Toho Kingdom

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Humanism

Chapter 1:Beach-side Robbery

Ontop of a large cliff that overlooked a small town, a solitary figure stood before a metal grating, and a large tent of sorts. The figure was a small bluish elephant, a phanpy to be exact. It looked up at the sky above. The sun was already beginning to set, a dull orange haze covering the horizon. It was getting late, far too late.

Beside the tent, were twin flames that crackled in the darkening light, and behind them, were totem poles. The poles were carved in the shapes of specific Pokemon, those said to have been instrumental of the founding of the town below. Atleast, that’s what the phanpy thought. He wasn’t entirely sure. He dawdled back and forth, before he finally stopped. “That’s it. I HAVE to do this. I have to steel my courage. It’s now or never.” He said, before he stepped out onto the grating before the building.

“POKEMON DETECTED! POKEMON DETECTED!” A voice shouted out from below. Phanpy nearly jumped out of his skin as the voice rang. He hadn’t… He hadn’t expected that. Sweat began to run down the sides of his face as he waited, and another voice rang out.

“Whose foot is it?” Whose foot is it?”

“The foot belongs to Phanpy! I repeat, the foot belongs to Phanpy!”

He couldn’t take it anymore. He leaped back, and ran away from the grating. After several meters, he stopped, and panted deeply. He turned back around, and looked at the tent, the entrance to the Guild. “I can’t do it…” He stuttered, shaking visibly. “I can’t… I can’t work up the courage to go in after all. After months of trying… I just can’t.”

He reached over his shoulder with his trunk, and grabbed a small stone of sorts, before placing it before him. “I thought holding onto my personal treasure would give me the strength needed, would inspire me to do it… But I just can’t. I’m such a coward!”

He sighed, and picked up the flattened stone again, before placing it on his back once more. This was so discouraging. How he had longed to try and do this, longed so hard and so long… He shook his head. Nothing more he could do for today. It was getting late, after all. With one last look at the Guild Entrance, he walked off, head hung low and trunk draped against the ground.

As he left, a pair of figures emerged from behind the totem poles. One was a bat with no eyes, and the other resembled a floating gas mine with a skull on its belly. “Hey, Zubat.” The gas mine said. “Did you get a load of that?!” He asked.
“I sure did, Koffing.” Zubat sneered. A thick purple tongue slid out from between his fangs and against his lower jaw.

“That little wimp that was pacing around… He had something good on him. Looked like something rare.”

“It looked like treasure. Very valuable treasure, the kind the boss likes.” Zubat chuckled. “Just imagine if we got him that.”

“He’s be ecstatic, and happy with us!” Koffing’s eyes narrowed as he nudged Zubat. “So, do we go after it?”

“We do. Swipe it from under the brat’s nose, and get all the favors from the heavens.”

"Whoa-Ho-Ho!"

"Heh-Heh"

The two chuckled, and then went off, trailing after the retreating figure of Phanpy…

____________________________-

Phanpy let out a sigh as he trudged along the beach. He looked up, and saw that bubbles floated all around him. A smile came to his face. This spot… It had always been a favorite of his. At this time of evening, the Krabby would come out, and perform their mating show, with the males blowing bubbles out across the water to try and attract females. And sure enough, there were the males, perched upon their rocks, the large red crabs blowing bubbles out of their mouths. With the sun setting as it was, the lights that were cast off the bubbles was as a rainbow, nature’s own special show.

The sorrow and despair that was in his heart seemed to melt away as he sat on his rear and watched the Krabby blow their bubbles. It never ceased to amaze him, to cheer him up. Many Pokemon thought that the greatest places on the planet were exotic and far away, and that they’d never be able to see such grandeur and glory under normal conditions… and yet, here this was, such a pretty sight for mortal eyes to behold, right in his own backyard. He’d have to thank whatever deity ran the weather show for making it so nice out… Otherwise, the Krabby wouldn’t have come out at all. No matter how bad he felt, this place, this special little piece of heaven, never failed to undo whatever emotional baggage he carried. The load was always lighter, here on the beach.

A sound reached his ears. He turned in the direction the sound came from, an invisible eyebrow raised. What had that been? It was… like a moan of sorts. He began to trod on further down the beach, brushing bubbles away from his face. There was so many of them, and they were now beginning to annoy him, obstructing his vision…

He rounded a corner, and gasped. Lying on the beach, face down in the dirt, was a person… No, not just a person. He walked in, and sniffed the figure. It was… not a Pokemon. The skin was pale, almost a light peachy color, and the hair on its head was long and silver, reaching down to their waist. It was also quite large… larger than Phanpy was. He tilted his head. Was this thing… wearing clothes? Just… what was it?

He began to nudge the side of it with his head. “Please, wake up! Please don’t be dead!” He began to fret. If it was dead… What should he do? Go back and tell the residents of Treasure Town? What would they know what to do in a case like this?

Another moan cut him off. The figure twitched, and its slender hands dug into the dirt. With a groan, it righted itself and sat back on its knees, before beginning to wipe the dirt off. That was when Phanpy saw the face, and its eyes widened. The nose, the lips, the eyes and the eyelashes…

It was a human! Phanpy had heard tales of humans from the town elder, Torkoal. Apparently, long ago, they had been partners with Pokemon, but had long since left for parts unknown, leaving them be. And yet, here was one now, a woman by the looks of it, dusting herself off. It didn’t make any sense. Why was a human here? Was she… friendly?

Well, he had nothing to lose from seeing if it was. “Ah, thank goodness! You’re awake!” He said. This brought her attention over to him, and now he could see the jaded blue eyes she had, eyes that shone like the ocean besides them. “You weren’t moving at all! I was seriously worried!”

The girl yawned, before she patted dirt off of her small pink shirt. “Um… Thank you.” She said, looking down at Phanpy with a weird look. He could tell she was confused, which was confirmed when she asked, “Where… Where is this?”

“You’re on the beach. I found you here zoned out, and tried to wake you up.” He slowly blinked, then asked, “How did you end up here? Do you remember what happened?”

“I… I think so.” The woman said, as she rocked off her knees and onto her back. “I was… with someone, and something happened, forcing us to let go… It was stormy… but that’s all I can remember.”

“So last night, you got knocked out by an accident.” Phanpy said. “Well, my name’s Phanpy. What’s yours?” He asked.
“My name?” The woman said, as she brought a hand up to her head. She closed her eyes, and concentrated. Her name… She had to at least remember THAT… She opened then as it came to her. “Ah, yes! My name’s Elenoir. That’s really all I can remember though…”

“I see. Well, I guess that would be a normal name for a human. Not that I’d know, since we Pokemon tend not to have names but what our kind is.” He quickly added, “Sorry if I seem a little upstart. Lately, more and more bad Pokemon have been turning up, and I was worried you might be a bad person. Things have been sorta getting law-“

WHAM!

Phanpy cried out as he was sent toppling onto his back. Elenoir rose to her feet, eyes widened as she saw the stone that had been on Phanpy’s back come crashing down onto the beach. “Are you okay?” She asked him. He seemed to be startled, and bruised…

“oh, he’ll be okay. It’s just a scratch.”

She looked up. There, floating above the stone, were Koffing and Zubat, massive grins on their faces. “Oh, I do beg your pardon.” Koffing sneered, smoke billowing from his mouth.

Phanpy turned to face them, somewhat shakily, but he refused to falter. “Hey! What’s the big idea?!” He shouted. That just caused the two poison types to erupt in laughter.

“Can’t figure it out, wimp? Let me spell it for you. We’re here to mess with you and the pretty lady! Can’t face up to us, can ya?” Zubat scoffed as he swooped in low. His tiny legs wrapped around the stone, and he flew up into the air. “We’ll just be taking this, see?”

“NO! GIVE THAT BACK! THAT’S MINE!” Phanpy cried out as he tried to leap at Zubat, only for Koffing to blindside him and send him crashing into the water.

“Too bad, wimp. It’s ours now!” Koffing grinned. “What’s wrong, chicken! BOKK BOKK BOKK! Want this treasure back, come get it!” The two then floated off, as Phanpy stumbled back out of the surf. He spat out seawater and gagged.

The whole time, Elenoir had just sat there, unsure of what to make of the entire scene. “What… What was that they took from you?” She asked Phanpy.
“My personal treasure. It means everything to me. If I can’t get it back…” He began to shake, before stiffening out. “No. I can’t afford to lose it! Please, can you help me get it back? I’m no match for those two!”

Elenoir rose to her feet. She towered over Phanpy, by at least four times. “If it means that much to you, then yes. I’ll be more than willing to help you out. I don’t remember anything about myself other than my name, but you helped me out, so I have to return the favor.”

“Thank you.” Phanpy began to tear up. “Thank you. We have to catch up to them, and fast!” He pointed his trunk toward the cave they had gone into. “Otherwise, the tide will rise up once they get through, and we’ll have no way to get my treasure back! We must hurry!”

Elenoir nodded. “I see. Let’s make haste, then. They don’t look too tough, anyways.” Phanpy lead the way into the caverns, and Elenoir followed suit. Those two would pay for their crime… she would make certain of it.

Chapter 2: Vs. Zubat and Koffing

The Beach Cave was small in terms of cavern systems in the surrounding area. In fact, it was only about four floors deep, but made up for it in the ebbs and flows of the tide changing the layout every day. What would be an otherwise safe pathway one day would be a shallow lagoon of fierce predators the next. Every six hours or so, the tide would rise up to its fullest, or sink to its lowest, exposing vast areas, including a secondary tunnel that lead out from the cave into the wilderness beyond.

And it was that secondary tunnel that Zubat and Koffing were gunning for. That much Phanpy knew. If they got through there, there would be no way at all to catch up to them.

The only problem now… was all the water types in his way. Water types that didn’t like him for whatever reason!

“Get back! GET BACK!” He snapped as he leaped out of the water. Right behind him was a Kabuto, the ancient shellfish crackling as it tried to latch on. A well placed kick from the hind legs sent the prehistoric invertebrate back into the surf.

“So, how much further is it down through here?” Elenoir asked as she took her steps carefully. This cave system was clearly not meant for humans like her, for the pathways were a little too narrow for her liking, and the ceiling barely above her head. Each step she took in her bare feet squished in the mud, and one step too many brought out a shriek. She stepped back, and the ground where she had been on shifted, and a Shellos rose out of the muck and slid away, the slug squealing as it slipped into the water.

“We should be nearing the end.” Phanpy said. He could feel the surf rising up past his legs. Already, the tide was rising, which was beginning to worry the little elephant…

“NOOOOOOO! OUR PATH’S CUT SHORT!”

That was Zubat’s voice! And he was just up ahead! Sure enough, Elenoir and Phanpy spotted the two burglars hovering over a large piece of ground, the last one that could be seen so far deep. Ahead of them, the exit was already under the surf, and large shapes were swimming beneath the surface, with a jagged fin or two cutting through the water. “This is pathetic!” Koffing groaned. “Because we spent our time taunting those wimps, our escape route’s gone under! Wait, maybe we can swim under!”

“Except for one tiny little detail.” Zubat snapped. “I can’t swim! And you SEE those shapes?! Those ain’t Magikarp or Feebas, I’ll tell you that much! We gotta turn back and hope we can bypass those wi-“

“You’re not going anywhere, meanies!” Phanpy shouted. That brought both Koffing and Zubat’s attention to behind them, and sure enough, both Phanpy and Elenoir were standing in the way. “Give me back my treasure!”

“How about nope!” Zubat stuck his tongue out. As he did so, he flew up toward the ceiling, just out of range of Phanpy. The blue elephant tried to jump up to reach it, but each leap barely missed, which caused Zubat and Koffing to burst into laughter. “Come on, keep hopping! You’ll get it sooner or later!”

“Give that back to him! NOW!” Elenoir shouted. Unlike the much shorter Phanpy, her head was nearly brushing the top of the cave ceiling naturally. As it was, reaching Zubat was a much easier task for her…

Or it would have been, had Koffing not rammed into her side, pushing her over. “Hey now! You don’t get to interfere!” He chuckled. “This is a no human event!”

“The wimps really want it so bad?” Zubat hissed. He lazily floated to the side, as Phanpy’s latest jump came nowhere near where he had been. “Then this treasure really must be valuable.”

“We can sell it for a high price, or give it to the boss! Maybe he’ll like it, Whoa-ho ho!”

Phanpy rose to his feet shakily. “WHAAAA?T!” He stammered. “N-no! Give it back! You have to! I need that!”

“Then you’re going to have to force us!” Koffing inhaled, then unleashed a torrent of smoke and smog from his mouth and openings along his body. The recovering Elenoir and Phanpy found themselves shrouded in darkness, and at once their lungs and eyes began to burn.

“Gah! I can’t breath! And I can’t see!” Elenoir began to cough. It was a struggle for her just to open her eyes as she tried to stand, yet even through the smog, she could just barely make out the forms of Zubat and Koffing, snickering and laughing at her and Phanpy’s misfortune. If only she had a way to strike at them before they could react, but if she got close…

That was it! She couldn’t get close to them from this position… but perhaps…

“Phanpy… I need you to roll into a ball for me.” Elenoir whispered beneath her breath.

“W-wha-” Phanpy began to stammer, but Elenoir quickly placed a finger over his trunk.

“I’m going to throw you at those two. If either of us try to run them down, they’ll just react too fast for us, but if I throw you… that will knock them down into the water. They’re still above the ground, so your treasure won’t go in with them. I know it’s scary but… Please trust me on this.”

Through the thickening cloud smog, Elenoir barely saw Phanpy trudge toward her. There was a look of uncertainly and uneasness to him, but deeper than that, was a look of desperation. “ I… I trust you, Elenoir. I only just met you but… I have no choice.” He spat.

“Trying to come up with a plan while you suffocate?” Zubat’s voice echoed around them. It sounded like it came from everywhere, yet Elenoir knew exactly where he and Koffing were. To her surprise, her eyes were adjusting to the toxic smog already, and their outlines were only becoming more apparent. “I can’t make out the fine details, but nothing you do will work on us, wimps!”

In the thickness of the smog, Phanpy thought he saw a smirk appear on Elenoir’s face. “Oh, you have no idea... Phanpy, let’s go!”

The small elephant, having steeled himself as best he could, rolled into a ball. Elenoir reached over and grabbed him. He was surprisingly heavy, but she managed. With all of her arm strength she could muster, she hurled Phanpy through the smoke.

The heavy “URK!” that came from Koffing told her the hit was a success. The blow sent the gas pokemon tumbling down to the waters below, but Phanpy kept going from the momentum of the throw. He slammed into the back wall and bounced off, and tagged a shocked Zubat in the face. The stone the bat had been carrying was flung out of his grasp, and landed in the sand at Elenoir’s feet, as did Phanpy as well, but Zubat wasn’t so lucky. He crashed head first into the waters as well. The wall where Phanpy had hit crumbled away, and allowed the setting sun’s rays to shine into the cave.

“We… We did it!” Phanpy uncurled from his balled up position, and though his head was aching, it was a small price to pay in his mind. He slowly ambled toward the stone and toward Elenoir. Tears had started to form in his eyes. “We… We got it back. It’s ba-”

A high pitched scream tore his and Elenoir’s attention back to the water, as both Zubat and Koffing erupted from the lagoon’s depth. Behind them a massive shark pokemon, a Sharpedo, snapped mere inches from them. It missed, and the creature fell back into the water.

“You.. You two!” Zubat snapped, having whirled around to face Phanpy and Elenoir. Koffing as well had turned, and it was clear both of them were seething in humiliation and anger. “ How dare you rough us up! You’re lucky the boss wasn’t here with us! He would have smoked you clean!”

“Yeah, your victory was a fluke!” Koffing growled. “We’ll be back another time. Don’t think you’re hot stuff just because we got knocked aro-”

Koffing had to cut himself short as the Sharpedo from before leaped out again at them. Its jaws missed Koffing by an inch, while Zubat had to duck low to avoid a large jawed Bruxish that had also decided to take a bite at him. Swiftly, the two flew off through the opening in the wall, and left Elenoir and Phanpy to stand on the exposed sand.

“For all their bluster and insults, it seems they were the weaklings.” Elenoir mused. She looked down at Phanpy, who had placed the fragment back on his back.“Seriously, picking on you for your treasure. How low can someone get?”

“I’m just… I’m just happy my Relic Fragment is back. Thank you, Elenoir! Without you… I wouldn’t have stood a chance!”

Elenoir rubbed the back of her head with a nervous laugh. “You were in trouble and right there. It’s the right and honest thing to do… but this isn’t the place for thanks. Maybe outside of the watery cave?”

______________________________

The trip back to the beach side went by faster than the initial trek. Once both of them were out, Phanpy collapsed. “I never want that to happen again. The only thing I have, my Relic Fragment…”

Elenoir sat down beside him. “I’m sure it won’t. If those two try anything again, we’ll be ready. But… what’s so special about it? What exactly IS your Relic Fragment?” She asked. She noticed the small stone seemed to have a strange pattern on it, like a curving twisting flower. It definitely wasn’t natural to her…

“I don’t really know. I just… I was wandering around and I found it. I just call it the Relic Fragment because I have nothing better to call it.” Phanpy took a deep breath, and looked up at Elenoir. His eyes had stopped tearing up, yet the wetness shone with the dipping rays of the sun. “This pattern, it has to be the key to unlocking legendary places, treasures unlike anything I can imagine. This Relic Fragment has to fit somewhere, unlock something, and that… That is why… That’s why I want to join an expedition team, to find out the mystery behind my Relic Fragment.”

Elenoir smiled, yet she noticed that Phanpy’s expression seemed to sour when he brought up the expedition team. It was clear this was something he was deeply passionate about, so why the glum face? “Then, what’s stopping you from joining?”

“Just before I found you zonked out, I tried to join the Guild here as an apprentice… but I chickened out.” Phanpy slowly swallowed the guilt in his throat. “I… I couldn’t bring myself to… But what about you, Elenoir? You don’t remember anything past your name, and you don’t seem to have anywhere to go so…”

Phanpy lowered his front legs so they were kneed inward, and looked up at Elenoir. “May I ask a favor from you? I… I want to form an expedition team with you. I feel that together, we can be an efficient team, that I can work well with you. So, can you join me, please?”

Elenoir’s brows furrowed. Being recruited out of the blue like this, while she had next to no idea how the world at large worked out. It was all so fast, so soon for her. And yet… she could clearly see the tears starting to reform on Phanpy’s face. It meant so much for him, and to see someone needing a support so bad, some form of assistance, a partner…

No, a friend to rely on. Phanpy needed a friend, someone he could count on to help.

Elenoir let out a low sigh. “Well, it is true I have nowhere to go, and no idea what I should do, so Phanpy, I’ll be by your side. Perhaps while I help you out, I can discover who I really am, and why I am here in this place… But most importantly, I’ll help you discover the meaning behind your Relic Fragment. I promise you that.”

Phanpy’s eyes had grown wide, and the widest smile possible had stretched across his face. “You… You mean it? You’ll form a team with me?!” When Elenoir nodded again, he leaped up and began to nudge her. “Oh thank you! Thank you! We’re going to be the greatest of combinations!”

“So… where is this Guild at? Shouldn’t we go sign up there as apprentices before it’s too late?”

Phanpy rapidly nodded. “Oh yes! I almost forgot. It’s Wigglytuff’s guild, the highest point in town! U-um, just follow me, I’ll take us there! I’m sure the training will be rough, but we’ll become a first rank expedition team!”

Elenoir stood up, and looked down at Phanpy. “That’s the spirit.” She said. She waited for Phanpy to take the lead up away from the beach toward the town proper, and she followed behind. Her strides were much longer and faster than the small elephants, so she had to slow herself down. Yet, her heart was only speeding up.

A strange new world for her, and already she had made a friend. Who knew what the future had in store for her or for Phanpy?