The Misadventures of Totodile
A Clover Guild Story
By Meowstic-anon

At a certain part of Capim Town lies a lonely Totodile with a bucket on his head. He sits behind a tree, grumbling, "Grr... he's gonna make me wait under the hot sun, ain't he?"

"Hah!" Totodile stands up and leans against the side of the tree, looking closely at the gravel pathway; he's holding up a string that was tied up to the other side's tree, making an obstacle on the pathway, "(Just waitin' at the moment...)"

...

"Ahh!" A Meowstic cries out as he trips over, but fortunately is left unharmed as he instinctively uses Telekinesis and latches onto the tree branch. However, because of the sudden force, the money he had fell to the ground, and Totodile pocketed every last Poké. He looks up at Meowstic with a poker face.

"Hey! That's mine!" Meowstic releases his Telekinesis and lands safely on the ground. He looks understandably upset, "Hand it back." Then he raises his right hand and creates a dark ball with a blank expression on his face, "...please."

Even with a threat as terrifying as that, Totodile remained unfazed; rather, he put his footdown, "Kukuku, I knew Psychics are pure evil."

Meowstic lowers his hand, and the dark ball fades, "...Excuse me?"

"You may have them all fooled," Totodile points at his bucket helmet, "but with my tinfoil hat, you can't control me with your evil 5G!"

"...Huh?" Meowstic's in complete bewilderment, "What kind of nutjob are you on ab-"

"Shhshh!" Totodile interrupts as he opens his right palm at Meowstic's face, "There's more: you are the leader of the Guild over there!" He points at the Guildhall in the distance, "The inn says the members there are pretending to be humans but I know without a doubt... they are actually humans!!"

"Nugh..." Meowstic begins to sweat, "W-what do you me-"

Totodile continues, "And you're all just pawns for the Bogdanoff brothers!!"

"...Right. I get it, definitely (<- Has zero clue)" Meowstic gives a deep sigh, "Just give me back the money, and I'll be on my way..."

"No!" Totodile rebukes Meowstic, "You'll help me find your boss, the Bongdanoff brothers! Then I'll give it back to ya. But first, let's head to my friend's place!"

As frustrated as Meowstic was, he reluctantly follows along with Totodile's mission on saving the world from Psychics.

...

Going down to the bottom part of the town, there's less sunlight in that area, so it's advisable to carry a lamp even when the sun is out.

"Don't you have a lamp?" Meowstic asks Totodile.

"I don't, but I'm good in the dark." Totodile answers, "Watch thi- woah!" Meowstic catches Totodile on time before he falls into a hole.

"Careful. You'll only get hurt if you go to that darker area." Meowstic advised him, "Let's go to a safer route where we can see."

"Right... th-thank you," Totodile flusters, "b-but I still don't trust you Psychic types completely!!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Meowstic, however, brushes it off.

...

"...And we are here!" Totodile goes inside a dead tree, "Com'in!"

"Is it here?" Just like Totodile did, Meowstic squeezes himself through the tight opening of the tree in the middle. "I need to go to the pond when I get back..." he mumbled.

Despite how small the entrance was, inside the tree is quite spacious, enough to fit 2 or 3 more Pokémon before it gets crowded. Meowstic sat down on a chair next to the coffee table.

"Make ya-self at home! He will be arriving soon... I think." Totodile prepares a basket full of apples and puts it on the table.

"Despite how gloomy and dark the outside looks, this place is quite cozy." Meowstic comments, "Hmmm... Also why are we inside? Isn't this your friend's house?"

"He said I can com'in whenever I like as long as I don't smash or steal anyth'in." Totodile briefly explains and goes back to the small kitchen.

...

A few minutes flew by, and another Pokémon entered the tree. "Linoone!?" Meowstic calls out.

"Oh! Totodile and Guildmaster, hello!" Linoone greets his friends. He's as jolly as always, even after finishing a long day's work. He gets comfortable in a spare chair, and Totodile pours a hot drink for him.

"What's up? I expect Totodile to be here but not you, Guildmaster." Linoone sips his drink, "Ah~. Also, what's with the getup, Totodile?"

"It's like you said!" Totodile points at his bucket helmet again, "His 5G wasn't able to mind control me and doesn't even hurt me! At this rate, we can save the world!"

"Oh, it does work! How about wrapping yourself in Mareep's wool for extra protection?" Linoone's having trouble containing his chuckle from getting into full laughter.

"Linoone!!" Meowstic slams the table, "Um... come with me to the kitchen, please. Ah, Totodile, keep on doing what you're doing, I guess."

"Ye-ah!" Totodile eagerly sorts out Pelipper newspaper clippings onto the coffee table.

...

"Linoone." Meowstic sighs, "What else did you feed him?"

"What?? He was like that when I first met him." Linoone tries to downplay his involvement, "He was like Psychic bad, we must save the world."

Apparently, he met Totodile while he's sleeping at Linoone's bed, woke him up, and they had a small chat. Linoone figured out that he has been consuming some X-eye Seeds which have caused his mind to go haywire and completely make up conspiracies against Psychic types. Although objectively false, Linoone was entertained by his conspiracy, which he told him more 'info' about it, leading to a deeper downward spiral.

"...Why?" Meowstic face palms. "Correct him! Holy crap!"

"But it's funny." Linoone puts his two claws together. "I was gonna tell him, but every time he tells me more about his conspiracy, it was lit as all hell and I completely forgot about telling him."

"Fine. I'll do it myself." Meowstic heads out of the kitchen, "You know he will get in deep trouble if this continues, right?"

"Hey! Wait for me." Linoone soon follows and eventually overtakes Meowstic's lead because of that. Both of them are locked into one position in the doorway, "...Do you mind? We can't fit at the same time!"

"R-right, I'm sorry!" Linoone backs out.

...

"What the..." Meowstic's jaw drops while Linoone looks amused, "Damn son, where'd you find this?"

Meowstic stares at Linoone with annoyance. Linoone laughs awkwardly and says, "What I meant to say was: oh no, where did he go?"

The coffee table is covered with pictures, ranging from newspaper clippings to wanted posters, and most of them are related to this one crater site on the northeast side of town.

"Huh. This one says, come to Redpine Village." Linoone reads the advertisement, "But where is that?"

"Focus!" Meowstic pulls out a map from his bag, "They say the crater is from here, assuming that's where he went."

Linoone thinks more about it and recalls, "Hmm? He did say he wanted to explore that place..."

"Well, we've got to go now before he gets into trouble." Meowstic prepares his stuff and is ready to go. "...You're coming with me on this."

"No! I don't wanna!" Linoone protests by sitting comfortably on the floor, "Fighting is not my thing!"

"Sigh You know who did this, right~?" Meowstic then uses Telekinesis on Linoone and he starts floating up in the air.

"Wh-woahhhh! Heights! Okay, okay! Just this one time, let me get back to the ground!!" Linoone cries out.

"Let's go." Meowstic steps outside.

"Let's do this!!" Linoone fist pumps up in the air.

Meowstic slightly smiles, "You're always upbeat, aren't you?"

...

At the crater site...

"It might rain later..." Meowstic looks up at the sky, "Well, rain will benefit Totodile no doubt..."

"Actually, can you handle all the combat?" Linoone steps back after seeing the crater, "I don't really like to hurt Pokémon no matter what..."

"We are here just to get Totodile," Meowstic elaborates, "not to explore a Mystery Dungeon, because I already did that earlier today- ahem. It will be quick, just stick with me, Solid Linoone, the Mailmon~."

"Understood. I will not let you go, sir." Linoone salutes.

Meowstic and Linoone delve into the crater. It seems to not be a Mystery Dungeon, judging by the fact that stairs are not required to progress. From Meowstic's observation, the rocks from the meteor seem to attract Pokémons from nearby Mystery Dungeons, making this place their new home. It's could technically be considered a Mystery Dungeon in a way, but the area will be consistent throughout the days however, this requires further study in a later date. Going through the layers of this place is like going to the floors, many Pokémon had attacked along the way, but the pair managed to evade any serious combat and just find a wayaround to progress the lower layers. There seems to be no items around in sight, so the supply is limited. At the last layer, the meteorite lies at the center, with Totodile standing closely to it.

"Totodile!" Meowstic shouts as two shadows are creeping up to Totodile's back, "Watch out!"

"Meowstic?" Totodile looks back and scratches one of them as he jumps back. It had a dark blue glow on his claws.

"That's Deoxys!" "Deoxys!" Both Linoone and Meowstic spoke at the same time.

Both of them rushed in to aid Totodile, who is handling both Deoxys at the same time. They were surprised to find out that Totodile is quite skilled in combat, deflecting punches with his Aqua Tail and evading the electric surges from above with the debris around him, using it as his shield at the same time.

When Meowstic and Linoone got closer to where Totodile is, a Deoxys sneaked up behind Totodile while the other one went after Linoone, "Ah!" Meowstic, being in that position, quickly chose to help Totodile by blasting out his Psybeam which made Deoxys retract from Totodile. Looking back, Linoone deflected Dexoys with his Snarl.

Once the three of them got together, a bunch of Bronzors and Girafarigs came for backup for the two Deoxys. A lone Flittle hops at the top of the meteorite and playfully hops to and fro. It started to glow pink, and suddenly, the entire place had a pink glow all over it.

"This is..." Meowstic gasps, "Psychic Terrain. We are in deep trouble..."

Totodile laughs manically, "So this is the Bongdanoff brothers; they showed up with their hetchmen; bring it on!" He jumps high in the air and scratches at both Deoxys with his two claws, sustaining much damage. They caught him with their tentacle arms in midair. Totodile follows up with a Crunch at one of the Deoxys' arms, causing it to lose grip on Totodile, and he soon falls.

"Totodile no!" Meowstic frantically shouts, "Linoone, catch him! I'll handle this."

"Aye, aye." Linoone sprung into action, dodging the Bronzors, jumping over the ledge, and catching Totodile with his back. "Stay on, Totodile!" He nods as he grips tightly to Linoone.

"Okay, get back here. I'm gonna start an Escape Orb." Meowstic opens his satchel, and an orb floats with a pink glow around it, I'll attack them; just run towards me!"

Despite trusting Meowstic's words, Linoone is still nervous that Deoxys might attack either him or Totodile. Along the way, a hoard of Bronzors blocks his way from getting to Meowstic. Meowstic cannot attack the Bronzors as he is focusing on Girafarigs and the Deoxys hovering over them.

Struggling on making a decision, "(No I can't jump that high, not with Totodile on my back.)" Linoone rams through the Bronzor with Headbutt, "Yeaouch... I'm not cut out for this, ah!"

At that moment, the clouds above clears up and rays of sunlight shines harshly around the place, and then the two Deoxys start to charge up, one of them is yellow and another is green. Meowstic observes this, "(Solar and Hyper Beam... tch. I had to use this...)"

"Hah!" Meowstic for once, reveals his hidden eyes under his ears. Everyone, even the Flittle from far away, has caught on to this attack. The only ones unaffected is his allies and himself. As this was happening, Meowsitic continued to absorb the energy from this Psychic Terrain until it was dispelled. "Huff... Expanding Force!!" He shouts!

All the enemies are confined in a cube, and a huge surge of Psychic energy flows through them, it was overwhelming that it caused all of them to faint. While he prevented Deoxys from aiming at Linoone and Totodile, he just deflected the beams onto the walls, which caused the entire place to be on the verge of collapsing.

"Lliam!" Linoone calls out as Meowstic falls to his knees.

"I don't... wanna do that again..." Meowstic softly said before closing his eyes.

"Ahh..." Linoone freaks out as the ground trembles, take the Escape Orb, and activates it immediately.

"!!" Totodile saw a boulder falling straight to Meowstic, "Watch out! Agh!" He tries to destroy the boulder with a Headbutt but it hurt him instead and caused him to faint.

Linoone eyes open wide, "Are... you're fine right? Hey! Wake up!"

And then the light from the orb engulfs them, narrowly escaping being crushed on.

...

It has been a few hours since Linoone arrived back at his home. Meowstic wakes up but Totodile still remains unconscience.

"Ah! Guildmaster!" Lioone looks so relieved to see him awake.

"Hello..." Meowstic rubs his eyes, "Good morning..." He then goes back to lying down on the bed, and then he rises back up immediately in realization, "Wait what time is it!?"

"It's almost evening; the sun is setting." Linoone answered.

Meowstic quickly jumps up, grabs his satchel, and puts on his badge, in a second, he's at the entrance of the tree.

"Woah, woah!" Linoone tries to stop him, "You should take a res-"

"I can't." Meowstic answered, "They'll wonder where I'm at, I don't want them to worry, so just a little more..."

"But..." Linoone shakes his head, "Be careful out there. Take this lamp with you."

Meowstic accepts the offer, and he's ready to go, "Thanks. I'll give it back at the office tomorrow. Take care of Totodile, okay? Bye."

"You can count on me! See ya." Linoone smiles wholeheartedly as Meowstic leaves, then he goes back to the bedroom.

Linoone looks a bit pale when he watches over Totodile, sleeping soundly in his bed, "I didn't mean it to be like this... I just want people to laugh, be amused like I was... I want to apologize for that..."

...

My name is Totodile. There was nobody with me when I was born out of the egg, only the ocean breeze greeted me with the view of a sunset. Bubbles were blown all over the beach, it was a beautiful sight to behold that I will never forget. I waited for days for... my parents to show up, but they never did. I was lost on what to do other than play these egg shells I was born with, as the days go by, I met this Pokémon, Grumpig. Although I want to forget, I will never forgive what he had done. Because of him, my hatred on Psychic sprouted. Before I knew, he manipulated me into doing such things, unforgivable things. When I was free, people called me names, a snot, awkward. It was hurtful to hear those words, but they're true... I went across places and still the same thing. I ran out of supplies and the only thing left was X-eye Seeds I got from the Dungeons... I thought all hope was lost, so why not go down this path? I took one and I enjoyed it, and then I took another one. It made me want another one until I met that one Pokémon...

...

"...Linoone." Totodile opens his eyes. "Why do you look so grim?"

"Sorry." Linoone says one word, and there's a moment of silence. And then he continued, "...Because I didn't tell you those were false. I was captivated by your passion, so I can't help but went along with you, you looked more determined, and that makes me happy as well; I didn't mean to lead you to harm, I'm sorry..."

Totodile stops Linoone from lowering down his head, "No. It's my fault. I actually knew what happened after that day, and I just keep up the charades because... I just want to keep you being my... friend. The warmth I felt when I visit your house, it was cozy. Being with you, lights up my world, and... I'll say it right now. Even if I'm a bit weird, a snot, a liar. Will you be my friend?"

"Of course!" Linoone answers right away, "Are you feeling hungry? I made dinner!"

Totodile chuckles and smiles, "Sure thing, Linoone."

...

"Huff huff," drenched in sweat, Meowstic made it to the Guildhall right before the sunsets. "Made it. That was a lot of running. Even as a human, I never run that much in one day before!"

Meowstic opens the door, and a Ribombee that was reading a book at the floor suddenly looks up, "Oh! Guildmaster Lliam, you're finally here!"

"Hello Booker," Meowstic shuts the door and tiredly lies down next to Ribombee, "Whew I'm beat..."

Ribombee walks and looks around Meowstic, the longer he looks, the more puzzled he gets, "Umm... did you buy the shopping list I gave you? So... where is it?"

"What shopping list?" Meowstic asked, and then he suddenly groans angrily at himself, "Sigh I'll do it tomorrow early morning..."

The End