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Here's today. Me and Marble do our usual routine of waking up. I stretch and Marble roams about, looking at the maps and all strewn about and actually tidying up the place a little, and I help him. Surprisingly he hasn't sprung any questions on me about the Victini thing yet. Maybe he forgot in his sleep or something. It wouldn't surprise me if he was forgetful.

But I should tell him anyways. I wait patiently for an opportunity while we tidy up papers and things, stuffing all the wands, orbs, all the adventuring equipment into drawers or into a bag for each of us. Though we haven't gone out of town for any jobs yet, Marble wanted to organize stuff for the next time we actually do, which I'm not that opposed to now since we've been sitting pretty comfortably for a while now.

Still no opportunity. I think I'll just randomly butt in with it.

"I'm a human."

"A what?" Marble says, sorting through a drawer without turning his attention away.

"Like, a human, you know?"

"...Sorry I don't think I know."

I knew I should've just gone with the idea of lying to Marble because somehow I knew, SOMEhow I knew he didn't know what a human was. Maybe it's just a matter of jogging his memory.

"Rumors, rumors of humans from a different world getting thrown over here into this one and being turned into Pokémon. Have you ever heard those rumors?"

Right then it looks like something clicked in Marble's mind. He stares at me for a moment and then his eyes light up with shock for a moment, then he just tilts his head slightly with a confused look. Then he squints, looking to study me, or something. I just shrug.

"So you're really a human then?"

"Yes I know, it's… Probably not that believable."

"Hmm…"

Marble pulls open a drawer nearby. He digs in it, tossing some stuff out. The wands and orbs just to get to something. So much for tidying up I guess.

"Ah-hah!" Marble pulls out a piece of paper and runs over to me presenting the paper to me. He actually gets up on his hind legs to hand it to me standing up, we actually meet at eye level.

"Then you'll prove it!" He thrusts the paper at me, bumping it into my chest.

"You'll prove it by reading this!"

I look at the paper. It's a paragraph of writing, all the letters have eyes in them. Wait. These are Unowns!

"What… What is this writing?"

"It's Unownscript! Only Pokémon who've really studied it can read it, humans can supposedly read it with no trouble. I can be sure you can be a human or not this way, because if you're a Pokémon with prior knowledge of it, you'd have forgotten it by now on account of your amnesia!"

I take the paper being presented to me into my paws. I skim the writings.

"The text reads…" I start. Marble sits on the floor looking, anticipating.

"...Explorers guide to constructing a raft. First, you get a couple of fallen trees and secure them together by rope. Make sure to have one long stick on both ends to make sure the raft won't bend in on itself. If you don't have rope on hand to tie everything together, try to find long strands of strong grass to cut from the ground, anything easily bendable. It is strongly recommended to just use actual rope." On the paper there's also visual depictions. A crude drawing of a Xatu showing how to tie a rope knot is there.

The thought never occurred to me but all the signs I've been reading so far are written in a language I've never seen before, but yet I was still able to read it, and then I can read these letters too. Maybe I got that along with the ability to talk with Pokémon which also hadn't ever really crossed me as odd either.

"So you CAN read it! Oh my GOD!" Marble beams.
"You- You're actually a human! An actual human! Woohoo!"

I'm completely unsure how to react properly to Marble's surprise. It's pretty amusing though, I don't really know why he's celebrating that much.

I hand the paper back to Marble, he sets it on the ground among all the other papers.

"So… How can you tell exactly? Aren't you unable to read that?"

"No, I can read it!" Marble says.

"Wait, so would that mean..? You're a..?"

"Scholar!" Marble interrupts. "I spent a while learning how to read Unownscript! Xatu here at the Pokémon school taught me when I still actually went there."

...

"Marble you… Made the entire room messy searching for that paper, by the way."

Marble looks around and his ears droop.
"Oh, oops… Uh, well tomorrow then! We're too exhausted to start all over again right now."

"So anyways, you're actually a human? How did you get here? I wanna know, the rumors never say how you guys get here!"

"Well you wanted to know how I knew Victini right? That's how I know him, he's the one who brought me here after all. I'm surprised you didn't spring a thousand questions on me when you woke up"

"Why would he wanna bring you here?"

I shrug. I mean, I know why, but I don't feel like explaining it right now. Too early for that.

"So… You don't actually have amnesia, then, right? You just don't know how this world works entirely?"

I nod. "Basically, sorry, I don't wanna burden you with that kinda stuff. I've been picking things up as I go so I'll be fine, been doing fine anywho."

"You've been doing really good at it! You certainly picked up the adventuring thing way quicker than I did! I think… Yeah! You're good!"

"Because you put me on jobs where I had to learn quick. I saved your butt against Glass and had to bluff my way out of getting smashed to a pulp by that Breloom dude to buy time until you showed up." I point out. Marble giggles a little.

"I think the way I see it, is that right now we can't really do anything about you being human and all, I don't think we can bring you back anyways. But what we can do is what we've been doing, just helping around town. I think Bisharp needs some more cups cleaned since Gourgeist is out of town for a while, wanna go help him out?"

"Yeah, let's go do that." I say. We both start out of the house. I grab my bag and Marble grabs his and we push away the door curtain. As we head to the center plaza, a bunch of Pokémon are gathered around the Lucario statue, someone in the middle speaks.

"Guild member Lera… Leray? How do you pronounce it again?"

"It's pronounced Le-reh, Smeargle."

"Right, sorry. Guild member Lere is here to make an announcement!"

I try to stand my tallest to get a look over the crowd with a paw at my forehead, all I can see is Smeargle. I look over at Marble and he's standing too, with a looking paw over his eyes like me to shield from the sun. He seems a little embarrassed and goes back down on all fours.

"Did you catch who the announcer is?" I ask Marble.

"Nope," Marble shakes his head, "I'm gonna push into the crowd to get a better look."

Before I know it Marble's disappeared into the sea of Pokémon. I try to follow him and I get bumped around a lot. Some Pokémon are huge, and I'm not that big. Eventually I get there to the center and I can sort of see what's going on, I push my way into the middle of two Pokémon, they grunt frustrated. Marble sits behind me, peering out too. The guild member seems to be a Litten. She hops up on top of the stone base of the Lucario statue, using it as a speaking podium. She clears her throat and waits for the crowd to go silent. Guess we aren't helping out Bisharp today.

"Pokémon of Aurial town, the guild is looking to explore the abyss you all have built your town over!" Some Pokémon's heads turn to talk to each other, then there's some quiet conversation amongst everyone.

"Our goal at the guild is to leave nothing unexplored, to find the unknowns even when it's best for some places to be left unknown! That, my friends, is the goal of the guild!"

There's a few ooo's from the crowd. I'm sure if I looked behind me Marble's probably awestruck but I'm too focused to bother looking.

"Finding out what's in this abyss below us is very important to this goal. However, currently most of our guild members are occupied with other things and we have our hands full, so no one can currently explore this very place under our feet. Now what am I getting at exactly?"

She pauses for a moment to let the crowd think for a sec. There's some murmurs. Then Lere speaks again after no one answers.

"...For once in a blue shining moon, we're looking to get some new guild members! Once in a lifetime opportunity, you know! The last time we accepted new members was… Smeargle?"

"... I t-think like, seven, eight years ago?"

"Eight years ago everyone!"

"Was it really eight years?" Someone in the crowd says. The crowd billows out into questions. Some Pokémon up and leave, maybe the speech was getting boring.
"The abyss below us? That sounds like a really ridiculous mission, it's just a giant sinkhole… Not to mention, dangerous, you'd basically find only dirt down there."
"... Who the heck is the guild? Do we live too far away from the rest of the world? Are we out of touch?"
"Dude, you seriously don't know the guild? Come on bro."

"So, we'll have tents set up just outside this town for anyone if you'd like to try your hand at becoming a member of the guild!" Lere states with a gleaming confident smile despite the many Pokémon leaving to go back to their daily lives.

"ME! I'LL BE A MEMBER!" Marbles pushes his way past me out into the inner circle where Lere and Smeargle are, being as enthusiastic and excited as ever. Smeargle gasps, startled, Lere steps back looking a little disgusted at Marble's startling entrance.

"Eugh- I mean- Enthusiastic I see! I like that!" She looks Marble up and down. "Wait. You're just a kid. Uh, any other volunteers?"

Dead silence from the crowd, I step forwards to join Marble and to greet them.

"Uh, hey. I'm with this dude. I'm Walker and this is Marble. Sorry, he's pretty enthusiastic about the guild stuff."

"Right, I'm Lere and this is Smeargle, sweet pleasantries but seriously, are there any OTHER volunteers?"

Still dead silence except for one lone whisper, "That's too dangerous."

"Right, ok then…" Lere says, turning to me and Marble. "Since no one else seems interested, meet up with me later outside town. I'll have to ask Azumarill when we get back. Smeargle, do you know the rules on recruiting?"

"Not memorized, but I know that we probably shouldn't recruit kids into the guild."

Marble hangs his head down a little, looking a bit sad. I figure he'd be more sad than he looks. Joining the guild was his dream and apparently this is the time after eight long years that the guild has finally opened up. He even made a fake badge, a fake version of what that Litten and Smeargle are wearing right now on their chests proudly. Sure, it's a fake badge, something probably illegal, but it really shows how much he wants to be a member, so I hope this opportunity isn't robbed from him just because he's a kid.

The crowd begins to disperse now, since the main speech is over and no one's all that interested. So that just leaves us four. I feel a bit sad, like Marble's is leaking over to me. My face goes from it's usual flat expression to a frown. Well, maybe there's one way.

"Can you make an exception? My friend has… He really, really wants to join the guild here and if it hasn't been open to new members in eight years…" I say. Smeargle looks a little annoyed.

"Lere? What do you think?" Smeargle asks. Lere looks and scans us over, cat eyes with an unblinking stare. The slit pupils peer through us, it's surprisingly intimidating. She closes her eyes and sighs, shaking her head.

"Well, like I said," She hops down from the podium, "Meet us later at the tent, say… 3 hours or so from now when the sun is in the middle of the sky. Come on Smeargle, big work to do. Mainly seeing what to do when two kids want to join the guild. Azumarill better know."

Lere starts walking away towards Corviknights shack to exit town, Smeargle follows and looks back at me and Marble before closing the door behind her, leaving just me and Marble sitting in front of the statue mostly alone minus the shop vendors still around and some Pokémon just wandering minding their own business.

"So… Was that a no?" Marble asks, still kinda defeated from earlier.

"I think it was a kinda, like… ``We'll look into it`` thing, so there's still a chance. Since no one else was interested, it looks like we can really try." Marble looks to be a bit reassured. Always staying optimistic if he can. But he's still kinda mopey.

"Well, you're smart, what are our chances?"

"Zero if we keep moping around here at this statue. Here, I got an idea that might increase our chances."

I start off and Marble takes a moment to himself just sitting at the statue looking down at the wooden board at our feet. He peers through a crack down into the black below.

"Come on!"

I led Marble over to Bewears shop. On walls and racks a wide assortment of cloth and other gear is everywhere. Scarves, bandanas, capes, gloves, weirdly fashioned bags, some jewelry colored rainbow. There's so much of everything that most of them can't fit on the walls and racks, so they sit in piles littered around, but you can still walk around them.

"What… Why are we in a clothing shop?"

"Presentation!" I state. I browse through the many accessories, picking up some diamond encrusted cloak and setting it down to pick up some bandana. A top hat, some tattered gloves that neither of us can wear, at least not comfortably. So many things we could possibly outfit ourselves with.

"Presentation is everything, I think if we make ourselves look fashionable, make ourselves look good, we have an amazing shot. Come on, start trying stuff out."

"Yeah… Yeah you're right about that, presentation does seem important." Marble responds.

I pick out and try on a plain teal bandana, wrapping the cloth around my head. I should maybe get a better look at myself so I can judge.
"Excuse me?" I turn to Bewear. He looks down on me.

"Do you by any chance have a hand mirror or two?"

Bewear grunts and nods, bending down, clinking some things under the counter before standing back up tall and limber and handing me two mirrors.

"Thanks!"

I run over to Marble, Marble seems absent minded and kinda out of it. It's almost like we swapped personalities, somewhat. I offer the mirror to him and he takes it. I think I'll leave him to his own thing while I figure out how to outfit myself. The bandana looks… Ok. I put it back in with the other bandanas. Marble wanders over and looks through the bandanas while I go elsewhere. A giant red scarf with wavy patterns, I try that on.

It looks boring. I put it back. What would say 'I'm a good adventurer'? Boots? No, too big. Gloves? They fit but they make my paws sweaty, I don't wanna wear them all the time. The diamond encrusted cloak from earlier? No way, that'd cost a fortune we don't have. A cloak through…

I look through the assorted cloaks, a few stick out to me, a few have hoods on them. I pick out a white hooded cloak and try it on. The cloak is short only just passing my shoulders, but the hood is huge. A completely oak padlock ties the cloth around my neck to make the hood. Looking in the mirror I put the hood up, I pull the hood down, and then back up. I like it more with the hood.

"That looks good on you Walker!"

I jump and drop the mirror, shattering it.

"Don't sneak up on me like that! Now I gotta pay for that..."

"No, that fine, no need to pay for the mirror. Just pay for cloth. I'll clean up the glass later." Bewears voice booms.

Marble looks a bit more chipper this time around. And he's wearing the teal bandana on his head from last time we met. The band of cloth makes his head fur noticeably more scruffy.

"That bandana suits you pretty darn well."

"And that white cloak suits you too, hood and all! It makes you, like, even more mysterious than before!" Marble says with a smile.

Me and Marble as a duo, me with a white hooded cloak with a wooden padlock and Marble with a teal bandana on his head. I get some Poke from my bag and hand it over the counter. Bewear grunts and takes it, storing it under the counter.

"Thanks."

"You know what we need now, Walker?" Marble asks as we leave the shop.

"What?"

"A team name! No one in the guild works alone, so we need a team name like everyone else!"

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