It was a normal morning at Twinriver Boarding School. Well, as normal as a day with Arthur Grayside the Skitty and Midnight Softpaw the Zorua could get. The two of them were infamous for their troublemaking behavior, ranging from simple pranks to large–scale destruction. Today, Arthur was looking out the window of their shared dormitory while Midnight tossed and turned in bed.
As Arthur regarded the sprawling woods surrounding Twinriver, he got an idea. "We should cut class and see what's in the forest that's so bad that nobody, not even staff, is allowed to go in!" they said. "Maybe, just maybe, there's something really incredible in there and they're just lying about the woods being dangerous!"
Midnight sprang awake and jumped to their paws. "You're the one who's suggesting we cut class this time?!" they yelped. "Usually, it's me who suggests that and you shoot me down! Unless food or money is involved. I remember the Nanab Berry incident well."
"This time, finding out what's in those woods is more important than humiliating all the idiots in my class!" It was no secret Arthur was one of the smartest kids at Twinriver. Her intelligence was on par with the final-year students— not bad for a 13-year-old Skitty. This was also why Arthur could get away with almost anything and get off with only a scolding: taking disciplinary action against the brightest student there would make for some truly bad PR for the administration of Twinriver, not to mention they would have to deal with Arthur's mother: Countess Grayside the Delcatty.
Out of her nine children, Arthur happened to be her favorite, and she was known to be fiercely insistent that Arthur was a perfect angel who could do no wrong. No administrator wanted to be on the recieving end of Hyper Beam because they told Countess Grayside that her favorite kid almost destroyed the south wing with one of its "pranks".
"Fine by me. At least we'll get to spend more time together than if we had to go to our different classes," Midnight replied. Midnight was 16, three years older than Arthur. Unlike their friend/rival, Midnight, a self-proclaimed career thief, was sent in the hopes that they would learn better behavior at Twinriver, which hadn't been the most fruitful quest yet.
"Why are you surprised, Midnight?" Arthur asked. "You know when I have one of these burning questions, I'll stop at nothing to find out the answer! Anyways, if we're doing this, can you grab the Bag? I'm gonna need all the Berries, Apples and money I can get, if there's any in these woods."
After Midnight grabbed the Adventure Bag, Arthur said, "I have a plan for how we'll get out. See, we can't just saunter out there via the dorm exit. We'll get caught for sure. So my plan is we'll climb out the window—"
"I must remind you that we are up on the fourth floor," Midnight interrupted. "Do you want us to break every bone in our body and die?"
"There's shrubbery right outside our window, dumb–dumb," Arthur replied. "We'll use it to break our fall. Anyways, you'll work your illusion magic so no–one notices us going into the woods, and bam! We're in!"
"Great idea," said Midnight, jumping out the window. Arthur followed soon after. The two were in free-fall for a second, before landing in the aforementioned shrubbery. After their landing, Arthur and Midnight scanned around for anyone who potentially witnessed their plummet into the bushes. There wasn't anybody around. Good. Midnight worked their illusion powers, making it seem like there wasn't anybody headed for the woods except for some leaves blowing around in the breeze, and the two troublemakers bolted into Twinriver Woods.
As soon as Arthur placed his paw into the woods, the landscape began to distort and twist until Arthur and Midnight were in a clearing surrounded by trees with three paths leading out. Money, Berries and Elixirs dotted the ground, and wild Pokémon could be heard moving through the forest.
It was a mystery dungeon.
"...Midnight, I think I realize now why nobody is allowed to set foot in the forest," Arthur said. Then, under his breath, they muttered, "I've heard mystery dungeons can be absolutely brutal. I pray to Arceus we make it out of here alive." Arthur began to tremble a little.
"I… read about mystery dungeons in a book once," Midnight said. "Typically, if you find yourself in one, the best way to survive is to make a mad dash for the stairs, and if any wild Pokémon swoop down on you, just attack 'em 'til they're down. Also, items are important, such as your favorites: money, Berries and Apples. Wands and orbs can help you stave off wild Pokémon, and Elixirs can help you use your moves more. There's also emeras, which fit into the looplet on your-"
"That's a lot of information to get from one book," Arthur interrupted.
"Okay, okay, I'll admit I've been in a mystery dungeon before," Midnight said. "You know how far I'd go for my goodies. I just thought a rich kid like you couldn't handle the thought of someone *gasp* getting their paws dirty fighting wild Pokémon."
"Hey, I'm not that much of a wuss and neither are my siblings!" Arthur retorted, still trembling.
Midnight chuckled. "Hah, you're still shaking in your boots. Scaredy–Skitty."
"H-Hey! I'm not that scared of mystery dungeons, you know!" Arthur said, shaking even more. "This'll be a–a piece of cake for me! I'll take these wild Pokémon all out! You won't even have to lift a finger, Midnight!"
"Heh, you're already losing your composure," Midnight teased. "Wazzat? Awthuh scawed of a widdle Monstuh House?"
Arthur stifled her shaking. "Let's make this quick," it said. "That way I don't have to spend that much time here." He ran off towards the left corridor, Midnight following close behind them.
"Ha! You finally admitted you're scared!" Midnight taunted.
"I did not!" Arthur retorted. "I just said I wanted to make this quick! Nothing about being scared at all!"
The two bickering friends raced each other through the corridor until they reached the next clearing. Right at the entrance, in front of Arthur and Midnight's feet, was a small, sparkling purple gem.
"Oh, snap!" Midnight yelped frantically. "It's an emera! Pick it up and fit it into your looplet before it shatters, Arthur!"
"Shiny!" Arthur grabbed the emera and put it into the looplet fitted onto her back leg. "By the way, what do emeras do, Midnight?"
"They don't do much on their own," Midnight explained. "But when you fit them into the notches on a looplet, they have all sorts of different effects!"
"Oh, cool!" Arthur said. "What does this one do?"
"By the looks of it, that's a Barrage Emera," Midnight said. "It sometimes lets you hit twice with an attack!" The two continued into the clearing.
"Would you look at that!" Arthur said. "There's all sorts of stuff here! And it's the best kind of stuff!" It dashed all around, filling the bag with all of the money, apples and Berries it could fit.
Witnessing Arthur's frenzied collecting, Midnight said "Leave some for me!" The mere thought of sparing any goods for Midnight made Arthur's brow furrow, and he called out, "Midnight! Look! I left a Gold Ribbon on the ground for you!"
Midnight frantically searched all around the clearing looking for said Gold Ribbon, when suddenly they felt Arthur's tail slam into them with the force of a metal bar. "Ow! What was that Iron Tail for?"
Arthur just giggled. "Man, I can't believe you fell for that! You know I'm not giving up a single crumb of all this stuff!"
Midnight got ready to Scratch Arthur for their stunt, but decided against it. The two of them needed to escape this mystery dungeon before Arthur could see any sort of comeuppance for her attitude. "I'm gonna assume that there wasn't any Gold Ribbon here at all."
Suddenly, an earsplitting screech could be heard from behind Arthur and Midnight. Arthur turned around to locate what was screeching so loud, but when it saw what made the noise, he almost fainted. A wild Spearow had swooped down on the two of them, intent on attacking.
"S–Stand down, Midnight! I'll handle this!" Arthur said, pushing aside the Zorua. They over–confidently leaped at the Spearow and readied a Tackle, only to fall flat on her face. Taking the opportunity, the Spearow swooped down and hit Arthur with Fury Attack, viciously pecking and clawing at the poor Skitty.
"Ow!" Arthur shielded its body with his tail to avoid taking any more damage. "I'm hurt! Midnight, help me!"
"You're on your own," Midnight said, leaving Arthur speechless, before Midnight chuckled and added, "I'm just joking. Geez, you take everything so seriously. Here, I'll help you out." Midnight then seemed to flee the battle, shocking Arthur once again. "H-hey! Midnight! I'm gonna faint here! Don't leave me on my own!"
Then, an extraordinarily good-smelling Bounsweet entered the scene. Arthur gawked. "No way! I'm being teamed up on, and Midnight just decides to dip like that! I've got some choice words for them once this Spearow is down and I find them…" they said.
However, the Bounsweet seemed to pique the wild Spearow's interest, who flew right over and began to peck at it. That's when Midnight dropped the illusion and attacked— a perfect Feint Attack. "Oh, it's just you," Arthur sighed, before eating one of the many Oran Berries stashed in the bag from her collecting spree. "Was all that payback for my Iron Tail bit?"
Midnight just whistled nonchalantly.
Arthur then decided on an unconventional battle strategy: it assumed a rather charming pose and said with a wink, "I don't really feel like fighting anymore~". The wild Spearow fell for Charm, hopping curiously around Arthur. Now's my chance! Suddenly, the Spearow was hit with the same full-force Iron Tail that Midnight had just been a victim of a few minutes ago. Knowing it couldn't win against Arthur and Midnight, the wild Spearow fled.
"Hah! It's down!" Arthur said. "Let's dash for that exit!" The two raced down the next corridor, and sure enough, the stairs were in the next clearing.
Arthur collapsed on the ground. "FINALLY! Let's get out of here!"
However, when the two went down the stairs, they were still in the midst of another mystery dungeon. Arthur screamed with frustration. "AGAIN?! I thought we could escape right then and there! What do you mean there's more! What do you me—"
"Hold it, Arthur!" Midnight said, placing their paw over Arthur's mouth, who reflexively bit it. "Ouch, Arthur! What I wanted to say is that Pokémon's passed out!" Midnight gestured at a Mareep right in the middle of the clearing. "I've heard of stuff like this happening in mystery dungeons. This Pokémon doesn't look wild, though. We should make sure they're okay."
Arthur waved at the Mareep's face. "Hey, sleepyhead, wake up." The Mareep didn't respond, so Arthur switched to batting the Mareep's face instead.
That seemed to work. The Mareep blinked their eyes a few times before waking up. "Wh–where am I?" He then sprang to his feet. "Wait, why am I so short?" They looked at her body, before yelping "It can't be! I've turned into a Pokémon!"
"What's this now?" Arthur asked.
"Oh, forget that," the Mareep said. "Who are you guys anyways— wait, did a Pokémon just talk to me?"
"Well, my—" Midnight began, before Arthur interrupted them and said, "Well, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Arthur Grayside. I'm thirteen years old, I use all pronouns, and I'm the second–youngest son of Countess Grayside, owner of the Grayside Casino in Ampera Town on the Thunder Continent, which to answer your previous question, is the continent we are currently on. I'm the talk of the town, considering I'm Countess Grayside's favorite, and one of the smartest kids at my school, Twinriver Academy. That over there is Midnight Softpaw. They're a self–admitted thief who was sent to Twinriver for behavior adjustment. And you, well, you look like you could do some amazing things with us! What might your name be?"
The Mareep stared at Arthur for a few seconds. This Skitty's got an ego the size of twenty Wailords, it seems… Finally, he said "I don't really remember much, not even my name."
"You look like a Blitz," Arthur said, offering his paw for a shake. "Nice to meet you, Blitz."
Blitz nervously shook paws with Arthur before joining them and Midnight on the quest out of Twinriver Woods. "I think I trust you guys enough to have you two lead me out of here," they said.
The three proceeded to blaze their way through the dungeon, mowing down any wild Pokémon that dared attack them.
When Blitz, Midnight and Arthur finally reached the stairs, they were pleasantly surprised to find that the stairs led out of the dungeon and into a fairly safe clearing with a path leading out of it.
"So what do we do now?" Midnight asked.
"Well, we already cut class," Arthur said. "If we go back, we'll be caught for sure. We should find Blitz a place to stay in Ampera Town."
"How are we gonna get there?" Blitz asked. "We're in the middle of a forest, for crying out loud!"
Midnight pointed at a road sign. "Hold up! I think this is pointing out the way to Ampera Town…"
"Let's go!" Arthur said, tearing down the path.
Along the way to Ampera Town, Blitz asked, "We should have a team name of sorts. It'll make us look cooler. You want that right?"
Arthur nodded his head. "I was thinking of Team Diamond Spirits… yup, that's our name now."
Midnight and Blitz sighed. Without any consultation from the others? Blitz thought. I guess it's a fairly good name, though.
Finally, Team Diamond Spirits reached Ampera Town. It was lively and bustling, with shops and neon signs as far as the eye could see. Electrical generators and power lines, delivering power to the whole town, ran all around the city's architecture. And right in the middle was Ampera Town's crown jewel: the Grayside Casino, lit up with neon marquees and bright lights. Looming over it was the Grayside family mansion, which had stood for as long as Ampera Town had existed.
"Here it is! Ampera Town!" Arthur said. "My stomping grounds, whenever school's out, of course. Here, I'll take you to Grayside Mansion. I know somebody who may be able to take you in."
Blitz reluctantly went along with Arthur. Am I seriously gonna live with this Mudbray? Well, at least it's better than not having a roof over my head. Team Diamond Spirits made it all the way up to the top of town in no time flat, owing to Arthur's familiarity with the place. Soon, they were standing in front of a grand, exquisite mansion with spires that seemed to reach into the heavens.
"There it is, Grayside Mansion," Arthur said. "Aren't you amazed? Well, you aren't gonna be living here. Mom would flip because you're a commoner. Anyways, come with me to the back." Blitz obliged, and Midnight stayed close.
Arthur waved at a large assortment of houses. "This is where all of Mom's servants live. The maids, butlers, all that jazz. Well, I know of one specific person who could help you out." Arthur led Blitz to one of the houses on the far right side. "Her name's Aurélie Patte, she's a Meowstic and Mom's childhood friend. She's our bodyguard, but I don't think she's really fond of me. Watch." Arthur knocked on the door. Aurélie took one look at who it was and said, "Nobody's home!"
"So… am I getting a home or not?" Blitz asked.
"Watch and learn," Arthur said. They knocked again, prompting Aurélie to reply with "I said nobody's here! Get lost, Arthur!" Thinking quickly, Arthur stayed silent for a minute, before knocking again and saying in a feminine voice, "This is a really pretty girl… I've got a surprise for you, open up~..."
Enticed by the offer, Aurélie opened the door. Once she realized who it was, Arthur got a Psyshock to the face.
Blitz then asked, "Hi, I don't really have a home, Aurélie, and Arthur and Midnight just happened to find me. Do you mind if I stay with you? My name's Blitz, by the way."
Aurélie sighed. "I guess. At least you aren't Arthur. Come inside." Blitz obliged.
"Hey, Blitz! Come and hang out with us tomorrow!" Midnight called out as Blitz went into Aurélie's house.
With the whole Blitz situation dealt with, Arthur and Midnight began to head back to Twinriver. It was getting dark, and Midnight was sure that the teachers were starting to wonder where they went. However, one of Arthur's older siblings, Tao the Absol, noticed Arthur. "Hey, little brother! What are you doing here?"
"Turns out there's mystery dungeons in Twinriver Woods and there was a Mareep in there who needed a home," Arthur said. "They're gonna live with Aurélie now. Anyways, Tao, I have a burning question." She shooed Midnight away. "This is a private family matter, Midnight."
"What is it, Arthur?" Tao asked.
"Well, how come all of my other siblings besides me and Delilah are all different species?" Arthur asked. "Like you're an Absol, Tennyson's a Tyrantrum, Angelo's a Servine, yadda yadda… Whenever I ask Mom, she gets really uncomfortable."
"Come closer," Tao said. "I was going to wait until you were older to say this, but I guess I have no choice in the matter, since you asked…"
"What is it?" Arthur tilted its head.
"The thing is… None of us, except Noctis and Lucie because they're twins, have the same father," Tao said.
Arthur stood in shock. "How does that even work?!"
"I'm gonna say this really quietly since Mom doesn't really like people knowing about this," Tao said. "Mom always wanted kids, but she doesn't want to be tied down to a man. So she'd date guys from all the continents for a few months, then when she learned she was going to have a baby with them, she'd disappear without a trace."
Arthur had to take a few seconds to process the weight of the information just given to him. "She… she just left them? And broke their heart?"
"Precisely," Tao said.
"How do you know that?" Arthur asked.
"Viva's dad, an Aurorus named Borealis, caught on to this trick. He sent out warnings to all the continents about her, and I managed to find one of the warning papers when I was a kid. She also hid us from her lovers, because she didn't want to be found out." Viva was the youngest Grayside kid, a rather spirited Amaura who could be a thorn in her big siblings' side at times.
"Now I've got even more questions!" Arthur said. "Where's my dad? You guys have it easy because you at least look like your dads! Finding my dad is gonna be like finding a needle in a haystack…"
"Well, I've got a tool for you that'll make it even easier," Tao said, handing Arthur a large crystal orb. "This is a Connection Orb. It shows all the connections between Pokémon in the world—" It wasn't long before Arthur sprinted back towards Midnight, tripped and dropped the Connection Orb. The orb flashed a few times before going completely blank. "Looks like the drop was hard enough to reset it, Arthur… You're going to have to connect with a bunch of other Pokémon if you wanna find out your dad's identity."
"What?!" Arthur yelped. With the Connection Orb stored safely in the Bag, he began to make his way back towards Twinriver with Midnight. "I can't believe it… That Mom would have just broken all those guys' hearts like that… Well, I've got a new burning question now. I have to find my dad! I will! I willllllll!"