Amber and Hiro would've pretty much have been lost if it wasn't for a compass that the Fennekin had on her. They couldn't head back to the path so they had to travel through the thick forest until they exited to a beach that had an open view of the sea, and if getting out of that forest wasn't enough, turns out the beach was local to Valor Village, Shellder Beach.
"Alright! We're almost there!" Amber exclaimed in excitement. Hiro chuckled at his new friend in amusement, thinking back to the conversation that they had earlier.
"So you're telling me that the move you just used is a move that you shouldn't even be able to learn?" the fox summarized.
"Yeah, and apparently this pendant is connected to it," Hiro responds, pointing at the basic white slate.
"And you don't know anything about that strange pendant?" Amber asked the Riolu before her.
"Other than the fact that it allows me to change the typing of the move Multi-Attack, nothing else," he responds. It truly boggled his mind. He woke up in a world of pokémon, turned into a Riolu, and has a move that a Riolu shouldn't be able to learn.
"Hmm… Well, maybe we can ask for some info from Valor Village's guildmaster! He was quite the explorer back in his day so maybe he knows a thing or two about this strange pendant."
"Alright!" Hiro responds with a smirk.
Now here they were, walking down the beach, Valor Village in the distance, and the sun starting to set on the ocean's horizon. Amber, noticing the gorgeous scene upon the ocean's waters, stopped to watch the sun create the sky a beautiful pink and orange. Hiro, noticing his partner now distracted, decided to watch what she was currently looking at, and he was certainly happy with the sight he saw.
"It all starts here," she suddenly says, drawing Hiro's attention. "This beautiful sunset will mark the beginning of our grand adventure as explorers! Do you like it, Hiro?"
He didn't even need to think before answering her question. "Yeah, it's amazing." They continued to watch it for another minute before deciding to head to the village before the sun completely set.
The evening star had shown itself by the time the duo had arrived at the guildhall itself. It looked like a stone castle that had a tower in each of its four corners, a red roof above the center, and embroidered at the front above its huge wooden doors, there was a shape similar to that of a Moltres inside of a diamond, all painted in red. Approaching the doors, the duo entered the building, and the first thing they saw was a Chatot in their face.
"Hold it! Who do you think you are entering Valor's guildhall? You can't just waltz in here without a care in the world!"
"Hey! I'll have you know that I was invited to join the guild by the guildmaster himself!" Amber exclaims.
"Ha! As if! The guildmaster wouldn't just let anyone join easily!" the Chatot said with a smug grin, which soon faltered upon seeing the invitation held out in front of him by Amber herself. Upon checking its legitimacy, the Chatot finally caved in. "Fine, the invitation is legit so I guess you can join that easily…" Amber walks past him with a happy smile with Hiro close behind, only for the Riolu to be stopped by the parrot's wing. "Hold it! The invite said nothing about you joining as well!"
"He's my partner!" Amber explains, Hiro nodding in confirmation. "I want him to join the guild alongside me."
"Nope! Sorry buddy but if you want to join the guild, you've gotta…"
"What seems to be the trouble Pete?" came an older, yet soothing voice. Upon turning their attention to the new pokémon in the room, Amber and Hiro were surprised to see a Goodra standing before them. But this Goodra wasn't your average looking slime dragon, its coloration was different from its normal different shades of purple and green goo as it was instead a golden yellow, a pink underbelly and purple goo. A shiny Goodra!
"Ah, Guildmaster! Glad you could be here! Tell this delinquent to leave!" the Chatot, now named Pete, told the Goodra before him.
"No!" Amber begs, bringing the attention of the guildmaster to her. "He's my friend and partner! So if it's not too much trouble, please let him join with me!"
A look of recognition appeared on the slime dragons face. "Ah… you're Amber correct? Your father Ifrit and I go way back. Anyways, you say this Riolu is your partner?" the Fennekin before him nods her head yes. The Goodra then turns his attention to Hiro with a calculating gaze. "So, why do you want to join the guild?"
"I want to help people," he answered immediately. "And I also need help in figuring out my past."
"Your past?"
"Believe it or not, Hiro says that he was once human," Amber explains. Pete merely scoffs at this, but the shiny Goodra says nothing and keeps his gaze on Hiro. "He also has this strange pendant that allows him to use a move a Riolu wouldn't normally know, it's amazing!"
"Oh please, you can't be serious!" Pete exclaims. "Do you really expect the guildmaster to believe such tomfoolery?!"
The guildmaster in question however had a look that betrayed Pete's accusation. His gaze once calculating, was now looking at the pendant in both shock and recognition. "...Come with me."
The Goodra then turned and walked into the guildhall, both Amber and Hiro following close behind, Pete being shocked at his guildmaster to allow this Riolu claiming to once be human into their guild. Once he realized how far they had gotten, the parrot followed.
"I had only read about an object resembling your pendant from books in several cities and towns on my travels," the Goodra explains, currently looking through several worn books in his study.
"You know what it is?" Amber asked the dragon type before her, Hiro giving the Goodra an equally questioning look.
"I have an idea, if I can just… AHA!" The shiny pokémon pulled out one of the older books on the shelf, its pages just turning a dirty gold and its brown leather casing looking rough, worn and used. After flipping through the pages of the book, the Goodra then stopped on a specific page. "If what my research tells me is correct, what you are wearing Hiro resembles that of a Plate of Arceus."
Hiro looked at the pendant on his chest. "So, is there anything that it is meant to do exactly?"
"Well, when a pokémon wields one it is meant to boost the power of the typing that the plate represents. By its appearance, it seems to be the Basic Plate, which should boost Normal Type moves." This new information just explained had left the room in silence, until Amber decided to break it.
"Hey, during that battle with that Delibird, that plate changed color didn't it?"
"Yeah, it became a metallic gray," Hiro answered, causing the Goodra's eyes to widen in surprise.
"You say it changed color?" After being given an affirmative nod from the Riolu, the guildmaster then flipped the pages of the old book to a new page. "Well by the sounds of it, I think it may have changed from the Basic Plate to the Iron Plate, making your strange move Steel Type. It would certainly explain the super effectiveness of the hit on that Delibird."
"...Could the pendant be taken?" questioned Amber, everyone's attention turning to her. "If someone stole Hiro's pendant, would they be able to use it for themselves?"
The Riolu in question then thought of what the Fennekin just said. It was concerning, and not entirely untrue that with a great power like his, someone would most definitely want to take it for themselves.
"Well if you ask me!" Pete responds walking up to Hiro. "I believe if an important item such as this could be taken, shouldn't be entrusted to a child, so we should lock it up in a safe and secu-" As the Chatot grabbed the pendant, it radiated a strange energy that shocked him flying into the wall, forcing him to let go, and surprising everyone in the room.
"...Well, I guess that answers that question," the guildmaster said. "So it seems you have nothing to worry about."
"Yeah… I guess," Hiro said, a little concern for the Chatot that just got fried
"Also, one last thing," Amber added, everyone's eyes once more on her. "When you talked about 'your research', does that mean…" she led on as she gestured to the bookshelf covered in hundreds of old leather books.
"But of course!" came the voice of Pete, who had just recovered from the terrible shock. "The guildmaster is Valor Town's greatest explorer, if not the world's!"
"Pete," the said guildmaster spoke. "I told you not to praise me like that, but it is true that I was quite the grand adventurer back before I became the new guildmaster." The dragon then gestured with a kind smile towards his bookshelf packed in what was now confirmed to be his research over the years. "These are my adventure journals! Everything I had ever done as an explorer was cataloged in each of these old books. From dungeon traveling to treasure hunting, from battling to rescue, every journey I had ever experienced, has been printed into these tombs." The Goodra placed the book he had and took out a book that was clearly the oldest of them all, a dash of nostalgia seemed to twinkle in his eyes at seeing the first book he had ever written.
"Ahem!" Pete coughed, bringing everyone to his attention as he pointed a feather at Hiro. "So, what exactly are we going to do about him?"
The Goodra looked at the Riolu for a few moments, before giving a kind smile. "Well, I say let him join!"
"W-W-W-WHAT!?" the Chatot shouted in exasperation. "SIR! You cannot be serious?! What if they're lying?! You could be letting in a criminal!"
"Are you calling my best friend's daughter a liar, Pete?" the guildmaster questioned, to which the Chatot gulped and shook his head no. "Good, besides…" he then returns his kind look to Hiro. "In my time as an explorer I've learned to tell the difference between liars and honest pokémon, and Hiro here has told the honest truth." He then held his gooey hand out to the fighting type. "Welcome to the guild young one, my name is Ragnus." Hiro smiled and shook Ragnus' hand.