CHAPTER I — New Beginnings

A small, blue elephant Pokémon waddles to the entrance of one of many mystery dungeons, the Coconut Hill. She lifts her trunk to adjust the purple and yellow beret on her head, and she puts on a confident smile, studying the hill in front of her.

“This is it,” she says, talking to herself. “After all your training, now you can prove your worth here. The time has finally come. You’re ready now…and hyped! You can do this, Phanpy…”

She keeps talking to herself, assuring herself for good luck, until she starts the climb.

---

I open my eyes.

Life. For the first time in what felt like forever, I finally feel—I finally see—life. Prior, I saw nothing but a pitch-black darkness under closed eyes. It was like I was dead. Now, I see full colour.

Palm trees and fallen coconuts at every corner. The blue mid-morning sky overhead, accompanied by sunshine and minimal clouds. White sand and patches of grass and weeds make up the ground that I woke up on.

Wait, what is this place? I don’t remember it at all! As a matter of fact, I don’t remember anything! Well, besides my name and some useless information, and luckily I will need the former if I have to introduce myself.

Actually, why don’t I do so now?

My name is Kaede. I’m an adult and nonbinary—they-slash-them, thank you—and I’m…

I look down at my hands. Paws? Paws.

No, I was a human. I’m clearly a Pokémon now. I’m a Riolu, from what I can see. For some reason, I’m not that surprised that I’m a Pokémon. Sure, it’s strange, but it’s not that bad. It kind of stinks, being maybe half as tall as I used to be…but at least I don’t have to get used to being a quadruped. I just have to adjust to my smaller stature and…stronger senses.

Anyway, sadly, that’s all I remember about myself. Don’t recall my last name, my middle name if I have one, where I’m from, what I used to look like, my hobbies, or anything else. I don’t even know why I’m here, in an empty clearing of…I want to say a tropical island, but that doesn’t sound right. I’m surrounded by trees, so there’s not much for me to go off of.

I stand up to brush off any sand grains that may have clung to my body, and I immediately feel my feet sinking a bit in the sand below. I take a big step forward. Sink. Another big step. Sink. On the bright side, the sand feels soft and not coarse at all.

I wander around a bit to explore. Might as well, if I’m stuck here.

…At least, that’s the intention, until I’m suddenly stopped by a shrill from behind.

“Hey!”

I put up my guard and turn around, only to relax myself. It’s just another Pokémon, one smaller than me. She doesn’t seem angry either—quite the opposite, actually.

“Who are you? What are you doing here? Are you an enemy I need to beat up?” she asks inquisitively. The wide smile on her face makes her last question somewhat unsettling, but I let it slide.

“No,” I say, calmness in my voice. “My name is Kaede. I was a human. I don’t know how it happened, but I woke up, and now I’m a Pokémon.”

The Pokémon, now sitting on her hind legs and wagging her small tail, seems entertained by my small introduction. Her eyes widen and sparkle a little. “Whoa, that’s so cool! Whoa!” Then she blinks, and she instantly puts on a straight face. Her eyes are no longer sparkling, and her tail is no longer wagging. “Okay, but seriously, it sounds unbelievable. You were a human?”

I nod. Does she know something about humans?

She taps her forehead with her trunk. “Hmm…” She smiles. “Okay, I believe you!”

I sigh with relief. That was easy.

“By the way,” she says, “my name is Phanpy. It’s nice to meet you, Kaede! That was your name, right?”

“Yes.”

“If it’s not any trouble, Kaede, I’d like to ask you something.”

I cross my arms and tilt my head to one side. “What’s that?”

Phanpy looks down, almost nervous to ask. Her trunk swings a little bit from one side to the other, likely to convey that nervousness. Whatever it is she’s thinking, it’s probably something important.

“Would you…like to form an Exploration Team with me? You don’t have to, but I think it would be a nice way for us to get to know each other. And I…” She lifts her head up, eyes sparkling again. “I’d love to be in one!”

A what? An Exploration Team? I think to myself. She easily picks up my facial expression.

“I figured you’d give me a confused look like that,” she says, almost teasingly. “An Exploration Team is a team of two or three Pokémon who explore the world. They rescue Pokémon in trouble, fight bad guys, and fulfill requests. They get lots of treasure from their travels and rewards for their good deeds!”

That description almost sells me, but I stop to think. If I accept Phanpy’s request to form an Exploration Team, maybe I can figure out why I became a Pokémon, and maybe even how I ended up here in the first place. I can also try to get used to being a Riolu, see what moves I can use.

On the other hand… Well, to be truthful, I don’t have a reason to refuse…other than the fact that this Pokémon and I just met—like, just. Even so, being alone when I have a ton of questions doesn’t sit right with me. Two heads are better than one, as they say.

“Sure, I’d love to,” I nod, smiling.

“All right!” Phanpy cheers, jumping up and down. She calms down very quickly, and how her emotions change on a whim impresses me. “Okay, then it’s settled.” She grins. “Would you like to pick our team name?”

I jump. Me? I wasn’t prepared for this! Nevertheless, I pause to conjure up some options. Nothing is speaking out to me, and then I look up at the sky for inspiration. I see the sun, with none of the clouds near it. I think of the sun, and words that relate to sunlight in some way. The rays of hope… Hope that my new life will be a good one.

“Aurea,” I blurt out. I don’t realise I said it aloud until Phanpy repeats the word.

“Aurea? Team Aurea?”

I sheepishly nod. She smiles in approval.

“I like it! Team Aurea it is!” Phew! Glad that turned out well. “Now, we’ve spent enough time here. How about we get out of here?”

I chuckle, and we leave the clearing together, down a sandy path lined by trees.

---

“Finally, I got it.”

The robed Pokémon grinned to themself, while examining their prize—the Chaos Bangle, a bracelet white as snow. There was a large slot in the middle of the bangle, like something belonged in there.

They turned around, facing the remains of the Unholy Pyramid. It was hard to see much of it from the cliff they stood at, and with it being late at night. There was no moon visible in the sky—probably shrouded by clouds—but there were stars. Many of them, sparkling in the darkness.

“I must say, that was actually much easier than I thought it would be. How boring that Hoopa is… All that big talk, and he never tried to hit me. Did he feel even the slightest suspicion? The gargantuan idiot…”

The breeze picked up for a moment before calming down.

“Now, my next destination is the Diamond Cove. I hope Diancie has strength capable of ruffling my feathers.” They tugged at their hood, making sure it fully hid their face, and they chuckled. “Mmm, hmm… Just you wait, Diancie…just you wait. Unlike that pushover Hoopa, I will not let you go too easy on me. Yes, I will challenge you personally. Should you not feel honoured?”

With one hand gripping their hood, they lifted their head up to face the sky, their other arm spread out, and they laughed maniacally. The breeze picked up again as the Pokémon laughed, and for a split second one would swear they’d caught a glimpse of a wing turned into steel…

“Oh, yes! I will be sure to have loads of fun with you!”

---

Phanpy and I reach the base of the hill when I decide I need a break. I sit down and huff an exhausted sigh.

“I’m tired,” I say, panting.

“Really?” Phanpy sounds surprised. “It’s a pretty simple hill. Not a big adventure.”

“I guess I need more work. I’m still not used to this body yet.”

“I guess you do. Ha!” She laughs a bit. “Anyway, I forgot to mention something. To register an Exploration Team, you have to go to the guild. You know what I’m talking about, right?”

I don’t. “Guild?”

“Pangoro’s guild, in Treasure Town.” Phanpy taps her chin with her trunk. “If I remember correctly, it was previously owned by a Wigglytuff, but after he was forced to retire Pangoro succeeded him,” she explains. “Pangoro’s supposedly a strict and temperamental leader, but he means well. Everyone in town looks up to him.” She offers her trunk to me. “C’mon, I’ll take you there!”

As I’m about to take her trunk in my paw, accepting her offer to guide me, I freeze when I hear a voice.

“Um, excuse me!”

Phanpy and I both turn to the source of the voice, a bird Pokémon walking toward us. Somehow, I recognise him to be a Pidgeotto.

“Yes?” says Phanpy, maintaining her smile and happy attitude.

The Pidgeotto rubs his neck with a wing. “My greatest apologies for asking a pair of strangers, but if it won’t cause you any trouble, would you mind doing something for me?—or rather, with me?”

“What is it?”

“I would like you to escort me to the end of a dungeon, if it’s okay.” The Pidgeotto lowers his head. “The embarrassing truth is, I’m too weak to go in alone.”

Phanpy looks thrilled. I see it in her eyes and her smile. “Sounds like fun!” she exclaims. “Sure, we’ll help.”

The Pidgeotto clasps his wings as though they’re hands. “Oh, thank you so kindly. Here, I’ll take you to the dungeon.”

He turns to leave and beckons us to follow. We do.

---

The Pidgeotto leads us to a dungeon whose floors and walls are almost entirely composed of gears. Some on the walls are rotating, but most are unmoving. It being afternoon now, the sun feels harsher than it was when we were at that tropical hill.

“Here it is,” says the Pidgeotto, “Gear Trail.”

Phanpy looks around, studying the strange dungeon. “It really lives up to its name, doesn’t it? The place is almost fully made up of gears and other mechanical parts…”

“Yeah, that’s the thing. There are many Rock- and Steel-type Pokémon here. I don’t deal with either of those types well, being a Normal and Flying type,” the bird explains. “That’s why I asked you two to aid me. Not only that, but I haven’t been in a mystery dungeon before, and I don’t think I can handle my first adventure alone.”

“You’re all good,” I say. “We’ve got you covered.”

“Thank you. By the way, my name is Pidgeotto. We may have just gotten acquainted, but I believe in your strength.”

Phanpy and I nod.

“All right, then let’s do this,” says Phanpy. “Oh, and I’m Phanpy.”

“I’m Kaede,” I add.

“Interesting name,” says Pidgeotto, who clearly sounds intrigued. “Not one I’ve ever heard before.”

That’s because I was a human, I think, unsure if Pidgeotto should know the truth.

The three of us begin what feels and looks like a maze. Once we enter the Gear Trail, we find ourselves trapped in a room with two pathways. Phanpy, using her knowledge from her earlier adventure up the hill, guides both Pidgeotto and me.

“Let’s take this path here.” With her trunk, she points to the pathway straight ahead of us.

We follow her down the short pathway, only to learn it’s a dead end. A blue berry is on the ground. Phanpy goes to pick it up. For a few seconds, she spins the berry on the tip of her trunk like it’s a basketball.

“This is an Oran Berry. Eat it, and you’ll recover a lot of energy you’ve lost in a battle,” she explains.

Wait, battle? Pidgeotto did mention a lot of Rock and Steel types, but did he mean we’d have to fight them? I don’t even know what my moves are yet! But that’s something to worry about when we get there.

Phanpy sighs. “There’s nothing left in this room, so let’s go back the way we came and take the other path.” She tosses the Oran Berry to me, and I catch it. She leads us back down the narrow hallway, and we turn to take the other path. After about ten seconds, the path splits left and right. “Sometimes, paths split like this,” Phanpy says. “Sometimes, they lead to the same room, but most times, they take you down completely different routes.”

“How do we know which path is the correct one?” I ask.

“The right path will lead to a room with a staircase. We ascend or descend the stairs, depending on the dungeon, and once we reach the last step we’re magically transported to the next floor—or if we’re already on the last floor, to the end of the dungeon.”

Stairs? Outdoors? I can’t help but wonder how that works.

“What do we do, split up?” I ask.

Pidgeotto shakes his head. “If we do that, we could run into some trouble. There are three of us, which means that if we split, one of us will be left alone—and what if they’re the one fighting an enemy or two?”

Phanpy nods. “Exactly. We’ll stick together, and…” Her trunk points to the path on the left. “Let’s go this way.”

She leads us down the path, and we enter a room with two tiles and a red seed that looks like a flame. Phanpy is quick to notice it, and she picks it up, balancing it on her trunk. She bounces it off, carefully tossing it to Pidgeotto, who catches it. He examines it, before smiling.

“Ah. This is a Blast Seed,” he says. He holds it up and shoots a look at Phanpy. “Now be grateful you didn’t throw this too hard, Phanpy. It could’ve exploded on me, hurting me a lot.”

She dips her head apologetically. “Oops. Sorry.”

I put a paw on my chin. “Are Blast Seeds that dangerous?”

“Yes,” the bird replies. “You can inflict damage in two ways. The most common way is to simply eat it. By doing so, you’ll feel a reaction like you ate something spicy, and you’ll start breathing hot fire in front of you. The other way is as I explained. It can be used as a weapon to throw at someone. It’s more convenient to throw a Blast Seed than to eat it, and that’s why it comes with a drawback—throwing one lessens the damage the target would take.”

“I see.”

“I never knew that!” Phanpy exclaims, excited that she learned something new. “You sure know a lot about Blast Seeds, huh?”

Pidgeotto chuckles a little. “I know a lot about seeds in general. Berries, too. I used to have a garden where I grew all kinds of seeds and berries. We never ran out of Reviver Seeds, arguably the most convenient item to have on you.”

Reviver Seeds… Judging by the name, I can only guess… “Do those revive fainted Pokémon?” I ask.

“Yes. You don’t eat them, though. If you have one in your inventory, once you faint, it’ll be used up automatically. And once used, it’ll turn into a Plain Seed. Plain Seeds don’t have any effect, but you can stock up on them to exchange in the Recycle Shop.”

I nod. I can ask about the Recycle Shop another day, since it doesn’t feel important to me right now. What does, however, are the two tiles in the room. They’re both grey, with green arrows facing upward. I point to the closest one. “What’s that?”

“Oh, that’s a Wonder Tile,” says Phanpy. “Step on that, and any stat changes return to normal. Be careful if you have increased stats, though.”

Stats, like Attack and Defence. I know those, so I don’t inquire about them.

Phanpy points to a pathway to our left. “Let’s keep going,” she says, and starts off. We follow.

This path feels longer than the others. A few turns, but otherwise straightforward. Soon we enter a room with no items, no tiles, just a sleeping Aron and a staircase. Phanpy puts her trunk over her mouth, a gesture meaning we should be quiet as to avoid waking up the Aron. We manage to sneak past them and reach the stairs. We climb the stairs, and we end up in a very large room. By the corner closest to us and towards the other end of the room, I can see two small piles of something gold. I inspect the pile at the corner, and discover that it’s money.

“Is this the currency we use here?” I ask.

Pidgeotto looks shocked, while Phanpy looks like she’s heard weirder things out of me. Well, I mean, she has, but still.

“You don’t know? I’m surprised,” says Pidgeotto. He regains his straight face. “Are you not from around here?”

I shake my head.

“That explains it. And your name, too, I would guess. That’s no problem,” he says, as if to reassure me. “Anyway, our currency is called Poké, and all shops except for one use it. We have a bank in town—maybe you can use it to deposit the Poké you pick up in dungeons.”

It’s funny to me how Pokémon leave money lying around on dungeon floors. Or does it appear out of thin air? I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a magical thing like that, considering I somehow transformed into a Riolu.

I count the coins in the pile I just examined…22. I’m not sure if that’s a lot, but I don’t ask.

Phanpy goes to the other pile, and we follow her. “Can you count how much this pile has?”

It certainly looks bigger than the other pile. I proceed to count the coins, one at a time. Phanpy and Pidgeotto watch, as if fascinated by my fast counting. “53,” I say.

“Not bad,” says Pidgeotto. “Are you good at math?”

“I guess I am,” I say. Maybe I’m a natural. That’s neat.

He raises an eyebrow at me. “You…guess? All right. Whatever you say.”

I hand the coins to Pidgeotto for him to hold, since his wings are larger than my paws. Phanpy directs us to the closest path to us, and we follow her down it. It takes us to three split paths, but we opt to keep going straight. I can hear Pidgeotto whistling to himself, maybe to keep himself entertained while we’re walking. He soon stops, a second before Phanpy stops walking. She stops so suddenly, Pidgeotto and I almost bump into her.

A Pichu is blocking our way, their cheeks crackling with electricity. They look angry. Looks like it’s not just Rock and Steel types that call this dungeon home.

“Aw, aren’t you cute!” says Phanpy, delighted to meet someone who’s clearly not having it.

Pidgeotto sighs. “This is the part where I would say, ‘Be careful,’ but I don’t think a Pichu can do much to a Ground-type Pokémon. Consider yourself lucky.”

“Hey, little Pichu, could you please move?” Phanpy asks with a pleading tone. “We can’t get past you.”

The Pichu shakes their head. They try to use Thunder Shock, but Phanpy is unaffected. She giggles.

“You want to play? Why didn’t you say so?”

“Phanpy,” Pidgeotto says with a tone so firm it takes me off guard. “They’re hostile. They’re not going to listen to anything we say.”

“Can’t say I didn’t try,” she replies, seeing the bright side of things as usual. She then frowns. “Do I really have to fight them?”

“Do you want to stand here until the end of time?”

“Nuh-uh,” I quickly say.

“Fine…” Phanpy doesn’t sound too thrilled with the idea of attacking someone. Which surprises me, since earlier she asked me if I was an enemy she had to beat up, and she asked that so excitedly. I’m almost offended, but I don’t think on it for long because Phanpy distracts me from my mind by using Tackle on the Pichu, knocking them out.

“That was quick.” That’s all I can say in response to what I just saw.

With a look of concern on his face, Pidgeotto gently pushes the fainted Pichu against the wall so we can walk past without issue. The path forces us to turn a couple times, and then we enter a room with three paths—two going south, and one going west. The floor has two items, a pink berry and an Apple. I look down at the Oran Berry in my paw. I go to pick up the Apple in my other paw, while Phanpy picks up the berry.

“I found a Pecha Berry!” she cheers.

I glance at her. “A what?”

“Many berries have the effect of curing one of a certain status ailment, such as poison and paralysis,” Pidgeotto explains. “That pink berry there is a Pecha Berry. If you’re poisoned and you eat it, you’ll recover from the poison. Berries are very useful items to have, so I recommend holding onto them for when you need them.”

To myself, I’m hoping we don’t find too many helpful items today. While they are good to have, I only have two arms, and I can only hold so much…

As if he’s reading my mind, I catch Pidgeotto mumbling, “A bag would be nice.” It spooks me a little.

“Look, I see the stairs!” says Phanpy. She points to the staircase at the other side of the room. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

We make no hesitation to go up. The next floor is nothing to write home about yet. It’s an empty room with one pathway to the left. Seeing there’s nothing else here, we take the pathway almost immediately. It’s a short path that takes us to a larger room. I see two Wonder Tiles near each other, two pathways—one straight ahead and one to our left, and nothing else. We opt to take the path straight ahead.

“Y’know, I was expecting us to get in a little more trouble,” says Phanpy. “More battling. You know what I’m saying?”

Pidgeotto nods. “I was thinking exactly the same thing,” he replies. “This is feeling too easy, to the point where I’m unsure if I really needed the help at all. Uh, no offence.”

“Haha!” Phanpy laughs. “None taken. I get it.”

“Who knows? You may have jinxed it for the next floor. Wouldn’t be surprised.”

I stop in my tracks so suddenly that both Phanpy and Pidgeotto bump into me. “Guys? Don’t look now, but you may have jinxed it…now,” I say.

A few feet away, there are two Klink. Steel types. I’m a Fighting type, but do I know any Fighting moves? I try my luck to find out, but I end up dashing right up to the nearest Klink with a basic strike. Quick Attack. Yeah, like that did anything.

“That was a good shot!” Phanpy exclaims. I know she’s trying to lift my spirits, as I haven’t used moves before, but I still feel a little bummed. I hope Quick Attack isn’t the only damaging move I have. Before the Klink can retaliate, Phanpy uses Tackle. It makes me feel a little better learning that Tackle is Phanpy’s only damaging move, from what it looks like.

I get a little too distracted from my thoughts, and I’m struck by a Thundershock. I yelp and jump a few inches back.

“Focus,” Pidgeotto says with a stern tone. He carefully sets down the money in his wings, so that he can go in for a Gust attack. That’s enough to knock out the first Klink. The second one uses Vise Grip on my arm, and I do my best to bear the pain. I don’t remember anything hurting that much! I suppose that being a Pokémon now, I’m a lot more resilient.

I use my free arm to push the Klink, trying to free myself from their clutches. Nothing. I then get an idea, and see if I can use Bite by…well, simply biting down on the Klink. It works! The twin gears let go of me and back away. Somehow, my teeth don’t hurt from biting down on cold steel. Phanpy uses Tackle, then Pidgeotto uses Gust. Our combined efforts take down the second Klink, and I let out a sigh of relief.

“Glad that’s over,” I say.

“For now,” adds Pidgeotto. “Are we all okay?”

“Yep,” Phanpy says, smiling.

“Yeah,” I say at the same time.

Pidgeotto nods. “That’s good. Now, I don’t think we have that much more to go. Let’s keep going.”

He gathers up the Poké, and we march on. The hallway goes on for a little while longer, and then we stop in a room. Straight ahead, we see the stairs, and we go up. What we see next…is not what I expected. We’re at a clearing, likely near the end of the dungeon. Pidgeotto lowers his head for a moment, then lifts it back up, as if he was in thought for that amount of time.

“It appears we’re at the end. I was informed that up ahead is a treasure chest,” he tells us. “I’d be careful, though, in case we get ambu—”

“I’m on my way!” Phanpy exclaims, cutting him off. She makes a beeline for the chest, and I sigh.

“Dear Arc… Is she always like this?” Pidgeotto asks, turning to me with a look of both confusion and worry.

I shrug. “Dunno. We just met. Wouldn’t be surprised if she is, though.”

We go after Phanpy in a casual pace…until we hear a high-pitched scream, and we make haste. Up ahead, I see a huge treasure chest, Phanpy, and a couple of black bird Pokémon. Phanpy cowers, intimidated by the birds’ glares. “Leave me alone! Get away!”

“Hey!” Pidgeotto shouts, so suddenly that it startles me and I instinctively cover my ear. “You Murkrow never learn, do you?”

One Murkrow caws in laughter. “Say the ones goin’ after our treasure. We were here first, so beat it!”

Pidgeotto stops to think, rubbing his chin with his wing. “No, I don’t think we will. I’m sorry to say that in order to complete my mission, I must bring that chest’s contents back home.”

“Yeah, what he said,” I growl.

The same Murkrow shakes his head. He narrows his eyes further. “If that’s how it’s gonna be, then I guess we got no choice but to eliminate ya. C’mon, Murkrow!” he calls, referring to the Murkrow beside him.

“Yes, brother.” Her voice is far calmer and mature. It catches me off guard.

We drop the items and money in our possession, and we get into stances. Both Murkrow swoop in to attack. One tries to use Peck on me, but I manage to dodge it in time. The other hits Phanpy with Peck, and she counterattacks with a move I haven’t seen before. Several fossils and rocks generate around her, then launch themselves at the Murkrow who attacked her. The Murkrow tries to evade it, but she gets hit anyway, and falls, on the brink of defeat. Pidgeotto finishes her off with Gust. I use Quick Attack on the other Murkrow; thanks to my distance, I’m able to attack without him being able to counter.

“One down, one to go,” Phanpy mutters.

The Murkrow turns to his fainted sister. I can see the anger in his eyes as he shouts, “All right, that does it! You’re not gettin’ away after harmin’ my sis!”

“Luckily for you, we don’t plan on running,” Pidgeotto quips, maintaining a serious expression.

“Then brace yourself for my…special attack!” The Murkrow turns around, preparing something. Seconds later, he quickly faces Pidgeotto and shrieks at him, using Astonish. Pidgeotto just…stands there, unaffected. I don’t know if it’s because he was expecting it, because he’s part Normal type, or both.

“That’s it? Sigh.” Instead of actually sighing, Pidgeotto says the word, clearly to emphasise his disapproval. “If you starred in a horror show, it’d be a flop.” He retaliates with Quick Attack.

“I got you!” Phanpy combines his Quick Attack with Ancient Power, as the rocks orbit around him until he strikes. I watch, not wanting to get myself hurt on accident, as the two Pokémon’s combined efforts take out the opponent. Pidgeotto lands safely on the ground and wipes some sweat off his forehead.

“Whew! That’s my workout for the day,” he says, panting a little.

“We did it!” Phanpy dances around, almost bumping into me and knocking me over, but I take a step to the side before she can make contact with me.

“We sure did,” I say, before letting out sheepish laughter, aware that I didn’t do much at all. I feel like the battle went too fast for me to shine, but it’s whatever. We won!

We spend the next two or three minutes recovering. The male Murkrow slowly gets up, then his sister.

“Who in…the world…are you three?” the brother asks through somewhat heavy breaths.

“Rookie explorers,” says Pidgeotto, flatly. “Please don’t tell me we’re gonna rematch.”

“Nah… Nothin’ like that.” The Murkrow eventually recovers. “Listen here. Truth is, my sis and I were asked to guard this treasure chest with our lives. I lied when I said we were goin’ after the contents—we know what’s in there.”

Phanpy tilts her head. “Is it valuable?” she asks.

“To its original owner, yes. She hasn’t come back for it, but until she does, we’re protectin’ it.”

“What does she look like? We’re explorers, so maybe we can deliver it to her!” I suggest.

The Murkrow taps his head with a wing, trying to find the words to describe her. “She’s taller than all of us, and she wears a brown wool coat. Ya can’t miss ‘er—no one else wears coats in the summer. Calls herself Tiluana.”

“Tiluana? That’s an odder name than yours, Kaede,” says Phanpy. I can’t help but laugh.

Tiluana… Doesn’t sound like any Pokémon name I know. Is she a former human, too? When I find her, I can ask her so many questions…! But will she know the answers to them all?

“Anyway… If ya insist on delivering it, I won’t stop ya. What’s stoppin’ us from doin’ it ourselves is both how weak we are, and the fact that she’s always travellin’…but that hasn’t stopped us from at least guardin’ the chest from Pokémon like you.”

“What even is it?” I ask, while examining the lock on the treasure chest.

“A Treasure Bag,” says the Murkrow. “She used to be in an Exploration Team, but ever since she announced she’d retire soon, she gave this Bag to us to protect, saying she’d come back for it when the time is right. It’s been six months since then.”

“What if she’s…erm, dead?” Pidgeotto asks with a worried tone and expression.

“Trust me, we’d know if that happened. By the way,” says the black bird as he turns to me, “the lock is voice activated. Ya need to know that the keyword is WORCESTERSHIRE!”

The lock clicks open.

“Wor-what?” says Phanpy. “Oh, never mind that, the chest is unlocked! Open it, Kaede!” She jumps with excitement.

I take a deep breath. Why am I so nervous to open it when I already know what’s inside? The prospect of a trap? Maybe. I’m not one for surprises. But I’m wasting time just standing here. I lift the lid of the chest and throw it open. As the male Murkrow said, a Treasure Bag is inside. I carefully take it out and study it. On the strap, I see a faint carving that says “PROPERTY OF T”, with the rest of the letters being too faded to read.

“We’ll make sure to keep it safe. Are we allowed to use it for our own items?” I ask. “Since we don’t have a Bag of our own.”

The Murkrow shrugs. “I guess it’s fine. I’d do the same thing. Make sure ya have room in there first.”

“Wait.” I peer into the Bag and see a few items. Namely, two Oran Berries, an Apple, and a seed I haven’t seen before. I take out the seed to show Pidgeotto. “What’s this one?”

“It’s a Sleep Seed.” His reply is instantaneous. “Throwing it at an enemy releases a gas that puts them to sleep, but eat it yourself and you’ll fall asleep.”

“Wow, that’s useful,” I say in delight. “Well, let’s put the stuff we found in here.”

We gather everything from the ground and place each item inside the Treasure Bag. I strap it around my shoulder.

Pidgeotto turns to the Murkrow siblings. “Thanks for not attacking us again. Both of you.”

“Ah, yeah, don’t mention it. Be careful on your way home.” The male Murkrow grins, before looking over to his sister. “Let’s go, Murkrow. We’re done here.”

She nods. “Yes, brother.”

We watch the two fly off, toward some trees in the great distance. When they’re out of sight, we eye each other.

“So you’re gonna need to bring the Bag back, aren’t you?” I ask, just remembering.

Pidgeotto nods. “I’m supposed to, but you two need it more than I do. I’ll just let the authorities know I failed—no big deal.”

“Nuh-uh.” I give him the Sleep Seed. “Now you’ll have something to show them.”

“I…” He chuckles, then nods. “Thanks. I…I guess? It’s something.”

Phanpy jumps. “Oh, yeah! Pidgeotto! Would you like to join our team?”

“Oh! Aren’t you a nice one,” the bird replies, smiling. His smile fades as quickly as it appears. “I’m so sorry, but I must decline. I have so many things to do, and I should really be going.”

“Aw, okay…” I can hear the disappointment in Phanpy’s voice. She must have really looked forward to having a new teammate. She smiles. “Well, still, I hope we meet again!”

“Likewise. Until then.” Pidgeotto bows before taking his leave. Phanpy and I watch him go until he disappears from our sight.

“I sure had a blast,” she says, breaking the silence. “That was the greatest adventure I’ve had so far, and it couldn’t have been done without you and Pidgeotto.” She beams. “I wonder what our next adventure will be like!” I, too, look forward to that. Maybe, hopefully, the next adventure will help me learn more about myself. Why I’m here. And maybe it’ll answer more questions that I have. “Hey, I have an idea,” she says. “Let’s train some on our way out, call it a day, and register at the guild in the morning.”

“Sounds good, but…” I dread what I’m thinking. Will we have to sleep on the ground? “Where are we sleeping?”

“Oh… Uh, good question!” Phanpy giggles. “I can take you to my place. We’ll have dinner and sleep there! How’s that sound?”

I nod. Better than sleeping on the ground. “Sounds good to me,” I say. “Lead the way.”

On command, Phanpy leads me out of the dungeon. We train on the way out, attacking any hostile Pokémon on sight. With each one we defeat, I gradually get the hang of battling, and soon I start to feel a little stronger. I assume I leveled up or something.

Yet, through all this training, there’s still one thing I’m not used to. I don’t know if it’s being a Pokémon, or having someone by my side, or the ever-changing layout of these mystery dungeons…but whatever it is, I’ll adjust to it over time. I’m sure of it.