#Team-Pokéfriends - Star (Abra)

[team-pokefriends]

[Darksky Woods 4F]

[Star and Cly finally find the stairs to the next floor. Cly is panting, tired from all the fighting that had been done up to this point.]

[Star] "Okay, Cly. Says the bad guy's on the next floor. You ready for this?"

[Cly, tired] "Star… I'm tired…"

[Star] "Come on. It's just one battle, and then we're outta here."

[Cly, tired] "I don't know… if I can continue."

[Star pats the Munna's back.]

[Star] "You'll be fine. Now come on, let's go!"

[Star bolts to the stairs. Cly sighs and follows.]

[Darksky Woods 5F]

[Once reaching the destination floor, the criminal of the mission makes her appearance…

A Primarina with her hair and tail green like acid and sharp, fanged canine teeth. She had her back turned as she was looking at some valuables in her storage chest.]

[Star] "You're not going anywhere!"

[The Primarina jumps a little upon hearing the voice. She closes the chest and turns around to face the two Psychic types. Her surprise goes down when she realizes who's going up against her.]

[Primarina] "Oh, it's just a couple of children."

[Star, angry] "Children‽"

[Star conjures a Shadow Ball up with her right hand and throws it at the Primarina, but she leans her head to the side and avoids the attack.]

[Primarina] "You throw like a child, too."

[Star conjures two Shadow Balls, one in each hand, and lobs them both towards the Primarina, only for her to hop around and dodge them both. 

Cly was too scared to do anything but watch.]

[Star] "Quick! Sleep her!"

[Cly closes his eyes and tries to use Hypnosis. Three rings shoot out from his forehead, but they miss, flying past the Primarina.]

[Primarina] "How cute."

[The Primarina holds her right hand up, and a large, light pink orb grows in size until it is bigger than all of them, combined.]

[Primarina] "Go back to playing 'Rescuers and Outlaws'."

[The Primarina threw the Moonblast down. Cly screamed as it was getting closer and closer.]

[Star] "Watch out!"

[The Abra jumps to the side, while Cly floats the opposite direction.

Despite their efforts to avoid the Moonblast, it hit the ground and create a large explosion of light, blasting them both against the wall and knocking them out.

Star's Protector badge shines brightly, and a faint light takes both her and Cly out of the mystery dungeon, leaving only half of Star's supplies behind.

The Primarina holds a hand to her chin and makes an annoying sounding laugh before she makes her way to their supplies.]

[Primarina] "Like taking candy from a baby."

[team-pokefriends]

[The trees' leaves were a darkest green, and the branches were wild and thorny like vines. The bushes look sharp, and the flower petals are as black as the darkness covering the woods.

This is Darksky Woods, the haunting destination of Star's mission. Cly shivers as the two approach the forest.]

[Cly, scared] "I don't know about this…"

[Star] "Relax. It's, like…"

[Star holds her hand up and counts on her fingers.]

[Star] "Oddish, Pidgey… Uh, Houndoor, but those don't have any Dark type moves. What else… Eh, let's go see for ourselves."

[Cly, scared] "I thought you said you've been here many times!"

[Star] "Yeah, and this isn't going to be any different. Let's go!"

[Star wraps an arm around Cly and pulls him into the woods. The Munna can feel his heart beating as he's dragged into the woods.]

[Darksky Woods]

[The two enter the woods and the first thing they see is a square-like room surrounding them. Star turns around and spots an angry looking Oddish.]

[Star] "Look, an Oddish!"

[Cly also turns around and sees the Oddish.]

[Cly, scared] "AAH!"

[Out of fear, Cly closes his eyes and fires a pink Psybeam at the Oddish, hitting it in the face. The Oddish didn't like that and retaliated by spraying Acid. Cly gets splashed by the Acid and falls to the ground.]

[Star] "Cly!"

[Star charges up and lobs a Shadow Ball at the Oddish with all her might, hitting the Oddish and knocking it to the ground. The Abra then ran up to the Munna and wiped some of the acid off his face.]

[Star] "Yo, you okay?"

[Cly coughs, his face having a purple blush around his nose.]

[Cly, weak] "I think I'm poisoned."

[Star] "Wait, I got just the thing."

[Star looks in her bag, takes out a Pecha berry, and holds it up to Cly's mouth. The Munna eats the berry, and soon his poison status goes away. Cly returns to floating up without any issues.]

[Cly, scared] "Thanks."

[Star stands up, and a purple blush crosses her face.]

[Star] "No problem."

[Cly, worried] "Star! Your face! You're poisoned, too!"

[Star coughs into her elbow.]

[Star] "Okay, time to find the stairs."

[Cly, confused] "What? Don't you have another Pecha berry."

[Star, nonchalant] "I don't, but don't worry, the stairs will fix that."

[Star walks towards one of the dungeon hallways. Cly closely follows her, confused as to what she's talking about.]

[team-pokefriends]

[Catherine and Seth approach a house carved and made from a giant stone. The only windows on the house are on what looks like the second floor.]

[Catherine] "He still lives with his mom?"

[Seth] "Yeah, and I'm still trying to get him to move in with me."

[Catherine] "He hasn't?"

[Seth] "No. He still insists on living with her."

[Seth walks up to the door and knocks on it.]

[Old feminine voice, muffled] "Who is it‽"

[Seth] "It's Seth, and I brought Catherine, too!"

[Old feminine voice, muffled] "Ben! Your friends are here!"

[A few seconds pass before footsteps rapidly approach the door. Then, the door opens and a tired Charmeleon sticks his head out. He looks up, and upon spotting Catherine, he looks excited to see her.]

[Ben, tired] "Oh, Cathy. I wasn't expecting you to show up."

[Catherine] "Hello, Ben. How have you been?"

[Ben, tired] "Good, good. What about you?"

[Catherine] "I'm… Um… Okay. I'm taking a break from work and I thought I'd see everyone."

[Ben] "Oh, cool. Uh, just to make sure, who have you seen so far?"

[Catherine] "You, Seth… I tried seeing Jolene, but Alex was home."

[Ben] "Ugh. Alex. He used to be cool."

[Seth] "Yeah. He stopped being the funny guy and just became a jerk."

[Catherine] "Oh. Did Fred tell you what happened to him?"

[Seth] "Actually, I was actually with Alex when we did that to Fred, but I apologized to him after that 'save the world' thing. We're cool now. In fact, we were just about to go see him at the library."

[He then looks to Ben.]

[Seth] "You coming with us?"

[Ben] "Uh... Sure. Just gotta let my mom know real quick."

[Ben heads back in and closes the door.

Seth looks to Catherine.]

[Seth] "Oh yeah, don't you have a partner?"

[Catherine] "She's covering for my absence."

---

[Shivering Mountain 10F]

[Sophie and Vanilla continue to walk through the snowy mountainous mystery dungeon. Vanilla is carrying Star in her arms.]

[Vanilla] "Can't you just float?"

[Star] "I don't want to. Walking's cooler."

[Vanilla] "Can you even float?"

[Star] "Of course I can!"

[Vanilla] "Okay. Then…"

[Vanilla looks at Sophie.]

[Vanilla] "Tap the top of Soph's hat, then."

[Sophie stops and looks back.]

[Sophie, confused] "Eh?"

[Star] "Easy. Watch."

[Sophie] "Wait, what're you-"

[Star floats out of Vanilla's arms and up to Sophie's Shellder, where she then proceeds to poke the top of the stone crown.]

[Star] "See? Told you."

[Sophie crosses her arms and squints her eyes.]

[Sophie] "Star, I thought you needed to rest."

[Star, nervous] "Uh…"

[Vanilla also crosses her arms.]

[Star, nervous] "Well, I'm fine now. See? Totally fine."

[And then, she spots a Cryogonal floating towards them.]

[Star, nervous] "Bad guy ahead!"

[Star floats around Sophie before charging up and firing a Charge Beam towards the Cryogonal. The attack barely damaged the Cryogonal, something Sophie and Vanilla were used to witnessing by now. This was turning into a long day for them.]

[team-pokefriends]

[Sophie, Vanilla, and Star arrive at the base of a snowy mountain. Even before they arrived, the area leading up to the mountain was covered in snow.

Star is holding her arms and shivering from the cold.]

[Star] "It's so cold!"

[Vanilla] "Yeah. It's Shivering Mountain. What did you expect?"

[Star] "I don't know. A few snowflakes?"

[Vanilla] "Why would-"

[Vanilla scoffs and crosses her arms.]

[Sophie] "We got a job to do, remember?"

[Star] "Yeah, I'm ready to do this!"

[Vanilla] "Same here."

[Star] "Can we do it quickly? I'm freezing."

[Sophie] "You'll be fine. Now come on."

[Sophie beckons everyone to follow her, and they all enter the mystery dungeon.]

[Shivering Mountain 1F]

---

[CW: Anxiety under the Read More]

[Catherine walks up to a house with a purple and blue flag above the door, a door with a small glass hole to look through.]

[Catherine, thoughts] "(It's the same house they've always lived in.)"

[She stops at the door.]

[Catherine, thoughts] "(Jolene, please answer.)"

[She closes her eyes and knocks on the door. After that, there's a few seconds of silence. The Dragonite feels anxious as she thinks about who would answer the door.

She hears something stepping up to the door and then stopping. A second later, she hears a voice.]

[Masculine voice] "You're not welcome here."

[Catherine flinches a bit from hearing that familiar voice.]

[Catherine, scared] "Alex…"

[Masculine voice] "Get out! Scram!"

[Catherine shakes a bit.]

[Catherine, scared] "Alex, I just want to see Jolene."

[Masculine voice] "I said scram! Don't make me call Magnezone!"

[Catherine steps back a bit before turning around, opening her eyes, and speedily walking away, trying her best to hold back tears. As she walks away, she begins hearing voices inside of her head. Angry voices.]

[Masculine voice, Catherine's mind] "(If I see you with my sister, you're dead!)"

[Masculine voice, Catherine's mind] "(Why did you even bother coming here?)"

[Masculine voice, Catherine's mind] "(Don't come back!)

[Catherine looks down at the ground, her right hand on her heart, and her left hand grabbing her right arm. Her expression is full of regret.]

[Catherine, thoughts] "(Why did I think this was a good idea?)"

[team-pokefriends]

[Sophie exits the office and makes her way to the mission board room.]

[Sophie, thoughts] "(Alright. Now that's taken care of, let's see what I can get done.)"

[The Slowking walks up to the Job Notice Board at the left side of the room and looks through the missions on it.]

[Sophie, thoughts] "(Got your usual stuff.)"

[???] "Hey, Sophie."

[Sophie] "Sup, Star."

[Sophie turns around and looks at the Abra standing behind her.]

[Star] "Where's Cath?"

[Sophie] "She's taking a break from work."

[Some of the other Pokémon in the room hear this and look surprised. Even Star is a little shocked.]

[Star] "Wait, am I hearing that right?"

[Sophie] "Yeah. She's okay. Just gotta take time offa work."

[Star] "I get it. Hey, want to do a mission together?"

[Sophie] "Yeah, sure. I'm gonna do some S rank ones. That okay with you?"

[Star] "Wait. Vanilla and I have been practicing that multiple mission thing. I'll go get her."

[Star runs off without Sophie's input.]

[Sophie, thoughts] "(They've been practicing? The heck does that mean?)"

[The Slowking shakes her head and looks at the boards.]

[Sophie, thoughts] "(Yeah. Sounds like it. She better not be pushing herself too hard.)"

[She pauses for a second.]

[Sophie, thoughts] "(Yeah, maybe some ones in Shivering Summit.)"

[Vanilla and Star walk up to Sophie.]

[Sophie] "Hey, Van."

[Vanilla] "Hey, Stone Horns. Heard you were doing high rank stuff."

[Sophie]

"Yup. Thinking of going to Shivering Summit. How's that sound?"

[Star] "Wasn't that the place-"

[Sophie] "Yeah, it was. We're not gonna go to the top, though. Just do a few missions and then teleport out. You know?"

[Vanilla] "Gotcha. But I'm not constantly using Milk Drink every five seconds."

[She crosses her arms and looks towards Star.]

[Star] "What are you looking at me for?"

[Vanilla sighs. Sophie takes some posts from the board.]

[Sophie] "Alright, sounds like a plan. But, let's go shopping first, just to make sure we got what we need."

[Star] "Oh, I'm totally ready for this!"

[Vanilla] "Same. I'm ready to kick some tail!"

[The three of them are smiling as they prepare for their missions.]

---

[Catherine is flying above a forest path. She has an idea of what to do, but with every flap of her wings, she became more and more nervous.]

[Catherine, thoughts] "(I haven't seen them in a while. I hope one of them is free.)"

[As she flies, the view of a city gets closer and closet. A city where the buildings are either tall rocks carved out or hand built brick by brick, ropes with lamps connect between the buildings, and a large waterfall is visible, even from a distance.]

[Catherine, thoughts] "(City Falls… Please let me in.)"

[Catherine flies down and lands in front of the front gate to the city. There, a Marshtomp and a Roserade stand guard.]

[Catherine, nervous] "May I have go in, please?"

[Marshtomp] "I need to see some ID."

[Catherine takes out her Protectors Badge and presents it to the Marshtomp. He takes it, looks closely at it, and then hands it back to the Dragonite.]

[Marshtomp] "Okay. You can go inside."

[Catherine] "Thank you."

[Catherine opens the big gate door and steps inside, closing it on her way out.

There were lots of Pokémon walking up and down the streets. Despite how happy or neutral everyone looked, Catherine felt an unwelcoming sense as she looks at the inside of the city.]

[Catherine] "(It's still morning. They must probably still be at their homes... I hope.)"

[Catherine takes a deep breath and begins walking down the streets of the city.]

[team-pokefriends]

(Allen @ Star): You should be more careful about rushing in like that! These dungeons can be super dangerous. I don't want to be rude but, what seems to make you so excited as to rush in without hesitation? Last time I was that reckless, it costed me my legs.

(In reference to this.)

[Star] "Okay, so I may have miscalculated how tough doing three missions was going to be, but I wanted to do what Sophie does. She and Cath do, like, many missions for the same dungeon."

[Star points to herself with her thumb.]

[Star] "Besides, I'm a Gold Rank. I know what I'm doing."

[Vanilla has a look of doubt, her head is tilted to the side and her arms are crossed.]

[Vanilla] "Okay. Can you do tomorrow's missions without my help?"

[Star] "Uh..."

[Star puts a finger to her chin and thinks. She ended up bruised after each mission she did.]

[Star, quietly] "Shoot."

[Vanilla closes her eyes and sighs.]

[Vanilla] "You realize Soph and that Dragonite usually come back gasping for air after they do that, right?"

[Star, whispering] "Oh, that's right. Shoooot."

[Vanilla, with a look of disbelief, looks to the Umbreon and holds her arms to her side, and her hands point towards Star's direction.]

[Vanilla, quietly] "Protector-in-training, here."

[team-pokefriends]

Say, are there are certain exploration teams any of you look up to?

[Sophie] "There aren't any guilds in Thunderstorm, but I loved reading what the Expedition Society was up to. They had such awesome adventures. As for anyone specific there, I really liked reading anything about their Feraligatr, Azure. You do not want to mess with her."

[Catherine] "I've always been a fan of the Protectors Guild, even before they suddenly disbanded. My favorite team was Team Melody. They were a Skeledirge and Ludicolo duo, and they always looked like they were having fun together. I wanted to be like them, helping other Pokémon and having fun along the way."

[Star] "Oh yeah, the old Protectors had a lot of cool people. Mine's that Gallade that used to work there; think his name was Blade. He was really cool. I even got to talk to him. Pretty cool dude."

[team-pokefriends]

[Star and Cly end up back in Star's room in the Protectors Guild Base. The two feel dizzy as they wake up from their defeat.]

[Cly, confused] "What… just happened?"

[Star struggles to move, but she eventually sits up on her bed.]

[Star] "I think we fainted."

[Cly] "Fainted‽"

[Cly wobbles a bit, but is unable to get up.]

[Cly] "I'm sorry, Star."

[Star] "It's all good. That Primarina was super powerful."

[The Miltank in the red headband steps into view, holding a cup with her right hand, and leans with her left arm resting on the doorway; she looks at Star with a look of disappointment.]

[Vanilla] "You again?"

[Star] "Look, they were really strong. You just had to see it."

[Vanilla shakes her head.]

[Vanilla] "What rank was it this time?"

[Star] "S rank, but it was in Darksky Woods."

[Vanilla's eyes widen.]

[Vanilla] "Star, that is way out of your rank. That's, like, the missions Sophie and the Dragonite do!"

[She then looks at Cly and becomes worried.]

[Vanilla, worried] "Wait, did you bring someone outside the guild with you‽"

[Before Star could answer, Vanilla holds the cup out and speaks first.]

[Vanilla] "Wait, don't answer."

[She walks up to the Munna and looks down at them.]

[Vanilla] "How bad did they get you?"

[Cly] "I can't get up…"

[Vanilla sighs and uses Milk Drink to pour some healing milk from one of her udders. After filling the cup up, she picks Cly up and holds the cup to his mouth.]

[Vanilla] "Here. Open up."

[While Vanilla helps Cly drink, the Miltank turns to Star and looks directly at her.]

[Vanilla] "Y'know ya shouldn't be bringin' civi's into mystery dungeons, especially into missions a higher rank than you can handle."

[Star] "We definitely could. It was just one Primarina."

[Vanilla] "Stop. Just stop."

[Cly finishes drinking all of the milk from the cup. He moves his body a little, and Vanilla lets go to let him float. After that, she points at Star and looks at her angrily.]

[Vanilla] "Stop bringing civi's into dungeons, and stop picking missions above your rank. You've been in this guild longer than I have, and you should know better."

[Vanilla turns around and begins walking out.]

[Star] "Wait, aren't you going to give me some of that healing milk?"

[Vanilla flinches, but doesn't look back as she continues to walk.]

[Vanilla] "You don't look like you need it."

[She exits the room soon after.]

[Cly, nervous] "Uh… I need to go home. Bye."

[Then, Cly floats out the room, leaving Star to sit on her bed in awkward silence and think about what had happened.]

[team-pokefriends]

[Before Star went to the Protectors Guild for work, she made her way to Greedent's Shack to spend some time with a friend of hers.

The Abra sits at the table and waits for her friend to finish ordering at the counter. As she waits, she taps one of her fingers on the table and thinks of her future, one where she's fighting criminals and taking them down by herself.

After a few seconds, she sees her friend slowly float to the table, a Munna, named Cly, with a noticeable shy look on his face.]

[Star] "Did you finally order something?"

[Munna] "Yeah, about that… I just got the regular."

[Star] "I thought you said you were gonna try something new."

[Munna] "I'll get something next time."

[Star chuckles.]

[Star] "You say that every time. I'm starting to think you're just never going to do it."

[Munna, nervous] "I will."

[Star then has an idea.]

[Star] "Oh yeah, I promised I'd take you to a mystery dungeon once I got the job, remember?"

[Munna, nervous] "Wait, you were serious about that?"

[Star leans forward a little.]

[Star] "Of course I was! We should do that right now! We could find something cool, or fight a fierce monster, or-"

[Munna] "Sounds… dangerous."

[Star] "Come on, I'm an official Protector."

[Star takes out her Protectors badge and shows it off to the Munna.]

[Munna] "That says 'Protector-in-training'."

[Star] "Doesn't matter. I can look out for you while we're exploring, like a big sis to her little bro."

[Munna] "I don't know… Where would you even take me?"

[Star] "Darksky Woods."

[The Munna's eyes widen upon hearing the name of the dungeon.]

[Munna] "Darksky‽ Out of all the places, you chose that‽"

[Star] "Relax, I've been there loads of times, it'll be a piece of cake."

[Munna] "You say that like it's easy."

[Star] "Because it is easy. Come on, Cly. Try it."

[A Skovet brings a plate of drinks to the table of the two psychic type Pokémon, puts the drinks down, says something, and then walks away. The break to receive their drink gives Cly some time to consider Star's expedition proposal, looking at his cup's straw in the process.

A few seconds later, and after a sip of his drink, he looks back to his friend.]

[Cly] "Okay. I'll try."

[Star smirks with glee.]

[Star] "Great! You won't regret it!"

[Cly has a look on his face that suggests otherwise.

After the two get their drinks, Cly waits idly at the town's front gate, while Star heads to the guild to do something. She later approaches Cly with a paper in her hands.]

[Star] "I just got a mission that we can do. Check it."

[Star holds up the paper for Cly to read. Without even looking in, Cly already saw something he didn't like.]

[Cly] "Outlaw‽ Star, you know I'm not a fighter!"

[Star] "But, you got Hypnosis, and that's gonna make fighting this criminal super duper easy."

[Cly] "You say so…"

[Star] "Great! Let's go!"

[Star runs through the gate and down the path, surprising Cly.]

[Cly] "AAAH! WAIT UP!"

[The Munna chases after her.]

[team-pokefriends]

[Vanilla and Star were in a cave mystery dungeon, and they were fighting a Mightyena and a Sensu-Style Oricorio.

Vanilla holds her left arm up as the Mightyena uses Bite, and she ends up getting bitten on the arm. After wincing from the pain, Vanilla reels her right arm back and then throws a Power-Up Punch, punching the Mightyena's head and hitting them away from her.

Meanwhile, Star threw two Shadow Balls at the Oricorio, but the Oricorio stepped to the side both times, getting closer with each step. Then, the Oricorio holds her wings together and then pushes them outwards in both directions. The flat side of their fan-like wings struck Star on the chest and pushed her until she smacked into the wall behind her.

In the other battle, the Mightyena goes for a Takedown, but Vanilla jumps over it, fell down with her knees raised up, and shoots her legs down to hit the Mightyena on the back with a strong Stomp attack.

Back with Star, the Oricorio aggressively spins towards the pinned up Star and is about to do a devastating attack. Before they arrive, Star conjures a Shadow Ball with both hands and waits for the Oricorio to get close. The Oricorio jumps up to avoid the Shadow Ball, but Star throws the Shadow Ball upwards, hitting them into the air and making them fall right next to the fallen Mightyena. The two had now fainted and can no longer battle.

Star pushes herself out of the wall and onto her knees, while Vanilla walks up to her.]

[Star, tired] "This is hard…"

[Vanilla] "No kidding. But, you wanted to do three missions at once."

[Star looks up at Vanilla; the Miltank has her arms crossed, while the Abra has some bruises on her from the battle.]

[Star, tired] "Can you heal me?"

[Vanilla, with her eyes closed, takes a deep breath in and exhales out of her mouth.]

[Vanilla] "Give me a second."

[Vanilla takes out an empty cup and uses Milk Drink to pour a glass of healing milk. The process hurts Vanilla as she does it, but it doesn't last long, and she hands Star the cup. 

The Abra takes and guzzles the milk down, her bruises slowly vanish as she drinks. Once she's done, she stands up and gives Vanilla the cup back before she bawls her hands into fists and raises her left arm into the air with excitement.]

[Star, excited] "Alright! Now, let's go fight that next bad guy!"

[Vanilla sighs and follows Star as she runs into a dungeon hallway.]

[team-pokefriends]

(@ask-meitra) Kerex@Sophie: "I've heard of these guilds before and the teams they have, but it is curious if you have teammates."

[Sophie] "Sure do. Cath and I make up Team Pokéfriends. We've been teammates since the guild formed... again. You'll have to ask 'lise about that, though."

[Sophie holds her hand up in an explanatory manner once more.]

[Sophie] "But we also work with the other guild members from time to time. I remember working with Zan and Denomi, the Scyther and Togepi team, a few times. Cath's also helped Venus and Star, a Carnivine and an Abra that aren't in a team.

And of course, Vanilla, our cool Miltank, usually steps in to help us out on really tough missions."

[Sophie remembers someone else in the guild she has yet to mention.]

[Sophie] "Oh, right. Forgot about Wimmy. Uh... Yeah, Wimmy's a very cool Zigzagoon.

And that's just about everyone that does missions at the guild. There's other Pokémon working there too, but they just do guild stuff."

[@ask-meitra]