Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Quenched Torch

Chapter 33: Maverick

Silence hung over the mess hall as we and Zigzagoon exchanged stares, seemingly waiting for each other to speak up. A moment passed before Rye eventually broke the silence.

"Wh-why are you here?" he asked. Zigzagoon gave him a confused look.

"Uh, the Cinccino back there didn't tell you? I've done some thinkin' since you left, and I've decided I want in on your team," he said. Rye and I gave each other a quick look.

"Alright, but... uh, why?" Rye asked.

"What? I dunno, I heard y'all talkin' about that whole temple thing, and I figured that I'd try to help," Zigzagoon tried to explain. We gave him a long stare as we thought about this for a minute. Soon enough, Zigzagoon dropped his forced grin, resting his head on the dirty table with a quiet sigh.

"Alright, I get it. You don't have to say yes, but... y'know, I'd appreciate it. I don't wanna just stay in Littora Town my whole life, especially since Pa's never home to spice it up, you know?" he said, pausing to look up at us. "Uh, I know the basics of adventurin', you know. My pa taught me the nitty-gritty, and..."

He stopped as he saw we were still considering. After a bit, his expression wilted before he hopped off the seat, slowly zigzagging his way to the door.

"Sorry to bother you," he said quietly, his voice breaking a bit.

"Wait," I said. His ears sticking up, Zigzagoon looked back, a small hopeful grin crossing his face. Seeing this, Rye leaned in towards me.

"You really want him on the team? I mean, he isn't really what I'd call trust... er, t-trustworthy," he whispered.

"Ehh. Giff shance," I said, shrugging. Rye thought about this for a second before nodding and looking back towards Zigzagoon, who watched our whispering curiously.

"Can you understand him, or...?" he asked. Rye chose to ignore this as he laced his fingers together tightly, nervously kicking his legs as he thought.

"Uh... how can... oh, what do you think you can do for the team?" he asked. Zigzagoon gave him a bemused look.

"Well, I mean, I managed to survive in the dungeon for a day before y'all showed up," he said. Rye opened his mouth to rebut, though the words caught in his throat.

"G-good point," he said after a bit, nodding to himself before leaning back in. "What do you think?" he asked me.

'Huh, well. He did last in that dungeon pretty well. He could contribute a lot, and we honestly need all the help we can get...'

"Yeah, sha," I said. Rye gave a quiet hum.

"Alright, you're the human here, if you think it's a good idea..." he whispered. With that, he craned his head to meet Zigzagoon's gaze.

"Okay, w-welcome aboard, I guess," the Treecko said. Zigzagoon's eyes lit up, and he quickly took to cheering and jumping in place as we watched.

"You won't regret this, I promise!" he insisted, picking a small bag off the floor. As he eagerly zigzagged towards the door, we gave each other an uncertain look and followed.

"So, uh, we never got your name," Rye said as we stepped into the sunlight. Zigzagoon opened his mouth to answer before he suddenly raised a finger.

"Oh, uh, your ma called you Ziggy, right?" he asked. Zigzagoon immediately stopped in his tracks and cringed, groaning to himself.

"No! No, that's just a stupid nickname she always uses! I've told her to quit calling me that who knows how many times, and every time I hear it I wanna claw my ears off!" he protested. We stared in silence, put off by his sudden outburst as he panted, soon calming down and... what would the term be? Er, unfloofing.