Costello found the ceremony itself to be fine. Normal for a function of that size, he assumed. Everyone got their names called and a case full of the essentials for an adventurer, provided by something called the PokeKind Association. Some berries, seeds, a badge, some ribbons, and a complimentary kit of assorted berries, seeds, and the like. The itinerary was to: shake the wing of Thea and the paw thing of Morris, smile for the crowd, and politely clap for others on stage. Other than a small incident in which Liam stood starstruck on the stage and had to be physically pushed off, it all went as planned. The next stage of the event was to have a small get together with the new recruits. 32 different Pokemon assorted in some empty room in the castle while Morris desperately tried to pretend that they knew what it meant to have fun. That time of relaxation was cut into, however, due to his repeated attempts to shoo the Leafeon off of a stage made of soap boxes. From the seat that Costello had taken, he could see the whole mess go down.

The song itself was something about eating diamonds and attributing that to something about "carnal desires," but for whatever reason, Morris cut her off after the second time around. Or was it the fifth? In all honesty, the lizard had spaced out after the first few lines. The small get together was more of a schmoozing opportunity for new and past recruits to get familiar with each other. Floe was chatting with some folks about expeditions and how often they'd go on one. Zata was talking about advice in the wild and new combat situations, though for some reason, the conversation kept steering back and forth about how Thea acted around her wards and something about cliques. Very informative, though kinda terrifying about the working conditions in Mistico. And Liam was... well, Liam was all over the place.

"Cheerio mate, my name's Liam." Official member of the Almas guild and burgeoning adventure folk. " He would proceed to follow this up by pointing at his badge and attempting a sort of "wink wink, nudge nudge" gesture. He had done this to several guild members. The best way Costello could describe the site was one of a sleazy businessman trying to make his mark on a conference he had no cue cards for. And yet there was a genuine attempt to meet and learn from these people that kept him just enough on the good side. Admirable of him. "If it wasn't for the fact that Braviary said that 'you need to get more' I would've stayed at the house." The entire event was too loud with Pokemon and chats with strangers that seemed to go on forev-

Ah, Costello! My favorite patient. "

Damn it.

In an oddly fitting yet color clashing bow-tie,Alzbell had waltzed up to Costello and had taken his position on the seat next to him. "Well. You passed the trial and made it here. Junior member of one of the most prestigious guilds in the world. "How does it feel?"

Costello gave a nod of acknowledgement while not taking his eyes off of the scene of the Leafeon getting fire carried out by a Tangela.

"Fine. Mostly glad to have gotten it over with. "

A smile on the face of Alzbells materialized. "Of course, I had to do the same thing to gain entrance. Did they try to weed you out too? "

"The Machoke? Yeah, hated that thing." Finally, Costello turned his head towards the feline. " Also, I didn't hear a word come from its mouth. Just 'Machoke" over and over again. So, what was the deal with that? "

"Ah yes. Like I said, usually they speak. And sometimes they do that instead."

"So does everyone in this guild like semantics and omissions?"

"Oh, a good number."

The smile on the face of Alzbell seemed to grow in intensity and again it annoyed Costello.

"So, I see Liam is currently trying to get with the in-crowd huh?"

The lizard directed his attention towards his lagomorphic associate, "You're making it seem as though there's a goal in mind." If a mop was a member of this guild, he'd already be written into its will. "

A small chuckle from Alzbell started his reply. "And how does that make you feel?"

A brief pause from Costello answered the Meowstic. "I admire it. The guy's friendly and honestly did most of the work back in the dungeon. I'm honestly envious of his experience, his ability. Every-time I've talked to people here, I've been met with suspicion or aggression, or even both. Since I've woken up, he's honestly been one of the few to trust me on sight. "He actually has a life to trust in. "

"One dungeon run and your stance on him has changed already." Now I think you're leaving me out of this circle on purpose, which if I wasn't an expert on emotions, might've hurt my feelings. "

'Oh yeah, the dropout who had to be saved by a guy with a bucket is the expert." Look, why are you here?"

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"I simply came to check up on you, and I had to make sure my patient isn't undergoing any undue mental strain."

"Right. The real reason, Alzbell."

There was a brief glance towards Costello with an out of character seriousness covering his face. "After you finish a few missions, and what not-I'm going to ask you for another therapy session." Thea will ask you about them, before and after, and you will say that it is strictly verbal, simple therapy, no mental navigation or the like. No matter what she asks`."

"I'm not letting you-"

Alzbell cut him off, "What happened to you has gone far beyond simple therapeutics." Your mind has been tampered with in a way that I can't solve with a few talk it out sessions. You have brain damage and trauma that would require an actual certified professional to help. Right now, I am doing the best I can, and as your best excuse for a doctor, you need to heed what I say. Hell, I'd say you're like the Totodile except he's not nearly as bullheaded. "Just bitey. "

"What about the Totodile?"

Another pause, before the smile returned onto Alzbell's face. "Nothing. Patient-Client Confidentiality."

"Whatever. I'll meet you there. Just keep away from anything important inside of my head. "

And as the night went on, with Liam having linked up with several guild members, Floe learning about the past of Almas, Zata having some small faith in the leadership, and the smallest amount of trust given to Alzbell by Costello, the night could be considered fun.

....

The morning, however, was certainly less so. Due to the rushed nature of signing up to the Almas guild and the lack of knowledge of anything past a few days, Costello had neglected to be informed about the Almas routine. It was such a routine that Liam seemed specially prepared for while Costello was left to his athletic doom. A lesson in physicality and conditioning For the rookies, it was mostly attack practice and attrition, so while for Costello it was mostly pounding into a sack for what felt like hours, it was not the worst thing in the world. Oh no, the worst thing came after.

The laps. One emerald green lizard may have even considered the act of committing great atrocities if it got him out of doing another Arceus forsaken lap. The entire track was a circle, a simple circle, and when you looked at it from afar, it didn't seem that bad. But it was, and the fact of that matter was revealed to many unsuspecting Pokémon. Pokemon such as Gligar had to learn the hard way that it was considered a necessity to have some form of cardio to rely on. While other more durable Pokemon such as Zata and a Zangoose were seemingly fine with this process, that, for some reason, caused Costello's body to reject it completely. That, along with a Passimian who seemed to know exactly how much stamina a Pokemon had left, left the emerald lizard completely drained.

"It tricks you, Floe. It makes you think, "Oh, it's just a circle, you can run in a circle, it's not that bad' but it IS that bad, Floe! This circle is hell and I am the victim! " stammered Costello, who at this point was reduced to the vocal tones of a serial killer.

The Glaceon could only look on in sympathy and a halfhearted cheer. "Costello, its only been 2 laps, we don't have that much more to go."

"It may as well be 50!"

From the way his body ached, it may as well have been 50 because something in his side hurt that he didn't know the name for. His neck was aching and the tension in his back was like someone driving a Spoink in his shoulders.

"C'mon, Cos! Only 2 more laps to go and then you're done! ", yelled Liam from the sidelines. Costello could only look at him with an exhausted glare. In the beginning of this run, they were neck and neck with Costello barely leading, but as the track extended forward and the totality of the task given was exposed, he suddenly found himself stuck in the back with Floe, who he was half sure was there out of pity, and Zata, who was a few minutes away from finishing herself.

"C'mon Evergreen! Pick up the pace! "

And as each word flew out of the mouth of the dragonling, Costello would indeed remember that.

It was late afternoon now, Floe was lightly spritzing Costello with cold wind as he kept on his knees, desperately trying not to hurl as Liam patted him on the back. Zata, on the other hand, was immovable, like a rock, with a face so still that they could only be holding back all the laughter in the world. To Costello, that was painfully obvious.

"You keep your shoulders too stiff, mate, you gotta relax."

"I will take that into consideration."

While Costello could only dream of lifting his head up without the blood in his body surging through his head, the Passimian continued through the game plan.

"Alright! That was a great first run by all of you! Hopefully, this experience will teach you what it means to be a part of this guild! Constant improvement, going all out, and pushing past your limits! "

Costello didn't know what was worse, the runs or the cliched motivation brief. How the hell he knew these were cliched could only be found in the vague annoyance that seemed to color the inside of his mind. The sporty Pokémon continued on.

"Now, we're going to do a few more drills. Some pushups and special attack training. We'll be working on the duration of your attack and how far you can go physically. After that, however, we will be assigning you to the groups you'll be shadowing. "

From there, the active primate went down the list. A few groups at a time, sticking with the groupings from the test dungeon. With Costello paying special attention to the Totodile's group, along with the Leafeon, Litleo, and Gligar, until finally, it was his turn."

turn.

“So, to the Treecko, Glaceon, Scorbunny and Jangmo-o, you will be grouped with… Team Themis!”

And as the lizard looked over his shoulder, he could see the Oshawott, Helioptile, and Lucario standing with the rest of the established teams.