FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Debts and depths

After recovering from the Slitter ordeal, Dash and his friends had made it through the mountains, and stopped in a small town to stock up on supplies and prepare for challenging ice-master Everest.

"If we want to stand a chance in the poke battle championship, we need more members," Dash said as they were eating lunch at Wigglytuff's café.

"Yes, but how do we go about it?" Sune asked.

"It doesn't matter," Cory said as she sipped on her mango smoothie. "All that matters is that they are nice."

"I guess that's important to," Dash mused. "What we really need are ways to cover our weaknesses. A rock or water type would be best."

"Why is that?" Cory asked. "No kind of pokemon are better than another."

"I didn't mean it like that," Dash explained. "Let's say for example that we have to choose a team of three pokemon. The first is a water type, and what are its weaknesses?

"Oh! Oh! I know! I know! Electric attacks! Oh! And grass attacks!" Cory exclaimed, drawing looks from several pokemon around them.

"Yes," Dash agreed. "And what kind of type are effective against those?"

"Electric types are only vulnerable to ground moves," Sune answered, thinking she got the idea.

"And fire is effective against grass types," Cory filled in. "Even I know that much."

"That's right," Dash nodded. "Grass types are also weak against ice, poison, flying and bug types, but let us use fire for this example. So to protect the water type, which would you choose? Ground or fire?"

"Oh, this is difficult," Cory grumbled. "Is it a trick question?"

"Well, given a choice I would go with a fire type, since a ground type, just like the water type is weak against grass moves," Dash turned to Sune. "You understand what I'm talking about, right?"

"I think so," she replied. "Then we would need a type that is strong against water, ground and rock to protect the fire type."

"Exactly," Dash confirmed. "In other words, a grass type. And since our team has a fire and grass type already, a rock or water type would help to balance it out."

"Okay," Cory said. "I get the water type but why a rock type?"

"It is a good guard against fire, ice, flying and bug types, all of which are dangerous for grass types."

"Okay," Sune said. "But, as I said before, how do we find new members?"

"Maybe put up a note on a request board," Cory suggested.

"Excuse me," a machop waitress cut in. "I am kind of good at fighting. I was actually part of a team before ending up here..."

"Planning to ditch your debts, are we?" the Wigglytuff manager said as he walked up to them. He had a very deep, bass voice, which made Dash think of Barry White.

"No! Of course not!" the machop protested.

"I'd like to order an explanation!" Cory chimed. At the confused stares of the two pokemon, Dash sighed and explained. "She wants to know what is going on. And I'm kind of curious myself."

"Well it is kind of simple actually," the wigglytuff, whose name was Marvin, explained. "A couple of weeks ago, Taya here, destroyed my café and now she has to work of the damages."

"And how much does she owe you?" Sune asked.

"Eight thousand P."

The huge sum made the three friends drop their jaws.

"And how long will it take her to work it off?" Dash managed to ask.

"About five more years. If you want her to join your team, you must first pay off what she owes me."

"But we don't have that kind of money!" Sune protested. "At most we got 1000 P."

"Then maybe you can help her work it off? With two more girls you should be done in about a year and a half."

"No way!" Cory exclaimed. "We are going to be in the P.B.C.! Bring our tab, we're done here!"

"If you don't mind," Dash asked Taya while Marvin was getting their tab. "Why did you destroy the café?"

"A frisky sawk tried to feel me up while my old team had lunch here," she told them. "When I retaliated a big fight broke out and the café got smashed. When it was over my so called teammates ditched me with the debt, claiming that it had been my own fault for overreacting."

As soon as they had paid, they left following Cory, who stormed down the street with a determined look.

"Where are we going?" Dash asked as he tried to keep up.

"To find a request board!" She replied.

"Why?"

"So that we can find a job and pay of Taya's debt. I want her on the team."

They finally found a request board, and were looking through the available jobs. Most didn't pay so much though.

"None of these pay 8000 P," Dash commented. "I can't read the words, but the numbers I recognise."

"Yes, but some of these are in the same place," Cory explained. "Look, these two are both about finding evolution stones from the same cave. Wait a minute, what do you mean you don't know how to read?"

"I know about that cave," a charmeleon girl next to them, said. She was wearing a black, silk collar with a small pink heart on it. "It's a pretty dangerous place, but if you want I can help you there."

"You can? That's great!" Cory exclaimed. "I'm Cory, what's your name?"

"My name is Cinder. I'll be happy to help, for a share of the reward money, of course."

"But will we have enough to pay Taya's debt, then?" Sune wondered.

"No problem," Cinder smiled. "Evolution stones go for around 2000 P each. These jobs both offer 4000 for three stones. But there are a lot of other valuable things in this cave, so if we pick up some while we are there, we can make a nice profit, even though these employers won't pay full prize for the stones."

After learning more about the cave, which was called Deepstone cave, from Cinder, they moved out to fetch the stones. As they walked, Cinder fell in alongside Sune.

"So, are you and Dash an item?" she asked slyly.

"What!? No! I mean... um," Sune stuttered, her face turning bright red.

Cinder couldn't resist teasing her a little.

"So you are single then?"

Sune blushed even harder and ran ahead to walk beside Dash.

Cinder smiled the rest of the way. Sune obviously had feelings for Dash but that didn't matter, that little eevee was cute to. If she spent some time with them she was sure that they would start to like her to.

Entering the cave and traveling to the lower levels was surprisingly easy.

"So, why is this cave so dangerous?" asked Dash. "So far it has been a breeze."

"It's because of Gem-eye. Rumour says that long ago, this used to be a mine, but one day they dug too deep and awoke something. Something ancient and horrible. Some say it looks like a twenty foot sableye and eats anyone who trespasses." Cinder told them.

"But sableye only eat gemstones, don't they?" Cory asked. "I wonder how gemstones taste. Maybe like rock candy? Is rock candy made from rocks?"

Cinder groaned. Did she ever shut up? Being cheerful was one thing, but Cory took it to the extreme. As the chikorita kept up her babbling, Cinder began to fantasise about different ways of shutting her up.

"Dash, why won't you tell us about your memories?" Sune asked him. "Are they that horrible, or do you not trust us?"

"Because I'm afraid," he replied quietly. But not so quietly that Cinder didn't hear him. "I'm afraid that if I tell you, you'll think I'm crazy, or worse, start hating me."

"Why would we start hating you?" asked Cory. "Are you a bad guy? Have you done bad things?"

"No, but I... I think I may be dead!"

"WHAT?!" Cory exclaimed. "Are you a zombie? Do you eat brains? OH MY GOD THE DEAD ARE RISING!!! That would make a great horror story."

"No, Cory... just, no." Dash sighed. Cory really knew how to kill a serious mood. "Remember that I told you that the last thing I remember was falling in a river? Well, I'm starting to think I drowned."

"But why?" Sune asked. "And why should we start hating you for that?"

"Because, I wasn't an eevee when I fell in the river," Dash hesitated. "I was a human."

Sune backed away in shock. She didn't want to believe this.

"So that is where your knowledge come from," she said, trying to make sense of it all. "You are a pokemon trainer."

"No," Dash replied. "Pokemon doesn't exist where I'm from."

The simple statement made his companions stare at him like he was crazy. But that was to be expected, right?

"Or rather, pokemon are make-believe characters. They only exist in videogames and manga. So either I'm in a coma and having a very realistic dream, or I died and was reincarnated as a pokemon or something like that."

Cinder put a hand on his shoulder.

"I won't pretend that I understandwhat is going on, but I do know this: you three are good friends. It doesn't matter who you were. What matters is who you are." She said, giving him a reassuring smile. This guy was definitely worth getting to know better.

Dash nodded his thanks and soon everything was back to normal. Even Sune treated him like she had before. Cinder was right, she decided, it didn't matter who Dash had been. It was the Dash here and now that was the one she liked. Maybe a little more than liked.

As they kept going deeper into the cave the mood became creepier. Well Cory was still skipping along as if playing on a spring meadow, but otherwise it was creepy.

As they explored the cave Dash noticed a strange rock on the ground. It kind of resembled a circlet with three downward facing spikes. Thinking it looked kind of cool, Dash pocketed it.

Finally Cinder called the rest of them over to her. She showed them three red stones that protruded from where the cave floor and wall met. In the middle of each stone was a pattern resembling flames.

"Sweet, three firestones," Cory chimed. "Now we just need three more. Here stony, stony, come stony, stony! Where are you hiding?"

"Wow! Would you look at these gems!" Dash exclaimed. Motioning to a dark area of the cave where two huge gems, about two foot in diameter, protruded from the cave wall. After taking the firestones and stuffing them in their bags they walked over to investigate the huge gems.

"What do you think we could get for one of those?" Sune asked, mesmerized by the sparkling jewels.

"A fortune," Cinder replied. "Even if they are just ordinary quartz, the sheer size of them would make a collector flip!"

Suddenly a large gaping maw opened beneath the gems. Twisting into a sharp tooted smile. Those gems were eyes! Eyes of a giant sableye!

As Gem-eye stepped out of the darkness and reached for the four companions, they screamed and bolted for the exit. However, the huge creature was faster and blocked their escape route, forcing them to enter a new tunnel, going deeper into the cave.

Finally they entered a tunnel too small for their pursuer, and managed to lose it.

"That was scary," Dash commented, catching his breath.

"But we got away, so everything's okay." Cory rhymed. "Let's find more stones so we can return and rest our bones!"

"Cory, stop rhyming," Cinder muttered. "We need to find a way out of here. That thing will most likely guard the way we came, so we must find a new exit. Luckily I have been here before, so if we can find a tunnel I recognise, we can leave that way."

As they made their way further, they entered a small cavern where the tunnel split three ways.

"Die, monster! BAM!"

A small figure came rushing by them and crashed into the wall behind them, whipping up a dust cloud and sending pebbles flying.

"BAM! Where did you go, monster? Come back and fight!" a cranidos stumbled out of the settling dust. "Huh? Who are you guys? Did you see a huge sableye come this way? BAM!"

"We were just running away from it," Sune explained. "Who are you?"

The last part was full of suspicion. Cinder smiled again. Sune was obviously not someone who trusted others easily. She was smart and cute. What a combination. Then her attention turned to the newcomer, trying to determine if he was a threat.

"Who am I? I am BAM! Monster hunter and adventurer!" the cranidos who was a head shorter than Cinder, but taller than the rest of them, struck a pose. "BAM!"

"Monster hunter?" the quartet said in unison. Giving him an incredulous look.

"That's right. BAM! I came here trying to vanquish the dreaded Gem-eye. BAM!"

"Well, it was nice meeting you, now we have to go. Goodbye!" Cinder said as she began to leave, desperate to get away from the weirdo. Cory was bad enough!

"But we still need more stones to pay Taya's debt," Cory protested.

"Stones?" Bam asked. "I know where there are lots of stones. BAM!"

"You do?" Cory exclaimed. "That's great! Now we can pay Taya's debt and have her join our team! Where are they?"

"Down in the mine. They are digging up lots of them. BAM!" Bam replied pointing down one of the tunnels. I found them while looking for the monster, but they got really mad when they saw me so I keep away from there. Say! You don't think they might be harbouring Gem-eye? BAM! I bet they are in cahoots! Why didn't I think of that sooner?"

"Well then, let's go!" Cory chirped and started off down the tunnel, singing a song as she skipped along.

"Wait! Don't you get it's going to be dangerous?" Cinder exclaimed as the others began to follow.

"Trust me," Dash sighed. "When Cory gets like this, it's simpler to just go along."

"True," Sune agreed. "She is unstoppable."

Cinder groaned. Well at least they knew they were walking into trouble.

The cavern was huge. It was full of subterranean pokemon like aron and drilbur, digging up stones and transporting them away in carts. There were at least twenty, and all of them were wearing the same symbol, an S with two gears beside it. The five companions were hiding behind some large rocks and watching the whole operation.

"Those are water stones," Cinder told them, nodding towards a cart. "And over there are leaf stones. And there are battle gems. This place is a goldmine."

"Who are these guys?" asked Dash.

"No idea, but they clearly don't have permission to conduct mining here." Cinder said. "This whole operation is no doubt illegal."

As she spoke, the huge sableye entered the cavern. The workers totally ignored the massive pokemon, who, in turn, didn't pay them any heed.

"I get it!" Bam exclaimed. "Gem-eye is forcing them to dig up gems for him to eat. Well I'll stop that! BAM!"

He dashed out from the rocks, heading straight for Gem-eye.

"Die, monster!"

With one swing of its giant arm, the sableye sent him flying, crashing into the cave wall. Sune and Cory rushed out from their hiding place to help him, but Cinder grabbed Dash, hindering him from rushing out of hiding and help, keeping them both concealed.

Sune and Cory grabbed Bam and escaped down a tunnel with Gem-eye and the workers chasing them. When they had disappeared, Cinder let go of Dash.

"Why did you do that?" Dash asked accusingly. "They needed our help."

"And we will help them. But first we will arm ourselves," Cinder replied and went over to one of the carts and started filling her bags.

"They are in trouble and you are filling your bags with..." then it dawned on Dash. "Those gems boost attack power don't they?"

At her nod, he too began filling his bag and then they went to find their friends.

As they fled from Gem-eye, Sune noticed that most of the miners had given up and left the hunt to the huge sableye. A sudden scream in front of her caught her attention just as the floor began to tilt sharply downward, sending her sliding into her friends who lay in a pile at the bottom. They just managed to get out of the way before Gem-eye came tumbling down and crashed into the ground with a large bang.

Cory, Sune and Bam looked closer at the smoking remains of the large sableye's body.

"BAM! You killed that monster good, girl!" Bam cheered.

Suddenly Gem-eye's head popped open and a pair of pokemon hopped out of the smoking hatch.

"What did you dweebs do that for?" one of them, a lickitung female, coughed.

"That's right? Do you know what this thing cost?" her companion, a persian, growled.

"Who are you people?" Sune asked.

"Who are we, the dweeb asks?" the likitung started.

"We are fiends of many tasks!" the Persian continued.

"The lovely Lana will steal your hearth."

"And the lashing Lane will tear it apart!"

"Team sprocket turns the gears of crime."

"Surrender while you still have time!"

As they finished their speech, they struck a dramatic pose.

"WOW! That was so cool! We should have a motto like that for our team!" Cory exclaimed. "We have to come up with a name for our team first though. Do you think these guys would help us come up with one? A motto I mean, we'll come up with our team name ourselves."

Bam nodded. "It was good. Could have been better, but still good."

"You think so?" Lana said bursting with pride. "We are trying to make it team sprocket's official motto, but we haven't gotten much response yet."

"Anyway, you dweebs will come with us quietly, or I will shred you with my claws," Lane said, enforcing her threat by showing her paw and extending her claws.

"Nice try, ladies," Bam challenged. "But there are three of us and only two of you, so we outnumber you five to one! BAM!"

"Five to one? Learn to count, idiot!" Lane growled. "Have you forgotten that we have over a dozen miners following us? So who are outnumbered now?"

"That would still be you!"

All heads turned to see Dash and Cinder standing at the top of the slope. They looked ragged but okay.

"Those miners sure weren't fighters," Cinder commented. "We took care of them quite easily, just the two of us."

Actually they had only taken out a few of them at a time, catching them of guard as they were returning to work. But they didn't need to tell these two that.

"Perhaps time has come for a strategic retreat," Lane proposed.

"I'm afraid if we stay we might get beat," Lana agreed.

Then they threw themselves to the ground, burrowing to safety.

"That was pretty smart," Dash said as he and Cinder slid down to the others. "They used dig to escape."

"Couldn't we have used dig to escape before?" Sune asked.

"I guess so," Dash blushed. "I didn't think about that, back then."

The trip back to the surface was uneventful, but they hurried all the same, just in case. Once they were out of Deepstone cave, they split into two groups to head over to both their clients simultaneously.

"Remember," Cinder told them. "Do not mention what we found in the cave or that Gem-eye was a fake. If we do, they might decide that they can get stones cheaper themselves and refuse to pay us."

"Are you sure about that?" Cory asked. "Every pokemon in the world aren't out to cheat you, you know."

"True, but why chance it."

Dash and Sune went to the first client, which were a rich family, living in a huge mansion. They wanted one each of the thunder, fire and water stones. Luckily Cinder had taken two each of the different evolution stones they had found in team sprocket's mine, so they didn't have to worry about their other client wanting the same kind of stones. Though that client had not specified what kind of stones they wanted.

Once inside the mansion, they were greeted by a flareon who introduced himself as sir Booster Elution.

"You do realize that we are only interested in a complete set of the stones we requested," he said with an air of superiority.

"I don't know how the people you usually do business with operate, but we deliver what we promise," Dash replied, deciding that he didn't like this snobby guy.

"Then may I see the stones?" sir Booster questioned. His annoyance with them plainly apparent.

"Now honey, do not be rude to our guests," a vaporeon said as she entered the room. "Hello there, I am lady Showers. Do not let my husband bother you, he has trouble trusting the lower class. The stones are going to be presents for our son's coming of age ceremony."

"I see. Well I have them right here in my bag," Dash replied and opened it to pick up the stones. As he did he accidently dropped the strange rock he had found in the cave.

"What do we have here?" lady Showers said as she picked it up. "Look, darling, it is a king's rock. It would make a simply divine gift for the Pollywog's and their daughter's birthday next week."

"Oh, fine!" sir Booster grumbled. "What do you want for the rock?"

"I don't know the market prize for a king's rock," Dash replied and asked Sune. "Do you?"

"I don't think there is any market for them," she said as she shook her head.

"There is not. Mainly because only slowpoke and poliwhirl can use it to access alternative evolutions," lady Showers explained. "But because of that some of them are willing to pay large sums for one. My good friend miss Delores paid 5000 P for one."

When they left the mansion they had an extra 6000 P, besides the 4000 they had been promised.

"Why are you still here?" Cinder asked as she, Cory and Bam made their way to the shop that had posted the other request.

"To make sure Cory is alright," the cranidos replied, trying to hide a blush. "BAM!"

"That's sweet of you Bam. I'm fine, but you can come along anyway. Things are always more fun when you have lots of friends with you."

"BAM! Actually I kind of wondered, since this monster hunter gig didn't work out so well, if I maybe could join your team?"

"Sure, we were looking for a rock type, anyway. So that should be great!" Cory chimed. "You can join too, Cinder. It'll be fun."

"No thanks," Cinder replied. "I plan to live a life in luxury. Not play in the poke battle championship. I'll cheer you on though."

"Yay! You can be our cheerleader! With pompoms!"

The shopkeeper was very pleased with the stones and when he learned that they had found more than the three he had requested, offered to buy the rest as well. Cinder made sure that they got a fair price, but kept two fire stones for herself as part of her share of the take. Besides the payment for the three stones he paid them an additional 4000 P for three more of the stones they had found. Most of the battle gems had been used up when Cinder and Dash had fought team sprocket's miners, but they sold some of the remaining ones. The shopkeeper paid them 50 P each for them.

Marvin could barely believe his eyes as they placed the money on the counter.

"8000 P, as agreed," Dash said. "What do you say Taya? Want to come with us to compete in the games?"

"Sure thing, fluffy!" Taya replied and tossed her apron over the counter. "Just let me get my stuff and we'll blow this place!"

When she returned she was wearing a pair of bright red fighting gloves.

"So when are we leaving? I don't want to stay here a second longer than I have to."

"We plan to leave tomorrow," Sune told her. "We are staying at the inn across town. We only have one room though, it might get a bit crowded with five people in it."

"Guys and gals in the same room? Sounds like my kind of party."

"No, it's not like that..." Sune started but was interrupted by Cory.

"You bet! We'll party like never before tonight! It will be your and Bam's welcome party! Oh! It's going to be so much fun! Let's party all night long!"

"Well, this was not the kind of party I was expecting," Taya stated as she stood in the doorway of their room. Which Cory was busy filling with balloons, streamers and various other party things.

Cinder had left the team before they had gone to pay Taya's debt, partly because she did not want their new recruit to think that she was a part of the team. But mostly because she had had her fill of Bam and Cory. How much crazy were you allowed in one place? They would make a good couple though, but Cinder truly feared the kind of children that union would spawn.

As she walked through the inn's hallway she noticed Dash. Not much of a surprise really, this was the only inn in town.

"Hey Dash, can I talk with you for a while?"

"Sure," he replied, smiling at her. "Cory sent me out to get some drinks for the party. You're welcome to join in, but I warn you, she is preparing a twister tournament."

"Thanks, but I'll pass. I haven't heard about this *twister* game before though. It sounds a little kinky," she told him. "Come, my room is this way."

Once they were inside she closed the door, and grabbed one of the fire stones she had kept.

"You know, you don't have to go to the P.B.C. You could stay with me."

Before Dash could answer she picked him up and kissed him. When she put him back down she started tracing the outline of his face with the fire stone.

"With this you can become a flareon. If you stay with me I'll evolve you if you want."

"But you know that I'm not really a pokemon!" Dash managed to say.

"That doesn't change the fact that I'm attracted to you."

"Thank you for the offer, but I promised Cory and Sune to help them. And I don't back down on my promises!"

With an apologetic nod, Dash left the room to re-join his friends. Cinder watched him leave and grinned to herself. It was not over, not by a longshot! The fact that he had turned her down only made her want him more. They would meet again. And then she would make another attempt.