- Chapter 5: A New Door Opens -

The ocean: a beautiful, mystical, vast expanse of rippling blue and foaming white. Sunlight danced on the crests of its waves. A gentle, soothing wind tousled my fur and relaxed my sore muscles. We had been traveling for six days, only reaching the ocean earlier today.

"This water is so…amazing! You have to come in, Mona!" Eris shouted. She splashed some water in my direction.

"In a minute, Eris. I want to look at the sunset," I countered. Indeed, the sun just barely kissed the horizon, splaying orange and pink across the evening sky. Sea foam tickled my toes as I waded into the surf. I halted when the water reached my knees; unfortunately, I had strayed too deep into the water. A nasty wave taught me my lesson.

Eris laughed as I spat salt water out of my mouth and snorted it from my nostrils. "I can't help—pteh—that I'm so bloomin' short!" I rebuked Eris's tacit jest. She only laughed harder.

"Anyway—phooh—we need to get to town before dark," I said, mood soured.

"Didn't you want to see the sunset?" Eris said. Clearly, she wanted to stay in the water for a while longer.

"I mean…ugh. Yeah," I said, giving up the argument. Standing at the edge of the surf, I watched the sun dip lower and lower. Eris had come out of the water to watch it with me; although, I had to stay at few feet away because she was dripping wet.

Something struck me about how the oranges and pinks splayed across the sky. I never usually saw this much color in a sunset—only the stray rays that the trees permitted to filter through them. The waves reflected the color so beautifully that the horizon seemed ablaze with fiery hues. When the colors faded, a vague depression settled over me.

"Alright. Let's get going," I said softly.

We traversed the beach, heading south toward the peninsula in which Treasure Town resided. As the last vestige of light faded from the sky and the stars twinkled brightly in the night sky, we crested a rise and simultaneously gasped.

Treasure Town sprawled over the land before us, its sheer size leaving us stricken with awe. To our right, long piers jutted above the surface of the ocean's waters. Low wooden houses extended back from the docks, some appearing to be in the midst of construction. The houses ascended into two and three-story buildings as they drew closer to the town's center. To the far west, a lone bluff rose above the town.

Eris squealed and barreled down the slope. I quickly followed her at a more controlled, though no less frenzied, pace.

We briefly stopped to admire the arching welcome sign—"Welcome to Treasure Town, the Exploration Capital of the World"—then charged into the main thoroughfare.

We had passed into another world. Pokémon swarmed busily around us. Fires of every color imaginable lined the streets; they festively adorned the lofty wooden buildings pressed against the road. The catcalls of shopkeepers rose above the crowd's din, beckoning the curious to view their selective wares.

Each step on the cobblestone road sent a thrill of excitement through me. This is Treasure Town! It's so much larger than Evergreen! I thought.

Eris's demeanor mimicked my own. "This c-cannot be real," she whispered, her anticipation barely contained. We followed the flow of the crowd down the main road. An impromptu mock fight plastered gaping jaws on our faces. Our eyes widened at the vast selection of merchandise in every shop's windows.

"This cannot be real," I echoed.

The crowd carried us against our will. The shops rushed past all too quickly. The sights and sounds of the town blended into vivid blur. Just as the town threatened to consume us, we were ejected into a wide, open plaza.

Breathing heavily, Eris said, "I've heard of this plaza. It's called, uh, Pokémon Square."

Even more pokémon tromped around the square. I noticed that many were bedecked in top-of-the-line hats, bracelets, and necklaces. Those pokémon's gazes bore into me as they walk past. Vainly, I struggle to ignore them, yet I surreptitiously paw my leather bracelet with its measly opal.

Eris suddenly places a hand on her stomach and laughs. "Heh, Mona, I'm starved. Where do… Do you think an inn is close by?"

"We can ask someone," I said. I approached a leavanny, who was busy fixing her long, white scarf.

"Excuse me," I said politely. She started and glared down at me as if shocked that I would be speaking to her.

"What is it?" she said all too quickly.

"Um…" Her attitude easily off-put me. "Where, um, is the nearest inn?"

Her face screwed up, and she pointed down a dim side street without looking at me. "Take the first left, then the first right. It'll be straight ahead," she eked out. As soon as she finished, she tightly wrapped the scarf around her and strode away from me.

A memory of the students at school surfaced. They're all the same, I thought. They look down on you because you're unevolved. You have to be perfect. Perfect!

Like all other incidents of its nature, I pushed the conversation and the leavanny to the back of my mind. "Eris, this way," I called, pointing down the alley.

"You sure we should go down there?" she asked. Indeed, deep shadow had entrenched itself in the narrow street. Trash crowded along the sides of the buildings. Dirt and sludge filled in the cracks in the cobblestone.

"Okay, it's not the best," I acknowledged, "but I trust that the leavanny gave us sound directions."

"Maybe we should find another way to get there…," Eris suggested.

"No, we'll be fine. C'mon," I said. Without waiting for her response, I ducked into the alley. Eris tried to rebut me, but her argument died in her throat. She grudgingly followed me.

We turned our first left. I wove around a pair of garbage cans, and another side street, this one a dead end, appeared on my left. I started walking past it when I spotted a trio of dewott standing at the far end. Judging by their postures, they were highly aggravated. I ducked behind one of the garbage cans and craned my ears toward them.

"Mona, what are you doing?" Eris asked.

"Shh!" I responded, then turned my attention back to the dewott.

"You stupid punk. Give us back our stuff!" one dewott said. Between the three of them, a riolu danced back and forth on his paws, his back to the wall. I could barely notice it, but a leather bag dangled from his shoulders.

The riolu growled and curled his paws. "I said, I didn't take your stuff," he said defensively.

"You're really gonna pull that crap with us, kid?" the middle dewott, the tallest of the three, spat. He aimed a kick at the riolu's stomach and knocked him to the ground.

"Just give it up," the third added. His voice had a nasally overtone like it had never been used for any sort of honest pursuit.

The first dewott pulled a scalchop off his hip. "This is gonna get ugly unless you hand us that bag," he said. A blue glow encased the scalchop as he finished his threat.

Sliding back under cover, I pondered the situation before me. Should I do something? I mean, he could have stolen those guys' stuff. I could be helping a thief.

For some reason, my gut told me I was wrong. Grimacing to myself, I asked Eris, "Hey, you can use Seed Bomb, right?"

Eris cocked her head in confusion. "Yeah, I can. So…um…what?"

"I need you to make one right now and throw it near those dewott."

"What?" she cried a little too loudly.

"Eris, keep it—"

"Hey, who's there?" the third dewott said. Eris covered her mouth in shock. Footsteps approached, tentative in camber.

"Hurry, hurry…!" I urged Eris. She glanced back between me and the dewott, her face steeped in fear.

"Eris!" I shouted, throwing caution to the wind. Startled, a Seed Bomb formed itself in her hands. She glanced down at it in surprise like it had formed of its own bidding.

"What in the name…?" the dewott said. He peeked over the garbage can and recoiled when he saw us. "Who are you—"

Screaming, partly in terror, partly in horror, Eris threw the Seed Bomb at the dewott. It exploded in his face and sent him tumbled into a heap of trash. The garbage cans that had been our cover were blasted away from us.

I wheeled on Eris angrily. "I said throw it nearthem, not at one of them!" I scolded.

"I'm sorry! I just… I don't know!" Eris whined.

"Hey! You punks! Who the heck do you think you are?!" the tall dewott demanded. He drew both of his scalchops and marched toward us, wicked blue blades extending from his shell-like weapons.

Oh my Arceus. What have we done? I thought. Without a second thought, I sprinted down the alley, Eris dogging my heels.

"Get back here, you freaking scum!" the dewott leader called. He charged after us, knocking aside garbage bins as if they were paper weights. The light from his blades flickered like waves on the walls around us.

I skittered to the left down a new street, nearly crashing into a wall. We turned another corner, then another, yet the dewott did not let up the chase. As we rounded another corner, two paws shot out and grabbed us.

"Get down," the riolu said. He pulled us against the side of the building into the deepest shadows.

"You? How did you get awa—?"

"Shh," he said, cutting me off. The blue light brightened as the sound of pattering feet neared. Suddenly, like a gust of wind, the riolu flew out from his hiding spot and jabbed deftly at the lead dewott. He tumbled to the ground, his breath knocked out of him.

Before the other two could counterattack, the riolu flipped over the body of the first and axe-kicked the nearest one on the head. Using his backward momentum, he landed on his forepaws, twisted, and swung his leg into the tall dewott's gut.

All of this occurred in the matter of seconds.

Holy crap! Who is this guy?! I thought.

"Follow me. Those guys won't stay down for long," the riolu said as he faced us. I crept out from behind the corner and gaped at the riolu.

"How the heck did you do that?" I asked in astonishment.

He frowned. "We need to go," he pressed, walking past me. I raised my eyebrows, glanced one last time at the groaning dewott, and followed the riolu.

As soon as I had turned my back, Eris screamed, "Mona! Look out!" I wheeled around just in time to see the tall dewott chucking on of his scalchops at me, the blade still in exist. Hot pain flared in my right shoulder as it sunk into my fur, and my leg gave out under me.

My vision blurring, I barely noticed the riolu charge the dewott and knock him out cold. Someone—Eris, maybe—lifted me up, and the shock of pain from the movement caused me to black out.


An earthen wall greeted me dismally when I awoke. My shoulder throbbed dully, and when I shifted, bandages chafed against my fur. A wooden bed pressed its splinters into my side. The soft embrace of a blanket warmed me in the cool atmosphere.

Groaning from the shoulder pain, I shifted onto my belly and raised my head. An underground room swam into vision. Reclining on a chair, Eris whittled her fingers. The riolu sat in another chair, a cloth on the table between him and Eris.

"Oh, Mona, you're awake," Eris said. She rushed over to me and looked me over. "You're doing okay?"

"I've been better. My knee injury hurt worse," I said.

"You had a knee injury?" Eris asked, concerned.

"Don't you remember? It was during the—" I started to say, then cut off as painful memories began to surface.

Lucy…

In the middle of my train of thought, a piece of bread landed next to my head. My attention snapped to the riolu, who stood next to a cabinet in the far corner of the room.

"Eat it. You slept past dinner," he explained.

"Oh. Thanks, but I don't want to be imposing," I said, unsure of whether to be grateful or not.

"Just eat it already," he insisted. "I'm not taking it back."

Well, okay, I thought snarkily. I tentatively bit off the corner of the bread. As it melted delightfully in my mouth, my hunger ignited. I devoured the rest of the heavenly bread in a heartbeat.

"Wow, that was good. Thanks," I said to the riolu. He simply grunted in reply and sat back down in his seat.

"Hey, um, we never did get your, uh, name," Eris said, propping herself on the bed.

"Ray," the riolu responded.

"Nice to meet you, Ray. I'm Mona."

"My n-name's Eris."

Ray glanced to the entrance to the underground room. "That was a really stupid move you pulled. You'd best spend the night here. Those three are going to be hunting for you after that stunt you pulled."

"I-I didn't mean to hit them!" Eris sputtered defensively.

"You really think they're gonna care? All they're thinking is that you're with me, and they think I stole something from them," Ray stated bluntly.

I frowned at Ray. "Well, did you steal something from them?"

Ray crossed his arms. He planted his legs wider and lower his head to stare me straight in the eyes. "No, I did not. An amateur whismur pickpocketed them. The tall one noticed that someone had reached into his bag, and when he turned around, I happened to be standing there, not the whismur."

"That stinks. Thanks for helping me, though. That Razor Shell freaking hurt like the blazes," I said, rolling my shoulder (and subsequently wincing) for emphasis.

"Don't mention it," he said. He rose from the chair toward the cabinet, but as he did so, he knocked a bag that was hanging off the chair's back onto the ground. The latch jostled open, and the contents of the bag spilled out on the floor. Something silver glittered in the heap, but Ray shuffled them back into the bag too quickly for me to tell what it was.

"I'm going to sleep. You take the bed. I'll take the floor," Ray said tightly. He pulled a blanket from another cabinet and laid it out on the floor. Laying with his back to us, he curled up and did not move.

Eris raised her eyes at me. She mouthed, "Wow," at me.

I shook my head in tacit agreement. Figuring that I might as well go to sleep also, I rested my head on my paws and shut my eyes. I felt Eris squirm onto the bed and settle her feet near the back of my head.

Yes, Eris, you can sleep next to me, I irritably thought. With the candlelight dimly shining through my eyelids, I drifted fast asleep.

I could move around the next day when I woke. Despite our saying that we would be fine walking around by ourselves, Ray insisted on guiding us through town for at least the morning. In his defense, he said that "he didn't want to feel bad if he found out that we'd gotten to pulp within an hour of leaving his place."

He was most certainly reassuring.

Ray lived underground in some back street in the middle of the city. I sensed that his hovel was not supposed to exist, yet he somehow had escaped detection up to this point. After a few quick turns, we emerged onto a street less populated—though no less wide—than the main street on which we had entered yesterday.

"Since you live here, Ray, could you tell us about the guilds here?" I asked him.

"There are only two guilds here. One's the Order of the Arcane, and the other's Ironfist," he responded.

"Wasn't there someplace called Wiggytuff's Guild?" Eris posed.

"That place? It disbanded years ago after the guildmaster kicked the bucket. The city left the old guild as a monument since it was the sole reason Treasure Town was founded," Ray said. As he was explaining, he pointed off to his left. Poking above the buildings was a hill, and pink tent, designed in fashion of a wigglytuff's head, squatted on top of the hill.

After regarding the tent for a brief moment, I asked Ray, "What do you know about the Order of the Arcane and Ironfist?"

"The Order deals with magic stuff. I don't really know what goes on in there. They're super secretive and selective to boot," he said. He hesitated before adding, "Ironfist Guild is the big name around here. You can't be green and expect to get in easily. I'm guessing you want to join them?"

"Yeah, we do," I answered, then pondered what he said. The Order sounds elitist by his judgment, but Ironfist sounds equally tough. Should we try to apply for both…?

"Eris, what do you think about them?" I inquired of the breloom. She hummed contemplatively, her arms crossing.

"W-Well, the Order sounds really tough to get into," she said after a while. "I don't know if we'd do well with magic, either."

"Fair. We barely got A's in magic class, and that was supposed to be an easy class. Then again, learning how to manipulation internal type energies outside of a pokémon's natural abilities wasn't exactly easy."

"Ironfist sounds tough, too. We aren't really that experienced," she added.

"Good luck with either of them, especially Ironfist," Ray said. His paw reached up to his neck, where it played with the ruff of yellow fur encasing it like a collar. I sensed the behavior was a nervous tick; did he have something against Ironfist?

"Well, how about we just go see what Ironfist is like and see if we like or not?" I posed to Eris. She bounced her head thoughtfully, then outright nodded in agreement.

"Wait, before we go, I-I w-want to see town," she suddenly spurted. "You know, go see Sharpedo Bluff, the docks, Wigglytuff's Guild…"

"We shouldn't drag Ray around, though," I said. Turning to him, I added, "Well, I mean, you've done a lot already for us, so we don't want to be a burden anymore."

"Today's my day off, so I can show you around. You saved my hide yesterday, so I owe you it," he said.

Day off? Owe us? I thought confusedly. I'm pretty sure we owe him after what he did, but whatever.

Withholding my true thoughts, I said, "Are you sure? We can find our way—"

"No, I'm good. I can take you to those places," he interrupted, negating my question. He pivoted on his feet and strode toward the west. "This way to Sharpedo Bluff."


"Wow, these things are delicious! What are they called again?"

"Mona, they're crepes," Eris said to me. She chewed slowly on her pastry, savoring every chomp.

"I have got to get me more of these," I said appreciatively. Eagerly, I swallowed another bite with barely a chew.

"You guys came all the way out from Evergreen?" Ray asked in clarification. We had been discussing with him how and why we came to Treasure Town to form an exploration team.

"Yep. We heard that the guilds are really good here, which is why we came," I said. "I never expected Treasure Town to be like this. There are so many people—way more than in Evergreen."

"Hmm. Interesting," he commented. He grunted, then stood. "You want to go Ironfist, right?" he said, changing the subject. "I'll take you there."

I hopped off my seat. "Thanks," I said with a smile.

Eris slid off her seat and quickly and planted herself in front of me. "W-Wait, Mona, actually, uh…could we maybe look around the city a little longer?"

I cocked my head at her. "Oh, I thought we were going to the guild. Did you want to see some other things?"

She nodded. "Actually, uh, m-my parents gave me some poké for, uh, s-s-sightseeing for some days, so, uh, yeah. Sorry for n-not telling you…kinda forgot…"

Honestly, I had really desired to apply for the guild today. My paws practically itched to run over there, but at the same time, Eris was giving me this look of pleading. If this really meant that much to her, then I guess I could not say "no."

I'm such a softie.

"Okay, Eris. If you want to spend some days sightseeing, we can," I conceded. Eris cleaned the wrappers off the table, and we said good-bye to Ray. He pointed us toward the eastern district, then told us that we might see him around town. I thanked him again for saving us, but he shrugged me off like the gratitude was not warranted. He silently waved before leaving us.

Without Ray as our guide, our trip through the city was much more aimless. Regardless, the days flew by in a flash. Our second day in town brought us all along the eastern district, which seemed to be marketed to travelers and tourists. We almost bought this one figurine that had a head that bobbled when it moved, but my frugality trumped Eris's infatuation.

Each day, we traveled in a counter-clockwise fashion to a new district. In the southern district, we located the street on which Ironfist Guild resided. I nearly turned down it, but Eris pulled me away to a street performance.

We also discovered that more than two guilds resided in Treasure Town. At least four more filled the southern district, each boasting a world-renowned membership within its walls. A certain allure settled over me when viewing those guilds, yet for a reason that was not quite clear to me, I wished to enter Ironfist the most.

The most intriguing part of our touring was the fact that we managed to encounter Ray at some point in the day for each day. The first time had been nothing but a passing greeting. He had been carrying something in a massive gray bag and acted very much in a hurry. The second time, we met him at a sandwich shop. We sat at a table next to his, and we struck up amiable conversation with him.

He asked us about what it was like growing up out in the country. I explained some facts to him, like having to always draw water and almost never having enough imported paper for school. He never really opened up much to us about his life. I tried once, but he shut down so quickly that we immediately moved past the subject.

After he left the shop, Eris said, "He's not that bad."

"He's kind of a prick, though," I added.

"Y-Y-Yeah, but still."

"He's nowhere near Zane."

"Amen to th-that."

Our third day passed by rather uneventfully. Eris's funds were mostly being eaten by the cheap hotel rent, so we elected to do only free attractions. That fizzled down to window-shopping and sitting atop Sharpedo Bluff. Again, we saw Ray toting that gray bag, but instead of a terse greeting, he stopped and chatted with us.

For the fourth day, we had saved the best for last: a day at the beach. From examining a tourists' map, we had learned the northern district was mostly comprised of the docks and lower-income apartments. Beach fun definitely topped watching sailors unload a million boxes of cargo.

We splashed in the water all morning. This time, I had made sure to take off my bracelet before entering the water. The leather had been somewhat ruined from my previous soaking, and I felt terrible that I had done that to my parents' gift. Hopefully it would be better after a while.

Toward the middle of the afternoon, we elected to stroll down the beach to dry off and to enjoy the beautiful weather. Near a tiny point, a protrusion of rocks jetted out over the surface of the ocean, forming a rudimentary dock. Perched on those rocks, fishing rod in paw, was Ray. The same bag that we had seen days prior lay next to him.

Additionally, another bag rested at his feet, the same bag that he had knocked off the chair when he let us stay overnight in his home. The flap had fallen open, and if I squinted, I could discern its contents. Upon doing so, my eyes widened in shock. A reserve badge faintly glinted silver on top of his other belongings.

"Hey, Eris, listen to what I just found."

"What, Mona?" she inquired. She had been bent over the sand, peering at a deep purple fragment of a shellder's discarded shell. Even so, she only had to tilt her head slightly to make level eye contact with me.

"You see Ray over there?" I asked, pointing to the riolu.

She turned her head upward to the rocks. "Oh, wow. H-How many times h-have we seen him?"

"A lot. Anyway, look in his bag. Do you see it?" My eagerness was wearing my patience thin.

"See what?"

"The reserve badge!"

At my remark, she started and glared much more intently at the bag. After a moment, she lightly gasped.

"I know, right?" I said eagerly.

"I guess…? No…?" she mumbled in confusion.

Impatience set in; she was missing my point. "Eris, I've had some thoughts in the back of my head for a while now. You know how Ray's said that getting into the guilds here is tough?"

She nodded after a pause for remembrance.

"Well, I was thinking that we could increase our chances by getting someone else to join our team, but we didn't really know anybody. Now that we know Ray has a badge, we can ask him," I finished.

Instead of mirroring my excitement, Eris appeared rather muted. She licked her dry lips, then said, "I don't know, Mona."

I drew back from her. "I know, we've not known him for long, but you saw the way he talked about those guilds. He really wanted to get into one."

"B-But he hasn't… Maybe he doesn't…really want to?" Eris said, constructing a poor argument. I understood her point that Ray's not yet having joined a guild meant that he might not be interested, but that did not completely rule out the possibility.

"How about we go up and ask him about it?" I suggested.

"A-Are you sure? We might not n-need a new teammate…," Eris countered weakly.

"Maybe we won't, but having him would increase our chances of getting into a guild."

She only shrugged in response. I vaguely sensed that I had perhaps been pushy, but I did not care enough to regard that feeling for more than a second. Leaving her to follow me on her own choosing, I trotted up to the pile of rocks and called out to Ray. He glanced over his shoulder and, upon seeing me, raised a paw in greeting.

Taking that a sign to proceed, I bounded up the rocks and joined him at the end. He glanced at me quizzically but said nothing. For that one awkward moment, hesitation creeped over me. Maybe Eris was right; I should not be asking someone like him so intense a question.

"Funny how we keep meeting up like this, huh?" I asked. His head drifted up and down in a slow, disinterested nod.

At the same time, I had already come all the way up here and intruded into his presence. As if he could read me, Ray lowered his rod and, without looking at me, asked, "You wanted to ask me something?"

I marveled at his intuition, but nevertheless, proceeded, "Yeah, I did. Do you mind me asking?"

"Go right ahead," he said casually. Unlike the times we had met before, he seemed calmer—less tense. Reassured by his openness, I braved on.

"I've been wondering the past few days. I've talked with Eris, and I couldn't help but notice that you have a reserve badge in your bag there," I said.

His paws tightened a little bit on his rod, and his eyes strayed to the bag. "That I do," he said, kicking the bag shut with his foot.

"I didn't mean to pry, I just—," I started to say, then cut myself off. Inhaling, I continued, "We wanted to ask you something."

I hesitated a moment; this was it.

Just spill it already!

"Would you be willing to join our exploration team?"

His paws loosened their grip. Steadily, he lowered his rod down between his knees, and his head dropped with it. His right paw reached upward to twirl his collar fur. I bit my lip at his silence.

Crap, I just crossed a line, didn't I? Oh, I should have listened to Eris.

Ray broke the quiet with a deep exhale. I almost thought that he would speak, but he felt into musing once more. Tail twitching of its own accord, I waited with baited breath for his response.

"Hmm. I'm not sure," he said lethargically. Steadily, he began to reel his line back to himself.

"Oh," was all I could say. Truthfully, I should have expected as much, but I had still held out my hope nonetheless.

"I'll take you to whichever guild you want to go, though," he said. "Ironfist, right?"

"Yeah, but you don't have to just because I asked you about joining our future exploration team," I said.

"I have to head in that direction, anyway," he said. Having fully drawn in his line, he stuffed the rod into the large gray bag and hoisted in onto his hip. A sickly-sweet smell wafted from the open top, causing my nose to wrinkle.

Fresh catch. Yech, I thought.

Picking up his other bag, Ray lead the way down the rocks. I bounded down next to Eris and relayed our talk to her. Despite displaying sympathy, she exuded a subtle hint of vindication. Quelling my perverse irritation, I marched after Ray.

Along the way to Ironfist, Ray dipped into the restaurant where we ate lunch two days ago. He reappeared without the gray bag after a few minutes. In one of the restaurant's windows, a grumpig dressed in a white chef's uniform appeared. He peered at Ray with such an intensity that I wondered if he knew the riolu.

The grumpig must have noticed me staring at him because his gaze shifted over to me. Feeling caught, I ducked my head and jogged after Ray. I could feel the weight of the grumpig's stare on me until the three of us turned down another street.

Ray directed us toward an alleyway, claiming that it was shortcut to the guild. It seemed ill-used, for trash and other nasty somethings crowded the sides of the road. Flattening my nose as much as possible, we waded through the narrow cobblestone street.

As we passed through an intersection, something grabbed my scruff and slung me against a wall. Coughing, I sunk to the ground. My shoulder vibrated painfully.

"What the—?" Ray cried. I heard Eris scream in surprise followed by a loud thumping sound. The pokémon holding me pressed me against the wall, his breath dripping disgustingly into my ears.

"Well, that went much easier than I thought it would go," a familiar voice gloated. A tall dewott, the one from several nights ago, stalked into my peripheral view. His shouldered swelled with a dark blue hue, a remnant of his brawl with Ray.

"You're not so tough when you're all tied up, huh?" the dewott standing over me breathed. He turned my head toward him, and I received a full-frontal of his face. A welt the size of an apple bulged from his lower jaw, and his right eye had squeezed itself shut.

You're the one Eris hit. Crap, I thought. I always knew what happened in these scenarios: even if you were not the one who hurt the other guy, you got beat up anyway. I had experienced that pain far too often myself.

Puffy Face pulled back his fist and rammed it into my side. I gasped as the air flew out of my lungs. My legs crumpled out from under me.

"Feels good, don't it?" Puffy Face grinned. With half of his jaw swollen shut, his smile appeared more like an ugly grimace. He kicked me in the gut twice for good measure, then held me tightly.

"You again," the tall dewott said to Ray, who was being held by the third dewott. He advanced on the riolu, his gait lowering into a haughty saunter. He squatted in front of Ray, then slapped him on the cheek.

"I'm not in the mood for patience today, scum. I'll give you one last chance: give us back our stuff or else," the dewott demanded. Instead of answering, Ray glanced over the dewott once. My eyes widened when I realized what he was doing: sizing up his opponent. I had seen Kyle do it to me enough times during battle class.

He's not seriously going to…?! I thought in wonder.

His movements a blur, Ray head-butted the tall dewott. The dewott recoiled, taken by surprise, and stumbled backward. Wasting no time, Ray slammed his head back against the dewott's nose while simultaneously smashing the dewott's foot. He squirmed nimbly out of the loosened hold and squared up into a fighting stance.

"Why you little—!" Puffy Face said. Pushing me face-first onto the cobblestone, he wheeled on Ray. Spitting dust out of my mouth, I hastily formed a Shadow Ball.

He had taken only a few steps forward when my attack hit him square in the back. He staggered off-balance toward Ray, who upper-cut him in the jaw. Unconscious, Puffy Face ungracefully dropped to the ground.

The dewott who once held Ray grabbed the stunned Eris and raised a Razor Shell to her throat. "Stop, or I'll stab her!" he said in a nasally tone. While I froze, Ray darted forward in a blinding Quick Attack and yanked the Razor Shell out of the dewott's hands. He then used the Razor Shell to club the dewott over the head.

By this time, the tall dewott had unsheathed twin Razor Shells and was advancing toward me, the lesser threat. He shouted something incomprehensible before charging at me. I barely scrabbled out of the way in time.

With his back to a wall and his front toward the three of us, the tall dewott tensed. "You really think that the three of you can stop me?" he dared. Twirling his scalchops adroitly, he settled into a defensive stance.

Abruptly, a glowing ball sailed through the air. It exploded in the tall dewott's face; he tumbled to ground, knocked out cold. In amazement, I turned toward Eris, who stared back at me sheepishly. "It worked the last time…," she said defensively.

Ray snorted in amusement. He lowered his guard and regarding us appreciatively. "You handled yourselves pretty well for a sneak attack," he complimented.

I rolled my eyes. "Are you sure we haven't met before?" I commented dryly.

"Pfft," he said with a wave of his hands. "You still nearly got beaten up. Again."

Indignant, I bit my lip and hmphed. He helped Eris to her feet. She thanked him.

I peered down at the unconscious dewott. The afternoon sunlight glanced off on object on the tall one's chest: a deep red explorer's badge.

They're part of a guild? Which one? I wondered. If such a guild accepts pokémon like them, I'd hate to know what it's like in general.

Together, we navigated our way, Ray leading us once again, through the back streets until we arrived at a small plaza. On our right, a stone building loomed. An iron bust of a garchomp's head sat over a thick, wrought-iron gate. Beyond the gate laid an interior of shadow.

"That's it: Ironfist Guild," Ray said.

"It's…big," Eris breathed.

"You can say that again," I tacitly agreed. Facing Ray, I continued, "Well, I guess this is it. Thanks for bringing us here."

"No problem," he said. After an awkward pause, he rubbed the back of his head. His mouth flapped like he was trying to say something.

"What is it?" I asked, trying to elicit his thoughts.

"…Nothing," he began. "I'd better lead you in there. You have no idea how to get to the guildmaster, and it's nearly sunset."

"Oh, no! W-We better hurry, then," Eris stammered anxiously.

"You don't have to keep helping us. I'm sure we could find our way around there," I said. If you don't want to be on our team, then you shouldn't have to stick with us anymore, I mentally added. However, he and Eris ventured toward the guild, ignoring my input. Sighing, I followed them.

We marched up to the iron gates barring the entrance. Nervously, I extended a forepaw and rapped it on the gate's metal. Despite my small paw, the knock echoed loudly behind the gates. In response, a boom resounded from above me. Startled, I wildly stared upward and gaped. The garchomp's jaw had lowered, exposing deep darkness. A baritone voice rang from the blackness.

"What business brings you here to Ironfist Guild?"

I answered steadily, surprising myself. "We are here to apply for guild membership."

"Then enter, future comrades."

With another great boom, the garchomp's jaw shut tightly. The iron gates creaked open, then swung apart. A narrow staircase spiraled down from the entrance into the dimly lit gloom.

Eris's hands quivered faintly. Ray had already started walking toward the gate. My own facial features settled into a look of determination.

"Let's go," I said bravely, and we entered the guild, the sound of the closing iron gates echoing ominously around us.


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