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

On the peak of Mt. Thunder, Zapdos begrudgingly stopped at the entrance of a cave, a Hisuian Zorua, Shiny Azumarill, and an ordinary Pikachu behind him.

"...This is it. Remember, only one item each."

The reluctance in Zapdos' voice can be clearly heard. Looking at the trio following him, annoyance and trepidation flashed in the bird's eyes as he remembered their earlier battle.

—

(Zapdos POV)

After suffering such severe injuries from these mortals, Zapdos 'acknowledged' their capabilities and graciously allowed them the right to talk to him.

However, what he didn't expect was after hearing his offer, both the white-haired Zorua and golden-colored Azumarill emitted an astonishing battle intent. And beside them, the Pikachu who had been struggling to move, stood up as if nothing was wrong. With a war cry, the three of them rushed to besiege him.

Even though Zapdos was still feeling out of energy from using Protect for an extended period, he forced his body to move and met the trio in close combat. 

With his mastery over Roost, he can constantly recover his lost energy and health while fighting with the three. The only price was that he was forced to remain on-ground. Nevertheless, as long as he had enough time, he could recover to his peak form!

However, because he was forced to move using his feet, his speed and flexibility inevitably dropped. He wasn't able to completely dodge some attacks that he should have. And instead of slowly recovering, he was slowly becoming weaker.

Realizing that this can't go on, he took the risk and endured Zorua's and Azumarill's attack head-on, seizing the opportunity they were caught off-guard to knock out the Pikachu whose attacks dealt the most damage.

That was when he acknowledged something was wrong about this group of Pokemon.

Just like the Azumarill at the beginning of the battle, this Pikachu got back on its feet only after a few seconds. 

With how weak the trio's defenses are, he only needed one direct attack to knock them out, provided they had no time to use Protect. But even after he did so, they would get back up after a while as if nothing had happened and continue to assault him.

His body accumulated more and more injuries, and his energy became less and less. 

After dodging out of range of Azumarill's Earthquake, he was hit by Pikachu's Swift causing him to stagger. He felt his body nearing its limits. If the battle continued, sooner or later, he would fall at the hands of these three mortals.

He was contemplating whether to abandon his dignity and implement a strategic retreat when the trio suddenly stopped attacking. Then, the white Zorua stepped up under his confused and wary gaze.

"Hey Zapdos, I've come to bargain!"

(Dante POV)

Dante inwardly heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Zapdos obediently leading them toward his treasure trove. From their earlier battle, he finally glimpsed just how strong a Legendary Pokemon is.

Even though Zapdos was seriously injured, the three still had a tough time taking him down. His speed was so fast only Pikachu's Swift could guarantee a hit, and his attacks so strong only a single move was needed to take them down.

Not to mention, his defenses weren't weak either. Dante, with his special attack boosted by a Special Band and Nasty Plot, had a total of 110. Even so, his Ominous Wind and Icy Wind barely caused damage. 

In that battle, he was forced to play a supporting role. Diving into the shadows and using Confuse Ray, Taunt, Imprison, Will-O-Wisp, and Roar, he was able to cause a momentary distraction that allowed Azumarill and Pikachu a chance to target him.

Lastly, the more shocking part is Zapdos' mastery of his moves. He was using Roost to recover his energy and health, but he is still able to use other moves at the same time!

They had to try their best to prevent Zapdos from recovering to his full health. The 18 Reviver Seeds in their inventory at the beginning constantly dwindled. And when there were finally only 5 remaining, Dante knew he had to make a decision.

His eyes paused as he looked at the only Violent Seed in the Item Menu. 

Violent Seed is an item that when ingested, will boost the Pokemon's Attack and Special Attack by double.

But after some hesitation, Dante looked away. This Violent Seed is a very precious item he had bought from Kecleon for 10,000 Poke! It's the trump card he had prepared for their inevitable fight against the Illusion Groudon, or possibly even Dialga. 

If they fail to defeat Zapdos now, they can always run away and come back when they are stronger. There's no need to use something so precious to beat him.

Besides, he also had another high-risk, high-reward plan.

He tapped the ground with his tail three times, the team's signal to hold their positions. Azumarill and Pikachu furrowed their brows in confusion. They clearly agreed to keep attacking and not give Zapdos a chance to recover, why stop now?

Still, with Dante as the nominal leader of their team, they stopped their actions and stood by to see what he wanted to do.

"Hey Zapdos, I've come to bargain!"

Dante walked forward, a harmless smile on his face. 

With the arrogance this Pokemon showed during their past interaction, he knew talking with him was useless. But that's fine; he had no plans to make conversation anyway. All he needed was to get closer. 

"...Speak your *cough* request, mortal."

"You see, you can't defeat us, and it's only a matter of time before we defeat you. We know this mountain is your domain. So how about we make a deal? You agree to our conditions, and we promise to never disturb you again."

Dante slowly continued to walk forward, his mind already focused on a specific gadget in the Item Menu. His words directly told Zapdos that he was no match against their team. With the amount of pride this Legendary bird had shown, he would surely fly into a rage any moment now. 

Therefore, when Zapdos calmly continued the conversation, Dante paused in surprise.

"...although you are *cough* mere mortals, there's *cough* no denying you possess power enough to threaten a god like me. *cough* Very well, state your conditions. If it's not outrageous, I would rather *cough* accept that than have you continue to disturb my slumber."

"Well…huh."

Dante was speechless as he looked at Zapdos. What the hell, where was the arrogant guy from earlier!? Soon, however, he quickly woke up and realized this was a rare opportunity! 

"We came here to get Pikachu's Exclusive item. Therefore, we want 20 Treasure boxes each from Pichu, Pikachu, and Raichu!"

"I can give you Raichu's right now. However, *cough* Pichu and Pikachu live outside the dungeon. It will *cough* take some time. You will have to wait for a month if you want to get theirs."

Zapdos nodded his head in agreement at Dante's request. 

Within a certain distance, twenty Raichus suddenly paled as they felt something leaving their bodies. Using his authority over the dungeon, Zapdos took the energy the Raichus absorbed and gathered all of them.

Under the astonished gaze of Dante and the others, a massive airflow came from the hallways, congregating in front of Zapdos and forming a pile of treasure boxes.

"Take them. After a month, you can return to accept *cough* the rest. Now leave!"

Zapdos started to flap his wings, ready to fly back to the peak. During their conversation, his condition had already recovered to a certain extent. 

"Wait! I didn't say that was all our request!"

"Don't go too far, mortal!"

Zapdos roared in fury as he glared at Dante. Does this insect think he can push him around just because he was defeated once!?

"Hey! Given enough time, we could have collected all these treasure boxes on our own! Besides, we are an exploration team. By foregoing to accept tasks from this dungeon, we would be losing so many opportunities!"

Zapdos's anger subsided. After some thought, he found the logic behind Dante's words. Reluctantly, he flew back down and looked at Dante impatiently.

"State your conditions!"

Dante had already gotten used to the pressure Zapdos was exuding. With a businesslike smile, he proposed.

"Hehehe, hey, as someone who lived for so long, you must have accumulated so many treasures, right? We won't ask much, how about just letting us choose 10 from them?"

"Impossible! All the treasure I collect has a value that is beyond priceless! Allow you to choose 10? Never in a million years!"

Zapdos' hackles raised in anger. How dare this guy propose something so outrageous!

"Jeez, you don't have to shout so much. How about 9? "

"1! I'll only allow you to choose one item at most."

"For someone who calls himself a god, I didn't expect you to be so stingy. 8?"

In the end, after some intense haggling, Zapdos reluctantly agreed to allow Dante, Pikachu, and Azumarill to choose 1 item each. In addition, they also obtained one opportunity to call for his aid.

—

Back to the beginning, Dante and his team entered a long hallway under Zapdos' lead. After some time, the passage began to widen and a large room reminiscent of the dungeon they just came from was seen.

"Be honored! You have the opportunity to lay your eyes upon something meant only for the vision of the gods!"

A/N: Get early access on up to 30 chapters and vote for Dante's next Pokemon at: patreon.com/Ked2002