Hello guys... sorry for taking a year to update this. Life's been rough. I'll try to update this as quick as possible because now I have a great friend of mine helping me with some details.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy it

It was already late when Elliot caught himself staring out the window. The starry sky was just like home, except that now he can see some buildings too.

He was daydreaming about the guild. How was it like? Who was the guildmaster? Would he become a good explorer? Would he go for solo missions or team up with some explorers? And about the Kings? Could he become one?

"…!"

Become a King… he never thought about that until now. Is there a specific path you have to follow to earn that title? Maybe he should ask Bryan about it…

Just when he thought about him, he heard his voice.

"Elliot! Come down here a minute!"

"Okay!" Elliot said while turning his head in the voice's direction. Then, he slowly went downstairs. He was in a guests room that Czar generously offered him for the night. It wasn't big, but had a nice view through the window.

When the Riolu arrived where the other two pokemon were, both of them were sitting on chairs talking about explorations.

"Oh my… Bryan, how long have you been exploring dungeons?

"A few years… but like I said, I've explored a lot. Even my partner couldn't stand my obsession with exploring new places. There was this time he refused to go on any explorations for a month because he was tired of risking himself… but what is exploration without a few risks?"

"Oh, I understand that. Exploring was my dream during my youth… but my parents insisted that I joined the Rook City Police… something about "pride of the family". We help explorers as much as we can, providing info about their targets, bandits, terrain… things like that, but I never had the chance to enter in dungeons.

"But some police officers do enter in dungeons. I went on a lot of explorations with them."

"I'm certain of that, Bryan sir… the problem is this city. You two… do you mind keeping a secret?" Czar said while looking to both of them almost ashamed. Both of them nodded. "This city is full of corruption. The best police officers only offer their help if you pay them… if you can't afford it, you're on your own to resolve your problem.

"But doesn't that give chance for the other police officers?"

"Yeah… but they still charge you. A lot less, but they still charge…" He clenched his claws. "My pride as a police officer from Rook City that I inherited from my father doesn't let me turn a blind eye for this problem… but I have no idea where to begin…"

"Hm…" Elliot who was in silence all that time began to speak. "Why don't you start by accepting the missions? You don't have to charge them for your help."

"That was my first thought and I really tried once… but my superiors didn't like the idea that I could steal their fame and profit. They never let me accept another mission."

Bryan had his eyes closed while thinking about it.

"That's not fair! They're stopping you from doing your job! It's wrong!" Elliot almost screamed. "If only I could get some missions I would totally ask for your help…"

"That's it!" Bryan said while opening his eyes. "Czar, I want you to show me the post list tomorrow. We'll take all the missions."

"Whaaaat?!" Both Czar and Elliot said surprised.

"I want to see them try to compete against this…" He said while putting his exploration badge on the table. Czar's eyes shone but he suddenly shook his head.

"Sir… I'm really thankful for your offer, but I can't ask this of you. There are too many… more than fifty… well, with the teleportation center out of commission, I think we have about twenty… but still…!"

Bryan put a wing on his beak, asking for silence.

"Did you forget with who you are talking to? My life is inside dungeons… and I'm not alone. The most dangerous ones you leave with me. The easy ones you can leave to Elliot."

"Sir, I don't have an exploration badge… I can't accept missions."

"We're a team right now, Elliot. You can use my badge to accept missions as long as I give consent."

Elliot was really euphoric with all that, but he felt his body too heavy to celebrate.

"You two must be exhausted from today. I'll prepare your beds. Give me one moment…." Czar said and stood up from his chair and went in the direction of the bedrooms.

"Elliot… if this city has this dirty problem, I need to help. It's my duty as a King… I believe we will need to delay our trip to Iris City.

"I totally agree with you… and I was meaning to ask you something. About the Kings."

"Oh, ask away."

"How can one become a King? I mean… is it like a mission, a reward…?"

Bryan stopped for a moment while trying to think of an answer, but he was taking too long.

"Well…?"

"Wait a moment, please! No one ever asked me that!" He put both wings on his head. "I can't remember what she told me!

"Let me change the question: How did you become a king?"

Bryan froze. That question made a surge of memories long forgotten come to his mind.

It was a calm night but with a heavy atmosphere. Bryan was doing his best to keep his mentor alive. He was a Golduck who he'd admired a lot.

"Bryan… come closer... I want to tell you something…"

"Sir, you're in no condition to talk. Please, rest."

"I don't have much time… I must pass this on or else the world will be in danger…"

'The world?' Bryan thought. Was he delirious? His mentor was the calmest person he knew. What did he want to do that could be this urgent?

"Do you know the Kings and Queens of Pokemon?"

"Of course I know. They protect everyone…"

The Golduck simply smiled as his body lost the blue color and turned white. The Empoleon shivered with that transformation.

"As you can see… I'm one of them… I'm the King of Seas… but I can no longer be a king… I'm passing this title to you."

The Empoleon snapped from his thoughts with that last phrase. "Wait… me? A King? I can't!

"Yes, you can… you are young… you just evolved. You'll be a powerful king in the future… I trust you to inherit my legacy. This past year I searched for someone to be my successor. You are perfect for the job…" He coughed for a while, so Bryan used a scarf to clean him. There was blood.

The Golduck extended his arm and touched his chest. Bryan felt something being pushed against him but that feeling suddenly disappeared.

"This was the proof I'm a king… it belongs to you now..."

"Please sir… don't talk too much. You must rest your body or your condition will become worse…"

"Rest for what, Bryan? To die? I'm too old… this is my final wish…" He took a deep breath and held his wing.

"I'm going to teach you something only I know… it's called 'The Oath of the Seas'. Repeat with me:

"From this day on, I'll devote my whole heart and soul

To prove that I am worthy to have this role

I'll rise from the ground as many times as it takes

Because the Aura will guide me, even if my body breaks

I'll be hard and sturdy just like a tower

And all my enemies will feel my power

My future is bound to be like the waters of a river

Anywhere it passes, life will deliver

No matter the pain, no matter the costs

I'll protect the weak, even if my life exhausts

I'll sink corruption away with a huge flood

Even if that is made with my own blood.

Love above hate. Truth above lies

Upon this oath, a new king shall arise"

Bryan repeated every single word even though he didn't want to. He didn't want to take his place as a king. Golduck was his hero, his mentor… everything he knew was thanks to him.

After finishing the oath, Bryan's body glowed. His body never did that before and in the blink of an eye, he was black and white. He saw himself veiled in what he later discovered was Aura.

"Arceus accepted you… You're now the King of Seas." He took a deep breath. "Gardevoir… please…"

The Empoleon felt his body being covered with a psychic power that he didn't know from where it came. He couldn't move.

"Goodbye Bryan… give my regards and best wishes to the other kings…"

"Wait, si-!" His surroundings shifted in a instant. From an old house to a large white room with fifteen other pokemon staring at him. He felt a shiver when a powerful female voice echoed in the hall. That voiced didn't sounded like a Gardevoir. One was definitely there, but another Pokemon spoke. This one was much more well built and had a demanding aura around her as she spoke.

"Welcome to King's Hall, Empoleon. You are our new King of Seas."

He had the feeling that something otherworldly was undergoing and he was now a part of it.

"Bryan? Hello?" Elliot called his name and Bryan snapped from his memory.

"Oh… sorry, Elliot. Let's see… I got my powers from another king."

"So, to become a king, another king has to give me power?"

"That's one way… but let's change the subject for a while. Czar is coming back."

He managed to avoid talking about becoming a king. There was a lot of things to do before becoming one, but he couldn't remember any of them at the moment. 'Maybe it's better this way… I don't want him thinking about it when there is so much he has to learn'.

"I prepared your beds. Since Elliot seemed to like the window, I put him next to one."

"Thank you!" Elliot gave him a smile while going to bed.

"Oh, I can't wait to have some rest. Can you show me the way?"

"Sure. Just follow me." The Scizor pointed out with his claws to a room next to where they were.

"Good night, Czar. Good night, Bryan. I'm going to bed too." Elliot said while going back to the room he was earlier. There, was a simple bed with a small pillow. It was perfect for his size.

As he closed his eyes, his mind went far away, back to Moon Coast. He missed his family from there. What Cobalt was doing? How Zeph and Liza were? Would they believe in what he did today with those bandits?

While thinking about those things, he fell asleep.

The Riolu was tense. He was about to accept his first mission. He was looking to the bulletin board, trying to find an easy one… but there was one problem.

He didn't know how to read.

Zeph and Lisa always told them stories, but they never had books to teach him. He could understand a map, but not words.

"Is there a problem, Elliot? Choose one already." Bryan said while looking to him. He gulped and chose a random one, praying for it to be an easy mission. He pointed to a small paper. Bryan got closer.

"Hmmm… You sure? Although the paper is small, that's a hard mission."

Elliot froze and Bryan laughed.

"HAHAHA, you had to see your face! Come on, Elliot. Even I know that you can find a missing toy."

The Riolu returned to normal. Bryan didn't notice he picked it at random, but Czar did.

"Elliot… Do you know how to read?"

He froze again. Bryan stopped laughing.

"Yup. You don't know how to read. It's not to be ashamed about. Here, I'll help you." Czar looked through the missions and searched for some easy ones for him. At that time, a quadruped canine appeared. He had a Police Badge attached to his bag, just as Czar did, but wasn't near as polite.

"Hey, Czar! What in Arceus' name do you think you are doing? I told you many times you are forbidden to accept missions! Go back to the south gate!" It was a Houndoom who seemed to be his superior.

"Sir, I'm not taking missions for…" He was interrupted

"I don't care for what you think! You are under my command. I order, you obey. Now go!"

Czar clenched his fists, gave a small look to Elliot and Bryan and left that place.

"Sorry you had to see that, dear explorers. That officer is still in training and doesn't know his limits. I see you have interest in the missions, right? I'm sure I can find a perfect police officer that can help you with all your needs… for a small fee of course."

Bryan touched Elliot's tail while moving. That was the signal they had planned. Elliot made the best 'emotionless' face he could.

"Oh… I'm sorry. We got robbed by those bandits from yesterday. No money at all. I'm trying to make some here."

That clearly upset the officer.

"Sorry, explorers. This office doesn't hand missions to new explorers. They're too difficult for newbies. We can only let you try them if we can guarantee your security, thus the fee we charge.

"And how much is that fee?"

"For only 500 Poké, you can have our best officers at your service… myself included."

Bryan and Elliot thought at the same time. 'What a scam!'

"Well… like I said, I don't have that much. But still, I would like an officer to accompany me.

"We have some other officers too. They're not our elite ones, but I can find someone to help you for just 100 Poké."

Bryan showed his wallet. It was as empty. He had planned this since this morning and stored all his money in the bank.

"You can't be serious… you want an officer for free?"

"Why not? You get paid for a job well done. Why ask for a fee?"

"We have our policy. If you won't pay, I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Really? That guy you just sent to the south gate… Does he have a fee?"

"He can't go on missions. As I said, he is in training."

"Well, that's just perfect! What's better for training than a real mission?"

The officer was being cornered.

"I… I'll…"

"I'll do it for free!" Czar suddenly appeared out of nowhere with a huge smile on his face. The Houndoom looked to him with an angry face.

"You! What part of the 'I order, you obey' did you not understand?"

"The part where you are so fixed on earning your 'fees' you didn't even look to his exploration badge!"

"And why would I look to...to his… exploration… b-badge…" He saw it. The black badge. "Is that… M-Master Rank?!" His scream echoed in the police HQ and everybody looked to them.

"You didn't notice before?" Czar said, putting on an innocent expression.

The houndoom was at a loss of words.

"If an explorer like him asks for my help, I'll gladly help." The Scizor completed while he got on the Empoleon's side.

"B-But you can't…"

"Don't worry. He will be fine. As for the missions…" He began to take one, two, three… almost all of the missions from the bulletin board.

"That's too many! As a general rule, you can only accept eight at a time!"

"Don't worry about it. These aren't just for me."

The officer didn't understand it until he looked down to the Riolu. Elliot showed his black badge too. Czar made all the arrangements for him to have the same badge as Bryan, much for the Houndoom's dismay.

"What do you say, buddy? Eight for me and eight for you?"

"Sure…"

The officers around there couldn't believe in what was happening. Sixteen out of the twenty missions were taken by two Master Rank Explorers and wouldn't pay any fee.

"This is outrageous! I forbid you from accepting these missions!" The Houndoom snapped at all three of them. "These badges could be fake! No Master Rank Explorers ever came to this city."

Czar predicted that and asked Bryan for his badge. After that, he got really close to his boss.

"Then check it yourself, 'boss'." He said with a smile.

The Houndoom examined it for about a minute. It was legit. He had no power over that Empoleon or that Riolu. Master Rank Explorers had access to anything they wanted.

"Let's go, buddy. This Scizor will help us."

Elliot wanted to laugh hard, but managed to control himself. After taking all those missions, they returned to Czar's home. There, Elliot burst out laughing together with the others.

"I can't believe we just did that! It was so good to see that officer in a loss for words!" Elliot couldn't control himself. To keep that emotionless face was the hardest part of the entire plan.

"Yeah… I haven't laughed like this since when I got drunk with some other friends… but anyway, now that we've accepted them, we have to finish everything. Are you all up for the task?" Bryan said while putting every mission on the table. Czar and Elliot quickly got on his sides. "Let's see… There are a lot of missions that don't require you to go to mystery dungeons at all. These ones for example… you can do them here in Rook City. Most of them are lost items, like the lost toy you got earlier… which reminds me, you really don't know how to read, Elliot?"

"No… never had the chance to learn." He said a little ashamed while receiving a pat on his head.

"Don't worry too much about it. We'll teach you once everything is done." The Empoleon said with a huge smile on his beak. "Czar, do we have a time limit to complete these missions?"

"Yes. The ones here in the city you have a 2-day limit. The ones which require you to enter mystery dungeons can be done in a 7-day limit. If the missions are not done in this time, they'll print the mission again and put them on the bulletin board for others to get them."

"I see...well, some of these I can do with no problem, but some others it's good to have a team. For today we can focus on Elliot's part. Let's see…"

At night…

Bryan was looking once more to his bag, seeing if he had everything he needed. It's been a long time since he did a mission like this, and preparation was crucial. Just when he put the last of his items inside the bag again, Elliot entered the house, covered in leaves and extremely dirty.

"What happened, 'Junior Explorer'? Had a rough day?"

Elliot spit out more leaves.

"I had to search all the trees at the park for a small ball and a ribbon. And to top it off, I had to dig some holes there to find the lost toy one Herdier buried by accident and couldn't remember where it was, and I had to go through lots, and I mean LOTS, of pebbles near the river to find one that fitted the description on the mission… I'm exhausted." Elliot sat on a chair and slammed his face against the table.

"Yup… a perfect day for an explorer haha" Bryan laughed. "Don't worry, little Elliot. In no time you'll be entering mystery dungeons to do some real missions. Consider these you did as warm-ups."

Elliot grunted.

"Well… It's my time now. I'll be back tomorrow. Since the teleportation system is not working, I'll have to go on foot to the mystery dungeons. Behave yourself while Czar is not here… though he should be here any minute."

Just as he finished saying that, the Scizor appeared in the doorway.

"I'm back…" he seemed really tired, just like Elliot.

"Another one with a rough day?"

"Don't even mention rough day… my superiors are not happy with what happened. The only thing they care about is their damn money… Anyway, since you got the missions, I'm forbidden from entering in the Police HQ until you guys finish everything… not that I go there much anyway. At least I'll miss the afternoon tea."

"You seem kinda happy to miss it. Any particular reason?" Elliot asked.

"Well… I was the one scheduled to prepare it this week. I won't have to make the tea for them now." he smiled.

Elliot yawned. He was almost sleeping on the table.

"Go take a bath and rest, Elliot. Tomorrow you still have to do four more missions. I'm off to my first two now. See ya." Bryan said and left the house.

"You heard him. You know where the bathroom is. I'll prepare something for us to eat."

"Okay…" Elliot stood up, still tired, and went to clean his body. While taking his bath, he began to have thoughts about his aura.

"I'm a pokemon that can feel aura... that can use aura... Zeph told me that one day I'll be able to control it... To feel other pokemon's auras. I should train for it… but how?"

As the water fell on his head, he sat on the floor and concentrated. He could feel it, but not totally. He closed his eyes. It was like seeing a world with only black colors and white lines. His head began to ache as he was not used to using it and was not in his best condition.

"It's possible… I'll train it. I'll get stronger!"

"I'm pretty sure of that!" a voice appeared in his mind and Elliot jumped and yelled terrified.

At the same instant, he heard Czar's voice.

"Elliot? Are you okay?"

"Yeah! I just slipped!" he replied and began to think again.

"That was not Czar's voice… so whose voice was that?"

"Are you talking about me? I'm just an Aura user like you"

"Aura user… are you a Riolu like me? Or a Lucario?"

"Why don't you try to find me? That could be your training. Strengthen your aura and come to me."

"But why are you doing this? Like… we never met. You don't even know who I am."

"Oh, that's true. I don't know who you are, but I know you are a good pokemon. I saw you at the park today. You helped a lot of pokemon that the Police Officers and others explorers refused to help because the missions didn't have a good reward… and no, I wasn't the Skarmory near the river."

"But how did you know I was…"

"Aura… with time you'll learn that Aura can do more than you think it can. I have to go now. I'm waiting for you to find me. Until then." and with that, the voice went away

Elliot was surprised with all that. There was another Aura user in Rook City and was near him.