Chapter 1 – Swiftly, Suddenly, Without Reason

“Transferred?!”

Corphish groaned, waving his claws. “Hey, hey, not so loud.”

“You’re- you’re going to a different guild?” Chimecho asked, looking shaken. 

Corphish nodded. “Yep! Chatot said it’s kind of like an exchange program. Except it’s just me going over there.”

Loudred narrowed his eyes. “So it’s not like one at all.”

 “Um… yes,” Corphish admitted, “It was the closest thing I could think of. It’s only for awhile anyway, I’ll be back!”

Sunflora frowned. “But this is all so sudden, Corphish! Why didn’t you tell anyone until the day of? You’re acting like Loudred keeping secrets like this.”

“Huh?” Loudred glanced at Sunflora. “What do you mean, ‘like Loudred’?”

Sunflora waved an arm. “You know, it’s like- hasty and not thought out.”

“Hasty?!” Loudred was irked, “Who was the one who went after those Haunter outlaws?”

It was Sunflora’s turn to be riled up. “Ehhh? You’re bringing that up now?”

Chimecho made a small smile as the two started bickering. “If you don’t mind me asking, Corphish, what prompted this in the first place?” she asked.

“Chatot came to me a while ago,” Corphish said, glancing at his claws. “There’s a guild on the Sand Continent that is having some issues that my abilities are especially suited for.” He paused for a moment. “You know, water in the desert- I don’t know the specifics.”

“That makes sense,” Chimecho replied, “The Sand Continent is pretty far away though. Couldn’t they have just asked for someone from the Mist Continent, or even the Water Continent?”

“That’s uh-” Corphish trailed off. “Well, I don’t know the exact reason, but that’s just how it worked out.”

“Hmm…” Chimecho swayed from side to side in thought. “Ah, I got it! Chatot sending you is a goodwill gesture! If our guilds are affiliated, it’s an expectation that we help each other out. That, and it’s a guarantee of reliability compared to, say hiring an unproven team.”

“Is Wigglytuff’s guild really that famous overseas?” Loudred asked. He seemed to have finished his momentary feud with Sunflora and the two were now sitting on the ground next to each other looking a little worn out. “I know Wigglytuff is well known, but…”

“Obviously it’s because of team Pokepals!” Sunflora interjected. “They saved the world twice after all!” 

Loudred perked up, nodding. “Yeah, that’s it. Have they dropped by lately?”

“I think they’ve been on an expedition,” Chimecho said, “Also I heard they changed their team name recently. Now they’re team Rebellion.”

“Rebellion?” Corphish mouthed the name again to himself. “Does that really fit them?”

“Maybe it’s a statement?” Sunflora offered, “We all know they do things a little differently from everyone else.”

The four of them were silent for a few moments. The setting sun cast a harsh glare through the cliff windows, some request papers on the job board ruffling lightly from a draft. 

“Anyway…” Chimecho said hesitantly, “Are you going to say goodbye to everyone else? I hope you’re not going to make us do it for you.” 

Corphish rubbed his claws awkwardly. “I’m not too good with that stuff. And I’m not going to be gone that long, I already said that!” 

Loudred crossed his arms. “How long?”

“Hey, hey,” Corphish stammered nervously, “I don’t have an exact amount, but I’ll write letters, okay?”

Sunflora sniffled. “We’ll miss you. Everyone’s been together for so long now. I kind of felt the same way back when Loudred was taking the graduation test.”

“Like you’d miss me if I managed to pass,” Loudred said, grinning at Sunflora. 

“I would, I really would,” Sunflora protested, laying on her back. “M-maybe not as much as Bidoof or Chimecho.”

Loudred laughed before looking back at Corphish. “We’ll tell everyone if you really want us to. I’ll be sure to let you know exactly how much Bidoof cries when I get the chance to though.”

Corphish relaxed. “Thanks, Loudred. Thanks- everyone! I’ll be back in no time at all!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The Sand Continent? You going there for a vacation?” 

Corphish stared at the night sky, listening to the waves. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Just traveling? That’s cool too.” The Lapras stretched his neck, letting out a deep sigh. “Good night to head out too. We should reach the Sand Continent in a day or so.”

“That’s good,” Corphish said blankly. In his head, he could hear Chatot’s voice, his thoughts running through the same scene on loop. 

—

Chatot appraised Corphish as he nervously stood in front of the guild’s co-leader. “Leave of absence? Yes, we can do that, though it’s been a long time since I did the paperwork for such..”

Corphish’ eye’s went wide and he involuntarily skittered back a little. “Oh, well if it’s too much trouble, you don’t have to-” 

“Approved,” Chatot said, interrupting him. “I’ll handle it.” He looked off to the side as if examining the wall. “No need to tell me the reason.”

“Ah!” Corphish’ voice cracked a little. “Th- thanks, Chatot!”

“Hm! You’re welcome,” Chatot said, “Everyone has their reasons.” His expression softened. “But you’re still an important member of this guild, so take care of yourself, alright?”

Lost for words, Corphish nodded. In his head, he wondered if that was the truth. 

“What? Didn’t expect me to say that?” Chatot made a face. “I’m supposed to look after all of you, you know.”

“Right, of course,” Corphish replied, “Umm, can I request something?”

Chatot looked at him curiously. “Go ahead.”

—

“I’m a no-good liar,” Corphish murmured, shifting to lay on his side. “I lied to my best friends- not even for a good reason.”

“Mmhmm.” Lapras sounded zoned out. The water gently lapped against his side as he cut through the water at a decent clip, the stars overhead forming a line in the sky. 

“I’ve been an apprentice for a long time,” Corphish continued, “Not that that’s a bad thing, but sometimes I feel like I haven’t gone anywhere. And recently, it feels like everyone is leaving me in the dust.” 

 “Yeah…” Lapras’ eyes were closed.

Corphish rolled over. “Loudred is going to take the graduation test again soon, and everyone’s expecting him to pass this time. Sunflora has been working with a lot of pro exploration teams recently.” He smiled to himself. “There’s a rumor going around that she’ll be helping out team Charm- kind of like a fourth member. I don’t know if that’s true though.”

“Totally lost here, but keep going.”

“Chimecho is thinking of expanding her assembly into a business. She said it would be like a staffing agency. Croagunk is so busy with his swap cauldron that he hardly has time to do anything else.” Corphish paused to collect his thoughts. “Oh, and Diglett is starting to take over some of his father’s duties changing the job boards!”

Though Corphish was happy to talk about his friends, a thin note of despair started to creep into his tone. 

“Bidoof has been on a roll lately. He’s been taking out outlaws left and right- he even got a special commendation from Officer Magnezone the other day. I never even knew you could get one of those. And then…” He stopped, his voice catching in his throat. “Then there’s-”

“So you’re useless?” Lapras said suddenly, interrupting him. “No offense, that’s just what it seemed like you were building up to.”

Corphish stared at Lapras, his mouth hanging open in shock. After a moment, he spoke. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He gasped. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to go on like that. You don’t even know who I’m talking about.”

Lapras looked back at Corphish with a half smile. “Part of my job is simply to listen. More pokemon are traveling on boats these days, so a lot of us have been working on ‘reinventing’ the Lapras Travel Liner services, so to speak. We’re thinking of marketing it as a luxury service.” He stopped, grimacing. “Now I guess it’s my turn to say sorry for dumping a bunch of unnecessary information.”

“That’s okay,” Corphish replied despondently, “It helps me get my mind off of things.”

Lapras nodded slowly. “Okay. Er, since we’re headed to the Sand Continent, can I practice my sales pitch? The Liner is working on making a tourism affiliate network, so if I get this right, I’ll make a sweet commission!”

Corphish shrugged before laying back down. “Go ahead. I don’t know much about the place myself.”

Lapras let out a whoop, alarming Corphish who gripped the sides of Lapras’ shell with his claws. “Oops, my bad,” Lapras said, grinning, “I’m just really pumped to make money. Anyway, ah-hem.” 

Lapras took a deep breath. “The first place any traveler to the Sand Continent should visit is the picturesque Sahra town-”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“-and if you’re feeling adventurous, you can eat it too!” 

Lapras opened his mouth wide, looking like he was going to continue before he exhaled deeply. 

“Okay! That’s everything I got for now. What do you think?”

Corphish blinked. “Hey, hey, that’s a lot.” He looked up at the sun. “I didn’t know there was that much to do.”

“I know, right?” Lapras replied, satisfied. “It made the trip pass quicker too, no?”

“Yeah… it’s daytime already.” Corphish shook his head. “I don’t even feel that tired.”

Lapras hummed. “That’s how you feel for a bit if you stay up a long time. It tends to hit you the moment you stop thinking about it.”

In the distance, the port of Sahra town was visible. The sky was clear and the town seemed to be quiet, a few pokemon making their way down the streets. 

“If you ever want to take the Liner again and I’m in the area, I’ll give you a good deal,” Lapras said softly, his speed slowing as they neared the port. A ship was unloading nearby, the two passing relatively unnoticed in the commotion. “I hope everything works out for you- and I want to apologize again for yesterday. I kind of blew you off when you were talking about your problems.”

Corphish shook his head. “They’re my problems. Mine to have, mine to worry about. I appreciate the offer though!” 

“Hah, regardless, when I work, I either make a new friend or carry a rock, if you know what I mean.” Lapras seemed relieved. “Here’s to hoping we meet again then!” 

“Hey, hey! Cheers to that!” Corphish smiled. “Thanks, Lapras.”

Carrying his small pack in one claw, Corphish watched as Lapras took to the sea again, waving. As soon as he was out of sight however, Corphish felt his energy drain, his claw falling limply to his side. 

“Now what?” He muttered to himself. “I was kind of hoping I’d think of something on the way here.”

Corphish glanced around at his surroundings. The port was located at an intersection, numerous roads stretching outwards radially. What was ostensibly the main road was a wide, flat, concourse of paved rock lined by uneven buildings with weathered walls and wildly sloping roofs. Small wires criss-crossed in the air overhead, suspending what looked like a huge assortment of hats. 

With nothing else to do, Corphish scuttled forward, keeping to one side of the street. A group of younger pokemon led by a confident looking Larvitar ran past, yelling playfully to each other, and as Corphish turned to look, he stumbled forward over a raised edge. In a panic, he threw his claws forward to catch himself, his bag flying out sideways as some of its contents spilled out.

“Ugh,” he murmured, suddenly finding it hard to keep his eyes open. Righting himself, he hurriedly checked his bag, then the ground. To his dismay, bits and pieces were scattered across the ground. 

“No, no, where is it?” he whispered frantically, gathering all his dropped items in a pile while a few pokemon passing by looked over with a mixture of curiosity and pity. “Ah! Found it.” He grabbed a shiny object with one claw- it was his explorer badge. Gingerly placing it back in his bag, he gathered up the rest of his stuff and looked around awkwardly for a place to get out of the way so he could organize his belongings. Spotting an alleyway, he hurriedly turned into it, glancing back to see if he had left anything behind. 

When he looked back, it was too late. The alley bizarrely dropped downwards, a thin steep staircase much too close for Corphish to stop. He barely was able to let out a cry before he fell face first, landing sharply on the ground with a ‘thump’. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wigglytuff had declared that everyone would have the day off for the celebration, and surprisingly enough Chatot had agreed. Ever since the guilds ‘newest’ recruits had risen through the ranks, graduated, and saved the world at a meteoric rate, it had sort of fallen back on Bidoof to be the base of the guild totem, though he didn’t mind it much. 

It was the same Bidoof who was being celebrated, having reached Super rank after a great deal of work. Bidoof had politely requested that they not have a party just for him, as he felt it was unnecessary, but Wigglytuff had somehow turned it around on him by convincing him to throw an appreciation party for everyone else. Thus, while Bidoof was busying himself out on the town buying some decorations, Chatot laid out the plan to everyone else.

“Don’t congratulate him until the party has started,” Chatot said sternly, “I know it’s against his wishes, but the guildmaster would not budge on this matter, so here we are. That said, I also believe Bidoof is due for recognition, though I appreciate his modesty.”

Croagunk looked at Chatot with a lazy grin. “So it’s like a variation of sunken cost fallacy?” 

Chatot tilted his head to one side, then the other. “That’s somewhat of a stretch. But I can see an argument for it.” He shook his head with a squawk. “Semantics aside, as long as you all can do that, everything should go smoothly.”

After he dismissed them, a few of the guild members dispersed while some loitered around.

“So, did you guys get a gift for Bidoof?” Chimecho asked.

Dugtrio nodded and looked at Diglett approvingly. “Of course! Diglett found the perfect gift for Bidoof, and we will present it to him together.”

“Thanks, dad,” Diglett said, looking embarrassed for some reason. 

Chimecho smiled brightly. “Wonderful,” she said, turning to Corphish. “How about you, Corphish?”

Corphish looked stunned as if someone had just broken a rock over his head. 

“Corphish?” Chimecho asked, worried.

“Eh?” Corphish seemed to come to his senses. “Ah, um, I was so caught up in a job that I forgot all about it. I’ll have to apologize to Bidoof.”

Chimecho relaxed. “Oh it’s no problem at all if you forgot! You know how Bidoof is anyway, he’ll start going on about how we didn’t need to do all this for him. I’m sure he’s just happy to be with everyone.”

“If you’re still looking, Diglett can probably help you,” Dugtrio offered, “My son has a knack for this kind of stuff.”

Diglett shrunk slightly into his hole in the ground. “I just got lucky. I’ll help out if you want though, Corphish.”

“Thanks,” Corphish replied, “If I need help, I’ll find you.”

—

As expected, Bidoof took the whole thing in stride. He acted a little playfully upset with Wigglytuff at first, but was otherwise as unflinchingly gracious about it as the rest of the guild had expected. 

“You’re moving up in the world,” Loudred said, slapping Bidoof on the back. “At this rate, you’ll end up graduating before me!” 

Bidoof shook his head. “I doubt that, by golly! I’ve gotten a lot better, but you’re no slouch yourself, Loudred.”

“I’m so happy for you Bidoof!” Sunflora said, nodding, “You don’t have to be shy about it, this is something you earned.”

After some more festivities, the party began to wind down. Guildmembers started to approach Bidoof individually to offer words of congratulations. Somehow, Diglett’s and Dugtrio’s gift was a wonder gummi, and even Chatot had a few choice goodies to present. 

Hesitantly, Corphish scuttled over to Bidoof. 

“Hey, hey,” he said nervously, “How’s it going Bidoof? Sorry, I wasn’t able to get you a present, but I’ll have something for you soon!” 

Bidoof smiled. “Hiya, Corphish! You can get me a present if you want, but don’t feel like you have to. I’m already drowning in stuff from everyone else, ahah!” He looked out the window thoughtfully. “I’m mighty touched that everyone set this up. Chatot said earlier that the everyone in town has gifts for me too, can you believe it?” 

“Of course! You deserve it,” Corphish replied, putting on a smile. “Anyway, congratulations! How does it feel?”

Bidoof shrugged. “I don’t think it’s hit me yet, but I’ll bet I’ll feel fuzzy inside. A little bit anxious too though now that I’m cleared for tougher jobs.”

“I’m sure you’ll do great,” Corphish said, “But really, amazing job on reaching Super rank-”

~~~~

‘Before me’

‘B-before me’

~~~~

“Gwah?!” 

Corphish sat up quickly, disoriented and nearly cross-eyed. Shaking his body, he tried to focus on the brick wall in front of him.

“Heads up little guy.” A slim bird walked in front of Corphish, staring him down with an odd look. “I’m Oricorio. If you meet someone who looks just like me, then you can call me by my nickname, Gigue.” 

Corphish found he was in the same alley. The stairs were a little ways away, lopsided, jagged lumps of stone barely earning the distinction. They looked even more intimidating going upwards. 

Nodding slowly at the purple bird, Corphish looked around. “Am I still in Sahra town?” 

Gigue nodded. “Yes, you are. Stairs got you, huh? Live here long enough and you’ll hit your head enough times to start calling them a tourist attraction.” The Oricorio sat down, drawing her legs up against her body and wrapping her wings around them. “Anyway tourist, you don’t look too bad, but if you need some rest, the Kangaskhan cafe is right around the corner. They have free lodgings, hardly ever full.”

“Oh, okay.” For a few moments more, Corphish sat in a daze before his mind finally clicked into place. “Ah- thank you for checking on me,” he stammered, “I fell down the stairs after I dropped…” He glanced around himself, only to find his bag was gone. “My stuff!” 

“Your?” Gigue made a face. “I get it. Sorry to say, but it looks like you’ve been robbed. You had nothing on you when I found you.”

Corphish looked at the Oricorio in a panic. “Hey, hey, hey, you can’t be serious.” He jumped up and ran to the stairs, pulling himself up with his claws on steps too high for him to walk. 

The Oricorio shook her head, not moving from her spot. “Totally am, you’re probably out of luck at this point. Look, just go to the cafe, they can hook you up with a traveler emergency fund so you can get home.”

“I don’t need help with that!” Corphish grunted, pulling himself up another step. “I can get that all myself if I wanted. But my badge was there!”

“What, like a rescue team badge?” Gigue’s expression was unmoved. “Those sell for a lot, you probably won’t find it again.” She gestured with a wing. “You could just get another one, no?”

Corphish ignored her, reaching for the next step with one claw. But he missed, his grip slipping as he tumbled backwards back to the ground. Crying out in frustration, Corphish smacked a claw on the ground. “No! It’s my badge! I can’t just ask for another one! What kind of- what kind of loser does that?”

“Eh?” Gigue frowned, standing up and walking over to Corphish. “It can’t be that bad to just ask.”

“I might as well admit that I’m a failure if I can’t even keep track of one badge,” Corphish replied, tears welling up in his eyes. “Of course no one would get angry, because it’s just another thing they’d expect from me!”

Gigue looked around. “And you know this?” she asked.

Corphish unsteadily got to his feet, breathing hard. “I just have to find it. Without it, I’m less than nothing.” He smiled sadly. “But I guess it could be worse.”

“Hey!” Gigue smacked Corphish across the face. “It’s gone, get it? If you want to tear up this whole town looking for some little piece of metal or whatever, you’re just going to get yourself thrown in jail. What would everyone you know think of you then?”

This caused him to pause. “They’d think-” he started slowly, “They’d think- no, I wouldn’t want them to worry about me.”

“Yeah, something like that!” Gigue exclaimed, grabbing Corphish’s claw. “Look, just follow me, you need to calm down.”

The Oricorio dragged Corphish out the opposite end of the alley to a smaller street, Corphish allowing himself to be dragged along without much resistance. His expression was blank and he stared off to the side unhappily. 

In the Kangaskhan cafe, Gigue suddenly grabbed Corphish and bodily lifted him up into a seat before sitting down herself.

“Do I look like I’m a graceful dancer?” she asked with a smirk. “I can beat up anyone who’s not up to my standards for a dance partner.” Gigue took a moment to compose herself. “Alright, start from the beginning. What are you doing here and why are you so concerned about a stupid badge?”

“It’s not… stupid,” Corphish protested weakly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wow, so you know team Pokepals?” Oricorio seemed impressed. “Sorry, team Rebellion.” She grimaced saying the name. 

“A little, yeah,” Corphish said, poking at a piece of bread. “It feels like they just joined the guild recently, but they’ve been a professional team for years now.”

 Gigue leaned forward, grabbing the edge of the table with her wings. “Out of curiosity, do you think they have a lot of money saved up?”

Corphish glanced at her. “I wouldn’t know, but I suppose so. The guild has made a lot of money from their affiliate cuts.” 

“Mmmm.” She slumped backwards. “So anyways, you left for a while because you feel like you’re kind of falling behind your pals?”

Corphish nodded. “I just want to make something of myself. I… I left as quickly as I could, because if I had stuck around too long, I might have not been able to go through with it.”

“Buut, you ended up leaving so quick, you ended up here with no reason,” Gigue replied, “I can respect the drive to just do it, but now you seem put out with nothing to show for it.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Corphish took a bite of his food. “Crying like a dummy and spilling my guts out to a stranger.”

“Sahra’s a tough town, it’s nice to talk with someone so open for once.”

“I’ve been told I have a knack for becoming friends with trustworthy pokemon,” Corphish said. “One notable exception aside, I feel like they might have been right.”

Gigue seemed taken aback. “You’re saying I’m trustworthy? That’s a lot to make out of an hour of knowing someone.”

Corphish seemed unperturbed. “Hey, hey, call it a gut feeling.”

“Ha, sure.” The Oricorio sighed. “So what will you do next? If you’re not sure, maybe I could pose an idea to you.”

“I have nothing,” Corphish admitted, “I really do want my badge back, but I know that’s not a very reasonable thing to aim for.”

“Why don’t we start our own guild here then?” Gigue smiled, looking to Corphish for approval.

Corphish could only stare. “Huh?”  

“Let me explain,” the Oricorio started, “There is a guild based out of the Sand Continent, but they’re more focused on exploration, since there are so many ruins around here. If we start our own guild, we can focus on tackling the thieves and criminals around here and maybe we can find out where your badge went!” 

“That’s kind of ambitious,” Corphish said, unconvinced. 

“Right back at you,” Gigue retorted, “You’re the one who came here on a whim, and now you have nothing.”

“Urk.” Corphish couldn’t counter her argument. “It wouldn’t be much of a guild with just us though, would it?”

“How else would they start?” 

A Kangaskhan came by with a bowl of soup for Gigue. With a quick word of thanks, she took a big gulp. “We’ll recruit as we go! You didn’t give yourself a time limit or anything either, so we can go at it as slowly as we need.”

Strangely, Corphish found himself intrigued at the prospect as she went on. “O-okay. So you would be the guildmaster?” 

Gigue laughed. “No way. You would be!” 

Corphish was shocked. “Me?”

“You’re from Wigglytuff’s guild,” the Oricorio said, “Everything you said earlier aside, you’re still in that guild! I’ve never been a part of that. Even if you think you can’t do it, you can learn how.”

Corphish started to think, but just as quickly slammed his claw on the table, startling Gigue who stared at him. “I already pushed my worries aside once,” he said quietly, “So I can do it again.” He nodded at Gigue. “Let’s do it!” 

The Oricorio crossed her wings, exuding confidence. “Then we start tomorrow. It’s still mid-morning, but I’ll need to get some things ready. In the meantime, you need to think of a name! Am I correct in assuming you wouldn’t want to call it ‘Corphish’s guild?” 

“Um, yes,” Corphish replied, feeling a little embarrassed. “I’ll see what I can think of.”

“Great! We’ll meet here tomorrow morning,” Gigue said, “See you soon, partner!”

“Sure thing.” Corphish replied. For a moment, he was unsure of whether to respond similarly, but he steeled himself, pushing down his anxiety. 

“Partner.”