Chapter 4
Char had no idea how long he had slept that day, but he eventually found himself wide-awake in a dark and silent cave, staring at the rocky ceiling. Judging from the way his head felt, he figured he hadn't been sleeping for longer than a few hours...
I'm still a Charmander, he noticed, to his dismay. I guess it's not a dream after all. I really am stuck in a world I don't know.
Char's eyes fixed on the individual dents and stalactites in the ceiling, watching as the shadows cast from his tail wobbled awkwardly across the surface. Memories of the previous day floated back to him; he recalled that he was in a room with a Scyther and a Bulbasaur. He remembered that the Scyther had led him miles to some sort of secret underground base, a place where he now slept. But most of all, he remembered that he had made some sort of commitment. Some sort of promise. That, in the upcoming day, he was to take on some sort of grand, new role.
I'm going to be a member of one of these "resistance teams", just like Scythe and Shander, Char realized. What's that going to be like? Will I have to go head-to-head with the Master's soldiers each and every day? I still don't like to fight all that much. But… most importantly… am I ever going to figure out how I got here? The only thing I can remember about my previous life is that I was a human. That's the only thing I'm perfectly sure of. It seems like some kind of clue.
Char turned to lie on his side, wondering whether Pokémon ever found it uncomfortable to sleep on such a flat, hard surface like the stone floor beneath him. Though the Scyther and the Bulbasaur beside him were clearly not complaining, his back was becoming a bit cramped.
And that's the only clue I seem to have at the moment, Char continued. But it must mean… that I was meant to seek out my past. Otherwise, I'd probably have accepted my role as a Pokémon by now. But I hope I can find some more clues soon. Ahh, why couldn't I have kept my memories? This feels so… unnerving. It's as though… I'm not supposed to be here, but I don't know why.
Char turned his head, glancing at the sleeping Bulbasaur. The seed on his back rose and fell with his steady breathing.
Maybe Saura has something to do with it, too, Char thought. Maybe he's another clue. He's the first Pokémon I met. That must mean something.
"Hey, Char," the Bulbasaur sighed in a gentle, weary voice.
Char was surprised; Saura still looked asleep.
"Yeah?"
"So you're awake, too," Saura said, not even opening his eyes. "I can't sleep any more. I think I just slept for an entire day, and I'm too excited about tomorrow."
"I can't sleep, either," Char said. "I still feel… weird. Being a Pokémon and all, I mean."
"I was thinking about something," Saura said. "Yesterday, you really surprised me when you attacked Scythe. Why did you do it?"
"I promised I'd help you run from the soldiers," Char said simply. "It's what I had to do."
"I would have never asked you to go that far," Saura said. "It was touching to see you do that for me, especially with how you're afraid to fight."
"But that's the funny thing," Char said. "I didn't even want to fight. I knew it would be hopeless. But… there was this feeling I got… and it told me to fight back to keep the promise I made. And I couldn't refuse it. It was all instinct. I think… I need to start getting used to this. My instincts are a lot stronger than they were when I was human…"
"Well, do you know what, Char?" Saura said. "Remember when Scythe asked you whether or not you wanted to join the team with me? If you would have said no, I would have changed my mind."
Char blinked. "…Really?" He asked, a little surprised. "I would have never guessed. You seemed so eager to join."
"Yeah. I made a promise, too. I promised to help you be a Pokémon. If you didn't want to join the resistance team, I would have stayed with you. You're the human, after all. I'm just the follower."
It felt strangely satisfying, somehow, to hear Saura say those words, and he wondered if it was his Pokémon instinct again that made him take such great comfort in having a companion. Char was convinced that, as a human, he would have never grown so attached to another person so quickly, and he wondered whether or not all Pokémon were so naturally disposed to forming bonds with each other.
"And that's not changing," Saura added. "If you want to quit any time, I'll go with you. So you don't have to feel like I'm dragging you places you don't want."
"Thanks," said Char. "But I think I'll stay. I thought about it a lot, I think you're right. I think this is the right thing to do for now."
"Whatever you say, Char." Saura sighed, smiling contently.
After that, Char closed his eyes once more and tried to get his restless mind to drift back into sleep.
What neither of them realized, though, was that Scythe was also having trouble sleeping that night. His face had been turned away from them, but his eyes remained wide open… Not only from sleeplessness, but now from shock.
Human…? He mentally repeated, trying to wrap his mind around the puzzling exchange he'd just witnessed.
… … …
The next morning, Char and Saura were given a very rude awakening.
"Enough sleep!" a deep voice commanded, barging into the room and causing both Char and Saura to jump awake in fright. "Get moving. Scythe's room is not a lounge. You've stayed the night, and now it is time for you to leave."
After wiping the blur from his eyes, Char turned to see the Pokémon who'd entered the room. It was the Houndoom, and standing beside it was an especially large Ursaring.
"Go on, get out," the Houndoom barked again. "Consider yourselves lucky. It has been a very long time since we have last offered as much hospitality to visitors as we have offered you. As of this evening, you will be staying down with the trainees."
"Hey!" Saura cried, glancing around the room. "Scythe! Where'd he go? I thought he said we were joining Team Remorse?"
Indeed, Scythe was nowhere to be seen. Char felt more than a bit nervous facing the intimidating hound without the help of the Scyther.
"I've had an… extensive… discussion with Scythe," the Houndoom rebuked. "I have made sure to tell him just what I think of you. He put forth the ridiculous assertion that you should join our team. But understand, hatchlings; Team Remorse has standards we must uphold, and frankly, you don't meet any of them. At this point in time, it is simply out of the question."
Oh, I get it! Char realized. This Houndoom must be the leader of the team! No wonder he's so… authoritative.
"So… what do we do!?" Saura cried. "If we can't join Team Remorse… what do we do?"
"I was planning to send you to join one of our many training teams, but, for reasons that are beyond me, Scythe had different plans for you," the hound continued. "Scythe insists on allowing you apprenticeship with us. He wants Team Remorse to train you personally, and he refused to stop fussing about it until we gave in and made a deal. Here is the compromise we arrived at: you two are to form your own two-person resistance team, and this team will become affiliated with Team Remorse as our trainees. But your team base will be down in the lower halls with all the rest, not here."
"Our own resistance team?" Saura repeated in disbelief. "Char! Did you hear that? We're going to start our own resistance team! I never imagined anything like this would happen! Wow!"
"Get in line," the Houndoom snarled, disgusted at Saura's attitude. "Either way, you are not welcome here anymore. My partner, Ursa, will escort you out."
Not wanting to anger the hound any further, Char climbed to his feet and took the hint to leave the room. The Houndoom, still clearly annoyed, kept his head held high as he led them down the hall and toward the main tunnels of the base. As they walked, Char realized that he had no earthly idea what time of day it was; the torches burned just as brightly as they did before, and there were no windows to the outside anywhere to be seen. He wondered how the gold division kept track of time.
"Today, you will be given a brief tour of the complex," the Houndoom stated. "Ursa will show you around. I expect you to memorize everything he tells you, as well as your way through the base. Also… before the day is over, your new resistance team must be registered as an official member of the gold division. Ursa will take you to the records office to accomplish this. However… before that happens, you must decide on a team name."
"Wow, this is serious, isn't it?" Saura said, almost hyperventilating. "Char, we'll have to think about a good name today. I'm sure we can think of something."
"Team LoveJoy, Team Poképals, Team Sharing, all fine names," the Houndoom rattled off, his sneering voice overflowing with sarcasm. "But if you want my advice, try to choose a name that actually means something about you and why you've chosen to fight your battles as a resistance team. Your name will become your identity. It will determine not only how your colleagues treat you, but also how you treat yourself."
When they reached the end of Team Remorse's tunnel, the Houndoom practically shoved them out the door.
"Now, get out of here," said the Houndoom as the Ursaring ushered them out quickly. "If we are to be training you, you must move with purpose and haste. We will accept nothing less. Now get moving."
The door slammed behind them. Char even noticed Saura relax a little bit when the Houndoom was out of sight.
"Don't mind him," the Ursaring said. "Daemon's always like that. You get used to him after a while. Anyway, they call me Ursa. And you are…?"
"I'm Saura, and this is Char," Saura said. "I'm from the Tiny Plains out west. Char is… well, we don't exactly know. Char lost his memory."
"Amnesia, eh?" Ursa said, leading them down to the main chambers. "Sounds like the Watchers got to you. We've had that sort of thing happen before. Why, I even remember just last year, we had a very promising Kadabra by the name of Ogomo get overconfident and caught by the Watchers. It was miraculous that he survived, but those Watchers did somethin' with his mind. When he finally came crawling back here, he couldn't remember anything. His name, his friends, even the code words. Nothin'. He still fights just as good as always, though. We're thankful for that, at least."
Wow, Char thought. Maybe that's what happened to me. But who are the "Watchers"?
"Yeah, we thought of that," Saura said. "But Char is… well, we think it's probably something else."
"Yeah, well, good luck on the recovery, by all means," Ursa said. "Either way, it's nice to see a Charmander around these parts. Hope you do well here. Now… I'm figuring I should show you to the more important places first. Follow me."
Soon, the trio had emerged back into the main cavern of the base. Once again, Char had a little bit of trouble tearing his gaze away from the expansive, torch-lined room. It was absolutely packed with Pokémon, even moreso than before, all hurrying this way and that to get ready for the day's missions and tasks. Char and Saura followed the bear Pokémon to the very back of the cavern, where he entered a massive arch-shaped tunnel.
"Well, this is probably the most important place here," Ursa said. "Down here's the hospital. Our master of medicine is Dr. Orde, the Slowking. His assistants are Blissey and Hypno."
"Slowking?" Saura repeated. "That's an odd Pokémon to work in a hospital."
"Yeah, you'd think that, wouldn't you?" Usra grinned. "Of course, that's only until he saves your life. Then you'll be singing his praises. He's quite a talented Pokémon with medicine, I'll have you know."
The group entered the hospital area. It was a very long room with a central row of rectangular stone tables protruding from the ground. There were about twenty of them in all. Behind the tables, on the back wall, were several stone shelves stocked with countless supplies, medicine bottles, and instruments. Each table had something like a giant white fireball hanging from the ceiling directly above, almost chandelier-like, which brought unparalleled illumination to the otherwise dark cavern. A few of the tables were occupied with Pokémon. Char spotted a wounded Zangoose on the farthest table, and Sneasel on another. Char watched as Blissey hurried over to the Sneasel's side with a rolling table of supplies.
"Ursa! Good day to you!" said a voice.
Char turned and saw Dr. Orde standing right before them. The Slowking was wearing a baggy coat full of pockets. He clutched something like a scalpel in his left hand.
"Good morning, Doctor," Ursa said. "Just giving some newcomers the run-around. Children, this is Dr. Orde. If you're wounded on a mission, poisoned, anything, he's the first Pokémon you go to."
"Mmm-Hmm," the Slowking said, looking across the room at something else. "I've got every medicine there is. Still figuring out how some of 'em work, but I always seem to get it right in the end."
Char and Saura gave each other an odd look.
"Oh! Of course!" the doctor exclaimed, clapping his one-fingered hands. "I remember what it was that I was doing! Yes, yes! The Sitrus-berries are going to go rotten! Oh, um, yes, very nice to meet you both, looking forward to your first visit here. Actually, no, I take that back, I hope you stay healthy and never have to come here. Later, later!"
The Slowking rushed off in some direction, practically ignoring them.
"Well, the doctor seems excited about something today," Ursa said. "Anyway, yeah, he may seem a bit odd, but he's a brilliant doctor, really. And his partner Hypno is an expert at psycho-therapy. You're in good hands when you come here. Honest."
"Sounds good to me," Saura said.
… … …
Next, Ursa lead them up a long spiral staircase. They passed up three floors, narrowly dodging a Nidoran that hurriedly bounded down the stairs past them. When they arrived to the fourth floor, another sizable hub room spread out before them as soon as they left the stairwell.
"Basement floor seven," Ursa announced. "Market."
"Wow, we went up a lot of stairs, but we're still that far down?" Saura said incredulously. "I didn't realize how deep this base went!"
"Well, it's pretty far down into the earth," Ursa said. "To me, it's pretty evident by the sheer number of stairs you have to climb down to even get in. Anyway, this is where you come to stock up on supplies before leaving on whatever journey you're going on. It's stationed here because it's not too long of a hike from the north or the northeast entrances, but the west entrance is quite a walk from here, unfortunately. But, I digress. Over there, on the right of the hallway, is the storage area. And here, on the left, you have the Kecleon brothers."
Ursa directed them into the first doorway on the left. Inside was quite a sight: it was obviously a store, but so fully packed from wall-to-wall with merchandise that it was hard to tell one item from the next. Strange clothes hung from the ceiling. Small boxes overflowing with supplies cluttered up every table. It was an emporium. Char's attention turned to a particular wall which was covered in bags of dried fruit. He instantly knew what it was for: nourishment for traveling in mystery dungeons.
"Ah, welcome!" shouted a green-colored Kecleon from across the room. "How can I help you on this fine morning?"
"I'm just here to give a tour to these newcomers," Ursa said. "May I introduce them to you?"
The Kecleon, who had been busy arranging a pile of what looked like shiny blue orbs on a pedestal, immediately halted his work and hurried over to meet the guests.
"Well, well," the Kecleon said. "A Charmander! It's been a while since I've seen one of your kind. And a Bulbasaur! A very promising duo, I must say!"
"This is Kecleon, our supplier," Ursa said in the manner of introduction. "He, along with his brother, get us everything we could possibly need to run our Division. His brother must be off on one of his errands at the moment."
"At your service!" Kecleon said with a bow. "If it's on the market, I can get it for you, guaranteed! My prices can't be beat, and I always make special exceptions just for my favorite customers."
"Nice to… meet you," Char said awkwardly.
"Yes, and you, too!" Kecleon replied. "I look forward to doing business with you!"
With that, Kecleon bowed once more, hurrying back to what he was doing.
"Wow, he certainly seems nice," Saura said, equally as awkwardly. "But… does he… charge money for these things? Doesn't he… you know… work for the division? Shouldn't division members get his stuff for free, or something?"
"Well, sadly, that's not part of the deal," the Ursaring sighed. "Kecleon and his brother don't exactly work for the Division. They work independently, you see, and they're only our client, so we've got to pay them. But their services are irreplaceable, either way. That, and it takes a heck of a lot of money to run a black market like this."
"Black market?" Saura repeated in surprise. "You mean… all this stuff…"
"Oh, yes," Ursa said. "Kecleon is… what you would call a professional fraud. He steals, swindles, and everything in between, to get what he has. He and his brother have connections all over the country. His job involves defrauding the main suppliers under the control of the Master, and secretly scoring merchandise for us. He's been at it for decades, and the Master apparently still hasn't caught on. It's a quite impressive career, I might add, probably takes more effort and trickery than I could ever imagine. But, he does it all with a smile, and we're happy to have him."
"Incredible," Saura said, looking around at all the stuff that filled the room with starry eyes. "I guess he's carrying out the same job of a resistance team, but in his own way."
"Oh, and one last thing about Kecleon," Ursa said, lowering his voice drastically. "Sometimes, when you're low on cash, he's usually more than happy to arrange a special deal for you. However… if you value your life, do not, under any circumstances, ever, EVER, try to take something from this shop without paying. That's… all I will say about that."
"Got that," Saura said with a gulp. "No stealing."
Char cast an odd glance at the reptilian Pokémon as he stepped out of the shop.
"Have a great day, and come again!" Kecleon called out with a friendly wave as he left.
… … …
Next, they took the same spiral staircase in the opposite direction. Down, down, and farther down they went, down to the deepest bowls of the caverns where it seemed like the activity was most chaotic. After they'd passed up at least five floors, they left the staircase and had to push through a hectic crowd of busy Pokémon just to get across the room. Char wondered what could be so important down in these lowest levels of the base that so many Pokémon would be gathered here.
"Be careful who you run into," Ursa warned humorously as he waded through the crowd. "Some Pokémon are poisonous, you know. You wouldn't want to run into their horns."
The hallway ended, opening up into a wider room which helped to lessen the traffic of Pokémon. Several doorways lined the room.
"Well, let's see. Over there, first door on the left, takes you to the treasury," Ursa said. "All of the division's gold and money is stored there. Persian also runs a bank from the treasury, so you can open your own personal account there if you want to store any spare change. Don't even think about robbing the place, though. It's guarded by more ghost Pokémon than you can shake a stick at. Next door, that goes to the grand hall. If we ever need to have a division-wide meeting, that's where we all go. It only happens once or twice a year, though, And finally…"
Ursa led them through the widest doorway, which turned into a massive, downward-ramped tunnel. As Char tried to keep from bumping into other Pokémon who were also traversing the tunnel, something caught his attention. Some sort of smell billowed up from the tunnel, becoming steadily more powerful the farther they went. Although Char couldn't identify it, it was an extremely inviting aroma…
"Oh! Smell that, Char?" Saura said excitedly. "This must be where they cook the food! Oh, wow! I'm in the mood for breakfast, aren't you? I haven't eaten in a whole day!"
Food! Char realized. This must be what Pokémon food smells like! It doesn't smell like any human food I remember… But oh, am I ever hungry!
"Basement floor fourteen," Ursa announced as they reached the end of the hall, which opened up into an amazing, rectangular cave that was lined with tables. "The mess hall. You can bet that you'll be visiting this place once or twice every day. Oh, and unlike Kecleon's merchandise, all our food is completely complementary. It's part of the division's expenses"
"It's free?!" Saura gasped.
"Well, are you hungry? We probably have some time to grab a bite," Ursa offered with a grin.
"You bet!" Saura exclaimed.
Char couldn't argue with Saura one bit. His stomach had been rumbling for a while, too.
Ursa led them to a large window which separated the mess hall from the kitchen. On the other end of the counter, many Pokémon scrambled this way and that to cook and prepare the food. There were several Farfech'd, but instead of their usual stalks, they held wooden sticks which they used to stir massive boiling vats of food. A Munchlax wandered around the kitchen, taste-testing from the vats with his finger. An Ampharos worked at the back counter, chopping up massive rows of colorful, round objects and separating them into pots.
"Hi!" said a Belossom on the other side of the counter as she pushed a tray of food across the counter and in front of them. "Enjoy! Have a nice day! Eat up! Here's to another great day!"
Char nodded politely to the Belossom as he took his tray. He inspected it, wondering just what kind of food covered the plate. The food consisted of large, oddly-shaped chunks of… something. It was quite colorful. He wondered if maybe it was candy.
"And if you're still hungry, just go for seconds, or thirds…" Ursa explained as the group sat down at a table.
Saura couldn't contain himself. He jumped up to set his front legs on the table and dug into the plate face-first, almost inhaling the food. Char, although hungry, couldn't help but take one of the objects from his plate and stare at curiously for a few moments, turning it around in his hand. It was warm to the touch.
"Broiled fruit salad," Ursa told him. "Eat it, you might like it!"
Char ate the chunk of fruit. It was sweet, tangy almost, and felt warm as it went down into his belly. He liked the warmth.
After emptying their plates, the three relaxed for a while to let their food settle. Ursa looked like he desired another plate of food (or five), but wasn't complaining.
"Wow, really awesome!" Saura said contently. "There's just one thing that I don't get, though. Why's the mess hall so far underground? You have to walk a long way every day just to eat!"
"Well, most of us would," Ursa said. "You see, the fifteenth through eighteenth floors of the base, just below here, are the living quarters. That's where all the Pokémon go each night to sleep. That's also where you'll be staying."
"What?!" Saura yelped. "That's unbelievable! We have to walk up all those stairs, and back down again, each day?"
"It'll give you strong legs," Ursa laughed.
"Wait, then how come Team Remorse was so close to the surface?" Saura wondered. "When we came in, they were right down the hall!"
"Well, the higher in rank the team, the closer to the surface you can live," Ursa explained. "And Team Remorse is one of this division's highest-ranking teams. We even get food delivered up to our rooms every morning."
"Oh, wow," Saura said, a bit humbled. "That's harsh. I'm already starting to miss living up with your team."
"Well, you really never know," Ursa said optimistically. "Scythe has really taken an interest in you two, for whatever reason. You might find yourself getting to stay with us more often in the future. And, let me tell you, Pokémon around here consider that a real honor, to train with such a high-level team."
"Where is Scythe, anyway?" Char asked. "He just left this morning. Did he go on another mission? Will we see him again?"
"Scythe is… somewhere in this place," Ursa said. "Don't know where. But yeah, you're going to see him again. He wants to talk to you tonight, after our little tour is over and your team is registered. He says he needs to see you for some special reason. He won't tell any of us what it's about, though. Except for Shander, but that Sandslash refuses to spill it, no matter how hard we try…"
Oh, our resistance team! Char realized. We still have to think of a name!
"Scythe seems like a really skilled Pokémon," Saura said. "It sounds like he's been through a lot of fighting in his time. I bet he's really earned his place on your team, hasn't he?"
"Oh yeah, Scythe is one of our best warriors in the entire division," Ursa said with a nod. "And just about everyone's got high respect for him. But… I swear, you've never met a more modest Pokémon in your life."
"Modest?" Saura repeated.
"Oh, yeah," Ursa told him. "Scythe hates to brag. You'll never hear him talk about himself… let me guess, the big ol' bug never actually told you he's the leader of Team Remorse, did he?"
Hearing the news, Char's mouth fell wide open.
"Really?" Saura cried. "I never would have guessed! Scythe leads Team Remorse? He must be a much more important Pokémon than either of us knew, Char!"
"But wait," Char interjected. "What about that Houndoom? I thought maybe he was the leader. He really acted like it."
"Oh, that's Daemon," Ursa laughed. "He's the second-in-charge. You'd never know it, though, because he always acts like he's the one in command. He and Scythe have never really been on terms with one another. As you've probably seen, they have very different styles of leadership. They get into arguments all the time about nearly everything."
"I can only imagine," Saura said.
"Scythe always takes his opinion into consideration," he said, "but ultimately, it's Scythe's word that goes. That's why you two are his apprentices now, because that's what the big ol' bug wanted."
"Well, we'll be sure to treat him with a lot more respect when we see him next, won't we, Char?" Saura said. "I can't imagine how lucky we are to be in this position."
"Well, if you're both done, we should get going," Ursa said, standing up from the seat. "We've got more to see. The next place we're going should prove interesting."
… … …
They took an alternate route back up: it was a big, dark shaft with no stairways and no ramps. It did, however, contain a small elevator which operated when some unseen force far above yanked on the steel cables. Ursa explained that the larger Pokémon like the Onix needed a way to get around as well, and they had burrowed these huge holes through the rock as their own personal roadways. He also explained that there were Magnezone stationed in some of the vertical shafts, running elevators as alternate routes for Pokémon carrying things that would be impossible to take on the staircases.
"Now, listen," Ursa told them when they'd gone up a few floors and left the elevator. "What you are about to see next… is one of this division's best-kept secrets. It will stun you. It will leave you speechless. Heheh, I can't wait to see the looks on your faces!"
"This place doesn't look like it's ever going to run out of surprises," Saura said with a grin. "Try us!"
The next place they were lead was very devoid of other Pokémon travelers. A Hitmonchan sat on a bench at the side of the hallway in deep meditation, but other than that, the corridor was desolate…
At the end of the corridor was a single, small door covered by a red, tattered cloth which hung from the archway.
"Ready?" Ursa said, grinning wildly as he approached the doorway. "I remember when I first saw this. You're gonna love it."
"I can't imagine," Saura said. "Show us already!"
"Hey!" Ursa called to someone, poking his nose through the drapes. "Hey, Domo! Domo! We have newcomers! … … … Oh, alright. He's ready now. Kids, come on in! Come on in!"
Ursa parted the drapes, revealing the room.
It was an extremely large, circular room. The floor had many colorful designs engraved on it, forming a sort of platform in the center of the room. Floating above the ground in the very center of the room, was something incredible.
"Impossible!" Saura gasped, eyes fixated on it. "No! It's… It can't be! This has to be some sort of joke!"
When Char stepped forward to focus on it, he, too, lost the words to exclaim his surprise. It was a tiny cat Pokémon, colored a light and creamy pink, bobbing gently in the air before them. It stared back at him with two huge, blue, bubbly eyes. Its long tail waved from side to side.
"Mew!" it squeaked with a little giggle.