[PKMN FULL] Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Haven [T/IC]

It was nearing dawn when an Archen arrived in the forest outskirts of Haven, his talons were covered in dew of the blades of grass nearby. His feathers were still messy, he had been newly awakened by his passion and dreams, but those dreams that were still in his mind will become a reality, soon. The morning sun was becoming more and more visible as he was approaching the village, its golden warmth began to cover his beak. The dirt path he was following out of the forest led into a sturdy wooden bridge, underneath were some rocks that were continuously being imbued in clear river water. He was greeted by a sign that said "Welcome to Haven" written in cursive caricature. The Archen smiled, after 1 and a half days of walking, he had finally arrived at his destination - Haven, home of the Explorer's Guild!

The first thing he noticed was the dojo, it was a big hut equipped with two water wheels, outside, an Accelgor was gazing into the distance, as if, he was waiting for someone. The Archen shot him a "Hello" but the Accelgor didn't respond. Up ahead, the road forked to the left and to the right. He took the right road and soon came upon a small shack with a Klefki having his morning tea. "Good morning sir!" The Archen waved at the Fairy type. "G-good morning! Welcome to my Appraisal store!" The Klefki said and introduced himself as the Keymaster Klefki. He asked the Archen for a valuable box that he wished to be opened, but the First Bird Pokemon shook his head. "I'm new here," the Archen said. "Ah! Sorry to bother you! But if you have boxes! You know where to go!" Explained the Klefki. "Its OK! And thank you, I'll see you soon!" The Archen bid his farewells to the Klefki and headed on his way. Up north, he approached a strange house in the edge of town, it had ominous pink smoke escaping from its chimney, with no owner in sight.

Then, just as he was about to turn back, he saw something at captured his attention. It was glowing a hue of blue, and the Archen quickly flew over to see it the mysterious object. It was a thick gem of towering height that glowed azure in color, the First Bird Pokemon stared at it for quite some time and was off. Next to the gem was a large logging house called the Kriket Inn, where a Kricketot and Kricketune were busy cleaning the inside and out of the tavern. Next, he headed towards the western side of town, there was a stall that held various items for sale - from orbs to accessories, everything was in stock. A lone green blob was busy taking inventory of the various goods, as the Archen approached him, it retorted and exclaimed, "Sorry sir! Were not open yet! GO AWAY NOW!" The Archen tried to apologize but the Gulpin was too busy to even notice, instead, he continued on his way.

Once he reached the center of the town, a massive building was in sight, the Haven Exploration Guild! He entered the doors of the guild and nervousness started to kick in, he approached a counter a few meters in front of a big board pinned with requests. A small pink dog Pokemon was scurrying around the guild, but when she saw the newcomer she stopped and approached him, "Well, well, look what we have here?" The Snubbull asked. "Im here to apply as a guild apprentice," the Archen politely said. "Oh good! Come, follow me!" The Snubbull escorted him to the second floor, entered a big iron door and came back with a chest. "Tell me, Archen, what is your name?" The Snubbull asked, while semi opening the chest. The Archen, intrigued by the contents of the chest, spoke up, "My name is Finn!" He smiled.

"Well, Finn the Archen, welcome to the exploration guild!" The Snubbull opened the chrst and revealed the contents one by one. "This is your Explorer Badge, show it proudly, ot signifies you being an explorer!" She handed him a Pokeball shaped badge with angel wings which he fastened on his chest. " Here's your Treasure Bag, use it to store items your found in your travels! And lastly, your Warp Crystal, mined from the blue rock in town, I'm sure you've seen it?" Finn nodded to that question and gladly accepted both items, "The Warp Crystal can be used to transport you back to the town," the secretary explained.

"Again, I welcome you to the guild!"
​

Sunlight shone through the open window and bathed the lily pad on Lotad's head. He woke up, his bill slightly opening with a yawn. He slept inside a wooden tub filled with water. It seems that the Kricketot Inn was ready for any guests. Lotad climbed out of the tub and stretched his six legs. He waddled towards the window and onto the chair below it. Outside, the sun was rising lazily into the air as its light made the crystal in the center of the square glitter. The scene made Lotad smile. It reminded him of the way their pond would glisten under the morning light. Despite the folks who shunned him from the group, he still missed home. The Lily Pad Pokemon went down and waddled to the door. He passed by the mirror and saw himself. Now away from the other Lotads, he didn't seem very big, but his autumn yellow lily pad still stood out. It made him...different. He was reminded of the reason why he went to Haven in the first place. He took a deep breath and turned away from the mirror. Things will change, he thought to himself as he walked through the small door that was installed for smaller Pokemon without arms like him. Things will change and everyone will love me.

Lotad's room was only a few seconds away from the stairs. He stood atop it, staring down at the flight of stairs below him. He still wasn't used to stairs. He had only stayed in the inn for two days. Walking down facefirst still bothered him. He was afraid he'd fall down and hurt himself. Just then, Kricketune went past the stairs, sweeping the floor hurriedly."Oh, hello, Lotad," he said without looking at the Lily Pad Pokemon. "Why don't you come on down? Order some breakfast?"

Lotad laughed awkwardly and went down the stairs one foot at a time. It took a long time but he finally reached the bottom. "Lotad! Good morning," Kricketune's older brother, Kricketot, yelled from behind the bar as he polished dishes to be used for the day. "Breakfast? I have Berry Souflé on the menu today!"

"Uh, no thank you, Mr. Kricketot, sir," Lotad said apologetically and he continued walking to the inn doors. The inn owner shrugged. "Just don't forget the rent." That stopped Lotad. He slowly turned around with a shaky smile. "U-um, rent?" he asked with a voice just as shaky."Why, yes. Rent," Kricketot replied as a matter-of-fact. "You didn't think I'd let you stay for free, did you? I'm running a business, after all," he continued. Kricketot clicked his antennae together a few times, pondering numbers for a while before saying, "200 Poké. For a two-night stay."

All the Lotad could do was gulp and swallow his anxiety. "Y-yes. Yes, rent," he repeated like a chant, slowly backing up. Once outside, he turned around and was greeted by the enormous crystal in the center of the the Town Square. It looked magnificent, immediately taking away Lotad's worries. "It's all going to be all right," it seems to say. Just behind the crystal, Lotad could see the back of the biggest, most noticeable building in town. The Lily Pad Pokemon nodded and walked on. You can worry about rent later, he told himself.

To his right, a green Pokemon with a yellow leaf on his head was setting up shop. He didn't look very cheery. He seemed to grumbling about something but Lotad was too far to hear. The Lily Pad Pokemon ignored him. He's already met the shopowner, Gulpin. He's not really that bad. He's actually sort of funny and friendly. It just feels like there's a motive behind all the friendliness. Just a few meters away from Gulpin's shop was the Miltank Farm. Lotad hasn't spent an awful lot of time there. He sees Pokemon inside, some working, some stopping by to purchase something, but he hasn't gone inside himself. There's no special reason for it, really. He just has little interest in the farm. He waddled along. The town was still waking up, but from up ahead, he could see activity. Pokemon coming in and out of the biggest building in town. Finally, there he was, in front of the Guildhouse.

Unlike the rest of the town, the Guildhouse was already active. Different Pokemon seem to be walking around, going about their daily routine. Some came in groups, talking to each other. Lotad took in the sight as he walked inside. It was bustling with Pokemon. Everyone looked strong and capable. Different shapes and types. Lotad has never seen so many different kinds of Pokemon in one place. He kept walking, carefully dodging the Pokemon that went past him. Across the room, there was a large board with tons of papers attached to it and beside it was a desk manned by a busy-looking pink dog. Lotad remembered him from the posters. He walked faster. However, he misjudged his distance from the desk and bumped into it. Hard.

"What the-?" the pink Pokemon said as he looked behind the desk and saw Lotad, "What did you do that for, kid?"

"Oww. Ow, that hurts," Lotad replied, still hurt from the collision. He slowly got up and shook his head. "I'm -oww- here to apply for the guild," he managed to say. The pink Pokemon looked at him up and down. "I'm Snubbull, the guild secretary," he said, hints of skepticism in his voice. "To be honest, you don't look like you're fit to join the guild."

There was no denying that. But Lotad couldn't just walk out. He regained his composure and stood proud. "I-I am!" he announced. "I am fit for the guild!" Snubbull looked him over again, then he walked around the desk and resumed what he was doing. There was a moment of silence between the two. "Uhh, sir?" Lotad asked, and he was met with a deadly gaze from the pink dog. "That would be 'ma'am'" Snubbull said, looking ticked off. If Lotad wasn't scared before, he sure was scared now. Another moment of silence, this time it was broken by Snubbull, as he, no, she, pulled out a pen and said, "Name." It took Lotad by surprise. "Umm, excuse me?" he asked. Snubbull looked at him again, wearing the same deadly look. "Do you want to join the guild or not?"

Lotad jumped, more because he got startled than for joy. "Um, uhh, Lotad," he replied. "Don't be silly," Snubbull started saying, "I know you're a Lotad, even with that weird lily pad you have on your head. I need your name."

Lotad blushed. He always gets embarassed when someone mentions his lily pad. "I-I don't have a name. It's just Lotad," he stuttered. Another death stare from the secretary. "I swear!" Lotad exclaimed. "Well we can't have that. You'll need to think of a name now or I'll put you down as..." Snubbull tapped the pen on her head, "Lily. Yeah, if you don't think of a name now, I'll put you down as Lily."

"B-but that's my sister's name," Lotad protested, to which Snubbull only replied with "You have three minutes."

Quickly, Lotad scoured his head for a name, but he couldn't think of any. He hadn't thought for a name for him. Back in the pond, it was the others who would give you a name, not yourself. He looked around for inspiration. There must be something around here. The board full of papers, the multitude of Pokemon roaming around, desk right in front of him. "Two minutes," the secretary reminded him. I can't be called Lily. The world started spinning around him. Who knew such a simple question could cause so much distress. "One minute," Snubbull said again, tapping her pen on the wooden desk. Tap. Tap. Tap. Lotad's eyes focused on Snubbull's paw as it moved up and down, tapping the pen. Tap, tap tap. The pen. Pen.

"Pen!" Lotad blurted out, then he realized how stupid the name was and added, "With two n's"

"Alright then. P-E-N-N. Penn the Lotad," she said as she wrote his name down. "And where do you live?"

Another tough question. "A pond..somewhere...in the forest," he replied. He didn't really know where the pond was or what it was called. It was just "the" pond. A place where he knew how to go but doesn't know where it was. It was weird when he thought about it, but he shrugged it off as instinct. After all, he's lived his whole life there. He's bound to be connected to it some way.

The Snubbull wasn't too sure what to write down, but she decided to just write "Pond" on the form. "Okay," she said then she started walking away. "Follow me."

Lotad was lead upstairs. He stopped when they reached the bottom of the staircase. Climbing up stairs was just as hard as walking down from them for Lotad. Snubbull was already halfway up when she turned back noticed that the newbie was stuck at the bottom. "Well? I have other stuff to do, you know," she said, getting annoyed. "S-sorry, ma'am." The Lily Pad Pokemon carefully waddled up the stairs. When they reached the second floor, the secretary patted Lotad on the back. "You'd better get used to stairs. You'll be living here from now on," she said before she continued walking down the hall. They stopped in front of a room that looked like it was filled with items. "Wait here," Snubbull instructed then she headed inside. It was only a few minutes later when she stepped out with a satchel, a crystal and a badge in her arms. She handed the items to Lotad...or at least tried. The Lotad had no arms to retrieve them with. The guild secretary sighed. "Here is your complementary guild kit. First, of course, your badge," she said as she fastened the winged patch on Lotad's lily pad. "Wear it proud for it shows that you are an official member of the guild." Then she showed Lotad a small piece of crystal in her paw. "This is your Warp Crystal. Whenever you get in trouble, just use it and you get teleported back into town." Snubbull put the crystal in the satched she was holding. "Finally, your Treasure Bag. To hold your items in." She pulled out the sling and fit it over the Lotad.

The Lily Pad Pokemon couldn't help but smile. He looked at Snubbull with eyes sparkling in joy. "Th-thank you!" The guild secretary just nodded at him. She seemed pleased, like all the annoyance she felt a while ago was gone. "Right," she said again, "you're all set." Snubbull started making her way back to the front desk. "You can start accepting missions right away at the Bulletin Board. If you need any help with that, just ask," she shouted before she was down and out of view. Lotad gazed at the satchel that hung beside him. An Explorer. I'm finally an Explorer. He walked back down the hall feeling pleased with himself, until he reached the stairs. He stared down it. He could see most of the ground floor from up there. So many Pokemon. He just couldn't get used to it. And then there's the stairs. Snubbull's words echoed in his head. "You'd better get used to stairs," she had said. Lotad gulped. I better do. He took one step down and instantly fell, rolling. He found himself on his back, feet waddling in the air. Lotad flushed red in embarrassment. I better do.