When they had been directed to the village's guild on their miniature quest to find the mayor, they had not been sure what to expect.

Piers found himself losing control of his tongue as he stared at the towering structure with wide eyes. Next to him, the hinge of Raihan's jaw must have broken by how it had dropped in such a way that it was almost at a right angle with the top of his mouth.

They had felt their fair share of amazement since arriving in the village, marvelling at how Pokemon had been able to create such charming yet sturdy homes and landmarks. However, the sight that greeted them was indeed incredible, made of steel enforced bricks that had been painted silver. The guild certainly adopted the vulpine theme of the village, or did the guild set off that trend? As what they were looking at seemed to be a building entirely designed to resemble some form of fox Pokemon, with the door being its mouth and the taller slimmer attachments on each side clearly being intended to mimic its fore-legs.

Raihan was the first to speak as he finally regained power over his jaw again. "So… Do you think this is where the village's budget went?"

Piers shoved his tongue back into his mouth. "Jeez, the architects must be pleased with themselves… Is this supposed to be a Vulpix or a Ninetales?"

The Trapinch quietly regarded the structure. "It doesn't have the curls so it's either a bald Vulpix or a baby-faced Ninetales. The colour leans towards shiny Ninetales though… What if it isn't either?" His friend stared at him. "Maybe it's a fox Pokemon we've never heard of."

"That's something to consider," he mumbled. He sighed, looking up at the massive door. It looked like any ordinary door, however there was a very obvious problem. Yet it was one they had not thought about, otherwise they would have asked for assistance. "How… How do we open this thing?"

Raihan narrowed his eyes, glaring at the handle sitting half a foot above his eye-line. He cranked his neck up and snapped with his teeth, however they came about an inch short. "Maybe I need to get on my tip-toes."

Piers stared down at his friend's toeless stubby legs. "Good luck with that, if your mouth can't reach I don't think your fore-legs will. Maybe if you jump a little."

"Have you ever seen a Trapinch jump? It isn't far." Nevertheless, he did so. Perhaps 'jump' was an exaggeration of what exactly he did, however the extra few centimetres was enough for him to hook his teeth round the handle. "Got it! … Now what?"

Despite having managed the feat, Raihan's body was now dangling from the lever, feet kicking in his attempt to push himself and the handle down. The Zigzagoon silently evaluated the situation, having barely understood that mumbled mess of words. "... Honestly, I'm at a bit of a loss. Maybe if you push yourself up, you'll be able to force your weight on the handle."

Would that work? Clenching his jaw tighter around the obstacle, Raihan kicked his legs back and forced them up in the air, pushing himself back downwards against the handle.

The Trapinch crashed to the ground with a thunderous thud, Piers barely stumbling back in time to avoid getting flattened. His pulse raced as he looked at his disorientated friend, then back at the door. Where their adversary had once been, there was now a gaping hole. "... Raihan, what the fuck did you just do?"

His friend quietly groaned before spitting out a small chunk of metal. "I did what you told me to do. I'm not excited to find the other end of that." He coughed and a bolt bounced off the ground. "I'm never listening to your ideas again."

Perfect, Piers silently remarked to himself as he glared at the unyielding building. "I wonder if we can dig our way through. Rai, what level do Trapinch learn-"

"Don't even think about it!"

"Sheesh." He sighed and looked at his claws. How hard could it be to learn Dig without a TM?

Five minutes passed by. Raihan idly watched as Piers continued to attack the powerful earth beneath his feet. However, the earth must have possessed immunity because despite the fact he had slashed at it with a rough pace of 15 times a second, all that they had to show for it was a pathetic dip that would serve as a poor moat for a sandcastle. "This world really doesn't make sense."

"Tell me about it!" the Zigzagoon growled, flinching as some of the dust backfired into his face. "Is this why improvising your moves doesn't work? Do Pokemon become physically incapable of executing a move once they 'forget' it?"

They heard footsteps and turned to see a pair of talons almost completely covered by a coat of golden feathers, which blended into red as they looked up, taking in what exactly they were looking at. Whilst as a human, Raihan would have been roughly the same height as the Blaziken, however in their current bodies, both him and Piers felt extremely insignificant and maybe a little intimidated by the bird Pokemon. "What on Earth happened here?" The humanoid chicken's voice was gruff and their glare was piercing as it set on them, before drifting to the hole in the door. "Oh. Not again."

"N-Not again?" Piers mumbled, his voice leaving a little higher than desired. Piers would consider himself a simple man with one fear. 'Giant chickens' was not a secondary fear he expected to develop, however he had never exactly expected to shrink to barely a foot tall either.

"New recruits are always struggling with the door, I'm not sure why they haven't just made it a push door by now. I recommend you two back off." Regardless of how those words were meant to be delivered, one would not question the will of a six foot chicken. They scurried out of the way and watched Blaziken lift their leg. Their talons ignited. "Blaze Kick!"

The battle cry was unneeded, the poor door was obliterated before even a second passed. Not even a scrap of wood remained, only a hole which gaped even wider than their mouths as they witnessed the wreckage. Blaziken seemed to take a few seconds to admire their work, before throwing a glance over their shoulder at the former humans.

"Come on."

Raihan nudged Piers and the Zigzagoon quickly rolled his tongue back up, then they took after their 'rescuer'.

There were a few Pokemon in the lobby of the guild, watching them and whispering.

"Wow, did you see that?"

"Doesn't she realise the insurance comes out of our pockets?!"

That seemed to be a very irritated looking Infernape.

"Yuri's back already?" the whisper caught Piers' attention, as he looked to see a Sylveon quietly conversing with a Jolteon. "Flaaffy's not going to be happy."

"He never is," Jolteon grumbled, continuing to watch after Blaziken. "I was wondering what all the commotion outside was, we told the headmaster he should have lowered the door handle."

Raihan looked at the gossiping Pokemon then at their saviour. 'Yuri' seemed to be completely ignoring them, in favour of squawking a message as she stopped before a staircase. "Deputy Flaaffy, get your woolly ass down here!"

It was not long at all before the fluffy sheep came down, crossing his arms as he glared at her. "Could you be any louder? I was with a client!"

"If you want me to be louder, I'll see if the shop's selling Echoed Voice." She yawned. "The door was playing up so these two were stuck outside, I fixed the problem now though."

Flaaffy looked at the former humans, then at the gaping hole at the other end of the lobby. "Oh for fuck's sake. This is why I told Headmaster Falinks to install a doorbell."

"Do you mean Headmasters?" Raihan piped up, prompting him to shake his head.

"No, our headmaster is a singular Falinks. His troopers didn't share the same aspiration so he does all the work himself. However on occasion, the six reunite for combat. It's rather… Inspiring."

Piers tilted his head. "I guess being one unit doesn't mean they can't have their own hopes and dreams, eh? Ah right, Flaaffy, we need to see Mayor Ninetales. We were told we'd find him here."

Flaaffy sighed, turning back to face the stairs. "Of course you were, When the mayor isn't doing his own duties, he's bothering me. I'll bring you up to the meeting room if you want to talk to him in private." He shot a tired glare at Yuri. "You should deliver a message to our carpenter then get to work. Whilst Headmaster Falinks is away, we need to ensure our guild runs as smoothly as possible."

"You're the boss," the Blaziken responded dryly before strolling off. Raihan and Piers stared after her.

"So… Who is that? You two seem used to… That." Piers gestured with a paw to the obliterated door, Flaaffy rolled his eyes and started his ascent back up the stairs. They quickly followed.

"That's our head admin, Yuri. She's rather infamous for finding any excuse to kick her way out of problems. At this point I swear she waits around for newbies to struggle with the door." His voice was flat as he delivered those words, followed up by a yawn. "Sometimes we get our requests from clients delivered to us, but sometimes they come straight to us asking for assistance. On a busy day, you'd struggle to move downstairs. So count yourselves lucky you decided to visit today, hm?"

They exchanged awkward glances and once they reached the next floor, Flaaffy peeked his head round a door then held out his paw in a gesture they swiftly understood.

'Stay'.

Not much time for awkward small talk was spent before they were greeted by their 'target', the silver fox giving them a blinding smile. "It's good to see you two again, Zoroark told me you brought her son back home safely. I hope they didn't cause you much trouble, hm?"

Piers was not quite sure how to define 'trouble', when he considered the previous day's events. As he pondered how to phrase it in a polite manner, Raihan jumped in. "Oh man, 'trouble' doesn't describe it. We had to fight an Ekans almost as big as this building, we didn't even know Pokemon could dynamax here!"

"I'm sorry you two had to deal with that, we heard the phenomenon was becoming more common," Ninetales murmured, his voice suddenly sounding just as tired as Flaaffy's did. They wondered if the mayor had gotten himself dragged into a dynamax fight or two in recent or not-so-recent days. "The amount of rescue requests have increased lately to the point that the guild doesn't often actually have time to investigate this phenomena. Flaaffy thinks someone pissed Eternatus off."

Raihan looked at Piers. "We heard that seems to be the general consensus. Do you remember how much trouble it caused back home?"

"Of course, I had to stop you having a panic attack in Lee's hospital room," he deadpanned, watching Ninetales perk up. Maybe that was not the right word to use however, as he didn't seem so cheerful as he exclaimed.

"Wait, you two had to deal with Eternatus too? Where did you two say you were from again, Kalos?"

"Kalos is near us, we're from Galar," Piers whispered, as he gave Raihan the look. "Maybe we should explain. Everything."

Raihan coughed. "Right." If Trapinch were capable of sweating, he would have surely knocked himself out with the puddle he would have created. The way the Pokemon, the natural Pokemon, was staring at him, he almost thought Ninetales had accidentally used Glare. "We actually have had to deal with out of control dynamax'd Pokemon before. As gym leaders."

"As… What?" The fire type tilted his head, frowning. "What's a gym leader?"

How would one explain such a thing? It felt so simple to them yet that seemed to make the idea even more difficult to summarise. Something that was universally known at home would perhaps only been a fairy tale here. Piers swallowed hard. "We were Pokemon trainers. Our jobs were to test the strength and bonds between Pokemon and humans, if you know what we mean."

"Oh, that sounds cool-" The cheerful statement cut off as the elderly Pokemon gawked at them then straightened his pose, murmuring. "Wait… Pokemon and… Humans? You two then… Like the legendary heroes… You're humans too, aren't you?"

Being compared to such powerful sounding figures had them exchanging sheepish smiles again. "That's right. Sorry we technically lied to you. But we weren't so sure about letting the whole village know 'hey, we come from another world where you are kept in small balls'." Raihan gave a nervous chuckle. "Though I wouldn't say the 'slavery' part is true, our partner Pokemon are like family to us. The thing is… Espeon told us you could help us. She couldn't confirm his exact location, but she was able to prove that he spawned in the area with us. Our friend Leon is alive, but he's been turned into a Pokemon like us, a Charmander. Was she… Was she right?"

The old fox was silent for a brief moment, his tails swishing. "I understand where you're coming from. You heard the kids, letting others know could be risky. But I'm glad I understand the situation now." He smiled. "I think now we know what Pokemon he is, we can certainly try to help you. Flaaffy can set a missing notice for a Charmander. Usually such a non-descriptive quest wouldn't be so helpful but we have a name for him, and a rough idea of his location. If he got turned about by the mystery dungeons, he could have gotten a bit away from this town but he certainly wouldn't have been able to leave the continent in this time."

The former humans exhaled. Piers felt if his body got any lighter he would start levitating however it was certainly a pleasant feeling, all that tension leaving his muscles. "Thank you so much, Ninetales. We were worried we wouldn't find him at this rate. Guess we just got to hope Lee doesn't go around telling everyone he's human, eh?"

"That would certainly be troublesome, but the odds are people will just think he's looney," Ninetales said with a chuckle. He looked back from where he came. "But if you two are former 'gym leaders', you must be powerful. I know that fight with the dynamax Pokemon must have been difficult but I think your affinity with Pokemon and past experience will certainly help all of us out. Do you think you could help with a client whilst we send out an alert for your friend?"

"A client? Is this another missing Pokemon?" In response to Raihan's query, Ninetales nodded and turned away.

"Just hear her out, alright? I think you'll sympathise with her case."

Piers had thought he was done feeling short by tall crying women, however the first thing he saw in the room that Ninetales had led them to was a Roserade on a sofa, using her long cape thing to wipe her eyes with. It was uncanny how having shrunk made so many of the humanoid Pokemon even more intimidating, to the point he had to murmur as he spied Flaaffy across from her awkwardly patting her back, "Why the heck is everyone taller than me?"

"Why are you surprised? Aren't you used to feeling short back home too?" Raihan quipped, laughing as he was forced to dodge as Piers swatted at him. "Hey, relax! Why's the lady crying?"

"Another missing kid?" the Zigzagoon grumbled.

Flaaffy shook his head. "Miss Rosette here was exploring a mystery dungeon with her companion when they got separated. One of our allies found her covered in burns at the entrance. We believe her friend may still be in there."

Ah, this must have been the first time either of them had come across a Pokemon with a nickname. Raihan silently wondered how many of the Budew line's members occupied Rosette's hometown to necessitate such a thing when he considered this tiny village. "Burns? You mean you got jumped by a fire type?"

"There were a number of them. It was…" Rosette seemed to be blushing so bright it could be glimpsed through her 'mask', as she continued to hide her face with her cloak. "I was attacked by a herd of Cyndaquil. I would have taken care of a small group easily however they got the jump on me and I was unlucky enough that one of their Ember attacks lingered." Continuing to hide her face, a growl left her. "This is all Lance's fault, I told him we shouldn't wander into random caves to explore without being prepared first, but he said 'Don't worry, it'll be fine'!"

The Trapinch tilted his head. "Lance, huh? Is he a dragon type?"

Ninetales shook his head. "Lance is a Lopunny, he and Rosette are from a small town called Treasure Town. It isn't the first time we've had to help Lance out, he's always looking for treasure. However, he… Ah… He never learns his lesson."

Despite her upset state, Rosette snorted. "Quite the accurate observation. He's an airheaded idiot, I told him to stick to me like glue but he ran off saying about seeing something shiny! Having a master explorer for a grandmother goes to your head, apparently…" Her blue flower shedded petals as it slammed into the desk, prompting Flaaffy to yelp as their drinks yielded to the shockwaves. "That stupid bunny, always making me worry!" Now her cloak wasn't being held up however, Piers could see the tears streaming down her mask. "When I find him, I'm going to give him an earful!"

"Unfortunately with those fire types roaming around, you'll just end up in the same situation again if you wander back on your own." As if having expected Rosette's fury, Flaaffy took a handkerchief out of his bag and wiped up the spilled liquid. The former humans deduced by the scent it had been some very milk-diluted coffee. "I'm assuming that's why you brought these two in here, Ninetales. Are you sure about this?"

Raihan looked at the fox, idly tapping the ground. "Yeah, are you sure we can do this, Mr Mayor? We're like level 14, what can we do that a fully evolved Pokemon like Roserade can't?"

Ninetales gave a quiet chuckle as he turned to Roserade, seeing her continuous reluctance to look at them. "I see why you're confused but I think you must remember. Roserade and Lopunny are both from evolution lines which bypass levels. If one has a happy enough childhood, a Buneary and Budew could hit their final evolutions at level 2. Whilst their cases are not so extreme, I would be correct in assuming you two aren't quite so experienced, yes?"

"Did you have to call me out like that?" She gave a shaky sigh. "We're both level 20. We haven't been on the road long. And well… Being burnt would eventually screw you over regardless of level."

With satisfaction, Ninetales clapped his paws together. "See? In this case, I believe 'strength in numbers' would benefit. We unfortunately have our hands fairly full right now, but I have faith in you two. You know what it's like to worry about your friends, yes?"

That snide old fox. Piers gave Raihan a tired glance. "Crap. I think he has us. At least being a Ground type, you'll have advantage over any Cyndaquil that strikes. "

"Mud-Slap isn't going to be too helpful but we'll have to try our best. We should make sure we have plenty of supplies though. Maybe some Rawst berries, too."

The two of them watched Rosette jump up, staggering a little as she did so. Piers briefly pondered whether Pokemon got low blood pressure too. "I guess I should be happy with what I can get. If you think these two can do the job, they must be tougher than they look."

Raihan stuck his foot out as Piers' Zigzagoon instincts kicked in, prompting the other Pokemon to stare puzzled as the former-human pathetically tackled the table instead of the intended target of his sudden fury.

If they had to be here much longer, the issue of instincts was something he would have to get used to. Otherwise perhaps Raihan would have to search for Leon himself.