•
Chapter 5:
"All explorers want to go on adventures!"
I awoke to the sounds of Wingulls cawing somewhere in the distance. Feeling the morning sun shine on my face, I yawned and stretched my legs as I tried to shake off any lingering drowsiness. At first, I couldn't quite recognize where I was. But, as I looked out at the shining ocean outside, my memories of yesterday came flooding back like a tidal wave.
An uplifting feeling began to surge through my body, driving out the remaining drowsiness inside. Feeling excited, I bounced up on to my feet and skipped towards the end of the chamber. There, I stood at the hole that overlooked the sea.
In the distance, I watched as a flock of white Wingull flew by, squawking loudly as they sailed over the vast blue ocean. The sun peeked over the horizon, sending a gleaming ray of light down the center of the sea. A cool sea breeze blew into the cavern. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as the wind gently ruffled my fur.
Feeling totally awake now, I smiled and turned around. Lying in the center of the chamber was my friend, still snoring away peacefully. Tiptoeing quietly over to where he was sleeping, I gently poked him on the cheek.
"Blue?" I whispered, "Blue, its morning now."
No response. Feeling a little daring now, I prodded his face again, but harder this time. I was rewarded with a low grumble and a small scowl forming on his face. I giggled as he tried to swat my paws away while unconscious.
"If you don't wake up, I'm gonna keep poking you."
A grumbling noise emerged from his mouth as he rolled away from me. Stifling another giggle, I placed my paws on his side and gently rocked him back and forth. It was like trying to rouse an extremely lazy child. His brow furrowed in annoyance as I kept rolling his sleeping form around like a log.
Despite how entertaining it was to annoy him while he slept, I did want him to wake up soon. Separating myself from him, I glanced around the rocky chamber to see if I could find anything to use. As I scanned around the area, a bright glint of light from far away caught my eye. Curious, I wandered over and found that it was a small pool filled with fresh water.
Feeling a little thirsty, I decided to dip my mouth in and drink my fill. The water tasted cool and sweet. While I was satisfying my thirst, a mischievous idea came into my head.
Blue found himself standing in the middle of darkness. No matter which way he looked, all he could see was an endless sea of nothing. The sky was completely black, with not even the hint of a star's twinkle or the glow of the moon. The ground, covered with a thick layer of white snow, was icy and uncomfortable to stand on. Oddly, hundreds, if not thousands of snowflakes hung in the air, not falling, completely unmoving.
He walked forward, down a road made of snow and surrounded by nothing. Every step he took made a loud crunching noise as he crushed the frozen dirt underneath his feet. Blue tried to make sense of the world he was in as he walked. Blue reached out his arm to grab a hold of one of the snowflakes frozen in the air. But as soon as his paw touched the icy shard, it suddenly shattered into pieces and vanished.
Feeling annoyed and frustrated, Blue kicked off the ground and broke into a run. Powdery snow scattered wildly behind him as he charged down the road. Darkness after darkness rushed past him as he tore up the road. Blue panted heavily as he kept pushing himself forward, desperately trying to escape the emptiness around him.
Eventually, Blue skidded to a halt as he noticed something was standing far in the distance. Suddenly, a chill rushed down Blue spine. A horrifying, massive creature ten times his size was standing in the middle of the road. With two glowing eyes, it stared down at Blue.
The beast emitted a terrifying roar and reared up on its hind legs. Blue instinctively took up a defensive stance as the monster came crashing down on him with its huge front legs. Despite blocking most of it, the incredible force of the attack still sent Blue skidding backwards. Crying out in surprise, Blue bent forward and dug his paws into the snow to slow him down.
The monster gazed down at Blue's injured form and roared again. In response, Blue snarled back angrily and launched himself towards it, his right paw balled up into a fist. He swung his fist wildly at the beast's face, intending to knock it out in one blow.
But, the blow never came. Confused, Blue looked down his arm. His fist had vanished into the body of the creature, absorbed into its black carapace.
Blue screamed in horror as he frantically tried to pull his arm out of the creature. But, before he could do anything, the beast unleashed an unearthly bellow. The force of the roar separated Blue from the creature's body and sent him flying into the air. Blue violently crashed into one of the piles of snow surrounding the area, scattering icy shards into the air. Stunned, Blue tried to drag himself out of the cold snow, but ended up rolling down the side of it. He groaned as his body struck the ground, hard.
The monster slowly encroached on the fallen Blue. It opened its mouth and began to inhale loudly. Blue, now panicking, tried to scramble on to his feet and run away. But, he only managed to get as far as a few feet away before he collapsed in pain.
He picked himself up from the ground and gazed up at the massive beast looming over him. Its eyes and mouth were both glowing a violent shade of orange.
Blue shut his eyes as the creature lunged forward.
Quietly, sneakily, and maybe just a little mean, I leaned over to take a peek at Blue's sleeping face. He had such a peaceful face on him that it was actually making me start to have second thoughts. No, I made up my mind. Taking a moment to compose myself, I slowly leaned my face over his and...
I saw a pair of red – colored eyes staring into mine. For an unusually long second, we stared at each other wordlessly.
"Wah!" Startled, I leapt backwards quickly. The water spilled all over his face, completely drenching his head and the top part of his torso. I quickly scrabbled to my feet and scooted a short distance away from him and looked away, trying to look as innocent as possible.
"Wha...what happened?" I heard him groan sleepily from behind me, "Where'd it go...?"
Curious, I turned around and saw him doing something odd. His eyes were wide open, but they looked like they were glazed over. He was wildly swinging his arms into the air, as if he was trying to punch something invisible. Every time he swung at the air, he nearly fell over from his own momentum.
Stifling a giggle, I quietly sneaked up behind him, while being mindful of his punches. I leaned in close to his ear and shouted, "Good morning, Blue!"
"Bwah?!" His entire body turned rigid like a statue, with his arms flopping down to his sides. He blinked a few times before turning around to face me, wherein I responded by giving him a great big smile
"G – good morning Fée..." He gave a big sigh and rubbed his ears gingerly, "Did you sleep well?"
"Not as well as you did, apparently!" I giggled as I watched him stagger to his feet, "Did you have a good dream?
"Dream?" He muttered in a quiet voice, "I don't know. Did I look like I was having a dream?"
"Well, you looked like you were punching somebody while you were sleeping."
"Strange, I don't remember anything about a dream." A few water droplets fell on to the ground as he patted his puzzled face, "I guess it isn't a big deal."
"Waking you up was a pretty big deal," I remarked, "You wouldn't wake up no matter what I did!"
He stared at his wet paws for a second before giving me a suspicious look, "I guess that explains why my face is soaked, hm?"
Wiping the water off his face with his paws, he kept a single droplet on his finger. He gave me an evil grin as he flicked water at me. I responded by sticking out my tongue at him playfully.
Once he dried off his face, he stood up and began to shake off his drowsiness by yawning and stretching. While he was busy waking himself up, I noticed that, as he moved, the scars on his leg and arms still looked fairly raw and reddish.
"Blue, how are you feeling?" I asked, worried about his health, "Your arms and legs, are they okay?"
Maybe he was surprised at my concern, since he glanced down at his leg and arm before quickly brushing it off, "It's nothing." He flexed a muscle, showing his healing scar, "See? I barely feel a thing anymore."
He shook his head at me and gave me a toothy grin to reassure me that it was fine. I wasn't convinced, but I gave him a small nod and sighed. Once we get back to town, maybe I can find some bandages and berries for him.
After making a mental reminder to get medical help for Blue, I wandered around the chamber trying to think about how we were going to leave this place and head back to town. Feeling daring, I wandered over to the explosion's hole and peered over the edge.
As I did so, a rough sea breeze blew against my face, ruffling my fur and making it difficult to see. From my limited vision, I spotted a small rocky ledge that stretched out underneath the hole. The ledge looked like it wrapped around the side of the cliff, and appeared stable and solid enough for us to walk on.
"Anything interesting out there?" I heard Blue call from within the chamber.
"There's a path here," I shouted back, "It's really windy outside though!"
I pulled my head back as another gust of wind flew past. As I sat down to catch my breath, Blue wandered over to the hole and leaned over to the side of the hole. While he was busy surveying the area, I rubbed my face with my paws, trying to brush my fur back in place after the wind messed it up. When I opened my eyes again, I noticed that Blue was no longer standing there.
"B – Blue?!" I screamed in shock as I leapt to my feet. I spun around in place, wondering if he was somewhere in the chamber. Then, I looked at the hole in the wall.
Panicked thoughts flew through my head as I rushed over to the hole. I stuck my head outside, fearing the worst.
"I'm down here!" I heard him shout from somewhere beneath me. I gave a relieved sigh when I saw Blue standing on the ledge beneath me. He reached up with his arms and gestured for me to join him on the ledge.
"This ledge connects all the way around the cliff," He said, pointing over to his right, "If we keep going this way, we'll probably end up somewhere around the beach."
Going around the cliff did seem like a faster way back home than going backwards through the cave again. However, as I looked down at the ledge, the ocean was right below us. I gulped as I saw a wave crash against the cliff side violently, sending a spray of seawater up into the air.
"Fée, are you alright?" I was jarred out of my imagination by Blue's voice. I shook my head and slapped the sides of my face. I'm a different Fée from yesterday. I can do this!
But, right as I was about to leap down, a sudden thought ran through my mind.
"Oh, hold on Blue," I called down at him, "Give me just a moment, okay?"
He nodded and sat down on the ledge, "Take your time, I'm in no hurry."
I quickly turned around and ran back to where we were sleeping. There, I spotted my treasure lying on the ground, glinting brightly in the sunlight. Inwardly, I scolded myself for almost forgetting to pick up my precious treasure before leaving. Hurriedly, I snatched it up with my mouth and brought it over to the edge.
"Bwoo!" I shouted in a muffled voice, "Pwease holf on to disph!"
Gently, I dropped my treasure down on to the ledge. After Blue picked it up and nodded at me, I prepared to drop down. Taking it slowly, one step at a time, I lowered myself on to the ledge. Thankfully, the ledge was covered with a thin layer of grass, making it easy to walk on. Once I got all my feet firmly on the ledge, I looked at Blue and nodded.
"Alright, let's go." He returned my nod and moved towards the side of the cliff. Nervously, I followed him while also keeping close to the wall. I tried as hard as I could to ignore the fact that I was walking on a rocky path that was floating several feet above the ocean. Taking another deep gulp, I shook my head and put on a brave face.
"It's the beach!"
Sand went flying all over the place as I dived joyfully on to the beach. I scooped up the warm white sand to my chest and rolled over on to my back, hugging it tightly.
"Come on Fée," While upside – down, I saw Blue slowly climb off the ledge and drop on to the beach with a small thump. He knelt beside me and playfully nudged me on the forehead, grinning, "The trip wasn't that bad."
"Says you!" I retorted, rolling right – side up and throwing a pawful of sand at him, "I felt like I was walking on pins and needles the whole time!"
"I dunno," He grinned and patted my head as he dusted the sand off his face, "I thought it was pretty exciting."
"You say that, but I saw you shaking when we were half – way across." I grabbed his arm on my head with both paws and gave him a coy smirk, "You must've been pretty 'excited' that your legs were shuddering like jelly!"
"It was just the wind," He replied nonchalantly, but I spotted the faint blush appearing on his cheeks and smiled wider, "It was cold up there, you know?"
"Hee, hee," I giggled knowingly and let go of his paw. I rolled around on the sand a few times, feeling happy for no real reason. Blue just sighed in defeat and shrugged. After I had covered my fur with a thin layer of sand, I stood up and glanced around the beach, shaking the sand off me.
The beach looked exactly the same as it did before we entered the cave. All the debris, seaweed and other junk still covered a large portion of the shore, making the place look like a total mess. A small palm tree even got knocked down sometime during the storm, separating the beach into two halves with its trunk.
Blue had wandered over to the fallen tree and crossed over to the other side. I just about started to follow him when I suddenly noticed something moving within the palm tree's fronds. Curious, I took a detour and stopped in front of the leafy top of the tree instead. It shuddered and shook on its own as if it was alive. I was just about to push aside one of the large leaves when suddenly, a black blur shot out from within the fronds.
"Eep!" Startled, I fell on my back, scattering even more sand everywhere. I quickly scrambled back on to my feet and looked back at the palm tree. A slimy – looking black hand was moving around the fronds like a creepy tentacle. A few seconds later, another slimy hand exited the bushy fronds. Both hands worked together to push aside the leaves, revealing their owner.
"Ku, hu, hu..." A creepy – looking Pokémon I didn't recognize emerged from the fronds. He was dark blue with a white stripe around his belly. His two shifty yellow eyes kept rapidly looking around as he slowly pulled himself free from the leaves.
Spooked, I took a cautious step back as the creepy stranger glanced around, making strange 'ku hu hu' noises as he did so. A chill ran down my spine when he suddenly locked eyes with me.
"Ohhhh..." He said in a low, drawling voice, "Sorry... I didn't know there were other people here... ku, hu, hu..."
"Uh, um..." I was seriously creeped out, and the way he was staring at me didn't help. I nervously looked around, hoping to find Blue nearby, but he wasn't anywhere to be found.
The stranger made another 'ku hu hu' noise and turned his back to me. He brushed aside the fronds of the fallen palm tree and looked as though he was digging around inside it for something. My curiosity overriding my nervousness, I craned my head to see what he was doing.
"Ku, hu, hu," There was that creepy laugh again, and it sent another chill down my spine. The Pokémon turned around, and this time he was holding something pink in his right hand. It looked strangely familiar to me.
"...ah!" I blurted out accidentally without thinking, "That's my bag!"
"Ku...?" His eyes slowly moved to look at his hand, "This is yours?"
I nodded. It was the very same bag that Koffing and Zubat stole yesterday. I felt a little pang of regret as the torn straps fluttered sadly in the wind. The stranger rotated his head and stared at my bag for an uncomfortably long amount of time before making another creepy 'ku' noise.
"What a pity..." He mumbled disappointingly, closing his eyes and shaking his head, "It's a pretty nice bag."
"Um..." I guess I got complimented. I did make that bag myself after hours and hours of painstaking work. He doesn't know that though...I hope.
"Ku, hu, hu..." He made that noise again and carelessly flung my bag into the air. It landed in front of me with a light thump, "Here you go then..."
Without taking my eyes off him, I slowly bent down and picked up my bag with my teeth. After being on the beach for an entire day, the bag tasted like salty seawater. When I looked back up to give the stranger my thanks, he had already vanished back in to the palm tree's fronds. But not before leaving me with another 'ku hu hu' as the fronds closed behind him.
Feeling a strange combination of gratitude and uneasiness, I slowly backed away from the top of the palm tree until I was a fair distance away. Then, I ran towards the other side of the beach as fast as I could without looking back. Once I was far enough away, I sighed and let the bag drop from my mouth.
"I guess he wasn't such a bad guy after all," I mumbled to myself, taking quick glance over my shoulder. The Pokémon's strange chuckle rang inside my mind again as I did so, sending another wave of chills down my spine.
"Fée?" I looked up and saw Blue walking towards me, still holding on to my treasure, "Fée, what's taking you so long?"
"It's...um," I sneaked a quick peek at the palm tree before responding, "It's nothing. Where did you go?"
"I thought I saw something weird sneak by," He said, looking curious while he scratched the back of his head, "Did you see it? It was blue and kept making this weird 'ku hu hu' noise with its mouth."
"Um..." I took another speedy glance at the shaking fronds behind us before shaking my head, "No, I didn't see anything creepy like that.
"Creepy?" Blue repeated, looking suspicious.
I shook my head furiously, "No, no! It's nothing! You just – uh – made it sound really creepy with the way you described it, that's all."
"Well...alright then," He said as he dropped the subject, still looking a little disbelieving. I sighed in relief. I didn't really know why I lied about meeting that weird Pokémon. Maybe I just didn't want to think about him anymore than I had to. Blue picked up my pink bag with his other hand.
"Oh, that's –," I began to say.
"I remember this," He interrupted, holding my bag up to the sun, "It's the bag that those two jerks stole from you, right?"
"Yeah," I replied, "I just – uhm – found it on the beach a few minutes ago."
Blue grinned and opened my bag before remarking, "This'll make things easier by a lot."
He took my precious treasure and put it back inside the bag. Then, after making sure the flap was tightly closed, he took the two torn up straps and tied them back together.
"Here Fée, lean your head down for a sec,"
I obliged. He leaned down and put the newly repaired strap around my neck. He spent a few seconds adjusting it so it didn't look strange. Once he finished, I sat down and held it up with my paws. A sense of gratitude washed through me when I let go and felt the bag stay on my body. The straps weren't well tied, and the bag was oddly balanced around my neck. But, such things didn't matter to me.
"I love it!" I said gratefully as I spun around on the spot, admiring his handiwork. He scratched his nose sheepishly as I circled around him joyfully.
"It's just a quick patch job," He remarked nonchalantly, "I'm sure someone else can fix it up better than I could."
I just smiled at Blue and gleefully bounded off with it bouncing around my neck. Even if it wasn't really fixed, it still felt great to have my old bag around with me again. Then, I realized that I should thank the Pokémon who found it for me as well. I spun around and looked at the palm tree.
"Thank you!" I shouted as loud as I could. Blue looked confused and turned to look at the palm tree to see who I was shouting at, but the weird Pokémon didn't appear. Still, I felt like he probably heard it. I cheerfully walked up to Blue and poked him to get his attention.
"Come on Blue!" I said cheerfully, feeling even more energetic than before, "Let's go to Treasure Town. I'll show you around!"
Blue still had a confused expression on his face as I happily ran off towards the path that lead towards Treasure Town. I turned around and waved at him to follow me before continuing on. I heard Blue shout something like 'hey wait,' but I was getting that mischievous feeling again and pretended to not hear him.
"Hee, hee!"
Treasure Town was originally but a humble rest stop built by a group of explorers intending on using the area as a resting point in between expeditions. Surrounded by craggy mountains and the vast sea, the rest stop was practically a necessity for the explorers as they sought out fame, fortune and adventure in the dangerous frontier surrounding the area.
Then, as the numbers of explorers grew, the small rest stop had become a tiny settlement. By that point, the settlement became famous among aspiring young explorers as being 'the' place to be for exploring, inciting even more Pokémon to make pilgrimages to the so-called "Frontier Town of Treasure." The group of explorers that originally founded the settlement became known as the Great Explorers, and the tales of their expeditions became legends within the settlement.
As more and more new blood migrated to the settlement, it was only natural that it eventually grew into the Treasure Town we know now. Today, over hundreds of Pokémon now reside within the town, and many more that just visit. Not all of them are explorers, of course. Many Pokémon immigrated to Treasure Town seeking other things like business, the romance of adventure, or just the experience of living in a bustling frontier city.
As for the explorers of today. Many explorers have formed teams or guilds within the town, bringing together Pokémon of all kinds and temperaments to go on expeditions to the vast, untamed lands that surround the town. But one guild stands leagues above the rest, and that is the guild founded by one great explorer known as Wigglytuff.
Wigglytuff's Guild is famous far and wide, even beyond the borders of Treasure Town. The guild is known by many as "the greatest guild in the world," or "the guild that everyone wishes they can become someday," or even "that guild that I wish would stop being so good at exploring so we can actually get a chance at getting some treasure sometime, dagnabbit!"
And they're famous for a good reason as well, as Wigglytuff's Guild is the only guild in Treasure Town that has not only explored every and all lands around the Town, but have completely mapped them as well! An incredible feat that was only said to have been done by the original founders of the town. Very few other guilds can claim to have done more than two full expeditions in their lifetimes.
Regardless, it goes without saying that for explorers of today and of the future; Treasure Town is the greatest place to be an explorer!
"I see..." Blue mused thoughtfully as I finished my lecture on the history of Treasure Town.
After we had exited the beach, we entered a small side path that snaked through a copse of trees that was nearby to the town. I had told Blue everything I knew about Treasure Town as we walked through the forest. It was surprising to me when he suddenly asked me about Treasure Town. I expected him to at least had known about one of the biggest towns in the world!
"You're pretty knowledgeable about this stuff, Fée," He remarked with an amused look on his face. I blushed and denied him by shaking my head.
"I just like reading, that's all." I admitted, "There's a big library in town that's filled with all sorts of books that Pokémon bring in."
I gave a little prideful sniff, "I always make sure to read everything new that comes in every day."
Blue laughed and scratched his head sheepishly, "I don't think I was a very good reader then. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have lost my memory."
I gave him a worried look as he gave a wry chuckle, "Blue..."
"Oh don't look at me like that," He said, slapping me on the back and grinning, "It was just a joke. A joke!"
He must've noticed that I looked unconvinced, since he slapped me on the back again and said, "So! Fée, why don't you teach me a thing or two about what explorers do then?" He grinned at me and shrugged, "Fill me in about things I don't know, teacher!"
"Oh!" My ears perked up when I heard him call me teacher. Giddily, I began another lecture, "Well, there's a lot of things explorers do!"
A small stump was lying on the side of the road ahead of us. Feeling oddly exuberant, I rushed over to the stump and stood on top of it. Clearing my throat, I conjured up as much information as I could about my favorite subject.
"Explorers are probably the most important of all Pokémon in Treasure Town," I lectured as Blue sat down in front of me with a bemused grin on his face, "You could say they even make up the backbone of the town itself!"
"As for what they do, you can probably tell by their name," I continued energetically, "Explorers primarily go off into the world and – well – explore!"
"There's so many places out there in this world that lie unknown and unexplored to us all," I paused dramatically, "But luckily, Treasure Town was built right in the center of this great, mysterious frontier. So explorers from all over the world come to Treasure Town, since it's so close to so many places to explore!"
I stopped when I saw a blue hand raise from the ground. Giggling a little, I pointed at Blue, who was raising his hand like a dutiful student.
"Yes, question from the Riolu at the front!"
"Well, explorers explore, as you said," Blue commented, lowering his hand, "But what do they get out of exploring?"
"Good question!" I was feeling bubbly inside by how much fun this was, "Many explorers have their own reasons for exploring! Some just want to go out and become famous by discovering new and amazing places, others dive into caves and dungeons for the chance of finding hidden treasure. But there's one thing that all explorers strive for as they travel to Treasure Town!"
"And what is that?"
I waited a second for dramatic tension, then, I puffed out my chest as proudly and shouted as loud as I could.
"All explorers want to go on adventures!"
Blue clapped admiringly as I took a deep breath and concluded my lecture. I leapt off the stump and stood next to Blue.
"Maybe I'm saying too much," I admitted, feeling a little embarrassed at my outburst, "I'm not even a real explorer yet."
I pawed the dirt on the ground sheepishly as Blue stood back up. He walked over to me and grabbed the sides of my face with both his paws. Then, he started pulling.
"Ow, ow, ow!" I shouted as he stretched out my cheeks, "Waff are you doinff?!"
"If that's all you needed to be an explorer," He said, letting go of my face. I rubbed my cheeks gingerly as he continued, "Then you're already an explorer, don't you think?"
"What do you mean?" I said, confused.
"You said all explorers want to go on adventures, right?" I nodded at his statement. Then, he puffed out his chest and crossed his arms, "Then you're an explorer. You went on an adventure with me yesterday, remember?"
He had a point. The thought of that never even crossed my mind until now. I really did go on an adventure yesterday. I explored the dark, scary cave on the beach with Blue. Still, I shook my head and gave him a small smile.
"It's not that easy, Blue," I said as he raised his eyebrow in confusion, "There's a lot of rules about how to become an actual explorer, you see. It's not as easy as just going into a cave."
"Ugh," Blue made a disparaging noise in his throat at my statement. I giggled and began to walk down the path to town again as I began to explain.
"You see, not anyone can just be an explorer," I reasoned, "There's this big group of Pokémon that decide whether or not you're eligible to become an explorer."
"That sounds complicated," Blue grumbled, annoyed.
I giggled and continued my explanation, "There's a reason why it's complicated."
"You see, back then, anyone could become an explorer. But that caused a lot of problems as some mean and unfair Pokémon used to go and pretend to join other explorers on expeditions." I frowned unhappily at that, "These bullies would then attack their own teammates and steal their belongings before running away."
"The thought of Pokémon that do that makes me pretty disgusted, to be honest with you," I commented. Blue nodded with me in agreement, also frowning angrily, before letting me continue, "So a group of famous exploration team leaders came together one day in Treasure Town and decided that they had to do something about this problem."
"So what did they come up with?" Blue asked as he kicked a pebble off the road, "The way I see it, the problem they had sounded pretty awful."
"Oh, it was pretty awful," I said sadly as I watched the pebble bounce off the dirt and into the forest, "There were reports of attacks and thievery almost every day. No one knew who to trust and who to partner with for a long time."
"But!" I smiled and turned to face Blue, "The team leaders did come up with a great plan. They decided that any Pokémon that wanted to be an explorer must first apply to one of their exploration teams."
"Hold on," Blue interrupted, "Wouldn't that basically be like painting a target on themselves?"
I shook my head and grinned, "You'd think so, but it wasn't like that."
"Any aspiring explorer had to first become an apprentice in one of their teams before they were allowed to go on any expeditions," I explained. "And with that, it became much harder for the thieves and bullies to cheat and steal from the honest explorers."
"Why is that?" Blue asked, scratching his chin.
"Well, you see, now when an apprentice wants to go out and explore, they had to be supervised by an experienced explorer associated with their team," I said cheerfully, "It made it pretty hard for the thieves to steal when they were under the watchful eye of a super strong and super savvy explorer, you know."
Blue chuckled at that, "I see now, that does make things a little safer." He paused for a second, and then asked a question, "Hm, but wouldn't that make it a bit difficult for new explorers to just jump into the thick of things and start exploring?"
"Well, it's true that new explorers now have to go through an apprenticeship before they can do everything they want." I admitted, "A lot of other Pokémon weren't happy about their decision either."
As we walked, I noticed a small stream ahead of us. I was feeling a little parched from talking so much, so I pointed it out to Blue and gestured that I wanted to have a drink. He nodded and we stopped at the river.
"But, it did get results, you know." I continued after I quenched my thirst, "A lot of problematic Pokémon got caught before they got to do anything, and a lot of new explorers learned a lot from their experienced teachers. So it was a win – win situation in the end."
"Well, I guess I can't complain if it works," Blue said as he bent down and splashed the water on his face while I rested my tired feet in the cool stream.
"And that's why I want to join Wigglytuff's Guild," I said, puffing out my chest pridefully, "They're the best of the best, and I want to learn how to be a great explorer from them."
"Heh," Blue chuckled as he played with the water, "You did say something about them earlier during your history lesson."
He squirted some icy water into my face playfully, "I'm surprised you haven't already applied to be an apprentice there."
"Yeah..." I said, sending a splash of water back at him, "It's not that I haven't already tried."
"What do you mean?" Blue wiped the water off his face and gave me a puzzled glance.
I shook my head and admitted, "I've actually tried to join them for...well, months now, I suppose." I scooped out a tiny leaf that was floating in the stream and stared at it, "Every day, I walk up to their gates and try to work up the courage to apply, but I always run away in the end."
Blue let out a low whistle. Smiling wryly to myself, I let go of the leaf and watched it get carried away by the wind.
"But, you know," I glanced over at Blue, "I think today's the day."
I looked up into the sky past the leafy canopy and grinned, "I'm not the same, cowardly Fée as before. Today, I'm going to go to the gates, walk right in, and ask them to accept me as an apprentice!"