"Hey Grovyle, how long do you think we've been falling?" I asked as we shot through the endless tunnel. All I got in response was a shrug. Suddenly, a blast of black energy smashed into my chest, opening my wounds once again, which I could tell wasn't very good. "SHI~T!"
"Hang on!" Grovyle yelled. How I understood him, I'll never know. I tried to grab his hand but I was slipping.
"I-I-I can't hold on!" I growled as my hand finally slipped from Grovyle's grip. Once I let go I shot off in another direction, the yells of my friend drowned out by the rushing winds. I looked forward and saw a bright light. As I passed through the light I felt extreme pain shoot through my body. I felt myself impact on something hard and my vision went black.
Several yards from where Kyle impacted the ground a small red and orange fox with brown eyes is pacing back and forth. On her side was a small bag with various useful items. In front of her is a wooden grate and a tall tent with the head of a pink Pokémon on top behind it. The fox stopped suddenly and turned back to the grate, a look of determination in her eyes as she stepped onto it.
"That's it, I'm going to do this." She whispered as she stood on the grate. All of her bravery left her face when she heard a loud voice yell about detecting a Pokémon.
"Pokémon detected! Pokémon Detected!"
"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"
"The footprint is Vulpix's! The footprint is Vulpix's!"
"EEK!" The Vulpix screamed as she jumped back. She sighed and lowered her head in shame. "Oh man, I'm such a coward." She pulled out a small stone a looked at it intently before sighing again and putting it away. "One of these days Calida, one of these days you'll have enough courage to go through with this." She turned and walked away. Behind her two Pokémon hid in some bushes, malicious grins on their faces as they followed her.
Calida walked down a large flight of stairs and through a small village. Her head still down in disappointment as she dragged herself down a dirt path to a beach. There she sat, watching the sea and the bubbles flying through the air produced by a group of crab like Pokémon named Krabby. Calida allowed he sight to lock onto a bubble and follow it as it flew to the left. When she was turned enough she noticed a blue and black form on the other side of the beach. Calida got up and walked over to the shape, but stopped half way in shock when she saw what was lying on the ground. It was a Pokémon called a Riolu if she remembered correctly. They were fairly rare considering the fact that they tended to live further east. But that isn't what caught her eye, it was the large pool of red that surrounded his form.
"O-oh Arceus," She whispered. "So much blood..." Calida ran up to the Riolu and pulled out a few blue berries and began crushing them to prepare a paste that her mother taught her how to make. It was meant to be a disinfectant, and she knew that the Riolu was most likely there for a while. As she applied the paste she shuddered with revulsion at the feel of sticky, half dried blood on her paws. She stop quickly when a pained groan alerted her to the Riolu waking up. It slowly sat up and put a paw to his forehead but froze when he saw his hand.
"W-what the hell happened?" He whispered as he turned his paw this way and that, checking it out like her thought it was some mysterious object. "This is new..." The Riolu turned to look at Calida then focused back on his arm. "So, I take it you found me?" He looked down at his chest and saw the blue paste covering his wound. "What is this stuff?"
"That's a salve made from Oran Berries." Calida said. "My mother taught me how to make it. It is supposed to help heal large wounds, and I thought it would be a good idea since I didn't know how long you were here. My name is Calida by the way."
The Riolu just nodded and looked at his arm again. "Kyle," He said. "Kyle Reaver, its nice to meet you Calida." He stuck out his paw and they shook paws.
"You know, I think I might have something to wrap that wound up if you want." Calida said. Upon receiving a confirmation she reached into a little bag she had and pulled out some white cloth. Kyle helped her wrap it around his torso and tied it tightly.
"By the way, why do you have two names? Calida asked.
"I'm not sure why. I just know that I do." Kyle replied. They sat there in awkward silence for a long time until Calida decided to ask a question that had been bugging her earlier.
"So," Calida said. "Where are you from, and how did you get those wounds?"
Kyle looked at his feet for a few seconds then answered. "I'm not sure. I have almost no memory of what happened before I woke up. All I can remember is that I used to be human." His response was met with laughter from the orange fox next to him. Calida's laughing was soon halted by the serious expression on Kyle's face.
"Y-you're serious aren't you? How would that be possible?" She asked with an amazed yet confused look on her face. She acted as if changing species has never been done before. Kyle assumed this was the case and shrugged. He didn't care. He stretched his stiff muscles and gave a satisfied groan when his joints gave loud cracks.
"I have no clue. Like I said fifteen seconds ago, all I know is that I was human and my name is Kyle Reaver." He said as he went back to looking at his arms. A stray thought crossed his mind and he shot up straight. "I remember a black tunnel with blue lights at one end and a bright white light at the other, if that means anything to you."
Before Calida could reply she was knocked into Kyle, sending them into the ground with Calida on top of Kyle. She turned around and glared at whoever hit her. Behind her was a large purple bat and an even bigger purple ball with smoke coming out of holes on its body and a skull and crossbones on his chest.
"Hey! What was that for?" She growled. The two purple Pokémon laughed before answering.
"We just wanted to mess with you. You gonna do something about it wimp?" The bat asked in a slightly threatening way. The purple ball saw Calida's bag and grabbed it quickly.
"Whoa ho ho, what is this? It seems to be a bag with a very interesting rock in it!" The purple ball laughed and looked at the bat. "Let's go Zubat, these wimps aren't doing anything and we got what we came for."
"You're right Koffing; these chickens aren't worth our time. Let's go." Zubat said as they flew to a cave at the very end of the beach. Calida just gave a depressed sigh while looking at Kyle.
"That bag had my personal treasure in it. I have to get it back." She said, a few silent tears falling from her eyes. Kyle reached up and wiped them away.
"Then let's go. Now please get off so I can get up. I want to kick those fucker's asses so badly right now." Kyle said. Calida got up with a blush on her face, scolding him for his swearing. They walked into the cave and began looking around.
"Kyle, this is a mystery dungeon. We need to find the stairs to get out of here." Calida said as she followed Kyle. He nodded and began searching for the stairs. He found them after searching for a few minutes and they proceeded to the next floor. Kyle began searching for the stairs again, but came across a pink slug and a strange brown crustacean. He was about to walk past them when one of them struck out and smashed into Kyle, knocking him on his back. Kyle jumped to his feet and got in a fighting stance.
"So, you wanna fight? Let's see how well I do." He said as he threw a punch at the pink slug that hit him. His paw connected with its head in a perfect right hook, throwing the slug off balance and allowing him to finish it off with a left hook. Kyle looked at the other enemy, only to see it out cold with Calida sitting on top of it.
"That was a brutish way of handling it, but efficient nonetheless." She said with a smug look on her face. Kyle just flicked her off and continued looking for the stairs. On the next floor six Pokémon stood in their way, three slugs and three crustaceans.
"What is with all the slugs and crustaceans?" Kyle asked as he adopted a combat stance.
"The slugs are called Shellos and the crustaceans are called Anorith." Calida said. "And this is a mystery dungeon remember? We will be attacked on almost every floor." Her response drew out a few choice words from Kyle as he charged one of the slugs. When he was close enough Kyle brought his right foot up in a roundhouse kick that KOed the Shellos almost instantly. Not one to waste and opportunity, Kyle used his momentum to spin around and deliver a downwards punch to another Shellos.
"This is amazing, I feel so strong" Kyle thought to himself as he slammed a fist into the last Shellos's face, knocking it out in one hit. "I might not remember much about myself, but I can tell that I wasn't able to this as a human." He turned back around and KOed the Anorith sneaking up behind Calida.
She was on fire, literally. Small flames shot from her mouth, deep frying the Anorith in front of her. She jumped in surprise when she heard the one behind her get pounded into the ground. "Thanks for the save Kyle," Calida said, a paw rubbing her right foreleg in embarrassment. Kyle just nodded and led them out of the room and to the last set of stairs. In the room stood the two Pokémon they had been looking for, Zubat and Koffing. Once The duo entered the room Zubat saw them and whispered to Koffing, who turned around and smiled a cruel smile.
"So the chickens finally grew backbones, eh Koffing?" Zubat asked.
"Whoa ho ho, I think you're right Zubat." Koffing replied with a loud booming laugh. Kyle growled and took a step forward and Calida took a fearful step back.
"G-give me back my bag! It has my personal treasure in it! Please, I need that back!" She said. Kyle could see the fear in her eyes and took another threatening step forward.
"So it is valuable. Maybe we should sell it Koffing. It might fetch a pretty poke in in the market." Zubat said to Koffing who began to drool at the idea of making money.
"N-no, please just give it back! It's very important to me!" Calida begged, tears starting to form in her eyes as she took yet another fearful step back. "That rock was given to me by my parents. Don't take that away from me."
"It's no use Calida." Kyle said as he brought a fist back in a ready position. "They won't listen to reason. They must be dealt with using force. Now get ready!" Calida's expression hardened as she adopted a combat stance as well, her legs spread apart slightly in such a way that she would be able to pounce quicker. The two groups charged, Calida tackling Koffing into the ground and Kyle kicking Zubat in the face.
"You can't beat me you pathetic winged rodent!" Kyle yelled as he punched Zubat in the stomach, chest and face in rapid succession before finishing the combo off with an uppercut. Zubat recovered quickly and bit Kyle on the shoulder, poison leaving his fangs and entering the wound.
"Good luck dealing with my poison Riolu! You'll be on the ground in seconds!" Zubat yelled as he charged in for another strike. Before he could land the finishing blow Kyle grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the ground.
"If you think I'll let that stop me then you're wrong." Kyle whispered as he put pressure on Zubat's left wing, snapping it out of the socket. Zubat screamed in pain as his wing was dislocated and knocked Kyle off his back. It was all in vain when Kyle planted a roundhouse kick to Zubat's skull, knocking him out.
"Damn, need an antidote right now. But Calida has the bag and she's busy right now. Looks like I'll have to muscle through this." Kyle mumbled as he fell to his knees. "Hope I survive this. But more importantly, I hope Calida gets her treasure back." With that said, Kyle's energy left him and he fell face first into the sandy floor.
"Come on wimp! Show me you mean business!" Koffing yelled as her tackled Calida into the wall. She got up and retaliated with and ember attack and a tackle when an opening presented itself. Koffing hit the ground hard and was pelted yet again with small balls of fire.
"Who's the wimp now, Koffing?" Calida asked the poison type Pokémon. Koffing slowly got up and used smog to blind her. Calida covered her nose with one paw and closed her eyes with another. While she was vulnerable Koffing slammed her against the wall. When he was about to finish Calida off, a small red light could be seen coming from her mouth before she unleashed a high power ember into the smog, igniting it quickly and blowing up her half of the room. Koffing was launched to the other part of the room and slammed into the wall hard, a small crater marked the place of impact.
"What a wimp," Calida said as she turned to look at Kyle, only to find him on the ground with blood dripping from the puncture wounds in his shoulder. Calida gasped and pulled out an Oran Berry and a Pecha Berry. She knew the shape of a bite wound and knew Zubat must have used some type of poison. Calida ground up the Oran Berry and mixed it with a Pecha Berry to produce a healing salve with poison neutralizing properties. She applied it to the wound and watched in relief as the color began returning to Kyle's face and the wound lost its purple hue. Kyle slowly opened his eyes and grinned.
"Thanks for the save Calida, I don't feel like dying any time soon!" Kyle said as he slowly sat up. He got to his feet and looked around the room. "Now that you have you got your bag back, we can get out of here." Kyle was about to walk away when he stopped suddenly. "Where is the exit again?"
Calida sighed and just walked back the way they came, Kyle face palmed and followed her. Apparently going back the way you came puts you right back at the entrance of the dungeon. Something Kyle was sure defied so many scientific laws that any scientist would have and aneurysm trying to figure it out.
"So Kyle," Calida said as she put down her bag. "This is what they took that I was trying to protect." She reached in and pulled out a small rock with a perfectly flat side that contained a swirly design. Kyle reached over to the rock and lifted it to eye level to examine it.
"This is very strange. I've never seen a symbol like this before." Kyle mumbled as he turned it around in his paws. The stone gave off a strange energy that he just couldn't quite understand, and it felt familiar somehow. He handed it back to Calida and nodded. "It does seem very valuable."
Calida put the rock away and shrugged. "I know. I can't seem to be able to understand what is does either. I can tell it's valuable though." She looked at the path leading up to the village and nodded to herself. "I have a proposition for you Kyle." Kyle crossed his arms and developed a business like tone and attitude.
"And what would that be, Miss Calida?" He asked with a slight grin on his face.
"Make an exploration team with me," Calida said. "They act as a form of law enforcement here. I don't know about what humans have, but the teams do jobs like escort and retrieval. Outlaw hunts are on the list as well. So, what do you say? Wanna make a team with me?"
"Sounds good to me," Kyle said with a thoughtful look on his face. "I know next to nothing about this place, and any Intel would be worth more than gold to me at this point. I could also use the money. You've got yourself a deal Calida." The Vulpix jumped with joy and hugged Kyle, thanking him over and over again before turning around and running up the dirt path behind her. Kyle followed at a more sedated pace, taking in the town and its inhabitants. The duo run up a large set of stone stairs and stood before a large tent with a wooden grate in front of it.
"You stand on that grate to gain access." Calida explained as she stepped up to it. "There is a Pokémon down there that sees your footprint and alerts the others inside that there is a newcomer before taking a few seconds to decide if opening the gate is a good idea or not." Once her paw touched the grate a loud voice yelled out from beneath her.
"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"
"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"
"The footprint is Vulpix's! The footprint is Vulpix's"
Calida jumped in shock and stood there shaking for a minute. She was brought back to reality when one of the voices yelled for her to move and let Kyle get on the grate. Calida stood to the side and nodded at the grate. Kyle stepped forward and stood on the grate.
"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"
"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"
"The footprint is... um... maybe Riolu's, maybe Riolu's!"
"WHAT? MAYBE?"
"I-I don't know what I don't know!"
"That's pathetic Diglett! You're supposed to be the best at this!"
"Hey!" Kyle yelled. "Give the guy a break! From his response we Riolus are a rare sight around here!"
"Hm, you're right there stranger!" The louder voice yelled. "Alright then, you can enter. The Guild Master's assistant Chatot will be up to meet you in a second!"
The large gate blocking the tent's entrance lifted, and Kyle gave Calida a little nudge to get her moving. They entered the tent and saw an open hatch with a ladder leading to what appeared to be the mission room. Many teams were in the room, talking or looking up jobs on two wooden boards. A second ladder sat next to the first one and led further down. From this ladder came a multicolored bird with a music note shaped head.
"Ah. you must be the two Pokémon Loudred was talking about!" He said, his head moving back and forth like a metronome. Kyle's eyes locked on it and he could't look away, it was almost hypnotic. "It's nice to meet you two. Now please, leave the premises. We are terribly busy, and can't be dealing with sales Pokémon or surveys right now."
"Um sir, we aren't here for that. We want to become Guildies as I call them." Kyle said. Chatot and Calida gave him a weird look before shrugging it off as some slang term.
"Um, OK then. Sorry for that, but we don't usually get kids as young as you two wanting to join up." Chatot replied. "The guild's training program is very difficult. But I hope you make it, this guild could use a few new recruits."
"That's ok," Calida said. "I'll admit, I'm a little scared. I just hope I don't chicken out on this."
The group didn't even realize that they were walking, and found themselves in front of a big door with a fancy red design on it. Chatot opened the door an they walked inside. In the back of the room lay a pink and fluffy Pokémon.
"Guild Master, I bring two Pokémon wishing to be members of our guild. The Riolu is named Kyle, and the Vulpix is called Calida." Chatot said. When he didn't get a response he walked over to the Pokémon and poked it while repeating the question. He soon regretted it when the pink Pokémon got up quickly and smacked him across the face with its flailing arms. Chatot flew through the air comically and slammed into the wall with a loud bang. Kyle and Calida sweat dropped and looked at the pink Pokémon before them.
"Hiya," He said with a wide eyed, unblinking stare. "I'm Guild Master Wigglytuff. You two must be those Pokémon Loudred was yelling about! If you want to make an Exploration Team then you'll need a team name!" Kyle and Calida shared a look and sighed, they were at a loss for a name. Suddenly Kyle got an idea and decided to go with it.
"Wigglytuff, how many groups are there here at the guild?" Kyle asked. Wigglytuff brought a hand up to his chin in thought before responding.
"There are two other teams, why do you ask?" Wigglytuff asked.
"In that case, our team name will be Charlie." Kyle said. The other three Pokémon gave him curious looks so he decided an explanation would be a good idea. "Back where I'm from, each team is given a certain name based on the number of the team. In this case we're the third team, making us Charlie. There are 26 possible team names using this method. The alphabet used is called the NATO alphabet I think." Kyle sighed when he saw the confused looks still on their faces. "Just forget it."
"Ok then," Wigglytuff said. "From now on, you will be known as team Charlie. Yoomtah!" A bright flash lit up the room for a fraction of a second after that word. "Now you need you're team equipment. This box has everything you will need as an Exploration Team. Quick, open it!"
Kyle took the box that Wigglytuff pulled out of thin air and placed it on the ground. With a swift kick the top popped off and revealed the contents of the box. A large brown bag with a Pokéball sprouting wings on it sat in the box. Kyle pulled it out and opened the bag, pouring its contents out onto the floor.
"That is a Wonder Map." Chatot said, a large mark visible on his head from the hit earlier. "It will update its appearance with every new land discovered." He then pointed at two badges with the same design as on the bag. "Those are your badges. They will allow you to send a Pokémon to the guild from any dungeon in the world."
'Instant teleportation systems in the form of a badge, that is very impressive technology.' Kyle thought.
"These are scarves. They carry special effects that will be applied up being worn." Chatot said as he held up two scarves, one a dark red the other blue. Kyle took the dark red one and felt a large boost to his strength and speed. Calida's blue scarf caused her to be covered in flames for a split second.
"Kyle's scarf will allow him to strike harder and faster, while Calida's increases her special attack power." Chatot said. "This is all the starting gear for and Exploration Team anything else must be bought with your own money." Kyle and Calida nodded in response.
"Now I suggest you go eat!" Wigglytuff said. "Dinner should be ready now!"
"Hell yeah, Food! C'mon Calida, let's go!" Kyle yelled as he ran out of the room, leaving an astonished Calida in his dust.
"This is the first time I've ever seen him this happy about anything..." Calida mumbled to herself as she walked out of the room.
"That was wonderful. A full tummy is a happy tummy." Kyle said with a sigh as he walked to their room. Chatot had dragged Kyle away from the Mess Hall to show them their rooms before dinner started. Calida gave him a wide eyed stare the whole time since dinner started.
"You're actually full?" She asked in exasperation. Kyle had eaten so much food that even Loudred was incapable of keeping up with him. The thought flying through everyone's mind was 'where does he put it all?' Kyle just ignored her and kept walking. They arrived at their room and Kyle threw the door open and dived onto his bed. Calida got into her bed and turned to look at Kyle.
"Well, we did it." She said. "We're guild members. Now I'm one step closer to finding out what my relic fragment really is, and you're closer to finding your past." Kyle nodded in response and sighed.
'One step closer, just as she said. Now I just need to take that next step. But what is that step, that is the question here.' Kyle gave yet another sigh. He had been doing that a lot recently. 'I hate this. Too many questions, and not enough answers. My only lead, is this guild and some specks of human knowledge.' As soon as Kyle knew Calida was asleep he got up and walked to the window.
"I will do what it takes to learn who I used to be. I will have answers, no matter what."