The city was even more impressive once they got up close. Josh had never seen buildings this big before. His eyes shifted between them, and he couldn't help but wonder how they'd managed to build something like this. He didn't even notice all of the looks him and Matt were getting.
"Okay, I know you all want to see the city, so, we'll get one day to do that. Well, one day, and three thousand poke each, courtesy of my dad's rescue work." Terra said, handing Josh and the others bags full of money. "See that giant hotel? That's where we'll all meet once it starts to get dark. They know me there, and I can probably get us all a room."
Josh looked around for a place to spend his money. There was bound to be a lot of shops in this city, and with 3000 poke, there was a lot of stuff he could buy.
Josh and Matt ended up wandering around, unsure of where they wanted to go first.

Just as I got some breathing space, I was back into the situation of 'Magikarp disrupting one's business.' "Uh, no." I responded hastily, in case he decided to leap out from the grass. "As amazing love may seem, it's not always something people want. Especially in Spruce's situation. So for goodness sake, don't give him them a romantic dinner as soon as soon as they enter the city-"

"Oh Arceus." That probably just set off Kamina. I didn't want to imagine him running off, getting some restaurant to make reservations... oh well, can't use words to stop him now... and I remembered knocking Pokemon out for more than 5 minutes would result in a very minor case of serious brain damage. "Do you even LISTEN to me!?" I hissed sharply, trying to sound quiet because alerting Spruce would jeopradise his own mission.

Then, I realised his mission involved Scale City. And he was quite a fair distance from here, yet let alone there. I didn't need to be quiet. "DO YOU EVEN LISTEN TO ME!?" I repeated, finally letting my voice 'relax.' Then, I just stormed off and left Kamina by himself. My voice alone was enough to anger me.

[Spruce]

"Yeah, let's just keep going, huh?" I respond to Celes. I then hear someone saying something like 'sneaking, sneaking. I'm sneaking' and instantly turn my head towards wherever that voice was coming from. All I saw was a bush, and, for some reason, I smelled something minty. It didn't seem like whatever smelled like mint was going to be hostile, so I continued forwards, and into Scale City. The place was huge, and there were dragons all over the place. "Whoa..." was all I could say at this time. As I wandered around, I bumped into something slimy... wait, that slime was familiar. I look down to see Anthony, who was holding a big bag of money for some reason. "Um, so, how have you been doing?" I ask Anthony, who simply smiles and says "Great," that seemed to be the end of our conversation, and he walked off towards some sort of clothing store. Pfft, who needs 'fashionable' clothes? It's just going to be trash in five minutes anyways. I think as I watch him head into the store, money in... wait, he doesn't have hands, does he? Either way, it seems like someone just wasted whatever money they could scrape together on something that probably won't even help them. This place was almost too much for me with its buildings that look taller than the tallest of all pokemon, the number of residents, and even the size of the city, itself. It was nothing like Allure Town, and was somehow bigger than both it and Treasure Town combined. As I looked at the buildings, I noticed a hotel... I'd probably end up staying there if I can't find the crook before it gets dark, which was likely given the sheer size of the place.

---

[Anthony]

I continued wandering around the place, unable to find anything that I'd want to spend my poke on when, out of nowhere, I bump into something scaly... well, that was kinda normal in a place like this, but this didn't exactly feel like dragon scales. I look up to see Spruce, except... he was grey now for some weird reason. Snapped out of his fantasy or whatever it was he was doing, he asked me "Um, so how have you been doing?" I smile at remembering that I'm going to stay at a nice hotel, have a ton of cash to spend, and get to stay in this awesome city and eventually I respond with a simple "Great," something then catches my eye, and I head towards the shop that did that. It was a small clothing store that seemed to boast 'the best clothing around!', and even a bold enough claim as 'can even help you win fights!' I had to see that to believe it, so I entered. Inside, there was an Altaria who woke up as soon as I opened the door, and explained "Ack! Sorry, it's just that, um, well, I haven't had too many customers lately. Welcome to Amanda's Threads! I'm Amanda, by the way." She then flies from the counter over towards me, and inquiries "Can I interest you in a fashionable helmet to replace the one you currently have? Oh, or, maybe something tough, like that old human army supposedly was? Hm... you know, dragons like you could always go for a thick sweater, never know when those ice types are going to strike." I had almost no idea what she was talking about, and ended up stuttering "Um... uh... wha...? Maybe? I dunno?" Amanda then continued showing me around the place, apparently trying to find something I'd like as well as something that would apparently help in battle.

Celes finally arrives at the city, and smiles, looking around. She looks at Spruce.
"Well... I am off to shopping..." she then says smiling. She then heads to the clothing store... the same one as Anthony, and smiles at him.
"I see someone else want to get some clothing here." she says smiling. She then looks at Amanda.
"I wonder.... do you have any cloth of black coloring? Maybe white also?" she then asks smiling. Amanda looked at her.
"Just clothing? What kind?" Amanda ask.
"Just fabric. I can take care of the rest. I learned to make clothing from my mother." she then says. Amanda stares at her, then looks at her right in the eye.... making Celes shiver a bit at this. She then looked at the scarf, and seeing a slight mark.
"Wait... aren't you...." Amanda then start to say. Celes froze just there.
"Please... don't...." Celes then says. Amanda looks at her, and chuckles.
"Ahh.... just like your father back when he was a young boy.... full of trouble." Amanda then says. To this, Celes just stares, frozen.
"No I won't go and bring you to the authorities. I guess you had a sense for adventure and your parents did not let you have it..." Amanda then says. Celes sighed.
"We can say that.... just.... don't bring up that I was here alright?" Celes then says.
"I won't. Geez, I remember back then I actually had some adventures with your father. Good times...." Amanda then says, before going to the back store, and bringing the clothing.
"Here...." Amanda then says. Celes sighed in relief, and pays for the clothing. She looks at Anthony.
"Sorry about all that.... Slight family issues." she then says, before leaving the building quickly, clothing in her bag, and thinking. Where could she go work with these....

Kamina

Well it seemed that Celes had gone off on her own now to do...what ever it was that girls did, Kamina wasn't too sure about that. Either way it didn't really change much; Kamina was still following Spruce. Also, M was yelling about something, Kamina wasn't sure what was up with him 'that M sure is strange' he thought to himself 'besides, I'm trying to follow Spruce in secret. How could I get a proper romantic diner set up in time? I'm starting to think that M has a few screws loose'

Tini

'Why was the Magnimite yelling at the Magikarp? He didn't do anything. What a weirdo' Tini though as he conditioned his not very silent watch of the strange Magikarp in front of him. 'Gee, I hope his brain isn't rusty or something, because that sounds bad. Wait...do Steel types get rusty brains? Hmmmmm...this requires further study and-Oh! A Magikarp!' and just like that, Tini was right back where he started

Meanwhile... Kamina seemed rather confused at me, which I dismissed as 'being himself.' I hate following solo members of our team. No, that wasn't directed towards Kamina; that was towards Spruce. Why couldn't Arnold send some lowly scrub to do this mission, whatever it was? Spying? Speaking of spying...

We made it into Scale City, after getting on a worn path to the main entrance (which was just a busted gate with moss all over it) and entering what could be considered the boundary of the city. "Eh. You can go follow Spruce by yourself. I got my own business to attend to." I said to Kamina, who probably was still following me. Heck, I was still facing the buildings across the cobblestone paths, ignoring the fancy and symmetrical walls and the obvious edge of technology here. A week ago or so, I'd be wishing to come here with Davis. Now, I had something else to do...

...and, finally speaking of spying: "God damn it, did Davis hire some lowly scrubs of his own?" Don't say I was deaf. "Go on. I don't think I'm quite myself today, you know... help Spruce and Celes out, would you?" I told Kamina as I turned to him, getting sarcastic and if not strange. I rolled my eye horizontally across the landscape of dry trees (with quite a few leaves) and arid grass, trying to find the source of an apparent voice and sound from earlier. Could've been the wind, but why would I be hallucinating?

-William-
I look at the papers in my backpack and say "Uh... well I guess I'm doing this now. I gotta go turn some papers into my old work," and I take the papers, then climb up the ladder, exiting the guild, and going into Allure town. I walk into the news station, and everyone was partying and being happy. I look around and ask Smeargle "What's all this ruckus about?" as I put my papers into the basket.

"WOOHOO! That old coot Zoroark left off into a dungeon and... don't tell ANYONE outside of the office this, but... we planned a trap to make sure he doesn't come back here!" Smeargle whispers in a cheery voice. I was shocked and then he says "We weren't going to kill him, just make him get lost for a few days... months... years..." and I feel my heart racing. I hated him, but what about his family or friends? When I was getting beat in his office, one of the only things he didn't throw at me was a picture of his wife and kids, and they all looked fine.

"W-umm... which one?" I ask, shaking a little. What should I do? Should I find the family and ask them if I should find him, or what? I think. It was strange. I felt a need to help him even though he's an ass. Why did I feel this way? Was this the right thing to do?

"Beach cave, floor 4!" Smeargle says and he realizes what I was about to do. He suddenly stops being cheery and mutters "I shouldn't have told you that, should I?" as he realizes that I'm about to go out on an adventure to save my boss. He stands up, and pushes me, then picks me up by the shoulders. He was far too strong for me to fight, but he was wanting to fight.

"Please, I don't want to fight you," I say and he looks at me through intimidating eyes, then throws me to the ground. He goes back to his chair and sighs as I leave, running to the house of my boss. I knock on his door and a female Zoroark opens the door, and I ask her three questions. "Do you know where your husband is, do you know that some people want him gone, and do you want him rescued?" I ask, and she nods at the first question.

"I know that he went to Beach Cave to grab some shells for me..." she answers. "N-no... I didn't," she says when she hears the 2nd question. "Yes, please, I do!" She says, her voice raspy and panicky. I nod and set off for Beach Cave, and arrive at the first floor. "This place looks a lot different than the last time I saw it," I say as I enter for the 2nd time, and I rub my eyes as I tread along. I hear something slosh behind me, and try to pay it no mind, and continue on ahead through a tight space, into a larger chamber with a green gummy and about 32 Poke on the floor I smirk and say "Alright!" as I pick both things up, then go down the set of stairs into floor two.

I look around the place and hear more sloshing, but I could see what was making it. It was a different sloshing sound, but it still was from a pokemon. I look at it, and squeal, it was a wild Skrelp. I run as fast as I could away from it, and go into another tight space, straight into a dead-end. I turn back, walking to the Skrelp. It makes a horrific noise before attacking me with... bubbles? It was trying to kill me with bubbles. I got hit by them, and they stung like acid, and I yell out loud when I'm hit by these, then I use feint attack. Luckily, I got a critical hit, and knocked it out right there, and it felt like every 5 steps I took, the acidic bubble liquid burned even worse on me. I walk around until I get to the flight of stairs again, starting this whole crazy thing again.

This time, I heard no scratching or sloshing, so I felt safe and enter a room and see a red mat with things on it. A kecleon was sitting in the middle, on what appeared to be a Pecha Scarf and I stare for a while until he asks "Well, are you going to buy something?" and I look at his selection of items.

I point at the scarf and ask "What's that?" and he pulls it out and shows it to me, and I ask "Oh. A pecha scarf... what do they do?"

"Prevent you from getting poisoned, of course. That's what Pecha berries do. You look like you're pretty badly hurt, and I have just the thing for you!" He exclaims, grabbing the Oran berry. "I will bundle these two up in an exquisite deal, for only 1000 Poke!" and I check how much I had. Just enough. I smile and hand the man my money, putting the scarf on and munching on the Oran berry as I leave that room, to enter yet another tiny hallway, this time leading to the exit! Three floors done, one more to go.

After a good long while of fighting and resting for a bit, then exploring, I make it to floor 4 and hear a cry for help. I search for the source of the voice, which sounded like my boss, for sure, and walk into a room. He was trapped in a cage that was up to his neck in sand, and there was a lot of poke` right behind the cage. I look at him with pity, and some anger, since that proved how gullible and greedy he was. I look for ways to open the cage, prying at the bars, digging so that I could lift it up. My boss was digging as best as he could as well.

I see him panic, then say "LOOK OUT!" as a Smeargle gets ready to use sucker punch. I turn around and dodge the punch, and the Smeargle's fist slams into the bars, cracking the wooden frame, and letting some more sand spill out. I get kicked in the stomach, and I threw up from it, and he then mutters something with a heap of swears in it, and I roll around in pain. He continues kicking me until I fake my fainting, and feel him pick me up and start to dump sand on me, and as the first few grains hit, I jumped up, punched him in the stomach and used Confusion, and he got a dizzy look in his eye, and he moved to use a Wide Cut, but missed, slamming his hands into 3 of the wooden bars on the cage, breaking them, and sand spills on him, covering up his waist, and almost letting the Zoroark free. I dig my boss out and pile more sand onto the Smeargle, until he can't move at all. I mark down this location, and then check to see of the poke` was real, and it was fake. I grab my stomach and escape with my boss back to Allure town, and he immediately finds his house and stays there for hours on end, while I go to Wigglytuff's guild, and put down on the outlaw board "Smeargle: Crime: Trapped a Zoroark and assaulted a Kecleon (me). Is now buried to his chin in sand, cannot move, reward is a Grass Gummi," and I return to my room and plop down on my bed. "Ugh... wow... my belly hurts so badly..." I say, closing my eyes and going to sleep.

"3000? That's quite a bit.." Hex said, hefting the bag on her.. shoulders? "What do they even sell in a city of dragons, anyway? Scale polishers? Wing wipers?"

Hex fluttered down the cobbled roads of the city, keeping to a low drift so as not to attract attention. Unfortunately, her appearance garnered quite a bit of it. The fact that she was bug-type already did enough to affect her image; It didn't do much to help that she could easily be stepped on by even some of the smallest dragon pokemon. She caught herself getting oddly stared at by most around. They didn't seem angered, more surprised there was a non dragon type. Hex tried to ignore it, but she didn't do too well with being out of the loop. The city seemed to be for strictly dragon types, while most other types were not too common. Hex stared at the large, decadent shops adorning the city's sidewalks. Dragons entered in and out. Hex spotted some various Flygon wearing goggles and scarves, and on occasion a Krookodile wearing sunglasses. The dragon types also seemed to hold a high regard for fashion, too. Hex had never heard of the amazing city before. In all of her lessons, she had only been taught about Allure Town and few, minor facts about Treasure Town. Scale City must've been too far for the scouts to examine, she reasoned. Either that, or they were immediately ejected from the city when they got in.

Hex found a large, seemingly good shop. She entered, shoving the wooden door out of the way. A long, sleek blue serpent was curled up behind a counter, and various items were displayed through signs and frames. A long price board hung from some tightly bound strings on a shoddy wooden plank frame. "Reviver Seeds will be handy.. and with 3000 poke, I could buy plenty." Hex thought to herself, looking over the prices. "So.. one, 800, two, 1600, three, 2400.. still got 600 poke left after that." Hex pulled a cloth sack out of her bag, with a thin piece of string keeping it closed. "Three Reviver Seeds, please." The Dragonair quickly wormed it's tail upward, twisting it around three of the vibrant, energetic seeds and untying the string closing the bag with it's tail masterfully, getting the needed money. It placed them on the table. "Here we are. Three Reviver Seeds and your change." Hex stared at the table, the seeds lying on them. The Dragonair paused for a moment. "No.. arms.. huh." The Dragonair took out it's tail and wrapped itself around the reviver seeds and poke, before dumping them in her bag manually. "It's the hard-knock life for us." Hex added, feeling the light seeds rattling in her bag.

Hex fluttered out of the shop, the seeds giving her the motivation to keep going. They certainly reduced some of the fear she would be feeling for dealing with the unknown. She began fluttering through the crowd, looking for the members of Team Scarab or the other team they met a couple of days ago.

[Spruce]

I started to ask around town whether or not they've seen a keckleon around here lately, however, nobody seems to have seen any, some of them were even commenting with such remarks as "Well, they're stealthy right? I mean, they can change their color at will, so... it's not like that's an easy pokemon to find," and "HA! Ask me again later if I've ever seen a keckleon. Heck, for all I know, he's hanging out with a bunch of others, and some greninja in some sort of ninja convention," another common remark was "Hey, maybe I have and I just don't know it yet," Eventually, I come across a dratini who seemed to be whistling some random tune. I walk up to the small, not exactly dragonlike dragon-type, and ask "Have you seen a keckleon anywhere around here?" His eyes seem to light up at that, and he nods, saying "Yes! I have seen one. Uh... thing is, though, that he was dragged over to Treasure Town. Maybe you should try looking there?" I mumble "Of course he did... this just can't be easy, can it?" out of frustration, and use my badge to return to Allure Town, which was thankfully close to Treasure Town, and head out of the guild, and over to my right. I make it to Treasure Town, where my badge is not entirely appreciated, and try to not sweat up a storm from nervousness. I make it to the guild without any fights, and head over towards the guildmaster's room... I suppose I should warn the guildmaster about what happened, just in case I can't find the crook, or the keckleon.

"Uh... guildmaster?" I ask the wigglytuff standing behind the desk in the guildmaster's office. Of course, it seems as though my question has fallen on deaf (if large) ears, as he appeared to be asleep. Eventually, his assistant barged into the room, and shouted "GUILDMASTER!" This woke up the guildmaster, and almost caused me to jump through the roof. "Yes, Charlie?" The guildmaster asked the assistant, who I assumed was Charlie. The assistant, a chatot, then states, rather emotionlessly, "There's someone form Allure to see you... apparently, it's important," the guildmaster then asks "Well, where is he?" unfortunately, I lied earlier, I HAD in fact jumped into the roof thanks to Charlie's yelling catching me by surprise. I finally fell down, and the guildmaster gleefully said "Friends!" Though, Charlie was quick to correct him by saying "Um... actually, Wally, Allure is our rival, in other words, our enemy," Wally hesitated for a moment, yet still retained that same smile, and eventually said "Yay, frienemy!" I eventually spoke up by saying "Right... well, I'm looking for a missing keckleon. Have you seen one anywhere?" Wally doesn't even waste any time saying "Yes! One of those just joined my guild... um, I think that keckleon left somewhere, though... oh! You should check Beach Cave. A lot of new recruits go there on their first mission." I manage to avoid bashing my head against the wall, and I leave, heading over towards Beach Cave to hopefully find a missing keckleon. The trip there seemed longer than it actually was, with all my frustration, and the fact that I just wanted this mission to end now. I mean, after all, I've had to travel all the way to some new town, warp back, and now I'm supposed to go to some mystery dungeon? Why couldn't this crook just stay in one place?

---

[Bonnie]

"A-are you sure? Do you really want me to leave you two here?" I tearfully ask Mike and Leo, who still seemed a little tired from being knocked out earlier. "Just... go. We'll be fine." Mike said to me. They were my only friends, and they were already asking me to ditch them. I didn't want to ditch my friends, but it didn't seem like they'd want me to stay... why though? What was wrong with staying here? Hm... well, I did hear that this place is a mystery dungeon... maybe staying in mystery dungeons have some sort of effect on someone? I think, though, even that reason, while enough to make me want to leave, wasn't a good reason to let them stay. Heck, it was just the opposite of that, if there was some sort of bad effect on those who stayed here, then they should leave, as soon as possible. Of course, I can't force them to come with me, as I wasn't strong enough to carry either of them, let alone both. I gazed at the empty fields with the grass now blowing in the breeze, and think this situation over again, just trying to come up with a good solution, yet, I couldn't. If they didn't want to leave and they wanted me to leave... I guess I should. It took me a while, but, I did it... I left my only friends behind in some mystery dungeon to deal with whatever might come their way. I must be a horrible friend. I made my way over to some town, this 'Treasure Town' that they spoke of, and, while it did take a while, I eventually made it over there.

The place was huge, and everyone in it didn't seem like they wanted to hurt me. There were pokemon all around, specifically one familiar grey snivy who seemed to be mumbling to himself about some missing keckleon. I called out to him, shouting "Hey, there! It's me, um, no, I'm not going to try to hurt you!" But... he didn't even so much as take notice to me, what I said, or, really, anything. That snivy, whoever he was, had a distant, sort of glazed-over look that said that he was either busy, dumb, or lost in thought... of course, it could be all three. I decided to ignore the snivy once it became clear that he was leaving the city and heading over to some other mystery dungeon. It was amazing being in a town, rather than just out in the wilderness... I mean, at least here, I didn't have to worry about the fact that my horrible father could be around any corner, after all, if he were, someone would spot him, and ask him why he's stalking someone. I let out my first sigh of relief that I was able to since my mother died, and continue towards an oddly-shaped building. It looked like a fun place to be, as the tent... at least, I'm sure it was a tent, was in the shape of one of the more 'fun' pokemon... at least, that's what I've been told. Once I was inside, I noticed the wooden structure, as well as a few other pokemon who seemed hesitant to head into the mysterious building. "I..I'm not sure. I mean, what if everyone's mean in there?" One of them, a caterpie, asks his teammate, who was a dratini. I then interrupt, and say "Well, come on, it's sure to be fun!" That was... almost alien coming out of my mouth, but by now I was convinced that this was some sort of balloon-based carnival attraction... though, it was odd for one of those to have a ladder leading downwards, as well as multiple floors.

"Yeah, what she said. I'm sure we'll be fine, let's just go," the dratini then adds to what I've said. The two then leave down the ladder, and... it may have been a little stupid of me, but, I followed. There was almost nothing down here, save for a couple boards with papers scattered and attached to them, and a few pokemon looking at the boards. I was somewhat disappointed until I noticed the duo heading further down the ladder, making me follow them once more. Once I got to the bottom, I noticed an odd treecko... he was odd mainly due to the blood stains near and on his eyes. Slightly creeped out, and disappointed that there were no balloons, nor was this some sort of carnival attraction, I asked "Um... hi? I was just wondering... what is this place?" I hoped that he would answer, and that he wouldn't just ignore me like that snivy from earlier. Maybe I've wandered into something completely awesome, and just don't know it yet... or someplace I shouldn't be. I hope this isn't some kind of mob meeting place... that wouldn't be good... no, this can't be one of those, it's too obvious from the outside. I think as I continue to wait for the strange treecko to answer my question. I would ask him about his eyes, but I assumed that the story behind them would be similar to my own story behind my scars... one that I'd rather not tell anyone. I'd probably end up crying if I was asked about them, as it would bring back memories, horrible ones.

Terra had given each of them 3000 poke, and showed them all the hotel they were going to meet at once it got dark. Josh wasn't very familiar with the currency on the surface, but he assumed 3000 was a lot. He decided to ask Matt, just to be sure. "So, what do you think I could buy with this?"
"It would be more than enough to get you a half-decent TM at Bob and Ed's, but I'm not entirely sure what the prices are around here."
"Let's have a look around, then."

They entered a rather large shop just as Hex was leaving. "Hey, Hex." Josh said as they went inside.
He scanned the shelves, looking for something that was worth spending his money on. There was one shelf lined with TMs, which Josh decided to check first. One in particular caught his eye - Thunderbolt.
"I'll take that Thunderbolt TM, please." Josh said.
The Dragonair behind the counter handed him the yellow disk in exchange for 2000 poke.
Josh lifted the yellow disk with his psychic powers, making it float in front of him. "I can't wait to use this."
They left the shop, with Josh still looking at the TM.

-Samuel-
I hear a voice and whip around, and see a buneary. I look down from where I was slightly, and I say "You don't know this place? This is the Treasure Town Guild, run by a wigglytuff. Kinda a looney, though, so watch out, he might hug you and kill you with kindness, heheh." I fall silent for a little bit, and then say "Would you like to join a team? I'd have to ask my partner first, but you can join Team Green," as I look around. "Uh... just go in there and ask if you could join team green, alright? Alright," I say awkwardly as I back away, then go into the crew rooms to see my partner crashed on his bed. I snicker at this sight, and sit on my bed, looking at the kecleon, or at least his stripe. He had an odd habit of turning invisible while he slept. I pop my knuckles, and walk back out of the crew room, climbing up the ladder to go to the mission board.

As I get to the mission board, I feel something on my face. I get a little dizzy for a second, and rub my head as blood drips on the ground. "Not again..." I mutter, wiping off the blood from my face with my arm. I cover my eyes and pick from the mission board, and get a E-rank mission. "I need an oran berry! Please help in Beach Cave, I'm a Riolu, I think I'm on the second floor, and I feel like I'm about to faint and I can't rest, they just keep coming, reward 1000 Poke!" it says. I see the amount of Poke I'd be getting and my eyes widen, and I climb up the latter and sprint out of the guild, to Beach Cave. Before I arrive, I buy an Oran Berry from the Kecleon shop, and once I get there I am forced to slam my fist down a few times on a Shellos. He took a few hits, and he kept trying to tackle me. It sort of worked, since I felt a little weaker, but I felt alright nonetheless. I wander around, thankfully not running into anything else, and get to the entrance to the 2nd floor.

I hear a lot of commotion down a small, narrow path and once I get down it, I'm in a chamber filled with different pokemon! I bolt out as fast as I could, pulling some of them out of the room and once I'm in the clear, I think about how the chamber was laid out. There were two ways in, and a Riolu was getting beaten down. I work my way around this place and eventually get back to that same chamber, with about 3 pokemon left. I use Absorb and regain practically no health, since all that walking around refreshed me, and it makes a Skrelp that was attacking the Riolu faint, and I toss the oran berry to the Riolu, who looked like he could be knocked unconscious any second, and he munches down on it as fast as he possibly could. He uses Force Palm on the remaining pokemon, and I say "Nice work," and he points to my badge. "What? This? This just shows that I-" I say, before he interrupts me.

"Click that button on it," He says, obviously tired. I look around and press a button, and it teleports him away, and I freak out. Where did he go? What place did this button-pushing make him go to? Should I find out myself? I think, turning it around and pressing the button again. I feel a warm, tingly sensation, and open my eyes to find myself back at the guild. The Riolu sighs and hands me the money, and Chatot comes flying up. He hops over and, after the Riolu leaves, snatches the money out of my hands and counts it up, and spills a measly 100 back into my hands. "WHAT?!" I exclaim when he does this. I look at him through eyes burning with shock and anger.

"Sorry, that's just how the guild works. Part of your reward has to go to us, as a... uhm... a training fee, and so that we can pay off anything in case something happens," He says, and I leer at him. Luckily we were as tall as each other and I didn't have to move my head at all to glare at him and he scoffs and hops off. I grumble something, climbing back down the ladder and into my room. I kick Will, rolling him over and he wakes up.

---

-William-
I say gibberish and sputter as I wake up, standing up to see my partner angry and crying. He sniffles loudly and wipes his eyes. "I didn't think that they would... that they would fucking rob us! Why?!" He cries, and I look at him, confused.

"What's going on?" I ask, concerned. His tears seemed different than just 100% blood this time, this time they seemed to be like normal tears with a reddish tint. He coughs and covers his eyes and continues throwing his fit, not wanting to tell me what happened. I sigh and exit the room as he hits the wall, and kicks it too, then I ask someone what was going on with him and they chuckle. "I heard him upstairs with Chatot. Didn't know about the reward policy, and took it badly, phew," the Diglett says.

"What's the reward policy?" I ask.

"You only get to keep a small amount of your reward, like if you earned 2000, you only get to keep 200, because of the policy," the Diglett answers.

I was shocked by this news and walk back in the room, and see that the kid messed up his bed, too. "Listen, Sam, just calm down!" I say and he shakes his head and I sigh. Stubborn little punk. I go back to my bed and curl up, drifting off to sleep.

Celes exited the store. She looked around, not seeing Spruce anywhere. Where the heck could he be? She looked around everywhere, not seeing him. Where the heck was he. She walks around, asking a passing gabile if they had seen a gray snivy....
"A weird snivy asking for a keckleon? Ya... but it went that way." he says pointing at a certain direction. She looks and sighed.
"Thanks." she then says. She then goes and continue to ask around, not having any answers. She sighed. He might have gone somewhere else.... great.... just great... She breath deeply, and then think. Well.. maybe she will find him later on. She think a bit, before going to search for a quiet place.... a park maybe that did not have anyone in it.... Or.... She head out, towards the exit of town, before jumping in a tree, and working, making sure no one was looking at her. One strand of black cloth, another strand of white, a mask, a little breathing device to make her voice deeper.... she had though of everything,

Kamina + 1

Great, M was starting to feeling sick...or something. "Don't you worry M; for I shall make sure that Spruce returns alive!" Right after saying that though, Spruce warped back to the guild, Kamina could only hope that he didn't lose him. He activated his badge, but right before he teleported back, he felt something touch him. When he fully materialized back at the guild, he immediately called out "I seek my brother in arms; the grey Snivly Spruce! Where is he!?" while Kamina caught more then a few people by surprise, most of them were used to the eccentric fish by now, so they recovered fast from his outburst.

"...He's a magic fish..." said a strange voice that Kamina didn't recognize, however he decided to just ignore it

Before Kamina could repeat his question in a different part of the guild and disturb more people, a Bidoof came up and said "I think he said something about paying a visit to Wally's guild to ask about something."

"Excellent!" Kamina cheered "where can I find this...'Wally'?"

"His guild is located in Treasure Town, which is that way" the Bidoof said while pointing in a direction "once you reach Treasure Town, finding the guild should be easy."

"Wonderful! I shall depart at once!" Kamina declared.

"Oh, by the way; who's your friend?" The Bidoof asked.

"Why Spruce of course. I did already mention his name" Kamina answered.

"No, I meant...ah never mind."

"Very well then. I am off!" Kamina said as he Splashed his way to Treasure town.

"...Was...was that Dratini sparkling?" A random person asked.

---

After awhile, Kamina had finally made it to Wally's guild. Kamina being Kamina, he decided to take the painfully direct approach in getting the information he wanted "DENIZENS OF 'WALLY'S' GUILD; I SEEK MY COMRADE, THE GREY SNIVLY KNOWN AS SPRUCE!!!"

He got his answer quick when a Hitmontop came out of the door and said "he left for Beach Cave, now go away."

Kamina being Kamina, wasn't bother by the rude answer, rather he was pleased to have gotten an answer so quickly "wonderful! I can swim there much faster then Spruce can walk there, I may catch up with him!" Thankfully for Kamina, the entrance to Wally's guild was right above the ocean, so Kamina being Kamina, decided to just jump right in and swim his little fishy heart out all the way to Beach Cave. Had he been paying attention, he would have heard a second splash.

---

Kamina managed to reach Beach Cave rather quickly. Although that was compared to his speed of land, so take it with a grain of salt. Quickly readjusting his body for land travel, he Splashed his way into the cave.

...And the moron still had no idea that a mint scented and sparkling Dratini was behind him

...Also the Dratini had completely forgot why he had gone too Scale City in the first place

Prepare yourselves folks, for shenanigans are about to happen

[Anthony]

After a slight interruption by a somewhat familiar eevee, Amanda has me try on almost everything in the store, apparently just overjoyed that she had a customer. Hats, shirts, pants (though, none of those could ever fit), helmets, armlets and bracelets which she just put on my antennae, glasses and or goggles, and many different varieties of each thing. It was overwhelming, and probably only happened because there were no other customers around at this point. I eventually settled on a 'tough helmet', which looked odd... it was a sort of black color, appeared to be made out of some sort of steel, yet wasn't really armored, had a golden spike on the top, as well as a golden bird type of thing on the front. It was obviously shined and taken care of because this, much like my old helmet, which I still kept in my bag, looked like some sort of old human artifact. That being said, this seemed to be her only one... and she was willing to let it go for the normal price of any of her 'specialty items', namely, 3000 poke. After a lot of thought over whether it was really smart to spend all my money in this one place, Amanda asks if I'd like to test it out... test what out?

This was just a helmet, and was probably just as tough as my old one... right? I end up nodding and she takes me to the back room, where she tells me to put on the helmet. I look at her confused until I realize that I was just carrying around the helmet I was thinking of carrying. I put it on, and she tells me to stand on the target... then she seems to examine me, and eventually calls on someone else "Ruby! I need you for a moment!" a dratini, a very odd one who had bright red scales rather than the usual blue then slithers out of a third room, and asks "Amanda, what did you need me for?" Amanda then whispers into the dratini's ear, and she says "Fine, I suppose this is another skeptical customer, then, Amanda?" Amanda nods, and right after that, Ruby uses dragonbreath on me, dealing... less than stellar damage? Wasn't I supposed to be weak against other dragonish tings? Either way, it worked in my favor, and Amanda handed me an oran berry, which I quickly ate so that I'd be in peak condition for whatever might happen next. Wait... if I wasn't so effected by that attack because of this thing... that's amazing! I think as I ask for another test, this time with me wearing my old green helmet. The attack deals quite a bit of damage to me, and it didn't seem as though Ruby was focusing on weak points, or even putting any more effort into this attack. I gladly pay the 3000 poke, and head off with my shiny new helmet, making sure to wear the thing everywhere... of course, that was after another oran, which, thankfully, was free of charge. I wonder if it only works on dragon-type attacks... I then wonder as I wander around town again, new helmet on my head. I pass right under Hex during my wandering, and make sure not to spike her by accident. I then say "Hey, Hex! Guess what? I got a new helmet... oh, and, this thing is sure to help us on Mt. Dragoncoil!"

---

[Bonnie]

"Team Green? Uh... okay, then." I say as I notice the treecko suddenly start running around everywhere. During his absence, I head over to this supposed guildmaster's office, and open the door. I am instantly greeted with "YAY! More friends! What's the name of the team that you're starting?" Confused, I answer "Um.... team green..." though, my voice was small, as if it was barely there. Thank goodness, then, I suppose, that the guildmaster had ears about as big as his or her body. I then hear the guildmaster shout "What? Team Green? We already have one of those!" I then add "Yes... um, I'd like to join..." just like last time, my voice was rather, well, small. "Oh! Okay, then, here's a badge, and... wait, that's it, right?" The guildmaster then hands me a badge, and a chatot, which I thought was a decoration up until now squawks and shouts "Guildmaster Wally! You are forgetting her name, and you forgot to give this new recruit her bag!" The shouting surprised me enough to jump at that, and I am then handed a bag, and asked "So... what's your name?" I answer with "Bonnie," the chatot didn't seem content with that, and he asked "Last name, please?" I shake my head at that, and make up a story "Um, I used to be wild, I don't have a last name. In fact, I had to make up my own first name. So, just put down Bonnie, okay?" The chatot grumbles and mumbles something about 'uncultured wilds' and jots that down, and says "Okay, Bonnie, you're in the guild now... I will show you to your quarters, which you will share with the other members of Team Green," the chatot then flies out of the room, and I follow him over to a very simple-looking room with a keckleon, and that treecko from earlier... except, for some weird reason, the treecko was crying blood... ah, well, it's not like I'm perfect.

-Samuel-
I see someone enter the room with the chatot that robbed us and I jerk in a violent way, as if I was about to hit him and he uses Peck, which makes me faint. Thankfully, he didn't use it with too much force, so he didn't kill me, but still. After about 7 minutes, I wake up again and see that the Chatot was gone and Kecleon was force-feeding me the rest of an Oran Berry. He murmurs something and looks at the Buneary with his squinted eyes and sighs. He had been woken up by the loud sound I made, which sounded like 'GAAAHUAHGH,' and I had a mark from where Chatot used Peck on me. I wipe my eyes, smearing the blood all over my face and cough. "Hey... um... what's your name again?" I ask, looking at the Buneary. "Um... wasn't a good first impression, was it?" I say awkwardly and I start sweating a little. "I'm Samuel," I say, holding out my hand for a handshake.

-William-
Not too long after I nestled back to sleep, I hear a loud groan-wheeze-scream. I jump up in surprise at this noise and see Chatot glaring at my partner's limp body. I gasp at the site and go invisible almost instantly and hide for a minute or so before I realize that the Chatot was friendly. I make myself visible again, and see Sam's body, and I ask "The hell happened?"

"He made a move that scared me, so I used peck. Don't worry, I toned it down so he wouldn't die," Chatot says, glaring at Samuel's unconscious body. "Anyways, this is your room, and we'll bring in another bed for you. Tomorrow," Chatot says, looking at the Buneary. "So, 'William Lennard', this is your new partner Bonnie... uh... just Bonnie. Tell your friend about her when he wakes up... if he wakes up."

I shiver at this and continually poke Samuel. Chatot leaves and I wait until he wakes up, and then I take out the half of an Oran Berry I had left, and make him eat it. He groans as he stands up and greets himself. "This is Just Bonnie. She's our new partner."

"Oh yeah, I've met her before, just in the lounge," Sam says, and shakes her hand.

I look at the Buneary and notice the scars, and I ask "Woah... what happened? Are you okay?" as I stare at the scars. "You can tell us. We'll tell you how we got our scars if you tell us how you got yours," I say, not thinking about how they could have come about.

I open my eyes and begin to get up. "how long was I sleeping." I ask myself and I look up into the sky. I widen my eyes in disbelief and begin to dash into the guild. 'I've been asleep all day' I think to myself while looking at the ground. I look up, only to find a wall directly in front of me. "What!?" I yell as I collide with the wall. "That hurt" I say to myself rubbing my head as I get up and look around. Multiple Pokemon are looking at me and snickering. "Sorry" I say as I dip my head and run off to find the guild master. 'I have no idea what I am looking for.' I tell myself as I dash around the guild. I soon get called over by a small bird-like Pokemon. "What are you doing causing a ruckus in here!" the small bird questions me. "I am looking for the guild master so I can join the guild." I tell the small pokemon. The small bird sighs and leads me into a large room with a Audino sitting in the middle, looking at me. "Uh I am looking for the guild master?" I question only to be hit in the side by the small bird. "Why did you do that?" I ask him. "This is the guild master you fool!" he yells at me, looking surprisingly angry. "Oh, sorry!" I dip my head in apologies and look up again. I look at the guild master and begin to speak "Mr. Arnold I would like to join your guild." I say as I continue to look at him. The guild master crooks his head and speaks "Do you have a team?" he asks me. "No?" I tell him looking confused. "Well you will need to find one!" he tells me looking very happy. "Go wait around the guild until you find someone you want to be on a team with!" he tells me and he walks over and pushes me out the door and shuts it. I sit there dumbfounded and soon regain my senses. I look around the guild. "This might take me awhile" I tell myself and I begin to explore the guild to find someone to join.

Ratnika was walking about the guild, thinking to himself. What shall I do? I can't go out into the wild alone, I'm too weak! I must find somebody that can go with me out there. he thought to himself. He knew he was going to have to find a partner before he could ever adventure out in the wild, lest he might get killed by the wild Pokemon. He was thinking that he was still weak and vulnerable. So he set off to find a suitable partner to go on missions and explore the wilds with. So he was walking about, when he saw an Eevee, walking and looking around. He wondered to himself if this creature would work. He hovered over to it. "Excuse me, but what are you doing?" he questioned it. He wanted to know if this Eevee could become his partner, or join up in a 'team'.

While walking around the guild looking for a team member I hear a voice calling to me. "Hmm?" I look over to where the voice was coming from. Debating whether to tell the Honedge or not I open my mouth to speak "Well, I am looking for someone to be on a team with, but i'm having a little bit of trouble with it." "I'm Ven by the way." I say as I look at the floating sword. "Personally I am surprised you are even talking to me. Every Pokemon I have talked to so far has been afraid of me because of my appearance and my typing, but that's besides the point." I tell the Honedge. "So what are you doing?" I ask him kindly.

After what seemed about hours of working, Celes smiled at the result of her work. A rather large black and withe cloth, that she could fit into. Some pants and front part for herself. She continue to inspect it. He tail was rather flattened by the clothing, making it seems that she was another kind of pokemon. in front, she had large her mask that seemed to be a horned towards the back, as well as having eye patches that were tin enough for her to see through it. She then worked and putted the thing on, testing it, She then jumped down the tree, and got use to herself costume. She then talked, having a rather deeper voice, not seeming like a female right now. She smiles inside her mask, before jumping up the tree again, and then getting the mask off. A bit more work was needed. Her mask was not that comfortable, and her tail was a bit too.... squished. A bit of work on this would be needed... but later... She puts the costume off and then puts it in her bag, before getting off the tree and going to Scale City. Where to go off now. Where could Spruce have gone.

Ratnika thought for a moment as Ven spoke. "I am Ratnika." he said. "I recently joined the guild, and I have been looking to be on a team with someone, as well." he paused for a moment. "Would you like to be on a team with me?" he asked. "We both are looking for a team, and I don't see a better opportunity than this one." he paused. "I do not care much for appearances or types, as long as I can find somebody to be on a team with, it's fine by me."