Hello~ I'm Amber of Pikachu Hat Productions! It's wonderful to see all of you! I'm new here to and I'm not really sure how it works, but I will in time! This is my first story or Fan Fiction. I hope this is good enough~

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky

Pain. There was so much pain. My entire body felt as if it were on fire. There was no air, my lungs wouldn't work. I was enveloped in a light blue light. I... I had been hit by something. What was it? It wasn't aimed at me though... I had protected someone. Someone important. Who? My memories, ones I wished to forget and ones I held close, were quickly being ripped away from me. My friends, my family, they were blurred from me, put into the darkest shadows. I desperately reached for them, but to no avail.

"Oh my Arceus! Are... Are you okay?" a voice called to me. It... It sounded familiar. Who was that? I couldn't find a face or a name to match it to. But... I trusted this person, who ever they were.

Suddenly, water slapped my face. It wouldn't stop. It was so weird, I had never felt this before. Rain... That's what it was called... I think. Light flashed, momentarily blinding me. It was so harsh! The thunderous clap that followed shocked me as well. The person beside me, clutching at my arm, was losing their grip.

"No! Don't let go! Just... Just a little longer! Come on hang on!" they yelled.

Words tumbled out of my mouth without my consent, "I... Can't..."

Then, they were gone. I was left, falling... And falling... The light flashed once more, briefly illuminating the pokemon shaped cliff far to my right. Water rushed up to meet me, and I was sucked into the darkness.

I quickly paced back and forth in front of the Wigglytuff tent and the large grate in front of it.

"N-no... I won't let myself stay here any longer! I can do this! Besides... I have my treasure with me this time." I murmured to myself, clutching at the rock I wore around my neck.

The Wigglytuff guild was the most revered guild in world. The guild master, Wigglytuff, was said to be the greatest explorer. They were open to all, but the training was said to be rigorous. Plus, I got so nervous around others, It was hard for me to walk up to people, let alone talk to them.

I stood there for a moment, gathering my courage. A slight shudder passed through my blue body as I sucked in a breath down to my toes. I HAD to do this. Finally, I tenderly placed my paw on the grate.

"Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected!" a young, child-like voice sounded from below the grate, making me stumble backwards in surprise.

"Who's footprint! Who's footprint!" a loud and obnoxious voice yelled.

"It's... Hey! Get back on the grate!" the child called to my fleeing back.

In my haste to get away, I tripped over my own feet, causing me to tumble down the entire stairway. Pushing myself up, and blushing from embarrassment, (I think someone saw me, considering the laughter I heard...) I ran and ran, passed the town, straight to the beach.

I couldn't help but snicker when the black and blue idiot's face turned into an expression of shock when the sentry called up to him, but dear Arceus when he took that tumble down the stairs, I just burst out laughing. To be honest, I'm not sure how long I chuckled when my partner in crime, Koffing, turned to me and asked,

" H-hey Zubat, did you see that thing around his neck?"

I paused, recalling the what he mumbled before,

"'course I did! Said something about it being treasure, didn't he?"

"treasure... Think it'd fetch a Poke or two?"

" Most likely."

"Should we jump him?"

..."Yes, let's jump him. 'course we may be wasting our time after that moron's fall."

With badly suppressed laughter, we headed off in the direction of the beach.

I plopped down in the sand, panting. I sat there for a few moments, catching my breath, when I realized what I had done. Again.

I had done this so many times, gathering my courage, and then Chickening out at the last second. It's so embarrassing, being so timid, I wish I was stronger. But no, I'm not strong at all. I'm NEVER going to get the courage to join the guild am I? It's such a hard fact to accept… I'm never going to reach my dream at this rate… POP! I jump in surprise as a bubble bursts in front of me. I look up to see a truly magnificent sight.

The Krabby always come out and blow bubbles when the weather's nice, and I guess today was nice enough for them. It was truly a lovely sight. The bubbles caught the sun's rays, causing them to sparkle and shimmer as they floated above the orange sea. I felt a smile on my face when I turned to the left, only to see a Charmander laying face first in the sand. Needless to say, that smile vanished.

"oh-oh Arceus! Are you okay? H-hey are you okay?" I call out to the Pokemon. I receive no response. "Are you okay? Oh, please wake up, don't be dead…" I began to shake it, trying to wake it up.

"Mmmmmf," What? Oh, it's alive! That's good… I wonder if- "MMMMF!" I hadn't realized that I was partially pinning said Pokemon in the sand, making it rather difficult for it to get up.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-" I began but was cut off by the Charmander,

"Who the Hell are you?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm Takuya, it… it's nice to meet you…?" crap, I'm getting nervous again.

"Rui. My name is Rui. Damn. You're tall for a Riolu," She (I'm guessing she, as Rui is fairly Feminine, and so is her voice) says, seeming not to notice my nervousness. Now that I get a closer look at her, I notice that she looks… different, than normal Charmanders. She has the usual colorings, but she's thinner, with longer arms, and startling blue eyes.

"T-tall? I'm not any taller than any other Riolu…" I reply.

"No, you are very tall, seeing as you're taller than me." She says stubbornly.

"Really? I thought Riolu were taller than Charmanders…" I wonder.

"C-charmander? Are you blind? I'm a HUMAN if you haven't noticed," She snaps. HUMAN? Did this chick hit her head or something? Why on earth does she think she's Human?

"B-b-but you look like a Charmander!"

"Humans, don't have fiery lizard tails idiot."

"Then what Is that?" I say, pointing at her "fiery lizard tail".

"What is wha-" She stops mid sentence, upon catching sight of her tail. The mortified look on her face worries me.

"Hey, is something wrong?" I ask. My reply?

A bloodcurdling scream.

That's Chapter one! I hope you enjoyed it! Please Read and Review! ~~Amber~~