CHAPTER 11

The Pokémon climbed the steps and Slowking knocked on the door. Rylan, Buizel, and Vulpix were relieved to be back.

"Who's there?" asked Gallade's voice from inside.

"Team Tranquility," Slowking replied. "Mission accomplished. Vulpix's team has been successfully returned."

"Thank goodness," Gallade said, hastily opening the door and letting them all inside. "Are you all right?" he asked Rylan and the other two. They nodded in reply.

"It's been a long and confusing day for us," Buizel said. "We'll explain tomorrow."

"Okay," said Gallade. "Your punishment has been changed to no meal tonight before bed, and it applies to you as well, Rylan, on account of sneaking out without permission. Get yourselves some sleep." He turned to Slowking and his team. "Thanks again."

"Always a pleasure," Slowking said with a bow. Team Tranquility returned to their room upstairs.

Rylan, Vulpix, and Buizel entered their room, and were surprised to see that the third bed had been finished.

Vulpix smiled. "I recognize Nidoran's handiwork. She's good at assembling these beds."

"Nidoran?" Rylan asked. He then recalled the meek Poison Pokémon that had been watching him during breakfast. "She did this?"

Vulpix nodded. "Yep. She must really like you. She doesn't do that for just anyone."

"Oh, so someone's got a secret admirer?" Buizel laughed.

"Oh, shut up," Rylan said, blushing.

"Nidoran doesn't say much, but she's a good friend and a good listener," Vulpix said. "You should talk to her."

"We'll see," said Rylan. "I should at least thank her for finishing the bed."

Rylan was relieved at the thought of not waking up to Buizel snuggling him in his sleep.

"Well then, let's get some shuteye," Buizel said. "Goodnight."

"Night night," said Vulpix.

The three of them curled up in their beds. Vulpix and Buizel fell asleep quickly, but Rylan was having trouble settling down. He had a lot on his mind. There was the attack he used on Raticate, making his peace with Buizel, Houndoom knowing something about him, and now the Guildmaster was out of sorts. Today had certainly added a lot to his plate. He grabbed his explorer backpack, attempting to use it as a makeshift pillow.

"Ow! What the…?"

He felt something solid inside the backpack. He never recalled putting anything in there, and it was empty when Aggron handed it to him. Confused, he unzipped the pack and withdrew the solid object. It looked like a small conch shell of some sort, and there was a note attached to it. He detached the note and opened it up. His room was dim, but he was just able to make out the written message.

"Rylan," he read, "it pains me to learn that you have forgotten who you are. Unfortunately, I cannot reveal to you what you need to know until we can meet face to face. As circumstance would have it, I have been branded an outlaw in this world, and I am constantly on the run. If you're reading this message, our chance to meet was not favorable at the moment. However, I have a secondary idea. Keep hold of this conch shell. When it starts to glow a bright silver color, I need you to seek out Shell Island. That is where you and I will meet. Best wishes until then."

Whoever this person was to Rylan, it seemed obvious that they knew each other in the human world. But this person was also a criminal in this world, meaning he or she would more than likely be a Pokémon. Several questions rolled over and over through Rylan's mind, but sleep began to take hold over him before long. He slipped the shell back into his backpack and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.

A strange dream began to take shape in Rylan's mind as he slept. He looked around, seeing that he was still in the team's room and Vulpix and Buizel were still asleep. He sat down in his bed and relaxed. Suddenly, the room began to shake and pieces of it began to fall away into what looked like a bright, swirling abyss. Frightened, Rylan clung tightly to his bed, watching the entire room disappear, followed by his sleeping teammates, leaving him and his bed suspended alone in midair above the abyss.

"What's happening?" he cried.

A giant silhouette appeared before him, and its shape appeared to be human. "I'm happening," it said.

"Who are you?" Rylan asked.

"You wouldn't know," said the silhouette, "and you're not ready to know who I am. Who you are. I'm in so much pain…"

"What do you mean?" Rylan asked. The silhouette fell silent, then disappeared. Rylan screamed in fear as his bed suddenly began to fall down into the ominous vortex.

"EVERYONE UP!" Electrode's voice screeched. "IT'S MORNING!"

"Waaaaaaah!" Rylan gasped. The dream went dark, and his body felt heavy. He opened his eyes and found himself back in the safety of his team's room. There was no vortex there to swallow him up and his teammates were safe. Rubbing their ears after the loud wake-up call, they slowly got out of bed and stretched.

"Good morning, Vulpix," Buizel yawned.

"Morning," Vulpix replied. "And you too, Ry-"

Vulpix stared down at Rylan. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You're shaking like a leaf and covered in sweat."

"B-bad dream…" Rylan stammered. "I'm fine."

"Well, let's get something to eat," Vulpix said. "I'm starving." She and Buizel left the room and walked over to the mess hall, chatting with a few guild members along the way.

"I'm coming," Rylan said, getting to his feet and slowly following behind his teammates.

"Hee hee…" a voice behind him chuckled. Rylan jumped, noticing a Gastly floating around near him.

"Please don't scare me like that," Rylan gasped.

"Why not?" Gastly asked. "It's good fun. Watch this."

Chuckling to himself, Gastly snuck up behind Vulpix and poked her with his long tongue. Startled, Vulpix turned around.

"Boo," Gastly said, getting right up in her face and grinning mischievously.

"Ack!" Vulpix yelped.

Gastly snickered and flew off.

"That's his definition of funny?" Rylan asked. "What's with him?"

"He… He doesn't mean to cause any harm…" said a gentle, timid voice. Rylan looked to his left and saw Nidoran standing there, partially hiding behind a wall. She was blushing slightly as she looked at Rylan.

"You know him, then?" Rylan asked.

"…It's just his nature," Nidoran explained. "Gastly likes to spook people but he certainly wouldn't hurt any of his fellow guild members. No need to worry about him…"

"You're…Nidoran, right?" Rylan asked, approaching her.

Nidoran appeared to be resisting the urge to shy away from Rylan. "Yes, I am," she said.

"Thank you," said Rylan. "You know, for fixing my bed and all."

"Oh, it was nothing, really," Nidoran replied. "I was actually hoping…maybe…"

Rylan looked at her confusedly. He started to assume that this Nidoran had some sort of attraction towards him, but he had no idea how to ask her if she did without embarrassing her or himself.

"Hoping what?" he asked. He started to blush a little himself, mostly because he was afraid of saying the wrong thing to her.

"Can I…sit with your team while we eat?" she asked politely.

Rylan gulped. "Um…I don't see why not," he replied. "Sure."

Nidoran smiled. "Thanks," she said. "Can my teammate join as well?"

Rylan nodded his head. Smiling appreciatively, Nidoran walked into the mess hall, passing Buizel, who was standing at the corner of the hall entryway. Rylan headed in that direction and was about to enter the mess hall, but not before he heard Buizel let out a faint chuckle.

"Someone's got a girlfriend," he sneered.

"Shut up!" Rylan hissed. "It's nothing like that. She just wants to eat with us."

Pretty soon, all of the guild's members were present in the hall, holding private discussions among their teams. Rylan and his team sat down to eat, and Nidoran sat down nearby, along with her teammate, a Wingull.

Wingull looked at Nidoran. "Are you sure we should tell them? They might get worried."

Nidoran nodded. "It may be just a rumor, but it could be important." She turned to look at Rylan's team. "Based on what happened to them last night, it's safe to assume they want to find out, anyway."