Bonus Chapter: The Good Old Times


I watched the landscapes go by as the tram cart went along it's journey in the midst of night. Usually, any normal trainer would have stuck me inside a poké ball against my best wishes, not knowing what I truly was, but Riley did not do that.

Of course, I knew he was hiding something, but I did not care at the moment. All I wanted to do was think back to the good old times right now.

The better times.

It all started one not so normal morning.


Hex's POV

Trees?

Why do I see trees?

I woke up to a forest that had not been in when I fell asleep. My bed and my entire house had vanished with woods now in its place.

Knowing I was not going to go anywhere If I did not get up and figure out why in the world I was in the middle of nowhere, I pushed myself off the ground and then looked towards the river, which greeted me with a face that was not mine, but one belonging to a weird, white Charmander.

I started stumbling backwards before tripping on a rock. "Oh… okay then, the world must really have a thing against me today, first landing me in the middle of the woods and now the water showing me weird reflections, huh… well, I guess I just didn't get a good enough view in the water, let m-"

As I started to push myself up, I then saw that my chest had become white, as if it was made of bone, with this also being true for my arms and hands as I looked at them in disbelief.

"Okay world, I know you like to mess with me, but… why?"

Stumbling, I walked over and looked down at the river so I could see myself in full. My body looked as if it was a Charmander, but with a body composed of bone. I started shaking in fear of the ramifications of all of this.

"No, this… this is only something you see in old fables passed down in Kalos, this can't be real, it can't…"

I found myself back down on the ground, on my knees, sobbing into my hands.

"No, no, no, no, no…"

Pansear's POV

"And stay out, you ungrateful runt!"

The door slammed on my face as I hesitantly grabbed my bag and started the long walk away from the place I had called home for the longest time. The only noise present as I walked away from the door with my bag was my father's laughing, presumably due to him celebrating getting rid of the 'nuisance' in the house. It was funny really, considering I was the only one who ever did anything productive in that household, but life has a way of having a demented sense of humor.

Blocking those thoughts out of my head, I kept on moving forward, figuring there was no point dwelling on the past. The forest was awfully quiet compared to how it usually was, a change from its usually overly lively mood. It was almost be serene, but not for me.

Not after today.

I kept on walking towards my hidden spot near the river, knowing I just needed to get all of this out of my mind at once before it blew up inside of me somewhere I did not want to. After a few more minutes of walking, I finally started to see it come into view.

"Why… why… why me."

The noise coming from what I had thought was my little secret area concerned me. The one place I could get away from everything had been violated, on the very day I desperately needed it. In a lot of ways, I was mad, but figuring it would be a bad idea to go into a situation lashing out on everything without knowing who was there, I walked into the area with my bag in my hand.

Instead of finding something you would usually expect to see in these woods, I instead found a weird Charmander with bone instead of skin. He was staring at the rivers currents, watching them go by as if that was all he could bring himself to do.

He did not notice I was there, so I figured I would make him notice. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

I saw him turn around, with his eyes widening before he shook his head. "Oh… sorry… I'll be off now."

He started to walk away with his head down before I said, "No, no, it's fine, I just wasn't aware of anyone else knowing of this place."

"Ye… yeah I… wasn't aware either of anyone knowing of this place either, my bad."

Deciding to keep the charade up, I sat down next to him. He went back to looking at the water, something I used to do here whenever I needed to calm down about something while I was here. Although he seemed different too, although I could not put my hand on what exactly. It intrigued me though.

Figuring I should beat around the bush first before trying to figure out why he was really here, I sat down next to him and said, "So, what name do you go by?"

"Oh uh… Hex.. yeah Hex."

Again, the statement reeked of being a lie, but I went along with it.

Figuring I should just cut to the chase, I said, "So, what was that whole repeatedly saying 'why' earlier about anyways?"

His face lifted in concern, as if that statement had struck a nerve of some kind. "How much did you hear?"

Figuring this was my chance to figure out who this kid was, I said, "Not much, but enough."

"E- Enough?" He had gotten up and was looking at me as if I have violated him somehow, "So… you know that I'm human?"

The second he said that sentence was the exact same second I knew I had gotten in way over my head.

Hex's POV

He stood up. "So wait, your telling me you're a human trapped in the body of some pokémon? That's…"

I got up and instinctively started to back away. "Didn't you just say you overheard me?"

"You really have a lot to learn, don't you. Everyone isn't truthful about everything you know."

My body was instantly overcome with fear, with the world managing yet again to spit in my face. I tried to slowly back away from him, in a futile hope he would not notice.

"Hey, why are you leaving so soon Hex, if that's you real name?"

I stopped backing away. "You probably think I'm insane or something, so why should I stick around? Give me one good reason I should trust you."

After a few moments of silence, I turned back around and started walking away again, figuring the sooner I got away from him, the better.

"Because I don't actually think you're insane."

My body halted after I heard the statement. "Huh?"

"Look, it's obvious you're not really… that aware to how this world works if that makes any sense, and considering the fact that you kinda act like this is all new to you it really makes me think that you are being sincere about the whole being a human thing."

I turned around and saw him starting to approach me. "So, since I don't feel like leaving you to whatever catches you in the woods first and since I had plans to head over to town anyways, why don't you come with me to there? We can split paths after that if you really want."

Figuring the world had thrown everything it had at me already and that being stuck in the woods being hunted down by something could not be a much worse fate then whatever this Pansear could possibly want to do with me, I said, "Sure, I guess."

"Huh, I was expecting more resistance, but hey, that works too. Just follow me."

He walked towards and out of the enclave with his bag and I followed suite. I still did not trust him entirely, but he was the only option I had right now. Perhaps maybe I might even find answers as to what happened to me in town.

Who knows, anything could happen.

Pansear's POV

I threw my arm out in front of Hex. "Stop, there is something ahead."

We had been walking for a while before I saw the entrance to a Mystery Dungeon we would need to pass in order to continue towards the town start to approach from the distance. Knowing the person I was travelling with was not the most knowledgeable about the world and thought he was human, I asked, "So, before we go any further, I need to know if you know what a Mystery Dungeon is?"

He stumbled backwards. "Uh… Mystery Dungeon?"

I sighed. "Okay, since you don't know what a Mystery Dungeon is, let me take it a step back. Do you know what a move is?"

He recomposed himself. "Yes, of course I do, what do you take me as, someone who doesn't

know anything?"

"Well I mean, every other time I have mentioned something basic you have seemingly been able to surprise me by not knowing it but what do I know," I said, as I started to lean against a tree in the area, "In any case, if you know so much about moves, do you know how to use them?"

The statement seemed to hit him like a brick wall, with it making him go completely silent after I said it.

Chuckling, I said, "So you don't know, mister I know all the basics, right?"

"Uh…"

"Figures," I said, while getting off the side of the tree and picking up a local rock, "Guess I'm gonna have to teach you then."

His eyes widened, "What do you mean by th-"

Before he knew it, several rocks that previously belonged to the forest floor found themselves being hauled at a very confused and panic-filled Charmander seemingly frozen in place. Well, frozen in place until one of them found themselves hitting his head, knocking him down and causing me to run towards him.

Bending down to face him, I asked, "Hey, are you alright? I was almost sure you would dodge those stones or manage to figure out how to use scratch or something to break them."

His eyes started to open, and his head turned to face mine. "Well… maybe don't assume I can expect random projectiles to be thrown my way at a moment's notice, my head would severely appreciate it."

I stood back as he managed to get himself off the ground after taking a stone to the head. The impact of the stone managed to make a few cracks around where it impacted.

Noticing me staring, he said, "There are cracks, aren't there."

"Yeah, yeah there are."

"Figures, knowing my luck." He got up off the ground, and started to feel around his head until he found them near his right eye socket. "Is this gonna heal or…"

"I mean, it's not like I've seen any ghost type Charmanders before so how would I know? Then again, if a small rock was able to do that much damage I would assume so though, otherwise your basically gonna be dead meat out there." Realizing how blunt I was before, I cleared my throat and said, "Does it hurt at all? I have some berries that can help if that is the case."

"Probably not as much as you would expect, but I'll take one anyways."

Sighing, I handed him one of the oran berries I had on me in my bag, and watch him look at it from multiple angles before he shoved it down his throat the second he had the chance to. His eyes widened as he attempted with his hands to feel around for the vanishing cracks on his forehead.

"How in the world did that manage to…"

Closing my eyes in slight annoyance, I said, "Is it yet another thing you do not know about?"

His eyes widened. "No, I do know about them, but I never knew how it felt to actually have one."

Sighing, I said, "Whatever then, I think it is about time we go back to helping you figure out how to use moves."

"Oh… that, yeah that probably would take precedence in this situation."

I turned around and found a few sticks around the local area, with Hex giving me confused glances until I turned around with a bundle of them heading back towards him.

Figuring I needed to start from the bare basics, I asked, "So, do you know what makes moves different from just attacking something?"

All I got back from him was a confused glance, prompting a sigh on my part. "I guess not. Whatever, I can make it work."

I bent down to grab one of the sticks off of the heap I had made on the ground. The purpose of this seemed to click in Hex's mind after I started to hold it up away from myself like a target.

"So, you know how in the move 'Scratch' the user swipes his claw at the opponent, correct?"

Looking at me as if I was babying him, he said, "Of course I do."

"Just making sure. In any case, in order to do the move, you don't just do that."

His eyes widened in confusion, with this seemingly being more new information for him.

"In order to properly preform the move, you're going to need to tap into your inner instinct."

"Huh, inner instinct? How am I supposed to do that? Isn't instinct involu-"

He shut up the second he saw my demeanor change in response to his questioning. It was starting to become very clear that this guy was not of this world and any doubts that I had about it had become nonexistent.

Sighing, I recomposed myself. "Okay, 'inner instinct' might have been a bad way to phrase it, especially if the legends of humans never being in the wild and living In groups of houses has any merit. Think about it more as your inner 'rage' if that makes any sense then."

"What would I have merit being mad at though."

It was a fair question in all honesty. "Uh… maybe the stones I threw at you earlier?"

"Oh… those."

I saw him close his eyes and start breathing in and out rapidly probably in a attempt to purposely make himself mad. Seeing this, I lifted up the branch again as the tips of his claws were covered with a white energy, the same energy I casually referred to as his 'inner instinct' that he then used to slash at the branch, easily cutting it in two.

Afterwards, I saw him open his eyes to the branch I was previously holding cut in two. He looked at me in disbelief before looking down at his own hands, his eyes widening as if this was something abnormal or unreal to him.

"So, uh, it's great that we know I can use them… but how do I control them without having to rely on rage or some other emotion?"

I slightly grinned. "Practice, lots and lots of practice."

"Figures…"

"I mean, if everything was easy in life, what would be the point of it all," I saw him growl under his breath in response to me saying that, "So anyways, now that you know how to do the most basic of moves, I guess I should tell you what a Mystery Dungeon is," I sighed, "Where to begin…"

Before I could completely compose myself he said, "What is so important that, after all of that, I need to know what one of these are right n-"

"Because one of them is right behind you."

He turned around and looked at the pathway further into the forest in fear, confused as to how the seemingly innocent pathway in the woods could conceal a monstrous place. "How is a place like this considered a dungeon? It doesn't have any concrete o-"

Confused as to what he was referring to, I asked, "What in the world do you mean when you say the word concrete? I have never heard of that term before."

He seemed to take a second to figure out how to explain it before saying, "You know, the material Conkeldurr are able to produce?"

"Oh… that," the fact that he had still came up with that term out of nowhere still confused me, but I carried on, "But… that isn't what that is called you know."

"What is it called then?"

I scratched behind my head, absolutely baffled about this entire topic. "Uh… unusually hard stone? Is there some major difference between it and stone that merits it having a different name?"

"Well… It can be made in a liquid form before drying and gains strength the longer it sits…"

Still absolutely baffled, I asked, "Where in the world did you hear this?"

"Oh, uh, well… it was often times used for construction where I come from, so it was often taught that Conkeldurr was where it came from."

The fact that he was able to honestly call up responses from nothing in mere moments was starting to scare me. Sure, maybe he could be lying to me, but this is quite a long time to pull of a charade for only feasibly a little more then a thousand poké worth of profits at maximum.

I could have pushed further and tried to figure out why he knew this, but I decided not to. Instead, I said, "Well… in any case, I guess I should tell you what a Mystery Dungeon is. This might take a while so you might want to get comfortable."

He sat down on the ground. "I'm all ears"

"Okay, so… where to begin," I sighed, "So, Mystery Dungeons are these weird places where the world fundamentally shifts in a way no one, at least to my knowledge, seems to understand. They start in seemingly random locations and shift the world around them, forming these weird labyrinths composed of hallways and small rooms with multiple floors, with these rooms and hallways containing rabid feral pokemon ready to attack you at any second."

"How and why would places like that ever come into existence?" He was seemingly surprised about yet another day to day thing. It honestly should not have even surprised me anymore yet it still managed to do so.

Figuring this conversation was going to go nowhere fast if I did not say anything, I said, "Good question. Unfortunately, no one, at least to my knowledge, knows. They just… kinda exist if you get what I mean."

He seemed to have calmed down from earlier. "So, have they just been sitting around in the same spot for all eternity or something, waiting for someone to go in and find whatever is in there?"

"I'm honestly not sure whether they stick around forever. Although, I do know new ones can form, because this one your standing in front of is one of those very new ones."

He turned to look at the pathway ahead again, seemingly unbelieving that a normal looking pathway could hide something akin to a death trap in his eyes at least. Eventually, he turned around and asked, "How long has it been around then if it's such a new one?"

"Oh, uh… 4/5 years? It has had barely any chance to grow."

I saw him breath out in slight relief. "Doesn't that mean it's not that tough?"

"Well, it's not that tough for me at least, I don't know whether that would be the same for you, with you just having learned how to use moves a few minutes ago."

The statement seemingly struck a nerve. "When will you stop shoving the fact I don't know anything about this world in my face anyways?"

I slightly chuckled. "When it stops being as funny as it is ."

The statement set him off. "That is a real Tauros' behind of a way to treat people you're with you know."

A smirked formed on my face. "Takes one to know one buddy."

"Hey!"

I got off of the tree I had been laying against over the course of the entire conversation. "You really need to learn to be able to take something like that if you want to survive a second in this world. I'll take it back, but really that should be nothing."

He still looked slightly ticked off at me. "Thanks, good old buddy o mine."

"Don't mention it."

Figuring now would be the best time, we rested for a while in front of the dungeon. I fiddled around with some things in the bag before I felt something stuck under something else. Curious as to what it possible could be, I got it out and saw a little wooden heart.

"What the? What in the…"

It then suddenly donned on me what in the world I was holding, and I quickly put it back away. I looked up to notice that Hex had at least noticed my outburst from across the pathway but went back to whatever he was doing, seemingly uncaring about it.

How had I, after only about a hour and a half, managed to already slightly forget?

Not wanting to be in these woods for any longer, I got up and started walking towards Hex. He noticed this and stood up in response, and asked, "So, I'm assuming you want to get a move on in going through the dungeon?"

"Precisely, why else would I have just spent all that time preparing you for it earlier?"

I heard him sigh. "Do I have a choice in the matter or…"

"I mean, there is always the option of staying in the woods if you wanted to be hunted down by something."

His eyes glanced down at the pathway behind us in a downtrodden way. "Fine, you lead the way, my 'hero'."

Slightly chuckling, I said, "I think I will."

Considering I had went past this dungeon many times in order to get to town, I had no doubts about my safety. What I was more concerned about was whether I would be able to handle myself and keep Hex safe at the same time. It would have been so easy to just leave him out in the woods yet here I was transporting him to the town, but I could not bring myself to do it.

He gave me his trust, and I was not about to break it.

Before I fully committed and took the final step into the dungeon, I took one last look back at the pathway behind me.

I felt Hex's hand on my shoulder. "Hey, are you okay? You seem to be thinking about something."

Sighing, I said, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing to worry about."

He was unconvinced. "Whatever you say, just know you don't need to hide behind a wall about everything."

Shaking what I was previously thinking about out of my mind, I said, "Yeah, yeah, I know."

I faced back towards the pathway in front of me. It was time to move on from all of this.

As I took the first step, I ended one chapter of my life, and started another.

A chapter that, I at least hoped, was going to be much better then the last.

I hoped.

Hex's POV

Grotto Woods, S1

Nothing Pansear could have told me could have prepared me for this.

The long, unnatural hallways that span into nothingness.

The weird rectangular rooms scattered throughout the place.

The entire place felt unreal.

My eyes widened at the absurdity of it all. "You weren't kidding…"

Pansear turned around to face me, his arms crossed. "Look, just follow my lead. These places have a way of separating groups whenever they have a chance so it would be better you not stray off."

I shook my head and we started walking. If there was one thing I could agree with him on, it was the fact that I did not want to be in this place longer then necessary.

We walked for a while, before I said, "So... you seem like you have been here before, may I ask how many times?"

He slightly chuckled. "Oh, I've been here countless times. It's the only way to get to the town in a timely matter. Although… this is the first time I have been here with someone who didn't know a thing about dungeons so there is that."

"Hey, when are you going to drop that? It's not like I had a choice or anything…"

"And it is not like I had a choice in finding some random undead Charmander in my secret spot so…"

"You know, I really hate you sometimes."

A small grin formed on his face. "Thanks."

That was when I heard ruffling in the bushes next to me. Before I could do anything, I found myself face first with a Poochyena jumping at me from the bushes. All my muscles froze up and I closed my eyes anticipating it to be all over in seconds.

When I did not feel anything attacking me after a few seconds, I was confused to say the least. I opened my eyes to find a knocked out Poochyena and Pansear miffed standing over it.

He redirected his annoyance towards me. "Did I just see you actively accept your death the second you got attacked by something?"

"Uh," I backed away attempting to get away from Pansear's anger, "Maybe?"

He tried to cover his face with his hand. "You're hopeless. Utterly hopeless."

I saw him start to walk away, and I attempted to jog after him, saying, "But I ju-"

"Don't give me excuses. Excuses just justify mistakes like that in your mind."

My eyes widened as he turned around to face me. Whatever I had done, it have obviously struck a nerve I did not know he had or cared about. What was he about to do?

"Come over here, let me tell you a story while we find the exit to this place."

Hesitantly, I trudged my way towards him. Once I got over to where he was, he picked up his bag he had dropped while fighting the Poochyena that attacked me and started talking while I followed.

"Let me tell you a story about someone I once knew. Someone you probably never want to find involved in your life yet I did. This… person, if you can even call him that, was know for his hardship in life."

"Hardship, like… having trouble with certain things or going through bad times?"

He slightly grinned. "Precisely. He found himself constantly in the worse of situations and would often blame the world for them. When things went bad, he did nothing to try to fix it, just swearing to the world from his seat in the main room."

I did not like where this was going but I stayed silent.

He started to walk towards me. "When they eventually found themselves in a situation where they could not sustain themselves, guess what he did? He blamed the family, and not himself. He acted like them existing was the issue and that he could never be the source of all these problems by doing nothing."

"Uh…"

"But wait!" he said, as he stepped in front of my path, blocking me from moving further,"You say, thinking you know everything. That situation totally can't go on forever, can it? It has to end at some point, right?"

He started laughing as he dropped his bag and found himself just inches away from me. "Well, I say in response, you might be right about that. But it can sure go on for quite a while though, long enough to the point where you find your sister at the edge of the local river ready to take a dip."

My eyes started to widen in pure terror as his grin towered over me more and more.

"But who got blamed? Who was the excuse? Who did he blame for his family's hardship this time?"

I tried to back up but found myself on the ground after slipping on a rock, with his face towering over me.

His grin vanished and his eyes closed. "Me, the one who found her, of course."

It all clicked.

He stood back up and and saw his earlier creepiness dissolve back into his normal attitude. He offered me his hand in order to pull me back up which I gladly accepted. I could hear him sigh as he said, "Excuses allow you to pin everything that you do wrong on others, and make them feel like trash. Any fault you make, belongs to you and no one else. Remember that next time you blame someone else when you did something wrong."

I saw him start to walk away leaving me still in shock after the whole ordeal. I asked him while quickly rushing back towards him, "How long ago did this happen to you?"

"My entire life up until about a hour or two ago, when he finally kicked me out."

My body froze. "Really, why would h-"

He sighed. "Being honest, I blame myself more then anything for not getting away sooner, but hey, to each his own. I would rather not dwell on it lest it become a obsession like it did for my father when it came to hardship. So can we please just drop it?"

Figuring there was no point in continuing the topic of discussion I nodded in agreement and we continued to walk through the dungeon for a while. After a few more minutes. Eventually, I found myself standing in front of a massive gateway that lead into what looked like shadows.

My eyes shifted towards Pansear on the right. "So, this is the way to the next section of the dungeon, right?"

"Yeah it is. Just follow me."

Before I knew it he disappeared into the darkness present at the gateway, leaving me there. I walked in after him, fearing the dungeon gate disappearing or something weird happening, which seemed highly likely considering the nature of these types of places.

All that was on my mind was getting out of this place, and then I would worry about what I was going to do afterwards.

That was all I could do.

Pansear's POV

Grotto Woods, S3

I was still wondering what I had gotten myself into as I walked on to the third and final floor.

First I meet this guy, claiming he was a human at point and then either acting perfectly or actually being truthful about it, with both options scaring me in different ways. Then out of pity I let him come with me to the town because I did not feel like leaving him in the woods to perish by something, but not before I then somehow manage to slip up and then scream out everything that had been troubling for the last few days, only for him to stay there for some reason and not run away like almost everyone else would.

"So, why didn't you run off earlier after I went all at you?"

Hex turned his head to face me. "Run off about what, the whole 'your father' thing?"

I cringed after hearing him referring to it casually like that, but then said, "Yeah, that."

"What am I, just gonna run off or something just because someone is randomly angry about something?"

Slight laughter came from my mouth. "You talk like that isn't normal."

"Is it? Because you didn't do it."

I walked past him. "Just because I did something doesn't mean it's normal, you know." I hoped that would be enough to make him give up.

It was not. "Why Is it not then, tell me."

Noticing his obliviousness to the situation, I said, "You know my father is not really a lone case, while they are all not parents, this world isn't in the greatest state. That hardship I mentioned earlier was, at least near the beginning, actually brought about by others."

He was blunt. "You talk like that is perfectly fine and is acceptable behavior."

"You act like I can do more about it," I chuckled at the innocence of his argument, "I saved you, didn't I? That isn't something most would do, with them instead prying off your situation to get something or just plain walking off."

I saw him start to say something but then close his mouth and shake his head in anger towards something. He then said, "Didn't you just answer your own question? I not like the majority of people already for reasons I hope you don't need me to repeat."

Sighing, I waved the white flag and relegated back to just carrying the supply bag in peace, but it did not stop me feeling bad for him. It seemed like he thought he could save the world by being a one man army. Like he truly believed he could stop all the bad things that had been happening for the last few decades.

There was always the option of telling him about the guild, but I was not sure he would be happy to hear about what had happened to them.

I shook the thought out of my head, and kept on walking until we finally found the gateway and stepped through it. All I knew going through it was that Hex would be in for a world of surprise when he saw how the world truly was.

A real world of surprise.

Hex's POV

"Welcome to sweet old Aurora Town." I heard Pansear sarcastically remark as I walked out the exit of the dungeon

My face was immediately greeted by what Pansear was describing as a 'town'. I would have opted for the term small village more due to the fact that all it had were 20 building, with a few of them not even looking occupied at all.

Of course, he noticed this disappointment. "Not the biggest thing in the world compared to some of the stuff your world probably had, huh."

"How did you…"

He slightly chuckled. "Your face is like a giant book sometimes. I could just see."

"Of course your able to do that, of course." I sarcastically remarked.

After a few moments of silence I looked back towards the town; its small size making me lose any hopes I had that life here would be any similar to life back home vanish. I looked down at myself, still finding it surreal that my life had made a full 360 in such a short amount of time. Back when I was human, I used to be the guy who was always scared of being around pokémon due to the fact that they were capable of burning you alive, stealing your soul, impaling you with spikes made of ice, etc.

Yet here I was, in a world controlled not by humans with these creatures under them, but by the creatures themselves. It was controlled by the same creatures that could hide in the walls, or manipulate you with your mind, the same things that would have scared me half to death only a half of a day prior. Yet, despite everything my former self 12 hours ago would have predicted if I knew this would happen, I did not feel fear.

I had every right to feel fear, with the existence of these Mystery Dungeons and the sorry state of the world Pansear described it being in giving merit to it, but I did not feel fear. It was odd, considering I had felt it my entire life yet I did not feel it right now at least. Maybe it was because I was one right now, or because I could talk to them.

Maybe the whole reason I came here in the first place was to get over that fear, and to realize that. That maybe there was another side to everything.

"Hey, can I ask you to do something?"

The question had seemingly came out of nowhere, interrupting my chain of thought. I blankly said, "Yeah, what is it."

He looked towards the beach, seemingly hesitating before saying, "I want you to follow me for a second."

"O… kay? Sure I guess."

We both walked towards the beach; me still being unsure as to the purpose of all of this yet not wanting to really question his motives at the moment. But I was not the one to go biting the hand that feeds you, so I went along with it. Besides, he had helped me in the forest, I at least owed him this much.

Once we found ourselves in a part of the beach with no one around, I asked, "So, why did you bring me here?"

He hesitated for a moment, as to compose himself, before saying, "Do you remember that whole

rant you did on how the world's state was unacceptable."

"Uh," my hand started scratching behind my head in nervousness as to where this was going, "Yeah, what about it? You acted as if you did not care or something."

"I acted like I didn't care because at the time I wasn't sure, but then I realized something, that you had potential."

"What do you mean by 'potential'?"

I heard him sigh. "I can show you what I mean, but you are going to have to promise you won't speak of it to anyone."

"Okay then… go ahead, I won't tell a soul."

He walked towards the trees and knocked on them, before I saw what looked like a hatch open and I started to walk backwards as to not be seen by whoever he was talking with. I was still able to hear what they were saying though.

The hatch guy seemed oddly pessimistic about seeing Pansear. "Oh, hi Pansear, didn't expect to see your face for quite a while after you said you had some 'things to take care of' before. How did they go?"

"The worst they possibly could, But that isn't why I came here."

"Oh uh, sorry to hear that, but what was the real reason you came here?"

Pansear, much to my displeasure, motioned me to come over which I begrudgingly did. I had no idea what he was bringing me to and I was starting to fear that it was not the greatest of places based on how secretive he had been about it. The pokémon he had been talking to, who turned out to be a Makuhita, eyes widened in shock as he saw me.

He climbed the rest of the ladder underneath him and lodged a rock in the panel. He redirected his attention back to Pansear, with him dropping his earlier attitude, "Okay, I know you have some weird friends Pansear, but thi-"

The statement ticked me off. "Hey I didn't ch-"

Pansear gave me a glare that immediately made me stop talking, before he said, "Sorry, he has a thing with getting called weird, due to the fact that, you know, you don't really see a ghost type Charmander running around every day."

I contemplated saying you did not really see a human stuck in a pokémon's body every day too but I guarded my tongue, knowing it would be a bad idea to say it to anyone else considering how long it took for Pansear to accept it as truth.

After what felt like a eternity I heard the Makuhita sigh. "Well… this Is great and all but why did you bring him here, it's not like we are actively categorizing pokémon or something."

"I brought him here because I thought he might be interested in joining."

My eyes widened at the fact that this was all happening without me saying anything. I contemplated saying something in protest, like 'I never said I wanted to do this,' but I did not, instead standing there watching the scene unfold before my eyes. That did not mean I accepted it though.

The Makuhita seemed to notice my hesitance and said, "I'm not sure if he even wants this, Pansear…"

Pansear sighed. "He wouldn't be if you just let me mention this place outside of it, but I can't so I just have to bring him here not knowing anything."

I heard the Makuhita sigh. "Fine then, let's get inside."

The Makuhita lifted up the hatch and move the rock out of the way before climbing down. Pansear gestured me to go next which, with hesitance, I did, climbing down and looking up at the last bits of sunlight I would see for a while getting shut off as Pansear closed off the hatch from on the ladder.

I was now stuck and unable to get away if I wanted or needed to, and I was not sure how I felt about that.

Pansear's POV

"So, welcome to one of the last guilds in existence." I heard Makuhita say to Hex as I cleared the last few steps of the staircase.

"Guilds?"

Makuhita looked like he was about to say something I knew he was going to regret so I stepped in front of him and said, "So, Hex, remember what you said about the world's current state was unacceptable?"

He was taken aback but then said, "Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, they were places dedicated towards that cause, or at least were, unti-"

Makuhita then interrupted me, saying, "Until most of the criminal underworld decided to unite in order to end their main source of resistance, the guilds, by actively attacking them."

I saw Hex's eyes widen in response to this. "When did this happen?"

"Uh… I'm surprised you do not know, but I can say it," I sighed at the fact that Hex had again shown his lack of knowledge about the world, with me receiving a glare from him in return, "It started slow, around… 20 years ago until it sped up rapidly and caused the destruction of most of them by around 10 to 5 years ago. This town's old one was a outlier, lasting until 4 years ago, before being attacked and causing us to run into the woods, where we formed this as a replacement, with it standing as one of the only ones left."

"And here we have Makuhita, with his history lessons, as always." I sarcastically remarked as I laid against the side of one of the walls, watching the entire conversation go down.

Makuhita faced towards me. "Hey don't give me that, if I weren't here you wouldn't be in this building right now."

"Look, can we get back to the main topic of if your going to let Hex in?"

His eyes shifted back from me to Hex. "Oh right. So, who's team is he gonna be a part of, since I still need to record that and such."

"Oh yeah," I sighed, "Why can't he just join the unofficial team I have with Tyrunt?"

"Because that is a disgrace to guild tradition and this is the perfect chance to make it stop existing."

I sighed. "Tradition, tradition, tradition, it's always the past with you, isn't it."

"Hmph, the guild rise was based on the actions of two pokémon 100 years ago, from the first one in treasure town. I don't think we should disrespect our heritage just because times look dire."

"Like that stopped it falling a few years back," I was getting tired of this, so I gave in. "But whatever, I'll form a team under the name Team Fury with me, Tyrunt, and Hex as its members. My schedule opened up anyways so I can actually be here every day now."

Makuhita stared at me in disbelief for a while, as if he never expected me to finally give in and form a team, but here I was defying someone's expectations for the second time today. He eventually said, "Fine then, I'll go get the necessary preparations for everything, in the meantime, I would prefer you explain how everything works here to Hex so we can save time."

Me and Hex watched as Makuhita walked out of the room, full of anger towards my lax attitude towards how the old guilds that I had never been a part of worked. Once he was out, I said to Hex, "Okay, so, there are some core rules of this place you need to know before I go any further."

I heard Hex sigh, "Throw 'em at me."

"Okay, rule one: you do not speak of this place outside of this place."

"Pretty sure I got that from your guy's whole thing over the top secrecy thing outside but thanks for confirming that I guess."

I could hear Makuhita snickering all the way from over here at the blatant remarks coming from Hex but I disregarded it.

"Rule two: you never let anybody into this place without going through the door handler, who is currently the Makuhita you just met that doesn't accept the past as it is, the past."

Makuhita quickly turned around from his desk, "BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THE PA-"

"Moving right along, and ignoring Makuhita's outburst, rule three: never go for prolonged amounts of time without doing a mission."

"Unless, you know, you're mister break the system by not technically being part of a team over here." Makuhita snickered at me from his desk.

"And there he goes again, with his snarky comments towards me," I redirected my attention from Hex to down the hall, "Hey, if your so talkative, how is that paperwork coming along?"

He promptly got off of his chair and started walking towards me. "Done, I already had it half filled out and only needed to add Hex's name to some parts, your now an official team, although technically we would have to put it through the leadership first…"

"The leadership that died along with the guild? Yeah, go get them, I'd love to speak to them in Giratina's realm, that would be great."

He visibly held back a scream. "You know, I sometimes think that maybe you're Giratina's way of making up for me not dying to that Unfezant one time."

"At least I, a non guild member at the time, saved you from that thing your teammates just ran away screaming from."

He stared at me blankly for a moment, and then he snapped out, "Whatever, I have a door to handle and papers to manage, your room for both Hex and you is 3-02."

And like that, the fighting type was gone, leaving me and Hex standing in the main lobby. I turned around and started heading towards the room, with him follow suite behind me. I had a lot to catch up on, but that could wait until later.

First, I had to get everything packed away in the room.

Hex's POV

"What was all that about?"

We had walked from the main lobby of the guild to our room. It was not the roomiest thing in the world, but it was big enough, with it having enough space for some items and containing two small beds made out of hay, what I guessed was the average from around here.

That was not my main concern at the moment though, with that going to the whole interaction that had occurred between Pansear and Makuhita. Pansear said, "Oh that, well, you see, both me and Makuhita have a history so to speak."

I glared at him. "What kind of history, like… do you guys hate each other or something?"

"Oh, if he truly hated me, I wouldn't be here right now, trust me," he put down his bag near the entrance before sitting down, "We have more of a love hate relationship if anything."

"Ah, I… I see," I said, not really getting it, but presuming it would make sense in time.

We both got situated, with Pansear storing some of the items away in the box in the corner of the room as I took a second to get a grasp on the layout of the room. After he was done putting away the items, I asked him, "So… was this your entire end goal this entire time, to get me in here?"

He sighed. "Being honest, it wasn't. You just didn't seem like the type at first."

"Then why did you drag me into this?"

"Hmph, figures you wouldn't like it, I guess you weren't squirming for a reason in that lobby," Pansear closed the chest and then got up from the ground, "If you really want to go, just… go tell my best bud Makuhita over there you changed your mind and you can head out."

"If that is what you want of course, I'm not forcing you or anything."

Sighing, I sat down on the bed and said, "No, just… honestly would have preferred you told me about it beforehand or whatever."

"Whatever then, suite yourself," he went down to pick up the bag, "Now, if you excuse me, I have to go somewhere."

"But didn't you just get here? What could be so urgent that you have to go right this second."

"It's not that major, but I have to go tell Tyrunt about the fact we are a official team now, he lives outside of the guild due to his uhm… size so I'm gonna have to go all the way over to ye yonder in order to tell him."

"So what, you just made that decision without asking him."

He stopped mid-step. "I mean, he has been bugging me to form this for the longest time so I don't know in what world he would say no to this."

"Fine then, but before you leave, can I know when your are going to be back?"

"Probably not till tomorrow, considering the fact I don't want to deal with Makuhita late at night. You should probably get some of that precious rest you told me about earlier."

"Hey!"

Pansear walked out the door, chuckling to himself, as I found myself in a room alone for the first time since the beginning of the day. For as much as I disliked going along with a statement meant to anger me, my body could not resist falling asleep the second I found myself laying down.

Today had been a long day, and I did not need it to be longer. I would figure out everything tomorrow, after I had rest.

Tomorrow.

I closed my eyes for the first time that day and managed to slip into a oddly serene rest.


I found myself back on the tram cart, still staring out its window. As much as Pansear teased me, I never really hated him, nor wished for them to go away.

I just wished I had more time, before I found myself here, without my original body.

My entire life stolen away from me again, only to be placed back not in my original human body but the one of a creature that I looked down at as a animal as a kid.

Maybe it was the world's cruel twisted way of trying to be metaphorical. If it was, it was disgusting.

But I did not cry or anything, nor did I get depressed. I had been way past the point of depression for a while, having just accepted that there was no such thing as continuity in life. That if you come to accept something as everlasting, it will be torn away.

Change has and always will be a constant in life, and if you do not accept it, it will tear you apart. No matter how much you deny it, it was a cold, hard, fact.

That was why I always was sarcastic, because life in inherently something to be made fun of. It is the only way to handle it.

I found myself laying back down, staring at the wall in silence. Maybe one day I would see him again, but I doubted it.

And even if I did, it would not be like the good old times. That was for certain.

Nothing would ever be like the good old times.