Hey, everybody! I hope you liked the last chapter! This chapter includes the Drowzee battle and a few bits of information that will be explained more in later chapters. You also get to see a 'wolf wreathed in shadow' and, as a bit of trivia, his name is Native American meaning 'walks like a bear'. Onto the chapter!
Chapter 4: Saving Azurill
A few minutes later, Shelly had explained everything. "What? You had a dizzy spell?" Flare asked. "And then you saw Azurill being threatened by Drowzee?! And you want to go rescue Azurill right away?"
"Of course!" Shelly barked. "We have to help him! Something tells me that this is an emergency, Flare!"
"An emergency?!" Flare whimpered. Is what she telling me true? How can any Pokemon see into the future? It's impossible! But what if she's right? "Well, what you describe does sound like an emergency, but...Well, it's not like I don't trust you, Shelly, but I just can't believe it!"
"Why not?!" Shelly demanded.
"Drowzee seemed like a sincerely nice Pokemon, didn't he?" Flare asked. "I watched the three of them go off earlier. They looked like they were having a good time, didn't they? You're probably just tired, Shelly. Maybe that's why you had that bad daydream."
"But..." Shelly sighed sadly. Was that it...? Just a bad daydream? But what about the one at the beach? Or Azurill's scream? But come to think of it, Drowzee didn't seem like a bad Pokemon.
"Anyways, we're only apprentices. We can't just go do whatever we want." The Vulpix pointed out. "Sure, it's worrying but we have to concentrate on our guild work for now. Let's get ourselves ready to explore. Then we should find Bidoof. Something tells me Mimi won't be there this time. Bidoof's supposed to be waiting for us on the guild's upper underground floor. Let's go, Shelly!"
"I guess so. Maybe you're right." Shelly muttered. "It was just a daydream...all of them were."
Before heading back to the guild, the duo went to the beach. As expected, Alani the Buizel was sunning herself on the sand. "Hey, Alani! How's the surfing?" Flare called.
"Perfect!" Alani cried, leaping to her feet. "Why don't you two take a dip with me? Oh, don't give me that face, Flare. You'll be fine, I promise!"
"Well, I am getting a bit hot." Shelly commented. "Why not? I'm in!" She ran to the shore and jumped in, shooting up afterward. "COLD!!" she screamed.
"Of course it's cold, silly!" Alani laughed. Turning to Flare, she asked, "So, who is she?"
"Her name's Shelly. She says that she used to be a human." Flare explained. "She and I recently joined Wigglytuff's Guild. We're exploration Team Moonlight now."
"That's awesome! One question, though." Alani said.
"What?"
"What in Arceus' name is a human?"
"Um, well..." Flare groaned. Mother never explained to me what they were. Maybe I can just make up something. Alani will never know the difference. "A human is a giant creature with six arms and a giant bladed tail. They have big red eyes, huge claws, and like to eat mischievous Pokemon for breakfast!"
"EEP!" Alani cried. "And Shelly was one of those things?"
"Yes," Flare nodded. "Actually, I really don't know what a human is. And since Shelly has amnesia, she probably wouldn't know what a human looked like either."
"Good, because that sounded scary!" Alani complained.
"Hey, guys! Are you coming in or not?" Shelly called. She was swimming around the shallows, laughing at how fun it was. Suddenly, she screamed as a giant blue whale popped up beneath her. "Guys, help! Something's got me!"
Alani ran out into the surf, laughing. "Calm down, Shelly! It's just Waily!" she cried. "He's a Wailmer and is practically harmless! He's just giving you a ride!"
"Oh, okay. That's cool!" The Pikachu smiled. At least this big guy isn't gonna eat me.
After a while, a small group of young Pokemon swarmed onto the beach, begging to play with Waily. Team Moonlight stepped aside, allowing the youngsters into the surf. Shelly spotted a large puffball of a bird sitting on a large rock, silently watching the children play. "Who's that?" she asked.
"Oh, it's 'Aolani!" Flare said. "She's the youngsters' babysitter. Though, she is pretty mysterious. Not even Detective Granbull can figure her out completely."
"How come?" Shelly asked.
"She's been here longer than most Pokemon have." Alani muttered. "Altaria like her are rumored to live for many generations. She doesn't seem to get older and never gets too close to the youngsters. From what I've heard, baby Pokemon that get too close to 'Aolani died. She's been watching them from afar since then."
"But it's just a rumor, right?" Flare chuckled nervously. "It's not really true, right?"
"Nobody really knows, Flare." The Buizel admitted. "She's really mysterious, that much everybody knows."
"Hey, isn't it getting late?" Shelly asked.
"Yes, it is! We have to get back to the guild!" Flare cried. "Thanks for your time, Alani! We'll drop by later, okay?"
"Sure! Come by anytime!" Alani called. "Not like I have much else to do..."
Running down the path and up the stairs, they shouted a greeting to Scythe. The Sceptile nodded, ignoring them as threats. Dashing down the ladder to the lower underground floor, Shelly collapsed into her bed to dry off. "That was fun, wasn't it?" she asked. "Why didn't you come in?"
"Um, hello? Water and fire don't mix well." Flare reminded. "I would if I could but my inner fire would be put out if I went swimming. That's why I played in the shallows, where the water's up to my paws."
"You're such a wet blanket!" Shelly complained.
"But you're the one who's wet, Shelly." Flare pointed out.
"Oh, shut up." She tossed a pawful of hay at the Fire-type.
Flare simply ducked. "Too slow!"
"Oh, forget it!"
After a bit, they ran up the ladder and met up with Bidoof. As Flare predicted, Mimi was not with him. "Huh?" Bidoof asked. "Are you folks all set and ready for some exploring?"
"Yes, we are!" Shelly agreed.
"Oh, yes sirree! Reckon you all are all ready!" Bidoof cheered. "Then let's pick us a lawbreaker for you to find!" Turning to the board, he said, "Well, you've got your pick of this sorry bunch of characters."
"Let's see. Which should we pick?" Flare muttered, searching the board.
"Ahem." The duo turned to Bidoof. "As your mentor, how about I do the choosing?"
"Don't choose anyone too scary!" Flare suggested, shivering.
"Yes, sirree, I hear you! Let's see. Eenie, meenie..." He searched the board.
Suddenly, there was a siren sounding. "Stand clear! Updating listings! Stand clear! Updating listings!"
The ground started shaking. "What's that? What's happening?" Flare cried.
"Whoa! Earthquake!" Shelly shouted. "Hit the deck!" She flattened herself to the floor.
"Oh, the data's getting updated." Bidoof explained.
"You seem fine by this." Shelly growled.
"It's being...updated?" Flare repeated, confused. Suddenly, the board flipped over into the wall, leaving them with the empty back. "Whoa! Did you see that?! The panel flipped over!" That's almost just like how our escape route back home used to work. Just flip the piece of sheetrock and you have an exit. "What's going on here?"
Bidoof smiled. "The Outlaw Notice Board and the Job Bulletin Board are set up on revolving panels. When the panel is flipped over, Dugtrio swaps out the old jobs with new ones." He explained. "Updating data is Dugtrio's duty. He tunnels his way to our guild, then he flips the panel and updates the data. This duty doesn't get noticed much, but it's very important. Yup yup! That's why Dugtrio takes such great pride in the duty he does!"
"How can anybody not notice that or the earthquake that comes before it happens?" Shelly asked.
"Oh, is that so?" Flare asked.
The siren sounded again. "Update completed! Stand clear! Update completed! Stand clear!"
"Oh, looks like he's done." Flare pointed out.
The board flipped over again, filled with new jobs. "Yes, sirree! The data is updated!" Bidoof nodded. "The list of outlaws has been refreshed, so let's pick one."
They started searching the board. "...!" Flare started shaking. Oh no. Please, no.
Bidoof noticed the shaking. "Huh? What's ailing you?" he asked. "Why are you shivering all of a sudden? It's not cold here, after all."
"Flare, what's the matter?" shelly asked. "See a spooky outlaw or something?"
"Not that. L-l-look at this, Shelly!" She pointed to a poster. "At the top! On the left!" It was a poster of Drowzee! "It's Drowzee! H-he's a wanted criminal! We have to get moving! Azurill will be in danger!"
"I told you so! But did you listen to me? Noooo!" Shelly laughed. "Let's go! We have to save Azurill!" They raced up the ladder, leaving a baffled Bidoof behind.
"Now what's going on?" the beaver-like Pokemon asked. "Where are you all off to?"
Racing down the stairs outside of the tent, they spotted a familiar Pokemon speaking frantically with Scythe. "Look! There's Marill!" Flare cried. "Marill, what's the matter? Where are Azurill and Drowzee?"
Running to them, he cried, "Yes...about them...! After we all left, we went looking for our lost item together...But I wound up all alone when Mr. Drowzee went somewhere with Azurill. I called and called but they didn't come back! I got scared..."
"And he came running to me." Scythe finished.
"So which way did they go?!" Flare demanded.
"Yeah, we'll get him back for you!" Shelly promised.
"Th-that way!" He pointed down the path opposite of Treasure Town. They went down the path until they reach a cavern.
"You think Drowzee and Azurill went this direction?" Flare asked.
"Yes..." Marill nodded.
Flare turned to her partner. "Oh, Shelly! The Drowzee and Azurill you saw in your dream...You were saying you saw them in a mountainous place, right?"
"Right. Why?" the Pikachu asked.
"I get the feeling that they're up ahead here." Flare replied. "Let's get going, Shelly!"
"Sure! Let's save Azurill!" The duo ran down the path, headed for a large mountain.
On the first floor, the stairs were in the same room as they were. Grabbing some money and a Reviver Seed, they fled down the stairs. "This Reviver Seed will revive you if you faint in a dungeon. They're really important." Flare explained.
"Got it, Flare. Oh crud, look out!" Shelly cried.
They raced down a tunnel on the second floor, escaping a black and white bird called Starly...only to run face-first into a two-headed bird called Doduo. After just barely beating it, they both achieved Level 7. Running through tunnels and coming across dead-end rooms, they ended up fighting a floating rock with arms and a green spider. They barely survived through the Geodude, blasting the Spinarak away with Ember.
Going through another tunnel and beating another Doduo, the duo picked up another seed. "That's a Heal Seed. It heals all your status problems, like poison or sleep." The Vulpix said, dropping the seed into the bag.
They finally reached the room with the stairs, just barely avoiding conflict with a Spinarak. After beating two Starly on the third floor, they became Level 8. They ran up a long tunnel and tore down the stairs, grabbing a Yellow Gummi along the way.
On the fourth floor, Flare blew a Starly away with her newly-learned Roar. As it lay stunned by a nearby wall, the duo ran through a few tunnels before encountering a blue toad-like thing with horns. The Nidorina was beaten by a well-aimed Thundershock and the team raced down the stairs.
On the fifth floor, they were attacked by a Doduo and Starly immediately in the tunnels. After just barely beating them and splitting an Oran Berry between them, Team Moonlight carried on. They entered another room and grabbed some Geo Pebbles before fighting a gray thing called Machop. Grabbing some money and an Apple, they went down the stairs to the sixth floor.
"Don't worry Azurill, we're coming." Shelly muttered, shocking a Starly that got too close. Flare sent her a look and the Pikachu forced herself to calm down. "Drowzee, you are so gonna pay for taking him."
Shelly picked up a Rawst Berry and dropped it in the bag. They encountered a purple toad-like thing with horns, a Nidorino, and beat it with a Thundershock and Ember combo. They went down the stairs to the seventh floor. The stairs were in the same room as them, allowing them free passage to the eighth floor.
They were instantly surrounded by a Spinarak, Doduo, and Machop. They just barely beat them, wasting their only precious Reviver Seed. Going down the stairs in the next room, they focused solely on trying to find a Reviver Seed. After beating up other enemy Pokemon and rising to Level 9, they were finally successful in finding one. They ran down the stairs, fully prepared to save Azurill.
"Here we come, Drowzee!" Shelly shouted.
"We're coming, Azurill. Just hang on a bit longer." Flare muttered.
Just as they neared the staircase, Flare noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Is it just me or did it get darker in here? She looked ahead to see that Shelly was by the staircase. "Shelly, something's wrong! I don't think we're alone here!"
"Of course we're not alone, Flare!" the Pikachu cried. "We have loads of enemy Pokemon on our tail, as well as Azurill and Drowzee."
"Shelly, look around! It's getting darker!" Suddenly, Shelly screamed. "Shelly? Shelly! What's wrong?"
"I swear I just saw something big over there!" she wailed. "Flare, get over here, please! Let's just go get Azurill and get out of here!"
Sinister laughter suddenly filled the room. The sounds of footsteps signaled that enemy Pokemon were fleeing from the sound. Team Moonlight also felt the urge to flee but stood their ground. Suddenly, the laughter faded and was replaced by a large lupine shape standing in the middle of the room. Glowing red eyes glared at them from the darkness and sharp teeth glinted.
"Come on, let's go!" Shelly hissed, tugging her teammate to the stairs. Just as they were about to go down them, the thing spoke.
"I'm surprised," it chuckled. "All I have to do is take down two little brats? I swear, our leader is growing more senile by the day. What possible threat can come from a Pikachu and a Vulpix. Sure, they're causing others problems but what can they do to us?"
"W-who are you?" Flare dared to ask. What does he mean 'cause others problems'? Does he mean my father? Or is this guy working for father?
"You want to know who I am?" it asked. "Don't you mean 'what are you'? Because I'm not like you pathetic Pokemon. I'm much worse that that, little ones. So much worse,"
"Who are you?" Flare repeated. "What are you? What do you want with us?"
"My name? Why, it's Enyeto." The thing, Enyeto, replied. "I'm what you call a Shadow Wolf, a creature of darkness. And I'm here under orders to destroy you."
"Well, we'll fight you with everything we have!" Shelly spat, sparks jumping from her cheeks.
Enyeto fell silent for a few seconds before he burst out laughing. "You really think you could defeat me? That's quite the laugh! But I'll reassure you, I no longer trust in my superior's sanity. Staying in the darkness as we have does...things to your head." He said, grinning. "To think that such tiny creatures such as yourselves could be a threat to us is utter nonsense! I simply decided to see for myself these 'threats', little ones."
"Well, take this!" Shelly unleashed a Thundershock. Enyeto smiled before diving into the shadowy floor, vanishing into it. "What the? Where'd he go, Flare?!"
"I don't know, Shelly!" the Vulpix whimpered. "He just vanished into the floor."
Suddenly, he reappeared from the floor. "It is called our Shadow Teleportation. As long as there are shadows, we can enter anywhere. Even the most secure of places have shadows, allowing us entry whenever we choose. Nothing can destroy it."
"What do you want, you stupid mutt?!" Shelly yelled.
Enyeto sighed. "That's not a very nice thing to say to something that can attack you through your own shadow, little one." He said, mocking a hurt animal. "As for what I want, that is none of your concern. Though, I guess I gained something out of this little visit. The darkness is very strong within you, little yellow mouse."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing to be bothered with," Enyeto said, turning away. "Well, I've had my fun. Now, I will leave so you may save your little friend. Adios, little ones!" He dove into the floor, vanishing once more. Suddenly, the darkness faded and the room lit up once more. The Shadow Wolf known as Enyeto was gone.
"What was that about?" Shelly asked. What does he mean by darkness? And what are these Shadow Wolves?
"I think this won't be the last time we see him, Shelly." Flare muttered. "We'll be seeing him again. Something inside me just knows it." What was that thing? Does it work for my father or is this an entirely new threat? This is getting so confusing...
"Hey, shouldn't we be saving Azurill now?" Shelly asked.
"Yes, we should. Let's go, Shelly!" Suddenly, something hit Flare like a brick wall in her mind. How did that thing know about Azurill?!
Mt. Bristle Peak...
Azurill stopped close to a wall with a small hole drilled into it. "Uh-oh. It's a dead end." He turned to face Drowzee, who had brought him here. "Excuse me, Mr. Drowzee. Where is my lost item? Could you show me where the item is now?"
"Sorry, kiddo." Drowzee replied. "You're lost item? It's not here, that's for sure."
"Huh?" Azurill looked around. "My...big brother...My big brother's following us, right? He's coming soon?"
"Nope. Your big brother's not coming." Drowzee explained. "I'll let you in on a little secret. It was all a trick. I deceived you."
"Huh?!" Now Azurill was getting scared.
"But let's not dwell on that. There's a little favor I need to ask. See that hole behind you?" Azurill looked at it. "Well...There's a rumor that there's a trove of thief treasure inside there! But as you can see, I'm too big to squirm my way into that hole. And that's where you come in!"
"What?!" Azurill stared at Drowzee in shock.
"Don't worry." Drowzee reassured. "Just do as I say. Do that, then I'll help you get back out of here."
"B-but..." Azurill jumped on the ball at the end of his tail, shivering.
"Go on, get going." Drowzee stepped closer. "Go into that hole. And don't forget to bring back the treasure!"
"I want my big brother!" Azurill cried, running past Drowzee.
"H-hey! Stop that!" Drowzee managed to speed past him, stopping that blue mouse from running any farther. "Sheesh! I said that I'll take you home when you're done! If you don't do what I ask...there will be trouble for you."
"H-h-help!" Azurill cried.
"Stop right there!" Flare shouted. Drowzee turned to see the duo behind him. Team Moonlight stepped forward, glaring at the Psychic-type. "We won't let you do that! Drowzee, you bully!"
"H-how did you find this place?!" Drowzee stuttered, terrified.
"Marill told us, Drowzee." Shelly replied, smiling. "Now give Azurill back before we show you who's boss!"
"We're Team Moonlight!" Flare added. "An exploration team! No criminal can escape us!"
Drowzee looked around wildly, sweating. "An exploration team?! You cam to apprehend..." Then he noticed something. "...Huh? Are you...trembling?"
"Flare..." Shelly sighed.
This guy...He gives off the same aura as father, just smaller. Flare thought, shivering. Why? Why now?
Drowzee laughed. "Aha! I've figured it out! You say you're an exploration team but you're total rookies!"
"Urk!" Flare whimpered. No, I have to stop. Stop shivering, darn it! He's not my father, he's just a criminal! Stop shivering!!
"Heh. That right, I'm a wanted Pokemon with a bounty on my head." Drowzee said. "But can you two do the job? Can you confront this outlaw and bring him to justice?"
"Urk!" Flare forced herself to stop shivering. "Y-yes. We can. Yes, we can!" she cried. "We'd never lose to a bad guy like you!"
"You got that right, Flare!" Shelly cheered. "We can bring you to justice, Drowzee! Just you watch!"
"Ha ha ha!" Drowzee laughed. "I've been chased by all sorts of exploration teams in my day...But never a sorrier-looking bunch than you two!"
"Urk!" Flare whimpered. No, he's not father! He's a stupid criminal that needs to be brought down. I escaped father. This guy's nothing compared to him!
"This should be a laugh. Let's see if you can take me down." Drowzee chuckled. "Show me what you've got!"
"Will do, Drowzee! You're going down!" Shelly smirked.
"Azurill, back away while we finish this guy!" Flare cried.
"Got it!" Azurill turned and ran back to the wall, escaping the battle zone of the three fighters.
Drowzee came forward and used Confusion. Shelly dodged and charged, sparks flying as she shocked him. He shook it off and raised a fist to Pound her, only to be hit with Roar from Flare. He used Disable, paralyzing the fox while he attacked Shelly. The Electric-type dodged each blow, trying to find an opening.
Flare finally broke out of her paralyzed state and let loose an Ember. Drowzee grinned and moved...allowing the attack to hit Shelly! As the Pikachu hit the ground in pain, he paralyzed Flare again and turned to the downed Pikachu. He advanced.
"You sure are a troublesome kid, you know?" he said. "You think you're so tough. But guess what? You're simply a little brat with a big ego. And now you're going down." He raised and fist and used Pound, beating her fiercely.
As Shelly screamed, something deep inside her woke up. Suddenly in a flash of yellow, Drowzee was thrown backward. As he pulled himself to his feet, he heard a voice say, "You're the one who's going down!" He looked up to see black fur and red eyes, and knew he was in trouble.
"Uh oh." He dodged, barely escaping a blast of red electricity. What? Red?! What's up with this kid? She's definitely no normal Pikachu. After a few dodges, the black Pikachu jumped on him, pining him down. "What are you? Where's the brat I was fighting before?!"
"Oh, you mean Shelly? She's asleep right now." The Pikachu replied. Her voice sounded sweet but was dripping with venom. "You were going to kill her and I can't have that. If she dies, I die too and I'm in no mood to die now."
"Who are you?"
The Pikachu grinned. "I'm Shivani, a Shadow Pokemon."
As she lowered her head to finish the job, a voice interrupted her. "Shelly, what are you doing?" It was Flare, just recovering from the paralysis. "Shelly? Shelly!"
"Darn," Shivani hissed, pulling away. With a final Thundershock made of purple electricity, Drowzee was down. Her fur quickly turned back to normal as Flare came closer.
"Shelly, are you okay? I thought your fur turned black for a moment and you're electricity turned red." Flare said, coming closer. "Are you okay?"
Shelly groaned, shaking her head. "No, I'm not okay. My chest and stomach hurts from those poundings and I've got a aching head. What happened anyways, Flare?"
"You beat Drowzee single-handedly. We won, Shelly." Flare replied, smiling. "I knew joining with you was a good idea."
"I guess so. Let's check on Azurill, Flare."
As the duo went, Drowzee groaned. What was that? That girl isn't normal, I swear. But if her name is Shelly, who's Shivani? He sighed, finally going unconscious.
"We came to rescue you, Azurill." Flare said as they approached the frightened Pokemon. "Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you?"
"I think Drowzee hurt us more than him, Flare." Shelly groaned, resting a paw on her head. Man, that hurt. What happened? On minute Drowzee's beating me but and the next, Drowzee's down for the count. How did I beat him?
"I'm okay." Azurill replied.
"Great! What a relief!" Flare sighed. "Your big brother is waiting. Let's go home!"
"OK."
"Finally!" Shelly whined. "This was a terrible day!"
The trio laughed as they exited the dungeon. Once outside, two floating balls with magnets on either side of their bodies, three connected balls with magnets on it, and a giant flying saucer with magnets beneath it and an antenna on top surrounded Drowzee.
"Hey, who are you?" Flare asked.
"ZZZT! I am Magnezone, the primary officer of this region! ZZZT!" the disk, Magnezone, replied. "ZZZT! Thanks to you...We have been able to arrest this wanted outlaw! ZZZT! ZZZT! We owe you great thanks for your cooperation! ZZZT!" The four laughed happily.
"Ow! These guys are making my headache worse!" Shelly complained.
"ZZZT! We apologize greatly for that, miss." The second largest one said. "ZZZT! By the way, my name is Chief Magneton. Pleased to make your acquaintance! ZZZT!"
"Okay, if you say so." Shelly rubbed her ears painfully.
Magnezone spoke again. "ZZZT! We will send the reward to your guild. Thank you again! ZZZT!" He turned to Drowzee. "ZZZT! Now come with us! ZZZT!"
"Awww..." Drowzee groaned. As the police officers left with him, Drowzee took extra care to stay as far away from Shelly as possible. Soon enough, they were gone.
"What was that about?" Shelly asked.
"I guess Drowzee's afraid of you now." Flare laughed.
"Azurill!" It was Marill and following him was Scythe, who looked peeved.
"Marill!" Azurill cried. The duo embraced each other while Scythe stepped around them to stand near Team Moonlight. "Waaaaaah! Marill! It was so scary!"
"You OK, Azurill?" Marill asked. "Are you hurt?"
Flare smiled. "He's fine. The little guy hasn't been harmed in any way." She reassured.
"We're the ones who were harmed." Shelly mumbled.
"Really?" Marill asked. "That's a relief! Oh, Azurill...Azurill..." He started crying, too.
"I'm glad you kids are happy." Flare said, smiling.
"You did this all for us, Flare and Shelly. We won't forget what you did for us. Thank you so much." Marill thanked. "Come on, Azurill. You too."
"Yup..." Azurill nodded. "Thank you very much! Thank you for rescuing me!"
"Really...Really, thank you!" Marill added. The duo returned to Treasure Town.
"Come on, Team Moonlight." Scythe grumbled. "I'll walk you back to the guild." The duo agreed and they headed back to the guild. The Exploration Team Federation sent a message, rewarding them with an enlarged Treasure Bag. Now they could carry more items than before.
Once they reached the first underground floor, they were congratulated by Chatot. "I've gotten the bounty from Officer Magnezone for the captured outlaw!" he sang. "Well done, you two! Here's you share from the job. It's yours to keep!" They were handed 3000 poke. "But, because most of it is for the guild, that was withheld. As a result, you get 300 poke total."
"What?! This is all we get?!" Flare cried. "After all that hard work..."
"Hey, I nearly died catching that guy! Give us our money, you thieving bird!" Shelly barked.
"...But of course. It's all a part of the training!" Chatot replied. "And we expect just as much effort tomorrow! Hee-heeee!"
"We hate you, Chatot! We hate you!" Shelly growled.
"Oh, hush now! Hate me all you want, it won't get the rest of your money back." Chatot snapped. He turned and fled down the stairs before Shelly could shock him.
"Urf...I'd be happy if our share of the reward was a little bigger." Flare muttered.
"I swear that Guildmaster Wigglytuff has a hot tub in his chambers with all the money he gets." Shelly growled. "Ow, my head! I definitely need to see Chansey before dinner, Flare."
"It's all right, though. At least we managed to rescue Azurill." Flare pointed out. "And it's all thanks to you, Shelly. Because you had that dream, Shelly...We learned about Azurill's trouble in advance."
That's true, Shelly thought. I can't explain it, but...That first shout I heard from Azurill...H-h-help! And that dream I had..."If you keep being difficult, it will mean big trouble for you!" "H-h-help!" Both of those events...They took place in the future! Why was I able to see something like that? What was that dream about?
Suddenly, they heard a growling sound. "Oh! My stomach growled!" the Vulpix laughed. Another growl, this time from Shelly. "Ha ha ha! Your stomach growled, too! We must have worked up a big appetite! We were so focused on rescuing Azurill that I didn't notice at all!"
"Neither did I, Flare." Shelly chuckled. "Now I'm really hungry. Maybe I'll visit Chansey after dinner..."
Both of there stomachs growled again. "Now I'm even hungrier! Let's go eat!" Just at that moment, they heard Chimecho call for dinner.
"Let's eat!" Shelly cried. The duo ran down the ladder and into the mess hall, devouring everything they could. After they ate, Shelly headed for Chansey's room while Flare went back to their room. "Hello? Is anyone here?"
'I am. Do you need help?" It was Glameow. "I'm afraid that Chansey isn't here but if you really need help, I could try to help you."
"Yes, please. I have a horrible headache, Glameow." Shelly groaned, rubbing her forehead.
Stay here and I'll be right back." Glameow vanished behind a curtain of beads. Once she returned, she was carrying some white herbs and a green berry with two black stripes running vertically around it. After smashing them together, she instructed her to eat them. "It's a Lum Berry and Herb Cure. Chansey just taught me it last night before she left."
"Where did she go? You're her apprentice, so shouldn't you be with her?" Shelly asked.
Glameow looked away, embarrassed. "Actually, I can't fight. I'm terribly afraid of dungeons and I usually faint on the first two floors. I can't even beat a basic level Shellos. I'm such a failure."
"No, you're not." Shelly disagreed. "You're helping me now. So, Chansey's in a dungeon? Why?"
"Helping wounded Pokemon, like always." Glameow replied, retrieving the bowl. "Now, go back to your room and lay down. This is supposed to make you drowsy after a bit."
"Drowsy?" Shelly nodded and stumbled back to her room. Drowzee...That's right, I beat him. But how did I do it? It doesn't make any sense. And this headache didn't start up until after he was beaten and I woke up. I wonder what happened...