Author's Notes
Thanks for reviewing: Guest who WASN'T a spammer this time, and also my dear friend MUDERS.
Fuck-a you, Luigi, for reviewing: No one.
"Well, clock says 9:04 AM. Sky sure ain't helpin' paint that picture."
"Quite convenient. That gives us three hours to get our application in, correct?"
"You two, uh... sure yer' readin' that thing right? It's awful dark."
Salami, Tart, and Shallot padded slowly down the damp concrete road. Heavy droplets of rain pummeled the scenery.
"According to the map, it appears that Layer Port lays just a small ways ahead." Tart's eyes squinted at her phone, with her soaked tail trying and failing to wipe precipitation from its screen.
The three pokémon's gazes turned up to observe the path ahead. Golden light spilled from a row of lights lining a street. The grass and concrete of the road they had followed gave way to solid wood at the border of the town.
As they crossed the threshold, the trio's pawsteps became more audible against the planks below. Numerous other pokémon of all types lined the street, dashing to and fro.
Gazing off into the distance, it could be seen that the town was divided into multiple distinct levels, which weaved into and around each other in an elegantly chaotic order.
The heavy pouring rain flowed down numerous grates installed in the ground, draining into the roaring waves of sea below.
The sounds of storm, pokémon, and ocean all blurred together into a distinct symphony of seaside life. The overwhelming scent of salt and rotting wood filled the nose of all present, providing an interesting aromal contrast.
The soft, yet firm boards beneath their pads stood strong against their weight, with a thin layer of ice-cold water streaming around and between their digits.
Shallot let out a low whistle as he took in the scenery. Tart didn't seem particularly surprised. Salami's eyes darted around frantically, with his tails lowered just a bit.
"'Kay, Tart. Where's the guild?" prodded Shallot.
"Come, come. I will lead you.."
Basil gave a small hum, a paw to her cheek. She smiled at the three pokémon in front of her: a fennekin, a minccino, and a vulpix.
"Hey, sweeties. What can I help you with?"
Shallot cleared his throat, stepping forward.
"We have an appointment. We're here to register a team."
"Ahah, got it! What name or names would this appointment be under?"
"Shallot."
"Hmmm..." The liepard shuffled through her notepad, giving a brief nod in confirmation soon after. "Yup yup. You're a bit early, but that just gives you more time to fill out the forms." She ruffled through a drawer below the desk's surface, before pulling out four packets that she slid across the top.
Tart plucked up the paper with a grateful nod.
"Your assistance is much appreciated, miss...?"
"Just call me Basil, sweetie."
"Comprehended."
Basil glanced about the room with a smile. Several team applicants sat in the lobby, filling out forms and talking amongst themselves. Once the last of them turned in their packets, she began to look over the new information.
"Okie-dokie, let's have a looky...!" Basil murmured with a grin.
Shallot lounged on the blue chair, peaking over the arm at an eevee next to him. The brown mammal gave a timid shuffle of his paws, murmuring something.
"So... Y'all think you'll get in?"
A second eevee, another seat over, leaned in to give a bright grin.
"I am certain of this! We will be accepted!"
Their chespin friend gave a small huff. He idly chewed on a dandelion.
"Yeah. This guild's rejection rate is about zero, so we'd have to be exceptionally terrible to get rejected."
A smirk crossed Shallot's lips.
"Who's to say ya' aren't? You ain't look so tough."
Salami's paws shot to cover his own muzzle.
"Uh, Shallot... That's mean!"
Pear bristled just a bit at the jest. Waffle deflated a bit, and Lemon just laughed.
"We will be seeing this later, fennekin! Perhaps it is you who is of the ain't tough variety! Kehehe!"
Tart gave a roll of her eyes, putting an arm around both her grinning fire fox friend and her concerned fire fox friend.
"Shally-dearest, I implore that you do not antagonize our peers."
"Chill. Was just jokin'!"
Interrupting their conversation, a voice called from across the room.
"Team Waffle! Time for part one of your practice evaluation, sweeties."
Pear shot an icy look toward his two eevee companions. One shied away, as the other just grinned. The trio started their walk toward the door on the far left of the room.
"Bro! You named us Team Waffle?!"
"You told me to be the one who chooses our name! And you said to pick something of which I liked if nothing could be thought of. You also also also said that you would not be caring of the name!"
Whatever Pear's response was, if there was one at all, was not heard as they closed the door behind themselves.
Shallot, Tart, and Salami glanced to each other, confusion painting their features. A new voice soon met their ears.
"What was that all about?"
They turned to find two pokémon standing there; a flareon and a sylveon, the former having spoken. The new arrivals stood about a head taller than all three of them. Explorer badges were pinned to their chests, and they both wore hats with an L-shaped symbol.
Shallot gave a shrug. Salami shook his head.
The sylveon was the next to talk.
"Well, yo! What's your names, newbies?"
"I'm Shallot! Pleased t'meet ya'."
"Formally, I am bestowed with the name of 'Lady Tartar', however most call me by 'Tart'."
"I'm uh, Salami."
Shallot's bright grin dominated his features. Salami's eyes turned to the ground. Tart gave a polite curtsy.
"We're Team Heroic!"
"'scept, uh, Shallot spelled it wrong, so it's heroic with a "k"."
"W-what? Why didn't you stop me?!"
"It was written in pen!"
The two eeveelutions glanced to each other. A small giggle left the sylveon's lips.
"Well then, nice t'meet ya', Team Heroik!" The fairy-type put extra emphasis on the k sound.
"We're called Team Wave! Two fifths of it, at least."
The two stood on their hind-legs, pressed back to back. Four left-legs were extended in a presumably well-practiced gesture.
Tart gave a small applause.
The groups talked amongst themselves for a bit, until a new voice met their ears.
"Team Heroik! It's time for the first part of your practice evaluation!" called the liepard from her desk. "Candy, Bailey, sweeties, are you harassing the recruits?"
The two looked to each other, then to the liepard.
"We're sorry, Ms. Basil!" replied the sylveon.
"Yeah. Can we harass you instead?"
Basil sighed with a small shake of her head.
"If you insist, dears. Come help me with this paperwork."
The two teams nodded to each other politely as they parted ways.
"Nice to meet you two!" Shallot called.
Team Wave replied in unison.
"The same to you!"
Tart, Salami, and Shallot stepped through the door on the far left. Team Waffle walked out at the same time.
Pear gazed around with a bored look on his features. Lemon's smile shone bright, mirrored by Waffle's timid grin.
Team Heroik let the floor close behind them, then froze as they observed the room.
In the middle of the large, rectangular room stood two ninetales, one standing a bit taller than the other.
Team Heroik's faces displayed a mixture of features. Tart remained neutral, whereas Shallot sweated nervously. Salami's muzzle was fighting between a frown and a grin.
Tart spoke first.
"I suppose this was to be expected, no? We were aware of their guild work."
The two ninetales approached with matching smiles. Shallot backed toward the door, but it didn't budge.
The smaller ninetales spoke first.
"Hah, you little scamps! I should've known this is where you ran off to, son. Please, do tell us next time you sneak out in the middle of the night. We were close to reporting you missing, haha!"
She leaned down to brush her muzzle against Salami's cheek, who pressed into the nuzzle in turn.
"Sorry, mommy..."
"It's not a problem!"
The taller ninetales spoke next.
"Well, well. Son, Tart, Shallot. You are here to start a team, no?"
Shallot had calmed down a bit, though not quite enough to speak yet. Salami took the lead.
"You, uh... You bet, dad. With school being over for all of us, we're... You know, finally ready!"
"Atta boy! I'm very proud of you. Am I to assume you three aware of what the practice evaluation entails?"
The three glanced to each other. With a blink from each, they soon shook their heads in unison. The smaller ninetales spoke again.
"It's quite simple, haha! We're going to test your abilities in three key areas." The ninetales stood as tall as she could. "Battle!" She struck a pose with one paw lifted, a ring of fire puffed from her nose. "Navigation!" She leapt to the side with an elegant flip, landing lightly on her paws. "And, problem-solving!" She pressed her nose to the ground, sniffing along it as she chased her tails in circles. With one more leap and a flip, she struck one last extravagant pose. One paw was to her chest, with the other extended toward her mate. "Us two are in charge of testing you in these three scenarios, and evaluating your performance! Is that understood?"
"Quite well!"
"Yeah!"
"Uh-huh."
The taller ninetales gave a nod.
"Then, let us begin. We will only be testing your battle prowess for now. Navigation and problem-solving will be done after lunch and dinner respectively."
Team Heroik stood at one side of a large blue mat. Stood on the opposite end were Salami's parents.
A gallade stood off from the mat near its middle on the long-side. A long scar was visible on his face. In his hand was held a long metal wooden shaft with a green flag on the end.
A number of pokémon from the guild observed in mild interest. The room had several identical mats strewn across, each bearing similar arrangements of pokémon; Some were locked in battle.
The gallade pointed his flag toward the trio of rookies.
"Team Heroik, are you READY?"
"You bet!"
"Certainly."
"Uh-huh..."
His flag turned to gesture at the two ninetales.
"Team Relic, are you ready?"
The taller ninetales gave a silent nod. The smaller spun around in a circle, before rolling into a battle-ready stance.
The gallade held his flag out in front of himself.
"Team Heroik; Shallot, Tart, and Salami VS Team Relic; Bean and Cream. NO illegal moves, NO items! The battle will end when each member of one team has surrendered, been pushed out from the battle space, or has otherwise been made unable to battle! Do NOT attack a disqualified pokémon! Bout one, best two out of three." After a brief pause, he lifted his flag high into the air. "BEGIN!"
The ninetales both felt their furs standing on end. Tart's intense focus soon became apparent to them. The team stepped away from one another, just as a bolt of electricity struck between their bodies.
Tart blinked in surprise. She then noticed a blur coming her way. She turned to run, however a cry of alarm soon escaped her throat as she felt herself knocked into the air. She flailed helplessly as she soared across the battlefield.
She felt a tug on her tail as she fell toward the ground. It didn't stop her descent, however it slowed her forward velocity just enough to keep her from landing outside the mat.
Shallot's focus was on the telekinetic grip he held on his friend. He didn't see the quick-attack coming until it was too late, knocking him forward into the minccino. Tart's paw briefly glowed and flung a sphere of energy toward her vulpix friend. Shallot locked his gaze toward Creme, with his eyes pulsing with a strange aura. As their last-ditch moves finished, the fennekin and the minccino both tumbled off from the mat in a heap.
"Shallot and Tart are DISQUALIFIED!" Shouted the gallade.
The observing crowd flinched, gasped, and shook their heads sympathetically.
Everyone's attention turned to Salami as he stood alone.
Bean stood tall, observing his son carefully. Creme swayed a bit uneasily, Shallot's hypnosis having made her drowsy.
Creme was the first to move, advancing forward. She lifted a paw, telegraphing her attack to the best of her ability as Bean moved toward Salami's side.
The vulpix rolled to the side to dodge his mother's paw-strike, then lept over his father's outstretched leg. He let the power of Tart's helping-hand move coarse through his body, channeling it into his tail. It solidified with aura as he swung it toward his father's face. The large ninetales gave a small grunt, but effortlessly nudged his son off the mat upon his landing.
The gallade raised his flag.
"Salami is DISQUALIFIED! Team Relic are the WINNERS of bout one!"
The three young pokémon turned to each other with disappointed sighs. Their collective attention was drawn to the two ninetales as they approached.
"Aww, don't look so glum!" Creme soothed. She let her large, flowing tails curl around the three.
"You did great, kiddos." Bean added with an affirmative nod.
Shallot raised an eyebrow.
"But, we lost."
Creme leaned into the fennekin's face with a bright grin. He took a step back from the imposing fox, feeling a bead of sweat forming along his ridge.
"This is not about winning or losing, my dear! This is about seeing what you can do!" She excitedly circled the smaller pokémon, then sitting to gesture to the three with an outstretched paw.
Tart spoke next.
"In this case, pray-tell, why are we competing?"
"Well, kiddo, we have a battle room, so we may as well use it," said Bean.
Everyone gave a noncommittal shrug.
The gallade cleared his throat, capturing the attention of everyone else. They all gave respectful nods before returning to their sides of the arena.
Team Heroik huddled together, speaking in whispers.
"Whatta we do? They're too tough."
"Perhaps we should be striking from a distance with special moves, hmm?"
"Uh, no can do. My fam' has the flash-fire ability. You'd be the only one able to hit em', Tart."
"Hmm... Maybe we just try ta' stall? We're smaller n' more agile-like, so maybe we just avoid attacks, n' strike when it's safe."
"I am quite certain that Salami's parents are not fools. They will catch on quickly that we are not making any moves and adapt aptly."
"Well, mom and dad seemed to be able to feel your lightning before it struck. Maybe you could use it to herd em' around, then we can swoop in with more physical stuff as they're off guard?"
"Perhaps we should share all of the moves we know so that we may better strategize?"
"Sounds good t'me. I'll go first. I know ember, hypnosis, and scratch. I can sorta do psychic, but I'm only really able to slightly nudge things."
"I have been taught the following moves: Thundershock, helping-hand, pound, and tail-slap."
"I, uh... I've got iron-tail, ember, and will-o-wisp. That's all that'll be helpful."
"Forgive me for prying. Do you not know a fourth move, Salami?"
"Well, I do, but, uh... I don't wanna use attract on my mom."
"I see. My apologies."
"No need."
They continued to debate on their plan for about another minute, before turning back to face their opponents.
"Team Heroik, are you READY?"
"Yeah!"
"It is certain."
"Yup."
"Team Relic, are you READY?"
Two silent nods were given.
"Bout two. BEGIN!"
Creme and Bean felt their furs once more stand on end. They moved aside to avoid a strike of electricity, then hopped back to avoid another. The two expertly hopped, strafed, and weaved around the artificial lightning strikes, advancing their way toward Tart as they did.
Creme's eyes scanned the field, noticing Salami and Shallot having moves around her and her partner. Her gaze locked with Bean's for a few seconds, the two soon nodding to each other.
Bean rolled forward, landing right in front of Tart. He felt his furs pricked up dangerously, however remained still. He let the electricity course through his body, to the minccino's surprise. He used the brief lapse in concentration to punt her off from the mat.
At the same time, two small fire-foxes flew over his head and off the mat as well, having been psychically tossed by Creme.
"Team Heroik is DISQUALIFIED! Team Relic are THE WINNERS!"
The two ninetales turned to nod at each other, before turning back to the three dazed pokémon on the ground.
"Battle evaluation is over," Bean spoke. "Return to the guild at 1:00 PM for your navigation evaluation."