A new adventure...

[bashou]

A. TURNTERRACE ROAD - CLOSED to buson

"I suppose we didn't need this." As they neared the entrance to Turnterrace Tunnel, Bashou folded the map of Ohritori Island. "You must have walked this route all the time when you worked on the farm...?"

He swung his rucksack around to the front of his body so that he could slip the map back into its pocket. His rucksack had some additions, most notably a length of neatly coiled rope and carabiner clips attached to the side. Bashou, too, was dressed differently. His clothes were more form-fitting, not the usual loose and flowy things he'd gotten used to wearing in Ultern. There was a climbing harness around his hips, and a helmet with an integrated torch on his head.

Would there be any climbing involved in this trip? Bashou didn't know for sure. As with all the Mystery Dungeons, it seemed that this one defied any attempts to map beyond its entrance. But he always liked to be prepared, and going into an unchartable cave system felt a lot more dangerous than the unchartable forest island they'd visited last time...


B. ROUTE 5 / CRABRAWLER COAST (BETWEEN PORT OPPORTUNE AND ADANOOK TOWN), CHURA ISLAND - *OPEN!*

[You may want to take care if you wander off the path. Bashou likes to train his Pokémon around here, often with the 'help' of a creepy-looking cloth mannequin for target practice. He's currently focusing on his newest Pokémon, Roselia. She's learning how to use Toxic Spikes! If anyone gets too close, they'll get a glare and a 'tsk'.]

"You nearly got a face full of poisonous thorns. I'm trying to save my Antidotes for real emergencies, so please be more careful next time."

Comments

[ couldn't resist throwing in the line about the glowing rocks and tea... ]

[bashou]

"Well, let's see when we get back. Even if we have to wait a little longer, I'm sure it'll be worth it."

Bashou's usual caution was back, as he checked himself against getting his hopes up. Committing to a house of their own was a big step, with lots to consider. The thought of it still made Bashou feel warm and contented, but he didn't want to get too distracted while they were visiting yet another mysterious place, with no map, and probably some unknown dangers to contend with. Fighting off a bunch of wild Pokémon in a forest was one thing, but battling in a cave could be risky.

"More glowing things, hmm...? I'm sensing a pattern here. Is that what we're looking for? Am I supposed to put the rocks in my tea, too?"

He kept his tone light, to make clear that he was joking. The Midnight Bloom did seem to have some effect on his dreams, so even if they were there to find some other soothing-magical-thing-that-glows, Bashou wouldn't have minded.

As he spoke, he saw what Buson was talking about. At first, he thought it was light from somewhere else, reflecting off a shiny section of rock in the tunnel wall. But as they drew closer, he realised it couldn't be that. The light was coming from the rock itself.

"Well...if it's the shining rocks we're looking for, that was easy. They're right here. But I'm guessing it's not just that."

[I love that joke... also, oof, just realized how many typoes were in my last reply]

[buson]

Buson just smiled. Of course, it'll be worth it!

Buson laughed at Bashou's joke. The delivery's dry as ever, but it's a light-hearted joke and Buson appreciated it. They're in high spirits!

"That'd be some tea! Nah, we're not here to scrape glowy rock salt, although it sounds like it'd make a fun drink... cooler than the marble in those soda bottles!"

Bashou's assessment was also, of course, spot on!

"Nnnope, we aren't here for just that." he grinned wider. "Seems like Steel types thrive in this place and there's rarer stones here... think we'll find somethin' that'll buff our Pokemon?"

Without further ado... time to venture into the cave! It certainly is a beautiful sight to behold, glowing with its own light. Almost like crystals.

[bashou]

"Steel types..."

Bashou's expression brightened. It shouldn't have been that surprising, to think they might find some Steel types in a cave...but Ultern was so hot and humid, Bashou had almost given up on finding Steel types anywhere around these islands. It seemed like the wrong environment for them. But, of course, if they were going to thrive anywhere, it would be in a place like this.

"Can't hurt to try. Not in the market for any new Pokémon, but let's see what else we can find."

Bashou stepped into the cave. He could see well enough by the light from the rocks, but just as an experiment, he turned on his helmet's torch for a moment, to see if it made any difference. The beam bounced off some of the rocks and got refracted through others, making it more of an artistic distraction than a useful tool. Bashou admired the sight for a few seconds, then switched the torch off.

"Looks like you were correct about not needing a torch. Not in this area, anyway. I won't waste the batteries, just in case."

As he glanced at Buson, Bashou also looked back at the cave entrance. Once again, he was unsettled by the thought that these places were constantly changing, and impossible to map. A cave was much harder to escape than a forest.

"Maybe we should have brought a ball of string, though..."

[1/2]

[buson]

It was a beautiful sight, wasn't it? A bit bright for Buson, but he still briefly lowered the shades to have a peek at the colours.

"Wow."

As he listened to Bashou's concerns, few tiny Aron skittered by, just out of view, pausing often to watch the two humans from behind the shining stone, and skittering quickly by when they thought they couldn't be seen.

Buson watched one, trying to hide his smile of amusement, that didn't realize he could see it behind his sunglasses. Perhaps Bashou might also see them out of the corner of his eyes!

Seeing Hoenn native Pokemon now felt a little nostalgic!

"... hey."

He noticed Bashou looking uneasy.

"It's gonna be alright. Look, you wanna make a trail to follow? How about we do what wild Ursaring do and claw up our territory?" he suggested with a grin, then brought out a pokeball and tossed it. "C'mon out, Mawile! While we walk, can ya make a little "x" on the wall?"

[2/2]

[buson]

He made a swiping motion at the air to convey what that might look like to Mawile.

Mawile listened to the orders very seriously, then nodded dutifully and went up to the cave wall, whipping around and using its jaws to carve two long gashes into the stone.

"... it can't taste anythin' with that mouth, apparently, and those jaws can cut through steel. She'll—uh, whoops, he'll... be fine!"

Dropping his voice low and inching closer to Bashou's side. "Confirmed it when I thought it'd be fun to give Mawile one'a my protein shakes and he politely drank a tiny bit in front of me, then, when he thought I wasn't lookin', dumped the whole thing in his back jaws and looked relieved. It was tryin' so hard not to be rude, it's adorable, but it was hard not to laugh, even if it kinda bugged me at the time."

[bashou]

Bashou noticed the Aron, too. Though he'd said he wasn't looking for any new additions to his team, he briefly paused to consider their potential...but, no, he shouldn't be catching anything this early in their trip, if at all. He decided to ignore them.

"I do think we should make some kind of trail. I know we managed fine on that island, in the end, but...a cave seems more dangerous, and we don't have Evie here to help manage any Pokémon diplomacy issues..."

At Buson's suggestion that Mawile could help, Bashou's jaw dropped a little. He hadn't considered leaving marks like that! If he had, he might have suggested that his Pawniard could do the same thing, but...she was still his bodyguard, primarily, and he didn't want her to dull her blades, even though she hopefully wouldn't have to use them here! Besides, a Mawile could reach further and higher with those jaws.

"That's a great idea." Bashou should have left it at that, probably, but he was thinking aloud. His voice dropped to a mutter. "Assuming whatever magic makes this place unchartable doesn't erase Mawile's markings. They're only crosses, though...not arrows or directions..."

Well, if that happened, it was beyond their control. Buson's idea was still a great one, and it was better to try than to leave it to fate.

Bashou stifled a laugh at Buson's story. As they were going along, he occasionally glanced at Mawile with a tight-lipped look of sympathy.

"Can't say I blame him. How useful, though, to have a choice about tasting food." He paused to think. "I might eat natto if I had that ability. I suppose that's as much about the smell as the taste, but those things are often linked. So, what about you? What would you use your back jaws for, if you were a Mawile?"

[buson]

Bashou's concern did give Buson pause.

"... maybe they'll stick around as long as the path exists for us... I mean, we went back roughly the same way we came on Chichi Island, right? Maybe... if not, well, I guess we'll just have to handle it our way, if we can't be diplomatic."

Mawile didn't hear the earlier conversation, so did not understand Bashou's sympathetic looks, briefly glancing at him out of the corner of his eyes the first time, but otherwise, remained focused on the path. Every time they passed through another opening or tunnel, he carved another cross.

"If I had a second mouth that I couldn't taste with... sharp teeth and jaws that could chomp through steel?"

He smirked, but said nothing, then hummed thoughtfully, clasping his hands behind his head. "Let's see... those jaws make a good can opener! Uncork bottles and stuff too... if I gotta eat, I wanna enjoy what I eat! I'll save it for medicine, cracking stuff open, and maybe doin' tricks."

[ featuring the return of Bashou's hubris and greed (if they ever went away)... ]

[bashou]

"Well, this should be an interesting experiment. If this works, maybe we should come back again at another time and try some directional markings, labels, or something like that. See if those last, and if they stay accurate..."

Of course Buson would use Mawile-style jaws for tricks and opening bottles. Bashou smiled wryly for a second, then returned to thinking about Buson's idea of having Mawile mark their way. Bashou hung back and paused to look at Mawile's markings, then caught up with Buson and gave him a slight nudge.

"I know that people say these places change every time, but...that could just be people's perception, no? It's easy to get lost in places like this. Easy to see how people could convince themselves that the path changes, when in reality they've just gotten confused. Perhaps these places only haven't been mapped yet because people have simply swallowed the idea that they're 'magical'."

Just like with Legendary Pokémon, once something was branded a mystery, many people would just accept it and give up too easily. But he and Buson were different, weren't they? Considering what they did - or used to do - as field agents? Many people would have said Raikou could never be found, let alone caught. And yet they had done it, even if only for a brief time. Without any interference, they would have...

"Imagine if we could be the ones to prove them wrong, and produce some reliable maps. Do you think people would pay for those?"

[.... Bashou, no. Please don't encourage this--oh, Buson, not you too! :| ]

[buson]

Buson glanced over his shoulder at Bashou at the nudge, curious, but when he heard his idea, he initially looked amused in a mildly exasperated sort of way... the place was already this strange and Bashou still had doubts about magical places with always changing paths?

But, it wasn't too long when he felt silly believing it and he'd heard of failed attempts at making maps, but, he hadn't seen any himself, so maybe... Bashou had a point. Buson tended to take people at their word a bit more, but Bashou questioned more. Buson was a bit quicker to accept that something wasn't likely to be possible, but Bashou had a great way of making insurmountable, impossible-sounding things... sound possible.

Even if it went nowhere, it was a fun idea to entertain and he could always use the money!

A sharp, wolfish grin spread across his face.

"They'd pay handsomely, especially if there's rare stones and gems to be found, but we'd have to be very careful with who to sell it to, if it reaches too many people, they'll ransack the place, and then, what good'll it be? No use to us! If we mark it up and control how many copies are made, or write it differently for each person, so the average person can't make sense of it, that should slow down the spread considerably, too... don't think someone who'd pay a hefty sum would be quick to hand it out for free, that's rippin' himself off, too, but hey, if some idiot tries to cheat us all out, we could make the old map obsolete. Set traps, collapse a tunnel or two, explosives should still work on these rocks, glowing or not, right?"

He laughed and patted a wall.

"... boom. Then, we'll charge even higher for maps of the new path! We could have several houses! Maybe even a mansion!"

[ B&B: Ultern is like a vacation from our old criminal lives... also B&B: let's blow things up ]

[bashou]

Bashou mirrored Buson's grin, surprised (and a little impressed) that he was going so far as potentially re-engineering the whole place. But...that would involve finding the right gear to carry out controlled explosions, without being detected. Bashou hadn't exactly seen any dynamite or industrial chemical stores around Ultern.

It was a fun idea. But definitely one that was better in theory than in practice. The tunnel that these caves led from was one that people actually used, after all, and to damage it would cause a lot of disruption. Not that that would usually stop a Rocket from doing what they wanted, but if they were trying to lay low...

They were just joking, right?

"Or...what about this? I'm thinking aloud here, for once, so this may be a terrible idea, but...if it works, we keep the maps. Memorise them, even. Don't tell anyone they exist. In fact, we stick to the story about how the mystery dungeons are practically impossible to map. But we offer our services as guides, for a price. Then we keep the knowledge to ourselves, and anyone who comes with us is under our control. Could be risky and attract some bad characters, but...I doubt most people could get the jump on us, together, with our Pokémon..."

And their relative lack of regard for morality, and people's lives.

Would anyone choose to go with them, though? They did make a strange pair, probably, to people who didn't know them.

"I wouldn't trust us as tour guides, though."

[(villainous) castles in the air; CW: implication of killing... in self-defense, but still]

[buson]

"Even better!" Buson said with a howling laugh, clapping his hands together. "... that's way better than relying on a bunch of strangers and this way, we wouldn't even have to change up the place or disturb the wildlife. It'll just be us as suspiciously good guides. If anyone tries to squeeze it out of us, what, like we wouldn't hoard all the stones and gems to ourselves if we knew this place like the back of our hand? Get real!"

Buson kicked a stone. "... if it's a dangerous character, we make it look like an accident easy... treacherous environment, unstable rocks, wild Steel types protectin' their territory... a cryin' shame, but not our fault."

The stone continued to travel, clattering along the way, followed a side tunnel out of view, before hitting something with a much higher sound than the cavern floor or the cave walls, a hollow, almost drum-like sound.

"... hey, did you hear something?"

Maybe there was something to investigate?

[ cw: just Bashou fantasising about someone's death... ]

[bashou]

Bashou fought back a smile as he imagined himself looking down into a crevice, at the body of someone who'd threatened him, or maybe just offended him a little too much. The peace of Ultern was nice, and Bashou had never considered himself to be an incurable criminal, but this kind of life just didn't offer the same opportunities for satisfaction.

Not allowed to kick someone off a cliff, even if they deserve it...

The distant thud brought Bashou's attention back to the present moment. To his ears, he thought it had sounded almost metallic, like the kind of noise a Steel-type Pokémon could make. But it was hard to analyse a one-off sound like that. Bashou stood still and nodded.

"I heard it. Shall we go...?"

[(lovingly) they're so messed-up]

[buson]

"Sure," Buson nodded, and proceeded carefully, Mawile marking the wall before hurrying to their sides.

The hollow sound might have come from striking a part of the cave wall, the translucent and crystalline nature of which, allowed a near-uninterrupted view of a Mega Stone, not too deeply incased. A little bit of chipping away should reach it.

"Hey, Bashou! Looks like we found some jewel already... looks like... amber, almost, but there's something interesting at the heart of it."

Bashou's guess, however, wasn't wrong, as there was also... a large, sleeping Steelix coiled up front of it looked rather irritable, watching them both with one eye. The stone Buson kicked seemed to have annoyed it...

[ lots of urgency there, Bashou... ]

[bashou]

As soon as the Steelix came into their line of sight, Bashou let out a long and slow sigh, so low that it sounded more like a hiss. It might have been the sound of someone afraid, but his expression - with a slow blink and an eye roll - suggested that this was more like an inconvenience. Probably not surprising, since Bashou was used to dealing with a moody Steelix.

"Well..." Bashou spoke through the last of his sigh. "Do we think whatever's behind it is worth it?"

He didn't want to sound pessimistic, but they were better at battling with Steel types than against them...especially in a place like this, where space was limited and some types of attacks could put them in danger...

On the other hand, that stone could be something valuable or useful, and it would be a shame to come away from here empty-handed.

"Suppose we might not have a choice now, but...what do you think? Some water would be good, but I have none..."

[we move!]

[buson]

Buson tensed at the sound Bashou made, although he was captivated by the gleaming jewel, he had to turn to see what prompted it. Oh.

The Steelix, now, on top of being annoyed, looked offended at Bashou's eye-roll and lazy, cat-like blink. What was that...?! Were they not taking it seriously?

Its tail twitched and Buson, rather than reply, opted to just shove Bashou as he ran back to where they were before, Mawile leaping after them.]

Slow it down!

[Mawile dutifully sliced and kicked aside some large stones to seal a little less than half the entrance to Steelix's area, to distract it. It could probably easily crunch through them, but they just needed the time to run and take a different route, losing it down some other paths. Unfortunately, this gave Mawile little time to mark anything except once!

They might be... slightly lost.]

[bashou]

"Oh - "

Even Bashou's exclamation was understated, but it held a note of surprise, firstly at the annoyed tail twitch from the Steelix, and then at the flurry of movement.

Before he could react, Bashou felt himself being shoved out of the cavern, back in the direction they'd come from. For a split-second, he thought Buson was planning to act the tough guy and take on the Steelix by himself. But it soon became clear that, no, they were running.

Well, that's fine, too.

It didn't take long for Bashou to build up some momentum. Any rocks in his way didn't pose an obstacle; he leapt over them like he was in a hurdles race. If anything, it was harder to stop. He couldn't even slow down to look behind him. He only knew that Buson and Mawile were following because he could hear their footsteps, and the occasional clang of Mawile's jaws against stone. The acoustics within the tunnels amplified everything, making it impossible for him to tell where Buson and Mawile were, or if the Steelix was following...

Spotting a small alcove - or perhaps it was a narrow tunnel that led somewhere else - Bashou ducked into it and flashed his head torch repeatedly, so that if Buson was some way behind, he might still see the flashing light...

[buson]

Bashou was a lot faster, so it took Buson a little longer to catch up, although he was just happy everyone made it through in one piece.

No longer hearing Steelix behind him, Buson slowed, but didn't stop, deciding to continue ahead in shorter bursts, and to simply walk when he could. He wasn't sure if Steelix's hearing might be more attuned to pinpointing prety (he had to admit, to a Pokemon that large, they might as well be, even if it wasn't exactly predatory, subsisting on rocks and soil) in these tunnels.

Walking allowed him to see the lights, although he hadn't found Mawile yet. Should he whistle? Was that sound too distinctly human? It sure would be nice if he still had a recorded Pokemon call or something to play... or a call or lure or something...

He quietly made his way over, gripped the wall and casually leaned, smling down at Bashou.

"Am I cleared to land?" he asked jokingly, before glancing back.

"... I can't hear Mawile. Wonder where that guy went... it was keepin' up 'til just now, so I don't think that Steelix got it..."

Should they lie low for a bit? It's quiet... or go look?

[bashou]

It seemed to take a while for Buson to arrive, although that might just have been Bashou's heightened perception of time. At least it was clear when he arrived - Buson might have been loud, but he wasn't as loud as a rampaging Steelix... - so Bashou didn't flinch when he appeared above the crevice. No Mawile in sight, though.

The most important thing was that they were both safe, but Bashou felt a twinge of concern for Mawile. He tried to rationalise it away - they live in caves in the wild, he can defend himself, he'll be fine... - but they had to find him before moving on. Then they'd need to figure out where they'd ended up.

"We should find him, but I'm not sure it's safe to go back that way. We could get even more lost, or cross paths with that same Steelix..."

The possibility that they really were lost, and that there might not be another way out, pressed urgently upon Bashou's mind. But Mawile was helping them to navigate. It made sense to find him.

"I could keep flashing my torch. Might wear the battery out, though." Bashou thought about what else was in his backpack. Or on his belt. "Hmm, what about Claudia...?"

[buson]

"Save it," Buson insisted firmly. "... sorry I made fun of it earlier. It really was useful even with all these glowing rocks."

"Remind me, Claudia is...?"

One of Bashou's Pokemon, clearly, but the Bashou in his world didn't name his Pokemon so much, so it's a little hard for him to tell. (He wouldn't have any idea that this one was named by the Buson in Bashou's world!)

"I was thinkin' a Pokemon call might be subtler... maybe we could even ask one'a our Steel types to call Mawile, they wouldn't attract so much attention, but Mawile'd know their voices, right? Maybe our Pokemon could work together."

Buson waited to see what Claudia might be before selecting a Pokemon himself.

[bashou]

"Claudia...? But you named her! Ah..."

Bashou would sometimes forget that this wasn't his Buson. Whenever he remembered, it was a little jarring, until he reminded himself that everything had been fine in Ultern. He was happy here, even if this Buson was from a different world. Maybe, at some point, he'd stop thiking about it at all. For now, he shrugged it off.

"My Golbat." He realised, then, that he'd never seen Buson with a Golbat, either, unlike in his home world. "Do you not have one, too? Back home, they..."

They work together, Bashou was about to say, but it felt wrong to be talking about stuff like that. It might have made him sound wistful for his old life. Anyway, now wasn't the time for comparing worlds.

"She's quiet. She could find Mawile, lead him back to us. And with her echolocation, I doubt she'll get lost."

[Bashou: Now wasn’t the time to compare worlds. Buson: -compares worlds, gets distracted-

[buson]

Buson shook his head.
“Sorry… never trained one, ‘scept when I borrowed a Zubat in some exercise during training as a temporary Pokemon.”

He looked sympathetic as Bashou realized the difference. It’s fine if Bashou fondly recalled their—his—life, even if Buson couldn’t relate. Nothing seemed worth what he had to do for a living, except Bashou, and he’s here now, so…

He gave Bashou’s shoulder a little pat, even if he didn’t know the details. Were their Golbat a team? Related? A pair? Not the time to ask, really, but it seemed recalling the differences still bothered Bashou in a way it didn’t bother Buson anymore…

He hated thinking about his old life, but Bashou didn’t take to Ultern so completely as he did. He didn’t mind the differences and enough folks drifted in from Johto that he could find a lot of the same food he liked… that’s good enough for him. He hardly ever missed home. Having Bashou here, even if he’s a little different in some superficial ways, is all he needs. He’d rather spend the rest of his days here, even though he knew he couldn’t die here. It wasn’t his world. He just wished it was.

He was distracted by his thoughts, but he made out enough of Bashou’s words to know when he should nod.

Meanwhile, Mawile had gotten lost wandering a tunnel branching off to some side away from the route Bashou and Buson had taken. He, too, had slowed to a walk and looked around himself at the dazzling lights. This wasn’t where he was meant to be, he realized, and the wild Aron seemed too skittish to answer his questions. He gashed the wall and sat down a moment, straining to hear his master or his friend, but it seemed they’d moved too far apart… he breathed deeply for a few seconds, then rose to his feet again, prepared to keep searching. But he still felt tired and now, hungry too… it might be bad to carry on in this condition, but the humans weren’t accustomed to surviving in a place like this!

To replenish his strength, he searched for something to eat… there was nothing to hunt and there wasn’t even rock salt to lick, but… he did find overturned earth soil and small tunnels. Diglett? Maybe… but they’d disappeared far below and his paws weren’t exactly built for efficient digging. He frowned at them and decided to swing his second set of jaws to eat soil instead and try not to think about the contents too much.

[1/2]

[bashou]

Buson seemed to be deep in thought, even if just for a moment. Bashou hoped he hadn't caused any distress - partly because he didn't want to upset Buson, especially while he might have been worrying about his missing Mawile, but also partly because Bashou was terrible at apologising. He thought it was best to forget it and focus on the task at hand.

Even though "his" Buson had named her, Bashou rarely called his Golbat "Claudia" to her face. He'd never quite gotten used to it; she'd been with him since a time when he never named any of his Pokémon and never though he would. But since he'd brought up the subject, he called her by her nickname as he released her above their heads. He wondered if she'd think it was strange.

"Claudia. We need your help. We had to run, and we got separated from Buson's Mawile. Please be so kind as to track him down and lead him back to us. He was marking the path, so look out for crosses on the walls. And if you can get any sense of where we are, and how to get out of here...that would be helpful, too."

Bashou didn't want to say that they were lost, but without Mawile keeping track of their path, they might have been.

[2/2]

[bashou]

Claudia listened to her instructions, occasionally turning in Buson's direction. Since when did he have a Mawile? Where was his Golbat? It would have been better if they'd released her at the start of this cave venture, if they wanted her to help map it out, but better late than never.

Once she understood what she had to do, Claudia silently flew off, using her Supersonic and its echo - too high-pitched for humans to hear - to build up a picture of what was ahead. The walls were dotted with crystals made of unfamiliar material. Claudia had to wonder if the humans had come here for something they considered valuable.

It should have been easy enough to identify a Steel type of the right size. The only risk was that Mawile might end up getting confused by the Supersonic, but it would wear off soon enough. But before she found Mawile, Claudia found one of his marks. It looked like it had been made in a hurry. The Golbat followed their trail, passing a chamber where a Steelix lay coiled, glaring.

Eventually, she reached a point where the crosses seemed more deliberate, less rushed...but no sign of Mawile, and it looked like there was an exit up ahead. Presumably Mawile wouldn't have just left without his trainer...?

Claudia turned around and doubled back, firing a Supersonic at the Steelix along the way as it growled at her in passing. She followed the trail of increasingly messy marks again until they stopped. When she reached this area, this time she took a different path, calling ahead with her Supersonic again and analysing its echo.

This time, she picked up on something moving in the distance, and called out a greeting with her audible voice.

"I'm looking for Buson's Mawile. Is it you...?"

[Agitating that Steelix further and further is not very good for their predicament...]

[buson]

Buson expected no apology and was not hurt, only concerned for Bashou's sake, although it went unsaid, outside of that rather distracted gesture.

Buson's Mawile did wince at the Supersonic and briefly couldn't tell up from down nor left from right owing to the terribly sharp sound. It's a good thing Claudia spoke before approaching!

'I am! Do you know him? If you hadn't said that name, I'd have torn you limb from limb for all that noise! That was your doing, wasn't it?'

Great at conversation, clearly, no wonder he came off too intense for the wild Steel types. ... he was not usually so threatening, really, and this was quite chatty for Mawile's standards, but he might be overcompensating for the fact that the Supersonic made him so suddenly unsure on his feet and landed him gracelessly head-down, peering up at Claudia from between his legs. He's embarrassed!

[bashou]

"Your human and mine are partners. So, yes, you could say I know Buson."

The complications of this place aside, that is. Claudia didn't think she really knew this Buson, but...well, that was her trainer's business. She wasn't ruffled by Mawile's warnings either.

"We all have to find our way around somehow, don't we? Weren't they your marks on the walls? But, yes, I'm sorry for the confusion. It'll wear off. The most important thing is, I was sent to find you. And here you are. So now I can lead you back."

Claudia began to fly off, but she stayed low to the ground and looked behind her regularly, making sure that Mawile was still following and that he was doing okay. Since she'd already mapped out the route, fortunately, there was no need for any more waves of Supersonic.

"The humans are fine, by the way. No injuries. But they might need help from both of us to get out safely. What made them come here, anyway? Was it the glowing rocks?"