Hey, people actually remember this story? I call that a success.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The Shroud of Darkness

Chapter 03: Mashing "A" does not make them heal faster

(Psst! Put the hr here.)

So, the days rolled on, quite slowly, as my body began the work of healing itself. Mido dropped by periodically to check in on me, and I did meet Ian the Archen, who looked like a colorful sort of reptile/bird mixture. He was kind to me as well, and despite former misunderstanding, we got along well. The doctor let me rest quite often, which led to me sleeping through a lot of it.

"Just curious, what do you guys do around here?" I asked Ian one day. (Mido was out...doing something.)

Ian sort of paused a moment, taking a deep breath as he was thinking. "Basically, me and Mido run a Rescue Team, who help Pokémon in trouble. We leave for a few days, even a week or so, to go out and rescue Pokémon who are in a jam."

"Oh, that's cool! Is it hard?"

Ian gave a slight chuckle. "Yeah, but there's something about helping out others that makes everything worth it."

"Huh..." I started thinking. "So...what do I do after I get out of this...place?" I asked.

He clicked his tongue, staring at the wall for a moment, before he responded; "I...I don't know, but we should probably try and get you back home somewhere. Maybe we can visit the Rescue Guild after your leg's better and see if anyone's reported any missing Pokémon. We should try to get you home."

I turned towards Ian then. "Sounds like a plan...although I kinda get the feeling I'm very far from home."

"Hmm...well, if that fails, we should try to get you set up here. I think trying to get your memory fixed would be a good point to start off."

"Yeah..." I said, returning my view to the ceiling.

Just about then, Mido came walking in, a bundle of cloth wrapped under his arm.

"Sky, I found them!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, Mido, I...found what?" I asked in a confused way.

He unwrapped the cloth bundle on the table Ian was sitting at. I turned my head to see what it was.

"It's your skull and your bone!" he explained.

Yep, those were definitely a skull and a bone. The bone was...well, it was a bone. It looked surprisingly long, and looked a bit like a...femur, I guess. The skull, however, was sort of long too. It had some sort of snout on it, what could have been fangs on the mouth, two great holes where eyes would've gone, holes up front for nostrils, and it had 2 short horns coming off the back.

I stared at them for a moment, puzzled, perplexed. Sure, they looked...sort of vaguely familiar, but I really couldn't place my finger on it. "Alright, and what about it?" I asked.

Mido and Ian looked at eachother, in varying degrees of shock. "You mean...you mean you don't know what these are?" said Mido, bewildered.

I shook my head slightly.

"Well," said Ian, cutting off whatever it was Mido was going to say, "Cubones are bonekeepers, right? Well, they wear their mother's skull, and they use bones as weapons. Does that ring any bells?"

"I...no?"

Ian just sort of shook his head. "Alright. Well, let's leave 'em here anyway, since they are yours."

I could feel their disbelief at just how far-reaching my amnesia was.

-HR-

Jump forward a few days after those two brought me in to this clinic, they approached me, with various pieces of gear and a strange look in their eye.

"Hey guys," I said, weakly motioning my arm towards all of their equipment, "what's all that for?"

"Yeah, hi Sky," said Mido, his voice a bit heavy.

"Well, you remember how we told you about being in a Rescue Team and all that, yeah?" asked Ian.

"Yes, I do," I responded, "why do you ask?"

"Me and Mido are gonna be gone for a few days, we just wanted to let you know. You think you can hang on 'till we get back?"

"...Oh." was my response.

I didn't want them to leave, since I didn't have anyone else I really knew. Oh sure, there was Dr. Bronson, and he was friendly enough, but...

"It's just a little bit, Sky!" said Mido, sudden happiness in his voice.

"...I...yeah, I think I'll survive that long."

"Alright, we'll...we'll be back in a few days, then!" said Mido.

"Yeah, you...just be good until we get back, alright?" said Ian.

I nodded.

"Okay, then...we'll...bye then, Sky," said Mido. He lightly grabbed my shoulder, looking at me with a bit of a heavy grin, before he and Ian left out the door.

"...Bye guys..." I called softly to them.

Oh, how I would miss their company...

-HR-

Thankfully, the days began to get a bit less bland as Dr. Bronson told me that he thought I was healthy enough to begin to walk around, albeit with aid. Still, it was infinitely better than laying on a slightly uncomfortable bed all day. When I would go out for my walks, Nurse Ellie would help me. She was all blue, had 4 legs, a long trunk which she would use to grab things, big ears, and a weird red band over her forehead; a Phanpy, as I was told later.

"Oh, don't fall over!" she said quickly, catching me by the shoulder, "you shouldn't do that!"

"You think I'm trying?" I told her, giving her a slight grin.

She smiled back, pleased as punch to be helping me out. "Well, I keep telling you that, and eventually you're gonna stop trying to!"

I grabbed hold of my crutches once more, adjusted them under my arms again, and resumed my walk. One of my more favorite things to do during this time was visiting some of the other patients. There weren't too many, most people just in the clinic because of rescue missions or other infirmities.

There was Violet, who was yellow and black with long ears – A Helioptile – who was also a Rescue Team member, who was dragged in thanks to a bad time at a cave somewhere. There was Remmy, with black fur, a red belly, white bands everywhere, and another white thing on his head – A Houndour – who was Violet's comrade. There was Oliver, who had jagged brown-and-white fur – a Zigzagoon – who had gotten trapped in some sort of cave-in.

I'd go over others, but we'd be here all day potentially.

As I was heading along, Ellie slowly grabbed me and took me down a different direction.

"Hey, I want to show you someone!" she told me.

"Oh, I-alright, who is it?" I asked.

"Well...let me show you!"

I followed, not having too much of a choice.

We reached the room and headed inside. Inside, there was a blue Pokémon laying on the bed, with hard, white ridges across his head, and a yellow belly. He was also covered in numerous cuts and bruises, had bandages covering a few parts of him, and had a very large bandage stuck over half his head.

Ellie gave him a gentle nudge with her trunk, and his eyes fluttered open. He groaned in discomfort. Oh boy, I knew that feeling...

"Hello, Bagon! This is Sky!" said she.

"...Oh...I see..." grunted Bagon.

"So his name's Bagon?" I asked.

"Nonono, he can't remember his name either. He's a Bagon, so that's what we're calling him." explained Ellie.

I could begin to see why she brought me here. I approached the Bagon.

"Well, hello then," I said, gently grabbing his hand with mine before releasing it. The Bagon gave a faint, weak smile.

"...Sky, huh?" he asked.

"Well...sort of? That's what they're calling me, at least until I can remember my name," I explained.

"...You...you can't remember anything...can you?" he asked between breaths.

I shook my head. "I guess we're in the same boat then with amnesia?"

He gave a light chuckle. "...Yeah, I...I guess so..."

"A Rescue Team brought him in from Baron's Peak, where he fell out of the sky! Just like you did, Sky!" said Ellie.

Suddenly, I had a thought. "Hey, uh just curious, but have you had any...sort of memories abo-"

"Ellie...why are you here with Sky?" asked a voice behind me.

I turned around, and saw Dr. Bronson.

"But sir, I thought it w-would be good for him to meet someone else, since he...really doesn't see anyone, so I brought Sky in here to meet him, b-because they've both got amnesia and all o-"

Dr. Bronson put up a hand to stop her. "No no, Ellie, you are not in trouble. You can calm down. However, I would like you to notify me before you take visitors in here. Bagon is in very bad condition, so we need to keep a close eye on him. Alright, Ellie my dear?"

"Y...y-yeah!" she stammered.

"Alright," he said, turning towards me, "I've been looking for you, Sky. I've brought in someone who might be able to help you with your memory."

"I...you do?"

"Yes, her name is Sylvie," explained the doctor, "Why don't you two follow me back to Sky's room, and I will introduce you there?"

Me and Ellie nodded, and she accompanied me back to my room. Inside, I was greeted by a pink Pokémon with large, tufty ears, a jewel in the middle of her forehead, and a tail that split in half towards the end. Behind her was a white Pokémon with large brown ears, a strange pointy bit on his head, and the end of his tail was fluffy with green on the end, which he was holding in one hand.

The doctor gestured at the two. "Sky, this is Syl-"

The pink one, who I assumed to be Sylvie, cut him off then, her voice surprisingly cold. "I feel he's already aware of who I am." She studied me for a brief moment. "I'm surprised you called me in for this, Bronson, can you not remedy this yourself? Did I teach you nothing?"

He looked surprised by this comment. "This is unfortunately beyond my expertise. Did I not explain this in the letter?"

Sylvie closed her eyes for a moment. "Shall we begin then?"

Ellie helped me up to the bed.

"Who's your friend?" I asked Sylvie.

She stared at me for a moment. "Let us not waste time here. Giuseppe, we're beginning."

The white Pokémon, Giuseppe presumably, nodded. The two came to the bedside, Ellie moving swiftly out of the way.

"You, Cubone, please calm yourself, as we're going to begin now. Do not panic."

I nodded. I then noticed her eyes and her jewel light up. All I could do was look into those eyes, as everything around me began to become darker. Eventually, everything became black, save the glow of the eyes, though those too began to darken themselves, until all was a black void.

(Put another one here!)

Well, there you have it folks.

Initially, I wanted a cliffhanger here, but I decided against it. Plus, what part I was going to put on the end will now be the start of a new chapter. Ain't that something?

...Why do I tell you guys these things...?

Anyway, in case I forgot to mention, I'm actually writing a few chapters in advance. I just posted the first chapter yesterday, as of writing this. Hopefully that lets me be a bit more...punctual with my chapters.

Anyway...not really sure what to write here, other than thanks for the support thus far. I honestly thought you all forgot I even existed, but Kataia is still there, supportive as always. 10 views already on the first chapter? Absolutely excellent.

Anyway, I'd better get ready for work now...because I need money for college...yeah...

Auf Wiedersehen!

- JacobDaGun