First Impressions

A Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of the Sky FanFiction by the Catflower Queen

Chapter 1: The Apprentices

"Hey, hey! So what do you think of the new apprentices?" Corphish asked the assembled group. It was a nightly ritual for all the apprentices to hold a meeting in the evening, to talk about how their days had gone, exchange information, etc. Normally the room at the end of the hallway was empty and they would meet there, but since it was now occupied by the newest members of the guild they had decided to meet in the room shared by Corphish, Loudred, and Bidoof.

"Huh? New apprentices?" Bidoof asked in confusion.

"Those two kids who came in earlier. Remember? I nudged you to point them out," Sunflora reminded him.

"Oh!" Bidoof exclaimed. "Gosh, they're gonna be apprenticing here? Guess I won't be the newbie anymore!"

"True!" Chimecho said with a smile.

Sunflora put her leaves to her cheeks and squealed, "Oh my gosh! I think they're adorable!"

Loudred rolled his eyes. "Of COURSE you do."

"Well what did you think of them?" Sunflora asked with a glare.

Dugtrio nodded. "Yes, after all, you were the only one to talk to them."

"Urk!" Loudred blushed when the focus turned on him, but he quickly recovered. "W-well… the pikachu seemed very… nervous."

"Nervous?" Corphish asked with a frown. "Hey, hey, she didn't seem so nervous to me… she was chattering on endlessly when Chatot was showing her and her friend around…"

"Well, she was nervous earlier," Diglett interjected. "She's come to the guild multiple times before… but she's run away each time before Loudred could admit her."

"Meh heh heh… really? So what changed?" Croagunk asked.

"I don't know," Diglett admitted. "Maybe it had something to do with her friend."

"Hey, hey? What's she like?" Corphish asked, curious.

Loudred was the one to answer him. "She didn't speak at ALL!" he stated. "She seemed really CONFUSED too. I had to tell her TWICE to get on the grate! And Diglett had TROUBLE identifying her footprint!"

"H-hey!" Diglett spluttered with indignation. "I already told you! You don't often see treecko around these parts! Besides… she didn't really act like a treecko…"

"Gosh! What do you mean by that?" Bidoof asked.

Diglett shifted around. "Well… when she stepped up onto the grate… she was only standing on two legs."

"Why is that such a surprise?" Chimecho asked. "Treecko usually stand on two legs when they aren't moving."

"But that's just it!" Diglett exclaimed. "She didn't walk onto the grate and then stand up… she was already upright when she walked onto the grate!"

"What?" everyone asked in shock.

"Oh my gosh! Why would she do that?" Sunflora asked, puzzled.

"Maybe that's normal where she comes from?" Chimecho offered, not really believing it herself.

"NO WAY!" Loudred objected. "I've explored ALL over the place and I've NEVER seen any treecko walk like that!"

Dugtrio frowned. "That brings up an interesting point…"

"Oh?" Sunflora asked. "What is it?"

"Son," Dugtrio began, turning towards Diglett. "You said that the pikachu had been here multiple times before, yes?"

"That's right, Dad," Diglett affirmed.

"And today is the first time you have seen that treecko, correct?"

"Yeah…"

"And no one else here has ever seen her before?" Dugtrio asked, turning towards the crowd.

They all shook their heads.

"Is there a POINT to this?" Loudred asked in annoyance.

"I am just wondering… if the two are friends, why have we not seen the pair together before now?"

Everyone paused.

"Good point, Dugtrio," Croagunk said. Then he chuckled. "Meh heh heh… I guess that's why they were both acting that way…"

"What way?" Chimecho asked, cocking her head.

Croagunk turned to look at her and explained, "The two were acting as though they'd just met mere hours ago."

Everyone was surprised, and Corphish blurted out, "Hey, hey! That is odd!"

There was a silence as the assembled contemplated this.

"Well… I reckon that's a good sign," Bidoof finally said. Everyone turned to look at him with questioning gazes and he blushed before nervously continuing, "Oof… I mean… if those two just met each other today and they're already such great friends… it must mean that they're really friendly and kind and… and that we'll all get along well together."

Everyone blinked at the revelation before smiling.

"Oh my gosh, Bidoof! I bet you're right!"

"Hey, hey! Yeah! We'll probably be great friends!"

"Ooh… I hope that they're good at exploring!"

The excited chatter was quickly broken up when an irate Chatot burst into the room. "Squawk! What is going on here?" he demanded. "It's late! You should all be in bed!"

"Eek! Sorry, Chatot!" Sunflora apologized. "We were just talking about the new apprentices! We're all super excited to meet them!"

Chatot sighed, "I understand that, but all this noise is going to keep them awake!"

"Golly! I didn't think of that…" Bidoof frowned.

"But, hey, hey! Before we all hit the hay… could you answer a question?" Corphish asked.

Chatot sighed again in exasperation before wearily asking, "What is it?"

"What are the new apprentices' names?"

Chatot smiled. "The pikachu is named Paula, and the treecko is Laura. Their team name is Team Rainbow."

"Team Rainbow, huh?" Croagunk rubbed his chin in thought. "Meh heh heh… I bet they'll make things interesting around here…"