There’s a lot of unexplored wilderness on the Air Continent. If the perpetual plague of mystery dungeons hasn’t made it hard enough, if our ancestors somehow managed to chart the seemingly endless amount of terra incognita that dot our infant maps, we wouldn’t know.
Our expeditions are—despite our best efforts to make them the slightest bit entertaining—excruciatingly redundant; the most interesting information teams report back with is usually the discovery of a new empty crevice in the earth or a swath of odd foliage of little interest. Some wonder why we even do this, but it’s imperative we continue to venture forward even if we find nothing. We are the stalwarts of the Continental Survey Team—through rain or shine, we map the world because we must, for the safety of all travelers.
But today, we found something.
Our northwestern branch has been charting the forests for years now and has found mostly nothing of note. Expeditions into the thick brush have yielded both a few instances of contact with nomadic tribes of pokémon and the partial charting of the vast wilds, but true discoveries have been limited—that is until a Zangoose squad embarked on their daily rounds.
“Hey! Look over there! What is that?”
An odd depression was nestled between the rocks and trees; it was perfectly, almost unnaturally square, and it spanned an area only a few meters in length. It bore resemblance to a hatch, one Zangoose had thought, but there was no handle evident upon its mossy surface.
“Step aside! If it’s a hatch, I’ll show you how to bust it open!”
After a few solid punches, the team managed to make an indent in what turned out to be a rusty metal door.
“Owww… Dammit!”
Realizing that breaching it would require a much larger force, they called in a reinforcement squad of Machop to finish the job. Most of the remaining members stationed at the base camp tagged along—the news of a mysterious hatch in the woods spread at an extreme speed, and now everyone was intrigued.
“Clear the way! Everyone—MOVE OVER!”
The Machop pierced through the door with relative ease, sending it flying out of sight down the now-exposed staircase. Squad members deliberated for a few minutes over what to do next: Proceed blindly into the darkened passageway? Or survey the situation further?
“It’s so dark down there! I’m not sure we should enter…”
“C’mon! There could be buried treasure down there just waiting for us to plunder!”
“B-But what if it’s another mystery dungeon? We can’t just run right in unprepared!”
“You guys are no fun! Who’s coming in or not?!”
It was then decided that one team would descend underground while another stood guard as backup. Each team had a telepath so communication wouldn’t be severed: A Kirlia joined the surface squad while a Kadabra ventured below.
“Do you think they’re gonna be okay?”
“Gosh… I hope so! I’ve never seen anything quite like this…”
“What if they get trapped? Or eaten by something?!”
“Relax! We’re the best of the best, remember? They’ll be just fine… I hope…”
“Kirlia! Ensure the line’s open and clear!”
“Will do!”
As the team ventured deeper into the subterranean passage, it was reported that faint buzzing and clattering noises began to echo from somewhere deeper below. Unsettled by the mysterious sounds, a few pokémon retreated to the surface and informed the surface team of the phenomenon, hoping to garner any information about their origin that Kirlia could relay with caution.
“I-It was like a giant Magneton’s roar, b-but that’s impossible! It sounded too—too creepy!”
“Whaaaaaaat?!”
“Kirlia! Inform the go-team to exercise caution!”
“On it!”
The message was reportedly acknowledged with goodwill and the team continued downward. The noises grew louder as they navigated the now-spiraling steps—suddenly, a faint glow was spotted at the bottom of a final stretch of stairs.
“Oooh, does anyone above know what that could be?”
“Uh—Surface team says they are uncertain and suggest we approach slowly and carefully. It may be a trap.”
“Trap shmap! Let’s find some treasure!”
The team reached the bottom, and what they were met with—it troubles me to recall as I write—shook them to their absolute cores. Before them lay an enormous chamber with sights alien to even the most seasoned explorers: walls lined with flashing multicolored lights and panels; a few enormous glass containers filled with strange, eerily luminescent blue liquid; a large, magenta hemisphere situated right in the center, its smooth surface pulsating with a mysterious light. It was as if they’d entered another dimension, one that made even the most foreign mystery dungeons seem cushy and familiar.
“What… what is this place…?”
“Kirlia? Kirlia? Have you noted my description? Perfect—yes, we’re alright. There seems to be some sort of interference… I can feel it as well.”
“Is this some sort of cave? What’s with all these… contraptions?”
“It looks like it hasn’t been touched in eons…”
“Are those… crystals? No—I’d feel their energy. There’s no life in these at all…”
“Arceus, that buzzing is loud! You think it’s coming from that weird dome-lookin’ thing?”
“I d-dunno, but I don’t think I wanna find out…”
“Oooh! These look like buttons! They’re so big though… Urgh—Why’s everything so hard to reach?!”
“There seems to be a large assortment of unknown structures—hold on. They’re examining one.”
“Aaaand…I’m… up! Woah… this looks insane! Man, I’m tired though…”
“H-Hey! Be careful! I don’t think you should lean on tha—“
Some sort of monstrous roar—like a creature made of both wind and fire—echoed up to the entrance. The surface team attempted further contact but was briefly halted by the severance of the psychic duo’s connection. After a few moments of panic, Kirlia managed to regain their link, urgently inquiring about the cause of such a harrowing noise.
“Kadabra! Are you hurt?! What’s your status?!”
“Yes… We’re fine. It’s just…”
“It’s as if the cave just sprung to life.”
The team had been temporarily startled by what seemed to be some sort of supernatural revitalization. The room had come alight with the simple press of a button, the walls surging with newfound power, cacophonic noises continuing to echo with labor as if they’d been waiting to scream for eons.
“W-Woah…”
“The walls… This is freaking me out real bad!”
“Hold on hold on! Over there! That slab high up on the wall! It’s… It’s displaying an image!”
After a brief survey of the area for any monsters that may be lurking, it was determined that there was no imminent threat to the team’s safety, and so they immediately began their investigation. Close analysis of the image projected on the strange slab revealed that it may’ve been an ancient map of the Air Continent; however, the cartography was unlike anything we’d ever seen. It was eerily lifelike, almost as if it were a perspective of the world from high above. Scattered mounds of civilization dotted areas that we’d almost certainly confirmed to contain nothing but overgrown wilds, a sight perplexing to every pokémon who beheld it. The script that labeled each landmark was foreign, which unfortunately prevented further investigation into their significance, but tracings were still made as documentation.
“This has to be some sort of language, right?”
“It certainly must. However, I’m unsure who or what uses this script…”
“Wait! Wait! I’ve got an idea! Maybe it’s from the humans!”
“The humans? Come on! You know those are just a myth, right?”
“But—But what else could explain all this?”
“They’ve got a point, you know. Something is going on here that we aren’t fully understanding.”
“Kirlia? Perfect. Great work documenting my thoughts so quickly. Not even my intellect can quite decipher what we’ve analyzed—come again?”
The surface team, concerned that night would soon fall, requested that the team below resurface with their findings. They reluctantly obliged, collecting various treasures from the cavern to be analyzed further at the base camp. It was said the trip home was quiet, devoid of the usual laughter and banter that followed a successful expedition; instead, there was only contemplation accompanied by total, abject silence.
It has been mere hours since their discovery, and I struggle to find the words to properly explain these findings. A mystery of this magnitude has not once crossed our paths, yet it is our duty to persist. This area cannot be blindly ventured into until we discover its origins, its purpose, and its significance to our history; for that, we must continue to search for answers until it is clear there are none left to find.
But… there is one finding that troubles me the most. Something was found imprinted in the thick layer of dust that coated its shelves. A Smeargle carefully traced its outline on paper and had it delivered by air with their report: A single, large, five-fingered handprint. It is unlike any pokémon I have ever seen. I do not know what to make of it.
Sleep will not come easily. For any of us, in fact. Standard exploration procedures will resume tomorrow as normal, but I am unsure that a single member of that division will be able to survey the land with clarity. Not often do words escape me, but as I eye this print further, I feel like I am being muzzled.
I cannot bear to write more. An indescribable sadness has suddenly overtaken me as if willed by the print itself. I will return to these thoughts another time. Please excuse my fragility.
JOURNAL ENTRY #1689
PLEASE DELIVER AT WRITER’S REQUEST.
PRIORITY: URGENT — FOR CHAIR’S EYES ONLY