(note, 3/18/2020: a minor edit has been made to Snivy's dialogue at the start of the chapter)

Chapter 5
Partners


"I'm gonna search for the wish-dungeon with you." I say to Snivy.

"What? Why?" Snivy says, shocked. "You didn't even know what a mystery dungeon was until today, and now you're saying you want to go into dungeon after dungeon for a CHANCE at a wish?! You got beaten up twice in that dungeon, you have no combat skills, and you're completely clueless about everything around you, including your own abilities! Heck, you were even skeptical of the wish-granting dungeon's existence back there! So... why?!"

"Well, it's not like I have anything better to do. I need to get back to the human world, and this is my only chance besides looking for Mew."

Snivy stares at me for a few seconds, realization dawning on their face. "Oh my gosh, you actually believe your own human story."

I sigh. "Look, it doesn't matter. The point is, I want to look for the wish-dungeon. You said yourself that it's safer to explore these dungeons with a partner, right? So, why don't we team up?"

Snivy looks down and thinks for a moment. "Um, well, to be honest... I was actually kinda hoping you'd stick around. It was easier to explore this dungeon than my first, even if you were mostly just a distraction in battle. And also... uh, never mind. But you have to pull your own weight and help out, got it?

"Well duh, of course I'm gonna help out. I want to find that dungeon just as much as you do."

"Perfect! Alright Mudkip, from this day forth, we shall be partners!"

"Call me Mudkip again and I might just reconsider."

"Oh, sorry about that Mudkip. Oh, whoops, I did it again~"

Snivy resumes walking up through the tunnel, and I follow. As annoying as Snivy is, I do still need to find that dungeon, and if the other mystery dungeons are as tough as this one, I'll unfortunately need Snivy's help, or I'll never get anywhere. As we walk, I start to see some sunlight at the end of the tunnel.

We finally exit the tunnel, and I find myself on a sunny beach. Snivy walks over to a rock near the cave entrance and pulls out a large bag that was hidden under it. They turn to me and say "Hey, come and help me set up camp."

"Camp? We don't have a place to stay?"

"Of course not, dummy! We're explorers! What, did you think I took my house with me when I went searching for the wish-dungeon?"

"Oh. Right."

"Don't worry; we'll get to a village soon that'll have real beds. But for now, come and help me with the tent."

I run over and help Snivy set up the tent. It's tough because I still don't have fingers, but I can still help by holding things in place for Snivy. Fortunately, the tent can fit two people. Or, pokemon, I guess. Or maybe it was made for one big pokemon? Anyways, we're both small enough to comfortably share the tent.

When we finish setting up the tent, it's around the late afternoon. We sit down to rest and have a drink. After a few minutes, Snivy gets up and starts walking towards an area away from the tent.

"Come over here, you need to practice battling."

"Battling? We're gonna... fight?"

"What, are you scared? It's just some sparring, pokemon do it all the time! What, do they not do that in the 'human world'?"

"Actually, no, most humans don't usually fight each other for no reason."

"Yeah? Well humans sound boring then! Anyway, since you've apparently been living under a rock until now, you need to get practice fighting. There are going to be wild pokemon in the other mystery dungeons, so if we're gonna be partners, you can't be dead weight, got it?"

They have a point; I do need to get stronger. "Alright, but are you sure we won't get injured?" I ask, getting up and walking to where Snivy is.

"Unless you're made of paper, you'll be fine. It's not like we'll be seriously trying to hurt each other. And we're on sand, so it'll be softer than back in the dungeon if you fall."

"Okay, if you say so."

"Good! Now, on three. One... Two... Three!"

As we sparred I got some practice moving and dodging, but I couldn't land a hit. I got hit often, but Snivy didn't hit hard, and they never used grass attacks. After five minutes, we took a short break.

"Hey, why are you just trying to tackle me? You know you have other moves, right?" Snivy says, demonstrating by waving a vine around.

"Yeah, but I don't know how to do any of that."

"Oh, come on, it's easy! Just try! It's not like there's some secret instruction manual for it! Just, I don't know, try shooting water from your mouth."

Oh yes, 'just try'. Brilliant advice. Still, I might as well try. I turn away from Snivy and face the ocean. I imagine myself using a water gun attack, open my mouth, and I suddenly feel something happen at the back of my mouth. It catches me off guard, and I end up just spitting water on the ground.

I hear Snivy groan behind me. "Shut up, it was my first try!" Hmph. I bet their first steps as a baby weren't much better.

I try again, this time ready for that feeling in my mouth. Once I feel it, I try to blow it out of my mouth, and to my surprise, it works! A blast of water flies out of my mouth, traveling a short distance before falling to the ground. I stand and stare at what I've just done. It's funny; sometimes back in the human world, I would mess around with the bathroom sink, sucking up water and spraying it back into the sink, trying to mimic a pokemon using water gun. Looks like all my practice finally paid off...

"Finally! See, I told you it was easy!" Snivy says. "Alright, now try to hit me with it!"

We resumed sparring. It's difficult to use water gun while fighting at first, but I start to get the hang of it. I get a few hits in, partly thanks to water gun, but I still get hit a lot more often. Luckily, it doesn't hurt too much; pokemon are born to fight, after all, and Snivy isn't trying to hurt me.

After 20 more minutes of sparring with a couple breaks mixed in, I'm too exhausted to keep going, so we call it quits. I have a few bruises, but nothing too bad. Snivy isn't as tired as me, being more used to fighting. We rest awhile, then go back to the camp site and have a meal of fruits and berries.

During the meal, Snivy checks the bag holding their food. "Hmm, I didn't pack for two people. We might need to gather some extra food before we reach the village." Snivy puts down the bag and... smiles?

"Hm? What are you smiling about? Is gathering food fun or something?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, it's nothing. And no, gathering food isn't fun, unfortunately. It's kind of annoying."

Huh. Weird.

By the time we finish our meal, the sun is starting to set, so we head inside the tent to sleep. Luckily, Snivy packed an extra sleeping bag.

"So Snivy, what are we doing tomorrow?"

"Heading towards Amari Village, where we'll look for info on the nearby mystery dungeons, and ask if anyone knows anything about the wish-granting dungeon. I was also planning on staying there awhile; even if we can't afford an inn, it's safer and more convenient to camp close to civilization."

"Okay, sounds good. And what about food? Will we get some from the village?"

"If we get some money, sure, but I'm currently broke, so probably not. The village is in a forest, so we should be able to find plenty of berries and stuff nearby and on the way."

Well, this isn't good. I never wanted to live this kind of life, setting up a tent every night and gathering my own food. I really need to get back to the human world. It's so much better there; I have a house, and a bed, and a fridge. It's not perfect, but it's better than this. "Okay," I say, laying down and getting ready to sleep. "Goodnight Snivy."

"Goodnight Mudkip."

I sigh. "My name is Jamie."

No response.

It takes awhile to get into a comfortable sleeping position. I end up just laying on my stomach, with my chin on my pillow. It's unfamiliar and weird, but it'll have to do. I shift between thinking about the human world and my current situation until I eventually fall asleep...




Thanks for reading. Comments, questions, and criticisms are encouraged.