Hunger of Wishes: Chapter 1
CluelessJoker
Youngster
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Summary
Sierra is a chikorita down on her luck, running low on funds and patience she decides to take a job on impulse which sets her on a path to meeting a strange pokemon in the mystery dungeons. Sierra, and company slowly rise through the ranks of the Pokemon Ranger Organization on their quest for fame, fortune, and respect. However, strange and otherworldly forces have arrayed themselves against the world they inhabit, and this strange amnesiac pokemon on the team may hold an unknown connection to them. Using their wits, guile and endurance, Team Cheri Colas must weather the storm that threatens to undo not just their world, but many others.
About The Author
I'm CluelessJoker, I joined this site to begin my foray into hobby writing as a promise to myself a couple of months ago. I enjoy fighting games, D&D, roleplay, and a myriad of other video games. I've been a 5th edition dungeon master for around 8 years now and have been in multiple campaigns as a player as well. I've written some stories for personal enjoyment before but this will be my first work I release into the wild.
This story takes place in an adjacent timeline to the Super Mystery Dungeon canon but follows it very loosely. It is largely an original setting. My goal with this story will be largely character focused but with light themes of cosmic horror and dark fantasy.
I hope you enjoy my first foray into fan writing.
-CluelessJoker
Chapter 1 patch notes: Fixed some grammar, got rid of all the double spaces, added a paragraph describing Sierra's house, changed the intro to Barry and Larry, rewrote some sentences. Special thanks to Ambyssin for the feedback.
Chapter 1 patch notes part 2: Fixed some typos, rewrote some sentences to flow better, officially changed the name of the Rescue Explorer's guild to the Pokemon Ranger Organization (PRO). Special thanks to Dr.Glutamate, Namohysip and Kaybee for the feedback.
Today was the day!
A lone Chikorita burst from her humble home into the warm summer air of her hometown. Today was the day she’d finally get her responses. The Chikorita bounded towards her mailbox in barely contained excitement. The mail had finally come to Slumberly, and more importantly, so had the response letters she had sent out.
The Chikorita extended her vines towards the modestly stuffed mailbox, trembling with excitement. She had spent the better part of a month sending out letters requesting a new teammate. Her team was only one pokemon shy of being a full fledged Pokemon Ranger Organization team. She had put in requests all over the continent of Gaiashur for her new tactician. She already had herself, the leader, Gwurm, the muscle, all she needed was a tactician to finally start taking on the real jobs at the guild and not just the scraps.
With optimistic trepidation the Chikorita grabbed, opened, and read the first letter from the mailbox aloud to herself.
“Dear Sierra, I have received your request for a tactician and wish to send back my warmest regards.” Sierra bounced in place, this one sounded like a winner. “It is with my sincerest apologies that I must decline your--”
The words hit Sierra like a brick, she let the word ‘decline’ hang in the air for a bit. Even without reading the rest it was clear that this person would not be joining her team.
No matter, she thought, there were plenty of other letters. After all, she made sure to take a shotgun approach this time. Rifling her vines through the stacks of letters she pulled out another one and began reading.
“Hello Sierra, this is Malki from Thasis Oasis. I have looked into your ranger team at the behest of your letter and have found the results to be wanting for lack of a better-”
Wanting!? Sierra couldn’t believe it. Angrily, she tore the note in half, not bothering to read the rest of it. Well this wasn’t a major setback, there were plenty more. One of them had to be a winner, right?
“Howdy Sierra, I got your letter and thought I’d send one back to ya. Sorry but my plate is full, but if your still--”
Sierra tossed the note aside. Another rejection but there were still plenty other letters, on to the next one!
“I’m sorry to inform you Sierra, that I must respectfully decline--”
“Dear Sierra, I cannot join your--"
“My answer is n--”
“Declined--”
Sierra continued to read with increasingly furious abandon. She tore through the contents of each note before tossing them into an ever growing pile next to the mailbox. No no no! This can’t be right! One of these has to be a winner! They can’t all be rejection letters! Not again!
Sierra’s gaze lingered on the last letter. She snatched the letter with her vines, tore open the envelope and began to read. She didn’t need to get through much though, inside the envelope was her recruit application form. A large red stamp with only the word "Denied" was emblazoned onto the parchment.
Sierra started to grit her teeth, her vines trembled, her vision dimmed. Not one!? Not one lousy applicant accepted!? Again!? there must be a mistake! This isn't fair!
Sierra bunched up all the discarded letters into a massive ball of crumpled papyrus and pulled back, ready to hardball them through her own mailbox. She stopped herself before she could strike. A tiny Krabby in the back of her mind reminded her that wrecking the mailbox would cost money. Money she definitely didn’t have. With a frustrated groan Sierra instead tossed the crumpled wad of papers into the pond next to her house. She figured she could fish them out and dispose of them later.
Sierra stormed back into her house, slamming the door behind her. It wasn’t fair, she thought, it simply wasn’t fair. Why was it so hard to get one stupid tactician on her team!? Other teams could do it, why couldn’t she!?
The force of the door slamming made the multiple picture frames on the wall to rattle. They maintained their purchase on the wall in spite of the Chikorita's fury. Sierra stomped across the soft, green carpeted floor toward an oaken table surrounded by cushioned log stools. The light of the warm summer day filtered off the expensive finish of the overpriced furniture. For a moment Sierra thought about dragging herself upstairs to her own room but decided she was simply too mentally exhausted to drag herself up the wooden stairs.
Instead Sierra sat down at her table, roughly squashing one of her pillows underneath her. She glared at the assortment of notices scattered on top of the table. Bills, they were piling up and her finances were quickly dwindling. The initial investment from her father into this place was quickly drying up and she was not eager to receive the jeers and taunts from her thirteen siblings if she had to go back and either admit defeat or beg for more cash.
The Chikorita’s head fell hard on the wood of the table, scattering a couple papers. She groaned, imagining the faces of her siblings as she returned from her exodus into independent life in defeat. She mentally recoiled from the conjured images of their laughter, their sneers, but most painfully of all, their pity.
Sierra slammed her vines on the table and rose up with a new furious determination. No! I will not return in defeat! I'll make this work! I can last another month, I'll just need to tighten my belt a bit. Yeah, maybe I could even scrounge some stuff from the Mystery Dungeons…
Sierra’s mood soured at that last thought. The Mystery Dungeons, she did not relish going back into those poisonous mist filled hellholes. She stared at the now scattered assortment of bills and receipts piled around her and sighed. One way or another something had to change. She either needed her third member so she could get the better paying jobs or she needed a really big break. Hopefully I can get both! She thought to herself.
Sierra rose from the table, and dusted herself off. Either way, she was gonna need to grab some work. With a heavy sigh she left the comfort of her sanctuary and began the trek towards the town of Slumberly.
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Sierra’s abode sat just outside the edge of town, overlooking a pond. It was a nice spot, if a bit on the pricey side, but at the time she got it her head was full of ambition and hot air. She gazed out at the scenic view of the pond that separated her home from the rest of town and sighed.
Fat lot of good this view does me, Sierra thought to herself. Curse you past Sierra, couldn’t you have picked a cheaper spot?
Shaking the nerves from her head Sierra began the walk back to town. Step by step her feet trod the familiar earthen trail leading back towards the town. The warm summer breeze blew across her as she walked, carrying the familiar scents of the countryside ocean. Lost in her thoughts it seemed like no time at all before she was approaching the gate to Slumberly.
Slumberly, it wasn’t exactly her hometown but it was close enough in a sense. A massive apple tree stood at the town’s center that was visible for miles out. It was an anomaly for sure, Sierra mused in silence, normal apple trees definitely didn’t get this big. It was, perhaps unsurprisingly, the town’s pride and joy. It served as a marker for people traveling from the coast to the capital. There were always a couple of tourists or travelers gathered around the tree or at the popular tourist traps. But the location Sierra wanted to get to in town was the Rescue Explorer’s Guild Hall.
Sierra spied the two gate guards. A sleepy Buizel, who was currently using his spear as a support for his snoozing, and a bored Ludicolo, whose nose was buried in a book, were posted up by the thick but modest wooden gate to town.
"Morning, Barry!" Sierra forced out as she waved to the snoozing Buizel with a vine. "Morning, Larry" she added as she nodded to the Ludicolo.
Sierra had very quickly run out of jokes about how their names rhymed within the first week of knowing them. They were not unpleasant people, just a bit… unmotivated.
Barry was asleep as he usually was at this time of day. Despite being the younger of the duo he was by far the more lethargic. Larry looked up from his papers just long enough to notice Sierra standing there and waiting for them to open the gate for her. He nudged Barry with his elbow, causing the sleepy Buizel to jolt and sputter from his reverie. He looked around in a panic stricken state before noticing Sierra and calming substantially.
“Mornin’ Sierra! How are we doing today?” Barry asked in his normally cheerful demeanor.
Sierra was exhausted and not at all in the mood for pleasantries, but she didn’t want to come across as too rude.
“Fine,” she muttered sarcastically, mustering as much politeness as her sour mood afforded her, “I’m doing just peachy!”
Barry either did not notice Sierra’s sarcasm or consciously chose to ignore it.
“Well that’s good to hear, I’ll go on ahead and open the gate for you!” The Buizel said with a salute.
Barry knocked on the wooden gate with the butt of his spear twice, alerting the people on the other side. A moment later, the large wooden doors began to swing open, allowing Sierra entry. Sierra merely nodded towards the Buizel as she entered the town proper, allowing the two gate guards to resume their ever important task of lazing about.
The Town of Slumberly was actually quite lively despite its name. The majority of people here in town were either gathered in the market or walking to and from the post office. Sierra’s goal, however, was the real hub of activity here: the Slumberly branch of the Pokemon Ranger Organization, a large guild hall set on a hill north of the Great Apple Tree. Standing at three stories tall it was by far the largest Pokemon made building in the town. Not even the mayor’s offices were as tall as the guild hall. This grandiose height made it easy to spot for newcomers and locals alike.
Making her way over to the building Sierra’s thoughts were still troubled by her financial situation. She could probably squeeze out another month’s rent if she cut out a lot of excess expenses, she thought to herself. But the definition of “excess” was already becoming unreasonably broad. In fact just recently she had to start categorizing a regular laundry schedule as an “excess” and started wearing the same scarf and using the same towel far longer than was comfortable. She needed to find a third teammate and soon so she could start taking the higher ranked, and subsequently higher paying, jobs. But for now she just needed to find her current second teammate, Gwurm.
Sierra approached the guild hall and began scanning the congregated Pokemon through the window for her muscle. After a couple of sweeps she failed to spy her Goomy friend anywhere. With an annoyed huff she decided to start asking around if anyone had seen him. Surely the receptionist had at least an idea of where he currently was.
Entering the mess hall Sierra was immediately buffeted by the scents and sounds of adventures in progress and in waiting that always permeated this place. There were multiple teams sitting at large tables set off to the sides of the main room that were either returning from or preparing to embark on the myriad of jobs that Pokemon Rangers could undertake. Most of them had large plates of food and mugs of various alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. The overwhelming scent of hearty cooking and hot meals made Sierra’s mouth water and her stomach growl. She pushed these feelings down as she trotted over to the receptionist’s desk to make her inquiries.
Sierra used her vines to hoist herself up onto one of the stools reserved for smaller mons and set her forelimbs on the desk so she could ring the service bell with one of her vines.
“Just a minute!” Came the familiar voice of the receptionist somewhere from the back.
A Zorua poked her head out to see what the noise was, upon spying Sierra the Zorua rolled their eyes and returned to the back rooms to fetch some things. Sierra recalled the receptionist's name was Kaylee, a Zorua with a mischievous streak. She was the local town trickster and constantly fluttered from job to job because she kept getting fired for her pranks. Sierra had made a bet some time ago with Sally, a fellow ranger, that Kaylee would only last a week on this job before moving on to the next. That bet was 5 days ago, two more and she’d owe Sally 50 poke.
Kaylee eventually returned from the backrooms of the hall carrying a large stack of papers, most of which were job listings from the locals and some of the towns further out. She acknowledged Sierra with a nod before beginning to pin the papers to the Evening Quest Board, which meant that in the next hour or so there would be a fresh set of jobs available for any ranger team to take. Sierra made a point to try to come in early today because the job listings were first come first serve and the guild hall was always packed around this time with like-minded teams leaders looking for the best jobs.
“So what brings you here all by your lonesome? Did Gwurm get tired of you already?” Kaylee asked without even looking at Sierra, instead deciding to focus on pinning the notes.
“Oh yes, he decided to run off into the sunset with an attractive Zorua” Sierra snarked, “For your information I’m actually looking for Gwurm now so we can go on another job. You see him around here? He’s not usually this late.”
While she spoke Sierra tried to sneak a peek at some of the evening job postings. Her eyes focused mainly on the reward amounts, looking for the most profitable jobs. Although, Sierra was also painfully aware that she wouldn’t be able to take the real big ones given her Team’s “incompleteness”. Still, it gave her a goal to strive towards and she liked to imagine herself one day raking in the big bucks in the big leagues.
“Really? You don’t know? The latest editions of ‘Ember and Uxie’ just got delivered to the bookstore.” Kaylee said with a playful smile and slightly turning to at least half look towards Sierra.
“What does that have to do with any--ooooh…” Sierra trailed off.
That was right, Those books were Gwurm’s latest hyperfixation. The adventure novels of Ember and Uxie. Gwurm had been fascinated by them ever since he got his hands(?) on the first issue some six odd months ago. Since then he’d been watching the post office like a Pidgeott for the bookstore’s stock delivery and today was mail day!
“Shi-Shoot!” Sierra fought back a curse word. The entire team needed to be present for a mission acceptance, Kaylee wouldn't be allowed to stamp any job listing she snags as 'taken' without him.
“That boy… Alright, thanks for the info!” Sierra bounded off the chair and towards the exit.
“You really should keep better track of your team, Sierra. It’s unbecoming of a leader to lose them so easily!” Kaylee said before Sierra could get too far for her to hear.
“I’ll be sure to jot down your criticisms in my journal.” Sierra snapped back dismissively. She had grown used to the constant criticisms of others. But she hadn’t failed a job yet and she was not about to start.
“Keep those job postings hot, I’ll be back!” Sierra shouted before she let the doors of the Guild Hall close behind her.
Sprinting towards the bookstore Sierra was determined to grab Gwurm and return to the board before all the good paying jobs were snapped up. Or at least the ones she could take. Low rank jobs tended to disappear alarmingly quickly thanks to Slumberly’s location as a popular pit stop for fledgling ranger teams heading to the capital. Plenty of up and coming Pokemon Ranger Organization teams liked to stop by here for their initial debut. Sierra bolted down the town roads and past market stalls, she was not going to lose another payday just because Gwurm couldn’t be bothered to show up on time!
Sierra skidded around a corner and almost toppled a Heliolisk, she continued galloping on as he tried to scold Sierra. Just up ahead, Sierra spotted the bookstore she was looking for. There was a much smaller gathering in front of the store compared to the Guild Hall, heck even compared to the other stores on this street. Sierra pressed her face to the store window and scanned the interior frantically until she spied the Goomy she was looking for buried in a book inside the store.
“Gwurm!” Sierra shouted while pounding the window of the bookstore to get his attention.
It was no use, Gwurm was completely invested and could not hear Sierra’s calls. Sierra let out a frustrated groan and begrudgingly stepped inside the bookstore to physically get Gwurm’s attention.
Approaching Gwurm, Sierra loudly cleared her throat once she was right next to him. But the only response she got was the quiet whispers of Gwurm trying to sound out each word he was reading. The poor boy was struggling with ‘Omanyte’ and had to constantly go back to the start of the word. As much as Sierra would have loved to encourage the lad’s higher learning, she had places to be, jobs to snatch, and the clock was not on their side so she couldn’t waste time. Sierra stormed in front of Gwurm and used her vines to yank the book down so he had to look at her.
“Gwurm! We’re almost late for the Job Board refresh! Get your a- your butt in gear!” Sierra almost shouted.
Despite her best efforts to restrain her voice in a place of reading a couple of agitated “shushes” rang out in response to her outburst. Sierra dismissed these almost instinctively.
Gwurm, still half in the land of fiction, did not fully process what Sierra had just said. His gaze was vacant as the gears in his head began to register Sierra's presence. After a couple of awkward moments Gwurm realized his best friend was here and a big smile curled on his face.
“Oh hi Sierra!” Gwurm cheerfully greeted his team leader, “Have you come for the newest releases as well? I’m certain you’ll like this edition of Ember and Uxie! This one’s about their attempts to overthrow a military tyranny with the help of a nudist and his Cindera--”
“Nahnahnah I do not care! Gwurm! We are almost late for the Job Board refresh!” Sierra reiterated with much more annoyance this time.
She really did not have time to spare for Gwurm’s recaps. Roughly grabbing her friend with her vines she lifted the gooey purple dragon pokemon above her head and sprinted out of the bookstore. If she was quick enough she could probably still make it in time!
Running as fast as her little Chikorita legs would carry her, Sierra dashed through the serene streets of Slumberly. Her panic and impatience were a stark contrast to the normally laid back atmosphere of the town. Sierra slid around the same corner she almost crashed into a Heliolisk at and left skid marks in the dirt pathway. She scrambled back into a galloping gait as she raced towards the Guild Hall. The hall came into view just as the town bell rang out, signifying the arrival of noon, and the official job board refresh.
Sierra pushed her body past its limit, her muscles screamed and tears began to form in her eyes as she barreled towards the doors of the Guild Hall. With a crash she burst into the Guild Hall right into a crowd of Rescue Explorer teams that were leaving it. Sierra briefly noted that each one had a paper in their hands, the job listings no doubts.
Sierra tried not to let her doubts overtake her thoughts as she muscled through the crowd. She pushed past a flood of scales and feathers while keeping her gooey teammate above the wave of Pokemon. She bumped and forced herself through the deluge until she was at the other side of the mass of Pokemon. Sierra stood in a much emptier Guild Hall and tried not to curse out loud as she dragged Gwurm and herself towards the spirit crushingly empty job board. Only a few scraps remained on it.
“Ooooh, better luck next time, Sierra!” Kaylee’s voice called out from the reception desk.
“Shut up!” Sierra snapped back.
She set Gwurm down and began looking at all the job listings remaining. There had to be something, anything! The longer Sierra scanned the board the clearer it became to her, all the possible jobs for her to take had been snapped up. The only jobs left were well above her team’s rank to even accept. Defeated, Sierra slumped into one of the chairs.
“Arceus! Damnit!” Sierra cursed as her head flopped onto the table in front of her, “We were so close!”
“Aww geez, I’m sorry, Sierra…” Gwurm said as he hesitantly scooted towards her. “There’s always next time.”
This did not comfort Sierra, official job listings took ages to come through. They wouldn't be getting any new job listings until the next mail day. Not unless someone local had a--
“Hello? Am I too late?” A lone Butterfree entered the guild hall nervously.
“Sorry ma’am, most of the jobs have already been taken.” Kaylee said in a bored monotone.
“O-oh, I’m not here to take a job, I’m here to post one.” The Butterfree fluttered towards the desk nervously.
Sierra’s head immediately perked up, there was hope after all! “Well why didn’t you say so earlier lady, you’re right on time! Team Cheri Colas will help you out with whatever it is!” Sierra leapt from the table and quickly closed the gap towards the Butterfree.
“Sierra, you know that’s not how this works.” Kaylee said rather annoyedly. “There’s paperwork, proper filing, threat assessment, a job posting can take a couple-”
“Shut up, I’m calling in that favor.” Sierra glared at the Zorua “Surely you can handle the paperwork to make this all run smoothly, ye?”
“You’re really gonna?..” The Zorua’s expression shifted from one of surprise to one of flippant disregard, “You know what? Fine! if this is really what you’re gonna waste that favor on then that's fine by me. I hope you have a wonderful time on the job.”
Kaylee scurried into the back of the shop to forge the necessary documents while Sierra got to work reeling in her new client. Sierra put a vine over the Butterfree’s shoulder and asked “So what’s this job you’ve got?”
“Probably should have asked that before you accepted the job Sierra. What if it’s outside our rank?” Gwurm said, raising his concerns to his leader.
“Kaylee can handle that too.” Sierra said as she tried to wave Gwurm off with her other vine dismissively, “So what can we do for you? What's the job?”
The Butterfree suppressed a sniffle before she spoke, “I-It’s my son. He’s run off and I need someone to rescue him.”
“A child rescue? No problem! we can handle it no sweat! Do you know where he ran off to?” Sierra asked with rising excitement.
“The Darkwoods Mystery Dungeon…” The Butterfree said solemnly.
The mood in the hall turned dour at the revelation. Sierra’s optimism was immediately replaced with disbelief. She mentally kicked herself for accepting this job in advance so eagerly. She couldn’t back out now though, not after she just got done advertising her team so hard, her pride couldn't take a hit like that.
“You're sure?” Sierra asked, hoping in vain to change reality with her inquisition.
The Butterfree simply nodded.
Sierra took a deep breath before quietly exclaiming “Fuuuuuuuuu-”
Sierra is a chikorita down on her luck, running low on funds and patience she decides to take a job on impulse which sets her on a path to meeting a strange pokemon in the mystery dungeons. Sierra, and company slowly rise through the ranks of the Pokemon Ranger Organization on their quest for fame, fortune, and respect. However, strange and otherworldly forces have arrayed themselves against the world they inhabit, and this strange amnesiac pokemon on the team may hold an unknown connection to them. Using their wits, guile and endurance, Team Cheri Colas must weather the storm that threatens to undo not just their world, but many others.
About The Author
I'm CluelessJoker, I joined this site to begin my foray into hobby writing as a promise to myself a couple of months ago. I enjoy fighting games, D&D, roleplay, and a myriad of other video games. I've been a 5th edition dungeon master for around 8 years now and have been in multiple campaigns as a player as well. I've written some stories for personal enjoyment before but this will be my first work I release into the wild.
This story takes place in an adjacent timeline to the Super Mystery Dungeon canon but follows it very loosely. It is largely an original setting. My goal with this story will be largely character focused but with light themes of cosmic horror and dark fantasy.
This story will start out T Rated though I may bump up the rating if my beta readers recommend me to.
Violence, blood, death, and dark themes are some things that will very likely be present.
I am aiming for each chapter to be at least 1k-5k words in length, on the shorter side.
Number of chapters is currently undetermined, I believe I shall update as I go.
I plan to post here and on PMD FFN under the same username. I currently have no plans for an AO3 though I may decide to post there in the future.
Violence, blood, death, and dark themes are some things that will very likely be present.
I am aiming for each chapter to be at least 1k-5k words in length, on the shorter side.
Number of chapters is currently undetermined, I believe I shall update as I go.
I plan to post here and on PMD FFN under the same username. I currently have no plans for an AO3 though I may decide to post there in the future.
I hope you enjoy my first foray into fan writing.
-CluelessJoker
Chapter 1 patch notes: Fixed some grammar, got rid of all the double spaces, added a paragraph describing Sierra's house, changed the intro to Barry and Larry, rewrote some sentences. Special thanks to Ambyssin for the feedback.
Chapter 1 patch notes part 2: Fixed some typos, rewrote some sentences to flow better, officially changed the name of the Rescue Explorer's guild to the Pokemon Ranger Organization (PRO). Special thanks to Dr.Glutamate, Namohysip and Kaybee for the feedback.
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Chapter 1: I wish for a future
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Chapter 1: I wish for a future
Today was the day!
A lone Chikorita burst from her humble home into the warm summer air of her hometown. Today was the day she’d finally get her responses. The Chikorita bounded towards her mailbox in barely contained excitement. The mail had finally come to Slumberly, and more importantly, so had the response letters she had sent out.
The Chikorita extended her vines towards the modestly stuffed mailbox, trembling with excitement. She had spent the better part of a month sending out letters requesting a new teammate. Her team was only one pokemon shy of being a full fledged Pokemon Ranger Organization team. She had put in requests all over the continent of Gaiashur for her new tactician. She already had herself, the leader, Gwurm, the muscle, all she needed was a tactician to finally start taking on the real jobs at the guild and not just the scraps.
With optimistic trepidation the Chikorita grabbed, opened, and read the first letter from the mailbox aloud to herself.
“Dear Sierra, I have received your request for a tactician and wish to send back my warmest regards.” Sierra bounced in place, this one sounded like a winner. “It is with my sincerest apologies that I must decline your--”
The words hit Sierra like a brick, she let the word ‘decline’ hang in the air for a bit. Even without reading the rest it was clear that this person would not be joining her team.
No matter, she thought, there were plenty of other letters. After all, she made sure to take a shotgun approach this time. Rifling her vines through the stacks of letters she pulled out another one and began reading.
“Hello Sierra, this is Malki from Thasis Oasis. I have looked into your ranger team at the behest of your letter and have found the results to be wanting for lack of a better-”
Wanting!? Sierra couldn’t believe it. Angrily, she tore the note in half, not bothering to read the rest of it. Well this wasn’t a major setback, there were plenty more. One of them had to be a winner, right?
“Howdy Sierra, I got your letter and thought I’d send one back to ya. Sorry but my plate is full, but if your still--”
Sierra tossed the note aside. Another rejection but there were still plenty other letters, on to the next one!
“I’m sorry to inform you Sierra, that I must respectfully decline--”
“Dear Sierra, I cannot join your--"
“My answer is n--”
“Declined--”
Sierra continued to read with increasingly furious abandon. She tore through the contents of each note before tossing them into an ever growing pile next to the mailbox. No no no! This can’t be right! One of these has to be a winner! They can’t all be rejection letters! Not again!
Sierra’s gaze lingered on the last letter. She snatched the letter with her vines, tore open the envelope and began to read. She didn’t need to get through much though, inside the envelope was her recruit application form. A large red stamp with only the word "Denied" was emblazoned onto the parchment.
Sierra started to grit her teeth, her vines trembled, her vision dimmed. Not one!? Not one lousy applicant accepted!? Again!? there must be a mistake! This isn't fair!
Sierra bunched up all the discarded letters into a massive ball of crumpled papyrus and pulled back, ready to hardball them through her own mailbox. She stopped herself before she could strike. A tiny Krabby in the back of her mind reminded her that wrecking the mailbox would cost money. Money she definitely didn’t have. With a frustrated groan Sierra instead tossed the crumpled wad of papers into the pond next to her house. She figured she could fish them out and dispose of them later.
Sierra stormed back into her house, slamming the door behind her. It wasn’t fair, she thought, it simply wasn’t fair. Why was it so hard to get one stupid tactician on her team!? Other teams could do it, why couldn’t she!?
The force of the door slamming made the multiple picture frames on the wall to rattle. They maintained their purchase on the wall in spite of the Chikorita's fury. Sierra stomped across the soft, green carpeted floor toward an oaken table surrounded by cushioned log stools. The light of the warm summer day filtered off the expensive finish of the overpriced furniture. For a moment Sierra thought about dragging herself upstairs to her own room but decided she was simply too mentally exhausted to drag herself up the wooden stairs.
Instead Sierra sat down at her table, roughly squashing one of her pillows underneath her. She glared at the assortment of notices scattered on top of the table. Bills, they were piling up and her finances were quickly dwindling. The initial investment from her father into this place was quickly drying up and she was not eager to receive the jeers and taunts from her thirteen siblings if she had to go back and either admit defeat or beg for more cash.
The Chikorita’s head fell hard on the wood of the table, scattering a couple papers. She groaned, imagining the faces of her siblings as she returned from her exodus into independent life in defeat. She mentally recoiled from the conjured images of their laughter, their sneers, but most painfully of all, their pity.
Sierra slammed her vines on the table and rose up with a new furious determination. No! I will not return in defeat! I'll make this work! I can last another month, I'll just need to tighten my belt a bit. Yeah, maybe I could even scrounge some stuff from the Mystery Dungeons…
Sierra’s mood soured at that last thought. The Mystery Dungeons, she did not relish going back into those poisonous mist filled hellholes. She stared at the now scattered assortment of bills and receipts piled around her and sighed. One way or another something had to change. She either needed her third member so she could get the better paying jobs or she needed a really big break. Hopefully I can get both! She thought to herself.
Sierra rose from the table, and dusted herself off. Either way, she was gonna need to grab some work. With a heavy sigh she left the comfort of her sanctuary and began the trek towards the town of Slumberly.
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Sierra’s abode sat just outside the edge of town, overlooking a pond. It was a nice spot, if a bit on the pricey side, but at the time she got it her head was full of ambition and hot air. She gazed out at the scenic view of the pond that separated her home from the rest of town and sighed.
Fat lot of good this view does me, Sierra thought to herself. Curse you past Sierra, couldn’t you have picked a cheaper spot?
Shaking the nerves from her head Sierra began the walk back to town. Step by step her feet trod the familiar earthen trail leading back towards the town. The warm summer breeze blew across her as she walked, carrying the familiar scents of the countryside ocean. Lost in her thoughts it seemed like no time at all before she was approaching the gate to Slumberly.
Slumberly, it wasn’t exactly her hometown but it was close enough in a sense. A massive apple tree stood at the town’s center that was visible for miles out. It was an anomaly for sure, Sierra mused in silence, normal apple trees definitely didn’t get this big. It was, perhaps unsurprisingly, the town’s pride and joy. It served as a marker for people traveling from the coast to the capital. There were always a couple of tourists or travelers gathered around the tree or at the popular tourist traps. But the location Sierra wanted to get to in town was the Rescue Explorer’s Guild Hall.
Sierra spied the two gate guards. A sleepy Buizel, who was currently using his spear as a support for his snoozing, and a bored Ludicolo, whose nose was buried in a book, were posted up by the thick but modest wooden gate to town.
"Morning, Barry!" Sierra forced out as she waved to the snoozing Buizel with a vine. "Morning, Larry" she added as she nodded to the Ludicolo.
Sierra had very quickly run out of jokes about how their names rhymed within the first week of knowing them. They were not unpleasant people, just a bit… unmotivated.
Barry was asleep as he usually was at this time of day. Despite being the younger of the duo he was by far the more lethargic. Larry looked up from his papers just long enough to notice Sierra standing there and waiting for them to open the gate for her. He nudged Barry with his elbow, causing the sleepy Buizel to jolt and sputter from his reverie. He looked around in a panic stricken state before noticing Sierra and calming substantially.
“Mornin’ Sierra! How are we doing today?” Barry asked in his normally cheerful demeanor.
Sierra was exhausted and not at all in the mood for pleasantries, but she didn’t want to come across as too rude.
“Fine,” she muttered sarcastically, mustering as much politeness as her sour mood afforded her, “I’m doing just peachy!”
Barry either did not notice Sierra’s sarcasm or consciously chose to ignore it.
“Well that’s good to hear, I’ll go on ahead and open the gate for you!” The Buizel said with a salute.
Barry knocked on the wooden gate with the butt of his spear twice, alerting the people on the other side. A moment later, the large wooden doors began to swing open, allowing Sierra entry. Sierra merely nodded towards the Buizel as she entered the town proper, allowing the two gate guards to resume their ever important task of lazing about.
The Town of Slumberly was actually quite lively despite its name. The majority of people here in town were either gathered in the market or walking to and from the post office. Sierra’s goal, however, was the real hub of activity here: the Slumberly branch of the Pokemon Ranger Organization, a large guild hall set on a hill north of the Great Apple Tree. Standing at three stories tall it was by far the largest Pokemon made building in the town. Not even the mayor’s offices were as tall as the guild hall. This grandiose height made it easy to spot for newcomers and locals alike.
Making her way over to the building Sierra’s thoughts were still troubled by her financial situation. She could probably squeeze out another month’s rent if she cut out a lot of excess expenses, she thought to herself. But the definition of “excess” was already becoming unreasonably broad. In fact just recently she had to start categorizing a regular laundry schedule as an “excess” and started wearing the same scarf and using the same towel far longer than was comfortable. She needed to find a third teammate and soon so she could start taking the higher ranked, and subsequently higher paying, jobs. But for now she just needed to find her current second teammate, Gwurm.
Sierra approached the guild hall and began scanning the congregated Pokemon through the window for her muscle. After a couple of sweeps she failed to spy her Goomy friend anywhere. With an annoyed huff she decided to start asking around if anyone had seen him. Surely the receptionist had at least an idea of where he currently was.
Entering the mess hall Sierra was immediately buffeted by the scents and sounds of adventures in progress and in waiting that always permeated this place. There were multiple teams sitting at large tables set off to the sides of the main room that were either returning from or preparing to embark on the myriad of jobs that Pokemon Rangers could undertake. Most of them had large plates of food and mugs of various alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. The overwhelming scent of hearty cooking and hot meals made Sierra’s mouth water and her stomach growl. She pushed these feelings down as she trotted over to the receptionist’s desk to make her inquiries.
Sierra used her vines to hoist herself up onto one of the stools reserved for smaller mons and set her forelimbs on the desk so she could ring the service bell with one of her vines.
“Just a minute!” Came the familiar voice of the receptionist somewhere from the back.
A Zorua poked her head out to see what the noise was, upon spying Sierra the Zorua rolled their eyes and returned to the back rooms to fetch some things. Sierra recalled the receptionist's name was Kaylee, a Zorua with a mischievous streak. She was the local town trickster and constantly fluttered from job to job because she kept getting fired for her pranks. Sierra had made a bet some time ago with Sally, a fellow ranger, that Kaylee would only last a week on this job before moving on to the next. That bet was 5 days ago, two more and she’d owe Sally 50 poke.
Kaylee eventually returned from the backrooms of the hall carrying a large stack of papers, most of which were job listings from the locals and some of the towns further out. She acknowledged Sierra with a nod before beginning to pin the papers to the Evening Quest Board, which meant that in the next hour or so there would be a fresh set of jobs available for any ranger team to take. Sierra made a point to try to come in early today because the job listings were first come first serve and the guild hall was always packed around this time with like-minded teams leaders looking for the best jobs.
“So what brings you here all by your lonesome? Did Gwurm get tired of you already?” Kaylee asked without even looking at Sierra, instead deciding to focus on pinning the notes.
“Oh yes, he decided to run off into the sunset with an attractive Zorua” Sierra snarked, “For your information I’m actually looking for Gwurm now so we can go on another job. You see him around here? He’s not usually this late.”
While she spoke Sierra tried to sneak a peek at some of the evening job postings. Her eyes focused mainly on the reward amounts, looking for the most profitable jobs. Although, Sierra was also painfully aware that she wouldn’t be able to take the real big ones given her Team’s “incompleteness”. Still, it gave her a goal to strive towards and she liked to imagine herself one day raking in the big bucks in the big leagues.
“Really? You don’t know? The latest editions of ‘Ember and Uxie’ just got delivered to the bookstore.” Kaylee said with a playful smile and slightly turning to at least half look towards Sierra.
“What does that have to do with any--ooooh…” Sierra trailed off.
That was right, Those books were Gwurm’s latest hyperfixation. The adventure novels of Ember and Uxie. Gwurm had been fascinated by them ever since he got his hands(?) on the first issue some six odd months ago. Since then he’d been watching the post office like a Pidgeott for the bookstore’s stock delivery and today was mail day!
“Shi-Shoot!” Sierra fought back a curse word. The entire team needed to be present for a mission acceptance, Kaylee wouldn't be allowed to stamp any job listing she snags as 'taken' without him.
“That boy… Alright, thanks for the info!” Sierra bounded off the chair and towards the exit.
“You really should keep better track of your team, Sierra. It’s unbecoming of a leader to lose them so easily!” Kaylee said before Sierra could get too far for her to hear.
“I’ll be sure to jot down your criticisms in my journal.” Sierra snapped back dismissively. She had grown used to the constant criticisms of others. But she hadn’t failed a job yet and she was not about to start.
“Keep those job postings hot, I’ll be back!” Sierra shouted before she let the doors of the Guild Hall close behind her.
Sprinting towards the bookstore Sierra was determined to grab Gwurm and return to the board before all the good paying jobs were snapped up. Or at least the ones she could take. Low rank jobs tended to disappear alarmingly quickly thanks to Slumberly’s location as a popular pit stop for fledgling ranger teams heading to the capital. Plenty of up and coming Pokemon Ranger Organization teams liked to stop by here for their initial debut. Sierra bolted down the town roads and past market stalls, she was not going to lose another payday just because Gwurm couldn’t be bothered to show up on time!
Sierra skidded around a corner and almost toppled a Heliolisk, she continued galloping on as he tried to scold Sierra. Just up ahead, Sierra spotted the bookstore she was looking for. There was a much smaller gathering in front of the store compared to the Guild Hall, heck even compared to the other stores on this street. Sierra pressed her face to the store window and scanned the interior frantically until she spied the Goomy she was looking for buried in a book inside the store.
“Gwurm!” Sierra shouted while pounding the window of the bookstore to get his attention.
It was no use, Gwurm was completely invested and could not hear Sierra’s calls. Sierra let out a frustrated groan and begrudgingly stepped inside the bookstore to physically get Gwurm’s attention.
Approaching Gwurm, Sierra loudly cleared her throat once she was right next to him. But the only response she got was the quiet whispers of Gwurm trying to sound out each word he was reading. The poor boy was struggling with ‘Omanyte’ and had to constantly go back to the start of the word. As much as Sierra would have loved to encourage the lad’s higher learning, she had places to be, jobs to snatch, and the clock was not on their side so she couldn’t waste time. Sierra stormed in front of Gwurm and used her vines to yank the book down so he had to look at her.
“Gwurm! We’re almost late for the Job Board refresh! Get your a- your butt in gear!” Sierra almost shouted.
Despite her best efforts to restrain her voice in a place of reading a couple of agitated “shushes” rang out in response to her outburst. Sierra dismissed these almost instinctively.
Gwurm, still half in the land of fiction, did not fully process what Sierra had just said. His gaze was vacant as the gears in his head began to register Sierra's presence. After a couple of awkward moments Gwurm realized his best friend was here and a big smile curled on his face.
“Oh hi Sierra!” Gwurm cheerfully greeted his team leader, “Have you come for the newest releases as well? I’m certain you’ll like this edition of Ember and Uxie! This one’s about their attempts to overthrow a military tyranny with the help of a nudist and his Cindera--”
“Nahnahnah I do not care! Gwurm! We are almost late for the Job Board refresh!” Sierra reiterated with much more annoyance this time.
She really did not have time to spare for Gwurm’s recaps. Roughly grabbing her friend with her vines she lifted the gooey purple dragon pokemon above her head and sprinted out of the bookstore. If she was quick enough she could probably still make it in time!
Running as fast as her little Chikorita legs would carry her, Sierra dashed through the serene streets of Slumberly. Her panic and impatience were a stark contrast to the normally laid back atmosphere of the town. Sierra slid around the same corner she almost crashed into a Heliolisk at and left skid marks in the dirt pathway. She scrambled back into a galloping gait as she raced towards the Guild Hall. The hall came into view just as the town bell rang out, signifying the arrival of noon, and the official job board refresh.
Sierra pushed her body past its limit, her muscles screamed and tears began to form in her eyes as she barreled towards the doors of the Guild Hall. With a crash she burst into the Guild Hall right into a crowd of Rescue Explorer teams that were leaving it. Sierra briefly noted that each one had a paper in their hands, the job listings no doubts.
Sierra tried not to let her doubts overtake her thoughts as she muscled through the crowd. She pushed past a flood of scales and feathers while keeping her gooey teammate above the wave of Pokemon. She bumped and forced herself through the deluge until she was at the other side of the mass of Pokemon. Sierra stood in a much emptier Guild Hall and tried not to curse out loud as she dragged Gwurm and herself towards the spirit crushingly empty job board. Only a few scraps remained on it.
“Ooooh, better luck next time, Sierra!” Kaylee’s voice called out from the reception desk.
“Shut up!” Sierra snapped back.
She set Gwurm down and began looking at all the job listings remaining. There had to be something, anything! The longer Sierra scanned the board the clearer it became to her, all the possible jobs for her to take had been snapped up. The only jobs left were well above her team’s rank to even accept. Defeated, Sierra slumped into one of the chairs.
“Arceus! Damnit!” Sierra cursed as her head flopped onto the table in front of her, “We were so close!”
“Aww geez, I’m sorry, Sierra…” Gwurm said as he hesitantly scooted towards her. “There’s always next time.”
This did not comfort Sierra, official job listings took ages to come through. They wouldn't be getting any new job listings until the next mail day. Not unless someone local had a--
“Hello? Am I too late?” A lone Butterfree entered the guild hall nervously.
“Sorry ma’am, most of the jobs have already been taken.” Kaylee said in a bored monotone.
“O-oh, I’m not here to take a job, I’m here to post one.” The Butterfree fluttered towards the desk nervously.
Sierra’s head immediately perked up, there was hope after all! “Well why didn’t you say so earlier lady, you’re right on time! Team Cheri Colas will help you out with whatever it is!” Sierra leapt from the table and quickly closed the gap towards the Butterfree.
“Sierra, you know that’s not how this works.” Kaylee said rather annoyedly. “There’s paperwork, proper filing, threat assessment, a job posting can take a couple-”
“Shut up, I’m calling in that favor.” Sierra glared at the Zorua “Surely you can handle the paperwork to make this all run smoothly, ye?”
“You’re really gonna?..” The Zorua’s expression shifted from one of surprise to one of flippant disregard, “You know what? Fine! if this is really what you’re gonna waste that favor on then that's fine by me. I hope you have a wonderful time on the job.”
Kaylee scurried into the back of the shop to forge the necessary documents while Sierra got to work reeling in her new client. Sierra put a vine over the Butterfree’s shoulder and asked “So what’s this job you’ve got?”
“Probably should have asked that before you accepted the job Sierra. What if it’s outside our rank?” Gwurm said, raising his concerns to his leader.
“Kaylee can handle that too.” Sierra said as she tried to wave Gwurm off with her other vine dismissively, “So what can we do for you? What's the job?”
The Butterfree suppressed a sniffle before she spoke, “I-It’s my son. He’s run off and I need someone to rescue him.”
“A child rescue? No problem! we can handle it no sweat! Do you know where he ran off to?” Sierra asked with rising excitement.
“The Darkwoods Mystery Dungeon…” The Butterfree said solemnly.
The mood in the hall turned dour at the revelation. Sierra’s optimism was immediately replaced with disbelief. She mentally kicked herself for accepting this job in advance so eagerly. She couldn’t back out now though, not after she just got done advertising her team so hard, her pride couldn't take a hit like that.
“You're sure?” Sierra asked, hoping in vain to change reality with her inquisition.
The Butterfree simply nodded.
Sierra took a deep breath before quietly exclaiming “Fuuuuuuuuu-”
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