The Jailor

Having successfully joined their team, Adam was already well on his way to becoming a top explorer. They just took their first mission together, and they would only have to do a few thousand more before they could become the best of the best. Surely, they would be there in no time at all.

Tending to his leg brace, Adam threaded his foot through the leather straps, tightening each one before he stood up. He was slightly unsteady at first, so he sat back down to readjust it.

However, when he went to pull back a loose tuft of hair, he noticed something strange. Underneath the fur of his left leg, A strand of red ran down his skin, bumpy and thin. After a few seconds of staring at it confused, he finished readjusting his fur and stood back up. Moving upright for the first time since waking up here was slow, but it was like he was a bolt of lightning compared to how fast Concord and Chary searched the cave around them.

Chary swayed back and forth while he watched, trying to straighten out something of his own as well; a backpack filled with loose orbs.

“All we’re doing here is getting in, beating up that monster, and getting out,” he said.

“Yes Chary, we get it.” Concord groaned, rolling her eyes. “Do you feel like repeating it a few more times?” she spoke with an air of sarcasm. “It’s kind of strange, don’t you think? Most dungeons only make mundane stuff like wood and sugar, but”

“Except for the ones that don’t,” Chary interrupted, “Yeah, it’s a shitty job, but we need some money quickly. Keep your heads up.” It was the third time Adam had heard that reminder, but he still didn’t know why. “Oh! Look!” Chary abruptly stopped, pointing to a Pinsir in a corner of the room.

The world drowned out around Adam. He stared at its horrifying spikes and thorns, and nothing else mattered. He felt his heart speed up and his breath quicken. Concord rushed in, clasping her hands together as she moved. Adam watched with confusion as she produced a ring of water out of nowhere. It held stable in front of her for a few seconds, then it flew forward into its face. The Pinser winced in pain, and Chary took that time to look for something in his bag to finish the job.

The monster’s mouth swung open, and it let out a groan.

The groan turned to noise, and the noise turned to speech. Adam listened on in terror as it spoke.

“…After centuries… I will not forgive…” It said.

“Adam, what are you doing?!” Chary yelled at the Eevee who was now standing unhelpfully in place.

“It’s nothing Chary, I was… trying to hear what it was saying, that’s all!” Adam nervously smiled. But his mind told a different story. ‘What the hell was that?!’ he thought.

“They don’t say anything! It’s only gibberish! Now get up here and help!”

“Okay, okay! Fine!” Adam strode over, completely clueless, making it no surprise to everyone but his teammates when he charged in to headbutt the Pinsir. In exchange for his valiant effort, he was given nothing. (Discounting his new headache)

After witnessing sufficient embarrassment, Chary finally found and threw an orb at its head, causing it to fall to the ground.

Adam watched on as it collapsed, and didn’t get up.

“Is- is he dead?” Adam asked, looking up at his teammates, but he got no response. Instead, they made their way to the exit, forcing Adam to follow or get left behind.

---

“I want our pay now, please. I don’t want to wait that extra time, I need it now.” Chary spoke with hard and fast words.

“You’ll know we’ll have to charge you a fee, right?” The Meinshao behind the desk tried to warn him.

“I don’t care what the fee is, I can’t wait any more time.” The Umbreon leaned in, intimidating the receptionist.

“V-very well.” They pulled out a bag and began counting out coins to give him. “Here you go, sir.”

Adam wondered why he was taking out pay early, but he knew it probably wasn’t his place to ask.

Chary turned to his teammates, sitting in chairs in the corner, and he counted out a small amount for each.

“Normally we’d split it evenly, but Chary has some important business to do,” Concord whispered, calming Adam. He assumed it was just an embarrassing debt Chary had to pay.

“I’ll be going now. You two can do whatever.” Chary spoke nonchalantly as he left the room, leaving the two to their own devices.

“Uhh, how much is this, exactly?” Adam whispered back to the Buizel.

“Adam, these are your plum coins. You can only buy a few plums though, you don’t have many,” she explained.

“Wait, really?” Adam gasped, “You can’t be serious, that makes no sense!” he protested, but the look on Concord’s face told him she really was telling the truth.

…Then her face began to crack, and she burst out with laughter. “No, of course I’m not being serious!” Adam couldn’t help but chuckle as well.

“No, but seriously, how much are these actually worth?”

---

Concord was the next to leave, letting Adam go out and spend the money by himself.

Adam sat there, trying to think of what he even wanted in the first place. His number one want in the whole world was an upgrade to his terrible bed of a couch, but he knew he didn’t have enough for that. So instead, he reflected upon the day so far. He thought about the problems he encountered; getting the leg brace on, learning to balance better, and his terrible fighting performance.

‘I’m not really sure how I can improve my balance with something I can buy, but if I could get a weapon, I wouldn’t need to train as much,’ he eventually concluded, so he ventured off to find a reputable salesman.

---

“Hey, welcome to Kecleon’s! I don’t think I’ve seen you before!” The titular character of the store greeted Adam as he walked in.

It was a small place, and a safety hazard at that. Pieces of lumber lay about, and a whole host of saws, axes, hatchets, and other blades were barely secured to the walls. Just one bad slip, and he would be the victim of a very strange death.

“Nope, I don’t come here often. I’ll be just be looking.” Adam couldn’t tell him he was planning to make a weapon.

“Ah, alright.” Kecleon scanned him up and down, understandably so with all the loose pieces of lumber being out. Finally, his eyes landed on Adam’s legs, and the Eevee knew what was coming next. “What’s with the leg brace?”

Adam thought back to the conversation he had with Concord the day before, quickly coming up with an excuse. “It’s just some weird growth pattern of mine, so I need it.” The Kecleon paused for a moment, a stern expression frozen onto his face, scaring Adam.

“Hmmm. Maybe we have met before,” he pondered aloud as he looked at the Eevee. He frowned, noticing Adam’s discomfort. “Anyways, what do you need?”

“I need wood, rope, glue, and feathers. …Oh, and something to cut wood with.”

“I’m afraid I don’t sell feathers, but I can get those other three easily. Come, look at what we have.” The gecko spoke. He leaned back onto the counter with one arm and gestured to the backside of the store with the other. It was much cleaner, with woods of each shape and size neatly organized into boxes for quick and easy buying.

For the next few minutes, Adam walked around the store, picking up wooden rods, sticks, and strings from bins and shelves, all the while making idle chatter with Kecleon. Once the Eevee’s hands were full, he brought the items up to the counter, then poured coins from his pouch to pay for it all.

“You’re five coins short,” the Kecleon remarked.

“Um, I can put a few of these rods back, or I can come back later, if that’s okay?”

“No, no.” The Kecleon waved his hand in dismissal. “It’s on the house.”

“What? Why?” ‘Wouldn’t doing this for every customer be an unsustainable business model?’ he thought.

“This isn’t something I’d do for everyone.” The Kecleon took a deep breath, “… But from the way you move and talk, I know you’re gonna need a weapon sooner rather than later.”

“Uh, what- How did you know it was for a weapon?” Adam stammered out.

“Oh, please. What else would you be using those dozen thin wooden rods for? Even the stupidest Pokemon could figure that one out, adding to my prior point. Just take what you need and stay out of trouble, kid.”

“Okay, thank you. I’ll just take this and go.” Adam shamefully wobbled out of the door.

He had spent 100% of his budget, but he still looked around to try to find a place to buy feathers.

He looked among the streets, he looked underneath all the seats. He checked inside the stores, he checked underneath the floors, he checked all of the drawers. He even checked sane and rational places you could actually find birds in as well! After hours of searching, he came out empty-handed. Not even one bird had shown its face. Just a whole bunch of literally anything else. (No, fish don’t count either.)

‘I’ll figure it out later,’ he thought, walking home.

Neither Concord nor Chary were there when he entered, so he could get started right away. Knowing nobody could stop him now, he chose to sit on Concord’s bed when he began his work, instead of the itchy and dirty couch.

The crossbow was first, and he made it from two of his pieces of wood. He followed a sketch he drew from a far-out memory, carving out each shape the best he could before gluing them together.

As he was shaping the arrows, a noise at the door interrupted him. It creaked open, and Concord walked in and sat down next to him.

“You know you’re sitting on my bed, right?” She eventually spoke.

“It’s better than that lousy couch.”

“I don’t want wood chips in my bed, Adam. What is it that you’re making anyway?”

Without saying a word, Adam got up and moved to the sofa. Concord followed.

“After what happened earlier today, I decided that I needed a weapon. I spent my money on wood and I carved it into this, a ‘Crossbow’,” Adam said before pulling the string taut and releasing it. A loud snap reverberated through the room as it backfired and struck his paw. Adam yelped in pain.

“Doesn’t look that effective,” Concord commented dryly. “Seems more likely to harm you.”

Adam rubbed his paw. “It needs… ammunition. Any idea where I can find feathers? I searched all day, not a single bird in sight.”

Concord went pale. “Adam, all the birds have been gone for a very long time.”

Adam furrowed his brow. “Concord. What the fuck does that mean?”

She didn’t elaborate, instead staring at Adam as he tried to think of an alternative to feathers.

“That’s it! Fur!” He exclaimed, looking at the couch. Concord stared on in ever-increasing disgust as Adam scraped off more and more of her fur from it. He had pulled out so much that Concord couldn’t help but hang her head in shame. Unwilling to watch Adam create a second Buizel out of the hair, she left the room. By the time he finished, the sofa was a noticeably different color.

Assembling the fur into neat little squares and then violently jamming it into the notches he made earlier, the fletching looked remarkably like feathers when he completed the assembly.

Concord cautiously re-entered the room a few seconds later. “Now that it has ammunition, can you show me it now?”

“Sure, you can help me test it. Not inside though.” Adam replied. He stood up before walking toward the door.

The Eevee opened the door and let him and Concord outside. They rounded the corner toward the back of the house before stopping at the building’s back wall. The Eevee found a piece of wood and propped it up.

Adam aimed at it and pulled the trigger. Concord leaped backward in surprise as the arrow flew forward, missing its target entirely. It left a hole where it tunneled through the wall, leaving the two to stare at it.

“Don’t tell Chary,” Concord whispered.

---

Chary decided to take his time getting home that day, as he already spent most of his energy. The setting sun was refreshing; like the beautiful beach on the west coast of the island. Though he hadn’t dared to venture there in years, it was still nice to think about.

As he passed by the town center, He glanced over at the notice board, just as a thing to look at as he was passing by, but he noticed something that made him stop in his tracks. There was a rudimentary drawing of a Hypno, and it looked just like the one he saw earlier.

Looking closer, he read what it had to say.

---

HYPNO CAPTURED AFTER ESCAPING PRISON

A Hypno has been recaptured after escaping prison. ‘Once I noticed someone written in the logs but missing from the cell, it was as simple as going out and recapturing him,’ Officer Aza recalled. ‘The warrant was fulfilled within hours, just like any other time this happens,’ he said.  The Hypno is currently awaiting questioning. 

Thank you, Officer Aza, for making this world a safer place!

---

Chary looked at the poster, unsure of what was wrong. He danced his eyes back and forth, trying to decipher what he was feeling. 

‘Oh, oh no. That innocent Hypno was sent to prison!’ He thought to himself. But that wasn’t all. He saw something so, so much worse, something that caused his jaw to drop in despair. 

‘And I didn’t get any credit for it!’ 

Acting quickly, he ran home to tell the others about it.

Chary arrived at the house, practically breaking down his own door in the process.

“HEY! EVERYONE!” The Umbreon shouted, but then he stopped. Everyone was already sleeping peacefully. Concord was under her covers and Adam was on the couch. 

Thankfully, neither of the two woke up, and Chary sighed in relief. He was angry, but looking at them, he knew it could wait. Trying to forget about it, he settled into a bed of his own.

---

‘Adam…’ A familiar voice rang out in his ear. The Eevee groaned, it was that time of night again.

“Hello, other Adam. How are you?” he replied.

‘I’m just fine, I decided to come tonight because of that Pinsir.’ The mysterious voice moved from side to side as he talked, the only motion he could do without a physical form.

“Ah. So you’re going to tell me what was up with that?” Adam guessed.

‘No. I just wanted to let you know that I was just as confused as you.’

“What? So you came to me in my dream just to tell me you don’t know shit?”

‘Look, I know it can be a bother, but the company is nice,’ he admitted. 

“Hmm, well I guess it makes sense. I was planning on asking you about it anyways. Sorry.”

‘You’re okay. Just, stay for a bit, would you?’ the disembodied voice pleaded. 

“So, what about my two roommates?” The Eevee asked.

‘They’re better than I expected. From the way our first impressions went, I thought they were going to kill you. The opposite seems to be true, actually. They’re taking good care of you.’ 

“I agree. I’m just… confused. Maybe they were serious about what they said earlier, that if anyone except them finds out I’m a human, they’ll… you know.”

The voice went silent for a moment, like it was trying to think of what to say. 

‘Trust me, they are.’ Not a single drop of sarcasm came from his voice. Adam felt like he was about to scream with panic, the fact that he was unable to move in such a void only made it worse.

“Please, tell me what that means,” The Eevee begged, but he was met with silence. It was then that he remembered the curse he supposedly had to lift.

‘I think I’ve said too much. I can feel it taking me. Just, keep your eye on Chary. I don’t trust whatever business he was doing with that money.’ He concluded, fading away.

---

When Adam woke up, he found that Concord and Chary were already sitting in the kitchen, discussing what happened.

“So last night I found a poster about that Hypno. You know the one from when I had to bail you out? Anyways, he got arrested, and the poster didn’t give me any credit! I’m the one who put him there, so why did that random guy get all the fame from it?”

“Did you arrest the Hypno?”

Chary sighed. “No, I did not.”

“Well, there’s your problem. To be credited and get famous, you need to be the one to stop the evil, and even then, people will forget about you in a week unless you stop something really bad,” Adam interjected.

“It’s okay Chary.” Concord added, attempting to comfort him, but now he only had his mind set on one thing.

Being famous.