A human transformed into a Skitty awakens at the prompting of a concerned Treecko, who introduces herself as Willow. The Skitty has no memories of how they became a Pokémon but recalls his name: Chamomile. Willow chuckles at the name before a frantic Butterfree comes by, worrying about her son Caterpie who fell into a fissure. At Willow's prompting, she and Chamomile head into the Tiny Woods to save him.
Chamomile's Fake Out makes quick work of most Pokémon in their path, whether asleep or awake, and with Willow's Quick Attack and Dragon Breath attacks backing him up, they reach the third basement without a scratch, finding Caterpie crying. They return him to his mother and receive thanks from both of them; when they leave, Willow asks Chamomile what he'll do next, and after receiving no response, leads him to a hut to live in and proposes to form a Rescue Team to help Pokémon like Caterpie. Chamomile refuses at first, but caves to Willow's begging and receives a red scarf to commemorate the occasion, with Willow donning a blue one herself. Chamomile chooses the name Team Rose Thorn and promises to do their best beginning the next day.
Chamomile awoke the next morning, nonplussed to still find himself a Skitty, and recalled his promise with Willow the previous day. Exiting his house, he found Willow asleep on the front walk; she awakened with a start, explaining she'd come at dawn to wait but had dozed off. After an exuberant exclamation to begin the rescue team, she sheepishly added that they didn't have any requests yet. She checked the house's mailbox and found the rescue team starter kit, including a badge and toolbox, but no requests. Promptly, a Pelliper arrived and delivered a message to the mailbox, requesting help for a pair of Magnemite stuck together in Thunderwave Cave. Chamomile declined the offer twice, but once again conceded out of a desire to earn Willow's friendship.
Arriving at the cave, they found two Magnemite waiting outside, who told them that their friends were in the sixth basement. Team Rose Thorn entered and had little trouble with the hostile Pokémon within; Chamomile spent a bit of time and stamina playing around with Willow, chasing her back and headbutting her gently, which also helped them practice maneuvering around each other. With this continued practice, they navigated through their opponents with ease, Willow often hanging back to pick up items or line up her Dragon Breath attacks. Almost halfway through, Chamomile grew to Level 6, and shortly thereafter, he gave Willow leadership for a bit. Chamomile took out a Poochyena as Willow approached it, allowing Willow to grow to Level 6 as well. Chamomile cautioned that they should be careful and Willow cautioned against female Nidoran and encouraged them forward.
It grew a bit difficult near the end as Willow ran out of Dragon Breath and Chamomile took a few hits, getting paralyzed by an Elekid and coming close to fainting with hunger on the final stretch. Willow took command, gently pushing Willow partway there and allowing him to walk on his own as they reached the sixth basement, rescued the trapped Magnemite, and returned home.
Willow confessed afterward that she was glad it had gone well but had been very nervous since it was their first time. Tired, she returned to the Overgrown Forest in the east, and Chamomile retired to his bed as well. That night, he had a strange dream where he thought someone was there with him, but could not see or hear them.
Chamomile awakened early and, after some morning stretches and running, checked the mailbox, finding no requests. Willow came up a moment later and, learning that they had no requests, led Chamomile to Pokémon Square. After she gave a brief tour, they went to the Pelliper Post Office and accepted every job available on the bulletin board.
Team Rose Thorn spent the morning in Pokémon Square, taking advantage of the facilities. They reviewed dungeon basics at the Makuhita Dojo, reaping Makuhita's generous rewards, and then Chamomile redeemed a bronze ticket to run through one of the mazes. In 50 seconds, he managed to defeat two Shelgon and three Kingler, causing him to grow three levels to Level 9, upon which he declined to learn Sing. Choosing to save the other tickets for another day, they moved to the Link Shop. After some deliberation, they decided to link Willow's Quick Attack and Dragon Breath as an experiment. Finally, they finished preparing themselves, selling the Gold Ribbon from Makuhita to get a Shadow Ball TM that they stored for Chamomile to learn at a later date, prepared the toolbox, and deposited their excess items and money. With that done, they set out for the day's rescue mission.
They chose to accept the one request in Tiny Woods first, as that dungeon was currently providing high rewards. The dungeon offered no challenge, though Willow experienced some trouble with her linked moves due to Quick Attack's much shorter range than Dragon Breath. Nonetheless, they rescued the Plusle they came to save and, after fighting enough that Chamomile and Willow each grew a level, completed the dungeon. After receiving their rewards, Willow complimented them on their work that day, and they called it a night.
Why Emile Chose Skitty
The personality quiz Emile received at the start of the game designated him as being "the naïve type," and matched his personality to Skitty. Aside from deciding to go with what fate gave him, Emile considered Skitty one of the three 'god-tier' starters, along with Pikachu and Cubone: Skitty has incredible potential to immobilize enemies with its Ability of Cute Charm and the move Attract, which it learns at an early level, and a wide move pool, including the multi-hit Doubleslap, the long-range Ice Beam, the wide-range Thunderbolt, and the room-spanning Blizzard. Finally, he mentioned it would be good for anyone who was tired of Skitty being weak in the main series games.
Emile claimed he was going undercover while in the Pokémon world, and "Chamomile" is a portmanteau of the words "camo" and "Emile". It is also the name of an herb often used in tea, which fits with the grassy theme that he began with Willow.[1]
Other Considerations
Emile: He decided against his own name due to wanting originality.[1]
Nova: He considered this name for the moon on Skitty's face and the Fairy-type moves it learn.[1]
Blake: He considered this name because the Skitty is, in a sense, half-human half-cat like the RWBY character of the same name.[1]
Chamomile is the second of Emile's starter Pokémon to be a Normal-type, after Voltaire (as an Eevee).
As Voltaire switched to Electric-Type when he evolved, Chamomile is Emile's first starting Pokémon to always be a Normal-Type.
Choosing Skitty would have been impossible in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team, the game Emile intended to play at first, as the species was gender-locked to only female players.
1Transferred to Pokémon Platinum, 2traded away, 3transferred to Pokémon Emerald, 4rented from Battle Factory, 5Wonder Traded away, 6transferred to Pokémon White, 7Masae played Black for Emile off-screen
