“Goood morning George! Wake up!”

“Nrghh…”

“Heeey! Wakey wakey!”

A growling stomach pried George’s eyes open. A familiar red face stood over him, poking him in the feet with his own feet. A sensation all too reminiscent of splinters burrowing into your toes. “Ah!” George rolled over off of the bed of straws, onto the dirt and his scalchop. Both were cold as a damp cave. “I’m up, I’m up!” he said, scrambling himself to two feet.

“It’s time for breakfast, George!” Blitzer said, before turning tail and running off. George rubbed his head and looked around. Toys were strewn across the room from yesterday still. A second growl rumbled in his stomach; the smell of something heavenly came walking in from outside directly into George’s nose. With a rub of his belly, the Oshawott ran off to greet the day.

“Ah, good morning, George! How was the bed I made for you?”

The rest of the household was present and accounted for in the main room of the hovel. Blitzer’s mother had just finished setting the table with a few berry plates; his father was sat down by the table, one foot on the dirt and the other holding a scrap of paper. George wandered over and joined them.

“It was good, but I’m not used to sleeping on straws.”

“Oh, really? What do you normally sleep on, then?”

George placed a hand under his mouth. ‘Now how do I explain what a bed is… a big pile of cloth? Something like that, I think.’ “Hm, well back home, we always slept in between a mattress and a blanket. A mattress is a large wedge of something soft, uh, I don’t know what exactly, and then a blanket is a cloth that’s soft and warm. It’s very nice.”

Nera raised a brow. “Well now, your world must have been very prosperous, then!” George bit his cheek.

‘If only you knew…’

“Hey dad, can we eat?”

The Nidorino looked up from the paper, scowling. “When I’m done reading the weekly news, Blitzer, which is right now. Alright.” Nero threw the paper on the ground and propped himself up. Compared to the table, which was close to floor level, he looked like a giant. “So apparently there’s been some strange folks passing through Grassfield in this past week.”

“Huh. Does it have anything to do with George, you think?” asked Nera. Nero simply shrugged and grabbed a slice of Pecha off his wooden plate.

“Don’t know. Wouldn’t surprise me if that was the case, but there’s damn near nothing written in the news about these Pokemon. Not even that they’re soldiers, which they’d make a mention of normally. Lance wouldn’t leave that out, I know him well enough.”

“Who’s Lance?” Blitzer asked.

“The Druddigon that lives on the edge of town. You’ve seen him before, right? Red head, blue body? He’s the guy that writes the news.”

“Oh.”

“So yes, I’d say it’s safe to assume that it’s nothing worth caring about. Lance doesn’t ever forget to write about them, ever. So George, nothing to worry about. Just make sure you still don’t tell anyone, okay? You never know who’ll crack when they promise a little money.”

George nodded. Strangers other than him passing through the village. Something about it didn’t seem as clean as Nero was implying. But it wasn’t as if George knew any better. Perhaps Grassfield doesn’t receive many visitors to begin with, and it was an oddity to see anyone pass through in general. Even then, it seemed so strangely peaceful. Too peaceful, like the calm before the storm. It was food for thought. For now though, actual food.

“Alright everyone, let’s dig in!”

Munching and snarfing sounds filled up the room. Juices from various berries splattered all over the place like rain in a storm, as they rapidly disappeared from everyone’s plates. Everyone was enjoying themselves, too busy to care about the mess. It didn’t escape George’s notice, though, whose mouth, chin and nose now teemed with the sweet smell of Oran juice. Looking around the table, he grinned.

‘It’s a good thing that everyone here eats even more like an animal than I do! Table manners are silly, anyway.’

By the end, there was a layer of multicolored juice on and beside everyone’s plates. George carefully licked his lips clean. Blitzer took his plate in his hands and poured the juice down into his throat, making satisfied drinking noises all the while. His father did the same minus the sounds, while his mother cautiously drank instead.

“Aah! Oran berries are the best! Thanks for the meal, mom!”

“You’re welcome, Blitzer.”

“Hey George, are you going to drink that?”

Blitzer pointed at the puddle still floating on George’s plate. “Oh, uh-” the Oshawott stammered, quickly lifting the plate up to his mouth and licking the puddle dry. The Charmander sitting next to him laughed.

“That’s the spirit!”

“You’re not used to how we eat, eh George?” Nero asked.

George breathed out. The fur around his mouth was soaked pink. “You could say that.” The rest of the table chuckled in response.

“You’ll get used to it eventually,” Nera said. “Now come, time to wash your mouth. Got to take good care of your teeth!”

Everyone went to the back room, where George had gotten a bath yesterday. There was a basin the size of two hands cupped together in the corner. Nero would pour in some water from a hole in the wall, and everyone took turns washing any remaining juice or berry bits out of their mouth. Once done, Blitzer turned to George.

“Hey, let’s go out and play together! We can go through the backdoor-”

“Oh no you don’t, laddie!” grumbled Nero. “Last few times you did, you snuck off and didn’t come back until it was pitch black outside. Not a chance.”

“Okay…” Blitzer let his arms dangle. “Through the front door then.”

“Remember, don’t go out too far!”

“Yeees, mom and dad!”

* * *

Once the front door had clicked back into place, any chance of Blitzer obeying that last piece of advice went out the window. “Alright, we’re going exploring!”

George nodded. “To that special place in the woods you were talking about, right?”

“Darn straight! We’ve got to get stronger somehow!” Blitzer gazed out over the plains. The forest was calling out, and both he and George were about to answer. “Let’s go!”

“Wait a minute,” George said, first surprised then fearful. “Shouldn’t we take some things with us? Food, or some kind of weapons, just in case things go wrong? Is it really the best idea to just charge in?”

Blitzer shrugged, his tail swaying curiously back and forth. “Why wouldn’t it be? It’s not that far, we’ll last on our bellies, no issue. And why would we need to get weapons? We’re our own weapons! Don’t you trust your scalchop?”

“Scalchop?” George looked down at his chest, and took the shell off his stomach. “Do you think this will do? I don’t know exactly how I’m supposed to use it…”

“I’m sure you will find out eventually,” Blitzer said. “Now what are we waiting for? It will be dark by the time you’re finished practicing with it, let’s get going!”

George shook his head. ‘Here goes nothing.’

The sun shining on his face, George followed Blitzer on his merry way, this time with far less bumping into others. Despite this, the other Pokemon of the village still turned their noses up at the two as they ran past; older Pokemon, by the looks of it. George wiped his brow. Blitzer was hard to keep up with, what with his jumping and running all over the place.

“‘Ey. Blitzer.”

The Charmander came to a stop at the edge of the village. George stumbled to a stop, coming close enough to Blitzer’s tail to leave small marks on the tip of his fur. ‘...Close one!’

“Hey Speedy! How are you?” said Blitzer. George peeked over his shoulder to see a Raichu sitting on a box next to the door of a house.

“Not bad. Not bad at all. Who is this Oshawott fellow? Haven’t seen this face before.”

Blitzer laid an arm on George’s neck, whose eyes snapped onto him in an instant, before being caught off guard by what felt like water stirring in the back of his throat. “This is George! I met him yesterday in the woods. He’s not from around these parts, but he’s staying with me and my parents now.”

“Odd name if I ever heard one,” the Raichu said. “Whatever. Who am I to judge? ‘Ello there, Oshawott fellow. George, rather. My name’s Speedy, me and Blitzer here talk with each other every now and then whenever he zips by my front door. Anyway, where are you going? Not to that Mystery Dungeon, I hope?”

“Oh yes we are!” Blitzer said.

Speedy grinned. “No stoppin’ you, is there? Ah, what does it matter. I’m lucky enough that Junior isn’t here right now. He’d have ran off with you in a heartbeat.”

“Haha, he would have! Where is Junior, actually?” Blitzer wondered out loud. George stood twiddling with his thumbs, rapidly looking back and forth between the forest and back in the village. Nero and Nera might’ve been following them, so it goes.

“Oh, he’s just playing with some other friends, no biggie. That kid’s not the smartest, but he’s smart enough to know he’ll be in deep trouble if he runs off like you are doing,” Speedy said.

“Hey, no telling anyone, you hear?” Blitzer waved a finger in Speedy’s general direction.

Speedy shrugged. “Sure. I’m no tattletale. But remember, you’re on your own out there. Good luck, fellows.”

With that little detour out of the way, Blitzer and George ventured out over the plains and into the forest. Various birds from Swablu to Tailow were chirping away overhead, just like yesterday. George once again found himself looking at them, puzzled. These bird Pokemon behaved just like ordinary birds back home. Easier to startle than the pigeons infesting train stations, but wild birds regardless.

“Alright George, are you as excited as I am? We’re going to explore a Mystery Dungeon!” A flame suddenly passed before George’s nose, making him release a cry from his throat. Blitzer had jumped around and was now walking backwards. “Don’t tell me that you were studying wild Pokemon again, are you?”

George gritted his teeth. “Yeah… I was. I’m just feeling very nervous right now. Looking at the Pokemon helps me with that, at least a little bit.”

Blitzer then stopped in his tracks to think. “Hm. Actually, that’s a pretty good idea! You’re not used to fighting other Pokemon yet, and knowing what you’re going to be up against makes the first time a lot easier.”

“What is the first time like, though?” asked George, ears perked up. “Does it all come to you on its own? Because if not, I’ll be in trouble.”

Blitzer nodded. “Indeed it does. Growing up, and seeing other fire types breathe fire, I wondered what that was going to be like, and how they did it. Was it going to hurt? It definitely looked painful to me! But then one day it just happened to me. I was being attacked by this bird that was out for blood, and then I just spat a ball of fire at it. That scared it off real quick!” He showed his teeth in a wide grin.

“So, it’ll just come to me?”

“Yeah! We’re not leaving this place without seeing some water from you, I can guarantee that.”

George wasn’t impressed. ‘ I doubt it. Why does he even believe I can spit water from my mouth, anyway? ’

As they continued onwards, George was taking in deep breaths to try and calm his flaring nerves down, with little success. A Mystery Dungeon . The term sounded familiar. Something involving maps being useless, because the very environment changes on every visit. Not to mention danger and secrets unlike any other. What would he even find in one of those places? An answer to why he was brought here? Curiosity alone drove George onwards.

The forest grew a slightly darker shade of green. As the wind howled, George and Blitzer reached an open space of dirt. The trail they had been following continued on past a sign covered in strange characters. Blitzer approached the sign and turned to George.

“You see that, George? There it is! ‘Greenwood Forest MD’, tread lightly!” he said, pointing a claw towards the sign as he read. Despite never having seen the characters before, George could make them somewhat out. Not particularly fast, but enough to be readable. “MD means Mystery Dungeon!”

George looked past the sign, into the beginnings of this ‘mystery dungeon’. Aside from the plants being a darker shade of green, nothing distinguished the scenery from the rest of the forest. “Doesn’t this place not look any different to you either? What makes it so special aside from that sign? I know that they supposedly change every time you enter, but I don’t see anything odd.”

“Well, that’s why they’re called Mystery Dungeons. They seem ordinary enough on the outside, but they’re not. There’s so much about them that no one knows. And that’s why we explore them, because we want to find out!” Blitzer gently grabbed George by the shoulders.

“Well then, here we are. Are you ready to go in?”

“As ready as I can be.” ‘That’s just a guess, but what’s the point of standing around to figure that out? I won’t be able to think it through every time, either.’

“Alright! Here goes!”

* * *

Blitzer and George entered the dungeon side by side; the trail was wide enough to support them both. To the ambiance of howling winds, they ventured inside of this mysterious place. It was cold, and the air reeked of damp grass. For all the talk of vicious wild Pokemon, there were few to be seen nearby.

“Hey look, over there!”

Blitzer picked up the pace and ran ahead. George followed in his footsteps without missing a beat, biting his lip all the while. There was some kind of clearing ahead, similar to the one they had entered the dungeon from. Once he’d caught up with Blitzer, George was disappointed to find that it was as empty as the last.

“Can you believe this, George? We’re actually inside of a mystery dungeon! Look, there’s paths branching off in every direction here!”

George scratched himself in between his triangular ears. “All these paths look the same.”

“Let’s try the middle one,” Blitzer said, then sniffed the air. “I think we’ll find wild Pokemon soon, I can feel it!”

George sniffed the air as well. Something was present besides the scent of Blitzer and the grass, but he didn’t know what. It definitely smelled like another creature, though. Wild Pokemon weren’t particularly hygienic, it seemed. The smell was far more potent than Blitzer’s, even though that Charmander was standing right next to him. Something didn’t seem right.

“Skirii!”

Something moved out of the bushes. George had nary the time to blink before feeling something crawling over his chest. He looked down and saw a giant green Spinarak staring right at him.

“Aaaah!” George frantically swatted his arms around. “Get it off, get it off!!”

Blitzer jumped back and pumped his fists in front of his face. “Yeah, there it is! Show it what you’re made of, George!”

The Spinarak crawled up to George’s shoulder. “I can’t!! Help!!”

“Yeah you can! Come on, hit it already.”

The Spinarak pressed it’s head against George’s shoulder. A burning pain shot inside of him, and he cried out; it was as if he had been poked with a scissor. His attacker turned around to bite again; suddenly the legs pressing into his fur disappeared. George looked up just in time to see Blitzer throwing the Spinarak onto the ground, then striking it hard with the same claw. It hissed softly one last time, before fainting. Blitzer kicked it away.

“Phew. That was rough there, buddy. Why didn’t you hit back?”

George looked Blitzer in the eye with an exasperated gaze. “I don’t know, it all happened so fast, and-”

Blitzer put a claw up. “It’s only a little Spinarak, George. All I had to do was scratch it and it’s done for. Sure, they bite, but they don’t bite very hard. Do you feel it?”

The Charmander nudged the Oshawott on his back to get him to walk further. Sighing, George rubbed the fur on top of his bite mark. It did sting, unlike what Blitzer claimed. Not to mention the itching around the bitten area, which ached as if dropped into a giant patch of nettles. ‘ What a liar …’ “For a spider, they sure bite hard.”

“Do Spinaraks in your world not bite, then?” asked Blitzer.

“They do, but you normally don’t feel much of it! Not the spiders I’m used to, anyway. Ah… I’m going to have to walk around with this now, don’t I?”

“Don’t worry about that little bite wound, George. I thought you weren’t a chicken?”

George furiously shook his head. “What? Of course not!”

“Yeah! You came here with me, you can’t be! You’re just new to this, that’s all. You haven’t even been a Pokemon for more than a day! Everyone has gotten bitten by a large bug before. It’s like something you have to let happen to you before coming of age, there’s just no stopping it. Nothing to worry about, George! You don’t feel those bruises and scratches from yesterday anymore, either.”

That last statement was spoken like a fact. George was annoyed, but even more dumbfounded. How would Blitzer even know how bad those scratch marks were? But even odder is that he was actually right! George pulled the blue fur above his scalchop aside to take a look. That was the nastiest of yesterday’s scratches, but it wasn’t there anymore. At all. Not even a scar, let alone any itching or remaining aching.

‘Huh? How did it heal so fast?’

“Surprised?” George looked up to see Blitzer laughing. “We Pokemon are a sturdy bunch, George. Our bodies must be used to taking a beating, and I think that’s why we heal from these scratches and bites so easily. It’s just in our blood!”

“Interesting,” George muttered. None of it made any sense to him, but he accepted it for what it was. Different world, different rules. If it was true, perhaps that was for the better, even. More play, less worrying over every itch.

The two kept going further down the trail, which had gotten colder. George was on edge, his eyes half closed and stern.

‘Alright, so it’s nothing. It’s nothing, alright…’

The sound of rustling leaves reached his ears.

‘Just a bite, nothing more…’

“Do you hear that?” Blitzer looked rightwards past George, into the bushes. A set of eyes was crawling among the leaves. George did not respond; Blitzer poked him erratically, pointing past him to try and stir him out of his thoughts.

“George, George!!”

‘Yeah, it’s just a bite… I’ve felt worse.’

“Skiiirii!”

A hiss sliced through the leaves. Blitzer fell onto his knees. “Argh! Watch out!” George held his right arm in front of him, grimacing.

‘I’ve felt worse… and I can DO WORSE!’

George flicked his arm rightwards. It struck like a whip against the Spinarak leaping towards him, sending the sound of a thud flying into the air. The attacking bug was thrown sideways to the ground, rolling to a stop a few steps away, weekly hissing. George eyed it with hawk’s eyes, anticipating what would happen next. This wasn’t over yet. He could smell and taste it in the air. It wasn’t alone.

“Schri!”

A Scatterbug leaped from the bushes. George jumped out of the way. The bug’s large eyes shifted back and forth, panicking. George raised his other arm, smacking the Scatterbug on its large head. It cringed and shook it off, when a shadow suddenly fell over it. Before it could tell what was happening, Blitzer pounced with a scratch from his claws, knocking it out. George, satisfied with himself, let his arms relax.

“See? I told you that you could do it!”

“Well, seeing is believing!”

Blitzer threw his arms around George, hugging him tightly. George felt too overwhelmed to return the gesture; his eyes barely passed by Blitzer’s shoulders. It was a nice way to feel reassured in his own abilities, and after all the blunders, even the people back home knew he needed it.

When Blitzer let go, he went back on the lookout for more wild Pokemon, sniffing the air all the while. “Hm, it looks like we’re in the clear. I can’t see or smell anything else. Let’s keep going.”

“Do you know how big this place is?” George asked.

“Not exactly, but if I remember correctly what I’ve heard from Speedy and a few others, it shouldn’t be all too big. We shouldn’t be too far off from the end now.” Blitzer grabbed his tail and stuck it out in front of him. “It is a little dark, though.”

Under the guiding light of Blitzer’s tail, the two made their way deeper into the woods. The leaves up above had grown dense to the point that the sun struggled to shine in. It kept the forest underneath dark and damp. From droplets on the grass to the humid air blowing by, it felt alien. Not to mention the lack of Pokemon that didn’t not want to attack you on sight. It was a far cry from the village; despite the short distance, a chasm separated the two worlds. To George, it was even more distant.

‘So some Pokemon are capable of talking, and can work together to build their own villages, while some others are like wild animals. But they’re not, though, are they? That Spinarak and Scatterbug were working together, it felt like. Is there something about this ‘Mystery Dungeon that makes them want to attack?’

The longer he pondered over the woods, and the deeper he got in, the desire to find an answer intensified. The trail they were following forked off at random intervals, and would suddenly get thinner or wider. There was no pattern or rule to this place, it seemed. It was ever changing, as Blitzer said. The only thing consistent were the bugs jumping out the bushes to attack: Spinarak, Scatterbugs, Caterpies and Metapods, Spewpas and and even a lone Vivillon at one point. George had to catch his breath every now and then. For small bugs, they sure were out for blood.

“It’s getting a little steeper, George. I think we’re close to the end.” Blitzer took off running.

“Are you sure? What does it getting a little steeper even mean-”

“Here, here! Have a look at this!”

“What are you talking about?” George walked up the hill, and was treated to the sight of a field of plants in full bloom. A vast scape of colors like those on a painter’s palette, glistering in the sunlight right in front of their eyes. “Oh wow…”

“I-it’s beautiful! I never even knew this was here!” Blitzer looked on with a wide smile, plucking a flower and spreading the petals over the wind. “The whole time, everyone was hiding this from us!”

George walked into the field, touching and smelling the plants for himself. ‘They’re real! They’re actually real! ’ “Blitzer, you need to come down here to see this!”

Blitzer grimaced. “Ehh, I’d like to, but I’m not sure if I can. I don’t know how sensitive these plants are to fire, I’ve never seen them before.”

“Oh…” George bit his lip. ‘Right. So that flame on his tail can set things on fire. ’

Blitzer sat down on the naked hilltop. “You have fun down there, okay? I’ll wait here until you think you’ve seen enough, then we’ll go back. I might not be able to enjoy it as much as you have, but I’m glad I came here.”

George nodded. “Yeah, me too.”

“It must be fun being a water type,” Blitzer said, as George ran through the field. “You never have to worry about setting fires by accident. Something goes wrong in the village, and everyone immediately assumes I did it, haha.” He put his tongue in his cheek. “Wait… there, uh, George? You might want to be careful.”

George pulled his head out of the flowers. “Huh? Why? There’s no more bugs around, are there?”

“Yeah, but there might be some grass types around. They can really hurt you if you’re not careful!”

“R-really?” George looked over the field. As beautiful as it was, he couldn’t help but shake off the feeling that it wasn’t as beautiful as it seemed at first glance. “Well, okay then. Maybe we should head back, then.”

Blitzer nodded. “I might not have gotten to enjoy it as much as you have, but I’m still glad I came here. This is why I want to become an explorer! To discover places like this!”

George smiled. “Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever had the chance to do something like this before,” he said, thinking of the grays of the city. A shudder went through him.

“Uh, George? Are you okay?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“Alright then, let’s go back. I’m starting to get hungry.”