Chapter 4

Team Ashes

"Slippery son of a bitch!" Lyn roared as he once again struck the earth, missing a force palm on our target. He received only an angry hiss in response as an iron tail struck his chest and threw him a few feet away. The Riolu grabbed his shoulder before pulling himself up and glaring at his attacker.

"Careful, Lyn!" I shot an ember at the intimidating Arbok and ran to my partner's side without even looking to see if my attack hit. He groaned before shaking himself off. "He's got the type advantage here, speed too."

The blue canine growled. "If my attacks are less effective, then I'll just hit him harder. Simple as that."

I choked on a fire attack, coughing some smoke. "Th-That's not how it works!" I glanced at him incredulously. My concern only grew as I saw the seething hatred that bored holes into the thieving snake's skull. "Lyn, work with me here."

I have to snap him out of it. He's wanted alive, anything less might as well be crime in itself.

"Remember our practice fight with chatot?"

He snorted, letting out a short laugh and breaking out of his irritation towards the Arbok. "I don't think now's the time to be reminiscing, Ruby." The Arbok flitted his tongue as he scanned his surroundings for an escape. He grew more frustrated as he realised just how cornered he is. He took a more aggressive stance, apparently deciding on chancing a battle against us.

The fire in my chest spiked as I prepared my attack. "Just get ready. We're recreating your stupid plan."

He chuckled again, "Never would have thought you'd actually suggest it, let alone forgive me."

I rolled my eyes as I joked back, "Never said anything about forgiving you. I'm expecting several gifts before you can even consider being forgiven."

Our enemy hissed again, "Lasst chance on dropping thiss mission and going our sseparate wayss." Each "s" he pronounced lasting annoyingly longer than the rest.

"Ssssscum" Lyn drawled out as if teasing him. I inhaled sharply, unsure if that was insensitive or racist in some way. I sighed, trying to drop my preconceived notions of when I was human.

"Now!" He crossed his arms above his forehead and I jumped up, landing with a flourish right where his arms met. With all his force, he threw me into the air. I nosedived as best I could to spin and released my flames. I grit my teeth as I saw the snake's confused eyes only on me. Lyn had already dashed towards him. My fire enveloped me as my spinning picked up speed, now going straight for our foe. Before he could react, a punch met his jaw and knocked him up slightly. Just in time for my body to crash into his.

After coming to a stop, I had to push myself off the ground. My new body was still not that high of a level so I quickly grew exhausted. Turning myself I was glad to find a very unconscious snake underneath my cocky Riolu friend.

"Can't call a plan stupid if it works." He shot me a smirk.

I clicked my tongue, looking away. "Just tie him up or something."

He pulled some rope from his pack and stood above our target. "Err…" He looked at me, scratching his head. "I didn't really think this far ahead, you got any ideas? His body's a bit.. different than I'm used to."

I frowned, "I don't know! Just like.. roll him up or something. Then tie him up."

"Hmm…" He held a paw under his chin as he circled the Arbok to figure out his game plan.

Our walk home was an interesting one to say the least. Taking my words to heart, he rolled the snake into a spiral before tying it all off. I had to walk beside Lyn as he rolled the snake like a tire. Each time the Arbok's head went under he elicited a moan of pain, causing Lyn to laugh to himself almost every time.

By the time we got back, I started to worry that we might accidentally kill our target with a concussion or something. I'm still not used to how much it really takes to kill a Pokemon. Hell, they can heal a scratch in a matter of minutes with the right berries. My partner comically rolled our target right up to a very concerned Magnezone. He handed us our reward as he sent some Magnemites away with the snake.

We walked off with our reward to the Guild, ready to get some rest. "You know, you could at least pretend like you're happy." Lyn pointed to my face. "Wigglytuff's even called us incredible with how fast we're improving and yet you always look bored."

I scrunched up my face in annoyance before glaring. "I am 'happy'! What do you mean?"

He flipped around, walking backwards to keep pace as he looked closer. "Are you sure?" I spat some fire towards his feet and he quickly jumped back. "Okay, okay! I'm just saying." He gave me more space and turned back around, now walking with his hands behind his head. "It's difficult to tell. You don't really smile much. To be honest, the most expression I've seen you have was when you were spooked back when I met you on the beach. Which, by the way, still haunts my dreams. Other than that, all I get is glares."

"Hmph." I didn't reply. Obviously, I was freaked out back then. I couldn't be too upset with him, he's right. It was mostly the same when I was human too. Not that I couldn't smile or anything, it just always felt unnatural to force my face to do anything else. I figured any expression I really needed would just come naturally. Which it did do at times.

"You really are something else, Ruby. I mean that in a good way, too. At first I thought you were just arrogant and looked down on everybody." He chuckled to himself. "Now, of course, I know that couldn't be further from the truth. I've never met a more patient 'mon. It's probably because of you that a majority of our rescues don't end in them being completely scarred. Most of the young Pokemon in town absolutely adore you, you'd make a good mother one day." My face grew hot as I rolled my eyes.

Why would someone just say something like that?! Why is he acting like that's a completely acceptable thing to say? Every single time I start to feel like I'm getting used to this, Lyn throws another curve ball to confuse me. I swear he's doing it on purpose!

I lost any chance I had at being a parent when I died and somehow became a Pokemon. It's not like I'd ever consider starting a family like this, right? I mean, I've been getting used to this body pretty well these last few months, but it feels.. off to actually think about a future as this. I lied to Lyn about wanting to find a way to turn back, I knew there was no possible way. My human body is dead, there's no coming back from that.

I was beyond lucky to somehow be reborn, despite it being in an unfamiliar body with all my old memories. I sure as hell didn't deserve it. I've had the same nagging thought keep me restless for multiple nights lately. Should I just forget who I was?.. Who I am, I meant…

Who am I?

I bit my tongue and tried to shake my head of these thoughts. The pit in my stomach only grew as I tried to remember my human life. Things were missing. How much? I didn't know. I was obsessed with someone... I can't remember who. I did some awful things just to get his attention. All in vain, I'm sure. Those last few moments. The insane storm destroying everything. So many people died, and I was on the wrong side.

I remembered the boy I was supposed to be fighting against. I ignored the orders after seeing just how much devastation we caused. I even tried to help him control the orbs. I failed and after an attack from the massive fire legendary, I was thrown into a cave and pinned beneath a boulder. I couldn't move, my other pokemon that were in their balls around my waist were also crushed.

The boy actually ran in and tried to save me. I knew it was too late so I yelled at him to leave, to save the others. Of all the things he could've done, He said he wanted to go to the contest hall with me after all this was over. He cried as he ran, pulling his white hat down to dry his face.

After that I was left alone with my partner, a ninetales that had been with me since the beginning. She looked so sad. I yelled at her to leave, too. The earth beneath me shook and I knew the cave we were in wouldn't last much longer. I begged my Ninetales to leave me, but she ignored my pleas and wrapped her body around mine. I could feel her shaking with fear, I didn't understand. I couldn't. I cried as I saw the ceiling of the cave fall apart.

I broke out of my stupor and looked at Lyn. He kept walking forward with his paws behind his head, completely oblivious to my dwelling on what was lost. I was so glad to meet him. He made things feel real. He made the future feel a little less uncertain. I don't know about starting a family, though. I wasn't sure I could get past the fact that I was doing something like that with a Pokemon.

A shiver went down my spine as I remembered the big thing Riolu and Lucario are known for. Reading auras. He could probably feel my little freakout a moment ago. "H-Hey.." I awkwardly started. "You didn't.. uh.."

"Come on, Ruby! Let's get back to the Guild already!'' The Riolu started running before I could ask him anything.

I started to run after him, worried he noticed and was trying to pretend he hadn't. He was running really fast, I groaned as I tried to speed up. "L-Lyn, slow down!" He acted as if he didn't hear me. His form grew smaller as he got further away. My heart started beating faster. The sky was growing darker despite it being early in the evening.

I started to panic. Something was wrong. "Lyn!" I slowed down to a stop as I looked around. My surroundings were all darkening, as if being erased. I circled around and everything, even the ground just disappeared to the darkness. "Lyn?!"

My voice echoed in my head as I kept looking around. This isn't right! What's going on?

"Ruby?" I gasped, seeing a blue spot in the distance calling for me. I ran as fast as I could to reach him. As I got closer, I realised he looked different. He was taller, He had actually evolved? I kept running to him, but no matter how hard I tried, it was as if this small amount of distance wouldn't close. He wasn't running away, he was standing still. Why can't I reach him?

"Don't leave me!" I suddenly screamed. I felt confused, but I kept running. "Please don't leave me!"

"That's rich. You're the one that left me after all." His slightly deeper voice nearly stopped me in my tracks. I choked on my breath and slowed my run to a hesitant walk.

"Lyn?" He scoffed as he finally started walking towards me. I felt relieved as the distance finally started to lessen. A small bit of fear also hit me, but I couldn't understand why. There was no reason to ever be afraid of Lyn.

"What exactly did you expect, Ruby?" He was growing closed and I froze at the question. I felt so confused. As he finally reached me, I looked up to him with worry. His eyes… were angry. He reeled his leg back.

I screamed as he kicked me, I scraped against the ground as I looked back to him, tears freely falling now. "W-Why?"

"WHY?!" He ran at me and kicked me again. "Why the fuck do you think?! Did you think I'd never find out? How you just stopped trying and let Dialga beat the shit out of you? It's your own damn fault you died. You abandoned me!" He kneeled down by me and picked me up by the throat.

I cried out in pain, unable to breathe. He lifted his fist and started punching me. "I never got over you! I never found love in someone else! I thought you were the one! I thought we were destined for each other!" He hit me between each sentence. I could only cry as he bludgeoned me more and more.

"I never accepted your death! I wanted a family with you! I begged! Begged to have you back to any god that would listen! I would have given anything!" The pain was unbearable, I felt like I was about to faint. "Then I finally FINALLY got to the end of this damned life. I was actually excited to see you again, Ruby! Then I find out you're fucking alive again? What do I do with this information?!" He threw my damaged body away from him like I was trash. "You disgust me, Ruby."

I coughed out some blood, leaving a mess on the completely black ground. I tried to curl up into a ball to hide my disgusting body from view.

What the fuck is wrong with me? He was completely right. This is all my fault.

I heard his footsteps get closer and I only tensed, expecting more pain. Something wet hit me and I looked up. He was crying, his head down as each tear hit my bloodied fur. "This is all wrong. R-Ruby.. I'm so sorry."

I tried to pull myself up, but failed and hit the ground again. I could only look into his eyes, every attempt at speech failed.

He sighed deeply as his eyes darkened. He kicked me away again. I looked at him in fear. No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't run away. "Now you're alive again." He spoke quietly, "You're alive and joining the Guild again. You'll go on to have more adventures without me. With some random and lonely orphan trying to replace me." He hesitated and his words grew soft again. "The only thing I can feel anymore is hate, and disgust. You don't deserve this, Ruby. Remember that."

I saw him turn around and start walking away. I whined out as loudly as I could. "M.. ever..th..ng" I choked out.

He didn't even turn his head. "You aren't shit to me anymore, you freak." I cried and pulled myself into a ball again as I wanted nothing more than to die right then and there.

I should just die.

I coughed myself awake, tears pouring down my cheeks. I felt a pat on my side and noticed that Mai was lying down next to me. She rubbed my back as my coughing calmed down. "Mai?"

She sighed and quietly replied. "Sorry. I couldn't sleep, then I saw you were having a nightmare so I came over. I hope you don't mind" I looked away. I was still in the bed of grass Mai said I could sleep in. The room was still dark, I must not have slept very long. We were in the room separated from the rest of the den Mai had called her bedroom. It was just a small room with two beds of grass on either side and a hole in the wall going outside.

"Nightmare, right…" I hiccuped and rubbed my eyes with a paw to try and dry them. The pain in my side seemed like nothing compared to what I felt in that "dream" if I could call it that.

"We can talk about it if it'd help?" The Eevee started petting my fur, trying to get me to relax.

I hiccuped again and shook my head. I couldn't relive that again. "I-" I choked on my breath and a short jet of fire shot out of my mouth. My dry throat burned from my fire suddenly forcing itself out. "Need water.." I pushed my legs out beneath me and stood on very shaky paws. I felt like I was about to throw up. I slowly made my way out of the room.

My head was filled with a haze of what I could only call distress. Despite the dark cave, I could still see just fine. I padded over to the trough of drinking water Mai had. I tried to just lower my head, but my body gave out and I fell with my head landing into the water. It splashed onto the rest of me, and I ignored the discomfort fire-types normally felt being submerged in cold water.

I gave up on trying to support myself and just took a drink of what I could. My nose was still above water so I could breathe. I did everything I could to keep my mind empty. Thinking about that… dream would only make things worse. I tried to ignore it, but there was some kind of pulse feeling in my chest. It wasn't exactly pleasant, but I couldn't tell what it was.

"Are you okay?" I heard Mai's voice ask me from behind me. I only gave the slightest of nods as I took another drink. I wondered if drowning hurt, I was unconscious when I almost drowned yesterday. I was disrupted as I felt something push against my fur. It felt familiar.

"Mai?" I pulled my head up and water poured out from my now heavy fur as I turned to her. She kept licking my fur clean despite my very concerned expression.

"Your fur's filthy, Ruby. Sorry I didn't think about how badly you might've been hurt yesterday." She looked up to me with determination in her eyes which only confused me even more. "If I noticed, I would've helped earlier." Her tongue brushed against my rump again and my whole body shook as I pulled away.

"M-M-Mai.." My inner fire felt like it was about to explode. I tried to release a little in a short stream to calm myself. Water dripped from my muzzle to the floor. She cocked her head. "Wh-What are you doing?"

"Cleaning your fur. What do you mean? It's what friends do for each other. Right?" Her face suddenly flared red. "R-Right? It's a thing friends do all the time! Right?" She looked away with a paw covering her face. "Th-That's what I thought friends do... They help each other. Oh Arceus. I didn't just violate you, did I?"

"Ah.. um.." My awkwardness only skyrocketed as I realised I wasn't sure either. I had mostly washed my fur with water, Lyn showed me how to clean myself without water since he knew I was human, he even helped a few times when I couldn't, but I thought it was because...

"I haven't had many friends. I-I guess I just assumed, but I really thought it was normal. I'm sorry, Ruby. I didn't mean to overstep any boundaries…"

Did I really not have any friends other than Lyn? There were the other guild members, but I guess we weren't super close or anything. Is this really a normal thing? Oh god, did I really focus on one guy so much that I completely disregarded making friends again?

"Ruby?" She glanced back at me with fear in her eyes. "I'm sorry! I-I understand if you hate me for this."

I felt an almost unnatural rumble roll through my throat as I giggled. I actually laughed! Mai looked worried and confused. "I don't hate you, Mai. To be honest, I really don't know if it's normal either. The only person that ever did it to me was Lyn, so I probably just guessed it was like a mate thing"

Her tail twitched erratically as she shook her head. "I'm not trying to do anything like that! I just wanted to comfort you and clean your fur... I won't do it again if it makes you uncomfortable."

I shook my head. "Mai, really. It's alright. I appreciate it. If it's a thing that friends do, well I consider you a friend so it's okay."

"Really?" She could barely contain her excitement, her tail now wagging vigorously. "You don't mind?"

I sighed, sitting down. "Of course not, Mai. Just give me a little warning next time."

She happily circled around me. "You know, you look really nice with a smile on your face."

My paw shot up to my muzzle. Was I really smiling? Now that I think about it, I'm more calm than before. I was actually struggling to remember the nightmare from before. I could only remember how helpless I felt. I had to feel a little appreciative towards the Eevee who was now cleaning my shoulder. Am I really okay with this? It took me months to be comfortable with Lyn touching me.

I haven't changed, have I?

"You know, you're really salty. We might be better off going over to the hot springs."

I figured my fur would be considering I was thrown into the ocean. I turned from her to hide my heated face. I'm also probably soaked in sweat. Waking up from that nightmare really took it out of me. What was it, though? It feels so unnatural for a dream to just fade away like that. It really affected me, didn't it?

"So?" Mai asked.

"Hm?"

"Want to go to the hot springs before we go to the Guild?"

"Sure, but isn't that a bit of a walk from here?" I struggled to remember the last time I had gone. I always had to act as a median between a certain hot-headed Riolu and an older Torkoal. He never cared for us much.

"Oh no, there's one just down the road from the Guild now. It's amazing what a few Pokemon of the right types can do working together. The guy who owns it can be a bit cranky though, especially since we'd be there before the sun even rises. He'll get over it though."

"I think I could use a good bath, then."

The old turtle was somehow still alive! I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw him. He looked almost the same as when I met him. I knew turtles could have very long lives, but even seeing it I found myself in disbelief.

Mai had to stop me from gaping at him by pushing me towards one of the springs. It was much more expansive now, with multiple types of springs too. Some were specified for certain types, but we made our way to the normal spring and as soon as I sank into that warmth I could feel my shoulders finally relax after who knows how long.

I rested against a warm rock with Mai barely a foot away swimming in the slightly deeper water. I felt tired again. "You got any plans for fighting Hapi?" I raised my head, seeing Mai still paddling through the water.

I shook my head. "Nothing really specific. Other than the Alakazam battle, I've seen very little of what she's really capable of. Just cover your ears whenever she looks like she's about to yell. As for her physical attacks, we've gotta avoid her kicks. Punching wouldn't work well against us considering our height."

I let out a content sigh. "If she really was raised and trained by Lyn, then she's gonna know a ton of physical attacks and expect anyone she's fighting with to pick up the slack when it comes to ranged attacks. It'd explain that Bisharp's crazy hyper beams."

"Are you sure about this?" The Eevee had stopped at a part where her feet could touch the ground.

"What do you mean?"

Some bubbles rose up from her maw before she raised her head from the water again. "I'm only gonna hold you back. I know I was all excited about this, but it doesn't seem fair to just get in because I'm with you." She sunk her face beneath the surface again. Peering worriedly at me.

I flipped over and felt my back crackle all the way to my tails. I enjoyed the warmth pushing my fur around. "Like you said before, Mai. Guild members don't start out with massive amounts of experience. Things might've changed a bit since I last started a team, but strength isn't everything when it comes to being an explorer. Plus, being an explorer is one of the fastest ways to get experience, so you'll catch up with me quickly, I'm sure."

"Me? Catch up with you? You fought a-!"

"Shh!" I flipped back over and hushed her as best I could. I glanced around, glad to see that the only Pokemon nearby in the other springs were paying us no mind.

"Sorry..." She whispered. "You fought a god of all things, Ruby. I don't see myself catching up to that, even with you helping me."

"You'd be surprised. I didn't think I could handle half the Pokemon my team managed to put behind bars. I also had Lyn with me the entire time, he's always been stronger than me."

She didn't respond, but still looked down. I sighed and scratched at my ears.

"Honestly, I've been a little concerned about that lately." She met my gaze, remaining quiet. So I elaborated. "My... fire feels different. Almost as if it's unnaturally hotter. It actually hurts me a little, despite flames never having an affect on me." I thought back on our fight with the Alakazam. A shiver ran down my spine.

"That's a good thing isn't it?"

I shook my head. "Maybe, but at the same time... my body's different too." I pulled a paw in front of my face, flexing it. My almost pitiful claws are barely noticeable. "I feel sluggish. Maybe even weaker altogether. I may not be as strong as I used to be. I could keep up with everything that Alakazam did, but trying to react was draining me more and more. Before, I could've beaten a psychic type like that by myself. Probably even with his freakish healing. I could barely even protect you like this. I felt like something was off the first time, but I didn't really think about it too much. The second time it was painfully obvious."

"But you did win. Nobody died and other than you nearly drowning and Jeremiah getting knocked out, we were barely hurt at all."

"We got lucky." I lowered myself deeper into the water. "He was holding back. Something about my attacks and us showing up made him change his plans. His teleporting backfired on him when I distracted him and used disable. He could've easily just killed all of us, but something stopped him. I can't help but feel as if we're missing something. My sudden drop in strength just worries me. I could've lost several levels when I... you know."

"Excuse me!" I nearly jumped out of the water at the sudden gruff voice. A torkoal slowly made his way to the spring. Mai put herself in between us and I thankfully put myself behind her as much as possible. He got to the edge of the water, but didn't step in. He craned his neck to see me and I shyly moved myself out of sight.

Now that I could see him up close, I could tell he did look a bit different. His skin wrinkled and covered with age spots. More so than when I first met him. His whole body seemed to quiver as he talked. "Hey young ones, no need to be bashful, come on out. I'd just like a word with you two."

We were both apprehensive, but eventually we made our way out of the spring. Both of us completely soaking wet and dripping onto the colourful rocks that decorated the ground.

"Here..." He blew some steam drying us off a bit. Mai shook her fur and sprayed water everywhere. "No need to look like you're about to be scolded, you two."

I avoided eye contact and Mai groaned. "What is it, then? We were enjoying the springs."

I remembered his reactions to Lyn acting the same way and prepared to be yelled at. To my surprise, he only laughed. "I'm sure you were, Mai. Just wanted to see you two before the test later."

"How do you know about that?" I asked before I could stop myself. He glanced back to me and fear hit me as he took a second to respond.

"The Guild leader was here earlier, mentioned you two and an incident that had one of you thrown into the ocean. So I figured I'd see you here sooner or later. Especially since you're with Mai. She used to come here every day."

He stopped to reminisce about something before smiling again. "That Lopunny had quite a bit to say about you, she seems quite excited for your battle. I wanted to see if what she said was true. The little spiteful eevee that never left her mother's side finally made a friend." He said all of it calmly, as if he didn't just insult one of us.

I bit my lip worriedly. I knew he could be a bit grumpy, but that's a whole other level of being insensitive. I glanced at my new partner, surprised that she only looked annoyed.

"Ah shut up, you wrinkly old rock. I would've told you after the test."

"Yeah? Well, are you gonna introduce the rock to your new friend or not?" He chuckled lightheartedly.

She groaned again. "Ruby, this is the owner of the hot springs here. He... helped my mom and I a lot when we lost my grandfather."

I dipped my head. Pretending to not know him, I replied with, "Oh.. I see. It's nice to meet you."

"Ruby?" He muttered. His face fell before shaking his head. "It's a nice name. Glad to meet ya. Feel free to come by if you ever need anything."

I only nodded. Mai prodded me with her tail. "He's old as hell, but he's got good advice sometimes."

"Heh." He rolled his eyes. "I'm just glad I caught you beforehand. I wouldn't have been surprised to hear you passed only to find out that you immediately left the continent. You've only been talking about it since you first heard about the Guild."

Leave the continent? She did mention something about travel being more common.

"I'm not sure whether I'll leave or not anymore." Mai shook her head. "I still want more than anything to see the whole world, but I couldn't just force Ruby to drop everything and leave like that."

The old torkoal muttered. "Well then, look who's finally growing up." He shook his head. "I'm sure you've got better things to do than talk to an old rock. It was nice meeting you, Ruby. I've got some business to attend to, so if you'll excuse me." He left us without another word.

"Sorry about that." The Eevee gave a slight smile. "I figured you'd have to meet him eventually, but I worried that you knew him back before the whole incident."

"It's fine. I was only worried at first. He's calmed down quite a bit in his old age. What were you guys talking about with the leaving the continent thing, though?"

She looked confused, "I thought you knew. Since the whole time breaking thing happened, many of the major Guilds around the world have been lacking Delvers. So lately, most Guilds will send any missions they're lacking the class of explorers required for to Guilds that usually specialise in that specific class."

My mind started to spin, I shook my front paws at her to slow down. "Woah... Hold on. What? What's a delver?"

She bit her lip. "Let's make our way to the Guild, I'll try to explain it the best I can."

We dried off the best we could before waving goodbye to the turtle and hitting the road towards the guild. There were Pokemon everywhere! Either mindlessly walking to their destination, or doing everything they could to get the attention of possible customers and showing off their shop.

She wasn't kidding when she said the whole town was on a schedule.

"So you haven't heard the terms 'Hunter' or 'Delver' before?" Mai asked me. I shook my head. She sighed and gathered her thoughts. "We'll start there then. When you join a Guild, you start as a Rookie. That's the class or 'title' you're given. After a few missions and training, it'll change."

I nodded. "So what? Delvers go into mystery dungeons and Hunters focus on wanted Pokemon?"

She smiled. "You're pretty close, yeah. To be technical, all classes go into mystery dungeons for one reason or another."

"All as in there's more than those three?"

"Six in all. One to begin with, four major classes, and a title to shoot for if you're looking for fame."

I shook my head. "I don't think I need any more of that right now."

She gave a short laugh. "Delver's focus on finding and collecting rare items. They've been known to take missions to find missing belongings in mystery dungeons as well. Hunter's focus on combat. Which can be anything from being a bodyguard to, like you said, finding wanted 'mons and bringing them in to the Police. Scholars research and preserve knowledge. Mostly history, but I've heard rumours that there are some working on something called science."

"Science?" The very odd thought of Pokemon creating cars, phones, and even landing on the moon amused me a little.

"I don't really know much about it, like I said it's only rumours. Anyways, there's also Medics. Which are self explanatory. They heal all manner of wounds with mixtures of berries and roots."

"So yeah, you join a Rookie. Eventually you can specialise in either being a Delver, a Hunter, a Scholar, or a Medic. Becoming promoted from a specific class will grant you the same title, but of a higher rank. Like if you're a really good Medic, you'd become an Adept Medic."

"Who decides that you're a good enough Medic to be promoted?" I asked.

"I'm not too sure about it. Some people think it's the Guild master that decides it. But if that's the case I don't understand how someone like Hapi could change the symbol that's put on your body."

I looked down to my paws as I walked. "They put a symbol on you?"

"Yea they stopped giving out badges a while back. Some people still have them as memoirs, though. I've actually heard that the symbol is given and changed by a Legendary! If it's true though, I'm not sure which one."

"Ah… What about the sixth one, then?"

"Well, by becoming, say, an Adept Hunter, you can then start working on a different class. Becoming an adept in three of the four classes will give you the title of Ace. Usually followed by your best class. Hapi is an Ace Hunter."

"Really?" I wonder if Lyn became an Ace too. He'd probably have to be good at medicine. I knew him well enough to know that him being a Scholar wouldn't go well.

"Yep!" Mai looked up proudly at the Guild as we finally reached it. "She says that the Delver class was the hardest on her. She had to spend a month inside a mystery dungeon to find this gate thing underground."

"That sounds-"

The doors to the Guild were opened and Jeremiah, who's helmet had a noticeable dent in the side of it now, stepped out. "There you two are! In! In!" He ushered us inside before closing the doors behind us. "You were about to be late, I was about to have to hunt you two down."

Mai made to say something, but the Bisharp walked off before she could. A Monferno sitting in what I thought was Jeremiah's desk waved and watched us as we passed. We followed Jeremiah out a side door that led to a surprisingly large arena behind the Guild. A Lopunny stood alone at the opposite end of the field.

I gasped as I recognised the pattern on the ground of the arena. Completely filled with sand, one single line splitting it in half and in the middle a circle. Just like the Gyms back in my old world. That had to be a coincidence right?

"It's about time you two got here!" Hapi called after us. She stretched an arm behind her head.

This was a fucking stadium! My heart started beating harder as I saw at least thirty other Pokemon in the stands. "Mai, I didn't know there were this many people in the Guild!"

She nodded. "Yeah, there's a few missing. Not many I know."

"N-Not many?!"

"Just so you know!" Hapi called towards us again. Looking a little annoyed at us being distracted. "I'm aware you're a pretty high level for a beginner, fox. So I'm not holding back."

I saw a few Pokemon in the stands cringe and start whispering about something. I started to worry even more.

"Ruby, did you ever come up with an actual plan?" I glanced over to her and saw that she was shaking. I looked between her and Hapi for a second before forcing myself to calm down. I took a deep breath and a jet of smooth fire poured out.

"Alright. We can do this.. Mai, you said you knew a bunch of moves, right?"

"Yea, my mom tried to teach me as many moves as she could." I whispered a question into her ear so Hapi wouldn't hear. "Yeah, I know it." I whispered again. "I-I can attempt it.."

"Good, don't use shadow ball on her, okay? It won't affect her. I received a nod in response and we stepped forward. We stood side by side and focused on the Lopunny in front of us.

"Don't disappoint me, alright?" She stepped forward as well.

Jeremiah stood on the side of the field of sand with one arm up. "We are now beginning the entry test for Mai the Eevee and Ruby the Vulpix." The pokemon behind him all looked surprised and started whispering again. The Bisharp bellowed out. "The match will begin in 3.. 2.. 1!"

Mai and I immediately dashed away from each other. Hapi ran straight for me. I growled and she hesitated for a moment, before running again. She jumped up into the air and flew straight for me, knee first. It was too fast to dodge.

I cursed at how much this is gonna hurt. I enveloped myself in fire and grit my teeth. Her knee hit my shoulder and knocked me into the ground. I quickly pushed myself up and shot a flamethrower above her waist. She crossed her arms and braced for it. I noticed several shadow balls fly into the air above us so I jumped straight towards her and swung an iron tail at her to keep her attentionl.

She easily blocked it and kicked me in the stomach again. "Don't get cocky just cause your fire is kinda toasty!"

I slid against the sand, but spit a few embers to keep her attention. Mai ran for us to join in the fight. I pushed myself up and closed my distance with the bunny. She raised her leg to kick me, but Mai hit her other foot with a quick attack and she lost balance. Before she fell I swung another iron tail into her. With the help of Mai's helping hand, Hapi slid even further away. Mai's white glow faded with the attack.

She jumped to her feet with a ferocious grin. "Now that's more like it!" I built a flame in my chest and shot a fire blast. She ducked under it with ease, now much faster than before.

"Mai, support me!" I didn't wait for an answer as I shot a flamethrower in front of me and ran straight for her. I tried to sidestep her kick, only to get thrown up into the air. I gasped in pain. Seeing her jump up to hit me again I used fire spin.

Burn! Burn! Burn!

She spun around and punched me right in the chest. I screamed out as I was thrown into the sand. I straightened myself out and did my best to stand. Now with an aching back and chest. Mai and I used quick attack to hit both of her legs. She only took the hit before falling back onto one of her hands and spinning, her legs hitting both of us and knocking us away.

Damnit! Just slow down for the love of Arceus!

I glanced at Mai and saw her struggle to get up. I pulled myself up and took in a deep breath. I've gotta get her burned! I can do this! I breathed in as much as I could, feeling my flames about to explode. My tails flexed out above me and I motioned with them for her to bring it on.

Hapi cackled as she ran towards me with new purpose.

I shouldn't have egged her on, what the fuck am I doing?!

I held my ground as she got closer. Right as she got in range, I jumped as best I could with my limbs screaming at me to stop. I swung around but didn't use iron tail. She took the bait and tried to block it, only for me to release a fire blast right in her face.

I could only hear a loud whistle as I was thrown back from the explosion. I saw my partner standing again with a white glow from another helping hand. I breathed a sigh of relief once the sand settled and saw the Lopunny with a seared arm and leg.

That'll do.

I looked Mai in the eyes and she nodded, saying she was ready.

"Let's end this!" She cried.

I groaned, shakily pulling myself up.

"I'm not losing that easily, fox!" Hapi screamed as she ran towards us with a limp. I ran alongside Mai before jumping to opposite sides like last time but much closer. Hapi started towards me, but blocked a quick attack from Mai before backhanding her away.

She landed on her feet. I screamed "Now!" as I swiped down upon her with an iron tail. Mai glowed even brighter than before.

"Shit!" Hapi cursed as she brought her arm up to block my attack. She laughed. "You can't scare me like that. An iron tail? You should've blasted me again." I fell to the ground and looked at the eevee behind her. "Even with helping hand, your physical attacks suck."

I bit my lip and looked behind her to the still glowing eevee. I shot an ember at her face and tried to put some space between us.

"Aaaah!" Mai screamed. Before Hapi could turn, the eevee hit her in the back of the head with her last resort move, throwing her head forward and knocking her into the ground.

With Hapi face down, both Mai and I did what we could to catch our breath.

"D-Did we win?"

The crowd cheered loudly, breaking us from our thoughts.

Jeremiah's voice rose again. "Mai the Eevee and Ruby the Vulpix win!"

We kept gasping for breath and met each other's gaze. She had the biggest smile on her face.

We did it.

An arm wrapped around me and pulled me away. I only panicked for a moment before seeing Hapi crouched down and had both of us under her arms. "That fucking hurt, Mai."

"I- er, Sorry…" She fumbled over her words.

"Don't be. You two did it. You won. Congrats." She gave us a smile before standing and brushing herself off. "I barely even had to hold back. You two should be proud. Welcome to the guild, foxes. I expect good things from you."

For the first time, I saw her right hand. A pure white and glowing emblem that looked like a maw with sharp teeth and a perfect circle around it.

That's the symbol Mai talked about?

"Hope you like it, fox. Because you're about to get your own. A Rookie's mark anyway." I looked back at her and nodded.

It's not the first time she's called me "fox" but it's like she refuses to say my name and wants to make it as obvious as possible. I shook my head. I didn't care enough to start something about it. Mai and I followed Hapi out of the stadium and back into the Guild.

"Oh wait!" I stopped the other's before we entered another room. "I forgot something. Go ahead, I'll be right back." I ignored the Lopunny's glare as I ran out of the Guild to the Bank across the street.

Everything went just about the same as last time. The old Sandslash hesitated here and there, stared at me a bit and got me the things I wanted. She once again told me something about some paper she found with one of the items, but I was already almost out the door.

Back in the Guild, I walked into the room Lopunny was leading us to see a brilliant glow. The fire in the middle of the room, only stopped from devouring everything in its path by the golden ring around it. It was beautiful. I probably stared at it for a solid minute before Lopunny cleared her throat.

"Are you ready?" I only turned towards her and closed my mouth, nodding. Not sure what for. "Come on then, follow me." I fell in step behind her with my eyes still on the absolutely magnificent flame. It felt as if it was calling out to me. The embers flicked against the air above them, the scent of burning cinders calmed my heart. I felt like I was starting to get light-headed.

I had to pull my head away to see Mai excitedly showing me her left paw. The pure white diamond with a dim glow contrasted against her brown fur. Hapi put a long metal pole into the flames for a moment before pulling it out.

"Where do you want your mark to be, fox?" After thinking about it, I lifted my left paw so it'd be like Mai's. The moment the thing that absolutely looked like a hot poker came in contact with my fur, everything heated up.

I almost screamed from the hot metal touching me. It's the first time I've felt a burn in so long. This was something else, though. It was like every nerve in my arm was shocked. I was left gasping for breath with Mai and the Guildmaster looking at me worriedly.

Finally!

I glanced around to see who called me, but found nobody. It sounded like it came from the flames.

"Are you alright?" My eyes shot back to Mai.

"Wh-What?"

Hapi spoke this time. "You look like you've seen a ghost, you need to sit down?"

I shook my head slowly and tried to calm down. I pulled my bag back over my shoulder. "I'm.. fine I think. Just didn't expect it to hurt so much."

"It hurt you? I didn't feel anything." Mai cocked her head. "Hapi, is it supposed to hurt?"

She shook her head. "I mean, it's possible it has something to do with how you're normally immune to fire. I don't have much experience with giving marks to Pokemon with flash fire. Let's see the mark, make sure everything went okay."

I raised my left paw again, but found myself confused with what I saw. A flickering amber was emblazoned onto my paw in the shape of a sharp stone hitting another striking some small flames into existence around it that glowed brighter than the rest. Flint and steel?

"How the fuck are you already an Adept Delver!" Hapi looked absolutely pissed. "How did you change its colour? The colour is supposed to show which Guild you hail from." I didn't know what to say so I remained silent. She groaned and put her face in her paws. "No family, huh? Lived in the wild?" She shook her head and started to walk out the room. "Follow me."

I shied away a little, but followed behind Mai as she passed and shared a worried glance. "Jeremiah, drop the front desk on the Monferno for a while longer. Come with us." The Bisharp didn't hesitate to follow his Guildmaster's order and even ran ahead to open the door one of the staircases led up to, letting us in.

The room was almost filled up entirely with a massive desk that the Lopunny populated and told the Bisharp what happened as she started pulling things from her desk. He kneeled in front of me and asked for my paw. I felt really awkward sitting with the Bisharp examining my paw.

At least he's gentle.

"It's as you said, Mistress. She appears to be an Adept Delver. A hell of a Hunter too, it seems." I looked at my paw again, but didn't see anything that had to do with the teeth that Hapi had. How could he tell?

"If I had to guess, baring the idea that she was a guild member beforehand somehow. It's possible she lived within a mystery dungeon for a time. It'd explain how her level is already in the forties."

Forties?! That was nearly two whole years of my old life down the drain. Well, I guess all of my old life is sorta down the drain.

He looked into my eyes as if asking if he was close to the mark. I shrugged, not sure whether I should actually confirm or deny it. "If this is the case, it's quite amazing you've managed to keep your sanity about you. Most would've been ferals after just a few weeks. As for the amber glow that matches her eyes, anything I say would only be a guess."

Hapi didn't look up from whatever she was writing. "Any suggestions?"

"There's not much reason to force the normal restrictions, just make sure she's well aware that if anything happened to her less experienced team member, it would be entirely her fault since she's going to be the leader of their exploration team."

I bit my lip and nodded. I figured I was probably going to be leader again so I wasn't too shocked.

Hapi sighed and stopped writing, putting her letter into one of the drawers. "So be it. You two, what's your team name?"

Mai and I looked at each other and I just shrugged. "Whatever you want."

Please don't make a name like Lyn.

She put a paw under her chin. "How about team Victory."

Fucking hell.

"Can we think of a name later?"

Mai looked down in defeat and Hapi shook her head. Team Ashes?" she tried again.

"Team Ashes it is" Hapi said before I could disagree. She did a circle with one digit. "Yoom-tah. Blah blah."

Of all the things to still be the same.

"Now, You're already free of most restrictions concerning travel and working with other Guilds, just be careful. Like Jeremiah said, it's on you to watch Mai's back and train her. We're low on rooms right now, so be patient for a bit and stay at your den. I can find you if I need you. Wait till tomorrow before choosing some mission across the ocean if you're going to, alright?

We both nodded, and with that we left, now as team Ashes. I sighed as I got Mai's attention. "Ashes as in rise from the ashes, right?"

She smiled, excitedly wagging her tail. "Yep! How'd you know."

"Just a guess." As we left the Guild, I pulled off my bag and rummaged through it for certain items.

"Oh! So you went to the Bank?"

I nodded to her question and pulled out two purple ribbons. I handed one to her. "Welcome to team Ashes, Mai."

Her grin stretched further as she nodded and took the ribbon in her mouth. I started to pick up the bag again, but stopped when I saw a square ruby glint in the sunlight. I weakly smiled as I picked it up. I felt both happy to see it and sad for what it was. I tugged on the gem and the necklace pulled a rolled up sheet of paper out of the bag. The necklace was actually tied around it. I tried to unroll it and my brow furrowed trying to read the hastily written note.

"Ruby! I can't believe you're actually coming back somehow! There's so much I want to say... I'm not sure where to start."