Chapter 10: A Trip with an A
A few days after the incident, Jason was finally released from the ward. Jason and Wilfred were currently in the cave where Wilfred lives.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay at the guild? It's much more comfortable and convenient there," Wilfred asked as he arranged the items in his bag. Jason gave a nod as he arranged the small backpack Wilfred gave him yesterday.
"It's fine. Besides, someone said that you'll need company," Jason wore his bag on his back.
"It's not that I don't like company, it's just—I guess you can stay here. Besides, this is a special place for me," Wilfred said as he also placed the strap of his bag on his shoulder. Jason wondered about it for a minute.
"Okay, let's go!" Wilfred said and Jason followed after him. Both of them went to the guild in Central Town. As Jason and Wilfred went to the entrance, Jason saw two familiar faces. The Litleo smiled at both of them but the Pansear seriously looked at Jason as they went inside the guild.
"Which reminds me… I haven't shown you around the guild yet, right? How about a little introduction about the guild?" Wilfred asked Jason, who gave a nod.
"Where we are right now is the guild's lobby. I'm pretty sure I've introduced you here before," Wilfred said.
"Yeah, I remember," Jason said as he looked at the boards, along with some Pokémon.
"On the left is the ward. I guess you know that already."
"Yeah. I spent quite a lot of time in there," Jason joked about it and smiled. "What's next?"
"To the right is the dining hall, where the guild members get their fair share of food," Wilfred said as he pointed to the right. Jason saw a corridor and at the end of it seems to be a large room.
"The second floor consists of the crew quarters and the guild master's office," Wilfred explained as he pointed up the stairs.
"The corridor on the right of the stairs lead to the holding cells and the interrogation room. That's where we keep and interrogate the outlaws we catch until the police pick them up," Wilfred continued explaining. "The corridor on the left of the stairs is the investigation area, where they investigate a lot of new things. They also make new discoveries there."
"What exactly do they do there?" Jason asked.
"It's quite complicated for me to understand," Wilfred said as he scratched the back of his head. "My father said that they're studying a lot of things that might benefit all of us someday."
"Can we check it out for a moment?" Jason eagerly asked.
"Sure," Wilfred said. They walked down the corridor to the left of the stairs. As they reached the end of the corridor, Jason saw a huge space with a bunch of Pokémon. Jason noticed that there are several rooms nearby and a library just to his immediate right. Just then, a Quilava wearing glasses with a black frame approached them.
"Wilfred! Glad to see you here," the Quilava, who approached them in all fours, stood up and reached out a hand.
"Lance, it's nice to see you too!" Wilfred took the Quilava's hand and shook it.
"So this must be your partner, Jason."
"How did you know?"
"Elaine told me."
"Oh, I'd better introduce you to Jason," Wilfred said and he looked to Jason, who was busy staring elsewhere. Wilfred noticed this and tapped Jason's shoulder to get his attention.
"Jason, this is Lance. He works here and he's the guy to go to when you need information," Wilfred said.
"Nice to meet you," Jason reached out his hand.
"Nice to meet you, too," Lance took Jason's hand and shook it. "Anyway, what brings you here?"
"I'm just taking Jason around," Wilfred said.
"I see. Anyway, I'd better get back. Tell Cath I said hi."
"I will," Wilfred said as Lance went away and entered a room. Jason was looking around and after a short while, he approached Wilfred.
"I guess we'd better get moving," Jason said.
"Okay," Wilfred replied.
They walked down the corridor again and returned to the lobby. Then, something caught Jason's attention. He stopped at a board nearby with a large wooden plaque beneath it with the words 'Team Nexus'. Wilfred noticed Jason stopping and approached him quickly.
"Is there something on our board?" Wilfred asked as he noticed that Jason was looking at their request board.
"Yeah, there is," Jason said as he pointed on the single note posted on the board.
"We have a request?" Wilfred was excited about this and looked at the note to read it.
"Dear Team Nexus. I have a Kecleon friend named Leon who went to the Quartz Cave yesterday. He was supposed to meet me later afternoon that day but he never showed up. Can you please check Quartz Cave? I'm worried that something bad happened. Yours truly, Pete the Pupitar."
Jason took down mental notes as soon as Wilfred finished reading it.
"This seems urgent. How about we take this one?" Wilfred asked Jason, who gave a nod after a short while.
"I almost forgot! Quartz Cave is a mystery dungeon. I need to explain mystery dungeons to you before we go," Wilfred said.
"Mystery dungeons are special places that changes their layout every time someone enters. At most occasions, hostile Pokémon lurk around and live there. Am I right?" Jason asked.
"How did you know?"
"I read it in a book Cindy lent to me."
"I guess that saves us some time. Let's go?" Wilfred asked Jason, who agreed in an instant.
The two left the guild and traveled towards Quartz Cave. After a couple of hours of walking, they finally arrived at the entrance of the dungeon. They stopped in front of the entrance.
"Which reminds me, this is our first mission together as a Ranger Squad. I'm excited but it also kinda makes me nervous," Wilfred said.
"But this is what you wanted to do, right?" Jason asked.
"Yeah. We'd better get moving," Wilfred said.
The two have entered the dungeon. As they traversed the dungeon, a few Pokémon attacked them and they attacked back at them. After a while of exploring through the dungeon, a Geodude suddenly attacked them and took off with Wilfred's bag.
"Hey! Get back here with my bag!" Wilfred shouted as both Wilfred and Jason chased after the Geodude. The Geodude was moving around quickly but both Wilfred and Jason are not far behind.
"For a Geodude, you sure can run fast!" Wilfred said.
"It's more like a hop than a run," Jason commented.
Then, the Geodude took a turn at the corner. Jason saw this as an opportunity as he used the wall on the corner to gain speed by jumping on it. As he closed on the Geodude, Jason extended his vines and grabbed Wilfred's bag before he landed in front of the Geodude. Shocked, the Geodude paused for a moment and decided to turn back but he was greeted by Wilfred's Razor Shell. After the hit, the Geodude ran by Jason, who let him through.
"Here," Jason gave back Wilfred's bag.
"That was quite a run," Wilfred said while catching his breath.
"Take extra care in guarding your bag next time."
"Yeah. It won't happen again."
They continued traversing through the dungeon. After a while and a couple of fights, they have reached a place where there are several large crystals made of quartz, some colored while others are colorless. Wilfred looked ahead but he can't find a way to move forward.
"I guess this is a dead end," Wilfred said. "But we never saw any signs of the Kecleon."
"Maybe he's not even here in the first place," Jason said.
"W-Wait!"
Just then, a Kecleon came out from behind the crystal and approached the two.
"You must be Leon," Wilfred said.
"Y-Yes. I was hiding behind the crystal until you came," the Kecleon said.
"It looks like nothing bad happened to you. Anyway, let's get you—," Wilfred tried to approach the Kecleon but Jason stopped him.
"Hiding from what?" Jason asked the Kecleon.
"There was a big Pokémon who suddenly attacked me. I'm not much of a fighter so I hid behind the crystal," the Kecleon explained.
"But we saw no one that fits your description. Besides, you're a Kecleon. You could've camouflaged and slipped through the Pokémon attacking you," Jason argued.
"T-That never occurred to me. I'm sorry," Leon said.
"Is something wrong, Jason?" Wilfred asked.
Jason looked at the Kecleon for a moment.
"I doubt you'd forget your own abilities, Leon," Jason said.
"Tch. Fine! If you want to play that way. Now!"
Suddenly, a Seviper and a Pupitar appeared behind them. Distracted, Wilfred was tackled by the Kecleon and was sent flying momentarily towards a crystal.
"Wilfred!" Jason approached his partner and helped him stand up. As soon as he stood up, Wilfred looked at the Pokémon in front of them. The Kecleon suddenly changed into magenta-colored blob.
"Things could've gone more smoothly if the Snivy didn't ask such questions," the Ditto, who was previously a Kecleon, said as he went in between the Seviper and Pupitar.
"There's nowhere to run, boys," the Seviper hissed briefly.
"You're in our trap now!" the Pupitar said.