Living in the guild was far from stress-free, but it beat living in a clinic.

A few days and nights had passed since the trio had settled into their new routine, still stuck as 'Team B' because none of them could agree on a team name. After that first mission which ended in receiving such a disappointing bounty from the cheapskate who hired them to kick a ferret's ass, the former-humans had a true 'induction' into guild life.

Day 1 of the induction, they were sat into a room with the other teams for an icebreaker session hosted by Flaaffy, who looked more invigorated than he had any right to be, and Yuri, who was no doubt running on coffee during a 24 hour shift and wishing to return to her wife.

"Alright, guys!" Piers had no idea how such a cute sheep could look intimidating raising a stick into the air, but somehow Flaaffy managed it. "Headmaster Falinks is returning tomorrow so we need to build rapport! Show him that we're treating the noobs with respect!"

Raihan silently noted that the old sheep was desperately trying to fit in with the younger crowd before him, hearing an Umbreon yawn a few heads away.

"So we're going to start off by introducing ourselves to each other. I'll point at someone with this stick and they will give a short speech about who they are and their role in their team. Got it?"

Yuri next to him shook her head, grumbling under her breath. "I gave up my warm bed for this?"

With no complaints from the half-asleep recruits however, Flaaffy jumped into action. "Alright, then! You, soldier!" Piers stared blankly at the end of the stick. "You're up first! What's your name?"

"Flaaffy, you know what my name is," he deadpanned. "We met over a week ago-" He yelped and shrinked away as the stick swatted his nose, the Pokemon behind him awkwardly shuffling away. Unfortunately for them, Piers hadn't completely relearnt spatial awareness yet, with his slightly larger, elongated form. "What the fu-"

"Don't backchat! Answer the question!"

He rubbed his nose, hearing Raihan chuckle next to him. Git. "My name is Piers. I'm from Team… B. You know, the name you gave us because these two idiots," he gestured to his teammates, who were neither surprised nor upset by his accusations, just sniggering, "Couldn't pick one. Is that it?"

"Not yet, what's your role?"

Piers tilted his head. "What exactly do you mean by role? I don't think our team even has a leader designated." Looking at Raihan and Leon, they both shrugged. "Well ah… I guess I can snatch whatever our enemies have. And outspeed outlaws, because having a 100 in speed is pretty nice. Is that… Enough now?"

"Good enough." Flaaffy gestured to the sleepy and grumpy looking Umbreon. "Umbreon, it's your turn."

"Right, right…" The black fox yawned once again, nodding towards the Jolteon and Sylveon to his right side. "I'm Umbreon, I don't have any fancy ass nicknames like that posh-sounding badger." Did his East-Galarian accent really sound that elegant to that big-eared twit? "I'm the leader of Team Eon and the only one with night vision which is why when you keep shoving the late night shifts onto us, I end up doing most of the work. That is why I'm going to politely ask you to move onto someone else, now."

Raihan snorted as Flaaffy flinched and mumbled a clumsy apology. "I bet you that poor sod only got two hours or so before he got dragged out for this."

"Trapinch, your turn."

He grumbled under his breath, sighing. Well, that's what he got for drawing attention to himself. "I'm Raihan, also from Team B. I uh…" Crap, what exactly did he do? "I throw sand at people. And Bite. Now that's enough from me, someone else take your turn now~!"

As Flaaffy continued to subject others to the awkward torture, Piers clumsily draped his tail over his shell in a manner of hopeful comfort. "Are you alright, Rai? You sound a bit off."

"I'm fine, the dumb sheep just woke us up too early and I need breakfast!"

Day 2, the team managed to get an exemption from the next lot of activities as Raihan struggled to wake up in the morning.

"Hey, hey Rai! Didn't you hear the wake-up alarm? We need to get going before the other teams start raiding the dining hall!" Leon hopped from heel to heel as he watched Raihan groan into the hay, the stars in his eyes replaced by spirals as he feebly kicked his bed.

"Go on without me, I'll get there when I can get myself up… Arceus, why am I so tired?"

His speech was almost completely muffled but the tone was enough to halt the growing impatience as Piers waved his paw in his line of sight then looked at Leon to see his grin had fallen. "Something's wrong. I'll stay with Rai, can you go find the guild doctor? Whoever that is…"

"Of all the things to start an induction with, you'd think medical care would be the first," the Charmeleon mumbled. After that mission with the Furret, they had the culprit taken off them at the village crossroads before checking in with Blissey for a quick heal. Surely, the guild didn't intend for everyone to go down to the clinic otherwise it would have been a lot busier.

Piers' eyes followed Leon out before he returned his attention to Raihan, pressing his paw against his… Well, he didn't have a forehead so he just rested it between his eyes, frowning. "I really don't know what a normal temperature for a Trapinch is, but you don't feel particularly warm. How are you feeling?"

"I feel like I ran a marathon in my sleep." Raihan grunted, leaning into the fluffy touch. "Fuck me, why do I feel so dizzy?"

He supposed badgers were omnivores, but now he was wondering if his theory was correct why Leon wasn't affected the same way. "I think we might have been right about the iron deficiency. I don't think Trapinch usually live off apples and berries. Do you remember what you fed your Flygon growing up?"

He tilted his head, staring absent-mindedly at Piers' paw pad. Besides the light-headedness, he was also plagued by a strange urge to press it. Damn only having stubs for legs. "I fed it some specialist poke-food, I never read the label but I think it had a little more to it than flour and gelatin in it… Never thought Pokemon could have an iron deficiency, though I suppose we dose them up with it to make them stronger. Does that mean they have no upper limit to overdose?"

"I suppose not, but right now I think we should worry about it being a normal amount." The Linoone glanced at the open door then lowered his voice. "Let's try get your mind off it for now. How about we tell each other stories?"

Raihan was quiet for a moment then nodded. "You know, you evolving… It reminded me of when we had a battle and your Zigzagoon evolved halfway through the match. Until he became a Flygon, you and your partner really gave my little lad a hard time, you know? You remember that?"

"Of course I do, then you and Leon started stomping all over me," Piers responded with a snort, however he couldn't help but smile. "Our partners started off weak then got stronger as they fought alongside us… I suppose that means we'll soon stop struggling and curbstomp everything too. It kind of makes me appreciate my partner more though, having to do the fighting myself."

"I get that, we're usually on the sidelines cheering them on, giving them orders…" Raihan stared blankly past him then whispered. "I don't quite like being how I am though right now, I hit like a truck but even though I feel faster than a regular Trapinch, I can't catch up with our enemies at all. … I can't take many hits either, I wonder if Flygon felt the same when he was a little fella. I feel kinda useless."

His friend gazed at him for a moment. Then he shook his head, patting his shell. "Rai, you're not… Neither of us can take hits, but that doesn't matter when our enemies can barely hit us, right? I'm pretty sure if it wasn't for you, we would have never survived long enough to find Lee again." All those Sand Attacks and that Sand Tomb, he would absolutely hate to fight an opponent like that. That glossy look in the Trapinch's eyes, he wondered if his poor attempts at encouragement were even getting through to him then he noticed his legs clumsily collapsed against the hay were shaking slightly. "Don't be so hard on yourself, okay? You're clearly not well right now."

Raihan glanced down at the bed then mumbled. "I feel a bit cold. It's a bit daft, but ah…" He gave a feeble chuckle. "Could you get on my shell? There's no blankets so ah…"

He guessed that he was asking him to temporarily act as a fluffy blanket for him. The thought was a bit embarrassing but he was sick, Piers decided he'd let him off for now.

Besides, he was kind of missing riding on his shell. Now he had evolved, he estimated he was a few pounds too big for a walking turtle-ant to support.

He curled up on his shell and they rested their eyes for a moment.

Despite Raihan being the one unwell, it seemed to be Piers who got the fever dream.

The former gym leader could not recognise his surroundings, however in true dream fashion they felt both realistic yet somehow off in some way.

Each side of the rocky plain he stood on seemed to abruptly cut off into a void, the sky around and above him devoid of any form of light. In fact, the only way he was able to see his own feet against rock appeared to be due to a lantern that was hanging in his mouth, promptly falling to the ground as it opened and his tongue blepped out. The flame danced but did not extinguish, instead he watched it slowly roll away before it too disappeared into the void.

"Am I on some kind of cliff?" The fact his words did not echo as they left at least implied he was not surrounded by walls, however his night vision apparently did not translate to his dream self. Without that faint light he was unable to distinguish the void from regular darkness, claws digging into the only ground he could perceive. If he made one wrong move, what would happen? Would he be thrown right back into reality? At the very least if he did fall in both realms, he wouldn't have far to fall. … But it would still be no doubt flat onto his face, followed by Raihan laughing if he didn't instead complain about the loss of warmth.

He inhaled then exhaled. It didn't matter that he had evolved, thrown into this dark void he still felt tiny. As a dark type expert? He did not fear the night. Yet this strange sense that he was an ant lost in a forest of nothingness? It was giving him deja vu, as though he was back to being a young child frightened by yet another unexpected black out. However, this time there would be no monochrome Zigzagoon to slowly make him enjoy that darkness.

"This is stupid… Where the heck am I?" Maybe he should go into the void, just to see if it propelled him back into the world of the living. However, before he could take a step forward, the moon finally appeared in the sky.

Wait, could a moon truly be that bright? Though the void persisted on each side of him, he could see his surroundings, the sudden drop that his lantern had disappeared down, the mouth of a cave behind him. Turning back to look up at the moon he shielded his eyes, making out the outline of the shape descending to rest before the end of the cliff. That was not a mere celestial body, it was a living creature that glowed gold, violet and azure.

"I've finally been able to reach out to you, no man's dreams should be so hard to infiltrate." The voice was feminine, echoing despite there being nothing for the sound waves to bounce off of. Those waves instead seemed to be making his fur bristle as they ripped through the air.

"Who the hell are you?" Such words were a little crass to address a being that was powerful enough to trespass into his dreams surely, however somehow the fact the overbearing light seemed to obscure the creature's features seemed to allow that bluntness with less thought for the consequences. "Are you a Pokemon?"

He could barely make out its head as it nodded, a chuckle dancing on the very breeze it created. "You would be correct, and I'm aware you are not. I know why you are here, Piers."

Every inch of fur stood on end, to such an intent he was certain it looked like he had been electrocuted. He swallowed hard. He knew this was a dream. He knew that some Pokemon could trespass dreams. Yet he couldn't help but wonder if this was all some strange figment of his imagination. "If this is real, I guess it means there was a reason we ended up here and we weren't just dragged here for shits and giggles. Care to share?"

"I assure you, you weren't just abducted from your world for fun." He imagined that whatever the Pokemon was, it was smiling even if he couldn't see it. Just the tone of its voice conveyed that. "I'm the one who brought you here, after all." His tongue rolled out again and he scurried to shove it back in, hearing that laughter vibrate once more.

"Are you serious?! Then who are you, why did you bring us here?"

Was this creature incapable of doing anything but laughing, or was he really that much of an amusing spectacle to it? He caught a glimpse of red as he squinted to break through that persistent shine. That was its eyes, surely. "I brought you here for a good reason, one that I'll tell you when you and your friends get to the top of the Abyssal Peaks." What a complete oxymoron of a name. "I'll be waiting for you. If you want a chance of returning home, I recommend you get here sooner rather than later."

Before he could argue he was thrown back into the void, plunging down into the unknown depths.

Fortunately when he woke up, there was nothing to fall off. Or perhaps he had fallen off during the dream, awakening just in time to see Raihan dragging himself over to greet Leon as he returned.

"I'm back! With the nurse… What was your name again?" Piers rubbed his eye as he looked at the Pokemon that followed Leon into their room.

As a former gym leader, he prided himself on his very basic knowledge of Pokemon so the fact he couldn't even tell what the fuck he was looking at felt embarrassing. It seemed to be some kind of orange hamster/bear hybrid with spiky hair that very much looked like what a protagonist of an action anime would have. At the very least, it seemed to be an Electric type, or maybe Fighting based on its bulk. Surely, it couldn't be both because he had never heard of an Electric/Fighting type existing.

"My name is Pawmot," the strange new Pokemon chirped in a squeaky voice, grinning at Raihan who was no doubt marvelling at the new sight like Piers. "So, which one of these guys needs my help? The really tired looking Trapinch or the Linoone who looks like they stuck their finger in a socket?"

On cue, Leon and Raihan looked at Piers as he quickly tried to flatten his fur. Dream or not, that meeting with the mystery moon Pokemon had done a number to it. "Are you okay, Piers? You look a little frazzled," Leon mumbled whilst Raihan chuckled.

"I don't know what he was dreaming about but we had a little nap and when I came to again he was tossing around a bit mumbling about the moon or something. Dreaming about being an astronaut, mate?"

He calmly stuck his middle claw at him, prompting Pawmot to give a nervous-sounding laugh. "Now, now, that won't do. I take it you're the one who needs my help then, Trapinch?"

"You'd be right… Sir? Miss?" The nurse nodded cheerfully to the second honorific. "I just kind of woke up earlier and my head was all spinny and dizzy. I still felt sleepy though I think we had a good 9 hours last night and I'm still a little wobbly now." Raihan tried to raise a leg, shaking a bit as he did so. "See? My legs aren't completely wanting to obey me."

She tilted her head, approaching him then resting her paw to his head. "You're not too warm… Have you been eating properly?"

"We're not quite sure he has been, he's been trying to eat rocks and metal for the past few days," Piers deadpanned, receiving a tired glare from Raihan. Judging from the intensity, he was completely understanding that he was trying to be helpful yet wished he had been more tactful about it. "We've been kind of eating the same thing over and over since we got here so we were starting to worry he had some kind of deficiency."

Pawmot furrowed her brow, observing the exhausted antlion. "I think I get it. Your species usually gets your food from creating burrows and waiting for it to come falling in, right? I assume you're a feral trying to get used to civilised society, hm?"

Well, that confirmed something about Pokemon diets in this world, at least. Raihan tilted his head, taking the words in. "I haven't eaten anyone, if that's what you're asking. I don't particularly want to, either. I guess all the fox Pokemon here must eat something other than berries, though."

"That's right, but you don't have to worry about it!" Pawmot winked. "How long have you three been here for? I'm guessing you haven't seen the gummies at the meal table."

Piers frowned, thinking back to yesterday's meals. There were berries, grains, other forms of plants and something that had very strongly stood out amongst the rest. "You don't mean those jelly beans, do you? I thought some sugar addict had left them there."

"Nope! Gummies are an amazing invention for all Pokemon! You combine them with your regular meals and they'll give you all the vitamins you need for the day!" she chirped. "Different coloured gummies work better for different types so don't be afraid to ask the meal room staff which ones are best for you. But I'm afraid if you've been neglecting your dietary needs, you might need some medicine on top of that to bring you to normal levels. Should I scan all three of you just in case?"

Scan? Piers and Leon looked at each other then nodded, though Leon's confused expression turned uneasy as Pawmot pulled some kind of electric device out of her pouch. It looked like a handheld metal detector. "What is that thing?"

"It's a little thingy we in the medical profession can use to check a Pokemon's stat and blood levels without any kind of blood work." She turned to Raihan with a grin as he took a few steps back to fall by Piers' side. As she approached, a thought briefly crossed the Linoone's mind.

No hamster had any right to be taller than them.

"It won't hurt, I promise. Depending on what you're lacking, certain deficiencies can lower your attack or defence so if we get you treated sooner rather than later, you'll suffer less in your next mission." Huh, he never would have guessed such a thing was possible. He awkwardly brushed his tail against Raihan's shell, gaining a worried glance in turn before he took a shaky breath then nodded.

"Alright, go ahead." Raihan remained as rigid as a statue as Pawmot scanned him, a quiet beeping coming from the device. She hovered it around every part of his body, his legs shaking before letting himself collapse as she moved away and checked it with a frown. "Is it that bad?"

"That's a deficiency alright, your iron levels are lower than they should be. It's not lethal or anything but you have a -2 in defence right now. Nothing that a little medicine can't fix though~" She fished a bottle from her pouch that rattled with each little movement. "Just take two of these a day, morning and evening, for the next week and have a gummi every day then you'll be right as rain. You'll feel better in a few days but don't stop taking them before seeing me about it, huh? Your body will have been eating into its iron reserves so until you level out, I recommend you keep taking them."

Raihan nodded as he stared at the bottle she placed before him, glaring at it a little as he realised without thumbs he'd be needing assistance every time. Pawmot moved onto scanning his friends, tilting her head as she deciphered each reading.

"You're slightly deficient too, Linoone. Not as bad as your friend, but you have a -1 in your defence stat."

"I was feeling just fine, too. I thought I was getting bodied so easily the other day because I was a raccoon, not because I had a debuff," Piers mumbled, watching her swipe over Leon and mused over the device. "What should I do about that, then?"

"Take one pill every day and add gummies to your diet, too. There's 30 pills in that bottle so it should be enough for the two of you to share for a week." She grinned as she addressed the Charmeleon. "And you're just fine! You actually seem to have a +1 in defence, have you been taking iron yourself?"

Leon gave a nervous chuckle as his friends stared at him with suspicion. Raihan was clearly wondering if he had been hiding something from them. "I wandered around on my own for a bit and found a bottle or two whilst I was still a Charmander. Found some gummies too, not that I knew what they did… I suppose we should take it easy for the next few days until Rai feels better… You look a bit troubled, Piers, are you okay?"

He blinked then shook his head. "Of course I am, why do you ask?"

"Because you have an expression of complete disappointment on your face," Leon responded with a snort, prompting him to swiftly look away and mumble.

"It's nothing much… I was just wondering where the Abyssal Peaks are."

Leon tilted his head. "The Abyssal wha-"

He was cut off by the Pawmot squeaking over him, her eyes wide. "Where did you hear about that place? The Peaks are dangerous, you shouldn't go there!"

Well, at least that cemented the fact he hadn't made the dream up. "I didn't say I was… I just heard about it in passing yesterday." Piers frowned, cocking his head to the side. "Is it really that bad?"

She sighed, stashing her radar away then crossing her arms. "It's a mountain range across the way from the Rainbow River, there's nothing stopping Pokemon entering it but the whole thing should be benched off. If you get lost in there, there's a high chance you'll die."

Piers felt a chill run down his back. Come to think of it, what exactly would happen if they were injured so badly that not even reviver seeds could save them? With all the beating that Pokemon could take, what did it take to kill them? "Why? Do serial killers lurk there or something?"

"It's not the Pokemon that would finish you off, but the dungeon itself." Pawmot tapped her temple. "The summit can only be reached through a cave-like tower formation that's teeming with traps. No one knows who's been setting them up, when no one would dare live there. Only the most clueless of ferals or those who could sense the traps would even think about it. The last team who stepped foot in there, Headmaster Falinks himself had to go rescue them. He has these special goggles, you see. Otherwise he'd step foot on an explosion trap."

"I-I see," he mumbled, taking a shaky breath. That mystery Pokemon wanted them to go there? How would they even make it to the top?! "Yeah, it sounds terrible… Does anyone know what's at the summit?"

She shook her head, looking at the slack-mouthed Leon and Raihan. "I've heard rumours that a legendary Pokemon lives there, because it's so close to the sky. But if anyone's seen it, they haven't come back with proof. Headmaster Falinks reported that it was nothing but a dark void so even if you did make it to the top, I don't think you'll find anything." She exhaled, lightly brushing her spikes of hair with her paw as though trying to tidy them before plastering a smile onto her face. "Now don't you guys think about going there, alright? You should rest for at least another three days. When you need me, I'll be in my office. It's opposite Yuri's, if you know where she works."

"We do, thank you very much!" Raihan chirped, however the cheerful glint in his eyes disappeared as she left. "That was interesting… Can you open this damn thing, Lee? I'm not even going to attempt it with these stubby things."

Leon gave a chuckle, his smile clearly uneasy as he picked up the bottle of Iron and took out a pill each for his friends. "Guess we should take it easy then. I wonder if we can use this as an excuse to skip induction, what was it Flaaffy said we'd be doing today? Sparring?"

"That's right, might not be the best when Rai's got a Screech's worth of debuffs." Piers stared at the pill, frowning. Maybe it wouldn't be the best idea to swallow it without a drink first. Not that Raihan seemed to care, the thing was gone already. "Fancy going to beg him to be excluded?"

"Sounds like a plan, but… Piers." He tilted his head, noticing Raihan's frown. "There's something you're not telling us, is there? Where did you really hear about this 'Abyssal Peaks' place?"

He waved his paws frantically, trying to keep his voice level. "Hey, hey, it's not like I was purposely trying to hide it, but I couldn't blurt it out in front of the nurse. I-" Calm down, take a second to breathe. Glaring down at the pill clutched in one of his paws, he sighed and swallowed it. Maybe being a badger that produced a ridiculous amount of saliva due to naturally having their tongue out most of the time would get rid of the tablet-swallowing problem after all. Albeit, it still did not taste very nice, he noted as a shudder ripped through him. "Look. After Lee left, when we ah… Fell back asleep. I had a dream that I met someone on the summit of that mystery dungeon."

Raihan silently regarded him for a moment. "... So, it wasn't about being an astronaut." He shot him a tired glare and he laughed. "I'm kidding, but you were mumbling about a moon. What exactly happened, then?"

"Well, I thought it was the moon but it was a Pokemon, one that I don't think I've ever seen before. I really couldn't tell, it was too bright," he grumbled, his voice scratchy. Maybe he should have found some water for that iron. Never mind that- "It might have been a psychic type. But the point is- That Pokemon was the one who brought us here."

His friends gawked at him before Leon yelped, "What- Really?! How can you be sure? Why would it-"

"I asked that, but it wouldn't tell me," Piers growled, taking another shaky breath. "But they said they'd be waiting at Abyssal Peaks. If they're real- We might be able to get home."

Raihan went quiet then dragged himself to rest on the straw bed again, his limbs shaking. A Pokemon that could be mistaken for the moon, it couldn't be… He was eager to find out, yet rushing out in this condition would no doubt be a terrible mistake. "If they brought us here, they might want us to do something for them, like Yuri said. But why would they? What could we do that the native Pokemon here can't?" He gave a feeble laugh, rolling his eyes. "You don't think we've been brought here to be heroes like Yuri, right? We're cool, but why is it always a human? And three of us at the same time, too!"

Leon crossed his arms, giving a calm smirk. "I don't know, but I'm sure we'll kick the arse of whatever evil Pokemon or asteroid they sent us here to fight. … As long as we don't get an angry mob thrown at us, not that it stopped Yuri and Rafaela. I guess once you two have recovered, we should go looking for these 'Abyssal Peaks'." He scratched his cheek. "Though I have no idea where this Rainbow River is, maybe Yuri could point us in the right direction. If there's traps everywhere, we could really use some of those trapbust orbs or those special goggles."

Being unable to clap his non-existent hands together as the idea hit, Raihan instead stomped. The hay muffled most of the sound, however. "Isn't Headmaster Falinks going to be back tomorrow? I'm sure if we can explain our predicament, we could ask him if we could borrow his goggles!"

"I'm not sure, if we keep letting people know we used to be human, it might come back and bite us," Piers mumbled. His stomach rumbled and he blushed. "Well, uh… I think we should get some breakfast. How about Lee and I bring back some food here then if you feel up for it, we can go talk to Yuri, that sound alright, Rai?"

Struck down by his lack of energy again, Raihan reluctantly nodded. "I really want to check this place out now, what if that strange moon Pokemon gets bored and decides to stop waiting for us?"

Piers was a little worried about that too, yet there was no point worrying. "That won't happen, not if they really need us that much. We'll be right back."

The days crawled by, the trio liaising with Yuri as they used Pawmot's diagnosis as an excuse to procrastinate Flaaffy's induction plans.

On Day 5 however, their fellow former-human ally called them in with a gift of some mysterious goggles.

They were going to the Abyssal Peaks.