Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In this world, lives a strange species. On one hand, they are humans. They look like what you think a human would look like. On the other hand, they are most definitely Pokemon. We will call these people, Pokehumans, or Gijinkas. Some are more animalistic than others, but they are one of the same. Some are extremely powerful, only to be fought under emergency circumstances. Others are mysterious, and it is unknown if they even exist at this point. Whatever the case for a Gijinka, they are all unique in their own ways.

And that brings us to this nearly trash can. 

A woman has been hanging around the trash can of a nearby guild. She’s what you would call a Dusknoir. She’s normally very quiet, but has been making quite a bit of noise tonight. She’s not from here, but that’s not important right now. More important matters are on her mind currently.

“I’m starving.” 

After positioning herself, she peeks out of the trash can, taking in her surroundings. Other than the guild in front of her, she was in an unknown place. Trees covered the place. It was easy to tell it was the middle of the day, however. Looking to the left, a dirt path. It’s hard to see where it leads at the current moment. To the right was the same path, however with more trees. 

“Well,” she mumbled to herself,  “There’s no way I'll find food just sitting here.” 

She was prepared to exit the trash can until

“Gaaah! Why did I order 2 burgers! I can’t finish this!”

After hearing someone coming, she immediately ducked back down into the trash. The Dusknoir had no idea if this voice was a friend or foe. It was better to play it safe than sorry. The trash can was obnoxiously loud, however. “I guess I might as well throw this away” The voice said. Before her eyes, a burger had fallen from what might as well be heaven. She didn’t know what deity to thank, but she had started devouring the burger before she could even think about it. 

Awkwardly enough, however, the voice from before was staring at her, baffled. “Why are you in the trash can?” 

The dusknoir jolted, not realizing the situation. She was caught. Spotted. Other Synonyms I’m too lazy to write. She didn’t really know what to do. She COULD attack the voice, but they did give her a burger, so she did the next best thing. She waved. “Hello.”

After some silence, the voice perked up. This voice happened to belong to another woman, an infernape at that. She didn’t have her hair on fire for the time being. “Hello!” She fully took the trash can lid off the trash. “My name is Biroa! What’s yours?” 

“Weren’t you just asking me what I was doing in the trash…?” The dusknoir’s normally monotone voice sounded confused. Why would this “Biroa” person just introduce herself to a stranger, let alone one in the trash.

“Well I’m still curious, but I thought introducing myself might help you not be so nervous!” She had a warm smile. It did indeed soothe the dusknoir some. 

“...Well my name is Devonie. Thanks for the burger.”

“No problem!” Biroa said as Devonie climbed out of the trash. “Are you one of those Dumpster Divers?”

“Dump…” She was having some trouble saying the word. She didn’t know it. “What?”

Biroa then laughed “I’m just messing with you, Devonie!” She took a good look at the now out of the trash dusknoir. She was dressed in nothing but an overcoat and an eyepatch. “Well you’re dressed like you have nowhere to go.” Biroa’s face saddened from her normally happy self. “Do you have somewhere to stay?”

Devonie shook her head no and rubbed her hand against her arm. “I guess you can say I'm not from here. I’m not lost or anything, but I don’t have a home to go to here.” The wind blew, softly blowing some leaves. “Also I’m very cold out here.”

Biroa went into intense thought. Suddenly, she jumped up, her flames igniting. “I got it!” She then grabbed Devonie’s hand. “You should come and work with the guild! It’s where I live! We have a job where we help people with different tasks!” Biroa started jumping up and down, excited. “We have food served, and you’ll get paid for helping! It would be easy to show you the ropes of everything!” She then stood on her tippy-toes. “Pleeeeeeeeease join us!”

Devonie was stunned. It wasn’t everyday when you’re given a place to stay AND a job. The aspect of helping others did interest her, along with free food. She wants to better herself, and so…

“You know, If there are more burgers involved, I'll take your offer.” 

Biroa gasped, her flames shooting even higher. “OH MY GOOOOOSH!! This is so exciting!!” She squealed, causing Devonie to immediately cover her ears. “Sorry! We got to get you to sign up with my boss and everything!!” She took Devonie’s hand and quickly started rushing to the entrance of the guild. Devonie barely had enough time to close her overcoat. 

The guild was much bigger on the inside. Mostly because most of it was underground. It wasn’t filled with Gijinkas, but it wasn’t a ghost town either. Some were reading the message board, while others were goofing off with each other. Devonie was amazed, seeing so many of her people in one place. Biroa seemed to be really excited, so much so she zoomed past everyone else, Devonie right behind her.

“Miss. Panny! I’ve brought someone to join the guild.”

“SWEET ARCEUS!!” The lady named Panny screamed, while falling down in her chair. Devonie used the time she took to get up to close her overcoat. 

Miss. Panny was a short lady. Shorter than Biroa that is. She was a Minccino, but happened to be a shiny at that. She was dressed in a professional manner, and seemed to be a bit pudgy. She stood up, quickly brushing herself off before taking a look at Devonie. “YOU BROUGHT A GIANT IN HERE?!”

“Am I really that tall?”

“YOU’RE HUGE! Have you been measured recently?!” She then took a whiff at the rash smell “GOD! AND YOU STINK! Have you even SHOWERED recently?!” The minccino looked annoyed, stomping her feet.

“Well I did find her in the trash!” Biroa replied, looking cheery as always. This dumbfounded Panny to an intense degree.

“Is” She hesitated, “Is she serious?” She REALLY wanted to believe that this was all just some prank and someone was going to exclaimed they got her.

“No. I was in the trash.”

Panny’s eyes widened at this point, and she began to walk towards Devonie.. “You know. I’ll make a deal. You can stay here...IF I get to clean you up. GOT IT?” She was uncomfortably close at this point. Devonie didn’t know what to say, so she just nodded. Suddenly, her overcoat was grabbed. “God, how DIRTY are your clothes?!” Devonie was going to say something, but her overcoat flew open and closed before she could even get a word out. 

“Ah. You don’t have clothes.”

She shoved some money into Biroa’s hands. “Go into town and find some clothes that at least somewhat fit her!” Biroa saluted and ran out the room, just as someone else was entering. 

“Miss Panny, are you busy at the moment?” This voice belonged to a man. He was a lopunny, but his ears were shorter than usual and he was also in a professional outfit. He had a mega stone as a necklace. 

“YES! I am VERY busy!” Panny was practically dragging Devonie to a bath. Devonie could do nothing but wave. 

“Oh! When you are done, you have to take care of the usual paperwork.” He seemed more nervous than the minccino. 

“Just set them on my desk, Don. I’ll take care of them later! I HAVE TO CLEAN THIS WOMAN.” She tugs so hard, Devonie falls into the bathroom. Panny then walks in herself. “I can’t STAND filth!” The door then slammed shut. 

“What a rush…” 

The bath Devonie endured was a rush. Panny was deep cleaning, washing her body and hair rigorously. Afterwards, she admittedly did feel good. Biroa even got her what is called a hoodie. It looked like it had eyes on it, yellow like her own, and Devonie found it very soft. Now she was in a room. The beds were on the ground, but the pillows were very fluffy. The covers didn’t fit her tall figure, but she was okay with it, as she didn’t need much sleep anyways. She could stare at the ceiling for hours, but the silence was quickly interrupted. 

“Hey, Devonie!” It was Biroa again. She brought burgers with her! Burgers! Devonie shot up at the sight of food. “I know how much you like these, so I got them to show our new friendship!” Biroa’s flames were extinguished again, showing a more calm side of her. “You don’t mind if i call you Dev, right?”

Devonie wasn’t used to nicknames, but she gave a thumbs-up of approval. She then grabbed a burger and dug in. 

“Nice! Welcome to the Guild, Dev!” Biroa exclaimed before also digging in on a nice burger.

Chapter Text

The morning was just beginning, the sun peeking over the trees. Mailmen were beginning their morning routes, busy as usual. For anyone else, it was too early in the morning to get up, but not for Biroa. She always wakes up at the same time, 7:30. As usual, she shuffled in her bed for a little while, before finally stretching and opening her eyes. However, this morning was different.

Because Devonie was floating above her bed, staring straight at her.

“WUAH!! DEVONIE!!” Biroa shouted while shuffling out of her bed. She accidentally started her head flames while in shock, now trying to calm down a little.

“What?” Devonie, now landing on the floor, was confused. Had Biroa never seen a ghost type float above her before? “Are you okay?” She tilted her head, not understanding why Biroa was so scared.

Biroa stood up, brushing off any dirt that had gotten on her nightgown. “Phew! You scared me! Why were you just floating above me like that?!”

Devonie stared at her with a blank face. “I don’t sleep. I don’t need too.” This alone gave off some energy of unease. However, Biroa paid no mind to it, as they were friends after all. “Oh! That makes sense!” She then looked at the clock in her room.

7:31

“OH NO!!!” She immediately started sprinting it out of her room, nightgown and all. Devonie decided to float behind her, taking in more of the scenery of the guild, since she was too busy being washed and eating burgers last night to care.

The guild had a clean and uptight feel. Well, as clean as you can get for being under the ground. There were many different doors with different names. Some doors had two, while others only had one. After the doors were different paintings spread out across the walls. One picture caught Devonie’s eye, however. It was a man, but he seemed off. He didn’t look like any pokemon Devonie had seen. He was a tall man, with a growing beard, and an awkward smile. Looking down, there was a name on the frame of the picture.

“Who is Nicolas Cage?”

Before Devonie had anymore questions, her thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash. She floated to the scene of the sound to find a very tired Biroa and a very shocked Panny.

“Biroa! How many times do I have to say this! Work starts at 9:30! NOT 7:30!!”
“But…!” The tired Infernape replied. “But i’m too late to be on time for TELLING you i’m early!”

Devonie was incredibly confused. Panny notices the tall girl and jumps a bit, not used to her yet. “Oh. Did she wake you up too? She does this EVERY morning…” Devonie tilted her head again.

“No, she didn’t. I don’t sleep, so I just stared at her sleeping.” She said, casually.

Panny’s eyes widened at that reply. “Oh.”
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The Guild was bustling and busy as it always is. Some teams are getting ready to go out for missions while others are staying behind to take care of chores. Biroa and Devonie are looking at the bulletin board.

“So, this is what your job is?” Devonie asked, pointing to a random mission. “Helping other people with random things?”

“Well sometimes I have to save other people too! It’s a lot of work!” Biroa grins, proud of this job. “Oh! This one seems easy! It'll be great to…”

Before she can finish however, the mission is snatched out of her hands.

“Huh…?” Biroa takes a minute to understand what happened. “Hey! That was for us to do!”

Devonie turns around, confused as well. She turns to see a Weavile and a Quagsire. They were both males, the Quagsire being the taller one. The Weavile man grins at Biroa.

“Not anymore, little lady! We NEED an easy mission to do! Sick of all these near death experiences!”

The Quagsire pulls out a sign, it seems to already have writing on it.The sign says: Sorry but he’s got a point. He doesn’t seem to be a talker. He also looked serious, unlike a regular Quagsire, but enough about him. Devonie’s attention shifts to the Weavile.

“Angelou! We have a new person here! Come on, that’s more important than just you being lazy!” Biroa pleaded, jumping for the mission, which was just out of her hands.

“Oh have a heart attack, squirt!” Angelou retorts, grinning.

“Ohhh! Dero, can’t you do something?” Biroa pulled at the Quagsire's raincoat. Dero’s sign changed again. Sorry but he’s got a point. Plus I'm sick of carrying him.

Angelou laughs. “Our mission now, girlie! See ya!!” The two leave, taking the mission with them. Biroa slumps down. “Ohhh...I’m sorry Devonie…! Those two are the mess of this guild…!” She sighs. “...and Dero’s scary with his water…”

Devonie goes to do the one thing she knows what to do, she pets Biroa on the head. “It's okay. You tried. I can beat them up if you want.”

Biroa jumps and shakes her hands. “NO NO! You don’t need to do that! We can just do another mission!!” She quickly grabs another “Oh! This one isn’t too bad! It’s just grabbing some food for a client! We could do this instead!” She hands Devonie the note with the mission. It’s written like chicken scratch.

“How could you even read this?”

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The dungeon they were in was a forest, filled with tall trees. The more interesting thing about this forest, however, is that it is filled with berry bushes. The two ladies enter this dungeon, Devonie looking around. “This place is where we’re supposed to be?”

“Yes!” Biroa answers, looking excited and slightly shaking her fists up and down. “This place is actually pretty popular with our guild! It’s pretty close to it as well! Everyone goes here for healthy snacks!”

“And where do they go for non-healthy snacks?” Devonie questioned.

“The convenient store!”

Devonie nearly questions her again before being interrupted by a Rattata.

“Hey! What are you guys doing here?! We’re closed for the season!” The now angered rattata yells at the girls. Biroa seems shocked. “Closed!? Wait! I thought you guys were open all year!!”

“Listen. We normally are, but there’s barely any berries left, so we’re taking a month to grow some back. Didn’t you notice the big CLOSED sign on the front of the forest?!”

Biroa gasps, legitimately not realizing. Devonie, however, gets more confused. “You can close a forest? Couldn’t do that back home.” Suddenly, Biroa goes down to her knees and bows at the rattata. “I am SOOOO sorry!!!! I didn’t realize!! I-” She goes on a long apology about how she’s dumb and she should have been more responsible and really just goes off-topic for a little bit. Devonie floats off, finding the berry that the client asked for, and comes back to the area. “Hey. I found the berry.”

“Ah!!” Biroa yelps. “M-m-maybe you should put that ba-” Before she can finish, she’s picked up and put over Devonie’s shoulder as they both leave.”

The rattata can really do nothing but just stare at them. “Ahhh man. At least it’s just one...could be worse…” They say before a bush leaves fall to the ground. “Ah nuts…”

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“Whoa!!! Thank you!! Like omg, I needed this for a new yogurt recipe!” The client, a casual clothes wearing Flaffy says. “Here! Your pay!” He gives the girls...2 coins.

“Thank you! have a great day sir!!!” Biroa waves at the man before he leaves. Devonie looks at the coins disappointed.

“Only 2?”

“Well….It’s all in a day's work!! Missions aren’t about the money, they’re about the satisfied customers faces as we successfully come back from an errand, or saving someone, or finding items! I love helping people out!” She grins.

Devonie simply floats away. “I want more money…”

“Wait!!” Biroa yells as she chases after Devonie. “There are better jobs! I swear! Come back!!!”

Chapter Text

It was evening. 7:30 PM to be exact. The guild was setting up and getting ready to chow down on some nice dinner. Everyone was worn out from work, so getting a hot meal on a summer night was a nice cool down before heading to bed. Devonie, however, looked at the food very confused. She was not used to seeing such meals. She went to ask Biroa what they all were, but before she could, the Infernape was already shuffling out of her seat. She looked very excited.

“Where are you going?”

Biroa jumped up before turning back to Devonie. “Oh! I would stay for the big meal, but Donny is inviting me for a date! Sorry to leave you alone, but try to make some friends, alright?” She grinned before heading off. Devonie turned to the rest of the guild, confused. Everyone to her was well….weird. She could see a lot of them chowing down on what seemed to be food. All she knew was it wasn’t burgers. It didn’t look too appetizing either. She pouted, disappointed.

Meanwhile, Biroa was speeding to a nearby hill, leaving fire sparks in her path. She was very excited to see her beloved boyfriend, who told her that he got her favorite sour candies for dessert. She makes it to the top of the hill, happily shouting to the Lopunny.

“I’m heeeeeeeeeeereeeeeeeeee!!!”

He jumps up a bit, before calming down once he realizes the voice belongs to Biroa. He smiles and scoots over, making room for her as they can sit next to each other. She takes a seat and nuzzles into him, giggling. “You know, Panny’s going to be reaaaaaal mad at you for missing a big meal!!”

“I know, but I want to eat with you tonight! I deserve it after this week.” He looks to the side, his cheeks tinting with red. “I got pranked by Angelou’s group twice this week!! It was awful!” He says, taking a bite of a sandwich. Biroa looked at Don concerned, before perking up and petting his head.

“Awww…Don’t worry, Donny! I’m sure you can handle those meanies another day! Right now, though, I’ll protect you! You know Angelou won’t pick a fight with me!”

“Yeah, but then I would worry about the other guys…but you’re right. I should focus more on relaxing rather than getting more stressed.”

“Yeah! You should hurry and eat that sandwich fast though!” She looked up at him with a mischievous smirk.

“Why?” He pondered.

“Before I eat it, of course!!”

“B-Biroa no!!”

She laughs before eating her own sandwich. Don sighs, chuckling to himself before taking another bite. However, when he swallows this time, he starts choking on it, aggressively. Biroa takes notice of this and jumps back.

“Donny! Are you okay?!”

The lopunny quickly chugs down some apple juice before coughing. He at least wasn’t choking anymore. “Yeah…” He stuttered. “I’m fine…! Just some weird hard piece in the sandwich. I must have not chewed it…”

“Ohhh! You need to be more careful!!” Biroa said while patting his back. Don felt a little off after choking, but couldn’t put his finger on why. He eventually shrugged it off for the time and continued the dinner date as normal. They had a great time before getting interrupted by Panny. She started yelling at them for being out this time of night. They then scurried back to the guild, giggling to each other.
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The next morning, Don woke up, groggier than normal. He seemed pale today, eyebags forming and slouching. He walked out of his room, flinching at the light. As he trudged to his office, he noticed people murmuring about his current sickness. He wanted to tell them that he was fine, but the words couldn’t come out at this moment. Suddenly, his very own girlfriend stood in front of him, concerned about why he was so sick. Of course, he didn’t notice in time, so they bumped into each other.

“Donny, what are you doing up so late…and so sick?” She looked up at him, a worried expression on her face. Her flame was out for the time, just in case.

Don wanted to say something to her, but the second he thought of something to say and went to speak, he immediately had the urge to throw up. He ran to the nearest bathroom, pushing a few people out of the way in order to get there. Luckily, he made it before any more….stuff came out, and got to puking his guts out. He couldn’t tell why he was so sick. The sandwiches he bought yesterday were fine! He got them from the same store he always did! Besides, why would he be sick and not Biroa, who ALSO ate a sandwich from the same place? He had so many questions. After puking, he went and looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was sticking up like a qwilfish. His ears limped, and his eyes were practically bloodshot. He looked awful.

“Gosh…I look like I drank all night…and I KNOW I didn't! I…” He immediately stopped what he was saying to realize something horrific. His mega stone, the very one his mother gave to him, was missing. MISSING. This was bad. Really bad. He didn’t remember taking it off! He had it last night! Did someone steal it?! Did it fall off?!?! Where was it?! He then thought back to last night to try and retrace his steps. He snuck out of the big dinner, he went on his date, he choked on a sandwich, he….he choked on his sandwich. The sandwich that had no hard pieces in it, yet he choked on it.

“Oh no…no no no…” He looked down to his stomach, which was glowing ominously. His hands shook as he gripped into his stomach, trying to suppress the transformation wanting to happen. “I can’t do this right now!! This is the WORST possible time!! I can’t handle this!!” He was breathing heavily, and sweating a river, but the suppression was starting to work in his favor, as the glowing began to die down.

That is, until someone else came into the bathroom.

“Ohhhh!! Is this place occupied?” A male Gardevoir questions. He had just started today, and was getting to know the place. He wasn’t expecting to find someone in the bathroom, and he definitely wasn’t expecting what came next.

Don screamed his lungs out, losing his control on the suppression and transforming right then and there. He was consumed by an odd, blinding light that made the shape of a circle. The Gardevoir was very shocked at what was happening, falling back. Eventually, the ball burst, revealing a now Mega-Evolved Don. His ears had grown longer, a flower-like symbol now on his forehead. Most importantly though, he was in a brand new outfit. One that was, to him, more revealing than he would like it to be. He stood there, shocked.

“...Is it always this fun around here?” The Gardevoir pondered, before Don slammed the bathroom door closed.

“OHHHHH MY GOD. OH MY GOD! I CAN’T GO OUTSIDE LOOKING LIKE….THIS! I’M UNPROFESSIONAL! Like this, I’m less of a guild leader and more of a…a…” he hesitates. “I DON’T EVEN WANT TO SAY IT!!!”

“Whoa whoa, sir! Calm down!” The Gardevoir says before going up to the panicking Lopunny. “It’s alright! I can help you! Just explain to me what’s happening!” He then grows a smug expression on his face “You weren’t putting on a show for me, right?”

Flailing his arms around, the Lopunny explains his issue, mainly the fact his date turned sore when he choked on his mega stone unknowingly. He then grabbed his head and fell to his knees. The Gardevoir, now concerned, goes to pet him on the head.

“Breathe man! You’re going to make yourself faint! Repeat after me, alright?!” The two then proceeded to do breathing exercises. “There…Are you okay now, sir?”

Don sighed, calmed from earlier. “Yes. Thank you.” He then tilted his head curiously “What is your name? I’ve never seen you around here before.”

The Gardevoir smiled. “My name is Charles, but you can call me Charlie! Charles is like, my professional name!” He brought Don to his feet, helping him walk. “I run quite the pie business around here, but came to this guild for an occasional side job.” Charlie thought to himself, an idea popping in his head.

“Would you like to try some of my pies?”

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The two arrived at a small shop. Inside was the sweet smell of pies, along with plenty of dirty dishes. Charlie flipped a sign to show that the store was open again, before turning to Don.

“Well, here we are! My bakery!”

“It’s quite nice, Charles.” Don replied, looking around. He took in the smell of pies, his ears twitching. “Is that sugarplum? How much do you charge for that?” He twiddles with his fingers, trying not to drool.

“Oh!” Charlie grows a big grin on his face. “Of course it’s sugarplum! You can have some on the house! From me! Just let me prepare it for you!”

“On the house?! Whoa…”

“Of course! It shows that we’re friends, doesn’t it?”

Don rubbed his arm, looking down at the floor. “Oh…Thank you! Honestly, I'm not used to having casual friends outside of business, you know. Most of my friends work at the guild.”

Charlie comes back out with a slice of pie, covered in what looks like powdered sugar. “Oh! Well I guess I’m your super cool friend from outside work!”

“Heh. I guess.” Don laughed at his comment before taking a bite of pie. His smile grew as the flavor of the pie hit his taste buds.

“Oh! Now that we’re sitting down, why do you keep your mega stone so close to you? You obviously don’t like your mega form’s outfit.”

“Well,” Don started, sighing. “...It was given to me by my mother. I moved away from my original town when I took this job in the island, and she wanted me to have a memento of her while I was working. She and I were really close before I moved, and we still talk often, but…” He then put his hand on his heart. “...It’s like I have a piece of her while I’m here.”

Charlie’s eyes widened. “So you’re a mama’s boy?”

Don nodded, eating some more of his pie. He was embarrassed by the phrase, but the Gardevoir was technically correct.

“Me too. Me and my mother are also pretty close, you know. I get why you would want to keep an item that reminds you of her. At first I thought you were just weird but…you’re a good guy! I can tell why you’re well liked. Never change, Don! Well…” He looks Don up and down. “...Don’t change personality wise. I don’t know if you can choose your outfit right now.”

Don sighed. “Well I don’t know how I’m going to get mom’s mega stone out of my stomach right now…”

“Oh!” Charlie perked up. “Heh! I helped with that!”

“Huh?”

“The pie you ate! I powdered it with laxatives!”

Don’s eyes widen as his ears stick up. “LAXATIVES?!?!?!”

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Panny knocked on Don’s door, wondering if he’s still sick to his guts. “Don. Are you well?”

“Errm…I am not, ma’am. I think I may be bedridden at the moment…”

“Well, you have some guests.”

Biroa suddenly burst through the door, running towards her boyfriend. Devonie was also there, floating into the room.

“OH Donny!! Are you okay?! Are you dying?!”

“I do not think he is dying, Biroa. I know what a dying pokemon looks like, and he is not one.”

Don sweated, hearing Devonie’s comment, but put on a smile for Biroa. “I’ll be okay! Now that I've…” He hesitated with his words, realizing what he did. “Uhhh…cleaned my bowels, I’m on the road to recovery!”

“Yay!” Biroa chimed and hugged her boyfriend.

Devonie, on the other hand, realized something about Don. “What happened to your necklace, sir?”

Don’s face darkened.

“I’m getting it disinfected.”

Chapter Text

“Ooooooh! Anooooother day anooooother dollaaaar!”

An average sized Leafeon woman is currently outside of Panny’s guild, it being an early afternoon. The sun was beaming down on her as she was digging up holes and planting flowers.  She took in the scenery that she’s creating. Petunias everywhere, but still seeming barren. 

“Ooooohhh…Should I plant sooooome vines around the entrance? Or maybe some treeeeees insteaaaad…Hmmm…”

She then gasps, getting an idea. Suddenly, her hands glow green as sprouts begin to grow. Vines begin to surround the outside of the guild, slowly covering it with flowers. Suddenly she stops, proud of what she did. The different flowers complimented the normally beige opening to the guild, giving it a breath of color.

“Ahhhhh…! You caaaaan’t go wrooooong with floooowers!!!” she beamed. At that time, her boss came to check on her. Although…She was greeted to a shitton of flowers and vines. She walks straight into the opening, which was blocked off by vines.

“OH MY GOD- WILLOW!!!” Panny screamed as she was surrounded by vines. “CAN YOU NOT BLOCK THE OPENING TO THE FUCKING GUILD?!” She flails as she gets more and more tangled in the plants. Willow sprints over to Panny, pulling off the vines 

“Soooorry…” Willow drooped her ears down, her tail inbetween her legs. “I just waaaanted to make the guild a little more…preeeeettier!” 

“Are you calling my design choices bland?” Panny retorted, annoyed. “Whatever! I need you underground anyways! We’re low on staff today, so you need to actually do a job.” She then turns to go back inside, motioning the Leafeon to come and follow. 

“Ooooh…I hope she doesn’t give me a haaaaaard job…” 

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Panny pulls off a job listing from the corkboard, handling it straight to Willow. "You've been slacking off here for TOO long, missy. I know you like taking care of the plants here, but you need to start getting your work hours up." She glares at Willow "And you need to actually get around the place for once. You barely know the basic parts of the island."

"Whaaaaat?!" Willow gasps, putting her hand on her chest in shock. "I am veeeeery knowledgaaaaable of the Islaaaand! The store foooor instenit is dooown the street to the leeeeft!" 

"Actually it's a mile to the right. You are proving my case."

"Oh come onnnnnn!" The leafeon whined as her ears drooped down. "This is embaaarassing, you know!" She then looked down at her job, her expression becoming insulted. "AN E RAAAANK?! I'm beeeeetter than to just get an E raaaank! This is unfair!"

"Ohhh, so you want something harder, huh?"

The leafeon puffs out her chest, her tail sharpening, and vine on her forehead standing up like a toothpick. "I'm BETTER than a siiiiilly E rank job! I'm strong, preeeeetty, and reaaaaady for a challenge!" She then points her finger straight at Panny. "GIVE MEEEE YOUR HAAAARDEST JOB!" 

The Minccino woman smirks, taking and handing the easy job to someone behind her. "Hardest, huh? Well, since you're ohhh soooo up for it, I will." She then snatches a paper with a golden star on it. "Well how about this. This job states you need to bring this person an Oran berry."

"HAH! An oraaaan berry?! Is thaaat all?!" She quickly snatches the berry before Panny can finish. "So! Where do I goooo?! Hurry up and teeeeell me!"

"...Felicity Forest. Are you sure? It is the middle of winter, after all."

"PHAH! I laaaaugh at winter! Ice has NOOOOO effect on this Leafeon!" She then bolts to the ladder leading above ground. "I won't keep yoooou waiting!" She yelled back before scurring away.

"...She didn't let me finish. The job is star ranked because the delivery is to be made on the 99th floor..." 

The Minccino chuckles and walks to her office. Meanwhile, the person who she handed the easy job to, was very confused. "So...do I do this?" Devonie pondered. 

Willow was making her way to Felicity forest. She was doing a fast paced strut on the dirt path there, a determined look on her face. She didn't care about the chilly wind or snowflakes falling all around her. She was going to prove that she wasn't a joke to anyone. No matter how cold or nervous she was to deliver this berry, she was going to do it! She reaches the entrance of the dungeon, her face dropping. 

"Soooo...where is the deliveeeeery again?"

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The cold air down here was intense. The calm snow from before was now a violent tantrum of ice and rain, and the snow was coming down at the speed of sound. tiny balls of ice had joined the snow many floors ago, making traversing even harder for non-ice types. A blizzard was guaranteed to happen soon. The people down here were much more aggressive as well, not wanting any unwelcome intruders in their home. In higher levels, they were easier to take care of, but the farther down one went, the harder it was to deal with. With this attack from mother nature herself...

It's a miracle Willow made it to her destination at all...

To her, there was nothing holding her back from completing this job. Not even the fact that the snow was terrible for her skin. She has bruises from the hail everywhere, and her grass features had an aggressive amount of frost on them. As she walked on the final floor, she could see the receiver of the oran berry. It was a young Glaceon woman, around the same age as Willow. She has a very expensive dress on, and seemed impatient, her tail swaying back and forth.

"Hmph! About time someone finally did this job successfully! I've needed that berry for AGES no-" She started to complain before gasping, seeing Willow's condition. "T-...They got a grass type to do this job?!"

Willow gave the delicately frosted Oran berry to the woman, attempting a smile. Truly, she was incredibly weak from her journey, but seeing she actually completed it, she thought it was worth it alone for that. "Enjooooy..." She whispered, as her voice was shot from the cold. "It will be greeeat to eeeat..." She then started her trek back to the guild...

Too bad she didn't get too far without fainting...

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"...mmmm..."

Willow felt the warmth of a soft bed as she woke up. As she opened her eyes, she could notice that the place she was in was foreign to her. It definitely wasn't the guild, but it's better than the cold forest floor where she fainted. The bed was extremely pink, and she could see the walls were plastered with magical girl posters. She snuggled into the foreign pillow, her tail wagging.

"Whoevers piiiiiillow this is....it's so soooooft...!"

"Thihihi! Thank you!"

"WAUGH!?" The sudden new voice causes Willow to shoot out of the bed, before slamming into the ground. "WHERE....AM IIIIIIII?!"

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" The woman, equally pink as her room, bows as an apology. "My name is Syrina, and I'm so sorry for scaring you again!" Syrina, now revealed to be a Sylveon, pets Willow with her ribbons. "You're in my and my siblings' house!" She then gives Willow a soft smile. "My sister Juni found you fainted in the forest..."

"Juniiiii...?" Willow tilts her head. "Who is she? I need to thank her!"

Speak of the devil and the devil shall come, The Glaceon, known as "Juni", happened to be walking past Syrina's room. She leans on the door frame, looking at the two. 

"TSK! It was nothing. I couldn't leave you dead on the ground after you fainted right in front of me." She flips her hair, her ribbons swaying slowly after. Flicking her wrist, she smugly looks at Willow. "Heh! You can thank me now! Maybe even apologize for fainting so RUDELY, as I had to carry y-" 

Before She could even finish, Willow jumps and hugs her, her headvine wagging like crazy. 

"OHHHHH!!!! THANK YOOOOOOOOOOU! I WOULD BE DEEEEEEEEEEEAD WITHOUT YOOOOOOOOU! THAAAAAANK YOU JUNIIIIIIIII!"

"EUGH!" She quickly pushes the leafeon off, dusting her dress off. "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THIS DRESS COSTS?! Get your DIRT away from me!" She then begins to walk away, but turns back. "Oh. DON'T call me "Juni." My name is Juniperia, but you could refer to me as Princess Juniperia, Miss. Juniperia...SOMETHING like that." She then walks off. 

Syrina looks at Willow sadly. "Sorry...She's just...really cold to people. Fitting, huh?"

"Huh...Yeah." Willow then stands up, her stomach suddenly growling. "Oh...I'm kind of hungry...! Is there anything to eat?"

"Oh of course! My sister Umbra is cooking breakfast, so I can convince her to make some for you too! Come on!" She takes Willow's hand and starts to bring her to the kitchen. Willow gets to see all sorts of pictures of different members of this family. She wonders who the people she hasn't met with are like. Seeing how Juniperia is, she hopes the others aren't as mean. When the two girls reach the kitchen, they are greeted to...

"UMBRA! I TOLD YOU TO MAKE SAUSAGES TODAY!"

"WELL I'M SORRY FOR WANTING TO MAKE SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN THE SAME THING EVERYDAY!"

"...ohhh no."

The Glaceon and a new Umbreon character are seen arguing. Juniperia, however, ends the argument short by stomping over to the table, where 2 others are seen: An Espeon, and an Eevee. Willow looks at the family with one feeling: Awkwardness. 

"Uhm....Hi?"

Umbra immediately turns to Willow, holding an oil-covered spatula. Willow shutters her tail, shrinking into her outfit. 

"So. You're the person Juniperia brought in..." She looks Willow up and down. "...I recongize you. I see you while i'm out doing military work."

"Milita....ohhhhhhh! You mean the gyyyyyyyym...!"

"...Yes WHATEVER." She then goes back to cooking. Willow takes a seat at the table, looking obviously terrified. The Espeon lady looks at her in pity.

"Awwww...Don't be so scared...Umbra can be nice sometimes. She's just a little sandpapery." 

"Ooooh..."

"TSK! Esabella, you're being too nice for once. The little dirtball can tell Umbra's just a bitch."

Syrina gasps dramatically. "JUNI!!!! PLEASE! No swearing! You know how that gives me heart pupatations!! Not to mention Eevana is here!!!"

Willow turns to the kid, who looks back at her. They stick their tongue out at her, making the leafeon flinch. Willow then looks away, shyly. Suddenly, food is thrown in front of her, making her yelp.

"Eat up. I made bacon and eggs." Umbra stares daggers at her. Terrified for her life, Willow takes a taste of the eggs...and her ears shoot up. The eggs were good! She then tastes the bacon in disbelief, and her eyes shine, looking back up at Umbra.

"U-Umbraaaaa....is that your naaaame?!"

"Yes. Don't wear it out."

"THIS TAAAAASTES AMAAAAAAAAZING! T-THANK YOOOOOU!" she screams before pigging out. This causes Juniperia to cringe, but the others seem happy that she's eating normally. Umbra even cracks a smile, her ego being boosted from Willow's comment. 

"Heh. Whatever."

The group of eeveelutions all eat together, enjoying the breakfast. Even Juniperia, although she doesn't say she does. However, Willow starts to feel something under her feet...something...wet? 

"W....Whaaaaat?"

She looked down to see an incomprehensible creature. It seemed to look like an eeveelution, but quadrupedal. It looked up at her with its blank, black eyes. She shrieked and jumped out of her seat, landing on the floor. 

“W-W-W-WHAT IS THAT!?” She screams, pointing at the weird creature. It looks back up at her curiously, tilting its head. 

“Oh? That's our pet! It's name is Gæporeon! It's just an eeveelution just like us! Just you know, In pet form!” 

“P-P-Pet form...?” She looked back at it, concerned. She walks towards her, causing her heart to race. She sweated bullets as it bumps into her legs. It seems to be vibrating. “W-W-WHAT IS IT DOING?!”

“Uhh, Purring?” Umbra responded nonchalantly. “Have you ever purred before? It's kind of a normal thing, you know.” 

Syrina smiles, clapping her hands. “Awww look! I think he likes you! He almost never gets along with people that fast!” She then picks up the odd cat, putting it in Willow's lap. It purrs even harder from this. “Oh! This is so sweet!!! I should take a picture!!” 

Juniperia snickers, watching as Willow was obviously terrified. “Yeah! Maybe we should let her keep him at this point! She just LOVE him so much!” Willow shook her head no violently from her comment. 

“I C-C-CAN'T TAKE YOUR C-C-CAT!” 

Esabella stood up, taking Gæporeon off of Willow lap. Willow slumped down in relief as Esabella glared at everyone else. ”Guys, stop torturing our guest. She's obviously mortified, okay? Besides, Gæporeon is our cat! We can't just give him away! That would be cruel!“

”...and here comes the fun police. Bummer.“ Umbra mutters as she rolls her eyes. ”Alright fine. Willow, do you need help getting home?“ 

”Uuuuuh...“ Admittedly, she still felt a little weak from fainting. She also didn't really want to run into ANY more ice types after going through 99 floors of nothing but a winter horrorland. Her ears drooped as she looked at Umbra. ”I would liiiike it. It would meeeeean a lot to meeeee...“ Her tail was behind her legs, as she didn't want to seem like a burden. 

”Alright then. I'll take you back. Get your stuff and I'll take you back.“ 

”Whoaaaa! Umbra actually being nice for once?“ Esabella said smugly. Umbra hissed at her, unveiling her sharp teeth.

”Shut UP! I'm only doing this because she could have died out there!“ She whips her head back to Willow. ”Now COME ON, before I change my mind.“ The umbreon stomps away, the ground practically shaking as her feet pounded into the floor. Willow stood up, ready to go whenever. However, something made her stop before she could leave. She had smelled something. Something familiar to her. She then bent down to Juniperia, who was still sitting down. Juniperia flinched backwards as she was getting sniffed.

”W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? YOU HEATHEN! GET AWAY FROM ME! WHY ARE YOU SNIFFING ME?!“

Willow smiled at her, sending chills down Juniperia's spine. ”You're...like meeee, huh?“

”I am NOTHING like you! Now GET OUT OF HERE, BEFORE I CALL THE POLICE!“ 

Willow hummed as she left with Umbra, that same smile still on her face.

Syrina waved as she left. ”Goodbye miss! Come back soon! We'll miss you!”

“Will we?” Eevana responded. 

Chapter Text

This is Panny. Panny is the Guild-master for this island. She's known for being incredibly strict, and has a no nonsense mentality. She's hard on her workers, but that's because she wants them to be the best rescuers this island has. No one else will do it, after all. This island is riddled with criminals. Who cares if they're not doing anything right now?! Someone needs to take charge. Although, most of the missions this guild seem to get are fetch quests for lost items and children getting lost in the woods. It doesn't matter though. A job is a job, and Panny is here to make sure a job gets done.

Although lately, Miss. Panny has been slacking off. She's currently in her office. Instead of reading the paperwork piled on her desk, she's reading a comic. The comic is about a Minccino girl going on a huge adventure. Needless to say, Panny was invested. 

“Come on, Velvet...It's not that hard of a task. You've done it before, What's stopping...” She stops, gasping. “WHAT?! No way! That's-”

“Miss Panny?”

Panny gasps again, although this time from the interruption, rather than the comic. She hides the comic under her desk, sweating slightly. 

“Come in.” She stutters.

Don, the co-leader, walks into her office, rubbing his arms. 

“Have you seen the papers you've gotten today? They're awfully important, you know...”

“Can't you sign them? I've taught you how to forge my signature after all.”

“Miss Panny, this is important.”

Don picked up the papers laying on the top of the tower of documents, and began to read outloud.

”Dear Miss Panny. The Guild Association is here to remind you that you have an evaluation in the next week. Please be ready for it, as you will be physically tested.“

”Wait...EVALUATION?!“ Panny nearly stood up on her desk. ”I THOUGHT I DID THAT ALREADY!“

”Miss Panny, you know these happen every year. Years fly.“

”WELL“ She hesitated. ”I NEED MORE TIME! JUST SEND THEM THAT!“

”Miss Panny. The Guild Association would need a good excuse for that, and you know it.“

”WELL TELL THEM THAT BOTH OF MY LEGS ARE BROKEN!“

Don's stern look turned to one of concern.

“Are you nervous, Miss Panny? You've usually on top of these things. Normally, you're the one telling me to be ready for it.”

“I...” She looked down at herself. She's noticed she's let herself go in the past couple of years, but it's got really bad this year. She pouts at herself. 

“I'm just not ready yet! A good training session or two will put me in the right mindset, though! It always has!”

“Training, hm? Well let's have one then. 1 hour from now.”

“AN HOUR!?”

“Mhm. I'll see you then. Please try not to use all the hour to just read your comic...” Don then took his leave, leaving Panny very flabbergasted.

“...Who does he think he is?! Telling me what to do...”

An hour later, Don is preparing for a small spar. He's doing light stretches to prevent himself from hurting a muscle. He then sees Panny, looking like a shriveled raisin in the sun.

”How long has it been since you've gone outside, Miss. Panny?“

”Couldn't have been that long! When was that one expedition we did?!“ 

”Miss Panny. The last expedition we did was 6 months ago...“

Panny sat there in silence for a while. Has it been that long since she's gotten natural sun?! It couldn't have been! She's been outside since then! Like to go to the comic store! Although when it comes to actually doing her job outside of paperwork? She's been slacking on that.

She huffs, confident in herself regardless. ”I hope you're ready to get your ass beat, Don! This Minccino's been secretly training for MONTHS without anyone knowing!“

“Sure....” Don muttered, not believing her bluff...He then got into position. Luckily, while the guild didn’t have a specific training area, the area around it made for very good training, as long as no one minded being watched. Panny took a defensive pose herself.

“Alright, Don! Show me what you’ve got! Give me your STRONGEST attack!!” She chuckled, her tail wagging. She has a small plot with this fight. She planned to use Protect until he got tired, and then STRIKE! It was a foolproof plan! It always worked!

Don looked over at his both confused, but decided to strike with Quick Attack. It was futile, however, as Panny put up a shield already. She grinned while he looked unimpressed.

“Very clever, Guild-master…” Don muttered sarcastically. He could see where this was going, and he was not happy about it. Another Quick Attack, Another Protect. Another Quick Attack, Another Protect. He was beginning to get annoyed.

“Miss. Panny, do you really think that this is sufficient training?! You’re acting quite immature!”

“Well it’s working, isn’t it?! It’s great! No matter what you do, you can’t hit me!” She giggled as she attempted to make another shield. Unfortunately for her, her luck has just run out, as it failed to happen. 

“...Hubris.” Panny squeaked before being hit with a full force Double-Edge Attack. She was Knocked out instantly. Don panted as he held his arm, looking at her with a look of concern. 

“Miss. Panny…” Luckily, Don packed revives, since fainting was a common occurrence. 

“You really aren’t ready, aren’t you…You are going to need more than a couple of training sessions. You may need to go and do a few missions with the members to get you back to speed!”

“WHAT?!” Panny whined. “BUT…BUT I’M THE GUILD-MASTER! I CAN’T JUST-”

“I may be the Co-Master, but you are in NO position to run this guild if you can’t even fight. Come on, Miss. Panny. Maybe you’ll have some fun!” Don smiled, while offering his hand to her. Panny begrudgingly took it, pouting the entire time. 

“And so, for the week, Miss Panny will be available to go on missions with you all.”

The guild was filled with commotion as that was said. Panny had an annoyed smile on her face as she looked at everyone. Seeing who was in this guild, she wasn’t prepared to work with anyone in it. Don put a hand on her shoulder.

“There’s no need to be nervous, Miss. Panny. I will also make myself available for missions if it makes you feel better.”

A loud gasp was heard from that announcement. Turns out someone’s VERY happy about Don being available for missions.

“DONNY!!! WE CAN BE A TEAM TOGETHER!!! LIKE OH MY ARCEUS!!!” Biroa squealed, shaking in excitement at the thought. Devonie looked at her unimpressed. 

“Well someone’s excited…”

“Well DUH! It’s my DONNY! of course I am!!”

Don scratched his head, chuckling as he lightly blushed. Panny was the one to be unimpressed.

“You did that just to be with your GIRLFRIEND, DIDN’T YOU!!”

“Eheh. Maybe.”

Panny growled. This was a cruel set up! Of course Don would know who he wanted to pair up with, but she had no one! No one she wanted to work together with at least. She grabs Don's shoulder, fuming.

“COULD YOU AT LEAST GIVE ME AN IDEA OF WHAT TO DO?!” She screamed. Don shrugged.

“You're the guild-master, not me. You can choose your own party for a quest, alright? It shouldn't be that hard, you know.” 

”Shouldn't be that hard?!“Panny's tail flared up, but she immediately calms, becoming annoyed. “...Whatever.” 

Location: Frothy Woods

Frothy Woods was quite the wet place, almost littered with poisonous spikes that’ll make any healthy pokemon into a sick mess. Not the kind of place someone would wish to be unless they love the sludge. However, very nice treasure was usually found here. The mission Panny took up was no different: Get to the end of the dungeon and find the treasure. This would be no problem, really. Panny was well prepared with pecha berries. Poison wouldn’t be a problem, really. However...what was a problem was...The team she put together in a rush.

“I’ve made a severe mistake.”

The group she got together was a woman who didn’t even know her way around the island yet, a man terrified of even the quietest sounds, and the fastest chatterbox known to pokehuman kind. Somehow, this was the definitive team that she was working with. GREAT. She was cursing herself out internally from all of this. Don’t get me wrong, there ARE worse choices, but this wasn’t the best.

“This place might as well be a health hazard!”

“Are all of us susceptible to poison?” Zena asked, looking at her strange group of teammates.

“Well n-none of us are made of steel, so yes...I think…” Wurble replied, his voice shaking. He was obviously the most nervous to be here, his hands shaking. I mean, three very powerful people?! This was terrifying!

However, Devonie barely knew any of these people. Panny, yes. The weird boss who also gave her a bath that one time, but the other two are completely new. She tilted her head looking at them. Was this really the best kind of team to just go treasure hunting? They all seemed like fighters. Zena was super powerful physically, Wurble was a great counter, and Panny...Well she didn’t know what Panny could do, but she was scary. Basically...this group seemed overpowered.

Zena was just having a great time being here, despite the rest of the team seeming unsociable. It just meant she got to talk about whatever, and sometimes, they would even talk to her back! She was just happy to try and get people out of their comfort zones to have some fun, and it was slowly working with two of them! Eventually, she’ll get through to miss Panny! She just knows it!

Panny hated all of this. Why was she stuck with these idiots for this. This wasn’t training at ALL. Oh well. The good news is that they’ve almost reached the bottom of this floor. An Easy dungeon with an easy job, she could only hope the guild association tests could be this easy.

“For a dungeon rated fairly high, there isn’t much to do here. Just a lot of rooms, really.” Devonie mumbled. Why was this dungeon so important anyways?

“W-Well...that’s a good thing! If we can j-just go down a bunch of stairs and m-move through a bunch of rooms, we should be fine!”

Wurble’s hands shaked. It seemed like he was expecting to be jumped at any moment. He then yelped as Zena put her hand on his shoulder.

“Oh come on! We’re not going to have any problems! We’re almost done with this dungeon anyways!” The Hydreigon lady laughed. She was confident that the last room of this dungeon would be incredibly easy.

The number one rule of mystery dungeons is to NEVER let your guard down. Anything could happen.

The last floor, before hitting the bottom...seemed quiet.

“Alright!! I was right! Treasure, here we come!”

“WAIT.”

Panny put her hand beside Zena. Her ears twitched, listening into the eerie silence. It was so quiet...too quiet.

“...What is it, Miss. Panny?” Devonie asked.

“Never be lulled into a sense of security in a dungeon. You don’t know what could-”

Before she finished, she used the move swift, throwing a star into a bubbling puddle of poison. A grunt could be heard from the puddle.

“Eh?!” Zena jumped.

“GWAAH?!” Although, Wurble seemed even more nervous.

The mysterious figure jumped out of the puddle, revealing herself to be a Overqwil.

“Hm. Keen eyes, you have there. Are you always this paranoid? You should really-”

“Big Fish.” Devonie interrupted. The Overqwil looked incredibly annoyed at this.

“TSK!” Panny rolled her eyes. What was with this big fish!? “Big words for someone who’s ass is going to get kicked in two seconds.” Beat this bitch, get the treasure, LEAVE. That was Panny’s plan. It should be easy. Besides, the team she gathered was insanely strong! Even better there was a psychic type!

The Overqwil, however, had other plans. She got all up in Panny’s face as she snapped her fingers.

“Are you so sure about that, fluffy? My friends would love to talk to you before you leave~!”

Suddenly, a multitude of Qwilfish, Tentacruel, and a few fancy Weezings in the area! It was a monster house!? The gang was suddenly surrounded! The Overqwil kept Panny close, showing her the gang of pokemon.

“If you haven’t noticed, me and my guys wouldn’t really like it if you would just come into our home and rob us! You got to at least say hi to the locals, you know!~” She, and the other people laugh at the group. “Why don’t you get to know us, hmmm?”

Wurble, out of fright, clasps his hands together. It would be a good idea to get a Safeguard up! Therefore, it would be harder to be poisoned! Zena and Devonie can notice a veil mysterious surrounds them.

“What’s all this now?” Devonie tilted her head.

“A Safeguard! To protect us from any poisonous spikes or sludge from any of these guys!”

“Good Id-...G-Ghhhk…!” Panny face suddenly flushed purple. She struggled being so closed to the Overqwil woman. “W-Wha…?!”

“Hmmm? Did Ol’ Pira give you a little cold? I’m sorry!~”

Pira gave a cold chuckle looking down at the now poisoned minccino. Panny was angry, yet struggling to keep her footing. She held her stomach as she doubled over.

Zena had the right idea. “Miss. Panny! Here!” She threw over a pecha berry. Unfortunately, Pira caught it.

“Ahhh? A snack for me?! Lovely!” She ate the berry right in front of the team. “Mmmm!~ Sweet! Just like that face this little fluffball is making!~”

Pira grabs Panny face, staring right at her.

“Don’t you have somewhere better to be right now? Your little team seems occupied without you! Ahhh~ What’s a little pipsqueak like you doing with such powerful pokemon anyways? Can’t do a mission without them or something?”

Panny turned back to the rest of her crew-mates. While the safeguard was protecting them from poison, they were starting to get overwhelmed. The Qwilfish seemed to just come out of nowhere! The Weezings were giving even the dragon a hard time, and the Tentacruel were hard hitters. If she didn’t do anything, this could turn sour. But what could she do?!

There was one thing she could do. She didn’t like the idea of it, but it was a last resort.

“Wurble...You know protect...right?”

“AH!! Y-Yes, Miss. Panny…!”

“...Bring the girls into a h-huddle.” She struggled to say. “...You’re going to need it.”

“Huddle?” Devonie questioned before Zena suddenly brought her into one. No time for thinking about it! Just do it!

Pira tilted her head. “Hmmm? Rather protect your friends than yourself, fuzzy?”

“Hmm…” Panny chuckled, getting into a pose. “Shouldn’t have let your guard down, fish.”

Suddenly, she used a move that usually isn’t THIS powerful. It was an emergency tactic, taught by her grandfather. Panny used a room-spread attract!!

Almost everyone in the room had a heart thrown at them from Panny’s cutesy pose. The team could look onward as everyone else almost instantly fell under the spell. Even Pira. When Pira came to, she could see Panny again, but she was...different.

The minccino’s hair shined in the otherwise dark, damp area. She was weakened, but she was...adorable! She looked upwards to the Overqwil with saddened eyes.

“Ohh...Please help me...I’ve been poisoned so badly...All I want is some treasure…” Panny sniffled to seal the bag. “Ohh...Please? I...May give you a reward if you do…”

Pira’s face reddened. She was just so cute!

“D-Dear…”

“I’ll help you!” A Qwilfish interrupted.

“No me!” said a Weezing.

It was almost instantly a debate on who would help Panny. She could only think to herself

“Gosh. Can’t it be one person already? I’m about to faint…”

Out of panic, Pira snatches one of the already laid out Pecha berries from the team’s bag and throws it to Panny for her to eat. She even brings out a perosnal Sitrus berry!

“Ahh~! I’m so sorry any of this happened…! Tell you what. You won’t even need to go to the final floor. I’ll bring the treasure right no-”

Although she was interrupted by a very excited Tentacruel, who toppled over the woman and gifted the treasure.

Panny back to normal, takes the treasure. “Wow...Thank you…! Goodness, you’re all so kind!~”

Devonie, Wurble, and Zena all had the same feeling about this. It was useful, don’t get me wrong, but it was so sickening to see their boss act so cutesy. Panny, smug, hands the treasure over to Wurble before pulling out an Escape Orb.

“Ahhh...Let me tell you something before I leave, okay? It’s really important...” Panny’s eyes shimmered as she said this.

Pira perked up, pushing everyone out of the way. “Y-Yes…?”

“...I-…”

Before she could finish, however, she activated the Escape orb early, letting everyone in the team leave with a successful mission. Pira was devastated. She didn’t get to finished…!

“AHHH DAMN IT!” Panny screamed as they end up at the beginning of the dungeon.

“What’s wrong…?” Devonie asked.

“I was going to tell them that I deceived them! It was all a trick, you know! HMPH!”

“So, I see your job went well today, Miss Panny!”

“Mhm! Used the ol Fluffybottom trick to get them, you know?”

“...you used a war crime?”

“Whatever! What matters is that I’m set for the Guild Leader test!”

“...I thought that test was next week.”

Panny’s eyes widdened. “...Are you telling me you want me to do MORE jobs!?”

“It would help, you know.”

“…” The minccino deflates, thinking about it. “Just don’t send me to Frothy Woods, okay?”