Ch 2: Daybreak
Everything was spinning, Shen couldn't open his eyes or even move at all and it felt as though reality itself was flipping inside out. He was unable to tell how much time had passed, whether it had been minutes, hours, or even days. His body was falling, yet he never seemed to reach the ground, like a skydiving trip gone wrong. While he had no visual indication, it felt like he was moving at Mach 10. His concentration was destroyed however due to the pulsing force rippling across his form. Despite his attempts to rally the energy to even open his eyes, eventually, Shen surrendered to the will of his throbbing body….
Suddenly, after a deafening crack which echoed through the air, he was falling, ACTUALLY FALLING. The freefalling Shen began counting the seconds, expecting to get flattened against the ground like an old cartoon. At seven however, he was grabbed upwards by sharp talons, the pull sending all of his head seemingly into his feet. The last thing he hears is the quickening flapping of two large wings.
A large, older Swellow slowly glides downward away from the coast, tightly gripping two smaller pokemon securely with his lighter crimson talons. From the central plaza of town, a small crowd has formed watching the dark avian drift downwards, and as he lands, a Dustox wearing a multicolored colored badge approaches. "That was quite a fall… are you certain they'll be ok?" it murmurs.
"We'll have to take them to Tuff's, Slowking will know what to do" he whispers back carefully. The twosome part through the large crowd of confused shop owners, exploration teams, and citizens as they pass by a large Spinda patterned building. Onlookers from the outside tables gossip hectically amongst themselves as the speeding avian passes by.
At the peak, he deposits the two unconscious mons by a large light and steps past a nearby grate, while taking off his badge momentarily. The large building with a wigglytuff shaped roof rattles as the metal gate leading inside opens with a loud CLUNK. Dustox flutters up the hill as fast as its moth-like body could move and rejoins Swellow as they enter into the guild.
"Hey Slow! We could use some medical aid over here!" the bird squawks down the large flight of stairs. A few moments after his call, a large amount of thumping echos from the lower floor.
"I'll be up there in just a second." a deep voice responds. But as it begins lackadaisically walking up the stairs, Swellow rolls his eyes and dives down the stairs carefully so as to not hit the ceiling, with Dustox in pursuit.
"Don't bother going up Slow, we need you ASAP." he caws gliding down the stairs. He flies into the medical bay and carefully places the two canine-like creatures on the bed. Exhaling a deep breath, he rests back on his talons and stretches out. "So doc, how do they look?" he asks as Slowking methodically walks back into the room and between the beds. He carefully lifts the two pokemon with psychic and moves the Zorua's limbs deliberately, steadily rotating him in the air.
"Well first, tell me what happened to these two?" he questions.
"To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure. This huge tear appeared in the sky about….200 meters above the ground and these two fell out of it. I reckon they fell about 70 meters before I caught the Zorua, and another 10 or so before Shinx '' Swellow answers. "They aren't too hurt, right?"
Thinking hard, the small blue gems around Slowking's crown begin to glow. "I believe they are conscious, just knocked out…but what is interesting is their appearance. I've never seen a Zorua with blue accents before, nor have I seen a Shinx with a star shaped tail and such large ears." He continues. "I think we should give them some time to rest for now, I presume they'll wake up soon."
The door is thrown open by Dustox, who proceeds to glide over to the beds. "Will they be ok?" He asks.
Slowking softly releases both dogs from his psychokinetic grip back onto the cots and places his hands on the Shinx, releasing a glowing pulse from both of them. "They'll be fine after a day or two in the infirmary." he answers as Dustox breathes out a sigh of relief. "However, if what Swellow says is true, we have bigger issues at hand than just two pokemon being injured."
Swellow, in response, starts heading for the exit. "I'll go and relay this info to the Guildmaster, I've never seen anything quite like this before." he announces, exiting the infirmary and going down a nearby flight of stairs. Soon after leaving however, he pops his head through the doorway. "Dustox, you mind sticking around Treasure Town and making sure nothing else happens? Arceus only knows what's going on round these parts." he finishes as the moth gives a quick nod and follows him out of the room.
As he begins downward, the avian readjusts his badge and heads down two more flights of stairs. Once he reaches the bottom level, he trots down a short hallway directly adjacent from the stairs and pulls on the small bell in front of a large wooden door with his beak. A few moments after this, the door stamped with a large yellow wigglytuff head opens, revealing a simple office-like setup with two large chests overflowing with valuables on either side of the workspace. Set atop the right side of a pink handmade desk is a small holographic globe with several dots placed on it. A small statue of a golden apple sits opposite to the globe, and various nick-nacks and paperwork in the middle. The light that shined through the open windows was obscured by numerous artifacts covering the wall.
"HI HI!" A loud voice echoes from across the room from a Wigglytuff sitting at the desk in a large plush chair.
"Ah Swellow, what brings you here?" A sharp voice sounds from the right side of the room. An older Chatot gets up from a chair and hops over towards the fellow avian.
"Bad news unfortunately, some weird vortex opened out above Sharpedo Peak and two mons fell out of it. Slow reckons they are fine, but what's more concernin is the vortex itself. I haven't the slightest what it is, but it disappeared faster than a speeding Dodrio ." Swellow explains.
"Hmmm… interesting…. because not long ago, we picked up an unusual reading from the Pokemon Nexus right over Sharpedo Bluff." Chatot replies, gesturing towards the small globe. "We are stumped on what it was, but sought not to investigate further since it didn't seem of any concern." he continues.
While saying this, a smaller bird with light, multicolored feathers comes running underneath Chatot's outstretched wing and towards Swellow. He eyes the variegated badge on Swellow's chest excitedly. "Wow! You're an Ace Rank Explorer!" the smaller Chatot shouts.
Swellow looks down at the smaller bird, shocked that his intimidating appearance didn't frighten it. "Well now, who is this smart little fellow?" He asks while Chatot attempts to pull back his much smaller counterpart from poking the badge.
"This…is my nephew…" Chatot replies between grunts. Despite his size, the smaller songbird puts up admirable resistance against the tugs of the Assistant Guildmaster. "Despite the job's many dangers, he is dead set on becoming a famous explorer like his uncle." Chatot pats his chest with his free wing while grappling in his double.
"Well nice to meet you buddy, I'm Swellow of Team Tasty." the bird of prey eagerly announces.
"Team Tastyy…? Never heard of it, and call me Chat." the younger bird replies.
"You've never heard of Team Tasty?!" Swellow replies with an exaggeratedly surprised look on his face, fake falling backwards with a wing covering his face. Chat caws with laughter at his ridiculous mannerisms as Swellow straightens back up. "We are an older exploration team that specializes in smaller, more straightforward missions that only require me and my partner Dustox." He elaborates.
"Older? Does that mean you know Team Pokepals?" Chat asks, sparkles forming in his eyes.
"Well… I know them and have spoken to Lucario a bit, Infernape never was very talkative. But I never went on any missions with em or anything." Swellow replies.
"Now now, let's not pester Mr. Swellow with dozens of questions, he's got important work to do." Chariot interrupts. "Swellow, could you stay on lookout in the town for today in case any more of these "portals" open? I'll inform the higher ups of the organization, but I hope this is a one time occurrence." He concludes.
"Bye Mr. Swellow!" The small songbird chirps as Swellow leaves the room with a "Will do" and a wave.
As he leaves, Chatot looks over at the Wigglytuff sitting at the desk. "I'll inform Ampharos about this, just in case."
"Yep yep!" the guildmaster sings in reply.
Meanwhile, outside the guild, a shorter green and white pokemon trots up the hill anxiously remembering his grandmother's words. "Now remember, you're the first person in our family to visit Wigglytuff's guild in ages, make sure to give a good first impression." the older Gardevoir's words echo. As he reaches the peak, the Ralts shifts his small cloth shoulder-bag, its golden logo on the corner shining brightly from the now setting sun. Once he reaches the entrance, a light shines from the bottom of a large grate.
"The footprint is Ralts's! The footprint is Ralts's!" an unbelievably loud voice echoes from below. Ralts, in response, jumps up slightly as the large front gate opens. "Come on in, visitor!" it shouts.
Nervously, the small pokemon walks into the guild, scanning the large room. The enormous circular roof was made of reinforced glass that allowed the sun to illuminate the room, but as the day ended, smaller lanterns glowed to life throughout the room. On the far right was a kitchen and dining area, with three long tables and seats for around 50 pokemon. A small fireplace is illuminated by a dim purple flame on the left and is enclosed by a decorative metal surround. Various lounge chairs of differing sizes encircle it with a medium sized wooden table in the center. The nearby library was elegantly sorted by category and a Chandelure slowly pushed a stepladder between two isles. At the center of the room, up a short wide staircase, is a circular platform with a podium at the end. Dozens of teams of explorers commerce around the lively room, all chatting about various subjects.
As he stands astonished, taking in the spectacle, an orange Lycanroc approaches him. "Ello there, are you looking for someone?" she asks as Ralts snaps out of his daydream, stepping backwards.
"Me? Yes, I'm looking for Wigglytuff… this place is… larger…than I heard." He replies.
"Well, Wigglytuff's room is down these stairs on BF4. But since this seems to be your first time here, would ya like me to show you around?" the dog asks, an accent dripping off her words.
"Sure thing… if you don't mind anyways." Ralts replies following her towards the stairs.
As they reach the first floor, the amber colored Lycanroc tilts her head towards the adjacent rooms. "This here's the medical room and food storage." she elaborates. "You'll be seein ol Slow here if you get hurt. Reckon he's patched me up more times then I can count."
Right as they reach the second floor, a larger bird passes by them. "Hey Lyc." he says as he passes the duo. Quickly he makes his way up the stairs, not noticing Ralts.
"Hello Swellow" she happily replies, tilting her head to the side to make sure she didn't lose her quiet escort.
"Here on the second floor, we've got some specialty shops just for us explorers like Electabuzz over there." She continues, passing by a large sign labeled "Path to Gold Rank."
Ralts analyzes the semicircular marketplace with great intrigue, not realizing the passage of time, but is quickly brought back to focus.
"Oy, you're here to see Wigglytuff right? Let's pick up the pace before it gets too late, I've got some clients to meet." The canine barks.
He quickens his pace towards the downward staircase only stopping briefly as a noisy crackle filled the room originating from a large stone cauldron.
"Over on the third floor, we've got the rooms for the basic guild members. Considerin how fresh you're lookin, I reckon you'll be gettin used to this place." Lycanroc playfully comments.
The duo arrive on the bottom floor as Lycanroc walks the all too familiar hallway. "And finally, this here's the veterans and Guildmaster's quarters and with that, I'll be ending our tour." she concludes, ringing an adjacent bell. "I wish you luck and hope everything goes well for ya." the dog finishes speedily.
"Thanks a ton!" Ralts responds to the now distant blurred figure of Lycanrock.
The door slowly opens and a voice echoes down the hallway. "Hello, friendly friend!"
Ralts stands there taken aback by the Guildmaster's response. "Hello… Mr. Wigglytuff and Chatot, I'm Ralts and I'd like to become an apprentice at your guild… sirs." he responds.
Chatot studies the gold engraving on his bag carefully. "Based on your bag, am I right to assume that you are related to Team Charm?" the bird questions.
"Yes… My grandmother is Gardevour and she sends you her blessings. I've been wanting to be an explorer…for as long as I can remember. Though… your guild is quite different from what she described." the psychic pokemon answers.
"Yes, the guild has had quite the renovation ever since the forming of the Unified Explorers Union 10 years ago. Due to this, we chose to expand both our base, and the size of our explorer training tutelage. Despite these changes however, our goals remain the same." Chatot happily elaborates.
"I understand, and that's why I wanted to join your program… if you'll take me of course." Ralts replies.
"Well… while you are the grandson of an exploration team, you'll need to pass the entrance exam in order to enter." the songbird chirps.
"Test? Alright, I'll do it" Ralts replies, working up his courage.
"Excellent! Though it is a bit too late to administer it today, so for now, you can stay the night with the rest of the guild members." Chatot answers. "I suggest you prepare for a trip through a dungeon and get used to the guild. If you have any questions, just ask around."
"Will do, and thank you so much" Ralts says happily leaving the room.
"GOOD LUCK!" Wigglytuff proclaims once again scaring Ralts. He thanks the both guild leaders once more and leaves the room.
"Man… what a dream…" a groggy Shen thinks to himself, not noticing the distinct lack of hands rubbing against his eyes. "Wait… where the hell am I?!" he continues, looking around the room. As he tries to get up, claws instinctively extend from each digit of his paw. "Wait… WHERE ARE MY HANDS!" he shouts awakening Jared from his slumber and prompting Slowking to walk into the room. In complete disbelief, Shen asks the pink mon, "What the heck is going on, who are you!?".
"Well… I'm Slowking, and you fell from the sky out of a portal… that's what I know anyway." Slowking replies putting his hands in the air.
"Portal…?" Shen questions trying to remember what happened before this. "Holy crap…. Jared was right..." he thinks to himself. "But that doesn't explain why… I'm a pokemon."
"Do you…. need some water?" Slowking asks, uncertainly.
"Yeah… that would be great… Thank you." Shen slowly replies.
In response, Slowking summons a sphere of water above his finger, and places it into a nearby bowl on the end of Shen's cot. As the Shinx stumbles over, he stares into it, examining his reflection carefully. "I'm a… Shinx?"
Methodically, he lifts up a paw and spreads the digits out. "Man… this is unreal…" he thinks to himself. "Wait.. what about Jared?" Quickly, he turns back to the Slowking. "Wait, was there anyone else with me? Someone named Jared?" he asks worriedly.
"I'm… right here." a groggy voice sounds from an adjacent bed. His large eyes open, blink twice, and then reopen. "Why… am I in a hospital…. with two…. furries?" he questions.
"Jared! Jared! You were right! That was a portal, and we got sucked in and now we are here and you are a Zorua and I'm a Shinx!" Shen says with haste.
In response, Jared lifts up what would be his hand and realizes it's not much more than a nub. "Holy crap… you're right. This… is not good…" he remarks. "Are we…. what's it called again …Pokemon?" he asks.
Looking between the two as they spoke, Slowking interjects. "I.. think I'll lend you two some space. Call if you need me." The larger pokemon walks out through the door while ducking his head.
"Wait, before you go, where in the world… are we?" Shen asks Slowking.
"You're at Wigglytuff's guild, and I suggest you hurry up, Chimecho is calling for dinner."
Authors Notes
Hello, and thanks for sticking around for ch 2. Hopefully this is slightly better then the first one and encourages y'all to continue to stick around. I've been reading your comments and heeding the great advice you gave as well so hopefully you'll get to see some meaningful improvement. I wanted to focus more on show not tell and expanding the world, while not making transitions so sloppy/disconnected so hopefully this was an improvement.Apologies for potential mistakes or grammatical errors that were not caught in my multiple checks. Feel free to leave any critiques/feedback/ or even Q in the comments and have a wonderful day. (By the way, due to its proximity to my birthday and homecoming, the next ch or the one after may be potentially delayed, it's uncertain as of now. I'll work to get it out though. Have a great week and weekend all you amazing readers :). )