[Pokemon Mystery Dungeon] Tales of the Story Fragments

Map of the Region:

Mellawel Village Map:

The Venallo Region is the place where pokemon travel to reach their dreams of becoming the top explorers. Festiva Town, the place where the Explorers Society HQ resides, is where many go to begin that journey. However... this is not where the story starts. Instead, lets head a little to the west to the sleepy little place dubbed Mellawel Village.

The pokemon here live simple lives, the adults getting along quietly, and their children being, well... children. The Yellow shingles house furthest south houses Clementine, an orange tinted Aggron, and her son Aron; Rusty. Miss Clementine works in the doctor's office to the north, along side a Male Lopunny who everyone calls 'Skip'. The green roofed cottage closest to the east road houses Marigold, a Meganium and her little lad, Cryskull; a larvesta. Miss Marigold tends the garden alongside the doctors office, keeping the flowers bright, despite the attitude she has. In the center of the town, in the gold shingled home, lives Yuki, a pink clad Jinx and her surrogate daughter, Kimiko an ambitious froakie. Miss Yuki runs the shop in the town with Question, a ? unown who has a lot of good information... but a lot of useless as well. Alongside that, she has her acting and singing gigs that she takes on. There are others here, but let's focus on who we have now.

~~~**~~~

Sunlight streams in through your window as the morning sun rises to the start of another day. The morning mail delivery is on time, as you hear the slam of your mailbox shutting and the fluttering of the delibirds arms. Today was an exciting day; the day your invitation to start a junior exploration team arrives! Upon opening, the Explorers Society logo greets your no longer sleepy eyes.

"Greetings, Adventurer!


We here at the Explorers Society would like to extend an invitation to you to join us and our services by becoming part of your very own Exploration Guild! After a 3 week training course, you will be teamed up with several of your other beginner adventurists and placed on some beginner expeditions. After you've proven to be able to handle such, we will move your team up the ranks, allowing you access to harder, but more rewarding, expeditions. By filling out the attached forms and with parental/guardina approval, you will be well on your way to becoming a top adventurer!


Your beginner tier will grant you the following in full;


-3 week training course
-Bronze Explorers Society Badge
-Access to the beginner expeditions
-Junior Stipend
-Beginner gear (1 year free warranty)
-1 accessory of choice


We hope to see you soon!


Signed,


Lead Explorer Sparx
First Mate Explorer Sai"


Your parental figures are currently at their jobs, leaving you all to your own devices. What do you do?

Other kids available to meet with;

Zapp, a chinchou who gets around on a skateboard and wears a snapback. He's super nice.
Melanie, a Salazzle who likes business formal wear, and can be a quite an asshole. Everyone, especially Zapp, says she has a heart of gold. Yet to be seen.
Bash, a Cranidos who just likes everyone whether they like him back or not. He's super shy and blushes a lot.

Rolling out of her bed, Kumiko the Bubble Frog Pokemon awoke with a start to her face planted hard on the ground.  Maybe begging her mother to sleep in a hammock instead of a real bed wasn't such a great idea after all...

She grumbled, rubbing her nose where it hurt her the most.  She squinted through her thin pupils, trying to avoid her eyes hurting from the intense light coming through her window.  She turned away from the sun and sat on the floor, head hung low in defeat.

"Get up, you lazy girl," she scolded herself in her gravelly, nasally voice.  "Today's another day of training."

Crawling out of her room rather than hopping, still very much groggy and sleepy, she entered the main part of the house.  It was way too quiet for the morning.  Usually, music and song would echo all throughout the building, most of it coming from a voluptuous, beautiful lady known as Yuki, the Human Shape Pokemon.  The blonde songstress must have left early to open up the shop she ran.  It was likely she had to babysit Unown again.

Unown was pretty incompetent when it came to opening or closing the store.  There was a moment in time where Kumiko and Yuki took a small vacation down to the shore.  After returning home a few days later, they'd discovered that Unown had locked themselves in the building and was unable to get out with their Hidden Power.  Yuki begrudgingly had to replenish most of her food supply by ordering double from the farming town thanks to this incident - Unown certainly wasn't going to starve themselves...

The silence in her home embraced Kumiko with its eerie presence.  With thought of being home alone, she carefully scoured the interior.  What if her assumption was incorrect, and her mother was captured by a rival ninja?!  There could be traps all over this place by now!  Scaring herself with these ideas, she woke right up!

It hadn't taken long for her to inspect every nook and cranny in the house, seeing as she was very small, quick and nimble.  These qualities helped her cultivate her dreams of becoming a heroic ninja master, much like her idol!  Like any fangirl, Kumiko also had some posters drawn by professional Smeargle of him on her walls.  He was very much important to her.

She finally approached the door, hopping up and looking through the peephole.  It appeared as if the mailmon had come by.  She took one last look behind her, making sure she hadn't turned her back on anything predatory, before opening the door and stepping outside.

"UGH, TOO BRIGHT," the young frog groaned, stumbling her way to the pole of the mailbox.  She managed to clumsily open it and take out its contents before hurrying back inside.

Panting as she made it to the center table, she flopped the papers down on the wooden surface and spread them out with her little three-fingered hand.  One of the pieces caught her eye.

"This one is..." she mused, taking it from the pile and holding it up to her eyes.  She unwrapped it from its envelope, freeing the cordial invitation letter.  Her eyes widened, and her pupils shrank as Kumiko read the same verbiage over and over again.  Each time she did so, the smile on her face grew wider, until she could no longer keep a scream of happiness from escaping her tiny body.

"YES!!  YES!!  I'M GONNA MAKE IT!!  I'M REALLY GONNA MAKE IT!!" she shouted, bouncing around the table and hugging the letter like it was an old friend.  She stopped abruptly, quickly skimming the bottom sentence once again.  She had to fill out some forms and get...

Get...

Oh no.

Anything but that.

Mom's approval.

Immediately her heart sank and her smile flipped into a frown.  She dropped her arms to her side and slumped over on the ground, her cheek smushed up against the floor.  "Now what?!" she whined, her smushed cheek obstructing her voice a little.  She turned her head and dragged herself over to the envelope the letter came from.  The forms the writer spoke of were indeed there.  All she had to do was get her mother to approve of this.  At least in the time being, she could fill out the other parts of the paper, even though she knew deep in her heart it would be all for nothing.

After spending some time and filling out the forms, Kumiko sorrowfully left her house.  Forms in hand, she was reluctant about taking them straight to her mother's shop.  Sighing loudly, she began her slow and uneventful hop away from her abode and over to the main road.

On her way there, she noticed the town's coolest little dude with wheels, a Chinchou by the name of Zapp.  Kumiko never saw this Angler Pokemon without his skateboard, and so, just like any other day, he was out and about with his favorite ride.  When he appeared to look in her direction, she waved at him.  "Hi, Zapp," she gloomily greeted.  "How's the weather gonna be today?"

As the sunlight entered Cryskull's room, the Larvesta couldn't help but grumble. He blinks, looking around his room. It was average sized, and covered from wall to wall in maps and posters of different locations said to contain various treasures and lost artifacts. Cryskull had a bit of a hobby, you see...he was a treasure maniac! He loved it! The sight of gold, the taste of jewel, the texture of valuable statuettes or artifacts! To say that Cryskull was greedy was the understatement of the century. In fact, one could say that Cryskull would sell his last slice of bread, the only bit of food he had left, if he could get richer.

As he made his way out of his room and down the hall to the kitchen, he looks around the room with bored, tired eyes. "HEY MA! WHAT'S FOR BREAKFAST?!" No reply. He sighs, figuring she must have caught an early shift helping tend the flowers at the doctor's office. He makes his way over to the cupboard and hops up, retrieving a box of Rotom-O's and a bowl before grabbing a bottle of MooMoo Milk from the fridge. He sits down, preparing his breakfast with a sour expression. Hopefully, something good would come of today, because he was soooo bored of this hum-drum, boring life.

He wanted to be an Explorer! A real one, like on TV! The ones who would go around, solving dungeons and collecting treasure! That was exactly the kind of Explorer the young Larvesta wanted to be. As he gulped down his cereal, he hops off his chair and makes his way outside to check the mail. Maybe that new Boku no Hero Academia video game he ordered came finally? It had the New Generation Class expansion pack, featuring five all new, never-before-seen characters from a new series that was supposedly in the works.

As he went through the mail he finds the package clearly marked that it was from the Explorer's league. His blue eyes widen as a hungry smile grows across his face. Looking both ways, he dashes back inside and immediately takes the package up to his room, hiding in there with it. He then crawls into bed, snuggling under his comforter as he opens the package with glee. As he reads the letter to himself, he nearly curses when he reads the part about needing his guardian's approval.

His foster mom, Marigold, wasn't exactly the most understanding of parents...she might not let him go, purely because she knew how greedy the little Torch pokemon was. However, he knew that if there was anyone who could help him think of a way to get Marigold's permission, or find a way around it, it was his friend Melanie! With a sly grin, he fills out the forms and heads out, being sure to take his prized possession with him; a brown explorer's hat with a broad rim and a ring of white Sharpedo teeth around the base. placing it on his head, he made his way out into the town. Today, he takes the first steps on his road to becoming an Explorer!

Rusty slowly blinks his eyes open in the morning light, the tiny rock and steel type standing up from where he was in his nest of dirt and rocks. He blinks when he sees the tiny little crystal that his mother had left for him to eat for breakfast. He happily munches it, seeing that there was a note attached nearby; though he had munched part of that too. But it was still legible!

The note read:

Rusty,

There are some small crystals in the garden that I’m growing with the flowers. Please don’t eat them or the flowers. Please get the mail too as I won’t be home until later.

Love,
Momma

The rust-colored Aron chirps with glee. He never got to get the mail! He was always too heavy to do it so his mother was always afraid he would break the post it was on. Walking outside into the daylight, he walks over to the post that held the large metal dome that usually contained the mail. Oh he had wondered what that metal would taste like! But his momma always told him never to eat it because otherwise they wouldn’t be able to get the mail anymore. And he had sent out for a very special request to join the explorer’s society just recently too! He scratches at the post and just as he crawls onto it he feels the post slowly sink into the soft dirt underneath it under his weight. Slowly he keeps trying to make his way up the post, the mailbox sinking lower and lower until he could finally get at the tiny door that would let him grab the mail. He opens it and sees the usual mail suspects. But one thing catches his eye; a letter with the seal of the explorer’s society! It finally came!

With a cry of joy Rusty grabs the mail in his mouth and scuttles back inside. There he sets the mail down and pulls out the marked letter he was after from the pile. Carefully he tears it open with his metal claws and unfolds it to read it. After doing so, he smiles and folds the letter back up. He just knew his momma would approve of him traveling! He would be just like his poppa and go to save people who are stuck and eat lots of tasty gems, minerals and rocks! He piles the mail back together and sets it on the chair next to the door, the reinforced nature of it letting him climb up it’s legs comfortably without buckling under his weight.

But now he had to wait for his momma to get home. The note from her said that she wouldn’t be home until later so maybe he could wander about town for now? Maybe he could find some of those delicious shiny crystals outside! The thought excited the tiny creature as he soon scuttles outside to go wander about town in search of shiny, yummy things to eat!

The Chinchou ollied as he rolled on up, wiggling his antennae in greeting. "Hullo, Kimiko! The weather is gonna be super nice today!! It's perfect for doing some skateboarding! Wanna join me?" A dumb smile crossed his face as he hopped up and down on the board. It seemed his didn't get a letter from the Society, but Zapp seemed pretty happy nonetheless. 

The Froakie could hear the faint jingle of the shop door in the distance, the thought of what her mom could possibly say about the letter going through her little frog mind.

--**--**---

Melanie was sitting on her front porch, drinking a morning cup of blacksludge. Her hot pink tie carefully tucked around her neck so she wouldn't spill any liquid? on it. In her perfectly manicured claws was an Explorers Society letter, though she didn't look exactly thrilled about it. The sound of the Larvesta approaching moved her attention away from the paper. "...Oh it's just you, Cryskull. What brings you to my manor so early?"

--**--**--

When he left his hpuse, Rusty passed the destroyed mailbox in his front yard, the steel canister glimmering in the morning sun. If he chose to, it wouldn't have been the first time he decided to eat the mailbox. Otherwise, he can hear the chatter of other kids in the village. Whether he approaches is up to him.

The Froakie's eyes sharpened horizontally, the sound of the shop's bell irking her.  Her lips zig-zagged and she hunched over more, the tension building in her shoulders.

"I'd like to," she confessed, looking at Zapp.  "But I gotta get to my mom's shop.  I need... her help with something."  She almost hissed that last part.

She noticed the lack of letter on Zapp's being; this prevented her from sharing what she was holding.  She looked off toward the shop, then back at the skater boy.

"If I have time later today, maybe we can ride later," she sighed, a light smile on her face.  "I could use the agility training, and you're really fast on that thing.  See ya!"

She quickly waved to the Chinchou before hopping off, a little more spring in her step now that she perhaps had something to look forward to later.

Minutes later, she arrived at the shop, its bright blue rooftop shining with daylight.  The green and gold flags bordering the front were advertising some new item Yuki the Jinx and ? the Unown had gotten in, but Kumiko paid no heed to such things.  Business-related things did not interest her.

She pushed open the door, activating the chime.  She hated that thing, for it made much noise for a ninja like her!  She squinted at the sound, but looked around to see if her mother was indeed available for a talk.

Rusty blinks at the destroyed remains of the mailbox, sighing. At least he was able to get the mail out of it before he completely destroyed it. His stomach grumbles at the sight of the shiny metal, making him salivate a little. He was still kinda hungry....maybe just a nibble?

The tiny rock/steel type skitters over to the destroyed remnants of the mailbox and starts to munch on it, the door popping off and clattering to the ground in front of what was the post it was on. He munches some more of the mailbox’s dome shape, the tasty metal settling the hunger in his stomach long enough for him to pick up the little door to the mailbox in his mouth. He fights the urge to eat the mailbox door as he slowly begins wandering his way to the north end of town. He had to tell his momma about the exciting news! And....well the mailbox bit too. Hopefully she wasn’t too busy to talk!

Along the way, he hears Bash nearby and pauses, smiling at the Cranidos as much as he could and wagging the shiny stump he had for a tail. “Hello Baf! How are you?” He asks, his mouth still full with the mailbox door.

The young Larvesta had a pleased look on his face as he made his way up to Melanie, his letter clutched tightly in his little front limbs. Hopping up the steps to the front porch, he waddles over and smiles up at Melanie. "Got a letter from the Explorers Society too, huh?~ Congrats, Melanie! I got one, too! Now I can finally go out there and find aaaaaaaall that treasure that the world has to offer!"

His eyes become PokeDollar signs as he wiggles with glee. "I'm gonna be riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiich!~ But, there's one obstacle that I'm a little concerned about....My mother." He looks up at Melanie with pleading eyes. "Melanie, you and I have been friends for how many years now? Since back when you were a Salandit?~ We've been the Asshole Duo for a long time now...so, I'm asking you as a friend....How the hell can I get around this problem? Got any way I can convince Ma to let me go?! I'd say lets forge the signature, but if I just up and vanished, she'd flip out and come after me like Rusty down the block when he sees a pile of scrap metal! Pleeeeeeeeeease?!" He looks up at her with cute, blue eyes, comically batting them.

The door to the shop jingled, alerting Miss Yuki to the presence of a customer; well her daughter this time. The Jinx smiled as she finished dusting off the counter before moving out into the open floor of the shop to greet the Froakie.

"Question, could you please take these couple boxes to the back for me?" She asked sweetly, the unown complying with a cheery bounce in its glide. When the psychic type was out of sight she turned to Kimiko. "Good morning, sweetie. What can I do for you?" Her eyes fall to the letter in the water type's hand. "Did something come for you today?"

--------------

"Weeeelllll....." she sets her cup down and almost slithers up to Cryskull, putting a clawed arm around him. "I have a little sit-down chit chat with dear old mum for you~ BUT! as always, my little services come at a price!" She slight of hands the letter from his grip and holds it up. "I want a... small cut of anything you find on your adventures, if you make it in~" her violet eyes sparkled as she attempted to extort her acquaintance. "I know how much you wanna be an explorer, but it comes down to you and how far you'll go to become one~"


-------------

Bash's eyes go wide as he's approached by Rusty. He blushes brightly and smashes his head into the ground beneath him. "H-hi Rusty!!! How are you today??" He liked the little Aron, and the Chinchou, even the Salazzle. Hell, he liked everyone. "You're asking me about my day?? Oh g-goodness, It's even more wonderful now that I'm talking to you! I w-wanted to see if everyone wanted to go to to river today, t-to hang out!!! WOULD YOU P-PLEASE GO WITH ME??"

Kumiko jumped in her spot when her mother noticed her, her pupils shrinking.  Even though she spoke with such a velvety voice, the little Pokemon knew how angry she could get.  Carefully crawling over to the Jinx, the Froakie shifted her eyes around the room in order to see if she had an easy-out if this conversation ended badly.

"Uhh, hey, Mom," she hesitated, rubbing the corners of the paper she was holding.  This was it.  The moment of truth!

"Actually, yeah... Y-You remember that ummm... exploration team I was kinda wanting to be a part of for a while now, right?  You're so good at remembering things, after all~" she chuckled nervously, trying to joke and shmooze her way through this.  "I mean, that wasn't that long ago and I know you think this whole thing is a phase for me, but I'm still the teensiest bit interested in going to this tryout event that got mailed to me and me specifically!  Soooo, if you wouldn't mind being the generous and wonderful mom that you are, you'd just sign on the line down here and give me a chance?"

She flipped the paper over to show her the parental guidance approval sheet, showing it in all its bare, naked, unsigned glory to her mother.  Adding a big grin as a last ditch effort to try and appease Yuki, Kumiko just hoped and wished for the best as hard as she could!

Rusty hops up and down a little, trying to smile through the mailbox lid in his mouth. “Of coufe I’ll go wif you Baf! I gotta go see my mom firft though! I got a letter from the soshiety today! She haf to fign it fo I can go to it.” He says, resisting the urge to continue chewing on the mailbox lid in his mouth. It sure was tempting!

Cryskull's eyes can only give the Salazzle a look of sheer and utter annoyance. "Plucking my pockets in my time of need? Some friend you are..." He groans. Even though he hated thought of giving up ANY of the wealth he would acquire on his travels, he knew that his mother would never let him go if he ask by himself. With an exasperated sigh, he drops his head and speaks low. "Fine...you can be my manager...But you won't get more than 20%! I gotta make a living off this, right?!"

He shuffles nervously, his little bug-appendages poking themselves in a type of shy, almost anxious manner. "You really think my mom will listen to you?"

Miss Yuki took the paper from Kimiko and read over it several times, every so often glancing up at the mixture on emotions on her daughter's face. She thought back to her youth, and all the things she wanted to do... that she wasn't allowed to. All her little froakie wanted, was to try. The hardened look in her eye softened as she finally came to a conclusion. The Jinx patted the counter, motioning for the water type to hop up. After she did, she placed the letter on the counter, in full plain view. 

"Kimiko... You really want this don't you?" she sighed deeply, but smiled in the end. She couldn't keep her safe in the household forever, and if she tried, it could lead to some serious rebellious teenage years. At least, thats what all the parenting books and magazine clippings she read said. "...I'll tell you what; I'll sign this on one condition." The tip of the pen hovered over the sign line as she looked at the froakie, who stared hopefully back at her. "I'll sign this... on the condition that you PROMISE me that you'll stay safe, and call me at least once a week. If you feel that you want to come home for any reason... Please do. It'll be worrisome to know that my little girl is out in dangerous places."

With that, she completed her signature on the paper. It was time to take the next step in parenting, and that was to start giving the child the freedom to make her own choices... as much as she may not like said decisions.

-----------------------------

"Y-Y-you will??" Bash's eyes widened as she tried to hide his face with nubby little t-rex arms. "Yes! Of c-course!! Go see your m-mom, and I'll wait at the g-gate!!!! No wait!! I'll go see i-if the others wanna go too!!!" He was blushing brightly as he shook about, flustered. without a response from the little Aron he ran off, most likely to find the others to ask them about the river.

The Doctor's Office wasn't terribly busy, as Miss Clementine was at the front desk, and Skip was taking a visitor back to the exam room for a checkup. The Aggron waved happily as her son waddled through the door; it wasn't everyday she got a visit from Rusty, be she loved it when he did! She chuckled as he proudly carried a letter and part of the mailbox in his mouth.

"Rusty, did you eat the mailbox again? Do we have to switch to Plexi-plastic?" she jokes ans she maneuvers out from behind the secretary desk to greet her son. "What else do you got there?"

---------------------------------

Melanie smirked and took a step back. "Not to worry, my deeeaaaaarrrr friend~" she adjusted her tie. "I'm not asking for much~ Just ssssend me something pretty now and again, and we'll call it even!" The Salazzle stood to her full height of almost 4ft and nodded. "Noooow... When you you like me to speak to dear old mum of you?~"

The poison-type was rather eager to help the Larvesta what he wanted; it benefited her in the end after all. Coming up with stories on the fly was one of her wonders, so convincing the Meganium to allow Cryskull to go out on his life's dream shouldn't be all that difficult.

The rust-colored Aron carefully sets the mailbox and letter down, his tiny tail wagging. “It’s a letter from the Explorer’s society momma! I got accepted! Can I go? I have to have your permission. And can I have the rest of the mailbox? I’m still hungry!” He asks quickly, picking up the letter in his mouth and angling his head up so that his mother could take it from him.

The Larvesta still seemed rather wary, but sighs. This really was the only way, though. "As soon as possible. Not to be a wet blanket, but I'm eager to get started! All that treasure, all those lost artifacts...ALL THAT WOMPOM! Its all just sitting there, waiting for my grubby little paws to take it!~"

His eyes seemed to flash hungrily as he envisioned all the treasure; Gems as big as watermelons, gold statues the size of Wailords, ancient deeds and bonds long forgotten in the annals of history, now worth billions...and he wanted it! Cryskull wanted all of it!

With the conditions out before her, Kumiko's wide eyes and gaping mouth broadened into the happiest face she could muster.  That's it?!  Just stay safe and keep in contact with her?!  Easy-peasy!!  Immediately, the little Pokemon squealed like the child she was, clapping her hands together rapidly.

"That's it?!  That's all I have to do?!" Kumiko asked again in sheer disbelief.  She trilled and her frubbles puffed out all around her face.  "YES!!  I'LL DO IT!!"

Her excess frubbles burst and she launched herself forward at Yuki, hugging the Jynx as much as her little froggy body would allow her.  Nuzzling her collar, Kumiko spoke seriously in this moment, to show her genuine sincerity.

"Mom, when you see me next, I'm going to be an amazing ninja warrior, and I'll help lots of people!" she told her determinedly, her smile still audible.  "...but in case I get in trouble, I can call you."

She closed her eyes and concentrated on this moment. It was the first time her mom had trusted her with something so important, after all! She figured she should cherish these few seconds of undisturbed peace.

The Aggron chuckled as she picked up the heavyweight child in one hand, and the letter in the other. Clementine read it over a couple times before looking to her son.

"Now Rusty, before i sign this, i want you to know that a job lile this will be with you the rest of your life. Once you answer the call of an adventurer, theres no going back. It can get really dangerous and scary, so you have to make sure that you and your team stay safe!" She sets the letter on the countertop and carefully takes a small photo frame from the desk; one placed next to a nice photo of her and her son. "This was me and my team back in the day." She told him, looking at the photo of a Lairon, a Braixen, and a Haunter. "We couldnt agree on a name, so we were called 'Team Trick'. Exploring is a lot of fun, but its a lot of work. Are you prepared for this?" She puts the photo down and turns her attention to her son.

--------------------------------- 

Melanie grinned and took Cryskull's letter, getting up from her chair. "Dearrrrr old mum should be taaaaking care of the flowerssss right about now... Leave it to me!" The salazzle slithered off with remarkable speeds towards the doctors office.

"Ah. Melanie." Came the voice of the Meganium among the large flower bed. "What do i owe the... pleasure?"


"I'm glaaaaad you asked, Miss Marigold~ I wanted to talk to you abouuuuut... this!" The poison type holds up the letter for the grass type to read. Marigold read it ober before shaking her head.

"No, not happening. Cryskull needs to grow up in a peaceful enviroment, not out in some shitty cave!"

"Buuuut, are you ssssure that wont hinder hisssss growth?"


"The only hinderance to his growth is the fact he hangs around with you. You cheat, you lie, and you're constantly extorting him out of his allowance!"

Melanie sighs, knowing the plant would pull the bad friend card. It didnt worry her, since she too had a couple cards up her sleeve. "And youuu dont let him do aaaanything at all~ At leassssst i indulge in his lusssst for explorrration~ Little tiny Cryskull issss gonna stay a little Larvesta foreverrrrr never to grow up and be the besssssst Volcarona he can~ All becaussssse you wanted to be a 'good mother'~ If ya wanna prove him wrong, let hiiiim go~"

Marigold was very uncomfortable with where the conversation turned to, but she was backed into a corner. Melanie held out a pen and wiggled her eyebrows at the grass type took it in her antennae and signed the paper. "Just.... stop taking his allowance."

With a 'good day', Melanie folded the letter nice and neat and made her way back to Cryskull and presented him with it.

-------------------------------

Miss Yuki smiled and hugged the small frog. She had a lpt of mixed feeling about letting her go on something like this. Being an explorer wasnt easy! But if Kumiko truly believed that she could succeed amd become something better, and that this was the start she needed... then she was willing to put some faith in her daughter and let her try.

"Its not an easy job, Kumiko," she started. "...But if you believe that this will help you be the best polemon you can be... then im willing to support you." She folded up the signed letter and handed it to the Froakie.

The little Aron looks at the picture of his mother’s old team with wide, awe-inspired eyes. Her old team looked so cool! He practically hopped in his mother’s arms and started to nuzzle and rub his helmet on hers affectionately. “I’m ready Momma! I wanna be the best explorer ever, just like you and Papa! I wanna be a big, strong Aggron that rescues people from caves and finds all kinds of gems and yummy rocks! Can I go? Please please please?!” He asks, his little tail stump wagging cutely as he smiles excitedly up at his mother.

Kumiko was still a bit naive to her mother's feelings.  She was far too young and inexperienced in anything outside of this region, and thought Yuki's questions were redundant and silly.  All she could think of was becoming powerful, crafty and intelligent like her favorite hero... but better!  She hadn't quite figured out she had to be more cautious than she thought she already was, in order to survive being an explorer.

"Hey, I said I'd call and maybe I can even send Pelipper and Deliberd Mail to you!  If I find something really cool, you can have it, to show I've been there!" Kumiko attempted to reassure her mom.  "If it was easy, everyone in town would be a super cool explorer!  Might be some interesting competition, but I'm doing it for me!"

The little Froakie had no intention of going home, whatsoever, but she still appreciated the door her mother would leave open for her in case she did decide to return...  but if that were to happen...
Her dreams would die.

Cryskull paced nervously as he waited for Melanie to return. When she returned with the signed permission form in tow, he lets out a joyful laugh, jumping up and down with glee.

"YAAAAAAAAAAS! THANK YOU SO MUCH, MELANIE! I'M GONNA BE RICH! FILTHY STINKING RICH! I'LL BE LOADED! I'LL BE A WEALTHY MISER! I'LL BE COMFORTABLY WELL OFF! GEEEEHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

He begins doing a little jig, dancing and revelling in his imagined wealth that he planned to acquire now that he was a full-fledged Explorer!

Clementine sighed inwardly as she dragged the pen over the signature portion of the form. This was bound to happen eventually; most of the kids in the village were around the legal exploration age, and letters were being sent all over the Venallo Region. One way or another... he would have answered the call.

"Alright, alright." She folded up the letter and stuck it back in the envelope. "Promise me you'll be safe out there. I would be devastated if anything were to happen to you or any of the other children. If an exploration goes south... get everyone out." The Aggron takes a breath before smiling. "Make sure you see if any of the other kids are going, then it would be best to either head out tomorrow morning. The Exploration society doesn't like waiting!"

------------------

Melanie grinned her devious grin, putting a scaly arm around Cryskull's shoulder. "Remember our deeeeeal." She reminded him. "A little sssssomething sssssomething here and there, everything else is youuuuurs~ id go, but exxxxxxploration really isn't mmmy thing. I want to be a lawyerrrr~" 

After releasing her grip on the little bug, she takes a step back. "Though i aaaam proud of yoooou, my friennnnnd~"

-------------

Yuki sighed, but she couldn't help but give a smile to the young froakie. They both were taking big steps by agreeing to this, and the Jynx could only hope that they were steps in the right direction. 

"Why dont you see if any of your friends are going as well? Spend today here in the village, then head over in the morning. This is a big event for you, so make sure you're ready!"

---------

Everyone has an invite from Bash to join him at the waterfall to hang out today!

The little Aron practically hops out of his mother’s arms and takes the letter into his tiny mouth. He turns to his mother and chirps at her. “Thank muffer! I’ll do my best!” He says with the letter in his mouth. He then walks out of the building and decides to head back home first to deposit his letter so he wouldn’t lose it.

Once it was safely tucked away in his nest, he leaves the house and goes out in search of the other local Pokémon, hoping to invite them to Bash’s waterfall adventure. It would be a wonderful going away trip to be able to spend time with every one of his friends before he left. Once he got out tomorrow morning, he would be heading towards his dream as a full fledged Explorer!

Her eyes gleaming with joy, Kumiko accidentally crumpled the envelope a little in her tiny excited fists.  "I will, Mom!  See you later!!"

Booking it out of the shop, the eager bubble frog Pokemon ran circles around the shop, ridding her body of the extra energy she received from her mother's blessing.  When her little heart had enough of the running, she stopped and looked at the envelope again, her smile still wide and open.

It was then that she remembered she was invited to a little get-together at the waterfall today!  That Cranidos, Bash, he'd sent one to everyone an invite, didn't he?  Kumiko didn't mind him, though he was a bit awkward to be around.  A bit too shy, perhaps?  Either way, she needed to tell someone the good news, and this was the best way to do it!  Without much deliberation, she stored the envelope in her frubbles and hopped away to the falls.

Cryskull's white fuzz bristles slightly upon being reminded he had to part with any of his treasure at all, but he bit his tongue, knowing that it was for the best. He instead smiles and nods happily to Melanie. "Thanks, Melanie. Hey, if you're gonna be a lawyer, maybe I can hire you to help me if I need to sue some sap for the rights to a treasure?!~"

Saps...Wait, speaking of poor saps, didn't Bash send him an invite to hang out at the waterfall today? Reaching into his hat, he finds the invite and a small, smug smirk forms on his face. "You know what? I'm gonna go do a little bragging to the rest of the kids. They all wanted to hang out at the waterfall later. This will be perfect!~ I'll show them my Letter of Acceptance, and they'll be toooootally jealous! Wanna come along?~"

Over at the waterfall, Bash was hard at work alongside Zapp. The Chinchou had rolled around town and evesdropped on everyones conversations with their parents, then reported back to the timid Cranidos. They had a banner setup that read "CONGRATS ON EXPLORING!", as well as a rather large picnic set up water side, courtesy of their parents. The two of them were rather happy that the others recieved letters, though they were also a little disheartened. Just like the year before, they had not recieved invitations for the Exploration Society; Even Melanie got one this year! Speaking of...


"Mmmmmm..... I sssssuppose, I could come along for a feeeew minutes~"