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Chapter 14:
"It's mine! It's mine! It's mine!"
I took a deep breath, to calm my nerves. My fatigue from last night slowly melted away as I inhaled the fresh, crisp morning air. With warmth slowly rising inside my body, I took a single step forward, stopping right in front of the wooden grille embedded in the ground. From behind me, I heard a loud, tired yawn.
I turned around. Blue was stretching his arms and legs drowsily. I watched him sluggishly trudge his way over to me, rubbing his unfocused eyes and continually yawning. I shook my head as I tried to hold back a giggle. He really was horrible at waking up early in the morning.
Looking away from Blue, I returned my gaze to the wooden grille situated in the ground. This was it, this was the day. Gulping nervously, I walked onto the grille and stood still, waiting for the usual voice to announce my arrival.
"Pokémon detected!" I flinched as the usual loud voice exploded from underneath the grille, "Pokémon detected!"
I heard a startled yelp from behind me. Glancing back, I saw Blue had drawn his fists up in a defensive stance as he scanned around him with a cautious expression on his face, all traces of somnolence gone.
"Whose footprint?" Another voice replaced the first one. I tilted my head to the side. This voice sounded familiar, somehow...
"It's an Eevee's! A female Eevee's!"
"You serious? Took them long enough!" An odd response came from underground. I turned back and glanced questioningly at Blue. He shrugged and mirrored my own confused expression. We both stared expectantly at the huge, garishly pink tent in front of us.
"Oi! They're here! Come on, let's go greet'em!"
Suddenly, the earth began to shake, followed by a series of loud clunking noises. Blue hurriedly rushed up and pulled me off the grille and back onto solid dirt. The strange mechanical noises began to get louder and louder, scaring several Pidgey and Taillow out from wherever they were sleeping. They squawked angrily as they flew away from the tent, annoyed by the noise.
"Blue, look!" I pointed at the huge, wooden gate that was placed underneath the pink tent. It began to emit a low groaning noise as it began to shudder and shake. Then, it slowly began to move upward into the top of the tent.
"It's like the teeth of some great big monster," Blue remarked humorously as we watched the gate slowly vanish into the pink canvas. "maybe we're being invited to be its lunch!"
"Stop it Blue!" I whispered hastily. The sight of the huge wooden gate sliding up on its own like that was scary enough! "You're making it scarier than it already is!"
Blue grinned and squeezed his paws around my cheeks, pretending that his paws were the monster's teeth. I shook my head exasperatedly and shoved him off. He chuckled and patted my head. I gave him a little frown in response. Though, I did feel a little relieved. His joke made the terrifying gate feel a little less scary now.
After a few more seconds of groaning and clanking, the wooden gate finally disappeared completely into the tent's canvas. Blue and I slowly inched our way over to the now – open tent, peering cautiously inside.
"Hello...?" I nervously greeted to whoever that might be inside, "Is anyone there?"
Silence. I looked nervously at Blue for help. He took a step forward and shouted, "Hey, anyone in there?"
More silence. Blue glanced back at me and shrugged in a defeated manner.
"Maybe we're supposed to just go inside?" Blue suggested, pointing a paw at the entrance, "I don't see anyone in there from where I'm standing."
"I... I suppose," I took a deep gulp and walked past Blue, following his paw. True to his word, the interior of the tent did look empty. In fact, now that I had a better look inside, the tent looked oddly small. All I could see inside was the backside of the canvas along with several wooden posts that held up the tent. The floor was completely covered up with an almost obscene amount of multicolored rugs and carpets, all of which were of different sizes and color. Other than that though, there was nothing else visible inside the tent. No other rooms, no Pokémon, nothing. Just carpets and posts.
I tilted my head in confusion at this fact. How can such a large guild like Wigglytuff's have such a tiny headquarters? I've always imagined them to have a much larger base, fitting for a guild so well known across the frontier. It just didn't make sense.
But, as I was pondering this discrepancy, a sudden gust of wind came billowing out from inside the tent. Startled, I quickly covered up my face with my paws and shut my eyes. I felt my fur being ruffled wildly by the sudden breeze. It wasn't a strong gust, but it was surprising nonetheless!
"Fée!" All of a sudden, I found myself being picked up by something that felt like leaves. I opened my eyes and saw, right in front of my face, a gigantic yellow flower.
"Eek!" Startled, I accidentally kicked out with my back legs and knocked the flower away from me. I fell back onto the dirt, hitting the ground hard with my behind. "Ouch!"
"Ooooh! That was a strong kick, ouch!" The flower grumbled in a pained voice as she slowly pulled herself off the ground. As she stood back up, I suddenly recognized her.
"Aah! Sunflora!" My eyes widened in surprise as I pointed a paw at her, "What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean, silly?" Sunflora beamed at me, evidently pleased that I recognized her, "I work here! Didn't I tell you yesterday?"
"You...work here?" I glanced over to the pink tent, then back at Sunflora. My face was that of bewilderment as I tried to puzzle out what she said.
"Oh my gosh, you're so adorable when you're confused like that!" Sunflora squealed gleefully as she rushed over and pulled me into a great, leafy hug again, "I'm so happy that we met again, Fée!"
"Geeh!" I coughed as she rubbed her big, flowery head against my cheek, scattering pollen everywhere. I struggled to get out of her hug, but, for a Pokémon that had leaves for arms, she had a surprisingly strong grip!
I turned my head over to Blue, desperately trying to signal for his help. But, instead of rushing over to my aid, I saw him standing at the side, trying to cover his laughing face with his paw as he watched me struggle with the friendly flower. Thanks for nothing, Blue!
"Alright, alright," Suddenly, two beefy, blue – scaled arms wedged their way between me and Sunflora, separating us with a single shove. My freedom now secured, I quickly ran behind Blue and peered cautiously at the huggy Sunflora, who was looking incredibly dejected at being pulled away from me.
I glanced up at my savior. It was Loudred, the other Pokémon I met yesterday along with Sunflora. He gave me a huge grin, courtesy of his gigantic mouth, and planted himself between me and Sunflora.
"So you're finally here, eh, Fée?" He said cheerfully, folding his arms, "I see you've brought your little friend too."
"Morning," Blue replied casually, holding up his paw as a greeting.
"Good morning, Loudred," I greeted him from behind Blue's legs. Still keeping a wary eye on Sunflora, who still looked like she wanted to give hugs, I moved away from Blue and sat down.
"Um... Loudred?" I spoke nervously, "Can you explain something for me?"
"Shoot."
I tilted my head, confused, "Sunflora said she worked here, and I'm assuming you do too." The two of them nodded. "So... does that mean you're both explorers associated with Wigglytuff's Guild?"
"Bingo!" Sunflora beamed at me as she clapped her leaves together, "You're completely right! Oh my gosh!"
"Well, we did tell her yesterday, didn't we?" Loudred stated plainly, not sharing his partner's enthusiasm at all, "I mean, we even did the whole Guild's Honor thing in front of you and Marill."
"Oh...!" Suddenly, memories of yesterday's events came flooding back to me. I remember when Sunflora and Loudred ran up to me and Marill during the hectic search for Azurill. They did say something about being apart of a guild. But, the situation was so frantic at the time that I didn't completely register what they said.
"See, you remember now, right?" Sunflora sprung upright and held her leafy arm in front of her chest and suddenly recited in a serious voice, "' I promise you! On our honor as members of Wigglytuff's Guild, that she'll be back home safe and sound!' Or something like that! Oooh, I've always wanted to say that!"
Loudred shrugged, "Even though we weren't the ones who saved that girl in the end anywa – gah!" He flinched as Sunflora smacked him on the arm with her leaf. He winced as he rubbed his arm gingerly.
"Speaking of that!" Sunflora cheerfully said, ignoring her partner's angry glare, "What happened in the end anyway? When we finished pasting up all those posters, we were suddenly told that the evil outlaw was captured! Ooh, it was so exciting! But frustrating too! Because then we had to take those posters down and..."
"I'm assuming you found her in the end, eh Riolu?" Loudred shoved Sunflora aside as she began to run off on a tangent, "I can tell by the way you're all banged up... well, more banged up than usual."
"Something like that," Blue brushed away his words with a wave of his paw, "I just punched the guy a bit. That's all."
"Hahaha!" Loudred boomed, laughing loudly as he slapped Blue on the shoulder, making him wince in pain, "You don't have to be modest! We all know what went down on Mount Bristle, Riolu!"
"Eh?"
Loudred winked at us and said with a jovial tone, "That Staraptor from Machoke's Guild came around and announced to everyone what you did last night, Riolu! Isn't that right, Sunflora?"
"Ooh, that's right," Sunflora agreed, nodding her flowery head, "But I wanted to hear it from their mouths, Loudred!" She eagerly turned back to us, wringing her leafy arms together expectantly. I glanced over to Blue, who looked as though he wanted to just run away. I guess he didn't really want to talk about it.
"Um...!" I quickly interjected to help Blue, "I... we kinda want to register as apprentices at Wigglytuff's Guild. Do you two mind showing us how?"
"Ooh!" Sunflora suddenly turned toward Loudred and clapped her leaves together, "That's right! I totally forgot!"
"Oh, right," Loudred smacked his head with his hand, "you're finally going to apply as an apprentice Fée. Congratulations!"
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"We've all been watching you for a while, Fée," Loudred said, grinning with Sunflora, "you've been coming to the guild for a while haven't you?"
"Every day," Sunflora added gleefully, "we've been waiting for you to finally pluck up the courage and walk up to us and ask for apprenticeship! Ooh, I was rooting for you the whole time, Fée!"
"You mean.. you've all been watching me?!"
A look of horror appeared on my face as Loudred and Sunflora nodded cheerfully. I felt my face burn bright red as a gigantic tidal wave of embarrassment crashed down upon me. A strange noise escaped my throat as I hurriedly ducked behind Blue and stuffed my searing hot face into his tail. I've never felt so embarrassed in my entire life! This is the worst!
"Ooh, she's embarrassed now!" I heard Sunflora say gleefully, "She's so adorable!"
"I don't think we should've told her that we were watching!" Loudred replied, laughing uproariously
I groaned out of anguish as I clung tightly to Blue's tail. I felt him pat me sympathetically on my head, making me feel even more abashed. I shoved my face even deeper into his fluffy tail in response. If I exposed my blushing face to the air now, I felt as though I might go up in flames!
"We're sorry, we're sorry!" Sunflora and Loudred both clasped their hands together and bowed down in front of me. It was an odd sight, seeing two accomplished explorers beg for forgiveness.
"Hmph!" I turned my head away from the grovelling pair. A slight tinge of red was still present on my face, even after a few minutes had passed. Blue just grinned silently at me as I continued to stick close to his hooked tail.
"You can repay her by showing us into the guild," Blue suggested, pointing at the pink tent. He rubbed his chin with his paw, "I've been wondering. Where'd you two come out from anyway? All I can see in there are rugs and junk."
"Oh!" Sunflora pulled her head off the ground, trailing a little bit of dirt from her petals. She enthusiastically leapt up and walked over to the tent's entrance and pointed inside with her leaf.
"This isn't the actual guild house, oh no." Sunflora explained, "If it was, then we'd have no space to work or sleep!"
She ducked past the tent flaps and held up one of the carpets. Curious, Blue and I inched closer to the tent and watched the flowery Pokémon fiddle around with something underneath the rugs. With a shout of exertion, Sunflora suddenly threw up her arms. Immediately, a gust of wind burst out from inside the tent again, making Blue and I cover our eyes out of shock.
"You'll want to keep your eyes open for what happens next." Loudred commented from somewhere beside us. Deciding to take the chance, I gingerly opened my eyes against the gusting wind.
It was an amazing sight. All the carpets and rugs were flying around the inside of the tent, circling around Sunflora like a strange, clothy tornado. Then, one by one, the carpets stacked themselves up in neat stacks around the sides of the tent. But, what really amazed me was what was underneath all those carpets.
"Is that... a tree?" Well, it wasn't exactly a tree. At the center of the tent was the top of a gigantic tree trunk. The wooden surface pretty much made up the entire floor of the tent. Hundreds, maybe thousands of tree rings were present on the trunk, showing just how old the tree probably was before it was chopped down.
"Mmhm!" Sunflora nodded gleefully as she saw our stupefied faces, "That's not the end of it though! Just watch!"
Sunflora stood at the center of the tree stump, where all the rings originated from. Then, with a loud shout, she stomped the tree trunk with her foot. Suddenly, a loud reverberating noise echoed from within the trunk, followed by multiple repeated clunking noises. Blue and I glanced at each other, confused and wondering what was happening as the noises became louder and louder.
Then, the loudest clunk sound rang out and the ground began to shudder. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. Parts of the massive tree trunk began to sink down in blocks. Piece by piece, they slid down like parts of a puzzle. Sunflora grinned as she quickly stepped off the tree trunk and trotted over to us.
"It's... it's a staircase!" Blue whispered in a stunned voice.
He was right. Every block that fell down on the tree trunk stopped after sliding a short distance, where it then locked into place by some strange mechanism. After a while, the noise stopped and the ground stopped shaking. Cautiously, Blue and I walked into the tent and stared down at the newly – formed staircase.
"Wow..." It was incredible. Large pieces of the tree trunk had sunk down, forming a magnificent spiral staircase that lead down into the ground. It was surprisingly wide as well. It had just enough space for two or more Pokémon to pass through, side by side. Nervously, I stepped down one of the wooden blocks. To my great relief, it felt incredibly sturdy and solid.
"Heh, impressed?" Loudred said as he casually strode down the stairs past Blue and I, "I don't know who made this contraption, but it sure is convenient!"
"That's right, ooh!" Sunflora patted me on the back as she followed Loudred down, "Hurry up down, Fée! Blue! I wanna show you around our headquarters! It'll be so much fun! Eek!"
I glanced up at Blue, who was also testing the steps out for himself. Once he was sure that the blocks weren't going to suddenly give out from underneath him, he grinned and began to slowly make his way down. Noticing that he was still moving a little slow from his injured leg, I hurriedly wedged myself underneath his right arm.
"I'll help you down, Blue," I offered as I allowed him to lean against me.
"Thanks, Fée," He grinned at me as we slowly made our way down the stairs.
"Welcome to Wigglytuff's Guild!"
Sunflora and Loudred cheered enthusiastically as we moved off the last step. I glanced behind us, back at the staircase. It was still housed within the huge tree trunk, but now, as we've gone deeper into the ground, I could see it in full.
The staircase was built within a massive, massive tree. Parts of the tree trunk had been carved out to allow for entrances or windows, but it was still mostly intact. The staircase lead down into a large, hollow cavern made mostly out of stone and packed dirt. The cavern was surrounded by vines and huge, thick roots coming from the ceiling. As I looked up, I saw the bottom of the massive tree. Its roots spread out across the ceiling of the cavern and all around the walls like a great, wooden protector.
Sunflora walked over to where we were and gently knocked on the bottom step of the staircase. Immediately, the loud clanking noise started up again. Blue and I watched, mesmerized, as the staircase began to slowly recede itself back into the ceiling. Tons of moving bits and pieces worked hard to pull the multiple wooden blocks back into the tree. I couldn't understand the mechanics behind such a wondrous device, but it amazed me nonetheless.
After the staircase was completely reabsorbed into the ceiling, Sunflora walked up to Blue and I and gestured around us with a big smile on her face.
"So? What do you think?" She said anxiously, "Isn't it roomy?"
Roomy wasn't the word I would've used to describe it. The entire place was huge! Even though we were standing inside a deep cavern, large holes have been dug out in the walls, allowing for sunlight to stream into the place. Tons of doors, stairs and archways were carved into the walls, leading to what I assume deeper into the cavern.
I slowly paced around the room, taking in the atmosphere. Comfy chairs, soft cushions and wooden tables were strewn all around the place, giving the cavern a homely feel. It actually kinda resembled a clubhouse more than an actual guildhouse! The floor of the cavern was oddly soft. I took a look down at my feet and realized that the ground was completely covered in soft, leafy grass, with patches of flowers scattered around every few feet. It was absolutely gorgeous!
Then, as I looked up from the ground, I heard a quiet rumbling noise. I turned my head to the direction of the noise and found a small waterfall spilling out from the ceiling. At the foot of the waterfall was a small pool of crystal clear water.
"Wow...!" I ran over to the small pond and peered over the side, staring at my reflection. But, as I continued to look down in the water, something fast and red came zooming up from the depths, shattering my reflected face into pieces with ripples.
"Eek!" I fell backwards out of surprise as that mysterious red thing came flying out of the water, scattering water droplets everywhere. I shook the water off my face and quickly turned around. The Pokémon made a clacking noise with its huge, pincer like hands as it addressed me.
"Hey, hey, hey! Who're you?" The Pokémon said in a suspicious tone. It pointed one of its sharp, crab – like pincer at me and stated, "Are you an intruder? If you are, you'll have to face the might of Crawdaunt!"
"E – eh?!" My eyes widened out of fear as I quickly held up my paws, trying to mollify the crabby Pokémon, "N – no, I'm no intruder!"
"Hmmm?!" The red Pokémon narrowed its eyes and scuttled closer to me on its six, thin legs. It eyed me skeptically and opened his right pincer in front of my face, "I've never seen you around here before, Eevee! I can't trust what you say!"
"Mmmhh!" I tried to say something in response, but the sight of his sharp pincer right in front me, water dripping ominously off its sharp points made me lose my ability to talk.
"Bwahaha! The mighty Crawdaunt terrifies yet another intrud – gyeegh!"
Suddenly, the red Pokémon was lifted into the air by a blue paw on his back. I gaped as the mighty Crawdaunt flailed around, moving its six little legs in a desperate attempt to move.
"Let go of me!" He shouted indignantly, "I'm the mighty Crawdaunt! You can't treat me this way! Hey, hey!"
"Fée, are you alright?" Blue ignored the furious Pokémon in his grasp and extended me his other paw. I took it and let him pull me back onto my feet. I stared warily at the angry Crawdaunt as he tried to reach down and pinch Blue's arm, but he couldn't quite reach him with his short pincers.
"Thanks Blue..." I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Sunflora and Loudred came running over. Loudred hurriedly snatched the red Pokémon out of Blue's paws and held him upside down by one of his tiny legs.
"Corphish, what did I tell you about scaring visitors!" Sunflora chided him angrily. She prodded Crawdau – Corphish in the face with her leaf and glared at him.
"Sunflora, Loudred!" Corphish said in a friendlier tone. A complete shift from his earlier self, "How're you two doing?"
"Ooh! Don't just change the subject!" Sunflora scolded angrily, but Corphish had already freed himself from Loudred's grasp and flipped himself onto the grassy floor. He held up his two large pincers and pointed them at Blue and I.
"You two, we got intruders, hey, hey!" He said in an enthusiastic voice. Evidently, he completely disregarded Sunflora's words from before. Blue growled threateningly as Corphish clacked his pincers at us, "Come on, we gotta shoo them out before the Grandmaster of all things Naggy sees them!"
"You numbskull," Loudred covered his face with his hand and shook his head, "we WANT them to meet the Grandmaster."
Blue and I covered our ears as Loudred blasted a sudden sonic boom at us with his voice. Corphish, however looked completely unaffected by Loudred's voice.
He turned around and said, in a flabbergasted voice, "What?! You mean to tell me these two are...?" Corphish seemed to be trying to figure out something in his mind. He slowly turned back and stared as us with narrowed eyes. After silently staring at us for nearly a minute, his eyes widened and he clacked his pincers together wildly.
"Hey, hey! You didn't tell me we were having new recruits today!" He jumped up and clacked his pincers loudly.
Loudred sighed exasperatedly, "You didn't let us tell you anything before you went and called them intruders," He bonked Corphish over the head with his fist.
"Gyeh!" Corphish cried out in pain and covered his head with his pincers. Sunflora sighed and walked over to me.
"Sorry about that, Fée," She apologized, "Corphish gets a little excited when he sees new faces."
"Hey, hey!" Corphish spun around and clacked his pincers indignantly at Sunflora, "My name ain't Corphish! It's the mighty Crawdaunt!"
"Sure, and my name is the supreme Exploud," Loudred said, rolling his eyes.
"Crawdaunt?" I echoed, looking a little confused, "Is that another Pokémon?"
"It's his evolved form," Sunflora explained, looking a little amused, "Corphish has been looking forward to evolution for a long time. He's been rather taken to calling himself Crawdaunt in anticipation for his eventual evolution."
"I see. Evolution, huh? That's pretty cool!"
"Hey, hey! Someone understands!" He said cheerfully, "You and me, we're gonna be great friends, I can tell!"
Loudred snorted, "Says the Pokémon that nearly snipped her nose off earlier."
"Hey, no hard feelings, eh?" Corphish winked at me, "We're cool now, right? Now that I know that you and your grabby friend ain't intruders, right?"
"Grabby?" Blue said as he folded his arms.
"It's okay, I forgive you," I smiled and looked at Blue. He looked a little uncertain, but I gave him a reassuring nod. He sighed and held out his paw to Corphish.
"Y'know, now that I have a closer look..." Corphish narrowed his eyes as he placed his heavy pincer on Blue's paw, shaking it, "You're a Riolu, ain't ya?"
Blue gave me a quick look before responding, "I suppose. I've been called that by a lot of Pokémon, so, probably."
"Hey, hey, why do you sound so unsure?" Corphish chuckled at Blue's ambiguous answer, "I've heard a lot about Riolu!"
"From Loudred?" Sunflora piped up suspiciouslly, shooting Loudred a wary look.
"Yep, from Loudred!" Corphish replied cheerfully, "He told me that Riolu were total freaks who prefer to stay within their dark caves and be boring old loners! You don't look anything like that though, hey, hey!"
My ears perked up at what he said. I've never seen a Riolu before I met Blue. Not to mention, none of the books I've read in Mr. Mime's library ever talked about Riolu, so I don't know much about what other Riolu were like, other than Blue.
Corphish's words – and by extension, Loudred's – made me frown a bit. I remembered Loudred saying something similar back at the restaurant, and it was confusing then as well. I looked over at Blue, wondering how he felt about his species being called such rude words. To my surprise, he didn't look insulted at all. In fact, there was a strangely curious glint in his eye as he listened to Corphish.
"Is that so?" Blue replied eagerly, "What else did he say?"
"Well!" Corphish looked thrilled to be asked questions, "He also told me that Riolu were all violent weirdos. Total fighting maniacs, he said. Ain't that right, Loudred?"
"Guuuhh!" Loudred couldn't respond. He was too busy being dragged away by the ear by a furious Sunflora.
"You and I are gonna have a big talk about spreading nasty rumors, Loudred!" She scolded angrily, "Corphish, you go and introduce those two to the Guildmaster. I'm gonna be busy for a while!"
With her final order still lingering in the air, she forcefully dragged Loudred off into one of the doorways and disappeared from sight. Corphish broke out in wild laughter.
"Hoo boy, those two will never get along, will they?" He asked us. Blue and I just looked at each other and shrugged. Corphish wiped a tear from his eye and said, "Well alright then! If we're gonna be apprentices together, we'd better get you all signed up with the guild!"
"You're an apprentice too?" I said in a surprised tone. Corphish nodded as we followed him across the grassy cavern.
"That's right, and so's Sunflora and Loudred!" He said with a certain pride in his tone.
"Oh right," I nodded in agreement, "they said something about that to me before."
"Lotsa Pokémon mistake those two to be real explorers," Corphish added, "I don't blame'em. Those two are the best of the best here in Wigglytuff's. Ain't nobody better at exploring than those two. Well, maybe except the Guildmaster, hey, hey!"
"So why are they still apprentices?" I interjected with a question, "If they're so good at what they do, shouldn't they be full fledged explorers now?"
"Hey, hey, I dunno!" Corphish replied, "They have their own reasons, I suppose. Ain't my business to poke a pincer into theirs!"
Corphish halted in front of a large, double door embedded in the wall. I looked up at the massive door. It was made out of a dark, rich – colored wood. The words "Guildmaster's Office" was expertly carved on the surface of the left door, while the words "Wigglytuff & Chatot" were embossed on the right.
"Here we are! The Guildmaster's office!" Corphish cheerfully stated, pointing his pincer at the magnificent doors. "Just head on in, don't be shy!"
Hesitation and nervousness flooded my body as I stared at the great wooden gate in front of me. Somehow, this door made me feel more anxious than facing off against Koffing and Zubat. The weight of the bag around my neck seemed like it was getting heavier and heavier as I stood there, staring at the door. I gulped and tried to move my paw up to knock on the wood, but my leg wouldn't move. It was like my feet had turned into stone all of a sudden.
"Hey, hey! You alright?"
Corphish's words barely reached my ears. My heart was pounding while thousands of negative thoughts raced through my mind. Run, run away! This is too scary! I'm afraid! I shook my head, trying to get rid of these terrified thoughts. I didn't come all this way just to give up now!
Suddenly, I felt a paw on my head. I looked up and saw Blue smiling at me. He comfortingly rubbed the top of my head, as if he was trying to calm down a child. As his paw touched the ribbon tied onto my right ear, I felt a strange warmth flood through my body, washing away all the fear and anxiety that was building up inside my heart. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, summoning up all my willpower.
"Alright," I said in a confident voice, "I'm ready."
Slowly, I reached up with my paw. I placed it against the solid, wood door and knocked three times, announcing my presence. At first, nobody responded, making me tilt my head in confusion. But then, about a second later, a rumbling noise erupted from behind the door.
"Oop!" Corphish yelped as he quickly scuttled away from the entrance. The reason why became crystal clear as the door began to slowly open out on its own. Blue and I stepped back, allowing the door to fully open up ahead of us.
Boom! The two heavy wooden doors struck the cavern walls forcefully, making dust rain down from the ceiling. From beyond the entrance, all I could see was darkness. For some reason, there appeared to be no windows or light inside the Guildmaster's office. I gulped as I took a step forward into the abyss, with Blue following behind me.
Once we were fully immersed in the darkness, the double doors suddenly closed behind us with a loud crashing noise, enclosing us inside the pitch – black room. I quickly turned around and placed my paws against the doors in a panic. Why did the doors close? Was this a trap? What was going on?"
"Calm down Fée," Blue said calmly as he continued to pat me on the head.
"How can you stay calm in a situation like this?" I retorted, a little hysterically.
"Well, we're not alone in here," Blue said plainly as he pointed forward with his other paw.
"Eh?!" I looked toward where his paw was pointing. It was difficult, considering the lack of light in the room. As my eyes slowly adjusted though, I could see something large and brightly colored in the distance. In fact, the thing appeared to be growing larger and larger by the second...
Suddenly, a pair of large blue circles loomed out of the darkness at us.
"Eeeek!" I leapt backward out of terror. All the strength and willpower that I summoned earlier seemed to vanish as I rushed behind Blue, hiding myself from the horrible sight.
"Yoooooooom..."
All of a sudden, an odd, drawn out noise began to echo around the room. It got louder and louder as it continued, forcing me to cover my ears with my paws. I felt Blue bend down a little as he tried to cover his ears from the noise as well.
"–TAH!"
An explosion of sound, light and force erupted from within the room, blasting away my senses and leaving me confused and dazed. I fell flat on my belly from dizziness, my eyes rolling around uncontrollably in my head. The room was spinning at a ridiculous speed, making me feel incredibly nauseous.
"Oogh..." I heard Blue groan from somewhere beside me. He must've felt the pain from the explosion as well.
"Welcome, new friends!" A loud, chipper voice rang out from somewhere around me. I staggered up to my feet, using Blue's tail as leverage.
The room was completely lit up now. Torches on the wall that were unlit earlier were now flickering with a bright, warm light. Darkly colored curtains were blown off their hangers, revealing a series of large windows on the other side of the room. Gleaming, glittering and other shiny objects were strewn around everywhere, reflecting light all around the office. With all these light sources scattered around, it was as if the darkness never existed in the first place!
I groaned as I tried to refocus my self. My eyes were still blurred, and a dull ringing sound kept buzzing inside my ear, making it hard for me to find my balance.
"What... who...?" Even my words were coming out unfocused and confused. I shook my head and slapped my cheeks with my paws. The stinging feeling on my face seemed to help, as the room began to slowly stop spinning around.
"Guildmaster, how many times do I have to tell you to use your powers in moderation?" An unfamiliar voice rang out from somewhere above me. It sounded grumpy, yet had a strangely melodic tone to it.
"Ooh, but they're new friends! I wanted them to be impressed!" Replied the first voice.
"They wont be impressed if they're vomiting all over the floor," said the second voice sarcastically, "and neither would I."
Slowly, I began to regain my senses. I pushed myself off Blue's body and tried to look at the speakers. I gasped. It was a large, pink colored Pokémon. His body resembled that of a particularly cheerful looking marshmellow. Two long, floppy ears extended out from the top of his head, surrounding the sides of a fluffy, curly tuft of hair. He stared at me with great interest with his blue, saucer shaped eyes.
"Hello friend! It's nice to see that you've recovered!" Guildmaster Wigglytuff said with a gleeful little wave of his small, nub – like hands. He waddled up to me and patted me down, dusting away the dirt found its way on my fur. Then, after he was satisfied with my cleanliness, he waddled over to Blue and started doing the same to him.
"Gu... Gu..." My voice wouldn't come out. I continued to stutter as I gaped at the cheerful pink Pokémon bounce around the bright room happily. "Gu... Gu..."
"Oh my, I think you might've broke her, Guildmaster," The second voice turned out to be a small, colorful bird Pokémon. He shook his black head in a disdainful manner at me and flew onto a small wooden post erected on the floor.
"Oh no!" Guildmaster Wigglytuff looked genuinely shocked at the bird's words, "Chatot, what do we do then? How do we fix them?"
"Buh...?" Blue looked like he was slowly regaining his use of his senses as well. He shook his head wildly and covered his face with his paws.
"Well, first of all, I'd suggest you stop shouting in their ears," the bird – Chatot – advised, "and secondly, how about you give them some time to rest from your little attack, hm?"
"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Chatot!" Guildmaster Wigglytuff shouted, making Blue and I wince from the volume, "We'll let our new friends rest for a while! Then we can talk!"
Through the painful buzzing in my ears, I could just barely make out an exasperated sigh coming from Chatot.
"Are you two feeling better now?"
I rubbed my ears with my back leg, trying to see if they still worked. Thankfully, I could hear again without that painful droning noise in my head. I nodded at the little bird Pokémon standing in front of us, confirming that I was alright.
"How about you?" Chatot asked Blue, who still looked a little green in the face. Blue held up a paw and straightened his back as he took a deep breath. After shaking his head a little, he looked at Chatot and nodded as well.
"Very well then," Chatot nodded his head in response to us and fluttered back to his wooden post, where he stood and stared at us with narrowed eyes.
Nervously, I looked around the now – lit office. It was crammed to the breaking point with objects and knick – knacks of all kinds, and none of it were neatly put away at all. Instead of being an office, the room resembled a treasure hoard instead, with valuable – looking objects like trophies, coins or whatever thrown all over the place in a haphazard fashion.
A handsome desk was placed at the far end of the room, right in between all of the windows on the wall. Piles and piles of paper were strewn all over the desk as well as – for some strange reason – a great mound of shiny apples. As I was pondering about the apples, I saw Guildmaster Wigglytuff bound up to his desk and pick up one of the apples. Within seconds, the apple was within his mouth and gone forever.
"So, would you two like to explain why you're here?" Chatot's words snapped me out of my distracted staring. I quickly turned back and faced the bird, who was still eyeing us suspiciously, "If you're one of those door – to – door sales Pokémon, we don't want anything. The same goes if you're a trying to have us sign any surveys."
I quickly shook my head, "N – no, we're not sales Pokémon or surveyors, Mr. Chatot! That's not why we're here at all!"
"Then what are you here for? Beggars looking for a donation?" Chatot said distrustfully, "If that's the case, then off you go!"
I shook my head again and glanced over to Blue, who was glaring at the bird silently. Sighing, I held out my right paw to my chest and told Chatot honestly the reason why we're here.
"Blue and I... we're here to apply for apprenticeship," I said earnestly, "we want to be trained as an exploration team, Mr. Chatot."
"W – what?!" The bird cried out suddenly, startling me, "An exploration team? You two?!"
"Um... yes, if you would pl –"
"Why, that changes everything!" Chatot's expression made a complete switcheroo. The doubtful look on his face had changed to a big, almost alarmingly friendly smile, "You should've said so in the first place, little Eevee! Ha!"
"Um...?" I looked over to Blue for help again. It didn't matter though, since even he looked absolutely bewildered at Chatot's sudden change in demeanor.
"I'm quite surprised that you've made this decision at such a young age! And at our guild too, no less!" Chatot continued gleefully. He covered his face with his wing and muttered something under his breath. I strained my ears to try and make out what he was saying, "...and with so many potential recruits leaving due to the rigorousness of our training, this is quite a boon...!"
"Excuse me...?" I said, spooking Chatot's head out from under his wing, "Is the training really that hard?"
"Oh! Um!" Apparently, I wasn't supposed to hear that, as Chatot quickly flapped his wings around and hastily said, "No, no! Our training is as easy as it can be! Ha ha! Whatever could've given you that idea, Eevee?"
"Actually, my name is Fée," I said, bowing my head politely. I held up a paw next to Blue and introduce him, "and this is my friend, Blue."
"'Blue...?'" Chatot repeated doubtfully. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Blue, "Is that your name?"
"Mmhm," Blue replied, shrugging, "is there something wrong?"
"No! No, not at all!" Chatot quickly withdrew his suspicious gaze and coughed to clear his throat, "Well then! Fée! Blue! Allow me to introduce myself."
He extended his right wing and held it over his chest, "I am Chatot, assistant and second – in – command to the Guildmaster as well as an accomplished explorer of my own, if I do say so myself, ho ho!"
"G... good to meet you, Mr. Chatot." I was a little taken aback by just how pompous he was, but I decided not to let that show on my face. Blue just nodded respectfully at the bird, but kept silent.
"Now, how about you go and tell me why you decided to choose our guild for apprenticeship? This isn't a trick question or anything, it's just for my own personal curiosity!"
"Well, I've heard a lot of great things about Wigglytuff's Guild," I glanced over to the Guildmaster, who was still busying himself with the pile of apples on his desk, "and I thought that if I ever wanted to be an explorer, my best best would be to apprentice here, Mr. Chatot."
"Well said, Fée!" Chatot responded jovially, "I'm quite glad that you think so highly of us. I'm truly grateful to receive your respect."
"Thank you," I bowed my head again, feeling a little embarrassed at being praised by him.
Chatot turned his head over to Blue, "How about you then, Blue? I see that you're a Riolu, but let it be known that we don't discriminate by Pokémon here in Wigglytuff's Guild. Ho, ho!"
I saw Blue give a little smirk at Chatot's words. He must've been thinking about what Loudred and Corphish were saying earlier. Did Chatot not know about them? Or was Chatot just trying to be cordial to Blue? I wasn't sure.
"Well, I'm not too sure what explorers or what exploration teams are, to be honest with you." Blue admitted, scratching his nose sheepishly, "Fée explained some of it to me, but it's still mostly confusing to me."
"Ah well, you don't have to worry about that!" Chatot replied in a friendly voice, "With our training regimen, even the most clueless Riolu can become a skilled explorer in no time! Ho, ho!"
I saw Blue's eye twitch a bit as Chatot continued to laugh. I shook my head and sighed. Maybe I should go ask Sunflora about why so many Pokémon treat Blue like this. It's strange. I've never seen anyone talk about any other Pokémon species like this before. Only Riolu.
"Now that we're all acquainted with each other," Chatot said. Blue snorted sarcastically as Chatot made a large show out of clearing his throat, "I would like to know one more thing from you two before we register you as an official apprentice at our guild."
"One more thing?" I asked, confused.
"That's right. This is the most important tidbit of all, so think about it wisely." Chatot smiled and held out his right wing. I gulped nervously. What kind of question could this be? If I answered it wrong, would they kick me out? Agh, I don't wanna think about such things right now!
"Ahem, Fée, Blue," He said slowly, "I would like to ask you to tell me what your dreams are."
"Dreams?" Blue and I both spoke at the same time.
Chatot nodded and proceeded to explain, "That's right. The most important aspect of being an explorer is to have a strong, personal dream to strive for. It's what gives you the drive and willpower to succeed in becoming a great explorer, you see. So having your own dream is important not only for your success, but for your own personal growth!"
"I see!" I clapped my paws together. This was an important question, no doubt. Thankfully, I already knew my answer to that question. It was an answer that I've held inside of me for a long time.
I stood up and, without a single shred of nervousness, told Chatot, "My dream is to become a real explorer! I want to go out and see the world with my own eyes, and go on expeditions!"
"Very good!" Chatot laughed happily as he clapped his wings together, "I like your drive, Fée! You're going to go far, I believe!"
"Thank you, Mr. Chatot!" I blushed and sat back down, feeling relieved and happy.
"Now then, what about you?" Chatot gestured to Blue, who was silently pondering something by himself. He looked up and folded his arms in front of his chest.
"Hm... a dream, huh?" He said in a low voice, "A dream..."
"That's right, don't be shy!" Chatot urged him, "It's important to have a dream, and it's also important to let us know so we can help you achieve that goal!"
"Hm..." Blue closed his eyes. He seemed like he was deep in thought.
As I watched him think, I suddenly realized. Blue had never really spoken to me about his own desires or dreams before. Usually, when the topic comes up, he just listens while I tell him about my dreams. I thought back to the day I first met Blue. When I pulled him out of the ocean.
He said he lost his memories, but other than when we first met, it never seemed like a large deal to him. I wondered, what was he like before he lost his memories? Did he have a dream or a purpose that he was trying to reach before I found him in the ocean? How does he feel about that question? Would he be confused, or sad? All these worried thoughts kept swimming around my head as I waited for Blue to answer Chatot.
Suddenly, I felt Blue's paw around my body. He pulled me close to his side all of a sudden, jarring me out of my thoughts. I looked up at him, startled. He was grinning widely at Chatot, who was watching us curiously.
"My dream? I don't have one right now!" Blue announced proudly, "But, for now, I'm helping my friend fulfill hers. Is that good enough for you, Chatot?"
"B – Blue!" I stuttered, blushing furiously as I pushed myself out of his grasp. I shook my head and said, "That's not what he's talking ab– I mean, what about your own dreams?"
"My own dreams?" Blue repeated, looking a little confused, "I don't have any, Fée. Don't you remember? I can't remember a thing prior to two days ago. How can I have a dream if I can't remember anything?"
"But," It was exactly what I was worrying about earlier. I looked at him worryingly, "You can't just go and forget about yourself just to help me with my dream, Blue!"
"Why not?"
"Why... not?"
Blue shrugged, "It's not like I'll be able to come up with a dream of my own in just three days. So for now, I don't see why I can't help you until I remember a little bit more about myself."
"But... how do you feel about... not having a dream...?"
"How do I feel?" Blue cupped his chin with his paw and mulled over my question for a few seconds. "I guess I don't really care about it right now. After all, it's not like I can feel bad about something I can't even remember."
"Or maybe," Blue gained a snide look on his face, "you've gotten strong all of a sudden and you no longer need my help, Fée?"
He tapped the ribbon on my ear playfully. I blushed even harder as I tried to refute him, "No! No, that's not it at all! I'm not that strong yet! I still need you, Blue!"
I suddenly realized what I said and felt my entire face turn bright red. I buried my searing hot face in my paws and looked away while Blue began to laugh cheerfully.
Was it that fun to make me blush? It feels like everyone's picking on me lately, jeez!
"Well... I suppose that answer works, ahem." Chatot said slowly. He sounded a little hesitant. Maybe he was surprised by our sudden argument.
"Alright then, now that we know about your dreams and desires..." Chatot pointed a wing at Guildmaster Wigglytuff, "Guildmaster, would you mind doing the honors?"
"Mffph?" Guildmaster Wigglytuff looked startled at Chatot's sudden request. Several wet apples dropped onto the floor as he hurriedly tried to stuff them into his mouth.
"Guildmaster..." Chatot's wing appeared to wilt as he watched his boss scramble around the room, chasing after stray apples. He covered his face and shook his black – feathered head exasperatedly.
After taking a big gulp, Guildmaster Wigglytuff swallowed all of the apples he had in his mouth and quickly ducked behind his desk. Blue and I watched with interest as the Guildmaster began to fling out object after object out from underneath his desk. Golden coins, shiny cups, pretty orbs, moldy berries, cute dolls, dirty rocks, ornate sculptures and more flew out from that mess of a desk.
Eventually, the avalanche of garbage halted as Guildmaster Wigglytuff popped himself back out from underneath the desk, holding a small, gold – colored chest. The Guildmaster waddled over to Blue and I and placed the box in front of us.
The chest was squarish, almost in a perfect cube shape. It looked like it was made out of solid gold, but I noticed that parts of the box had a dull, grayish color, where the golden color appeared to be flaking off. The gold must've been applied to the box with paint instead of actually being made of gold. At the side of the box was a small clasp, made in the shape of a small, circular button with wings protruding out from the side.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Guildmaster Wigglytuff eagerly said, "Open it up!"
I looked over to Blue, who gave me a curt nod. We both reached over to the box's clasp and unlocked it together. The box's lid swung open on its own, as if it was eager to show us what was inside.
"This is an explorer's kit!" I squealed as I saw what was inside the box. I quickly stuffed my paws inside and yanked out every item, holding them up one by one for Blue to see.
"That's right, it's an explorer's kit." Chatot said in a serious voice. He leapt down from his post and addressed me with his wing, "With this, you are now officially considered apprentices of Wigglytuff's Gui –"
"Look Blue! It's a Treasure Map! Only explorers get to own these!" I spoke with a childish glee as I held up a scroll of dusty parchment. Chatot looked miffed that I interrupted him, but I just couldn't contain myself, "It's a map of the entire frontier! Every forest, lake, mountain, cave and more are shown on this map!"
"Oh, and look! It's a real explorer's bag!" I yanked out the two brown bags that were stuffed inside the box. The bags were made out of thick and tough leather, completely unlike the soft, fragile cloth that my own bag was made of. The bags had the same clasp on them as the box. I eagerly opened up one of the bags and found it filled to the brim with all sorts of helpful tools.
"Ooh, it's a compass! And look, there's a canteen and berry pots and, oh wow! There's even some bandages and rope!"
My eyes were sparkling as I held up a length of rope for Blue to see. He chuckled and took it from my paws.
"It's just a rope, Fée," He sounded like he was having trouble trying to hold back his mirth, "you're so excited over this."
"How can I not be?" I replied indignantly as I shoved a compass in his face, "This is the stuff that real explorers use on expeditions! This is... this is..."
"A compass," Blue remarked as he pushed the compass away from his muzzle.
"No..." I shook my head and put the compass back into the bag, "This is the stuff I've dreamed of for my entire life, Blue."
I stood up and closed the bag, making sure the clasp was tightly refastened. Then, with my teeth, I pulled the bag over my head and wore it around my neck. It clashed horribly with my old, worn pink bag. But I didn't care. I wore both of the bags together, slowly spinning myself around and admiring the texture and weight of a real explorer's bag around my neck.
"It's a real explorer's bag...!" I whispered gleefully as I sat back down and embraced the bag, as if it was my own child, "And it's mine!"
"What are these, Fée?" I looked up from the bag and saw that Blue was holding two white objects in his paws.
"Aah!" I quickly rushed forward and snatched one of them out of his paws, startling him. I held it up into the air, where I could see it clearly in the sunlight.
It was a small, white badge. It's body was a perfect circle, with a gorgeous pink gem set in the center of it. At the sides of the badge were two beautifully sculpted wings. I flipped the badge around to look at the back. There was a small patch of cloth attached to it where I could write my name, proving that it was mine. Underneath that was a metal fastener so I could wear it, proving that I was a explorer. Finally, at the bottom was a miniscule carving that read 'WIGGLY TUFF GUILD.'
"This is an explorer's badge! A real explorer's badge!" I was awed by the little white badge. The old, broken badge that I had before couldn't hold a candle to the sheer beauty of the real thing! From the pure, white color of the body to the pretty little pink gem embedded in it... I simply couldn't contain my happiness from just holding it! And... best of all...
"It's mine!" I turned to Blue and gave him a great, big hug. His eyes bugged out as I squeezed him tightly and shouted in his ear, "It's mine! It's mine! It's mine!"
"Geeh! Fée! You're doing it again! Ouch!"
"It's mine! It's mine!"
I've never felt so happy before in my entire life!