Arc One: Mystery

Chapter Five: Get Ready Today, Here We Come

"UP AND AT 'EM!"

I slowly open my eyes and yawn. What kind of wake up call is that supposed to be? And I thought alarm clocks were bad.

I look around. I'm still in the same room Lucas and I slept in last night. Out the small window I see the sun is rising above the blue sea. Some Wingull are flying through the clear sky. Things couldn't be more peaceful here at this island.

It took awhile for me to go to sleep last night, but when I did, I didn't want to wake back up. I never slept in a nest before, but last night wasn't so bad. It may be because that being a Pokemon changes how you feel and do things, but I had a good night's rest. It's Lucas I'm afraid of.

I regretted telling him that I wanted to do the test last night. His tail kept me up a little more than I wanted to. I can only imagine that he had a hard time hitting the hay knowing that we were going to do something that he longed to do. I can still remember his words last night.

"I love to help Pokemon. And I want to find new things and explore new places. That's what a Guild is all about. I've always been scared though. It's a tough job to wake up every day and help everyone you can. And Dark, Ghost, and Poison-Types just cause so much trouble."

"Why are Dark, Ghost, and Poison-Types so hated?" I had asked.

Lucas said, "I think it was something about a war that happened between Legendaries." He started to rub his chin. "Some Pokemon wanted more power. He was probably was all like, "I'm going to take over the world and stuff.", and then was defeated by Arceus...maybe. I don't really know the whole story, but that doesn't really matter now."

"As I was saying, I wasn't very brave, and I wanted to find someone that I could call my friend. And I ended up finding you in Apple Woods."

I smiled and said, "We did have quite the day today."

"Yeah, we did, didn't we?" He then paused for a moment. "I promise you, Red. I'll do whatever it takes to help you get back your memories, and get you used to this world. You can count on me." He said, giving me a thumbs-up.

"Aren't you worried about running into Dark-Types?" I said.

"I'll...well you can help me with that." He said as he started to laugh. I joined him soon after. Laughter is the best medicine after all.

A yawn from Lucas brings me back to the present. He looks like he had a good night's sleep. What was I so worried about.

"UP AND AT 'EM!" The voice cries out again, and both times I didn't cover my ears. Man, he is loud.

"Is that normal?" I ask Lucas.

He chuckles. "Yeah, Lordred are known for doing stuff like that."

Lordred huh...don't they have anything else to do?

"Does he do that often?"

"...Three times every morning."

I roll my eyes. "Great."

"Don't worry about it. You'll get used to it. Wait, cover your ears."

I listen to Lucas and cover my ears, and right when I do that, I hear, "up and at 'em"

"Thanks for the warning." I say to the Rilo as I start stretching my arms and legs. Lucas follows suit and joins me.

"Are you excited about today, Red?" Lucas says beaming. "I know I am."

"Can't hide your excitement, can you?" I say back to him.

"How can I? Today is the day we're going to take the Guild test, pass it, and become a rescue team. I can feel it and I can't wait!" He says as he puts his fist in the air. "I'll help you and in return you'll help me. It will be a victory for both of us!"

I stop stretching. That's what that voice said in my dream yesterday. Well, almost, but close enough. He wasn't the voice, was he? No, it was a feminine voice...right?

"You ok?" The Emanation Pokemon says, looking at me confused.

I panic a little. "Yeah, just...spaced out, that's all."

"Lucas. Red. Are you two awake?" A squawky voice calls out. Soon a Chatot rushes into the room, still clinging to his clipboard. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but the Guildmaster would like you to come to her quarters. She'd like you to meet the guild members before they leave to do their missions."

Lucas is shocked. "R-right now?! But we-"

Ray puts his wing in the air. "Don't worry about breakfast. There will be some apples and berries at her quarters. Now come along, we don't want to keep her waiting." He motions his wings to follow him.

Knowing that we don't have a clue where the Guildmaster is, we follow the bird. I know I told myself that I wouldn't think about that glowing light , but...I need to know. I just can't tell anyone about it, not yet at least.

"Come on, in here." Ray says as he opens a large wooden door. Behind the door are plenty of Pokemon, with the Wigglytuff standing in the center of the room, juggling an apple on her head, and Eve resting on a small nest at the end of the room. Nevermind, we could've found this place. It was right besides our room.

"Welcome, friends. I take it that you both had a lovely rest last night?" She says as she spins around, keeping the apple on top of her head. Me and Lucas just stare at the Wigglytuff. Of all the things I forgot, I don't think I would have ever seen anything like this.

Chatot whispers into Lucas and my ear. "Forgive the Guildmaster. She does that often. She says it keeps her focused."

"What are you talking about? I wish I could juggle like that. That's so cool!" Lucas says with sparkling eyes.

I suddenly feel my body get crushed and then get lifted up into the air, but it feels like this is more of a hug and not an attack. I look up and see a yellow face with a red orb at his forehead.

There's only one Pokemon I know in the world that has a face like that, and that's an Ampharos.

"Oh, you are a brave soul to take on a Dark-Type, but you're also a strong soul to take one down. You're going to pass this test with flying colors, I can feel it." The Ampharos says as he tightens his grip.

I start shaking, pushing, ANYTHING to try and get out.

"...can...you...please...can't breathe..." I manage to say, but I don't think he heard me.

"Zack, stop. You're choking him." A female voice calls out, but not one that I've heard before.

"Oh, right." He says as he sets me down. I gasp for air as the giant penguin-like Pokemon rubs his head.

"Sorry about that, I get excited very easily. It's been a long time since we've had new members. Both of you are awesome, though." He then dashes over to the side next to two other Pokemon. He then starts talking to a Gardevoir. She must have been the one that told him to stop.

The Wigglytuff stops juggling her apple and sets it down on her desk. "Thank you both for coming. As I'm sure Ray told you, I'd like you to meet the rest of the Guild before you go out and attempt your test. Team Current, will you please step forward?"

Three Pokemon then move in front of us. One of them is a Pichu wearing a badge on his left ear, another is a Luxray that-

...wait a minute.

It doesn't take too long for me to realize it: these are the same Pokemon that saved me from drowning yesterday!

"From what I've heard from them," The Guildmaster continues, "it seems that they found you in the ocean taking a swim, Red." I blush a little. They DID say they were a rescue team. I just forgot about them.

"Hiya Red, nice to see you again!" Sparks says as he zips right onto my forehead. He then looks down at me and says, "Are you excited about your test?"

"Yeah, I'm excited." I answer. I then smile back at the Pichu. It's nice to see those three again, but it is SO weird to see a Lapras out of water. I didn't even know they could go out of water.

Lucas also smiles. "So what, are you two friends?" The Pichu puts his hands to his stomach. "Well, we only did save his life back in Big Blue Sea, so I'd say that we are, right Red?"

I nod, but I'm careful enough to not send him flying. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"Sparks, give him some space, please." Melody says.

"Right, sorry. Bye-bye." The Tiny Mouse Pokemon says as he zips back to the Lapras. Bolt sighs, but then cracks a small smile. "You know, I never would have believed that you would be able to take down a Zoroark, especially Scar, after we pulled you out of the water. Maybe you aren't as helpless as I thought."

"Please, he could beat you in a fight I bet." Sparks snarkening says, rolling his eyes.

"HE WOULD NOT!" The Luxray responds a little harshly.

The two then start to yell at each other.

"Come on. You're all talk, you've never done anything as cool than him."

"He had Lucas with him."

"You lost to a Magikarp the other day."

The Luxray was now completely covered in electricity. "YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T TELL ANYONE ABOUT THAT! HE DID A CHEAP SHOT!"

The Pichu starts laughing. "Catch me if you can." and rushes out the door, with the Luxray hot on his tail.

"GET BACK HERE!" He yells as the two exit the room.

Everyone in the room just stands still in silence, trying to grasp on what just happened. Some even commenting about the two's action.

"There they go again." I hear Melody say.

"Those two always get on eachother's nerves." The Ampharos says.

"Ray, can you try to calm them down before they break something." I hear the Wigglytuff say.

The Chatot sighs and says, "Alright, I'll be back as soon as I can." He turns and flies out of the room, dropping his clipboard onto the ground.

"Wait, if they do that often, then how is that Pichu still alive?" Lucas asks.

Melody sighs. "They're brothers. One minute, they're chasing each other, and the next one they're the best of friends. The Pichu's name is Sparks, the Luxray is Bolt. Bolt is very strong, but has a big ego and tends to get ahead of himself. Sparks is very smart, and he likes to tease Bolt too, in case you couldn't tell."

I whisper into Lucas' ear. "Well, they sure did BOLT out of the room." He chuckles a little bit as the Lapras finishes. "My name is Melody, and I'm used for anything that involves going across the water."

"Thank you Melody, you can leave now, but maybe you could use Ice Beam to freeze those two. Ray might not be able to calm them down." Wigglytuff says, a little worried.

"Oh, I think I will do just that." She replies to the Balloon Pokemon smiling. She then slowly makes her way down the aisle out of the door. I watch her as she leaves. Laprases look so weird trying to walk on land.

"Well then, now that they're gone, I think it's time that you meet Team Forever." The Guildmaster says, waving her hand to them, signaling them to come forward.

Three more Pokemon then come our way. The three Pokemon are a Mawile with a ribbon on her "ponytail", an Ampharos with a white bandana, and a Gardevoir wearing a necklace. All the them have badges on their clothing.

Wigglytuff continues her speech. "The Mawile's name is Crush. She's the lead nurse for the Guild and is very sweet. The Ampharos that gave you a hug is Zack, and he works with my daughter in the kitchen. And last but not least is the most experienced member on this team, meet Daisy the Gardevoir."

The three Pokemon waved to us, and Lucas and I waved back at them.

"You two did a very good job protecting Eve yesterday." Daisy says calmly. "I've been fighting against Scar for years. He's very clever and has never been caught. So the fact you were able to defeat him is very impressive."

"W-w-wow, I never knew that. Thanks." Lucas says, trying to stay calm. "W-we'll beat the test, don't worry."

"I'm sure you will." Daisy replies, smiling. "Now if you excuse us Guildmaster, we have work to do. May we be excused?"

"Yes, your team is excused, Daisy. Have fun and best wishes to you all!" Wigglytuff says with her left hand in the air, sending Team Forever away. "And as you know, the Chatot is Ray, my daughter is Eve, and I'm Mrs. Harper, but you can just call me Guildmaster or Wigglytuff."

Lucas raises his hand up. "Excuse me, Wigglytuff. Who's team is Eve on?"

The resting Vulpix looks like she got a panic attack and starts waving her two front paws towards Lucas. "No, no, no, no, no, I don't go outside or do missions, I'm just the cook and cleaner around here, that's all." She says with a worried smile and goes back to sleep.

Ray clears his throat so loudly that it scares me a bit. He and Melody must have calmed down Sparks and Bolt...or at least frozed them solid.

"She's never liked going outside the Guild, even before the episode last evening. All she wants to do is keep the place sparkling clean and make food for the Guild. She may not go outside, but I don't know what would happen if she didn't live here. But she's still young, about eight, so she still has a lot of room to grow."

"Why doesn't she go outside?" I ask.

Ray shakes his head. "I never found out."

"All right you two. Here are your supplies." Wigglytuff says as she sets a small brown bag down. "This is a Explorer's Bag. You are allowed to take it for your test."

Lucas races over to the bag. "Wow, cool. It's so big. Look at it. I could fit in here." He then turns to the Wigglytuff. "Sorry, but what's the mission we have to do? You've never told us what it was."

The Guildmaster slaps her hand on her face. "Oh, silly me, I never told you what it was. Alright, you see, there are two parts of the Guild test. The second part was supposed to be taking down a level C criminal, but I think taking down Scar will fit the bill."

"So then what is the first part?" The Rilo asks.

Wigglytuff smiles. "The first part of the test is as easy as pie. All you have to do is bring this lovely Perfect Apple to a Furret at Flower Hills."

Wait, all we have to do is deliver an apple to a Pokemon. Huh, that DOES sound easy.

She then takes two badges out of our bag. "Listen carefully, these badges are very important. They act like a radio, a tracking device, and a teleporter."

That last one makes my ears perk up a little. "Teleporter?" I ask.

She looks at me and says, "You never knew that? Yeah, these things are super useful. I don't know how, but Daisy and Sparks were able to do it. It took awhile to get it working properly, but they figured it out a couple weeks ago. See this button right here." The Guildmaster says while pointing to a blue button on the center of the badge. "If you hit this button, it will instantly bring you to a Glow Post. These badges only bring you here to Treasure Town, but if you pass, you'll be able to connect to other Glow Posts on this island, so you can fast travel. They can, however, only be used one time, then you have to wait eight hours for them to recharge."

Lucas' eyes start gleaming. "That's so cool!" He says. He then quickly, but kindly, takes both badges from the Balloon Pokemon. "Come on Red. Lets-"

"Wait! One more thing, sorry." The Wigglytuff exclaims. "You'll need to PUT the supplies in the bag YOU'RE SUPPOSED to take with you."

Lucas blushes in embarrassment. "Right. How did we forget about that?" And heads over to the bag that is lying on the ground.

"And when you're done collecting your stuff, you can come over here and pick out a bandana." She says, holding a tray with five different colored bandanas. "Why don't you pick one out, Red?"

I pause, and then slowly approach her. I look at them all. "So do these things do anything special?" I ask.

The Wigglytuff shakes her head. "No. They're only something to clip your badges onto, but I think that they looked nice, as I have everyone wear one."

I look back to the bandanas. The colors are green, blue, red, yellow, and gray.

"If you want a scarf or a wrist band, I can always go-"

"I think I'll take this one." I say as I pick the red bandana off the tray.

"I thought you'd pick that one." The Wigglytuff says.

"Wait, which one did Red pick?! He didn't take the blue one, did he?" Lucas panically says as he rushes over to us.

I look over to Lucas. "My name is Red. What else would I've picked?" I say as I tie my bandana on my neck.

Lucas laughs. "Right. I should have seen that coming." He says as he grabs the blue one. We both tie it around our necks, clip our badges onto them, and turn around to-

"WAIT! I'm so sorry, but there is another "one more thing" thing I need to tell you two about. You are to go to Flower Hills by going through Green Forest. You are not allowed to exit the forest at Shifting Cliffs or Central Mountain. I think you both know why that is."

I don't know, but I nod with Lucas, acting as if I do.

She claps her hand. "Anyways, sorry for keeping you waiting. You two better beat this test, alright?" Wigglytuff says.

"We'll beat it with flying colors! You can count on it." Lucas triumphantly says, as he rushes out the door. I make a short "Hey" and follow him. It's time to show this test who's boss. As we make our way out of the room, we see a large block of ice with a Pichu and Luxray semi-trapped inside.

"You two need to CHILL out." I say as I catch up with Lucas smiling.

"NOT FUNNY!" I hear Bolt scream.

Yes, they ment it when they called this place Green Forest, because green is very green.

Lucas and I walk through the forest. We hear Bird Pokemon sing here, and some other small Pokemon playing tag there. It's a very peaceful forest.

"I want to ask you something, Red." Lucas says.

I turn my head over to him. "Ok, shoot."

"You were very quiet back at the Guild. Are you shy?"

I find a rock on the ground and start to kick it in front of me. "...yeah. I don't really like talking to peo-er, Pokemon. I just don't like what they'd think about me."

"You talked to me." Lucas says.

I shake my head. "Let me rephrase that: I can talk to Pokemon, but I can't really break the ice. I also just prefer to...be alone."

Those last words come out very late. Being alone. That's all I remember. Just pushing people aside and going my own way. Was that my life back then?

"I only ask if I have a question." I say as I kick the rock into the forest.

"Well I think you should work on that. Talking to Pokemon is fun. Different Pokemon live different lives. They're much more different then you'd think. Besides, we're going to have so many new friends to make after we deliever this apple. I can't wait!"

"I'm guessing that you think we'll ace this quiz."

He laughs. "Totally. Now lets hurry up. We should get there in a half hour." Lucas says, and races ahead of me. I smile and go after him.

All we have to do is get this apple to some Furret at this Flower Hills. This isn't as hard as fighting a bad guy, we're just delievering food.

This'll be easy.