When Wigglytuff only nodded at Lugum's response and told Chatot to escort them out of the guild, the riolu grappled with what the question even signified to the Guild Leader. Was it a way to imply that they wanted her on board, or a simple gauge of her determination to find a reason for violence? Whatever one it was, Lugum left the Wigglytuff Guild with more progress made than three years of embarrassing cowardice.

Most of this progress was born out of her eerie situation with the grate, but there were those parts that only Ago had inspired. Without him, Chatot would have found her panicking and sobbing about a decorated rock, or, in the worst-case scenario, killed again because she tried to take it back. As they walked through the main village center, and towards the coast, she watched as he looked around with curiosity.

"So, this was all done by pokémon, huh? How did you guys manage it?" He asked. "Some of you don't have arms, or you float, or you're simply too big for these kinds of places. How do you regulate it all- better yet, what tools do you use-"

"Stop, please!" Lugum pleaded, rubbing her paws together nervously. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"You keep speaking like I'm on thing and you're another. 'You' and 'you guys'... you're scaring me!" This silenced him. Ago looked down at himself with what Lugum saw a renewed expression of confusion and fear. Suddenly, a claw flashed up towards Lugum, and Ago appeared as if he wanted to explain, but both the appearance and the claw dropped an instant later. The hard-working merchants who hadn't closed up for the afternoon only saw the pikachu pat his side, but Lugum felt slighted.

In Treasure Town, the home a family lived in spoke a lot about their status. Usually, the more thematically related the building is to your species, the higher up in the social circles you are. Those who weren't quite at the top settled for a home with motifs based on the environment they favored. Above them, at the tip top, well-off and famous pokémon tried to embody themselves as legendary by making a part of their home- the roof or the door, usually- look like them.

As for building these structures, that was a mystery for the interior explorers. Certain guilds focused solely on figuring out how different species of pokémon live. From their daily habits, how they have fun in their spare time, how they gather food, how the build... whether or not they are embezzling money at their job, whether or not they are hiding a feral pokémon in their house as a pet... 'interior interrogators' was a name that suited them far better. Lugum realized that this would probably help Ago feel a little less confused, so she threw it all out there. Pokémon lazing about the street looked back curiously as she explained the obvious.

The part that gripped Ago the most was the feral pokémon. "Wait, whoa, give me a minute." He took a minute, looking down at his claws as if he wanted to solve this like a math problem. "So some pokémon take these ferals- pokémon without sentience- and domesticate them? That's fucking twisted, Lu."

She nodded excitedly, happy that Ago agreed. The passion helped her get over the nervousness of talking to the pikachu. "And that's not the worst part, though," Lugum said angrily. "These tamers don't want to domesticate them... their goal is to get them as violent and strong as possible. And when the ferals are all ready, they have underground rings where they fight in battles."

"...What?"

"They say that some rings have six on six battles. That's twelve ferals being tortured and forced to fight in an arena. And since they are trained... a single break-out could mean death for many townsfolk. My boss, a mightyena, lost both of his parents when a seviper got loose a few years ago."

Ago stopped, and stared straight forward. His arms shivered for a second. "Do... do you know where this 'crime' came from?"

Instantly, Lugum felt like something about the rings interested him personally. "Wait, why do you want to know?" Then, the way he had said 'crime' took precedence. She stopped too, but couldn't bother to turn around. "You... you don't think that battling them is a crime, do you? But... but you thought it was twisted before."

He walked forward slowly. "W-where I'm from a long time ago, Lugum, I think that it had more meaning."

"Where are you from that is like that?" Lugum asked quietly. "Where are you from that likes to take someone that they find too stupid to object and make them fight all of your battles? Do you think it is fun, to be manipulated because you can't catch up as fast as others?" She had never known she felt so strongly about something like this, that this feeling of frustration would ever come to her. It was like her outburst towards the krabby, except more right.

"The Wigglytuff Guild," she began to deduce in a low hiss, "is no different from wherever you came from and the tamers here. No other value of mine ever got through their gate, but me surviving my own stupidity made it so they probably couldn't take their eyes off of me. And, even so I know that their intentions are based only on what happened last night... I'm going to accept whatever offer they give me. A stupid fool like me has to find some way to explore... is this the kind of thinking that gives your town's taming extra meaning? Well?"

Ago did not summon any cuss words or yell out quit trying to guilt-trip me! this time. When Lugum saw that he had nothing else to do other than mope, she started to walk again. When Lugum finally put her eyes on the trail, she caught sight of the grovyle Wigglytuff and themselves argued with. Something stirred inside of Lugum as the grovyle limped forward. This wasn't to get anywhere, Lugum surmised; the grovyle's only goal seemed to be to drown out the shame of being fired with distance.

It wasn't hard to catch up to him. "There is so much pathway to go around," he muttered without even turning to see who was behind him, "why can't you use the other parts?"

"Why are we getting near this asshole?" Ago whispered. The pikachu, smart enough to see that Lugum ended all conversation on the taming, replaced it with complaints about the grovyle. "Lu, we need to back up before he tries something."

The grovyle twisted his head around to catch a glimpse of the pikachu and riolu. "Oh, it's you two. Even better, I suppose. If the guild members ask them about me, tell them I drank myself to death, or however you say it." He gave it a little more thought, and then sighed. "Damn, the hardest part about doing that is that I'll get too drunk to remember that I'm supposed to keep drinking. Plus, I don't even know if it's possible- where's a fucking interior explorer when you- ack!"

He angrily twisted about as Lugum attempted to prop him up. "Come on," she insisted nervously, "t-that's not a good route of action. You can stay at my place until you find another place to work."

"Why?!" Ago and the grovyle shouted out in unison.

"Lugum, are you starting a home for the lost and confused or something? What is this all about?"

"Why do you think I'd want your pity, girl? Submitting me to torture from this hypocritical little rat isn't helping me!"

Lugum tried to stay calm as they yelled at her, waiting patiently for them to give her a chance to speak. When it was obvious that an opportunity would not arise, she spoke anyways. "You're... you're the one who I am probably replacing. And I am not so stupid to the point that I think it's a normal job. I want to know why they let you in... I want to know why they might let me in... for this position. So, if it isn't too much trouble..."

"Daté. The 'e' sounds like an 'ay'. Say it incorrectly and I will kill you wherever you are standing when you say it. I am only responsible enough to respect one thing at a time, and since it looks like my body and my social standing are out of the question, my name is my last line of honor." Even so it made him wince, Daté threw his arms over his head. "You know, when you put it like that, I'm a little glad you asked. It isn't my forté or even something I'm interested in doing, but saving your life could be exactly what I need to feel good after this. Arceus should be fine with me being... f-fine..."

The two of them leaped away in surprise as Daté fell over. Lugum and Ago watched as the grovyle grimaced weakly, trying to slowly crawl back up to his feet, and eventually falling down unconscious. All that came afterwards was a scoff by Ago. "Lugum, he's obviously desperate to con you."

She turned to look at the pikachu. "What makes you say that?"

"The extent of his injuries are bad, so he- as a skilled guild member or whatever- should have known that trying to go somewhere was a bad idea, right? My bet is that, after he realized that he was going to go out cold, he decided to walk down the path until he did so. He knew we were most likely leaving soon, so he gambled that you would find him and take him home." When Lugum shook her head, Ago gave her a scowl. "What the hell? I'm trying to stop you from getting abused after all of your bitching about it, and then you fall right into this guy's con? Why?!"

The nervous riolu gave a small giggle. For some reason, the longer she stayed around Ago the stronger she felt. "It doesn't matter how much I want to be independed," she explained, "I can't just leave him on the side of the road."

"Sure you can."

"Be quiet and help me lift him up. Watch his blades." With the help of the pikachu, they were able to lift the grovyle onto their backs. He was lighter than Lugum expected.

"He smells like booze," Ago complained. "What kind of upstanding 'guild' lets someone like this in?"

"A good question," Lugum replied. As they took Daté to Sharpedo Bluff, her home, answering that question was the only goal on her mind.