I Have a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon System in a World with Pokemon

On the way home, Dante's mother began inquiring Shinobu about details of her life. She wasn't stupid. From watching what happened after the match and their subtle interaction just now, she knew that her son and this girl were definitely not just ordinary friends. 

As a mother, she felt it was her responsibility to know more about her son's possible partner in the future. At the very least, she must ensure that his partner must be someone who will remain loyal to him in the future. 

Shinobu, who wants to leave a good impression, also honestly stated all of her achievements. From being consistently top of the class in elementary to high school, winning in various competitions, and even trying out streaming in order to earn money and be self-sufficient, she said it all.

From being critical at the beginning, Dante's mother now begins to doubt whether her son is worthy of this 'perfect' girl. It must be because he inherited her looks that he was able to charm her!

Her dissatisfaction towards Shinobu at the beginning for wearing revealing outfits also quietly dissipated. From her perspective, Shinobu is just an eccentric genius who has a unique preference for wearing that style of clothes.

The three of them soon arrived at the Zulueta residence in a warm atmosphere. Shinobu quietly heaved a sigh of relief after seeing that she got the approval of Dante's mother.

When the three of them arrived at the door, they were greeted with the delicious and tempting aroma of food. Luna quickly bolted out of Ms. Zulueta's arms and was the first to enter the house. 

At the table, Dante's father had already prepared the feast for the celebration. He especially left work early today to cook after learning from his wife that their son participated in a competition and qualified for the top 8 yesterday.

There was spaghetti, crispy pork lechon, a whole roasted chicken, salad, and rice neatly arranged on the table. 

Dante put his trophy on the side table as the celebration began. When Dante's father saw how enthusiastic his wife was about Shinobu, he also gave the girl a nod of approval in his heart. In order to further liven up the atmosphere, he even prepared the karaoke.

The first time they heard Shinobu sing a song, Dante's whole family was mesmerized by the beauty of her voice. Although Dante was confident about his own singing skills, Shinobu's was on a whole nother level!

The Pokemon also had fun, with Pikachu and Accelgor tasting the exclusive food that they won from the competition. In Pikachu's own words, it tasted even better than the Apples in the PMD world!

Everyone enjoyed themselves, taking turns singing and eating delicious food. The time quickly passed and the celebration lasted late into the night. Under Dante's insistence, Shinobu slept in the guest room instead of going back to her condominium. 

Before entering their respective rooms, Dante and Shinobu snuck a good night's kiss. 

On the bed, Dante was thinking of the many things that happened today. How he finally won the Rookie Competition, the softness of Shinobu's lips, whether the two are already lovers, when he should auction the Mega Stone, and…

"Let's go, Pikachu. It's finally time to recruit our stubborn second partner."

"Pika!"

—

In the PMD world, after the morning assembly, Dante and Pikachu took on a task in Waterfall Cave with a Reviver Seed as the reward. 

"But will Azumarill really join us? From our previous conversation last week, I don't think he is willing to leave the dungeon."

"Heh, that's what you think. I already found a breakthrough point."

"Huh? A what now?"

"Hehehe, you'll see. We've arrived."

At this time, the two of them are standing in front of a blue and white house in Treasure Town. Dante knocked on the door and waited for a while before Azurill came out.

"Omnipotent Travelers! Wow, did you come to see us? Please, come inside!"

"Haha, there's no need for that, Azurill. We still have some tasks to do, so we won't take too long. Anyway, how is your mother's condition?"

Azurill visibly became disappointed after hearing that the two wouldn't stay long. However, he still obediently answered Dante's question.

"Although my mother still can't get out of bed, Ms. Chansey told us that she is already getting better."

"Is that so? That's great to hear! By the way Azurill, can you call your brother over? I have something to talk about with him."

"Sure! Wait just a second."

Azurill quickly ran inside and came back not long after with Marill following him.

"Hello Dante and Pikachu! Azurill said you were looking for me? If you guys need my help, just say it and I'll do the best I can!"

"Well, we indeed need your help. It's nothing that serious, we just need one of you to accompany us in our next task. You see…"

Dante proceeded to explain their purpose of going to the dungeon, as well as what he wanted the Azurill brothers to do. 

"Me! Me! I'll join you guys!"

"If it's only that…then I think it's indeed the best if Azurill goes with you."

"Yey! Thank you, big brother!"

Azurill jumped onto Marill, happily squealing and celebrating that he could accompany and help his favorite exploration team.

Pikachu felt a bit shy hearing Azurill's constant praise. In contrast, Dante became more confident about his plan after seeing Azurill's enthusiasm.

After doing their routine preparation, the three of them set off towards the Waterfall Cave. Even when they had to divert some of their attention to protect Azurill, Dante, and Pikachu still easily breezed through the dungeon.

The Pokemon in this dungeon only have stats around 35-45 while Dante and Pikachu already have more than already have more than 70 Attack and Special Attack. Coupled with the boost from the Power Band and Special Band, just a single attack from the two is enough to knock all of them down without even needing to use stat-boosting moves.

Very quickly, the three of them reached the fifth floor. Because Azumarill kept wandering around the whole floor, it took quite a while for the three to find him. 

"Azumarill! We've come to visit you again!"

"Dante. Pikachu. If you guys came just to recruit me, then you're wasting your time. I told you many times already, I won't leave this place."

"Yeahhh, no. I seriously don't know how you can stand this place after being treated like an outcast by everyone. This time, we brought along someone who can probably convince you."

"Umm…hello Mr. Azumarill!"

From behind Dante, Azurill shyly came out and waved her hands at the Shiny Azumarill. 

"Gurk! You dare bring a child into this dungeon? Are you crazy?!"

"I-it's alright, Mr. Azumarill! Mr. Dante and Mr. Pikachu are very very strong! The other Pokemon weren't even able to stand against a single one of their attacks. No one even got close to me on our whole journey here!"

"Really?"

Azumarill was skeptical of Azurill's words. Only two weeks have passed since their last battle. At that time, he can clearly remember that Dante and Pikachu took quite a while to clear a whole room, relying on their faster speed to remain unharmed.

"Really! You don't know, but Team Omnipotent Travelers is very famous in Treasure Town! Everyone is saying that they will be the next Exploration Team to reach Gold Rank and even beyond!"

Dante and Pikachu watched silently on the side as Azurill talked to Azumarill about the outside world, his day-to-day life, how Dante and Pikachu saved him, and the awesomeness of their team. Azumarill's stoic face had a slight look of yearning as he listened to Azurill's story.

"Hey, aren't you afraid of me? Of my different color?"

When Azurill finally stopped talking to catch his breath, Azumarill asked a question that had been puzzling him for a while now.

"Huh, why should I be scared of Mr. Azumarill? Does having a different color make you a bad guy?"

Azurilll tilted his head as he looked at Azumarill confusedly. However, after hearing Azurill's question, Azumarill suddenly felt his nose getting sour and his vision becoming blurry.

Azumarill was a child of the leader of a Marill tribe on the 6th floor. From the moment he was born, even his own father was disgusted by him. Everyone in the tribe gave him looks of disgust and alienation whenever they saw him.

The only reason he was able to survive, and even evolve into a Marill, was due to his mother's love. But when she died a few months ago, his world began to collapse. His father also attributed her death to his existence and drove him out of the tribe. 

He was forced to struggle with the other tribeless Pokemon in the dungeon, aimlessly wandering around and fighting for food. Battle after battle made him grow stronger and stronger, quickly reaching the limit and even..exceeding the limits of the dungeon and evolving.

Unfortunately, while he became, his evolution also furthered the discrimination he faced from the other Pokemon in the dungeon. Some of the more extreme ones even labeled him as 'a surface dweller in disguise' and attacked. 

However, if there was anything Azumarill learned growing up, it was that he had to fight in order to survive. He ignored the accusations of everyone, loudly proclaiming that he was a dungeon-born and was destined to live and die here. He fought off those that accused him and stubbornly continued to constantly wander around.

That event happened a month before he met Dante and Pikachu, his two would-be friends. 

The day he met the two, he instantly recognized them as the real surface dwellers. He thought that after he defeated both of them, everyone in the dungeon could finally accept him as one of them.

In the end, though, he also got beaten and even his effort to defend his own kind was ignored. He still lived his own life of solitude in the dungeon. That was, until Dante and Pikachu came to visit him.

For the first time in his life, except for his mother, Azumarill was able to talk with a fellow Pokemon without being hated. To be honest, when both of them described how beautiful and wonderful the outside world is, Azumaril was tempted and…afraid.

He was afraid that Dante and Pikachu were lying to him. Afraid of being mocked by the others after going back on his own words. Afraid…that no one will still accept him even if he goes outside. 

For him, the outside world was just a bigger, more unfamiliar, dungeon. If he would still be alone even after going out, then he would have preferred living the rest of his lonely life in the place where he was born.

However, after listening to Azurill's story, it made Azumarill's yearning for the outside grow more and more uncontrollable. And his innocent response to his question further proved Dante's word that he would not be hated there. 

Also, that was the first time he was accepted by someone of the same species other than his mother.

Azumarill wiped away the tears on the corner of his eyes before finally turning to Dante and Pikachu.

"Alright, I believe in you. But if you want me to join you, you have to defeat me first! I want to see whether you really grew so strong after just a short period of time."

"Haha! I knew you'd come around! Step back, the two of you, let me handle this."

"Wait, Dante! Why don't I battle him? According to you, I have a type advantage against Water-type Pokemon."

"Nah, it's only fair if I battled him. Besides, you've already had enough battling yesterday. Let me have my chance."

Pikachu reluctantly accepted Dante's reason. He indeed had more chances to battle other Pokemon these past two days.

Dante and Azumarill faced each other in the middle of the room. Meanwhile, Pikachu stood beside Azurill in the corner to protect him in case other Pokemon came.

"Why don't you let Pikachu come? Did you forget how it only took one hit for me to knock you out?"

"Heh, that was then and this is now. Besides, this may be the only chance I have to directly avenge what you've done to me."

"Well, I'd have to disappoint you THEN!"

With his last words, Azumarill turned into a jet of water and headed straight towards Dante. Even though Dante's stats surpassed all of Azumarill, with Azumarill's overpowered ability, he knew that he still couldn't take this attack head-on.

The moment he was about to be hit, Dante stepped sideways, dodging the attack and at the same time taking this opportunity to use Swords Dance.

After Azumarill landed, he turned around, ready to continue attacking once again. However, instead of seeing Dante, all he saw was an empty space on where he was previously standing.

"Remember this, don't recklessly charge toward someone much faster than you."

Those were the last words Azumarill was able to hear before feeling a sharp pain on the back of his head and fainting.