Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This is a story that my mother used to tell me when I was a child…

A long time ago, our world was ravaged by the endless flames of war. Neighbouring continents would constantly fight one another, razing entire villages and taking many innocent lives. During this war, violence and misery dominated all.

The Pokémon who were able to survive fled to another continent: the Iron Continent. There, they established a new kingdom, in the hopes that they would be safe and sound. But it would not be long before the war reached them as well…

In order to put an end to the fighting and bloodshed, the Pokémon of the Iron Continent turned to Arceus for help. Arceus, unable to stand by and watch while the world was destroyed, chose five champions to aid the the Pokémon: a king with the power to grow bountiful harvests and command two steeds; two lords with amazing power over water and darkness; and two knights who wielded the Fairy King’s Sword and the Fighting Master’s Shield respectively.

Together, the five champions combined their powers to create an artifact that could end the war forever: the Flames of Royalty. However, they also warned to use the Flames’ powers wisely, as careless use of it could transform the wielder into a horrifying beast.

With this knowledge in mind, the inhabitants of the Iron Continent carefully chose their hero to use the Flames of Royalty. Thanks to this hero’s efforts, the war finally came to an end. Then, heeding the champions’ warning, they sealed the artifact away in a place where no one would ever think to find it…

Peace and prosperity have flourished since then…but there are some who still fear that there will come a time when the Flames of Royalty will be needed once more…

Me? I doubt it! Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?

“Probably for the best that we don’t need the Flames of Royalty, though.”

“Hm?” An Archen wearing a blue diamond choker around his neck cracked open one eye. He glanced down at the Fomantis wearing a similar choker that was pink and bore a pearl. “You say somethin’?”

The Fomantis turned to him, her bright red-pink eyes shining like her pearl choker. “What I mean is that we don’t need the Flames of Royalty to solve every single one of our problems,” she replied, backing up her original claim.

She turned her gaze back down to the book she held in her sickles, tracing the image of a Samurott standing tall and proud. In one paw, the Samurott held its seamitar, black as night with a single red streak running down from the blade to the scabbard. In the other paw was an artifact that resembled a flower bud, with a small ember burning bright.

The Archen pushed himself off of the tree he’d been resting under and proceeded to dust off his feathers. “Well, I do have to agree with you on that one,” he said, trying to stifle a yawn. “But the flames are also the reason why the Iron Continent has stood tall and proud for years.”

The Fomantis sighed. “I know, I know,” she grumbled. “I just worry about what could happen, s’all. After all, you know the champions’ warning as much as I do. If the Flames of Royalty were used by improper, careless hands, you could turn into a monster.”

She shuddered before allowing herself to continue. “But what if it did something worse than that? What if it opened a space-time portal? Or it destroyed the entire continent?”

The Archen barked out a laugh. “Don’t be silly, Mairead,” he snorted.

The Fomantis growled in frustration as a vein popped on her head. “I’m being completely serious!” she shouted. “There’s no telling what could happen if the flames are used with reckless abandon! We might end up instigating another continental war!”

The Archen’s laughter died down as he approached the Fomantis. “Then we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen,” he told her with a smile. “Because once we become Guildmasters, we’ll find a way to unite the Iron Continent, and the rest of the world – together!”

The Fomantis sighed as she turned her gaze to the night sky, noticing a shooting star streak across the glittery silver swath amongst the inky blackness. “I sure hope you’re right, Gohar,” she murmured. “I sure hope you’re right.”

“Wake up, Reed! It’s a new morning!”

The Grookey let out a groan as he buried his face further into his pillow. The tip of his brown tail twitched as he tried to hold onto the dream he’d been enjoying since the night before.

“Don’t worry, miss,” he mumbled sleepily. “I’m part of an exploration team…from the Haxorus Guild…” He yawned before continuing. “Time to…get you out…of that dungeon…”

He reached out with one orange paw, holding up his imaginary Explorer Badge. He grinned as his client was bathed in a golden light before being teleported away…

…And that’s when he felt a heavy stick hit his head with a loud thunk! He screeched in pain as he clutched his head before turning to the culprit: a taller monkey-like creature with lighter green fur and a short, stubby tail that was brown in colour. Several dark green leaves swayed over her head like a mohawk as her orange paws ringed with dark green held two sticks. She also seemed to be wearing some sort of light yellow mask over her face while her green eyes were narrowed in a slight scowl.

“Taiko,” the Grookey groaned, rubbing the sore spot on his head. “How many times has Dad told you not to wake me up like that?”

Taiko, the taller green monkey who identified herself as a Thwackey, simply let out a “tsk” as she stuffed her sticks back into her mohawk. “And how many times have I had to come up here to make sure you were actually awake before heading off to the Haxorus Guild? I swear, this is the tenth time this month I’ve been running late because of you, little bro!”

“You could at least be more gentle about it!”

“And you could at least wake up to Dad’s first call!”

Reed pouted as he grabbed his stick from the bedside. “Fine, you win,” he grumbled. “But once I get into the guild, I’ll have much less to deal with from you!”

He found himself unconsciously tapping his stick against the wooden floor as the prestigious guild flashed in his mind. That’s right, that was something he’d always dreamed about since he was little - to join the Haxorus Guild, become part of his own team, go out and about saving other Pokémon or taking down outlaws, and explore the Mystery Dungeons that were scattered throughout every corner of the world.

Taiko seemed less than amused. “Eh, whatever,” she said in her usual sassy tone. “I’m running late anyway, so toodles.”

…And then, there was Taiko. Reed knew she wasn’t always that way, especially not after her evolution. But ever since their mother died, the siblings’ relationship had been rather strained at best, broken at worst. Taiko had been working at the Haxorus Guild for only five years, and yet she was pretty much the family’s sole breadwinner.

Well, once I get in and get my own crew room, she won’t have to worry as much about me anymore, thought Reed as he headed downstairs.

Reed’s family residence wasn’t anything fancy-schmancy; just a humble abode that was constructed in the liking of a Rillaboom. Numerous plants lined every corner of the house, all of them fully vitalized. Behind it was a greenhouse where they grew numerous Berries and Seeds of every size, shape and colour; Reed figured Taiko was already there to pick something out for her morning rations before heading off.

Sighing to himself, Reed went over to the greenhouse. As usual, he found his dad tending to the many Berries and Seeds that adorned every corner of the place…in a way that only members of the Grookey line could do. He watched in amazement as the brown-and-green-furred gorilla-like creature beat his sticks repeatedly against the drum-like tree stump as he hummed a simple tune.

In an instant, the plants around him began to stand tall and proud, their colours glowing with a vibrancy that rivaled the golden sun and the silver moon combined.

The Rillaboom wiped a bit of sweat from his brow as he looked fondly at the plants. But it wouldn’t be long before he caught sight of Reed watching him from afar, eyes sparkling with wonder. He chuckled as he motioned the tiny green chimp over.

“Hey there, little guy,” he said. “Slept in late again, did ya?”

“Heh…yeah.” Reed blushed in embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his head. “Meanwhile, Taiko’s being all punctual and junk. I don’t get why she would choose to sleep here instead of her crew room with her teammates.”

The Rillaboom shrugged. “Perhaps she’s just as concerned about you as I am,” he replied. He sighed sadly. “Especially after your mother passed away.”

Reed’s face fell at the memory. Even though it had only happened a month ago, the pain was still fresh in his heart.

His father seemed to notice, and he quickly changed the subject. “B-but worry not, son!” he said. “That’s why I have you to help me out!” He sifted through the green leaves on his back and pulled out a sheet of paper, which he then handed over to Reed. “Here’s your work for the day! The Kecleon Market needs a restock of ten Oran Berries, eight Pecha Berries, and six Blast Seeds. And the Haxorus Guild has been seeing a shortage of Reviver Seeds as of late. Think you can handle it?”

Reed took one look at the list, reading it over several times to make sure he got it all memorized. Then, he nodded. “You can count on me, sir!”

The Rillaboom grinned. “That’s my boy! Now, get out there and start beating that stick of yours!”

Reed didn’t need to be told twice. The Grookey nimbly hopped over to the Pecha Berry plants, whipped out his stick and began beating it against the wooden frame. Almost immediately, he noticed the purple leaves puff out as several pink Pecha Berries ripened before falling to the soil. He wasted no time in collecting eight Berries before proceeding to do the same with the Oran Berries, Blast Seeds and Reviver Seeds. Soon, he had everything ready for delivery!

Waving good-bye to his dad, Reed exited the greenhouse and pressed onward to his hometown: an equally humble abode known as Sturdy Village.

The rest of the day went smoothly. Other than Taiko convincing him to let her bring the Reviver Seeds to the Haxorus Guild, Reed felt like he had accomplished a lot for today.

And after a hard day’s work, there was nothing better to do than sit back and relax. On most days, he’d be playing with the other kids in Sturdy Village, or practicing his stick-playing skills. But ever since last month, he’d found himself wandering off to the nearby cliffside.

He recalled the nights when he and his mother would sit there, gazing up at the stars while his mother told him stories of times long past. Some of his personal favourites included how a human would come to the world to save it from some sort of impending disaster…but after a while, he ended up growing tired of them. So, his mother ended up resorting to telling a different story: the formation of the Iron Continent, the establishment of a new kingdom, and the Flames of Royalty, the sacred artifact that helped end the war from long ago.

These cliffs were Reed’s place of sanctuary, a place where he could truly be himself, if only for a moment.

But what he didn’t realize was that this would be the place where everything would be changed forever.

As he rounded the corner, a soft moan suddenly stopped him in his tracks. The little green monkey jerked back, eyes wide with surprise as he glanced around. What the heck was that? he thought to himself.

Silence.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Reed rounded the corner, sticking as closely to the shadows as he could. He wasn’t sure who or what lay here…but what he did know was that these cliffs had definitely not been inhabited for a long time.

What he did find, however, was something very unusual tonight: an odd black shape, silhouetted against the setting sun. Reed narrowed his eyes as he carefully approached it. As he got closer, however, he noticed the black shape twitching slightly as patches of red appeared.

Eyes wide with alarm, Reed could only stand and watch as realization seeped into him: there was a Pokémon on the cliffside.

And they were unconscious!

Darkness, nothing but darkness.

That was the only thing she could see.

She wasn’t sure where she was…only that she seemed to be shrouded in complete darkness.

And then…slowly but surely, her other senses began to return.

The salty tang of an ocean breeze seemed to assault her nose. Several sharp rocks seemed to puncture her side, but only a little.

And then…there was a voice.

“Hey! Are you alright?”

She groaned as she tossed over, wincing as she landed on more rock. She dared herself to open her eyes…and found herself staring at a blurry sea of blues and oranges. Confused, she blinked the sleep from her eyes as her vision was presented to a cliffside at sunset.

“Ugghhhh…” she grumbled as she flopped over on her belly before sitting up. She blinked several times as she observed her new surroundings. “Where the heck am I?”

“Oh, what a relief! And to think I thought you were dead or something!”

Hm? She turned around to the source of the voice, only to find herself face-to-face with a small, monkey-like creature. He was covered head to toe in bright green fur, complemented with orange on his muzzle and paws, as well as brown ears with a tail to match. A yellow mask-like marking stretched over his curious green eyes, while a small stick fixed itself on the leaf-like tuft atop his head.

The monkey grinned sheepishly as he stepped back. “Confused?” he said. “Well, same for me!”

Reed wasn’t entirely sure how this stranger would take well to him waking her up. Especially since the Pokémon he found had turned out to be a Litten, a feline Pokémon with black fur that was adorned with red stripes on her legs and forehead, as well as a patch of red on her muzzle. She had a long tail that ended in a tuft, and her large eyes were bright yellow complemented with brown irises…and they were definitely wide with surprise!

He wisely backed off, not knowing if the Litten would try and roast him with whatever Fire-type move she had on hand…if she had any Fire-type moves, that is.

He didn’t expect her to scream, though.

“Wh-WHAAAAAAAAT?!” the Litten shrieked as she backed away. “WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?! A GREEN MONKEY IS TALKING TO ME?”

Now it was Reed’s turn to recoil with shock. “Wh-what did I do?” he demanded.

The Litten pointed at him in a rather accusing manner. “There you go again! You’re talking again! But you’re a monkey, and last I checked monkeys don’t talk!”

Reed’s shock melted away into exasperation as he stared at her. Was this Litten being serious? All he did was wake her up, and this was how she showed her gratitude?

He cleared his throat to calm his nerves and carefully approached her, spreading his paws out to assure her that he was not going to hurt her. “L-listen, I don’t know what’s going on, but I would like to help you in any way I can,” he told her. “Also, I’m not a green monkey. I’m actually a Grookey, and my name is Reed. What about you?”

“I don’t care if you’re a Groo-key, or if your name is Reed,” the Litten hissed. “A monkey is still a monkey.” Before Reed could do anything else, she suddenly began to stand up…before struggling to stand up on her hind legs. “N-now, if you’ll excuse me,” she growled. “I-I have somewhere e-else to be!”

Reed could only watch as the Litten wobbled on her hind legs. But she didn’t get very far before she suddenly collapsed onto the rocky floor. He sighed as he facepalmed, knowing that this was going to be a tough night.

“Do you need any help?” he asked.

“No,” the Litten grumbled as she got back up on her feet. “I can handle this. My legs just need time to work again, s’all.” She then proceeded to stand up on her hind legs again, only to topple over a second time. This time, however, Reed whipped his tail forward and caught her before she could become a black mark on the floor.

“Yeaaahhh, maybe don’t try that until you’re fully evolved,” Reed remarked half to himself. “For now, you’re just a little Litten.”

The Litten whipped her head around to glare at him, and he flinched at the blazing-brown glare. “I think you meant kitten,” she said coldly.

“Uh, no, I said Litten,” he told her.

“Shut up! I know what I heard!”

Reed winced at that statement. Even Taiko was sensible enough to not go that far. This Litten just took “sass” and “confusion” and brought them to a whole new level. Maybe if he tried to be a bit more gentle with her, he might get her to understand.

“Look, I understand you’re scared and confused,” he told her. “But I’m definitely not stupid, and you are definitely a Litten. In every angle, every way, every shape, and every form.”

“FOR THE LAST TIME, I AM NOT A KITTEN!” the Litten snapped. “I AM A HUMAN, PLAIN AND SIMPLE!”

Reed’s eyes widened. Did she just say…human? Like in the stories his mother had told him all those years ago? But it couldn’t be true…could it? The last human who came to the world was trying to stop an otherworldly being from across the other side of the ocean! So why…?

Why had a human come here , to the peaceful Iron Continent? To a land where Pokémon relied on the mystical Flames of Royalty to end their own disaster?

It wasn’t like the Iron Continent was in any sort of danger…was it?

The Litten grinned as she watched him turn away, satisfied that she had finally gotten the message across. “Well, it seems like you actually do believe me,” she chortled.

“M-maybe,” Reed said quietly, releasing her from his hold. This only caused her to topple over unceremoniously on the ground, though not as a black mark thankfully. “But that still doesn’t change the fact that you’re a Litten.”

“You’re still going to go on about that?” the feline muttered. “Fine! You want proof that I’m a human? Then I’ll find you some proof!”

“How are you going to provide proof around here?”

“Easy!” the Little said with a grin. “I’ll find some water where I can find my reflection. Then we’ll see who was right the whole time.”

She took a step forward…and let out a sharp yowl as she felt pain lance up her foreleg. She stepped back as she examined the cause of the pain: a small cut on her paw, where she could clearly see blood oozing out.

Reed cringed and turned away, realizing that his dropping her must’ve caused her to scrape her paw on the ground. He could only stand and watch as the Litten hastily licked her paw to stop the bleeding. But no sooner did she do that than she realized something was off…terribly off.

“Wait, where did my hands go…?” she spoke before her eyes widened at the revelation. Instead of five fingers, she had furry black paws with red paw pads. Horrified, she pulled at her cheeks and found herself touching fur; then flicked at her ears to get a feel of the triangular shapes. Lastly, she whirled around to find herself staring at a long, thin tail and ended in a tuft.

“Ah-AHHHH!!!” the Litten screamed. “WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BODY?!”

Reed sighed as he pressed his fingers to his forehead. On the one hand, at least he knew he was right. On the other hand…was that scream really necessary?

“This…this is nothing but a nightmare,” he heard the Litten continue rambling. “Yes, that’s got to be it! Nothing more than some weird nightmare I’m having.” She unsheathed her claws. “Maybe if I wake up, it’ll all be over!” She held up her claws to her face, ready to scratch it out…only for Reed to quickly smack her on the head.

“If you wanted to wake up, you could have at least asked me to pinch you,” he told her. “Or at least conk you on the head. Not scratch your eyes out!”

The Litten growled. “Well, if you’re so smart, then why don’t you take care of the problem and send me back to the real world?”

Reed hesitated. Was this Litten being serious? Did she really want him to knock her out? But then again, he’d never seen a human-turned-Pokémon all his life. Maybe there was something wrong with the Iron Continent, and she was brought here for a reason.

He shook it off as he raised his stick above his head. “Sorry,” he muttered as he smacked her square in the forehead. The Litten slumped down on the ground in defeat, eyes closed.

Reed clutched his stick and turned away in shame. Oh my gosh, oh my Arceus, he thought frantically. Why did I do that? What’s wrong with me? I might have just blown my chances at getting to know her!

He waited for a moment, sweat dripping down his face. Was this real? Was he dreaming? Or was it all just one big illusion?

Taking a deep breath, he dared himself to turn back around. He expected the Litten to disappear and have everything go back to the way things were.

Yet, here she was, still lying down on the cliffside. Her chest slowly rose and fell, indicating that she was at least still alive.

Guess it wasn’t a dream after all, he thought. She’s gonna be so disappointed when she wakes up though.

Well, here she was. Back in the darkness.

Back into the black void of nothingness.

She was pretty sure that she was only dreaming, right? The cliffside, Reed, her finding out that she had somehow turned into a…Litten, was it?

No matter. Once she woke up, it would all just disappear. She’d forget about it all soon.

Good-bye, weird dream, she thought. Good-bye weird monkey who calls himself Reed the Grookey.

Only silence answered her.

…Now she was starting to feel lonely. And cold. But still, it wouldn’t matter anymore once she woke up.

…Right?

Letting out a huff, she slowly opened her eyes and…immediately clutched her head as a throbbing headache took over. “Owww!” she groaned. She dared herself to look around and find herself still at the cliffside.

Reed carefully approached her, holding out a paw for her to hold. “Are you alright, miss?” he asked her. “Sorry about the bump on your head, by the way.

She didn’t seem to be paying attention as a surge of thoughts circulated in her head. This was no dream…this was reality. And she was living in that reality!

Reed tilted his head to the side. “I guess it wasn’t a dream for either of us,” he sighed. “Though you are weird…especially for a Litten.”

“But I…” the Litten stammered. “I can’t be a Litten. I’m a human! You have to believe me, please!”

“I’m not saying I don’t believe you,” the Grookey said, shaking his head. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re acting really weird. Plus, I haven’t gotten your name yet.”

Oh…that’s right! My name! She had been so focused on convincing herself that she was living some weird dream that she never got the chance to introduce herself. She felt her face grow hot with guilt and embarrassment as her ears pressed themselves flat against her head. She turned away, obviously not wanting Reed to see her like this.

Reed chuckled. “It’s alright if you don’t want to go yet,” he said. “So, I’ll just reintroduce myself. My name is Reed.”

A moment of hesitation. And then, finally…

“…Helen.”

Reed tilted his head to the side, confused. But that confusion soon cleared up as the Litten glanced at him without turning her head.

“My name is Helen.”

Chapter Text

I…I remember my name, at least, thought Helen. But I can’t remember anything else? This is…this is so absurd!

Reed, of course, didn’t seem to mind one bit. “Helen, eh?” he asked. He then smiled. “I like it! I think it suits you just fine!”

Helen’s ear twitched, and she looked back at him. “Y-you think so?” she asked, a light blush appearing on her cheeks.

Reed nodded. “Uh-huh,” he replied. “I mean, it’s pretty fiery, don’t you think. Especially since you’re a Litten now.”

Helen only puffed up her cheeks and turned away. “D-don’t patronize me,” she mumbled.

Reed only laughed. “Aw, c’mon, don’t be so modest!”

“I’m not!”

It was a while before Reed finally stopped laughing…though the grin from before still remained. “Alright, then,” he said. “So you can remember your name. Do you remember anything else?”

Helen pressed a paw to her forehead and concentrated on some kind of memory - something that she could come up with. But, no matter how hard she tried, nothing could come to her.

She shook her head. “Sorry, no,” she said. “I can’t remember anything. Just my name and the feeling that I used to be a human. Everything else is blank.”

Reed nodded. “That’s understandable,” he told her. “But nothing to worry about. I’m sure they’ll come back to you eventually. Just give it some time, alright?”

Helen hesitated for a moment. Then, she nodded. “Alright,” she said. “I…I’ll trust your judgement on that one.”

Reed giggled at that statement before letting out a happy sigh. It felt good to talk to someone here, on this very cliffside. And he had to admit, he always felt lonely coming here. But now, he had Helen here, even though he’d only just met her for, what, an hour or so? And yet, despite that, he had a feeling that maybe…just maybe…things would turn out for the better after all!

He looked over and noticed the orange giving way to indigo and purple as a swath of silvery stars began to decorate the sky. “Well, we better get a move on,” he said at last. “My folks’ll be wondering where I went off to. Especially Taiko.”

Helen watched as Reed got up before walking off. She tilted her head to the side in confusion. “Who’s Taiko?” she asked.

“My sister,” Reed replied. “She…” He trailed off before gesturing to her to come along. “Y’know what? We can walk and talk along the way.”

Helen hesitated for a moment. Did she really want to come along with this…Grookey? What if he was only pretending to be nice in order for her to lower her guard, and then run off laughing? What if this was all a trick?

Only one way to find out, she thought as she simply nodded her head.

To her surprise, however, Reed smiled as he went around to push her in the direction back to Sturdy Village. “Then, it’s settled,” he chirped. “My home’s right near the outskirts of Sturdy Village. I would love to give you a tour of it, but I think we’ll leave that for tomorrow. But I can show you my place – aka, the coolest place ever!”

“Ah, um…” Helen was at a complete loss of words on what to say. She could only walk forward while Reed talked about a lot of things. Such as how his mother was a great storyteller, how he helped his father maintain the family business of growing Seeds and Berries and deliver them to the local shops, and how his sister Taiko worked at some kind of guild called the Haxorus Guild. What really intrigued her the most, however, was the last one.

“Haxorus Guild?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“Yeah!” Reed nodded his head, still sporting that goofy smile. “It’s an awesome guild situated in Eisen Town - and that place is so much bigger than Sturdy Village! My dream is to one day sign up for the guild and become the best exploration team ever!”

“Then why don’t you go there, if you’re so excited?”

Reed frowned as he stopped pushing Helen. She turned around to find him looking down on the rocky floor, tail wrapped around himself.

“...Reed?” Helen asked, a bit more gently this time.

The Grookey stayed silent for a few more heartbeats before he finally spoke. “It had always been my dream to join the guild one day,” he answered slowly. “But after my mother passed away a month ago, I ended up having to help my dad with the family business. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still confident enough to join the guild, but…” He sighed. “I just worry that something might happen to dad back home.”

Helen felt her heart sink. “Reed…” she whispered. “I’m so sorry. But haven’t you talked to your dad about it?”

Reed shook his head.

Helen looked at her downtrodden companion, unsure about what she could do to comfort him. All she could do was walk over to him and place a paw on his back.

“Listen,” she told him. “I’m not really the best at providing comfort. And I don’t know you or your family, or even your burdens, all that well. But I’m sure your father would understand if you two just talked it out. I think you don’t want to do so because you’re scared he might end up saying no. But even so, it’ll at least be a sign that he’s willing to listen.”

Reed didn’t answer.

Helen sighed. “Just think about it, alright?”

At first, there was still no response. But then, Helen noticed a single teardrop fall from Reed’s eye, crawling down his face before landing on the ground with a light plink. He looked up at her with a teary-eyed look, snot dripping from his nose.

“Okay,” he sniffled, wiping his nose. “I-I’ll think about it.”

Helen beamed. “Good. Now, why don’t we keep moving? We don’t want your folks to worry about you, do we?”

Reed nodded. “Right!” He rushed past Helen and made his way across the cliffside.

Helen smirked as the little chimp scampered ahead of her. Maybe this won’t be so bad after all, she thought as she followed him.

As Helen followed Reed down the cliffs, she noticed that the sky was beginning to get a bit darker as more stars glittered. Though it was a beautiful sight to see, it didn’t mitigate a few things down on the earth.

For one, she knew nothing about the layout of the cliffs, which was a series of twists and turns, as well as several climbs up and down steep rock formations. The only thing she could do was follow Reed, who seemed to have a perfect memory.

As they pressed onward, Helen noticed a thick, white haze start to form around her. Reed seemed to notice it, too, given how he paused to look around.

“That’s strange,” he remarked. “I don’t seem to recall any fog being here. Besides, no one’s ever inhabited these cliffs in years. And there’s been no record of it ever being a Mystery Dungeon.”

“Mystery Dungeon?” Helen asked in confusion.

“Oh, right,” Reed said. “I forgot you’re new around here.”

How could you forget I was new here when you literally just met me two freaking hours ago… was what Helen wanted to tell him. Instead, she kept her mouth shut as Reed explained.

“To put it simply, Mystery Dungeons are these weird labyrinthine structures with multiple floors,” he told her. “The layout changes each time you enter one, so it’s impossible to know what you’ll find yourself in ahead of time. They’re also home to a lot of hostile Pokémon who won’t hesitate to attack innocent bystanders.”

“Yikes!” Helen winced. “That sounds really dangerous.”

Reed puffed out his chest proudly. “But that’s why exploration teams exist - to explore those Mystery Dungeons and help other Pokémon who are lost or trapped in them! And that’s not all – outlaws may sometimes retreat to Mystery Dungeons to take advantage of the ever-changing layout, prompting the teams to find them and bring them to justice!”

He clasped his paws together, his eyes twinkling. “But I think the most intriguing part of all is that some Mystery Dungeons hold a lot of rare treasures that you won’t find anywhere else…so, many exploration teams will simply explore them to find those rare treasures.”

Treasure…helping other Pokémon…taking down bad guys… This was a lot for Helen to digest, yet at the same time she couldn’t help but feel a quiver of excitement run from her head to her tail-tip.

“Reed,” she asked. “Do you think…maybe I could join the Haxorus Guild someday?”

“Hmm…” Reed put a paw to his chin in thought. Then, he grinned. “Well, I guess I won’t stop you if you want to go,” he said. He marched onward. “Besides, the guild is always willing to take in some new blood.”

Helen smiled and watched as Reed kept going. To hang on to a childhood dream, even after you chose to help your family…she couldn’t help but admire his strength and spirit.

Her smile faded as she noticed something odd up ahead. Something that resembled sharp spikes, like a set of jaws ready to crush anything.

And Reed was headed right for it!

Before she knew what was going on, Helen found herself rushing towards Reed at a burst of speed she didn’t know she had.

“REED! WATCH OUT!”

Reed looked back at her in confusion. But he didn’t get a chance to speak before Helen suddenly tackled him straight over the spikes…and safely on the other side. The two of them lay there for a moment, trying to catch their breath as their brains processed what had just happened.

After a moment, Helen pushed herself off of Reed. “Are you alright?” she asked him.

“Y-yeah,” Reed answered, still out of breath. “But…what did you do that for?”

A small rumble from behind answered his question. The two looked behind them to find the spikes beginning to shift before suddenly snapping shut. Helen winced, trying to block out the mental image of what could have happened to Reed had she not reacted.

The spikes then retracted before turning around on what looked like a pair of fins. Reed gasped in horror as realization seeped into him.

He had almost stepped into the fins of a Stunfisk…and it was very, very angry!

Chapter Text

“YOU!” the Stunfisk bellowed. “How dare you intrude upon my territory?”

Even amidst the fog, Helen could barely make out the shape of this strange new Pokémon. It was a flat, fish-like creature with dull, grey-brown skin that was covered in green marks like grass. Aside from the black spikes that bordered the upper and lower halves of its body, it also had black fins which it used to support itself. A set of lips that was red on top and white on the bottom opened up to reveal a set of very sharp teeth.

“A Stunfisk?” Reed asked. “Here?”

“Hehe, good observation, mate,” the Stunfisk chuckled without changing expression. “You’re lucky your little Litten lady-friend had some keen observation. Otherwise, you’d be Gookey-paste in no time!”

Reed gulped at the thought of it. Helen, on the other hand, merely glared at the Stunfisk. “What do you think you’re doing here?”

“What do you think?” the Stunfisk sneered. “This here is my territory. And you lot just happened to trespass upon it.”

“But that’s impossible!” Reed blurted out. “No one has lived on this cliffside for years! At least, not since Sturdy Village was established.”

“Well, no one else is living here. Have you ever considered the gravity of the situation? And now that you’ve stumbled upon it and angered me even further, you leave me with little choice!” Before Helen or Reed could do anything, the Stunfisk suddenly sprang up and brandished his spiked fins at them.

Reed’s eyes widened as he realized what the Stunfisk was up to. “Helen, get out of the way,” he warned her. “Don’t let his Snap Trap immobilize you!”

“Snap Trap?” Helen echoed. Reed wasted no time in shoving her to the side just as he himself leaped away. They barely got out of the way before the Stunfisk’s jaws clamped down on the empty air between them.

Unfortunately, Helen landed on her bad paw as she dodge to the side. She winced in pain as the wound reopened, allowing a fresh stream of blood to trickle out. She licked the wound in desperation, trying to heal it up as much as she could.

Her ears flicked upward as she heard Reed’s scream ring out. She whirled around to find the Stunfisk clamp down on his tail.

The fish chuckled from between his fins. “That’s Snap Trap for ya,” he said. “Once I’ve got you in my grasp, there’s no escape!”

Reed grunted in pain as the spikes clamped down harder. But even that could not mask the determination on his face as he looked over his shoulder. It was there that he noticed a gap between the Stunfisk’s spikes, partly exposing his face.

“N-not if I can…free myself!” Reed quickly whipped out his stick and, gathering all of his strength, shoved it through the gap. He must’ve hit a soft spot, because the next thing he knew, the Stunfisk had suddenly let go of him.

“Ow! That hurt!” the fish howled in pain, rubbing the spot where Reed’s Branch Poke had hit him.

Reed brought his tail to his side and rubbed at the spot where he’d been bitten. Thankfully, the wound wasn’t deep enough to cause any real bleeding…though it didn’t stop him from making a mental note to get some Oran Berries once he got home.

Helen hobbled over to his side, trying to keep the pressure off of her injured paw. “Reed! Are you alright?”

“I’ll be fine,” Reed replied. He pointed to Helen’s paw. “That looks like a nasty cut, though. We’d better get back home ASAP.”

“Neither of you will be getting out of this alive,” the Stunfisk growled from behind them. They whirled around to find him glaring right at them. “You’ve made me angry. And you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry!”

With a mighty yell, the Stunfisk leaped forward and brandished his spikes once more. Helen tried to get away, but she ended up tripping over her tail. This caused her to land flat on her back, the impact knocking the wind out of her. She struggled to get up and scoot away, but by then it was already too late.

SNAP! The Stunfisk clamped down on her injured foreleg, squeezing it with such force that it caused her to cry out.

“Let go!” she screamed, struggling to pry the Stunfisk’s Snap Trap loose. But the Stunfisk remained stubborn, refusing to let his weak spots be exposed again.

Helen hissed in pain as another trickle of blood spurted out from her foreleg, and she kept scratching to no avail. She coughed and hacked, expecting blood to build up in her throat.

What she got instead was a puff of smoke. Where did that come from? And how was that possible? Even stranger still was the feeling of heat in her stomach, rising up her chest and threatening to burst from her ribcage.

“I said,” she hissed against the heat, “let GO!”

Before she knew what was happening, she arched her back as three red tufts of fur erupted from it. A blaze of red and yellow sparks shot from her mouth right at the Stunfisk. The fish let out an ear-splitting shriek of pain as he released her from his grip.

Helen tumbled to the ground in an unceremonious thud. It took her a while to get her bearings back, but she was able to look up and find the Stunfisk rolling around to put out the fire that appeared on his spikes. Her eyes widened as she looked at her forepaw, which was bleeding in some places. “Did I…just spit fire at him?” she asked herself.

“You didn’t just spit fire at him!” Reed’s voice sounded behind her. She turned around to find him staring at her in awe. “You hit him with Ember!”

“Ember?” Helen echoed. She looked down at her foreleg again. So it was true: she really did become a Litten after all!

“Yeah, those Stunfisk really hate fire, y’know!” Reed chortled. “Serves them right for hogging all that iron-rich mud to themselves.”

“SHUT UP!” the Stunfisk hollered. “I couldn’t care less if you got in a lucky hit. I’m still going to take you both down by every means possible!”

“Like you’re one to talk,” Helen shot back. She looked down at her forepaw again, formulating an idea in her head. Well, if it worked the first time, it can surely work again, she thought. As quickly as she could, she ran her tongue over her forepaw, getting in as much fur in her stomach as possible.

For the third time, the Stunfisk sprang up and tried to go for another Snap Trap. But this time, Helen was ready. Heat gathered in her stomach as she threw her head back, hoping that it would work again.

“EMBER!” she yowled. Once more, three tufts of red fur shot out of her back as she spat out a fireball from her mouth. The Stunfisk screamed in pain as the Ember attack hit him square in the face, knocking him back down to the ground.

“Awesome work, Helen!” Reed cheered. “Now, it’s my turn!”

Reed charged towards the Stunfisk, stick brandished and ready for a fierce beating. Taking one end of the stick, he thrust it forward, straight for the face!

“Branch-”

CRACK!

As the stick was halfway to its mark, the Stunfisk suddenly clamped his fins on it before retracting them. Reed watched in horror as the stick fell apart into two, clean halves, with the other half clattering to the ground.

“Hehehe,” the Stunfisk cackled. “Not so tough without your stick now, are you, lad?” Though his skin was charred in several places from Helen’s Embers and he showed signs of fatigue, he still had enough energy to mock them. “And I’ll make sure that neither of you will get out of this alive!”

“AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

The Stunfisk stopped dead in his tracks. “What the heck was that?” he wondered out loud. He looked around, trying to find the source of the new noise…but it was impossible to see anyone.

Helen and Reed were just as confused. They tried to find the source of the howl, but couldn’t find anyone. But soon, they discovered that the fog was starting to get thicker, obscuring their sights from the Stunfisk.

That didn’t mean they still couldn’t hear his muffled voice.

“Eh, no matter,” the Stunfisk told himself. “I’ll deal with it later. For now, I’ll–HEY! Where’d they go?!”

We’re still standing here, punk, Helen thought in exasperation. But as much as she wanted to finish the fight, she could feel herself begin to get exhausted…and frightened.

“C-come on,” she told Reed. “We’d better get out of here before that Stunfisk finds out.”

Reed was still looking at his broken stick, eyes watering. He only perked up as soon as Helen spoke to him, replying with an “Uh-huh.” Together, the two of them slunk away into the fog and out of the Stunfisk’s sight.

Unknown to them, however, another Pokémon had been watching the entire fight: a wolf-like creature covered in long cyan fur with a cream underbelly and legs and a bushy pink tail. Two pink braids extended from either side of her head while scars adorned much of her body, followed by a notch on her left ear.

The wolf’s eyes narrowed as she watched Helen and Reed move their way through the fog. She then breathed a sigh of relief, realizing how close she had cut it.

“That Stunfisk should not have interfered when he did,” she told herself. “But now that the human is safe, her path shall finally begin.”

With those words, she turned around and left the cliffside, vanishing within the fog to parts unknown.

“Good luck, dear Helen.”

Chapter Text

Though it was a relatively short walk from the cliffside to the outskirts of Sturdy Village, the journey seemed like an eternity. Helen had to walk relatively slow due to the injury in her foreleg, preventing her from being able to run very far. Reed was barely looking where he was going, his eyes mostly fixed on his broken stick.

If there was one consolation however, it was that the fog had started to thin a little, making it easier to see where they were going.

Helen looked over her shoulder in case the Stunfisk had decided to follow them. Thankfully, the fish was either too stupid to realize he’d been duped or he just decided to give up on the spot. She sighed before turning her attention back to Reed.

A wave of guilt washed over her. Reed had been so eager to join the battle with her…and in the process he’d gotten his stick broken. What would he think of her now? That she was someone reckless? She hoped not!

“Reed?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “Are you alright?”

The Grookey still didn’t answer.

Helen’s ears folded back as her lips creased into a frown. “Reed, I… I’m sorry. I was scared that we were both going to get hurt. All I wanted was for the both of us to get away…and I botched it up badly.”

Finally, Reed spoke. “You shouldn’t beat yourself up over it, Helen,” he said. “If anything, I’m sorry I got us both in trouble. It was my own fault for jumping in like that.” He turned to her with a small smile on his face. “Besides, I can always get a replacement stick, so at the end of the day, it’s not really a big deal for me.”

Relief washed over Helen. “Y’know, Reed,” she said. “You really know how to lift the mood.”

Reed chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. “Hehe, yeah.”

At last, the fog cleared up completely, and the duo found themselves standing on a grassy hill that marked the exit of the cliffside. And just ahead was a small settlement, silhouetted by the final rays of the setting sun.

“Well, here we are at last,” Reed said. “Sturdy Village!”

“Wow,” Helen gasped. “It’s so beautiful!”

“Yeah…but it sure won’t be anything compared to Eisen Town!” He turned to Helen. “C’mon, let’s get back home.”

Helen nodded. “R-right.” She took a few tentative steps forward, feeling a rush of relief as her paws met soft grass that tickled her pads. She followed Reed all the way to the large, Rillaboom-shaped house that wasn’t too far away from the cliffs. She took a deep breath and approached the entrance, only to flinch away upon hearing a feminine voice.

“WHERE have you been? I was just about ready to call Aero to arrange a search mission!”

“C-calm down, Taiko,” Reed’s voice replied. “I just went to the cliffside, that’s all. It’s not the end of the world.”

Taiko… Helen thought before realization seeped in. That must be Reed’s older sister! Taking a deep breath, she stuck her head in the doorway to find Reed conversing with a Pokémon that was similar to him, save for the fact that she was twice his height and had green rings on her wrists. She also appeared to be wearing a red scarf around her neck as well as a bag slung over her shoulder. Pinned to the front of the bag was some sort of badge that resembled a white shield with a green crystal on it.

“I could care less if the world was ending,” Taiko scowled. “Look at you! You’re all covered in dirt, and you’ve got a really nasty bite mark on your tail. And don’t get me started on how you went and got your stick broken!”

Reed sighed. “Look, sis,” he replied. “I got into a scrap with some Stunfisk who tried to claim the cliffside as his own territory, but I was able to get away fine. Not just that, but I also made a new friend.”

That seemed to stop Taiko from scowling. She tilted her head to the side in confusion. “A…new friend?” she echoed.

Helen was just as confused. She certainly didn’t remember being asked if Reed could be friends with her. Either Reed was willing to put their differences aside, or…maybe he just said it so he wouldn’t feel so lonely.

Taiko sighed. “Alright,” she conceded. “You got me. Show me who this new friend is.”

Reed nodded. “Of course!” He turned around, only to find Helen standing by the doorway. Smiling, he beckoned her to come in. Helen sighed, knowing that there was no other choice but to comply.

She took a few steps in, trying not to let the stares drill into her, before finally stopping at a respectful distance. She slowly looked up to face Taiko, and waved a paw. “Um…hi,” she managed to blurt out.

“This is Helen,” Reed explained to Taiko. “I found her on the cliffside. You should’ve seen her in action, sis! She kicked so much butt, it was amazing!”

All I did was defend myself and set a Stunfisk on fire, Helen thought incredulously. There was nothing “amazing” in that.

Taiko seemed to share her skepticism as she rubbed her chin. “Really now?” she asked. “And how did she end up on the cliffside in the first place anyway?”

Helen looked down at her paws. “I…I don’t know,” she replied. “All I remember is waking up here without any memory.”

Taiko crossed her arms. “Tsk! Well, that’s just marvelous,” she remarked. “But at least I’ve got a sense of what happened tonight.” She then turned on her heel and began walking to the greenhouse. “I’m gonna get some Oran Berries for the both of you. Especially you, Helen; you look a bit worse off than Reed, that’s for sure.”

“Oran Berries?” Helen asked Reed as Taiko disappeared into the greenhouse.

“Only one of the best Berries you’ll have ever had,” Reed remarked. “Not only do they restore your health, but they also give you a big energy burst! You’re going to love having one.”

Helen put her good paw to her chin. “Hmm… I guess it wouldn’t hurt having one.”

Taiko returned with two Oran Berries in hand. “Here you go,” she said, each handing them one. Helen noticed that she seemed a bit calmer than when she’d scolded Reed. Maybe she only showed that side when she knew Reed was safe? Who even knew?

Helen sniffed at the Oran Berry a couple of times, taking note of its smooth, blue texture and the way it easily rolled in her paws, like a little clementine. She then took a tentative bite out of it, hoping that it wasn’t poisonous or anything.

The moment she ate it, however, Helen felt a surge of energy flow through her entire body. Her tail began swishing rapidly as her eyes went wide.

Reed looked over and smiled. “I take it you like it?” he asked.

Helen quickly nodded before scarfing down the rest of the Oran Berry, feeling completely revitalized. She then proceeded to look at her foreleg, realizing that the wound had completely disappeared - like she had never gotten it cut open at all!

“I feel alive again!” Helen remarked. “Like I… Like I…”

Taiko raised an eyebrow. “If you say ‘want to spit out as much fire as possible’, I won’t be happy,” she warned Helen.

“Ehehehe,” Helen said sheepishly. “No, no, I wouldn’t try and commit arson or anything. I just feel like I’ve been reborn, s’all.” She suddenly let out a huge yawn. “And a little tired.”

“Fair enough,” a booming male voice sounded from behind. “It has been a pretty long day, after all.”

Helen turned around and looked up to find a large, gorilla-like Pokémon standing right behind her. What the- where did HE come from, she thought frantically. And what kind of beanstalk did he climb down on?

“Dad, you’re back!” Reed chirped.

The Rillaboom smiled as he ruffled the little Grookey on his head. “Hey there, little champ,” he said. “Aren’t you chipper than ever?” He then turned to Helen. “And who might this be?”

“I-I’m Helen,” Helen said in an awkwardly timid tone. “N-nice to meet you, sir.” Don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t-

The Rillaboom took one look at Helen before barking out a laughter. “Well, aren’t you the skittish sort,” he said. “Fair enough, though! A lot of Fire-types are afraid of coming here, and mostly because they don’t want to burn down this place by accident.” He then went over to position himself next to Taiko. “I see you’ve become rather acquainted with my kids, so I suppose it would only be appropriate that I’d follow suit. My name is Tabla, and my species name goes by Rillaboom. Nice to meet you, too.”

That would explain his big, booming voice, Helen remarked to herself. But what Pokémon is Taiko?

Reed seemed to answer her question. “Rillaboom’s an awesome Pokémon, don’t you think, Helen?” he asked her. “Man, I want to be a Rillaboom when I grow up so I can control even more plants. But first, I’d have to be a Thwackey, like Taiko, and she’s a little…unpredictable.”

Grookey…Thwackey…Rillaboom… Helen made a mental note to keep all those in mind later.

She found herself rubbing her eyes as exhaustion began to take over. Tabla seemed to notice this and smiled. “I bet you’ve had a rough day,” he told her. “Taiko, would you mind giving our guest a place to stay?”

Taiko nodded. “Certainly, Dad,” she said. She then went over and picked up Helen. The Litten was rather surprised by this, but made little effort to resist as the Thackey carried her up the stairs.

As soon as Taiko’s tail disappeared, Tabla turned to Reed. “Well, my boy,” he said. “Shouldn’t you also be heading off to bed?”

Reed hesitated for a moment. This was it - this was his chance to talk to his dad. To tell him about joining the Haxorus Guild, and become a great explorer, like he’d always dreamed. The one thing he’d always put to the side in favour of helping his dad.

Helen’s words echoed in his head once more: “I’m sure your father would understand if you two just talked it out. I think you don’t want to do so because you’re scared he might end up saying no. But even so, it’ll at least be a sign that he’s willing to listen.”

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Well, it’s now or never, he thought. “Dad? Can I talk to you for a moment?”

Tabla’s eyes widened with surprise, but nodded. “Go on.”

Reed looked down at his broken stick once more - a reminder of what had happened tonight. Clutching the stick in both hands, he turned back to Tabla. “Remember when Mom told me stories about the Haxorus Guild? And all those awesome exploration teams who worked there?”

Tabla nodded slowly. “Of course,” he replied. “But I don’t understand what you’re getting at here. Would you care to elaborate?”

“Well, tonight, I’ve made my decision!” Reed took a deep breath. This was it; this was the point of no return. It was all or nothing! “Dad, I wish to join the Haxorus Guild!”

There was a moment of silence between the two. It took a while for Reed to realize that, maybe he didn’t really think this one through. “Um, I mean,” he stammered. “I-I know you want me to continue the family business since Taiko joined the guild, and the only reason I didn’t say I wanted to join the guild right away is because I was worried that you might say no, but Helen told me to tell you anyway because she thought it would be a sign that you were at least willing to listen even if you declined, and, and, and–”

“Reed.”

Reed stopped as soon as he heard his name. He looked up to find his father staring at him with an expression he couldn’t quite read.

Tabla’s voice was calm as he spoke. “Reed, listen to me. I always knew you would eventually leave the nest as soon as you came of age. And don’t get me wrong, I always enjoyed having you working alongside me.” He then went over and placed a gentle paw on Reed’s shoulder. “But there will come a time where you will have to lead your own life. And that time is now.”

“D-Dad…” Reed’s eyes were beginning to water.

Tabla smiled warmly. “Tomorrow, you and Helen go with Taiko to Eisen Town. You go to the Haxorus Guild, and you show them just how great you really are! And Reed… no matter what happens, never, ever give up!”

Reed sniffled at these words. Then, he sprang forward and gave Tabla a big hug. “Thank you, Dad,” he said.

Tabla chuckled softly. “Don’t you worry about me, son,” he whispered. “I’ll be fine.”

From upstairs, Taiko watched as her brother and father embraced each other in a hug. Unable to hide a smile, she went the rest of the way to her room, where Helen slept away. She settled down next to the Litten and lay there for a couple of minutes before finally going to sleep.

At long last…her brother’s dream had begun.

Chapter Text

Darkness…nothing but darkness…

Again.

Helen didn’t know why she was here, in this very void. She couldn’t even see anything at all – not like she could, anyway.

“Hello?” she called out. “Is anyone there?”

Silence.

“Hmph,” Helen grumbled. “Well, if you don’t have anything to say, then don’t say it. Fine by me!”

More silence.

Just as Helen thought this would stay that way forever, she noticed something far away. It looked like a small ember encased in some sort of glass object resembling a flower bud. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to get a better sense of what it was.

The ember began to grow bigger and brighter within the glass case, as if it was threatening to break out. Helen thought about going over to touch it…but found that she couldn’t move. Instead, all she could do was watch as several cracks appeared on the glass bud. Eventually, the case shattered, allowing the ember to become an all-powerful flame.

“What the heck?!” Helen shouted. “What is this?”

But there was no response, save for the fire that surrounded her.

And then…right in front of her, Helen saw what she thought was some sort of shadowy figure. It looked somewhat like a wolf with braids growing on either side of its head and a notch out of its left ear, its amber eyes glowering down on her.

“Who…who are you?” she asked.

The shadowy figure said nothing at first. She didn’t see it open its mouth…but she could still hear the words inside her head. Cryptic words that she didn’t understand.

“...Protect the Flames…”

Helen awoke with a start, bolting upright as she did. Sweat dripped down her face as she looked around, breathing heavily.

To her relief, she found that she was still in Taiko’s room, in the bed she shared with the Thwackey. She felt even more relieved when she found Taiko still fast asleep. It was also morning out, judging by the sunlight shining down.

But that didn’t mean she had so many questions.

What the heck was that, she asked. What kind of dream did my brain just conjure? Even though it was vague, she could still remember it clearly: the fire inside the flower-shaped glass case, bursting out to surround her in a wall of fire. The shadowy, wolf-like figure from among the walls.

And that phrase: “Protect the Flames.” The voice that spoke to her sounded calm and feminine…but what did she mean by that?

She felt a mound of green fur shift, turning her attention to Taiko as she slowly got up. Taiko let loose a huge yawn and looked around before settling her gaze on Helen.

“Well,” Taiko said with a sleepy smile. “Someone sure knows how to wake up at the right time. Which is a good thing, because the guild needs a lot of early birds catching the Wurmple.”

Helen sat up and stretched her body, popping her joints into place as she did. “What about Reed?” she asked Taiko.

Taiko looked away with a sigh. “Probably still dreaming away.” She turned back to the Litten with a smirk. “But since you’re here, I’ll give you the honours of waking him up so I can get to the guild in my old record time.”

Record time? Helen thought, wondering what Taiko meant by that. But no sooner did the Thwackey sit up than she put on her scarf and slung her bag over her shoulder.

As Taiko approached the doorway, she turned to Helen. “Meet me at the north end of Sturdy Village within the next half hour.” Then, she walked out of her room, leaving Helen by herself.

Helen shrugged. Well, I guess I’ll go and wake up Reed, she thought as she left Taiko’s room and began searching for Reed’s. Hopefully he took up my offer and talked to his dad last night.

Luckily, it wasn’t a very big house, so Reed’s room was positioned right in front of Taiko’s. Helen peeked inside to find the Grookey curled up in his straw bed, snoozing away peacefully…and occasionally mumbling.

Slowly and quietly, she padded over to Reed, taking great care not to disturb him. Once she was within arm’s reach, she then raised a paw and prodded him on the side. “Hey, wakey-wakey, Reed,” she whispered to him. “Taiko wants you up and at ‘em in half an hour.”

“Nnngh…” Reed groaned as he tossed over. “Five more minutes, sis…”

Helen let out a huff of frustration. If this was what Taiko had to go through every morning, it was no wonder why she was always running late.

At least, up until Helen came along.

She thought about using her…Ember, was it?…to wake him up. But she immediately had second thoughts when realizing that doing so would also end up burning the house down. Instead, she decided to resort to yelling at him.

“WAKE UP, YOU LAZY BUTT!” she screeched. Reed yelped in response as he jumped awake, only to faceplant back down in his bed.

A few seconds later, Reed propped himself up before sitting flat on his butt and stretched his limbs. “Ugh, I don’t know what’s worse,” he groaned. “You yelling my ears off, or Taiko bonking me on the head.”

“Well, it’s not my fault you’re usually a late sleeper,” Helen replied with a smirk. She then sat down in front of Reed. “By the way, did you talk to your dad last night?”

“Hm?” Reed tilted his head to the side in confusion.

Helen sighed. “You. Your dad. Conversation. You promised you’d talk to him when you got the chance. Y’know, about the guild and all?”

That seemed to click in Reed’s brain, because the next thing Helen knew, he was already on his feet. “That’s right!” he exclaimed with a big grin on his face. “Today’s the day, Helen!”

Now it was Helen’s turn to be confused as she tilted her head to the side. “What is?”

“We’re heading off to the Haxorus Guild in Eisen Town,” the Grookey replied, his eyes alight with stars. “We’re finally going to make a lifelong dream come true!”

“You mean your lifelong dream.”

“W-well, yeah,” Reed chuckled sheepishly. “But you gave me that push I needed last night. I owe it to you to join me.” He held out a paw to her. “What do you say? I know we only just met yesterday, but…I think it would do you some good to see what the Iron Continent and the rest of the world have to offer. And there’s no better way to do that than to form a team with me.”

“I…”

“Besides,” Reed continued. “Didn’t you say you would consider joining the guild?”

Helen’s ears perked up as their conversation on the cliffside last night came back to her. She looked at Reed’s paw, feeling hesitant. Sure, she wanted to join the guild – Reed did say they needed new blood after all – but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to do so with Reed.

But then again, Reed was the first Pokémon she’d met in this new world. And he was so kind to her, too. If it had been anyone else, she might not have considered joining at all.

She took a deep breath, hoping that she would make the right choice. Then, she reached out and clasped Reed’s paw with her own. “Alright,” she said. “I accept your offer.”

That was more than enough to get Reed going. “Score!” he cheered. “Then, it’s settled: from this day forward, you and I are partners. Glad to have you on board, Helen!”

Yeah, Helen thought with a small smile. Me too. But little did she realize that this decision would soon unlock the doors to a grand adventure that awaited her and Reed.

The rest of the morning started off relatively well. Reed decided to give Helen a tour of the greenhouse, where his dad worked on making the Berries, Seeds, and other plants grow. Helen was particularly amazed by how striking up simple beats with a stick could carry so much revitalizing energy to the flora around her.

As for breakfast, she and Reed were given several more Oran Berries and a Tiny Apple. There were also a few pink, heart-shaped Berries called Pecha Berries, which Reed explained had the ability to heal any kind of poisoning.

Eventually, the time came to say good-bye, but not before Tabla came over to give Reed something special. Reed was confused at first, but those feelings of confusion would later be replaced by surprise when he realized what his father was offering him.

Seated securely in Tabla’s large, brown-grey paws were a pair of sticks. Both of them were hollowed out, complete with several holes and a mouthpiece at the end of their bulbous tips, making them look more like oboes. Reed felt his eyes water upon realizing who these sticks belonged to.

Tabla smiled softly as he handed Reed the sticks before giving him a pat on the head. “Your mother would be so proud of you,” he told him.

“Th-thank you,” Reed sniffled, clutching the oboes close to his chest. He looked up at his father, his lips quivering. “I-I’ll do my best…for you, for Taiko…and for Mom.”

Tabla’s smile grew a bit bigger as he pulled Reed in for a hug. “Safe travels, my son,” he whispered. He then looked up at Helen, who seemed to be sitting just a few ways away. He chuckled as he picked her up and also embraced her. “Safe travels for you, too, Helen.”

Helen screeched at first, caught off-guard by this sudden affection she was given. But Tabla’s grip on her was gentle, and she soon found herself returning the hug…albeit a bit more reluctantly. She sighed, wondering if these family moments were always this emotional.

Fortunately, the moment lasted for no more than a few heartbeats as Tabla let the kids go. Reed and Helen bade the Rillaboom a fond farewell (with Helen even adding in a word of thanks) before heading off to the main area of Sturdy Village.

“We’ll be leaving for Eisen Town with Taiko relatively soon,” Reed told Helen as he led her down the stone path. “But I still want you to get used to the facilities around here in case we decide to return.” He waved at a passerby squirrel Pokémon with brown fur and massive cheeks as he skipped along.

“Sure thing,” Helen replied, glancing around all the sights she was seeing. In the treetops, she could see small, blue bird-like Pokémon that looked like they wore black masks over their red eyes. They sang a lovely tune in sync with several other bird Pokémon that were red and light grey. On the ground, a flock of sheep-like Pokémon covered in puffy white wool and what looked like light grey braids dangling on either side of their heads were rolling about in the grassy fields while a yellow, green, and white canine Pokémon with a lightning bolt-shaped tail kept watch. Even though she had only been in this world for two days now, she was already astounded by how beautiful the Pokémon world was.

Speaking of which!

“By the way, Reed, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Helen spoke up. “You kept mentioning the name ‘Pokémon’ several times. I’m not exactly sure what that means. Would you mind explaining?”

Reed chuckled. “Anything for my new and future partner.” He hopped atop a stone fence and balanced on it as he made his explanation. “In our world, every living creature you see here is called a Pokémon. I’m a Pokémon, and so are you. We all have incredible powers that we draw from the world’s elements, be it from nature, fire, or even water. Not just that, but there are many myths and legends that surround our ancestors.”

“That’s incredible!” Helen looked down at her forepaws, recalling the night she first used her Ember attack on that Stunfisk. If that was a result of her drawing her powers from fire, who knew what else she could use?

Reed shrugged. “It’s really the most basic way to put it, to be honest,” he said. “As for exploration teams, they’re units of Pokémon who have banded together to help other Pokémon in need. But I’m sure you already know that by now.”

“Yeah, you already told me about them last night.”

“Well, it never hurts to do a bit of recap,” Reed replied with a smile.

At last, the stone fence ended to join with the other stone wall, forming an arch made from even more stone. Using his monkey-like abilities, Reed climbed his way to the top of the arch, where he used his tail to hang from it.

“Well, Helen, this is it,” he announced, waving his arms like he was showing off a magic trick. “Welcome to Sturdy Village! Population: small, but hard-working.”

Helen stepped through the arches, and was astounded by the amount of bustle and hustle that was going about. For a small village, it was definitely as hard-working as Reed had described. The dirt path led into a plaza that was made entirely of smoothed-out stone. Several villagers greeted or assisted each other, or were simply going about their own business.

“Whoa!” she exclaimed as a trio of small, brown-and-white canine Pokémon ran past her, their yellow manes crackling with electricity in the process.

Reed laughed as he landed beside Helen. “I’d be careful around Yamper if I were you,” he told her. “They store up the electricity as they run, and they’ll sometimes shock you if you get in their way.”

“R-right,” Helen replied as she followed Reed. She only took one more glance back at the Yamper who were glomping on each other, before turning back. She couldn’t exactly place her paw on it, but the thought of getting electrocuted by accident was nowhere near as strong as something else entirely. Whether that was due to her being a feline and the Yamper being canines or not, well…that was still up in the air.

She pushed it to the back of her mind as she glanced around the village, trying to find the first building she could ask Reed about. As if answering her call, a small building shaped like a yellow bee Pokémon came into her peripheral vision.

“Hey, Reed, what’s that?” she asked.

Reed smiled. “Glad you asked. That’s Ribombee’s Café, a popular place where Pokémon gather to discuss the daily news, or to get a few drinks. Exploration teams will sometimes come over to discuss the day’s missions or to pick up the rewards from doing jobs.”

“Huh.”

Reed then led Helen over to a tent that resembled the head of a bird Pokémon that was painted in red, yellow, pink and purple. Underneath the tent was a quartet of bird Pokémon, each of them covered in red, yellow, pink and purple feathers. “This is the Oricorio Serenade School,” he told her. “Three of the Oricorio sisters will gladly allow you to remember or forget a move, or even link your moves. The fourth sister, on the other hand, will allow you to change your Abilities, but only if you can pay her with a Flower Token.”

Helen glanced over at the four sisters. The yellow sister was as cheery and sunny as her colouration, complete with yellow pom-poms on the tips of her wings. The pink sister appeared to be much calmer as she swayed her wings in a timely manner. The red sister was just as elegant, though Helen did detect a slight scowl on her face. And the purple sister…though she appeared stoic and quiet, there was an ominous aura about her.

At last, Reed stopped at the very last place: a simple stall that was marked by a green-and-purple cloth, and manned by a green chameleon Pokémon with a red zigzag pattern on his belly. Right next to it was a dark purple box rimmed with gold.

“Finally, we have the Kecleon Shop,” Reed told Helen. “It’s where we can purchase all sorts of items. From Berries to Seeds, Wonder Orbs to Wands, and TMs to TRs, the Kecleon Shop has it all!” He pointed to the box. “And that right there is a Deposit Box, where we can store all of our items and Poké for safekeeping.”

“For a village, this place sure has a lot to look out for,” Helen commented. She was still amazed by how much activity was going on at once…until she found herself glancing up at a massive stone statue that was smack dab in the center of the plaza. It looked like some kind of wolf Pokémon wearing some kind of helmet, and had what looked like wings and ponytails streaming along its body. The most distinctive feature of all, however, was the large sword it held in its mouth.

Reed noticed what she was staring at, and cleared his throat. “That statue represents one of the five champions,” he told her. “The one that wielded the Fairy King’s Sword during the war.”

“Those eyes…” Helen whispered, still in awe of the statue. “I feel like I’ve seen them before.” Could they be the same eyes that she saw in her dream?

Reed tilted his head in confusion, prompting Helen to retract her statement and simply say that it was a pretty statue. But deep down, she couldn’t help but shake that feeling of familiarity…and nervousness. Especially since that piercing gaze made her feel like she was being watched.

“I think we’ve kept Taiko waiting long enough,” Reed finally said. “She usually makes a return stop here to pick up a few supplies. C’mon.”

Helen took one more glance at the statue before following Reed up a stony path that led to the exit of Sturdy Village. To her surprise, Taiko was already waiting for them, her arms crossed and sporting a smirk on her face.

Beside her was a new Pokémon Helen hadn’t seen before. It was draconic in appearance and teal in colouration, but the top of its flattened head was black and it had a cream underbelly. Two “horns” jutted out from either side of its head, and though it had long, spindly arms that ended in paws, it had stubby feet instead of legs. Its tail ended in a dark-coloured ring near its translucent tip, and it appeared to be floating without the support of wings. Lastly, it wore a red scarf around its neck, just like Taiko.

“Took you two long enough to get here,” Taiko said. She turned to Helen. “So, how was your tour of Sturdy Village?”

“I’d give it a 4.5 out of five,” Helen answered. “But I bet Eisen Town will be better.”

“The best!” the draconic Pokémon spoke up. Though the voice had a shrill tone to it, it sounded neither masculine nor feminine.

Taiko cleared her throat. “This is Aero, my Drakloak partner,” she said. “They’re mainly in charge of transporting our team between settlements.” Aero simply waved one of their paws at Helen. “Don’t worry, they’re very friendly company once you get to know them.”

“So, are we going now, or no?” Aero asked Taiko. “I would like to get the good missions before the other teams do.”

Taiko chuckled. “Alright, alright, we’re going now.” She hopped atop Aero, positioning herself on their back. “You two coming?”

Reed took a deep breath. “This is it,” he whispered excitedly. “We’re finally going to Eisen Town. We’re finally going to the Haxorus Guild. And – best of all – we’re finally going to be a team…me and Helen!”

Helen nodded solemnly. She couldn’t believe this was finally happening. This was her chance to see what the world was like – especially the Iron Continent. Deep down, she couldn’t help but feel that she was making the right choices thus far. And even deeper down, she knew that, once she formed that team with Reed…maybe, just maybe…she might figure out why she became a Pokémon…and what her purpose in the world really was.

She didn’t account for how fast Aero would be, though.

One moment, she was climbing atop Aero’s head. Next thing she knew, Aero had suddenly taken off in a burst of speed, transforming the world into a rushing blur of brown, green and blue. She had to cling to the Drakloak’s horn for dear life, fearing that failure to do so would result in her falling off and bashing her head against a solid surface, like a rock or a tree.

Thankfully, Aero stopped as quickly as they had begun, and Helen soon found herself staring down at a much larger town, with even more facilities. She recognized Ribombee’s Café, the Oricorio Serenade School, the Kecleon Shop, and the Deposit Box right away, but there were more facilities that she had never seen before.

“Well, here we are at last,” Taiko announced from behind. “Helen, Reed, welcome to Eisen Town, home of the Haxorus Guild!”

Chapter Text

“We made it!” Reed exclaimed with glee. “We’re finally in Eisen Town! Man, after all those years, my dream is finally one step away from coming true.”

Taiko smiled as she ruffled the top of her little brother’s head. “It sure is, Reed,” she told him. “It sure is.” She then turned to Aero. “Alright, Aero, take us to the guild.”

“Right away!” Aero swiftly made their way over the town before landing atop a large cliff that overlooked it all.

Helen hopped off of Aero’s head, happy to finally be on the ground again. After taking a moment to recollect herself, she looked up to find herself in some sort of ruins. Stone pillars surrounded her; some crumbling, others collapsed. The ones that remained intact held steel torches, presumably for lighting in the dark.

But what stood out the most, however, was the strange stone structure resembling a small house, albeit with no windows and an arch-like formation that vaguely resembled a door. Atop the arch was some sort of emblem resembling a draconic Pokémon with bladed tusks and dull yellow scales. And right in front of that structure was some sort of pedestal with strange runes inscribed.

“This is the entryway to the Haxorus Guild,” Taiko told her. “And all around you are the remains of the old castle that once stood here.”

“Pokémon lived in castles?” Helen echoed.

Aero nodded. “When the war was over, our ancestors chose not to rebuild the castle. They wanted to preserve its history, to remind us of what had happened so long ago. And the Haxorus Guild is a representation of that history preservation – and of the peace we work hard to maintain.”

“So, how do we get in?” Reed asked.

Taiko grinned. “Watch and learn, little brother,” she told him. She then stepped up to the pedestal while Aero floated next to her. Their faces were full of confidence, like they had done this several times before.

At once, the runes on the pedestal began to glow, illuminating the ruins in a bright golden hue. Helen swore she saw markings on the pillars moving about, as if she were watching a movie.

“NOW IDENTIFYING,” a mystical voice sounded from out of nowhere, causing Helen to jump. She turned and watched as Taiko and Aero were bathed in that same yellow light, as if they were being scanned.

At last, the light from the runes flashed green. “GUILD MEMBERS IDENTIFIED,” the voice spoke again. “WELCOME BACK, TEAM TIMPANI. YOU MAY ENTER.”

As soon as the voice faded, there was a rumble as the arch reassembled itself, revealing the concealed door. Within the house-like structure was what appeared to be stairs leading to the basement floor. Taiko turned to Aero and nodded before the two proceeded onwards. No sooner did they do so than the arch reassembled itself, leaving behind a solid wall of rock once more. The light from the pedestal faded, and the ruins went back to normal.

Helen took a deep breath to calm her nerves before turning to Reed. “You ready, Reed?” she asked him.

Up until this point, the Grookey had been completely starry-eyed ever since he saw his sister and her teammate step onto the pedestal. But as soon as Helen called his name, he snapped out of his daze and nodded to her.

Tails quivering with excitement, the duo stepped onto the pedestal. At first, nothing happened, and Helen feared that they may have done something wrong. But then, the runes beneath their feet began to glow bright yellow as the moving markings returned once more, along with that mystical voice.

“NOW IDENTIFYING.”

Helen felt her fur ruffle across her entire body as she became bathed in yellow light. She closed her eyes and willed every muscle in her body to stay still…as well as to avoid being blinded by yellow nothingness.

It felt like an eternity, but soon the light went from yellow to green. “REGISTERED NON-GUILD POKÉMON IDENTIFIED. THREAT LEVEL: LOW. UNREGISTERED POKÉMON IDENTIFIED. THREAT LEVEL: LOW. YOU MAY ENTER.”

Once again, Helen felt a rumble resonate throughout the ruins as the stone shifted to form the same doorway from before. “Whoa,” she breathed.

“Whoa is right,” Reed chimed in with his usual silly grin. “But hey, it looks like we’ve finally gained access. Come on!”

Helen followed Reed as they hopped off the pedestal and entered the small building. They paid no heed to the doorway slamming shut as they made their way down the staircase. The spiral shape twisted and turned as they weaved their way down.

“Hey, I think I see a light,” Reed called out to Helen. He then dashed on ahead, and Helen had to run to catch up with him. The two charged after the light…and found themselves in a large and spacious room.

Helen looked around in awe at the new sights before her. This room was roughly half the size of Sturdy Village, but with just as many Pokémon milling about – some alone, others in groups. The walls around her were made of the same grey stone as the ruins, yet the colours that decorated them helped breathe life into them. Tapestries, statues, and paintings lined the walls, many of them depicting wonderful tales of heroes long past. Beautiful, sweet-scented flowers grew between the cracks in the stone, and when she looked down, Helen noticed that there was a bright red carpet lined with gold that stretched throughout every corner of the room.

She looked over to Reed and found him quivering with excitement. Tears were welling up at the corners of his eyes and he sniffled loudly. But when he turned to face her, his expression was not one of sadness, but of pure joy.

“We’re finally here, Helen,” he sniffed. “We’re finally in the Haxorus Guild!”

Helen couldn’t help but smile as she reached over to wipe away the tears with one paw. “Alright, alright,” she chuckled. “No need to get all worked up about it. After all, you earned the right to come here!”

Reed laughed as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “Hahaha, you’re right,” he said. “I shouldn’t just stand here looking like a sobbing Sobble. We need to find the Guildmaster and get ourselves registered.”

“Perhaps I can help you with that,” said a calm, masculine voice behind the youngsters, nearly causing them to jump out of their fur.

After taking a moment to compose themselves, they turned around to find themselves facing a bipedal, purple-furred Pokémon with white markings that gave off the impression of a valet. Two blue triangles were situated at the bottom of his eyes like spectacles, while a pair of lighter, purple-grey horns grew atop his head. Last but not least, he wore a ruffled white cravat with a green gemstone sewn into it.

The purple Pokémon let out a huff. “How rude,” he remarked. “The least you two could do is give a proper greeting!”

“Oh, sorry,” Reed said. “W-we were hoping to find someone who knows where the Guildmaster is. You see, my friend and I would like to form an exploration team together.”

The purple Pokémon leaned closer to Reed, studying him for a bit. A tense minute later, he then stepped back. “Ah, yes, you must be Mr. Reed. Miss Taiko mentioned she had a little brother when she first joined the guild, and wanted him registered in case he decided to join.” He crossed his arms and smirked. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person.”

“Wait, how did you know?” Helen couldn’t help but ask. This, of course, resulted in the purple Pokémon zeroing in on her as well, studying her for another tense minute or so.

“And who might you be?” he asked her.

“H-Helen. I’m a friend of Reed.”

The purple Pokémon narrowed his eyes, and Helen gulped at the scrutiny she was being given. But the moment he finally pulled away, she let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.

“Well, you don’t look like any kind of criminal,” the purple Pokémon concluded. “Then again, Enigma did identify you as a low-level threat – by which I mean not a threat at all, if your friendship with Reed is anything to go by.”

He stepped back and took a bow. “As for myself, you may call me Alphonzo – Al for short. I serve as the Guildmaster’s right-hand mon, as other Indeedee who lived in Eisen Town have done in the past. And it is my duty to welcome you into our prestigious guild.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Al,” Reed replied as he and Helen copied the Indeedee’s polite bow.

“Now, if you two would be so kind as to follow me, I shall lead you to the Guildmaster’s chamber.” Alphonzo chuckled as he led the two across the room, taking a left turn as he did. “After all, it isn’t every day she gets to have a private audience.”

“She?” Helen echoed. “The Guildmaster is a she?”

This only seemed to elicit another chuckle from Al. “Your curiosity amuses me, my dear fiery feline,” he remarked. “Which is a good thing. We Indeedee draw our strength from positive emotions, after all.”

The hallway ended in another spiral staircase, this time leading to a second basement level of the guild. This floor was slightly less decorated with tapestries, statues and paintings, but still lively nonetheless. Al kept following the red carpet as he led Helen and Reed down the new hallway and into another spacious area – this time with three exits. The main difference between this room and the one above was the massive chandelier in the center, made entirely of gold and diamonds.

At last, Alphonzo came to a stop at the large double-doors, composed entirely of wood with metal supports. Above the doors was that same emblem shown at the entrance to the guild.

“These doors lead to the Guildmaster’s chamber,” he told Helen and Reed. “I must warn you, however; when you enter, you must never stare at her.”

“Why not?” Helen asked.

Al narrowed his eyes. “There is an old saying that goes, ‘it’s not polite to stare,’” he simply replied. “The Guildmaster is different from the average Haxorus, but that doesn’t mean she should be treated any differently. Now then…”

Helen and Reed exchanged concerned glances, but said nothing of the matter as Alphonzo grabbed one of the metal rings of the double doors and knocked it against the wood.

There was no response from the other side, at first. Reed twiddled his thumbs, wondering if he’d picked a bad time to see the Guildmaster. But, a gruff, feminine voice booming from the other side would soon prove him wrong.

“Come inside.” Though the words were a bit harsh-sounding, they nonetheless carried an inviting tone. Al grabbed the metal ring he used to knock on the door and pulled it open, allowing the two Pokémon entry before closing the door behind him.

The Guildmaster’s chamber was relatively simple compared to the rest of the guild. Four steel torches were positioned on all four corners of the room. Only two of the walls held a painting each – one of a white duck-like Pokémon dueling with a blue Pokémon resembling a snail wearing knight’s armor; and the other of several dragon Pokémon, all of them smiling happily.

The same red carpet led up to an elevated platform, where a large dragon Pokémon stood. She was tall and slender, and covered in greyish-black scales. She also had piercing red eyes, which matched the talons on her hands and feet, as well as a long, whiplike tail. The most distinguishing feature of all, however, were the tusks on her upper jaw, resembling the blades of a battleaxe. A golden necklace studded with rubies as well as similar-looking bracelets on her wrists adorned her body, along with several battle scars that left behind a small chip in one of her tusks.

Al stepped forward and waved a hand to the dragoness. “Miss Helen, Mr. Reed, allow me to introduce you to Miss Matilda – otherwise known as Guildmaster Haxorus.” He turned to the Guildmaster. “Guildmaster Haxorus, these two children have come to serve as your new recruits…especially Mr. Reed.”

Reed was looking at the Guildmaster with that starry-eyed look from before. “You’re a Shiny Haxorus,” he commented with awe. “I didn’t know Shiny Pokémon could be Guildmasters, too!”

“Well, yes – and no,” Al replied. “It takes a lot of guts and experience to become a Guildmaster, and Shiny Pokémon have an equal chance of becoming one. No one is greater or lesser than the other, after all. But Guildmaster Haxorus is a special case.”

“A special case?”

While Al was busy explaining the reason behind Matilda’s background in being a Guildmaster, Helen noticed that there was some sort of tapestry behind the Guildmaster. This tapestry was bright gold and depicted the silhouettes of five Pokémon. One seemed to be a cross between a rabbit and a deer and had what appeared to be a flower bud on its tiny noggin. On either side of the rabbit were two horses; one black as night, the other white as snow.

Next were two bear-like Pokémon who were almost identical save for their ears – one bear had its ears raised, while the other bear’s ears were lowered. Lastly were two wolf-like Pokémon, one of whom had become familiar to Helen at this point – the blue wolf who wielded the Fairy King’s Sword in its mouth. The other wolf Pokémon, on the other hand, was red and bore what appeared to be a shield on its chest.

At the center of the tapestry, Helen could see a translucent object like a flower bud, all outlined in white. Inside that bud was a splash of red and yellow, like a tiny ember.

“Interested in our tapestry, little one?” The Guildmaster’s voice broke into Helen’s thoughts, causing her to turn to the dark grey dragon Pokémon. Though her appearance was intimidating, her red eyes refused to mask the friendliness in them. Flustered, Helen slunk back to Reed’s side, resulting in a chuckle from the two adults.

“Y’know, of all the new recruits to have come here, I don’t seem to recall any of them being interested in that tapestry,” Alphonzo commented. He sighed. “I suppose the young blood is more interested in the treasures than our history – especially when it came to the war, and the five champions who aided the Iron Continent in our ancestors’ darkest hour.”

Guildmaster Haxorus nodded. “It wouldn’t hurt to give them a history lesson every now and again,” she said. “But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, we must focus on the present and get these youngsters registered.” She turned around and ambled over to a treasure chest that was situated in the back of the chamber, right underneath the tapestry. Opening the chest, she rummaged through it until she pulled out an even smaller chest.

“This is the Exploration Team Starter Set,” she told Helen and Reed as she set the chest down in front of them. “It contains all the essential items needed to become an official exploration team.” She looked down and noticed the two staring at her, and smiled. “Well, what are you waiting for? Open it up and see what’s inside.”

No sooner did the word “open” leave the Guildmaster’s mouth than Reed immediately flung the starter set open. He let out a gasp of surprise upon finding the contents inside, and proceeded to dump it all out at once.

“Ack! Careful with those!” Al swung his hand in front of him, and sent out a pulse of blue psychic energy at the items. He then gently laid them down before releasing his Psychic grip on them.

After making sure everything was intact, the Indeedee then proceeded to use Psychic to take the chest away from Reed. “Those are very valuable items, Mr. Reed,” he scolded. “And the guild pays good Poké to make sure they are all accounted for. Not just that, but making even one replacement is very costly. We’d be broke in no time at all!”

“Sorry,” Reed said, bowing his head in embarrassment. “I just got excited, s’all.”

Al sighed and mumbled something about “kids today”, but decided to show the youngsters the items nonetheless. “First and foremost is the proof that you are an exploration team,” he said, holding up two objects. “In short, they are your Explorer Badges.”

Reed took the badges from Al and handed one of them over to Helen for her to look at. The badge was unmistakably just like the one Taiko kept pinned to the front of her bag, only with a white crystal instead of a green one.

“The white crystal you see in the center display’s your team’s current rank,” Alphonzo went on. “Since you two are only starting out, your team is currently at Rookie Rank.” He smiled. “But worry not – the more jobs you do, the higher your team’s rank will increase. Who knows, you might reach Gold Rank, or even Ultra Rank if you do a good job.”

Helen noticed the Guildmaster crossing her arms and tapping the tip of her tail on the ground. Even though she was looking away, Helen thought she noticed a faint blush appearing on her snout when Al mentioned “Ultra Rank”. Perhaps she was embarrassed by something…or maybe she was thinking about something else. Who knew?

“What about this?” Reed asked, holding up a rolled-up piece of paper.

“A Wonder Map,” Al replied. “It marks all of the landmarks and Mystery Dungeons on the Iron Continent.”

He then gave Helen and Reed a small bag. “And this is your very own Explorer Bag,” he said. “Every Explorer Bag comes packed with five Oran Berries, two Tiny Reviver Seeds, and two Elixirs. There are also at least two special items for use. Why not open it and see?”

This time Helen was the one to open the bag. Inside were the five Oran Berries that Al had described, as well as two small seeds with green stalks growing out of them and two bottles, which she guessed were the Tiny Reviver Seeds and Elixirs respectively. Among those items, there were also two additional scarves. One was a royal purple colour with gold trimming, and the other was salmon with lighter-coloured tips.

“What are these?” she asked, holding up the scarves.

Al’s eyes widened with surprise. “Oh my,” he gasped. “I never would have expected you to find these! New teams typically get some sort of stat-boosting scarf, like a Power Band or a Defense Scarf.”

Helen was confused by what he meant, but said nothing of the matter.

“Allow me to explain,” Matilda finally spoke as she approached the Litten. “The purple scarf is a Lucky Ribbon, designed to protect its holder from critical hits. And the salmon scarf is a Detect Band, which allows its holder to evade enemy attacks more easily.” She winked and smiled. “They’re some of the most useful items for getting out of a sticky situation, if you know what I mean.”

Helen looked between the Lucky Ribbon and the Detect Band, wondering what would be best for her. Would she rather evade attacks so she could study more about whatever new Pokémon would come her way, or would it be better for her to charge in head-on and not worry about any critical hits?

She thought over her decision carefully, until, eventually…

“Dibs on the Lucky Ribbon!” she suddenly said, tossing the Detect Band to Reed.

“Hey!” Reed squawked as the Detect Band flopped over his face. He fell to the ground in an indignant manner as he struggled to get it off.

The Guildmaster couldn’t help but chuckle, amused by the two youngsters before her. It seemed like it had been a while since she’d seen this much energy from any of the new recruits she had met thus far. Al simply smiled as he took in the positive energy radiating around him.

Finally, Reed removed the Detect Band from his face. Letting out a huff, he swung one end of the band over his shoulder before tying it around his neck. As for Helen, she simply put the ends of the Lucky Ribbon at the front of her neck and tied it before pushing the knot to the left side.

Alphonzo looked over at the new guild recruits wearing their new accessories and nodded with approval. “You two look like real explorers now,” he declared. “And now, for the final step.” He snapped his fingers as he used his psychic powers to summon two new objects. The first was a stone tablet that was designed to resemble some sort of application form. The second object was a paintbrush, obviously used for writing.

“In order to work for the Haxorus Guild, you two will need to register yourselves,” the Indeedee explained as he handed the tablet and paintbrush to Reed. “All you have to do is put in your names, species, pronouns you go by, and a team name.”

“I’ll handle the writing,” Reed whispered to Helen as he picked up the tablet and paintbrush. Helen watched as he wrote in the information: “Name: Reed. Species: Grookey. Pronouns: He/Him. Name: Helen. Species: Litten. Pronouns: She/Her.”

Reed paused by the time he got to the team name, where he became stumped. “I have no idea what to pick for a team name,” he said.

Alphonzo and Guildmaster Haxorus both gave him gentle smiles. “It’s alright, Mr. Reed,” Al said. “Just use your imagination.”

“Al is right,” Guildmaster Haxorus nodded, her tone just as kind. “Your team name can be so crazy that it will probably leave the other teams rolling their eyes…or, it can be a representation of your own true selves.”

“What about Team Cabasa?”

The words left Helen’s mouth so quickly that she didn’t even realize she said them. At least, not until she noticed the others staring right back at her. Flustered, she flattened her ears and turned away apologetically. She expected a bit of scolding for interrupting, if not a revocation of her badge (did they even do that before the team was officially registered?)

To her surprise, however, Reed grinned. “A cabasa is a musical instrument. And my family is known for their love of music.”

“I quite like it,” Al said, smiling with approval.

“I agree,” Guildmaster Haxorus added with a nod. “Definitely makes you feel closer to your sister.”

“Heh, yeah,” Reed said as he wrote in “Team Cabasa” before handing the tablet and paintbrush back to Alphonzo.

Al looked over the filled-out tablet carefully before nodding with approval. “Then, it’s settled,” he finally announced. “Guildmaster, if you would do the honours.”

The Guildmaster nodded her head. “Helen and Reed of Team Cabasa,” she said in her booming voice. “I hereby welcome you both to the Haxorus Guild!”

“All right!” Reed shouted, pumping his fist in triumph. “We did it! We’re finally an exploration team!” He turned to Helen with the brightest smile he had yet. “And I couldn’t have done it without you, Helen.”

“Uh…you’re welcome?” Helen replied, her face turning a darker shade of pink. Even though all of her memories as a human had been erased, she still had the feeling that this kind of attention still embarrassed her every now and again.

But at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride swell in her chest. She was the one who convinced Reed to talk to his dad, and she was the one who helped him find his footing. Had she not done so, Reed probably would have spent the rest of his life working with his dad. He would never be where he was now, standing before the Guildmaster and her right-hand mon.

What neither of them would realize, however, was that Team Cabasa would be recognized as the greatest exploration team on the Iron Continent…and the world!

Chapter Text

A sudden clanging of metal on wood alerted everyone, followed by a high-pitched feminine voice calling for Guildmaster Haxorus’s name. The dragoness let out a sigh as she invited the newcomer in.

There was a bit of struggling coming from the other side of the double-doors, but they finally creaked open, allowing a small Pokémon to slip through the gap. This Pokémon was no taller than Helen or Reed, resembling a young girl made entirely of cream, with the “pigtails” and “dress” to prove it. The cream itself was of a light green colour, and gave off a scent reminiscent of matcha. On each “pigtail” was a purple sweet that was shaped like a ribbon along with a third one on the front of her neck, and her eyes bore the same purple colour.

“S-sorry…to bother you…G-Guildmaster Haxorus,” the cream Pokémon said, panting with exhaustion. “B-but I wanted…to report…that we’re r-running low on… huff …on P-Perfect Apples.”

The Guildmaster knelt down to the little Pokémon and gave her a gentle pat on the head. “It’s alright, little Stevia,” she replied. “I was just about done registering a new team to the guild. But thank you for the information. I will send an exploration team to gather them soon.”

The cream Pokémon breathed a sigh of relief and bowed her head. “Thank you so much, Guildmaster,” she said. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

She was just about to turn around, only to find herself facing Reed. A smile crept along her face as she slithered her way to him. “Oh, hello, Reed,” she said in a more chipper voice. “I didn’t think you’d be here.”

Reed chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. “Well, I only signed up a few minutes ago,” he replied sheepishly.

“Is that so?” The green cream Pokémon’s smile became even brighter as she clasped her hands together. “In that case, congratulations on joining the Haxorus Guild at last! Better late than never, right?”

Reed nodded happily. He then turned to Helen. “Helen, this is Stevia. She’s an Alcremie of the Matcha variety, and an old friend of mine.” He looked back at the cream Pokémon. “Stevia, this Litten is my partner in my new exploration team. Her name is Helen.”

The Alcremie turned around and noticed Helen looking at her. She giggled and took a bow. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said. “I work as the guild’s stewardess, so it’s my job to make sure everyone is well-fed at the end of the day.”

Helen smiled and nodded. “Nice to meet you too, Stevia.”

The introductions were cut short as Alphonzo cleared his throat. “Stevia, as much as I would like to introduce Team Cabasa to the rest of the guild crew, I’m afraid I must ask you to leave. After all, I do not like to keep them waiting.”

“Oh, sorry, Alphonzo,” Stevia said, bowing. “You’re right. Their initiation takes priority, after all.” She smiled at Reed. “Well, I wish you and Helen the best of luck. And when you do return, I’ll make sure to introduce you to the rest of the guild’s crew.” Without another word, she turned and vanished through the double doors.

Al approached Team Cabasa and tapped them on their heads. “Well now, shall we?” he asked. “I shall demonstrate how the guild operates around here.”

Helen nodded. “Lead the way, Al.”

Compared to their first escort to the Guildmaster’s chambers, Helen noticed that the atmosphere had changed as Alphonzo led her and Reed back through the hall. While most of the Pokémon were still minding their own business, others had actually taken the time to study this new team. She could feel some of the teams gazing at her with utmost curiosity, while others turned to whisper at one another.

“Who are these two? Are they new guild members?”

“Well, it has been a while since we’ve had new blood, so…”

“Wait, that Grookey looks like Taiko’s little brother. Wow, I can’t believe he finally joined! I wish him and his partner the best of luck!”

That last statement only ended up causing Reed to look down on the floor. His cheeks were flushed bright red as he managed a sheepish smile.

Alphonzo giggled. “Not ten minutes in, and you’re already receiving compliments, Mr. Reed,” he remarked. “I have a good feeling that you’ll be able to receive more once you rise up in rank.”

As Team Cabasa followed Al up the spiral staircase leading back to the upper floor of the guild, Helen couldn’t help but ask one question. “So, how do we access these Mystery Dungeons, Al?”

“That’s a good question,” Alphonzo replied as he led the duo through the main hall. “During the war, the first settlers of the Iron Continent discovered that there were Mystery Dungeons scattered all around as well. And they were the usual labyrinths spawned by way of the ever-changing ley lines in the earth.” He grinned. “But rather than fear them, they decided to use the Mystery Dungeons as an offensive and defensive mechanism.”

Helen tilted her head in confusion. “How so?” she asked.

Her question was soon answered as the three entered a new room – one that was much more spacious than the two main halls combined. While the usual tapestries and paintings still littered the walls and the red carpet still stretched out, the room itself also contained several unusual constructs. These constructs took the form of arch-shaped gateways with what looked like gears on either side of them. In front of each gate was a stone pedestal with strange-looking glyphs on them as well as what looked like a slot.

“The Iron Continent has been widely recognized as the ‘Land of Artisans’ for generations,” Alphonzo explained. “Craftsmanship, blacksmithing, and painting are just some of the talents you’ll find here. When our ancestors discovered the Mysteriosity and the ley lines that created the Mystery Dungeons, they decided to harness that magical force in a way no one else would ever think to do. This resulted in the creation of the Mystery Gates.”

“Whoa…” Helen and Reed breathed in unison.

“Whoa is kind of an understatement,” Al said in a rather sheepish manner. “The Mystery Gates are like portals to another world, created by the scientists who studied the Mystery Dungeons and wished to harness their powers safely. In fact, while most of the dungeons are natural, some of them were artificially created by those same scientists as they built the Mystery Gates. They’re amazing constructs that some claim are superior to even the Mist Continent’s Entercards and Magnagates!”

“So, how do these Mystery Gates work?” Helen asked.

Al turned to his right, motioning with his hand two tablets, each containing a set of eight stone discs. Upon closer inspection, Helen noticed that the top of the tablets each had a plaque written into them - one read “Daily Jobs” while the other only said “Wanted”. The discs themselves, on the other hand, were written in more of those strange glyphs.

Using his Psychic, Alphonzo removed one of the stone discs and handed it over to Reed. “Perhaps it would be best if you two found out for yourselves,” he said. “I shall lead you to an unoccupied gate where you can see how the Mystery Gates work.”

With that, he led Team Cabasa to a Mystery Gate that had yet to be operated. While Reed worked on getting the disc in the slot, Helen noticed a dark blue weasel-like Pokémon adorned with red feathers and wearing a purple ribbon around her neck doing the same. Her partner, a red monkey-like Pokémon with a flame-like tuft of fur on his head wearing a green sash around his waist let out a huge yawn, only to snap out of it as the glyphs on the arch lit up. Moments later, a swirling mass of orange and gold appeared within the gateway, and the weasel and monkey nodded to each other before entering this warped space.

“When the soldiers of the Iron Continent utilized the Mystery Gates, they would simply put these discs in these pedestals,” Alphonzo went on, drawing Helen’s attention back to him. “This would cause a portal to appear, allowing the soldiers to enter the Mystery Dungeons. That was how we were able to keep the opposing continents at bay.”

“Until we were overwhelmed, and had to turn to Arceus for help,” Reed added, struggling to get the disc in.

“Well…yes,” Al said, sadness creeping into his eyes. “The wild Pokémon who lived there were just as ferocious, and the settlers knew it would only be a matter of time before they were all wiped out, either by the wild Pokémon, or by the enemy. That was why they had to get help from Arceus and the champions.”

He noticed Reed was still having trouble with the disc. With a sigh, he flicked his wrist as he emitted a Psychic pulse to put the disc in the slot.

Almost right away, the arch began to flash in a golden light as several glyphs appeared. The team watched in amazement as the glyphs moved about for a while, arranging themselves into the description of the disc that was slotted in:

“Please help!” the glyphs read. “My cane was lost while I was fleeing from a wild Pokémon. Without my precious item, I can’t dance properly! Client: Mr. Rime. Objective: Find Mr. Rime’s missing cane. Location: Spring Hill 6F. Difficulty: E. Reward: ???”

“As you two may have noticed,” Al explained, “your first mission is to find a Mr. Rime’s missing cane, which is said to be located in Spring Hill. It’s a low-level dungeon, and the wild Pokémon living there are non-threatening.” He put his hands behind his back and smiled. “A good start, is it not?”

“An item retrieval quest? Really? ” Reed complained. “But what about the treasures? The outlaws? The rescue missions? Or the actual explorations?”

“Those will come to you once you’ve gained a little more experience,” replied Alphonzo. “Since this is just an initiation test, we have to give you something simple to do.”

Reed hung his head in disappointment. “But the treasures…” he whined.

Helen, on the other hand, was relieved to know that her first mission as an exploration team was something that was short and sweet, and also easy. Definitely a breather compared to when she and Reed were dragged into a battle with that Stunfisk over by the cliffside.

She went over and patted Reed on the back. “Don’t sweat it, Reed,” she told him. “It’s like Al said: this is just an initiation test – a way for the guild to know if we’re worthy of being here or not.” She grinned. “And you’ve got me to make sure we pass that test!”

Reed didn’t respond at first. Then, he sighed. “You’re right,” he replied. “I’m probably getting a bit too ahead of myself.” He then looked at Al with a determined look on his face. “We’ll get that cane back, and pass that test before you know it! You’ll see!”

Al blinked with surprise at the sudden change in Reed’s demeanour. Then, he smiled. “Then I look forward to the results,” he chuckled.

An orange-gold portal soon appeared before Team Cabasa. They turned to each other and nodded before taking their first steps towards the portal. Just as they were inches away, Reed suddenly stopped and turned to Helen.

“Hey, Helen,” he said. “Since this is our first mission, I figured we might as well take our first steps through the portal together.”

Helen’s eyes widened with surprise. Then, she smiled and nodded. “Sure, why not?”

They turned back to the portal, hearts pounding and adrenaline coursing through their veins. “On three,” Reed declared. “One…two…THREE!”

At once, the team leaped through the portal, allowing the space around them to guide them into the unknown. The portal then eventually closed as the glyphs vanished, leaving Al on his own.

The Indeedee let out a sigh as he adjusted his cravat. “Good luck out there, Team Cabasa,” he said. “I know you’ll succeed.”

Helen didn’t know how long she’d entered that portal, en route to Spring Hill. Everywhere she looked, she could only see an empty space of orange-gold around her (with the exception of Reed, of course).

Eventually, however, she could see a white light ahead. Could this be the exit, she wondered.

Her question was soon answered when she found herself leaping through a gateway identical to the one she’d been in back at the guild. Only instead of hard stone, she ended up landing on soft grass that covered even softer soil. She looked back to find Reed doing the same, save for him faceplanting on the grass.

As the portal closed up with a voip! , Helen found herself rushing over to Reed’s side. “You OK there, Reed?” she asked.

Reed immediately raised his head from the dirt, his eyes shining brightly. “That. Was. AWESOME!” he shouted, leaping to his feet. “I wanna do that again!”

Helen couldn’t help but chuckle at that statement. It was amazing how much energy Reed had, even despite his earlier disappointment. It was almost as if being part of the guild had some sort of emotional impact on him…an impact that she couldn’t exactly place her paw on.

As Reed dusted himself off, he looked around to take in the team’s new surroundings. Other than the bright green grass, there were also patches of colourful flowers that dotted the area. Up above, the sky was a bright midday blue, with only a few white wisps of clouds covering it. And straight ahead was a cluster of trees serving as a sort of gateway to a grassy path that cut into it.

“That looks like the entrance to Spring Hill,” Helen said.

“Well, it is where that Mr. Rime dropped his cane when a wild Pokémon attacked him,” Reed replied.

Helen put a paw to her chin and tilted her head in thought. “Something seems a bit off,” she said. “Why would he lose his cane in a low-level dungeon full of non-threatening wild Pokémon?”

“It’s likely he might have aggravated them by accident,” Reed answered. “Or it’s just their natural instinct to attack outsiders…like us.” He shrugged. “I dunno. Wild Pokémon can be unpredictable sometimes.”

“Whatever the case may be, Mr. Rime is depending on us to get back his precious cane!”

Reed smiled and nodded. “Let’s do this!” he declared.

Gathering up their courage, Team Cabasa entered Spring Hill, ready to begin their first mission!

Chapter Text

As Team Cabasa entered the gateway of trees, Helen expected Spring Hill to be some kind of sunny forest. What she got, however, was an endless expanse of meadow, with green grass and flowers stretching out to as far as the eye could see. Only a few trees adorned the landmark, and there were plenty of small lakes that dotted the area. But what really gave Spring Hill its name was the way it would slope and steep at times, especially right where they stood.

She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the sweet fragrance of the meadow scents all around. “Wow,” she breathed. “Is that why they call this dungeon ‘Spring Hill’?”

“The sun is really pleasant, too,” Reed murmured. “It really hits the spot with the permanent springtime of this place.”

Helen snickered. “Wonder where Alphonzo might take us next,” she said. “Winter Woods?”

That statement only made Reed burst into laughter. “Who even knows?” he asked.

Helen grinned. “Anyway, we’d better get cracking on finding that missing cane,” she said.

“Right!” Reed said with a grin. Before Helen could utter a syllable, the Grookey suddenly dashed off. “If we’re lucky, we can get back to the guild before sundown!”

“Wha– HEY! Not fair!” Helen yowled as she chased after Reed down the starting slope. This one was a lot steeper than she expected, though she kept her wits about her as she kept up with Reed. By the time she finally caught up, she realized that there was a lot more to Spring Hill than she initially thought.

At the bottom of the slope, the team found themselves in a rather small room. Three corridors branched out from either side as well as straight ahead, providing three possible pathways for them to take.

“So many choices,” Helen whispered with awe…and a slight twinge of fear. “Which one should we take?”

Reed put a paw to his chin as he began to think long and hard about this. “It seems each corridor has three possible options for us to take,” he said. “But since this is a Mystery Dungeon, we don’t know which path is the right one. I think the best option we got is to try them all and see which one is the best.” He turned to the corridor to the team’s right. “Starting with that one!”

“Wait!” Helen quickly shot her forepaw forward to grab Reed’s tail. “We can’t just charge ahead all willy-nilly and hope for the best. We need a plan!”

“But there’s also no telling if this floor will change,” Reed protested. “And I’d rather not fail this mission because of a sudden shift in the dungeon.”

“A…sudden shift?”

“It means if we stay here too long, the entire dungeon will eventually change its layout, and we’ll get kicked out of it.”

A stab of panic shot through Helen’s chest at the thought of failing their initiation test. She shook her head as she released her grip on Reed. “ That’s why you wanted to hurry before sundown,” she said.

Reed shrugged. “More or less.”

Helen slapped her paw to her forehead and shook her head. “I swear, your scatterbrained personality is going to be the end of us someday,” she muttered half to herself.

Still, they had a mission to fulfill, and by Arceus they were going to do it – one way or another!

Soon afterwards, they found themselves walking down the corridor Reed had chosen. Eventually, though, they found that the corridor branched off into another. After some careful decisions, they decided to keep going. Their effort was rewarded when they came to another room, this one with an Oran Berry as well as a very small apple.

“Can’t have too many Oran Berries,” Reed mused to himself as he plucked the Oran Berry and put it in the bag. “And we’ll take this Tiny Apple in case we get hungry.”

Helen was also scouring the new room with complete curiosity, searching for anything else Reed might have missed. She eventually noticed that there was another corridor to her left and ended up taking it, followed by Reed. It wouldn’t be long before they found themselves in another room, where Helen noticed what seemed like a set of stairs going upwards.

“How curious,” she said. “What’s a set of stairs doing in a dungeon like this?”

“Consider it a one-way ticket to the next floor,” Reed replied. “And one step closer to our destination.”

Without any second thoughts, the two of them climbed up the stairs and found themselves on the second floor – which turned out to be a series of small hills.

“Well, this dungeon sure likes to keep getting weirder and weirder,” Helen huffed with exasperation.

“It seems like each new floor leads us to bigger hills,” Reed agreed. “That means Mr. Rime’s cane is bound to be on one of the biggest hills.”

Helen’s ear twitched with curiosity. “You don’t say,” she remarked. Now why didn’t I think of that earlier?

Before Reed could elaborate any further, there was a rustle from behind him. He slowly turned around to face an underbrush nearby, one paw closed around his stick. “Something’s here,” he warned. “And it definitely won’t be friendly at all.”

The rustling went on, a bit louder than before. After what seemed like forever, the bush parted open and out hopped a small Pokémon. It looked like a small grey-and-black bird with a white mask-like marking on its face and chest.

Reed released his grip on his stick, though still kept his paw close to it. “It’s a Starly,” he said. “They’re usually pretty skittish on their own.”

As if in response (and to prove him wrong), the Starly suddenly spread its wings as it opened its beak.

“STARLYYYYYYYYYY!”

“Gah!” Helen yelped, covering her ears. The Starly’s cry was loud and strident, almost like claws slowly being scraped against a boulder repeatedly.

Before she or Reed could take any action, the flapping of several wings alerted them. They looked up to find more Starly hovering over them, their black eyes clearly unfriendly. Helen noticed that the white patch on some of the Starly’s foreheads were much larger than those of others, including the one that let out the cry, but she didn’t get a chance to ask before the Starly suddenly banked and began to dive.

“RUN!” Reed screamed as he bolted towards the nearest corridor, Helen following suit. The flock of Starly came at them like feathered missiles, their black-tipped orange beaks aimed at whatever weak spots they could find.

“I’m guessing these guys can get ferocious when together,” Helen yelled over the endless, earsplitting screeching of these birds.

“More or less!” Reed shouted back, narrowly avoiding getting tackled by one of the Starly.

Helen growled as she stopped. She turned around to face the flock, instinctively licking her right forepaw. “Let’s see them get ferocious when they receive an Ember to the face,” she hissed. She then threw back her head and spat out a small fireball at the flock.

The Ember connected, hitting the Starly that were in the dead center of the flock. But this only served to cause some of them to disperse, while others continued the chase.

Before Helen could conjure up another Ember, one of the Starly broke formation. A streak of white light trailed behind it as it smacked Helen, sending her sprawling to the ground. She quickly scrambled back to her feet as she turned tail and chased after Reed.

The corridor opened up to another room, with only a staircase leading up to the next floor. Without hesitation, Helen and Reed bolted up the staircase just as it dissipated, leaving the Starly flock confused.

Now that Team Cabasa was out of danger, they could take the time to collect themselves. Helen slumped down to the ground, breathing heavily. She slowly tried to stand up, only for a sharp pain to appear in her side.

“Ow!” she hissed. “I know it hurts less than that Stunfisk’s Snap Trap, but still …!” She looked closely at Reed and noticed that there wasn’t a single scratch anywhere on his body. “Meanwhile, you haven’t taken any damage. What gives?”

Reed plopped the bag down on the floor and began to rummage through it. “Well, you did give me that Detect Band to begin with,” he reminded her. “And it was thanks to it that I was able to evade every last Quick Attack.”

He pulled out an Oran Berry and handed it over to Helen. “Here, this should get you all patched up in no time.”

Helen took the Oran Berry and chowed down on it. Almost instantly, she felt the pain subside as the wound in her side dulled and dissipated until it was no more.

“Hey, it’s gone!” she exclaimed with surprise. “It’s like I never got hit at all!”

“That’s what Oran Berries do,” Reed replied with a smile. “They’re good for an energy boost and heal your wounds quickly.”

Helen finished the rest of the Oran Berry and hopped back to her feet. “Well then,” she said. “Let’s get a move on. We got a cane to find before sundown!”

Compared to when they fled the Starly flock, the rest of Team Cabasa’s exploration through Spring Hill was rather uneventful. While they did occasionally have to battle a few other wild Pokémon, from a blue larva-like Pokémon called Blipbug to the blue-and-black bird Pokémon that Helen now knew as a Rookidee thanks to Reed, most of the time they just picked up a few items here and there.

Some of the items they picked up were rather interesting. While most of them were gold coins that Reed called Poké (the currency of this world), there were also bright red Berries called Cheri Berries (which could heal paralysis), pink, puffy Seeds called Sleep Seeds (which induced sleep to whoever consumed them), and Apples.

As the team climbed higher up, Helen noticed something about the wild Pokémon in Spring Hill: while most were aggressive and willing to put up a fight, there were some which were rather skittish in nature and preferred to flee. A few of them were also easygoing and didn’t mind the team’s presence at all…unless they were provoked, of course!

In one instance, Reed had accidentally stepped on a red caterpillar-like Pokémon with yellow spikes on its rear and a yellow horn on its head. Angered that it had woken up from its slumber, the caterpillar (which Reed identified as a Wurmple) charged at him with a headlong Tackle.

“Hey! Knock it off!” Reed shouted, swiftly moving to dodge the Wurmple’s attack. Though the Wurmple missed the Grookey by inches, and it landed with its spiked rear facing him, there was still a yellow fire blazing in its eyes.

The spikes on its rear began to glow bright purple as it charged up another attack. Reed’s eyes widened with fear as he realized what the Wurmple was up to – and if he or Helen got hit, it would mean big trouble for either of them!

“Helen, watch out!” he warned her. “That’s a Poison Sting! If you get hit by that move, you could get poisoned!”

Sure enough, the Wurmple fired off a series of purple needle-like projections at the team. Thanks to Reed’s warning, however, they dodged just in the nick of time, allowing the Poison Sting to fly past them harmlessly. The Wurmple wouldn’t get another chance to attack when Helen quickly toasted it with Ember, knocking it out cold.

“Phew!” Reed sighed with relief. “Thanks, Helen.”

“You’re welcome,” Helen replied, flicking her tail happily.

After what seemed like forever, Helen and Reed finally reached the sixth and final floor of Spring Hill – which was situated right at the very hilltops. The view was very breathtaking, to say the least, and the sun had barely begun to set in the distant horizon.

“It’s beautiful,” Helen breathed.

“Yeah…” Reed agreed with a nod. “Now we just gotta find Mr. Rime’s cane, and our mission will be complete.”

“But where do we start?”

No sooner did the question leave Helen’s mouth than she noticed a small Pokémon approaching her and Reed. It looked like some kind of rodent, with short brown fur and a cream mask-like marking over its beady black eyes. A large bucktooth protruded from its dark brown muzzle, and it had three curled tufts on its tail.

The rodent took one look at Helen before approaching her to sniff with utmost curiosity. It then stepped back and smiled the toothiest smile Helen had seen thus far.

“Oh, that’s a Bidoof,” Reed said. “Don’t worry about them, Helen – they’re one of the friendliest Pokémon around.”

“Bidoof!” the Pokémon replied, as if in agreement with him.

Reed crouched down and looked at the Bidoof. “Hey there, girl,” he said. “We’re looking for a Mr. Rime’s cane. Do you happen to know where it is?”

The Bidoof thought long and hard about this. Then, she smiled and nodded. “Bidoof!” She then turned and trotted down the hill, leaving the team by themselves once more.

“OK, so enlighten me,” Helen said. “How did you know that Bidoof was a girl?”

Reed chuckled. “You just gotta pay attention to the number of tufts on its tail,” he replied. “Males have five, females have three. It’s the same with the Starly we ran into – the forehead spot on a male is larger than that of a female.”

Before the conversation could go any further, the Bidoof from before returned. Behind her were several more Bidoof, some with five tail tufts and others with three.

“Bidoof! Bi bi bidoof!” the Bidoof explained.

Helen was confused by all this. But Reed seemed to understand. “You and your friends want to create a bridge for us to cross? That means you know where Mr. Rime’s cane is!”

The Bidoof nodded once again. Then, gathering up her friends, she and the other Bidoof began stacking on top of each other. Although it seemed dangerous to do, the Bidoof knew exactly what they were doing. As soon as the Bidoof stack was tall enough, they fell forward, resulting in the Bidoof on top grabbing onto the other ledge, forming a makeshift bridge.

“Incredible,” Helen said, her eyes sparkling with awe.

Reed wasted no time in hopping on the Bidoof bridge. “Well, no time like the present,” he told Helen. “Let’s get a move on!”

Together with their Bidoof buddies, Helen and Reed scoured the sixth floor of Spring Hill, hopping from one hill to another in search of the cane. As the sun lowered itself further into the horizon, creating lavender and orange streaks in the sky, Team Cabasa finally found their objective!

“There it is!” Reed exclaimed as they arrived at the smallest of the hills.

Indeed, sitting underneath an equally small tree, lay a cane made of pure ice. Although it was underneath the shade, there was still enough light to make it glitter in the evening sun.

“It’s beautiful,” Helen commented.

“And we couldn’t have found it without those Bidoof,” Reed said, smiling back at the Bidoof bridge behind them. “Let’s hurry and take it back to the guild.”

As he was about to reach for the cane, however, a grey-and-black blur streaked with white suddenly shot out of nowhere, striking him square on the forehead. The Grookey yelped in pain as he staggered back, clutching his forehead.

“Reed!” Helen cried out in surprise. “Are you OK?”

A series of wingbeats from behind forced her to turn around, realizing that Reed’s attacker had been a Starly – specifically the one that had called upon its flock. Though its feathers bore a few scorch marks, it still held a ferocity in its eyes. Not only that, but Helen could still see the large white dot on its forehead, allowing her to identify it as a male.

“You again!” she hissed. “So you’re the culprit behind that attack on Mr. Rime? I’m not surprised considering someone like you would stoop so low as to steal a precious belonging.”

“Starrrr…” the Starly growled. It was clear that he was not giving up his treasure any time soon, regardless of his guilt.

“Y’know, you’ve got a lot of nerve being the big bully bird you are,” Helen snarled, her hackles rising and flames spurting from her mouth with each breath she exhaled. “So why don’t you be a good little bird and fork it over so no one – and I mean no one – gets hurt!”

She wasn’t exactly sure how or why, but if there was one thing Helen hated the most, it was bullies! Whether it was the sight of some people picking on others for their sick amusement, or some people talking trash about others simply because of an aspect of that person they hated the most was what caused her to get riled up like that, it was still up in the air.

Either way, she was going to make this Starly pay!

The Starly spread his wings wide, just like before. But instead of calling for his flock, he instead charged straight at Helen. She immediately responded by unsheathing her claws and charging forward. Once the Starly was within range, she swung her forepaw forward, hitting the Starly square on his left wing with a Scratch attack.

The bird staggered back, caught off-guard by the attack. Yet, the fire in his eyes remained as he glared at Helen. He flapped his wings and charged at Helen again, this time going for a Quick Attack. Helen hopped away as fast as she could, but the Starly hit her square in the chest, causing her to stumble backwards.

The Starly hovered above her, glowering down at her as she struggled to get up. But before he could make his next move, a loud whistling sound sounded throughout the hill.

“Nature Power: Stun Spore!”

As if on cue, a cloud of yellow spores suddenly struck the Starly, numbing him and preventing him from making any further movements.

Confused, Helen turned around to find Reed standing nearby. There was a small scratch on his forehead where the Starly had struck him before while his paw clutched the oboe-like stick. At the tip of the stick was a smaller cloud of the same yellow spores. He seemed to have noticed her staring at him, and he merely smiled and winked at her.

“It’s a good thing my Mom taught me how to use Nature Power,” he remarked. “She said it would help me adapt to any situation in case I ever wanted to be an explorer. Never thought it’d come in handy ‘till now!”

With the Starly completely shut down, Helen took the opportunity to launch an Ember, hitting him at point-blank range. She watched as the bird swooned before falling to the ground with a thud, completely knocked out.

Helen carefully approached the downed bird and gently prodded him to make sure she didn’t kill him or anything. She felt Reed’s paw touch her shoulder, bringing her attention to him. If he had said anything, it would have been something along the lines of, “Don’t worry, he’s not dead – he’s only fainted.” But a smile and a reassuring nod was more than enough to get the message across, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief.

She sauntered over to the cane and picked it up, flinching slightly upon feeling the cold, icy textures roll across her paws. She then turned to Reed and held it up to the sunlight. Reed smiled as he raised his stick, meeting the cane with a triumphant clack!

“Look like Team Cabasa’s first mission is a success!” Reed announced. “Now, let’s get back to the guild and report our results to Alphonzo!”

And so, with their first mission completed, Team Cabasa left Spring Hill and made the return trip through the Mystery Gate that would take them back to the Haxorus Guild.

“Thank you so much for finding my cane! You have no idea how much this means to me!”

“I-it was nothing, really.”

“Yeah, we’re just happy to have you back on the tap-dance floor, Mr. Rime.”

Team Cabasa found themselves standing in the center of the upper hall that evening. Alphonzo stood beside the window, watching the setting sun paint the interior with a warm, bright orange. Every so often, though, he would turn his gaze to the fledgling team and smile as they conversed with their client.

The client in question was a tall yet pudgy humanoid figure with black hair resembling a bowler hat and a matching moustache. He also wore a blue bowtie, complemented with a black-and-white torso resembling a coat, complete with yellow eyes for a button and a red nose. Lastly, his lower torso was blue, which went with the icy shoes that were his feet.

Mr. Rime let out a chuckle, which came from the pattern on his chest instead of his expressionless face. “Please, do call me Charlie,” he said. “I honestly thought my tap-dancing career would be over after that Starly attacked me.”

“Well, he won’t be bothering you for a while now,” Reed said, puffing up his chest. “We made sure he got taught a lesson he’ll never forget!”

Charlie looked down, still clutching his cane in his mitten-like hands. “Ironic, isn’t it?” he remarked. “That I, an Ice-type Pokémon, would end up being driven out of Spring Hill by an entire flock of Flying-types like Starly.” He shrugged. “Then again, Starly can be ruthless when they’re together.”

“Maybe next time you decide to go for a walk in Spring Hill, why not hang around with a few Bidoof,” Helen suggested. “I’m sure they’ll help you stay out of trouble.”

The eyes on Charlie’s chest lit up at Helen’s suggestion. “Now that’s a wonderful idea,” he said. “Thank you! I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.”

“Yes, a wonderful idea indeed,” Alphonzo cut in. “Now, Charlie, would you mind giving out the reward to the youngsters?”

“Oh! Right! Sorry, Al,” Charlie replied. He reached into a pocket Helen didn’t think he would have and pulled out several items to lay them in front of the team: a sack of Poké, a bright pink scarf with white speckles, a larger seed with a green stalk that looked similar to the Tiny Reviver Seed, and a bottle that looked like an Elixir.

“Here you go!” the Mr. Rime said. “1000 Poké, a Pecha Scarf, a Reviver Seed, and a Max Elixir. Your reward for helping me out!”

“Wow!” Reed gasped as his eyes went wide at the 1000 Poké. “Thank you so much, Charlie!” He reached over to grab the sack, but Alphonzo’s Psychic unfortunately beat him to it. He watched as the Indeedee brought the sac over to his position and opened it up.

“Yes, thank you, Charlie,” he said. “I will be handling the payment, if you don’t mind.” He reached into the bag and pulled out a small handful of Poké, which he gave to Team Cabasa. “100 Poké for the team, and the rest to the guild.”

Helen and Reed’s jaws simultaneously went slack. “100 POKÉ?!” Helen screeched. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”

“It’s the rules, my dear,” Al replied in the most matter-of-fact tone possible. “When you’re working for the guild, a portion of your earnings goes straight to the guild. It’s how we’ve been able to keep ourselves sustained, after all. Since your team is only Rookie Rank, we have to keep 90% of your earnings.”

“That’s outrageous!” Helen hissed. “And a rip-off!”

“If you’ve got any further complaints, I suggest you take it to the Guildmaster.” Al narrowed his eyes. “And believe me, she really doesn’t like it when those rules are challenged – especially when she has to report it to the higher-ups. We don’t need any more stress piling up on her.”

Helen pouted, but before she could say anything more, Reed tapped his shoulder to draw her attention away from Al. “If it makes you feel any better, Taiko had that same reaction during her initiation test,” he said with a sheepish grin. “Ever since then, she’s been working extra hard to make sure she gets a better payment once she reaches the higher ranks.”

“Mr. Reed has a point,” Al agreed. “Miss Taiko’s team is currently at Bronze Rank, so she still has to give up 90% of her payment. But her payment will improve by a smidgeon once she reaches Silver Rank. If I were you, Miss Helen, I would follow in her footsteps and get as many jobs done as possible. Succeed, and your team might also reach Silver Rank.”

“What’s so great about the Silver Rank?” Helen asked with confusion.

She would never get her answer when the sound of a ringing bell reverberated throughout the entire hall.

“That would be the dinner bell,” Al announced. “Which means I’m afraid we’ll have to cut this little interrogation short and save it for another time.”

Charlie turned back to Team Cabasa, the pattern on his belly displaying what seemed like a wide grin. “Thank you for finding my cane once again,” he said. “I will never forget the good deed you youngsters did. Farewell!” He then turned on his heel and began to tap-dance his way up the spiral staircase leading out of the guild, whistling a merry tune as he did.

Alphonzo waited until Charlie was out of sight before turning to Team Cabasa. “Well now, shall we?” he asked. “There are plenty of guild members to meet in the mess hall, and I’m sure they would be excited to see you two.”

As if on cue, Reed’ stomach let out a loud growl. “That would be nice,” he said with an embarrassed chuckle.

Al smiled. “Very well, then,” he said. “Follow me.” With that, he turned around and began to lead the team down to the lower main hall, where a slew of new Pokémon would await the new team in the mess hall.

Chapter Text

For a guild that was built inside a cliff, it was definitely bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside.

That was the only thought that kept circulating in Helen’s brain as she and Reed followed Alphonzo down the lower main hall, passing by the Guildmaster’s chamber as they did. She noticed that some of the torches were already lit, as if signaling the day’s end.

They eventually came across a set of double-doors that were made of wood with metal supports. Even though they were directly outside, Helen could hear chattering from amongst what she assumed were several other exploration teams, as well as the crunching and munching of food.

As if in response, her stomach let out a loud growl, reminding her of just how hungry she was. She clutched her belly and looked away, hoping that neither Reed nor Alphonzo noticed the blush on her cheeks.

“Seems like you haven’t eaten all day,” Alphonzo said with a chuckle. “I can understand. After all, it has been a long day.” He then laid a hand on the door. “But worry no more. Once I’ve introduced you two to the rest of the guild, I will give you both a seat and Stevia will provide you with tonight’s dinner.”

He then pushed open the double doors, giving Helen and Reed a view of what the mess hall looked like: a massive cafeteria with the tables and chairs composed entirely of wood with metal supports. At the back was some sort of kitchen, where a little green shape that looked like Stevia was cooking the food and providing it to the Pokémon in waiting. A medium-sized window was carved out of the wall to the left, providing a beautiful view of Eisen Town below.

But what was most enticing of all was the smell. It was a lovely fragrance that infiltrated Helen and Reed’s nostrils in a way that they had never felt before.

Alphonzo led Team Cabasa down the mess hall to one of the tables at the far right. Though it was the same as all the other tables, the one thing that really stood out the most was the tablecloth seated atop it, coloured black and lined with gold. Only one seat from one end of the table was empty, which Helen assumed was Alphonzo’s seat. On the opposite end sat Guildmaster Haxorus herself, calmly chowing down what looked like noodles topped by some kind of sauce with mushrooms mixed in.

“It seems tonight’s dinner is spaghetti with Springy Mushroom sauce,” Al said with a smile on his face. “It’s quite a hit with Dragon-type Pokémon, if I do say so myself.”

The trio waited until Matilda had finished the Springy Mushroom spaghetti before leaning back on her chair with a satisfied sigh. A moment later, she turned her head and grinned. “Alphonzo,” she said. “Have you returned with Team Cabasa’s results?”

Al smiled. “Of course, Guildmaster,” he replied with a bow. “And I’m happy to say that their initiation was a total success.” He sighed. “Better than the last initiation test, of course.”

“Hm…yes, I suppose so,” the Guildmaster remarked, examining her claws. “Then this means they’re officially members of the guild, then!”

She then stood up from her seat and pushed it aside to give the team a clear view of the other Pokémon at the table. “Helen, Reed, allow me to introduce you to the guild’s crew,” she said. “Each of them have different occupations based on their individual abilities. It would be wise to listen to their advice and familiarize yourself with their company as often as possible.” She then turned and cleared her throat, drawing the Pokémon’s attention to her.

The guild’s crew looked at her with confusion at first. But once they laid their eyes down on the two kids standing before them, that confusion was replaced with realization. They turned to each other and let loose whispers of excitement.

“Hey, didn’t Stevia tell us that we had a new team in the guild?”

“Ah sure did! Didn’t expect ‘em to pass the initiation test, though.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me! Mine was such a pain in the ass! Glad I never have to take it again, though!”

“Brother, manners!”

“Ah-HEM!” Matilda stamped her tail on the ground, cutting the conversation short and drawing the Pokémon’s attention back to her. They bowed apologetically before allowing her to speak up once more.

“As Stevia may have already told you, we had a new team join us today,” she said. She then stepped aside to reveal Team Cabasa to the group. “I give you, Helen and Reed of Team Cabasa.”

Almost immediately, Helen felt several pairs of eyes boring into her, like they were trying to extract her soul or something. Instinct made her body tense up as her ears flattened themselves against her skull while her puffed-up tail tucked itself between her legs. Reed, on the other hand, simply looked away and shuffled his feet on the floor as a red blush showed itself on his face.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence (aside from the bubbly chatter of the other teams), one of the guild members finally decided to break the silence: an owl Pokémon covered with brown feathers and some sort of cream-coloured crest atop its beak. A black scarf bearing the emblem of the Haxorus guild was fastened around its neck.

“Greetings,” the owl Pokémon said, bowing politely to Team Cabasa. “I am Lunare, the Noctowl. My duty is flight-based explorations by day, and guard by night.” She glanced over at Helen. “Worry not, little one,” she said with a sagely smile. “I will make sure your time here at the guild is a pleasant one.”

Seeing Lunare speak so calmly seemed to give the other guild members an idea. One by one, and in single file, they left their seats to line up behind her.

Lunare stepped aside to allow another brown Pokémon to approach the team. This one looked like a donkey, with a mane of short black fur on his tail and fetlocks and what looked like clay on his hooves. Much like Lunare, he wore the same black scarf with the same emblem around his neck, while a piece of wheat stuck out of his mouth.

“Howdy, y’all,” the donkey said with a grin. “Ah’m Mirko, the Mudbray in charge of land-based explorations. No matter the terrain ah cross, and no matter the dungeon, if’n y’all need to cross somethin’ treacherous to get to yer destination, Mirko’s yer mon!” He put a hoof to his chest as he puffed it out.

“Yeah, yeah, we get it, cowboy,” a gruff masculine voice sounded from behind Mirko. He flinched slightly before letting loose a sigh as he shuffled out of the way to reveal two fish-like Pokémon. They were nearly identical to each other, with predominantly green and black scales. What truly distinguished them from each other were the colour of their eyes and stripes, as well as the shape of their fins. One had a red stripe with wide eyes to match and spiky fins, while the other had narrow blue eyes with a matching stripe and smoother fins.

“So, you two must be the new recruits, eh?” the red-striped fish said with a toothy grin. “My name’s Crimson.” He then motioned to the blue-striped fish with a spiky fin. “And this is my twin sister, Aegean.”

The blue-striped fish bowed politely. “Good evening to you two,” she said. “I am Aegean.” She motioned to the red-striped fish with a smooth fin. “And this is my twin brother, Crimson.”

“Folks around here call us the Bascu-twins,” Crimson interjected with a laugh. “Because we’re Basculin born as twins.”

“Our stripes and personalities might be different, but our job is the same,” Aegean added with a small smile. “We both specialize in marine-based explorations.”

Crimson turned around, only to find that there was nobody behind him or Aegean. “Oh for the love of…” he muttered, his grin quickly switching to a scowl. “Dammit, Enigma! Get your feathery butt out here and introduce yourself to the newbies!”

Aegean sighed as she put a fin to her forehead. She then turned to Team Cabasa with an apologetic look on her face. “Please forgive my brother,” she told them. “He’s always had a vile mouth since the day we left our family. I’m not sure where they are now, but I do hope they’re doing alright. Especially Chiffon and Ivory.”

“The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the Egg,” a mystifying voice sounded from behind, followed by the soft flapping of wings. Helen and Reed turned around to find a Pokémon that was most unusual.

This Pokémon looked like some sort of bird, but their black head contained a single cyan eye and a feathered crest on top. Two spindly yellow wings tipped with red and blue protruded from where their shoulders would be, and what appeared to be talons stuck out from their torso, which was yellow and black and bordered with white. A pair of cyan eyes were situated on the bird’s black chest, completely unblinking. Dangling underneath the Pokémon’s body were what appeared to be tail feathers coloured the same way as the wings.

“About time you showed up, Enigma,” Crimson grumbled. “You Sigilyph are always flitting about minding your own business, and not caring one bit about what others think.”

“Not true at all,” the Sigilyph admonished the Red-Striped Basculin, even despite their voice being monotonous in nature. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have my own introduction to make.” They then turned to Team Cabasa and bowed. “My apologies. I was hoping to make a good first impression, even if others wouldn’t agree to it. I am Enigma, and my job is sentry duty…at least, during the daytime.”

Well, they certainly look like an enigma, Helen thought as she and Reed took turns shaking hands with the Sigilyph. An enigma of a Pokémon, that is.

“And, of course, there’s Stevia, our little stewardess,” Alphonzo said. “But these two have already met her before the initiation test.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Enigma turned to Alphonzo with what looked like a teasing expression. “But did you remember to tell them that she’s also the guild’s medic, alchemist and the one responsible for ringing the morning and night bells?” Alphonzo’s eyes widened with surprise at that statement.

“BAHAHAHA!” Crimson cackled. “Oh, what a riot! This guy’s supposed to be Guildmaster Haxorus’s right-hand mon, but he sometimes forgets the most important stuff!”

Al puffed up his cheeks and turned away with embarrassment. “I’ll have you know, Mr. Crimson, that while Miss Stevia does do those other tasks, she cannot accomplish them without the aid of the other staff members. Including myself.”

“Besides, I’d rather be good in some fields and bad in others than try to excel in all the fields and burn myself out in the process,” a feminine voice sounded from behind Crimson and Aegean. The twins turned around to find Stevia holding up a tray of Springy Mushroom spaghetti, all while wearing a pouty expression on her face. “And that’s why Al and his sister also operate as medics and alchemists alongside me.”

“She does have a point, brother,” another feminine voice similar to Alphonzo’s sounded from behind. Helen and Reed turned around to find another Indeedee who had just entered the mess hall. Though she wore the same white cravat with the green gem attached and had the same purple-and-white fur on her body, her marks had a pattern that gave her the impression of a maid and her spiraled horns were pointed downward. Lastly, she had pink triangular markings above her eyes, and there was a bit of dirt and grime covering parts of it.

“Good evening, Edwardine,” Matilda said. “Would you care to explain why you didn’t come to dinner at the sound of the bell?”

The female Indeedee turned to Guildmaster Haxorus. “Pardon my tardiness, Guildmaster,” she said, bowing politely. “I had to restock our stash of Medicinal Leeks and Vivichokes, since we were running low on ingredients for Reviver Seeds. I know I shouldn’t have gone to a Mystery Dungeon, but the crops were late this year, and I need to double up on them soon. Especially with the big expedition we’re heading off to in the upcoming month.”

She then turned to glare at Alphonzo. “But getting to my point here: Stevia might have a lot to accomplish compared to the rest of us, but at least she knows how to do an okay job with them all. Cooking is her specialty, but she’s also capable of the other fields that Enigma mentioned.”

“Jack of all trades, master of none, but better than a master of one,” Enigma chirped.

The female Indeedee sighed and nodded. “Yes, yes, we get it, Enigma,” she said. She then cast her gaze on Helen and Reed. “You two must be the newcomers,” she said with a smile. “My name is Edwardine, and I operate as the guild’s alchemist and medic alongside Stevia. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

“Likewise,” Reed replied with a smile. “I’m Reed, and this is my partner, Helen. We just passed our initiation test.”

Edwardine smiled and clapped her hands together. “That’s wonderful news,” she exclaimed happily. “I’m definitely looking forward to working together with the two of you!” She then giggled. “But even I know better than to keep you two waiting for your dinner.”

Al nodded in response. “Exactly,” he said. He snapped his fingers and summoned a Psychic to lift up Helen and Reed into the air. Helen let out a yowl of surprise as she was lifted off her feet, prompting her to curl up into a ball. Reed, on the other hand, grinned and spread his arms out, like he was a bird in flight.

With Stevia following close behind him, Alphonzo carried Team Cabasa down to the far left of the mess hall. Helen noticed that this table was mostly empty, save for three Pokémon. She could recognize Taiko smiling and waving to her and Reed, while Aero munched away at their plate of Springy Mushroom spaghetti.

Taiko didn’t even wait for Al to place Reed on his seat before the Thwackey lunged at him, pulling him into a hug and nuzzling him. “It’s so good to see you again, little bro,” she said happily.

“T-Taiko,” Reed squeaked in surprise. “You’re hugging me too tight!” He squirmed to get himself out of Taiko’s grasp, but his efforts were all but futile.

Helen could only watch with amusement as Al placed her down on her seat. He then turned and cleared his throat, signaling for Taiko to release Reed, which she did out of reluctance. Stevia took this opportunity to hop on the table and give Team Cabasa their long-awaited meal.

“Well, here you go,” she declared. “Springy Mushroom spaghetti. Hope you enjoy it!”

“Consider it a well-earned reward for passing your initiation test and joining the guild,” added Al. “Now, if you will excuse me, I will need to arrange your sleeping quarters.” He then turned on his heel and walked away, with Stevia following him.

Helen sat up and took a look at the Springy Mushroom spaghetti. It looked like a cluster of noodles, like typical spaghetti, but the sauce was a rich brown colouring and small mushrooms were scattered around it. It also had a garlic fragrance to it, which made Helen’s mouth water a little. She didn’t remember where her love of mushrooms came from, but she had a gut feeling that told her.

Before she realized what was going on, she found herself pouncing on the plate, munching away at the spaghetti. She felt a savoury garlic flavour flood her mouth, coupled with a few spices, but that mattered none to Helen as she finished off the entire dish within minutes.

“Wow, Helen,” Reed gasped in amazement. “I didn’t know you liked Springy Mushrooms.” He chuckled. “Either that, or you must have been pretty hungry. It was a long day, after all.”

“I just really love mushrooms, s’all,” Helen replied, suppressing a small burp.

“Well, I can’t blame you,” a masculine voice sounded from the other side of the table. “Incineroar are sort of monstrous in appearance, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that you’d end up liking Springy Mushrooms…or any other mushroom, for that matter.”

Helen’s ears perked up as she swung her head to a new Pokémon she hadn’t noticed before. He was a canine creature covered in reddish-orange fur with black stripes. His forepaws had two claws each, while his belly was a cream-grey colour. Most striking of all, however, was his voluminous cream-grey fur, which covered his head, chest and tail, and obscured his eyes, while a pointed horn sprouted on the very crown of his head. Much like Taiko and Aero, he wore a bright red scarf around his neck.

The canine bowed his head toward Helen. “So, you’re this Helen I’ve been hearing about from my teammates,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Hinoishi the Growlithe, but everyone just calls me Hino.”

“N-nice to meet you, too,” Helen replied. She felt her tail-tip twitch nervously as her feline instincts slowly began to take over. Thankfully, those nerves quickly dissipated once she felt a pair of ectoplasmic paws on her shoulders.

“You don’t need to be so nervous around Hino,” Aero said in a soothing tone. “He’s very kind once you get to know him.” They glanced over at the Growlithe with a more somber expression before placing their snout to Helen’s ear. “If you must know, he came to the guild only a few months ago,” they whispered. “Said his dad died in some sort of accident. He never elaborates any further than that, though.”

Helen’s ears drooped. “That’s so sad,” she murmured. First Reed’s mother, and now Hino’s father. She wondered if there were any other guild members who were motivated to join because of their deceased parents (she hoped not!)

Once Team Cabasa had finished dinner, they went to pick up their and Team Timpani’s empty dishes before bringing them over to the kitchen, where they assisted Stevia in cleaning them. Helen was amazed at how much work one little Pokémon could do in such a short time. Upon asking her that question, Stevia simply remarked that she’d gotten used to being diligent since joining the guild staff.

After dinner, Alphonzo directed Helen and Reed to their crew room. As he led them down a hallway opposite to Matilda’s chamber yet decorated with the same red carpet and more tapestries and paintings, Helen couldn’t help but feel the homely atmosphere that each crew room they passed by provided. It seemed like each team who chose to live here wanted to make sure that their room was lively and welcoming to visitors.

“And here we are,” Alphonzo announced as the end of the hallway opened up to reveal a crew room. Helen and Reed nudged their way past him to take a look around. It was a medium-sized room that consisted of a few plants here and there. To the left was a wooden chest with steel supports, much like the one Matilda kept in her chamber. To the right was a small window that provided a beautiful view of the outside world. And right in the middle, atop that same red carpet with golden lining, were two straw beds.

Reed clutched the stick in his paws as tears began to well up in his eyes. “This is…” he whispered.

“Your mother’s former room, back when she was still working for the guild,” Alphonzo finished. He sighed sadly. “I apologize, but this was the only room we could provide.” He tilted his head to the side. “If you’d like, I could convince another team to switch places.”

Reed put up a paw. “No, Al,” he said. “It’s fine. I just… I wasn’t really expecting to sleep in my mother’s former room, s’all.”

Al’s eyes widened with surprise at this. But then, he smiled warmly. He knelt down to put a hand on the Grookey’s shoulder. “That is a good thing to hear,” he told him. “And I’m sure your mother would be very proud of you for gathering up the courage to join the guild.”

Reed only smiled and nodded in response.

Al stood up and began to make his way to the exit. “Now, I suggest you two get some rest,” he said. “Tomorrow, your official business in the Haxorus Guild begins. Good night to you both.” He then turned on his heel and left Team Cabasa on their own.

Reed sighed as he pulled the bag off of his shoulder before taking off his Detect Band. Helen did the same with her Lucky Ribbon before collapsing on her bed. “What a day,” she sighed.

“Yeah,” Reed replied with a chuckle. “ My heart was pounding in my chest all day. But, we did it. We’re finally in the Haxorus Guild.” He looked out the window. “If only Mom could see me now.”

Silence passed between the two of them before Reed let out a huge yawn. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to hit the hay,” he said sleepily. “Besides, Al’s got a point – tomorrow, we will start working as official guild members.” He smiled. “So, let’s give it our all!”

Helen smiled and nodded. She watched as Reed drifted off to sleep before turning her head to the window. The moon was a bright silver, flooding its light upon the team as she reflected upon the events that had transpired today. But moreover, she still had a lot of questions that burned in her mind: Why was she here? What was her purpose in this world, a world that she knew little to nothing about? And what of her dream from this morning, and the cryptic message to “protect the Flames?” What even were the Flames anyway?

She felt her eyelids grow heavy as a sleepy feeling began to take over. Letting out a yawn, she decided that it would be best to get some sleep for now.

As she drifted off to sleep, Helen hoped that being part of the guild would provide her with the answers she would seek…and a way for her to become human again.