Arc One: Mystery

Chapter Nine: Breaking The Ice

You know how I said that big things were going to be happening. Forget I said that, because so far, I am wrong.

It has been a full week since we've become a rescue team, and things couldn't be more NOT adventurous. I mean, things are still happening around this town, or Treasure Town if what Lucas had said is correct. After we had told Wigglytuff what had happened to Green Forest and showed it to her, the next day she did what she said she was going to do: Tell everyone in the town that these Mystery Dungeons should be avoided and that Green Forest was off limits for the time being.

As you can probably imagine, that didn't go over well with most of the Pokemon. Some of them didn't even believe us, but after some time, Wigglytuff managed to convince everyone to listen. Not that everyone thought she was telling the truth, but everyone was (and still is) too scared to try the theory out for themselves. As the week went on, Sparks and Team Forever went into the forest to try to find out what is causing it, but so far, they haven't had any luck. They even tried to get some of the crazy Pokemon in the forest and bring them back out, but they somehow haven't been able to do that either.

Of course, there was at least one or two Pokemon who yoloed into the forest whether it was them trying to get past the forest to collect someing that they needed or by just stupidity, but thanks to Officer Magnezone and his team, they made sure that even if a Pokemon manages to sneak in, it would quickly be caught.

As for Lucas and I, we've been busy doing deliveries, catching some crooks, protecting some Pokemon that are heading somewhere, or saving lost ones. The good thing about this is that Lucas has taught me about a lot more stuff, like the many MANY different kinds of berries that can do all kinds of things, strange glass orbs that can teleport you or cause other Pokemon to fear you. Yeah, I did not make that last one up. This world is so weird, but I think that's why I love it.

When we weren't doing jobs, Lucas showed me around Treasure Town, and it is a little piece of heaven. All the Pokemon in the bright town are super nice. There's two Kecleons that have a shop and LOVE giving out discounts on even the rarest items to rescue teams like us. There is a Kangaskhan (with the sweetest little child in her pouch) that is more than happy to keep our extra items free of cost. There's even a bank owned by a Persian, an Electivire that promises to teach any moves that one has forgotten, a Chansey-owned nursery, and lastly, a Dojo belonging to a Marowak (and the dojo is no joke let me tell you).

While it is fun to see this town, there still is more to this island that I've yet to see. The bad news is that we can't really go anywhere at the moment. Because we had just joined the Guild, Wigglytuff isn't letting us go out too far, which is sad, because the main reason why I joined was to explore this island so that I can hopefully find out who I am. In order to get permission to go farther is to keep doing missions to make your team rank go up. The higher it is, the more places you'll go.

*Sigh* But it's just a big bummer. And the worst part is that I haven't even seen that yellow ball in my dreams or had that strange power since I first saw/got them. All I want to do is to remember who I am...

Well, I can't stay sad. I would be lying if I said that being a Raboot was terrible, because it's super fun to be one. And hey, I would be doomed if it wasn't for the Guild or Lucas, so there's that. It's not all doom and gloom. One day I'll get a shot, I'll just have to wait for it.

"Do you want to catch a bad guy, or do you want to do some deliveries today?" The Rilo asks me.

Lucas and I are looking at the big boards. From what Lucas has told me, they're used to post any jobs that a Pokemon wants done. He said that there is a team of Pelippers that act like mailmen. Pokemon call them using something called a Peli-whistle, they then hand the Pelipper a note, who then comes here to the Guild, who then give the note to Ray, and lastly, he puts them onto one of the two boards. If it's a job, it's put on the left one, but it goes on the right one if it's a picture of a criminal. I don't know why the Pelippers can't do some of the jobs themselves, but I guess this is the way they do it.

"Hello, Earth to Red! You there!?" Lucas yells at me.

I get scared by the yell. "Sorry Lucas, I'm...thinking."

"Are you sure you're not thinking to yourself?" He says with a smile.

My cheeks turn red. "I like thinking to myself. It keeps my mind running."

"Alright, alright. Can we focus, please? We don't have all day." Lucas says.

"Sure." I say and look at both of the boards. "How about we do some deliveries? I'm a bit tired from fight all those two crimanals yesterday."

Lucas smiles. "Ok. But which ones?" I look back at the board. "Well, there sure are a lot of papers up there. Let's see how many we-"

"Team Adventure! Hello!" A voice calls out from the ladder. We both look where the voice came from. Soon, a familiar pink ball floats up to the top of the ladder and looks straight at us.

Lucas turns to the Guildmaster waves to her. "Hello Wigglytuff. What are you doing up here? Do you need us for something?"

Wigglytuff smiles. "Hehe, as a matter of fact, I DO have a job for the two of you."

I raise my eyebrows. What does she want us to do?

I decide to ask her. "Does this have something to do with the Mystery Dungeon?"

The Wigglytuff shakes her head. "No, it's a bit more simple. Remember last week when I took Eve to Apple Woods?"

Both me and Lucas are confused now. "Yeah, we remember. What about it?" I say.

"Well, we went there with the intention of picking some apples to bring back here to the Guild. Though, as you can probably guess, we didn't get a whole lot of them. What I'd like you to do is for you two to go there and to grab some apples for us, please. We're running low on them and I...I really miss those Perfect Apples. They're jsut so perfect!"

A what? There's such a thing as a "perfect" apple. The normal apples tasted good enough, now you're telling me they can be even better?! I look back at the Wigglytuff, who is now in a daze with a watering mouth. Is she ok?

Her eyes then blink as she comes to. "Sorry about that. I really do love them. Anyways, can I count on you Team Adventure to bring home some apples?"

Both Lucas and I look at eachother. Well, it is for the Guildmaster, and this could get us one step closer to getting a better ranking, because apparently that's the only way to get around this island.

"Sure, we'll do it." Lucas says, "Sounds like a relaxing time."

The Wigglytuff jumps in the air. "YAY! Perfect Ap- I mean, that's just what I was hoping you'd say." She rubs her head. "Sorry about that. I'll go grab you some bags that you can take with you." She then starts to walk away, but then stops. "Oh, silly me, I forgot to tell you something. I want Eve to go with you."

"WHAT!?" We hear someone cry out from downstairs. We then hear something running in the lower room, and then dashing up the ladder towards our room. A White Vulpix then appears from the ladder and races in front of her mother.

"Sorry, I was checking on the foor below for anything to clean up when I heard you say that you wanted someone to take me somewhere. Who, and where?!" She says in a panicked tone.

The Wigglytuff pats her head. "Don't worry. I was talking to Red and Lucas. I said that I'd like them to take you to Apple Woods so that you can grab some more apples."

The Vulpix shakes, clearly not accepting the news too well. "B-b-but what if-"

Wigglytuff is quick to realize it, and begins to softly pet her head. "I know you don't want to go. An event like that will...do things to you. But I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think it was ok to go. You do nothing but stay and help here in the Guild, which I'm very grateful for, but I think it's time for you to get to know everyone a little better, starting with them."

Eve, however, doesn't go down without a fight, and tries to counter. "Won't you need me here to clean up?"

"We cleaned this place two days ago. It'll last another day."

"Couldn't I go with-"

"Both Team Current and Forever have left the building."

"But then you can-"

"Ray and I promised Officer Magnezone we'd give him a report about Green Forest."

"I-can't-uhhhh..." The Vulpix doesn't know what to say. Her mother must have planned everything from the start, and there wasn't anything she could do about it except accept it. She was defeated.

She then feels a kiss from the Balloon Pokemon, who says, "Don't worry about a thing, dear. They'll protect you like they did last time." She then whispers something into her ear, but it was so soft that I couldn't even make it out. All I know is that after she finished, the Alolan Vulpix gave her mom one last kiss and slowly walked toward us.

The Guildmaster then smiled and said, "Excellent. You behave Eve, and Lucas and Red...make sure you keep her safe, got it?"

"Yes Ma'am!" Lucas boldly states. He then turns back to me and Eve and says, "Well, let's get going. Those apples aren't going to pick themselves." and dashes up the ladder.

I should probably tell him that we need to grab the bags before we go.

I'd tell you something off the top of my head, but there isn't anything for me to say.

From the Guild to the Woods, Eve hasn't spoken a single word besides when a townspokemon would said hello, but even then her reply was a little weak. Poor thing, how much time does she spend at the Guild?

"You know." Lucas whispers into my ear. "We need to find something to talk about with her. I'd like to get to know her better. And it might help her feel better too."

"Well, what do you think we should say?" I ask, "I don't have the foggiest idea what she'll be interested in talking about."

Lucas then smiles. "Leave it to me. I got this one." He then walks toward the White Vulpix.

He then clears his throat and says: "Nice weather we're having."

Wait, did he? I slap my face. That is...that's the most basic thing someone could say! He thought that would work?! Eve ends up giving Lucas the cold shoulder and keeps walking.

Oof!

Lucas, with clouds over his head, slows down. I decide to have some fun with him and say, "Wow, I don't think I can top that. It was pretty good."

"But Pokemon say that often to eachother."

"That's exactly why it didn't work, genius."

I earn a punch from him, but it was worth it every second.

"Alright, wise guy." The Emanation Pokemon says. "If you know better then me, then you try."

"Ok, I'll give it a shot." I say confidently. That, however, doesn't describe how I feel in the inside: Nervous. Yet I carry on, but what am I going to say to her.

Think, what do you know about her so far? I then remember last night when we came back from Green Forest.

"Well, we're home, everyone." The Guildmaster said.

Eve smiled and said, "Thank Arceus. See you at the dinner table, Mom!" and raced toward the doorway.

Lucas and I were confused.

"Where is she going?" Lucas said.

Wigglytuff grabbed an apple out of her bag and started juggling. "She's going to the kitchen. I think I told you that she and Zack worked in the kitchen, remember?"

THAT'S IT!

I clear my throat and say, "So Eve, do you enjoy cooking for the Guild? It must be tough making food for everyone, right?"

Eve thinks to herself, then says, "Yeah, it is a lot of work to do, but you get used to it after a while."

I don't know what to believe: The fact I started a conversation, or the fact that she responded. IT'S A MIRACLE! I turn my head to Lucas and see hs jaw wide open.

I then turn back to the Fox Pokemon. "Hey, you talked. But you didn't answer my question. Do you enjoy doing it?"

"Oh, yeah. It's fun making food." She says, "It's something I find very relaxing, even if it's hard at times, but when you've been in the kitchen for as long as I have, you learn how to make different dishes and how to make them fast. It also helps that Zack is there with me, and sometimes Crush and Mom help out too."

Lucas decides to chim in. "How long have you been the cook there?"

The Vulpix then looks up at the sky for a moment. "I think it's been...a couple years or so. Almost three years I think."

Both me and Lucas are shocked and say, "THREE YEARS!?"

Eve laughs a little. "Yeah, I never go outside the town. Just recently my mom has been wanting me to get out more."

Lucas says, "Don't you enjoy going outside with your mom?"

She sweats. "Not especially. I like being in my nest more. It's nice, cozy, and most importantly, safe."

"You like to play it safe, don't you?" I ask.

The Vulpix doesn't answer it. Oh, no. I said something wrong, didn't I. I gotta change the subject. GOTTA CHANGE THE SUBJECT!

"So what is your favorite food to make?" I quickly ask.

"...well, the easiest one to do is just wash all the berries and apples and put them on a plate, but my favorite ones to make are definitely the desserts, because you get to eat them at the end."

I sigh a breath of relief. Saved it. "Well, I guess that was obvious. What is your favorite dessert?"

"Easy, Miltank ice cream with chocolate syrup." She replies.

I stop in my tracks. After all this time, I had forgotten about ice cream, the best dessert ever known to mankind. Just the thought about how good it'll taste makes my mouth water. I need to have some.

I then see Lucas' hand wave in front of me. "Red, you ok? Your mouth is slowly becoming a waterfall." He says.

My cheeks turn red. That's embarrassing. "Sorry, it's just that I was thinking about the ice cream."

The Vulpix smiles, a first for the trip. "Don't worry about it. My mom acts the same way around Perfect Apples. It's her favorite thing to eat...and juggle. We all have an embarrassing thing about ourselves that others may find quite funny."

She then looks at me. "Tell you what. Tomorrow, Isabelle, our Miltank, will be dropping off some milk for us, and then at dinner, I can make some ice cream. What do you say?"

Both me and Lucas jump in the air and let out a loud, "YES! Ice cream!"

Eve then laughs. Soon, all of us are laughing as we walk down the path. It's nice to see smiles on everyone's face.

"Well, you guys will have to help me out now. We're here." Eve says.

I look in front of me and see a couple of apple trees growing in a row with flowers everywhere. It's pretty big, but quiet as well. "How does a place like this exist? Does someone take care of this little orchard?" I ask Eve.

"Many Grass-Types come around here to keep this place in check. You could say it's everyone's little orchard. You have your bags with you?"

I hold out a bunch of large bags. "Sure do."

"Great. Pick a tree and then start grabbing some apples." She says as she heads over to the nearest tree.

Lucas, however, asks, "Wait, don't you need help getting apples down from the tree?"

"D-don't worry about me." She says. "I can do this no problem. Just tell me when your bags are full-ish. Then we can go home."

I look at Lucas. "Hey, we should get started too. If she says she'll be fine, she'll...mostly likely be fine."

"Alright."

We then head over to the next nearest tree when Lucas says, "You know, I didn't think you could do it."

I look back at him. "Starting a converstion? It's a first for me. It felt really nice."

"See, if you just warm up to Pokemon, you'll get to find out more about them."

"I am warm to other Pokemon, it's just that...I'm shy around pe-Pokemon. (I need to stop referring to Pokemon as people. That might not be good if I let that slip out) I just don't know what they'll think if I mess up, or say something stupid."

Lucas laughs. "I guess that makes two of us."

"I thought you said you liked talking to...Pokemon?"

"I do, but the same thing you have is always in the back of my head too." He then lights up. "I got an idea. Let's see who can get the most apples before we leave. You against me?"

He holds his paw out, waiting for me to shake it. I smile. "A little competition sounds fun." and then shake his paw. "It's a deal."

He then gets a smile on his face, and to my surprise, he puts my arm and tosses me onto the ground.

"THREETWOONEGO!" He yells as he makes his way to an apple tree.

"HEY, NO FAIR!" I yell at the cheater. I then quickly get back on my feet and go over to the next tree in line. He may have gotten a head start, but there's no way I'm letting him win that easy!

"RED, LUCAS, I'M OUT OF BAGS! LET'S GET BACK TO THE GUILD!"

"ALREADY?! THAT WAS FAST!" Lucas yells.

"I'LL BE RIGHT DOWN GUYS! JUST GIVE ME A SEC!" I stretch out my arm to grab one last apple. I then carefully climb down the tree. Where did all the time go? I don't know how long it's been, but it still feels like we just arrived.

I finally make it to the bottom and plop the apple in my hand into one of my bags. I filled up one bag, and my other one is almost full. How the heck did Eve fill her all of her bags up so fast? She walks on all fours.

I then look over at Lucas. It looks like he's on his third tree. I then see him pop out of the branches and land in front of his bags. I'm sweating a little. He also has a bag full and another full-ish. It looks like it'll come down to the wire. I just hope that I have more than him.

"Red, how many did you pick?" He asks.

I look down to my bags and say, "...A lot. I lost count."

Lucas, with bags on his back, laughs. "So did I. I guess we'll find out of many we have when we get home."

"Guys, a little help, please!" We hear out of the corner of our ears. We turn and see the White Vulpix with three bags filled to the brim besides her. Both of our jaws hit the ground. There's no way she got all of those apples herself. Lucas came to that same conclusion.

"How did you do that? You have more apples than me and Red. Maybe more than us combine."

She smiles and starts sweating. "Yeah, I had some help from...some nearby Pokemon. Now I'm starting to get hungry. Do you want an apple too?"

Both of us reply with a, "Yes please."

She then starts to dig into her bag. "Perfect Apple, a Big Apple, or just a normal apple?"

"What's the dif-" I go to ask her, but get cut off by Lucas, who says, "Two Perfect Apples."

"Alright. Enjoy." She says as she pulls out two very large and shiny apples from one of her bags.

Oh, that's got to be what a Perfect Apple looks like. Can't wait to sink my teeth into this.

Eve hands me a Perect Apple and *Chomp*

...

...

...

The food here justs keeps getting better and better.

Eve giggles. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think that this is the first time you've had a Perfect Apple, Red. You love it, don't you?"

I swallow my bite down into my stomach. "Now I know why Wigglytuff loves these things. They're so crunchy, yet still a little watery. It really is perfect."

I then look back at the apple-filled bags. "Do we have a cart we put them on, or do we carry them back?"

Eve laughs. "No silly, we use the badges to warp home. Why would we carry all of these apples home. That'd be super tiring."

As I take another bite out of my snack, Lucas grabs all of his apple bags, along with our explorer bag. "We have all the apple bags and our bag. Are we ready to go?"

Both Eve and I nod as we grab our badges.

I then say, "Wait Eve, don't you need a badge?"

She then gets shocked. "Yeah, I do. Lucas, my mom put a badge in your bag. Can you grab it?"

"Way ahead of you." He says as he tosses a small badge at the Vulpix.

"Alright." She says, "Now we're ready."

I smile. It was fun while it lasted, but now it's time to go. I then hit the button.

*Click* *Click* *Click*

...

...

...

"Uhhh..." I go.

*Click* *Click* *Click*

...

...

...

Eve then starts to get worried. "Why aren't the badges working?"

Lucas shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know."

I then look around at the trees. I DID think it was all a little too quiet here.

I then say, "Eve, you're sure that there were Pokemon here to help you."

She starts to sweat. "Y-yeah, but they were the only ones that I saw."

"Lucas, did you see anyone here?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "I was too busy picking apples that I sensing aura from anyone. Sorry."

I start to worry, but there isn't any fog around nor are we close to Green Forest. We should be safe.

"Let's just go the long way, I suppose." I say. "We can take your bags, Eve, if it's too much for you."

Eve cracks a worried smile. "O-ok, sure."

So, with Lucas and I, with three bags in our paws and Eve carrying one, we begin to make our journary back to the Guild on foot. The bags aren't too heavy, but I'd like to get home before they do become heavy.

"Hmm, something feels off." Lucas says. "Where are all the Pokemon?" He then closes his eyes and scans the surroundings.

"GAHHH!" He then falls to the ground with his paws on his head. Both me and Eve panic. We're not under attack, are we? I'm the first one to ask him. "Lucas, are you ok?! What happened?!"

"The...aura...it's the same...as Green Forest." He says in pain.

I then get a flashback from Green Forest.

"It's just that the aura here messed up. Just trying to sense it a little bit almost drove me insane. This place has to be cursed."

That does it for me. I take the bag off of Lucas. If there's one thing that I know will solve this, it's the compass. I then grab it and look at it.

Eve helps Lucas up and says, "W-what's wrong?"

I turn and show them the spinning compass. I then gulp. "We're in a Mystery Dungeon."

Eve then faints, causing Lucas to fall back down.