Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time Re:Told

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 1: A Storm at Sea

"Woah! Wh-wh-whoa!" a voice cried out as lighting struck.

"Are...are you ok?! No! Don't let go! Just a little longer!" cried out another, "Come on! Hang on!"

"N-n-no...I can't...hold on...!" the first strained to speak now.  "Waaaaah!"

The two lost each other's grip and were separated. The last thing the first saw was the waves of the ocean in the terrible storm and a giant rock formation resembling a shark. The first finally stopped moving. He was quiet for a while, but finally let out a groan. "Where...where am I?" he thought to himself. He opened his eyes a small bit, and found himself on a small beach. "I can't...drifting off..." he thought again as he passed out once more. The storm finally subsided.

On top of the highest point in Treasure Town, a lone Pikachu stood in front of a tent in the shape of a large, pink Pokemon. He paced at the foot of the sentry grate in the ground for a moment. "Hmm..." he said. "No. I refuse to be paralyzed by this any longer," he said with a glint of courage in his eye. "This is it. I have to steel my courage today." Pikachu moved up and stood on the sentry grate. All of a sudden, two voices rang out.

"Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected!"

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"

"The footprint is Pikachu's! The footprint is Pikachu's!"

"Waah!" Pikachu screamed. "That was shocking! Whew...I can't...I can't do it. I told myself that this would be the day, but...I thought that holding my personal treasure would inspire me." Pikachu sighed. "I just can't do it. I'm such a coward..." With those words, Pikachu turned and walked away from Wigglytuff's Guild for the third time.

Just then, out of the bushes near the guild, two Pokemon emerged. One looked like a bat, the other a ball of poison gas.
"Hey, Zubat. Did you get a load of that?" said the ball-looking creature.

"You bet I did, Koffing," said Zubat. "That wimp that was pacing around...had something good, right?"

"That wimp had something good, for sure. It looked like some kind of treasure," said Koffing. "Do we go after it?"

"We do." Zubat replied. The two of them headed off in the same direction as Pikachu.

Meanwhile, Pikachu walked down the cliff of Wigglytuff's Guild and headed for the beach, the place he usually went when he was feeling sorry for himself. "Oh, wow! This view is incredible!" he said, and indeed it was. Bubbles were floating over the water, created by Pokemon named Krabby. There were hundreds of bubbles, and each one had reflected light off them. The scene was always beautiful. "It always makes me feel better, coming here. It's so uplifting." Pikachu gazed at the beautiful scene for a while, when suddenly, something across the beach caught his eye. "Hey...what's that? What's going on over there?" he wondered to himself. He started to walk across the beach until the scene became clearer to him. Someone had collapsed on the sand! Pikachu rushed over to the Pokemon in trouble. "Hey! Are you ok?! Wake up!" he called out to the downed individual.

The Pokemon groaned a little, and stood up. He was a little shaky on his feet at first, but eventually regained his balance. "You're awake! That's a relief," said Pikachu. He backed up a bit to give the poor creature some space. "You weren't moving at all. I was really worried! Do you remember how you ended up here?"

The Pokemon seemed confused. Where am I? he thought.

"Well, I'm Pikachu," said Pikachu. "Glad to meet you! And who are you? I've never seen you around here before..."

The Pokemon finally spoke. "I'm a human," he told Pikachu.

Pikachu looked shocked. "What?! A human? You look like a totally normal Riolu to me..."

The Pokemon looked down at his feet, and noticed that he had in fact turned into the Pokemon Riolu. "It's true! I've turned into a Riolu! But, why? I don't remember anything..." His looked around, extremely confused.

"You're...some kind of weird..." said Pikachu. "Your name? What's your name?"

My name? thought the Riolu, That's right... "My name is Marty," he told Pikachu.

"Ok. Well you don't seem to be a bad Pokemon at least." said Pikachu. "Sorry that I doubted you. More and more bad Pokemon have been coming up, you see! Many Pokemon have gotten aggressive lately. Things have grown somewhat lawless..."

Just then, Koffing and Zubat came from behind and attacked Pikachu! His "personal treasure" fell to the ground. "Ow!" he said.

"Well, I do beg your pardon," said Koffing.

"Hey! What'd you do that for?" asked Pikachu, clearly angry.

"Heh-heh! Can't figure it out?" Zubat asked rhetorically, "We wanted to mess with you! Can't face up to us, can you? That's yours, isn't it? That weird rock?"

Pikachu was alarmed. "Hey, th-that's my...!"

"Sorry kiddo, we'll take that!" said Koffing. Zubat went over to the strange rock and picked it up. The two of them headed into the nearby cave.

Pikachu looked devastated. He turned to Marty. "What should I do?" he asked. "That's my personal treasure. It means everything to me. If I lose that..." Tears welled up in Pikachu's eyes, but were quickly lost. "No! There's no time to waste! I have to get it back! Hey, can I get you to help me?" he asked Marty.

"Of course," said Marty.

"All right, let's go! They ran in here," said Pikachu. "We have to get back my personal treasure!" They ran into the Beach Cave after Zubat and Koffing.

A little while later, they finally made it to the bottom. When they got there, they found Koffing and Zubat staring at a dead end. "Uhh...hey!" Pikachu said.

"Well, well. If it isn't our good friend, the chicken!" said Koffing.

"Give me back what you stole from me!" Pikachu cried. "It's my personal treasure. It means everything to me!"

"Treasure, you say?  So this is really that valuble, eh?" Zubat thought aloud. "All the more reason to not give it back!" Koffing told Zubat. "You're right. If you wimps want it back so badly, come and get it!"

By this time, Marty had had enough. "Fine! You asked for it!" he said. "Pikachu, let's go!"

"Right!" Pikachu said.

All of a sudden, Marty disappeared with a blinding speed. In an instant, he was next to Koffing. "Force Palm!" he yelled. He thrusted his palm square into the center of Koffing. Koffing fell to the ground with a thud.

"How did you do that?!" Pikachu asked, clearly alarmed.

"I don't know...but it felt awesome!" Marty exclaimed. "Your turn, Pikachu!" he backed away from Zubat, allowing Pikachu to join in the battle.

"Not if I can help it!" Zubat cried. "Wing Attack!" Zubat charged at Marty, wings outstretched, and slammed into him with all his might.

Marty flew back. "UGH!" he shouted as he fell into the pool of water behind them.

"No! Marty!" Pikachu shouted. Zubat was charging after him now. Pikachu was desparate. He didn't know what to do. All of a sudden, he wondered why he was being such a coward. Marty needed him! "Thundershock!" he yelled. Lighting bolts shot out of his cheeks. Zubat was instantly fried and fell to the ground. Koffing and Zubat were defeated! Zubat had dropped Pikachu's personal treasure. Pikachu went to retrieve it.

"Boy, am I glad I got this back," he said with a sigh of relief. "I hope Marty is okay." Just then, Marty came up out of the water and walked up to Pikachu.

"That was some kind of amazing, Pikachu," Marty said. "Why don't we get out of here?"

"Are you hurt at all?" Pikachu asked. "That was quite the hit you took."

"I'm fine," Marty replied. "Let's go." And so they left the Beach Cave.

A little while later, Koffing and Zubat woke up.

"Ugh...we got roughed up," Koffing said. "What a disappointment. If only Chief were here."

"Yeah," Zubat replied. "If Chief were here, those wimps would've gotten the pounding of their lives. But it doesn't matter. Let's get out of here."

A little while after their battle, Marty and Pikachu finally made back out to the beach. They stopped for a few moments to catch their breath. Pikachu spoke. "Thank you! Seriously!"

Marty was still lost in his own thoughts. I only helped because I happened to be there. Was it the right thing to do? He caught himself. I guess it was. Pikachu is clearly happy. It's nice to be appreciated. "No problem," he said.

Pikachu set his personal treasure on the ground between them. "This is what they stole from me," he told Marty. "I call it my Relic Fragment. It's my one treasure! You see, I've always loved legends and lore. I always get so excited whenever I hear tales from the past!" His eyes started to brighten. "Don't you feel the same way? Hidden troves full of treasure, strange relics, uncharted territories veiled in darkness...and new lands just waiting to be discovered! Such places must be full of unimaginable gold and treasure! And history, too! Wouldn't it be amazing to make historic discoveries?"

"Yeah, that would be pretty amazing," Marty said, not knowing where Pikachu was going with this speech.

"That's what I've always dreamed of. It's all exciting to me," Pikachu continued. "So one day...I happened to come across my Relic Fragment. I admit that it looks like junk, but take a closer look." Marty leaned over at the Relic Fragment to find a strange pattern. Pikachu continued again. "See? That inscription forms a strange pattern, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, you're right," Marty said. "I've never seen a pattern like this."

"There must be some signifigance to this pattern," Pikachu said. "This Relic Fragment must be the key to legendary places! To areas where precious treasure lies! At least, that's the feeling I get. That's why I want to join an exploration team."

Marty looked confused. "What's an exploration team?"

"You mean you don't know?" Pikachu gave him a strange look. "An exploration team is a group of Pokemon that litteraly explore new places and make discoveries. Not only that, but they rescue Pokemon in need and bring evil Pokemon to justice! They're the bravest of the brave! That's why I want to join one. This fragment must fit into something...somewhere! I want to find out where that is. I want to solve the mystery of my Relic Fragment!"

"That sounds like a worthy goal," Marty said. " I hope you can join an exploration team!"

"Well, earlier I tried joining an exploration guild as an apprentice...but I chickened out. I've tried three times, but I can't work up the nerve to go inside. But, what about you? What are you going to do now, Marty? You lost your memory, and somehow transformed into a Pokemon...do you have anywhere to go and stay after this?"

Marty looked a little discouraged. He's right, he thought. I don't have anywhere to go.

Pikachu seemed to sense what Marty was thinking. "If not, can I ask a huge favor?"

"Sure..." Marty said.

"Would you be willing to form an exploration team with me? I'm convinced I can form an effective exploration team with you, Marty. While we were fighting Koffing and Zubat, I felt myself become a little more brave because you were with me. If it hadn't been for you there, I probably wouldn't have gotten my Relic Fragment back. So will you? Please?"

I don't have any clue what to do next, Marty thought. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to team up with Pikachu for now. Maybe I'll discover who I am if I stay with him. Ok! It's settled! Of course I will!"

"Really?! Really and truly?!" Pikachu looked excited, the gleam returning to his eye. "Yes! Thank you! We're going to be a great combination! Let's make this work!"

"Great!" Marty said. "But...now what do we do?"

"First, we should go to Wigglytuff's Guild and sign up as apprentices. That's where we need to train to become a first class exploration team. I'm sure the training will be very tough. But let's give it our best, Marty!"

And so...Pikachu and Marty formed an exploration team. This turned out to be their very first step into many fantastic realms of adventure that awaited their arrival.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 2: The New Guild Recruits

Marty and Pikachu, having just left the beach, made the short walk up the cliffside to Wigglytuff's Guild. "This is Wigglytuff's Guild," Pikachu told Marty. "To form your exploration team, you need to register your team here. Then you have to train until you become a first-rate exploration team." Pikachu suddenly became nervous. "Isn't there something a little...odd about this place?"

Marty set Pikachu straight. "C'mon Pikachu, don't tell me you're chickening out now. Make this the day!"

"You're right. I can't just run away now! I have you with me!" Pikachu felt his courage coming back to him. He walked up and stood on top of the sentry grate. Two voices rang out.

"Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected!"
"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"
"The footprint is Pikachu's! The footprint is Pikachu's!"
Pikachu was clearly stressed, but he kept standing on the sentry grate. N-no...I have to be strong,  he thought. Marty is with me!

Finally, the louder voice of the two boomed out through the sentry hole. "You may ENTER!" then the voice spoke again, "Someone's with you! So get that stranger to stand up THERE!"

"They probably meant you, Marty," Pikachu said. "They said to stand up here."

Marty looked at the sentry grate. It looks really strange, he thought. Like someone is going to tickle my feet, or...

He didn't even finish his thought when the voice boomed again, "Hey YOU! STRANGER! Stand on the GRATE!" Marty walked up and stood on the sentry grate as Pikachu had. The two voices spoke again.

"Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected!"
"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"
"The footprint is... The footprint is... um..."
"What's the matter?! Sentry! Sentry?! What's wrong, sentry Diglett?"

Meanwhile, down in the hole, a little brown mole creature stared up at the footprints on the grate. He didn't know what to make of them. He thought he had seen them before, but they weren't footprints you normally saw around the area. He finished his duty. "The footprint is...um...maybe Riolu's! Maybe Riolu's!"
The loud, booming voice spoke, "WHAT?! MAYBE?! Checking the footprints of guests to the guild...that's your JOB, ISN'T it, Diglett?"
Diglett was rather embarrased by his failure. "Yes, but I don't know what I don't know."

Meanwhile, back up at the top of the sentry grate, Marty and Pikachu were a little confused. "They seem to be arguing...should I just tell them I'm a Riolu?" Marty asked.
"Actually, I'm kinda enjoying this. Let them keep arguing," Pikachu told him. They had a good laugh about this argument and waited for the two sentries to finish arguing. Finally...

"Sorry to make you WAIT," said the loud sentry. "Well, it's TRUE that you don't see many Riolu in these parts...but you don't SEEM to be bad. OK, GOOD ENOUGH! ENTER!" The main gate to Wigglytuff's Guild finally opened with a loud thud.

"I'm so nervous! So jittery!" Pikachu said. "But I'm glad we're finally allowed in. My heart's pounding a little, though... Let's go in!"

"Right!" said Marty. The two went into the guild tent. When they got inside, all they found was a tiny little room with a sign. In the center of the room there was a ladder leading underground. Marty and Pikachu went down the ladder and into the guild's main floor.

"Wow!" Pikachu said. When they got off the ladder they found a room much larger than the one they had just been in. In this room there were two boards on the walls adjacent to the ladders, and around these boards and around the room in general there were Pokemon of all kinds in the room. "So this is Wigglytuff's Guild!" Pikachu was excited. "So many Pokemon! I wonder if they're all on exploration teams?"

Suddenly, a voice called out from the next floor down. "Excuse me!" it said. A bird Pokemon came up the ladder to another floor down. Marty wondered how many underground floors there were here.

The bird Pokemon walked up to Marty and Pikachu. "It was you two that just came in, right?" it asked.

Pikachu became nervous. "Y-yes!" he stuttered out.

"I'm Chatot," the bird Pokemon said. "I'm the Pokemon in the know around these parts! I am Guildmaster Wigglytuff's right hand Pokemon! Now, shoo! Leave the premises! We have no time for salespeople or silly surveys. Off you go, if you please!"

"No! That's not why we're here!" Pikachu explained as Chatot tried to push them up the ladder. "We want to form an exploration team. That's why we're here."

Chatot looked very concerned. "Wh-WHAT?! Exploration team?" He turned away from the two of them and began to think out loud. "It's rare to see a kid like this want to apprentice at the guild. Especially given how hard our training is! Surely the steady stream of Pokemon who run away from our rigorous training proves how true that is!"

Marty looked concerned. "Excuse me, Chatot. Is the training really that bad?"

Chatot turned around and realized that the two had just heard everything he had been saying. He quickly tried to cover up what he had just said. "Well...no! No, no, no! It's not true in the slightest! Our training program for exploration teams is as easy as can be!" He suddenly became very cheery. "Well! I wish you had told me up front that you wanted to be an exploration team! Hee-heee!" Chatot began to start singing.

Pikachu looked at Marty and whispered, "His attitude sure did an about face, huh?"

Chatot had continued on. "Ok! Let's get your team signed up right away! Follow me!" he said, still humming. He continued to walk towards the ladder he came up when he noticed Marty and Pikachu weren't following. "Oh! Anything wrong? This way, please," he told them. They followed Chatot down the ladder. "This is the guild's second underground floor," Chatot said. "This is mainly where the apprentices work. Team registration is this way. Follow me, please." They walked over to a corner of the room, where they found a door. Pikachu had noticed a window next to the door. He ran over to it.

"Oh, wow! Look at this!" he said to Marty. "We're two floors underground, but you can still see outside! This is incredible!"

"Um...Pikachu," Marty said. "This guild is made on the side of a cliff. Of course you would be able to see outside. There's nothing that would prevent you from not being able to see it. Didn't you notice the windows on that wall over there have a view of the road we came here on from the beach?"

"Oh...yeah..." Pikachu grumbled. The two of them laughed again.

Chatot was growing impatient. "Hurry up you two!" he called to them. They hurried over to him. "Now," he said, "This is our guildmaster's chambers. On no account... I repeat, on no account should you be discourteous to our guildmaster."

"No problem," said Marty. "May we go in now?"

"Certainly," said Chatot. He turned to the door. "Guildmaster!" he said in a sing-songy voice. "It's Chatot! I'm coming in!" The three of them went inside the door. There they found the guildmaster staring at the wall farthest from them. Chatot began to speak to him. "Guildmaster, I present to you two Pokemon who wish to join our guild as apprentices." The guildmaster didn't so much as flinch. His gaze was still trained on the back wall. Chatot tried to get the guildmaster's attention. "Guildmaster...um...guildmaster?" All of a sudden, in one quick move, the guildmaster turned around and said, "Hiya!"

"I'm Wigglytuff! I'm the guild's guildmaster! You want to form an exploration team? Then let's go for it!"

Marty was taken aback by the guildmaster's strange demeanor. He thought that a guildmaster should be more serious than what this Pokemon was. Surely Pikachu is thinking the same thing, he thought.

"First we must register your exploration team's name!" Wigglytuff said. "So tell me your team's name?"
Pikachu was worried. "A name? We didn't think of that..." He turned to Marty. "What do you think our team's name should be, Marty?"
Marty thought about it for a minute. He had no idea what to say. He didn't know the names of any exploration team. He wouldn't know what a good team name was. What if he gave the team a really weak sounding name? He would never be able to change it! Then all of a sudden, it came to him. "How about Team Chaotix?" he suggested to Pikachu.

"I like it! It's a great name for us!" Pikachu said. "Good choice, Marty."

"Well, it seems you've decided," Wigglytuff observed. "All settled! I will now register your team as Team Chaotix." At this point, Wigglytuff began to dance. As he was dancing, he said, "Registering...registering...all done...YOOM-TAH!"

Marty and Pikachu weren't sure what to think of him. But it didn't matter! They were now an exploration team!

"Congratulations!" Wigglytuff said. "From now on, you're an official exploration team! I present you with this in commemoration." Wigglytuff laid a golden box in front of Marty. "This is a Pokemon Exploration Team Kit. It's what every team needs to get started. Go ahead, open it up." Marty opened the Kit. In it, he found a strange looking badge, a map, and what looked like a messenger bag.

"Wow!" Pikachu said. "There are a lot of great items in here, Marty!"

Wigglytuff began to explain each of the items. "That there is your Explorer Badge! It's your official team identification!" He now looked at the map. "This is your Wonder Map. You'll be needing this when we give you special exploration assignments." Third, he looked to the bag. "That's your Treasure Bag. You can put your items in there! When you get better at exploring, the Exploration Team Federation issues you a bigger bag!"

"Thank you!" said Pikachu. "We'll do our best!"

"Yup!" said Marty.

After the two of them had finished being registered, Chatot led them down a hallway just off the Guildmaster's room that led to some crew rooms. Marty and Pikachu found their rooms at the very end of the hall. "You will live here while you work for us," Chatot told them. "Things will start getting busy for you tomorrow! So rise early and start living up to our code!" Chatot left the room. Marty and Pikachu got settled and prepared for bed. It had been an exhausting day.

Later that night, Marty was still awake. He couldn't get to sleep. He had so much on his mind. Pikachu noticed. "Oh, are you still awake, Marty?" he asked.

"Yeah," Marty said. "I can't sleep."

"Me, either," Pikachu said. "My heart's been racing over every little thing. But I'm glad I finally made myself come here. I thought Wigglytuff would be really scary, but he seems awfully friendly. We're going to experience all sorts of things tomorrow, but I'm not even scared. In fact, it's the opposite. I'm excited about all the adventures we'll have!"

Marty heard Pikachu, but he wasn't really paying attention. He was lost in his own thoughts. Now I'm suddenly apprenticing at the guild...I gotta admit, it's pretty exciting being on an exploration team. And Pikachu seems to be a really good friend...but first things first.Who am I? Why did I turn into a Pokemon? How did I end up unconcious on that beach?

"Well, I'm getting sleepy," Pikachu said. "Good night, Marty."

"Good night, Pikachu."

The two of them fell asleep for the first night at their new home.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 3: The First Day

The next morning, Marty and Pikachu were woken up by the extremely loud voice they had heard at the sentry grate the evening before. It seemed even louder now. "HEY! HEY THERE!" it shouted. "RISE AND SHINE!"

What a ridiculously loud voice!Marty thought. My head is pounding!

"WHY ARE YOU STILL ASLEEP?!" the voice continued. "WAKE UP! C'mon, snap OUT OF IT!"

"M-my poor ears..." Pikachu groaned.

"I'm Loudred!" The voice shouted, "And I'm a fellow apprentice! If you're late for our morning briefing, you'll be SORRY! So MOVE IT! Guildmaster Wigglytuff has got a BIG temper. IF you make him lose it..." Loudred shuddered for a moment. "YOWEEE! That would be one very scary scene! I've got goose bumps just thinking about it! SO GET IT IN GEAR!"

Pikachu's ears were still ringing. "What'd he say? Something about getting ready?" They both thought for a second. Then it came to Marty.

"We totally overslept!" he said to Pikachu. "We need to hurry!" They raced out to the doorway to Wigglytuff's chamber, where they saw all the other apprentices lined up. Besides Marty and Pikachu, there were eight apprentices.

Loudred was the first to say something to the newcomers. "You're LATE, rookies!"

Chatot reprimanded him. "Hush! Your voice is ridiculously loud!" Loudred looked down at the ground, embarrassed. Chatot continued speaking. "Everyone seems to be present. Very well. Let us conduct our morning address." Then, Chatot turned to Marty and Pikachu. "This is Marty and Pikachu," he said. "They are the newest apprentices here. I would like each of you to introduce yourselves to our new recruits!"

The Pokemon next to Marty turned to them. "I'm Sunflora! It's so nice to meet you!" Sunflora was a Grass-type Pokemon with a striking resemblance to a sunflower. Marty thought she seemed a bit too chatty for her own good.

Chatot seemed to verify what Marty was thinking. "I mean later on in the day, all right?" he said to Sunflora. Sunflora nodded to him.

Chatot turned to the door. "Guildmaster! The guild is in full attendance!" he shouted. Wigglytuff opened up the door and came out to meet the apprentices. "Thank you, Guildmaster!" Chatot said. "Please address the crew."

Wigglytuff's morning address consisted of, "Zzzz...Zzz...Snorfle...Zzz..."

"Psst...! Guildmaster Wigglytuff never ceases to amaze me!" said one of the apprentices. "Yeah, you got that right!" said another. "Yup, looks like he's wide awake," said a third. "Eek!" said Sunflora. "His eyes are wide open! But he's fast asleep!"

Chatot tried to cover for their sleeping Guildmaster. "Thank you, sir! We all value your...words of wisdom!" He turned to the apprentices. "Ok, Pokemon! Take our Guildmaster's words of wisdom to heart! Finally, let's not forget our morning cheers! All together now!" At this point, all the other apprentices joined in a chant highlighting the top three rules of Wigglytuff's Guild.
"One! Don't shirk work!"
"Two! Run away and pay!"
"Three! Smiles go for miles!"

"Ok, Pokemon!" Chatot said in rhythm. "Time to get to work!"

"HOORAY!" said all the apprentices. They all went off to do their jobs. Meanwhile, Marty and Pikachu stood where they were for morning briefing. "Well, um...What do you think we're supposed to do?" Pikachu asked Marty. "I have no idea," Marty said. "Let's just walk around and maybe the apprentices will tell us. So they walked off and ended up meeting all the apprentices. There was Loudred and Diglett, the sentry duo. They were getting ready to start their sentry duties, and Diglett burrowed into the sentry hole. There was Croagunk, who sat near a strange looking cauldron and muttered to himself, occasionally laughing. There was Chimecho, who took care of the mess hall and cooked meals for all the apprentices. None of them knew what Marty and Pikachu were to do, so they went upstairs to meet the other apprentices. They said hello to Sunflora, who wanted to keep talking to them for what seemed like forever. When they finally asked her what they were supposed to do, she didn't know. She asked the other two apprentices with her, Corphish and Bidoof. Corphish told Marty and Pikachu to go see Chatot for their assignments. After a quick chat with the apprentices, they went back down to see Chatot.

"Hey, you shouldn't just be wandering around there," Chatot said. "You two come here." They walked over to meet him, but he just led them back to the room with the boards. "You're just beginners," he said. "We'll have you start off with this assignment." He turned to the board. "This is the Job Bulletin Board," Chatot explained. "Pokemon from various regions post job requests here. These vary from needing rescue to delivering items. You're aware that bad Pokemon are cropping up in greater numbers, right?" he asked them.

"Yeah," Pikachu answered. "Because the flow of time is getting messed up. It's wreaking havoc, right? Which is why lots of bad Pokemon are appearing?"

Marty looked confused. The flow of time is getting messed up? Time? As in hours and minutes? Do they mean something has gone wrong with time here? So many questions were running through his head. And, because of that, more and more bad Pokemon are popping up? What's going on here?!

Chatot and Pikachu's conversation continued. "Precisely," Chatot said. "Time getting out of whack has caused an outbreak of bad Pokemon. Perhaps because of all that...We have noticed an increase in the number of jobs. In addition, and it's unknown if this is because of time's influence, There has also been a mass outbreak of mystery dungeons."

Marty was still confused. It seemed he really knew nothing about this world. "What are mystery dungeons?" he asked.

"You know where we got my Relic Fragment back yesterday?" Pikachu asked him.

"Yeah, what about it?" Marty asked, not sure where Pikachu was going. That cave seemed normal to him yesterday.

"The place where we found it was a mystery dungeon," Pikachu said. "A mystery dungeon cahnges each time you go into it. There's a different layout and different items every time you enter! But if you faint in a dungeon, you'll lose all your money. You can even lose half your items or more. Finally, you get kicked right out of the place. They're very strange, aren't they?" his eyes lit up. "But every time you go inside one, there are always new things to discover! They really are fantastic places to go exploring!"

"Well!" Chatot said. "You're quite informed, aren't you! That makes things much easier for me! Jobs will always take place in mystery dungeons." He turned to the board. "So...let's look for a job that you should perform!" Chatot searched the board for a few moments until he found one he felt they could handle. "Ah, yes," he said. "Maybe this will do?" He handed the letter to Pikachu.
"I'll read it," Pikachu said. He opened the letter and read it aloud.

Hello! My name is Spoink! An outlaw has run off with my most prized possession. My precious pearl! That pearl is life itself...to me! I just can't seem to settle down if that pearl isn't in its proper place atop my head! But I've heard my pearl has been sighted! It's said to be on a rocky bluff, but said bluff is reported to be extremely unsafe. I could never go somewhere so frightening! Oh, friendly readers! Would you be so kind as to go to the bluff and get my pearl? I beg your help, exploration team members!                        -Spoink

Pikachu stared at the letter for a moment after he was done reading it. "Wait a second...we're only supposed to fetch an item that someone dropped?" Pikachu was clearly angry. "I would rather do something that's more of an adventure I'd rather look for treasure or explore unknown places. Things like that!"

Chatot became irritated at Pikachu. "Hush!" he said. "It's important that you rookies pay your dues! Now pay attention! I'll repeat the warnings again to make sure they stick! You'll be forced out of a dungeon and sent back here if EITHER of you faints."

"So, if Pikachu faints, the mission is over?" Marty asked.

"And if Marty faints, I get sent back, too?" Pikachu asked.

"Precisely," Chatot said, still irritated at Pikachu. "You'll even lose all your money! And you could lose half your items or more. You'd best be careful!" He seemed to calm down now. "If you've understood all that, I suggest you get on with the job!" So Pikachu and Marty set off for the Drenched Bluff.

They finally made it to the bluff after a few hours' journey. "This must be the bluff's entrance," Pikachu said. "It sounds like a seriously dangerous place. Let's be careful."

"Right," said Marty. The two of them headed into the bluff. As they were traveling down the bluff, Pokemon seemed to attack them! "This is a mystery dungeon, just like yesterday, right?" asked Marty.

"Yeah," said Pikachu.

"Then why didn't Pokemon attack us yesterday?" Marty wondered aloud.

"Most likely because Zubat and Koffing wiped out the enemies before we got there," said Pikachu.

They continued down the bluff until they found a high cliff. It was so tall, it seemed there was no way to get up to it. Just then, Marty caught a glance of something shining on the cliff. "Look, Pikachu!" he shouted. "It's a pearl! It has to be Spoink's!"

"Great!" Pikachu said. "How are we gonna get it down, though?"  It did seem impossible.

Marty thought for a minute. "I'll be right back," he said. Just then Marty took a running start and jumped up. The next thing he knew, he was on top of the cliff! He grabbed the pearl and jumped back down.

"Wow! What a jump!" Pikachu was amazed. "How did you do that?"

"I'm not sure," Marty said. "It felt just like yesterday when I attacked Koffing. I'm not sure how I did it at all. I don't think it's something I can control at will...it just happens."

"In any case, we got Spoink's pearl back!" Pikachu said. "Let's get back to the guild."

Back at the guild, they met up with their client, Spoink, and gave him back his pearl. "Th-thank you!" he said. "That pearl must be propped on my head, you see. I missed it so much! I just couldn't settle down without it up there! So I was just boinging and sproining everywhere! That's why I'm covered in dings and bumps. Thanks to you, that long nightmare is over! You have my sincere thanks! Now for your reward!" Spoink handed them 2,000P!

"Wow! All this money is for us?" Pikachu asked, alarmed.

"Of course, of course!" Spoink told him. "That's nothing compared to the value of my pearl! Farewell! Thanks again!" With that, Spoink left the guild.

Pikachu was ecstatic. "We're rich, Marty! We got rich just like that!"

Chatot came up the ladder. "Well done, team Chaotix! Congratulations on the success of your first mission! Now hand that money over, if you please!"

"WHAT?!" Pikachu asked.

Chatot explained. "Most of the money from jobs goes to the Guildmaster, you see! And your team's share of the money comes out to this much...!" Chatot took a large share of the money from Spoink's reward and gave the rest back to Pikachu.

Pikachu was shocked. "We keep only 200P? That's awful!"

"Well that's the guild's rule. You simply have to accept it!" Chatot told him. Pikachu and Marty were disappointed. They spent the rest of the day around the guild, having successfully completed their mission. Later that evening, Chimecho came out of the mess hall.
   
"Everyone!" he called. "Thanks for waiting! I finished making dinner! Come on! Dinner's on!" Cheers rang out throughout the guild. Everyone ran into the mess hall and quickly scarfed down their evening meal.
   
"Aaaaah! I'm done eating! Excellent meal!" said Sunflora.
   
"I'm stuffed, and now I'm getting sleepy..." said Corphish.
   
"Yep," said Bidoof. "I'm off to bed! Good night, gang!"
   
"Good night!" said Marty. Everyone went to their crew rooms.
   
After Pikachu and Marty had gotten to their room, they immediately laid in their beds. They were exhausted. "Listen, Marty," Pikachu said. "Wasn't today so hectic? SO much happened! But I'm so relieved that our first job was a success. It was really upsetting how Wigglytuff's Guild took most of the money, but that's the cost of training, I guess. We can't do anything about it. What really made me happy today, though, was getting thanked by Spoink!" Pikachu yawned. "I'm getting sleepy. Let's try our best again tomorrow. Good night, Marty."

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 4: The Scream

"UP AND AT 'EM! IT'S MORNING!" Loudred yelled, signifying that it was time for Marty and Pikachu to wake up. Pikachu groaned, not because he was tired, but because his ears hurt so much from Loudred.

"Ugh...Good morning, Marty," he said. They got up and headed out for their morning briefing. Briefing consisted of the same material as the day before, except Wigglytuff was actually awake this morning. After Chatot dismissed everyone, Marty and Pikachu turned to each other.

"What do you think we'll do today?" Marty wondered.

Hearing him, Chatot said, "Well, come with me." So Marty and Pikachu followed Chatot back up to the room with the Job Bulletin Board. When they got upstairs, they noticed that Chatot had led them to the board on the other side of the room.

"Last time we did a job, it was from the board on the other side..." Pikachu said.

"Correct!" Chatot said. "Today, we'll have you do a job listed on this side."

Marty was confused (as usual) "How is this different from the board on the other side?" he asked.

Chatot turned to the board. "Take a closer look!" he told them. They looked at the board for a moment and noticed that each letter had a picture of a Pokemon on it.

"Wow, they all look pretty cool!" Pikachu said. "Are they famous explorers? Who are these Pokemon, Chatot?"

"The Pokemon posted here...are outlaws," he told Pikachu. "They're all shady characters, and they're wanted for committing crimes."

Pikachu and Marty were alarmed. "They're outlaws?!" they said in unison.

"Yes," Chatot said. "They also have bounties on their head. In other words, there is a cash reward if you capture one. There are so many aggressive Pokemon around these days that everyone's finding it hard to keep up with the problem."

Pikachu was worried. "You're telling us to go catch these outlaws? You can't be serious! That's not possible!"

Chatot laughed for a moment. "Just joking!" he said. Marty and Pikachu gave him a confused look, so he continued. "The bad Pokemon out there come in all shades of badness! Some of those Pokemon are completely wicked, through and through...but there are also bad Pokemon who are merely petty thieves. So you've got evil to naughty...and everything in between! So I'm sure we can avoid giving you a job catching a super bad Pokemon." He laughed again. "So look over these posters, and then pick a Pokemon that looks weak enough for you to bring to justice!"

"I'm...scared of dangerous Pokemon!" Pikachu said. "I can't possibly do that!"

"It's all a part of your training. You'll work through it, I'm sure!" Chatot said, trying to encourage Pikachu. "But I suppose you do need to be prepared to confront a tough opponent. So I'll have someone give you a tour of the facilities." He turned to the ladder. "Bidoof?" he yelled. "Bidoof!"

A call came from down the ladder. "Yup yup!" it said. Bidoof clambered up the ladder, short of breath. "Huff-puff-huff...You called?"

"As you know, these are the new recruits that just joined us," Chatot reminded him. "Take them and show them around Treasure Town, if you please!"

"Yes sirree!" Bidoof said. "By golly, I'll do just that! Yup yup!"

Chatot turned and went down the ladder. "Well, I'd best show you around," Bidoof said. "Come with me, please." They went up the ladder and outside of the guild. When they got to the bottom of the cliff, they turned off at the crossroads, the road where Marty and Pikachu had come from the beach on. When they got a little ways down the road, they ran into a town. The town had bunches of colorful tents and many Pokemon. Marty wondered how many of them were on an exploration team. "This is Treasure Town," Bidoof told them. "It's the main town for Pokemon that live near or are affiliated with the guild.

"Oh, I can tell you about Treasure Town," Pikachu said to Marty. He turned to the tent behind them. "That over there is Duskull Bank. We can save our money that we make from missions there." He turned to the yellow tent across the square. "That is the Electivire Link Shop. That's where you can link moves, make combos, and learn new moves, but it looks like Electivire isn't there today." He looked at the tents across the bridge. "Here we have Kecleon Market. You can buy and sell items here." Finally, they looked at the building next to them. "There's Kangaskhan Storage. Items stored there will never be lost. Those are the basic places that exploration teams visit." He turned to Marty. "That should do it."

"You sure know a lot," said Bidoof. "That's good to know! Come find me when you're all ready to go. I'll give you a hand in finding the right outlaw for you."

Marty smiled. "Thank you, Bidoof. You've been really nice," he said.

"Aw, shucks, you're embarrassing me!" he said. "I'll be waiting at the guild's upper underground floor for you." Bidoof turned and left for the guild.

"Ok, Marty," Pikachu said. "Before we leave, we need to go to the Kecleon Market. That's always a must." They made the short trip across the bridge to the Market. When they got there, two chameleon Pokemon were standing side by side. "Welcome to the Kecleon Market!" they yelled in unison. "Ahh, the new guild apprentices I've been hearing about!" said the green Kecleon, the elder of the two. "We've heard so much about you!" said the younger, purple one.

Marty was pleased that he and Pikachu were so popular already. "Hello!" he said. "What have you got to sell today?" he asked.

The elder Kecleon looked around. "Unfortunately, we're out of stock except for a few apples."

Marty looked disappointed. "That's okay," he said. "We'll come back tomorrow."

Just then, two Pokemon came across the bridge. The Kecleon seemed to know them. "Ah! Little Marill and Azurill!" said the younger Kecleon. "Welcome!"

"Hello," said the little one, Azurill. "May I buy an apple?"

Elder Kecleon grinned. "Oh, most certainly!" he said.

"Thank you!" said the older brother, Marill. The two young brothers left the Kecleon Market with their bag in hand.

"You see," said elder Kecleon, "Those delightful children are brothers. Lately, their poor mother has fallen sick. So those youngsters come and do the shopping for her."

"It's quite remarkable," said younger Kecleon. "Though very young, they've stepped up and taken charge." All of a sudden, Marill and Azurill came running back to the market.

"There was an extra apple!" Azurill cried.

"We didn't pay for this many," Marill told them.

Elder Kecleon laughed. "That, young friends, is a gift from me and my brother. Please, share it among yourselves and do enjoy."
   
"Thank you!" said Marill. They turned and left the market again. Just then, Azurill tripped and fell. His apple fell to the ground in front of Marty. Marty quickly picked up the apple and handed it back to Azurill. "I'm so clumsy..." Azurill said. "Thank you!" he ran back to meet up with his brother.
   
Suddenly, Marty felt very dizzy. Huh? What was that? Dizzy..? Or am I...? All of a sudden his vision went black and a line streaked through his head. It was a terrifying experience. All of a sudden he heard a scream. H-h-h...HELP!
   
Suddenly, Marty's vision returned to normal. What was that?! he thought. I'm sure I heard a shout for help just now... "Did anyone hear that shout?" he asked Pikachu and the Kecleon brothers.
   
"Uh...no. I didn't hear anything like that!" Pikachu said.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," said the Kecleon brothers, again in unison.
   
"In any case, let's move it, Marty!" said Pikachu. They turned and headed back from the guild. When they got back to the main square, they saw Marill and Azurill talking to a strange looking Pokemon. They both looked extremely happy by what he was saying. Marty and Pikachu walked over to Marill and Azurill. "What's going on?" Pikachu asked.
   
"Oh! Hi!" said Azurill.
   
"Some time ago, we lost an item that's pretty important to us," Marill said. "We've been looking all over...but we haven't found it yet. Then Drowzee came along and said he may have seen our lost item somewhere! He even offered to help us look for it."
   
"That's great!" said Marty.
   
"Oh, please," said Drowzee. "I'd have to have a cold heart to ignore kids in need! I can't turn a blind eye! Let us be on our way to begin our search!" Marill, Azurill and Drowzee went off to find the item. As Drowzee was passing by, he accidentally bumped into Marty. "Whoops!" he said. "Excuse me." He left again, but as he was leaving, Marty began to feel dizzy again. His vision went blank again, and he saw Drowzee and Azurill in a mountainous landscape. Drowzee spoke. "If you keep being difficult, it will mean big trouble for you!" he said.
   
Azurill screamed. "H-h-h...HELP!" he said, just like before.
   
Marty's vision came back to him. Pikachu looked at him for a moment, confused. "What's the matter, Marty? You're looking awfully grim."
   
Marty was indeed very grim. "I need to tell you something. Come with me." They walked over to the crossroads, where Marty told him what had happened. "When I handed Azurill that apple back, I got very dizzy, and I blanked out and heard a scream. That was why I was so convinced that I had heard it. Then when Drowzee bumped into me, the same thing happened, and I saw Azurill being threatened by Drowzee. We need to rescue Azurill right away!"
   
Pikachu was shocked. "Well, what you describe does sound like an emergency, but...I just can't believe it! After all, Drowzee seemed to be a sincerely nice Pokemon, didn't he?"
   
"Looks can be deceiving," Marty said.
   
"Maybe you just had a bad daydream. And besides, we're only apprentices. We can't just go do whatever we want. I know it's worrying, but we have to concentrate on our guild work. Let's go find Bidoof." So they went to find Bidoof, who was waiting at the upper underground floor of the guild.
   
"Reckon you all are ready?" Bidoof asked. "Well, let's pick ourselves a lawbreaker for you to find." He paused for a moment. "Oh, yeah! They updated the board while you were gone. Take a look." Marty and Pikachu looked at the board, to find a whole bunch of new posters of outlaws.

All of a sudden, Pikachu started shaking. "Marty, look!" He pointed to the board. "There, at the top left!" There at the top was a picture of none other than Drowzee. "You were right! Marill and Azurill are in trouble!"
   
"There's no time to waste!" Marty said. They ripped the poster off the wall and ran out of the guild, leaving Bidoof dazed.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 5: Cubone and the Mt. Bristle Brigade

Marty and Pikachu raced down the cliff, to find Marill standing at the crossroads, looking very terrified. They raced over to him. "Marill! Where are Azurill and Drowzee?" Marty asked him.
   
"Yes, about them!" Marill said, clearly worried. "I was following Drowzee with Azurill when suddenly, I lost them. I don't know what had happened, but I was walking along, and the next thing I knew, they were gone!"
   
"Oh, no!" said Pikachu. "That means Drowzee has Azurill! We have to save him!"
   
"Which way did they go, Marill?" Marty asked.
   
"I think Drowzee said something about seeing our item at Mt. Bristle, off to the east." Marill told him.
   
"Well," said Pikachu, "I'm pretty certain your item isn't there. Drowzee is a wanted criminal. He tricked you guys!"
   
"And now he's run off with my brother..." Marill started to cry.
   
"We'll get him back!" Marty assured him. "And we'll teach Drowzee a lesson!" With that, Marty started running in the direction Marill pointed them to, with Pikachu close behind. They ran for a long time, thinking they would eventually catch up to Drowzee and Azurill, but they had no such luck. After a while, Pikachu started to slow down considerably. They decided to stop for a quick rest.
   
"Agh," Pikachu groaned. "We've been running for a really long time. I wonder how far Drowzee and Azurill would've gotten if they were just walking."
   
"I don't know, but we must be close. We need to keep moving," Marty said. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a Pokemon lying behind a rock. "Pikachu, look!" he said. "Someone's over there." They walked over to go check on the Pokemon. They found a Pokemon sleeping there wearing a skull over his head and a bone by his side. He looked injured.
   
"He's hurt!" Pikachu cried. "We have to help him." They found an Oran Berry tree nearby and gave him a berry from the tree. He woke up with a start, looking completely healed. He jumped back from Marty and Pikachu, pointing his bone at them as a weapon.
   
"Who are you?" he asked. "Where's that Drowzee?"
   
Marty and Pikachu introduced themselves. "I'm Marty."
   
"I'm Pikachu."
   
"I see. Well you two don't seem to be bad. I'm Cubone," the Pokemon said.
   
"You said something about a Drowzee," Marty said. "Can you tell us what happened?"
   
Cubone's expression turned grim. "I saw a wanted poster of that Drowzee, and I wanted to arrest him, but I didn't know where to look. Then, as I was walking around the area, who should I spot but the very same Drowzee in the wanted poster. I found him with a small Pokemon and I wondered what he was going to do with the Pokemon. I hid behind this rock, waiting for him to come by so I could ambush him, but the next thing I knew I woke up after you two healed me. I need to find that Drowzee!"
   
Pikachu's expression turned opposite of Cubone. "Really? That's great! We're looking for that same Drowzee! Would you join us in hunting him down?"
   
"If it means arresting another criminal, I will gladly join you," Cubone said to him. "Who knows? Maybe if this goes over well, I'll join you guys full time! Am I correct in assuming you two are an exploration team?"
   
"That's right," Marty said. "We're only apprentices at Wigglytuff's Guild, though."
   
"That's perfectly fine," Cubone said. "I've been exploring solo right now, just waiting for the right opportunity to join an exploration team. This way I can say I've had guild training like a proper explorer."
   
"Glad to have you on board, Cubone!" Pikachu said. "Now off to Mt. Bristle to catch Drowzee!" The three of them continued their journey towards Mt. Bristle. After a few more hours of running, they finally made it to their destination.
   
"It seems Drowzee and Azurill have already started climbing the mountain," Marty said. "We need to hurry!" Marty, Pikachu, and Cubone began their ascent of Mt. Bristle. On their way, they noticed that there were no Pokemon attacking them.
   
"Drowzee must be defeating the enemies before we get to them," Cubone said. "That makes it easier for us."
   
"It also tells us he's not too far ahead," Pikachu added. "Let's keep moving." Their climb continued. It seemed the climb was hard enough without the Pokemon attacking them. After a little while, they were extremely close to the top of the mountain. They stopped to rest for a minute, because they knew they were almost at the peak, and Drowzee would have to come down eventually.
   
"We've almost got him," Marty said, encouraging the group.
   
Just then, Marty was attacked by a Pokemon! He got up quickly and team Chaotix found themselves surrounded by three Pokemon. One was a blackbird Pokemon, the other a rock Pokemon, and one that looked gray and human-like.
   
"Intruders!" shouted the rock Pokemon. "You will not be tolerated!"
   
"Leave at once!" said the bird Pokemon. "We cannot let you stay here any longer!"
   
"Machop!" said they gray Pokemon.
   
"Starly!" said the bird.
   
"Geodude!" said the rock.
   
They started speaking in unison. "Together, we are the Mt. Bristle Brigade! We will stop all intruders in their tracks!"
   
"Wait!" Pikachu shouted. "We're not trying to intrude; we're just trying to arrest a criminal!"
   
"Silence!" said Machop, who seemed to be the leader of the group.
   
Cubone assessed the situation. "It seems they aren't going to listen to us. We'll have to fight them off."
   
Machop, as if on cue, lunged at Marty and planted a fist square into his stomach. Marty screamed and went flying across the room. He landed against the wall with a thud. Machop raced toward him. Meanwhile, Cubone and Pikachu were staring down Geodude and Starly.
   
"Take this!" Cubone shouted. "Bone Club!" He lunged at Geodude with a speed rivaling Marty's when he took down Koffing. In an instant, Cubone smashed Geodude with his Bone Club. Geodude went flying into the wall, crashed, and fell to the ground with a large thud. Meanwhile, Starly was attacking Pikachu with a relentless fury. Pikachu struggled to keep up with his attacks. Just then, Pikachu had had enough of Starly pushing him around.
   
"Enough! It's my turn! I have to be brave!" He turned to face Starly, charged up all his might, and released a wicked Thunderbolt on Starly. Starly was fried, and he fell to the ground with a lighter thud than Geodude.
   
Marty was not having as much luck fighting Machop. He couldn't do anything except engage in close combat. His speed and power he had had before wasn't coming to him. He wondered why it wasn't working.
   
"Low Kick!" Machop yelled. He swept the ground under Marty's feet. Marty tripped and started falling to the ground. Before Marty hit the ground, Machop shouted out another move. "Dynamicpunch!" His fist started to glow with an explosive energy, and he hit Marty with it square in the gut again, just before he hit the ground. The punch had such force; a crater had formed underneath Marty.
   
It seemed he was done for. But somehow, Marty got back up again. He wasn't sure how he was still able to move, but he stood in front of Machop.
   
"You're so weak!" Machop said. "That wasn't even my best hit, and you look like you're about to collapse!"
   
All of a sudden, Marty was behind Machop. "That may be, but I can pull some tricks out of my sleeve when I need to. Force Palm!" Marty slammed his palm into Machop's back, which sent him flying into the wall. Machop was thrown with such great force, a hole appeared in the wall, and Machop could see outside. It was a long drop to the bottom. Machop just barely managed to keep his balance and turned to face Marty.
   
"Not bad, but your power only comes in little spurts. Mine doesn't!" he lunged at Marty and prepared to strike. Just then, Cubone ran in front of Machop.
   
"How odd," he said. "My power doesn't come in spurts either." He slammed into Machop with brute force, sending him backwards. Cubone then lunged at him again and hit him with his club, pushing him out of the hole in the wall and sending him plummeting down the mountain. Luckily for Machop, he found a place to land. He sustained massive injuries, but he would be fine later. Meanwhile, up at the top, Pikachu had caught up with Cubone and Marty.
   
"Is everyone ok?" Pikachu asked.
   
"I think so," Cubone said. "What happened, Marty? You need to have more control over your power."
   
"I know that," said Marty. "It was a fluke, I think. Usually the power comes when I need it."
   
"All right. Drowzee must be up ahead," Cubone said. "Let's go."

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 6: Take Down Drowzee!

Meanwhile, Drowzee and Azurill had made it to the top of Mt. Bristle. "Uh-oh," said Azurill. "It's a dead end." He turned around to Drowzee. "Excuse me, Mr. Drowzee. Where is my lost item?" he asked. "Could you show me where the item is now?"
   
"Sorry, kiddo," said Drowzee. "Your lost item? It's not here, that's for sure."
   
Azurill was confused. "My...big brother...My big brother's following us, right? He's coming soon, isn't he?"
   
"Nope. Your big brother's not coming," Drowzee told him. "I'll let you in on a little secret. This was all a trick. I deceived you. But let's not dwell on that. There's a little favor I need to ask. See that hole behind you?" Azurill turned to the little hole in the wall behind him. "Well," Drowzee continued, "There's a rumor that there's a trove of thief treasure inside there! But as you can see, I'm too big to squirm my way through that hole. That's where you come in!" Azurill turned around, scared. "Don't worry," Drowzee said. "Just do as I say. Do that, and I'll help you get back out of there."
   
Azurill backed away. "B-but..."
   
"Go on, get going!" Drowzee shouted at him. "Go into that hole, and don't forget to bring back the treasure!"
   
"I want my big brother!" Azurill cried. He turned away from the hole and tried to run away from Drowzee.
   
"H-hey! Stop that!" Drowzee shouted. He quickly ran in front of Azurill, blocking him from getting away. "Sheesh! I said that I'll take you home when you're done! If you won't do what I ask...there will be trouble for you."
   
Azurill screamed. "H-h-h...HELP!" just like in Marty's vision.
   
Just then, a voice rang out behind them. "Stop right there!" It was Pikachu. He, Marty and Cubone had finally made it to the top. "We won't let you do that!" Marty shouted. "Drowzee, you're under arrest!"
   
Drowzee was shocked. "H-how did you find this place?!"
   
"We're Team Chaotix!" Pikachu told him confidently. "We're an exploration team! No criminal can escape us!"
   
Drowzee was starting to unravel. "An exploration team?! You came to apprehend..." He stopped mid-sentence and noticed Pikachu shaking. "...Huh? Are you...trembling?" He thought for a second. "A-ha! I've figured it out! You say you're on an exploration team, but you're total rookies!" He looked at Pikachu. "You're scared out of your mind of me, aren't you?"
   
Pikachu groaned and was silent.
   
He turned to Marty. "You're covered in scratches. You're close to fainting. That Mt. Bristle Brigade that I passed by must've done quite a number on you!" He finally noticed Cubone, standing behind them. "And you! You're that weak Cubone that I took care of on the way here! None of you look like you're in any shape to fight me! I'm a wanted Pokemon with a bounty on my head. But can you three do the job? Can you confront this outlaw and bring him to justice?"
   
Pikachu finally stopped trembling. "Yes. We can! We'd never lose to a bad guy like you!"

"Pikachu's right," Marty said. "We're not giving up!"
   
"My motto is..." Cubone glared at Drowzee, "'Never lose to the same opponent twice.' And I intend to hold true to that!"
   
Drowzee laughed. "I've been chased by all sorts of exploration teams in my day, but never a sorrier-looking bunch than you three!" He got into a battle-stance. "This should be a laugh. Let's see if you can take me down. Show me what you've got!"
   
Marty ran at him. "Force Palm!" he yelled. Just before he got ready to strike, Drowzee leaned to the right, effortlessly dodging Marty's attack.
   
"Fool," Drowzee said. "My Forewarn ability allows me to see your signature moves before you make them." Marty sailed past Drowzee. "Pound!" Drowzee yelled. He slammed Marty with his hand with a great force in his side. Marty screamed. He collapsed onto the ground right where Drowzee had hit him. He looked to be hanging on by a thread. If he was knocked out, the team would get sent back to the guild! "Sheesh!" said Drowzee. "I knew he was weakened, but not that much. You guys must've had quite a battle with the Mt. Bristle Brigade." He looked at Marty again. "Then again, maybe your friend here is just that weak!"
   
Marty, barely concious, could faintly hear what Drowzee was saying. He's right. Marty thought, I am just that weak. I can't even attack him. Then he heard Pikachu speak.
   
"You're wrong!" Pikachu yelled. "Marty is not weak! If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here staring you down. If it wasn't for him, I would never have gotten my Relic Fragment back. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been able to get myself inside Wigglytuff's Guild! I'm strong because of Marty! I choose to believe in him now, no matter what!"
   
Meanwhile, behind Drowzee, Marty was still lying there, hearing every word Pikachu said. Get up! The same thought kept screaming in his head. Get up! GET UP!!!!
   
"It's time for me to finish this," Drowzee said. "Pound!"
   
"No!" Pikachu screamed. "MARTY!"
   
What happened next was amazing. Drowzee began to bring his fist down on Marty, but before he got very far, Marty got up in a flash, caught his fist, and yelled, "FORCE PALM!" He hit Drowzee with all his might. Drowzee went flying across and hit the wall where the treasure hole was. Marty stood there, amazed at what he had just did, but his happiness was cut short when he collapsed again.
   
Meanwhile, Drowzee got back up, looking to be extremely injured. "YOU ROTTEN PEST!" he screamed. "YOU'LL PAY!" He stumbled towards Marty, getting ready to end it once and for all.
   
Pikachu and Cubone were shocked that Drowzee had gotten back up. They weren't sure what to do next. Marty was done for! Then a crazy idea came to Cubone. He held his Bone Club in front of Pikachu.
   
"Pikachu," he said. "Use your Thunderbolt on my club."
   
"What?" Pikachu asked. "What are you planning?"
   
"Just trust me!" Cubone said. "We don't have much time!"
   
"All right," Pikachu said. "Thunderbolt!" Electricity poured from Pikachu's whole body. He concentrated it all on Cubone's Bone Club. When it made contact, the lightning covered the entire bone. Cubone looked to be struggling to contain it.
   
"Pikachu!" he shouted. "Get out of the way!" He concentrated with all his might, and finally the lightning concentrated into a spiral around the Bone Club. Cubone and Pikachu had created a combo move!
   
Meanwhile, Drowzee was upon Marty. "This is it," he said. "As soon as I finish you, it's over."
   
"Not if I can help it!" Cubone yelled. "Thunder Bone!" he sprinted at Drowzee with blinding speed and bashed Drowzee with it. Drowzee screamed. The electricity from the bone fried him, and the force of Cubone's swing severely injured him. Drowzee went down where he stood, just inches from Marty. Drowzee had fainted!
   
"We did it!" Pikachu exclaimed. "We defeated Drowzee!"
   
"We wouldn't have been able to do it without that combo move," Cubone reminded him. "It's all thanks to you."
   
Meanwhile, Marty got back up. "That was amazing, you guys!"
   
"We all did our part to make this a success," Cubone said. "Let's go get Azurill and get out of here." They walked over to Azurill.
   
"We came to rescue you," Pikachu said. "Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you?"
   
"I'm ok." Azurill said.
   
"That's a relief," Marty sighed. "Your brother is waiting for you. Let's get out of here."
   
Later, at the bottom of the mountain, they met with three strange looking Pokemon. The largest one spoke. "ZZZT! I am Magnezone, the primary officer in this region! Thanks to you we have been able to arrest a wanted outlaw! We owe you great thanks for your cooperation! ZZZT!"
   
The smaller two Pokemon, named Magnemite, used their magnets to hold Drowzee in place so he couldn't escape. "We will send the reward to your guild," said one. "Thank you again! Now come with us, Drowzee!" They left the mountain with Drowzee in tow. Just then, Marill arrived on the scene.
   
"Azurill!" he shouted.
   
"Marill!" shouted Azurill. The two of them ran towards each other. They caught each other in a hug and Azurill began to cry.
   
"Marill!" Azurill blubbered. "It was so scary!"
   
"You ok?" Marill asked. "Are you hurt?"
   
Marty stepped up. "He's fine. The little guy hasn't been harmed in any way."
   
"That's a relief! Oh, Azurill..." Marill started crying just as loud as Azurill. He turned to Pikachu, Marty and Cubone. "You did this all for us. We won't forget what you did for us. Thank you so much!" Marill and Azurill turned and left for Treasure Town. Marty and Pikachu turned to Cubone.
   
"So what are you going to do now?" Pikachu asked him.
   
"I'm going to join you guys in apprenticing at the guild," Cubone told them. "It felt great having others to adventure with. And we made such a great combination today while fighting!"
   
"That's great!" Pikachu said. "We're happy to have you with us!"
   
"Let's go home," Cubone said. They started walking back towards Treasure Town.
   
After a while of walking, Marty stopped. After just standing there for a moment, he punched a rock next to him and yelled.
   
"What's wrong, Marty?" Pikchu asked.
   
"Drowzee and Machop were right!" Marty said. "I am weak! I may have done well before now, but that doesn't matter if I can't keep up with more powerful enemies! I need to learn how to control my power! I can't keep going through missions getting the crap beat out of me, then having you two come to the rescue and save me! I need to be able to take care of myself!" He screamed again.
   
Cubone looked over at Pikachu, who looked extremely sad for his friend. Just then, an idea came to him. "I know what you can do to become stronger," he said.
   
Marty stopped his rampage. "You do?" he said.
   
"Yeah. Let's go to Treasure Town tomorrow, just you and me. I'll help you get the training you want."
   
"What about me?" Pikachu asked.
   
"I think Marty needs to do this by himself," Cubone told Pikachu. "He wants to be able to take care of himself."
   
"But how will I get out of guild training?" Marty asked.
   
"I'll think of something," Cubone said. "I'm sure your Guildmaster wouldn't mind if you took a day or two off for combat training. We'll ask tonight. For now, let's get back into town."

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 7: Enter the Marowak Dojo!

Team Chaotix had just gotten back to the guild and found Chatot standing at the board waiting for them to return. "Welcome back!" he said. "I trust your mission was a success?"
   
"Yes, sir," Pikachu said.
   
"We hit a few snags, but we got the job done," Marty added.
   
"Good, good," Chatot said. "And who is this with you?"
   
"I'm Cubone," said Cubone. "I'll be joining the guild as an apprentice along with Team Chaotix."
   
"Fantastic!" Chatot said, overjoyed. "Always good to have new recruits! By the way, I've received the bounty from Officer Mangezone for the captured outlaw! Here's your share for the job. It's yours to keep!" Marty's team received the 3,000P bounty that was on the head of the captured outlaw! However, because 2,700 of that was the guild's share, that portion was withheld. As a result, Marty's team received only the remaining 300P.
   
"This is all we get?!" Pikachu cried. "After all that hard work..."
   
"But of course! It's all part of the training!" Chatot reminded him. "We expect just as much effort tomorrow! Hee-heee!"
   
"Speaking of tomorrow," Marty said. "I need to take the next few days off for combat training. Do you think you could clear that with the Guildmaster, Chatot?"
   
"Of course!" Chatot said. "It's good to see apprentices keeping up their training, even if it doesn't mean doing jobs all the time! I will go clear that with the Guildmaster tonight after supper." Chatot went downstairs to get ready for supper. Team Chaotix stood in the upper underground level, all alone.
   
"I'd be happy if our share of the reward was just a little bigger," Cubone said.
   
"You'll get used to it," said Pikachu. "But that's all right. We managed to rescue Azurill. And it's all thanks to you, Marty!"
   
"Me?" he asked.
   
"Because you had that dream, we learned about Azurill's trouble in advance," Pikachu said.
   
"It's true!" Marty said. "I can't explain it, but that first shout I heard from Azurill and that dream I had...both of these events took place in the future! Why was I able to see something like that?"
   
After some deep thought, Marty heard an intense growling sound. Pikachu blushed. "Oh! My stomach growled!" he said. Just then, Marty's stomach growled too. Pikachu and Cubone began to laugh at Marty when Cubone's stomach growled, too.
   
"We must have worked up a big appetite!"  Marty said. "We were so focused on rescuing Azurill that I didn't notice at all!" Their stomachs started growling even louder.
   
"Come on, guys." Cubone said. "Let's go get dinner!" So Team Chaotix joined the other recruits in the mess hall for another good dinner served by Chimecho.
   
Later that night, in the crew room, another bed had been prepared for Cubone, who would be staying with Marty and Pikachu from now on. As they were getting ready for bed, they looked outside their window and noticed a heavy storm outside. "Wow," said Pikachu. "That lightning's intense!"
   
"It looks like its really stormy tonight..." Marty said.
   
"Hold on!" Pikachu said. "You know the night before we met, Marty? It was storming that night. I found you out cold on the beach the day after that stormy night. Can you remember anything at all about that?"
   
Marty thought about it for a long time. "Nope," he said. "I can't remember a thing."
   
"Hmm...I guess it won't be that easy," Pikachu said. "But that's all right. Just try remembering a little bit at a time." He turned to the window again. "It's getting late. We need to get up early again tomorrow."
   
Later that night, nobody could get to sleep. "Are you guys still awake?" Cubone asked.
   
"Yeah," said Marty.
   
"I can't sleep," said Pikachu.
   
"Ok. Well you know how time is getting messed up, bit by bit, all over the world?" Cubone asked.
   
"Yeah," said Pikachu. "No one seems to know why."
   
"That's right," said Cubone. "But I believe that the Time Gears are somehow involved."
   
"Huh?" Marty asked. "Time Gears?"
   
"They say Time Gears are hidden in secret places around the world," Pikachu said. "Like in a forest, or at a lake in an underground cavern, and I've even heard that there's a hidden altar inside a volcano."
   
"That's right," Cubone said. "At the center of such places is what's known as a Time Gear. Time Gears serve a very important function. Each one protects time and keeps it flowing properly in its region."
   
"But...what happens if a region loses its Time Gear?" Marty asked.
   
"I don't really know the answer to that question," Cubone said. "But my guess is that if a Time Gear is removed from a region, the flow of time in that region will probably stop, too."
   
"That's why everyone makes sure never to disturb the Time Gears." Pikachu said. "Everyone has long been certain that some kind of disaster would strike. So everyone stays away from the Time Gears and doesn't tamper with them. Even the most hardened criminal Pokemon know to avoid messing with them."
   
"Exactly," Cubone said. "That's just my opinion, though. It's not clear whether or not the Time Gears are involved. We probably shouldn't even worry about it for now. Let's get some sleep now."

...MEANWHILE...
   
In the middle of a forest far away from Treasure Town, a Pokemon, covered in shadows, approached the Time Gear altar. "Do my eyes deceive me?" he wondered aloud. "Could it be? Yes, it is! I've finally found a Time Gear! But this is only the first of many..."

...THE NEXT MORNING...

Chatot began with assignments and announcements. He finally got to Team Chaotix. "Pikachu, your job for now is to wait here for further instructions."
   
"Understood," Pikachu said.
   
Chatot continued. "Marty, your request for combat training was approved. Cubone will lead to you to your training, and barring whether or not Cubone intends to help you with your training, he is to report back with Pikachu."
   
"Yes, sir." Marty and Cubone said in unison.
   
"All right, everyone, time to get to work!" Chatot said. Everyone set off for their work.
   
"We should get going," Cubone told Marty.
   
"Right," Marty said. "See you, Pikachu!"
   
"You better be stronger when you come back!" Pikachu teased.
   
"You know I will!" Marty laughed. He left the Guild with Cubone.
   
Later, in Treasure Town's main square, Marty asked Cubone, "Where are we going for training?"
   
"Follow me," Cubone said. When they got to the main square, they turned south. When they got down the road a little bit, they came across a large stone building. It looked to be brand new.
   
"What is this place?" Marty asked. "Pikachu didn't mention this yesterday."
   
"This," Cubone said, "Is Marowak Dojo. Not many people go here. It's a place for explorers to train, but it recently collapsed. The dojo's sensei has worked countless hours to restore the dojo so exploration team members could continue training there."
   
"I see," Marty said. "Well, it's nice to know there's somewhere we can go to train. Let's go inside." They walked through the door and found themselves in a large room made of stones and dirt. In the center, a Pokemon who looked a lot like Cubone was sitting perfectly still in meditation.
   
"I've returned, Father," Cubone said.
   
Without looking back, the Pokemon said, "Welcome back, Cubone. Who is that with you?"
   
"This is my friend, Marty," said Cubone. "He needs training, and I thought you would love your first new customer."
   
Cubone's father perked up a little bit. "Training, you say?" He turned around to face Marty. "And a Riolu no less! Welcome to Marowak Dojo! I am Sensei Marowak, but you may call me sensei."
   
"Well, it looks like you'll be fine without me now," Cubone said. "I'll have to meet with Pikachu back at the guild. See you, Marty."
   
"Thanks, Cubone. See you in a few days!" Marty called to him as he was walking out of the dojo.
   
"You better be stronger! Don't let Pikachu down!" Cubone yelled out as he was leaving. Marty and Sensei Marowak were now alone in the dojo.
   
"So," Marowak said. "What do you want to work on?"
   
"Well, lately I've noticed that my power only comes in little spurts, and I can't control when they happen. I'm worried that I might become a liability to my team. I need to be able to control my power for as long as I want, whenever I want," Marty explained to Marowak.
   
"I see," said Marowak, deep in thought. "I have just the training program for you!"
   
...MEANWHILE...

Cubone had just returned to the guild and met up with Pikachu. He noticed that Bidoof, Sunflora, Loudred and Corphish were gathered with him. "What's going on?" he asked.
   
"Chatot called all the mission takers for a meeting," Pikachu said. "We're not sure why."
   
Cubone turned to Loudred. "When I came here yesterday, I thought you were helping Diglett with sentry duty?"
   
"That's only SOMETIMES!" Loudred blared.
   
"Oh," Cubone said. "Well, I didn't know." After they had been talking for a little while, Chatot came up the ladder.
   
"Ah, I see Cubone is back," he said. "I trust Marty is started on his training?"
   
"Yes, sir. He will be back in a few days," Cubone reported. "He's at the Marowak Dojo in Treasure Town, but he has asked everyone not to bother him for now."
   
"Great!" said Chatot. "Then we can get started..."
   
"Hey hey!" Corphish yelled. "Why did you call us here?"
   
"Hush!" Chatot reprimanded him. "I'm getting to that! Now, as I was saying, I have called you all to meet together because there is something rather...alarming."
   
"Gosh," Bidoof said. "What is it?"
   
"There seems to be a rush of job requests in Drenched Bluff," Chatot told them.
   
"You mean the place where Marty and I got Spoink's pearl back the other day?" Pikachu asked.
   
"The very same," Chatot said. "In any case, the number of job requests is alarming. And they all seem to be Pokemon in need of rescue because a criminal attacked them. Officer Magnezone has also posted a number of wanted posters of Pokemon that are reported to be hiding out in the same area. He has also asked that we send our recruits out to investigate the problem. Your mission is to go to Drenched Bluff and find the criminals responsible for the large number of rescue requests, and at the same time you are to rescue the Pokemon that are in need."
   
"Yes, sir!" they all said in unison. The group of six set out on their mission. At the same time, Marty was getting ready to start his intense training at Marowak Dojo.
   
TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 8: Marty's Training

"What kind of training are we going to do?" Marty asked Marowak.

"First, I need to gauge where your power is right now," Marowak said. "Try to attack me." Marty ran at Marowak and engaged him in close combat. Marowak easily dodged all his attacks. "I see," he said. He smashed Marty with his Bone Club and sent him flying. Marty landed on the ground with a thud. "We have a lot of work to do," Marowak said. Just then, Marty was instantly in front of Marowak and landed a Force Palm on him, sending him crashing into the wall.

"Sorry," Marty said. "I'm not in control of it yet. That's why I'm here, though!"

Marowak got up. "That was quite a hit! You would be really powerful if you learned how to control that! Now, let's begin your training."

...MEANWHILE...

Pikachu, Cubone, Bidoof, Sunflora, Loudred and Corphish had arrived at Drenched Bluff. "This is it," Pikachu said. "According to Chatot, we have eight rescue missions to take care of, and just as many criminals to take down."

"Eek!" Sunflora screamed. "That seems like a lot!"

"Hey hey!" Corphish yelled. "That'll take forever!"

"Which is why I'm going to suggest we split up into two groups," Cubone said. "Bidoof, you come with Pikachu and me. Sunflora, Loudred and Corphish go in another group. Your group should be concerned with rescuing our clients. We'll take care of the criminals here."

"Sounds like a PLAN!" Loudred boomed.

"I'll go with you, yup yup!" Bidoof said.

"Let's go!" Pikachu said. Everyone split up and jumped into the bluff.

...MEANWHILE...

"Do you know what kind of power your species holds?" Marowak asked Marty.

"No," he replied "I'm not even sure what a Riolu is capable of." Marty told Marowak everything that had happened to him up until now.

Marowak looked skeptical at first, and then noticed that Marty was being extremely sincere in everything he was saying.

"I see," he said. "That explains why you don't know how to use aura."

"What's aura?" Marty asked.

"Aura is the energy that all living things radiate," Marowak said. "Every Pokemon has an aura, but most Pokemon go their whole lives without being able to use it. Normally it only comes with intense training to normal Pokemon, but Riolu are said to be born with the natural ability to use it."

"Are you able to use it, sensei?" Marty asked.

"As a matter of fact, I am," Marowak said. "Would you like me to show you?"

"Of course!" Marty said, eager to learn about it.

Marowak concentrated for a few seconds. After a few short moments, a white field of energy began to form around Marowak. "This is aura," he said. "It takes most Pokemon many years to be able to master it."

"Amazing!" Marty exclaimed. "You must teach me!"

"That's why you're here, isn't it?" Marowak asked him. "Let's begin!"

...MEANWHILE...

Loudred, Sunflora and Corphish had found a group of Pokemon hiding out in a small cave in the side of one of the bluffs. "We're here to rescue you," Sunflora told them calmly. "It's okay, come with us."

One of the Pokemon said to her, "We can't go outside. The monster will come back out and attack us."

"What monster?" Corphish asked. Just then, they heard a loud roar and the thuds of heavy footsteps. Outside, a large Pokemon was on a rampage!

"Don't worry!" said Sunflora. "We'll take care of this!"

"Let's GO!" yelled Loudred. "Stay HERE!" he yelled to the Pokemon that were hiding in the cave. The three apprentices raced outside to face the monster.

...MEANWHILE...

"Where could all these criminals be?" Pikachu wondered. "We've been searching around forever!"

"Gosh," Bidoof said. "I'm sure getting tired, by golly!"

"The fact that we haven't been running into them individually lets us assume that they're all working together," said Cubone, the voice of reason as usual. "Let's keep searching."

Just then, a large winged creature flew over them, creating a wind that knocked them all off their feet.

"Well," Pikachu said. "So much for your idea!"

...MEANWHILE...

"First, you must learn how to channel your aura whenever you need," Marowak explained to Marty. "All it takes is a few moments of concentration. As you progress, you should be able to channel it at will."

"Got it," Marty said.

"Perfect," Marowak said. "Now, close your eyes for a moment." Marty did as he was instructed. "Concentrate on what you think your aura looks like. Make an image with your mind. Now tell me, what color do you think your aura is?"

Marty concentrated for a few moments. "My aura...is light blue," he answered.

"Good," Marowak said. "Each species of Pokemon has their own color of aura, usually depending on their type. That you guessed your color correctly tells me you have a hold on your aura. Riolu have a light blue aura, which does not match up with their type. Concentrate more." Marty did. "Think of that little blue light that you see. Imagine it becoming bigger and bigger."

Marty concentrated more. Finally he said, "I see it! It's getting bigger!"

"Good!" Marowak encouraged. "When you get it big enough, imagine it pouring out of your body."

Finally, a light blue aura surrounded Marty's entire body. It was faint, but definitely noticeable. "I did it!" he exclaimed.

"Excellent job!" Marowak said. "Now we can move on..." He trailed off, because he noticed Marty's aura getting more vivid by the second. "How are you doing that?"

"Doing what?" Marty asked.

"Your aura...it's getting more and more powerful by the second. Are you gradually letting it out?" Marowak asked.

"No, I don't think so," Marty said. Just then, Marty's aura exploded in a brilliant light.

...MEANWHILE...

In the bluff, Pikachu, Cubone, and Bidoof were face to face with a large, gray, dragon-like Pokemon. It had an arrow shaped tail and sharp, jagged teeth. "I am Aerodactyl!" it said. "I am one of the Fossil Raiders! We take what we want, and we crush all in our way! We've heard of a very valuable pearl resting in this bluff, and we intend to find it. What do you know of it?"

Pikachu thought for a minute. Hmm...Oh! "You're too late! We've already found the pearl days ago! The owner has it back and it is safe."

"I see," Aerodactyl seethed with rage. "Then I'll crush you!" He rushed straight at Pikachu, wings glowing and outstretched. Just then, an intense blast of light blue light distracted him. It came from the direction of Treasure Town. He stopped to stare at it. He was so intensely mystified by the light that he had no idea that Pikachu, Cubone and Bidoof had already gotten away from him.

"Golly, what was that light?" Bidoof wondered.

Pikachu was just as confused until it came to him. "It had to have been Marty!"

"It did look like it was in the area of the dojo..." Cubone added.

"Well, he's not even done training and he's already saving our butts," Pikachu thought aloud. "I can't imagine what he'll be like when his training is done."

...MEANWHILE...

Back at the dojo, Marty's aura was still raging out of control. He was screaming in pain, unable to contain the immense stream of aura that was pouring out of his body. Marowak had been blown away, but he quickly got up and seemed to be searching for something. After rummaging through many training items, he found a strange disc. He fiddled with it for a moment and held it out in front of him. "Marty!" he shouted. "Put your arm through this disc!"

Marty moved slowly toward the disc. He put his arm through it. It quickly shrunk down to the size of his arm and vanished. As soon as it vanished, his aura began to get back in control. "What was that?" he asked Marowak.

"That," Marowak told him, "was an aura limiter. It suppresses the aura of the wearer to train with suppressed power. I usually don't ever need to use it, but you're just lucky I still had it. Without it, your aura could have burned you up from the inside."

Marty was shocked. "My aura...can do that?"

"Yes," Marowak answered. "That's why it's always important to have control over your aura. It can be a very helpful tool, but it can also be your ultimate downfall. Now, let's continue."

...MEANWHILE...

Back in Drenched Bluff, Loudred's group had come face to face with what the other Pokemon in the cave had called "a monster." Now they could see why. This Pokemon was huge. He towered over Loudred, Sunflora, and Corphish. He was a big, gray Pokemon with a large tail and a horn that protruded out of his head.

"Eek!" Sunflora shouted. "This guy looks mean!"

"Hey hey!" Corphish yelled, shaking. "We have to fight HIM?!"

"WUSSIES!" Loudred blared, clearly too dense to understand the severity of the situation. "Let's GO!" He charged at the Pokemon. "POUND!" he yelled. He outstretched his palm, ready to strike, when the Pokemon finally noticed them. 

The Pokemon roared, louder than anything Loudred could've mustered, "RHYDON!" He grabbed Loudred, tossed him around like a ragdoll, and threw him on the ground. Loudred fell down in a daze, but Rhydon wasn't done yet. He kicked Loudred in the side, sending him flying. Loudred didn't make a sound, because he was out cold.

"Eek!" Sunflora screamed. "That idiot!"

"Hey hey!" Corphish said nervously, "What do we do now?"

"We have to fight, obviously!" Sunflora said to him. "Razor Leaf!" Sunflora shot out some razor-sharp leaves at Rhydon. It turned around and easily batted them out of the way. It didn't notice, however, that Corphish had snuck behind it.

"Crabhammer!" Corphish shouted. It struck Rhydon with its claw, which was covered in Water energy. It was extremely effective on the Ground type Rhydon, which fainted.

"Great job!" Sunflora shouted, happy that they had defeated their opponent. They woke up Loudred, who looked upset.

"Ugh!" Loudred shouted unhappily. "I HATE THIS!"

"It's okay," Sunflora said. "You just need to train some more, Loudred!" Loudred looked back at her angrily, and then stormed off to rescue the Pokemon waiting in the cave.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 9: Fossil Hunting

After rescuing the Pokemon trapped in Drenched Bluff, Pikachu and the others returned to Wigglytuff's Guild to report back to Chatot. Chatot was waiting at the top of the hill for all of them.

"Ah, good to see you all made it back safely!" he said happily. "How did the mission go?"

"Well," Pikachu reported, "we managed to rescue all of the Pokemon, but the criminals known as the Fossil Raiders escaped. We don't know where they went."

Chatot gasped. "Wait a minute. Did you just say, 'Fossil Raiders'?"

"Yeah," Pikachu said. "Why?"

Chatot looked extremely worried. "I'm going to contact Officer Magnezone. You all report to the mess hall for dinner and meet with me afterwards."

"What's WRONG?" Loudred asked loudly.

"You are all lucky to still be here," Chatot warned grimly. "Now run along."

...MEANWHILE...

Marty's training had been progressing at an exponential clip. He had gained a grasp on his aura extremely quickly and was now learning how to use it practically in the field.

"Good," Marowak praised. "Now that you have learned the basics of offense, you must also learn the defensive parts of aura combat."

"Interesting," Marty said, listening intently. "Tell me more."

"Well, there's really only one defensive technique that you can use with your aura," Marowak admitted. "And it only works on special attacks. But if you master this technique, you can protect your entire team from any type of special move."

"I think I could almost figure this one out on my own," Marty told him. "It's just a dome of aura surrounding you, isn't it?" He projected his aura out in a dome around his body. "Kind of like this?"

"Actually, it's EXACTLY that," Marowak said, shaking his head in disbelief and laughing. "Impressive. Let's move on."

...MEANWHILE...

The others had just finished dinner and reported to Chatot, who was standing in front of the Guildmaster's door.

"Good, you're all here," Chatot said, taking a quick head count. "We are meeting Officer Magnezone in Treasure Town to discuss what to do about the Fossil Raiders. If you would all be so kind as to follow me?" Everyone followed Chatot out of the guild and into Treasure Town. Officer Magnezone was waiting for them in the main square.

"Ah," he said. "The apprentices from Wigglytuff's Guild. Good to see you're all okay."

"Officer Magnezone," Chatot began. "These apprentices went on a mission today and had a run-in with the Fossil Raiders."

Magnezone gasped. "The Fossil Raiders? That's quite serious. Were any of you hurt?"

"If you count Loudred's pride, then yes!" Sunflora laughed.

"SHUT UP!" Loudred screamed.

"In any case," Magnezone continued, "the Fossil Raiders are all extremely dangerous. You're lucky you weren't injured. We've been tracking them for quite some time, now."

"Do you know where they're hiding out now?" Cubone asked.

"Our intel has traced them to the Beach Cave as of just a few hours ago," Magnezone told him. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Cubone said, but the gears turning in his head told a completely different story.

"For now, we ask that all of you stay away from the Beach Cave for your own protection," Magnezone said, looking directly at Cubone. "We will handle the problem, and you will not have to worry. Thank you all for your time."

Chatot turned to them. "You have your orders! You are not to enter the Beach Cave until further notice! You may all retire to your rooms for tonight. Don't be late to briefing in the morning!"

"Yes, sir!" They all shouted in unison. Everyone started to head back to the guild, but Pikachu stayed in the square. He looked in the direction of Marowak Dojo and started walking. Suddenly, Cubone came back and stopped him.

"Wait," he told him. "Don't go."

"I need to check on him," Pikachu said. "I need to make sure he's doing okay."

"He's probably fine," Cubone assured him. "Remember, he asked us not to bother him while he's training. Let's go back and get some sleep. I've got a big day planned for us tomorrow." The two of them walked back to the guild and prepared themselves for bed.

...MEANWHILE...

"Good job!" Marowak praised. "You've passed all of my intermediate lessons. Now comes the advanced stuff. Are you ready?"

"Actually, would it be possible to continue this in the morning?" Marty asked. "I'm awfully tired."

"Of course," Marowak said, smiling. "You've done so well thus far. I think you've earned a rest. I'm a little tired myself, so let's go ahead and get some sleep." The two of them prepared the cots they had laid out earlier and went to sleep.

...THE NEXT MORNING...

"And that concludes today's briefing," Chatot said. "Apprentices are not allowed to go to Beach Cave today, as the nefarious Fossil Bandits are rumored to be hiding there. While Officer Magnezone conducts his investigation, no one is allowed in or out of Beach Cave. Now, everyone, time to get to work!"

"HOORAY!" they all shouted. Everyone went off to do their jobs for the day. Pikachu and Cubone went to Treasure Town to plan for their day.

"Okay," Pikachu said. "I picked up a bunch of job requests in Mt. Bristle, so we should probably head there."

"Or you should repost those," Cubone said. "We aren't going to Mt. Bristle today."

"Why not?" Pikachu asked him.

"Because we're going to Beach Cave to take down the Fossil Raiders!" Cubone said.

"But Chatot said-"

"Forget what Chatot said!" Cubone interrupted. "Think of how well known we'll become if we take down the Fossil Raiders!"

Pikachu was apprehensive, but quickly agreed. "Fine. But if we get in trouble, I'm blaming you."

"Fair enough," Cubone said, shrugging his shoulders. "Let's go." So the two of them left for the Beach Cave.

...MEANWHILE...

"I can't believe it," Marowak said, utterly shocked. "You've passed all of my lessons in only a day."

"I couldn't have done it without your amazing guidance!" Marty told him.

"Thank you," Marowak said. "Now how about a quick little spar, now that your training is complete?"

"I'd love to," Marty said with a smirk. They both released their auras and lunged at each other.

...MEANWHILE...

Pikachu and Cubone walked down to the beach. They were surprised because there was no one guarding the entrance.

"That's weird," Pikachu noted.

"Nobody's here yet," Cubone deduced.

"How do you know?" Pikachu asked.

"If Officer Magnezone really was here, he would have someone guarding the entrance," Cubone explained. "That way no one could get in or out. The fact that no one is guarding the entrance leads me to believe that he isn't here. Magnezone is pretty tough, but he's no fool. Let's go." The two of them walked into the Beach Cave. There were scores of fainted Pokemon lying around the cave.

"This is really scary," Pikachu said, shaking.

"The Fossil Raiders have to be down at the bottom," Cubone said. "It's a standard cliché." They kept walking until they reached the pit. When they got there, they noticed seven mean looking Pokemon standing in the back.

"I'm telling you, boss, there was no pearl there!" One of the Pokemon said.

"Unacceptable!" the boss said. "And you say Rhydon was taken out?"

"Yes, boss, by some apprentices at the local guild," the Pokemon said.

"Still unacceptable," the boss said. "We will find these apprentices and beat them to a pulp. But first, it appears we have some visitors." He looked back at Pikachu and Cubone. "What do you want?"

"Hold on!" One of the Pokemon asked. "Those two are part of the group of apprentices!" Closer inspection revealed the Aerodactyl they had fought yesterday had recognized them.

"Hey!" Pikachu gasped. "You're that Aerodactyl from yesterday!"

"That's right!" Aerodactyl said. "You may have gotten away yesterday, but today you've come right to us! You're gonna get it now! Armaldo, what should I do with these two?"

"Take them out," the boss, Armaldo, said.

The other Fossil Raiders cheered and charged at Pikachu and Cubone. The two of them got into their stances and prepared to fight.

...MEANWHILE...

Marty and Marowak had just finished up their spar. Marowak looked extremely pleased at the work Marty had done over the last day.

"You're ready," Marowak said. "Just remember not to overwork yourself. Don't forget any of my techniques, and don't forget about your limiter. You can adjust it when you need to just by thinking about it."

"Thanks, Sensei," Marty said, bowing. "I really appreciate-" He stopped mid-sentence and looked toward the direction of the Beach Cave. He suddenly got a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Marowak asked him.

"Pikachu and Cubone are in trouble!" Marty cried. "I'm going to help them. Thanks for everything, Sensei!" Marty rushed out the door with an almost unnatural speed.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 10: The Fruits of Training

Marty rushed to the Beach Cave as quickly as possible. He ran into Officer Magnezone, who was getting ready to enter the cave.

"Stop!" Magnezone cried. "Guild apprentices are forbidden from enterring the Beach Cave until further notice!"

"Sorry, Magnezone," Marty apologized, "but my friends need me!" He disappeared in front of Magnezone, then reappeared behind him and took of at full speed through the cave.

...MEANWHILE...

Cubone was on the ground, horribly confused. How had he gotten there? Who attacked him? He looked around and saw Pikachu lying on the ground next to him.

"Pikachu," he groaned. "Are you okay?"

"I don't think I can move," Pikachu told him. "Looks like we failed. If only Marty were here."

"I don't even know if Marty could handle these guys," Cubone admitted.

Just then, someone burst down into the pit. Cubone looked up to see Marty standing in front of him and Pikachu.

"Hey," he said nonchalantly. "You guys look like crap."

"Good to see you, too," Cubone said laughing. "How was the training?"

"I'll tell you right after I beat all these guys down," Marty said, taking his stance.

Aerodactyl laughed. "Look at this shrimp! Who does he think he is? He thinks he can take on all of the Fossil Raiders himself? Just try it, kid!"

"Gladly," Marty smirked. Suddenly, Marty disappeared. The next thing Cubone saw was Aerodactyl crashing to the ground in front of him.

Aerodactyl groaned. "Yikes! I'm out of here!" He used what little of his strength he had left to lift up into the air and fly out of the Beach Cave.

Marty looked to the others. "Who's next?" he asked. The other Fossil Raiders looked at each other and ran away as fast as their legs could carry them. Armaldo was the only one still standing there.

"Cowards," Armaldo grumbled, "the lot of them! I'll take you on myself! Hyper Beam!" Armaldo loosed a huge beam of orange energy right at Marty.

"Aura Shield," Marty said calmly. A large dome of aura surrounded Marty. It stopped the Hyper Beam that Armaldo had shot at him.

Armaldo was shocked. "Who are you?"

Marty laughed. "I'm Marty. I'm just an apprentice at Wigglytuff's Guild." He disappeared and reappeared right in front of Armaldo. "Little known fact about me? I'm also a human." He jammed his palm straight into Armaldo's gut, causing him to double over, unconcious. Marty dusted off his hands and walked back over to Pikachu and Cubone.

"You guys okay?" he asked.

"I think so," Cubone said. "I don't even know what just happened."

"I think I can move again," Pikachu said, getting up slowly. "That was amazing, Marty!"

"Thanks," he said. "The training really paid off, I think!"

"For sure," Cubone agreed. "My dad taught you well. Why don't we get out of here?" The three of them left the Beach Cave. When they got outside, Chatotwas waiting for them with Officer Magnezone.

"You three are in big trouble!" Chatot shouted at them. "You blatantly disobeyed orders from Officer Magnezone and were seriously hurt. I don't know what you think you can do to make up for this, but it won't matter!"

"Not even if we defeated the leader of the Fossil Raiders?" Marty asked.

"You what?!" Chatot cried.

"Yeah," Cubone said. "Marty took him down with one hit. It was crazy."

"I don't believe it!" Chatot shouted. "You must be joking!"

"He's down in the pit," Pikachu told him. "You can go arrest him, Magnezone."

"I will certainly do that," Magnezone said. "Thank you for your...um...unorthodox cooperation!" He took his team of Magnemites in to apprehend Armaldo. Chatot was left staring at the three of them.

"You three are suprisingly gifted," he said. "I'll remember this later. For now, you are to report back to the guild for the rest of the day. You certainly earned a day's rest."

"Thank you, Chatot," Marty said. The three of them went back to the guild and relaxed for the rest of the day.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 11: The First Official Exploration

The next morning at briefing, Chatot wore a grim expression even as he praised the efforts of Team Chaotix the previous day. He finally got to what was troubling him.

"Er...ahem," he began. "Everyone, I have an important announcement to make. Far to the northeast, then farther to its outermost reaches there lies a place called Treeshroud Forest." He grimaced as he uttered his next sentence. "In Treeshroud Forest...time has apparently stopped."

Everyone jumped up in suprise. "You're saying time has stopped?!" Cubone asked in disbelief.

"Yes, that's correct," Chatot confirmed. "Time has stopped in Treeshroud Forest. The wind has stopped, the clouds are motionless, dew drops on leaves don't fall. They just hang there, suspended. In Treeshroud Forest, time itself has truly stopped."

"But how could something this awful happen?" Sunflora asked nervously. She pondered this for a moment. "It's unthinkable!"

"Yes," Chatot agreed. "The unthinkable has happened. Why has time stopped in Treeshroud Forest? Well, it's because the Time Gear that was there has been stolen!"

"This makes no sense!" Loudred blared. "Why would ANYONE steal a Time Gear?" Everyone argued about this for a few seconds.

"Quiet, everyone!" Chatot cried, trying to calm everyone down. "Officer Magnezone has already started an investigation. It's hard to believe that anyone would dare steal a Time Gear, but if one can be stolen, then that means the others are also in danger. Officer Magnezone asked us to keep him notified of any suspicious activity, so keep that in mind. That is all. Now here's to another busy day of work!"

"HOORAY!" everyone cheered. They all went to go off on their tasks for the day. Team Chaotix was about to head up to the next floor when Chatot stopped them.

"Ah, you three," he called. "Come here, please." The three of them formed a line in front of Chatot as he began speaking to them. "I've been very impressed with your work. Your captures of both Drowzee and Armaldo were very admirable. So! You will be assigned a mission worthy of a proper exploration team!"

Pikachu jumped with delight. "Hooray!"

"Let me see your Wonder Map," Chatot commanded. Pikachu took their Wonder Map out of their Treasure Bag and laid it out on the floor in front of them.

"Treasure Town is here," Chatot said, pointing to their current location on the map. "Over here is where we would like for you to investigate." He pointed to a waterfall off to the east of Treasure Town. "At first glance, this looks like an ordinary waterfall. However, we've recieved intelligence that it may contain a secret. That's where you come in. We want you to investigate the waterfall and find out what's there." Chatot closed up the map and handed it back to Pikachu. Pikachu accepted it, shaking. Chatot noticed this. "Are you okay?" he asked. "You're shivering."

"I'm fine," Pikachu said. "I'm just so excited! This is our first real job as an exploration team."

"I feel the same way," Marty said. "Let's do this, Pikachu!" All three of them threw a fist in the air and ran off to get started on their job.

...MEANWHILE...

The shadowy Pokemon streaked across the landscape like a blur, evading detection.

Let's see, he thought. I think the next Time Gear is...this way! He shot off in a different direction, heading for the next Time Gear.

...MEANWHILE...

Team Chaotix had arrived at the destination Chatot had designated for them. The waterfall was entirely massive, and there was a small rock face in front of it.

"So this is the waterfall that supposedly holds a secret," Cubone thought aloud.

"It's huge!" Pikachu said, walking close to it. The force of the water knocked him back. "Yow! That water's coming down hard!"

"Really?" Marty asked. "Let me see." Marty walked up close to the waterfall. "Wow, this is intense! I can barely stay standing next to this deluge!" He tried walking a little closer, but was knocked back just like Pikachu.

"I told you," Pikachu said.

"If you fell under that, you probably wouldn't last long," Cubone noted. "Where should we even start looking?"

While Cubone and Pikachu were discussing how to tackle this problem, Marty began to experience a familiar dizzy feeling. This is familiar, he thought. It's that dizziness I felt before. Suddenly, his vision blanked, and opened up again to reveal a vision of the rock face they were standing on. But instead of the three of them, there was a lone Pokemon standing on the rock. The Pokemon was covered in darkness, so Marty couldn't figure out who it was. The Pokemon looked around, reared back, and took a running start at the waterfall. It jumped off the rock and into the waterfall, but instead of being smashed on a wall of rock, it tumbled into a cave behind the waterfall. Marty's vision ended, and he returned to his friends, who were standing over him.

"Marty!" Pikachu cried. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he assured him. "I had another vision!"

"Another one?" Cubone asked. "What was it this time?"

"I saw a lone Pokemon jumping into the waterfall," Marty recounted. "It landed on a cave on the other side! I think that's what we need to do!"

"But that water's coming down really heavily," Pikachu reminded him. "Imagine if there was a solid wall of rock behind it! We wouldn't last very long!"

"Come on, Pikachu," Marty prodded. "Trust me!"

"Well...okay! I trust you!" Pikachu relaxed. "Let's do this!" The three of them backed up to get a running start when Pikachu started shaking again. "Ok, I have to be brave! If I don't go full speed, I'll get pounded no matter what! Be brave...be the bravest ever!"

"Ready?" Cubone asked them.

"Ready!" Pikachu shouted.

"Let's do it!" Marty cried, excited.

"On three!" Cubone said. "One..."

"Two..." Pikachu continued apprehensively.

"Three!" Marty shouted. The three of them ran full speed into the waterfall.

...MEANWHILE...

Chatot had gone into the Guildmaster's chambers. "I sent Team Chaotix on that exploration like you asked me to, Guildmaster!"

"Thank you, Chatot!" the Guildmaster said, overly happy as usual. "There's something that's bothering me, though."

"What is it, Guildmaster?" Chatot asked him.

"I think I've been to that waterfall before," Wigglytuff admitted with a dopey look on his face.

...MEANWHILE...

"Ouch," Pikachu groaned. The three of them had landed inside a cave on the other side of the waterfall, just like in Marty's vision!

Cubone took in the surroundings once he got his bearings. "You were right, Marty! It is a cave!"

"Let's go explore!" Pikachu squealed, the gleam returning to his eye. The three of them walked into the Waterfall Cave together, looking to find something interesting.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 12: The Secret of Waterfall Cave

Team Chaotix had been exploring the Waterfall Cave for quite a while. They didn't see anything out of the ordinary while they searched.

"This place doesn't really hold any interesting stuff, does it?" Cubone wondered.

"Maybe there's something in here," Marty said, pointing towards a hole in the wall. They walked in to see a large cavern with gems littering the floor and walls.

"Oh, wow!" Pikachu squealed. "Look at this, guys! These gems are positively sparkling!"

Marty looked around the cavern, then noticed something at the back. "Look at that gigantic gem over there!" They walked towards the gem in the back. It was bigger than all three of them.

"Wow!" Cubone shouted in awe. "I've never seen a gem this huge! This is an incredible treasure!"

"Everyone will be amazed if we take this back," Pikachu said. He tried to grab the giant gem. He grunted and tried to pull the gem out of its place, to no avail. "It's not budging!"

"It must really be stuck tight," Cubone said.

"Let me give it a try," Marty said. He took over and tried to pull out the gigantic gem. "Whoa! This is really stuck! It won't budge!" He grunted and pulled away from the gem. "No good."

"So you couldn't move it either," Cubone said. "But we can't give up! It's my turn!" Cubone walked up and tried to pull out the gem.

Hmm... Marty thought. It's still not budging. He was watching Cubone pull the gem when he began to feel dizzy. Oh, no...It's happening again. He blanked out to another vision. The same Pokemon he had seen earlier walked up to the gem and pushed on it instead of pulling. Suddenly, a huge wave washed out from the side and swept the Pokemon away. Marty's vision returned to him. He saw Cubone still trying to pull on the gem. Suddenly, Cubone just happened to push the gem!

"Wait!" Marty cried. "That's-!" He didn't get to finish his sentence because the ground started shaking.

"What's going on?" Pikachu asked. They looked over to see a huge wave screaming towards them.

"Waaah!" Cubone cried. "It's a flood!"

"Run!" Marty cried. They tried to run away, but the wave caught them and shot them out of the cave. All three of them fell unconcious.

...MEANWHILE...

"We can't tell them that you've been there!" Chatot cried. "That'll crush their spirits!"

"Okay," Wigglytuff said. "Do what you need to, Chatot!"

...MEANWHILE...

Team Chaotix woke up in a strange place. "Where are we?" Pikachu wondered.

A Teddiursa came up to them. "Are you three okay? You plopped down from nowhere! You startled everyone!"

The three of them got up. "Where are we?" Cubone asked.

"This is the Hot Spring," Teddiursa told them.

"H-Hot Spring?" Pikachu repeated, shocked.

"Indeed!" said a Pokemon by the side of the Hot Spring. "The Hot Spring works wonders on tired muscles and creaky joints. Many Pokemon visit here. Tell me, have you a map?"

"Sure do!" Marty said. "Who are you?"

"I am Torkoal, the village elder," the Pokemon introduced himself. "Will you unfold your map for me?" They opened the map for Torkoal. He put his foot near a point on the map. "There. We are here."

"I see," Pikachu said. He looked around the map. He located the waterfall. "The waterfall is here, so...wow! Check this out, guys!" He traced a path from the waterfall to the Hot Spring. "The water carried us all the way over here!"

"My goodness!" Torkoal cried "The water carried you that far? What a long journey that must have been! Let the Hot Spring wash away your fatigue before you make your way home."

"Good idea," Cubone agreed. "We'll do that. Thanks, everyone!" The three of them rested in the Hot Spring for a while before heading home.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 13: Déja Vu

Team Chaotix had returned to the guild and gave their report to Chatot.

"Let me see if I've got this all straight," Chatot said. "Behind the waterfall, there is a cave. In the deepest part of the cave, there is a giant gem. When you pushed on the gem, it triggered a trap of some kind and you were flushed off to the distant Hot Spring? Is that the gist of your report?"

"Yes," Pikachu said, disappointed. "It's really disappointing we couldn't bring the gem back."

"No, no, no!" Chatot cried. "Empathetically, no! This is a major discovery!"

"R-really?" Cubone asked.

"Undoubtedly!" Chatot assured them. "After all, the presence of the cave behind the waterfall...no one knew about that before now!"

"We did make a discovery!" Pikachu squealed.

While the three of them were celebrating, Marty was lost in thought. When I had those dizzy spells...the shadow of that Pokemon I saw...that shape...I've seen that shape before! That shape...there's no mistaking it!

"Your waterfall discovery is just amazing!" Chatot cried. "The Guildmaster must be told!"

"But, Chatot," Marty said. "The Guildmaster already knows about the Waterfall Cave!"

Chatot squaked. "No, no, no! Empathetically no! That's inconceivable!"

"I'm sure of it!" Marty said.

"Well, since you insist, I'll go confirm it with the Guildmaster," Chatot said. "Please wait here." Chatot went into the Guildmaster's chambers. Team Chaotix waited until he came out a few minutes later.

"So how did it go?" Cubone asked.

"When I asked the Guildmaster," Chatot began, "he mulled it over for a bit. And then he said, 'Oh, memories! Sweet memories! YOOM...TAH!' Then he danced around a bit. And then he said, 'Yes, yes! When I think hard, maybe I did go there once!' And that's just what the Guildmaster said. To sum it up, it's just as Marty suspected. He has indeed already been to Waterfall Cave."

"Oh," Pikachu groaned, disappointed. "That's kind of disappointing. We really thought we'd discovered a new place."

"I wish Wigglytuff had told us from the start," Cubone said.

"The Guildmaster can be rather erratic at times," Chatot reminded them. "Even I can't quite fathom what goes on in his head. Well, that's too bad for you. Nevertheless, I shall expect your best effort tomorrow!"

The three of them groaned and went off to the mess hall for dinner. After dinner, the three of them trudged off to their room and got ready for bed.

"Today was exhausting," Marty said. "We should get to sleep early."

Pikachu looked out the window and sighed. "We went through a lot today. But you know what? It was incredibly fun!"

"Sure there was that huge letdown," Cubone said. "But it was our first exploration!"

"I thought I was going to explode from excitement and anticipation the whole time!" Pikachu said. "It made me realize I made the right decision in joining an exploration team." He dropped his Relic Fragment on the floor. "One day I'm sure I'll solve the secret of my Relic Fragment! That's the dream I have. If it ever came true, I'd surely faint from sheer happiness!"

"We'll all solve it together," Marty said, smiling.

"But seriously, thanks, you two," Pikachu said. "I can explore because of you guys. Like today when we jumped into the waterfall. I'm the biggest chicken around, and even I managed to work up the courage! And it was all because you two were with me. Seriously, thanks!"

"No problem!" Marty said, still smiling.

Pikachu looked at Marty for a minute. "Oh, yeah! I noticed something about your dizzy spells, Marty. You always seem to be touching something when they happen. Like Azurill's apple, Drowzee, the waterfall, and even the gem!"

"It's true!" Marty said, shocked. "It was always after touching something! That's when I got those dizzy spells! When I touch something, I see something connected to it, right?"

"There's one more thing," Cubone told them. "When we rescued Azurill, you had a vision of the future. But this time, you saw Wigglytuff going into the cave, right? So that means this time, you saw an event that occurred in the past! In other words, when Marty touches something, he sees its past or future."

"This could be something totally incredible!" Pikachu cried. "You could use it in lots of ways! Not just for exploring, either! It's fantastic, Marty!"

"Well, yes!" Marty said. "I guess that's true, but that doesn't mean I always get a vision every time I touch something. It would be useful if I could have visions when I wanted, but it doesn't work that way!"

They were discussing this when Chatot came in. "Hey, you three! The Guildmaster wants to see you right away." He led them to the Guildmaster's chambers. "Guildmaster, I've brought you Team Chaotix."

"Hiya!" Wigglytuff greeted them. "Your team went through a lot today! Yes, a lot-lot! But don't worry! I'm keeping watch on your activities! I should tell you why I called you here. We're planning to mount a full expedition soon!"

"An expedition?" Pikachu asked.

"Yes!" Chatot confirmed. "The guild will go explore some place far away! It's much harder than exploring our nearby area. That's why we need to prepare for the big trip properly. We carefully choose which members go on the expedition."

"Really?!" Pikachu asked, clearly interested.

"Usually," Wigglytuff continued, "we would never, ever consider rookies to be expedition members. But you three are working so very hard! That's why we're making a special exception this time! We decided to include Team Chaotix in the list of candidates for the expedition!"

"Now!" Chatot said. "You haven't been chosen as expedition members yet. There is still time before we set out on the expedition. If you fail to do good work before then, you cannot expect to be selected for the expedition."

"I'm sure you two can do it!" Wigglytuff said. "Try hard!"

"Yes!" Pikachu said. "Let's try our best and make sure we get picked for the expedition!" The three of them cheered and went off to bed, happier then before.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 14: Team Skull

"Ahem!" Chatot continued during the next morning's briefing. "As I was explaining, there is a lake far off to the east. There are many aspects of that lake that remain mysterious. We hope to unravel those mysteries. And so, our guild is planning to mount an expedition for the first time in a while!"

"An expedition, you say?" Bidoof said. "Yes, please! Yes sirree!"

"It's been a long time since we went on an expedition!" Sunflora squealed.

"But," Loudred said. "That means you're going to be picking members for the expedition from ALL of us again, right?"

"Precisely!" Chatot confirmed. "We will depart in several days. Over these next few days, we will choose the most worthy apprentices. The chosen members will form the expedition party. Everyone, work hard so that you may be chosen for the expedition!"

"Oh my gosh!" Sunflora squealed. "This is so exciting!"

"I've yet to go on an expedition," Bidoof admitted. "I would surely love to go this time."

"All right, everyone," Chatot said. "It's back to work as usual."

"Hooray!" everyone shouted as they went about their business.

Cubone turned to Marty and Pikachu. "We should do some missions today. Let's check out the Job Bulletin Board and the Outlaw Notice Board."

"Good idea," Marty agreed. The three of them went up to the upper underground floor. When they got up there, they saw two familiar faces standing in front of the Job Bulletin Board.

"Look!" Pikachu said, poking Marty. "Those Pokemon..."

"They look familiar..." Marty said. "Wait, those are the guys that stole your Relic Fragment when we first met!"

Zubat turned around. "Hey!"

Koffing turned around as well. "You two?!"

"What are you doing here?" Pikachu interrogated.

"Whoa-ho-ho!" Koffing guffawed. "I'll have you know that we're an exploration team, too!"

"Heh-heh-heh," Zubat laughed. "What's so funny about an exploration team checking out the Job Bulletin Board?"

"What?!" Pikachu exclaimed. "You're an exploration team?"

"That's right," Koffing confirmed. "Though the way we operate isn't always...by the book. But what a surprise! Why would you be here?"

"We're training at this guild," Marty answered bluntly.

The two of them looked shocked. "Whaaaat?!" Koffing shouted.

Zubat was astonished. "You want to become a real-deal exploration team member?!" The two of them raced over to Pikachu.

"You!" Koffing said. "Come with us for a second." They dragged Pikachu just out of earshot of Marty and Cubone.

"W-what is it?" Pikachu asked them.

"Now don't take what I'm about to say the wrong way," Koffing told him. "You should just forget about being on an exploration team!"

"Why?" Pikachu asked.

"Well," Zubat began. "It's because you're timid. You scare easily. A scaredy-cat like you can't cut it on an exploration team."

"But!" Pikachu said. He raced back over to his teammates. "It-it's true that I'm timid, but that's why I'm in training! So I can overcome my own shortcomings! Even now, I'm working hard to be picked for the guild's expedition!"

Zubat and Koffing perked up at the mention of the expedition. "An expedition, you say?"

"Heh-heh," Zubat chortled. "Well, effort only gets you so far. You won't get picked for the expedition party if you don't have talent, right? It all comes down to talent...pure talent!"

"Big talk!" Cubone shouted. "You sure talk a lot about talent, but what kind of skills do you have? You were so weak, Marty and Pikachu even beat you! They're both ten times stronger now than they were before!"

"Whoa-ho-ho!" Koffing laughed. "Well, we didn't have the Chief with us."

"Ch-chief?" Pikachu asked.

"That's right," Zubat confirmed. "Team Skull, our exploration team, has three members. Our Chief is incredibly talented."

"To put it bluntly," Koffing continued, "He's brutally tough. If the Chief were around, we'd snap you like a twig." They both sniffed and looked towards the ladder leading above ground. "Whoa-ho-ho! Speaking of the Chief, I can smell him coming now!"

"Smell?" Pikachu wondered.

"Here's the Chief!" Zubat proclaimed. Down the ladder came a large skunk Pokemon. Cubone stood in front of him, seemingly dwarfed by this large Pokemon.

"Move!" the Pokemon said to Cubone. "Out of the way!" He blew a noxious cloud of gas straight at Cubone. Cubone groaned and passed out from the stench.

"Cubone!" Pikachu cried. He breathed in and noticed the foul odor coming from the cloud the Chief had released. "Ugh! What's this awful stench?" The cloud permeated the room, filling it with an awful smell.

"Eek!" Sunflora cried. "It reeks like rotten cheese!"

Bidoof agreed. "That is foul, yes sirree!"

"Hey hey!" Corphish complained. "My eyes are burning!"

The Pokemon walked in front of Pikachu and said, "Move it! Or do you want to end up like that wimp over there?"

Pikachu groaned and stepped aside, but Marty didn't. "You hurt my friends," he said in a low, threatening tone.

"Yeah?" the Chief said. "What're you gonna do about it?"

Marty stood there, but his mind was racing. I'm gonna pound the snot out of this guy! He let his aura flare to intimidate this rude newcomer. It seemed to be working until Pikachu spoke up.

"Don't do it, Marty!" he pleaded. "If you hit him, we'll get in big trouble!"

"You should do what your friend says," the Chief said. "Step aside." Marty reluctantly stepped out of the Pokemon's way.

"Chief Skuntank!" Koffing cried with happiness.

"You showed them, Chief!" Zubat praised. "You're the best!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Skuntank said, brushing it aside. "So, you two, did you sniff out any jobs that'll bring in the cash?"

Koffing scoffed. "The Job Bulletin Board only posted cheap tasks, but there's something else, Chief. It's got the potential to go big!"

"Well, what is it?" Skuntank asked them.

"There's going to be an expedition from this guild!" Zubat said.

"That does sound tasty," Skuntank admitted. "Let's get out of here. We need to do some plotting." The three of them left upstairs.

Zubat closed with a, "See you around, wimps!"

Marty and Pikachu rushed over to Cubone. "Are you okay?" Marty asked.

Cubone got up and brushed himself off. "Yeah, I think I'm alright."

"Great!" Pikachu said. "It doesn't look like you're injured."

"That sure was rough, though," Cubone admitted.

"I couldn't work up the courage to challenge him to his face!" Pikachu cried. "Even though he hurt you, Cubone...I'm ashamed of myself. They're right. I'm a wimp. A big chicken!"

"You're not a wimp..." Marty said encouragingly.

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Marty," Pikachu said, starting to cry. "But...I really am a wimp. It's nothing new for me..."

"Quit your whining!" Cubone shouted at him. "You can't just give up over something like this! You've gotta be cheerful and keep trying!"

"You're right," Pikachu said, still a little glum. "Thanks, guys."

"For now," Marty said, "we'd better keep working like we've been doing. Let's get some jobs to do." They walked over to the Outlaw Notice Board and took four jobs in Mt. Bristle.

"Let's get ready for our mission!" Cubone said. "We should head to Treasure Town right away!" So Team Chaotix headed to Treasure Town to get prepared for their big mission.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[K-NiGhT]

Chapter 15: Frenemies

The past few days had been very successful for Team Chaotix. They had taken down at least ten criminals, rescued about six Pokemon, and even took over sentry duty for Diglett, earning a perfect score for the day. Their hard work had earned them a shiny new Silver Rank, a very respectable rank for a fairly new team. Their name was spreading throughout the area at a rapid pace, and the rest of the guild more than excited about it.

"You guys are doing a GREAT job!" Loudred shouted at them one evening during supper. "You guys will get picked for the expedition for SURE!"

"Well," Marty said in between bites, "you never know, Loudred. Something could happen."

"Don't Jynx it, Marty!" Cubone said. Everyone laughed.

Things were looking up for Team Chaotix until the very next morning's briefing.

"Everyone!" Chatot said. "I have an announcement before we get down to work. Let me introduce our new allies!"

"Allies?" Loudred asked. "What, more new apprentices? As if these three weren't BAD enough!"

"Golly," Bidoof said. "I wonder what kinds of Pokemon they are?"

Chatot looked over to the ladder. "Hey! Over here, please," he said, looking toward three Pokemon heading down the ladder. Suddenly, a noxious cloud of gas wafted down into the guild.

"Ugh!" Loudred cried. "What stinks?!"

"Eek!" Sunflora screamed. "It reeks like rotten cheese! Ewwww!"

Bidoof looked around, blushing. "Yup yup! That is some kind of foul stench!"

Down the ladder came the three members of Team Skull, much to the surprise of Marty, Pikachu, and Cubone.

"It-it's them!" Pikachu cried.

"These three are our new partners," Chatot told the apprentices.

"Whoa-ho-ho!" Koffing laughed. "I'm Koffing."

"Heh-heh-heh," Zubat chuckled. "Zubat here. Glad to meet you."

"And I'm Team Skull's leader," Skuntank told them. "I'm Skuntank. Remember it." He looked toward Team Chaotix. "Especially you three. Chaw-haw-haw!"

"Oh, dear Arceus," Cubone whispered to Marty and Pikachu. "They've all got equally annoying laughs." The three of them chuckled.

"What, you're already acquainted?" Chatot asked Skuntank. "That simplifies things." He turned out to the apprentices. "These three aren't joining us as apprentices. They will be joining our expedition to lend us their assistance."

"Whaaaat?!" Pikachu exclaimed.

"Why are you so shocked?" Chatot asked.

"Chatot, sir, it's nothing," Skuntank lied. "That one always overreacts to every little thing. Chaw-haw-haw."

"Hmm..." Chatot said. "Very well, then. Anyway, the Guildmaster has made his decision. He has decided that having this trio take part will make us stronger on the expedition. However, it would be impossible to coordinate teamwork if we were to begin working together right away. Therefore, we've decided that the trio should live with us for several days. Though it will be only for a short while, I ask everyone to treat our guests with hospitality."

"...Doesn't Chatot think something stinks about this?" Loudred attempted to whisper. "Literally?"

"How can the Guildmaster stand this?" Sunflora wondered.

"I sure hope this expedition ends soon," Bidoof said glumly.

"All right, everyone, let's get to work!" Chatot said.

"...Hooray," the apprentices all said without any enthusiasm.

Chatot was worried. "What's this? Where's your usual spirit?"

Loudred finally burst. "You gotta be KIDDING! This STINKS! How do you expect us to be cheerful when-" Loudred didn't get to finish his sentence because the ground began to quake. "WH-WHAT?"

In the corner, Wigglytuff was curling up into a ball. "YOOM...YOOOOOOM..."

Chatot was extremely worried. "No! The Guildmaster...his rage is building! If the Guildmaster gets angry, it will be horrific! Everyone! Come on! Be cheerful, even if it hurts! All right, everyone. Let's get down to today's work!"

"HOORAY!" everyone shouted nervously. The quake stopped suddenly and everyone rushed off to do their jobs.

"Chaw-haw-haw!" Skuntank chortled. "Glad to have met you." He clambered away with his teammates in tow.

"Urk!" Pikachu groaned. "Something's definitely suspicious about them for sure."

"I don't know what they're scheming," Cubone said. "but we'd better be careful, guys."

"For sure," Marty agreed. "Let's get back to work." The three of them went about their usual business.

TO BE CONTINUED...