CRASH!!!

“GOOD MORNING!”

Yup. Now that the expedition was over and the guild was all back and settled at the base, it was back to business as usual. Rickety and Lexxi quietly groan to themselves as they’re suddenly woken up, covering their ears as they try to bury their faces deeper against their cushions.

“IT’S MORNING! WAKE UP! TIME TO GET UP, BUCKAROOS!”

The rhythm of stomps trails off into the distance of the hallways, Lexxi and Rickety glancing at each other with tired expressions.

“If there’s one thing I didn’t miss during the expedition, it was this.” Lexxi yawns, slowly standing up and stretching her body out a bit. “Forgot what waking up without an alarm clock was like.”

Rickety lets out a yawn as well, arms stretching up above his head. “Mmnnreegghh, back to the old grind, back to guild training. Wonder how much has changed while we were gone?”

“Probably same old same old, as usual.” Lexxi chimes, as the two head out to the main floor. Seems like everyone else was still getting used to being back home, the morning routine hasn’t even been done yet.

Chatot was at his usual spot, overseeing everything, his eyes landing on the duo, gesturing for them to come closer. “Ah, you two! Hope the two of you slept well! Come here for a moment?” Rickety and Lexxi comply, walking up towards Chatot. “So, a number of requests have come in during the past few days we’ve been gone, and Dugtrio is still working to get everything set up. While we’re still getting the guild back up to speed, I’d like to ask you two a favor!”

The two nod, smiling, even if they were still a little tired. “Sure, no biggie!” Rickety responds. “What do you want us to do?”

“Quite simple, really!” Chatot chirps, wings ruffling slightly. “I’d like the two of you to head over to Kecleon Market, ask them if they’re planning on stocking Perfect Apples any time soon.”

Lexxi tilts her head, expression turning to confusion. “Are we already running low on Perfect Apples again? I thought our trip to Apple Woods would’ve held us over for a while longer. Wasn’t that just a few days ago?”

Chatot clears his throat, nervously glancing back at the door to the Guildmaster’s quarters. “Well… The Guildmaster tends to raid the storage when we’re not looking sometimes and has himself a little feast. And I’ve already told you of what happens if he were to ever be deprived of his Perfect Apples, so, I believe you get the picture.”

Rickety hums, rubbing at the back of his head. “I mean, we can always just go back to Apple Woods and grab another fresh supply if-“

“Oh- No! You needn’t!” Chatot flaps his wings rapidly. “I do appreciate the offer, and I understand the two of you did well last time! But we’re looking to hopefully find a better alternative. Having to send teams out to scavenge for more Perfect Apples when supply is low tends to be a chore, and frankly, often a waste of time.”

“…Oooohhh, I get it!” Lexxi exclaims. “It’d be more efficient if we could just buy them instead of having to trek all the way out there every time! We could pay a visit and ask, sure! We still gotta pay them back for the revive seed, anyway.”

As Lexxi and Rickety are about to head off, the sound of Loudred being, well, loud, draws their attention. “What do you mean you can’t identify the footprint?!”” The floor rumbles a bit as he stomps, shouting down the hole to the sentry den.

The Riolu, Skitty and Chatot all glance at each other, heading on over to investigate. “Is something the matter?” Chatot asks, tilting his head inquisitively.

Loudred turns to face them, face scrunched up in frustration as he nods. “We have a visitor up top whose footprint we can’t identify!”

“I keep trying to tell you! I only know what I know! I can’t tell you what I don’t!” Diglett shouts from below, letting out an irritated groan that echoes from the hole. “I don’t usually get stumped like this!”

_{“Never mind the fact that you didn’t even recognize Lexxi’s footprint when she got here…”} Rickety mutters under his breath, eyes glancing away. It’s too early for this.

“…Huh?” Diglett’s voice can be heard echoing inquisitively from the hole. “You wanna see our Guildmaster? …Your name is Dusknoir?! Wait just a moment! We’ll be with you right away!”

Chatot and Loudred’s attention is both captured by Diglett’s words, eyes going wide as they snap to each other. “Dusknoir?!”

“The world famous Dusknoir?!”

Lexxi and Rickety share a confused glance at each other as Chatot hops away over to the Guildmaster’s quarters. “Do you know who Dusknoir is, Rickety?” Lexxi asks, arching an eyebrow.

Rickety can only shake his head in response. “Not a clue. I feel like I would’ve heard of him if he’s ‘world famous…'”

Their attention is drawn towards the ladder from the top floor, a ghostly greyish Pokemon adorned with yellow accents across his body descending from the top floor, Wigglytuff rushing out with Chatot to meet him. He was tall, incredibly tall. Taller than everyone else in the guild! “Thank you for visiting!” Wigglytuff exclaims, his body bouncing in place. “It’s such an honor!”

The ghastly Pokemon chuckles, his singular eye gazing down at Wigglytuff. “No no, if anything, I should be saying that to you! To visit a guild as famous as your own is an honor in and of itself!”

As Wigglytuff and Dusknoir continue their chat, Rickety leans over to Loudred, who seems to be paying attention to the conversation with rapt attention. “Uhh… Excuse me, Loudred? Who is Dusknoir?”

Loudred promptly turns around, eyes wide in surprise. “What?! You mean to tell me you don’t know who DUSKNOIR is?!”

“We’ve been busy!” Lexxi responds. “We’ve been so focused on training for the guild that we haven’t had time to hear about rumors or gossip or, whatever! Cut us some slack.”

“That’s not too surprising, actually!” Sunflora says, peering back at them past Loudred. “He’s a new arrival on the scene, showed up out of nowhere one day! Practically became famous overnight! His exploration skills are supposed to be exceptional!”

Rickety just tilts his head in confusion, though he does seem somewhat curious. “He’s that good, huh?”

_{“I feel like we’re being gaslighted.”} Lexxi mumbles to herself.

“But that’s not all!” Loudred continues. “He’s like an outlier, doing things that not a lot of people do! Like going completely solo on expeditions! Can you imagine how skilled he is to be able to do that?!”

Rickety rubs at the back of his head, brows furrowing a bit. “I mean… I’ve explored a little bit myself, but it wasn’t really anywhere dangerous or difficult. If he’s venturing off on his own to all these places… I guess that does sound pretty cool!”

“And not only that,” Sunflora chimes in again. “He’s also extremely smart. You could ask him about anything in the world and he’d probably be able to answer you no problem!”

The Riolu chuckles to himself, his expression softening. “The more I learn about him, the more he sounds like the kinda explorer I always wanted to be myself.”

Lexxi muffles a laugh. “Got yourself a new role model, huh?”

“I guess? I wasn’t too sure at first, but he does sound cool! Ugh, why couldn’t I have learned about him sooner?”

Their attention is drawn back to the conversation between Dusknoir and Wigglytuff, Dusknoir scratching at his chin. “Hmm… I see. Can’t imagine how much of a disappointment it must have been for your guild.”

Wigglytuff nods. “Yup! Whole expedition was a waste of time! A fun waste of time that we all ended up enjoying, but still a big waste of time! Didn’t learn much of anything, really!”

“Hmm. I suppose Fogbound Lake is too illusive for even Wigglytuff’s guild to handle. A bit of a shame, really, but perfectly understandable. Was hoping to hear about your latest triumph, but alas. At the very least, it gave me the opportunity to visit you.” Dusknoir nods, smiling(?) at Wigglytuff. “I do plan on staying in Treasure Town for a while longer. Would you give me permission to visit you on occasion? Any information your guild receives would be a great help for my expeditions!”

Wigglytuff eagerly nods in response. “Of course! Other exploration teams come and visit us all the time! You’re more than welcome to stay!” Wigglytuff then redirects his attention to the rest of the guild. “Everyone! This is Dusknoir! He’s going to be staying in Treasure Town for a while, so please mind yourself around him!”

Dusknoir reaches out briefly. “Ah, introducing me won’t be necessary-“

“He’s very famous and very smart, so I imagine you all wanna hear some advice from him! But let’s try not to do overwhelm him, please! We don’t wanna be a nuisance!”

“And don’t swarm him by asking for autographs!” Chatot chimes in as well, raising a wing. “It’ll be rather… Embarrassing to swarm him in such a manner.”

Dusknoir chuckles quietly, shaking his head and rolling his eye. “Oh, please, it’s not that big a deal, really! If it’s autographs you want, I’d be more than happy to oblige! Though, I’d say that the tales of my knowledge are rather exaggerated, if not flattering. I’m afraid I don’t have much to offer. But regardless! I’d be more than happy to be of service to you.”

Things finally begin to settle down. Everyone is dismissed and back to their usual routines, Dusknoir having left for Treasure Town, Rickety and Lexxi still talking with each other about everything that had just happened.

“Y’know, I wasn’t really too sure about him at first, but Dusknoir is really neat!” Rickety says, his tail swishing back and forth behind him. “You see how humble he was? Grew world famous overnight, everyone seems to know him and he’s just, really forward about everything! Gosh, there’s so many things I wanna ask him! Imagine how much we can learn from him!”

“Lexxi giggles to herself, her own tail swishing back and forth. “It’s always nice to see you get excited over something. Maybe we can talk with him after with done with… Oh right the market! We got so caught up in that I almost forgot.”

Rickety blinks a few times, chuckling to himself. “Eheh, right. Work now, fanboying later.”

---

“Five hundred ninety eight, five hundred ninety nine… Six hundred!!” Rickety exclaims, counting up the last of the P from the bank. “We should have enough to pay back the Kecleon Brothers now!”

Lexxi lets out a sigh of relief, tail swishing behind her. “Thank goodness, I thought we would’ve been a few short. Thanks for holding onto our money, Duskull.”

The floating ghost Pokemon chuckles softly. “Oh please, please, ’tis just the purpose of the bank, after all.”

Rickety tucks the money away in the pouch, tilting his head curiously at Duskull. “Oh, there’s something I wanted to ask, Duskull. Are you related to Dusknoir in any sorta way? You’re not like his younger brother or anything, are you?”

The Duskull chortles a laugh, shaking his head. “Oh, I wish. To be the sibling of such a wondrous figure would be positively sublime, but we are only of the same evolution tree, no blood relationships to be seen here. To imagine, becoming famous over the span of just a few days. All that attention drawn to the bank… Though I suppose ‘The Great Duskull” doesn’t roll of the tongue quite as fancily as ‘The Great Dusknoir.'”

“I can’t even begin to imagine what becoming famous overnight must be like.” Lexxi absentmindedly wonders, glancing up. “One day, you’re not really anybody, just somebody passing through a town. And then the next, everybody knows you, has all these expectations of you, all these conceptions of you… Sheesh, the more I think about it, the more I can’t even begin to imagine how Dusknoir must feel.”

Rickety shrugs with a smile. “I mean, hey, he seems to handle it pretty well, all things considered. Willing to give out autographs and everything, he knows how popular he is, just kinda makes the most of it. You gotta respect that.” He turns his attention back to Duskull. “We’ll be heading off, thanks again!”

“Of course, of course. Any time.~”

The walk through the town is mostly uneventful, but after they cross the bridge, they see a familiar, unmistakably tall Pokemon leaning down slightly towards the stand just to make eye contact with the shop owners.

“Hey, isn’t that…?”

“Dusknoir!”

The ghost Pokemon and the two Kecleon brothers notice Rickety and Lexxi running over to their stand, Dusknoir staring at them inquisitively, but welcoming. “Ah, you two! I think I recognize you, you were hanging in the back in Wigglytuff’s guild, weren’t you?”

“We’re Team Void! It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Dusknoir.” Rickety says, his eyes practically lit up as his tail swishes behind him.

Lexxi leans forward a bit, ears perked forward. “What’re you doing here? Out shopping for supplies?”

Dusknoir shakes his head in response, leaning against the stand. “No, just having a simple chat is all.”

“The whole reason we’re even having this chat in the first place is because someone couldn’t resist hailing him down.” The purple Kecleon eyes his brother with a teasing, yet still playful tone to his voice.

The green Kecleon chuckles and smiles to himself. “Can you blame me? I wouldn’t dream to waste an opportunity to chat with The Great Dusknoir! He really does know as much as people say he does, it’s truly incredible!”

Dusknoir rolls his eye, fingers tapping across the countertop. “You humble me too much, truly.

The green Kecleon redirect his attention to the Riolu and Skitty. “What would you two happen to be here for? Come to browse our fine wares once again?”

Rickety shakes his head in response. “Sorry, no, we came here because Chatot wanted us to ask you if you planned on stocking Perfect Apples any time soon.”

“Perfect Apples? Ahh…” Kecleon’s expression falls a bit, looking rather apologetic. “I’m afraid we don’t have any plans to stock them in the near future. Or ever at all, really. Having to trek all the way through the same mystery dungeon just to refresh stock is rather difficult and life threatening.”

_{“Says the one who occasionally sets up shop within said mystery dungeons sometimes.”} The purple Kecleon teasingly says under his breath.

The green Kecleon’s face scrunches up, huffing in response. _{“Hey! People pay good money for supplies in a pinch!”}

“Oh…” Lexxi’s ears droop a bit, but she nods in response. “Well, thanks for letting us know. I don’t think Chatot’s gonna be too happy to hear this.”

The two were about to head back off to the guild, when two familiar voices can be heard running down the trail. “”Marill come oooooooooooonnnn we gotta goooo!”

“I-I can’t bounce on my tail anymore like you can, Azurill! I’m too big for that!”

Azurill eventually comes to a stop right in front of the shop, waiting for his brother to catch up. “Have I gotten faster, or have you just gotten slower? Or older!”

Marill pants heavily, eventually finally catching up to his brother. “Really don’t need to rub it in, Azurill.”

“Ah! Well look who it is!” The green Kecleon chimes, leaning over the counter. “We haven’t seen either of you in quite a while, haven’t we?”

“Oh! Hi, Kecleon brothers!” Azurill happily bounces on his tail, his eyes turning to Rickety and Lexxi. “And Team Void, too!”

Rickety smiles and leans down so he’s more at eye level with the two brothers. “Well, hey guys! It’s good to see you two again! What’s got you in a hurry?”

“So, you know how we’ve been looking for our lost item for, basically forever?” Marill responds.

“Oh yeeaaahhh, I remember that.” Lexxi nods. “What was that called? A… A float water or something like that?”

“A Water Float, but close enough!” Azurill nods.

This catches Dusknoir’s attention, his eye widening a tad. “A Water Float? Quite the commodity you two have owning one of those!”

“Yeah! Which is why we’ve been searching for it for so long!” Azurill nods eagerly, bouncing on his tail. “We hard someone say they saw a Water Float on the beach today! And we’re rushing over there to find it!”

…

Of course, Zubat and Koffing were sculking it out just out of view, listening in on the entire conversation. The two of them turn to each other, both with wide, cunning smirks on their faces.

_{“You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?”} Zubat whispers to Koffing.

_{“Hoh-hoh, I sure am! C’mon, let’s head over and skedaddle with it before the twerps get there!”}

…

“Well, hey! We’re happy to hear that you’ve finally had something turn up in your search!” Lexxi says happily, tail idly swishing back and forth behind her.

“Mmhm!” Azurill nods. “We’re off to go find it! It was nice meeting up with you guys again!” And with that, Azurill starts bouncing off towards the beach.

“Wh- Hey!” Marill starts running off after Azurill. “You can’t just run off like that, Azurill! Wait for me!”

The green Kecleon’s expression turns curious, tapping at his chin a few times. “Hmm… Come to think of it, I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of a Water Float before. What does it even do?”

“A Water Float is an item for Azruill, specifically.” Dusknoir begins to explain. “Unlike Marill and Azumarill, Azruill is a Normal-Fairy type, so it’s aquatic abilities aren’t quite there just yet. The Water Float is supposed to help Azurill channel those abilities and set them on the path to evolution.” He pauses, laughing awkwardly. “Which, the state of evolution is rather iffy right now, given the state of time, but once things all settle down, I suppose.”

“Ahh, I see! It must be exceptionally rare, though, if I’ve not heard of it before.”

“That it would be!” Dusknoir continues to explain. It can only be acquired by exchanging equally rare items over and over again, the chances of finding one in the wild are exceedingly low.”

“…That would explain it. We only ever deal with buying and selling. No wonder we’ve never come across such a thing. To sell such a rare item…”

Rickety blinks a few times. “Oh! Right! Shoot, almost forgot.” He sets the wonder bag down, pulling out the sack from the bank. “We finally got enough money to pay you back for the Reviver Seed!” He smiles, setting it down on the counter. “Sorry it took so long, we scraped together everything we could!”

“Hey! A payment late is better than no payment at all! Thanks a bunch, you two!”

Lexxi smiles and nods. “Anyway, we’ve gotta get back to Chatot. See you later, Kecleons! And you too, Dusknoir!”

---

“They… Don’t have any plans to stock Perfect Apples?” Chatot’s expression drops into one that can only be described as fear. “That’s rather troublesome… If the Guildmaster doesn’t have a steady supply of Perfect Apples, then-“

“We already suggested we could just go to Apple Woods and get more.” Lexxi says, tilting her head. “You really sure you don’t need us to go?”

Chatot sighs and ruffles his feathers. “Look, you two did the guild a great help that day, and you were exceptional on the expedition, I recognize that. But I don’t want you to feel like we’re relying on you, you know? We’ll find another way to get the Perfect Apple situation handled, but for now, we-“

“HEY!”

Oh no he’s back again

Rickety and Lexxi turn in the direction of Loudred, staring at him, albeit ready to cover their ears.

“TEAM VOID! YOU’VE GOT VISITORS UP TOP AT THE ENTRANCE! GO SEE ‘EM!”

Rickety arches an eyebrow. “Visitors? For us?”

“There, see!” Chatot flaps his wings. “Now you’ve got an excuse to not head off into Apple Woods! I’ll figure it out myself, okay? Try not to worry too much!”

“If you say so.” Lexxi side-eyes Chatot, as Rickety scoops her up onto his back and the two begin to make their way for the entrance. Which… To their surprise, they see Azurill and Marill standing outside, waiting for them, their expressions rather worried, saddened.

“You guys don’t look so good.” Rickety says worryingly, setting Lexxi down beside him. “What’s wrong? You guys seemed really excited just a couple of minutes ago.”

“Well…” Marill’s ears droop against his head as he looks down at the ground. “We went looking for the Water Float at the beach, but when we got there, we couldn’t find it! But what we did find was this note.” Marill pulls out a piece of paper, handing it over to Rickety.

Lexxi leans over closer to Rickety, eyes peering over the paper. “What’s it say?”

“Gimme a sec.” His eyes begin to skim over the the words, clearing his throat. “The Water Float from the beach is now in our possession. If either of you want it, you’ll have to come and get it yourselves! We’ll be waiting in the deepest part of Amp Plains. But knowing how weak and scrawny you two are, the two of you will never reach us.” Rickety’s eyes squint as he reads the next part, his eyebrows furrowing. “…Chaw-haw-haw.”

Rickety and Lexxi share a knowing look with each other, their expressions furrowing with a tinge of frustration and anger. “Team Skull.” They both say in unison with each other, Azurill and Marill staring at them, confused.

“T-Team what?” Azurill asks, bouncing nervously on his tail.

“Guys, promise us you won’t go.” Lexxi says, turning to face the two brothers. “We’ll handle this ourselves. We’ll get your Water Float back and put those thieves in their rightful place.”

“Not like we can go.” Marill says dejectedly. “Amp Plains is a place full of electric type Pokemon, and me being a water type, it wouldn’t really end well for me…”

Rickety gives a reassuring smile. “Hey, that’s what we’re here for, isn’t it?” He turns he gaze back to Lexxi. “C’mon, let’s go give those bullies what for.” The two begin to make their way down the steps, determinedly making their way forward.

“They’re really starting to cross one line too many.” Lexxi huffs, tail already puffing out. “Giving us trouble is one thing, but bringing innocent Pokemon like Azurill and Marill into it too?! I think I’ve had just about enough of them.”

“Maybe we should report them to Magnezone’s squad, have them recognized as outlaws so they can be captured.”

“One step at a time, Rickety, one step at a time. We won’t let them get away with this.”