Chapter 1

After the events of Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon

It was a dry and sunny afternoon when Soy arrived at the schoolhouse. He was looking for someone.

At the steps, another pokemon just like him stood with tired eyes, waving goodbye to the children. The clock had just struck three, and the little ones were running home.

Her name was Heather.

The quilava smiled when she came to greet him. "Long day, Teach?"

"Loooooong daay," Heather groaned. "Sandile especially. She's just so timid! It took me ages to convince her to play with the other pokemon."

"Well, you're good at that kind of stuff. You know. Encouragement…"

"Sure hope so…"

Indeed, Soy knew exactly what he meant. Not too long ago, he was an orbmaker for the local Rescue and Exploration teams. He could afford three meals a day then. All it took was a misplaced sneeze, and everything he had went up in smoke. It was a medical condition, they said. A hyperactive aura. Not deadly, but no cure.

Without her to lean on, he would have fallen. Without her shoulder to cry on, he would still be broken today. Everything he had now—an apprenticeship at Krokorok's Guild, a livable place to call home, etcetera—was built on her support. He was here today because she was there for him. He just hoped she knew this too.

The quilava stretched herself out across the playground sand, yawning. He yawned too.

"You know," Soy remarked, "I read somewhere that yawning is like a sign of passive-ness. Like an unsaid cue that means 'I won't attack you'."

"I won't attack you," she assured, grunting mid-stretch. He snickered.

Suddenly, she sprung back into posture. "So!" she said, reinvigorated. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Well, you always wait at the crossroads for me…" he said, looking away shyly. "I figured that, since the team finished our mission early today, I should wait for you this time."

"Aw, how nice."

"Someone has to keep you sane."

She gestured to the road leading uptown. "Shall we?"

He nodded, and the two quilava started down the streets of Sahra Town, each bound for their own homes.

Soy never did talk much on these little walks. That's just who he was, a little shy. He was content with her company, and with her idle chat about the day's shenanigans as a teacher. They didn't walk home every day, but when they did, he relished the chance to walk with her until the hill with the tree, and just sit under it beside her, talking about all things, thinking about some.

They both carried bags. Soy's was full of items needed for crawling through mystery dungeons. Just the essentials. Heather's was a bit larger than his Treasure Bag, full of papers and supplies to and from the school. She reached in, and pulled out a small sack. One with weight, and a distinctive cling.

Before he knew it, she was offering him money.

He refused.

"What do you mean 'no'?" she asked incredulously, pushing the sack of money further into his reluctant paws. "Take it!"

"You—you can keep it," Soy insisted, pushing it back.

She shook her head "You do this every week, Soy. I'm literally giving you free money."

"Heather, I'm not jobless anymore! I don't need your handouts."

"You call that a 'job'?! They take 90% of your reward! And then you have to divide the 10% left between your teammates? I teach math too, Soy! Don't tell me you can make a living like that… Are you still living in that hole?"

"It's a burrow, thank you," he said, turning up his snout at her. "I dug it myself! And it's very well decorated."

"Oh yeah?" she challenged. "With what?"

"Uh, well…" he rubbed his arm sheepishly. "There's the bed."

"Your hay bed, huh?"

"Yes, that's the one..."

She sighed, frustrated. "Look, if not for yourself, take this for me."

…

"I worry about you," she continued. "Here I am visiting Charizard's Bakery every other day, when you can hardly afford to visit at all. Just take it! So I don't have to feel guilty over you!"

They stopped by a tall tree. The same they had stopped at every day for years. Soy took the moment to stand, and use his free paws to rub his temples. She didn't understand. He did have some money. It's just that he was saving it for… it.

He huffed. "If I take it, will you stop nagging me?"

"As long as it doesn't go to alcohol."

"I'm not gonna ruin my life twice, mother," he teased.

And with that, the money was in his paws. He stowed it away in his tattered item bag.

He sighed. He hated being pitied. "Thanks, Heather."

"I'm just looking out for you."

After that they were largely quiet. Sitting at the top of the hill next to each other, they watched the sun set over the Sand Continent. For him, this was always the best part of his day. No words, just company. No mystery dungeons, just nature. No crime, just beauty. As though after a long visit, the sun waves goodbye. "Until tomorrow," it says. Until tomorrow.

"I'll be honest with you" Soy said suddenly, recalling the scores of children from the schoolhouse. "I don't know how you handle all those kids."

She laughed. "I wonder where they all came from myself."

"Do…" He trailed off. not quite sure how to frame what he wanted to say.

She looked over, seeing him frown. "Do…?" she led on.

"Do you really think the world has a place for all of them?"

She stared into the distance, watching the last edge of the sun sink behind Stone Tree Mountain in the distance. She realized. The world was small, but the world was large.

"I like to think so," she said.

With the first shadows of nightfall upon them, Heather wished him well, and continued on home. Soy himself stayed awhile, even falling into a short nap under the tree. When he woke up, the lights of Sahra Town flickered softly, undimmed by tears of the heart, unextinguished by the perils of any one life.

Life goes on, he said. With or without you.

He returned to the path, starting home. By chance, he saw his teammates, staying late at Quagsire's Café. Bayleef and Croconaw seemed to be arguing again. What the heck, he thought. I'll join them.

"Ey! It's Soy!" Croconaw cheered. "You decided to join the celebration after all!"

"Glad you could make it!" Bayleef added.

He smiled nervously. How could he have forgotten? They'd been working tirelessly for years for this! And now that they had finally passed the Krokorok's graduation exam, and were approved to start their own guild in Post Town, he'd forgotten? This all happened yesterday, too!

Shameful.

"… Yeah," Soy said, as naturally as possible. "That's why I'm here."

He took a seat at the round table. Quagsire came by, and furnished him with oran berry tea. His favorite. Croconaw resumed his argument with Bayleef. Soy thought he made an interesting case. If mirrors reflect all the light, and the color white reflects all the light, why don't they look the same?

Eventually, the conversation shifted. The two began making plans: what the guild would look like, who they would accept as apprentices, how big a cut would they take of the profits? What was the weather like in Post Town, where they'd build it?

And suddenly, Soy found it difficult to look them in the eye anymore. He felt guilty. The last thing he needed was a direct address.

"So, Guildmaster Soy!" Bayleef began. "You've been quiet all night. What do you think the new guild should look like? I personally prefer green paint, but—"

"I'm tellin' ya, blue's true!" Croconaw cried.

"Blue foo!"

Soy broke his silence, and sighed. The sound itself silenced them. Being called 'Guildmaster Soy' really hit home for him.

"Um, about the guild…" he started. "I don't know if I can come with you guys."

"Wha—"

"WHAT?" Croconaw roared. "With your dungeoneering talent?! Here we have the opportunity to earn our own, real, money. The top, Soy! Then here you are saying you wanna stay on the bottom?! What are we going to do without you? What are you going to do in that rain-soaked hole?"

"It's a burrow, Croconaw."

"When you put a bed in a hole, it's still a hole," Bayleef interjected.

"Ugh." he let his forehead fall on the table. He just let it sit there, and he mumbled, "I can't win with you guys."

"You did win once when you convinced us to make you team lead."

"Shut up, Bayleef. At least let me mope!"

A moment passed before Croconaw started asking questions. "It's that girl, isn't it? The one that always waits for you when we return?"

…

"… Yes," he admitted.

"Can't your sister just, you know, scram?"

"WE'RE NOT RELATED!" he snapped, drawing looks from other tables. He toned down a bit. "I told you this!"

"So what's your deal with…" and then it hit them.

"Oooooooohhhhhhhhh," they said.

"That's rough," Croconaw remarked.

"Super rough."

Soy huffed. "I'm sorry guys. I guess I'll have to talk this over with her."

"Yeah you do that."

"Just know that Krokorok won't wait for us to make a decision," Bayleef said. "Fair warning—we won't wait for you!"

"Yeah, I know," he said, getting up, and starting out the door.

"Bros before hoes!" Croconaw shouted after him. Bayleef snickered.

Soy flashed him a narrow glare, and left.

…

"He didn't stay very long did he?" Bayleef remarked.

"Nope… Poor guy's been all over the place lately. That was a good call, coming home early."

"Yeah…"

There was a purple keckleon who owned a shop in town. Near all her wares were far out of his price range, but he kept visiting regardless. She had it.

A Gold Ribbon in the Sand Continent is a lot like a wedding ring. It meant the same thing. The tradition was born of a need for something more useful against the frequent sand storms the early pioneers of the land had to endure. A Gold Ribbon would help you breath. A ring would not.

Soy entered the shop, and was eagerly greeted. First by the friendly chime of doorbell, and second by Libi herself.

"Soy! Hello, hello again!"

"Hi," he replied.

For her age, the keckleon was full of energy. And she made sure everyone else was too. "Oh Soy, you're so shy. How about a 'Hiya!' or 'How ya been?'"

He cleared his throat. "Hiya! How ya been?"

"I've been doing Great!" she beamed. "Come to look at that ribbon again?"

"Ah… yes."

"Well, it's over there. I assure you nothing's happened to it."

"Oh I'm sure. Just looking. Any sale?"

She huffed, "Sorry, Soy. Price as marked."

He nodded, a little disappointed. He eyed the price tag: 2000 poké. He still didn't have enough: 1,523.

Seeing Heather every day, it made eating less worth it, it made living in a hole worth it. That's what he was saving his money for. He could spend the rest of his life with her, because he loved her. But now that the opportunity of a lifetime was stretched out before him, he wasn't so sure. Here he could go to Post Town and start a guild, keep doing good in the world. Would he be able to keep up like this if he turned it down? Could he find another job? Could he let his teammates down?

He sucked in a breath, his eye a little wet just thinking about it. He was so confused. This damned ribbon used to give him hope. Now it just confused him. This was the antagonist.

This was it.

"Something's troubling you, dear," she said from behind the counter.

"Yeah, you know," he sighed. "Decisions."

She nodded. "In all my years here," she began, "I've never found a diamond that was easy to cut, or Gold Ribbon that was easy to weave… but the hardest things to make, Soy, are decisions. When to invest? What to sell tomorrow? Who to expec—?"

She sneezed.

"Bless you."

"Ugh… Whatever your decisions are, Soy, I just hope they reflect your dreams,

and not your fears.

AN: Apparently, downtown is like the business district of a city, whereas uptown is the residential district. At least, that's what they say.

Hope you enjoyed! I literally got this idea from a plot generator, and thought it was good enough to publish. xD We'll see how this works out. I might write the next chapter.

Until then, happy living! ( ^ ^)