PMD : Alone Together

So, to set a certain record straight. While I do get why you're doing this disclaimer, with it giving off a big "hey this is for the 'non-world ending' PMD fans" and all that makes sense, I'm wondering why it's weaved in this sort of "prophetic" or "mysterious" sense as if there's more to this concept than meets the eye. Since the reason our protagonist, Arthur, being here is somewhat in of a mystery of itself, this leads me to conclude that you'll be explaining this later and hopefully that explanation will play a role in your bigger "plot hurdle" or your antagonizing force against our mains (at least if this does have a plot with antagonists, else wise I'd tone down the emphasis on the non-calamity stuff and just say, "non-world ending just following the lives of these characters", but that's just what I would do).


So, I'll confess and say that I did enjoy your subtle, POV, swap from Arthur to Cole in the second part of this chapter. It complements the style well along with adding some "reader's experience" for such cases in the future, just it being simple enough for us to identify Cole as the talker easily.




Since this is Arthur's perspective, I'd half expect him to identify what exactly makes Cole feel the same way. You do say he says what he says in a "sympathetic look" but what cues in Arthur before that happens? Since we're seeing this from Arthur's perspective it would be good to ensure detailing and logical assertion (or just random guessing) on his part. Now, this ain't like a bad example or a mess up since, as you state afterwards, "sympathetic look," but this is something to keep in mind and hopefully potential errors can be avoided with this.


As opposed to giving you his name when you asked? Just a little nitpick on Cole's part nothing story or grammatically wrong here.

So getting onto the more meat of this comment gonna talk about each character.

Arthur: Not much to say at this point kind of like him in the story. His traits of shyness either are due to how awkward/uncomfortable/new his surroundings are to him and he'll settle into a more relaxed state eventually, or he's just naturally a shy person. Guess we'll see later.
Cole: Definitely getting the active friend vibe. Cole does come across as a ponderer or at least someone that keeps things in mind albeit minor compared to his talkative nature. I'm curious to see how his talking nature will hold in situations where his mind or body are tested, should make for some interesting internal monologue.

One more thing, so I understand the style of this is a character's POV as the sort of "narrator for the audience" but I wanna address one thing.


So, even though this is from Cole's perspective I'd advise forming a new paragraph right when you cut from what Arthur is saying to when Cole goes back to his thoughts. Not only does this keep consistent with other parts of this chapter, but it also does proper "in scene POV" for paragraphs. Since Cole isn't the focus of Arrthur's response, Arthur is even if we're seeing it through Cole's eyes. So I'd word this thing about like so.




Before I end I also wanna sit down and think about the dungeon logic you proposed. So if food in the mystery dungeon gets it's aging effects when leaving, does that mean the same happens to pokemon as well? Since fruit and stuff is part of a living thing like an arm is to a pokemon and all, so would them going in affect their growth (by that I mean stop their aging) and then add that aging process to them when they leave?

Or does this only affect fruit and other stuff, which how would that work exactly?
And if it isn't so much as suppressing age (since he did mention getting a mouthful of mold and I dunno if mold exactly pertains to age. Though there is the question that it is from its spot on the ground which could give it mold, though that makes me wonder what it is suppressing exactly to prevent mold on an apple and yet suppress temporal aging of the apple (with it not eventually eroding via the dirt)

But this is me spitballing theories on your MD mechanics, so I'll let you get to them in due time and see if I'm right or off the mark.

Hope this little bit of text helps in some shape or form.
Wonder what awaits our duo in the Mystery Dungeon.

Chapter 2 : Are You Ready?

    I wasn't sure what exactly I was expecting when we entered the Mystery Dungeon. I certainly can say that I'm not going to complain about how mundane our entry was, but I can say that I was expecting something a bit more impactful.

    If it weren't for the monotonous nature of our surroundings, and the exceedingly corridor-like pathways, I would not have guessed that we were anywhere extraordinary at all. However, looking closer, the leaves on the trees, the patterns on the bark, even the angles at which branches stick out from shrubs, is all too… perfect. Not a flaw in any stone, or knot in any tree. It was, in a way, off-putting

    Of course, as stated before, it is the layout, more than anything else, that gives this place away. As we traverse, we enter these rooms and corridors. They give the impression of clearings, and yet, when you brush against the 'walls', so to speak, you'll find yourself bumping against a solid… force, of some sort. Not unlike concrete, perfectly smooth concrete.

    The texture is as odd to me as it is viscerally satisfying to touch something so flawlessly flat. There is, however, a certain kind of cognitive dissonance involved when you see this foliage in front of you, but you're blocked off by something entirely invisible. It's like I'm walking inside of a glass enclosure.

    Cole and I walk side by side as we come across something of interest in our next room. In the corner, far to the right, is what looks like a gleaming object. Squinting my eyes a bit, it seems like a small pile of… coins? Out in the middle of a forest? Why?

    Cole turns to move on to the next corridor, but I instantly make a bee-line for the coins. I know he notices, and I hear him turn around. "Hey, what's u- oh! Poké! I didn't even notice," he says. I don't have anything meaningful to say to that, so I stay quiet.

    Are we on the West Coast? I suppose so, though I haven't exactly seen a coast near by. Then again, I've only really been in a forest thus far...

    "How much is it?" I hear from behind.

    At this point, I must conclude that, whatever the lineage of this body, there must be some level of Buneary in me, because at that moment I jumped higher than I would've thought possible for a Pokemon with such short little legs. I twist around and face the Torchic behind me. He seems surprised, and honestly, I think I can relate- I'm surprised I didn't have a heart attack.

    "Woah, hey, sorry! I didn't mean to startle you," Cole says, as I hold a leafy green hand to my chest. I allow a moment for myself to calm down.

    Staring at the ground, I breathe slowly, in and out. I feel myself relax as I hear Cole scruff one of their talons on the ground. I guess this is what I get for paying attention to some coins and not my surroundings. My heart goes back to normal after another moment, and I finally reply, "16," having now calmed down.

    "What?" he says with a tilt of his head. I breathe out my nostrils and elaborate the best that I can.

    "Poké. There were 16 Poké on the ground." I turn around again and pick them up with my hands, the gold metal jingling together. I hear an "Oh!" behind me as I count them out and hand them to my Torchic companion.

    "Here. You can take them. If you want to," I tell him as they land in his yellow feathers.

    Cole looks surprised. "Huh? Uh, alright. You sure you don't want some too, dude?" he says, stretching out his feather to hand me some coins back. "This isn't a lot of money, but we're in this together, so you should have some too, don't ya think?"

    I suppose I wasn't really thinking about it. Perhaps I should take some money with me as well. After all, money means a society, and a society means I need money for things. I'm not sure what things specifically, but I do know I need… things.

    "Well… okay. Yes," I say, before taking the coins.

    It is at this point that I must conclude that the universe has a sense of humour, or at least derives some mild amusement from messing with us.

    As soon as Cole turns around to lead us to the next part of the dungeon, "Alrighty, we've been on this floor for a while, let's get go-" he gets tackled by yet another bug. I'd be amused myself if said bug weren't trying to attack us.

---

 
    Ow.

    Jeez, mon, what's with bug's and tackling me today? Did I step in honey or something? C'mon, I know I'm pretty hot, but when other pokemon talk about wanting to smash, I don't think they mean this, that's all I'm saying.

    Wurmple gets off to ready its next attack.

    I get up too and turn to face it. This guy doesn't look too tough. At least, he's definitely not as tough as he's trying to be. For all his growling, I can't help but find it cute. Aw, this guy thinks he can win!

    I ready my stance. Both talons planted firmly on the ground, I give this guy my best glare, puff my chest out a bit, and get ready to fight.

    "Alright mon, I know you wanna go, but we both now how this is going to end, so j-"

    I'd keep going, but that little bastard just spews his strings in my mouth, eughh! Okay, no more playing around. I refuse to be made a fool of by bug boi over here.

    I charge straight for him, "HRRRRMMMM"ing through my string gag as I do a little jump and kick my talons out to get him with a good scratch. I get him across the cheek, but I guess I left myself open, because the next thing I know, I'm tackled.

    Again.
    
    Argh!

    The Wurmple giggles at me and sticks his tongue out. I peck at him from beneath his segmented body as well as I can. It doesn't seem to hurt him much, what with this big wad of sticky stuff in my mouth, but I'm pretty sure he got the message.

    He hops off from my belly, and as I start getting up, this guy blows a damn razzberry at me and sticks my talons together with his string shot. Just…

    I'm so very mad. I feel something build in my throat as I get styled on by this damn little bug bastard.

    I start trying to go after him, but I immediately fall. This is so lame. Arcues, mon, if only Snizzy were here… wait, hold on, I have a partner, why aren't they helping?

    I look over at where Arthur is, and that damn Wurmple follows my gaze. We both see Arthur freeze, eyes wide as he glances back and forth between the two of us. "Um… hi- hello?" they say.

    Just like he did me, the first thing Wurmple does is go to tackle Arthur to the ground.

    I can see him panic, before immediately diving forward and ducking as the Wurmple goes sailing over his head. The Wurmple skids to a halt and glares at Arthur as he turns around to face the deranged bug fighting him. He gives a nervous laugh, before turning to run.

    The Wurmple chases after him. While they play Meowth and Rattata, I slowly allow a pressure to build in my throat again.

    The Wurmple goes for a tackle, and Arthur jumps out of the way. A string shot flies as he lands, but it just covers his tail.

    This Snivy is pretty agile, honestly, I do have to hand it to him. He can't keep this up forever, though, he's already panting, and I might not be able to burn off this string in time. Why hasn't he tried attacking yet?

    I see Arthur relax a bit. "Okay. I get it now," I hear him say quietly.

    What's he up to?

    I can see the Wurmple gearing up for another tackle, and this Snivy just stands there. The worm charges forward, leaps for a tackle, and then something happens that I didn't quite expect.

    Arthur slides forward on his knees, slams his tail into the ground, and uses the momentum to headbutt the Wurmple's belly from underneath. The Wurmple's eyes go wide as it gets sent tumbling through the air, landing on its face.

    Alright, that was kinda clever, I guess. I wouldn't have thought to do that, at least. His stamina might be lacking, but Arthur does have a good head on his shoulders.

    He smirks, looking a little proud of himself after landing back on the ground on his feet. He starts walking towards the Wurmple, but his eyes go wide as he's tugged back into place.

    "Ach, what?" he says before glancing back to find his sticky tail stuck to the ground. He looks befuddled.

    "I… well, I wasn't anticipating this," he says lamely.

    Wurmple growls at him, and he turns his attention back to the worm assaulting us.

    At first, Arthur looks scared again as the Wurmple slowly approaches. His eyes dart all around him, and I can almost see the gears in his head turning as he tries to think his way out of this.

    The heat and pressure in my throat is nearly about ready to ember the string shot in my mouth, but I just need a tiny bit more time.

    Suddenly, Arthur's eyes snap back to the approaching Wurmple, and he loosens up again.

    The Wurmple goes for yet another tackle, and Arthur just stands there. I mean, I guess he can't really do much else, but I'm not sure what he plans to do if he can't really move. As the Wurmple jumps for his attack though, Arthur raises his left hand.

    Wait a minute… no way, there's no way he's gonna do what I think he's going to do. There's no way that this guy, who's spent the past forty-five minutes all shy, has the balls to do what I think he's about to do. Can Snivy even learn that move? No, no, he has to be going for something else, I-

    Well damn. Arthur used pay day.

    Kinda.

    When the Wurmple is about to collide with him, Arthur doesn't toss a hail of coins at them like a normal pay day, no, instead, he throws his poké directly. Into. The Wurmple's. Eyes.

    The little thing is barely aware of what's happening as it gets beaned in the optics.

    I finally am able to ember through my gag when this happens, so I do. My ember isn't very strong, but it works, and when I burn away the string shot, I say the only thing that should be said. A well deserved "Damn, dude!" comes flying straight out of my beak.

    The Wurmple is on the floor, writhing and clutching its eyes as it wallows in 1 Poké coins. I take a certain amount of satisfaction as it whines.

    Arthur's body sags with relief, and his eyes widen in surprise. I'd be pretty surprised too if I pulled that off.

    "That was… damn, mon, that wasn't too bad. Pretty crafty, dude," I say. I mean, really, who does that? I don't even think he used a real move that whole time until the very end, and that was a pretty weird pay day. Speaking of…


    I… how do I answer that? What moves do Snivy learn? I'm fairly certain that they learn basic grass type moves, but anything beyond that is certainly beyond me. I am definitely sure that Snivys cannot learn Pay Day, so even if I were really a Snivy, I wouldn't be able to answer him adequately.

    I pay attention to the short grass beneath my feet, how it feels, in order to calm myself.

    I cannot lie to Cole, what would I even say? I appreciate the compliments, my warm face is proof enough of that, but I don't know how to explain myself, so I don't say anything.

    Eventually, after an uncomfortable silence, the Wurmple recovers well enough to stand again. It looks at me, then at Cole, whines, and runs off into the woods!

    What?! Bu- ! I- ! Wha- !? Oh never mind, it's already disappeared into the false forest. I really can't wrap my head around this. The area around the forest is solid! How can a Wurmple just waltz on through like that solid force isn't even there? Is it part of the Mystery Dungeon somehow? Why?

    Shaking my head from all these questions, I turn back to look at Cole. His cheeks are puffed up, and his face looks almost… determined maybe? I'm not sure, but eventually, he spews some Embers from his beak and burns away the string keeping his talons together.

    "Alright, finally, I can move again!" he exclaims excitedly, jumping up from his spot on the grass.

    "Alright Arthur, now we just need to get you unstuck too! Here, just hold still, and I'll burn away the…"

    I notice him look me up and down, and I stare at the ground, embarrassed.

    "Oh," he says, "Right. You're a grass type."

    "Welp." He walks over to where I'm stuck, the grass bending delicately beneath his talons. I try to lock my eyes onto a little yellowish blade of grass in front of me. "We're probably gonna be awhile, dude, so get comfy."

    Suddenly, I realize exactly what it is he's referring to. I am a Snivy. My tail is made of leaves. Leaves are flammable. I am flammable. He is a fire type. He breathes fire. Houston, whoever you are, we officially have a problem.

    Cole sits down next to me, and says "We're gonna have to wait for it to dry so we can break it off, mon, sorry."

    "How much- how long does it take?" I ask.

    "About 30 minutes," he replies.

    …

    "Well, I spy with my fiery eye something… green."

    Just… just end me now.

    Hey there, Mint. I appreciate your appreciation, my guy.

    Now, to respond to some stuff here, the reason that Arthur is written the way he is in the 1st chapter vs. the 2nd is actually pretty simple. Chapter 1 was just a quick and dirty way of getting the ball rolling for the story, since I wrote it on impulse because I was bored over the course of a few hours. I didn't really have an idea for a specific character, other than to split myself up Krishna style into many different characters. I took all my weird, neurotic, asocial nature, squeezed in an intense need for things to make sense, and sprinkled in the desire to look at and read just about everything in sight, and that became Arthur. I didn't initially set out to make him autistic, I just realized after rereading it a few times that he's definitely aspie-coded, and decided to lean into it as the story goes forward. Cole, on the other hand, is how I am with my friends, and around people I can be comfortable with. He's more of a normal person, more a reflection of how I would like to be more of the time, and so that's who he is, is me but with all my weird put into someone else.
    Going forward, I've chosen to base my portrayal of Aspergers on a combination of my cousin Felicity, (who has Aspergers and who is pretty awesome), myself, (who was told they had Aspergers as a kid), and a handful of descriptions of things that other people on the spectrum might relate to that I might not. That's the big reason that Arthur seems to suddenly grow a character between chapters 1 and 2 is just that I went out of my way to make him more than a self-insert of my most detrimental qualities. Ironically, in doing so, he became easier to write just by virtue of his inner-monologue more closely resembling my own, even if not a one-to-one translation.

    Either way, I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope you stick around for chapter 3 as well. Hopefully you'll also like it more than chapter 1.

    Never allow string shot to come in contact with your body. It is sticky, it is gross, and if you're a grass type that lacks natural blades of some sort, it is impossible to get off before it dries. Not to mention, when it dries up it leaves behind this flaky, off-white crust, and just… ugghh disgusting.

    The texture of it while I pick it off of my tail makes me gag. Just, feeling these little flakes of string as they crumble in my hands makes shudders go up my spine. And it takes so long to get off too! I hate the way this feels, and I think I may now hate Wurmples as a result.

    I need to keep my eyes moving and alert. I do not want to get into another altercation with a bug type if I can help it. Every tree, leaf, and branch is being scrutanized by me - very meticulously, mind you! - as Cole and I continue our treck to find Butterfree's child.

    Am I being paranoid? Perhaps, but at the very least, I'd rather we don't end up getting blindsided like we did with the last one. I do not want to get string shotted- string shotted? String shot? I don't want to have to peel this stuff off again.

    Oh god, I need to get mind off of this. No, no, here, how about I try… talking? It's marginally less painful than dried string shot, if nothing else.

    "So, uh…" I clear my throat, "Cole." The words leave my mouth a little shakey, but I'll take it. Cole perks up a bit upon being addressed and he turns his gaze to me. I immediately look off to the side in response. "Yeah?" they reply.

    Wait. Damn it, I don't know what to say! Uh, let's see, um… oh, I know! A question! I can ask him a question, and he'll answer, and then a conversation will ensue wherein I'll finish cleaning my tail before its end. Okay, that's a good plan, that will most likely work.

    "Um, so… Mystery Dungeons. Can you tell me more? About them," okay, awkward, but we can do this, "I uh, I nev- I don't really go into them. Much. At all."

    Nailed it.

    "Oh!" Cole exclaims. I hear some grass beneath us crunch as we end up in a new room. Looking around, the only thing of note here is how the grass is distinctively no longer alive.

    Cole pauses as we enter the room, and I do the same. "Yeah, sure dude, what do you want to know?" he asks, while peering around the room for the next corridor.

    There's so much that I don't know about these things. These places, these Mystery Dungeons, really are some kind of anomaly aren't they?

    "What are Mystery Dungeons?" I ask as we begin down the path to our right, where the grass begins to clear out to just dirt. I continue, "As in, h- well, why are they here? Did something happen?"



    We enter the next room, more large and rectangular this time. I point my stubby little snake finger at the impossible stair case ahead of us.

    "Alright. Secondary question, why- what's with that staircase?" I ask, as I am, at this point, genuinely baffled. The invisible walls? I can deal with that. The random assailants? Annoying, but if we keep our wits about us, that's all they are. Hell, I'm willing to accept our disturbingly perfect surroundings! But this?

    This?!

    This is simply too much. I refuse to accept, I absolutely refuse to accept this without an adequate explanation. I can only hope that whatever comes out of Cole's beak is satisfactory.

    I look over at him as he opens his beak to answer. I hear his feathers shift as he tilts his head and raises an… well, we don't have eyebrows, but the mannerism is fairly unmistakable. A crook of the forehead, maybe?

    "Huh? What do you mean?"

    No, no no no no, don't you start. Don't you even try to tell me that this is normal!

    "It's just the stairs to the next floor, dude. There's not really anything weird about it."



    "But we're in a forest. How can- why is there even a staircase here?" I ask in utter confusion.

    I see Cole look at me, confused as well. "How else are we supposed to get to the next floor, dude? It's called a Mystery Dungeon for a reason, y'know," he tells me, before turning to the staircase in question and walking towards it.

    My left eyelid twitches as I watch him move away from me. I follow him, staring at his talon-prints in the ground while I try to calm myself. I may have been able to gloss over this earlier, but with this damn string on my damn tail added on, I do not… wait.

    I rub my hands all along my tail, and suddenly, everything is fine. I do not even have to try to calm myself calm. My tail is clean!

    As I step up the staircase behind Cole, I feel alright. Not great, this all still bothers me, however, with the pesky irritent known as string shot gone, I feel fine.

    Then I reach the final step of the stairs. I see trees, bushes, even a few flowers around me as we enter into a new room. My feet are planted firmly on the ground, with no textural indication of stone steps beneath my feet. The sky is blue, clear with the exception of a few wispy clouds, and I presume a sun, though I don't look this time. We are on another floor.

    For some reason, the sound of breaking glass comes to mind.

    Cole is already at the entrance to the next corridor we need to go down, and I follow him. I ignore the way my left eye twitches as we continue. I also ignore my clenched fists as my brain cells slowly whither away. I keep my mind on my surroundings as I follow Cole down the path, trying to focus on the smell of the forest, or the sounds of our steps.

    We end up in another elongated room, and suddenly Cole stops. I bump into him from behind, but I step back and to the side soon after. Cole seems tense, and when I glance up at his face for a second, he looks frustrated. I hear him shift, and he says, "Hey Arthur, we got company!"

    I look up to see yet another Wurmple coming our way.

    I can't tell you what I see now, aside from red.

    Before I'm even fully aware of what I'm doing, I find myself charging forward at the Wurmple as it squeeks in surprise. I take a leap and tackle it to the ground. I land on top of its squishy body as it squirms beneath me. I put my hands on his head and attempt to pull him up

    He writhes his body as I hold him by the head, legs failing outwards. I have a hard time keeping a hold on him, and I realize fairly quickly that I have a very short time limit to take advantage of my position. Looking out and zero-ing in on Cole, I see that he's some type of shocked, but moving towards us.

    "Attack him! Use your fl- your fire if you can!" I shout at Cole, which makes him spring into action after only a moments pause. He starts with a run, before jumping and delivering twin slashes across the Wurmples body with his talons.

    I am momentarily confused by his choice to use his talons, but I can't complain about the efficacy of his attack.

    The Wurmple shoots a burst of string shot into the air in desperation, and my eyes widen. I immediately let go and dive away, and the sound of flapping and talon patter tells me that Cole acted similarly. I land on my stomach with a 'pumf' and slowly get up, shaking my head.

    And then suddenly, in a moment of clarity, my anger and adrenaline is replaced with a cold water bucket realization that I am, infact, in a battle. Very suddenly my nerves return, and I freeze up. I stare at the Wurmple, up right and hurt, but still standing and looking to fight. Cole is looking fierce, with one of his talons raised as his wings act to balance him.
    
    They stare eachother down for a brief moment, before everything is suddenly in motion.

    The Wurmple leaps to tackle Cole down. I hear Cole say, "Not this time!" before he hops and strikes downwards with great speed. His talons catch the Wurmple on his face and bring him down to the ground with a satisfying impact. Cole lets go of the Wurmple, stands over him, and Pecks the back of his head.

    The Wurmple has fainted.
    Y'know, I gotta admit.

    That was pretty satisfying.

    After having pecked that little bastard's head, I gotta say, I feel pretty slick. It feels like payback, and payback feels good.

    I stick my tongue out at the little bug boi, before I leave the Wurmple on the floor and walk over to Arthur. It seems like he's back to being all weird again, but he loosens up as I approach him. I give him a satisfied little smirk. He approaches me as well, and we meet somewhere in the middle of the room.

    "Y'know, I gotta say, you don't seem it, but you're not too shabby in battle," I say to the Snivy. I gotta give credit where its due. He blushes and stares at his favourite thing, the ground, before I continue "You fight pretty weird for a grass type, but… it works."

    I do have to say, seeing how this guy battles versus seeing how he acts normally is almost surreal. It's like night and day. He seems so nervey and tense most of the time, but when it's time to fight, he's kinda clever. He's definitely not anywhere near as fit as he should be, he got winded after only a few dodges earlier, but he's better than you'd expect from just looking at him.
    
    Arthur glances up at me, before looking down again and clasping his hands behind him. "I… well, okay. I don't know what came over me, really. I jus- I was just so frustrated…" he says, eyes moving across the floor very quickly.

    "Well, whatever happened, it was pretty good, mon, that's all I'm saying." I guess this guy really isn't too keen on compliments, huh? I dunno, if I caught my opponent off guard like that, I'd feel pretty proud of myself. I guess maybe he's like Snizzy - no nonsense. Heh, I should introduce them…

    Arthur doesn't respond, as per usual, and I turn my attention to the next corridor. "Okay, let's go. This forest's dungeon isn't too big, I think. Pretty sure we only got like, one more floor, so let's find that next staircase, grab the kid, and get outta here, alright dude?" I say, looking back as Arthur walks up behind me.

    I seem him nod, and together, we walk.

    Y'know, thinking about it, I wonder where this guy learned to fight, anyways. His fighting style is pretty weird for someone who's got training. Does he even have training? Looking back, he doesn't seem to have much of a technique. It's alot more… spur of the moment than I would expect from someone who acts like he does.
    
    "Hey Arthur," I start.

    I hear a quiet little "hm?" before I continue. "Where did you learn how to fight, dude? Who taught you?" I ask him with interest.

    We step into another room, this one a bit smaller than the last. There are two paths to go down this time, but I can see pretty clearly that the path across from us ends in a dead end right away, so I turn my attention to the path to our right instead. I hear Arthur walk over somewhere else. Turning to look, I see he's found an oran berry and is inspecting it.
    
    He holds onto it as he turns back to me and scurries over. "Sorry," he says, "Um, anyways…" His lips are pressed in a tight line. I nod to show I'm listening before turning to the corridor and starting down it. "I don't- I wasn't taught how to fight. I, uh, I don't know how. Really. Just, well, I guess I, um…"

    That sentence fragment just kinda hangs in the air as he trails off.

    All the same, that's good to know. So he probably doesn't know many moves, or at least, doesn't know how to use them as well as he could. Thinking back, the first time we got into a battle, he just froze up until he was in immediate danger, and the second time, I noticed him freeze up again after his big opening play. So he's got potential, but no training, really. Just going off instinct…

    Pretty weird instinct for a Snivy, but if it works, it works. I really do have to introduce this guy to Snizzy. Imagine if Arthur got some training in, and we got him on our team? Heh, now that'd be pretty killer, I think. If nothing else, it'd be nice having someone holding the fort down while me and Snizzy are out on a mission or whatever.

    I turn to look back at Arthur as we step into yet another room. "So dude," I say, before I notice the staircase to the next floor in the far right corner of the room. "I know you like to Cloyster up when I ask questions, but try to anwer this one, alright? It's kinda important," I tell him with a serious look. Arthur raises his eyebrow and nods at this.

    "When we get outta here, what are you planning to do, mon? You got somewhere you're trying to be, something you're trying to do, what?" I ask him as we approach the stairs. I step up the stairs and enter the final maze floor of the dungeon. Reaching this sorta lull, I turn to Arthur and see him with his head tilted, fingers against his chin, thinking.

    Another signature Arthur pause ensues, and after a long, long moment, he looks at me and says, "I'm not really sure, honestly."

    I raise my brows in surprise. Usually, an east coast 'mon, all the way out here, they'd have some kind of business out here. I was expecting maybe he was visiting someone, or maybe he even had some kind of trading out here to do. I guess he must be a kind of wanderer type.

    My face settles into a smile as I say, "Well, when we get outta here, you should come crash with me and my pal Snizzy, mon. You can hang out while you figure your stuff out." He looks surprised at this, but he gives me a small smile and nod, before looking away at everything in the room.

    With that settled, we've only got one more set of stairs to find, and we'll be outta here lickity split. "Okay Arthur, we only gotta find this last staircase, alright? Let's get going!" I exclaim, trying to channel my inner team leader. To my surprise, I hear an "Alright, Cole!" behind me from Arthur, and I can't help but smile.

    Yeah, this guy's going on the team for sure.

CAN SOMEONE SAY "ISEKAI??!!"

Hey, I'm here for the Book Club review AND the Book of the Week (just the prologue and Chapter 1, for reference), and right away, the sense I got from the beginning prologue was, well, isekai. Granted, PMD fics as a whole can basically be classified as an isekai if you really think about it, but this is the first story that I've seen really lean into it as much as you have. I mean, you have literal God (Arceus) telling a dead kid that they're getting a second chance to start their life over again after dying. If that's not isekai, I don't know what is, and it's gonna be interesting to see how you lean into that sort of stuff.

Speaking of the kid himself, let's talk about Arthur for a second. I've looked ahead at some reviews and noticed that there's a consensus that he gets more interesting in Chapter 2, but based entirely on what I've read thus far, there's still something to him. You're going with the classic amnesia route, which is never a bad thing, but I can already tell that at the very least, he's a very withdrawn and cautious individual, making absolutely sure not to say anything that might hurt him, which means revealing absolutely nothing to Cole other than his name and that there's a Mystery Dungeon entrance. As for Cole, he's a nice contrast to Arthur, being as bubbly and talkative as he is. However, I do agree with some other reviewers that it felt just a tad off that he was able to realize so quickly that Arthur is from somewhere else. It's a nitpick, but something to point out nonetheless.

One other quick thing, there's a quick little error that can be corrected.



Forgot a space there.

Other than that, this is a pretty interesting start. I'm curious to see how it goes.

First off, gonna start right off with a short analysis of Arthur because yee haw. So belated, but good strategy with basing Arthur off your cousin (and a bit of yourself, I presume). He definitely comes across as more real in recent chapters, gotta say. Like, the entire scene in Team Aurora's base, it was just easy to get into his head. Granted, I think part of that is because I just find it utterly fascinating how he processes things and how the narration is structured around that. You did a great job at trimming information down so that we're forced to follow Arthur around the room and fall into the details of the emblem without even realizing that or feeling like we're being dragged, I think. Like, just how it zooms from a broad glance at this banner, then slowly pushes inward until we're seeing the subtle details that are the raised gold on red background. And then, you break that spell and show us that Arthur had walked in a daze across a room, and we sort of feel like we did too because we were as focused on how intricate these details were as Arthur was. And that's only one example in the base alone. You do it again and again with the table, the berries, everything, and it's just all too easy to fall into Arthur's head and back out and feel some sort of exhaustion when you come at the end of it. (In a good way, I think! Like, it's just that satisfying, you know?)

And Cole? I admit Cole's not quite as fun to watch, but I'm liking how we're learning more and more about him through his own voice. Like, again, last chapter. His thoughts are so much faster than Arthur's, zipping from one idea to the next instead of focusing on a single thing for paragraphs. "I'm amazing!" "I have to chop wood, but I have no hands." "I really need to stop talking to myself." "KICKING DOWN THE LOG BRB" "Hey, where's Arthur?" "SHY GUY SPOTTED." It's so quick and simple and fitting for someone like Cole who, as a perfect opposite to Arthur, is constantly on the move and constantly chattering away. Even what he says speaks amazing levels of volume, from referring to Arthur as a "snake-boi" to being hyper aware that, yeah, he's talking to himself (and is also still pretty awesome). I mean, I still have to say Arthur's more interesting to watch (I dunno, it's just that Arthur's half of the story is always more richly detailed, whereas Cole doesn't let you stop and look around for a bit), but I do have to give plenty o' props for the fact that Cole is still very balanced with relation to Arthur. And kinda cute with him too, ngl. Like, just watching Cole gush about Arthur's abilities, not only in the last chapter but also in the third, was just adorable because already, Cole is this supportive, loyal friend. It's just so wholesome, and no doubt it's going to be important to Arthur going forward, as he becomes the hero that stops whatever obligatory disaster is in store for this PMD world.

Finally, because we're talking about the last chapter (I honestly meant to review all of the ones I'd missed, but to be honest, aside from the fact that I love that Caterpie and her mightiness in previous chapters, there's just a lot more to comment on in this one), Snizzy. I have to say, I'm really interested in the fact that this is a small rescue team, yet neither Cole nor Arthur are the leaders. This definitely changes the dynamic that was set up in previous chapters because now that they're in Snizzy's company, they've got someone to take orders from. Or someone who's going to look after them, anyway. It should be interesting to see how Snizzy will come into play as the story goes on—and how his relationship with Arthur develops.

Actually, one more note? Love how the last chapter ended. Poor, poor Arthur. Goodbye human customs, lmao.

    Let it be known, Snizzy's cooking is absolutely, totally bomb. As. Heck.

    Like, look, this guy can take three berries - just three! - and make one of the best dishes I've ever eaten in my life. Snizzy's stew was already tangy and sweet from the bluk berry, but then you put that subtle spice from the persim berry and that savory chesto? My mom couldn't cook this good with so few ingredients, mon!

    And my mom is pretty awesome, so, y'know, eat that!

    Anyways, so I'm over here, an empty bowl by one side, and a fire by the other. Arthur's laying on his back with a bowl of his own to the side. He's kinda using his big ol' scarf as a sort of pillow, I guess. He's just staring up at the sky, being quiet, and we're chilling in the fire's warmth together. It's nice.

    At times like these, where you got the fire going, and you got the stars in the sky, and everything is coming together just right, you just kinda feel good. Whether I'm alone, or with a couple 'mon, or a whole bunch of them, nights like this make me feel alright.

    As Arthur and I chill under that big giant moon, I relax. I just sit back, smile, and enjoy myself.

    I can hear Snizzy doing something or other on the other side of the fire pit. Sounds like he's putting everything away, what with the pot banging around. Guess we must be going in soon.

    Ah well, whatever.

    I get up off the ground and stretch a little. Looking at Arthur, I ask, "Hey dude, I think we're going in soon. Can you get my bowl for me?"

    I see Arthur look up at me. He doesn't say anything back, which I guess I expect now after having spent so much of the day with him. No, instead he just gets up, dusts off his scarf, and puts back on. He grabs his bowl, before walking over to me and grabbing mine as well.

    Snizzy walks out from the other side of the fire pit. He looks at me, looks at Arthur, and then looks at the fire. Without a word, Snizzy kicks some sand onto the fire, which deadens the flames a bit. He puts a fist up to his mouth, making a little tube with his hand, and uses his icy wind technique to cool the temperature of the log and pit to the point where the fire goes out.

    With that done, Snizzy turns back to us and says, "Alright, both of you, inside."

    Snizzy walks past us, heading towards the house. Arthur follows close behind, and I follow Arthur as we head back to Snizzy's house.

    "Tomorrow, I want you two up first thing in the morning. We will train, and once we are done, Cole and I will be going on a mission," Snizzy says to the both of us as we enter into his humble abode.

    "As for you, Snivy, you will clean the house, wash the dishes, and when you have completed those tasks, you may take a break and continue training," Snizzy continues. "Is this clear?" he asks us both seriously.

    Arthur simply nods, while I opt for a "Yessir!" and a solute instead.

    Snizzy smirks at us. "Good," he says, before going over to the table and turning off the lamp. "If you are unsure about something, it will likely be explained in the morning."

    The Sneasel walks to one of the beds, and then lies down before he says, "Now get some sleep - you'll need it."

    With that, I go over to my bed as well. I hop on in, nestling myself into the straw and getting comfy. As I do this, I look over to see Arthur still standing by the table, looking at Snizzy and I longingly. For a second, I'm not sure what exactly his deal is before it hits me.

    Arthur doesn't have a bed!

    He looks at the floor around the table, and pulls one of the sitting cushions out. While he does this, I open my beak and ask, "Hey Arthur, you gonna be alright, mon? You can sleep in my bed, if you want. I can handle sleeping on the floor - I used to do it all the time!"

    Arthur vigorously shakes his head at my offer. "Oh, no no no, it's fine. I'm - I'll be okay."

    He takes off his big scarf and gets on the floor. Scootching up to the sitting pillow he pulled out, he let's his head rest on it as he lays down. He kinda curls up a bit and shivers, before he grabs his big scarf, unfolds and unrolls it all the way, and uses it as a sorta makeshift blanket.

    Honestly, I feel kinda bad for the guy. Here I am, nice and cozy in my bed, and this guy's sleeping on the floor. I really want to trade places with him, because frankly I don't mind the floor, and I'd rather Arthur sleep on something comfortable.

    Especially considering how cold Snizzy likes his house to be.

    I'm not sure how to convince Arthur to sleep in my bed, though. I don't think he'd be cool with me sleeping on the floor either, if he's so insistent on sleeping on the floor in the first place…

    'Mon, whatever. It's hard to make sense of this guy, y'know? Like, he seems pretty sharp. He's observant, he's clearly got at least a tiny bit of battle potential, but… I dunno, something just isn't clicking about this guy.

    Like, okay, first off, he's a Snivy. Clearly, there's some kind of Aguarian descent there, 'cause Snivy aren't native to this side of the continent - they come from Agua. He doesn't have that accent, though, and he isn't related to those blue Snivys who live in town, so he's probably from the East Coast, right?

    Well, if he's from the East Coast, and he ended up all the way on the other side of the continent and over the Silver Mountains somehow, why does he lack so much knowledge? Like, he's clearly not a dumb guy, I saw him reading his opponent in that first battle, I've seen him improvise - heck, he even pointed out that stuff with Caterpie that I wouldn't've even thought of!

    And yet… he's doesn't get the idea of *floors* in a mystery dungeon, or the staircase, or even what TM's are! It's like… it just doesn't make sense, mon. You mean to tell me that this guy crossed a whole continent, but he's never seen a training manual? Not once ever?

    It's not like he's a wildling either! He can talk, he's curious, and it's pretty clear that he's never been in a dungeon before.

    So what gives?

    Like, what could've possibly led to this guy? What circumstances need to be in your life for you to be like him? Discounting his demeanor, like, not even talking on a personality level, how does an Arthur happen?

    I mean, clearly there's something going on with him. He's so cage-y and quiet, there has to be! I mean, normal pokemon don't act like he does. There's shy, there's awkward - and then there's Arthur.

    It's like he's an alien or… some… thing…

    Wait.

    …

    No, that's dumb. That'd be like something out of a story book - silly. There's gotta be a better explanation than that!

    But what?

    I shake my head tiredly as I lay back in bed. This is getting me nowhere.

    As I shift to lay on my side, though, I still can't help but wonder. I guess I should count myself lucky, seeing as how he's not really, like, a hostile threat or anything. He's certainly a mystery, though, that's for sure.

    I close my eyes, allowing myself to rest for the night.

    Heh, it'd be pretty cool if I knew an alien dude, though…

---

    The floor is… very cold.

    As I lie on the floor of Snizzy's house, scarf around me and pillow beneath head, I find myself slowly regretting not taking Cole up on his offer.

    It turns out that, I being both a snake and a Grass Type predisposes me to strongly disliking the cold. I suppose I should have seen this coming, but I guess this is what I get for being an idiot and not thinking ahead. I should've put these factors together earlier

    Either way, inspite of the cold, I do find myself in a less uncomfortable state of mind than earlier today. With the other two asleep, I find both that my previous feelings of nervousness has subsided, and that being functionally alone for the first time all day allows me time to pause and consider my situation more thoroughly.

    As my eyes wander the dimly moonlit room, I decide to bring myself back to the beginning.

    Let's see… what do I know?

    I know I feel that I should be a human, though I can't say why that is. I also know that I don't remember anything from before today, for better or for worse. I'm terrible at combat and Dungeon diving as well.

    So what happened to me?

    I trace the faint outlines of tiles on the cieling with my eyes as I curl deeper into my scarf.

    That is the million dollar question. What happened?

    I don't know enough about the world around me at the moment to really be able to make an educated guess. This is… admittedly slightly frustrating, as I don't know the consequences of what happened to me either.

    What if I had a family I was supposed to meet or return to, but now I can't or won't because I don't remember? Or, on the other hand, what if I owe someone dearly and I was given a beat down from lack of payment?

    The second one may be less likely, but all the same, if it is true and I don't remember, that could 'cause some major issues - especially for Cole and Snizzy!

    My nerves begin to gnaw at me again as I consider the possabilities. That I lack so much vital information is almost scary, in a way. The number of situations, possible bad scenarios - it nearly makes my head spin.

    I heave a sigh as I consider my situation. Being as quiet as possible, a move little further up the pillow to try and get comfortable in spite of my ruminating. And the cold.

    There really is not anything that I can do at the moment. I cannot just leave and ask random people. That would be very stupid of me, especially if one of them is responsible for what happened.

    If it were to happen that I ask the perpetrators of my situation, then, well, I simply can't imagine it ending well.

    I also cannot just go to Cole and Snizzy and tell them outright I'm an amnesiac. What kind of Rescue-er/Dungeonier could an amnesiac be? They would likely just send me away. Cole has too much respect for this Snizzy person to just up and leave him for some incompetent stranger he's known for a few hours tops.

    So… I cannot do anything. Not right now, at the very least.

    No, all I can do is just… be on this Rescue Team, I suppose. Go through Mystery Dungeons, travel, train. That's my life now.

    Well… I guess that isn't so bad, then. That would probably help me figure out what happened to me. Maybe, at least. I don't know, but…

    … it's a shot.

    It's the best I have right now, so I suppose I just have to take it.

    Yeah, maybe - I yawn - maybe it'll all work out…

    …

    …

    …

    I dodge to the left.

    Fear, the taste of perspiration, physical tiredness - what I'm experiencing in the moment.

    I'm somewhere I do not fully recognize. The dull yellow buildings around me are what I know as portable classrooms. I do not know how I know this, but much like the names of Pokémon, the information comes to me all the same.

    Caught between two classrooms and a chain link fence, I wipe the sweat from my brow.

    The desert heat bears down upon me as I dodge another strike from my assailants. Hopping to the right, a fist flies past my shoulder - where my face would have been had I not seen the punch coming so clearly.

    Truth be told, this dance between my enemy and I is an old one. A tired tradition, the likes of which I am intimately familiar - and have become skilled in mitigating.

    I know this. Somehow. I don't know this.

    What's going on?

    I jump back and hit the fence. A kick stops just short of my stomach.

    With little thought, I reach out as quickly as I can. My hands reach his leg, and I've gotten ahold of my attacker.

    They struggle. I wobble a bit as a result, but I realize fairly quickly what it is that I need to do.

    I do not have the strength to throw, I do not have the will or power to break the leg, and I do not have the tools to do other forms of damage. My options are limited, but luckily for me, the option I do have is fairly simple in execution - and fairly reliable in reward.

    I brace my shoes against the concrete beneath my feet, and my eyes lock on to something behind my attacker - a tree.

    The tree is fairly small, rough bark, thin leaves, and fairly average in that respect.

    The tree itself is not what is significant, however. No, rather, what has me interested is directly below the tree. There, I find a diamond shaped perimeter around the tree, wherein the concrete ends and soil begins so that the tree may grow.

    That means a change in elevation, which to me, translates to a potential tripping hazard.

    With leg in hands, I push forward.

    My opponent seems surprised momentarily, and hops back unsteadily on one leg to try and keep balance. Every ounce of pressure I give, I recieve gains of ground in return.

    This person is big. Overweight, I'd say, and certainly strong too. That means they must weigh more than they appear. While I am taller than them, it would be unfair to describe them as anything other than big.

    And, well, the bigger they are and all that.

    He falls backwards as he steps onto the edge of the diamond.

    He begins to tilt. Behind his glasses, his eyes widen. My hands lets go of his leg as he reaches the apex of his backwards movement.

    Ultimately, he hits the tree with the back of his skull, creating a painful 'konk' sound.

    I decide it unwise to stick around, to either be blamed for the fight once again or suffer injuries from this gormless rube. Thus, I run.

    And I run.

    And I keep running as I hear shoes on grass behind me.

    And I keep running as the sky turns black.

    I run as the sun disappears, as the ground and buildings bleed together in a technicolour mess.

    I run as the ground turns gradually less solid. As the air becomes thick. As the water fills my lungs, I don't stop running.

    Distantly I hear a voice. Someone familiar. A friend?

    Do I have one?

    "H…"

    "…ey…"

    "Du…"

    And then it hits me.

---

    
    Y'know, for someone who's so nervous, this dude's a really heavy sleeper!

    To be honest, I'm almost a little worried myself.

    Like, look, I live here. I've been a part of the Aurora experience for like, what, a month now? I know to get up before Snizzy does, but Arthur?

    Well, he's new, 'mon, he doesn't know the Snizz way of life yet.

    So here I am, standing over this guy. I give him a nudge, but that doesn't do much. I give a poke, I do a prod, I even open his eyelids!

    No response!

    So, just like with the logs from yesterday, I'm stumped - though I guess kicking him in the face would wake him up.

    No, no, I can't do that. That'd be a real jerkish thing for me to do. And it'd only be kinda really funny! Like…

    Actually, note to self, find good reason to wake someone up with a face-kick…

    While I'm over here planning this hypothetical kick thing that I'll totally definitely not do, I start considering other options, 'cause apparently some 'mon are just bad at waking up.

    "Uh, hey," I start, talking to Arthur quietly. "Dude."

    I lean in closer, kinda right next to his ear now. "Dude, Arthur, hey, wake up 'mon. Snizzy's gonna be annoyed if you don't get up soon, and that's gonna suck."

    I see him kinda wriggle for a second, before mumbling out some gobbledygook about water or whatever.

    Alrighty, talking isn't gonna work either!

    In that case, what to do… ?

    While I'm over here, I realize that there's some light coming from the window. Window light means sun, sun means it's the crack of dawn, and the crack of dawn means…

    "Cole. Is the Snivy up yet?" I hear from a deep, and deeply impatient voice, behind me.

    I spin around real quick to face Snizzy, and he doesn't look happy one bit. He's got on his classic scowl, the crossed arms, but when you mix in that weird tired-frustrated he gets in the morning, he somehow looks more irritated than usual!

    "No, I can't get the guy to wake up! He sleeps like a rock," I say to Snizzy as I walk over to where he is, and away from Arthur's depressing non-bed.

    He let's out this irritated sigh with a nose pinch. Snizzy's face scrunches up, and he says, "Here, just… go outside, I'll wake him up."

    I tilt my head at him, with the droopy crest feathers for added effect, before opening my beak to ask, "So, uh… what're you gonna do to the guy?"

    Snizzy shakes his head at me, and says all curt, "Just go outside, Cole."

    Not liking the weirdly ominous vibes in the room, and definitely not wanting an earfull from an irritated Snizzster, I decide to just do what he says.

    With a not-unenthusiastic "Yessir," I walk past Snizzy and over to the door.

    I open the door, step outside, and close it. Then, with no other 'mons watching what I'm doing, I scurry over to the side of our house and peep in through the window to see what Snizzy's gonna do.

    It's kinda hard to stay on my tippy-talons without falling over, but I manage and am able to see into the house.

    Then, I see Arthur finally get it.

    And by get it, I mean Snizzy blows an icy wind into his hands to make a snowball, and beans Arthur in the face with said snowball.

    There's this loud 'pomph,' and I see Arthur panic and get all tangled up in his scarf. He rolls around a little on the floor, kicking and pushing the thing off him, before he finally gets free from his blue cacoon.

    He hops up onto his feet while he frantically wipes the snow from his face. I giggle from my spot at the window.

    Maybe I should take a page out of the Snizz book. If the other 'mon a bit more fragile, something less, uh… cool than a face kick might still be funny.

    Once Arthur gets the snow off his face, I see Snizzy say some stuff to him. He seems kinda annoyed, and while he's talking Arthur sorta shrinks in on himself a little, doing that thing where he stares at the floor.

    Suddenly, Snizzy glares at me through the window. Surprised, and a little startled, I lose my balance and fall over backwards, hitting my head on the ground.

    Ouch.

    I slowly get up from the ground, shaking off a little dirt from my feathers. As soon as I get myself clean, I hear the door to the house open, and a moment later, Snizzy comes 'round the bend - scowl and Arthur in tow.

    Snizzy just passes me by as he and Arthur walk, saying to me as he passes, "C'mon, we're going to the training grounds."

    With an "Okay!," I follow the two, walking right beside Arthur as Snizzy leads us behind the house and into what seems like a small wood, to the untrained eye.

    Luckily, me having a slightly trained eye - and also living here - let's me know that this isn't any ordinary wood, no. This, y'see, is an advanced wood.

    And by that, I mean that it's got a bunch of training stuff in there, and it's where we train.

    While we're walking, I notice that Arthur's giving off a weird vibe today. Looking at him, he doesn't seem like he's doing that thing where's just looking everywhere all the time constantly. He's just staring at the ground.

    Well, okay, I guess that isn't super weird for Arthur by itself, but I swear there's something off today, 'mon. Something about his face, his posture - he seems, I dunno, down? Not quite that, but y'know, something in that area.

    Guess there's only one way to figure out what's going on, huh?

    "Hey, Arthur, dude, what's up?" I ask as Snizzy leads us through some bushes n' brushes.

    Arthur's head snaps up to look at me briefly, before he looks away real quick. I see him open his mouth to speak, close it, and then open it again.

    "Um, well… nothing really. I'm si- thinking about… certain things, um…" he says quietly to me, while he looks at the back of Snizzy's head with an expression that I can't quite identify.

    Okay, so it probably has something to do with whatever Snizzy said to him.

    I wave a feather at Arthur to catch his attention. He looks at me, and I gesture to Snizzy with my head, before I raise an eyebrow.

    I can tell that he doesn't get it at first, because his face scrunches up all confused. A quick moment later, though, I see his mouth make an "O," and he nods slowly.

    Damn, dude, what'd Snizzy say? I hope he wasn't all super harsh, or whatever. I'm pretty sure Arthur's still new to all this - don't want this guy getting all discouraged, right?

    As I'm thinking through this, we come to an Oran bush. It's big, it's bushy, and most of all, this is the gateway. Beyond this door lies a world of imagination. Beyond this bush is…

    … the Training Zone!

---

    We find ourselves in a clearing.

    As I step out from behind Snizzy, I take in my surroundings more fully.

    We are surrounded by a circle of tall trees. Each tree is much bigger than the house we left, and full with leaves tinged a limey green. Underneath, grass, roots, and the occasional mushroom can be found growing in the rich brown soil.

    I find myself leaving my two partners behind as I wander the perimeter of the clearing. I hear the occasional crunch of leaves underneath, which I interpret as being a sign that we're in the very beginning of autumn - especially when taking the colour of the tree leaves into consideration.

    It feels refreshing to gaze at shrubs, trees, sprigs of grass, and other manners of foliage. After yesterday, the imperfect nature of the plants around me has a somewhat calming effect.

    Just seeing knots in wood, leaves partially eaten from the local population of bug Pokémon, and partially bent or broken branches makes me feel more at home, somehow. It feels… familiar.

    It feels, unlike the Mystery Dungeon, like somewhere I am supposed to be.

    It's only when I feel a pebble collide with the back of my head that I realize that I had, once again, gotten too caught up in my surroundings.

    Rubbing the spot on the back of my head where I was struck, I turn around to see Cole standing at attention and Snizzy crossing his arms and subtly glaring at me.

    "Get over here, Snivy. This is training. Show some discipline," he says sternly.

    I quickly scurry over to Cole, somehow having already disappointed Snizzy twice today - first this morning, and now this.

    Snizzy stands before us, silhouetted and imposing, shadow stretching over us from the rising sun. Only the red of his blunted ear-feather and the gleam of his fang can be seen clearly - an intimidating image.

    "Alright, if we're all done sight-seeing -" he pauses to level me an irritated look, to which I respond by boring a hole into the ground with my eyes - "… We have some training to do."

    "We have a new member, so I will go over our routine once again. If you have questions, you may ask, so long as it isn't stupid," he says.

    I look back up, and see him turn around and walk a few paces into the center of the clearing. Bringing his arms to his sides, he says, "Today, we will be focused on assessing your weaknesses and figuring what you can improve on - by any means necessary."

    Raising a claw with a singular blade up, he continues, "This means we will undergo a hodgepodge of physical conditioning, mental evaluation, and sparring."

    "Normally, we'd only focus on one for a day - today is a special case. Should you chose to give anything less than your full effort and undivided attention, I will chose to give you any number of painful - but nonlethal - injuries," he says, with a sneer.

    "Showing anything less than the utmost discipline for and dedication to the fine art of combat, rescuing, and or dungeoneering is… ill advised, in my presence," Snizzy says, voice going low.

    This illicits small stab of anxiety in me.

    "With that out of the way, do either of you have any questions?" he says, crossing his arms once again, the sun now having risen enough to give a clear picture of his cutting smirk.

    I glance over at Cole, to see his feather raised in the air and waving about wildly.

    "No Cole, you are not learning a new technique today. We don't have the time," he says, shooting down Cole before he can even ask the question.

    I look at Snizzy and see him looking intently at me with a raised brow.

    Feeling uncomfortable, and glancing away, I slowly raise my left hand. I don't have a question to ask - at least, not one that Snizzy wouldn't qualify as stupid - but it seems as though a question is expected of me.

    "Snivy?" he questions curtly, nodding my way.
    
    I swallow a lump I hadn't realized formed in my throat, before opening my mouth to say something. Unprepared, and uncomfortable, I just let a mess of words tumble out of my mouth.

    "I, um… S-so we're, um, we're - what are we going to start with. For today, um… Snizzy… ?"

    I close my mouth and blush, forming a tight line with my lips.

    What an absolute mess of a question. I shouldn't have said anything at all. This is why I do not speak if I have nothing of value to say. It just comes out as this garbled mess of nonsense and idiocy.

    "Ah, he speaks," Snizzy says. His smirk slowly morphs into a sharp, toothy grin.

    "Let me answer in a… demonstratory fashion," he nearly growls out, claws unsheathing.

    Uh-oh.

This is my review of the Prologue of Another Rescue team for CLBC:

I like the initial sentences. The set up makes me feel as if there is something other-worldly or deity related going on, which seems to be important further down the chapter. The two characters interacting at the start is interesting, particularly since one does try to soften the blow in a way. However, the way they do so comes across as almost scheming and rather sinister of them. The second, which I believe is Arthur seems to be okay. His reaction seems a little cold and unsure however, so I would recommend adding some form of shock or reaction to it since it is a big important piece of news for him, such as missing his mum, dad, etc. The Karma sequence seems to be a world mechanic which may need to be explained a little further down the line, but as a mechanic it does seem simple enough. One thing I think would aid the prologue a bit is if a description of the area around them, or some sort of glance at what can be seen is hinted at – even if it is nothingness. Grammatically, the chapter doesn’t seem to have any noticeable mistakes in, and the pacing is consistent throughout. Overall, a decent start to the story and I know it gets better as the chapters go on, so keep going.

Can someone say WORLDBUILDING?!

Holy crap, I came here for the Book Club review for Chapter 3, and I'm treated to someone questioning how the dungeons work. Arthur, you're a man after my own heart.

But seriously, about that moment with Arthur. I've seen a lot of people try their hand at explaining how a Mystery Dungeon works. I've seen some great explanations for the intricacies, the minutiae, sometimes even the physics of a dungeon. But to see a character answer the question of "Why are there stairs that lead to nowhere in the middle of a dungeon with invisible walls, randomly spawning inhabitants, and money just lying on the ground" with an answer as simple as





My god, it's like explaining the mind-blowing revalation of all time with "42". It's just ... *chef's kiss*  I love it.

That right there is how to make a world feel lived in. You don't need to go into every last detail of a world, you just need to make sure the inhabitants of that world accept how it works and view all of the weird things that happen there as natural. No need to go into a whole lot of detail, just let them, just ... be. You do that super well with Cole in this chapter, and now I'm interested to see how Arthur takes it further down the line.

Also, I wanna know who Snizzy is. Is that too much to ask?

Anyway, this just keeps getting better and better in my book. I cannot wait for more.