Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Seasons of Heaven

Episode 7: The First Callout

"Sophitia, hey, uh," Lute said. The duo were back home following yesterday's busy travel. "I didn't really get the chance earlier, but I wanted to thank you properly."

"Me? What for? I mean I know I'm pretty great, but what for this time?" Sophitia replied, sitting up from under the covers.

"Oh ha ha. But seriously. I didn't think that when you made me battle Victoria like that, it'd grow into this," he began. He shifted to sit up and look at her, though he couldn't make out her figure in the dark. "It's honestly been my dream to join the Agents of King's Shield. I'm not exactly there yet, but thanks to you, I have a chance and stuff. And they even mentioned mystery dungeons."

"Mm hmm."

"At first I was upset about it, but life's going to start getting exciting now. I just know it," he said a little too loudly, so she hushed him. He sat back down and got comfy under his blankets. "Before I found you, everything was just quiet and routine. Nothing ever happens here in Everend. Now we're going to be having our own little adventure and stuff. We've got Esther's show in a few days, I have this cool badge that does all this stuff, and we're going to be helping take down Spirle. I'm still pretty scared about fighting them, but let's do our best, okay?"

"Listen to me and you'll be fine. No need to be scared of those louts," she yawned. "Though I'd be lying if I said I was surprised by how strong Victoria really is."

"You recovered from her attack well, though," he praised.

"That doesn't mean it didn't hurt a ton. I'm supposed to be super resilient, but that one really tore through me," she admitted. Lute was quiet, so she waved at him with a feeler. "Don't go telling Raiju and Cinder I admitted that. They'll never shut up about it."

"It's not that, it's... do you remember that about yourself?" he asked.

Sophitia went quiet. "I'll chalk that to common knowledge about Sylveon in general."

"Please tell me what you're thinking," he asked.

"I don't remember anything in particular. I just... look, when that was going on, I was getting really upset about it and all. When there's Pokémon that need beatin' up, it's like a candle in me just lights up, and I don't wanna stand around letting those Pokémon go. I guess I'm someone that enjoys fighting. Hope that's not too much of a problem for you," she explained.

"As long as we're only fighting bad guys and we're not hurting anyone," he replied.

"Good, 'cos I'll make you into a fighter if it kills me," she said.

"... Wait what?"

...

The next morning, things fell right back into that routine Lute mentioned. The duo got woken up by Marina, had their wash, Sophitia overate at breakfast, and then the two leisurely trotted to school. The usual stale weather was present, with its unmoving clouds and plain colours. All was quiet besides the sounds of morning chores and singing Pikipek.

When the school came into sight, that's when the noise of activity took over and Pokémon became visible. From this distance, everything was as it should have been. Lute snuck a worried look into his bag and pretended to search through it.

"Remember what they said. Stuff's gonna be normal for a while, and they're not putting us on anything dramatic right away," Sophitia said.

"Oh. Yeah, right," he tried not to look disappointed. Everything he needed for school was in there, and the badge was well hidden, but untouched.

"Hmm. You're so eager," Sophitia giggled. Heat rushed to his cheeks.

"No I'm not. I'm just making sure nobody will find it," he looked away. Sophitia giggled again, and then stopped with a sudden jolt. Lute got a jolt of his own in the form of a strong rumble close by. His bag was vibrating, and could only be heard with the surroundings this quiet. They exchanged glances and shared a sneaky look inside, and surely enough, the badge was vibrating, and its central button blinked red.