CHAPTER 5
Rylan let out a lengthy yawn. He had slept very well and felt quite refreshed. In addition to that, the soreness in his leg was starting to diminish. It undoubtedly seemed like today would be better than yesterday.
"Mmmm, Vulpix… So warm and snuggly! Heeeeee..."
Rylan's eyes went wide. Buizel was lying there, right next to him, in the same bed, with his arms firmly wrapped around him, cuddling him like a plush toy.
"GET OFF ME!" Rylan shouted.
Buizel woke up and jumped back, shocked by this. "Hey, what's the big idea?" he yelled.
"You tell me!" Rylan replied. "You were snuggling me up like a teddy bear!"
"I- What?" Buizel's face went red. "Why the heck were you sleeping in Vulpix's bed?"
"She insisted on it," Rylan said.
Before Buizel could continue, they were interrupted by the booming voice of Electrode.
"IT"S TIME TA' RISE AND SHINE, GUILD! THE SUN IS UP!" he screeched.
Vulpix woke up and rubbed her ears. "Well, Electrode does his job well, at least." She looked over at Rylan and Buizel. "Something the matter?" she asked.
Rylan and Buizel looked back and forth at each other and Vulpix. Rylan then shook his head and Buizel nodded.
"Buizel, I let him sleep in my bed," Vulpix said. "Don't get upset with him, please." She stood up and stretched. "I'm heading out to get something to eat. I'll meet you guys there."
After she left the room, Buizel grabbed Rylan and brought their faces together. Buizel was blushing like mad. "Nothing happened," he said.
"Sure," Rylan murmured.
"Nothing!" Buizel hissed. "You didn't see anything! Say it!"
"I didn't see anything," Rylan said with a shrug.
"Good!" Buizel released Rylan and turned around, covering his blushing face. "Of all nights to sleep-snug…" he whimpered.
Rylan stood up and slowly walked out of the room, wanting to take his time. He was hoping that he could go get breakfast without meeting a bunch of Pokémon around the guild.
"Hello!" chirped a couple of voiced simultaneously. Rylan jumped and staggered.
A Plusle and a Minun had appeared in front of Rylan all of a sudden. He caught his breath and looked at the pair of them. "What the heck?"
"You're new around here, aren't you?" chirped Plusle. "I'm Plusle, and this is my brother, Minun."
"And this is my sister, Plusle!" Minun added.
Plusle looked at Minun. "I already introduced myself," she said.
"Indeed you did!" Minun giggled.
"Um… What are you doing?" Rylan asked.
"Just heading to the assembly hall for this morning's mission briefing," Plusle said.
"We just got finished eating," Minun added. "Are you new to the guild?"
"Yeah," Rylan replied.
"Got a partner yet?" asked Plusle.
"No." Rylan shook his head.
Plusle and Minun smiled. "You're welcome to join our team if you want to!" they said happily.
"Err… Thank you," Rylan said.
Plusle and Minun skipped off to the assembly hall together. Rylan admired their enthusiasm, but he didn't really want to partner up with them. He resumed walking toward the mess hall when he noticed a trio of Pokémon standing in the assembly hall, talking to each other. He approached them to get a closer look, but kept his distance.
The trio consisted of a Hakamo-o, a Zweilous, and a Gabite. All three looked rather intimidating. They must be a team, Rylan thought. He attempted to walk around them, but Zweilous noticed him pretty quickly, then walked over to him.
"Good morning," said the left head.
"You must be new," said the right head.
"Y-yeah…" said Rylan, not sure what to make of being spoken to by two heads on one body.
Zweilous looked him over. "You look like a promising Pokémon," said the left head.
"But if you wanted to become part of our team, unfortunately, you cannot," said the right head.
"You see, the guild has a ranking system," said the left head. "Recruits must start from the bottom and work their way up."
"Our team is currently Moon Rank," said the right head. "You would have to select a Starting Rank team."
"Okay," Rylan replied.
"You seem a little scared," said the left head. "Are we intimidating you?"
"A bit…" Rylan admitted.
The two heads smiled. "You don't have to worry about us," said the right head. "You have any problem, you come talk to Team Drake. We got your back. Good luck today."
Rylan nodded and resumed walking toward the mess hall.
After managing to make it the rest of the way, Rylan obtained his breakfast and sat down to eat, though far away from everyone else. Several pairs of curious eyes glanced over at him, but he was reluctant to pass along a greeting.
Soon, the hall had emptied out except for Rylan, who was still eating, and a female Nidoran, who was still watching him. Rylan noticed the Nidoran out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was blushing slightly as she stared at him. Rylan gulped down the rest of his food quickly and left without saying anything to her.
After all of the guild members had gathered in the assembly hall, a rather tall, tough-looking Pokémon made his way to the front of the crowd.
"Gallade," Vulpix whispered in Rylan's ear. "He's Aggron's second-in-command."
Gallade cleared his throat. "Attention, Pokémon," he said in a firm tone. "Before I begin the briefing, the Guildmaster has a few words he would like to say. Please listen up."
Gallade stepped aside and Aggron entered the room, taking his place.
"Good morning, all," Aggron said. "There are two things I shall discuss before we go about our business. First of all, a new companion has joined our ranks as an official explorer."
Rylan sat down and buried his face in his paws, shaking like a leaf. Was it really necessary to draw all this attention towards him?
Aggron smiled and pointed to Rylan amongst the crowd of Pokémon. "This Riolu, who goes by the name of Rylan, has agreed to join us for as long as he deems necessary. How long he stays with us remains to be seen, given he has a personal task to complete when the occasion arrives, but until such time, he is your newest ally and I expect you all to treat him with respect. Is that clear?"
Several shouts of "Yes, sir!" rang throughout the room. Vulpix smiled as she shouted it, though Buizel didn't seem very enthusiastic about it.
"Also, Rylan," Aggron continued, "you have yet to join a team. I expect you've met a few faces this morning, correct?"
"Yes, sir," Rylan answered. He had only met three new faces, though, and while Zweilous seemed like a good companion to be around, he couldn't join him. But there were two Starting Rank explorers he did know.
"Have you decided whose team you wish to join?" Aggron asked.
Rylan felt no need to give this choice any second thoughts. "I'd like to join Vulpix's team," he replied.
Vulpix beamed with delight as Rylan spoke those words. Buizel looked utterly horrified, as though he wouldn't survive another day at the guild.
"Vulpix and Buizel," Aggron addressed, "if you have any reservations about accepting Rylan as your newest teammate, speak now."
Buizel attempted to say something, but he choked on his first syllable. He didn't want Rylan to join their team, but he didn't want to stir up any arguments either. His reason for disliking Rylan was completely irrational in Aggron's eyes, and he feared he'd cause an upset if he said, "I don't want a human on my team." He withdrew his comment and kept his mouth shut.
"Then it's settled," Aggron said. "Rylan is now the third member of your team."
"Welcome aboard," Vulpix whispered to Rylan. "Trust me, you won't regret becoming an explorer."
"The second thing I want to address," Aggron continued, "is that we will soon be evaluating every member of the guild based on their performances to determine who shall qualify to participate in our next expedition. I expect each and every one of you to put forth your best effort. Try new things and don't let failure bring you down. Are we clear?"
"Yes, sir!" rang throughout the room once again.