Chapter 1: Meet the Recruits

The ocean waves lapped the beach, touching his body with cold brisk water. Something wasn't right, though. Twitching his ears, he rubbed his paws against his face. Sparks of electricity came from the fluffy spots on his cheeks. Something… wasn't right.

He sat up and looked over himself. His fur was yellow and short. However, there were fading images in his mind of a time when he had been peach and tall. It seemed like there had been a monstrous threat to the existence of the whole wide world which he had set himself to thwarting by any means possible… wait a minute… that wasn't right either. That was positively loony.

Looking around at the beach, much of the sand seemed undisturbed. However, there were ashes remaining of some bonfire, and some chick's lost ribbon. He was, without a doubt, a Pikachu. Last night, he had been at a beach party. As for what happened and why his head ached the way it did, he wasn't sure. While shifting through weird images, he came across an idea.

"Okay, who the heck put an X-Eye Seed into the punch?!!" the Pikachu shouted. And he had been doing so well with that Shinx girl too, boasting that soon he would…

He looked over at the eastern sky; the sun was above the autumn trees.

"Ah rock smash, I'm late!" He rushed back along the beach, taking a shortcut through the woods to reach Treasure Town faster. The dry leaves crackled under his paws, stirring up some roosting bird Pokemon. However, the Pikachu didn't care. If he couldn't sleep in, neither should anybody else.

He ran through the southern part of Treasure Town and went straight for the Marowak Dojo. It was a building standing all by its lonesome self, dome shaped like every other one in town. This one had a horned skull decoration on top, which always struck the Pikachu as rather creepy and morbid. Shuddering, he zipped in the door and into the entrance room.

It was a warm and earthy place, with a dirt floor, a colorful patterned rug, and more bones decorating the walls. The Pikachu got onto the rug, calling, "Sorry I'm late, I was… I was… huh?"

When he looked around, he only saw two others there. There was a Treecko over by an oversized skull. His red paw grips held onto a large brown book, hiding much of his body, aside from his scaly green feet. Poking his reptilian head over the book, the Treecko said, "You're early."

"Wha, huh?" the Pikachu asked. "But the sun was over the trees…"

"It's just now rising."

"But…" When he glanced out the window, though, the Treecko was proven right. The sun was just coming up over the horizon.

"Time's screwed up; live with it." He ducked his head back behind the book to keep reading.

"Huh." He looked over at the other Pokemon in the room. It was a female creature, but of a decidedly odd appearance. Her five-fingered thin paws hooked together over her black knees, and her long white hair fell partly over the left side of her face. Behind that hair were turquoise blue eyes, looking curiously at him. The Pikachu smiled. "Hey there, chick. What's your name?"

She smiled and waved, then made some odd motions with both paws. But she didn't speak.

"Um, yeah," the Pikachu said. Weird girl, he thought to himself.

A part of Treasure Town that was usually ignored was thriving with activity. The Marowak Dojo was a large bone-covered dome that stood over one of the few Pokemon-made Mystery Dungeons in existence. As the owner of said dungeon, Bartholomew the Marowak was able to allow adventurers, explorers, and civilians alike inside for training in a safe environment. But since this training dungeon wasn't as lush or as treasure-stocked as regular dungeons, most who would dare go in preferred to go to the 'real' thing.

Today was different. Today was recruitment day for the local Explorers Guild. As they had to test the applicants in a controlled environment, the Marowak Dojo was the perfect place to hold recruitment. Bartholomew knew this; he had spent weeks prepping and spiffying up his business to look as impressive as possible. That should get them to come back later for all their training needs, he considered.

There was a group of nine applicants, along with ten of the resident members of the guild and a Magnemite from the Sheriff's office. There were some applicants he saw every day around town, as well as others that he didn't recognize. This included one very strange looking Pokemon that Bartholomew couldn't even identify. The odd female creature sat by the wall in a quiet excitement.

Wigglytuff's right hand 'mon, a Chatot, flapped his black wings for attention. "Excuse me! Quiet down, if you will. Welcome to recruitment day! We thank you all for showing interest in becoming brave explorers in our fine guild. I am the Head of Intelligence, Charlie Chatot, and this is our Guildmaster, the famous Bartleby Wigglytuff!" He spread his right wing to the tall pink Pokemon, who twitched his long ears in reply. "Now if you'll wait a moment, I'd like to make sure that everyone is gathered." He took out a piece of paper and held it in his wings to read.

The guild members looked bored already, while the recruits waited nervously.

"We have… Marian the Mudkip… Stacy the Squirtle… Poppy the Piplup… Benny the Bulbasaur… Trey the Treecko… Kichu the Pikachu… and Maxwell the Munchlax. That's the guild list. Who do you have, Magnemite?"

The little magnet Pokemon sparked. "The sheriff's office sends the former outlaw Kip the Skitty, who seeks to offer his services in tandem with his punishment for breaking the law. He is not terribly dangerous, just tricky."

Kip lowered his pink ears. "Sheesh, 'mon, you make it sound like I'm some loser scrub."

"Okay, we shall watch him good," Bartleby said cheerily.

"Right. Wait, you said there were nine applicants. I only have eight including the Skitty."

The Guildmaster clapped his paws together. "Oh, right! Here you go." He handed over a handwritten note.

Charlie took it. "Okay, then we also have Sally the Human… wait, human?"

The other Pokemon in the room whispered curiously. A human? Wasn't that a creature only of myth? They weren't Pokemon, yet they weren't mindless animals. Some stories said that humans did wonderful and magical things. Other stories said that humans were treacherous and deadly.

But then the odd female creature got up and walked over to the group. As she stood, Bartholomew could see that she was awkwardly tall and slender. She was mostly hairless save for a pair of eyebrows and white hair that covered most of her head and fell down to her waist. And she wore a rather large number of accessories. While most Pokemon would only wear a bow or a bracelet, Sally wore a yellow top of loose fabric with tighter black bottoms. She also had strange metal sleeves covering the entirety of both forearms, with matching devices on her feet. Another device of odd transparent material hung around her neck, connected to something hidden under her cloth top.

"Yes, that's what she is," Bartleby replied.

"Bu-but what's a human doing here?" Charlie asked. "They only live in lands that are far away over the seas. So where did she come from? And she dwarfs everyone in the guild! She could step on some of the smaller ones like Junior the Diglett."

"I don't know where she came from; she only speaks with her hands and I don't understand that very well."

Sally moved her hands through a series of signs, but Bartholomew (and everyone else in the room) didn't know what to make of them.

"So she doesn't speak?" Charlie asked, not liking that fact.

"Nope," Bartleby replied, not caring one bit. "She's actually deaf, but she has these magic ear things that lets her hear. Sally can understand us just fine."

"It's your decision," Charlie said, although he clearly disapproved. "A deaf mythical creature… All right, so then. We thank you all for applying. Your first test is to go through Bartholomew's first maze. It is a simple three level dungeon, but gives you a realistic feel for going through real Mystery Dungeons." Bartholomew frowned under his skull mask, but no one took note. "After the three levels, you will find a warp floor with a special box. Bring that box back as proof that you completed the maze. If you get knocked out by the wild Pokemon, the traps, the pitfalls, or anything else in there, you will be safely transported out and taken care of. But don't worry; nothing can seriously harm you inside. Keep in mind that dungeons are chaotic places. The hallway you just went through may lead to a completely different room if you turn back. In this dungeon, the passage to the next level takes the form of wooden stairs. In other dungeons, such passages have different appearances."

"Good luck, and have fun!" Bartleby cheered.

The next couple of hours, Bartholomew was more concerned with monitoring his Dojo's energy than with watching some inexperienced recruits try to get through the simplest maze. Mystery Dungeons were wild magical places and wild magic had an irritating habit of not doing what the user wanted. The tamed magic that Pokemon used to produce explosions, wind, shields, and so on, that stuff always did the exact same thing every single time. Wild magic did whatever the heck it wanted.

To make a Mystery Dungeon of somewhat reliable consistency, Bartholomew had to constantly shuffle energy. The plasma sources of magic had to be switched and manipulated so that they didn't go berserk. The metal wires that made up the routes of magic had to be shifted, disconnected, reconnected, rerouted, and cut off so that it didn't burn anything out and cause a chaotic monster house point.

In this case, he had to put specific treasures inside the maze and make sure they stayed put until the recruits picked them up. Most treasure, when dropped or lost in a Mystery Dungeon, was at risk of being stolen. Not only by thief Pokemon like Kip the Skitty, but also by gremlins. Gremlins were little greedy creatures that most people didn't see. The few witnesses only caught glimpses. The best description of the gremlins was that they were short, shabby, and ugly. Even Marowak Dojo attracted a hive of gremlins. Bartholomew had to employ various strategic measures to make sure that his supplies, any test treasures, and anything really valuable were safe from the gremlins' dirty paws.

Bartholomew did come back to the main room when the last of the guild recruits came in. Charlie the Chatot called for attention again. "All right then. Who came back with the treasure boxes?"

The Squirtle, the Treecko, the Skitty, and the human all produced small yellow boxes. Three other recruits seemed disappointed in themselves that they didn't find a box. The other two, including the Pikachu, had gotten injured enough that they had to be taken to the doctor.

"Great, then you four have passed our first test," Charlie said, happily flapping his wings. "As for the three of you, you made a fine effort, but I'm afraid that we have to ask you to leave now. Maybe we'll see you in better shape next time."

"Stupid poison spike trap," one of the rejected ones muttered as the three of them left the Dojo.

"As for the four of you, great work! For the two weeks of your initial training, you will be working as a team. Once those two weeks are over, you will be tested again. At that point, you may decide to stay as a team, or split up and join some of our other guild teams with approval of their leaders. Now, you may open the boxes you found and take the treasure inside as your own."

There were some cheers, both from the current Guild members and the new recruits. "Eek, there's so many new people this time!" the Sunflora cheered.

"I hope you new guys are ready for a tough job!" the Loudred added.

Opening the boxes, the Treecko found a bright ribbon of a Yellow Bow, while the Squirtle next to him found a black headgear in a Detect Band. They both looked a little wary (or embarrassed) of their treasures and quietly arranged a trade that seemed to satisfy them. The Skitty found a Pecha Scarf, a creamy yellow-orange length of fabric that, when he wrapped it around his neck, dragged along the ground because it was two sizes too big. The human found a pair of darkly colored glasses. However, the glasses had been made to fit a smaller Pokemon like her new teammates. It was way too small for her face, so she simply shrugged and tucked them into a pocket on her top.

"Also, you get these to start with!" Charlie hopped over and handed out three odd brown bags with adjustable straps.

"Great, Treasure Bags!" the Treecko exclaimed. "An absolute must have for explorers. They can hold a lot of stuff, even things that seem too big for it. Just never put a Treasure Bag into another Treasure Bag. The result isn't pretty."

"That's exactly right," Charlie said, bobbing his note-topped head. "Even that last bit; I'm amazed that a young Pokemon like you would know that kind of thing."

He seemed bashful and patted his snout. "I studied for this, really hard."

"Hey, why don't I get one?" Kip the Skitty asked.

"Because even if you have reformed, you have a history of thievery," the Magnemite officer stated.

"Aw rock smash," he grumbled, swishing his tail.

"Prove yourself trustworthy and we might see about that," Bartleby said.

"Yeah, really prove yourself," Charlie said, indicating that it would take a lot for him to trust Kip with a Treasure Bag. "Now, these bags will currently hold sixteen items. But as you prove yourselves to be more effective and stronger explorers, they can be expanded to hold even more. So work hard! Now, we'll take you to the guild and show you around."

"Congratulations, guys," the Marowak said as the group left the Dojo. They would be back a few times over their initial training course. He had to make sure they would want to come back after that.

The local Guild headquarters was located northeast of Treasure Town, on a cliff that faced a wide river. At the edges of the wide path, there were totem poles depicting various Pokemon placed between large torches which were just being started up in the evening light. The building itself seemed to be a giant Wigglytuff dome, with a gated entrance under its chin. In front of that, there was a circular hole in the ground covered by a hefty grate.

"This is the main entrance," Charlie said. "That hole in the ground is for our security; you'll likely be learning about that in the coming days. There are a few other entrances, but as the newest apprentices, you won't be told about them."

"They won't even tell me," a Bidoof said quietly to Stacy the Squirtle.

"Oh really?" she asked back quietly.

"Well I did just come from the last recruitment day, so that's probably why. Still, I can't figure out where'd those entrances would be."

"Our security is very important," Charlie went on, as the gate opened. "So don't be trying to do anything clever by sneaking inside. Now, follow me."

Inside, there was one large room with a hole. A rustic looking ladder led down. While the doorway was large enough that Sally the human could walk under even though she was six feet tall, the ladder had many closely put together rungs for the ease of smaller Pokemon. Sally had to carefully look for larger extended rungs made for bigger creatures like herself.

The next floor was wide and open. There were three halls trailing off in the southern part of the room and another ladder hole next to the one leading to the entrance, both at the northern part of the room. Four large boards dominated the walls while a scattering of various sized benches were grouped into circles.

"This is the work floor," Charlie explained. "The two largest boards there are the job boards, where various tasks are posted for explorers to complete. The third board with the chalk is for you to leave messages for each other or whatever you like, so long as you don't post anything vulgar or ridiculous. The fourth board has tips and strategies that you might want to study up on, although some might be posted on the chalk board if the established explorer groups feel generous. This room can also be used for group discussions, although we do have spaces for private meetings if you feel the need for them. Down those halls are various offices of people who do the day to day tasks of running the Guild for the explorers, such as Chiaka the Chimecho here. Please be nice to these folks, as we appreciate their hard work."

"Yeah!" the current guild apprentices cheered, making the recruits feel a bit out of the loop.

Down on the next floor, there was another wide open space. This one seemed more relaxed than the other, as some flowers grew in a long bed by the window. There was yet another ladder going down, two halls going out from the east and west sides, and a hall going north.

"This is the living quarters for those who stay at the guild, including you apprentices," Charlie explained. "The floor below is the storage level, so you won't be able to access all of it. Back there is the Guildmaster's office. Over there on the west is the mess hall and over on the east is the dormitories. You new recruits get rooms 3A and 3B. The males go in the A rooms, and the females go in the B rooms."

"What about genderless?" Trey the Treecko asked.

"They can sleep wherever they feel like," Charlie answered. "But we don't have any right now, so there's no problem. So that's it for your tour. Any questions?"

The recruits glanced at each other. The Chatot wasn't the easiest person to listen to, as he was explaining the most basic things to everyone as if they were idiots. If they had a question, maybe the other apprentices could answer them better.

"All right, then welcome to your new home!"

Kip stumbled as he walked down the hall. "Fudge," he grumbled, then pulled off the Pecha Scarf and threw it on the ground. "It looks wicked cool on me, but tripping ain't my style." He scampered into room 3A and checked out the straw beds.

"Not much different than my room back home," Tray noted, examining the contents of the room. Aside from the beds, there wasn't much. A chest to keep stuff in, or to use its flat top as a table. A small round window that looked out over the river and forest. A low bench. That was it.

"It's got a roof," Kip pointed out. "It's perfect." He settled into one of the beds to test it out and was soon quite relaxed with his pink tail curled around his body.

The girls went to room 3B. On the way, Sally picked up the Pecha Scarf and looked it over.

"You'd think a thief wouldn't toss away something he could sell," Stacy noted. "Maybe he's… hey, we've got beds!" The Squirtle went into the room and looked about at everything with glee. Her long tail curled and uncurled in excitement.

Sally ducked into the room; apparently, they didn't expect their apprentices to be so tall. The straw beds were too small for her, so she looked around to figure out some way for her to lay down.

"Oh, Sally, Stacy!" The Sunflora peered into the room. "Oh my gosh, so awesome to have more girls around! I'm Flora. Hey, I'm real sorry about not having enough straw for you, Sally. We weren't expecting someone so big."

She shrugged and made some movements with her hands. She seemed to realize that the other two didn't understand it, so looked disappointed. Then, after another look around, she moved the trunk and bench so that she could have a wall to curl against.

Flora smiled. "Well, we might be able to arrange things in a day or two, like getting a water bed for you."

Stacy replied, "I'd be okay without one, but it would be nice to have." Sleeping underwater would keep her blue skin in better condition, but her dark brown shell was now strong enough to keep her from drying out too much.

"It's no trouble. Anyhow, dinner won't be long off, so don't go sleeping just yet."

"I'm so excited," Stacy said, trying to help Sally even when she didn't need it. "I didn't think I'd actually make it in, but wow, I did. This is going to be so amazing. I hope we'll all be good friends."

The human smiled back at her.

Dinner at the Guild was a noisy affair. It was the apprentices, the workers, the Guildmaster, and his assistant, but apparently any team affiliated with the guild was welcome to drop in if they wanted. The recruit team sat together, eating and not sure what to talk to each other about.

Except for Stacy, who happily chattered about dreams of exploring. "It must be so exciting to venture into unknown lands, finding clues about historical mysteries and discovering treasures once thought lost. Maybe we'll see something that has never been seen before."

"Well there's lots of exploring teams out there," Trey pointed out. "But there may still be unknowns in the world."

"Unowns?" Kip mocked, then laughed.

"Not that," Stacy retorted.

"Problem is, the most mysterious dungeons are the most dangerous," Trey went on. "They wouldn't send a new group like us to investigate them. I've read a lot about dungeons before. They seem really dangerous, but if you can outsmart the dungeon, you will be rewarded."

"That is true," Kip said, patting at a berry in his bowl. "As a wise 'mon once told me, 'Sometimes the dungeon loves you, and sometimes it wants to put you through heck'."