The constant chills the wind brought kept causing Smeargle to wake up and fall asleep again in a cycle. After waking up for the fifth time, he decided a good night's sleep was probably not an option, and sat up on the bench he was sleeping on. It was still dark, but also much quieter than before. No pokemon in sight or to be heard. It was peaceful. Smeargle sat for a moment to recall what it was he wanted to do. He was a bit surprised no one woke him up to tell him that he can't sleep on a bench, but the element of surprise came with gratitude. He wasn't sure how much sleep he had gotten, but he felt reasonably rested. He decided to go for a stroll.

"Now that it's less busy, I suppose I can walk around without getting shoved." He thought, feeling his wounds. The pain was still present, but absolutely nothing compared to when he first woke up in the cave. The smelly stuff he was wrapped in worked very well.

Smeargle began to explore the large town he had wandered in, but nothing seemed nostalgic. He was almost sure he's never been here before, for no landmarks triggered any memories. There were closed vendors, a housing area, a beautiful river he passed that sparkled under the moonlight. He came to appreciate the town very quickly.

After walking around for roughly thirty minutes, Smeargle stumbled upon a large building that seemed to be busy. It was further away from everything else, such as the residental areas and shopping district. The construct was lit up with torches, and had two large pokemon standing at the door. One was a mean looking Blastoise, and the other a relaxed looking Grumpig. Peeking through the windows revealed activity going on inside as well.

"Hey, you there. State your business." Blastoise caught Smeargle trying to catch a passing glance at what was happening inside.

"Oh, I just...I'm out for a stroll."

"At four in the morning?"

"Oh, so it's four." Smeargle thought.

"I'm sorry...but what exactly is this building?" He asked.

"...Town Guild." Blastoise answered with a straight face.

"You're new here, aintcha?" Grumpig asked, in a more friendly tone.

"I think so. Have either of you seen me around here before?"

"Are you being sarcastic?" Blastoise asked in an irritated tone.

"Well, no I just kind of...lost my...memories?" Smeargle squeezed the last words out, realizing that the two wouldn't buy that story. But it was too late. He said it.

"Amnesia, eh?" Blastoise said. "I don't buy it."

"I can't blame you." Smeargle thought.

"It does seem unlikely, but I don't see a reason you'd lie about something like that. I believe it." Grumpig said.

"That's...rather open-minded of you." Smeargle was surprised.

"You got any business here or you wanna move along?" Blastoise asked.

Smeargle thought about the question for a moment. He had no actual business with a guild, but he did recall how they worked. Somewhat.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can join the guild and get paid to be on the roster, right?"

Blastoise let a chuckle slip out. "Wrong. Not only do you have to be exceptional to join the guild, but you'd start out as a trainee."

"A trainee. I see."

"Basically, you wouldn't get paid for as long as you're a trainee." Grumpig added.

"What? That's lame." Smeargle replied.

"Most pokemon don't join guilds to make a living. They do it to help others." Blastoise said.

"It's true. Money's not the goal here." Grumpig added.

"Help others, you say?" Smeargle thought for a moment. "Alright then. Help me. I have amnesia, I'm homeless, I haven't eaten since yesterday, and I could really use a bath."

"Whoa kid, we don't just take in strays." Blastoise said.

"But you help others. You JUST said that. I'm in need of help." Smearlge replied.

"I have an idea." Grumpig said. Blastoise and Smeargle both turned their attention to him.

"Why don't we bring him in to see Diane? She does kind of call the shots...plus she's a decent lie-detector."

Smearlge expected Blastoise to be all "No, why should we waste her time with scum like him" or something along the lines of that character cliche.

"That's fair, I suppose. If he's lying, he'll be back out here in five minutes with no credibility." Blastoise agreed.

"Well then." Smeargle thought about how wrong he was in making a pre-emptive judgement.

Smeargle followed the two inside, taking looks and glances at all the pokemon doing their thing inside the large hall. The two pokemon Smeargle was following entered a room and told him to wait outside for a moment. After said moment passed, Grumpig opened the door and gestured for Smeargle to come in. Before him and the two he followed sat a Delphox wearing what seemed to be reading glasses. She gestured for him to have a seat in front of her. Smeargle reluctantly sat on a pillow facing the Delphox.

"So...amnesia, is it?" She got to the point rather quickly. Her red eyes turned a faint blue color.

"Yes m'am." He answered politely.

"And you say you're...homeless, hungry, and filthy?" She asked.

Smeargle blushed in embarrassment and facepalmed.

"Yes."

"Those wounds...do they hurt?"

"Not as bad as yesterday, but yes."

The Delphox looked at him for a moment with a serious look, after which she smiled and took off her glasses.

"He's telling the truth." She looked at Blastoise and Grumpig.

"Gut feeling hasn't failed me yet." Grumpig playfully nudged Blastoise with a condescending smile.

"If that's the case, I'm putting you in charge of this Smeargle, Gary. You're all dismissed." She resumed looking over some paper documents.

"T...thanks." Smeargle bowed awkwardly and followed the two guarding pokemon out.

"Guess you were telling the truth...sorry I doubted you, I guess. I'm going back outside." The Blastoise returned to his position.

"So your name is Gary." Smeargle said to the Grumpig.

"Yeah, nice to officialy meet you...you don't remember your name, do you?" Gary asked. Smeargle nodded.

"That's fine. Smeargle will do for now, unless you have a nickname You'd rather have me call you?"

"Smeargle is fine." He smiled.

"Okay...so the Delphox was Diane. She's the guildmaster. The Blastoise that will warm up to you real soon is Bradley. You know me, but feel free to call me teacher, master...or just Gary." The Grumpig said as he led Smeargle to a large room that was pretty much an indoor lake.

"Your first objective is to stop smelling bad. Take your time, cleansing supplies are right over there, and feel free to make some friends." Gary patted Smeargle on the head.

"Thank you for this."

"Help's what we do. I'll be next door." Gary left.

"A warm bath...this is nice." Smeargle walked to the edge of the pond and gradually got in.

"Very nice." He closed his and felt his fatigue slip away.