PMDU Official Writing App! Hyouka

RESEARCHERS GUILD: Hyouka
Date Joined: 03|04|2014
Current Funds: 9 St

Merits: [+][+]
Strikes:

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Houtarou Fueki
Species: Luxio
Nature: Docile
Characteristic: Nods Off a Lot
Gender: Male                  
Age: 16
Ability: Guts

Strength: [x][][][][]              
Agility: [x][x][x][x][x]
Intelligence: [x][x][x][x][x]          
Charisma: [x][][][][]

Total Points Left: —
Type Bonus: Electric >> Agility

Move 1: Hidden Power (Psychic)
Move 2: Discharge
Move 3: Strength
Move 4: Double Team

Inventory:

Yellow Strap-On Armband
Description: I wear it around my neck like a collar. Don’t ask me why…

-Item 2
----Description:

-Item 3
----Description:

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Sean Colton
Species: Chespin
Nature: Jolly
Characteristic: Highly Curious
Gender: Male                
Age: 10
Ability: Overgrow

Strength: [x][x][x][][]              
Agility: [x][x][][][]
Intelligence: [x][x][][][]          
Charisma: [x][x][x][x][x]

Total Points Left: —
Type Bonus: Grass >> Charisma

Move 1: Seed Bomb
Move 2: Rock Slide
Move 3: Wood Hammer
Move 4: Low Sweep

Inventory:

Teal Armbands
Description: Hehe, don’t I look cool and tough with these around my arms!  

-Item 2
----Description:

-Item 3
----Description:

---

“Pokémon remember their adolescent days as the high point of their lives,” Houtarou mused. “And Pokémon remember the high point of their lives as their adolescent days. They say these things because they hold fond memories of their time during that specific life phase. However, I doubt that everyone would want to remember their adolescent days that way. What if there are Pokémon who prefer to keep a low profile?” The Luxio threw his head back and stared at the cloudless sky. “Though, I guess that would be a pretty lonely way to live.” He heard a snicker, and corrected his posture to meet the amused, half-lidded gaze of his Houndoom friend.

Propping an elbow on the table and resting his cheek on the back of a paw, Samuel remarked, “I didn’t know you liked making yourself suffer, Houtarou.”

“Making myself suffer?” Houtarou echoed, maintaining his passive expression.

Two weeks had passed since the Great Statue decided to have some sort of temper tantrum in Andaluust City. Save for a few hiccups such as stolen building material courtesy of some opportunistic looters and seemingly random killings, reconstruction efforts were progressing relatively smoothly. The damage to the city would have been much worse if not for the combined efforts of the ever-dependable guilds: the Hunters handled the evacuation of the citizens; the Explorers distracted the gigantic golem whereas the Researchers shut the colossus down with one of their inventions. Houtarou was grateful to them, if only because they prevented his favourite pastry shop, which he was currently patronizing, from getting destroyed. He would often frequent the place to meet up with his Explorer friend, Samuel Fiscario.        

The Explorer flicked his wrists to the side and shrugged good-naturedly. “You turn your back on socializing, exploring and just about every other thing that makes life meaningful—a real low-profile kind of guy.” The Houndoom cocked his head slightly, his smile widening ever so slightly. “You were talking about yourself, right?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m turning my back on them,” Houtarou argued.

“Of course you wouldn’t,” Samuel concurred with the Electric-type sitting across from him. “You’re just saving energy, right?” The latter directed his half-lidded eyes elsewhere, prompting the former to wag a digit of his forepaw as he added, “You can’t be bothered doing anything that isn’t worth your while. In other words, you just don’t wanna expend more energy than necessary.”

Houtarou shrugged his shoulders, resting an arm over the top rail of his chair. “Nice deduction,” he drawled in a complimentary manner.

“Hmm, not really,” Samuel dismissed with a casual wave of his paw. “It’s only because I’ve been friends with you since we were cubs.” He lowered his upper body over the table, peering up at Houtarou with a lopsided grin. “But you know, in a city full of Pokémon jumping at the chance to join the guilds to stand out among the ever-increasing population, someone like you who won’t consider joining a single one is the epitome of keeping a low profile. If you say that’s a lonely way to live—” The Houndoom tittered. “—then clearly you must want yourself to suffer.”

Despite their friendship, Houtarou often wished that Samuel would just stop talking and duly verbalized said thought to the Houndoom in an agitated tone of voice.

“Isn’t it a bit late for that?” the smoky-topaz brown-eyed Houndoom countered cheerfully. “Like I said before, we’ve been hanging around each other since we were cubs.”

Houtarou huffed softly and dropped the subject: he knew that the chances of it happening were close to none. “Anyway,” he spoke up, “you can head off without me.”

“Eh?” Samuel considered it odd for Houtarou to ask him of that since the Luxio had always been addicted to routine. The Houndoom would accompany Houtarou to the latter’s house without fail after each and every single one of their meetings at the pastry shop so the former had a right to be puzzled by the Luxio’s words. “What do you mean?”

The Luxio’s answer came in the form of a sheet of paper which he pulled out from the lower part of his mane and dangled in front of Samuel’s face.

Samuel blinked before his eyes widened in disbelief as he slammed his paws on the table, garnering curious looks from the other patrons of the shop. “No way!” he exclaimed, tugging the bottom corners of the paper. He truly cannot believe what he was seeing. “Don’t tell me you…” A guild application form was the last thing Samuel expected Houtarou to have in his possession. “You’re joining a guild!?” Their snouts were almost touching by this point. “And the Researchers, at that?”

“Not by choice though,” Houtarou murmured irritably, this time producing an envelope with his other paw.

“…That from your sister?” Samuel queried after he had regained his composure, taking the envelope from his Luxio friend and pulling out the letter.

Houtarou nodded. “It just arrived from Western Parai,” he told the Houndoom. “According to her, the Researchers sent her there to carry out an assignment or something like that.”

“Let’s see…,” the Explorer trailed off as he gave the letter a quick read-through. “Oh, poor you.” He eyed Houtarou sympathetically. “So your sister put you up to it. At first, I wondered why you didn’t just refuse…but doesn’t your sister know all kinds of things—”

“—about aikido holds, yeah,” Houtarou sighed dejectedly, hanging his head down. “She would make it very painful to refuse.”

Samuel chuckled in agreement. “Yeah, you can’t say no to that!”

The indolent Luxio added, “She even claims that the Researchers have the least amount of workload.” He was essentially asking Samuel to verify that claim since the Houndoom was a Researcher for two whole years before he switched to the Explorers last year.

“Well, I don’t know about that,” the Dark Pokémon simply remarked, much to Houtarou’s disappointment. “A lot of things could change in a year. I switched guilds mainly because the Researchers were too boring for me.” He shrugged with a sheepish smile etched across his visage. “I never really paid attention to the workload.”

“As always, you’re useless whenever I want you to be useful,” Houtarou muttered tiredly, standing up and finishing his drink. “You’re paying this time, right?”

“Yup!” came the jovial answer from Samuel. The Houndoom winked at Houtarou and promptly pronounced, “Good luck!”

“Arigato,” the Luxio replied dispassionately, tugging at the armband around his neck as he headed off in the direction of the Researchers Guild Headquarters. Along the way, he spotted a Frogadier going through some motions with a Honedge, a Lucario engaged in a duel with a Froakie and a hooded Blaziken jumping across the rooftops with a Quilava in tow.

”To those living high-energy lives, I salute you.”

---

“Huh, so I can’t join the Researchers Guild?” Sean asked in both confusion and disappointment.

Ever since his sister was saved by that Honedge-wielding Frogadier, the Chespin had been struggling with a bout of frustration. While he was grateful for the assistance, Sean could not help but feel agitated for not doing more to help his substitute parental figure, even before the Great Statue incident. That being said, the whole incident served as a catalyst for him to start being more responsible, and he thought that by joining a guild, he could find out what it truly means to be a mature adult. After much thought, he decided to join the Researchers Guild; unfortunately, the process of joining said guild had not gone as smoothly as he had hoped.

“It is not that I am barring you from joining, young one,” the Goodra, the afternoon-shift guild registrar, corrected him tenderly. “I am merely denying your request to form a single-member team. You are not the first child to come in here with an ‘I-have-something-to-prove’ look in the eyes. From your story, I understand your need of wanting to mature but matters such as this are best taken slow and steady. We Researchers consider the safety of our members to be most important.” She smiled down at the dejected Chespin. “Hence, the only prerequisite you need to fulfill before I can accept your application is to form a two-member partnership.”

Sean’s body language improved considerably but a slight frown marred his features. “That’s a relief,” he respired, crossing his arms, “but where am I gonna find a willing Pokémon like, right now? I promised my sister that I won’t put things off like I usually do.”

As if on cue, a bored-looking Luxio entered the office and traipsed forward, stopping beside Sean.

The Goodra smiled at the new arrival. “Welcome to the Researchers Guild,” she greeted him. “Solo, I assume?”

“Hai,” Houtarou replied laconically, holding out his application form. “I have everything filled out.” He then produced his sister’s letter and gave it to the Goodra. “I don’t think it matters, but here’s a recommendation letter, I think.”

“Interesting,” the Dragon-type hummed as she read the letter. “Ah, so you’re Tomoe’s younger brother.” She nodded at him. “It’s nice to see your wishing to follow in your sister’s footsteps.”

“Not willingly,” the Luxio murmured under his breath.

Sean could hardly believe his luck as he stared up at the Luxio. Struggling to contain his excitement, he spoke up, “Um, ex-excuse me?”

Houtarou blinked and glanced down at the direction from which the voice came, instantly noticing Sean. “Was he here when I first came in?” he pondered, eyeing the purple-eyed Chespin. “Yes?”

“Y-you’re forming a single-member team, right?” Sean posed a question to Houtarou. Receiving a nod from the Luxio, Sean took a deep breath before he pleadingly asked, “C-Can you please~ let me join your team, Mister?”

“Eh?” was Houtarou’s instant response. Inwardly, he thought, ”The hell is going on? My Sis never informed me of this being a possible day-one situation.”

The sole witness to their conversation promptly chose to fill Houtarou in on what had occurred moments before his arrival. “You see, young Houtarou,” the Goodra spoke up, “this Chespin here came in with a fervent desire to join the Researchers Guild. However, his young age is proving to be an unfortunate stumbling block. I hope you consider accepting his request.” Smiling at the puzzled Luxio, she added, “You wouldn’t want to crush his hopes and dreams, would you?”

Houtarou fought the urge to hang his mouth open in indignation. ”When you say it like that,” he mentally growled, ”then I have no choice but to accept!” He stared down at Sean who was still fixing him a hopeful expression.

“Please~” the Chespin pleaded once again, clasping his paws together in some sort of prayer. “You can be the leader, Mister. Just please~ let me join your team.”

Pawing his forehead and grasping a fistful of his mane, Houtarou chose to weigh the pros and cons before coming to a decision. ”I can already tell that this little guy’s gonna be a big handful,” he mulled. ”His eyes speak volumes about his personality…but on the other hand, I’d waste a lot more energy by going solo.” He shook his head. “Iie, I am absolutely NOT prepared to give up on my energy-conserving days.” The Luxio took a deep breath and exhaled languidly, having reached a decision. ”Guess I have no choice but to pick the lesser of two evils.” Staring straight into Sean’s shining purple eyes, Houtarou half-heartedly articulated, “Hai hai, you can join.”

Out of sheer gratitude, Sean tackled Houtarou to the ground, nuzzling his head into the latter’s furry chest. “Thanks so much!”

Houtarou bit the inside of his cheeks and inwardly sighed. ”I predict this will be a common occurrence in the future.”

The guild registrar simply clapped her gooey hands in elation. “I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship.”

The normally composed Luxio glowered at the Goodra. ”Urusai, Goodra-yarou…”

---

 
“Yes, yes, yes!” Sean cheered, jumping repeatedly into the air in jubilation. “I did it! I’m a Researcher! I can’t wait to tell Sis!” He put his paws over his mouth and giggled giddily, walking through the guild hallways with a spring in his step.

In complete contrast, Houtarou was trudging behind the Chespin while assuming a drooping posture. Five minutes into their partnership, and already the Luxio was regretting his decision to allow Sean to join his team. ”Curse me and my weakness to kids,” he bemoaned his luck softly. “Maybe I should’ve tried my luck doing things solo first.”

The energetic Chespin halted in his steps and turned around to face his new partner. “So whaddya wanna do, Houtarou?” he asked. “Wanna explore the halls? We both have some free time after all.”

“Speak for yourself,” Houtarou drawled in response, walking past Sean. “I’m heading over to the dorms to get some shut-eye.”

“Huh?” Sean looked out the window. “But the sun is not even setting yet,” the Chespin pointed out.

“Doesn’t apply to me,” the older Pokémon droned. “I’ve exceeded my energy quota for the day so I’m afraid I’ve to sign off for the day before I collapse from exhaustion.”

Neither Pokémon were backing down from the argument nor willing to accept the other’s opinion. As they both rounded the corner to move to the next hall, they encountered a group of Pokemon blocking the way. Many of them were chatting amicably, but a few in the back can be heard grumbling and snapping irritably; soon, the cause was revealed to be a somewhat tall Flygon attempting to shove her way through. Judging from the ‘thumping’ sounds, Houtarou and Sean pitied the ones who accidentally got struck by her wings and tail.    

"Excuse me, pardon me, Leader's Assistant comin' through,” she announced, hoping that revealing her status would make things easier for her. Too bad most of the Pokémon chose to ignore her in favour of continuing socializing with one another. The Flygon justifiably whined, “C'mon guys, can’t you have your little meeting thing somewhere that isn’t blocking a hallway?”

When she finally made it out—Houtarou thought she should be awarded a medal for her effort—the recently-registered team could see that her arms were laden with a surprisingly large pile of thick paper scrolls. A large black blueprints tube could be seen on her back, the strap crossing her chest diagonally and connecting with a silver clasp, while her wrists each bore one metal armband: silver on the right and black on the left.

Sean sweatdropped at the amount of stuff she was carrying on her person, standing up on his tiptoes as he whispered to Houtarou, “I don’t think this is gonna end very well.”

“I’d be surprised if it did,” he agreed with Sean’s observation, surprising even himself. Directing his gaze downward, Houtarou noticed a splintered floorboard. Mentally, he counted, ”Three, two, one…”

Upon the Luxio concluding the countdown, the Flygon tripped over the floorboard as she fell flat on her face. As for her important documents, the pieces of paper ended up flying everywhere courtesy of a few Flying-type Pokémon who saw fit to kick up a little breeze to humiliate the earth dragon even further. The sounds of a few derisive chuckles filled the atmosphere, and since none of the owners of said chuckles would be moving forward to help the Flygon anytime soon, Houtarou’s partner took it upon himself to step up.

Houtarou watched silently as Sean helped the Flygon up and arranged some of the documents into a neat pile. ”Well, I guess this kid’s not all bad,” he inwardly admitted, taken in by Sean’s honest kindness. ”At least he’s better than those street urchins.” Sighing softly to himself, he decided to lend the duo a hand: he had already far exceeded his energy quota anyway. The Luxio slowly raised an arm with the front of the paw facing the ground and released a pulse of fuchsia energy. Each and every single one of the Flygon’s documents subsequently became enshrouded in a purplish glow as they sorted themselves into a manageable pile off the side, the blueprints tube coming to rest beside the pile.

Sean gasped at the intricate and almost effortless manipulation of energy and bounded over to Houtarou excitedly. “Wow, that was so cool, Houtarou!” he extolled.

The taller of the duo brought his paw back down to his side and shook his head. “Betsuni.”

“Hey, that was pretty neat, you know,” a feminine voice spoke up. “Sometimes, you gotta learn to just accept the praise being given to you.”

The rookie Researchers turned their attention towards the Flygon who had a cheery smile plastered on her expression. "Thanks so much for helping me pick all these up. I swear, that’s like the fifth time I’ve tripped today.”

“I assume that to be below average,” Houtarou contemplated.

“I’m such a klutz." She suddenly blinked, getting a closer look at the Pokémon in front of her. "Heeeey, wait a minute. You don't look familiar. Are you visiting the Guild?"

Houtarou opened his maw to reply, but Sean beat him to it.

“Nope,” the Chespin eagerly answered. “We just joined the Researchers about ten minutes ago!”

“…What he said,” Houtarou added.  

Upon hearing that the duo had just gotten done registering, she broke out into a warm smile.

"Well no wonder I don’t remember you, you're new!" She inclined her long neck in the best bow she could manage. "Welcome to the Researchers Guild! I'm Kali, I'm one of the Assistants here. Pleased to meet you! And you are…?"

Sean puffed out his chest and saluted his superior as he introduced himself, “Name’s Sean Colton! Nice to meet you!”

On the other hand, Houtarou opted for a more subdued take for his introduction. “Houtarou Fueki.” He bowed to Kali slightly. “Dozo yoroshiku.”

Kali blinked at the unfamiliar phrase but nevertheless smiled once again. "Nice names you got there!” She gave Houtarou and Sean the impression of a positive-minded individual. “You don't hear many like that around here, but then again Andalusst is kind of a mish-mash of a whole bunch of different kinds of names. It's always nice to hear 'em since Pokémon do tend to come in from all over the place, after all. And speaking of which, did you guys get here from the fog or something?"

“Nah, I’ve lived here with my Big Sis for as long as I could remember.” Sean grinned and tapped his head. “No fuzzy memories in here, ma’am.”

The Flygon smiled down at Sean and patted his head. “Good for you.” She then looked at Houtarou. “What about—” Kali’s words died at the back of her throat when she saw the Luxio looking away with a sad and dejected expression. Clearing her throat, she abandoned her question and tenderly told him, “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

At those words, Houtarou met Kali’s gaze and nodded gratefully.

Kali smiled in return and patted his shoulder, noting the subtle flinch and immediately retracting her arm back. “Anyway,” she coughed, “now that you're here and you've been registered as a team, what name did you pick?"

In contrast to her previous questions, Sean crossed his arms this time around and stared at the ground. “It takes some getting used to,” he admitted. “I have a hard time remembering it…but—” His smile returned. “—I like it.”

“Hyouka,” Houtarou answered nonchalantly. “I chose it on a whim, but it means ‘ice cream’ or ‘frozen dessert’ if you’re curious.”

The Assistant laughed lightly in response, but out of admiration than mockery. "Hah, that's so much better than the name I used when I signed up, wow. I was kind of, uh, young and silly back then, I guess you could say, so the name I used was... yeeeeaaaaah, pretty bad."

”Bad naming sense coupled with klutziness,” the Luxio pondered yet again. ”Just how did you survive?”

"So what's your reason for joining the Guild, anyway?” Kali posed another question.

While Sean was happy that his superior was paying so much attention to them, he could not help but feel like he was in an interrogation.

“There are three guilds here in Andalusst, and even if I like it here with the Researchers, I know it's not the best fit for everyone since we're kinda knowledge-oriented; you could've just as easily registered with the Hunters, or the Explorers. So why here?"

Houtarou played with his forelock and shrugged. “I didn’t want to join any guild in the first place,” he divulged, much to Sean and Kali’s confusion. “I’m only joining the Researchers at my Sis’s behest, lest I suffer her aikido holds.” He shuddered when he thought of the last time that happened—he could not walk for three whole days.

“Your sister?” Kali tilted her head slightly. “Is she a Researcher by any chance?”

“Hai” came the confirmation. “Tomoe Fueki.”

Kali hummed before she widened her eyes in realization. “Oh now I see why you look so familiar!” she chuckled heartily. “You’re Tomoe’s little bro! She talks about you all the time! She and I go way~ back! Great to have another Fueki on board!”

”Great…” Houtarou smothered a groan. ”Now that she knows who I am, she’ll be watching me like a Braviary.”

Sean went next. “Well, ever since our parents died,” he began, “Big Sis has been my guardian. The whole thing with the Great Statue made me realize that I’ve never been grateful to her, that I’ve just been imposing on her. I need to become an adult as soon as possible…so I can stop being a burden to Big Sis and actually help her out.” He nodded to himself as he passionately stated, “And I think joining the Researchers Guild is a crucial towards becoming an adult.”

Houtarou glanced down at Sean with a hint of respect in his eyes. He never knew the Chespin could be so mature when he put his mind to it.

Kali listened intently as Sean told her his story, her earlier cheerful expression changing to one of thoughtful consideration. She then breathed in wonder, "Wow, that's quite a tale! Not many Pokémon come through here with a story like that. Seems like everyone in the Guilds has a driving force behind what they do, and some reasons are... well, better than others."

She paused momentarily, her voice regaining its chipper tone almost instantly. "So that’s the "why" and the "how". What about the "what"? What do you think made the Guild decide to accept you into the ranks?" She said this with honest curiosity, not a trace of taunt or teasing in her tone.

“Well, I really don’t know to be honest,” Sean said in a self-depreciating tone of voice. “I mean, I guess I’m kinda strong…but I’m not particularly smart. I didn’t know if a knowledge-oriented guild would suit me…but that nice Goodra lady said that I’ve a fervent desire to improve myself and that the Researchers strive for self-improvement in every aspect.” He suddenly giggled. “Also, I think my cuteness won her over.”

“No sign of arrogance there,” Houtarou remarked sarcastically.

Sean pouted at his older partner. “Hey, that’s mean.”

“Deal with it. Anyway, as for—”  

Kali cut him off. “No need for you to tell me,” she said with a grin. “Tomoe’s already told me all about what you’re capable of.”

Houtarou gave Kali a half-lidded stare. “I’m sure she did,” he grumbled.

The Flygon giggled before she got back on topic. “Anyway, you guys are lucky. Y'know, sometimes I wish I had a better skill set like that so that I’d maybe be more help to the Guild. Pretty much the only things I do around here are draw and deliver papers everywhere and, well, get stuck helping Archie.” The last part was said with so much venom that Houtarou, as the more aura-sensitive Pokémon, felt the temperature drop a couple of degrees.

"I mean, yeah sure he's one of the Guild Leaders, but he's just so...so...annoying, always bossing people around and taking credit for everything and acting like he's so much smarter than everyone else. And I'm always the one having to put up with him since someone has to help him but everyone else always runs off before they get stuck with him instead!"

Kali let out a great huff of frustration, glancing away for a moment before recalling that she had an audience. Giving off an embarrassed chuckle as her face slowly reddened, she said, "And oh gosh, there I go running my mouth, ahaha! Sorry, I'm not talking too much or anything, am I? I kind of have a tendency to ramble on sometimes...”

”Understatement of the century,” Houtarou murmured softly.

“And I probably really shouldn’t be bad-mouthing Archimedes...”

With a sudden, panicked expression abruptly crossing her face as she remembered the mass of paper she had to deliver, she blurted, "And OH MY GOSH I still need to take care of these!"

She promptly lifted the stack of paper and slung her blueprints tube over her shoulder as she started to run down the hall, abruptly pulling an about-face—accidentally whacking a passerby with her tail in the process—to stammer, "Uh, it was nice meeting you! I'll, er, see you later, I hope?" She attempted to raise an arm to wave back, but stopped when the paper pile in her arms started to wobble precariously; instead, she flashed Houtarou and Sean a quick grin before stomping briskly away.

Sean stared at the departing Flygon. “She was pretty nice,” he commented. “Right, Houtarou?” When the Luxio did not respond, the Chespin curiously turned around, only to see the former walking away from him. “Hey, where are you going?”

“The dorms.”

“Oh come on~”

And thus their argument commenced once again.

---