Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Chaotic Times Together

Chapter 3 - Settling

Morning arrived, and Vylet was already in the kitchen making breakfast. The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon, but Vylet had been awake for almost 15 minutes by this point. She had always been an early riser, and was especially vigilant about it now that she was working for the guild.

She was in the process of making her morning tea. While she waited for it to steep, she glanced over at the couch. Anrey must have been exhausted from sleepless nights on the hospital beds, because he had slept through the night even though he had only planned to take a short nap.

There was a little rush of excitement when she thought about what she was doing. Vylet had been raised to help those in need, but she had never helped anybody out to this extent before. She knew this was something she could look back on years later and be proud of.

Once her tea was finished, she leisurely walked over to the couch. She took a slow sip of her tea, reveling in the mildly sharp flavour. When she got closer, she saw that Anrey was beginning to stir. Vylet wondered if it was the scent of the tea that was waking him up.

Anrey shifted uncomfortably for a few moments, until he finally rolled over onto his stomach and let out a quiet groan. He wrenched his eyes open wearily, and Vylet couldn't help but silently giggle at the wild and messy state of his fur. Eventually his eyes focused, though he looked no more awake than before, and he finally noticed Vylet standing nearby. "H'llo…" he mumbled.

Vylet smiled courteously at him and said, "Hello!"

"What time is it…?" Anrey muttered softly.

"It's 5:15am right now," she informed him.

It took a moment for this information to process in his brain, and then his eyes got a bit wider. "Oh…It's the next day?"

Vylet snickered softly. "Yeah, you slept through the night."

"Oops…" Anrey then briefly yawned, stretched his forepaws a bit, but then grimaced and frowned again. "Uh… Remember how I said I wanted to get back to walking as soon as I could?"

"Yeah?"

His ears drooped. "Well, uh…Here's one important reason why…" He glanced away before saying, "I need to get over to the…restroom."

"Ahh, yes of course," Vylet said with a nod, "Very important."

"Where is it?" Anrey asked.

Vylet pointed to a door off to the side, only about ten metres away from the edge of the couch.

Anrey still frowned as if it were a hundred miles away. He then looked over at Vylet Mareepishly and said, "I…might need a bit of help for the 'trip' today."

The Sneasel, of course, was only too happy to oblige. She set her teacup on the kitchen counter and then stood nearby while Anrey shuffled over to the edge of the couch and swung his forelimbs off the edge. He hesitated for a moment before lurching forwards. His paws hit the floor safely, but he still tensed up and sucked in a panicked breath of air.

"This sucks…" he murmured.

"Want me to hold onto you?" Vylet asked.

"Yes, please. Thank you…"

Vylet proceeded to gently but firmly hold onto Anrey's torso as he got up off the couch. The process of getting his hind legs off the couch and onto the ground was the hardest part, with a lot of worried groans and quivering limbs from the Eevee. Vylet could imagine how difficult it would be for a quadruped to get off of a couch like this, with their head pitching forwards before their hind legs, while the whole room was spinning. Anrey nearly tumbled over once he finally landed his hind paws on the floor, but Vylet held him steady.

Walking him over to the bathroom wasn't as difficult, though Anrey still walked very slowly and took careful, deliberate steps with his paws. Reluctantly, she had to leave him to his own devices once they reached the bathroom itself. He took a long time inside, but thankfully she didn't hear anything falling to the floor, be it an Eevee or something else entirely. When he was done, he had to ask Vylet to open the door for him, and she did so to reveal a nervous, wobbly Eevee on the other side. He did, however, seem proud that he was still standing at this point without her holding onto him. She then held him again as they walked slowly back to the couch, and finally Anrey was resting comfortably again.

"Thank you," Anrey said again, "I'm gonna try every day until I'm okay."

"I'm sure you'll be fine soon, and I can assist you whenever you wanna try."

Anrey gazed at her silently for a few moments. "You're so helpful…" he commented.

The Sneasel chuckled softly and shrugged. "I mean, I guess it just comes with the job. Or it should, anyway, if you're worth your salt…"

"You mean working at the guild?"

"If your job entails spelunking deep into Mystery Dungeons to rescue trapped Pokémon, then you gotta have a helpful bone somewhere in your body."

"Wow…Yeah, I guess so… I suppose you'd have to be pretty brave, too."

"Well…" Vylet muttered with a hint of bashfulness.

"Is that what you're going to do today?" Anrey then asked.

"Uh…No, definitely not. I'm not even really doing any work today…"

Anrey looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Remember I told you before, I'm a new recruit at the guild. I only joined just a little more than a month ago, so… Y'know, I'm still settling in."

"Oh…" Anrey said, though the tone of his voice conveyed his lack of comprehension. He caught Vylet's gaze and relented. "I mean, I've never been a member of the guild or any guild, so I have no idea how the…uh…hiring process goes. I've only really talked to a few…who work there. Along the way, on my travels."

"Ah… Fair point, I guess." Vylet then cleared her throat. "Basically, when a Pokémon is accepted into the guild, they're just in a recruit position. A recruit position doesn't offer very much. Almost nothing, in fact. It's just meant to be a transitionary position before earning a proper, full-time position as a member of the guild. I can only accept D-Rank missions, I'm not allowed to work consecutive days, and I need to find a partner."

"Partner?" Anrey asked.

"Well, yeah. Guilds are team-based, after all. You're allowed to join the guild as a solo member, like me, even though most Pokémon will join as a pre-existing team. But that just means I need to find a partner or join a team before I can move past the recruit position."

"So, you don't have a partner at all right now?"

Vylet's shoulders sagged a little and she glanced away. "I don't even have any friends, to be honest, much less a partner. Working with someone wasn't even on my mind; I just wanted to join the guild so badly."

When she looked back over at Anrey, the Eevee was giving her a genuine look of interest. "Why's that, exactly?"

"A few reasons…" she explained, "Mostly I'm just really fascinated by Mystery Dungeons and I would love to explore them as much as I can. Map them out, find new hidden places, maybe even discover treasure or something amazing. And even just outside of Mystery Dungeons, just the prospect of going out and having adventures in this big world of ours… And, y'know, helping others is a nice bonus. Gives me a nice, warm feeling in my heart.

"Really, I just want to be a part of something…grand, you know? The guild is everywhere, it's across the whole world at this point. That's about as grand as you can get…"

Anrey was nodding. "Fair enough, not a bad goal to have."

She then sighed and slumped her shoulders. "I just hope my journey towards that goal doesn't end before it starts…"

"What do you mean?"

Vylet glanced at him, frowning. "I have less than two weeks to find a new partner…or I lose my position here."

Anrey's eyes shot wide open. "What?" he blurted out, "You mean, like, you'll be fired?"

"Maybe 'dismissed' is a better term?" she said with a shrug.

"Really, though…? That seems…kinda harsh."

"Well, like I said, the guild is team-oriented. If you're not on a team, you're not in the guild. Pokémon like me who join as a solo member have a short grace period to meet other recruits to find a potential new partner, or even find an existing team who will let you join, but you can't stay solo forever. So I've been…trying."

Anrey now frowned sympathetically. "Not going well?"

"I just have rotten luck," Vylet grumbled, "I've met a couple of potential partners, but they all turned out to be jerks in one way or another. That's what I was doing when I rescued you; I was going on a trial mission with a potential partner."

"You were?" Anrey asked, giving her a confused look, "I mean, I was pretty spaced out, but I only remember you rescuing me."

Vylet scoffed. "Exactly. The jackass ran off into the dungeon and totally abandoned me. I'd almost considered just leaving him there in the dungeon while I got you out, but he just happened to stroll by like a casual idiot once the fight was over. He even had the audacity to want to complete the mission first while you were lying on the ground with a severe concussion."

Anrey cringed. "Sounds like…a lovely chap."

Again, Vylet sighed and her shoulders drooped. "They seem nice when I meet them, but then they always show their true selves once it's time for a mission. And, like, I could just go on mission after mission with recruit after recruit until I find someone who isn't an idiot, but I don't want to trust my safety with any old rando I've just met, even if it's only a D-Rank mission. I want to meet them and get to know them a little first, but that's not the easiest either because I'm so terrible at meeting new Pokémon…"

There was a moment of silence, and then Vylet looked over at Anrey. She suddenly felt a rush of embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "I didn't mean to just ramble about my problems like that."

"No, no, it's okay. It's fine," Anrey cut in, "You've taken me into your house, the very least I could do in return is to lend an ear to your troubles."

Vylet blinked and stared for a moment, then a smile tugged at her lips. "Thank you…That's very kind of you to say."

"And what do you mean you're terrible at meeting new Pokémon? I thought you and I got along pretty well when we first 'met' in the hospital room."

"I dunno…" Vylet said with another shrug, "Just a weird thing about me, I guess. Once I'm talking with someone, there's no problem, but when I think about going up to someone new to start talking to them, my brain gets all weird about it. I kinda skipped that step with you because I was busy doing first aid."

Anrey nodded. "I see… So, you're kinda stuck at the front door of this whole thing, then? You need to find a partner or a team, but you don't know anybody in the city so you're on your own, you've been looking to meet prospective partners but haven't found any, and you're running out of time."

"That's the latest chapter of my life story, yup," Vylet said with a wry chuckle. She briefly glanced at the Eevee, impressed by his succinct summation.

"Well gosh," Anrey said with a frown, "I'd like to help or even just give advice, but I've got nothing. I really hope you can figure something out, though. I'd really hate for you to lose your job."

"You would?"

Anrey smiled and said, "You're obviously good at it."

"I…" Vylet paused for a moment, caught off guard by the compliment. A smile tugged at her lips again. "I uh," she stammered, and then cleared her throat before saying, "I'm sure I'll be fine. This bad luck can't last forever, and there's plenty of Pokémon working for this branch of the guild."

"Is that what you're going to do?" Anrey asked, "Go look for a new prospective partner?"

"I was thinking I might head down to the guild at dinnertime, when most of the guildmembers are there, but today I'm mostly focused on making sure you're okay and settled in."

"Oh," Anrey remarked in surprise, "Well, uh, I think everything's great. I'm settled, I'm relaxed. All I need is food…"

"Right!" Vylet suddenly exclaimed and stood up, "Pokémon need to eat. I nearly forgot." She heard Anrey laugh as she briskly walked over to the kitchen. "Any food allergies I should know about, or just stuff you straight up don't like?" she asked as she headed over to the pantry.

"Uh…" Anrey said, but then fell silent for quite a few moments. Finally he spoke again and said, "Don't worry about it. I just might not eat too much right now with my head spinning. Makes my stomach a little queasy."

"Oh, of course. I'll make you something gentle on the stomach."

Vylet then got to work making breakfast for the two of them. With her new position at the guild, Vylet usually preferred to pick up food from a vendor along the way to the guild, so she didn't keep a whole lot of breakfast foods in her home. She eventually decided on some jelly sandwiches for the both of them. She pulled out a jar of Sitrus Berry jelly for herself, and then perused her collection of berry jams to figure out which one would be the lightest on Anrey's stomach. She eventually decided on Lum Berry jam.

"So, uh," Anrey spoke up while she worked on the food, "I want to try to get up and walk at least twice a day. Would you…be able to help me with that?"

"Of course," she replied, "Is that the way to do it, though? I thought you would've just waited for your dizziness to go away first."

"The doctor said the dizziness might last for a while and go away really slowly. I don't wanna be immobile that long, so it's more a matter of just getting used to walking while I feel dizzy. Then when I feel better but not fully healed, I'll at least be able to walk around slowly."

"Ah! Yeah, that makes sense." Vylet hummed to herself for a moment as she spread the jelly across pieces of bread and folded them together to form sandwiches. "It's kinda funny. I'm thinking about how I walk on two legs and you walk on four, and I'm not sure if that makes it easier or harder for you than it would be if I were going through the same thing. You've got more legs to worry about, but I'm higher off the ground."

"Right now it feels like I have thirteen legs to keep track of…"

Vylet giggled as she plated the sandwiches and finally returned to the couch. She placed the Lum jelly sandwich on the cushion next to Anrey and said, "I'll get you a drink after you're finished."

Anrey eyed the sandwich curiously for a moment.

"Never had Lum jelly before?" she asked, "I know it looks weird because it's green, but it's good! Try it!"

The Eevee shrugged and pulled the plate closer with his paw. He spent a couple more seconds regarding the sandwich, leading Vylet to wonder if he was studying it or trying to focus on it through his dizziness. She was about to ask if there was a problem, but then Anrey carefully leaned his head down and took a bite out of the sandwich.

Vylet chewed on her own in the meanwhile. "So," she said in between bites, "You gonna be okay here by yourself when I'm gone? I won't be out long tonight, but if I find a new possible partner then we'll be going out on a mission and those usually take all day."

Anrey was still chewing his first bite, going at a rather slow pace. He grimaced slightly as he swallowed, which Vylet chalked up to his unsettled stomach. "Yeah, should be okay. I'll probably be bored, but otherwise fine. Hopefully I can manage to walk to the bathroom on my own before then…" He then glanced at her. "…Thank you, by the way, for trusting me. I don't know of many folks who would let a stranger stay alone in their home like this…"

"Oh, stop," Vylet said dismissively, "You're totally fine. I wouldn't do this for just anyone, but you're cool. Besides, it would have to be a really elaborate ruse for you to get beat up by some Pokémon and end up in the hospital, all just for the end goal of robbing me. Right?"

This made Anrey chuckle, which delighted Vylet as she hadn't heard him genuinely laugh very much since meeting him. "Your riches will soon be mine," he said jokingly.

Vylet glanced around at her very empty apartment. "My well-hidden riches." The two then shared another laugh. "How's the sandwich?" she then asked.

"It's good," he said after finishing his second bite, "I guess I was never big on jelly, but maybe I should try more. I, uh, usually tend to eat basic, simple foods because I'm on the move so much. Stuff like trail mix."

"Ah, you'll have to tell me about your travels some time. Traveling the world and exploring is something I'd like to do someday…"

Anrey chuckled softly. "Well, I dunno how interesting you'd find them. It's not like I'm a dashing explorer out on adventures…The things I find interesting probably seem boring to most others…"

"Well, tell me anyway. When your head's feeling better, of course."

He gave her an odd look and a half smirk. "Maybe I'll just make stuff up on the spot to make my life seem interesting."

Vylet laughed. "I'm sure I won't be able to tell the difference."

"You sure you wanna do this so soon?" Vylet asked.

Standing next to her, slightly leaning against her side, was a very wobbly Eevee with a determined look on his face. "I gotta get my land legs back," he replied.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, dumb joke. Anyway, yeah I wanna do this. I mean, it's just walking from one end of the main room to the other and back."

"You only just barely stumbled to the bathroom earlier this morning," Vylet said. It was still the same day, her second day with her new Eevee roommate, and she had just gotten back from a brief dinnertime visit to the guild.

"Yeah, that was this morning and this is now," Anrey said determinedly.

Vylet shrugged. "Well, I applaud your perseverance."

Anrey then made his arduous journey from the couch to the opposite wall. Despite her skepticism, Vylet was impressed that Anrey already seemed improved from this morning. He was still moving pretty slowly and had to rely on her for balance, but he made it to the far wall without stumbling at all. Then, he surprised her by requesting that she step away and let him try to walk back to the couch on his own.

As expected, that's when Anrey did take a tumble to the ground. Vylet rushed over to help him up, but the Eevee was in good spirits despite the fall. He needed help to stand back up, but from there he managed to get back to the couch on his own. He even managed to climb up onto the couch by himself, albeit in a laughably ungraceful way.

"Good job," she congratulated him once he was settled on the couch, and she walked over to sit next to him on the floor again.

"Thanks. It's kinda weird to be congratulated for just walking, but I'll take it. Heh…" He groaned and held a paw to his head. "Remind me not to get a concussion ever again. This room spinning business sucks…"

"Maybe invest in a helmet?" she asked, and Anrey just stuck his tongue out at her in response.

"So, uh, how'd it go?" he then asked, "At the guild, I mean."

Vylet hesitated slightly. "Uhhhh, fine. I guess. I met up with this Delibird who seemed nice enough, so I might meet her again tomorrow and then maybe we'll go on a test run."

"Gosh, it sounds just as bad as trying to find a date," Anrey remarked.

"No kidding…Though in a way, I guess, it is similar. You're dating someone to find your lifelong romantic partner…I'm trying to find someone who may just well be my lifelong guild partner."

Anrey gave her a gentle smile and said, "I'm sure you'll find a great partner sooner rather than later. It'll work out, I'm sure."

Vylet smiled as well. "I hope so… I just want to work for the guild so badly… I want to wear that scarf proudly." She paused for a moment and then added, "I don't even aspire to rise up in the ranks all the way to the top, like I'm sure most others do… I just want to explore all the world's hidden secrets and help out with the guild's wonderful work."

"You'll find someone," Anrey reiterated, "I know you will."

"You're very kind…" Vylet said with a grateful smile.

Anrey shrugged. "I'm just me, I suppose. Never really had a spiteful bone in my body. All I ever focused on was surviving the crazy things life throws at you and moving right along."

For a moment, Vylet just regarded the Eevee. More and more, she felt reassured that she had made the right decision to take Anrey in and let him stay under her roof. More ever than before, she was seeing him as a friend. "Want some food?" she asked.

"Starving, actually," he replied with a light chuckle.

"Heh heh…Keep that high Eevee metabolism in check or you'll eat me out of house and home," she joked.

"I'll do my best."

The front door slammed against the wall. Vylet internally cringed at the loud sound she had made, but she couldn't help it. Her frustration was palpable, and it took all of her effort to retrain herself enough to close the door quietly behind her. She then rather dramatically stomped into the room. She almost flung herself onto the couch from instinct, but caught herself and ended up just sitting on the floor nearby, pouting.

"Uhhh…" an unsure voice spoke up, "Hey, roomie…"

Vylet turned her head and glanced at Anrey, still laying disabled on her couch, and then sighed and shook her head. "Sorry…"

"It's all right… You okay?"

"Is it me?" she interjected suddenly, "Is it really just me? Do I just have high standards or something? Or do I just have this ability to magnetise jerks to me?"

She caught a glimpse of Anrey's ears drooping. "So…I'm guessing, the test run with the Drilbur didn't go well?"

Vylet groaned. "Dude just kept hitting on me the whole time."

"Yeeeesh…" Anrey cringed.

"Coulda been the greatest explorer in the world, but you couldn't pay me enough to be on a team with that creep…"

"I don't blame you at all."

Vylet sighed again, tried to shake off some of her residual anger, and turned around in her seated position so she was facing the Eevee. "I hate this…" she bemoaned.

Anrey gave her a sympathetic frown. "It's not your fault… I mean, whether you're dating or finding a guild partner or even just making a new friend, meeting new strangers is hard. I guess this is probably why you said they encourage you to join with a pre-existing partner."

"I didn't think I'd have so much trouble with this part…" Vylet murmured, "I was worried about the entrance exams, but I aced those. I can't handle the thought of losing out on my position because of this…"

"Well…" Anrey said, "I don't think anybody, not even your guildmaster, woulda thought that Delibird was stealing from the treasury…"

Vylet lowered her gaze and frowned. Anrey had been living with her for five days by this point. During this time, she had made an actually positive connection with a Delibird, who would then end up getting caught trying to steal money from the guild the very next day and getting kicked out.

"Hey, c'mon Vylet…Cheer up."

She glanced back up at him. "I'm running out of time… I just don't know if I'm gonna be able to find someone I actually trust well enough in that time."

Anrey skewed his lips a bit. "Well…Maybe you are a little bit picky, but at the same time I think it's justified. You don't wanna team up with Joe Schmo and trust him to save your life when it counts. What happens if you do lose your position when your time's up? Are you just, like, out forever? Or can you come back again later, maybe with an actual partner this time?"

She shook her head. "Guild dismissal means you can't come back. Usually dismissal is the result of serious violations of guild standards, dangerous behaviour, that sort of stuff. But this still counts as a 'dismissal', for whatever reason."

"…That's dumb."

"Yeah, life's pretty dumb sometimes…" Vylet then sighed heavily and shook her head, trying to shake the negative feelings right off of her. "Well, anyway," she said in a more conversational tone, "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, actually," Anrey replied, "I practiced walking a bunch while you were gone and I think I'm mostly okay with it now. I can walk and turn corners without any trouble."

This managed to brighten the Sneasel's spirits a bit. "Well, that's great! I'm real happy for you, Anrey."

"It's just other stuff that's still…hard," Anrey continued, "Y'know, like getting off of this couch or going up on my back legs to reach for something."

"Well, don't overexert yourself," Vylet said to him, "There's no big rush, and I don't want you accidentally cracking your head open. You should still stay mostly on that couch until you feel better."

Anrey gestured a bit with his paw. "I'm mostly okay, I think. Just partially immobile and still forgetting some stuff. Really, though, I feel like I could maybe go for a walk. As long as you come with me in case I fall, of course."

Vylet regarded him for a moment. Over the past five days, Anrey had been continually practicing his walking with Vylet's help. He had visibly improved with each passing day. However, she hadn't known that he had been practicing today while she had been away.

"Sure, I can take you for a walk around town tomorrow or the day after," Vylet said with a smile, "I can show you the sights."

"Sounds great! And hopefully it won't be too much longer until I can start paying you pack for your very generous hospitality."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. Really, you don't. At least not until you're completely healed."

"But Vylet, I-"

"Nope!" Vylet held up a claw, "Your one and only job is to get better! So get to work on that, bub!"

Anrey looked like he was going to retort again, but eventually relented with a demure smile. "You're too kind."

Vylet smiled at him as well. Her mood was already leagues better. She had almost forgotten that she had entered the room in a grumpy rage just a few minutes prior. This was what she had been missing from her life ever since moving to Clover Town. She had been so focused on getting into the guild that she had forgotten how important friends were.

"I do need to figure something out eventually to make some money, though…considering I've lost everything I had."

"So, you had nothing at all in the bank?" Vylet asked as she made her way over to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"The bank?" Anrey asked, "No…No, not at all."

"I'm surprised to hear that," Vylet commented, "I'm like the opposite of you. I hardly carry any cash around. Most of my Poké is in the bank."

"Well, I regret it now…"

"Your wallet might still be found by someone."

"Eh, I don't hold out hope for that…"

"Maybe when I'm properly in the guild, I'll take a mission in Rockfall Cave and see if I can find it." Vylet busied herself with making food for a moment, but then paused. She was briefly surprised by her own optimism. That was the first time since she had started looking for a partner that she had said 'when' instead of 'if'. She smiled to herself for a moment and started to hum a gentle tune as she worked.

"Are you absolutely sure you're okay to go for a walk?" Vylet asked.

"I'm fine, Vylet."

"I'm not being a worrywart or anything, I just want to make sure that you're sure. We can always take a walk another day."

Anrey shook his head and said, "It's okay, I've gotten a good grip on walking. I'll just be walking slowly, that's all."

Vylet regarded him for a moment, noting that he no longer seemed wobbly on his paws while standing up, and then nodded. "All right," she then said, "Where do you wanna go?"

"Well, I want to see what this town has to offer. Give me the tour, if you could. Since I'm going to be staying here for quite a bit longer than originally planned, I should get the lay of the land."

"Okay," Vylet replied, smiling, "Just let me know if you'd like to head back at any point."

Soon enough, the Eevee and Sneasel were walking out of the apartment building. It was the first time Anrey had been outside since he had been carted over to Vylet's place. He already seemed pleased to be out and about on his paws instead of on wheels.

She paused at the apartment's entrance for a moment to allow Anrey to take in the sights. While he did, she glanced up at the sky. It was another bright, warm day out with just a couple of scattered clouds in the sky. The perfect day for a walk around town.

"How many Pokémon live here?" Anrey asked, recapturing her attention.

"Uh, just a couple hundred. We're about mid-sized."

Anrey considered this for a moment. Then he smiled and said, "It never changes. Every time I visit a new town, it's like I'm seeing my very first new town all over again. Never gets old."

Vylet chuckled. "Well, let's get going. Follow me."

She then set off down the street in a particular direction, and Anrey caught up and started to walk alongside her. She allowed him to set the pace, which was a little slower than her usual walking speed but she didn't mind. Anrey was already eagerly drinking in the sights of the city, and they hadn't even reached anything noteworthy yet.

"Hi!" Anrey called out to a passing Breloom and Shroomish in a friendly tone. Vylet briefly found it a bit odd that he didn't wave to them as well, but then mentally smacked herself when she remembered he probably couldn't do that steadily yet. So, she decided to wave for him instead. They briefly waved back.

"I like to think most folks here are friendly," Vylet commented, "Like, we're not winning any awards for friendliest town ever or anything, but there aren't too many bad apples around." She then grumbled softly and said, "Apparently they all hang out at the guild, anyway…"

"Hey," Anrey cut in, "We're not gonna talk about your work right now, okay? Let's have a good time and enjoy this walk."

Vylet blinked in surprise, then chuckled softly and said, "All right, sounds like a plan."

She led the Eevee along the streets to their first destination. With Anrey's slow walking speed, it took about five extra minutes to get there than it would usually take her. Despite the slow speed, though, Anrey wasn't showing any discomfort or fatigue. He was just taking things carefully.

"This," she announced, "is Clover Town's bank."

Anrey glanced up at the yellowish-gold building they had stopped in front of, decorated with a large replica of a 1-Poké coin above the doorway.

"I know you didn't use the bank at all before, but here it is if you ever decide to make an account."

"Gotcha…"

She led him around the corner and down a couple more blocks, introducing city hall and the police station along the way. Soon they had reached the central plaza, where Vylet once again indicated the building that represented the Guild's entrance. She then turned down another side street and led him for another block.

"And around here," she said before reaching the next corner, "is Clover Town Market!"

Anrey rounded the corner and stood next to her as they both looked down the bustling street before them. In the middle of all the residential buildings, this one block-long length of street was filled with all manner of vendors selling their wares from pop-up tents or wooden stalls. The market was swamped with Pokémon, as it usually was during daylight hours.

"See over there?" Vylet then spoke up, and pointed her claw to a spot near the middle of the market. "See the green-coloured stall?"

"Uh huh?"

"That's the Smeargle Brothers' shop. That's an important stop, or at least it is to me. They have a working agreement with the guild, you see. Some of their merchandise is set aside and can only be bought by members of the guild, which is very helpful for when we need to stock up on supplies."

"I see," Anrey said with a nod, "That's pretty efficient."

"I can take you for a walk through the market on another day when you don't feel as dizzy. I get the feeling a big crowd like that isn't gonna be good for you right now."

"Heh, good point…"

The pair moved on, traveling another block before making another stop. "Here's our city's office for the Delibird Statues."

Anrey stared at the unassuming building with its red and white colour scheme, then turned and gave her a blank look.

"…Uh oh," she remarked, "Did your concussion eat that memory?"

He gave her an embarrassed smile and said, "I think so…"

Vylet nodded and patiently explained to him, "The Delibird Statues are the weird statues that were discovered like 200 years ago and were set up all over the world. Y'know, the ones that can magically transport items between them."

Anrey furrowed his brow. "Items…" he murmured without a hint of recognition.

"Like, buildings like this in cities are like storage. You store your items here, and they have one of the statues inside. When you find another statue somewhere else, you can send back a request for your item and the workers here will use their statue to send it to yours."

"Yeaaah…" Anrey muttered, and then shook his head. "Boy," he remarked, "It sounds confusing when you put it into words, doesn't it?"

"Heh, I guess it does. But, you know what I'm talking about now?"

"Yeah, it's a bank for items in super basic terms," he replied, "and you can use the statues to withdraw and deposit."

Vylet grinned, but then frowned a second later. "Well, no, you can't deposit. You can only withdraw. You have to deposit items here at the building."

Anrey looked confused for a moment again, and then his ears perked up. "Oh, right…I don't know how this works because I didn't ever use it. Just like with the bank…"

"You really just relied on yourself the whole way, huh?"

"Yeah, kinda…"

From there the pair slowly moved on, making somewhat of a circle around the centre of town. Vylet continued to keep an eye on Anrey to make sure he wasn't struggling, but the Eevee was managing to walk just fine at this slower pace.

"So there's a couple of interesting spots all on this same road," she remarked once they had reached their next stop. First she indicated the closest building and said, "This is the Kami Massage Parlour."

"Oh my," Anrey responded.

"I've never been myself," Vylet continued, "but tons of guildmembers rave about this place. They say it's the best place to come after expending tons of energy in a Mystery Dungeon. Good enough to give you the energy to be right up and at 'em the very next day, apparently."

"I've never been big on massages myself," Anrey commented.

"Yeah, me neither, but maybe I'll give 'em a shot one day. Anyway, that one down there is the Clover Town Lottery. They have single-entry random drawings, a number-matching lotto draw, and multi-entry sweepstakes to earn rare items. But they only draw winners every three weeks."

"Interesting," Anrey remarked, "Do you ever play the lottery?"

"I only play the single-entry draw, because why not. Your chances of winning are so low with that one, though. If you want a better chance, you gotta spend more on the lotto. Oh, and they have scratch tickets too."

Anrey chuckled softly. "You able to do those without tearing the tickets in half?"

Vylet raised an eyebrow at him and glibly replied, "Keep that up and I'll be tearin' you in half." She shook her head good-naturedly and then pointed down the street. "Finally, that big building way down there at the end is our town's dojo."

"Dojo, huh?" the Eevee replied, "What kind of services do they got? Specifically, I mean."

"Uh, let's see. I've only been there a few times, mostly just for practice. They've got a bunch of move tutors, I know that, and I think they have type specialist trainers for most of the types. I don't think there's a Dragon-type trainer, for example. And of course, the standard exercise rooms and gymnasium."

"Maybe I'll do some physical therapy there," Anrey said, "They got a padded room where I can practice and constantly fall over without hurting myself?"

Vylet chuckled. "Personal trainers are expensive. You're better off just lettin' me help you."

Anrey glanced at her, then smiled genuinely. "Yeah. Thanks, Vylet."

"How're you feeling? There's one more thing I think I should show you."

"I'm good. Feels like I'll probably hit a wall soon, but I can keep going for now."

The Sneasel nodded, and started leading the way down a few more streets. It didn't take too long to get to their destination, situated on a main road off to the side of the central plaza. "Here we are," she then announced, "The clinic."

"Ah, yes," Anrey nodded as he glanced up at the universal medical symbol that was pictured above the building's entrance; an oval surrounded by a frill that gave off the impression of the Chansey/Blissey line.

"This is where you go if you get banged up and you aren't rescued from inside a Mystery Dungeon, or if our guild nurse can't treat you properly. In other words, where you pay for treatment. If Raye refers you to here, she and the guildmaster will try their best to get the costs waived, but it doesn't always work out."

"Remind me not to get food poisoning…" Anrey muttered softly.

"At least," Vylet continued, "From what I've heard anyway, they're all very friendly and competent doctors in there. They're just, y'know, hungry for funding."

Out the corner of her eye, she saw Anrey sit down on his haunches. He stumbled slightly but kept his balance. "All of this just kinda comes back to the fact that I'm flat broke now," he commented in a neutral tone.

"Yeah…" Vylet said sympathetically, "Unfortunately, that's just how the world works."

Anrey sighed. "I've always been pretty self-sufficient in everything I do. I never felt comfortable when others spent money on me, y'know? I always wanted to cover it myself. I'm not, like, opposed to having friends to help you out of course. I just don't like being…a burden."

"Hey, I keep telling you, it's fine. You've got an excuse to be a burden right now. You're injured, after all." Vylet gave him a gentle pat of encouragement on his back.

"Yeah, I guess…" Anrey muttered. After a moment, he then cleared his throat and perked up a little. "Anyway, Clover Town seems like a very nice place to live. Thanks for showing me all of this. I'll do my best to remember where everything is."

"Oh, it's no problem at all," Vylet replied sweetly, "I'm glad you enjoyed. Should we head back now?"

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't overdo it. Better to be safe." He chuckled and then jokingly added, "Okay, I sat down, now how do I stand back up?"

As Vylet moved closer to him, ready to catch him just in case he fell, she asked, "Before we go, do you have any questions about the city? Anything you wanna know that I didn't cover?"

"Hmmm…" Anrey considered the question as he stood up, slowly but without assistance. He eventually shook his head in response but then suddenly perked up, ears and all. "Oh! Uh, there's one thing I'm wondering. One thing you didn't show me."

"Yeah? What's that?"

Anrey glanced at her and asked, "Does Clover Town have a library?"

Vylet blanked at the question. She furrowed her brow in thought. "Uhhh…" she muttered, "Is there a library here?"

"You don't know?" Anrey asked.

"I never thought about it," Vylet admitted, "I'm, well, not much of a reader. Besides the textbooks I ordered to study for my guild exams, I don't really care for reading all that much." She shrugged and then said, "Why? Do you want to read something?"

The Sneasel was mildly surprised when she saw that Anrey's eyes practically sparkled as he replied. "I would love to visit the library."