"Wake up… Hey… Come on, get up," a quiet, slurred voice coaxed.
The Grovyle moaned and flickered his eyes open. His vision was hazy, but he managed to make out his surroundings. He was in a tiny room, the only furniture around being a small, battered table and a messy bed of straw that he was currently lying on. Then, he noticed that to his right, a Lucario stood nearby, watching him. He groaned again to show he was awake.
"Good… Try getting up, slowly," the Lucario suggested, looking a little impatient and indifferent, not matching his calming voice at all. The Grovyle attempted to move, but if felt like his limbs were weak as if they hadn't been used for a year. Slowly, he rolled over onto his belly, and then, at a snail's pace, managed to get into a kneeling position, although his arms were still trembling.
Timidly, the Lucario helped him get to his feet, rather roughly however. Leaning on the wall, panting, the Grovyle looked around in a clueless manner and wheezed, "Where am I?"
"Uh, you are in Magnolia Village," the Lucario replied bluntly, looking at the ground and barely audible.
"What? …Magnolia Village? What am I doing here?" the Grovyle asked, holding his head as if he had a headache. He then eyed the grotesque, sloppily bandaged burn on his shoulder and all the cuts and bruises on his body, and added, wincing, "Where'd I get all this?"
"I found you unconscious deep in Loran Forest, and I, uh, brought you back here… I do not know how you got that burn – do you not remember?"
"No," the Grovyle responded, staring into space, "I don't remember anything at all…"
"You must have been beaten badly then..."
After a moment of silence, the Grovyle looked back at the Lucario, who shyly avoided eye contact, "Who are you?"
"I am Aurealis," the Lucario answered, to which the Grovyle nodded in approval. "And you? Do you have a name?"
"I do. I'm… I'm…" the Grovyle paused, and appeared frustrated, "it's on the tip of my tongue! ...Gah, I can't remember it…!"
"What?" Aurealis exclaimed, appearing mildly disgruntled for the very first time, "You cannot even remember your own name?"
The Grovyle looked down sadly, deep in thought, "No…"
Another long, uncanny silence ensued. The Grovyle shifted on his legs, already getting tired from standing. At last, he couldn't stand it, and sheepishly asked, "Hey, do you have something to eat? I don't remember the last time I ate; I'm starving…"
"I am not surprised… You were unconscious for nearly four days, and-"
"Four days?" the Grovyle gasped, interrupting, "how could I be out that long?"
"As I said, you must have been beaten badly… But to answer your previous question, I do have a little food, if-"
At the mention of food, the Grovyle's belly growled loudly. Blushing mildly and rubbing the back of his head, he said, "I could eat anything, really."
"All right." Walking over to a small, weathered table, he picked up a Big Apple and an Oran Berry. The Grovyle was already fidgeting with anticipation, but couldn't move due to his ache. Noting this, Aurealis added, "Eat the Oran Berry first… It should make you feel a bt better."
Nodding, the Grovyle gratefully took the berry, and devoured it in an instant. The apple was quick to follow, and in a matter of seconds, he was done. Sighing contentedly, he remarked, "Thanks, I do feel better…"
"Good… And are you still hungry?"
"Nah, not really."
Aurealis nodded and looked back at the floor. Another awkward silence consumed the air. There was nothing to discuss anymore, and thus, the Grovyle sighed and declared, "Well, I'd better get going… I need to find answers somewhere… But thanks for the hospitality, what was it – ah, Aurealis." With that, he shambled to the door, leaving Aurealis in silence. The door creaked open, and the Grovyle limped out, waving one last bye before plodding away. Aurealis stared after him, and mentally punished himself for being so unsocial again.
Sighing, he also walked outside. The Grovyle was still easily in sight; he was just approaching the village wall… Had he just left behind another opportunity for a friend? The Lucario looked down sullenly, and then in the direction of Mismagius Guild – a tall, proud building with the same color and shape as a Mismagius hat. He could stare at it and fantasize about exploring all day… Suddenly, a thought hit him like a rock.
"Nameless Grovyle! Wait!" Aurealis hollered, dashing towards the Grovyle, who stopped and turned around.
"What?" He yelled back, and waited for the Lucario to catch up with him.
Very soon, Aurealis caught up and almost crashed into him because of his momentum. "Where are you going to go?" It was a rhetorical question, so Aurealis continued rapidly, "You have nowhere to go, right?"
"Uh, yeah, I… guess so," the Grovyle replied, taken aback by Aurealis' abrupt surge of excitement.
"And you have nothing to do, right – because you lost your memory?"
"Yeah… What's your point?"
"Well, I was thinking," Aurealis offered, making direct eye contact with the Grovyle for the first time, "Could you form an exploration team with me?"
The Grovyle blinked. "A what?" he asked, confused.
"An exploration team!" Aurealis explained, speaking faster and more elatedly by the second, "We could explore unknown lands such as cryptic caves and labyrinthine jungles! We could discover ruins and temples and bring back amazing tre-"
"Whoa, slow down there!" the Grovyle interrupted, eyes wide from Aurealis' overflowing determination and the unexpected request, "that's assuming I accept, but… I just met you!"
Aurealis' ears and tail drooped, and he lowered his head in disappointment. "Well, that is true," he admitted. However, his grit quickly returned, "But then, I am the only one you know now! You said it yourself, you have nowhere to go and you do not know what to do. And perhaps, by exploring, you could find some answers and restore your memory! What is the harm in accepting?"
The Grovyle opened his mouth to argue, but he could not think of an answer. Finally, he let out a sigh, and conceded, "Fine, I suppose I could make a team with you." Before Aurealis could react, he added, "Under one condition!"
"Anything!" Aurealis complied, impatient to visit Mismagius Guild at last.
"Stop talking so formally," the Grovyle chuckled, "It's really unnatural."
"I can live with that," Aurealis replied, smiling. Finally, his dream was unfolding! "Now that you agree, we need to go to Mismagius Guild to register our team."
"Mismagius Guild?"
"Yeah. It's probably the best exploration base around. All we need to do is register and start training!"
"Wait, how am I supposed to be in a team when I don't even have a name?"
"Hmm, good point… We need to think of a name for you… For now, I'll just call you Grovyle. How's that?"
"It'll work, I guess," Grovyle nodded.
"Good," Aurealis affirmed, "Now let's go the guild!"
Grovyle didn't seem to share Aurealis' enthusiasm. "Is it far?" he moaned, still somewhat weary.
"No, not at all. You can see it over there," the Lucario said, pointing at the top of Mismagius Guild, the rest hidden by numerous magnolia trees. Grovyle nodded, and, without any more discussion, the two walked up the hill towards Mismagius Guild.
"Visitors, visitors, visitors!" shouted Sentret, who was standing upright on its tail and facing the approaching Lucario and Grovyle, "A Lucario and Grovyle, a Lucario and Grovyle, a Lucario and Grovyle!"
"You'd think saying it once is enough," Grovyle muttered as he and Aurealis advanced toward Mismagius Guild. The building was a dark purple color, and was shaped like the pointy hat of a Mismagius. The grated door almost looked like a mouth, and there were blazing torches for the eyes.
"It's kind of small, don't you think?" Grovyle noted, while the Sentret looked them both over and then ran inside.
"I'm sure there's more to it than this," Aurealis explained, fidgeting in excitement.
"You're probably right, there's-" Grovyle stopped himself as he heard muffled voices from inside the Guild:
"What? A Grovyle?" one growled, seeming aggressive.
"Yes, yes, yes. And a Lucario."
"Let me see," the former voice snapped, and promptly a large, rough looking Manectric stepped out. He stopped and examined Lucario first, and then Grovyle. When he did so, his face seemed to turn to one of pure shock and horror. "W-Who are you? What do you want?" he asked, taking a few steps backwards.
Grovyle and Aurealis looked at each other in confusion, until Aurealis decided to answer, "I'm Aurealis, and this is Grovyle… We wish to form an exploration team."
The Manectric paused for a moment, and appeared to think of what to say very carefully. "Aurealis and… Grovyle? Doesn't he have a name…?"
"He lost his memory," Aurealis explained, "and so he doesn't remember anything, including his name. That's why he's called Grovyle."
"I see," the Manectric mused, and abruptly calmed down, with his expression back to the normal growl. "So you want to form an exploration team? Wait here," he ordered, and went back into the guild.
"What's up with him?" Grovyle wondered.
"I don't know," Aurealis responded, "I guess he's just never seen a Grovyle before… That wouldn't be surprising since they're extremely rare."
"And did you see those scars? There were a lot of them, and many look worse than mine do. I guess he's been in a lot of fights."
"Well, there have been reports of violent Pokémon appearing recently…"
"Really? Why?"
"Nobody knows…"
"Interesting."
With that, the two stopped conversing and waited for the Manectric return. Five minutes passed, and then ten. Grovyle started to get impatient, but Aurealis didn't seem to care; he appeared to pass the time by staring at the entrance, deep in thought.
Finally, the Manectric returned, and announced in his usual, gruff voice, "Guildmaster Mismagius is ready to see you."
"It's about time," Grovyle mumbled to himself, shifting on his tired legs. The Manectric didn't hear, and turned around, indicating for them to follow. The three walked into the small, tent-like guild.
"Look, Grovyle," Aurealis whispered, pointing straight ahead, "stairs! That means this place goes underground!"
"Underground? How can you see anything down there?"
"You'll see," the Manectric growled, overhearing their conversation.
The three walked down the stairs, and entered a spacious, bustling chamber. "Wow, look at that," Aurealis marveled, eyes shining almost as brightly as the numerous torches on the wall. Illuminated by the fire and a few specialized Luminous Orbs, the Lucario and Grovyle saw dozens of Pokémon chatting, laughing, and milling about. The lot of them was standing around one massive billboard, which was plastered with all kinds of posters, images, and letters. On a few, pictures of Pokémon were shown, while on others, there was dominantly text. Excitement and competition filled the atmosphere, and both Grovyle and Aurealis could easily feel it.
The two were in such a trance that they almost forgot about the Manectric, who hadn't stopped and kept walking towards the opposite end of the room. "Hey, Aurealis, let's go," Grovyle hissed, jabbing Aurealis, who was still in a daze.
"Right," the Lucario responded, and the two ran to catch up with the Manectric. They made their way through the residents and caught up to him just as he halted at an opened, impressive door.
"This is the Guildmaster's room," the Manectric barked, glaring at Aurealis and Grovyle and making them jittery. "You must be courteous to the Guildmaster at all times. If not…" Electricity shortly crackled around the Manectric as he let the sentence hang.
Aurealis and Grovyle glanced at each other nervously and followed him into the room. Once they entered, the door was slammed shut by an invisible force, and the two couldn't help but wonder whether the Guildmaster was also as daunting and short-tempered as the Manectric.
As the two looked around, they noticed a bed, carpet, and a door, but no Mismagius. "Uh," Aurealis pointed out, "the Guildmaster isn't here…"
As if on cue, a loud, sweet "Hello!" suddenly reverberated through the walls. Normally, both Grovyle and Aurealis would have jumped back in surprise, but the voice was too soothing for that and even started to make them feel calm, bordering on sleepy. Soon, a Mismagius appeared out of thin air, and this time, they jumped back in surprise. Like the Manectric, Mismagius had several scars, some of them quite serious. She didn't seem to be affected by them, however, and was as cheerful as ever.
"Don't be frightened," Mismagius sang, spinning around in the air merrily, "I am Mismagius, the guildmaster of Mismagius Guild! And this is my trusted friend and right hand, Manectric." She pointed at him and added, "I apologize for his horrible attitude in advance. I'm afraid he is always this way…"
Grovyle was too hypnotized by her voice to answer, so Aurealis did: "Hello, I'm Aurealis and this is Grovyle. We wish to form an exploration team."
"I heard," Mismagius noted, beaming, "And you're welcome to do so! The only thing you have to do is pass a small test and you're in!"
"A test? What kind of test?"
"It's very simple," she explained, "To the left of Magnolia Village, as you might already know, there is a place called the Flat Fields. Your task is to go to the Flat Fields, find a Blue Gem, and bring it back."
"A Blue Gem?"
"There is a cave at the edge of Flat Fields, and it's filled with beautiful Blue Gems! Don't worry, there are always some there."
"I understand," Aurealis replied, nodding, and then proceeded to shake Grovyle out of his daydream, "Grovyle, we have a test to pass."
Grovyle shook his head and moaned, "Huh? What? I'm really sleepy..."
"That can wait, this shouldn't take long."
Mismagius frowned. "Don't underestimate your task," she warned, "Although the Flat Plains may be small, you don't have a map, or anything to store your items in."
"That's the challenge, isn't it?" Aurealis riposted confidently, "Now, Grovyle, let's go."
"Good luck," Mismagius cheered, as Aurealis and the protesting Grovyle left the room, "you two might need it."
