Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Bluer Skies Chapter 4

First Job Request

I didn't have any dreams or nightmares last night, which is an improvement over just having nightmares, I guess. Then again, I didn't have any visions yesterday, so maybe that's related to it.

I look out the window and the sun's not up yet, so I'll go and look around the guild to see where the library and the training rooms are… if I can manage to find where I'm supposed to go this morning.

(Didn't the Guildmaster say I'd have to pick a job from some board? Where's the board? When am I supposed to go there? Why couldn't he have just told me these things yesterday?)

Whatever. I'll find a way to figure those out. Walking out of the bedroom, I look out into the hallway to see if there's a map I can use to find anything around here. No such luck. The walls don't have anything on them. Guess I'll have to go downstairs for more info, if there is any.

(Man, this sucks!)

I walk slowly down the stairs - I'm tired and don't wanna risk falling down - before arriving at another hallway on the first floor. This one looks less barren, which makes me feel better about looking for anything. Looking around, there's a map on one of the walls!

(Nice. Now I don't have to waste time looking for anything!)

It looks like the library and training rooms are in separate buildings, which explains how large the guild is, at least. Wait, if the library is large, won't it take me a while to look for any moves or information that I might want to find?

(Whatever. I'll go to the library first to look up Energy Ball, then head to the training room if I have time before I have to pick a job.)

Walking to the library doesn't take long; it's just to the left of the main building, with a sign labeled "Guild Library." The signs around the guild are a nice gesture to newbies like me who don't know where anything is.

There's already another Pokémon there. It's still dark, but I can see light in the library, and I'm pretty sure other Pokémon know not to leave a fire out in a library of all places.

I walk into the library slowly. "Uh… can ya help me find something?" I don't know who it is… maybe I should've started out by asking who they are. From the one candle that's lit, it looks like the Pokémon is a Gallade.

"Who's that?!" The Gallade turns around and spots me. I can see some sort of ball on a string around his neck. "Who are you? I don't think I've met any Chikoritas in the guild…"

(He's suspicious of me… should've expected that. Whatever. Better to tell him now than not tell him at all.)

"I'm Aikonita. I joined the guild yesterday and I wanted to look at some info on the move Energy Ball."

His expression gets calmer when I mention I'm a member of the guild. "Oh, you're in the guild. Alright, you can find some general books on moves over there." He points to a section of the library labeled "Moves."

While walking over to the "Moves" section of the library, I take a quick peek at the books he's reading. I can see a few sentences that read "...the varied moves that Legendaries and Mythicals use can make them terrifying opponents," "...Mega Evolution is not for the faint of heart," and "...Legendaries and Mythicals have been noted to return without any noticeable damage on rare occasions, but it is not yet known precisely how this happens…"

(Why's he reading about that? He doesn't know any Legendaries or Mythicals, does he? I've never heard of "Mega Evolution" either…)

I don't think I'll need to focus on what he's reading until I'm done learning about Energy Ball, so I don't bother trying to read any more of it.

I scan the "Moves" section to see if there's any books that look like they could help me. Well, there's "Fighting Moves for Beginners," "Grass Moves for Any Pokémon," and "The Most Basic Move Book Out There!"

(...I'll stick to the Grass move book.)

I take it back to the table where the Gallade's sitting at, cause I might wanna read what he's reading later, if I have time…

Oh, there's a table of contents in the move book! Looking through that, Energy Ball's on page 12, so I flip there…

Energy Ball

Formed through gathering and condensing energy from the environment, Energy Ball is more suited for short fights, as it can take a while to gather and condense energy if you're not experienced at it. Energy Ball can be used as both a ranged move and a more physical one.

Tips: Don't give up! It can be frustrating to not see a ball form, but it'll just take more experience. Various ways to condense the energy range from rotating it to compressing it into a stronger, smaller ball.

Well, at least I can try compressing the energy and not rotating it. Still, I wish this book had more on Energy Ball than just this one page… someone here at the guild's gotta know this move, too, right?!

(I'll look for Leaf Storm too, while I'm here, so I can learn about that as well!)

I flip through the book again to find it's on page 25…

Leaf Storm

Leaf Storm is not unlike its sister move Razor Leaf in that it's a large group of sharp leaves, albeit more numerous, but it weakens the user's non-physical attacking moves afterwards for a while. Leaf Storm is a ranged move.

Tips: It's best to use this move as a last resort, unless you have physical attacking moves as a backup.

Okay, so it looks like Leaf Storm being weaker after I used it once is what it's supposed to do, which is good, cause now I can plan for that. Energy Ball, though… I can't just go into a fight without having that completed, at least if I want to use it. If I don't use it though, I'll only have Leaf Storm and Vine Whip, which is really limiting.

(I'll take a job first and see who my partners are before I think about completing Energy Ball. If I get good partners, chances are the job will be done quickly and I won't need to worry about using Energy Ball at all!)

I'll check out what the book has to say about Vine Whip first before taking a job request, though…

Vine Whip

Vine Whip is a versatile move that can be used for both grabbing objects or hitting them. It's a ranged physical move, allowing the user to catch their opponents off guard.

Tips: This move can be used as a support move to grab allies or even save them from falling. Be sure to learn how many vines you can use at a time!

Huh. There's a maximum number of vines I can use? I didn't know that about Vine Whip.

I close the book, put it back, and take another peek at what the Gallade's reading. Luckily the books are now on different pages, so it's all new stuff to me: "...they tend to cluster in groups regardless of affiliation; this warrants further study," "...results in a significant boost in a Pokémon's speed, strength, and defense," and "...this may be due to the rivalry between various Legendaries and Mythicals to wipe out their bloodlines."

"What are ya reading all that for?" I tap at one of the books with a vine.

The Gallade looks up at me. "It's not something you'd know too much about. It's about a situation surrounding a friend of mine."

"Is your friend a Legendary or a Mythical?!"

He sticks an arm in front of his face, as if he's threatening me. "Shhh! Be quiet, the sun's not even up yet!" He clears his throat as he quickly - and suspiciously - glances around us. "No, he's not either of those… it's a long story that'll take too long to tell."

Maybe I should whisper this time, so he won't get annoyed. "What's that ball around your neck?"

The Gallade smiles as he looks back down at the books. "Oh, that? It's nothing, just a little trinket."

(I probably should ask this guy his name in case I run into him later.)

I tap him on his shoulder as he looks up. "Hey, what's your name?"

"I'm Degan. What's yours?"

Well, since he doesn't seem that suspicious, I'll tell him my name. "Aikonita."

"Nice to meet you, Aikonita!" Degan's voice is cheery and bright, kinda the opposite of Roanthe's voice. He feels brighter too, which I've never really felt from anyone before except for my best friend.

(Well, reading about Energy Ball and Leaf Storm took less time than I thought. Time to go train!)

I leave the library to check out the training rooms; it's still dark out, so it's not likely anyone else is up.

I didn't notice this before, but it's cold. Without this scarf, I'm sure I'd be freezing! The cold feels good, though, like I want to feel this way.

The training rooms are on the right side of the main building; they're in one building about the same size as the library.

No one's in any training rooms, at least not from what I can see, so I choose the one that's right in front of the entrance, for convenience. There's not much inside of it, just a stone pillar on each side of the room and a few basic wooden dummies for practicing on. Still, it's more than enough for me.

(First, I'll practice Energy Ball, then if I have time before the sun rises, I'll practice Vine Whip and Leaf Storm.)

It's harder to gather energy here since this isn't exactly a natural environment, but that's good practice for if I ever get into a fight in this kind of area. It's possible to gather energy, which is good, but it takes a lot more time. I try moving around while I gather the energy, which is possible now that I've had a bit of practice doing that on the way to the guild. I'm still having trouble getting the energy to form into a ball… I'll try compressing the energy this time, like the move book said.

"Alright, this better work..." I hold out a vine just as I've been doing before, and that familiar feeling of the energy swirling above my vine comes back. Now I make it smaller or something? Why didn't the book go more into detail about this?!

I can see a blob there, but it's not a sphere yet. The energy's shape seems to shift slightly when I try to control where it's gonna go, so I make it smaller and smaller. The energy becomes more jittery the further it shrinks, but I can see it becoming more and more smooth.

(It's actually working?! Wow! Maybe that book was better than I thought!)

Now I decide to rotate the energy, since I was sort of able to do that yesterday. The energy's stabilizing more into a sphere, but it looks like it's gonna jump away from me at any moment.

"Yes! It's working!" I grin and quickly slam the energy into one of the wooden dummies and it clatters against the wall with a bang. I run over to look at how damaged it is… there's a tiny hole in the center of it, just about where the energy was.

(What? That's it?! A tiny hole after all that practice?! How much more practice will I need until I can destroy even one of these things?!)

"Stupid dummy!" I slap the dummy with a vine, and it doesn't take any damage, much less move. "How'd that do less than that teeny Energy Ball?!"

Wait. If I can't do anything to a dummy that can't defend itself, how am I supposed to fight an actual Pokémon? Two days ago, Roanthe was able to block my Leaf Storm easily, and that was before I even learned anything from him.

(I need to come up with a plan now, or else I'll never surpass him!)

I take a deep breath… let it out… okay, that feels better. Leaf Storm's up next, so I take a few steps back and launch the leaves toward the dummy. They slice into the dummy, some of them getting stuck inside of it. It's a lot more than Vine Whip and Energy Ball did, that's for sure.

I wanna see how much weaker Leaf Storm will get after I've used it once, so I take a different wooden dummy, stand back, and fire off another Leaf Storm. This time, less of the leaves got stuck in the dummy, but the speed of the Leaf Storm wasn't any less than it was before. Well, I know I can use it as a ranged attack even if it's gotten weaker, and that's more than enough for me.

Now that I've practiced all of my moves, I can't help but think that I might need to learn a fighting style that isn't "run up to an enemy and hit them until they're down." The training room doesn't have any windows, so I step outside to see the sun's coming up now. It looks beautiful, as always… I just remembered I forgot to read up on peace and justice. I need to write these things down somewhere.

(Oh well, that can wait until after my first job. Reading about peace and justice can't possibly be as hard as practicing new moves!)

There's a small crowd outside the main building now, and I think it's because some guild members are looking at jobs. Hopefully, they don't take the outlaw ones... I wanna do one of those soon.

I squeeze through and look at the job board. Some jobs say a Pokémon needs help since they got stuck in a "Mystery Dungeon," whatever that is, some more that say they need certain items, which sounds boring, some more that want an escort to a specific place, and finally, finally, there's some that are about outlaws.

(I don't know how picking a job works, so I'll wait until someone picks a job first… that'd be better for me to learn how this is done.)

"Hey! Hey! Settle down, settle down! Everyone'll get their chance to pick a job, I guarantee that!"

It's the Guildmaster… whose name I forgot to ask for last night. He does look full of energy today, unlike last night, which is good. He must have gotten a ton of sleep!

"Now… how about you go first, Aikonita, since you're the newest member of the guild?"

(I thought he had work to do! I didn't expect him to remember my name considering we just met last night!)

I look around, and virtually everyone's staring at me, though there are a few that are talking amongst themselves. He smiles, and I can't help but feel a little annoyed as I talk to him. "Uh… what about an outlaw job?"

"Ooh… these ones are all pretty tough, the easy ones got taken last week. I'd suggest you choose one of these." He points to one of the item jobs. I roll my eyes in response.

(Great. Now I gotta choose a boring job? Why can't I just choose a job that I wanna choose?!)

Still, if it keeps me safe, I might as well go with what he wants. "Sure, whatever." I tap a random one with a vine. "That one okay?"

He nods a few times as he stares at the paper. "Yeah, that one seems like it'll work." He tears the paper off of the job board and gives it to me. "Here. I don't think you'll need a partner for this, but if you want a few..." He points into the main building. "...the other 25th Class guild members should be in one of the classrooms on the first floor by now."

I need to finish this job and get back here as soon as possible so I can study up on peace and justice. It wouldn't make sense to leave the job until later if someone really needs help!

"Thanks." I walk off towards the main building, just to look at the other 25th Class members and see if they're worth actually taking as partners.

There's a sign labeled "Classroom 3" outside of a room, and there's a lot of chatter going on in there. Before I head in, though, it'd be best to look at this job paper…

Job Request

Type: Obtain Items

Description: I need 10 Oran Berries, please. Bring them to the infirmary in the guild's main building after you've gotten them.

Client: Miso

Species of Client: Mienshao

Location of Items: Glistening Trails

Reward: To be discussed with client after completion

(Huh. I didn't know there was an "infirmary" here, though I dunno what that is. Well, guess I'll go into the classroom and look at potential partners.)

As I walk into the classroom, a few Pokémon stare at me, a Charmander and a Mareep, to be exact. I wonder how strong they are, but I'll ask them if they want to do this job with me first.

The Mareep looks me over before she speaks. "Who are you? I've never seen you before."

"Do ya wanna do this job with me?" I slide the paper over to the two of them.

The Charmander takes one look at me and scoots away without saying anything. The Mareep, though, really doesn't look happy. "First, tell me who you are."

I glare at her. "I don't wanna. Just gimme an answer! Or do ya wanna fight?!"

(I don't have time to waste on this! I need to get this job done and over with so I can do something I wanna do, like outlaw jobs or learning new moves!)

She scoffs. "I'm not fighting or doing that job with you. I'm perfectly fine sitting here, thank you very much." She taps me on the face with a foot-

An Ampharos taps the shoulder of a Charizard, both of whom are wearing the same green aprons. She shouts at him. "What's the problem now? I thought you were supposed to be helping me organize these items!" She's not happy, but she sounds more annoyed if anything.

The Charizard yelps and drops the paper he was holding as he tenses up. "I was just reading this letter from the guild… looks like there's something really big going on with some organization… should we go help?"

"Who cares? We've barely gotten any stronger since we joined the guild aside from evolving, so it doesn't matter whether we help out or not. I doubt they'll need help anyway; they have so many heavy hitters that I'm sure they can handle the problem themselves. Now help me organize these Oran Berries."

"Yeah, fine..." The Charizard puts the letter in a pouch before he starts picking up some of the Oran Berries. "I dunno… I think we should go. I just have a feeling in my gut that something will happen that the guild can't take care of… you know what I mean?"

"Is this about that Pokémon you have a crush on? Seriously, when was the last time you even talked to her?! All she's focused on is training, and fighting, and…" The Ampharos slams an arm on a shelf as sparks fly off of her body. She's definitely a lot angrier than she was before. Is this something really important to her? Does she have a grudge against the Charizard's crush? "Ugh! You get what I mean at this point! She hasn't even been seen since a few years ago! Forget trying to woo her, you don't even know her name!"

The Charizard steps back. "F-fine, I'll stay here..." He looks out the door of the store he and the Ampharos are in before whispering, "I hope you're still alive somewhere..."

The Ampharos turns around just as she starts to walk away. I can almost see the anger dripping from her face. "Can you ever shut up about her?!" The Charizard yelps again, dropping all of the Oran Berries he was carrying.

(That can't have been a coincidence… so this Mareep is gonna evolve to an Ampharos eventually. What else am I supposed to take from that vision? Something's gonna happen with the guild and an organization? What organization? Am I supposed to do something about it? Is this Charmander also the Charizard in the vision? Who's his crush?)

The Charmander and Mareep are now staring at me. The Mareep waves a foot in front of me as she speaks. "Are you… okay? You didn't say anything after I touched you."

I blink a few times. "It's nothing. Sorry I bothered you. My name's Aikonita, by the way."

"Okay," they both say as I walk awkwardly out of the classroom. They don't bother to tell me their names, but I don't really care at this point.

(Man, if every 25th Class member is like this, then I might as well do the job on my own.)

I grumble. I'm disappointed; I thought they'd be more willing to talk to me! Why do other Pokémon have to be so mean? Sure, I had a vision and all that, but I just started talking to that Mareep and she was so uptight about it!

For now, I guess I'll get a map to the Glistening Trails and see what happens there. I can look for partners in the 25th Class later… if I need any. Can't I just ask Roanthe or that Degan dude if I need help? I'm sure Roanthe'll be willing to help me in some way!

(...It's not as bad as it could have been; I got another vision that didn't have dead Pokémon, which I guess is alright, and I got a job that doesn't look like it'll be that hard.)

I exhale, staring at the job request again. I'll go ask Roanthe after I get a map to the Glistening Trails; it'll make me look less like a newbie, and I won't be so confused as to what direction I'm supposed to go...

This is it. This is my first step in this guild!

Characters introduced this chapter:

Degan

Species: Gallade

Gender: Male

Age: 23

Next Chapter: Into the Glistening Trails