The Next Day
Marowak Dojo, Treasure Town
Grass Continent
"… what are you doing, kid?" Daichi looks at Victor with a puzzled expression. Out of nowhere, Victor comes to the dojo while bringing a long-ass stick and asks him to spar with him while using the club.
"I need training on how to wield a weapon," Victor says.
"Kid…weapons are rarely used and not legally sold to anyone, even if they're Guild Apprentices or Members," Daichi explains as Victor blinks, not knowing the last part. "Why do you even want to learn? You don't even have a weapon."
"I… have one," Victor admits, making Daichi blink. "It's…hard to explain, but I have a weird ability that allows me to summon a weapon, but it usually happens when push comes to shove. I have no luck using it again, so I can't prove it. But, I-it would be nice if I could learn how to use it when I was forced into a corner. I don't want to hurt my friends when it happens…"
"…kid, you know how everything you said makes little to zero sense, right?" Daichi points out.
"I know, but I wasn't lying," Victor says.
"Then, why don't you train yourself so you won't have to rely on some clutch?" Daichi asks.
"That's the thing, I don't know if the world gives me enough time to grow that strong. If I got that much time, then I won't be relying on this." Victor mutters.
"You sound like you're dying," Daichi says in concern.
"I might as well be, with how screwed the world currently is," Victor says.
"…right, the thieves that stole Time Gear…" Daichi mutters before looking at Victor in concern. "Don't tell me you plan to face them."
"Oh, fuck no," Victor says. "But the world has a twisted sense of humor. I wouldn't be surprised if my luck will lead me to them."
"Okay, now you're stretching my legs," Daichi deadpans.
"My dumb luck is the reason I got lost in the first place, sensei," Victor says in exasperation as Daichi groans.
"You're not gonna stop pestering me to teach you how to use it, are you?" Daichi asks.
"You don't have to teach me, just spar with me and give me advice would be enough," Victor says.
"That still counts as teaching," Daichi deadpanned before sighing. "Fine, raise that stick of yours. Let's see how you use it."
Victor merely nods before holding the stick with both of his hands, raising it, and facing Daichi, who merely raises his club as he waits for Victor to take action. Victor rushes towards him as he swings the stick from the left, but Daichi blocks it with his bone club before using it to swipe Victor's legs, knocking him down, and Victor accidentally loses his grip on the stick.
"When you use your weapon, make sure to pay attention to your footwork, one foot on the front and the other on the back. It'll help you to pull an effective attack and nimble defense." Daichi says. "Also, make sure you have a firm grip."
Victor groans as he nods and grabs the weapon again, giving it a firm grip, and tries to attack Daichi again. Time has passed, and Victor had spars with Daichi several times, and he got crushed easily. As Victor continues to swing his stick, Daichi notices how sloppy and stiff Victor's movements are, and without any effort, he exploits Victor's flaw by knocking the stick away and sending Victor flying. Victor let out a pained groan as he not only felt pain on his chest but also in his hands.
"Don't grip your sword too tightly, it'll make you shake uncontrollably and stiff like a board." Daichi chastises. "And when you strike, don't use all the powers in every swing or else you get tired easily."
"It's harder than I thought," Victor groans as he tries to get up, but his hands are trembling from the pain and exhaustion.
"Take a rest," Daichi suggests. "And maybe focus more on your moves, you are already good at it. I think your skills in hand-to-hand combat didn't go well with your sword skills, which explains a lot regarding your technique flaws."
"I think I'll just start doing the basics first," Victor mutters. "Like perfecting my swing and posture."
"Now you understand, maybe next time, don't be so eager to spar with non-existent skill," Daichi says as Victor blushes slightly. "Besides, you should slow down a bit. You're quite impatient when it comes to getting stronger, and such things take time. Going for a shortcut will only ruin everything."
"I know…" Victor lets out a sigh as he collapses to the ground before looking at the crest on the back of his hand. With everything that is going on, he has been impatient with everything. He fears he might not be strong enough, he fears that he did too little, and he fears that he might lose those he cares about. Everything has been affecting him badly, and he hates it.
The events have been moving quicker than he could properly adapt to this universe, his new body, and his new power. How can he be patient when the world didn't give him enough time and breathing room to prepare?
'But…Daichi-sensei is right…If I impatiently try to gain more powers, it won't be worth it…my body won't be able to endure all that…' Victor let out a sigh before getting up, pulling out an Oran Berry from his bag as he recovered his strength.
"So, you finally come to your senses?" Daichi asks as Victor merely nods. "Then, may I ask what's been bothering you? Why are you so impatient?"
"… I'm honestly scared," Victor admits. "Scared of what the world could offer, scared of the unknown threats this world might face, scared that I…was powerless to defend it from harming my friends…"
"… Is the Time Gear being stolen affecting you that much?" Daichi asks in concern.
'It's more than that. Palkia, Darkrai, Munna and friends, Kyurem, Bittercold, Nuzleaf, Beheeyems, Yveltal, and Dark Matter. And let's not forget all the unknown enemies caused by the goddamn Butterfree Effect,' Victor thought silently before nodding at Daichi's question. He didn't tell Daichi about all of it since he might be seen as crazy.
"I understand your fear, but I think you're overthinking it," Daichi says as he places his hand on Victor's shoulder. "What you fear is understandable, but don't think too much about it, or you will live the rest of your life consumed by fear. Fear is your current enemy, and if nothing is to be done, everything bad will happen because you are too consumed by fear to prevent it from happening. You don't want that, do you?" Victor shakes his head.
"My piece of advice: calm down. Don't let fear control you. Face your fear so you might change all the bad things." Daichi advises as Victor nods slowly.
"…thank you," Victor mutters quietly, but it is enough for Daichi to hear. The Marowak can't help but feel like his heart twists when he hears Victor's voice; it sounds so weak and vulnerable, so Daichi hugs the poor Digimon out of reflex, much to Victor's surprise.
'Is hugging people like some sort of Pokémon culture or something?' Victor thought, but he didn't mind it; he felt a bit lighter than before. Then, Daichi told Victor to go get some rest like his fellow teammates since it was his day off after the disastrous first day as a Guild Apprentice, so he did.
As Victor walks through the Treasure Town, he notices Thorn visiting the Kecleon Shop, a huge tent shaped like the head of a chameleon Pokémon (Kecleon) and holding a bag of supplies. Thorn was struggling to get them and almost dropped them, but thankfully, Victor was there to catch them.
"You know, if you plan to horde all the supplies, you should ask one of us to help carry the stuff," Victor says as Thorn simply gives the team leader a grateful smile.
"I wouldn't want to disturb Sabo and Tesla resting. It didn't help that you were not around, and it would be shameless to ask for help from my seniors." Thorn says.
"That line contradicts everything you did during our first meeting," Victor says as Thorn splutters.
"I-I was desperate back then!" Thorn exclaims as Victor laughs.
"I know, buddy. I know," Victor says as Thorn pouts. Then, a pair of blue mice suddenly approached the store. One mouse has no arms, the other has arms and a white underbelly. Victor recognizes them as Azurill and Marill.
"Oh, hello, little Azure and Mark." A chameleon-like Pokémon with purple scales, Kecleon, greets. "Welcome, my young friends."
"Hello, may I buy an apple?" The Azurill says as Kecleon nods before giving a plastic bag filled with apples.
"Um, sir. You give us more than an apple." The Marill says as he examines the apple. This scene made Victor pause a bit as he wonders how in the world did the kids didn't notice the extra apple when it was so obvious in the game.
"Consider it as a gift from my brother and me. Please share it amongst yourselves and do enjoy." The Kecleon with green scales says as the Marill and Azurill beam.
"Thank you, mister!" They say in unison before rushing back. But before they could go far, Azurill fell to the ground, and the apple rolled in Victor's direction. Victor looks at it before picking it up and walks towards Azurill as he helps him get up.
"U-um, thank you!" Azurill says meekly as Victor smiles and gives the apple to him.
"Be careful next time, kid," Victor says as Azurill nods and walks away alongside Marill.
"That was nice of you, kid." The green Kecleon comments as Victor shrugs.
"It's nothing much. Assisting them is a basic decency." Victor says.
"Ah, yes. But, given how the world is, basic decency has become rare," The Purple Kecleon says. "And I'm glad that it's not fully gone. You see, those two are brothers. Their mother is sick, so they had to come and do the shopping for her. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to them."
"They're good kids…" Victor mutters as Thorn nods.
"Well, then. Is there anything you would like to buy?" The Green Kecleon asks.
"Speaking about something to buy, do you guys sell a normal staff? The one that doesn't have any wand's effect?" Victor asks as both Kecleon look at him in puzzlement.
"We do…" The Green Kecleon says, looking a bit confused by the request. With that, Victor buys a few of them in case the one he used earlier breaks. Thorn can't help but be puzzled by the purchase. Sure, it didn't cost much, but why would Victor need that?
"So…care to explain?" Thorn asks.
"It's for my future training with Daichi-sensei," Victor says. "It's…to learn how to use a weapon…"
"Isn't a weapon illegal?" Thorn asks.
"You know, I can't help but wonder why." Victor muses. "I mean, this blank wand alone could be used as a weapon, but it was still sold despite you guys saying it's 'illegal'."
"It's…hard to explain, but weapons are mostly used for murder. In every continent, murder is an unforgivable sin that anyone could have committed. Sure, some Pokémon got charged by heavy offense, but neither of them had gone beyond killing other Pokemons that lived in civilization." Thorn says with a frown. "It's based on the legend of Yveltal, the god of death. The god had not made a good reputation, as it was once drunk on the power of death and slaughtered thousands of Pokémon in an ancient civilization, so death has been a taboo topic for everyone. It didn't help that a cult worshipping Yveltal existed back in ancient history and had murdered so many innocent Pokemons, all using weapons that could murder almost anyone. It's the reason why it was very much frowned upon; no Pokémon should have that much freedom."
'The more I learn about this world, the crazier the information I get.' Victor thought with a sweatdrop. 'And isn't that just great? I got a deus-ex-machina in the form of a sword, stuck in a world where weapons are seen as a creator's greatest mistake.'
"What are you going to use that weapon for, anyway?" Thorn asks.
"I…want to learn how to use it properly. I haven't learn how to summon it by will, but I believe it will appear when my life is at the brink of danger. So…I want to learn how to use it without fatally injuring others. Power without control leads to massive destruction, after all." Victor explains as Thorn nods, understanding the explanation.
"Well, let's hope once you learn how to summon it, you won't use it to brag on anyone," Thorn says.
"I'm not that type of guy," Victor says as they notice both Azurill and Marill. Victor still wonders which one is Azure and which one is Mark; both are talking with a tapir-like Pokémon that stands on two legs, Drowzee. Victor can't help but frown at his appearance, remembering this part of the story. In the game, the main protagonist learns his superpowers, and it triggers a vision of Azurill in danger.
Victor then froze as he started to panic. Since he's not the main protagonist, he doesn't have the future vision, and accusing someone without any reason, even if it's ridiculous, will make him sound untrustworthy. Another thing that comes to his mind: Is this the same Drowzee from the game, or is it another Pokémon, since this is an alternate universe? This made Victor feel more frustrated as things have gotten so complicated that Victor doesn't have any idea how to deal with all this.
"Yay!" The Azurill cheers.
"Thank you!" The Marill says to the Drowzee.
"Please, it's nothing." The Drowzee says, and Victor holds his urge to shiver in disgust. The voice of the Drowzee itself is already so creepy. How does no one suspect him? And didn't they say the messed-up time flow made more bad Pokemons appear? Shouldn't they be a bit wary?
… Okay, now he sounds like he's mocking his teammate for being dumb enough to trust him. He also sounds like a dick for judging someone based on their appearance, or in this case, their voices.
"What's going on?" Thorn can't help but ask the brothers as he and Victor walk closer to them.
"Oh! Hi, Mr. Thorn!" Azurill greets, causing Victor to blink. They know Thorn? Then again, they both live in the same town, so it's not weird for Thorn to know them.
"Some time ago, we lost something important to us…" Marill says with a sad tone. "We've been looking all over the place, but we have no luck…"
"Then, Mr. Derrik comes along, and he says he may have seen our lost item somewhere. He even offered to help us look for it! We're so happy about this!" Victor furrows his brow upon hearing that. He knows that some Pokémon were just too kind to offer help, like Aunty Kate and Gary, but don't they show some suspicion?
…he should stop thinking like this. He had unintentionally lampshaded himself and his teammate twice.
"That's great for you!" Thorn exclaims.
"Thank you, Mr. Derrik!" Azurill says excitedly.
"Oh, please. I have a cold heart to ignore kids in need! I can't turn a blind eye!" Victor's eyes twitch at Drowzee's, Derrick's words. He didn't even try to make it less obvious, and the only reason the kids believe him is that they're naïve. Victor looks at Thorn and notices how he twitches when hearing Derrick talk.
Thorn had seemed to notice something was off; that's good.
"Let us be on our way to begin our search!" Derrik states.
"Yup!" Marill and Azurill cheer as they, along with Derrik, walk away, before the oversized tapir bumps into Victor's shoulder.
"Whoops, excuse me," Derrik says before he walks away, following Marill and Azurill. Both of them silently watch as they walk away.
"…Thorn, do you notice how suspicious he is?" Victor asks. "I…didn't want to accuse him, but he sounds like he lied about everything."
"Yeah, I notice it as well," Thorn says while narrowing his eyes.
"…when we return to the guild, let's check the bulletin board. There must be jobs listing Outlaws that need to be captured," Victor says.
"W-wait, wait, wait. Aren't you going a bit too far?" Thorn exclaims in disbelief. "Sure, the Drowzee may seem suspicious, but don't you think accusing him of being an Outlaw a bit much?"
"It's better to be safe than sorry," Victor says with a frown. "Sometimes, criminals tend to blend in plain sight."
"Don't you think you're being too much?" Thorn says with a sweatdrop.
"…I had to deal with that kind of people back in my homeworld," Victor admits. "Got mugged, injured, and even almost got killed several times. It's one of the reasons why I did learn how to defend myself in the first place."
"…I suppose we could check, but I still think it was too much," Thorn says as Victor merely nods.
"Like I said, better be safe than sorry," Victor says as they both walk back to the Guild with all the groceries. They had put them in the bag, and despite the bag allowing them to carry all that stuff as the bag is another magi-tech created with as much space as possible, the weight remains, which is a clear design flaw. It takes them a while before reaching the Guild.
"I hate the stairs," Thorn mutters in annoyance
"I wish they would install an elevator…" Victor mutters.
"What's an elevator?" Thorn asks as they both stand on the platform.
"The greatest invention mankind has ever made," Victor says as the sentry starts identifying their footprints. "A machine that was able to carry as many people as possible to either the very top of the building or even the underground with a simple press of a button."
"...now I wish I were in a human world." Thorn moans as Victor laughs before Douglas pops out of the ground and takes a good look at Victor.
"…I need to memorize your footprint," Douglas mutters before he burrows underground, and the building's portcullis opens up. Both friends enter the building and are greeted with a sight of Tesla and Sabo passing by while holding a plate full of food, looking like they're just awake.
"Oh, hi Victor, hi Thorn," Sabo mutters, yawning a bit.
"You guys just awake?" Victor raises his eyebrow. "It's quite late, you know."
"Please don't say a word. I was exhausted beyond belief because of yesterday." Sabo mutters as Victor winces before looking away. Tesla merely snickers as he takes a bite from his plate, and Thorn glares at the Pikachu. Victor sighs before walking towards the second board, which is located on the left side of the room, far away from the Job Bulletin Board.
On the board, it also has an overwhelming number of papers, but instead of being filled with foreign words describing the jobs, the paper contains a picture of Pokémon, a large foreign word that Victor managed to translate to 'Wanted', and the name and the amount of the reward they'll get when they catch the outlaws.
Victor looked through all of the wanted posters, but to his annoyance and frustration, it was hard to look through due to the sheer number of posters placed on the board, and Victor couldn't seem to find an image of Drowzee anywhere. Victor wonders if it has been updated yet, and his question was answered when Douglas reports that there will be an update. The board flips, showing an empty board.
"Whoa, what's going on?" Thorn asks in surprise.
"The data is getting updated." Team Dawn turns to see Barry approaching them. "Hello, yup yup. Nice to meet you, Team Dawn. I hope you all enjoy your brief time in the guild."
"It was suck," Tesla says bluntly. "We're given a shit amount of jobs just because our leader opened his big fat mouth."
"Oh, please don't blame your leader for this. It was our Vice Guildmaster's fault. Even if he asks, he shouldn't have given you all so many tasks." Barry says with a frown. "But, I am more amazed that you are all able to clear them all. Oh gosh, to think my juniors are a bunch of super rookies. This is quite amazing!"
"….I suppose getting our rank promoted shortly after our first day is good enough," Tesla mutters as Victor, Thorn, and Sabo deadpan at him.
"So, senior Barry, can you tell us more about the update?" Thorn asks as Barry beams.
"Of course, happy to help my junior!" Barry exclaims cheerfully. "The Outlaw Notice and Job Bulletin Board are set up on a revolving panel. While the panel flipped over, our Head Sentry Dugtrio, who is also named Dee-Nice, set more jobs into the bulletin board from the other side of the panel."
"… Is the board able to handle all the paper's weight?" Victor sweatdrops. "Also, do you mean Dennis?"
"No, Dee-Nice explicitly says his name is Dee-Nice," Barry says, making Victor's eyes twitch as the panel flips, but they all sweatdrop when the panel shows visible struggle to flip over due to the sheer amount of jobs posted on it. After a while, the panel has flipped, and Victor can see the sheer number of new posters placed on it. But from all the new posters, one caught his eye.
Victor approaches the board and pulls out one poster with a drawing of Drowzee. Victor looks at Thorn and, without saying a single word, he shows it to Thorn. Thorn widens his eyes before he regains his composure and reads what is written there. As he reads, he starts to shake, and cold sweat starts falling down his forehead.
"Warning – A wanted criminal has been sighted at the Treasure Town. Derrik the Drowzee, known for several charges: Kidnapping, Abuse of Psychics, Robbery, and multiple offense charges." Thorn says, looking at Victor with a clear guilt and horror on his face. "I…I don't know…I don't know…"
"Thorn…" Victor mutters before petting his head. "Calm down…we're going immediately."
"…y-yeah…yeah, let's go…" Thorn says as Victor nods before looking at Barry, who seems so confused. "I'm sorry for being so sudden, senior. But we're taking this job. It's urgent."
"W-what's going on?" Tesla asks in confusion.
"We have seen the criminal earlier walking alongside a child," Victor explains, causing Sabo and Barry to gasp. It was a lie, as Victor knew about this, but he couldn't do anything without Pokémon accusing him of being crazy and getting attacked. If he tries to help by warning the kids about Drowzee, Victor fears they might not trust him since he is not normal compared to other Pokémon. "Neither of us had any idea he was an outlaw before the board was updated. Right now, we're accepting this job and catching that son of a bitch as quickly as possible."
"O-okay! Y-you guys can go, I'll do the reports for you!" Barry exclaims as Victor nods. Both he and Thorn immediately rush out of the guild with Tesla and Sabo following suit.
"H-hey, slow down a bit!" Tesla exclaims as he and Sabo try to keep up, but they run too fast, which is surprising since he's supposed to be the fast one. As they reach the bottom of the stairway, they see a distressed Marill looking around frantically.
"Mark!" Thorn exclaims as Marill, who is confirmed to be Mark, looks at Thorn.
"O-oh, Thorn!" Mark says in distress. "I-it's bad! After we left, we went to look for the lost item together, but I wound up alone while Mr. Derrik and Azure went somewhere! I called and called, but they didn't come back! I-I got scared!"
"W-where did they go!?" Thorn asks as Mark gestures to follow him, and they all go out of town, going to rescue a child from a nasty outlaw.
To Be Continued