Perfect, puffy clouds hung in the sky, though just enough that they didn't block the warm orange glow of the coming sunrise. River water lapped gently against the shoreline. A pleasant buzz seemed to hang over Impetus Town as Pokémon gave parting farewells. All in all, it seemed like an wonderfully ideal day for an expedition such as this to begin.
You know, except it wasn't.
As I sat and stared into the river, cool water flowing around my feet, I couldn't help but share a troubled grimace with my reflection. For the first time in about a month and a half, I'd finally heard a word from the one who I guessed had put me here. I could barely even say my own name last time it'd bothered to show up, and what did it have to show for leaving me in the dark? More vague crap. Like, at the very least, I'd have accepted an "oops, my bad, here's your voice back," but "the time's almost here, follow the light?"
To say I was frustrated would be half-right. I was moreso nervous to find out just what the Voice had in store for me here. At least I had a couple days to figure things out before the most likely deadline hit, that was s-
Something suddenly collided with me from behind, sending me tumbling into the river with a yelp. As I resurfaced, coughing water out of my throat, I sent a glare at the two Perrserker and the large crate they seemed to have dropped in their bumping into me.
"Watch where ya sittin', ya sod, we're workin' here!" one of them yelled.
"Ash-hahl!" I barked back as I pulled myself back ashore. I was just about to waddle away without a second thought when I noticed just how much trouble the two seemed to be having in picking their crate back up.
"Wha thah?" I asked curiously, only to receive a glare from the Perrserkers.
"Mindja own business, it's just some food 'n supplies for the trip home," one of them growled as they heaved the crate up.
I cocked my head. The box seemed a little heavy for food, judging by the difficulty with which they hauled it along. As I started warily walking off, I took a quick look back to watch the two headed up a ramp and onto the moored Galahad, their crate letting out an odd metallic jingling all the while. Watching the motionless caravel for a moment, I pushed the suspicions I had to the side and turned to sulk back into town.
As the jovial atmosphere of Impetus Town buzzed around me, I quickly found my teammates where I'd left them, joining them under the pavilion in town square and sitting down hard.
"Beck, hey! W-we're gonna head out soon, where've you been?" Rye asked.
"Ugh," I replied. Rye's face softened in understanding.
"Wh-what happened? Uh, you have been looking pretty down all morning, was it another... y-you know?" he asked. I nodded, prompting Rye to quickly look around at the others. Reassured that no one had heard, he sent a stern look towards Mavy, one that screamed "keep quiet." Getting the message, the Zigzagoon nodded and turned his attention to the bags sitting beside him as Rye leaned in towards me.
"We'll talk about it when we're on the road, alright?" he whispered.
"Yeah, ah-keh," I agreed. Offering a smile, Rye sat back, giving the town a long look as Mavy pilfered through our stock.
"Aight, we got the Stun 'n Warp seeds, the orbs, the money, Beck's instrument thing, our bandannas, yer welcome by the way, and... oh. Still got that disc thing in there, huh?" he observed. "D'ya ever figure if you're gon use it?"
"Nah. Uh, d-dahno," I said. The TM we'd been given the previous night had haunted me all last night, at least until the Voice had showed up. I wasn't sure whether to trust the gift or not, and the dilemma still bugged me. On one hand, the prospect of a new move was enticing. Besides, why couldn't Pike just, say, poison my food if he still wanted me dead? Reprogramming a TM just didn't make sense. But then again, he and his team were pretty well experienced, maybe he could pull off something like that, if only to cover his tracks...
I bit my lip, deciding to maybe save all the sulking for later. For now, I took the Pokémon around me into consideration. Whereas our inclusion in the last expedition had been met with confusion and disbelief, no one seemed to really care this time around, only giving us the odd glance every now and then. We'd done our part last time, and apparently it was showing right now. Though Rye wasn't entirely showing it, I could see the sparkle in his eyes as he took notice. Despite my crummy mood, I couldn't help but be happy for him.
The three of us sat there with the ever-growing crowd of explorers for a while before something noteworthy changed, this being Team Apex emerging from a street, though only Arden and May were outfitted to leave as I'd expected.
"Take care of yourself, okay? You know, make sure the kids don't burn the place down, and I don't know, don't try and murder anyone else," Arden requested, not even flinching as Pike gave him a nasty glare. After a minute, the Swellow just nodded, though May still gave him a cold look.
"You better not do anything stupid. We'll hear," she said.
"Y-yeah, 'course," Pike nodded. With this, Arden gave him a pat on the wing.
"Right, guess we'll be going, we'll see you here whenever. Love you, man," he said as he and May started into the plaza. A smirk appeared on Pike's beak.
"No homo?" he asked.
"No homo, unfortunately for you," Arden called back as he and May took a seat in the pavilion. Though the Quilava just sat back, May offered a smile.
"Well, here we are. Been a wild moon, but you pulled through, Rye," she said encouragingly. "We're proud of you, all three of... you..."
She trailed off as her eyes met mine, her smile faltering. She and Arden exchanged a glance.
"Rye, Zigzagoon, could you do us a little favor?" Arden asked. "If no one else is around once we're on the road, we want to- ah, shit, look alive!"
We scrambled to straighten up just as all the other explorers were, managing just in time for Lycanroc to strut into the square. The inspector only spared us a quick, wordless glance before glancing back at the Guild and speed-walking towards the river. Not a minute passed before a horn sounded from the port and the Galahad lurched, the current of the river carrying it away from town. Seeing this, May huffed.
"Good riddance. I swear, she showed up to our place three times to just complain about every menial detail she could find. I don't know how this Guild's still registered with that bitch inspecting, honestly," she said.
The Galahad turned a bend in the river and vanished from sight, bringing about a kind of tense anticipation as we started watching for a new arrival; after all, Arcanine had said we were going by sea. Indeed, only a few minutes passed before the horn blew again. The three of us got up and joined the thick crowd of explorers as they flocked to the riverside, peering between their legs to get a glance at the boat we'd be taking. When I actually did get a glimpse of the vessel, my intrigue turned to confusion almost immediately.
Was that a... Wailord?
Another quick look confirmed my suspicions. That was, in fact, a Wailord floating up the river, only it had a ship's deck scaffolded on top of it.
'...sure, okay.'
"Huh, lookadat. I've heard o' these, used to come in before-" Mavy said before noticing my confusion, letting out a snort. "You didn't seem to give a shit back when the Lycanroc's boat came in, didja only have ships back in hoo-mon land? Heard just Pokémon're safer and cheaper. Ah'll tell ya, kid, you got a lot to learn. Good thing ya have the enlightened Zig-"
I gave him a light slap to the side with my tail as the Wailord came to a stop by a hastily frozen ice dock. As if on cue, a murmur quickly became evident from the explorers as they parted, forming a path to reveal the Guildmaster as he walked past them towards the docks, stopping as a ramp descended from the deck. Hesitating for a moment, Arcanine turned to address us. His golden fur glimmered in the sun as his deep eyes looked over us, the large twin bags hanging from his sides and the almost comical purple bandanna sticking out of his neck fluff indicating this wasn't usual business. His gaze seemed to rest on me for a bit before he cleared his throat.
"Let us go forth, then, for destiny awaits," he simply proclaimed, turning and starting up the ramp. Gulping, Rye waved us both on after him.
As we and the others ascended the ramp, I took a look back at the riverside behind me, only to find Arden hesitating long and hard to step off the grass, staring down at the river as he trembled a bit. A vine from May around his foreleg seemed to persuade him, though, and the two slowly stepped up as we took a good look at the wooden deck atop the Wailord's blubbery back. Taking a seat on the stairs leading up to the quarterdeck, I watched the last few explorers board.
"Everyone aboard?" the Wailord boomed.
"All are accounted for. Set course for Westgrove-on-Sea," Arcanine commanded from a position on the quarterdeck, a smile on his muzzle. With a lurch, the Wailord started down the river, leaving Impetus Town to clamor their well wishes behind us. I watched as the cheering became fainter and the town became smaller until we turned a bend in the river, obscuring the quaint settlement from view. I watched the trees and rocks blocking the town for a moment before turning my head to the ship's... stern? Bow? Uh, front, taking note of the delta of the Serperior River flowing into the sea in the distance. I couldn't help but smile a bit as I stared into the horizon.
This might be it. I might just find answers on this journey, perhaps even find a way to solve the crisis at hand. Was the Voice or something related to it really waiting down there? I didn't know, the vision had been unclear, but the idea that something just might be was enough.
As Arcanine hopped down from the quarterdeck to resign to his cabin and the Pokémon around us began to mingle, Arden took a seat next to us and put his paws on his head.
"This thing's a deathtrap, May. Any minute now, it'll slide off Wailord here and we're all going to drown," he bemoaned.
"Come on, Ardie. We won't even be on here a day, you big baby," May poked at him, only for the Quilava to give a dry laugh.
"Okay. Okay. By midday, you'll want off this damn thing. I guaran-fucking-tee it," he said.
The midday sun glared down upon us as our vessel floated calmly along the sea. Pleasant conversation chimed from the deck as those aboard went about preparing their supplies and entertaining themselves, should it be through food, chat, or other means. As for Team Apex, Arden's promise that would've been effective by now... well.
"Oh, what shall we do with a drunken sailor, what shall we do with a drunken sailor? What shall we do with a drunken sailor early in the morning?" Arden sang above us.
"Yay, hay, and up she rises, yay, hay, and up she rises! Yay, hay, and up she rises early in the morning!" May sang in reply.
The two had been sitting perched upon the quarterdeck and singing every sea shanty they could think of for a good while now, and while Rye seemed to be enjoying the music, it really didn't seem to be helping Mavy as he leaned against the ship's side, looking very much seasick. I, meanwhile, just sat and stared out at the sea, trying to rub myself with the soap I'd been given just over a week ago. A couple Water Guns here, some scrubbing here, and I expected to at least smell presentable in time for landing. That wasn't the main thing on my mind, however.
Apart from the ship deck and the Wailord it rested upon, all I could see was miles and miles of water and the occasional flock of Wingull in the distance; not an inch of land. For some reason, some primal part of me seemed content with this: the rocking of the Wailord, the sound of the waves, the calls of the Wingulls, everything just seemed to soothe my core. Though my better human judgment just saw it as pretty, as an Oshawott, I felt at home.
As I sat there at peace, someone suddenly stepped through the door to Arcanine's cabin, revealing themselves as a quite excited-looking Delcatty.
"Good news, everyone! The Guild's passed this year's inspection! Flying numbers, too!" the higher-up declared. A wave of disbelieving excitement washed up around the three of us as we looked around confusedly.
"Again? Alright, which one of you madmons stole her notes?"
"I'll bet someone slipped Nanab in her food and got her high outta her mind!"
"Clearly, the real Lycanroc's still tied up in the dog's basement!"
"Maybe she just couldn't say no to these devilish good looks, eh?" Arden suggested.
"Oh, you wish," May nudged him. "Now, where were we?"
"Right," Arden coughed before the two broke out into song again. "I'll sing you a song o' the fish of the sea; way-hay, blow the 'mon down!"
With the background music back in action and everyone returning to their business, I glanced at Delcatty as she retreated into Arcanine's cabin. I hadn't considered it, but... yeah, Arcanine was here, and I probably had to talk to him about that vision...
"Rye? Maffy?" I asked, looking around for a discreet place I could talk to my partners in. The two turned their heads to look at me as I gestured them closer to the back of the ship, where the Pokémon present were at least less numerous.
"Wh-what's up? Is this about, uh, what you wanted to tell us before we left?" Rye asked.
With a nod, I hesitated, then after a quick look over my shoulder, I told them as best I could: the Voice, the cryptic message, and the theory I had about the expedition. Though I wasn't able to get it across very well, I still managed to communicate enough to the two, I felt. It didn't take long after I finished that Rye got up, biting his lip.
"Okay, uh... w-we better tell Mr. Arcanine, then. It shouldn't be too long, I don't think you need to worry about coming. We'll be right back," he said.
"We? Now wait just a-" Mavy started, though Rye had already gotten up. Giving a sigh, he zigzagged after him, leaving me alone to watch the two enter Arcanine's cabin, where the Guildmaster sat taking up what looked like half the room. With an indiscernible order from him, Delcatty hurried out, leaving the three to talk as I sat and watched.
It didn't take long for my eyes to begin wandering, and among the first things they landed on was our bags. Staring at the leather thing for a moment, I reached over to open it up, revealing the TM still in the flap pocket glittering in the sun. I grimaced to myself, considering. The chances that Pike somehow had tampered with this were slim, and if it did do something bad, then there were plenty of witnesses that could help me out. But... it was just...
I pulled the disc out of the pocket and weighed it in my paws for a moment. After a while of staring, I let out a sigh, braced myself, and flipped the switch, prompting a couple of beeps from the restored machine. Cracking open an eye to see it hadn't exploded or anything, I hesitated again. Was I really about to do this?
'...ugh. Here goes nothing.'
I clenched my teeth, and acting off hazy memory, pressed the disc to my forehead. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but then an odd, intense tingle arose within my head under where the disc rested. With three pulses, the tingle suddenly shot down my head and into my chest.
"Ah!" I cried, expecting the worst. Instead of immediately killing me, however, the sensation seemed to stop as it met my core, staying there for a moment before seeming to lightly pulse throughout my body. It kept this up for a bit before something clicked in my head, after which the tingling went away. Dropping the machine with a clunk, I flopped over panting. What... was that?
The process had lasted maybe ten seconds, but I felt oddly drained from it. That aside, though, something felt different in my core. The usual pleasant pull and push of Water energy had been joined by a new energy, one that just felt... weird, more cold and biting.
I blinked.
'Surely not.'
I leaned over the side of the ship, trying to tap into this energy that'd apparently just been unlocked. Unlike most other techniques I'd learned, this seemed to come naturally to me, almost like the TM had implanted some sort of muscle memory into my core, telling my body specifically how to direct this energy. Giving it a shot, I felt the frigid energy travel up to my throat.
'He wouldn't, would he?'
I shot it out of my mouth at the water below. It wasn't unlike a Water Gun in its feeling, though it was light blue and definitely not made of water, and upon hitting the water it left a chunk of ice bobbing in the waves. I chuckled in disbelief as I heard Rye and Mavy return.
"He didn't say anything much, he just told us to, you know, let him sit on it and... uh, are you...?" Rye asked, his eyes falling on the TM lying next to me. "...y-you didn't actually, did you? You-"
Smiling, I shot another Ice Beam at the water, trying my best to get used to the strange new sensation as Rye stared at me dumbfounded.
"...Beck. I-I'm sorry, but... you... eugh," he groaned. "C-congratulations, I guess?"
"See wut I told ya?" Mavy asked, giving me a nudge as I gave the TM another glance.
'Huh. Maybe Pike isn't all shitty...?'
Happy with this thought, I tucked the machine away and sat back down, staving off Rye's judgmental look as I watched the waves below us flow. As Arden and May finally seemed to exhaust their supply of shanties, I couldn't help but wonder what lied in this Westgrove place, especially with this new development.
As the Wailord continued to sail ahead, I, for once, felt optimistic about what was ahead.
I wasn't sure when I first realized we were approaching land. I'd gotten some suspicions when Rye'd noted the air getting more humid. I'd started to notice once a ship showed up in the distance, then another. I knew for sure when the first dark sliver of land appeared on the horizon. As the three of us hurriedly tied the bandannas in our bags around our necks and joined the others as they gathered to the front to get a look at the land ahead, Arcanine emerged from his cabin and peered above their heads, giving a small smile.
"Ah, Westgrove-on-Sea. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy," he said.
The port city soon came into view as we sailed past what looked like old coastal defenses and drew into its harbor, and needless to say, I was taken aback. This was by far the biggest city I'd seen as an Oshawott, with the buildings towering six stories above the ground in some places. That might not be tall on paper, but in Pokémon context, that was pretty impressive. Even from the harbor, I could see the bustling albeit dirty port teeming with Pokémon and docked boats, salesmon standing ready to sell their wares to the arriving sailors, and the day's catch of feral fish; I could smell it from here. The impressive sights of the city aside, I couldn't help but be put off by the color the water was taking on as we got closer to the shore, a strange, murky, almost brownish hue. As our Wailord was directed to an open dock, I found myself praying that would be the only dirty thing this city had to offer. I doubted that would be the case, though.
The clunk of the descending ramp signaled everyone aboard to gather their things and step down behind Arcanine, glancing around at their new surroundings as a bored-looking Azurill showed up to face the Guildmaster.
"Papers, please," he droned. "How long will you be staying, and what is the reason for your visiting Westgrove-on-Sea?"
"Only the night, and we are here on behalf of the Exploratory Society of Gray Proper, sir," Arcanine said, pulling some paper out of his bag and holding it in his mouth as the Azurill glanced them over.
"Mm. Society 'mons. Go ahead, then," he gestured. With this, we continued on, Rye inching towards me as we progressed into the city.
"We have been given reservations at an inn near one of the local Guilds, just on the intersection of Orbmaker and Main Streets. I shall finalize business there, you may do what you please throughout the city until sundown. I shall see you all then," Arcanine called before splitting off from the group, which quickly disintegrated as the other explorers went off to, well, explore. Rye glanced around at the remaining Pokémon in the group and sighed.
"Guess we'll go to the inn and drop our stuff off, huh?" he asked.
"Yeah," I agreed, glancing at Mavy for his input. Rather than interject, however, he just looked around at the bustling street in awe, his mouth hanging open a bit.
"Y-you alright?" Rye asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, s'just... never seen a town this big before, didn't know they got this big," Mavy nodded.
"Oh, uh, yeah. I heard over fifteen hundred Pokémon live here because, uh, trading and all. There's bigger in the continent, I think," Rye explained.
"'Scuse me? They get bigger?" Mavy asked.
"Y-yeah, there's Cesaree City, I think it has two thousand, and Vale Keep has almost three thousand," Rye elaborated. I watched the gears turn in Mavy's head as he seemed to try and imagine what a city like that would look like, though he apparently gave up pretty quickly.
"The wild exists fer a reason, y'all could just live there," he said half-seriously as we continued down the busy street.
To be honest, I wasn't quite sure what to think of this city. Sure, it was neat to see that Pokémon had built such a big city, especially considering Unova past, but I wasn't quite sure what to think of the city itself. While the locals around me seemed happy enough as they crowded past, shouted out their wares, and hauled their resources along, the structures they apparently inhabited didn't quite reflect this. While looking relatively well-built, the whole city seemed just a bit too dense, had an aura of filth to it, and the seemingly random street layout it boasted didn't help. Really, if I looked at a map, the streets would probably look more like a bunch of random scribbles than an orderly system.
My growing unease in this strange new city only grew as passing Pokémon kept giving us the stink-eye, whether it was just tradition or our being outsiders, and it only mounted as I heard a squish from up ahead. At the head of our group, Arden blinked a couple times before slowly looking down at the pile of crap he'd just stepped in.
"...fuck this city," he said, shaking shit off his forepaw and continuing on, Rye grimacing as we made sure to step around the pile on our way past.
"So you were saying about wanting to get off that Wailord?" May asked, though Arden only rolled his eyes.
"Please. I'd sooner step in fifty more than stay an extra day on that damn thing," he said.
"Why?" I asked before I could stop myself. Arden's look darkened as he glanced over to me, the crap on his paw forgotten.
"None of your business," he growled. I shrunk back, glancing over to Rye for help here, though the look he was giving me here warned me not to pursue this any further. Gulping to myself, I took his advice and shut up, keeping close to him and Mavy as Arden stopped in a crossroads and pointed to one of the three-story buildings standing there.
"Welp, that should be it. Graveler's Seaside Hotel, real original name there. Follow our lead and this should be painless enough," he said, waving us all along before heading inside. As the three of us led the small group in through the stone doorframe, I noted he had already gotten a head start with the Graveler at the desk.
"You're Team Apex? Well, welcome to my humble lil' inn, Mr. Quilava, sir," the Graveler nodded, a little book resting in his lower pair of arms. "...yes, I did get a memo sayin' everything's taken care of. Well, then, room two thirty-five. Do enjoy your stay, and don't make a mess o' things. 'Mons from Proper always do."
The clunk of a key sounded out as Graveler slammed his hand on the desk. As May nodded her thanks and followed Arden out of the seedy lobby, Rye and I exchanged a glance and stepped up. His stone brow furrowing, the Graveler flipped open the book in his hands, peering down at it before snapping his rocky fingers.
"Ah, you must be Team Liberators' apprentices! Very good, I'll get a room ready for them. Will Mr. Zoroark be-" he started.
"Who now?" Mavy asked. Graveler's face faltered.
"'Scuse me? Aren't you-?" he asked before looking down at his book again. "...wait, it's Zygarde's Moon, they're coming on..."
The receptionist's fake smile melted off his face as he got another look at us. After a bit of hesitation, he frowned and dropped a key down onto the desk.
"Room two thirty-seven. Next!" he called. Rye bit his lip and reached up for the key, leading us away as Graveler looked after us, though his gaze was unusually focused moreso on Rye than me.
"Damn weed," I heard him mutter. Rye's eye twitched a bit, though he didn't turn back as we followed him up the stairs.
As I set my bag down and looked around at the nice enough room, Rye sat down hard on the straw bed by the wall and let out a frustrated groan.
"D-did you hear him? He called me... ggh! Why do Ground-types have to be... ugh, I'm sorry. G-good thing we're only staying the night, huh?" he asked.
"Oh, yeah. Sure gettin' slurred at's real painful fer ya, ain't it?" Mavy asked, glancing over at me with a knowing look. Biting his lip, Rye got up and put his bag on one of the dressers in the room, fishing out a sack of Poké as he looked around again.
"I-I don't feel comfortable staying here. I'm gonna go out, you two wanna come with?" he asked. I gave a cry of agreement as Mavy tried to shrug.
"Got nothin' better to do, ah reckon," he said. With this, Rye walked out of a door at the other side of the room, where a balcony overlooked the street. Without hesitation, he hopped over the railing and started Treecko-crawling down the wall, leaving Mavy and I staring down after him as he ended up on the street below.
"Oh, uh... s-sorry, I forgot you-!" he called.
"Hate it when he does that," Mavy sighed. As we turned to take the long way down, the door next to ours suddenly opened.
"See? Got a nice... well, uh, nice view, some sunshine, and-" May said as she stepped onto the balcony, stopping as her eyes fell on us. Peeking his head out, Arden pursed his lips.
"Well, isn't this a treat," he said. A bit of awkward silence hung in the air before May just smiled and nodded, then went back to trying to sell the place to Arden. Taking this as our cue to leave, I waved Mavy on and made to follow Rye downstairs.
"So wut's the plan here? We just gon wander till you feel like you ain't gon get typismed?" Mavy asked, his claws clicking on the dirty cobblestone road as he zigzagged alongside us.
"No, uh, w-we'll find something. It's a big city, I'm sure we will," Rye reasoned.
"Mhm, fair nuff. As long as you know where..." Mavy trailed off, turning his head to look behind him. "Whew! You see that Minccino back there? Reckon I'd have any luck with her?"
"Maffy," I sighed.
"Right, my bad," the Zigzagoon sighed before returning to looking around.
The putrid aroma of salt and filth lingered in the air as we explored the narrow, dirty streets of Westgrove-on-Sea, looking for something that might be worth our money in the coming exploration. Pokémon crowded around us as I tried to look for a shop, though no luck given my height compared to everyone else. Like, really, that was an Alolan Exeggutor over there, what the fuck?
"I-I really thought this was the right district. Like, it'd have to be close to the port, right? I don't know, I'm s-" Rye started, fidgeting with the seed bracelet around his wrist nervously.
"Hey, shaa," I interrupted, pointing at something that'd caught my eye. A gate sat nestled among some buildings, and though I couldn't read the footprint runes emblazoned on it, the tents inside looked shoplike enough.
"Yeah, see? Market," Mavy said, confirming my suspicions. "Cheer up, ya did that, at least."
Biting his lip in embarrassment, Rye nodded and silently headed through the gates, Mavy and I close behind. As I tried to enter, though, a Dugtrio erupted out of a grate in the wall and turned to face me.
"Treecko! For everyone's safety, no ferals are permitted within-" they began, all three heads just slightly out of sync.
"Ah, fack off!" I yelled in frustration. The Dugtrio stared for a moment.
"My deepest apologies, Oshawott. Carry on. Please consider looking less like a feral in the future," they said before slinking back into the ground. A bit of pride swelling in my chest, I waddled to join my partners.
Now, I'd seen an open-air market like this before, the one back in Impetus Town. I'd thought that that little place was a big market, but this? Tents and awnings sprawled across the area, all adorned with unique selections, and dozens of Pokémon flocked through the confusing maze of shops as several voices called out their stocks.
"Roast Archen, roast Archen!"
"Jewelry, mementos, souvenirs! Take a piece of Westgrove-on-Sea home with you!"
"Lamp oil! Rope! Orbs! S'yours, long as you have enough Poké!"
"I'll fix your boat for you! Will paint for extra!"
"Tour the great ruins of Drift City! Only two thousand Poké, so long as the Guilds don't notice!"
The calls of the vendors threatened to overwhelm me as the three of us browsed the colorful market, eyeing the tents as their vendors tried to sell us their selections. With jewelry, knickknacks, and even clothing in one instance being relentlessly offered to us, I was almost relieved when we came across a simple dungeon supply shop. Seeing this, Mavy gave a devious smile.
"Y'all stand back and watch, I'm fixin' to get us some free stuff. I got me a shit tongue, it's like a silver tongue but it just spouts Tauros-shit. Watch 'n learn," he boasted before zigzagging over to the shop. "Howdy! This ribbon here fer sale?" he innocuously asked, pulling a ribbon on the counter towards him.
"Hey, hey. Careful, that's a Friend Bow, helps keep the ferals off your back. You can buy it, but only if you have five grand on paw," the Scrafty shopkeeper said. Mavy squinted down at the cloth for a moment.
"You shittin' me? I come from a long line of scarfmakers, and ah know one o' those when I see 'em. That right there? Not one o' those," he said.
"I'm sorry? I believe you're mistaken, sir," the Scrafty replied, trying her hardest to keep her composure.
"Y'know wut I think? I reckon you got gipped by whoever's supplyin' ya. How do you know this is even a... uh, Friend Ribbon?" Mavy asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I sell dungeon supplies. It's literally my job to know," the Scrafty said, clearly beginning to lose her patience.
"Oh. Uh... well, damn, that makes it even worse. Like, really, manipulatin' such a well-informed 'mon, by Kyogre. Tell ya wut, buddy, I'll take this off yer hands fer the appropriate price, save you the trouble of havin' this embarrassing doohickey on your window, how-" Mavy started.
"Kid, I don't have time for this. Get away from my shop before I call security," the Scrafty demanded. Mavy blinked.
"Yer gettin' had," he tried.
"Out!"
The Zigzagoon hurriedly scurried away from the stand, quickly finding himself in our disapproving gazes. He returned a look before chuckling nervously.
"Guess the 'mons round here ain't as gullible, huh?" he asked. Rye and I exchanged a look.
"Ugh. C-come on, let's find somewhere else. Please don't scam this one," he said, giving Mavy a stern look as we started walking through the market again.
Before we got far, though, an odd sound met my ears: quiet sniffling. Turning my head, I found a dirty Noibat huddled up against a wall, hugging its legs with its wings as it watched us with teary eyes. Noticing this, Rye's expression softened as he approached the Pokémon.
"H-hey, are you alright?" he asked. Shrinking back, the Noibat gave another sniffle in response. Rye considered for a moment before reaching into the sack he was carrying along, pulling an apple out and offering it. The Noibat hesitated, clicking its tongue for just a bit too long for comfort. Just as Rye's face became one of confusion, the bat suddenly clawed at the bracelet around his wrist, grabbed at the now-detached Miracle Seed, and immediately flew off down the alley.
"H-HEY!" Rye yelled, getting up and sprinting after him. With a quick glance at each other, Mavy and I sped after him. We'd worked our asses off for that thing, no way we were letting it get yoinked like that!
Looking back and seeing we were catching up, Noibat tried to speed up, though it seemed like the large seed he was carrying was giving him trouble. Apparently taking note of this, he spun in midair and sent a gust of air at a nearby cart, launching it at us as its vendor watched in horror. With cabbages raining down around me and a large obstruction in my way, I gritted my teeth and swung my tail, knocking a hole in the cart with an Aqua Slap. With Rye having simply climbed over and Mavy popping through the hole I'd left, we kept after the now alarmed Noibat, leaving the cart's vendor to mourn his cabbages.
Confused clamors broke out as we burst out of the market, pushing past Pokémon as we tried to keep our eyes on Noibat, who shot us a grin now that we were lagging behind. Rye wasn't about to take this sitting down, by the looks of it.
"Try and keep up with me!" he ordered before climbing up an alarmed pedestrian and taking a leap. I watched in confusion, was he trying to hit Noibat? No, it seemed, as he latched onto a wall and crawled onto the roof, then continued the chase without any obstruction other than the spaces between buildings. Noibat gave a frantic yelp as he saw the Treecko hauling ass towards him, it looked like he hadn't expected us to get this far. As if that weren't enough for the thief, a couple of Pin Missiles whizzed past him, sending the Pokémon around us screaming and diving for cover as Mavy continued running ahead of me.
"Come on, you sonuvaweezin'! You don't get to mooch off Treecko, that's our job!" he yelled, sending another barrage of Pin Missiles. As I turned my attention ahead, a problem made itself apparent: we'd reached the dock, and Noibat was flying towards the ocean to try and lose us, a Pin Missile in his rear threatening to end the chase early. Though Rye thought fast and crawled down, making a beeline for one of the docked ships, it wouldn't be enough to catch him. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as I got a good look at the harbor's polluted water.
"...shaaagh!" I yelled, clenching my eyes shut as I dove in. Immediately, my face seemed to burn, the taste of rot and filth filled my mouth, and I shuddered as I felt Arceus-knows-what floating around me as I beat my tail and streaked through the water. Despite my Oshawott instincts and basic survival senses screaming at me to get out, I cracked open an eye to get a good look up, seeing Noibat flying a few feet up through the murk. Where he was going, I wasn't about to find out, as I breached the water just ahead of the bat and shot him in the face with a Water Gun.
The young thief screamed, dropping the Miracle Seed as he panickedly course-corrected back towards the dock, though by now Rye had taken a position on the side of a ship and tried to end his flight with a Pound. Rather than let that hit him, though, Noibat flew up on deck and started going after Rye, though I didn't see much as I dove down to retrieve the seed the bat had dropped. I squinted to try and see through the murk, gritting my teeth as I noted it all looked brown and green. A glint of yellow, however, sent me diving down, and with a little "hah!" I grabbed the Miracle Seed as it sank into the polluted depths.
'Alright, that's one problem dealt with. On to the next.'
I launched out of the harbor water like a rocket, surveying the scene as best I could before splashing back in. Rye and Noibat were still locked in combat, the Treecko impressively managing to keep up despite the type advantage. A small crowd had gathered on the docks, gaping at the scene as Mavy pushed to try and get past. Thinking fast, I dove back down into the water, resting my feet against the horrid, disgusting bottom, and rocketing myself the fifteen feet towards the surface. The resultant airtime was enough to land me on the ship's deck, and as I pushed myself up and shook some gross off, a familiar plume of purple flame met my eye. Indeed, Rye had resorted to using Dragon Breath, and as he angrily roared out another attack, lighting the poor ship's sails alight, Noibat started flying off, having apparently deciding this wasn't worth the risk.
Before he could get far, however, he froze in midair and plummeted to the ground screaming, having run headfirst into a beam of pale blue energy. The frigid feeling in my gut subsiding as my Ice Beam dissipated, I panted for a second before running to join Rye in holding the frozen thief in place. Both of us exchanged a quick glance, Rye's eyes losing their indigo glow and the dirty water around my mouth frozen from my attack, before turning our gazes to the port as policemon rushed in and began clearing the area.
It wasn't long before we were led back onto dry land to get tended to, the ship we'd fought on evacuated and extinguished. I staved off the looks Mavy gave us as I felt myself get hosed off, watching as police carried the incapacitated Noibat away screaming and feebly trying to struggle out of their grasp. Watching them go, I couldn't help but feel bad, I didn't doubt the thief's crying was genuine this time.
'He seems so young... what happened? Where'd he go wrong?
…'
My thoughts were interrupted as someone cleared their throat above us. As the three of us turned to look, I momentarily paled as I met eyes with an Arcanine. Thankfully, it wasn't the Arcanine, given his shorter stature and, you know, the fact he wasn't shiny.
"Afternoon. Sheriff Arcanine, Westgrove-on-Sea Police Department," he said, his tone far more casual than what I'd come to associate with his species. "So you're the ones who hooked the tourist trap of South Street, eh?"
"Th-that's what you call him? Uh, y-yes, sir, he took, uh, o-one of our things, we were trying to get it back," Rye said, standing to attention for the policemon as he cocked his head.
"You from out of town? Most round here don't get bamboozled like that," Sheriff Arcanine said. "But, you know, good on you for taking him down! I'm sure someone's gonna make a fuss 'bout the collateral damage, the Whimsicott with the cabbages sure was, but you know? Little bastard's been giving us trouble for a while, got a three thousand Poké bounty on his head! I'm sure we can... arrange...?"
The officer trailed off as Mavy held up a paw.
"You said how much money?" he asked.
"Well, uh... th-that was weirdly productive," Rye observed, glancing at the sack of money he was lugging along in the evening torchlight.
"Ah'll say. Didja see me back there, with the Pin Missiles 'n all? Got a good bit of action in, even if ya took all the glory," Mavy nodded.
"Yeah, sure, sure," I said.
The sun was setting over Westgrove-on-Sea, and all around us, Pokémon returned home from work, streetlamps were being lit, and nocturnal 'mons made their presence known. We didn't pay them much mind, though, as we strolled through the street searching for our hotel. We'd been a while at the city's police station getting the whole Noibat debacle sorted out, though we'd eventually walked out with a few curious bystanders' gazes on us, Officer Arcanine giving a grateful nod, and a sack of three thousand Poké.
Now, I thought that was a bit high for a small-time criminal like Noibat, but apparently that was a pretty reasonable rate, it was just most of the money went to the Guild. Once Sheriff Arcanine had found out we were Guildies, though, he'd immediately become the second-favorite fire dog I knew of.
"Well, technically, your Guild didn't put you up to it, did it? I'll send your Guildmaster a letter, Arcanine to Arcanine, see if he doesn't understand."
And so here we were now, grabbing at that cash with both hands and trying to figure out how to make a stash.
"Okay, uh... a-a lot of it's gonna go to Mavy's fine, that's for sure. Like, even two thirds'll put us at a fifth of the way there! Okay, two thousand for that, a thousand for us sounds good," Rye nodded to himself. His expression wilted as he glanced at his empty wrist. "Sh-shame about the seed, though... I-I'm sorry, you worked hard for it and I... ugh."
I blinked, my mind flashing to the object in my paw. I waited for a moment before silently holding it up, smiling a bit as Rye saw it and nearly dropped the money in his hands.
"Y-you found it! I-I thought it fell into... heh. S-sorry if this is a mean thing to say, but for a... you know, you make a good Water-type," he complimented. I grinned and gave my friend a nudge, only for Mavy to roll his eyes.
"Git a room, you two. Actually, yer in luck, there's our place right now," he pointed, alerting us that we'd made it back to the hotel. After we walked in, ignoring a distasteful glance from Graveler, we found our way back upstairs to our room, though quickly noticed a difference in the form of a few parcels piled by the door and a note delicately leaning against them. Picking it up, Rye squinted to read it.
"To my dear apprentices, I apologize I couldn't be here with you. Take this meal and feast, knowing that we will do great things tomorrow. From Arcanine," he read. Hearing this, Mavy quickly made for the door.
"Well, he had me at meal, I'm starvin'," he commented, dragging one of the burlap parcels in. As Rye and I followed, I paused to look out the balcony door and into the night sky. The moon was full, and the tug at my core it brought about seemed to beckon me outside. Entranced for a moment, I blinked and looked at my partners.
"N-neeed mee-naht," I enunciated, gesturing to the balcony. Rye took one look at the moon and nodded in understanding.
"We'll save yours. A-at least, I'll try to," he said.
Giving a cry thanks, I waddled out the balcony door and quietly closed it behind me, then just stood there in the moonlight. This was one of the weirdest but most enjoyable things about becoming a Water-type, I'd noticed. I'd learned from Bert that Water-type cores liked the moon, and they apparently acted like tides in that regard; I guess that's where the name for the type's core came from. There had been a full moon once before since I'd ended up here, and I'd felt it even though it was cloudy out that day. Tonight, though? Clear as glass. The feeling I had here was indescribable, like some sort of warm power welling up within me. I felt like I could take on the world.
Yet I chose to just keep standing there, taking in the chatter of the streets below, the lapping of the distant waves, the scribbling of- scribbling?
I opened my eyes, taking a glance around to find the source of the odd noise. On the balcony of the next room over, a shape sat with its feet hanging down, a book in its lap and a pen in its paw appearing to draw something on the pages. Judging by the blue tint the moonlight gave it, it seemed to be... Arden?
"Sir?" I asked. The Quilava flinched violently as he slammed the book shut, turning to give me a glare.
"Fuck! May, I told you not to-" he started, his face calming as he saw me. "Oh... k-kid."
The two of us stared at each other in silence for a moment before Arden cleared his throat.
"Say, kid. I, uh... you wanna just... sit down, have a chat? It's nice out, and I feel like we've been lacking in that department given all the shit going on," he said. I hesitated for a minute before nodding, cautiously approaching Arden before hoisting myself up on the balcony and taking a seat next to him. The two of us sat there in awkward silence, watching the city below for a minute before Arden broke the silence.
"Did I ever tell you about Otto, Beck?" he asked. I raised an eyebrow; I had heard that name before. That time I'd seen him on the rock at the river, he'd mentioned an Otto...
I shook my head. Arden hesitated, staring off at the ocean in the distance.
"Well. Otto, he... he was my brother, and... my best friend. We had our differences, for damn sure, but, well... we would always stick out for each other, you know? We were bros through and through in both senses of the word, and I would never have been the 'mon I am without him. But then..."
He paused, the memory apparently painful for him.
"...well, then Tyranitar happened," he finished. I looked over at him, my face noticeably less awkward.
"Oh. Am sahry," I said, only for the Quilava to sigh.
"You don't remember your family, do you? Well, consider yourself lucky. Just the fear that it'll happen again one day, that some clusterfuck's gonna take your family again... that's... actually something I'd wish on my enemies for sure, but I'd sorta regret it after the fact," he said. "You get the idea? And that's not the worst part, we've stopped something like that before. It's been fifteen years, but we could still do it again. And I'll say it, I'm fucking terrified. If... well, something happens on my watch... well. That'd be on me. You see what I'm getting at?"
I blinked as he glanced down at the closed book in his lap.
"I don't know, I'm venting, kid. I get if you don't get it, you're still... ahem, kinda young, kinda innocent, not really," he said, hanging his head. "Look, I get I've been a bit of a dick, but I want to help you here, really, I do. I know how you feel; might not have been through your exact situation, but I got the gist of it. But, well, I'm a Fire-type, most I can do is talk and, you know, clearly you're not the best at that."
With an awkward cough, Arden averted his gaze for a moment.
"If I were to give a tip, though, it'd be to go to Alakazam if you're masochistic enough to want your memories back. The guy has experience, and I think you delivered orbs for him that once time, shouldn't be a problem," he suggested.
At the thought of a Psychic poking around my brain's nooks and crannies, I instinctively shuddered. I'd seen enough telekinetic violence for one lifetime, I wasn't about to let that into my head, even if I knew not every Psychic-type out there was like Xatu. Sure, Alakazam was weird, but he was pleasant enough, but just the thought of him reading my mind like that...
"Bad experience with Psychics, huh?" Arden correctly guessed, apparently having seen my discomfort. "Yeah, understandable, given what I've heard. Trust me, I get it, I'm not letting that hack anywhere near my noggin anytime soon. But, y'know, your choice, I guess."
I nodded, my guard faltering at the casual turn there. Another pause hung in the air as the ambiance around us continued.
"So. Tell me about Unova," Arden suddenly requested.
"Uh, wha?" I asked.
"Unova. What do you remember?" Arden asked. I hung my head, considering for a minute. There wasn't much, and I didn't quite know if I could explain what I did know.
"...heh-m-mens, lahts. Sh-ssities. Nah dah-jehhs. Was... er, fine," I managed out. Arden smirked a bit at my clumsy wording, though managed to straighten himself up.
"Yeah, just "fine," I'm sure. I get why you got so caught up over this, Unova seemed like a decently nice place. You know, for a human. If you're up to remember some more, feel free to ask for the book of horrors here. You know, later, of course, I need it for the caves," he said, putting a paw on the leatherbound book in his lap. Giving the book a curious look, I found myself curious as to just what he was doing with it.
"Wha's een...?" I asked, though Arden only gave me a look.
"Personal shit. I don't know, tell me the airspeed velocity of an unladen Swellow and I just might show you," he said, cracking a faint smirk. "It's just... this whole thing's brought up some shit. I could give you the whole sappy rundown again if you wanted, but honestly? Hoping I can put it behind me and build a nice thick wall around it once things wind down. I'm sure you understand, I saw how you broke back after Bassa. I'm sure the whole human Tauros-shit's something you want to just go away, am I right?"
"Nah. Nah, is fine, ree-lee," I said. Arden glanced back at me, pricking an eyebrow up.
"Huh. You're alright with... you know, the whole post-Ruin experience? The bodies left behind? Everything you knew being six feet under for the last thousand and a half years?" he asked.
I bit my lip and gave a little nod. There was no point just giving up now, what good would that do? It sure wouldn't bring everything back. As far as I knew, the best I could do was keep going, whether out of some determination to do my fellow ape-creatures proud or just pure spite. Whatever the case, Arden turned his head forward, giving his own nod.
"You've got balls, kid, I'll give you that," he said. "Like, during the war, I heard so much idealistic shit about them, and with everything going on, I thought 'yeah, things were better then! Things can only get better from here!' Then oop, shocker, they turned out to be just as bad. If I were the one last representative for humans, of all species, well... honestly? I would just be ashamed."
I made a noise somewhere between thanks for the compliment and uncertainty towards his outlook as he gave a humorless chuckle. As we both kept sitting there, a light suddenly shone from behind as the creak of a door sounded.
"Arden, come on, you can't just sulk all night and-" May exasperatedly demanded, her tone seeming to soften as she caught sight of me. She stood there for a moment before giving a little smile. "I'll give you a minute," she said before closing the door again. With this, Arden threw his legs back over the balcony and took a look at me.
"Right, guess we should be going our ways, big day tomorrow. Just remember, kid, whatever you find down there, feel free to slip me a note or some shit. And if you see that Xatu down there?" he asked, smirking. "Tell them to suck a dick."
I couldn't suppress the humored smile that came up as I nodded, prompting the Quilava to walk back inside. With a couple final looks at his balcony door and the full moon above, I waddled back into my room, stopping as my teammates' concerned glances bored into me.
"B-Beck, uh... what took you so long?" Rye asked.
"I'm tellin' you, that moon's all fucky to those types. He was prolly gettin' baked off his mind out there," Mavy said as I grabbed the food they'd saved for me.
With a final look towards where Arden's room would have been, I waddled over and pulled my banjo down from our bag hanging on the dresser, plucking at the strings to make sure they still worked.
As I took a bite of my supper and struck up a simple tune, I couldn't help but wonder. If today had been so out there, then... just what would tomorrow bring?
EXECUTIVE ORDERS
INCIDENT HAS OCCURRED, POLICE PRESENCE HIGH – DO NOT ENTER CITY
KEEP DISTANCE – WAIT FOR SIGNAL
EXECUTIVES: PREPARE
- THE DIRECTOR