Chapter 4
Marine Cavern


Snivy and I are walking through the cave when a Buizel appears in front of us. It dashes forward to attack us, and we each dodge to the side. We turn to face it, and Snivy steps forward.

"Stand back Mudkip, I got this."

"My name is Jamie!" I shout as they run towards the Buizel. They're right though; I can't fight, and being a grass type, they can probably deal with a water type Buizel pretty easily. I sit back and begin to watch. I might be able to learn some stuff about fighting.

Both of them are pretty quick, so there's lots of dodging, with not many attacks landing. I see Snivy land the first hit, but then I'm suddenly struck from the side and sent rolling across the ground! I climb to my feet and turn around to see an Electabuzz glaring at me.

I get ready to fight, but it seems kinda odd; this dungeon has mostly water types, so an electric pokemon seems out of place, since electricity is dangerous to water type pokemon.

Wait.

I'M a water type pokemon!

I see sparks around the Electabuzz's head, and before I understand what's happening, a lighting bolt comes flying at me, striking me head on. The electricity painfully courses through me, and I drop to the ground, but I'm able to stand back up.

When the Electabuzz realizes one bolt wasn't enough, I see sparks around its head again. The moment I see the sparks, I realize I have to dodge. I jump to the side just in time to avoid another bolt, and I'm able to land on my feet this time.

The Electabuzz glares angrily at me, and its head begins sparking again. I once again dodge, but when I land, its head is still sparking! I hastily jump again, but although I dodge the next bolt, I mess up my landing and fall down when I hit the ground. I turn to face the Electabuzz and see it about to fire another bolt, when a vine strikes its chin from below, redirecting its bolt upwards.

Snivy wraps their vines around the Electabuzz and holds it in place. As I stand up, Snivy shouts to me.

"Attack it, now!"

I run towards the Electabuzz as fast as I can, and when I reach it, I jump and slam into its stomach with a headbutt, provoking a groan of pain from the Electabuzz! As I hit, Snivy releases their vines, and the Electabuzz stumbles backward. Taking advantage, Snivy runs towards the Electabuzz and... starts spinning? As Snivy spins, a tornado of leaves appears around their tail, and just as Electabuzz starts to recover, Snivy jumps up and slams the Electabuzz's face with their tail. The leaves in the tornado cut into Electabuzz, dealing more damage.

As the tornado dissipates, the Electabuzz wobbles on its feet, barely keeping its balance, before falling to the ground with a crash! A few seconds later, it evaporates into smoke, defeated.

I can't help but stare in amazement at Snivy for a second. "Whoa, what was that attack?"

Snivy smiles with pride. "Leaf Tornado. I picked it up from my siblings back when I was at home. Anyway, that was a pretty good tackle for your second fight. Keep at it and soon enough, you won't be completely helpless!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I turn and start walking down the path, and I notice a bright blue light up ahead. "Hey, is that the end?" I say, pointing towards the light.

Snivy turns and sees the light. "Whoa! Yeah, it looks like it. Race you there!" Snivy says, running down the path.

"H-hey, wait up!" I say as I run after them.

I finally catch up to Snivy, and stop to catch my breath. They're looking up at the ceiling, and barely seem to notice me.

"Hey Mudkip, check this out!" they say.

I glare at them. "My name's not- Huh?" As I look up to face Snivy, I notice the blue light coming from above. I look at the ceiling of the cave to see it covered in blue crystals, glowing brightly in several shades of blue. It's beautiful, and I'm overcome with awe. "Wow..."

"Yup. This dungeon is called Marine Cavern. It's famous for these crystals."

"Are all mystery dungeons like this?"

"Nah, they're not all this pretty. But the ones that are make all the walking and fighting worth it. This sight makes getting shocked by an Electabuzz worthwhile, right?"

"Shut up," I say, giggling. I only now realize that I'm smiling like an idiot at the beauty above me. Snivy and I stare up at the crystals in silence for a while, and for the first time in the pokemon world, I feel like, despite my current situation, everything is going to be alright.

"So Snivy, this is why you explore mystery dungeons?" I ask.

"Oh, that's right! Well, this is definitely part of it. But really, it's everything! The danger, the beauty, and the feeling of discovery and, well, mystery! All of it is what makes me want to be an explorer! But, I'm also looking for a very special dungeon. There's a legend of a dungeon that can grant wishes! They say that if you go to the deepest place in the dungeon and make a wish, it will come true!"

"Really? That sounds pretty far fetched... Is there any proof that this special dungeon exists?"

"Nope! But I don't care. Most people don't believe it, and I get that; it sounds pretty unbelievable. But if no one looks for it, we'll never find out if it really is real! So that's my goal; I'll check every dungeon I come across to find the one that can grant wishes!"

"So you're going to check this dungeon now?"

"Yup!" Snivy takes a moment to clear their throat. "I wish... to become the world's most famous explorer!"

...Nothing happens.

"That's a pretty vague wish," I say.

"That's the thing I want most, so of course that'll be my wish! Still I'm not sure if it can grant those kinds of wishes, even if this is the right dungeon. So, I wish for a bag of gold coins!"

As Snivy speaks their wish, I'm completely amazed when I see that absolutely nothing happens.

"Well, I guess its not this one. C'mon, let's get out of here. At the deepest part of each mystery dungeon, there's a quick path back to the entrance." Snivy walks towards a tunnel leading upwards, and I follow.

"So, that wish-granting dungeon, do you think it could get me back to the human world?"

"You're still going on about that? And I don't know, it's a magical wish-granting dungeon that may or may not exist, I don't know the rules."

As we walk, I think about what I should do. That dungeon could be my ticket out of here, but there's also what Mew told me. "I need your help to save my world" they said.

"Hey, do you know anything about Mew?"

Snivy turns to look at me. "The guardian pokemon Mew? Not much. I've heard they watch over our world and protect it from destruction, but that's it. Why do you ask?"

"When I came to this world-" Snivy interrupts me with a groan. "Shut up. When I came to this world, I heard a voice calling themself Mew. They told me that their world was in danger, and that they needed my help to save it."

Snivy stares at me for a long while, then lets out a long sigh of disappointment. "So let me get this whole story straight: You're actually a human from another world, brought here by the guardian Mew. And Mew, the guardian of the world, needs your help, the help of someone who CAN'T EVEN FIGHT, to save the entire world. Is that about right?"

"Look, I get that this all sounds fake, but can you just tell me where I can find Mew and-"

"Find Mew? No one's ever even seen Mew for hundreds of years! Some people even doubt they exist! Honestly, you'd have a better chance finding the wish-dungeon than finding Mew," Snivy says, turning away as they keep walking.

I stop to think for a moment. Snivy looks back at me. "Hmm? What's up?"

I think for a moment longer, then look up at Snivy. "That's what I'll do then."

Snivy raises an eyebrow. "Wait, what?"

"I'm gonna search for the wish-dungeon with you."




Thanks for reading. Comments, questions, and criticisms are encouraged.