The bottom floor of the guild was awash with noise. Eevee and Sol were the last to return and the other recruits were clustered in groups talking animatedly amongst themselves. They didn't notice the two as they entered the room.
Sol sat down with her back against the wall and Eevee sat down beside her. He then began to transfer the items from Spoinks bag to his own multi-pocketed satchel.
"What was that you threw to me earlier?"
"Oh, that was a sleep seed," he explained. He dug around in his bag and pulled out a variety of seeds. They each had a translucent yellow shell with conveniently colour coded cores. Green was sleep seed, yellow was stun seed, light blue was heal heal seed, pink was totter seed, dark blue was reviver seed and orange was blast seed. Quite the plant life they must have around here to get seeds like that.
A bell chimed and Sol looked up to see a chimecho exit a doorway opposite the hall that led to the guild rooms on the other side of the room.
"Ok everybody, dinner's ready!" the chimecho called out and quickly disappeared back into the room.
There were literally shouts of joy as a herd of hungry, stampeding Pokémon, including Eevee, rushed from the room as if their lives depended on it. Sol ended up at the back of the group wondering what the hurry was all about. It wasn't as if the food was going to sprout legs and walk away in the few seconds it took to get to the dining room.
A long, wooden table dominated the room, laden with bowls of fruits, nuts and berries. Everyone took their places with Chatot at the head of the table, which Sol thought was rather presumptuous until she saw Wigglytuff to the side away from the table doing some sort of dance around a shiny red apple the size of Sol's head. By the time she took her place at the end of the table beside Eevee, everyone else had already filled their plates and were practically inhaling the food. There wasn't any conversation, no talk about the day, just an all-out free for all chow-down where the slow went hungry.
Sol grabbed what she could before it disappeared into the collective maw of the Pokémon. As the food supply dwindled, she even had to guard against the stray hands of particularly bold Pokémon seeking to steal her meal.
When the last bowl was picked clean, everyone headed off straight from the dining room to the dorm rooms, hollering out "good nights" as they settled down into their beds.
Eevee entered his room with Sol and plopped down tiredly on his bed.
"Today was pretty hectic with everything we went through, wasn't it? But I'm glad our first job turned out so well," Eevee said. "By the way, are you feeling all right? You didn't eat much at dinner."
"No, nothing wrong with my appetite, or anybody else's for that matter," Sol said with a laugh. "I'm not used to having to compete for my food. Was that normal when it comes to eating with Pokémon?"
"Pretty much. I never considered all the differences between being a human and being a Pokémon. A few things would take some getting used to."
"I'll manage, but for now let's get some sleep. If tomorrow is anything like today, we're going to need the rest."
"UP AND AT 'EM! IT'S MORNING!"
Once again, Loudred's all to loud voice hit Sol like a load of bricks and she woke with a start. Her hand fumbled about, searching in vain for something she could throw at him.
Eevee and Sol joined the line-up outside the guild rooms. The apprentices, Wigglytuff (awake this time, as far as Sol could tell) and Chatot were already there, and they started off with the morning cheers.
After, the Pokémon ran off to whichever job they happened to have while Eevee and Sol followed Chatot up to the second floor. The guild's second made no mention of yesterday's confrontation, nor did he act any differently. This was fine by Sol, who in retrospect had to admit that it probably wasn't the smartest idea to antagonize the second most powerful person in the guild on the very first day of training. Making enemies before having any friends would end badly.
Chatot led them to a bulletin board on the right side of the room, near to a wide booth where Chimecho worked on some unknown task.
"Today we'll have you do a job listed on this side," he declared with a hint of a self-satisfied smirk, which made Sol uneasy.
"How is it different from the board on the other side?" she asked cautiously and took a closer look. Pages with pictures of various Pokémon were pinned to the board. The footprint runes beneath the picture revealed nothing to Sol, but she was starting to get a sneaking suspicion that Chatot hadn't forgotten about yesterday's threats so quickly, and they were about to pay the price.
"The Pokémon posted here… are outlaws," Chatot said with a dramatic pause, his voice filled with barely contained glee. "They're all shady characters and they're wanted for committing various crimes, so there are bounties on their heads. There are so many aggressive Pokémon around these days that everyone's finding it hard to keep up with the problem. And that's where you come in."
Eevee was nearing a nervous breakdown by this point, trembling and on the verge of tears.
"We're supposed to go catch outlaws!" he exclaimed. "No way, that's not possible! They're dangerous, and what if something happens? What are we supposed to do then? No, no, no, it'll all go wrong, we'll get beat up, they'll steal our stuff, then we'll get lost without any food, and then I'll fall down a hole and by the time Sol gets me out it'll be dark, and..."
Eevee babbled on for a long while, describing in detail how they were doomed to failure and ended his tirade with the two of them dying of thirst at the bottom of a ravine and their bodies not being found for days. It would seem that Eevee had an imagination to go along with his phobia.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, partner.
"It's all part of your training. You'll work through it, I'm sure! But I suppose you do need to be prepared to confront a tough opponent, so I'll have someone give you a tour of the facilities."
Chatot turned and shouted down the ladder.
"Hey! Bidoof! Bidoof?!"
A minute later, a heavily breathing beaver Pokémon climbed up the ladder. He took a moment to catch his breath, and then said "You called?"
"Ah, Bidoof!" Chatot sang. "These are the new recruits that just joined us. Take them and show them around the town, and then help them to pick out a bounty to fulfill."
"Yes sirree! By golly, I'll do just that! Yup yup!" Bidoof said, far too excited considering two newbies just got dumped on him.
"This is Bidoof. He's one of your fellow apprentices. I want you to pay attention to what he has to say and follow his orders. Off you go!"
With that Chatot strutted off and Bidoof turned to the new recruits. Sol could have sworn there were actual tears in his eyes.
"Aw, shucks, I'm overjoyed!"
Yep, those were definitely tears.
"Why's that?" Eevee asked.
"I'm glad to have members junior to me! Before you all signed on, I was the most recent rookie. I'm overcome right now… I might just blubber with happiness!"
"Please don't," Sol said. She wasn't entirely sure what blubber meant as a verb, but she didn't want to see it. "And is it so bad being the newbie around here that you're reduced to tears when someone else comes along?"
"What? By golly, no! It's just great to have junior people to have to pass knowledge to. The others really helped me when I was new, and I thought… shucks, I've given you all the wrong impression now, haven't I? I'd best just show you around before I mess up again."
He led them down to the bottom floor of the guild.
"This room is where we hold all the guild meetings and such."
Bidoof pointed out three doorways, one leading to the mess hall, one to the crew rooms, and the last to the Guildmaster's quarters. Then he pointed out a booth with a large, empty cauldron where a Croagunk worked.
"Here we have Croagunk… but to tell the truth, I don't have any idea what the Pokémon's up to… he seems to be fiddling around with that big cauldron back there. It's all a mystery to me! Yup yup!"
And I'm sure a lot of things are mysteries to you, Sol thought. And then wow, I really am a bit of a jerk, aren't I?
As Bidoof led them out of the guild and down the western path to the town, she tried and failed to suppress the bitch part of her brain when she thought that maybe it was her and Eevee that got saddled with Bidoof instead of the other way around.
Again, wow. Was I like this before, or did it come with the memory loss?
"Now here we are in TreasureTown!" Bidoof announced as he gestured to the surrounding buildings and stalls, all painted in bright colors and most shaped to resemble a certain Pokémon. "You can find just about anything here."
"Oh, I can tell you about TreasureTown, too," Eevee began and cheerfully pointed out the various establishments, his earlier near-breakdown just a memory. It was rather odd to Sol how quickly Eevee bounced around from one emotion to the next, to be nearly in tears one moment and downright cheerful the next.
"Yes sirree, you do know a lot about the town! Well, I'll be waiting back at the guild when you lot are down here and help you pick out an outlaw. By golly, you must have really impressed Chatot to have moved onto the second board already. It was months before I was even allowed to consider taking a bounty!"
"I think it was less about how much we impressed him and more about how much I pissed him off," Sol muttered under her breath as Bidoof disappeared down the path to the guild.
"Ok, let's go," Eevee said to Sol. "I'd like to see what kinds of items are available at the Kecleon Market."
"Right. Lead the way."
The market featured a wide assortment of goods set out on display under the watchful eyes of the two Kecleon brothers. The one with the dark green skin was called Grecks, the one with the light, almost blue shin was called Boln. Amis descriptions of their "must have" items, they told them that everyone just referred to them collectively as the Kecleon brothers.
"Because we're never far apart!" Grecks declared happily. "Now, what do you think of these apples? Freshly picked and you'll never find any juicier!"
Unabashed hawking of wares aside, Sol liked the brothers. They were always either echoing each other like a pair of sycophants, or they bickered in a good natured way. Back and forth they'd go, praising a certain item together befor disagreeing on some minor detail before cycling back again. It was rather fun to watch.
Sol scanned through the wares as Eevee chatted with the Kecleons about Luminous something-or-other and evolving, whatever that meant, until her eyes landed on a length of polished cherry-wood, the ends capped with bits of metal.
She lifted the staff off the table. It was strong, solid wood, smooth and unblemished. Holding it felt… good, almost familiar. Something niggled in the back of her mind, and then…
She stood in the center of a barren field. Vague shapes approached from all sides. Obscured as they were she couldn't make out just what they were, but she knew without a doubt they were here for her. A feral grin spread across her features and she twirled the white staff in her hands with expert precision, the blades on its ends flashing in the dim light.
They could try to bring her down, and they would fail.
Sol blinked and the moment was gone. What was that? A memory? What did it mean? She looked at the cherry staff in her hands. Whatever the case, she wanted this staff. And then she saw the price tag.
"What!? That much for a stick! I could lop a branch off a tree for free!"
"And what kind of craftsmanship would that have?" Boln asked as the two merchants walked over.
"That is specially treated wood from a forest far from here, crafted by a Shiftry hermit who excels at woodworking, " Grecks added. "I assure you, it is well worth the price."
With some regret, Sol returned the staff to the table. Worth it or not, ahe didn't have nearly enough money to pay for it.
"Misters Kecleon!"
Two little blue Pokémon ran up the road to the market.
"Ah! Little Marill and Azurill!" Grecks exclaimed. "Welcome, my young friends!"
"Hello," the smallest one, Azurill, said. "May I buy an apple?"
"Of course!"
Boln filled a brown paper bag and gave it to the kids. They skipped off happily down the road after paying.
"Those delightful children are brothers," the Kecleons informed Eevee and Sol. "Lately, their poor mother has fallen sick, so those youugsters come and do the shopping, as well as other errands. Though very young, they've stepped up and taken charge."
"Misters Kecleon!"
Marill and Azurill rushed back.
"There was an extra apple in the bag. We didn't pay for this many."
"Oh, yes… That, young friends, is a gift from me and my brother. Please, share it amongst yourselves and do enjoy."
That was a nice change. Sine awakening on the beach, Sol had met too many petty and selfish Pokémon (cough, Chatot, cough). It was nice to see some honesty and generosity for a change, even if it was a bit too sickeningly sweet for Sol's taste.
"Yay!" Azurill shouted in delight. "Thank you, Mr. Kecleon and Mr. Kecleon!"
"Oh, not to worry, my friends. Do take care on your way home."
The two set off again, only for Azurill to trip and fall, the apples spilling from the bag. Sol scooped them up off the ground.
"Sorry to bother you. Thanks," Azurill said as he picked himself off the ground and took back the fruits.
"No Problem," Sol began, but stopped as her hand brushed the other Pokémon's and she was hit with a wave of dizziness. She stumbled back.
What was-
Another wave, stronger this time.
A dizzy spell, or-
A third wave crashed over her, making her knees weak. Suddenly, her vision turned black.
Don't tell me I have a brain tumor on top of everything else.
A bright, white light pierced the darkness and consumed her sight, and she heard the distinct sound of someone screaming for help.