Part 3: Chapter 2: The New Guild Recruits Part 2

The next morning...



*: RISE AND SHINE!

(Ugh! M-my head is pounding! Wh-what a ridiculously loud voice! It almost blasted my eardrums!)



Why are you still ASLEEP?! WAKE UP!

(Ugh!)

M-my poor ears...



C'mon! Snap OUT of it! I'm Loudred! And I'm a fellow apprentice! If you're late for our morning briefing, you'll be SORRY! So MOVE it! Guildmaster Wigglytuff has got a BIG temper. If you make him lose it...



YOWEEE! That would be one very scary scene!



The screen flashes, and Loudred trembles with some traumatizing recollection of his pink bunny boss.

I've got goose bumps just thinking about it! YEESH!



So ANYWAY... I'm not about to get in trouble because you rookies got up LATE! SO GET IT IN GEAR!





Urk! My ears are still ringing... What did he say? Something about getting ready?



Er... Oh yeah!



We signed up as apprentices at Wigglytuff's guild, that's right!

But that means...



Waaaah! We totally overslept! We've got to hurry, Michael!









You're LATE, rookies!



Hush! Your voice is ridiculously loud!





Everyone seems to be present. Very well. ♪ Let us conduct our morning address.



Guildmaster! ♪ The guild is in full attendance! ♪







Thank you, Guildmaster! ♪ Please address the crew.





Apprentice: (Psst...! Guildmaster Wigglytuff never ceases to amaze me!)

Apprentice: (Yeah, you got that right!)

Apprentice: (Yup, looks like he's wide awake.)

Apprentice: (Eek! His eyes are wide open! But he's fast asleep!)



Thank you, sir! We all value your... words of wisdom! ♪



OK, Pokemon! ♪ Take our Guildmaster's words of wisdom to heart! ♪

Never forget the Guildmaster's stately drool.

Finally, let's not forget our morning cheers! All together now! ♪







Everyone: TWO! RUN AWAY AND PAY! THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES!

OK, Pokemon! Get to work! ♪





Everyone goes their separate ways. When we try to do the same...



Hey, you shouldn't just be wandering around there. You two come here. ♪















You're just beginners. We'll have you start off with this assignment. ♪



This is the Job Bulletin Board. Pokemon from various regions post job requests here.



You're aware that bad Pokemon are cropping up in greater numbers, right?

Yup. Because the flow of time is getting messed up. It's wreaking havoc, right? Which is why lots of bad Pokemon are appearing!

(The flow of time is getting messed up? Time? As in hours and minutes? Do they mean something has gone wrong with time here? And, because of that, more and more bad Pokemon are popping up? What's going on here?!)

She could just be incredulous, but PMD does this kind of repetition a lot.

Precisely. Time getting out of whack has caused an outbreak of bad Pokemon. Perhaps because of all that... We have noticed an increase in the number of jobs. In addition... and it's unknown if this is because of time's influence...



(Mystery dungeons?!)



So, Michael!



You know how we got my Relic Fragment back yesterday? The place where we found it was a mystery dungeon. A mystery dungeon changes each time you go into it. There's a different layout and different items every time you enter! If you faint in the middle of a dungeon, you lose half your money... You can even lose half your items or more...Finally, you get kicked right out. They're very strange places.

But every time you go inside one, there are always new things to discover! They really are fantastic places to go exploring!



Well! You're quite informed, aren't you! ♪



That makes things much easier for me to explain! ♪ Jobs all take place in mystery dungeons.

So... let's look for a job that you should perform! ♪



Ah, yes. ♪ Maybe this will do?



Chatot hands them a job request.



Oh, really? Let's read it!

"Hello! My name is Spoink!

An outlaw has run off with my most prized possession. My precious pearl! That pearl is life itself... to me! I just can't seem to settle down if that pearl isn't in its proper place atop my head!

But I've heard my pearl has been sighted! It's said to be on a rocky bluff. But this bluff is reported to be extremely unsafe. I could never go somewhere so frightening! Oh, friendly readers! Would you be so kind as to go to the bluff and get my pearl?"



Wait a second...



I would rather do something that's more of an adventure.

I'd rather look for treasure or explore unknown places. Things like that!



Hush!



It's important that you rookies pay your dues! Now pay attention! I'll repeat the warnings again to make sure they stick! You'll be forced out of a dungeon and sent back here if either of you faints. You'll lose half your money! And you could lose half your items or more. You'd best be careful!

If you've understood all that, I suggest you get on with the job! ♪



Chatot brooks no complaints in this guild.

Later...









This must be the bluff's entrance. Spoink's mission description said the pearl is deep down on the B7F level. It sounds like a seriously dangerous place. Let's be careful.

Dangerous to wet cardboard, maybe.

Let's do our best, Michael!



They briefly rock out before entering the dungeon.







Cool. Let's see what we got.



Aside from our two starter gifts, just the Sleep Seed Michael got in Beach Cave. But the great thing about the gifts is that they're equippable! They go in a Pokemon's held item slot.



The Lime Bow is colored after the aura we got during the opening quiz. All color aura bows do the same thing, and that's increase our attacking and defensive stats a little. Michael appreciates the boost and verdant fashion.



Babar gets the Special Band. Phanpy doesn't get a lot of special attacks, but it boosts Ancient Power.



Not far in, Michael levels up. Tail Whip lowers the defense of the enemy in front, but it's not worth a move slot just using it by itself.



Here we have a new item.



Max Elixirs are vital for dungeon crawling. They work exactly like the Max Elixir in the main Pokemon series, restoring the PP of all the Pokemon's moves to full. They're also a billion times more common.



Drenched Bluff is well-lit, so hallways aren't an issue, and neither is skipping forward a square to slap slugs in the face.



Ancient Power can go around corners, good for getting enemies before they can get you.



Here's how much it hurts with a type advantage and the Special Band. Not bad for the second dungeon.



:getin:



Here's another super-important item for surviving in dungeons.



Apples fill your belly. The game warns if your belly gets below 50, then 10 percent; once it hits zero, you lose 1 HP per turn. Apples are another common item, so it's not difficult to keep your hunger topped up.



The Heal Seed isn't an absolutely vital item, but it is handy, as it heals all bad status when eaten.



Mud Sport lowers the power of Electric-type attacks for several turns... which neither Michael or Babar use.



Michael hits Shellos so hard, the item it was carrying pops out. Big Apples fill the belly by 100, compared to an Apple's 50.



Enemies capable of walking on water tiles will circle around in them until you get close.



When killing them in tiles none of your team members can enter, be careful if they've picked up an item first, or you might have to leave it behind.



Attract still stops attacks in their tracks.



Blast Seeds are fun.



Just face an enemy, bite down on the seed...



...And make Skitty spew a fireball.



They can also be thrown from a distance, but the explosion from that will do less damage than up close.



What's that pretty pink item over there!



It's a berry! Pecha Berries cure poison.



Finally, an Oran Berry!



...Huh?



Something's not right here, and the item's description will tell you as much. Unlike the Oran Berry, the Oren Berry will do damage to whoever eats it. It's a Lookalike Item, and there are several items with Lookalike versions that do detrimental or just plain weird things.



Here we have a... jellybean?



It's a Gummi, a slightly uncommon, yet very important food item. When eaten, they fill the belly some (more than seeds and berries, but not as much as Apples), and increase a Pokemon's IQ stat. They come in colors covering all the Pokemon types, meaning if you give a Grass Gummi to a Grass-type Pokemon, they get the most benefit from it.



For now, Babar gets it.



Even though it doesn't match his type, the Grass Gummi is more effective on Babar than Michael, due to his type. Grass is super-effective against Ground, but neutral against Normal. So, Babar likes the Grass Gummi more than Michael would.



Time to steal back my Oran Berry.



LILEEP



Like Max Elixirs and Apples, Oran Berries are vital for exploring. They heal 100 HP in one go, which will max us out through a lot of the early game, and still heal a bunch later on.



Michael's such a klepto that she even steals rocks off the floor.



Rocks and sticks can be equipped as your throwing item, kinda like arrows in Shiren the Wanderer, separate from things in the held-item slot.



When thrown, rocks don't just go straight, but can also home in on enemies adjacent to your line of sight.



Geo Pebbles are the weakest of the rocks you can throw, but they're helpful if you can spare the bag space.

After all that, Babar and Michael finally reach floor B7.







Oh! Look at that!







This must be Spoink's pearl! Let's hurry back with it!



One yoink and a trip back later...





Th-thank you! That pearl must be propped on my head, you see. I missed it so much! I just couldn't settle down without it up there! So I was boinging and sproinging everywhere! That's why I'm covered in dings and bumps.

Well, at least he didn't sit still. If a Spoink stops bouncing, its heart stops beating.

But thanks to you, that long nightmare is over! You have my sincere thanks!



Michael's team was rewarded with a Protein! You also received a Calcium! You also received an Iron!

These items permanently increase Attack, Special Attack, and Defense respectively. I had to toss out a few items to make room in my bag for the rewards, but vitamins are way worth it.







Oh, wow! 2,000P?! All this money is for us?

Of course! Of course! That's nothing compared to my pearl's value! Farewell!





We're rich, Michael! We got rich just like that!

Well done, team! ♪





Huh?!



Most of the money from jobs goes to the Guildmaster, you see! ♪

What's he do, swim in it?

And your team's share of the money comes out to this much...! ♪



We keep only 200P?



That's awful!

So we do all the work, and get 10%. Harsh.



Well that's the guild's rule. You simply have to accept it! ♪



Hmph...

That evening...











I finished making dinner! ♪ Come on! Dinner's on! ♪



After a hard day's work, it's nice to sit down to a quiet, civilized...







...meal.



*: I'm stuffed, and now I'm getting sleepy...

*: Yep, I'm off to bed! Good night, gang!

*: Good night!







Wasn't today hectic? So much happened! But I'm relieved that our first job was a success.

It was really upsetting how Wigglytuff's Guild took most of the money... That's just the cost of training, I guess. We can't do anything about it.

Explains why there's no entry fee. And why they can afford to feed all the guild members.

But what made me really happy today, though, was getting thanked by Spoink!

Yawn... I'm getting sleepy. I'm going to sleep. Let's try our best again tomorrow. Good night, Michael...