(Hey guys, I want to state that I am not the best judge of character so I'm sorry if any characters drift from their normal personality. That being said, enjoy!)

"Speech"

'Thought'

It has been awhile since Mob first met Nuzleaf and now, the two of them were camping in an open area far from the forest. They had passed that dungeon long ago and were almost near the village, according to Nuzleaf. He decided it would be better if they got proper rest before entering the village so here they were, resting beneath the starry sky. Overtime, Mob had watched Nuzleaf battle all the Pokémon they encountered and he couldn't help but feel guilty when they fell. Nuzleaf was wary about Mob's resistance towards battling but figured it was fine and just didn't question him about it. Now, after they rest, they arrive at Nuzleaf's village and Mob will have to interact with more Pokémon. He felt a little nervous about meeting the villagers but instead just decided to forget about it and sleep.

The next morning...

"Psst, wake up sleepyhead."

Mob awoke to Nuzleaf slightly prodding him while the sun was shining on his body. His hair was disheveled but he patted it down to its normal flatness shortly after noticing. Nuzleaf was waiting for Mob to get ready and once he finished waking up, they set off towards the village.

"Kiddo, you're gonna love this place. It's peaceful, cozy and it has that fresh feel to it, you know?" Nuzleaf talked while he walked.

"She's called Serene Village, fitting name if I do say so myself."

"Ok" Mob replied simply.

When they were at the foot of a hill and ascended it, it had been about a half hour or so since they left their campsite. As they reached the top, a gentle breeze flowed past the two of them calmly as a beautiful view of hills, a lake and a settlement presented itself before them, the blue expanse called the sky looming above it all with white clouds dotting it's surface. Mob soaked it in for a bit before Nuzleaf started speaking.

"I reckon we're finally here. You see that there lake? That there village by the shore of it is Serene Village! I reckon we should pick up the pace, don't you agree?" he stated before facing Mob, waiting for an answer.

Mob started to nervously sweat when Nuzleaf mentioned picking up the pace as he still didn't improve stamina a lot, even with continuous training with the Body Improvement Club. Nuzleaf noticed this and said: "Or if you'd like, we can take a nice walk to the village too if you want."

Mob nodded and was silently relieved as he didn't want to enter the village looking like he ran 3 marathons in a row with a backpack full of weights.

When the pair reached the village, Nuzleaf showed Mob around his house and where he'd sleep and such. After the explanation, he mentioned he wanted Mob to attend school as the villagers might act suspicious if they saw him around without an education. Mob agreed and was left at the house while Nuzleaf was signing him into school, told specifically to stay inside. Mob just sat on the floor, staring at a window and thought about his bizarre situation when suddenly, a shadowy figure stared back at him. It disappeared and crunching noises were made outside of the house.

'What was that? Should I check?' Mob asked himself.

He decided he would look outside the door from inside so he got up and went to the entrance. He looked around while taking a few more steps, half his body outside and the other in.

"Hello? Come out please. Who are you?" he asked, still searching the area as he stepped outside a little bit more until he was on the front steps.

Beside the house was a Pokémon that was staring at Mob before it ran up beside him with an expression of glee. It yelled out: "I knew it!" causing Mob to turn in it's direction.

The Pokémon was bipedal and it had mainly blue fur, black fur covering it's ears, midsection and feet, it's eyes also outlined with the dark color. It looked to be a canine of some sort and it had a tail hiding behind it. It suddenly yelled again.

"I knew I saw you walk in with Mr. Nuzleaf just now! Where are you from? What's your name?" it questioned quickly, all in a feminine voice.

Before Mob could say anything, she cut him off.

"I'm Riolu! I live in that house right over there with my pops!" she exclaimed while pointing at the house beside Nuzleaf's.

"So where are you from? You're not actually Mr. Nuzleaf's kid, right? Like that could ever happen, hahaha! Wait! This is your first time here, isn't it? Well, come on, I'll show you around!"

Mob was powerless when the talkative Riolu went behind him and pushed him outside of the house and towards a place with a building and a few shop stands.

"What was your name again? Or did I ask you already? I didn't ask, didn't I?" she pondered before they reached the area, which was filled with many different Pokémon. Mob gulped a little before saying his name.

"So you're Shigeo, huh? I never really gave you a chance to answer properly, huh? Do you think I'm annoying? Well quit it! Give me a break, you big Miltank! You see what I did there? The joke about the Miltank?"

Mob was starting to sweat a little at her hyper personality. Then she started again...

"Enough of that, welcome to Serene Village! And her heart is this plaza!"

The Riolu was about to go on an explanation spree about the basic facilities when a nearby Pokémon cut her off.

"There you are Riolu, you're the one who trampled through my lotus pond, didn't you!?"

"Eep! Lombre! It's not like that, I was just having a little adventure..."

"Riolu! Stop right zere! You are ze vun who vent into my cave, right? And vat's more, you took ze treasure I had hidden inside, didn't you!"

"Ah! Hippopotas! I was just exploring a dungeon and... Uh... Well, you know how it is? Gotta have a reward after clearing a dungeon, right?"

"Stop right there, Riolu!"

"P-pops!"

"Oh, old man Carracosta!" the Lombre greeted.

"So this is where you've been loitering, child! Off playing hooky instead of finishing your chores at home!"

"No, no pops, I've got a real reason this time..."

"And I know you've been snacking on my Oran Berry field again!"

"Have not!" "Yes you have!" "Have not!" "I want the truth, child!" "Yeah, I did. They were delicious!"

Mob backed up once he realized what this Pokémon was getting into and after the back-and-forth between her and Carracosta, many of the villagers shouted and chased after her, the whole group leaving the plaza. Mob took a much needed moment before he wondered what he should do now.

'Maybe I'll go back to Nuzleaf's house.' he thought before he heard a nearby conversation and stopped.

"What! Goomy did!?" a pink deer-like Pokémon exclaimed.

"Yeah, well, he insisted on going." responded a Pokémon in what looks like a cross between a shell and a knight's helmet.

"Tell me the truth, Shelmet! You and Pancham pushed him into this, didn't you?"

"T-that's not fair Deerling. He was the one who wanted to go, you can't just blame us."

"Quite easily. You're both teasing him all the time after all. Someday, you're gonna go too far and it'll be too late for sorries then!"

"I-I know that! No need to fuss so much..."

"Show me the way there. Right now." she said with finality.

The Shelmet walked away with Deerling in tow through the gates of the village and soon, they were gone. Mob was now unsure of what to do. He wanted to listen to Nuzleaf and head back but he remembered how Reigen would always help his clients, no matter what situation. Reigen's examples eventually won him over and he followed after the 2 children, leaving the village.

Later...

Mob walked for awhile before he found the kids with a third one by a thick forest. He stood behind them by a good distance and listened again. They seemed to be arguing.

"What! He still hasn't come back yet!?" the Deerling shouted at Shelmet and at the new Pokémon that looked like a small panda.

"Yeah, it's been a long time too. I knew he was a total wimp." the panda, who Mob assumed was Pancham, said.

"No surprise there. Shoulda just admitted he was wimp." Shelmet agreed.

"But he had to talk big, like he could handle this kind of place. He boasted, saying: "I'll show you!" and that's what got him into this mess."

"He's probably huddled in some corner, petrified with fear!" Shelmet commented before both he and Pancham started laughing. Then, Deerling spoke up.

"You're so mean Pancham!" she fumed.

"Yeah, but he's the one who talked big and he's just getting what was coming to him. We figured we should teach him a little something about how harsh the world is."

"And if something happens to him? What then? I'm going after him!" Deerling stated before marching towards the forest. Pancham and Shelmet suddenly blocked her path with surprise on their faces.

"You can't go in there Deerling!" Shelmet yelled. Then Pancham added his opinion.

"What if something happened to you? We can't let that happen to our idol! We won't let you step foot in there."

"Are you kidding! Fine. You guys go!"

Both Pancham and Shelmet paused before looking at each other and then at the forest. Pancham started shakily: "Y-you want us to go in there? Into the Foreboding Forest?"

"No way. Why would we do that? I-it's not that I'm scared or anything, I don't want you getting the wrong idea!" Pancham shouted, trying to save face.

Shelmet then noticed Mob in the distance behind Deerling and pointed him out to the others. Mob walked up to the trio before Pancham asked where he came from.

"You're not from the village." he waited for awhile before taunting. "What's the matter? Skitty got your tongue?"

Shelmet told Mob: "Well, no one's gonna understand you if you don't ever speak up."

Mob attempted to psyche himself up before beginning his first solo conversation with a Pokémon.

"Um, I heard what happened and I can look for Goomy." he said softly.

The others were shocked and Pancham spoke up.

"You'll go in there for us?"

"You know that place is, like, super scary, right?" Shelmet added.

"Well, we won't be in your way if you really want to go... But it's no skin off our backs if you get in any trouble in there!" Pancham warned.

Deerling asked once more if Mob was ok with going and he nodded. She asked where Goomy went in there and Pancham and Shelmet explained that they went in there before with a large piece of paper and they told Goomy to find it, write his name on it and bring it back. After receiving the information, Deerling apologized to Mob and shouted a farewell as he went off into the Foreboding Forest.

In the forest, Mob didn't take that long actually. He went through the dungeon, using his powers to suspend the Pokémon in the air as he walked past before setting them down again and eventually, after going through enough floors, he noticed a gooey, purple, slug thing shorter than him cower away into a corner. Mob saw a large paper on the ground in front of him and on it were strange markings he could yet couldn't recognize at the same time. It read the letters: G-O-O-M-Y. Mob went up to Goomy's side and Goomy started crying before Mob told him he was helping him.

"Waaahh! I was so scared!" he cried out and Mob started to lead Goomy back with the paper in tow. Mob felt happy at how he helped out Goomy. He helped someone on his own. And they weren't even human.

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(Phew, chapter 4 sure took me awhile since I had to listen to the lines from the game and then put it in here and even then, I shortened some lines because I'm lazy. Anyways, hope up you enjoyed and have a good day!)