Pokemon Ranger: Fade to Darkness
Prologue
8 months ago
Normal POV
Almia Times
Pueltown Attacked: No confirmed deaths, 10 missing people.
Pokémon Poachers!?
5 days later
Isabel's POV
My eyes fluttered open, not to the comforting view of my bedroom, but to a hallway, with tile floor and instead of a bed, it was a chair. The light of the night moon was visible through the windows that circled the hallway. I slowly stood up from the chair and looked around. Where were mom and dad? I figured they were fine though, after all, they were rangers. Still, I was worried, and stood up, surveying the hallway. Suddenly, the door in the middle of the hallway, and an old man came out, and following him were my parents in their ranger uniforms. As they walked towards me, I stared at them in confusion.
"What's going on? Who are you, why are my parents in their work clothes, and where are we right now?
The old man chuckled and turned to my parents. "Quite a curious one isn't she." He said.
My dad had a sheepish grin as he replied. "We must have rubbed off on her."
The old man turned back to me. "My name is Professor Hastings." He explained. "I was talking to your parents about a mission they need to do, and right now, we are in the ranger union."
I stood up and shook my head around, trying to calm down so I could look as professional as possible. "Hello Professor Hastings, my name is Isabel, nice to meet you." I said as I extended my hand for a handshake.
"Nice to meet you too, your parents told me about you." The professor said as he smiled and took my hand. He let go, then he bended his knees a little, his eyes at the same eye level as mine. Now serious, he said. "I have to tell you something, your parents are going to have to stay here at the union for some time to work on their mission and all the rangers in Almia are busy but I have some rangers in Fiore who might be able to take you in until after the mission. They're in Ring Town, it is a lovely place, and I've been there before."
I was slightly unnerved, yet still didn't want to disappoint anyone, especially one of the leaders of the Ranger Union. It was my dream to be a Pokémon ranger, and I didn't want to screw it up.
I could see that he was slightly worried, presumably because of me. "Don't worry Professor, I won't let you down." I said cheerfully, trying to make him relax.
I saw some of the worry disappear from his face, yet it still looked like something was on his mind. A frown flashed on his face, before reverting back to a smile as he faced me and said "I bet you won't, now let's get going shall we? Just say your goodbyes to your parents and we'll get going."
"Yes Professor." I said. After I went to my parents to say farewell and tell them to stay safe, Professor brought me to the entrance of the Ranger Union. As we were walking to the stairs to get to the first floor, I noticed a door open slightly. As I looked in, I saw a boy, about my age, resting in the bed. He looked like he had been injured, and I couldn't tell if he was awake or asleep. As I turned around, I let out a surprised gasp as I saw Professor standing behind me, frowning.
"I'm sorry Professor." I said as I lowered my head slightly
As I looked up, the Professor standing but he didn't look mad."Don't worry about it little one. It is natural for kids like you to be curious, and it is wrong to stifle that curiosity." He frowned again as he looked into the room. "One of our rangers found him on the trail to the Ranger Union. He had been badly injured when we found him, most of the damage was caused by a plasma cannon." I was tempted to ask him to stop but curiosity got the best of me. "We assume he was in Pueltown when it was attacked 5 days ago by the pinchers. Regarding his family, we think the family might have been killed in the attack and he had barely escaped, attempted to make it to the union, and collapsed from his injuries. He was unconscious for 3 days, and has slowly begun to become conscious."
I stared at the boy, intrigued and slightly taken aback from the load of information. "But what's his name?" I asked curiously.
The Professor closed the door and pulled me towards the stairs as he explained. "His name is Alex, the same age as you. Now come on, we can't dilly-dally, we don't have all day. Pueltown is out of service due to the attack so we got a ranger to bring a boat to bring you to Fiore located right next to the Ranger Union, but it would be awful to keep him waiting."
I grinned while I walked, exiting the stairway and entering the ground floor. I don't think the ranger at the boat is the impatient one, have to take note of that for later. As we exited the union, we heard the loud blare of a ship. Turning to the noise, I gasp in awe, staring at the large red ship that was moored in the make ship dock. Professor smiled when he noticed my wide eyed expression. "A beauty isn't she. The Union is one of the best ships we have." He said.
I looked at him confused. "Why this, I mean, it's good and all, but this?" I asked.
The professor frowned a little. "With all of the panic, we need to make sure travel is as safe as possible. We don't mind sending such a big ship; after all, safety is the priority. If it makes you better, we'll use the Union and this port after you get to Fiore as the main public sea traveling ship. Now, shall we proceed?"
I nodded as I said confidently. "I'm ready."
Unfortunately, I had no idea that I wouldn't be ready for anything that came my way. Tragedy, sadness, and panic were all destined for me. But through all that darkness, there was a light. But what was it?
Post-Ending
After Isabel was on her way to Fiore, Professor Hastings was talking to Alex.
"That girl, Isabel, she's pretty nice" He said with a smile, but then went into a frown. "Her parents, they might not come back. Seeing her so sad," Alex sighed ", I don't know what to think.
"Truly, but what can we do. We need them, or we might fail." The Professor said.
Alex's smile returned. "I'll be there for her." He said as he stared at the window near his bed. "Somehow, I'll help her."
