Waking up in the morning, the three of us headed out to accomplish another mission. Stopping by town, we bought a few apples to resupply. Walking through the town, looking towards the ground and generally not paying much attention, I remembered the Lucario etched into the ground. It was hard not too since I nearly tripped on one of the larger cracks. I figured it was as good of a time as any to ask about the design.
"Hey, what's with the Lucario in the ground?" I wondered.
"Oh? That's the most famous rescuer from around here. He's one of the most famous rescue teams ever. It's Lucario from Team Lucario. The final badges any team could obtain were named after him for a long time. He was a legend, saving Pokémon from many disasters, facing countless legends, and more! Many rescue teams have people they look up to, heroes that they idolize. Not a single rescue team doesn't idolize Lucario. No matter the challenge, no matter how difficult or tough, no matter where or why he would always help another Pokémon in need! He was the definition of a Rescuer. Even though that was well over a hundred years ago, he's still remembered as one of the greatest heroes of all time." Oshawott explained. His eyes were wide, and his smile was even wider.
"I see. One other thing. This town isn't exactly small, being a port town after all. I know it's kind of far away and difficult to get to Pokémon Central, but I'd have thought there'd be more teams than three, and that's including us." I asked.
"Well, there aren't always a lot of high reward jobs around here, so most Pokémon who do become rescue teams move away to somewhere to try and become more famous. However, Pokémon all around need help, so it doesn't matter where we are as long as we can help others. That's what the two of us decided. Also, while there are a lot of Pokémon who pass by, not a lot of Pokémon stay. It's just a stop for their next destination, so any Rescue Teams who pass don't stay long." Oshawott responded. I nodded. We continued looking for somewhat simpler jobs that we were able to do. Jobs we were capable of doing weren't always easy to find, but we managed to find some.
A full two months passed as we continued to do missions. Our rank hadn't risen, but I could tell we were getting close. The tree I was sleeping in would occasionally rock in the heavier winds, and the nights were only getting cooler as the days went on, but it remained warm and pleasant enough. The forest to the southeast soon turned to a vibrant rainbow before the withered leaves began falling from the trees. The nights were cold enough for frost to gather on the browning grass, but the sun remained warm enough throughout the day. Some nights were worse than others, but I endured it. Then one day, while resting in my tree, I heard a familiar, gruff piratic voice from below.
"Hoy there, are you awake?" It called out.
"Yeah, I'm up." I stated. My tail had finally begun growing back, but the nub was sensitive to the touch. While it was endurable, it was uncomfortable enough to make me unwilling to travel some days.
"Hey, what's- Oh! Conkeldurr, I wasn't expecting to see you today." Oshawott's voice called from below.
"Yeah, I was here because I needed your leader's signature." Conkeldurr explained. Hopping ten feet to the ground and landing as gracefully as possible, I finally took notice of the pen and paper in Conkeldurr's hands. The two of those looked comically small when he held them. Small, illegible scribbles dotted the upper portions of the paper.
"Oh, I see. Makes sense." Oshawott stated.
"So, what's this, then?" I asked, grabbing the paper from him.
"You can read. It isn't that much" Conkeldurr stated. I wasn't going to tell him that this looked like a bunch of random lines to me.
"No, I mean, why am I the one who has to sign?" I asked. Conkeldurr held out a strange approximation of a pen.
"Because you're the team leader, didn't anyone tell you you'd be signing any paperwork?" He responded.
"No." I stated. He looked at me, I looked at him and shrugged, grabbing the pen. Struggling to hold the writing apparatus, I quickly gave up trying to properly write my name and stuck to upper case letters.
"Wha- What kind of hooey is this?" Conkeldurr wondered. He looked confused and frustrated. His brow furrowed in what might have been either anger or bafflement.
"It looks like Unown runes. You can write in Unown runes?" Oshawott questioned.
"It wasn't called Unown Runes where I grew up, but if that's what you call them, then maybe, sure? Either way, I wasn't taught to read whatever this is." I responded, gesturing to the indecipherable language. Oshawott and Conkeldurr stared directly at me with bulging eyes. There jaws were hanging down far enough I swear they were actually touching the ground.
"Did you just... dislocate your jaw? Are you okay?" I asked. I was legitimately worried. Their jaws were stretched out in a cartoonish manner.
"I should ask you the same thing. Can't read or write in plain Pokemian, but Unown runes sure! I knew you were a strange Pokémon, but this is beyond anything I'd ever expected!" The Conkeldurr mumbled as he began walking away. Apparently my strange signature was good enough for him.
"Well, I, I guess I've learned something new about you. I, uh, didn't expect you to not be able to read that. I mean, it's the language every Pokémon learns when their kids. I know you're from a strange place but wow. I mean, your town is clearly interesting, just different. I don't mean to be mean when I say strange, it's just different. Well, it wouldn't be different to you I guess, but it is to me and many others. I just think it's strange, I mean unusual-different, uh, no. I mean, unique? Uh, why don't we go and see your new home?" Oshawott mumbled and stuttered. He was looking at the ground, unwilling to make eye contact.
I laughed and stated "Sure, let's go." The two of us made our way to the newly completed base. The green grassy hut was surrounded on all sides by a hedge slightly taller than myself if I stood on two legs. A large conifer stood proudly at the front on the left side while facing it. A green mailbox was stuck into the ground just outside a gap in the hedge wall. The ground was grassy all around except for the path into the base, which was a mossy stone brick pattern made to look weathered, overgrown, and old. It looked more amazing than I could describe. Walking into the base, wooden beams supporting the walls curved to the ceiling. A small loft on the far side of the entrance contained a hay bed. For the first time in months, I felt like I was home. A sudden sad feeling washed over me. Taking a deep breath, I did my best to ignore it.
"Well, what do you think?" Oshawott asked.
"I'd be wagging my tail if I had one." I responded. I couldn't help but smile. The place was truly beyond perfect, and that worried me. I wasn't sure what was going on still. I didn't know if these instincts would take over my mind eventually. I didn't know if I was ever going to go home, if I would want to go home, or if I would even remember home.
"I'm glad you like it." Oshawott responded. He was smiling as well. The inside was notably warmer than outside due to being out of the frigid winds. I understood why Conkeldurr was concerned about my living situation, as I wouldn't have been able to keep sleeping in the tree in the following weeks, as a layer of snow had fallen to the ground. Neither Oshawott nor I enjoyed the cold. Even Cyndaquil, who was resistant due to being a fire type, struggled in the worst of the winds. Prioritizing staying warm, we were unable to accomplish many missions. Almost three months passed as the chilly winter winds slowly died and the flowers began to bloom once again. We ramped up our mission count as much as we could. I had been in this world for around six months at that point, and I was finally beginning to adjust to this new world. Oshawott had tried to teach me a few words of Pokemian, but I couldn't understand any of it, so we gave up. Then, one day, after having successfully completed a mission in Mt Steel, we reached Bronze Rank. Oshawott and CYndaquil were so proud. Oshawott and Cyndaquil were smiling through the rest of the day. We stopped by the Emboar's Bakery for some celebratory pastries before making our way home.
"Emboar doesn't look much like a baker, but his stuff is really amazing!" I stated.
"Mmm Hfmm." Oshawott agreed through a mouthful of pastry. He accidentally spit a few crumbs out of his mouth.
"Careful there." I responded, stepping out of range of the pastry spit. I wasn't sure exactly what we had bought, all I know is we bought it because it looked good. It seemed to be a Pecha Jam filled pastry with a cream spread on top. I probably wouldn't have liked it as a human, but as a Pokémon I thought it was deliciously sweet. I had already finished my pastry by the time we were ready to split for the night. Cyndaquil was halfway through finishing his, and he would no doubt finish eating it when he got home. The sun was getting very low, bathing the town in its deep red light. Everything had a long shadow which was slowly disappearing as the light slowly dwindled.
"Well, I suppose it's time to say good night. I'll see you tomorrow!" I stated. The others waved and nodded and we made our way home. Returning home and climbing up to bed, I fell asleep, content. At night, I had a strange dream. A deep, expansive voice spoke out from a white void. While I had never heard the voice before, somehow I knew it was related to the first feminine deity voice.
"Soon." It bellowed.
"Huh? What?" I wondered.
"Your purpose to save the heroes. It will be very soon." It responded
"Oh? Oh! Finally, I was wondering when this was going to happen." I stated. Fear gripped my mind as the worries before came flooding in. I was going to find out what would happen soon, for better or worse.
"Be ready." It called. My eyes suddenly shot open. My chest felt heavy, as I took a few deep breaths. It physically hurt as the tightness in my chest stubbornly refused to budge. The sun was slowly beginning to rise as light began to crack through the door and windows. Sitting up, I stretched my arms and legs. My tail, halfway to being fully regrown, stretched as much as it was able. I jumped down from the small loft and looked outside. Two Pokémon were standing around, looking nervous. It was clear they had a mission for us. Walking outside, I took a note of their appearance. One was a small purple bunny with spines, a Nidoran male. A small red band was wrapped around his front right leg, a power band. The other was a small, bipedal, blue dog-like creature, a Riolu. A red bow with white polka dots was neatly tied around his neck, a friend bow.
"Is, is this Rescue Team Guardian's base?" The Nidoran asked.
"Yeah. You need something?" I asked, tilting my head.
"We, uh, we heard you were able to read Unown runes. Is that true?" Nidoran asked again.
"Yeah, I can. I can't read anything else, actually." I responded. The two of them inhaled sharply before letting out a sigh in relief.
"Oh, great! You see, we're explorers from another region. While exploring, we found the location of some ruins, but in our investigations we found all of the writing in the area was in Unown runes, which neither of us can translate very well. We were about to give up and let another group handle it when we overheard some rumors involving a rescue team who reads Unown runes exclusively. While we didn't think this was really true, the two of us figured there was no harm in finding out. So, your team can read it?" The Riolu explained.
"Yup. I'm the only one who can translate them, though. I know how rumors are sometimes, just so you know the others can't read Unown runes." I responded. They nodded.
"That's fine, as long as one of you can. So, are you willing to help us?" Riolu asked.
"I'm fine with it, and as the leader I have final say on the missions we take. Not that they wouldn't be willing to help, anyway." I responded.
"Alright! Yes! Oh, uh, when exactly are you able to help us? We don't want to get in the way of anything important." Nidoran asked, clearly embarrassed by his small outburst.
"We don't have plans for today really, so if you're able to head off later today, we'll join you." I responded.
"Really? Alright, great!" The Riolu jumped into the air. He was clearly pumped up for this. The Nidoran looked away, clearly embarrassed by his enthused friend. It reminded me of Oshawott and Cyndaquil in many ways.
"We can leave in an hour or so, how about that?" I asked.
"That's alright by us. Okay. We'll get ready ourselves." Riolu responded. I nodded. Walking over to Oshawott's home, I nudged him awake.
"Hey, we got a mission, get up." I stated. Oshawott shook his head, stretched, and got up.
"Alright." He responded. Wrapping the power band around his head once again, we walked together to wake up Cyndaquil. Waking him proved no challenge. It was less than five minutes later when we were heading off to town for supplies. Spending a little bit of money and withdrawing what we could, we had wha twe needed.
"Okay, final check on our supplies. Apples, Oran Berries, Pecha berries, reviver seeds, orbs, et cetera. Okay, we got what we need." I stated. We had just left Kankaskhan Storage when an uneasy feeling swept over me. I squeezed my eyes shut as a sudden headache occurred.
"Soon." My eyes shot open.
"Hey, guys. I got a weird feeling about this mission. I think we should get some baked good from Emboar before we go." I stated. The two of them turned towards me.
"Really? I can't imagine it'll be that difficult." Oshawott responded. I took a deep breath.
"I know, but I just feel like this will be important, something feels a bit odd, I guess." I stated.
"Do you think this is a trap?" Oshawott asked, adjusting the Scallchop. He wasn't worried even as he asked it. He was confident.
"No. I just. I don't know, I just don't know. It's only a bad feeling, but I want to be prepared for it." I responded.
"Maybe you're hungry." Cyndaquil stated.
"All the more reason then to stop and visit Emboar." I responded, laughing somewhat. The two of them nodded, and we stopped by Emboar. With a Cherri Berry and a Sitrus Berry, he made a special pastry which boosted our physical strength and stamina by a large margin. It also gave us a small permanent health boost.
"This'll help. Sorry, I-I just feel like this is important." I stated.
"I'm not gonna say no when you suggest picking up some tasty food." Oshawott responded with a huge smile. I smiled back and looked to the sky. A light brown bird Pokémon was flying off to parts unknown. With our bellies feeling full and a bag even fuller than that, we met up with our clients once again. They were waiting near the southern exit.
"The ruins we will go to are a few miles south of this town. We should be there in no time!" Riolu shouted. The most difficult part of the journey was crossing a small river. It wasn't there in the fall and summer months, however it had formed from the melting snow on the hills in the east. Luckily there was a shallow section so it crossing wasn't too difficult. The day was oddly hot and very humid. A strong breeze blew, but it didn't reduce the temperature, instead just helped in spreading the nearly insufferable heat. Resting underneath a cluster of trees, we rehydrated ourselves and took a look at the map.
"It's hot." I stated.
"It's humid." Riolu corrected.
"The difference being?" I asked. Riolu and I laughed.
"I'm glad to see you're getting along, but I really don't like this heat." Oshawott stated. Nidoran nodded in agreement. Cyndaquil didn't mind, clearly.
"Sorry, I just, I don't know really. It's instinct I guess. I feel relaxed, happy." I responded.
"And I like the heat over the cold." Riolu stated.
"So, uh, do you know how long we have to go?" I asked.
"We're nearly there, less than a mile I'd say." Riolu responded, pointing to a place on our map. Oshawott and Nidoran let out a small groan.
"Come on, the faster we get there the faster we can go home." I said, getting off the ground.
"Okay, okay, okay, sure, sure, sure." Oshawott responded, letting out a small grunt as he stood up. It was around ten minutes later as we saw the first few signs of ruins, a scattered pillar here and there. Soon after more and more ruins made themselves known. Crumbling walls and jagged architecture was all that remained of the ancient civilization. We walked to an ancient building, the only whole structure still standing. Strange foot shaped patterns were scattered on the door.
"Footprint runes?" Oshawott questioned.
"Yeah, we were able to translate these. They say 'Bring forth a human and the greatest treasure will be found.' The only human I know about is Raichu, but I know he's too busy for something like this." Riolu explained. My stomach jumped. and I stared at the door
"I see, I understand. Treecko, is something wrong?" Oshawott asked.
"I think the heat's not agreeing with breakfast." I responded. The truth was going to come out very soon, whether I liked it or not. I took a few deep breaths
"Oh, I see. It's less hot in the building, and that's where we want to go anyway, so let's go." Riolu stated. He pushed open the doors and we descended down a flight of stairs. Cyndaquil lit a torch which Oshawott held. The walls were painted with a faded mural. It appeared to be the story of the creation of life, something I'd seen before. Every place seemed to agree that a Pokémon named Arceus was born in a blank universe filled with nothing but Chaos. Then It made time, space, and anti-matter, along with creatures to control and embody them. Eventually he made planets, creatures to control aspects of the planets. On the many worlds he made for life to inhabit, he left a Mew to create and populate using it's DNA as the basis for all life. I was surprised how everyone just agreed that's how it was at first, but the world itself was quite unique. Even though I knew the truth was not all worlds and universes began the same way, I wasn't going to attempt to correct them.
Carefully walking down the steps, we came to a large room. The walls had several murals depicting several scenes, none of which I really recognized nor could even attempt to describe. The importance of this history was lost on me.
"Over here!" Riolu shouted. I turned towards him. The three of us walked over. Strange symbols were laid out. It was legible English, but it looked odd.
"These are the unown runes. What do they say?" Riolu asked, looking at me expectantly.
"Uh, okay. 'Place ow-you-your hand on the in-indent human, and collect y-your prile. Uh, pryse. Prize, must be prize." I stated. Riolu and Nidoran looked at me with wide eyes.
"I know you said you can read Unown runes, but I didn't think you'd be this proficient with it!" Riolu shouted. I looked over to the wall, noting a hand sized oval indent a foot above my head.
"That's what that is, then. Well, that's unfortunate for us. Still, I'm glad we know now." Riolu stated. Oshawott walked over to it. I stepped out of the way. Jumping somewhat into the air, he slapped the indent. Nothing happened.
"I see. Hmm, that is a bit unfortunate, but okay." Oshawott responded. It's clear they all wanted to see what was further in. While I felt this might be a bad idea, I decided to help them. Walking to just underneath the indent, I made a small leap into the air, touching the oval indent. Unseen lines around the room began to glow bright teal green as the ruins began shaking. The lights became blinding for a moment before they died down, lighting the rooms in a pale light. A descending stairway was lit by the same white lights.
"Wa-W-wait. H-Wh- Uh, y-you, but you. You-y-y." Oshawott mumbled. His jaw was hanging down even lower than those few months ago.
"Yeah, I'm human. Something wrong?" I asked. A huge goofy smile was on my face. Oshawott let out a small croak.
"You're human?" Riolu eventually asked.
"I just- I mean, I literally just said." I responded. Oshawott took a breath and tried to speak. He let out a small croak again. He took another breath before he said anything.
"Were you planning on telling us?" Oshawott asked.
"Sometime, yeah. Honestly I didn't exactly know when or where, though. It's not something that you can just say." I responded.
"But, but why didn't you tell us right away?" Oshawott asked. His tone was near yelling.
"If you became a human, would you tell what are basically mythical creatures you were a different creature from an entirely different world before you woke up? How do you think they'd respond? Not good, probably." I responded. Oshawott stuttered and mumbled.
"I-I get it. I might not have even believed you. The only reason I believe it is because you unlocked the door. But, why reveal this now?" Riolu wondered.
"Because it's clear all of you want to explore further into the ruins, and I could do something about that. I'm not going to prevent a bunch of people from seeing these ruins. Besides, I have a reason to be in this world, and I think it involves you two." I responded. The four of jumped them looked at each other.
"Your reason to be in this world involves us?" Nidoran wondered.
"Yeah, I don't know how, but I need to stick by your side this adventure. It's important." I responded.
"Are there any more secrets you would like to share?" Oshawott wondered. He clearly wasn't happy.
"None off the top of my head. I wanted to tell you a few times, but there just wasn't any opportunity. Hard to bring it up, you know. 'Hey guys, I'm actually human. Surprise!' It's just not something that you can bring up in a casual conversation. " I responded. I peered down the stairs. A cool breeze emanated from somewhere below. Taking a breath, I began heading down.
"Well, are you coming or not?" I asked.
"What, what, this is just, a normal day for you?" Oshawott wondered.
"Nothing's been normal since I've got here. Each day is something strange and unique. That's my life, and now it's a part of yours. You can accept and embrace this unusual thing, or you can stand there with your mouth hanging open while I go get treasure." I responded.
"No, we need to talk about this now. Why didn't you tell us? Didn't you trust us? Even if we didn't believe you, why didn't you say anything?" Oshawott wondered. I looked to the floor.
"Because, I was trying not to think about it." I responded.
"Why?" Oshawott demanded, crossing his arms. Walking back up the stairs, I looked at the two of them. Tears rolled down my face. The four of them took a step back, clearly startled by my tears.
"I want to go home. I miss it so much, you have no idea. I was pushed into a strange world full of even stranger creatures. I was told I had to save the world somehow. I was given strange instincts that I don't know much about. I don't know if these instincts are there to help or if they're going to erase who I am. There's so much I don't know. Will I forget what home was, that I was human? Will I forget who my mom is! Even if that doesn't happen, I don't know if I will get to go home! Do I have to accept everything as it is? Am I trapped here for the rest of my life! I just don't know! I had a life before I met you. It wasn't much, but it was my life. You-you're both amazing, but I'm scared. I'm just scared. I didn't want to tell you because I wanted to ignore it. I couldn't face it, I still can't. I can't." I responded, falling onto my stomach, sobbing. I covered my face with my arms. Oshawott looked sad for a moment before shaking his head. He was trying to stay angry, but it was clearly difficult.
"Did you even care?" He asked. I gripped my hands.
"Shut up. You don't know what this is like. You already know who I am, this doesn't change who I am." I stated, standing up and staring directly at him.
"It does." Oshawott responded.
"How?" I asked, my fists clenched.
"It- You lied to us. You said you had amnesia." Oshawott responded.
"I never lied about that. In the months I've known you, I've only ever lied a handful of times. Alakazam was the one who thought I had amnesia. Since I didn't know anything about the world, I played along, hoping to learn more about the world. I was dishonest, I will admit. I've felt bad about that, and I am sorry, but I never outright lied to anyone about who I was." I stated.
"And why should I believe that?" Oshawott asked.
"Because this was a secret, not a lie. You don't have any secrets you keep to yourself, Squirt?" I wondered. Oshawott winced upon hearing his name.
"Yeah, I mean, we all do, but it's nothing like this." Oshawott stated. Oshawott looked at Cyndaquil before taking a deep breath.
"What do you think?" Oshawott asked. Cyndaquil jumped, not prepared to answer.
"I- uh. I-" He mumbled, clearly uncomfortable.
"Leave him out of this." I responded.
"No, I need to hear what he thinks." Oshawott responded. Cyndaquil went quiet for a moment before taking a deep breath.
"I think you're treating this as more important than it really is." Both Oshawott and I recoiled. I wasn't expecting him to agree, and Oshawott was clearly not expecting him to disagree.
"But, but he- he kept this from us! How could you say that!" Oshawott asked.
"It-It... It doesn't change that much, does it? He's still him, and I don't- don't think this changes anything." Cyndaquil responded. Oshawott looked hurt, his hand hovered over his chest.
"If I may, I know this is a personal argument, but I can fully understand his reasoning. Not bringing up he was human didn't cause any problems, and even if he had it wouldn't matter. Yo likely wouldn't have believed him. It was only a secret, nothing more. It might put some of his behavior into perspective, but we all have secrets, big and small. What matters is how that secret affects you. It doesn't seem like it changes much, but something tells me this is important to you, a secret of your own." Riolu reaponded.
"You noticed that, too? What's wrong?" I asked, turning towards Oshawott.
"It's nothing. Nothing I'd share with someone like you." Oshawott growled. I looked at Cyndaquil, but he seemed just as confused as I was.
"This is going no where. Cyndaquil, Riolu, Nidoran, if you want to continue, I'm willing to go on, but that'll be up to you." I responded.
"Yeah, just go. You don't care enough about us, do you?" He growled. I took a deep breath.
"Your name is Squirt. Your father was a Blastoise, and your mother a Samurott. You have one brother and one sister, both younger. You neve had a lot of money growing up in the misty continent, so you moved away to ease the financial burden on your family. Flame, you were an only child. Your mom raised you alone. You were born in a desert region across the sea, but moved after your home was burglarized. Your mother got sick soon after and didn't survive, thus you inherited her home. So Squirt, let me ask you. Do you remember my name?" I asked. He looked at me and took half a step back.
"Sh-shut up. Go do your mission and leave. In fact, I hope you do get to leave. Then you can go back to your stupid home and stupid family and live your stupid life you stupid human!" Oshawott growled. I snapped. Growling in anger, I jumped towards him, grabbing and throwing his Scallchop across the room. Swinging my fists, I knocked him to the ground. Tears were falling from my eyes.
"No! Never! You will never say that about my family! You do not get to say that ever! Do you hear me!" I shouted. Tears were blinding my eyes, but I kept swinging.
"Do-you-hear-me!" I shouted, pounding his face with each word. I felt several paws pull at me, ripping me off him. I struggled against them, breaking free and continuing my assault.
"Stop! Please! Stop!" A voice rang from behind me, trying and failing to pull me off. I wasn't listening, nor did I care.
"I miss my home! I miss my family! I don't know if I'll ever get to see them again, don't you get it? The two of you are all I'll have, and you're acting like a complete asshole!" I screeched. A gasp came from behind me. At some point I stopped beating him, wiping the tears from my eyes. My hands were blue and red, soaked with a mixture of my and his blood. Oshawott looked like exactly as expected. His face was already bruised, one eye was swollen shut. His mouth was bleeding tremendously with a mixture of red and blue. I had apparently smacked his teeth and scrapped my hands on them at some point.
"Do you understand?" I asked, voice dripping with anger. Oshawott looked at me, clearly frightened. I looked at the others. The three of them looked scared as well. I pulled an Oran berry out of the bag and put it in his mouth.
"If you understand, then good." I responded. He sat up, face slowly healing. His swollen eye faded as the oran reduced the swelling and healed some of the smaller wounds.
"There were stories in my family. Thousands of years ago, an evil human abused and harmed some members of my family, but Cobalion and the other Swords of Justice protected them. Since then, we were always told to be wary. We were told that some humans were good, but never trust a human right away." Oshawott explained.
"Some humans are bad. Some Pokémon like mischief and violence. That's how it is in the world. However you knew me before you knew I was human. What I am doesn't change how I acted before, and that doesn't change who I am." I responded. Oshawott teared up, sobbing. I walked over to him and held out my hand.
"Come on, there's more of the ruin to explore." I responded. Oshawott looked up at me, confused.
"But, I distrusted you, insulted your family and you, then you beat me to a pulp. You're just gonna forget it all just like that?" Oshawott questioned.
"What else can I do? Be hung up on it for the rest of my life? Regret it for the next several days or months? We both made mistakes, and as far as I'm concerned they cancel each there out. The sooner we move past it, the sooner we can be friends again. Also, I'm way more concerned about keeping these two alive than any fight we may have." I responded, pointing over my shoulder in the general direction of the two explorers.
Oshawott looked away, before taking my hand and standing up.
"I'm- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said all that." Oshawott apologized.
"I shouldn't have attacked you." I responded.
"So, you're just going to forgive each other?" Riolu wondered. I looked at Oshawott, then back at Riolu.
Almost exactly in sync, we stated "Yeah." Riolu laughed.
"You really are interesting. Well, I suppose we should head down, since we have the opportunity. It looks to be a Mystery Dungeon, but with the five of us it should be a breeze!" Riolu stated. I looked down the dimly lit stairs.
"Ready?" I asked.
"Yeah!" The four of them cheered. Thus, we began our descent into the ruin depths.
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I honestly wasn't expecting things to get this heated between them, but I tried to make Oshawott feel very hurt, then I wondered why he would feel that way and remembered the Cobalion story from Pokémon Black and White. I'm excited to see where things will go myself, since I only have a general plot outline as I write to keep me focused. This style keeps things interesting and makes it way more fun to write, I wouldn't have it any other way. Oh, and with this chapter, this story is officially the longest story I have written on this site! I never thought I'd see the day "Outlaws Unleashed" was dethroned. This story is honestly better, anyway. It's way more detailed, with longer chapters and better written characters.
I barely know what's going to happen next, and I hope you'll all enjoy the unknown as well! Whatever may come next, this story is nearing completion. If I write a long enough chapter, it might be finished by chapter 10! Who knows, though. I certainly don't! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy, and I'll keep writing and having fun myself. Stay healthy, be happy, and do something you enjoy if you are able.
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