I woke to an explosion.

I sprang up, Water Shuriken at the ready, and I heard Veric shout, "No, don't!"

I lowered the shuriken. "What the hell was that?"

She pointed, and there was an Electrode in the center of the room, snickering. She sighed and said, "Bo, you didn't have to do that…you know I wake up early."

The ball snickered even more. "I know, that's why I rushed here! I had to beat you to the punch!" He started laughing and rolled out of the room. I looked at Veric, and she said, "That's Boheim, but we call him Bo for short. He's the Guild's alarm, so to speak, and he loves his job. To a fault…"

I put away the shuriken. "The guy needs to realize Pokémon don't appreciate that."

"He knows, he just doesn't care. C'mon, we better get to morning briefing, otherwise we'll be in trouble."

We left the room, and she led me to the large room, which turned out to be some sort of foyer where a lot of areas intersected. "It's generally called the Great Room, what with the size."

I nodded and almost bumped into Veric when she stopped suddenly. She was looking towards a wall, and I followed her gaze to see Farleen and Horatio standing in front of a large crowd, which we were a part of.

"Good morning, Guild members!" Farleen was far too peppy in the morning…

The members grunted a response, and she said, "Well, I know you all are tired, so I'll get straight to business. Team Psycho, a Pokémon has been reported to have been lost inside a dungeon."

I saw a Gothorita, Gallade, and Meowstic all nod, and the Gallade said, "No problem."

Veric whispered to me. "The name's supposed to come from their shared type, but rumor has it that it comes from the possible fact that they are all actually psychotic to certain degrees. Their leader, the Gothorita named Alicin, is said to be the most."

I shuddered. "Wouldn't want to meet them in a dark alley…"

She nodded, and Farleen continued. "Team Cerberus, we have reports of several lost items, all in the same dungeon."

A Houndoom and a Houndour nodded. Veric whispered, "The Houndour, Brutis, is actually the leader, contradictory to popular belief. He's a much higher level than the Houndoom next to him, Marcis."

I nodded, and Farleen said, "Team Borealis, a new dungeon has been discovered. You will explore it and report back on all you find. If it turns out you can't complete it, submit a suggestion of which team should do it."

A Snorunt, Glalie, Froslass, and Abomasnow all nodded. "Where is it?" the Abomasnow asked.

"In the northwest. I'll give you the specific location after the briefing."

The Abomasnow nodded again, and Veric whispered, "That Abomasnow, Sril, leads the top team in the Guild. He's very tough, but kind at heart."

A diverse guild. Farleen said, "Team New Life, we've pinned down the location of your outlaw."

Veric asked, "Where?" and I figured that meant we were Team New Life.

"Crooked Valley."

My eyes glowed, and I began to recite, "Crooked Valley. Named so because it is a frequent hiding area for criminals. The valley's many crevices make it easy for any and all criminals to lose pursuit. Six floors, no discernable boss."

Veric gave me a look. "Right again…wow, that's gonna get annoying eventually…"

The glow faded, and I muttered, "Sorry, I really can't control it."

She shrugged. "It's still pretty helpful, as long as it doesn't interfere in battle."

"So, what exactly is this outlaw?"

"We don't have a name, but it's a Rapidash. Somehow it's overcome its Run Away ability and has been looting all over the place for the last few months. We've finally pinned it down in one place." Veric looked ecstatic. "I've been trying to bring it down ever since it started its spree. You still gonna help?"

I gave her a look. "Of course I am! It's a Fire type, I'm a Water type, this is gonna be so easy!"

"How'd you know its type?"

I shrugged. "Hell if I know. Probably that weird power again."

Farleen came over to us. "Veric, you are responsible for Jed and his actions. If he screws up the mission, it is your responsibility."

I interjected. "No, if I screw up, it's my fault, not hers."

Farleen said, "She's your leader! She is to take blame for all of her team!"

Veric recoiled like she had been slapped. "Why did you have to bring that up…"

"Veric, you know perfectly well it was your fault."

"I know! Do you think I don't know that?! I face it every single day she's not there! I SCREWED UP!"

I looked at her in shock. "Veric…"

She looked at me. "I'll be in front of the Guild. Don't lag." She ran off before I could say anything.

I turned to Farleen. "Happy?"

"Hey, she knows it was her fault-"

"You didn't have to rub it in! I don't know what it is that happened, but it's obvious she still is haunted by that!"

Farleen was silent. I continued, "She knows she messed up…you don't have to beat the dead Ponyta." I walked off.

I walked out and was hit by the scenery. The Guild itself was on a plain of grass and surrounded by flowers, and there was a good view of the mountain range from here. I saw a town nearby, but no Veric. "Maybe she left…" I saw a note and picked it up, and it read, 'In town. Get your ass there now. Veric.'

Wow. I started to walk towards the town, and I heard someone say, "Jed?"

I looked around, but saw no one. I looked up, but all I saw was the sun. I shrugged and went into the town, which was bustling.

"Took you long enough!"

She was looking at me impatiently, her arms crossed. "Didn't realize you were timing me…yeesh. What are we doing here?"

"Gathering supplies. I need to restock on a few things, and I figured it would be a good time to show you around the town."

She started walking, and I followed and asked, "Why is there a town so close to a dungeon?"

"The dungeon itself is not much to worry about. Pretty low-level, so no danger for locals here in Rivak Town."

"So…if the dungeon's low level, how did I end up there unconscious?"

She shrugged. "If we knew that, this would be so much easier…"

We stopped in front of a shop, and Veric said to the keeper, "Hey, Melchra. Whatcha got?"

A Meloetta came to the counter, and I did a double-take. "You're a legendary!"

She looked at Veric. "He with you?"

"Yup."

"New here?"

"Yup."

"Got it." Melchra looked at me. "Yes, I'm a legendary, but I still run this shop. You gonna be stuck on that a while?"

"Nope. I just thought all the legendaries were all…I dunno, dead or something like that."

She slapped me. "Why the hell would you think that?!"

"Because no one's seen a legendary Pokémon in a very long time. Such a time that Pokémon are doubting if they're ever coming back."

She shrugged. "As good a point as that is, the legendaries will come back eventually."

"Will they?"

"Yes." She turned to Veric. "What do you want?"

"Running low on Spikes."

She nodded, then went into the back, bringing back about six silver spikes. "For you, no charge. You're one of my best customers."

Veric nodded and took the spikes, and I asked, "Silver Spikes? How do you have access to those?"

"Hunting outlaws requires a certain item lineup. The Spikes help when I come across one that's…harder than usual."

"How are outlaws harder? You just hit them until they grow unconscious."

She gave me a look. "Have you even fought outlaws before?"

I shrugged, and she facepalmed. "I walked into that one…thanks, Melchra."

"Any time. And you!" She wagged a finger at me. "Don't be so doubtful. The legendaries will return, just you wait."

I walked off with Veric, and she said, "Why did you mention the legendaries? Didn't you figure she was gonna get pissed?"

"Yeah, but…I dunno, something came over me."

She shrugged. "Can't worry about that now. We're headed to Crooked Valley and you have to keep your focus."

Something closed behind us, and I whirled around. "What the-"

"We entered the dungeon. Either we get defeated or we go out the other end. No other way."

I looked at the dungeon ahead of us and took a breath. "All right. Let's do this!"