Glace was impressed by his will power. Although the situation basically seemed hopeless, he still didn't want to give up.

"You know what, Raphi? I want to help you find the answer to these questions! I'll go with you on your journey, wherever it may take us!" she said with determination sparkling in her eyes. "That is, of course, if you want me to…"

Leafeon's expression was both surprised and delighted. "Wait, really? I would certainly benefit from someone who knows this world better than me – plus, a companion to talk to is always nice! I do have one question though: Why do you want to travel with me? We've just met, and you already want to aid me in my quest. Why is that?"

"First of all, it is my job to help Pokémon – and I'm sure you'll need any assistance you can get. Moreover, I've always strived to explore the landscapes outside of this area, the different Pokémon and the mysteries of this world, yet it never was the right time." And you seem nice too. she thought.
"My guild won't have a problem with me leaving for a while. I know how to watch out for myself and I've led many expeditions in the past. Nevertheless, we should speak with the guild master, Abomasnow. I need to inform him about your condition too."
Glace stopped for a moment, finishing her thought process. "Why don't you join my guild? Think about it: We don't know where to start anyway, so we might find clues during one of our missions – we don't even need to accept them at the guild, they are posted in every town. Furthermore, we can meet many new Pokémon on our journey, you get an explorer bag and you're allowed to eat and sleep at the guild every day and night!"

"You have a good point… Okay, I'll do it!" But I'll rather avoid too much social interaction…

"Great, then come with me!" Glace smiled - obviously happy about his choice - and walked through the curtain of leaves at the cave's entrance. He then followed her outside.

The area was nothing like he'd expected it: It was located on the side of a mountain. The ground was partially covered in snow with pale yellow grass lurking out in a few spaces. The plants consisted mostly of pine- and maple trees, with the occasional bush. Given the season, many leaves already changed colour to yellow, red and orange. It was snowing slightly, with a few raindrops in between them, causing Raphi to shiver and fluff up his beige fur.

He spotted other caves under many escarpments, inhabited by other Pokémon such as Delibird, Snorunt, Timburr, Phantump and Buizel. Most of them eyed him curiously, like he was some kind of phenomenon. Apparently, word got out about Glaceon's brave rescue of a Leafeon in the middle of nowhere. Raphi thought, knitting his brows.

She led him to the biggest cave which was surrounded by two giant pine trees. The guild master must've heard their steps, because a voice was coming from the inside saying "Come in."

This den was furnished more like a meeting hall, with a wooden podium in the back and hay covering the ground on the sides to leave room for a passage in the middle. Abomasnow stood in front of said podium, a Beartic behind him. As the two Eveelutions walked up to them, the guild master started talking: "Hello Glaceon! Welcome, Leafeon! I see you've finally woken up! I am Abomasnow, the guild master, and this" - he stepped aside – "is Beartic, second-in-command." The corresponding Pokémon nodded.

Abomasnow continued: "We're happy that you are alright. We were a little worried, especially Glaceon. You should have seen her, she stayed up all night keeping an eye on you!" the big Pokémon chuckled.

"Oh, it was nothing… I just wanted to make sure the fire wouldn't go out…" she responded, blushing.

She avoided Raphi's gaze. Does she feel something special for me? His thoughts were interrupted by the guild master.

"But Leafeon, tell me: What were you doing on that slope? It is impossible to get lost this far into the mountains… Or was it some kind of bet you had going on?" questioned Abomasnow, gazing at him like a father whose child just broke a rule.

"Actually, I have no idea. I woke up in the middle of a blizzard without any memory of past events." he answered, purposely leaving out the part about his former human identity and his real name.

"So you have amnesia… That's bad. What are you going to do now?"

Before Raphi could respond, Glace explained their plan to the authorities.

"So you want to become a member of our guild, take on missions with Glaceon and find out how you got here. Hmm… I am in favour of that plan. Glaceon is more than capable of watching out for herself. But Leafeon, be careful. You barely outlasted that blizzard, and if it wasn't for Glaceon, you would be dead by now. Though I must say, it is quite impressive for a grass-type Pokémon to survive such a heavy snowstorm. Anyhow, here is your explorer badge and a bag, already filled with some Oran Berries."

He handed Raphi the items before proceeding.

"Glaceon probably mentioned it before, but I'll say it again: You can eat and sleep at the guild for free. You can accept missions either here or in town, but you must show your guild badges in order to access higher ranked tasks. The only way to rank up is here at the guild. You start off with the bronze rank because your teammate Glaceon is experienced enough to have it. If Beartic and I think you've got what it takes to become a silver-ranked team, you can get your new badges from us. If we have something to announce – or when it's mealtime -, we'll always do it here in the guild hall. Only when it's warm and sunny, we'll eat outside at the tree stumps behind this cave, That about wraps it up: you two can tell us your team name once you've chosen one, but you can already go on missions. Have fun and watch out for yourselves!" Abomasnow concluded, nodding to show they're dismissed.

Raphi followed Glace outside, giggling at the conversation behind him between the guild master and Beartic. "Abomasnow, you can't eat the rest of the Oran Berries, they are for new explorers only! At least give me some of them!"

"Raphi?" Glace drew his attention by nudging him. "Where do you want to go know? I suggest we go to Snowlake Village. The missions are different in every place, so we might find one for beginners there since at the moment most assignments here are for advanced Pokémon only."

"Agreed." He was excited to finally move out, but a little nervous nonetheless. "Lead the way!"

Slowly adjusting to walking on four legs, he followed Glace through the bushes, neither of them noticing the shady figure in the cover of the pine-tree above them who was eavesdropping on the team through the whole conversation in the guild hall. I found him.