Cotton was busy humming quietly to herself while she prepared a chalkboard and different berries, today she would be teaching Tamao and Inari first aid. She could only hope for the best as she had no idea how much they do, or don't, know. Really she was hoping they didn't know anything between the two of them as that would make her life easier.

Them being at the same level of knowledge would allow Cotton to make plans for what they would be learning, hopefully, they knew the basics but you never know. They could also know everything she was gonna try to teach them, that would be the best-case scenario and she could teach them advanced stuff but that likely wouldn't happen for a long time.

Though with how little Cotton knows about Tamao he could be an experienced surgeon and she'd have no clue. There was an air of mysteriousness around him but not a dangerous one. Like an Uncle, you haven't met before you're just now meeting at a family gathering.

She didn't know where she was going with this analogy but suddenly heard Inari's voice come from the hall outside the infirmary.

"So, why didn't you tell us the real story of how you got here when you were in the infirmary?" Definitely talking to Tamao. Cotton thought to herself smiling.

"In my defense, I had no real idea where I was or if my memories were real, can ya really blame me?"

"Not really, but that doesn't make it hurt any less."

"Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

"No, you've already done enough to redeem that lie."

"Well, that's nice to hear."

Since when could he talk! This better be a new development or I will throw him down this mountain! While Cotton was going on her mental tirade Tamao and Inari entered, Inari having a little extra pep in her step this morning.

Smiling Cotton waved them over. Tamao was the first to speak.

"It appears this morning my vocal cords have been healed. It's a pleasure to speak with you Cotton finally." Tamao spoke calmly with a smile while stretching out one of his paws to shake Cotton's.

"It's great to see your recovery is going well, when could you first start speaking?"

"On the way here. I broke out into a coughing fit and here we are, it is nice to be able to communicate better."

After a short bit of talking Cotton finally decided to start the lesson. "Alright, how much experience do the two of you have when it comes to performing first aid and helping injured mons?"

"I know the basics about berries and how to stop bleeding, other than that I'm sort of lost," Tamao said scratching behind his ear.

"I'm similar, though I also know how to reset broken bones and make splints for them."

"That's perfect, a lot of the next few weeks will be going over basics and how to handle different kinds of injuries. Get comfortable 'cause first I'm going over all sorts of berries that will help you with victims of disasters." Taking a deep breath Cotton continued.

"First and foremost Oran berries promote general healing and can give injured Pokemon strength, they are the most common type of berry that will be sold in markets. Next, we'll go over Cheri berries, they are great for healing paralysis when it isn't caused by a bone or muscle-related injury, and great for any electrical paralysis like getting struck by lightning during a severe storm of some kind. Then there are Pecha berries which will probably be one of the least used types of berries for you, unless you can think of a disaster that can cause someone to be poisoned, besides that they are great to have in dungeons. Now we'll cover the rawst berry, say someone is trapped in a fire and gets burned a Rawst berry is perfect to help the healing process and ease any pain the victim is in. Now Chesto berries will be your best friend out in the field, apart from Oran berries anyway, Chesto berries help with exhaustion and will help you wake up when you're tired. That's why they are often used to make coffee. Any questions?"

Tamao and Inari shook their heads as they already knew this but a refresher never hurt.

"Next I'll go over more specific ways you can use berries while out in the field. Oran berries can not only be ingested to heal any bruising and scratches but say you have a deeper wound that won't be healed immediately, you can squeeze the juice into a wound to speed up the healing process. One good squeeze and a bandage and the wound should be gone by morning, obviously though that depends on how deep and large the wound it. A berry can only do so much, after all, any questions about Oran berries?"

The next few berries were very simple with each being most effective through ingestion, besides Pecha berries which were best squeezed directly into the injection point of the poison. It was refreshingly simple with how Cotton was explaining everything helping Tamao and Inari see berries in a new light.

After the day's training concluded Inari and Tamao were walking through the halls when Tamao suddenly remembered something, he hadn't had a bath since he got here.

"This is a bit awkward to ask, but, is there a hot spring nearby?" Tamao asked Inari nervously.

"Yeah, there's one on the bottom floor of the guild. Just follow me and I'll show you."

As they went down each floor of the guild Tamao found his mind wandering to many topics. Like was Nightshade on this planet? Or was he on a different planet? Tamao and his friends never got the chance to read about whether the obelisk had a set planet it would take you to or if it was random.

There was also the topic of the disasters happening and what the cause could be, though they could never fully go away the frequency with which they were occurring was quite concerning. Disasters were common on Zocarive but even that was nothing compared to here.

While Tamao was lost in his thoughts he suddenly collided with a warm furry object in front of him knocking himself over with the "object" stumbling slightly.

"Sorry inari! Guess I should pay attention when I'm walking." Tamao laughed nervously.

"It's fine Tamao, a lot's been happening. Best to get your thinking done when we aren't on missions though."

"You are too nice to me, you know that?" Tamao said playfully.

Inari rolled her eyes as she pointed to a doorway, "Come on, it's right this way."

As they entered Tamao took note of how much privacy was given, there were rooms built around each hot spring which he greatly appreciated. He liked privacy what else could he say? It's just awkward to share a hot spring with a complete stranger, at least in Tamao's opinion.

Walking into a vacant hot spring Tamao was quick to enter it as he gladly accepted the feeling of the warm water loosening all the dirt he had accumulated on his fur since the last time he used a hot spring... Tamao would rather not think of how long ago that was...

As Inari got in she seemed to melt into the warm water. "I needed this today," Inari commented smiling at Tamao who smiled back.

"You can say that again, feels nice to just relax for the first time in a while."

"Yeah, how much have you been able to relax in the last few weeks?"

"Apart from near-death experiences and recovering from them... maybe thirty minutes?"

"Sheesh Tamao, how are you functioning so well?"

"Practice!" Tamao exclaimed jokingly accidently splashing Inari with some water.

"You are quite the character Tamao. I guess you can learn a lot about someone when they can talk. Before I took you as the silent brooding type, not some ball of energy that likes to crack jokes."

"What can I say? I just like to have fun whenever I can."

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"HEY SHADE! COME LOOK AT THIS!"

"I'm right beside you! Jeez, man."

"Hehe, sorry Shade, got a little excited. But look at this temple! It's massive! I've never seen anything like it, let's go inside!"

One of the mons entered the large pyramid-shaped temple excitedly looking at the many artifacts scattered around.

"I don't think anyone has ever been here before! This is so exciting!"

"It is indeed Zen. Let's go down though, I want to see what's at the bottom of this place."

"You think it's treasure?"

"I have a suspicion of what's at the bottom, but I won't know until I see it."

The two explorers descended the many flights of stairs that led to the bottom dodging the occasional trap designed to protect the artifacts. Though Zen couldn't help but be put on edge the lower they went, something was off with this place and he wasn't excited to find out what.

He would find out sooner than he hoped as they entered a large chamber, inside sat a large stone statue of three mons, a Meowth, a Shinx, and an Eevee. There appeared to be something enscribed at the base and as they got closer Zen felt like he was about to vomit. But he pushed onward.

Glancing down at the base of the statue Zen wiped away some of the dust to be able to read better holding a makeshift torch over the words.

'The demise of Zocarive may be shrouded in mystery to those of today, but there are some who know the truth. The team with the Meowth, Shinx, and Eevee attempted to stop it all, only to fail. While Shinx and Meowth met their demise before the planet, Eevee is still out there awaiting the return of the destroyer of Zocarive. If you are reading this, may Arceus have mercy on your soul. Victim of Nightshade, destroyer of life.'

"That's weird, this place looks ancient but this statue can't be more than a few years old."

"Yeah, that is weird. Zen, why don't you go look at that table over there? See if anything on it has more information."

Nodding Zen walked over to said table and began looking over what was on it. Most of which were just a bunch of random jars, some appeared to be holding different liquids, and some held berries Zen had never seen before. What really caught Zen's eye was what appeared to be a brand new piece of paper filled with words in a language he hadn't seen in a long time, since he actually learned the language he had never seen it written in the world he'd lived on his whole life

Glancing down Zen began to read. 'It has been fifty days since I awoke in this world, and it has been terrifying. Disasters happen every day and I've nearly died many times, but that doesn't matter. I have written this note dozens of times but if you're reading this it is too late to save me. I have known for a while that I didn't have much time, the corruption in my mind told me enough, dear whoever finds this not named Nightshade. Beware of these temples, within them they hold ancient tablets with the powers of the Gods that created all life. Don't let them fall into the wrong hands or the end of this world will arrive just as swiftly as it did for Zocarive. Tamao, if you have managed to find this first, then I wish to say I am sorry. I failed you again and both times it was inexcusable, I had my chance to save this world as well as Zocarive. But I believed that Nightshade had some good in him still, how foolish I am. Nightshade if you're reading this, then I only have a few words to say. I can't wait to see you in the underworld since I know I'm not going to the clouds. Sincerely, Janet.'