Chapter 1: Dynamo
A tent.
Or, more accurately, multiple tents, with a big one in the shape of an Absol right in the center. The white main booth topped with a blue crescent flag, flanked by smaller, darker booths, cast a stark contrast on the otherwise barren landscape, the guild headquarters being located a good distance away from Thistle Town. The sun had just crested the horizon, the early morning breeze lapped gently at the Meowstic's fur as he took a short pause in his walk.
Lumi took the sight in, giddiness welling in his heart at what he knew was soon to come next. Every morning, without fail, the guild partook of a particular ritual that, depending on who you asked, was either an instant energy booster to the start of your day or a solemn reminder of the continued presence of chaos and instability.
For some reason, he found himself soundly alone in the first category.
Having never been this close before, he counted down the seconds before the highlight of his morning. Moments ticked by and looking at the position of the sun assured him that it was only seconds away.
"Come on... I'm ready for this. Oh, this is gonna be sick."
As his thoughts raced with excitement, one small, dwindling piece of self-preservation invaded its way into his psyche. He frowned.
"Wait, should I hang onto some-"
Immediately, his eyes latched onto a small, blue spark rising up from behind the crescent flag. It rose with purpose, an ascending ember against the backdrop of the sky. As the day was still young, soft stars could be seen standing at attention, respectfully spectating this new star on its journey to the top of the world. The azure spark arrived at its destination, floating calmly in the sky above the guild.
With a bang, the world turned white.
A sound like lightning struck through the once serene morning, reverberating throughout the land as a violent tsunami would crash on the shore. Though the Meowstic couldn't see it, visible shockwaves powerful enough to rock boulders shot out from the center, somehow barely phasing the guild tent.
Having fallen into a trance watching the spark and ignoring his own caution, Lumi was swiftly thrown back from the force of the blast, sensitive ears ringing after being subjected to decibels of sound far louder than was healthy. Heart beating and chest heaving from adrenaline, it wasn't for a few minutes before he felt ready to open his eyes again. His vision was blurry, but he could feel that his front was caked in the dust ejected from the blast. A dull ache pervaded his body, the shockwave having slammed into him with no restraint.
Waiting for his vision to rid itself of spots, Lumi blankly stared up at the sky, calming his heart.
That was terrifying. His mouth twitched.
For a moment, he genuinely felt as if he would die. He couldn't help the smile playing at his lips.
Every nerve and instinct in his body told him to hide, run, this wasn't safe. He laughed.
He felt alive. He slowly staggered up to his knees, managed to push both his legs under him, and stood tall.
Lumi screamed. And yelled. And hollered. And jumped. And ran in a circle. And laughed, laughed, laughed.
Coming down from the euphoria that came from the sudden realization that you are, indeed, alive, he looked once more toward his goal and ran forward, now more sure than anything that this was the right choice for him.
Stepping past the curtain, his first impression of the guild was how surprisingly pleasant it was compared to outside. The interior of the main building was spacious, with charming rugs on a packed dirt floor and colorful curtains hanging like ribbons from the ceiling. There were no windows here, yet the room was almost as well lit as outside. He assumed that had something to do with the shining orbs floating close to the ceiling.
Pokemon were already bustling about what he assumed was the main nexus of this place. His theory that the routine explosion every day had a use other than terrorizing the townsfolk seemed to be gaining weight, as more and more poured in from the flaps toward the back of the room. Maybe it served as a signal of some kind? He watched as they crowded around a large board in the center, covered in papers of different kinds. To his surprise, some would even paste their own papers on the board, only for others to take those and run off to who knows where.
The Meowstic was fascinated, but he told himself he could explore all of this fully once he was a part of it. As he looked around considering who and what to ask, a smiling Wooloo trotted up to him.
"Hi there! Are you here to drop off the list of item requests?" She offered.
"Uh, list?"
"Oh, are you the new guy they sent from town? I hope you didn't forget your list. We can't start production until we know what we're making, although you are a little early."
"Nah, I'm not the mail guy, I-"
"If you would like to make a personal request, you need to fill out a specific form, hang on, let me go get it for you." She turned to clop off, but Lumi was quick to stop her.
"Hang on, I'm here to ask about joining!" He made sure to raise his voice so she wouldn't try to cut him off again.
The shift in atmosphere was almost tangible. Lumi felt a shiver run up his back when he noticed eyes on him and the immediate voices around him hush. The Wooloo kept her smile, the professional she was, but couldn't stop the confused furrow of her eyes.
"Join?"
"Yeah."
"Liiiiike, join the delivery crew...or?"
"Deliv-no, what? No, I mean like recruitment. Here, at Absol's guild?"
"Ah." She looked at him for a bit, before breaking eye contact and chewing her lip. He could have sworn he heard her mutter a soft 'wow, damn' before perking up and addressing him again.
"Wait right here while I get the person in charge, of, recruitments! Yup, she will definitely be able to help you, just wait one second..." The cotton ball bolted, leaving flecks of wool behind as she darted through a tent flap to the right. He was a little unnerved by the quiet that followed, and still heavily felt eyes on his person. Most of the mon he turned to tried to avert eye contact immediately, but eventually his eyes landed on a Bannete who was eyeing him curiously. Seeing no reason to be rude, he gently waved. The ghost tittered at that, a soft jingling noise being heard, before they waved back, turning to continue on their way.
After a few more minutes of waiting, the Wooloo came back into the room, alongside a Whimsicott. The fairy's eyes widened, before turning and quickly telling the sheep something before shooing her off. Lumi waited as the Whimsicott approached.
"Apologies, I'll have a towel brought out for you momentarily." A smooth, dignified female voice came from the fairy, and Lumi couldn't help but notice how she held herself; back straight, arms crossed in front of herself politely, while carrying a small book.
"Thanks, I guess I got a little dirty earlier," he replied.
"I hope you didn't take a tumble on the way here."
"Sort of. I was like, a minute or so away when the big explosion thing happened. I guess that's when I got all this dust and stuff on me." He began trying to brush his fur off as he said this, before stopping after realizing it might be rude to track dirt inside. Making eye contact with the Whimsicott again, he noticed she looked a bit troubled.
"Ah, yes, that would explain it. You have to understand, normally we don't receive visitors this early in the morning, so typically there's no danger to anyone during our morning cheer."
"No problem, I was actually looking forward to it."
"Oh?" She looked surprised, her arms uncrossing slightly.
"Yeah." He smiled, genuinely. "I mean, normally I just see it from my house, but I figured if I got up early enough today, I could see it up close on my way here."
"...And you, weren't scared? Or anything of the sort?"
"Uh, well yeah. But, it was also real exciting, you know?"
"Hm. Quite." She replied, a smile growing on her lips. Her stance loosened slightly, unseen tension leaving her body. The Wooloo returned then, zipping over to hand Lumi a towel and nodding to the fairy, before darting off. He gratefully began cleaning off some of the dust as he listened, dropping it off in a convenient wastebasket when he was done.
"My, we've been talking and haven't even made introductions! I am Pandora, co-leader of the Absol guild. I was told you were interested in joining?" Wordlessly, she began walking towards one of the tent entrances to the left, the Meowstic following her. During their time talking, Pokemon either figured they had better things to do and went off to their tasks, or backed off to watch from a distance, still intrigued.
"Yeah, I'm Lumiere, from Thistle Town a little ways away. You can just call me Lumi, though."
"That's surprising, those from there tend to be less...enthusiastic in regards to what we do here."
"Tell me about it, people love telling horror stories about the 'disaster guild' beyond the prairie. Personally, though, I've been a fan for a while." He easily replied. They stopped right in front of the tent flap, emblazoned with a blue star insignia. She turned to him directly.
"Lumi, are you quite sure you are aware of what we do here? We are not a typical Explorer guild, you understand?" She asked, pointedly.
He took a moment to think.
"...From what I understand, you guys don't do the whole Mystery Dungeon diving thing other guilds do, right? You're more geared toward research, and inventing new things."
The Whimsicott tilted her head and wiggled her paws in a 'so-so' manner.
"You've got the general idea, however, it must be said that Mystery Dungeons still play a key role in our operations here. The form of research we do is a bit more...involved." Despite the ominous ending, her genuine smile still remained.
"Cool. Great. So, how does, uh, recruitment work? Is there a test? I did pretty alright in school..."
Pandora gestured at the flap in front of them.
"We'll worry about such things later. Right now I would like to formally introduce you to our guild's most important feature; the Development Wing. We can get to the rest of the guild amenities later, but truthfully if you do choose to stay with us, this is the most important place to understand."
Without another word, she pushed open the tent flap and entered, the Meowstic following close behind. What he saw on the other side stopped him in his tracks and set his heart racing.
The room was massive.
In blatant disregard for the dimensions seen from the tent outside, the room's ceiling stretched high above his head, shaping into a dome decorated with lights that formed beautiful constellations. The walls, a heavier and thicker cloth than seen earlier, poured around him in deep purples, accented with white. The room was circular, with multiple floors accessible via a curved wooden stairway arching around the sides. The second level looked to be dotted with indents in the wall, little nooks lined with books and layered with cushions. Three more tent flaps, in front and to the sides of the room, led to areas presumably further in.
There were more floating orbs from before here, providing ample lighting while evoking memories of the night sky when viewing the top of the dome. In the center, proudly etched into the stone floor, was the insignia seen before, a blue star.
The Meowstic was struck dumb in awe, mouth open as he stepped further in, turning in circles to take in everything. When his eyes came down from looking at the ceiling, he noticed Pandora standing in the center on the insignia, wearing a proud smile. His words had left him, so all he could do was gesture with his arms to the surroundings in a bid for any kind of explanation.
She began to speak, with a strength to her voice that was not present a few minutes ago.
"What you see before you is a product of our research into the secrets and complexities of the Mystery Dungeons that appear in our world." Her arms uncrossed and raised, presenting the area in all its glory.
"We at Absol's are dedicated to the documentation and application of these secrets. Our Guild is part of a long line of innovators, Pokemon who desired to understand and make use of the anomalous energies present in Dungeons. You are aware of the standard equipment many explorers make use of on their journeys; orbs, seeds, bags, yes?"
He nodded. Pandora's head lifted to the top of the dome, her paw pointing to one of the constellations. Lumi followed her gaze.
"Look closely. Were it not for the brave few who embraced risk and change, none of those gifts would have come to pass as they are now. You will not find another guild like Absol's, we are a continuation of a legacy."
Looking closely, Lumi realized that the constellations created by the lights were, in fact, in the shape of Pokemon. He walked forward and squinted, turning in place to observe them. He could make out the forms of a Meowth, Jolteon, Decidueye, Mismagius, and a Ninetales.
"There is much more that could be said about our history, however, there are exciting things I would like to show you. Do you have any questions?"
Yes, he had many questions, but he took a moment to remember that a lot of them would simply be answered in due time. Instead, he addressed something that slipped his notice in the excitement.
"...Where is everyone?" In between getting blindsided by the complete lack of logic that was the Development Wing, and the mini-history lesson, Lumi had overlooked the fact that there were no Pokemon in this beautiful room. Despite the soft looking benches and cushions, no Pokemon were present.
"Because I could have sworn I saw a bunch of mon earlier?" he questioned. The Whimsicott nodded slightly, then gestured for him to stand beside her.
"All of our apprentices are currently busy with their assignments. After our morning cheer and the rush to receive assignments, everyone tends to either run for the labs," She indicated the other entryways in the room. "...or out to a Dungeon for some field testing."
"Oh, I guess that makes sense. Actually, that reminds me. No offense, but where's the other guildmaster, Absol? I would have thought I'd have seen him by now."
"Currently, Absol is out for some testing, although he should be back later this afternoon. He will be pleased to meet you, however. Now, let me acquaint you with the three main Branches of the Development wing."
She turned to the leftmost tent flap, adorned with a plaque of a bag, encircled with a ribbon. String, silk, and various cloth snuck their way underneath the sheet.
"This is the Tailor Branch. As you may be aware, a variety of clothing and accessories provide enhancements to a pokemon's attributes. This is possible either through the energy in a Dungeon simply taking the form of an item, or saturating an already created object in a Dungeon's energy and manipulating it from there."
Next, she motioned to the entrance directly in the middle, signified via a plaque depicting a wand encased in an orb.
"In front of us is the Dynamo Branch. There are certain items whose nature and application have been made incredibly malleable due to dungeon influence. Think of orbs, wands, and emeras..."
At that moment, a loud boom could be heard coming from down the door flap, along with soft shouting. The sheet blew just a bit from the force. Lumi jolted a bit, although Pandora remained unfazed, still standing primly with a smile.
"Those who do research in this branch also spend the most time doing field tests in dungeons. The efficacy of these items is best observed in practice. Finally, to our right, we have the Bio Branch."
At her queue, the Meowstic turned to observe the rightmost plaque; a cornucopia filled with seeds, berries, and gummies. Upon further inspection, vines snuck their way through the cracks in the tent flap, grass replacing stone just before the entrance.
"As you can guess, this is where much of our biological research is conducted. All things having to do with the growth and processing of produce influenced through dungeon energies are examined here. Any questions?"
Lumi paused to digest the information he had just received. Although he had an idea of what sorts of things the Absol guild was responsible for, he could have never imagined the scope of what they were capable of and involved in. Questions continued to pile up in his head, but one of her explanations stood out.
"You said that they," he pointed ahead to the Dynamo Branch, "are the ones who spend the most time in dungeons?" he asked.
"Correct. Has something piqued your interest?"
"You keep mentioning stuff about 'dungeon energy', but I've never heard of it. You could probably just tell me, but I was wondering if I could see something like that for myself in there. Plus..."
More dull thumps and impacts could be felt from beyond the flap, and his curiosity continued to spike, unable to resist stepping closer. The Whimsicott turned and giggled to herself.
"I see the apprentices are getting into it this morning. As to your point, truthfully 'dungeon energy', or as we say here, Aether, is a bit of a catch-all term used to describe the phenomena that affect reality in a dungeon. They really are best experienced in person."
"Would you like to learn more? I should warn you, this is our most..."
Another explosion.
"Volatile branch," she said, voice steady.
The Meowstic didn't think twice.
"That sounds awesome. Lead the way."
Lumi followed Pandora through the tent flap and was immediately transfixed by the sight within. A large circular platform was slightly raised from the ground, deep purple cloth lining its perimeter, yet what caught his eye was the faint dome of something that encased the circle. Like a moving painting, almost transparent shapes and colors morphed along the surface of the dome. Within the strange structure was another Pokemon, a Spinda, belly up and presumably dazed.
Presumably, because really it is quite hard to tell with them.
Wrenching his gaze from the sight in front of him, he looked beyond the dome and saw that the room stretched much further back, containing more of these structures in different shapes. The strange moving film encased all of these structures, some of which contained objects and other Pokemon. The noise was considerable, bangs and impacts ringing out frequently from those inside the structures.
"This is the Demonstration floor." Pandora's voice brought him back. "Light testing is required to see if some ideas function as a proof of concept, so we have this space to come and see what sticks, as it were. I am sure you've noticed our Proto-Dungeons yes?" She looked at him, and he swore her smile got bigger with each bang that sang out.
"Proto-wuh?" he intelligently responded. She motioned for him to walk with her, closer to the dome.
"Clara? Can you come help me with something, dear?" she called. The Spinda perked up and hopped to their feet, scampering off the platform.
"Heya Dora! What's up?" She turned to him, and the swirls in her head rotated quicker. "Oh, hi! Are you from the town? Was there a problem with the orbs this week or something?"
"Clara, meet Lumi, our newest guild aspirant. He's interested in how the floor works."
"...Oh, wow! You want to join the guild!? We haven't had somebody new since...umm." The small panda scrunched up her face and put her paw to her chin, hmm-ing in thought. This continued for the next thirty seconds, Pandora waiting patiently with a smile on her face, and Lumi looking between the two still wondering what the hell was actually going on. When he glanced at the guildmaster for direction, she just tilted her head in a 'go on' sort of way, so he turned to address Clara.
"Uh, hello, Clara. So, I was wonde-"
"Vanny!"
Silence. Lumi chose to roll with it.
"Cool. Hey, what the heck is that?" He said, pointing to the dome.
"A Proto Dungeon! It's like a real Mystery Dungeon, but smaller! This your first time seeing one?"
He nodded. The panda tottered off to a crate full of orbs, digging through before returning with one.
"Normally, things like orbs and wands don't work too well outside of dungeons. Go ahead, try and activate this one."
He took the offered orb and, as he was taught from a young age, allowed the energy inside to mesh with his own and guide his thoughts. His mind read a Sunny orb, and so willed his latent Energy to engage with that of the orb's. Soon, the orb was glowing with a faint light, warm to the touch.
"See? That's what normally happens. Now," She scampered back up into the Proto-Dungeon, stumbling a bit on the way.
"Come inside!"
With Pandora observing, Lumi walked forward. He passed through the threshold, and immediately felt lighter, yet couldn't shake the feeling of disorientation that draped over his body like a weight. There was an almost tangible current of energy in the air, unseen to the eye but electric to his senses. His heart started racing.
"Hey, steady now..." He heard the Spinda say, ironically. He didn't notice he was trembling, holding the glowing orb in his paw. It began to feel hot to the touch.
"I-I'm good."
"It's your first time, so just calm down and feel the energy. It should be way more active now." Sure enough, his Power could sense the energy almost pouring out from the orb, certain spots almost hot to the touch. It was ready to be used.
Bracing himself, he engaged the orb's energy again, much more potent now. It started to shine brightly and almost burn, but started to float in his paws before it could singe them. With a soft grunt, he activated the orb, letting it rise to the top of the enclosure's ceiling. It glowed brightly before dispersing in soft flecks, and it soon felt like he was standing outside in the noon-day sun, a warm but pleasant heat pervading his body.
"...Woah, that was..." He panted softly, still shaking a bit from the experience.
"Cool huh!" The Spinda tottered over to him and looked up. "I'm guessing this is your first time really using an orb-like that?"
"Everyone's taught how they're used, but they've never felt like, uh, that before. I'm guessing it'll be like that in a real Dungeon too?"
"Yup." She walked over to the side of the dome and, to his surprise, lightly knocked on the fluorescent film as if it was a solid wall.
"Going to a Dungeon each time to test something would be really annoying though, so we made these Proto-Dungeons! Well, it was mostly Vert."
"Vert?"
"The other Guildmaster, Absol. Speaking of which, hey Dora! When is Vert getting back?" The panda turned to address the Whimsicott who, to their surprise, wasn't where she last was. Clara hopped out of the enclosure to look around, and Lumi followed, pausing at the entrance to the dome. Curious, he pressed a paw against the surface and marveled at the feeling of solidity. Stepping through the threshold, he was momentarily taken aback by the feeling of the world suddenly snapping into place. The aura that settled over him while in the Proto Dungeon released him, seemingly contained only to the circle. More thoughts and questions entered his head.
Breaking from his musings, he looked around the area for the Spinda. He noticed that a row of tent flaps lined the sides of the room, and spotted her speaking to Pandora and a Scrafty leaning up against the wall, near one of the flaps. The Whimsicott noticed him and waved him over, so he hurried to join them.
"Lumi, how did you enjoy making use of one of our Proto Dungeons? I trust it went well."
"Oh, yeah it was definitely an..." He thought for a moment. "Experience. Can't say I've done something like that before." Clara walked forward and placed a paw on his arm, her swirls squinting in sympathy.
"Don't worry, you get used to it. The first time I walked in one, I passed out, and woke up barfing!" Pandora's smile faltered for a second, while the Scrafty sniggered a bit on the wall.
"Heh, nice. Don't get me wrong, it was a rush. Now I'm wondering what the real thing is like."
The Whimsicott perked up at that.
"As it just so happens, I have something in mind I think you might like. If you are alright with it, Van here," The Scrafty threw up a wave "has agreed to chaperone you on a task to Whispy Woods."
The name was familiar. Thistle Town was located in an inland grassland, with the guild to the north, closer to the mountains that capped the area. The only way to access the rest of the continent to the east was through a forest dungeon, Whispy Woods. As their side of the continent lacked any Explorer guilds to facilitate rescues, residents of the town were expressly forbidden from ever venturing near the forest. The only ones he heard of who went there were the insane mon from the Absol guild, always reported to stay longer than was officially recommended.
And here he was, being offered the chance to actually go. How could he refuse? Only...
"For as cool as that sounds, are you sure? I haven't even seen the rest of the guild yet, or ever been in a Mystery Dungeon before." He said, scratching the back of his head.
"Think of this as a sort of... trial run. If you find you enjoy this assignment, we will know that the rest of the guild operations will be a good fit for you. They will always be there for you later. And do not worry, Van is more than capable of making sure you stay safe."
"Ooh, can I go? I've been testing foreeeeever," pleaded the little panda.
"Actually, I would like to see how the progress on your latest project is going, Clara. And, I would like your help with something a little later."
The Spinda groaned but nodded, and Pandora opened up the book she was carrying and looked at it intently. She 'tsked' and whipped out a pen from her fluff to cross something off.
"I'll have to move some things around..." she muttered. "But, I think things will work out. I will take my leave now. Lumi, it was excellent to meet you, and I do hope you have a good time with Van on your task. I understand it is short notice."
"No problem, I should be thanking you," he said. Pandora nodded and turned to the Scrafty.
"Van, I appreciate you doing this. Come home safely. Always searching..."
"Never lost." The lizard finally spoke in a deep voice.
She gave one last nod before turning to walk off with Clara. They stood there for a bit, Lumi unsure what to do before the Scrafty suddenly brought his fist up. It took him a moment before he smiled and pounded it.
"Sup. m' Van."
"Lumi. So, what exactly are we doing?"
"Gotta get some dud orbs for testing. C'mon." Van tilted his head to the nearby tent flap and walked in, the Meowstic following.
The room was surprisingly cozy. A work desk dominated the center, with various objects cluttering the surface and the floor. On the left was a couple of bookcases and a storage bin, and the right was subsumed almost entirely by cushions. Despite the clear use of the room, it looked like one could take a nap any time they wished. After a moment, Lumi realized that the sound from outside was greatly muffled as well.
Wordlessly, Van stepped over to the bin and began digging through it. After a bit, he pulled out a large purple backpack and put it on. It looked worn, yet sturdy, with many pockets and the guild emblem emblazoned on the front. He then went to a small container by the desk and put some berries and orbs inside.
"Aight." His voice pulled Lumi from looking around the room.
"Let's head out."