Chapter 25: The Guild Graduation Challenge

"GOOD MORNING, EVERYBODY!"

"Go away. Please."

"SHADDUP CHARLIE!"

At that daily meeting, Bartleby had an announcement to make. "Okay everyone, today we are holding the graduation test!"

"What?" a bunch of the apprentices asked. Bobby added, "Gosh, I hadn't heard anything about a test coming up."

"Of course you haven't heard about it," Charlie said. "Otherwise, it wouldn't be a test. Guildmaster?"

Bartleby flicked his ears. "Right. Now, some of you have gone through the graduation test, and some of you have not. So here's how it goes. You are all to explore the Mystifying Forest today."

"Mystifying Forest isn't so bad," Stacy said. "I went in there before I joined the Guild."

"Yes, but you will find certain obstacles to your progress today," Charlie noted. "You are to go deep into the forest, either alone or in your regular teams. At a certain point, you will find a treasure chest with the Guild seal on it. Bring the item inside to prove that you found it and you have passed the test." He flapped his wings. "Those chests will only be there today, so get to it!"

"Have fun!" Bartleby added with a cheer.

Team Marmalade went off to get supplies, then gathered at the crossroads outside of town. "We might have it easier, since there's four of us," Stacy said.

"That, and we tricked freaking Dialga, the creator of all time," Kip pointed out. "We've also got a legendary killer on our side."

"Hey!" Trey said in indignation.

"He's not a killer," Stacy said. "Let's go."

Mystifying Forest was a dungeon of strong wild magic. It showed in the glowing mushrooms, the vibrant greenery, and the sparkling waters. But this magic didn't seem to trigger the darkness it usually did. Perhaps it was a place of strong purity, they each thought. Kip even noted, "This place is really calming to stroll through. Doesn't really seem like much of a test."

"Still a bit trying for me," Trey said. He was keeping to the shadows, trying to avoid the sunlight as much as he could.

"Hey, Stacy!" a voice called from above.

"Huh?" She looked around. "Matti? What are you doing here?"

"Helping out. I can't tell you where I am, though."

"Oh, we'll find you. Hang on."

"He sounded like he was that way," Trey suggested, pointing down a hall.

However, that turned out to be a dead end. They backtracked and tried another hallway. This led to a room that led away from where Matti was. Going back yet again to a third hallway led to a room with a hall that continued away. "Oh, it's one of those layouts," Stacy said.

"Well we know about where he is," Kip said. "Let's keep going until we find the right branch."

As the trees were too tall for Sally to see over, they had to stick with that plan. Following that west bound hall, they came to a split between a north and a south path. They went down the south path and found a hallway that went back east. Following that, they finally arrived in the room where Matti was.

The Marill was in a tree. "Hi guys," he said, waving.

"What're you doing up a tree?" Kip asked as Trey went up it.

"The Guildmaster told me to stay up here. The wild Pokemon haven't come after me, other than a Pidgey who gave me an evil eye." He came down with Trey, though. "Thanks."

"We can send you back," Stacy said, looking for her badge.

"I don't know about that," Matti said. "All the teleporters came into the Forest as well."

"Hmm, so that's probably part of the test. Okay, stick with us then."

He smiled. "Sure thing, sis. We've done this before."

They had to pause several times as Trey would have to go underground for his skin to cool off. "I really need to find a better solution to this," he said after one such time. "But I can't figure out what."

"Maybe you can ask Jirachi," Matti said.

"People have spent their enire lives searching for the Wish Granter," Trey pointed out.

Matti put his hand to his mouth. "I heard Bobby found Jirachi once. Nobody knows what he wished for, though."

"Maybe if you find the person who originally cursed you with that," Kip suggested. "People remember what happened now."

"It wasn't meant to be a curse. Shaelin gave me lighter skin so that I didn't get anemic in the era of darkness."

"Who's Shaelin?" Stacy asked.

"She's one of the Shaymin, the legendary heralds of spring. They live on Sky Peak."

"Well then we can go there later on."

"For that, we need to graduate first," Trey pointed out.

"Yeah, Sky Peak is one of the star-ranked areas," Matti said. "Apprentice teams aren't allowed in star-ranked areas."

They continued on until they found a level with a grassy meadow. It looked different than the rest of Mystifying Forest. There was also a rather large hole in the ground. "I wonder what's down there," Stacy asked.

"Ye-haw!" the voice from the grasses called. A pink blur rushed past them, grabbing Trey and dropping down the hole with him. They heard a startled yelp from Trey as he fell into the dark pit.

"Trey!" Stacy looked down. But there was no answer. She looked over, realizing that her brother was still with them. "Sally, can you watch after Matti, just in case? Me and Kip will go after Trey."

Sally nodded, so the two of them jumped down into the pit. The angle of sunlight put a large circle of light on the northeast side of the floor, lighting up the area. On the south wall, there was a staircase of dirt leading out of the hole. On the west wall, there was a high ledge with an opening. Standing on the ledge were three Poochenyas. "Halt!" one yipped.

Kip groaned. "Great, it's you mangy hounds again."

"Who?" Stacy asked.

"Team Poochy, the gits who last captured me when I was an outlaw."

"So it is the stupid feline!" another Poochenya said.

"Hold it," the one female of the group said. "He's an apprentice now. And we're testing the apprentices. So, now you've got to fight us!"

"Oh good; I'll get him back for hypnotizing me."

"For the last time, a Skitty wouldn't know hypnosis!"

"So yeah," Kip stated, sitting down calmly. "I got caught by them. Most embarrassing mistake of my life."

"You are gonna pay for that!" The three Poochenyas jumped down and went into attack formation.

Meanwhile, in the other room, Trey slipped away from his captor and turned to come face to face with a Wigglytuff. "You?" he asked, puzzled.

"Right," Bartleby replied. "Teams larger than two members must pass an extra battle test. However, you've had about twelve years of training, which is much more than apprentices usually have. So…" he got a mischivious grin, "you get to fight me instead."

Trey returned the grin. "Sure."

Stacy fired Bubblebeam at the leader of the Poochenya pack; she got slowed down by a bit. Kip, knowing that they'd come for him just out of spite, started running around the room, occasionally getting off a Tackle attack. As Stacy worked on building her defense and hitting the Poochenyas one by one, she stayed in more or less the same spot. They managed to defeat the older team.

Once they did, though, they revived. "Okay, so you guys pass the test," the lead Poochenya said. "I suppose the feline has improved."

"Can't say much for you three," Kip said in quiet sarcasm.

"But what about Trey?" Stacy asked.

"He passes too," Bartleby called from the upper ledge. The Guildmaster had a cut across his side. "You did good; now finish the job."

Trey jumped down, looking a little worse for wear. "Mon, he's tough," he told the other two. "I wouldn't advise taking him on in a standard battle."

They climbed out of the pit and found Sally and Matti playing with grass whistles. "She showed me this neat trick for making a piece of grass hum," the Marill told his sister. "But I'm having trouble doing it."

Sally made a high-pitched tweet with her piece of grass.

"Well let's keep going," Stacy said. "I don't think there's much more to this dungeon."

And there wasn't. Through the next passage of a wooden arch, they found a place dense with wild but pure magic. There was a shallow pool of water with a bubbling spring in the middle of it. A hole at the edge seemed to drop the water off into hidden caverns below. And strangest of all, there was a white glow coming from the spring itself.

This is Luminous Springs," Trey told them. "This is where most Pokemon in the area came to evolve before time started messing up."

"But the glow is back," Stacy pointed out. "Maybe it's working again."

"Maybe. Why don't you try?"

"Me? Well…"

"I don't think I'm strong enough," Matti said.

"You need a Water Stone to evolve anyhow," Kip pointed out. "And I need a Moon Stone. Although, if I did evolve, I'd have to give up my special scarf." He adjusted his Pecha Scarf, making Sally chuckle. "I just wouldn't look as cool without it."

"Well, all right then," Stacy said. She walked into the glow of the spring. "Um…"

A feminine, if sleepy, voice came from within the spring. "Oh, Pokemon have returned to this place. Welcome to Luminous Springs. With time more stable, evolution is possible once again. Do you wish to evolve?"

"Yes," Stacy said, nervous and eager all at once.

"You are strong enough, and you require no items. Now close your eyes and relax."

When she had done so, the glow of the spring brightened, swallowing Stacy up. The magic of the area tuned itself to that of the Water type and converged on the spot where she was standing. After a moment, it dissipated, losing the Water type and dimming the glow. Stacy had grown two feet taller, with a bushier tail and wing-like growths coming off the sides of her head. She was now a Wortortle.

"Wait a week and you will be able to enter your final evolution stage by returning here," the voice of the spring stated.

"You look awesome," Matti said as his sister came out of the spring area.

"Thanks," she said. Then she looked at Trey; she was now a few inches taller than him. "Why don't you try?"

"Hmm, I guess so." He went over onto the spring.

It replied just as kindly and warm as it had for Stacy. "Do you wish to evolve?"

"Yes," he said, sounding calmer than Stacy had.

"You are strong enough, and you require no items. Now close your eyes and relax."

The glow brightened and the magic shifted to Grass type. For a second. It wavered, then fell apart. "She said relax, bum," Kip called.

"No, it's not that," the voice said. "This is an unusual problem. There is a corruption of space around you."

"A corruption of space?" Trey asked, now sounding worried.

"Yes, and it is preventing you from evolving."

"That's weird." He moved from the spring. "So, I guess I'm not evolving."

The voice spoke up again. "There is another with the same corruption of space near you. The human."

"Sally?" Stacy asked, while Sally looked puzzled.

"Humans grow from child to adult; they do not evolve through magic. She has already become an adult, so there is nothing I can do for her. But she has the same problem."

"How do you not evolve from magic?" Trey asked.

Sally shrugged, then signed that she couldn't really explain it.

"We might want to ask around about that corruption," Stacy said. "But first, we've got to find that Guild chest to finish the test."

After searching around the various small springs and trees of Luminous Springs, Kip found it. When they opened it, they found a Perfect Apple inside. "Well of course the Guildmaster would put this up as proof of passing," Kip noted.


That evening, the apprentices and guild workers all gathered in the main room. "Those who have passed this year's graduation test are," Charlie said, pausing for effect, "Stacy, Trey, Sally, and Kip, all of Team Marmalade! They followed the rules of our guild and the general guidelines for all guilds admirably well and have been favorably reviewed by many of their clients. So Team Marmalade is now an official explorer team!"

There were cheers, especially from Bartleby. "You did great!" he called.

"Oh my gosh, you guys are so lucky," Flora said. "I've been trying and trying to pass this graduation test, but never manage it."

"Maybe it would help if I had evolved first," Bobby said to himself.

"Yes, great work, especially for being our newest apprentices," Charlie said. "You guys get to live on your own now and choose your own work. You start at Bronze Rank and can work your way up to greater ranks with greater rewards. You still have to pay guild dues, but that should be no issue."

"Except fricken ninety percent is still theft," Kip grumbled.

Aside from that sour note, the rest of the night was spent in celebration.


There was a slight problem in where everyone would stay. Stacy had her old house to move back into. She invited Sally to come live with her, Matti, and Azeri; as their father had been a Blastoise, the house was plenty large enough for the human to get around in. Kip was still on probation, so he couldn't live too far away from Treasure Town. Fortunately, Trey found that his old place at Sharpedo Bluff was empty, so he let Kip live with him.

The next day, after waking up without Larry's shouts, the group gathered near the crossroads. "So are we up to exploring Sky Peak?" Stacy asked.

"Sure," Trey said.

"Right on," Kip added.

Sally nodded. So after gathering supplies, they went north to Sky Peak. On their way out of town, they ran into a Shuppet and Murkrow pair. "We need to search for the Lost Loot!" the Murkrow said excitedly. "It must be a shiny treasure!"

The Shuppet sighed. "We don't know what the Lost Loot is, much less where it wound up."

"Hey Marcy, Sybil," Trey called out.

"Oh, hi George. It's been a while."

Stacy giggled. "George?"

"Oh right. Sorry, but I lied to you back then. I'm Trey, part of Team Marmalade with Stacy, Sally, and Kip. This is Team Ebony."

"What?" Marcy asked, surprised. "You're not George?"

"I told you he was probably lying," Sybil said. "I recognized you as the Time Gear thief, but we didn't get back from Mount Fuji until a couple weeks back, when the truth was out. I suppose it was a necessary trick."

"It was, but you helped me out. So thanks, although it's late in coming."

"Hmm, well, you're pretty cool about it," Marcy said. "And we got some nice shiny treasures on our trip, so it's no biggie."

"Not the Golden Apple, though," Sybil said. "We couldn't get through Mount Fuji's dungeon."

"But now we're going to find even better treasures! Let's go!" Marcy flew off excitedly.

"Marcy!" Sybil sighed, then said, "Well good meeting you all. I'd better make sure she doesn't get into trouble. Good luck on your explorations."

"Good luck to you too," Stacy said.

"Especially with keeping up with her," Trey added.

She chuckled, then chased after her team leader.

Team Marmalade then had to pass through Peculiar Pass, the dungeon that had formed on the way up to Sky Peak's base. It was an easy dungeon, with no traps and simple layouts. But once they passed the stone pillar and got onto the mountain itself, things got rough. There were rockfalls, rock slides, convulted passages, uneven grounds, steep grades, and plenty of explosive traps. It was mostly alpine terrain, with evergreens and waterfalls. As time was once again flowing, they found themselves spending several days getting lost in Sky Peak's labyrinth.

After they passed the cloud cover, the scenery suddenly changed. Even though they were high above the ground, the area seemed strangely in an eternal spring. Delicate flowers like daffodils, crocuses, and lilies sprouted all along the paths. The grasses were green and soft, and the grades no longer steep. There were fruiting trees and bushes that had flowers and fruits at the same time.

"This is the Shaymin clan's territory," Trey said. "No doubt about that."

"So where are they?" Stacy asked.

"It'll be a few more levels, then we'll be in their village."

This area of Sky Peak was kinder, giving them plenty of berries and seeds to eat, with only one trap around (a sleeping gas one, Trey had noted, a less dangerous trap to stumble upon). At the end of it, they came upon a village of woven grass huts and a multitude of flowers. A four legged Pokemon with large outspread ears and fluffy fur of white and green greeted them. "Hi, we don't get visitors often. Welcome to the Village of the Shaymin Clan. I'm Shawn."

"Hi Shawn," Stacy said cheerfully. "We're Team Marmalade: I'm Stacy, and this is Trey, Sally, and Kip. We're looking for someone."

"We need to speak to Shaelin," Trey said.

"Shaelin, huh? She lives over there." He looked over to the west part of the village, indicating a hut over near the edge of the mountain.

"Thanks." They headed over in that direction.

Before they quite got there, a green Pokemon came flying out of the door. "Hi Trey!" Celebi called cheerily. "Hi everybody!"

"Um, weren't you pink?" Kip asked, tilting one ear to the side.

"I was, and I will be," she replied with a giggle. "Doesn't make me any less cute, though."

A smaller Shaymin who resembled a flower bush came out. "Must you always be so confusing? Anyhow, hi there, Trey. Good to meet you outside of a time of darkness." She offered a paw to shake, so he accepted. "And thanks for keeping your promise."

"Of course," he said. "But there's a problem now in the gift you gave me."

"Ah, that's why you came all the way up here again. Come on in and join me for dinner; I've got plenty to go around."

"See? I told you that we'd need it,"Celebi said as she flew in with Shaelin.

Over a dinner of mixed greens and roasted sweet potatoes, Trey explained the problem he was having. "So I can't be out in full sun for longer than twenty minutes. Traveling in the shade gives me some extra time, but even that makes things tough."

"We took five days climbing this dang mountain because of that," Kip stated.

"And then, I don't know if this is related, but we found out that he can't evolve either," Stacy said. "The spring said that he and Sally have a corruption of space around them."

"That's due to them being brought back into this world when they logically should have been erased," Celebi said. "You'd need Palkia's power to get that taken care of. But then, I have no idea how you get to where Palkia lives. She might be Dialga's sister, but I've never been to her place."

"I can take care of your skin problem," Shaelin said. "But you'll need to stay here for overnight, plus some tomorrow, so that we can do it right."

No one on the team had a problem with that, so Shaelin sent Celebi off to find some lodging for the other three members. She then brought Trey into an extra room of the house. "This isn't going to hurt you this time, right?" he asked.

"Right," she said. "I'm not as weak as I was then. It will keep you asleep for a long time. So be calm and clear your mind of thoughts."


Late at night, Shaelin performed the third part of the magic required to give Trey normal skin for a Grovyle. Tweaking a Pokemon's genes was a complex process to carry out without making use of a miracle. She left her home for some fresh air and found her friend Celebi looking out over the landscape. She seemed to be alone, so Shaelin came over to her. "Nice night, huh?"

Celebi seemed surprised; she'd probably been thinking to herself. "Oh, yes, it is. It's good to have the stars and the moon back, along with the sun."

"So what's bothering you?"

"How did you know that something was bothering me?"

"You're acting odd, for you. Now what is it?"

"Ah, well… it's about Trey. He was loyal to me, and protected me when I wasn't able to do so myself. But I… I fell for him."

"Did you? What about him?"

"Well he did at the time." She dropped down and sat on the ground by Shaelin. "We were the only ones with each other in a terrible time, so we either wouldn't trust each other or we would bond very deeply. I could tell that he wasn't entirely comfortable with it sometimes, but I never pressed him for why. Now that everything is back in order, I can tell why. He loves Stacy still. But, well, since he's back and I remember that future, it's awkward to talk to him. And I'm not sure what to do."

Shaelin considered it. "Well do you feel the same way about him?"

"Not really," she admitted, "But the memory is strong. It's confusing to me. And I can tell it's confusing to him; he seems to feel guilty about both of us. I don't want him to get the impression that I don't care for him and yet I still want to take care of things before they get out of hand and hurt someone badly… ah, I'm not sure what to do."

"You ought to tell him and her up front, then. It already involves alternate timelines, so no need to make it more complex with lies."

"It's much harder to do that," Celebi said, looking down at the ground.

"It just feels that way. Besides, remember what you told me when I was in love with that one guy?"

"Right, I know. I disregarded my own advice on dealing with mortals."

"Well it happens with everybody at least once. No need to be ashamed of it."

They stayed outside and talked it over for some time.


In the morning, Trey's skin had turned a deeper and healthier shade of green. He still had to avoid the sun for a little while, as it was sensitive until his skin had settled down from the change. His scar remained, but there was nothing that could remove that. He and Stacy spoke in Shaelin's house, on nothing in particular.

Except one thing. "Trey, I decided to hold off on my last evolution for the time being."

"Why? That extra strength could help us."

Her head wings twitched. "Well yes, it could. But I don't think it's fair if you can't evolve. So I will stay as a Wortortle until you can evolve as well."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I'm sure."

There was a soft knock on the grass walls. Celebi floated in. "Oh hey, I hope it's all right for me to come in."

"Sure, it's no problem," Stacy said.

She nodded. "Good. I just wanted to say… I know things have changed a lot. But I remember your loyalty, Trey. I hope we can still be friends."

Before he could reply, he got a telepathic addition. 'I don't feel the same way about you, so we can't be as we were. But I do want to remain friends.'

That mostly solved one of his worries, Trey thought. "Sure, we can stay friends."

Stacy smiled. "Sure, of course. It would be bad for friendships to die, even if the time when they were was erased."

"Right," Celebi said.