A/N:I was playing my PMD: Explorers of Sky game, and I thought maybe that my earlier feelings of hating Chatot were stupid, because he believed the tale my partner and I told him, and then he went and crushed my belief in him again by saying that when I took him with me to the Brine Cave, that "non-guild members cannot come along." I scolded him for that in my head, and all day that's been in my head. That's downright ridiculous, since my friends can take care of themselves and they would NOT slow him down at all. He's just a stubborn pain-in-the-ass.

Chapter 7 Mystery Dungeon

"My name is Kentachi. Remember it." Kentachi said simply, smirking condescendingly at Hibana.

Hibana only fumed in fury at this outsider's impudence. He was just the rudest pokemon she had ever met! Refusing to talk politely to her because she was clearly a pure-blood and he wasn't, defending that little weakling Azurill, and insulting her guildmaster was unforgivable! Her eyes narrowed. "You little brat! You will pay for your insolence! The Wise Guildmaster does not forgive those who make such rude and impious remarks about his divinity."

Kentachi merely scoffed and turned away. "Hmph! I could care less about the wise Git master! He doesn't deserve respect automatically from me. For someone to win my respect, they have to earn it. Just commanding me to respect them will not sit well with me, got it?" He replied flatly.

Azuri jumped out of his arms, still scowling at Hibana. "You guys make me sick. You guild members all seem to be deluded. You all think you're so special and that everyone else who isn't like you or in your little cult worshipping your precious god is worthless. That kind of attitude is absolutely disgusting and repugnant. You need to get off your high horse and accept that you're no different from anyone else." She snapped.

By now, there was a crowd gathering. A couple of pokemon were whispering about the strange newcomers. Two purple cats glowered at them. Their green eyes seemed to Azuri to be filled with nothing less than hatred and antipathy. "What did you say, you disgusting piece of crap? You dare insult the Guildmaster and all the wonderful things he's done! This world is depraved, and the Guildmaster alone can purify it of its wickedness. You clearly need his guidance." The purrloin growled.

"Perhaps, we can teach it to you...the hard way." The other cat hissed, flexing its razor-sharp claws. Azuri shivered slightly upon seeing how sharp those claws were. They seemed to be used quite a bit, for clawing up meat, and maybe even dead pokemon...

"ENOUGH!" A deep voice bellowed, and everyone froze in their tracks. A purple pokemon with a huge gaping yellow mouth came stomping out of the crowd. He glared at the cats. "This little racket has gone on for long enough, I dare say! Pure and Pearl, to think you would lower yourselves to this level by bullying innocent children! I don't care if they are outsiders or not, they deserve respect!" He boomed.

The two cats looked appropriately guilty, and hung their heads, though not before flashing Kentachi, Shinichi, and Azuri a nasty leer. Hibana had apparently returned with them; glaring at Kentachi. He returned it to her.

The purple pokemon bellowed again. "What do you two rascals have to say for yourselves?" He demanded.

"We're sorry. We acted dishonorably and sullied the name of the Guildmaster." They replied quietly and mutely.

"What?" The pokemon boomed again. "Be a little louder!"

"I said, we're sorry!" Pearl hissed. "Geez, isn't once enough?"

"QUIET! I WILL ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE NO DINNER TONIGHT IF YOU KEEP ON BACK TALKING ME!" The pokemon bellowed.

Pearl fell silent upon hearing those scathing words. Both cats turned away and slunk off.

The pokemon turned to Kentachi and Azuri with a sheepish smile on his face. "Sorry about them; they're a bad example to the Guild's good name. They call themselves workers, but they go and tarnish their reputations by picking on people who are not like them. We're not all like that, I assure you! I'm Loudred, a member of Wigglytuff's great guild! And you are...?" He asked, scanning them from head to toe.

"I'm Kentachi. This here is Shinichi, and this girl is Azuri." Kentachi introduced.

Shinichi merely nodded politely, but there was a hint of friendliness in his eyes, while Azuri merely looked bored and uninterested in talking to Loudred.

"Girl. Don't you stay at the local hospital?" Loudred asked. Azuri nodded mutely.

"Then, you'd best be headed back there before your mother and father get worried."

"I don't have a mother or father. At least, not that I remember." Azuri said dully, her violet eyes lacking the usual warmth and vigor that they usually possessed. Instead, there was an odd look on her face; one that seemed rather cold and apathetic; something out of place on a young child's face.

"Azuri? What's wrong? Azuri?" Kentachi questioned, waving his paw in front of the young Pokemon's face, but when her eyes remained listless, he frowned. "You're not acting right. Snap out of it!"

Azuri turned around and suddenly her eyes widened in terror upon noticing a black pokemon with red eyes headed toward her, closing in for the kill...ready to pounce on her. She backed away in terror, shaking all over. "No, stay away from me...I don't want you near me!" She screamed, hitting the black shape hard with her tail, only it went through it.

"What's wrong, little girl? Are you scared of a ghost-type like me?" The Duskull joked, smiling good-naturedly at her.

Azuri didn't take it lightly, however. Her eyes flashed briefly before she swayed and then passed out in Kentachi's arms.

"AZURI! AZURI, SPEAK TO ME!" Kentachi shrieked, shaking the young pokemon. Upon feeling her forehead, he realized that she had merely passed out. Why did she pass out, though? Why would seeing a ghost-type pokemon freak her out? Maybe she's had a bad experience with ghost-type pokemon earlier in her life.

The Buizel frowned as he studied the mysterious young pokemon. She only seemed to become more and more mysterious the longer he knew her. His brows furrowed.

Loudred felt her forehead in concern. "It looks like she just passed out. Tell me, are you from this area?" He asked curiously.

"Nah. I live in the woods, but it's not like I'm a newbie around here or anything." Kentachi confessed, still gazing at the limp pokemon in his arms, who felt like a rag doll. He stared worriedly at her. "I hope she's okay..."

"Let's take her back to the hospital. Where I come from, I can't even speak to an outsider." Loudred muttered under his breath. "I hope they don't find out..."

"Who doesn't find out? What the hell are you muttering about?" Kentachi cried, whirling around to face Loudred, but as soon as he saw his face, he backed away.

"I'm sorry. But I can't help any longer. You're welcome to join the guild, if you like." Loudred continued on, in a dead tone. There was something very unnerving about him in Kentachi's mind. He couldn't wrap his fingers around it, but it was almost like there was no soul in those eyes.

Then, he turned and walked away.

"Wait!" Shinichi cried, struggling to catch up with him, but Loudred was soon lost among a crowd of villagers. Shinichi stumbled and fell on his paw. Tears formed out of the corners of his eyes as he sat back up, wincing. "Crap, I hurt my toe."

"It's all right." A new voice said. "I can bandage it for you."

Shinichi turned and found himself looking into the eyes of a Tepig and a Snivy. There was no hint of animosity in their features; rather an unspoken warmth flowed from them. He got up slowly, and took them in. "Who are you?" He asked.

"Us? We're... part of the great Wigglytuff's Guild! We don't have a team name yet, but we'll think of one!" The Snivy exclaimed enthusiastically, suddenly doing a tap dance for no apparent reason. "I'm Koeda."

"You're far too excited, Koeda. It's only shopping for supplies to go on a mission. It's nothing to get all bubbly over." The Tepig responded, yawning in boredom. "I'm Te, by the way. Got any food?"

Shinichi, who had been staring at them both with admiring eyes, flinched. "Yes! An apple! I...I...took it from Wigglytuff's larder a few days ago! Please forgive me for stealing it!" He exclaimed, placing the apple in front of the two startled kids and sobbing.

Koeda cast a sympathetic glance at him and patted his shoulder. "It's okay, little fella. What's your name? We'll take this back, but we won't tell anyone you stole it, okay?" He said kindly.

"My name is S-Shinichi! Nice to meet you!" Shinichi responded, bobbing his little yellow head up and down so fast that his cheeks started to spark as energy rose into them. As he danced around happily, more and more sparks flew out of his little pink cheeks, a sign that his electricity levels were rising within his body.

Te noticed and backed away. "Watch out...he's shooting lightning..." He remarked, backing away.

"This cute little fella can't hurt anyone!" Koeda replied. "Right?"

"THUNDERSHOCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!"

Suddenly, a huge clap of lightning escaped the Pichu's body and attacked Koeda. The Snivy screamed as the lightning jolted him all over. Then, about a split second later...it ended. Koeda was left standing, covered in soot, as his body cooled.

Shinichi, meanwhile, fell unconscious from the overuse of electricity. Te sighed upon seeing the young Pichu strewn out on the sidewalk.

"Told you so, Koeda." Te taunted.

Koeda shook himself off and glared at his friend. "Sorry, but I didn't know that he was an electric-type!"

"That's quite obvious, judging by the color of his fur! Obviously, you must be blind!" A nearby pokemon joked. Koeda and Te took in an orange weasel standing near them. It had two pronged tails, a yellow inner tube stuck around its neck, and two blue fins on each paw. Its eyes were green, and it was smirking at them in amusement.

"Who are you?" Te asked.

"Nobody, tough guy. Just a stranger passing through." The weasel countered. As he came closer, a small blue pokemon tiptoed out from behind him. Its violet eyes scoured over the two strange pokemon before it yelled something.

"I know them! They're with that Guild! NiNii knows them!"

"Who's NiNii?" The pokemon, (which Te recognized to be a Buizel), asked, cocking its head in confusion. It was evident that this Buizel was a male, if his attitude and way of carrying himself were any indication. "One of your friends?"

The blue thing smiled and bounced up and down on its tail. "Yes! Nii-Nii, er...Nida-san and I are close friends! We play together all the time!"

All of the blood drained from the Buizel's face. "Are you sure...that was her name? You know Nida?" He whispered.

"Yes, of course I do! She's very shy and timid, but she's a good person!" The blue mouse exclaimed.

Kentachi came closer to Azuri, and whispered. "Then, you'd better learn it's best for you to keep away from her."

Azuri's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean? She's my friend! She's not a bad person or anything!"

"No...but...there is something, no someone, who may pose a threat to you if you are friends with her." Kentachi trailed off, his green eyes full of suspicion as he scanned the crowd.

"Who or what could this person be who poses this young girl such harm?" Koeda asked curiously.

"...I can't say." Kentachi responded sadly. "She swore to me not to tell."

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, YOU DAMN WENCH?" A deep voice hissed, followed by the sounds of things being thrown and crashing noises.

The lone figure shivered in the corner of the room in which she was hiding. She did not want to be found by him now. Not when he got like this. "Koori-kun..." She whimpered, tears nearly spilling out of her eyes.

The sounds got closer and closer, until her heart pounded in her chest. Then, the door flew open, revealing a very enraged pokemon standing there, his cheeks flushed red. He was drunk. "You've been hiding in here like a little coward, huh? Instead of bringing me my damn dinner! I work over at that damned Guild and earn lots of money to support you, and you aren't holding up your end of the deal!"

"Yes, I understand, Koori-kun. Please don't yell at me. I swear I won't run away again." The girl pleaded, only to earn a sound smack to the face.

"I don't need backtalk, woman! All you need to do is obey me!" He hissed, pushing the terrified girl aside, until she fled. "You understand...Nida?"