Greyson's POV

I saw me proudly before thousands of Pokémon, my mothers wiping tears of joy off their faces. Various beautiful females were gushing and gossiping, including that Popplio that I neverget to talk to.

I saw the proud Solgaleo that was the leader of the exclusive Golden Academy of Gifted Explorers walk up to me: Sir Amory Leo.

"Greyson, you've accomplished so much. You saved the world single-pawdedly! That is something even I haven't done." Sir Amory praised me with his deep voice. "For that, I want to give you the highest honor as the heir of the Golden Academy."

The crowd broke into loud cheers and everyone of every status was proud of me, from unnamed girl Pokémon to the mayor of Kleoite Village himself. Sir Amory stood behind me and the sun shined even brighter.

"Greyson! Greyson! Greyson! Greyson!"

"Greyson!"

"What?! Ow!" I growled unexpectedly as I fell off my bed. "Mom, I was dreaming."

"About becoming the best explorer in the world?" One of my adoptive mothers teased, she was a Aromatisse named Aphrodite.

"Maybe." I muttered. "When I wake up from those dreams, it feels so far away."

"All dreams start far away. But when you try your hardest, it's easy to succeed!" My other adoptive mother yowled with excitement, she was a Skuntank named Drusilla.

"Drewey, don't excite him too much." Aphrodite called her mate by her pet name. "Greyson, the world outside of Kleoite Village is very dangerous. You know we don't want to lose our only kit."

"I know, you two care about me." I sighed. "But Mom seems excited for me to go out into the big world."

Yes, I call both of them 'Mom' and it can become confusing at times. But they adopted me, so I'd rather not call them by their names. But to explain who's talking, I'll refer to them by their names.

"Drusilla thinks every one of us should be out fighting for justice." Aphrodite then leaned against her and petted her head. "Then she met me when she stopped here, and hasn't moved since. And you wouldn't change a thing would you?"

"No." Drusilla purred. "That doesn't mean I don't miss the adventure and the action of course."

"What was your team called? Team Night Growlers?" Aphrodite asked her.

"Yeah, it was the best." Drusilla sighed happily. "Just me, Lana, Harold, Emperor, and Dante against the world."

"And you five ended up here looking for a criminal." Aphrodite added.

"They couldn't get me to leave the marketplace cause I kept flirting with one of the shopkeepers." Drusilla laughed. "So they left without me."

"Who was that shopkeeper?" Aphrodite teased.

"I think she was a Fairy-type..." Drusilla teased back.

"Flirting seems great and all, but c'mon. I'm right here." I deadpanned. "I don't want to be on a team, I want to be a lone explorer."

"Hardly anyone goes down that path. And if you join any Guilds, I want a supervisor to watch out for you." Aphrodite whispered.

"Mom, I'm not a kit anymore." I protested. "Summer's almost here, and I want to apply to the biggest public Guild: Crow Sky Guild."

"Most guilds require a team, you can't be sure this is any different." Drusilla reminded me.

"It's the most popular guild! Why wouldn't it let me work alone?" I questioned my mother.

"Just in case Grey, you should consider options in the village for a team partner." Aphrodite suggested.

"Perhaps, the annual Guild Fair should arrive anyday now!" I purred. The thought of being an explorer felt so amazing that it was no doubt what I wanted to do.

"That's wonderful Greyson. But you can't be a wallflower till then." Drusilla joked. "Go outside and have fun."

"Oh alright." I replied nervously. After all, being the kit of the only gay couple in Kleoite Village had many drawbacks.

I didn't mind at all, it was how I grew up. But many seemed to disagree.

I left my home, which was a brick red clay hut with a yellow door a distance from all the other huts. I bitterly remembered that our neighbors preferred it that way.

Between our row of huts and the other one facing ours was a pathway barren of any grass that lead to the marketplace and below that was the village square and two more rows of huts facing each other.

Beyond the marketplace was a tall thick tree that I loved to climb on and sleep comfortably on the biggest branch. That is, if no one else was on it.

I knew when the Guild Fair is brought to Kleoite Village, it'd take up the village square and most of the marketplace. With only the best guilds presenting themselves to the new generation, including myself.

It made my tail flick with anticipation at the thought of being part of another generation learning how to serve others to the best of their abilities.

I ran down the pathway with a small brown pawbag on my shoulders with my allowance and some supplies to show off my exploration knowledge.

Also I had some lunch money for Robin's Butcher Shop. He was a mean Haxorus...especially to me. But he prepared the best meat in the village. Heck, he made the only meat in the village.

As soon as I hopped into the marketplace, Pokémon immediately distanced themselves from where I was at as if they'd catch some disease if they got too close.

"What a bunch of A-holes." I growled under my teeth. "And looks like Robin's in a worse mood than usual today."

I saw the big dragon Pokémon lash out angrily at his assistants to bring more stock of the meat and saw a Zigzagoon desperately drag a wheelbarrow of packaged meat.

"You'll have to wait a while before we're even ready, and keep your filthy paws away from the stand." Robin snarled. "I don't want your caretakers's disease to infect my customers."

So many villagers would always call my adoptive mothers 'caretakers.' I held back a growl. Soon, I would no longer be in this stupid village.

Soon, I'll be on the road to success.