Etouffee Joins the Team
“WHAT?!?” Apple’s voice carried beyond the closed doors of the Guildmaster’s office, causing the few guild members wandering the halls outside to pause for a moment and glance toward their leader’s office. Inside, Apple was sputtering in disbelief at the news she had just been told. “You want us to harbor a criminal?!?”
“Well,” Lliam spoke in a calm but slightly exasperated tone, “He’s not a criminal anymore, or at least, that’s what we’re trying to change. Magnezone is hoping that by reintroducing some of the Pokémon they’ve captured to society in a productive way, we can lower the number of locked up Pokémon and put them to use.”
“But he was locked up for a reason,” Apple countered, “What if he’s a bad influence on the others? Do you even know what he was locked up for?”
“I’m right here…” A gravelly voice grumbled from the corner, where a roughed-up looking Corphish stood. However, no one even glanced in his direction.
Except for Cheesecake. The multi-colored Wooper was absolutely delighted at a potential new friend and was almost crowding the Corphish. “Hey, what’s your name? Where’d you get that scar? What happened to your horn? Ooo, there’s another scar, how many of those do you have?” His volley of questions seemed to exasperate the crustacean, who was trying his best to act like this overeager ‘mon wasn’t there.
“No,” Lliam sighed, “But I seriously doubt they would send us anyone particularly dangerous. Besides, if this works it could score the guild some points in the eyes of the Federation.”
“W-well, couldn’t you at least give this assignment to another team?” Apple lowered her voice, glancing at her Wooper teammate in concern, slightly wringing her fingers. “I don’t think it’d be a good idea to have such a potentially bad influence around Cheesecake. I don’t want him to get hurt.”
Lliam glanced at the two ‘mons in the corner of the room. If Apple had been watching, she would have seen the corner of the Meowstic’s mouth twitch in amusement at the small Wooper harrying the tired-looking Corphish. He then glanced back at Apple, grabbing her attention with a small clearing of the throat, “I understand your concern, Apple, but I’m sure you two will be okay. I don’t think Cheesecake is quite as defenseless as it seems, and he’s got you. Besides, I can’t reassign the Corphish to another team; I randomly drew team names to decide who he’d go with, and Team Gumbo was the name I pulled out of the hat.”
“If you say so, sir,” Apple said, looking down at her hands, then back up at Lliam.
Lliam walked around the desk he had been sitting behind, holding an arm out towards the door as he walked Apple towards it, motioning at the Wooper and Corphish along the way. “Now, why don’t you three go ahead and take a look at the job board. I’m sure a nice little dungeon adventure will be a good bonding exercise and let you get to know each other.”
As Apple stood in front of the job board with Cheesecake and Corphish, she swore she could hear other ‘mons whispering around her about the ne’er do well she was being forced to work with. She felt herself shrink a little imagining all the eyes that must be on her right now, wondering if a criminal could really be turned around. The guild had been told beforehand that they were going to be testing a new rehabilitation project and everyone had been speculating on what the test ‘mon would be like and who they would be assigned to. No one could have guessed that the outlaw would have been paired with such an anxious ‘mon as Apple or a ‘mon as seemingly naïve as Cheesecake. Apple’s heart was doing flips as she glanced around, avoiding the gazes of the other guildmons, settling her gaze on the two ‘mons with her.
“Hey, hey,” Cheesecake bounced around the Corphish, “What’s your name, guy?”
Apple snapped out of her anxiety just for a moment to glare at the Corphish protectively as she said lowly, “His name is gonna be ‘Etouffee’ if he tries to pull anything.”
“Etouffee? Is that your name?” Cheesecake giggled, seemingly only hearing the first part of Apple’s threat. “Etouffee! Etouffee! That’s what I’m gonna call you then! Etouffee!”
The outlaw’s eyes flashed in agitation and he made a motion to speak up and correct the two-toned pint but paused as he looked at the excited Wooper bouncing around him. He sighed in resignation, “Fine, kid, whatever. Yeah, my name is Etouffee.”
Apple huffed and turned to the job board, scanning the papers for a suitable job to take on. After a few minutes of browsing, Apple suddenly had a certain Wooper jumping up and down in front of her in an attempt to see a paper on the board.
“Lets,” jump, “do,” jump, “this one!” At the last two words, Cheesecake closed his mouth on a piece of paper and pulled it down, turning to show it to Apple. “Someone lost their Recovery Scarf in a dungeon. We should go get it for ‘em.”
Apple glanced at the paper, “Looks simple enough to me. But did you pick this one just because the reward is a few Blue Gummis?”
Cheesecake acted offended, “Not just because of that, Apple. I wanna help them, obviously. The Gummis just happen to be a nice bonus, is all.”
Apple smiled in amusement as she slipped the paper into the team’s item bag slung across her shoulder. She fidgeted with her Pecha Scarf, making sure it was in place nice and tight. After taking a moment to make sure Cheesecake’s Lucky Ribbon was in place as well, she turned to Etouffee. “I don’t guess you have an accessory of your own?”
“No,” Etouffee scoffed and shrugged, “Those Magneton didn’t feel like throwing me a goodbye party when I left, so I didn’t get any presents to start my journey to be a Good Samaritan.”
“Well, I guess we can’t have you going into a dungeon without something,” Apple sighed as she pulled a red band with yellow flashes on it out of the bag, walking over to Etouffee’s side to tie it on his arm. “There we go, how’s that Fierce Bandanna feel?”
Etouffee moved his claw and grunted. “It’ll do.”
“I already packed, so I guess we can go ahead and head out.” Apple made a motion towards the doorway of the guild as she turned, “Allons!”
The moment Team Gumbo stepped into the mystery dungeon, the sun seemed to disappear. Despite it having been midday outside, here it was night.
The sky was filled with bright stars and a glowing moon illuminated the surroundings. It was a dense forest full of life. The sounds of various bugs chirping and frog-like Pokémon filled the air. The sound of a trickling stream was off in distance. The air, with the smell of rain and wet earth, filled the team’s lungs. Apple sighed contentedly, closing her eyes for a few moments to bathe in the sensations that reminded her of home.
“Alright, y’all,” Apple turned to Cheesecake and Etouffee, “Let’s get to work. Cheesecake, don’t go wanderin’ too far off, ya hear? And Etouffee… Well, you best be on your best behavior. Don’t go getting any funny ideas about running off.”
“Oh, I would never dream of leaving your wonderful presence,” Etouffee rolled his eyes, prompting Apple to narrow hers in response before turning back around and starting to walk around the chamber they were currently in. Etouffee glanced at Cheesecake. “Is she always this prickly?”
Cheesecake shook his head. “I think she’s just having some anxiety or something. You seem like an okay guy to me.”
“Thanks, kid.” Etouffee chuckled, “You’re not too bad yourself.”
Cheesecake smiled and nodded, starting to run after Apple, “Let’s go kick some butt!”
With that, the team started to explore the dungeon. Floor after floor, the team worked to collect items and defeat dungeon ‘mons. Cheesecake used his Water Gun to hit enemies a step before they reached him. Apple used her Bubblebeam to snipe ‘mons from across the room and her Double Slap when they got too close for her liking. Etouffee also used Bubblebeam to take down enemies from afar, but used Night Slash when they got too close. Though Apple knew in the back of her head that Etouffee was probably an experienced battler due to his background, she was still somewhat surprised at his skill and how well he fought with her and Cheesecake already.
After conquering a number of floors, Corphish held his claw out and stopped the team. He pointed his claw toward the room in front of them silently. There in the room was a Pokemon made of a huge mass of blue vines. Etouffee lowly grunted, “A Tangrowth. Those don’t usually hang out here do they?”
“What’s he doing here?” Apple whispered.
Etouffee squinted. “Look closer, there on his arm.”
Apple looked to where he was pointing and saw it: a Recovery Scarf wrapped around a bundle of vines that made up the creature’s arm. “Could that be…?”
“Our client’s item?” Etouffee growled, turning toward his teammates, “I don’t doubt it. I’ve heard of this ‘mon. Real piece of work, he is. Attacks weaker ‘mons and steals their stuff. Typical bully of a ‘mon.”
“The client didn’t mention him on their job posting.”
“Probably too afraid it wouldn’t be done if they mentioned it. I don’t blame them, the guy’s a tough sonuva.”
“I’m not sure if this is a good idea,” Apple said with a concerned look, “He’s a grass type. Cheesecake…”
“I don’t think the kid cares,” Etouffee said, pointing.
To Apple’s horror, Cheesecake had already slipped away from the group and was sneaking his way into the room. Before she could say anything, the Wooper let off an Earth Power. A hole was suddenly blasted in the floor, throwing hard earth in the Tangrowth’s face with the force of a geyser. This rocked the Tangrowth back before he stood and looked around, surprised and confused. Cheesecake called out, “Hey, you big bully!”
“Why you little piece of—” the Tangrowth stepped forward, towering over Cheesecake. The behemoth raised a long arm of vines and brought them down.
But before he could strike Cheesecake, Etouffee was there in front of the Wooper, catching the monster’s vines in his claw. As shadow enveloped his claw, he ripped through the Tangrowth’s vines with a vicious Night Slash. The beast cried out and recoiled, backing up in surprise at the Corphish’s sudden appearance.
For a split second, Apple was frozen in surprise. This Pokémon who she had so doubted had rushed to save Cheesecake without a second thought. He could have been pummeled, crushed under the Tangrowth’s vines if his claws hadn’t moved fast enough. But he had taken the chance, all to help Cheesecake. Maybe, just maybe—
“Hey, Apple,” Etouffee yelled, “Jump off my back!”
Apple snapped out of her thoughts. Without a word, she ran forward and jumped on Etouffee’s back. As she jumped forward toward the Tangrowth, Etouffee pushed up to give her more momentum. Apple flew forward and landed on the Tangrowth’s face.
“Why don’t you pick on someone yer own size?” Apple yelled as her desire to protect Cheesecake took over. She slapped the surprised Tangrowth not once or twice, but five times with her Double Slap, before using the monster’s head as a jumping board and jumping off and behind him. “Cheesecake! His legs!”
“Got it!” Cheesecake called. As the creature stumbled around confused and reeling from Apple’s Double Slap attack, Cheesecake rushed to the Tangrowth’s side and used a Slam attack with more power than would be expected of a creature Cheesecake’s size. With this, the Tangrowth stumbled and fell to the side, dazed and swinging wildly in fear.
Etouffee laughed and rushed forward. His claw was now enveloped in water and as he brought it down on the Tangrowth, he seemed to hit a weak spot. Despite the type advantage Tangrowth should have, the water attack blew a hole in the middle of the mass of vines that was his body. The Tangrowth roared. His body tried to repair itself, new vines trying to fill the gap, but it was no use. With a torn up arm and a major wound, the Tangrowth was unable to get up. With a few more attacks from Team Gumbo, the outlaw was down for the count.
After turning the criminal over to Magneton and receiving their reward for returning the Recovery Scarf, the team rushed to go have the Blue Gummis they got as a reward made into drinks. As the three sat at their table, sipping their drinks, Apple cleared her throat.
“So,” Apple said, her gaze flicking between her drink and Etouffee. “I guess you aren’t too bad of a guy after all. I mean, you helped Cheesecake out in a pinch. I’m sorry for being so bristly earlier, I was just worried. I let my preconceived notions get the best of me, and I wanna sincerely apologize for that.”
Etouffee nodded in understanding and said nothing for a second, but there was a spark in his eyes that told Apple she was forgiven. “I’ve had people treat me far worse.”
“Well, hopefully being a part of Team Gumbo will help remedy some of that.”
“Oh, I’m finally part of the team now?” Etouffee smirked.
Apple moved to make some retort, but Cheesecake interjected, “Yeah! Now we’re friends forever! Cheesecake and Apple and Etouffee! Team Gumbo!”
Unable to stay mad with such a happy Cheesecake next to her, Apple smiled. It looked like her little family may have just grown.