Chatot announced the exploration the next morning and encouraged everyone to try their best. Everyone burst in conversation. I looked at Pip with a smile.

"Let's do our best!" He announced.

Soon, the conversations stopped from a smog of odor. Down from the ladder came a Skuntank and his two minions whom seemed so familiar.

"You!" Koffing, Zubat, and Pip cried out. Everyone turned to look at the three Pokémon.

"What are they doing here?" Pip demanded.

Skuntank snorted, "We are an exploration team. Exploration Team Skull. What is a pipsqueak like you doing here?"

Pip took my hand and lifted it with his flipper. "We're an exploration team too!"

Team Skull laughed. Skuntank looked me in the eyes. "Well when you're done with this weakling come see me and maybe I'll let you join."

"I'll tell you from my grave."

Chatot flapped his wings before I could say something I knew I'd regret. "That is enough! Team Skull is a separate exploration team who is joining us on this exploration whether you all like it or not!"

The ground underneath us started to shake. "Why aren't my friends getting along, Chatot?" Wigglytuff was crying.

Chatot squawked. "They are! They are! See?" He pushed me and Pip to hug the skunk.

The rumbling stopped when Wigglytuff smiled. "That's good to see!"

Pip and I gave each other disapproving looks. As soon as we were able to unglue ourselves from the prison of Chatot's wings we got back in line.

"Now for some, uh…unfortunate news everyone." Everyone was silent as the dead. "A Time Gear in the Eastern Forest has been taken."

Everyone screeched in horror. Everyone but me. For some reason I felt relief rushing through my heart that a Time Gear has been stolen.

"Yes the unthinkable has happened…" Chatot said sadly. "But the Police are investigating so if there is any Pokémon that looks suspicious tell the police right away!" Chatot dismissed us and Pip and I ran to the beach to wash ourselves in the ocean.

"Ugh! It'll take me forever to get this awful stench out!"

Pip nodded. "Agreed."

All day we watched the Krabby blow bubbles that danced on the ocean and horizon. When the sun started to go down we walked back to the Guild. The atmosphere had finally changed. Everyone was hectic about something gone amiss in the kitchen where Chimeco stayed. We went to investigate.

"All of our storage of Perfect Apples are missing." Chimeco cried.

"What's the big deal about that?" It seemed something so small but everyone was trying so hard to find more.

"It'll upset the Guildmaster if we don't find more. You have to go get more. You can find some in perfect supply outside of Treasure Town in this forest." Chimeco pointed on a map she had displayed. Some parts of the map were circled and written was where you could find certain berries in great supply.

Pip and I went to the forest, which was a short distance away, and followed the map around.

I kept picking up apples on our way. "Is this a Perfect Apple?" I asked him.

"No."

"And this one?"

"No."

"This one HAS to be one."

"It isn't."

Our conversation continued like that until Pip stopped in front of a big tree. Pip pointed to huge apples. They were perfectly red and ripe and bigger than any of the apples that I picked up. "Those are perfect apples." He grinned. "Now lets get them down."

"Hold it now." Team Skull had followed us the whole way here.

"What do you three want now?" Pip demanded.

"We just wanted to help." As Skuntank said that Koffing and Zubat flew up and started picking the Perfect apples. They presented them to us.

I looked at them suspiciously.

"What's the matter, brat? Take them!" Koffing demanded Pip.

"This is a trap, I just know it." Pip whispered to me.

I nodded and watched the skunk Pokémon.

"No? Fine then." Him and Koffing released a sudden stench so powerful that Pip blacked out while I ran for cover, coughing and gagging on what I had breathed in. The winds picked up soon, taking away the smog. I ran to a knocked out Pip and shook him until he finally woke.

"Ugh now I really stink…" We looked up in the tree. There weren't any perfect apples left and Team Skull never left us any.

Chatot flapped his wings. "What? No Perfect Apples?" He exclaimed.

Wigglytuff shrugged. "It's okay, Chatot. We'll just use what's in storage."

"I don't think you understand, Guildmaster, we have no Perfect Apples."

Wigglytuff had a look of defeat on his face.

"No Perfect Apples? Well we can't have that happening." Zubat and Koffing pushed us out of the way so their cowardly leader could present the Guildmaster with his apple. "This is our token of friendship." It sounded so genuine that I almost believed it.

Wigglytuff danced around the apple happily, chanting something about friendship.

Chatot looked at the two of us. "I am very disappointed in you two. As punishment for failure and nearly causing a calamity you two shall go with no dinner. Now off to bed with you."

"That's a little extreme!" I complained as he pushed us out of the Guildmaster's office.

"No excuses!" He yelled before he slammed the door.

We couldn't sleep that night. Our tummies growled and hurt. Someone knocked at the door at some ungodly our of the night. I stood and opened it up even though all instinct told me to do was run and hide and never turn back. Outside the door was a basket of food. I heard Corphish and Bidoof's manly giggles from my room. I quickly took the basket inside and presented it to Pip in the darkness.

Quietly we ate until we were mostly full.