Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: My Friend (Rework Hiatus)

Chapter 5 (Rework)

Author's Note: This is the last chapter of the reboot. Everything else after this will be new to the story as I stopped at Chapter 5 last time. This is the new Chapter 5. Please enjoy.

There was a long, single file line of Pokemon in front of a rather large dome that was made of wood. Our heroes were somewhere around the middle of the line as they waited for their turn, soon growing tired by how slowly the line and day moved. Needless to say they weren't alone. Three Lotads had decided to stack up on top of each other, while a Vanillite looked like they were melting.

Sighing, Palo sat down in the line. "How long is this going to take?" the Piplup spoke out loud. It was a good thing the others in the line were talking to one another, causing Palo's sentence to be ignored. Or at least he thought. "Yeah, how long is it going to take?" rang through the line.

"Huh?" Turning around to see if someone really did chime in on his comment, Palo found himself face to face with a Nickit. "Were you the one that responded?" asked Palo. The Nickit only nodded before talking. "Yeah, it's kind of boring here isn't it?" 

Palo and Lily slowly nodded to the question, confusing the Nickit until they realized. "Oh," the Nickit spoke again. "I forgot to introduce myself, huh? Alright then, I'm Nickel and this here is my partner, Buddy." A Pyukumuku soon revealed itself next to the Nickit and nodded a yes, making sure Palo and Lily know it was them. "Anyways," the Nickit named Nickel began. "Who are you two?"

"Uh, I'm Palo, and this is Lily," Fun introduced themselves to the pair in front of them. "Hi Palo and Lily," Nickel replied back, as Buddy waved with an arm from their mouth. "Hi," Lily managed to say, Palo following right after. "Um, so, why are you, uh, here?" he asked, soon becoming embarrassed by the immediate question. "Nevermind! That was rude of me!"

The response on the other hand shocked the little penguin more. Nickel chuckled lightly before talking again. "We're here to find lots of treasure," said Nickel, Buddy giving another nod in agreement. "I see." Palo gave a nervous laugh to the answer. "For us... umm... uhh..." Looking down to the ground, Palo mumbled, "The reason why we're here is because we want to explore the world."

"That's nice to know."

"I guess it is."

Looking back at the line, it barely seemed to have moved at all. This was going to be a long wait.

. . .

"Finally," Palo sighed. "We went through our qualifications after that long line." Taking another sigh in his next sentence. "Now it's just a matter of time to see if we made it or not." Groaning after that, Palo faced Lily in the little room they were waiting in. "How well do you think we did?" he asked. "Eevee..." Lily's voice trailed off.

"Yeah, our performance was really sloppy. I don't think we're gonna make it. How long will we have to wait?"

Palo's nerves were starting to get on him. It was Lily's turn to try and comfort him. "Eevee," she began in vee’s, voi’s, and ee’s. This didn't seem to affect Palo at all, the feeling of awkwardness setting in. "Lee-low," muttered Lily incorrectly. It was one word she learned to say. While it was “Lie-low,” it was worth a try.

No response came from the penguin, now worrying Lily more. "Eevee..." Lily was at a loss for words, not knowing what to say until Palo made a noise. It was a laugh he failed to cover. The Eevee tilted her head, confused and getting the Piplup to laugh more now. Whatever Lily unknowingly had done, it at least seemed to lift Palo's spirits back up, much like when they were in Lylow Town before.

"Sorry if I worried you Lily," said Palo. "And thanks for helping to cheer me up."

Eventually, the two became sleepy as their conversation went on, Lily plopping onto her straw-like bed first as Palo followed soon after. "Well," Palo spoke out with a yawn. "Goodnight Lily." No response came from the Eevee. Seeing the fact that she was asleep, Palo decided to wait until tomorrow and see how things go from there. The results were coming out within a week to reveal whoever made the final cut.

‘Maybe I should think about Lylow,’ thought Palo. He couldn’t yet fall asleep compared to his partner. The anticipation kept him up, nervous. The Piplup looked back at the sleeping Eevee. He had found her in the forest on a stormy night and brought her home to Merry, helping her get better over time and get used to Lylow Town. He even decided to take it upon himself to help her learn how to speak.

But how would the folks react to them returning so soon, defeated? How would Petal react? Merry? Did Lily really want to do this? Or was she pressured by his dream to be in an exploration team?

Palo shut his eyes hard, not wanting to think more and just tire himself to sleep.