Chapter 13: The Seaweed is Always Greener

-Rio's POV-

Still shivering from being frozen, I raised my hand, "Sorry to interrupt, but how about we take this conversation somewhere else? Somewhere warmer, perhaps?"

Scizor nodded, "Ah, yes, of course." He reached into his Treasure Bag and pulled out an Escape Orb, he said, "Everyone, gather around, if you please." We all gathered in a circle and he threw the orb in the center. After a flash of light, we were warped to the crossroads at Treasure Town. Vlad and Damus nodded and then left into Spinda Café.

Scizor bowed slightly, "I am sincerely grateful for your coming to my rescue. If you hadn't come along, I very well could have remained encased in ice forever." He looked around, "However, little did I expect to see that decades have passed since my icebound predicament. Why it is as if I'd traveled to an entirely different world." Focusing back on us, he said, "Incidentally, I would like to somehow repay you for saving my life."

But he sighed, "However, I find myself alone in an alien world, and without a single Poké to my name. I have but no idea how I could possibly repay you."

I waved my hand, "It's not a problem. You've thanked us enough."

Scizor crossed his arms and thought, "Hmm… However…" He perked up, "Ah! Yes! That may do! Tell me, you did say you were an exploration team, yes?"

Meowth nodded, "Yeah."

Scizor uncrossed his arms and continued, "Ah, very well! You see, though you may find it very unlikely, I was once upon a time an explorer of some repute. Well, I'll have you know… I am an honorary member of the Pokémon Exploration Team Federation!"

Meowth tilted his head, "What does dat mean?"

Scizor stood up straighter and gestured with his claw, "An honorary member, such as myself, has the right to give special status to exemplary exploration teams. And you fit the bill! Your plucky courage during my rescue proves that you are more than exemplary! So I confer upon you… the Secret Rank!"

I tilted my head, "'Secret Rank'?"

Scizor nodded, "Yes. An exploration team with that rank is eligible to take Special Missions. Special Missions are highly confidential jobs that come straight from the Exploration Team Federation itself."

Meowth raised an eyebrow, "Why keep 'em secret if they're so important?"

Scizor waved a claw, "You may not know now. But it will become clear in due time. I'll need to make a note of your new rank on your Explorer Badge." He walked over to each of us and held his claw in front of our badges. I looked down and saw that there was a star on the gem of the badge now.

Meowth looked at his badge and shrugged his shoulders, "I still don't get what the deal is, but thanks."

Scizor bowed again, "Ah, it's the least that I could do. I shall never forget your valor and kindness in coming to my rescue! I must be on my way. Farewell!" He waved and walked off.

We walked into Spinda Café and went to the table. Cathy and Penny were sitting opposite of each other and they both had a few bruises on them.

"Is something going on here?" I asked.

They both looked at me and Cathy smiled and said, "Nope, nothing's wrong!" Penny nodded, "Yeah."

I didn't believe them with Penny's tone, so I read their emotions; not at all what they said. They're both burning with anger. I raised an eyebrow, "Really?" Crossing my arms, I leaned toward Penny and said, "Did you two fight?"

Penny just crossed her arms and looked at the table, "She was asking for it…"

Dash snickered and said, "Told you. He's a living lie detector." Turning to Dash, Meowth asked, "Oh really, Dash? Maybe ya can explain how dis happened under your watch?"

Cringing a bit, Dash said, "Well, at first I was training Cathy, like you told me to. Then Penny showed up and, apparently, she'd been training for a while already and we'd barely bumped into each other in the lobby. After learning that she was the new recruit, Cathy said, and I quote: 'Sweet! Even though I've only been on the team a few days, I still outrank the new girl!'" He mimicked Cathy's voice for the last part, then continued, "That set Penny off pretty badly and she challenged Cathy to a fight right then and there in the lobby."

Vlad sighed, "I wish I could be a new recruit again… They have all the fun."

"Anyway, before I could do anything, Penny charged and started trying to hit Cathy. The two of them fought for about half a minute before Marowak clubbed them both over the head and said that 'There is no honor in dysfunction.' And now, here we are."

I turned to each of them as I spoke to them, "Cathy, there aren't 'ranks' on this team. It's not a contest to see who the best is; we all work together and do our own part to make one whole team. Penny, as much as I respect your determination, you can't go around picking fights with teammates beyond friendly sparring. You're on a team now; you should know better than that. Dash, you're not off the hook either. Cathy was under your supervision and while Penny's arrival may have been a something new to account for, that's no excuse. You should have intervened when the challenge was made. Penny, Cathy, we will discuss this later."

Meowth sighed, "'Kay, now dat we got dat outta da way. Everybody; full reports, please."

Everybody, in turn, gave their reports of how their missions went. I made a mental note to have Hogan take it easy tomorrow or else Rose might worry too much to focus on any missions she might get tomorrow. I also congratulated Rose on completing her first solo mission. Dash reported that Cathy learned Growl and Quick Attack while Penny learned Water Sport and Peck and that he learned Roar during their training sessions. Lastly, Meowth and I gave our report of what happened at Blizzard Island. Vlad filled in what happened while we were frozen.

Savage shouted, "What?! That's Tauros-s***. You won by hiding?"

Vlad floated over, "Try to strike me then."

Savage punched and it went straight through Vlad without any impact. Grunting, Savage kept trying and Vlad said, "Oh, please continue. I'm sure you'll land one eventually." While they did that, Meowth filled everybody in about the "Secret Rank" that we got.

Rose held her badge in her hand, "So that's why the star appeared…"

Meowth looked around, "Wait… Where's Siltram?"

I looked around, doing a mental roll call, and saw that Siltram was, in fact, not here. Hogan raised his hand, "He left about an hour ago for training at the dojo."

"Hey, guys!" Everybody at the table turned to see Siltram slithering down the stairs, waving his arms like a madman. "You'll never guess what I just heard!"

He moved towards Meowth and I and explained rapidly, still gesturing everywhere at once. I only heard about every third word. Meowth held up his paw, "Whoa, slow down, Siltram!" After Siltram took a deep breath and calmed down, Meowth said, "Now, from da top; full report."

"Okay," Siltram said. "First, here are the new missions that I found during the day." He handed a small stack of about three envelopes. Meowth took it and waved his paw for Siltram to continue. "Then, since I was waiting around anyway to find these missions, I decided to open the boxes in storage and to keep an eye on the items up for trade at Croagunk's shop. I can give you details on that later. In the afternoon, I decided to go out to train at Marowak Dojo. On my way back here, I bumped into Corphish and he told me that Sunflora knew about a place called the Surrounded Sea. I left for the guild to ask her about it and here I am."

I smiled, "Good work, Siltram! But it's getting kind of late, so maybe we should look into this tomorrow."

"No prob, bosses! Now about those items…" He started talking with Meowth and I looked at Cathy and Penny.

I'll need to figure something out to get them working better together…

-The Next Day-

We all met at the table, Vlad with his new scarf, having his badge pinned on it, and Siltram with his new bowtie. Hogan had his bandages off, but still had some discoloration on his shoulder. Meowth and I had discussed who would do what missions last night and now it was time for the briefing.

Meowth cleared his throat and everyone turned to him, "Alright, Siltram, tell us more about the Surrounded Sea."

He nodded and took a sip of his Apple juice, "Well, Sunflora told me about the Surrounded Sea, far to the south. She said that it's gone unexplored because it's been closed off by ice for, quote: 'tens of thousands of years'. Then she shared the word with me that a break in the ice has been discovered! Explorers can go into the dungeon now! She gushed about the opportunity to explore a place that hasn't been seen for millennia, and how that's the kind of thing that explorers dream about! Also she told me that all of the world's ocean currents go through the Surrounded Sea, meaning that there might be rare treasures carried there by the flow of the water! She gave me the location of the gap that opened up; could you open the map, please?"

I pulled out the map and unrolled it, Siltram looked around, "Riiiiggght… buh, buh, buh, ha!" He pointed on the map, "Right here! East of Blizzard Island! She said that we should take a look for ourselves."

Meowth clasped his paws, "First-rate work, Siltram!"

I nodded, "All right, now to hand out today's assignments; Hogan, you need to take it easy today, so you're on standby."

He nodded, "That's okay. A day of training at the dojo will do me some good."

"Don't push yourself too hard. Damus, you have two missions to Craggy Coast; one rescue on the 6th floor, and a band of thieves led by an Exeggcute on the 9th. Do you need someone else to go with you?"

He shook his head, "I can handle it."

"Vlad, you have a Cherubi outlaw in Foggy Forest."

"Ooh, Foggy Forest? I simply must remember to grab my Gastly Veil on the way out. This will be fun!"

"Savage, you have to retrieve an item from a Tangrowth outlaw in Midnight Forest. He stole it recently and should still have it on him. The Bug-types won't be doing you any favors, but you'll be at an advantage against the outlaw."

"So, I get to beat the s*** out of him?"

"As long as you get the item back. Cathy, Penny, you two have a rescue mission in Apple Woods. You're going together."

Penny spoke up, "I can handle it myself." Cathy looked away and said, "I'm not sure I'm ready for a mission yet."

Meowth said, "No. There are Grass-types in Apple Woods too, you'll need da support. An' sometimes ya gotta learn ta run before ya walk; so there's no gettin' outta dis for either o' ya."

I continued, "Lastly, I'll be leading a team to explore the Surrounded Sea. The ones coming with me are Dash, Rose, and Siltram." I turned to Siltram, who looked shocked, "You found the lead, and it's only fair that you come along this time."

He said, "But, Bosses, isn't it better if the two of you stick together?"

"Pfft, heck no," Meowth said. "I ain't goin' into an underwater dungeon, even if it is only a short swim down. I'll be stayin' in Treasure Town an' makin' more bags for da team. I placed a special order at Kecleon Market da other day. It should be in by now."

"Er, okay. Awesome."

Everybody left, having their jobs for the day. Rose handed the item bag to Savage, he tried to push it away, but she pushed it back to him, "It'll be a long journey; at least pack some food."

"Fine." He took it and walked off.

All of us left the café, I led my squad to Kangaskhan Storage to stock up on supplies and withdraw their respective rare items. On my way there I saw Meowth talking with the green Kecleon brother, a roll of white string on the counter between them. Savage was walking up to Kangaskhan Storage after we left. Once we were on the road, I told the others about the ocean paths and began leading them there.

-Damus's POV-

After rescuing Plusle and sending her back to Treasure Town, I kept on going through the dungeon, mapping out my plan as I went along. I had a general plan for dealing with the status ailments that a Grass-type is known for, leaving my Perish Torc in storage for a Pecha Scarf. I was a Dark-Type and, therefore, immune to Psychic-type attacks, but I had taken precautions for Exeggcute's signature Hypnosis move. Since I am alone, I elected to focus on cutting through the henchmen in my way and taking out the leader swiftly.

I arrived at the ninth floor and was warped into the outlaw's hideout. Looking around, I saw the unimpressive-looking outlaw standing nearby.

"Ha! You've fallen right into my trap!" A large amount of Pokémon appeared out of nowhere. It was a monster house. I crunched on the Chesto Berry in my mouth and was filled with a rush of energy making me sleepless. I looked around again as I ate and saw a number of the Pokémon native to this dungeon, all of them considerably weaker than me.

This is his idea of henchmen? Well then, this should be over soon.

I used Quick Attack and rammed straight through the Wingull and Spheal in my way to get to the outlaw. I still wanted to finish this as quickly as possible. Though they lack the power to defeat me individually, they could become annoying should I become surrounded. The Exeggcute shot Stun Spore, so I used Double Team to confuse him. Once I was behind him, I leapt forward using Sucker Punch to get the drop on him.

He turned around and used Hypnosis, but it had no effect, so I used Slash, cutting the front three eggs across the face. I felt something wrap around my leg and saw a Dratini holding me back using Wrap. I started charging Razor Wind and bided my time as the henchmen started gathering around me. As they closed in, I shot the blade of wind, hitting Exeggcute and knocking him out. Smirking triumphantly, my badge started glowing and I said, "Mission complete." The outlaw was warped away and I soon followed.

-Penny's POV-

"How about a 'thank you'?"

"Big deal; you finished off a Paras with Quick Attack."

"Oh, silly me; I guess I must've imagined that you were hit with its Stun Spore and vulnerable to being defeated."

So what if I didn't dodge in time? I could've shaken it off. Just because she got to him first doesn't mean I have to give her a medal.

She sighed, "All right. Stop." She moved in front of me, cutting me off from moving forward. "Look, maybe we got off on the wrong foot. I didn't mean what I said yesterday; it was just a joke." She smiled, "So how about we just forget about it? Friends?"

I just looked at her, "No. I just want to finish this mission so I can go back to training and avoiding you." I shoved past her, but she cut me off again, her smile gone, "You just don't get it; do you, Sweetheart?" I growled at the nickname, and she continued, "If you keep acting like such a grump, Rio and Meowth are just going to keep pairing us up for missions." My stomach turned at the thought of that and Cathy said, "I know; I hate the thought as much as you do. So how about a deal?"

I raised an eyebrow, "A deal?"

She smiled again, "If you and I complete this mission and pretend that we're getting along, then we won't get paired up as often and we can argue all we want off-duty and behind their backs."

I shook my head, "That won't work; Rio can tell when others are lying."

"No; he can read emotions. But only when he tries to, unless it's a strong one. That'll be easy to get around."

"How?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Are you serious? We just have to pretend to be nice to each other when he's around and he won't pry. He's too nice to actively search anyone's emotions without reason. See what I'm saying, Sweetheart?"

I growled, "Don't call me 'Sweetheart'."

Cathy winked, "Sure, Honey-bunch."

So, this will be my last update for the week. My family and I are going to the beach for the weekend, sooooo… yeah.