Ultima-owner: Maybe, guess you'll have to wait and find out ;3
"Thank you both so much!"
"Gnngh!"
"Hnngh!"
If you'd asked me yesterday what I thought the physical strength of an Audino was, I'd probably have said that it wasn't a lot.
"C-Can't... Breathe!"
But this kind old pokemon was a hugger, and our small bodies were being crushed against her strangely plush and spongy form.
"O-Oh dear, I'm so sorry," She laughed nervously, letting us go. "I'm just so happy, you have no idea how bad the winters can be on that mountain." She shook her head at the thought. "I do hope getting it back wasn't much trouble."
"Nah, no big deal." I waved her off, arms okay enough to move. "Just a little scrap, nothing major."
"Here." She held out her hands, a faint pink light emanating from them while her ears lifted up. I guess she was using Heal Pulse? Because as the light washed over me, any remaining soreness and fatigue I had was washed away.
"Wow, thanks!" I felt good as new, I sure hope all medical treatment in this world was that easy!
"Of course," She nodded her head, "My Heal Pulse lets me handle most minor injuries, of course you'd need proper treatment for something like broken bones or sickness."
Dammit.
"Thanks a lot," Char added in, "But we should hurry to Iron Town, at this rate it's gonna be dark by the time we get there."
"Oh my, you're right." Audino blinked, quickly sliding the satchel over her shoulder. "Lets hurry along now! My mate will be worried I haven't arrived on time!"
Mate? "Mate?" I repeated, quirking an eyebrow. I guess she did mention she had a family in town.
"Yes, my mate Monty," She explained with a smile, "He fixes things around town, helped keep Iron Town on its feet once the mine was closed down."
"Sounds like a good guy." Char nodded, as we began walking. "Can't wait to meet him."
"I'm sure he'll love to have you both over for dinner!"
. . .
By the time we finished our climb up the mountain path, it was well past sundown. Luckily Char's tail was more than enough to help light our way. And before long we came upon a large wooden gate in the narrow pass, sheer rock to our left and right. We had to be pretty deep in the stone work at this point, but beyond the wall I could hear running water and some idly chatter.
"Who goes there!?" A voice called from above.
"Let me handle this," Audi whispered, stepping forward. "Its Audi! I've returned with medical supplies from Shaymin Village!"
A figure jumped down from above, a blue pokemon clad in a black and white karate gi. "Hmm? And who are these two?" A Sawk, no doubt about it.
"I was accosted by thieves on the road," Audi explained, "These two brave young ones retrieved the medicine for me, if not for them we wouldn't have any for the upcoming winter."
The Sawk scratched his chin, eyeing both of us over before he nodded. "Well, if they can fight I'm sure we can put them to use... Open the gate!" He shouted, banging on the door.
A loud creaking sounded along with a deep groan. The wood was pulled apart slow and steady, the gates swinging open. On the other side, I could see a Throh tugging the thick ropes, putting his immense strength to use. I guess these two were the gate guards?
"Welcome back," The Sawk said to Audi, before looking to us. "And welcome to Iron Town."
"Thank you." Audi nodded, "Come along, lets get you out of the cold." She added, waving for us to follow as she made her way inside.
"Right..." Char and I followed right behind her, under the watchful eyes of both Sawk and Throh. I could see a few torches lit inside the town, a waterfall running down the mountain created a river flowing through the village. Though there were no lights coming from the other side as far as I could see. Only a little over a dozen buildings were actually lit, and I spotted a few pokemon hanging around that gave us looks as we passed by. A Snover and Phantump didn't shy away from staring us down as we walked past, neither did the Druddigon standing guard outside the largest building at the center of the village. A town hall perhaps?
But nobody said anything, and soon enough we came to a stop outside a large home. Like the others, it appeared to be made out of stone. An almost dome-like structure with a few side rooms connected and windows carved out of the frame. "Right in here." Audi smiled, pushing open the door, "Monty? I'm home!"
Char and I stepped in behind her, looking around. Lights came from a room to our left, as well as the main room ahead of us. "So-"
My words hitched as a flaming monkey head poked out around the door frame ahead of us. Goggles hiding his eyes, before one hand followed and tugged them out of the way. "Audi? Oh you're finally back!" The Infernape came around the corner like a bat outta hell, scooping up Audino and spinning around excitedly as she laughed. "I was so worried!"
"I know, I'm sorry but I was held up on the road." She explained as he slowed down. Her squishy body was absolutely mashed against his own form. The display was kinda cute, but also a little...
"Should we wait outside?" I asked, shifting nervously and rubbing the back of my head.
"Hmm?" Monty the Infernape blinked as he looked down at us. "Who are these two?"
"They helped me get back my medicine when it was stolen," She explained quickly as he put her down. "I offered to let them stay here for the time being, I hope that's okay..."
"Of course!" Monty laughed, flashing us a big grin. "Any friend of Audi's is a friend of mine! You can take the spare room down the hall." He pointed to the right, "I'm sure Del will appreciate having some friends her own age."
"Thanks," Char bowed his head respectfully, "We really appreciate it, we'll do anything we can to help out around here."
Fair, I guess. "Yeah, what he said." Although, I think we're pretty square as far as owing each other anything...
Audi nodded to us both, "Go ahead and get settled in, I'm gonna put away this medicine."
"And I'll get dinner started!" Monty added, quickly rushing back down the hall he'd come from.
As both of them left us alone, Char looked back at me with a smile, "Come on! Lets check out our room!" Eagerly making his way down the right hall.
I followed behind him, still kinda taking in the concept of a pokemon village. Certainly wasn't anything I'd expected, but I had a feeling I would be tempering my expectations often in this world. We passed through the door into a dusty, unused space. A single bed rested against the far wall along with a small table in the center of the room. Char walked over to a small fire place and stuck his tail in, igniting the wood within and giving us some light.
"We really did it," He was still beaming. "We got into Iron Town! This is so exciting!"
I, meanwhile, hopped up onto the bed. Patting it down to brush away the dust, "Yeah, but what do we do now?"
"Well, probably find jobs." Char shrugged casually, "As much as I appreciate the hospitality, I don't want to live in a guest room forever... So lets try and get our own house in town!"
I suppose I did see plenty of empty ones on the way in. "I guess that works..." Maybe I was just looking for some kind of objective, as if this were still a video game. "We should explore the town tomorrow, I wanna get a read on this place."
"Sounds like a good idea." Char nodded, sitting beside the fire. "You can take the bed if you want, I'm fine down here by the heat."
"Nice."
. . .
We only got to relax a short while however, before we were called out to the center room for dinner. And we entered to see a table set with five bowls, each filled with colorful berries. I found my way to a seat quickly, always had been curious what the pokemon world berries tasted like. "It looks great." I offered to our gracious host.
"Thanks!" Monty replied instantly, "I spent a whole 5 minutes digging them out of our berry storage!" Before laughing loudly.
He was certainly a lively one. Taking a seat at the head of the table while Audi sat beside him. "And we all appreciate it, Monty... Where's Del?"
"Turned in early tonight," Monty stated, taking a big bite of a Persim Berry, "Mmm, said she was tired."
No shame in talking through a mouthful, were all pokemon like that? "Who is Del?" Char asked.
"Our daughter," Audi explained with a smile. "Adopted, she didn't have any family left after what happened in the mine so we took her in."
This abandoned mine keeps getting brought up, almost sounds like a plot point. "Yeah so... What did happen in the mine?" I asked, taking a bite out of an oran ber- Oh my god this is the best fruit I've ever tasted!
"Well, Iron Town was once a small village," Monty explained casually. Kind enough to swallow before speaking this time at least. "Before the falls opened up, and the water cleared the way to a large cavern... Inside, the townsfolk found various metal veins and gem stones." He explained, sipping from his water. "Word got out, and a mining company from Valor came and offered everyone enormous amounts of money for rights to dig it out."
"And then came the Explorers from Wigglytuff's Guild in Treasure Town," Audi chimed in upon finishing her food. "With all the money being thrown around from both sides, Iron Town had gold enough to rival Valor itself!"
"And then... It all came to an end," Monty released a heavy sigh. "The mine ran dry, the vast supplies of gemstones and metals was reduced to little more than scraps... Not worth making such a long trip over."
"Some were still foolish enough to go digging in the stripped tunnels." Audi shook her head. "As Iron Town's reserves of money dwindled thanks our high demand for supplies, with more pokemon leaving every year... Some became desperate."
I could guess where this was going, I knew enough about structural integrity. "So there was a collapse?"
"That's right," Monty nodded, "Del's father was one of the few who did not make it out, and her mother had passed away from sickness during a particularly bad winter a few years prior." Finishing up the last of his own meal. "I was a friend of her fathers, and since she didn't have anyone left we took her in..."
Dark. "Geez... That's rough." Was about all I could offer. I certainly wasn't expecting this kinda thing in the pokemon world.
Char lowered his head as well, frowning. "That's awful... It must have been hard on her."
"Nah, its totally cool." I nearly jumped at the sound of her voice. Having not even heard the Braixen enter. She had a relatively bored look on her face, "Dad died saving a bunch of idiots that liked digging holes, so its all good right?" She scoffed, grabbing her bowl of berries and walking back the way she came.
Monty reached out a hand for her, "Del..."
"Thanks for the food." Not bothering to stop as she went back to her room.
Leaving the rest of us in silence. And boy was it uncomfortable. I didn't really feel like finishing my food anymore, and Audi seemed to take notice. "Don't mind her... She's just always been a little sore about the subject as you can probably understand."
"I don't blame her." Char scratched the back of his head. "Anyways... Thanks for dinner, I think we're gonna hit the sack now."
"Of course." Monty nodded, "And again, thank you for helping Audi."
Well that was both informative and uncomfortable. Here's hoping tomorrow is a little more... Progressive. All things considered though, it only took us a day to get into Iron Town so in a month I could probably rule the world. But on that note, what exactly was my goal here?
Arceus said this was my chance at a second life, so was I just supposed to live as a pokemon now? Get a job and pay for a home or something? Ugh, this would be so much easier if I were in one of the OTHER pokemon games. I could just be a trainer and get super famous and like, join the Elite Four or become a gym leader.
Steel type, definitely steel type.
I guess maybe I'll just go along with Char for now. He seems to have a pretty good idea of what's going on and what we should do, so I'll just be the sidekick for now...
. . .
After a small breakfast, Char and I were on our way out the door to explore Iron Town and find ourselves some work. Which, considering the poor state of everything around here, hopefully wouldn't be that hard.
The streets of the town weren't exactly bustling, but I saw more faces than last night. And it was much easier to make out the buildings. One was headed by a large Kangaskhan, the female pokemon sitting behind the counter of her storage unit it looked like. I saw a few pokemon passing by and handing her bags of goods that she put into carefully organized boxes in the back.
A number of Lombre were hanging out around the river, fishing out specks of gold that seemed to run down the mountain. A large, and rather grumpy looking Ludicolo was heading the operation and didn't pay us much mind as we passed by.
We even passed by a small farm, kept in check by a number of Oddish and Nuzleaf. The small plant pokemon going around and sprinkling their spores over the growing berry bushes while the Nuzleaf were picking whatever was ripe. It seemed like a pretty efficient system all things considered. But even so I could see that Iron Town wasn't doing so well.
The city was halved by the river, and everything on the opposite side was abandoned. Some signs pointed to the abandoned mine, but there was no point in going there.
"Whoa," I blinked in surprise at the site of our final stop. Staring up at a building shaped like a Fist on the outside. "What do you think they do here?"
Char looked at me confused, "Can't you read the sign?"
You mean all those scribbles and weird symbols? Wait, these pokemon had a written language!? "Uh... N-Never learned." I laughed it off nervously, sweating already. This was bad, very bad.
"Geez, you must have really grown up in the sticks." Char chuckled lightly, "Well it says, 'Jack and Lee's Dojo'." He was joking right? "Come on, lets go check it out!"
Sure, why not. Maybe I could like, safely level up and get some practice in at a dojo. Making our way inside, I was met with an incredibly barren interior. No weights or training equipment aside from a few dummies. But in the center of a chalk drawn ring, a Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan were duking it out, sparring with one another at a fast pace. Trading blows, punches and kicks, back and forth.
"A lot of fighting types around here." I noted out loud, causing the battle before us to come to a screeching halt. And I stiffened as both sets of eyes landed on me. "Uh... Hi?"
"Hmm..." The Hitmonchan approached, examining me with keen eyes. "Riolu, fighting type, rare..." He grunted.
"Not much right now," Hitmonlee added, both of them seemingly ignoring Char. "But has potential."
"Okay, first of all, rude." I scoffed, crossing my arms. I mean they were right, but still. "Second-"
"I am Lee," The Hitmonchan bowed his head. "And this is my sparring partner, Jack." Now I know someone is messing with me.
"So you two run this dojo?" Char surmised easily enough. "Do you train others here?"
"That is correct," Jack answered, crossing his arms over his face-chest. I was still trying to figure out how he was talking to us with no mouth. "For a nominal fee, we can turn even that squishy discolored body of yours into a fine fighting machine."
"You two are... Very rude." Or just blunt, but maybe that was the point with these fighting types...
Char pouted, placing his hands on his stomach. "Its not... That squishy..."
"Either way, we've got more town to explore." I waved them both off. "So we'll be going now."
"Wait!" Lee exclaimed suddenly, reaching out. "We could throw in a... Free lesson? See if you want to join the dojo!
"Appreciate the offer," Char replied, "But we don't have any money, and are looking for jobs."
"Jobs, w-well maybe we could work out a deal?" Jack offered, bringing his hands together.
Char and I both looked at one another. Quirking an eyebrow, I took the bait. "What did you have in mind?"
Jack and Lee shared a brief glance, before Jack nodded. "We are in desperate need of students, there are of some youthful fighting types hanging around in a mountain pass not far from here... Perhaps you could convince them to take a class?"
"And why can't you do this?" I questioned curiously.
"Because we are masters," Lee explained. "We have tried to convince them ourselves before, but they are young and impatient... Don't think the time and work they put in here is worth it."
"But," Jack added quickly, "If two young pokemon near their own age were to show up and... Show them how much progress you've made at the dojo in such a short time, they might be convinced."
"So you want us to lie?" Char surmised, crossing his arms.
"Look, it may not be honest but more working residents in Iron Town is good for everyone," Jack stated, "If we can convince them to stay, Mayor Sloke would be very happy."
Mayor Sloke, someone I should probably meet. "And what is in it for us?"
"Proving to the Mayor that you can get things done will no doubt get you more work!" Lee nodded excitedly, "And you could join the training classes for free!"
"Hmm..." I crossed my arms, looking to Char. "What do you think?"
He didn't look so sure either, "I suppose... Getting Iron Town back on its feet helps everyone right? So why not?"
To be completely honest, I wasn't a huge fan of Iron Town so far. It had so little to offer and asked for quite a bit. But even so, "Alright, I guess we'll do it." A free training class might be a good idea, I needed to get stronger.
"Excellent! Here, I'll give you the map we made!"
Job Number Two...
START!
