Samaritan
A Clover Guild Story
By Ribombee-anon
Another day, another fun dungeon run. This time, me and Booker were hunting a bandit that kept pestering a nearby town. We heard her hideout was in this mountain dungeon. It was pretty rugged, with lots of stone and dirt and not many plants. There were random pits and crevices all over, and the enemies were rough-and-tumble Rock- and Ground-types. Pretty tricky spot, especially cuz my partner and I had trouble fighting rocky Pokemon. But I felt safer ever since Booker learned Reflect. His shield opened up new options for jobs we could take, cuz we didn’t have to worry about our weaknesses as much. That was part of the reason I took this one job: I wanted to test myself against ferals that had a type advantage over me (and get some payback for all the trouble they gave me over the years). Plus, I wanted to give Booker more practice using his new move. It was going good so far. This was great training, even if Booker kept getting scared of every little enemy.
I’d just taken out an obnoxiously sturdy Graveler when my partner gasped. “I s-sense something,” he said from my closed-up belt pouch.
“Another feral?” I asked. He picked up their Aura all the time, and warned me whenever one tried sneaking up on us.
“N-no, actually. It’s different. It’s an intelligent Pokemon.”
“Is it the bandit?”
“I hope not... because they’re coming closer. On the right.”
I heard the screaming before I saw the Pokemon. Off to the side, a whole bunch of jagged rocks jutted out of the ground. The scared Pokemon was over there. I made a shard of ice and twirled it in my claws, and I heard a little hum as Booker summoned up some of his power too. Couple seconds later, a Drowzee came running (or maybe I oughta say waddling) outta that group of stones. He had backpack and a white cloak with a badge I didn’t recognize. Behind him was a big ol’ Boldore, stomping after him on its three bulky legs. Not exactly a high-speed chase.
“Quickly, Sneasel!” said Booker. “We need to help him!”
“Can’t we sit back and watch the show?” I asked.
Booker scolded me by reaching through the gap under the pouch flap and smacking me on the side. I chuckled. Well, he had a point. Besides, saving random guys would help fix our guild’s bad rep.
Drowzee looked kinda surprised when he spotted me. He kept toddling away from the monster, but he stopped his yelling. He didn’t ask for help, though. Weird. Anyway, I didn’t waste any time. I hopped to the side, getting a clear shot at the Boldore. Booker told me to target the monster’s face-hole, so I aimed and chucked my dart like he said. As it flew, I suddenly remembered a little tidbit Booker told me before: a Boldore’s face-hole was its ear. And my attack flew right into it. Ouch.
As the feral roared and stumbled, I called up two more icy shards. I clutched them in my paws like knives, then rushed past Drowzee and slashed the monster with them (cuz my claws wouldn’t go through its hide). The feral became smoke in a couple seconds, and I backed off. Drowzee stopped running and stared at the spot where the enemy’d been standing.
I tossed my ice behind me and crossed my arms. “There ya go,” I said. “You’re welcome, Tubby.”
“Please be nice to him, Sneasel,” my partner murmured.
I chuckled and opened my pouch for Booker. He sat up and waved at Drowzee. “A-are you okay?” Booker asked. “Are you hurt?”
The dude with the cloak was still looking at where the feral fell, as if the ground was super interesting. Then he clenched his fists, and suddenly glared at me.
“Why did you do that!?” he screeched.
Didn’t expect that. Booker yelped in surprise, and even I took a step back.
“Ain’t never heard someone thank me like that before,” I growled. “What’s wrong with you? I just saved your butt.”
“What you did was ruin my research! I’ve been looking for a Boldore for hours, and when I finally find one, you destroy it!”
I laughed. “You call running and screaming like a little girl ‘research’?”
“Sneasel, please...” Booker murmured. “Drowzee, y-you’re a researcher? Me too. I’m sorry you lost your Boldore... b-but it really looked like you were in trouble. We didn’t know you wanted it alive...”
Drowzee snapped, “Saying sorry won’t bring my test subject back, Ribombee! Now I have to find another one. Thanks a lot, you no-good...” Drowzee squinted at me. I realized he was eying the Clover Guild badge on my bandanna. His eyes went wide. “Oh. That explains a lot. Just my luck to run into you people...”
“M-maybe we can... help you with your research, t-to make up for our mistake?” Booker asked quietly. “We’re really sorry...”
That researcher jerk wasn’t hearing it. He’d already started stomping off down some random corridor, grumbling about the Clover Guild and his work. I rolled my eyes and glanced down at Booker, who was looking up at me with a sheepish sorta smile.
“W-well, I think you did the right thing,” he said. “We should keep trying to help people, w-wherever we see someone in need. Then again, I guess it can’t hurt to ask if they need help first—as long as we have the chance, and it’s not an emergency. Also... I’m s-sorry for telling you to attack the feral.”
I sighed and looked ahead, walking towards the cluster of rocks. “I ain’t mad at you. I’m mad at that ungrateful bastard. Hope he does find a Boldore again—and it kicks his butt this time.”
Before Booker could call me out for wishing pain on someone, we heard a familiar scream in the distance. Booker and I looked at each other.
“I, uh... think we should go help him again,” said Booker.
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