Chapter Text
I couldn’t help but reexamine the contents of my bag again as we made our way through the village. The items I used for my playthrough of the post-game were missing, and I rechecked them twice over. From the oversupply of reviver seeds, max elixirs, and the wands I always spammed down hallways, they weren’t here. Noticing that I was rummaging through my bag, Saphi sighed to herself.
“We kept our load light when we came back here since we didn’t think we would go back into a Mystery Dungeon for a while,” Saphi responded before scanning her notepad, jotting down an additional bullet point at the bottom. “We only brought the bare essentials like food and water.”
“I… I see, so… which Mystery Dungeon are we going to?” I tried to divert the topic, not wanting to think about how I was the reason for this unexpected trip.
“Lush Forest. It’s one of the easiest and closest dungeons to explore,” she answered before I felt an auric connection in my head. |[Because of that, we’ll also have a lot of time to train you.]|
‘How much am I going to have to train?’ I mentally threw my question forward.
|[For now, enough where you won’t look like a moron in front of Maggy’s students.]|
That one hurt, but she was correct. All I technically knew was Fire Spin but I don’t even remember how that happened. All I knew was that as soon as I blanked out, I somehow launched a pillar of flame up to the stratosphere as if I were piercing the heavens.
I needed to know how to consciously use moves if I was going to survive in this world.
“Speaking of Magnolia’s students, do you have a lesson plan in mind?” I audibly asked, knowing it was safe to do so.
Saphi remained silent for a few seconds in thought before answering. “So far, I’m thinking of guiding them through the School Forest. The class is likely the same age as we were when Reid and I attended so I think I have a grasp on what to teach them.”
We eventually arrived back at the market we passed by this morning, and thanks to Saphi’s presence—and especially her glare—she deterred anyone from approaching us, giving us the privacy we desperately needed.
“The Kecleon Shop’s at the end,” Saphi spoke up as she pointed down the road. “C’mon, let’s go.”
When we came to the front deck of the store, the first thing I noticed was that the clerk for the business wasn’t the store’s namesake. A single smeargle stood in a kecleon’s place, sorting items on the shelves in the back. They wore an apron with a logo of a kecleon’s smiling face, but there wasn’t a kecleon around. It was odd to not see them in a store with a massive lizard face on the front.
‘Do they hire other pokémon or somethin—’
|[The Kecleon Shop is a brand store on multiple continents. They can’t hire every kecleon on the planet,|] Saphi quickly interrupted, her ears twitching as she sent the correction.
‘Oh,’ I mentally nodded as the smeargle turned around to the front desk, their eyes widening immediately.
“T-Team Luminis! I-It’s a pleasure to see you!” His jaw dropped before he closed it hastily, tidying his apron out and beaming a bright smile. “How may I help you today?”
“We’d like to restock on multiple items, I have a list right here,” Saphi handed her notepad, the page already flipped over.
Smeargle took a moment to skim the notepad before looking up at us. “Y-Yes! We have these items in stock, I’ll get them immediately!”
As Smeargle scrambled through various chests and cabinets, collecting select items over time, I turned around and gazed down both ends of the street, taking in the medieval-esque atmosphere.
I hadn’t realized until now, but my eyesight had gotten marginally better as well. I never had bad eyesight as a human, but with the eyes I have now, I could’ve considered my previous eyes to be somewhat inferior. From every little crack in the cobblestone path to the tufts of hair on a pokémon from far away, I made it all out.
The same thing went for my massive ears as well with how acute my hearing was. Thankfully, I quickly adjusted to how loud everything was, so now I didn’t flinch at any sudden sounds like pokémon shouting from across the road, which constantly rang out from all the store owners advertising their low prices on goods.
“…And I believe that’s everything!” Smeargle placed the last two apples in front of them beside the pile of items. “Adding up the cost, your total will be two thousand and five hundred poké!”
“That much?” Saphi questioned, sticking her hand into her bag. “Have prices been going up for Stayaway Wands?” She commented as she took out the requested amount and placed it on the counter.
“Sorry, but this is the lowest price we can offer for those,” he apologized as he placed the coins into a register. “They’re a popular item amongst travelers and Guild members so demand is always high.”
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, it’s always handy for travelers to have a few of them,” Saphi nodded as she and I grabbed the items and placed them into our bags. “It helps a lot to keep Echo Pokémon off of anyone’s tai—”
“My child! Could you please find her?!”
Saphi and I turned in the direction of the voice and saw a bellossom feverishly speaking with a pidgeot. They had a badge pinned on their chest, the design oddly similar to that of what a police officer would wear. Upon closer inspection, I noticed underneath the logo was the name ‘Gale.’
“Ma’am, please, I need you to explain clearly and concisely,” Gail tried to console her, waving his wings to calm her down.
“I— My child! She disappeared from my house when I woke up and— Oh I don’t know what to do!” Bellossom sank to the floor, covering her tear-ridden face with her hands.
The desire to approach her and offer my help surged within me, but Saphi was faster and had already stepped in before I could.
“Ma’am, do you know where your child might have gone?” Saphi knelt to her knees, her ears perked forward in concern.
Bellossom slowly tilted her head up, her face shifting from despair to shock as she gaped at the two of us. “M-Miss Saphi! Mister Reid! How— Why—”
“Do you know where your child might have gone?” Saphi calmly repeated herself. “Anything will be of help.”
After taking a deep breath, Bellossom soon responded, albeit with a wavering voice. “W-Well, I do remember the last conversation we had last night as I tucked her to bed. I told her we were going to have her favorite berry pancakes with honey but I said I needed to go buy some since we ran out and— Oh no,” Bellossom covered her mouth with widened eyes. “Oh, Arceus no…”
“What’s the matter?” Gail then faced Saphi. “What’d she mean by that?”
“Her child must’ve left to go find honey—” Saphi turned to the officer.“—And there’s a lot in—”
“—Nectar Meadow,” I finished Saphi’s sentence, remembering the plot point in the game’s earlier chapters.
This sounded all too familiar.
“N-Nectar Meadow?!” Bellossom gasped in fear. “But all the combee and beedrill! They— They’ll—!”
“Ma’am, please stay calm,” Saphi reassured her, standing up and thumping her paw on her chest. “Team Luminis will find your child.”
“R-Really?” Bellossom choked out, hope flickering in her tearful eyes. “Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!”
“With the two of you, I know you’ll definitely find her child,” Gail nodded as he laid a wing down at an angle, allowing Bellossom to climb aboard and sit on his back. “I’ll fly around the town with her in case her child hasn’t left too far.”
“Thank you for your help, officer,” Saphi nodded with a smile as he gradually ascended into the air before her gaze briefly turned to me. |[We’ll have to multitask with your lesson, but finding her child is a priority.]|
‘Alright,’ I nodded back, my claws curling in determination.
Before we could head off towards the village’s exit, a voice shouted from behind us.
“Wait!” Smeargle ran up to us, carrying a blue orb in his hands. “I noticed that you didn’t buy any escape orbs but I hope this’ll help with finding Bellossom’s child!”
I took his gift and lifted it to eye level, watching as the sunlight streamed through, casting a pleasant blue hue beneath it. The orb turned out to be much smaller than I had imagined; I had pictured it as large as a crystal ball. Instead, it fit comfortably in the palm of my h— my paw.
“Thank you,” I safely tucked the glistening sphere away. “We’ll find her child quickly.”
“Let’s head out now,” Saphi tilted her head down the road. “We shouldn’t waste any more time.”
With a single nod, we swiftly left the scene with Saphi taking the front, leading us to the closest exit of Serene Village.
With the plan now altered, Saphi and I were now on our way to a completely different Mystery Dungeon. Given the dire situation of a lost child all alone in Nectar Meadows, we had to move quickly so once we were a distance away from Serene Village, we dashed towards our destination, going through vast plains and thick forest paths.
Back home, I wasn’t athletic by any means. I never had the best stamina or strength, but I certainly wasn’t the worst. In terms of physicality, I was as average as I could be.
Now though, I barely broke a sweat when I should’ve collapsed long ago.
I didn’t know what posture to hold as I ran, but after noticing Saphi with her body low and her arms positioned behind for less wind resistance, I decided to mimic her. She either didn’t notice or didn’t want to comment on it, and either one was fine by me.
I chose to overlook the awkwardness and social implications of my running posture. The difference between running with my arms behind me and without was scarily noticeable, leaving me with no valid reason to avoid it. Now that I was in a world inhabited only by pokémon, running like an anime character was the last thing for me to be surprised about.
Saphi glanced sideways at me, her face impassive as she kept her swift pace.
“What’s on your mind?” she asked, her voice steady through our sprint.
“I’m… still weirded out about how good my stamina is…” I responded without any shortness of breath.
“How bad is a human’s stamina then?”
Briefly glancing back, I guesstimated the distance to answer her question. “I probably wouldn’t have made it halfway to the fork in the road we passed by a while ago,” I frowned at the fact. The best runners in human history likely wouldn’t have made it as far as we did, and that slightly unnerved me.
A few minutes later, I noticed a tinge of thirst rising from my throat. Even with all the supplies we packed, we never got any water to bring. Despite the lack of any fatigue, I knew my body needed something to drink soon.
“Are you thirsty?” Saphi asked, eyeing me down.
“A bit,” I responded, rubbing my neck, shifting a bit uneasily. “I haven’t had anything to drink since my coffee.”
“There should be a water source up ahead,” Saphi explained, pointing down the road. “We can take a quick drink before continuing.”
As we resumed our journey along the winding path, Saphi and I paused in a quiet clearing nestled in the center of the forest. Before us stretched a serene pond, its surface gleaming in the dappled sunlight from the tree’s leaves. On the far bank, a small waterfall cascaded from a hidden river above. Saphi strode past me and knelt by the edge of the pond, placing her bag behind her. Before I could tell her to wait, she already started drinking by using her paw as cups.
Saphi turned her body toward me with an expectant look. “What are you waiting for? Water’s right here.”
“How do you know if the water is safe?” I nervously eyed the surface, stepping a little closer. “Don’t you have to boil it first?”
“Why would you do that?” She tilted her head, raising a brow in confusion.
“To kill the germs?” I answered, flustered. “This is a natural source of water, so there’s gotta be bacteria in there.”
Saphi sighed, her shoulders lowering in exasperation. “Is this a human thing?”
“Is this not a Pokémon thing?” I asked back, still puzzled, my brows knitting together.
“Unless there’s a Miasma user like a Muk lurking around here—and it’s really easy to know they’re around by smell alone—then this water’s perfectly fine,” Saphi confidently took another sip, her gaze never leaving me as she spoke. “See?”
How healthy was a pokémon’s body compared to a human’s? Although I still felt uncertain, her confidence in the matter was evident. I brushed aside my fur coat and knelt beside her by the bank, setting my bag down beside me. Leaning forward, I studied my reflection in the water before me, the second time I had done so since my arrival, and the first time without panicking.
This was really what I looked like now, a tall, golden, and slightly effeminate fox with fire powers. I knew I was still a guy, but I knew the internet’s perception of delphoxes made them female, and the design of braixens didn’t help either.
I placed a paw on my face, feeling the fur on the side. Seeing the reflection follow along somewhat unsettled me, but I knew I needed to get used to it like how I had to for everything else around me.
“I know Reid has a handsome face, but are you going to drink now?” Saphi spoke, her words pulling me out of my trance.
Realizing that she had been patiently waiting for me, I apologized and quickly dipped my paws into the cool water and after cupping a handful out, I hesitantly brought it to my mouth and took a single sip.
This… This was the cleanest water I had ever drunk in my life. With how fresh this tasted, bottled and tap water back home could be compared to drinking sludge. I took another sip, the refreshing flavor surpassing my first one. The only conclusion I had for why this was so good was the lack of human activity with pollution. Was this supposed to be what water truly tasted like?
After a few more drinks, I had my fill of spring water, enough to satisfy me for the rest of the day. The fur on my arms was drenched from how many times I had dunked them into the pond. I shook the excess water off of them, making sure to not hit Saphi with any of the water particles. As I finished wringing the fur under my forearm, I noticed Saphi flinging her bag onto her shoulder, her eyes fixed on me with an unreadable expression.
“I need to ask again, but do you really not know what Echo Pokémon are?” she asked as she adjusted the strap. Her eyes searched mine, gauging my reaction. “We learned about this when Reid and I were in school. Did you not learn it either?”
I stood there, trying to think if I somehow missed the name somewhere. I only remembered a few variants that Pokémon could be categorized into, like ‘Regional Pokémon’ for modern titles, ‘Shadow Pokémon’ in that spinoff, or even ‘Paradox Pokémon’ from that one newer game… but ‘Echo Pokémon?’ Nothing rang a bell in my head.
“No, I never did,” I admitted. “What makes Echo Pokémon different from other pokémon?”
“How do I put this…” Saphi muttered, tapping her arm rhythmically as she gathered her thoughts. “I might as well start explaining how Mystery Dungeons work…”
From her bag, Saphi took out the Expedition Gadget, and with a single tap, opened up the World Map, zooming closer into a forest. Two dots stood side by side next to a pond—our exact location.
“Most Mystery Dungeons are theorized to form because of major naturally occurring energy imbalances,” she explained, swiping the map and focusing on Nectar Meadow. “It destabilizes the environment and eventually forms an enclosed area of distortion divided by a barrier.”
“What do you mean by ‘most?’” I asked, tilting my head. “Is every Mystery Dungeon not created the same?”
“Few are artificially made by Mythical or Legendary Pokémon as domains,” Saphi tapped a claw against the orb. “Some dungeons are made for a reason, such as Jirachi’s Wish Cave to test adventurers or Temporal Tower to maintain the stability of time.”
Continuing on, she glanced at me briefly before focusing back on the map. “For the natural Mystery Dungeons, they all function like they’re alive. When someone from outside enters, they do everything they can to kick us out.”
I tilted my head, considering her words. “Is that why they’re randomly generated?”
“By ‘randomly generated,’ you mean the layout is different every time, then yes, it is,” Saphi confirmed, adjusting the map’s view. “An ever changing maze scares many pokémon away from it, even if Echo Pokémon weren’t around. ”
She then turned her attention to the sounds of the forest surrounding us—the gentle rustling of leaves, the cheerful chirping of birds, and the buzzing of insects. Her ears twitched as she took in the ambiance before speaking again. “If this forest were to become a Mystery Dungeon, it would manifest the memories tied to the land itself, creating copies of the Pokémon that live here. In this case, this hypothetical Mystery Dungeon would have Florentis, Aerova, and Entomara Echo Pokémon.”
Florentis, Aerova, and Entomara? Thankfully, given the context, I knew which Pokémon types she was referring to now. I nodded slowly, realization settling in. Saphi’s eyes briefly narrowed, as if she could see the gears turning in my head. With a sigh, she shook her head and continued.
“You’ll see when we enter Nectar Meadow that besides the hive that lives inside, the Echo Pokémon there are feral and will attack on sight,” she stated, her expression firm. “I’ll tell you how to spot the difference when we get there.”
“Wait, why are they feral if the hive inside is fine?” I asked, furrowing my brow. “Shouldn’t they be sapient if they’re a copy of Pokémon?”
Saphi folded her arms and exhaled through her nose. “Intelligence is the one thing that Mystery Dungeons can’t replicate. Their ferality is what defends Mystery Dungeons against explorers, and they have a kind of relationship that benefits each other. It’s the same reason why Nectar Meadow lets the hive live inside. The combee and beedrill pollinate the flowers inside for the Mystery Dungeon and in return, it provides protection from outside forces.”
“So that’s how Mystery Dungeons work…” I breathed out, letting the new knowledge settle in. “I’ve been wondering for so long…”
Saphi shrugged. “I see. Well, we need to start moving again. We’ve spent too long here.”
As she stretched her legs, preparing to sprint, I hesitated to wave my hand to grab her attention again, but she noticed anyway and turned to face me, suddenly losing any confidence I had earlier. I knew I needed to thank her for teaching me—I had learned so much in just one conversation. Saphi hadn’t said it outright, but I knew she probably wasn’t thrilled about reteaching common knowledge to someone as clueless as me.
And I still hadn’t forgotten that I was in the body of her closest partner. I had been acting too casually. I needed to dial it down.
“Hey, Saphi…” I muttered, forcing myself to meet her gaze.
She paused, eyes flicking back to me. “What?”
“Thanks for explaining all of this to me,” I said earnestly, rubbing the back of my neck. “I know you—”
“—Don’t… Don’t thank me.” Saphi interrupted, looking away from me. “I told you I was going to teach you, and I did. That’s all.”
“But I— Ok…” I dropped my gaze to the ground. I didn’t speak of my gratitude any further.
We didn’t speak a word for the rest of the journey, but I hoped she understood how much I appreciated her.
I really do.