[IC] Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Shadows of the Past [Full]

[Shiny Keldeo]

Spirit the Lucario, Valiant Village

@Polaris North
Spirit nodded without a word as Zaru came to his side and told him he had completed his assigned task. The primate Pokemon then proceeded to climb up into a tree and plop down on a branch overhead. The Lucario watched for a few more minutes until turning and heading back towards the Plaza. "Hey Zaru, keep an eye on them. When they're done, I want to see Lulu and Milton back at the Guild, I've got to make some preparations for the upcoming festival." Ah, this time of year brought feelings of joy and to most. The Annual Founders Day Festival, celebrating the founding of this village by the Swords of Justice.

This festival brought mixed feelings for Spirit. It was a joyous occasion, yes, but the ones they were celebrating brought pain to his heart. He had been close friends with the Swords of Justice, he had worked alongside them, even trained them at one point. When they disappeared, he had led the rescue effort, but to no avail. No trace of the quartet had ever been found. They searched everywhere, from Treasure Town far in the West, to Pokemon Square in the South, even Post Town, where Virizion and Keldeo had been members of a team there for some time before refounding the Swords of Justice.

They had never been seen again, after going out one day on a pretty standard rescue request. No one still alive knows what happened to them, or if the team is still alive at this point. But being their friend, their master, it hit Spirit the hardest. He would still put on a brave face for the crowds, but inside he would hurt... He couldn't think about this now! He had the festival itself to worry about. In three days time there would be decorations hung from the poles that held the candles at night, famous traveling bands would arrive and their music would spread throughout town. Special food had to be ready for the crowds to enjoy. Everything had to be ready.

Rico the Riolu, Valiant Village

Rico sleepily walked downstairs into the main area of the Guild. Dad must have let them sleep in for the day, and Lulu (per her usual spunk) was already out it seemed. Probably off playing with her village friends. Rico sometimes wished he had her carefree spirit, but then who would keep her out of trouble? She was yin and he was yang, as their dad usually put it. He stopped outside at the riverside next to the Guild, splashing his face with the cool refreshing water. "Ah, now that's what get's my morning going. I wonder where Lulu's gone off to play this time." Considering how hot it was out this morning, he guessed they were swimming somewhere in the river.

Well, it wasn't so much morning anymore, it was early in the afternoon, but the sun had not yet risen to its full position over town. He followed the path along the river until, sure enough, there were Lily and her friends, along with... Devon was it? The Totodile who had helped them earlier that morning. Looked like he was just a kid too, it was hard to tell in the dark. He looked up at the large oak tree next to him, seeing Zaru perched on one of its thick branches. He decided he'd join him over taking a dip in the water, a splash in the face was enough for him. "Hey Zaru, how's it going?" Said Rico as he climbed up the tree, perching himself on the branch next to the Chimchar.

He looked around the area, watching everyone having fun in the water, or, almost everyone. He started feeling what Lulu had felt moments earlier. The sad aura surrounding the Mawile on the bridge. "Hey, who are those two over there?" Asked Rico, wondering what could be causing such sadness to the Mawile, while also noticing the Mudkip on the bridge with her.

[Light Lord]

@Iatos@Shiny Keldeo@Polaris North

Devon the Totodile

Valiant Village, River near Central Plaza

After a good fifteen seconds of intense slashing towards all of the other Pokémon in the river, Devon finally stopped his watery assault. A large toothy grin on his face as he floated there up right in the water panting. "Ha....Ha....H-Had enough yet guys? Do you surrender?"

The Totodile was soon distracted from his joy, and slowly looked up at the edge of the bridge with a frown stealing his features. Dylan still hasn't come down here yet.....And why's Celty just sitting there all hunched up? Is something going on? His hearing being quite effective, the little crocodile attempted to listen in on Dylan and Celty's conversation to no avail. The sounds of Lulu and the others playing around him distracting his auditory senses. ....Maybe I'll just go up there and check it out real quick.... Turning towards the bank, the small Water-type swiftly swam to the edge of the river and climbed out of it. Calling back to everyone else to make sure they didn't clue in. "I'll be back guys I uh....Gotta take a leak."

Devon made his way to the end of the bridge, and peered across it to spot a few things. A Riolu and Chimchar sitting together up in a tree over looking the river, no doubt Rico and Zaru. And of course, a Mudkip hovering over a depressed looking Mawile near the side of the bridge. Slowly strolling up behind the two, Devon wore a frown as he looked over both Celty and Dylan. "Hey....Is everything ok? What's the matter?"

@Ninian@Noklu

[Polaris North]

@Shiny Keldeo

Zaru the Chimchar

Valiant Village

"Hey Zaru, keep an eye on them. When they're done, I want to see Lulu and Milton back at the Guild, I've got to make some preparations for the upcoming festival."

Zaru looked back at their guildmaster as he spoke. "Yes sir." He replied. He never really did grow out of his formality for the guildmaster. Wait, the upcoming festival? Ah! The Founders Day! Oh yeah, there was that festival that they did every year. It was when the Swords of Justice founded this place. He always did have fun going around and watching various people do various stuff.

"Helped around with Roserade's garden today." Zaru replied as he looked at Rico who climbed up the tree. He seemed to have just awakened, lucky guy. But then again, he and Lulu had some rough time last night. "Thought Lulu was injured. It doesn't seem like it." The more he looked at how Lulu was having fun at the river, the more he was convinced that nothing major really happened to her. If she had broken a leg or something, she would probably still be at bed or at least limping around. Then again, their healers are pretty powerful... Eh, no point on wondering now.

When Rico asked another question and gestured to the two, the Chimchar followed his gesture and saw the Mawile and the Mudkip. "The Mawile is Celty and the Mudkip is Dylan." He replied. "They came in last night." He didn't seem to want to make a comment on why Celty seemed to have been in despair. It was obvious when you look at it. She seemed to be hugging her knees by now and looking down. Zaru wondered what had happened.

[Noklu]

Dylan the Mudkip

Valiant Village-Central Plaza

@Polaris North@Light Lord@Shiny Keldeo@Ninian@Iatos

Dylan paused, realizing what he had assumed to be the problem, in the end, really wasn’t it, Celty not being fearful for herself. Instead, it seemed she was scared of others going into mystery dungeon. Had… Had something happened to someone she knew? A family member, a friend? In any case, Dylan sat there with a listening ear, that being the most he could do to help at the moment.

The Mudkip nodded carefully as Celty explained her view on it, as well as her fears of the Mystery Dungeons. He was a bit nervous at first, thinking Celty was saying that he could only trust Devon, and no one else, them being in the same situation and all. However, before fully making the leap of assumption, he realized Celty wasn’t done, albeit a bit quieter than moments ago.

Dylan couldn’t help but let out an internal sigh of relief once his doubts were answered, the Pokemon of this village did seem very nice, and was full of fairly innocent children it seemed. Though, he did take careful note of Celty’s last words, summing up her point fairly well. Be careful in the dungeons, and don’t go alone. There was one other message he picked up from the whole thing and his guesses on why the Mawile was so distressed, that being to never lose track of your allies in the dungeons. Something must have happened to a close one…

Shaking his head of those thoughts, the cloudy nature of them not needed at the moment, Dylan spoke to the Mawile once more. “Alright. I’m listening. The Dungeons are dangerous, and I’ll never toss caution to the wind. Same goes for my partners. Anything can happen.”

He felt as if he should say more, say something more… adequate for the Mawile to hear, to cheer her up, anything. However, as he was thinking this, Devon’s voice pierced his thoughts, making him turn to see the dripping wet Totodile on the bridge, a concerned look on his face to pair with the Mudkip’s. Out of the corner of his eye, Dylan could see Zaru and a different Riolu in a tree by the river, but focused his attention on how to respond to Devon.

Dylan’s expression shifted from a concerned, empathetic one into a slightly sheepish expression. It still held some worry about Celty to it, but… Attempting not to drag Devon into something that would probably ruin the light mood of the fun swimming, Dylan tried to make a hasty explanation, choosing his words carefully. “A-ah, yeah, we’re fine, not hurt or anything. Just Celty was explaining Mystery Dungeons to me. I can tell you about it later. Celty just, is um… recovering a bit from telling me, it took a lot out of her. I think she could use some alone time...” There, that was… decent, for the moment. Perhaps, if he did explain the Mystery Dungeons later, he could also ask Devon about those memories a bit more, and reveal a bit himself. And hopefully some time alone would help out Celty sort out whatever exactly was troubling her.

[Shiny Keldeo]

Current World Time: 10:30-11:00 AM

Rico the Riolu, Valiant Village

@Polaris North
"Yeah, but Mrs. Melody is an amazing healer. Plus... it's Lulu we're talking about here." He cracked a slight grin, then looked back to the scene on the bridge. Devon the Totodile had exited the river, apparently checking on the two, who Zaru proceeded to give names to. "Celty and Dylan, I'll make sure to remember those. Celty seems... so sad. Her aura seems really dull too. I don't know what to make of it myself, but I have the feeling it's none of my business."

The Riolu looked back to Zaru. "So, labor work today, I'm guessing from Dad? Let me guess, you finally got busted again. He actually wasn't as mad as I thought he would be about me and Lulu, that's probably going to change soon." He let out a sigh, then just sat staring at the scene before them. "Well, it was nice living while it lasted... am I right?" He cracked a wide grin after saying this.

Spirit the Lucario, Valiant Village

He had just left the shop of the resident artist of the village, a Smeargle who went by the name Leonard. He was in charge of preparing the decorations for the upcoming festival. Everything looked ready to go. He had already checked at the local Inn, run by Sage the Gothitelle, to make sure there was room for traveling Pokemon visiting for the celebration to stay, as well as a place for the musicians to stay. They also had a special guest, a traveling chef named Grand, a Snorlax surprisingly, who enjoyed cooking more than eating. He would be preparing the food for the festival this year, as he had in years past.

"It seems everything is on schedule or ahead of schedule. We're going to have a big crowd this year it seems, should be good business for some local shops as well." He looked around him, forest covered mountains cradling the small village, it was nearly untouched by more modern society. That's how the Swords wanted it to be, and that's how it's stayed for what will be ten years come the next few days. He enjoyed the peace, but knew that it was impossible for it to last forever. That was the cycle of their world, there would be peace, then conflict, then peace, then more conflict. It was a cycle as old as time itself.

Well, he had better enjoy the peace while it lasts then. Once again he put his mind to his duties, and proceeded on checking that everything was ready in preparation for the Founders Day Festival.

Dry Valley Gulch

An explosion here, some tumbling rocks there, and the sounds of battle all around. Yes, the teams of Spirit's Guild were hot on the trail of Flash the Scizor. A few members had already gone down, but the rest were the best there was, and had him on the run, or so they thought. Finally, they had him cornered up against a cliff face. An Excadrill stepped forward. "End of the line, Flash. You've got nowhere to go now, just give up peacefully." The Scizor stepped forward, rather casually and calmly. "If it had been that easy, I would have been captured weeks ago. Now I suggest you surrender, before something happens to you all." The Guild Pokemon looked around them, they saw nothing but cacti and desert.

The guild members stood their ground. "I see, well, I warned you. Alright boys! Let's get 'em!" Suddenly several of the cacti sprang to life, revealing themselves to be Cacturne. A number of Crustle emerged from around them, hidden perfectly among the cliff rocks. "This isn't good... we gotta get out of here quick!" Said the Excadrill, reaching into his bag and pulling out a number of orbs. He proceeded to throw one, a Luminous Orb, blinding their adversaries. The second was an Escape Orb, which instantly teleported the group to safety.

As the light disipated, Flash and his gang looked around for them. "Hmm, they used some pretty expert tactics, they weren't just bounty hunters like others we've fought. They're Guild trained... I say we find their guild and teach them not to mess with Flash and his Gang."

[Iatos]

Milton the Zorua

@Shiny Keldeo
@Light Lord
@Noklu
@Polaris North

Valiant Village: River

The Zorua quickly yelped when he realized not one but two of the river pokémon was turning against him now. It was the fleet of the moment and so started the first splash war of the day... with many waves of attacks from everyone included, laughing and sometimes coughing as someone got water in their mouths, It was quite loud, and Milton didn't notice anything else going around them for quite some time. His illusion faded after the first few splashes and it was open season after that... when it eventually died down and the Totodile asked if he yielded he coughed a bit as he panted hard "Yes... I yield... I Yield... " he said as he swam to shore to rest a bit. He was quite exhaousted after playing around in the water for so long, and once he reached the shore he collapsed for a few moments as he spat out water and sighed deeply.

Yet even if he was quite tired, he eventually managed to get back to his feet and about that time joined the others on the bride. Whatever situation had been there looked calm enough to him and he mearly shot a gaze to everyone before realizing that Zaru was watching from atop a tree. He stretched slightly and shook the water out of his fur before waving too him and then looked to the others. "Uhm... Zaru?.. . was the guild master just here?" he asked as he picked up his scent faintly on the wind. Of course he hadn't even realized that the guild master was there... he let out a slight yawn thinking about taking a nap for a few moments before scratching his own ear with his right back foot by turning his head asside.

[Ninian]

Celty the Mawile

[Valiant Village - Central Plaza Bridge]

@Noklu@Light Lord@Iatos
Despite listening and understanding everything Celty had said, Dylan's verbal acknowledgement did little to calm her nerves. Regardless, the Mawile attempted to return a small smile. "...It's hard for me to tell how strong you might be, but... do please avoid the Mystery Dungeons until you have a better understanding on your personal limits. Even if you're accompanied by a strong individual, separation is still possible."

Letting out a soft sigh, Celty's gaze turned to the river beneath her. The fact that Dylan hadn't entered the water seemed to cause some concern among the others, especially in the Totodile. When Devon approached, Celty tried her best to wipe her tears out of sight before turning to him. Her brows furrowed at Dylan's words, a soft sigh escaping her lips. "I'm fine, truly. Dylan, why don't you join the others? I can walk you to the river's edge, perhaps I'll dip my feet in..."

Milton's approach did little to change Celty's mood, as she merely nodded at the Zorua child before picking herself up and brushing the debris from her fur.

@Shiny Keldeo@Polaris North

[Light Lord]

@Iatos@Shiny Keldeo@Polaris North

Devon the Totodile

Valiant Village, Bridge near Central Plaza

Devon looked upon the sheepish Mudkip once he explained the situation, taking a quick glance at Celty before nodding slowly. "Sure. I was actually curious about these 'Mystery Dungeons' myself. I'd like to hear about em later Dylan."

The concerned Totodile's attention was now fully upon Celty as she spoke up. The deep frown on his face only fading slightly as the Mawile badly hid her anguish. She doesn't look very fine.....Why does talking about Mystery Dungeons bother her so much?....She was even crying.....I...I probably shouldn't bring it up again....

Finally, Devon managed a grin as he beamed at both Celty and Dylan. Seeming to approve of the Mawile's suggestion. "Yeah! The water's super warm today! Come on! Let's go!" With that said, the reptile spun around on his heel and began to walk back down the bridge. Turning towards both Dylan and Celty once he reached the end and gesturing for them to follow.

@Ninian@Noklu

[Polaris North]

@Shiny Keldeo@Iatos

Zaru the Chimchar

Valiant Village

Zaru chuckled. "True. It is Lulu." That girl must be made of rock or something hard, she doesn't seem to get hurt no matter what happens. He then looked back at Celty and Dylan. "She was from another village. I don't know, maybe something happened there?" He knew that it wasn't nice to talk about something like that behind her back but he was just guessing now. He had been listening in before but all they ever talked about was Devon and Dylan's amnesia. She never did talk about herself.

The Chimchar nodded as he looked back at Rico. "Yeah, got caught while staying up late and he gave me labor work. Doesn't bother me though, that's typically what I do 'cause no team remember?" He pointed out. Going out to rescue missions on harder dungeons or even going there was impossible for Zaru since he wasn't involved in any team. Going alone would equal to suicide after all unless he was stronger.

His eyes travelled to Milton. "Yeah, he told me to get you and Lulu back to the guild after you were done playing." He replied before standing up on the branch and then climbing down pretty quickly."Seems you're all done. Can we go now?" He asked. Who knows what the guildmaster had in store for them. Maybe more work for the festival? Ha, that would be cool.

[Noklu]

Dylan the Mudkip

Valiant Village-Central Plaza

Dylan glanced at the Mawile, both apologetic and concerned emotions crossing his mind. He felt as though he could have worded things better when he heard Celty sigh, but knew, even with her reassuring words, that there was still a problem. However, he figured the worst of it had passed, the change in topic hopefully able to make the situation a bit lighter.

As Devon led the way off the bridge, the Mudkip followed closely behind, a bit optimistic after that brief serious moment. The Totodile had taken to his suggestion, which meant he could ask what he wanted to, and, even though he wasn’t too keen on it before, Dylan was starting to want to join in on the swim. The water sounded really nice and relaxing, despite his unfamiliarity with it.

As he began to make his way off the bridge, Dylan noticed that the antics going on in the river had died down a bit, Milton having made his way out of the water to talk to Zaru and the second Riolu apparently. To be honest, Dylan was a bit relieved by the lowered activity. A nice, relaxing swim resounded with him more than a water war.

A small smile crept onto the Mudkip’s face as he caught up to Devon, the heavy atmosphere from moments ago now in the back of his mind. He walked to the edge of the river, taking careful steps all the while. Testing the water with a small paw, Dylan couldn’t help but let out a blissful sigh before turning to Devon. “You weren’t kidding, it feels amazing!”

@Polaris North@Light Lord@Ninian@Iatos@Shiny Keldeo

[Light Lord]

@Iatos@Shiny Keldeo@Polaris North@Ninian

Devon the Totodile

Valiant Village, River near Central Plaza

Devon stood near the bridge on the rivers edge next to Dylan, staring at his reflection in the liquid until Dylan spoke up. The Mudkip now much more enthusiastic about the water made the Totodile smile as he turned his head to look at Dylan. "You ain't felt nothing yet! Jump in! It feels about a million times better then just dipping your foot in!"

With a shout, Devon hopped off of the bank and into the river. Disappearing under the surface for a few moments before his head shot back up and spat out a bit of water. "Aaaaahhh this is awesome." Glancing at Lulu and her friends, Devon then gestured a claw at the Mud Fish on the bank. "By the way everyone, this Mudkip over here is Dylan. He just got here last night like me and the Mawile, Celty."

The blue lizard then flopped onto his back to float on the surface of the river. Getting lost in it's smooth embrace. It took him a bit to look down his stomach at Dylan. Devon still wore the happy smile. "Oh yeah! You wanted to ask me something earlier right Dylan? When we were still at the guild? You got cut off before I could hear it. You wanna ask me now?"

@Noklu

[Shiny Keldeo]

Current World Time: 11:00 - 11:30 A.M.

Rico and Lulu, The Riolu Twins, Valiant Village

@Polaris North @Iatos
After seeing Milton thoroughly soaked, Lulu herself decided to get out and take a breather, while her friends continued playing a game similar to that of human marco polo. She looked up into the tree when Milton started talking to Zaru, noticing her brother there. "Hey Rico! You have a nice nap?" She shouted up to him before skillfully climbing up to the same branch. "I woke up real early this morning, as usual surprisingly. I made sure the curtains were closed so you wouldn't wake up." Rico cracked a sly grin to his sister. "I know you too well, Lulu. I knew you'd probably do something like that."

Zaru mentioned that their dad wanted to see Lulu and Milton, and probably Zaru and Rico too. "I can only guess what he wants to talk to us about..." Lulu said depressingly. "I doubt it'll be too harsh, probably in place of guild work he'll have me and you training the rest of the day." This training that Rico spoke of was the twins move training with their dad, who had been working with them on a rare move for Riolu to know: Aura Sphere. Zaru had jumped down from the branch, so Rico and Lulu soon followed. "Yeah, better go figure out what dad wants now." Rico and Lulu started walking ahead, heading towards the Guild.

Dry Valley Gulch

A few of Flash's goons were looking over a Wonder Map when Flash returned. "Did you find out about any Guilds yet?" One of the Cacturne spoke up. "Well, there's plenty of Guilds out there, and they probably all have members looking for us after what we just came against." Then one of the Crustle. "But, there's one Guild that's located just a few hours from here. The Valiant Village Guild, run by a Lucario named Spirit." Flash sprouted an evil grin. "Good, we'll head there first then."

The goons looked around each other quickly and nervously. "Boss, haven't you heard the things they say about that guy? He's the one that TRAINED the Swords of Justice, one of the greatest teams in history!" Flash pondered for a moment. "That old band of justice yahoos that went missing all those years ago? I don't remember hearing much about them, then again I was raised farther south." He shook his head, he was getting off topic. "Well, if he trained those guys or not, he sent his guys after us, so he's asking for it. We're going, and that's that."

Flash started walking in the general direction of Valiant Village, as his goons scurried to clean up their site and ran after him. Suicide or not, he was still their boss, they'd follow him to the ends of the earth, as long as it was worth it.

[Iatos]

Milton the Zorua

@Shiny Keldeo
@Light Lord
@Noklu
@Polaris North

Valiant Village: River

He watched the two water types bound off towards the water, gave Rico a slight salut before turning his attention to Zaru. As he was told that they should meet Spirit back at the guild he nodded, he did feel ready to leave now as he was a bit tired. The water chaos had been a lot of fun, but he knew when duty called and thus he was ready to take action. "Understood. Then we should leave right away" he said and headed up slightly along the path to the guild. Yet before leaving for the guildhall he spun around and looked to each and everyone of his friends, new and old. He smiled to them and nodded to himself "Well Looks like Duty calls. See you later everybody" he announced out loud before glancing to Zaru as he took off.

"Last one there is a slowpoke~" he said and suddenly dashed off, even if he was somewhat tired he still wouldn't turn down the chance for a race there, after all it was fun to run too and to have a friendly competition. He knew that the others would probably be joining in, at least if they still had some spirit left in the, having a slight advantage of being ahead already and having more legs would make certain that Milton was first to arrive as he tried his very hardest to leave the others in the dust. When he came to the guilds door he panted hard for a while as he stopped, he slowly stepped inside and then fell to his side exhausted. "phew... made it,..." he muttered before he heard his belly growl... all this playing around had made him hungry as it also seemed to start to move towards lunch time.

However he got up and went to find Spirit, once in the meeting room he sat down wearinly to rest. "...*pant* Sir Spirit... you called *pant*" he huffed, he glanced back behind him before looking ahead again.

[Ninian]

Celty the Mawile

[Valiant Village - Central Plaza River]

@Noklu@Light Lord
At the Totodile's gesture, Celty made her way down towards the river with the rest of them. As Dylan dipped his paw in the water, a small smile overtook Celty's features. Her barely healed wounds had been opened by Milton's joke, but she wasn't about to show it any longer. It caught her off-guard, and she wasn't about to allow that to happen again. Any pain that might have been visible upon her visage was now gone; only dried tears that may give a hint to her true feelings.

Sitting on the river's edge, Celty dipped her feet in, but that was all she had planned for the acquatic adventure. In fact, this was unusually bold for her.

Kicking her feet slowly, she looked over the two water-types, as well as the other unfamiliar Pokémon that were playing in the river. Letting out a soft grunt, she thought to herself, I really should be sleeping right now...

@Shiny Keldeo@Polaris North

[Polaris North]

@Shiny Keldeo@Iatos

Zaru the Chimchar

Valiant Village

Zaru nodded at Lulu's direction as a form of acknowledgement. He really did want to talk to her, even if it's just because he wanted to ask her how she's doing but then again, the answer's pretty obvious. She's looking better than ever really. He then looked at the Zorua who agreed immediately to head to the guild. Indeed, duty calls. "'Till we meet again." Zaru told the others with a small bow of his head.

Upon hearing the challenge and Milton dashing off, Zaru quickly followed. Given his natural agility and speed against the Zorua, he managed to catch up with him midway towards the run. It wasn't long until the guild was in sight. Sparing a look at the one running beside him, he smiled. He was really giving it his all in this race. Unfortunately for Zaru, Milton managed to pull ahead and then stumble inside the guild, panting really hard. The same couldn't be said for the Chimchar given that he didn't play earlier and he had some Oran Berry Juice as reward. It wasn't long until he stood up and Zaru followed him into the meeting room.

Zaru remained standing as he looked at Spirit. "Reporting for duty sir." He said with a smile after hearing Milton say something. He was really panting hard. Maybe Milton shouldn't have suggested that race, he seemed really tired right now. If their job was manual labor, then he could just wish good luck for his guildmate. Maybe some food could rejuvenate him.

[Noklu]

Dylan the Mudkip

Valiant Village-Central Plaza

Dylan took a small step back, returning from the small taste of his experience with the river, mentally preparing himself for the dive ahead. He felt he could trust Devon on his claim, the water seeming very appealing to him now. However, before he started his plunge, he turned his head to Devon as he heard his name being mentioned. Keeping the small smile on his face, the Mudkip gave a small wave to the Pokemon still in the water, the Riolu making its way out causing that number to be one less.

Luckily for Dylan, that small wave reminded him of something. He had been able to adjust to walking, grabbing something, and now as he realized it, waving with this new body quickly enough. That meant swimming shouldn’t be that hard either!

This thought held tightly in his mind, the Mudkip turned his attention forward, taking a small breath. Tossing all caution to the side, he took a small leap forward, landing into the water with a small splash similarly to Devon’s entrance. Water filled his senses for a brief moment before his buoyant body took him to the surface, Dylan’s back, tail fin, and head all partially emerging from the water.

He simply floated there for a moment, taking in the feeling of the water around him. It was, for a lack of words, one of the best feelings he had ever experienced. It felt oddly natural, just to float like this, bobbing slightly up and down in the temperate river. However, despite his bliss, he wanted to try out new things, legs beginning to kick about. The feeling inside him built up even more, his strokes going amazingly well.

“Holy… This feels incredible!” Those were the only words Dylan could manage to get out on his current blissful state. The Mudkip kicked about, swimming all around the surface of the river, wanting to feel as much as he could.

However, this state of his began to fade as Devon’s voice called out to him, tugging him back to reality. The Mudkip shook his head a bit, the question on his mind returning to the front of his head. He still did need to ask the Totodile about it, but…

Dylan’s head turned from side to side, looking around. Celty had gone to the bank of the river, looking much better than she had moments ago. The other Pokemon in the river seemed to be preoccupied with a game…

A small sigh escaped the Mudkip’s lips, making up his mind. He swam closer to the Totodile, wanting to keep this as private as could be. “Yeah… I suppose now is the best chance I’ve gotten so far,” he said, halting his pace as he came up right next to the Totodile, tone kept low and soft. “As I said before, this could sound crazy, but… Is it possible you weren’t always a Totodile? Just with how you were saying your body felt odd and all, I can’t help but wonder…” Dylan’s words trailed off, unsure of how to finish. He had gotten it out, but really didn’t know what to expect.

[Light Lord]

@Ninian

Devon the Totodile

Valiant Village, River near Central Plaza

Seeing Dylan splash around and finally look happy for once, of course made Devon feel happy. The little Totodile chuckled at the scene of a Mudkip just being totally lost in the water's embrace. "Told ya."

Dylan came close, finally whispering to Devon the question he had wanted to ask all morning. It certainly came off as odd to the reptile, but it did get him thinking. Devon repositioned himself in the water so his head was the only thin above the surface. Staring at Dylan with misty brown eyes. "No....It's not crazy....It's just....Weird. Totodile don't have a pre-evolution. And how could I just....Be something else and turn into a Totodile? Pretty sure I'm not a Ditto either...."

The lost Big Jaw Pokémon put his claws to the sides of his head and shook it rapidly. "Ugh...But you know what? Your question just gives me MORE questions. I know I have a Dad. I REMEMBER my Dad. Thing is though, I can't think of what he actually is. I don't think he's a Feraligatr....And I can't think of any other Pokémon that he could be...It just doesn't feel right to even think of him as any sort of Pokémon....." He removed his hands from his head and gave an odd frown to the Mud Fish. "Does THAT sound crazy? What else could he be besides a Pokémon?"

@Noklu

[Ninian]

Celty the Mawile

[Valiant Village - Central Plaza River]

@Noklu@Light Lord
Celty had been kicking her feet, absent-mindedly watching the two Water-types playing in the water. Her thoughts were elsewhere, but her piercing red eyes kept watch.

The Mudkip seemed to close the distance between himself and Devon, and began whispering. It really wasn't a surprise, as she had told the Mudkip only a few minutes previously that the Totodile was likely the only person he could trust. It was possible Dylan was relaying that information, or something similar. Not that it really mattered, it was both none of her business, and inaudible from where she sat on the River's edge.

At least it was inaudible until the Totodile essentially freaked out at whatever Dylan had told him. Devon was about as subtle as a brick. She hadn't heard everything he had said, but most of what came out of his jaws after bringing his claws to his head was fairly loud from where she was.

He doesn't think he's a Pokémon...?

Putting a paw to her forehead, she called out to Devon and Dylan, "You two should really keep it down over there." Closing her eyes, she let out a soft sigh, They're going to incite panic...

[Light Lord]

Devon the Totodile

Valiant Village, River near Central Plaza

Devon froze once Celty called him out for being a bit loud, and awkwardly leaned past Dylan to stare at the Mawile merely a few feet away sitting on the bank. A confused frown on his maw as he really didn't get why they were being....Scolded? Celty didn't seem angry, so what was the problem? "Uh....Ok? Was I being too loud? I'm sorry."

Nevertheless, Devon turned his attention back to Dylan and scaled his voice down to a low whisper. "So that's not weird right? Me not being able to think of what my Dad is? It could just be the whole amnesia thing, but it still bothers me."

@Ninian@Noklu