The Pokemon world was rather lively at night. Nocturnal creatures of all sorts, as well as those who did not require sleep, were drawn to the protection of the Alakazam Explorers’ Guild. Bug- and Ghost-types dotted the nighttime landscape as they went about their nightly business, including a particular earthen figure who often found himself working away in the quarry where the Guild gathered materials for construction.

The figure, named Clay, was just outside the entrance to the quarry, repeatedly striking the stones he had hauled out, chipping away at them until they were appropriately stackable. Rubble piled up outside the entrance, where it would lie until it was later turned into cement by enterprising Water-types. [i]Brick Break leaves many rough edges,[/i] he thought, [i]but they will hold fine once cemented together.[/i] This process tended to go much quicker and cleaner when there was a friendly Steel-type to help cut the stones, but the friendly Excadrill who usually helped Clay was nowhere to be found. Clay could see the sun rising in the distance as he began preparing these massive stone slabs for construction. As a possessed hunk of clay, the Golett had no need of sleep, food or drink, and although he had a bunk in the Explorers’ Guild, it was little more than a place used to store extra tools and things that he wasn’t using. When he did need to Rest, Clay would simply dig himself a hole and replenish his body from the materials embedded deep within the earth.

Of course, if he needed a sleeping hole, there was no shortage around the rocky foothills where Clay worked. Quarrying and cutting stone was one of Clay’s favourite activities, and he sometimes felt as though this was what he had been created for in the first place. Digging, Bulldozing and Brick Breaking were second nature to him, and by the time he’d finished collecting, shaping and stacking the requisite stones, he’d discovered all sorts of long-buried knick-knacks which Apricoatl seemed to love so much.

One by one, he began to sort through any anomalies from his excavation, inserting them into a white cloth sack. He mused upon each individual item before placing it inside. [i]What a lovely stone. It almost looks like it has a lightning-bolt pattern on it. It will make for a most fashionable doorstop. And this! Why, it appears to be some sort of... chipped teapot? Well, perhaps Apricoatl will find a use for it.[/i]

His thorough inspection continued for a while longer. Perhaps he was being a bit [i]too[/i] thorough, as by the time he had finished, the sun was coming up, and it was almost time for morning announcements.

...

“OH NO!” Clay proclaimed, “I’M GOING TO MISS MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS!” Sylveon was a harsh taskmaster, and would chastise him or worse if he, a beginner, was late. He began to run towards the guild hall. Well, it was more of a waddle. He began to waddle towards the meeting place as fast as he could, which was still rather slow. “I can’t be late, I’ll get in trouble and everyone will hate me and they’ll put me ba--” his ramblings were interrupted by tripping over a small rock, resulting in him landing on his belly. He looked up from the ground and saw the Guild Hall in the distance. It was a straight shot down a long, narrow street from the quarry where Clay did most of his digging.

“I’ll never make it in time! Unless...” Clay would’ve signed if he could. He tied his cloth sack with a bit of rope, and began to retract his limbs into his rounded body. “Alright Clay, it’s time to Rollout!” And so he did, gaining momentum as he moved closer to the guild hall. Faster, faster... [i]Oh no, this is much too fast.[/i] Things were whirling by him far too fast to take in. He was confused; spinning out of control as he picked up speed. “GET OUT OF THE WAY, I CAN’T STOP!” A Wooper and Pikachu who were having a conversation jumped to the side, a Spearow took off, and an unaware and familiar Excadrill stuck his head out of the ground... just as Clay was rolling over him. “I hear rumbling, what’s going oo-OOOW!?”

The Rock-type attack barely damaged the resistant Excadrill at all, but the momentum from the ascending mole sent Golett flying through the air... right into the wall of the Guild Hall. His limbs (as well as his bag of treasure) popped out as he impacted with the hard stone. He seemed to bounce off the hard surface, leaving only a small dent in the building a few feet off the ground as he fell to the ground in a dazed, confused heap. “Good morning, everyone...” he mumbled, still outside and face down in the dirt. He shuffled uneasily into the meeting area, clutching his bag and hoping nobody would notice his little incident. With a guilty look on his face, he approached Sylveon before the morning announcements: "I... finished quarrying and carving the stones you needed..." He then left to sit with the rest of the beginners that were trickling in, hoping to stay as far away from the harsh taskmaster.