Go to Bed
“Wake up Chespin! Seriously, you're the heaviest sleeper I've ever met!”
Grumbling, I sit up and look at myself. Yep, still a Chespin. Even though it's been a little over a week, I'm still expecting to wake up back in my old home any day now. Honestly, I don't mind being a Chespin all that much. I've still got arms, I can move around well, and I even feel stronger despite my small size. Still, there is one thing I absolutely do mind. The lack of a BED. If you had asked me what I'd want most a week ago, I'd have said a computer or air conditioning. As I get to my feet, sore from the night I spent sleeping on a thin pile of hay, I decide that enough is enough.
“Hey Wooper, I've got an idea for an adventure.”
Right on cue, Wooper whirls around, grinning as though he were a small child being given a puppy. “Really? Where are we gonna go? Are we gonna be dragging back big piles of loot?!”
“No. I'm going to be dragging back a BED, or at least something to sleep on. Seriously, how does anybody sleep like this?”
“What are you talking about? We have beds.” Wooper gives me a confused look.
“What we have is a bit of hay on the floor. I need something soft I can lay on at the end of the day. Cotton, wool, even just a pile of leaves, anything but this! Besides, the rest of the guild would like it as well, I'm sure of it.”
“No treasure? But...it's still an adventure, right?” Even behind that smile, I could sense a tiny hint of disappointment.
“A good night's sleep is treasure enough to me. Who knows? Maybe we'll find some other treasures as well?”
“That's more like it! Race you outside!”
I run after Wooper, who didn't even give me time to react before he bolted out of the room. “Wait! We gotta prepare, I don't know how long this'll take.” I look around the guild halls, surely there's gotta be a bag or something we can use. Near the exit, I find a set of cupboards. Inside, I find a few red scarves, a bag, and a couple of hastily-made badges in the shape of a clover leaf. Tying one scarf around Wooper's neck, I put the other on mine as well while taking another look at the badges. Do I really want to announce to everybody that I'm a member of this mental asylum we call a guild? After some debating, I decide any kind of guild badge will make us look more legitimate and stick the badges onto our scarves. Tossing the bag over my shoulder, I set out into the town to grab supplies.
Thanks to the sunlight, it wasn't long before I was all perked up and ready to take on the day, the soreness from basically sleeping on the floor all night fading away. From the stores, I grab some food, a few seeds that look like fireballs, and a couple of strange looking orbs. I'm sure the Guildmaster won't mind me running his shop tab up. A chat with the shopkeepers taught me that a small village of Whimsicott wasn't too far to the east. Perfect, if we can convince them to part with their cotton, I'll finally be able to get a good night's sleep. However, just as I'm getting ready to venture out of town, I stop, the paranoid part of my mind screaming at me. What on earth am I doing?! What if we have to fight something? What if they say no? What if I got badly hurt?
“What's the holdup, Chespin? Let's go on that adventure!” Wooper nudges me a little with his tail.
“I dunno about this now, maybe we shouldn't. I mean, I still don't know how to really fight...”
“You were just going on about how much you wanted a bed, you can't get all scared now!”
“Yeah, bu-”
“Remember that Talonflame we beat up? And that was just a couple of hours after we met! If we can do that, we can take on anything!”
“...I hope you're right.”
Trusting Wooper, I follow him to the east. Putting my faith in someone that didn't have arms doesn't feel like the smartest idea, especially when I can't shake the feeling he's hiding something from me. Whatever it is, I can only hope that it's nothing bad.
Even now, I'm still struck by how pretty the landscape is. No roads, power lines, or ugly SUV's to speak of, just green hills and trees as far as the eye can see. Wooper happily leads the way as I take in the sights, only for me to be snapped out of it by a “Look!” Climbing to the top of a hill, I look down at a small village. Wood huts are scattered here and there, and I see little brown and white Pokemon going about their business. No doubt about it, this is the place! I eagerly pick up the pace, visions of an actual bed to sleep on running through my head.
As I enter the village, I'm a little taken aback at all the Whimsicott. I had always imagined them to be these tiny little fairies, but even the shortest one I see is nearly twice my height! Trying to stay focused on my goal, I head for the most important-looking hut, knocking on the door. “Hey uh...is the head of the village here?”
A cheery, high-pitched voice greets me. “Oh, visitors from out of town? Like, come on in!”
Feeling uneasy, I open the door and walk in. White cotton covered the floor like a carpet, a welcome sensation after spending the past hour or so walking around on stone and dirt. Baskets of cotton adorned the tables inside, and at the far end of the room sat a Whimsicott, larger than any I had ever seen.
“So like, what brings you two to my town?”
Caught off-guard by hearing a Whimsicott speak like a valley girl, I reply “We come seeking cotton! The uh, Clover Guild requires a large supply of it!”
“Pff, the Clover Guild? You mean that group of misfits that like, pretend they used to be human while hitting on everything that moves? THAT Clover Guild?”
I wince at her words, but try to push past it. “M-my partner and I aren't like the rest of them, we're real-deal explorers! I need that cotton!”
“'Kay, so like, where's the cash?”
I feel my heart drop into my stomach, I completely forgot about money! This wasn't going how I imagined it would at all! “I-I, my Guildmaster will pay you back!”
Scoffing, the Whimsicott replies “Sorry kiddo, I'm like, totally not a charity case. No cash, no cotton.”
“But I must have that cotton, and I need it as soon as possible!”
The Whimsicott thinks for a moment. “Well like, maybe you can get us some treasure from the cave just out of town.”
“Cave?”
“There's this cave that's totally dark and cold that's supposed to have like, all this treasure. Nobody in town is good enough at fighting to like, get the treasure and all.”
Before I can decide, Wooper jumps in front of me! “You're on! You'd better have that cotton ready when we get back!”
“That's what I like to hear! The cave's just south of town so like, get the treasure, bring it back, and you can take all the cotton you want, 'kay?”
Wooper nods before turning to me. “C'mon Chespin! We got some treasure to grab!”
I breathe a sigh of relief as I walk out of the leader's hut. Keeping my voice low, I say “About time we're out of there, I was about to slam my head into the wall if I had to hear her speak one more word.”
“It wasn't that bad!”
“The way she talks sounded exactly like how these complete airheads back in the human world talk.” A moment of realization strikes me. “Almost like she used to be human.” No, that can't be right, what human-turned-pokemon would be the leader of an entire town this soon?
“Human or not, she has cotton that we need! C'mon, let's get to that cave!”
Wooper leads the way once again. As I approach the mouth of the cave, I feel a pit build in my stomach. “Wait...She said that nobody was good enough at fighting to get the treasure. There's something bad down there, there's gotta be!”
“Quit being so scared! Besides, what would the hero do? The humans from all those stories are brave no matter what!” Wooper's body begins to glow a light-blue, just like the other night. “So, let's get that treasure!”
I lift him up with my vines, carrying him like a lantern again. “Okay then...here we go.”
The descent into the cave is long and dark. I can feel the air grow colder the deeper down I walk, and it isn't long before I feel myself begin to shiver. I grumble to myself as I realize this would be a whole lot easier if I had that cotton to wear. Or anything to wear besides a scarf, for that matter. I can only imagine that it's even worse for me due to being a Chespin and all. Wooper seems to be holding up fine, at least. Along the way, I spot a few decently-sized rocks, which I stuff into the bag just in case.
Before long, we come upon a cavernous room, Wooper's light not even reaching the far end. Ice-covered stalagmites and snow litter the cavern floor. The walls themselves were frozen over, giving them a mirror-like appearance. Even now, seeing my new reflection makes me feel strange as I keep expecting to see a human face, only to be met with a big brown and green head. Still, I couldn't help but notice that this red scarf really goes well with my new look. One part of the wall had a very large snowflake symbol on it as well.
As I admire the pretty cave, the snowflake comes to life and bellows at us. “WHO INTRUDES UPON OUR HOME?”
Taken aback, I'm left speechless. Wooper on the other hand, proudly shouts, “We're here for that treasure!”
“I SEE. WELL THEN, TAKE IT IF YOU CAN! GET THESE FOOLS, BOYS!”
“Boys? You're all...alone...” My speech is cut off as I look around the cave, the stalagmites closing in on us! It doesn't take me long to piece it together, these are Bergmite, and we're surrounded!”
Quickly setting Wooper down, he begins to give orders to me. “Use one of those orbs!”
My hands shake as I dig through the bag in a panic, desperately trying to find one. I fumble it a few times before I finally grab a pink orb out of the bag, clouds swirling within the glassy sphere. I've got no clue what this'll do, but here goes! With a shout, I throw it to the floor, shattering it! To my relief, I see the horde of Bergmite come to a halt, having fallen asleep! “Yes!”
Wooper didn't give me a chance to celebrate, pointing his tail upward. “Grab onto that stalactite with your vines! I'm gonna do something!”
“But I don't know how t-”
“DO IT!”
Taken aback by his sudden bossiness, I shoot my vines to the ceiling, wrapping them around a stalactite that had a narrower spot in the middle of it. Tugging on my own vines to test their sturdiness, I tensed up my shoulders, focusing on retracting them and hoping it would lift me. Nope, nothing. Panicking a little, I reach for the ceiling, jumping repeatedly trying to get it to work. With one jump I make a punching motion upwards, and suddenly I feel air rushing past my face as my vines reel me upwards, far quicker than I wanted! I slam my head into the ceiling hard, but I find that I'm not hurt at all. That should have knocked me out, but it didn't! It was as if I've been wearing a helmet all this time.
“Good! Check this out, Chespin!” I look down at my glowing friend as I see cracks appear in the cavern floor underneath the Bergmite, a red light shining through them. I feel the cavern begin to shake as I see the floor erupt with power underneath the gang of Bergmite just like a volcano!
Okay, Wooper's crossed a line! Obsessing over humans was one thing, knowing how to hit rocks like a baseball was another, and I could even buy the glowing bit. But making the ground explode like that and taking out all of these enemies, there was definitely something wrong here, some secret Wooper isn't telling me. If this was a dream, this would be where I wake up because this doesn't make a lick of sense!
Slowly lowering myself back to the floor, I see Wooper turn to the snowflake. “Yeah, how ya like that? We're taking that treasure!”
“OH, HOW SILLY OF ME. THOSE WERE THE CHILDREN OF THE CAVERN. NONE OF THEM CAN ACTUALLY BATTLE WELL AT ALL. HOWEVER, I'LL PUT AN END TO YOU FOOLS!” The cavern shakes once more as the Cryogonal frees itself from the wall, floating in midair and staring at us menacingly.
Wooper strikes a pose, shouting “I'll show you whose boss of this gym!” I let out a loud cough as I hear Wooper's 'taunt', completely caught off guard. Where did he learn to talk like that?!
I lash out at our foe with my vines, a chill running through them as they strike its ice body. Cryogonal lets out a shout, my Vine Whip seeming to anger it more than anything. Wooper shoots a Water Gun at it, which freezes in midair and falls short of actually hitting it! “IS THAT ALL YOU ROOKIE THIEVES CAN MANAGE?”
I look on in horror as I see ice crystals form around Wooper. I've gotta protect him, he's the one that knows how to fight, not me! I shoulder check Wooper across the slippery floor, taking the hit! I let out a scream of pain as I feel my body being chilled to the bone, the pain worse than any I had felt in my life! Panicking and shivering, I fight through the pain to find anything in the bag that could help me. I practically inhale the first two Oran Berries I find, letting out a brief sigh of relief as I feel the pain subside and my body begin to warm back up a little.
Looking back in the bag, I find the rocks I picked up on our walk down here. That's it, if Wooper can land a few good hits with these, we can win! Getting back to my feet, I hold the rocks in my hand. “Wooper, hit these!”
I begin tossing the rocks towards Wooper, who eagerly bats the rocks towards the evil snowflake. Most of the rocks miss their mark, but one scores a direct hit, slamming right into the center! I see cracks begin to form across our enemy's body. “Bullseye! Keep it up!”
I reach for more rocks, horrified to find that we're all out! My horror doesn't end there as I hear a high-pitched cry ring through the cavern. As I look back up from my bag, my heart drops as I see Wooper get hit by the same attack I took for him earlier! He falls down to the floor, down for the count. His body's glow begins to slowly dim, making it harder to see.
I feel myself shake as the Cryogonal closes in on me, letting out a sinister laugh. “LOOKS LIKE YOUR LITTLE FRIEND DOESN'T HANDLE MY FREEZE-DRY WELL. READY TO JOIN HIM?” No no no, this can't be happening, I'm gonna die down here! I can't die yet, I just started getting used to this new world! Nobody from the guild is going to think to look for us here! What do I do?!
Lacking options, I turn to my bag a final time, praying for some kind of miracle. That's when I see them, the seeds that look like fireballs! Grabbing all of them, I try my best to put on a brave face. “Y-you think you're a special snowflake? Well, l-let's see how special you are now!”
I shove all of the fireball-shaped seeds into my mouth at once, warmth spreading through my body. The warmth quickly intensifies into full blown pain, as though I've just eaten pure fire! The spiciness becomes too much to bear and I can't help but let out a pained scream. Flames begin to spew from my mouth, completely enveloping the Cryogonal! Through the inferno, I watch as I see the monster melt into nothing but mist, the fire dying down moments later.
I collapse to the floor, crying out of relief as the pain leaves my mouth. “I did it...I won...! Wooper, I-WOOPER!” My memory jogged, I rush over to him, hoping he's still alive. I can see him breathing, but he looks really hurt now.
C'mon, think, there's gotta be something left in that bag! Looking into it once more, I notice that the only thing left is a green orb with a seed-shaped emblem on it. Looking at it, I try to remember what it does...that's it! The shopkeeper said this can revive friends that got knocked out! I toss the orb to the floor, a green light spilling forth as it shatters. The light flies towards Wooper and to my great relief, I see him stand back up.
“Wooper! You're okay!” I hug him tight, relieved that he's still alive. It isn't long before I start to feel embarrassed about what I'm doing and back away from him. What's gotten into me? “I mean, you had me real worried there.”
“I hate ice types.” For once, Wooper doesn't sound so cheerful. Hearing him speak like this is almost more intimidating than the Cryogonal I just melted. That doesn't last long as he turns around, a big grin on his face. “Oh, That's right, the treasure! I think I saw a chest over there! C'mon!”
At the far end of the icy room, a blue chest rests on a small pedestal. I can't help but laugh, it's an honest-to-god treasure chest! Running up to it, I quickly throw the lid open. As the chest opens, a rush of ultra-cold air washes over me, causing me to let out a cry as I find myself transported into an icy void!
My short-lived joy gives way to fear as I look around. Snow, ice, and frost are all I can see in this seemingly-infinite void. Wherever I am, I'm not in the cavern anymore. I begin to feel very exposed as I realize that Wooper is nowhere to be seen! I feel the ground quake, and my fear rises to new heights as I look behind me to spot a gigantic icy dragon, a Kyurem! I feel my legs give out as I look up at it. True hopelessness fills me as I close my eyes, trying to come to terms with everything. Well, that's it then. I'm dead. It was hard enough to fight a single Cryogonal, but this is completely impossible! Why'd it have to end this way, wh-
My thoughts are cut short by Kyurem's bellowing voice. “YOU WHO FIND THIS TREASURE CHEST, KNOW THIS. THE TREASURES INSIDE ARE ICY OBJECTS KNOWN AS FRISMS. THEY CAN HOLD SOUND WITHIN THEM, AND WILL EMIT THEIR STORED SOUND WHEN WARMED. USE THEM WELL, AND SHOULD YOU SEEK MORE OF MY TREASURES, KNOW THAT ONE IS HIDDEN DEEP WITHIN A FROZEN FOREST.”
I feel a rush of cold air blow past me, causing me to shiver once again. Daring to open my eyes, I find that I'm back in the icy cavern with Wooper, the treasure right in front of me!
“Hey, you're back! Where'd you go?”
Still shellshocked from what just happened to me, I stutter out “I-I-Let's just grab this chest and get the hell out of here!” I lift the chest with my vines, running for the exit as if my life depended on it. Which it probably does at this point.
After what feels like an eternity, I see it. Sweet, sweet, sunshine! I set down the chest and collapse onto the grass the second I leave the cave, soaking up as much of the sun as I can. I can't help but begin to cry as warmth returns to my body, still traumatized by what we just went through. I thought I was going to die every other second down in that awful place. But we got the treasure! We beat up the bad guys! We won, we actually won!
Wooper waits patiently as I pull myself back together, the sunlight helping me out. Rubbing the tears from my eyes, I say “Sorry you had to see that. It's just that...I thought you died, and then I thought I was going to...” I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down a bit more. “Opening that chest sent me to some icy void where there was this enormous ice dragon, and I thought I was going to die there as well.”
“We're okay now, that's what counts! But...are you sure you'll be okay, Chespin? You look really shaken...” Wooper's normal cheer is replaced with genuine concern.
“I'll be okay...I think. All I need is a good-night's sleep on a bed. Speaking of which...” I get back up, flicking open the chest lid and reaching inside, pulling out an icy vase-like object. “That ice dragon spoke to me in that void, says these are something called Frisms.”
Wooper begins hopping up and down from excitement. “No way! You mean like the ones that the human from that place called Paradise found a bunch of?! You really ARE just like the heroes from those stories!”
I can't help but smile. Wooper's praise made the horrifying ordeal of the ice cavern feel like nothing more than a bad dream. “Yeah, the very same!” I begin stuffing Frisms into my bag. “Not only that, but there's tons of these things in this chest. We can get away with just giving a few of them to the Whimsicott and keep the rest for ourselves.”
Picking the chest back up, I make my way back to the Whimsicott village, kicking the door to the leader's house open. “We have returned with the treasure! Let it be known that the Clover guild is composed of more than just mere misfits!”
The Whimsicott hops down from her chair, gently landing on the floor. Holding up a Frism, she stares at it, mouth agape. “Like, totally awesome! You kids are the real deal! I'll like, hook you up with all the cotton you want!”
Mission accomplished! Good night's sleep, here I come!
The cotton I need for the guild is going to take multiple trips, so I grab a big bag of it and begin to make the short walk back to the Clover Guild. It wasn't long before I remembered what Wooper had done to all of those Bergmite. I can't hold my questions back anymore, I need to talk to him about it.
“Wooper, what on earth was up with that thing you did where you knocked out all of those Bergmite at once?”
“Oh that? That was Earth Power! My dad taught it to me long ago, said it would help out if I came across a human that needed help!”
Is this Pokemon serious right now? “Okay, now why would ANY grandfather use that as a reason to teach their grandson how to make the ground explode?! That's like if I taught a son of mine to make pipebombs just in case the mailman decided to bring a gun with him! How does ANY of that make even the smallest bit of sense at all?!” I don't even care that I'm mentioning a bunch of things Wooper doesn't understand, right now I don't understand HIM!
The tone of my voice seems to shock Wooper, a small frown appearing on his face. “Because there was once a Quagsire that helped out a human. Dad always said that I could be just like him one day and taught me everything I know.”
“He taught you all of that just for the slim chance you'd end up in your current situation? Was he a member of some human-worshipping cult, by any chance?”
“Nope, although he loved all of those stories! Said it was a good motivator for getting stronger. He'd always read them to me, quoting parts of them as a way to pep me up.”
“So...You really are just happy to team up with a human because of stories your dad told you, and that's also why you know how to do all this weirdly useful stuff?”
“Yep!”
I wasn't sure what to say. I had a bunch of theories running through my head about Wooper so far, and all of them had been shattered. Wooper being evil in disguise was off the board now, he'd have left me to die to those ice types if that was the case. He's certainly not a former human either, no human could battle as well as he can in that body. He never knew any of the other humans firsthand, so reliving his exploration team glory days wasn't an option. Finally, Wooper also isn't some all-powerful being in disguise keeping an eye on me, he got KO'd from a single attack back in the icy cavern. He's just a Pokemon who had an obsessive dad that used the stories as an excuse to help train him. “I...Well...huh. Well, as long as you're helping out, you can stay around as long as you want.”
“See? I told you you'd want me to stick around. You don't gotta worry, I'll always do my best!"
We spend the rest of the day carrying loads of cotton to and from the Whimsicott village, much to the delight of the other guildmates. For once, I hear something other than tired memes from them, all of them thankful to have something a little softer to sleep on. As I dump the final bag of cotton into the storeroom, I let out a long yawn. Today had taken a ton out of me, as would any day where you nearly die.
Returning to my room with Wooper, I set out some cotton over the hay that was my “bed”, followed by using my vines to cover the rest of my body with the leftovers. For the first time since this whole ordeal began, I let out a contented sigh, finally having something somewhat resembling a bed. But there was one thought nagging me. As I began to doze off, I had to ask about what Wooper said before we fought Cryogonal.
“Wooper? What does 'I'll show you whose boss of this gym' mean?”
“One of the other guild members told it to me. Said it was something humans say before battle as a taunt! Neat, right?”
My eyes shoot open in surprise, they did WHAT?! I'm gonna kill whoever taught him that! Then I hit the dooming realization of what I did today. Along with a ton of cotton, I just brought back a ton of voice recorders to the guild! The guild full of former humans who do nothing but spew old jokes constantly! What have I done?!