Pokémon Mystery Dungeon - Liberators of Fate

[Navarchu]

https://imgur.com/QYMHiXf

Summary​

Follow this grand adventure with two brothers on a quest to start their own independence and bring freedom to Pokémon everywhere. Growing up in a world that wasn't always so kind to them, the duo knows one thing for certain: they must move forward. Along the way, the siblings need to deal with their trauma and past, while mysterious forces try to stop them.

Warnings​

• An original PMD setting, inspired by the "Explorers" games, so a knowledge of that game would be the best.
• Content warnings:
  Spoiler

  This fanfiction contains violence and gore. As a side note, not every chapter has these things, and some of them might have more than the others.

Notes for reviewers​

• As of today(05/12/2021) I finished my edits of the first arc. This means that it should be fine to comment on grammar on your review if you want. But please notice that I'm not touching the first 20 chapters again.
• I started this fic by translating it from my native language. However, as of today(09/26/2021) this is no longer true. I no longer have translations of any kind. Instead, I simply write in english right away.
• With that in mind, have fun reading!

Arc 1: Age of Steel

Chapter 1: Brotherhood
Chapter 2: Age of Steel
Chapter 3: Travelers
Chapter 4: Thunderstruck: Part 1
Chapter 5: Thunderstruck: Part 2
Chapter 6: The dawn of a new day
Chapter 7: New challengers appear!

 

[Navarchu]

Dungeon 1 - Brotherhood

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The void. A place completely absent of any light and without anything to fill its space. And yet, a small Pokémon was there in the middle of it all: a Riolu walking around thin air, with sweat running through his blue fur.

The pup trembled and looked around, trying to find an escape from the inky darkness. A high-pitched, maniacal laugh echoed behind him and he froze with a startled gasp. The Riolu trembled before slowly making an effort to turn around.

There across the void, something had suddenly appeared. He could see some sort of humanoid figure with two red eyes, staring at him. The figure opened its mouth, revealing it was lined with razor-like teeth, before letting out another laugh. The Riolu flinched and stumbled back, raising his voice at the figure in a frightened whine.

"P-Please, go away!" The Riolu stammered. The figure in front of him laughed again from afar just as the canine felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw a set of three fresh, red, claw-like marks in the middle of his torso.

"What are you going to do now, Number 10?" the figure said, smirking with bared teeth. "You think running away will get rid of what happened?"

"A-Ah… h-help me… someone please… help me…”

The Riolu struggled to stay upright and began to walk away, using what little energy he had left to try and flee. His body shivered and his eyes were fixated on the figure in front of him, all while blood leaked from his torso.

Ignoring his pleas, the creature started to multiply, as multiple sets of eyeballs materialized around the pitch-black space and a laugh echoed across the void, getting louder and louder until...

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The Riolu woke up, gasping for air.

He was inside a bedroom, on the top of a bunk bed, safe from the dark figure plaguing his dreams. The comfort and warmth of his purple blanket managed to calm him down a little.

The canine breathed deeply, clambering down a wooden ladder to the carpeted floor. The morning light shone in his room, and the breeze filtered in through an open window made of tempered glass and ruffled his fur. So far, so good.

He took a deep breath, clutching his chest for a moment. The pain that it brought him, while not particularly strong, was enough for him to realize his present sensations were real and not another dream.

Now ready for the next part of his routine, the pup took a good look around the room. First, he saw a bunch of tools fit for a mechanic, including an assortment of screwdrivers and wrenches. A nearby bookshelf also caught his attention, and the neatly placed books almost tempted him to pick one up. The Riolu ignored the urge and shifted his gaze to a mirror where he saw his reflection staring back at him.

"It’s alright, Lance. You're fine," he said. Gazing at his reflection, Lance pawed nervously at his chest and tried to coax himself to believe his own words.

"I-It was just another nightmare."

Lance felt his paw run against deep grooves on his chest’s pelt, not that his reflection left any room for doubt. On the Riolu's chest was a set of three scars that looked much like a claw swipe. Each of them so deeply ingrained that he doubted anyone could miss them if they tried to.

This made him remember the nightmare, and made him to snarl as he shook it off his mind. After a moment to gather his thoughts, Lance noticed a bag on the floor. After swiveling his ears, the Riolu put it on, leaving the room by the door.

"Well, my stuff’s packed," he shrugged. "Hopefully, Brian’s ready to go, too."

Lance descended the stairs to his living room, glancing around for any sign of his brother. The well-worn sofa in the corner went empty and unused, and a few books were scattered across the sofa. Of course Brian wouldn’t organize their bookshelf before he left.

There was a brown, rounded, metallic radio in the center of the room that sat on a table, untouched and covered in a thick layer of dust. It had been a gift from one of his surrogate uncles, but he had used it as little more than a paperweight. Books had always interested him more than fancy technology, though he hadn’t realized it’d been that long since they dusted the thing off.

"Brian must have already left," he mused. The Riolu felt his stomach rumble, reminding him of how hungry he was, and made a beeline for the kitchen.

Lance went to a corner, opening a white, metallic refrigerator, where he found it barren inside beyond an apple and a pitcher of water.

Normally, he'd be worried to find the fridge this empty, but he'd expected it'd be like this. After all, it'd be the last time he and Brian would use it for a long while.

After a moment of deliberation, he took the apple and ate it on the table. After finishing it, the Riolu then left the house with a stern look on his face.

Here goes nothing…

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Outside, the surrounding settlement of Thornwell seemed to be thriving, as most of the villagers were going about their daily jobs. The Riolu lived in a large suburban house, and down the street were several storefronts. One of the first was a grocery store, where two Kecleon were talking to customers.

Next, there was a building made of black bricks with a line, consisting of a Machop, a Meowth, and a couple of Wurmple queued up at the entrance. Lance could even hear one of them complaining about it “taking too long to make a deposit”.

"Hm. Didn’t expect the bank to be full today. At least I’ve already got my allowance," Lance sighed and looked up. In the distance, he could see a large, glassy building, shaped like the letter ‘H’. Pinned to it was a large sign which read: Hero Exploration Guild. The Riolu paused for a moment, before shaking his head.

"Meh, I don’t know why I’m so worried,” he said. “Brian's probably just at the guild.”

Lance gave a shrug of his shoulders, before walking off to the left for a beach that could be seen around the corner.

“It’s probably not the end of the world if he takes a while,” he murmured. “I… could probably use a bit of time for myself anyways."

The Hero Guild was famous for being a creation of the legendary Team Hero, led by four Pokémon: Shiron the Swampert, Nick the Lucario, Yukino the Sceptile, and James the Typhlosion.

While the guild occasionally copped jokes for having such an on-the-nose name, it and its founding team had very much earned their monikers, and accordingly were always in demand for missions.

So much so that Team Hero’s members were usually kept busy with tasks on distant continents, with James staying behind on his companions’ behalf to take care of the guild’s administration and the recruitment of new members.

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James was in his office that day, looking at the village of Thornwell through his window. He’d taken a brief break from his paperwork and stood up to enjoy the view along with a cone of Oran Berry ice cream. He quickly looked at the sofa nearby and wished he could lay in it, but alas, he was still on his shift, and he couldn’t afford to get too comfortable. The Typhlosion turned around, and sat at his desk with his dessert still in hand and looked down at the papers on it.

It was the paperwork of one of the guild’s newly graduated teams, Team Liberators. The team only had two members at the moment, and James already knew both of them well: Brian and Lance, the sons of Nick. Of course, they hadn’t graduated just from having connections to one of the leaders.

"Hm. They’re strong, I’m sure they’ll be fine on their own,” James mumbled to himself, licking at the frozen treat in his hand.

The Typhlosion stiffened up and flicked his ears after hearing someone knock on his office’s door. Curious, he hurriedly swallowed the rest of the dessert and cleaned his mouth with a napkin to make himself presentable for the stranger at the door.

"If you have an appointment, you can come in!" James said, waiting for the mysterious visitor. The door opened and a Zorua sporting a toothy grin ran inside the office.

"Good morning, Uncle James!"'

James’ ears perked up and he turned around, instantly recognizing the child. With a smile on his face, he got up from his desk and went over to greet the visitor.


"Talk about perfect timing, I was just looking at your team’s file, Brian," James said with a smile, getting down on his knees and extending his hand to little Pokémon. “You and Lance are really a chip off the old block, you know that? I’m still surprised you two graduated so fast!”

“Considering how much of a perfectionist my brother is, I’m surprised we didn’t graduate sooner !”

Brian shook James' hand with his paw, wagging his tail slightly. The larger Pokémon returned the gesture.

"So, what are you doing here anyways, Brian? Have you and Lance found your first mission?"

"No. Kinda? Not really… uh, Lance and I are leaving,” Brian replied, with a faint laugh. “I woke up early to try and get ready for our journey... and I figured I’d use the extra time to say goodbye."

"Hoho, going so far out right after graduating? You and Lance really do take after your dad," James chuckled, "And where are you two going?"

Brian cracked a grin and jumped up, transforming himself into a Metang and letting out a noise that sounded almost like a machine.

"We'll be going to Bright Dawn, the biggest city on Eutrios!" Brian said. His eyes sparkled. "We’re gonna be the most powerful team there! Or maybe just… like, heroes too! Strong and powerful heroes!"

Brian shape-shifted again, this time becoming a Machamp proudly flexing his muscles. Brian clearly had been practicing his illusions for a while, and James couldn’t help but find himself clapping at the little Zorua’s show.

He’d grown used to Brian shape-shifting whenever he got too excited, and it was always entertaining to see Brian’s excitable creativity quite literally take form in front of him.

"Heh, you're excited about all of this, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yup! I’ve been looking forward to this day since we graduated!” Brian exclaimed, striking a pose. “And Lance is…"

Brian trailed off as his illusion wavered and dissipated. The Zorua went back to his normal self, except he seemed troubled now, and his ears visibly drooped.

"Well… he's indifferent about it as usual, I guess. Sometimes it’s hard to understand what goes through his head."

The Typhlosion frowned. He let out a long sigh and got on his knees again, looking directly at Brian.

"I suppose it’s understandable. He's still thinking about the incident, right?" James sighed. "I don't blame him for that, though it's just that it's been so long since then…”

He gulped, looking out the window for a moment, before eyeing Brian again.

“I just thought he would have gotten better."

Brian shook his head back sadly at the Typhlosion guildmaster.

"He’s... never been the same after everything happened, Uncle James," Brian said. "That’s why I wanted to go to Bright Dawn with him. I thought that maybe the change of scenery would help him."

“Will it, though?” James asked. These kids had been through a lot, he knew. But if they thought they were ready for the journey...

"I dunno how much it’ll really help if Lance is just dwelling on the past during it all, but I suppose I understand where you’re coming from, Brian,” James said, scratching his chin. “I don't think your father will be very happy with this decision, though. Especially considering you're both only sixteen."

“W-Well…”

“Nah, don’t worry kid,” James smiled. “You go out and take on the world, okay? Just remember to visit when you can. I’m sure both your dad and your mom would like to still see you every now and then.”

"Actually… I came to ask a favor too, Uncle James. Listen, if Dad comes back while we're traveling, can you let him know we went off to Bright Dawn?” Brian asked. “I'll try to convince Lance to come back here as soon as possible, but… You know how Lance can be. He can be a real hard-headed dork when he sets his mind to something..."

James laughed a little, rubbing his hand on the Zorua's head.

"All right, I can do that. And good luck to you both, journeys that long can really take a lot out of you. Just… be careful, okay?” James insisted. “I might not be as uptight about travelling as your father, but as your uncle, it’s my job to worry about you. I know your brother’s been training for a while, and I’m sure you’ll be fine, but... you can never be too careful. You understand that, right?"

Brian just nodded in reply and left the room running. That was the decisive moment: if they were going to leave, it had to be now. Their dad would be returning home later today, after all.

And he knew full well what path he’d chosen. The Zorua ran and ran, out of the guild, past the bank and the market, until the village's exit was right in front of him. The exit out into the great world beyond Thornwell, and out to his and his brother's future.

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Meanwhile, Lance walked around Thornwell's beach, idly thinking about the ocean waves that were splashing up against his feet. In the distance, he could see a few Lapras swimming along the waves.

He needed that moment, away from all his problems and distractions. To forget about everything that made the nightmares that haunted him at night begin in the first place. To soothe his anxieties, he decided to take a deep breath.

"I'm not Number ten anymore," he snarled, taking a deep breath. It was one of the best things he’d discovered for managing his anxiety. "And I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna make the world a better place so that nothing like that happens again."

He tried not to think too hard about what happened, it always dredged up too many painful memories. Even so, he knew full well he wanted his promise to himself more than anything, and he was determined to fulfill it. The Riolu took a deep breath, wrapping a gray bandana around his head, and then walked off the beach to meet his sibling.

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Brian was already there waiting for him in front of the town’s welcome sign.

He was ready to go, donning a backpack and with a set of goggles slung around his neck. Brian was thoughtful, this was the best thing to do, wasn't it? It had to be, he hoped it was.

Turning his head, Brian saw his brother approaching and waved to him.

"Lance! Ready to kick off that journey? Come on, Bright Dawn’s not going to come over to us , you know!" the Zorua exclaimed. Brian wagged his tail as he waited for the Riolu to approach. Lance came over and stopped to look at the town sign, as a hint of melancholy came over his eyes.

"Right... our journey begins here,” he said to himself. “Goodbye, Thornwell."

Lance shuffled along the path, walking forward without bothering to look back at the village, he wasn’t going to miss it. Brian looked at the sign next to his brother, and at the village where they grew up.

With its suburban buildings, unpaved roads, in hindsight, Brian knew it wasn’t all that pretty, but it was home. After hesitating briefly, he shook his head and followed his brother in silence.

For all of six paces.

"Dad said he’s gonna get back today, but knowing him, he’ll probably take a while to come back home, his team's mission is supposed to be dangerous… I’ve heard they found an unusual teenager. About our age, I think,” Brian mused. “Do you think he’ll come back in one piece?" he asked, staring at the Riolu.

Lance shrugged in reply and turned ahead with a quiet harrumph. He was hoping that Brian would be a bit less talkative on this journey, but clearly that was a bit much to hope for.

"Dad’s perfectly capable of taking care of himself, Brian," Lance remarked. "He and his teammates are strong Pokémon and have come back from plenty of missions others call ‘dangerous’. Don’t worry yourself over such morbid hypotheticals."

"Hehe, well when you put it that way, it feels silly to worry about him!" Brain laughed, staring at the horizon. "And we’re gonna succeed on our own mission too, right?! We're gonna make our own destiny!"

Lance gave a faint smile in reply. Sure, Brian could be more of a chatterbox than he’d like, but his cheerfulness had a way of rubbing off on other Pokémon.

The two didn’t know what the future held in store for them, but they were sure that the journey ahead would bring challenges and conquests for them both. And so, they left their hometown, the place where their journey all began, eagerly looking forward to finally having a chance to shape their own destiny.

 

[Navarchu]

Dungeon 2 - Heart of Steel​

In the middle of the night, a Druddigon ran through the streets, blood dripping from his arms as his heart palpitated. The Pokémon looked back to make sure there was no one following him before he stopped in an alley. Panting, he leaned against the wall, grumbling to himself about the situation he was in.

Suddenly, the Pokémon heard something crawling. Desperate, he opened his mouth, filling it with flames. He was prepared to attack whatever was chasing him.

"Whoever you are, I can make it up to you!" The reptile screamed, trembling with fear, looking around. "My job gave me a lot of money! I can give twice as much as your contractor promised! No... I'll give you triple! Please don't kill me!" He yelled, trying to reason with whoever was there.

In the air, a pair of black eyes appeared, and as soon as the Druddigon turned his face to see what had appeared, he was taken by an enormous fear; his body wouldn't move even if he tried with all his strength. He was paralyzed.

"Well, I could spare you, but... our team doesn't like to leave a job unfinished." He heard a voice, but he couldn't see anyone.

"T… team?! Who do you think you are?! I am Razor! I will be the next mayor of Bright Dawn! You don't know who you are messing with..."

Suddenly, a pink blade appeared in the air, produced by psychic powers, and hit the Druddigon's chest. The dragon, shocked by the blow, fell to the ground, his chest leaking with blood.

"Who... are you?" Razor trembled, barely able to stand up.

"The Heart of Steel Crew carefully chooses its targets... my name is Flint. Not that it matters." The owner of the voice spoke, coming out of the shadows and revealing himself.

Razor raised his head with the little strength he had left, looking at who had attacked him. The Pokémon in front of the politician was a humanoid being; his head was round and red and black colored, similar to a war helmet. A golden blade was fixed to his helmet, and only his eyes were visible through a gap on the front of it. The attacker's stomach was well defined, with two blades that made his abdomen look like a ribcage.

"Mercenaries... I've heard of you, all your members are Steel-type and do dirty jobs..."

Razor used all his strength to get up. The flames in his mouth grew and he let out a puff towards the Bisharp.

The dragon's sudden attack caused a big explosion, and he felt his heart accelerate. After the smoke dissipated, he saw a little doll where the criminal was.

"He used Substitute!" Razor said, feeling his body weakening with the loss of blood he suffered. Despite his weakness however, he remained alert.

"Your capacity for analysis is impressive. Then again, it's to be expected." Flint said, his voice was in the opposite direction of Razor, who turned, but, weakened, fell to the ground, his breathing was slower.

"Well, Psycho Cut is a move that has more chances to do critical damage... dragons may be powerful, but none are invincible," Flint said, smirking.

"Please... spare my life... I will reward you and your companions any way you want..."

"If you were talking with another companion of mine, maybe he would accept your proposal... But unfortunately for you, that's not the case for me."

In a simple move, Flint cut through the air, generating a wind blade. The attack was directed at the dragon's throat, who only had the time to scream. He had given his last breath. The murderous Pokémon disappeared in the shadows, his mission was now accomplished.

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In another area of the city was a bar. The place was crawled with different Pokémon, and some of them were talking amongst each other, others were looking at a mission board. Unlike guilds, however, this place was used by mercenaries who wished to find jobs. Inside the pub, an Empoleon and Aggron were talking between sips of the beer.

"Napoleon! You know I couldn't have sent you on this mission, you can't see a coin without wanting it!" The white Pokémon spoke with a laugh, looking at his companion.

"And you, Atlas, are too scared... This is a unique opportunity! To end the competition for the mayor of this city!" The Empoleon grumbled, drinking some more of the beer.

"Flint is stealthy and effective, he will fulfill the task to perfection. Next time I'll let you go after our target..." Atlas said while placing the glass on the table.

"Whatever, the mayor paid us a huge amount of money..."

The two of them heard the bar door opening and with it, a hissing noise that they both recognized. As they turned back, they saw their companion, the Bisharp named Flint.

"If I had ears, they'd be burning. You were talking about me, right?" The Pokémon said as he approached the team, sitting in a chair.

"Yeah, apparently Atlas thinks I'm a money junkie..." The penguin said, taking another sip.

"And is he wrong by any chance?" Flint shrugged. "Anyway, Razor's dead, it was an easy job. Please, next time I go, get me a more challenging mission than that."

Atlas finished drinking before opening his backpack and throwing some coins onto the table. After that, he got up, facing his companions.

"Well, I'll take your two requests into consideration." The big reptile spoke to them.

"Understood, chief. " The penguin said with a laugh, waving to the Aggron as he left the establishment.

"I'm not carrying you out of here, I have to pick up the reward with our client," Flint mumbled, sighing.

"I'll stay here a little longer!" He laughed, waving to the waiter to order another glass.

Flint just shrugged and got up, leaving the bar. He left in silence, walking through the streets of the city.

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The Bisharp made his way towards the city hall building, walking through the dark parts of the city and looking at the other residents. Due to the time, few Pokémon were out of their homes, and those who were out were in bars, so there wouldn't be many witnesses. If the police investigated, Flint would be safe.

"Well, if anything, I can blame that fat Empoleon." He muttered to himself.

The icy wind was blowing on his body while the Pokémon walked in silence, in the distance, smoke steamed from factories. Arriving at city hall, he went directly to the office, seeing a Gothitelle sitting on a chair. She wore a neutral expression.

"Do you have a reservation?" The Gothitelle spoke rigidly.

"Secretary Jane, tell the mayor that I'm Flint. He knows who I am."

The Psychic-type picked up a wired phone from the desk, typing some numbers on the keypad. Once she received an answer, she briefly described the Pokémon who had entered the building.

"You can go up the stairs, sir." She said, writing some things in a notebook.

Flint went up the stairs, reaching the floor of the mayor's office. He knocked on the door.

"You can come in!" A voice from inside the room said.

Flint opened the door, entering the office. The place was wide, having a painting of the mayor on the wall. The mayor, an Alakazam, was simply staring at the Bisharp with a neutral expression, rubbing his mustache. He held a glass of wine in his hand.

"Mayor Prometheus. As you requested, the job is done." The Bisharp said, his face blank.

"Very well... I assume there are no witnesses?" The Alakazam commented, taking some more of the drink.

"I threw his body in the sewers and there are not many Pokémon out in town." He nodded. "Well, except the mercenaries in that bar."

"Right... I thank you for the job well done, I see that I can count on you if needed." The mayor put the glass on the table, opened a drawer, and took out a closed envelope.

"Of course you can. If you wish to use our services, we will always be at your disposal." He answered. "Well, our boss is a little paranoid, but I'm sure I can convince him."

Flint then approached the table, taking the envelope and putting it in his backpack. He eyed his client.

"If you want to hire us again, you know where to find us." At that, the Bisharp left, going on his way.

 

[Navarchu]

Dungeon 3 - Travelers​

Two Pokémon walked along a road, flanked by a large forest filled with thick trees on both sides. It was dark, and the only light source was the moon, shining in the sky. One of them, a Riolu, was checking a map, grumbling to himself. The other one, a Zorua, stared at him.

"Lance... you have no idea where we're going, do you?" the Zorua said.

"We're going the fastest way. As I said before, Brian, I have a plan..." Lance said with a stoic look on his face.

"I've heard you say that so many times!" he grumbled. "Is this the right way to Bright Dawn?"

Lance sighed and stopped walking, showing the map to his sibling. On it was a town marked with an "X", and its distance from the boys' hometown was large.

"As you can see, it's gonna take a while," Lance shrugged. "At least by foot."

Brian smirked, turning into a Torkoal, walking slowly. "We're... gonna... take... so long... to get there..."

Lance grumbled and ignored his brother's antics.

"You know, we left the village two days ago, and you hardly said anything the whole trip..." Brian commented while walking, now back to normal.

"I don't like to talk and you know it," was all the Riolu said.

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They continued to walk for some time. From afar, they could see a Pokémon with a wagon, which was turned upside down. Noticing this, the duo started to run, worried about what had happened.

The Pokémon was a Croagunk, who waved to the pair, realizing by the badges on their bodies that they were explorers.

"Good night, sir... what happened here?" Lance asked, approaching the group.

"A carriage... I never saw one in our village!" Brian said soon after, arriving after his brother. He looked at the vehicle, seeing some Pokémon with the shape of a gear where the wheels were.

"Thank you for admiring our vehicle, but we are not in a very good situation," the Croagunk said, clearing his throat.

"We are Team Liberators, my name is Lance and this Zorua is my brother. We'll be happy to help you." he took the team's crest, showing it to the frog.

"My name is Brian!" he waved.

"I'm Gama. We were driving along the road with Marty, the Zebstrika driving the carriage. Out of nowhere, we were attacked by a gang of Mightyena! They were crazy, caught Marty, and ran with him into the forest! I barely had time to react, I could only protect the little Klink!"

"I understand... those Mightyena must be wild," the Riolu scratched his chin, thoughtful. "Some scholars say that Pokémon lose their rationality if they stay too long in Dungeons."

"We have to go to… Dusk Woods, right?" Brian asked, gulping.

"Yeah…" Lance nodded, looking at the Croagunk and soon both entered the place.

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Brian noticed the eeriness the dungeon had. The trees looked almost dead, someone could destroy them with a punch, and a heavy fog only served to amplify that eeriness. He could even see one of the trees distorted, probably due to the nature of mystery dungeons. Looking for someone here would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Despite that, the team pushed on. Sometimes they fought one or two feral Pokémon, but overall, it was a calm trip.

"This place is huge. Can't you use your aura to find him?" Brian stopped, stepping on a dark log and breaking it.

"I was going to do exactly that..." Lance sighed, closing his eyes and concentrating.

The Zorua stood in a combat position, attentive to every movement around then as his brother focused on his meditation. Riolu and its evolution, Lucario, were famous for being able to manipulate aura, a type of energy present in living beings, for several purposes. The little Pokemon's ears moved while he meditated, looking for the Zebstrika's aura in the forest. The process was slow and draining, so Lance was focusing as much as he could on the search.

Lance saw his surroundings in shades of black and blue. He concentrated even further, looking deeper into the dungeon for Zebstrika's aura. In this case, being near Mightyena, the zebra should be easier to find.

Eventually, Lance found him. The Zebstrika was close to three of the wild Pokémon. Lance opened his eyes, falling to his knees and panting. Brian, noticing this, approached his brother with a worried look on his face.

"Before you say anything, I'm fine... I found Marty, come on! We don't have much time!"

The two of them followed the forest inside, and as they approached the location, they smelled blood in the air, which only grew stronger and stronger. Brian shivered, the scent was nauseating to him. Lance, on the other hand, seemed normal.

"I don't think I'd want to spend much time here... We gotta go quick!"

"Imagine losing all your sapience just by… being here. So yes, we need to go."

Brian just gulped. This was their first official mission as a team and he wanted it to be a success. Even more importantly than that, he wanted to keep his brother safe; so he ignored the shivers and kept going.

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The dungeon became rockier. Lance took his time to survey his surroundings as he thought of a plan. As he walked, he could see a few skulls scattered on the floor; likely made by the pack of ferals.

On the ground, they could see the Pokémon they were supposed to rescue, wounded and covered with bite marks. Near him were two of the Mightyena, their teeth stained blood-red. Besides them was another, bulkier Mightyena. The leader of the pack.

One of the Mightyenas growled, licking its teeth. The feral lunged forward, towards Brian.

Lance extended his arm, firing a shot of energy. The Mightyena was sent towards a rocky wall, knocking it out.

Seeing the Force Palm, the pack leader snarled and lunged towards Lance. Behind the boys, another Mightyena lunged at them with fiery fangs.

Brian rammed against the Mightyena with a dark aura surrounding his body before it could hit his brother. Brian backed away, muttering to himself.

"Thanks for using Pursuit, Brian." Lance snapped his fingers, looking at the bulky Mightyena.

"Be careful, Lance!" Brian stood before the other Pokémon, his body glowing in a dark aura again.

The leader of the pack swiped his claws at Lance. Lance tried to block to protect his scar, and was knocked back a few meters. The Mightyena's tail shone a silvery, metallic tone. He swung it at Lance, hitting the Riolu. Lance crashed against the wall and fell down.

"D-Damn…"

He got up, trembling for a bit. The impact was stronger than he thought, but he did his best to ignore the pain. He had a job to do.

Brian, on the other hand, dodged the fierce attacks of the ferals he faced. When he heard his brother hit the wall, he focused on him, worried.

"Lance! Are you... Argh!" he shouted in pain.

One of the Mightyena charged its fangs with electricity, biting the Zorua while he was distracted. Brian, even screaming and in pain, took advantage of this. He copied the Force Palm Lance used, firing a blue energy beam on the Mightyena. The feral hit the ground and fainted.

"I need to finish this…" Lance rubbed the sweat off his forehead. He faced the leader of the pack. His red eyes glowed blue, and his small feelers twitched.

Lance looked up, checking the rocky formation around them, and grinned. The Mightyena growled, running towards Lance.

Let's go, he thought.

Lance fired another beam, but it seemed to miss his opponent. Instead, the attack struck the wall behind the Mightyena. Large pieces of rubble broke off from the formation and began to fall. The Mightyena could barely react, other than desperately trying to avoid the falling rocks.

"Just like I thought," Lance chuckled, firing more beams in quick succession.

The shots hit the rocks mid air, sending them all down on the Mightyena. Unable to dodge them all, the feral leader fainted.

Brian approached his brother, panting, but at least they had won. All that remained was to take Zebstrika back. Lance opened his backpack, taking three Oran Berries and eating one, then throwing another to his brother.

"We're done here." Lance approached the Zebstrika, forcing the last berry down his throat.

Marty opened his eyes slowly, seeing the two strangers. He shook his head as his wounds were beginning to heal.

"Where… am I? Who are you?" he asked the two brothers.

"We are an exploration team. We were hired to rescue you. My name is Lance and this is my brother, Brian." He pointed to Zorua.

"That's right, we knocked out the Mightyenas, but they might wake up soon, we have to go now."

"Oh, thanks..." Marty got up, legs shaking.

The trio then went back through the forest, and the two brothers were alert the whole walk back. Although the pack was defeated, they could still find more enemies in the forest. And, now that a client was with them, it would be even more dangerous.

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Fortunately, the trip back was quiet and they brought the zebra safely to the carriage. Upon noticing the trio, Croagunk's eyes lit up, surprised by the efficiency of the unknown team.

"Marty! You're all right!" Gama ran to help his friend.

"I am... thanks to those two." Marty gave Gama a light smile.

"Ah, our pleasure!" Brian blushed the compliment.

"It's our job. We gave him an Oran Berry, but I hope both of you take more care from now on." Lance spoke.

Lance began to walk off alongside his sibling, when he got pushed back by Gama. Lance's immediate reaction was to back away and growl.

"Boys! You deserve the reward! Where are you going?" Gamma spoke smiling.

"We are going to Bright Dawn! Why?" Brian asked with his eyes shining, already suspecting what the reward would be.

"I think I can speak for my friend and say that we would be happy to take you, but Bright Dawn is a bit far. What do you say we take you to the nearest village, instead? If you go on your way, it will take you a long time to reach your destination," Marty spoke while hitting his hooves on the ground.

"It's okay with me, I always wanted to travel in a carriage," said Lance with a nod.

"Very well boys, but we will have to leave tomorrow. Marty is still hurt, so let's set up a small camp, okay?" Gama asked.

The two boys agreed and went to get wood in the forest. Meanwhile, Gama helped Marty on the ground carefully so as not to open his wounds, and sighed.


At midnight, Lance was asleep leaning against a wooden log. The Zebstrika was lying there with his eyes closed, while Brian was looking at the sky in silence. Gama approached the Zorua, sitting beside him with a smile on his face.

"I wanted to thank you and your brother, but by the looks of it, he's already asleep."

Brian sighed, this kind of conversation could become common if his brother remained emotionally distant.

"Yeah, he doesn't like to talk a lot with anyone, beyond what is necessary. Sometimes I think he only talks to me because we are on the same team..."

"That could be bad for relations with your clients... Sorry to intrude, but can you tell me why he is like this? Or is it just how he is?" Gamma leaned against a log.

Brian looked away, reliving old memories. He then shook the thoughts from his mind.

"I don't like to talk about it," he said. Brian looked away, sighing.

"Well, that's okay. It's good for you to rest, I can tell that the fight you had was intense!"

Brian agreed, yawning and lying on the floor. Gama chuckled a little and moved away from Brian, closing his eyes and trying to sleep. Brian still couldn't fall asleep, his mind was full of what was to come for him and Lance. The challenges they would face, and whether or not he could protect Lance. Eventually, his tiredness overpowered these thoughts, and he drifted off to sleep.

 

[Navarchu]

Dungeon 4 - Thunderstruck: Part 1​

As the morning came, the brothers rode in the carriage they had rescued the other day. Brian looked out the window, watching the local landscape, while Lance read a book in silence.

"We're almost there..." Marty said to the passengers.

"We'll leave you here, this village is called Heavenwind. It's famous for its mountain, and a few explorers go there to check it out," The Croagunk grinned, facing the siblings.

"Oh, I've heard of it! They live near a mountain, and most of the residents are flying Pokémon!" Brian smirked, tail wagging.

"We are not going to climb the mountain..." Lance sighed.

Brian stuck his tongue out at his brother and continued to look through the window. Lance shrugged and went back to reading the book.

The vehicle stopped a few minutes later, allowing them to see the village they had arrived at. Lance kept the book in his backpack and got down from the carriage, stretching. He was soon followed by his brother, who was looking at the new location.

"Thanks, guys, if you need to travel, send us a letter! We are the Zebrunk transportation company," Gama spoke smiling brightly.

"I told him it was a stupid name, but he never listened to me," Marty grumbled, ashamed of his friend.

"I understand, well, we appreciate the service," Lance just agreed and walked out.

"Thank you, gentlemon!" Brian said, leaving right after the Riolu.

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Before long, they found themselves in the village. It wasn't the largest town the brothers had seen, but the buildings were very tall. Flying Pokemon darted through the air from building to building. As they walked, they noticed some villagers on the street, some going to markets, and others just walking. Pidgeotto, Talonflame, and even Braviary populated the town. Further away, they saw part of the mountain, which extended as far as their eyes could view. Lance stopped and pointed to a large, red-colored building.

"It's a hotel. Let's go in and make a reservation," Lance said. "I know you want to explore this village, so you're free to do that after."

Brian jumped, turning into a Pidove and making some chirps; his brother wasn't amused, and simply ignored it.

"I'll see if I can find something to buy for us! And I'll send a letter to Uncle James," Brian grinned. "He deserves to know where we are."

With a sigh, Lance shrugged and kept walking, entering the hotel with his brother. On a chair was a Ledian, snoring and appeared to be on a deep sleep. Lance hit the table of the place, trying to get the insect's attention. The Pokémon woke up, falling from his chair and getting up in a hurry.

"Good morning. I would like to make a reservation here for me and my brother," Lance said pointing to Brian.

"We're Team Liberators!" Brian mentioned as he approached.

"My name is Beet and I'm the manager of this hotel. Hm, are you new? It's been a while since any team visited this village."

"Our team was formed a short time ago," Lance crossed his arms.

"How long will you stay here? We haven't received many visitors lately," Beet took a notebook in a desk drawer with one of his arms, and with another, he took a pen.

"We will stay only for one day. We are going to Bright Dawn and we decided to stop here," Brian spoke calmly, looking at the hotel.

"Bright Dawn? That place receives new Pokémon all the time, it's a good choice." Beet finished writing down their names, and yawned.

Suddenly, the three of them heard a bell ringing loudly. The Ledian looked at the door, making sure no one was around, and spoke to the boys.

"If I were you, I'd stay here. Something bad is about to happen..."

Hearing this, Lance rolled his eyes, heading to the door and opening it slowly.

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Outside, the birds flew to their houses, except for one. A Corviknight just stared at the cave's entrance, as if he was waiting for someone to show up. Then three Pokémon left the entrance, a shiny Luxray, a Luxio, and a Graveler. The trio approached the Flying-Type, who stood firmly in place.

"Mayor Percival, it's very good to see you again," the shiny Luxray said, approaching the bird with a wide, toothy smile.

"I know the reason for your visit Teslan, the money is with me." Percival extended his wing, throwing a few coins on the ground.

The Luxio who accompanied Teslan picked up the coins, putting them in a backpack quietly and distancing himself from the two. The small Pokémon then began to count the money.

"Very good, Virgil," The Luxray said, turning his face to the subordinate.

"So, anything else?" Percival huffed. "Or will you extort more from us?!"

"Boss, the money he gave isn't enough," the Luxio said, showing the money in his backpack.

When Teslan heard this, he turned and growled at the Corviknight. Electricity sparked from his body.

"Do you think you can fool me like that, you worthless bird?" he growled, preparing to attack.

"We don't have enough money!" Percival glared at him. "If you want the rest, you'll have to wait!"

The lion roared, his whole body wrapped in an electric aura, he fired a bolt of lightning at the Corviknight, who cried out in pain, fainting. The Pokémon hiding in their homes left immediately, trying to rescue Percival.

"Hmph," Teslan growled, looking at the villagers. "Listen here! You have two days to bring the rest of the money! Your mayor will be an example of what will happen to anyone who disobeys!"

The three Pokémon left the town and entered the cave in silence. Meanwhile, the commotion from the attack on the mayor increased, and a Tropius helped carry him to the local hospital.

From the hotel, Lance had seen the scene through the door. He gnashed his teeth and clenched his fists. His brother was also agitated, looking to the floor and thinking about what to do.

"So... has this become routine for you?!" Lance asked Ledian, his anger evident in his voice.

"Hey, calm down kid! We don't like it, but we're used to it! I wouldn't pick a fight with them if I were you!" Beet crossed his four arms, looking seriously at Lance.

"W-What about the police?!" Brain asked, lowering his ears. "Won't they do anything?"

"Are you kidding me, kid?" The Ledian screamed at Brian, staring at him. "If we tried, we would either be fried or get lynched with rocks!"

"It doesn't matter! You are being oppressed and your plan is just to let it happen?! Not with me here! I'll fix it! Tell the mayor of this village that these Pokemon will no longer be disturbed!"

As he said that, Lance ran out of the hotel, a determined expression on his face. Brian ran behind him, worried about Lance and also angry about the situation.

"Lance!"

"If you're not going to help, at least don't get in the way," Lance said, turning his face to his brother.

The two stopped running at the base of the mountain. Lance crossed his arms, thinking about the strategy they would use to face this new enemy. His brother, a little scared by the Riolu's attitude, followed him in silence. In front of them was a cave entrance, where they entered in silence.

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The cave, as expected, was rocky. Strangely, parts of it seemed to be flooded, with water pooling in certain areas. Zubat hung sleepily from the cavern's ceiling.

"Impressive..." Brian spoke to himself.

"We have to concentrate Brian! Focus!" Lance kept running. His heart raced as he ran without looking back, focusing solely on finding the feline flock.

Lance's tunnel vision was enough for him to not notice the blow that came his way. A huge rock collided with him, spinning fast. He hit the wall hard, falling to the ground and struggling to breathe.

"LANCE!" his brother screamed, looking for who had done it.

The Graveler appeared, smirking as he cracked his rocky knuckles and stared at the two explorers.

"It's the one from before!" Brian spoke in a low tone, analyzing the situation.

"You're not from around here, right? I imagine you've seen our "show" from earlier. I'm the guard of the gang and my job is to stop you from finding the boss!" the rocky Pokémon said, still keeping his smirk.

"You know... I'm gonna love to break that stupid head of yours," Lance said, getting up despite his legs trembling. He took one Oran Berry from his bag and ate it.

Brian grinned; he ran as fast as he could, throwing himself into the Graveler's body, the fox's own covered in dark aura.

This didn't work, however. The Rock-type laughed as he grabbed Brian with his hand, squeezing him tight.

"If you want him alive, you two will leave this place and never come back!"

Raising his eyes, Lance gave a loud laugh, holding himself to the wall. The Graveler blinked, growling at Lance. He crushed Brian's body even more, to the point it was possible to hear the Zorua's bones beginning to snap.

"I'm serious! He's going to die!"

"He's not going to turn into a ghost... although sometimes he can attack like one..."

Brian blinked his eyes, understanding Lance's message. He opened his mouth and shot a black ball at Graveler, who dropped the Zorua on the ground. Brian panted even being released, he still felt his body sore from the pressure.

Graveler moved away, his rocky body had a small crack where the blow had hit. He curled up like a ball and threw himself at Lance

"Hm. Rollout?"

Lance fired an energy beam at the rocky mon, sending him across the area and knocking him out.

Brian, with all the strength he had, wobbled towards his brother. He was relieved to see him okay, but that relief soon turned into frustration.

"What the hell was that? I almost died! If I hadn't understood your message, I would have!" he growled at Lance.

"It was all planned, relax, I won't let you die and... here... you need it more than I do..." Lance took an Oran Berry from his backpack and gave it to the fox.

Hesitantly, Brian ate the fruit, feeling his strength returning little by little. He helped his brother up and the two looked at their fainted opponent.

"We have no time to waste..." Lance was serious, walking deeper into the cave.

His brother limped after him while his wounds healed. They continued along the path of the cave. As there were no more Oran Berries, they would have to be more careful. The path was getting rougher, and the corridors narrower as they walked.

Even so, they had to continue. The mission they were on was not official, but they needed to succeed. The birds that lived in this village did not deserve to live in fear, so the team pushed forward, determined to help those villagers.

 

[Navarchu]

Dungeon 5 - Thunderstruck: Part 2​

The brothers continued on their mission through the cave. Lance ran forward with a serious look, his breaths short and fast. Brain followed behind, an apprehensive look on his face.. The tunnel they dashed through was illuminated only by a light at the end.

"We have to be careful not to be like Bouffalant at the end of that corridor," Brian said in an attempt to break the ice.

"Brian! We are on a serious mission! We don't have time to crack jokes!" his brother snapped, turning to face the Zorua.

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​

As they approached the end of the tunnel, they could hear voices ahead. . The brothers stopped to catch their breath and listen in on their enemies.

"You left them in a very precarious situation!" one of the Pokémon said smugly.

"Well, that's what those useless birds deserve." the yellow Luxray said, eating a piece of unknown meat.

"They're not useless..." The newest voice belonged to Lance. The boy approached the cat burrow, his brother tailing behind.

When they heard the Riolu, the Pokemon turned around, seeing the little blue canine. Teslan stood up, analyzing the teenager.

"You two... you're not from around here, right?" he said flatly, thinking about what he was going to do.

"We are Team Liberators!" Brian said, taking one step forward. "And there's no way we'll just watch what you do to those villagers!"

The two brothers were suddenly surrounded by several felines, Pokemon called Shinx. The leader laughed; he was clearly having fun with the situation.

"Tell me... when did you graduate from the guild? How old are you? Children like you should be at home..."

Lance closed his eyes for a moment, ignoring the comment he had received, and opened them, staring at Luxray.

"From what I could see, you are an idiot who thinks you can command others based on your strength... the type of guy I hate the most!"

"What do you think you can do, kid?! You may have passed our guard, but know that I'm not kidding!" he growled, his body shining in a yellow tone.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about... but I'm willing to make a deal with you and your gang. Face me, only me, and if you win, you can do whatever you want with me and my brother," he pointed to the Zorua.

"Hey, Lance! What are you talking about? Do you want to face this guy alone?! There's no way I'm letting you do this!" the small fox rolled his eyes, protesting against the idea.

Seeing what the boy said, Teslan laughed until tears came out of his eyes, which he wiped with his paw. He then looked down, still laughing, and then turned his eyes to Lance.

"Are you serious, kid? Do you think you can beat me in combat?"

"You're pathetic, why use brawn when you can simply use your brain?" he pointed to his head.

Brian opened his mouth to protest but was barred by two Shinx who put themselves in front of him, blocking his way. Lance looked back, slowly tilting his head, as if he wanted his brother to understand. The Zorua then stopped moving, deciding to pay attention to the fight.

"Okay, kid! If you wanna die so badly, who am I to deny you that?!"" the Luxray stepped into fighting position, staring at Lance with a murderous look.

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The two were 5 meters apart and remained a few moments in silence. The challenger put his backpack on the ground, taking out an item and enclosing it in his fist. The tension in the cave was immense; they could attack each other at any time, but it seemed that each competitor was waiting for an opportunity to start the fight. Then, suddenly, the lion fired an electrical discharge in the area, causing a huge flash. The spectating Pokémon instinctively covered their eyes. Lance, as he opened his eyes, noticed that the color of the burrow had changed to yellowish tones.

"Electric Terrain," Lance backed away and took a look around.

"Exactly... now, let's go!" Teslan roared, his body enveloped by an electric aura as he charged, ramming his body against Lance.

The Riolu hit the wall, falling on his face, and felt the air leave his lungs. On the opposite side, Teslan had paced the cave, shaking his head; his Wild Charge had resulted in recoil damage. Brian just watched, thinking about what he could do.

Lance stood up, spitting out a little blood and wiping his face with his hand. Then he ran, crossing his arms in an "X" shape, and leapt. Teslan saw that and immediately picked up his pacet, his body barely being able to be seen at such speed, hitting Riolu with his head before he could be hit by the Cross Chop.

Lance smiled as the lion hit him, throwing the item he had been concealing in his hand. It created an explosion upon reaching its target, throwing the combatants away from each other.

"Lance!" Brian shouted, trying to run to help his teammate, but he was held by the Shinx.

On the other side, the Luxray got up, panting, breathing in the scent of his burned fur. He growled with rage, furious that he had been deceived by a small child.

"Blast Seed. Who would have thought you had such a thing, huh, kid?!"

Lance stood up, his body visibly bruised, blood starting to flow from his chest. However, he remained standing, determined to end the fight.

His brother had an idea. Brian moved away from the Shinx and concentrated, using his illusionary ability to camouflage himself as one of the members of Teslan's pack.

"You did well, kiddo. But… Time to finish this!" he said, advancing against the child.

As he walked, he felt a blow to his back, making him stumble and fall face down on the ground. Getting up, he looked back and saw a Shinx staring at him. The feline had on his tail a small tuft of red hair.

"What the **** are you doing?!" The Luxray growled.

Wait... that's... Lance thought as he took a deep breath. He had to trust his brother so they could do the job. After all, they were a team.

And part of the trust was going to be tested now. Lance gathered all the strength he had in his body and ran, ignoring the wounds and the pain he felt in his bones. He capitalized on his brother's distraction, raising a fist. He punched Teslan's back, blue energy pouring from his hand.

Lance released that energy in the form of a beam, hitting the Luxray with full force and throwing him in Brian's direction.

Seeing this, Brian jumped, opening his mouth and shooting a shadow sphere at Teslan.

The Luxray hit the ground with a bang, unconscious upon impact. Lance fell to his knees and his breathing accelerated; he was losing blood. Brian ran to rescue his brother, looking around.

The Shinx ran outside; without their leader, they didn't know what to do. The Zorua ignored the felines and dug through his backpack, taking some strips to wrap around Lance's wound. Teslan would wake up eventually, but the priority at the moment was to stabilize his sibling.

Placing his brother's arm around his body, the Zorua started to walk out of the cave. He had to be fast, or his brother would die. Without looking back, the boys left the cave.

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Outside, the Ledian spotted them both and, realizing Lance was hurt, ran to take them to the local hospital. Arriving there, the Riolu was put to bed. Brian remained outside, pacing in panic.

"He's not going to die... he's not going to die..." he repeated the sentence to himself, walking in circles, time seemed to stand still while he waited.

Finally, after what to him seemed to be hours, a Doduo appeared at his side. One of its heads was smiling, while the other had a frown.

"Your brother is stable," one of the Doduo's heads said to the boy.

"He should recover completely in a few days," the other head spoke.

Listening to what the doctor said, Brian gave a broad smile, wagging his tail. He gave a long sigh, relieved that his brother was well.

"Thanks, doctor... doctors..." he said, lying down.

"You can visit him soon, and... we'd like to thank you for standing up to that gang..."

"Ah! The gang! Quick, can you give me a paper?! And pen made for quadruped Pokemon! I need to send a letter to Thornwell, my hometown, as soon as possible!"

"T-The post office is that way!" he pointed using his head. "But boy! You are also hurt, you need to go to the hospital! I'll warn the mailman!"

Reluctantly, Brian accepted and entered the office, being attended by some of the birds. Team Liberators had managed to remove the gang from the lives of these villagers, but at the moment, they could only think about their physical recovery and the next step in their journey.

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Alright, uploading a tranche of reviews as part of a mix of offsite review tag and making good on some words I mentioned in the past about cross-site reviewing. So here we go with a review of Chapters 1-4 of Liberators of Fate. The first two chapters' reviews are a bit old hat to you, as is the caveat that I didn't see your note about the first 20 chapters when originally writing it up.

Something I will throw in as a new thing for your chapters in general is that you might find it handy to use the onsite line break syntax to give you story more consistency with the other versions that you host. You can create them on here on Serebii by adding [ HR ]-[ /HR ] with the spaces removed (it works with any character in between the brackets, just be aware it automatically adds a newline on this site).

Though enough boilerplate, let's get right into the real reason why I'm here.

Chapter 1

Across the void, he could see two red eyes, staring at him. The figure opened its mouth and showed sharp teeth, giving another laugh.

"Stop, please, I-" The Riolu stammered, feeling a sharp pain in his chest.

"What are you going to do now, Number 10?" it said, smirking with its teeth. "You think running away will get rid of what happened?"

Something about the presence's speech tag feels a little dry, also given that "teeth" was used just two paragraphs ago, it might make sense to drop in a synonym. One throwaway suggestion I can think of is something along the lines of "it sneered, flashing its fangs with a cruel smirk." But there's multiple ways of handling it, and it doesn't strictly need to be that.

Riolu: "N-Number 10? R-Running away? What is-?"

"A-AH! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" He fell to the ground, blood leaking from his torso.

Ignoring the pleas, the creature started to multiply, as multiple sets of eyeballs materialized themselves around the pitch-black place and a laugh echoed across the void, getting louder and louder until...

IMO things kinda skip a beat here from the prior segment given that it's immediately sequential. It might have merited showing Number 10 react a bit more and his nerves fail as he realizes "Oh. Oh crap, I'm bleeding." is the reason why his chest hurts so much.

He was inside a bedroom, on the top of a bunk bed, safe from whatever was plaguing his dreams. The Riolu breathed deeply, coming down to the floor. In his room, he could see two tables, the first one contained a few books, tagged at specific pages. The Riolu stared at a corner, seeing a mirror.

"Lance, you're fine," he said, trying to convince himself. Gazing at his reflection, Lance put his paw on his chest. "It was just another nightmare."

On the Riolu's chest was a claw-like scar, so deeply ingrained that anyone could see it. Pondering for a few seconds about the nightmare, Lance noticed a bag on the floor. Moving his ears, the boy put it on, leaving the room by the door.

Is the scar supposed to look like the one from the cover art? If so, it might have made sense to be a bit more descriptive of his scar. e.x. something along the lines of:

On the Riolu's chest were three parallel streaks that formed a claw-like scar, each cutting so deep that anyone could clearly see it against his pelt.

- Lance catches his breath and tries to compose himself -
Lance: "D-Deep breaths Lance, in and out. It was just a dream dreams can't hurt you."
- Beat moment -
Lance: "U-Unless if was literally Nightmare, but that doesn't count."

Lance descended the stairs to his living room, glancing around for any sign of his brother. The well-worn sofa in the corner was empty, the bookshelf beside it was neatly organized. Leave it to Brian to organize their bookshelf before he left. A radio in the center of the room sat untouched, covered in a layer of dust. It had been a gift from his Uncle James, but it ended up unused. Books had always interested him more than fancy technology.

"Brian must have already left," His stomach rumbled, reminding him of how hungry he was, so he made a beeline for the kitchen.

The kitchen had a table for five Pokémon and a fireplace in the back, wood already placed. Lance went to a corner, opening a refrigerator. After a moment of deliberation, he took an apple and ate it in silence. After finishing it, the Riolu then left the house, a stern look on his face.

Aha, so we're in a higher-tech setting kinda like Path of Valor. Well, with less clothes, apparently. :V

Outside, the city seemed to be thriving, as most of the villagers were going about their daily jobs. The Riolu lived on a busy street, as there were several storefronts. One of the first was a market, where two Kecleon were talking to customers. Next, a black edifice with a line formed at the entrance, containing a Machop, a Meowth, and a couple of Wurmple. The weather was calm, with a light breeze filling the town.

"Man, the bank is full today," Lance sighed and looked up, on the distance he could see a large building, shaped like the letter H. Pinned to it was a large sign which read: Exploration Guild Hero. "Brian's probably at the guild, but it doesn't matter. I need to take time for myself." Shrugging, he walked to the left, towards a beach.

If you ever revisit this chapter, you might want to spend some time expanding on the description of what exactly the buildings roughly look like and features of the surrounding environment. (For example, would Lance catch the smell of salt air given that he apparently lives in walking distance of a beach?) I assume from the H-shaped building in the distance, that they don't look like bog-standard PMD houses, though it's admittedly a bit hard to get a read on a specific vision just yet.

The Hero guild was famous for being a subdivision of a legendary team of the same name. Its leaders were four Pokémon: Shiron, Nick, Yukino, and James. Due to a high demand mission, James stayed in the guild to take care of the administration and recruitment of new members, while his companions went to perform the task in a distant continent.

Oh, so that's why it's 'H'-shaped. Though I'm not fully sure what exactly meant by 'high demand mission'. If it's saying that the rest of Team Hero is constantly in-demand for missions, I'd phrase it as something like "Due to his companions being in high demand for missions". Assuming that I read the intended meaning there right anyways.

James was in his office, looking at the village through the window, taking an ice cream made with an Oran Berry. The Typhlosion turned around, sitting at his desk and looking at the papers of the newly graduated team, Team Liberators. The team contained only two members at the moment, but both were already known to James: Brian and Lance were the sons of one of his companions.

"I hope they do a good job..." James mumbled to himself, licking the candy in his hand.

A bit nitpicking, but ice cream generally isn't considered 'candy' in the Anglosphere. You probably want something like a more general 'treat' or 'dessert'. Though do Oran Berries have healing properties in this setting? If so, can one get medicinal effects from that Oran Berry ice cream cone there? o3o

"If you have an appointment, you can come in!" said James, waiting for the mysterious visitor. The door opened and a Zorua ran inside the office, a toothy grin on his face. "Good morning, Uncle James!"'

"It's a huge coincidence, I was just looking at your team file. I must congratulate you, you graduated so fast!" James said with a smile, getting down on his knees and extending his hand to the little Pokémon.

Would make the additions in bold. Additionally, I think James' line might have benefitted from one or two sentences showing his reaction to the Zorua who I presume is Brian bursting in, since A: the text frames things as a bit of a surprise for James, B: it's your first chance to the audience to hint at what sort of relationship the two have (even if it becomes obvious that it's pretty warm by the end of James' first line).

"So, what are you doing here? Have you found your first mission?"

"Lance and I are leaving. I woke up early, so I decided to say goodbye!" He gave a faint laugh.

"Hoho, I see!" James chuckled, "And where are you two going?"

"We'll be going to Bright Dawn, the biggest city on Eutrios!" Brian said, transforming himself into a Metang. "It's gonna be so fun, we'll work by ourselves!" he shape-shifted again, becoming a Machamp, flexing his muscles.

"You're excited about this, aren't you?" James clapped at the show.

"Yes, yes! Lance is…" he went back to normal, ears drooping. "He's as neutral as usual, I guess."

I think that this segment is one that would've benefitted from throwing in like two paragraphs that aren't dialogue to describe body language and maybe James' or Brian's thought process. Since just this part's a pretty solid stretch of dialogue with nothing intervening in between.

James: "... 'Neutral'?"
- Brian shuffles uneasily -
Brian: "Er... well, yeah. That's the nicest way of putting it, at least."

"The truth is, he was never the same." Brian shook his head sadly. "But I'm trying to help, so I'm leaving with him."

"It's not good to dwell on the past, but I understand that point of view. I don't think your father will be very happy with this decision, especially considering you're both only sixteen." James scratched his chin.

Oh boy, so that nightmare actually happened to Lance in the past. Yeah, I can see why he wouldn't be so gung-ho, since close calls have a way of sticking with people.

Brian: "Uh... you're not gonna keep me from leaving with Lance, are you Uncle James?"

James: "It'd be an awfully short story if I did, so..."

"I think I came to ask a favor too. Listen, if Dad comes back while we're traveling, let him know what we did, ok? I'll try to convince my brother to come back here for visits as soon as possible, but it might be hard to convince that dork..."

James laughed a little, rubbing his hand on little Zorua's head.

"All right, I can do that. And good luck to you both, you'll need it. As your uncle, I worry; be careful, okay? I know your brother trained for so long, but it's never too much."

Brian just nodded and left the room running. That was the decisive moment: if they were going to leave, it had to be now. And so he did. The boy ran and ran, the village's exit was right in front of him and with it, his and his brother's future.

Brian: "Uncle James sure was supportive of an idea he was convinced dad wouldn't like."
- Beat moment -
Brian: "What am I doing? This is my lucky break here! I've gotta get Lance and get going while the iron's still hot!"

Meanwhile, Lance walked around the town's beach, contemplating the ocean's waves that were splashing his feet. Far away, a few Lapras swam on the waves. He needed that moment, away from all problems and distractions. To forget what made the nightmares begin.

"I'm not Number 10 anymore," he snarled, clenching his fist. "And I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna make the world a better place so that nothing like that happens again."

Determined to fulfill that promise, the Riolu took a deep breath, wrapping a gray bandana around his head, and then walked away to meet his sibling.

Might make sense to add some clarification/hint as to who the promise was. e.x. if it was to himself, to Brian, or to some to be revealed past figure.

Lance: "I... uh... I'm not really sure what that's gonna entail right here and now, but I'm sure I can work that out with Brian!"

Brian was waiting for his brother in front of the town’s welcome sign. He was ready to go, with a backpack on and goggles around his neck. He was thoughtful, but was sure that his decision was the best he could have made. Turning his head, he saw his brother approaching and waved to him.

Aha, I see Brian made sure to pack protagonist attire there. :V

"Lance! Our journey starts now, right?! Let's do it!" the Zorua wagged his tail as he waited for the Riou to approach.

"Yes... our journey begins now. Goodbye, Thornwell." Lance looked at the sign, a certain melancholy in his eyes. He then began to walk without even looking back.

Brian looked at the sign next to his brother, and at the village where they grew up. After hesitating for an instant, he shook his head, ignoring the thought and following his brother in silence.

- Beat moment -
Brian: "Wait a minute, isn't this the end of the chapter as we're leaving town? Why are we just now bringing up its name?"
Lance: "I mean, we live here. It's not as if we'd be constantly thinking about it. Everything here's normal to us."
Brian: "Still, you'd think one of us would've thought about it while waxing poetic about this place and how we're about to leave it or something."
Lance: "Meh. Don't sweat it too much, we've got an adventure to kick off."

"Dad will probably take a while to arrive, his team's mission seems to be dangerous... do you think he will come back in one piece?" he said, staring at the Riolu.

"He is perfectly capable of taking care of himself." Lance just shrugged. "He and his teammates are strong Pokémon, I wouldn't worry too much about that if I were you."

Lance: "Also, he's on Team Hero, Brian. I'm pretty sure they go on dangerous missions all the time as part of their job." >_>;
Brian: "Hey, I'm allowed to get a bit worried, alright?"

"Hehe, very well brother! We're gonna do it, right?!" Brain laughed, staring at the horizon. "We're gonna make our own destiny!"

To that, Lance gave a faint smile. The two did not know what the future would bring for them, but they were sure that the journey ahead would bring conquests and challenges for them both. And so, they left the place where it all began, prepared for whatever would happen next.

Brian: "Why, we'll liberate our fates, even!"
- Beat moment -
Lance: "That title drop was just painful. Let's just move onto the next chapter and never speak of that again."
Brian: "Oh come on, Lance! It wasn't that bad! Lighten up a little!" >.<

Chapter 2

In the middle of the night, a Druddigon ran through the streets, blood dripping from his arms as his heart palpitated. The Pokémon looked back to make sure there was no one following him before he stopped in an alley. Panting, he leaned against the wall, grumbling to himself about the situation he was in.

Ah yes, perfect time to leave Thornwell. Right before an injured resident gets pursued through the streets by an unseen assailant. Maybe. Probably. Assuming this is still Thornwell.

Suddenly, the Pokémon heard something crawling. Desperate, he opened his mouth, filling it with flames. He was prepared to attack whatever was chasing him.

"Whoever you are, I can make it up to you!" The reptile screamed, trembling with fear, looking around. "My job gave me a lot of money! I can give twice as much as your contractor promised! No... I'll give you triple! Please don't kill me!" He yelled, trying to reason with whoever was there.

Gee, at that rate, you might as well have gone "I-I'm a dragon, I'll give you my treasure!" there, Druddigon. :V

"Well, I could spare you, but... our team doesn't like to leave a job unfinished." He heard a voice, but he couldn't see anyone.

"T… team?! Who do you think you are?! I am Razor! I will be the next mayor of Bright Dawn! You don't know who you are messing with..."

Suddenly, a pink blade appeared in the air, produced by psychic powers, and hit the Druddigon's chest. The dragon, shocked by the blow, fell to the ground, his chest leaking with blood.

Whelp.

Nice knowing you, dodgy Druddigon.

"Who... are you?" Razor trembled, barely able to stand up.

"The Heart of Steel Crew carefully chooses its targets... my name is Flint. Not that it matters." The owner of the voice spoke, coming out of the shadows and revealing himself.

Razor raised his head with the little strength he had left, looking at who had attacked him. The Pokémon in front of the politician was a humanoid being; his head was round and red and black colored, similar to a war helmet. A golden blade was fixed to his helmet, and only his eyes were visible through a gap on the front of it. The attacker's stomach was well defined, with two blades that made his abdomen look like a ribcage.

"Mercenaries... I've heard of you, all your members are Steel-type and do dirty jobs..."

Razor: "Also why on earth would you tell me this? Especially your name? How's that not a massive violation of operational security?"
Flint: "Bold of you to think that you're going to live to pass it along to anyone else."
Razor:

"Well, Psycho Cut is a move that has more chances to do critical damage... dragons may be powerful, but none are invincible," Flint said, smirking.

"Please... spare my life... I will reward you and your companions any way you want..."

"If you were talking with another companion of mine, maybe he would accept your proposal... But unfortunately for you, that's not the case for me."

- Cue knife shing SFX -
Flint: "After all, I've got a reputation to uphold."

Also

for real for Razor.

In another area of the city was a bar. The place was crawled with different Pokémon, and some of them were talking amongst each other, others were looking at a mission board. Unlike guilds, however, this place was used by mercenaries who wished to find jobs. Inside the pub, an Empoleon and Aggron were talking between sips of the beer.

"Napoleon! You know I couldn't have sent you on this mission, you can't see a coin without wanting it!" The white Pokémon spoke with a laugh, looking at his companion.

"And you, Atlas, are too scared... This is a unique opportunity! To end the competition for the mayor of this city!" The Empoleon grumbled, drinking some more of the beer.

>Empoleon called Napoleon
>Aggron called Atlas

A little on the nose there, aren't we?

Though the names do fit with their species archetypes, so I won't judge there. (Aside from the fact that Aggron's body is more primarily a slate/dark gray color.)

"Flint is stealthy and effective, he will fulfill the task to perfection. Next time I'll let you go after our target..." Atlas said while placing the glass on the table.

"Whatever, the mayor paid us a huge amount of money..."

So just how tenuous is this mayor's hold on power for him to need to turn to contracting assassins to knock off electoral rivals for leadership of a city? o3o;;

Unless Bright Dawn is some sort of giant, strategically important place where becoming mayor sets you up for a glide path onto bigger fish to fry. That'd also be an option since I can think of a few IRL cities where the stakes of power are such that I wouldn't be terribly shocked to hear of mayors and mayoral candidates attempting to knock each other off.

"And is he wrong by any chance?" Flint shrugged. "Anyway, Razor's dead, it was an easy job. Please, next time I go, get me a more challenging mission than that."

Atlas finished drinking before opening his backpack and throwing some coins onto the table. After that, he got up, facing his companions.

"Well, I'll take your two requests into consideration." The big reptile spoke to them.

"Understood, chief. " The penguin said with a laugh, waving to the Aggron as he left the establishment.

Huh. Somehow I didn't peg that Atlas was the leader figure out of these three from their past interactions. Guess he's not the type to really stand on ceremony about his rank. Also, my judgement might be just a little tainted here by my own shifty Aggron who absolutely would not be able to pull off this sort of interaction outside of his daydreams and with significantly weaker peons. :V

The Bisharp made his way towards the city hall building, walking through the dark parts of the city and looking at the other residents. Due to the time, few Pokémon were out of their homes, and those who were out were in bars, so there wouldn't be many witnesses. If the police investigated, Flint would be safe.

"Well, if anything, I can blame that fat Empoleon." He muttered to himself.

Lovely teammate there. I'd heard of 'no honor among thieves' before, though I see that assassins aren't much better in this setting. o3o;;

Flint opened the door, entering the office. The place was wide, having a painting of the mayor on the wall. The mayor, an Alakazam, was simply staring at the Bisharp with a neutral expression, rubbing his mustache. He held a glass of wine in his hand.

"Mayor Prometheus. As you requested, the job is done." The Bisharp said, his face blank.

"Very well... I assume there are no witnesses?" The Alakazam commented, taking some more of the drink.

A little surprised Prometheus isn't shaking that wine glass telekinetically as a flex, but good old-fashioned haptic grasping is probably a bit more reliable anyways.

Flint: "Mrph. My track record speaks for itself, Prometheus. Do I look like the sort of 'mon that'd leave a witness?"
- Prometheus says nothing and shakes his wine glass a bit -
Prometheus: "... Fair counterpoint."

"I threw his body in the sewers and there are not many Pokémon out in town." He nodded. "Well, except the mercenaries in that bar."

"Right... I thank you for the job well done, I see that I can count on you if needed." The mayor put the glass on the table, opened a drawer, and took out a closed envelope.

"Of course you can. If you wish to use our services, we will always be at your disposal." He answered. "Well, our boss is a little paranoid, but I'm sure I can convince him."

Prometheus: "... Though how did you manage the sewer disposal when Razor weighed twice as much as you do?"
Flint: "... Trade secret. It was a bit of work, but nothing I haven't dealt with before."

Flint then approached the table, taking the envelope and putting it in his backpack. He eyed his client.

"If you want to hire us again, you know where to find us." At that, the Bisharp left, going on his way.

Is that bar they like hanging around that well-known? :V

Chapter 3

Two Pokémon walked along a road, flanked by a large forest filled with thick trees on both sides. It was dark, and the only light source was the moon, shining in the sky. One of them, a Riolu, was checking a map, grumbling to himself. The other one, a Zorua, stared at him.

"Lance... you have no idea where we're going, do you?" the Zorua said.

"We're going the fastest way. As I said before, Brian, I have a plan..." Lance said with a stoic look on his face.

I like how Lance didn't answer the question. :V

"I've heard you say that so many times!" he grumbled. "Is this the right way to Bright Dawn?"

>going to the city with the active underworld and mayor that's been very active lately rubbing out political rivals

Totally won't end disastrously, totally.

"As you can see, it's gonna take a while," Lance shrugged. "At least by foot."

Brian smirked, turning into a Torkoal, walking slowly. "We're... gonna... take... so long... to get there..."

Lance grumbled and ignored his brother's antics.

Lance: "Hey, if your illusions are that good, can't you turn yourself into a Dragonite or something so that we can get to-?" >_>;
Brian:

"You know, we left the village two days ago, and you hardly said anything the whole trip..." Brian commented while walking, now back to normal.

"I don't like to talk and you know it," was all the Riolu said.

Brian: "... So what do you call that entire past scene?!" >_>;
Lance: "An exception."

"Good night, sir... what happened here?" Lance asked, approaching the group.

"A carriage... I never saw one in our village!" Brian said soon after, arriving after his brother. He looked at the vehicle, seeing some Pokémon with the shape of a gear where the wheels were.

"Thank you for admiring our vehicle, but we are not in a very good situation," the Croagunk said, clearing his throat.

Surprised the Croagunk took things that in-stride instead of being crabbier about the two Explorer kids' first reaction to be to gawk at his crashed ride.

"I'm Gama. We were driving along the road with Marty, the Zebstrika driving the carriage. Out of nowhere, we were attacked by a gang of Mightyena! They were crazy, caught Marty, and ran with him into the forest! I barely had time to react, I could only protect the little Klink!"

Brian: "... I'm sorry, but how did the Mightyena manage to chase off the Zebstrika and just ignore you?" .-.
Gama: "To be fair, we Croagunk are poison dart frogs. Don't really want to be biting or nipping at us."
Lance: "And you didn't take advantage of that to shield this 'Marty' why?" -_-;
Gama: "Look, I'm one 'mon. What do you expect me to do against an entire pack?"

"I understand... those Mightyena must be wild," the Riolu scratched his chin, thoughtful. "Some scholars say that Pokémon lose their rationality if they stay too long in Dungeons."

"We have to go to… Dusk Woods, right?" Brian asked, gulping.

"Yeah…" Lance nodded, looking at the Croagunk and soon both entered the place.

Brian: "... Speaking of which, where is Dusk Woods? Since I don't think the narration really gave any hints as to where it was relative to us."
Lance: "Uh... let's try looking at a map?"

Brian noticed the eeriness the dungeon had. The trees looked almost dead, someone could destroy them with a punch, and a heavy fog only served to amplify that eeriness. He could even see one of the trees distorted, probably due to the nature of mystery dungeons. Looking for someone here would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Despite that, the team pushed on. Sometimes they fought one or two feral Pokémon, but overall, it was a calm trip.

Brian: "You know, it would've been really handy to show off that map more." >_>;
Lance: "Hey, I can only do so much with what canon gives us to work with. Plus is it really the end of the world to just cut to the chase with the first Mystery Dungeon in the story?"

The Zorua stood in a combat position, attentive to every movement around then as his brother focused on his meditation. Riolu and its evolution, Lucario, were famous for being able to manipulate aura, a type of energy present in living beings, for several purposes. The little Pokemon's ears moved while he meditated, looking for the Zebstrika's aura in the forest. The process was slow and draining, so Lance was focusing as much as he could on the search.

Brian: "Wait, how do you even know what Marty's aura would feel like?"
Lance: "I assume it'd be the one that feels like an obviously terrified Zebstrika? They're not exactly woodland Pokémon, you know."

Lance saw his surroundings in shades of black and blue. He concentrated even further, looking deeper into the dungeon for Zebstrika's aura. In this case, being near Mightyena, the zebra should be easier to find.

Eventually, Lance found him. The Zebstrika was close to three of the wild Pokémon. Lance opened his eyes, falling to his knees and panting. Brian, noticing this, approached his brother with a worried look on his face.

Lance: "See? Told ya."
Brian: "Yeah, yeah, you made your point. Come on."

"Before you say anything, I'm fine... I found Marty, come on! We don't have much time!"

The two of them followed the forest inside, and as they approached the location, they smelled blood in the air, which only grew stronger and stronger. Brian shivered, the scent was nauseating to him. Lance, on the other hand, seemed normal.

Brian: "U-Uh... that's not Marty's blood we're smelling, is it?"

Lance: "Doubt it, but if we keep dawdling, it probably will be soon enough!"

"I don't think I'd want to spend much time here... We gotta go quick!"

"Imagine losing all your sapience just by… being here. So yes, we need to go."

Brian just gulped. This was their first official mission as a team and he wanted it to be a success. Even more importantly than that, he wanted to keep his brother safe; so he ignored the shivers and kept going.

Brian: "Gee, no pressure there." ._.

The dungeon became rockier. Lance took his time to survey his surroundings as he thought of a plan. As he walked, he could see a few skulls scattered on the floor; likely made by the pack of ferals.

On the ground, they could see the Pokémon they were supposed to rescue, wounded and covered with bite marks. Near him were two of the Mightyena, their teeth stained blood-red. Besides them was another, bulkier Mightyena. The leader of the pack.

Brian: "U-Urk... so that was Marty's blood we were smelling-"

Lance: "More like we're smelling it now. Come on, he's still alive! ... I think."

One of the Mightyenas growled, licking its teeth. The feral lunged forward, towards Brian.

Lance extended his arm, firing a shot of energy. The Mightyena was sent towards a rocky wall, knocking it out.

Seeing the Force Palm, the pack leader snarled and lunged towards Lance. Behind the boys, another Mightyena lunged at them with fiery fangs.

Brian: "Y-You know, for guys who aren't supposed to be sapient, these guys are sure putting up a stiff fight."

Lance: "I think that's more our underleveling making things hard here."

"Be careful, Lance!" Brian stood before the other Pokémon, his body glowing in a dark aura again.

The leader of the pack swiped his claws at Lance. Lance tried to block to protect his scar, and was knocked back a few meters. The Mightyena's tail shone a silvery, metallic tone. He swung it at Lance, hitting the Riolu. Lance crashed against the wall and fell down.

"D-Damn…"

Lance: "O-Ow. Okay, maybe they are fighting better than I expected." @.@

Lance fired another beam, but it seemed to miss his opponent. Instead, the attack struck the wall behind the Mightyena. Large pieces of rubble broke off from the formation and began to fall. The Mightyena could barely react, other than desperately trying to avoid the falling rocks.

"Just like I thought," Lance chuckled, firing more beams in quick succession.

The shots hit the rocks mid air, sending them all down on the Mightyena. Unable to dodge them all, the feral leader fainted.

Lance: "That was way too close."
Brian: "Uh... Lance? Not to undercut your moment, but maybe we should do something about the Zebstrika that's a bloody mess on the ground right now."

Brian approached his brother, panting, but at least they had won. All that remained was to take Zebstrika back. Lance opened his backpack, taking three Oran Berries and eating one, then throwing another to his brother.

"We're done here." Lance approached the Zebstrika, forcing the last berry down his throat.

Marty opened his eyes slowly, seeing the two strangers. He shook his head as his wounds were beginning to heal.

Brian: "Boy are we lucky not to live in a setting where Oran Berries are basically just painkillers. Marty really got torn up there."
Marty: "Torn up? Just what do you mean by-?"
- Marty looks over at the fainted Mightyena who all have visibly bloody snouts, with some extra red matter lying about the ground for good measure -
Marty: "U-Uhm..." O_O;
Lance: "Look, have your nightmares after we get to you safety, okay?"

"That's right, we knocked out the Mightyenas, but they might wake up soon, we have to go now."

"Oh, thanks..." Marty got up, legs shaking.

The trio then went back through the forest, and the two brothers were alert the whole walk back. Although the pack was defeated, they could still find more enemies in the forest. And, now that a client was with them, it would be even more dangerous

Lance: "Oh come on, the story's not seriously going to make us go through another one of those gauntlets again, is it?"

Fortunately, the trip back was quiet and they brought the zebra safely to the carriage. Upon noticing the trio, Croagunk's eyes lit up, surprised by the efficiency of the unknown team.

Lance: "Whew, thank gods. I was getting worried there for a second."

"Ah, our pleasure!" Brian blushed the compliment.

"It's our job. We gave him an Oran Berry, but I hope both of you take more care from now on." Lance spoke.

Lance began to walk off alongside his sibling, when he got pushed back by Gama. Lance's immediate reaction was to back away and growl.

"Boys! You deserve the reward! Where are you going?" Gama spoke smiling.

You have a typo on 'Gama' there in the last paragraph.

Lance: "Wait, did you just step in our way to cut us off there before shoving me? How on earth is that not suspicious behavior?"
Brian: "Maybe he's just bad at trying to grab attention in a way that feels friendly?"

"We are going to Bright Dawn! Why?" Brian asked with his eyes shining, already suspecting what the reward would be.

"I think I can speak for my friend and say that we would be happy to take you, but Bright Dawn is a bit far. What do you say we take you to the nearest village, instead? If you go on your way, it will take you a long time to reach your destination," Marty spoke while hitting his hooves on the ground.

"It's okay with me, I always wanted to travel in a carriage," said Lance with a nod.

Brian: "... This feels kinda underwhelming given that we just saved this guy's buddy from becoming feral chow." >.<;
Lance: "Look, we're getting a fast-forward through part of our journey, Brian. Don't look the literal gift horse in the mouth."
Marty: "... I'm a zebra." >_>;

At midnight, Lance was asleep leaning against a wooden log. The Zebstrika was lying there with his eyes closed, while Brian was looking at the sky in silence. Gama approached the Zorua, sitting beside him with a smile on his face.

"I wanted to thank you and your brother, but by the looks of it, he's already asleep."

Brian sighed, this kind of conversation could become common if his brother remained emotionally distant.

"Yeah, he doesn't like to talk a lot with anyone, beyond what is necessary. Sometimes I think he only talks to me because we are on the same team..."

Brian: "... You could always try leaving a letter for him though if you feel that strongly about it."

"That could be bad for relations with your clients... Sorry to intrude, but can you tell me why he is like this? Or is it just how he is?" Gamma leaned against a log.

Brian looked away, reliving old memories. He then shook the thoughts from his mind.

"I don't like to talk about it," he said. Brian looked away, sighing.

- Gama raises brow -
Gama: "Are you going to at least give me a hint, or an implication, or...?"
Brian: "Nope. That's all you're getting from me."

"Well, that's okay. It's good for you to rest, I can tell that the fight you had was intense!"

Brian agreed, yawning and lying on the floor. Gama chuckled a little and moved away from Brian, closing his eyes and trying to sleep. Brian still couldn't fall asleep, his mind was full of what was to come for him and Lance. The challenges they would face, and whether or not he could protect Lance. Eventually, his tiredness overpowered these thoughts, and he drifted off to sleep.

Brian: "Things sure fell into place quickly there."
- Beat moment -
Brian: "Uh... almost too quickly, now that I think about it. I sure hope there isn't some sort of horrible catch to all of this." ._.;

Chapter 4

As the morning came, the brothers rode in the carriage they had rescued the other day. Brian looked out the window, watching the local landscape, while Lance read a book in silence.

"We're almost there..." Marty said to the passengers.

Lance: "... You sure don't seem to be finding much interesting out the window, Brian. Sure you don't want to read with me?"
Brian: "I mean, I'm sure I'm noticing something in the world going by..."

"We'll leave you here, this village is called Heavenwind. It's famous for its mountain, and a few explorers go there to check it out," The Croagunk grinned, facing the siblings.

"Oh, I've heard of it! They live near a mountain, and most of the residents are flying Pokémon!" Brian smirked, tail wagging.

"We are not going to climb the mountain..." Lance sighed.

Brian: "But Lance! We have extra time! Surely that's worth taking a scenic detour-"
Lance: "Brian, no. We accepted this reward since it'd get us to Bright Dawn faster. We're going to Bright Dawn." >.<

The vehicle stopped a few minutes later, allowing them to see the village they had arrived at. Lance kept the book in his backpack and got down from the carriage, stretching. He was soon followed by his brother, who was looking at the new location.

"Thanks, guys, if you need to travel, send us a letter! We are the Zebrunk Transportation Company," Gama spoke smiling brightly.

"I told him it was a stupid name, but he never listened to me," Marty grumbled, ashamed of his friend.

You probably want to treat the 'transportation company' as being part of the title and capitalized with 'Zebrunk'. I mean, at least it's less pretentious than the 'Zebraiggru Transportation Company' :V

Before long, they found themselves in the village. It wasn't the largest town the brothers had seen, but the buildings were very tall. Flying Pokemon darted through the air from building to building. As they walked, they noticed some villagers on the street, some going to markets, and others just walking. Pidgeotto, Talonflame, and even Braviary populated the town. Further away, they saw part of the mountain, which extended as far as their eyes could view. Lance stopped and pointed to a large, red-colored building.

Mood:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD4r8ufspg0

"It's a hotel. Let's go in and make a reservation," Lance said. "I know you want to explore this village, so you're free to do that after."

Brian jumped, turning into a Pidove and making some chirps; his brother wasn't amused, and simply ignored it.

"I'll see if I can find something to buy for us! And I'll send a letter to Uncle James," Brian grinned. "He deserves to know where we are."

With a sigh, Lance shrugged and kept walking, entering the hotel with his brother. On a chair was a Ledian, snoring and appeared to be on a deep sleep. Lance hit the table of the place, trying to get the insect's attention. The Pokémon woke up, falling from his chair and getting up in a hurry.

Brian: "... Wait, he is behind a checkout counter of some sort, right?"
Lance: "It's honestly kinda hard for me to tell there. But hey, at least we got him up."

"Good morning. I would like to make a reservation here for me and my brother," Lance said pointing to Brian.

"We're Team Liberators!" Brian mentioned as he approached.

"My name is Beet and I'm the manager of this hotel. Hm, are you new? It's been a while since any team visited this village."

- Blink moment -
Brian: "... You mean like the edible root?" :?
Lance: "I think it's meant more like 'Beetle', Brian." -_-;
Brian: "... Oh. Still makes me think of the edible root though."

"How long will you stay here? We haven't received many visitors lately," Beet took a notebook in a desk drawer with one of his arms, and with another, he took a pen.

"We will stay only for one day. We are going to Bright Dawn and we decided to stop here," Brian spoke calmly, looking at the hotel.

"Bright Dawn? That place receives new Pokémon all the time, it's a good choice." Beet finished writing down their names, and yawned.

Suddenly, the three of them heard a bell ringing loudly. The Ledian looked at the door, making sure no one was around, and spoke to the boys.

"If I were you, I'd stay here. Something bad is about to happen..."

Hearing this, Lance rolled his eyes, heading to the door and opening it slowly.

Beet: "... You brother isn't one for following directions, is he?"
Brian: "Look, in our defense, if you didn't want us getting curious, you could've at least told us what you were worried would happen out there." >_>;

Outside, the birds flew to their houses, except for one. A Corviknight just stared at the cave's entrance, as if he was waiting for someone to show up. Then three Pokémon left the entrance, a shiny Luxray, a Luxio, and a Graveler. The trio approached the Flying-Type, who stood firmly in place.

"Mayor Percival, it's very good to see you again," the shiny Luxray said, approaching the bird with a wide, toothy smile.

"I know the reason for your visit Teslan, the money is with me." Percival extended his wing, throwing a few coins on the ground.

The Luxio who accompanied Teslan picked up the coins, putting them in a backpack quietly and distancing himself from the two. The small Pokémon then began to count the money.

Lance: "I'm sorry, did we just watch an entire town get extorted by three Pokémon?"
Brian: "To be fair, this is a town full of Flying-types, they all have supereffective AOE moves, and for all we know they have a ton of buddies, so..."

"So, anything else?" Percival huffed. "Or will you extort more from us?!"

"Boss, the money he gave isn't enough," the Luxio said, showing the money in his backpack.

When Teslan heard this, he turned and growled at the Corviknight. Electricity sparked from his body.

"Do you think you can fool me like that, you worthless bird?" he growled, preparing to attack.

"We don't have enough money!" Percival glared at him. "If you want the rest, you'll have to wait!"

Lance: "With all due respect, Mayor, but if you were going to yield to this blatant extortion, you should probably not be this confrontational about not having the goods." -_-;
Percival: "Silence from the peanut gallery! I'm the Mayor, I'm allowed to point out when demands are unreasonable!"

The lion roared, his whole body wrapped in an electric aura, he fired a bolt of lightning at the Corviknight, who cried out in pain, fainting. The Pokémon hiding in their homes left immediately, trying to rescue Percival.

"Hmph," Teslan growled, looking at the villagers. "Listen here! You have two days to bring the rest of the money! Your mayor will be an example of what will happen to anyone who disobeys!"

The three Pokémon left the town and entered the cave in silence. Meanwhile, the commotion from the attack on the mayor increased, and a Tropius helped carry him to the local hospital.

Brian: "Uh... so are they going to come back and kill him later? Since I dunno, looks like they already made a pretty strong example of him already."

Lance: "... Okay, you know what? I think I'm ready to climb that mountain now."
- Brian double-takes -
Brian: "Huh?! But Lance! You just saw what those guys-!" O_O;

From the hotel, Lance had seen the scene through the door. He gnashed his teeth and clenched his fists. His brother was also agitated, looking to the floor and thinking about what to do.

"So... has this become routine for you?!" Lance asked Ledian, his anger evident in his voice.

"Hey, calm down kid! We don't like it, but we're used to it! I wouldn't pick a fight with them if I were you!" Beet crossed his four arms, looking seriously at Lance.

Brian: "Uh, Lance? Aren't you being a bit harsh there?"
Lance: "They were three Pokémon. Against an entire town."
Beet: "Three Pokémon with Discharge and Rock Slide, mind you." >_>;

"W-What about the police?!" Brain asked, lowering his ears. "Won't they do anything?"

"Are you kidding me, kid?" The Ledian screamed at Brian, staring at him. "If we tried, we would either be fried or get lynched with rocks!"

"It doesn't matter! You are being oppressed and your plan is just to let it happen?! Not with me here! I'll fix it! Tell the mayor of this village that these Pokemon will no longer be disturbed!"

As he said that, Lance ran out of the hotel, a determined expression on his face. Brian ran behind him, worried about Lance and also angry about the situation.

"Lance!"

Brian: "Okay, seriously, think this through here. We're two Pokémon going after what's probably some sort of crime syndicate. Even without type weaknesses, we need to have more of a strategy than just storming the castle!"

Lance: "Works fine that way in the games."
- Beat moment -
Brian: "I mean... I guess it does... (Boy am I not feeling good about this right now.)"

"If you're not going to help, at least don't get in the way," Lance said, turning his face to his brother.

The two stopped running at the base of the mountain. Lance crossed his arms, thinking about the strategy they would use to face this new enemy. His brother, a little scared by the Riolu's attitude, followed him in silence. In front of them was a cave entrance, where they entered in silence.

Ah, so they are climbing the mountain after all.

The cave, as expected, was rocky. Strangely, parts of it seemed to be flooded, with water pooling in certain areas. Zubat hung sleepily from the cavern's ceiling.

"Impressive..." Brian spoke to himself.

Brian: "... Well, maybe not the Zubat part. They tend to be annoying little buggers."

"We have to concentrate Brian! Focus!" Lance kept running. His heart raced as he ran without looking back, focusing solely on finding the feline flock.

Pretty sure you want something like 'pack', since 'flocks' are for birds or sheep.

Lance's tunnel vision was enough for him to not notice the blow that came his way. A huge rock collided with him, spinning fast. He hit the wall hard, falling to the ground and struggling to breathe.

"LANCE!" his brother screamed, looking for who had done it.

The Graveler appeared, smirking as he cracked his rocky knuckles and stared at the two explorers.

Lance: "... Ow." Brian: "Wait, how on earth did we not hear you coming?"
Graveller: "I'm a rock. We're in a rocky cave where I blend in well. Do the math."

"It's the one from before!" Brian spoke in a low tone, analyzing the situation.

"You're not from around here, right? I imagine you've seen our "show" from earlier. I'm the guard of the gang and my job is to stop you from finding the boss!" the rocky Pokémon said, still keeping his smirk.

Brian: "And you're just telling us this why?"
Graveller: "Because you're not going to be in any position to tell anyone about it."
- Brian feels a shiver go down his back -
Brian: "U-Uh, Lance? If you can still get up, doing so right about now would be nice!" O_O;

This didn't work, however. The Rock-type laughed as he grabbed Brian with his hand, squeezing him tight.

"If you want him alive, you two will leave this place and never come back!"

Raising his eyes, Lance gave a loud laugh, holding himself to the wall. The Graveler blinked, growling at Lance. He crushed Brian's body even more, to the point it was possible to hear the Zorua's bones beginning to snap.

"I'm serious! He's going to die!"

Lance: "... Shouldn't Brian be screaming bloody murder from this right about now-?"
- [Snapping intensifies] -
Brian: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Lance: "Oh, there it is." -_-;

"He's not going to turn into a ghost... although sometimes he can attack like one..."

Brian blinked his eyes, understanding Lance's message. He opened his mouth and shot a black ball at Graveler, who dropped the Zorua on the ground. Brian panted even being released, he still felt his body sore from the pressure.

Lance: "Wait, so did you break anything, or...?"
Brian: "Nothing important if I'm still standing right now." >_>;

"Hm. Rollout?" Lance fired an energy beam at the rocky mon, sending him across the area and knocking him out.

Wait, what exactly did Lance just use there for a move? Since it's admittedly not super clear from the text and I'm drawing blanks on beam spam that Riolu can do.

Brian, with all the strength he had, wobbled towards his brother. He was relieved to see him okay, but that relief soon turned into frustration.

"What the hell was that? I almost died! If I hadn't understood your message, I would have!" he growled at Lance.

"It was all planned, relax, I won't let you die and... here... you need it more than I do..." Lance took an Oran Berry from his backpack and gave it to the fox.

Brian: "You planned for me to go through that?!" >_>;
Lance: "Okay, I didn't plan for you to get snatched, but seriously, Brian. The 'mon would've broken your spine if he thought I was obviously making a move, cut me some slack here!" >.<

Hesitantly, Brian ate the fruit, feeling his strength returning little by little. He helped his brother up and the two looked at their fainted opponent.

"We have no time to waste..." Lance was serious, walking deeper into the cave.

His brother limped after him while his wounds healed. They continued along the path of the cave. As there were no more Oran Berries, they would have to be more careful. The path was getting rougher, and the corridors narrower as they walked.

Brian: "I told you that we should've thought this through!" >.<
Lance: "Oh come on, we got one of 'em down. That's a start at least!"
Brian: "You realize the other two probably know Discharge and can drop us the moment we step into the same area as them, right?"
- Beat moment -
Lance: "... The story's not just gonna let us job to a Discharge. I'm not buying that."

Even so, they had to continue. The mission they were on was not official, but they needed to succeed. The birds that lived in this village did not deserve to live in fear, so the team pushed forward, determined to help those villagers.

I'm... actually a bit curious as to how those two are going to make this work. Or if they're going to make things work. Since that matchup they're walking into's kinda... ahem, disadvantaged. ^^;

Though that's a wrap @Navarchu . There's definitely some rough edges on these earlier chapters, though it still does a pretty good job at helping to get a feel for your cast's personalities.

If you do ever break your freeze on touching the first 20 chapters again, something I'd recommend would be to expand the description, since there were a lot of moments where I basically had to resort to using my imagination to fill in blanks from what the narration described.

Hope you still had fun with this review, since even if it was a bit rough, I still enjoyed reading through these chapters of LoF. ^^

 

[Navarchu]

Dungeon 6 - The dawn of a new day​

"Is anyone there?" one voice asked.

The Pokémon saw himself in an empty and tight space, the walls seemed to be made of metal, and there was only one door. He tried to open it by pulling the handle, but it was locked.

"Dad?! Mom?! It's Lance! Get me out of here!" he started knocking on the door, desperate. His eyes began to tear up as he tried to escape.

Suddenly, a loud bang sounded and the boy fell to the ground. The door crumbled, leaving only darkness. The Riolu moved away, trembling with fear. He tried to speak, but nothing came out.

"Lance!" he heard a voice screaming his name.

From the darkness, two red eyes appeared, staring at the crying boy.

"Lance!" the voice repeated.

The eyes seemed to approach Lance, and with that, more of the room disappeared into the darkness, which seemed to close in on the Fighting type.

"Stop it! Please!" he placed himself in a fetal position, crying and waiting for it to end.

Finally, the room was covered entirely by darkness, with Lance screaming as he was swallowed by the emptiness.

"LANCE!" the voice screamed again.

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The Riolu woke up screaming, almost falling out of bed, and looked around. His brother was on his side, looking at him with a worried expression on his face. The two of them remained that way for a few moments, neither wanting to start the conversation. But Brian, gulping, decided to try.

"Did you... have a nightmare again?"

The Zorua's brother only nodded, placing a hand on his chest, right over his scars. He looked around the room, seeing that he was in the hospital of the village where they had arrived one day before.

"We beat that Luxray, didn't we?" Lance pondered, sitting up in the bed.

"Yeah, you got hurt pretty bad, and I had to bring you here!" he lowered his ears, worried about his sibling.

"Where is that Pokémon?" Lance took a deep breath, looking at his brother seriously.

"I sent a letter to our village and... half an hour ago, someone from dad's team came and took them. They're already out of Heavenwind."

Lance looked at the ceiling. He was still exhausted from the fight. Looking out the window, he saw that the flying Pokémon who lived in the village seemed to be happy, and the streets were peaceful.

"Hey, Brian..." the Fighting-type spoke, still distracted by the landscape. His face started to redden as he thought about what he was going to say.

"Hm?"

"I was going to end up beating that Luxray without your help, but thanks," he said, blushing and looking away.

"No need to thank me, dork... I'm your brother! And your teammate!" he gave a slight laugh.

The morning passed quietly for the duo, who remained in the hospital beds. At noon, the two of them left, fixing their backpacks on their backs. In front of them was the mayor, with splints on his wings and his body bandaged. He looked at them with a smile on his beak.

"Thank you on behalf of everyone that lives here... we couldn't have thrown them out without you."

"We were just doing our jobs," Lance crossed his arms, staring at the Corviknight sternly.

"I'm glad you think so, but I can't let you leave without saying thank you at least a little!" the bird walked closer, showing a bag full of Oran Berries.

"Oh, we ran out of those! Thank you!" Brian accepted the fruit, putting it in his bag.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
​

The two brothers waved goodbye to the village and went on their way to the road. The two continued along the trail surrounded by trees. Lance looked at the map he brought for the trip.

"Here, look," he called his brother.

Surprised by the gesture, Brian approached the Riolu, looking at the map. On it, there was an X marking a large city with several buildings drawn around it.

"Dad's team goes there from time to time," The Zorua commented.

"There is a local guild there. We can register, not as apprentices, of course, but just to get missions, nothing much. They are a means to an end," He said with a neutral tone.

"How long will it take us to get there?"

"Thanks to the wonders of technology, we took a ride and that shortened a lot. I think by the end of the afternoon we will be in town," he said, continuing in silence.

After an hour of walking they could see, in the distance, smoke coming from a series of buildings. The factory was a sign that they were arriving in town, and that they would be able to have a little rest from their hectic journey. Continuing forward, they saw a tall gate in front of the city, with a cabin. In the compartment, there was a wide Pokémon with brown fur and a yellow circle on his chest. When he noticed the duo approaching, the Ursaring turned on the speaker.

"Freeze! Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Team Liberators. Formed in the exploration guild Hero. We moved here," Lance said, showing the team crest.

"Tsc," the bear grumbled, taking a paper and looking at a list of names. He, at last, opened the gate for the duo.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
​

The two made their way inside the gates of Bright Dawn, and already they could see the difference. They were on a bridge that connected the entrance to the insides of the city. As he walked, the Zorua gazed on the sides of the overpass they were on, seeing a few pipes passing below. Brian could only look in awe at the city, where most of the buildings were made of with chimneys releasing fumes filled the area; setting a tone of industrialism.

"This place... is incredible!" Brian said as his eyes shined, impressed with the city. "Although I can't see the sun with all that gas. The Koffing must be having a party in those factories!"

"This is where we will spread our wings, brother," Lance said with a smirk. "Well, metaphorical wings anyway."

"I kinda wanna explore! I need to!" Brian couldn't contain his excitement, his tail wagged so hard it could break.

"We're going to the upper levels of the town. That's where the guild is," Lance said. "I can go by myself. You can go, just stay in the higher areas, and meet me in front of the guild. Okay?"

"See ya, Lance!" he smirked, dashing to the upper area.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>​

Brian followed the streets of the city, looking at everything with rapt attention. He could see some light poles with what he believed were several Luminous Orbs on each of them, causing the Zorua to chuckle. He was always a fan of technology, after all. As he walked, Brian gazed on the wide street, where most Pokémon were walking to do their everyday tasks, coughing a little due to the vapors from the large factories in the background. The explorer finally stopped, staring at a store with a sign that read: "Watchog's Wares".

"If I'm not mistaken, Riolu evolves with the help of an item." Brian had an idea and decided to go inside.

"Hello young man, how can I help you?"

Looking where the voice came from, he saw the owner of the store: a Watchog wearing an apron. He had a toothy smile and waited for the boy to answer.

"I came to see some evolutionary items. Well, to see things in general, this store seemed interesting... sir..."

"Lumi," the Watchog answered with a smile. "And I have plenty of items. What are you looking for specifically?"

"Would you happen to have a Sun Ribbon?" he asked, sitting.

"Hmm... I think I do, wait here," Lumi left, entering a room. On his way back, he was carrying a chest. Placing it on the table, he opened it, showing a golden ribbon.

"That's exactly what I was looking for! How much will it cost?!" Brian gasped and stared at the ribbon.

"Considering it's a somewhat rare item... I'll make it for you for two thousand Poké."

"Two thousand?!" his eyes widened at the expensive price.

"Well, I bought them for four thousand... I'd say it's a reasonable price."

Brian opened his backpack, throwing the coins on the floor and grabbing the item. He ran, grumbling a little. Outside, he thought about what he would do with the rest of his free time.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
​

At the guild headquarters, Lance was in the boss's room, sitting on a chair and drinking tea. Opposite him, also seated, there was a Swalot, who rubbed his yellow mustache. The room had a large bookshelf and a table filled with papers.

"Mr. Robert, I hope you understand my situation," Lance said after taking a sip of tea. "I heard about your guild while I was looking for where my brother and I were going to settle and I thought about coming here."

"But of course boy! You will be welcome!" the Poison-type laughed as he patted his large belly.

"Well, about our home, do you have any recommendations?" he put the glass on the table.

"In the building next to this one there is a condominium, I'll tell the landlord that you're coming, ok?" Robert grinned, looking at the Riolu's eyes.

"Right... so our discussion is over. I have to meet my brother and then we'll go there," Lance got up.

Robert extended his hand to the boy, who instinctively moved away from him. Despite finding that strange, the Swalot sighed and let the boy go his way.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
​

As night came, clouds formed in the sky, and with them came the rain. Lance walked in silence, the water droplets fell on his fur. As he strolled, an Aggron passed right by him.

"Being Steel-type would be really useful with all this smoke," Lance sighed. "I can't wait to evolve.

"Hey! This is discrimination against me!" a voice said, coming from an establishment two blocks away.

Lance, recognizing the voice, ran to get closer. He saw his brother and in front of him, a Pangoro who had its arms crossed, looking at the Zorua.

"It is written here that Zorua and Zoroark cannot participate in the game to avoid cheating. Your illusions aren't allowed." the Pangoro pointed to a plate.

"So, that's discrimination!" the Zorua grumbled.

"We're here less than a day, and you're already getting into trouble..." Lance said, his arms crossed.

"Hey, Lance! This guy doesn't want to let me in just because I'm a Zorua."

"Sorry for my brother, sometimes he doesn't have a clue... come on, Brian, I've already talked with the guildmaster."

"Damn it," he grumbled, walking away. His brother was following right behind him.

"I got an apartment, well, the Swalot who runs the guild did, but that doesn't matter. Where did you go?"

"Well, I have a surprise for you," he laughed a little. "And I wanted to go to that casino, but they wouldn't let me in."

"A surprise? Okay, you can tell me inside our new home..."

After he said that, Lance stopped. They were in front of the building that would be their home for the foreseeable future. It was wide and like all the other places in the city, metallic and tall. The duo entered the building, going to the reception room. The receptionist was a Weavile, who stared at them.

"Lance and... Brian, right? Robert warned me that you would move in here. My name is Noir, and I'm the landlord of this condo," the Weavile told them.

While Brian looked at the place carefully, Lance nodded, waiting for the Pokémon to hand over the keys to the apartment. Noir then opened a drawer and threw the key to him, who took it and went to the stairs, looking at the number on the key. Brain trailed close behind. Their apartment was on the second floor, number 102, right at the beginning of the hall.

"Hehe, it looks like we found someone else who doesn't like to talk!" Brian said looking at his brother, laughing.

"You got the comedian of the year award..." he said as he opened the bedroom door.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
​

The team's new home wasn't big, but it was comfortable. There was a sofa in the living room and on the left side was the kitchen, with a refrigerator turned off. At the end of the apartment, some doors led into the bedrooms and bathrooms. Lance locked the door behind them and threw the key on a table, stretching himself.

"I'm going to take a shower."

"Oh! They have a phone here!" Brian pointed to the table in the living room.

Ignoring his brother, Lance put his backpack on the floor and went to the bathroom calmly. Meanwhile, Brian put the item he had bought in his brother's backpack and laid down on the sofa, sighing with relief.

"Ah... that was a wonderful decision we made."

After turning on the shower, Lance sat on the bathroom floor, hugging his knees in silence. He hadn't demonstrated this to his brother, but the nightmare he had hadn't come out of his head yet.

I'm fine... I'm safe... I'm fine... I'm safe...

He remained wrapped in his thoughts for a while, crying alone and silently. The moon in the sky contrasted the rainy night and time seemed to stop for the boys, who had begun a new stage of their lives.

 

[Navarchu]

Dungeon 7 - New challengers appear!​

Brian woke up yawning; he had slept on the couch of his new apartment. The Zorua scratched his eyes and went to the kitchen, smelling pancakes. When he got there, he saw Lance sitting on a chair. Their kitchen was small, but comfortable, having a table for five Pokémon and the same number of chairs. They also had a refrigerator, which was now turned on.

"I didn't know you were a cook," he said with a laugh, sitting on one of the chairs.

"I asked them to deliver here. I think my knowledge of cooking comes down to juice," Lance said, drinking some tea from a cup.

"So what's the plan for the day, Mr. Masterchef?" The Zorua took a pancake, eating a few bites.

"I'll look for some mission in the guild; we need to create a reputation."

"Well, there must be some Caterpie that got stuck in a hole out there," Brian smirked.

"By the way, today is your day to do the dishes. Mine's tomorrow," Lance said as he took his plate and put it in the sink.

"Hey! Who said you could decide that?!" Brian grumbled.

"For starters, I rented the apartment. Also, you're the one that will have to replace the Light Ball on our fridge once it runs out of power, I know you love fixing those things," he said, heading for the bathroom.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>​

After they left the house, the brothers went into the streets of the city. As the day before, the streets were full of movement. In front of the guild, they saw a Tyrunt who was in a hurry. Curious, the duo followed the unknown Pokémon.


The guildhall was large and they could see a wide corridor with multiple doors leading to different areas of the building, alongside stairs that stopped at the guildmaster's office. On the first floor, the siblings saw the Rock-Type running to a large board containing missions. The Tyrunt jumped, trying to pin a paper to it.

"Excuse me, is everything ok?" Lance asked, approaching the Tyrunt.

"Hm?" the dinosaur turned. "Misters! Can you help me?" the child said, trembling a bit.

"That's what we're here for!" Brian said, trying to calm the kid down.

"My dad... he's gone... it's been four days!" on the paper was the image of a Druddigon.

Lance widened his eyes, the Tyrunt's words bringing up some memories. Brian noticed that and took a deep breath, keeping the friendly face to the Tyrunt.

"Nobody accepted your request for help?" the Riolu crossed his arms, looking at the boy.

"No... Daddy is a politician, someone must have made him disappear!" At that point, the Tyrunt had tears in its eyes.

"Kid... We will find your father, you can count on us!" Lance growled, clenching his fists.

The Tyrunt forced a smile, raising his head. "Thank you so much!"

"Lance, let's do it!" Brian nodded, preparing to leave the building, only for him to feel something grabbing his tail and when he looked back, Brain saw that it was his brother.

"Not yet, we need to ask more things first, charging into the unknown is pointless," Lance said. "Kid, what can you tell us about your dad, who was running his political campaign?"

"O-Oh, well, daddy worked in this big building, I can show you!"

Brian smirked. "Sounds like a plan, then."

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>​

They walked together through the streets. Brian decided to try and cheer up the child, turning into several different Pokémon, including an Aipom, even making the sounds of a feral one, until they had arrived at what appeared to be an old building.


"Oh, we're here!" Tyrunt shouted, smiling for a bit.

Brian continued to stare at the building. It appeared to be made from concrete, and its walls were cracked all around. How did a politician choose such a place for his campaign? He ignored that, thinking it wasn't that important; someone was missing.

Lance scratched his chin. "Got it, I'll take it from here, alright? Do you know the way home?"

"Y-Yeah, I do!"

"Alright. Brian," Lance said, looking at his sibling. "Can you escort him to his house? I'll meet you back at the guild."

Brian tilted his head, sighing. He turned around and left with the Tyrunt. Now alone, Lance wondered what the whole story was; something he would find out soon enough.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>​

The inside of the building was even more hectic, countless piles of paper were on the ground, scrambled, while a Pikachu with glasses tried to collect them all, mumbling something to themselves. While there were tables and chairs, the latter were on the floor. Lance twitched his ears, waiting for them to say something; and since the Pikachu didn't look like they were doing that anytime soon, Lance cleared his throat.


"W-Wha…? A visitor? Oh my, I'm so sorry for this mess!" the Pikachu said, a feminine voice coming out from her mouth. She got up, trembling.

Lance raised a brow. "It's fine, I'm here for—"

"Oh, I know! With the police?!" Pikachu looked down. "L-Look, I already talked with them, I-I mean, detective Apollo came here earlier this week. Look, mister Razor is missing, but I have nothing to do with it! He was so good, even hiring my services, considering how this place looks, I couldn't be more happy…"

Her aura radiated anxiety, something Lance knew very well, even without being an expert in aura sense like Lucario were. He opened his bag, showing the explorers badge of his team. "I'm a member of an exploration team, hired to investigate the disappearance of Razor. I believe you, alright? I just need to have some idea of what I'm going to do."

Pikachu blinked. "Oooh! Oh! That's better. How can I help you, then?"

"Well, first things first. When did you last see him?"

She bit her lip, trying to think of the answer to the question; her cheeks crackling with electricity. "A-A few… A few days ago, he was so nervous! Saying that… Someone was watching him from afar. I told him to go to the police, but he panicked even more!"

Lance watched in silence, processing all that she was saying. No suspects so far, it seemed, so that was the next step he needed to take. "Alright. Next question, then. Did anyone threaten you or him? It might help to have some suspects crossed off."

Pikachu trembled even more, trying to speak something, but found herself struggling to do that. Lance, noticing this, tried to reassure her. "Me and my brother have training, you won't be harmed in any way."

"I-I know one suspect, but if he finds out I told you… I'll disappear too, I'm… Sorry, I can't tell."

Growling, Lance thought about his options. With no suspects, this will be a feral Ducklett chase…

"I… Can't r-risk my life like that! I'm sorry, I really am, what happened was a tragedy, but…"

Lance looked at her in the eye. "You mentioned a detective. What if I were to talk to him? Witness protection and all. I mean, you're not a witness, I think. Regardless, it's your best option."

"Y-You would do that?!"

Lance grinned, it worked out, after all. "Why not? It's part of the job. I promise you I'll be doing that as soon as possible."

The Pikachu smiled, her eyes were sparkling. "O-Okay! I'll do that!"

"Go on, I'm waiting," Lance crossed his arms.

"S-So! About a week ago, we got a visit from this Gothitelle, she's the mayor's secretary and, well, she tried to bribe mister Razor."

Lance's eyes widened. "...A bribe? Oh."

"Y-Yeah, mister Razor refused to do that, and the next day, it started. Every time he came here, he complained about being followed wherever he went!"

Lance scratched his chin, so the mayor and his secretary were suspects? If nobody saw Razor again, the chances of him being alive were not high.

"I got it. Thank you for your help, miss."

Pikachu nodded. "You're welcome! What are you going to do now?"

"First I need to meet my brother again, then we'll figure out our next move. Don't worry, like I promised, I'll talk to this detective."

Lance left the place, thinking about what he would do next.

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On his way to the guild entrance, Lance could see his brother from afar, looking down. He felt a shiver all over his body and ran as fast as he could to the doorway. His mind raced, trying to think of what happened. Lance didn't assume the worst, considering his brother was still there, but nonetheless, he worried.


"Lance, thank Arceus you're here!" Brian shouted, running to meet his sibling. He seemed to be okay, Lance couldn't see any wounds or bruises on him, only a faint aura of uneasiness.

"I… Are you okay?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm okay. That Tyrunt… Lance, once we got to his house, he got some terrible news, his dad…"

Brian didn't even need to finish the sentence for Lance to understand what was going on. He clenched his fist, that case just went from missing Pokémon to murder.

"Did you find anything useful? I feel awful for that kid!" Brian lowered his ears, whining.

Lance growled, looking around. Once he saw there weren't many Pokémon, he continued. "We have two suspects: the mayor and his secretary. That Druddigon was being followed and even bribed by them."

Brian's fur stood on end, and he had to contain himself from exploding right there. He wanted to do something as fast as he could. He spent a few minutes slowing his breathing.

"I think we should try to see the mayor," Brian finally calmed down, flashing a small smile.

"Yeah, we can try that, but I don't think you can see the mayor without an appointment," Lance shrugged.

"Not if you're a member of a famous exploration team!" laughing, he turned into a Lucario, a copy of his father. The only indication of the illusion was the tail, which had a red tip.

"That's... not a bad idea, come on!"

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Stopping at the entrance, the two entered in silence. The mayor's secretary was sitting at his desk, reading a book. Getting closer, the "Lucario" tapped his paws on the table, trying to get her attention.


"Excuse me... miss…"

"Miss Jane. What can I do to help you?" the Gothitelle said without even looking at them.

"I'm Nick Williams, a member of Team Hero. And this is my son, Lance," he pointed to the Riolu.

"Good morning... we need to talk to the mayor," the boy said with his arms crossed.

"Let me see if he is available." she turned on the phone, calling the mayor, and then nodded.

Climbing the stairs, they went into the mayor's office. The building was also large, filled with rooms for all of the Alakazam's employees. The mayor had to be a busy Pokémon, but those two were determined to get answers.

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"To what do I owe this team's visit?" the Alakazam said to the two Pokémon, his gaze fixed on them. The Psychic-type was not an idiot and tried to read their minds, although for some reason it didn't work on the Lucario.


"We received a mission from a Tyrunt; apparently his father disappeared," the Lucario crossed his arms, looking at the Psychic-type.

"He mentioned that the missing Pokémon was a politician, and—" Lance began to speak.

"You suspect me of having something to do with this, right?" Prometheus kept his gaze on them without even flinching. "I can tell, even without reading your minds."

Brian began to sweat but tried to stay calm. His brother took a slight look at him and faced Alakazam again.

"Well, I can assure you it wasn't me," he got up, looking through his office window. "It's a tragedy, certainly, and someone else has asked me about this. You can talk to the police, I was their first suspect. They will confirm that I'm innocent."

Lance closed his fists. He couldn't tell if the Alakazam was lying through his aura. They would have to find evidence to connect him to the case.

"I understand... I'm sorry to disturb you..." Brian turned around, getting out of there with Lance.

While the two of them were leaving, the mayor saw the Lucario's red tail, realizing the illusion.

How did they know about me?! Who even are they? I can't bribe, not this time, it's too risky if they're already onto me!

Prometheus picked up the phone. "I need to silence those brats…"

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Half an hour later, at the lower parts of the city, three Steel-type Pokémon were talking to each other in a bar that was filled with mercenaries. They had received the Alakazam's message and were now discussing what their next move would be.


"Well, which one of us will take care of the target this time? They're a Dark-type and a Fighting-Type," Atlas grumbled.

"I offer myself," the Empoleon raised his fin.

"You just want to get the money for yourself as usual," the Bisharp said, rolling his eyes.

"He has a point, y'know. We can't use Flint, the last time he was the one who murdered the client's target, he would be a suspect!" Atlas snarled, hopefully, this job would be easy.

"Well, both of you have a 4x weakness against the fighting one… and as always your cowardice prevents us from getting better jobs, Atlas," Napoleon nodded.

"Okay, so you'll take care of it, Napoleon. Do we know where they live?" Flint crossed his arms.

"The mayor said that they have affiliated with Black Skull, which means they must live in one of the apartments. If I pay the landlord, he should let me pass without problems," the water Pokémon pondered.

"It seems that your greed will finally be useful. You better not screw this up, or I'll cut you up like a steak," Flint said, pointing his blades at him.

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The day passed and the duo continued looking for clues. They decided to interrogate some Pokémon close to the victim, but most did not reveal anything important. The biggest hint was that he disappeared at night and left his house alone. The two of them then went back home.


Lance was in his room, writing in a notebook. His brain was racing, thinking about several chances of what had happened to the Druddigon. Outside the house, rain was falling and the sky was dark.

"Is it already dark? I lost track of time again." stretching, he left his room, going into the living room.

His brother was on the sofa, eating some Oran Berry pie they had ordered. When he noticed the Riolu, he left the sofa, waiting to see what he was going to say.

"I'm still sure the mayor is involved in this, damn. He's resistant to my aura," Lance snarled to himself.

"I can infiltrate his office, I don't think he'll be there all night..." Brian sighed.

While they were distracted by the conversation, the doorknob started to spin. The noise made the boys turn around, staying in combat position. Then, the door opened, but there was nobody there. Brian camouflaged them both with an illusion that made them invisible. They went to the corridor of the building.

Not only did he try to deflect, but he must have sent someone to attack us, but who? Lance thought, his hand on his chin.

Suddenly, the place lit up, a silver gust of energy being fired. Barely having time to dodge, the illusion was undone, the two brothers looking at their enemy. On the other side was Empoleon hired to deal with them.

"My my, some new kids barely arrive and there's already that much trouble?" he gave them a smirk.

"Who hired you?!" Lance remained serious, standing in a combat position.

Brian shouted, body wrapped in a dark aura as he charged against Napoleon. Despite hitting him, the attack did little damage. His opponent laughed at the move, simply punching Brian with his fin, sending him across the hall, crashing into Lance.

I am not dying here! Lance got up, ignoring all the pain he felt from that attack, even removing the sweat off his face. Taking a look behind the Empoleon, he saw a window.

"Well, well, I gotta speed up, don't you think?" Napoleon's body glowed pink and he ran, the sheer speed making wind blow through the corridor.

Brian grunted, copying the move, increasing his speed as well, enough to shove himself and Lance out of the way.

"Wow, I'm impressed... you're not so bad kids!" he continued to smirk.

"Shut up!" Lance dashed forward, his arms in the X position and shining. He jumped, trying to hit the penguin.

The enemy took one step back, dodging the blow, and opened his mouth, a white energy inside. Brian ran, still with the speed increase of before, his paws were shining like Lance's.

"Argh!" Brian copied the Cross Chop his brother had used, hitting the Empoleon in full force at the same time that he fired the energy, pushing Brian to the other side of the corridor. He hit the wall and fell to the ground, struggling to move.

While the two exchanged blows, Lance prepared to hit the penguin. He closed his fists, which glowed in a blue tone, aiming at the steel Pokémon.

"I'm strong enough to defeat you, moron!" Lance fired a gust of blue energy at his opponent.

Despite his best effort, a barrier appeared in front of the penguin, protecting him from attack.

"Tsc…" grumbling, the Riolu jumped, trying to hit him with another Cross Chop, only for Napoleon to dodge at the last moment.

Seeing the room's window, Napoleon noticed an opportunity while Lance was distracted. His fins were wrapped in water, giving the impression that he had made blades. Then, with his increased speed, the Pokémon advanced against Lance, cutting him with the swords he had made.

"It's time to take out the trash…"

The impact was so strong that Lance was thrown through the window, falling from the height of two floors, falling into a garbage can. In the building, the Empoleon smiled, thinking that his work was done. Well, if the mayor wanted them dead, he should pay more for the Crew. In silence, he left the place.

"W-Wait, Lance!" Brian ran outside the building.

During his hectic running, he came across Napoleon, but ignored him, that wasn't important right now! Instead, he focused on finding his brother. Once he did, he found Lance on top of a trash bin, moaning in pain.

"H-Hospital…" Lance said, spitting a little blood, his vision blurring.