Chapter Four: Hope’s Promise

The rising sun shone blazingly bright through the thin curtains of the room. Its glare landed straight in Hope’s eyes, giving her a very rude awakening. She rubbed her eyes and groggily got onto her paws.

To Hope’s surprise, Klaw and Dewey were already awake. They were sitting at the corner of the room, whispering to each other. Out of the corner of his eye, Dewey spotted Hope, and prodded Klaw to alert him of her presence.

“You’re awake! Great!” Klaw said as he stepped forward towards Hope. “We’re going to get breakfast in a few minutes. Do you want to come with us?’

Hope’s eyes were still heavy with sleepiness. “Isn’t it pretty early? I mean, the sun is still rising.” she mumbled, resisting the urge to plop back down on her bedding.

“W-we u-usually wake up a-around this t-time so that w-we can get b-breakfast e-early.” Dewey said. “W-we r-really don’t like e-eating with the o-other a-adults.”

“Will breakfast even be ready at this time?” Hope said through a big yawn.

“O-of c-course it w-will!” Dewey exclaimed. “M-Mr.N-Norman k-knows that we d-don’t like to e-eat with the a-adults, so he a-always gets up v-very e-early to m-make b-breakfast for us!”

Hope badly wanted to go back to sleep. But the sun was so bright already. She wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep with the sun shining right in her face. So she nodded. “Alright. I’ll come get breakfast with you guys.”

Klaw and Dewey both smiled. “Great! Follow us. We’ll show you the way to the dining hall.” Klaw said. And with that, the trio began making their way to the dining hall.

Now that she knew the secrets behind this building, though, just the mere act of walking through the building sent a shiver down Hope’s spine. She still couldn’t believe that she was living in the headquarters of the continent’s largest crime organization. But she had to remember what Dewey had told her last night. This was the only place she had for now. So unless another place miraculously popped up, she had to make do with what she had.

Speaking of last night…

Hope turned to Klaw and Dewey. “Hey. I’m sorry about what happened last night.”

Klaw and Dewey turned to look at her. “H-huh?” Dewey said.

“I really shouldn’t have gone off on you guys like that.” Hope looked down at the floor, regret surging through her. “I was just really shocked and I couldn’t take my frustrations out on the adults. I shouldn’t have snapped at you guys like that.”

Klaw and Dewey both blinked slowly. A few seconds of silence followed. Then Klaw spoke up. “No, it’s fine.” he said. “In fact, I think we should be the ones apologizing to you.”

“Huh? But I was the one that snapped at you for no reason at all!” Hope exclaimed.

“We were talking about it before you woke up, actually.” Klaw said. “We should have told you about the AZS before you arrived. It was wrong of us to be hiding something that big from you.”

“Seriously, you guys. You don’t have to apologize.” Hope responded. “I completely understand why you guys didn’t tell me.”

Dewey tilted his head. “P-pardon?”

“Yeah! I totally get it!” Hope smiled. “You guys just didn’t want to freak me out and make me run away, where I could have potentially gotten myself into more danger. I get that.”

Once again, silence followed. Then, both brothers smiled. “T-thanks.” Dewey said. “L-let’s c-continue to the d-dining h-hall.”

The trio walked for another few minutes, until they finally reached the dining hall. It was a spectacularly massive place, with pure marble tables that stretched for miles, topped with bright silver plates that had been polished so much you could use them as a mirror. On the center-left side of the room was a large table covered with plates that were piled high with stacks of round, thin, yet fluffy-looking cakes. Norman stood at the edge of this table, pouring a bright red syrup into a serving bottle.

Those cakes…

Seeing those cakes brought a sudden tsunami of nostalgia over Hope. She couldn’t explain why, but seeing those cakes made her feel warm and happy inside. She felt like she should know what these were. They were called…

“Pancakes!” Hope jumped with excitement. “I didn’t know that they had pancakes here!”

Klaw and Dewey looked over at Hope, a mixture of confusion and amusement on their faces. “Y-yeah, duh.” Dewey said. “P-pancakes are the m-most c-common b-breakfast food here on o-our c-continent. T-they’re p-practically a s-staple f-food.” Then he came to a realization. “D-do you r-recognize these from the h-human w-world?”

Hope nodded. “I’m almost sure of it.” She was getting really excited now. “Come on, guys. Let’s go eat some pancakes!”

Hope practically bounced over to where Norman was standing. Klaw and Dewey were following closely behind, both having some very amused expressions plastered on their faces. Norman, too, became amused when he saw Hope coming towards him.

“My, my, Hope. You surely look very energetic today.” Norman said while trying to hold in a small chuckle. “I assume this means you slept well last night?”

“I slept well last night, Mr. Norman.” Hope answered, still bouncing on her paws a little. “But I’m mainly excited for these pancakes!”

Norman let out the chuckle. “Please, do just call me Norman.” he said. “And if pancakes are what you want, pancakes are what you’ll get.” He then began loading up a stack of pancakes onto a new plate. “We also have a variety of different syrups you can have with your pancakes.” he continued. “We have oran, aspear, cheri, chesto, pecha, and rawst syrups. Which one would you like?”

Hope blinked slowly. She understood the syrup part, but the rest of those words sounded almost made-up. “Cheri” was the only one that sounded somewhat recognizable to her. “I think I’ll go with the cheri syrup.” she responded.

Klaw and Dewey looked at each other. After a few seconds, they began whispering to each other. Hope could catch the words “doesn’t know”, “reaction”, and “hilarious”.

“What are you guys talking about?” Hope asked.

“Nothing.” Klaw said, though he was now trying to suppress a mischievous smirk from forming on his face, as was Dewey.

Norman blinked slowly. “That wasn’t what I was expecting from you, but very well.” He then turned to Klaw and Dewey. “And you boys will have the usual?”

“Yes, please!”, both boys answered in unison.

Norman nodded. “Very well.” He finished loading up Hope’s stack of pancakes, then poured the bright red syrup Hope had seen him dispensing earlier onto them. As quick as a flash, he loaded up two more plates with an equivalent amount of pancakes, topping one off with a pale yellow syrup and the other with an orangish-pink syrup. Then, with extreme care and precision, he moved his left arm underneath all three plates and carefully hoisted them up, precariously balancing them on his arm.

Hope’s eyes lit up. “Wow! That looks really cool!” she exclaimed.

Norman tried his best to keep a straight face, but a hint of pride started creeping over his face. “Oh, my dear, this is practically nothing compared to what the other Pokemon here are capable of.” He then slowly lowered his arm and carefully placed the three plates of pancakes down in front of the children. “Come on, now. Eat up, you three.”

“Thank you for the food, Norman!” the three called out in unison. With that, they proceeded to dig into their breakfast.

As Hope leaned down to take her first bite, Klaw and Dewey side-eyed her, cheeky grins forming on their faces. She didn’t think much of it, though; she was way too excited to eat.

When she took her first bite, though, she quickly understood why Klaw and Dewey had been looking at her with those smug faces. The texture of the pancakes was just as she had expected them. They were warm and as fluffy as pillows. It was the syrup that was the problem. She was expecting it to be sweet for some reason, but that wasn’t the case at all. It was more of a slow-burning smokiness. And the heat was slowly growing bigger, and bigger, until…

“Ack!” Hope spit out the pancake piece, coughing and panting. “That’s so spicy! What in the world?”

Klaw and Dewey immediately burst into a giggling fit. Hope glared at them. “What… the hell… guys?” she asked, panting heavily in between words. “That… wasn’t funny… at all!”

Norman furrowed his brows in mild concern. “I was trying to warn you that the cheri syrup was spicy. But I suppose it can’t be helped. Would you like a new batch? I’ll put the pecha syrup on it this time. That’s the sweet one.”

“Yes… please.” Hope took a few deep breaths to let the heat go through her, then regained her composure. “Who in the world would even think about putting that spicy stuff on a pancake?”

“That’s Papa’s favorite pancake topping.” Klaw said in between snickers.

Hope rolled her eyes. “Figures that one of the worst guys here would like the worst pancake topping the most.” she said.

Klaw, Dewey, and Norman looked at her in surprise. Hope immediately flattened her ears. “Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to say that out loud!”

Silence followed. Then Klaw and Dewey grinned. “N-no n-need to a-apologize.” Dewey said. “Y-you’re not w-wrong, a-after all.”

Hope blinked slowly. “Huh?! But that’s one of your dads!” she exclaimed.

“J-just b-because S-Scorch and R-Riptide are K-Klaw and I’s f-fathers d-doesn’t m-mean we have to l-like t-them” Dewey said.

“They’re still conniving, malicious, good-for-nothing jackasses.” Klaw interjected. “They’ve always been conniving, malicious, good-for-nothing jackasses. And that hasn’t changed since the day we were born.”

“Now, now, boys.” Norman scolded. “What have I told you about using such harsh language when referring to your fathers? Especially in front of your new friend!”

“But Norman!” Klaw protested. “You don’t like them too!”

Norman looked up from the new stack of pancakes that he was preparing for Hope. “That much may be true,” he replied, “but the language that you boys are using is still a bit harsh for me.” A cheeky smile formed on his face. “I, myself, prefer the term ‘knobheads’ to describe those two.”

Klaw and Dewey giggled. “K-knobheads! T-that’s a g-good one!”

Hope was more confused, however. “How come you don’t like them, Norman?” she asked. “And why do you still work here if you don’t like them?”

Norman walked over and set the new plate of pancakes down for Hope. She took a bite and found the sweet, fruity, slightly floral syrup to be much more tasty than the spicy stuff. “Well, young Hope, you’ve met Scorch and Riptide already. It only takes a few minutes to discern why they are extremely putrid pokemon.” He stretched out his arms. “But my family has been working for Boss Polaris’s family since practically the creation of the world. If I were to say anything remotely negative about him or his enforcers, my parents would be punished severely. I can’t let anything bad happen to them.”

“Yeah!” Klaw chimed in. “And besides, you love Dewey and I too much in order to leave us alone, don’t you?”

Norman looked at the floor, blushing bashfully. “W-well, it is my duty to take care of you boys.”

Klaw and Dewey snickered. Then Dewey turned to Hope. “S-Scorch and R-Riptide may be our d-dads, but N-Norman’s the one w-who’s been c-caring for and l-looking a-after us s-since we h-hatched. I-if we h-have to c-call a-anyone a p-parental f-figure, it’s him.”

Norman put his hands behind his back, his cheeks now redder than a fresh rose. “I-it’s really not that big! I was just doing my job.” His eyes darted around the room. “Would you three like a second serving of pancakes?”

Hope finished off her plate of pancakes and licked a few sticky droplets of syrup off of the corners of her lips. “I’m pretty full right now, thank you.” she answered. “But these pancakes are amazing!”

“Yeah, Dewey and I are good too.” Klaw said.

“Excellent!” Norman smiled. “I assume you three will be heading back to your room now.”

“Y-yup!” Dewey answered. Then both his and Klaw’s eyes widened. “O-oh, w-wait!” Then, both boys turned to Hope. “W-we h-have s-something to s-share w-with you w-when we get b-back to the r-room.”

“Oh, really?” Hope said. “Honestly, I feel like you guys have shared a lot about yourselves today.”

Klaw and Dewey both rolled their eyes. “We’re being serious, Hope. It’s something that is really important to us.” Klaw said.

“Alright, then.” Hope responded. “Looking forward to it.”

Norman raised an eyebrow. “Are you boys planning on telling her what I think you are planning on telling her?”

“C-come on, N-Norman!” Dewey protested. “I-it’s b-been so l-long s-since we told a-anyone else a-about this. A-and H-Hope is r-really n-nice. S-she’ll d-definitely u-understand!”

Norman sighed. “Well, I suppose it isn’t the most harmful thing in the world.”

“Alright! ”, both boys cheered in unison. They then practically bolted out of the dining hall. Hope followed closely behind, grinning with amusement.

As the trio began turning a corner, Hope turned to Klaw and Dewey. “Can you give me a hint at what this special thing you guys are going to share with me is?”

“Oh, yeah.” Klaw said. “Well, it’s kind of this thing we’ve been thinking about, ever since we wer-”

Klaw and Dewey suddenly came to a screeching halt. Hope didn’t notice, though, leading her to walk straight into the cause of their sudden halt.

Thud!

“Hey!” Hope said, placing a paw to her forehead. “What in the world was-” She then looked up and saw what was in front of her.

It was a trio of pokemon. The one she had bumped into was a red insectoid pokemon with a wooden peg leg. Standing to its right was a black fox pokemon with a red ponytail and amethysts pierced into its ears. Standing to its left was a purplish-blue frog pokemon with a red throat sac, a white bandana wrapped around its forehead, and a lazy eye. They all stared at Hope with gazes that could turn her into stone.

“Good morning, Crim, Shade, and Dart.” Klaw said. “We weren’t expecting you to be awake this early.”

“Good morning to you as well, boys.” the insectoid pokemon responded, his eyes never leaving Hope’s. “Care to tell me why you didn’t tell your little friend to watch where she was going?”

Hope flattened herself to the ground. “S-so sorry, sir.” she stuttered. “I d-didn’t see you guys there.”

“Hey, Crim.” the fox pokemon said, nudging the insectoid one’s hip. “Isn’t this that girl you were telling Dart and I about last night? The one who you saw Scorch and Riptide taking to Boss Polaris’s room?”

Crim squinted at Hope. “Oh, yes, Shade. I did see a little eevee being taken to Boss Polaris’s room last afternoon.”

Suddenly, the frog pokemon let out an awful-sounding cackle. It was incredibly high-pitched and very nasally. It sent chills down Hope’s spine. It also made Klaw and Dewey flatten their bodies to the ground.

Crim and Shade, on the other hand, seemed completely unphased by the laugh. Instead, Crim turned to the frog pokemon. “Oh, of course, Dart.” he said, his tone making him sound like he was talking to a small child. “We’re wasting our time, aren’t we? We’ve got to leave sooner so that we can bash in that naughty deserter’s head in faster!”

Dart responded with another high-pitched cackle. Crim slapped Dart on the shoulder while smiling softly. “Attaboy, Dart! Let’s get this show on the road!”

Shade and Dart began to walk away. Crim, however, lingered for a little bit longer. He leaned down and whispered into Hope’s ear. “I don’t know what the boss sees in you. But make no mistake, little one. I’ve got my eye on you.” He then went to catch up with his partners, and in the blink of an eye, all three of them were gone.

Hope blinked slowly before turning to Klaw and Dewey. “Who were those guys?” she asked.

“Those were the Pursuers.” Klaw answered.

Hope tilted her head. “The Pursuers?”

“They specialize in tracking down pokemon.” Klaw continued. “Clients who won’t give up their goods, defectors from the AZS… if someone tries to get away with getting on Boss Polaris’s bad side, the Pursuers are on their tail.”

“T-they’re real n-nasty f-folk.” Dewey said. “O-of course, e-everyone h-here is p-pretty n-nasty, but those t-three are s-some of the n-nastiest. W-we a-always try to s-stay as f-far away f-from t-them as we c-can. Y-you s-should too.”

Hope shook herself off. “Yeah, I agree. Those guys give me the creeps.” She glanced around warily. “Come on, guys. You said that you had something to show me, right?”

The brothers looked at each other, slowly starting to perk up. “Yeah, you’re right!’ Klaw said.  And with that, the trio continued to make their way back to Klaw and Dewey’s room.

Once they reached the room, Klaw and Dewey instantly made a beeline for the upper-left corner. They began to rifle through a giant stack of plush toys, most of which were of the same character, a green dinosaur-like creature with a placid expression. Eventually, they pulled out a large, poorly binded book.

“This is it!” Klaw exclaimed, Dewey walked over and set the book down in front of Hope.

“What is this?” Hope asked.

“Y-you know h-how w-we h-had to go t-through a m-mystery d-dungeon to g-get back h-home?” Dewey said.

“Yeah”

“W-well, t-there are some p-pokemon t-that m-make a l-living out of g-going through m-mystery d-dungeons!” Dewey exclaimed.

“But didn’t you tell me that those places were super dangerous?” Hope asked. “Why would someone want to do that voluntarily?”

“To help pokemon!” Klaw responded, his whole body vibrating with excitement. “They retrieve lost items, save pokemon that have gotten lost, escort other pokemon to their friends… They’re just the coolest.”

Dewey opened up the book. “T-this b-book has i-information on every r-rescue t-team in the c-continent. W-we’ve been k-keeping it ever s-since we were v-very l-little.”

Hope began leafing through the book. There were pictures of various groups of pokemon that had appeared to have been cut out of newspapers and books. Beside each picture was some childlike scrawling detailing the team name of those Pokemon, their individual names, and the moves that they knew. Hope kept on flipping, entranced by the sheer dedication that was put into the book.

One page did not show a group of pokemon, but a building. It was shaped like an elephant’s head, with a large row of stairs leading through the “trunk”. The building was made of pure steel, and just looking at it made Hope’s jaw go slack from awe.

Klaw and Dewey noticed Hope looking at that particular page and grinned. “That’s the Ironheart Guild.” Klaw said. “It’s the greatest guild on the continent. It’s always been our dream to work there.”

Hope’s ears shot up. “What do you mean by that?”, she asked.

Klaw and Dewey looked at each other nervously. Dewey made a small gulp before turning back to Hope. “W-well, y-you see, for as l-long as we c-can r-remember, K-klaw and I h-have w-wanted to f-form our own r-rescue t-team.”

“Really?!” Hope exclaimed. “But your dads are criminals! Wouldn’t they not approve of you two doing something like this?”

“T-that’s e-exactly why we w-want to f-form a r-rescue t-team!” Dewey said loudly. Hope cringed slightly from the noise, which made Dewey rub the back of his head sheepishly. “S-sorry…” he said, “but t-that’s t-truly the c-case. W-we’ve s-spent our w-whole lives b-being t-trained to f-follow in P-papa and D-daddy’s footsteps. W-we d-don’t w-want to be l-like t-them. W-we w-want to h-help pokemon.”

“You aren’t wrong though, Hope.” Klaw interjected, his ears slightly flattened with sadness. “If Papa and Daddy found out about this, they’d kill us. We can’t even try to run away. They catch us every time.”

Dewey sighed sadly. “Y-yeah. K-klaw’s right. B-besides, you c-can’t form a r-rescue t-team u-unless y-you have a g-group of t-three p-pokemon. P-papa and D-daddy n-never let us h-hang out w-with o-others kids, so w-we w-won’t be a-able to f-form a g-group even on t-the o-off chance we e-escape.”

“That’s not true! You have me now. I can be your third.”

The words fell out of Hope’s mouth before she even properly registered that she was saying them. Klaw and Dewey’s mouths dropped to the floor.

“Are you sure?” Klaw asked.

Hope blinked slowly. She wasn’t really the kind of person to make decisions on a whim like this. But Klaw and Dewey were different. They had a goodness to them that seemed genuine. They badly wanted to break free of the circumstances they had been born in and do good things for other pokemon. And she wanted to help them do that.

Hope grinned. “Yeah, I will be your third. We can escape from this place together. And after we escape this place, we’ll go to the Ironheart Guild and form our own rescue team.”

Klaw and Dewey looked at each other, the tiniest of smiles starting to form on their faces. “You promise?”

Hope stuck her paw out, extending it in a gesture of confidence. “I promise.”

The tiny smiles on Klaw and Dewey’s faces broke out into grins that covered their whole faces. “YEAH!!!!”, both boys cheered, slapping their appendages onto Hope’s paw.

Looking at Klaw and Dewey’s excitement gave Hope an intense feeling of confidence. She still had no idea how or why she became a pokemon, and she was still determined to find a way to become a human again. But whoever had done this to her had also given her two awesome new friends, and an opportunity to do good for the inhabitants of the pokemon world. And until she could figure out why this happened to her, she was determined to make the most of that opportunity.