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Ios sighed and looked around the room. Feral pokemon as far as the eye can see. And all the way in the back, just barely visible, was a single Rhydon. The mere existence of the horn atop its head felt as if it was mocking the Luxray. He had been exploring a recently formed dungeon with Anamken but was separated from the Tinkaton when a feral pokemon roared him across the room and onto a Warp Trap. He managed to lose his bag in the process, so here he sat in the middle of a Monster House without any items and a Lightning Rod to make this far more difficult than it needs to be.
He fired a Signal Beam at the nearest enemy, taking it down in a single hit. He wasn’t entirely worried about the enemies, given this isn’t that difficult of a dungeon and he’s fought literal gods at this point. If anything, the tedium of having to pick off more than thirty enemies one by one is the biggest danger here. The next few enemies moved within range, earning one an Ice Fang. Ios ignored the attacks being thrown his way and continued to chip through the horde. If he can just make it to the Rhydon and take it out, he can just end this with a single Discharge.
Ios lost track of time somewhere after the eighth enemy, everything blurring together into elemental fang attacks and the odd Signal Beam thrown in. At long last, the horde parted enough for him to shoot a signal beam at the source of his problems, felling it in a single blow. He let out a sigh of relief.
“Let’s bring this to a close. I have much better things to occupy my time than fighting the likes of you,” he said, wanting nothing more than to be done with this farce and be reunited with his mate.
Sparks danced along his fur as he charged power. He let it all out, lightning surging outwards in a brilliant display of power-
Only to coalesce and flow to the horn of a Rhydon that had just stepped in from a corridor on the opposite side of the room.
Ios stared at it for several seconds before letting out a deafening groan. He began to carve out yet another path through the horde of ferals, grumbling to himself about his poor fortune. While there were significantly less than before, many kept wandering in from elsewhere on the floor and making this take far longer than it needed to.
As he began to close in on the second affront to Electric types everywhere, a hammer coated in darkness smashed through several of the ferals. The poor pokemon flew across the room before smashing into the wall and dissolving into Aether.
“About time! I’ve already taken out two dozen all on my own,” he shouted to the Tinkaton who had just entered the room.
“Babe, I found the longest dead end I’ve ever seen! It must have circled around the rest of the damn floor. Besides it’s not like you needed the help,” Anamken answered back, continuing to swing her hammer about.
“That hardly surprises me. Remember the floor where we emerged right next to the stairs and we spent the next hour in a maze trying to reach them?”
“Hah! That was awful. To this day your Pops doesn’t believe me. Won’t even head there to see for himself.”
“Father says he refuses to check because the dungeon’s located in the ocean. I believe he’s just being lazy.”
“I don’t think you can really blame a Blaziken for wanting to steer clear of the ocean. That seems like common sense, babe.”
“A single Heat Wave from Father is enough to knock out anything short of a legendary, Ana. I highly doubt that’s the issue here.”
The two continued to banter as they battled their way towards each other. By the time they reached each other all of the enemies had been slain, the residual Aether clouding the room. Anamken slung Ios’s dropped bag off her shoulder and looped it over his head. He gave her a nuzzle in thanks, purring lightly. Anamken giggled and kissed his snout, causing his rumbling purrs to become even louder.
“Ya missed me?” she asked, scratching behind his ears. He leaned into the touch, sparks dancing along his tail.
“Of course. Even if this dungeon is tedious at worst I much appreciate your company.”
“Oh, so you only keep me around to stave off boredom then, huh?”
“Well, that among other things. Your beauty and charming personality certainly have their appeal.”
That got a laugh out of Anamken. She hopped up onto Ios’s back and the pair headed for a corridor. They emerged into a room that blessedly had the stairs. As they began to approach them, a question occurred to Anamken.
“Why didn’t ya just Discharge ‘em? Did ya want an actual challenge for once?” Anamken asked. She looked down at him when he didn’t answer. After a few twitches from his ears, he simply raised a paw and pointed towards yet another Rhydon that had entered the room. Anamken turned to follow his gaze and laughed. Ios flicked her with his tail and stepped forward to shoot a Signal Beam. As he got within range a resounding click rang out throughout the room. He had enough time to look at his feet before the Warp Trap activated.
After the blinding light dissipitated, Ios looked around at his new surroundings, noticing the five Rhydon surrounding him. He rolled his eyes, already beginning to grow used to such events.
“Well, at least I’m not alone this time,” he said. When he failed to receive a response he became aware of the significant lack of weight upon his back. Ignoring the several attacks launched his way, he twisted around to see that the Warp Trap had somehow only teleported him and not his mate.
“I’m not paid enough for this,” he muttered to himself before launching himself into another tedious fight.