The first hints of dawn emerged in the starry sky, preluding the rising of the sun for another day. In humble Nockwood Town, the Pokémon who called the land home were just beginning to stir, waking from restful slumber to greet a new day. The few but faithful merchants were preparing for another day of shoppers and service-seekers, while the townspeople sleepily turned their thoughts to their own day's plans. And as the first light of the sun peeked over the eastern horizon, more than one pair of eyes turned to the grand estate at the very edge of town. This estate was the Alakazam Explorers' Guild.

Founded in his "youth", such as it was, the building eschewed the odd but endearing tradition of being modeled after the founder. Depending on who one asked, Alakazam's choice to keep the design simple and functional was either "very responsible" or "terribly boring". Even so, the three-story manor more than served the needs of its inhabitants. And displayed proudly out front, on a banner that hung bright and bold and a flag that even now fluttered in the morning breeze, was the guild's own emblem: a stark white globe beneath a path of undefined brown footprints, all splayed on a background as orange as the sunrise itself. And it was in this very manor that certain events were about to take shape. Events that would forever change the world...

"WAKE UP, YOU LOT!" came the impatient shout. In the door of each room, one after the other, stood a lone Sylveon. "IT'S TIME FOR MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS! UP AND AT 'EM! NOW!" Sylveon, as the Guildmaster's assistant, took it upon herself each morning to ensure all members of the guild (except those out on adventures) were up and ready for morning announcements, whether they wanted to be or not. Though her voice could doubtless be heard across the entire manor, she made a point to visit every single room, just as she did each and every morning. First-time members were often surprised that one who took so much care in maintaining her graceful, delicate appearance could reach a volume to match a Hyper Voice attack.

She began, as always, on the first floor of the manor, wherein those fresh faces ranked Beginner took bunk. The few extra minutes of sleep that those on the second and third floor were afforded were a precious and invaluable prize that only the upper ranks would enjoy. Yet one more reason for the newbies to ascend. In the halls opposite the bunkroom, there was an impressive kitchen and dining room, one which "Taskmaster" Sylveon made sure was always clean. Many a meal had been shared here by the members of the guild, and with good fortune and wisdom, many more would come.

The second floor, in continuing fashion, housed the second rank: the Elites. Unlike the floor below, where all Beginners shared a single grand bunkroom, the Elites were granted their own rooms - another perk of their advanced service and risk-taking. Though the rooms were small, they were furnished with comfortable straw nestbeds and had space remaining for small furnishings and decor, both left up to the whims of the current occupant. Of course, the only downside was that Elites suffered the dread of hearing multiple doors kicked open by Sylveon's unforgiving hinds.

Across from the hall of the Elites' rooms were two doors marked with signs. On the one, "Apricoatl's Swap Shop" was displayed, the sign of the Pachirisu's own make and design. The other door read "Storage Area". Legends said that the mess and clutter within that room was so terrible and thick that former guild members had once entered the room to look for items and were never seen again. It was a silly legend with no basis in truth... but by Arceus, that room was a mess.

Finally, the third floor. At the very top of this grand guild hall were the suites reserved exclusively for the guild's Aces. Though there was currently only one, none in the guild could claim that Lady Rosalinda had not earned her place there. The suites were few in number, but each was easily the size of two Elite rooms put together. And out of respect for her contributions, Lady Rosalinda was awoken not by kicks and shouts, but by a polite yet firm knocking.

And of course, opposite the suites stood the grandest and most important room in the guild: Alakazam's office. It was an office, a library, a map room, and a bed chamber all at once, covered wall to wall in the Guildmaster's "organized mess". Even the walls themselves were covered in maps and posters of various events and Pokémon. And it was there, behind the double oak doors, that Alakazam himself sat, awaiting the coming of a new day and all that it would bring with it.

After making her morning rounds, Sylveon took post by the Guildmaster's office and awaited the arrival of the guild's members. If they valued their hides, they would not be late.

"WAKE UP, YOU LOT!"

CRASH! TUMBLE!

"Uuuurgh," said a groggy Makuhita, his groan joining the symphony of whines made by his roommates. Yoku rubbed his head as he slowly stood up. "At least I wasn't on the top bunk," he thinks to himself. "Tch, I'm not even supposed to be here!. I'm an ace pokemon! An A. C. E. I should be sleeping on the top floor!". He walks towards his bed and takes out a focus band that is very obviously a painted white band, and ties it around his forehead. Looking around he sees the two other pokemon he rooms with. A guy who doesn't talk and a guy who can't stop fiddling with his tools. He had just joined the day before and was assigned a room with the two. Taking one last glance at the room, Yoku picked up his stuff and left.

Yoku walked across the guild hallway and passed by other beginners who were making they up to the third floor for the announcements. He arrived at the base of the stairs and looked up. Sighing, he resigned to his fate and made the ascent to the Guildmaster's office. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally made it to the top floor. Yoku opened his mouth to complain but when he saw the Taskmaster Sylveon looking straight at him he quickly shut up. Begrudgingly, he made his way to the open area and waited for announcements.

The Pokemon world was rather lively at night. Nocturnal creatures of all sorts, as well as those who did not require sleep, were drawn to the protection of the Alakazam Explorers’ Guild. Bug- and Ghost-types dotted the nighttime landscape as they went about their nightly business, including a particular earthen figure who often found himself working away in the quarry where the Guild gathered materials for construction.

The figure, named Clay, was just outside the entrance to the quarry, repeatedly striking the stones he had hauled out, chipping away at them until they were appropriately stackable. Rubble piled up outside the entrance, where it would lie until it was later turned into cement by enterprising Water-types. Brick Break leaves many rough edges, he thought, but they will hold fine once cemented together. This process tended to go much quicker and cleaner when there was a friendly Steel-type to help cut the stones, but the friendly Excadrill who usually helped Clay was nowhere to be found. Clay could see the sun rising in the distance as he began preparing these massive stone slabs for construction. As a possessed hunk of clay, the Golett had no need of sleep, food or drink, and although he had a bunk in the Explorers’ Guild, it was little more than a place used to store extra tools and things that he wasn’t using. When he did need to Rest, Clay would simply dig himself a hole and replenish his body from the materials embedded deep within the earth.

Of course, if he needed a sleeping hole, there was no shortage around the rocky foothills where Clay worked. Quarrying and cutting stone was one of Clay’s favourite activities, and he sometimes felt as though this was what he had been created for in the first place. Digging, Bulldozing and Brick Breaking were second nature to him, and by the time he’d finished collecting, shaping and stacking the requisite stones, he’d discovered all sorts of long-buried knick-knacks which Apricoatl seemed to love so much.

One by one, he began to sort through any anomalies from his excavation, inserting them into a white cloth sack. He mused upon each individual item before placing it inside. What a lovely stone. It almost looks like it has a lightning-bolt pattern on it. It will make for a most fashionable doorstop. And this! Why, it appears to be some sort of... chipped teapot? Well, perhaps Apricoatl will find a use for it.

His thorough inspection continued for a while longer. Perhaps he was being a bit too thorough, as by the time he had finished, the sun was coming up, and it was almost time for morning announcements.

...

“OH NO!” Clay proclaimed, “I’M GOING TO MISS MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS!” Sylveon was a harsh taskmaster, and would chastise him or worse if he, a beginner, was late. He began to run towards the guild hall. Well, it was more of a waddle. He began to waddle towards the meeting place as fast as he could, which was still rather slow. “I can’t be late, I’ll get in trouble and everyone will hate me and they’ll put me ba--” his ramblings were interrupted by tripping over a small rock, resulting in him landing on his belly. He looked up from the ground and saw the Guild Hall in the distance. It was a straight shot down a long, narrow street from the quarry where Clay did most of his digging.

“I’ll never make it in time! Unless...” Clay would’ve signed if he could. He tied his cloth sack with a bit of rope, and began to retract his limbs into his rounded body. “Alright Clay, it’s time to Rollout!” And so he did, gaining momentum as he moved closer to the guild hall. Faster, faster... Oh no, this is much too fast. Things were whirling by him far too fast to take in. He was confused; spinning out of control as he picked up speed. “GET OUT OF THE WAY, I CAN’T STOP!” A Wooper and Pikachu who were having a conversation jumped to the side, a Spearow took off, and an unaware and familiar Excadrill stuck his head out of the ground... just as Clay was rolling over him. “I hear rumbling, what’s going oo-OOOW!?”

The Rock-type attack barely damaged the resistant Excadrill at all, but the momentum from the ascending mole sent Golett flying through the air... right into the wall of the Guild Hall. His limbs (as well as his bag of treasure) popped out as he impacted with the hard stone. He seemed to bounce off the hard surface, leaving only a small dent in the building a few feet off the ground as he fell to the ground in a dazed, confused heap. “Good morning, everyone...” he mumbled, still outside and face down in the dirt. He shuffled uneasily into the meeting area, clutching his bag and hoping nobody would notice his little incident. With a guilty look on his face, he approached Sylveon before the morning announcements: "I... finished quarrying and carving the stones you needed..." He then left to sit with the rest of the beginners that were trickling in, hoping to stay as far away from the harsh taskmaster.

Used to the routine by now, and being a generally busy girl, Apricoatl being up already wasn't much of a surprise. What also wasn't a surprise was the beating her door received, which to this day she was surprised that Sylveon hadn't actually kicked their doors down fully. In a way she'd mastered being irritating without causing permanent property damage, although that meant little when she was instead causing damage to the hearing of anyone even living in the vicinity of the Guild. The Guildmaster was smart to place it on the edge of town, or they'd surely be hearing a lot more complaints from locals. She learned a long time ago that complaining had no positive effect, so she kept her mouth shut about it.

All Sylveon would see with the door kicked in was a semi-relaxed, if glaring rodent staring at her. Calmly, she sipped at something in a small wooden cup: She had went ahead and prepared a small morning drink for herself: You'd be surprised what effects a boiled chesto could have on water, and it prepared her to brave the harsh mornings she fought here everyday. "Good morning to you, too." She grumbled, figuring this cute little wake up routine would've gotten old by now, but no. This girl was dedicated and gone within moments. It was like some sort of automated pathing in her head, Apri though. Like it was as natural as eating or drinking.

Setting her cup down for a moment, Apri quickly got ready. Which was as simple as throwing on her cloak, and giving a lick to her paw to brush the floof on her head down flat. And boom! A perfect little miss ready for a day of work. With a swing of her cloak, she turned to pick up her drink and head out to not miss any of the morning announcements. She could only imagine what basic announcement she'd heard before that'd play out, and to stall it out just a little longer she stopped by the dropoff box outside her swap shop. Things seemed orderly enough, though she came to realize as she opened the box that it was, indeed, very empty. With a tsk of disappointment, she mumbled "Nuts."

On the bright side, there at least wasn't any work to be done in that regard. Made her day a little easier, though it told her something: That Clay hadn't been by yet. He must've still been out, which was bad considering the harsh words he'd receive if he didn't wobble his way back from that quarry. "Should I go check on him?" She pondered quietly to herself as she took another sip of her drink, only to nearly shoot it out as she heard a huge thud outside. Quickly a sly smile crossed her face, realizing that silly little bundle of minerals had found his way back. That... Or they were under attack. Probably because of Sylveon shouting, if anything, so she could deal with it if that turned out to be the case.

Tiny feet moving, she brought herself in front of the Guildmaster's office to stand at attention, though still sipping away at her morning drink that was now quickly depleting. She stood closer to the front, if only because she was so short that most of the other Guild members would easily block her from view, which had been a situation in the past where she'd been assumed missing just because she was behind someone else. Irritating, at least slightly, though that was all in the past. Now she could just be annoyed at Sylveon shouting at her regardless! Splendid! Absolutely. Splendid.

Turning to the Beginners for a moment as everyone was finishing gathering, she let out a soft sigh. "So attentive!" She praised, leaning back and enjoying resting on the support of her bushy tail. She raised her cup in cheers, before finishing it with a quick gulp. "Best keep it that way, don't wanna see what happens once you get caught snoozing through the morning too many times." She added as a warning as she tucked the empty cup under her hood.

She spoke from experience, and wasn't afraid to admit she was a bit of trouble when she first started; A rebel spirit who played mostly by her own rules, including her own sleep schedule. It didn't take long to humble her on that in her beginner days with a slight reality check to a free-roaming wanderer, though becoming more orderly didn't mean that Apri was less sly. She was still a quick thinker, and enjoyed trying to stay one step ahead to not give others like Sylveon the satisfaction.

Though she was much more dedicated to her work and studies nowadays, sparing many of the potential infamy she could've gotten back in the day. For a moment as she leaned against her tail she yearned for those days back. Watching the other Beginners grow would just have to be enough, she figured. Plenty of personality among them meant it wouldn't be boring at least! Especially with big ol' Clay and all the mysteries surrounding him. Though as things stood, a lot of those mysteries didn't have answers she could easily find. Maybe another day of book-worming would help, after her Guild work was done, of course.

Lu had been startled awake on his first couple days at the Guild, but by now when the hollering came at the door, he was already awake, though still lying in bed. Sylveon's shouting didn't bother him; it seemed that this was simply how she was from day to day, and he was fine with the predictability of it. He sat up, stretched, checked to make sure his armband was still in place, and sprung down from his top bunk to land easily, red eyes narrowing slightly at the unhappy groans from his roommates. As ever, though, he said nothing, heading out for a quick wash of his face before he headed upstairs.

Making sure to take a spot near the front - he was taller than Apricoatl, but not by that much, and it was one of many reasons he was looking forward to getting his proper height in as a Lucario eventually - Lu waited as the rest of them trickled in, or tumbled in Clay's case. The faint whiff of whatever the Pachirisu was drinking smelled nice; perhaps he might ask her, after the announcements.

The fog was thick and lazy over a green and sluggish river. The sun was rising but had yet to show its face, and the willows all were washed in blue-grey light. Every few seconds a dense clump of reeds would press the side of the barge as it squeezed along through the still and narrow waterway, and from their banks the unseen frogs called with a long, slow rar-r-r-r-r-r.

"Mornin', cousin."

The Nuzleaf sitting on his stack of faggots at the front of the barge blinked and turned his head back to his ferryman. "You know him?"

"No," said Bromwell, ducking under the bough of some drooping swamp-tree without thinking or breaking the rhythm of his slow, hard pushes with the bargepole. "But I'm sure we're blood kin. Big family."

The Nuzleaf nodded. He'd been more chatty at the start of the trip, but now he looked deflated, dozing off as the town ahead began to stir awake. "Oh, there's a bank," he murmured. "If you can help me through the sand, you could set me down here. It'll lighten the boat."

Bromwell shrugged and lifted the long pole out of the algae, shoved it in the reeds to brake. The handcart and its daily firewood left the boat on a pair of planks, the way it came. "Keen to be rid of me, are ya?"

Shaken head. "Well, not you. But there's always someone yelling when I make the trip this late." 'Crack of dawn' meant something very different for a night-worker. "From up in that mansion, I'm sure the whole town can hear it. Iunno, she just sets me off. Built right across from the pier, too."

Bromwell laughed, adjusted his cap. "Oh, I know her! She's the very reason I bring the morning sundries. Right shrew she is. Well- she's alright once everyone's awake and in order. Pip pip." The forester mumbled something and set off with his cargo, and Bromwell did the same.

There was a chance he'd miss the morning announcement- he sometimes did. He didn't mind. Getting up early like this gave him a chance to dodge the racket, and warm up his muscles while he was at it. Best of all, Sylveon couldn't spend too long telling him off- not if she didn't want to actually pay someone to bring the Guild's food upriver, of course.

I wonder, thought the Poliwrath, the yells of his superior already just about audible in the distance, if anything will happen today.

There was a distant klok of something ceramic hitting rock. It sounded like a 'yes'.

The soft scraping sounds that could be heard in Lady Rosalinda’s room ceased when a polite knock came at her door, alerting her that the day’s business was about to begin.

Rose was of the mind that Sylveon’s uncharacteristically polite knocking (which contrasted significantly with the treatment of those on the floors bellow) was as much down to the fact she knew the fairy pokemon was confident she had already ingrained her preferred wake-up time in people by the time they worked their way up at the top as it was respect for those who got there. Rose was, after all, already awake when the guild's eveelution based alarm clock went off.

She daintily set down the little stone she had been holding in her mouth and then she called back “Thank you for the wake up call dear, I’ll be with you in just a moment” to the mon, before setting about actually getting up. Just because you were awake, didn't mean you couldn't use those few minutes saved by being Sylvion’s last port of call, and being exactly opposite your destination rather having to slog up the stairs to get there, to get a bit of relaxation in.

Rose being Rose however, meant that that relaxation had involved tending to her blade. The sword was set up in front of her on a pair of wooden stands she’d whittled herself and she’d been using a whetstone, held in her mouth, to carefully sharpen its edge so that it, like she, would be ready to face the day. Preferably without cutting her face in the process ,which had happened far too many times to count when she had started out.

Now however, she knew exactly what she was doing as she lifted a hoof and struck down, her glancing blow flicking the whetstone into the air before catching it in her mouth. Then she leaned her long neck over to her saddle bags and sorted it away in there along with the other small number of permanent fixtures that she always had in her bags. The most important of those always at hoof items she picked up next, grasping her sword’s hilt in her maw and then standing up from her bed of straw (augmented by a lovely long pillow she had received as a gift in place of payment one time). After shaking a few stray strands off of herself she used a dexterous bit of mouth work to angle the blade downwards and sunk it into a sheath held by her bags.

Finally, two quick sets of kicks flicked the sword stand pieces up onto a shelf (up into the air, caught and then balanced on a raised hoof before being flicked on-wards again to their destination). With everything set neatly away she trotted over to her bags, slipped her neck in between the straps and then shimmied them along her long neck and then down into place on her back, before securing them with a pull and quick knot of a strap.

Some might see the donning of this gear as a bit of overkill for traveling a few meters across a hall to a daily briefing, especially the sword, but the Lady wouldn't be caught dead without wearing her weapon at her side. There were two parts to this, that rested atop a core of sentimentality for her father’s blade. The first was that her training emphasizes had included several cautionary tales of knights being caught dead without their weapons at their side because, well, they don't have their weapons at their side.

The other, more pretentious reason, was the belief that using a weapon is what set apart the civilized knight from a mere warrior or fighter. Without it she was just some Scolipede. With it she was a member of the prestigious (according to them) Order La Punaise, which meant a great deal to her identity, despite some of her extended family’s contempt for her.

Rose shook her head to clear the unbidden thoughts about her family and set off for the guild master's office, a trip that took all of a few seconds with the most arduous of its trials ensuring she didn't scrape the door frame with any of her jagged extremities. Not a particularly arduous task in her new room as it had been when she was down below. The vast difference in size of accommodation based on rank might reek of elitism, but there was a practicality to it, namely that your aces tended to be fully evolved and therefore generally a lot bigger than your rookies.

Not always, of course. On the one hand you had Rose herself, who had only joined the guild when she was fully evolved, and so she had been rather cramped in the downstairs accommodation. In the exact opposite direction was Apricoatl, who as Rose understood it, would never get any bigger than she was and as a result if/when she reached Ace she would be absolutely swimming in space when she got to the top floor. From what she knew of the mon, Rose half expected most of the room would wind up being converted into a store/museum hybrid with only a little corner set aside for living in.

The Pachirisu in question had already arrived by the time Rose trotted out and carefully kicked her door shut behind her. As were all the rookies, to whom she wasn’t exactly being a good example to with her comparative tardiness. Not that she was late, mind, she was simply not at the front of the pack, which frankly was for the best because otherwise her large form could be quite obstructive standing at the front of their daily gathering.

"Good morning dears, I hope you all slept well?" she asked the little ones conversationally, before glancing at Clay and amended "or had a nice night in general?" to her question. She was still getting used to the little fellow’s, well, everything. He at least fit in with the other two rookies by his punchy fighting style, if not by type. Combine them with the currently absent Bromwell and you’d find the guild mostly consisted of quite the pile of brawlers, which Rose found amusingly ironic considering its founder’s typing.

She lacked the self awareness to add herself to that irony pile.

Although most of the guild members were greeted with little more than a glare and a glance from Sylveon, Clay received a bit of a custom greeting. "Clay. I assume that whatever that loud crash was, you're going to fix it. Correct?" It was voiced like a question, but there was no question to it. Regardless, once everyone had assembled, she cleared her throat. "Everyone! The Guildmaster will now deliver the morning announcements!"

Silence. Normally, at this point in the morning, Alakazam would emerge from his office to greet them all, but today there was only... silence. Sylveon glanced back at the doors, frowning a bit, then cleared her throat once more. "The Guildmaster will now deliver the morning announcements!" she repeated, this time a bit louder. Still there was silence. She turned toward the doors with evident confusion. "...Guildmaster? Are you there?"

Finally, the silence was broken by a single, telling sound: a soft snoring coming from the other side of the door. Sylveon's eyes went wide, before a paw came to cover her face. "I swear, some days..." Turning back about, she lifted her hind legs... and delivered a kick most fierce to the door! "GUILDMASTER!!!" she shouted.

"WAGH! WHA- WHO- Sylveon! Yes! Er-hem! I wasn't sleeping!" came a somewhat frantic voice from the other side.

Sylveon shook her head and let out a long sigh, grumbling something to herself. "Guildmaster, it's time for the morning announcements."

"Mm? Ah! Yes! Why so it is! Yes. Thank you, Sylveon!" A moment later, the doors opened at last, revealing the familiar and friendly face of Alakazam himself! "Good morning, everyone! Here's to another adventurous day, hm? Yes!" Despite Sylveon's clear annoyance, she stood diligent post by the Guildmaster's side. Sylveon was a stickler for schedules, which is why she was so insistent on waking everyone up at the same time every morning, and even this few-second deviation was certainly going to bother her for the rest of the day.

Alakazam himself, however, seemed anything but bothered. "Er-hem. Right then! Announcements! We've quite a many today! Let's see... Ah yes! First, let us all formally welcome Yoku and Clay, our newest explorers! A big round of applause for them!" Alakazam began to clap for the pair of them, stopping only as Sylveon's ribbon tapped him on the shoulder.

"Guildmaster, I'm sure you'll recall that Clay has been with our guild for a year now." Sylveon looked very pointedly up at him. "Surely you haven't forgotten?"

"Poppycock!" Alakazam declared. "I've never forgotten anything, Sylveon!" He turned to the rest of the guild with an amused twinkle in his eye. "I simply remember things out of order. Ho ho ho ho! Yes, however! I have not forgotten your diligence, my boy!" he said to Clay directly. "However, today we welcome you not as a new member, but as a new explorer! May your first adventure be both joyous and exciting, hm? Yes!"

"And to you, young Yoku!" He now addressed the Makuhita before him. "I look forward to hearing tales of your exploits in the coming days! I'm sure you'll do us proud, yes. Luck be with you both for your first big day!"

He then leaned back to address the guild as a whole. "Now then! A bit more seriousness to our announcements. I'm sure you've heard tell of the 'Shadow' Pokémon that our humble lands have been afflicted by. I wish to remind you all once again that these are not monsters, nor are they criminals. They are victims, yes. Victims of some terrible as-yet-unknown force. I ask that you keep that firmly in mind should you ever be forced to fight one. They are dangerous, yes, but when the fighting is done, they will - by all previous accounts - awaken with no memory of what's happened. Let us see they do not also wake with too many injuries, hm?

Additionally, it seems a storm will be approaching this evening. If you've anything kept outside, I do highly recommend bringing it inside until the storm's passing. Additionally, our guild will, as ever, be tending to the good townsfolk who allow us to continue to dwell in lovely Nockwood tomorrow morning, aiding them in repairing any damages the storm may have caused. Do keep that in mind, yes.

And finally!" He gave a wide grin to them all, the ends of his mustache lifting gleefully. "Remember always that ours is not a cause of fame and fortune! We are explorers, yes! Our riches are those of knowledge! Within our hearts burns a fire, and it is up to each of us to see that flame become a roaring inferno! Let your adventures this day bring you ever closer to your goals, your ideals, and your futures. Grab hold of your dreams by your own power, and never let go! Only then will you stand atop the world, looking back at your life with a smile, and looking ahead to your future with eager anticipation. Go forth, my friends and fellows! Yes! Let today be a day to remember!"

With this, Alakazam gave the members one last wave, then returned to his office. Though the doors closed behind him, members of the guild were still allowed to visit him if ever they had the need. He never locked the doors, and Sylveon had been very specifically instructed not to add "Bouncer" to her list of duties. She did, however, remain to address the group. "Good luck today, everyone. And please keep tonight's storm in mind! Being out overnight is not advised today." She was a harsh taskmaster, true, but she still cared about the members. In her own loud, easily angered way.

The bulletin boards listed many a request, and the town below was opening its shops and services. The guild members were now free to go where they pleased!

A Collaboration Between @Lightning Fast & @Potemking

---

If Clay had the capacity to blush, sweat or cry, he might do some combination of the three. Between the wrath of Sylveon (whose attitude betrayed her absolutely adorable, cuddly exterior), the subtle acknowledgement of one of the Guild’s most decorated Ace, and the stares from the other beginners, Clay wanted to curl into a ball and roll right back to the quarry. However, he knew this would only make his status in the guild more perilous. “Sorry, yes, I’ll fix it, sorry...” he muttered, too quiet for most to hear.

Even though Clay had worked for the Explorers’ Guild for a whole year, he did not quite feel as though he belonged. From the start of his tenure, the Guild had never intended to induct him as a member. When his long-dormant body had been dug up and reactivated, the little golem seemed to have entirely forgotten where he had come from, who had created him, and what his purpose was. Apricoatl, the sweet shopkeeper, had taken Clay under her wing (or in her case, fluffy white tail) and helped him find work to make himself useful. Clay did not need to sleep, and worked almost around the clock to try and “earn his keep”, despite others’ insistence that this wasn’t necessary. Unfortunately, this meant that aside from Apri, Clay seldom spoke with his fellow guildmates.

Frankly, Clay needed to make some friends. He had thought about it for a long time, and decided that the best way to do this was to sign up for his first real expedition. Maybe he’d also find something about his past in these dark and mysterious caves.

Clay had already taken steps to register as an explorer, and Alakazam naturally already knew this. “Yes sir!” Clay proclaimed, saluting the mustachioed guildmaster and standing at attention, “Thank you, sir, I promise I won’t let you down, sir!” He remained frozen in this salutatory position for some time, until Alakazam had finished speaking and the beginners were starting to give Clay odd looks as they broke away from the group to go about their various daily activities. Clay then sauntered over to Apricoatl, either unaware or not caring how strange he must have seemed to the rest of the Guild.

“Hi Apri,” Clay said. It was sometimes hard to read Clay’s emotions, given that his face didn’t move and his voice was more robotic than most. However, the golem was clearly excited by whatever he was about to say next. “I brought you some stuff,” he began, placing the clothen sack on the ground where she could easily pick through its contents. Clay was great at finding things while digging, but couldn’t always tell trash from treasure; that was Apri’s area of expertise. This haul seemed to be better-curated than the last, though; perhaps Clay was learning from his mentor?

"Ohoh? Let's evaluate what you found," Her eyes shined at the sight of potential loot, Clay always knowing how to catch the girl's attention. Half of her tiny body was practically scrambling inside the bag within moments to take a peek at what he'd found. Although unsure of what some of it was, noting some broken sort of pottery and a rather gleaming stone. That stone was identifiable, Apri popping out of the bag with it in her paws. She squinted as she stared at it, allowing Clay his moment to talk about the real situation at hand.

“Apri, I want to go on an adventure. A quest. A real, bona-fide, exploratory expedition!” He paused. “... Will you come with me? Please? I’ve never been on one before and I’m worried that I might get lost or mess something up. I’m immune to Electric-type attacks, so you won’t have to worry about shocking me by accident, and I can carry anything you want to bring! Also I don’t sleep so if we need to camp out I can keep watch.”

A sly smile curved onto Apricoatl's features, looking away from the stone to instead address her large mineral-laden friend. The thought that, after a year, he'd now be trying to go out on an expedition? How much had he prepared for it, she had to wonder. She thought it was little suspicious to have needed a type-chart reference, but didn't think too hard on it. It wasn't like she was about to tell him no by any means. "Of course!" She answered positivity, but one of her eyes closed in a prolonged wink as she continued: "But, there's a few things you have to account for before making a venture out there! Don't forget what we were just told. About the storm, you know?"

Clay nodded. “That’s okay, we’ll be inside of a dungeon, won’t we?” Clay paused. “But if it’s raining hard enough, I guess I won’t be able to do my quarrying. Hopefully Glaceon doesn’t mind...” He seemed to trail off towards the end of his sentence, his attention split between the repairs and construction he was meant to do around the guild, and the exploration he wanted to engage in. “How long do these trips usually take? I don’t really eat, so I don’t need to pack much aside from tools. And how many Pokemon usually come along? It’s my first time and I’m really nervous. Do we just go and pick a mission from the bulletin board?”

Apricoatl didn't want to embarrass her big beginner friend, but she couldn't help but giggle at least a little. "Yes, we will be. But if the storm's bad, we want to try and be back before it gets serious." She rested against her bushy tail momentarily, preparing to explain. "Even the simpler jobs can take up a lot of your day. You account for prepping for the job, travel time, the work itself, then traveling back? It all adds up." She took note of the warnings again in her mind, realizing today was probably going to be a slightly odd start for him with the storm, but it wasn't a bad introduction. "For groups, we usually keep it to four or under. Any more and we'd attract too much attention out there, and get swarmed by angry Pokemon. Plus, the more teammates you have, the harder it is to properly split up rewards among your team."

Figuring her relaxation for the morning was over, she gave in and stood up properly so as to not doze off on her own tail. "And jobs? We've got plenty on the boards. But you've got to be careful on what you pick up, some of them are pretty dangerous, especially for a beginner." She explained, fiddling with the stone in her hands. "Plus, we're on a tight schedule. You've heard of the 'Mysterious Wind' that exists inside of a Mystery Dungeon, right?"

Clay had heard of the winds, though he didn’t know much about them. “They throw you out of the dungeon if you spend too long in certain areas. I read that there’s strange forces in the dungeons that we don’t really understand, and the Winds are just one of them.” It took him a second to realize what Apricoatl was getting at. “I know I’m not as fast as you, but I promise I won’t slow you down too much.” Despite being three times the Pacharisu’s size, Clay was clearly deferring to her experience and judgement. “If we need to move quickly, I’m sure there’s adjustments we can make. I can pack light! And bring an umbrella in case we get caught in the storm; I’m too heavy for the wind to blow me away so I’m not worried about that.”

The lumbering golem ambled over to the notice board, still speaking to Apricoatl. “What sort of missions are good for a first time out? Lost-and-found? Search-and-rescue? ... These, uh... ‘rampage’-type missions seem rather frightening.” He shuddered at the thought of being obliterated by some aggravated Gyarados or Aggron. “I’m most comfortable in caves and mountains and such, since I’m usually underground anyways, but I’m not overly partial. Just nothing near large bodies of water my first time, please.”

"No worries, there'll be enough water potentially atop our heads!" She cheerily remarked, tugging Clay's bag over and looking towards the requests. Tongue sticking out the side of her mouth in a moment of deep thought, she let out an opinion and observation based on what he'd said. "Slow and steady works just fine in dungeons, we just have to find a task that suits the approach. If it gets too late, those Winds won't let us camp inside the Mystery Dungeon, so we'd have to worry about being brushed out and left in the storm outside if we stay too late." She couldn't expect Clay to just be faster, though maybe at some point they could ask a move learner or dojo master about moves that'd raise the round-boy's speed. A lot of those TM's were in circulation in shops, all you had to do was keep an eye out and eventually you'd find what you seek.

Her eyes scanned the board, although she felt conflicted on what would be best for her friend's first real venture. "Hm," She audibly mused, uncertainty filling her features as her head tilted slightly in observation. "Tough call... There's got to be something decent plastered up here somewhere!" She scooted closer to the boards, eyes scanning each request with intent to suggest one that'd be fitting for Clay's talents. That being said, he'd have to learn to operate in conditions outside his comfort zone too, but that could wait. Nobody needed that much stress on their first adventure. Being a tad short to see the higher requests, Clay held out a helping hand for Apricoatl to climb up on his shoulder so that she could see the board more clearly, and the squirrel accepted the extra height with a giggle of appreciation, taking advantage to look at the requests on the top as Clay scanned the ones on the bottom. The two poured over the list of missions, wondering which one would be the best to undertake...

After the meeting had ended, Yoku sighed in relief. Thankfully I arrived in time, wouldn't have wanted to make a bad first impression. After all, I am an Ace. He looks around and observes the different characters in the vicinity. His eyes land on the guildmaster, Alakazam. How the heck did this geezer become guildmaster? He looks like he could fall over any second. And what's with those spoons? Well, I guess it helps in eating. But wouldn't one being a fork be more useful? How does he cut food with that? And... oh... aaand he's floating away. Maybe he uses psychic powers to cut his meal. He has a pretty cool mustache too, I bet I could grow a better one when I evolve.

Moving on from the guildmaster his eyes land on Lady Rosalinda, who is currently talking with the other guild members. A hint of nostalgia could be seen in Yoku's eyes as he suddenly remembered his former Master Emboar. Lady Rosalinda, the number one Ace of Alakazam's Explorer Guild. I'll get to the top someday just you wait. Whether it was addressed to his former master or Lady Rosalinda, one couldn't tell. He reaffirmed his vow and started walking towards the bulletin board.

Along the way he sees different pokemon grouping up with each other to take requests. They all laugh and talk as they snatch missions one after the other. He tried to make conversation and attempted to join different groups but was always turned down. The reasons ranging from "Sorry we're full" to simply "You're too weak for this". Yoku took deep breaths to calm himself down, suppressing the urge to shout and start a fight. This isn't the dojo. I can't just provoke people here, I have no one to back me up and I'm sure these guys aren't afraid to gang up on me if push comes to shove.

After a few seconds of deep breathing, he resumed his walk towards the bulletin board. He glanced to side and saw Clay talking to the one called Apricoatl. Looking at the golett's stiff demeanor he couldn't help but wonder how he would do well on the field. He has power yes, as was seen in his earlier exploit, but how could he survive in an environment that requires constant adapting. His eyes moved towards his companion. Upon seeing Apricoatl's fluffy tail he had to resist the urge to ask if he could cuddle it. Maybe these guys wouldn't mind if I join them. He was about to change directions and head towards, but after witnessing their rapport he decided against it. He moved to the other side of the bulletin board away from the pair and took a look at missions that were still available.

It was, as things went, a mostly typical set of announcements as far as Rose was concerned, though she did have to stop herself from snorting with laughter at the Guildmaster’s rude awakening, so being up and ready for them was worth it for that at least. The shadow pokemon issue was by rote to her at this point, as was the ending speech for the most part, though Rose could never fault the old mon’s enthusiasm in delivering each new refrain on the principle of the explorer, fine principles that they were.

The weather was of little concern to her as well. If anyone among them wasn’t going to struggle getting back home in time before the storm hit it would be her. Unless she let her bravado get ahead of her and plunged much too far and much too deep into the wilds which… had happened on a few occasions.

More than a few if she was being honest. She resolved to not let that happen today, just as she had every other day where it had and she had gotten rained on or worse.

The final part of the announcements however (not chronologically, but in ascending order of interest to her) was something that was actually new, and that was that the two news members were going to be going on their first exploration today. A daunting and exciting event for them, of that she was certain. She wished them all the luck, or would once they had decided where they were going off too.

Speaking of which, after bidding the secretary/alarm clock "Farewell Sylveon, I hope you have a pleasant day" she trotted off towards the request board along with the others to both see whether there where any urgent requests requiring/befitting a knight of her prowess (amd that set of criteria not entirely and ego thing. For example, if someone was lost or in-danger she was sure to rush to their aid no matter the payment, as long as someone more fitting for the task did not take it up first) and to see what the newbies would do out of a mix of curiosity and gentle concern for their well being. It wouldn't do to have them rush out and get in over their heads on their first day after all.

That said, it looked like Clay would have no such issues, the rounded curiosity having immediately paired up with Apricoatl so it seemed, or at the very least she was giving the young explorer some helpful advice/guidance. An unsurprising setup given their history together, such as she was aware of it.

As those two talked, Rose placed herself behind the others (so as to not block the board with her five meter long body) and then craned her long neck over them so as to get a closer look at what was on offer/requested today. While doing so she noticed the other first timer, Yoku, put some space between himself and the other newbie (and that newbie’s mentor). She was not sure, or particularly concerned, as to why this was, but it did bring him to her attention, and caused her to decide that it would be nice/interesting to see how he was doing/feeling on this auspicious day.

"Has anything caught your eye, young Yoku?" she asked the somewhat bag like fighting mon with polite curiosity before deciding that it would be right of her to offer him some of her time/wisdom, should he desire it "If you have any questions or desire for advice, don’t be afraid to ask dear. I would be more than happy to assist you in such a manner"

"Hup-"

Bromwell took a short deep breath, squatted down and took the last Guild crate into his wide blue arms. This one was particularly heavy- Tins of paint? Tar for the Guild building's cracks and crannies? It was probably just bottles of some-or-other ointment. Nothing burned through medical supplies quite like a guild's worth of explorers, not in Nockwood or for many miles around. Bromwell personally had gone through more bandages in the last twelve months than the average paddy-farming Politoed would need in a decade.

"-hoof!"

He set the crate down in the loading area under a little wooden shed in the Guild's shadow, next to the day's orders of sugar, lamp oil, and straw. There was a ramp under the roof that led directly up into the Storage Area's back door, but much of this stuff would go straight into the kitchen. Most of the rest of the Guild's everyday bulk supplies lived here just about permanently. Last Bromwell had heard, the back door to the Storage Area had been firmly rusted shut.

That was probably for the better.

"Mornin', Rosalinda. Good day, rookie. Who dented the wall?" Bromwell aired his questions cheerily to his fellow bruisers as he rolled his shoulders and scanned the hall for any sign of a belligerent Sylveon. "Any special news today? I could hear the quartermistress yellin' all the way from the river. Right down the river, too, I may add." In a few seconds he'd bumbled his way down to the noticeboard and squinted at it over the sparky Pachirisu's tail. "Mornin' Apri- oh, and you too, Clay. Good to see ya join in."

Any call-outs to Foggy Lake?

Bromwell loved Foggy Lake.