Author's note: Howdy, one and all! Here's a new fic that I came up with in two days. I kid you not. Two days! That's a personal record.

Anywho, I hope you enjoy it!

P.S. If any details confuse you, it's because they're brand new! Made up by me!

P.P.S. I originally wanted to cram more into this chapter, but it's long enough, so it can go into the next one. Onward!


Chapter One: A New Life

Buneary took a shuddering breath as she stood before the gate. This was it. She'd finally made it all the way to Venture Village and was now standing in front of the fabled Blaziken Guild. It towered above her, its shape resembling the face of a Blaziken, and she tentatively took a few steps towards it.

Was she really ready for this? She'd travelled all the way here from Foggy Forest, so it would be a complete waste to head back now. Gulping, she grabbed the rope and rang the bell.

She waited, squirming uncomfortably under the gaze of the nearby periscope. The Pokemon on the other end was probably analyzing her at that very moment. After what seemed like a very long wait, the gate suddenly opened. She looked up to see an Empoleon waving her inside.

"Come in!" he said.

Sighing in relief, she entered. "Thanks," she mumbled shyly.

After following him down the ladder, she looked around her in amazement. There were so many Pokemon dotted around in groups, some chatting avidly and others staring at bulletin boards. It was amazing.

"This way, please."

"Okay..." She followed him across the room. A few of the Pokemon looked at her as she passed, which made her feel slightly nervous.

He led her to a room with an impressively large door that was decorated with carvings. He opened the door and led her inside. "Here you go." He indicated the guildmaster.

Buneary's eyes widened in awe as Blaziken stood up from her chair, her eyes trained on her. Was this really the legendary Blaziken? The one who had gone to the future and saved the planet from paralysis?

"H-Hello!"

"Hello," Blaziken replied. "How may I help you?"

"I... I'm... here to..." Her throat locked up.

"Are you here to form an exploration team?" Unable to reply, Buneary nodded enthusiastically. "I see." Blaziken paused. "Do you have a partner?"

"H... Huh?"

Blaziken folded her arms. "While it's possible to do missions on your own, I wouldn't recommend it. You need at least one partner to form an exploration team."

Buneary's spirits dropped. "Oh..." How was she going to be a great explorer now? Just where the heck was she going to find a partner?

"Hmm..." Blaziken looked up. "Empoleon?"

"Yes, guildmaster?" Empoleon replied.

Blaziken smirked slightly, then let the smirk drop. "Are Team Nebula still in the guild?"

"I think so. Why?"

"Bring them in here. I need to talk to them."

"Right away, Blaziken!" There were a few thudding footsteps as he left the room.

Blaziken looked back down at Buneary. "I have an idea how to solve your predicament... and I know the perfect Pokemon for the job."

Buneary was confused about the comment, but didn't say anything. Soon enough, Empoleon returned, leading two Pokemon into the room, both of which had bags over their shoulders.

"What's the deal, guildmaster?" the Grumpig asked, her paws on her hips.

"Did we do something wrong?" the Maractus asked, looking worried.

"Not at all," Blaziken replied, unfolding her arms. "This is our new recruit, Buneary." Both Pokemon looked at the rabbit, who shrunk under their gaze. "At the moment, she doesn't have an exploration team of her own, so I wondered if she'd be allowed to join yours."

Maractus's face instantly lit up. "A new member?" she asked excitedly. "Oh, of course! I love making new friends!" She dashed forwards and grabbed Buneary, lifting her off the ground into a hug. "Hello, new friend!"

"Argh!" Buneary screamed, the spikes on Maractus's arms digging into her skin.

Grumpig sighed, a paw on her face. After a moment, she removed it and smiled. "Sure, why not," she said.

"Team Nebula are fairly experienced explorers," Blaziken explained. "They're also very reliable, friendly and accepting."

"Ack! Great!" Buneary replied. She might have been more enthusiastic if the hug she was being given wasn't so painful.

"Make sure to take it easy with her, you two. She's brand new to the guild and may need easing into things."

"Yeah!" Empoleon added. "We wouldn't want her biting off more than she can chew!"

"We will," Grumpig replied. "Right, Maractus?"

Maractus giggled, rocking Buneary from side to the side. "Of course!" she replied. "We'll look after our new friend. That's a promise!"

"Very well," Blaziken said.

Grumpig sighed again. "You can let her go now," she said.

"Okay!" Maractus replied, dropping Buneary.

"Ow ow ow..." Buneary muttered, nursing her arm.

"Congratulations, Buneary," Blaziken said. Buneary looked up at her. "You're now an official member of the guild."

She stared at her for a moment, blinking, before it finally sank in. She beamed from ear to ear, the happiest she'd felt in a long time. "Oh, thank you, thank you!" she cried, jumping up to hug her leg. After a moment, she jumped away again, feeling more confident than ever. "I won't let you down, guildmaster! I'll be the best explorer I can be!"

Blaziken chuckled. "I'm sure you will. Get along, now. You've got missions to do and poke to earn."

"Yes, ma'am!" Buneary paused, then looked at her new teammates uncertainly.

Grumpig gave a light smirk. "This way, kid," she said. "We'll show you the ropes."

Maractus bounded up and down. "It's time to look at the bulletin boards!" she cried.

Buneary walked over to them, a little bothered by how much taller they both were than her. Not only was she the newbie on her exploration team, but the shrimp, too?


"Hmm..." Grumpig said as she stared at the bulletin board.

"Which mission should we go on, Grumpig?" Maractus asked.

"I dunno..." Grumpig looked at Buneary. "We're bronze rank, so we can handle a few tough missions, but we were told to go easy for Buneary's sake." Buneary looked away and scuffed her foot on the floor.

"I'm thinking we should start with an E rank! Get her to learn the ropes!"

"Have you ever done anything like this before, Buneary?"

Buneary turned back to look at Grumpig. "No, I haven't," she replied.

"Alright, E rank it is, then." Grumpig turned back to the bulletin board. "You're not ready for outlaws yet, so we'll do something simple."

Buneary felt slightly ashamed and embarrassed. "Okay."

"Hmm... Oh, how about this one?" Grumpig pulled one of the notices off the board and handed it to Maractus.

Maractus read it. "Oh, that's perfect!" she replied. She handed it to Buneary. "What do you think, Buneary?

"Hmm..." Buneary said, reading it. "'Help me!'" She read further down. "'I lost in a battle... Please, I need help!' Rescue Caterpie. Beach Cave. Rank E." She realised with a slight sad feeling that E was probably the easiest rank available. "Reward: one thousand poke and a reviver seed." Her eyes widened. "One thousand poke?"

"Actually," Grumpig replied, "we only get ten percent. The rest goes to the guild."

"Oh..."

"So, do you wanna do the mission?"

"Sure, we can do it, if you want."

"Alright, then. Let's head into Venture Village and get our supplies."

Buneary followed Team Nebula out of the guild, once again passing the various teams that were milling around, and headed towards the village. She'd already seen it, since she'd walked through it on her way to the guild, but, now that she wasn't focused solely on her nerves, she was able to appreciate it a lot more.

The area was bustling with Pokemon, some of which were talking to other Pokemon over the counters of stalls. Soon enough, they reached a stall that had two Sneasel standing behind it, one black and one pink. The pink one had a shorter feather on its head than the black one did.

"Hi, there," Grumpig said.

"Hello, Team Nebula!" the black Sneasel said. "What can my sister and I help you with today?"

"Ooh..." the pink Sneasel said, leaning over the counter and smirking at Buneary, "who's this, then?"

"This is Buneary!" Maractus said happily. "She's the newest member of our team!"

"Is that so?" The pink Sneasel straightened up again. "Well, nice to meet you."

"Indeed!" the black Sneasel agreed. "Now there are two rabbits in Team Nebula!"

Maractus giggled. "That's right!" she replied. "And it's soooo nice not to be the only rabbit anymore!"

"How lovely! So, what can we help you with today?"

"We need some more apples and Oran berries," Grumpig replied.

"Coming right up! How many do you need?"

"Hmm..." Grumpig quickly checked her inventory. "Looks like we need two Oran berries and one apple."

"Okay, then!" The black Sneasel gathered up the food items and put them on the counter. "That'll be forty-five poke, please!"

"I got it!" Maractus said, fishing around in her bag. After a moment, she put the money on the counter and Grumpig put the food items in her bag.

"Thanks for your business!"

"Alright," Grumpig said, turning away, "now let's head to Vespiquen Storage."

Once again, Buneary followed her new team across the village square. Soon enough, they came to another stand that had a Vespiquen floating behind it.

"Greetings, Team Nebula," Vespiquen said. "How may I help you?"

"We'd like to take out some items, please." Grumpig turned to Maractus. "What do you want?"

"I'll take a Detect Band!" Maractus replied. "I got hit too much on the last mission, so I wanna raise my evasiveness."

"Okay." Grumpig turned back to Vespiquen. "Let's see..."

Maractus giggled. "I think you should take a Stamina Band. Maybe it'll help you eat less of our food!"

Grumpig blushed slightly, not looking at Maractus. "Very funny, Maractus."

"Okay," Vespiquen said, pulling two scarves out of a drawer and placing them on the counter, "so that's one Detect Band and one Stamina Band."

"Hey!"

"What about the other Pokemon?"

Grumpig looked at Buneary. "Hmm... I guess we should give her a Zinc Band. That'll boost her special defense."

Buneary's spirits lowered and her ears drooped. "Um, actually..." she said.

"Hmm?"

"I... I can't use items..."

Grumpig blinked at her. "You can't?"

Buneary looked down. "No..."

There was a pause. "I see," Vespiquen said, "you have the ability Klutz, don't you?" Buneary silently nodded. "That's a shame."

"My species has the two most useless abilities ever: Klutz and Run Away."

"Huh..." Grumpig said.

"Aww, Run Away's not so bad!" Maractus said. "It can prove useful sometimes!"

"Mmm..." Buneary replied, still staring at the ground.

"Aww, is there anything we can do, Grumpig?"

"Hmm..." Grumpig replied, "not a lot, unfortunately."

There was another pause. "I have an idea," Vespiquen said, digging around. Buneary looked up as she pulled something out and placed it on the counter. "This is your Plain Ribbon."

"Oh yeah, that old thing. I meant to sell it a while ago, but forgot all about it."

"It doesn't actually do anything, but it looks pretty." Vespiquen picked it back up and held it out to Buneary. "This is so you don't feel left out."

Buneary slowly took the Plain Ribbon and stared at it in wonder. After a few moments, she tied it around her neck.

"Oh, it looks so cute on you!" Maractus said.

Grumpig nodded. "Yeah, it looks good!" she said.

Buneary gave a shy smile. "Thanks," she replied.

"Alright, then." Grumpig grabbed both scarves that were on the counter, tossing the Detect Band to Maractus. "Let's head out!"


It was so exciting. Buneary was heading off on her very first exploration. It was the start of something big; she could feel it. Every cell in her body quivered in joy from the thought of what she could accomplish. She would prove herself to be the greatest explorer in the world, no matter what it took!

It had taken a bit of travelling to reach their destination, as Venture Village hadn't been built close to Beach Cave. However, before long, they had reached the outskirts of another town. This one was also bustling with stalls and exploration teams, but Buneary had no idea where she was. She stopped in her tracks to examine the place.

"Where are we?" she asked.

Her teammates stopped next to her. "This is Treasure Town," Grumpig replied. "It was built right next to Beach Cave, which is over that way." She pointed to the left.

"Oh, I see."

"This town is the home of the famous Wigglytuff Guild!" Maractus said, pointing to the right. "Over that way. It's where our guildmaster trained, back when she was a recruit!"

"Really?" Buneary's eyes widened. "So... she really is the...?"

"The fabled leader of Team Destiny?" Grumpig said. "Yeah, she is... though Team Destiny technically doesn't exist anymore."

"Wow..."

"Anyway, we'd best get moving. We've got a Caterpie to rescue."

"Oh! Right!"

Turning left, they headed down the path. Eventually, they happened upon a beach, where a cave resided at the other end. Upon seeing it, Buneary took a shuddering breath. This was it: her first mission.


The cave was dark and damp. It wasn't the kind of place that Buneary would like to live and it made her nervous. What awaited her in here? Would the Caterpie be okay? Would she do well on her first mission?

"I forgot how wet this place is," Grumpig said, pulling a face at the water dripping from the ceiling.

"I like it!" Maractus said.

"You would. You're a grass-type."

Maractus suddenly paused. "Uh-oh! There's a Pokemon approaching!"

Buneary's heart skipped a beat as Grumpig prepared herself. She knew first-hand that a lot of Pokemon were very territorial, particularly when it came to explorers. After a moment, a Kabuto rounded the corner, glaring at them.

Without warning, he lunged at Maractus. "Scratch attack!" he yelled.

Maractus dodged out of the way, causing the Kabuto to land in-between Buneary and Grumpig. The grass-type quickly built up a ball of green energy in front of her mouth.

"Energy Ball!" she cried, shooting it towards the Kabuto. Upon impact, it knocked the Pokemon out instantly. Maractus giggled. "Yay!"

Buneary was impressed. "Wow..." she said.

"Come on," Grumpig said, "let's keep going."

This continued on for a while. Every time a Pokemon attacked them, it was treated to an Energy Ball from Maractus, most of which it took out in one hit, due to being quadruple effective. On the odd occasion that it didn't, Grumpig would help out with a Psybeam. Descending the stairs, they quickly found the Caterpie.

"Oh, thank you!" he cried, most likely noticing their bags and identifying them as explorers. "You found me! I'm so happy! It was so scary in here!"

"No need to worry anymore," Grumpig said, pulling a badge from her bag. She held the badge in the air and put a paw on the Caterpie's head.

Maractus put a hand on Grumpig's shoulder, which caused the pig to flinch. "Hang on to us, Buneary!" she said.

"Okay," Buneary replied, walking over and putting a paw on Grumpig's leg. After a moment, the four of them teleported away.


Buneary felt rather dizzy after appearing back in the guild. Once she recovered, though, Team Nebula was given their one hundred poke and reviver seed. The rest of the money, just as Grumpig had said, went to the guild. This was annoying, but she supposed that they needed it for upkeep. As well as this, Blaziken had apparently awarded them ten explorer rank points.

"That was a good day's work, Buneary," Grumpig said with a smile.

"Yeah, but I didn't really do anything..." Buneary replied.

"Well, you're still learning the ropes!" Maractus said. "You'll be a valuable member of the team in no time!"

Buneary gave a small smile. "Thanks."

"Here," Grumpig said, opening her bag, "let's put our scarves away."


The dining hall looked like a canteen. It was full of small tables that could each seat four Pokemon. Buneary sat with her teammates and happily munched away on the apples and berries that had been prepared by Empoleon.

During dinner, Blaziken came over. "Buneary?" she asked.

Buneary looked up at her. "Yes?" she replied.

"We have one spare room left in the guild. Would you like to sleep in there?"

"Um..." Buneary glanced at Grumpig and Maractus.

Grumpig shrugged. "There's not a lot of space in our room," she said, "so you might be better off doing that."

"Will you be okay on your own?" Maractus asked, looking worried.

Buneary smiled. "Yeah, I'll be fine," she replied.

"Alright, then," Blaziken said.

After finishing up dinner, she was shown to her room. Inside were two beds of hay, which looked very appealing to the now exhausted Buneary. Saying goodnight to her guildmaster and teammates, she lay down on one of them and closed her eyes. As she slowly drifted off, she smiled to herself. Today had been a great day and she was sure that there were many more to come.