"And finally," Chatot said to the brand new exploration team following right behind him as he walked through the door at the end of the hall they were in, "this will be your room!"

Devon and Lucas ran inside the room, their eyes practically bursting with wonder and excitement, and drank in the place which they would be calling their home. It was a pretty ordinary room, with a chest at the back of the room and two beds made of straw sitting on either side of it. There was also a candle burning on the wall to the left of the door, and a poster on the right which states the ten rules of the guild.

But, what this room lacked in upholstery, it clearly made up for it in the pure possibilities of what this means for them. Smiling at each other, they turned back to Chatot and bowed their heads in respect. "Thank you for the tour, Mr. Chatot."

Chatot, once more today, was surprised at their politeness and respect for his authority. "Well, of course!" he stated, blushing under his feathers. "I-It's the responsibility of the Guildmaster's assistant to make sure that you settle in the guild well. However, in return, I expect you to perform your absolute best tomorrow. Understand?"

"Yes, Mr. Chatot," the twosome said simultaneously once more.

Chatot nodded. "Very well. I'll leave you two to your business, then. Try to get to sleep early, as you'll have a busy day tomorrow! And you know what they say, 'the early Pidgey catches the Wurmple!'"

"Okay, good night!"

Chatot turned in the doorway. "Pleasant dreams!" He then blew out the candle at the doorway before walking away from the room, thinking to himself, Well, those two are rather pleasant! Though, I wonder why they would want to work at the guild. Chatot decided to turn his thoughts away from this, and moved on to finishing his assigned work as the Guildmaster's assistant.

Devon and Lucas, meanwhile, were beginning to make themselves comfortable in their beds. "Ugh, I really don't like this straw!" Devon complained. "It keeps sticking into me everywhere, and it's not that comfortable."

Lucas rolled his eyes, chuckling. "Well, it isn't an Altaria-down mattress, but it's better than the floor." Lucas shifted around in the bed, trying to find a comfortable position. "Besides, you really shouldn't look a gift Ponyta in the mouth, right?"

Devon sighed, as he managed to find a decently comfortable position on his side. "I suppose so." They laid in silence for a bit as Lucas found a position lying on his back and getting comfortable. Finally, Devon piped up again, "Hey, Lucas?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you make me the leader of Team Pursuit?"

"What?" Lucas turned his head towards Devon, confused at his question. "Why are you asking me that?"

"Well, it's just," Devon sighed, and rolled over onto his other side so he could face Lucas, "don't you think I'm a bit inexperienced to be the leader? I mean, I only woke up in your house just a few days ago, I know literally nothing about this world of Pokémon, or even being a Pokémon. Heck, I haven't even figured out how to use any moves yet, much less battle. So, why elect me to be the leader of the team?"

Even though sleep was just starting to overtake him, Lucas couldn't help but smile. "You really don't know?"

"Know what?" Devon asked, confused.

Lucas chuckled to himself lightly. "It's because everything is so new to you is why I wanted you to be the leader."

"Um...I'm not following."

Lucas rolled his eyes in amusement. "Remember Kevin the Totodile of Team Impossible, and how he was a human too?"

"Yeah? What, did you make me the leader because I used to be a human like he was?"

"Well, sort of," Lucas dragged his gaze from Devon to the ceiling above him. "You see, when you point out things like the Wigglytuff Guild or the Spinda's Plaza to most Pokémon, they tend to be simply impressed with it, but that's about it. But, when I showed those things to you earlier today, I could tell you were way more than impressed. You were awestruck, completely amazed. And that excitement you had? It made me super pumped as well. Even though I had seen all of this stuff millions of times by now, with you around, I got to be excited about it like I never had before! All in all, it was kind of weird.

"But still, if it wasn't for you agreeing to become my partner, I'm not sure if I could ever have struck up the nerve to join the guild. That's why I thought- No, I absolutely believe that you will be a much better leader than I could ever be."

Devon smiled. "Well, that was pretty sappy, Lucas."

Lucas chuckled. "Shut up. You know I meant it. Geez." Lucas, still smiling, closed his eyes and yawned. "Anyways, see you in the morning, Devon."

Devon nodded, even though he knew he couldn't see him. "Okay, good night." Devon closed his eyes, and the two Pokémon finally drifted off to sleep, dreaming nice dreams of the exciting things that would come the following day.

Chatot quietly slipped in the door to the Guildmaster's office, before closing it silently behind him. He turned to the room inside. It was a Grumpig-sty like normal, since for some reason, Guildmaster Wigglytuff couldn't be bothered to pick up after himself, and Chatot usually has to tidy up. Strangely, he knew that he had cleaned up before the embassy from the Temple of Xerneas came and went, so what happened in this room between those couple of hours was a mystery to the Flying type.

However, the cleaning would have to come later, as there were more important matters to attend to. Sitting on two stools that was pulled out for them was Kevin the Totodile and Treecky the Treecko, Team Impossible, and the Guildmaster himself was there sitting behind his desk. As he was looking that way already, Wigglytuff was the first to notice Chatot. And with a big smile, he shouted, "Hi, Chatot!"

Chatot flinched, covering his ears with his wings. "Guildmaster, please! Not so loud! This is supposed to be a secret meeting!"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot!" Wigglytuff said in a hushed voice, scanning the walls as if he was searching for hidden spies. Chatot could only sigh at his guildmaster's actions as he made his way over to Wigglytuff's side.

"Anyway," Chatot said, trying to move the subject along, "what has been discussed while I was gone, Team Impossible?"

Treecky shrugged. "Basically everything we told you earlier about Kevin's dream."

Wigglytuff appeared concerned. "Yes. It's sad what happened to Exploud. I hope he will be alright."

Kevin crossed his arms. "We still don't know if he's actually been kidnapped yet, if at all. Remember, my Dimensional Screams can see into both the past and the future. And I've never had my visions come through in my dreams before. For all we know, I could've just had a bad dream about him, and he's perfectly fine."

Chatot nodded. "True, but we can't take that chance. Your visions have proven to be extremely accurate over the years, and we simply can't just discount this as a bad dream. Plus..." Chatot voice faded suddenly, as he looked down at his feet, not willing to meet the two in their eyes.

"Chatot found something unusual while looking through the mission records." Wigglytuff finished for Chatot. "It seems that the Pokémon that requested the mission that Exploud took...doesn't even exist!"

"What?!" Team Impossible exclaimed simultaneously.

"Seriously?" Treecky asked. "But, that's crazy! How can a Pokémon simply just disappear?"

Chatot held his wing to his face in a very thoughtful manner. "Whoever sent this mission request was unusually secretive about his request, and definitely did not want to be found. He kept himself anonymous, and printed his message out in a way that could've been written by any Pokémon, and he had it delivered via Pelipper. When we asked Pelipper about the mission, he said that it was hand delivered by a Pokémon who kept himself hidden under some kind of cloak. So, that leaves us no real clue about who could've sent that request."

"That's really weird," Treecky said thoughtfully. "Don't Pokémon typically want to be found in order to know if their request was fulfilled?"

"Yes. That's what makes this whole thing even more eerie," Chatot answered.

"What was the mission requesting anyway?" Kevin asked.

"It was an item retrieval mission," Chatot explained, "They wanted a Silencer Orb that was lost on the lowest floor of a newly discovered dungeon called Traveller's Pass, with an unknown reward. By the way, that new dungeon has eight floors and the Pokémon there range around level 15-20 and are a variety of Normal and Bug types."

Kevin sighed. "Well, that sounds like a pretty standard mission. Though, an unknown reward for such a low-level dungeon is fairly uncommon, as those could range from 1000 Poké to an Egg."

"But not unheard of, obviously." Chatot continued. "So, we can't use that as a lead either." Chatot sighed wearily. "I suppose that unless we hear word from either Exploud or this alleged kidnapper, I'm afraid we're stuck."

"Chatot, how could you?!" Wigglytuff yelled loudly, forcing everyone to cover their ears.

"Guildmaster, not so loud!" Chatot said quietly.

"We can't just give up!" Wigglytuff said at the same volume, apparently ignoring Chatot's request. "Exploud is part of our family, whether he's a member of this guild or not! And we have to stick by our family and help each other out! We can't abandon him! We have to save him!"

"I never said we were giving up!" Chatot snapped back, offended. "But, without any clue as to who we're dealing with, we can't proceed any further without more information!"

"Well, we might have a theory as to who it is," Kevin said, catching the attention of Chatot and Wigglytuff.

"There's no real evidence saying that who we're thinking of is really the culprit, but a lot of the stuff that's happened seems to connect pretty well," Treecky continued, finishing Kevin's statement.

"Well then," Chatot said impatiently, "who is it?"

"Like Treecky said, we have no real evidence this is right, but we think that it might just be..." Kevin paused for a minute, almost unwilling to say the name. "...Dusknoir."

Chatot gasped in surprise, while Wigglytuff gained a neutral disposition. "Dusknoir?! You mean that Dusknoir?"

"What other Dusknoir could we be talking about?" Treecky exclaimed, irritated, "The same one that posed as an explorer just to get his hands on Grovyle and Kevin. The one that dragged us into that horrible future world, were we barely escaped with our lives. Yes, that Dusknoir!"

Silence fell over the foursome, before a chuckle suddenly burst from Chatot's direction, before he suddenly started laughing extremely mirthfully. "Oh, ho! A very great jest, Kevin and Treecky! You actually almost had me believing that Dusknoir had actually returned! Very good, very good! You should sign up with Mime Jr's stand-up comedy routine! Well done!"

Team Impossible both sighed at the same time. There goes Chatot, actively attempting to not believe what they're saying. That brings back some rather bad memories. "Chatot, we're being serious!" Treecky said.

"Of course you can't!" Chatot snapped, switching back to a serious mood in an instant. "We all know that he couldn't possibly be around anymore! He's gone, disappeared with Grovyle and the rest of the future where the world had been paralyzed. You said so yourself that this was what happened, Treecky!"

"Yeah, but I also said that Kevin disappeared as well because the future had changed, and yet he's standing right here next to me! And if Kevin survived, then Dusknoir could've as well!"

Chatot growled, unable to find any fault in that logic. "Well, even so, humoring your idea that this may even be possible, how could he possibly have gotten here from the future, then?"

"He managed it before," Kevin explained calmly. "He could've used the Passage of Time, or if Primal Dialga is still around in the future, then he could've sent him here. Either way, it's a real possibility."

"And he knows how the mission system works," Treecky added. "So he could've sent a fake mission request and set a trap for Exploud."

Wigglytuff nodded. "And Dusknoir has access to Confuse Ray, which could be how he managed to knock out Exploud so easily in Kevin's dream."

Chatot gaped at Wigglytuff. "Guildmaster, you aren't seriously suggesting that you believe this cockamamie idea, are you?"

Wigglytuff crossed his stubby arms. "It's a pretty farfetched idea, it's true. But, there's nothing saying it's not at all a possibility. The chances of this being true is slim, but it's still there. And everything Team Impossible said would make sense."

"But," Chatot said, sweating, "how did he know that Exploud would answer? And why would he do it in the first place?"

"Well, those are the questions we still need to find the answers to." Kevin said. "But, considering what he's done in the past, we can almost bet that he's up to no good."

Wigglytuff nodded. "Yes, but only if he's actually here. Remember, we don't really know if this is actually Dusknoir, or a different Pokémon altogether. But, the fact remains that Exploud has still not turned back up yet, so we must assume the worst."

With a determined look on his face, Wigglytuff suddenly stood up, startling the others slightly. "Alright! Now is the time for action! And I know just what needs to be done! Now, since we don't know if Exploud is actually missing or not, this mmeeting will be strictly between us. However, we must begin a covert search to discover just where he might be!"

Wigglytuff pointed at Chatot. "Chatot, you must go through the mission archives and find out if there are any more mysterious missions like this one, and whether or not these missions have any relation to any disappearances at the same time. Is that understood?"

Chatot, slightly surprised at Wigglytuff's sudden shift in tone, hesitantly nodded. "Y-Yes, sir."

Wigglytuff then pointed at Team Impossible. "Kevin, Treecky, I need you to go to Exploud's last known destination and look for any clues that he may be there. I know he went into a mystery dungeon, and since they change every time someone goes in, it may be rather difficult for you to find anything. But, with any luck, we may find some trace of Exploud within that dungeon."

"Yes, Guildmaster!" Team Impossible shouted in unison.

Wigglytuff then place his paw onto his chest. "As for me, I will contact Mesprit, Azelf and Uxie, as well as organize a few exploration teams in order to check on the Time Gears. If this is truly Dusknoir that we are dealing with, then the Time Gears may be in danger. We cannot take the chance of letting the events of one year ago happen once again."

Wigglytuff looked around the room. "So, if there's no more questions about how to proceed, then I suggest you all get some rest, because tomorrow, we're launching Operation: Save Our Friend Exploud From A Terrible Fate That May Or May Not Involve Dusknoir In Some Way!"

The other three Pokémon in the room looked around at each other, a little overwhelmed by the fact that Wigglytuff gave such a super long name for their operation, but mostly determined to help their friends.

After saying their goodbye's for now, Team Impossible departed the Guildmaster's quarters for the night, and shortly after that, Chatot left to go to sleep as well, leaving Wigglytuff all alone in the room. Wigglytuff stood up from his seat and walked over to the window at the far end of the room, staring up at the waning crescent moon up above.

"What's happening? Why is this happening now?" he pondered to himself.

"Hm, perhaps, it's time we had another talk, my friend..."

And there you guys have it, after almost a year's worth of waiting, I finally got this chapter done. And boy, was that a lot of paddi- I mean, plot structuring. While it may be kind of lacking in any kind of action, I think this was a pretty good way to get all of the characters settled, and I think I may actually have nailed Guildmaster Wigglytuff's personality! But, still, let me know in the comments whether I actually did or not because hopefully I can keep it up!

And I now have exciting news coming from Escape From Fate! For the first time in this story, I finally got one of your OCs into the latest chapter of that! If you want to see who actually managed to make their way into it, as well as the lucky person who submitted this character, than head on over to that story! But, for people who are invested in this story, let me assure you that there will be OCs coming to this one as well. In fact, one of your characters may make an appearance in the very next chapter of Pursuit Of Fate, so keep an eye out for that one as well!

Now, I know that I've been taking a long time on these stories, and I apologize for it. But life has kept catching up to me in the worst of ways, and frankly because I've been doing nothing but write long chapters for both Five Nights of Truth or Dare at Freddy's and A Wild Kecleon Reviews, so I ended up getting burned out from the whole writing scene for a while. But let me assure you guys that I am not only still willing to write, but I am currently working on several chapters for other stories that I have as well as this one. So keep an eye out for those, and hopefully I won't take another year to write a single chapter again. (Technically two, but...)

So, for now, take care everyone, and please leave a review to my story, as it only helps me in the long run! And since I now have proof that I was serious about the whole SYOC thing, go and check out the character submission form on my profile so you can attempt to get your character in too! So, until next time, stay tuned for the next chapter. Seriously though, fingers crossed that I don't take forever next time.