"AND THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES!"
Sean stifled a yawn as the guild gave their now-routine morning cheers. Rai was perfectly awake, happily shouting along, while Sean still disagreed with getting up so early.
"What's so good about it?" he thought mutinously as Chatot dispersed the group.
Loudred and Diglett went to their normal place, Diglett quickly burying underground as Loudred boomed his unnecessarily loud voice. Sean watched with a bit of interest as Loudred hopped over to a little cove in the shadow of Croagunk's creepy shop. He couldn't spot it from where he stood, but the previous night on the way to dinner he had seen that there was a lever and pully to open the gateway.
Croagunk himself reached his strange shop much faster than Sean had seen him move when dinner was called. The poisonous pokémon stroked the cauldron that laid bolted into it before moving further into the weird shop and out of sight.
The others had all already gone to the next floor, amidst a surge of chattering and multiple high-pitched 'Oh my gosh' Chatot called out. "Corphish, if you will?"
Rai and Sean themselves didn't leave yet. The rest of the guild knew what they were doing but they didn't. Chatot would have to tell them.
"Hey-hey?" Corphish gave his usual verbal tick as he scuttled back over to them. "What can I do for you today?"
Chatot extended a wing towards the pair of feline pokémon. "Today I believe it would be best for Shinx and Meowth to tackle an outlaw." Rai stiffened up while Sean counted to three, even less comfortable with the idea. "As I have business to attend to today, I would like you to explain the outlaw notice board to Team Ion and help them select a suitable pokémon to go after. Understood?"
"I hear you loud and clear." He clicked his pincers before turning to the pair with a smile. At least, as best as Sean could tell. Crustaceans, even crustacean pokémon, didn't perform the most varied of expressions. "Let's get to it right away!"
Sean and Rai exchanged a glance before nodding. Corphish gestured and turned to lead the way up to the next floor. Before they reached the incline, he paused and turned back to Chatot, interrupting him before he entered the Guildmaster's chambers. "Does this mean I get the rest of the day off?" he asked eagerly.
Chatot immediately puffed up in fury. "Absolutely NOT!" he squawked, causing Corphish to deflate. "It will be no trouble for you to do this task. Afterwards continue with your work, understood?"
"Yes sir," Corphish replied glumly and Chatot nodded. He fluttered off and Corphish led them to the next floor.
"Over to the left here." He pointed, and they quickly followed. Sean continued stifling yawns as they walked, but Rai was perfectly chatty this morning.
"How long have you been part of the guild?" he asked, stepping into line with Corphish. Despite his knowledge of the guild, Rai was relatively in the dark about the apprentices.
"Hey-hey, it's been about." he paused before trailing off. Rai cocked his head as Corphish mumbled some stuff under his breath before shaking his head. Glancing around, he spotted Sunflora over at the job notice board and yelled out. "HEY, SUNFLORA?"
Sean, and Rai for that matter, flinched at the volume. It wasn't as intense as Loudred, but still very close to their ears.
Sunflora, equally as loud, and three times as shrill, screamed back. "YES?"
"The guild isn't that big," Sean moaned to Rai, who nodded in agreement.
"HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN IN THE GUILD?"
"SEVEN MONTHS!"
"HEY! THANK YOU!"
"YOU'RE WELCOME!"
Satisfied, he turned to the pair and answered at a reasonable volume. "Seven months."
"Cool," Rai said softly. He rethought asking any more questions after that experience.
"Now, look at this board!" When neither feline pokémon looked, Corphish clicked a pincer threateningly. That got their attention. "Look. Here."
Rai gulped nervously as Sean's own breathing grew shallower. On the outlaw notice board there were surprisingly accurate pictures, along with scrawled letters that Sean still had no idea how he could understand.
With one eye squinted, Corphish aimed a pincer for a moment before firing off a very weak, highly controlled Water Gun. It knocked a notice off without smudging a bit of it and he snatched it out of the air with a dignified flick of his pincer.
"Wow," Rai said, rather impressed.
"Nice work," Sean added.
"Meh." Corphish waved a pincer at their compliments, although there was an extra sparkle to his eyes as he handed over the job he had selected. "Take a read of it and tell me what you think?"
As Sean was the one with dexterity, Corphish handed it to him.
He quickly lowered it down so that Rai could read along. Sean read silently, although Rai still spoke out-loud.
"Help! That jerk Litleo stole my golden ribbon. I chased him for as long as I could, but he ran into a dungeon, and I can't go in there. Please, could someone enter the Oran Forest and get my ribbon back before he sells it? Thank you. Signed, Charmander."
"A Fire-type?" Sean asked curiously. "Wait. Litleo?"
Rai was frowning, his eyes turned to Corphish who looked entirely normal. He stared, and Corphish stared back. Sean wasn't sure what this was for or if he needed to give them a private room.
"Eh," Corphish said with a click of his claw. "I think this would be right to start with. Just some petty thief rather than someone intense. Like Drowzee!"
Sean cringed before grinning bashfully. "Yeah. I saw what his wanted poster said. Scary stuff."
"OH MY GOSH THAT WAS AMAZING RIGHT?"
Sean and Rai jumped, tails going rigid as Sunflora shrieked right from behind them.
"Don't do that!" Sean tried to say, but his words were smothered in Sunflora's chest when she embraced him.
"What a brave pokémon you were. Standing up to Drowzee, saving the brothers, it just makes me… EEEK!"
She swung him around, giving Sean a sensation he hadn't felt in years when he was small enough that other people could swing him around, before settling him down.
"Oh my gosh you two are going to be, like, just the best!"
"Yup-yup." Bidoof was there too and made his presence known with the last verbal tic of the trio. "I got shivers when I saw Drowzee's wanted poster. The thought that he was in Treasure Town, and nearly made off with two of our youngins. It just makes me…" He began to shake, but it didn't seem to be out of fear. "Makes me...!" His voice rose to an intense crescendo before he slumped. "Well, I'm just relieved you stopped him."
Bidoof's little ball ears fell flat for a moment before he perked up again. "So, I'm glad we've got a couple of great new rookies in this here guild. Yup-yup, Meowth, Shinx, I think things are gonna improve with you two here."
"You… hardly know us." Sean was feeling somewhat dizzy with the praise. Part of him wanted to embrace, glorify it, even ignoring the dual shame and fear at failing to catch Drowzee as well. The rest of his apprehension was sourced in one simple matter. "You're all really nice," he said. "That's just… nice."
Meeting these people, seeing them close up and not as pixels on a screen. It was crazy, really. Loudred was not exactly pretty close up, and Sunflora was incredibly lively, constantly swaying and moving, stroking things around her. Bidoof was honestly a bit chubby, but he was twice as adorable as Sean could have ever prepared for with big happy eyes.
Rai stepped up beside him and bumped himself against Sean in a friendly gesture. "Let's bring in our first... Litleo." Rai was looking greatly uncomfortable, and Sean wanted to ask, but everyone was looking at them.
Or really at Rai with sympathy in their eyes? Okay, he was definitely going to ask once they were alone.
Smiling weakly at him, Sean tried to summon the same enthusiasm. Failing that, he attempted righteous zeal. Neither worked to really sell it. "Yeah. Let's… rustle us up a bad pokémon."
"You'll do fine Meowth," Sunflora said, easily sensing his discomfort.
"Hey-hey, I wouldn't pick something you couldn't handle," Corphish said. "Go get them Meowth. Shinx too!"
"Yup-yup, you'll do great by golly. Meowth. Shinx. I'm rooting for you two."
"Thank you!" Rai grinned as he hopped from side to side. His smile was overly large, and he was buzzing. "Come on, let's get going! To the Oran Forest!"
He went to run, but remembered Sean wasn't as fast as him. Waiting politely, if impatiently, Rai watched as Sean addressed the rest of the pokémon.
"Thank you," he said. "And, by the way, feel free to call me Sean. It's my name and I'm fine if you'd like to use it. You're friendly."
He was smiling, remembering Rai's words from the two nights ago and expecting some sort of sappy, emotional, reaction. And perhaps a part of him was burning with curiosity of what the trio's name were.
What he received was Sunflora falling back with a gasp, Bidoof squeaking in shock before choking and Corphish rearing back with both pincers clacking.
Sean glanced to Rai in panic and saw the shinx burying his face in his paws, unable to deal with the second-hand embarrassment. Sean had made a complete fool of himself.
"What did I do?"
"N-no, that's fine," Sunflora said, coming back to her feet and being the first to speak. "Um… the time. Jobs. I have to go now."
"M-m-m," Bidoof attempted before ducking down and running after her. Corphish clicked his pincers one more time before picking up on Sean's utter confusion.
Still, all he said was "No thanks," and scuttled off without another word.
Sean turned to Rai for explanation, but the shinx was too mortified to say anything more than. "Let's get to town." And walking off without giving him time to process.
Once they had exited the guild and were alone, Sean had to ask., "What was that?"
Rai turned to him, disbelief colouring his face and voice. "You're kidding right? I told you!"
"What did I do?" Sean wasn't sure why, but he was embarrassed. He knew it was because of what he said, but the real why was a mystery to him. "You said names are a thing pokémon give to friends. I thought I was being friendly."
Rai looked him up and down for a few meters, seemingly coming to the understanding again that Sean really didn't know what he was doing in regard to social niceties.
Wetting his lips, Rai tried to gather the words to help the amnesiac understand.
"Amnesiac is one thing," Rai thought to himself. "But this really is just… he really wasn't a pokémon for all his life."
Sean didn't know it, but at this moment Rai fully believed his claim of being a human before.
"What I said about names is true," Rai began, deciding to just talk and hope for the best. "You tell them to family, if they don't know already, friends. And… well… mates."
Sean nodded, feeling that awkward feeling when you are embarrassed, and your tongue feels too big in response to it. "But… I said it to all three of them. As a friendly thing. They don't think… do they?"
Rai's nose was visibly red and his obvious level of discomfort at the topic was causing newfound horror the bloom through Sean's everything.
"Telling all of them. At once. In public too… that's what… uh…" with each stutter and hesitation, Sean's apprehension at what Rai had to say grew.
"Spit it out," he demanded before wilting. "Please."
"That's what night-mates do." Rai finally managed to say it. Using words that meant almost nothing to Sean.
"Huh?" He cocked his head before shaking off the weird tic. "What is a night-mate?" He already knew, he just didn't want to think about what he just said.
"SHH!" Rai hissed, causing Sean to flinch in surprise. His features softened, and he apologised. "Sorry. Night-mate is… how do I explain it? A pokémon who…." He was going redder again and Sean held his own paw up.
"Okay. I get it." It was almost funny how relieved Rai became at the words, once the requirement to speak was gone. "Although... how do you know?"
It was kinda funny to see Rai spark in embarrassment, made him feel the slightest bit less mortified. "Well, last time this happened is when I found out."
"Last time?"
"Yeah, you know our room how Chatot said Team Celestial stayed in it?" Sean nodded. "Well, apparently the grovyle there told people his name and it was a bit of a scandal before being cleared up."
Sean blinked, a grovyle? Couldn't be...
Taking Sean's silence as understanding, Rai winced and said, "Yeah. Not the best thing to say to our guildmates. On our second day too…"
"Sorry," Sean drew out the word, emphasizing his regret. "I thought that was friendly!" he groaned, the implications beginning to really dawn on him. "What are they going to think of me?"
"Some really awkward stuff," Rai confirmed.
"Oh my… ffffrick!"
Rai was a blushing mess, but at least the ice of the day had been broken by Sean's embarrassment. Rai's blush began to recede as Sean thought about what he'd have to say to make them realise he wasn't a 'night-mate'.
The day was lovely. The sun was shining bright, and dewdrops still hung on many leaves and grass. There had been quite a storm the previous night, the rain having lulled Sean to sleep even when Rai started mumbling something.
One question remained on the tip of his tongue even as they entered the town, spoke to Duskull, waved to three separate teams and made their way to the Kecleon Market.
"No one's going to, uh," Sean trailed off, wanting to put this delicately. "P-proposition me, are they?"
He wanted vague and meaningless platitudes that'd let him ignore the complete fool he made of himself. He wanted a blunt and honest answer that would make him coil up in disgust but at be freed in understanding.
"I doubt Sunflora would have told anyone, yet."
Yet.
Sean pressed a paw against his forehead as Rai went up to order what they needed for the upcoming dungeon. Even the looming threat of an outlaw seemed like small-fry compared to Sean's embarrassment.
"I should just never speak again," he thought to himself as Rai gave plastic smiles and went through the transaction emotionlessly.
Oran Forest didn't seem so scary anymore. So that was a plus at least.
By the time he remembered he had something to ask Rai, he'd forgotten what it was.
"What IS this place?" Sean growled hours later.
They had reached Oran Forest, with Sean vaguely noting it was close to Apple Woods, and entered the dungeon. Whatever he was expecting, he had forgotten it in the wake of horrified shame.
Either way, Oran Forest was bizarre.
With Beach Cave and Drenched Bluff there was a sense of order to the chaos. The waterways were always there but they were difficult for their pair to cross and were mostly ignored.
With the Oran Forest, a dungeon made from trees rather than rock walls, the path was much more difficult to maintain.
There were still passageways and rooms of sorts. They were rather stunning, twisted pathways of multicoloured leaves and branches, warping together in a beautiful display of natural engineering. Walking through a passageway was like going through an overgrown tunnel, one where you couldn't even see the former brick and stone.
The rooms, however, and many patches of the tightly-woven passageways led into the untamed dungeon. Areas where there were even fewer rules than the ones these places scarcely obeyed in the first place.
A place where dangerous pokémon lurked and treasures unlike those that were found in the rooms could be found.
Rai had, however, strongly warned him off even considering stepping off the path.
"Places like Drenched Bluff are really only dangerous if you go deep into the dungeons, off the path and over the waterways. Until there aren't any passages anymore and only cave."
He defended them as he always did. Shocking the Bug types and the odd Grass type off.
"But places like this? Forest dungeons. They are some of the most dangerous. It's a lot easier to leave the path and can be a lot more difficult to find your way back. I've lived in Treasure Town for a while now and I've heard that There are much more cases of lost pokémon in forest dungeons than other dungeons because of pokémon leaving the path. So, don't do it, no matter what you see or hear."
Being in a dungeon, however, brought topics to mind that focused on the task at hand, and both were happy to discuss them. Rai explained what he had bought at the Kecleon Market, guessing that Sean didn't watch him while he did so.
Most of it was food, along with rawst berries to treat burns. They weren't nearly as blue as Sean had been led to believe, as both rawst berries were a nice green colour. Rai explained that they were unripe rawst berries, having the same effect as the ripe ones but with a substantially better taste. Also with a substantially higher cost, but the shinx couldn't stand bitter foods.
He didn't bring any orans, but the reason was perfectly clear. The dungeon was named Oran Forest for a very good reason.
Lastly, Rai had bought a blast seed and sleep seed, citing that Sean had done well with the Sleep Seed earlier. "Plus, you need all the help you can get at this stage!"
"Thank you so much," he gratefully accepted all the help he could get, especially if they were going to be fighting.
They went through the dungeon for what felt like hours before, finally, Rai caught something.
"Is that…?" He paused to sniff the air. "Smoke?"
Sean breathed in as well. Being small and a cat was still weird, but he was adamantly refusing to think about the fact that his body both felt right and wrong at once. At least the trade-off came with an enhanced sense of smell. Not as well as a canine, Sean was sure, but it was something.
"That's smoke," Sean agreed and they both thought the same thing.
"Litleo."
Sean allowed Rai to take the lead for once, making sure to stick close to the far more competent member of their duo, as Rai led them down a few corridors and through three different rooms.
And then Sean remembered what he wanted to ask. "Do you know Litleo?"
Rai froze. That was a yes, then.
"We don't know if it's the same one from town," Rai said lightly, but Sean wasn't willing to accept that and move on.
"What if it is?"
Again, Rai paused. "I… well, he stole something, so we take him down and bring him back." Under his breath he added. "Can't believe that."
"Why not?"
Rai blinked at him, maybe not expecting him to hear. "I… okay, I guess it's fair I tell you. Litleo and I don't get along. He's a bully and has been picking on me for years for not getting into the guild. No one likes him, he's crass and perverted when not being a bully. I guess I'm surprised he's actually stolen something, he never actually did something like this before."
Sean nodded slowly, taking that all in. "Oh. Are you looking forward to this then?" Rai had been very driven on the walk over, not talking much and staring right ahead.
To that, however, Rai shrunk a little and shook his head. "No." And that was all he said.
Not comfortable with prodding further, Sean just let the matter drop and they continued on.
"Smells like he didn't go off the trail," Rai commented. "Or at least, not for long."
He slowed to a near stop and Sean slowed down with him. Both of their hearts began to pound as Rai spoke without turning back. "I think he's in the next room."
Neither of them had stopped completely, but the knowledge that a fight was coming was a little nerve-wracking.
Sean tried to psych himself up for it. "Come on. You actually fought Koffing and Zubat. Not well, but you at least tried!" He couldn't help but note the fact that he still thought this was a dream at the time, along with the fact that they were supposed to happen. No litleo was in the games. "Because the pokémon hadn't been designed yet." Sean quickly cut that line of thought off. It made his head hurt to think any more deeply into it all.
"Okay," Rai said, turning to Sean this time to meet his eyes. "You ready to do this?"
"Sure," Sean said, throat catching as his mouth went dry. He withheld the cough and smacked his chest to try and suppress the need. "In a week. Maybe a month."
Rai gave him an odd look. "Are… can you do this?"
Sean paused, looked Rai over, saw the light shake in his back legs and the pleading look in his eyes. He sighed and gave a smile. It was small and rueful, but genuine. "Yes, I'm right here with you. Let's do this."
Rai held his eyes for a moment before nodding. "Awesome."
He turned back and they both took a breath. Rai burst into a Quick Attack, leaving Sean in the dust for a moment, entering the room with a battle-cry.
The only occupant of the room, a small lion-like cub with a mohawk that looked like flames, started at their arrival.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded, eyes tracking Rai as he moved.
"You're coming with us," Rai shouted, alerting Litleo to the fact that Sean was there too.
"Oh. Oooh? Heh." Litleo smirked, mohawk actually bursting into flames as he readied his Power. "And why do you want that? Huh, Shinx? You're a big bad explorer now so you think you take me?"
"You know what you did," Rai growled, sparking with electricity as Sean stepped by his side. "You stole Charmander's ribbon. How could you do that?" The words carried a lot heavier feel to it then they maybe should have.
"Like he was ever going to use it," Litleo shot back. "What use is it? At least I can use it! Look, just back off, I'm using it to get out of here. You won't have to see me again, you'd be happier with that. Right, Shinx?"
Rai's mouth fell open, taken aback before he growled, metaphorically shocking both Sean and Litleo. "Absolutely not you mudbray's ass! You're coming back with us RIGHT. NOW."
Litleo, to his credit, recovered from his surprise at the supposedly meek and cowardly Rai's words with a growl. "Language, Shinx." He grinned, but as Rai began to spark he began to smoke. "You're going to have to knock me out."
And with that, he attacked.
Not wasting any time, Litleo took in a heavy breath as his mohawk burst into flames and he didn't use Ember or Flamethrower. No, a kanji-symbol formed as he used Fire Blast!
Sean scrambled out of the way as Rai darted to the right with Quick Attack. Rai rushed forward, electricity bolting towards Litleo who similarly dodged the attack.
Sean couldn't help but watch the Fire Blast. There were many things he expected once it hit the dense 'wall' of the dungeon room. In its own way, a massive explosion and hole gouged out of multiple ancient trees was one of them, but he could hardly prepare himself for how real the battle just became to him.
"Holy shit," he whispered as, far more, minor explosions began ringing out from the battle. Both Litleo's fire and Shinx's electricity clashed in elemental barrages.
Thundershock's and Ember's danced with the pair constantly slamming into each other in impromptu tackles and speedy Quick Attack's. Every so often, when Litleo found a reprieve, he'd charge and send a Fire Blast Rai's way. How he knew that move, Sean didn't want to know, he was busy staying not on fire.
The constant explosions and bursts of electricity were, however, beginning to set the area on fire and Sean found that staring off into space may not have been the best thing to do in the middle of a battle.
Yelping as Rai nearly hit him with a stray Thundershock, Sean set his sights on the far wall behind Litleo and made his way there as quickly, and safely, as possible. Digging through the bag without looking, looking away from the fight spelled death in his mind, he felt around for the seeds.
Sean knew that the blast seed was pricklier than the smoother sleep seed. They still weren't very large, and it took time for him to find it whilst on the edge of the battlefield.
"This seemed so much simpler in the games!" Sean thought to himself, angrily pawing through the bag. The claws came out at one point, but after getting his paw stuck three-too-many times he forcefully retracted them.
He glanced down from the battle for a moment, moving his eyes from where the pair had stopped for a moment to growl and prowl around in a circle.
"MEOWTH!"
Only to look up when Rai screamed his name. He looked up to see a kanji-shaped plume of fire heading right for him.
Sean froze.
"I always feared that I was the kind of person to freeze up in situations like this." Was a distant, fleeting thought that ran through his mind instead of moving out of the way.
Fire Blast wasn't the fastest attack, but the distance between Litleo and him wasn't very far anyway. Rai tried to rush forward in a Quick Attack to knock him out of the way, but Litleo had hoped for this very action and sniped Rai with an Ember attack. When Rai was down, he leaped on him all claws and fire and savaged the shinx.
Rai yelled out and fired off a Thundershock. He didn't need to aim it with Litleo right on him. The harsh electrical whine and zap did two things.
It sent Litleo flying off him, trailing smoke.
And triggered a sense of recollection in Sean.
Sean leaped to the right, narrowly avoiding being clipped by one of the arms of the Fire Blast. He was safe.
Until the Fire Blast hit the wall of trees right behind him and exploded. Explosions had force to them beyond just their impact zone.
Right as Sean came back to his feet with a smile, he was blown forward by the concussive force of the blast and was sent sprawling. The bag too, was flung clean from him and landed on one of the burnt-out patches.
"Sean!" Rai yelled again, dropping his concentration for a second time.
Litleo had already picked himself up. Breathing heavily, one leg going numb, and with electrical burns over his body, he seemed more pissed-off than anything.
Not dropping his advantage, he breathed a concentrated Ember attack which impacted the side of Rai's head.
"Gah!" Rai fell down, clutching the side of his head.
"You did good, Shinx," Litleo huffed as he stepped forward. "Better than you believed you could. But you're not good enough. Not yet."
That was where Sean knew he was to get up and say something meaningful and profound. Dazed from the double impact, he could barely stand without wobbling.
"Hashamuh," he warbled before frowning. "That's not right. Try again."
"Noo…no-no-no." He waggled a paw as if drunk before pointing an accusing claw at Litleo. "WRONG!"
Then he fell down again.
"I didn't hit him that hard… or at all really," Litleo mumbled, confused and a little concerned by the display. "Anyway." Motion caught his eye. "Oh." He saw that Rai had stood back up. "Fu-"
Rai used Thunderbolt!
A critical hit!
Litleo howled in a jolting scream as Rai put all the effort he could into the attack.
Sparking with electricity, Litleo wobbled on all fours. Twitching from the residual jolts he crumpled to the ground.
"Yeah!" Sean cheered from the ground. He forced himself back to his feet, noted that he really didn't feel THAT bad, and repeated, "Yeah! Rai you did it!"
Breathing heavily, sweating and burned, Rai turned to Sean with the second-biggest smile he'd seen him wear. "I DID IT?!"
"Nuh uh."
Team Ion's faces fell, barely having time to turn to Litleo before he hit Rai with a Fire Blast.
Rai was blasted back with a tiny cry, sent skidding along the leaves and dirt until he rolled to a stop, smoking.
"RAI!" Sean screamed, but didn't drop his attention from Litleo for more than a split moment. He already began to dodge as he turned back, leaping to the side and landing on all fours to avoid a second Fire Blast.
"How many of those can he DO?" Sean thought to himself as he raced around, avoiding Ember's and Fire Blast's.
"Who are you to call Rai's name like you know him?" Litleo shouted over the din of battle. "Who are you to walk into town out of nowhere and convince HIM to join the guild!?"
Panicking he tried to dig a paw into the Treasure Bag but was reminded it wasn't there anymore. It was beyond his grasp, being unfortunately close to Litleo.
"Coward!" Litleo roared, firing fire with every breath. "Stop dodging and FIGHT ME."
"Nope," Sean replied, having fallen into complete panic mode and all the unthought-out comments that came with it. "Throw yourself into a river!"
"I HATE water," Litleo growled before deciding ranged wasn't cutting it and rushing forward.
"That's the POOOIIIINT!" Sean froze on that word as he began running for his life, jumping and zigzagging with every few steps. More than a few Ember attacks made contact with his back and legs and one well-aimed Fire Blast knocked him off his feet and he rolled onto all fours. But nothing severe made full contact and the energy of the flight-or-flight reaction was full in effect.
It couldn't last forever, though, and Sean was coming to realise that while this new body may be bestial and far more fit than his previous one endurance running was not something felines, or feline pokémon for that matter, were known for.
One perk of humanity he never thought he'd miss.
Thankfully it also meant that Litleo was suffering a similar fate. Both of them panting for breath and Sean finally saw his out. Rai wasn't back up yet, but perhaps he didn't need to be.
He'd done his job.
And Sean had a plan. He'd built it from scrap thoughts and tied it together with hope, but it was an idea. He had cycled around, and he had a straight shot for his salvation. He ran forwards in a burst of speed even as his muscles screamed at him to stop. He knew if he did, he wouldn't be able to get back up.
Not stopping yet, Sean threw out an arm and grabbed the Treasure Bag in one swing. It was still in one piece, having been spared from the wrath of the earlier explosion. Everything had been jumbled, but for once the chaos worked in Sean's favour.
He grabbed the seed that jumped to the top. He ran for a few seconds more, not having the willpower to turn to fight right away, but his legs were burning, his lungs were burning, everything felt like it was burning. Mostly from the exertion, but also from all the flames being thrown at him.
Planting a foot, and extending those claws, Sean came to a stop and spun on Litleo. "HA!" Sean yelled victoriously and threw the seed with all his might at the unprepared Litleo.
Unprepared for defiance due to the Fire Blast he had already sent.
The seed hit the Fire Blast in mid-air and the explosion from the blast seed managed to cause enough push to detonate the Fire Blast as well, sending a ripple of painfully hot air across Sean's face. The Blast Seed was nowhere near close enough to do anything more than ruffle Litleo's fur.
"You're kidding," he groaned. Litleo had paused when Sean turned as well, but a smirk was relighting his face.
"Your only weapon I guess?" It was not a question. Not really.
"I have MORE!" Sean threatened, paw digging into the bag dangerously. When he didn't pull anything out Litleo laughed in his face.
"Coward and a liar." He shook his head, smouldering mohawk waving in the air like a fluffy target to bat at with claws. "Well, from some stranger who's hoodwinked Rai, what was I expecting?"
The dig at his current species touched a nerve Sean didn't know he had.
Sean thought of Rai, down, hurt, possibly if not likely unconscious.
Sean grew angry.
"You're right actually," Sean said, letting the bag fall to the floor, paw clenched around the object he had hidden away. "I am." His face was feeling redder than he'd ever felt it. Even if the fur would hide the angry flush he was sporting. "You know what else I am?"
Litleo had paused, graciously enough, to let him speak. Such a thing would mystify Sean in times to come. The politeness in many strange and violent situations he found himself in.
"Beaten?" Litleo growled, snapping his teeth.
"Nope." Sean emphasised the p before running forward with all the speed he could manage. Litleo jumped in surprise before firing an Ember, not having the time to build the flame necessary for a Fire Blast. Sean covered his face with his other arm and ran through it. He'd experienced embers before. None as focused or painful as this, but he didn't let them stop him.
Sean got a view of Litleo's snarl before he punched him in the mouth, with the paw that held a clasped sleep seed. Forcing it into the litleo's mouth, he felt bones pop in his wrist as Litleo's head was knocked back from the force of it.
With the claws of his other hand, the arm that was blackened with now-burnt fur, he slashed Litleo across the throat with claws that glinted with black.
To his distant surprise he didn't draw blood, but the hit was still severe.
The sleep seed took effect, cutting short Litleo's pained yowl, and he staggered. Sean gasped as Litleo raised a mouth filled with crackling flames and he realised Litleo may have burned the seed out before it could affect him. He braced for agony, but nothing came.
"Heh," Litleo gave a weak laugh as his head drooped, coughing out some ash. "Little Shinx has someone huh? We'll see how long you stick around before," he trailed off as sleep took hold and he slumped to the ground.
Panting in a mixture of exhaustion and exhilarated fear anger, Sean raised a foot to stomp down on Litleo's head. But hesitated. The anger didn't rush out and leave him, but the sudden clear-minded bloodlust had. He lowered his foot before stumbling back.
Not finishing his attempt at a boastful moment, even to an unconscious opponent, Sean turned back and rushed to Rai's side. He grabbed the Treasure Bag again as he did so and fished out an oran berry.
"Rai?" He knelt by the shinx's side and gently shook him. He received a groan in response and was relieved to see he was still somewhat conscious. "Here." He held out the berry. To no response.
"Right," Sean mumbled to himself, he pulled the berry back and cut into it with his claws, without noticing how the juice stung his paws or how sticky it made them. He brought the smaller chunks to Rai's mouth and slowly stroked his side, where there was less burn. "This'll help," he coaxed and soon Rai took a nibble.
He remained kneeling by Rai's side, glancing back to Litleo every few seconds, until the shinx had eaten three berries.
"Ugh," Rai groaned and came to his feet. "That was unpleasant."
"Sorry my ha-paws," Sean corrected. "Taste so bad."
"Not that," Rai said, before glancing to Sean's face and seeing the small smile. "Right. Joke."
"You're a bit knocked about, I can't blame you for being a little slow."
"Ow." Rai whimpered as everything ached. "What happened to…!?" His eyes fell on Litleo, conked out and laying completely unconscious. "You beat… you… beat HIM!?"
"You sound surprised."
Rai immediately went red. "I-uh-uh."
Sean laughed. "I forced a sleep seed into his mouth. He'll probably wake up soon."
As if cursing the devil, Litleo's eyes began fluttering and he groaned.
"Quick!" Sean yelped, scrambling back as if that'd help. "Take him out!"
"Wha?" Was all Litleo managed to say before a bolt of electricity brightened the room and knocked his lights out.
Team Ion sighed in relief when Litleo crumpled, not getting back up this time. Both of them still watched him carefully as they approached, Rai leading the way. He nudged Litleo a few times before nodding. "He's down."
"Alright then," Sean beamed, feeling immense relief wash over him. He looked over Litleo for a moment before realising. "How are we going to get him back?"
"Carry him I guess," Rai answered, looking over the… litleo they had defeated. His face was carefully blank, not looking happy or sad.
"Joy," Sean deadpanned before looking around. His eyes fell on the far side of the room, where Litleo had been camping as they entered, and wandered over there.
"Hey," he called, catching Rai's attention. "Is this a bag?"
It was. And inside were a few things, a rather nice sheet, food, equipment, and a gold ribbon. "Found it!"
Rai grinned. "Perfect! Help him onto my back and I'll carry him back to town," Rai called, and Sean quickly joined him.
Before hoisting Litleo up, Sean had to ask. "Are we really taking Litleo to the police? How much trouble is he going to get into for this?"
"I dunno. More if he hurt Charmander, but… I doubt he'll get in any real trouble for this." Rai sent another dark look down at Litleo. "But we can't leave him in here! In this state he may not be able to get out before a feral takes a chance."
Dragging him out wasn't the most pleasant thought. Even if Rai was the one doing it. But no part of Sean, however vindictive, would have agreed with leaving Litleo in here.
Hoisting the dead-weight of an unconscious litleo onto a shinx's back. One of the many things he never thought he'd do, Sean positioned Litleo as best as he could before nodding to Shinx.
"Thanks for the orans," Rai said as he began to drag himself and his load forward. "You didn't need to give me THAT many. I feel better than I did before the battle, besides the pain."
"It's Oran Forest," Sean defended, shrugging and picking up another berry from the ground. "See. They're everywhere."
Smiling, Rai shook his head in bemusement. "You got me there. But you can't do that every time I get hurt. Unless I really need it."
"How will I know if you need it?" Sean shot back. "Especially if you're going to act like you aren't as hurt as you really are."
He meant it to be playful, but Rai cringed at his words nonetheless.
Talking quick to avoid Rai feeling any sort of bad, Sean quickly put his foot in his mouth and said, "I can't believe made everyone think I was a whore today!"
Rai squeaked and nearly dropped Litleo. "I thought we weren't going to talk about this morning. At all. Ever. And don't say… that word. AND," he emphasized the word when Sean went to speak. "What do you mean 'everyone'?"
"I said it in front of Sunflora," Sean answered, deadpan and completely honest. "Does she NOT seem like the kind of person who would gossip that?"
"Th-that's a good point actually," Rai admitted before shifting sharply, shifting Litleo back into a more stable position. "She IS the town gossip. Oh dear, I didn't think of that."
"I'm so embarrassed about it," Sean admitted. Part of him didn't want to speak of it, hope it'd be never brought up ever. At all. In all time. But a different part of him didn't mind making a bit of fun about himself, and another part of him just welcomed being able to talk to Rai.
He decided to listen to that last part.
"Did you see their faces? I mean wow." Sean laughed but Rai was blushing again. He almost stopped and apologised for making things awkward, but Rai actually gave him a small, teasing, smile.
"Not really," he admitted. "I was kind of burying my face in the ground. Just the secondary embarrassment was painful."
"I can assure you," Sean promised. "The full embarrassment once I realised what I said was just as bad."
"I would have thought it was worse?"
"Nah." Sean shrugged. "I don't know how you were feeling exactly. And, really, it WAS funny. Horrifying, socially isolating, probably going to have… uncomfortable moments to come. But we'll laugh about it!" To prove it Sean laughed. It was fake, but it wasn't meant to sound real.
"You're," Rai trailed off, a small smile on his face. "Very optimistic."
"What can I say?" Sean shrugged, it was true after all. "It's much more pleasant to see the good. Plus." He winked. "When you know exactly how to see the bad, it becomes a lot easier to figure out the good. Even if it's just a future thing."
"Wise… I think?"
"Not old enough," Sean said. "Unless you are calling me old in which how dare you!"
"I'm not saying that!" Rai yelped.
Sean paused, sighed, and apologised. "Sorry. That was a bit of sarcasm."
They lapsed into a bit of silence, cut only by Litleo's snores. Sean decided the Oran Forest smelled very nice.
"A lot of what I say is meant to be joking," Sean eventually said, rubbing an arm uncomfortably. Then from pain when he was reminded what a number Litleo did to him. Glaring briefly at the unconscious Fire-type, he continued. "I really don't mean to bring up uncomfortable stuff for you, or mean it if I say something… short? Rude. Just. What I'm saying is, I don't care if you WERE calling me old. I know you weren't, and even if you were, me saying 'how dare you' is meant… playfully I guess is the word."
"I see." Rai nodded. He didn't completely, but he was getting the gist of what Sean was saying. "I guess I'm not used to someone who doesn't say exactly what they mean all the time."
"Are all pokémon really that blunt and straightforward?" Sean asked.
"Yeah." Rai nodded before frowning. "No. Most pokémon are; you can be sure that your friend or neighbour means what they are saying. It's kind of what keeps communities together, since outside of towns and such can be really lawless." Rai shook his head. "Are humans really so… dishonest isn't the word I want to use?"
"But it fits." Sean nodded. "I… I guess. Sort of? Not to sound bad or anything, but most humans will speak white lies, just little things, day-to-day. There's also sarcasm. Don't you have that?"
"Certainly." Rai nodded, and Sean relaxed. "But it's generally thieves and other lowlifes that use it."
"Ah."
"Yeah. Look I trust you." Rai turned to meet his eyes and Sean knew, even without the previous information on honesty, that Rai was telling the truth. "I also trust what you say. So, it is a bit weird to try and figure out what you are saying truthfully and what you mean as… a joke."
Sean nodded, this was just more things he knew he needed to learn if he wanted to survive here.
"This world is so strange," Sean said, completely honestly. "I'm serious there. It's nothing like I ever could have imagined." Sean smiled, a tiny bit of self-loathing fell into his face. "That's a lie. Not a complete one, I knew mechanically what this is. Culturally? Never would have seen this coming."
"I think your world would be strange," Rai responded, sticking his tongue out. "I can't imagine trying to get around there… so I guess this is really hard for you huh?"
Caught a little off guard, Sean nodded. "I've only been here, what, three days? I've already made a complete fool of myself in front of the guild and barely know how to talk to anyone besides you. I'm not even used to fighting. Like this, or at all really. You'd almost do better without me."
"No, I wouldn't." Rai rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't have been able to knock Litleo out without you. I'd be unconscious, lost in a dungeon. Maybe he'd help me. Maybe he wouldn't. I wouldn't even be here without you. Stop putting yourself down."
"I said almost," Sean pointed out but received a flat stare-back from Rai. "Alright. Alright. Jeez, I hear you. I'm awesome. I'm amazing. Best explorer ever, and he's chatting your ear off awkwardly right in front of you!"
Sean smiled and glanced over to Rai. Right on the edge of his vision he swore he saw Litleo smiling, almost nuzzling into Rai's neck. By the time he had turned properly, Litleo was definitely still out of it. He resolved to keep an eye on him though.
"I wouldn't say 'best'," Rai said, smirking. Sean fluffed up a bit, then noticed the fur and began patting it down awkwardly.
"That's also weird. Having fur. Claws." Shivering he flicked his tail and noticed it. "Tail." They walked further in a comfortable silence before Sean said. "Wigglytuff though. Best explorer, right?"
"Maybe," Rai replied, smiling vaguely.
That caught Sean off guard. "Maybe? Who else? Team Ch-" He cut himself off right there, almost saying Team Charm. It wouldn't do to let slip something he, maybe, shouldn't know. "Chargelight?"
"Chargelight?" Rai replied. "Who are they?"
"No idea," Sean answered, honestly. "Made up a name in hopes of getting a winner."
"That what you did for our name?" Rai grinned and before Sean fluffed up again, he answered the question. "Wigglytuff is definitely one of the best explorers ever, he and Chatot. There are some teams which each could be the best explorer team, but I think the best current explorer works all alone."
Sean suddenly felt a wave of déjà vu, and along with it a sinking feeling. "Oh right."
"Dusknoir!" Rai said, utterly beaming upon saying the name. "He's this AMAZING explorer that appeared out of nowhere recently. He's tackled some of the most remote dungeons on the continent, found like seven new ones, and defeated a few of the baddest bad guys around and brought them to justice." Speaking of Dusknoir seemed to open the floodgates and Rai continued gushing.
"He became really legendary when he, singlehandedly, saved an entire village that had been swallowed by a dungeon. Saving hundreds of pokémon before the dungeon could claim them. Dusknoir is easily the greatest one-pokémon-team out there. I'd like nothing more than to meet him one day and say thank you."
"Thank you?" Sean asked, deciding that was the most pertinent thing to focus on. "For what?"
Blushing slightly, realising he went a little too far into fanboy mode, Rai explained. "A… a month or so ago I lost hope I'd ever be an explorer," Rai admitted, looking very uncomfortable. "I just didn't think I could ever get the courage to even apply. No one thought I could do it either." He grimaced and his eyes flicked to where Litleo laid on his back. "I mean, the pokémon in and around Treasure Town who did know me were nice about it, but I know none of them ever thought I'd ever gather the nerve to even try to go through with it."
He sighed sadly. "I'm sure there are plenty who think I'm going to drop out as well. I won't. Not ever! Not when I have Dusknoir to meet and live up to! It was him who made me believe I could do it. When I learned about the village he saved, all by himself, it made me want to meet him all the more. And I'd never be able to do it, especially as anything more than just a nameless fan, if I didn't become an explorer just like him!"
Sean felt somewhat awed at that. He knew, subjectively, that the partner, Rai, looked up to Dusknoir. Never truly why though. Not in this detail.
Swallowing slightly, he nodded, shoving away the dark voice that spoke of Dusknoir's true intentions. What that meant for the future. What it meant for Sean himself. "He sounds amazing," he said, receiving a beam and a nod from Rai. "We'll definitely meet him one day."
It was no lie.
"And we got the ribbon back!"
Rai was explaining to a relieved Charmander at the guild. He had received word his job had been achieved and had come racing. "He wasn't easy to fight with Fire Blast, but we got there!"
Eyes sparkling in gratitude, the Charmander swayed his tail, staring at his gold ribbon. "Thank you so much!"
He put down a bag and danced off. Chatot came flapping in once Charmander was gone. "Excellent work you two."
Sean and Rai came down to the lowest level for Chatot to distribute the rewards. "Well done you two, your first outlaw mission was a roaring success." Chatot chuckled to himself as if he spoke a grand joke. "Your tasks are done for the day. You may relax now, but only in ways that maintain the guild's image! Come to the Guildmaster's chambers after dinner as usual."
He gave a significant look to Rai before he hopped away, with a majority of their money.
Rai watched the bag of poké disappear with a mournful sigh. "Farewell sweet cash," he whispered before shaking it off. "We did it, Sean!"
Then Rai was dancing, and Sean could only smile and wonder why dancing around was socially polite but giving your name wasn't.
"Oh well," he thought to himself, catching Chimecho's eye and noticing how she turned away quickly. "Least we're back."
Once they were given an all-clear by Chimecho, she tutted over their injuries a bit but the nurse did good work, Sean decided to clear the air.
"Hey, Sunflora?" he asked awkwardly as pokémon mulled about. She looked up and politely trotted over to him. "I just wanted to apologise for this morning."
"Oh, it's nothing," Sunflora assured him. "Just a bit of a surprise, it's okay. I've put out the word for you."
Oh. No.
"Pardon?" he asked, hoping he'd misheard.
"Yeah. A few pokémon seemed interested and-" He was going to die.
"I'm not!" He blurted out. "Just hit my head and forgot things!"
Sunflora froze. "Pardon?" she asked weakly.
"I was just being friendly," Sean babbled quickly. "I forgot what that meant, I'm not I'm not a night-mate at all!"
Sunflora stared at him in dead silence for a moment. Then she snorted and giggled. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I tried to spread- oh my gosh. Not again! I'm so sorry, why didn't you say that earlier!" She was giggling in embarrassment rather than getting upset at least.
"I was embarrassed," Sean said, staring at the floor with his face on fire. She continued to giggle uncontrollably. "Can you tell whoever you told that… no?"
She nodded, still giggling. "It won't be hard." She giggled harder. "To clear up. Just like last time, at least no one really approached Luno so you should be fine. Wow. Wow. Wow. Okay. Hooo. Okay. Serious Sunflora." She slapped her face a few times with her leafy limbs. "Serious. You hit your head?" Sean nodded. "Sorry about that. It's cool, I'll clear things up for you."
After a quiet dinner that grew in volume as Sunflora explained the mistake on Sean's behalf, Team Ion followed Chatot and Wigglytuff.
"Do the others not do these debrief sessions?" Sean asked curiously.
"They do." Chatot nodded. "But not after every mission. Besides, err." He cleared his throat, it would not do to continue speaking that. "Never mind."
Wigglytuff beamed at them. "Good job, Team Ion!" he cheered. "A difficult mission completed!" He flapped a piece of parchment in front of him, pretending to read. "Chimecho says you got a bit roughed up," he said apologetically.
"Shinx, you were knocked out at one point?" Chatot asked.
Rai nodded. "Yeah. We thought we'd won but he wasn't as down as I thought and got me from behind."
"Shinx carried the day," Sean added.
"Meowth finished him off though."
Wigglytuff giggled at them sticking up for each other. "It's good that you both did well! I am very proud of you both!" And then he rolled over to hug them. "We mostly wanted to ask… are you okay?" he directed the question more so towards Rai than Sean.
Rai nodded. He didn't speak, however.
Wigglytuff clapped him on the back and gave them space. "That's good! I want my friends to be happy! It's okay if you're sometimes not happy, though." He did a little spin. "As long as you're happy to talk about it with someone."
"Thank you, Guildmaster," Rai said honestly, he didn't say anything more though.
"Very well. How did you two find this mission to go?" Chatot asked, taking things back onto track. "A farther dungeon, a sapient fight with a ne'er-do-well with some injuries as well." Chimecho had noted that Sean had taken a bigger beating than Rai, but Rai had been the one knocked out.
He was curious about that.
Rai looked to Sean, who looked to Rai. "Well," Sean began. "I guess pretty well. We won the fight, got the item back, and got home in one piece. Litleo was strong, I… I was afraid to fight him."
They sparked their attention on him. "Afraid?" Wigglytuff asked.
Sean nodded, feeling embarrassed and casting his eyes away from them. "I'm… not the most comfortable with fighting. Rai keeps the ferals away from us most of the time, I want to help but…."
"That's okay," Wigglytuff said, and Sean looked up. He was smiling. "Not everyone is eager to get into a fight when they could get hurt. That can be good, meaning you might be more careful." His eyes flicked briefly to Rai and Sean was reminded of the fact that Wigglytuff was a lot smarter than he let on.
"As long as this fear does not rule you," Chatot added on, sharper than Wigglytuff was. "We'll continue these debrief chats. If it begins to impede your progress, we'll look into developing your confidence. For now..." He turned to Wigglytuff.
"For now keep at it as a team!" Wigglytuff said brightly. "Things are scary on your own, I get scared in dungeons all on my own. As long as you keep working on things together things will be alright!"
Team Ion smiled and nodded to him, and they were excused.
"I believe we should speak to Meowth about Litleo," Chatot said quietly as they were left alone.
"If you think that's best," Wigglytuff hummed.
"I do."
"On his own, then. We don't need to cause difficulties to them yet."
"Very good."
"Causing the water to freeze like that, admittedly, gave me some thoughts I'd rather not feel."
"The forest and everywhere else will go back to normal once the Time Gears are returned to their proper place."
"I know, I know. No need to remind me."
"Fair enough. Which location next?"
"Boulder Quarry. Should be the next least-protected."
"Boulder Quarry it is. Shall we set off immediately?"
"Hoo-ha-ha! You ask a question you already know the answer to. We're already on our way."
Ah Litleo. Such a curious boi.
Thanks to Viroro again!