The First Day on the Job

by Phanpy-anon
Sequel to Phanpy-anon and /pmdg/ in Treasure Town
Followed by: Introducing Capim Town

“Phanpy.”

I wrapped my trunk around my head, trying to cover my ears and go back to sleep.

“Phanpy.”

“What?” I croaked. My throat felt like it was made of sandpaper.

“I need to pee.”

“So? You don’t have to announce it to the world.”

“Phanpy, if you don’t help me up I’m going to ruin your floor.”

I groggily sat up. My hind legs ached from sleeping on the packed dirt floor without the usual cushion provided by my hay pile. A few feet away from me Torchic was lying on her back with a miserable, soulless expression.

“Does this happen every day?” I asked.

“No. Usually I sleep sitting down, roosting like a chicken. I’ll give you till the count of ten.” she said.

I scrambled to my feet as she began to count. I pushed down the feeling of vertigo and hauled Torchic up. She bolted for the door and bit down on the handle with her beak. Torchic crooked her head and waddled backwards until the opening was wide enough for her to slip through. She ran off down the hall.

With one crisis averted, I surveyed my room. Totodile had woken up before us and had already left my room. At some point the Guildmaster must have stopped by as well, since my knapsack was sitting by the door. Inside was a compass, a letter, a job request, and a few dozen berries. I started with the letter.

Dearest Phanpy,
You were still asleep when I returned from this morning’s assembly. I have taken the liberty of informing Cyndaquil that he was to be your partner in a new exploration team. He has also picked out a rescue request for your team. Please introduce him to your other teammates and prepare your team to embark tomorrow. Do not worry about attending the morning assembly. Since it is your first job, I have sent word to the Kecleon brothers that I will be paying for whatever supplies you deem necessary.
Regards,
Guildmaster Meowstic

I set the letter down and read the request. A Glameow was lost somewhere in Apple Woods. I breathed a sigh of relief. If I had to handle Cyndaquil around an escort to Apple Woods and back, I would have had a stroke. I plucked an oran berry out of the pile. As its juices ran down my throat I could already feel better.

Torchic re-entered my room. “You got a letter?”

“From the Guildmaster. He also sent breakfast” I said. Torchic walked over to me. She peered at the two papers over my shoulder.

“It’s already mid-afternoon.” said Torchic. “Pass me a pecha berry. If I try to get it off of the floor I’m going to fall on my ass again.”

I picked up a pecha berry in my trunk and held it out for Torchic. She took small bites out of it as she read the letter and the request.

“Apple Woods is a few days away, right? We’ll have to prepare to camp along the way.” said Torchic.

“We need to prepare before the shops close. We can do introductions after dinner.” I said.

“I’ll tell Totodile if you tell Cyndaquil.”

I nodded. We split the rest of the berries between us before making our way out of the guild. Torchic immediately made for Spinda’s Cafe. I decided to try the market first. Either Cyndaquil would be there, trying his luck on the shopkeepers again, or I would get a chance to purchase supplies.

I didn’t spot the future registered sex offender loitering around the market square, so I headed to Kecleon’s shop. All sorts of seeds, berries, and other traveling supplies were for sale. The first thing I grabbed was a map of the local area. It laid out all of the roads from here to Capim Town, and outlined the boundaries of any mystery dungeons along the way in red.

We would need food for four Pokemon for the trip there, then food for five on the way back. With that in mind, I stuffed my bag full of apples and berries until it was about to burst. I threw in a few flasks for water. Kecleon thanked me for my business, and told me he would send an invoice to Meowstic. It was on to the next task.

I started my search at the more common hangouts around Treasure Town, expecting Cyndaquil to be trying to put the moves on the townsfolk. When that failed I checked Sharpedo Bluff, followed by the beach. Eventually I came across Cyndaquil sitting beside the river that cut through Treasure Town. He was washing his face in the clear water. I spotted some kind of bright red streaks in the fur on his face, but he appeared uninjured. He looked up at me as I approached.

“Hey, partner.” he said.

“Guildmaster Meowstic wants us to be ready to head to Apple Woods tomorrow.” I said. “We also have two other teammates. I’ll introduce you after dinner.”

Cyndaquil smirked. “Really?” He leaned in to whisper to me. “Between you and me, are they cute?”

I rolled my eyes. “They both have a pulse, so I’m sure they’ll measure up to your exacting standards.”

“Ouch. Were you trying to insult me, or them?” said Cyndaquil. “Besides, I have much more inclusive tastes than that. For example, imagine doing wax play with a Litwick.”

“Just make sure you’ve bought everything you’ll need for our job. I’ll see you after dinner.”

Cyndaquil waved at me as I started on the road back to the guild. “Later!” he said.

…

After dinner, the four of us gathered outside of the mess hall. Totodile brought a bottle, and was taking long drinks from it.

“Cyndaquil. These are our teammates, Torchic and Totodile.” I said. They nodded as I introduced them.

“I’m glad to be blessed with such beautiful teammates.” said Cyndaquil.

“And I’m glad you’re with us, buddy!” slurred Totodile. He walked up to Cyndaquil and wrapped him in a hug.

Cyndaquil looked over Totodile’s shoulder at Torchic. “And you, my dear, look lovely tonight. It’s nice to be with another fire type.”

“Is this the guy you beat up?” asked Torchic.

“Yes.” I said.

“It was just a simple misunderstanding.” said Cyndaquil. “Our friend here was just a little upset at how strongly I came on to him.”

We were interrupted by Guildmaster Meowstic. “Ah, Phanpy. It’s good that you’ve assembled your team already. If it isn’t too much trouble, could I borrow you for a moment? I would like a private word. I will be waiting in your room.” said the Guildmaster.

“Go ahead, partner. We’ll just take the time to get to know each other a little better.” said Cyndaquil.

I looked at Totodile, who was drunk. Then at Torchic, who would be helpless if someone pushed her over. I looked back at Cyndaquil. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

Cyndaquil threw up his arms. “What? Come on, man! I like things consensual! You need to have more faith in your partner, partner.”

“The fact that you knew what I meant lets me know you thought about it.” I said. I butted my head against Cyndaquil’s back, pushing him down the hallway. It would be best if I left him with his own kind. I stopped when I got to what I hoped was the right room. I knocked on the door, hoping they would be around. A very tired looking Riolu opened the door.

“Oh. Phanpy. Do you need something?” he asked.

I shoved Cyndaquil through the doorway, startling Riolu. I saw Eevee lying on his back in the corner of the room.

“Take care of him for me. I’ll be back in a few.” I said, heading to my meeting with the Guildmaster.

I found the Guildmaster sitting in my room, reading a book.

"I didn't expect you to finish so quickly." he said.

“We’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other on the road.” I said.

“Do try to get along with Cyndaquil.”

“I promise I’ll be nothing but professional to Cyndaquil-anon.”

“That’s as much as I can ask for.” Meowstic paused for a moment. “And, don’t feel like you need to force yourself to use that ‘anon’ suffix anymore. I realize that it isn’t as popular as I had hoped it would be.”

“If you say so, sir.”

“Very good. Now, for what I wanted to talk to you about.” Meowstic closed the book he was holding. “We aren’t the only group of humans in this world. There’s another group of us at Capim Town. In truth, I originally decided to found a guild with the humans there. I only came to Treasure Town because I had a hunch that other humans had appeared here.”

“So, I take it you are leaving us then, Guildmaster?” I asked.

“Oh, heavens, no. I’ve grown quite fond of the humans here. But we are going to be leaving Treasure Town soon. You and I both know it’s only a matter of time before Chatot throws us out, so I would like to prepare everyone here to move. If you could, I would like you to prepare a timetable for us.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll finish it as soon as I can.”

Meowstic nodded and waved his hand. His telekinesis pulled open my door. “Then I will let you get back to your team.”

Torchic and Totodile were where I had left them. The three of us talked as we walked to get Cyndaquil.

“So, what’d the head honcho want?” asked Totodile.

“We’ll be moving soon. He wants me to draw up a timetable.” I said.

“Moving?” said Torchic.

“There’s another group of former humans in Capim Town. Guildmaster Meowstic wants us to join them.” I said.

“What?” shouted Totodile. “Do you mean I have to say goodbye to Spinda’s Cafe?”

“I’m afraid you will.” said Torchic.

Totodile looked crestfallen. “Maybe, then, I should spend tonight there. Say my goodbyes.”

“What nights don’t you spend in the Cafe?” I asked.

“I’m not sure, I feel like it’s been there for all of my life.” said Totodile.

When we arrived at Riolu's room, the three of us stood in silence. We were unsure if we wanted to risk knowing what went on in that sordid room. I pressed an ear up to the door, but only heard a quiet murmuring.

“I don’t hear anything happening.” I said.

“Maybe they finished?” said Totodile.

“Figures. It’d be fitting if Cyndaquil was quickshot.” said Torchic.

“Should I knock?” I said.

Totodile covered his eyes.

“Totodile, can you get mine too?” said Torchic.

With my teammates shielding their innocence, I knocked on the door. When it opened, I saw that Riolu looked as tired as ever, but didn’t seem to be in a particularly amorous mood.

“You’re back.” he said. Riolu glanced behind him.

Over his shoulder I saw Eevee and Cyndaquil sitting on the floor. They both had a pair of cards in front of them. A third pair marked Riolu’s spot. The trio had been playing what appeared to be Texas Hold ‘em.

“So were they fucking, or not?” said Totodile, his eyes still covered.

Cyndaquil came over to the doorway and stood behind Riolu. “I suggested we play strip poker, but none of us wear clothes.”

“Yes. He did. Is he like that with everyone?” said Riolu.

“Only the pretty ones.” said Cyndaquil.

“He’s like that with everyone.” I said.

Eevee called out from inside the room. “Well you can have him back now!”

Cyndaquil brushed past Riolu and stood with the rest of us. “Next time,” said Cyndaquil, “you better wear socks, because I’m gonna knock ‘em off.”

Riolu shut the door without a response.

Cyndaquil turned to me. “So what’s the plan, partner?”

“We’re going drinking at Spinda’s Cafe. As a last goodbye.” said Totodile.

Cyndaquil looked confused. “What, are they closing?”

“No. The Guildmaster wants to move us to Capim Town.” I said.

“And we aren't going drinking. Totodile is.” added Torchic.

“Why can’t we go with him?” asked Cyndaquil.

“If you show up hungover before we leave tomorrow, I’m abandoning you in that mystery dungeon.” I said.

Totodile slapped Cyndaquil on the back. “Don’t worry buddy, I’ll do enough drinking for the both of us.”

“I would say that the same applies to you, Totodile, but I suspect you’ll be drinking every day on the trip anyways.” I said. Totodile nodded enthusiastically.

“Should we just meet up at the well outside of the guild tomorrow morning?” said Torchic.

“Yes. Just be ready and be there before the explorers’ assembly.” I said. Having settled on a plan, my teammates dispersed.

I went to the Guildmaster’s desk and retrieved the guild ledger. I took it back to my room and dug out the map I had bought from Kecleon. Capim Town was a day or two closer to us than Apple Woods, but I would need to account for the much larger traveling party. I tore an empty page out of the ledger and spent the rest of the evening drafting the guild’s moving-out timetable.

…

When I arrived at the well, Cyndaquil was already waiting for me. He waved to get my attention. “Hey partner!” he said. He was wearing a red silk scarf, but didn’t seem to be carrying anything.

“So, what did you bring?” I asked.

“Sorry, I got nothing but this sweet scarf.” He pointed at the scarf in question. “I tried to get some protection from the Kecleon brothers, but they don’t sell condoms.”

“Are you serious?”

“Relax. If we fail, we’ll just get kicked out of the dungeon, right?” he said. "And yes, they don't sell condoms, so make sure to remember to pull out."

The next member to arrive was Totodile, stumbling down the stairs from the guildhall. He was wearing a brown sash with rings sewn into it. A bottle was stuffed through each ring, like the bandolier of an alcoholic soldier. He also wore a backpack.

“I hope I’m not late!” he said.

I circled around Totodile and peered into his bag. It contained what I suspected it did.

“Is that it?” I said.

He nodded. “Yup. I got us enough drinks for the trip there and back. We can even give Glameow some.”

Torchic arrived last. She approached us hopping on one leg, flapping her diminutive wings in an attempt to remain balanced. When she got close to us she uncurled the talon she had kept raised in the air. She dropped a handful of seeds.

Cyndaquil recognized them first. “Oh, neat, blast seeds! Did you guys know these seeds can be roasted and ground into a fine powder? It's bright red, and makes a great self defense weapon.”

I scooped up the seeds with my trunk and deposited them into my bag. At least someone bought something useful.

“We’re all here now, so let’s get this show on the road!” said Totodile. He popped the cork off of a bottle. It was going to be a long trip.

We set out in a north easterly direction, following one of the distributaries of Serenity River. The fastest way to Apple Woods was to follow Serenity River back to its source at Waterfall Cave, then cut due east through an expansive prairie.

For now, we trekked through the woods surrounding Treasure Town. It was good weather for traveling. A cool breeze swept through the woods to counteract the harsh sun.

We walked in silence for a few hours before Totodile suddenly spoke up. “Anyone seen any good movies lately?”

“What?” I said.

Totodile repeated himself. “Anyone seen any good movies lately?”

“Where would we see any movies?” said Torchic.

Totodile was fidgeting with his bandolier. “I don’t know! It was awkward just walking in silence and I wanted to start a conversation!”

“I never watched many movies. I was more of an anime man myself.” said Cyndaquil.

Totodile looked at his feet, unsure of what to say. “O-oh.”

“I miss anime.” said Torchic.

“I miss the Internet.” I said.

“Yeah, think of all the porn we’ll never get to see.” said Cyndaquil.

Torchic snorted. “Is that all you think about?”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Totodile pull one of the bottles out of his bandolier. He popped off the cork, and seemed embarrassed by the sudden loud noise it made. He began chugging.

For some reason, I was surprised that he had waited this long to get started on a second bottle. I didn’t know how powerful Pokemon livers were, but Totodile must have gotten dangerously close to being sober.

“I think about plenty of things.” said Cyndaquil. “Just don’t act like you didn’t enjoy access to seeing any fetish, at any time, with any character.”

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." replied Torchic. "Of all the things to miss, though. Anime and the Internet. No friends, family? Any of you?" She trailed off.

None of us spoke for a moment.

"Sorry." said Torchic.

We walked in silence again, although this time all of us felt the awkwardness. When it came time for lunch, we sat in a circle near the riverbank. I tossed apples to Cyndaquil and Totodile. I helped Torchic eat, so her meal wouldn’t end up covered in dirt.

“How close are we?” asked Cyndaquil between bites of an apple.

I checked the map. “We’re making more progress than I expected. We should be able to make it to the Lush Prairie by nightfall. After that, it’ll take a couple of days to get to Apple Woods. We’ll have to skirt around a few mystery dungeons along the way.”

“Are we camping out? Can we start a campfire?” said Totodile, chasing down lunch with more liquor.

“I don’t see why not.” said Cyndaquil. “We’ve got two fire types, so we’re golden as long as we can find firewood.”

I tossed my apple core into the river. “If that’s what you guys want to do. There should be some shrubbery in the prairies we can scavenge.”

Totodile let out a cheer. I helped Torchic to her feet and refilled our water flasks as the other two finished their food.

We kept up the brisk pace we had started the day with. The setting sun was still well above the horizon when we first sighted Waterfall Cave in the distance. Totodile and Cyndaquil wanted to get closer to see the waterfall, but the entire area around the cave was marked off as a mystery dungeon. With the two disappointed Pokemon in tow, we exited the woods and found ourselves standing in a vast shrubland.

Torchic looked for a good spot to set up a campfire while the rest of us gathered firewood. I ripped branches off of the local shrubbery. Occasionally, I would underestimate my own strength and uproot some of the more stubborn flora. In this body, I was only a little over a foot and a half tall, but somehow had more physical strength than I ever had as a human.

We did our best to scrape away the plant life around our chosen campsite to avoid starting a bushfire. None of us knew anything about camping, so we haphazardly stacked our firewood into a pile. We set aside a handful of the larger branches to keep the fire going.

Cyndaquil took a handful of sticks and held them behind his back. The flames on his back, which were usually only pleasantly warm, suddenly felt like standing next to a fireplace. He tossed the lit sticks onto our stack of firewood. I was worried that the wood would be too wet, but we managed to create a healthy blaze by the time the sun was setting. I opened my bag and passed out everyone’s dinner.

“Do we have any marshmallows?” asked Totodile.

“You know marshmallows contain gelatin, right?” I said.

“They make vegan marshmallows, they use agar instead of gelatin.” said Torchic.

“Well Kecleon doesn’t sell vegan marshmallows.” I said.

Cyndaquil skewered a handful of berries on a stick. “We’ll just have to make do with what we have.”

He held the berry kebab over the campfire. The berries began to sizzle as the juices smeared on the stick boiled off. One of the larger berries suddenly popped, coating the kebab in a sugary juice that quickly set fire to the rest of the fruit. Cyndaquil pulled his burning dinner out of the fire and began desperately blowing on it. I watched as he gave up on salvaging the kebab and cast it into the fire.

“Please don’t waste food. We haven’t even made it to Apple Woods yet.” I said.

Totodile made a dismissive gesture. “Don’t worry! If we run out of food, we’ll still have plenty of drinks!”

Totodile had somehow managed to keep pace with us through the day’s journey while drinking like a fish. Now that we stopped for the night, he seemed to have completely crashed. He was lying on his back with a few half-eaten apples by his head.

“We’re supposed to be professionals.” I said.

“It’s not like we’re with a client right now.” said Cyndaquil. He pulled a bottle from Totodile’s discarded bandolier. “Would it kill you to relax a little?” Cyndaquil fumbled with the cork, lacking the experienced alcoholism of Totodile.

“Bring it over here.” said Torchic. She stuck one of her talons into the cork. Her and Cyndaquil pulled on both ends until the cork came free. Cyndaquil took a swig before carefully tilting the bottle to let Torchic drink.

He held the bottle out to me. “We won’t get hammered, just have a little to take the edge of sleeping out in the wilderness off.”

I sighed. “Fine.” I took a small sip of booze, mostly for show.

I looked at Totodile, expecting him to be clamoring for the bottle. He had already fallen asleep. His head was resting on the crook of his arm. He cradled an empty bottle in his other arm. I passed the communal bottle to Cyndaquil.

“So.” Cyndaquil took another sip. “What did you guys do before joining the guild?”

“Probably the same as all of you.” I said. “I woke up near Treasure Town as a Pokemon, then wandered to Wigglytuff’s Guild. It was the most recognizable landmark around here. I met with Guildmaster Meowstic, and he invited me to the guild.”

Cyndaquil corrected himself. “I meant before you became a Pokemon.”

“Is this about earlier? I didn’t mean to bring it up, it just sort of slipped out.” said Torchic.

Cyndaquil gave Torchic another drink. “It made me think, we’re all a team now, but I hardly know anything about you guys.”

I accepted my turn with the bottle. “Blame the Guildmaster for that. He told me about it the day after I brought you back to the guild.”

Cyndaquil shrugged. “I’m not complaining. If anything, now seems like the perfect time to talk to each other.” He looked at the passed-out Totodile. “The ones that are still conscious, at least.”

I watched the crackling campfire. The warm glow illuminated my teammates, who casted long shadows behind them. At the guild we had adopted an unspoken “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy when it came to our past lives. I followed the rule less because I was embarrassed by my human life, and more because it was painfully boring.

“There isn’t much to talk about.” I said. “I spent the workday as a pencil pusher in a cubicle, then I would come home and browse 4chan until it was past midnight. The next day I would wake up and do it all again.”

Torchic spoke next. “I was in grad school. Between research and classes, I didn’t have much time for getting out and socializing. Not that I ever got along with my classmates much anyways”

“Really? I dropped out of college.” said Cyndaquil. “I’ve been living as a NEET with my mom since then.”

“So we’re all losers.” I said.

“This is probably the most social I’ve been in my entire life.” affirmed Torchic.

Cyndaquil took another drink from the bottle. It was about half empty. He held it out to the two of us. When neither of us took him up on his offer he recorked the bottle and stuck it into Totodile’s bandolier. “I was hoping for some funny stories, but I guess I killed the mood, huh?”

We sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the embers from the campfire die down.

Torchic closed her eyes. “I guess so. I’m taking the opportunity to call it a night.”

…

In the morning, we did our best to stamp out the smoldering remains of the campfire. I would have gotten Totodile to douse the campfire with water, but he was sitting on the ground nursing a hangover. He took small sips out of the bottle the rest of us had shared last night.

“Hair of the dog that bit ya’, eh?” said Cyndaquil.

Totodile grunted in response.

“I’ve been there. Though you really should cut back on the drinking when it gets to that point.” said Cyndaquil.

Totodile waved Cyndaquil off, opting to continue staring fixedly at the ground in front of him. I passed him a water flask, to which he nodded mutely in thanks. The rest of us ate a light breakfast before continuing on our journey.

Lush Prairie was an endless expanse of yellow and green grasses. Our shortened stature as Pokemon meant that many of the small shrubs that dotted the region came up to at least our chest. Some were even several feet taller than us. Without the map and compass to orient ourselves we would have been hopelessly lost amidst the brush.

The trip through the prairie was uneventful. On the rare occasion we would spot a stray Pokemon foraging for food, or a hermit living in a small lean-to. We kept our distance and they kept theirs. Once we entered the mystery dungeon, I suspected we would face more hostility from the locals.

We took a short rest for lunch. Another testament to the resilience of Pokemon, we hardly felt any need for long breaks. It only took a quick stop to drink or sit for a few minutes to feel rejuvenated enough to keep walking. At lunch, I convinced Totodile to fill the water flasks we had emptied.

The previous day we had been following a river, so there was plenty of water, but I wanted to make sure we didn’t get stuck in the middle of the prairie with only booze to drink. The water was warm, and seemed a little gross. It smelt fine when I sniffed it, so we kept it in case of an emergency.

Another night was spent camping under the stars. We kept the subject of conversation away from us, and focused on pointing out constellations in the sky. Totodile managed to spot a collection of stars that looked a bit like Loss when you squinted. Cyndaquil kept trying to convince us he could see pornographic constellations but he would always trace out a line of at least fifty stars, so none of us could figure out what he was looking at.

We set out again the next morning, and managed to reach the edge of Apple Wood before noon. We loitered outside of the mystery dungeon, hesitant to take the plunge.

“Has anyone actually been in a mystery dungeon?” I asked. Their silence told me everything I needed to know.

“Should we hold hands? So we don’t get separated when we enter the dungeon?” said Totodile.

I heard Cyndaquil mutter “Lewd.” under his breath.

“Totodile. I don’t have hands.” said Torchic.

Totodile reached out and grabbed a hold of the tuft of feathers sticking out of Torchic’s head. “Well, I’ll hold on to you.” He then reached out and grabbed one of my ears. “And Phanpy. Cyndaquil, grab on to one of us.”

Cyndaquil grabbed my other ear. “Sure thing.”

“Okay. We’ll move together.” said Totodile. He began counting off each step so we walked forward as one line. “One two, one two, one two…”

We crossed into the woods. There was no sudden lurch in perspective, no invisible barrier that we crossed. One step we were in the normal world, and with the next we were in a mystery dungeon. I glanced behind me and could still clearly see the spot we were standing in a moment ago.

Totodile let go of my ear to withdraw a bottle from his bandolier. He had kept drinking as we traveled, but seemed to slow down after the hangover from the first day. The bottle he held now was almost empty, and once he had drained the last few dregs he dropped it into the grass. I considered telling him off for littering, but I wasn’t sure if the bottle would even exist once we left the area and the dungeon rearranged itself.

“I was expecting something more dramatic.” I said.

“I guess it’s more dangerous this way.” said Torchic. “You wouldn’t know you wandered into a mystery dungeon until it was too late.”

“Do you think there’ll be stairs?” asked Totodile.

“I’d say the odds are fifty-fifty. The real winning bet is that Glameow will be at that Perfect Apple tree.” said Cyndaquil.

“Why there? She could be anywhere in the dungeon, stairs or no stairs.” said Torchic.

“Think about it, it’s our first mission. The objective will be in an important spot.” said Cyndaquil.

“Guys, we’re not in a video game.” I said.

“We’re not,” conceded Cyndaquil, “but it is entirely plausible that Glameow came to Apple Woods to get Perfect Apples. So it’d be a good place to look for her.”

“He does have you there. Most Pokemon probably know where the local mystery dungeons are. She must have come in here for a reason.” said Torchic.

“Well. Yes. I guess that does make sense. And how should we find this tree?” I asked.

“We’ll just walk forward until we find it!” said Totodile. The other two didn’t seem to have any better ideas.

I began marching forwards. “Great. Glad we had this helpful conversation in the middle of a mystery dungeon.” The rest of the group fell into line behind me.

…

The atmosphere in Apple Woods was different from the forests surrounding Treasure Town. It was darker, more sinister. The trees formed a near unbroken canopy, only allowing small slivers of sunlight to find their way to us. True to its name, many of the trees we passed were laden with apples. I stashed some of the fresher looking apples that littered the ground in my bag.

It was impossible to maintain a sense of direction in the woods. Everywhere we looked, we saw towering apple trees and bushes. From behind me, I heard Torchic shout out in surprise. One of her talons had caught on a root, causing her to faceplant into the dirt. Totodile discarded another empty bottle as he helped her up.

We kept walking forwards until I heard something rustling up ahead. I stopped. The rest of the group came up beside me.

“There’s something up ahead.” I whispered.

Torchic took a few cautious steps forward, craning her neck to peer over a bush. “It’s a Paras.”

“Okay. On the count of three, we’ll charge in.” I said. “One. Two. Three!”
I ran forward, Torchic and Totodile trailing behind me. The Paras jumped in surprise as I came barreling out of the bushes towards it. I tackled it, pinning it to the ground. It tried to throw me off, but we were nowhere near the same weight class.

Torchic got in Paras's face, pecking at its eyes. Totodile was attempting to kick Paras. Every other kick of his caught me in the ribs. I didn’t see Cyndaquil anywhere.

“Hey Cyndaquil!” I shouted. “A little help here?”

Cyndaquil was observing us from the safety of the bushes. “I’m a lover, not a fighter! And I think you guys have it under control!”

Paras shook itself again. Its movements kicked up some kind of yellow dust. I slammed my front foot into the back of Paras’s head, trying to put my weight behind the attack. Paras’s head slammed into the ground, and its struggles stopped. I got off of the Pokemon, more dusting floating into the air as I did so.

“Did we kill him?” said Totodile.

I prodded the Paras. He seemed to still be breathing. “I don’t think so.”

Torchic sneezed from the dust Paras had disturbed. “What is this stuff?” Her eyes widened. “Oh no.” She stiffened and collapsed to the ground.

“Torchic?” said Totodile, before also flopping to the ground.

I looked at my two fallen teammates. I felt my muscles seize up. Of course a Paras could scatter stun spores.

I was still conscious in my paralyzed condition, but I could only see the grass in front of me. All of the stun spores that were kicked up by our fight with Paras slowly settled down, turning the grass a spotted yellow-green. One by one I could feel my limbs slowly relax, sore from being forced into one position for what must have been at least several minutes.

Torchic and Totodile were already gone when I looked around me. Hoping that they hadn’t been dragged off by some dungeon Pokemon, I pushed myself up and walked back to the bush I had seen Cyndaquil hiding in. I walked carefully to try not to kick up a cloud of spores and get paralyzed again.

Luckily, everyone had recovered from their paralysis and were waiting for me with Cyndaquil.

“That could have gone better.” I said.

“You can say that again.” said Cyndaquil.

I glared at Cyndaquil. “Not like you were any help.”

“I was standing lookout!”

“Is that what that was? It seemed to me like you were jerking yourself off while we did everything!”

I had tried to be nice to Cyndaquil. Even when he was being a creep. Even when he wanted to goof off. Even when he showed up empty handed before we left Treasure Town, despite me explicitly telling him to prepare. But if he still refused to carry his weight, then I was done dealing with him.

“Jeez, what crawled up your ass?” said Cyndaquil.

I stood in front of Cyndaquil, my face only a few inches away from him.“Is everything a joke to you? Is it possible for you to take things seriously for one second?”

“Why do you take everything so seriously?” he asked.

I could hear a low buzzing sound coming from somewhere in the forest, but I was too angry to care. “Because this is our job! We’re supposed to be an exploration team!”

“I never signed up for this! You dragged me into this like I was a prisoner!” shouted Cyndaquil.

“Maybe if you weren’t such a creep, I wouldn’t have had to tie you up!” I took a step back. “Fine. If you don’t want to be here, then you don’t have to stay. We’re going to find Glameow. You can find your own way out.”

“Abandoning your partner?” Cyndaquil had a shit eating grin on his face. “What would your Guildmaster think? Very unprofessional.”

I shoved Cyndaquil with my trunk. He grunted when he hit the dirt. The buzzing got louder.

Totodile got between us and threw his arms out. “Don’t fight, we’re supposed to be a team!”

“We are not a team.” I said. “We will never be a team.” The infernal buzzing was impossible to ignore any longer. It was like I had stuck my head into a beehive.

“Will you two shut up and turn around?” said Torchic.

When I did turn around, I discovered that a Beedrill had been the source of the noise. It hovered a few feet off of the ground, watching its prey.

Torchic was standing directly in front of Beedrill. She tilted her head and leaned back. When she opened her beak, she spit several globs of fire. Beedrill crossed its stingers and the fireballs harmlessly fizzled out against its tough forearms. The recoil from the attack knocked Torchic off balance. She fell, landing on her back.

I wrapped my trunk around Torchic and dragged her backwards. A moment later, one of Beedrill’s stingers plunged into the ground where she had been laying. Totodile took the opportunity. Before Beedrill could wrench itself free from the earth, Totodile blasted it with a jet of water.

Once it freed itself from the dirt, Beedrill turned its attention to Totodile. It spit a string of webs at Totodile, gluing his feet to the ground. Beedril swiftly closed the distance between it and Totodile, flying past me and Torchic. I ran after Beedrill, hoping to catch up before it impaled Totodile.

When Beedrill got close enough to strike, Totodile let loose another torrent of water. He succeeded in throwing off Beedrill’s aim. One of its stingers grazed Totodile’s face, drawing blood.

Beedrill was almost two feet taller than me, making it hard to reach its head or stingers. I leaped up and onto Beedrill’s back, wrapping my trunk around its neck. It flapped its wings in surprise and indignation, but its wings struggled to lift the now doubled weight.

Beedrill waved its forearms behind its back, trying to dislodge me. Its stingers were too bulky to effectively stab at me from this angle, so it instead prodded at me, trying to pry me off.

I tightened my grip around Beedrill’s neck. Totodile, for his part, shot at the Beedrill again. Now unprepared to brace itself against the water, Beedrill was knocked off of its feet. It landed on top of me and I winced as a rock dug into my back. I didn’t let up the chokehold as Beedrill began to writhe in my grip from the lack of oxygen. Totodile stood clear of the flailing stingers.

Eventually Beedrill went limp, and I pushed its unconscious body off of me. Totodile was in the process of polishing off another bottle. He tossed it over his shoulder. At some point Totodile had also helped Torchic back onto her feet.

Cyndaquil was lying on the ground on his stomach. His hands were on the back of his head, like he was taking cover from artillery fire.

“You can get up now.” I said.

Cyndaquil slowly got up. When he looked around, he was startled by the unconscious Beedrill on the ground.

“Y-you actually got him?” he said.

I ignored the question. “The Guildmaster would kill me if I left you here to die. You can come with us. But.” I pointed at the flames on Cyndaquil’s back. “Be quiet, and cut the fire. If you’re going to be useless, at least don’t be a liability as well.”

Cyndaquil nodded, and extinguished the fire that usually danced along his back. His back still had a warm glow about it, but it would be harder to spot us this way. We moved on as fast as we could comfortably manage in the dim woods, wanting to get as far away from Beedrill as possible before it woke up.

…

The trudge through the woods was miserable and slow. Every time we heard something in the bushes, we stopped and hid while we waited for whatever wild Pokemon caused it to pass. Torchic would regularly get caught on a fallen branch or root and without arms to maintain her balance, she would trip. Eventually I had had enough and carried her on my back. Every now and then, Totodile would drop another bottle. I didn’t have the energy to work out if he was drinking more heavily in the dungeon or if he was discarding his empty bottles from the trip here.

After hours of sullen marching, we heard something strange. It was barking. A lot of barking. The four of us exchanged glances, before creeping forwards towards the noise. We spotted a clearing. In the center stood a large, ancient tree. It was an apple tree, with plenty of fruit. In one of the branches, I spotted a cat-like Pokemon with gray fur. White splotches colored its ears and paws. That was our client.

Surrounding the tree was the source of the barking. A pack of wild Herdier lounged around the clearing. Some were engaged in play fights with each other, or enjoying the warmth of the sun. Most, however, were barking up at the Glameow hiding in the tree.

“What’s the plan?” whispered Torchic. “We can barely handle a three-on-one fight. Those Herdier will rip us apart.”

I looked at the rest of the group, running through a mental list of every item we brought with us. There was at least one thing we could try.

“Hey, Totodile, can I get a drink?” I said.

“Of course.” said Totodile, passing me an unopened bottle.

I held the bottle steady on the ground with my forelegs. With my trunk, I grabbed one of Torchic’s talons and stuck it into the cork. The bottle opened with a pop.

“Hey! Can you at least ask next time?” said Torchic.

“Yeah, yeah.” I said, rummaging through my bag for the blast seeds Torchic bought.

I dropped them into the bottle and passed the concoction to Cyndaquil. He seemed to know what I was trying to do. Cyndaquil undid his scarf and stuffed half of it into the bottle, followed by the cork. He held the neck of the bottle behind him. The flames on his back, which he had kept extinguished while we snuck through the forest, roared to life like a bonfire.

Totodile’s eyes widened. “Wait, that’s a perfectly good bottle of-”

Cyndaquil wound his arm back and threw the Molotov cocktail.

The projectile landed near the edge of the group of Herdier. The ones closest to the blast zone yelped in surprise and pain as they were engulfed in the sudden rush of flame. A split second later, the blast seeds ruptured. A towering inferno leapt to the sky. The sound was earsplitting, like being caught in an explosion in a fireworks factory.

“Holy shit.” said Cyndaquil.

“Guys?” shouted Torchic over the noise, “You realize that the Pokemon we’re supposed to rescue is in there?”

Before I could react, Cyndaquil made a beeline for the fire. He dove into the wall of flames and disappeared. Totodile ran over to the edge of the blaze and began spraying water at it. I stood still, frozen in shock.

A minute passed, and Totodile's attempts to put out the fire proved futile. A sudden gust of wind carried the burning embers out of the clearing, spreading the blaze to the rest of Apple Woods. I laid flat on the ground, expecting the air to soon be choked with smoke. I began counting in my head. I would give Cyndaquil another minute before I grabbed Totodile and made a break for the prairie.

Halfway through my countdown Cyndaquil emerged from the fire, running as fast as he could on two legs. In his arms he clutched Glameow and was attempting to shield her from the heat with his body. Totodile and I broke out into a sprint, away from the now completely uncontrolled forest fire.

Totodile took the lead. "Follow me!" he shouted.

Not wanting to get separated, I tried my best not to lose him between the smoke and undergrowth. He stopped for a moment, scooped something up off of the ground, and stuck it into his bandolier before continuing.

A few hundred feet later, he stopped again. This time I caught the glint of a glass bottle in his hand. Did he- was he- was he dropping those bottles intentionally? My thoughts were interrupted by a flaming branch crashing down behind me.

I spun around. Cyndaquil stood on the other side of the branch, still carrying Glameow.

"Catch!" he shouted, throwing Glameow over the burning debris. I intercepted her with my trunk, wincing in pain as she dug her claws into me in an attempt to hang on for dear life. Cyndaquil quickly crawled under the branch and popped back up next to me.

"It'll be faster if I carry her!" I said. He nodded, and we ran to catch up with Totodile.

We finally burst out of the forest and back into the prairie. We stopped on a hill to catch our breath. Cyndaquil was doubled over, panting from the marathon we had just completed. Despite his natural fire resistance, burns covered his body.

I set Glameow down and looked for a rawst berry in my bag. Glameow stared vacantly at Apple Woods. From our vantage point, we could see the fire racing through the forest. A thick pillar of smoke rose through the air. Ash was caked into Glameow’s fur.

Totodile counted the bottles on his bandolier, then counted each of us. He strode over to Glameow and began brushing the ash out of her fur. "By my count," he said, "we only lost one bottle of booze. I'd say that's a pretty successful mission!"

…

The trip back to Treasure Town took days longer than the trip out to Apple Woods had. Cyndaquil was badly injured, and could only walk by himself for a few hours. Totodile and I took turns carrying him, but it did little to speed up our progress. Our client, Glameow, was silent the entire trip. After the fight I had with Cyndquil in Apple Woods, none of us were in a conversational mood either. We passed the trip in uncomfortable silence.

It had been less than a week since we left Treasure Town, but it felt like we had been gone for months. The first thing we did upon arriving in town was drop Cyndaquil off at the town’s infirmary. After that, Glameow wordlessly paid us for our service and walked off. The three of us stood in silence for a moment before splitting up. Totodile was headed towards the Cafe, while Torchic and I returned to the guild. Despite it only being mid afternoon, I fell asleep as soon as I laid down in the pile of hay I used as a bed. I would deal with the Guildmaster later.

I woke up to something scratching at my door. When I opened it, I found Torchic. She wanted to practice her fire and needed someone to get her up if she fell down. I suggested she practice closer to town, but she didn’t want to repeat what happened at Apple Woods. We settled on going out to the beach.

She stood in the sand, facing towards the ocean. I sat a few feet behind her, with a sheet of paper and a plank of wood to serve as an impromptu clipboard. I used it to jot down notes for the guild’s timetable. I had already failed to form an exploration team with Cyndaquil. I didn’t want to fail at this, too.

Without the life-or-death pressure of a fight it was difficult for Torchic to summon her inner fire, or whatever it was that let Pokemon breathe fire. After a few hours of practice, Torchic was eventually able to spit out flames on demand. I looked up from my notes as Torchic opened her beak. She launched a few gobs of fire out towards the ocean. The water sizzled where they landed, wisps of steam coiling through the air.

"Hey, Torchic." I said.

The recoil from the attack unbalanced Torchic. She leaned backwards, flapping her tiny wings in an attempt to remain upright. I steadied her with my trunk.

"Huh?" she said.

"Sorry for being such a prick during the job." I said.

Torchic widened her stance in an attempt to remain on her feet after her next attempt. "Apology accepted. Although I'm not the one you should be making it to. You didn't berate me for being useless."

She looked contemplatively at the waves. Torchic muttered under her breath. "Even though you should have."

I wanted to console her, but I already had an idea of her response. We almost died in those woods. Torchic was carried, quite literally, through the dungeon. She would ask: Why? Why was I being nice to her when she did the least out of all of us? Why did she get a pass for being useless?

I didn't have an answer to that question.

I got up, wanting to escape the awkward tension that now filled the air. "You're right. I'll talk to the others." I said.

"I'll stay here." Her gaze remained fixed on the ocean. "To practice." she added as an afterthought. "If I'm not back by dinner, send someone to check on me."

"Sure." I picked up my clipboard and started on the road back to town.

I stopped by the market in Treasure Town. I purchased a small pouch filled with diced quick seeds and a variety of dried berries. It would make a nice tea, though I would kill for a strong cup of coffee. Especially when I had a long night like tonight.

I decided to get the easy one out of the way first. Totodile was sitting at his usual seat in Spinda's Cafe. I tapped him on the shoulder and he spun around in his stool to face me.

"Hey man! Come to drink with me?" he said.

"Not tonight. I have guild work." I said.

Totodile picked up his shot glass and threw back the liquor. He slammed the empty glass into the counter. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Did you need me for something?"

"No. I came to apologize." I said. Totodile looked confused, so I continued. "Sorry for how I acted on the mission. And sorry for using some of your booze the other day. I should have told you why I wanted it first."

"Oh, is that it?" Totodile got up and tried to give me a hug. It was awkward since I was on four legs.

Totodile did his best, and wrapped his arms around my midsection. "You don't have to worry about it! Water under the bridge!"

He let me go and returned to his seat. "Although," he whispered conspiratorially, "if you wanna pay me back, maybe earmark some of that reward money for a little group celebration. A night out for the four of us, to celebrate our first job."

"I'll see what I can do." I said, turning to make my exit.

"That's the spirit!" he said. "When you're ready to get this party started, you know where to find me!"

Now, the tricky one. Did I really want to apologize to Cyndaquil? I had never really liked him, and I would be perfectly happy never talking to him again. I realized that we wouldn’t have finished the job without him. I groaned internally, and went to the infirmary.

The infirmary was located in town, close to the guildhall. When I first arrived here, I wondered why the guild didn't have its own clinic. After struggling with the ladders in Wigglytuff's guild, I understood. Transporting an injured Pokemon into the guild was impossible.

I entered the reception area of the infirmary and upon seeing that nobody was at the counter, rang the bell for service. After a few minutes a Roserade came to greet me. She was wearing a white cap, signifying that she was a nurse.

"Hello. How can I help you? Are you injured?" she asked.

"I'm here to visit someone." I said.

"Of course. Who are you looking for?" she said.

"I'm looking for a Cyndaquil, he should have been admitted some time yesterday." I said.

Her mood immediately darkened. "Oh. Him. Right this way."

She led me through several hallways that smelled of disinfectant. In some of the occupied rooms I spotted exploration teams recovering from the day's work. Others held Pokemon with more serious ailments. Roserade finally stopped in front of a closed door.

"He's in here. Sleeping. Don't wake him up." she said brusquely. With that, Roserade strode away from me and disappeared around a corner.

I gently pushed open the door and entered Cyndaquil's room. The infirmary was much cleaner than the guild, save for a thin layer of green dust that coated everything. The room even had a real bed with white silk sheets. Cyndaquil was lying in bed. He was wrapped in bandages.

It hadn’t dawned on me how much of a risk Cyndaquil took to save Glameow until I saw him lying in bed. Whether I liked him or not, we - I would have gotten her killed without him. That had to count for something.

I yawned, trying to rub a sudden rush of drowsiness out of my eyes. I had paper and pencil with me, I could write Cyndaquil a note. I decided against that. That was too impersonal. We were partners. I would do it face to face.

…

With that problem unresolved, I sat down at Guildmaster Meowstic’s desk. I started by listing all of the Pokemon in the guild, followed by estimates of how much food each one would need. Our trip to Apple Woods helped me get what I thought was a fairly good estimation.

We would need a cart. Both to carry food, and to carry any belongings that couldn't be fit in a backpack. There would definitely be someone willing to rent us one in Treasure Town. I penciled the rental fee into the budget.

I worked methodically through each line item and possible delay I had brainstormed in my notes. I only took a break before dinner to dig Torchic out of the sand. I ate while working. When the sun set, I lit candles and placed them on the desk. When I started to feel fatigued, I prepared a pot of hot water over the firepit in the guild’s kitchen. The quick seeds had enough caffeine in them to keep me from falling asleep where I sat.

Before I realized it, it was morning. The Guildmaster found me, putting the final touches on the schedule.

“Ah, Phanpy. You’ve returned. How was Apple Woods?” he said.

“We got back to town two days ago. It was horrible.” I said.

The Guildmaster looked me up and down. He saw the still burning candles on his desk. “Have you been here all night?”

I nodded.

“We do not need the schedule that urgently.” said Meowstic. “Your health comes first.”

“The mission was a disaster. Let me do the one thing I can do.” I said.

Meowstic sighed and shook his head. “I will find a way to force you to get some relaxation in. But if you’ve already finished, the least I can do is look it over. After that, you should get some rest.”

The Guildmaster and I sat next to each other at his desk to review the timetable. A map covered half of our workspace and laid out all of the roads from here to Capim Town. The ledger sat open in the Guildmaster's lap.

As we worked through the schedule, I heard the flapping of wings. I looked up to see a colorful blur of feathers hurtling towards me. It landed on the Guildmaster's desk.

Chatot walked across the desk towards me. He thrust a wing at me, his beak inches from my face. "You!" He screamed.

"Me?" I said.

"Don't act dumb! You know what you did, you, you-" Chatot broke off his sentence to release a furious squawk.

Guildmaster Meowstic looked at the both of us. "Did Phanpy do something wrong?" he asked.

"Something wrong? Something wrong? His team burned down Apple Woods!" said Chatot.

"Did they? I'm sure that it was just an unfortunate accident.” The Guildmaster looked at me for confirmation. I nodded vigorously.

The Guildmaster continued. “I apologize for the trouble, but these things do happen."

"Accident or no, that was the only source of Perfect Apples on the entire continent!" Chatot turned to the Guildmaster. "I tried to work with you, Meowstic, but this has crossed a line! From now on, you either need to pay us everything you get doing our jobs, or you need to pack up and ship out!"

"Very well. Give us some time to pack, then you'll never see us again." said Meowstic.

"I hope so. For your sake." Chatot flapped his wings and flew up the guildhall's ladder.

Meowstic waited a minute to ensure Chatot was out of earshot, before speaking to me. “Do not take this as an excuse to ignore my advice, Phanpy. Your level of work is unsustainable, but I must thank you for having the timetable ready for today. I will see to preparing our fellow guild members. You get some rest.”

…

The Guildmaster managed to get everyone packed and ready to move out the next day. I was always surprised by how well the Guildmaster managed Pokemon. I chalked some of that up to being lucky enough to be turned into a psychic type. He also managed to procure a cart and a Skiddo to pull it.

We piled the cart full of provisions for the next few days along with a collection of seeds and orbs the exploration teams weren’t willing to sell to Kecleon. Space was left near the end of the cart for Cyndaquil to lay down. He still couldn’t walk without risking rupturing the blisters left by the forest fire. The roads were just wide enough to accommodate Skiddo’s cart, so the guild traveled in a spread out column with the Guildmaster at the front. I trailed behind the cart with Torchic and Totodile.

“Have you talked to him yet?” said Torchic.

“No.” I said.

Totodile began pushing me forwards. “No time like the present!”

“What if someone overhears us?” I said.

Torchic rolled her eyes. “Like this’ll be the most embarrassing thing Cyndaquil’s done. But fine, Totodile and I will make sure nobody listens in on you two lovebirds.”

At the prodding of my teammates, I hopped onto the back of the cart. Cyndaquil was awake this time, and I sat across from him. His eyes darted between me and the world around us. He seemed unsure of what I wanted.

Cyndaquil found his words before I did. “Look, I get that we don’t get along. I’ll keep out of your hair from now on. You don’t need to come and tell me.”

“That’s not why I’m here. I’m here to-” I paused. “I’m here to apologize.”

“For what? Trying to do your job?”

“No. For everything I said in Apple Woods. Threatening to leave you to die. For bashing you against the stairs the first day we met. I’m sorry.”

Cyndaquil leaned his head against the wall of the cart and let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry too. For being useless.”

“You weren’t useless. You pulled Glameow out of that fire.”

“I guess I did, huh? Everything that happened after I threw that Molotov is a bit of a blur.”

“How do you think you ended up in the infirmary covered in burns?”

“Who’s to say? Maybe I hit on the wrong fiery lady.” Cyndaquil smiled to himself. "Speaking of, have you met any of the nurses?"

"I met one of them. I stopped by to visit you a couple days ago, but you were asleep."

"Really?" Cyndaquil rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I think I must have pushed myself a little too hard in Apple Woods. I spent most of my time in the infirmary sleeping. Which nurse did you see?"

"Roserade." I replied.

"Oh, her! What a lady." said Cyndaquil. "I swear, her thighs look like they could crush watermelons."

"Is that the only thing you notice about Pokemon?"

"Come on Phanpy, am I talking to a priest? A corpse? You've got the body of a nubile young man now, regardless of who you were before this. Are you really telling me she doesn't get your blood flowing?"

"Even if she was my type," I replied, "I think it's rude to talk about someone like that behind their back."

"Not your type, eh? So you don't deny looking at your fellow Pokemon like that?"

"I, well," I stammered, "even if I do-"

Cyndaquil cut me off with a laugh. "I'm sure I'll tease it out of you sooner or later."

We sat in silence for a few minutes. Unlike our trip through Apple Woods, this was a comfortable silence. It was the feeling of spending time with a friend.

Cyndaquil cleared his throat. “So, where does this leave us?”

I cocked my head. “What do you mean?”

“Where does that leave us? The four of us. When we get to Capim Town, what are we going to do?”

I shrugged. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I guess we could form an exploration team. A real one this time, not something we’re forced into.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Cyndaquil stuck his hand out to me. “Partners?”

I wrapped my trunk around his hand to shake it. “Partners.”

As soon as I let go of Cyndaquil’s hand, Totodile leapt into the cart with us. He wrapped the two of us in a bear hug. I could hear Cyndaquil hissing in pain.

“Yes! We’re still a team!” shouted Totodile.

Torchic appeared, walking a few feet behind the cart. “Yes, it’s a cause for celebration, but please let go of Cyndaquil before you kill him.”

Totodile put us down, looking a little embarrassed. I picked up Torchic and deposited her in the cart with us.

“You two were listening?” I asked.

Torchic nodded. “I thought you might blow it. We were ready to step in if we needed to separate you two again.”

Cyndaquil snickered at her word choice. “Then we’re all in agreement? When we get to Capim Town, we’re starting our own team.”

We all nodded in assent. The sun was warm and the skies were clear. We took the time to unwind from the stress of our first mission, bantering with each other. We got Cyndaquil to tell us how he would hit on each and every member of the guild. In a few days, we would be in Capim Town. In Capim Town, we would get our real start as an exploration team.