Chapter 3 – Day 1, Part 3: A Proposal

Chapter 3 – Day 1, Part 3: A Proposal

The throne room doors opened on their own before I even got close. After I hurried outside, I caught sight of Lilac leaning up against the opposite wall.

She smiled at me as I approached, halting her hair-twirling. “You’re back!” Lilac exclaimed. “I’m assuming everything went well?”

“…Yeah,” I muttered in response. “Everything went fine.”

“Great! Did she tell you what we’re doing next?”

“No. Did she tell you?”

Lilac threw her arms into the air, her body swinging forward and back with the motion. “Yes, she did! Telepathy is a wonderful thing, isn’t it? We’re going on a tour! I’m gonna show you the best that this castle has to offer! We’ll get to see where you sign up for jobs, where you get to eat, and even your very own room! Lucky you!” Lilac’s smile only seemed to get bigger, and more overtly friendly, with each word. Sure, she was bubbly before, but now she seemed to just radiate positivity.

It made me uneasy.

“Um-“

“Now let’s get going, buddy! We’re wasting daylight!” Lilac floated down the hall, smacking the elevator button before flipping and landing on her braids. “Come on!” she called out to me.

I scampered after her, pulling myself into the elevator just before the gate shut on us. The lever turned and landed on a phrase that I didn’t recognize but was most definitely not the bottom floor. Just as I found a foothold on the elevator’s carpet floor, the lift lurched and I nearly lost my balance. Soon after, the device began to descend.

Lilac and I didn’t speak for a few moments. Maybe it was just my anxiety getting the better of me, but I couldn’t help but notice how tense Lilac suddenly was. She watched the wall move past the steel gate apprehensively. Eventually, the Hattrem exhaled and muttered the word “okay” under her breath.

“What?” I asked, barely hearing her.

She looked back at me, her chippy persona gone and replaced with a neutral expression. Pointing up, she said, “We’re out of her range.”

“Huh?”

“Anemone,” she clarified. “She shouldn’t be able to hear us anymore. You can relax now.”

It took me a few seconds to understand what she meant. I didn’t think I was on edge before, but after hearing Lilac saying that, I realized that I had been holding in a pretty heavy sigh. Knowing that I was further away from the mind reader made me feel safer. Now I could actually think without my brain being invaded.

Lilac grinned slightly. “Her range is pretty big. We should be out of it by now, though. I should know. I’ve had a lot of time to test it. Anyways, I hope I didn’t creep you out with that bit.”

I raised an eyebrow. “That was a bit? Why were you doing a bit?”

“I have to appear all bubbly in Anemone’s range,” Lilac replied. “It’s how I keep her out.”

“That works? You’re telling me this now?”

She shook her head. “No, it won’t work for you. Only me and the other psychics in the guild can do it. That’s why we stick together.” She winked at me.

“Okay, but why are you trying to keep her out?”

The gate of the elevator opened shortly after the ride came to a stop. Lilac hopped outside then turned around to face me, a sly grin on her face. “Let’s just say that some of us here value our secrets. You get what I mean, Oswald?”

In a way I did. Having Anemone probe my mind and discover the only secret I had didn’t sit well with me. Of course, it all worked out in the end, but I can only imagine how sour some pokemon must’ve felt after having their privacy be encroached upon without any say in the matter. A leader with a power like that…it’s a miracle the pokemon here are as optimistic as they are. They don’t fear her as far as I could tell, but…

…Wait…don’t they? I know I do. I’m not alone in this, right?

I pushed that thought to the back of mind for now and grinned back at Lilac. “Yeah, I do.”

“Awesome.”

Lilac turned back around and started walking away on her braids. I followed behind her, taking her silence as a signal to go with her.

Lilac then showed me around the floor we ended up on. She explained to me that this floor was one of the few that housed the many teams that worked in the castle. She showed me the lounge, where pokemon sat about on cushioned chairs and were able to read the news on a bulletin board nearby. Surmising that I would need to come back here a lot, I noted its location.

Next she showed me the dorms. There were communal dorms where loners and lower-level teams slept together in large rooms, while Staff and higher-level teams got their own rooms.

To my surprise, I got my own room, too. Being a human had some benefits I suppose. The rooms didn’t have keyholes on them, instead they opened with the paw prints of their respective owners. How this worked for pokemon without hands or limbs I didn’t know, but Lilac got me assigned to my room and told me to contact the pokemon at the front desk if I found someone to live with.

Inside the room itself was one small silk bed, multiple straw beds on the floor, a dresser, desk, and even a window. The room reminded me of a hotel room (The image of what that would look like in the world I came from flashed in my mind) but much smaller. I doubted they had room service here either, what with the fewer amenities.

“It’s not that extravagant, I know,” Lilac said. “But it’s yours, so that amounts to something, yeah?”

I tested the bed, jumping onto the soft and comfortable covers before laying down. “Good enough for me. I can live with this just fine.” I rested my eyes for a moment, just taking in the bed’s alluring, plushy feel.

“Oh, something else I just remembered,” Lilac started, “Anemone told me to tell you that you have to room with at least one other pokemon and form a team by tomorrow. Otherwise we’d be wasting space.”

My eyes shot open. What? Did Lilac interpret those orders incorrectly? Make a team by tomorrow? I just got here. “What happens if I don’t make a team on time?” I asked after sitting up, exasperated.

“Well, you can’t lose the room, apparently. Anemone made that clear. So I imagine that you’d be assigned one.” The Hattrem shrugged. “I don’t understand all of this special treatment you’re getting. Good for you, though!”

I don’t get a choice then, I thought while getting off the bed. I don’t know why I expected anything different. But seriously? One day? Where am I going to find someone willing to join up with someone like me on such short notice? I don’t want to end up with someone I’ll hate…

I looked at the Hattrem. “Hey Lilac-“

She interrupted me. “Already on a team, sorry.”

That made me flinch. “Really? What team?”

“Team Snow In Summer. The others were by the entrance earlier.”

“That’s an…interesting name.” Really rolls off the tongue.

Lilac shrugged again. “Not my idea. Anyways, take note of where this is because I’m dropping you off at the cafeteria at the end of this tour. You can come back here on your own.”

I did take note of where my room was, tracing my path all the way back to the elevator. When we got there, I memorized the word on the lever corresponding to the floor I was living on.

“This elevator is pretty convenient,” I stated aloud. “Why don’t more people use it?”

“Because it’s Anemone’s personal elevator,” Lilac replied. “It’s the only one that connects to her office. We’re still using it because she gave me permission to use it for this tour.”

Did she? Oh. Guess I’ll need to take the public elevator, or stairs, like everyone else. How disappointing.

We returned to the ground floor.

“You see the front desk down there?” Lilac pointed towards the desk at the entrance manned by a Leavanny and Simipour. “Lace and Ipo will accept your finished jobs and get you your rewards. They’ll also take your complaints.” She smirked. “Within reason, of course.”

Whatever Lilac was implying caused me to grimace. “Alright?” I remembered Team Phlox and how they just handed over that Persian without even going inside. “Why didn’t Dahlia’s team claim their reward for that Persian?” I wondered.

“They’ll probably come pick it up later. Bounty jobs require a lot of paperwork. Plus, he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.”

That made sense, I suppose. Why couldn’t they stick around for longer, though? I could really use the extra guidance.

The Hattrem showed me around the rest of the bottom floor. In particular, she showed me the courtyard, an outside area where a variety of pokemon were testing their skills, firing off attacks, and sparring. Lilac told me that there were trainers that would be willing to coach me for free there. I would just need to find one. Looking across the field, I saw a Samurott training with a Wartortle amongst the crowd. I took a mental note to seek them out later.

On our way out, Lilac stopped me. “Your tail,” she said flatly.

“My tail?”

“Yes, your tail. It’s dragging on the ground. Does that not bother you?”

I looked behind me. Sure enough, my paddle-like tail was angled downward, barely touching the ground. It still hurt somewhat, probably due to the fact that it’s been dragging behind me this whole time. I don’t think anyone could’ve blamed me for not being used to having a tail. Not like I could control it or anything. Except…

I made a conscious effort to make it move just then, and it did. Not much, though. I shook my behind to make it move more, swaying my hips left and right. It did move more, but very limply, almost like it wasn’t listening to what I was telling it to do.

Ugh, this is stupid. I’m not even moving the tail itself! How do you even…?

“Who are you courting, Oswald? The Smeargle or the Mawile?”

I looked up and behind me. Two pokemon were staring back at me strangely. The Mawile seemed almost disgusted while the Smeargle’s face flushed a bright red. My own face flushed as I realized what I had been doing this whole time and I looked away.

Well, that’s embarrassing.

Lilac laughed at me. “Not used to having a big tail, huh? Did you just evolve?”

More like no tail. I went along with the evolving excuse. It wasn’t like I had one planned anyways. “Y-yeah actually,” I replied, still blushing. “I didn’t use it much before, so…I don’t…really know how to…use…it.” I cringed at my own words. There’s no way she’ll believe that!

“Okay. Makes sense.”

…She is really understanding. Too understanding. She’s practically crafting my lies for me!

Lilac must have been able to tell how much I was depending on Anemone’s elevator because she spent the rest of the time we were on the ground floor showing me the other elevators and where the stairs were.

Both were packed. The elevators had so many pokemon waiting for them that they spilled out into the halls. I was thankful that I could at least use the stairs. One Electrode I saw looked absolutely miserable. I wonder how he uses the pawprint scanners…

The final stop of the tour was the cafeteria. Much like the throne room, this place was huge. Judging by the sheer number of tables in the room, I’d imagine the cafeteria could fit as many as 500 pokemon, or maybe more. On one end of the room, a Heatmor and Simisear prepared and served plates of food. At the back of the room was an empty stage.

Lilac stopped at the entrance and pointed towards the pokemon handing out meals. “The kitchen staff prepare three meals a day, every day,” she said. “They don’t do snacking or anything like that, so if you want something else you’ll have to go into town. That’ll cost money.”

“I don’t have any money,” I deadpanned.

“I know. Thankfully, you haven’t missed dinner.”

“Thankfully” is right. I’m starving. Sunlight shined through the cafeteria windows and bathed the room in a calming orange glow. A stray Natu flew past the rafters, casting a shadow on the floor below. It’s a good thing I managed to find this place when I did, I thought. The sun is going down soon. I don’t wanna know what would’ve happened if I was still in the meadow at this point.

My Hattrem guide turned back to me. “Well, this is the end of the tour. It was nice meeting you, Oswald. But I need to get going.”

“It was nice meeting you too, Lilac.” I grinned politely. “You were a really big help. I definitely would’ve gotten lost if you hadn’t been there to show me around.” I scratched the back of my head and my grin turned sheepish. “But uh…you sure you can’t stick around for dinner?”

“No, sorry,” Lilac shook her head. “I had plans with friends in town today. I’m already late too, so…I hope you’re fine with that.”

I nodded. “I can figure things out from here.” It was nice having Lilac around, but I wasn’t going to pry. Getting a random team member seemed daunting, but if they’re anything like Lilac or Dahlia then I was sure there was nothing to worry about. Granted, I would’ve preferred to stick with someone I could trust. If I was being honest…there was something so intimidating about being in this castle alone. I was hoping I could have someone to guide me around for a little longer.

“Great!” she exclaimed. “Oh, and one more thing…”

My body lurched forward. I was eye level with Lilac and a few inches from her face within an instant. Her eyes took on a serious gleam and she lowered her voice. “You’re not as slick as you think you are, Oswald. You think you can just show up and get special treatment without anyone noticing, huh? You show up out of nowhere and get Anemone’s blessing? What’s the deal with that? Who even are you?”

“W-what-“

“I’ve got my eye on you, Oswald. I don’t know what your deal is but when the time comes, if you’re not on our side, then I won’t hesitate. Understand?”

I was too horrified to say anything but, “Y-yes, ma’am.”

What the hell!?

I was suddenly pushed back to my original position. Meanwhile, Lilac’s demeanor quickly flashed back to her regular smiling facade. “Great!” she said, her voice several octaves higher. “I’ll see you around!”

And then she just…walked away. I was still processing what just happened long after she was gone. I was so certain that Lilac was at least willing to help me, but considering the whole “bit” thing I guess I should’ve expected this. There’s more to this place than I could’ve possibly known.

Still, I haven’t even been here for a day. Expecting everyone to be agreeable at face value was pretty naive of me. Lilac’s words bothered me, however. I had no idea what was going on or a whole lot about where I was. I didn’t want to pick a side in any of these pokemon’s squabbles.

But…what if I have to choose? Who should I be wary of? Anemone? Lilac? Somebody else?

Whatever. I didn’t want a part in…whatever this was. I just wanted to figure out why I was here and go home. That’s it.

I sighed and turned to go see what kind of food was available.

“Oof!”

I didn’t get far before somebody collided with me and sent me falling backwards awkwardly onto my tail.

Yow! That hurt! Second time today, I thought, shaking my head and starting to stand back up. I should pay more attention to where I’m going before I-

My eyes widened at the pokemon on the ground in front of me. A tan underbelly, blue back, and two pointy ears. It was a Quilava! Not only that, but it was the same Quilava as before. I could tell because the way his fur curved and matted in some places was familiar.

What is he doing here? Is he part of the guild?

“Ugh,” the Quilava groaned as he rose. “I-I’m really sorry. I’ve been really clumsy today…”

His brilliant red eyes set on me and we made eye contact. “Oh,” he muttered, his ears drooping slightly. “It’s you.”

I finished standing up and dusted myself off. “It is,” I said with a chuckle. “Funny how we keep meeting like this.”

The Quilava smiled shyly and stood up onto two feet as well. Then he looked away, rubbing his arm. “Y-yeah, I guess. Heh…”

I had a good feeling about this Quilava. Maybe I shouldn’t be judging pokemon on their outward appearance because of what just happened, but I found his shyness endearing. Plus, I need to form a team. Was it too early to say that he might be able to help me with that? Either way, I wanted to get to know him better.

“Say,” I started, “how about I make it up to you and get your food for you. Assuming that’s why you’re here.”

He grimaced and shook his head. “N-no it’s fine. You don’t have to do that.” He rubbed his arm faster.

“No, I insist. What would you like? Maybe we like the same things.”

The Quilava didn’t seem to know what to do. I wasn’t trying to make him uncomfortable, but it seemed like I didn’t do a very good job. He looked left and right as if looking for a way out, and after a few more seconds, he made up his mind. “I like…pecha berries,” he mumbled while still rubbing his arm.

“Pecha berries.” I nodded. “Got it.” I pointed at a table nearby. “I’ll be right back. Wait for me there.”

While wordlessly avoiding my eyes, he nodded slightly and walked slowly over to the table I pointed out.

I had no idea what a pecha berry was. My mind wasn’t doing me any favors in unearthing distant memories of the berries here so I was just hoping that I’d get lucky and find the right ones. So, I stood in line to get the food. It didn’t take long for me to get to the front of the line and come face-to-face with a Simisear with a white piece of cloth around his arm. A Heatmor stood nearby cooking something over a grill. He had on a white piece of cloth as well.

“Hey, new face,” the Simisear beamed. “Always nice to see new pokemon join our happy family. Got a name, Dewott?”

“Oswald,” I said absentmindedly, eyeing the selection of food on the table.

“Oswald…Oswald,” he parroted. “Oh yeah. I’m remembering that one. Way too unique to forget.” He spun the spoon in his hand and grinned wide. “Well, Oswald? See anything you want?”

I didn’t. I made it a point to avoid looking at the meat up for grabs, lest I vomit, and eyed the rest of the selection. Various vegetables that weren’t very appetizing to look at, multicolored fruits that I didn’t care for, and some berries were what I had to work with. I mostly eyed the berries because that’s what I was looking for, but I couldn’t tell if any were of the pecha variety. I could ask, but then I’d look like an idiot if they were right in front of me.

Maybe I should just get something random and say they didn’t have it. At least then it’s not my fault. Ugh, what a pain. Why did I have to be thrown into a world so different from my own?

“Helloooo, you there Oswald?” The Simisear tapped his spoon on the table.

“Hm? Oh yeah, um,” I pondered for a moment. “Just give me some berries. Any will work.”

Yeah, hopefully.

The Simisear scooped up some berries and tossed them onto the plate I was holding with incredible precision. “Enjoy! See you around, Oswald!”

I nodded and left the line, a plate of berries in my hands. The Quilava was thankfully still there when I hurried back to him. In fact, he seemed to be staring off into space as I approached.

“I’m back with some berries!” I called as I sat down. The Quilava flinched, probably not expecting me to appear so suddenly. “They didn’t have any pecha berries, though. Sorry.”

The fire type frowned in disappointment for a moment, then he looked at the plate and just seemed confused. “W-what’re you…there are…pecha berries…on the plate,” he murmured slowly.

“O-oh…haha…I didn’t notice…good for you, huh?” I chuckled awkwardly.

Damn it! Now I look like an even bigger idiot!

The Quilava raised an eyebrow but said nothing and took a berry from the plate. Being hungry myself, I took a berry from the plate as well, biting into a blueish berry twice the size of my hand. It was sweet and its juices flowed deliciously down my throat. I loved it. So much so that I didn’t stop eating it until it was all gone, berry juice coating my lips. When I was done I looked up to find the Quilava staring at me strangely, his berry half eaten.

…I must look like a slob. What a terrible first impression. And I still don’t even know his name…oh right!

“I didn’t catch your name,” I said, wiping the berry juice off of my mouth with an arm.

“F-Fenn,” the Quilava mumbled quietly.

“Fenn! What a good name! A great name, even! I’m Oswald. Nice to meet you.” I extended a paw across the table until it was a short distance from his face.

Fenn looked between my hand and me, unmoving. I held it there for a few seconds before I retracted my arm and brought it back to scratch the back of my head. I laughed awkwardly. Guess they don’t do handshakes here? Geez, this is going horribly!

“Anyways,” I continued, clearing my throat, “do you work at the castle here?

Fenn took a small bite of the berry he was eating. “Y-yes,” he whispered, avoiding eye contact.

I nodded. “And…what do you do?”

“I…clean the floors…occasionally.” Fenn took another bite of his berry, staring at something other than me.

“Oh…that’s…cool.”

He’s really not making this easy for me, is he? I hated having to be one to carry the conversation like this, but Fenn was making it harder than it had to be. I wasn’t trying to make the conversation awkward.

I cleared my throat again. “Well, I came into town earlier and joined the guild. I just got back from a tour of the castle. How long have you been here?”

Fenn finished his berry and grabbed another from the plate. “A few months,” he said quietly before nibbling on his new berry some.

I nodded yet again and grabbed another berry myself. This one was round and red with a long winding stem. The flavor of the berry was noticeably spicier than the last one I ate. I didn’t hate it, but it definitely didn’t taste as good.

“So you’re like a janitor?” I asked between bites. “How’d you end up with that job?” That probably sounded a bit more condescending than intended.

The Quilava looked at me for a second as if he were gauging whether or not I was serious. Then he just as quickly looked away. “N-not…good at guild work,” he mumbled.

“Really?” I pondered. “I’m sure you can’t be that bad. Maybe you just need a team to help. If you were good at it—which I’m sure you are—would you want to do jobs for the guild?”

Fenn winced. “I…do want to help pokemon. Helping pokemon is…nice.” He was rubbing his arm so much that my brain stopped acknowledging it.

I smiled. I’m actually getting somewhere now! This is good. “If I’m being honest,” I started, “I’m probably not great at guild work either. But I’m like you. I wanna help pokemon too.”

That’s not a complete lie. Guild work seemed pretty fulfilling from what I knew so far, but my main goal was entirely my own. Based on what Anemone told me, I had no other option anyways, so I may as well help others while I was here.

I added, “The problem is that I don’t have a team and Anemone is gonna set me up with one unless I can find some team members in a day.”

Fenn looked up. That seemed to get his attention. “Why?” he asked.

Anemone’s threat flashed in my mind. Being discreet about my humanity was something I’d have to keep in mind for as long as I was around, even with potential team members. I didn’t want to keep Fenn in the dark and lie, but I had to, at least for now. I just hoped it wouldn’t come back to haunt me later…

“I don’t know actually,” I stated. “I get my own room regardless. Maybe she likes my whiskers?” I twirled the white bristles on my cheeks in my fingers for a moment to drive home the point. Cause, I mean, come on. They were some good whiskers.

Fenn looked back down at his paws. “Your own room…” he mumbled quietly.

I took another bite of my berry before continuing. “Do you have a room of your own, Fenn?”

“No…”

Here we go.

“Do you want one?”

His eyes shot up and stared into mine. “What?” he asked in confusion.

“Yeah, I mean, I have a lot of extra space. You could come join up with me and share the room.”

Fenn looked stunned, his mouth open slightly. “Y-you’re asking me to…join your team…right?”

I nodded. “I think it could work out. We’re probably both on the same level. Plus, I’m sure it’ll be more fun than cleaning floors.”

The Quilava sitting across from me stared down at the berry in his paws in thought. Not once did his expression change from that same look of bewilderment. Eventually, he spoke up and looked back at me.

“Could you…could you give me some time to think about it?” Fenn asked slowly.

“S-sure,” I stuttered. I wasn’t happy with having to wait. I only had one day after all. It wasn’t like I was going to force it, though. I wanted Fenn to like me! Getting upset with him was not a good start. “We can meet up again tomorrow if you’d like. Here at the same time tomorrow?”

That should be enough time. If not then I guess I’d just get a rando instead. Wasn’t exactly looking forward to that.

“O-okay,” Fenn said quietly. Then he lifted himself off of his seat. “I should…get going. Bye, Oswald.” The slight smile on his face was reassuring at least.

“See you tomorrow, Fenn.” I hoped my smile gave off that same reassurance.

The Quilava walked away, exiting the cafeteria and leaving me alone at the table.

I let out the breath I was holding in. That went…surprisingly well all things considered. I wasn’t expecting to run into Fenn here, literally.

His situation seemed particularly convenient for me. I’m not really sure I would be able to approach any pokemon here and get them to agree to anything. Fenn seemed shy, but if he gave me a chance, I think we could work well as a team. Granted, I can’t use any moves and I haven’t seen him use any himself. But I had the time to figure everything out. That is implying he does come around to the idea. If not, then I suppose I’d have to go with the punches.

Maybe Team Phlox will let me join their team…or maybe I could ask Lilac again. Or…not, no. I think I actually want to avoid her now.

Okay…I should really stop thinking about this. I wasn’t going to get the answers to my problems all at once. The most I could do was just live as a pokemon for now. Anemone would get back to me when she learned something new.

Except…should I even trust her? Should I trust anybody here? What about Fenn? Can I trust him?

Ugh. There I go again, asking questions I have no answers to.

Thoroughly exhausted and my plate empty, I left the cafeteria in search of my room.

If uh…I could find it again that is.