Hey, guys! I'm glad you all liked the last chapter and even submitted a few Shadow Wolves. Thanks for the support and ideas, everybody! Once again, sorry that this is later than usual. School has started and the homework has been pouring in since day one. Plus, I have a cold now and feel horrible. I'll try to update Quest to Capture the Shadow Pokemon as soon as possible. Another name lesson, Nocona means wanderer in Native American. Please enjoy nonetheless!
Chapter 6: Missions and Sentry Duty
"GET UP! IT'S MORNING!" Loudred bellowed.
"Ugh!" Shelly groaned, rubbing her ears. Despite the loudness of his voice, the Pikachu was starting to get used to the wake-up call. Looking over to her partner and friend, she smiled. I'm glad Flare's here to help me. At least she understands my visions better than anyone else in the guild.
"Is it morning already?" the Vulpix whimpered, stretching her front paws as she yawned.
"Yeah, it's morning." Shelly nodded. "We better go to the main room and get prepared for today."
"Yeah, we should." Getting up, the duo trudged to the main room.
After finishing their cheers, Chatot ordered Team Moonlight to do missions as usual. They picked another Drenched Bluff mission, totaling two missions to do. Heading for Drenched Bluff, they saved the lost Starly and the nearly-unconscious Buneary. Testing themselves, they continued on. They left after reaching the top floor, finding no Pokemon statues in the dungeon. They were thankful to not see one.
After dinner that night, the duo was about to fall asleep when a Pokemon poked their head into Team Moonlight's room. It was Glameow. "Sorry. Am I disturbing anything?" she asked softly.
"Aside from our sleep, no. Why?" Shelly asked.
"Oh, it can wait for later." As the gray cat made to leave, Flare caught her tail and yanked her back in.
"It's okay, really." The Vulpix reassured. "What's wrong, Glameow? You can tell us."
"Well..." Glameow looked away in shame. "I was wondering if you'd go with me tomorrow to Beach Cave. I've been assigned a mission to check out that Shellos statue you saw and I don't want to go alone. Please, would you go with me?"
"Can't you go yourself?" Shelly asked.
"Well, I'm...I'm..." Glameow sighed sadly. "I can't fight."
"What? What do you mean 'can't fight'?" Flare asked. "Everyone can fight. Is it that you're afraid of fighting or something?"
"It's both, Flare!" Glameow whined. "I can't fight because I'm a coward. I've never managed to go through a dungeon completely without fainting or running away within the first two floors. I'm such a coward!" She buried her face in her paws, crying.
"...Whoa," Shelly muttered.
"Glameow, we'll go with you." Flare reassured. "We'll go as many times as we need to so you can see that statue. We'll get you there no matter what. Right, Shelly?"
"Sure, why not?" the Pikachu chuckled. "We've never been on a mission to protect anyone before. This will just add a new twist to things."
"I guess that means yes." Flare nodded.
"You bet it does! We'll get you to that statue, Glameow! We promise!" Shelly cried.
Glameow looked shocked before she smiled. "Thank you. I'm sorry if I trouble you too much. This'll really help me and I could find a cure for those poor Pokemon."
"Sure, whatever!" Shelly waved a paw. "You find your cure and we'll fight all those enemy Pokemon aiming to hurt you."
"Thank you. I'm indebt to you, truly I am." Glameow pounced out the door, smiling. Maybe I'll finally make it through a dungeon this time. I just hope Team Moonlight will be okay protecting me. I'd hate to be a bother to them. I'd really hate that.
"Well, good night." Shelly muttered.
"Good night, Shelly." Flare replied. The two curled up, falling asleep.
Team Frostburn's room...
Molt sighed, yawning. He and his brother had become Level 17 and were nearly to Silver Rank. But the Flareon had other things on his mind instead of the guild. He was thinking of Flare, the beautiful fox Pokemon that had mysteriously appeared out of nowhere in Treasure Town a little over three months ago. Molt sighed.
Freeze, his Glaceon brother, gave him an angry look. "Are you still thinking of that weakling Vulpix? Honestly, I don't get how you can like her." He growled.
"Shut up!" Molt barked, jumping to his feet. "I wouldn't expect you to understand how I feel. All you ever want to do is train, train, train, train! You have no sense of fun at all!"
"Fun is for slackers, Molt." Freeze replied, resting his head on his paws. "This is our job. And when you do a job, you must do it seriously."
"Is that why you pick really hard missions when it's your turn to pick one?"
"Yes, it is." Freeze spat. "How can you expect to grow stronger if we pick easy missions like you always do?"
"Missions don't always have to be work. We can have fun while we're doing it." Molt pointed out. "Besides, all the ones you pick are ones that involve criminals."
"Defeating criminals is the best way to grow strong, Molt." Freeze stated, scratching one ear with a hind paw. "That's all that matters to me. Now go to sleep. It's my turn so tomorrow, we do things my way. And no more talk of that Vulpix, you got that?"
"Yes, Freeze." Molt whimpered, curling up in bed. Why is my brother so cruel? Grr! I hate him. I hate him so much! I don't care what he says. Tomorrow, I'm going to see Flare. There's something I gotta give her. With that planned out, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Freeze rolled over, unable to sleep. Why is Molt so stubborn? Doesn't he get that Flare is too weak for him to being paying so much attention to? I'm sure Molt hates me now but I do have a reason for acting this way toward him. I'm just not in the mood to tell anyone why. Finally, he curled up and fell asleep.
The next morning...
"GET UP! IT'S MORNING!" Loudred shouted as he walked up and down the hallway.
"Morning?" Shelly asked sleepily.
"Yep, time to get up." Flare muttered, rubbing her eyes.
As the duo stretched and woke up, Glameow poked her head in. "Are you guys still going to go with me to Beach Cave? If you have other things to do, I can ask another team to go with me." She reminded.
"No, we'll go with you." Flare replied. "Shelly, let's go."
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Shelly barked. I haven't had anymore dreams of that Shadow Pokemon or that Gardevoir since we left Mt. Bristle. Maybe I was right and it was a side effect of Glameow's medicine. But I have a bad feeling that I'm wrong.
As the trio entered the main room, the cheers ended and Chatot raised a wing for silence. "I have a quick, and sad, announcement to make today." The bird said, hanging his head. "A young female Ninetales was found brutally murdered in Treeshroud Forest yesterday night by patrol officers Twilight the Noctowl and Mr. Fearow."
"What? My dad was there?!" Fear squawked. "Is he okay? Tell me my dad's okay!"
"Hush now!" Chatot screeched, silencing the chatter going through the guild. "Both patrol officers are perfectly well, aside from getting sick after seeing such a gruesome sight. It is presumed that the Ninetales was murdered by a Shadow Wolf or another canine Pokemon, particularly from the fang left behind in her torn-out throat. Sheriff Magnezone has advised all Pokemon to be on the look-out for suspicious activity."
Flare started shaking in fear. A female Ninetales with her throat torn out by a large canine Pokemon. It sounds exactly how my mother died. Is this a coincidence or did father plan to scare me with this. But how did he get mom's body to the past? He can't travel through time...right?
"Alright, move it! Outta the way for the detective!" a loud voice barked. A large purple dog wearing a brown trench coat and a detective's cap crawled down the ladder, landing heavily. Turning around, Shelly saw a pipe dangling from his fanged jaws. "Alright, where's Meowth of Team Thief? Come out, I don't have all day!"
"Who's that?" Shelly asked.
"That's Detective Granbull, the guy I told you about when you asked about 'Aolani." Flare replied. "He's also Snubbull of Team Thief's father."
Snubbull growled, stepping in front of his leader. "Dad, what do you want now?" he demanded. "Meowth did nothing, I swear!"
"Outta the way, my boy. I need to have a word with your leader, 'Cat Burglar' Meowth." Granbull huffed, gently pushing his son out of the way to confront the feline. "Now come quietly or I'll use force, cat. I now you're the one who killed that poor Ninetales last night!"
"What?!" Meowth yelped. "You're kiddin' me, right? How could I have done that?!"
"He's right, sir." Marill added, her tail twitching slightly. It was obvious that she was nervous. "We went to Treeshroud Forest in the morning, not at night. Our leader couldn't have done it."
"Yeah! Plus, it was a canine's tooth, not a feline's, you dimwit mutt!" Meowth spat, unsheathing his claws. "I didn't do it! Ask anyone here, I was here the whole night!"
"You're still coming down to the station with me, little kitty." Granbull growled, grabbing Meowth's gloved paw. Meowth howled in pain, ripping his claws across Granbull's paw to free himself. "Yeowch! What'd I tell you?! Once a criminal, always a criminal!"
"He only scratched you because you hurt his paw, you dumb dog!" Meowsy hissed, leaping to her lover's side and unsheathing her claws. "I swear, you're getting dumber as you grow older. Why don't you retire, old man?"
"I am not retiring until I see that thieving cat behind bars!" Granbull barked. "He can't keep hiding behind his exploration team forever, you know! I'll get you one day, I swear I will!"
"Hush now, all of you!!" Chatot squawked. "Detective Granbull, I can see where you're coming from given Meowth's background but I can assure you that he was here the entire night. Even ask Scythe, he always keeps watch and can't sleep thanks to his insomnia. He would've noticed if Meowth had left."
"Hah! See, what'd I tell you!" Meowth laughed. "I didn't do it! Sure, I was bad in the past but I've changed now. So quit treating me like a criminal, darn it!"
Granbull huffed, clambering up the ladders. Once he was gone, Team Thief relaxed again. Those guys must really hate Detective Granbull, Shelly thought. But Granbull is Snubbull's father. Can he really hate his own dad? And was Meowth telling the truth about the Ninetales? What about what Meowth mentioned about being a former criminal? Man, this is all so confusing!
"Meowth was an old criminal, you know." Flare muttered. "A real elusive thief, he was. Even Detective Granbull and Sheriff Magnezone couldn't catch him. Then he appeared one day in Treasure Town out of the rain and handed himself in. His paw, the one covered in the glove, was all bloody and stuff. Guildmaster Wigglytuff offered to try and reform him into an exploration team member. So far, it seemed to have worked but Granbull still treats him like a criminal."
"How do you know that, Flare?" Shelly asked.
"Molt of Team Frostburn was here when it all happened, along with Freeze." Flare replied. "They were the ones who told Wigglytuff about Granbull's plans to execute Meowth and gave him the idea to reform Meowth. I found out from them."
"Oh," Shelly nodded. At least he wasn't executed. What did he do that made him turn himself in? And what's he hiding under that glove?
"Well, that's all I have for today. Time to get to work, everybody!" Chatot cried.
"HOORAY!" everyone cheered, heading to work.
Gathering the proper supplies and depositing any loose poke, Team Moonlight and Glameow headed for Beach Cave. Stopping near the entrance, they turned to the apprentice nurse. "Ready, Glameow?" Flare asked.
"Don't worry, we'll protect you." Shelly added. "No Pokemon's gonna hurt you while Team Moonlight's around!"
Glameow sighed, looking fearfully at the cave's entrance. "Yes, I...I think I'm ready. Let's go!" she cried.
"Gladly!" the Pikachu laughed, racing inside. The trio charged inside, preparing to fight until they reached Beach Cave Pit again. They were doing fine until they reached the fourth floor, realizing something once they found the stairs. "Is it just me or is it getting darker in here?"
No, not again! "Run for it, Glameow!" Flare shouted.
"What is it?" Glameow cried. "What's wrong?"
"Shadow Wolf! Let's get out of here!" Shelly yelled. As the trio bolted for the stairs, the room turned pitch black and a lupine figure leapt out of the floor between them and the staircase. Skidding to a stop, they backed up. "Oh man, not again!"
"Oh yes, again!" a raspy voice growled. A pair of red eyes glared at them from the canine's face as it bared its fangs. A collar made of bright red stones gave the wolf a faint reddish glow. Engraved in Unown writing on the center stone was a P. "I don't see why Enyeto couldn't kill you two. It would be so easy to just sit on you and crush you that way."
"Who are you? What do you want?" Flare demanded. This one's different than Enyeto. I'm guessing he's not going to let us go like he did, either. Looks like we really have to fight this time.
"What is that?" Glameow whispered.
"Shadow Wolf," Shelly replied.
"A Shadow Wolf? Here?!" Glameow hissed. "Oh no, we're going to die. Aren't these things murderers? It's going to kill us!"
"Right you are, little lady." The wolf chuckled, licking his lips. He crouched, ready to pounce. "Now die!" As he launched himself into the air, the trio screamed. Suddenly, a second wolf wearing a white stone collar crashed into the wolf from underneath, throwing him into a wall. The Unown letter Q was engraved in it.
"Hmmmmmm...Sorry but this is Enyeto's prey, correct?" the second wolf asked. "What gives you the right to kill them, Lakota? Hmmmmmm?"
"What are you doing here?!" the wolf, Lakota, snarled. "Are you betraying us, Nocona?!"
The second Shadow Wolf looked up, unfazed by the accusation. "Hmmmmmm...So, you're accusing me of a betrayal when you yourself are going against orders? Hmmmmmm?" he asked.
"Grrrrrr! You little snake in the grass!" Lakota howled, launching himself at Nocona's throat. The smaller Shadow Wolf ducked, attacking Lakota's unprotected belly as he soared overhead. Crashing into the floor, the two dueling wolves never noticed the trio of small Pokemon race down the stairs and away from the fighting wolves.
"That was too close!" Flare cried, panting as she sunk to the floor.
"I was so scared that he was going to kill us." Glameow agreed. "But why did that other wolf save us?"
"Probably so he could kill us himself!" Shelly answered. "Well, we're here. I told you we'd get you to the bottom floor to see this statue. What do you think?"
Padding up to it, Glameow looked it over. She clawed a bit of the stone off, depositing it in her bag for research purposes. Growing bored, Shelly walked to the water's edge and peered in, watching the tiny waves rippling across its clear surface. Then she noticed a fishy face looking back at her. "Eek!"
"What is it? Are we being attacked again?!" Glameow yelped.
"No, that fish just scared me!" the Pikachu admitted, pointing to the brown fish poking its head out of the water. It shot water from its mouth at Shelly, getting her soaked. "Eek! Stop that, you dumb fish!"
"It's a Feebas, Shelly. They're practically harmless to us." Flare chuckled, pushing the gasping fish back underwater so it could breathe again. "They're ugly and dumb but turn into beautiful and smart creatures when they evolve. We don't have to worry about them."
"Ugh! Yuck!" Shelly spat, rubbing the water off her face. "I hate that fish!"
"Hate it as much as you want, Shelly." Glameow purred. "It either won't care or won't understand that you hate it. They're that dumb."
"A dumb fish can't squirt water at a Pokemon and that one did! He's not dumb, he's smart but stupid!" Shelly argued.
"That made no sense whatsoever, Shelly." Flare laughed.
"So what? It makes sense to me!" the Pikachu whined, crossing her arms and glaring at the water. "Stupid fish..."
"I have what I need, guys!" Glameow called. "We can go home now!"
"Finally! See you, fishy!" Raising their badges, the trio teleported back to the guild in time for dinner.
"Thank you once again for helping me. As a reward, please have these." Glameow pushed two Reviver Seeds forward. "You'll need them more than I will."
"Reviver Seeds!" Flare smiled. "Thanks, Glameow! We will need these, I know we will!"
"I'm glad!" Glameow nodded. "Please take care on your missions. You're the first friends I've actually made in the guild besides Persia and Nurse Chansey."
Persia? That Persian from Team Crimson? An image of the menacing Persian popped into Shelly's head. Why would a guy like him be friends with an apprentice nurse? It seems a bit odd to me. "You're friends with Persia?" the Pikachu asked.
"Oh, yes, I am! He's very nice and collects seeds, berries, and herbs for me when he's on missions." Glameow said. "He's a bit rough around the edges but he's nice, really! He just doesn't like showing his nice side in front of his team."
"He seemed a bit...mean. To me, at least!" Flare quickly added.
"Yes, he does have his temper tantrums." Glameow nodded. "But trust me, he's a really nice guy once you get past his rough exterior. At least he's nice to me."
"Well...good for you?" Shelly chuckled nervously. She hated to admit it but that feline Persia gave her the creeps. He looked at her as if she were food just waiting to be eaten. It was scary, actually. "Well, I'm going to bed. Night!" She dashed down the hallway to their room.
"Good night, Glameow!" Flare said, following her partner. As she walked, she nearly ran into Molt. "Oh, Molt! What are you doing here?"
"Uh...hi, Flare! I was just, uh..." The Flareon forced himself to get it together. "I wanted to give you this!" He held out a bright red sphere with splashes of orange and yellow inside of it, forming a flame.
"Ah! A Fiery Globe!" Flare gasped. "How did you get it?"
"Well, it took a long time to find but I found it." Molt said, embarrassed. "This way, Shelly won't have to always save you from Water-type attacks. The Fiery Globe—"
"Protects against damage from water-type moves." The two Fire-types said at the same time.
"...Wow..." Molt whispered.
"Um...thanks, Molt. I'll keep it with me always, I promise." The Vulpix said, smiling. She placed the Fiery Globe in her bag amongst her most treasured belongings. "Thank you. But I have nothing to give you. Oh!" She dug through her bag until she pulled out a bright red collar with a fire-shaped tag attached to it.
"That's a Fire Collar!" Molt cried. "It can randomly inflict the burn condition upon your opponents if they hit you with a physical move! They're really hard to find!"
"I just found one lying around before I came to Treasure Town." Flare explained. "I've been carrying it around ever since. You keep it, Molt. You'll need it more than I will with all the hard missions your team goes on. Besides, you found me a rare item and I might as well return the favor."
"Thanks, Flare. This might save my life one day." Molt predicted.
"I hope so, Molt. Good night!" Before leaving, she kissed him on the cheek. Then she fled to the room she and her partner stayed in.
Molt stood there in shock for a few minutes before recovering and returning to his room. "She kissed me," he muttered, blushing. "Does she like me too?"
Back in Team Moonlight's room, Flare curled up in bed. Noticing the blush, Shelly smirked. "Why are you blushing, Flare? Did you meet Molt on your way here?" she asked.
"Well, yes. He had something to give me and I gave something back to him. That's all, really." The Vulpix explained. "Good night, Shelly."
So she did meet him again, Shelly thought, smiling. "Okay, I get it. Good night, Flare."
"Get what?"
"That you're madly in love with that Flareon, Molt."
"I am not!"
"You are!"
"I'm not!"
"GO TO SLEEP!!" Loudred's voice roared through the hall.
Falling silent, the two Team Moonlight members glared at one another. "Good night," they said, curling up with their backs to each other.
The next morning...
"GET UP! IT'S MORNING!" Loudred shouted from the hall.
"I wish we had a different wake-up call, Flare." Shelly complained, sitting up to rub her ears. "That one's way too noisy!"
"Unfortunately, we must deal with it, Shelly." Flare replied, yawning as she stood up. "Let's go get ready for work today."
"Fine, let's go!" Shelly agreed, racing out the door.
After their morning cheers were done, Chatot gave yet another announcement. "Er, ahem. Everyone, listen up! I have an important announcement to make. Far to the northeast, and then farther into its outermost reaches, there lies a place called Treeshroud Forest. In Treeshroud Forest, time has apparently stopped."
"Huh?!" Diglett cried.
"Eek! What did you say?!" Sunflora yelped, waving her leaves frantically.
"You did not just say what I thought you said, right?" Fang demanded, fear appearing in his eyes.
"You're saying time has stopped? Hey, hey, hey!" Corphish barked.
"But how?" Meowsy whimpered, clutching Meowth's arm. "Time doesn't just stop like that!"
"Hah! I told you! Was it a Time Gear? Huh?" Daisy asked, flaming tail whipping around happily.
"Yes, that's correct..." Chatot admitted. "Time has come to a standstill in Treeshroud Forest. The wind has stopped, the clouds are motionless, and dewdrops on leaves won't fall. They just hang there, suspended. In Treeshroud Forest, time has truly stopped."
"T-time has stopped?!" Dugtrio muttered.
"But...How could something this awful happen?" Sunflora asked.
"Maybe Arceus is mad at us?" Luna suggested. The Pichu looked up at the ceiling. "What could we have done to get Arceus angry though?"
"It's unthinkable!" Sunflora suddenly cried.
"Yes, the unthinkable has happened." Chatot nodded. Everyone fell silent to listen to him. "Why has Time stopped in Treeshroud Forest? Well, it's because Treeshroud Forest's Time Gear was...Stolen!"
"I knew it!" the Charmeleon shouted. "I told you that the Time Gears were connected to time getting out of whack! Take that, Chatot!"
"Huh?!" Bidoof gasped.
"A Time Gear was s-stolen?!" Diglett shivered.
"That's what made time stop! Hey, hey, hey!" Corphish concluded, raising a claw.
"I'd heard it was impossible!" Chimecho muttered. "But now it's really happened!"
"But stealing a Time Gear's unthinkable!" Sparks said. "Why would anyone steal one? Don't they know that a disaster could happen if they're all taken from their rightful spots?!"
"Either they want that or are too stupid to know!" Doom snarled, his forked tail thrashing around. "Team Houndoom will find the thief and bring them to justice!"
"I don't get it though! Why would ANYONE steal a Time Gear?!" Loudred bellowed.
"Quiet, everyone!" Chatot cried. Everyone fell silent again. "Officer Magnezone and Detective Granbull have already started an investigation. It is hard to believe that anyone would dare steal a Time Gear. But if one Time Gear can be stolen, the others may also be in danger. The officer has asked to be notified immediately if we notice any suspicious characters. So keep that in mind. Let us know if you notice anything! That is all."
"Scary!" Mimi the Buneary whispered to her friends. "The thief could be anyone we see!"
"All right, everyone! Here's to another busy day of work!" Chatot cried.
"HOORAY!" everyone cried, heading for whatever they planned to do that day.
Team Moonlight attempted to leave for the upper floor when a familiar loudmouth shouted for them. "HEY, you two!" Loudred came over. "We need your help with something today!" He led the duo over to Diglett and a hole in the ground with a plant growing out of it. "Diglett, I brought them!"
"Thank you, Loudred." Diglett nodded.
"You two are doing sentry duty today!" Loudred cried, pointing to Shelly and Flare.
"Sentry...duty?" Shelly asked, confused.
"Sorry," Diglett apologized. "I'm usually the one to do sentry duty. But today, my dad gave me his duty of updating the boards. That's why I can't man my post. It would be great if someone could take over my sentry duty for today. And that's why you're here. Please do a good job for me. Bye!" He vanished underground.
"Hey! He never gave us a chance to say no!" Shelly complained, stomping her foot angrily.
"Please calm down, Shelly." Flare muttered. "I'm sure Diglett had his reasons. Maybe someone else can do it."
"...And that's THAT!" Loudred smirked.
"Huh?!" Flare cried. "I didn't follow that at all! How are we involved in this?"
"Maybe you should calm down, Flare." Shelly giggled.
"Shut your YAP!" Loudred yelled. "NO MORE BELLYACHING! GO DO YOUR DUTY!"
"Ow...My head is pounding..." the Vulpix groaned, covering her ears with her paws.
"Geez, we heard you yelling this morning. We don't need it again!" the Pikachu whimpered.
After recovering from the yelling, Flare asked, "What are we supposed to do?"
"Climb down that hole and stand guard. You're on sentry duty!" Loudred replied, pointing to the hole with the plant growing from it.
"Sentry duty?" Flare muttered.
"You heard right. Sentry duty," Loudred confirmed. "We can't have suspicious characters coming into the guild. So we station a sentry below the guild entrance to evaluate Pokemon visitors. When you first came, you had your footprint evaluated, right?"
"My footprint? What do you...?" Flare started.
"You mean when you guys yelled at us to get on the grate and then tried to figure out who we were?" Shelly asked. "How could I forget that frightening experience?"
"AH!" Flare remembered now. "Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected!" "Who's footprint? Who's footprint?" "The footprint is Vulpix's! The footprint is Vulpix's!" "Wha!" "Oh, now I remember! There was that weird hole in front of the gate...I stood on the grating and someone shouted up at me. It was startling!"
"Yep, that's it!" Loudred nodded.
"OK, you want us to climb down this hole. And then?" Flare asked.
"We really have to climb down there? But it looks really dark! How will we know where we're going or even see the footprint?" Shelly demanded.
"The tunnel down there leads to the sentry post." Loudred explained. "Diglett burrows through it and pops up underneath the sentry post. From the sentry post, Diglett inspects the footprints of visitors, identifies them, and then informs me. Then I decide if the Pokemon is suspicious or not and opens the gate if they pass. So we serve as the guild's gatekeepers. That's the gist of it."
"Is that all?" Shelly asked. "It sounds pretty hard to decide if a Pokemon is suspicious or not just by their footprint alone."
"Look, all you two have to do is inspect the footprints of visitors and tell me what Pokemon they are. I'll decide everything else from there. All right? Understood?" Loudred summarized.
"Yes, sir. Understood!" the duo agreed.
"Good! Then let's get to WORK!" Loudred cried. "Buck up and do a GOOD job!"
The duo crawled down the tunnel. "Ack!" Flare yelped. "It's pitch black in here, Shelly...We'll have to feel our way..." After a few moments, Flare spoke again. "Well, we should be getting close to the sentry post...Oh! There! I see light, Shelly!"
"Finally!" Shelly exclaimed. "Move it already, Flare! I don't want to stay in here for any longer than I need to!"
"HOW'S IT GOING?!" Loudred yelled down the tunnel. "Have you taken position at the sentry post?!"
"Yes, we're in position!" Flare called.
"GOOD! Pokemon visitors will step onto the grill above the sentry post!" Loudred explained. "Identify them by footprint and then inform me! Got that?!"
"Yes! Understood!" Flare agreed.
"GOOD! Let's get started!" Loudred shouted. "Look at the footprint carefully, OK? Then identify the Pokemon! You can only get two wrong, OK? Flare will keep an eye on things!"
"Wait! You mean I've got to choose?!" Shelly cried. "You're kidding!"
Loudred ignored her. "Here comes a Pokemon! Check its footprint and tell me what it is! Whose footprint is it?"
After that, the only things Loudred said were, "Huh? I don't think so. Try again!" or "Being close to it is refreshing, as if relaxing in a sunny forest." or "Heard ya! Come in, visitor! ...Huh? Looks wrong to me! The correct answer is...! Buck up! And snap to it!" or "Yep! Looks like you're right!" This continued on for the whole day until the final Pokemon came and left.
"No more visitors! No more visitors!" Chatot called.
"OK, got that!" Loudred answered. "Hey, Shelly and Flare! That's all for today! Now get back here!"
"Finally!" Shelly gasped. "That was hard! How does Diglett do this every single day?"
"I guess that's just one of the great mysteries of the guild, Shelly." Flare giggled. "Now let's go! I wonder what score we got..."
"I don't care about scores..." Shelly moaned. "I'm gonna be seeing footprints in my sleep now! Curse you, Diglett! Curse you!"
After crawling out, Chatot assessed their scores. "You've done an honest day's work!" he reassured. "Let me review your sentry duty performance...Your results were...adequate."
"Hmm..." Loudred mumbled.
"Oh..." Flare said, her ears lowering sadly.
"So...basically, we did badly." Shelly concluded.
"Oh, Arceus no! There have been apprentices who have done worse than you! But still, there have been apprentices who have done better." Chatot squawked. "Here are your rewards for the job."
"Whoa! We get rewards?!" Shelly said, grinning. "On second thought, I guess sentry duty is worth it after all."
"I told you so, Shelly!" Flare laughed.
Chatot held out his wing, presenting them a Protein and 100 poke. "I expect to see better effort out of you two next time." He said.
"We promise to do better, Chatot. Right, Shelly?" Flare asked.
"Sure, why not?" the Pikachu chuckled. "If the rewards are better for getting a perfect score, then of course I'll get better!"
"I knew you'd agree!" the Vulpix cheered.
All Shelly wants are the rewards, Loudred thought.
Are rewards and money all that girl thinks about? Chatot wondered. Isn't she happy that nobody dangerous entered the guild? ...I guess not...
Chimecho's bell rang, alerting them to dinner. After eating dinner, the guild headed for bed. "Today was incredible, wasn't it? I wonder if the other apprentices have to do sentry duty too." Flare wondered, lying on her back in bed.
"Maybe, unless Diglett just wanted to pick on us since we were new." Shelly suggested.
"Um, Shelly?" Flare said awkwardly. "I think that would be Loudred's job, not Diglett's. Diglett seems too nice and shy to pick on someone else. Loudred looks more like the kind of guy to pick on others."
"Whatever!" Shelly groaned, rubbing her eyes. "My eyes hurt from being in the guild, then in the sentry post, then back in the guild. Too much change in light to dark."
"I have to agree, Shelly." Flare nodded, resting a paw over her eyes. "I'm going to bed. Good night."
"Good night, Flare." Shelly muttered, rolling onto her side. In minutes, the duo was fast asleep.