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Chapter 9
Serene Village School
What a crummy morning. Charmander thought to himself.
Charmander's day wasn't exactly off to a good start. He overslept due to last night's events, as Nuzleaf allowed him to stay up late with him, until he felt ready to go back to sleep. Bad idea, as he was forced to sprint to school to avoid being late. However, even though he was adapting to his new Pokémon body, he overestimated just how fast he was running, and was unable to stop in time, colliding into Squirtle at the school gates.
"What a role reversal!" Panchan jeered, his arms crossed. "Hey, Charmander, don't tell me you're trying to copy Squirtle now!"
Charmander and Squirtle glared at each other, and they both got to their feet. The last thing Charmander wanted to do was run into Squirtle after yesterday's events. Charmander shook his head silently, walked over to his desk, and sat down, placing his bag nearby. After everyone was seated, it was revealed that Farfetch'd was out for the day, and in his place, the Vice Principal would be teaching. The class groaned in unison, and for the first time, Charmander wasn't all that interested in today's lessons. However, before long, the Vice Principal had lined the students up, similarly to yesterday.
"We are going on another field trip today." Watchog announced proudly. "However, if you all want yesterday's disaster to be avoided, you'd all best pay attention to me, understood? Especially you there, Squirtle!"
"Huh? Me?" Squirtle replied, confused.
"Yes, you! Once a troublemaker, always a troublemaker!" Watchog said, flatly. "That's my motto! Now-you're all going to be heading to Glittering Mountain today! The rules are as same as yesterday-the first team to reach the yellow flag wins."
"Isn't Glittering Mountain full of traps?" Goomy asked, concerned. "And I heard the Mysteriosity rating has increased over there."
"You're correct, Goomy!" Watchog replied proudly, much to the dismay of the class. "Now, you all may be asking: 'Why would the Vice Principal send us into such a dangerous Mystery Dungeon?' Well, suck it up! The Mysteriosity rating has increased, but you all need to experience that, just in case you have to go through a Dungeon with a high Mysteriosity rating in the future!"
Some of the students exchanged worried and puzzled glances. Charmander crossed his arms. This was taught before. Most Mystery Dungeons never had a higher Mysteriosity rating than 1 or 2. But there were a few exceptions. The rating determined how often a Mysterious aura would blow through the Dungeon, affecting it in different ways.
"Now, Glittering Mountain's Mysteriosity rating is 3. You'll most likely encounter a Mysterious aura, or, unless you're lucky, you might not encounter one at all." Watchog instructed. "They affect the Dungeon in different ways. Some effects may include causing only a certain Pokémon to appear on that floor, or perhaps lowering the speed of every Pokémon on the floor. In essence, you should be very careful in Dungeons with a high Mysteriosity rating. Now, you also may be asking: 'Well, how can I tell when an aura appears in the Dungeon?' Well, children, I'll impart some more of my great knowledge with you: You can't. Good luck!"
Watchog stared at the class with a serious expression. A few murmurs rose from the students, and most of them had a terrified or concerned expression on their faces. A few moments of silence passed before Watchog threw his hands up in exasperation.
"That was a joke? Hello? Am I talking to a wall, here?" Watchog exclaimed. "Gosh. You kids don't know humor, do you?"
An awkward chuckle arouse from the class. Watchog put his hands on his hips and sighed.
"Fine. Where were we?" Watchog asked, thinking. "Oh! Yes, the Mysterious aura...well, they manifest as a harsh wind, usually green or yellow. Some may appear red, but that's only in Dungeons with high Mysteriosity ratings. Now, it's time to separate you all into teams. As usual, I will be handing out item boxes, which you will use to traverse the Dungeon safely. Some of the items you will find: Five oran berries, picked by yours truly from the finest of bushes. One trapbust orb, purchased from the esteemed Kecleon! Two blast seeds, retrieved from the depths of a terrible volcano! And so many more, I can't possibly list them all. And-of course, the moment you've all been waiting for, I'm sure. The teams!"
Watchog pulled out a sheet of paper, waving it around like it determined the destiny of every student present. Watchog cleared his throat, and began to read aloud, making sure the class can hear his lovely and amazing voice.
"Ahem! Drumroll please...now, Team 1! Vice Principal Watchog's Ultra amazing team!" Watchog announced, proudly. "Team 1 will be made of Pancham, Goomy, and Squirtle! I'm sure you're all pleased."
"I'm anything but pleased..." Pancham muttered. "You don't expect me to work with Squirtle, do you?"
"Hold your complaints until after I finish, alright?" Watchog replied, sighing. "Now, Team 2: Vice Principal Watchog's Super duper amazing team of amazement! Deerling! Espurr! And Charmander! Shelmet will simply standby and observe, today."
"Hm...let's do a good job together, Espurr and Charmander." Deerling said, smiling.
"We'll make a good team." Espurr replied confidently.
Charmander nodded quietly. Deerling didn't seem too upset at him after yesterday, but he didn't want to jinx it or anything. Watchog clapped his hands, calling for attention. He tossed his slip of paper onto the ground, and then proceeded to lift an item box.
"And now, to hand out your item boxes!" Watchog announced. "Send a representative up to collect it!"
Deerling turned to Charmander. "Do you mind if you get it, Charmander? I'm not exactly good at holding stuff."
"Yes, and psychics aren't exactly physically strong." Espurr added, smiling. "You'll get it, won't you?"
"Alright, I'll get it." Charmander said, nodding.
Charmander walked over to Watchog, and received an item box. He brought it over to Espurr and Deerling, and opened it, revealing the usual bag. Espurr stared at the bag for a moment, before lifting her head up, glancing at Deerling and Charmander.
"Five oran berries, and two blast seeds, as he promised." Espurr reported. "There's also five apples, one orb, a dozen Iron Spikes, and a book."
"What? How did you know all that just from glancing at it?" Charmander asked, impressed.
"Observation, of course. The book was easy to make out, there's a large rectangular bulge in the bag." Espurr explained. "The other items have a distinct enough imprint on the bag to make out. Blast seeds have a more pronounced point when the shell curves into itself, which differentiates it from other seeds. The apples and the orb should be self-explanatory, of course, they're much larger than the berries."
"Wow...that's impressive." Charmander replied, nodding. "Maybe you can teach me that sometime."
"Sounds like a plan, then." Espurr said, smiling. "Deerling, are you going to carry the bag?"
"Yes, that's right." Deerling assured. "Charmander, you'll take the front, alright? Just in case it gets dark in the Dungeon. Your tail flame will come in handy."
"Alright, got it." Charmander said.
"Team 1, have you chosen a representativ-" Watchog began, but he interrupted himself, and shook his head. "I should have known..."
Pancham's fur was completely drenched in water, and he was glaring at Squirtle, who was completely covered in bruises. He was rubbing his cheek, which had been punched particularly hard, and was glaring right back at Pancham. Goomy was shaking his head sadly, and Watchog walked over to the three, placing an item box nearby.
"Perhaps you all should have saved your moves for the Dungeon, hm?" Watchog asked. "As a wise Pokémon, otherwise known as me, once said: Save the drama for your mama! Or...no, wait, I mixed that up. Uh...nevermind! Whenever you all are ready, you may head into the Dungeon! Remember, take the left path to Glittering Mountain, not the right!"
"...Well, I guess we better head in, then." Deerling sighed. "Let's go..."
Charmander gave one last glance at Squirtle, tilting his head. It looked like he was hurt, not just on the physical scale, but perhaps on a more personal and mental scale. Charmander didn't avert his gaze for a few moments, until he heard Deerling speaking to him.
"Charmander, is there anything wrong?" Deerling asked. "We have to go."
"R-Right. Let's go." Charmander said, shaking his head. "Sorry."
And so Team 2 headed into the Forest, making sure to take the path to the right. Before long, the path became rocky and mountainous, and, glancing up, Charmander saw a large Mountain, with a tunnel leading directly into the Mountain.
"...How many floors are in this Dungeon, again?" Charmander asked, turning to the others.
"Six floors." Espurr reported. "Remember, there are traps in the Dungeon, as well as a chance of a Mysterious aura appearing. I suggest you look over this book Watchog supplied for us. Once you get past the constant self-applause, it's handy for learning about the appearance of traps, and what they do."
"Alright. I'll give it a read when we're inside." Charmander said, nodding. "Let's just be careful, alright?"
"Oh, don't worry about us, Charmander." Deerling replied confidently. "We're more than capable of handling ourselves. You focus on not getting us lost."
"Yeah, I'll do my best." Charmander replied sheepishly. "But just try to stick close."
Charmander lead the way, with Deerling and Espurr following close behind, into the entrance of Glittering Mountain's cavern Mystery Dungeon.
Glittering Mountain 1F
Charmander tried to decipher the long and complicated words Watchog constantly used in his book to no avail. He skimmed over most of the words, only reading anything that sounded remotely important to understanding and recognizing traps in Dungeons, and those sections were extremely brief, and few in number, buried beneath the self-pandering of the Vice Principal.
"Well, from what I can make out..." Charmander said, sighing. "We might run into hunger and slumber traps in this Dungeon. They'll lower our belly, or make us fall asleep."
"Hunger traps, huh?" Deerling repeated, concerned. "At least we have five apples. Nobody can Dungeon trek with on an empty stomach."
"We won't know where traps are until we step on one." Espurr explained. "I suggest we all be careful. If we do run into an trap, we can use the trapbust orb Watchog gave us."
Charmander nodded, closing the book, and handing it to Deerling, who placed it in the bag. The first floor was so far peaceful, and, aside from the gems that dotted the cavern's walls, there was nothing eventful occurring. Deerling and Espurr seemed pretty experienced at exploring Dungeons, which put most of his mind at ease.
This Dungeon might not be all that bad. Charmander thought. After all, we're a pretty capable team...
"It's kind of odd..." Deerling mused. "There's no ferals in sight. I wonder where they all are."
"Well, we haven't reached the higher floors." Charmander replied. "Besides, isn't that a good thing? I'd rather avoid fighting wilds."
"I suppose so." Deerling said, sighing. "I'm just worried, that's all."
"About Goomy?" Charmander asked, glancing behind him. "I'm sure he'll be fine."
"No, I'm worried about you." Deerling muttered. "You seemed out of it this morning..."
"You are?" Charmander repeated, before shaking his head. "I was tired this morning, is all."
"Look over there." Espurr said, suddenly.
Charmander glanced in the direction of Espurr's gaze, spotting the stone stairs in the corner of the room the path lead into. As the three entered the room, there were still no ferals in sight. Charmander exhaled a sigh of relief.
"Well, let's continue on." Deerling urged. "We don't want to stay on one floor too long."
And so the three climbed the stairs to the second floor.
Glittering Mountain 2F
The three Pokémon proceeded through the Dungeon at a steady pace, each eye trained to look for two things: the stairs, and ferals. Charmander lead the way, taking whichever paths seemed promising. Eventually, the trio found themselves on a particularly long path, and Espurr suddenly tapped Charmander, causing him to glance at the Restraint Pokémon.
"What's your favorite color?" Espurr asked, flatly.
"Huh? Oh, it's blue, I guess." Charmander replied, confused. "Why do you ask? That's a weird question to pull out of nowhere."
"You guess your favorite color is blue? Odd." Espurr said, smirking. "But, I just wanted to know a bit more about you, you know? Not a lot of Pokémon in our class know you all that well, Charmander."
Charmander thought about the statement. It's true, it's not like he had told any of the students about him or anything, or about his strange predicament. He hasn't hung out with any of them after school, he usually just heads home to rest. Really, the only Pokémon he did anything with was Squirtle.
"Huh. You're right about that." Charmander mused. "Well, what else do you want to know? I mean, besides my favorite color. And yes, I'm pretty sure it's blue."
"Well, really, I just wanted to know your color, for right now." Espurr replied softly. "I don't want to disrupt your concentration in the middle of a Dungeon."
"It's fine." Charmander replied cheerfully. "If you really want to know something, just ask."
"Well, in that case..." Espurr said, bringing her voice to a low whisper. "Do you like Deerling?"
"What?!" Charmander whispered, sheepishly. "I mean, as a friend-yeah!"
"Your cheeks are rosy." Espurr reported sternly. "Well, well, Charmander, glad to discover something else about you."
"What are you talking about?" Charmander muttered, confused. "We're just friends."
"If you say so." Espurr replied, shrugging. "So, what's your birthday, then?"
Charmander thought about it for a moment. He probably had a birthday as a human, but he couldn't exactly remember it.
"Well?" Espurr said, tilting her head. "Don't tell me you don't know your birthday."
"Um...it's August 24th." Charmander finally said, pulling random months and dates out of his hand. "Yeah, August 24th, 2000."
"Oh, interesting!" Espurr said, satisfied. She turned her head towards Deerling. "What is it, May 19th, today?"
"Yeah, it is." Deerling assured. "A few days and it'll be summer. It'll be nice to see my Summer Form again."
"Your summer form?" Charmander asked, interested. "What's that?"
"My fur changes colors every season change." Deerling explained, proudly. "Right now it's spring, so it's pink...but next month, it'll be summer, and my fur will turn green."
"Wait, really?" Charmander asked, impressed. "Does my fur do that?"
"Considering you don't have fur, I would assume not, Charmander." Deerling replied with a smile. "You have scales, don't you know?"
"I don't think Charmander knows a lot of things." Espurr added smugly. "Took him a while to remember his own birthday and his favorite color."
"Oh? He told you all that stuff?" Deerling asked, impressed. "You sure know how to get information from Pokémon, don't you?"
"Well, it wasn't that hard." Espurr replied proudly. "August 24th, 2000, and his favorite color is blue. Interesting, right?"
"Very. You'd think his favorite color was red." Deerling said with a laugh.
Charmander glanced forward again, spotting the stairs in a nearby room. Eager to change the subject, he pointed out his discovery, and lead the others towards the stairs. With a nod, the three climbed the stairs onto the third floor.
Glittering Mountain 3F
"You'd think we run into a few traps by now." Deerling mused. "We must be pretty lucky."
"Either luck, or the fact we don't have anyone running around in every direction." Espurr said with a laugh. "Remember the time we explored Lush Forest with Squirtle?"
"Oh, yeah! That was a disaster." Deerling sighed, shaking her head softly. "But I think he's gotten better at exploring, really."
"Yeah, somehow he was able to find the stairs twice when we got lost, just by following his 'gut'." Espurr added, nodding. "I still don't understand how he did that."
"You explored with him, too, huh?" Charmander asked, leading the three down a path.
"Yeah. He certainly keeps things lively." Deerling replied. "But I'm sure you know, you explored with him twice, already."
"...Yeah, real lively." Charmander muttered.
As the three Pokémon entered a room, Espurr's ears flickered, and she turned her head sharply towards a path leading out of the room. Charmander and Deerling glanced at the path, then at Espurr.
"What's the matter, Espurr?" Deerling asked, concerned. "Is it a feral?"
"Spearow." Espurr reported. "They're coming."
Charmander focused, listening. For a few moments, there was silence. However, shrill cries of a flock of birds began to pour into the room, marking the arrival of the bird Pokémon. As the flock of six Spearows flew in, four of them spotted the three, and instantly dive-bombed, striking first for fear of being struck. Charmander ducked, covering his head, as one of the Spearows attempted to peck him with it's beak.
"Oh, why did it have to be Spearow?" Deerling groaned, tackling one of the attacking Spearows. "Don't let them poke your eyes out!"
Charmander rolled over on the ground, spotting the same Spearow from before circling for another attack. Charmander exhaled a blast of fire, knocking it out of the sky, and scrambling to his feet. He glanced over towards Espurr, who knocked another Spearow out of the air with a multi-colored beam. Deerling gathered energy, forming a greenish-blue ball at the two Spearow, knocking them into one another, and out of the sky. The two remaining Spearow fled, realizing they no longer had numbers on their side.
"Well, Deerling? You were wondering where the ferals were, weren't you?" Charmander said sarcastically. "They seem pretty friendly."
"Don't start, Charmander." Deerling replied, unamused. "Let's just get off this floor before more of them show up."
"The stairs must be this way." Espurr said, pointing down the path the Spearows emerged from. "Ferals like to nest around them."
"Then let's go!" Deerling said, nodding.
And so the three Pokémon headed down the path, and sure enough, the stairs were in the next floor. Eager to get to the next floor, the trio climbed the stairs.
Glittering Mountain 4F
The trio walked through a long path, full of turns. Charmander noticed that the floor was bit louder than previous floors, as the shrill cries of Spearow were occasionally heard echoing through the Dungeon. Indeed, the team was periodically bothered by one Spearow, sometimes two, but they were handled pretty effectively. For a time, no Spearows attacked them, and Deerling sighed, glancing around.
"This floor is unnecessarily narrow." Deerling complained. "I'm glad I'm not claustrophobic."
"And I'm getting hungry." Charmander added. "Fighting those Spearow are starting to wear me out."
"We'll stop on the next floor, then." Deerling replied. "It's not a good idea to eat in the middle of a path like this in Dungeons."
Charmander nodded, and continued on, eager to find the stairs to the next floor. The path eventually straightened out into a room, only to reveal two diverging paths, one to the left and one to the right. Charmander groaned, not appreciating the current layout of the floor. Espurr and Deerling entered the room, and stepped towards the path's entrances, glancing down both.
"This is always a bad sign." Espurr mused quietly. "One of these paths either lead back into that long path we took, or into a dead end..."
"Or into a death trap." Deerling finished, shaking her head. "We'll have to choose carefully."
"Well, do we have any ideas?" Charmander asked, crossing his arms. "Even with my tail fire, we can't see too far down the path."
"...Fire, huh?" Espurr repeated, thinking. "Oh, why don't you try breathing fire down one of the paths?"
"What if he hits a feral nest, Espurr?" Deerling asked, concerned.
"That'd be a good sign. Remember, they nest near stairs." Espurr replied. "Try it out, Charmander."
Charmander gave Espurr a nod, and stepped towards the path on the left.
"Alright. Here we go." Charmander muttered. He inhaled, and then fired another blast of fire down the path. The orange flames streaked down the path, and then suddenly hit a wall in the Dungeon, exploding into tiny flames, which faded. Charmander shook his head.
"Nothing down here." Charmander reported. "I'll try the next path."
The others nodded, and Charmander did the same to the path on the right. However, the orange flames exploded much earlier than on the last path, and a loud growl was heard from down the path.
"He hit a feral." Deerling said, glancing at Espurr. "But it didn't sound like a Spearow."
Charmander saw it first. It was a Deino, who was covered in black ash, barreling towards him. The Deino showed impressive agility, leaping up and tackling Charmander, knocking him to the ground.
"Deino!" Espurr announced. "It's a Dark type, my psychic abilities are useless against it."
Charmander grunted, focusing power into his left claw, until it shone that familiar turquoise color. He slashed the Deino's neck with his claw, knocking it off of him, only for it to be slammed with Deerling's hind legs from her buck. The Deino collapsed onto the ground, growling softly. Charmander got up, shaking his head.
"Dragon claw?" Deerling said, impressed. "I didn't know you learned that."
"Oh, well, surprise." Charmander replied, performing some jazz hands-er-claws. "It comes in handy every now and then."
"Very resourceful, Charmander." Espurr said, amused. "Let's head down this path, then, the stairs should be around here somewhere, if that Deino is any evidence."
Charmander and Deerling nodded, and headed down the path after Espurr. The path lead to a room that contained the stairs. The three climbed it, eager to get to the next floor.
Gliterring Mountain 5F
"Alright, we have to stop soon." Charmander groaned. "I'm famished."
"Don't worry, the first room we get to, we'll stop." Deerling replied. "Just hang in there."
The three Pokémon, after walking down a path for a few minutes, finally spotted a room. Charmander, eager to quell his belly, walked, at an quickened pace, towards the room. What he would have noticed if he was not focused on his hunger, was an oddly mysterious square at the entrance of the room. It looked similar enough to the ground to go unnoticed by a trained eye, but as soon as Charmander stepped on it, it revealed itself. It was a metallic tile, bolted to the ground, complete with a drawing of a pink circle, with an arrow pointing downwards. The tile made a resounding and foreboding click as it was activated, and Charmander felt his belly constrict for a moment, before settling down, and leaving the Lizard Pokémon so hungry, he was incapable of moving an muscle without extreme pain.
"Ack!" Charmander managed to say. His stomach rumbled loudly, and he sat, incapable of doing much else. Espurr and Deerling glanced at the metallic tile, and shook their heads.
"Hunger trap." Espurr reported. "How ironic. Let's use the trapbust orb."
Deerling nodded in response, and opened up the bag she was carrying. Espurr retrieved the trapbust orb from the bag, and held it out. It shined brightly, and emitted a large quake, shaking the floor. As the floor shook, the tile underneath Charmander vanished suddenly, leaving only him and his growling belly. Deerling knelt down, and offered an apple to Charmander, who gladly took a bite out of it. After the first bite, Charmander found the strength to grab the apple from Deerling, and finished it quickly. As his belly filled up, he sighed, and got up.
"Thanks, you two." Charmander said gratefully. "I didn't know there was a trap there."
"You must have been pretty hungry." Deerling said. "I suppose we both could use a snack too."
"I agree." Espurr added. "Let's stop here and rest."
Charmander nodded, and kept watch as Deerling and Espurr bit into their apples. After the two had finished, they got up, and Deerling closed the bag tightly, making sure no items could fall out accidentally.
"Alright. Let's find the stairs." Charmander said.
"Right." Deerling replied.
The trio continued on through the Dungeon, and eventually came across the stairs, which they climbed to the next floor.
Gliterring Mountain 6F
As the three Pokémon entered the floor, Charmander felt an immediate breeze. Glancing up at the ceiling, an yellow mist was softly blowing through the Dungeon. Before long, however, it faded from sight. Deerling, concerned, glanced around.
"Mysterious aura." Espurr explained. "That one was weak, so the effects shouldn't be too bad."
"But now we have to figure out what the effects are." Deerling added. "Anyone feel sluggish?"
"No, I don't feel any different." Charmander replied, moving his arm in circles. "It must be something else."
"Well, we'll have to figure it out on the way." Espurr said. "We should go, this is the last floor."
Charmander continued on, leading the others through the Dungeon, and down a path. It wasn't long, however, before they came to a large room containing the stairs. However, the room was not uninhabited, as a trio of Skarmory were guarding the stairs.
"Look at all those Skarmory.." Charmander muttered, as Espurr and Deerling glanced around the room.
"...I think I figured out what that aura did, then." Espurr whispered. "It's changing all the ferals on the floor into Skarmory."
"Great. They're steel and flying type." Deerling groaned. "We'll have to be careful."
The Skarmory glanced up, finally noticing the supposed intruders. They squawked, and unfolded their wings, revealing the crimson blades which substituted for feathers. Charmander crouched into a fighting stance, as the Skarmory launched themselves at the three. Charmander exhaled a blast of fire at a Skarmory, who dodged it quickly. Charmander, surprised by it's speed, was hit by the Skarmory's steel wing.
"They're fast!" Deerling managed to gasp, ducking underneath a Skarmory's attack. "Like, stupidly fast!"
"Tell me about it!" Charmander groaned, rolling on the ground to avoid a Skarmory's peck.
Espurr held a Skarmory in midair with telekinesis, before blasting it with another multi-colored beam. The Skarmory recovered in midair, and swooped down at Espurr, pecking at her rapidly. She leaped backwards, dodging the beak. Charmander managed to get to his feet, and he exhaled another blast of fire at the Skarmory, which finally connected, burning it and knocking it to the ground. Deerling ducked underneath a steel wing, and managed to kick a Skarmory with it's hind legs. Charmander fired a fireball at the Skarmory attacking Espurr, who leaped out of the way before the fire hit, knocking the Skarmory to the ground.
"Deerling! Duck!" Charmander said, firing a Flame burst at the Skarmory attacking Deerling. Espurr enhanced it's speed with her psychic abilities, and it whizzed over Deerling's head into the Skarmory, exploding and causing it to collapse.
"They're down." Deerling panted. "They're down..."
"Excellent." Espurr said, nodding. "Very well done, Charmander. Steel types are always tricky for me."
"It was nothing." Charmander said with a smile. "Let's just get off this floor."
The others nodded, and followed Charmander up the stairs, and out of the Dungeon.
Glittering Mountain Peak
As Charmander, Espurr, and Deerling emerged from the cavern entrance onto the peak, the welcome, clean, and fresh air hit their faces. Similar to yesterday, two yellow flags sat, planted in the ground at the peak. The sky was clear, and the sun shined brightly upon the peak. The other team was nowhere to be seen, however.
"They must be having a tough time." Deerling mused. "Or they're just slow."
"Regardless, we completed the Dungeon." Espurr announced proudly. "It went off with little to no problems, so let's grab a flag and leave."
"Don't have to tell me twice." Charmander replied, taking one of the flags. "Let's go."
And so, Team 2: Vice Principal Watchog's Super duper amazing team of amazement headed back to the village school, a successful Dungeon exploration completed. Truly amazing.
Village School
"Well, well! I am impressed! Truly! I never get impressed, but you three have undoubtedly impressed me!" Watchog exclaimed, gleefully. "Congratulations, all around, to Vice Principal Watchog's Ultra amazing team!"
Watchog paused, a look of confusion on his face. He shook his head. "No, wait, was it...Vice Principal Watchog's Super duper amazing team of amazement? Bah, forget it! Congratulations all around! While, of course, on the other hand..."
Watchog turned to Squirtle and Pancham, who were glaring at each other, with Goomy in the middle, unsure of what to do, or who to support. Shelmet stood next to Goomy, shaking his head sadly.
"You're honestly so bad at exploring Dungeons." Pancham shot. "It's your fault we ran into that feral nest!"
"I told you there was a nest down that path!" Squirtle shot back. "You're too stubborn to listen!"
"Then explain how you managed to knock Goomy into that slumber trap!" Pancham shouted. "That held us up for minutes, he wouldn't wake up!"
"In his defense, it was a pretty good nap." Goomy piped up. "I didn't want to wak-"
"Shut up, Goomy!" Pancham shouted. Goomy blinked, sighing. Watchog shook his head like a concerned parent.
"My, my, my. As a wise man once said-as in, myself, you'll never finish a Dungeon with that kind of terrible teamwork." Watchog mused, turning back to Team 2. "Regardless, good job today. You're all dismissed! Keep the items you have, especially my book! It's a limited edition, I'll even sign it for you!"
"We'll pass." Charmander, Espurr, and Deerling said in unison.
Charmander received the items from the two girls, and placed them in his bag. They said they had no real use for them, and insisted he keep them. He slung his bag over his shoulder, and exited the school gates. He walked home, thinking quietly to himself.
I guess I'll give Watchog's book to Nuzleaf... Charmander thought to himself. But, man, when Espurr and Deerling were talking about Squirtle...it was kind of interesting. Maybe I was wrong about Squirtle. He's good at exploring, he just does it a bit differently...
"Hey, Charmander!" Goomy called out, interrupting Charmander's thoughts. "Wait up!"
Charmander stopped, and turned, allowing Deerling and Goomy to catch up with him.
"I thought you two already went home." Charmander asked.
"We were talking with the Principal." Goomy explained. "But why are you walking alone? Where's Squirtle?"
Charmander sighed, and shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know."
"Rushed off alone again, huh?" Deerling said, tilting her head. "Well, you'll just have to walk home with us, then."
Charmander nodded, and the three Pokémon began to walk towards the Village plaza. Charmander glanced at the horizon, noticing the orange sky. The sun was setting for the evening.
"Well, why hasn't Squirtle been walking with you, anymore?" Goomy asked. "You two didn't come in together this morning either."
"Well, I did oversleep today." Charmander replied, laughing. "That's why."
"...But that's not all there is to it, is there?" Deerling suddenly said, a concerned look on her face. "You two didn't talk to each other at all today."
Charmander stopped, glancing at Deerling. He shook his head, sighing, as Deerling nodded silently.
"What happened?" Deerling whispered quietly.
"Well, no point in hiding it from you, I guess." Charmander said reluctantly. "Squirtle and I had an argument."
"...An argument, huh?" Deerling repeated. "Well, what did you say?"
And so Charmander explained to Deerling and Goomy what had happened yesterday. He explained how Squirtle rushed the Team in order to get to the flags before Pancham's team, and how Charmander let his words and anger slip, and what caused the strife between the two.
"...I see..." Deerling said, her eyes closed. "You went through a lot yesterday, no wonder you got upset. Squirtle's usually quick to recover from things like this, too..."
"Yeah...perhaps it just stung a bit too much this time." Goomy added. "Pancham and Shelmet are always teasing him with similar insults, and to to hear basically the same kind of insults from the Pokémon you thought you were starting to become friends with? Ouch."
Charmander thought about Goomy's words, and was kind of disappointed in himself. He glanced down at the ground, lost in thought. He didn't mean to say what he did, but he couldn't control his anger, it just kind of escaped him, like it was pushed out by something else.
"Well, that doesn't mean you were wrong, Charmander." Deerling said, opening her eyes. "It's true he does rush off a lot. And you were overwhelmed, you had to make sure Goomy was alright, and make sure Squirtle wasn't running into anything dangerous."
"I doubt you two will stay mad at each other, though." Goomy added. "You two got along so well. All you need is some time away from each other."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Charmander said, glancing up.
"Well, we're at the plaza." Deerling announced, smiling. "We'll see you tomorrow, alright, Charmander?"
"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Charmander replied, waving good-bye to the two.
Charmander sighed. It had been a long, yet successful, day. He headed back to Nuzleaf's house, eager to get a good night's rest. After all, tomorrow would be a big day. He just didn't realize it yet.