Well, Zoroark and I have managed to stay under his house for several minutes now. For whatever reason, the cold doesn’t come down here. I ask Zoroark why, and he shrugs.
“I don’t know, honestly. It could be because of the fact that there’s a Mystery Dungeon in such close proximity-“
“What?”
“Back in the day, towns were founded by large bands of rescue teams settling in one area. It was the concept of the dojo that changed that. In a nutshell, any credible dojo needs to challenge its patrons to the best of its ability. As such, most are built on top of an existing subterranean Mystery Dungeon. Since these are rarely anywhere near civilization, dojos started popping up all over the place, with many attracting small communities around them. Quest Plaza is one such town.”
“So, you built this dojo?”
“No. I inherited the dojo from my old master, and he from his. It starts getting a bit foggy around four hundred years or so, but I know that this dojo was founded by a Salamence.”
“So how does the Mystery Dungeon provide the warmth?”
“Mystery Dungeons are asynchronous moments in space and time. As such, the surrounding area is unaffected by the environment around them. We may not be in a Mystery Dungeon right now, but we’re close enough so that time is being warped.”
I nod in understanding, and am about to strike up a conversation when a knocking comes from upstairs. Zoroark holds up a finger, motioning for me to wait. He heads upstairs, and I hear the door opening. I hear muted conversation, and then two sets of footsteps descending the stairs.
Zoroark comes first, carrying something large and green behind his back. Madame Lucario follows close behind, holding the other side. It doesn’t take me long to figure out that they’re carrying an unconscious Jaroda.
I rush over, and ask if I can help with anything. Madame Lucario nods, and sends me upstairs to fill a tub with warm water.
“Jaroda’s species is cold blooded. When the sun went out before now, odds are he was inside his house, which is insulated to a ridiculous degree, or near some source of warmth. However, he was shopping today, and got caught on the other end of town. He’s lucky he passed out near my tent.”
As I’m filling the tub, another knock comes from the door. I go and answer it this time, and am surprised as Kim storms through the door, and grabs me.
“We’re going home, Heath. It’s barely safe out right now.”
“I can’t leave yet, Kim. You see-“
“Do you know what’s going on outside? In a word- anarchy! The last two times this happened, it was a five minutes at most. It’s been fifteen- there’s talk of Armageddon. Beyond that, Officer Magnezone has his hands full with looters all throughout the area. Our house is far away enough where no one will bother breaking in. We need to go, now! Before some crazy idiot comes in here!”
“Kim, I would have left immediately, but Zoroark seemed to think it was best for me to stay downstairs.”
Before Kim can reply, Madame Lucario bounds up the stairs. She seems ready to chastise me over my slowness with delivering the tub, but notices Kim.
“Kim! What are you doing here?”
“Bringing Heath home. Why?”
“No, he’s helping me. Come downstairs, you may be better suited to this job than he is.”
Kim follows perplexedly, and I take the rear, being sure to close and lock Zoroark’s door. When we reach the bottom of the stairs, Kim sees Jaroda, and nods.
“Right. I need something flammable. Something that wouldn’t be missed.”
Zoroark thinks for a moment, and picks up the bench along the wall. “I was going to replace this thing anyway…” he mutters to himself, and places it near Jaroda.
Kim pulls her head back, and lets loose a small tongue of flame. It sets the bench alight, and soon, Jaroda is seated next to a roaring fire. Kim begins to walk around it slowly, eyeing it suspiciously. In response to my confused look, she explains.
“I had to make this fire on the fly. No warning, no preparation, not even proper firewood. So, I need to keep an eye on this fire, to make sure it doesn’t set the house ablaze. Based on what your note said, you came here to learn some moves. If you know any water type moves, it might help to douse the area around the flames.”
“While that sounds like a good idea, Zoroark and I were busy with Plan B for equipping me with moves when the sun went out. We never actually got anywhere with it. I’m still moveless.”
Kim rolls her eyes. “Alright, we need to find some way of containing the fire.”
She turns to Zoroark. “Do you have any roundish metal objects?”
“That tub of water has one, but it’s nowhere near big enough to contain a fire of that size.”
She sighs. “Fine. Heath, I’ll monitor the fire, you and Zoroark go out into town to get something we can use as a fire ring.”
Zoroark and I nod, and head up the stairs. Bearing in mind what Kim had told me earlier about the state of the outside, I unlocked the door, ready for anything.
It’s quiet in the streets. Nearby, I catch a quick flash of movement. It remains still for a moment, and then zips in front of us.
The Pokémon in front of us is silver and disc-shaped. It has a single eye at its center, and a pair of magnets at its sides. I’ve never met this particular Pokémon before, but I can guess by his reputation.
“Officer Magnezone, I presume.”
His voice is crackly, as if he gargles with hot sauce. It can’t seem to maintain a pitch.
“YeS. nameS AND buSiNESs, PLeAsE.”
Zoroark nods.
“Heath the Totodile and the Zoroark formerly known as Garret.”
“Wait, formerly known?”
“One moment please, Heath. Our business is with the Kecleons. We’re purchasing a fire ring.”
Several seconds pass, and Officer Magnezone stands to the side.
“i aPOlogiZE for THE inCONVenIenCE. aS yOU WerE.”
Officer Magnezone flies off, and I turn to Zoroark. “It must really be bad out there; he sounded a tad shaken up.”
“He always sounds like that. Every Pokémon in his evolutionary line uses a magnetic field to speak. I have no idea how it works, something about the frequency becoming audible. However, one of his magnets was damaged around twelve years ago during an apprehension of a particularly skilled combatant. His voice has been like that ever since.”
“Hmm. Interesting. So anyway, about your name…”
“Some Pokémon have names, others don’t. It’s mostly a matter of preference, but there is sometimes an occasion when a Pokemon’s parents will name them from birth. My parents were adamant that I would be named Garret, after a great explorer. Personally, I felt that I was no one special, so I went through legal hell in order to have the name wiped when I came of age. I didn’t feel like going through that again to get a new name, so I stuck with my species name.”
“Legal hell? What do you mean?”
“There’s a legal process behind getting a name. Due to the phasing out of clan names around two thousand years ago, you could, in theory, have the exact same name as someone else. In some cases, it could be the name of a known criminal. So, in order to prevent cases of mistaken identity, there’s a lot of legal screening to see if any living Pokémon has the same name you want, how far away from you they are, and how well-known they’ve become, for good or ill. If all of that information checks out, then the name is useable. However, even then, the name can be revoked if a criminal begins to use it, or after someone is dragged into court after allegedly committing a crime. In the case of the latter, it’s usually so that others can’t commit crimes in the name of the first criminal.”
“That’s a bit more than I wanted to know. So, what about my name? Kim or I haven’t been through this process yet.”
“Why would you?”
“Well, Kim named me. I don’t know my actual name.”
Zoroark looks confused for a moment, then shrugs. “I think as long as everyone thinks that it’s your human name, you should be fine.”
Before long, we arrive at the Kecleons’ store. To put it nicely, it’s a total wreck. The stand out front has been demolished, and appears to have been broken down the middle. Their banner appears to have been shredded, and some parts of it are on fire.
The Kecleons themselves are actively moving around the rubble, trying to pick up what remains of the stand. Upon seeing us, they strike ready poses. The purple one calls out.
“All right, keep moving! We have nothing for you here. We don’t want any trouble, but we’ll fight if we have to.”
Zoroark reaches into his mane and pulls his wallet out. He tosses it over.
“We’re here to buy, not loot.”
Their attitudes change immediately upon hearing this. The green one calls out.
“Alright, my good sirs! What can we get for you?”
“We need a large iron ring. Either that, or a large quantity of bricks or stones.”
“You got it!”
They dash inside for a moment, and come back rolling a metal ring around four feet in diameter.
“It’s a bit big, but it’s all we have. 500 Poké, please.”
Zoroark pays, and we leave the Kecleons to their repairs. We move quickly across the square in near total darkness. We’re about halfway back to his house when suddenly, a Magmortar dashes past. He fires a blast of hot air past us, and a torch abruptly lights up behind us. He continues on his way, and I look at Zoroark, confused.
“He’s probably been hired to light all the torches. At night, torches are lit for travelers. I suppose they decided to treat this as a cold, moonless night.”
I nod and turn to face the road, finally visible by a flickering, orange light. I pause for a moment; I think I saw something. I tell Zoroark to hold on a moment, and dash to the side of the road.
I begin to poke around, noting that the grass is frozen almost to the point of sharpness, and eventually locate what I thought I saw.
Julius, facedown on the ground. I hold my fingers to his wrist, and feel a faint pulse.
I consider my options. So far, Zoroark and I are the only ones who are on this road. Given the lighting of torches, more will probably walk this path. However, I have no idea what his constitution is like. I have no idea how long he’ll survive.
I really don’t have any choice, do I? Cursing my luck, I heave Julius onto my back, and drag him out, trying to fathom how I’m going to explain this to Kim
