Hey, everybody! I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I'm writing a prequel for this story but it probably won't be up for a long time. My freaking DS still isn't here and I've had my games for a week already. Our mailman is slow and delays our mail, even sending it to the wrong house on occasion. Anyways, enough about me. Onto the chapter!
Chapter 3: Spoink's Missing Pearl
"Hey! Hey there! Rise and shine!"
Ugh! Shelly thought. My head is pounding! Whoever it is isn't talking. It's not Diglett who's blasting my eardrums.
"Why are you still ASLEEP?!" Loudred bellowed. "WAKE UP!"
Ugh! Shelly thought.
"M-my poor ears..." Flare moaned.
Loudred stomped his foot in annoyance. "C'mon! Snap OUT of it! If you're late for our morning briefing, you'll be SORRY! So MOVE it! Guildmaster Wigglytuff has got a BIG temper! If you make him lose it..." Loudred turned away. "YOWEEE! That would be one very scary scene! I've got goose bumps just thinking about it! YEESH!" Turning back to the duo, he said, "So ANYWAY...I'm not about to get in trouble because you rookies got up LATE! SO GET IT IN GEAR!" He walked away to wake up the others.
"Urk! My ears are still ringing..." the Vulpix complained, rubbing her ears. "What did he say? Something about getting ready?"
"I think so." Shelly whimpered. "But why? It's not like something important is happening here at the guild."
Then it hit them. Bolting upright, the duo looked at each other in shock. "What?!" Flare started. "Oh yeah! We signed up as apprentices at Wigglytuff's Guild, that's right."
"I forgot about that." Shelly admitted.
"But that means..." Shock was on Flare's face. "WAAAAH! We totally overslept! We've got to hurry, Shelly!" Grabbing her groaning teammate's paw, they ran out into the main room.
Once they entered the room, every Pokemon was staring at them. "You're LATE, rookies!" Loudred yelled.
"Hush!" Chatot scolded. "Your voice is ridiculously loud!"
"Humph..." Loudred huffed.
"You're not so quiet yourself, Chatot." Umbreon grumbled.
"I agree." A red lizard with a red bow around her backward-facing horn agreed. Her flame-tipped tail thrashed slightly. It was a Charmeleon.
"Everyone seems to be present." Chatot muttered after counting. "Very well. Let us conduct our morning address. Guildmaster! The guild is in full attendance!"
The door to Wigglytuff's chambers opened and Wigglytuff hopped out.
"Thank you, Guildmaster!" Chatot said. "Please address the crew."
"Zzzz...Zzzz...Snorfle...Zzz..." Wigglytuff was asleep!
"Psst...! Guildmaster Wigglytuff never ceases to amaze me!" a green armored lizard whispered to the Charmeleon. He was wearing a blue bowtie. It was a Larvitar.
"Yeah, you got that right!" Sparks chuckled.
"Still, looks like he's wide awake." Claw pointed out, only to be silenced by his older brother.
"Eek! His eyes are wide open! But he's fast asleep!" Sunflora whispered.
Chatot groaned, rubbing his forehead with a wing. "Thank you, sir! We all value your...words of wisdom!"
"Words of wisdom? More like words of sleep-dom!" Sparks muttered.
"OK, Pokemon! Take our Guildmaster's words of wisdom to heart!" Chatot cried. "Finally, let's not forget our morning cheers! All together now!"
"A ONE, A TWO...A ONE-TWO-THREE!" everybody cried. "ONE! DON'T SHIRK WORK! TWO! RUN AWAY AND PAY! THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES!"
"Okay, Pokemon! Get to work! Teams Fire Flower, Gemstone, Crimson, and Storm Pulse, please stay behind to meet the new apprentices. But unfortunately, Team Shocker, Team Aqua, and a few other teams are still on long-term missions and won't return for a few days." Chatot ordered.
"HOORAY!" the Pokemon cheered, dispersing.
"So, these are the teams that were gone last night?" Shelly asked.
"Indeed, we are!" the Charmeleon replied. "I'm Daisy, leader of Team Gemstone. This is Tar the Larvitar and Luna the Pichu. We're fellow apprentices, though we'll be graduating soon."
A blue penguin, a blue dog, and a light blue fox stepped forward. "I'm Pippy, leader of Team Storm Pulse. He's Boulder the Riolu and she's Icy the Glaceon. I hope we can get along nicely. We're apprentices too, you know."
A cream cat came forward. He was alone. "I'm Persia, leader of Team Crimson. You don't need to know who my partners are because I never keep the same partner for too long, making it pointless to introduce partner after partner to new kids like you."
A pink cat and a male Vulpix came up last. Shelly saw that this Vulpix was different from Flare immediately. He had black paws and red eyes. "I'm Kitty and this is my partner, Raven. We're Team Fire Flower and are apprentices, too."
"Just don't bug us too much, okay?" Raven growled.
"Okay. Sure," Shelly agreed. "That guy needs anger management."
"I agree, Shelly." Flare nodded, watching the four teams vanish.
Just as Flare and Shelly took a step forward, Chatot remembered something. "Hey, you shouldn't just be wandering around there. You two come here." He hopped toward the stairs. The duo followed.
They reached the room with the two boards and stood before the board on the right once you get off the ladder. "You're just beginners." Chatot stated. "We'll have you start off with this assignment." He pointed to the board in front of them. "This is the Job Bulletin Board. Pokemon from various regions post job requests here. You're aware that bad Pokemon are cropping up in greater numbers, right?"
"Yup. Because the flow of time is getting messed up. It's wreaking havoc, right? Which is why lots of bad Pokemon are appearing." Flare agreed.
Shelly simply nodded, not understanding. The flow of time is getting messed up? Time? As in hours and minutes? Do they mean something has gone wrong with time here? And, because of that, more and more bad Pokemon are popping up? What's going on here?!
"Precisely." Chatot answered. "Time getting out of whack has caused an outbreak of bad Pokemon. Perhaps because of all that...We have noticed an increase in the number of jobs. In addition...and it's unknown if this is because of time's influence...There has also been a mass outbreak of...mystery dungeons."
Mystery dungeons?! Shelly thought.
"So, Shelly!" Flare said, looking at her friend. "You know how we got my Relic Fragment back yesterday? The place where we found it was a mystery dungeon. A mystery dungeon changes each time you go into it. There's a different layout and different items each time you enter! If you faint in a dungeon, you lose all your money. You can even lose half your items or more...Finally, you get kicked right out. They're very strange places. But every time you go inside one, there are always new things to discover! They really are fantastic places to go exploring!" I'm so glad mother told me about these.
Chatot smiled. "Well! You're quite informed, aren't you? This makes things much easier to explain! Jobs all take place in mystery dungeons. So...let's look for a job that you should perform!" After searching for a minute, he plucked one off the board. "Ah, yes. Maybe this will do?"
"Oh, really? Let's read it!" Flare suggested. She read it aloud.
"Hello! My name is Spoink! An outlaw has run off with my most prized possession. My precious pearl! That pearl is life itself...to me! I just can't seem to settle down if that pearl isn't in its proper place atop my head! But I've heard my pearl has been sighted! It's said to be on a rocky bluff. But this bluff is reported to be extremely unsafe. I could never go somewhere so frightening! Oh, friendly readers! Would you be so kind as to go to the bluff and get my pearl? I beg your help, exploration team members! From Spoink."
"That was a long letter." Shelly said.
"Wait a second..." Flare muttered. "We're only supposed to fetch an item that someone dropped? I would rather do something that is more of an adventure...I'd rather look for treasure or explore unknown places. Things like that!"
"Hush!" Chatot cawed.
"Yikes!" Flare yelped.
"Sparks was right! You are loud." Shelly grumbled.
"It's important that you rookies pay your dues!" Chatot explained. "Now pay attention! I'll repeat the warnings again to make sure they stick! You'll be forced out of a dungeon and sent back here if either of you faints. You'll lose all your money! And you could lose half your items or more. You'd best be careful!" Taking a deep breath, Chatot relaxed a little. "If you've understood all that, I suggest you get on with that job."
"Hmm..." Flare groaned.
"All right! We'll do it!" Shelly barked. They left for the dungeon's entrance.
"This must be the bluff's entrance..." the Vulpix muttered as they reached the dungeon. "Spoink's mission description said the pearl was deep down on the 7th floor. It sounds like a seriously dangerous place. Let's be careful."
"Right. I don't want to be beaten on our first mission." Shelly agreed. "Let's do this and get that stupid pearl!"
"Let's do our best, Shelly." Flare said.
"Agreed."
They nodded and entered the bluff's cave entrance. Once they entered, Shelly looked at the Treasure Bag she wore. "We can carry 16 items in that bag now and hold one each." Flare explained. "Some items, like Bows, only work if we hold them. Pretty neat, right?"
"Yeah, pretty neat."
The stairs was in the same room they were in. Running down them, the duo reached the next floor. "We have to eat an Apple or a Gummi if we get hungry, Shelly." Flare warned. "If we get too hungry, we'll faint before long."
"Understood." Shelly said.
Going down a tunnel to another room, Shelly picked up a bright red berry. "Hey, what's this?" Shelly asked.
"It's a Pecha Berry." The Vulpix explained, picking up the money in the corner. "It helps heal poisoned or badly poisoned Pokemon. They're really useful in these dungeons."
Going down another tunnel, they were surrounded by water. Almost immediately, they were attacked by an insect, Anorith, and a plant, Lileep. Thundershock and Ember finished them off quickly. Entering the next room, they tore down the stairs before a sleeping enemy noticed them.
"We'll earn experience points when we defeat enemies. When you earn enough experience points, you level up." Flare said.
"So I'll get stronger?"
"Yes, much stronger. You may even learn new attacks." Flare added.
"Awesome!"
Right away, Flare accidentally woke up a sleeping Lileep. A pink Shellos, the West Sea hybrid, joined in the fight too. After beating them, Shelly and Flare both became Level 6. "We leveled up! We're even stronger now!" the Vulpix cried.
Running through another tunnel, they ran down the stairs just before another Anorith could attack them. The stairs were in the same room as they were, along with a Pecha Berry and a brown bottle. "That's a Max Elixir." Flare said. "It fully restores the Power Points of all your moves."
On the next floor, they went up a tunnel and picked up a Big Apple. Then they went down the stairs. "One more floor left until we reach that pearl." Shelly reminded.
They went up another tunnel and had to fight a bell thing, Chingling. After defeating it, they ran down the stairs to the final floor. As they entered the room, Flare saw it. "Oh! Look at that!" They moved forward and found the pink pearl.
"We did it!" Shelly cheered. "Hooray for our first mission!"
"This must be Spoink's pearl." Flare muttered. "Let's hurry back with it!"
Shelly grabbed the pearl and they were teleported out of the dungeon by their badges. They landed right back in the guild, where Spoink was patiently waiting. Shelly handed back the pearl and Spoink placed it back on its head.
"Th-thank you!" Spoink cried. "This pearl must be propped on my head, you see. I missed it so much! I just couldn't settle down without it up there. So I was just boinging and sproinging everywhere! That's why I'm covered in dings and bumps. But thanks to you, that long nightmare is over! You have my sincere thanks."
They were rewarded with a Protein, a Calcium, an Iron, and 2000 poke. "Oh, wow! 2000 poke?!" Flare exclaimed. "All this money is for us?"
"Incredible! I've never seen so much money in my life!" Shelly said.
"Of course! Of course! That's nothing compared to my pearl's value!" Spoink replied. "Farewell!" It bounced up the stairs happily.
"We're rich, Shelly! We got rich just like that!" the Vulpix cried.
"I know! Awesome!" Shelly agreed. "We should've done this sooner!"
"Well done, team!" Chatot applauded. "Now hand that money over, if you please."
"What?! Why?" Shelly demanded.
"Huh?!" Flare couldn't believe this.
"Most of the money from jobs goes to the Guildmaster, you see." Chatot explained. "And your team's share of the money comes out to this much...!" He took 1800 poke.
"Huh?! We only keep 200 poke?" Flare said. "That's awful!"
"We worked hard for that money! But at least 200 is more than I've ever had before..." Shelly mumbled.
"Well, that's the guild's rule. You simply have to accept it!" Chatot replied.
"Hmph..." Flare groaned.
"Quit whining and be glad you get anything at all!"
"Waah!" The duo leaped away when one of the three Houndoom from Team Houndoom stepped forward.
"As I was saying, be glad you get anything at all." He barked. "Most exploration team guilds and rescue team organizations we've been to don't even give their teams any of the reward money. Just be glad with what you have."
"Fang, let's go!" barked the bigger Houndoom, Doom. "We have to head for Amp Plains for that rescue mission! Get a move on!"
"Of course, Doom." The Houndoom, Fang, agreed. "Coming!" He left them alone.
"Whatever. Just give us back our money, Cha—Where'd he go?!" Shelly cried. Chatot was gone! "He took our money! That thieving bird!"
"At least we still have 200 poke, Shelly." The Vulpix pointed out. "That's better than nothing."
Shelly sighed, annoyed. "I guess so."
A loud ringing noise echoed throughout the guild. "Everyone! Thanks for waiting!" Chimecho said, floating into the room. "I finished making dinner! Come on! Dinner's on!"
"YEAH!" everybody cheered, racing for the dining room. "Crunch-munch! Chew-chew! Snuffle-slurp!" Everybody ate the wonderful meal that Chimecho made especially for them.
"Aaaaah! I'm done eating. Excellent meal!" Chansey sighed.
"I'm stuffed, and now I'm getting sleepy..." Fearow groaned.
"Yep, I'm off to bed. Good night, gang!" Sweet-Tooth cried as she headed for her room.
"Good night!" Bidoof called.
The moon was full that night, too. "Listen, Shelly..." Flare mumbled. "Wasn't today hectic? So much happened! But I'm relieved that our first job was a success. It was really upsetting how Wigglytuff's Guild took most of the money..."
"At least we got any at all..." Shelly pointed out, yawning.
"That's just the cost of training, I guess. We can't do anything about it." The Vulpix groaned. "But what really made me happy today, though, was getting thanked by Spoink."
"Yeah, that felt really good." Shelly agreed.
"Yawn...I'm getting sleepy." Flare muttered. "I'm going to sleep. Let's try our best again tomorrow."
"Sure, Flare. Whatever you say." The Pikachu agreed.
"Good night, Shelly..."
"Good night, Flare..."
They both fell asleep.
The next morning...
"Hey! Time to get UP!" Loudred yelled. He retreated, going to wake up more Pokemon.
"Ugh! Good morning, Shelly..." the Vulpix moaned.
"Good morning to you, too..." Shelly said, rubbing her ears. "Time to get going."
Once they reached the main room, the group cried, "AND...THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES!"
"Okay, Pokemon!" Chatot called. "Time to get to work!"
"HOORAY!" Everyone separated to do their daily morning jobs.
As the two Team Moonlight members wandered around, Chatot shook his head and hopped forward. "Oh, you two! Still wandering around lost, it seems..." he said. "Well, come with me." The trio went up the stairs to the upper floor.
Once there, Chatot stopped in front of the board to the right of the ladder. "Huh?" Flare muttered. "Last time we did a job, it was from the board on the other side..."
"Correct!" Chatot chuckled. "Today, we'll have you do a job listed on this side."
"How is this different from the board on the other side?" Flare asked.
"Yeah!" Shelly nodded. "They look the exact same, Chatot."
"Take a closer look!" Chatot urged, pointing a wing at the board.
The duo stared at the board a while before they realized it. "Oh, look, Shelly!" Flare cried. Pictures with numbers on them were tacked to this board, unlike the letters on the other one. "There are posters up there that show a variety of Pokemon. Wow, they all look pretty cool! Are they famous explorers?"
"They look a bit creepy to be famous explorers, Flare." The Pikachu whimpered, noticing a picture of a grinning Banette.
"Who are these Pokemon, Chatot?" Flare asked.
"The Pokemon posted here...are outlaws." Chatot explained. "They're all shady characters. And they're wanted for committing crimes."
"Oh no!" Flare cried. "They're outlaws?!"
"I knew those Pokemon didn't look nice!" Shelly spat, fur prickling.
"Correct." Chatot nodded. "So there are bounties on their heads. In other words, there is a cash reward if you capture one. There are so many aggressive Pokemon around these days that everyone's finding it hard to keep up with the problem."
"Wait! You're telling us to catch these outlaws?!" Flare yelped. "You can't be serious! That's impossible!"
"Please say you're kidding!" Shelly begged. "We're new! We can't beat outlaws right off the bat! That's totally unfair to us!"
"Hee-heeeee!" Chatot laughed. "Just joking!"
"Oh, thank god!" Shelly sighed, hanging her head. "I was so sure that you were serious."
"The bad Pokemon out there come in all shades of badness!" Chatot said. "Some of those Pokemon are completely wicked, through and through...But there are also bad Pokemon who are merely petty thieves. So you've got evil and naughty...and everything in between! I'm sure we can avoid giving you a job catching a superbad Pokemon...Hee-heeeee! So look over these posters, then pick a Pokemon that looks weak enough for you to bring to justice!"
"Um..." Flare sighed. "You say some are weak...But they're still bad Pokemon, aren't they? I'm scared of dangerous Pokemon!" And it's all my father's fault, too.
"You weren't all that scared of Koffing and Zubat, Flare." Shelly pointed out.
"That was different!" the Vulpix complained.
"It's all a part of your training. You'll work through it, I'm sure!" Chatot reassured. "But I suppose you do need to be prepared to confront a tough opponent...So I'll have someone give you a tour of the facilities." Turning to the ladder, Chatot called, "Hey! Bidoof! Mimi! Bidoof?! Mimi?!"
"Yup yup!" a male's voice called.
"We're comin', Chatot!" a female's voice cried.
The duo came from the lower floor. "Huff-puff-huff..." Bidoof panted. "You called?"
"What do you want now, Chatot?" Mimi, a Buneary, asked.
"Ah, Bidoof! Mimi!" Chatot smiled. "These are the new recruits that just joined us. Take them and show them around the town."
"Yes sirree!" Bidoof said, nodding. "By golly, we'll do just that! Yup yup!"
"At least Feather, Rose, Bidoof, and I are no longer the newbie's." Mimi said, fussing over one ear. "Sure, we'll show them around. I can visit my mom while I'm at it, too!"
Chatot turned to Shelly and Flare. "I want you to pay attention to what Bidoof and Mimi say and follow their orders. Off you go!" Chatot hopped down the ladder to the lower floor.
"Aw, shucks, I'm overjoyed!" Bidoof said, smiling.
"Why's that?" Flare asked.
"I'm glad to have members junior to me! I'm almost overcome right now..." Bidoof wiped a paw over his eyes. "I might just blubber with happiness!"
"Um, please don't." Mimi muttered, backing away from her fellow apprentice. "If you do, keep the waterworks away from me. I can't swim."
"Before you both signed on, I was the most recent rookie..." Bidoof explained, sniffling. "Sniffle...Well, we'd best show you around. Come with us, please. Mimi?"
"Right, I'm coming." The Buneary replied, hopping forward. "Let's do this."
They went down the ladder to the lower floor, the main room. "First things first!" Bidoof said. Pointing to a big frog-like structure on the left side of the room, he continued. "Here, we have Croagunk..." The blue frog Pokemon jumped. "But to tell the truth, I don't have any idea what that Pokemon's up to..."
"Nobody but Croagunk himself knows, Bidoof." Mimi deadpanned, crossing her paws.
"He always seems to be fiddling around with that big cauldron back there. It's all a mystery to me! Yup yup!" Bidoof pointed to the hallway leading to the dining room. "Over this way's the mess hall." Pointing to the hall leading to the rooms, he said, "And if you both look that way, you'll find the crew rooms." Then he pointed to Wigglytuff's chambers. "And this here leads to the Guildmaster's Chamber."
"Uh, Chatot led us to those places earlier." Shelly pointed out.
"This is just part of the tour." Mimi replied. "Just making sure you know that stuff. Now here comes the fun part."
"Next, I'll guide you both around places outside the guild." Bidoof said.
The four Pokemon went up the ladders, out of the tent, over the grate, and down the long set of stairs. Shelly noticed Scythe leaning against a boulder near the staircase. Was he an exploration team member? If so, where was his team? She pushed him out of her mind as they took the left path at the four-way, entering what looked like a town.
They walked to a large clearing in the paths, and then Bidoof and Mimi turned to face them. "This is the main part of town for the local Pokemon...It's called Treasure Town." Bidoof explained.
"Oh, I can tell you about Treasure Town too." Flare piped up. She pointed to a building with a large skull on it. "That over there is Duskull Bank. We can save our money there." Then she pointed to a building with a black and yellow head on it. "And that over there is the Electivire Link Shop. That's where you can do things like link moves together, but...It looks as if Electivire isn't here today." Pointing across the bridge to a building with a green head on it, she continued. "There we have Kecleon Market. You can buy and sell items there." She pointed to a building with a brown head next. "And there's Kangaskhan Storage. Items stored there will never be lost. If you have precious items that you can't afford to lose, store them there before you go on an adventure."
"Why don't you put your Relic Fragment there?" Shelly asked.
"I like to keep it close to me, that's all." Flare replied. Plus, that place can't keep my father out. "And those are the basic places that exploration teams visit. And that should do it."
"You sure know a lot, yes sirree! And that's good to know!" Bidoof commented.
"Know-it-all," Mimi muttered behind a paw. Flare pointedly ignored her.
"All right, then. Come find me when you're all ready to go. I'll give you a helping hand in selecting the right outlaw for you." Bidoof said. "Mimi, you're visiting your mom, right?"
"Yep. Want me to get you anything?" Mimi asked.
"No thanks." Bidoof shook his head. "But thanks for asking."
"Thank you, Bidoof, Mimi. You've been really nice." Flare thanked.
"I could hardly call that bunny's comment 'nice'." Shelly growled darkly.
Bidoof blushed furiously. "G-golly, you're embarrassing me! Aw, shucks..."
"Was it something I said?" Flare asked, sounding concerned.
"No, he's just like this." Mimi replied. "You'll get used to it eventually."
Recovering from his embarrassment, Bidoof turned back to the duo. "I'll be waiting in the guild's upper underground floor for you." With that, Bidoof headed back to the guild.
"See you guys later." Mimi said, waving with an ear. Then she was off too, looking for her mother.
After watching them leave, Flare turned to Shelly. "OK, let's go. I'd like to see what kinds of items are available! Let's go to the Kecleon Market! Before we head back, a visit to Kecleon Market is a must!"
"I totally agree with that." Shelly said. "We can't defend ourselves properly with Max Elixirs, Oran Berries, Pecha Berries, and Blast Seeds. I wonder what else there is."
Running down the path and across the bridge, the duo stood before Kecleon Market. Two Kecleon, one green and one purple, stood behind the desk. They checked with the green one first. "Welcome to the Kecleon Shop!" the green Kecleon said. "What can I do for you ladies?"
"Can you show us what items you have today?" Flare asked.
"Very well! Feel free to examine my merchandise!" Opening the door leading to behind the desk, the duo stopped in front of a large shelf in the back filled with items.
"Hey, what did you mean by 'what you have today'?" Shelly asked.
"Oh! The merchandise of both the Kecleon Shop and Kecleon Wares changes daily." Flare replied. "Oh, he has 5 Geo Pebbles! We'll take these!"
After paying for them and depositing them into the bag, Kecleon asked, "May I help you with anything else, ladies?"
"No thank you." Flare shook her head.
"Thanks! Please come again!" the green Kecleon suggested.
"Don't worry, we plan to." Shelly reassured. "We're an exploration team!"
"Well, that's nice. See you next time you drop by!" the green Kecleon said, smiling.
"Misters Kecleon!" a voice cried. Two blue mice hopped up to the counter. The larger of the two had been the one to speak.
"Ah! Little Marill and Azurill!" the green Kecleon chuckled. "Welcome, my young friends!"
The smaller one, Azurill, smiled. "Hello. May I buy an Apple?" he asked.
"Oh, most certainly!" Vanishing to the shelf, he returned with an Apple wrapped up in a blue bag.
"Thank you, Misters Kecleon!" Marill chirped, smiling.
"No, thank you, my young friends!" the green Kecleon replied, waving a hand. "You are to be admired!" The duo hopped away. Turning to the girls, he said, "You see, those delightful children are brothers. Lately, their poor mother has fallen sick. So those youngsters come and do the shopping for her. It's quite remarkable. Though very young, they've stepped up and taken charge."
Suddenly, the two brothers were back. "Misters Kecleon!" Marill cried.
"Oh? What's the hurry?" the green Kecleon asked. "What makes you return in such a rush?"
"There was an extra Apple!" Azurill explained.
"We didn't pay for this many!" Marill added.
"Oh, yes..." The green Kecleon smiled at his brother. "That, my young friends, is a gift from me and my brother. Please, share it among yourselves and do enjoy."
"Really?!" Marill asked, shocked.
"Yay!" Azurill cried, "Thank you, Mr. Kecleon and Mr. Kecleon!"
"Oh, not to worry, my friends!" the green Kecleon laughed. "Do take care on your way home."
As the duo left, Azurill tripped and dropped the extra Apple. "Yowch!" he yelped. The apple bounced and landed at Shelly's feet. Picking it up, Azurill hopped over to her. "W-we're sorry to bother you. Thank you so much."
Shelly nodded. "No problem." She handed that Apple back. But then suddenly...Shelly started to feel dizzy. She saw a flash of light. Huh? What was that? A second flash of light. This feeling again. D-dizzy? Or am I...? A final flash of light and then darkness. A line of light sprang horizontally across her vision, blinding her.
"H-h-h...HELP!"
The darkness receded and Shelly was back in Treasure Town, in front of Azurill. She leaped backward, shock written on her face. What was that?! It was different from when I was on the beach. I'm sure I heard a shout for help just now... Looking around, she saw nothing suspicious. Did that shout come from Azurill?
"Is something the matter?" Azurill asked.
"Hey, Azurill!" Marill called. "What's going on? Hurry home!"
"Yup! I'm coming! Wait up!" Azurill ran back to his brother, who stood by the bridge.
"Are you all right?" Marill asked.
"Yup!" Azurill nodded.
"We're done with our shopping...Now we gotta look for an item we've lost!" Marill reminded himself. "Let's get going."
"Yup! I'm coming!" Azurill said, bouncing slightly. The duo went across the bridge together.
Flare smiled. "Ha! Those little guys are cute!" Then she noticed how tense Shelly was. "Oh? What's the matter, Shelly?"
"Did you hear someone shout for help just now?" Shelly asked. "I did."
"Huh?" the Vulpix questioned. "Uh, no...I didn't hear anything like that! Hey, Kecleon brothers! Did you hear anything strange just a moment ago?"
"No, nothing out of the ordinary." The green Kecleon replied.
"I didn't hear anything odd either." The purple Kecleon agreed.
Flare looked at Shelly. "It sounds like the Kecleon brothers didn't hear anything strange. You must have imagined it, Shelly."
"But...but!" Shelly couldn't believe this. No, I'm positive that I didn't imagine it. I definitely heard it! That shout that I heard..."H-h-h...Help!" There's no mistaking it...That was Azurill's scream!
Flare waved a tail in Shelly's face, laughing. "Uh, are you daydreaming?" she asked. "Let's move it, Shelly!" The duo ran across the bridge and back into the clearing. The she noticed something. "Oh! What's going on there?"
Azurill and Marill were talking to a big gold and brown Pokemon, Drowzee. Then Azurill cheered. "Yaaaay!"
"Thank you!" Marill said.
"Please, it's nothing." Drowzee replied.
The duo walked up to them. "What's going on?" Flare asked.
"Oh! Hi!" Azurill chirped.
"Some time ago, we lost an item that's pretty important to us..." Marill explained. "We've been looking all over...But we haven't found it yet! Then Mr. Drowzee came along...And he says he may have seen our lost item somewhere! He even offered to help us look for it. We're so happy about this!"
"Yeah! That's great for you!" Flare cried.
"We're glad you found some help." Shelly said. "If you need extra help, call us."
"Thank you, Mr. Drowzee!" Azurill squeaked, smiling.
"Oh, please..." Drowzee said, looking away. "I'd have to have a cold heart to ignore kids in need! I can't turn a blind eye! Let us be on our way to begin our search!"
"Yup!" Marill agreed.
"Yup!" Azurill agreed.
As the trio left, Drowzee accidentally bumped into Shelly. "Whoops!" he cried. "Excuse me." He left again.
The flashing lights started again. Urk...W-what is this...?
"That Drowzee sure is a nice Pokemon, isn't he?" Flare asked. "I'm impressed. With more and more bad Pokemon about, it's hard to do good deeds nowadays."
Another flash of light. It's happening again... Shelly groaned. Another dizzy spell... Darkness and then the strip of light.
Azurill and Drowzee were in a dark cave, alone. "If you keep being difficult, it will only mean big trouble for you." Drowzee threatened.
"H-h-h...HELP!" Azurill cried.
The cave faded and Shelly was back in Treasure Town once again. What was that?!
"It would be nice if those little guys found their item soon." Flare said. "Huh? What's the matter, Shelly? You're looking awfully grim..."
"I have to tell you something." Shelly muttered.
"Hmm? What is it?" Flare asked.