The night went along uninterrupted. I felt a gentle hand or paw start to prod me. I felt like I could still sleep for hours, but I realized I should get up. I didn't want to overstay my welcome. Slowly opening my eyes, some crust and goop were resisting my attempts to wake up. With a quick rub, a yawn and a stretch, I got up. The light was a still low, but it was clearly rising.
"Okay, you're finally awake! Now if we can just do the same with you friends, we could have breakfast." Delcatty stated, looking over her shoulder to two sleeping masses. Raichu was prodding them with his paw, but they weren't waking up.
"Let me try something." I responded. I walked over to them an nudged them.
"Hello?" I asked. Oshawott gently snored.
"Well, he's cute at least, but nap time's over." I stated. Leaping a foot into the air, I came down onto Oshawott's stomach.
"Huahugh!" He gasped. He shot straight up and looked around him, his sudden outburst waking Cyndaquil.
"Where- Oh!" Oshawott stated. His eyes went wide as his location suddenly dawned on him. He looked at Cyndaquil, who stared at him. They were clearly at a loss for words.
"Are you two going to wake up or do you want to skip breakfast?" I asked. They looked at me, confused for a moment. Delcatty and Raichu looked over towards a table on one side of the room with five plates stuffed with food. Yellow, Pink, Red, Blue, and Green cloth were placed to indicate where each of us would sit. I hadn't even noticed the table of food, so I began to make my way there.
"We can't, I mean, it'd be rude. You already let us stay, that was more than you- I mean, you didn't even need to let us stay. Breakfast too? No, that's just too much, right Cyndaquil?" Oshawott stuttered. Cyndaquil nodded rapidly.
"Right-huh? What are you-!" Oshawott shouted. I was shoving half of a pear-shaped yellow berry into my mouth. It was sour and a bit sweet, I liked it. I knew it was somewhat rude to just eat like that, but my stomach was cramping in hunger, so I wasn't going to wait for anything, let alone my friends trying to say we shouldn't eat.
"Pha? Mm Humfvy." I responded, doing my best to not spit. Oshawott and Cyndaquil looked like they were about to faint, but both Raichu and Delcatty both laughed.
"It seems your leader has already made up his mind. Now, are you going to join us, or are you going to be hungry on the way back?" Delcatty asked. Both of their stomachs rumbled with impeccable timing as if they were sentient.
"Thats- I- uh." Oshawott stated. He was clearly conflicted, but eventually let out a long sigh. I stopped chewing the berry and gestured them to their seats. They blushed in embarrassment and began to walk over. I finished swallowing the berry.
"Thank you." I stated.
"Don't worry about it. We know you had a long journey, and you have a long journey back as well. Consider this a congratulations for you becoming a Rescue Team." Delcatty responded. I looked at her and smiled. I continued to dig in, eating half of the plate full of food in a matter of minutes. The others weren't eating nearly as fast.
"You're really hungry, aren't you?" Delcatty stated, smiling. Oshawott and Cyndaquil weren't looking at me. It was clear they were ashamed at my poor table manners. I bit into and swallowed a spicy red berry before I answered.
"I was in the hospital for several weeks prior, so this is the first proper meal I've had in, well, a month at least. Probably more, honestly. It's been a while since I've sat down and ate something big." I responded, looking towards them, and back towards my nonexistent appendage. The two of them nodded and hummed in response. The hospital was hesitant to give me anything very solid. It was all nutrients, mostly liquid mush, and mostly liquid nutrients. It was neither filling nor tasty, though not as bad as Satan's Spew. As a human I mostly just snacked in the day, surviving off chips, soda, and a sandwich on occasion. It had probably been several months since I properly sat down with anyone and ate something greater than a sandwich, chips, soda, and a cookie. It was the favored diet of an uncaring teenager, and apathetic adults as well.
"So, you'll be the leader of the Rescue Team. This isn't just a formal title. It means that when you first go into dungeons, you'll be the one most wild Pokémon will attack. It also means you're the one who will take the biggest brunt for stamina. Mystery Dungeons drain your hunger when you're in them, but it affects the current leader the most. You can switch who is the leader on the fly, but you're the one who'll lead at the beginning typically. Leading also means that you'll be the one managing items, money, and other resources for your team. It sounds more difficult than it actually is, just be aware of what you have and what you need and you'll be fine. Finally, there are tactics which only the leader can tell the others to do. Say for instance, you can tell them to go the other way to more thoroughly explore a floor in a dungeon, or tell them to get away and they'll focus on fleeing over fighting." Delcatty explained. I nodded. I didn't fully understand, but I was always better at learning by doing than having things explained to me.
As I was finishing up, I looked towards my friends. We had mostly ate in silence after the brief explanation with only a few random questions here and there. My friends were clearly being on their best behavior. We were eating at someone else's home, so I understood. I wasn't being my usual gross self, either. If this was my home there'd probably be an impromptu contest to see what berry would stick best to the ceiling and walls. The meal was notably delicious. Some of the berries had been lightly fried adding to the flavor. This was no doubt due to Raichu. I loved it. The sun began to shine brighter as the five of us got off of the chairs and stools. Oshawott and Cyndaquil bowed down, thanking them profusely. I looked at my friends, and to Delcatty and Raichu.
"It was really good, thanks." I stated. Oshawott looked up and glared at me. I'd never seen him so angry before. The only thing stopping him from yelling at me was the presence of the rescue team. He was too adorable to be afraid of, however. My face contorted as I tried my best to not smile, and I could hear the Raichu quietly laugh as well.
"What?" I asked innocently, tilting my head.
"You- You're- I, I just. Grh." Oshawott responded. He was clearly frustrated. It took a lot of willpower to not laugh at this, and it was clear both Raichu and Delcatty found this amusing as well.
"I'm glad to see you're respectful, but you don't need to be so formal. We're Pokémon just like you, after all. Your leader seems to understand this." Delcatty stated with a smile.
"But you're, famous! More than famous, you're world renown! You saved the world! I can't just treat you like you're nothing!" Oshawott responded.
"You don't need to treat them like they're nothing, just treat them like they're anyone." I responded.
Oshawott looked at me with sad, puppy dog eyes. He clearly wanted to dig a hole and jump in. It was like looking at a dog in a silly costume begging to be let out of it. I felt bad, but also found it extremely cute. This little bit of torment and his adorably sad face meant I couldn't help but burst out laughing. It was just too much for me. Thinking back on it, it wasn't as funny, but I will always remember Oshawott's sad puppy face. That's possibly the cutest face he's ever made. Both Oshawott and Cyndaquil curled onto the floor in embarrassment.
"There's no need to laugh, it's clear they were just trying to be respectful." Delcatty stated. She was smiling of course. I think they both understood this was just a bit of mostly harmless fun between friends. Honestly, I needed a good laugh after everything I had been through in the past few weeks.
"I mean, yeah, I get why they're acting this way, but it's just a bit too much for me. Anyway thank you again for all this." I said, with a nod.
"It really wasn't a problem, we're the ones who tricked you into a tough fight, after all." Delcatty responded. I smiled and nodded. With our bellies full, our bags containing the standard issued items, and our path ahead clear, we began to head off. Delcatty stopped me, however. Oshawott and Cyndaquil turned around, confused.
"If we may speak with him privately, we'd appreciate it." She stated. Oshawott and Cyndaquil's eyes went wide and they nodded in rapid succession. They continued on down the stairs.
"I feel I should let you know, we know you were human." Delcatty spoke in a calm and casual manner, her smile not dipping once. I jumped.
"You clearly haven't told Cyndaquil or Oshawott, but you probably should some time. I understand not being willing to tell them, since I'm sure it was a shock. I nearly didn't say anything to my friend here either." Raichu stated. I thought for a moment.
"Wait, you nearly didn't what? Hold on, wait. Then you're also human?" I asked, uncertainty coating my voice. He nodded. I took a step back. I thought I was the only human, though if I had thought about it the voice had implied there were others.
"I-I'll tell them sometime. For now, I think I'll keep it secret. But, how did you know I was human?" I wondered.
"There were a few signs, your fascination with Oshawott's cuteness is a very human thing. Not that other Pokémon don't find each other cute, just that it's very different and far more pronounced with humans." Delcatty explained.
"Also you almost called Pokémon 'People' at one point, so that was a dead giveaway, though I don't think your friends noticed." Raichu responded. I nodded, looking at the floor.
"There's a reason I'm here, but I'm not entirely sure what. I'm apparently supposed to save some people who will save the world. I don't exactly understand how I'm supposed to do it, and I don't fully understand how it's going to happen, either." I stated. Delcatty and Raichu looked at each other before turning to me. I looked up at them.
"I'm sure it's a lot, but just remember you've got your friends by your side. With them, you'll be fine!" Delcatty cheered with a big smile.
"Yeah, I think so, too. Thanks." I responded, returning the smile. It wasn't a true smile and the two of them knew it. I couldn't bring myself to be my normal cheery self. Raichu waved goodbye and I made my way down the stairs and back to my friends.
"So what did they say?" Oshawott asked.
"They just said that everything would be fine with you by my side." I stated.
Oshawott nodded, smiled, and said, "I see, alright."
The doors to the museum was closed with a sign saying "Closed for repairs. We're sorry for any inconvenience." Walking down the stairs, I noticed that even early in the morning as it was there were several rescue teams already lined up and looking at the missions for the day. Walking outside and through the city, I felt a bit strange. I shook my head and took a deep breath, trying to clear my head. The city grew less and less dense as we traveled to the outer edges, and eventually made our way out the way we came. My chest felt heavy, for some strange reason. I turned around one last time on the large grassy green hill overlooking the town. My heart felt heavy, and I was feeling sad, but I didn't really know why. I had just arrived to this place, and I knew we'd be back there for some reason on our travels, even if that wouldn't be for a long while. I looked to the giant Pikachu face where we had our fight and became a proper rescue team. It was odd, I felt like I was leaving a place I'd been living in for my entire life.
"I suppose Pokémon Central is similar in size to my home, so subconsciously it feels like leaving home." I thought. I didn't fully believe myself. I shook my head, but the feeling didn't fade. Whatever the reason was, I was going to keep feeling that way so I knew I just needed to leave. I took a breath, turned around, and looked at my friends. They were smiling.
"On to a new life, then." I thought. What I was feeling there, it's something I still feel now sometimes. It wasn't just feeling like I was leaving home. It wasn't just my subconscious thoughts, but something I was actively denying in my mind and ignoring for as long as I could. While I didn't want to think much on it, it was then I began to feel I may never get to go home ever again.
The path back was less rough than it had been going forward as the roughest terrain was mostly downhill. Soon the familiar dead brush and ash made itself known. It wasn't long after when the river of magma made its appearance, and waiting nearby was our friend Torkoal.
"Torkoal? How did you know we'd be here?" I asked.
"A Pidgeot stopped by and told me someone'd be heading this way, and to my surprise I find out it's you three! So, did you make it?" He asked. We showed him our badges, smiling widely.
"Congratulations, I knew you could do it! Now, do you three need help getting across?" Torkoal asked. We nodded and hopped onto his back. The magma tortoise slowly swam and waded his way past the fiery river with us remaining safe on his back. Once across, we thanked Torkoal and waved as we walked away. Slowly we made our way back home, stopping for the night at the base of a mountain. Slowly the mountains were crossed and the dawn turned to dusk as we approached the edges of town.
"We should get home, we've got rescues to do tomorrow!" Oshawott stated. Cyndaquil nodded.
"Yeah!" I cheered with a nod. The two of the began to split off. I didn't have anywhere to go, however. I knew this was going to be an awkward conversation, but it would have to be one for the next day.
Wandering out of town, I wandered off the main path. Finding a nice, large tree I felt comfortable with, I slowly began to process things. I was officially a part of a rescue team. Whether the divine deity of whatever wanted me to do this or not, I wasn't certain. What I did know was my life was really going to be interesting. I knew moves, but I didn't know how to use them. Pound, Quick Attack, Agility, and Mega Drain. I was apparently level thirty-one, and had a few IQ skills which meant nothing to me. One thing was clear, whoever this body belonged to clearly was somewhat powerful. I wondered if I could access the old memories of this body, or if they would lie forgotten. I wondered if I should for a moment, before concentrating.
Thinking hard, I tried to remember someone else's memory. While I didn't think anything would happen, I figured there was no harm in trying. Closing my eyes, I did see something fuzzy. As the memory became clearer, it became more apparent that "fuzzy" was an extremely accurate word to use. A fluffy white and red furred creature and I were clashing, and it was clearly winning. I swung my tail around and it slashed at the same time, causing a spatter of blood to fly everywhere. I looked at it as it grabbed the severed tail and placed in into it's mouth. It suddenly slashed towards me, causing my vision to go red. I got up and ran, with it in pursuit, tail still in it's mouth. A strange burst of speed surged through me, pushing me forward and into a clearing. I had lost the creature. Walking over to a pond, I took a drink and collapsed nearby. Abruptly opening my eyes, my heart was pounding. I took a few deep breaths and reminded myself it was just a memory.
"Now I know how I, or rather, this body got there, how do I use moves?" I thought. I closed my eyes and tried to access those memories. It didn't help. It seemed it was mostly an instinctual thing, so I would hopefully be able to use them when I truly needed them. If I couldn't I'd be dead weight, and I didn't want that. I closed my eyes, hoping things would be clearer in the morning. The night breeze was chilly, and my worry didn't help calm me down. I looked up at the sky. The stars were twinkling. Constellations stared at me, unknown and unseen in my mind. Earth or wherever I was, the stars were still beautiful. I closed my eyes and did my best to fall asleep. I didn't sleep all that well, and I constantly kept waking up through the night. Eventually the dusk turned to night, and slowly gave way to dawn. Once the sun was peaking past, I decided I wasn't going to sleep much more than that.
I got up and wandered the town. The shops were all seemingly open at this time, though there were only a few other Pokémon up and about. Bags were by their sides and scarves and bands wrapped themselves around their various shapes and appendages. It was clear these were other rescue teams. Five different Pokémon made up the two other teams. Team Ice Flare was a brother and sister duo consisting of a Flareon and his older sister Glaceon. Team Oldies were a rock type fossil trio, a Rampardos, Bastiodon, and Archeops. Team Oldies, as their name suggests, were the most experienced. They had been a team for the longest time, and had made it to Silver Rank. Team Ice Flare had been around for a while and were also Silver Rank. There were many jobs around here that had to be done, and now many easier jobs would fall on us to do, though I didn't really mind. Helping Pokémon in need was going to be good experience for when the time came to save the world saving heroes.
"Well, might as well familiarize myself with the shops." I quietly said to myself. So I did, I wandered from shop to shop, learning about them. A few times things were complicated, but I explained how I was from a town very far away with notably different ideas and customs on how things worked. They seemed to believe that it was a far away town with a weird name, though I know there were rumors about such an unusual town which everyone had different ideas about. Some say it's a secret city in the trees, others say it's a backwater town in the middle of nowhere. Some people have said it was a long city on the coast, so spread out to the point my nearest neighbor was miles away and on an island. I've heard some claim they heard it I was born in the middle of an active volcano! I really don't know how that all happened, but I certainly encouraged it. The crazier the better I think, and some of those rumors got really crazy.
Of course, I'm completely certain there'd not be very much mystery around me, but I was one of very few rescue teams around. I was also a stranger in these parts, appearing suddenly after not having made myself known previously. I had just recently gotten out of the hospital as well, then made a several mile long and notably perilous journey while critically injured, all without showing any signs of slowing. Then I was chosen to be the leader of the team in spite of being new to this town and rescuing in general. I'm not fully certain how I managed to do all of this, but I did know a few things. Part of it was how I was used to not having a tail, so I was able to balance and move about without issues. Most Pokémon would struggle with this, but as a human I was adaptable. I also had help from the greatest pain medication I could ever hope for: a literal god. If I was just any average person or Pokémon without help from a god, I'd probably be in constant agony. I wandered back to the path, waiting my friends to get up. Eventually as the sun rose higher, my friends made there way to me.
"Oh hey! I figured you'd be around here. Though I thought you'd be in town learning about the shops." Oshawott stated.
"I already did, but that's related to something we're gonna need to talk about. I don't know if I had a home before, and if I did I don't know where it is. That's not really good." I responded.
"I realized that when I was talking with Cyndaquil earlier. We're a rescue team, so we should have a base, but that's going to be a bit of time. I know someone who'll help however. We can talk to him today. They should be awake by now, so we can go see them." Oshawott explained. Thus we headed off to another part of town. The town was clearly large for the world, even having a port in the north west area. That was the direction we were heading. It wasn't too difficult to find what we were looking for, the building was one of the largest in the town.
A large sign out front read, "Conkeldurr's Construction". I had no idea what that was, I couldn't visualize it. The building at first glance appeared to be wooden, but on closer inspection it was actually a brown stone made to resemble wood. I knew whoever made it clearly was good at stonework.
"Conkeldurr, like concrete. Concrete exists in this world? I suppose stone buildings would need a sturdy base, but I didn't expect it, either way." I thought.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Oshawott asked. I had apparently been staring into space. Nodding my head, we walked in. The inside was a sparsely decorated area, a desk rested near the back wall, with a strange muscly Pokémon with a clown nose sat behind.
"Hoy there! Welcome to Conkeldurr's Construction! Oh, it's you three. I figured I'd be seeing you here. I'd assume you need a rescue team base, correct?" Conkeldurr stated. He almost sounded like a pirate, with a rouge voice and an accent that would fit perfectly on the high seas. While a pirate construction worker monster sounds odd in concept, his voice fit him perfectly.
"Yeah, but there's another thing. Our friend here doesn't have a place to live, so he needs a home." Oshawott responded. Conkeldurr seemed surprised by this.
"You don't have a home?" He asked.
"I'm from somewhere far away. I don't have a permanent home nearby." I responded. He nodded.
"I see, I'd have thought you would have prepared something before hand. Though, things clearly went wrong since you lost your tail, so I guess it's not too surprising. Alright, I can make you a base and place for you to live." Conkeldurr stated.
"Really?" Oshawott wondered, smiling widely.
"Of course, it's not everyday my crew gets to make a rescue team base! Though there'll be a cost, however." Conkeldurr stated.
"We've saved up some money, but how much will we need?" Oshawott asked.
"For a rescue team, we can waive some typical fees. Normally we add a charge to pay for the construction permit, but rescue team bases don't require a permit to build so we don't need to charge for that. I assume you've also got a place to build it?" Conkeldurr stated.
"Yup! It's a small plot of land just a little southeast of here." Oshawott responded.
"How large?" Conkeldurr asked.
"Around a quarter of an acre." Oshawott responded.
"That's good. So for the resources, time, and insurance, that'll be around ten thousand four hundred. Are there any other things you'd want built?" Conkeldurr asked.
"Hmm, no. No, I don't think so. Not now, anyway." Oshawott said, looking at the ceiling as he thought.
"Alright." Conkeldurr responded. Oshawott and Cyndaquil walked up to them and placed two large bags on the table.
"This should be enough." Oshawott spoke. His voice rose like he was asking a question.
"I'll have it counted, but it looks like enough." Conkeldurr responded, smiling. He explained a few things, how long it would probably take, standard features of the base, and more. It'd be a month before it was completed.
"So where will you be staying until then?" Conkeldurr asked.
"I've found a nice tree." I responded.
"I hope that's a joke." Conkeldurr stated, looking somewhat stern.
"It's not. I'll be fine, don't worry." I responded. Conkeldurr exhaled a deep sigh.
"I'll figure something out for him, don't worry." Oshawott quickly responded. Conkeldurr nodded. Oshawott and Conkeldurr walked off to show where they were building. Cyndaquil and I walked through the town and to a board on the east side of town. On the way, Cyndaquil quickly explained how the job difficulty works.
"F is jobs which don't involve mystery dungeons. E is the easiest, D is the highest most teams recommend for normal ranks. C is considered average once you've gotten enough experience. B tends to involve dangerous dungeons, A is dangerous dungeons with very tough Pokémon or are very deep into a tough dungeon. S is extremely dangerous and reserved for really tough jobs. Then it goes to Stars, 1, 2, 3, up to 8. Only the most dangerous jobs have stars, so don't worry. Don't worry about anything past E rank until we're normal rank." Cyndaquil explained. This was the most amount he's talked to me before. We made our way east. Two wooden boards were standing near a building shaped like a Pelipper. The tops had a small red roof to keep the rain off of the paper. Unlike the board in Pokémon Central, this one wasn't busy.
"Hmm, a board." I stated.
"A mission board." Cyndaquil responded.
"A mission board, ah. So we pick up missions here, then. I'll see if there's something easy for us to start." I said. Looking through, there were several missions on the board, though none of them seemed particularly easy.
"Help I'm stuck in Mt. Blaze, I need an item from Frosty Forest, I've wandered too deep into Western Cave? I'm trapped in Purity Forest? I don't think we can do these." I said. I continued looking through our options before noticing something.
"Oh? Here's one." I spoke, causing Cyndaquil turned and looked towards me.
"It says 'Please help Plusle. Plusle is my best friend in the whole wide world, we do everything together. We were exploring Thunder Wave Cave when we suddenly became separated! I was lucky enough to find my way out, but Plusle hasn't come out yet. Please, can someone help Plusle?' It's E rank, on the fifth floor. Well?" I recited. Cyndaquil nodded. That's when Oshawott appeared.
"Oh hey, good timing. We got a mission." I spoke.
"Oh? What is it?" Oshawott asked. I read him the mission, and he nodded.
"Sounds good. We can get there in an hour or so. Alright, let's get our supplies and head off." Oshawott responded. We grabbed a few apples, berries, and other supplies and traveled an eastward direction. Crossing wavy hillys, the terrain slowly grew more and more rocky without fully becoming mountainous. As Oshawott stated, it had been an hour. A small cream and blue furred bunny-like creature with a unique tail was pacing outside a cave entrance.
"Are you Minun? I asked.
"Yes, you're the rescue team that took my request?" Minun asked. It's voice was somewhat high pitched, but it was clearly male.
"Yup. So Plusle is on the fifth floor, then?" I asked.
"Yes. Please, I'm worried about her." Minun said. He looked like he was going to cry.
"Don't worry, we'll save Plusle for sure." I spoke with a nod. The determined look on my face seemed to assure the Minun. He nodded and wiped away the tears forming in his eyes. Quickly, we walked into the dark cave ahead.
I was expecting it to be extremely dark and hard to see, but it was oddly bright. The light brown rocky floor held an occasional dirt patch with a small amount of hardy grass. The brown walls almost seemed somewhat red as they stood towering above us.
"Mystery Dungeons are strange places which defy all logic of the normal world. If you get defeated you'll lose all money on you and half of your items, so don't faint." Oshawott explained. This entire world defied logic, but I couldn't explain that. We made ourselves to floor one. Appearing in a large room, a corridor was to the north and east. I took the path to the north, and noticed a sleeping pokemon. It was a purple rat I knew as Rattata.
"It's asleep. Sometimes you'll find that. It will likely stay asleep unless we get too close. Let's not go too close unless you want to fight." Oshawott said. I didn't, so I looked around the room. There were no exits besides the way we came. It was a dead end, so we turned around. Heading east this time, there were stairs descending downward and a pathway blocked by an angry looking Rattata.
"That's a wild Pokémon, and it's awake this time. They appear in Mystery Dungeons and attack indiscriminately. I think it's the dungeons themselves which causes them to go mad, but unless you were born in them or stay in them for a very long period of time you'll be fine." Oshawott explained. Rushing to the stairs, the Rattata was chasing towards us.
"This way!" I shouted, running down the stairs. The three of us made or way down the stairs and into the middle of a room. Disoriented, I looked around for the stairs we went down.
"We're on the second floor now. Mystery Dungeons are strange, the layout changes each time you enter, and once you go travel through a floor there's no way to go back." Oshawott explained. This was physically impossible, but they wouldn't be called 'Mystery Dungeons' if they were explainable. The room we were in had a small blue berry on the east side, and an exit a few feet south from it. It was the only way out of the room. I recognized the berry as an Oran Berry.
"These give you a lot of energy, and heal you when you're hurt." Oshawott explained. I nodded. Putting the berry in our bag, we headed to the next room. Each room almost blended in with the next, and it would be very easy to become lost if you weren't paying attention. The only path forward was to the north. A strange tile on the ground with an arrow on it was at the left of the exit. A small round red and white ball stood in our path. It charged towards me, attempting to Tackle me. Caught off-guard by the speedy sphere, it slammed into my stomach.
"Hurgh!" I grunted, surprised by the amount of force. Instinctually I wanted to turn around and smash the Voltorb with my tail, but I was able to catch myself before I attempted it. Using my hand, I slapped the orb, attempting to push it away. While I didn't succeed in pushing it, it's eyes squeezed together for a moment, indicating it was hurt. A few embers shot from the left. It let out a strange noise before disappearing. I wasn't going to ask why it vanished, as it was probably not explainable.
"That was an unusual Pound attack." Oshawott spoke.
"Sorry, next time I'll use my tail. Oh wait." I responded, rolling my eyes.
"Oh. That makes sense. I've never seen a Treecko use that move before, so I was wondering, sorry." Oshawott said. We continued onward, Oshawott explaining the 'Wonder Tile' to me. I thought it was weird, but so was everything else. Northward, the stairs down were there. We continued further into the dungeon. The room we were in had a seed on the floor next to us, and the stairs were there in the southwest corner of the large room. Two exits were in the room, one in the northern half and one in the southern half. The both lead somewhere east. Another two wonder tiles were in the north west corner and in the middle in the southern section. Picking up the seed, Oshawott explained what it was.
"That's a Sleep Seed. It can put foes to sleep, or yourself if you eat it. It's useful if you have insomnia, since it helps you fall asleep. I wouldn't recommend eating it in a dungeon, though. Not unless you really need to." Oshawott explained. We made our way to the fourth floor. This was the last floor until we were on the same floor as Plusle, so we were even more determined to succeed. The rocky room we were in had two exist, one towards the south, and one in the west. We headed southward. The corridor twisted to the left before continuing south. It was an empty room aside from a single wonder tile in the southeast. The only other exit was on the west side. Traveling on, the corridor sharply twisted north before turning west once again. The room had a single yellow and black stripped Pokémon, its head resembling a plug. It was an Elekid. It launched forward with surprising speed, punching me before stepping out of range before I could even react. I charged forward, slapping it. It growled and launched a small shock of electricity. The electric shock surged though me, not hurting too much. However my body felt numb and slow. I tried to move, but my body was refusing to cooperate. It launched a swift punch towards me once again. I attempted to lift my arm to block it, but I was unable and was smacked in the face. A series of embers flew from the left, and a watery sword slashed to the right. I forced my arms and legs to move a few steps. It caused a bit of pain, but the numbness instantly went away.
"Unlucky you were paralyzed. It prevents you from using moves and slows you down. You'll be okay now, though. It doesn't last very long." Oshawott explained. The only other path forward was to the north, so we took it. Looking into the room, the stairs were on the west side. A path east no doubt led back to the room we had first appeared in. We took quite a roundabout path, but we made it. Taking the stairs, we found ourselves in a small single room cave. A small red and cream furred Pokémon with a tail that had a plus at the end was curled up in a ball, quietly sobbing.
"Plusle?" I asked. The Plusle turned towards me, and cried out, covering it's face.
"Oh, no. No, I'm sorry. Don't worry, were here to get you out of here." I explained. It slowly uncovered part of its face, eyes still teary.
"You-You are?" Plusle asked. It's high pitched voice told me it was young, and I knew it was female as well.
"Minun sent us to help." I explained. She seemed elated by this, jumping up to her feet.
"Really! Please, take me to him!" She pleaded. So we did, reuniting the two young friends.
"Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" The Minun shouted, tears in his eyes.
"It was scary, but I'm glad I'm out of there. Thank you!" Plusle cheered.
"We don't have a lot, and I wasn't expecting someone to take the mission, but here. This is what I have." Minun said, handing us a small pink berry.
"A Pecha Berry? Alright, thank you." Oshawott said, smiling. The two of them ran off and we made our way home. It was then something by our sides began glowing. We looked at our badges and noticed the center turning from a rusty copper green with white wings to a light pink color.
"Oh, we ranked up!" Oshawott shouted. I remember hearing about that, it was something Oshawott explained on the way to become a rescue team. From Rookie to Normal it was a magical process, but afterwards we'd be sent a badge the following day after we acquired enough points to rank up.
"Alright, now we're a really proper rescue team!" I shouted. Oshawott's smile grew even wider.
"This wasn't a very difficult mission, and our reward wasn't amazing, but it felt really amazing to help them." Oshawott stated.
"I didn't realize we'd be given a reward." I responded.
Oshawott looked at me, asking "You didn't think we were gonna be rewarded?"
"I was raised to not expect a reward for kindness. If the Minun had asked me to help directly, I'd have helped with or without reward. It's just what I was taught." I responded. Oshawott nodded.
"I see, though this is more like a job than just simple kindness." He stated. We began our walk home. Crossing the wavy hills once more, the sun was ten minutes from setting by the time we made it home.
"We should get some sleep. You should come with me." Oshawott said. I followed him and Cyndaquil followed along. There was a small house with a pool of water next to it and a large tree behind it. The house seemed cold, but the tree looked nice.
"It might not be ideal, but you can stay here until your home is built." Oshawott spoke. I slowly wandered to the back, drawn to the big tree. Oshawott looked at me, tilting his head in confusion.
"The entrance is back here. What are you doing?" Oshawott wondered. I climbed up the tree and onto a very large branch. It was a bit cold, but it was comfortable.
"I can work with this." I stated, looking down at the two of them. they looked at each other and shrugged.
"Well, if you're happy like that, then I won't argue." Oshawott stated. It was clear he thought I was a lunatic, but I didn't really care. Instincts told me this was an acceptable situation, so I would trust it. "Well, I'm going to bed. Good night. Don't fall out of the tree." Oshawott spoke.
"Alright." I responded, closing my eyes as the sun finally set. Seeing the Minun and Plusle be reunited was rewarding. This was when I knew I would enjoy being part of a rescue team.
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
Yeesh this was way more difficult than expected! I knew what I wanted to write to a point, but it was so difficult figuring out how to get there, I'm so sorry this took so long! I hope you don't mind, sorry. I kinda know what to expect later, but I don't entirely know how I'm going to fill out the I do know is there will probably only be two or so more chapters, then this story will be considered complete in my eyes. After that I will probably go and continue writing another story that I stopped writing years ago.
Of course, I have an idea to kind of continue with a sequel, but not really. I have big ideas, but little clue on how to implement them. This single chapter is almost two thousand words longer than the fic I wrote was originally. I suppose that's the power of time, huh? Anyway, until next time, remember to stay healthy, be happy, and I hope you'll enjoy whatever may come next.