Disclaimer: I don't own pokémon!
All the assessments they had to do couldn't be done in one day, and Rok and Silvo definitely couldn't learn even the basics of the world outside the village in that time either. It took a whole week before all the assessments were done and the two eeveelutions could actually get through an entire day without asking about everything they saw.
A very stressful, very busy week. Rok honestly could barely remember it, the hectic schedule making his mind feel like a rag that had been soaked through with water and then rung out. Several times.
One thing he did remember though was everyone's reactions when Atala had brought him back after the battling assessment.
"What did she say to you?" Reaper had said (well, spat more like), her ruby gaze following the guild leader suspiciously.
"Was she mad? She looked pretty mad." Rage had added, picking at his claws nervously.
Smoke was mostly just concerned for any wounds he may have incurred. "Are you alright? You got hit pretty badly a few times. I'm sure we can ask for some medicine if you're hurt."
Meanwhile Silvo was…Silvo. "That was awesome! You've been holding out on me, why didn't you tell me you could fight like that? Soon as we've got the time, we're battling!"
It took a very long time to calm everyone down (especially Reaper). Honestly, it took a long time for Rok himself to calm down from the whole ordeal. But it felt…good, that his friends worried about him so much. Almost like he was back home, with his mother and the other eevee.
Come to think of it, they wouldn't be eevee anymore, would they? They'll have evolved and assumed their roles in the village as guards, farmers, or fishers. They'll spend the rest of their lives doing that, never knowing anything except what the Elders have taught them.
Never knowing of the great world just outside their trees, and all the incredible pokémon out there.
It was…kinda sad, when Rok thought about it.
"Rok, hurry up!" Silvo's peppy voice called from the doorway. "Atala's called us all to her office. Maybe we're finally done with all of these boring lessons and tests."
"What, the lessons and tests to ensure that we don't get sent to our deaths?" Reaper grumbled back.
"Come on, it's like I'm taking lessons back in the village again! I was supposed to be done with all of this stuff when I evolved."
"I don't know if you've noticed Sparks-for-Brains, but you're not in your village anymore."
Rok smiled to himself. No, they certainly weren't.
And he was starting to like it.
"Hang on, I'm coming." He yelled over to them, hopping off his bed. Turns out, every team got their own dorm in the guild, complete with a little "kitchenette" and a "bathroom". The beds weren't quite like the nests Rok was used to, with their squishy mattresses, heavy blankets and thick, pudgy pillows, but that didn't affect his sleep much.
That was another thing he was learning about the world outside the village. Everything may be different, but that didn't mean that the new things weren't also nice. Take the dens, for example (or as Rok had recently learned they were called here, "buildings"). They kept out the cold much better than the dens back in the village, and they were also much sturdier. The pokémon here won't have to worry about a raticate attacking in their sleep, that was for sure. Plus, they were so big! So many pokémon could live inside a single building!
Unfortunately, their size meant it was always a not-insignificant walk to get somewhere inside the building, even Atala's office, and the stone-like concrete the building was made out of didn't exactly make the walk pleasant for Rok's feet, so he couldn't help but feel a bit relieved when his team finally stopped outside Atala's now-familiar door.
"Enter!"
Their group filed in, and the corners of Atala's mouth curled upwards in a smile. Well, really it was more of a smirk, but it was the closest Rok had seen her come to a normal smile so that's what he'll call it.
"So, I'm sure you'll be happy to know that your assessments have finished-"
"Finally!" Silvo cried dramatically.
As Reaper rolled her eyes and scoffed, Atala's smirk-smile grew slightly. "-and you've been officially written into the system as the Misfits."
The lucario reached into a drawer in her table (desk, it's called a desk) and pulled out a set of simple grey scarves and a leather pouch.
Setting the scarves on her desktop, she showed the open mouth of the pouch to the newly-inducted Misfits.
Inside were several copper medallions, shaped like eggs with wings on either side.
"These are your exploration badges." Atala explained. "They show your rank, will transport you back to the guild if you're incapacitated on a mission, and allow you to communicate directly with the guild. Right now, you guys are Rookie rank, but as you increase your rank you will be provided with new badges with different colours."
"Cool!" Silvo said, staring at the badges with shining eyes. Rok himself couldn't tear his gaze away. There, was proof that they had joined the guild. That they belonged, a luxury that Rok hadn't had since he evolved.
It felt good. Better than good in fact. It felt like…like…
Like he had a family again.
And if everything goes according to plan, he and the other Misfits would ensure that every abused type will get that feeling.
"What are the scarves for?" Rage asked, snapping Rok out of his musings.
"Oh, these are just so you'll have something to pin your badges on." Atala replied, "Feel free to replace them if you don't like them."
Reaper shrugged, plucking a scarf from the desk. "Eh, these should be fine. Beggars can't be choosers and all that. Besides," she continued, her voice growing a familiar bitter note. "not like we have the money to buy anything else."
"Well, not until we start paying you." Atala told her, "Which reminds me, now that you all are fully inducted explorers, it's time for you all to be sent on your first mission."
Rok watched eagerly as Atala picked up a white lea-a piece of paper and handed it to Smoke. "Each of you has some skills, but since you're still only Rookies you're going on a low-priority mission for now. Simple item search-and-retrieval. A travelling doctor got attacked in the forest north of here and dropped his supplies."
"Seems simple enough." Smoke said, scanning the paper.
Atala nodded, standing sharply from her desk. "Stop by the front desk before you leave. You'll be provided with supplies to help you out. Use your badges to contact us when you arrive at the site."
A/N: I know that this chapter was pretty boring, but I needed to set-up some stuff for the rest of the story to progress. Next chapter should have some more action to make up for it!
Please review!