Yancy carefully directed Larvesta to nudge the beautiful, softly glowing stone toward her.
The moment the stone touched her hand, a clear notification appeared:
[Obtained Unidentified Item: ???]
"Unidentified?" Yancy stared at the message, confused for a moment.
"Does this game have an appraisal system? Like those games where you have to track down an appraisal shop? You can't even see what it does until someone identifies it?"
She thought back to another game she'd played.
"When I was playing Dark Knight, I'd pick up special stones that needed identifying by specific NPCs before I could figure out what they were for. I wonder who does the identifying here? Does the Wigglytuff Guild have someone for that?"
She voiced her thoughts into the mic, and the chat immediately flooded with speculation: [Does the Pokémon world even have appraisal shops?], [Item shop maybe?], [Guild leader probably does it].
"Whatever, I'll just hang onto it for now and figure it out later."
Yancy tucked the stone into her bag. The item slot icon on screen lit up briefly. Just then, Squirtle walked over, still riding the high of their victory but looking a little sheepish as he glanced at Yancy.
"Phew... took care of them! Yancy, are you okay? That String Shot back there... uh... really saved the day!"
He seemed to be struggling to find something to compliment her on, but the effect of String Shot had been, well... less than impressive.
"Ahem."
Squirtle cleared his throat, quickly changing the subject.
"Anyway, we got the item back, so mission accomplished! We should get this back to Caterpie right away. He's probably worried sick!"
He glanced around at the cold, damp surroundings. "This cave is cold and nasty. Not exactly comfortable to stick around in. Let's just get out of here!"
"Get out? We don't have to backtrack?"
Yancy was curious.
Normally, in maze exploration games, especially grid-based ones, you'd have to walk back step by step or find an exit staircase.
"Of course not!" Squirtle puffed out his chest proudly.
"Even though I'm not officially a rescue team member yet, I still have the basic rescue team gear!"
He reached around to the edge of his shell and pulled out two small, white loops that looked like they were woven from some kind of tough grass fibers.
A few small, plain stones were embedded in the loops.
"Here, this is an Escape Orb!"
Squirtle handed one to Yancy and kept the other for himself.
"It's a super convenient dungeon escape item. If you use it deep in a dungeon, it'll instantly teleport us back to a safe spot near the entrance.
The guild gives these to every team member as standard equipment! I bought mine at a premium from someone else!"
He slipped the small white loop onto one of his front paws.
"Like this, you put it on your paw, or... uh, on your leg, I guess? Then you just think 'escape' or 'get out' and it works! Super handy!"
Yancy looked at the Escape Orb item icon that appeared on screen. Something about it seemed familiar.
She immediately had Larvesta take the loop and chose to use it.
"Ready?" Squirtle asked.
"Yep!" Yancy made Larvesta nod.
"Alright! Three, two, one! Escape!" Squirtle shouted.
As the words left his mouth, both loops lit up with a soft white glow!
The light quickly enveloped their bodies, and the cave scenery was instantly swallowed by white light. Space seemed to twist for a moment.
The screen flashed.
They were basking in sunlight again, back on the beach.
Caterpie was still waiting anxiously at the entrance, his body twisting nervously.
When he saw them appear out of thin air on the beach, especially when he saw the intact, glowing stone Yancy handed him, Caterpie's eyes instantly lit up!
"Thank you so much! Really! I can't thank you enough!"
Caterpie excitedly circled around them. "I knew you could do it! Squirtle, you must be an amazing rescue team member!"
Squirtle looked embarrassed, scratching his head as his face turned red again. "Ah... well... actually, it was mostly..."
Before he could finish, Yancy had already spoken up, pressing the interaction button and answering clearly for Squirtle through the mic: "Yep! That's right, he's absolutely an amazing rescue team member!"
The moment those words came out, Caterpie practically exploded with enthusiasm:
"I knew it!!! You're incredible!!!"
And Squirtle, after hearing Yancy's sudden response, froze completely.
The next second, his entire face turned bright red, and steam started rising from the top of his head.
He let out a short "Ah!" and then, in the blink of an eye, pulled his head, limbs, and tail completely into his blue shell.
All that was left was a red-hot shell trembling slightly on the spot. It looked hot enough to fry an egg on.
After a brief moment of silence, the chat absolutely lost it:
[HAHAHA HE RETREATED INTO HIS SHELL!]
[INSTANT SHUTDOWN!]
[Squirtle: I can't handle this!]
[Yancy is too good! One sentence and she broke him!]
[That shell is red enough to cook breakfast on!]
Yancy looked at the blue shell in the center of the screen, trembling and curled up tight, then at Caterpie beside them looking absolutely starstruck. She couldn't help but laugh.
These game NPCs... were just too cute.
She spoke into the mic, her voice full of amusement. "Alright, alright, Squirtle, don't be shy. Shouldn't we... head to the Wigglytuff Guild now?"
After a long moment, the shell cautiously opened just a crack. Squirtle's bright red face peeked out slightly, and he spoke quietly: "Y-yeah... Yeah! We should go! The Wigglytuff Guild is in the forest behind this beach!"
He seemed eager to escape this awkward situation and immediately turned to lead the way.
"Follow me!"
After saying goodbye to the endlessly grateful Caterpie, Yancy guided Larvesta to follow Squirtle along the edge of the beach and into a vast forest.
They hadn't gone far when a massive, thick ancient tree came into view.
The tree had been cleverly converted into a treehouse, with layers of wooden platforms wrapped around the trunk.
The roof was covered in thick moss and vines, and huge leaves formed a natural canopy.
A prominent wooden sign hung at the treehouse entrance, featuring a smiling Wigglytuff head with "Wigglytuff Guild" written in large characters beside it.
Stepping inside the guild, the sound of bustling activity immediately washed over them.
The hall was spacious and bright, with sunlight filtering through gaps in the leaves to cast dappled patterns on the floor.
Many Pokémon of various shapes moved busily about: a Machoke hauling large bundles, Emolga flying through the air delivering documents, a Skitty carefully registering information at the counter.
The walls were covered with mission bulletin boards plastered with colorful request forms, all seemingly different types of tasks.
Squirtle seemed familiar with the place but also more reserved.
He pointed to a massive wooden counter in the center of the hall, his voice dropping low.
"Yancy, over there... that's the registration desk. We... we have to register there first before we can officially become a rescue team and take on missions."
"Actually, I've always wanted to be a rescue team member, but... I figured my skills probably weren't good enough... so I never had the guts to come here and register... and I never looked for teammates either."
Yancy watched Squirtle looking nervous and ready to retreat into his shell again, then remembered his performance in the cave, taking down two opponents with rapid-fire Water Guns like some kind of action hero.
She was completely baffled.
This contrast was absolutely ridiculous!
This guy was clearly incredibly strong, so why did he get so timid when it came to forming a rescue team?
The chat exploded.
[??? Are you serious, bro? If you can't do it, who can?]
[Cave warrior instantly becomes a socially anxious newbie?]
[Squirtle: I can fight, but I can't sign up, sorry.]
[I'm dying, does this turtle not realize how strong he is?]
[I get it, he only gets shy around Yancy lol]
No way, this was going to be her partner moving forward. She had to find a way to encourage him.
Yancy spoke into the mic with a slightly exasperated tone.
"Hey, Squirtle! You just easily chased off two bad guys! And didn't you say your dream was to become a rescue team member? Show some confidence!"
Squirtle's face turned red again, but this time he didn't retreat into his shell. His gaze just shifted away as he muttered quietly, "But... I feel like I'm not good enough yet... The veterans at the Wigglytuff Guild are all so incredible... I'm scared..."
He lowered his head, scratching at the floor with his claws.
Yancy watched him and felt both annoyed and amused.
How could someone be both strong and timid at the same time?
Oh wait, more accurately, a turtle.
She made Larvesta gently tap Squirtle with an antenna.
"Don't be scared! Come on, your dream is right in front of you! Besides, we're partners, aren't we? I'm here with you!"
Maybe the word "partners" gave Squirtle a bit of courage. He finally looked up, took a deep breath, as if making a life-changing decision. "O-okay! Let's... let's go register!"
The two approached the massive wooden counter.
Behind it, an elderly Gumshoos wearing round-framed glasses looked up, adjusted his spectacles, and spoke in a calm, flat tone. "New recruits? Here to register a rescue team?"
"Y-yes!" Squirtle mustered his courage to answer, though his voice still trembled slightly.
Gumshoos glanced at them, his gaze lingering on Larvesta for an extra second, seemingly trying to identify the uncommon species, then nodded.
"Understood. According to regulations, newly formed teams must complete an initial mission to prove you have the basic qualifications and abilities to become rescue team members. This is guild policy."
He turned and tore a gray request form from a board behind him covered in various low-level tasks, placing it on the counter.
[Obtained One-Star Commission Task!]
[Mission Content: Travel to the outskirts of the one-star dungeon "Silken Forest" and retrieve a "Silver Root Grass."]
"Silver Root Grass is characterized by silver-colored roots and slender leaves. It usually grows near damp tree roots.
The mission location and sample image are on the back of the request form."
Gumshoos spoke quickly.
Just as Yancy took the gray request form, a clear selection box popped up in the center of the screen:
[Please Select Your Adventure Difficulty:]
[Nightmare (Locked: Unlocked after clearing Hard difficulty) - A true challenger's choice; every step could be your last! Choose with caution!!]
[Hard - Extremely high difficulty, scarce resources; requires exceptional strategic and combat skills! Not recommended]
[Expert - Higher adventure difficulty, suitable for players familiar with dungeon exploration and combat!]
[Normal - Balanced difficulty, suitable for most players to experience the story!]
[Casual - Relaxed and enjoyable adventure with significantly reduced combat pressure!]
[Story - Designed for experiencing the narrative and learning gameplay; virtually no risk of failure!]
This time there were so many different difficulty options to choose from?
But...
Looking at the difficulty selection, Yancy barely hesitated. Her cursor moved straight to [Expert]!
She thought back to the easy battle in the starter cave and Squirtle's combat prowess.
Expert difficulty shouldn't be too bad, right?
After all, it wasn't the highest setting...
As she made her selection, the chat immediately came alive:
[Expert??? Streamer, are you serious?]
[I wouldn't dare pick Normal, and you're going Expert? The Emerald thing is still fresh in my mind, haha!]
[I feel like the streamer can't handle Expert difficulty!]
[Just go Story mode! Enjoy the plot, isn't that better?]
[Yancy's at it again! Classic stubborn streak!]
[Can't wait to see the streamer get wrecked!]
Yancy glanced at the chat and smirked confidently.
"Hah! You guys really underestimate me! That cave just now was so easy! Squirtle was a beast! This clearly isn't some hardcore game; it's different from Emerald."
"Expert difficulty? Piece of cake! Watch me breeze through it!"
Without hesitation, she clicked [Expert] difficulty.
A system notification popped up: [Difficulty Locked: Expert].
[Please note: Once difficulty is selected, it cannot be changed!]
"Alright! Destination: Silken Forest! Let's go!"
Yancy was fired up.
The next part of the story showed Gumshoos handing them a simple map.
Then, led by Squirtle, they left the bustling guild hall and ventured deeper into the forest.
Soon, the screen went black, and a notification appeared.
[Entered Dungeon]
[Silken Forest - Lv1]
[F1]
[Weather: None]
[Special Conditions: None]
As the screen returned, Yancy found herself in a forest.
The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only occasional insect chirps and the rustling of leaves.
The ground was no longer beach or ordinary forest path but covered in massive, intertwined tree roots and ever-present white threads shimmering with a faint silver glow.
These white threads wrapped around tree trunks, bushes, and the ground, forming webs that made the entire environment feel complex and tinged with an underlying danger.
Clearly, this was "Silken Forest."
"Yancy, listen," Squirtle's voice dropped significantly, carrying a note of seriousness.
"We need to be careful from here on. For us rescue teams, the most dangerous thing in these dungeons... is actually the Pokémon."
He looked around warily before continuing:
"They're... different from us. These guys can't communicate; they seem to have lost their sense of self and will just attack anything..."
۞۞۞۞
~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones