As everyone started swarming into the area that I had seen the tables set up in, I took a look around to see where everyone was sitting; Mucosa and Pythagoras shared a table by themselves, the Forces of Nature team sat together, and lastly, the banker and the fighting shop owners sat at the same table. Glancing around more, I also saw those other three Pokemon from the nurse's office sitting at a table, which made me realize that I only knew one of their names; the Azurill, Lazuli.

I then looked over at Rudy again. With a better angle, I noticed some sort of like… wait, fire? She started a fire?!

"Uh, Zen!?" I asked with a huge amount of worry and panic. "Why did Rudy start a fire? Should I put it out?"

"What? Oh… right, forgot to mention that. Rudy cooks the food," Zen replied, matter of factly.

"Cooks?" I questioned, confused on what he meant by his statement. I had only ever eaten raw fish, as I was taught by my parents. What exactly did he mean by 'cook'?

"Wait, don't you know what cooking is?" Zen tilted his head in confusion. I felt a bit embarrassed to answer that.

"Uh… no…"

"Rudy uses her fire abilities to heat up the food, it's how she cooks it!" He said with a smile, and to my relief, didn't find anything wrong with my question.

"So, what she's doing now is 'cooking'?" I asked, just making sure I understood.

"Yep, they apparently got some help to put a metal sheet over the fireplace, and that's how she cooks it," he explained. That, however, just led me to another question.

"'Fireplace'?"

"Yep, it basically keeps the fire from hitting everything else," Zen said.

"Oh, so to keep everyone from getting burned, including the tree?" I questioned.

"Exactly," Zen replied.

"Wait a sec though," I wondered out loud. "Is the fish better when it's cooked?" I never actually tasted fish that had been cooked, so I was unsure of this was gonna help with flavor and stuff.

"Well, if you don't like it cooked, then you can always have it raw." Zen concluded simply.

"I guess so…" I said, still unsure if I would like it.

"Just give it a shot, I'm pretty sure you'll love it!" Zen encouraged.

"Well… alright, what could go wrong?" I gave in, finally deciding on trying cooked fish.

Zen gave a nod, and motioned for me to follow him. I did so, and I followed him towards the middle of the eating area, where he went over and sat with the team that Lazuli was on. I saw that he was still wearing the bandages from earlier today. The Eevee and Cleffa sat near the Azurill at the table, and Zen jumped up there with them.

"Hey guys!" Zen greeted as he jumped up. The three looked over, and the bouncy Pokemon's face lit up drastically more than the other two.

"Hey Zen!" Lazuli exclaimed with joy, who I saw was still wearing his pink scarf.

"Heya," the Cleffa with the light red scarf spoke up, making me aware that it was a girl.

"Hey," the Eevee sporting the white scarf spoke, sounding feminine as well. Jumping up onto the table as well, the three turned their heads to face me.

"Hiya, new person!" Lazuli exclaimed in a loud voice. I couldn't help but get a tad bit nervous from the amount of eyes on me at the moment.

"Oh, uh... heya," I replied, nervousness clear in my speech.

"What's your name, what's your name!?" Lazuli asked with pure curiosity and with a hyperactive energy that I couldn't understand, clear from how he kept bouncing in his chair.

"Uh… I'm Dax," I responded, nodding in his direction. "Nice to meet you, Lazuli." His eyes went wide the moment he heard me say his name.

"You know my name already?" He exclaimed once more, getting even more excited, which I thought was impossible. "Can you read my mind!?"

"Wait, what? I'm not really understanding here," I started, remembering the scene in Mucosa's office and their conversation. "I just heard your name in the nurse's office." I think something in his brain of his clicked.

"Ohhhh, you were in there," He said in realization. "Haha, must have missed ya." He chuckled as he continued to bounce. Clearly, Lazuli had a hyperactive personality. Perhaps even more than Zen's, which was thought to be impossible to me.

"So, your name's Dax?" The Cleffa asked, and I nodded, then she continued. "I'm Crystal, and we're part of the Cute Crew!"

"Cute… Crew…?" I said, holding in a laugh. "Uh, I mean, it's nice to meet you, Crystal."

"Don't give the name a bad rep," the Eevee spoke up, huffing a bit. "Lazuli came up with it, and it's fine. Name's Stella, by the way."

"Stella, nice to meet you," I said to her.

"It's whatever," she retorted, turning her head away. Meanwhile, Lazuli kept bouncing in his place.

"We're the Cute Crew, and we're the cutest team to ever be!" Lazuli announced cheerfully, and I couldn't help but smile.

"They were the most recent team to join right before ours," Zen explained.

"Huh, that's neat," I nodded, understanding.

"Wait a second! What do you mean 'before yours'?" Stella asked, tilting her head in confusion at us.

"Everyone! Food is done! Once I set out everyone's meals, we have an announcement to make!" Rudy suddenly called out from across the room. The Azurill suddenly began to bounce faster.

"Oh, guys, we can discuss this later - I wanna eat!" Lazuli spoke quickly and excitedly, shaking the chair with his bouncing.

Everyone quieted down as the Blaziken passed out all the plates, starting with the Forces of Nature's table, then moving on to ours. Rudy was pretty quick on her talons too and kept her balance, even when carrying multiple plates at a time. What was sitting in front of me was… what I never expected a fish to look like. First off, none of the skin or scales were present; it seemed to have been cut off completely or something. Secondly, the meat wasn't red like I was used to seeing it, and instead was a golden tan color, steam trailing off of the meat. It also smelled really, really good. Taking in the scent, I picked up the familiar scent of sitrus berries mixed in with the cooked fish, and it was wholesome. Rudy made a second round around the place, dropping off what seemed to be these rounded plates with water in them; my guess was that this was what we would drink.

"Looks good, don't it?" Zen asked, a bit of drool appearing at the corner of his lips. I nodded to him, my eyes not looking away from the meal in front of me.

"Smells good…" I replied in awe.

"Oh yeah, not only does cooking it make it smell good, but Rudy uses a variety of berries to add to the flavor, and I think this time she used sitrus berries," Zen commented, eyeing his fish carefully while giving it a whiff of his own.

"It is most definitely sitrus," I replied matter of factly, licking my lips from hunger.

I glanced over at the Cute Crew looking down at their food as well, while Lazuli was still bouncing. Does he ever stop doing so? I asked myself mentally, before shaking my head and removing the thought.

I then looked over at Rudy who gave Cole, Jade, and Sly their plates. Afterwards, she went over to Pythagoras and Mucosa, and she left the last one at their table. The Hydreigon suddenly got up from his seat and flew over in front of the area.

"Everyone, may I please have your attention!" The main head said, looking around, "Yeah, pay attention, you-" the second head was about to speak up, but the main head forced the somewhat rude counterpart to stop speaking with a glare in his eyes, and he backed off, looking to the side. With that, the main head spoke up again, clearing his throat.

"As I was saying, everyone please," Pythagoras called out again, the main head looking up with a smile. His other heads remained quiet this time. Everyone, including myself, waited for what he had to say.

"We have great news to bring! We've had a new member join us today, and not only that, this new member and another have formed our current third team to Acacia Guild. Please, allow me to introduce Team Tsunami, and its members; Zen, and our newest addition, Dax!" He announced, finishing his speech. Pokemon within the eating area had begun clapping their paws, claws, and anything else together, while others called out the team name in a roaring cheer.

I was a bit nervous, from all this attention I wasn't really used to. I kept looking around, not knowing what to really say or do here. I just gave small gestures and I guess tried to wave back. I felt happy though, a smile naturally formed on my face, albeit was a nervous one. Despite that, I still felt really happy.

I took a look at Zen, who was smiling wildly, trying to wave to everyone in the room. Suddenly though, he got knocked to the floor by a flying object from the other side of the table. After a resounding thud, I looked down to see Zen sprawled out and realized that the Azurill had tackled him to the floor.

It's official; Lazuli is definitely more hyper than Zen.

"ZEN! You didn't say you got a team! I'm so happy for you!" Lazuli hugged Zen tightly with his tail.

"I was meaning to tell you all during our meal!" Zen said hopping up onto his paws and seating himself at his original spot. "But it seems that Pythagoras has beaten me to it." Lazuli kept bouncing around him, asking a variety of questions all at once, talking at a speed that I thought wasn't possible. Crystal eventually caught my attention as she poked me with her arm.

"So that's why you're here!" The Cleffa spoke up, smiling brightly. "That's awesome Dax, I know you'll love it here."

"Well, thanks. I'm really liking it here so far," I replied, but then suddenly I heard my tummy rumble.

"But hey, uh... are we allowed to eat now?!" I called to Pythagoras. He gave a chuckle.

"Yes indeed, I believe everyone here is rather hungry. Rudy has prepared this meal for everyone, so let's not let it go to waste. Last thing to say is that I hope everyone here gives our new member here a great, warm welcome, and enjoy his company!" He announced with finality, and the Hydreigon sat back down as Zen gave a small bop to Lazuli that looked a bit silly. Lazuli went around the table and Zen jumped back up onto his chair.

"Alright, that was fun and all, but Lazuli, did you have to tackle me?" Zen asked, rubbing the part of his head that might have hit the floor from the tackle. Lazuli got back into his chair, but kept up his bouncing.

"But it's fun to hug!"

"Hugging is fine, but you already hurt yourself earlier!" Zen scolded slightly, laughing a bit, "Don't want to hurt yourself again from something like a tackle."

"But both are even more fun!" He argued back. Zen responded with a laugh, while shaking his head dismissively as he then turned to face me.

"Anyways Dax, how's the food… wait, where'd your food go?"

I looked at him, and back to my plate. I did my best to speak, "Umph, nhwere," I tried to say with my mouth full… It was way too tempting, and it smelled so good. He looked at me with a confused smile, then realized.

"You… you ate it that fast?!" I swallowed, and nodded with a bit of a blush on my face.

"It was, uh… yeah... really good…"

"See! What'd I tell you?" he yipped, giving a cheerful smile.

"Yeah, you were right. "I admitted, then my eyes lit up with wonder. "Can I get seconds?" Zen suddenly turned around and called out to the Blaziken across the room.

"Rudy! Can Dax get more food? He's finished his already!"

"You're kidding?!" She said with disbelief, but got up regardless. "Well… let me eat a bit of mine real fast and I'll get him a second plate, pronto!"

"Thank you!" Zen cheerfully replied before turning back around to take a bite of his. The Zorua held it in his claws for a moment, then ripped a piece off with his teeth, eating it at a way slower rate than I did. Meanwhile, I held in a burp.

"So… uh, we're allowed seconds?" I questioned, cocking my head at an angle.

"Usually we are, sometimes even thirds if we have enough food for some of us, but we usually just stick to seconds most of the time." Zen answered with his mouth full, chewing on some of his fish.

"So, seconds is the limit, huh? I guess that makes sense, given how many Pokemon are here." I thought aloud, tapping my chin. "Even then, seconds is pretty generous."

"Well, it's really just because we catch a lot when we go fishing. This type of fish isn't that hard to come by," Zen responded.

"He's right, we usually come up with a good number every day," Crystal added, including herself into the conversation.

"Thirds are what I would like best, though." Stella said, taking another bite of her food. She must have a bottomless pit for a stomach.

"Hopefully next time we'll do Oran berries to add taste to the fish." Lazuli said, his eyes sparkling at the mention of the familiar blue berry, a drop of drool escaping the corner of his mouth. "I love, love, love Oran berries!"

"So uh… Dax how'd you find out about this place?" Stella asked, turning her head in my direction.

"Oh, uh… well, I actually met up with Zen on one of my daily fishing trips a little far from my old home. He was asking me about finding berries," I replied.

"Oh, so you do your own fishing? Wait, what am I saying…" Crystal stopped herself, suddenly realizing what she was saying. "You're a Water type, so of course you should be good at swimming!" The Cleffa face pawed, almost embarrassed from her silly question.

"Well, no worries, it's fine. After all, I'm pretty sure not all Water type Pokemon fish like I do," I chuckled, gently patting the Normal types head reassuringly.

"I've never fished before," Lazuli mentioned, watching Crystal and I as we spoke. "What's it like to go fishing?" The Azurill had curiosity plastered on his face.

"Well, uh… I basically either catch fish in shallow lakes that I'm able to walk in, or I swim in bigger and deeper lakes, and catch them like that," I explained, motioning to my jaws.

"So, you can swim faster than the fish?" Lazuli asked, eyes widening a little.

"Yep, although sometimes they manage to outspeed me." I admitted, scratching behind my neck. "But, if I can get the jump on them before they notice, they're never fast enough," I explained again, using my claws to gesture the way I would jump on the fish.

"Never, I doubt that," Stella intervened, her turn to include herself in the conversation we were having at the table. I got a bit nervous with the attention being all on me.

"Well... uh, maybe not never, but it's often at least." With that, she just shrugged as a response.

"Here you go, Dax." Suddenly, a plate had been gently placed in front of me, and I looked up to see Rudy smiling down at me.

"Oh! Thanks, Rudy." I said, a little surprised by the sudden action.

"No problem! Just try not to eat it too quickly this time. Enjoy the flavor in every bite," she said with a small chuckle.

"Alright," I said, feeling a little embarrassed.

"If anyone else wants seconds just let me know, okay?" She told the others at the table.

"Okay!" they all replied. With that, she walked off and headed back to her table. I took a much smaller bite of my food, giving myself a chance to really get the flavor, and it was amazing. I've never eaten a cooked fish before, and I don't think I ever want to go back to eating raw. This was just way too good to pass up. After taking a few bites, I took a drink of the water placed next to me.

"So, where exactly did you live before this?" Stella asked.

"Well, uh…" I didn't really know how to answer, so I said it simply, "I lived in a cave."

"A cave? Why would ever want to live in one of those?" she asked.

"Well… I… thought it was cool," I said, getting a bit defensive. She scoffed a bit.

"I don't see how you could," she replied.

"That's because you're so used to living in places like this," Crystal butted in, looking in my direction. "I think a cave sounds awesome."

"I don't see how you'd want to live in a cave," Stella argued, shaking her head dismissively. "Imagine all the dirt and stuff."

"I kept it pretty clean actually," I said, matter-of-factly. "I used Water Gun on places if it ever got dirty. Plus, it was shaded from the sun, so it kept me from getting hot or having the sun in my eyes."

"That sounds nice!" Crystal replied, seemingly impressed. Meanwhile, I could hear Stella huff a bit.

"Well… guess it doesn't sound all that bad," Stella coughed, looking away. "I'd still prefer living here though."

"Well, I gotta say, this place seems to be really nice, so I can see what you mean," I replied while I looked over at Zen, who seemed to be done eating his first piece, so I continued to eat mine a bit more. After a bit of silence, I was nearly done eating my second piece, and Zen had finished his off.

"So uh, Cute Crew? How exactly did you guys become a team?" I asked, generally. They looked at each other. Eventually, Crystal spoke up first.

"Well, for one, we all joined at different times as guild members, similarly to how you did." She began, "I came here from my home; hearing about this place, I signed up. I thought it would be a good way to travel around, and help some people too. Glad my parents were all for it."

"I joined 'cause I thought it would be fun! I told my family I wanted to be an explorer, and they were all for it, you get to see and do really cool things, and helping people is like, super nice, and fun too! You know?!" Lazuli said while bouncing up and down.

"I joined to take care of bad Pokemon who were hurting others, which helps those Pokemon out too. I don't like when others do bad things like that; it's wrong, so I joined to put those baddies in their place." Stella said.

"Hmm, okay, but why did you guys join together as a team?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Well, I don't know really, it just sort of happened. We all joined at around the same time, and we hung out a lot since we were trainees here, and we eventually decided we'd join up as one team!" Lazuli responded, bouncing in his chair.

"That's basically it," Crystal replied.

"Mhm," Stella agreed, finishing it up.

"I see… so in short, you all seem to want to help people, right?" I asked once more.

"I mean, that is what a guild does, you know?" Crystal asked rhetorically, "I know we get paid and such to do it, but still it's helping others who really need help, and sometimes you don't even get a reward for it, but it helps them. The satisfaction that you'd get for helping is good enough for me."

"I guess so," I said, understanding slightly, "It's all still new to me, so I didn't think this kind of thing existed."

"Well, I didn't really know about it much either," Zen said, joining in while I took a bite of my food. Once I swallowed, I replied, "Wait, so you didn't know about it either?" He shook his head.

"Nope, I didn't learn about it 'til I joined." He responded, but then got out of his seat. "Also, give me a minute; I'm gonna see if I can get more from Rudy." And with that, he walked away. Regardless, I was still confused about something; he said he didn't learn about the guild until he joined it, but I don't think I fully understood what he meant by that. I was probably overthinking it.

Putting the thoughts behind me for the meantime, I glanced around the room once more, and I noticed the shop owners; the two electrical mice seemed to be having an argument, or contest, something like that. They seemed to be eyeing each other down as they ate really fast, while Sly was cheering on for the both of them. I then shifted my view to Pythagoras and Mucosa, who were eating together. Rudy and Zen seemed to be getting another plate, and the Forces of Nature seemed to be just talking. I'd basically met everyone else, but those three were the only ones I really hadn't talked to at all. While Zen was away, I finished up my plate.

Once Zen and Rudy got back to the table and sat down with his plate in paw, I asked him something.

"Hey Zen? Mind if I go and talk to the Forces of Nature real fast? I'd like to talk to them."

"Oh! Sure go right ahead, I forgot you hadn't even talked to them yet." He said, taking ahold of his new fishy meal. "I'll eat, then I'll come over to you."

"Alright, see ya over there then." I said, getting up from the table and made my way across the room. Soon, I got to the table of the Forces of Nature. I looked up to the charmeleon with the orange scarf.

"Uh, hello there," I said to them. In response, the Charmeleon looked down and waved a bit.

"Ah, hey." His voice was clearly male, but a tad bit older than I had expected.

"You guys mind if I sit with you for a minute?" I asked, scratching the back of my head with nervousness. He nodded to me.

"Shoot, not at all," He responded, "Come on up here." With that, I jumped up onto the table with them.

"Hey," I said, facing the Servine with the turquoise scarf, and the Jolteon with the green scarf.

"Oh hey!" The electro-dog greeted.

"Yo," the snake said with a cool tone.

"So, you're Dax right? Nice to meet you, I'm Ryder," said the Charmeleon.

"Nice to meet you," I replied.

"And I'm Sparky," said the Jolteon.

"Monty here," said the Servine.

"Ryder, Sparky, and Monty, got it." I said, looking at the three. "Cool, it's nice to meet you all."

"It's good to meet you as well, cool to see a water type join us," Sparky said.

"Wait, is Lazuli not a water type?" I asked, confused.

"No, he's not, not yet at least." Monty said, matter-of-factly. "He does become one once he evolves though. How are we going to deal with a hyper Azumarill?"

"I mean hey, it's not that bad, you know?" Sparky replied, shrugging a bit.

"Haha, yeah, he's hyper I will say, but everyone here seems pretty alright," I said, chuckling a bit.

"Well, I'm glad you like everyone so far," Ryder looked over to me, "Speaking of which, it's cool to see a new team form with you and Zen."

"Is it really that much of an achievement?" I asked tilting my head to the side. I wasn't entirely sure if I understood what he meant by that statement.

"Of course it is!" Sparky exclaimed, speaking up once more. "Another team of Pokemon who are willing to help others who are in need; now that's definitely an achievement for the guild, is it not one for you?"

"Well, I suppose it is quite an achievement. Sorry, all of this is just really new to me, is all." I said apologetically.

"No problem with that at all!" Monty acknowledged with a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, makes me think of the good old days," Ryder said, using a claw to scratch under his chin. "We all were like you when we first started our lives as an explorer." I nodded my head, understanding what they were saying. I would eventually be getting used to my surroundings and my work. This team seems to be strong, and capable of many things. It makes me wonder...

"Who's the leader of your team?" I asked, looking at all three members.

"That would be me," Ryder said, grinning proudly.

"Ah cool. So, are you guys like, the most skilled team here?" I questioned, looking around at all of the teams to help with my confirmation.

"Well... Outside of the leaders, we're the oldest team here." The Electric type began to speak with a brief explanation. "I suppose you could say when it comes to the teams, we're the most experienced."

"I see… how'd you guys join the guild?" Another question came from me. I was very curious, and my mind kept wandering around with these questions.

"Well, we all kind of grew up together." Ryder replied.

"Wait, really?" My eyes widened at the response, taken aback.

"It's true; we've been friends since we were kids, then Ryder here found out about this place and what was going on here," Monty spoke next, as if they were taking turns to speak.

"After some discussion between ourselves, along with my parents, we all decided to head out here. Shortly after learning everything, we became The Forces of Nature," Sparky explained last. I nodded my head, taking in the information.

"How long have you guys been here?"

"Well, our training ended about a year ago, and usually teams would move away to do new things, but we like it here, so we decided we would be staying here permanently." The Charmeleon replied.

"Ah I see, but do you guys ever visit family?" My curiosity got the best of me on this one. I wanted to know, if I ever wanted to visit mine someday.

"Of course!" Sparky said with a reassuring tone, smiling a bit. "We check in regularly from time to time; Pythagoras won't stop you at all if you want to go see family or have personal things you need to take care of."

"Yeah, even though me and Ryder and moved away from our parents a while back, we usually check in from time to time." Monty explained, before he had a question of his own. "What about you, kid?"

"I moved away from my family too; been a while since I've seen them, but last time I went to see them, they seemed fine," I spoke, remembering the time I've last seen them.

"Ah, so you've been living on your own?" Ryder asked.

"Yep, I've been living in my own cave, and usually hunted fish." I explained.

"Living in nature, sounds interesting," Sparky acknowledged.

"Yeah, the cave I lived in was pretty cool, I even met some travelers sometimes, it wasn't bad." I said in reply.

"So, why come here then? If what you thought you had was fine?" Monty asked curiously, his head tilted to the side.

"Well… I guess it was just after weighing my options; this would be a change of pace that I really needed, and would make things easier on me. I have had trouble finding food in the past, so this stops me from potentially going hungry, and well, I guess helping people is a good addition as well," I explained thoughtfully. Everyone nodded their heads.

"Well, you won't be doing anything too crazy, and don't worry; if you or Zen need any help with anything, just let any one of us know. I'm sure anyone here will be happy to help." Ryder said with a small smile.

"Thanks, the Cute Crew and everyone here seems really nice… maybe a tad quirky, however," I said truthfully, a chuckle escaping my lips.

"Yep haha, but hey, we're all like that you know?" Sparky chuckled himself, joining me.

"Yep… speaking of which, I have a question." I mentioned, with yet another question in mind.

"Sure, what's up?" Ryder asked while the other two looked at me curiously.

"What do you guys think of Zen? I don't really know much about him other than what I've learned of him today. He seems like a good person, but I just wanted to know what you guys knew or thought about him," This didn't seem like a bad question to ask in my mind, but it was true. I didn't really know much about Zen, and I just wanted to know if the others had any good things to say about him. They looked at each other for a sec before Monty spoke up.

"To be honest, I find him pretty weird."

Wow. That… was not what I was expecting.

"Hey man, that's pretty harsh." Sparky said, gently punching his partner in the shoulder.

"Well, I'm just being honest here; you know the way he acts is a bit off." Monty argued back, seemingly rubbing his shoulder.

"Wait, what? What do you mean by that?" I asked, considerably confused now. I had seen nothing wrong with Zen other than him feeling happy and hyper. I don't get what was wrong with this side of his personality.

"He acts unusually happy all the time," Monty admitted, blinking.

"And? What's your point? Lazuli seems to act the same way, yet Zen comes off as weird? They both seem to be acting the same way!" I retorted, my turn to argue against his opinion.

"I don't think that's what he means. Monty lay off," Ryder growled softly, warning his partner. Monty looked away, feeling bad by the choice of his words.

"S-sorry, I got carried away."

Ryder turned to me, "What he means by that is that he isn't judging him by his happy personality or how hyper Zen can get, it's just how long and how frequent it is."

"Wait, what? I don't follow." I replied with even more confusion written on my face.

"Well, you've only known him for a day, so this will just be something you'll probably get used to. We just think it gets on Monty's nerves a bit," Ryder continued to explain. "Basically Zen, even when bad things happen, he keeps himself upbeat, and acts as if nothing is wrong. Of course, that might not necessarily be a bad thing, it means he can stay calm a lot of the time which is good, but... It's like even when something really bad happens, he won't even act like it's a bad thing, and tries to look for a positive, even if there isn't one. Lazuli may be hyper and happy, but I've seen him upset and sad before. I don't think any of us here have seen that from Zen."

"But, why's that weird?" I asked, trying to understand the reasoning. "I don't get what's wrong with it."

"Well, maybe you don't see it that way. I personally just find it a tad odd, but, I don't feel like everyone shares that feeling, you know?" Ryder said. "We just all think differently in the end."

"Do… you guys not like Zen?" I asked with a visible frown on my face.

"What… ugh, me and my big mouth." The Servine mumbled to himself, and sighed, shaking his head dismissively. "No, I don't dislike Zen, it just can be a bit annoying when he acts as if nothing is wrong. I shouldn't have said anything stupid."

"I don't have any issue with him. I think that, in Lazuli's case, he's able to really lighten the mood when needed. It's just a quirk we've noticed with him is all," The Jolteon added.

"Yeah, it's not really a big deal, otherwise we think he's pretty cool," Ryder finalized with a nod of his head.

"Well, that's good to hear at least, sorry about starting that," I spoke quietly towards the end, partially regretting having asked that question.

"No, it's really our fault, but did you have any other questions?" This time it was Ryder's turn to ask me a question.

"Uh, well… when did Zen join? I know he's the most recent member, but how and why did he join?" I questioned.

"Uh… well, it's been a little while since he's joined. Maybe a few weeks after the Cute Crew became an official team, I believe, but none of us know why he joined," Sparky explained with a shrug. Seems like it was a mystery to everyone.

"Wait? So, none of you know?" I asked with a surprised tone, cocking my head to the side. Ryder shook his head.

"Not really; we've discussed this with Pythagoras before, but he wouldn't really talk about it. Though, all we really know is that Rudy and Pythagoras went out on some kind of mission, probably to chase down some outlaw. They completed their mission and on their way back or sometime during the trek back, they came across Zen. My guess is they don't bring it up because the outlaw had held him captive or something like that. Either way, they don't talk about it. Zen's never brought it up, and as soon as they brought him here, he joined, which I still find odd."

"Wait, he didn't even question it?" My eyes widened a little.

"You mean, like he didn't even consider not joining?" He asked me. I nodded in response to his question.

"That, we don't know either. When they got back, he was with them, and said he was going to join. He was super happy, and was happy about meeting everyone as well," The Charmeleon said casually.

"Well, I'm glad he's happy. I wonder what happened?" I wondered aloud.

"Well, whatever it was, it seems to not bother him anymore," Sparky replied, voicing his opinion.

"Yeah, seems that way," I nodded in agreement.

Speaking of the Zorua, I noticed that he came running up to us. I guess he finished his second meal.

"Hey, guys!"

"Zen, hey! All done?" I asked.

"Yep! Mind if I take a seat?" He asked, gesturing with his paw. I moved over a bit and motioned him up. He jumped up onto the table next to me.

"Hey, guys!" He said cheerfully.

"Heya Zen, congrats on yours and Dax's team," The Jolteon said with a smile.

"Thanks Sparky!" Zen replied.

"What was your team name again? Sorry I forgot," Monty asked, trying to think.

"No problem, it's Team Tsunami," I said.

"Oh! That's not bad actually, neat name," His eyes perked up at the name.

"Thanks!" Zen and I said in-sync, together.

"So you two, how's it feel to be on a team together?" Ryder asked. Zen spoke up first, "It feels awesome! Having a team name, being able to finally go on some real jobs, and I met a new friend!" Then, I went next, "Basically the same here; met a new friend, got new place to live, and basically everything else he said."

"Haha, good to see the enthusiasm running high," The Charmeleon grinned, seemingly understanding the feeling.

"So, you planning on taking your first mission tomorrow?" Monty asked, clapping his short, leafy limbs together.

"If there are any available, yeah!" The Zorua yipped excitedly.

"There should be something for you, don't worry," Sparky chuckled at the excitement.

"Yeah, we'll have to start with small missions before we're allowed to take on the bigger ones, but that works out! It gives Dax the opportunity to learn how all of this works." Zen nodded with a small smile.

"Yeah, I still don't know enough about this, how much do you know Zen?" I asked him.

"Let's see… uh, that might be too much to discuss tonight, maybe we learn that as we actually do missions?" He thought aloud with curiosity, wondering the same thing himself.

"Wait, how much do you know?" I asked lowly, expecting a good answer.

"Believe it or not, Zen spent a lot of time asking us questions, and doing whatever he can to find out information on our missions. I don't know how you were able to just go through all of that without getting bored," The Service spoke, looking down at the Zorua.

Zen gave an embarrassed chuckle, "Well, I just really wanted to learn about how it all worked I guess, so I guess I just got carried away."

"No wonder you were so ready to get started," I realized. If he had done that, it would explain why he was so eager to be on a team. Probably learning about it didn't help calm it down, it just made him feel even more excited.

"Yeah… I guess I really did go overboard." He said with a big grin.

"Well then, that just means you know enough to help me learn, you are a team leader after all," I said.

"Oh yeah… I forgot, I am team leader, aren't I?!" Zen smiled.

"Yep! So, make sure to help me learn this stuff! I'm counting on you," I exclaimed. He nodded, "You got it!"

Suddenly Pythagoras started flying around the eating area, looking around at everyone and their tables.

"Has everyone finished up?" His main head announced, asking around. Everyone gave out sounds or motions to show they were done with their meal. I looked around to see that it was indeed true.

"Alright then, everyone go on ahead and try to get some rest, we'll have new missions posted in the morning. No rush, however, but do try to get decent sleep so you're not tired for another big day tomorrow." The Hydreigon's softer, more timid head said.

"But hey, be prepared to work HARD tomorrow morning!" The Hydreigon's louder, more brasher head exclaimed, but ultimately got scolded quietly by the main head as they left everyone else be. With that, everyone gave a quick reply or motion, and began to head out of the eating area.

"Well, we're gonna head on and get some sleep, you two don't stay up late alright?" Ryder questioned the both of us.

"Alright, see ya guys!" Zen said, waving his paw.

"Talk to you guys later!" I smiled. They waved and headed up the stairs to the next floor. I took a look back at the Zorua.

"So, uh... what now?" I asked.

"Well, we can do whatever we'd like until we want to sleep. There's not really a strict curfew here." He replied.

"Huh…" I then realized, "Oh! Uh, where do we sleep exactly? I haven't seen the location we will be residing for sleep."

"Oh! Right, uh, Pythagoras!" He called aloud, catching the Dragon's attention. Pythagoras was seemingly about to head to his office, but he turned and flew over to us.

"Yes, you two? Yeah, what do you want?! I-is everything okay?"

"So, Dax is going to be living in my house right?" Zen asked.

"Oh right, we did forget one thing; first we'll get the bedding, then we'll get the team name for your door," Pythagoras' main head explained, while the other two nodded, one more aggressive and one more softer than the other.

"Oh cool, thanks!" The Zorua thanked, looking up at the three-headed Dragon type. "We'll wait for you up there, okay?"

"We won't be long, so don't worry." The main head said, "We'll be up there in a minute, just gotta do other crap first, smell ya later, newbiess!" The more rough head said with a fierce aggressiveness, "F-fret not, we'll try to be fast, our bad," The more timid head said with an immense amount of nervousness in their voice. With that, the three-headed dragon left us and went off to do what they needed to do. Honestly, it must be tough trying to deal with two additional heads that speak for themselves.

"Well, let's head up there; I'll give you the house tour." He smiled excitedly, running towards a set of stairs.

"Alright," I said to him, following him closely behind. As we headed upstairs, I took notice of the time, and looked out; it seemed like the sun was setting, which means it would be dark soon, obviously. As we headed up, I noticed the houses, and the Cute Crew hanging out in front of what I believed to be their house. Didn't notice it before, but it seemed they had some ribbons and flowers decorated on the outside.

"Oh heya! Dax, I hope you enjoyed dinner and the first night here," Crystal said with a smile.

"Thanks! I did, it was really good, and I can't wait to try what Rudy makes tomorrow," I said, eyes full of wonder. Her cooking was absolutely delicious.

"Well, we're heading off to bed for now," Stella said as she walked inside, waving her paw.

"Ah, well good night." I got no reply from her. I heard Crystal sigh softly.

"Ugh, sorry that I forgot to mention this, but sorry about Stella." Crystal apologized, head lowered slightly. "She's, well... she can be a bit rude sometimes. Especially when she's tired."

"But she's really nice! I promise!" Lazuli hopped into the conversation (pun intended) with pleading eyes.

"It's not a big deal, so don't worry about it." I dismissed, chuckling nervously.

"Well, g'night you guys! See y'all in the morning!" Lazuli said, bouncing back into their house.

"Night!" We said back to the Azurill.

"Same here! Good night, you two," Crystal said walking in, as we wished the same for her as well.

With that, we passed by one of the bigger homes which had a light on inside. I assumed this was Rudy's, since Mucosa was a bit further ahead. She gave us a wave goodnight before heading inside her own house as well.

"Alright, here's mine!" Zen exclaimed, our short walk ending. His house was one of the smaller ones, which made sense for his size. It was the same kind of shape as the Cute Crew's; a bit of a roundish shape going on with it. While it was small, it wasn't exactly too small, yet it was big enough to where if we grew, we could still fit inside… probably.

"This looks nice, so I'll be staying here?" I asked, eyes wandering around the outside.

"Yep! Since we're a team, we share the same house!" He said with a small, happy bounce.

"Cool, let's go inside then." I said. Once I entered the house, I noticed a very simple layout. Wood flooring, a small carpet, and some sort of wooden cabinetry that seemed to hold books. In the back, I noticed a staircase that made the flooring go up a bit higher than the rest of the house. Past the stairs were two windows, and bedding that I guessed was where Zen sleeps.

"Well? What do you think?" He asked, awaiting my response to what my opinion on his household was.

"It's really nice, actually," I said truthfully. This felt much more like a home than the cave I used to reside in. Even though I liked my cozy cave, the little things in here are what really caught my eye.

"Thanks!" Zen said with a sheepish smile, "I know it's not decorated like the others, but I think I did good enough on it." I looked at the bookshelf and saw some rocks up there. Curious, I turned to them and pointed at them.

"What's this stuff?" I asked. It appeared to look like crystals of different colors.

"Nothing special, really; I just asked if anyone ever found anything cool while out on their missions. Everyone here seems to at least find me one crystal or rock that was cool, even a sea shell here and there.." The Zorua explained. Seemed to me he had a thing for knick knacks.

"So, you like collecting?" I asked.

"A little? I don't think I'm super into it, but the ones I do have are really nice," Zen replied with a small nod of his head.

"I see, then what's with the books?" I questioned.

"Well uh… like The Forces of Nature said before, that's what I used to learn." He admitted.

"Wait, all of these!?" I asked, dumbfounded. There were a lot of books on this shelf, and some were pretty big. It's unbelievable to think that he read all of them.

"Well, I didn't memorize every single thing, but I did learn a good bit, such as the different types of Pokemon, stuff on other guilds, what Pokemon are capable of, myths and mysteries..." He went down the list.

"You studied a lot, it seems." I said.

"I mean, even then I haven't learned everything, but I still learned a lot, I think," Zen replied.

"That's still impressive." I nodded, clearly impressed.

"Well, it's not that impressive." He said chuckling.

"You're joking right? You've gone through each and every one of these books, and yet you're acting like this isn't an accomplishment? You're already prepared for tomorrow, and you're gonna be able to teach me, that seems like a lot to have already done you know?" I stated almost matter-of-factly.

"Wow, uh... thanks! Again, as leader, I'll be sure to help in whatever way I can!" he said with a smile.

"Thanks, but uh, do you think I need to learn anything in those books?" I asked.

"Well, not really, I don't think. I did it 'cause, you know, I wanted to do it. Most of these books don't even really tell about stuff involved with guild work, and whatever is I can just tell you if it ever comes up… also, you know all Pokemon types right?" he asked. I nodded, "Yeah, I know the types, just not every single Pokemon in them. Speaking of which, is Lazuli actually not a Water type?"

"Nope, he's a Normal and a Fairy type." Zen replied with the facts, seemingly quickly.

"Huh… he doesn't really look the part, that's for sure." I said almost shamelessly.

"Trust me, I think everyone has made that mistake with someone before." Zen said reassuringly.

"I guess, but I just feel stupid when I don't know it." I admitted with a frown.

"But, you aren't stupid though! You don't gotta say that." The Zorua smiled.

"I guess so," I replied. At that moment, I then heard the sound of flapping wings.

"Hey, you two in there?" I heard Pythagoras' voice. Walking out of the house, we say that the leader of the guild had arrived.

"Hey Pythagoras!" Greeted Zen.

"Hey there, got the bedding here for Dax, and another thing here," I looked in his other heads, which held the bedding, and a little plaque thing in the other. The head with the bedding dropped it in front of me, groaning with disgust.

"Ugh, I hate the taste of these things! Next time, one of you two hold it, I ain't doing it again." The clearly disgruntled brash head angrily said to the others, which made me laugh a bit.

"Hey, thanks for the bed!" The specific head looked at me for a moment, but looked away.

"Eh, no worries, newbie." The head replied with a grumble.

"A-also, there's this." Pythagoras' third head moved up to us, which held a small golden sign type of thing.

"What's this for?" I asked.

"Oh right, our sign!" Zen yipped excitedly.

"Sign?" I asked, tilting my head confusingly.

"He's right," Pythagoras's main head started, "It's a sign that I will set up above the door of the house. Now that you have a team name, this is your team house."

"Wow, that's cool!" I grinned. Wish I could have labelled my cave like that back then. Zen and I moved out of the way as Pythagoras set up the sign. He seemed to be extra careful with it, and soon enough it was locked in place right above the door. 'Team Tsunami', it read.

"There you go, you two. Is there anything else either of you need before I head off?" The main head of his asked, looking at both of us younger Pokemon. Thinking for a moment, nothing managed to come up.

"Unless I have any questions for you tomorrow, I'm good for now."

"Same here!" Zen added.

"Alright then, you two; have a good night." The main head said of Pythagoras said, bowing slightly, "G'night, you runts; don't let the bed-Joltiks bite!" the brash head exclaimed, laughing slightly in a bit of a mocking tone, "N-night, you two," the timid head said nervously. And with that, Pythagoras then flew over to the house that Mucosa entered into earlier.

Then, Zen took himself inside as I carried in my new bedding. After getting a feel of it; it was soft, really soft. I couldn't wait to see how comfortable it will be once I lay on it.

"Here Dax, you can set your bed up here next to mine." Zen stated, then moved his bedding over a little in order to leave some space for my own.

"Okay." I nodded as I walked up the steps, setting my bedding down to the right of his.

"Well, try it out!" He urged, jumping on his own.

I gave myself a sec, then sat myself in a comfortable position, and wow! This was comfortable, and way better than the leaves I used to use.

"Wow… this is amazing, what's this stuff made out of?!"

"I'm not too sure actually, I know they're made naturally, it isn't like, fur or anything," Zen said.

"Well I hope it's not." I looked down at the bedding, feeling it with my small claws.

"It's not, I know that for a fact, I just don't know what exactly it's made out of," The Zorua shrugged. "But how is it?"

"Amazing, as I said before, way better than anything I ever made for a bed," I said curling up in it.

"Awesome, glad it works for you," he said. "So, you wanna go on ahead and sleep, or do you want to wait a little while?"

"I think I've moved around too much today, maybe it's best if I do go ahead and get some sleep." I said thinking it over.

"Alright then, yeah it's dark now anyways, we should probably sleep." Zen agreed. I started already feeling myself get sleepy, the new bed was just so comfortable, I couldn't believe it, I let out a yawn.

Zen laid down in his as well, "So, let's hope for a good mission tomorrow okay?"

"Yeah… here's hoping." I said, but before sleeping, I forgot I hadn't asked him this.

"Hey, Zen?" I started.

"Yeah?" he said lifting his head a little.

"Why did you join the guild?" I asked.

He didn't respond.

"Zen?" I asked again.

"Sorry, do you mind if I tell you later? I promise I'll tell you, but just not now, is that okay?" He said turning to me with a small smile.

"Uh… sure, but why?" I asked.

"It's uh, kind of a long story. So, maybe later, okay?" He said.

"Oh… well," I thought for a moment, I might have been being rude, he possible could not feel comfortable talking about it, with that outlaw and all. Yeah, I think I should stop.

"Alright, no worries, later it is. Whenever you feel is best."

"Okay, cool! Thanks!" He said. cheerful as ever.

"You don't gotta thank me, it's fine. Anyways, have a good night okay?" I said.

"Thanks, have a good night too," he said as he lay back down. I felt myself getting sleepier now that I laid my head back down, I started to have my eyes close, but before I could sleep I heard Zen say one last thing.

"Can't wait for tomorrow," he said quietly. I paused for a minute, and I think I felt the same.

"Yeah, same here."

I closed my eyes all the way, and not too long after, I was called into sleep.

(Author's Note: Thanks once again to my beta readers Chlooepm, and Fran for helping edit and look over the chapter. Extra thanks to the supporters and other helpers i've had for this story, Oddball, BlueHairCruse, Dipper, Transcendent, Moonminun, HattedClown, Chissairon, Cozy, Luanastar, and Louis, You're all amazing, thank you so much.)