Product Design: All-Terrain Orb
(Not strictly canon, but could fit in between Chapters 5 and 6 if the period of time in between was longer)
Assignment Description: Design Prototype for greater maneuverability in Dungeons
Received a commission from the Explorer Guild to develop a way to improve team mobility inside Dungeons.
Client:
Explorer Guild HQ - Interguild Exchange Dept.
Objective:
Create a functional design for an item that can theoretically enhance team mobility during excursions into Dungeons.
Place:
Accepted places for testing are an assigned Proto Dungeon, and one of the nearby Dungeons.
Difficulty:
Expected deliverable entails a demonstrable prototype item that fulfills the above criteria in some way. Suitable for apprentices with a proven track record of successful projects.
Reward:
8000 Poke, with a starting rate of 5% of every sale in the event your item is created.
Note: Please notify your respective Guild Head upon acceptance of this assignment.
Lumi slid the job request onto Damia's desk with a giddy grin on his face. Van stood a little further back with his hands in his pockets. His feet nervously tapped the ground.
"We're doing this one!" he twin tails flicked with energy. His smile didn't wane, even when Damia glanced down at the paper, then back up at him with an unimpressed gaze.
"No."
"...Come again?" asked Lumi. His smile only wavered for a second. Damia sighed, and flipped the paper around. She pointed a claw at a phrase on it.
"Tell me what that says."
Lumi looked, and rolled his eyes at the words "proven track record of successful projects."
"Uh, yeah. We have that!" He pointed a paw at Van. "He's already made a bunch of items!"
"...Well, the Seeker Spike is still, uh, technically in development..." started Van, who quickly followed up, "B-but I was able to make the Camo and Blast orbs! And you gotta admit, those work just as intended."
Lumi nodded, and looked to Damia with renewed hope. She glanced between the two and pinched her large snout.
"That's not-" she sucked in a breath and tried again. "Listen. We've had this request for a while now. It's kind of a big deal, and the only reason it hasn't been handled yet is because some of the more experienced apprentices are working on other projects at the moment. Ideally, we'd let this task be taken on by the ones who we can rely on to come up with an idea that looks good on the guild. Not..."
She gestured with a claw somewhat vaguely in their direction, a conflicted frown on her face.
"...You two," she finished.
Lumi huffed and crossed his arms, tails starting to droop. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and glanced up at Van who had finally stepped up beside him.
"C'mon mon, what does that even mean? You sayin' we don't have good ideas?"
"Don't put words in my mouth. What I mean to say is...you..."
Lumi saw the Dragonite's face contort as she struggled to find words, and he realized that this was probably her attempt at softening what she really wanted to say. He put his paws on his hips and sighed, blasé. She finally shook her head and gestured to him.
"Okay look. I know for a fact Lumi hasn't even completed that primer on how to make baby's first item."
"I'm making good progress! I just finished the chapter: How To Not Make Your Orbs Blow Up As Much."
"And you." She pointed to Van, ignoring him. "You're just not there yet."
"Seriously?" groused the Scrafty.
"You're...progressing. Slowly. Very slowly."
As Lumi tried to come up with something to say, the sound of the tent flap opening behind them drew his attention to the entrance of the room.
Two other apprentices, an Alolan Meowth and a Heliolisk, sauntered in the room. He didn't get a chance to ask before he and Van were bumped out of the way as they made a beeline for a table. Lumi furrowed his brow at the Meowth, who returned a dispassionate glare before he turned to Damia.
"Greetings, Damia," started Meowth. "Valence and I wanted to inquire as to the state of that one assignment, about developing a novel method of travel for Dungeon exploration."
Meowth's voice made Lumi's whiskers curl, and he grimaced at how much it sounded like the other cat was trying to sound high class and noble. Heliolisk didn't say anything, but Lumi followed his gaze and saw that him and Van were locked in some kind of staredown. Van's eyes were squinted in some kind of battle, and his hands balled the skin that made up his pants.
Well, this was new. The first apprentices he had met here that he didn't immediately like.
Weird.
Damia either didn't mind the pretentious tone, or didn't show it. She held her face steady.
"Luster and Valence. Where the hell have you been?"
"My dear, you should already know the answer to that question," tutted the Alolan Meowth, Luster.
He tutted.
He tutted at Damia.
The large Dragonite's neutral gaze sharpened into a glower, and Lumi took a wise step back just in case. He had learned Damia enough to know when it was fine to push her buttons. This didn't seem like one of those times.
"My Partner and I have been working tirelessly, either in our workshop or out in the field, in order to ensure the optimal performance of our most recent project," smarmed Luster, who leaned on her desk and glanced down at his claws.
"I'm sure you've heard of it?" he asked without looking.
She stared at him, but didn't say anything. An awkward silence permeated the room, only broken by Luster coughing.
"...The-it was the...did you hear my question?"
"I did." She nodded. The reply briefly shook Luster's composed face, but he regained his balance quick enough and turned to face her fully.
"Right. Well, given that our recent venture was a massive success, to nobody's surprise, we believed it was time to finally conquer a new intellectually stimulating challenge, hence my earlier inquiry."
"Then I guess you're in luck." Damia's eyes locked with Lumi's for a split second. "Because we were just discussing that assignment before you walked in."
"Is that so?" Luster glanced back at him and Van, then huffed in derision. Lumi splayed his arms out, wordlessly asking what he must have done to piss off the other feline, but Luster gave no answer.
"Yes. In fact." Damia took the piece of paper and, with seemingly no thought to the stifled gasps of Lumi and Van, handed the piece of paper to the Alolan Meowth.
"Here, knock yourselves out. This has been an outstanding request for too long, and I know you two are capable of handling it."
She handed the paper to Luster, who accepted it with an arrogant smirk. The koban on his head glinted along with his teeth.
"I can assure you, Valence and I are more than capable of exceeding the expectations of this assignment. Much more than...whoever these two are..."
At that, Van broke his staredown with Valence, and turned to gawk at Luster.
"Whoev-mon I have been here for two months! You have seen me!"
The Alolan Meowth squinted at the Scrafty for a bit, before a light seemed to go off in his head, and he nodded in understanding.
"Oh yes, I recall now. You're the one who managed to bungle a simple Luminous orb, and made himself blind for approximately three days."
"...That's cold. You didn't even have to say all that," said Van, shaking his head. Luster shrugged and brought his dull gaze to Lumi.
"And you, Meowstic. I believe you are our newest recruit, yes?"
"Uh, yeah?"
"Ah. I suppose they must have lowered the standards then, our rate of recruitment is dreadfully low, after all."
Lumi sensed movement behind him, and put a paw out just in time to block Van's angry advance. He locked his gaze with Luster, and quirked an eyebrow.
Ah. So he really was just a jackass. Well, that was fine. His dad had told him how to deal with jerks much earlier in his life.
He knew exactly what to do.
"...Really?" asked Lumi. A laugh started to bubble in his throat. "That's it? That's the first thing you're gonna say to me?"
"I was simply commenting on-"
"Alright well, here's the first thing I'm gonna say to you then, Meowth." Lumi closed his eyes and brought his paw to his mouth in thought. After a few seconds, he nodded, and smiled wide.
"I think that your fur...is a very nice sheen of gray. It's clear that you take good care of it." He stated with a wide smile. He leaned over to get a view at the Heliolisk who had still said nothing this entire time. "And to your partner, I think that...your scales are rather shiny, today."
Lumi put his hands on his hips and waited, pleased at the silence his comments had left. As expected, Luster glanced back at his partner, Valence, and neither of them seemed to know what to say to that.
"Well, that was...quaint," stated Luster. He gave a confused frown at Lumi, before he shook his head and made his way towards the tent flap. Valence followed behind him.
"We should have a suitable prototype by the end of the week, Damia. Don't be surprised if it's fully functional by then!" he called over his shoulder, right as he exited the room.
Once they were out of earshot, Lumi and Van let out a simultaneous sigh of frustration. As Van grumbled angry curses to himself, Lumi turned and marched right up to Damia.
"So, that's how it is, huh? And here I thought we were friends..." he said with a dejected look on his face, intentionally letting his ears and tails droop. He heard her snort.
"Don't even try that. You have sleep pile privileges."
"Then why did you snub us and give the request to...that?" he asked, utterly baffled.
"And how come you didn't say anything when they talked trash directly to our face!?" piped Van, coming up to glare at her. Lumi saw Damia's teeth begin to clench, and the large dragon sucked in a breath before answering.
"You two need to understand something. When we're working, I'm still your...friend. But I'm also the head of this branch. That means I need to make decisions I know will benefit the whole guild, not just you. That also means trusting capable apprentices with assignments. Even if they are annoying. And believe me..."
She snorted, and a spurt of fire escaped her nostrils
"I've told them what I think about their behavior, but it seems nothing except physical threats will make them change, and I'm not allowed to physically threaten anyone."
"Coulda fooled us..." muttered Van.
"I'm sorry to say, but you'll have to work out your interpersonal problems with other apprentices on your own. I can't and won't fight your battles for you. Even if your method of fighting is..."
"Lame?" offered Van, who shot a pointed look at Lumi.
"I was going to say wimpy," said Damia. Lumi looked between the two and shrugged.
"You guys can say what you want, but you can't argue with the results. It got them to leave, didn't it?" he asked. Van just shook his head in defeat.
"Regardless." Damia took out a piece of paper. She scratched something on it, and then handed it over to Lumi. He read:
Inventory Request:
100 dud orbs
100 iron thorns
50 evasion orbs
25 escape orbs
Due: End of this week
"You can do this instead. I need some item stock for experiments, and you need practice making them. Van, help him learn how to metalwork the thorns."
"But-"
"If you finish early, you are free to do whatever you want for this week. Just as long as it's productive. Now..."
She pointed a claw at the entrance flap.
"Out."
The duo groaned, but complied and walked out of her office. Van grumbled to himself as they stood in the Demonstration Floor, sounds of experiments in the various proto dungeons ringing out around them. He spotted Luster and Valence way on the other side of the long room disappear into their office in the corner, and sighed.
"What the hell mon...this is dumb. That job shoulda been ours. Not those pretentious jerks."
"Yeah..." agreed Lumi, who rubbed his chin in thought as he stared at their to-do list. Van glanced down at his Meowstic partner and put his hands on his hips.
"And, here it comes."
"Van, I have an idea."
"Is it a good one?" asked the Scrafty.
Lumi grinned.
They didn't sleep for two days.
The plan to speedrun Damia's request tested the limits of both apprentices. It took three grueling sessions through a nearby dungeon to get enough dud orbs for the order, plus enough to ensure backups in case they messed up.
And they did mess up. After the dungeon runs, they spent most of their time struggling to make successful Escape Orbs. As it turns out, their pattern was a tricky one to get just right, as it involved an inversion on normal Aether patterns. Even Van, the more experienced of the two, scratched his head at the textbook which explained their creation.
The iron thorns were the most monotonous, and Lumi cursed his overactive mind for impeding his learning. They had found some iron thorns throughout their dive, but decided to just make the rest to avoid going back, and that involved Van patiently teaching Lumi how to bend raw metal into the proper shape, and then submerge it in a heated Aether mixture for extended periods of time. It was the fundamentals for making more advanced spike items, a process that Van had a knack for, but Lumi had to force himself to pay attention with the precise strikes of the hammer and exact timing of submersion.
Needless to say, it took a while, but after countless failed attempts and more than one coffee run, Lumi placed the last finished thorn in a bin next to Van's workbench with a shaky paw. He blew out a breath, and then fell backwards onto the floor.
He conked out and dazed off at the ceiling, the sound of metal still ringing in his ears. He lay there for an undetermined amount of time, before Van's figure walked into view above him with a tired smile.
"Good news. Damia okayed the delivery. And as a bonus," he bounced a small coin pouch in his hand.
"Gave us a little reward."
Lumi gave a weak sound of approval, more of a positive 'nyah' than anything. Van chuckled and grabbed him by an ear, then unceremoniously tossed him into a pile of cushions in the corner. He purred, and buried himself in the pillows, only sort of registering Van falling backwards on them next to him.
Lumi yawned. It spread to Van. The lack of sleep was starting to catch up. Before they knocked out completely, the two stared up at the ceiling together and engaged in one of the most sacred acts that apprentices of Absol's and every research guild before them partook in.
Brainstorming.
"So, I'm thinking. What if we make, like, a wand that just blows a hole through a dungeon wall. How's that for guild maneuverability?"
"Already got that mon. Tunnel Wand, remember?"
"Oh yeah...well how about this? What's on every floor of a Dungeon, no matter what?"
"The stairs?" asked Van.
"Yeah! So let's just make an orb that teleports you straight to them! Or better yet, skip floors entirely!"
"Oh, I know where this is going. Lemme go break it out..." Van grunted and rolled off the cushions.
"It? What is..."
An open book flopped over Lumi's face, and he pushed it up to read the contents of the page.
His mind went blank looking at it.
"Uhhhh..." he mumbled. The only thing he understood on the page was that it was a diagram of an orb, somewhat similar looking to an Escape orb. Lines were drawn from various parts of the sphere, and scribbled all across the page were formulae and measurements and explanations for why this theory could apply to that application of energy but only given that this particular infusion method was utilized at this step of the process and that would only guarantee a small chance of success if only this equation could be solved and...
"What the fu..." muttered Lumi, eyes squinted.
"You got all that? Tell me when you solve the riddle. Whole guild's been trying to crack that one for as long as Pokemon have wanted to skip floors. Which is to say, a while."
Lumi slid the book off his face and stared at Van with a dazed look. The Scrafty shrugged with a lopsided grin.
"Trust me, I had the same thought. I think everyone did when they started out. For an idea like that, we just leave it to growing the fruit from Pure Seeds. Sure they take literal months, and the folks in Bio are still figurin' out the optimal growing environment, but it's the best we got until we can figure out the way to make an All Skip orb."
"So then...drat." Lumi huffed and crossed his arms, curling his twin tails by his side as he glared at the ceiling. Van yawned loudly and flopped back on the cushions next to him.
"Look mon, I say we just sleep on it. I'm too beat to think of anything good right now. Sides', we got a few days to think of something."
"Yeah. Yeah...lemme just get some air, still got some thoughts running in my head."
Lumi crawled off the pillows and walked towards the tent flap. Van wondered if he should make the overactive Meowstic take a rest, but shrugged and chose to admire his persistence instead.
He put his arms behind his head and dozed off.
"YES!"
"AAAH! THE FUCK!?" Van shot up and screamed at the loud yell.
His chest heaved, and he whipped his head to the source of the noise. The luminous orbs in the ceiling were dimmed, signaling that it was late at night, but he saw the source clear as day.
Lumi hunched over the central worktable, eyes bloodshot and with a manic grin on his face. Scores of books were opened all around him at random pages amongst a smattering of notes, and a pile of discarded paper balls surrounded the stool he stood on.
The Meowstic grabbed a piece of paper, held it to his face, and kissed it. Van groaned and rubbed his eyes.
"Lumi. What the hell are you doing!?" groused Van as he rubbed his mohawk back. Lumi's head snapped towards him so fast he thought it might fall off, and the spazzy cat fell off the stool to scuttle over to Van on all fours. In a blink, he was all up in the Scrafty's face, breathing heavily.
Van backed his head up. The sight up Lumi's unkempt fur and dilated eyes up close made his scales crawl.
"This." Lumi held up a messy diagram that featured an orb. "This is how we win."
"Bro, you need to sleep."
"A platform. It makes a screen platform that can move, I figured it out, all it took was reasoning out how Barrier can interact with Magical Leaf in the right conditions, which the fifth book thankfully had a theory on practical applications of psychic moves when interacting with Aethe-"
"Pause." Van put a hand over the cat's mouth. He plucked the diagram out of his paw and, after rubbing his tired eyes, glanced over it.
"...Huh. Damn, but if that...no you accounted for it. And we could probably..."
Van's eyes scanned over the diagram, mind working through his partner's formula and slowly picking away at the puzzle. His mouth widened as he understood more and more of the vision.
"Well shoot, Lumi, this might actually work! And here I thought you were crazy for runnin' three days without sleep, but-"
Thud
Van glanced up at the sound, and cracked a grin at the sight of Lumi slumped on the floor, tongue lolled out, and out cold. He dragged him onto the cushion beside him and turned off the light, now eager for tomorrow.
They had a plan. Now it was time for testing.
They got straight to work on the busy Demonstration Floor the next morning.
"Aight. Trial twenty-seven," stated Van from outside a Proto Dungeon. He jotted down their progress in a notepad, as he had done for every trial up till this point.
"Trying it with the redistributed concentration of psychic energy in the formula. Maybe it'll be more stable this time. You're good to test!"
Van gave the signal from outside the Proto Dungeon. Lumi saluted and held their translucent, blue prototype orb up to activate reminded Lumi of cool holographic technology from graphic novels and comics he read, and that plastered a smile on his face.
Like its appearance, this orb's activation was a bit unique. The sphere blinked, and projected a beam of light that outlined a wide, thin platform. Light rapidly scanned back and forth to fill in the platform, and at the same time the orb in Lumi's paws diminished in size.
The orb fizzled out completely, and a blue light screen floated a few feet off the air, wide enough to hold a small group of pokemon. Lumi watched it for a second, before giving a cat's thumbs up.
"Activation success! That was quicker than last time!"
"Got it. You wanna try the durability? Should distribute weight better than before, less weak spots."
Lumi gave a nod of approval, and approached the screen platform. He placed a paw on its smooth surface, and was elated when it didn't break apart instantly like in earlier trials. With careful movement, he placed both paws on the platform and lifted his upper body.
He was just about to get his leg up when the light platform wavered and then dissipated right underneath him. He hit the ground face first with a smack, and groaned.
"We might have overcompensated in some areas," he muttered from the ground. "Let's look at the diagram and try again."
"Yeah, for sure. Maybe we can make some progress before lunch," agreed Van. Lumi looked at him funny.
"Van, we've been at this all morning. Lunch started like five minutes ago."
"...Huh?" The Scrafty's eye's dilated, and he glanced around at the other apprentices who were making their way to the exit. He let out a very un-Van-like squeal and whipped his head in the direction of Damia's office.
"Shit. Dammit. Uh, hey mon, I had a, uh, appointment I'm runnin' a little late for, and I kinda said I wouldn't be late. So..."
"Is it that thing with Damia? With the grilled cheese?"
"How did...dammit Clara..."
"Sure, go have fun, just save me some. I'm gonna do some more trials of this thing, see if I can't tweak it some more."
"Thanks mon. And, don't work too hard. For real, you better still be conscious when I get back."
"No promises!"
Van rolled his eyes, but gave a good natured salute and jogged over to Damia's tent flap, hands pulling up his thick skin on his legs to keep from tripping. Lumi watched him go, before he stood up and dusted himself off. The choice between food and testing was clear. His mind was too busy trying to get this right, and he was itching to try new ideas.
Food could wait.
He made more attempts with the orb, each one ending in failure. After each use, he would infuse a dud orb with a slightly tweaked pattern from before, test it, fail, and repeat.
Each failure lifted his spirits. Every time he miscalculated, the puzzle became just a bit more clear, and there was a powerful satisfaction in slowly chipping away at the problem.
In his most successful attempt yet, Lumi had his whole body on top of the platform, arms spaced out as he balanced his weight on top of the light screen. He held his breath and ran through calculations in his head. The point of the orb was to create a floating platform that one could use to traverse over any kind of terrain, or even over long drops. All that was needed was to apply weight in just the right direction, and it would float that way.
He had never gotten this far with it. Perhaps if he just reached out with a toe to the right, just so...
The screen floated just an inch, and then tilted right. And kept tilting. Lumi's heart dropped as the floating platform flopped downwards due to his weight, and dropped him once more onto his butt.
He huffed and crossed his arms. Further than last time, and the platform was still stable! He wondered what else in the formula he could tweak to strengthen it.
A slow clap from the side jerked him from his musings, and he turned to see the Alolan Meowth from a few days ago outside the domed film of the Proto Dungeon, clapping his paws with a smirk on his face.
"My, that was entertaining. One more fall and you might be ready for the circus. Maybe a better fit for you over there anyway."
"...Don't tell me..." Lumi squinted his eyes and pointed at the other cat. "...Lambent. Wait, no!" He snapped his digits.
"Cruster! Hey, what's up?" He hopped on his feet to walk outside. The Alolan Meowth glowered at him as he approached.
"It's Luster," growled the Meowth, Luster. "Giving you my name might just be beneath me, but I suppose it is my duty as your superior in everything to do with Aether crafting to make myself known. Especially considering this...poor showing I saw."
"Cool. I didn't get to introduce myself before because you were being a dick, but my name is Lumi. Good to meet you!"
"Well, Lumi, if you are sore about losing out on that contract, perhaps you should rethink your approach. Rather than fail constantly in public and make minimal progress, how about you read a book or-"
"Hey, I got a question," Lumi cut him off. Before Luster could speak, he continued. "I have literally never seen you at lunch. Or dinner. Or even at the guild cheer every morning, if I'm honest. Where have you been this whole time?"
"Please refrain from interrupting me when I offer feedback, thank you," huffed Luster. "As for my whereabouts, I am often caught in the throngs of creation with my partner. We are either conducting extensive research in our workshop, or are out on intensive field tests."
"So...you don't...talk to anyone? Ever?"
"Why should we? Nobody here has proven an adequate speaking partner on our level of discourse."
"Okay. And you're speaking to me right now because?"
"Because, despite your meager skill, you managed to leave an impression on me with our prior interaction. Thus, I am giving you the privilege of my advice."
"You mean when I complimented your fur? I guess that makes sense, you don't seem like the kind of guy to get a lot of compliments. Oh, by the way..."
Lumi walked over to lean his head into Luster's chest fur. He gave the Alolan cat a friendly nuzzle, and marveled at how sleek the gray fur was. Luster put his paws up and turned his head away as the other cat did his thing.
"Wow, you really take good care of your pelt. You gotta give me some tips!"
His head cocked from side to side. He smiled. "Yes, I am aware. My fur is quite immaculate... wait, focus," he muttered to himself and shook his head. Luster pushed Lumi an arms length away, and glowered at him.
"It is obvious that you are attempting the same assignment that was rightfully given to us. The best advice I can give you on this endeavor is to give up before you embarrass yourself further."
Lumi suppressed a chuckle and put his paws on his hips. His bushy tails fluttered behind him in mirth. This guy was a riot. He raised an eyebrow at Luster.
"And how, exactly, am I embarrassing myself?" asked Lumi. Luster groaned and rubbed his snout with his paw.
"Do I need to explain it? I've been watching you fail over and over again the entire morning! And what's worse is that you've done it where everyone can see you!"
"I don't see what that has to do with anything."
"Are you serious? Your reputation as a creator is everything! When pokemon see you fail repeatedly, they won't take you seriously. They'll brush off your work and you'll be a laughingstock. I'm trying to save you grief here, you know. If you try to compete with our design this week, you'll simply be humiliated in front of the guild, and you want to avoid that."
"Are you saying you guys never fail? How are you supposed to test anything without doing trials first?" inquired Lumi, both curious and with a tinge of pity at Luster's admissions that he had watched him work all morning. At that, Luster donned a smug smirk, and twirled a whisker.
"We have our own locations for testing, to ensure the quality of our work, on the miniscule chance that its performance is not up to par...which does not happen often, obviously," he quickly added.
Lumi stared at Luster, whose sleek fur, rigid posture, and grating attitude only served to increase the pity in his chest. The smile he strove to put on wilted a bit, and he sighed.
It was funny at first, but now it was just a little sad.
"Okay, I think I'm starting to understand."
"Excellent. I am glad you are beginning to see things my wa-"
"You're afraid of failure."
Luster paused with his eyes wide open, and some of the well kept fur on his head sprang up in alarm. His mouth opened and closed to retort, but Lumi continued.
"That's why you don't let anyone see you or Valence, right? Because you don't want to look bad when you try ideas that don't work."
"You-what makes you think-" Luster stalked towards him with a low hiss, but Lumi shrugged and met the other's stare.
"Is that why you act like a jerk, and hide away, because you're afraid the others will be mean to you first? Look, I actually appreciate you trying to help, even if it is a little backwards, but you should know something, Luster."
Lumi stepped forward to Luster, and met the other cat's seething eyes with his calm ones.
"I'm cool with not getting things right the first few times. Honestly, this orb might not even be ready by the time we go against you later this week."
Luster looked at him as if he was an absolute idiot, and scoffed.
"Then why, on Arceus' green earth, are you even trying?"
Lumi shrugged.
"Cuz it's fun. And I get to learn a lot."
"...That has to be one of the most asinine things I've ever heard." Luster glowered and crossed his arms at the Meowstic. Lumi laughed at his words, which made his scowl go even deeper. He pointed a claw at Lumi.
"You're deluded if you think my methods are born from something as pathetic as fear. If you won't listen to reason, I'll be more than happy to demonstrate my point by grinding that naive grin of yours into the dust in front of the whole guild this week," he threatened with a mean glare. Lumi's mouth pulled into a wide grin at the words.
"Cool. May the best item win."
"Yes, may ours win indeed," said Luster, icily. He turned to walk away, but Lumi put a paw out.
"Hey, before you go. Van and I sit in the same place for dinner every night. You and your partner can come sit and eat with us if you want. Sometimes he'll make something special for our team."
The scowl on Luster's face was briefly overcome by one of confusion, and his ears flicked as if he had trouble hearing what was said. It passed soon, though, and he just huffed and stalked off.
Lumi waited for him to get far enough before he breathed out a long sigh. On impulse, he grabbed one of his two tails and pulled it close to his chest. He really didn't care for what Luster had to say, but the Alolan Meowth was still frustrating to listen to. With a glance back at the Proto Dungeon, and the batch of dud orbs next to his notebook, he shook his head to clear his mind.
He could forget about all that for now, there was more testing to do.
The day came to demonstrate their prototypes to the Guild.
"How you feelin' mon?" asked Van over the excited murmurs of the crowd. Apprentices from all the branches had packed into the Demonstration floor to see the designs of the big assignment, and the two stood off to the side near their workshop. The buzz of energy and anticipation sent butterflies stirring in Lumi's chest, and he bounced from toe to toe.
He looked up at Van with a fang poking out of his smile.
"Luster tried to scare me off a couple times this week, so part of me is looking forward to pissing him off!"
"Damn right." Van chuckled and patted him on the back. Something caught his eye from across the room, and Lumi looked over, past the small crowd, to see Luster and Valance leaned up on the side of the room on the other side. He caught the Alolan Meowth's gaze, and sent a wave their way, which was returned with a spiteful glare.
Well, this would be interesting.
"Alright, everyone. Quiet down!" Damia's voice cut through the din, and the Dragonite stomped out from the throng of apprentices. She stood at the front and swept her gaze over everyone to quiet them down before speaking further.
"Clara, hit the switch!" she called.
"Roger!" came the Spinda's voice from somewhere. Lumi followed the sound, and his eyes found her near the corner of the room by the entrance, right beneath a heavy looking leavy. With a giggle, she jumped up and grabbed the switch, and let her body weight pull the thing down.
A heavy thunk resonated throughout the space, and the bright lights in the room dimmed. A light whirring emanated from the various proto dungeons spaced throughout the Demonstration Floor, and Lumi's eyes widened as he saw them all sink into the ground. Seconds later, a big hole opened up, and a much larger proto dungeon whose dome spanned most of the center of the large room, rose up from the ground.
It was big enough to serve as a small arena, and also featured four entrances on the cardinal sides, as opposed to the standard singular entrance.
A small terminal also rose up in front of the larger proto dungeon. Damia walked over to bend down and poke at some settings with her claws on the little device. He wondered what she was doing, until movement from within the confines of the large proto dungeon caught his eye. The padded dirt floor, standard within each one, began to shift and meld, much like the multicolored film that encased each proto dungeon.
The dirt floor transformed before their very eyes. The right section of it bubbled and churned, until it resembled a pool of water, running across a third of the circular interior. The middle section seemed to disappear entirely, and left a gaping hole that didn't seem to have a bottom from his perspective.
The far left of the arena was wreathed aglow with fiery embers, and the groundburned red with hot coals and veins of magma coursing through the ground.
A hush fell over the crowd, and Damia walked to stand directly in front of everyone in attendance. Lumi had only seen glimpses of her in her role as branch head, but right now she looked almost as imposing and authoritative as Vert.
"Today, we will be observing the demonstration of a design intended to improve team mobility within a Dungeon. I have prepared an appropriate exhibition arena for this showing." Her strong voice projected throughout the room, and she placed a claw to her chest.
"As head of the Dynamo branch, I will be overseeing this assignment and will judge if it adequately meets the criteria deemed suitable for a product of the Absol Guild. Put another way..."
She widened her stance and crossed her arms. Her heavy tail sweeped the air behind her.
"If I don't like what I see, tough. Do better next time."
A low murmur raced through the other apprentices at her words, even those not demonstrating still feared the weight of her verdict. Lumi jabbed Van in the side with an elbow and sent a knowing grin his way.
"I bet you like it when she judges your food, huh~"
"Sh-shut up, mon..." Van blushed and shoved the cat away. Damia continued.
"As for the ones who are submitting their design, please welcome..." Lumi's eyes dilated when he remembered he forgot to do something important.
"Luster and Va-"
"Wait! Wait-wait-wait!" he called. With their prototype orb held under an arm, he ran out in front of the crowd, and threw a paw up.
"Van and I also have a submission! We want to show ours!" he exclaimed. Damia blinked down at him, and an angry shout from across the room cut above the scene.
"Absolutely not!" called Luster. The Alolan Meowth stomped over, his Heliolisk partner right behind him. He pointed a claw at Lumi, and fumed.
"These amateurs have no right to barge in on our demonstration! The task was given to us, and us alone!"
Lumi's ears flicked at the sound of whispers among the crowd. What comments he could pick up didn't seem very positive, or polite, and they were all targeted at Luster. From the way his eyes twitched, it was clear that he heard every one.
Van rushed up next to Lumi and pointed a digit right back at Luster.
"You gonna do somethin' about it? We have just as much of a right to be here as you do!"
"As if your item could even comp-"
Stomp
The ground actually shook from the strength of Damia's foot hitting the ground. Lumi cringed, and looked up at the Dragonite's intense glare.
"All of you. Shut up." She looked to each of the four to quiet them down. Once the argument settled, she looked down at Lumi and tilted her head.
"Do you actually have a functional design?"
"We're gonna figure that out!"
For a split second, he caught her mouth twitch in a smile, but she pushed it down with professional ease. She looked between the two pairs of partners, and after a moment of deliberation, reached into the bag around her shoulder and pulled out a Poke. With little fanfare, she flicked it up, caught it, and smacked it on her claw.
She looked down at the coin.
"Lumi. You're up. Get in there and show me what you got."
Lumi swished his tails wildly, cheered, and hi-fived Van. He heard Luster grumble something rude under his breath, but Lumi had a strict 'Can't Hear The Hate' policy, and rushed to the right entrance of the Proto Dungeon. He stood just in front of where the floor became a pool of water, and looked out across the proto dungeon at the varied terrain. Damia swooped in from the other side. She hovered in the air directly above the pit in the middle to watch him.
"Whenever you're ready," she called. Lumi sucked in a breath and calmed his nerves, his shining blue orb held in both paws.
He had done hundreds of trials; this was the best it was gonna get. He stepped into the proto dungeon and activated his orb.
The light screen materialized just above the pool of water, and the orb dissipated in his hands, like usual. The platform that materialized in front of him was only big enough to carry two small pokemon at most, but that was fine. They had changed the size in order to create better density and maneuverability.
Lumi hopped onto his light screen, and his world zoomed in to only focus on the other side of the arena. With one leg positioned in front of the other, he leaned his body forward, and the screen platform began to float forward, directly over the pool of water. He held his paws out to his side for balance, and grinned at how smooth the ride was.
Now positioned over the pool of water, Lumi stopped the platform by centering his weight. With a tiny tilt of his body, he rotated the square light screen so that it would face him towards the crowd. It was a little difficult to see everyone's faces, but he caught Van's supportive wave.
He waved back, and rotated the platform to keep going. He crossed the threshold of the pool of water, and now hovered over the bottomless pit in the center of the dungeon. He could see the hold through the translucent barrier of his light platform, and silently cheered at how everything was going according to plan.
It was going so well that he decided to try a new feature.
With a grin, Lumi stepped directly to the center of the platform, and stood as straight as he could. As predicted, rather than go forward, the screen began to ascend upwards. It was a slow rise, but a controlled one, and soon he was eye level with Damia, who gave a brief nod of acknowledgement. Feeling cheeky, he did a performer's bow for her, which she waved off with a snort.
To descend was simple, all he needed to do was crouch down, and the platform should lower itself. Lumi did so, confident, given that it had worked before.
The platform did move, but not how he expected. He sensed a strange vibration from the light platform, and looked down to see that the screen was rumbling a bit. He stamped his feet on it to try and get it working, but that only made the rumble more violent. The jittering screen shook him from his feet, and he landed on his paws and knees on top of it, paws holding the edge of the platform to not fall off.
He noted Damia's concerned frown, and she floated forward a bit.
"Is this supposed to happen?" she asked. He gave a shaky smile.
"Uh, just some technical difficulties. Should be alright in a sec-"
The platform zoomed to the side.
Lumi yowled as the platform shot to the nearest wall and banged against it, before it bolted off in a random direction and smacked against the side of the dungeon. The world blurred around him as he hung on for dear life on the rogue light screen, which vibrated uncontrollably the entire time.
He must have looked like some kind of pinball, shooting around within the dome.
Finally, the platform struck the far side, and shattered like glass on impact. Unfortunately, it did so right over the fiery hot stone terrain. Lumi yelled as he fell head first toward the burning coals, mind too frazzled to do anything.
He yelped as his body's momentum stopped instantly, and he glanced up to see that Damia had grabbed one of his feet. He dangled in the air in her grasp, and he let out a shaky breath.
The Dragonite tossed him up to grab him in both claws, and flew down to exit the entrance and deposit him next to Van. He hobbled forward on shaky legs, but Van steadied him with an arm.
"Th-that wasn't...too bad..." he murmured. He barely registered the weight of Damia's large claw on his head as she patted him once, before she turned to address the crowd.
"I am deeming Lumi and Van's item to be a failure for this showing, on account of safety concerns and design malfunctions. We will now see the next item." she stated. Van cursed under his breath, and Lumi sighed, a little disappointed. The surrounding pokemon gave them sympathetic looks, and also backed away to give them space.
"Luster and Valence. You're up."
"Of course," said Luster, who was handed an orb by Valence. Damia nodded and flew back in the dungeon. He walked past Lumi and Van, but to Lumi's surprise didn't glare at them on the way. Lumi watched him stand at the right entrance with posture even more rigid than before, and he held his orb in front of him almost robotically.
Luster licked his lips and his eyes were wide open with a thousand yard stare. Lumi was surprised when he didn't move an inch further. The room was dead silent as Luster just stood still at the entrance, until Damia spoke up.
"Luster, you can begin whenever you are ready," she stated, though not unkindly. Luster blinked and shook his head as if pulled from a daze, and swallowed.
"R-right. Of course. Witness...um...witness greatness!" he yelled. To his left, Lumi saw the Heliolisk, Valence, give a lizard's thumbs up in his partner's direction with a supportive smile. Luster nodded at it, and then activated the orb.
Lumi watched enraptured as the orb shone bright enough to encase Luster white light. When it dimmed down, he couldn't help the giddy grin on his face as he saw what the orb actually did.
Luster stood within the protective film of a large, translucent bubble. He pushed his paws up against its film, and rolled himself forward within the bubble. Rather than burst, it moved forward to rest on top of the water, and he continued to even roll it over the deep pit itself.
For posterity's sake, Luster sped up his movement and sped all around the area, pushing the bubble with his arms and legs the whole time. The serious frown on his face never left, even as he exited out the other side and dispelled the bubble from around him.
He walked to stand next to Valence, and Damia swooped out of the arena once more and landed with her arms crossed. She nodded at the Meowth.
"Luster. What do you call that orb?"
Luster mumbled something, but perked up after Valence whispered something into his ear.
"We've named it the All-Terrain Orb. The bubble will never pop unless attacked or dispelled by the one who uses it."
"Then, I am happy to deem the All-Terrain Orb as suitable for this assignment. Congratulations," she stated.
Valence raised his arms in a silent cheer. The only other sound was negative and disappointed mumbles from the other apprentices.
Nobody clapped.
Well, almost nobody.
"Woohoo! Hell yeah, that was awesome!" Lumi's small paws clapped wildly from his position next to Van. All eyes turned to the grinning Meowstic, who cheered with a laugh.
Luster's bewildered gaze locked onto him, and he just clapped louder. Van huffed to his side, but joined in with his own, halfhearted applause. Those around them figured they might as well join in too, and soon all of the apprentices in attendance clapped, stomped the ground, roared, or did whatever they could to express their dubious applause.
Luster stared out at the crowd with wide eyes, and looked around as if he wasn't sure what to do in this situation. He stood there awkwardly, before he decided to fall into a hasty bow. The applause died down a minute or so after, and Damia spoke again.
"Alright. Everyone is dismissed. You two can meet me in my office for your reward when you're ready," she said, and made her way to her workshop. At her command, the crowd dissipated, and a thunk from somewhere saw the room rearranging itself back to its normal layout.
Lumi hopped forward towards the pair, who were still standing with a dazed look on their faces.
"Damn, when you said you knew your Aethercraft, you weren't kidding. A mobile bubble? I would have never thought of that! You gotta let me try it sometime!" he gushed. Luster looked down at him, still with that confused look on his face.
"Yes, it was a...good idea..." he muttered. Lumi nodded, and glanced up at Van's approach. The Scrafty still looked wary.
"Hey, how about we eat something nice to celebrate. That item went off without a hitch, after all."
"Celebrate? With these guys?" questioned Van, with a hand splayed in the other pair's direction. At Lumi's earnest smile, he groaned and shook his head.
"Fine. I guess I can whip something up. But." He pointed at Luster. "Cool it with the holier-than-thou attitude, aight'? I don't want to get in trouble for socking you in the face."
"You...you would really..." Luster sucked in a breath and tried again, back straighter this time. "Yes, I can agree to that. That is...generous."
"Yeah, whatever. I guess I'll go get started on dinner." He walked off with his hands in his shed pants. Luster turned to Valence.
"Do you mind going to fetch our reward from Damia? I...need a moment," he asked softly. Valence nodded.
"Thank you, friend."
The Heliolisk duly walked off towards the tent flap, and Luster walked to stand in front of Lumi. One arm clutched the other, and his face seemed conflicted. Lumi just put his paws behind his head.
"What's up?"
"...You failed," stated Luster. There was no animosity in his words, he just said it like a fact. Lumi nodded.
"Yup. Looks that way. Honestly I might have gotten cocky with the descent but, eh, what are you gonna do?"
"But...why are you..." Luster's teeth clenched, and he pulled at the fur on his forehead. Lumi stepped back once as the Meowth groaned in frustration.
"...I don't understand..." he muttered.
"Don't understand wha-"
"THIS!" exclaimed Luster, pointing at Lumi incredulously. "This! I don't-how are you like...this! You failed! Your item didn't work! Literally everyone saw you screw up and need to be rescued! Why the hell don't you seem to care!"
"Uh...cuz I don't?" he tried. Luster lunged forward and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"How!?" he pleaded. He breathed heavy with wide eyes. Gently, Lumi reached up to remove the other cat's paws from his shoulder, keeping his grip on one. He took a second to formulate his thoughts.
"You can say that I failed, and technically you'd be right. I failed now. But, what does that matter? It's not like I can't try again, and now that I've done this, I have an idea of how to make it even better," he started.
"Sure, I failed in front of, what, fifty pokemon? But whether it's fifty or five thousand, it doesn't really matter who sees. As long as I'm alive, and can make things, I'm going to make them, regardless of what anyone thinks. Besides,"
He let go of Luster's hand and put his paws back behind his head.
"Life is alot easier when you just accept you'll mess up every now and then. Takes the stress out of worrying if you will or not, you know?" he said, casually.
Luster didn't say anything. He blinked at him, and blinked some more. Lumi suppressed a giggle, and walked up to nuzzle the gray Meowth. Luster had just enough awareness to politely return the gesture.
"Make sure you stop by our table later, Van makes really good pasta," said Lumi. Luster slowly nodded.
"Yes...we'll be sure to do that."
Lumi nodded and turned to walk off. He didn't get far before he heard his name called again.
"Lumi?" asked Luster from behind him. He turned with an inquisitive tilt of his head.
"...Thank you," he said. The level of warmth and conviction in his voice took Lumi back, but he smiled and threw up a paw before continuing on.
A:N/: I should also mention that if there are any characters people want to see, or any item ideas they think would be cool, please let me know! It would be neat to involve readers in this.