"UP AND AT 'EM! IT'S MORNING!"
"Ugh...good morning May..." The two girls groggily awoke, after enduring another blast of cacophony from Loudred. Though this time, their heads weren't throbbing as much as before. I can't believe it's only been three days of this so far. May thought as she went to wash her face, while Serena got up and put her shoes and headband on. Within minutes, both girls were assembled in front of Wigglytuff and Chatot with the rest of the apprentices.
"AND... THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES!"
"OK, Pokémon and humans! Time to get to work! "
"HOORAY!"
As the other Pokémon went off to their usual posts, May and Serena noticed how Chatot had added "and humans" to his usual roll call, much to their delight. The bird approached the girls. "Ah, you two. Today you will look up jobs on the Job Bulletin Board and Outlaw Notice Board and do any job within your capabilities. That is all."
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"What do you think, Serena?" May and Serena had decided to check out the boards as Chatot ordered, but neither girl saw any jobs that seemed rewarding. "I don't know, May. We went after Drowzee yesterday because you were able to see him in the act beforehand. But right now I'm not sure what to choose. Every job is probably urgent but we can't do all of them at once."
"So you ladies ran off yesterday because had to rescue little Azurill!" The girls turned and saw Bidoof addressing them. "By golly, I'm impressed that you caught yourselves an outlaw in the process! Yup yup, I need to pick up the pace. Can't have you rookies showing me up!" As Bidoof walked up the ladder, someone else descended it and approached the girls, while causing Bidoof to flinch in shock. The figure laughed. "Meh-heh-heh. You caught yourselves a wanted criminal? So you really can get things done. Meh-heh-heh. Of course, what you did is only what's expected of any exploration team. Meh-heh-heh." Croagunk went downstairs. The girls sighed. "I guess it's fair not to expect cookies for a baseline job." May shrugged. "At least Wigglytuff said we did a 'super' job. Let's look at the Outlaw Notice Board too."
"Hey, Wurmple! I was checking out the Job Bulletin Board. I found a great job. It's an easy job, plus it pays well. Sounds real tasty!"
" T-t-tasty...?! S-s-sheesh..."
May and Serena approached the bird and bug near the center of the room. "Is everything ok, Team Tasty?" Swellow looked up. "Oh! Hey Team CrimsonVelvet! My partner and I are just wondering how to approach our next job. The rewards seem so juicy and delectable!" Swellow beamed. "What have you ladies been up to?"
"Oh, we caught our first outlaw yesterday at Mt. Bristle." Answered Serena.
"Ah! Nice! That place can be tough. Tell me all about it!"
As Serena started to recount the tale to the bird, Wurmple crawled away towards May, who couldn't help but sigh as the bug crawled up her leg, eventually settling on her shoulder. "Are you still afraid that he'll eat you?"
"Y-yes..."
"You know, Swellow himself is tiny compared to a lot of the Pokémon here. But I doubt he's scared of being eaten by them."
"W-w-well, he's not in close proximity to them every day."
"You're on my shoulder right now and I'm much bigger than you and Swellow put together. But you're not scared of being eaten by me, now are you?"
"Well no, but still..."
"WHAT?! You managed to take down such an outlaw with sheer force alone?! AWESOME!" Swellow couldn't help but get excited by Serena's recap. "And you managed to throw an X-Eye Seed into his mouth?! Sounds tasty!" Serena and May couldn't help but laugh at the pun, though Wurmple shivered and nuzzled himself into the back of May's neck. "Well, if you ladies ever need help, we're always in the area. Come on, Wurmple, let's go!" The grub promptly jumped off of May's shoulder and followed Swellow up the ladder to the exit.
"Well let's go to the Outlaw Notice Board, Serena." To May and Serena's relief, the selection of jobs listed today were of criminals far less dangerous than the ones they had seen yesterday. Far less invertebrates. Good. May thought to herself. "Let's see... May, what do you think of this? 'Seductive Emolga tricks travelers into giving up their food; last seen at Mt. Bristle. This temptress has caused many travelers to starve as a result.' This sounds safe." May looked at the flier. "The reward for this is 1000 Poké and a Joy Seed. Wow, this seems great. Let's do it." May took the flier. "You know, so far Chatot's only been having us do one task per day. How about we do multiple jobs today in the same dungeon? We'll get more done that way." Serena eagerly agreed. "Good idea!" The girls didn't find anything else of particular interest on the Outlaw Notice Board and thus went back to the Job Bulletin Board. "Help! I got lost and can't find my way out! Somebody!" Serena read out a flier sent by a Dunsparce who had gone missing in Mt. Bristle. "Does this seem good?" It's only a floor below where we're gonna fight the outlaw." May nodded her approval and put the flier in the Treasure Bag. The other jobs listed were for dungeons they hadn't explored yet or for Drenched Bluff and the Beach Cave. "Hmm, wanna go out to town first? Maybe Dugtrio will update the boards while we're gone." "Sounds like a plan!" Serena cheerfully agreed as she followed May up the ladder.
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As they approached the middle of the crossroads, May and Serena couldn't help but notice a bipedal ursine mammal with red-and-white fur aimlessly dancing around a rock to the side of the road to Treasure Town. The girls approached the being, intrigued by its swirling eyes and unique spot patterns.
"Um, hello? What are you doing here?" May asked. But the being was silent. "Are you ok?" Added Serena. To which the being responded with non sequitur.
"Hopes and dreams... This is..." Then the being spun around and laughed, seemingly not noticing the girls, and then proceeded to hunch down over the rock. "Umm, ok..." Was the only thing May could respond with as she and Serena both decided to ignore the being and head into town.
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Treasure Town was just as lively as it was yesterday. When they reached the main square, the first thing they noticed was a large bear talking to a smaller one. Serena recognized the pair and eagerly approached them. "Teddiursa! Ursaring!" The bears turned to the approaching human.
"Oh! Serena! It's been a while!"
"My son heard you were finally able to form your own exploration team. Is that true?" Serena couldn't help but get excited as she gave an affirmative. May quickly reached the trio and Serena put an arm around her shoulder. "Ta-da! This is May. The first human I've ever encountered in this world besides myself. We're Team CrimsonVelvet!" May introduced herself to the ursine father and son. "Nice to meet you. I take it you've known Serena for a while."
"That we have." Ursaring answered. "We remember when Serena somehow ended up in the area as a little girl. My son's been friends with her ever since." Teddiursa continued. "I knew you could do it Serena! How are your explorations going so far?"
"We just caught our first outlaw yesterday."
"Awesome! Good to know you're helping to fix the world, especially since more and more bad Pokémon are appearing. I wish we could live in peace, but if you're around to help, that'll happen soon. I just hope time gets fixed soon." Ursaring nodded in agreement. "I don't know if it's because of time going out of control or not but no one can evolve lately. You know how Pokémon can only evolve after certain conditions are met right? Well now no one can evolve no matter what."
"Aw, that's awful. I hope that gets fixed soon. But anyways, we're gonna walk around town and then go on a mission. See you later!"
The girls said good bye to the bears and proceeded to walk around town more. They intended to go to Kangaskhan to store some of their items. But to their displeasure, they heard the voices of some xenophobic reptiles on their way. "Well, well, the humans are here again." The girls turned and rolled their eyes as they saw the Kecleon Brothers looking at them. "What do you want?" Snapped May. "Now, now. No need to be hostile. We heard all about it. You saved that cute Azurill from a horrible outlaw, right?! For that, please accept our sincere thanks!" The purple one continued. "Yes, yes. We may have been hasty in judging you. Clearly not all humans are bad. Though that being said we've never encountered any besides you. At the very least, feel free to patronize our store whenever you wish." The Kecleon Brothers seemed sincere, but May and Serena weren't interested at the moment. "Well, right now we need to do something else." Answered Serena. "We might come by later." Added May. The girls walked away as the reptiles themselves sighed. "Maybe we shouldn't have been so snarky yesterday?" "You said it, Brother."
Unlike the Kecleon Brothers, Kangaskhan was friendly towards the human girls from the very start. "My, my, darlings. I'm so proud of you. I heard you rescued Azurill from an outlaw. Splendid!" Team CrimsonVelvet enjoyed the praise. "Thanks Kangaskhan. Could you store some of these items for us?" "Of course, darling. Is that all for today?" "Yep. Thanks as ever!" The girls then went past Kangaskhan Storage to the far edge of town.
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There was no one around. Just a large cliff, a seemingly innocuous large bush, and some trees. But, at the very edge of the cliff, there was a figure partly protruding out of the ground, looking out at the sea.
"Hey, Serena, isn't that Dugtrio?"
"It is. What's he doing here?"
The girls quickly reached the three-headed subterranean denizen. May attempted to reach out to him. "Dugtrio? What are you doing here?" The trio of heads was silent. Serena tried to get a response. "Um...Dugtrio? Aren't you supposed to update the job listings?" She was also met with silence. Both girls sweat-dropped at this. Then suddenly, Dugtrio spoke. "...The sea... is so vast..." He then turned around. "We will do as you suggested and update the job listings. Then we shall return." Dugtrio disappeared into the ground, leaving two bewildered human girls behind.
"I think he just blew all three of his minds." May noted, as she and Serena laughed.
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"AH! GET OFF OF ME! Waterfall!" May struck the spider away with a watery uppercut. Team CrimsonVelvet were back in Mt. Bristle, having accepted three different jobs. The Spinarak were happy to see the girls again, this time determined not to let them get away. Serena had an easier time keeping them away with Fire Punch, but she was starting to get tired. "You're not putting me in your web again! Fire Punch!" The Kalosian managed to strike the Spinarak in front of her. She and May quickly ran up the stairs. "I can't believe that was only the second floor." Groaned Serena, who had thankfully managed to avoid the constant String Shot attacks directed towards her. May wasn't so lucky, but had managed to avoid the worst of it, as she tore off fragments of silk from her thighs and belly. "You had to remind me?" Griped the Hoennian. "I'm just glad they haven't damaged my bikini. There's no way I want to be naked here!" Serena blushed at the thought, and May playfully pushed her in response. "Just because you're not a perverted Spinarak, doesn't mean I'll let you get a peak!" She teased the Kalosian. Nevertheless, both girls pressed on. Now that they were on the third floor, they knew they were close to finishing one of their missions. As soon as they started navigating the floor, a flock of Starlys descended upon them. "Out of our way!" May jumped up and put both hands together and used Smack Down on the hostile birds, as Serena cheered her on with Helping Hand.
In a few minutes however, they managed to find what they had come for. "There it is, May!" The girls rushed over to an orb. "A Switcher Orb. Just like the flier said." Indeed the two girls had taken up another job from the Bulletin Board. This time it was a request for a Switcher Orb from the third floor of Mt. Bristle. I wonder why we have to come all the way here to get it though. Don't the Kecleon Brothers sell this for just 300 Poké? May thought to herself. But then again, given how rude they are, I can't really blame anyone for not wanting to pay them. As she put the Switcher Orb in the Treasure Bag, May noticed that her Explorer Badge was glowing. "Serena, look at this." She took out the badge. It seemed to be pulsating, emitting an aura that reminded Serena of something. "I'm not sure what's going on, but I think this is something like an Escape Orb. Maybe the Explorer Badge is trying to tell us it can get us out of the dungeon?" Wondered Serena. May however, put the badge away. "We still have two more jobs to do. Come on, let's go."
Team CrimsonVelvet continued their trek and on the sixth floor they managed to find their client. "HELP! HELP!" The girls followed the cry of distress and encountered a serpentine yet bulky creature with what appeared to be a large drill for a tail and small stubby wings on its back. May reached out to it. "Um...are you Dunsparce?"
The creature immediately turned to the girls. "YES! Yes I am! Have you come to rescue me?"
"Yep. We're Team CrimsonVelvet!" May took out a flier from her bag. "We got your distress message at the Wigglytuff Guild. We're gonna get you out of here!"
The serpent was overjoyed. "Oh thank you, thank you!" He got closer to the girls as May took out her Exploration Badge and tapped Dunsparce's head with it. "I'll see you at the guild with your reward!" And with that, Dunsparce vanished in a flash of yellow. The badge was still glowing. "Why is it still glowing?" May thought out loud. "Maybe because we finished another mission?" Answered Serena. The two girls ignored the badge and continued their trek. Serena used a regular attack to knock away a Geodude that lunged at them on their way to the stairs. However, little did they know about the challenge that would await them on the next floor.
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As soon as May and Serena reached the seventh floor, they immediately could sense that something was off. The entire floor consisted of a single chamber, instead of the maze-like structure typical of Mt. Bristle or any other Mystery Dungeon. "This is weird." Noted Serena. None of the local Pokemon were present. No Spinaraks or Geodudes to chase the girls as they usually would.
But the girls' astonishment would come to pass, as a new figure appeared before them. "What are you doing here?!" The girls noticed an airborne rodent flying nearby. "I'm Emolga. This is my territory. You don't look like you have much food with you. What are you doing here? And what even are you?" I don't know what they are but I can tell they're females too so I can't use Attract on them like I usually would. She thought with annoyance.
May and Serena got ready to fight. "My name's Serena, and this is my partner May. We're an exploration team and we've come to apprehend you!" The rodent couldn't help but laugh in response. "BWAHAHAHAHA! YOU? An exploration team? And you've come to what?!" Emolga laughed harder. "This should be fun. Well, if you're so confident, how about this?! DISCHARGE!" Emolga started to shine and the girls screamed in pain as they were zapped by bolts appearing all around them. May was especially hurt since she had chosen to be a Water type.
"May! Are you ok?!" Serena approached the girl. "I'm ok. Just get her!" As Emolga got ready to use Discharge again, Serena threw something at the ground. "Huh, what's going on?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Emolga couldn't move, thanks to the Petrify Orb that Serena had used. She ran up to the rodent and then struck it in the face with a Fire Punch. "You're under arrest!" She shouted. However, Emolga wasn't finished. "Nice try, but I'm not done yet." The winged rodent jumped up and spread the flaps on her sides. She dove at Serena and struck her from multiple angles. "How do you like my Acrobatics?!" Serena recovered and glared at Emolga. "That's enough! Fire Punch!" But suddenly she realized, to her horror, that her fist wouldn't ignite. "Hahaha! I don't know what you two are but it seems you're also restricted by the concept of Power Points, just like us Pokémon! But since you're all out, lemme put you out of your misery. DISCHARGE!" Emolga started to glow and jumped up. But then two fists clenched together knocked her out of the sky from behind. "Smack Down." May had recovered from the initial Discharge. Emolaga was down. The Explorer Badge started to glow again. "Ok, this time we're getting out with the badge. What do you think, Serena?" The Kalosian agreed. "Sounds good." May held up the Explorer Badge and all three of them vanished from Mt. Bristle in an instant.
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"Thank you so much for finding me a Switcher Orb! I always wanted one but could never find one!"
The small, brown, furry mammal expressed her thanks to the two humans standing before her in front of the Job Bulletin Board. May and Serena beamed in response. "We're happy you like it, Eevee!" May said.
Serena nodded. "It's all in a day's work."
Eevee approached the girls. "I know it's not much, but please, accept this." The girls were elated to receive a bag containing 2500 Poké, despite knowing that they would only get to keep 250. "I hope to see you two around more often!" Eevee climbed up the hatch and left the guild. As soon as she had left, someone else took her place.
"Oh thank you so much for rescuing me!" The jubilant Dunsparce exclaimed. He then blushed, as he got a better look at his rescuers, now that he was no longer fearing for his life. "I didn't imagine my saviors would be so BEAUTIFUL! HUBBA HUBBA!" He gushed at the girls, causing them to blush in response. These ladies are hotter than that other team of girls I encountered so long ago. He thought to himself. Dunsparce then produced a small bag. "It's not much, but I was using this to defend myself in the dungeon. I'm sure you'll find a better use for it." May picked up the bag and saw that it contained a bunch of rocks. "Those are Gravelrocks. They do a fixed amount of damage to everyone." Dunsparce explained. "I'm humbled to have been rescued by such lovely ladies. Good bye!" Dunsparce slithered up the ladder to the exit as May and Serena sighed. They were then called over to the opposite side of the room.
"ZZZT! You brought the outlaw Emolga in for arrest! ZZZT!" Magnezone levitated in front of the Outlaw Notice Board. Emolga was behind him, flanked by two Magnemites. "ZZZT! Please accept this bounty of a Joy Seed and 1000 Poké as our thanks." Team CrimsonVelvet excitedly accepted the rewards. "ZZZT! Thank you for your cooperation! ZZZT!" Magnemite and his deputies activated their sirens and then escorted Emolga out of the guild.
"Well, that was a day." May sighed. "Our first time doing jobs on our own. I'm so tired!"
Serena agreed. "You said it. I hope we get dinner soon."
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After that, the girls had dinner and went to bed. "Let's make tomorrow another good day, May!" And with that, Team CrimsonVelvet went to sleep. So ended a completely normal day of training at the guild.
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The next day, a new day of training began for Team CrimsonVelvet with the two girls being yelled at from across the room after roll call.
"HEY! You two! We need your help with something today!" Loudred bellowed at them. May and Serena followed him to a hole with a ladder made out of vines coming out of it. "DIGLETT! I brought them!"
The Ground type was unfazed. "Thank you Loudred."
The cacophonic purple beast turned to the girls. "You two are doing sentry duty today. And that's THAT!"
Diglett was more diplomatic. "Sorry girls. I'm usually the one to do sentry duty. But today, my dad gave me his duty of updating the boards. That's why I can't man my post. It would be great if someone could take over my sentry duty for today. And that's why you're here. Please do a good job for me. Bye!" And with that, the mole disappeared into the ground.
May sighed. "Even Diglett has no qualms about foisting grunt work onto the rookies I guess." Serena agreed. "Yeah, I don't get it. Why are we involved in this at all?"
But then, both girls were knocked back by the ear-splitting scream of the purple beast next to them. "Shut your YAPS!" Loudred was even louder than usual. "NO MORE BELLYACHING! GO DO YOUR DUTY!" But then he realized that the two girls were on their backs and out cold, their eyes swirling and their ears sore.
A fluttering of feathers made Loudred turn around. "While I appreciate you taking the spirit of training seriously, there is such a thing as overkill. Besides, you were loud enough for me to hear you from outside the guild. Be a bit more tactful!" Loudred sweat-dropped from the reprimand as Chatot flew away.
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"Ow... My head is pounding..." Groaned Serena. By now, she and May had recovered and stood before a slightly humbled Loudred.
"So, what are we supposed to do?" Asked May.
"Climb down this hole and stand guard. You're on sentry duty! We can't have suspicious characters coming into the guild. So we station a sentry below the guild entrance to evaluate Pokemon visitors. When you first came, you had your footprint evaluated, right?" Loudred explained in a calmer tone.
"Oh right." Serena thought back to a few days ago. "I stood on the grating, then someone shouted up at me and said I was a human. It was startling! I was only able to get through that with May with me." She smiled at the Hoennian. She turned back to Loudred. "So I'm guessing you want us to climb down that hole and stand under the grate to identify visitors based on their feet, right?"
"That's RIGHT! Good to see you're not as dumb as Bidoof. The tunnel down there leads to the sentry post." Loudred explained. "Diglett burrows through it and pops out underneath the sentry post. From there, he inspects the footprints of visitors, identifies them, then informs me. Then I decide if the Pokemon is suspicious or not and open the gate if he passes muster. In this way we serve as the guild's gatekeepers, that's the gist of it."
The girls nodded. "So all we have to do is inspect the footprints of visitors and tell you what Pokemon they are, right?" Asked May.
"YEP!" Loudred confirmed. "Any questions?"
"Yeah, what if a Pokemon doesn't have a footprint? What if it's always floating off the ground like Chimecho?" Loudred was taken aback. He actually hadn't considered such a possibility. "Ermm...UHHHHH! Well Diglett usually burrows up the ground when something like that happens. But if anyone like that comes today, just ask it to identify its type or where it comes from, and then guess! We can't just ask it to say its own name as it could be lying." Loudred hastily came up with an explanation. These two are as nosy as Sunflora. He thought to himself. May wasn't completely satisfied but accepted the answer. It would suck to get yelled at again. "Well if that's all you wanted to ask, then let's get to WORK! Buck up and do a GOOD job!"
And with that, May and Serena shimmied down the hole. "Ack! It's pitch black in here, May...!" Serena immediately noted. "We'll have to feel our way..." The girls then made their way through the tunnel, though May felt something grab her from behind! "EEP!" "Oh? Was that you, May? Sorry!" It was so dark that neither girl noticed that they were both blushing, as they each knew which part of May Serena had grabbed. She's so soft there. Serena thought to herself with a blush. "Well, we should be getting close to the sentry post... Oh! There! I see light." Serena noted, and they saw the familiar grate in front of the guild's entrance. May decided to stand just below it, as Serena took a few steps back. Suddenly, they heard Loudred's booming voice.
"HOW'S IT GOING?! Have you taken position at the sentry post?!"
"Yes! We're in position!" Serena shouted back.
"GOOD! Pokemon visitors will step onto the grill above the sentry post! Identify them by footprint, then inform me! Got that?!"
"Yes! Understood! May will stand just below the grate and then I'll yell back to let you know!"
"Now I get why Loudred is so loud all the time." Muttered May, as Serena stepped back further.
"May, just tell me your guess and I'll shout it back to Loudred." The Hoennian nodded. The girls heard Loudred shout again. "GOOD! Let's get started! Look at the footprint and then identify the Pokémon, OK?! You can only get two wrong, OK? Serena will keep an eye on things! Here comes a Pokémon! Check its footprint and tell me what it is!"
May looked up and saw a four-toed talon print on the grate, with three toes facing outwards and the fourth facing backwards. The foot gave off an avian yet sinister vibe. May turned to Serena. "I'm gonna guess this is the Murkrow we often see around town." The Kalosian nodded and turned back towards the entrance and shouted: "The footprint is Murkrow's! The footprint is Murkrow's!"
"Heard ya! Come in, visitor!" Loudred responded. "...Yep! Looks like you're right!"
May and Serena were glad. They both got ready for the next visitor. May looked up and saw a large coil, as if the visitor were a giant snake. She also got a vibe that this visitor was plant-like in its composition. She turned to Serena. "Ummm, maybe this is a Serperior?" The Kalosian nodded again and turned back towards the entrance and shouted: "The footprint is Serperior's! The footprint is Serperior's!"
"Heard ya! Come in, visitor!" Loudred responded. "...Yep! Looks like you're right!"
The next visitor came. It seemed to have two small footprints. But it also seemed to have a gelatinous body that was supported by two appendages, the ends of which served as the footprints that were shown. May suddenly froze. An old memory started to resurface, and for some reason she was filled with dread. "May, are you ok?" Serena gently tapped the girl's shoulder. She stayed still with fear. "It...It's a Tentacool..." May started to shake. But then Serena wrapped her arms around her. "It's ok. It's not here." The Hoennian calmed down. "HEY! What's the HOLD UP?!" Serena went back towards the edge of the sentry post and shouted back: "The footprint is Tentacool's! The footprint is Tentacool's!"
"Heard ya! Come in, visitor!" Loudred responded. "...Yep! Looks like you're right!"
By now, May had calmed down, and the next visitor had arrived. She looked up and saw a small paw with an elegant vibe. She couldn't tell what it was, so Serena came over to help. As she looked up, she got excited and screamed back: "THE FOOTPRINT IS FENNEKIN'S! THE FOOTPRINT IS FENNEKIN'S!"
"Heard ya! Come in, visitor!" Loudred responded. "...Yep! Looks like you're right! Wait, HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
May suddenly noticed that Serena was gone. "WHO SAID YOU CAN COME HERE AND CONSORT WITH THE VISITORS?! GET BACK TO SENTRY DUTY!"
Realizing where the Kalosian went, May sweat-dropped. Well at least she's having fun.
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May, Serena, Loudred, and Diglett stood in front of the hole leading to the sentry post. Chatot stood before them, with his attention focused on the two human girls. "You've worked an honest day you two . Though I would like to ask that Serena not get so excited by any specific species of Pokémon visiting the guild. We're lucky she was merely flattered by your behavior."
Serena blushed. "Sorry... it's been a long time since I've seen a Fennekin, and I wanted to show off my costume." Chatot ruffled his feathers. "No matter. Let me review your sentry-duty performance... Well, well! Your results were... completely perfect! " The girls were quite happy. "We did it!" Exclaimed May. Even Loudred was happy for them. "EXCELLENT!"
Chatot praised the girls. "You correctly identified every visitor! Even the ones that are quite rare in these parts. We'll reward your effort! Generously, I might add! You all deserve an especially large reward!" And with that, May and Serena received a Joy Seed, 500 Poké, a Ginseng, and even a jar of Honey. "Keep up the good work!"
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May and Serena were in their room, getting ready to sleep. The Kalosian blonde couldn't help but wonder why her partner had reacted so badly to the mere footprint of a Tentacool. "May? If it's ok, could you tell me why you panicked because of a Tentacool?"
The Hoennian brunette was silent. "Let's just say, I had a scary encounter when I was really young. And that made me afraid of all Pokémon for a while." Explained May. "Seeing a Tentacool's tentacles somehow reminded me of that."
Serena was sympathetic. "I see. But there's no need to worry. We have each other now. And I'll make sure no Tentacool gets near you. Good night May." Both girls went to sleep, May with a renewed assurance that Serena would be by her side.