Their first mission was at Drenched Bluff. It was a chance to prove themselves to the guild this time, so they both had to make sure that they succeeded. The girls had arrived at a rugged mountain pass. Though it was also lush with moss. May took note of the environment. "This must be the bluff's entrance. Spoink's mission description said the pearl is deep down on the B7F level. It sounds like a seriously dangerous place, though honestly I doubt the guild would've sent us here if they didn't think we could handle it. Let's be careful, Serena."
"Yeah, let's do our best, May!"
As they went in, the first thing they did was check their belongings. May and Serena both observed that the Treasure Bag they received from Wigglytuff, which contained both the items they had received and the Oran Berry and Pecha Berry they had found in Beach Cave. They also noticed a note inside the bag which read: You are a beginner team. This bag can hold 16 items. As your rank increases you will receive bigger Treasure Bags that can hold more items. "Nice that we'll get bigger bags later." Serena optimistically noted. May took out the Crimson Bow and Serena took the Pecha Scarf and they both equipped them. The two human girls started walking around the floor, noticing how the floor was tinted azure and how there were pools of water in certain areas. Suddenly, an Anorith appeared and lunged at them. Serena threw a Fire Punch and knocked it out. An approaching Shellos that snuck up on May from a nearby pool of water was greeted by the girl rushing forward to meet it on the water, as she used the move Aqua Jet. The Shellos laughed in response, as its Storm Drain ability canceled out any damage it would have taken. Serena noticed and came over, starting to sing in a disruptive fashion, using Disarming Voice to knock the Shellos out. "Thanks, I wasn't expecting Shellos to be immune to my moves." May thanked Serena, who smiled and said she was always ready to help. The girls saw a flight of stairs going down and went down.
This all seems so simple. But are mystery dungeons really this easy? May thought. As the girls explored the dungeon, they found more Oran Berries and Pecha Berries as well as other items such as Max Elixirs, Sleep Seeds, Blast Seeds, Apples, Heal Seeds, and even a Reviver Seed. Serena was familiar with these items and May quickly understood their functions, and noticed how some of them existed in the human world as well. "It's odd how many of these items remind me of things in the human world, especially the berries." May noted. "Yeah, I noticed this too, years ago." Serena concurred. By the time they had reached the B4 floor, they had enough items to fill up the bag and also collected far more Poké than they had expected. However, since their bag was now full, they had to consume some of the new items they found. "I'm getting hungry." Serena moaned just as she saw an Apple on the ground. "Just in time." She noted as she went to get the Apple. A Chingling then appeared and quickly picked up the fruit, much to Serena's chagrin. "Hey! That was mine!" The Kalosian girl rushed up and struck the Psychic type Pokemon with a flaming fist as she unleashed a Fire Punch, knocking out the Chingling and leaving the Apple on the ground for her. Serena triumphantly grabbed and ate the Apple, which turned out to be a Big Apple, filling her up completely.
May smiled as she watched Serena satisfy herself. The Hoennian brunette was getting peckish herself. She saw an Oran Berry nearby and decided to have a quick snack. But just as she was about to take a bite, Serena ran towards her. "May no, don't eat that!" But it was too late, as May took a bite and immediately clutched her stomach in pain as she collapsed. "UGGGGH! What did I just eat?! I thought it was just an Oran Berry!" Serena kneeled down and hugged her. "You have to be careful. That wasn't an Oran Berry but an Oren Berry. Some items can look similar to common ones and if you eat them they can have bad effects." May nodded in understanding. "I'll be more careful then. Give me a Heal Seed." Serena gave her what she asked for and the duo were able to resume their exploration in a few minutes after May's stomach recovered.
The duo continued to explore the dungeon. Though things started to get harder when they encountered more Lileep. May and Serena had encountered dozens of these Pokémon from the very first moment they had entered the Drenched Bluff but noted that they seemed more excited to see them than the other denizens of the dungeon. These Pokémon could approach them from the water as well, and both girls had an easy time taking them down so they weren't worried when two Lileep approached them. At first, they believed it might be the same easy victories as their previous confrontations turned out to be, but they soon realized it wasn't the case. Serena yelped as the creature used Constrict on her. A mass of tentacles whipped around her body and tightened, pressing her Fennekin outfit against her slender figure, twirling around her waist and squeezing it. The tentacles even tried to worm their way up her top and into her bottom and one of them was even thrusted into her belly button. The same happened to May, her bikini riding up a little as the tendrils went under her bra and into her bikini bottom, clearly trying to get at her most intimate areas. "Let us go you perverts!" May screamed in rage. The Lileep deliberately drew out the process, squeezing them bit by bit, and as they both became flushed and flustered, they began to realize that this was no regular Pokémon battle. Usually, there would be nothing that stood out so much about this move, but it seemed that this particular enemy was getting something special out of it.
Thankfully, May saw an opening and unleashed an Aqua Jet attack, taking advantage of the watery surroundings. Though Lileep was part Grass type, the part Rock type biology it possessed made it so that May could damage it enough to knock it away. As soon as her opponent was down, May rushed over to the Lileep harassing Serena and jumped up and put her hands together and brought it down on the Lileep's head, using Smack Down to knock it out. "Get away from her!" She screamed as she took down the invertebrate. Serena untangled herself and rearranged her outfit. "Thanks for saving me May..." She said with a blush. "Come on, let's finish our mission." May said as she grabbed Serena's hand and took her down the next flight of stairs, unaware of how brightly the girl was blushing in response to her hand being grabbed.
After another floor in the dungeon where the girls took down multiple Chinglings, Anoriths, Shellos, and Lileeps (and this time they gave them no time to use Constrict), the girls reached the very bottom of the Drenched Bluff. There they saw a small clearing with a natural fountain in the middle. There was a shiny pink orb at the base of this fountain. "This must be Spoink's pearl! Let's hurry back with it!" Serena observed. May grabbed the pearl and the duo quickly left the dungeon.
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Team CrimsonVelvet stood before the Job Bulletin Board of the Wigglytuff Guild. Chatot stood nearby, alongside a jubilant Spoink with its pearl restored to its rightful spot on top of its head.
"Th-thank you! That pearl must be propped on my head, you see. I missed it so much! I just couldn't settle down without it up there! So I was boinging and sproinging everywhere! That's why I'm covered in dings and bumps." Spoink expressed his gratitude to the girls. "But thanks to you, that long nightmare is over! You have my sincere thanks! And I never would have expected two human girls to be the ones who'd save me! Who knew humans were so capable?"
Serena and May both felt a bit peeved by the last statement, not taking kindly to being underestimated for being human. Well, at least he didn't sit still. Last I checked, if a Spoink stops bouncing, its heart stops beating. May thought to herself. Both girls perked up, however, when Spoink announced he had some rewards for them. Spoink provided the girls with the rare drinks Calcium, Protein, and Zinc and also handed them 2000 Poké, which shocked Serena. "Oh, wow! 2,000 Poké?! All this money is for us?"
"Of course! Of course! That's nothing compared to my pearl's value! Farewell! I'll be sure to keep you in mind if I have another mission!" Spoint then bounced away up the ladder and out of the guild. Serena was incredulous. "Can you believe it May? We got all this for the mission!"
Chatot then approached the girls. "Well done, team! Now, please hand over the money." Both May and Serena were shocked by this. "What! Why?" May demanded. "Most of the money from jobs goes to the Guildmaster, you see! And your team's share of the money comes out to this much...! " The musical bird handed 200 Poké back to Serena who was shocked by this. "200 Poké?! Why do you get to take 90%?!" Chatot responded in a nonchalant tone. "Well that's the guild's rule. You simply have to accept it! Besides, where do you think we get the money to maintain the Guild, host jobs, support the local community, feed everyone, and provide bedding? On top of that, you two are humans, and thus we have to prepare special beds for you, provide a different form of utilities for your hygiene, and bigger portions for dinner since it's obvious from your size that you'd eat more than anyone besides Croagunk, Loudred, and the Guildmaster himself. " Of course, the Guildmaster only consumes one type of food. He thought to himself.
Serena and May sweat-dropped at this. Though they didn't enjoy Chatot's tone, they knew he was right and that they wouldn't be able to argue with his logic. "Point taken." Serena noted in a defeated tone. Chatot fluttered his feathers. "Since you two came to join the Guild yesterday after dinner had already been served, you didn't have the opportunity to eat, so just wait a few hours until dinner is ready for tonight. Be sure to enjoy yourselves until then, Team CrimsonVelvet, and keep up the good work. "
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May and Serena returned to their room and saw that nothing seemed to have changed for the most part, except for one thing. In one of the sides of the room there was a new space, that looked like it was dug out by something. Probably the Diglett or Dugtrio in the guild . May thought to herself. The girls looked inside and saw that there was a small room with two separate openings large enough for both girls to fit inside without trouble. They went in one chamber and saw what seemed like a deep makeshift hole surrounded by some rocks to sit on and what looked like moss nearby as well as a small pool of water and that was being filled in by a hole in the wall. They quickly realized that it was a makeshift latrine. They checked the other hole and saw a large yet shallow basin filled with water and a fountain with water flowing out into the basin, which had a small hole in the upper part of it. The nearby towels that were clearly made out of leaves and shed fur made it obvious that this was meant to be a makeshift bath. The girls realized that this was partly why Chatot took away 90% of their earnings. "Guess we can't complain." May noted, and Serena nodded in agreement.
Since dinner was still a few hours away, the girls decided to explore the guild. As they went out to the common area, a red crustacean with vice-like claws approached them. "Hey, hey, hey! You two are the new rookies here! I've never met humans before! You're so much prettier than what I imagined humans would be like!" May and Serena sweat-dropped at this. "Um...thank you..." Serena responded with a wry smile, as the crustacean continued. "Hey, hey! My name's Corphish! I'm an apprentice at Wigglytuff's Guild too. Hey, hey! If you don't know what's going on or whatever... you come ask me! You got that, hey, hey?"
"I'm Serena."
"And I'm May. Nice to meet you."
"Hey hey! The pleasure's mine! See you at dinner!" Corphish crawled away, leaving the girls to ponder their next move. "Well, he seemed friendly at least." Serena noted. "Yeah, but I hope he's not a creep." May responded as she suddenly remembered how in the Hoenn region she was once chased by a Corphish on Dewford Island that had perverted intentions for her. Why am I able to remember something like that but not something more important? She thought to herself. The girls headed towards the ladder to the Bulletin Board Level only to run into what seemed like a large plant with a big yellow flower adorning it. "Eek!" The plant screamed and turned around, causing the girls to jump back in shock. "Sorry about that!" May quickly apologized, but the plant didn't seem bothered. "Oh my gosh! The new guild recruits! Delighted to meet you! I'm Sunflora! I'm like everyone's big sister here! I've never met humans before. And I have so many questions! I designed your towels for you in your rooms so whenever you need a new one, just ask! I'm sure we'll get along just fine." Sunflora then walked away.
May and Serena just stood there. "Serena, are Pokémon in these parts usually this energetic?"
"Well sometimes. But I'm more or less used to it." The Kalosian said before they were interrupted by another voice. "Meh-heh-heh. Hello there, ladies. I'm Croagunk." The girls turned to see a blue frog smirking at them while standing next to what looked like a large pot. "I'm here mainly to stay close to my pot. It's under repair now but as soon as it's ready, I'll let you know what it's used for. Meh-heh-heh. Also, if any of the males give you trouble, just tell me and I'll Poison Jab them for you. I can tell you ladies probably had some bad encounters today." Croagunk turned away to tinker with his pot.
May and Serena stood there in shock. "How did he know what we went through today at Drenched Bluff?"
"I don't know, May, but it's good to see someone who's willing to help us with situations like that... even if he seems a bit weird himself." The girls climbed up the ladder to the Bulletin Board Level and then went outside only to see that the sun was starting to set. "Let's go back down, May. Treasure Town is boring at night since everything is closed. I'm sure we'll get dinner soon."
The two decided to head down back to their room but just as they reached the guild's common area, the heard the sound of a bell chiming. "Everyone! Thanks for waiting! " A small floating white orb with a yellow top and a long flowing tail came in from the other end. "I finished making dinner! Come on! Dinner's on! " All the Pokémon cheered, with Loudred spinning in circles and the usually stoic Croagunk jumping. May and Serena followed the levitating orb as she led the girls and all the Pokémon into the dining room and as everyone entered the floating orb turned to the girls. "My name is Chimecho. I'm in charge of making dinner for everyone. You two can to go to the end of the room, where I've prepared two special meals for you. I've never prepared a meal for a human before. So I hope I managed to make it tasty and edible!" The girls did as Chimecho said and saw that every other plate seemed to have an assortment of fruits and vegetables in a pile while their spots had smaller piles and what appeared to be bowls filled with soup. May and Serena started eating, and to their delight the soup was delicious, alongside the fruits and vegetables. One thing they did notice though, was how everyone else (save for Wigglytuff who stood near the entrance of the dining room balancing a Perfect Apple on his head) ate in an incredibly sloppy manner, while the two human girls ate slowly and with more finesse, especially since Chimecho had provided the girls with something resembling a fork and a spoon. "Crunch-munch! Chew-chew! Snuffle-slurp!" The noises of their fellow guild members echoed throughout the room in contrast. Somehow Serena and May weren't the last to finish their meal. Everyone said their thanks to Chimecho as they went to their rooms to sleep.
"Did you like it, girls?" The Psychic type Pokémon approached May and Serena.
"Yes! It was delicious! Thank you so much!"
"I loved the soup! It reminded me of some of the things I ate as a little girl."
Chimecho beamed in response. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll be making your dinner every night so be sure to tell me if you have any special requests!"
May and Serena simultaneously responded. "Of course. Good night Chimecho!"
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The sun had fallen and it was dark outside. Two human girls lay on their makeshift beds, waiting for sleep to claim them. Despite it being dark they were both still awake.
"Listen, May."
"Yeah, Serena?"
"Wasn't today hectic? So much happened! But I'm relieved that our first job was a success." The Kalosian blonde was overjoyed about their first mission. "It was really upsetting how Wigglytuff's Guild took most of the money... That's just the cost of training, I guess. We can't do anything about it. And it also explains why there's no entry fee. And why they can afford to feed all the guild members."
May agreed. "Yeah, but at least they took the time to make our room comfortable for us. Though what happened today with those Lileep...I'm beginning to understand what you meant by how some male Pokémon would be unable to control themselves around you."
Both girls blushed as the Hoennian brunette finished. Indeed, they had found out from today's mission. Some of the Pokémon in these dungeons were...lustful towards the girls. They actually felt some kind of an attraction. Thankfully, they were able to escape anything worse, but Serena and May were left a little bewildered and breathless after they returned to the guild again.
"At least we made it back. It's not too bad considering we're brand new to this, right?" Serena said, and May, though a little bit hesitant, nodded. "You're right. But what made me really happy today, though, was getting thanked by Spoink! He at least recognized that us being human has no bearing on our ability as an exploration team."
Serena was also happy about that, seeing it as a sign that the Pokémon would start seeing her as an equal. The two were trying to sleep, but remembering the events from earlier kept them awake. They had a feeling they'd be facing the same sort of trouble again. "At least everyone in the guild is nice. And both the toilet and shower they built for us were great." Both girls had washed themselves after dinner. Sunflora's weaving skills were excellent as the towels she provided instantly dried them off and were also warm enough to serve as blankets. Both girls still wore their bikinis (and in Serena's case her Fennekin outfit sans the boots and headpiece.
"...We should get some rest..." Serena said, but as she rolled onto her side, she couldn't stop herself from thinking about it, but was glad she had a companion who was willing to protect her now.
"Serena?" May murmured after a while though, breaking the tense silence where neither of them could even sleep. Serena rolled back over onto her side and looked at her.
"Mm? You're still awake?"
"Yeah..."
Serena hummed. "Me too. My heart's been racing all day today over every little thing. But I'm glad I finally made myself come here. I doubted myself so much...thinking that there was no way they'd ever accept me. I am a human like you, after all. So I was surprised when they accepted not just me, but both of us."
"Me too." May agreed. They'd certainly received a lot of stares when they first entered the guild, and despite being as polite as possible, even Chatot had seemed a little bit bewildered through his professionalism. Yet Wigglytuff had basically welcomed the two of them with open arms, not seeming to care whether they were human or not. He only cared that they were as enthusiastic as he was about embarking on this whole journey.
"I thought Wigglytuff would be scary, but he seems pretty friendly." Serena continued, "We're going to experience all sorts of things starting tomorrow, but I'm not too scared. Well...I suppose I'm only bothered about the way those Pokémon acted when we were at the Drenched Bluff." She shuddered a little bit. "Hopefully that doesn't happen again. I've always noticed how some male Pokémon would stare at me but never expected any of them would want to touch me like that, though some did try over the years, a strong 'NO' was always enough to get them to stop."
May couldn't agree more. It was definitely not the best sort of experience to have, that was for sure.
"Anyway, I'm not scared. In fact, it's the other way around. I'm super excited about the adventures we'll face!" Serena followed up that statement shortly with a barely stifled yawn, as her head flopped back deeply into her pillow, "I'm feeling a little sleepy..."
May yawned too as Serena did, triggered by her, and agreed. "Yeah me too. We should get some rest so we'll be well prepared for whatever is next..."
"Let's give it our all tomorrow. If it weren't dark outside, I'd give you another Lovely Kiss as a 'thank you' for saving me from Lileep." Serena said, not noticing May's bright blush in the darkness. "Ok, May. Good night."
As she rolled over to sleep properly, May turned onto her back and gazed up at the ceiling for a moment longer, contemplating everything. In this alien world full of talking Pokémon and no humans besides herself and her companion, she had already found a place for herself, even if it was an arguably tenuous one.
And she had Serena now too. She was at least grateful for that. A fellow human girl who'd help her survive in a new world.