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Keran had been waiting in the public park of Stony Plain for well over an hour now.  The Umbreon liked to think that he had a decent amount of patience, but even he was starting to get bored.  He’d been alone, and there wasn’t a lot here to keep him occupied.  He’d appreciated the flower arrangements, rested in the shade of a gazebo-like structure, lounged on a park bench, and even played in the children’s area for sheer lack of anything to do.  He currently found himself in front of a large sign that welcomed travellers to the town.  Stony Plain, the sign read.  Population 2,539.  Plus two, Keran thought.  The sign also had a brief history of the town; Stony Plain had been settled 95 years ago by a group of rock-type Pokemon who’d been displaced from a nearby mountain range by human settlers.  Hence the name Stony Plain.  Keran usually liked absorbing bits of random trivia like this, but he’d already read the sign five times.

Keran’s mind wandered off again.  It was a strange place, this one.  The technology didn’t seem very advanced yet, but perhaps that was different in the human-controlled areas of the world.  There were still even wild Pokemon living here.  Keran realized he was feeling wistful already, thinking back to Lorne.  He’d enjoyed the Mightyena’s company despite how dismissive Viera had been to him.  Lorne was one of the few Pokemon they’d met since arriving here who didn’t treat the two of them with indifference.  Or try to eat them.

And that was the other thing Keran was having difficulty adjusting to.  As a carnivore he was already sick and tired of his diet, which had consisted of nothing but fruits, vegetables, nuts, and occasionally some kind of baked product if he felt like spending money in town.  But apparently the only other alternative was to track down and devour another living Pokemon.  And the Pokemon living here just accepted this as a fact of life!  It was baffling.  Even Lorne, who followed a strict vegetarian diet of his own, didn’t seem to hold it against other Pokemon.  And apparently the preferred method of consuming other Pokemon was to devour them whole.  Keran wouldn’t have believed such a thing was possible if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes.  There was the Magmortar who had tried to eat Lorne.  And there was the time a few days ago, when he and Lorne had been scrounging for food and came across the Linoone.  Keran wasn’t sure what he had eaten exactly, only that it caused the Pokemon’s stomach to bulge considerably from its mid-section.  Keran would have assumed that it was causing the Linoone great physical pain, and yet he was simply sleeping with his arms draped over his swollen belly.  Lorne had suggested that they leave, and Keran agreed.

They had parted ways with Lorne three days ago.  Lorne had fully recovered by that point, and he wasn’t willing to follow the two of them into the town on a more permanent basis.  But he did say that he would be around the area for a while yet.  Lorne had gotten each of them an apple as a parting gift; the Mightyena seemed to have some kind of affinity with the fruit that Keran didn’t quite understand.  He’d called them Perfect Apples.  Keran still didn’t know if he was joking or not.  Looking at the large round fruit in his paws that night, Keran had decided that he would attempt an experiment.  He wanted to see if the laws which seemed to govern the Pokemon here applied to him as well.

It had taken him two days to build up the nerve.  Finally, last evening, Keran stretched his jaw open as wide as he could.  He lifted the apple and was surprised when it fit snugly into his maw.  He’d sat there for a while, feeling increasingly foolish.  Eventually, half-convinced that he would simply choke on the apple and that would be that, Keran took his first gulp.  His eyes widened in shock as the apple slid easily past his tongue and into his throat.  He could feel every inch of the apple’s trip down his esophagus.  His neck bulged out with the apple, but Keran never felt any pain.  Instead, he felt only a sort of satisfied relief as it slid past his collarbone, down past his chest, and finally into his stomach.  As he sat there panting, Keran realized with a shock that a small part of him wanted to do it again.

He’d kept the experiment and its results to himself.  He didn’t want Viera to think that he was becoming odd.

“Keran.”

Ah, speaking of which.  Keran turned to see his mate Viera standing behind him.  The Delphox hadn’t made a sound as she approached.  She was still just as beautiful now as she was the day they had first met.  Keran felt relieved to finally see her, but quickly turned his expression into an exaggerated frown.  “Where have you been, Viera?  I’ve been here for hours.”

Viera didn’t call his bluff.  “Relax, Skipper.  I wanted to come right here but this Breloom cornered me.  Wanted to know what I was doing in town for so long.  When am I leaving, where am I from, etcetera.  She seemed to have a high opinion of herself.”

Keran’s frown disappeared as he chuckled again.  Partly because of Viera’s use of his old nickname, partly from her own annoyed tone.  Well, two could play the nickname game.  “She’s like that because she’s the sheriff, Vee.”

Viera snorted.  “Of course you know that.  You probably know everybody in this town already.”  She shook her head slightly.  “Right.  Whatever.  Find out anything?”

“No, unfortunately.  What about you?”

“Take a guess.”

Keran sighed.  Nobody in town seemed to know anything about the orb they’d been looking for, or know the pair of Simisear that had stolen it from them when they arrived.  Viera had been telling him that they’d spent too long looking after Lorne, but he wasn’t quite willing to admit fault about that just yet.  The Mightyena had needed their help, no matter what they were already occupied with.  Still, the orb’s absence worried him.  If somebody figured out how to tap into its power…

“So we should head out.  Find another town to search.  Those two have to live somewhere.”

Keran snapped himself out of his thoughts.  “We can’t just wander from town to town without any direction.  It’s a pretty big country.  Pretty big planet.” He added as an afterthought.

“Well it’s better than staying here and wasting our time.”  Viera said.

Keran glanced upwards at his mate.  The corner of his mouth twitched into a slightly crooked smile as his eyes gleamed at her.

Viera narrowed her eyes at him.  “Don’t give me that look.  Whenever you give me that look you’re about to try and talk me into something I’m going to regret.”

Keran chuckled.  “Trust me, Vee.  I think I have a better idea…”

~~~

It was a large, proud structure made of solid brown brick.  The roof angled sharply into the sky.  The path leading to the oaken front doors was immaculate.  The sign above the door read, in large letters;

RESCUE TEAM GUILD HEADQUARTERS
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITY FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS
NO LOITERING

“This is your big idea, Skipper?  You want us to be guild apprentices?  How is that not a waste of our time?”

“Well an apprenticeship would take too long.” Keran agreed.  “But I’m sure there’s a way to form a rescue team without needing to go through all those hoops.  The two of us are really capable, we can probably impress them enough to get a rescue team license.”

“Yes, fine, but you’re still ignoring my basic point.  Which is how running a rescue team is going to be better at finding the orb than actually searching for the bloody thing.”

Keran glanced sideways at Viera.  She was looking down at him, waiting for his response.  Every part of her body was radiating a stubborn attitude; her arms were crossed, her tail was flitting at the air, her ears were low.  She was giving him a look that would make lesser Pokemon curl into a ball and mumble until she went away.  It was supremely difficult to get Viera to change her mind on an issue once she was set.  So it was lucky for Keran that he’d become so good at it over the years.

He took a breath to gather his thoughts, and began.  “Well, one reason that I mentioned earlier was that we can’t search an entire country by ourselves.  Nobody in this country knows us.  And only a few of them will trust us.  We’re just two vagabonds going from town to town for a purpose that we can’t even truly explain to them.  Even if they know something they might not be willing to share it with us.”

The Umbreon paced in front of Viera as he spoke.  “Now, imagine that we’re going from town to town, but we have rescue badges on.  Immediately people will know that we’re part of a rescue team, and we help people for a living.  From that alone we’ve become more than just strangers to them, and they’ll be more willing to trust us.  If we say we’re investigating ‘the theft of an object of great importance to the citizens of Stony Plain’ we’ll be more likely to get a response.  If we become famous enough, we might even get people coming to us with information about the Simisears.  I doubt we’re the only Pokemon they’ve stolen from.”

“And then there’s the two Simisears themselves.  They were professionals, they had the orb and were away with it before we could even realize what was happening.  They got the drop on us.  If they’re really working alone I’ll eat my own tail.  What if they’re part of a gang?  Sure we could handle a gang.  But what if it’s bigger?  An organized crime syndicate?  A sort of mafia?  Suddenly it’s a lot harder for just the two of us to bring it down.  And trust me, once we get the orb back from an organization like that we will end up bringing it down.  We don’t know how to ignore things like that.”

Viera accepted that at least with a nod, but didn’t interrupt.  “So if we’re part of a rescue team we’ll be able to recruit help.  Launch missions simultaneously.  Twelve sets of eyes are better than two.  Maybe one of them will even be able to find the orb for us.  And we’ll be making money.  Being part of a rescue team pays really well, apparently.  Must be because it’s so dangerous.  I’m not really thinking of getting rich, but we’ll need money unless we want to spend our entire time here sleeping in the dirt and eating berries from the bushes.  And we’ll be integrating ourselves into the society here.  That’s what we do, Viera.  Get to know people, learn the stories of this world.  We can do that at the same time as finding the orb.”  Keran finally stopped pacing and turned to look at Viera in triumph.  “Now, tell me why that is a worse idea than searching around blindly.”

Viera squeezed the bridge of her muzzle and shook her head.  “Making a lot of assumptions there, Skipper.  For all we know those two thieves are just hiding out a couple miles away and we’ll find them in a few days.”

“If they’re that close, then people here aren’t telling us about it because they don’t trust us.”  Keran insisted.

“We don’t even know if we can form a team right away.” Viera said.

“We won’t know until we try.” Keran replied quietly.

Viera turned away from him to look at the sign above the Guild HQ again.  Keran waited for a moment, but she didn’t seem ready to reply.  He turned as well, tilting his head to look up at the clouds above them.  He relaxed his ears, felt them twitching a bit from the breeze.  When he felt Viera looking at him again he continued.  “Every place we end up, we end up finding trouble and solving it.  This is a dangerous place.  There’s probably no end of bad guys to fight.  Crimes to solve.  People to help.  And if we don’t do that, then what is the point?  What is the point of us?  What is the point of travelling anywhere?”  

He turned back to Viera.  “If we do this, we’ll find enough trouble to keep you from getting bored.  Even after we track down the orb.  This is something we’ve never done before.  Come on, Vee.”  He smiled.  “It’ll be fun.”

Viera looked at him.  Keran met her gaze before looking at his paws instead.  He finally heard Viera let out a low groan.  The sound seemed to start from her toes, built up steam by the time it reached her midsection, and escaped from her throat with a persistent rumble.  She looked back and forth between the HQ and Keran a couple of times, then hung her head.  She looked back up with a sharp look in her eyes.  “Okay, okay.  Stop looking so pathetic.  Fine!  Argh, I just know I’m going to regret this.  But!” She barked as Keran opened his mouth to speak and jabbed a finger at him.  “But.  You owe me for this one.  The next place we travel to, I get to decide what we do when we get there.  Deal?”

Keran beamed at her.  “Deal!  Now let’s go talk to the Guildmaster!”

“What, just like that?” She asked.

Keran looked back at her as he bounded towards the door.  “Why not?  Besides, you read the sign.  We shouldn’t be loitering!”

Winning an argument with Viera always gave Keran a burst of energy.  He pushed his way through the doors and was met with nobody in particular.  There was a desk at the far end of the room, but it was unoccupied.  Keran lost steam and hesitated.  “Maybe-” He began.

“Let’s just go in.” Viera said.  “Look, there’s a sign.  Guildmaster’s office.  It’s not like we’re breaking and enterring.”  She strode past him and made her way into the building.  Keran shook his head slightly and followed.

The trip to the Guildmaster’s office took less than a minute.  They passed only a couple of Pokemon; a Camerupt and a Scizor heading the opposite direction.  Both of them gave Keran and Viera a cursory glance, but didn’t seem surprised or concerned by their presence.  It was quiet here, almost like a library.  The door to the Guildmaster didn’t seem to be different from any of the other doors they’d passed.  Viera was already entering when Keran approached, and he jogged in after her.

The Guildmaster turned out to be a Stoutland.  He’d also been writing something on his desk, and looked up when they entered.  He rose from his seat, and Keran was impressed with the commanding presence he had in the room.  He was easily a foot shorter than Viera, but Keran kept getting fooled by this fact.  It was like looking at an optical illusion.  He also realized shortly after that the Stoutland was getting older; streaks of gray were beginning to show through all of his fur.  The grey only seemed to make him look more dignified.

“Yes?  How can I help ye?”

He spoke in a deep baritone, and had the slightest hint of an accent.  Keran cleared his throat.  “Hello, Guildmaster?” He ventured.

“Aye.”

“My name’s Keran.  This is my mate, Viera.  And well…we’re here because we were hoping that we could form a rescue team.  Sir.”

The Guildmaster took a moment to look at each of them in turn.  He inclined his head slightly.  “Pleased to meet ye, Keran and Viera.  My name is Liam.  I apologize for my lack of etiquette, I’m expected for a difficult meeting.”  He took a step forward and extended a paw.  Keran shook it solemnly.  He repeated the gesture with Viera and took a step back.  “And why do ye wish to form a rescue team?”

“To help people.” Keran replied promptly.

Liam gave him a severe look.  “Why do ye really want to form a rescue team, Keran?”

Keran was taken aback slightly, a reaction he wasn’t used to.  He looked at Viera helplessly for a moment, but she was just looking at Liam with a slight hint of…amusement?  Keran rallied, he wasn’t going to let the moment slip.  “Well, if we’re going to be perfectly honest, something very important to us was stolen a couple weeks ago by a pair of Simisear.  We were hoping that by forming a rescue team we’d be able to find out more about them.  And you know, keep them from harming anyone else.”

“And we’re tired of sleeping in the dirt.”  Viera said.

Liam’s eyes flashed with a hint of amusement as well.  “A common sentiment, I believe.  Your honesty is appreciated.  Many would call me cynical, but I doubt anyone has formed a rescue team simply out of the goodness of their hearts.”

“But-”  Keran began.

“Don’t get me wrong, I am not judging ye.  I just need something to put in the ledger.  ‘Reason for joining’.  It’s very thorough.”

“Oh…” Keran replied.

Liam walked back behind his desk.  “Guild training starts on the morrow.  Be here at dawn, no later.”

“Actually,” Viera said, “We‘re hoping to start a team without becoming apprentices first.”

Liam turned his severe look on Viera, who didn’t budge an inch.  “We put all potential rescue teams through the apprenticeship.” He said.  “Rescuing is a dangerous job, even for the old hands.  Ye’ll be heading out into wild territory every day.  Into mystery dungeons.  The Pokemon there are savages.  They’ll kill ye soon as look at ye.”

Keran tried not to scoff as he thought back to Lorne.  The wild Mightyena had been one of the most kind-hearted Pokemon he’d ever known, and Keran had known a lot of different Pokemon.  He wondered again how the animosity between wildlings and civvies had started in the first place.  Then he tried not to chuckle.  He’d apparently picked up the terms from Lorne now.

“If you’re doubting our capabilities, you shouldn’t.  Keran and I have been in and out of fights for a long time.  We can handle ourselves in the wild.”  Viera said.  The icy edge in her tone was beginning to make Keran worry.

“Yes, many people have said the same thing.  And I had to tell their families what happened to them.” Liam replied.

“Then give us a way to prove ourselves.”  Viera insisted.

Liam’s expression darkened.  “The guild training is how you prove yourselves.”

“We don’t have the luxury of time.”

Keran decided now was the time to intervene, before Viera started picking a fight with the entire Guild HQ to prove a point.  “Look, what Viera means is that the thing that got stolen is very important to us.  It’s an orb, it’s one of the few things we brought with us from where we came from.  It has…” He hesitated.

Viera came to the rescue.  “It has all of our memories in it.”

Both Keran and Liam stared at her.  It seemed Viera was still capable of surprising Keran; this was an angle he wouldn’t have considered.  Of course, it was terribly untrue.  And yet, if you thought about it the right way, it wasn’t technically a lie.  Liam was just nonplussed.  “Are ye trying to tell me-”

“Metaphorically speaking, of course.” Keran interrupted.  He spoke quickly.  “Viera and I first came across the orb in the mountains, in a set of ruins that collapsed after us, unfortunately.  It was the first journey we took together.”  Keran took a moment to smile gratefully up at Viera before continuing.  “And trust me, the Pokemon on that trip were not very welcoming to us.  We‘ve fought together for a long time now.  We can handle it.

“We just want our treasure back.” Viera finished.

The silence dragged on as the three Pokemon looked at each other.  Keran was having difficulty picking a decent expression while he waited.  He finally settled on what he hoped was strong-willed bravery.  Viera just stood with her arms crossed again.  Liam stood still, only his eyes moving between the two of them.  Finally, he sighed.  His body seemed to sag, and for the briefest of moments he appeared to be much older to Keran.  Then he straightened up and the image of the Guildmaster replaced that of the old Stoutland.  He picked up a paper and scribbled a message onto it.  With a series of deft movements he folded the note into an envelope and stamped a seal onto it.  He held out the letter to Viera, who took it.  Keran saw what he assumed was the symbol of the guild on the seal.

“There was a time when Pokemon could form a rescue team not by graduating from the guild, but by obtaining what was called a writ of permission from one of the leading Pokemon in the community.”  Liam pointed at the envelope.  “Take that to the dojo in town.  The leader of the dojo is part of a rescue team called Team Nova.  Team Nova is the most prolific, accomplished rescue team we have ever known.  He will test ye to the very limits of his ability.  And should ye manage to overcome him, I will consider your request.  Now, I again apologize for my bluntness, but I am late for my meeting.  Good day to ye.”

~~~

“Well, I think that went well.”  Viera said as they approached the dojo.

“If you forget about the part where you were about to take on the entire Guild if they kept assuming you were too weak to form a rescue team.” Keran said.

“I might not have fought all of them.”  Viera replied.  “Now then.  Let’s see what this quaint little dojo has for us.”

Keran fought down another chuckle as they entered.  Just twenty minutes ago Viera had been dead set against forming a rescue team, and it took everything he had to make her grudgingly agree.  And now that Liam had implied she wasn’t capable enough, she was putting everything she had into it.  Liam had accidentally done a better job of convincing her than Keran ever could.  She would try to become a very successful rescuer now simply out of spite.  Viera’s heart still burned with anger and resentment, which considering her past Keran couldn’t blame her for.  But she used these emotions to drive her to do good things rather than bad, to ultimately help people even if she would never admit she was doing it.  It was one of the things that kept drawing Keran to her.

The first room they entered in the dojo was sparsely lit by a handful of torches, and made entirely of stone.  The doors slammed shut behind them.  At the same time, a heavy gust of wind extinguished all the torches at once.  Keran and Viera were plunged into blackness.  The pulsing rings on Keran’s body let them see a few feet in front of them, but nothing beyond.  “Hang on, let me just give us a bit more light.” Keran said.

Before Keran could do anything, there was a loud rush of noise.  The entire room lit up again as great gouts of fire erupted from the floor in front of them.  Keran reeled back in astonishment.  The flames dispersed, leaving them back in darkness.  As their eyes re-adjusted they could now make out a large pair of eyes at the far end of the room.  The eyes were a good six feet off the ground.  A menacing growl started up as well, building louder and louder until it was practically a snarl.  Keran could hear the creature’s teeth gnashing together before it spoke.

“WHO DARES ENTER…” a voice roared.  “WHO DARES ENTER MY DOMAIN?  WHO DARES ENTER…THE DOJO…” the voice paused for effect before continuing, “OF FIRE?!?”

The flames burst from the floor again.  The owner of the voice was now fully visible.  An Arcanine stood proudly on the other side of the wall of flames.  Fire had engulfed him as well, but the flames licking at his body didn’t seem to bother him any more than a gentle breeze would.  He was laughing now; a great booming laughter that echoed back and forth in the chamber they were in.  He shouted again, this time not at the top of his voice.  “Fire is the great destroyer, fire is the great consumer!  Nothing can withstand the full force of the almighty fire!  Nothing…” He paused again.  “BUT ME!!!”

The fires suddenly extinguished.  Colours still danced in Keran’s vision as his eyes struggled to re-adjust.  The Arcanine didn’t seem to be there anymore.  Instead, his voice drifted towards them from a distance.  “I await you at the far end of the dojo, challengers.  Follow…if you dare…”

Silence fell around Keran and Viera as they struggled to make sense of what was happening.  Viera recovered first.  She laughed, rubbing the side of her head.  “We’re going to be tested by that idiot?” She asked nobody in particular.  “This is going to be easier than I thought.”

Keran wasn’t so sure.  “The Guildmaster did say he’s part of the best rescue team in Stony Plain.” He said slowly.  “This whole thing was a show.  Maybe it was meant to scare people off.  Or maybe he’s just trying to seem like he’s an oaf so we’ll under-estimate him.”

“Or,” Viera said, “He could just be an oaf.”

“I just think we should be careful.” Keran sighed.

“Fine, you be careful.  Me, I’m going to get this test over with.” Viera strode ahead.  Keran shook his head and jogged to keep up after her, lighting his rings in the process.  The glowing golden light shone ahead, revealing the path the Arcanine must have travelled down.  There was a dull red glow at the end of that hallway.  “Watch your step.” Viera said.  “Notice how he stepped forward whenever the fire went up?  Don’t step on whatever he stepped on.”

Keran couldn’t see very well in front of Viera, so he decided the best course of action was to just follow her closely and step where she stepped.  This was usually how things turned out whenever they explored somewhere.  Viera taking action, striding ahead, and Keran following closely at her heels.  It usually fell on him to clean up the mess that resulted as well.  Keran never held it against her though.  At the very least, things were never dull.

~~~

“Down!” Viera shouted.

Keran hit the floor, his limbs splayed out either direction.  He’d seen the swinging log at the same time Viera shouted.  She flung herself on the ground in front of him as the log swung over them.  It grazed the tips of Keran’s ears as it went by.  Keran gritted his teeth at the sudden stinging pain from his sensitive ears.  He rolled onto his back as the log swung towards them again.  Viera rose up.  Her paw dove into her fur and came out wielding her wand.  Purple wisps danced around it as she waved the wand in a flowing circular motion.  Then she stabbed it forward, towards the log.  Keran was already rolling out of the way.  The wand let loose a huge Fire Blast attack.  The log disintegrated before them, showering them in charcoal and bits of sawdust.  Keran coughed and waved his paw in front of his face as he got to his feet.   “I’m okay!” He said as Viera approached him.  “Just grazed my ears a bit, nothing too serious.”

“Good.” Viera said, not unkindly.  “Come on, let’s keep going.”

They must have gone underground at some point, Keran reasoned.  The winding tunnels and large trap-filled rooms they had gone through took up far more space than the outside of the dojo suggested.  The place never seemed to end.  Viera had needed to stop a dart from piercing her neck with her psychic abilities just a few minutes ago.  Keran had used his light to navigate a pitch-black room riddled with pitfalls.  There were traps in the floor, traps in the walls, traps in the ceiling.  Keran was suspecting that the abundance of traps was there just to annoy them.  He was struggling to keep himself collected, keep himself from making mistakes.

As they entered the next room, Keran groaned.  The floor dropped away before them, it was about a six foot drop.  Flames danced around on the floor below.  The exit to the room was directly in front of them, but there was only a tiny bridge connecting the two exits.  “You know, I’m really starting to think this place doesn’t have safety inspections.” He complained.

“It’ll be fine, Skipper.  You go first, I’ll be right behind.  If you slip, I’ll catch you.”

Keran gulped, but nodded.  He edged his way slowly to the bridge, barely raising his paws.  The bridge was narrower than his two paws placed side by side.  Careful…careful…, Keran repeated to himself.  He started to walk across, his motions slow and exaggerated as he positioned each of his four paws one at a time.  He glanced behind him to see how Viera was doing.  The bridge should have given the larger Pokemon even more difficulty, but she was walking with the apparent ease of walking down a street.  Her arms were stretched to either side to keep her balance.  She smiled at Keran as their eyes met.  Keran smiled back, and felt one of his paws miss its mark.

Keran scrambled, his chest hitting the bridge as he started to fall.  All of his paws were in the air as he thrashed about, trying to find purchase on something, anything.  He felt Viera’s paw latch suddenly onto his tail and yank him back upward.  She set him carefully back on the bridge, and Keran wrapped all of his limbs around it.  He was shaking, and it took a while for his mind to register anything other than blank, numbing terror.  “Thanks…” He croaked.

“Almost there, Skipper.  I got you.  Oh…”

Keran opened his eyes to see what Viera had seen.  A Ninetales was approaching them from the other exit.  She was walking as easily as Viera, all nine of her elegant tails splayed out behind her for balance.  She was smiling at them.  “There’s no need for you to face the dojo master.” She said.  Wisps started to dance around her tails.  Her eyes began to glow as she drew closer.  “I will end your journey before-”

She was cut off by Viera.  The Delphox extended her arm and gave a sharp gesture to the side with her wrist.  Her paw glowed with a psychic aura, and Keran felt the bridge tremble underneath him.  He renewed his grip and felt himself giving a low whine.  As for the Ninetales, she was yanked suddenly off the bridge as if she’d been grabbed.  She gave a gasp of alarm as she fell into the burning flames below.  There was a dull thud as she hit the floor.  There was a brief pause, and then;

“That’s a dirty trick, Delphox!” She called back.

Viera reached down and plucked Keran unceremoniously off the bridge.  “Come on, hold tight!” Keran had no qualms about this.  He clasped his front paws firmly around her chest, laying his head on her shoulder as she ran.  Gouts of fire followed them as the Ninetales launched into a series of Flamethrower attacks.  It was no time at all before Viera reached the exit and stormed through it.  She ran for a while longer, putting more distance between them and the Ninetales before slowing to a stop.  She kneeled forward, and Keran released his grip reluctantly.  His heart thudded desperately in his chest as he tested the floor with his paws, making sure the ground was solid.  The terror in his mind faded gradually, replaced with an embarrassed sense of shame.  “Viera, I’m-”

She cut him off.  “Don‘t even think it, Skipper.  That’s why we work together, yeah?”  She gave him a slow, playful punch on the jaw.  Keran looked up at her, into her wonderful eyes.  Keran nudged her waist with his head as a response.  She scratched behind his ear again.  Keran started to laugh.  It was a manic, desperate sort of laughter that chased away his feelings of shame.  Viera laughed along with him, the sound echoing back and forth through the corridor.  As his laughter finally slowed to a stop, Keran was starting to feel like his usual self again.  Viera straightened up, and Keran looked back the way they’d come.

“Do you think that Ninetales is okay?”  He asked.

“Yeah, she’ll be fine.” Viera said dismissively.  “Ninetales can absorb fire, like that Arcanine was doing.  She’s just got a bruised ego.”

Keran chuckled at that, and turned back to face the way they were going.  “Well?”

“Well indeed.” Viera replied.  The two of them started off again, walking side by side.

~~~

The corridor finally ended and opened into the largest room yet.  It was built like a sort of arena, with a series of upper balconies for any would-be spectators.  Maybe it actually was an arena, this place was called a dojo after all.  But for the moment, the room was empty.  There were four exits to the room, including the one they had entered from.  Keran and Viera paused for a moment to take everything in.  In unison, they stepped forward.  

“That’s far enough.” a familiar voice said.  Keran looked up and saw that the Arcanine was now standing on one of the balconies.  Keran hadn’t heard or seen him approach.  He tensed and jumped down from the balcony, onto the main floor of the arena.  His tail swished behind him in amusement as he strolled towards the pair.  His lips pulled back into a wide smile, revealing his pearly-white teeth.  “And here you are at last!  I was starting to think I wouldn’t get any lunch today.”

Keran’s eyes widened at the Arcanine.  This had to be a part of the Arcanine’s act, like his introduction to the dojo.  Sure, everything leading up to this point had seemed a bit extreme, but he wasn’t actually threatening to eat them now…was he?  Keran became painfully aware of the fact that there was nobody else here, they were deep underground with only a handful of people knowing where they were, with an Arcanine that was now licking his chops in anticipation.

“Yes, very threatening.” Viera said.  “Listen, we came with a letter from the Guildmaster.  We need a writ of permission to form our own rescue team.”

“A rescue team, huh?” The Arcanine arched one of his eyebrows.  He kept up his slow, ambling pace towards them.  “Well well, that’s a bit of an undertaking.  I suppose I would be able to acquire something of that sort for you.”

Keran didn’t like the tone in the Arcanine’s voice.  “But?” He asked.

The Arcanine laughed.  “But you two still don’t seem to have learned the lesson that my obstacle course was supposed to teach you.  And that’s to always be aware of your surroundings.”

Keran saw the Arcanine’s paw sink into the floor as he stepped on another pressure plate.  Pink mist sprayed out from the walls on either side of them.  Keran had already been tensing, expecting something to happen.  He clamped his mouth shut and held his breath.  Unfortunately, Viera had not been so lucky.  Her mouth was open to retort back at the Arcanine, and she gasped involuntarily as the mist appeared.  She started to cough as the mist entered her lungs.  Keran acted without thinking, running behind Viera and rearing up onto his back legs to knock her to the ground.  He ran back to her front and grabbed under her shoulders, dragging her out of the thickening mist.  She continued to cough as Keran gasped for fresh air.  Her eyes met his for a moment before rolling into the back of her head.  Her coughing ceased, and her head lolled to the side.

Keran was horrified.  He whirled to face the Arcanine, snarling in fury.  “What did you do to my mate?!”  He screamed.

“Relax, kid.  She’s only sleeping.  I prefer struggling prey, but what can you do?” The Arcanine said in a smug tone, still ambling closer to Keran.  Keran settled down, only slightly.  Viera was still in trouble if the Arcanine was being sincere about eating them.  And he bristled a bit at being called a ‘kid’ by the young Arcanine.

“So the way I see it, you have a couple of options.” The Arcanine continued.  “You can either drag your mate back the way you came and hope that you can make it with her slowing you down.  Or you can face me alone and I’ll make a meal of you both.”  Almost as if it were on cue, the Arcanine’s stomach gave a loud grumble.  He grinned widely, giving Keran a glimpse into his maw.  “Your choice, Umbreon.”

Keran stared him down.  So, this was the kind of place they’d found themselves in.  A Guildmaster who’d sent them down here to be eaten by a sadistic Arcanine and forgotten about.  He wondered how many people had shared the same fate that was intended for the two of them.  It was no wonder Lorne hated the place so much.  At least the wild Pokemon were upfront about it.  Keran started to feel rage bubbling up from inside of him.  It had spent a long time buried under Keran‘s self-control, and it was happy to be free at last.  He curled his lips back in a snarl and started towards the Arcanine.  The Arcanine hesitated for a moment, this clearly hadn’t been the reaction he was expecting.

“Get away from her you sick FUCK!”

The Arcanine had an expression like he’d just been assaulted by a swarm of berries.  “Hey, lighten up kid.” He said, his voice losing its smug edge.

“Don’t.  Call.  Me.  Kid.”  Keran hissed.

The Arcanine held up one of his front paws.  “Okay, okay!  Look, Umbreon, I think you might have my intentions confused a bit-”

Keran wasn’t going to be fooled.  He sprang suddenly at the Arcanine, one of his front paws stretched out to swipe at he Arcanine’s throat.  The Arcanine ducked under his paw and seemed to vanish.  Keran landed heavily and looked around.  The Arcanine was standing at the other end of the arena now.  He’d moved so fast that Keran didn’t even see him.  He must know Extreme Speed, thought Keran.  He started approaching the Arcanine again, this time more warily.

“Will you let me talk?!” The Arcanine shouted.  Keran wanted to keep after him, wanted to push his face into the ground, wanted to break his jaw, wanted to make sure he’d never do anything like this again.  But the older, wiser part of him made him hesitate.  The Arcanine reached into his mane and pulled out a pair of seeds that were nestled in the fur.  They were small, barely fitting into his massive paw.  “Don’t you know what these are?”  Keran shook his head.  “They’re Reviver Seeds, man.  If I swallow these after you, you don’t die. You’ll wake up in the morning wherever you feel safest.  Usually in your bed.  Are you really telling me you don’t know what these are?”

“No…” Keran said quietly.  The rage was still free, still wanted to rip and tear through the Arcanine.  Keran forced it back down.  “No.” He repeated.  As his anger left him, he started to feel drained.  <Reviver Seeds?> He thought.  If such things existed…no wonder the Arcanine thought he was crazy.  He hadn’t been sent here to die, the Arcanine was just being coy.  He’d even go so far as to say he was being playful.  And Keran was ready to kill him over it.

“You don’t have any with you?” The Arcanine asked.  “Don’t you have anything?  Oran berries?  Food?”

Keran shook his head again.  “No, none of that.”

There was a pause, and the Arcanine erupted into laughter.  He put the seeds back in his mane as his entire body shook with mirth.  “You know what, Umbreon?” He said as his laughter tapered off, “I like you.  You’ve got gumption.  Coming in here with just the fur on your back…” He burst out laughing again.  Keran waited patiently for him to finish.  He felt it was the least he could do in the situation.  The Arcanine actually wiped away a tear on his muzzle as his laughter died down again.  “Ah…hah…but you know?  Now that we’re all on the same page here, you did decide to stay and fight.”

Once again, Keran didn’t see the Arcanine move.  His body was slammed backward from a sudden impact as he was hit by the Arcanine’s Extreme Speed attack.  He snapped into fighting mode, twisting his body so he could land on all fours.  The Arcanine leapt for him again, but Keran was ready.  He held out a paw, reaching into himself and finding his familiar well of power.  The Arcanine slammed into the Protect barrier that Keran had summoned around himself.  He reeled backwards, cradling his nose in his paws.  “Owww!” He complained.

Keran rushed forward, swiping with his paws at the Arcanine’s chest.  His fur absorbed most of the blows, and again the Arcanine disappeared from sight.  Keran threw up another Protect just in time to hear another cry of pain from behind him.  He turned to face the Arcanine, who had retreated back for the moment.  They circled each other, looking for an opening.

“Pretty good reflexes, Umbreon.  What’s your name?” He asked.

“Keran.” He replied.  “And you?”

“Wendell.  Glad we understand each other now, you?”  Keran nodded, never taking his eyes off the Arcanine.  He was waiting for his muscles to tense, signalling another attack.  But Wendell just kept pacing around.  “You can’t Protect forever, you know.  And I just have to get lucky once.”

“I’m a lucky guy” Keran replied.  “I’ll take my chances.”

Wendell grinned at him, then tilted his head backward.  He let out a loud howl, and his body seemed to seize up.  His muscles looked like they were growing slightly larger before Keran’s eyes.  He’s using Howl now, Keran thought.  So Howl and Extreme Speed, he probably knew a fire attack too.  That left one other attack Keran didn’t know about yet.  Wendell lowered his head and tensed his rear legs.  Right on cue, Keran started his own attack.  He felt a dark aura surge from inside him, infusing his limbs with an unnatural strength.  The black aura flickered visibly around him as the Arcanine charged.  One of his great paws swung heavily towards Keran, who swung back with his own.  Keran’s paw was dwarfed by the Arcanine’s, but he still managed to stop the paw in its tracks.  Wendell grunted in confusion and struck out with his other paw, which Keran also met.  Easily half the size of the Arcanine, Keran was nonetheless holding his ground.

“How…” Wendell grunted, trying to overpower the smaller Umbreon.  “How are you…?”

Keran allowed himself another small chuckle.  “Foul Play lets me match your strength.” He replied.  “Thanks for powering up for me.”

Keran struck out with his head, head-butting the Arcanine in the face.  As Wendell reared back, Keran ducked underneath his body.  He lashed out, striking the Arcanine in the chest.  Thanks to Foul Play, Keran was strong enough to knock him over.  He gripped the Arcanine’s tail in both paws, and started to slowly spin him around.  Wendell roared and thrashed in fury, but he was too disoriented to connect any blows.  As the spinning motion finally lifted Wendell into the air, Keran let go.  The Arcanine sailed through the air and struck one of the dojo’s walls.  He fell in a heap, breathing heavily.

Keran decided it would be best to err on the side of caution.  His body glowed again, this time with a white aura.  The aura diffused quickly, and Keran approached the Arcanine.  His instincts were proven right, as when he got close Wendell struck out and landed a quick blow on Keran’s shoulder.  Keran jumped back, and the Arcanine pressed forward.  He tried to get up another Protect, but the blows were landing too quickly.  Even worse, wherever the Arcanine struck seemed to make Keran’s body numb.  He’s using Close Combat! Keran thought helplessly as Wendell pummelled him.  His Foul Play had worn off, and he was trying his best to deflect the blows aimed at him.  Finally, a paw struck a glancing blow on Keran’s skull, and the Umbreon crumpled to the floor.

Wendell strode triumphantly over Keran, who found himself surrounded by the Arcanine’s massive legs.  Keran’s head was throbbing, and he could barely see straight.  His entire body felt drained, weakened by the super-effective attack.  He struggled to get up as he felt the Arcanine’s raspy tongue draw its way up from Keran’s chin to the tips of his ears.  The Arcanine’s heavy drool oozes its way down Keran’s neck, and he shivered.  “Well, an admirable attempt by the plucky little Umbreon.”  Wendell chuckled above him.  The smug tone was back in his voice.  “But don’t feel too bad.  Your mate will be waking up soon, and you’ll be able to spend some time together before you wake up back home.  Think of it as a bonding experience.”

Suddenly, Keran’s energy came rushing back to him.  His body glowed white again as the Wish he’d made a minute earlier revitalized him.  Wendell hadn’t noticed.  The Arcanine’s maw was yawning open before Keran, inches away from the tip of his nose.  Humid breath washed over Keran as the Arcanine exhaled, slowly moving his way forward.  Keran was shocked at just how wide the Arcanine could stretch his mouth open, it looked like he could engulf most of the Umbreon without even taking a swallow.  Keran struggled to calm himself, drawing energy from his renewed body.  Wendell’s tongue draped out, cradling under Keran’s chin and lifting his head upward.  He had a perfect view of the Arcanine’s throat; the muscles were stretched open, welcoming him into the darkness within.  He had a clear shot.

Keran fought down the vile taste in his mouth and spat a Toxic attack directly down the Arcanine’s gullet.  The muscles tensed and swallowed reflexively.  Wendell gagged, rearing back and freeing Keran from his tongue’s embrace.  He coughed and sputtered, drawing deep ragged breaths.  “You…you…” he moaned, clutching his stomach with one paw.  “Hate…fighting…dark types…”

Keran rose to his feet, a bit shakily.  His Wish hadn’t restored all of his stamina, so he had to end the fight quickly.  Wendell lunged at him again, fire erupting from his jaws in a Fire Fang attack.  Keran Protected again, rebounding the Arcanine to the side.  Not bothering with Foul Play, Keran simply jumped onto the Arcanine’s back.  Wendell bucked and tossed himself around, trying to dislodge the Umbreon.  Keran held fast, only letting go and jumping off when Wendell tried to fall on his back and crush him into the floor.  Wendell fell with a heavy crash as Keran landed lightly on his feet.  

Wendell was thrashing around, trying to get to his feet.  But his limbs were getting sluggish from the effects of the Toxic attack.  Having swallowed the sludge directly, he was feelings its effects much faster than usual.  Keran leapt, landing with all of his weight on Wendell’s chest.  He heard the Arcanine wheeze as the air was pushed from his lungs, but he still kept thrashing around.  Keran jumped off, avoiding a straw paw, and landed in front of the Arcanine.  Wendell swatted at him.  Keran’s teeth rattled together as a paw hit its mark.  He needed to focus.  He needed to end this right now!  He brushed another strike aside and gripped the sides of Wendell’s head with both paws, and before he could ask ‘what am I doing?’, he’d stretched open his own jaws and sank them over the top of the Arcanine’s muzzle.

Both Umbreon and Arcanine sat frozen, neither of them sure how to react to this sudden development.  Wendell had stopped thrashing around in shock.  Keran’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates.  He could feel Wendell’s breath tickling his throat as the Arcanine gasped for air.  Keran pushed himself further down the Arcanine’s head to stop the tickling before realizing what he was doing.  His jaw was stretched impossibly wide, Wendell’s entire head was almost inside him.  Wendell’s muzzle was pressing against the back of his throat.  He started to gulp, wanting to relieve the odd feeling.  He realized what he was doing again and forced himself to stop.  A fury of emotions were whirling through the Umbreon’s head.

He didn’t feel any pain, that was the strangest part.  Just like the apple.  That same small part of him was shouting now, telling him to go through with it.  <Just take a swallow,> he thought.  <Just one swallow.  You’ve seen the Linoone.  How bad could it be?>  But at the same time, he didn’t know if he was actually capable of doing it.  The Arcanine was twice his size!  <And you just put his entire head in your maw>, the small part of him insisted.  <He’ll fit.  You know he will.>  But to trap the Arcanine in his stomach, force him to pass out as he slowly ran out of oxygen, submerged in digestive juices? Although, there were the Reviver Seeds.  Wendell said they would just restore him afterward.  <So what is there to lose, really?> He thought.  <Gulp down the dojo master and they’ll definitely accept that we can form a rescue team.>  The Arcanine tasted so good.

<Just…one…swallow.>

But as Keran looked ahead, seeing the still, sleeping form of his mate, he couldn’t do it.  How could he explain it to her?  What would she think of him afterward?  No.  It wasn’t worth it.  The small, predatory voice in his head kept insisting, but Keran stopped listening.  He pushed down on the voice, on his own instincts, until he was once again perfectly in control.  He backed away, releasing Wendell’s head with a wet sucking noise.  Keran massaged his jaw, expecting it to be sore.  But it didn’t feel too bad, really.  Wendell was getting to his feet, shaking and coughing again.  “Right…” He muttered.  “This isn’t-”

“Enough.” A new voice declared.

Keran’s ears twitched as he tried to identify the voice. He turned to see the slight figure of a Quilava striding into the arena.  He walked on his hind legs, and one of his upper paws clutched a satchel.  He drew a Pecha Berry from it and tossed it to Wendell.  The Arcanine watched as it arced through the air and caught it in his jaws.  He gulped noisily.  “Who are you?” Keran asked.

The Quilava didn’t respond at first, he drew another berry and tossed it to Keran.  Keran caught the berry in his paw, identifying it as an Oran Berry.  “For you.  And I believe I have a Chesto for the lady.”  He strode over to Viera, who was now beginning to snore gently.  Keran chuckled as he bit down on the Oran Berry.  The Quilava opened Viera’s jaws and crushed a Chesto Berry in his paws above her.  The juice dribbled down into her mouth, and she swallowed automatically.  The Quilava straightened and turned to look at Keran again.

“Hello Keran, and congratulations on your victory.”  He said.  The Quilava’s voice was surprisingly deep for such a small Pokemon.

“Hey, our match wasn’t over yet!” Wendell protested.  “We were just getting started, we-”

“Quiet, Wendell.” The Quilava spoke sharply.  To Keran’s surprise, the much larger Arcanine snapped his mouth shut and glared at the floor.  “If this were a real fight, and Keran didn’t let you go, you would be slowly turning into pudge as we speak.  And I would have given him a Reviver Seed and let it happen.  You showboated, and you lost because of it.  Now go, Keran and I have something to discuss.”  Wendell turned quickly on his heels and strode away from the two of them.

“Now then.” The Quilava said brusquely.  “My name is Logan.  I am the master of this dojo.”

“You?” Keran blurted out.  He hadn’t been able to stop himself.

Logan only smiled at him.  “Yes, me.  Wendell’s job is to discourage cowards from our dojo, and to test their skills against a much larger foe.  You have handled both tests very well.  Before we continue, I did have one question for you.”  Standing on his hind legs, the Quilava still wasn’t tall enough to meet Keran’s eyes directly.  His head craned up a bit as he approached.  “When you hit Wendell with the Toxic attack, did you intend to kill him?”

Keran was taken aback.  “What?  No!  I just used enough Toxic to make him sick!  I didn’t give him nearly enough to be lethal.”

Logan seemed satisfied with Keran’s answer.  “That’s an impressive amount of control, Keran.  I just needed to be sure.  And I believe you said you came here for this.”  He reached into the satchel one more time, producing a tiny note.  Keran took it from him with a curious look.  “The writ of permission.  I only caught your name in that exchange, so you’ll have to fill in your mate’s later.  But it is very official, don’t worry about that.”

Keran’s heart leapt as he read the note.  They’d done it!  He and Viera could form a rescue team!  He beamed at Logan.  “Thank you!  I know this isn’t something you usually do anymore, but-”

Viera groaned, cutting Keran off.  She was slowly sitting up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.  He lowered her paw and blinked slowly at the pair of them.  “…Keran?” She mumbled.  “What happened?  Did we win?”

Keran grinned his crooked grin at her.  “Yes, we won.  Look!”  He brandished the writ at her.

“Oh.  Good.”  And with that, Viera laid herself back down again.  In a moment her snoring resumed.

“She’s been having a rough couple of days,” Keran said.  “Maybe we should just let her rest for a bit longer.”

Logan looked between the two and shrugged.  “If you say so.  Once she wakes up we’ll have to make a few stops.  You’ll need some basic supplies; Oran Berries and the like.  And you’ll have to visit Deirdre at the clinic, she can give you some Reviver Seeds of your own.  And then there’s the matter of lodging…” He trailed off.

Keran shook his head.  “We don’t have a place yet.”

“Well, not to worry.  I’m sure we’ll find something.”

“Oh, and uh…we left a Ninetales back there in the fire pit.  Will she be okay in there?”

“Oh, that’s Candy.” Logan replied.  “She’ll be all right.  There’s a second exit down there.  The dojo isn’t as deadly as you would assume.  I was trailing you since you entered.  We can shut off the traps instantly and give medical care if you needed it.  We stock especially heavy on Rawst Berries as you can imagine.”

Keran chuckled and nodded.  He was a bit relieved to hear that he and Viera weren’t actually risking their lives in this dojo.  Of course, he would have preferred to have known earlier.  But he supposed that would defeat the whole purpose of the test.

“So does Wendell actually, um.  You know?”  Keran asked awkwardly.

“Oh yes.  He’s well known for it actually.  I’ve heard some Pokemon enjoy it, but I’m not going to take their word for it.”

Keran waited for the other shoe to drop.  But apparently the Quilava wasn’t joking.  He noticed Keran staring at him and smiled again.  “You’re not from around here, are you?”

“…I guess you could say that.” Keran admitted.  

He had a lot to learn about this place indeed.  Despite everything though, Keran was tempted to stay.  He couldn’t wait to see what their rescue team would become over time.  It wasn’t just about trying to find the Orb anymore, but Keran hadn’t forgotten about it.  It had been a long time since Keran looked forward to something.  He was going to do his best to enjoy it while it lasted.

But more importantly, Keran realized, they were going to have to think of a name.