It was mostly silent other than the crashing of the waves as Flynn looked out at the ocean view near Craggy Coast. (Is it odd for a fire-type to appreciate a view like this?) he wondered idly, before shrugging it off. He took a bite out of the apple he was holding, just letting himself relax and enjoy the moment.

Melody was currently snuggled up to his side, eating an apple of her own. The two of them had come out to Craggy Coast for a mission, retrieving an item that someone had lost in the area, but they could afford to rest for a little while first after having made good time coming all the way out here.

Their routine hadn't actually changed that much after their heart-to-heart near the Shaymin Village several days ago. They still mostly just stuck to their guild work, since that took up most of their time. But on the other hand, that still meant spending their time together, doing work they both enjoyed, and getting to come out to places like this on a daily basis. And they could often spare a little while for moments like this, here and there.

And of course, they usually had at least a little extra time left after getting back to Treasure Town, so they could still stop by the cafe, or the beach, or other spots around town as well, if they wanted.

Though honestly, if you asked Flynn, little moments like this seemed more romantic and fitting for them than a more normal 'date' somewhere like Spinda's Cafe would probably be, anyway. Just the two of them, enjoying each-other's company and the scenery of the areas they got to explore.

It would still take some time for them to fully get used to this, especially for Flynn. Even exploring together definitely felt a little different, now, obviously. But it was a good kind of different, and neither of them had a problem with taking this slowly.

Eventually, they both finished their apples, but neither of them was in a rush to immediately get back up just yet. As the duo kept looking out at the ocean, Melody started quietly humming to herself, prompting a silent smile from Flynn. It was something she often did while they were busy exploring, though for a while after they'd first formed their team she'd get embarrassed if she realized she was being loud enough for Flynn to hear her.

Usually Flynn wouldn't recognize whatever tune she was humming, but this time he did. Just a day or two after they got back from Sky Peak, they'd received a Sky Gift from the Shaymin they'd helped climb to the summit. Upon opening it, they'd found a small music box, with an image of a gracidea on the side. It wasn't technically as useful as the detect band they'd gotten from the previous Sky Gift, but the tune it played was pretty and soothing, and Melody had taken a liking to it immediately, keeping it in the team's room at the guild.

(Not that I have any complaints, either. It is a nice tune. And it sounds even better coming from her.)

They did still have a mission to get to, though. So as the tune ended and Melody's humming faded to silence, Flynn quietly spoke up. "Ready to go?"

Melody nodded in response, starting to get back up. Before long, the duo was ready, standing just outside the entrance to the mystery dungeon. They shared a glance, Flynn giving his partner a silent smile, which she returned. Nodding at each-other, they turned back towards the entrance, stepping forward into the mystery dungeon.


One morning, just over a week after the expedition to Sky Peak, Chatot announced during the morning briefing that Team Sunrise would indeed be taking the guild's graduation exam. They were told that they had to make their way to the depths of Mystifying Forest, and defeat a heinous villain known as... "The Grandmaster of All Things Bad".

As silly as that title sounded, Melody was still really nervous. The other members of the guild had made it clear that the exam was no joke. The duo made sure to have as many supplies as they could manage before they headed out.

The dungeon itself, thankfully, was fairly tame. A few wild pokemon were strong enough to pose a threat, but most of them were pretty easy to defeat. Which had only made Melody more nervous. If the dungeon was this easy... then just what were they in for when they reached the end?

"What do you think this 'Grandmaster' is going to be like?" Melody finally asked, as they were exploring the thirteenth floor. She had a feeling they were getting close.

"...No idea." Flynn answered with a shrug.

"This whole thing doesn't really make sense, the more I think about it. I mean, for one thing, no-one outside of the guild seemed to have even heard of this 'Grandmaster'. And for another, why would the guild use someone like this as part of their graduation exam? Surely they'd have arrested him by now, if he was that bad... especially if they know he's hiding out here."

Flynn nodded in agreement. "There's... something else odd, too."

"Hm?"

"Everyone at the guild... seemed to act like they knew more than they could let on..."

"Yeah, that's true. They said that the details of the exam are supposed to be a secret..." Melody paused for a moment, before realizing what Flynn was getting at. "Wait, wasn't Loudred the only one of them who's actually taken the exam before, from what they said? So why do the others know more about all this than we do...?"

They didn't have to ponder all of that for too much longer, as they soon found themselves in a clearing, having reached the end of the mystery dungeon. The duo walked cautiously forward, keeping an eye out for danger. They couldn't spot any sign of other pokemon around, but this Grandmaster had to be around here somewhere.

Unfortunately, they were a bit too focused on looking around for other pokemon, and failed to notice a hidden pitfall until Flynn had stepped right into it.

Melody gasped, stopping at the edge of the hole and looking down to make sure her partner was alright. He assured her that he was fine, if a little sore. The pit thankfully hadn't been that deep. Melody was about to look through their supplies for something that could help when someone pushed her from behind, sending her tumbling into the hole as well.

The landing was softer than she'd expected, and she realized with slight embarrassment that she'd landed on Flynn's back. She wondered if he'd deliberately tried to catch her. She stepped down to the ground, but before she could say anything their attention was drawn to laughter coming from up above.

"Mwahaha... You've fallen right into my trap! I, the Grandmaster of All Things Bad, will make you regret ever setting foot here!" It was clear whoever was talking was trying to make his voice sound sinister, but he wasn't very good at it.

"You don't scare us!" Melody responded, with only the slightest tremor in her voice betraying her. "Now, show yourself, 'Grandmaster'!"

"He's not the only one you have to worry about," said another voice, but this one came from within the chamber they'd fallen to. The duo turned to face the sound, but couldn't see who it was. The light coming from the pitfall wasn't lighting up the whole area, and even when Flynn lit the fire on his back, it only helped so much. They couldn't even tell how big the room really was, though it was clearly quite large.

The new voice continued, "The Grandmaster has many minions, as well." This pokemon was also clearly trying to sound sinister, and unlike the 'Grandmaster', was having a bit more success at it.

"That's right!"

"You don't stand a CHANCE!"

More voices. How many pokemon were down here? Melody briefly glanced back and forth between the hole in the ceiling, and the darkness shrouding the rest of the room. She was shivering slightly as she called out again, "I-I said show yourselves! W-We don't care how many of you there are, we'll beat you anyway!"

Flynn silently looked through their bag as Melody talked, grabbing a petrify orb and getting ready to use it at a moment's notice.

"Mwahaha..." The Grandmaster laughed again. "Very well. I guess you can't very well fight what you can't see. Lights!"

A bright flash filled the chamber as a luminous orb was activated. Both explorers had to close their eyes briefly to block out the intense light. When they opened them again...

"W-What!?" Melody looked around in shock. Why were the rest of the guild apprentices here?

A thud came from behind, startling Team Sunrise. They whirled to look, finding the Guildmaster himself staring at them with a goofy grin.

"Mwahaha... That's right. The Grandmaster of All Things Bad is none other than... me!" Wigglytuff declared. Chatot flew down as well, and he and the Guildmaster made their way towards the rest of the guild members, taking their place at the far end of the room.

Suddenly, this situation was starting to make a terrifying amount of sense. Hesitantly, Melody started to voice the obvious conclusion. "W-Wait a second... So the graduation exam is..."

Chatot nodded. "Yes. In order to graduate, you must defeat the rest of us in battle."

"Y-You can't be serious! All of you? At once!?" All of Melody's confidence had quickly evaporated.

Loudred gave a booming laugh. "NOW you know why we said it's so TOUGH!"

"To be clear about the rules," Chatot added, "the Guildmaster and I will not be fighting until you defeat the other apprentices. Additionally, Bidoof will be on the sidelines for the whole exam. He made it clear that he wasn't comfortable trying to fight you two, even for something like this. So rather than making him hold back so much that he's not even a threat, he will instead be checking on everyone who gets defeated, bringing them healing items and making sure they're not hurt too badly. There shouldn't really be too much risk of that, in this case, but it doesn't hurt to play it safe.

"And on the note of healing items, that brings me to the other main rule for the exam: other than healing guild members after they've been knocked out of the fight, we are not allowed to use any items at all, healing or otherwise. For you two, on the other hand, orbs are prohibited, but you are otherwise allowed any items you wish, provided you can find time to use them."

"S-Still, though..." Melody muttered. Besides the fact that she didn't really want to have to attack her fellow guildmates, she wasn't confident she could handle this at all. There were too many of them, and most of them were at least as strong as her if not stronger, she thought. And that's not even considering the Guildmaster...

She felt a paw on her back, turning to see Flynn giving her a reassuring smile. If he had any doubts about their ability to pull through, he wasn't showing it.

Melody took a deep breath, calming her nerves a bit. (I don't have to do this alone. We're a team. And we've succeeded in tougher situations than this before. We can do this.) She returned Flynn's smile, nodding as confidently as she could manage.

Slowly, the other guild members started to get into position, surrounding Team Sunrise and taking a fighting stance. Wigglytuff, Chatot, and Bidoof were the exceptions, staying on the far edge of the room and just watching.

"Hey hey," Corphish called out. "Don't go easy on us just 'cause we're your guildmates. I'm giving this all I've got, and if you want to graduate, you're gonna have to do the same."

"That's right," Dugtrio added. "If you are not ready, we will overwhelm you like the vicious waves of the sea. You must be prepared to go all-out."

Loudred flexed an arm, giving them a cocky smile. "We're all TOUGH enough, you don't have to WORRY about holding back just so you don't HURT us too much."

Croagunk just smirked in his usual way, laughing quietly. "Meh-heh-heh... Best of luck, you two. You might need it."

"You can do it, Team Sunrise!" Bidoof cheered, in contrast to the other guild members' warnings. "I believe in you, yup yup!" Both Flynn and Melody smiled slightly at that, before focusing again on the matter at hand.

The two of them stood, back-to-back, looking at the rest of the apprentices. They were surrounded and outnumbered. Even with Chatot and Wigglytuff sitting things out for now, and Bidoof not fighting at all, it was still two against seven. They needed to narrow that down fast, or they wouldn't stand a chance. And with Chimecho able to use Heal Bell, Melody wouldn't be able to rely on just Singing some of them to sleep.

The other members of the guild waited, seemingly letting Team Sunrise have the first move. After a bit of hesitation, Melody launched a Thunderbolt at Dugtrio, who just cocked his heads, staring at the electricity in confusion. Just as it was about to connect, his eyes widened as he remembered Melody's ability, but by then it was too late to even try to dodge. Dugtrio was immediately knocked out, not having the resilience to endure a direct hit like that.

Meanwhile, Flynn attacked Sunflora with Flamethrower. She tried to get out of the way, but wasn't fast enough to avoid it entirely, still taking a lot of damage and getting burned.

That was one opponent down, and one more weakened, but that was the only head-start Team Sunrise was going to get. Now Loudred, Corphish, and Croagunk were advancing on them, while Diglett burrowed under the ground. Sunflora and Chimecho were keeping their distance, but they could both attack from that range, so that was even worse.

Flynn reached into their treasure bag, searching through it as quickly as he could. He pulled out a quick seed, passing it to his partner before curling up, enveloping himself in a Flame Wheel and rolling towards Sunflora at high speed. The grass-type let out a panicked "Oh my gosh!", firing a barrage of Bullet Seeds at him in an attempt to deter him, but he kept going. The Flame Wheel connected, and Sunflora collapsed, not having the strength to keep fighting.

Melody wanted to cover Flynn, but for now, she'd have to trust he could handle things on his own. She had enough to deal with at the moment, as Croagunk and Corphish were closing in on her, with Chimecho ready to assist them as well.

Thankfully, the quick seed's effects kicked in, and between the speed boost it granted and the detect band Melody was wearing, she was nearly untouchable. She weaved around Crabhammers, Poison Jabs, and the occasional Psywave, countering when she could.

Flynn didn't have much time to rest after taking down Sunflora, as Loudred had immediately started targeting him. He barely managed to avoid a Pound, and was about to retaliate when Diglett popped up next to him, slamming him with a Mud Bomb and swiftly burrowing back down again. Flynn was caught off-guard, and Loudred was able to follow up with a Stomp to Flynn's back.

Grunting in pain, Flynn felt his Blaze ability activate. He ignited his back, scorching Loudred's foot and forcing him to back off. Flynn stayed alert, listening for any hint of Diglett popping up again. As soon as he heard it, he launched a wild spray of flames in all directions from his back. The Lava Plume knocked out Diglett before he could do anything more, and did a lot of damage to Loudred as well. Flynn retreated afterward, hoping to regroup with Melody.

Not a moment too soon, as Melody was in a bit of trouble of her own. She had managed to defeat Corphish and weaken Croagunk without taking much damage herself, but the quick seed had worn off now. Even with her detect band still helping, Melody wasn't able to keep dodging attacks from both Croagunk and Chimecho forever. A Psywave snuck through, throwing her off long enough for Croagunk to land a Brick Break.

Melody staggered back, but managed to stay on her feet. Before either opponent could attack her again, a very displeased Cyndaquil bowled Croagunk over with a Flame Wheel, knocking him down for the count. Melody smiled gratefully, catching her breath for a moment after all the frantic dodging she'd been doing before.

Chimecho wavered a bit in the air as she realized it was down to just her and Loudred. She floated over to him, using Heal Bell to heal his burns and preparing to assist as best she could.

But Loudred had already been weakened too much from Flynn's earlier attack, and fainted from a Flamethrower before he could get in range to fight back. That left Chimecho to attempt to fight alone, and considering she was more of a supporter than a fighter, that didn't go very well.

After Chimecho was defeated, Flynn and Melody sighed in relief as they looked around. That was all of the apprentices down, though some of them had gotten healed already and were now watching from the sidelines. Flynn and Melody let themselves collapse to the floor, really wanting to rest for a bit after all that.

"Well done, Team Sunrise. But your exam isn't over just yet." Chatot's voice brought the duo back to reality, and they scrambled back to their feet. "You still have to prove yourselves against me and the Guildmaster."

"Yep! Prepare to face the true terror that is the Grandmaster of All Things Bad!" Wigglytuff shouted. On the far end of the room, Chatot took to the air, and Wigglytuff started approaching, one ominous step at a time, with a contrastingly silly smile on his face.

Flynn hurriedly rummaged through their treasure bag, grabbing two oran berries and a sleep seed. He passed one berry to his partner before eating the other himself. Chatot mercifully seemed to give the duo a brief moment to use their items before 'phase two' of the exam started, but even still, Flynn had barely finished his berry before he had to dive out of the way of Chatot swooping down at him.

At least he could feel the healing effects of the berry start to gradually spread through him. Even if it meant Blaze wouldn't be boosting him anymore, it was worth the trade-off at the moment.

Before Chatot could come back for another pass, Flynn took the sleep seed and hurled it towards Wigglytuff. It hit its mark, shattering into dust and quickly putting Wigglytuff to sleep. It likely wouldn't last as long as it would have if Wigglytuff had actually eaten the sleep seed, but it would hopefully give them some time to focus on just Chatot.

But Chatot wasn't going to make that easy on them. He quickly barraged Flynn with a Fury Attack, then retreated back to the air before either member of Team Sunrise could respond. He circled close overhead, swift enough that they struggled to catch him with any of their ranged attacks. He seemed to be just waiting for them to leave themselves open again. But they couldn't just take their time with him, or Wigglytuff would wake back up, and they'd have to fight both of them at once. They needed to think of something.

Melody whispered something to Flynn, getting a nod in response, before she started to Sing. Flynn covered his ears to avoid falling asleep himself, and started preparing his fire.

Chatot's eyes widened as he realized what she was doing, and he tried to fly out of range, but he was too late. He quickly started getting drowsy, and barely managed to come down with a relatively smooth landing before he fell asleep. His nap didn't last long, however, as he was hit by a Flamethrower. Melody readied a Thunderbolt as well, in-case Chatot was still going to keep fighting, but he stayed down. After a moment, he tiredly mumbled, "Well... played, you two," though he was too quiet for them to hear him.

Flynn and Melody both let out a sigh of relief. With Chatot down, the only one left was...

"Yoooooom..."

Flynn and Melody spun to face Wigglytuff, who was suddenly far too close for comfort. When had he gotten back up?! They had been distracted too heavily by Chatot, and hadn't paid enough attention to where the Guildmaster was. And now...

"...TAAAAAH!

The Hyper Voice sent both of them flying across the chamber, slamming hard into the wall. Flynn was knocked out from the collision, and Melody wasn't in great shape either. She shakily got to her feet, throwing the treasure bag from her back and retrieving what she needed from it.

She placed a reviver seed in Flynn's mouth, but didn't have time to eat another oran berry herself. Wigglytuff was approaching faster this time, seemingly not playing around anymore now that he was the last opponent left.

Melody fired a Thunderbolt his way, hoping to at least slow him down long enough for Flynn to get back up. But he simply charged right through it, before leaping into the air and preparing to Body Slam the Skitty. She managed to get out of the way in time, and Wigglytuff slammed into the ground, bouncing back up and landing on his feet.

Flynn had recovered by then, coughing out the now-useless plain seed and gathering his bearings again. He spat out a Smokescreen, hoping to stall Wigglytuff for just a moment. After that, both he and Melody desperately tried to keep their distance from the Guildmaster.

Wigglytuff was much stronger and more durable than them, that much was obvious. Their only edge was likely in speed, and hopefully range. Ideally, they might be able to chip him down with ranged moves, especially since it was two against one, and he couldn't chase both of them at once if they split up.

That was the plan, at least. It was the best thing either of them could think of on the spot. And it worked decently for a little while, with Wigglytuff even beginning to visibly tire a little after the third or fourth hit. Since Wigglytuff decided to focus on Melody, Flynn even had a chance to make his way back over to their discarded treasure bag, grabbing a vile seed for later.

But then Melody started to run out of steam. She'd already been worn down by the rest of the guild, and had barely had any time to rest or use any healing items. She simply couldn't keep running at full speed forever after all that. So Wigglytuff was able to finally catch up, and a flurry of Doubleslaps was more than Melody could withstand. She collapsed, leaving Flynn to face down the Guildmaster alone.

For just a moment, he doubted his chances, afraid that he wouldn't be able to finish this. But his determination quickly flared back up, which in turn made the fire on his back do the same. He knew how much this meant to Melody, and he refused to surrender yet.

Flynn tossed the vile seed, hitting Wigglytuff and rapidly weakening his defenses. Taking a deep breath, Flynn started to let his inner fire build up. As the Guildmaster continued to get closer, the pressure in the Cyndaquil's flame vents got more and more intense.

Just as Wigglytuff reached him, Flynn released it all in one, massive Overheat.

As the attack ended, Flynn's feet almost gave out from under him. He might have put a little too much into that one move. Still, even as tough as the Guildmaster was, that had to have been enough, right?

Wigglytuff had been pushed back slightly by the force of the attack, falling over onto his back. He dramatically held one shaky paw up, weakly crying out, "No! They got me... I, the Grandmaster of All Things Bad, have finally... been... defeated." He let his paw fall, going silent.

For several seconds, Flynn just stood there, silently blinking as he tried to figure out what to think. But soon, he heard loud cheering, as the other guild members rushed up to him. He hadn't been paying close attention to them, in the heat of the battle, but evidently Bidoof had managed to get them all back up on their feet while the rest of the fighting had gone on.

"That was AMAZING! I can't BELIEVE you guys DID IT!"

"Oh my gosh, congrats! I'm so happy for you both!"

"I knew you could do it! By golly, that was even more impressive than I could've imagined."

Flynn numbly took in the praise briefly, before realizing that Melody was still down. He pushed past the other guild members, walking back over to their treasure bag as fast as his tired legs would take him.

Once he'd retrieved a reviver seed, and given it to his partner, he waited a few seconds for it to take effect. Soon enough, she was getting back up, looking around for where Wigglytuff was. When she noticed that he was already down, and the other apprentices were crowding around her and Flynn, she paused, dazedly asking, "W... Wait. Is he...? Did we win?" Flynn simply responded with a nod and a tired, but warm smile.

The rest of the guild resumed congratulating them, now that Melody was conscious again to hear it. It seemed to take a few moments for it to really sink in, but gradually, a wide smile settled on the Skitty's face. They'd really done it. They'd actually passed.

Chatot loudly cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. He was standing over by Wigglytuff, who was still lying on the ground like he'd been since the fight ended. Chatot nodded at Team Sunrise. "I must congratulate you as well. You both fought excellently." He glanced over at Wigglytuff, rolling his eyes slightly. "The Guildmaster will also likely want to congratulate you, once he's done being melodramatic." He punctuated his statement by lightly tapping Wigglytuff's side with his beak and nudging a couple oran berries towards him.

"Aw, you're no fun, Chatot," Wigglytuff responded, finally abandoning his 'Grandmaster' voice as he sat back up. "I don't get to be the Grandmaster of All Things Bad very often, it's been so long since someone took the exam. And even longer since someone passed." He grabbed the oran berries, swallowing them whole before slowly starting to get to his feet. "Besides, that really did hurt."

Once he was fully back on his feet, he walked up to Flynn and Melody, beaming at them and dancing in place. "But enough about that! You did great, friends! Wonderful, splendid, amazing! You've passed with flying colors! I always love to see my guild friends come so far, and grow so much as explorers."

Flynn and Melody smiled back at him. His enthusiasm was a little overwhelming, but they'd gotten used to how he tended to be by now. "Thanks, Guildmaster."

"There are still some formalities left to make things official," Chatot added. "But that can wait until we get back to the guild."

The group remained there for a few more minutes, resting up a bit after all of the fighting, before starting the journey back. Thankfully, Mystifying Forest wasn't that far from Treasure Town, so the trip back didn't take too long, all things considered.


That evening, after everyone made it back to town, Chimecho went all-out preparing dinner, since it was the last time Flynn and Melody would be eating at the guild with everyone else. It was a little emotional, but everyone knew it was hardly goodbye. They would still be dropping by the guild almost every day to check the job boards, and they'd likely still cross paths with the other guild members fairly often around town.

Now that Team Sunrise had graduated, they couldn't keep staying in their old room in the guild, so they decided to move into the hidden den in Sharpedo Bluff that Melody had stayed in before.

Melody set down the treasure bag, before taking a look around and just letting it sink in. "We... We've actually done it. We're fully-fledged, graduated explorers now. It still feels a little surreal, to be honest. Graduating from a guild usually takes a good deal longer than this, from what I've heard. Especially from Wigglytuff's Guild."

"I can understand why," Flynn said bluntly, getting a laugh from Melody despite how tired she was.

Once she managed to stifle her giggles, she continued, "I suppose this is now officially our Team Base, and our home. It's not too fancy or anything, but it's fairly cozy, and a bit bigger than our old room at the guild. I think it'll work nicely. What do you think, Flynn?"

Flynn glanced around, nodding in agreement. He stepped a bit closer to the 'mouth' of Sharpedo Bluff before adding, "...The view's certainly nice, too."

"...Yeah, it really is." Melody walked up to Flynn's side, joining him in appreciating the moonlit ocean view for a little bit.

Soon, however, Flynn let out a yawn, reminding the duo just how tired they still were after everything from earlier that day. Any burst of energy they'd gotten from the oran berries and reviver seeds had long since faded. After setting up their straw beds again, they practically collapsed into them. At least now that they had graduated, Loudred wouldn't be waking them up at the crack of dawn anymore, so they could sleep in a bit if they felt like it.

Before they both drifted off to sleep, Melody quietly spoke, just loud enough for Flynn to hear. "Tomorrow's a new start for our team. Whatever it has in store for us... let's make it another great day."


A/N: I'd expected this chapter would be a lot easier to write than the last one, but it still gave me a lot of trouble in its own ways. As usual, I could probably keep nitpicking every little bit of this chapter forever if I let myself, but overall I'm pretty happy with it now. Again, feedback is always appreciated.

The graduation exam isn't really changed that much from the game, ultimately, but I actually like how it's turned out for the most part.

You may have noticed that the Luminous Spring scene is absent from this chapter. That's partly because, with how the graduation exam scene turned out, and with the final scene, I felt like trying to weave the Luminous Spring scene in there somewhere would break the flow too much. So that scene will happen next chapter.

EDIT (3/14/21): Made a couple of quick, tiny adjustments that I'd been considering making.