Mana and Riolu wake up to a loud voice yelling, "I SAID WAKE UP, ROOKIES! COME ON, UP AN' AT 'EM!" "Ohhh, my ears feel like they've exploded…" Riolu gets up, dizzy and stumbling over the floor. Mana shakes her head a couple of times and glances at Riolu, who looks back. They both smile and head out to find they are the last ones to join the other members. Chatot glares at them, as if to say 'I'll deal with you later.' He looks behind him and Wigglytuff comes out yawning.
"Alright everyone, you know the drill. We're all going to continue with our duties and under no circumstances are we going to slack off." Everyone nods their heads, determination flaring up. Chatot continues saying, "Recently, there have been a lot of criminal outbreaks throughout the region and it is unknown as to what the reason is, but as expected, the exploration teams all over are trying to do their best to handle things. Because we are also a guild, it is our duty to catch these criminals and help our fellow pokemon in need. Right, Guildmas…ter?" Everyone, including Mana and Riolu watch as their guildmaster stare at them with open eyes. One of the pokemon next to Riolu whispers, "Gotta hand to Wigglytuff to make mornings interesting." Another replies, "How come we get up early but he can sleep?" "Uh, he looks pretty awake to me."
"Ahem!" The chatters die away as Chatot glares at each member. He regains his composure, but before he could say anything, Wigglytuff inhales deeply and shouts, "YOOMMMM-TAHHH!" everyone Riolu and Mana, along with everyone else, utter a cry of surprise.
"Yes, exactly Guildmaster! Everyone, go out and show that same fighting spirit that our leader has shown us!" Everyone disperses, but Chatot stops Mana and Riolu. "You two come with me." They walk over to the outlaw notices attached to the wall and Chatot explains the jobs listed there. Riolu listens intently, interrupting a few times, while Mana stays quiet. Next, Chatot explains the job notices on the other side of the wall, flying over to the left side of the room. Again, Mana doesn't speak while listening to Riolu and Chatot talk. Finally, the bird pokemon lets out a sigh and says, "Wait here." He disappears, but comes back a minute later carrying a bag in his beak. He sets it down in front of the two.
"Every rookie is given an Exploration kit when they first start out. You have the basics; here, have a look inside." Riolu opens the bag up, and he squeals with excitement as Chatot explains each of the items. Mana's mind wanders off and she wonders if her and Riolu will actually be able to become an exploration team like everyone else. Is this really happening? Today we can finally go out on our own and-
"What?! Bu-but, what about exploring?" Riolu's plea interrupts Mana's thoughts and she looks between her friend and the irritated Chatot. "Are you crazy?! You are merely beginners, so it is very dangerous to let you both out without the proper preparations. Bidoof!" "Y-yes Chatot?" "It's your job to introduce Mana and Riolu to the square and make sure-" Chatot glares at Riolu, "-that they don't wander off. This is top priority and I will see you tonight for dinner. Now, off you go." Chatot scurries off before Riolu can argue. Bidoof glances at Mana, unsure about what to do.
"Riolu, we don't have to rush into things. There's always tomorrow and the next day, so let's just be patient and look around for a bit." Mana nudges Riolu and he lets out a small sigh. "You're right, I shouldn't be so impatient to leave. Okay then, let's go!" With new energy, Riolu leads the way outside and Mana and Bidoof follow. "Thank you," Bidoof whispers, smiling and Mana nods politely. To be honest, she was also kind of hoping to go out exploring.
"Ah, that's Kecleon's market! And that's Duskull's bank. He's the one to go to when storing your money. Oh, oh! And this is Kangaskhan's storage and she stores any of our items that we find in dungeons!" Riolu's eyes light up as he explains each of the places and Bidoof nods in agreement, sometimes adding in a few key points. Mana follows without complaint, her mind absorbing so much of this new information and trying to store it away in her memories. This place is very unfamiliar to her and learning about each of these things seems to have intrigued Mana. If she could properly learn and understand pieces of this information, then she and Riolu would be able to start their explorations sooner, right?
"I'm impressed, yep yep. You guys are pretty good." Riolu blushes, embarrassed. "How 'bout this, you guys should walk around and get to know the square and shop owners. I'll meet you both in front of the guild entrance." With that, Bidoof walks away, leaving Mana and Riolu. Riolu glances sideways at Mana and asks, "So where do you wanna go?" "Well, we did find some money when we went looking for your relic, so it might be a good idea to go to Duskull's bank first." Riolu lights up and leads the way, mumbling happily about something.
After thanking Duskull, both decide to head to the Kecleon's Market just to look at the sales. Suddenly, a small blue pokemon darts in front of them and another blue pokemon, this one a bit taller, follows after. Riolu and Mana listen from the side as they watch the conversation between the Kecleon and the two blue pokemon unfold.
"Good morning Azurill, Marill. It has been awhile since we last saw you. How is your mother?" The little pokemon named Azurill answers, "She is much better thanks to those apples you gave us!" "We came here to buy two apples please," Marill says, pulling out some money. They exchange goods and both Azurill and Marill head off.
"Ah, those brothers are so good to their mother." Kecleon turns to Mana and Riolu as they inch closer to the counter. "Ever since she fell ill, they have been taking great care of her, buying her medicine and helping her get better." As if summoned, the brothers run over to the Kecleon brothers, gasping for air. One of them says to the Kecleon brothers, "We only bought two apples, but you accidently gave us three so we're returning-" The purple Kecleon shakes his head and smiles. "No, no, it wasn't an accident. I gave it to you free of charge so please, keep it." Azurill looks down at the apple and when he looks back up, his eyes glowing with such happiness.
"T-thank you Kecleon! I won't forget this." Bouncing, Azurill heads off, the extra apple falling out of his grasp. Mana picks it up and holds it out, saying, "W-wait, you forgot this!" "O-oh my, I'm so sorry to trouble you again. Thank you!" As Mana hands over the apple, something comes over her the minute Azurill grabs the fruit. Suddenly, her head begins to hurt, as if someone is crushing her. She faintly hears Riolu's voice as her mind blacks out.
Someone… H-help me! A flash of white light blinds Mana and she squeals in pain, flinching back and accidently bumping into Riolu, who looks at her with worry. The Kecleon brothers are also glancing at her with concern, but she is not paying attention as she looks around her, searching for that voice. Finally, she looks at Riolu and asks, "Did you hear that? Someone was screaming for help." Riolu only looks at her with confusion and he shakes his head. "N-no, we didn't hear anything except for you crying out. You might have gotten confused with your own voice-" "No, I heard another cry. They were in trouble and screaming for help. Didn't you hear it?" Again Riolu shakes his head, but this time he smiles a little. "Maybe you were just imagining it. We've had a busy day and you're probably just tired from all the excitement. Come on, we should probably be getting back." Mana follows Riolu back to the guild and in doing so, they pass by the two blue brothers and an unfamiliar pokemon.
"Oh look, they look like they're getting along." Riolu waves at the brothers and Azurill bounces over to them, his smile contagious. "Mr. Drowzee is going to help us look for our special item! We had lost it and were about to give up hope when he offered to help. Isn't that great?" Mana and Riolu look over at Drowzee, who walks over to them. "Yes, I wanted to help the poor brothers look for their precious item their mother had given to them. I just can't let them wander off alone when the world is so dangerous." Riolu grabs Drowzee's hand and thanks him for his kindness. "Well, we better head off first thing in the morning." "Bye! Good luck finding your item," Riolu shouts waving them off. Him and Mana then hurry to the guild, barely making it to dinner.
Riolu looks out the window, his eyes watching the dark clouds rumbling above them. "It looks like it's gonna be bad night tonight Mana." A clap of thunder frightens Riolu and he lets out a small yelp. Mana looks over at him, then past him at the sky. She hopes the brothers will be okay. But what was that flash? I wasn't hearing things, I'm sure I heard someone calling for help. Mana shakes her head, ridding herself of her thoughts as she watches Riolu get into bed.
"I mean, it's not like the storm scares me, it's just…the thunder just scared me a bit, but that doesn't mean I was afraid or anything…" Riolu turns over, still mumbling. Mana smiles slightly and wishes Riolu a good night before she, too, closes her eyes.