Cinder told them that they would come across the next dungeon near the end of the sixth day. He said that it wasn't actually one dungeon, but two or three smaller dungeons in sequence. The third dungeon typically wasn't around this time of year, but just in case they should plan to spend all day trekking though the dungeons and resting in between. The forest had gotten thick by this point, and their progress had slowed considerably. The terrain was still mostly flat, but they spent more and more time pushing through or navigating around thick bush, or felled trees along the path. Packs of intelligent wild Scyther were not unheard of, and Cinder warned that they were no joke to fight even with the four of them, even with type advantages. This was where the majority of smugglers were lost, not the mystery dungeons. Because of this they did not spent any time training for this leg of the journey, or even speaking that much. Oscar would now and then telepathically communicate something to Cinder or Gaia, but for the most part focused his attention on watching for danger.
As exhausting as it was to navigate the dense forest and keep constant vigilance for danger, it was short lived. A few hours into the morning on the sixth day the forest opened up considerably, and the subtle change in temperate and humidity hinted that they were nearing the end of the forest biome. Trees and grass abruptly met a cavern in a sandstone cliff face, and Cinder said that this was the entrance to the dungeon. They had made better time than expected, and arrived at the dungeon a little after midday. Cinder cautioned against venturing into the dungeon even if they technically had enough time to clear it. Oscar agreed, they had planned for this after all.
They set up camp early and decided to celebrate their good progress by hunting and getting a proper meal in for the first time in a week. Cinder assured them that the woods in this area were safe, and it would be best to split up to avoid scaring away the prey with a large group, but Oscar insisted that splitting up was a terrible idea and that they were not in fact pressed for food. Reluctantly the others agreed, and they spent the next few hours stalking along the sandstone cliff looking for prey. They found plenty of Caterpie, which Gaia was more than happy about. The other Pokémon in the team were not as enthusiastic and held out for the possibility of something less bug type. Their discretion was rewarded when they found a Pidgey nest, with both parents roosting. Oscar grabbed the entire nest along with the parents and brought it to the ground, and Stumpy dispatched them quickly. Satisfied with their hunt, the team returned to camp just as the sun was beginning to set.
Once back at camp, the three true Pokémon set upon their food like, well, predators after catching their prey Oscar supposed. He was not pressed for time, however, and when they promised to have a proper meal together he thought they meant a proper meal. He telekinetically grabbed the carcasses away before too much damage could be done, to universal displeasure.
"Roughing it is no excuse to behave like savages." He explained simply. "Cinder, gather some wood and start a fire. Stumpy, see if you can find some flat stone, get at least four and make sure they are at least as large as your head! I saw a couple on our way back from the hunt. Gaia, back along the trail I saw some peppercorn and blackberries, collect some for me. I will be cleaning these carcasses and preparing to make some real food. Do not wander far!" They hesitated for a moment, but when he started plucking the Pidgey, they grumbled and left to accomplish their tasks.
Everyone had returned after about 30 minutes, and in that time Oscar had cleaned and prepped the Pidgey and Caterpie. He crushed some blackberry and peppercorn on the meat, and put them over the fire on sticks to cook along with some apples. He ground the organs on one of the flat sandstone slabs Stumpy had brought and mixed in blackberry, peppercorn and an Oran berry that was close to spoiling before setting that too in the fire to cook and desiccate. The food cooked quickly, and Oscar prepared the plates for his teammates.
"Voila! Fire-seared Pidgey with Caterpie, glazed with blackberry puree and spiced with wild peppercorn. Served with a side of mashed fire-roasted apple and liver pate. Bon Appetit!" They had not looked at him since he placed the food before them, mouths open and drooling. He was no Silph-starred chef, but the weeklong trek, the battles, and having only raw berries and dried meats served to make all the Pokémon present especially hungry for some real food. Oscar had to admit, with his new sense of smell the cooking meat, fruit and spices smelled almost overpoweringly good. "That means you can eat, by the way." The other Pokémon snapped out of their reverie and practically attacked their plates, and before Oscar had even started on the liver pate the others were busy licking the rough sandstone plates clean.
"I was kinda mad and confused when you sent me to collect rocks instead of eat," Stumpy admitted after a belch, "but that was worth it."
"Yeah" Cinder agreed, "nevermind battling, I think the boss will keep you around as a full time cook!"
"Spirits I hope not."
"When did you learn how to cook?" Gaia asked, poaching some of Oscar's mashed apple and licking it off her finger.
"I had a life before Team R- well you know. No point in cooking after that, Fernando was phenomenal. Giovanni could always find the best talent." Fernando was a Silph-starred chef, Giovanni knew the importance good food could have on moral. "Besides, I would not call mashing up some berries and herbs cooking. You lot simply have low standards." Gaia blew a raspberry at him, while Cinder and Stumpy didn't argue.
"But wait, there is more!" And with a smile Oscar grabbed a bottle and some glasses out of his bag, which looked very deflated afterwards.
"You didn't!" Gaia was scandalized. "Is that all you have been carrying this whole time?"
"What? I brought the alcohol and the money. You and Cinder have the hands, so you got to carry the mundane supplies." A smug grin was plastered on his face. "How else where we going to celebrate? I could not count on some philistines living in literal caves in the mountains to be properly supplied, could I?" Cinder got that feeling he was being insulted again, without knowing exactly what was insulting. He had been getting that feeling a lot lately. "It has been far too long since we have indulged!"
"It's been a week!" Gaia was having deja-vu.
"I know! Let me pour you some."
"…just a little"
"Now that is the spirit."
"Haha!" Stumpy got it.
"I don't think you should be drinking that stuff." Cinder said as the first glass was poured. "Salazzle was pretty upset when you kept ordering it before."
"Is the future Charizard afraid of a little fire-water?" he challenged, holding the glass telekinetically before Cinder. It worked, and the Charmander grabbed the glass with conviction in his eyes. "Now just wait until everyone has a glass, there is tradition to observe." Oscar poured a glass for Gaia, and then one for himself. He set the fourth glass to the side, empty, and looked at Stumpy sadly. "Not you, I am not sure you can handle it…" he trailed off.
"I can handle it!" The Poochyena jumped to all fours, indignant. "I'm tough! Give me some!"
"Okay, if you insist." Oscar poured Stumpy a glass as Gaia gave him a dirty look. He passed the glass over, and the Dark type held it steady between two paws.
"A toast," Oscar said, raising his glass high in the air, "to exploring our new power." He looked to Gaia.
"To new friends and adventures!"
"To growing strong together!"
"To enjoying life!"
They tilted their heads up, and downed their drinks. Oscar let out a satisfied sigh, while Gaia closed her eyes and grit her teeth. Poor Stumpy nearly choked, hacking and coughing but successfully downing the drink in spite of that. Cinder looked contemplative for a moment, before giving an approving nod. Oscar put the bottle away. This drink was significantly stronger than the stuff Salazzle was serving at the bar, and one glass would be plenty for all Pokémon present, Oscar included.
"So what's the deal with you two. Like, are you super-outlaws on the run from Metagross' Guild or something?" It had been an hour since the toast, and the alcohol had long since started to work its magic. Poor Cinder and Stumpy had no clue what to expect, and they were leaning against each other for support. "That Charizard was super angry, I could tell, and Alakazam was really quick to take up that whole team and let them loose. That, like, never happens. Strong Pokémon are turned down all the time."
"No, it's not- it's not like that." Gaia responded. "We didn't do anything that bad! They are just mad because we were at the wrong place at the wrong time. The Riolu got hurt, and they blame us. That's all!"
"But," Stumpy said while letting out a yawn "your team hurt the Riolu, right?"
"Yes, well, we had a big team. Sometimes stuff happens, you know?"
"Yeah, yeah I know. So your team hurt their team, and you are the only members of your former team around here right? That's why they are going after you?"
"That about sums it up, I think." Oscar said.
"But why bother with us at all?" Gaia asked this time. "The kid seemed pretty set on getting that space stone, shouldn't they be focusing on that and not us?"
"The what stone?" Cinder perked his head up, looking concerned. "Tell me I heard that wrong."
"The… space stone-" Gaia began.
"A space stone" Oscar corrected.
"Yeah, uh, that's what we were studying, a space stone. The kid, I mean the Riolu and his team barged into our base looking for it. They seemed pretty upset."
"They are always upset when it comes to us. I wouldn't read into it too much."
"It blew up, and that's how we ended up here."
"It blew up?!" Cinder stood, resting his claw on Stumpy's head for support. "Isn't that, like, world-endingly bad?"
"Not even a little. There are multiple space stones, and there was nothing to suggest that they played any role in the stability of the world as a whole. At worst, some unlucky region might have some floating buildings before things stabilize."
This information was new to Gaia. "Who told you this?"
"Samuel assured me that there would be no long term consequences." Gaia let the statement hang for a moment.
"Samuel assured you? As in, the reason we are here Samuel?"
"Well, ah, I see your point. While he was an eccentric man and broke down under pressure, he is the one of the world's best experts in the field. Was, at least. While I wouldn't trust him to coach a little-league team, if he said that it was safe to work on a space stone, then I believe it was safe to work on a space stone." He leaned towards Gaia and added, "He was right in the end, after all."
"Wait, wait, slow down you two." Cinder held up one paw and pinched the bridge of his snout with the other. "What's a 'Samuel', and is it the same thing as a 'man'? And I still don't see how you can be so nonca- nochel-, uh"
"Nonchalant." Stumpy helped.
"Nonchalant about destroying a space stone. Forget the Riolu's team, aren't you worried Palkia will come for you?" Gaia had not thought of this possibility, and she looked up at the night sky with worry, fidgeting anxiously.
"Not at all. It takes certain rituals performed under extreme circumstances to summon Palkia. I'm pretty sure it hasn't happened in thousands of years."
"It happened 15 years, ago! My dad was there, and he told me about it when he still talked to me. Palkia has made several appearances since then." He eyed the two suspiciously for a moment. "Everyone is the world knows this, even the wild Pokémon."
"We spent a lot of time underground." Gaia said bitterly.
"My family spent a lot of time underground, too." Stumpy joined in. "My old home had some prejudices about Dark types, and it was just safer to stay out of sight most of the time. But we still needed to get supplies and stuff, and my mom told me they found out pretty quickly about the reappearance of Palkia."
"Like she said, we spent a lot of time underground and we were pretty invested in our research. Others handled the supplies, and we didn't speak to the help much."
Cinder was contemplative for a moment. Oscar pondered looking into his mind to see what he was thinking, but decided it would be more fun to take the surprises as they came. Then a light bulb went off in the Charmander's head, and he looked at the two Pokémon sitting across the fire from him.
"What most Pokémon don't know about Palkia's appearance, that my dad told me in his stories, is that it was human-turned Pokémon and her team that released it and saved the world. A human from another world."
"That's crazy, it's just a story." Stumpy protested.
"I thought so too, but awful as he was dad never lied to us. And I heard similar stories about other times the world had been saved in the last hundred years, all involving a human coming to this world and turning into a Pokémon." He thought some more before speaking again. "They were always found unconscious, they always lost their memories and they always joined the Guild right after."
Oscar could stop this, he imagined. There were several lies he could tell that would probably throw the Charmander off his scent. That he was indeed from a Human world but had always been a Pokémon, but that he was an experiment and that was why he acted so odd. He could deny the truth of the stories in the first place. Cinder wasn't there after all, and his father could have been deceived in many different ways. He could simply have Gaia and himself gaslight them relentlessly, that was always effective if you had the time. But the truth was, he didn't feel the need to do any of this. He didn't really care if they found out he was a human or not. If anything it might be a boon, it seemed like humans had important roles to play in this society, as was proper. Still, this conversation was going to require a little more alcohol to get through. He poured himself a half-glass, he had a dungeon to run tomorrow after all.
Cinder looked at Gaia "That Riolu you keep talking about, he was a human, wasn't he?" Gaia nervously looked to Oscar, who ignored her in favor of staring into the glass wistfully. Taking this as a sign he didn't care, Gaia turned to Cinder again and nodded slowly. "And you are a human too, aren't you?" Oscar downed the drink, then looked Cinder in the eyes.
"Was."
Stumpy stood up, steady enough on his paws now, and darted his eyes between the other Pokémon nervously. "Uh guys, what's going on? Is this real?"
"I think so Stumpy." Cinder said, still looking at Oscar. "But if a human is sent to help save the world, and that human always works for the Guild, and the Guild already has that human…" Cinder's eyes widened at the realization, "that means you are here to destroy the world! That's why the Charizard said you were more dangerous than we knew!" Huh. Oscar hadn't seen that coming, but he was not about to pass on the opportunity to mess with them.
"We would never do that!" Gaia said, coming to her feet as well. Now only Oscar remained sitting. "R-right?" She added looking to him, a little uncertain. He let a small smile.
"I don't know, Gaia, would we?" He got up slowly, with all the drama he could muster. "What about you two, Darkling and fire-lizard?" He paced around the group slowly, prowling. Even Gaia was unsettled, never seeing her Master and father-figure act like this before. "How shall the world end? With a whimper, cold and dark?" He looked to Stumpy, then turned to Cinder "Or with a scream, continents burning and sinking beneath boiling oceans?" He stalked up behind Cinder and Stumpy, sticking his head between them. Their eyes were wide open, breathing rapid. Gaia stared on horror-struck, where had this come from? "Well, heroes? Give me your answer." He whispered at last, teeth bared in a smile.
All three Pokémon jumped away from him. Cinder and Stumpy had been raised from hatchings on stories of supernatural powers, and heroes on mighty adventures to save the world. Many of them involving humans, like the one they were convinced was before them now. To them, it was as if Giratina itself had just spoken to them, their minds going over all the horrible possibilities the revelation offered. Gaia was not as superstitious, but her nature as a Pokémon inclined her to put great weight on tales of prophecy and destiny. She was torn between disbelief at the possibility of her Master destroying the world, and uncertainty at behavior she had never seen before. Maybe he was possessed?
"W-we won't let you!" Cinder said at last. Trembling claws held forward.
"Yeah! The world is hard and I haven't always been the best Pokémon, but I won't let you destroy it!" Stumpy said not with conviction, at least by the end of his statement.
"Don't let it control you Master, fight it!" Gaia had settled on the 'possessed by Giratina' theory she whipped up in her mind. She too had taken a fighting stance, resolved to beat the devil out of him if she had to.
Oscar said nothing for a moment. Then another moment. Then another. He had to time this just right for maximum effect. Just as the unconscious twitching of the Pokémon's bodies suggested they were ready to take the initiative, Oscar laughed. But not the evil kind. They all blinked in surprise.
"Too easy. You all are too gullible. I expected a little more faith from you, Gaia, but I suppose I share some blame. I am too good." He trotted back to his original spot and sat down. The other Pokémon had not moved from their stances, but the tension had left their bodies. "Relax, I am not here to end the world." They relaxed, but did not join him again at the fire.
"That wasn't funny!" Gaia yelled.
"I was kinda funny…" Stumpy admitted bashfully before sitting back down. He was a good sport.
"But the stories…" Cinder began, looking around for support.
"The stories don't apply to us. I don't know how the other humans made it to this world, but I can guarantee it wasn't the way we did. No mystical creature brought us through the veil between worlds, no great and terrible destiny awaits us." Oscar didn't believe in fate beyond the kind of hard determinism most scientists ascribed to. The very notion was ridiculous to him.
"So how did you end up here, then?" Cinder asked as he sat down again, relief showing in his posture.
"For the third time, a space stone blew up and brought us here."
"Right, yeah. But why were you messing with a space stone in the first place?"
"We installed it in a machine, we were trying to make a teleporter. The space stone was just a tool to figure out how it could be done artificially." Obviously.
"But why not just ask a psychic Pokémon to teleport you? Wouldn't the be easier?" Stumpy asked with a tilt of his head, one ear flopping.
"For the love of-" it was the grant committee all over again. "First, not all psychic Pokémon can teleport. Delphox, which I will one day become, can't do it for example." He said bitterly. Avoiding physical confrontations was going to be a challenge for him unless he could find a workaround. "Second, those Pokémon that can teleport a meaningful distance are rare and tightly controlled. Third, they can be interrupted by Dark types or Dark-type warding. A teleporter has none of these problems."
He pointed to the scarf around Cinder's neck. "Imagine a scarf that let you jump from one continent to the next, one that wasn't blocked by Dark types and was relatively cheap to buy. You could jump straight into the Guild vault and take what you wanted, and there is nothing they could do to stop you if they didn't know it was coming! Or you could flee your hideout if you were raided and get away without getting captured, guaranteed. If you were industrious, you set up a business charging for teleports around the region or even the world, and that wouldn't even be illegal. You would be the richest man on the planet. That is what we were researching, that is why we needed the space stone. It was the catalyst for one of the greatest inventions in history."
"But that doesn't sound bad, why would the Riolu and his team want to stop that?" Stumpy asked.
"Because we were bad guys, and they didn't want us from having that kind of power." Gaia added sadly. When did she grow a conscience?
"Well I mean, we are bad guys too." Cinder said pointing to himself and Stumpy, "That doesn't explain why they think you are so dangerous. Do they take stealing so seriously where you are from? If we get caught, we usually only spend a few nights in jail. I've never had a Gold-ranked team come for my blood before, even the Boss doesn't usually get more than Silver ranks sent after him."
"We did way more than steal stuff." Gaia said, staring into the fire. This was too much, Oscar decided.
Gaia what is wrong, you are acting out of character.
I don't want to talk about it.
Like hell you won't, your behavior is concerning. What is the problem? She was still young, and needed to be guided sometimes. Oscar had let her take the lead a little too often as of late, it seemed.
"How many?" She asked out loud.
Not in front of the peanut ga-
"How many?" She repeated. He was psychic, he knew what she was asking. Was this what was bothering her?
"I never kept count."
"Kept count of what? What are you guys talking about?" Cinder asked this time.
"I know you labelled all your experiments. What was the last number you kept tract of? How many died to make me?" Was this some kind of survivor's guilt? He never got of hint of this back at base, she was always so outgoing and energetic.
"Around three hundred, give or take." She was talking about the experiments on the Furret to perfect the gene-therapy technology. They were so short-lived anyway, what did it matter?
"To make you?" Cinder asked the Treecko. "Is he your father or something?"
"Or something." She said, "We didn't just steal stuff, we stole Pokémon. Or Team Rocket did, at least. Did things to them. That is why the kid and his team hate us so much."
Stumpy blinked a couple of times, then laughed. "Ha! You are a joker too! You can't 'steal' Pokémon!"
"Yeah." Cinder agreed, "Where would you even put them?"
"In cages. In Pokéballs." Cages? Well a cell was like a cage, Cinder supposed. But when they were captured and held he wouldn't say that they were stolen by the peacekeepers… wait, Pokéball?
"Pokéball, like the mystical artifact Pokéball? That would trap a Pokémon outside of time and space forever Pokéball?"
"Is everything some revered object of great power to you people?" Oscar asked with a scoff.
"Trapping a Pokémon outside of time and space forever seems pretty mystical to me, Fennekin." Oscar felt outnumbered. And here he thought he was surrounded by fellow scoundrels and degenerates!
"They aren't mystical, and there isn't just one." Gaia went on, "The humans made them by their millions, and used them to trap and control the Pokémon of our world."
"What?" Cinder and stumpy both asked, looking to Gaia, their minds blown at the reality of 'millions' of mystical Pokémon-trapping artefacts floating around. They turned their heads in unison to Oscar, and asked again "What?"
"Pokémon are very powerful creatures." He said dispassionately. "But power is only useful when it is controlled."
"Humans are pretty weak themselves. But they are really good at leading and teaching Pokémon. A Pokémon guided by a skilled trainer is way, way more powerful than one in the wild. If you have a human to train you, you always have food and a place to stay. You get to battle all the time, and they have healing machines that mean you can go all out and still be healthy and ready to go the next day. You never have to worry about not making it to your final evolution," Cinder's eyes gleamed at this "because they can get you whatever you need to evolve when you are ready. I know it sounds bad, but most Pokémon gladly let themselves be captured by a Pokéball, after the human proved their ability to lead other Pokémon in a fight against them. The stolen Pokémon in base almost always spoke highly of their trainers." Oscar didn't know she had snuck away to fraternize with the merchandise.
"So, humans capture Pokémon in Pokéballs, and your team would steal the Pokéballs and the Pokémon inside. What did you do with them after that?" Cinder asked, a little green at the thought of being captured and transported around like a commodity.
"Sell them." Oscar said.
"What, like an apple?" Stumpy asked. More confused than anything.
"More like those Pecha scarves. But yes, like an apple." Oscar clarified. Pokémon stored and traded like goods, the two natives to the world simply did not have the cultural context to understand such a thing. Their contemplation was interrupted when Gaia spoke again.
"If they were lucky."
"What can be worse than being trapped and traded around like an apple?" Stumpy was so innocent.
"You could be sent to The Lab." She glared at Oscar.
"Don't look at me like that. You knew what we did since the moment you hatched. You never even hinted at a complaint before, so why now? Why the sudden independence and disloyalty?" Gaia flinched at the accusation.
"I'm not disloyal! You will always be my Master. But," she trailed off, looking away from him "I did always have complaints. We all did, all the Pokémon at the Rocket base. But you were our humans, and we loved you and didn't want to disappoint you. We were scared that you would abandon us if we questioned you." She took a deep breath and continued. "Why do you think Rocket bases get overrun so quickly when the League find them? The battlers put on a good show, but they know it is for the best that they get defeated. A lot of the Team Rocket humans carry too much hatred in their hearts. We can feel that, and we try to do what's best for you, even if you don't like it." She finished her confession.
It made a lot of sense, now that Oscar thought about it. The underperformance of Rocket Pokémon in clutch situations was well known, and the answer had eluded the higher ups including himself for some time. "And what about me?" He asked after a moment of silence. "Does hatred fill my heart?" She didn't look at him.
"I don't know if you feel anything." She confessed with a whisper. This would not do.
"I feel pride. Pride for my accomplishments, and pride for you."
"Me?" She squeaked.
"Yes, you. You have always been strong in body, even if I didn't allow you to show it. And you have always been strong of mind, helping me with my research and learning more in less than a decade than most Pokémon do in a lifetime. I know now why you are upset around the circumstances of your hatching," he lied, "but you must understand that you deserve your strength every bit as much as the kids little mutant Pikachu does. Only, instead of random chance leading to a strong Pokémon, it was the directed effort of a dedicated human."
"But the Furret…" she began to protest, he didn't let her.
"Were dead, from the moment they hatched. They were a mutant breed, they aged rapidly and rarely made it to a year. Their sacrifice allowed for the technology to greatly improve the lives of all creatures, Pokémon and human. Can you really say that a Furret getting sick and dying a month earlier or later than normal is some great crime against creation?" She wasn't sure what to say. Something inside her knew that doing any kind of experiment on a Pokémon wasn't right, but she had to admit that when he put it that way it didn't seem like that big a deal…
"So, wait. Are you her father or not? You look too young for that." Stumpy asked. The conversation had, for the most part, gone completely over the two native's heads.
"Ye-"
"Her line is purebred. Her mother was a Champion contender and her father was from Giovanni's – my Boss' – personal team. I gene-edited her embryo to make up the difference. As a Sceptile, she will be the most powerful member of her species on the planet. Or very nearly. As for myself, I was over 50 as a human and can hardly be accused of being young."
Stumpy didn't know what a 'Champion contender' was, but it sounded cool and he just assumed that meant her mom was really strong. Cinder had heard stories of Champion trainers, as distorted by time and dimensional distance as they were, and looked at Gaia with a newfound respect. If nothing else, he was sure she at least could help him grow strong.
"But you are my dad! You said yourself that you put some of your genes in me to make me smarter."
"That wasn't the reason, and it was literally only five out of your 20,000 genes. If we were blood related that would put us 12 generations apart."
"But we are still related!"
"As distantly as is possible!"
"You raised me from an egg!"
"People do that all the time!"
"So do dads!"
"Aww." Stumpy cooed. "Team dad, he even cooks." Even Cinder chuckled at that, family history notwithstanding. Oscar gave them a deadpanned look. Gaia scooted up to him and gave him a hug, and he reluctantly leaned in to return it. She was at least out of her Mood now, and that was the important thing. He didn't consider himself to be her father, but he could understand the logic behind it.
"So if you were serious about not destroying the world in fire and screams or whatever," Cinder said as the two broke their embrace, "what do you plan to do? Normal world domination stuff? Destroy the Guild? Return home?" Gaia looked at him, having the same question.
"Nothing like that. You know how much responsibility it is to run a world? I would never fetter myself so. No, I will look for a way to return home, but just to keep as a fall back. I think I want to try this Pokémon thing out for a while. I for one am looking forwards to being a psychic fire wizard."
"Technically you already are one, aren't you?" Gaia offered.
"With a staff," he specified, "and pointy hat."
"I've never heard of a Delphox with a staff before, but I admit that sounds cooler than a wand. I don't know how I feel about a pointy hat though." Cinder opined.
"Trust me, it'll work."
"What about you, Gaia?" Cinder asked
"I haven't really thought about it." She hesitated.
"C'mon, you can tell us." Stumpy goaded.
"Well, I think I just want battle, you know? I have been having so much fun fighting all those different Pokémon this last week, I don't really have anything else on my mind!" She smiled at the thought.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Cinder cheered, "Battling is the best way to get super strong. It's why I joined the Boss' team. Ever since I was kicked out for being the runt, all I dreamed about was becoming a Charizard to stick it to my dad. I figured I could join the Guild, and by the time I had enough experience as a Charmeleon to evolve I could afford a Fire Stone from the Guild vault. But" he continued with less enthusiasm now "after Alakazam announced the freeze on new Rookie teams, I didn't have that option anymore. So I joined with the outlaws, with the same idea. Once I got strong enough, I could just steal a Fire Stone. It hasn't gone exactly to plan so far, I'm not even a Charmeleon yet." Stumpy put a paw on him.
"Don't worry, you'll get there. I believe in you!" The others turned their heads to the Poochyena expectantly.
"Oh well, nothing quite like that for me. Mightyena aren't really the strongest Pokémon around, so it's not like I will ever be a super battler or anything. I still want to evolve!" He said defensively, as if he just committed some faux pas, "But I wouldn't call it my life's goal or anything. It'll happen when it happens. I just want Poke, lots of Poke." That seemed a little mercenary for the Poochyena, from what Oscar thought. "I want to found a village for Dark types, either in my old home or here, it doesn't really matter. Other Pokémon are kinda suspicious of us, and so we spend a lot of time on the outskirts of society. Ghost and poison types too, for that matter. I guess they could join as well. I figure, if there is a place where we can gather and live out in the open, work and trade like normal, then the other Pokémon will see that we are just like them, right? But I need a looot of money and I guess trade connections for that matter, and without being able to join a Rescue Team, that kind of just leaves, um, banditry?" He shuffled uncomfortably, "I know how that sounds, but it will all work out in the end, I'm sure of it."
"That's really noble of you, Stumpy. And here I am just wanting to hit things." Gaia said.
"Yeah, well, I like to hit things too, don't get me wrong. And it will probably be super old by the time I can pull it off. But it's something to look forwards to, you know?" The conversation reached a lull at this point. They had been talking for some time and it was getting late. As if to punctuate the point, Cinder let out a long yawn that infected the rest of the party in short order.
"Well, I guess that's our sign. We have a busy day tomorrow." With that, they put out the fire and went off to bed.
Authors Note:
That's it for the first batch of chapters! I like mystery dungeon stories, but I find the amnesia thing to detract from my enjoyment of the story. What's the point of having a human in a world of only Pokémon if they don't keep their memories? If it looks like a Pokémon, acts like a Pokémon, and thinks like a Pokémon, it's just a Pokémon. I know there is more subtlety to it, but I think you can do more interesting things with the story this way. And with a bad guy to boot! I'm having a lot of fun with this, hopefully you are getting something out of it as well.
I have next 40,000 or so words already done, but what I have is not quite where I want it to be. I am posting the first seven chapters now hoping to take any feedback into account moving forward, and edit or revise as needed. This will also give me more time to scour for spelling or grammar errors, I swear I can proof a chapter a dozen times and find a new error each go.