One For All- Part 1
Lightning flashed and thunder cracked painfully loud. The rain falling from whatever direction soaked and chilled the two to the bone as they tumbled through seemingly nothingness.
"Hold on! We've gotta be getting close!"
"I can't! I'm slipping!"
The one solo figure became two as they were ripped apart by the force of the storm. The figures flew in different directions, each swallowed up by the inky darkness, and now totally alone. The smaller of the two tried to scream, to call out to the other, but it was no use; the other was too far gone and the roar of the storm snatched up whatever sound there was and made it its own. In the darkness, the figure stopped thrashing about and flailing, then closed her eyes. There was no use in fighting anymore, so she surrendered herself to the power of the storm.
The salty smell of the sea was the first thing that Para was aware of. The next was the sound of the water breaking on the crags below him. His little body stirred, then he opened his eyes. Before him lay the vast expanse of the ocean, above which the sun rested on clouds of gold and crimson.
Para arched his back and stretched out his sleepy limbs, then took a deep breath and rolled over across the cold stone floor and into the stream that ran through his home into the ocean. As always, the water was ice cold, causing him to jolt awake and start scrubbing his fur as fast as he could. The sand and grit that had accumulated on him the previous day was brushed off and swept down into the ocean, leaving his silver fur nice and clean. Wide awake now, he leaped out of the water and dried himself off as fast as possible.
"Today, I'll finally do it. This time, no backing down," he chanted into the basin of still water he used as a mirror. He groomed his fur to look it's best, even fluffing out his mane and chest a little, then donned his relic fragment around his neck and tucked the small medallion into his fur. With his personal treasure to bring him good luck, he would have the confidence to enter for sure this time.
The walk from his home in the cliff to the tent atop the hill wasn't very long, but to Para it felt like an eternity. His heart felt firmly lodged in his stomach, and the feeling of his medallion was about the only thing keeping him from shaking. Ignoring the usual glares and whispers, the silver Eevee made its way past the town, to the sign, and up the hill. It was midday, but even in the sun the torches surrounding the tent looked intimidating. Para sighed, took a breath, and walked past the gate. It was quiet around the decorated tent, far away enough from the town to be tranquil, and he was alone. A sign in big, bold letters read "STEP ONTO THE GRATE." Sure enough, in front of the tent was a hole in the ground with just enough grating to stop him from falling through. Para clutched his medallion. The bamboo seemed flimsy and he feared he'd fall through. Mustering all his courage, he took a step forward, and gingerly put his paw on the grate. His eyes snapped shut as he slowly put his weight on the grate, then stepped out onto it. To his relief, the grate was much sturdier than it appeared and Para forced himself over the hole by sheer will.
"WHOSE FOOTPRINT!"
The voice shattered the silence.
Para yelped and sprang from the grate, then dashed down the stairs and didn't stop running until his paws were imbedded in the sand of the shore below.
"Dammit..." Para swore, then hit the sand. Even with the help of his medallion, he was still too scared to enter the guild. Miserably, he slumped against the cool rocky crags.
He must have fallen asleep, because when he woke up, the sea before him was lit on fire with the crimsons, golds and violets of the setting sun. Bubbles decorated the air around him. The Krabby must have come up from the ocean to blow bubbles, and the beautiful sight helped to cheer him up some.
Para drank in the sight in front of him for a while. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, but close to dusk his belly growled and he turned to leave. As he turned away from the rock, a mass of brown fur caught his eye. His heart jumped. It was probably just some floatsam, but it looked a lot like another Pokemon...
As he trotted closer, the shape started to take form to him. He walked a little faster, then started to run. "H-Hey! Are you okay?" He called out. No response. He bolted over the hard, wet sand, racing the next wave of the rising tide to get to it. There, laying on the sand, was an unconscious Eevee.
Para was stunned. As far as he knew, he was the only one of his race around for miles. Had she come from the ocean? How? Where was she from?
Para shook his head, snapping back to reality. He looked her over for any injuries. She was completely out and her fur was filthy, but aside from that she looked okay. "Hello? Is anyone here?" Para called out, seeing if she was possibly with anyone else, but the shoreline was completely deserted.
Looking back down at her, Para weighed his options. He couldn't just leave her here, and since no one else was around, he decided to take her back with him. He picked her up and hoisted her onto his back, then carefully made his way home. Through the town, no one said a thing.
Para lit a fire in his pit, then washed the Eevee off in his stream. Once she was clean, he looked her over again, only this time searching for some sort of item or trinket that might identify her. Nothing. With nothing else really to do, he ate his dinner, set her a pallet by the dying fire to keep her warm, and went to bed. Lying in the dim room, he tried to sleep, but his mind kept wandering over to the unconscious Eevee close by him.
The next morning, Para was up well before the sun. He kept a silent vigil over the Eevee, not wanting to miss when she rose. About an hour after the sun peeked over the horizon, she began to stir. She groaned and rolled over, then sat up and rubbed her eyes. Para's heart began to beat faster in anticipation and excitement.
"Mmmh... Wha?"
The Eevee opened her eyes, and groggily looked around the room. Her gaze stopped on Para, and he held her gaze for a moment. Neither spoke. Para could hardly breathe. His heart was racing, but the thrill was changing from excitement to a new feeling entirely. Before he could figure it out however, her eyes went wide and she stumbled backward.
"W-Who are you?! A-And where am I?!" Her fur ruffled and she crouched and growled threateningly.
"I-I-I found you unconscious on the beach and I brought you here because it was getting dark and the tide and, and..." He trailed off, trying to follow up his sheepish explanation with something. She seemed to relax a little, then looked down as in lost in thought. Suddenly, she fell down and buried her head in her paws, letting out loud, scared sobs.
Para was taken aback, but at least she wasn't hostile anymore. He slowly reached over and put a paw on her head. When she didn't react, he drew closer and awkwardly patted her back. Without warning she looked up at him, her eyes and cheeks puffy from the tears, then wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled herself into his lap.
"I... Don't know who I am, or what happened to me..." She explained after she had calmed down some. Para stroked her head over and over, as it seemed to help keep her calm.
"I just don't know what to do..."
"Well, even if you forgot who you are, do you have a name?"
The Eevee frowned, thinking hard.
"N... No. Nova! That was it!"
She beamed, as if clinging to this single detail of her lost identity.
"Nova... Okay Nova. I'm Para. It's nice to meet you."
He gave her his most friendly smile, and she responded in kind.
"If you don't know what to do now," he continued, working it over in his head, "then maybe you can come start an exploration team with me! Maybe we'll find some clues or you'll remember who you are."
Nova cocked her head questioningly.
"An exploration team is a team of Pokemon who explore those strange places called mystery dungeons. You... Know what those are, right?"
Nova thought again, then nodded.
"So... Will you form a team with me?"
Nova was taken a little aback. It was so sudden; only a few minutes ago she had woken up with no recollection of who she was, and now this strange Eevee wanted her as a partner. Nova looked away, mulling it over. Maybe it was true that they'd find some clue or hint of who she was if they were to form an exploration team. It made sense that seeing and exploring many different places was the best way to find out what happened to her. Aside from that, what else could she do? She didn't really have anywhere else to go or anything else to do.
Looking back at Para, Nova grinned, and nodded her head. Para breathed a sigh of relief, as if he'd been nervous about her answer, then beamed.
"So... What now?" She asked.
"Now, we go register ourselves..." Para looked down and swallowed. "At the guild." Seeing Para's reaction made Nova a bit nervous, but if it was what they were supposed to do, then it couldn't really be that bad, could it?
Para suddenly looked down, then back up at her, but with eyes full of determination.
"Alright, let's do this. The two of us can get in there, no sweat!"
He stuck out his paw and she grabbed it. Looking into his fiery eyes, Nova felt a surge in her own confidence, then as one, they rose and made their way out the door.
Again at the edge of the grate, Para's body froze. He felt Nova's gaze on him, but he just couldn't move. Such a loud, harsh voice must have come from something scary, and there was no telling what they'd see down in the guild.
Para had purposely left out the part about this explorer's guild's rumored brutality. He had heard of the rigorous training and impossibly high standards it set, as well as the steady stream of Pokemon who dropped out and ran from it.
Para didn't realize he was shaking until Nova put her paw over his, and he stopped. She didn't need to say anything, nor he. He looked down at her paw, then over to her, and when their eyes met, again he felt the pang in his heart he couldn't identify. It felt... Exciting, but something more than that. Fueled by this new confidence, he stepped forward, onto the grate over the abyss below.
"WHOSE FOOTPRINT?! WHOSE FOOTPRINT?!"
The voice was almost deafening now, but Para stood tall and confident now.
"The footprint belongs to... Eevee!"
Another voice? Para frowned. There was a team working there? He didn't have long to think before the first voice scattered his thoughts.
"YOU MAY... ENTER!"
The large gate protecting the entrance to the tent was slowly hoisted up, and Para stepped forward, then turned and gave Nova a reassuring smile.
Nova nodded and stepped onto the grate like her new friend had done.
"WHOSE FOOTPRINT?! WHOSE FOOTPRINT?!"
"..."
Silence. Nova looked at Para, starting to get a little worried. He looked confused also, but when he caught her gaze, he put on a brave face for her.
"SENTRY DIGLETT! WHO IS AT THE GATE?!"
"I... Don't know..."
"WHAT?!"
"I said I don't know who it is! I don't know what I don't know!"
Silence again.
"YOU BOTH MAY... ENTER!"
Para sighed and Nova leaped off the grate and over to Para as fast as he could. When she reached him, she grabbed his paw and held him close, hugging out the burst of fear she had felt. He stiffened up for a second, then embraced her.
"We did it. We can go in now" he said calmly, despite the fact that he was shaking, which was just what she needed to hear. Together, they walked into the tent.
Inside the tent was a ladder surrounded by stones, which descended into the ground below. Para went first, followed quickly by Nova.
Directly down below, the second floor of the guild buzzed with activity. Teams of all types of pokemon went about their business. As the two Eevees made their way over to an office labeled "Information," they passed teams meeting with clients, mapping, strategizing, reviewing jobs, and all other kinds of tasks. Para looked around with wonder, while Nova stuck close to her friend. She hadn't known what to expect, but the grassy floor beneath her paws, the warm sunlight filtering in through the windows, and fine wooden support beams helped her to put her at ease.
"Hi!"
The sudden friendly voice snapped Nova out of her daze. They were standing at the help desk, and a happy-looking Chimecho smiled down on them. With every graceful sway of her head, her bell would gently vibrate, and the ringing helped to put the two at ease.
"We'd like to register as a new team, please." Para said calmly, soothed by the ringing as well.
"Awesome!" The Chimecho cheered. "I'm Belle, and I'll help you with that! Now, are you registering as a Rescue Team or an Exploration Team?"
"An Exploration Team." Para replied without hesitation, and Belle grabbed a form from a stack of papers. Para and Nova signed their names and their paw prints. Belle took back the form, signed her name, then placed the form in a slot where it was picked up by a Pelliper mail carrier.
"Come back here tomorrow to take your first jobs from those big boards" Belle said when they were finished. "And have a good day!"
The next morning, Para awoke to Nova's warm body shifting next to his. When he opened his eyes and saw her peacefully sleeping face inches away from his, it took him a minute to process the situation. As soon as he did though, his body went rigid and he felt a hot blush seep into his cheeks.
Nova slowly opened her eyes to the sight of Para staring at her, only his silver face was a bright crimson.
"Para? What's wrong?" She asked, putting a paw on his cheek. "You feel so hot, are you alright?"
By now, Para's heart was beating in overdrive. "I-I-I'm fine!" He stuttered, then jumped up and dashed out of the den, leaving Nova there wondering what just happened. She had rolled over to him during the night because she was cold, had she accidentally given him some disease?
Para slumped down against a rock near the entrance to his home to catch his breath. Why was he feeling like this whenever she was close? Para frowned. No one ever made him feel that… Excited. The cool wind of the late fall morning washed over his face and made him shiver. "Nova…" He whispered to himself. The name made him shiver ever so slightly. Things had all happened so fast. Not two days ago, he was scared and alone, and now he was in an exploration team with Nova, who had came into his life just yesterday. And she already had such an effect on him. It was odd, since they had just met, but Para couldn't even think about life apart from Nova, yet this thought made him smile. With that, he took a deep breath, then got up and went back inside, though the question of what the excitement he felt was still burned in the back of his mind.
"Are you alright?" Nova asked when he came back in. Para heard the concern in her voice and nodded.
"I'm fine, just nerves. Wanna go down to the guild now?"
Nova nodded, and together they set out.
The cold air rippled through Nova's coat, and the pleasant scent of wood burning fire and the delicious scent of baking food of the nearby town filled her nose. She had noticed her senses becoming sharper than when she had woken up with Para, probably returning to their previous state before whatever happened to her to make her lose her memory. She matched her strides with Para's silver paws. As the two walked down the past, past the town then up to the guild, no words needed to be exchanged between them.
"Welcome!" Rang Belle's happy chime when the two Eevees entered the guild. The bustle of the previous day was gone now, and only a few other Pokemon were in the room preparing for their day's work. "Hello," Nova chirped happily, while Para waved. Belle produced another paper, then set it on a clipboard before them. "One last order of business… What would you like your team name to be?" Para and Nova exchanged a glance. It had completely skipped their minds.
Belle just giggled. "Take your time guys, there's no rush."
"Hm… An inspiring exploration team would need a cool name… Something like… Team Discovery?" Para suggested. It wasn't exactly a cool name, but it wasn't too bad. "Or maybe something like Team Seeker?"
Nova looked up at the mention of the latter. "Team Seeker sounds pretty cool," she added, and it was done. Belle wrote the team name down, signed the page, then disappeared into a back room. She reappeared about a minute later with a leather bag and two ingots of bronze. She took the ingots over to some mechanism they had failed to notice previously because of all the other Pokemon. The Chimecho inserted the ingots into a slot on the machine, entered in some information on a panel on its side, then twisted a lever by the panel. Soon, two solid thuds rang from the machine. Belle opened a receiving slot on the machine and took out what had fallen. She smiled as she first set the bag before them, then two bronze exploration team badges engraved with their team name and rank, still warm from being processed by the machine. Nova felt excited, but Para was nearly glowing.
"Moving on," Belle said, snapping the two Eevees out of their transfixion on the exploration gear, "you can opt to join our exploration guild or ally yourselves with the global Exploration Society. With our guild, we tax your reward money on missions in exchange for lodging, food, and premium access to our databases and communications hub. This would allow you to research dungeons, other Pokemon, and learn of available jobs a bit before everyone else, but you'll have access to our job bulletin boards regardless. Joining the Exploration Society comes with no fees, but they tend to focus more on mapping out their global nexus than actually doing jobs. Alternately, you can do neither and just operate solo. You can choose your own hours and go out where and when you please."
When Belle finished, Para looked over at Nova, who looked back at him and shrugged. "Well…" The silver Eevee began, "I like the sound of all the options, but I think joining the Exploration Society would be the best. The more exploring we do, the more likely it is we'll find out about your past, right Nova?"
Nova nodded.
Para expected Belle to ask questions, but she just nodded and turned around to get something. Maybe things like this happened often?
Belle next placed a map before them, and drew a circle around a dot on it. "This map isn't as fancy as our other maps for our teams, the Exploration Society will take care of that. I've marked their base over in Lively Town- go there, they'll be expecting you."
When she finished, the Eevees graciously accepted the items.
"Thank you so much!" Nova said happily.
"Any time, don't mention it. We're always open if you need anything, good luck on your journeys!" Belle replied.
Para and Nova returned to the bluff and began to pack their things for the trip to Lively Town.
"Did you really mean it when you said we'd join the society to help me regain my memories?"
Para didn't even pause packing berries and seeds into the bag. "Of course, I have perfect faith that we'll find at least something…"
It was quiet for a minute. Para heard what sounded like sniffling. "Nov-" was all he had time to say as he looked up to see Nova leaping at him with tears in her eyes.
He tackled him to the cold stone floor and hugged him tightly. He could feel her body shaking against his. "Th-Thanks…" She choked out between sobs into his chest. Para felt his cheeks start to burn hot, and was worried she'd hear his heart thumping like a machine gun. It hadn't really occurred to him until then, but Nova must have been scared out of her mind. The silver Eevee threw his arms around her and hugged her as tightly as she did him. Para vowed to himself that he'd be there for her, and his silent promise only served to brighten his blush. Para was having some nagging suspicious of what he was feeling, but he suppressed that. Those were thoughts for the road.
When they were all packed up and ready to go, Para covered the entrance to the bluff with some brush nearby. He took a deep breath, then put his paw over Nova's and smiled.
"Ready?"
"Ready."
On their way through town, Nova noticed how the other Pokemon seemed to be giving them dirty looks. One even muttered "Good riddance…" under its breath as they passed. Nova wondered if they were doing something wrong that might anger the others.
At the crossroads, Para opened up the map, checked their route, then closed it and led the way. For a while they walked along a worn road by the sea, but soon branched off towards the mainland.
"So…" Nova began, deciding to take the opportunity to learn about her new partner. Para turned around and cocked his head, listening. "Tell me about yourself."
Para frowned. "What do you wanna know?"
"Well, for starters… Where are your parents? You didn't tell anyone we were leaving."
Para turned his head and looked forward again. He was silent for a long time, and Nova became worried she'd said something wrong.
"I'm sorry…" She began, but he quickly cut her off. "No. No… No, it's alright. You wouldn't have known. I… Really don't have a family. It's a long story, are you sure you want to hear it?"
Nova moved up beside him and matched his pace, nodding.
"Well…" he sighed, "I was born in a forest by the coast, not far from the bluff where I live now. When I was born, my egg was silver instead of the normal brown. My parents thought I was a bad egg and left the forest, ashamed, moving to a new place. They left me in the den. When I hatched, I came into a cold, empty den. Luckily they'd left enough soft food behind, or I would've starved. Some days later, a friend of my parents was walking by when he found me in the den. He put two and two together and figured that I wasn't a bad egg, but even worse…" Para winced as he forced the next words out. " … A shiny. Even worse than dead, I was a freak." Para paused and tried to regain his composure, but he wasn't doing too well. His cheeks became red with embarrassment and shame and he saw a fat tear roll from his eye, down his face and fall to the ground. He glanced over at Nova, who looked back at him concerned and somewhat guilty for bringing up his painful memories. "He told me how everyone had thought I was a bad egg and how an abomination like me would taint the forest… So, I decided to leave like my parents had. I took all the food I could and left under the cover of darkness. Despite my best efforts, others found me attacked on sight. By some miracle I got away and ended up finding my way to the secluded bluff, and that's where I've been ever since… This was hardly more than a year ago."
Again, they walked in silence. Para was embarrassed to break down in front of Nova, while Nova felt guilty about bringing up his painful past. While she knew nothing of her own, it was probably much happier than his. She had though, gleaned something useful as well as learned more about him: he was a little over a year old, which meant she was about a year old.
"I've never told anyone that, you know…"
Nova just took his paw and held it while they walked.
"Thanks, Para… For trusting me with that." She said, making Para realize that he did trust her, just innately trusted her. She was really special… But there was no way he could tell her that without sounding stupid. Her paw on his helped to calm him, though, and he soon returned to normal.
The rest of the first day was relatively uneventful. They made some small talk, but nothing major like the morning.
"I've always wanted to do this. To be an explorer and see new things. I'd hoped to find a place one day with other Pokemon like me, where I'd be accepted," Para said while pitching a hammock between two trees and tending to the campfire.
"Is that why you learned all these camping skills?" Nova asked, and Para nodded.
They had fire-roasted Magikarp seasoned with sweet Oran and Pecha berries for dinner. Para's cooking prowess surprised Nova and she was glad she was traveling with him.