Proving Oneself by Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves underaged characters. You have been warned.
A few days passed in Tucho and for the young scorbunny cub and his friends. The weekend had not expired and the Pokemon Academy had started things anew with a brand new week. It was the midst of a school year so the vacations were only ever so often. To young Rogziel, it seemed like ages since the last time he'd had more than two days off consecutively. However, that was certainly not the case since they had one just a month ago.
Rogziel poked his head out of his sheets as the alarm went off, reminding him that it was a school day. The sun was still rising and the auburn yellow light glowed through the window pane in his room. He yawned and stretched as his mother knocked on the door to make sure that he was awake.
"I'm up, Mom." He said with a still half-groggy tone of voice.
The scorbunny finally got out of bed as he turned around to fix the sheets on his bed. It was a habit his parents had tried to get him to do regularly but sometimes he forgot. The rabbit looked into a mirror and saw that he had some morning fur slicked over his forehead. Deciding that he'd have to slick it down to tame his unkempt fur. He went about getting ready for the day, digging into his closet to find his school uniform.
As the only school in the town, the Academy was a school with a rather regimented set of rules. Every cub and teen in the town was expected to attend for the full tenure of 14 years. All of the grades as well as Kindergarten and Pre-School were encompassed within its walls. Tough, the staff did a good job segmenting to population. Each wing of the school was divided into sections with the younger cubs going on the East wings and older teens going on the West ones.
At all times of the day the schedule was equally stagnated. Older students were expected to show up earlier while younger ones came later. Release and break sessions followed similar schedules. It was all heavily regimented and had been perfected over the years. Rogziel's group was one of the "middle" ones, they were expected to show up around the third bell. This meant he had to be there around the 8th chime of the town clock tower.
After Rogziel got dressed into his school uniform, he padded his way down to the kitchen. He could smell whatever his parents had made that morning and it made his stomach rumble with even more anticipation. The cub picked up pace and continued into the kitchen. On the table, he found some pancakes and berries. Neither his mother nor his father seemed to be around so he helped himself instead.
The meal was just big enough to curb his appetite. Rogziel had grown up with nothing beyond the necessary as his parents didn't believe in waste. The scorbunny cleaned up after himself and sipped down his juice as he threw away the crumbs. In the living room, he found his bag had already been put on the couch. He looked inside it to make sure everything he needed was there before slinging it over his left shoulder.
He made his way out the door and proceeded outside. Locking it behind him, he began his way to school. Just like every morning, he walked the same dirt road path from his home to the Academy. The town was small enough that very few people had cars. Public transportation was instead the option of choice for many of the communities population. Rogziel made his way down the grass-lined sidewalk.
Occasionally one of the busses would pass him by. The ones designated for the school were bright orange and had affixed the school logo on the side of them. Each of them had numbers assigned to them with color coordination so that the younger cubs could find them more easily. Every time they passed Rogziel, one of the cubs inside would stick their head out and flick their tongue at him. It was something of a routine now for him and he ignored it since it was no big deal.
The distance to the Academy wasn't very long for Rogziel. The scorbunny was usually able to make the walk in a little bit over a half hour. It was only in the winter when it took him longer and he sometimes had to take the bus. The area in front of the school was much the same as it always us. Pokemon cubs of teens around his age were hanging around outside. The school had a strict rule to stay there until the third bell rang.
Rogziel made his way to the side of the school. His small group of friends usually hung out around the oran berry bushes that the school grew. Proceeding over towards it, he ignored any of the conversations happening around him as the constant conversation and chatter carried on. He eventually arrived at the location, finding Pent there along with a younger shinx boy. The shinx cub was a friend of both of them and went by the name of Nait.
"Hey, you guys." Rogziel stepped towards them and took a seat alongside the bush with them next to the fox.
Pent smiled over at him. "Hey, Rogz. Ready for another day?"
"Yeah, I guess. I have soccer practice after school. How about you?" The scorbunny was a member of the school soccer squad.
Nait chirped happily. "I have a club meeting. We are going to play some games."
"I might go skating. I haven't decided yet." Pent thought about it and realized he didn't have any plans.
The rabbit was a bit disappointed in the response. "You can come to the soccer practice if you want. You could probably participate if you want."
"Sure, if my parents let me that would be cool." The fennekin figured it would be better than doing nothing.
The three of them continued talking about nothing specifically. The third bell rang before long as they got up and started walking together. Making their way inside the school as they waited to file into the main hall. The initial line to get inside was a bit congested since the main entrance was very wide. It took a few minutes before they were inside the building. Making their way to the middle wing where their classes were situated.
Rogziel noticed a sign on the wall about the Adventurer's Guild. The date happened to be the same day and he hadn't noticed it before. Either he had completely missed it or it was something entirely new. Reading it the sign indicated that the Guild would be there today. Potentially recruiting volunteers for a smaller task. Immediately his plans changed from wanting to play soccer to doing that instead.
"Hey, did you guys see this?" The scorbunny pointed at the small sign on the wall.
Pent and Nait looked at it. Both of them were just as familiar with the Guild as it was something well-known in the community. They read the sign and their faces lit up as well. For many cubs their age the guild was something they looked forward to. In their mind, it was a way to prove themselves and get started sooner rather than later.
"That's neat. Are you going to go?" The fennekin asked his friend.
The bigger boy thought about it for a moment. "Probably. It's at lunch. I should be able to fit it into my schedule even with soccer practice."
"Alright, cool. I'll go to then. You want in, Nait?" The white fox asked the shinx.
The smaller lion boy nodded. "Yeah, sure. I'll meet you guys at the table or wherever they set up at lunch."
The three of them gave a thumbs-up to each other. The plans were set in motion. Now it was just a matter of time before they figured out what was involved. Nait went his own way as Rogziel and Pent went to class together. The two older boys shared some of their classes. When they didn't it would usually be in a different room on the same part of the building. It wasn't until electives that they separated as it was the only time they saw cubs and teens who weren't in their age group.
Rogziel and Pent began their day like every other. A language class to teach them the linguistics of other regions. Tongues like Alolan, Sinnoan, and Paldean were languages that were offered at the school. The scorbunny had taken Alolan as his parents had constantly talked about it as being his heritage language. Pent on the other hand focused on Sinnoan as it was a language that interested him in learning about Hissuian history.
The class was divided into sections with different corners dedicated to an in-depth look into the language chosen by the students. They worked in groups. It was one of the few times where an instructor wasn't entirely involved. Instead, a few of the school's moderators flowed about the room to make sure the cubs remained on task. Neither Rogziel nor Pent was instructed to create a fuss and remained focused on what they were doing.
The task was a simple one, they were just doing a rough translation of texts. Reading was one of the things the school focused on first since it was a simpler thing to grasp in their vision of education. They had small cheat sheets of phrases and the computers they were given had been set up with modules to guide them through it. A tutor was available online for them if they faced any issues. It was a fairly hands-off class but the students didn't cause many problems since they had been through it before.
After the linguistics class was over, the two boys were off to their class in mathematics. Along with Science, it was Pent's favorite class as the cub loved nothing more than learning the more nuanced facts. The fennekin was in more advanced classes than his friend was but it was just a few rooms down and they saw each other in passing between the classes. Each of them went into their math class, ready for whatever lesson was thrown at them.
For Rogziel, things were on an easier curve. He was still learning the basics behind things like Pre-Algebra. The importance of graphing, statistics, and some other minor geometric concepts. The scorbunny listened to whatever lecture was being given by the teacher. An older Clefable who went by the student's nickname of Mrs C. The woman had been teaching for some time and was well-liked by the students who had her.
That day's lesson was a simple one, a
review of coordinate planning and determining the axis when it came to things like transmutation and reflection. Each of them was given graphing paper and calculators. The machines weren't so much for actual use in the assignment as they were for checking the work. Of course, there was the occasional student who ran the equation in the calculator to show the answer anyway.
Rogziel struggled with the non-linear functions they were given. It was supposed to be a bit of a challenge to see if the cubs were up to the task. Even with a bit of help from Mrs. C, he couldn't grasp the concept. The translations they were performing were still very basic but at their level, they were still trying to understand it at a rudimentary level. The Clefable rewarded the students who at least tried with a bit of extra credit as well as a small piece of candy.
The scorbunny snacked on the hard piece of fruit candy and sucked on it as they were released from the class. He continued much the same way until lunchtime. Science wasn't very interesting to him but History was something he was more into. It was his final class before the cubs in that section of the building were released to the cafeteria. The bell rang a few times and with it the calamity of traffic crushed through the door as everyone rushed outside.
Lunchtime was always something of a mess for the school. No matter how many times they reminded the kids and threatened them with things like detention, it never changed. The crush of students in the halls was very real. There wasn't much shoving, trampling, or other mischief going on but there were still cubs who found themselves being pushed as some of the kids were a bit overeager when it came to getting to one of their free times during the day.
Rogziel made his way into the lunch room. As always the traffic leading into it was just as slow as he expected it to be. The doorway into it wasn't very wide, which was part of the problem. Sometimes the line leading from the cafeteria counter bled right into it, which led to it feeding outside. It was a system that despite years of use, hadn't been improved at all. Today wasn't as bad since they had a few more extra cafeteria workers who were serving up the food.
Inside the cafeteria, Rogziel looked around to see if he could see where the guild had set up. Sure enough, there was a smaller table set over in one of the corners of the cafeteria. A chatot was in charge of it with a few of the older teen students in front of the bird Pokemon taking advantage of their presence. The scorbunny decided that he'd pop over after he ate his lunch. After all, the line was moving quickly and he didn't want to skip lunch.
Rogziel waited in line as the line moved forward, lurching towards the serving stations. Occasionally he glanced backward toward the table but it was still busy from what he could gather. Eventually, it was his turn and he picked out his usual favorite selection of greens. He was a vegetarian as it came with the convergent nature of his lapine biology. The cub grabbed his stuff before taking one of the juice boxes from the cold storage counter.
Making his way back to the main part of the cafeteria, Rogziel found a table with some of his friends sitting around it. Pent was already there, sitting with a few of the other cubs from the Science club. The rabbit didn't much associate with them in that regard but still sat next to them as he didn't see anyone else to pal around with. He soon joined them in munching down the leafy greens that he'd chosen at the counter.
The cubs around the table talked about nothing specific. Occasionally the conversation circled in around the presence of the Guild but didn't go into much detail beyond that. Once he was done the rabbit poked his friend to see if he wanted to join him in visiting the Guild's table. The fox kit was curious enough about what it entailed so he joined in walking over towards the table.
Making their way over towards it, they could see that there were fewer students in front of it. They knew this was the chance to take advantage, especially since the short period of break of lunch was soon over. Arriving at the small table, there were a few fliers and a signup sheet. The signup sheet had a few names on it but less than either of them expected. They looked at some of the pictures of the guild in action.
"Hello, boys. Might I interest you to volunteer for the guild?" The Chatot woman put it as simply as possible.
The chatot was a tall and slender woman donning a soft blue silken dress. Over it, she was wearing the official badge of the guild with a neatly kept blue and green scarf around her neck. Her voice was high-pitched but almost came out as if were a song. She kept a calm but comforting smile on her face and served as the main recruiter for the guild. Her feathery arm and fingers pointed at the sign-up sheet.
The scorbunny looked at her. "We might be interested but what is involved?"
"The guild is looking for younger members to spread our community involvement. We need cubs like yourselves to take on the simpler tasks so that our more experienced members can take on more pressing and urgent things. We just have too much to do and not enough Pokemon to do it." The bird Pokemon frowned a bit upon admitting the situation the guild was in.
The rabbit looked over at the fox and then back at her. "We can help but what sort of tasks?"
"Things like finding lost pets, outreach to those in need, and just community service in general. Are you two interested? You would be starting this coming weekend." She figured the two cubs would join since it had gone this far.
Rogziel and Pent nodded before putting their names on the paper, both of them waited for further instruction.
"Great, we very much appreciate it. Your first meet-up will be this Saturday at the local park. Please tell your parents you will only need to commit a few hours at most to whatever we need you to do. It will be a simple matter and something that you should be able to tackle without issue." The bird gave them a friendly thumbs up in approval.
The two cubs smiled back at her before walking away. It was just in time for the bell to signal the end of lunch. The crowd of cubs and teens all got up from their tables with only a few lagging to dilly-dally around. Rogziel and Pent filed in behind most of them since they were near the back end of the room. They waited as the line of kids crowded back through the crowded doors of the open cafeteria door.
The rest of the day was pretty slow for young Rogziel and his friend. They returned to classes with electives and gym classes dominating the remaining part of the school. After school the two of them would meet again at the scorbunny's soccer practice. Pent ended up showing up too as his parents had approved the extracurricular activity once he asked them about it. After all, it wasn't often he got to hang out with his friends and they weren't about to stop it.
Rogziel asked the coach if his friend could participate in the practice. Of course, they were fine with it since the squad wasn't that large. The scorbunny headed into the locker room where he and the fox cub changed into their gym outfits. The team wasn't expected to wear their kits since the coaches only assigned them colors. It was much easier for the players to figure out who was on what team when they wore the brightly colored tabards.
The school's gym outfits for boys were a simple short-sleeved blue t-shirt with the school logo on it with matching shorts. Cleats were not required for the school team so most of the cubs who played on it wore tennis shoes. Once they were changed, the rabbit and fox made their way back to the field behind the school. As always two nets had been set up behind the academy with chalk marking the boundaries as well as goal lines.
Once all of the kids were outside, the coaches gathered them around for a small pep talk about what they would be expected to do that afternoon. The instructions were kept short so as to not lose any of their attention. They would be doing an offense versus defense style of game with each side running drills in succession against the other. The players would be expected to play on both sides of the field.
Rogziel was picked for offense while Pent was picked for defense as the other players were sectioned off. Once everyone was all sorted they went to the opposing sides of the field. The coach threw one of the cubs on the offensive side of things to get the game started. The larger Scyther girl kicked at the ball as she made her way down the field. Rogziel remained on her wing ever in hot pursuit of the quick insect.
She soon passed the ball over to the scorbunny who kicked through another boy's legs. Rogziel saw Pent trying to block him off, easily able to deek around him as he passed back to the Scythe girl. She landed a shot on the goal but the goaltender was able to make the save. The goaltender threw back the ball to the other side and the offense set up for a second run at it. This time the scorbunny was given the ball to start things off.
Rogziel rushed forward, angling towards the left side of the field. A meowth struggled to try to keep up with him as the cat lept towards him to try and tackle. The scorbunny hopped over them, passing the ball back to the other side of the field. The ball was picked up by a defender who swept in to take control of it, quickly resetting the game back to a neutral field with no advantage. The coach decided to swap things up and reverse the sides.
The two opposing sides of the field swapped with Pent going on offense and Rogziel on defense. The fennekin was nowhere near as quick as his friend was so he kept to the winger. A larger Pimsear boy was at the center position taking the role of striker. He easily overpowered the other cubs who tried
to put up a defense against him. He was a bit slower than Rogziel so the scorbunny easily swooped in to steal the ball.
The ball reset again with Pent being volunteered to try his luck at striker. So far no one had any luck getting a goal. He was a bit nervous but decided to go through with it anyway. Cautiously he kicked the ball down the field, passing it a few times to his wingers who kept feeding it back and forth. The offense continued this setup as they got ever closer to the net with the goalie keeping an eye on them to make a shot.
Yet again the ball was stolen by Rogziel who seemed to be carrying his team. The coach again reset the sides to keep things up-tempo. The fennekin was glad to be back on defense as it was his preferred role. He felt like there was less pressure on that side of things. It continued much the same way, a contest of back and forth. Neither side seemed to have much of an upper hand. It wasn't until later in the game that the scorbunny finally scored the first.
The end of the game came with a small show of celebration for the young rabbit. He was by no means a star player but the fact he had scored the only goal called for it all the same. The coach ended up inviting Pent to play on the team. After all, he showed just as much guff as any other player on defense. The fennekin told them he would talk to his parents about it but the prospect of it seemed exciting and he couldn't help but look forward to it.
The team shared in cooling down on a big container of water. Some of the cubs squirted each other with it while others poured it over themselves. Rogziel and Pent sat alongside each other as their bodies recovered from the physical activity. It had been a warm day out and their bodies sweated a bit over their furry figures. Of course for the fox kit, it was a slightly bigger issue since his fur was longer than the other boys.
At the end of it all, Rogziel's parents would come to pick them both up. Dropping Pent off at his house before going home themselves. It had been a long day and he was tired. Though the week was just starting, he couldn't help but be excited about helping the guild out. He wondered what sorts of things they'd have him and the other boy do. It was only a matter of time before he found out.
The days came and went like the wind, as they often did when the young scorbunny was excited. School was always a bit slow for him but with soccer practice every other day, he always had something to look forward to. Pent had even joined the club now which made things even better for him since the two of them were best friends. With the weekend on the horizon, his mind turned to other things.
It was Saturday morning, the very same day he was going to start helping the guild. Rogziel awoke to the familiar glare of the sun peering through his window. He squinted his eyes as he rolled over in his bed to avoid it blinding him. The rabbit got out of bed as he was already aware of what day it was. After all, he'd been looking forward to it for the entire week and had it circled on the calendar on his bedroom wall.
He immediately rushed over to his closet and stripped off his pajamas to change into his casual wear. The cubs who signed up were told by the school to be at the local park by 9 am where they would be met by the same Chatot who had recruited them. Rogziel could feel the anticipation building within him. He rushed down the hall of his home and into the kitchen where his father was sipping on some tea.
"Morning, you're up early." The Cinderace said as he sat back on the barstool chair.
Rogziel nodded with a chirp in his voice. "Yeah, today is guild volunteer today."
"Oh, right you told me about that. Good luck to you and your friend." The man snacked on some toast between sips.
The rabbit smiled at him. "Thanks. I've been looking forward to it."
"I'm sure you boys will do great." He got up and ruffled his son's head fur before leaving the kitchen.
The scorbunny cub saw some bagels on the counter as well as some fruit. He figured he'd just have some of that since it was already out. Pulling some juice out of the fridge, Rogziel poured himself some and sat down to cut the bagel in half. Spreading some jelly on it, he'd chosen his favorite flavor cinnamon raisin. Biting into the thing, he checked his poke receiver to see if he'd gotten anything from Pent yet.
It was still early and there were no notifications on the phone from his friend. Instead, he texted him to see if the fennekin was awake already.
"You there? We have to be at the park by 9." The scorbunny continued to eat his food as he put it back down.
The little device buzzed when there was a response. "Yup, see you in a bit."
"See you later." The rabbit went back to finishing his meal.
Rogziel ate the rest of his food and washed it down with some juice. Already he was thinking about his day. He had already planned on biking to the park so he knew he had to leave in short order to make it in time. The park was a short distance from his house but he still had to get there on time and he didn't want to make a bad impression on the guild. After he cleaned up he went for a quick stop in the bathroom to do his usual routine.
When he was ready to leave, he put on his shoes and bade farewell to his father. The cub headed out the door and went to find his bike. Usually, his parents stashed the thing in the storage shed behind the house but sometimes they moved it when they were doing yard work. He could hear his mother talking to one of the neighbors and waved to her as he passed her by. Not saying a word to her as he didn't want to interrupt the conversation.
The scorbunny cub continued to the back and found the storage shed was already open. His mother seemed to have pried it open with a cinder block. Rogziel pulled out his bike and walked back to the front of the house. When he was back on the main dirt road, he mounted it and began pedaling towards the park. His mother waved back to him as she saw him leave the property and head down the block.
He made his way across various streets and avenues that led through the main parts of the small town. Only a few buses and other various forms of public transport passed him by. Pedalling quickly but not fast enough to over-exert himself. After all, he didn't want to get hot and sweaty before whatever it was the Chatot would have them do. Fortunately, it was a cool day out and the sun was somewhat obstructed by the clouds above.
Soon he arrived in the more wooded area of town. The dirt roads eventually led into much more weather-beaten paths that twisted beneath the large billowing trees above. The scent of flowers and fauna was much stronger in that area of town with signs warning woodby travelers of feral Pokemon hanging about. Rogziel could hear the calling signs of various birds in the distance, though none of them seemed close enough to catch a glimpse of.
Now inside the park, there were all sorts of signs showing the various paths that led to some of the hiking trails that were around. A paper sign was plastered on a wooden placard that read "Guild Meetup at the Lake". Seeing this made Rogziel smile as this was where he needed to go. He followed along with a few other signs that were put up similarly. Eventually, they led to the biggest lake in the park which was just on the far outskirts of it.
Rogziel made his way toward the lake. Entering further into the wooded area, the density of trees became much more prominent. It wasn't much longer before he arrived at the lake. A small tent had been set up with the guild's flag flying over it. The bright orange canvas canopy made it very easy to see. Underneath it, some teens and a few cubs were hanging about, seemingly waiting for whatever tasks the Chatot and her assistant had in store for them. The woman's assistant was a Delcatty who was wearing much more formal attire than her boss.
The scorbunny headed over towards them. The sound of chatter became much more prominent, though no particular conversation was discernable. He looked around for any of his friends and eventually found Pent hanging out with the younger shinx boy Nait. The two of them waved over at the rabbit as he made his way over towards them. Rogziel got off his bike and set it over near a tree with several other bikes that had been left there.
"Hey, guys. You excited?" The taller scorbunny said with a look of anticipation on his face.
Pent shrugged. "It will be cool but who knows what they'll assign us."
"Yeah, but think about it. We could get in the guild now and then when they are looking for members they might come to us first."
The fennekin hummed. "Maybe but there are a lot of students here other than us. They are probably thinking the same thing."
The smaller shinx playfully slapped the fox on the back. "They don't have to recruit us. It's good to just help out when we can."
"Yeah, you're right." The fox kit pumped his fist in renewed excitement.
The three of them talked for a bit about what they thought would be entailed with their assignment for the day. Of course, none of them had any clue what was in store for them. It wasn't long before a whistle was blown and the Chatot woman took a stand on a small platform that gave her the ability to see over the crowd of youngsters. She began speaking into a megaphone.
"Good morning, students. First, both the guild and I would like to thank you for taking the time to volunteer today. We know you could have spent time doing something else and appreciate that you are here instead. Second, to make this go a bit quicker my assistant and I will be handing you slips of paper. These slips will have your assignment details and contact information. We will be following up with these people so please make sure that if the job is not done then follow up with us back at the guild. Are there
any questions?"
A few of the cubs and teens asked questions about the bird and her assistant. Once they were done they began circulating to reach the students. Those who wanted to go individually were allowed to do so as was the same for those who wanted to group up. When Rogziel's group found this out they decided they would go together. The scorbunny was given the small slip of paper and proceeded to read it.
"Your task involves Old Man Mawile. The elderly harbor keep needs barnacle removal as well as the skinning and cleaning of fish. The daily catch brought in by the town's fisherman is a bit too much for him to handle in his old age."
Rogziel showed it to everyone else, none of which seemed to be thrilled about it. Still, they had signed up for it and they weren't getting out of it. The scorbunny went to grab his bike and brought it back over to where the group was.
"Do either of you guys need a ride?" The rabbit asked since he didn't know how the other boys got there.
Nait shook his head. "Nah, I brought my bike. I'll ride with you to the harbor."
"I'll take a ride. I walked here." The fennekin said as he got himself onto the pegs on the back wheel.
Pent held onto the bigger boy's shoulders and held on. Nait joined them before long with all three of them heading off back through the wooded area of the town. The dirt road led them out of the park and back onto the main streets. Heading over towards the east side of town where the largest lake sat on the edge of the village. As they got closer to it they could hear the sound of boat engines in the distance.
They soon arrived at the harbor, the place denoted as Pelipper Pier. The namesake of which had been associated with a legendary seaman who had not been forgotten by history. The pier was a small one, with only five docks to speak of. Several boats were tied up with some of the fishermen and fisherwomen bringing up nets of various sizes to the docks dropoff area. The place smelt like salty air and the odor of fish was omnipresent around them.
The three boys soon arrived at the pier. It was bustling with activity. Different Pokemon run back and forth doing all sorts of things to keep things in line. The main office had a statue of a Magikarp hanging off a hook. The friends parked in front of it, setting the two bikes on the side of the building. Inside smelt like tarnished old wood and the vacant odor of varnish. At the main desk sat the old Mawile who had an eyepatch over one of its eyes.
"What can I do for ye', boys?" It wasn't every day that cubs came into the harbor and seeing them there made him curious.
Rogziel approached the desk, doing his best to not scrunch his sensitive nose. "The guild sent us. They said you needed help."
"Y'er a bit young f'er the guild, ain't ya?" The man was chewing on some gum and speaking between bites.
The scorbunny showed the small slip of paper they'd been given, which had the guild's seal on it as well as the Chatot's signature affixed to it.
"Well, I'll be. Guess I ain't one to be turning down help from ya whipper snappers." The mawile leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up on the desk.
The rabbit waited a bit as if expecting to be told what to do. "What do you need us to do?"
"Ye' can help the fisher folk with their duties. Crass' the Crustle will give ye' details. Ye' can find 'er by the wharf. Now off with ye' I have duties to attend ta'." The man did not attempt to move from his desk.
Rogziel and the other two boys made their way back out of the office to the pier. Some of the Pokemon working about bumped past them but didn't even notice their presence. The rabbit shrugged it off as no big ordeal and continued leading towards the end of the pier. In front of them, they could see a large burly woman chewing on some beef jerky. The stout crab-like creature didn't even notice their approach.
"Hello, are you Crass?" The rabbit boy asked with a hopeful look in his eyes.
The crustle looked down at him speaking in a rather formal and refined manner. "Yes, and who might you be?"
"The dock manager sent us over to see if we might be of any assistance. We are here from the guild." The scorbunny said presenting his friends as well.
The crab woman's voice was hoarse from having yelled so much. "Ah, yes. We never thought they would send anyone. Well, we need assistance with cleaning the lobster baskets. The barnacle problem has already been taken care of."
The woman took them over to the area where a stack of lobster baskets were assembled in a corner. Inside many of them were a few shells and various other debris that had gotten caught up inside of them. She began to show them what she wanted them to do with each of them. They were to scrub them down so the wiring didn't get rusty as well as remove anything that might be inside. It was a tedious task to be sure but one that was simple to understand.
She gave each of them a wire brush and the soap cleanser that the dock staff used to clean the lobster baskets. Each of the cubs took them and began at work at once. The lobster baskets were arranged in rows and stacked on one another. The three of them took charge of one area of the stacks each. A bucket of soap had already been set nearby in anticipation of the task being done so they took advantage of using it.
Cleaning the lobster baskets was a bit of a menial task but one that needed to be done. The grime and residue that had collected on each of them showed months if not years of buildup. They had to scrub every one of them down, making sure that much of the gunk was gone. It took a lot more effort than any of them expected. It took them a few hours to complete the ordeal with some of the baskets not being able to be fully cleansed.
When they were done, they headed back into the main office. The Mawile was nowhere to be seen but his assistant was there. The tall but much younger Ogerpon was there who checked that the work had been done properly. After she did so, she rewarded the group of cubs with a small sum of money even knowing the work had been voluntary. They were released from duty and sent on their way shortly after.
The three of them got back onto their bikes once they were seen off. Heading back into the main parts of town. Each of them was glad to be done with the awful stench coming from the pier. It was an odor none of them had been prepared for and simply put up with for that day. On their way back into Tucho, they talked about what they could do the rest of the day. However, their ideas of further plans were quickly quashed as each of them had promised to return home after the job was done.
Rogziel and his friends went home with the scorbunny dropping the Fennekin cub at his house. When he finally got back to his house the rabbit was asked how things went. Of course, the cub smelt like fish and the odor of the sea, so they weren't interested in a long-winded conversation. He gave them a short summary before retiring to take a shower. Even he could smell it on his own body and he wasn't interested in his parents complaining all day.
The rest of Rogziels weekend was low-key. He went to the skate park and skateboarded a bit. Practicing some tricks that he was keen on mastering. Hanging out with some of his friends at it and even playing a bit of skate with them. Rogziel was able to come out on top in most of his matches, only losing to the certified skate nut of the park. An older teen Houndoom who was well known for being a bit of a show-off.
As the scorbunny's weekend came to a close, he was eager to see if the guild would come back to the school. The job he'd taken on had been far from glamorous but in his mind, it was his in with the guild master and their many assistants. It would be something on the back of his mind for some time. Little did he realize that the adventuring guild had taken a much closer relationship with the Academy and he'd be seeing them much more often than he could have ever hoped for.
