DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!!!
I am back. This took a while, but that was because of homework. Yay for summer vacation!
Two: False Alarm
Kangaskhan and Chansey tensely waited for the Egg to hatch. It glowed white, almost blinding, when suddenly, it stopped. The Egg hadn't changed; it was just an Egg, although Kangskan thought it was a little larger than it was before.
"Why didn't it hatch?" Kangaskhan asked, bringing the Egg up close to her face. Although the Egg was warmer than it was a few minutes ago, Kangaskhan's callused hands acted like gloves.
"I don't know," Chansey said, equally as puzzled as Kangashkhan. "I've never seen that happen before. The only time Eggs glow is when they hatch."
Kangaskhan put the Egg up to her ear. "I can still hear it's heartbeat."
"Thank Mew it's not dead," Chansey sighed in relief. She blinked, and looked up at Kangaskhan. "You don't think something's wrong with it, do you?"
Kangaskhan frowned. "Perhaps we should see if a Magmar can help us hatch this sooner, or get a Pokemon like Luxray to see if it is al-"
Kangaskhan was interrupted by the sound of shouting, coming from outside. Giving the Egg to Chansey, she hurried to the door to open it and look outside.
Just outside by the Kecleon Shop, a mass of Pokemon surrounded something that was blocked from Kangaskhan's view. Pushing past the other Pokemon, Kangaskhan made her way to the center of the group, to see a familiar figure on the ground. It was Tide!
Avoiding the puke on the ground, Kangaskhanpicked Tide up into her arms, as if he were as light as a feather- which he almost was, as he had been eating slightly less since returning from Temporal Tower.
Chansey, who had placed the Egg in her pouch, followed Kangaskhan as the Parent Pokemon carried Tide toward Wigglytuff's Guild.
---
Bidoof watched, dumbstruck, as Kangaskhan carried Tide off toward the guild. He didn't have to stand awkwardly for long - Sunflora came up to him soon after the retreating figures of Kangaskhan and Chansey were tiny dots.
"What was that about?" the Sun Pokemon asked worriedly.
"We were stocking up on app- uh, supplies when Tide... threw up." Bidoof remembered just in time that they weren't allowed to let Sunflora know about the guild's role in her graduation. "I am mighty worried about Tide..."
Sunflora nodded. "I'm not going to Mystifying Forest until I know Tide's all right. I'll go back to the guild." By now, the Pokemon who had surrounded Tide had disappeared from the site, thanks to the Kecleon brothers, who were cleaning up Tide's mess with grimaces on their faces. Sunflora picked up her pink Treasure Bag and made her way back to the guild.
For once making sure that he had all the apples in the bag (for Bidoof was rather forgetful) Bidoof took Tide's Treasure Bag and headed back to the guild.
---
"...I do hope he's okay..."
"...was it something he ate..."
"...since Olivia..."
Tide heard almost all the words being said around him. Half in the sleeping world, and half in the waking world, he was aware of them both. He knew that in the waking world, he was in his bed of hay, and was surrounded by at least four Pokemon. But in the sleeping world, all sorts of odd colors shifted and shaped themselves. Sometimes, he could see the shape of an all too familiar Charmander...
"Tide? Tide! Can you wake up?"
Tide struggled to awaken. On the edge of his hearing, the the waking world, he heard the sound of a Heal Bell. His eyes snapped open, and the sleeping world was snatched from his mind. Around him in his room was the Guildmaster Wigglytuff, Chatot, Chimecho, Kangaskhan, Chansey, and Bidoof, who had recently become Tide's roommate.
"W-what happened?" Tide asked groggily. Then he stiffened. "What about Sunflora's graduation? I didn't miss it, did I?"
"You've only been out for a few minutes," Chimecho explained. "Kangaskhan brought you all the way here from the Kecleon brothers' shop!"
"Sunflora hasn't left yet," Chatot added. "Although we are all ready to leave when she does."
Tide sat up. "Can I go?" he pleaded. He longed for something exciting. He didn't want to spend his whole day couped up in the guild!
Wigglytuff nodded. "You can go."
Tide smiled. "Thanks, Guildmaster!"
Wigglytuff shook his head. "But I'm not allowing you to fight. You can keep watch."
Chansey, who apparently had come with Kangaskhan, opened up Tide's eyes and looked at each of them. When she was done, she announced, "It was probably just something you ate that made you throw up."
Chatot nodded. "Well, if he's okay, why don't we get this show on the road?"
He and the Guildmaster led the way out of Tide and Bidoof's bedroom, Tide himself taking up the rear alongside Kangaskhan and Chansey.
As they made their way down the hall, Tide asked, "Why did you come here with Kangaskhan, Chansey? Don't you have Eggs to look after?"
"I was visiting Kangaskhan," Chansey replied. "I was showing her this." She pulled a stone-colored Egg out of her pouch and handed it to Tide. It was very warm. "It doesn't belong to anybody," Chansey explained. "I found it, and I'm going to care for it until it hatches. Maybe it'll join your exploration team?"
Although Tide couldn't quite tell if that last sentence Chansey said was rhetorical or not, he answered, "Maybe." He gave the Egg back to Chansey, who put it in her pouch again.
When they emerged from the hallway into the second basement floor, Tide was surprised to see the whole guild crew massing in the room. Croagunk, Corphish, Loudred...everyone.
"Is Tide, like, okay?" Sunflora asked.
Tide moved swerved between Bidoof and Chimecho. "I'm fine!" he said with a smile. "Sunflora, you should go to the Spring and get that treasure!"
Sunflora nodded, and excitedly climbed up the ladder, Chansey and Kangaskhan following close behind. A few moments later, Diglett, who had taken his sentry post, popped out of the ground.
"They're gone!" he reported.
Chatot clapped his wings together. "Good. I'll lock up, and Guildmaster, you can show them the secret passageway to Luminous Spring." With that, the bird launched himself into the air and up to the next floor.
Tide tipped his head to the side. "A secret passage? Where?"
Wigglytuff led the apprentices into his study, and waited until they were quiet. Tide wondered whether they were actually going to Luminous Spring. And that raised a thought in his mind.
"If Sunflora helped with Loudred's graduation, why doesn't she know that we'll fight her?" he asked.
Wigglytuff's ears pricked, but other than that he pretended not to hear Tide. Instead, he turned and pushed one of his treasure chests against the wall. Tide's eyes widened. Where the treasure chest had been, was a stone door! Wigglytuff then grasped the handle and pulled, easily opening the door.
"Let's go, friendly friends!" he beckoned cheerfully before leading the way down the tunnel. Loudred, after handing the Treasure Bag to Tide, followed first. The rest of the guild followed, Bidoof and Tide the last to enter the stone tunnel, but they were soon followed by Chatot.
The tunnel was made of stone. It was rough, and mostly straight, with lights tied to a string extending down the hallway. The walls were slightly wet, and it was large enough for a Magmortar to just barely walk through without bending its head.
Tide glanced back at Chatot as they made their way down the seemingly endless tunnel. "Why do we have to bring so many apples with us?"
"Because," Chatot said in a matter-of-fact tone, "this tunnel almost goes under Mystifying Forest, but the affect of running down the stomach works here. Also," he added, concern in his eyes, "are you sure you feel okay?"
Tide's temper rose a little. "Of course I'm okay! Why wouldn't I be? It was probably something I ate."
Chatot said nothing for the rest of the journey through the tunnel. But the apprentices, however, couldn't stop chattering to one another. The topics varied from Sunflora's graduation to the short and rather loud topic of Loudred's hygiene habits.
Tide's apples went like free Poke. As soon as one Pokemon took an apple, another Pokemon was in line to gobble up an apple.
About half an hour into the trek, Loudred asked, "Hey, GUILDMASTER! Are we there YET?"
"Almost," Wigglytuff replied cheerily. "Just about five minutes."
Now that they were nearing the end of their journey, the apprentices set out in a full-blown sprint. After a few minutes, Loudred, who was in front of Tide, suddenly stopped. Tide, unable to stop, careened into him, causing himself to fall on his back. Quickly, the little Penguin Pokemon jumped back to his feet.
"What's happening?" he asked. He stood on tiptoe, but he couldn't see around Loudred's ears.
"We're HERE!" Loudred answered, jumping into the air. Soon he followed the apprentices in front of him, and Tide saw that they were in a cavern, with a large circular hole at the top. The walls were bare, curved earth. A rickety rung ladder hung down from the left side of the circular roof-hole, where, for as far as Tide knew, lead into the blue sky.
Tide stared in wonder, until Chatot came up to him. "We're going to set up the pitfall," the bird announced. "You and Bidoof keep watch up above. When you see Sunflora, signal to Bidoof, who will come back down here to help us fight. Got it?"
Tide nodded, slightly frustrated that he couldn't help to fight. But I don't want to get sick again. Turning to Bidoof, who was still staring at the hole in the ceiling, he said, "C'mon, Bidoof! We're keeping watch!"
Bidoof jumped, then shook himself, as if to get rid of a bad dream. He followed Tide over to the rung ladder.
As soon as Tide started to climb, he began to have doubts. The wooden rungs creaked under his weight, and the ladder wobbled. It seemed forever until, after one last creaky rung, Tide reached up to feel grass. Pulling himself up, he turned to watch Bidoof's progress. The Plump Mouse actually climbed swiftly, for a four-legged Pokemon. Soon he was at the top, beside Tide.
"Where will ya keep watch?" Bidoof asked in his southern-like accent.
Tide looked around, to realise that they were in a clearing, surrounded by tall trees. Noticing that the tallest was a pine, with many branches for footholds, he pointed and said, "There."
To his relief, the pine did not creak or sway like the ladder. Instead, the tree was so sturdy Tide forgot all about the ladder. His only problem was the needles; they kept shoving into his face every time the wind pushed them.
When Tide finally reached the last sturdy branch, he sat down, and sighed in relief. But when he looked around, he clutched at the tree.
He was at least twenty feet off the ground. Groups of Pidgeys flew over him, and the clouds seemed far too close. He looked to the ground, happy to find that his stomach wasn't churning with apprehension. He spotted Bidoof, beside the hole. Tide's roommate looked barely the size of a Poke!
Tide shook his head. I've been higher than this on the Rainbow Stoneship, and that thing was moving!
Still a little dizzy from the altitude, Tide watched as his guild members set up the pitfall, which was basically a tarp with leaves, grass, and twigs on it over the hole to the tunnel. Yawning, he turned to look at the trees in Mystifying Forest. They were hazy, and even the nearest trees inside the Forest border were dull-colored. He blinked, and the trees were shaped differently. This didn't surprise Tide. He had learned about mystery dungeons when he was a hatchling, from his grandfather Seasalt Steel the Empoleon, Salty for short.
"On the outside, dungeons never look the same twice," Salty had said once. "Neither on the inside too. The difference is, whenever you're looking at the outside of the dungeon, the scenery changes whenever you blink. But on the inside, the dungeon only changes whenever you enter another section of the dungeon."
Tide saw a flash of yellow, and he looked down to see Sunflora emerge from the trees behind him. Turning to Bidoof, he waved his flipper. Bidoof nodded, then scurried under the pitfall tarp.
Tide watched as Sunflora made her way across the clearing, searching for the treasure of Luminous Spring. Tide frowned. Shouldn't he be the one graduating? He had saved the world, after all. Didn't he deserve to graduate more than Sunflora.
The answer came to him in a name. Olivia. Tide looked into the sky. He was only one Pokemon responsible for saving the world. The other was Olivia. Always Olivia. Tide knew that he was worthless without her.
Tide heard Sunflora yelp. He knew she had fallen into the pitfall, but he didn't care. He was already lost in memories.
Okay, this took a while to write. I thought this would be like, 3,000 words, but it's only about 2,170. Oh well, I'll try for a longer chapter next time.
*Sigh* This chapter didn't feel like Tide at all. I'm going to work on that. Anyways, in some chapters, there may be many different viewpoints, but in the way future ones, it will probably revolve around one character.
