[IC] Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Void

[Kamen Evie]

I shrug. I never really understood that whole “chi” thing. It’s apparently supposed to be some sort of natural energy that’s in all living things, but what does that have to do with punching things? Wouldn’t yelling sort of decrease the amount of chi you have, considering you’re using energy to yell? Can you have too much chi if you yell a lot and don’t punch anything? What happens then? Is it like when you fail at lightning-bending? Or maybe that’s why grumpy old Pokemon always age the worst; the excess chi from yelling at everyone is causing their bodies to deteriorate faster. I reach for my book in order to write a reminder to ask a Fighting-Type or some sort of guru about this later, but quickly realize that I’d left it in the room. Damnit…

Dirty indeed… I think to myself, the Zorua’s cut-off statement making me feel… uncomfortable. I open my mouth to correct his Fletchling friend’s assumption, but Levita already has it covered.

“Umm, hello.” I say awkwardly with a little wave, feeling like I need to come with a better follow-up slogan at some point or another. After I shake Ebon’s hand, I wave at the other members of the team as they’re introduced, and nod when the Zorua asks if we should walk together to the cafeteria. I’m interrupted by an oddly skittish Nincada who seems to have some sort of speech impediment.

“It’s actually Crescendo,” I correct, putting some emphasis on the “sh” portion of the word. “No ‘t’ sound involved. You see, the ‘c’ is actually a soft consona-” I’m interrupted again when he both asks and voices his enthusiasm for food. He has a very basic yet disjointed way of speaking, like he doesn’t really have a good understanding of the language he’s using.

“Well, yeah,” I respond sheepishly. “There’s probably a lot of food in the cafeteria. We’re going there right now, if you don’t know where it is…”

[KaBling]

Sure enough, our client seemed to think yelling at us would be more effective than actually doing something. I had to drag him down before some stray attack would end up striking him in the face. That's how all villains come about, after all. "John you twat, you ought to keep your head down!" I scolded at him, looking around the swamp for any other commotion while ensuring he was enjoying himself. Well, at least make him feel like paying us in the end. I had no idea what was going on out there, and I didn't want to know. Surely John didn't want to either.

- - -

No, no, no. You know, I rarely feel anything. Emotions? Something our ancestors thought were useless, trying to erase such things like a taboo. Sure enough, that ended well for them. It was 'logical' to engage in mutually assured destruction, and for what? Scientific advance? It doesn't take a robot to figure out that just didn't make sense, and I AM one.

Well, was. When the world was young and charred, simple beings of bells and keys were considered Pokemon. I suppose I can't deny the fact I'm also a Pokemon.

"Milloon, that place is the literal representation of a pit of death-"

"But we gotta explore that place down there!" Dear Liberty. I just realised why I've been regretting everything I've done for the past millennium. Sure, Miles got in trouble a lot and he was just a hunk of metal at the time, but DEAR GOD HE WAS NOT AS ANNOYING AS MILLOON! I regret everything just by being near Milloon. Every second, he would ramble on about some ridiculous thing, such as going on a quest to save a princess, or nuking the world again. Was he infected with malware or something? In this little cabin, every little jar collected over the years seemed to have cracked just from the very frequency of his voice. "It's gonna be fun! We get to fight monsters, ghosts, vampires-"

"For the last time. There is NO such as thing as ANY of the aforementioned you confounded-"

And then, it occurred to me. Somehow, over the voice of Milloon's shenanigans, I realised I had missed Miles. I was... a broke dick piece of shit drill. What have I done? I've left myself in a mess, forced to listen to the innocent yet broken voice of Milloon. Miles was probably crying while I tried to truly relax. But as a soldier, you know two things: desertion gets you shot, and you can never relax. For once, I felt... guilty.

With that in my mind, I thought of a plan to escape. Before long, I had charged the cannon on my back, a yellow hue enveloping the room before leaving a mere hole in the wall. And the melted remains of a Porygon, sending out sparks and oddly physical numbers.

"Sorry 'bout that." I whispered, not really giving a damn as I left the cabin. He was too annoying for me to care about. As I rolled in my old rusted tank treads, I looked behind to see the world I was leaving behind: a cabin, a disused silo and remains of a bomb shelter. I saluted them all in one go before leaving, hearing sand crackle under my treads before officially entering the ocean.

[Lugia]

[Spruce]

Two amazing things finally happened in this fight. First, the solosis' reflect wore off, allowing me to finally attack the thing at full power. Second, I managed to find a weak spot that I could exploit using vine whip. The solosis gulped as soon as it noticed one of its precious shields fading into non-existence, which tipped me off. I noticed the faint pinkish light of light screen, but not the yellowish light of reflect. As soon as I could, I ran up to the thing, and hit it as hard as I could with my vine whip, making sure to hit it directly between the eyes. It was too much for the solosis to take, that is, including Celes' use of ominous wind, and Kamina practically throwing a gastly at it. Said gastly didn't survive Kamina's last flame charge, either, meaning we were free to continue on, finally. "Took you guys long enough. I was starting to wonder if I was going to die of old age before we could get the wonder gummi," John commented. It took everything I had not to use vine whip on him after that, and I just said "Yeah, now, where is this 'guardian' of yours so we can finish this mission?" John then pointed to our left, and I headed in that direction immediately, making sure my teammates were following along. We eventually reach a strange-looking altar or something, holding some sort of orb, one that glowed with a bright, white light. "Uh... John? Are you sure this is where your gummi is? All I see is some sort of orb," John then insists "Yes, it's here. The orb's just a facade! You'll see, you'll all see once the guardian gets here!" I then hear a voice from, I guess directly under the murky water underneath the altar "Okay deary, mommy's gotta go for a bi-" the voice was cut off by a higher-pitched, louder, and more annoying voice "Ugh, MOM! Who's going to finish dinner then, huh!? I'm STARVING!" The first voice then adds "It will only be for a moment, you can wait," The murky swamp then seems to somehow open up, and some sort of platform raises a nidoqueen up to ground level. She clears her throat, and says "Intruders, state your business!" She said that part, though, as if she was reading from something, rather that just saying it from memory. John then blurts out "We're here for the priceless artifact that you guard, oh guardian!" The nidoqueen then answers "I see. Obviously, I can't just let anyone have that, so, I will have to fight you," she said this in an oddly calm manner, and stepped off of her platform, letting it lower itself back to where it was. She then attacked John with a poison jab before we could do anything, leaving him in bad shape right from the start. "Hey! Hands off the client!" I end up shouting, using vine whip on her after that, though, it didn't seem to do that much, unfortunately.

---

[Anthony]

Rounds and rounds of absorb, tackle, absorb, heal passed by as the others dealt with the various other pokemon for a while, with Josh learning a new move in thunderbolt, which was probably going to be enough for them to finally get here. They then formulate a plan to get Josh closer to us, with Xeno confused as to whether he should help Josh out now, or later. I would have said something, but I needed to keep my focus on this fight, lest I forget to attack by accident. "Hmph, I can already tell you're getting tired, Anthony. You should just give up, and join me as we destroy that 'team' of yours... oh, it's not even YOUR team? All the more reason to destroy it, right, old friend?" I look right at him, and shout "I will NEVER give up!" I then thought back to the scrafty fight, wondering how, exactly, I pulled off that odd move. If I could figure that out, this fight would be over. Unfortunately, all I can recall after getting kicked, and having my helmet knock me out was just darkness, well, until I woke up and the scrafty was looking much more tired, and I was much more energetic for whatever reason. Maybe that move just happens at random. I mean, usually, when a pokemon's in a situation like this, they'd end up using, or at least be able to use, their secret move... yet, I can't for some reason. I think as I continue the pattern, ad nauseum.

---

[Bonnie]

Thankfully, William came to his senses, and joined us at the dinner table shortly afterwards, though, for some reason, he seemed unfocused, just sitting there, daydreaming about something. There seemed to be a trio of new members in Wally's guild, all of whom showed up at the table as well. Particularly, they were a gastly, a larvitar, and a bagon, who I think I've seen before. I finally introduce myself after my second plate of food vanishes, saying "Hello, new recruits, I'm Bonnie, of Team Green. I know, that team name seems a bit odd, considering that only one of us is green, but believe it or not, this smeargle used to be a keckleon! Anyways, I wish you three the best of luck on your missions," I then smiled at them, letting them know that yes, I actually notice them, unlike several other pokemon who seemed concerned about their own teams and nothing more. A couple of jokers show up, and shout "Team Awesome has arrived!" Though, I didn't know of any team 'awesome', a group consisting of a snivy, a bulbasaur, and a mudkip entered the door, asking "So, where's our food?" They came here late, so, by now, most, if not all of the food was already eaten. "Um..." I answer, having eaten the last of the apples that was on the table. They then point directly at me, and say "You! You are now an enemy of Team Awesome! Your life is forfeit!" I just laugh at this, knowing full well that my team could easily beat them, should the need arise.

[Sumable]

-William-
After dozing off with part of a berry in my hand, I snap back into consciousness and hear some 'team awesome' say that we're their enemies. "So now we're your enemies because you showed up late and we're the last ones here?" I ask them. The mudkip nods. I grumble, and ate the rest of the berry I had in my hands. It was pretty tasty. I stand up and walk past the recruits, and then past 'Team Awesome'... what kind of a name was that, anyway? I walked out into the main room and saw that most people were heading into the crew rooms. 'Team Awesome'. They wouldn't stand a chance against Samuel if he ever set the place on fire again. But that would probably get him arrested. I walked into the crew rooms and into our room, slumping over on my bed. We needed another bed for Eralion. When I did lay down, I couldn't get to sleep, no matter how much tossing or turning I did, so I stared out the window in a daydream...

[Riddles]

"Thanks, Xeno." Josh said. "Keep those wild Pokemon at bay. I'll handle this."
Josh looked over at Anthony and Martin. They were still exchanging Absorbs and Tackles, while Martin would occasionally eat an oran berry to recover his health. Electricity started to build up in his body as he prepared his attack. He waited for a Anthony to use Absorb, and then, before Martin got a chance to attack, he used Thunderbolt on him. He hoped that Martin was too focused on Anthony to notice him, because if he was, that attack would catch him completely off guard.

[Evanist]

As the group advanced, Celes was getting more and more annoyed by the comments that their clients were doing.
"Next time we will just leave you there in the forest if you continue to insult us." she then says to him as she turned around, annoyed. She then keep moving forwards, visibly annoyed. She stays near Spruce. Just then they heard voices before a nidoqueen arrived, asking why they were intruding. John then said he wanted the treasure, and to this, Celes just grin as she sees the nidoqueen going and striking John hard.... Well... he should have shut up there. A hit like that migth just go and stop him from going on and on. She then saw Spruce going and attacking the nidoqueen. She then used hidden power on the nidoqueen.
"Spruce... I have a bad feeling about this... I mean.... last we know she might be protecting a object of great power that could make someone stronger then anything, and John here.... seeing how he acts, might backstab... just be careful." she then says, ready to get with the fight, but also ready in case John decides to backstab the group.

------------------

Eralion listened as he finished eating, before hearing team 'awesome' going and telling them that they were now enemy. He turned and looked at the group, straight forwards.
"Cause you were late and we were hungry? Talk about a reason to be enemies... team awesome... more like team late for lunch and blames others." he then says, before going to move to his room, on his guard now in case that group was going to attack them... he he counter ready right now. If those guys were to attack, they would get one of the biggest surprise ever. He then enters the room, seeing that there were no beds for him. He breath deeply.
"I guess I need to sleep like I usually did in my travels." he says, before getting his bag and getting out what seemed to be a roll of bamboo mattress with a green sheet. His mother got it for him when she helped a group of merchants that were attacked by pokemon in the forests.. He breath deeply as he finds a spot, places the thing and then lean down, looking up.
"Well... See you guys tomorrow." he says.

[Card Captor]

Kamina

While his fighting spirit had been rekindled through large amounts of violence, Kamina still confused. First there was how he somehow tossed the Ghastly into that...whatever then other thing was, via flaming tackle. That was something he had never consider before (mostly due to his inability to tackle anything as a puny Magikarp), so the sight of it had caught him off guard. Next, there was their client "somebody clear this up for me; is it normal to say hurtful things to the people responsible for you safety, and who could leave you all alone in hostile territory if pushed far enough or even just beat you within an inch of your life? Because none of what he's saying makes any sense otherwise." While Kamina was asking a serious question, he had not taken into account how his new body could cause people to read into what he asked differently

Tini

So after returning to normal Tininess (is now a thing) so wierdos showed up talking about...something, Tini wasn't really paying attention, having been distracted by something shiny. There really wasn't much to do after that anyway, so he lacked the willpower to resist the hypnotic pull of the shiny. In fact, the only thing left to do was eat and get to bed. Although Tini found that dinner had a disappointing amount of cookies (ie none), he still ate regardless. Next up was bed. Getting comfortable on his little sleeping space, he said "you know, no matter how much time passes, I just can't get over how much easierit is to sleep without being in horrible pain. It almost feels like magic, sleep magic. Anyway, before we all get to sleep, I just want you guys to know that I-" halfway though saying 'I', Tini passed out like a light

[Stale Pizza]

Levita was surprised by the appearance of yet another Pokémon, wondering what exactly had Reb and she done recently to attract so much attention. Then again, she remembered her dad saying how they were naturally the "Signpost of the Spirit World". Does attracting souls work that way?

Doesn't matter, I need something to eat, Levita thought. Even her thoughts were being jumbled, and now she was really questioning the fact whether ghosts needed to eat or not. The new Pokémon seemed to be a Nincada who seemed to either be speech impaired or foreign. Maybe both. "Well, um...what Reb said," Levita added with a small smile.

Thankfully the group already got there while they were idly talking, and "Team Frontline" glanced back at them. "Well...there some vacant seats around here. I guess we'll see each other soon," Ebon mutters with a rub of his back. "We got to get going to our table, in case anyone steals it. See ya all."

And with that, the three left, leaving only Levita, Reb, along with their newly gained (?) Scraps and the stranger Nincada. She really wanted him to introduce himself, since she didn't want to call him out personally while getting some random food to eat. The guild dinner wasn't all that impressive - just some mixed fruit slices and some unidentifiable soup, but it would have to do for today.

[Kamen Evie]

“What a mysterious team…” I say quietly after Team Frontline leaves, my head tilted slightly to the side. Why did they emphasize the word “steal” like that? Did they think we’re thieves? Did they have a traumatic experience involving their favorite spot getting stolen? I decide it’s best to not overthink it. Sticking close to Levita, I decide to only take some fruit slices, and even then a carefully determined amount. It’s important to clean your plate and stay healthy (the latter especially when you’re both in the adventuring business and happen to be a princess), and that means no mysterious soup. But what if the soup is actually really good for you? The dilemma manages to occupy my thoughts as I sit down and eat quickly yet delicately, one of my many skills.

I eventually decide that it probably isn’t too bad, but I should know more about what I’m eating irregardless as I finish the last of the fruit and stifle a belch, which still manages to be audible despite my attempts to the contrary. Eating as fast as I did probably wasn't too good of an idea, now that I think about it...

“I, um, e-excuse me…” I say quietly, blushing far more than I should be. Eager to get the attention away from my little blunder, I try to pick one of the more “normal” topics on my mind. It takes a little while longer than it needs to though, resulting in a bit of an awkward silence. Surprisingly, dinnertime conversation seems to not be an inclusion in my list of many talents.

“Umm, Levita?” I eventually ask, more eager to know than to change the subject this time. “What motivated you? To become an explorer, I mean. Is there a cool story to it, or did it just seem like the right thing to do as soon as you heard of it?”

[KaBling]

"Agh, alright now. Let's finish this and head back to the guild." Sure enough, the damned Solosis couldn't exploit the laws of fighting and got badly pounded. Not that we really cared; he did try to hide behind a bunker of moves. Ghastly was also gone, blasted with flames. I felt a somewhat embarrassed and disappointed for causing an explosion earlier, BECAUSE THERE WAS NO GAS AROUND THIS PARTICULAR AREA. Well, better safe than sorry, and John seemed keen to have a chaperone. We did hope that gummi we were finding was just some dud to piss him off, 'cause karma.

Spruce actually knew where he was going, Kamina was in the beat and Celes was... well, Celes. After a while of dodging shadows and branches, we made it to a rather large swamp, surrounded by marsh and putting me off as it was full of annoying buzzing sounds. In the middle of the murky swamp was some sort of prayer alter, with old scripts even Davis probably would've had a hard time understanding. Probably had a swear in there. Interestingly, an orb was perched on top of the old moss-covered alter. "Huh, a facade." I scoffed at John, who seemed like dying at the thought of the gummi at this point. He kinda gave me a bad look while I talked. "We could always take the thing and sell it, y'know. Arceus knows who'll want it, though." A good suggestion it was. We'd probably get a few Pokes, enough to buy a few TMs and kick ass.

And then a giant motherfuckering Nidoqueen. Even for her size. Initially there were bubbly murmurs from underneath us, before a large wooden platform appeared in front of that alter. Of course, John's reckless attitude for life ended up leaving a bad mark on his back, while Spruce was worried about our graves. Oh, what graves you may ask? THESE bloody graves. The ones taking form in this swamp thanks to John and Spruce's immediate response. Well, at least I knew I wasn't gonna die in some swamp, 'cause I'm damn bleeding out here. Anyway, the Nidoqueen seemed rather protective of the alter. That said something.

"Uh, woman." I asked, approaching the Nidoqueen and keeping my distance. "Could we please have a yellow gummi to shut that fucking idiot up?"

[Lugia]

[Spruce]

I was about ready to attack again, and Celes' hidden power did more than I expected, however, after M explained how he wanted a gummi, the nidoqueen asked "You... you really just want a gummi, then?" Both John and I nod, and she continues, asking "You don't even want this orb that I'm guarding?" I then say "No, ma'am," and she asks "Okay, what kind of gu-" she, however, was cut off by John shouting "I want the famous, amazing, magical, wonderful wonder gummi!" The nidoqueen laughs, and says "Oh, you just want one of those things. I guess someone heard about me getting a wonder gummi once a week," John mutters something to himself, and the nidoqueen leaves using that same platform that she used to get here. I then heard some more voices from below, though, since they were much more quiet than the yelling that occurred earlier, I couldn't quite figure out what was being said. John then asks "B-but isn't... isn't the gummi her greatest treasure?" I shrug, and finally decide to answer Kamina with "No, it's not normal, and I honestly don't know why he was so critical of us earlier," a few moments earlier, the nidoqueen comes back, this time with the wonder gummi, whose color seemed to change depending on how you looked at it. "Honestly, I've gotten sick of their flavor. Here, you can have this one, for free," she then hands me the gummi, and I give it directly to John, who looks a little confused for some reason. He eats the gummi, but nothing obviously magical or strange happened to him afterwards. "Can we call this a completed mission?" I then ask John, who nods. Just before I hit the button, however, I hear the platform being lowered and risen again, and I could almost faintly make out the words "WAIT FOR ME!" Though, upon teleporting, there was only my team, and John with us.

---

[Anthony]

Another absorb, and Martin was just about to heal with an Oran berry when Josh came from nowhere, and hit him with a thunderbolt, not only burning his berry, but greatly damaging him, as well, in the process. I then decided to tackle him, given that I didn't need to heal anything, and I managed to send him back a couple of feet. He tackled me back, and I countered his tackle, knocking him out, and confusing his teammates, all of whom either flew/ran off, or were just running around this place for some stupid reason. Troy, the purrloin who helped us out earlier, then returns with the carbink, and says "Wow... I guess he never really did beat you, did he?" I respond with "Of course not. If he did, do you think he'd be hiding out in a place like this?" Troy shrugs, and the carbink says "Th-thanks, by the way. I was going to send an SOS letter, but I couldn't find a piece of paper. This 'Martin' fellow apparently doesn't like keeping that stuff around," I then look back at the rest of my team, and say "You know, a fight like this... it kinda reminds me of why and when I joined you guys in the first place. Thanks. I really couldn't have done it without any of you," I then teleport the team, carbink included, back to the guild, and for some odd reason, Troy came with us. "I suppose I should repay you for what you've done. Here, it isn't much, but, you can have it," the carbink then hands us an odd, golden berry, and a blue gummi while Troy heads down the ladder for some unknown reason. Officer bisharp, who never gives anyone his real name, then appeared, with Martin between himself, and several deputies. "Here's the bounty that was on this guy's head," he then says to us, handing Josh 2000 pokedollars, and running off to wherever they head off to after they've caught a criminal.

---

[Bonnie]

I head past 'Team Awesome', feeling unusually happy as I do so, and actually hopping like the rest of my kind usually does, instead of walking like I usually used to do. They don't say anything else, simply settling on a glare that was supposed to be intimidating or something, but obviously failed. I wonder if we'll ever see them again. Meh, we probably will, they DID say we were their enemies, after all. I think as I approach the team rooms, with mine being the second one on the left. The rest of the team was there, and Tini, thankfully, slept in his own bed rather than on our new teammate. I would have offered the new teammate my bed, but, well, he was already asleep, and I didn't want to wake him up, at all. I then jump (literally) into my bed, and fall asleep almost in an instant. Things were kinda looking up, even if William was going a little nuts, trying to get us to go on two missions in one day. Yeah, the desert heat was harsh, but, I did finally get confirmation that, despite all of what I've done to these guys, they will help me, as friends. This thought on its own was comforting enough to me for this to be considered a good day in my book. I started dreaming, this time about the entire team helping me finally beat down my father, who obviously deserved it after what he's done. Interestingly, in the dream, my father kept shouting about how this isn't possible, about how this shouldn't be happening, and about the fact that I can't do this, that I'm out of my level range, or something stupid like that. I, or rather, my dream self, didn't listen and kept attacking, eventually getting a victory over my father, which would have brought a smile to my face if I was still awake, somehow.

[Evanist]

As Celes listened to all that was being said, she stared at John annoyed cause of how he expected the gummy to be one of the great treasures of the world... only to have it be a gummy that changes color... and probably taste depending on who eats it. Seriously though, she was glad this mission was over... She wanted to get away from him. He was a disgrace to all eeveelution everywhere. Hiding behind rocks, yelling at the ones that worked for him... Seriously though, she was glad that was over. She walked to Spruce and breath deeply.
"Job done..." she says before lowering her voice.
"And I just want to get away from this guy as quick as possible... and never do any more jobs for him ever again.... alright?" she then whispers to Spruce. If it wasen't for her patience, which was running thin, she would have gone and striked the client so hard on the head that he would probably faint in one strike. But she kept calm. Next time.... it would be best to just go and get the item, and then come back and give it to the client instead of the client coming with them if hes gonna act like this.

------------------------------------------------------

As Eralionwas sleeping, he was having some strange dreams. Dreams about metalic gears, hammer sounds all around him, magnemites and other things flying around. He looked everywhere, confused as heck about the dream, as he was walking forwards, looking everywhere. Though he didn't feel like he was walking, just floating, as if a spectator to what he was seeing. Many pokemons were working around the place, trying to keep the place sturdy until what felt like a earthquake started to shake under them. Then the dream went blank, with nothing happening, before a normal dream started to take place, with Eralion in the forest, walking around and helping pokemons out, dreaming of himself, but bigger... stronger like his mother. One day he might come back to his parents and share stories with them, but for now, he kept sleeping, and dreaming of the possibilities in the future.

[Stale Pizza]

Reb's belch probably didn't matter to Levita as the balloon Pokémon looked around the room and realized the other members were eating far messier than the four of them. Never mind about not using the eating utensils - some even placed it on the tray. Conversely, Scraps had the decency to use the tissues and ate rather slowly. Wasn't really surprising to her, since he already gave the impression of being introverted and calm.

Reb's call to her snapped Levita's attention back to the Ralts. "Huh, what is it?" she asked before Reb asked her back about her explorer motivations. Levita stopped eating for a second, swallowing the food (which would have made others wonder where the food actually went) and going into deep thought.

"Oh...um, well, I wanted to follow my dad's footsteps. Not like we have feet, anyway, but that's besides the case," Levita responded, scraping her spoon against the surface of her tray. "But...my dad was a S-Class explorer. First-rate and renowned. He might have gone through some issues in his life, but I think he's awesome regardless."

Levita lowered down on her seat and smiled. "My dad always fascinated me and my brother with his dungeon tales and even showed off a few of his signature moves at times," she added, sighing. "...Then my dad somehow disappeared during one of his dungeon trips. We waited for days, and days became weeks, and weeks became months. I was convinced he might have lost his spirit...but my brother Cobust wasn't convinced by that.

"Cobust and I both decided to be explorers then and now, but then my brother, who could never let go of the past...he became the more notable explorer soon after our dad's disappearance. It was just unfair," Levita clenched her strands and looked up to Reb. "Cobust somehow managed to learn and master our family's Shadow Ball at an early age, he's far more combat experienced, and he even evolved faster...I decided to separate and begin again, which is why I came to Allure. I don't hate Cobust, but...it always feels like he's one step ahead. Always."

Levita floated back up on her seat and tried to smile again. "That's why I'm going to make sure to place all my dedication to this guild and team. Soon enough, I'll become an S-class explorer, just like my dad was and what he would have wanted."

[Card Captor]

Kamina

"I have to say; I'm loving my new body...although the fact that all of you are bellow my eye level is going to take a lot of getting used to" Kamina commented "But wow, a food that changes colors, that isn't highly toxic. No wonder they call it the wonder gummy. There really are so many amazing things in this world. I'm glad I get to see them with all of you" he told the others "I just can't wait to see what our next adventure has in store for us! Arceus I'm just so...happy to be alive right now." A few great manly tears gathered in his eyes. "Take care guy who uses a lot of hurtful words!" he said his farewell to the Jolteon who's name everyone would probably forget really soon.

Tini

The inner mechanations of the mind of one like Tini are not for the faint of heart. Such forbidden thoughts have been know to make the minds of lesser men (and women) implode...no, really. Consider yourself warned

Tini's dream began in a nondescript grassy plain. So nondescript that upon trying to describe it, one would find themselves unable to find the words to do so. Such was the power of it's nondescriptness (is now a word). However the plain itself was not important (mostly because of it's godly nondescriptness), no the more noteworthy thing was Bonnie suddenly appearing. "Hi Bonnie!" Tini greeted the dream construct of his friend

"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and MY BALLS is the sun." Bonnie recited in a mostly monotone voice before pulling out a pair of bouncy balls and began to juggle them

"Hehe! You're funny Bonnie" Tini laughed at the antics of dream Bonnie.

Suddenly, a hole to a realm of pure agony opened in the sky above, and out came a horrific creature, one that could not be described in any mortal tongue "PUNY CREATURE, I HAVE COME FOR YOU IMMORTAL SO-GAH!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!?? It was broken off when Tini jumped at it

"Hugs!" Was his one word answer as he used his entire body to hug the otherworldly monster

"NO, NO! GET OFF OF ME! THE HUGS, THEY BURN!!!" The creature manged to rip Tini off of him before he could be erased from existence by the power of Tini's hug "W-WHAT KIND OF MONSTER ARE YOU???"

Tini merely tilted his head and responded with "hugs?"

The monster shrieked in a similar manor to a little girl before retreating back into the safety of the agony realm "STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!"

"Okay I love you bye bye" Tini waved it off "He's so silly"

Meanwhile, dream Bonnie was still in the background juggling "oh yes...my balls" and suddenly her balls turned into tiny suns.

Then the giant robots came and things started getting weird...

[Riddles]

Thankfully, one Thunderbolt was enough to turn the battle in their favor. Anthony knocked out Martin, and then teleported everyone back to the guild, including Troy and the Carbink.
"You know, a fight like this... it kinda reminds me of why and when I joined you guys in the first place. Thanks. I really couldn't have done it without any of you," Anthony said.
"I know you'd do the same thing for us." Josh said. "If Zane shows up again...I hope he doesn't...but if he does, I know you'll back me up. Why would I not do the same for you?"
Officer Bisharp handed Josh the reward money, then carried Martin off to the prison. "Let's hope he stays there this time." Josh said.

Matt then woke up, yawning a little. "So, I assume we won?" He said.
"Oh, you're awake!" Josh said.
Matt picked up Josh's bucket, and began heading back to their room, assuming Anthony and Xeno would follow him. This was the first time they've used their beds since they went to that mission in Crystal Chasm. They both needed some rest. They had a long day ahead of them tomorrow.

[Kamen Evie]

“S-Class?” I repeat quietly, putting a hand to my chin. Did that mean he got an excellent style ranking? Are we ranked based on style? How would that work, do our clients evaluate our level of style? I always thought that was kind of weird and almost nonsensical how much that ranking tradition bled out from it’s source. Not that it would be a problem either way, considering that we practically embody "style"... I manage to snap myself out of my train of thought and continue to listen to her story to the last word, my interest in her story overriding my other sets of questions.

“I… think I get what you mean, Levita,” I say slowly, playing with my hair absentmindedly as I talk. “My brother’s way stronger than I am, too. Ever since we lost Mom, he was always training, or researching, and trying to find some way to become smarter and stronger. I could talk to him for hours and hours, but it always felt like nothing was ever getting through to him…” I sigh, the exasperated breath of air blowing my hair around wildly for a moment as I reach towards my neck with my right arm, quickly realizing that there’s nothing there at the moment.

“Eventually,” I continue, “I realized that since Leon was the only one of us who was going to get any influence back home, and there wasn't going to be much that I could do about it once he did, that I needed to leave. I needed to go out and find some sort of resolution in my life, and what better way to do that than by seeing the world and helping those in need, you know?” I take another deep breath after I’m finished before scooting out from the table.

“Well, that was a really good talk,” I say quickly as I stand up and push my chair back in telekinetically. “Feels real nice to get all that stuff off our chests, figuratively speaking, doesn’t it, Levita? Like a refreshing spring breeze. I’m kind of tired, though, so I guess I’ll be heading back to the room for now, leave when you’re ready, ok?” I turn around and leave the cafeteria.

[bobert778]

Still caught up in his scrap with the tyrogue, Xeno had failed to notice the as the nearby fight began to come to a close. The tyrogue however, who had been facing towards Anthony, Martin, and Josh as the final blows were struck, managed to see the fight was lost and after lazily countering a scratch attack gave a grunt of frustration and fled. Xeno didn't give chase, confused by his opponent's sudden departure which took the edge off his shock from being teleported once again.

They were back in that dwelling again, far from the place they had trekked to and apparently safe. "This feels like a dream," was all the sableye managed to mutter, watching as the pokemon he associated with talked among themselves and with others. He was distant enough that nobody would have heard him, and he felt somewhat apart from it all as the pokemon they'd gone to hunt down was taken away. Matt awoke from his slumber in a convenient fashion, and again took up the job of hauling about Josh while the two shared a few short words then went off to another room in the dwelling. Unsure what else to do, Xeno followed, and not knowing really what to do with himself crawled into the darkest corner he could find and lay down- crystal eyes unblinking as his thought reeled.

[KaBling]

"Nothing about stopping a situation from turning ugly without using my magnets? Alright, fine then." I was equally as confused at to what had happened. I kinda wanted to brag to Celes and Kamina how I wasn't the guy who beat up a Zubat, but... well, it just wouldn't sound right. And I wouldn't be far from that guy.

Well, we completed our mission without much bloodshed. John was initially somewhat annoyed with getting attacked a few times, but as it turned out, the gummi in his paws mesmerised him enough to start caring about us. I hoped he did anyway. "Well, we got the contract done." I sighed, tired from our fighting in the swamp. Or rather just from having to deal with John's attitude all day. "Let's get our payday, go to bed, and pretend today never happened."

There was some rambling by Celes and some euphoria from Kamina, but I just simply went to up to Spruce and told him I'd be heading off to our room. I wasn't really sleepy, but... well, I wasn't quite sure what else to do.

[Lugia]

[Spruce]

I notice M following me to the room, and I look back at him, and say "Hey, great job back there, solving the problem with your words rather than by beating them to death," I then continue towards the room, already knowing that I was late for dinner, though, I was certianly hungry enough for it. There weren't too many pokemon walking down the hallway, and there was some sort of new team that I didn't have the time to greet right now, who were discussing something involving 'S-class' whatever that meant. I was too tired, both mentally and physically to deal with anyone else right now, so I just ignored the group, which included a member or two from 'team frontline' for whatever reason. I then make it back to my room, and simply collapse into my bed. Once asleep, I didn't have any kind of dream, though, maybe I was just too tired to actually think up a dream, or something, but, the bed has never felt more comfortable, even if I failed to make it, and was sleeping above the covers due to my tiredness and laziness. I never wanted to help out John the jolteon again, especially if he was going to continue to act how he did during this last mission that involved him. The weirdest thing, though, was the fact that I could smell the swamp, as in, that was the last thing I smelled before I went to sleep. Thankfully, no nightmares came from that smell, or anything.

---

[Anthony]

I nod to Josh, and notice Matt wake up, just to head right for bed. I, however, was much more hungry than I was sleepy, so I headed off to the mess hall, only to notice that nobody was there, and there were a few scraps here and there from a completed dinner. Dang, I missed dinner, again. I just wish I saved an apple or two from the dungeon, but, nope, I had to get rid of them because they looked dirty. I think as I, feeling left out, head right for my room. I end up stopping once I notice a group crowding the entrance to the mess hall. This group consisted of a drifloon, a ralts, and a nincada who didn't seem all to chatty. "Um, hello, new team. I'm Anthony, a member of Team Scarab, one of the, well, moderately famous teams in this guild. So, I've got some time, did you three want to talk to me about anything?" I say to the trio. The other pokemon, someone from that team of jerks 'team frontline', then just seems to walk away, saying something about not wanting to talk to a 'D-ranking scrub' such as myself before leaving. Since when did we have ranks? What's an S-rank even mean around here? Why wasn't I told any of this by Archie or Arnold? I think as I watch him leave. He didn't look too much stronger than I was, but apparently, he was among the best... to those who actually knew who they were. Honestly, though, I had to be a higher rank than D, I was on a mission to save the world for crying out loud.

[Stale Pizza]

Just as Rebecca had listened intently to her story, Levita listened to Reb's story as well, keeping her arm strands away from the tray and turning to her. The balloon realized that despite their small personality differences, their history wasn't all that different. Maybe they were going to really get along with all this exploration team issues.

When Reb got up, Levita felt a bit full as well, and held up her tray to return it on top of a lone counter, where all of the used trays seemed to be stacked upon. Quickly she floated there and back, rubbing her eyes. "Yeah...we got a big day ahead of us, so rest well. Need to be ready for our first mission and all," she agreed, before realizing she had nearly forgotten someone, turning back to Scraps.

Scraps...she really hadn't noticed that he was there, eating all his food and overhearing them. The Scraggy hardly showed any emotion as he poked his leftovers with his utensils, and the scene made Levita felt guilty that they had ignored him all this time. Well, he never commented when they talked, but she also remembered that he was alone this whole time. She clenched the ends of her strands and slowly floated away. I don't even have the face to apologize to him, she told herself, leaving Scraps with the Nincada...she wasn't sure if the thing came along, actually.

Levita had left the cafeteria minutes after Reb, and so she was unable in see her anywhere. Probably went back to their room already. The Drifloon didn't feel like going to sleep; she wasn't tired, anyway. She was a ghost, after all, and ghosts didn't need sleep and were supposed to be more active during the night. She was intending to wander around the town for a while and just gaze at the stars. No scaring others tonight. She was too excited about tomorrow and didn't need to entertain herself.

Levita quickly levitated herself upward towards the guild entrance (or exit, in this case), and moved toward the town square. Night vision kicked in for a moment, but was soon blinded out from the lights. The town certainly wasn't less busy, even in the night, with several civilians wandering around. In fact, Levita could feel the presence of fellow ghosts, and noticed one nearby on the counter as a Chandelure, and shuffled close to her before realizing the Pokémon's presence was unfamiliar to her mom's. She was a bit too close, however, as the stranger Chandelure - who Levita identified as Candace thanks to the self-explanatory sign in front of her - glared back, and she immediately moved away.

Then she moved towards the Bisharp constabulary. Levita had recalled how her father mentioned that he often had to do bounty missions, and whenever there was a guild in town, bounties had to certainly be taken to the town constabulary, where they locked up the targets for whatever crime they had committed. She expected their team to be doing bounty missions fairly soon, and as the apparent leader, she needed to know how everything worked around here.

Levita shuddered when she entered the constables, detecting the Bisharp officer. These officers could seriously beat me down with one hit, that's for sure, she thought, seeing the officer bring away a Mudkip outlaw. There was a group of Pokémon around her age nearby with similar guild badges, and one of them was accepting the reward money. A Reuniculus, Goomy, Skrelp, and Sableye. Certainly an exploration team.

The three of them went off by themselves, leaving only the Goomy, which she promptly approached before he could go off anywhere. If they're from the same guild, but a different team...then I should get acquainted with them. One team could only do so much. If we can build some relationships with other teams, then the work would be less stressful. And it's perfect for spreading the word of Team Crescendo! she reasoned, smiling.

"Hey, you're from the Allure Guild, right?" Levita asked with a friendly smile. Getting a closer look at the Goomy, she couldn't help but admit that he was a bit cute, but tried her best to appear calm and casual. She added her question with another one, hoping to start a conversation. Yes, she was going to act as the beginner (which could be half-true). "Then you might know how things work around here. Do you know where to find the bounty bulletin board? I've been searching around here, but I never found it. Sorry...I guess I'm a bit blind when it comes to finding stuff."