Chapter 16 Introduction Day

"Hello, everyPokémon! My name is Servine, and I will be your tour guide for today! So please, keep your hands, claws and other appendages inside the wagon and enjoy our tour!" Servine said with great enthusiasm.

We are currently all gathered at the guild's receptionist desk where we were all told to gather after we all had finished receiving our badges and establishing our teams. With all the Pokémon from that room, there were five new teams added to this guild. Ampharos said it was a much better outcome then last ones, with it being only a great big zero amount of newcomers. This was before the mine was shut down, so I'm guessing they had quite the influence on possible newcomers.

"We're going on a carriage ride?" asked Squirtle. His party, and I'm not joking, is literally called 'Squirtle Squad.' I almost died choking laughing from the similarity to the cartoon. His team, which is composed of: Squirtle the leader, a disinterested Glameow, and a stoic Bisharp. Vulpix gave a small chuckle when I told her about the existence of a Squirtle squad wearing glasses.

"Nay, shell boy! It's an expression meaning: don't get lost or touch anything important looking. I'm looking at you, over there," Servine said while pointing towards me with a cheeky grin.

I gave a really deep sigh. "So tell me again, why are you our tour guide and not literally anyon- Pokémon else?" I asked slightly agitated at the unwanted attention. I might have had a bit more patience with Servine's insistence on annoying me if it wasn't for Ambipom throwing a stapler at my face earlier. Dude's got some issues if he is still upset about that small fright earlier.

"Aww, am I not good enough for you?" Servine said, faking a deep sadness, " And I thought we had something special back at the mine…" she finished while hunching over.

The crowd of Pokémon gave a small collected aww from Servine's acting. When Servine saw how I wasn't reacting to her in the slightest, she raised from her hunching.

"Well you're no fun."

"Never said I was. Now get back to the tour, would you?"

"Fine, Mr. Killjoy. Oh, and to answer your earlier question: it's because I volunteered when I heard you three were joining. So you're stuck with me! Now! Do we have any questions before we start?"

"Me, me, me!" Scorbunny enthusiastically said while raising one of his hands in the air.

"Yes, Scorbunny?"

"Hi! It's nice to see you again!" the small bundle of joy exclaimed.

"That's not a question…" Sneasel said.

"And 'hi,' to you, too! Now, onwards! For we have much to see and much to do!"

Like a soldier, Servine marched over towards the cafeteria and the rest of the group followed behind her.

"So, this room is the public cafeteria," Servine said after we all had grouped up in said room. "This is where you can get a bite to eat when it's not dinner time, or just a snack. Ah, take note that only dinner is provided to us for free. We do get a discount for everything else, so that's something at least!"

The cafeteria was decently large in size. The room was a good size high, easily allowing the more taller Pokémon, like a Charizard, plenty of room to move around without risk of hitting the overhanging lights that dripped from the ceiling. You could probably fit a big boy like a Gyarados, but good luck getting one through the doors, for those aren't that large in size.

Lined in rows, sat a number of long cafeteria tables with benches lining each side of them. They are devoid of any mess or items atop them and are made from what looks to be a hardwood. Probably the same timber used for everything else. Did they hollow out this tree?

The walls were not that impressive, besides for the right side of the room where a trio of large windows sat. The windows had a small blue tint to them that really sat well with the small amount of plants and vines that littered the walls.

And finally, at the direct opposite of the entrance sat an oddly coffee style counter. I could spy a small amount of pastries and even some coffee mugs. You know what that means? I can finally have a coffee!

"We have to pay for meals here?" a grumpy Charmeleon asked.

"Yup, sure do! If you don't like it, then you can bring it up with the lovely lady over by the counter, Big Mama," Servine gestured towards the counter. "Let's go meet her!"

So, we made our way towards the counter where there was a large, overbearing Bibarel who was behind the counter that was way too small for her. The counter was split into two different sections, one was smaller for Pokémon like myself and one was larger for the taller Pokémon.

A Bellsprout was receiving some food at the smaller counter. He was handed a small brown baggie.

"An' ye be havin' a nice day now," the oddly Scottish sounding Bibarel sang out to Bellsprout, who in return smiled with his circular mouth.

"I will, thank you," the small plant Pokémon said with a squeaky voice.

"Ah, Servine. What brings ye 'ere?" Bibarel asked. I don't know what it is about her, but she gives off an intimidating aura. It could be the large amount of scars that littered this larger Pokémon.

"Just showing these new recruits around, Big Mama. Watch out for the green one, he is a troublemaker," Servine replied while subtly gesturing towards me.

"Oh, is he now?" Bibarel asked while looking me over. "Hey, isn't he the one you were chatting about? Something about a troubled, yet brave-"

"Ah ha! No clue what you are talking about," Servine interrupted while frantically waving her small arms. She then gives a small cough after composing herself. "Anyway, this is Big mama. She is the guild's cook. Don't try to sneak into the kitchen for a snack, for she will teach you very quickly not to. By punching you. In the face. Hard."

"Ye did learn quickly not to try that little stunt again, didn't ye?"

"Yeah, I can still feel it to this day…"

"And you called me the trouble maker?" I said.

"Ha! Got you there, Servine," Big Mama said to Servine, who just looked away embarrassed. "Anyway, yes I'm Big Mama and I'm also very busy at the moment. So off with ye lot, for it is time for me to prepare dinner. Oh, and welcome to the guild," Big Mama said while turning a sign around on the counter and began to walk back to the kitchen behind her.

Preparing dinner so early? Oh, I guess there are a lot of different types of Pokémon in the guild. Different dietary requirements for them and all that.

So, next we headed over towards the bounty boards back in the main lobby.

"Alright, look closely kiddies, for this is where you all will be heading off to each morning to get your jobs," Servine said. "You can also get asked directly by a client, but those are rare. So," she said while pointing to the bounty board on the left. "It's really simple, the board on the left is for simple tasks such as: fetch this, bring some Pokémon that, rescue a Pokémon or escort them to a location or even guard some items." She then pointed to the right bounty board, "and this board is where we post the wanted criminals."

"C-criminals?" I heard Ralts meekly speak up. Her team consisted of herself, Flabébé and a Buneary. I couldn't really get a read on their personalities, but they are called 'The Best Friends,' so I'm guessing naïve.

"Yup!" Servine said. "We have Pokémon wanted for assault, theft, vandalism and other petty… things. Don't worry too much though, for you won't have access to the real scary criminals until later."

So I'm guessing the real hardened criminals like murderers and such, are kept for the more experienced teams. Makes sense. I can see a naïve team hunting down a big bad only to get hunted down themselves.

Ralts still had a nervous look on her and was being reassured by her team.

"So, any questions?" asked Servine. Basically everyone here raised their hand to ask a question.

"You keep twenty percent of the bounty and get to keep whatever items you find or are given to by the client. Unless it's really, really shady. Had a sketchy explosion orb detonate in one of the rooms once," Servine said. Basically everyone dropped their hands besides for Charmeleon and myself.

"Hmm, that usually covers all the questions here. Yes, Charmeleon?" She pointed towards Charmeleon.

"Why can't I go and bash those murderer's faces in? I don't know about these wimps," she gestures to us "but my team can handle them!" Charmeleon boasted. Her team consisted of herself, a Larvitar, and a Timburr. They called themselves 'Powerhouse.'

"You have to either prove your worth first, or rank up. Whichever comes first," Servine replied.

"Are you calling us weak?" Charmeleon snarled.

"I'm saying them's the rules, Red. Don't like it? Then please take it up with the guildmaster. For I don't care to hear it. Now then, Bulba-boy, you have a question?"

"Yeah," I said "Let's say you can't read and your partner is sick or something, how would one get a job?"

"Ha! You can't read?!" Charmeleon spoke once again. Servine and strangely Vulpix seemed about to speak up, but I beat them to the punch.

"No," I said. "I've spent most of my time in this new land stuck in a mine getting overworked to death. Then when I wasn't doing that, I was stuck in a hospital mere inches from death. So, learning to read hasn't been a priority for me at the moment," I finished with a frustrated puff. This shut up Chameleon who actually had a look of shock on her face for a brief moment. It got awkwardly silent.

At first it wasn't bothering me about mentioning the mine, but the more I spoke, the angrier I got as I recalled some of the more horrific events I went through. It took a great amount of willpower not to shout at Charmeleon. Guess I better avoid openly talking about this crap for now.

Something cold and wet pressed itself on my shoulder, snapping me out of the small daze I was in. It was Vulpix, who had booped me with her nose. She had a worried look on her face.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Servine, could you continue with the tour or something?"

"Ah, yeah, sure… To answer your question, just, ah, ask the receptionist or any other guild member. I'm sure they would be willing to help you. So, um, let's go check out the lodging floor. I know you all will like that!" Servine finished, returning to her chipper attitude. So with Servine leading, the rest of the crowd followed, besides Scorbunny and Vulpix.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Scorbunny asked.

"I'm not getting into this now, just ignore my earlier rant. I'm fine," I replied, getting annoyed by this attention.

"If you say so…" He then ran back over to Sneasel, who was walking off with the crowd.

I began walking after them but I could still feel Vulpix looking over towards me. I just ignored her.

Man, I hate it when crap like this happens.

So, after getting shown how to use the elevators, by means of scanning our badges on the scanner thingy that looked like a hockey puck with a metallic outer coating. We then went up the elevator in two trips. We were also told that the first floor is for the hospital, the second was for storage, and the third was residential. There were more floors that go all the way up to seven, but those are for the heroes, special guest rooms, and the Guildmaster's floor where they also do the big mission planning, too. So unlucky for me, I was stuck on the second trip.

I'm in shock with how similar this elevator is to the ones back in my world. Like, they even have the crappy elevator music! Now that I'm thinking about it, there are quite a lot of things that are extremely similar to inventions from my world. Like the hospital, for instance. It had a lot of modern looking equipment, like a heart-beat monitor, yet the town looked like it was from the medieval stages.

A loud humming suddenly started up, bringing me out of my thoughts. It was Scorbunny and he was really ripping it along with the elevator music. Everyone in the elevator looked towards him with annoyed eyes.

"Sorry, it's a good tune!" Scorbunny said.

*Ding*

And the elevator's doors opened up and outpoured everyone from the elevator.

"Welcome to your living quarters," Servine announced.

The room around me looked like it was ripped straight from a fantasy movie, like from "The lord of the rings" hobbits' homes.

The floors, walls, and ceiling are all carved out from the tree with slabs of darker timbers to establish corners and the lintels for the couple of doors here.

To the left sat a large fireplace surrounded by an assortment of seating arrangements. There were some couches, bean bag chairs, mats, and bird resting poles.

Straight ahead from the elevator sat a large selection of bookshelves on either side of a large cathedral-like set of windows. There was a large, oak table that sat in between them with simple arm chairs and bird poles lining it up.

Off to the right were a set of doors with large mats at the feet of them. Above them sat a couple of signs I'm not able to read.

And off to the left, just before the fireplace was another corridor branching off to a large collection of doors with numbers planted in the upper middle of them.

"So, yep, this is the living area." Servine spoke up. "Fireplace over there for those who don't like the cold. A library if you want to read up on something; we have a collection of fiction and non-fiction books. Um, bathroom and showers to the right. The right door is for the guys and the left is for us ladies. There is a serious no peeping tolerance, so watch it. What else was there…? Oh yes, stealing is a very serious matter. If you are caught, you can get expelled from the guild outright, and also stay out of each other's rooms unless permission is given. And finally, if you want to spar with some Pokémon, then please do it outside in the designated 'Arena' section. It's a series of large dirt patches with a black line in the middle, can't miss it."

We were then shown to our individual rooms. You could tell a vast majority of us wanted to check them out, myself included.

"So yeah, you are cool to do whatever until dinner time. An announcement will be made by a fellow guildmate that dinner is ready, and it's usually held downstairs in the cafeteria. See you then!" And with that, Servine just walked off, and soon everyone did so with their teams. Very shortly, it was just Vulpix, Scorbunny, Sneasel and I.

"Ooooh, let's check our room out, Sneasel!" Scorbunny said.

"Ah, sure," Sneasel replied. She was very quick to get away from me. Lucky for her, Vulpix and Scorbunny were here.

"What do you want to do, Ace?" Vulpix asked.

"I'm cool with checking out our rooms," I said. Vulpix nodded in agreement then off we went to our room.

"Wow! Is this really our room?" asked Vulpix.

"Yeah, it seems like it," I replied.

Looking at our new room, it was slightly larger than the one we had back at the mine, although it's like night and day how these rooms were from each other. It was immaculate with how clean it was. There were two beds that looked tailor made to fit out different body types. One was green, while the other was red. Three guesses as to who gets what bed. There was a large mirror with an assortment of brushes that Vulpix was staring intently at. A large, rectangular window sat at the left side of the room above where my bed was located. I gave a big smile with the idea of getting a good snack while I awoke in the mornings.

I'm curious as to when these were set up. It looks too tailored made for Vulpix and I. Strange.

There was a 'welcome home' style rug at the entrance of the room that had a picture of Gardevoir giving a double peace sign on it. Not the smartest Idea, I thought to myself, We are literally wiping our feet on her face. The room was advanced enough to have a light switch and small lamps that sat at a bedside table by our beds. We each had one, and I had to admit, this room gave off a 'welcome' feeling to it. Guess Gardevoir really cares about her guildmates. We even had a large trunk for all our knickknacks. I just needed some knickknacks.

In the left corner of the room, near the window sat a small tree-like shrub. It's the simple things that I enjoy, gives off a fresh feeling and I feel weirdly happy about its inclusion.

So, with nothing better to do and because I was going to do it even if I did have something to do, I made my way over towards my bed. With the grace of a professional diver, I belly flopped onto my bed, and almost fell asleep immediately with how comfy it was.

Now, this was a bed.

"Um, h-hey, Ace?" Vulpix timidly asked. I don't remember closing my eyes, guess I snoozed off for a bit.

"What's up?" I asked with a tinge of grogginess to my voice.

"Oh, did I wake you?" she asked, "I'm sorry, I'll leave you alone," I couldn't help but spy a small brush by her feet. Did she want me to brush her?

"Did you want me to brush you?"

"Ah! No- yes, I mean… if it's not too much to ask. It's just, my fur is a mess… and I-I trust you," she asked while her snout was down to the floor so her eyes were pointed up at me. My heart melted with how cute she looked, there was no way I could say no.

"Sure, I don't mind."

"Really? Yay! Thank you!" Vulpix cheered. She grabbed the brush by her feet with her mouth, and brought it over towards me. I used my vine to grab it out of her mouth and with previous practice of holding handles, I gently ran the brush through her fur. I didn't notice till now how much of a mess her fur actually was. It was knot city up in there. Well, time to get to it.

So after a short convincing, Vulpix was now on my bed. The idea of sitting on a hard floor for ages made me sore, so on the bed it was.

Watching Vulpix melt into a puddle of relaxed fur actually made me relax too. I could tell she was deeply enjoying this by her deep purring. Well, besides for when the brush would get snagged by a huge knot of fur.

This whole ordeal did remind me of the rare occasions where my mum wasn't completely drunk and would ask me to help brush her hair. She would actually ask me about my day, like how a real mother would, and we would share a laugh. I actually recall these moments, scarce as they were, fondly.

I wonder if she misses me?

"Alright, wake up you snoozy fox," I didn't want to wake Vulpix up, but dinner was announced a short time ago, and I didn't want to be late on our first night. Plus, I ran out of fur to brush ages ago and decided to spend my time soaking in some of the remaining sunlight outside.

No one bugged me, so it was actually a relaxing afternoon.

"Zzz, Haza, wha? Where am I…? Eeep!" Vulpix exclaimed. She must have realized that she fell asleep on my bed with how she jumped up from it. I just raised an eyebrow from her overreaction. "H-how long was I asleep for?" she asked.

"I don't know, a good while. It did allow me to get rid of those nasty knots in your fur and soak in some sunlight from the living room."

"Wait, really?" she asked. She was now looking over her shoulder towards her back, confirming what I said. After realizing that we had a mirror again, she bounded over towards it and posed to get a good look at her now soft and fluffy fur. It could use a wash, but eh, good enough for now.

"Wow! My fur hasn't been this knot free since before the mine! Thank you, Ace!" she said with a big smile, "C-could you, um, do it again sometime?"

"Sure, I don't mind. It was actually very relaxing."

Vulpix beamed from my reply. I wonder if I should get brushed? It did look really relaxing… Oh wait, I'm bald. Crap.

So after telling Vulpix that dinner was ready, we headed downstairs to the cafeteria. The elevator was taking years to come down from the higher floors, so Vulpix and I decided to use the stairs that sat next to the elevator.

"Hey, frog face! Come sit with us!" Servine shouted towards me when I entered the cafeteria. She was sitting on the leftmost table. So to the right side tables I went. "Wait, I'm sorry!"

"Come on, don't be like that, Ace. Plus, Scorbunny is there too," Vulpix said.

"Fiiine," I replied.

So we sat down near where Scorbunny, Sneasel, Servine, and Ralt's team, 'The Best Friends,' where. The other side of the table to me is where Sneasel, Scorbunny and 'The Best Friends,' so that left Servine on my side. I did try to get the seat away from her, but Vulpix purposely chose the free seat two down, so I was left to sit by her. Yippie.

"So, how did you two find this guild? Pretty cool, right?" Servine asked.

"Yeah it was alri-" I was saying before Vulpix enthusiastically jumped on me with her two front paws, shutting me up.

"It's like a dream come true! I have dreamt of becoming a guild member since I was a little pup!" Vulpix said with pure joy in her voice.

"I'm glad to hear it!" Servine said. "It can be tough at first, but you will love it here. EveryPokémon is so kind and supportive. Especially the guildmaster! Also, you might want to get off Ace. His face looks like it's folding in on itself."

"Ah, sorry, Ace."

I just grumbled to myself about not wanting to become a cushion, while they made fun of my face. Looking around during my grumble, I couldn't help but notice a familiar looking Raichu who was walking past us towards the head of the middle left table.

"Hey, aren't you the Raichu from the mine?" I asked. He turned around, confused he looked me over, which was hard since I was on a chair that he wasn't taller than.

"Hmm, oh yeah! You were part of that crowd I helped rescue," Raichu boasted.

"Wow! It's really you, Hero Raichu!" Vulpix spoke. "Is it true that you got your hero title by saving a boat of Pokémon from a raging, Red Gyarados?" Vulpix asked with literal sparkles in her eyes.

"Why yes, it's true. Hey, if you want, you can come over to the table over there and I can tell you about it," he offered.

"Really?! Oh, um just a second. Would Ace be able to join us?" Vulpix asked.

"Uh, sorry, but no. Not that much room, I'm afraid, hehe."

That was a big, fat lie. The table had plenty of room.

"You can go over there if you want. I don't mind, Vulpix," I said. I didn't mind getting left out. I'm not the fanboy over here about all these heroes and their stories.

"Oh, okay then. I'll be back shortly," Vulpix said. She followed Raichu to his table and engaged in a conversation about his story.

"Are you sure that was a smart idea?" Servine asked.

"What do you mean?" I counter asked.

"Raichu is notorious for trying to impress girls. Especially fan girls," she said with a look of concern.

"I don't really get what you're talking about. If Vulpix wants to chat with someone, then I don't see the problem."

"You aren't that smart, are you?"

"Yeah, I chose to sit by you," I retorted. I was getting annoyed with the combination of being confused and getting insulted. Like, I don't see the problem. Vulpix likes heroes. Vulpix gets to talk to them in person. Problem? None I can see.

"Fine, be that way. I was only trying to help," Servine crossed her little arm leaves away from me.

So after a short amount of silence, well, besides for Scorbunny chatting up a storm over literally anything he could think about, Vulpix returned, sitting down next to me. I can't explain it, but I felt at ease again with her there.

"How was it?" I asked Vulpix.

"It was so cool! Raichu told me about how he defeated that nasty Red Gyarados by sailing a ship through a storm and using himself as a lightning rod to latch onto the Gyarados and zap him! He almost drowned since the Gyarados sank with him on top, but he managed to escape! So cool," Vulpix said with pure giddiness.

"A lightning rod? Smart," I replied.

"And that's all he talked about? Nothing else?" Servine asked with curiosity present in her voice.

"Yeah, well he did say some other stuff afterwards, but I didn't really pay attention to that, so I excused myself," Vulpix replied.

"Really? Ace, you are a lucky mon,"

"I… guess?" I just went with it. I'm still so confused, but Vulpix is back so who cares.

So after what seemed to be the last of the stragglers arriving for dinner, the cafeteria doors closed.

Only for them to get slammed back opened not two seconds later.

"Greetings!" A booming voice announced. "I heard we had some newcomers, and I had to see for myself!" The thundering voice of a familiar Incineroar came that filled the entire hall. You could hear the collected gasps and adoration everyone had for this guy. I just shrugged and turned back to Vulpix so we could continue our conversation, but it was hard with her looney-tunes-like mouth that threatened to touch the floor.

Oh right, isn't Incineroar her favourite hero?

"He's here!" "he's back" "he's so cool" came a collected murmuring. There was way more being said, but those were the only ones I could clearly make out.

Incineroar made his way around all the tables, especially where the other new groups were located. Eventually, he made his way towards us, but I was getting bored and hungry. Vulpix was no longer a willing participant to converse with, so I was resting my head on the table. I was really tired after all since my nap was interrupted.

"He's coming over here, Ace. he is coming over here!" Vulpix whispered loudly while nudging me. "So get your face up from the table!"

"Argh, fine," I replied.

"I see a lot of new faces here at this table!" the booming voice announced while getting closer. "Seven new faces, in fact. I'm Incineroar! Welcome to our humble guild, hahaha," the giant of a Pokémon welcomely said.

"So, who do we have here?" Incineroar asked.

"I'm Scorbunny, and this here is my childhood friend, Sneasel! We're the 'Blazing Claw!'" Scorbunny proudly said while striking a pose. Sneasel looked like she was about to melt into the ground with embarrassment.

"Blazing Claw? So cool!" Incineroar said. Scorbunny had the biggest smile I have ever seen from the praise. "And who do we have here?" he said with a softer voice to Ralt's team.

"M-my friends, Ralts and Flabébé," said Buneary, who had more courage to speak than the other two, "are 'The Best Friends,' sir," Buneary finished while looking away blushing.

"What a lovely name," Incineroar smiled. "It's always nice to have more friends here in the guild," This made them all giggle with smiles. "I recall you two," he said while looking over towards Vulpix and I. "That's right! You're that courageous Vulpix who fetched me to save her friend!"

"C-c-c-cour-cour," Vulpix said in a pure daze. Incineroar just gave a friendly smile when he realized that was all Vulpix was going to say at the moment.

"And you are that Bulbasaur Machoke was so keen on kidnapping. Why was that? That is if you don't mind me asking," Incineroar asked.

"I have no clue. Dude had a crush on me or something. Thanks for the save, by the way. Glad he is buried under that pile of rubble. He definitely deserved worse, but eh. I'm just glad he's gone." I said.

"Ha! You sure do have spirit. I'm glad though, after what I have heard, most don't… fully recover from that sort of 'treatment.' Anyway, welcome to the guild! I'm sure with your spirit, you and your courageous partner will do great. What is your team's name?"

"T-the Heart of Adventure," Vulpix finally replied.

"Hmm… I like it! I will be watching your team with high hopes. Well, better get to my seat, for she is about to appear," Incineroar self-dismissed. He walked off to the table where Raichu was slumping. I like Incineroar, he seems cool. Definitely someone you could get a drink with and just have a chill game of darts with. I wonder who this 'she' was, though?

Well, it didn't take long for my answer to be answered, since Gardevoir appeared with a green puff of smoke at the front of the room.

"Hello~!" Gardevoir sang. "I am here to announce that we have not one, not two, but five brand new teams joining us at this guild! So, I would like you all to help me welcome them into our guild. So in order to help with this, we shall host a welcome party tonight with a feast!" The crowd of seated Pokémon cheered while clapping. "Big Mama, if you would," Gardevoir finished while moving to the side, revealing Big Mama walking from the cooking area with a small army of Bidoofs. They all had large plates of food resting on their backs and were walking in pairs of two.

The small army of Bidoofs walked to the tables and with the help of the other Bidoof, placed the food atop the tables. There was everything from plates of berries, meat foods, soups, salads, you name it! A man could feast for years and not get bored with this spread.

Scorbunny had to be held in place by Sneasel, while I could see a small bit of saliva drooling from Vulpix's mouth. I don't blame them though, this food was mighty fine looking. After the last of the food was delivered, no one moved, almost like there was a trance placed.

"Well, dig in!" Gardevoir announced. And the spell was broken.

It was pure food carnage.

After destroying that huge meal, most teams retired to their rooms. Vulpix and I decided it was a good idea too, especially with our first real mission tomorrow.

This seems all too familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. Why do I feel so on edge?

"Are you okay, Ace?" Vulpix asked.

"Hmm? What?" I replied. We had just entered our room. I was sitting down near the door, while Vulpix went over and jumped up on the chair that sat in front of the large mirror to fix up some of her fur.

"I don't know for sure, but you seem tense," Vulpix stated with concern dripped in her voice.

"... I-I'm not sure. This just feels like something too familiar, like something wrong is going to happen, but I can't place my finger on it, or claw I guess."

The more I tried to figure out why I felt so wrong, the more panicky I felt. Vulpix, seeing myself getting more distressed, hopped down away from the mirror and sat just in front of me. I wanted to look her in the eyes, but it felt like gravity was trying its hardest to keep my eyes locked onto the floor.

"We aren't at the mine, Ace," Vulpix said in a gentle tone. In an instant, my eyes locked onto Vulpix's. She had a stern, yet kind expression. "We aren't, and never will be back at that horrible place. We're surrounded by kind Pokémon that would help us in an instant. We're safe here. Come, I'll show you!" Vulpix said with a more chipper tone.

She made her way over towards my bed and placed a paw on it. "I took a nap on it earlier, and found it one of the most comfortable beds I have ever slept on!" Vulpix tapped on the bed, signaling me to come over.

Hesitantly, I made my way over. I looked Vulpix in the eyes, to which she gave me a small nod. So, I jumped up on the bed. I know I was on it earlier, but now that I'm taking it all in, this really is a comfy bed. The bed at the mine was like sleeping on a pile of rocks, while this bed felt like sleeping on a fluffy cloud.

"See? The beds here are made with real love, nothing you would ever expect to find at that horrid place," Vulpix comforted.

Getting snug, my earlier worries seemed to just melt away. I guess Vulpix was right. I was still thinking I was back at the mine. I felt some tears threaten to break through, guess I was more stressed about this whole situation then I realized.

"We're safe here," Vulpix said again, and like a dam cracking, I couldn't help but let out some tears. So I buried my face in the extremely comfortable bed. I took a deep breath, which was a bit tough since I was face deep in bed, then raised my head to match Vulpix who was patiently waiting.

"This really is a comfortable bed," I said with fatigue present in my voice.

"I'm glad," Vulpix replied with a small smile. "We have a big day tomorrow. We better get some sleep. You're going to need it for when I'm going to wake you up earlier to brush my hair again," Vulpix jokingly said with a small laugh. I chuckled.

"Of course, we need you looking your best for tomorrow. I'd ask you to give me a brush, but, well, no hair and I don't think you can brush leaves."

Vulpix and I shared a good laugh from our exchange. It's moments like these that do help reassure that things just might get better.

"I'm going to go to sleep now, are you okay now?" she asked.

"Yeah, much better. Good night, Vulpix." I said with a genuine smile.

"I'm glad. Good night, Ace," Vulpix said with a big smile. She walked back to her bed, first turning off the lights, and got snuggled in bed.

"Vulpix?" I asked.

"Yes, Ace?" she replied.

"Thank you. I don't know what I would do without you."

"You're welcome, Ace. Besides, it's the least I could do. You have done so much more for me. You gave me courage where I had none, helped me meet my favourite hero, and even got me to join the guild of my dreams. I'm way more thankful to you then you could possibly imagine. Good night, Ace. Let's make our dreams come true."

"Yeah. Good night, Vulpix."

Had I really done that much for Vulpix? I don't think so. I haven't really done that much.

With that, I felt my thoughts slowly disappear while I fell into a deep slumber.

End Chapter 16