CHAPTER 4

Aggron, Vulpix, and Buizel soon headed back to the guild, Rylan tagging along behind. He felt a lot better after apologizing to Vulpix. When the group arrived at their destination, Rylan sat down on the front steps.

"What are you doing, Rylan?" asked Vulpix.

"I'd like to sleep out here tonight, if that's okay with Aggron," replied Rylan.

Buizel scratched his head. "Why would you sleep out here on the steps? There are several warmer places where you could sleep."

"Yeah," Rylan said, "but I'm not familiar with this place at all. I don't want to get lost."

Aggron looked at Rylan. "You really are something else," he laughed. "True, Pokémon can lose their way, but you should never be scared of trying."

"About that…" Vulpix started, but she was quickly interrupted by Buizel. "Please don't bring that up again," he said.

"The Guildmaster should know this. It's important," said Vulpix. She turned to face Aggron. "Rylan used to be human. He entered this world with no memory of who he is or where he came from."

"Absurd!" said Buizel. Rylan glared at him.

"A human transformed into a Pokémon?" Aggron asked. "Definitely peculiar, but not impossible."

Buizel gawked at Aggron, a look of surprise on his face. "Guildmaster?"

Aggron laughed. "In fact, as I recall, there has been a similar instance. Several years ago, an acquaintance of mine, Wigglytuff, recruited two bright young prospects into his guild. One of them was a human who had been transformed into a Pokémon."

Vulpix smiled, finding this very interesting. Buizel's gaze never left Aggron's face as this was explained. Rylan was just as transfixed as Buizel.

"There was another?" Rylan asked. "Is there any way I can meet this Pokémon?"

"You would have to seek out Wigglytuff's guild," Aggron replied. "It's pretty far away from here, on a separate continent."

"I'll just get lost on my own," Rylan said. "Can you help me?"

"Hmm… I think I know a better solution," Aggron said. "There is a Pelipper Post Office to the east of the guild, at the edge of the forest. You can go there and send a letter to Wigglytuff."

"Sounds good," Rylan said. "Thank you."

"However," Aggron added, "there is one more issue I wanted to address. What are you going to do about finding a place to stay?"

Rylan looked down and shifted his feet. "I honestly don't know," he replied.

"I must make my point clear that only members of the guild are allowed to live inside of it," Aggron said. There was a hint of encouragement in his voice as he spoke. "I'd be more than happy to accept you into my guild if you want to join."

"What could I possibly gain from that?" Rylan asked. "It would seem like I'm just in it for food and a place to sleep. I don't want to take advantage of your generosity."

"I can train you," Aggron offered. "I can teach you to defend yourself against vicious Pokémon."

"Exploring is an amazing experience, Rylan," Vulpix added. "Buizel and I would be honored to show you the basics."

The look on Buizel's face clearly insinuated he'd feel the exact opposite. It was obvious that he didn't take a liking to this former human.

"I don't know…" Rylan said. "Can I think about this for a moment?" he asked.

"Certainly," Aggron replied.

What should he do, Rylan asked himself. He had been letting everything go the wrong way ever since he arrived here. This could be his big chance to take the right course of action, and Vulpix and Aggron are standing here, offering to help him.

Rylan nodded his head slowly. "I've decided. Even if it's just for a little while, or until I find a way to get home, I'd like to become a member of the guild."

Vulpix's expression brightened "All right!" she exclaimed. Buizel didn't look too pleased.

"Then it's settled," Aggron said with a smile. "You are henceforth a member of Aggron's Exploration Guild. Get yourself a good night's sleep, then meet me in my quarters tomorrow morning for your initiation."

Rylan nodded again. "All right."

"Oh, and one more thing," said Aggron. "Since you did not bring along a partner to register with, I am going to assign you to one of my current teams. The first thing you should know about exploring is to never head out by yourself. You can train yourself up for years, but it's still risky to venture out without backup. I'd advise you to get to know a few faces around the guild tomorrow so you can make a good selection."

"Okay," Rylan replied. The thought of getting to know a few faces made Rylan start to feel queasy again. Aggron smiled at Rylan's expression and led the three smaller Pokémon back into the guild.

As the four of them entered, a pair of watchful eyes gazed at them from beyond the trees. A sleek and stealthy Houndoom had been watching them for some time, and he immediately scampered off to the outskirts of the forest once they were out of sight.

"That's definitely him," he said to himself. "It's gotta be."

The Houndoom soon came across a waterfall near a cliff. A shadowy figure residing near the waterfall looked up as the Houndoom approached him.

"Did you find him?" the concealed figure asked.

"Affirmative," Houndoom replied. "The Riolu was referred to as 'Rylan' and there was a piece of the key around his neck."

"Thank you," the figure said.

"Now, about that reward, if you don't mind…" Houndoom said. The dark figure reached down into a bag and pulled out several gold coins. Houndoom eagerly accepted them.

"Keep an eye on him if you can," said the figure. "I'll do what I can to keep the authorities off your tail."

"Best news I've heard all day," Houndoom sighed. "I'm tired of running."

Back at the guild, Buizel was fast asleep, trying to put today's experience out of his mind. However, he couldn't get over the fact that Rylan used to be human and that Vulpix was going to be punished because she left to go and find him. Vulpix, however, was still awake, trying to assemble a bed for Rylan so he could sleep comfortably.

"I said I'll be fine sleeping on the floor," Rylan said. "You don't have to go through all this trouble for me."

"I want to," Vulpix said.

"But I haven't done anything to deserve your kindness," said Rylan.

Vulpix chuckled. "Oh, don't be silly. I don't help others expecting that they've done something to deserve it. I help others because I want to."

Rylan sighed and smiled a little. "I don't think I'll ever understand you."

"Same goes for me," Vulpix said. "I don't think I'll ever understand you."

Vulpix groaned in frustration as she tried to assemble the bed, but couldn't seem to do it properly. In addition to that, she was getting very sleepy. She sighed and stopped.

"…Rylan? Here, you can take my bed. I'll sleep in this unfinished one," she said.

"What?" Rylan asked. "No, really, I can't-"

"You can and you will." Vulpix stood up, grabbed Rylan by the tail, and dragged him over to her bed.

"Huh? What? Hey!" Rylan yelped.

"Please, sleep there," Vulpix said quietly. "Don't worry about me." She curled up on the mess of a bed she tried to make and closed her eyes.

Rylan felt terrible and quite guilty. He had done nothing to deserve such treatment from Vulpix, and her kindness seemed boundless. Not wanting to argue, he curled up in Vulpix's bed.

"Thanks," he said quietly to Vulpix.

Feeling rather sleepy himself, Rylan gazed up at the ceiling and put his paws behind his head.

"Say, Rylan…?" Vulpix asked.

Rylan rolled over to face her as she called him. "What is it?"

"I'm just curious… That thing you've got around your neck… What exactly is it?"

Rylan shrugged, picked the item up off his chest, and examined it. It didn't appear to be anything he recognized. It just looked like half of a broken key. It had been hanging on a necklace around his neck, but he wasn't aware of the significance of this item, nor did he know where he got it.

"I don't know," he responded. "I…just…have it. That's all I know."

"Do you think it has some connection to your human self?" Vulpix asked.

"That's my first guess," Rylan replied. "I don't remember anything about my human life, so I think it's safe to assume this came with me from my world. I just wish I knew more about it."

Rylan took a good look at the key piece, examining it thoroughly, hoping he could remember something about it. He soon found something engraved on the back, though it was written in a language he didn't understand. He decided he would investigate this further as soon as he could.