PMD Application -- The Philanthropists

The rain poured from the sky and the gales howled. Two Pokemon stood in front of the warm house in the night. One of them, a Zorua, rather big for his kind, paced back and forth "Aw come on," the fox said, "how long does he expect us to keep waiting?"

His accomplice, a Sneasel, tall and lanky with a sleek black feather on his ear as opposed to the more common color of red watched the fox with disdain. He shook his head. "I'm fend up with waiting," he announced, speaking in a thick foreign accent. "I'm going in." The Sneasel stormed up the wooden door and knocked, angrily. The door opened so quickly that he nearly lost his footing. A Ninetales (an oddly colored one—gray?) stood in the doorway with a slight smirk on his face.

"Come in, come in! My goodness, come in! I can't believe you've all been waiting outside in the rain all this time!" He wrapped his tails around the Sneasel and ushered him in. The Zorua quickly followed, eager to get out of the rain. "You could have knocked earlier, you know!" the Ninetales said as he closed the door behind him.

"Excuse me!?" the Sneasel snarled. "We were waiting out zere and—and you knew it! You little--" The Zorua quickly elbowed the Sneasel. The ice type glared at the dark fox, but kept quiet, muttering insults under his breath. The Ninetales ignored him.

"My name is Callahan, or Calla, for short," he said happily. "I'm the guild registrar, you know. I'm quite good at it!"

The Zorua smiled warmly. "Well I'm Raposa," he said, "and this is--"

The Ninetales did not hesitate for the response. "Oh, please allow me to take your belongings, they're all wet! I'll just hang them in front of the fireplace to dry as we go over the formalities."

The Ninetales snatched the ratty old black scarf that was draped around Raposa's neck and looked at the Sneasel. "I left my things at home," the ice type huffed. Callahan said nothing but hurried to the grand fireplace to hang Raposa's scarf.

"And the paperwork, of course!" the Ninetales said as he padded back over to them, to his desk. "There will be a lot of that, don't you worry one bit!"

Raposa nodded while the Sneasel glared at the Ninetales. Callahan ignored him.

"You do have the forms that we've mailed you filled out, yes? That does always make things go much quicker here."

Raposa fished for the papers in his makeshift bag and placed them on the Ninetales desk, neatly and proudly. He was happy he had kept it out the rain. Only a few drops had managed to damage the papers.

"What's this?" Callahan said as he looked through the papers. "These forms are soaking wet.. and the ink has run! Goodness, we're in for a lot more paperwork than I could have hoped to dream of!"

Raposa opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself. The Sneasel on the other hand, did not. "Well maybe if you hadn't kept us out in ze rain--" The Zorua elbowed him again, sharply. The Sneasel bit his lip and glared at Raposa. But he kept quiet. And, again, Callahan brushed him off.

"No matter," the Ninetales said cheerily, "I have spare forms, and all the time in the world! I trust you have no pressing appointments yet, so I'll write down your information now."

"Sure. Whatever," the Sneasel muttered.

"With your help, of course," Callahan said.

The Sneasel glared at the fox. A small, barely noticeable smile crept onto Callahan's face. Then he turned back to Raposa.

"Let's get right down to it, shall we? My fastest time for entering a team in the official guild registrar is a touch under a few hours; let's see if we can break the record!" The Ninetales dipped one of his nine tails into a bottle of ink.  "All right now.. names, please?"

"Well I'm Raposa, as I said," the Zorua said with a hint of annoyance. "And this is Belette."

"Ahh.. what.. commo- er, good names you all have!" Callahan said "How do you spell them?"

"Raposa is R. A. P. O. S. A.," Raposa replied.

"And Belette is B. E. L. E. T. T. E.," Belette said.

"Interesting spelling!" Callahan exclaimed as he penned the names down. "Are you foreign? French, perhaps?"

"Well Belette's French but I'm Portuguese," Raposa replied without missing a beat.

Callahan stared at the fox. "Excuse me?"

"Portuguese. You know, Portugal?"

Callahan shook his head. He obviously had no idea what Raposa was talking about. "Ah, no, forget it, France is just made up here, you know. Often used as comic relief. Er, just forget that. Moving on! What alias do you wish to give you lot of fellows? I hope it's something good! I've been so bored by Pokemon insisting to use a name like "Team Awesome" or anything of the sort. More like "Team Mediocrity," I like to think! I'm sure you have a much more original name."

Raposa's grin faded. Oh dear. He didn't think of a name. How could he have forgotten a name!? The most important part of the process. He looked at Belette, but the Sneasel had a blank look on his face. "Um..." the Zorua could tell that the Ninetales was getting impatient. He racked his brain for a name. Name, name, name! "The... um... Philanthropists?"

"I knew you wouldn't let me down!" Callahan smiled. "Is that the normal spelling, or do you insist on losing letters, or replacing them altogether entirely?"

"Um... nope. Just The Philanthropists," Raposa said. Belette was giving him a confused look. Apparently he didn't know what a philanthropist was.

"And.. done," the Ninetales penned the team name on the forms. "All right! Next topic!" Callahan turned his full attention to Raposa. "You there, lad!" he said, pointing a tail at the Zorua. "You seem to be the leader of the team, here. Why don't you tell me about yourself? Please make it interesting! I'm not filing a police report, you know. I don't get paid for this, either. I do it for the stories people tell! Everyone has a story! However, I do hope yours isn't filled to the brim with angst and darkness, you know. We have enough of that as it is with the recent crises we've been going through! If you insist on weaving a yarn of incredible sadness and general malaise, please make it good. I'll discern the necessary details from your story and put it down in the log book here." He gestured towards the neat little book on his desk.

Raposa cleared his throat. "Okay... Where to start? Well... my name is Raposa. Well, actually it's La Raposa. But I just go by Raposa. That means fox, by the way. So my name is Raposa and I'm a Zorua. A rather big one as you can see. I think it's because my family went through generations of interbreeding or something and at some point there was a Lucario in there and a Ninetales somewhere. So because of all that I'm pretty big. Oh! And my tail!" Raposa brushed his tail on the desk, smiling. "See how fluffy and neat it is! And my hair tuft too. I take good care of those. I'm very proud of my lineage. See I know some really nice moves that I think--" He stopped himself. Raposa could see Callahan's eyes glazing over. He coughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject.

"So I'm from Alomolamola City. Loved that place. And um... My parents were merchants. They were pretty well off. Made a lot of money. And, being the great kid I was, I wanted to help out. So I would go around and find trinkets for my parents to sell. Of course they didn't make a lot of money. So then I get a little more... clever. I started to um..." Raposa trailed off. He'd hit a bump in his tale. He bit his lip and tried to think of a better word. "I started to... borrow... some things..." His eyes shifted around. Obviously the things he borrowed were never returned. Callahan raised an eyebrow as he wrote, but made no comment. Raposa continued.

"So... after awhile my business started to really flourish. So when I got older I decided to leave my city and travel and..." he paused again, once again searching for a better word. "...Collect more things to sell. And I made a lot of money. So I was traveling for a few years. It was great. Went back home now and then, saw my family. But then I met this guy." The fox gestured to Belette. "I was in Steel City one day and was setting up my stand to sell all the stuff I got and then one of my prized treasures was gone! This nice gold necklace I um... got from a nice old lady. Anyway, I was mad because that thing was worth a lot so, naturally, I went looking for it. And you know who has it? This little Sneasel here. And you know what he was doing with it!?" Raposa paused. Callahan didn't say anything. The Zorua coughed awkwardly and continued "... That's right! He was trying to sell it! This little scamp was doing the same old trick I'd been doing for years." The Zorua's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. Oops. He'd just admitted that he stole from people and then sold their valuables. Raposa quickly continued, hoping the Ninetales hadn't noticed. "And um... so I got back my necklace and tried talking to the guy, tried to get his name, but he wouldn't speak to me. I could barely understand him anyway with that weird way of speaking... But, you know, he was interesting! So I pestered him and asked him questions. But he still wouldn't speak to me. He wanted to get rid of me. So a couple of months went by and I kept on seeing him. Everywhere, I tell you! It was like he was following me."

"You were ze one following me," Belette growled.

Raposa looked as his acquaintance with mock surprise. "What!? No I wasn't!"

"Yes! Every time I turned around zere you were! You followed me for--"

"My apologies, Belette, but this is my story, not yours."

The Sneasel bit his lip and looked away. He would save his anger for later. Raposa smiled and continued.

"So anyway, I finally confronted him and asked if he wanted to be partners and start a business together. It took awhile and, I admit, a lot of pestering, but he agreed. So, here we are, ready to start our team."

Belette glared at the fox but said nothing. He sat there with a burning anger in his gut.

Callahan smiled as he finished writing. "What an enchanting tale! I can see why you'd probably like to join the Rogues!"

"What!?" Raposa cried, "That's insane! Why would we do that?"

Callahan smiled warmly. "Well you admitted that you two were thieves. You'd be a perfect addition to those shady Rogues!"

"No! No we are not thieves!" Raposa protested, "We're businessmen! We don't steal! We want to be merchants!"

"Are you sure?" The Ninetales said smugly.

"Yes! Yes, we're sure!"

Callahan nodded and turned to Belette, who had been standing and seething with rage. "And you there, lad, what is your story? Your leader has done an excellent job of keeping me awake at this late hour, I hope you do the same!"

Belette, smiled, eager that is was finally his turn to speak. "Alright. First things first..." he jabbed a claw at Raposa. "You see zat fox? He is not my friend. I did not follow him for months. He followed me! Do you know what it is like to have zat... zat annoying little zing following you for months!? Everywhere I turned he was zere! He pestered me constantly. And he knew he was annoying me! Yes, he knew it! He had zat dumb smile on his face! See look! He has it on now." Raposa was, indeed, grinning like a madman. He clearly enjoyed seeing Belette all riled up like that. The Sneasel sighed deeply. "No. No never mind. I could go on for hours about that fox. But no. About me. Okay. First up, ze accent. I'm not sure what it is. I'm not sure why I have it. I guess it is because I traveled a lot and never settled down and met a lot of different Pokemon and picked up on the way they spoke. I like to say I'm from Steel City because I was born near zere. And my parents? Don't remember them. Don't really care. I've been alone all my life and, frankly, I love it. I love being alone. No one to pester me... no one. But living alone was hard sometimes. Until I became a talented thief." Raposa scowled at Belette. "Yes. I said it. I am a thief. But unlike fox boy, I am not afraid to admit it. I stole food, valuables, whatever I could get my claws on. And, like Raposa, I was able to pawn ze treasures I'd stolen. And I made a lot of money. And, like Raposa, I traveled. So that I came across him one day and, yes, stole his little necklace. I sold zat for good money, by ze way. Anyway, one day I was walking alone and I see zis little shadow. It was the little fox again! He followed me! For months he followed me. Asking for ze name, where I was from! He never left me alone. I couldn't take it! He wanted to make a team! He said he knew a nice little place! We could make a lot of money! I could not take it! I gave in! And now... now here I am with zat fox and I'm stuck here!" Belette sighed deeply and calmed himself. He shook his head. "Nozing I can do about it now."

Callahan appeared to be very bored, despite Belette's fiery rant. "Very well, then!" he said as he finished writing "It seems I have all I need in order to register you here in our peaceful Tao Village! Just to make sure all the facts are correct, please look over them and sign your initials at the bottom!" He pushed the papers over to them. "Don't forget to sign off on your belongings! You wouldn't believe how many people forget their accessories, only to leave them here with me!" The Ninetales swished his paint tipped tails over to the Pokemon.

"Aw what?" Raposa complained. "We have to write with those?" He bit his lip and, reluctantly grabbed the tail. Belette did the same, but with less complaint. Verbally, at least. The look on his face proved that he was unhappy.

"More paperwork... stupid fox," Belette whispered, just loud enough for only Raposa to hear him.

"Shut up and do it," Raposa said as he started to fill out the papers. "Alright. Team name. The Philanthropists... uh oh. How do you spell that?"

"Give me zat!" Belette snatched the paper from Raposa. "If you can not spell, I will do it for you." He started to fill out the forms, furiously.

Team Name: The Philanthropists                                                                                        
Rank: Chatot

Member 1: La Raposa the Zorua (Male)
Member 2: La Belette the Sneasel (Male)
Member 3:
Member 4:

Member 1 Trait & Personality: Impish, thoroughly cunning
Member 2 Trait & Personality: Serious, somewhat vain
Member 3 Trait & Personality:
Member 4 Trait & Personality:

Member 1 moves:
Shadow Ball – Raposa's favorite move. A tiny black orb is shot from his mouth like a bullet. Raposa is very accurate with this move.

Thief – Raposa swipes at his opponent with his claws and snags whatever valuable he can get. If there is nothing valuable, he just claws the foe.

Sucker Punch – Raposa waits until his opponent is about to make a move and punches him/her before they can attack. Raposa loves using this move because it is very annoying.

Detect – Raposa's eyes gleam and he narrowly sidesteps the oncoming attack. This is usually followed by a Sucker Punch for extra annoyance.

Member 2 moves:
Faint Attack – Belette's go to move. He disappears briefly and comes up from behind the opponent, attacking them with his claws

Slash – Belette attacks the opponent with his claws

Hone Claws – Belette sharpens his claws rapidly. Usually done silently so his sneak attack will be more effective

Ice Shard – Belette conjures up small knife like shards of ice and throws them at the opponent. Often done while hidden.

Member 3 moves:
Member 4 moves:

Member 1 accessories: Long, ratty, black scarf tied around neck
Member 2 accessories: None
Member 3 accessories:
Member 4 accessories:

Desired Guild affiliation: Merchants

By signing here, you agree that the above information is correct and true to the best of your knowledge.

Signature 1: La Raposa Date: 5/20/12
Signature 2: La Belette Date: 5/20/12
Signature 3: Date:
Signature 4: Date:

With a tired sigh, Belette let go of Callahan's tail. "Zere. Finished. Can we go now?"

"What's that, you say?" Callahan said with a grin. "There are only two of you?"

"What? I never said--"

"Of course I know that! I do have eyes, you know! What if, during your travels, you decide to recruit, or add on an extra member to your team? Would you really want them to fill out all this paperwork from scratch? There's no problem with me for that, I assure you! This is just a convenient foresight! There is only room enough for four signatures on here, though, so please, no more members than that!"

"I don't think we're going to have any more members," Raposa said. "I think it's just going to be me and him."

Belette glowered at Raposa. The illusion fox laughed. And Callahan smiled. This made Belette angrier.

"Well, now! I don't think I'll keep you here any longer, I have everything I need from you! I haven't broken any records for time tonight, though. Your story took up quite a bit of it! (Thankfully, it didn't put me to sleep.. it's happened before). Oh well! Time to conclude our business here!"

Callahan started to push them out with his tails. They were halfway out the door when Raposa realized that his scarf was still hanging over the fire place. "H-hey!" the fox cried. "Give me my scarf back!"

"Of course! My mistake!" The Ninetales hurried to the fireplace and tossed the scarf outside, into the rain. The scarf landed on the soaked ground.

"Aw what the hell, man!?" Raposa whined as he wrapped the soaking scarf around his neck.

"Alright, Raposa," Belette growled, "You listen up. I am only here to make money. You do not forget zat, yes?"

Raposa rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say. You came here completely voluntarily, you know."

"No! I did not! Stop saying zat!"

Raposa chuckled. "Okay, okay. Whatever. Come on. Let's get out of zis rain." The fox smiled when Belette glared at him for mocking his accent. But, again, the Sneasel said nothing and the two "businessmen" walked off into the rainy night.