Team Cinnabar Washing Up

Betaread by ShadowVulpi

Team Cinnabar walked back to the Guild after finishing their first mission. Will, the leader, was an Eevee, who walked in front of the party. His partner, Lux, was a Vulpix. Lux stayed in the back, checking in the bag every few minutes for the pearl they had retrieved from Drenched Bluff. The night before, Will and Lux had joined Wigglytuff Guild, and they had started their first mission the very next day. This mission had been to find a pearl dropped by a Spoink, and it promised a high reward.

"I'm glad we managed to get this, Will. We've been in two Mystery Dungeons already, and we did great! If we keep doing missions as well as this, we'll be expert explorers in no time!" Lux said.

His eyes sparkled in the reflected light of the pearl, the team bag tied around his neck and hanging below his head for easy access.

"Are all Mystery Dungeons like that, Lux? Every one of them full of dangerous Pokemon? I'm not sure if I like the idea of having to fight every day for a living. Plus, it gets my fur all wet, and I don't like how clumped up it feels. Beach Cave yesterday was bad enough. I'm pretty sure I would still have salt in this fur if we didn't go back into some water today. How do you handle taking care of all this fluff?" Will asked.

"Oh, that? Dude, I've got five more tails than you. It's annoying having to brush them out every night, but I have to if I want to keep the matting out. I got my tails matted together once as a kit, and my mom had to shave my tails to disconnect them. I looked stupid for weeks until my fur grew back in. Now I groom myself every day. We can't be a team in the great Wigglytuff Guild if we don't take care of ourselves! It would reflect badly on us and the Guild!" Lux said.

He looked at Will's coarse, bushy fur. "But yeah, you've got long, rough fur. You should brush it out every night to keep it from matting and get the gunk out of it. And take a full bath every month, if not sooner. If we have to go into a swamp, I'm going to the spa, even if I went the day before. I'm not planning on stinking up the base." Lux continued.

"Isn't that a little bit… girly, though?" Will asked. "Doesn't it take half an hour to style everything? Why not just go out and do the missions?"

"Girly? Where'd you get that idea from, Will? Brushing my coat so it looks nice isn't girly, it's just routine. Walk around Treasure Town with bad grooming, half the 'mons will think you're feral." Lux said. "Plus, it gets nasty if you don't maintain your coat. It stinks, is uncomfortable, and lets you get parasites. Trust me, you do NOT want to get fleas. You know what those are, right?"

"Yeah," Will said, a sudden image of a Pokemon fully infested by ticks burst into his head. The poor thing had so many, the facial features were hidden under an armor of insect bodies. Will shuddered, and the image left him. Will didn't know if that was memory or imagination, but either way, he didn't want any part of that situation.

"So what do I have to do to keep clean?" Will asked. "The dirt from this trail keeps sticking to my wet fur. And it's turning to mud and dragging me down."

"At least your fur is brown. It hides the dirt better. My red fur just makes the dirt stick out more. Look at my paws, Will."

Will turned around. Clumps of mud clung to Lux's paws, obvious against his red fur. As much as he tried to keep his tails held high, the tips and edges of them also drooped down and had accents of brown.

"There's not much we can do out here to keep clean. We'll just have to stop by the spa in Treasure Town and get you a couple of brushes on our way back. I wonder if the Guild has its own bathing spot. That would make it cheaper for us. Hey, do you think we should get cleaned up before or after we turn in the mission?" Lux asked.

"I'm not sure. Does the client usually see the rescue team afterward, or does Chatot pass it on for them? If we're meeting the client, we should probably look our best. But that pearl looks pretty valuable too. We should probably drop it off at the guild first, in case we lose it and have to find it again." Will said.

Will turned around and started walking again. "How much farther is it to Treasure Town?"

"Well, it took us about two hours to walk out to the Drenched Bluff. I think it's actually over the next hill or two. I bet if I got up on a rock or tree, I'd see the beach where we met. Want me to try?"

"No, I'll be alright. I just hope we get there before too long. You're right, this mud is feeling really uncomfortable. I can feel it drying and sticking together." Will said.

"The good news is that if it's clean mud, you can usually just brush it out once it dries all the way. But if it's slimy or gross, you need to soak it to loosen it up. Then you have to deal with your fur drying out again." Lux stopped and sniffed at the air. "Wait, I smell smoke! That means we're pretty close!" Will tried smelling too. To his surprise, he also detected smoke. This Pokemon body had a much different set of senses than he was used to. The two members of Team Cinnabar walked faster to get to their new home.

Will and Lux stood at the crossroads that lead up to Wigglytuff Guild. A small group of Pokemon were gathered around the watering hole they had passed on the walk out to their mission, talking and socializing with each other. Some of them were cleaning themselves in basins next to it, using water pulled directly from the well.

A Persian beckoned them over.

"You are the new recruits, I presume?" she asked.

"Yeah! We just finished our first mission!" Lux said, showing off the pearl they had retrieved.

"I see. I also see how you two couldn't stop yourselves from getting muddy on your very first expedition. In case you weren't aware, all members of the Guild are required to look presentable at all times. Therefore, we have this washing area for all adventures before they report to the client. Appearance is especially important to adventures, after all. It's the first thing that clients notice when they petition the Guild for a job. If we looked like mangy ferals, we wouldn't have any business." Persian said.

"Sorry, we were in Drenched Bluff. THere's no way to not get muddy when you're wet and walking on dirt roads." Will said.

"I understand. That's what this area is made for, after all." Persian said.

"Before we rinse off, do you have any brushes? I left mine at my old den, and Will here doesn't have his own." Lux asked.

"Certainly. Since you are both long-furred Pokemon, you will be expected to brush yourselves daily to prevent matting and be presentable. Persian turned to a set of baskets filled with various grooming supplies: brushes and combs of different sizes and shapes, clay jars filled with liquids and pastes, and towels to dry off. She gave both of them a comb and a brush.

"Take these and clean your coats and paws. You shouldn't need shampoo, since that is mostly dirt on you. When you're cleaned and brushed, come back to me so I can check your claws and pawpads. Chatot barely knows how to assess a Pokemon's health. That bird would let us all have cracked claws and mangy coats as long as missions were done and forms were signed." She sighed. "Off you go."

Lux put their supplies in the bag and walked to an unoccupied trough. A Machoke by the well saw them and carried a bucket of water and poured it in.

"Thank you." Will said.

"No problem. You the new recruits?" he asked

"Yeah! We're Team Cinnabar! We're going to be the best explorers ever!" Lux said.

"Really? That should be fun." Machoke laughed. "Careful, the water's colder than you think."

"So how does this work, Lux? Just jump in and scrub yourself?" Will asked.

"Actually, you just need to soak the parts with the biggest chunks. Like my tails have big clods of mud on the ends, so the water will make it soft so it can be brushed out. I mean, some Pokemon do like baths, but it takes too long to dry off for it to be practical most of the time." Lux said. Lux dipped the ends of his tails into the water, the mud diffusing into the water. He swished them back and forth through the water a few times, letting the dirt fall to the bottom.

"Will, you don't have much on your tail, the mud is mostly on your legs and paws. You should probably start brushing out your tail before getting your paws wet again, though. That way your paws don't collect all the mud you brush off it." Lux said.

"Umm, how do I do that?" he looked at the brush in confusion. It didn't have any handle like he was used to, just a thickened spine. Besides, he didn't have hands anymore to grab and use one, not that he remembered using a brush before. Didn't he have short hair as a human? Who knew? He felt like it was normal for humans to have short hair, but Will couldn't remember if that applied to him specifically.

"Oh, that? Grab it in your teeth. Start at the tip of your tail and work up. If you start at the base, you might just make any tangles worse. And that hurts, believe me!" Lux said.

WIll awkwardly bit on the brush that Persina had given him. It was made of wood, so his teeth dug into it slightly without hurting. Then he laid down and curled around to reach his tail. Movement as a quadruped was so different from what he was used to. It had taken him five minutes on the beach yesterday just to learn how to walk. Now that he had been an Eevee for a full day, it was a little easier. It wouldn't be pretty if he had to run, but it worked out well enough.

After a few tries, Will started to feel how the brush was supposed to move in his fur, flakes of mud dropping on the ground at every stroke. It was hard to line up his head and the brush while also making it go the direction he needed it to.

Lux pulled his tails out of the water and lightly shook them over the tub, dripping water into it.. He then pulled out his own brush and started working on his tails. Since Will was inexperienced, Lux was finished with four of his tails before Will had finished his.

"Will, now that you've got the mud out of your tail, you should get your legs brushed off too. You can climb into the tub, it'll make the mud come off easier." Lux said.

Will stepped into the basin, flinching at the cold water. But just as Lux's tails had the mud disperse in the water, Will's paws also dropped dirt, which collected at the bottom. He crouched down slightly, getting his lower joints wet as well. After a minute, he climbed out.

"So, do I do the same thing for my legs? Just brush them with the same brush?" Will asked.

Lux finished with his last tail. "Pretty much. The fur there is shorter, though, so start at the top. If there's spots you can't reach, I can help. Sometimes it's hard to get every part of your body, depending on what species you are." he said

"Okay." Before picking up the brush again, Will asked, "What's the comb for, then? If all we need to do is brush out the mud, why did we get the comb too?"

"That's to get more tangles out. Since your fur is even thicker than mine, you have to really push in to comb out the deeper layers. A brush gets the stuff off the top, but you need to comb out your undercoat too. It helps keep you cool in the what, and warm when it's cold. Also, a well- groomed coat keeps you from getting parasites too. I've seen Pokemon with ticks, and it's not pretty." Lux said.

Will had a sudden image of a Pokemon fully infested by ticks burst into his head. The poor thing had so many, the facial features were hidden under an armor of insect bodies. Will shuddered, and the image left him. Will didn't know if that was memory or imagination, but either way, he didn't want any part of that situation. Will brushed his legs, starting with the front two, letting the dirt and sand fall off him. The area they stood in was paved in cobblestone, so there was very little risk of getting dirty again on the walk back to Wigglytuff's Guild. They didn't have to deal with any more dusty trails, only paved roads, which would only have minimal buildup.

As Will finished with his front right leg, Lux started on his. The two worked together in silence, Will trying to process all the things he would have to do on a daily basis to care for his new Eevee body. Bathing regularly felt familiar, but he didn't think he ever had to deal with plush fur brush tugged at his fur, pulling out tangles. With the practice he had at using the brush on his tail, his legs were soon clean and brushed.

"Cool! Looks like you did a good job! Do you want to use the comb here, or wait until we go to bed?" Lux asked.

Will looked around at the different teams all doing the same thing they were. He saw a group of Poochyena running combs through each other's fur, and said, "Well, I feel like Persian wanted us to look good, right? So maybe we should use the combs too, right? But, umm, I think you have to help me in some spots. I can't comb the top of my head without hands." Will said.

"Of course I'll help you. I'm your partner! How about I help you first, so you know how to do it, then you can get my head and neck, all right? Lux said.

"Okay, I guess." Will said. Lux picked up one on the combs and carried it to Will.

"Before I get started, do you want it a specific way? I can try a style, but I don't think I'd be good at it unless it's super easy. I keep my hair short because I don't like having to get it curled to keep out of my eyes, but I think Eevee can do stuff like that too."

"Don't worry about it, Lux. Just make it look neat." Will said. He crouched down on the ground so Lux could reach the top of his head. Lux started by using Will's brush on his ears,

"Sorry, but this probably is uncomfortable. Your ears are so long! But I want to get all the fur pointing the same way, but it shouldn't take more than one or two passes." Lux said through his teeth. Will tried to keep his ears stiff so that Lux could use the brush on them, but Lux's brushing pushed them to the sides of his head. It was a bit strange, feeling his ears bend that way, but it was over soon enough. Lux then combed the top of Will's head, pushing it out toward the front.

As Lux moved on to Will's back, the rhythmic pulling and tugging of his fur and the sound of the comb became comforting. Will relaxed as Lux continued to pull all his fur into alignment, Occasionally it would tug, but Lux carefully worked the tangles out as he found them.

Lux combed halfway down Will's back and stopped. "All right, that's all for your back. If you stand up, I can get the sides and front of your neck."

Will shook himself awake from his stupor. "Thanks. That felt… really good." he said.

"Yeah, I know. Here, I gotta get your chin and the ruff around your neck, then do me, all right?" Lux said.

"Oh, uh, sure." Will said, stretching out his head. Lux slowly worked the comb through his large, fluffy cream-colored mane. The pleasant pulling sensation in his fur just felt right. Maybe this was one of the things Pokemon liked, just like humans like warm clothes, Pokemon liked a groomed coat.

After a few minutes, Lux stopped. "All right, you're done. Use my brush first on my ears, then start at the top of my head, just like I did on you. Follow the normal lines of fur, and you'll get it right. Just go slow. Knots hurt when you pull on them." he said.

Will uncertainly picked up Lux's brush and looked at the top of his head. Lux was taller than him when they were standing, so he hadn't really noticed how the fur on his head seemed to be raggedly trimmed shorter than was normal.

Will gingerly started to brush the tops of Lux's ears, pressing them to the sides of his head.

"Yep, just like that, Will." Lux said, closing his eyes.

Will moved on to Lux's head, choosing a line at random to part his hair from front to back. Afraid of hurting his partner, Will didn't push very hard, and cringed every time he felt resistance. Eventually, he moved on to the back of Lux's neck, and moved down his back. The rhythmic act of brushing was nearly as calming as being brushed himself. Will saw how this could be a regular part of bonding in a family or between friends.

"Is that good enough?" Will asked when he had brushed half of Lux's back.

"That's really good for your first try! Now get my neck, and try not to poke my eyes with the brush when you get my cheeks. Or you can skip those, if you want. I can get it mostly straight with just my paws, it's more for special occasions that you brush out your face and muzzle." Lux said.

Will awkwardly crouched down as Lux stood up so that he could brush under Lux's chin and the sides of his neck. He managed to crane his neck to get all the parts that Lux couldn't reach on his own. After a few more minutes, he was finished.

"Is that everything?" Will asked.

"Well, it's almost everything. Now you just have to brush out the rest of your fur. And use the comb on the really thick parts, like your tail." Lux said. He picked his brush back up and started brushing his belly.

"All right." Will said. The two fell silent as they worked. This wasn't just to get dirt off, now this was about looking clean and presentable. Eventually, they both felt satisfied with their work and went to Persian.

"Good. You two do know how to clean yourselves. You don't have any matting or mange in your coats. Now I'm going to assess your other hygiene. Show me your pawpads, claws, and teeth. If there are deviations, we will correct them."

Will and Lux awkwardly showed her their paws one at a time, then pulled their lips back to show their teeth.

After inspection, the Persian spoke. "Your pads and claws are intact and don't require trimming. Your teeth are in good condition. Remember, your hygiene and appearance is the first thing a client sees when they petition Wigglytuff's Guild. Be presentable at all times. Now you may report your mission, but don't forget to properly groom yourselves, even on days you aren't visibly dirty."

As Will and Lux walked up the steps to the Guild, Will said "Thanks for helping and being patient with me. I still have a lot to learn about being a Pokemon, and I'm glad you're my friend."

"I'm your partner, right? That's what partners are for." Lux said. And with that, Lux and Will went to report the success of their first official mission.