Chapter 5 – The First Blow

“My, My! Quite the little adventure!”

Matilda placed her tea cup down and clapped. Her thin smile only made Drake grip his own cup tighter. Not once during him recounting the crew’s journey did she say a word, instead only responding with small nods or a wave. Every now and then, she would scribble on her little notebook. 

“You put even a veteran navy officer to shame with your efficiency. We’re lucky to have such a talented captain in our service!” She giggled. “Now then, about that human?” 

Drake sighed and placed his cup down. “Well, there isn’t too much to say about him. We’ve only recently met, mind you.”

“That’s alright. I just want to know about some of his qualities!” Matilda said.

Reclining back into his seat, Drake raised a hand to his chin. 

“Well now, if I had to describe him…”

“…And that’s the basic history of Adventurers! Exciting, right?”

As if on cue, Maxim snapped out of his trance and glanced up at the Combusken. Despite the long explanation, he managed to take in the main points. Adventurers were a task force spread out across the skies. Under the service of a guild, they would go around handling all sorts of tasks including rescue missions, bounty hunting, item retrieval and more. Each job would vary from island to island, meaning that an adventurer had to stay on their toes. Despite the risks and hard work involved, Maxim had to admit it did sound rather exciting for a fantasy world job. However, Maxim couldn’t shake the feeling on how close the job seemed to overlap with the basic descriptions of privateers. 

I wonder if there’s some kind of innate link between them. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to ask,

He thought.

Maxim shrugged. “It’s cool, I guess.”

Hurik raised a brow. “You guess? I’m surprised you’re not over the moon after that. Oh what, does your country or whatever have an even cooler job?” 

“Uhh no, I just thought it sounded similar to how Privateers operate.” Maxim said. “Well uhh, without the guild and all.” 

Hurik’s eyes darkened while his head feathers glowed, a small wave of heat emanating from his form. He quickly relaxed and rubbed his head. 

“Privateers, huh? Funny how your familiar with them and not Adventurers. But anyway, yes the two do share similarities, but with several key differences. For one, guilds don’t function like a crew. Most adventurers are on their own or with a partner or two backing them up. Also, adventurers aren’t given nearly as free reign as privateers are to handle their business, not to mention the entree fees. And one more thing, adventurers don’t handle some of the more…

darker

jobs their counterparts do.” 

Hurik winked at the last point, causing a shiver to roll up Maxim’s spine. “D-darker jobs?”

Hurik nodded. “Well privateers can be considered to be pirates on a leash. And anyone can tell you how the average pirate operates.” A grin creeped on his beak. “Just think about it, having the ability to use troublemakers on your beck and call when needed. Sowing a little chaos here, exploring dangerous islands over there, who else is more useful than those who throw caution to the wind?”

Hurik’s grin instantly vanished as his eyes dimmed. 

“But keeping pirates on a leash? That’s kinda careless if you ask me. What’s keeping them from cutting ties and going off on their own once they get bored of dancing to someone else’s tune? Well, several things, but that’s besides the point.”

Hurik sighed and reclined back. Maxim swore he could see a tinge of sadness appear on his face. “Not much chance of being a free spirit with that arrangement. I don’t agree on how some pirates can be willing to do that. Trading freedom for so-called benefits. Hmph.”

A few seconds of awkward silence passed. Just before any of them could break the mold, a massive shadow engulfed them. Standing by their table was a Nidoqueen wearing a white apron stained with grease and other liquids. A tray holding two striped bowls was in her hand. 

“You boys order the Oran special, ya?” She asked with a noticeable accent. Both nodded in response. She placed down the bowls before waving and leaving. 

Maxim looked down at his bowl. Floating around in the thick broth was an entanglement of blue noodles with meat and strange vegetables finely cut on top. Triangle slices of a blue fruit floated in the center, completing the dish. A sweet, orange-like scent came from the steam, adding to Maxim’s hunger. 

A fit of laughter erupted from Hurik as he crossed his arms across his stomach. “You’re just drooling at that dish! Can’t blame you though! It’s good stuff!” Hurik chuckled, before grabbing two wooden sticks. “Sorry for going off a tangent, I get kinda heated sometimes, but it’s all good now!” 

Hurik pointed the chopsticks at Maxim. “Now then, feel free to dig in while it’s hot!” 

While he dug into his meal, Maxim adjusted his posture to take into account his size and the bowl’s placement. An awkward minute of shifting around later, Maxim took his first bite. He was blown away by the sweet and tangy taste of the soft noodles. The broth’s slight bitterness balanced out the taste while the chopped meat and vegetables stood out with their spices. Combined with tender fruit, the meal was perfect: neither too mild nor spicy and blended wonderfully into a hearty dish. 

“I could cry, it’s so good!”

He thought. This was only his second meal in this world, he never would have imagined such a strong first impression!

Just as Maxim finished slurping up the last of his meal, a shadow approached. Both him and Hurik turned to find themselves face to face with a new visitor. Black fur covered their body from head to toe, only broken up by circular neon-blue lines. A silken white scarf with a golden badge identical to Hurik’s was around their neck. Their yellow eyes are narrowed into thin slits that glared daggers towards Hurik. 

“There you are! Do you have any idea how long I’ve searched for you, only to see you lazing on your ass and stuffing your face?!” The Umbreon snarled, her voice deep and raspy. She brushed at her ears waiting for Hurik to respond. 

The Combusken stared back, only speaking after setting down his bowl. “Traveling around the entire island works up quite an appetite! What better way to satisfy it than with a nice bowl?” He shot a wink towards Maxim. 

After looking over Maxim, the Umbreon let out a snort. “Who are you supposed to be, Hurik’s little lunch buddy? Did he bore you to sleep with his stories yet?” 

“No ma’am, he didn’t. I enjoyed the discussion!” Maxim said. “I’m curious. Are you and him part of the same adventurer’s guild? You have the same badge and everything.” 

“Hmph, he’s more than that, he’s my partner! One that decided to go and goof off in town instead of helping me with our tasks.” She scoffed, brushing her ears again. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, what is your name, miss Umbreon?” Maxim asked.

Her body relaxed as she tilted her head away, anger replaced by an unenthused stare. “Celene. Part of Team Pale Moon along with him.” She flicked an ear at Hurik’s direction, causing him to wave. 

Maxim raised a wing to his beak. “Partners? Were you two sent here on a mission, by chance?”

“Yep, for survey work.” Celene snorted. “At least we were, until my partner decided to cut his work short. I’m not letting you off easy!”

“Okay okay! I finished my meal anyway, so I’m happy to get back to work!” Hurik grinned, sheepishly rubbing his crest. He placed his bowl on the table before he got up and walked off with Celene. Before he got too far away, he cocked his head back. 

“Hey Maxim, it was nice talking to you. Hope we can meet again before we leave!” 

“Yeah, it was nice! I hope the same!” Maxim called back. 

With a thumbs up, the Combusken ran off to catch up with his partner. Left alone, Maxim sat and tried to collect his thoughts, only for the arrival of a third, familiar visitor to interrupt him.

“So I find you chowing down at a noodle place, eh? Not a bad choice.” Rene spoke with her arms crossed.  

“Ah, Rene! G-good to see you again!” Maxim stammered. “What have you been up t-to?”

“Well, I went around asking the locals about the different sights and places around here. I learned about a few cool places. Then, I found you before you could get lost, which didn’t take me long. After all, a Rowlet’s pretty rare in this part of the skies.”

She placed a paw on her hip and sighed. “Whew! You should have seen that Umbreon that left here just now. I bumped into her by accident and she gave me a crazy killer stare! Talk about having a stick up your arse!” 

Maxim gave a nervous chuckle as he thought about Celene’s aggressiveness. While Hurik was nice, he wouldn’t mind missing out on his partner. 

“What’s with the other bowl? You meet some new buddy or something?” She teased. 

“Uhhh, it’s nothing to worry about. Now, about those sights, Rene.” Maxim deflected. 

“Hmph. Follow me!”

With that, the two slipped out of the restaurant and onto the open road.

Maxim trailed her all the way to the town’s outskirts. Cobblestone gave way to unkempt dirt as they entered a forest trail. Thin trees and shrubs dotted both sides and it was quiet save for the chirping around them. 

“Hey Rene, where are we going?” Maxim asked as he flew level with her. 

The Mienfoo smirked. “You’re about to see in a moment. Be patient, will you?” 

Sure enough, over a small hill, a strange landmass came into view. Carved into the side of a small cliff was a cave resembling a monster’s open maw.. Its eyes were overgrown with vines dangling from them while the teeth were stalagmites and stalactites. A wooden sign with faded black words hung haphazardly from a rope.

GLIGAR CAVE – en of B n its 

Maxim was puzzled. This place was marked on his map but it didn’t look like a featured landmark. The dilapidated state made him wonder if the residents were simply trying to forget it existed. 

“This isn’t exactly a sightseer’s dream.” Maxim sighed. “You certainly didn’t drag me out here just to take a photo, I’m guessing.”

“What the hell is a photo? I brought you here so we can train!” 

“Don’t worry about it, just was thinking of something from- Wha? T-t-training?!” He stammered. “As in, fighting?”

A wide grin spread over Rene’s face as she clapped her palms together. 

“That’s right! Part of my role is to get you up to speed in combat. And what better place to do that privately than a dusty old cave?”

He gulped as he remembered his promise to Drake. He did want to grow stronger and he would need a good base to start. That didn’t mean he wanted to dive into some run down cafe with little more than a torch guiding him!.

“W-won’t it be too dark to try and fight in there?” 

“Bah! Don’t tell me you’re scared of a little darkness!” Rene scoffed. “Besides, there’s going to be plenty of times you fight with poor vision. Best to learn the basics now than to pay for not knowing later!” 

“I suppose…” He groaned. 

Heading into the cave, Maxim realized that he could see well even without relying on Rene’s torch. 

“Huh? I better chalk it up to my new body I guess.” 

Strewn around were the remnants of wooden minecarts and steel rails. What must be pickaxes and hammers embedded in the walls were coated in rust. Large pillars of soil mixed with pebbles rose from the ground. The air was  cold and dry, making Maxim hug his scarf closer to his body. 

“So this was a mine?” Maxim asked. 

Rene nodded. “Yeh. Supposedly this was some mystery dungeon ages ago that eventually transformed into a regular cave loaded in minerals. The locals pretty much mined it out and then bandits turned it into their hideout. But that’s all history now.” She kicked a rock further down a corridor. A small echo of its impact could be heard a few seconds later. 

“A mystery dungeon?”

“Oh right, your amnesia.” Rene sighed. “Mystery Dungeons are weirdo places that generate all over the world. Every island has at least one that pops up, teeming with mindless pokemon we call ferals, or wildies as far as us skymen go.”

Her head swiveled from side to side right before she leaned in. “Then sometimes they just… stop being mysterious ‘n all like this place. The wildies inside all disappear and nobody’s sure if they just left or straight-up go poof. I don’t care either way!” 

“That’s nuts!” Maxim said.

Just how much crazier does this world get? Floating in the sky, talking animals, and now this?

He really wanted to groan.

Past a tight tunnel, the pair entered a clearing. Light beamed down from a hole in the ceiling, allowing a good view without a torch. 

Withered fabric and rotted wood littered the ground, the remains of tents and minecarts piled up along the walls. Scorch marks of a lit campfire were still visible, though most of the remaining ash was long gone. Boulders strewn around had strange symbols carved into them, only adding to the archaic visage. Rene seemed indifferent to all of it, given how she sat down on a boulder and tossed her torch to the ground.

“Guess this is the bandit’s camp. Ah well! This’ll be a good spot to train in! No distractions, no nosy onlookers, just us and this dusty old cave!”

Leaping into the open campsite’s remains, she raised up her fist and assumed a fighting stance. “C’mon, C’mon! Don’t be a hatchling! Face me!” Her paw waved back and forth.

Maxim sighed and fluttered down on the opposite side. He sure as hell didn’t know how to assume a fighting stance, so he tried his best to give her a cold stare. Seconds passed without a word between the two. Within the blink of an eye, Rene crossed the gap. Her raised fist slammed into the ground in front of Maxim, kicking up dust. He jumped back only for Rene to swing out her leg. The impact sent him skidding across the ground. There was little chance to catch his breath as Rene leaped into the air and slammed her fist down. Maxim rolled away at the last second. 

Soon, the spar had devolved into a game of cat and mouse between the two. Rene stayed glued to the Rowlet, hitting him with punch after punch. The blows were meaty and knocked him around, but left him with a stinging sensation at worst. In vain he attempted to claw at her with his talons, but this did little to dissuade her. As he tried to fly up to escape her, Rene landed a mean right hook to his back. The Rowlet slammed into the ground and struggled to get up.

“What is WITH you?!” Rene hissed. “Fight back! You’re a pokemon, for Arceus’s sake!” 

Maxim strained his head to look at her, a weary sign escaping his beak. “I know that! I just can’t get anything to happen! It’s like a mental block!” 

The Mienfoo raised a paw to her temple, then began to charge energy into her fist. “You know I’ve been holding back on you! I thought you’d get it by now! But still nothing! Why are you so weak, Maxim? You’re useless!”

“U-useless?” He stuttered. 

“Yeah that’s right! You want to be a part of this crew and you can’t even throw out a basic attack? You’re useless! Best you could do is be a cabin boy!” Rene crouched low to the ground, preparing to rush again. “And now, I’m gonna knock you down!”

That word bounced around in his head as he gripped soil with his talons. Useless, useless, useless. This wasn’t some spur of the moment decision, he’d do anything to recover his memory and humanity back! 

“Even if I don’t have any powers, that doesn’t mean I’m going to just give up and leave the crew!” He yelled back. “I’m not usel-”

…!

A piercing ring echoed in his skull as he felt another memory bubble to the surface, this time allowing him to picture the scene. 

A wooden desk was in front of him, with a figure sitting behind it. A stack of papers was laid out before him, with only the figure’s smile being a visible detail. The figure then opened their mouth to speak in a garbled tone.

“I’ve appreciated your effort up to this point, but I’m sorry to say we have no more need for you. Effective immediately, you’re to be removed from the project.”

Maxim slammed his hands,


human


hands onto the desk. “What? How can you do this to me? After everything?!” 

The figure flashed a smile that extended from ear to ear. “Thanks to arrangements, you are well… unnecessary, unneeded.” They leaned over the desk, towering over him. Void-colored eyes burned their glare into Maxim’s own. 

“Useless.”

Pain coursed through his skull as he covered his head. It felt like his head was going to split apart. 

“Huh, what’s wrong?” Rene asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Just leave me alone!” He roared. “I’ve dealt with enough already! And now you want to take this away from me too?” A green glow enveloped Maxim’s wings as he raised them at her.

“I’m not useless!”

Three feathers launched like arrows, coated in green energy. Rene, startled, lept back right as they impacted the ground. Again, Maxim shot another set. Rene swerved to dodge then pressed on her attack. Motivated by an unknown instinct, Maxim charged at her and slammed into her chest. The Mienfoo froze for a moment, only to backhand him away. 

Both of them paused, Maxim letting out small gasps. He shakenly looked down at his wings. A strange feeling of relief came over him, as if he’d climbed a cliff all by himself. He summoned a loose feather again, closely examining it, and threw it at a nearby rock. The resulting impact shattered it into dust. 

“This is my own power?” He marveled. Razor sharp feather projectiles? This new body truly was a wonder. He turned back to Rene, who had relaxed her stance and crossed her arms.

“Heh! I knew you could do it! All you needed was a little roughing up, is all!” She grinned. “Think you used another move when you slammed into my chest. Sure didn’t feel like a regular blow.”

Maxim nodded. There was a certain feeling he got from using both attacks, which made him wonder if it really was a natural instinct. “I can use more than one attack, right?”

Rene snickered, “of course you can! Up to four moves at a time! And of course, there’s only one way to figure that out.” She charged energy into her fists. “Cmon!”

The thought of getting pummeled again by her without holding back made him shudder. But there was no point in bowing out now. 

“Alright, l-lets do this! For real this time!”

The Rowlet rushed forward, this time with a nervous grin on his face.

“And… that’s it for now.”

Drake crossed his arms as he waited for Matilda to finish writing down his report. The Indeedee had not moved her sight from her notepad. Seconds trickled into minutes before she spoke again.

“Again, I thank you for providing me with such wonderful information! This concludes our meeting!” She reached into a bag and handed him a beige envelope. Gold trimming lined its edges and a gold, three-leaf symbol was stamped to the back. Drake placed it into his vest pocket.

“So what will you do now? I suppose you will have to report to the Sol Knights about our little chat as well?” 

“If you think we will take custody of the little one, then you have nothing to fear. He can stay with you for now.” Matilda said.

Drake flicked his crest. “Hmm? I’m surprised that you would trust a no-good pirate like me. What’s the catch?” 

For the first time since starting, a frown replaced Matilda’s smile. “The Knights will be watching you closely. Should we deem you inadequate for holding the human, we will confiscate him from you.” Said frown vanished as she put on another smile. “I have faith in you, however! Do continue to impress the governor and myself!” 

Drake rose and gave her a small nod. “If we’re finished here, I best be on my way then!” Before exiting, he turned around to see Matilda giving her a small wave. With that, he was finally done with his business here.

Just outside the door, Signal silently waited for him. The large Braviary levitated off the ground and took to the skies, flying in an arc. Drake made sure to put as much distance between him and the house as he could before letting out a hefty sigh. 

“Well that was an annoyance. To have a Great Knight meet me at such an ill moment.”

“

Does he mean to test your loyalty? If so, how much does he suspect of you?”

A deep voice spoke from high above. Drake looked up to see Signal’s crest pulsating with pink light. 

“It was most likely out of the governor’s hand. The monarchy’s been getting anxious to stay on top of things lately. Me and him are on the same page, so no need to worry.” Drake said.

Signal’s crest gleamed again. “

Fair enough. Shall we return back?”

 

The captain straightened up his vest before raising a hand to his crest. He swore he could hear a sigh from Signal’s end.

“Indeed! Let’s go back home, first mate!”

“Max..!”

“Maxim!”

“Hey, Maxim!”

Maxim groaned as he slowly opened his eyes to light. Moving his body around, he could feel the softness of grass beneath him. As his eyes adjusted, the sight of orange sky and treetops greeted him. He rose up in confusion. How did he get outside of the cave? As he looked to his side he found Rene staring back at him. 

“Took you long enough!” Rene said, arms crossed. “I didn’t think I hit ya that hard!”

He groaned and rubbed his head. “What happened? Last thing I remember was us clashing blows.”

“Well I may have struck you a little harder than I realized and plain knocked you out. My bad!” 

“Did I at least unlock a new move?”

“Uhh, well you growled at me. Guess that counts.”

“Growling is a move?” 

“Yeah!”

Maxim blinked in response. He had a

lot

to learn about move diversity, it seemed. Turning back to the cave, the location glowed in the light of the setting sun. 

“Hey Maxim. I hope you didn’t take those words of mine to heart too badly.” Rene sighed, rubbing the back of her head. “I just wanted to get you riled up in battle, is all.” 

Maxim looked off into the distance. He thought about the word “useless” again and that painful memory. He couldn’t help but stay frustrated, not at her words, but at himself. How come his own personal memories could only trickle back into place but concepts were no issue? No doubt that voice had a hand!

“Yeah, it’s no problem. I just wanted help knowing what my body could do.” He looked down at himself. His feathers were ruffled and his scarf was nearly tattered. Rene had really done a number on him. “I was a bit worried you got put off by my freakout.”

“Nah! It’s been too long since I got someone riled up. Bound to happen sometime!” She snickered, causing Maxim to sigh and roll his eyes.

“Pretty peaceful place, eh?” Rene said as she took a seat on the grass. “Haven’t been to an island like this in a long time.” She reached inside her bag and tossed over a small, spherical blue fruit with small pores. Maxim realized it was the fruit from his earlier meal.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten what an Oran Berry is! Eat it so you’ll get healed right up!” She teased.

Maxim swallowed the fruit, its sweet and tangy flavor delightfully familiar. A refreshing feeling rushed over his body and he felt rejuvenated enough to move around. 

“Wow, this feels great!” He exclaimed. 

The bliss coursing through him was enough to make him twirl in place. As he looked at the forest around, a nagging feeling crawled up from behind. Far away past a row of trees, he could make out shadows moving around. He rubbed his eyes only to see they had vanished, but his uneasiness was only growing. 

“What’s wrong?” Rene asked.

“I dunno, felt like someone was watching us for a second.” He answered. 

Rene got up and walked away, swerving her head from side to side. “Hmph, could be some curious villager, I imagine one of them may have noticed us passing through. I guess we should head back for now.”

“Seconded.” 

Maxim followed closely behind, not wanting to stick around to find out. Rows of trees came and went with no sign of movement. Only a few minutes later the pair found themselves staring at a curious newcomer. In front was a spherical blue pokemon identified as a Marill. Gauntlet-covered paws held a small wooden sphere, while a blue scarf was wrapped around the base of their tail. A frown was on their face and their body trembled every few seconds.

“H-hey! What do you t-think you’re uh, doing out here?!” The Maril stammered in a young male’s voice. He raised the spear at both of them, gripping it the best his trembling paws would let him.

Rene walked up slowly and placed a paw on his spear. “Ease up, you big baby. We’re just checking out the cave here. Heard it’s a neat local attraction!” She winked at Maxim, who gave her a hasty nod back.

The Marill shook his head. “Famous or not, y-you shouldn’t be going in there! It’s dangerous and unstable f-from years of u-use! You could uh, g-get hurt!”

“And who are you supposed to be, my dad?” Rene scoffed. “Aren’t you supposed to be patrolling the city or whatever your lot does?”

“I’m the o-one who should be asking t-the questions here!” The Marill barked back.

She released her grip and began to walk off.  “Eh don’t worry about it, we were leaving anyway. Have fun with your patrol!” 

With that, the pair continued on their way, ignoring the guard. 

“Don’t you ignore m-m-me!” He hollered, hopping up and down. “T-treat me with some respect!” 

“

I can’t imagine a guy like that could sneak around so easily.”

He thought. Turning back one last time, he saw nothing moving around in the forest, and that nagging feeling of his had vanished. “

Whoever or whatever that was must have left already. Glad they did, but I still feel uneasy.” 

His thoughts would circle between his newfound powers and the strange encounter all the way back to the ship.