Chapter 13 - Test day!

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An electrical jolt instantly woke me out of my deep sleep. I'm instantly filled with energy as pure excitement continues to flood my veins. Why am I so excited, you may ask? Why, It's trial day at the guild, of course! Giddiness fills my being, forcing me to leave the comfort of my bed. I made my way over to where the window sat in my room. The view wasn't anything spectacular, but it did give sight to the giant guild tree.

The more I stared at the tree, the more pumped I continued to feel.

A soft knocking at the door stole my attention from the giant tree. "Ace? Are you awake?" The soft voice behind the door voice spoke.

"Yep, I sure am, " I replied.

The door slowly opened and in walked Vulpix. She looked to the bed with slight confusion as to where I was before noticing that I was instead over by the window. "Good morning Ace. What are you looking at?" she asked while making her way towards me.

"Morning Vulpix. Just looking at the guild tree," I replied. "In just a few hours, we will be attempting the trials. It's kinda exciting, isn't it?" My giddiness was in full swing as I spoke.

"Kinda. It feels more scary to me." I looked over to Vulpix who had sat next to me. She was looking down at the floor, nervously. "I can't help but think, what if we fail and it's all because of me? Like, do I have what it takes to become a guild member?"

"Of course you have what it takes," I instantly replied.

"But, how do you know?" She looked up with just her eyes to meet mine. It tore my heart seeing her so nervous like this.

"Because I can feel it. Deep down, I know you have what it takes. You just need a little courage and a push," I said with the most courageous smile I could offer her. She looked to be in thought before speaking again.

"Can I borrow some from you?"

"Take as much as you like." She smiled back at me, seemingly feeling a bit better. I felt better myself seeing her cheer up.

We sat there in silence for a short time, just staring at the guild. I was imagining some of the types of missions and adventures we could be having, when our silence was broken by my tummy telling everyone that I was hungry. Well that's one way to break a silence I guess.

Vulpix gave a small giggle. "Well, we should head on down. Carracosta said that Wobbuffet is making us a 'special breakfast' today."

I perked up from this fantastic news. "Sounds great. Can't impress the guild on an empty stomach after all."

We made our way downstairs to the dining table. Everyone was present here. Carracosta was reading the 'Poké News' newspaper, while the five young Pokémon looked like they were fighting just to stay awake. They quickly perked up when Wobbuffet started to place breakfast down. It was amusingly cute.

Now, when Vulpix said a 'special breakfast,' I didn't expect an entire buffet just for us. The entire table was filled with plates of various foods. Apparently, Wobbuffet usually cooks about half this much, even then though, that's still a huge amount of food. It reminded me of those movies where there would be a huge breakfast just ready to be devoured, only for the kids to take a piece of toast and run off. Like the toast wouldn't have any toppings on it! Barbaric, if you ask me.

After Wobbuffet finished placing the last plate, I was just left stunned with how many different plates of food there are. There were pancakes, berry porridge, scrambled eggs, and all sorts of other Pokémon related breakfast foods. Hmm, scrambled eggs, eh? From what I remember from the games, all Pokémon are born from an egg. So what Pokémon are we eating? I looked at the eggs with a curious eye. It tasted like normal scrambled eggs from home, so who knows?

Gotta say though, I miss being able to eat meat. Could really go for some bacon at the moment. It's just sitting there, teasing me on how I can't eat it. I know I ate some eggs, but it was more of a taste thing to compare from home since I can't digest them properly. So no meat for me. Hurumph.

After our large, hearty meal, we headed off towards the guild. Vulpix's foster family wished us luck as they waved us off. It was…nice to be encouraged like this. I couldn't help but recall what Carracosta said to me last night about family as I drew comparison from Vulpix's family to my own.

We backtracked the same path we took yesterday, so no marketplace for me today. Oh well, I'm sure at some point I will have to go there, so it's just a matter of time. Also, I'm glad Vuklpix is leading the way. This place is like a maze, I would've gotten lost for sure. Never did have a good sense of direction.

The sounds of the town slowly waking up filled the air. Which I'm glad for, since Vulpix and I haven't made a peep the whole trip. I started to daydream a little about some of the adventures we could have. Imagine it, I could have my very own Indiana Jones boulder chase! I could go without the human-eating ants though. I shivered at the memory from that movie.

We arrived at the long stone pathway that led all the way to the guild. A couple sets of Pokémon were seen travelling to and from the guild. Looks like we got some early birds here- especially since they are all bird Pokémon.

"Well, ready Vulpix?" I asked her.

Vulpix took a couple of deep breaths while staring at the guild. I was beginning to worry about her chickening out before she looked my dead in the eyes. "Ready." She replied with a more confident demeanour.

"Then off to adventure!" I yelled out while moving towards the guild. I got some looks from the flock of birds but, eh, who cares.

We walked along the path all the way to the guild's main entrance. The double slidey doors automatically opened, inviting us inside. Both Vulpix and I took a deep breath as we entered the air-conditioned room. After my eyes adjusted from the sudden light change, I was able to get a good look of the guild's insides, and I gotta tell you, if the town didn't sell me on how this is a fantasy world, then this seals it.

The room in front of me was of the larger size, the roof was definitely high up there, but hey, tall Pokémon do in fact be tall. To the right of the room lay a set of picnic tables with chairs lined up on either side. A couple of Pokémon were sitting there, talking away with what looked to be a meal. Behind the tables lied a large set of open double doors leading into what seems to be a cafeteria of sorts.

The left side of the room sat what looked to be a large set of notice boards. A set of three Pokémon were standing in front of them discussing the contents on said boards. There looked to be a lot of papers on the boards, so at least there isn't a job shortage.

Now for the meat of the room. In the middle-back of the room lies a fantasy-like receptionist desk. I half expected a woman with a large set of…'assets' to be behind it, but then I reminded myself that I'm in the land of Pokémon and that there are no said assets here. Unless you count a Miltank, I could totally see one wearing a waitresses outfit.

Now instead of a voluptuous woman, sat instead a purple looking monkey. It had two tails that morphed into large hands with three large nubs for fingers. Well, this monkey has two large assets, just of the different sorts.

Nodding in satisfaction, I made my way over towards the receptionist. I looked back to Vulpix to make sure she was following me. She was, albeit very timidly. She was walking like she really didn't want anyone's attention.

"Ah, ah, tidy-tidy, must get this all tidy and sorted." The monkey referred to as Ambipom babbled on when we got close to the receptionist.

We stood there for a short time, hoping he would notice us and help us out. But he was so absorbed in his little task to notice us. I even tried to get his attention with the old 'ahem,' but that didn't seem to work. I looked over towards Vulpix seeing if she knew what to do. She didn't seem to know what to do either. My patience started to wear thin, then a devilish thought entered my mind. I took a deep breath and was about to yell when Vulpix cut me off mid-breath.

"Don't do it, Ace." Vulpix glared at me. I looked to her, then to Ambipom, then back to her. She just shook her head. Man, what a buzz-kill. I let out my breath. "Good, we want to make a good first impression after all. I'm sure mister receptionist will tend to us when he notices-"

"Oi!" I suddenly shouted.

"-us…" Vulpix just gave me that 'really?' look.

"AH!" came a shout from behind the desk while an explosion of papers were sent up into the air. Seems that Ambipom threw his papers in surprise, hehe woops.

"Nooo!" Ampidom continued on. "The papers! I almost had them all sorted. And now they are scattered all over the place, unsorted!"

"Ace, what am I going to do with you?" Vulpix said while shaking her head.

I just shrugged. "Hey man, sorry about that." I apologised to Ambipom.

Finally after freaking out a bit more, Ampidom finally noticed us. "You! Why did you scare me like that? You made me scatter all the papers. It took me all morning to get them sorted."

"Yeah my bad. I was trying to get your attention, but you didn't seem to. It seemed like a good idea in my head. But hey," I said with a sheepish smile, "It did get your attention, hehe." This didn't improve his mood, instead it just annoyed him further.

"Hmph, well you have my attention now. What do you want that couldn't wait?" Ampidom said while gathering all the scattered papers. Vulpix joined in by gathering one that landed near her. Following her lead, I used my vine to gather the other couple that landed on this side of the desk.

"Uh-uh, w-we want to j-join the guild, mister receptionist, sir." Vulpix said while holding up the piece of paper she collected.

"Is that so?" When Ambipom looked back over to us, he grabbed the piece from Vulpix, then the small pile I had. "Hmph, thank you. If you are here for the trails, then make your way in through the door to your left, then take the first door to your left again."

"T-thank you, sir," Vulpix said.

"Call me 'Ambipom,' miss…"

"Vulpix. Nice to meet you, Ambipom." She smiled.

"Likewise, Miss Vulpix. You, however, call me 'mister receptionist.'" Ambipom shifted to me while both sets of arms were crossed. He actually huffed while looking away with his eyes closed. This cheeky monkey.

"Why I oughta…" I huffed back. We glared at each other in a staring contest.

"...Anyway, we should be going." Vulpix started to nudge me off to where the tests were being held.

"Bye, bye miss Vulpix." When I turned back, Ambipom with his tail hand gave me the 'I'm watching you,'. Oh, if I had my hands, I would return a more…unfriendly finger to him.

"Well that went well," I said to Vulpix.

"What were you thinking, Ace?" Vulpix asked.

"Yeah, remind me next time to not scare such a cranky pants."

"No that's not…Pants?"

"Never mind that noise, it's time for testing, my young Padawan."

"Padawa- you know what, never mind, I don't care."

We made our way through the first door, there was a taller yellow Pokémon standing near the entrance of one the many doors that littered here. The yellow Pokémon- Ampharos by the way, was looking at a clipboard. Ampharos looked up from its board, spotting us. It smiled at us and waved.

"Hello, are you two looking to take on the entrance exam to join this guild?" The feminine sounding Pokémon asked.

"Yep, sure am. The grouchy receptionist told us to come into this area," I said.

"Grouchy? That's odd, he is usually kind to strangers. Anyway, you have come to the right place. Just make your way into that door to your left, and I will join you all in a minute once the last registered candidate arrives."

"What? You can pre-register?"

"Sure can, not everPokémon can arrive so early, so this lets us know if we should wait just a little bit longer. Especially when travelling from far away locations. Anyway, let yourselves in and introduce yourselves, or not, up to you," Ampharos said while looking back to her clipboard.

"D-do you want to meet the other candidates?" Vulpix asked, very clearly not wanting to meet a bunch of strangers.

"Nah not really-" Vulpix let out a breath of relief, "-Because there's no point in meeting a bunch of losers if this is a certain limited spot sort of thing." I said. I just ignored the look Vulpix gave me, while I made my way towards the door.

Fun fact, did you know that most doors so far in this land have about two different door knobs at different heights? Deciding that I'm gangster-like, I used my vine to open the handle meant for taller Pokémon. Once the door made way for my swagger, I made my way inside. There were…a lot of other Pokémon here. Well, I mean about 15 give or take. Still though, I hope they don't want to talk with me. I'm not really feeling a lot of small talk, gotta keep my mind sharp and in the game if you know what I mean. No room for sympathy in the thunder dome.

Getting a look at the room…it was basically a normal looking classroom. Windows lined the wall straight ahead of me, long desks lined the inside of the room, while a blackboard sat at the far end of the room next to a teacher's desk. Now that I think about it, this room reminds me more of a lecture room than a classroom, kinda like a briefing room. I mainly think this because there are more filing cabinets and notices here than schooling gear. So eh, who knows, might be both for all I know.

I looked at the other candidates in the room so I knew what I was dealing with. They were mainly a bunch of first evolutions such as: Seedot, Spinda, Ralts and a Numel. Only a couple stood out to me since they were starters and all that. There was a Squirtle looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here. An Eevee because, come on, it's an Eevee. And finally a Charmeleon, it was sat on the table all cocky-like in attitude, with a piece of straw hanging from its mouth. Calling it- it's going to be the typical jerk character.

There were a couple of other Pokémon here but I stopped looking around since jerk, or not jerk, has noticed us. It spat out the straw and hopped off the table it was sitting on and made its way over towards us. The Pokémon that were in its way, very quickly got out of the way.

It stopped just shy of us. First it looked at me, then to Vulpix who was starting to cower behind me. I just raised my eyebrow in response.

"A scaredy Vulpix and an easy to burn grass type. I suggest you quit now, I'm going to make sure that I'm the star of this show. You hear me?" Charmeleon threatened.

I deadpanned for a second before a smile formed on my face. I had to really resist snickering out loud since her voice reminded me of Meowth from the anime, just a bit more femine, higher pitch and a slight grizzle to it. The accent though was basically spot on.

"Eh? What you smilin' at?" I started to chuckle thinking that Jessie and James were nearby. "Oh, now you think I'm funny, aye? I would watch your back if I was you." Charmeleon glared at me.

"Sorry, it's just you remind me of a funny little character." I said through my chuckling.

"Oh I do, do I? I suggest you stop mocking me before I get angry. And trust me, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry." Okay that did it, Meowth making a Hulk reference just killed it for me.

I bursted out laughing. It was just too funny to me. Imagine it, a small Hulk Meowth saying "Meowth smash!" arms all raised in the air as the small swole Pokémon layed a hell of a smack on bigger Pokémon. That would make for an interesting episode though. After I calmed down, I looked Charmeleon square in the eyes. "Look, buddy, I get your doing the whole 'I'm tough' act, but what I have been through," I glared deep into her eyes. "You are nothing compared to it."

"Tch, yeah well, you don't seem that tough to me. Let's just wait and see out on the field how tough you really are then." With that, the steamed Charmeleon turned and walked back to where she came from.

"Yeah, bring it." I didn't really care if she heard me or not.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Ace? Vulpix? Is that really you guys?" The voice called out from behind me. I recognised this voice.

Turning around, it was indeed a familiar face- Scorbunny. The small bundle of energy was waving energetically towards us while he made his way over towards us. "It's so good to see you both again!" he called out, "I thought we might never see each other again since we got separated, but then I remembered you both saying that you were going to join the guild, then I remembered that I was going to join the guild, too! So I just knew that I was going to see you both again here! I'm glad you both are here! There's so much to talk about! Like have you both finally come up with a team name? And have you found your favourite tree to talk about yet, Ace?"

I completely zoned out in the middle of what he was rattling on about, so I just smiled at him, "Good to see you too, Scorbunny." His already large smile turned into a big toothy one.

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While waiting for his mysterious partner, we talked about what we had been doing since being rescued from the mine. Scorbunny talked about how he returned to his village and what he did with his family. Just normal happy family stuff. Vulpix replied to him with what she did with her family. I felt a bit left out since I couldn't see my family, nor did I want to for that fact.

Once all that talk was completed, they started talking about why they wanted to join this guild. See, there are a bunch of different guilds, all scattered about in major towns, like this one. OakTown's is apparently the main hub of all the guilds since they had the number one hero. So they all base their very large operations here. I'm surprised with how much Vulpix knew about all this guild stuff.

"So you really want to join this guild because of it being in a large tree?" Vulpix asked.

"Yep, sure do!" Scorbunny said, "Oh I just can't wait for my friend to get here. I know you all will become the bestest of best friends."

"Now that I think about it, Scorbunny, "Vulpix said, "you never did tell us who it is that you are joining the guild with." Oh yeah true, I don't recall him ever saying so. Yeeesh, imagine two little Scorbunnys running around. It would be energetic chaos. That being said though, I wonder what would happen if I was to give Scorbunny a coffee. So many ideas, so little time to try them out.

"Hmm, I didn't? Oh, well she is- Oh, actually she is here now," Scorbunny said while looking past Vulpix and I. "Come, come I'll introduce you both to her." Scorbunny bounced past us, towards where the door was. Deciding that introducing myself with my back turned wasn't a good first impression, I turned around to see this mysterious Pokémon.

When I did get a look at this Pokémon who was busy staring at the bouncing ball of energy, a wave of anger flashed into my mind. There is no way that 'she' is here. Maybe this is another Pokémon. There is no way that this Pokémon is the same one from before, the one who threw me back at Ariados when I freed her from her sticky trap. It couldn't possibly be the same-

"Sneasel!"

-Sneasel.

Scorbunny ran up to the annoyed looking Sneasel and gave her a bear hug. "I was starting to worry that you got lost, but you wouldn't get lost. You never get lost." He said while still giving her a hug. I was frozen in a limbo state. I could get angry, but what if this is a different Sneasel then to the other one? My anger was screaming at my common sense to take a hike elsewhere.

"Yeah, sorry I got side tracked, so could you get off me?" Sneasel asked with an annoyed tone. She still hasn't looked at us, too busy with the hugging bunny. With a hard shove from Sneasel, Scorbunny hit the floor, but got up just as quickly with a bounce. He ran in between us. Still not sure about how to act just yet.

"Ace, Vulpix, this is Sneasel. We have been friends since…well, forever!" Scorbunny introduced while gesturing to both Vulpix and I. Sneasel looked at Vulpix with little interest and nodded. However, once she got a look at me, her eyes widened like an owl. Another flash of anger spread through my mind. Unless I'm just that good looking and have already caught her heart, that look was one of familiarity. I wonder where she would recognise me from.

"Sneasel, this is Ace and Vulpix. They became my friends back when I was at the mine. They really helped me through some tough times."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, um, Sneasel." Vulpix shyly said. Sneasel didn't say anything else, she was too busy studying me. She looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but here. My anger was like water boiling in a pot with the lid on. Heat was building and the lid was having trouble containing the pure might of the bubbling hot liquid.

Scorbunny looked to me, then to Sneasel, then back to…you get it. Confusion rested on his face while he studied us. He eventually seemed to have understood roughly what was going on, since his eyes widened too.

"You both are having a staring contest!" he said with pure confidence.

…

"See, I knew you both would be fast friends, I just knew it."

"Um, Scorbunny? I don't think they are having a staring contest." Vulpix shookly said.

"But, then why are they staring at each other like that?"

"S-S-Scorbunny?" Sneasel stammered.

"Yeah?"

"R-remember that time I told you about that P-Pokémon back when I escaped from Machoke's crew? Y-you know the one I-I…"

"The Pokémon you threw at that meanie Ariados? What about him?"

Sneasel raised her right arm towards my direction, terror was really starting to etch into her being. I could feel my anger reach the boiling point. Liquid was starting to pour from the boiling pot. However, no matter how much I tried to calm down, I wasn't able to. It was like something was fogging my mind. At first I could hear soft murmurings, like a cultist whispering a chant. then it became whispers, soft whispers, tempting whispers.

Come on, you know you want tooo. Just let go, and let her have it. She has it coming after all. The voice whispered at me.

"What? Is he behind Ace?" Scorbunny asked while looking past me.

"N-no, you idiot. It is Bulbasaur. Or Ace, as you call him." Sneasel looked like she was just about to run away.

"What? Really, this Ace?" Scorbunny asked. Sneasel nodded slowly in reply.

"Ace? Come on Ace, talk to me. We can work this out, just take a deep breath…" Her voice got quieter and quieter the more she spoke. It was hard to hear her since the voice was screaming at me now.

Come on, do it! DO IT! Hurt her, it will make you feel so good to hurt her. Just think about it. She was having a good time, while you were back at that mine with Machoke. She was having relaxing bubble baths, while your blood bathed the floor. It's just not fair, is it?

It took everything to hold the lid down on the pot, but the longer I did, the more it burnt. However it was too much to hold down and the lid burst open.

ANGER

Yeeeees!

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POV - Gardevoir

"Paperwork, paperwork and, argh, more paperwork. I should really get somePokémon to deal with this for me." I said to no one since I'm alone in my room.

I'm currently sitting in my own special Guildmaster office. I have my own set of couches in the middle of the room, a refreshment bench to the side, and various collections of knickknacks I acquired from other lands throughout the years. My favourite is a small, long, green lizard figure. It's based on a tale from a far away land where two brave Pokémon fought said creature to convince it to help stop an asteroid.

I love it in my office. Well, when Pokémon come to visit me, that is. I love helping them out with their problems, listening to them when they need somePokémon to talk to, and even just casual visits. I did make my office as welcoming as possible for this very reason, no point in making an image that frightens the very Pokémon that you wish to help. That being said, I don't understand why Incineroar complains about his own office. I'll never truly understand him.

I wish somePokémon would come to visit me. I'm sick of all this paperwork!

'Bang bang,' came from the door. Yes! A visitor!

"Come in," I said. Ah, it's the Hero Lucario, she doesn't visit me very often since she only does when reporting on her missions. Normally you don't report to me about missions, but specific hero appointed missions are an exception.

She walked into the room. "Greetings Lucario, what may I help you with on this fine day?" I asked her.

She walked up to the desk and saluted. "I wish to give my report on my recent mission. Specifically about the one about tracking that elusive Machoke from the mine."

Ah yes, that terrible and cruel Pokémon. I don't really understand how he was able to escape that cave-in where Incineroar saved Bulbasaur, but he managed somehow. It just shows how dangerous he truly is, I'm just hoping he hasn't evolved from that situation.

"Ah yes, would you like to discuss this over tea, on the couches?" I offered her. I loved using my couches as often as possible, it really helps me feel more intimate with my guildmates and not so stoic all the time.

"No, here is fine, thank you," Lucario denied. I sagged my shoulders a little. Lucario always was on the more 'serious' note.

"Alright then, report."

"Yes ma-am, I have word on his last seen location, he is heading towards the Raving Rivers. If we don't move quickly, then we will lose a lot of progress tracking him. Especially if he heads towards the Typhlosion Mountain-"

Typhlosion mountain, named so because a powerful Typhlosion took over and made home on said mountain. It's volcanic based, so it makes travelling there a pain, especially with so many grass types here.

"-so with your permission, I would like to-"

ANGER

A wave of pure emotion washed over me. It was so powerful, so angry. I haven't felt such a powerful wave of aura since 'he' was here. I looked to Lucario since her type are experts in all things aura, she felt it too with how alarmed she looked.

"Did you feel that guildmaster?" Lucario asked.

"Yes, yes I did." Normally, Pokémon can't feel or sense aura, but a select few can sense it, we call them 'sensitive to aura' while those who use aura are often called 'user of aura'. I am one said to be 'sensitive to aura' and so far only Lucarios and an extremely select few are able to manipulate aura like this. I have only met one other Pokémon other than a Lucario who could manipulate aura, and he has been gone for a long, long time.

"Was it him?" I asked. While I can sense aura, I'm not sensitive enough to tell others apart.

"No, no it's not him. His aura didn't feel like this. This aura belongs to a different being."

"Alright, do you know where it came from?" I was slightly sad by this news, I miss him after all.

"Yes, I sensed that it came from the education room."

"Education room?" I said while in thought. Wasn't that where the newcomers are taking their tests? "Alright, I will deal with this matter myself." Before Lucario could insist on this or that, I raised my hand, cutting her off. "I know you want to deal with this matter, but I need you to continue to track down that Machoke. If he is let loose, who knows how many more Pokémon he could hurt. Please, I need you to do this for me."

Lucario looked like she wanted to say something but stopped. She nodded, "Affirmative, Guildmaster. I shall take my leave immediately with Hawlucha. I will report as often as I can on paper." Lucario turned around to leave immediately. I'm glad she isn't going alone and if she has Hawlucha, who is in charge of communications and tracking, then I have confidence that they will succeed.

Alone again in my office, I looked at my stack of paperwork. "Alright, let's go meet this user of aura," I said to myself, glad to have another reason to delay this cursed paperwork.

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POV - ME

With my target in sight, I launched my vines towards her. She narrowly dodged to her left. I shot another vine at her, this time it hit her left shoulder. Nothing matters to me right now, I had my target for my anger and I let it control me. It felt good to let go, I enjoyed seeing Sneasel in pain.

Sneasel, from the impact, was pushed against the wall. I shot my vines out with intense speed. They aimed for her neck this time.

Like someone threw a cold water bucket over me, I halted my vines. A red blur was in front of them now, blocking me from my target. This just infuriated me more.

Go on, just another Pokémon that wants to stop your rightful revenge. Attack them, come on, do it!

"…Ace,...down, it's okay…me Vulpix." The red blur said. Focusing further, the blur started to morph back into the red fox. With my mind beginning to refocus again, I took a couple deep breaths. I was in control again.

Too bad. Oh well, there is always next time, hehe…

I staggered to a sitting position, suddenly feeling light headed. "Ace, are you okay?" Vulpix said after rushing to me.

"Yeah, yeah I think so." I said feeling like a deflated balloon. What was that? It was like for that one moment, nothing mattered but my rage. It strangely felt good to let go. I'm glad Vulpix was here for who knows how far I would've gone.

I could hear Scorbunny saying something to Sneasel, while Sneasel was shouting something back at him, but I couldn't make it out. My mind was really foggy at the moment. It looked like he was trying to convince her to stay with how he was dragging her back from the door.

"Alright everyPokémon, find a seat for the trials are about to begin," Ampharos said from the door. This made the reluctant looking Sneasel give in and allowed Scorbunny to drag her to a chair.

"Come on Ace, let's take our seats, or we can leave if you aren't feeling well enough to join the guild today," Vulpix said while helping me to my feet.

"No, no, we will take the test, I'm fine." With Vulpix nudging me towards the seats, we made our way to them. I didn't really care that she wanted the front row, I was just too busy trying to figure out what that whole situation was. Now, don't get me wrong, I still have a few choice words I want to say to Sneasel, but they will have to wait for now. I can't even muster the energy for anger right now.

The teacher who had reached the front of the room before Vulpix and I, began to introduce herself. "Good morning, I am your examiner for today. I am Ampharos. I am the guild's event planner." Amphros had a real military-feel about how she spoke. "You have all come here today in hopes of joining this guild. Am I correct?"

A collection of 'yeps' and 'yes' came from the classroom. Even Vulpix chimed in.

"Excellent, I'm glad to see so many faces today. But before we proceed I must warn you all, the Guild is in a stressful situation and is quite dangerous to newcomers at the moment. I don't want to scare you off, but I felt like I should warn you first that it's not all fun and games here. Any questions? Yes, you, the Squirtle."

"Um, why is it so dangerous?" he asked. I didn't bother looking back to him, I just continued to stare at my desk. Everything is hard to focus on at the moment.

"Good question, it's dangerous because of the crime syndicate, 'Enigma,' is currently causing troubles for a lot of Pokémon as of recently, and they love to target new members of the guild. Any other questions? No? Okay, moving on."

"The exam today will consist of two parts. One is a test, don't stress too much about it though, it's more of a thing for us to see where we would need to train you if it was needed. The second part is the true meat of the exam. I will explain that part when we get to it, but just know that it is physical."

Hmm, someone scratched a picture of a flower on the table. Hmm, what? Oh my brain has turned back on, that's good. The fog that was clouding my mind just kinda vanished. Well I'm glad to be able to think clearly again. Now, what's going on?

"So before I- Oh guildmaster, I wasn't expecting you to make an appearance today." I turned around to spot the same Gardevoir from the hospital level standing at the door.

"Yes, I'm sorry for making a surprise appearance, but I just had to see the faces of those striving to join the guild." She was looking over all the Pokémon currently in the room. Her eyes locked to mine for a good time before moving on. That was…strange, oh she must have recognised Vulpix and I. Gardevoir made her way towards the front of the room, when my eyes locked on to Sneasel. She jumped slightly in her seat. Scorbunny looked like he didn't know what to do.

With my mind clear now, I recalled the events of what happened. I returned my gaze to the front of the class. Gardevoir was giving me the side glance, I just looked at her in confusion.

"Greetings, everyPokémon. I am the guildmaster of this guild. Feel free to call me Gardevoir. Titles can feel so stiff sometimes. Anyway, sorry for the interruption, please continue, Ampharos." Gardevoir said. She continued to steal glances towards me. Do I have something on my face? Hope not. Wouldn't that be embarrassing.

"What was I saying? Ah yes, the common knowledge test. So if anyPokémon can't read, then raise a digit for me. Don't be shy, you won't fail or anything, we will just have to conduct a verbal test instead," Ampharos said.

I raised my paw, looking back only one other raised their hand. It was the Squirtle from earlier, he looked a bit embarrassed. Oh well buddy, at least you aren't alone.

"Alright, so just the two of you then," Ampharos said. She then walked over to each desk, (besides mine and Squirtle's) and handed out to everyone a piece of paper and a pencil. Ampharos then returned to the head of the class. I couldn't help but notice that Gardevoir was still giving me side glances.

"Okay, now then everyone, do not turn over the papers until I say so." Of course Scorbunny had already turned his paper around and had to reflip it. He gave an embarrassed smile to the instructor. "Alright, sorry Bulbasaur and Squirtle, for now you two will have to wait as I have to monitor the test. Even though it's a common knowledge one, we need to minimise cheating, otherwise it would be pointless to conduct this at all."

"Oh I can do the verbal tests for you, Ampharos. " Gardevoir offered with a heartfelt smile. Her smile confused me with her earlier glances. She seems kind, but what was with those looks?

"Oh, no you don't have to trouble yours-"

"I insist." Gardevoir cut off Ampharos. She looked over to the class towards Squirtle and I. "Okay, Squirtle and…Ace if I'm not mistaken. Come with me and I'll host the tests for you both."

I looked towards Vulpix who had the most jealous look I have ever seen. "Lucky…" she said quietly. Yeah, lucky me.

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We were led outside of the room to the hallway. Squirtle and I are sitting on some chairs, while Gardevoir was setting up the other room for us and preparing her test for us. When walking past Sneasel, I gave her a hell of a glare, so that was fun at least.

"So," the squirming turtle spoke from my side, "What do you think the test is going to be about?"

"Well, the instructor said something about common knowledge, commonly known stuff?" I didn't really know how to answer that. Thinking about it, this test may be harder than I thought. Glad it doesn't count for passing because I don't know what is common knowledge here. My left might be their right.

Squirtle's eyes popped open like I've just said something on the marks of pure genius and was now in thought himself. I was starting to judge his intelligence when a voice spoke from my other side nearly making me jump from my seat.

"Alright, we are good to start the test. Any volunteers on who goes first?" Gardevoir asked, not aware of the near heart attack she gave me.

"I'll go first," I said. I always hated waiting for things like this. Like, just get it out of the way early to avoid that annoying anxiety. The only reason I could legitimately want to wait would be to study some more if I was too lazy to study on a test back home. Gardevoir nodded and I entered the room. She closed the door behind me with her physic powers. Man, I want psychic powers. All I have are vines. Those aren't nearly as cool as mind powers. Think about all the Star Wars references I could make! No one here would recognise them, but still!

The room I entered was smaller in size than the one before it. I would compare it to a small office area rather than to a classroom. There was a large desk at the far end of the room with two comfortable looking chairs on either side of said desk. They looked more our size than the other ones. Gardevoir signalled for me to sit at the chair.

"Alright," Gardevoir said after I had gotten comfortable in my seat. She held up a piece of paper on the desk. "The test today is just some common knowledge about various types of Pokémon and berries. Nothing too tough, but important for when you are out on the field.

"Too easy, let's do this," I said.

"Mmm? Confident, are we?" Gardevoir smirked at me.

"Eh, more of less. Dive head first into the blender, I always say."

"You do?"

"Nope. Well, besides for that one time I just did." She gave me a questionable look. I just smiled.

"...Okay then," Gardevoir said while looking at her piece of paper. "First question: When a Pokémon sustains an injury, what is the best berry used to heal said injury?"

I thought for a second about how to answer this. I could just say Oran berry, but to hell with it, time to flex my vast Pokémon knowledge on this fool,

"That depends on the type of injury doesn't it? Because if it's a burn, I would use a Rawst berry. A cut or something similar, then I would use an Oran berry," I told her. Before she could speak up, I continued. "Also, if it was paralysis, then Cheri berry. Chesto berry if it is a sleep-inducing attack, but it's not really an injury unless the move 'dream eater' is involved. Pecha berry for that all so annoying poison stuff. There was one more, what was it…Oh Persim berry for frozen status. Again, not an injury unless you count brain freezes. I would, those things suck." I smugly explained all the berries I knew. Man, I felt like such a nerd, but hey, that knowledge is coming in clutch and I felt good from prattling my many hours worth of studying for a kids' game. See, it wasn't for nothing, was it, mum?

Gardevoir was taken aback by my in-depth answer. "You forgot Persim berry for confusions." She smugly smiled back at me. Ah crap, that one stupid berry. Man, don't I just feel like an ass now.

"Well, with an answer like that, I might as well skip a good chunk of these questions." She was ticking one side of the paper she was holding. "Alright, it's good practice for a Pokémon to know their weaknesses when it comes to battle. What are the types that you have to watch out for?"

"Well, I'm grass and poison so, that would be fire, psychic, flying and Ice."

"Very good," she nodded. "Okay, you and your teammate or mates are on your way to the last known location for a mission item. You hear a scream pleading for help behind some nearby trees. You can't see the Pokémon in distress, only some loud crashes. What do you do?"

"I sprint into action and whoop some serious butt and save the day. All hero style," I replied.

"Interesting…" she noted down. I felt a bit of anxiety from that. Maybe I should take this more seriously. Although the ancient technique of butt-whooping always worked out in the games. Just saying.

A couple more boring questions here and there filled up our time together. Some more 'what would you do,' and some knowledge questions like what element type beats this and what is this element type weak to. You know, common Pokémon stuff. Besides for that first 'what would you do?' I was feeling pretty good about this.

"Alright. Now for the last question." Gardevoir looked me dead in the eye with a serious expression. "What do you know about 'Aura' and 'The Master?'"

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End Chapter 13