I crossed my legs as I sat, back up against a wall. I looked over and watched the rest of my group as they did various tasks. There were four of us. Frogadier was tossing water shurikens against a wall. Luxio was reading a book. Absol was looking back at me. My name is Flareon, I'm a member of Team Ragnarok, a four-Pokemon exploration group that specializes in murder cases. We're based in a place called Treasure Town. Several years ago, two Pokemon stopped Darkrai's scheme. The four of us were watching when that happened, from the shadows. How we weren't spotted was a mystery to me. After Darkrai's defeat, we followed the group back to Treasure Town and, after several weeks, made our presence known and established a team. We've been handling the dark and grisly cases that the Exploration Society can't handle. After Wigglytuff's retirement a year or so ago, Lucario had stepped in and now runs the Society just as well as Wigglytuff did. Lucario is a friend of ours, and occasionally comes on missions. His partner, Blaziken, also comes sometimes.
"Flareon." I shook my head. "Hey, Flareon. Out of your daydreams." I looked over and saw Absol speaking.
"Uh… what is it?"
"Someone's knocking at the door! It's your job to answer knocks at the door." reluctantly, I shook myself off and stood up on all fours. I trotted over to the door and pushed it open, and came face-to-face with a small Pokemon.
"Hello… I'm looking for Absol..." the little Pokemon shook its head nervously, and Absol raised her voice.
"Speaking. What do you need, little one?" she lowered her gaze gently. For a Pokemon who can foresee natural disasters and is an embodiment of darkness, Absol is actually a very sweet Pokemon with a soft spot for those weaker than her. The little Pokemon, who I recognized as a Minun, looked up.
"You're the leader of Team Ragnarok, right?" he asked nervously.
"Yes, I am. Don't be so nervous. I don't attack Pokemon weaker than I am. What do you need?" she asked again, her voice still level and kind.
"Um… well, you see… I wanted to join your team..." now that raised Absol's eyebrows, and she laughed.
"Do you know what kind of work we dabble in? Murders, mostly. Very few Pokemon have the stomach to see another Pokemon dead on the ground, covered in blood. I… don't think you have the stomach for this kind of work." Minun looked down, crestfallen, and turned around and started to walk away. "But." Minun turned around and raised his head. "I haven't said no. No one ever applies for this job, and we need a new face around here. I'll discuss it with the rest of the team. Shut the door and wait." Minun closed the door. Luxio and Frogadier looked up.
"Absol… are you sure we should consider Minun? After all, he isn't very strong, and given the way he looked like he was about to curl up and faint just from the sight of you, doesn't look like he can handle a double murder." Luxio tapped her claws against the wood floor and waited for Frogadier to speak.
"Luxio… I know you have your doubts, but remember this. Minun had the courage to come to our place of residence and ask to be hired with the full knowledge of the kind of work we do. Just that alone makes me think we should hire him. Flareon?" Frogadier looked at me, and I shrugged.
"I don't see why not. It's your choice, Absol." I tossed my head back and looked at her, and she smiled.
"Then it's settled. Let's go tell him our choice." I trotted over to the door, opened it, and tapped Minun on the shoulder. He turned around and looked at me.
"Yes?" he asked, nervously.
"Welcome to Team Ragnarok." I could see his face light up, and he jumped.
"Really? Yay! So… what happens now?" he asked, jumping around.
"Follow me inside. I'll introduce you to the team." I turned and walked inside, Minun bouncing after me.
"My name is Absol. I'm the leader of Team Ragnarok. I specialize in conversations and leadership. I think you'll like me. I tend to take it easy most of the time, though I go serious when we're on missions." she jerked her head to me.
"I'm Flareon, the second in command of Team Ragnarok. I'm the brawn around here, and I'm usually the one that does the majority of the reckless behavior. I like spending time at Spinda's cafe." I pointed one paw towards Luxio, and she cleared her throat.
"My name is Luxio. I'm the quietest here, and I'm in charge of the team's item cache. Come to me when you're hurt or looking for an advantage, I'll have whatever you need. I like to spend my time in Kecleon's shop." she smiled and turned her head towards Frogadier.
"I'm Frogadier. I'm the voice of reason to those two-" he pointed at me and Absol, "-and I'm the scout, using my speed and cunning to go ahead of the rest and put myself in danger to report back with additional knowledge. Without my insight, Flareon would have killed himself years ago, waltzing into crap he wouldn't have known without me. I like to spend my time at Sharpedo bluff."
"And that's our team. Welcome aboard, Minun. Now tell us some about yourself," Absol said, gesturing one paw towards Minun.
"Well… as you all know, I'm Minun, and my sister is Plusle. She recently got accepted into Team Electra, a high-caliber exploration team based in Lively Town. They rejected me, so I came here and made a life for myself collecting berries until I decided to come join your team. I like berries," he finished, and looked up. Absol smiled, and Minun did too.
"Your training begins tomorrow. Now, everyone, let's get some rest. We have a big day ahead. Minun, you sleep here." Absol tapped her paw against a bundle of straw, and Minun sat down on it and curled up. With a splash of water, Frogadier extinguished the controlled flame we used for light, and the smell of sweet smoke filled the air as, one by one, we fell asleep. It was several hours later before I struggled awake, and as I looked at the empty straw nest, I wondered for a second who used it before I remembered that Minun had joined us the night before. He, Absol, and Frogadier were nowhere to be found. I assume they had gone out for some early morning training. Luxio was still snoring softly on her cushy patch of straw, lined with feathers. I let her be and trod over to the small fountain and took a drink from it. The cool water washed over my face and down my fur, dripping back into the pool. I tossed some of the water down my back, and as it ran off my fur, dirt and grime came off with it. Shrugging, I tossed myself into the pool and started rolling around, feeling the months of hard work and dirt rinse off my fur. I smiled and made happy sounds as I splashed around, sending water into the air around me. Eventually, after several minutes of splashing, I stood up and shook my fur off, spraying droplets of water everywhere. I looked up and saw Luxio, who had raised her head, looking at me, humored.
"You did not see anything!" I said, looking at her with false anger. She laughed and looked back at me.
"Of course not, Mr. Tough Guy. I never saw you frolicking around in that pool like you were an Eevee again. Whatever happened to you being, I don't know, Fire-type?" she smiled, and I could tell she was teasing me.
"I was not frolicking! I was bathing! There's a difference!" I looked at her, stubbornness in my eyes, then gave it up, laughing. She stood up and shook off her ruffled fur, and looked back at me.
"Shall we go find the others?" she tossed her head back towards the door, and I started walking towards it. I pushed the door open with my shoulder and held it there for her as she walked out. She giggled a bit, and pressed her muzzle to mine, which made me blush about as much as a Flareon could. We walked side by side out into the town square. Despite us being both similar Pokemon, neither of us ever had romantic feelings for each other, though she was publicly affectionate to me. It never really bothered me, I had just learned to go with it. Luxio trotted up to Xatu's shop and propped herself onto her hind legs, her paws on the counter. "Have you seen Absol and Frogadier around?" she asked, and looked Xatu in the eye.
"Nope, Miss Luxio. Haven't seen either of them. Are they not with you?" Xatu tipped his head curiously. "The four of you always do everything together. However… I have seen the two of you spending more and more time together recently. I guess you're in luck, Flareon, because you two are in the same egg group." Xatu laughed, and Luxio flashed a paw, cuffing him on the cheek.
"You had better watch your tongue! One more remark like that and I'll think twice about bringing you my boxes! I can always have Flareon here Flare Blitz into them, and break them open!"
"You do know Flare Blitz hurts me, right?" I asked nervously.
"You're ramming into boxes, not enemy Pokemon. Relax, I'm making a joke," she added, smiling. "All the same, let's go ask around. I'm sure somebody has seen those three." Luxio turned to leave before Xatu reached out a wing and touched her shoulder.
"Three? There's you, Flareon, Absol, and Frogadier. That's four, not five. Who's the fifth?" Xatu tipped his head.
"We recruited a Minun last night. I'm assuming the three are out training together, so we're looking to find them. I'm not sure where they went. I'm sure someone around town knows. Bye, Xatu!" Luxio turned and trotted away. I looked at Xatu, shrugged, and started after her. Luxio went from Pokemon to Pokemon, asking if any of them had seen the others. Eventually, I looked over, and saw Lucario walking into town.
"Yo! Lucario! Over here!" I raised a paw and waved. Lucario saw me and began walking over.
"Flareon. And Luxio. What is it?" Lucario stopped in front of me and got down on one knee so he was level with me.
"Have you seen Absol and Frogadier anywhere? They left early in the morning, with our new recruit, and we don't know where they went." Lucario put a hand to his chin.
"Hmmm… I believe I have. I saw them at the Guild this morning as I was walking out. I assume this new recruit is the Minun they had with them?"
"Yep. He was accepted last night. I'm assuming they went out for early morning training. Thanks for the tip!" Luxio turned and started walking towards the guild. I shrugged and turned to walk after her. As we were walking, I tapped her on the shoulder.
"Luxio. Perhaps they aren't in the Guild anymore. I have a feeling they're down by the beach." I turned and started walking down the road to the beach, and I could hear Luxio padding alongside me. As we rounded the bend to the beach, I could hear voices. As I strained my ears, I could hear Absol and Frogadier's voice. I ducked behind a bush, and waved my paw for Luxio to do the same. She ducked down next to me and pressed against me, looking through the same hole in the bush I was. I watched Absol and Frogadier take turns attacking Minun, and having him them fight them off and listen to their criticism.
"Remember to keep all sides of you watched at all times. Enemies can come at you from all sides," Absol said, nodding her head as she spoke.
"You know..." Minun said, looking up at Absol.
"Uh huh? What is it?" she asked, tilting her head, smiling.
"For a dark type, you're awfully cute, you know that?" Minun grinned.
"Ahem!" Absol fixed Minun with a hard stare, all humor draining from her face. Minun shrank back. Even Frogadier took a step back.
"Not the time…?" Minun asked.
"No. Can we get back to training now?" Absol scraped her claws along the ground in front of her. I decided to make our presence known.
"He's right, you know," I said, stepping out from behind the bush. I smiled as I trotted into the beach, Luxio behind me.
"How long have you two been here?" Absol asked.
"Only a few minutes. Have you three been here for hours?" I asked, tilting my head.
"Yeah, ever since the sun came up. You two were still snoring. We decided to leave you. Well, since you're here, you can train alongside us." Absol turned back to Minun, but he just stood there, hands behind his back, looking down.
"Um… now that all of us are here, I need to ask something of all of you..."
"Yes. What is it?" Frogadier asked.
"The real reason I came… wasn't just to get training."
"Oh? Then… why did you come?" Luxio asked, tipping her head to one side and looking at Minun.
"There's this." Minun reached around to his pack and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Absol. "Read it, please." he folded his hands and looked at Absol intently, and she took the paper in one paw and flicked it open. We gathered around her as she read.
"Team Ragnarok, my name is Plusle. I need you to help me and my team. We're located in the thirtieth floor of Mystical Jungle. I'm sending this with my brother, Minun. Thank you in advance, Plusle." Absol folded up the letter. "Minun… is this written in blood?"
"Yes… she really needs your help. Will you help her?"
"She's in Mystical Jungle. we have to help her. It'll be difficult… I don't know what the place is, but we will go help your sister."