The busy streets of Sunrise Town were even livelier than usual as Team Spirit passed through its colorful rows of stalls and tents. Crowds of Pokémon clamored excitedly while craning their necks and looking around in excited anticipation. In one such crowd, Trevor saw a giddy-faced Budew poking its bulbous head from the top, its stubby little legs standing atop arms donned with giant roses.
"Wonder what the excitement's all about," Aiden mused audibly as she scanned a row of empty stalls, "Guess something big's going on. I'll just ask someone what's going on later."
After walking across an array of twisting paths and huddled crowds, the pair found themselves in front of the glittering, golden marvel that was the Explorer's Heart once again. "Alright Treph," Aiden said suddenly, "I'm gonna rush over to the request board to find us a job while they're still available. You brought those badges like I asked, right?"
"Yep," Trevor answered, shuffling through his bag and taking out a bronze badge which shimmered in the sunlight.
"Cool, I'm gonna need one of those," Aiden said as she took it from Trevor's hands, "In the meantime, I need you to get us some good items with some of that money we just got. You can do that, right?"
Trevor began tugging on the strap of his satchel nervously. "I'm not so sure, I barely knew what I was doing the first time I shopped. Do you really think I can handle that?"
Aiden rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Treph, you gotta build that confidence of yours! You're in charge of our bag now, so you deserve to choose what goes in it. Just follow your gut, and I'm sure you'll be fine!"
"I...okay," Trevor hesitantly conceded, prompting a playful slap on the back from Aiden before she rushed off into the distance. Trevor, meanwhile, wandered around town while looking around for any shops that were occupied and, before long, came across the vibrant sign of Explorer's Haven. On the left side of the colorful stall sat Camo, his beady eyes half closed and blankly staring straight ahead. To his right was a taller Kecleon with purple skin, green patterning, and a vigilant expression. She swiftly turned her head eagerly upon noticing Trevor nearing by.
"Hey Camo," she began saying in a prickly tone, "Is this the one you were talking about a month back? Camo?"
The green Kecleon beside her continued to stare off into space with an absentminded smile.
"Camo!"
"Ah!" Camo abruptly jerked his head upwards to find the the purple Kecleon glaring at him apprehensively. In his efforts to avert his gaze, he managed to notice Trevor awkwardly standing nearby.
"Oh, hey Trevor! Long time no see-" he managed to say before the purple Kecleon swiftly twisted his head back towards her. "Camo, how many times do I have to remind you to pay attention during work hours? Customers don't want a shopkeeper who can't pay attention, and we can't afford to lose any business here!"
"Oh c'mon, sis," Camo responded sheepishly, "It's not like anybody's gonna shop here today anyways. Alpha's visiting, isn't he? It's all anyone's been talking about; everybody's just gonna be fixated on him."
"Err- actually," Trevor quietly interrupted, "I came here to shop, if you don't mind."
"Hah!" The purple Kecleon flashed a matter-of-fact smirk towards a shrugging Camo before turning towards Trevor enthusiastically. "Hey there, Trevor! My name is Kino - my lazy brother, Camo here, told me all about your visit from a while back. You were in last month's paper, weren't you? Helped catch those rookie crushers? Nice work, there!"
"Um, yeah. I guess you can say that," Trevor said, trying and failing to contain his bashfulness as he placed a palm on one of his reddening cheeks. "So...you're siblings?"
"Yep," Kino responded pridefully, "We come from a long line of Kecleon shopkeepers; we have many siblings and cousins who do the same thing we do! Our shops go by many names: Kecleon's Wares, Expedition Mart, Explorer's Haven, and are stationed and spread out in every major continent in the world! We even-"
"Aaanyways," Camo suddenly interrupted, causing Kino to scowl, "You want anything Trevor?" Any items in the cabinet you need me to go over?"
Trevor's attention was drawn towards a stack of blue glass orbs sealed behind a sliding glass pane.
"Ah, good choice," Camo said, tracing the direction of Trevor's gaze. "These are Luminous Orbs, an essential item for any aspiring explorer. When rubbed, it-"
"-releases a blinding flash of light which is sure to obstruct the vision of any onlooking crawler and Pokémon alike!" Kino finished, taking one of the many orbs on display and laying it on the counter. Trevor admired his stretched reflection on the sphere's glossy exterior.
"That'll be one hundred Poké, please," Camo sung enthusiastically as Trevor held the glass ball in both hands in reverence. After digging through his bag, Trevor gave the Kecleon a sparkling gold token and received a fistful of silver and yellow ones in return. As he turned to leave, however, Kino waved her arms around, motioning him to stay.
"Hold up, Trevor," Kino declared, "If you're going to use that Luminous Orb, you're gonna need one of these!" She bent down and fumbled through a collection of items in an unassuming, patched-up sack before springing back up with a pair of goggles in hand, its darkened lens outlined in a dull, white metal.
"These," Kino said dramatically as if she were unveiling a world-changing invention, "are Blackgoggles. These were newly imported from, err, the distant Dune Continent, where harsh sunlight and raging sandstorms are prevalent! They're perfect for, um, what I meant to say was-"
"These goggles will protect you from the harsh light the Luminous Orb gives off," Camo tagged in, "The lens utilize a never-before-seen technological marvel involving the use of thick, impenetrable shields to cancel out dangerous UV radiation which could prove fatal for your eyesight upon prolonged exposure!"
"...So, they're just sunglasses?" Trevor asked, tilting his head to the side with a confused expression.
Camo and Kino glanced at each other nervously. "They're not just sunglasses," Kino responded, "They're the best goggles around in blocking out anything that may hurt those big eyes of yours. In a high-level dungeon where a second of hesitation may determine whether you live or die, you'll need one of these to give yourself every advantage you can get. We were going to sell this for a hundred fifty Poké, but just for you, we'll bring that price down to, say, fifty. What do you say?"
Trevor wasn't convinced whether this was a good investment, yet he couldn't ignore the Kecleon siblings' sparkling, anticipatory eyes. He relented, grabbing a fistful of coins and laying them on the counter.
"By the way," Camo said as Kino eagerly counted the coins and shoved the goggles into Trevor's arms, "You're Aiden's partner, right? Where's she been? It's been a while since we've seen her, and I've grown to miss having her around."
Kino put a palm to her temple muttering, "I beg to differ, she's always so draining whenever she stops by. But...I suppose she helps in paying the bills. A necessary evil."
"Aiden's currently at some kind of...request board, I think it was," Trevor said, "I'm sure she's very busy at the moment, so I don't think she'll be back for a-"
"TREPH, HAVE YOU GOT ANY PAPER?!" Aiden abruptly screamed from behind, prompting a startled jump alongside a high-pitched scream from Trevor. Both Camo and Kino burst into gales of hysteric laughter, causing Trevor's face to redden in embarrassment.
"Aiden, could you please warn me next time?! You know I'm jumpy!"
"Uh, sorry Treph." Aiden rubbed the back of her neck apologetically. "Guess that's something I need to work on. But this is important! Alpha and his team just arrived here and I need his print!"
"Who's Alpha?" Trevor asked, "And did you manage to find a mission like you said you would?"
Aiden's eyes widened in realization, "Shoot, I was so fixated on Alpha that I completely forgot! C'mon, Trevor - we don't have any time to lose!"
Aiden grabbed Trevor's paw and began sprinting towards another corner of town, Trevor trying her best to keep up with her pace. While running off, she waved wildly towards the Kecleon twins, who waved back dazedly.
"Who doesn't know about Alpha?" Kino audibly wondered once the pair had long since disappeared into the distance, "He's, like, the talk of the town among explorers, isn't he? He's all the local newspaper'll talk about nowadays. The 'rising star.' How in the world doesn't Trevor know about him?"
"He didn't know about crawlers either the first time we met," Camo mused in turn, "I'd love to live in whatever rock he's been living under. Probably more cozy than the hole we call a home.
"Very funny," Kino remarked sarcastically, "but for real though. I wonder where that kid could possibly be from..."
-
After speeding through a blur of stalls, tents, and hordes of clamoring Pokémon, Aiden finally stopped in front of a giant oval composed of stone-brick roads. On this oval was a row of massive billboards, five in total, with each one possessing a uniquely colored wooden border. Each billboard contained a collection of posters, some were dense with writing, while others simply had images accompanied by only a few lines of text. Trevor, while catching his breath, noted that many of these posters had been slashed by giant red "X" marks which painfully stuck out.
To the left of the row of billboards stood a Smeargle, whistling a lighthearted tune with his hands laced behind his neck. His paintbrush-like tail was hung over his shoulder, dripping with red ink as he gave a slight nod towards pair as they neared the oval's center.
"Ayo! You fellows an explorer team?" the Smeargle asked.
"Yup," Aiden answered as she crossed her arms confidently, "We're Team Spirit. You may have heard of us."
The Smeargle looked at her quizzically before shrugging. "Fraid not, fella. I'm gonna need some identification."
Slightly crestfallen, Aiden held out the bronze badge she had taken from Trevor's bag earlier. As she presented the glittering insignia for the Smeargle to see, Trevor noticed that, in addition to the key from earlier, the glittering Pokéball also had the word "SPIRIT" etched on its center.
"Guess I should explain," Aiden said as the the badge was examined closely, "Pokémon from all over the world can contact the Explorer Association to make dungeon-related requests. Stuff like finding a specific item or escorting someone to a certain point. The association then prints posters of these missions, with information regarding their clients, information, and rewards, onto these boards for explorer teams like us to find and tackle. These boards tend to update every couple days - the association makes sure to notify teams whenever new missions become available."
Aiden placed a paw on the leftmost board, its frame colored in a deep bronze color, "The different colored frames of these boards represent the different ranks that explorer teams can hold: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, and Platinum. There's even a rank beyond Platinum, but they don't really have a need for jobs at their level. Explorer teams of a specific rank are limited to their colored board - a Gold Rank can't take jobs from a Bronze Rank so that starting teams have opportunities to grow. We're currently Bronze, being a new team and all, but we can easily rank up by doing enough of these missions."
"Hey, you fellas done talking?" the Smeargle asked as he handed Aiden her badge back, "You're all set regarding ID, but I'm afraid you came a tad too late. All of the jobs on the bronze board've all been taken."
"What?! All of them?!" Aiden said, exasperated.
The Smeargle gave a shrug. "Yeah, it's been pretty cutthroat as of late. Tough luck. Try coming earlier next time."
Like before, Aiden could barely contain her disappointment, her ears drooping slightly as she rubbed a paw over one of her eyes. She turned towards Trevor with an feeble smile.
"Sorry, guess I shouldn't have gotten sidetracked. Let's come here earlier next time, yeah?"
Trevor nodded and the pair left the row of request boards to make their way home in low spirits. And yet, Trevor couldn't help but notice how, deep down, a part of him was relieved at the idea that he wouldn't have to face a mystery dungeon for another day. Trevor's heart ached with a gnawing shame as he drudged along behind Aiden.
-
Late morning sifted into early afternoon as Team Spirit made its way through Sunrise Town once again, the many crowds of Pokémon fawning over Alpha having long since dispersed. The pair dragged their feet along the ground as they sulked gloomily, both Pokémon preoccupied with their own thoughts.
"Hey," Aiden murmured weakly as the pair neared the edge of town, "We can't let this bring us down. We may not go on an expedition today, but there's always tomorrow, isn't there? Or maybe the day after that, depending on when the boards update. But either way, we're Team Spirit, and we're gonna rise up in the ranks in no time, just you wait!"
Trevor was barely listening, distracted by the fleeting pieces of what sounded like hysterical shouting from nearby. His dark eyes darted around as he tried pinpointing the source of the shouting, nibbling on his claws all the while. Aiden eventually noticed that his attention his lack of attention.
"Oi, Treph. What're you-" Aiden managed to say before noticing the voices as well, her ears perking up as her head tilted to the side.
"It's probably some stupid argument between some angry teams," Aiden remarked dismissively, "Explorers fight about missions all the time with how quickly they get taken. Some Pokémon need to learn to take a loss once in a while.
"That doesn't sound like an argument," Trevor said absentmindedly as he began scouring the area for the voice's source, "It sounds like a plea."
After a bit of searching, Trevor tracked the location of the voices to a narrow alleyway sandwiched between two massive tents. Peering behind a set of bushes, Trevor immediately noticed an giant, intimidating-looking Gabite. His entire body was covered in a swathe of sharp fins and spikes which accentuated his already larger-than-life presence. His cold, yellow eyes and protruding muzzle contorted themselves into an indignant scowl as he stared down at the tiny Teddiursa meekly staring back with distressed eyes.
"Is that-" Trevor whispered.
"Yep, that's Alpha," Aiden answered, "You remember that rank above Platinum that I mentioned earlier? It's called the Legend Rank, and his dad, Omega, is one of its most famous and pronounced members. Being the son of someone like that, everybody believes that Alpha's bound for greatness as a new explorer. But hold on, they're talking again."
"Please, you have to help him!" the Teddiursa exclaimed.
"I don't have to do anything," Alpha retorted, "I'm already busy with another job. How'd your friend even end up there anyway?"
"It was just a small game," the Teddiursa said shakily, "We took turns taking a few steps into Skybreak Cave before running right out. But I think that he went a bit farther than he should have at one point and hasn't come out since! It's...it's all my fault!"
"Well there you have it. It's all your fault, so you should be the one to fix it. I'm the leader of the Supernovas, a prodigious gold rank team. Don't drag me into such a low level dungeon just because one of your stupid games went wrong."
"Please," the Teddiursa cried out, breaking down into desperate tears, "I don't know how long my friend can last in there! I need your help!"
"Give it a rest already," Alpha hissed bitterly, "Don't you know who I am?! I don't have time for such trivial things when I have more important things to do! Now go away, or I'll make you go away!"
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!"
Aiden abruptly popped out from her hiding spot, leaving Trevor to awkwardly shuffle in shortly after. She stared Alpha down with an apprehensive glare.
"Ugh," Alpha groaned as he began rolling his eyes, "Just great. What do you want?
"The kid needs help, doesn't he? What're you brushing him off for?"
"This doesn't concern you," Alpha grunted annoyedly, "Go away."
"Why're you being so adamant about helping him? Aren't you supposed to be a prodigious explorer?"
"I am, and that dungeon is too low a level for someone of my level. I wouldn't gain anything from such a pathetically easy mission."
"If it's so easy, then just do it!"
"Shut up!" Alpha's eyes narrowed as annoyance turned to anger. "I have better things to do than argue with no-name trash like you."
"Some explorer you are," Aiden said disbelievingly, "I admired you, y'know. I thought you were cool - I wanted to be you!"
Alpha sneered sardonically, revealing a set of impressive, razor-sharp fangs. "Here's a tip, then. From your 'idol.' You don't rise the ladder by being nice, you don't rise as an explorer team by just haphazardly taking on whatever pointless mission gets thrown your way. The only way to succeed in this business is through natural talent and sheer ruthlessness. You step on others to get what you want and focus solely on climbing the ladder." Alpha's eyes burned with raw ferocity. "Nothing else matters."
Aiden stood silently, looking at her former hero with a look of exasperation. "Your father ought to be ashamed," she muttered contemptuously.
Alpha's dark eyes grew wide in fury as he began closing in on Aiden, bringing his face mere inches away from hers. "You got a problem, fool?" he growled, "Believe me, if the cops weren't around I'd tear you apart right here. You know who my father is, so you should be well aware of how insignificant your little team is compared to mine."
"If your natural talents are so special," Trevor broke in after minutes of internal deliberation, "then why not use them to make the world a better place over simply boasting?" Alpha's hateful gaze intensified towards the Meowth, causing him to retreat back behind Aiden meekly. Neither he, nor the Teddiursa dared move an inch as Alpha and Aiden silently stared each other down.
"This jerk isn't worth our time", Aiden suddenly declared as the tense atmosphere reached its peak. "C'mon Treph, we'll just have to help this kid's friend ourselves. She then turned her head to address the Teddiursa. "Hey, follow us - we're Team Spirit, and we'll get your friend out of there. What's your name, by the way?"
"C-Cody," the Teddiursa muttered amidst the occasional sniffle, evidently straining to hold back more tears, "T-thank you." Aiden, Trevor, and Cody silently walked away past the borders of Sunrise Town and began discussing the peculiars of the mission. Alpha, meanwhile, was left alone in the alley, fangs bared, arms twitching, and eyes filled with intense malice.