Chapter 11
Questions



After taking a break from our last battle, we continue deeper into the lake. Along the way, I can't help but investigate the watery walls of the tunnel; I stop to poke at them and reach inside, wondering how they work.

"C'mon Mudkip, hurry up," Snivy calls from ahead.

"My name is Jamie."

"Cool. What are you even doing?"

"Still wondering how these walls work. It's weird because-"

"Oh my gosh, you're still- Look, are you gonna explore a cool dungeon, or are you gonna obsess over a wall?"

I sigh. "Fine."

We keep walking, my questions still unanswered. Maybe Snivy's right; there aren't any answers to be found, so maybe I should just... enjoy the dungeon. It is beautiful, after all. I stare at the colorful coral that surrounds the tunnel, the view filtered through the water. It really is like a garden, the different colors arranged into a flowing spectrum, making me feel like I'm inside a rainbow. It makes me wonder... "Do you think this place was intentionally designed to be beautiful?"

"You're still doing it."

"... Oh." I just can't stop asking questions.

Suddenly, a voice calls out from deeper in the tunnel. "Hello? Is someone there?"

Snivy's face lights up as they shout back. "Yeah! Over here!" Snivy turns to me. "C'mon Mudkip," they say, pulling me along toward the voice. Despite their forcefulness, I am excited to finally have someone besides Snivy to talk to.

Soon, we come face to face with a Treecko. At their waist is a bag just like Snivy's, though they lack a scarf. "Hi," the Treecko says. "Are you guys explorers too?"

"We sure are!" Snivy replies, puffing out their chest. "We're searching for the Guardians' Gate!"

"Wow, that sounds interesting. I'm mostly just wandering around." The Treecko reaches out a hand. "My name's Treecko."

Snivy shakes their hand. "Snivy. Oh, and my partner here is-"

"Jamie," I interrupt.

"Jamie?" Treecko questions. "But you're a Mudkip, right?" Oh jeez, here we go...

"I know right?" Snivy laughs. "Sorry about Mudkip, they don't really get how names work."

I shoot a glare at Snivy before turning back to Treecko. "I know exactly how names work, but I'm-" Shoot, what do I tell them? That I'm a human? I look down in defeat. "I just... prefer to be called Jamie."

Treecko is quiet for a moment. "... Huh. Okay. So that's Snivy and Jamie, got it." A look of surprise crosses Snivy's face. "Anyway, this dungeon is amazing, right?"

I'm a bit shocked to hear someone finally call me by name, so Snivy responds first. "Uh, yeah. I'd never seen coral before, and this is one heck of a first impression."

"I would think so. I've seen coral once, when I went to the coast with my granny, but this is on a whole different level."

I find my voice again. "Yeah, I really like how the colors shine through the walls."

"Hey, speaking of those walls, have you two made any discoveries yet?"

Snivy tilts their head. "Uh, what kind of discoveries?"

"About the dungeon! You know, stuff like crystals that invert gravity, or berries that transform you when you eat them!"

"Oh, you mean stuff like portals that can teleport you?" Snivy asks.

"Exactly! Wait, did you find that here?!"

"Nah, somewhere else. Oh, I should show you my map later!"

"Yeah, that sounds great!"

Sheesh, seems like Snivy's found their soulmate. Though about discoveries... "We haven't really found anything here, aside from these weird walls. I wish I knew how they worked..."

Snivy sighs. "Ugh, just let it go Mudkip. It's not like you'll figure it out by wishing."

"They're right Jamie," Treecko says, "idle wondering won't give you any answers. You have to actively search for answers, like so!" Treecko pulls a squirt gun from their bag. They approach the wall and load the gun with water.

"You packed a squirt gun for an exploration?" Snivy asks.

"Of course. I pack only the most basic necessities; food, shelter, and experimental tools!" Treecko sticks the gun through the wall and blasts the wall from the outside, but the water doesn't pass through. "See how it held the water back, even with so much force?"

I nod, but where are they going with this..?

"My hypothesis is that there's an invisible force that repels the water, but lets other things though. Now watch this." Treecko cups their hand and gently pulls it through the wall. The water between their hand and the wall falls out and splashes on the ground. "The water can't pass the wall on its own, but it can be pushed in by something else, which is why we can get through even with water inside our bodies. Cool, right?"

"If you've figured it all out," Snivy says, "then where does this 'invisible force' come from? What makes it work like that, huh?"

"That's the big question. You can understand everything about how a phenomenon works, but what causes that phenomenon in the first place? That's what I'm hoping to find out some day. I want to become a mystery dungeon researcher, and discover how all this magic works."

"Wow," I say, "you're like a magical scientist!"

"Heh, thanks. I just can't stop asking questions, that's all. Hey, do you mind if I group up with you guys for now? It's pretty tough exploring a dungeon alone."

"Sure. Safety in numbers."

We resume our journey through the lake. Bad news: it only takes a minute before we're interrupted by wild pokemon. Good news: it's just a single Sobble, and with three against one it's over before I can blink.

"You know," I say as the Sobble evaporates, "these wild pokemon are pretty brainless to attack a group of three. It didn't even try to run. Shouldn't they have some sense of self preservation?"

"Apparently not," Treecko says. "I think they only have aggressive instincts; like fight-or-flight, but without the flight."

"Why would that be?"

"It might be intentionally designed that way. There's a myth that mystery dungeons were hand crafted by the Guardians. As for why, no one knows, but they're obviously meant to be explored."

"Hey yeah, that explains a lot about mystery dungeons! Like maybe wild pokemon never flee because they're meant to be obstacles."

"Yeah, but it's just a myth; there's no real evidence for it, just old stories. It is the most likely explanation though. Anyway, I'm glad we teamed up, these wild pokemon are such a pain."

"What?" Snivy says. "No way, battling wild pokemon is the second-best part of mystery dungeons!"

"Yeah, I gotta agree with Snivy here," I say. "Battles are fun."

Treecko laughs. "What, you mean you enjoy getting kicked in the face?"

Well when you put it that way... "Uh, it's... an acquired taste."

"You guys are barbarians."

Snivy giggles. "Heck yeah, Team Barbarian!" They hold out a hand to me. "Up high, partner!"

"You're so weird," I say, giving them a high five.

"So, are you two an exploration team? You've got matching scarves and all..." Treecko asks.

"Yeah!" Snivy says. "Well, kinda. We were both just wandering around dungeons at first, so we teamed up, but now it turns out we might be headed for the same place."

"The Guardians' Gate, you said earlier? I've never heard of it. I wish I had some info to give you."

"No worries. The mystery is the best part!"

"Agreed."

We continue through the tunnel peacefully. We chat along the way, Treecko giving trivia about mystery dungeons and Snivy sharing tips on foraging food. "... and that's where you can find carrots."

"Huh. Back home, carrots don't grow in the wild," I say.

"I've never heard of wild carrots either," says Treecko.

"Well they exist," says Snivy, "just like apples, oranges, and pecha berries. Hey Treecko, how long have you been traveling? You don't seem to know much about gathering food."

"Oh, I've barely traveled at all. I only left home yesterday, and I plan to head back after checking out this dungeon. Say, what direction are you two headed?"

"North. Er, northwest? Somewhere around there, it's complicated."

"My granny and I live in a cottage north of here, on the edge of a forest. You can stop there if you need a place to rest, and we've got plenty of food to spare if you need supplies."

"Wow, thanks! And your granny will be okay with that?"

"Yeah, we take travelers as guests all the time."

"Sweet. Hey, what's that up ahead?"

The tunnel opens into a dead end, but the room contains a pond. Underwater. I approach and poke the water experimentally. "How did this... get here? Shouldn't the tunnel have kept the water out?"

"Good question," Treecko replies. "Maybe there was a break in the barrier as the dungeon shifted?"

"Hmm. Maybe when the barrier moved, it skimmed over this dent in the lake floor, and didn't push the water out. Or maybe-"

"Oh my gosh, enough with the questions!" Snivy interrupts. "Seriously, it's called a MYSTERY dungeon for a reason!"

"... Yeah?" Treecko says. "And mysteries are meant to be solved."

"No, that's not- I mean you two are obsessing over these pointless details when you should just be enjoying the dungeon!"

"We ARE enjoying the dungeon," I say. "Isn't it fun to indulge in curiosity?"

"Mudkip, you know what I mean."

"Their name is Jamie," Treecko corrects. "Honestly, why are you so immature compared to them?"

Snivy freezes. They take a step back, their eyes wide. "I... I..."

Wait, it's like last night! "H-hey, they're not immature!" I say. "They just... they're just used to enjoying mystery dungeons their own way, that's all."

Treecko tilts their head and raises an eyebrow. "Well, if you say so. But it's not an excuse to ruin our fun."

"True. Anyway, let's check out that pond some more."

We settle down for a break and have some food. Treecko and I chat about the dungeon, while Snivy silently eats. Thankfully, they've calmed down now, idly fiddling with their scarf. A few minutes later, we finish our food.

"Ready to get moving, Treecko?" I ask.

"Actually, I'm going to stay here and experiment with this pond. You guys can keep moving; I can handle myself, and I don't want to slow you down."

"Yeah, I think we'll move on. Hey Snivy, you wanna keep moving?"

Snivy nods.

"Well, it was nice meeting you Treecko."

"Ditto to you, 'Team Barbarian'. Good luck!"

"Um, wait a sec," Snivy says. "I'm... I'm sorry for getting mad at you guys for being curious. I was being dumb and thinking you weren't enjoying the dungeon properly."

"Ah. Well, apology accepted, Snivy! Just make sure you learn from this; my granny always tells me that mistakes are just lessons learned the hard way."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Well, um, goodbye! Have fun with your research!"

With that, we leave Treecko behind and head deeper into the dungeon. After barely a minute of walking, Snivy speaks up.

"Hey Partner? Thanks for defending me back there. I... I really appreciated it.

"No problem. That's what partners are for, right?"

"Right. And... sorry again for being such a butt."

"It's okay. We're all butts sometimes," I say, and Snivy snickers. "Like Treecko said, just make sure you learn from it and don't be a butt the same way again."

Snivy laughs. "Aren't you supposed to be the mature one?"

"Eh, who cares what I'm supposed to be?"




Thanks for reading! Comments, questions, and critiques are encouraged and appreciated!