FSE

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Chp2

Both pokemon, a vulpix and a shinx, were nervously shifting back and forth. Mystic was trotting around in a circle while Phantom sat on his rear, tapping his forepaws against the ground. They were both in front of the rescue federation headquarters, a massive multi story building. Around the door were three statues, a Swampert, a Lucario and an Ampharos. Those three pokemon were legendary, known for being the greatest rescue team ever. It was they that formed the federation as it existed today. Before them, it had been scattered, local groups working for their own towns, but now, all rescue teams were united, working together for all pokemon.

A few minutes ago, the pair of small pokemon had arrived at the gate. They were met with a grizzled looking charizard.

"Excuse me... sir?" Phantom squeaked out.

The charizard grunted and turned to him. His body was covered in nicks and scars, a gigantic circle shaped one on his chest, and one of his horns missing.

Phantom immediately cowered back under the giant pokemon's gaze. Mystic stepped up and took his place. "We are going to join a rescue team. Where do we sign up?" She said with an air of authority, seemingly unfazed by the pseudo-dragon.

"You? Kids don't need to be in here. Go home and play." He said in a gruff tone, waving them off.

"We're not kids!" She yelled, standing defiantly. "I actually don't know how old I am..." She muttered under her breath.

"Sh-she's right. I-I'm about three years old." Phantom chimed in, almost hiding behind Mystic's puffy tails.

"Three years old and you haven't even become a Luxio? That's understandable for a vulpix but a shinx like you... Face it pup, you're weak. The entry test would chew you up and spit you back out. Your parents probably want you home for lunch, so stop bothering me!" He growled. He was very clearly becoming annoyed and smoke began to drift out of his nostrils.

Mystic started forward, stepping around the orange behemoth. "Come on Phantom. Screw this guy!" Phantom followed, actively avoiding the charizard's gaze. Just after they passed into the building, a voice came from behind them.

"Last door on your left."

Phantom looked back, but the charizard was already facing away.

The pair went down the specified path, passing by a couple large boards with job postings. The next door was closed, and past that was the end of the hall, a single large door sitting there. As they proceeded, Phantom hurried forward to catch up with the determined vulpix.

"What's with you?" He quietly asked. "Just a little bit ago you were in tears..."

"I feel alive! There's a chance and I'm gonna take it, no matter what anyone says!"

"How can you be so confident..." He muttered as she sped off again, nearly sprinting to the door. The moment she arrived, she pushed it open and entered the room beyond. Phantom was right behind her.

The walls of the room were covered by bookshelves and cabinets, filled with books and paper respectively. In the middle of the room was a large wooden desk, covered in papers. Behind the desk was a mienshao, who was working rapidly to fill out all the paperwork. She noticed the door open, but she didn't even stop working, only saying "May I help you?"

"We want to either join or start a rescue team." Mystic said, adding, "Please."

This caught her attention, her head raising to look at the pair. "You? Are you sure?"

"Y-Yea. Please miss, we are ready." Phantom said, stepping up beside Mystic.

"Very well." She turned around and opened one of the filing cabinets. "Are you applying to join or to create?"

"Uhh... What's the difference?" Mystic asked.

"To join, you need to fill out an application to join a specific team. Then they would have to accept you. If you do that, you don't need to take the entry test. You can also sign up for a wildcard team. You then take the test and then be assigned to a team that's looking for members. If you want to create your own team, you must take the test. The difference is that your new team would be just you two and not have much recognition, whereas if you were to join a well established one..."

"Create." Mystic said.

Phantom gave her a look and a nudge. "Are you sure?" He whispered.

"Create." She said again with a nod.

"Very well." The Mienshao said, taking out a sheet of paper. She walked around the desk and took a jar of ink with a brush off it. "Both of you sign this. Paw print, here." She said, pointing to the bottom of the sheet. They each held up a paw, which she painted with ink, before they stamped it onto the sheet. "Excellent. Once you pass the test you will have to fill out the rest. Then you will be an official rescue team. If you go out into the yard, you will see the training grounds. Past that is the entry dorms. Talk to Duchess and she'll set you up. You're lucky, the tests are held every weekend, starting early tomorrow morning."

"Thanks." Phantom said. Mystic was already half way out the door. He turned and hurried to catch back up. The pair headed back to the main room. Once there, they went straight out the second large opening out into a wide area. There were numerous training implements: dummies, hay bales, obstacle courses and the like. To the left of that was a connection to the main building. To the right, was another building connected to the main one, but this one had many windows, hinting that it was a dorm. To the north end of the yard was another dorm building, but much smaller.

They headed to this building, walking past a few groups of pokemon training in the yard. Inside, they were met with a nidoqueen behind a desk.

"Hello there." She said, stepping out from behind her desk. "New recruits?"

"Yep! Can you tell me anything about the test?" Mystic asked, getting right to the point.

"All in due time. Follow me to your room. I'm Duchess by the way." She said. She turned around and checked a chart on the wall before turning and motioning for them to follow. On the way she gave them a rundown of the building. "South of here is the main building. On the west wing you have Marie's office, she takes care of all the formal stuff, and the job boards. Just up from there is the market, where we have plenty of shops set up. On the other side, the ease wing, we have the dining room and kitchen and the team dorms. It's not too hard to find your way around. And here we are." She finished, stopping in front of a curtain. They had gone up to the third floor.

All three pokemon stepped through the curtain into the small room beyond. The room had a window close to the floor, though it was covered by another curtain. On the floor were three small beds of grass. "This is your room, number 305. The restroom is to the left and there is water and berries to your right, though if you are looking for a meal, go to the dining room." Duchess said, already heading out of the room.

"Wait! What about the entry test?!" Mystic shouted after her.

She stopped and came back in. "It starts tomorrow morning. I can't tell you anything more, it's against the rules. I'll make sure you're up on time." She said before leaving once again.

They both took a bed, Phantom on the left, and Mystic on the right. They consolidated the middle one, spreading the bedding equally to each of their own beds. They took a few minutes to get comfortable before Mystic spoke up.

"Damn." She muttered.

"What?" He asked.

"I want to get to work. I can't stand just sitting around!" She whined.

"Things will work out just fine. Relax. Being so on edge can't be good for you."

"I know." She said, but her face didn't look so sure.

"How about we go get some food? Then we can practice until dark."

"Phantom. Seriously, thank you. You really don't have to force yourself to help me."

"I'm not forcing it. You're my friend. Plus, I've wanted to do something new but... I was always too shy to do anything about it."

"You have nothing to be shy about. You're a good person." She said, getting up and putting a paw on his.

"T-thanks." He said, a light blush forming, though his dark blue fur hid it well. He got up too, and they both left to go get some lunch.

In the dining room, there were tons of pokemon. A wide range of sizes and evolutionary states sat all over the large room. The pair followed the signs into the kitchen line. In the kitchen was a blissey, wearing a large apron over her plump body.

"What can I get you two?" She chirped when their time came.

"Hi. We're new here, so what have you got?" Mystic asked.

"Well welcome then. I'm dumpling, the main chef. I would recommend some apples. You should start simple. Once you get comfortable you can try some of our other foods." She said, taking a couple apples out of a barrel. She set them before the two pokemon. They took a hold of them with their teeth and headed out to the dining room. They ate their food, and once done, they went back out into the yard.

"So... I guess you don't know how to use your moves do you?" Phantom asked her once they arrived.

"Moves?" She responded in confusion.

"That's what I thought. How do I explain it? Watch me." He said, going over to an unused dummy. "I'll do it slow so watch carefully." His body tensed and he raised his hackles. He bared his fangs, then lunged his head forward. A bolt of electricity fired out of his body and hit the dummy. Sparks flew across its body for a moment before they faded, revealing it completely unharmed. "Hmm, I guess it is resistant to moves. So did you see it?" He asked, turning back to Mystic.

She was standing there with her mouth open. "That. Was. Awesome!" She shouted, hopping up and down excitedly. "Can I really do that?!"

"Well, no. I am an electric type. You're a fire type, so you can breathe fire."

"Cool, so how do I do it?"

"You just kinda do it. For me, I feel a buildup in my body, and then I unleash it."

"Okay, let me try." She said, stepping past him. She repeated his actions, taking a deep breath, tensing her body, and looking intently at the dummy. She took another deep breath, held it... and with a puff, she breathed out a small ball of smoke that immediately dissipated. She fell back and began to cough violently.

Phantom rushed over to her, patting her back in an attempt to help. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yea, *cough* yea." She said, catching her breath again. She stood up again for another attempt. This time though, instead of a puff, she pursed her lips and blew. A small ball of fire came out of her mouth, flying forward, only to land short and sputter out. She blinked quickly, unbelieving of what just happened. "I did it!" She shouted suddenly, drawing a couple of looks from nearby pokemon.

"Yea, now let's work on accuracy." Phantom told her, guiding her through things.

+++

"I feel so cool! I can breathe freaking fire!" Mystic said later that night, once they had retired.

"Well, I can shoot lightning but you don't hear me bragging. Anyways, you made a lot of progress. It takes most pokemon several months to learn to use moves." Phantom said, lying down on his bed. The room was lit by a lantern. Several other oil lamps were hung out in the hallway, though their light did not penetrate the curtain. "We should get to sleep. We need to be rested for whatever is going down tomorrow."

"I guess. I'm going to the bathroom. You can go ahead and put out the lantern, I'll be fine."

"Alright. Good night." He said, blowing out the light after she left. He stretched out before curling up. He quickly began to shiver. This building was so much colder than his cave. He tried shifting and curling up tighter, but it did no good.

"Here." Mystic suddenly said, scaring him. She laid down next to him, putting her body against his. Her natural fire type body temperature did wonders, though his mind was in full blown panic.

"But, But, I-"

"Stop. You can't sleep if you're cold. We've slept close together before, so just stow it."

Once again, she had set her mind to something and he had no way of disagreeing. He could feel his sheath swell up, but he tried to get his mind off of it. He put all his effort into ignoring the reality and just accepting the warmth. Soon, it worked, and he fell asleep.