NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 84: Team Skull
"Hey Dan, wake up, we're already here."
Dante felt his surroundings suddenly begin to vibrate. His head shot up in an instant, and after looking at the surroundings, remembered what they were doing before he slept.
"Haaaa, thanks Azumarill. That was just what I needed."
"You're welcome anytime."
Dante jumped down from Azumarill and began stretching his body. Based on his internal body clock, he should have slept for an hour or two.
He looked at the dense foliage around him, the trees reaching high above their heads. In front of them was a tangle of roots, denoting the entrance to the mystery dungeon.
"So, what's our strat? Rush in and stay in the first room again?"
Pikachu asked Dante as he curiously looked around the entrance of their guild's 'exclusive' dungeon.
"Yeah, although we should be plenty stronger than required, it's best to take precautions in case a Pokemon inside has a move or Ability that can cause us huge problems."
Because of Chatot's warning, Dante already knew the type of Pokemon inside the dungeon. He took off his and Azumarill's Power Band and replaced them with Safety Goggles and Protective Pads, respectively.
The Safety Goggles will protect him from powdered moves such as Stun Spore, Poison Powder, etc. which are moves that are commonly used by Grass and Bug-type Pokemon.
Meanwhile, Azumarill, who will engage more in close combat, gets the Protective Pads to prevent him from being affected by Pokemon with Effect Spore or Iron Barbs Ability.
With how high their current stats are, the +12 to physical attack doesn't really matter since they can still defeat S-rank dungeon Pokemon in one shot.
After they were done preparing, the three confidently entered the dungeon. And as soon as they went in, the woods returned to silence.
"Have they entered through here? Chaw-haw-haw, a guild-exclusive dungeon, huh?"
"Hohoho, that Pikachu is really a loudmouth. It's just right. With the boss by our side this time, we can easily take care of the three of them."
"Hehehe, they are apparently big shots now. Gold rank in just two months? Let's show them how worthless Gold ranks truly are in the face of the boss' strength."
"Chaw-haw-haw, let's go you two. We can't let the three of them leave us too far behind."
A Skuntank, Koffing, and Zubat set foot in the Mystery Dungeon just after Dante's team. However, as they stepped into the hallway, they heard the sounds of battle in front.
"How useless. The so-called supernova team can't even get past the first room after so long."
"What do we do, boss? Should we ambush them from behind?"
"Stupid, of course we'll just follow along for now. Let them defeat the other Pokemon for us until we reach the end."
"You're a genius, boss! And when they think they can finally rest, we'll show up! Hehehe, I can't wait to see the expression on Pikachu and Dante's face when they see us."
"I'm the boss, after all. It's only natural to be smarter than the both of you, chaw-haw-haw!"
Different from what Skuntank and his team thought, Dante, Pikachu, and Azumarill were studying the Pokemon that entered the first room as they casually defeated each of them.
"Parasect, Bellossom, Treecko, Lombre, Nuzleaf, Slakoth, Roselia, and Vespiqueen. Parasect and Roselia have the Effect Spore and Poison Point Ability. Don't attack them at close range, Pikachu."
"Roger that~"
"Otherwise, the Pokemon here are just as weak as the ones on Mt. Steel. So you two can take care of them however you want."
"Dan, I smell those guys behind us. Should we get rid of them first?"
"I wanted to wait until they show themselves but ugh, yeah, I don't think I can handle any more of this smell. You got the phone ready, Pikachu?"
"Yup!"
"Heh, then let's go meet our old friends."
—
"Boss, the sounds of fighting have moved further ahead."
"Good, let's go."
Zubat, who has keener hearing, listened carefully and confirmed that the fighting had moved further inside. Skuntank swaggered directly to the front, confident about Zubat's judgment. However, after entering the room, they were surprised to see Dante still in there.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't our guild's expedition partner, Team Skull. What are you guys doing here?"
"How did you notice us?"
Skuntank narrowed his eyes in vigilance after seeing Dante standing there, waiting for them. His eyes darted around the room, looking for any sign of traps.
"I can smell you guys from a mile away, no pun intended. You stink."
With the increase in their stats, Dante and his Pokemon also gained a heightened sensitivity. And with the natural stink Koffing and Skuntank have, even if they tried to suppress it as much as possible, hanging around the back of their team all the time makes it hard not to be noticed.
"Chaw-haw-haw, well, we sometimes get some guys with a good nose who can sniff us out. Most of the time, however, having a good nose leads them more easily to their downfall."
Skuntank finally stopped looking around after determining there was no trap. His eyes turned to look at Dante condescendingly, like looking at some amateur.
"It's you two again! What's your purpose, following us into our guild's exclusive dungeon!"
Pikachu and Azumarill came running back from the next room after hearing the commotion. Pikachu, who still remembered how Zubat and Koffing stole his treasure, looked at them with anger.
"Hohoho, well, after hearing about something like an exclusive dungeon, of course we'll have to follow you!"
"And this time, we have the boss with us. You got lucky last time, sneak attacking us, now we'll show you the real power of Team Skull!"
"Koffing, let's go. Chaw-haw-haw, have a taste of our noxious gas combo!"
Skuntank and Koffing suddenly released a cloud of purple smoke, combining them together to form a deadly purple appearance. The smoke spread quickly and engulfed the location of Dante's team.
"Chaw-haw-haw, sneak attack huh? Let us, Team Skull, show you how a sneak attack is really done. Koffing, Zubat, prepare to collect their bodies. Let's see what they have in their Treasure Bag."
"Hehehe, let's take Pikachu's stone again. This time, let's throw it t-"
Zubat wasn't able to finish his words before the ground beneath them suddenly rumbled.
"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!"
Pikachu emerged from the ground, his fist wrapped in thunder hitting Zubat's body. Azumarill also surfaced from beneath Skuntank and, under his widening eyes, smacked him directly on the jaw.
Meanwhile, Dante appeared from the shadows behind Koffing, a Shadow Ball in front of his mouth directly striking Koffing at point-blank range.
The bodies of the three members of Team Skull fell limply on the ground almost at the same time, unconscious from the targeted attack of their team.
"This thing is amazing, Dan! I can't smell anything even when we're so near that…thing."
Pikachu looked in wonder at the crystal bubble that was placed around his nose. Similar equipment is also seen on the faces of both Dante and Azumarill.
"Well, it's an item specifically designed for exploring poisonous PokePortals, after all. It would be a disappointment if an attack from Skuntank and Koffing's level can breach it."
Dante already knew from playing the game that Skuntank and his team would attack them while on their trip to get the Perfect Apples. Therefore, he bought this Trainer-grade air filter a few days before as a precaution in case they still did it in this world.
Dante casually rolled Skuntanks's body to check him over.
"What are you doing, Dan?"
Azumarill, who took the phone that was placed against the wall, asked as he handed the phone back to Pikachu.
"Just searching for the Treasure Bag. Since they plan to steal from us, it's only appropriate we return the favor. Ah nice, I knew he was carrying it."
Dante smiled as he opened the Treasure Bag. Pikachu, who paused and saved the video recording, also jumped in excitement to join Dante. While it may not be a treasure chest, it was pretty close.
"Huh, only these? For an Exploration Team that often steals other people's stuff, it sure is disappointing."
Dante casually threw all the Oran Berries, Gummies, Apples, etc. that he found into the Item Menu. Just as he was about to empty the bag, he finally saw an uncommon item. However, after reading the item's description, he sighed in disappointment.
Dodge Bow. A 3-star exclusive item for the Zubat line. Boosts evasion during Cloudy weather conditions.
This is the first exclusive Pokemon item that Dante obtained in this world. It's just unfortunate that it's for the Zubat line.
Exclusive Pokemon items are items that can strengthen a Pokemon just by having it inside the Treasure Bag. It's like giving an additional Ability for that Pokemon.
From what he remembered, there's an exclusive item for Pikachu that will heal him after being hit by Ground-type moves. The same is also true for Azumarill, who in his case will be healed after being hit by Electric-type moves.
If Dante can obtain those items, then Pikachu will no longer have any weaknesses, while Azumarill will only be weak to Poison-type moves.
Dante already asked Croagunk about this and according to him, the Treasure Chests which contain exclusive Pokemon items will only drop starting from 1-star dungeons and above.
The Treasure Chest will contain the exclusive items of the Pokemon that dropped them. Therefore, Dante has begun buying information about 1-star dungeons and above in Treasure Town.
And his efforts have already paid off. Just two days ago, he received information about a dungeon in the mountains that contained a Pikachu. If Chatot hadn't assigned them a task today, they would have been in that dungeon now instead of here.