Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Chaotic Times Together

Chapter 5 - Understanding

What had once been a troubled stranger sleeping on her couch was now Vylet's roommate. With no place for Anrey to stay, and the fact that they had just become guild partners, it only made sense for him to officially move in with her. Not much changed about their living situation though. With no extra room, and not even an extra bed, Anrey continued to sleep on the couch in the living room.

Vylet quietly hummed to herself as she set about making breakfast while the earliest rays of the sun peeked through the living room window. As she did, she glanced over at Anrey's slumbering form. She still couldn't believe what had happened in such a short amount of time. When she had decided to let the Eevee stay at her place, she had never expected that he would become her partner in the guild.

Anrey was not much of an early riser, and certainly not as early as Vylet was. He usually started to stir once the dimness of dawn was gone and the sun was shining brightly, but would sometimes sleep in until noon. Hopefully, he would be awake soon enough.

She felt another rush of excitement flow through her as she again reminded herself that he was her partner and she was now a full member of the guild. All of the stress she had endured for more than a month trying to find a new partner had finally ended. Words couldn't express how relieved she felt.

Although, that wasn't to say that there was nothing to worry about. Anrey still needed to pass his exams, or her position in the guild would be in jeopardy again. As he had demonstrated a few days ago in the cafeteria, he had a remarkably sharp mind that would certainly help him with the written exams, and with her helping him along the way he was sure to ace them. The physical exams, however, were another story. Anrey was still recovering from his concussion, after all. He could stand, walk, rise up on his hind legs and even lightly jog, but he had said that the world was still spinning around him a little bit. He still couldn't run, and anything beyond that was out of the question until he got better. Vylet was truly worried that he wouldn't be able to get better in time.

Eventually, Vylet was shaken out of her thoughts when she heard Anrey yawn loudly. She glanced over at his bed and saw him stirring under the covers. He seemed to have woken up earlier than usual. He was mumbling something that she couldn't understand. "Morning!" she called to him.

Anrey's ears perked up, and he groggily sat up. After another yawn, he turned to regard her. "G'mornin', partner."

Vylet couldn't help but giggle happily. "Get outta bed, sleepy head. We've got a lot of studying to do today!"

"Can't I have breakfast in bed?" he quipped, "I mean, c'mon. You're right there."

Breakfast was quickly taken care of soon after. Vylet had since learned that Anrey had very simple tastes and mostly preferred to eat the most unremarkable of foods, like toast and Lum Berries. As such, she found it very easy to prepare food for him.

Before long, the two were sitting on the couch that was also Anrey's bed. "All right, so I'm not working today and we can get a ton of studying done together," she proclaimed.

"With the way Zarah was acting back then, I'm surprised she's letting you get away with a day off…" Anrey remarked.

"Ah, she's upset with me but she still has to follow Eclipse Guild regulations. No Pokémon, no matter what class, is allowed to work consecutive days on solo missions."

Anrey nodded. "Gotcha!"

"Are you sure you don't want a paper to write stuff down?" Vylet asked.

"No thank you, I'm good," Anrey said with just a hint of pride in his words, "I've always learned best by just filing everything away in my head. Helps me remember things better. I actually kinda get distracted by the act of writing stuff down."

Vylet wasn't sure whether to be dubious of his claim, or impressed. "Well, all right. Let me know if you change your mind."

"So we were gonna start by studying the guild itself and its regulations today?"

Vylet nodded. "Most of the exam is about dungeon tactics, safety measures, Pokémon type matchups, y'know stuff to show that you won't die by making a dumb mistake. But there is also a section about the guild itself and its history.

"The Eclipse Guild," she began, using her best 'teacher's' voice, "Founded during the seventh era, originally just a single dwelling with a single team under a single guildmaster. As Pokémon explored the world, and more and more Mystery Dungeons were discovered, the guild continued to grow and grow. Now, the Eclipse Guild is all across the world, and you and I work at just one of the branches. The Eclipse Guild's main purpose is to handle anything and everything related to Mystery Dungeons, including exploration, search and rescue, law enforcement, item retrieval and collection, and any other issues that may arise. That being said, the guild will also help out in matters not related to Mystery Dungeons from time to time, usually at the guildmaster's discretion."

As Vylet spoke, she saw that Anrey was watching her studiously. She could practically see the invisible pen and paper in his head as he drank in all the information she was giving him. He did seem genuinely interested, and not just memorizing for the sake of his test.

"Where did the name 'Eclipse' come from?" Anrey asked.

"An eclipse, as I'm sure you know, is when the moon covers the sun. In an abstract way of thinking, it's like the moon is standing before the sun, protecting it from danger, like a warrior with a shield. The guild strives to protect others from danger and trouble."

Anrey nodded. "Clever."

"Or artsy-fartsy, take your pick," Vylet said with a snicker.

Vylet continued her lesson on the history of the guild, sometimes grabbing the textbooks she had used when she was studying to check something or give a visual aid. Members of the guild were expected to represent the guild in a positive manner, so knowing its history was important.

"That brings us to today," Vylet concluded, "and pretty much everything important you need to know. Don't worry, though, that stuff's mostly just for the test. It's not like the guildmaster will spring a sudden pop quiz on you."

Anrey chuckled softly, and then gave her an inquisitive look. "Do you know how long Zarah has been guildmaster?"

Vylet shook her head, but said, "I think it's been a long, long time, though. Didn't you get the impression that she's been at it so long that she's just tired of everyone's crap?"

"Yeah, kinda…"

"I stand by what I said, though. She's gruff, but she's a good Pokémon with a noble heart."

"I was actually surprised," Anrey commented, "that she was only a Floragato and not a Meowscarada. I figured the guildmaster would've been a fully evolved Pokémon."

Vylet shrugged. "Everyone treats evolution differently."

"I guess I don't really know. I mean, obviously I haven't evolved. Honestly, I can't even picture it. All I know is 'Eevee'…"

"Heh…" Vylet sighed softly, "I really hope I can find a Razor Claw someday. It'd be a shame to be a Sneasel forever, even though I'm in no rush to evolve yet."

"They're pretty rare?" Anrey asked.

"Super duper rare, which sucks. I just gotta hope, though! Then I can become an amazing Weavile and take my skills at the guild even further!"

"You- Uh…?" Anrey stammered.

Vylet glanced at him. "What?"

Anrey gave her an unreadable look for a moment, but eventually cracked a smile and said, "Nothing. Never mind. Anyway, what subject's next?"

She arched an eyebrow at him, but shrugged it off. "Let's talk about how the guild functions internally. The most important thing to understand is this… There are five classes, and five ranks. Members of the guild are divided into classes based on their skills, and they're classed individually. Not by team. There's Recruit Class, Basic Class, Great Class, Ultra Class and Master Class. When you first join, like you are right now and how I used to be, you're technically not in any class."

Anrey looked deep in thought. She could again picture him studiously taking notes within his own mind.

"Anyway, the main purpose of the classes is to determine which missions you're allowed to take from the mission board. Anyone can take D-Rank missions, even classless members like yourself. Then Basic Class or higher for C-Rank, Great Class or higher for B-Rank, and Ultra Class or higher for A-Rank. Then there's the rare Star-Rank missions, which are super dangerous or extremely important. Those are almost always assigned exclusively to the Master Class, although rarely you can get invited if you're only Ultra Class. And by 'invited', I mean that you can't just take a Star-Rank mission, the guildmaster assigns them specifically." Vylet paused and took a breath, and then asked, "Was that too much at once?"

"No, I think I get it," Anrey laughed, "Makes sense to me."

"The different classes also give you various permissions in the guild. Like, for example, you have to be Great Class or higher in order to take a mission from another city's guild. And there's a special section inside the guild that only Master Class has access to."

Vylet found herself smiling as she continued to explain the ins and outs of the Eclipse Guild. Anrey was a very good listener, and whenever he chimed in with a question it was a meaningful one. She had been a little worried that Anrey would have trouble with his exams, considering he had known nothing about the guild before he'd met her, but now she wasn't so concerned.

Still, though, she would do everything she could to help prepare him. Anrey passing his exams was extremely important for the both of them, after all.

"Wait," he spoke up at after about a half hour of studying, "Sorry, explain that again?"

Vylet nodded. "Mission failures. Failure to complete a mission comes with a penalty in most cases. This usually amounts to not being paid anything, even if the mission is partially completed, and no dinner from the cafeteria. However, repeated failures can lead to disciplinary action. This is true even if the failures are not your fault. The reason for this is that when you take a mission, it's yours, and that means nobody else is pursuing it. So if you muck it up, that's wasted time that could've been spent completing it. So, the punishments are intended to encourage guildmembers to always pick missions that they feel they're capable of."

Anrey chuckled. "You can just say you've memorized the textbook, you don't have to show off," he said jokingly.

"Heh. I choose to take that as a compliment."

With all of the nonsense that surrounded her early days as a member of the Eclipse Guild, it felt nice for Vylet to return to the guild headquarters after a good honest day's work. As she had promised the guildmaster, she was continuing to do her best work on solo D-Rank missions until Anrey passed his exams, and she had just finished another one.

Vylet hopped off the bottom of the ladder and casually sauntered her way in the general direction of the cafeteria. She was eagerly awaiting a nice warm meal after spending the day looking for apples in a forest Mystery Dungeon. The client hadn't needed many in the first place, and so had been pleased by how many she had gathered despite working on her own.

She glanced at the request boards as she passed by. The requests were all stamped with a large letter representing their rank, so it was easy to see what they were even from a distance. The collection of B and A-Rank missions off to the side looked so enticing. She smiled to herself. One day, perhaps sooner than she thought, she would be taking on some of those missions.

Anrey was still studying. He was faltering a little bit whenever Vylet gave him quick practice quizzes. Although, that was fine since that's just what they were; practice. She still had faith that such a sharp mind like his would ace the exams no problem. Then all that remained would be to train him physically at the dojo so he could pass the physical exams, and they would officially be a real team.

And from there, the future was wide open.

"Hey, I recognize you!"

Startled, the Sneasel turned and looked behind her. A Donphan and Hippopotas were trodding over to her. "You were with the genius Eevee guy," the Donphan proclaimed with a smile.

Vylet then recognized who they were. It was one half of Team Terra, the team she and Anrey had met in the cafeteria a few days back. She recalled their names as Ketch and Vizil. "Oh, hello again."

"Vylet, right?" Vizil, the Hippopotas, asked.

"Yup, that's me."

"Nice white scarf," Ketch commented, "I see you made it in."

Vylet glanced down at the scarf in question. A white scarf, given to represent members of the Recruit Class. Seeing it still made her smile. "I sure did, yup!"

"I remember when I got mine. Actually, we got ours together, 'cus we're from the same high school. Before either of us knew it, we were wearing blue scarves instead. Time flies when you're having fun."

"Haha, yeah!" Vizil agreed, "I'm guessing you probably won't have that scarf for long, though."

Vylet stumbled with her response for a moment. Of course Vizil meant well, meaning she would be wearing a Basic Class scarf soon. However, she couldn't help but catch the unintentional double meaning of his words. "Heh… One can only hope, I suppose."

"You heading for the caf?" Ketch asked, "Us too. Let's not hang around here, I'm starving…"

"Huh? Uh, yeah I suppose I am. Shall we walk together then?"

"Sure," Ketch replied, "Osum's probably already there gorging himself."

Vylet bemusedly followed the pair of guildmembers through the halls, and eventually the trio reached the cafeteria. It wasn't terribly late in the day, so the room was only about half full. Ketch and Vizil picked out their fellow team member and headed over to him. Vizil sat down next to him, while Ketch offered to get their food. Without much of a reason not to, Vylet idly followed them over to the same table. Ketch then surprised her by offering to pick up her food as well.

Before long, all four of them had a hearty salad. Well, Osum had two, as well as remnants of a third he had already eaten.

"Well thank you for getting us the food, Ketch," Vylet said, "I appreciate it."

"No big deal at all," he said graciously, "Let me know if you want seconds."

"Gosh, you're all such nice, friendly Pokémon," she commented. If she had met this group earlier, her string of getting to know only jerks and jackasses at the guild would have been broken a lot sooner. Not that it would have changed much about her troubles, though; teams were limited to a maximum of four members.

"So, where's the 'Vee?" Ketch asked, "Is he your friend, or just someone you were showing around the guild?"

"Oh, he's more than my friend now!" Vylet replied, then cringed slightly when she realized what that sounded like. "He's my partner now! Guild partner," she corrected quickly.

"Heh, I'm not surprised by that," Vizil remarked, "That dude is smart."

"Ah, that's right!" Vylet suddenly perked up, "Did his advice work?"

Ketch grinned proudly. "Worked like a charm! We wrecked that gang of Flying-Types and cleaned out the whole dungeon of Float Stones. They stood no chance against my powered up Rollout! That's kinda why I was asking where he was, 'cus I wanna thank him personally."

"I see! Well, I'm happy it worked out for you and your team. He's at home right now, though, studying for his entrance exams."

"What's he gotta study for?" Osum asked, "Dude's like a walking encyclopedia…"

"For the guild-specific parts of the exam, obviously," Vizil countered, "And not to mention, studying is always helpful even if you think you know everything."

Vylet giggled softly at their back-and-forth. She started to imagine herself and Anrey in a similar position, having playful arguments as members of the same team while they discussed goings on.

"Well, we'll be rooting for him," Ketch spoke up, "It'd be good for all of us to have someone that smart working for the guild."

"Indeed," Vizil concurred, "I was amazed he knew so much about moves and types that don't even apply to him, considering he's an Eevee. How often do you find a Pokémon who knows anything more beyond their own set of moves, and maybe the moves they'd be most weak to?"

"Well, he told me he's a traveller," Vylet replied, "Said he's wandered all across the world and he's been doing it for years. When you've been traveling for so long, meeting all sorts of Pokémon and cultures, you're bound to pick up a ton of stuff."

"Him? A traveler?" Vizil replied, "He's an Eevee, I can't imagine he'd travel very fast on those little paws."

Vylet shrugged. "Maybe he hitched rides, or maybe he just went at his own pace. I dunno, I'll have to ask him."

"Well, still," Ketch said, "I wanna thank him, so come find us the next time he's here at headquarters."

"Of course," Vylet said with a smile, "I'll be sure to do that."

"In any case," Ketch continued, "It's great that you found a good partner. I always saw you wanderin' around the guild by yourself so I figured you were unpartnered. How'd you two meet?"

Vylet chuckled softly. "I rescued him from a dungeon."

All three of the other team members laughed. "Yeah, that's usually how it goes," Ketch commented.

"That's how we met Osum, after all," Vizil added.

Vylet glanced at the Makuhita, whose mouth was full so he could only nod in confirmation.

"I guess he was exploring the dungeon while on his travels?" Ketch asked.

"No, he said he'd never set paws inside of a dungeon before that, and he has no idea how he ended up in that one."

"Hmm, how mysterious," Vizil murmured, "Either way, it sounds like he is from out of town, so it is extra fortuitous that he agreed to be your partner. Where is he from?"

"He's from a village called Nula. Any of you heard of it?" Vylet asked. She was met with three shaking heads. "Yeah, that's what I figured. He said it's so small and remote that he'd be shocked if anyone had heard of it."

"The world truly is vast…" Vizil remarked.

"He said it's way, way far up north, so I'm surprised he's not a Glaceon already…"

Her remark made the other team laugh, which brought a smile to Vylet's face. As she and Team Terra continued to chat, she felt relieved to know that it truly had been bad luck from before, and not everyone else in this city's guild was a jerk.

"So, you feel confident?" Vylet asked.

"As much as I can, yes," Anrey replied.

The two were sitting on the couch as the sun set outside. Vylet was clutching a small letter in her claws, which they had both already read. It was the instructions for Anrey's testing, which would begin tomorrow. She had crunched as much as she could studying with Anrey. Tomorrow would decide both of their fates.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine," Vylet said reassuringly, though she wasn't sure which of them she was trying to reassure, "You won't have to 'ace' it, after all."

Anrey let out a quiet sigh, but then smiled at her. "There's no use stressing out about it. Tomorrow I'll just do my best, and I'll handle whatever I have to do…"

"I'm so glad they agreed to postpone the physical tests until your dizziness is better. At least they're not that cruel."

"Heh…It's just as well, 'cus I think I'd need a bit more than two or so days to practice that stuff."

Vylet leaned back against the armrest and stretched out her limbs. She and Anrey had been studying hard for hours into the evening, and now she was feeling pretty worn out. The Sneasel reclined back, trying to get comfortable, and held a claw to her head. "Mine's gonna end up being the craziest, most convoluted entrance into the guild in its history…"

"I'm sure you'll look back on this later and laugh," Anrey replied. After a pause, he added in a softer tone, "Just try to relax, okay? I'm sure everything will be fine."

"I know… I trust you, Anrey. I know you won't let us down. It's just…"

Anrey shook his head. "We've studied as much as we can, so let's take our minds off of it for just a bit."

Vylet sighed, and then took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She tried her best to destress, and ended up idly glancing around the room. As she did, she ended up looking over the back of the couch towards the apartment's windows.

"Oh look, it started raining…" she commented.

Anrey perked up, and then followed her gaze. "It did?"

"Mhm…" Vylet fell silent for a moment as she watched the gentle raindrops falling against the windows. They were already increasing in intensity, and soon she was able to hear them splatter against the glass.

"…But it's been so warm and sunny," Anrey said.

"Yeah, I know," Vylet replied, "We've been really lucky for the past couple weeks, but I guess that couldn't last forever, huh?" She spent a few more moments looking out the window, watching as a small rainstorm began to brew in the fading evening light, before finally turning her attention back to Anrey.

The Eevee seemed confused. After a moment's pause, he hesitatingly asked, "…What do you…mean?"

Vylet arched an eyebrow and replied, "What do you mean, 'What do I mean?'?"

"Lucky…?" Anrey murmured, but his question trailed off and he never finished it.

Still not quite sure why Anrey seemed lost, Vylet shrugged and glanced out the window again. "Hopefully it'll only last a day and then the bright warm weather will be back…but you never know. All you can do is hope when it comes to the weather, right?"

"…I suppose so…"

A few minutes of silence passed with Vylet just idly glancing out the window. Then, completely out of nowhere, a thought finally occurred to her. "Oh!" she quietly exclaimed, "Because you're from way up north, right? Isn't that one of the very, very few places on the planet where the weather's constant?"

Anrey glanced over at her and replied, "Yeah… Yeah it is."

"I couldn't even imagine. That'd be so weird to me…"

"Hmm…" Anrey then glanced over towards the window as well. "Rain's nice when you're working on stuff indoors," he remarked.

"Yeah, I agree. Rain helped me focus when I was studying for my entrance exams." She smirked. "Heh… Considering how I aced them and how impressed the guildmaster and the staff were, I guess I didn't have anything to worry about. But back then, before I actually took the exams, I was so stressed out. I was so afraid of failing and not being able to get into the guild, to the point that sometimes I convinced myself I would fail…"

Anrey looked over at her once more. "You wanted in that badly, huh?"

The Sneasel smiled demurely and said, "Yeah, kinda…" before her smile faltered a little. She sighed softly. "Thanks again for doing this. You have no idea how much you're helping me out…Kinda helping to make my dream come true."

"Your dream…" Anrey said thoughtfully, "You did tell me before why you want to be a part of the guild so badly."

"Mhm…" Vylet mumbled, "Really, it's not exactly the biggest, most grandest dream, but…it's all I have."

"I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"I mean that some folks dream of climbing up the ranks, becoming a Master Class team and taking on Star-Rank missions, or earning a specialist title like expert rescuer or something…or they dream of one day becoming the guildmaster, or working at the head office." Vylet then shook her head. "Not me, though. My dream is to just be a part of the guild. To do my part and help out."

Anrey was giving her an unreadable look but wasn't saying anything.

"I dunno, am I being needlessly negative on myself? I tend to do that sometimes… The point is that I don't really care where my journey takes me once I'm in the guild, as long as I'm a part of it."

A moment of silence passed before Anrey spoke again. "I suppose not everyone has lofty ambitions, and that's fine. As long as you know what you want in life…"

Vylet chuckled softly. "It's hard to put into words sometimes. I don't even know specifically what I'd like to do once I become a full-fledged member, but when I picture myself wearing an official scarf of the Eclipse Guild, it makes me feel so happy."

After another moment of quiet, Anrey simply said, "I hope I can take you there."

"…Thanks," Vylet said, giving the Eevee a warm smile.

"You're very welcome."

"Heh…" Vylet snickered, "I can say, I didn't picture myself teaming up with a concussed Eevee that I invited to couch-surf at my apartment…but I think it worked out fine. You're a great Pokémon and you've got a great personality. We met in such a weird way, but I think we'll fit together just fine as a team."

"I agree," Anrey said, "Which is why I gotta pass tomorrow's exam. It's getting late so should we do one last cram session and then head to bed?"

Vylet nodded. "Sounds like a plan, partner."

Vylet followed behind Anrey as the pair walked down a hallway within the guild, the latter having just exited from a particular room.

"I can't believe they won't tell me how I scored yet…" Anrey complained.

Vylet suppressed a snicker. "They want you to take the physical test unbiased," she explained, "If you completely aced the written test, you might get lazy on the physical test because you know the combined score would get you in anyway. Y'know what I mean."

"Mnnnh…" Anrey grumbled, "For others that's fine, but for me I still have to wait a while before I take my physical test. We're gonna be in suspense that whole time!"

"Yeah, I guess that's a good point…" Vylet glanced ahead at the Eevee, paying attention to the way he walked. She was delighted to see that he was now walking like a perfectly normal Eevee. Anyone looking at him wouldn't be able to guess that he was still recovering from a concussion. It wouldn't be long before his symptoms were gone completely.

"That took longer than I thought it would…" Anrey murmured.

"You were in there for like an hour and a half," Vylet remarked.

"I woulda been faster if I wasn't so terrible at, y'know, paw-writing…but even still the test was longer than I expected."

"Well, now you can just relax and take your mind off of everything until Raye clears you for the physical exam."

Anrey paused and glanced back at her. "I guess so, but if we do nothing to prepare then I'm gonna fail it. I told you, I've never really done much battling."

"I know, I remember," Vylet replied, "but like I told you before, battling's just in your blood. You're a Pokémon. It's instinctual. You might lack the finesse, but a day in the dojo will get you well enough to at least take the test. I can ask Raye to clear you at the start of a day so we'll have the rest of the day to spend at the dojo."

Anrey's ears drooped a bit. "Are you sure? Just one day of practice?"

Vylet stepped up to him and gently pat him on the back. "Honestly, the physical exam's more of a formality. It lets the guildmaster see what you're made of and what particular skills you have. Helps her make decisions about you and your team better."

"Hmmm…" Anrey murmured, not sounding convinced.

"You'll be fine. Especially since you're an Eevee. I hear Normal-Types have it easy when it comes to the test."

"Sorry I'm delaying your big guild debut," Anrey said, sounding both genuinely sorry and a little jokey.

Vylet chuckled and said, "Oh don't worry, I'm just glad I'm not being dismissed. I've been doing plenty of good work on D-Rank solo missions anyway."

"Nothing too dangerous, I hope."

"Naw. That's why they're D-Rank."

The two Pokémon continued to chat idly as they walked through the halls, slowly but surely making their way back to the ladder that would allow them to exit the guild. Vylet's spirits were high. She just had a feeling that Anrey had done well on his exam, and was reasoning to herself that she had nothing to worry about. Soon Anrey would take his physical exam, they would be partners, and her guild journey could truly begin.

Those high spirits were shattered when a Pokémon walked right up to her, bumping against her side and sending her falling to the ground. Unbelievably, she had watched the Pokémon deliberately avoid all other Pokémon in the hallway, as if he was specifically aiming to knock her down. Before she could even say anything, she saw him collide with Anrey as well, making him yelp and fall over as well.

"Yeesh," the red-furred Lycanroc sneered, "You should watch where you're goin'…"

Vylet just stared up in disbelief as the Lycanroc regarded her with an incensed look, as if she was the one who had wronged him. "What?" she spat in disbelief, "The hell was that for? That hurt, you know!"

"Aw, shaddup," the Lycanroc growled, "Just pay attention next time and stay outta my way."

"Don't play dumb games," Vylet countered as she stood back up, "You clearly bumped into us on purpose. What'd we even do to you? Who are you?"

"Kamar!" a voice called out, "What's the hold up?"

Vylet and the Lycanroc, apparently the Kamar in question, both glanced in the direction of the voice. Vylet's heart sank when she saw who was speaking.

"Just some Pokémon who need glasses," Kamar remarked as he walked over to stand next to a Pokémon who was, unfortunately, all too familiar to Vylet.

"Oh, it's you," the Quagsire sneered.

Vylet leveled a disapproving glare at him. "…Levenez."

Crossing his limbs, Lev gave the Sneasel a dirty look. "I was wondering if I'd run into you again," he grumbled, "Thanks for the glowing review."

"Surprised they let you keep working here after the way you behaved," Vylet retorted, keeping her voice quiet but venomous, "And you earned that review all on your own, bub."

"Yeah," Kamar interrupted, "I figured this was that molly that got you in hot water before ya met me. Not hard to miss the Sneasel with the weird colours."

"So you did run into us on purpose," Vylet shouted, absolutely fuming by this point.

Kamar grinned and it looked like he was about to answer, but Lev cut him off. "Just watch where you're goin' and stay out of our way," the Quagsire said in an intimidating tone.

"Oh, believe me," Vylet exclaimed irritatedly, "I'd prefer to stay as far away from you as I possibly could!"

Lev then shifted his gaze over towards Anrey. "And here's the mutt that caused all this trouble in the first place."

Vylet shifted her position, quickly standing in between Lev and Anrey. "Screw off. I'm sorry you hold such a needless grudge over your own actions, but why don't you just move on before the higher-ups have to get involved and kick you both out of the guild entirely?"

Lev scoffed and turned back to his Lycanroc companion. "Let's bounce, partner," he said to him, "Let's actually get some jobs done."

With that last remark, the pair of Pokémon turned and continued walking down the hall. Kamar briefly turned back and gave them a malicious smirk, but besides that they no longer bothered them.

Vylet sighed and finally turned to look at Anrey, belatedly realizing he hadn't said a single word during the exchange. "You okay?" she asked. She was pleased to see that Anrey had stood up on his own without any trouble, but also saw that he was giving her a concerned look. She cringed a bit and said, "Sorry you had to see that…"

"What…was that all about?" he asked, sounding both bewildered and worried.

"Ugh, that was the Quagsire I told you about. Remember, the guy I was doing a trial run with inside of the Mystery Dungeon when I first found you?"

"Oh, right," Anrey replied, "Right, you said he was a Quagsire. I never even saw him because I was out cold at the time."

"Yeah… I mean, we had a few choice words for each other when we last parted, but apparently he hates my guts now. Lovely. And somehow, he managed to find a partner who can tolerate him. I wonder what kind of 'hot water' he got into…"

Vylet grumbled under her breath for a moment, trying and failing to get the sour moment out of her head. When she looked at Anrey again, though, she saw that he still had a concerned look on his face. The two regarded each other for a moment, but Anrey didn't say anything. "…What?" she eventually spoke up.

"You, uh…" Anrey muttered.

"What? What's wrong?" she asked, now concerned as well.

Anrey glanced away. "Sorry, it's nothing really. Forget it."

"No," Vylet said with a frown, "No, tell me. Please."

"…I'm just surprised by how…angry…you got."

A few moments of silence passed between the two, with Vylet unsure of how exactly to respond. "O-Oh…" she eventually stammered, "Yeah, uh… Well, I mean…he deserved it."

Anrey glanced back at her, but just tilted his head.

"…Why? Is it weird that I got mad? I mean, he was being a complete tool."

The Eevee hesitated for a moment. "I've never seen you get so angry before. The whole time I've known you, you've always been really nice. To everyone."

"I've…" Vylet started to say, but paused for a moment and gave the matter some thought. "Yeah, I guess that is how it is… Anrey, I'm happy to hear that you think I'm so nice and friendly. But I'm only nice to Pokémon who deserve it."

Anrey raised his eyebrows. "Deserve it?"

Vylet smirked and chuckled. "If someone's not being kind to me, why should I be kind to them? I dunno, I guess I've always kinda been like that. I mean, everyone has anger in them. Even the nicest, most friendliest Pokémon on the planet still has a bit of anger in them somewhere. I'm a Fighting-Type Pokémon, and we're known for being a little hotheaded, so when someone deserves it I'm gonna let 'em have it."

"…Huh…" Anrey remarked, "That's a novel way to think about it, I suppose."

"I like being nice, Anrey. I'd like to share my kindness with as many Pokémon as I can." She approached him and rested a claw on his back, causing him to glance up at her. "But some Pokémon just don't deserve it."

"I guess you're right," Anrey said with a frown, "and that's unfortunate."

"Yeah, the world's certainly not perfect. Not by a long shot…"

"No kidding…"

After a beat of silence, Vylet cleared her throat. "So anyway, how 'bout some ice cream? I know a great place just a block away from here, and we deserve to celebrate you passing half of your exams."

"But we don't know if I pa-"

"Oh, you passed. With your smarts and my tutoring, there's no way you didn't pass. C'mon, let's hurry before they're out of chocolate."

Night had fallen on Clover Town. Anrey and Vylet once again found themselves both sitting on the couch in the latter's apartment, gazing out the window at the outside world. It was a very windy night outside, with a bit of a chill in the air, but at least it wasn't also raining.

Once again, it was time for the waiting game. Anrey wasn't physically fit yet, so he couldn't take his physical exams. As such, he couldn't properly join the guild and be cleared for missions. And, as such, he couldn't yet be Vylet's partner and her guild journey still couldn't properly begin.

Vylet tried not to imagine a certain Floragato's quiet fuming.

Anrey had guessed that he would probably need another week before he felt fit enough for basic combat, and Vylet had a feeling it was going to be a long week waiting for that. It wouldn't all be bad, though. Anrey may not officially be her partner yet, but he was still her roommate and she enjoyed every day she got to spend with the friendly, insightful Eevee.

"Hey, Anrey?" Vylet spoke up, her voice cutting through the silence that had hung in the air for a long while as the two had been gazing out at the moon.

"Yeah?"

"…You and I have talked about my dream a few times now. My dream to work for the guild." She paused, and then turned to look at him thoughtfully. "What's your dream?"

The Eevee slowly turned to gaze at her, a thoughtful look on his face. "My dream, huh?" he repeated, and then chuckled softly. "Well, it's kind of the reason why I decided that I really did want to become your guild partner."

Vylet perked up. "Really? Like when you said you weren't on board at first but then…?"

"Yeah…" Anrey nodded. "I thought about…my dream."

"What is it?" Vylet asked, her curiosity overwhelming, "Can you tell me?"

Anrey turned back towards the window and gazed up at the moon again. Vylet could catch a glimpse of the bright white sphere reflected in his eyes. "I want to meet a mythical Pokémon…"

Vylet looked at him with wide eyes. "Mythical Pokémon?" she replied, "You mean, like, the Pokémon spoken of in legends? Like Mew?"

Anrey simply nodded.

"…I see. Wow, that's quite a lofty dream."

"I thought about it," Anrey continued, "In all my journeys across the land nothing's ever come of this dream, but I realized that if I had any chance of ever meeting one, it would probably involve the guild and the work they do somehow. What better way to maximize my chances than by doing that work?"

"You think so?" Vylet questioned.

Anrey shrugged. "It's my best chance, I think."

Vylet peered at him for a moment, thinking about his response. It wasn't the response she had expected and it caught her off guard a bit. "Uh… You know…" she said, speaking slowly and choosing her words carefully, "You know there's no…actual…authentic evidence that any of those Pokémon actually exist, right?"

The Eevee was quiet for a moment, then turned to look at her again. "Do you not believe they exist?"

"…Honestly, I don't know. No-one has ever believably claimed to have met one; you only hear about them in stories. But…I don't exactly hold fast to the belief that none of them exist either. They're quite literally 'legendary'. Even if they do exist, I imagine they prefer to keep to themselves."

Anrey was quiet for a moment, and Vylet studied his expression. Just from his eyes alone, she could see a profound deepness as he thought about the subject. As fantastical as it might sound, Vylet got the impression that this dream of his was real and something he truly cared about. Even just the smallest voice of doubt of mythical Pokémon's existence seemed to instill a touch of sadness in the young Eevee.

"It's a great dream, Anrey," she said in a reassuring tone, "It's wonderful, actually. They always say you should dream big, right? I just…wanted to make sure you still had one of your paws planted on the ground."

"Yeah," Anrey said with a nod, "I know it's probably impossible, but…"

A few moments of quiet passed between the two. Vylet broke it with a question. "If you could pick, which one would you meet?"

This seemed to brighten Anrey's spirits a little. "Oh, I dunno. I'm not really picky…" He thought about the question for a moment. "Jirachi, for one."

"Pff, well of course. Everyone wants to meet Jirachi. You got a wish or two you'd like to come true?"

"Maybe…" Anrey replied with a mischievous grin. He looked thoughtful again for a moment and then continued, saying, "Perhaps Celebi… or Mew…"

"The legend of Celebi is neat," Vylet said, agreeing with a nod.

"Dialga or Palkia…"

"Oh, interesting. They're said to be right below Arceus, aren't they?"

Anrey chuckled. "Of course, Arceus is another obvious choice."

Vylet gazed at the Eevee for a moment. "You've really thought this out, haven't you?"

Glancing away, Anrey replied, "Yeaaah, kinda… You could say it's on my mind…"

"Anyone else in particular?"

Anrey nodded. "Hoopa."

Vylet raised her eyebrows at that. "Hoopa? Goodness, you hardly ever hear anyone talk about Hoopa. Didn't expect that one…"

The Eevee simply shrugged.

"Well, either way," Vylet continued with a warm smile, "That's a fantastic dream to have, Anrey. Thank you for sharing with me. I may not be able to lead you on a crusade to find the holy lands of Mew or whatever, but if the unbelievable happens and there's a chance for you to meet one, I'll do my best to help make it happen for you."

Anrey looked over at her in surprise. "R…Really? You will?"

"Sure! Why not? It's not my dream, per se, but why would I pass up the opportunity to meet a mythical Pokémon? You'd be a fool to miss out on that!"

"I…" Anrey stared at her for a moment, "Vylet, I… Thank you. That means a lot to me."

"You're helping me achieve my dream," she said matter-of-factly, "Only makes sense for me to return the favour."

"Heh… I guess so…"

The two were briefly startled when a branch smacked against the window, likely having been blown into it by the wind. They both gazed out the window, seeing the shadowy shapes of billowing trees in the evening windstorm.

"Whaddaya think they're like?" Vylet asked, "If they do exist."

"How do you mean?" Anrey replied.

"You think they're friendly?"

"…I'd hope so. If the legends are to be believed, these Pokémon are insanely powerful, right? I shudder to imagine what one would do with such power if they weren't…benevolent."

"That's an excellent point," Vylet remarked, "Maybe, at the very least, they might be rude but just."

"I dunno. I can't even imagine how such a meeting would go," Anrey commented quietly, "I can't picture it in my head…I just know it's something I want." He fell silent for a moment. "…Or need."

"Imagine if we impressed Mew so much, he joined our team and started exploring Mystery Dungeons with us."

Anrey laughed heartily at that, bringing a smile to Vylet's face as well. Anrey had a wonderful laugh, the kind that was just filled with goodwill and merriment. It brightened her mood whenever her Eevee companion laughed. Just one of the many nice things she was learning about the Pokémon that she had hitched her professional career with, admittedly, extremely hastily.

Vylet was starting to consider herself very lucky to have found a friend like him.