes was surprised at what she heard. Spruce actually apologized to Anthony, saying he acted like a jerk. She though he would have gone and ignore Josh, but he didn't. She smiled a bit as she kept moving, but felt the hot metal under her paws. If she were a flareon, she would not have minded, but considering all, she probably would have minded back when they went under water. And anyway, Kamina already had the fire type aspect in the team. She then moved up the stairs and then heard what Daniel said, as well as Josh, and nods at this.
"Indeed, lets be careful about this. It might end up a trap or something." she then says, but looked at Spruce, feeling better now for him. She smiles a bit. She would have gave him a kiss for finally acting better towards the other group, but he was on Kamina's head right now. She on the other hand was still on the ground. Sure, the hot metal was... well... hot, but she didn't mind after having stayed in the cold for so long. As well that she still had the clothing for her legs from her Shadowlight costume, which made it easier for her to walk without burning her paws.

---

Eralion saw the druddigon suddenly attack Bonnie, and looked at him in anger as Bonnie got hit, but at least it didn't hurt her too much. He moves quickly and then.... actually used crunch at the dragon. He then actually pulled off some of the scales off from the beast afterwards, and then spit them out, and spat on the ground.
"Ugh.... god that was awful." he says, noticing the now weak spot on the drudgeons scales. A hit there would probably make it hurt even more if it were physical attacks. To hope someone else in the team would go and strike at him. Although.... by crunching at the scales, Eralion kinda got hurt by the sharp points.
"Remember me never to do that again." he then says, spitting a bit more on the ground.

To Rebecca’s relief, the zombie finally went down for good. At least, she hoped it was for good: She didn’t really want to fight that thing again, and she’d probably lose a lot of money again if she so much as dared to avoid fighting another Pokemon until it couldn’t reciprocate and offend her badge and it’s bizarre code of honor. It was over and done with for now, though, and everyone seemed interested in dealing with the questions it raised.

“Well technically we’ve only had to deal with this for two days,” Rebecca said to Dexter, raising an explanatory finger. “But I don’t think anyone really has any idea what’s going on, either, which may be why we were asked to figure out the origin of wild Pokemon and “mystery dungeons” the other day. We came up with that zombie and that weird rectangle thing, and I think they’re really the key to all of this.” The Ralts pulled out her notebook and flipped through to the page where she had drawn the same creature and showed it to him so he could take a look.

“We really should finish up the Mt. Dragoncoil mission, though,” Rebecca said after a little while. “I mean, as weird as all of this is, we haven’t really gotten any compensation for it yet.” She closed the book and followed Nina off for the mountain, deciding that if she ever got a chance to meet their mysterious client again, she would pull him aside and negotiate a better payment plan.

Kamina

Well this was starting to get better "awesome! Everyone's starting to get along now. Now the fun can really begin!" Kamina cried in joy. Due to his serpentine body, climbing on the stairs felt awkward, but not difficult. 'Still better then when I was a Magikarp. Falling on stairs hurt. It was even worse when I messed up my Splash and slid all the way back down. Yeah, that really sucked. Oh well, no use crying about the past. After all; those days are behind me now.' After they reached the top of the stairs, Kamina once again made sure to be in front of the group. "Remember Spruce; Don't be afraid to hide behind me if Fire attacks head your way. It's better if they hit me then you, since I can take them no problem."

---
Tini

Once more, Bonnie used Attract, and just like last time Tini blamed himself. 'I was too slow...too weak. I couldn't stop her from doing it again. At this rate; Bonnie's very soul will be in doomed...and it'll be all my fault for not stopping it. I'm so sorry Bonnie...I just keep failing you. Of course, Tini be Tini, he was mentally unable to mope too long. So his moping soon gave way to something else "WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! Fairy Wind!" Adorable rage "FairyWindFairyWindFairyWind!" Tini kept pounding the Druddigon until it was knocked out. Having finished the battle, Tini began panting heavily "must...remember...to breathe...in fights."

There was some sort of conflict between Spruce and the others. Before I got to ask why there were disagreements in the group, Josh had already begun expressing his relief as I hung back, wondering why all the tension if it was just over some petty things. Then again, I had a bit of a disagreement between myself and Kamina. Speaking of which, I forgot briefly as to why everyone was riding on him - this place felt like an oven, and one would assume the floor to be downright dangerous to touch. Seemed as if the heat was coming from the top, based from the expanding metals around the contracting walls and junk.

Regardless, we started to move upstairs, making our way to the legendary who would likely help us - assuming having his minions attack us meant help. We didn't even get far when we stumbled across a room Daniel discovered, full of pots and half-cooked berries. "I don't know about you, but real storage rooms would probably have some sort of temperature control. Especially in this place - who even likes cooked berries? Not me, certainly."

[Spruce]

Kamina made his way to the next floor, and I could tell that he had trouble navigating the stairs, but, he eventually got it, and we were greeted with Daniel snacking on an apple, and pointing towards a storage room that was filled with vases and boxes that were apparently filled with berries and apples. Miles griped about how the food was cooked just due to the heat, and I responded with "Well... maybe fire types either don't mind their berries cooked, or prefer them that way... actually, Kamina, you're a fire type, right? Do you like cooked berries?" I found out that I was asking a stupid question after it was too late to correct myself and tried to come up with a way to get the food without triggering whatever trap or ambush might be set up, as Josh pointed out. I then came up with something "Hey... what if I used vine whip, while Josh and Matt used their psychic powers to lift the thing with me? We'd only need one box of the stuff, right, and they'll probably be expecting someone to just walk in there, assuming that it's safe, right? Well... with this, nobody would be there for whatever trap they have set up," I then waited for other ideas and plans to get at least one box of food from this place... even if it was burned, it was still food, and that was something we needed desperately at this point. Then again... how did they know we'd need it? Maybe they didn't know, but just assumed that explorers, no matter how much food they had, would want more... which might actually be correct, given that food isn't as easy to come by in mystery dungeons as you'd think it would be.

---

[Anthony]

The others quickly joined us, and both Josh and Celes chimed in on the fact that this could very well be a trap. Spruce must have been pretty determined to get the food, though, and honestly who can blame him when our bags were as empty as they were right now. If I hadn't eaten that apple, that would have reminded me of just how hungry I was at the moment. Spruce put together some sort of plan involving psychic powers, and his vine whips, but... something told me that it might not work. "Well, if that doesn't work, we could always get Daniel to just bring us some more apples, though, his bag can't carry as much as those crates, so, he'd have to make multiple trips... he'll just have to be careful, right?" Daniel looked at me, and seemed just a little worried about his portion of the plan, but I tried to reassure him with "You were in that room before, right? I'm sure you can do whatever you did again," this seemed to work, a little bit, and he seemed less worried, but... I kinda wondered if he'd even get to do it... then again, maybe if he took some from the crate they were trying to pick up, it would be easier, and he could keep taking food from it until they can lift it up with their various powers. I paced back and forth, having pretty much nothing else to do, and I got a little close to the room and heard a growling sound from above... seems like I figured out what their trap is... some sort of monster house, where they're all waiting in ambush on the ceiling... somehow. I backed away, and the growling stopped. If we triggered that... well, this mission wouldn't end well... who knows how many pokemon there were up there, let alone how many can strengthen every one of their allies in a room.

---

[Bonnie]

Eralion exposed a weak point for the druddigon, and Tini looked at me with those puppy dog eyes of his for a moment before going completely nuts against the thing, obviously finishing it off as he spammed fairy wind, something that the druddigon didn't see coming, at all. "So... um... onward?" I asked, somewhat uncomfortable with just how crazy Tini went. I've never seen him like this, usually, when he goes crazy, it's a happy sort of crazy that involves hugs and cookies... this time, it just included an all-out attack. Our client mumbled something, and I managed to overhear "Why do I always get the crazy ones?" though, I felt that if I responded, it would only make her think I'M crazy, too. I simply shook my head, and we continued up the mountain, running into something I didn't expect to see here... a dragonite. An angry dragonite, as well. "YOU! WHERE ARE MY CHILDREN!?" I then thought back to the trio of dratini who all tried to attack us... and ended up stuttering with "Um, uh..." she then repeated "WHERE ARE THEY!?" though, at this point, her voice sounded more like a roar than a yell, and she decided to attack us with dragon rush, hoping to hit more than one of us. I barely managed to jump over the attack, and I yelled "Someone! Protect the client!" I didn't really care who did it, and unfortunately, I only realized my mistake after I jumped, but either Eralion or Tini would probably do a decent job of protecting her. Eralion would counter, and Tini would be immune to the attack... and either way, the dragonite's going to take some serious damage, afterwards.

---

[Nina]

"So, now you'll believe me when I say that we were basically attacked by some sort of eldritch monolith? 'Cause... that's kinda what happened the day before this, you know, when we teleported away," I responded to Dexter finally saying that he believes us. That... was kind of the only way to describe the creature that killed that buneary, and used its corpse as a puppet after death. I was trying to put that day behind me, and Rebecca helped by pointing out that we still have a mission to do on Mt. Dragoncoil. I nodded, and said "Yeah, let's find that abra on the top of the mountain... poor guy probably got lost after a missed teleport, or something," I then continued towards Mt. Dragoncoil, and notice a city at the foot of the mountain... while I almost wanted to visit it, and see what it might have to offer, given that it seems to be about double the size of Treasure Town, but... again, we were on a mission, and that abra isn't going to stay in one place for very long. I gave the city a wide berth, and found myself, and hopefully the rest of my team at the start of some sort of mountain trail. There were footprints indicating that someone's been here, recently, and there seemed to be three knocked-out dratini near a narrow ledge. I decided against getting too close to them, given what JUST happened, and looked back at my team, wondering if this was the same. I then heard one of them groan, and jumped back before it got up, and just slithered away... the other two did the same, apparently not wanting to fight. "Whew... that was a close one, huh?" I asked my team, wondering if they thought I was just being paranoid about fainted pokemon.

[Josh]
Spruce suggested that they use his vine whip and Josh and Matt's psychic powers to pull one of the boxes out of the room. That didn't seem like a good idea, though, mostly due to the growling sound that came from the ceiling when Anthony got too close. The Pokemon up there would probably notice if one of the boxes was dragged across the floor.

"I know you're all hungry, but we have no idea how many of them were up there." Josh said. "This could jeopardize the entire mission. It's best to play it safe for now."
Josh hoped everyone else would agree with him. If just one of them decided to go in, they could potentially have a massive horde of Pokemon to deal with.

---

[Dexter]
Rebecca and Nina seemed to have gathered plenty of information on whatever the hell this thing was. Apparently they ran into it yesterday while they were investigating the cause of the mystery dungeons.
"So, this is the thing that you had to teleport from?" Dexter asked, looking closely at Rebecca's sketch. It kind of looked like the stuff that was leaking out of that Buneary back there.

They eventually made it to Mt. Dragoncoil, and began their search for the lost Abra. They almost immediately ran into a few knocked out Dratini, who Nina seemed reluctant to approach, probably because of the Buneary. All three of them were clearly still alive, since they got up and slithered away.
"You're not gonna freeze up like that every time we see a knocked out Pokemon, are you?" Dexter said. "That'll get annoying real fast."

Celes listened to everyone and what their said about the boxes of food. She understood what the group was saying, but with how everyone was hungry... it was either a group of pokemon... of fight off starvation. She looked at the group a bit.
"I think we might need to try to lift the box... or at least grab part of the content inside to have it do less sound.... I.... might be able to help a bit if I am careful." she then says, before creating a bit of her chains of light, ready to use them for this. She could have been trying to use her ribbons, but she probably didn't reach with that. She hoped the others would understand. It was best to try to get food as quietly as possible, and strike down any pokemons that would try to stop them... but she really hoped it was not a trap. She though a bit more.
"Or we could try to ambush those that might be trying to ambush us... move to each side and attack anything that was hiding if we are really quiet." she says to the group in a low voice.

---

Eralion felt better after the druddigon was down, feeling like it was best that the group keep on moving afterwards. Tini did kinda scare him back there... but it was Tini. He was hard to even read. He felt something inside of him at this moment... something that felt really strange. An energy. He moved with the group, unsure what that energy was. Just then, a dragonite roared at them, asking where her children's were... which would probably be the dratini's from before. Now he felt bad, but they didn't have any choice here. Suddenly, the dragonite attacked the group, using dragon rush towards the client, and Bonnie jumped away. Eralion knew he had to act. Suddenly, the energy he felt bursted as he moved quickly in front of the attack..... while evolving! As the attack connected onto his new form of a pangaro, he smiled a bit. He had some silverish coloring for his white parts and a slight shine on his dark fur. He looked at the dragonite as he had... used counter. He grabbed onto the dragonite's arm and then threw it onto the ground as hard as he can using the damage he received from the angry dragon. He stood there as a well in front of the client, cracking his knuckles a bit as he looks at the dragonite.
"Want to attack us when we are only trying to defend ourselves eh..." he says, cracking his neck. He felt... good here. Stronger then before. He felt a bit like he could take on the world now.

Kamina

"Meh, berries are berries. Cooked or raw, it doesn't matter; I'm just happy to be eating something." Due to Kamina's life in the ocean, he wasn't very picky about food, since he didn't always get to eat everyday. Hell, he'd eat anything edible and like it. Speaking of food, it looked like they were going to be taking a break here to eat, since they had found a room with food. Although everyone was debating whether or not to get it, since it could be a trap. Coiling up to take a quick rest, Kamina told the others "let me know when we've decided what we're going to do next, okay." All this over thinking wasn't really his thing, so he'd just let everyone else do that.

---
Tini

'So she's their mother?' Tini was genuinely surprised; as he hadn't expected to meet the family of those three naughty Dratinis so soon...or at all. "So you're their mother?" he repeated the question he had just asked in his head. "Well it's a good thing we found you, because you and I have a lot to talk about ma'am; those children of yours are so unruly, randomly attacking strangers who were just passing by. I gave them a stern talking too, but I don't think it took. In fact, I'm pretty sure that one of them wasn't even paying attention. Now listen, I can tell that you're a loving mother; why else would you flip out like this over your children, but you need to discipline them more. You can't let yourself be afraid of hurting them, or pushing them away. If they don't learn how to properly behave in society, then they're only going to suffer more later in life." Tini lectured the older Dragon Type. However, as he did, he noticed something else; 'yaaaaay! Eralion evolved. Wait, no! Bad Tini, stay focused! Victory hugs later.'

So, we were all waiting outside a doorway and trying to figure out the best way to get some food/life-saving supplies. We would've left had most of us ate earlier, but a lack of food ensured a bit of misery. A trap was inevitable and I thought it best to just continue on, preferring to brush by the growls of the ceiling rather than confront them. Besides, Josh reminded me of the last fire Pokemon I met. One attack was so brutish (and was probably a critical) that it sent me on a health spiral for most of the trip, and I only just recovered from that. Not a good avenue for me to go down again, with a sharp warmth I can still remember on my eye. That, and the purple scar on my face started to itch from the heat. "We need more food guys, but I don't really like the idea of being a flammable punching bag again." I spoke out against the dangers of walking-into-traps-no-matter-how-prepared-you-were, swinging around in the air to watch our backsides. I'd assume the Pokemon here would've been more fisticuffs than devious, though it seemed that was an incorrect stereotype. "Let's just move on and hope we don't get jumped on. It already took a week to walk up some stairs. If you want, get Kamina or whatever to lead the charge or something."

Rebecca hated mountain climbing. Mostly because it involved walking up steep inclines. She didn’t really know how or why anyone would live up on one, with all of these ledges and incredible heights. Even if they could fly, how could they raise their young? Little Timmy Dratini plays too close to the edge, well… That’s the last anyone will hear of Timmy Dratini. She supposed this was probably where the “hoarding, protective dragon” stereotype came from, but she then wondered how strange this observation was when Team Crescendo came across a group of badly hurt Dratini.

“Well,” Rebecca said to Dexter with a hand on her hip, “It doesn’t hurt to be cautious, I guess, especially after we had to run away from that one fight. Even if they weren’t dead and turned into zombie creatures, something had to knock them out, right?” Plus, it gave her a chance to stop and rest for a bit, but she didn’t really feel like admitting that to the team at the moment. Maybe Pokemon lived on the mountain because they decided it would be too much trouble to be go back down again?

[Spruce]

While I really wanted some food from those crates, it didn't seem like everyone else was up for that plan. Celes was on my side, and Kamina was indifferent, however, Josh and Miles were opposed to the idea of trying to steal something from an obvious trap. They also brought up good points, so I couldn't really argue with them. "Alright, fair enough, let's see if we can just go around this room, then," I then had a horrible thought What if the stairs to the next floor are in that room? We'd have to fight them to continue on at that point... but... I'm not sure we'd be able to pull that off. I dismissed it as I tried to wake up Kamina with "Kamina, we're avoiding that room, let's go," I didn't want to step on what felt like fire on my feet, so I kinda had to make sure that he was awake so I could continue moving. While I waited, I looked at that room's ceiling, and waited for the perfect time to steal two apples from a vase in that room. It didn't take too long for the growlithe to ignore me, and didn't take too long for me to take the apples with a couple vine whips. I put them in my bag, and decided to wait until we were a few rooms away to start giving them out. Basically, I'd give them to whoever was the hungriest at the time, which means that neither Daniel or Anthony, given that they both just ate would get them. I then had a weird thought involving gladiatorial combat... but I passed that off as the heat finally getting to my head. "Kamina... sooner rather than later, please... I think the heat's getting to my head, or something," I announce to Kamina in a somewhat tired voice... why did I sound tired? I took a long enough rest from walking, and I really didn't take that much damage, today... weird.

---

[Anthony]

While the heat never really got to me, at least, it didn't hurt me as much as most, it did still have a tendency to dry me out... such was the case in this bronze and steel tower. Heck, I'd be surprised if there was any slime at all on the floor due to how hot the place was. Spruce decided against taking the crate, and tried to wake up Kamina... but then he did something stupid. He used his vine whips to take a couple apples from their trap/storage room. His lack of patience shined through, again as he ordered Kamina to wake up and get moving 'sooner rather than later'. I would have said something... but the way he said it made me think that it was more the heat than him, at this point. "Josh... I'm a little worried for Spruce... I've heard that this kind of heat can be dangerous to the minds of some pokemon... he might be crazy by the end of this," he sounded tired, but thanks to Kamina he didn't walk too much, and on top of that, hasn't taken a single attack from anything in this place... again, must have been the heat... but can it really have this sort of effect? I started heading away from the trap room, hoping that they didn't just make the way upwards into a trap as I did so. To be honest, that would be clever of them... trapping our only way forwards... I just hope they didn't think of that. I thought as I passed by a part of the wall that seemed to be made of some strange device with two wheels. Obviously, the tires that would go on the wheels weren't a part of it, nor was anything that wasn't metal... but it looked like a device that a moderately sized, bipedal pokemon could use to get around somewhat quicker, that is, if it wasn't melted, and made into a part of a wall of junk.

---

[Bonnie]

It seems as though Eralion heard my call, and protected the client, while somehow evolving in the process. He threw the dragonite onto the ground with his counter move, as well as his newfound strength. He wasn't showing it, but I could tell that the attack still hurt him quite a bit. "Here, catch!" I shouted at Eralion as I tossed an oran berry in his direction. I then thought for a moment that the dragonite was done for, that she wouldn't get up from that... unfortunately, I was wrong. Our client backed up as the dragonite got up from that, roared, and looked over towards me, the only one who doesn't have a decent way of countering her attacks... she then smirked as she used thunder wave on me, paralyzing me, and making it so I couldn't move, much less attack. She then turned her attention towards Tini, and, probably assuming he was like all the others of his species, she used dragon rush on him, making sure to avoid Eralion in the process. Thank goodness Tini's immune... else we'd have a serious problem trying to beat this dragonite... I thought as I tried to move, and... failed, unfortunately. Ugh... paralysis is the WORST... I continued on in my head. I then tried to even speak, but couldn't do so due to paralysis. Thankfully, our client was smart enough to stay away from the angry dragon and let the explorers handle this... even if one of them wasn't in the best condition at the moment.

---

[Nina]

Before the last one could escape, I shouted "Hey! Wait!" the last dratini then turned around and looked at me, asking "Yeah? Whaddaya want?" I then responded with "I just want to ask a few questions... are you okay with that?" the dratini looked at its siblings, and then back at me and said "Yeah, sure... go ahead," I then finally asked a few questions "So... who knocked you out?" was the first question, with the dratini answering "Some explorers or somethin'... they were tough, WAY too tough for us to handle..." to which, I responded "Interesting... why would you try to attack them if you knew you were going to lose, and easily, at that?" the dratini shook his head, and answered the best he could "Some... weird thing in my head made me do it... whatever it was, it made me try and fail to take down a group of explorers way beyond our level. I think they were even trying to talk to us... the bunny lady even hesitated for some reason, and that made me feel bad, but I had to do it," I would have asked him more questions, but I learned my lesson from last time, and just said "That... might be helpful for what we're trying to figure out. Please, just go before that thing takes over again, alright?" the dratini complied and slithered away from the area... somehow, I had a feeling that I'd meet him again, under more hostile terms. I then turned back towards Rebecca, and said "So, it sounds like this... thing doesn't care how many of its own pokemon faint or even die in... whatever it's trying to accomplish... also, it seems like when a pokemon faints, this thing loses whatever hold it had on it... if only for a moment. We might not have gotten paid last time, but I still want to figure out all about these wild pokemon," after that little report, I looked up at the mountain we were supposed to climb... it almost intimidated me with its size, but I was determined to finish this mission, especially after having to deal with zombies just getting here... I headed up the pathway, leading the way forwards despite any other, more favorable matchups being in the party.

Spruce made up his mind and eventually settled for a middle option - we'd leave for a less obvious room, but not without trying to retrieve the items from the room ahead. I wasn't hungry considering I had already eaten, but I know everyone else sure hasn't. Anyway, he chucked out a pair of vine whips from under his supposed leaf coat, and stealthy yanked a bunch of bruised apples right under the room's inhabitants, leaving a bunch of fruit by Spruce's feet. He certainly looked a bit off, wilting in fact. I could tell since I lived with a bunch of plant Pokemon for a while, and knew how a majority of them lived.

"Alright, you guys go eat them." I said, brushing away metallic dust on my face. Seemed as if my purple scar was finally receding somewhat, no longer feeling any bumpy ridges on the corners of my magnets. I moved on ahead with Anthony to look around the place, taking care not to draw attention from any hidden Pokemon. I drifted around in the heat and air, noting the rows of useless air vents tacked onto walls. Everything seemed to clash together, from the anodised steel and chrome streaks being forced together and walls being made out of literal junk. A few computers from the old world, scraps of inventions that weren't supposed to be for Pokemon to use... there was a distinct copper taste in the air, and just looking at the rust belts and charred pieces of metal sticking out from walls didn't help. "Anthony, you need anything?" I asked, wanting to break the silence as I stopped moving around, remaining stationary in the air but shifting my eye around for anything suspicious.

Kamina

Waking up, Kamina saw a frazzled Spruce "whoa! You doing alright there buddy." Poor Spruce was looking really out of sorts. 'Is he really that hungry?...Wait a minute' Kamina's train of thought was soon disrupted by a sudden realization; Spruce was a Grass Type in a very hot place. Being both Fire and Water, Kamina had completely forgot that this temperature could be unpleasant to others, as it didn't even bother him in the slightest. "Ah, I think I see what the problem is. Here, let me try and fix you up there." Kamina's Water Gun was so pitiful that it wasn't even Water Gun, as it lacked the pressure to do any real damage. However that was just fine, since he just needed it to cool down Spruce. Aiming the stream of water at his torso, so that he didn't have trouble breathing, he maintained the stream for a little under a minute before he stopped "there, is that any better?"

---
Tini

Suddenly, a great many things made sense to Tini "rude! There's no doubt in my mind that those were your children, since you all seem to react to strangers in the same way. You'll never make any friends that way! Clearly the only solution is to violently beat that unfriendly rudeness out of you." To Tini, this made complete sense "Fairy Wind!" he cried out as a wave of minty freshness surged at the attacking Dragon Type "the pain will help you learn! Fairy Wind!" As the gale began to die out, it was quickly restored to full power. "The pain will help you learn!" he chanted.

Celina fallowed the group soon after, hearing the explanation that Spruce and the others had for the apples. She nodded and then continued on, moving forwards once again. It seemed that most of the people here were affected by the heat, with good reason. Having gotten into a cold area only to end up in such a warm area.... the body didn't have time to adapt. She breath deeply as she looks as Spruce had gotten at least some apples. Those would probably be useful for those that were the hungriest in the team. She then saw Kamina and him using a weak version of water gun on Spruce. Well... that would help a lot she guessed. She though a bit.
"Kamina, if more of us are having trouble, throw some water in the air and make it fall all around us. A bit of a rain... that would actually help us I think" she then says smiling at him.

---

Eralion saw the dragonite going to attack Tini with a dragon rush attack, but he didn't react to this. He didn't react, cause he knew that would not do anything to him. He breath deeply as he then concentrated and then used crunch on the dragonite, actually aiming for the wing of it, making her feel the pain of teeth's crunching. He then moved back, and was ready for the next attack that it would do.
"Attacking us when we were attacked before. We are just defending ourselves here... I will not let you hurt anyone here!" he then says, in battle position. He was hoping she would waste her attacks on the team and not on the client itself.

[Josh]
Miles agreed that they should avoid this room, but Celes and Spruce were apparently hungry enough to face the horde of wild Pokemon that was waiting for them in there. Spruce eventually ended up agreeing with Josh and Miles, but he still tried to grab a couple of apples. It was a risky decision, without a doubt, but thankfully none of the Pokemon in the room seemed to notice.

Anthony pointed out that the heat might be messing with Spruce's head.
"I think you might be right, Anthony." Josh said. "It doesn't look that bad yet, but we should keep an eye on him, just to make sure it doesn't get worse."
Kamina was trying to cool him down with water, which might help. If his condition got too bad, they would have to get him out of this tower as soon as possible.

---

[Dexter]
Nina decided to ask the Dratini a few questions. It was mostly about why they attacked someone much stronger than them. Then, after the Dratini all left, Nina mentioned that whoever sent them out there didn't pay them last time.
"Wait. Hold the fuck up." Dexter said. "What do you mean you didn't get paid?"