Once you've become an explorer, not one dull day seems to pass you by. By the time I was on my 17th level, I had been in my guild, from what I can remember, for five years at that time. As a young, naive Oshawott, I would have never guessed I'd end up here with my best friend, Zeta. We were the rescue team usually referred to as Team Apples. It was silly, sure, but Zeta and I had been quite young at the time and we both simply enjoy apples.
However, there was one morning we were all awoken to some odd news.
It started off like a regular morning. There was a familiar knock on the frame around the entrance to our room. Standing there was Toka the Simipour, a laid back guy who put himself in charge of being the wake up call.
“Better start wakin' up, kids,” he said, sounding very serious for once, “The King's got some real important news to tell us.” I got up, but Zeta, however, still wanted to sleep in. “Bubbles, will you wake yer partner up? Can't have her bein' late for another mornin' meeting or she'll be in some real trouble with Dramps this time round.”
While yawning, I just nodded at him. “Don't worry, I got her. She's just been going through some sort of “I need my beauty rest” phase.”
“Well, I do...” the little bundle of grey and red fur muttered from her hay pile. Instead of letting me carry her, for once, she sprung out of the pile on her own, her little blue eye adjusting to the light. Zeta, when she was just a young Zorua, had lost one of her eyes, so she wore an eye patch to cover the scar. “But if it's important news, I suppose I could spare a day of it to hear what The King has to say.”
After stretching her little legs for a brief moment, she padded out of the room and I quickly followed suit beside Toka. My mind couldn't help but wander in thought as I tried to think of what was so important that The King needed us to wake up early just to hear. Perhaps we were going on another camping excursion in the mountains?
But as it turned out, I was entirely wrong.
There stood the towering purple Nidoking, our Guild Master. Most knew The King, as he asked everyone to call him, as an idol among Exploration Guilds. He was tall, proud, but most importantly, he was a powerful Pokémon, but he was not some dumb brute. Beside him was Dramps, an old Drampa who was not only The King’s assistant, but the one who raised him.
“Good morning, young ones,” The King said in a soft voice. “You see, I have news. Word has passed through the vine and Chatot of the Wigglytuff Guild from the next region over visited my quarters early this morning. You see, the King of Thieves as he was called, Cofagrigus, is not of this world anymore, and he has left behind his treasures.”
A Flaaffy, belonging to Team Fluff, stepped forward. “But King, what does that mean for us? Are you implying we should go after the treasure ourselves?”
His careful eyes looked at her. “Indeed, Gleam. Plenty of thieve teams of the Rogue Guilds will be after those treasures, and it is up to us as the Rescue and Explorer teams to secure that treasure and keep it out of dark hands,” he explained. “We will be leaving at once, so please go get your things together and take a quick trip to Merchant’s Square and report back here as soon as possible.”
The teams then split and I headed off with Zeta to the Square. We had been running low on supplies and knew we would need to stock up on items for this endeavor. Zeta peeked up at me with a smile.
”What?” I asked.
”Aren’t you excited? This is like, our first big job in forever,” she said. I had to agree, I was excited. It was not that I doubted myself or my abilities, I was just worried of the nagging idea of what would happen if we didn’t succeed. “Something the matter, Bubs?”
I looked at her and returned her smile. “Naw, naw. Just thinking about stuff Zeet. That’s all.”
Once we stepped into the Merchant’s Square, we were surrounded by the noise and bustle of other Pokémon attempting to sell their wares to others. Berries, orbs, scarves, and other such products lined their colorfully decorated stalls. There was one, however, that we preferred above all others. A large banner decorated their booth with the words ‘The Shopkeep Quartet’ on it. Standing behind its counter was a smiling Gardevoir attempting to sell scarves while a Marill attempted to peek above the counter.
”Lucian, Maro... Where’s Skitch and Sage?” Zeta asked as she sat and observed the long blue scarf in Lucian’s arms.
”Good morning, you two! Always happy to see you around, always welcome to observe our products!” He chirped back with a wide grin. Indeed, this Gardevoir was a male. He was a bright, happy figure currently caring for the Marill beside him and the currently absent Scrafty and Zangoose. “The others are around the back and grabbing some boxes for us.
The little Marill struggled to stay up on the stool he sat on. “Can I go get another book to sit on? I still can barely see above this thing...”
”Sure kiddo!” As Maro bounced down and walked into the back, Lucian set down the scarf and leaned on the counter. “Did you guys hear what happened to that Thief guy...? We’ve been seeing members of the Rogue Guild all day, passing through from the docks, can you believe it?! Even the Peliper delivery team hasn’t been flying today just to keep their mail safe!”
I made a puzzled expression. “Explains why I didn’t get that package of Orbs you guys mailed over like I was supposed to.” The fact that the Rogues were already on the prowl was an issue though. “How many did you see?”
”What, how many Rogues? Too many, that’s what I’ll tell ya-“ Lucian paused and looked up. “Don’t look now, but that Scizor and Medicham back there... I believe they’re some too...” We all waited in caution until he gave the okay. They seemed to walk off and he huffed. “That’s exactly what I mean.” Behind him stood Sage the Zangoose, who had walked up quietly. He couldn’t help it, he was a mute. According to Lucian, who found him as an egg, he’s never said a word. He prodded at Lucian’s shoulder with his claw and held up the box in his arms as if to ask where he should place it. “Just over there, Sage! So, kids... What’s goin’ on with you? Going on an adventure today?”
There was a silence as I debated with myself how to explain. “In a way... About this Rogue situation. The King wants us to go after that treasure. We leave in a few hours."
Lucian's eyes widened and I furrowed my brow. "Pack up boys and gal, we're goin' with these kids on an adventure!"
Oh dear.
However, there was one morning we were all awoken to some odd news.
It started off like a regular morning. There was a familiar knock on the frame around the entrance to our room. Standing there was Toka the Simipour, a laid back guy who put himself in charge of being the wake up call.
“Better start wakin' up, kids,” he said, sounding very serious for once, “The King's got some real important news to tell us.” I got up, but Zeta, however, still wanted to sleep in. “Bubbles, will you wake yer partner up? Can't have her bein' late for another mornin' meeting or she'll be in some real trouble with Dramps this time round.”
While yawning, I just nodded at him. “Don't worry, I got her. She's just been going through some sort of “I need my beauty rest” phase.”
“Well, I do...” the little bundle of grey and red fur muttered from her hay pile. Instead of letting me carry her, for once, she sprung out of the pile on her own, her little blue eye adjusting to the light. Zeta, when she was just a young Zorua, had lost one of her eyes, so she wore an eye patch to cover the scar. “But if it's important news, I suppose I could spare a day of it to hear what The King has to say.”
After stretching her little legs for a brief moment, she padded out of the room and I quickly followed suit beside Toka. My mind couldn't help but wander in thought as I tried to think of what was so important that The King needed us to wake up early just to hear. Perhaps we were going on another camping excursion in the mountains?
But as it turned out, I was entirely wrong.
There stood the towering purple Nidoking, our Guild Master. Most knew The King, as he asked everyone to call him, as an idol among Exploration Guilds. He was tall, proud, but most importantly, he was a powerful Pokémon, but he was not some dumb brute. Beside him was Dramps, an old Drampa who was not only The King’s assistant, but the one who raised him.
“Good morning, young ones,” The King said in a soft voice. “You see, I have news. Word has passed through the vine and Chatot of the Wigglytuff Guild from the next region over visited my quarters early this morning. You see, the King of Thieves as he was called, Cofagrigus, is not of this world anymore, and he has left behind his treasures.”
A Flaaffy, belonging to Team Fluff, stepped forward. “But King, what does that mean for us? Are you implying we should go after the treasure ourselves?”
His careful eyes looked at her. “Indeed, Gleam. Plenty of thieve teams of the Rogue Guilds will be after those treasures, and it is up to us as the Rescue and Explorer teams to secure that treasure and keep it out of dark hands,” he explained. “We will be leaving at once, so please go get your things together and take a quick trip to Merchant’s Square and report back here as soon as possible.”
The teams then split and I headed off with Zeta to the Square. We had been running low on supplies and knew we would need to stock up on items for this endeavor. Zeta peeked up at me with a smile.
”What?” I asked.
”Aren’t you excited? This is like, our first big job in forever,” she said. I had to agree, I was excited. It was not that I doubted myself or my abilities, I was just worried of the nagging idea of what would happen if we didn’t succeed. “Something the matter, Bubs?”
I looked at her and returned her smile. “Naw, naw. Just thinking about stuff Zeet. That’s all.”
Once we stepped into the Merchant’s Square, we were surrounded by the noise and bustle of other Pokémon attempting to sell their wares to others. Berries, orbs, scarves, and other such products lined their colorfully decorated stalls. There was one, however, that we preferred above all others. A large banner decorated their booth with the words ‘The Shopkeep Quartet’ on it. Standing behind its counter was a smiling Gardevoir attempting to sell scarves while a Marill attempted to peek above the counter.
”Lucian, Maro... Where’s Skitch and Sage?” Zeta asked as she sat and observed the long blue scarf in Lucian’s arms.
”Good morning, you two! Always happy to see you around, always welcome to observe our products!” He chirped back with a wide grin. Indeed, this Gardevoir was a male. He was a bright, happy figure currently caring for the Marill beside him and the currently absent Scrafty and Zangoose. “The others are around the back and grabbing some boxes for us.
The little Marill struggled to stay up on the stool he sat on. “Can I go get another book to sit on? I still can barely see above this thing...”
”Sure kiddo!” As Maro bounced down and walked into the back, Lucian set down the scarf and leaned on the counter. “Did you guys hear what happened to that Thief guy...? We’ve been seeing members of the Rogue Guild all day, passing through from the docks, can you believe it?! Even the Peliper delivery team hasn’t been flying today just to keep their mail safe!”
I made a puzzled expression. “Explains why I didn’t get that package of Orbs you guys mailed over like I was supposed to.” The fact that the Rogues were already on the prowl was an issue though. “How many did you see?”
”What, how many Rogues? Too many, that’s what I’ll tell ya-“ Lucian paused and looked up. “Don’t look now, but that Scizor and Medicham back there... I believe they’re some too...” We all waited in caution until he gave the okay. They seemed to walk off and he huffed. “That’s exactly what I mean.” Behind him stood Sage the Zangoose, who had walked up quietly. He couldn’t help it, he was a mute. According to Lucian, who found him as an egg, he’s never said a word. He prodded at Lucian’s shoulder with his claw and held up the box in his arms as if to ask where he should place it. “Just over there, Sage! So, kids... What’s goin’ on with you? Going on an adventure today?”
There was a silence as I debated with myself how to explain. “In a way... About this Rogue situation. The King wants us to go after that treasure. We leave in a few hours."
Lucian's eyes widened and I furrowed my brow. "Pack up boys and gal, we're goin' with these kids on an adventure!"
Oh dear.