Part 6: Chapter 3: The Scream Part 3

Loudred left Team America this reminder, but he still has to come wake them up every morning.



This is what Chatot told them to do after the usual morning cheers...



...But let's procrastinate.



Ooh, a diary. Time to invade someone's privacy!





Let us delve into the personal life of a talking plant.

Sunflora's Oh My Gosh Diary

Entry 1: What a Scream!
OO Month XX Day, Sunny

Oh my gosh! So glad to meet you! I'm Sunflora, an apprentice at the guild! Eek! But does this mean someone else is reading my diary besides me?! Double-eek! Is someone sneaking a peek? Oh my gosh! How horrifying! Eeek!

O... kay... Next entry!

Entry 2: That Silly Loudred!
OO Month XX Day, Sunny

Oh my gosh! That silly Loudred! Ooooh! He can be so absentminded! Everyone knows that if you get totally wiped out in a dungeon... you lose some items... and half your money!

But of course that silly Loudred forgets all that and goes storming off into the dungeon... And that wound up making us both wipe out! So I got sent back to the guild too! Eek! So frustrating! Oh my gosh, I never, ever want to go to a dungeon with Loudred again!

P.S. Two new kids joined the guild! I think they were called Babar and Michael... Oh my gosh. They're both adorable. Yippee!

In case it wasn't already staring you in the face, Team America is a baby kitty and a baby elephant.







Another diary. It is the protagonist's game-given right to snoop.



If you're wondering how Bidoof writes without thumbs, remember that Sunflora doesn't even have digits.



Bidoof's Yup Yup Journal

Entry 1: I'll Try Hard!
OO Month XX Day, Sunny

Oof...! Seems that it's been a mighty long time since I apprenticed at this here guild. I get so frustrated at being so klutzy and slow... Yup yup! Don't I know it! I'm a slow worker. And it takes me longer to learn than others. Oof... I sure miss my home and folks.

But! I can't be what I want to be if I admit defeat now! No sirree, by golly! I have my big dream! I'm surely going to become a first-class explorer, yup yup! And that's why I've started this here diary! It's a way for me to keep track of what I'm made of. Yup yup! Tomorrow, I'll hold my head up high! I'll get things done!

Bidoof's an inspiration to us all. What else did he write?

Entry 2: Happy Time!
OO Month XX Day, Sunny

Yup yup! I'm happy, by golly! Oh? Why am I so downright happy? Well... Finally... Finally, I've got junior members under me! Oof! This is some kind of wonderful! And the two are both so friendly and kind. I feel so lucky. Yup yup!

I've got to set a good example for my new pals! I have to be better. Yup yup! Yeaaah! I'll do better starting tomorrow!

Sunflora and Bidoof will have more incriminating interesting entries for us to read later.

Let's check on our glorious guildmaster.



Good first impressions are important.





I guess you have to get psyched for sentry duty. Sounds dull otherwise.



So you really can get things done. Meh-heh-heh. Of course, what you did is only what's expected of any exploration team. Meh-heh-heh.

I guess it's fair not to expect cookies for a baseline job. :shrug:



...We don't have breakfast?

I'll ring for everyone when dinner's ready. Until then, keep at your work, please! ♪

We don't have breakfast?!



Guess we'll just have to eat shriveled Apples off a dirty dungeon floor.



By golly, I'm impressed that you caught yourselves an outlaw in the process! Yup yup, I need to pick up the pace. Can't have you rookies showing me up!



We stick to tracking outlaws! We chase and chase and chase our targets... And then we catch them when they're too tired to move!

This is literally what Poochyena does to its prey in Pokemon canon. The middle one says:

Outlaws are also ranked. They're easiest in "E" rank. The criminals get tougher in "D" rank. Then even tougher in "C" and so on...

And the right one says:

We target only outlaws with a "C" rank. They have bigger bounties on them than the ones with "E" and "D" ranks. There's a catch... Outlaws with a "C" rank are much tougher. We have to fight those crooks carefully. Otherwise, we could take a beating!

C rank sounds middle-of-the-road, but it isn't. Other things besides an outlaw Pokemon's strength determine its rank, but we won't see those factors for a while.



Especially not today, because the outlaw board's empty.



I was checking out the Job Bulletin Board. I found a great job. It's an easy job, plus it pays well. Sounds real tasty!



T-t-tasty...?! S-s-sheesh...



Time to take some jobs.



There's a lot to look at in the Job Summary. Besides basic details, there's Restrictions, which we won't have for a while. The number next to the Difficulty shows how many points that rank gives.

For the time being, our rewards consist of money, money+random item(s), item, and item+random item(s). I prefer the rewards with a random plus attached. You could get rocks, or you could get something neat, like a TM.



Until now, we've only done one thing per day, but now we have a choice of several jobs from dungeons we've been to before. Starting off, it's best to grab a bunch of jobs from the same dungeon...



...And do them all at once. You can combine this with bounties from the outlaw board that take place in the same dungeon, as well. It's the fastest way to increase your team's rank.



One! Don't shirk work!

Two! Run away and pay!

Three! Smiles go for miles!

Four! Once you put a job on your team's list, then use Take Job! That step can't be missed!

Five! Restock your supplies and rations before heading out on explorations!

Six! Before you explore, try to think about the moves you should link!

Seven! While exploring, don't you panic! Stay cool and calm, never manic!

Eight! Helping all Pokemon in need is an explorer's duty, indeed!

Nine! Do lots of jobs! That's truly the key! You'll reach Gold Rank. Just wait and see!

Ten! The money you earn is shared with the guild! That's the way our friendship will build!

I dunno... somehow they got less catchy after the first three.



No salespeople! No agents! No survey takers!

Seems we've joined a legitimate business.







I know he's trying to be helpful to the newbies, but the only other paths lead to a dead-end beach and a cliff.



Hopes and dreams... This is...

This guy's got nothing for us... for now.



They say it's caused by time going out of control. I think it's awful. I wish we could live in peace.



No one can evolve lately. You know how Pokemon evolve only after certain conditions are met, right? Well, right now, no one can evolve, no matter what...

Evolution isn't the end-all be-all of strength in PMD, fortunately. Some moves can only be learned by higher stages, and some Pokemon look undeniably cooler when they evolve, but it's mostly cosmetic in this world.



You saved that cute Azurill from a horrible outlaw?! For that, please accept our sincere thanks!



I'd love to start stocking up on Gummis, but buying a Reviver Seed is the responsible thing to do. Reviver Seeds automatically restore you or an ally to full health when HP hits zero--no manual use needed. In fact, if you eat it, all it does is sate your hunger a tiny bit.

Once the seed revives someone, it turns into a Plain Seed, only good for a light snack, or throwing in the trash.



It's hard to believe you've been on an exploration team for a short while! ♪



Escape Orb: another responsible purchase. Reviver Seeds and Escape Orbs are pretty much always going to be in our inventory.



What's the bulletin board-changer doing out here?



...The sea... is so vast...



I think he just blew all three of his minds.



Time to go to work!



Open envelopes will appear next to dungeons you've taken jobs for. If no envelopes are present, and you go to the dungeon anyway, then no jobs can be done.



Drenched Bluff is a casual stroll away from Treasure Town. You can also see Beach Cave and Mt. Bristle marked on the map. Most everything else you see here is a place we can eventually go.





It's nice to know which floor a job is on, so you can just rush down and do it. As for the ones that don't have a floor specified...



...You're alerted upon reaching it.



And there's our Lileep.



We can say no and leave the poor putz to wander around forever. But we're cooler than that.





He flies away in a beam of light.



This prompt appears after every job completion. We have two more jobs to do, so let's stick around.



Next, Shellos gets rescued.



Cute Charm in action. Can't touch this.



And that's all three jobs completed, so we leave the dungeon.















Each client thanks and rewards us in turn. Besides money and explorer rank points, they also give items. This time, we got a Reviver Seed, a Power Band... and some rocks. Higher-ranked missions give better rewards, of course, but this is good to start with.



After that, it's dinner and bed. So ends a completely normal day of training at the guild.

Next time: a new chapter!