Chapter 3: City on a Hill

Edward groaned as the light struck his eyes. He stretched out, yawning as he did so. Still groggy, he shook his head, trying to rid himself of the last vestiges of sleep that clung to his mind. He opened his eyes and was instantly confused. Instead of his room, he was in a different location entirely. He stood up and immediately felt the wrongness of his posture, resting comfortably on four legs instead of two. A shiver ran through his fur as the memory of the preceding day's events rolled through his mind. He sat down and held out his right paw so that he could see it. It was still covered in brown fur and had a feline shape to it.

"It was real," he whispered to himself, now fully resigned to this new reality. He moved his paw to his neck and tugged on the silver scarf still tied there. A sea of emotions whirled inside of his mind, but he refused to fall into the despair that had taken him last night. One foot forward at a time, Edward thought to himself, Keep a steady head and try to find out more information. First things first, get dressed and-. Edward's mind hit a hard stop as something finally clicked for him. Aside from his scarf, he was utterly naked, as had been every creature he had come across. Shame and shock rolled over him like a cold wave.

Just before his thought process could truly start to spiral; however, there was a knock at his door. "Breakfast is ready," the voice of Kate's grandpa called.

"Err, I'm awake. I will be there momentarily," Edward said, looking around the room for anything that could function as clothes. He moved to the chest, carefully lifting the lid to see extra blankets folded and packed neatly away.

"Alright. Don't take too long or it will get cold," Dale said. Edward heard the footfalls of the beast stomp away from the door and back down the hallway. Turning back to the chest, Edward dug around for a bit until he found a smaller quilt that was only a few sizes too big and carefully draped it over himself. He looked himself over, making sure the yellow quilt was securely covering himself, and then slowly walked out of the room.

The smell of cooked ham wafted through the air as he walked down the hall, awakening his hunger. As he rounded the corner, he saw Dale in the kitchen watching a kettle hanging over the stove fire while Agatha and Kate, the latter of whom was wearing a large brown satchel over the shoulder, were setting the table. On said table sat a tray of hardtack with circular slices of ham on a separate plate. A jar of preserves sat beside and a full pitcher of water stood ready to be poured. A hearty breakfast by any estimation, and Edward was definitely ready to eat.

As he approached, Kate turned and caught sight of him, and tilted her head in confusion, "Uhm, Edward, are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, why?" He asked as he plopped down on a cushion, adjusting the blanket to make sure he was fully covered.

"You're wearing a blanket," Kate said stifling a laugh as she took a seat next to Edward.

"Are you feeling cold?" Agatha asked, looking over at the Eevee, "Do you have chills? A fever? According to Kate, you were on the beach for a while. You could have caught a cold."

A shiver ran through Edward as a shadow of a memory pressed against his consciousness. This memory, however, he turned away, focusing on the present, "No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Agatha asked, unconvinced.

"Yes, I just wanted some covering, that's all," Edward said, hiding his embarrassment by grabbing a piece of hardtack. It was softer than he expected, the warm fluffy wafer crumbling in his paws, "Ah, they're soft."

"That would be my famous biscuits," Dale said with a smile, walking over to the table with the kettle, "Best with some Oran Berry jam and a nice strong morning tea."

"Eh, they're actually best as improv breakfast sandwiches," Kate said happily, demonstrating her technique by ripping the biscuit in two and putting a slice of ham in between the pieces. She then greedily ate the breakfast sandwich in one gulp.

"Slow down and chew," Agatha chastised with a sigh, "Sometimes I swear you're a Munchlax rather than a Fuecoco."

"A biscuit, right," Edward said, frowning. He decided to take Dale's advice, though stopped as his paw tapped the spoon. A sudden realization spread through him, he could not use the utensils. He looked to Agatha, hoping she might demonstrate how a four-legged being might serve themselves, only to see the little firebird that usually rested on her snout spreading butter on her toast for her. He next looked to Dale, who had sat down and begun to use his vines to arrange his plate.

Agatha looked up from her plate, and saw his predicament, "Oh, I suppose you haven't adjusted to using your mouth for things yet. Spark, help him out." The little firebird dutifully saluted and fluttered over to the jam, picking up the spoon and putting a healthy heaping onto Edward's open biscuit.

"Thank you," Edward said quietly and carefully bit into his biscuit. His eyes went wide as the sweet flavors danced on his tongue, making him feel invigorated and energized. He quickly wolfed down the rest of the biscuit, much to the bemusement of Kate, who had already devoured her second ham biscuit, "See, Edward gets it."

Dale chuckled as he poured himself a steaming cup from the kettle, "Would you like some tea, Edward? It's a special morning brew."

Edward nodded, wolfing down another biscuit. Dale passed the cup to him, and Edward gently picked up the warm glass and brought it up to his snout. The steam washed over his face, and the scent was unlike anything Edward had experienced before. Gently, as not to burn his mouth, Edward took a sip of the liquid. It was bitter, hot, and wonderful. "By God Almighty," he said in shock, "This is amazing! What did you say this was again?"

"Tea," Dale said as he took a sip from his cup, "Good to find someone else who enjoys the drink."

"Great," Kate groaned, "I get to hear more about the world's most bitter drink."

"It's fantastic," Edward said, taking another sip, "The bitterness is only one aspect. There is also the heat, which warms one to their core, and the slight tingling, I feel a bit more awake! I can see why this is an excellent morning drink, though I would wager it could be refreshing at any time of the day." Edward eyed the biscuits, a plan starting to form within his mind.

Just before he could enact his culinary innovation, however, Kate spoke up, "Oh, Edward, I planned on showing you around the town today. You know, get yourself used to things around here."

Edward paused, "I suppose that makes sense. I may as well get used to this place for the time being, and walking around will acclimate myself to this new body."

Kate nodded, "Plus there is so much to show you, from the market to the guildhall, Sahara Town has a lot to offer."

"Fine then, after break-WAH!" Edward began, but was interrupted when Kate dragged him away by his tail from the table, leaving his blanket and tea behind, "No, wait, my coverings! My TEA AND BISCUITS!"

"You can have more tea later, we're burning daylight!" As she opened the door, Kate said, "Bye grandma, bye grandpa, see you later!"

"Be safe dear," Agatha said with a chuckle, "And be gentle with him, remember that he is still adjusting."

"No, help!" Edward said helplessly as Kate left the house, dragging him along, "HELP!"

After about two minutes of being dragged along the cobbled road leading up into the town proper, Edward gave up, "Fine, stop dragging me and let me walk." Kate complied immediately, letting go of his tail.

The Eevee got up, stretching out his body and shaking the dust out of his fur. Despite some minor discomfort, he was no worse for wear, which bothered him slightly. Being dragged through the street like that should have resulted in a bit more than a sore tail, yet it seemed as if his new body was built with such abuse in mind, "You could have waited a bit longer before resorting to such barbaric tactics, you know."

"Eh, I was done, and you'd had two biscuits," Kate said, patiently waiting as the Eevee stretched, "Besides, you were about to get sucked into grandpa's favorite pastime, drinking tea. And that could have taken hours."

That would have been fine with me, Edward thought, but knew better than to argue the point, "Right then, I don't think you broke anything. Let's get going."

Kate nodded, "Alright, well first up, we have a few neighbors," she pointed to a few more dessert stone villas nestled along the road, "Oh, it looks like Mrs. Linda is out today. Hi Mrs. Linda!" Kate said, waving.

Edward followed Kate's gesture to see a brown horse-like quadrupedal creature waving back by lifting her right foreleg off the ground and swinging it back and forth. The creature had four baskets tied to her, two on either side, each filled with different berries. On her head was a straw hat that no doubt protected her eyes from the glare of the mid-morning sun. Edward blinked, "She's a horse?"

"Huh, no, she's a Mudsdale," Kate said as she stopped waving and the 'Mudsdale' did likewise and walked closer.

"Kate, how are you doing today?" The horse-like creature questioned. She truly towered over the pair, another reminder to Edward of how unfair his new stature was.

"Pretty good, this is my new friend," Kate said in a cheery voice, "His name is Edward."

"Err, pleased to meet you," Edward said awkwardly.

The Mudsdale laughed, "Likewise. I am Linda, by the way. My husband and I grow a variety of berries and sell them at the market. Is that where you two are heading?"

"Yep," Kate said enthusiastically, "I have to show Edward around, he's new here y'know."

"Oh my, and where does our newest addition to Sahara Town hail from?" Linda asked.

Edward paused, unsure how to broach the topic. Kate had been fairly accepting, as had her grandparents, but explaining everything from the beginning would be an outright bother. If he had to do this for every slightly curious creature, he would go mad from hearing his own voice. Fortunately, Kate spoke up for him, "That's a sensitive topic. He washed up on the beach yesterday and is suffering from some memory loss."

"Oh dear," Linda said, a pitying look crossing her face, "I hope I did not offend."

"It's fine," Edward said, his voice careful and even, "I'm just, readjusting."

"Well, how about you come by my husband's stall when you get into town and I'll give you a free Sitrus berry, on the house?" Linda asked, "A little welcome gift from us."

"I, err, sounds good," Edward stuttered and shook his head, "I mean, that would be very generous of you and your husband."

"My goodness, you're a polite young lad," Linda said with a chuckle, "Perhaps you could teach Kate here a thing or two about manners while you're learning about the town."

"Hey, I'm not-"

"Sounds like a splendid idea," Edward said with a smile. Linda chuckled, and turned to trot away, "Take care you two," she said and with a steady canter, disappeared down the road.

Once she was gone, Edward turned to Kate, "So I'm just some poor sod who washed ashore with memory loss?"

Kate shrugged, "I thought it was the best way to sum up everything without Pokemon asking too many questions."

Edward frowned. They weren't technically lying, but it still felt a bit dishonest. However, he saw no real alternative, "Right then, I suppose that's the story."

Kate nodded, "Besides, I definitely don't want to sit around and wait for you to slowly explain everything to every new face we meet. We have exploring to do!" And with that, she began to run ahead of him.

"Hey, wait up," Edward said, taking off after her. As he chased her, the scattered villas began to grow more uniform with less space between each house. Eventually, the villas disappeared altogether and blended into larger sandstone apartments and shops, occasionally broken up by patches of gardens and swaying palm trees. And all around, in the sandy cobbled streets, were hundreds of strange and bizarre creatures. A group of yellow sheep being led by a pink bipedal sheep-like creature moved down the street past a group of crab creatures, two of which were more lobster in appearance and had stars on their heads. A group of lizards, some red, some yellow, some green yet all bipedal hoovered around a stall where a quadrupedal green lizard-like creature with a single leaf on his head was selling what looked to be chili peppers. The yellow lizard paid for a particularly bright red one and ate it whole, much to the amazement of her peers. She seemed to instantly regret her decision.

Kate jerked him to the side, and pointed to a rather colorful-looking building, painted in greens and purples, "That's the Kecleon Shop. Almost every major town has one. They're an international merchants guild based in Lively City, which is on the Water continent. They mainly sell goods for expedition teams."

"Kecleon? Expedition teams? Water continent?" Edward questioned, but when he looked to Kate, she was already moving on. He had to dodge around a deer-like creature with autumn leaves in his branches to catch up with her.

She paused in front of a building that, for some unknown reason, was in the shape of a chest, "That is the bank. It's run by a family of Gimmighoul, and trust me, you do not cross that family." She produced a small coin pouch from her satchel, "Fortunately we won't be needing a loan today!"

"But why is it a che- wait, slow down!" Edward said, having to once again chase after his tour guide. This time she led him to another building, this one sporting a large window through which fabrics of all types could be seen.

"This is Threading the Needle, run by Ms. Marisa. She's a Scolipede," turning back around, she pointed to a large building with a green and red banner flapping in the wind, "That's the Saraha postal service. They employ mostly flying types. Now if you want the latest news," She pointed to the building next to it. This one was larger and brown in color with a tan zig-zag pattern running down the edges, "Best head to the Sahara Times. It's run by Lawrence the Linoone and his family. Look, see that Zigzagoon?" She pointed to the small quadrupedal dog-like creature with tan and brown fur sitting on a stool with a stack of papers on his right that was higher than he was. Said creature was shouting at nearby pokemon, enticing them to buy the latest edition of the 'Sahara Times', "They sell the paper. It's mostly boring, except for the satire bits."

"Please, give me a moment," Edward panted, "To catch my breath."

"Oh, sure! Are you thirsty?" Kate questioned handing him a canteen full of water. Edward sat down and drank from it greedily. After a moment, he handed the now half-filled canteen back to her.

"Now, let's take out time and- WOW!" Edward exclaimed as Kate picked him up and moved him to the side. Bursting past them was a strange long-necked hooved beast that had been sprinting on all four of its spindly legs.

"Hmm, I think that was Martyn, the owner of Martyn's Move Crystals. That's where you can go to purchase more moves if you have the coin for it." Kate said with a huff, "He should know better to run around like that. He could have trampled us!"

"And just when I've caught my breath," Edward muttered, which proved to be the wrong thing to utter as Kate said, "Ah, good, then this way!" And proceed to lead on. Sighing, Edward trailed behind her towards the largest building in the town, a large rectangular building sporting a massive dome set on top of a hill overlooking the city. Mercifully, the hill was not a steep one, though traffic seemed to pick up as they reached the open plaza in front of the building. The plaza itself had colorful tiles and centered around a large fountain with two stone dogs, one wielding a sword in its mouth and the other having a shield around its neck, stood sentinel over the fountain. A number of street shops and other merchants, including another Zigzagoone selling papers, were set up in front of the building. In fact, Edward could make out a familiar Mudsdale standing next to a green reptile with a mushroom on his head operating one of the stalls.

Edward's head was spinning, trying to take in all the different creatures. So many odd types roamed about, making his head spin, "And this," Kate began, making a grand gesture, "Is our destination, Sahara Town's very own Expedition Guild!"

Author's Note: Yet another chapter released on time! This one was very fun to write, Kate blitzing poor Edward through town to get him unknowingly to the guild in record time really allowed for some comedic interactions. The next chapter may be a week late due to mid-terms.