Welcome to Porthcove

Picking up Zangoose’s list and going for a walk around town. Should be simple enough

Today I learned that my ‘scarf’ is useful for two things:

1. Showing my failure to the world
2. Drying my face

At least only people in the guild saw me overreacting.

And after that ‘wash’ I was ready to face the horrors that the rest of the day had for me. First on my agenda was to admit to my mistakes in life and get the list for Zangoose from the front office. It would be quiet this morning now that everyone would be either off on a mission or have something else to do.

Talia our resident Lopunny receptionist, was behind the desk of the front office, reading some sort of report. It was probably from one of the recent expedition teams. As I approached, she looked at me for a second before rummaging about for something behind the desk.

“Didn’t think you were going to show up here today, but I know who has the unfortunate task of helping Zangoose now.  I’m also guessing that it was you he was in a huff about this morning? You could hear his shouting all the way down here,” she explained, only giving me barely enough time to respond.

“Yes. That was me,” I muttered, shame rising to my cheeks.

“He sure does like to keep on top of you lot. Well, here the list and money to get the ingredients with. Make sure to get receipts – this is coming out of his account.” She shot me a sharp look. I could feel the distrust emanating from her pink eyes. “I don’t want to think about what he’d do if he found someone stealing from him.” She put a bag filled with money and a list on the desk. “A pickup from the docks, some spices, milk and berries.”

“Thanks,” I said, grabbing the list and placing it in my bag. “Do you know where he wants me to bring this to after I’ve bought it?”

“He did mumble something about your room in an hour.” As if I was already dismissed from her mind, Talia started shuffling the reports she had again. “If not, the kitchen is the place he normally makes his… ‘cheese’.” She cringed as she said it, not a fan I guess. “So don’t dawdle, now, off you go!” She said, shooing me away as she began to read the report again.

 

The guild is located near the docks in Porthcove our ‘wonderful’ port town – which is bad for me. Meant we had to do boat and swimming training. Somehow Liz passed both, but I’ve tried to stay away from the docks since my first boat training lesson when I fell in. That was also the day I learned that if my flame does touch water it will hurt, a lot. Thankfully I haven’t felt anything like it since and at least passing out from it came quickly. And I do suppose the lifejacket they gave me did stop me from drowning. So I’ve got that to blame for me being here now – fearing something even worse than swimming. Cooking. And the first thing I need to get is from the dock shop.

The dock shop is less like a shop and more like a warehouse. Everything we get in by sea comes through here, so there’s enough crates to get lost in. Thankfully there was always enough pokemon going around it to always have a guide. Luckily, you don’t have to go into the maze unless you work here, at which point you will probably find out what the floor plan is. As for me, it’s as simple as going to the pick desk. The Kecleon there was dealing with another customer as I approached.

“No Aipom, your shipment hasn’t arrived yet. You should check back tomorrow. If it did arrive today, we would still have to offload it from the ship and process it,” Kecleon explained, slightly exacerbated.

“Oh ok. I’ll check back tomorrow, and if it’s not here I’ll be back the day after!” the Aipom said with glee, skipping its way out.

“Oh thank Mew he’s gone,” Kecleon sighed in relief, then perked up as he spotted me. “AH! Another customer! How may I help you?” He regained his cheerful – but clearly fake – smile.

“Hi, um, I have a package to pick up from head Guild Master Zangoose?” I explained carefully.

“Old Zangoose got you picking thing up for him has he? Normally he gets these things himself. Must have too much going on right now – not like the old days! Now let’s see if he has anything that’s arrived.” Kecleon spoke quickly, picking up a clipboard which I assumed had the inventory list on it. It was kind of difficult to figure out what he was saying sometimes.  “Ah yes here are….. isn’t yellow the team colour for new recruits in the guild? And… aren’t you a little old to be in yellow? You better not be a thief trying to trick me!” As soon as he said those word every stopped what they were doing and started staring at me. At least it didn’t feel so strange this time.

“I-I am in the guild,” I started, slowly, managing to swallow the lump forming in my throat. “And yes, I am still in the recruitment level, and I am likely to be stuck there for the rest of my life,” I laughed humourlessly. “I can, uh, come back with someone else from the guild to pick up Zangooses’ cheese making kit if you want…?”

Kecleon and the rest of the staring crowd stayed quiet for a moment but, thankfully, it was broken by his laugh. “Oh ho ho, Zangoose is making his cheese for the festival is he? Wonderful! If you know that his base shipped in every year, ether we would know you or you work with the guild.” The change in his voice hit me like a brick wall. He shook his head, and the rest of the crowd lost interest. I sighed audibly in relief. “Now let’s see, delivered two day ago, zone 4, row 2, pre-paid… You can head on down to collect it now. Someone down there can help you!” Kecleon offered a wide grin and ushered me along to the crates.

 

“Zone 4, row 2, zone 4, row 2… that’s where it is, but what does it even look like? There are too many boxes here,” I muttered to myself. How they keep track of anything in here will forever be a mystery. “Err, hello? Is anyone nearby?” The Zone did seem quiet, but I’m sure someone would be around, somewhere.

“One second!” A voice from the piles of crates came. “Behind you!”

The voice was close enough that I could feel their breath on my shoulder. I jumped what felt like nearly a mile in the air out of surprise. “AH! Don’t surprise me like that!”

The purple Kecleon stood behind me laughed as I turned to face them. “Yes, that would be bad if you jumped and let your tail set something on fire! Now how can I help you?” They smiled the same I’m-only-being-nice-because-you’re-here-to-buy-something smile as the other Kecleon.

“Yes, well, um, I’m looking for a pick up for Zangoose at zone 4, row 2? You, uh, wouldn’t happen to know where it is, would you?”

“Hmm, let’s see…!” He jumped into a pile of create and disappeared. “HEY! HEY KANGASKHAN!!! HAVE YOU SEEN ZANGOOSE’S STUFF ANYWHERE?” The loud yell from among the crates he disappeared into almost made me jump again.

“NO! TRY KEEPING TRACK OF YOUR SIDE FOR A CHANGE!” A distant, loud but somehow soft voice shouted back from across the warehouse.

After some more shuffling in the pile of crates and boxes, I hear a triumphant “Ah-ha! There it is!” Then Kecleon jumped down in front of me, now holding a small box. “Now, don’t go wagging your tail when I open this! Got to check the contents are right,” he chided, starting to open the small box to see what was inside it.

And then it hit us. It was like someone filled it with blast seeds – but for smell. Smell seeds.

“GOOD ARCEUS! WHAT IS IN THAT?!” Kecleon yelped as he shut the box immediately, covering his nose. “You trying to poison us or something with that?!”

“That would be the fermented Moomoo milk he uses,” came muffled out from my mouth as I tried to keep what little sense of smell I would have by the end of the day. It was probably too late by now, though – that odour was burned into the very fibre of my nostrils.

“Well, that’s good enough for me. Take it so I don’t puke!” Kecleon’s voice sounded nasally as he pinched his nose, and started pushing me out of the warehouse.

“Argh, jeez! As long as it the smell doesn’t leak out,” I grumbled, letting myself being shoved about. I don’t want my bag to smell like that.

 

One good thing about being a dock town was the number of different items for sale. Whether it be items from our own country or from another, they would always come to places like this. The rest of the items on the list were quite easy to get, just some spices and berries, some of which I hadn’t even heard of before. The hard part was carrying it all, as the fermented Moomoo milk took up all the space in my bag. And Zangoose wanted even more Moomoo milk, I feel sorry for the Miltanks that had to make it. Going to have to make a second trip for everything, better make it quick, too – the clouds were starting to turn grey.

 

Back at the guild I headed for the kitchen.

“Hey, hey! You know you’re not allowed back here!” Machoke warned as she saw me at the entrance of the kitchen. She was the head of the guild’s food supply, and dealt with anything relating to it.

“I’ve been told to drop of this stuff for Zangoose, so if there anyone to blame, blame him,” I huffed, not in the mood to be polite after carrying that cursed item.

“We’re busy enough as it is! He could have at least told us about his plans to make the cheese again…” Machoke sighed, then gestured me to the side. “Put his stuff by the window and open it. The window not the milk.” She made sure to emphasise the second part.

As I put the stuff on the table, I opened my bag to take out the fermented milk. That’s when I realised that this bag became… tainted. I feared the smell was never going to go, so I stuffed it full with fruit from the kitchen in the hopes that it masked the smell – if even a bit.

As I was heading back to pick up the remaining milk he wanted, I saw Liz.

“Hey Liz! You busy!?” I shouted as I ran up to her, hoping to get her to help me.

“Yeah, I’m busy, what’s it to you?” The bluntness of it could only mean she was doing paperwork. About time she started doing some too.

“Zangoose wants me to pick up two containers full of Moomoo milk but I can only carry one, they’re too big.” I whined.

“So it was you he was shouting at!” A small laugh came out, brightening her mood.

“Is that all anyone’s got to say to me now?” I sighed.

Liz gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “I feel sorry for you, bro, I really do… Especially as I’m going to be the one to shove you in the bath to get that smell off ya! You smelling bad makes me smell bad by association,” she pointed both her hands to her chest.

“…So you’re not going to help me?” I already knew the answer, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

“I am helping ya, even if I gotta knock you out first!” Liz feigned a punch and stopped her fist a few millimetres from my face, making me flinch. Then she laughed.

“Gee, thanks. You always know how to help,” I sighed.

“Try and find some people from yellow! I’m sure they’ll help you – or maybe even Trapinch! He’s not busy doing anything and he was with me, though I don’t know where he went off to.”

“You think any of them would be able to carry one of those?” I asked, doubtful. “The containers are bigger than most of them. Man, I bet if mom or dad were around they could have done this so much easier than me. Any idea where they are?”

Liz shook her head. “They ain’t back from the expedition yet, and I bet it will be a few more days until they are. Dad’s probably keeping mom there to ‘take in the scenery’,” Liz put up her claws in quotation marks and fake-vomited. “He’s gonna fill the whole guild up with tat again. I don’t know why mum lets that man anywhere near a gift shop.”

“Oh yay. More stuff to shove away,” I raised my arms in fake enthusiasm.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa….” A small croaking sound came from inbetween them. We both looked down.

“Trapinch! You really gotta stop wandering off by yourself! Now, if you ain’t got anything better to do, go help my bruv will ya?”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

“And that means…?” I ask, looking from the small orange blob to my sister.

“If he answers you, it’s a yes. If he shouts it’s more like a fuck or shit.”

“Good. Just help me carry a container back to the kitchen.”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.” Trapinch nodded its head and picked up a bag in its teeth.

I sighed. “I can’t wait until this day is over…”

“Me too” Liz said as she walked off.

 

Back at the market, things were going well for a change. There were only two containers of Moomoo milk to carry – and fresh this time, so it wasn’t too bad. Trapinch was somehow able to balance it on his back with no issue.

“So… how did you end up joining my sister’s team?” I had to bend my head down a bit to speak to Trapinch. The journey had been quite quiet – as it turned out, Trapinch wasn’t much of a conversationalist.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa,” Trapinch explained.

I stared down at him blankly. “You, uh, don’t say much then.”

“Aaaaaaaaaa,” Trapinch nodded sagely. I had no idea how to respond.

“Ok. Let’s just get these back to the guild.”

“Well, well, well. What do we have here, boy?” A voice spoke right in front of us, stopping us in our tracks. Oh Arceus no. Just when I thought thing were going to be good for a change today…!

A Pikachu and Dusclops stood before us, now near the exit to the market. Both had a blue vest on and the Pikachu had a blue hat, which meant they were a part of the local police, they dealt more with the running of the town compared to us at the guild who travel a lot more.

“What would that be you’re carrying, huh? You two better not be planning on using that bad milk to ruin the town supply, now,” the Pikachu said, leaning forward in an intimidating manner.

“No, officer,” I answered slowly, brows furrowing in a scowl. “We’re taking these back to the guild. You don’t have anything to worry about.” I gestured to the container I was carrying and the Moomoo milk Trapinch had.

“Oh really?” He leaned in, as if to take a sniff.

“Um, you can follow us if you like,” I offered, getting a bit fed up of this scare tactic, glancing between them.

“Like I got time for that!” The Pikachu huffed. “You lot at the guild are always doing something to make our lives harder! Always bringing back criminals for us to deal with.” But isn’t that part of your job?

“If you want to make a complaint I’ll be happy to take it back with me.” I could tell I’d taken the sass a bit far by the way his shoulders tensed.

The Pikachu stared at me for a moment, his eye twitching. His voice got low, dark. “Watch your mouth, boy. When I’m around you will listen and do as I say! Got it?!” He snapped.

“ARRRRRRR!” Trapinch returned.

“Don’t you Growl at me!” You could see sparks coming from his cheeks.

“Pika…. Please….. keep calm…. You’ll draw a crowd,” the Dusclops whispered to his partner.

The Pikachu looked back at me, then back at his partner. Finally, he relented, the sparks fading. “Fine, keep moving,” he grumbled.

“Gladly,” I mutter as I walk past him.

 

Back at the guild as I enter the kitchen, “There you are!” Boomed a ‘welcoming’ voice. “I was about to send a search party out for you! Not trying to sneak off now, Were you?” Zangoose was impatiently tapping his foot, saying that last part very accusingly. Must have been waiting a while.

“No Sir, just had to go back to pick up the rest of the milk you order. Do you really need this much?” I asked, setting down the two bottles in front of him.

“Of course I do! And didn’t I send you to get the items?! WHY Is Trapinch carrying one!?” Zangoose gestured his claws emphatically to Trapinch beside me, who was standing proudly with the container of Milk on his back.

I sighed. “I could only carry one at a time, sir.”

He glared at me for a moment then relented. “Fine. At least you’re not late. Trapinch, you can go”

“Aaaaaa,” Trapinch bid farewell before trotting off.

As Trapinch left the room I felt what little hope I had left for today leave with him. My only solace today had been not getting into trouble with the police.

“Now then Charlie, I will teach you how to make my cream a ’la charti cheese. You can start by washing your hands, then start pouring half of the fermented milk into those two containers,” he explained, gesturing to the jars in question.

“You don’t have a mask or something to stick up your nose for this?” I asked, holding my hand over my mouth as my nose was no longer working. The smell was becoming Too Much.

“The smell is what makes it! It’s like a refined wine,” Zangoose explained, making a weird gesture with his hands. “…It’s an acquired tasted,” he snapped when he saw me staring at him. “And if you don’t acquire it by the time it’s done, that’s not my problem. Now, pour!”

I opened the two milk containers, and then the fermented one, almost throwing up as I did so. The smell was somehow even worse than before. Machoke gave me a sympathetic look, no doubt she had to work with this smell before.

“OH stop gagging! Keeping your food down is better than it going into the mix,” he chided, waving off my concerns.

Without adding my own flavour to the mix I poured the fermented milk into the two other containers.

“Good, Now gently mix them.”

I looked at him as if he were crazy. “You’re trying to make more of that stuff? Seems like a bad waste of milk to me.”

“That bad stuff of which you speak of is what makes it. Now, mix.”

Looking around the kitchen I see some long spoons that I start to mix with.

“GOOD! That will do, put the lids back on. Next you can start with the spices. Get two pieces of cloth and split the spices between them,” Zangoose explained.

Unfortunately the spices did nothing to hide the smell. I am going to never smell anything else after this.

“Tie the cloth into a bag so nothing can get out and put it one in each.” I did as he instructed. “Good, now mix again.”

“So what do I do with the berries?” I ask as I start to mix, nodding towards the pile of berries on the side.

“YOU FORGOT TO PUT THE BERRIES IN THE CLOTH BAG!?”  He had been calm so far, but the berries unleashed his anger once more. It’s a shame that the shouting started again.

“You said to put the spices in the bag, not the berries,” I whined, exasperated.

“WELL GET THE CLOTH OUT THEN AND PUT THE BERRIES INTO IT! NOW.”

“Uh… Machoke, do you have anything that could get the cloth bags out?” The spoon I had didn’t reach the bottom.

She shook her head, preoccupied with her own duties, a cloth mask over her nose and mouth. “Sorry love, but nothing that would reach into the bottom of those.”

“Then use your hands!” Zangoose seemed serious about this.

“Oh, why me…?” I made a mental note to pray up a list of complaints before bed to Arceus.

I had tried to keep my head away from the now completely tainted milk, but considering the containers were about half my size, I would have to get close to reach the cloth bag that now rested at the bottom.

“COME ON, WE DON’T HAVE ALL DAY!”

I braced myself as I put my hand into the mix, then started to reach. I could feel the smell clinging to my hand as my shoulder started to enter. I did hit the bottom, but felt no bag.

“You’ve got to search the bottom! It’s not going to just float into your hand!”

I started to move my hand around until I found something that squished. Grabbing it did not feel great, but I did and pulled it out.

“DON’T SPILL IT! AND SQUEEZE THAT BAG OUT, THEN FIND THE OTHER ONE!” Zangoose barked.

You’d think squeezing the bag would be like squeezing a berry; it’s just something holding a liquid and seeds. But it was more like trying to squeeze gone off food to get that compost juice out. The second container of milk did go by quicker.

“GOOD, now open the bags and put the berries in them!”

Inside the bags wasn’t any better. Spice and seeds mixed together in milk and it did not look good. It was like something that almost came out of me.

“Since you’ve missed this step, you can crush the berries when you put them back in,” he hissed.

“I can’t just drop the bags in?” At this point I would do anything to end it faster. But with Zangoose you had to be careful with what you rush.

“Not after how much you’ve wasted!” And immediately, my only attempt to rush something had failed.

And so, to not get into any more trouble today, I carefully placed the cloth bags into the containers.

“Good. Now squeeze the berry and let it GO!” Zangoose did a squeezing motion with his hands.

I do the same for the second one and finally close the lid.

“NOW! YOU WILL COME DOWN HERE AND CHECK THESE EVERY DAY AND REPORT IT TO ME! GOT IT?!” Zangoose shouted as he placed the two containers into a small cupboard on the side of the kitchen. “Now, help clean up.” And with that, he left.

“That cant be all there is to it right?” I say to Machoke, arm now covered in milk.

“Afraid not, Lot more to making that stuff. Ah, don’t worry about cleaning up. Just dump everything in the sink and I’ll do it with the rest of the stuff,” Machoke said with empathy in her voice.  I couldn’t help but stair at her, felling complete drained.

“Thanks” I sigh before making my leave.