Both members of Team Spirit walked with bated breath towards the row of request boards which marked the central hub of Sunrise Town. As Aiden conversed with the droopy-eyed Smeargle positioned next to the collection of billboards, she flashed her newly-acquired silver badge with unadulterated glee before excitedly making her way towards a matching silver-bordered billboard lined with various posters.
"Can you believe it, Treph?! We're already Silver Rank, and we've been explorers for only a few months! At this rate, we'll become Legends in no time!"
"Fat chance," a mocking voice chimed in. From two boards away stood Alpha alongside a familiar scar-covered Gliscor, both of whom held glittering, blue badges which sparkled under the overhead sun. The Gabite let out a callous sneer while storming towards Aiden.
"You rise one measly rank and suddenly you think you're a big shot? Take it from this newly assigned Diamond Rank: don't even try. I'm the only one who's gonna reach Legend Rank, so you nobodies might as well quit while you're ahead!"
"Back off!" Aiden retorted angrily, "You wouldn't know real talent if it kicked you in the face!"
"Would you prefer if I crush your chest like I did back in Skybreak Cave?" Alpha sneered, "You have no right to talk after how effortlessly I whooped both your asses that day!"
Before Aiden had an opportunity to think of a clever comeback, Alpha had already turned around and began walking away with the Gliscor accompanying him, both of whom laughed derisively while doing so.
"Just ignore them. Pokémon like them doesn't deserve our attention," Aiden muttered begrudgingly, attempting to hide her humiliation. "Anyways... take a gander at this! Now that we're Silver Rank, we can take on a larger variety of missions in more high-profile dungeons! Case in point..."
Aiden excitedly snatched a poster from the silver-bordered board with the words "WANTED" printed neatly at the top. "Look, an outlaw notice! Now that we're Silver Rank, we can help in capturing criminals evading the law!" Aiden's eyes sparkled as she began hopping around giddily. "We'll be like heroes, beating up bad guys and making the world a safer place! Doesn't that sound great?!"
Trevor didn't answer, nervously eyeing the wanted poster in question. "'Steel-Skinned' Guro" was the name plastered below a detailed drawing of an imposing-looking Boldore, its entire body covered in shards of sharp crystal.
"I- err, aren't there any other outlaws we could take on? I've got a bad feeling about this..."
"Oh, c'mon Treph! We're never gonna catch up to Alpha with that attitude! We're Silver Rank, aren't we? We can do this!" She turned her attention back to the wanted poster. "Let's see... five accounts of arson... infamous bandit... betrayed by his old gang... ah, here we are! Looks like our target's camped out in the Heavenpeak Labyrinth, a level five dungeon. Looks like no one's seen him in years, he was only recently identified after someone happened to accidently wander into his hideout. And his reward is...three-thousand fifty Poké?! That's really-"
"I don't know," Trevor interrupted, "Every time you say there isn't going to be an issue, there always ends up being one."
"Oi!" Aiden pouted and crossed her arms, "My intuition isn't that bad! Have some confidence!" Aiden looked into Trevor's eyes intently. "We're Silver Rank now, we have no time to hesitate now! We can't reach the Legend Rank by just standing around, we have to plant our feet and tackle headfirst into each new challenge we come across! You think you can do that for me?"
Trevor nodded hesitantly, prompting a slap on the back followed by a wide smile. Unfurling their map and taking out a compass from Trevor's satchel, Aiden promptly began making her way out of Sunrise Town and towards the direction of their assigned dungeon, Trevor following close by.
──────────────────
The entrance to the Heavenpeak Labyrinth was marked by a giant, vertical opening in a towering wall of sand-colored stone. The pair became completely enveloped in shadow as they steadily neared the gargantuan structure, Trevor nearly falling backwards in attempting to view its apex. He imagined himself scaling the impossibly tall walls and shuddered involuntarily at the idea of looking downwards upon reaching the impossibly high peak. His fear-inducing train of thought was suddenly broken upon seeing an blurry silhouette standing aimlessly in the distance.
"Look, there's someone here already! Are they here for the outlaw as well? Maybe we could team up!" Aiden began waving wildly towards the unknown figure. "HEEEEY, OVER HERE!"
As Trevor continued to rush forwards, he watched in awe as the shadow began to increase in height and grow a bushy ponytail. Before long, the pair stopped to find themselves face-to-face with a familiar bored-looking Dewott, his signature green band still wrapped around his left arm. Trevor internally noted that the red scarf he wore in Skybreak Cave was nowhere to be seen.
Aiden recoiled backwards from surprise before assuming an offensive stance, her face contorted into a vicious snarl. "You... you're that guy we saw before! You're with the Supernovas!"
"Was in the Supernovas," the Dewott responded calmly, "...And my name is Rin."
"Why're you here?!" Aiden harshly questioned, "Did you come to end us once and for all? Has Alpha send you?!"
"Take a hint. I just said that I was in the Supernovas, didn't I? Meaning that I'm not in Alpha's team anymore."
"...Oh." Both Trevor and Aiden raised their eyebrows in surprise before the latter continued speaking. "What happened?"
"Alpha and I never got along, every conversation we had would always end with him pissed at me one way or another. So after a while, I decided that the Supernovas weren't doing it for me and left. So now I'm back to being a bounty hunter." The Dewott gave a slight shrug. "That's just how it goes."
"Wow." Aiden stood silently for a moment, unintentionally having been sucked into Rin's concisely told story. "I'm... sorry to hear that."
Eh, it really doesn't matter. Those guys were super dull anyways- being a bounty hunter's honestly far more liberating." Rin gave another shrug. "Anyways, I'm just here for the reward. Guro, was it? Maybe this one'll actually prove to be of interest." The Dewott stared at the gaping opening in the rock wall which towered nearby, a cocky smile draped across his weary face. "You two ought to go back and pick another outlaw, this one's mine."
"Huh?! You can't just-" Aiden started, only for Rin to stroll into the dungeon before she had the opportunity to finish.
"Oi, come back here! Why's everyone just walking off before I can have my say?!" Aiden turned sharply towards Trevor, hastily grabbing onto his paw. "C'mon, Treph! We can't just let that guy beat us to our outlaw! Let's hustle!"
The members of Team Spirit hastily began sprinting towards the maze's entrance, Trevor adjusting his scarf and fastening his goggles as he mentally prepared for whatever monstrosity which may lay within.