"Please step forward when you hear your name, please." Chatot coughs, clearing his throat. "Loudred, please step forward. Corphish, you too." As the names are being called, Mana and Riolu listen for their names, still hoping that they will be invited. Bidoof's name is called and everyone gasps. Mana smiles and nudges the shocked pokemon forward, congratulating him. Riolu hides his feelings, watching as each of the pokemon move to stand next to Wigglytuff. Aside from him and Mana, only a few more members remain. Riolu looks down, tears already forming at the corners of his eyes.
Chatot clears his throat again, squinting at the scribbles at the bottom of the paper. He looks up to see if anyone has noticed and then quickly looks back down, trying to decipher the guildmaster's handwriting.
"U-uh so back to the members. Uuhh...it seems that there are a few more pokemon mentioned so I will call them out. Hmm... Croagunk, Diglett, Mana, Riolu, and Dugtrio will also be joining us. That will be all." Corphish mumbles, "So basically everyone in the guild is invited. Hmph, you shoulda just said so from the beginning." Sunflora and Chimecho glare at Corphish and he cowers behind Loudred.
Dazed, Riolu allows Mana to drag him across the room. After all their hard work and it finally paid off. Can he squeal? Is he allowed to jump up and down and express his happiness? Riolu is in too much of a shock to hear Chatot blurting out his confusion about the choice of members. He flutters about, unable to control himself as he demands an explanation from Wigglytuff. The Guildmaster merely shrugs and smiles.
"I wish for everyone to join. We will properly lock up the guild while we are away. This way, everyone can enjoy themselves and no one is left out! This will be so much fun!" "Might I ask what purpose there is in bringing everyone along? I agree with Chatot, there shouldn't be so many members coming along to such an unimportant expedition," Skuntank says.
"Unimportant?" Wigglytuff puffs up his cheeks, his eyes widening. Chatot cowers, waiting for the Guildmaster's wrath. Instead, Wigglytuff exhales and smiles widely. "There is no such thing as an unimportant expedition. I want everyone to have fun and relax, so the best way to do that is to make some noise. If you are not happy, then you and your team don't have to come."
"U-uh, n-no...well..." Skuntank stammers, trying to find a way out of this. Defeated, he says, "It sounds...fun indeed." Wigglytuff nods, walking away. Chatot repeats the rules of the expedition, reminding everyone to prepare and pack up. "You are responsible for your teammates. This is a guild-exclusive mission, so no one outside the guild is allowed to come along. Remember to let Chimecho know and she will take care of things. When you are all finished packing up, come back here and wait for everyone else. Dismissed!" Mana and Riolu race up the stairs, heading out of the guild. Riolu jumps up, expressing his joy. Mana closes her eyes, silently thanking the stars for granting her wish. She opens her eyes and watches her friend skip into town, smiling softly. Finally, the hard work that Riolu had put in to the guild hasn't been for nothing.
"Wait for me!" Mana cries out, running after her friend. They travel to each of the different places in the square, taking a few things from storage and buying a couple of revival seeds as well as some orbs. As they make their way back to the guild, Riolu stops Mana and points to a sign next to a hole.
"Since when did the Spinda Cafe open?" He looks questioningly at Mana and she looks over too. Shrugging, she moves towards the entrance but Riolu's words stop her.
"Wait, we have to report back to Chatot." "This'll only take a minute. Besides, don't you want to know when they opened up shop?" Riolu glances back at the guild nervously. Chatot had said to come back as soon as everyone is done, but what if him and Mana are the last ones left and they decide to go on ahead without them?
"U-uh, we could always come back after the mission," Riolu says, still looking at the guild. He turns around, but Mana is nowhere in sight. M-Mana! We are so going to get in trouble for this. Hearing movement from behind, the riolu runs behind a tree and hides there, watching for Mana and other pokemon. Sunflora and Corphish come up seconds later, arguing about the rations each of them carries while Loudred follows closely behind. He boasts about something, then shuts his mouth when the two pokemon turn to glare at him. Not noticing Riolu, the three of them climb the stairs and leave the pathway quiet again.
Riolu comes out of hiding and his whole body sighs with relief. "You ready to go now?" Mana's voice sends Riolu up in the air, his shout of surprise and fear reaching greater heights. The cyndaquil waits until her friend gets his bearings, then listens to his rants about her sneaking off when there are important pokemon waiting for them. He points to the guild, mentioning a few of the guild members and goes off on a small tantrum. Mana listens to him politely, walking with him up the stairs to the entrance, her mind wandering somewhere else. While she did apologize for frightening Riolu, she can only assume that her friend is very nervous and ranting about something as small as this is his way of getting rid of his nervousness. She smiles just as the two make their way down the stairs and into the hall.
"Ah, I see you've finally made it. It looks like everyone else is here so gather up," Chatot says. He begins explaining the rules of the expedition, looking at everyone and sending extra glances towards Mana and Riolu. He explains the rules and what they may or may not be looking for, then pointing at each and every pokemon including Team Skull, he says, "No matter what, the most important rule is to have fun. Be careful in your groups, but make sure you enjoy this little trip as much as possible." He huddles in closer.
"No one is to wander off unless me or Wigglytuff give you permission and by no means are any of you to fight amongst each other. The Guildmaster forbids it and I especially forbid it, so if any of you are having disputes with another guild member, you go straight to me or Wigglytuff. Do we have an understanding?" Everyone nods their heads. Mana and Riolu glance at each other before agreeing. So long as Team Skull isn't around, we shouldn't have a problem, Mana thinks to herself just as Riolu thinks, We should be fine if they don't show up to mess up things. Both pokemon look in Team Skull's direction and find Skuntank smirking down at them.
"Alright, this concludes my lecture." Chatot hops over to stand next to Wigglytuff who replies, "Yyyooooommmm-tttaaahhhhh!" Everyone cheers. Mana narrows her eyes while Skuntank sneers at the cyndaquil. This time, I'll crush you.
"Fogbound Lake... Are you sure Chatot mentioned it? Maybe you're hearing things," Riolu said, walking behind Sungflora and Bidoof. Mana is walking next to him, her eyes honed in on her friend. "I mean, if I heard of a name like that, I would've definitely remembered-" "Not if you were asleep! Ugh, what am I going to do with you," Mana sighs, shaking her head.
"Heh heh... Well, you could start by telling me about this Shrouded Fog-" "Fogbound." "Right. You could tell me about this Fogbound place again and scold me later?" Mana throws her friend a look. She agrees, telling him the basics of the lake everyone is heading towards.
"It's located in the far east and everything there is covered in this really heavy fog, hence the name 'Fogbound Lake'. However, some pokemon believe there is no such place that exists because there is supposedly no record of it on any maps." "W-wait, so how are we going to find it if it's not on maps? Aren't we going to-"
"Riolu, relax. Even though it's supposedly never recorded, there are few pokemon who know its exact location...like Wigglytuff," Mana nods in the direction of the Guildmaster, who is skipping happily. She looks back at her friend and continues. "The lake itself is based entirely on rumor, but what if a pokemon wanted to keep the location a secret? What if they created rumors of a mythical place like Fogbound Lake so no one would be able to find it?"
"Um...I'm not following you...at all," Riolu says. Mana's explanations always seem to confuse him even more because her way of 'explaining' is her words going around in circles. His friend takes a deep breath and starts over.
"Okay, so you know that every rumor has some sort of truth to it right? Well, what if a pokemon made up these rumors to fool other pokemon into believing that Fogbound Lake is a mythical place and there is no such location with this name?" "Ohh, then whoever made up these rumors doesn't want the lake to be discovered right?" "Exactly, which means that there is something hidden in that location and someone doesn't want that thing to be found."
Riolu stops, his mind on something. If what Mana says is true, then... "Then what does Wigglytuff have to do with this?" Mana looks thoughtfully at her friend and answers, "Maybe Wigglytuff came to the same conclusion as us and he probably knows where this place is. Some rumors have truth in them, so it's possible that the Guildmaster collected those bits of information and found out where the lake was." Mana and Riolu discuss what could be hidden in the lake, each with their own opinions and as their journey continues, both friends argue what to do with that treasure...should they find it.
"So everyone who is teamed up will make sure they are prepared. Bidoof, you will travel alongside Riolu and Mana while Team Skull travels independently. The rest of the groups..." As Chatot explains the rest of the groups, Bidoof walks over and stands next to Mana. Riolu lounges on the ground, gathering his strength. They had just stopped to get some rest when Chatot turned to everyone. He explained that everyone was to be split into groups because it would be easier to travel towards the main camp in small teams than to travel as a whole. He said that it would be the quickest way to head towards the highlands, which was going to be the base camp. A few pokemon had agreed and Bidoof was placed with Team Future.
Bidoof glances over at Mana, who is now scolding Riolu. He wonders if he could be helpful to them in some way, but his thoughts are running like crazy. Up till now, he's never been on any big expedition so this would be considered his first real mission.
"...Bidoof?" Mana startles the pokemon and he chuckles nervously. It was Mana's idea to take the seaside route to get to the location. They had stopped to take a small break, but now, both Riolu and Mana look at Bidoof with worry. He blinks a couple of times and then laughs again.
"No no, I'm fine. Really. Ehe, it's just... I'm just a little worried about this is all. Y'know, it's my first real excursion and I feel a little nervous and giddy all of a sudden. It just took me by surprise is all," Bidoof laughs again. Riolu smiles, patting Bidoof's head like a little pokemon.
"Haha, I feel the same way too. It's my first excursion and I would've been pretty scared too if Mana wasn't here," Riolu says, glancing over at Mana. Bidoof looks at her too. Yes, it was Mana who had calmed down Riolu at times. To Bidoof, she always seemed cool and confident. She was the type of pokemon that could make anyone listen to her, to scold them when they do something wrong, and could also handle dangerous situations without losing focus. She was also the only pokemon who treated Bidoof like he was the bravest and always had time to listen to his stories about his missions.
"Don't worry about a thing, me and Mana are always here. If you ever feel that things are getting tough, I'll swoop in and rescue you!" Riolu and Bidoof laugh. Mana interrupts the two, pointing ahead of her. Bidoof and Riolu follow her lead, walking down the path until the sun sets. They make camp under the trees and Mana stares at the stars until she falls into a deep sleep.
The human kneels down and touches the rotting plant. A vision comes her immediately and her eyes flutter open. Looking around briefly, she gets back up and starts running towards the designated location. Something in the shadows passes by, but she continues to run until a pokemon jumps out. She feints to the left and cuts across the bushes, looking back to see if she is being followed.
At last, the human reaches the tree and looks up. She touches it, feeling the warmth left over from her friend and watches as the vision unfolds. Her fingertips caress the tree and as gently as she is able, the human reaches through the bark and takes out a Time Gear and the tree immediately begins to rot.
"Who would've thought you'd still be alive?" The human turns, pocketing the gear. Her eyes widen in shock and recognition as the pokemon charges straight for her.