Lee and friends find themselves somewhere new, along with some new appendages...

A Pokemon: Mystery Dungeon "What If?"

----------------------------------------

 Chatot has seen a lot as an administrator of the Wigglytuff Exploration Guild.

Magnificent battles, pokemon of all ages and walks of life, breathtaking sights from his time as a field member, and many of the strange and still poorly understood phenomena of the world.

The sight before him is up there, though. Maybe top five. It's the first time that prospective recruits have unbalanced him, that's for certain.

In the main room of the guild with a number of curious members watching, four strange pokemon approached Chatot. The first one to draw the eye is a Corviknight.

The huge avian pokemon is the size of a Mammoswine and twice as imposing. His steel armor is covered in scuffs and scratches that speak of many fights, and his red eyes scan the room with barely hidden hostility. So few pokemon can rise to their final evolution, and Chatot knows this behemoth must be the largest bird he's ever seen. The dark raven casts an oppressive weight into the room, and from the corner of his eye, Chatot can see some of his younger guildmates wilt under the aura. Just looking at Corviknight makes Chatot nervous, so he moves on to the next one before the massive armored bird notices the admin is staring.

The next recruit and nearly as tall as Corviknight is a Sceptile, another final evolution in their midst. The Grass-type stands alert with his arms crossed. His body is crisscrossed with scars, and the muscles under his scales ripple with each little movement. A twig blooming with a single leaf hangs from his lips, and Sceptile shifts it around as he cooly regards Chatot. Sceptile's yellow eyes give away little, but Chatot knows he's been utterly dismissed as a threat despite holding a type advantage over the grass-lizard. Corviknight might intimidate Chatot, but Sceptile makes the admin's feathers want to stand up.

Sceptile is a professional fighter. No two ways about it.

The third draws the most stares. Between Corviknight and Sceptile stands a Ninetales.

Ninetales are revered all around the world for being mystics, hermits, and sages. No one is quite sure how a Vulpix evolves into a Ninetales, but all know that if a Ninetales approaches you, something is wrong. The Ninetales before Chatot peers at him with red, gem-like eyes and a muzzle quirked in amusement. Behind her, nine golden tails wave to and fro without a care. If the legends have any grounding in reality, then each tail has a different, terrible power. Curses, fate-bending prophecies, magic? All hatchlings play to a Ninetales.

To Chatot's silent exasperation, Ninetales is overwhelming the presence of her companions in the worst sort of way. With a small turn of his head, Chatot can see Poochyena, one of the younger guild members, staring at the mystic fox. The pup's dropped jaw and the blush visible in the thin fur of his ears gives it all away.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Excuse me? Mister Chatot? Regarding our membership, I was wanting to ask about the requirements going in. As you can see, we already have a full squad so…"

Oh, right. There are four potential recruits.

Standing in front of the trio of monsters is a somewhat plain Vulpix, a young male. Other than some mussed fur on the left side of his face which might indicate scarring of some sort, the Vulpix is wholly ordinary. Or he would be ordinary if the three behind him didn't defer to him for some asinine reason. A game or something? Chatot looks between Vulpix and the Ninetales protectively hovering behind him, feeling a little stupid when he realizes what's going on.

Chatot finally finds his voice. "Hmph!" He flaps his wings once. "Initial screening is handled by Guildmaster Wigglytuff! We'll be glad to have you if the Guildmaster finds you worthy, my boy, but being on an exploration team is serious business! We'll be happy to train you as your mother and her friends take missions. They'll be fine as a team of three, for now, I believe."

Vulpix blinks like he doesn't comprehend what Chatot is saying. 'At least it's not waterworks. The last thing I need is a crying kit and his angry mother in the same room.'

Behind Vulpix, Ninetales, Sceptile, and Corviknight are just as bewildered. Corviknight and Sceptile meet eyes, a silent conversation passing between them. Ninetales, meanwhile, just seems hopelessly confused.

Then Corviknight breaks out into hysterical laughter. The noise booms off the walls of the guildhall and grates on the ears, as the raven's voice is like tumbling rock. "Hhahahaaa!" He hacks and nearly wheezes. "Now that was a good one, don't you think…" He smirks. "...Mommy Furball? Hahahahaha!" He doubles over, his armor rattling as he laughs.

Sceptile looks away, raising a fist before his mouth. "It's not that funny, Corviknight…" He says, yet his fist doesn't quite hide his twitching smile.

"W-Whats so funny?!" Chatot flaps his wings once more, flustered by the sudden turn. He looks between the four before him, unsure what he did. "The Guild offers childcare for members with younglings as a standard benefit! We have enough administrative members to do so!"

Corviknight takes a shuddering breath, clamping his beak shut, but even then his mirth escapes as hisses and snorts.

Vulpix finally processes what he heard, his ears pinning back as he turns and looks at Ninetales uncomfortably. "Erm… Nine? Maybe your word is worth more than mine?" Chatot doesn't need to be a body language guru to see that the smaller fox is pleading to Ninetales to do something.

With a sigh, Ninetales' shoulders slump. "Admin Chatot," she begins diplomatically. "I think you have the hierarchy of our team wrong. Lee here…" She places a paw on Vulpix's back. "...Is our leader and teacher. He's taught all three of us nearly everything we know. He's also not my son. We're partners, ones bonded together quite a bit deeper than blood."

In the background, Chatot can almost hear Poochyena's heart break as the pup slumps to the floor.

Lee the Vulpix blushes so deeply that it can be seen through his fur, and his ears pin back once more. "Ninetales! Phrasing!" He turns and snaps his small jaws at the larger fox, who looks apologetic. "For fucks sake, don't phrase our friendship like that! Especially not here where everyone can understand you!" The last part is hissed out in a whisper, but Chatot's sharp hearing picks it up.

For a moment, the guild admin wonders what Lee means from his last line, but with a deep sigh, Chatot gives up for now. "Just… Just follow me to the guild master's office. Wigglytuff will judge you and we'll go from there."

'Nevermind. Maybe these four are the strangest thing I've seen in my days here.'