From: Roberto Perez-Vila <RobfromVoid@prodigy.net> Subject: [PW!] [NC] In The Dungeon of the Mountain King Date: Saturday, August 28, 1999 2:20 PM NS: Previously, on the Legend of Mithril-rama NC thread, Robert entered Subterranean Omnitopia. In this abandoned and forgotten underground amusement park, he met the Sage of Persistence, Sirius, who had nothing better to do after beating the Elite Four. After that, the famed Captain Schwat showed Robert the way into the Dungeon of the Dangerous Dugtrio. That is where we now find our "hero," horribly lost in the darkness of the ancient structure. "Are you *sure* this is not another fake door?" Robert asks his Haunter, trembling at the doorway before him. Haunter squints at the door with one eye, then eagerly nods, "Haunt Haunter! HAUNT!" Robert grabs the doorknob. The door wobbles for a moment before smacking Robert away! It sends him flying to the back wall, "Uggghhhh... I don't have any way to defeat these doors! What kind of a hero has no weapons?" "Haunter... Haunter Haunt." Haunter floats over towards Robert and pats him on the back. "Haw Haunt Haunter?" Robert smiles at his Haunter's suggestion, "That's brilliant! I do have a weapon! Pokemon!" Robert grabs the sixth Pokeball on his belt and throws it at the killer door. A large red Charmeleon emerges, and yawns due to general laziness. Charmeleon leers at the fake door, which retaliates by smacking him over next to Robert! Robert inches away from his Pokemon, afraid that the creature will attack him instead of the door. From a distance he calls out, "Charmeleon, use Ember on that door! Burn it down!" The Charmeleon ignores Robert, since the only thought in his mind is getting revenge on the evil door. Fortunately, it is the same thought that Robert wants his Pokemon to act upon. The Charmeleon lumbers up to the door, takes a deep breath, and spews fire onto the wooden fabrication of pure evil! The door cries out in pain as it withers into oblivion, revealing a secret passageway behind it. Robert recalls his Charmeleon and walks through the secret entrance. Strange chimes ring out in the distance. Robert shrugs as he observes the room he is in. A huge treasure chest is in the middle of the room, and purple curtains hang on either side. Robert walks up to the treasure chest and pries it open with both hands. From within, he removes a green outfit, complete with a silly green hat. The part of the outfit that stands out the most is a pair of winged brown boots. Robert holds the Pegasus Boots up high in his hand, and they magically rotate 360 degrees. "I got... some weird stinky boots!" Robert addresses his Haunter, "Wait here while I go change..." Robert runs behind the purple curtains. After a long while, Robert slides the curtains aside in one graceful motion. He is wearing the clothes of a hero. His forest green tunic is tied to his body by his usual brown belt. The belt still has six Pokeballs and a Pokedex attached to it, but it now also houses an empty scabbard. The green elven hat on Robert's head has yellow lining. The only article of clothing he has yet to put on is his new winged boots. He has removed his sneakers, and is now only wearing socks. Haunter stares for a couple of the seconds, then bursts out into mocking laughter, "HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW..." The ghostly Pokemon takes a deep breath, "...HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW HAUNTER!" "Oh, settle down, Haunter!" Robert sits on top of the now empty treasure chest in the middle of the room, and works his way into the ancient Pegasus Boots. Robert stands up and cautiously takes one step forward, wondering if the Boots are cursed. He seems to be able to walk fine, "Now I look like a genuine hero, don't you think so, Haunter?" Haunter places one floating fist over his mouth and coughs into it. He then clears his throat. After a short pause, he offers his opinion on Robert's new clothes, "HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW HAUNTER!" "I'm sure Rilli would think I look cute." Robert narrows his eyes at his Haunter as he leaves the Treasure room. Haunter chases after, circling Robert's head. Robert continues to stumble through the darkness... "Haunt Haunt!" The purple ghost cries out, pointing at a monster with one of his fingers. "Look out?" Robert squints in the direction that Haunter is pointing, but can't see too well in the darkness. Before he can figure out what danger Haunter warned him about, Robert feels a pair of arms and legs wrap around him. The zombie lets out a loud shriek and Robert is helpless as the zombie continues to give Robert a health draining bear hug. Robert grunts through clenched teeth, "This is sexual harassment and I don't have to take it anymore! Haunter, Hypnosis!" Robert's Haunter is quick to react, and casts his gaze upon the monster, with the intention of putting him to sleep. Instead, Haunter gets paralyzed when his eyes meet with the zombie. The zombie continues to hump Robert, and Robert becomes weaker every time the creature squeezes tighter, "I'm... not going to make it... May flights of Clefairy sing me to my.." A short sword glints in the darkness, and before Robert can blink, the zombie's head rolls onto the floor. The now limp headless body releases Robert and falls next to its head. Robert looks up and squints at his human savior. He notices who it is, "Sirius! You came to help me! How come you're so good at chopping off heads like that?" "I've been practicing..." Sirius explains with a smirk, "...for the day I meet up with Dreadite again. Persistence pays." Robert cringes at the sound of that horrible name, "He's the one who kidnapped my girlfriend, Rilli! Grrrrr..." "Rilli?" Sirius gets a blank look on his face, "From where do I remember that name? Hmmmm. I think I once had a dream where I was trying to court a girl called Rilli, but she didn't like me. She sure was cute, though!" Sirius drools. Robert struggles to get up, but finds all his energy drained, "I've fallen... and I can't get up." Sirius reaches into his shirt and throws a bottle filled with a red potion to Robert. "The red potion will restore your health. Keep the bottle." Robert pops the cork off the small round bottle and swills the drink. The concoction actually works, and in mere moments, he is standing up and feeling great. He stashes the bottle in his backpack, "Will you come with me? I'm afraid of all these weird monsters in here... I can't begin to count how many monster doors have hit me!" "Sorry, man. I'm needed elsewhere. People are complaining that I've stopped continuing the Lugia NC." Sirius rolls his eyes and pulls his sword out of his sheath, "I'll give you this short sword to help you out. Here." Sirius hands the small sword to Robert, who examines the blade, raises the sword up high, and slides it into his new scabbard. Sirius smiles at Robert, "Hey, you're staring to look like a bona fide hero. Remember, when you're persistent, you never give up. For example, when I hunted Dreadite, I'd keep doing it, no matter how pissed Dread would get! Now it's your turn. Good luck! And remember, aim for the neck!" With that last bit of advice, Sirius, the Sage of Persistence, runs away. Robert chases after him, but Sirius is too quick. Robert sighs, "I forgot what Sirius told me about these boots. Something about donning my boots with result in my looking like an ash in a flute... Oh well. Let's keep looking for that magical badge, Haunter!" Robert walks into a nearby room where a golden treasure chest resides. Robert opens it up, reaches in, and pulls out the Boss Key, a bronze key, part of which looks like an angry Dugtrio. When the treasure chest is opened, a trap door on the ceiling opens up, and an animated skeleton with a sword and shield falls into the room! "AHHHHH!!!" Robert screams, pulling on his short sword, trying to get it out of his scabbard, "Uggh! It doesn't come out! I'm sure this happens to guys all the time..." He finally whips it out and points it at the skeleton, "Fear me! I am the hero, you are but a lowly generic enemy!" The skeleton quickly knocks the blade out of Robert's hand with his own. Robert backs away, hands raised, "What I meant to say is... Those are some nice bones you got there! Haunter, Hypnosis, now!" Haunter stares at the wily skeleton, his eyes glowing, and the skeleton topples to the floor. Robert tip toes out of the room, careful not to awaken the foe. Once the skeleton can't possibly hear them, Robert screams and runs away, not sure where he's going in the darkness. Haunter has trouble keeping up. Robert doesn't pay much attention to his surroundings and soon crashes into a huge door with a keyhole on it. "My head hurts..." Robert slides his Dugtrio Boss Key into the key slot, and the huge door slides open. "Here goes everything..." Robert sweatdrops out of fear, and considering the usual liquid that comes out of Robert when he's afraid, sweat isn't that bad. Haunter floats into the room behind him. Once the hero and his ghost are in the room, the door behind them slams shut. Fast paced action music comes from no where, and Robert wonders how an ancient civilization build the speakers where all this noise and music was coming from. All thoughts in Robert's mind fade away in an instant when he sees three mountains sprout from the dirt in front of him. Three mountains with faces. The largest Dugtrio he has ever seen. "Eeep." "DUGTRIO! TRIO! TRIO!" The creature bellow out, and burrows into the ground. Robert sweatdrops profusely, "Somehow I don't think Slowbro or Golduck will be able to handle this situation..." Rumbling is heard as the Dugtrio moves around inside the earth. Robert looks at the ground, trying to figure out where the huge creature will emerge, in hopes of not standing there when it does emerge. Robert eventually just shrinks down into the corner and cowers, "Please don't kill me... I'm the hero! The hero doesn't die!" Robert's clear view of the room is soon obstructed as a huge brown wall of Dugtrio blocks his view. It emerges right in front of his face. Robert runs to the other side of the room, and the Dugtrio plows forward with one giant claw raised out of the ground. Robert dashes from left to right, then from right to left, and to every corner of the room, avoiding the Dugtrio that takes up half of it. After five minutes of constant running, Robert notices something, "I've been running faster than I've ever run before, and I'm not even tired... How could it...?" Robert snaps his fingers, "I remember what Sirius said. When you don the Pegasus Boots, you'll dash faster on your route! That's why I run so fast. Now how could I use this info to beat this Pokemon?" The Dugtrio, angry from so much missing, pumps into the ground and back out. Each head does so separately, so that it looks like a combustion engine. Robert notices that all the Dugtrio aren't attached together, and gets an idea, "Three smaller enemies are easier to beat than one giant enemy." Robert grabs ahold of Sirius' short sword and places it in front of him. He aims it directly at the Dugtrio before him, and dashes towards the Pokemon at full speed! There is ripping, tearing, and screams of pain from the Dugtrio. "TRIO!!!" One of the three heads separates from the other two. The individual Dugtrio glares at Robert. Robert throws out his fifth Pokeball, "Slowbro, go!" The dopey fat pink Pokemon pops out and stares at the giant Dugtrio. After about five seconds, he looks worried. "Slow Brrrro?" Robert points at the individual Dugtrio, "Slowbro, keep using Surf and Water Gun on that Dugtrio!" Robert then readies his sword again and dashes through the two Dugtrio heads who are still fused together. There is more ripping, more tearing, and louder screams of pain coming from the Dugtrio, as it separates into two different entities. Robert throws out his fourth Pokeball, "Go, Golduck!" The shapely feminine blue Golduck appears and shrieks when she sees the giant Dugtrio. Remembering her last encounter with a giant Dugtrio, she runs behind Robert and hides for protection. Robert pushes her into the fight, "Don't be afraid, Golduck. Keep using Surf on that Dugtrio!" Since two of the parts of the giant Dugtrio are being attacked by Surf and Water Gun, the enclosed chamber is now filled with water. The water mixes with the dirt on the ground to form mud. Robert narrows his eyes at the remaining Dugtrio head, "Let's play whack-a-mole. Where could I find a mallet large enough? Hmmm." Robert pulls an Ultra Ball off his belt. He pitches the sphere over the Dugtrio's head. The Ultra Ball snaps open. "SNORRRRRRRLAAAAAXXXX!" A deep female voice yells as she falls from mid air down onto the giant Dugtrio. CRASH! The Snorlax, which weighs easily over 1,000 pounds, makes direct contact with the Dugtrio's head, severely whacking it. The Dugtrio sinks down into the mud. The female Snorlax falls over on the mud and falls asleep. Robert looks at the other two parts of the Dugtrio. Both the one that Slowbro was attacking and the one that Golduck was attacking have sunk into the mud. Robert chuckles as he recalls all of his Pokemon, minus Haunter. "We won!" Low rumbling is heard. Within seconds, the Dugtrio head that Robert's Snorlax had attacked pops up directly behind Robert, woozy, but not fainted. It Slashes at Robert with all its might! Robert falls to the mud, severe wounds in his back. He feels that he might be permanently paralyzed, "Help me... Haunter..." Haunter floats down from his observation point near the ceiling, no longer worried that the Dugtrio might defeat him. He pulls a small mallet out of no where, glances at it, shakes his head, and tosses it aside. He pulls out a huge mallet, examines it, shakes his head, and makes it disappear. From the mystical area known as hammerspace, Haunter withdraws a gargantuan mallet, ten times his size, and nods with a wicked grin on his face, "Haunter... HAUNT!!!" The mallet comes crashing down onto the Dugtrio's head! Xs form on the villain's eyes as it melts into the mud! Robert looks up with a weak smile, "Wow, Haunter, you're better at whack-a-mole than I am!" Haunter chuckles his name as he floats down to his trainer, "Haunter... Haunt Haunter!" Robert nods, "I think so... I can move my fingers..." Robert pulls one arm out of the mud, followed by another, and slowly stands up. He notices that a door has opened up leading to another room. Concerned for Haunter's well being, Robert recalls his first Pokemon into his first Pokeball. Robert then goes to investigate, his back still bleeding from the Dugtrio's Slash. Inside the room sits a pedestal, and on that pedestal is a small Dugtrio Badge that glows green. Robert grabs the magical Dugtrio badge, pins it to his shirt, and gets teleported out into a mysterious forest. Robert groans in pain as he stares up at the green leaves on the trees, "I'm in the middle of no where... Why couldn't I be teleported to a Hospital or a Pokemon Center? No, it had to be the middle of no where." Robert tries to stand up, but finds the pain too unbearable. His is lying face up in a puddle of his own blood, "Has my journey come to an end?" -Robert