A lone figure slipped into the room. It looked around to see the sleeping forms of an Eevee and a Riolu, each on opposite sides of the room. The figure crept over to where the Riolu lay sprawled across her bed and went to place an object on her outstretched hand…
"Danger! Danger!" Sol screamed when she felt something touch her. Her hand shot out reflexively to punch a startled Loudred in the face.
Loudred cried out and fell back, throwing the shallow, tin plate he was holding into the air. It soared across the room to land upside down on Eevee's bed, dumping bright orange paint everywhere.
"What's going on!" Eevee yelled and jumped up, paint splattered across his back and side.
"Sol just broke my nose!"
"You don't have a nose!"
"It still HURTS!"
Sunflora charged into the room with Chimecho.
"Oh my gosh, we heard shouting! Like, what's going on? Eek! Why are you orange?!"
"I don't know!"
Bidoof huffed and puffed his way into the now crowded room followed by Corpinish.
"By golly, what's all the racket- why are you orange?"
"Everyone just calm down!"
"Why were you in our room?!"
"I was trying to prank Sol."
"WHAT?!"
"You put paint or something on someone's hand while they're sleeping, then tickle their face. Come on, it's a classic! But then you went and punched me in the face!"
"Eek! You punched Loudred?"
"By instinct! And really, he deserved it!"
"Hey hey! You still haven't explained why you're orange."
"Hmm… it must be some defensive reflex you have, Sol."
"So in other words, if you want to keep all of your teeth, don't touch Sol while she sleeps."
"You shouldn't have been in here in the first place!"
"WHY ARE YOU ORANGE?!"
The situation disintegrated into an all out shouting match that continued out of the crew rooms into the main room, sucking every one they came across onto the fight. Some were on Sol's side, some on Loudred's, while most had no idea what was going on and were wondering why Eevee was orange. Old arguments and incidents were brought up, fueling the verbal battle, until everyone was yelling at someone for one reason or another.
Chatot walked into the room and saw the chaos.
"Ahem."
The sound was lost amidst the noise.
"All right everyone. Settle down."
He was completely ignored.
"POKÉMON! SHUT UP AND FORM UP!"
That caught the attention of the apprentices who quickly assembled into two neat lines for the morning addresses without another word.
"I have never seen such disgraceful behavior! I have half a mind to- why are you orange?"
Any response was interrupted when the Guildmaster's doors were thrown open and Wigglytuff skipped in.
"Hiya! Oooh, I had such a great idea last night and couldn't wait to tell you all! Let's go on an expedition! It'll be so much fun!"
There were excited murmurs from the apprentices.
"Oh my gosh! It's been, like, years since our last expedition! This is, like, so exciting!" Sunflora exclaimed.
"Yup yup! I've yet to go on an expedition. I would love to go on this one!" Bidoof agreed.
"Hold on!" Chatot said. "Guildmaster, expeditions take a lot of planning and hard work! You can't just decide to have one out of the blue!"
"Oh, Chatot! I've already planned it all out! Where we're going, the supplies we'll need, all the maps I could dig up. I was so excited last night that I couldn't sleep, so I wrote everything out!"
Wigglytuff whipped out a bundle of pappers and handed them over to Chatot.
"…These are… surprisingly well detailed…" Chatot said, flipping through them.
"Of course they are! I am the Guildmaster, after all! There's said to be a mysterious lake far to the east, and we're going to solve that mystery! YOOM TAH!"
Wigglytuff jumped into the air and danced around the room.
"This means you're going to be picking members for the expedition from all of us again, right?" Loudred asked.
"Precisely! We will depart in several days," Chatot said, now acting as if he had been a part of the decision from the start. "We will choose the most worthy of apprentices for the expedition. Under my- I mean, mine and Wigglytuff's leadership, I'm sure the expedition will be a huge success."
Sol could already tell Chatot was going to suck the fun out of everything. But this did sound exciting, even if she wasn't quite sure what one did on an expedition, other than travel.
"What do we actually do on an expedition?" Sol asked.
"On an expedition, we travel to a place far from the guild," Chimecho explained. "The journey itself can take several days, so it's a lot tougher than regular jobs. Then we do what exploration teams do best. Explore.
"Expeditions virtually always pay off, be it through the discovery of treasure or the renown of making a major discovery," Chatot said, of course jumping straight to the reward. "But unfortunately for you, we don't rookies on expeditions."
"What? But that's not fair! Eevee cried, his expression crushed.
"Those are the rules," Chatot chimed, looking far too pleased.
"Don't be a meanie," Wigglytuff said. "They've been working so hard! If they put forward their best effort, of course they can come! Ooh, this is going to be so much fun!"
Chatot looked annoyed but let the matter drop.
"All right everyone. It's back to work as usual."
The Pokémon broke off into groups and excitedly discussed the expedition.
"They'll be sure to pick me," Loudred proclaimed.
Boasting aside, Sol thought that was probably true. Other than Dugtrio, Loudred was the most senior apprentice and was well experienced with mystery dungeons.
"By golly, I wish I could be so confident," Bidoof said. "I'm not that good of an explorer yet, but I'll still try my best to get picked."
Based on skill alone, it was unlikely that Bidoof would be chosen. Of course, if someone were to decide that the expedition was just the sort of thing to turn him into a capable explorer, than his experience could actually work in his favour.
Sol ran through a mental list of who was most likely to go. Diglett had a good shot, mostly because Dugtrio was a major suckup and on Chatot's good side. He'd be pushing for his son to go, and Chatot responded well to all his flattery. Sol didn't hold that against Diglett, who was a decent sort, if a bit shy. It wasn't his fault his father was a douche.
Sunflora was talented, trusted with many tough jobs. Also as a grass type, she would be at an advantage against any hostile Pokémon sure to be found around the lake. Water type Corpinish would also be an asset, even if he was only a mediocre explorer.
Chimecho, though, wasn't all that experienced and didn't do much field work. She mostly managed things at the guild. She kept the logs, cooked, cleaned, handled supplies and the storerooms, kept communications with different guilds in other towns, managed the mail, all the little things that kept the Guild running smoothly. This didn't leave much time for venturing into dungeons. Of course, they would need someone to maintain equipment and map the area, things she was trained to do.
Croagunk, well, Sol didn't know much about him. He kept to himself and didn't socialize much, and to tell the truth, he creeped Sol out a little. According to the others, he was supposed to be some sort of genius ("he's like, crazy smart" Sunflora had said), and he was strong enough to muscle past any obstacle he couldn't think his was through.
Sol felt a growing sense of apprehension. There was a reason for everyone to go.
Except for Sol and Eevee.
They were the rookies, the newbies, yet to prove themselves or show any special skills the others didn't already have. No doubt Chatot would do his best to convince Wigglytuff to have them stay behind, and Sol was unsure just how many of the decisions made at the guild were actually the guild master's.
"Come on, Eevee," Sol said. "Let's go check out the boards before all the good jobs are taken."
They went up the stairs and Eevee went to the job bulletin board while Sol went to check out the wanted posters. They would have to really work to have a shot at getting chosen, though Sol didn't have much hope for herself. Chatot would no doubt be campaigning against her, though there was a chance, however slim, that his hatred wouldn't extend to Eevee. Sol would do her best to ensure at least her partner would get to go.
Sol looked the board over. She was making very little headway with footprint runes, despite Eevee's best efforts, but wanted posters were pretty self explanatory.
That one had a picture of a Lotad, usually not very tough… Sol picked out the runes that stood for Drenched Bluff, so no, they would not be going after a water Pokémon in place filled with water. But here was one for a Bellsprout in… Mt. Bristle. That was much better. Grass moves weren't as powerful in high, rocky areas.
"That's why I'm training at the guild, to overcome my own shortcomings! Even now, I'm working hard to get picked for the guild's expedition!" Eevee shouted.
Sol looked over to see Eevee being confronted by two familiar looking Pokémon. What were Koffing and Zubat doing here, and, more importantly, what were they doing with Eevee? Sol rushed over with bared teeth.
"What are you lot doing here?" she demanded.
"Heh-heh-heh," Zubat laughed. "What's wrong with an exploration ream checking out the job bulletin board?"
"Since when did exploration teams go around mugging people?" she snarled.
"The way we operate is not always… by the book, but we still make a better team than a couple of wimps like you," Koffing said.
"Heh-heh. Take that expedition of yours for instance. Effort will only take you so far. You won't get picked if you don't have talent, right? That's what it all comes down to, and team Skull beats you in that easily."
"Big talk!" Eevee said. "What kind of skills do you have? You're so weak you even lost to us!"
Valid point, but the 'even lost to us' part stung a little. Way to instill team confidence.
"Whoa-ho-ho! Well, we didn't have the Chief with us. Team Skull has three members, and the Chief is brutally tough. If he had been around, we'd have snapped you like twigs."
"Speaking of which, I smell him coming now!"
"Smell?" Eevee said quizzically.
A large, purple and white Skuntank came down the guild stairs and stopped in front of Sol.
"You! Move! Out of the way!"
He sprayed a purple cloud of foul smelling gas at Sol. She stumbled back coughing with burning eyes.
Imagine the worst smell you have ever encountered, then add a healthy dose of moldy cheese, wet dog, rotting meat and a sewer pipe, then multiply that by about fifty and you'll get a rough idea of what Sol experienced. To her sensitive Riolu nose, the stench was like a physical force slamming into her. By the time she came back to her senses, team Skull had already left.
"Are you Ok, Sol?" Eevee asked with concern.
"This happens entirely too often. Do you have any idea just how many times you have asked me that same exact question? Just about once every day."
"You're exaggerating."
"Yeah, but the sad thing is, not by much."
Eevee smiled faintly, but it soon faded.
"They were right. I am a wimp. Even after what Skuntank did, I couldn't bring myself to stand up to them. I let you down."
"Since when was not getting sprayed by an over sized skunk letting someone down? Speaking of which, this has got to be the grossest moment of my life. Excuse me while I go set my fur on fire."
"You'll have to settle for a good scrub, I'm afraid. I need to wash off this paint as well."
"But it's a great look for you! Orange is so your colour!"
"Very funny."
…
Four jobs, all at once, in the same dungeon. One renegade Bellsprout, one lost TM, one lost keepsake, and one lost explorer in need of an escape orb. Nothing glamorous, but it was enough to at least draw a little attention. They were a long way off from being surefire members of the expedition party, but it was a step in the right direction.
It was late by the time Sol and Eevee returned to the guild and they were the last to arrive.
"Oh my gosh! Did you hear the news?" Sunflora asked when they climbed down to the bottom floor of the guild.
"Sunflora, if this is another piece of gossip about someone's love life…"
"You, like, made it abundantly clear the, like, first time that you, like, don't care. No, its nothing like that. A new team just showed up, and they'll be, like, joining the expedition!"
"What?!"
"Yeah! They, like, showed up out of nowhere, and now they're, like, coming along to help. Do you think this means that they'll be taking less guild members? Because that is, like, totally unfair!"
"Where is this new team?"
"Over there. I think they're called team Skull."
Sol stiffened at the name, and sure enough she spotted Koffing, Zubat and Skuntank hanging out by themselves on one side of the room.
"They're totally mean!" Sunflora continued. "They started picking on Bidoof, like, the second they got here! I thought Loudred was going to rip their heads off!"
"A pity he didn't," Sol muttered. "How did they manage to join the expedition? They're not even a part of the guild!"
"Well, they, like, disappeared into the Guildmaster's quarters, and when they came back out, it was like they and Wigglytuff were, like, the best of friends! And then they talked to Chatot, and now he's fawning all over them!"
This was bad. Very, very bad. Who knew what they were capable of. Sol got the impression that Koffing and Zubat weren't all that bright, but Skuntank was a complete unknown. This was not going to end well.
Chimecho came out and announced that dinner was ready. Skuntank practically shoved her out of the way on his way into the mess hall, and Sol felt a spark of anger. Since beating people to a bloody pulp was frowned upon at the guild, she had to push the feeling down.
One side of the table was crowded with Pokémon, all squished together as they tried to stay as far away as possible from the newcomers. This became a problem when Koffing and Zubat pushed all the good plates down to their end, leaving nothing but baskets of plain bread available for the others. Completely oblivious, Chatot and Wigglytuff continued on with their own meals.
"What are we supposed to do?" Bidoof whispered. "They have all the food, and I'm starving!"
He looked over at team Skull, but quickly stared back down at his empty plate when Skuntank gave him a glare.
"Hey hey! We can't just let them bully us around like this!" Corpinish said.
"I don't see you going over there!" Sunflora said.
They sat in silence for a several moments, each unwilling to stand up to team Skull.
"You know what, this is getting ridiculous," Sol finally said.
She pushed back her chair and stood up. Without a word she walked over to the other side of the table. She heard someone move behind her, and looked back to see Loudred following.
Sol stooped at the end of the table and stared at Skuntank. He stared back. There was a tense moment, and then Sol reached down and picked up two of the plates. Zubat started to say something, but was silenced by a look from Skuntank.
"Not such a wimp after all," he said with a smile.
Sol returned to her seat and placed the plates down, and Loudred returned seconds after with two plates of his own. The food was passed around, no fighting or competition this time.
Sol picked at her own food, suddenly devoid of appetite. She did her best to avoid the calculating look on Skuntank's face and the cold feeling it gave her.