The high noon sun's rays pour through the many open windows of the library on the second floor of the large guild building, the beams of light reflecting the tiny diamond-like dust floating in the calm air.
Sitting by the window, an Eevee frowns as he watches the Mew sitting opposite of him to finish arranging her papers.
"So," he starts, "the guild has a cafeteria."
"Is that where you went?" the Mew asks as she finishes up her work.
His frown goes further down. "They serve wild meat."
"Can't be helped," the Mew says, shrugging. "Lots of rescuers eat them, too."
"And some use them as sex slaves," the Eevee mutters to himself.
The Mew sighs.
The other three say nothing.
The Eevee turns to them. "Why are they here?"
"We just want to listen," Shino says, smiling at him. "What you said down there? It really got us curious, you know?"
The Mew levitates a pen and paper. "Right. I think we're good to go."
The Eevee simply repeats his theory while the Mew writes it down on paper.
"It still has some questions that needs to be answered though," the Mew comments as she taps the pen on her cheek. "Still, it answers quite a few mysteries about wilds going out of dungeons."
The Eevee blinks at her. "You're just going to accept it like that? Just like that?"
She looks at him curiously. "Why...yes?" She tilts her head. "Is there a problem?"
He frowns at her. "I'm just one Eevee, who shared his theory about the matter." He glares at her. "Shouldn't you do more research to prove it?"
She frowns at him. "Well, if you put it like that..." She nods. "I suppose you're right."
The Eevee closes his eyes and rubs his head, trying to prevent a migrane from happening. "You shouldn't be so trusting of others. What if all I just told you was wrong all along but everyone else went along with it?"
"Alright, I get it," the Mew angrily says. She closes her eyes, takes a breath, and sighs. "I was just so happy that one of the first exploration missions I posted was successful and bore a pretty solid lead to understanding the wilds, you know?" She frowns at him.
He shakes his head. "Just handle these with more care, please."
She rolls her eyes, but nods regardless.
"If I may?" Shino suddenly voices out, catching their attention. "We can also connect his theory to those incidents where wilds suddenly rampage in towns and cities," Shino adds.
The Eevee blinks. "Ah, right. I heard that's a thing, too."
"Where are you from, anyway?" Cindy suddenly asks. "No offence but you seem to not know a lot."
The Mew looks worried at him.
The Eevee shakes his head. "I'm not from here, obviously."
"Yeah, we got that," Vixie says, nodding. "But from where, exactly?"
"Outside the region," he says, frowning at her. "Can't we just leave it at that? My origin has nothing to do with her report and it's really none of your business."
"Wow, so you're from another region?" Vixie asks with a smile. "I've always wondered what it's like in other regions."
"No clue about wilds is one thing," Cindy comments.
"If you're really curious," the Eevee starts, "I can introduce you to an annoying Buizel who said was from another region."
"Anyway," the Mew cuts in as she grabs all her papers with her telekinesis. "Thanks again for helping me write this report."
"All I did was talk, but whatever."
The Mew chuckles, shakes her head, and waves her paw goodbye as she floats back to the desk where the blue-ringed Umbreon is busy interviewing a Pokemon.
"Well, that was interesting," Shino says as the Eevee jumps off of his seat. "Hey, you wanna grab something to eat?"
The Eevee arches a non-existent eyebrow at him. "I just ate. And our business is over. We are strangers now." He walks toward the exit.
"Aw, come on! Don't be like that," Shino says as he runs after him. "Look, dude, listen."
The Eevee groans and stops, frowning at him.
"So uh," Shino starts as his two companions stand behind him. "We've been wondering if you'd like to join our team?"
"There's a limit of three members per team," the Eevee immediately says.
"Actually, a team can bring a fourth as a guest member."
"Isn't that reserved for escort missions?"
Vixie shakes her head. "What Shino is trying to say is that we'd like it if we could do another mission together." She smiles at him. "Your thoughts on many things could be very useful, you know?"
"I don't see the point if only one team gets the credit," the Eevee says.
"We're changing that soon, actually," the Mew suddenly chimes in as she floats toward them. "We've realized that it's getting a bit impractical for one team to handle missions."
The Eevee frowns a knowing frown at her.
She blinks. "Ah, right..." She sighs and lands beside him, pointing at his colorless badge. "Still, it's something to think about, wouldn't you agree?" she asks with a wink.
He sighs, his ears drooping. He looks back at the trio with a frown. "I'll think about it."
"Cool," Shino says, nodding. He looks back at his two friends. "Perhaps a proper introduc..." he trails off as he looks back and sees the Eevee already leaving.
"What is with that guy, anyway?" Cindy asks, frowning. "It's like he avoids conversations like a plague."
The Mew chuckles. "He has...his reasons." She starts to float and smiles apologetically at them. "I wish I could tell you, but I don't think it's right for me to do so."
"We understand," Shino says.
"No we don't," Cindy suddenly says.
Shino glares at her.
Cindy glares back at him. "What?"
The Mew chuckles and floats back to the desk.
The trio then heads back down and sees the Eevee staring up at the missions on one of the boards.
"We should probably leave him alone for now," Vixie says after stopping her fiery friend from approaching him.
"Hey, guys," the Growlithe greets them as he and his two teammates approach them.
"Oh, hi, Lithe," Shino returns the greeting and nods at his two companions. "And friends."
"Check it out!" the Growlithe proudly presents his silver badge. "We just ranked up! We finally caught up with you!"
"We got sidetracked," Cindy says. "Like, a lot."
Shino grins and bumps the Growlithe's offered paw with his own. "We'll catch up soon, so don't slack off!"
"We'll try not to," the fire-type replies back, and with a final nod, they head towards the exit.
Cindy turns to the ice-type with a concerned look. "You okay?"
Vixie smiles at her. "A bit, yeah." She sighs and lightly shakes her head. "It still hurts, but not too much, so I'm okay." She nuzzles her friend. "Thanks."
Shino smiles at their exchange, and then his attention shifts to the Eevee. "Looks like he accepted a mission."
His two friends turn to look.
"He picked a rescue mission," Vixie says.
"We should pick a mission, too," Cindy suggests. "Whose turn is it to pick again?"
"It was supposed to be my turn," Shino says. "But I decided to help our grumpy friend over there, so now it's your turn, Cindy."
"Sweet." She walks toward one of the boards and starts scanning the requests. "And don't worry, guys. I'm gonna be picking something I'm sure we can handle."
"Here's to hoping," Vixie says.
"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence."
Shino chuckles and shakes his head. He blinks and turns, seeing the Eevee standing beside him, looking up at the missions posted on the board. "Oh, hi."
"Mmm..."
Vixie blinks and looks at them.
Shino tilts his head. "Haven't you already picked a mission?"
The Eevee points at a mission request. "I'll pick those two," the Eevee says, ignoring the Shinx.
The Kirlia registers his request.
"Thanks," he says after receiving his badge back and the two mission letters. He turns to the two with a frown. "What?"
"Wow," Shino says in amazement. "Three missions? Are you going to do them in separate days?"
The Eevee closes his eyes and sighs. "Look, it's really...just mind your business, okay?"
Shino frowns as the Eevee turns and leaves. "Yeah, I figured."
Vixie looks at the Kirlia. "Is it okay to ask what our, uh, friend, picked?"
The Kirlia smiles and nods. "He picked two mission requests from Greenleaf Forest."
"Thanks," Vixie says with a smile.
"So he probably also picked one from that forest, too," Shino says. "It has three floors, after all."
"Probably wants to rank up to bronze so he could do exploration missions."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Shino nods.
"All the missions here are boring," Cindy groans, turning to her friends. "Let's go check another board."
With a nod, Shino walks after Cindy, leaving behind the ice-type who's looking at the exit.
"You okay there, Vix?"
She shakes her head as Shino approaches him. "I'm a little worried about him."
"Sounds like love to me," Cindy says with a smirk.
Vixie frowns at her. "He ended up badly hurt when we rescued him, remember?"
"That's a good point."
"He should be fine though," Shino says. "He has a badge now."
"That's true," Vixie says with a nod.
"Wow, your very first rescue missions," the Nickit says as she stares at the request letters.
"You sure you can handle those, kid?"
The Eevee frowns at the Pangoro. "I will handle these." He places the letters back in his bag. "I kinda have to anyway," he mumbles under his breath. He shakes his head and looks up at the large Pokémon. "I got tired of washing dishes so I want a change of pace."
"Fair enough," the large Pokémon says with a smirk. "But I expect you do a good job tomorrow, you hear?"
"The festival will be in a couple of days from now!" the Nickit says with a wide smile. "We're gonna be so busy so I hope you can help us!"
The Eevee smirks and ruffles her head. "Stop being cute, you little rascal."
Blushing lightly, she gives him a soft glare and a pout as she tries to fix the fur on her head.
He chuckles and shakes his head. "And yeah, I'll help." He sighs. "Got no choice on the matter anyway."
The Pangoro laughs as the Eevee exits the establishment and makes a stop at the Keckleon's stall.
"Ah, your very first official mission," the Keckleon says as the Eevee browses through his wares on display. He wipes a small tear from his eye. "Time seems to fly so fast. I can still remember that time you looked like death itself."
"That was literally a few days ago," the Eevee says with a frown. "Anyway, I'll take these orbs."
After the exchange is done, he walks out of the gate and continues on his way towards the forest, the hot afternoon sun shining down on him from up above.
He stops and blinks. "Wait... I've been there before, so I can just teleport there." He grabs his badge and raises it up. "Go, Greenleaf Forest."
But nothing happens.
He frowns and sticks his badge back on his fur. "I didn't have my badge back then, I guess..."
Shaking his head, he continues on his way, humming a tune to pass the time as he walks on the earthen path, the short blades of grass swaying and the vibrant green leaves on treetops rustling with the constant cool breeze.
The peacefulness of the scenery is broken as his twitching ears hear the sounds of something approaching him from behind. Blinking, he stops and looks back.
A Scolipede is crawling and stops beside him. "Yo!" the large bug greets him.
"You going somewhere, my dude?" a Charmeleon asks, riding on the large bug's back.
"Yo, guys!" a Vibrava lands on the Scolipede's head. "What's the hold up?"
"Nothing, really," the Charmeleon says, smiling. "Just wanted to ask if this cutie here wants a ride," he asks, winking at him.
He frowns at him. "Uh, I'm a guy."
"I know."
"Arceus above," the Scolipede groans. "You're not planning on doing it behind my back again, are you?"
His frown stretches further down. "You three can leave now," the Eevee says as he resumes his walk.
"We were just joking!" the Charmeleon hastily says as the Scolipede starts walking as well, matching the normal-type's pace. "I swear!"
"No one's buying that, you dork," the Vibrava says, shaking her head.
"Alright, fine, but I was only offering!" the Charmeleon says. "I wasn't trying to force it, you know?"
"Just go away," the Eevee says and sighs.
"That's probably for the best," the Scolipede says and starts speeding up. "Sorry."
"You're from the city, right?" the Charmeleon yells at the Eevee as the distance between them grows. "Maybe we can hang out sometime?"
The Eevee rolls his eyes and says nothing.
"Sorry about my friend."
The Eevee jumps and does a weird attacking pose, glaring nervously at the chuckling Vibrava.
"Didn't mean to scare you."
He glares at her. "I don't care, so go away and leave me alone."
With a nod, the Vibrava buzzes her wings and flies after her two friends in the distance.
The Eevee shakes his head and resumes his walk. "I swear, I'm gonna die from a heart-attack one of these days."
He eventually reaches the forest with no other incidents. He stares at the darkness of the entrance, sighs, and enters the dungeon.
"Here goes nothing," he says to himself as he suddenly finds himself in the middle of the forest, surrounded by trees, and another Eevee standing right in front of him.
He quickly tackles it and pins it on the ground.
"Say something!" he yells at the growling Eevee, it trying but failing to escape.
The wild starts to try biting his paws, but he starts slapping it repeatedly, not realizing his sharp nails are drawn, scratching the wild's face repeatedly, drawing blood.
"Shit," the Eevee grunts as he takes a few steps back, glaring at the unmoving wild. He shakes his head. "There's gotta be a...non-violent way to defeat them."
His ears twitch, and he immediately jumps to a random direction just in time to avoid a sticky string of web landing on the ground.
He quickly turns and glares at the Wurmple crawling down from the tree. "..." He turns around and walks away. "Now where the heck is this Rattata?"
A Seedot falls down from the trees a few paces in front of him. He quickly scratches one of its eyes, turns around and kicks it away.
It gets back up and launches sharp leaves at the retreating Eevee, stabbing his hind legs and his back.
"Gah!" he yelps and collapses on the ground. Hissing, he looks over his shoulder, glaring daggers at the approaching grass-type. Gritting his teeth, he fights through the pain to roll away in time to avoid the sharp leaves thrown at him. "Fuck's sake," he grumbles as he stands back up and slowly nears the grass-type in a circular approach, not giving the wild a chance to lock on him. Finally within a paw's reach, he swipes his paw on its other eye, blinding it completely. "I gave you a chance," he growls as he knocks the grass-type off of its balance, frowning as it struggles to stand back up.
He looks at his wound, three leaves sticking out of his bleeding fur. Eye twitching, he continues on his search, until he finds a Rattata lying by a bush.
He blinks and approaches it. "Oh, hey, there he is." Standing beside the sleeping Pokémon, the Eevee grabs his badge and blinks. "What was the command again?" He takes out his handbook from his bag and flips through the pages. "Ah, right." After returning the book, he points his badge at the Rattata. "Return rescue."
But nothing happens.
As he stares at his badge in confusion, the Rattata slowly opens its eyes, blinks at the Eevee, and immediately tackles him.
"Oof!"
Thrown back, the Eevee lands on his side. Hissing from the pain, he opens his eyes in time to see the Rattata jumping at him, its razor fang at the ready.
"Shit!"
He rolls away, quickly gets back up and tackles the Rattata. The wild dodges, opens its maw and bites the Eevee's paw. Pain instantly shots up to his brain, making him scream. Wave after wave of pain assault his mind as he tries to claw the Rattata gnawing at his bloody paw. Gritting his teeth, his vision darkening, he quickly pulls out an orb and slams it on the ground, breaking it, making the Rattata freeze in place.
"Shit," he falls on the ground, shivering from too much pain, looking through blurry vision at his bloody severed paw. "I...I can't..." Through hazy, darkening vision, he slowly shifts his gaze at the paralyzed rat, and at this bloody paw still in its maw.
He falls unconscious as a spark of light erupts from his badge lying on the grassy ground near him. As if manipulated by some unseen force, the badge slowly hovers in the air and approaches the rescuer's unconscious body, its smooth and reflective surface shining brightly. As the badge hovers in front of him, his body is suddenly encased in a white aura, as if protecting him.
The badge then fires a beam of light towards the heavens.
"Okay, let's try this again," Cindy says as she and the others walk out from the cafeteria, leading them back to the mission boards. "There's bound to be new mission requests posted now."
"I sure hope so," Shino says with a smile as they stop in front of a board. He frowns. "Really?" He turns to the Cyndaquil. "Catching a criminal again?"
"Relax," she says. "I'm just looking." She goes to the next board. "Eh, rescuing other rescue teams?" She shakes her head as a Kirlia pins a new mission request on it.
Vixie blinks at it as Shino follows the fire-type.
"Oh, this is interesting," Cindy says.
"What is it?" the electric-type asks.
She points at one mission in particular. "That. Someone is asking an explorer to go explore a rumored dungeon."
"Really?" Shino says as he starts reading it. "Huh..."
"Guys," Vixie calls with a frown, her gaze still on the newly-pinned mission.
"Vixie, not there," Cindy yells back. "I found something interesting. Come see."
Vixie looks back at them with a frown. "...I found something concerning."
"That doesn't sound good," Shino says, blinking, and turning to Cindy. "Let's check it out."
Shrugging, the two approach the ice-type.
"What's up?" Cindy asks.
Vixie points at the mission.
Her two friends read it.
Cindy chuckles. "I guess it was too much for him to handle, huh?" She sighs as she lets the Kirlia register the mission to their team. "I bet our third mission will revolve around him."
"Fifty pokes," Shino says with a grin as he and his team head towards the exit.
The fire-type smirks at him. "You're on."
Vixie rolls her eyes and shakes her head.