The Next Day
Wigglytuff Guild
Grass Continent
"…." Victor lies on his bed while staring at the ceiling blankly. He had planned for this morning to train himself using his unknown power, which he suspected to be Magnamon's Power of Miracle. Unfortunately, he had overlooked one thing.
Yesterday, he had invited Buizel to join his team, but he had realized that the young mon, along with his caretaker, had no place to stay. So, he had let them sleep in the team dorm until Guildmaster William or Vice Guildmaster Charlie either built a new room or expanded theirs. The Poliwag didn't complain and chose to sleep on the floor, despite everyone's protests, but he asked if Buizel could share a bed with any of them.
Victor volunteered, and now, he's in a position where the young mon sleeping soundly while using him as a pillow. He's in no position to get up, or else he will wake the young mon from his slumber.
"Pfft." To make things worse, Thorn had woken up and witnessed everything. Instead of helping, he chose to watch in amusement while trying to hold his laughter.
"A little help here?" Victor whispers helplessly, but it only makes Thorn hold his laughter harder. All the poor human-turned-Veemon could do was give his first Pokémon friend a deadpan stare.
"Okay, okay," Thorn calms himself down before using his vine to gently get Buizel's paws off Victor's arm. "I had experience with this, back when I was still living with my siblings."
"Good to know," Victor grumbles as he feels Buizel's grip loosen. He takes the chance to get out of there, but to his horror, the Buizel escapes from Thorn's vines and hugs his tail instead. Thorn looks like a balloon on the verge of exploding with how hard he holds his laughter, while Victor lets out a silent groan.
"Where are you guys going?" Buizel asks, opening his eyes. Both Victor and Thorn stare at the young mon with gaping mouths. "Can I come?"
"…you've been awake this whole time?" Victor asks while his left eye twitches violently.
"….no," Buizel says innocently, refusing to make any eye contact while whistling. Victor stares at the young Pokémon before letting out a sigh and rubbing his forehead.
"Alright," Victor comments. "Besides, you should get familiar with the town anyway. I planned to give you a tour yesterday, but I never got the chance."
"Yay!" Buizel exclaims happily, causing Victor and Thorn to cover his mouth and make a silent gesture. Buizel Mareepishly rubs the back of his head while Victor thinks about how he already regrets everything.
The trio quietly leaves the room and walks out of the Guild, slowly descending the cliff, and walks towards the town. The road was quite empty since everyone had just started opening their shops or stalls.
"Whoa…" Buizel exclaims in awe.
"Welcome to Treasure Town." Victor begins. "A place where a lot of Pokémon sell items at very reasonable prices. Unlike some in a huge city who are too busy competing on who could attract more customers and how much money they could earn."
"That was a bit out of line," Thorn sweatdrops at Victor's description. "But, unfortunately. It's not inaccurate."
"Price? Customers? Money?" Buizel asks in confusion, causing both boys to pause.
"…" Victor was unsure how to respond. What did that Poliwag teach this kid? Did he not teach him more about it because he planned to hide the kid and himself in that dungeon for the rest of their lives!? Victor decided not to think too much about it and decided to teach the child.
"You see. Not everything in this world is free… you've got to give them something to get that item. We call it paying. The item used to pay is the price." Victor explains as Buizel nods. "Customers are Pokémon who pay for those items. As for money, it's a common item we use to pay the price."
"Ooh," Buizel says before nodding. "What does money look like?"
"Here," Victor pulls out a gold coin and shows it to Buizel. He picks it and looks at it, squinting his eyes.
"…you guys use this worthless thing to buy things? What can we even buy using this?" Buizel asks in confusion.
"Basic needs. Most of them are foods," Victor says as Buizel looks at him in disbelief.
"Foods for this worthless rock!?" Buizel asks incredulously.
"Yeah…don't ask me how it started. I have no idea about the history behind Poke," Victor says helplessly.
"Same," Thorn mutters. "It's…something we all think is normal that…we didn't exactly question it. At least until now…"
"…You guys are weird," Buizel says bluntly, and Victor lightly flicks his forehead. "Oww! What was that for?!"
"First of all, don't call other Pokémon weird. That's rude," Victor chastises.
"How is calling you guys weird rude!?" Buizel asks in confusion.
"Some words…are never meant to be used to describe someone as they can be hurtful for others," Thorn explains patiently. "Like…how no one wants to be called ugly. How do you feel if Poliwag calls you ugly?"
"I'll be really upset…" Buizel frowns, then realizes what he said, and lowers his head. "Oh…sorry…"
"As long as you understand," Thorn says with a smile before using his vine to pat his head.
"Anyways, let's continue our tour." Victor decided to switch topics, realizing how the atmosphere had changed. They all walk towards the inn. "Let's start with the restaurant. It's mostly where you can buy food. We got the inn, where our beloved pair worked, Kara the Kangaskhan and Gary the Goodra."
"Oh, hi, kids." Victor almost trips over himself upon hearing that. He was fairly certain he had mentioned his age to them on the first day of his part-time job.
"Hi, Ms. Kara," Thorn greets as he introduces her to their newest teammate, Buizel. "This is Buizel, a new teammate of ours."
"A new teammate?" Kara asks in surprise. "That's gotta be a new record for a new team to gain new teammates. Then again, you guys are not our traditional Explorer teams."
"What do you mean?" Victor can't help but ask.
"No offense, but besides you being an unknown Pokémon," Victor held himself from correcting the Kangaskhan. "But, the number of members for a starting team had always been 2 or 3 members before you broke the trend. And not to mention, usually a large number of members always end up split into multiple teams due to disharmony."
"I…" Victor looks unsure as he looks at Thorn, who shares his expression. "Let…us hope it never happened."
"Agree," Kara says with a smile. "You four are nice Pokemons, so I wish you all the best. That goes for your new member as well."
"Um…thanks?" Buizel says in confusion, earning a chuckle from Kara.
"I would love to talk more, especially about which food I recommend for newcomers, but I have a shop to open. Perhaps we can continue later," Kara says while winking, causing Victor and Thorn to nod before gently dragging Buizel to another shop.
"Here is the Persian Bank," Thorn says with a slight frown as the trio continues to talk. This confuses Buizel as he expects them to talk with the Persian, which the duo noticed. "He's a jerk."
"Oh…" Buizel merely nods as they walk towards a new tent.
"Huh, never seen that one before." Victor muses.
"Me neither…" Thorn frowns a bit. "…wanna take a look?" Thorn asks as Victor nods and Buizel shrugs. They both approach the tent and see a bulky Pokémon with yellow and black striped fur, a pair of cable-like tails, red eyes, and a pair of antennae. The Pokémon, which Victor immediately recognizes as Electivire, notices them approaching and greets them.
"Good morning, kids." The Pokémon greets them. "The name's Elon, and I'm the owner of the Electivire's Link Shop! I help Pokemons by teaching them how to link moves at a low price! 250 Pokes per session! But you may need to wait longer. Got a lot of stuff to pack here."
"Link moves?" Buizel asks in confusion.
"So, it's like a combo?" Victor asks curiously. He may play Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, but he didn't know everything about the game's mechanics. One of them is linked moves.
"You…could say that," Thorn says with a sweatdrop.
"It's more than that," Elon explains as he lifts one of the boxes. "A lot of Pokémon had this…weird mental block that made them instinctively use a move and recharge a bit, like taking turns during fights. Linking moves not only let them perform combos, as you said, but also help them overcome this weird mental block."
'That's a unique way to explain the in-universe's weird turn-based attack,' Victor muses to himself. 'But, thankfully, I have no such issues.'
"That would be nice to learn," Thorn admits with a frown. "If there's a time when I had to subconsciously stop after attacking, I would die instantly."
"But it never happened to you or me," Victor says in puzzlement.
"...I had to force myself not to let it happen, speaking from experience. But, the urge is still there." Thorn says before muttering quietly. "It's like I learnt the wrong method. Possibly due to all the training I had to endure before arriving here…"
"…" Unfortunately, Thorn wasn't exactly quiet enough as Victor and Elon looked in shock and disbelief, while Buizel tilted his head in confusion.
"Thorn, I need names and addresses," Victor says calmly. A bit too calmly.
"Vic, no…" Thorn says in exasperation, causing Victor to pout.
"…once I finish opening this store, visit this store asap," Elon says seriously. "If what you're saying is right, it might do you more harm than good…"
"I'll make sure to do that…" Thorn mutters before the trio walks away. Victor decided to focus more on the tour, introducing Buizel to the Marowak Dojo and Daichi. The dojo piques Buizel's interests, especially with the elemental dungeons and battle training with Daichi.
Victor had attempted to guide Buizel to other stores but to no avail, as he is fully invested in Marowak's Dojo, and even requested another spar. This, of course, sparks Daichi's interest as he asks about it, and Victor ends up explaining to his sensei. Daichi is proud of him, but he also chastises him for almost losing to someone younger with no formal training like him, and Victor tries to argue that he only started his training not long ago. This led to a long banter between Sensei and his disciple, in which Thorn and Buizel could only watch from the sidelines.
In the end, the trio ends up training in a dojo, much to Victor's annoyance. He wanted to at least spend a day off, but made a mistake by bringing Buizel to the dojo. Victor practices his fighting skills along with his swordsmanship, while also attempting to summon the sword.
All it did was summon a flicker of light on the palm of his hand. Victor feels very disappointed at how he didn't show any progress in mastering the power he barely knows about. Not even the Digimon encyclopedia on the internet provides many details about the Power of Miracle.
"Gah, this is so frustrating!" Victor exclaims as he stomps on the ground in frustration.
"Easy there, kid," Daichi says, and Victor's eyes twitch at being called a kid. It didn't help that Victor barely acted his age. "A town wasn't built in a day, so be patient about it."
"I know, I know. But it's been weeks since I tried pulling it off, and I barely made any progress!" Victor exclaims in frustration. "I try to be patient, but if this is how much progress I made, it feels like my efforts were worthless."
"Kid, you need to calm down," Daichi says as he pats his shoulder. "I understand that it seems it didn't make any progress, but that's just how life is. Some progress as quickly as Bug-Type evolves, some progress as slowly as Dragon-Type. But nothing you did is worthless. Remember how you couldn't even do anything earlier? Now, you can summon a flicker of light. Sure, it was little progress, but it's still progress."
"…" Victor looks at his palm before letting out a sigh. "I suppose…" Victor glances at his sensei. "Sorry about that…."
"Don't be," Daichi says while patting his head. "I understand how you feel, kid. But, don't let frustration get the best of you."
"…I suppose." Victor sighs. "…remind me how many times I have complained about this?"
"Not that much compared to others," Daichi reassures as Victor grumbles.
"…I should act more like my age, but here I am, whining about this," Victor says with a sad smile. "Thanks for snapping me back to my senses, sensei."
"Always like to help," Daichi says with a smile before they hear Buizel's voice from the dungeon gate, along with the sound of panting from Thorn. Buizel had decided to try the dungeon, and Thorn volunteered to come with him just to be safe. Judging from their states, there aren't such issues except that Thorn has trouble keeping up with Buizel being completely energetic.
"Woo! That was fun!" Buizel exclaims in excitement, while Thorn could only sigh in exhaustion. "Let's go again!"
"No!" Thorn exclaims in panic as he uses his vines to lift Buizel, stopping him from doing anything. "That's…enough training for you today."
"…I expect you to have more endurance," Victor comments.
"Try to keep up with someone who is constantly running around the dungeon to fight Dungeon Pokemon one after another while ignoring the stairs," Thorn complains as Buizel pouts. "I had to remind him every time about moving to another floor, or else we'll be staying on the first floor till noon!"
"…sorry," Victor has the decency to apologize as he Mareepishly rubs the back of his head. Thorn simply responds by huffing in annoyance.
"So, how's your training?" Thorn asks curiously, decides to change the topic.
"I…made a progress…" Victor says halfheartedly while shrugging. "I can summon a flicker of light…." He demonstrates it to his friend.
"…that's progress," Thorn says, unsure how to respond to that light show, causing Victor to slump down. Thorn looks Mareepish while Daichi sighs, placing his palm on his forehead.
"I just had a pep talk with him, kid…" Daichi groans, which made Thorn apologize profusely. Meanwhile, Buizel merely watches in confusion, wondering about the context behind their conversations, as nothing makes sense to him.
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Later
Wigglytuff Guild
"Why didn't you wake us up?" Sabo complains as he rubs his non-existent ears while giving Victor and Thorn a stink eye. Both could only Mareepishly look away and rub the back of his head.
"I...just want you guys to get more rest, especially after yesterday's expedition," Victor admits.
"…you know that's impossible when we got Larry as this guild's personal alarm clock," Sabo mutters.
"Damn that loudmouth! Can't they just let us sleep in for once!?" Tesla grumbles while crossing his arms before glancing at Victor, Thorn, and Buizel. "Where have you guys been anyway?"
"Just giving Buizel a tour around the town," Victor says before rubbing the back of his head. "…not so much of a tour since Buizel ended up spending most of his time in the dojo."
"...next time, just wake us up," Tesla grumbles, and all Victor could do was to give him an apologetic look.
"I'll keep that in mind," Victor says with a nervous chuckle before looking around. "Anyone see Poliwag?"
"He's been talking with the Guildmaster regarding his and Buizel's situation," Sabo explains. "It seems your theory has merits. There are reports from clients in another guild about how some victims have experienced a similar situation, but neither were as extreme as Poliwag's and Buizel's cases. Most of them are only trapped for a week or two in a dungeon, but only a day had passed in our world."
"But, given that they're trapped in a dungeon for a year, the math is accurate," Tesla comments, earning a look from Victor. "Why are you giving me that look?"
"…I wasn't expecting you, of all Pokémon, capable of doing maths," Victor comments, causing Tesla to look at Victor in disbelief.
"I know math! It's a basic lesson our parents taught us when we were young!" Tesla exclaims while huffing.
"No offense, big brother," Sabo says between his giggles. "Your recklessness and temper didn't paint you as Pokémon with intelligence."
"Not you too, Sabo." Tesla looks betrayed as Thorn and Victor chuckle at him. "S-stop laughing!"
"S-sorry, sorry," Victor says as he tries to catch his breath. "A-anyways, Tesla is right. However, if we consider similar time dilation, Buizel should be around 7 to 14 years old. How old are you now, Buizel?"
"Poliwag says I'm 15," Buizel says, much to everyone's surprise.
"Oh, great. I'm still the youngest." Sabo mutters with a pout.
"…this is concerning…" Victor mutters.
"How so?" Thorn asks in confusion.
"The Time Gear was stolen not long ago, and Buizel is 15, so that means in that span of a few days, Buizel aged a year…" Victor mutters. "…that means, time is now moving 70 times faster instead of the usual 7 times."
"…" Everyone was silent, trying to process that piece of information. They look like someone had informed them that the end of the world is near.
"That…doesn't make sense…" Thorn mutters. "We clear the dungeon in a few hours, and when we escape, it's almost evening…"
"….ah, this is much more complicated than I thought," Victor mutters. "If we go by that logic, then maybe…an extreme time dilation happens right during the day when the Time Gear was stolen, causing Buizel and Poliwag to be stuck in a dungeon for perhaps more than a decade while only one day had passed…"
"That sounds even scarier!" Sabo exclaims in horror.
"That only works if the time freeze caused by Time Gear made time so unstable that it fast forwards everything in a dungeon…" Thorn mutters. "There's so much we don't know about Time Gear, maybe…"
"…" Victor rubs his forehead, unsure how to deal with all of this. His isekai adventure in the world of Pokémon had just turned into a Dark Souls game, and he had no idea how to respond. Should he just trailblaze forward while remaining optimistic, or should he turn full-on depressed and searching for a corner to wail in despair?
"…" Thorn seems to notice Victor's expression, and remembering his situation, he can't help but grimace. Victor was a human, and a previous human had been involved in solving a world-ending disaster not long ago, meaning Victor might be expected to save the world like the previous human. That kind of expectation is not good for someone as optimistic as Victor, and he knows how that feels.
"Guys," Thorn calls, getting everyone's attention. "Maybe we should stand alongside our Guildmates…the morning cheer is about to start."
Sabo and Tesla look at Thorn before looking at Victor, and a look of realization dawns on their faces before nodding and walking away as Tesla drags Buizel away. Thorn looks at Victor before gently placing vines on his shoulder.
"Don't…think too much about it," Victor looks at Thorn in surprise. "Maybe…this issue could be solved…and you don't have to lift a finger to do anything…"
"…thanks," Victor says with a small smile, and Thorn can't help but feel it's wrong. Victor's smile didn't reach his eyes, and the anxiety was visibly shown on his face.
"…you're not alone, Vic," Thorn says. "If you're gonna end up saving the world, count me in. I'll help you in any way I can."
"…" Victor's lip quivers, and he nods. He didn't say a word since he didn't trust his mouth, but he felt slightly at ease. Thorn could feel that and smiled at his friend before they walked towards the crowd. After the usual morning cheer, the vice guildmaster stops everyone as they're announcing more news.
"Last night, our local officer, Magnus, had received reports from his fellow officers stationed in another town," Charlie explains, causing everyone to tense up. "They have discovered the identity of the thieves who stole the Time Gear."
This causes the entire crowd to gasp in surprise, and none is more surprised than Victor himself. He was pretty sure the identity was discovered later, so hearing them revealed so early caught him off guard. Of course, this might be advantageous for Victor as it provides him with more information.
Before anyone could ask about the identity, their guildmaster pulls out a poster and shows a sketch of the culprit. Like they said during his first day, the culprits are three Pokemons. One is a green-scaled lizard with a long leaf protruding from its head, yellow eyes with slitted black irises, and a red jaw. Another is a blue-scaled mudfish with three-spiked gills, a long fin protruding from its head, and a pair of black eyes. The last Pokémon is a mechanical lizard with purple metal plates, a pair of neon lights as eyes, two pairs of antennae acting like ears, and a black metal plate on its head. Victor identified them as Grovyle, Mudkip, and Miraidon.
"…huh!?" It takes Victor a few moments to process before he takes a good look at the last one. He did a double-take as the sound of a record scratch can be heard at the back of his head. Victor rubs his eyes, making sure his eyes work properly before his pupil dilates and his jaw drops.
"Vic?" Thorn asks in confusion, wondering why his friend acts like that.
"These are the culprits who stole the Time Gear," Charlie explains. "We managed to find their identity because they were reckless, but I doubt they'll make the same mistake once again. So, I suggest you all keep an eye on them if possible, and always be alert during your explorations. Not to mention, we have an unknown Pokémon that no one has ever seen in their life."
"Miraidon…" Victor can't help but blurt out, causing everyone to stare at him. "…the third Pokémon is Miraidon…"
"…" Charlie narrows his eyes suspiciously, glancing at Victor. "And pray tell, how do you know this, Victor?"
"Um," Victor realizes what he just did before nervously twiddling his fingers. "I've…heard of them from somewhere. The description matches the one that was drawn on that poster."
'Please buy it, please buy it, please buy it,' Victor panicked internally, his entire body covered in cold sweat. Charlie was about to press further, but William stopped him and shook his head before he mouthed a single word. Charlie's eyes widen before he decides to stop. This didn't go unnoticed by Victor. He's grateful that they didn't press further, but another question arises. What is going on between them?
"…Victor," Victor stiffens, his heart feels like it's gonna jump out of his ribcage. "Did you hear anything else regarding this Pokémon besides their description?"
"…they're Electric/Dragon type," Victor explains. "They can move around any terrain, ground, water, or even sky. They're very fast and very powerful. Rumors said they were…from the same family as Cyclizar."
"Hmm," Charlie muses before looking at Victor. "Anything else you want to add?"
"…no," Victor shakes his head as Charlie sighs.
"Thank you for the information. This could help a lot of Pokémon," Charlie says as Victor internally sighs in relief. He really should be more careful when talking.
"Now then, onto another news. We're planning to mount a full expedition soon!" William exclaims, earning surprise reactions from everyone. "All of you are chosen to be part of the expedition candidates!"
"Ah...yes," Charlie mutters before glancing at everyone. "There's still time before we set out, and those who manage to do a good job shall be chosen as members. I hope you all work hard so you will be chosen."
"Sir, may we ask where the guild will head out to?" Sally asks.
"Of course. There's a lake far to the east, and many mysteries remain unsolved in that lake. We're planning to go there and unravel them," Charlie explains as everyone gets excited. "So, don't slack off, and your chance of being chosen will increase. I wish you all luck."
"WOOHOO!!!" The entire guild yells in excitement before they rush towards the bulletin boards. Before Team Dawn could leave, Charlie stopped them.
"Before you all leave, may we talk?" Charlie asks, causing Victor to tense up. "Both of us know about your secret, human."
Victor's eyes widen, and in an instant, Thorn, Sabo, and Tesla stand in front of Victor, shielding him from Charlie. William let out a sigh before he gently smacked the bird's head.
"That's not how you do it," William says before smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry about Charlie here. We're not planning to do anything, we just want to talk."
"How did you know?" Victor asks quietly and pauses, trying to think. He let out a groan and facepalmed. "Oh, right. I talk loudly in front of your office."
"That you do," Charlie says in amusement.
"Um," They all froze before turning to see Buizel tilting his head in confusion. "What's a human?"
"….oops," Charlie whispers, not wanting to make an eye contact with his guild apprentices as they all glare holes at the bird, except for Victor, who facepalms.
'Great job, Vic. Not even a month and almost everyone knows…that's gotta be a record…'
To be Continued