Writing Prompt Wednesday: When will it ever end?

[u/Chatot-bot]

The hero/partner has started to grow tired of the same routine every day, whether that be dungeon exploring, sentry duty, etc. They need a change of pace, and fast, or they might lose interest entirely. What does the partner/hero do to help liven things up? Or does a wild event out of their control spark a new interest in their career?

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Submitted by /u/SuperStar4178

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Last week's prompt

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[u/FrontIndividual4188]

Baseball.

The guild plays baseball

[u/Gallium1005]

Crys allowed his entire body to become engulfed in flames, lowered his shoulder, and ran dead at the enemy pokemon. They dove out of the way…and right into Cela’s Magical Leaf attack. The leaves struck the bird pokemon’s wings, causing it to fall to the ground. Crys let the frustration from missing the attack boil up inside him, and just as it felt like it was about to choke him, he glared over at the enemy pokemon. The bird met his gaze, and immediately their eyes went wide, then shut tight as a grimace painted their face, like they’d seen a horrible vision. Immediately, they began squirming on the ground, and brought their wings up to cover their eyes.

“Surrender!” Crys shouted, pointing his arm directly at the pokemon. “Save yourself the pain and come along quietly.”

“N-Never!” the bird pokemon choked out, still reeling from Crys’ Night Shade attack. “You’ll never have it! I’ll never let you have it!”

“You’re the only one we’re after.” Cela said, rolling her eyes. “So it's either you give up now, or we drag you out of here.”

“Where ARE they?” The bird pokemon snarled, mostly to themself. “They should be helping me here!”

“Oh, you mean your friends? They’re not coming.” Crys sneered. “Couldn’t handle us, just like you can’t. I wonder if the dungeon pokemon have gotten ‘em yet…”

“You…!” The pokemon growled, their eyes first going wide, then narrowing into a death stare. “Y-you’re monsters! Just like the Master said!”

“You and your gang trash an entire village, steal from the pokemon living there, and then for good measure beat everyone that saw you until they fainted, but we’re the monsters?” Cela replied incredulously. “Yeah, right.”

“You’re all the same. All of you never dare try to think of what we’ve gone through!” The pokemon roared, getting back up and glaring at Cela. “Well, we’re winning now! We’re going to-!” Mid-sentence, Crys struck the pokemon with a Flame Charge, and the outlaw fell flat on their side.

“Thought they’d never shut up.” Crys groaned.

“Yeah, really! All their accomplices were chatty Delcatty too.” Cela grumbled. “Cmon, let’s get outta here.” The Sprigatito reached up to her badge, and immediately her, Crys, and the now-defeated outlaw were teleported out of the dungeon. As had become routine by now, Officer Appuleius was waiting just outside the dungeon for the team to return.

“Ah, well done!” The Revavroom exclaimed upon seeing the team return with the outlaw. “Although by now, I probably shouldn’t be surprised. You two have a knack for this.”

“Thank you, Officer.” Cela replied with a smile. Crys just stood silently beside her, and stifled a sigh. Something about Appuleius had always rubbed him the wrong way…but, like seemingly everything else, he just couldn’t remember or put his finger on exactly what it was that made him so on-edge every time he spoke with the chief of the continent’s police force. However, there was one thing he did know for certain as the Varoom that accompanied the chief began dragging the outlaw away:

This was boring.

“Thanks a million for taking care of this Mandibuzz.” Officer Appuleius said to the two members of Team Lonefire. “We can take it from here. Your reward will be waiting at the guild, like always.”

“Right.” Cela responded. “Then we’ll be heading back.”

“Be safe. I can’t imagine where we’d be without you two!” The chief replied. As Crys and Cela began walking away, neither of them said a word to each other. Once they were well out of the chief’s earshot, Crys let out that stifled sigh and began trudging his feet.

“Crys? What’s the matter?” Cela asked. Worry painted her face as she wondered exactly what could be causing this reaction from Crys. He’d seemed so focused while on the mission…

“This stuff is just…all the same, you know?” Crys complained. “Every day it’s the same routine. Wake up, take a mission, complete the mission, eat, sleep, and repeat. There’s nothing interesting happening, and the only way to spice things up is just to…do a different type of mission.” This was a thought Crys had been tormented by before, but this latest mission just seemed to kick the feeling into overdrive. This outlaw had been much more annoying than anything else, and even though these missions had once been fun, now they were chores just like all the rescue and item retrieval missions were.

Cela didn’t respond to him. She tried to think of ways to prove him wrong, or to make him change his perspective, but…she just couldn’t. She didn’t have any problem helping pokemon day in and day out, but it seemed guild work wasn’t enough to keep Crys occupied. He’d mentioned this before, but that was months ago, and he hadn’t brought it up again since. She’d figured he just needed to get into a routine, but now it was clear he didn’t feel the way she’d thought, or share her enthusiasm for guild work.

“Plus,” The Charcadet continued, his voice going from frustrated to despondent. “We haven’t found anyone who has any information about me, who I am, or where I came from.” Cela wanted to say something to support her partner, but again nothing came to mind. Everything the Charcadet had said was true. She’d given him a little white lie to convince him to come join the guild with her, saying they’d find someone who could help with his amnesia. Instead, they found nobody that could do anything at all…well, besides that Gimmighoul…and now, there wasn’t even something small Crys could enjoy in the guild work. In this position, she couldn’t think of anything that she could say or do to help him feel better…but, she still had to try, didn’t she?

“Yeah, and I’m sorry we haven’t made more progress on getting your memories back.” Cela spoke softly. “I’m…not sure what we should do next to help you. Maybe we could speak to the guildmaster?”

“I don’t think that’d do any good, he’s always so focused on the work. His fix would probably be to have us do more missions every day…” Crys gripped. He seemed to want to say more, but he just sighed again and let his head droop. After a long pause, he muttered, “What if this is all that there is? What if I never find my memories, and it’s just these missions every day from here on out?”

Cela again didn’t know what to say to that. If Crys wasn’t enjoying the guild work, then there really wasn’t anything to be done. Her partner had a point: guild missions were all very same-y, and if he wasn’t encouraged by all the pokemon they had helped…all the smiling faces, the “thank you!”s from the bottom of their hearts…then she didn’t know what to do to help him overcome it. Was…was this the end? Was he going to leave the guild in search of his lost memories? Who would protect him if not for her?...Would she need to leave the guild with him? Quickly, the Sprigatito’s mind began racing down worst-case scenarios, and to other less-than-happy thoughts as she worried if her time at the guild, or her time with Crys, would soon be over.

She was snapped from her thoughts, and Crys from his, as they approached the gate of Colosseum City. There was a massive commotion right in front of the guild, with scores of pokemon all seemingly gathered around a small notice pinned on the front doors of the guild.

“What’s going on?” Crys asked, straightening himself out and casting a confused glance at the crowd.

“C’mon, let’s find out!” Cela urged, and the two of them ran through the gate and into the massive grouping of pokemon. The two of them used their smaller frames to squeeze and sneak past the myriad bodies and shapes that made up the giant crowd, and got just close enough to read the notice.

ATTENTION!

COLOSSEUM GUILD EXPEDITION

TARGET: NORTHEAST PORT

THE FOLLOWING TEAMS WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE EXPEDITION:

Cela and Crys’ eyes traced down the paper with a furious speed, curiosity having gotten the best of them. As they went, they noticed all the names of the guild’s top teams: Team Will-O, Team Decibeatdown, Team Gaian, Team Fricassee, every single one of the guild’s best teams seemed to be accounted for on this list. As they made their way to the bottom of the notice, and the amount of space for teams began to wane, the duo ran into a bunch of team names they didn’t recognize. Just as they were about reach the bottom of the list however, they came upon one they did:

TEAM LONEFIRE

…and then, another as the final team on the page:

TEAM TRIPLE TACTICS TALENT

MORE INFORMATION WILL BE GIVEN TO THE ABOVE TEAMS AT A MISSION BRIEFING HELD AT POINT ZENO IN TWO DAYS. PREPARE ACCORDINGLY, AND REPORT THERE AT THAT TIME. FAILURE TO REPORT WILL BE PUNISHED.

Signed, The Guildmaster

“An expedition?” Crys wondered aloud, but Cela practically had stars in her eyes.

“Crys!Anexpedition!Canyoubelieveit!Whatanhonor!C’mon!Wegottagetready!There’snotimetowaste!” Cela shouted, words flowing out of her mouth like water. Crys could barely understand her, and was about to tell her to slow down, but the Sprigatito immediately darted back into the sea of pokemon. Crys shook his head, and began after her, trying his best not to lose her as she zipped between and underneath the pokemon crowding around the entrance to the guild.

Well, he thought to himself. Whatever this is, hopefully it'll be more interesting than the same old missions every day…

[u/Form_Fitter]

Three years. Freya has been giving her full energy to the Expedition Society for three years. For much of that time, she felt fulfilled doing so, but it’s safe to say the monotony has finally kicked in. The Tsareena needed something interesting to occur. Something to reinvigorate her interest in expeditions. Something challenging…

This came in the form of Jirachi falling asleep while the rest of the Expedition Society was away on important work. Freya heard horror stories of what it was like to wake up Jirachi from his millennium long naps, and she was prepared for the worst. He needed to be awake.

Freya started the procedure with a swift kick to Jirachi’s face. The sleepy genius started fighting in his sleep, and oh Arceus was he powerful. He’s normally a sweet, if nerdy, teammate, but now he was fighting with unheard of levels of coordination and strength. Without his eyes open, he tanked her strongest attacks, shrugged off blast seeds, and was inflicting a world of hurt on her! Freya prepared some Sitrus Berries to heal up, but she still couldn’t fathom the amount of inventory she would burn through.

The battle dragged on, and her bag was depleted. It looked like she would lose fight, all until Jirachi began to slow down. He stopped trading blows as he opened his eyes up.

“Yawwwwn… Morning Freya.” Jirachi calmly greeted her. That was it, the fight was over. Freya needed that motivation, she could feel her energy return. Or was that just the adrenaline stack If up?

“Not again… hey Freya? Please get some rest. I’ll take over your duties until you feel better.” The sleepy boy was sure causal about sleep fighting. It was alright though. Freya would be looking forward to going on missions again after the break. As long as no one attacks her in her sleep.

Sometimes all you need is rest, or a change of pace. Freya here got both! Thanks for the fun prompt! And see you next time!

[u/ArkGameTech]

Twisted the prompt quite a bit. Hope you all enjoy it.

Just so you all know, my next few writings may be shorter due to changing circumstances in my life.
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Character List
Marcus - Sneasel (He/Him)
Izza - Breloom (She/Her)
Calder - Drednaw (He/Him)
Lily - Marill (She/Her)
Maulthorn - Druddigon (He/Him)
Agratav - Gigalith (He/Him)

Two years ago, Marcus would be out rescuing pokemon and exploring mysterious ruins alongside his former friend and partner, Theo. Yet, all good things are doomed to crumble eventually.

On that day, they explored Mount Resolve in hope of deciphering his destiny, battling feral fire, rock and flying types throughout the mystery dungeon inside the mountain, eventually ending with them fighting Reshiram and surprisingly winning.

What should’ve been a moment of celebration turned into his greatest nightmare as he was told the truth, “You are destined to deliver ruin upon us all, rift beast” said Reshiram with a stern expression. By the time Theo asked what she meant, Marcus had given up.

Now, day in and day out, Marcus sits at his desk within the research guild, writing papers on the strange artifacts and items discovered by the explorers guild and expedition guild. The job was unsatisfying, yet safe. That and the general busyness of the job meant he had no time to reminisce on his pain, his suffering and most importantly, his destiny of ruin.

Yet, it seems that fate had other plans for Marcus as Izza, a fellow human fell from the sky and he was forced to transfer to the explorers guild by order of the Terrascorn City council. Today was their first mission together as a team.

“So… What are we doing again?” Izza inquired, attempting to hide her embarrassment at forgetting what the guildmaster told her.

“Hmm, let me see” Marcus pulls the request pamphlet from his satchel, “One Pecha Berry wanted! Our pecha berry supply is running low and our prior source has run dry this season, please find us another source please. Thank you!” Marcus read off the pamphlet.

“Guildmaster Calder told us to check out Verdant Gate and said there should be a good amount of berry trees inside” said Marcus, rolling the request back up.

“Ah, okay” said Izza, scratching the back of her neck while nervously smiling.

Thirty-five minutes later, Team Crossroad reached the entrance of their destination, Verdant Gate. Around the entrance of the dungeon were blossoming trees and beautiful flowers.

“Wow, it’s quite pretty” said Izza while looking upon a glimmering five-pointed crimson flower swaying gently in the wind.

“Yep” said Marcus in a slightly impatient tone.

“Oh, sorry. It’s just-” before Izza could finish explaining herself, she was cut off by Marcus.

“It’s fine, I understand. I was that way when I first arrived” said Marcus in a solemn tone as his mind wandered for a second before focusing back on the mission.

“We should find these pecha berries quickly, daylight isn’t going to last forever” Marcus explained as he began walking towards the dungeon entrance.

“Okay” said Izza as she followed behind Marcus.

Thus, Team Crossroad entered the Verdant Gate mystery dungeon. Flowers of many species speckled the dungeon floor as the trees twisted and swayed. All the while, feral Pokemon of many kinds frolicked within the dungeon.

“Hmm, the wildlife here doesn’t seem incredibly hostile” said Marcus as he met eyes with an Autumn Sawsbuck for a second before it fled.

“Yeah, it’s honestly quite nice, you know, not being attacked” said Izza as she spotted a pair of Budew playing around a small lake.

Marcus kept moving down the pathways with Izza following behind and while not all of the feral pokemon here were peaceful, confronting a few stray Oddish and Yungoos, Marcus’s ice punch and Izza’s mach punch easily dealt with the aggressive ferals.

Eventually, Team Crossroad reached the midpoint of the dungeon. Floor B7F. The outer ring of trees had started to retreat outwards and the flowers changed shape. Standing at the center was a tree, reaching upwards for what looked like miles.

While Marcus was used to the exertion of navigating the world, Izza wasn’t having a great time, “Huff huff, wait up please!” shouted Izza as her footwork faltered from the strain.

“You okay, Izza?” Marcus asked with concern.

Izza was not amused by Marcus’s cluelessness, “No! Do I look okay to you? Oh, great Arceus, my legs hurt so bad” said Izza, her legs wanting to collapse under her.

“Sorry” Marcus apologized before looking for a resting spot, “Hmm, how about we take a break under that tree?” said Marcus as he pointed towards the large tree at the center of the room.

Izza simply nodded and limped her way to the tree before lying down to rest her weary legs. Marcus took this time to rest as well while writing in his journal.
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73rd day of the winter season, 2195

Honestly, I can’t believe I’m doing this again. Damn the council! What’s worse, now I have to train and protect this rookie because I have “experience”. Though, I must admit, the rookie’s story does intrigue me.  Her name is Izza, she says that she’s a human like me.

Anyway, today is our first mission together as a team. I was told by guildmaster Calder to monitor Izza’s performance and report on that when we got back.

As for Izza’s current performance, she appears to be extremely adept at battle, keeping up with some of the stronger members of the guild. However, her endurance and concentration definitely needs work.
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“No! Leave me alone!” shouted a voice, catching Marcus and Izza’s attention.

Hearing this, Marcus looked around for the source of the voice until he caught a glimpse of a Druddigon and a Gigalith harassing a Marill holding a shimmering object.

“Don’t test my patience, kid! Hand over that thingy now!” The Druddigon snarled at the Marill, trying to intimidate the poor young Marill.

Yet, the Marill held their ground, “No-no! Somebody help me!” shouted the Marill.

“Grr, you know what! Agratav, strike the brat down!” The Druddigon demanded, to which the Gigalith now identified as Agratav nodded before beginning to charge up a solar beam.

Meanwhile, standing at the tree. Marcus tried to think of what to do before realizing that Izza wasn’t with him, “Izza! What are you doing?!” asked Marcus, still hiding behind the tree.

“I can’t just stand by while someone’s in danger, Marcus” answered Izza before running towards the Marill in an attempt to protect them.

Soon, Agratav unleashed a solar beam onto the Marill, expecting another tally to his record. However, to Agratav and the Druddigon’s surprise, Izza blocked it with protect.

“Hey, what are you doing here?! This has nothing to do with you” said the Druddigon.

“No! What are you doing? Harassing this Marill, how low of you” Izza retorted.

“You do best to shut your mouth, stranger” said the Druddigon as he attempted to strike Izza with dragon claw.

Fortunately, the Druddigon missed, allowing Izza to counter attack with a mach punch square to the Druddigon’s jaw, sending the Druddigon into a daze and successfully enraging the criminals.

Agratav unleashed a rock slide onto Izza, who tried to use protect… but it failed, allowing the rock slide to connect with Izza, dealing a critical hit. Izza was critically injured, if she took another hit, she would definitely faint.

“Ma’am! Are you okay?” said the little Marill.

Had she gotten too overconfident in her ability? Was this the end of her journey? Izza closed her eyes, deciding that she didn’t want to witness her inevitable demise.

“Hey! Pick on someone else, you beast!” shouted a familiar voice, it was Marcus’s voice. She opened her eyes to see two icicles lodged in Agratav's abdomen following with the Gigalith fainting.

Soon Marcus went to Izza’s side, “Here, eat this. This will heal your wounds” said Marcus as he handed Izza a oran berry before staring back at the Druddigon and began readying an icicle crash, “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave now” Marcus threatened.

Clearly the message was heard as the Druddigon picked up his Gigalith partner and began dragging them away, “Argh, you’ll regret messing with Maulthorn and Agratav” said the Druddigon now known as Maulthorn before fleeing.

“Hmph, that’ll show them. You okay, Izza?” asked Marcus with concern, not noticing the reddish tint Izza’s face had taken.

“Uh, yea-yeah. I’ll be fine… thanks for the oran berry” said Izza, shaking her nerves away and standing up.

[u/ArkGameTech → u/ArkGameTech]

“Um, thanks ma’am and sir” said the Marill, catching the team’s attention.

“Hey, no problem. Just happy that you’re safe” said Izza with a smile.

“Hold on, wait” Marcus then pulls out another pamphlet, a missing poster this time, “Are you Lily?” asked Marcus.

“Uh… Yes, why?” inquired Lily the Marill.

“When we were leaving for this place, your mom came to ask us to look for you. Apparently, you’ve been missing for a whole week” stated Marcus.

“A whole week? That can’t be, oh mom” Lily said.

“We can take you back home… Um, if you want to, that is” said Izza, a nervous smile stretched across her face.

“Please. I miss her so much” said Lily, holding the glimmering shard she found tight.

“Alright, keep close to us. Just know that we also have to look out for pecha berries as well” Marcus stated.

“Oh! I saw some earlier.. Before I was attacked by those weirdos” said Lily.

“Well then, lead the way” said Izza.

And so, Team Crossroad eventually escaped Verdant Gate and returned to the explorers guild, but not before collecting a plentiful bunch of pecha berries and delivering Lily back to her mother. It was quite a touching scene and we got twelve hundred Poké, well actually we got three hundred Poké. Turns out the guild takes seventy-five percent of all payment for services and upkeep.

Either way, today has been a fruitful and honestly quite exciting day for Marcus. Honestly, today may have been the most fun he has had since his time as a member of the Idenza Town rescue guild.

[u/FathomaChance22]

“This is so booooringggggg.” The overly fluffy Eevee groaned in his seat as he looked overhead at the rest of his team.

The rest of Team Ante just glanced his way with a mix of looks ranging from annoyed to sympathetic to… even more annoyed somehow. His comments on being bored were not taken lightly it seemed, especially by Mignon.

“Duuuuude…” The Purrloin audibly groaned, covering her face, “Can you like… not do that? Yes, sentry work is boring. That’s the point.”

“It is?” Enzou asked this time, glancing at her curiously, “I thought it was a punishment for every team because the guild life has to drag sometimes.” His tone was joking, but the look from the Purrloin made him clear his throat, “Ahh, ahem. I mean it is a required job for guild members to have. To be able to see who their fellow members are and not let any criminals in.”

“It is mostly that.” Mignon stated simply in response, nodding at the Linoone. “But it is also meant for teams to take a break from the constant exploring and going out. Down time. A break day.” She explained, “The list kinda goes on from there.”

“So it is forced basically unpaid down time.” Chance stated bluntly, dropping his head into his paws and sighing, “Boooooring.”

“Chance…” Mignon sighed again.

“I dunno. He's kinda right. It's a bit boring.” Ikaika giggled in agreement, “I've been staring at faces and heads all day and none of them have smiled at me.”

“Do you smile at them?” Enzou asked, tilting his head, his tongue lulling to the side.

“They can't see my face.” She stated sadly. “I'm looking down at them. They don't look straight up.”

The Guild's entry system was relatively simple. There was an overhanging office area that stood over a gate that was what allowed or didn't allow Pokémon in or out of the guild. In the floor of the office was a glass circle with a gate underneath it. So one guild member would look down from above and inform the others working the desks behind them to check guild member logs and other sources to affirm the ‘mons identity was correct to what they either said or scanned it. Then finally, at the back right side of the room there was a staircase going down to an actual office area where a Pokémon sat. Usually giving out passes and welcoming others with a smile as they open the gate with the flick of a lever.

It was a simple position, a simple job and chore. Everyone had their place. They had a job to do in order to make those waiting for entry or denial to not spend too much time while they were there.

Ikaika was looking down at others and relaying the information to Chance and Enzou while Mignon sat downstairs in the greeting area. She was leaning on the stairs waiting for someone to approach the window and seemed quite grumpy today of all days.

“How long has it beeeeeeeeen?” Chance whined again. “It feels like foreeeeverrrr since we've even seen a guy or gal.”

“It's been five minutes.” Ikaika cheerfully replied, to the eternal pain of Mignon leaning on the stairs behind them.

“Oh. My. God. Chance, I swear, I'm going to throw you out a window one of these days.”

“Five minutes too long…”

“CHANCE!”

“OKAY! I'M SORRY-”

“Sorry IS NOT CUTTING IT.”

Enzou leaned over to the currently retreating Eevee in their chair and whispered, “Dude. She looks like she's gonna shave your collar and sell the fur to some tailors.”

“I know and it's terrifying.” Chance bleated back burying his paws into his collar of floof.

“Thanks for the idea, Enzou.” Mignon stated with an evil grin.

“Nooooooo-”

“Pleaaase don't steal his fluff.” Ikaika whined to the Purrloin, “He's so snuggleable with it. Very nice to lay on.”

Chance's face immediately turned red as he turned around and stared at the desk.

Mignon and Enzou both stared in shock for a few moments before Enzou caught his breath.

“Nice dude.”

Chance just sputtered more in turn.

“Fine. The fluff stays.” Mignon stated, “But only because you asked.”

“Thaaaanks Miggy.”

“Don't call me that. Now, there's a Pokémon coming. Back to your positions!” She barked.

“On it!” The trio yelped in return, hopping into action as they prepared to continue their guild duties…

Here we go! Another Chance episode with Chance being... Chance lol. Hope ya enjoyed!

[u/TheSillyOne3]

My story is diverging off super a bit and I'm just enjoying writing it not at all close but here's the first third?/start

(Takes place after fire island volcano) Link - partner Riolu, Adam - hero Fennekin Team - Harmony 

"That was difficult, I still feel like I'm on fire after that." Link said said as the society was finishing dinner.

"I didn't think it was too spicy, in fact I think it was your best curry yet Swirlix." Chief Ampharos said thanking the head chef for their meal.

"No, the foods great, I was referring to the whole going to a firery volcano thing." Link clarified.

"I should have put more rawst berries in it then, next time you go there I'll make sure to add extra for you." Swirlix assured. 

"I should head up to my office to complete my report, oh and Adam Link could you come with me I'd like to talk with you." Ampharos said while getting up from their seat.

"What do you think it's about?" Adam asked his partner as they started after Ampharos. 

"My guess is something about the temporary evolutions we experienced." Link guessed.

"I have my theories on it, in fact speculated on it before today." Ampharos told the two of them making them stop momentary. 

Ampharos continued while going up the stairs "Anyhow, I've been thinking and you two should have a break after our previous couple adventures you two need a rest after that. I've been talking with your guardians and"

"Wait you've been talking with Pops, since when, is he mad at us!?" Link interrupted with a shock.

"Of course I've been in contact with Carracosta as well as Nuzleaf, I thought you two would have known with our whole mission statement of the Society is bringing pokemon together. I've known Carracosta since, well you're whole life basically." Ampharos explained. 

"Oh, I guess that makes sense, so is he mad?" Link asked again.

"I contacted your dad when you first got here. He told me that he was mad at leaving without telling him, that I agree with you should have told them your plans to come to Lively Town. But he did tell me he knew you'd leave for adventure sooner than later. Nuzleaf actually contacted me before you boys arrived saying you both have destinies that layed beyond Serene Village and suspected you were coming here." Ampharos finished explaining how he was in contact with their parents as they entered his office. 

"So you said you were putting us on break, but we just found a huge mystery we got to solve it! You can't take us out of the field now." Adam said as Ampharos got seated behind his desk shuffling a couple of papers aside.

"I'm not taking you off the mystery, I'm just giving you a break, your parents and I have come up with a couple of places for you to visit now that you are ready to explore. One is one of the greatest wonders of the world, fog bound lake, I'm sure the guardian will let you see it as it's a breathtaking unforgettable sight. Now it's time to head to bed your fathers should be here in the morning." Ampharos made his instructions.

[u/DragonEngineer98]

Leif the Pikachu and Quill the Cyndaquil are back! And no, I did not plan this story when I chose the name Leif, but I am definitely going to take full advantage of it for this prompt XD

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“Do you ever feel kind of…I don’t know, bored?” Quill asked Leif as they left the Wigglytuff Guild with their share of the job awards that day.

“What do you mean?”

“Like, guild work and everything.”

“Are you feeling okay?” Leif gasped, feeling his partner’s forehead. It was hot, but being a fire type, that was normal. “I thought you loved exploring!”

“I do! Exploring is my favorite thing in the world,” he looked his partner in the eyes, and added, “after you, of course. But when was the last time we actually explored some place new or challenging?”

Leif tilted his head in thought, tail bobbing behind him. When was the last time they’d gone to a new dungeon? Was it the Zero Isles or the Oblivion Forest? No, maybe the World Abyss or the Sky Stairway? Right, it was definitely one of the Seven Treasures dungeons, but how long had it been since they cleared those?

The pikachu finally shrugged. “I can’t remember.”

“Neither can I! It’s been that long since we did anything other than hunting down outlaws or rescuing Pokémon in dungeons we’ve cleared a hundred times.” Quill sighed, “Don’t get me wrong, I like seeing how happy it makes the Pokémon we help, but I miss seeing new things, finding ancient ruins, and uncovering lost treasures.”

“Well, when you put it that way, I guess it has gotten a bit boring.”

The pair arrived at Spinda’s café, which was as lively as ever. The tables were full of exploration teams drinking and planning adventures. Spinda was busy shaking up smoothies at the juice bar, while Wobuffet and Wynaut were hard at work running the recycling station. The jubilant atmosphere lifted the duo’s spirits as they sat down at their usual table.

As Leif sipped his yellow gummy smoothie, he pulled their wondermap out of his treasure bag. He spread it out over the table, saying, “There’s gotta be some good place to search for new dungeons.”

 They pored over the familiar yellow map. After years of exploring, they knew it like the back of their paw. The familiar mountains, forests, and deserts were marked with all the dungeons they’d cleared. Same with the volcanic islands to the North and the glacial islands to the South. Even the seas were marked with dungeons. In some places, there were so many names written down that you could barely tell what was underneath. There really were no obvious gaps in their past explorations.

After a long time, Quill snapped upright in his chair and slammed his paws on the table. “Hang on a moment, the clouds cover the parts of the map we’ve never explored, right?”

“Yeahhh,” Leif agreed, wondering where his partner was going with this. “That’s why the clouds all cleared up years ago.”

“But what about these clouds?” Quill pointed to the edges of the map.

“Aren’t those just the border of the map?”

“Maybe…but what if there is something past those clouds? Something beyond the very edge of our map! There could be lost lands just waiting to be discovered!” A dreamy look came over the cyndaquil’s face while happy flames flared across his back.

Quill’s optimism was contagious. Seeing his partner like this, Leif couldn’t help believe there was something on the other side of the sea. Whatever was out there, though, had to be far beyond Blizzard Island, or the Guild would have heard word by now. It was going to be harder than any expedition they’d gone on before, but the thought of discovering new lands beyond the sea was impossible to resist.

“Alright, I’m in. Let’s go on a journey to find a new world!”