A Few Days Later
Treasure Town, Grass Continent
"…." Victor and Thorn can be seen standing in front of a long stairway leading to the Wigglytuff's Guild. Both are slightly nervous about it while feeling somewhat excited. Today's the day they attempt to join the Wigglytuff Guild as the Guild's Apprentice.
"Today's the day, huh?" Thorn says with a nervous excitement.
"Yup," Victor nods before looking around. "Where's Sabo and Tesla anyway? I thought they're the ones who want this the most."
"It's only Sabo, Tesla actually against it," Thorn says. "But, it's the only thing that could provide a decent income, and Tesla hates his current job, so he decided to join in."
"…what job?" Victor asks. He genuinely had no idea that Tesla had a job, given that he had not interacted much with him, and a few days ago, they literally said they had nothing to do.
"Acting as a guard for Persian Bank. He had quit the job a few weeks ago, and honestly, I don't blame him for quitting," Thorn says as Victor grimaces. He had met the owner of the Persian Bank, Kamran the Persian, and he had honestly hated that obnoxious and self-centered bastard. He had mocked Thorn and him for not having so much money. Victor had so many close calls wanting to sock his fist right into that pussycat's jaw, but Thorn had restrained him to avoid getting into trouble.
So, yeah, he can understand Tesla's decision to quit as well. But that does beg a question: how much does he earn by doing that job? They didn't seem like Pokemons who struggled financially.
"Even though the payment was 1200 Poke per hour as a security guard, the constant verbal abuse is not worth it." Victor was taken aback by the amount of money Tesla earns. He earned how much!?!
"…honestly speaking, I would keep the job," Victor admits shamelessly as Thorn deadpans at him.
"I didn't take you to be a greedy one," Thorn accuses.
"Money may not buy happiness, but it keeps you from misery," Victor says sagely as Thorn uses his vine to facepalm and shakes his head in disbelief.
"You're impossible," Thorn says while holding himself from smiling in amusement.
"I try," Victor grins before they notice Sabo and Tesla approaching them. "You guys sure take your time."
"Oh, shut it," Tesla grumbles in annoyance.
"Sorry, I had to remind big brother about today," Sabo says apologetically, causing Tesla to look at his little brother in utter betrayal.
"Well, at least we're not late," Victor shrugs before looking at the stairs. The quartet looked at the stairway in silence before it was broken by Tesla groaning.
"Oh, great. We got to climb these dumb stairs, again!!" Tesla exclaims.
"I almost forgot about this…" Sabo mutters in disbelief.
"How do you almost forget? You live near here!" Thorn asks Sabo in disbelief. "And didn't you and Tesla go here a week ago!?" Victor merely sighs before climbing the stairs, making everyone look at him incredulously.
"There's no use in complaining, so let us get this over with," Victor says as they all sigh and climb the stairs. It takes 10 minutes to climb the entire stairs, but to their surprise, they didn't feel tired at all.
"Huh…I expect climbing this to be more exhausting…" Thorn mutters.
"I didn't feel as tired as before…" Sabo mutters.
'I suppose the training did pay off,' Victor thought before looking at the giant Wigglytuff-shaped building with a huge hole in the center, covered with a platform that reminded Victor of a portcullis that he saw in an old castle and the one used by the Guild HQ. He had no idea what it's called, though.
"So, how do we enter here? Just say open-sesame?" Victor asks. He is unsure if his old game knowledge is reliable, and even if it's true, it'll be suspicious if he knows. It wasn't exactly written in any books he researched to gain more knowledge about the world.
"Well, you've got to step on the platform for a few moments first," Sabo explains as he takes a deep breath. "M-maybe I could go first for demonstration?"
"Sure," Victor gestures towards the platform as Sabo nods and walks towards it. He stands right at the center, waiting for a moment.
"Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected!" Victor held himself back from jumping in shock. He didn't expect to be so loud. "Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"
"U-uh…" Sabo can't help but shake nervously, slightly scared by the situation he's in. But he remembers Victor's advice before calming himself down by taking a few deep breaths.
"The footprint is Cyndaquil's! The footprint is Cyndaquil's! You may enter! And please, let the others step on the platform as well!" The voice says as Sabo let out a sigh before walking away. Tesla merely huffs and does it first.
"Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected! Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" The voice says it again. "The footprint is Pikachu's! The footprint is Pikachu's! Next!"
"Do they have to say it like that?" Thorn asks with a sweatdrop as Tesla walks away from the platform.
"Maybe they did it to report to other Pokémon in the building?" Victor muses as Thorn shrugs and walks towards the platform.
"Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected! Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" The voice says one more time. "The footprint is Bulbasaur's! The footprint is Bulbasaur's! Next, please!"
"I have a feeling I might complicate this thing," Victor mutters as Thorn walks away and Victor steps on the platform.
"… Oh, right," The trio realizes what Victor had meant and feels slightly nervous.
"Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected! Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" The voice says it again, but unlike before, it was followed by a long silence. Victor would find this moment amusing if not for the fact that he's in the situation.
"The footprint is….the footprint is…umm…." The voice says, completely unsure.
"What's the matter!? Sentry! What's wrong, sentry Diglett!?" Another voice can be heard from the hole.
"Huh, I guess you're right, Victor," Thorn mutters, blinking.
"Um…er…" The voice, who reveals to be Diglett, says uncertainly. "Maybe Charmander's? Maybe Charmander's?"
The entire team goes silent, blinking in utter disbelief. Thorn, Sabo, and Tesla look at Victor up and down, trying to find the logic behind Diglett's guess.
"…that's a new one, Pokemon all assume me to be this Bagon…" Victor mutters, unsure how to react.
"WHAT!?! Maybe!??!" The other voice asks in disbelief. "What do you mean by 'Maybe'!?"
"I-it's not a footprint you normally see here!" Diglett exclaims.
"Uggh! That's pretty crummy! Checking the footprint of visiting Pokémon…" the voice said. "That's your job, isn't it, Douglas!?"
"Y-yes, Dad. But, I don't know what I don't know!" Diglett, whose name is revealed to be Douglas, exclaims as everyone who overhears their conversation could only sweatdrop.
"…well, that is something…" Thorn says as he looks at the platform, unsure how to react. Then, suddenly, something tries to crawl out of the ground. This immediately made everyone tense before it pops out and reveals a brown oval-shaped head with a single big red nose. Victor recognizes it as Diglett, the default one.
"Um…what are you supposed to be?" It asks, and based on his voice, it's Douglas. "Some sort of weird mutated Bagon?"
'Ah, there it is,' Victor sweatdrops. "I'm a Veemon, and my name is Victor."
"Veemon?" Douglas tilts his head in confusion. "I never heard of a Pokémon named Veemon." Suddenly, something pops out of the ground next to Douglas and is revealed to be a creature with a similar appearance to Douglas but with three heads instead. Victor recognizes the Pokémon as Dugtrio, and he's probably Douglas' father.
"What's the holdup, son? Why-!?" The Dugtrio stops when it sees Victor. "What in the Distortion World are you!?"
"I'm a Veemon," Victor says with an exasperated sigh. "You can just call me Victor, that's my name."
"...you are one strange Bagon," Victor's eyes twitch when he hears Dugtrio's comment.
"I'm no Bagon…" Victor stressed his sentence, making sure he said it loud and clear. "It's Veemon….oh, my Arceus. What makes me look like a Bagon, anyway!? I have no headshell, I have an actual pair of hands, my legs have three toe claws, and I'm pretty sure Bagon doesn't have this pair of appendages on its head! I have a horn, Bagon doesn't! I have a tail, a long tail! I am not Bagon!"
"…a-apologies…" Dugtrio mumbles an apology. "W-well, you are a strange case, we never seen your kind before, but it seems that you didn't seem to be bad...very well, you may enter along with your friends."
After Dugtrio says that, the giant portcullis on the building starts to slide open. Everyone watches as the door opens slowly, showing a stairway downward. This earns a loud groan from Thorn, Sabo, and Tesla, which puzzles the Dug father-son duo.
"They're still annoyed by the long stairway that they need to climb just to get here," Victor says as both of them understand, silently sharing a similar opinion. Thankfully, they simply needed to climb down less than 30 seconds before theywere greet with a giant room with two boards on two sides of the room, a group of Pokemons discussing things, and two windows where they could see the vast sea.
"Oh, wow…" Thorn exclaims in surprise, not expecting such a place.
"Cool…" Sabo says in awe.
"…" Tesla remains silent, but he is impressed by the place.
"It's…tidy for something built on the side of the cliff," Victor mutters as he looks around. He can see a beaver-like Pokémon with a very short tail (Bidoof) and a sunflower with a pair of legs and two leaves as hands (Sunflora), explaining things to a group of grey/black-furred hyena-like Pokémon (Poochyena), a giant swallow-like Pokémon (Swellow) looking through the board full of papers with a red caterpillar-like Pokémon (Wurmple) quivering at its side, a brown-feathered pigeon-like Pokémon (Pidgey) can be seen talking with a seed Pokémon with legs (Seedot).
"I can't believe this…I am truly here…" Sabo mutters excitedly, holding himself from jumping on the spot out of excitement.
"Excuse me!" They all turn to see a tiny bird with white, black, yellow, green, and blue feathers. It has a pink beak, and the feathers on its head are shaped like a music note. Victor recognizes the Pokémon as Chatot. "It's you four that just came in, right?"
"Um, yes," Victor replies.
"My name is Charlie, the Pokemon in the know around these parts! I am Guildmaster William's right-paw Mon!" The Chatot, Charlie, introduces himself before waving his wings. "Now, shoo! Leave the premises! We have no time for sales-Pokemon or silly surveys!"
"W-wait, t-that's not why we're here!" Sabo exclaims, waving his paws. "W-we're here to register as the Guild's apprentice! W-we want to create our Exploration team, so we come here for training as the Guild's apprentices!"
"W-what!?!" Charlie squawked, unable to believe what he had heard. "Y-you all want to be the Guild's apprentice!? Y-you all are too young!"
"I'm 22," Victor deadpanned, causing Charlie to stop before taking a good look at Victor.
"…you're a strange-looking Bagon," Charlie comments, causing Victor's eyes to twitch again.
"…I'm no Bagon, sir," Victor says, holding himself from snapping at the overgrown turkey in front of him.
"A-ah, apologies." At least Charlie had the decency to apologize. "B-besides you, the other three should reconsider their choice. They're simply too young, so I wouldn't recommend them for this. Our trainings aren't to be scoffed at."
"I-I understand that, but I won't change my mind!" Sabo exclaims, looking determined. "I may be a child, sir Charlie, but I also have thought everything through. I want to be this guild's apprentice! My dream is to be an Explorer and travel around the world to discover new places!"
"The same goes for me, sir," Thorn says with a determined expression. "I want to see what mystery the world has to offer and seek those answers. But to do so, I need the training provided by the Guild."
"I am going wherever my brother goes," Tesla says simply, causing everyone to sweatdrop. Charlie takes a deep breath before letting out a sigh.
"It's rare to see a group of kids asking to be apprentices for the guild. It's even rarer for them to choose this out of all the guilds available." Charlie mutters before looking at them. "Are you all truly willing to be part of this guild?"
"Yes!" The four of them say in unison.
"…then, come with me. Let's meet Guildmaster William and see what trials he has to offer for all of you." Charlie says as he gestures to follow him. The 5 of them walk into the lower floor and an office. Upon entering, they were greeted with a rotund creature with bunny-like ears, wide blue eyes, fur on top of its head shaped like a swirl, short arms and legs, a white furred underbelly, and a wide, warm smile. Victor easily recognizes the Pokémon as Wigglytuff.
"Hiya!" The Wigglytuff greets. "The name's William, I am the Guildmaster of the Wigglytuff Guild! I heard you want to form an exploration team, am I right!?"
"Y-yes…" Sabo blinks, not expecting the friendly demeanor from the Guildmaster. He then wonders how in the world William could hear them.
"Very well!" William exclaims. "Then, let me tell you the trial for becoming the Guild's apprentices! First of all, just a reminder, because you all are still newbies, you need to be apprentices before officially becoming Guild members, got it?"
"May I ask what the difference is between members and apprentices, besides their titles and position, of course?" Victor asks curiously. When it comes to members and apprentices, each guild is different, and it wasn't fully explained in the books he looked through, besides the basics.
"Well, apprentices will only be allowed to take low-ranking jobs; they will also be given chores to do that are necessary to help the Guild, and those who wish to join our future Guild Exploration will need to work hard so they can earn a spot," Charlie explains. "As for members, they will be granted to do harder jobs, granted permission to collaborate with other guilds, allowed to travel to another continent, and have a better chance to get a spot for Guild Exploration. So, if you all pass the trial, let us hope you all will work hard to be an official member!"
"That sounds…unfair," Tesla mutters.
"Of course, both apprentices and members are still charged with 90% Guild fee, granted places to live in, and 3 meals a day! Besides, all members work hard to get their position! Our guild has zero tolerance for deceit, bribery, cheating, and slacking off!" Charlie exclaims.
"That sounds so much better than most jobs I have heard," Victor mutters.
"With that, get out of the way, Guildmaster, if you may?" Charlie asks as William smiles wider.
"For your trial, I want you to face off against our guild's apprentices," William exclaims. "Each of you will face one apprentice at a time, and show me if any of you could defend yourself! Of course, you don't have to win, just show us what we can do!"
"The reason why I advise children against joining is due to the danger of a Mystery Dungeon; if you are all incapable of defending yourself, you will be in danger. Being an Explorer or even an apprentice isn't something you should take lightly." Charlie says as Victor honestly can't hide his surprise.
Both Chatot and Wigglytuff, Charlie and William in this universe, are much more responsible and professional than their game counterparts. Unlike in-game, where they treat things lightly, they made sure to discourage young Pokemons from doing this job as they knew how dangerous it was. But, at the same time, they will respect your decision on this. Victor looks at others. Sabo and Thorn nod at him, while Tesla grunts.
"We understand, please start the trial," Victor says as William nods.
"Before we start, what's your name and age?" William asks.
"Victor, 22," Victor introduces himself. He notices William blinks Noctowlish towards him. "I know, Guildmaster. I look too young…"
"S-sorry," William smiles Mareepishly before looking at others.
"Thorn, 17."
"Tesla, 16,"
"Sabo, 14."
Charlie takes note before looking at William, who simply smiles and lets out the loud 'Yoom-Tah', which startles everyone in the office. They heard crowds moving quickly on the upper floor before it went silent.
"Let us go outside," Charlie says as he puts away the note. "We shall begin the trial immediately."
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Outside, Wigglytuff Guild
Grass Continent
"Okay, is this much Pokémon necessary?" Victor mutters as he looks around the Pokémon surrounding them. He can see Bidoof, Sunflora, Loudred, Diglett and Dugtrio, Chimeco, Croagunk, and Corphish. The notable members of the Wigglytuff Guild are all here.
"I…I can feel my anxiety rising…" Sabo mutters nervously as he looks around.
"This…isn't what I had in mind, honestly," Thorn mutters.
"Everyone, please quiet down!" Charlie exclaims, silencing everyone. "Thank you, today we are here for our entrance trial for these young Pokémon!" Charlie gestures to Victor and his friends.
"Oh, oh! New friends, yup, yup!" Bidoof exclaims excitedly.
"They haven't passed the trial yet, Barry." The Sunflora says.
"Well, for the first round. Victor," Charlie says as Victor steps forward. Everyone immediately whispers to each other, and all are intrigued by Victor's appearance. "You shall face apprentice Carlos the Croagunk."
A blue-scaled frog with orange cheeks, white belly, and black hands and legs walks forward and faces the Croagunk. Both look at each other before they take a stance. Victor takes a boxing stance while Carlos extends his legs before placing one hand behind him.
"Are you both ready?" They narrow their eyes before nodding. "Then begin!"
Without any hesitation, Carlos charges in with his hand glowing white, which Victor believes to be Brick Break, and thrusts his paws at Victor, who raises his arms to block the attack. Victor grits his teeth at the powerful attack, grateful that he's managed to block it. If he takes the exam on day one of his isekai life, he probably would be knocked out with this punch alone.
"Oh? You blocked that?" Carlos says in surprise as Victor knocks the Croagunk's fist away before performing an uppercut with an MP-coated fist. This knocks Carlos up and away for several feet before he lands roughly. Carlos managed to get up quickly before rubbing his bruised chin. "This is interesting, meh heh heh."
'Yeah, his laugh still unnerved me…' Victor sweatdrops before they both charge at each other, both go for a punch, but they manage to dodge away. Carlos goes for an uppercut, but Victor catches the attack before turning around and slamming Carlos down.
Unfortunately, Carlos proves his strength as the Guild's apprentice by regaining his footing and slamming Victor instead, causing the human-turned-Digimon to grit his teeth in pain. Carlos slams down his fist towards Victor, but he was able to dodge it by rolling away, getting up, and performing a handstand kick on Carlos, who was taken aback and barely able to block the attack. Carlos retaliates by attempting to hit Victor's gut, but he can move away before he flips up and swings down both his MP-coated arms like a pair of hammers. Carlos was able to block the attack at the last second, but it was clear that it took a lot out of him than he expected.
"Meh heh heh…you are much more powerful than you look," Carlos chuckles.
"I still have a long way to go," Victor mutters as Carlos smirks.
"Meh heh heh, you did." Carlos's hands turn purple, and he knocks both of Victor's arms away, leaving the Veemon defenseless, and Carlos takes the chance to go straight at Victor's chest. Thankfully, Victor was able to recover fast and block the attack. But Victor feels something is wrong when he feels pain inside his body, and his head starts to hurt.
"P-poison…" Victor grits his teeth in pain, feeling his veins burning.
"Meh heh heh, you're good, Bagon. You're good, but you're still far away from beating me," Carlos cackles before he swings his other arm towards Victor, which Victor uses his other hand to grab Carlos' wrist before pulling them away, leaving Carlos unable to use his arms. "W-what-!?"
"V-Headbutt!" Victor's V-marks glow gold before he slams down his head right on Carlos' head, dead-on. Carlos feels the world is spinning and his strength leaving his body, wondering what that head is made of before remembering he's facing a 'Bagon' of all Pokémon, and realizing his mistake. Unknown to Victor, he has done something that didn't help him beat the allegation that he's a Bagon, and he continues to do so by headbutting Carlos one more time, and he falls unconscious from the headbutt. Victor's head is already durable; coating it with MP might seem to be overkill, but he had no choice when he was poisoned. His time is limited, so he had to finish it off quickly.
"Carlos is unable to battle; Victor has passed the trial with flying colors!" Charlie exclaims, causing everyone to cheer at him, especially Thorn and Sabo. Victor merely grins and gives his friends a thumbs-up before someone shoves something into his mouth. He turned to see the culprit, Guildmaster William himself.
"You're poisoned, my friend. Heal up," William says with a bright smile.
"…thanks, Guildmaster," Victor says as he bites down on the berry.
"Of course. And congratulations!" William slaps Victor's back hard, causing him to scream in pain. He still has a bruise from when Carlos slammed his back to the ground. William notices this and winces before apologizing.
"Alright, clear up the field, please," Charlie says as William carries Victor, who's still wincing in pain, on his back, away from the field. "Now, for the second round, Thorn." Upon hearing his name, Thorn walks forward with a determined expression.
"You will be facing Sally the Sunflora!" Charlie exclaims as the Sunflora, Sally walks forward to face Thorn. Both nod respectfully at each other. Victor looks at his friend before silently wishing him luck as he approaches Sabo.
"Congratulations, Victor," Sabo exclaims with a beaming smile. "You did great, those trainings really paid off."
"I was on the defensive for too long," Victor says while rubbing his sore back before eating an Oran Berry to relieve his pain. "And I got myself poisoned, so I was honestly lucky."
"I suppose you have a headbutt as powerful as Bagon." This made Victor stiffen before groaning in misery. "Eh?"
"I am not going to convince everyone I'm not Bagon anytime soon…" Victor mutters in disbelief, making Sabo giggle and Tesla snort.
"Begin!" Charlie exclaims before both Grass-Type unleashes hordes of Razor Leaves towards each other. Every projectile they launch is cancelling each other out, keeping them in a stalemate. Thorn takes the chance to implant roots under his feet before launching vines towards Sally, which she knocks away before running towards Thorn.
Thorn immediately sets a cloud of Poison Powder right into her face, causing her to halt and cough up the powder before she feels it entering her body. This irritates Sally a bit before she shoots bullets at Thorn, who was unable to block the attack at the time and was hit by a horde of seeds face-first.
Sally flinches as the poison harms her before Thorn summons his whip, wraps them around each other to increase its durability and thickness. He then slams it onto Sally, who is barely able to dodge the attack. When the vine crashes into the ground, it sends debris flying and hits Sally point-blank, causing her to shriek in pain. Sally hisses before her leaves glow and elongate towards Thorn, wrapping around his head as Sally starts to absorb his vitality.
Thorn feels his strength leaving his body and starts to struggle. Despite his typing, Sally was able to absorb a good chunk of his vitality, but Thorn was able to escape her grasp by doing something that horrified Sally, ripping the leaves off with his teeth. Thorn then slams his wrapped vines on Sally's head with everything he's got, and combined with the poison damage, he was able to knock her out cold.
"Sally is unable to battle; the winner of the second round is Thorn!" They once again cheered as Thorn let out a sigh, feeling his strength slowly replenish before getting rid of the root under his legs.
He had learned the move Ingrain during one of his training and he thought that it might be a good move to help him survive. Victor had told him that it might not be a good idea, but Thorn insists. Sadly, Victor was proven correct when he was a sitting Psyduck during the fight, if not for his powder moves and his vine whips. As he walks towards Victor, the Veemon notices the disappointed expression on Thorn's face. Victor is puzzled as Thorn sits next to him.
"…you're right, Victor," Thorn mutters. "I should have listened to not use Ingrain. I was a sitting Psyduck back there."
"…it wasn't a bad move, per se," Victor says. "It just needs the right condition, and you haven't learn it, so…"
"…I suppose," Thorn mutters as Victor pats his head.
"Once this is over, we could strategize a bit?" Victor suggests, and Thorn looks at him before smiling.
"Okay…" Thorn says. Both of them had passed their trial; now they just wait for their friend's trial and hope they can pass.
To Be Continued