Upon following everyone through the entrance to their home, I couldn't help but freeze in place. If I had thought that the outside was amazing, the inside was even better, and this was only the first room! A big trough of water made its way down the ceiling and came to a small pool on the left where it exited the building via a small channel with a gate on it. Surrounding the pool was a bunch of what appeared to be toys, including a couple jungle gyms and some slides. On the right side was a more serious-looking area. Two boards hung on the wall plastered with papers, some with pictures, and most without. A table stood in the middle of the boards with a whole other stack of papers. There was a door straight ahead, but more on the right-hand side, which was where I assumed the sleeping quarters were. Another one stood on the left-hand side; although, i couldn't discern its purpose.
"Hey Uly! We're back!" Magnalu called, scrambling over to the right-side door. "Quit napping and get out here!" Welp, so much for that assumption. But instead of the door opening, there was a splash from the pool. A figure shot out of the water and did a backflip before landing and running over to Night and the others. I hurried over to see Derry happily hugging a Buizel before Night walked up and patted the Pokémon on the head.
"Alloy, this is the final member of our team: Ulysses." Magnalu meowed, bounding over from the door. This gained the Buizel's attention and suddenly i had the newly introduced Ulysses peering in my face, causing me to shift nervously on my feet. Then a broad smile broke out on Uly's face and he stuck out his paw in greeting, which I shook so as to not be rude. It was a bit awkward since he was double my size, but we made it work.
"Just so you know, Uly's actually mute." Night said. "It makes missions a pain sometimes, but we work around it the best that we can."
"Missions?" I asked tentatively. "I'm not quite sure I've been following very well..."
"Oh Arceus, I forgot that you can't remember anything." He apologized. "The five of us form a group known as an Exploration Team. Exploration Teams go out to Mystery Dungeons - areas that consistently change - either to look for treasure, recruit other Pokémon, forage for items not found in shops, and fulfill missions of various nature. They can range anywhere from delivering a particular item to a Pokémon to capturing a wanted Pokémon. No matter what, you always have to be on your guard because all Mystery Dungeons are dangerous."
I nodded in understanding, as it did all make sense...to a degree anyways. Maybe at some point I could join them on a mission, preferably a low level one, to get a sense of what they were all about. Although I hoped that I would figure out how to defend myself before then. I didn't want to be any sort of burden. After that explanation, we all went through the right-side door, and everyone filtered through to their own rooms. Being left to my own devices, i looked through the empty rooms until I decided on one that was across from Ulysses' room.
It was a simple, bare space with a bed of leaves in the center. It was probably bare since there wasn't anyone sleeping in it long enough to put any personal touches to it, provided that there was anyone sleeping there at all. However, it exuded a nice calming feeling that one could only call peaceful. I took a deep breath, letting that feeling wash over me before exhaling with a deep sigh and walking to the bed. I then burrowed under the leaves and nestled myself in the approximate center before closing my eyes and letting sleep overtake me.
All too soon, or so it felt, I was shaken awake yet again. Groggily and with a groan, i stood up and wiped the sleep from my eyes.
"Where's the fire?" I yawned before looking at who was in front of me. Ulysses stood there tapping his foot giving me a look that just challenged me to try going back to sleep. He then turned around and beckoned me to follow before leaving the room. I started to follow before stopping to look back at my bed, giving it a longing stare since i felt wiped. Just then I was soaked from behind by a blast of water, instantly waking me up. But while waking me up, it also stung like hell. Now i knew the pain of a super-effective attack, however low in power it was. Because if that felt like a kick to the balls, then something like that without the user holding back would just absolutely suck. So not wanting to get drenched further, I quickly whipped around and followed Ulysses out to the main room where everyone was gathered. I noticed that the Buizel had a smug smirk on his face, the jerk.
"Ah! Our guest decides to join the land of the living!" Magnalu joked, bringing attention to our arrival. Everyone seemed to chuckle as I ducked my head in embarrassment. I quickly shook myself free of any remaining water as I straightened myself.
"So what's the plan for today?" I asked curiously. It didn't seem like they were prepped for a mission, but then again, what did I know?
"We decided to take a day off from doing any missions to help you learn how to defend yourself." Night explained. "It wouldn't do to have you wander around without knowing how to fight, so we're all going to go into Junction Village to the Hitmon Gym."
"The Hitmon Gym?" I questioned. It was a rather odd name for something that seemed to be in a small location if "Village" was anything to go by.
"The Hitmon Gym is run by the Hitmon siblings: Kila, Noah, and Nyara. A Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee and Hitmontop respectively." Derry said. "They also have a group of Tyrogue that help run the place during the busy season"
With that bit of explanation, everyone filed their way to the exit. I followed along, not wanting to be left behind; although, i doubt that they would do that. Before we all left, i noted that everyone had gathered a number of bags. I guess that it would be a bit of a trek to get into town and that they didn't go often. It didn't take long for them to prepare, and we were soon on our way.
We followed a path away from the cliff face that went to the edge of a small forest. It wasn't super dense, but it did exude a feeling like we were being watched.
"Hey Alloy," Night called. "Come to the center of the group."
I complied but was rather confused. Why would I need to be in the center? But once I was in position and the others surrounded me, it slowly dawned on me. Since I didn't know how to fight, they were just protecting me.
"While this really isn't a Mystery Dungeon," Quartz started. "We've had some surprises going through."
"Yeah, sometimes Outlaws will attack us with the thought that we're traveling merchants cause of all of our stuff." Magnalu added, causing me to carefully look at our surroundings. I didn't like the sound of that at all.
"Guys, quit scaring him." Derry admonished, putting his paws on his hips. "Besides, that 'Outlaw' was just a Pokémon that was down on their luck and was just trying to take care of their family and those 'surprises' were just some pranks by the local kids."
Upon hearing that, I relaxed tremendously. Leave it to the joker and the one that didn't like me to make me uneasy. I heard Magnalu chuckle and Quartz just grunt as we started moving. Junction Village really must not have been that far because I could already hear the laughter of children close by and the bustle of other Pokémon moving throughout the place. After about ten minutes of walking, we came upon the village, which was actually more the size of a small town! My mouth dropped open as I gazed upon the place, prompting many laughs/chuckles from my companions depending on their respective humor levels.
I shook my head quickly from side to side in order to snap out of my reverie so i could catch up to the others, who had kept on moving into the crowd. As we went down the road, we passed by at least four restaurants, a bank, two hotels and a couple buildings that were apparently abandoned. From what I was gathering from overhearing the other Pokémon around us, there was a lot more to see yet, for Junction Village was apparently the connecting point of some places called Hiintra, Lamadd, Var, and Pyunun. Upon reaching the center of the village, we turned down another road to our right passing by a large bell tower. Just after we went past however, the bell suddenly tolled, ringing out loudly eight times. It was seriously only eight o' clock? Somewhere in the back of my mind I was grumbling about it being too early to be awake, but in the forefront of it I was flipping out due to the fact that I was not expecting that. As a result, I jumped like four feet off the ground and spun around to glare at the bell tower when I realized what it was. Of course, I was being laughed at again by the others; however, they were also laughing at each other because I guess they also had jumped at it.
At least not far away was the Gym, though it was a lone building on a side street. It was rather plain with a few windows and a simple sign out front that announced what it was in big white letters. Of course the inside was absolutely huge, being a gym and all. There were various punching bags and weights around, and there were also small sandpits for sparring off to one side. Toward the back there were some swimming pools for Water-Types to train in as well as some enclosed sandpits with large, scorched rocks that I assumed were for Fire-Types to train with.
After a minute, we were greeted by a Tyrogue, who said that one of the owners would be around to sign us in shortly. Why the Tyrogue couldn't do it, I'll never know, but it really wasn't too much of a big deal considering it wasn't long before a Hitmonchan came up to sign us in.
"Welcome to the Hitmon Gym!" The Hitmonchan greeted cheerfully. I kinda wish that i knew a long-range attack at that moment because that was too cheerful a greeting for 8AM. "Let's sign you in really quick before you get started."
"We've already got paperwork on file for Team Valarbor; however, we've brought a guest with us this time." Night told the Hitmonchan.
"A guest as well Nightshade?" Came the reply. "Alrighty then. You and your team are signed in for today. Your guest is the Cyndaquil, correct?"
"That would be correct, Kila"
"Very well then. If you would please read and place your footprint at the bottom of the page stating that you've read and agree to the terms and conditions of the Gym really quick, then we can get you started!" The Hitmonchan, Kila, grabbed a clipboard and ink pad and set them down in front of me. I was supposed to read and put my footprint on there? That seemed...inefficient, but who am I to judge. I looked at the paper and was immediately dumbfounded though. The whole thing was written in symbols that looked like footprints! I couldn't make heads nor tails of it! I looked at Night for help and he leaned over to glance at it before whispering into my ear.
"It basically says that while you are here to stick with one of us at all times and that any moves used must be performed in the sandpits or in the pool and that they reserve the right to kick you out should you harass other patrons or if you cause too big a disturbance. That sort of stuff. Lots of common sense stuff, really. Just go ahead and stamp it so we can get started." He whispered. That knowledge in hand, or paw rather, i stepped onto the ink pad and then onto the paper where it indicated. Kila took the board away, grabbed a damp towel and wiped off my foot with a smile.
"Okay, you're all set! Now go and work up a sweat!"
That rhyme made me cringe on the inside, but I did my best to not let it show as we all went down to the arena-esque sandpits. Night and Derry stepped into the center as the rest of us watched from the sidelines. In a split second the tension suddenly ramped up and the two adopted sparring poses. They watched each other for just a moment before bolting toward one another; Night's claws flashing white while Derry's paws flashed silver. A loud clash rang out as they collided, but immediately following that collision, Derry went sliding back with a scratch clear across his chest. It was rather shocking to see the ferocity that the two had gone at each other with, for the Riolu launched himself back without hesitation seemingly moving faster than before as he retaliated.
Over and over they clashed, and to my untrained eyes, it seemed as if they were taking turns. Then as I watched, I noticed that Derry's breathing was becoming labored. He had to have been getting tired; although, upon looking at Night, the Grovyle looked like he could go on all day long. But just as it seemed that Night was going to end the match with a strike from the leaves on his wrists, which were glowing a bright green, Derry snapped up from a kneeling position and gave an all-out punch right to Night's chin, sending him down to the dirt flat on his back.
Night groaned and smacked the ground twice, signaling that he was giving up. He got back to his feet, rubbing his jaw before dipping his head respectfully to Derry, who nodded in return before fist pumping the air.
"Jeez Derry, when did you learn Reversal?" The Grovyle asked as he walked out of the pit.
The Riolu giggled excitedly before replying. "Not too long ago actually, just haven't had much cause to use it until now."
"Well that explains why you were holding back and taking so many unnecessary hits." Quartz barked.
"Yep! That's definitely the case! But with that out of the way, it's time to see what our guest can do! Quartz! Kaloi! Step into the pit and give it everything you've got!" Derry replied.
"Wait a minute! What?! Me!?!?" I thought nervously. Quartz didn't like me at all and I didn't think that she would hold anything back when it came to kicking my rear into next week.
"All right!" Quartz howled as she bounded into the pit. "This is going to be soooo satisfying!" That enthusiasm made me groan as I reluctantly followed after receiving a look from Uly when I looked at the others for help. Stupidly strict weasel... i had a feeling that if I tried to get out of this, I would get nailed with water again.
"Okay then," I thought. "I should have some sort of natural fighting instinct right? So then, uhhh, body...? Brain maybe? Can you uhh...do your thing maybe so I don't get utterly destroyed?"
Now while I was doing this, I of course wasn't paying any attention to what was happening until I was bowled over and I felt fangs sinking into my shoulder and electricity coursed through my veins. I let out a howl of pain before I was thrown off to the side. I scrambled to my feet and looked up to see a rock flying at my face. I ducked down and let it fly over my head, but I must've telegraphed what I was going to do or something because Quartz crashed into me and sent me flying back yet again.
"Come on Alloy!" Magnalu called from the sidelines. "Fight back! You can do it!"
I growled in irritation at that. I can't do anything because I don't know how! I'm supposed to be a human for goodness sake! How can a human do anything like what Pokémon can do? Now, of course, in my irritated mindset, I stopped paying attention to the Rockruff who took advantage of the situation to let out a loud howl. That snapped my attention back to her and I saw her stalking toward me before she struck her paw against the sand, casting it into my eyes.
"Gah! Blasted sonuva--!" I yelled before pain coursed through my body yet again as I was struck by what felt like a rock. It must've been a super effective attack as it reminded me of the pain I felt when Uly blasted me earlier, only it was a lot more intense seeing as how Quartz wasn't holding anything back.
"Derry, I don't think this was a good idea to put Alloy against Quartz." I heard Night say softly. "The way things are going, he's likely to get seriously injured."
Shame prickled across my skin under my fur as I looked up and saw Night's worried visage and Derry's disappointed and saddened gaze. Magnalu even looked surprised, but Uly simply stared at me with a focused look, as if he was challenging me to give up. We locked eyes for a moment and something just seemed to click in my brain as a flood of determination flooded my veins.
I turned my gaze to Quartz, who was getting ready to pounce with her fangs crackling with electricity. I staggered back to my feet and shot her a glare, feeling something different this time in my stare. The name 'Leer' passed through my mind as I did so and it seemed like she had become a little more frail despite looking stronger than earlier. Of course, she recovered quickly and pounced, but I was prepared this time. I would NOT lose to this stupid, bratty pooch. Not when it seemed like everyone was rooting for me. I jumped to the side to dodge and then slammed my body back over to collide with her, causing a small yelp of surprise. As 'Tackle' ran through my brain, I noted the surprise factor over pain and figured that it wasn't very effective. Quartz retaliated with her own Tackle, sending me back to the ground.
"Exactly what I figured you would be like: pathetic." She spat as she slowly padded back toward me while I slowly worked my way back to my feet. I couldn't hold out much longer and we both knew it. "In fact, those last couple attacks just proved how pathetic you actually are."
Alright. Now I was starting to get upset. I used Leer again as I snarled in anger.
"I may not know anything about my situation and my past, or how to fight, or even how anything works around here," I began, baring my own teeth. "But that does not give you any freaking right to insult me and call me pathetic." As my anger rose with every word, I felt a spark on my back a split second before my flame nodules ignited. I was definitely feeling it now. Something in my body had triggered, and I could feel a surge of energy. I felt my eyes flash with an odd power and suddenly Quartz was catapulted backward and I saw her tense up.
I found myself back on my feet not a moment before 'Extrasensory' left my thoughts, and though I felt like I had just run a marathon - if my heavy breathing was anything to go by - I felt one last surge of energy. With that last hurrah, my body seemed to act on its own as I drew in as much air as I possibly could before quickly expelling it. Instead of bein just air though, it came out as a barrage of flame pellets. While a bunch missed and struck the dirt, poofing out in a cloud of dust, there were still a number that struck home and left the stunned Rockruff with scorch marks. I didn't need the voice in my mind to tell me what that move was. I knew that was Ember; there was absolutely no doubt.
After that, I was utterly spent. I dropped to the ground, breathing heavily. I must've not done a whole lot of damage with that Ember attack as I heard a loud snarl. Upon looking up, I saw a series of boulders flying at me, and as I braced for impact, two figures jumped in front of me and destroyed them before they even got close. I squinted and saw that Night and Derry, tired as they were, had intervened.
"What are you doing!?" Quartz demanded of them. "He hadn't tapped out! The fight was still going!"
"No... You're wrong." Night panted, sagging as his leaves stopped glowing. "This fight was over several moves ago."
Derry lowered his paws as they faded from a silvery tinge before adding his take. "Once you started yelling at each other, it had gone too far. You're holding some sort of prejudice against him despite knowing nothing about him and you have since we met him."
While Derry and Night stood in between me and Quartz, Magnalu and Uly ran around and helped me to my feet and brought me to the side out of the pit. Uly fished around in one of his bags that he had brought before pulling out a couple round blue berries. He put them into my paws and motioned for me to eat them. I did so and found them to be rather tasty, but I also felt rejuvenated. My breathing evened out and I stood straight.
"Thanks Uly." I said quietly, earning a pat on my head. As I calmed down and the adrenaline faded, the flames on my back went out, but I wasn't in as much pain as I thought that I would be. The berries must have more healing properties than what I thought.
"I was really worried there Alloy." Magnalu said with a frown. "But you at least learned what Moves you can use!" I did feel a sense of accomplishment from that, but I did feel bad that everyone had to step in to stop the fight. I grunted in affirmation that I had heard him and watched as Night and Derry lead Quartz out of the pit. Uly dug out some more berries and gave them to the other three before beckoning Magnalu to join him in the ring. What happened during that sparring match, I didn't know as I sat down and closed my eyes. I must've conked out soon after that as next thing I knew I was shaken awake yet again.
"Uly and Magnalu are done sparring. It's time to leave." Night informed me as I yawned. "Everyone else is at the door."
I looked over to the door to see that everyone was indeed waiting on me and I got up and followed Night to the exit. I ducked my head in apology as we left the Gym. We had only been in there about an hour from what I could tell. The walk back to the center of town seemed awkward though, but at the bell tower everyone split up. Almost everyone anyways. I was looking down each path that the others went along, trying to figure out who to follow when Derry tapped me on the shoulder. He must've snuck behind me when I wasn't paying attention.
"Hey," Derry began, waiting until I turned to continue. "I'm sorry about putting you against Quartz. I had thought that her attitude toward you would simmer down, or that she could put her animosity aside."
I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it almost immediately after. The Emanation Pokémon just looked so despondent and melancholy that it was hard to believe that it was the same Pokémon as the hyperactive one that greeted me on the plains. I took a moment to think before answering.
"Honestly, I think that Quartz was in fact the best opponent for me." I said after a time. This earned me a frown from the other Pokémon before he suddenly picked me up and began carrying me down the path that Magnalu and Uly went down.
"I think you took too many blows to the head. She basically tried to kill you in there!"
"You misunderstand! I feel this way because of that very fact! Without that threat, I don't think that my survival instincts would have kicked in. I probably would've spent hours or days in there before something else triggered them. And I don't think that fighting any of the rest of you would have done me any good.
"That's not to say that the rest of you couldn't do it. I'm not trying to say that at all. Especially considering the way that you and Nightshade fought each other. I just needed the ferocity and pure anger that only Quartz could express over the raw energy that Ulysses and Magnalu would use, or the strategic nature of yours and Nightshade's style of fighting."
Derry remained quiet as I spoke, and he eventually put me down and pulled me into a hug. I could definitely feel the raw emotion in the embrace. Talk about suffocating one with emotion.
"Okay. I'll take your word for it." He said after a time. "But if at any point you join us for sparring again and you feel that you're in danger or can't find the energy to continue fighting, please make sure to tap out and not push yourself beyond your limits."
I nodded in agreement, knowing that his words were true. I had pushed myself well beyond my capabilities for one that had just woken up not too long ago with no knowledge of what I could do to defend myself. I needed to work up to full on fighting. After seeing my agreement, Derritus beckoned me to follow him into the next building on our left. It didn't seem all too special, but inside it was a full on clinic.
A number of Pokémon bustled around, from Chansey and Blissey to Gardevoir and Audino. They were tending to other various Pokémon; all of whom were injured in some way, shape, or form. Derry and I wove our way through the throng and sat on a couple empty stools while we waited to be tended to. It was concerning to see so many Pokémon here, but with the various jobs of the Exploration Teams, it was also understandable. Though I couldn't believe that everyone was in one of those Teams.
As we waited, Derry and I chatted a little. I learned that he used to be rather withdrawn until he ran away from his home and came to Junction Village, or rather, met Nightshade not too long after coming here. They basically had been polar opposites of each other until Night evolved when trying to protect him from an Outlaw after he had been injured on a mission. It just took me aback on what sort of bond that the two leaders had, and it was quite interesting on how just one encounter can completely change one's character.
After waiting about thirty minutes or so, we were finally seen by one of the clinic assistants. It was a Chimecho that had come around. He took a look at us and used Heal Pulse, letting the soft pulse rejuvenate us before sending us off with a fare-thee-well chime and moving on. As we left, Derry dropped some coins into a barrel in the center of the clinic. Once outside, he stretched and let out a huge breath of air.
"Hoo, man! I hate having to wait in there!" He exclaimed. "The tense atmosphere is waaaaay too overbearing!"
I nodded at this in simple agreement, but it was easily understandable. We walked back to the bell tower where everyone was waiting on us. Uly just waved while Magnalu made a quip about us being slower than Slowpoke, but we soon got moving down the initial road we arrived on heading in the direction of the base. The others launched into conversation amongst each other, Ulysses basically playing charades or something with all of the gestures that he was making, while I walked along silently, just taking in all of the sights. Night and Derry were discussing Exploration Team Leader stuff from what it sounded like. Something to do with Outlaws and Rescues i think. Magnalu, Quartz, and Uly were chatting about the different things in the city. From that three-way conversation, or rather two-way seeing as how I couldn't understand the gestures, Magnalu had gone to a grocer's and had seen some things that he found funny, and Quartz went to a Storehouse. I had to listen closely to that one cause I did a double take thinking that I had heard a very different word. Of course I passed it off by faking a sneeze so that I didn't get mauled or hosed down for eavesdropping.
After what seemed like an eternity of walking, we finally arrived back at the base. Surprisingly, there were several groups of Pokémon in there when we arrived. Some were by the pool watching some kids play on the jungle gyms, some were by the boards leafing through what was posted, and others were just standing around and chatting. Nightshade announced that we were all back before everyone split and went to different sections. Uly and Magnalu went over to the pool area where they both started to play with the children. Night and Derry went to the board and started rearranging what was on the boards. Then Quartz went back into the remaining door that I hadn't gone through yet. I figured it was a storeroom or something.
That just left me standing there looking lost. As much as I wanted to go and sleep, despite feeling a lot better after being hit with that Heal Pulse, I really kinda felt that I should do something. Now I know that they said that today was a day off from Missions, and I probably shouldn't even be thinking about doing this, but maybe I should try one and return the favor a little bit. I bet if I asked, Night or Derry would take me on one with one of the others. With that in mind, I made my way over to the boards. Time to test myself...with something easy of course.