The next morning, a growling stomach pried George’s eyes open. A red lizard loomed over him, each breath landing on his face. “Goood morning George! Wake up!”

“Nrghh…”

“George! Wakey wakey!”

“..Mrph!”

Blitzer prodded George’s feet with the toe claws on his own feet. A sensation reminiscent of splinters burrowing into your toes. Wincing, George rolled off the straw bed, right onto the dirt. It was as cold as a damp cave, and he was left scrambling to his feet, groaning all the while.

“I’m up, I’m up!”

“Time for breakfast!” Blitzer said, before turning tail and running off. George rubbed himself between the eyes. Toys were strewn across the room from yesterday. A growl rumbled in his stomach, thanks to a heavenly smell seeping into George’s nostrils from outside.

‘Smells like berries.’

Patting his belly, the Oshawott walked off to greet the day.

The rest of the household was present and accounted for in the living room when George joined them. Blitzer’s mother had just finished setting the table with a few berry plates; his father leaned on the bench with a scrap of paper in his hands, uninterested in the sound of George’s approaching footsteps.

“Ah, good morning, George! How was the bed?” asked Nera, smiling at the Oshawott upon seeing him.

George stretched his arms. “It was alright, but I’m not used to sleeping on straws.”

“Oh, really?” Nera asked. “What do you normally sleep on, then?”

George placed a hand on his chin. ‘Now how do I explain human beds… a big pile of cloth?’ “Hm, back home, we sleep on a mattress, and we cover ourselves with a blanket. Mattresses are like a huge, soft wedge. It’s very comfortable. I’m surprised you don’t sleep with blankets yourselves, to be honest.”

Nera raised a brow. “Well now, your world must be very prosperous, then! Blankets are hard to come by around these parts. Have to go to Agate to buy them, and they cost a pretty penny,” she explained. George bit his cheek.

‘This isn’t what anyone wants to hear in the morning…’

“Hey dad, can we eat?”

The Nidorino looked up from the paper, scowling. “When I’m done reading the news, Blitzer, which is now. Alright.” Nero slammed the paper on the table, then propped himself up. He resembled a giant compared to the table, which was close to floor level. “Apparently, there’s been trouble with those fugitives.”

“Huh. What kind of trouble?” asked Nera. Nero simply shrugged and grabbed a slice of Pecha off his wooden plate.

“Some kind of fight. Don’t know. Wouldn’t surprise me if that was the case, but there’s damn near nothing written here about ‘em. Nothing about who they are or what they’re wanted for. Lance wouldn’t leave that out, I know him well enough.”

“Who’s Lance?” Blitzer asked his father, with a mouthful of Oran Berry.

“The Druddigon that lives on the edge of town. Red head, blue body? He’s the guy that writes the news. Didn’t I tell you this before? And don’t forget to swallow before speaking.”

“Oh.” Blitzer did as asked.

Nero licked his teeth clean. “So yes, what a big deal. Wouldn’t care about it if I were you. If anything, those Soldiers will use it as an excuse to pull something. Like usual.”

George nodded. Fugitives might’ve been odd news around here, but back home they were as common as days ending in ‘day’. Still, it wasn’t exactly exciting news; for all he knew, those same criminals could’ve found him before Blitzer had. And what would’ve happened then?

“Indeed,” Nera said, then clasped her forelegs together. “Alright everyone, let’s dig in!”

Munching sounds filled up the room. Juices splattered around like rain in a storm, as the berry mix rapidly disappeared from everyone’s plates. Everyone was too busy gorging themselves to take in the mess. It didn’t escape George’s notice, though, whose mouth, chin and nose were now painted in a reddish pink, and smelled of sweet fruit. Looking around the table, he grinned.

‘Good thing everyone here eats even more like an animal than I do. They can’t ever lecture me on table manners, hah. Who needs ‘em?’

By the end, a layer of juice covered everyone’s plates. George licked his lips clean. Blitzer took his plate in his hands and poured the juice down his throat, making slurping noises all the while. His father did the same without the sounds, while his mother drank at a reasonable tempo.

“Aah! Oran berries are the best! Thanks for the meal, mom!”

She smiled. “You’re welcome, Blitzer.”

“Hey George, are you going to drink that?”

Blitzer pointed at the puddle on George’s plate. “Iiii was getting to that,” the Oshawott stammered, quickly lifting up the plate to lick it clean. The Charmander next to him laughed.

“That’s the spirit!”

“You’re not used to how we eat, George?” Nero asked.

George paused his licking for a moment. “You could say that.” The rest of the table chuckled in response.

“You’ll get used to it eventually,” Nera said. “Now come, time to wash your mouth. Got to take good care of your teeth!”

Everyone went to the room where George had gotten a bath yesterday. There was a basin the size of two cupped hands in the corner. Nero would pour in water from a hole in the wall, and everyone took turns washing the juice and berry bits from their face and mouth. Once done, Blitzer turned to George.

“Hey, let’s go out and play together! We can go through the backdoor-”

“Oh no you don’t, laddie!” grumbled Nero. “Last few times, you snuck off and didn’t come back until it was pitch black outside. Not a chance.”

“Okay…” Blitzer let his arms dangle. “Through the front door then.”

“Remember, don’t go out too far!”

“Yeees, mom and dad!”

* * *

Once the front door clicked back into place, any chance of Blitzer obeying that last piece of advice went out the window. “Alright, we’re going exploring!”

George nodded. “To that special place in the woods you were talking about, right?”

“Darn straight! We’ve got to get stronger somehow!” Blitzer gazed out over the plains. The forest was calling out, and both he and George were about to answer. “Let’s go!”

“Wait a minute,” George said. “Shouldn’t we prepare for this? Food, weapons, that sort of thing? Is it really the best idea to just charge in and hope for the best?”

Blitzer shrugged, his tail curiously swaying back and forth. “Why wouldn’t it be? It’s not that far, we’ll last on our bellies, no issue. And why would we need to get weapons? We’re our own weapons! Don’t you trust your scalchop?”

“Scalchop?” George looked down at his chest, and took the shell off his stomach, almost dropping it in the process. ”Look, I know you said you had faith in me last night. But do I look like I know how to use it?”

“I’m sure you’ll find out eventually,” Blitzer said. “Now what are we waiting for? It will be dark by the time you’re finished practising, let’s get going!”

George shook his head. ‘Here goes nothing.’

The sun shining on his face, George and Blitzer went on their merry way, this time without bumping into others. Despite this, the other Pokemon in the village still turned their noses up as they ran past; older Pokemon, by the looks of it. George wiped his brow. Blitzer was hard to keep up with, what with his jumping and running all over the place.

“‘Ey. Blitzer.”

The Charmander stopped at the village’s edge. George stumbled, coming close enough to Blitzer’s tail to singe the tips of his fur. ‘...Close one!’

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

“Hey Speedy! How are you?” said Blitzer. George peeked over his shoulder to see a Raichu sitting on a box on a front porch.

“Not bad. Not bad at all. Who is this Oshawott fellow? Haven’t seen this face before.”

Blitzer laid an arm on George’s neck, whose eyes snapped onto him in an instant, before flinching from what felt like water stirring in the back of his throat. “This is George! I met him in the woods yesterday. He’s not from around these parts, but he’s staying with me and my parents now.”

“Odd name if I ever heard one,” the Raichu said. “Whatever. Who am I to judge? ‘Ello there, Oshawott George. Osha-fellow, if you’d prefer. My name’s Speedy. Me and Blitzer talk with each other every now and then, whenever he zips by my front door. Anyway, where are you going? Not to that Mystery Dungeon, I hope?”

“Oh yes we are!” Blitzer said.

Speedy grinned. “No stoppin’ you, is there? Ah, what does it matter? I’m lucky enough that Junior isn’t here right now. He’d have run off with you in a heartbeat.”

“Haha, he would have! Where is Junior, actually?” Blitzer wondered out loud. George stood twiddling with his thumbs, looking back and forth between the forest and back in the village. Nero and Nera might’ve been following them, so it goes.

“Oh, he’s just playing with some other friends, no biggie. That kid’s not the smartest, but he’s smart enough to know he’ll be in deep trouble if he runs off like you are doing,” Speedy said.

“Hey, no telling anyone, you hear?” Blitzer waved a finger in Speedy’s general direction.

Speedy shrugged. “Sure. I’m no tattletale. But remember, you’re on your own out there. Good luck, fellows.”

With that detour out of the way, Blitzer and George traversed the grassy fields, then headed into the forest. Various birds from Swablu to Tailow chirped overhead, like yesterday. George once again studied them. Bird Pokemon behaved just like ordinary birds. A little easier to startle than the pigeons infesting train stations, but birds regardless.

“Alright George, are you as excited as I am? We’re going to explore a Mystery Dungeon!” A flame passed before George’s nose, causing him to jump back in reflex with a pitchy squeak. Blitzer had swerved around, and now walked backwards. “Don’t be shy, now! It’s not super dangerous, or anything!”

George gritted his teeth. “Yeah… Just nervous, that’s all. Didn’t have any forests around my house, and I’m not exactly a forest lover.” ‘You know, in case the squeak didn’t give it away. Damn, to think I’d ever make a sound like that! I’d be an even bigger laughing stock in class.’

Blitzer stopped in his tracks to think. “Hm. Actually, that’s a good idea! You’re not used to fighting Pokemon yet, but knowing what you’re up against makes it a lot easier.”

“What’s it like, though?” asked George, ears perked up. “Does it all come to you on its own?” ‘Because if not, I’ll be in trouble.’

Blitzer nodded. “Indeed it does. Seeing other firebreathers growing up, I wondered what that was like, and how they did it. Did it hurt? It definitely looked painful to me! But then one day, I was being attacked by this bird that was out for blood, and then I just spat a ball of fire at it! That scared it off real quick!” He showed his teeth in a wide grin.

“So, it’ll just come to me?”

“Yeah! We’re not leaving this place without seeing some water from you, I guarantee you that!”

George wasn’t impressed. ‘I doubt it. Why does he even believe I can spit water from my mouth, anyway? Look at how small I am!’

As they continued, George took in deep breaths to try and calm himself down, with little success. Mystery Dungeon. The term sounded familiar. Something involving maps being useless, because the very environment changes on every visit. Not to mention danger and secrets unlike any other. What would he even find in one? An answer to why he was brought here? Fat chance, but curiosity drove George onwards.

The forest grew a darker shade of green. As the wind howled, George and Blitzer reached an open space. A sign blocked the trail, bearing a message written in alien characters that George somehow recognised. Blitzer approached the sign, then tapped it with a single digit.

“You see that, George? There it is! ‘Greenwood Forest MD’, tread lightly! MD means Mystery Dungeon!”

Despite never having seen the characters before, George could make them out somewhat. Not particularly fast, but enough to be readable.

George looked past the sign, into the beginnings of this ‘mystery dungeon’. Aside from the plants being darker, nothing distinguished the scenery from the rest of the forest. “Doesn’t this place not look any different? What makes it so special, aside from that sign? I don’t see anything odd.”

“Well, that’s why they’re called Mystery Dungeons. They seem ordinary enough on the outside, but they’re not. We know they change on every visit, but there’s so much about them that no one knows. And that’s why we explore them, because we want to find out!” Blitzer gently grabbed George by the shoulders.

“Ready to go in?”

“As ready as I can be.” ‘That’s a guess, but it’s not like anyone knows how to be ready for this.’

“Alright! Here goes!”

* * *

Blitzer and George entered the dungeon side by side; the trail was wide enough to support both. To the ambiance of howling winds, they ventured inside of this strange place. It was cold, and the air reeked of damp grass.

“Hey look, over there!”

Blitzer picked up the pace and ran ahead. George followed in his footsteps without missing a beat, biting his lip all the while. There was some kind of clearing ahead, similar to the one they had entered the dungeon from. Once he’d caught up with Blitzer, George saw that it was just an empty clearing.

“Can you believe this, George? We’re actually inside of a mystery dungeon! Look, there’s paths branching off in every direction here!”

George scratched in between his triangular ears. “All these paths look the same.”

“Let’s try the middle one,” Blitzer said, then sniffed the air. “I think we’ll find wild Pokemon soon, I can feel it!”

George sniffed the air as well. Something was present besides the scent of Blitzer and the grass, but he didn’t know what. It smelled like another creature. The smell was far more potent than Blitzer’s, even though the Charmander was standing right next to him. Something didn’t seem right.

“Skirii!”

George had nary the time to blink before feeling something crawling up his chest. He looked down, and saw a giant green Spinarak staring right at him.

“Aaaah!” George frantically swatted his arms around. “Get it off, get it off!!”

Blitzer jumped back and pumped his fists in front of his face. “Yeah, there it is! Show it what you’re made of, George!”

The Spinarak crawled up to George’s shoulder. “I can’t!”

“Yeah you can! Come on, hit it already.”

The Spinarak pressed its head against George’s shoulder. A burning pain shot inside of him, and he cried out; it was as if he had been poked with a scissor. His attacker’s mandibles clacked. Suddenly, the spider’s legs were yanked off his fur. George looked up in time to see Blitzer throwing the Spinarak onto the ground, then striking it hard with the same claw. It hissed softly one last time, before fainting. Blitzer kicked it away.

“Phew. That was rough there, buddy. Why didn’t you hit back?”

George looked Blitzer in the eye with an exasperated gaze. “I was trying! I don’t know what else to-”

Blitzer put a claw up. “It’s only a Spinarak, George. All I had to do was scratch it and it’s done. Sure, they bite, but they don’t bite very hard. Do you feel it?”

The Charmander nudged the Oshawott on his back to get him to walk further. Sighing, George rubbed the fur on top of his bite mark. It did sting, unlike what Blitzer claimed. Not to mention the itching around the mark, which stung like a nettle patch. ‘What a liar…’ “For a spider, they bite hard.”

“Do Spinaraks in your world not bite, then?” asked Blitzer.

“They do, but you normally don’t feel it! Not the spiders I’m used to, anyway. Ah… I’m going to have to walk around with this now, don’t I?”

“Don’t worry about that little bite, George. I thought you weren’t a chicken?”

George furiously shook his head. “What? Of course not!”

“Yeah! You came here with me, you can’t be! You’re just new to this, that’s all. You haven’t even been a Pokemon for more than a day! Everyone has gotten bitten by a large bug before. It’s like something you have to experience before coming of age, there’s just no stopping it. Nothing to worry about, George! You don’t feel those bruises and scratches from yesterday anymore, either.”

That last statement was spoken like a fact. George was dumbfounded more than anything. How would Blitzer even know how bad those scratches were? Strangely enough, he was right! George pulled the blue fur above his scalchop aside. That was the nastiest of yesterday’s scratches, but it wasn’t there anymore. At all. Not even a scar, let alone any leftover itches.

‘How did it heal so fast?’

“Surprised?” George looked up to see Blitzer laughing. “We Pokemon are a sturdy bunch, George. Our bodies are used to taking a beating, and I think that’s why we heal from scratches and bites so easily. It’s just in our blood!”

“Interesting,” George muttered. None of it made much sense, but he accepted it for what it was. Different world, different rules. If it was true, perhaps it was for the better. More play, less worrying.

The two kept going further down the trail, the air growing colder. George was on edge, his eyes half closed and stern.

‘Alright, so it’s nothing. It’s nothing, alright…’

The sound of rustling leaves reached his ears.

‘Just a bite, nothing more…’

“Do you hear that?” Blitzer looked rightwards past George, into the bushes. A set of eyes crawled among the leaves. George did not respond; Blitzer poked him erratically, attempting to stir him out of his thoughts.

“George, George!!”

‘Yeah, it’s just a bite… I’ve felt worse.’

“Skiiirii!”

A hiss sliced through the leaves. Blitzer fell onto his knees. “Argh! Watch out!” George held his right arm in front of him, grimacing.

‘I’ve felt worse… and I can DO WORSE!’

George flicked his arm rightwards. It struck like a whip against the Spinarak leaping towards him, connecting with a thud. The attacking bug was thrown sideways to the ground, rolling to a stop a few steps away, weakly hissing. George eyed it with hawk’s eyes, anticipating the next move. This wasn’t over. He could smell and taste it in the air. It wasn’t alone.

“Schri!”

A Scatterbug leapt from the bushes. George jumped out of the way. The bug’s large eyes shifted back and forth, panicking. George raised his other arm, smacking the Scatterbug on its head. It cringed and shook it off, when a shadow suddenly fell over it. Before it knew what was happening, Blitzer pounced with a scratch from his claws, knocking it out. George, satisfied with himself, let his arms relax.

“See? I told you that you could do it!”

“Well, seeing is believing!”

Blitzer threw his arms around George, hugging him tightly. George felt too overwhelmed to return the gesture; his eyes barely passed over Blitzer’s shoulders. It was a nice reassurance, though. Those were hard to come by.

When Blitzer let go, he went back on the lookout for other wild Pokemon, sniffing the air. “Hm, it looks like we’re in the clear. I can’t see or smell anything else. Let’s keep going.”

“Do you know how big this place is?” George asked.

“Not exactly, but if I remember correctly what I’ve heard from Speedy and a few others, it shouldn’t be all too big. We shouldn’t be too far off from the end now.” Blitzer grabbed his tail and stuck it out in front of him. “It is a little dark, though.”

Under the guiding light of Blitzer’s tail, the two made their way into the forest’s depths. The leaves above had grown too dense for the sun to shine through. It kept the forest underneath dark and damp. From dew drops on the grass, to the humid air blowing by, it felt alien. Not to mention the lack of Pokemon that didn’t attack on sight. It was a far cry from the village; despite the short distance between the two, a chasm separated both worlds. To George, it was even more distant.

‘So some Pokemon can talk and build their own villages, while others are wild animals. But they’re not though, are they? That Spinarak and Scatterbug were working together, it felt like. Is there something about this ‘Mystery Dungeon that makes them want to attack?’

The longer he pondered, the desire to find an answer intensified. The trail they followed forked off at random intervals, and would suddenly get thinner or wider. There was no pattern or rule to this place; It was ever changing, as Blitzer had said. Even glancing behind, it was hard to recognise the path they had been following. The only thing consistent were the bugs jumping out the bushes: Spinarak, Scatterbugs, Caterpies and Metapods, Spewpas and even a lone Vivillon. George had to catch his breath every now and then. For small bugs, they sure were out for blood.

“It’s getting a little steeper, George. I think we’re close to the end.” Blitzer took off running.

“Are you sure? What does it getting a little steeper even mean-”

“Here, here! Have a look at this!”

“What are you talking about?” George walked up the hill, and was greeted by field of plants in full bloom. A vast scape of colours like those on a painter’s palette, glistering in the sunlight in front of their eyes. “Oh wow…”

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Blitzer looked on with a wide smile, plucking a flower and spreading the petals over the wind. “No one else knows it’s here! Either that, or they’re hiding it front us.”

George walked into the field, touching and smelling the plants for himself. “Blitzer, you need to come down here to see this!”

Blitzer grimaced. “Ehh, I’d like to, but I’m not sure if I can. Don’t know how sensitive these plants are to fire, exactly.”

“Oh.” George bit his lip. ‘Right. So that flame on his tail can set things on fire.’

Blitzer sat down on the stump of a tree, nestled right in between all the flowers. “You have fun down there, okay? I’ll wait here until you think you’ve seen enough, then we’ll go back. I might not be able to enjoy it as much as you have, but I’m glad I came here.”

George nodded. “Yeah, me too.”

“It must be fun being a water type,” Blitzer said, as George ran through the field. “You never have to worry about starting fires by accident. Something goes wrong in the village, and everyone immediately assumes I did it, haha.” He put his tongue in his cheek. “Wait… there, uh, George? You might want to be careful.”

George pulled his head out of the flowers. “There’s no more bugs around, are there?”

“Yeah, but there might be some grass types around. They can really hurt if you’re not careful!”

“Really?” George looked over the field. As beautiful as it was, he couldn’t help but shake off the feeling that it wasn’t quite as rosy as it seemed at first glance. “Well, okay then. Maybe we should head back, then.”

Blitzer nodded. “I might not have gotten to enjoy it as much as you have, but I’m still glad I came here. This is why I want to become an explorer! To see places like this!”

George smiled. “Yeah, understandable. I never had the chance to do the same,” he said, thinking of the greys of the city as he joined Blitzer on the stump.

“Until now.” Blitzer winked at him.

The Oshawott smirked. “Until now.”

They remained on the log for a good while, taking in their surroundings for all it was worth, while watching purple-eyed bugs crawl around in the distance.

image [https://file.garden/ZgQ_WQ_U3BIqPcfY/ZtH%20Chapter%20Specific/Chapter%204.png]