Dear unnamed guest who left that review: I'm glad you are so fond of Jak, a character I was unsure on whether people would like her or hate her.
Wigglytuff's perspective was much harder to write then I had expected. I hope I didn't ruin this chapter. Please Review!
"La la la la! La la la! La la la laaaa! La la la la!"
Ooh, Wigglytuff was so excited! What kind of treasures waited at Fogbound Lake? He really hoped Team Wanderers would get back soon with good news. Good news was so much better than bad news.
Wigglytuff would have kept on exploring, but that wouldn't have been good Guildmastering. One had to know when to step back and let the apprentices handle things. How else would they learn? And Team Wanderers had a lot of learning left to do.
Eevee didn't have enough confidence in himself, a fact that was preventing him from reaching his full potential. Wigglytuff had trouble understanding that, since he had never experienced such a feeling for himself. Since everyone lives with themselves for their whole life, how could they not know just how capable they are? Wigglytuff hoped that with a few successes, like perhaps being the one to discover Fogbound Lake, would help with Eevee's problem.
And then there was Sol, the Riolu and completely normal. Or so she would have everyone believe. Wigglytuff was an experienced explorer and knew when something held a secret, be it an ancient ruin or an immature apprentice. Secrets, secrets, everyone had their little secrets, and it made the world all the more interesting. Of course, if Wigglytuff were to guess, Sol had quite the big little secret. He may not be sure what it was exactly, but he was aware that it was there. He didn't think it to be a harmful secret so he didn't dig into the matter, even though curiosity was driving him crazy.
Secrets or no secrets, Sol had quite a bit to learn about being a member of an exploration team, emphasis on the word team. She was somewhat... cynical, and not very trusting. Not in the way that she expected people to turn on her, definitely not, but she was in the mindset that if she didn't do something herself, it wasn't going to be done right, like the world would fall apart if she wasn't there to hold it together. Contrary to popular belief, Wigglytuff did read mission reports, well, most of them... ok, some of them, the ones that had interesting/funny titles, and from what he could gather Sol would often overlook the fact that she wasn't there alone. Charging into fights without consulting with her partner, coming up with plans then enacting them without informing her partner of anything, as if only Sol needed to know and could get it all done by herself. Wigglytuff didn't think it was arrogance, not really. Sol didn't think she was better than everyone else, but that everyone else was worse than she was. It may not seem like it, but there was a difference. Working in a team should help with that. Hopefully.
Wigglytuff tried to help with all his apprentices overcome their shortcomings in ways they rarely even noticed. Chatot and all the others might think that he handed out special jobs and assignments on passing whims, but there were reasons behind them all. Well... most of them, at least. Sending Sunflora alone after that seemingly invincible outlaw in that cave full of fire type Pokémon was probably not one of his better ideas. But hey, it all turned out all right in the end.
Wait, where was he... Oh, right! Fogbound Lake! What was taking Eevee and Sol so long? It would be getting dark soon. Team Skull seemed to be getting rather anxious as well, whispering to each other, staring at Wigglytuff with dark, intimidating faces. Wigglytuff didn't know why they were doing such a thing, so he asked them.
"Dear friends! What's wrong? You've been making such scary faces at me!"
They didn't answer, and if anything they screwed up their faces even more as they whispered to each other.
"I get it! You're trying to make me laugh with silly faces! I bet I can make you laugh too!"
What a great idea this game was! Skuntank must have realized how boring just standing around and waiting was, and decided to help pass the time by trying to make each other laugh! How considerate he was! Too bad Skuntank wasn't all that good at the game, not nearly as good as Wigglytuff. The Guildmaster placed a hand under each eye and stretched them down while making a funny 'o' shaoe with his mouth. For added effect, he threw in some sound effects, the real dividing line between amateurs and champions.
"Blabba! Blabba! Blapp! Blobba! Blobba! Blopp!"
"Hey Wigglytuff!" Skuntank interrupted.
So wrapped up in his funny face making, it took Wigglytuff a few seconds to form a coherent response.
"Whatiswhatiswhatis... What is it?"
"Hey, no hard feelings, but... you're going down! Take this! A noxious gas special, straight from me and Koffing!"
A large, purple cloud shot out from the two Pokémon and surrounded Wigglytuff. He wasn't completely sure what was going on, but it really smelled horrible! Best not to mention anything, though. No need to embarrass them.
And then, tragedy struck.
Wigglytuff went to check on his Perfect Apple and make sure it was ok. After the ordeal of having been hidden by Chatot then rolling around the forest, he had to constantly ensure the apple was in pristine condition with a bright red, shiny exterior and a healthy green leaf attached to the stem. But now, the leaf was dead and withered, the apple a sickly brown. The smelly gas had killed his Perfect Apple.
"You... hurt my... Perfect Apple," Wigglytuff hiccuped, overcome with grief.
"What?!" Skuntank exclaimed. "We put everything behind that attack! You should be knocked out!"
"You hurt my Perfect Apple..." Wigglytuff repeated, his sorrow turning to anger.
"Hey, chief... maybe we should get out of here..."
"YOU HURT MY PERFECT APPLE!"
His rage burned with a fierce intensity, consuming all other thought. His poor, innocent, delicious Perfect Apple! It was so young... It would be avenged!
With an echoing cry filled with grief and anger, Wigglytuff launched himself through the air. Koffing was the first to fall, crushed under Wigglytuff's body slam. Next came Zubat, who tried to defend himself with a high pitched screech attack. The sound hurt Wigglytuff's ears, but it was nothing compared to the pain of losing his Perfect Apple. Zubat was slammed into the ground then stomped upon for good measure.
And then it was Skuntank's turn. The earth was shaking with the pink Pokémon's fury, small eruptions bursting forth from the ground. Skuntank was backing away, fear evident on his face. He tried another gas attack to no avail, then attempted to flee.
Wigglytuff charged after him with a roar. While fear was a great motivator, none could escape the wrath of the mighty, terrifying and, above all else, pink, Wigglytuff.
Pound was Wigglytuff's preferred move. While not normally all too powerful, it was an attack of immense power when fueled by such blinding anger. Skuntank was left as a moaning and groaning mess on the ground with the other members of his team all in the same state he was in.
Revenge would never bring his Perfect Apple back, but it sure made him feel better. Perhaps exploring would help take his mind off of it. Wigglytuff was pretty good at forgetting about stuff he didn't like.
He found the entrance to the Steam Cave, a sweltering place filled with vents releasing scalding, vapourous water. Not exactly the most welcoming place, but the excitement bubbling up inside of him overshadowed the unpleasantness. Even his anger was dissipating in the face of discovering something new.
By the time Wigglytuff made it to the top if the plateau, he was practically bursting with excitement. Not that anyone would have been able to tell just by looking at him. As he walked along in the refreshingly cool night air, he was the picture of calm. That, of course, was shattered the moment he laid eyes on the majesty of Fogbound Lake.
"A Time Gear! A Time Gear! Well, too bad! We can't take a Time Gear."
The mystical object shimmered and shone from its place at the center of the lake, giving off a bluish green glow. The radiance was reflected off the water in a dazzling display of light.
Wigglytuff ran down to the lake's shore where Eevee and Sol, know with bald spots decorating her face and arms, stood alongside three others he didn't recognize. One was a Charmander standing slightly apart from the others, her eyes darting about and looking very uncomfortable. The second was a light blue and yellow Pokémon floating several feet off the ground with a face devoid of emotion, as if he was carved from stone. The third was a colossal, red Pokémon like the Groudon statue down below, standing unnaturally still and flickering in and out of view.
"Wow! Fantastic!" Wigglytuff exclaimed and stared out over the lake.
"And who might this be?" the blue and yellow Pokémon asked.
"Oh, Uxie and Jak, meet our Guildmaster, Wigglytuff," Eevee said.
"Glad to meet you, friend! Friend! Friend! Amazing! Friend!" Wigglytuff sang and the Charmander, Jak, looked even more uncomfortable and seemed to be on the verge of bolting. "Gaze upon this amazing view! I'm delighted we came! La-dee-la! Dee-la-dee!"
It really was beautiful. The stars twinkling high above in their brilliant, never ending dance. The trees in the far distance around the lake, shrouded in darkness and lending an eerie beauty to the edges of the scene. Then the Time Gear itself, the center piece of the sight, flowing with a magical and unexplainable energy that immediately drew the eye with its enchanting aura. Sol sure seemed enraptured, not once moving her eyes from the view even at Wigglytuff's approach.
"Squ-squ-squawk?!"
Wigglytuff turned to see Chatot and the rest if the apprentices on the path, flinching back from the flickering image of the legendary Groudon.
"Gr-Gr-Gr..." Loudred stammered.
"Eek! It's, like, Groudon!"
"Don't eat me! I'm not tasty!" Corphish yelled.
Wigglytuff rolled his eyes. With the fantastic view of Fogbound Lake right there, they were stuck on little details like giant, mythical Pokémon? It wasn't like Groudon was doing anything wrong. He just stood there, doing that weird flickering thing he did, like a candle flame in the wind.
"Hello to one and all! So what's wrong?"
"G-G-Guildmaster?" Chatot sputtered. He could be so slow sometimes, but what was a Wigglytuff to do?
"Oh, never mind that!" he said, waving a dismissive hand at Groudon. "Everyone, look out there! It's spouting! Pretty! Pretty!"
Like a giant fountain, the water around the Time Gear was shooting upwards. Illuminated from inside, it glowed a myriad of pinks, greens and blues.
"Oh my! So shimmering!" Chimecho exclaimed.
"Yup yup! Some kind of pretty!"
"Yes, the lake geyser erupts every now and then," Uxie said. "And the Time Gear sends up illumination from below. In harmony, it is the very vision of beauty!"
"The treasure! The treasure... must be the view of Fogbound Lake!"
And what a treasure it was! How often does one get the opportunity to see something so magnificent? This was definitely an expedition worthy sight.
As was always the case when Wigglytuff made a new discovery, the happiness and excitement was tinged with a thin layer of sorrow, lessened by time but still there. His fingers lightly touched the small Defend Globe he carried everywhere, a treasure more precious to him than even the most perfect of Perfect Apples. Every discovery he made came with the bitter reminder that his old mentor, Armaldo, was not there to see it with him.
From the corner of his eye, Wigglytuff saw Eevee pull something from his bag, a black bandana with a design stitched in red. He gave it to Jak, who took it after a moments hesitation, but then stared at it as if she had no idea what to do with it.
"You helped us out, and we appreciate it," Eevee said, causing Sol to snort and mutter something under her breath while tracing the bald spots on her face. "I just wanted to give you something as a way of saying thanks."
How nice it was to see friends being so nice to each other!
"I shall not take away your memories of this place," Uxie eventually said. "You have earned my trust. But I must ask that you keep this place a secret."
"Surely! Thank you!" Wigglytuff sang. "We all know what we need to do! You know, another Time Gear has been stolen. This one must stay safe! We won't say a word about this place. I swear it on the name of Wigglytuff's Guild!"
"Please hold true to that promise."
"Ok! Let's be on our way!" Wigglytuff declared. As beautiful as Fogbound Lake may be, it was getting late and he didn't want to overstay their welcome. That would just be rude! "Chatot, if you will!"
"I'll hop to it, Guildmaster! Everyone, we're going back to the guild!"