Hi guys! So, something a little different today (and I know you're wondering why this is here instead of an update on Shifters or—possibly—Curse. I'll get to that). This story is…Well, it's interesting. Or at least, I hope it will be when all is said and done, and—

I should stop rambling.

Anyway, I'd like to thank AdmiralDaala1492 for not only accidentally inspiring this fic, but also for letting me borrow characters that (I think) are technically his. I say 'I think' because they're characters I created when he was looking for OCs for his fics, which involve this organization that these characters are a part of…

Well, it's pretty confusing, especially considering the sheer number of OCs we've collaborated on for his fics, which the site apparently ate a couple months back for absolutely no reason at all. I'm also—I think—beta-reading his rewrite of one of said fics, since he's sending the drafts through the PM system and I'm still not entirely sure how being a beta actually works…but considering the rewrite hasn't popped up as of the time this should have, I'm assuming that's what I'm doing. Feel free to correct me on that.

(This fic actually came into being during one of said discussions about the story he put up after the site ate his other works. I recommend you check it out.)

So…I think that's about it. Well, other than why some of you are wondering why this isn't a Shifters chapter. Said chapter is mostly done and hopefully will be up soon, and I promise to include an explanation there. After reading it, I hope you'll understand.

I don't own Pokémon, any concept or character created by AdmiralDaala1492, and until I know otherwise, I'm not very sure about any of the other characters. Nor do I own—obviously—Abney Park's song The Wrong Side, or the fan-made music video that accompanies it. I bring this up because the guy sitting on the wall in the first 22 seconds is basically how I picture Ari looking. So yeah.

Hey Featherboy!"

Ari jumped with a startled yelp, his reading glasses slipping down his nose as he spun around. The large tome he'd been carrying slipped out of his hands, and it was only thanks to Omen's quick Psychic that it didn't land on either the Umbreon or his Trainer's feet. Ignoring the floating book, Ari glared at the two people who had snuck up on him, pushing his glasses back into place. "I t-told you not to call me that, Landon."

The older Agent shrugged good-naturedly. "So?"

"Maybe I don't want to advertise what I am?"

"Oh, come on. We're the only two who know, and that's because we saved your life."

"Landon, sometimes I swear you're denser than a pile of dirt." Ophelia cut in, lightly punching her twin in the arm as she passed him in the hall. Stopping by Ari, she reached out to grasp something in his hair, and he winced as she pulled it out. Then he saw what it was, and his face tried to both pale and blush at the same time. "Not again…"

Ophelia handed him the fluffy brown feather. "At least it matches your hair color this time. White on brown is a little conspicuous, don't you think?"

Ari sighed, slipping the feather into the pocket of his long tan coat. "Yeah, but it means I still spent most of the day walking around with a feather in my hair. I thought I'd caught them all this morning when I returned…"

"Like a feather or two is enough to clue people in. Honestly, do you see some of the things other people get in their hair and then forget about? Why, just the other day—"

"Landon!"

"Whoops, sorry, 'Lia. Just trying to convince Ari here that that little bit of brown fluff isn't going to end the world. Say, Ari, what's with the dictionary?"

Omen let the book drop from where he'd been hovering it at about shoulder-height, and Ari caught it, thanking his Umbreon before tucking it under his arm. "It's actually a compilation of records that I thought it might be useful to go over for one of the other cases. Not that it's really been that useful so far, but we'll see. Anyway, you obviously wanted me for something?"

Ophelia nodded. "Yeah." She pointed at Ari, Landon, and herself. "Brains, brawn, medic."

Ari blinked. "Come again?"

"A mission, dude!" Landon said, good-naturedly heckling the younger agent. "We're going on patrol."

Ophelia nodded, pulling out a map and unfolding it. "Jeremiah wants to patrol this area here, in southern Kalos. There's a nature preserve there, and not only have they recently imported a number of Pokémon, but there have been several incidents of minor vandalism. He's sending us in under the guise of surveying the preserve's population—which we'll be doing anyway—as well as keeping an eye out for the culprits. From the sound of things, it'll be an easy trip."

Refolding the map, she handed it to Ari along with a small envelope. "Here's a more detailed report, as well as some general guidelines for equipment. We meet at the airstrip tomorrow at five AM."

Still looking slightly taken aback, Ari nodded. "I understand. Tomorrow, then?"

"Tomorrow."

With that, the trio parted ways; Ophelia heading down a side-hallway, Landon following after mock-saluting Ari. He watched them go, then, after a moment, looked down at Omen. "Well, I guess the records are going to have to wait."

"Bree." Omen agreed.

Back inside his quarters, Ari placed the last piece of gear on the list on his bed, running a critical eye over everything already there. Medicine, notebooks, various pieces of tech…Some of it he already knew he wouldn't be taking—he had no need, given his…talent—while some of it he'd need to think over. After all, there were any number of events, both likely and unlikely, that could crop up.

Picking up a handful of the equipment, Ari moved it over to his desk, beginning the 'reject' pile. There was a shuffling sound as the various objects hit the wooden surface, and Ari peeked underneath, grinning at what he found.

His Jolteon, Theo, was glaring unamusedly from the middle of a mass of fur of various lengths and textures. No doubt the Electric-type wanted to get up from the makeshift bed Ari had created under there, but considering he was surrounded by fellow Eeveelutions, it wasn't going to be the easiest to do. From the looks of things, Theo had been dozing and Jet, Pixie, and Cas had curled up around him, the Vaporeon and Sylveon to either side, the Glaceon somehow worming her way under his chin. Oracle in turn was leaning against Pixie, and Omen had naturally curled against his Espeon sister when he and Ari had returned. Corran the Leafeon and Kelvin the Flareon were also visible in the muddle, somehow tangled around not only around eachother but with Pixie and Cas, and on top of the whole group were Ari's two Eevee, Darius and Aeon, Aeon's silver fur glinting softly.

Chuckling softly, Ari shook his head before helping extricate Theo, who stretched and hopped up onto the space he had just cleared. Ari scratched his Starter's ears fondly, before returning to the task at hand. "So, bud, ready for another mission?"

Theo gave a soft bark, tilting his head.

"No, I haven't decided who else I'm taking yet. The others are all asleep, remember?"

Another yip.

"No, Theo, you are not going to wake them up. At least, not yet. And no static this time, all right? Remember what Aeon's fur did last time?"

Theo snorted.

"I said no, and that's that. Why are you so stubborn, you old thing?"

The Jolteon growled, though it was more playful than serious. Ari and his Eeveelutions understood eachother better than most Trainers and their Pokémon, and that was even without Ari's unique skill set. Take into account that he'd had Theo the longest out of any of the ten, and it meant that they understood eachother almost perfectly despite the language barrier. "Look, I can understand that. But that was the one mission! Just because I left you behind that one time and things went south doesn't mean anything. And besides, you were at that raid, even if you and I weren't battling together, so you can't claim you weren't there. It's not my fault—or yours—that I got shot." Ari rubbed lightly at his shoulder, which still sometimes ached. The two scars there—one closer to his collarbone, the other nearly nicking the joint—all that remained of the wounds that had sent him tumbling from the sky. Talent or not, he'd been lucky to survive the fall. "Stuff is gonna happen, Theo, whether you're there or not."

"That being said," he continued, reaching out and tweaking the Jolteon's ear, "You're coming this time. Now to figure out who the other five will be."

Of course, this turned out to be relatively easy. Ari had finished his packing by the time the rest of his Pokémon had woken up, and he took a few minutes to explain the upcoming mission to them. Jet and Pixie immediately returned to their spot under the desk, neither of them interested in another mission so soon after their last one. Cas, Kelvin, and Corran had all perked up at the mention of a mission, so it was pretty obvious that they were coming this time.

That just left two open slots, and Ari was debating whether or not he should bring either Darius or Aeon along. After all, they did need to start getting some experience in the field, and a simple patrol would be a good way to begin. The question then became, however, which Eevee to take, and whose spot they would be taking—Oracle and Omen usually both went on the same missions. That problem was solved, however, when Omen gave his sister a lighthearted swat on her flank and joined Jet and Pixie on the makeshift Pokémon bed. After a minute, Darius followed.

Mentally weighing the pros and cons of the team assembled in front of him, Ari decided that it was a good combination and swapped in the necessary Pokéballs, going over a list of things he still needed to do. He glanced at the clock, estimated how long each task would take, and sighed. So much for getting any sleep tonight. Guess I'll be catching up on those hours in the chopper. Joy.

"Alight guys, the next thing we need to do is get you all cleared for duty, and then we can enjoy a nice meal before hitting the sack. What do you say?"

All six of the volunteers whined in dismay, while a loud sigh of relief came from under the desk.

"Look, it's not my rule. Everyone, Pokémon and human, has to get medical clearance twenty-four hours maximum before going on a mission, and I just learned we were going on patrol a couple hours ago. Look, I'll talk with Maddie; maybe she can get you some Poffins afterwards or something. If you behave, okay?"

Six tails began to wag as their owners straightened up hopefully.

Unsurprisingly, Ari was the last one to arrive at the airstrip, and that was due to the fact that his Pokémon weren't always the most cooperative. Like now. Still, in the end, the issue had been resolved without too many uses of various attack moves, his room was still mostly in one piece, and he'd actually managed to catch about two hours of sleep, so that was something.

He handed his backpack off to Landon, who tossed it in the back of the helicopter with the rest of the gear, and returned Cas, who had decided to accompany him this morning. As he climbed into the chopper, Ari took the offered headset and thoughtfully provided pillow—something that appeared to be common for early-hour flights—and retreated to a window seat, fastening his restraints before propping the pillow up against the glass.

He'd just closed his eyes when Landon dropped in next to him. "So, ready for this?" the older agent asked.

"Not really," Ari replied, cracking open one eye. "I was up most of the night."

"How come?"

"Let's just say that some of us have Pokémon that like to decide that the interval between announcing a mission and leaving for that mission—especially if they aren't going—is time to drive everyone else bonkers."

"What happened?"

"You don't want to know. Suffice to say I had to fish Darius out of the toilet and leave it at that."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Multiple times."

Across the narrow isle, Ophelia winced in sympathy. "Landon, let the poor kid get some sleep. He's gonna need all the rest he can get."

"I was just asking. Besides, can't he just…?"

"No. It doesn't work like that." Ari cut in, listening to the sound of the helicopter's blades as they sped up. The headset helped to dampen it, but it was still rather loud. He was beginning to wonder if he would be able to sleep during the trip. "Besides, there are disadvantages. Metabolism and healing, to mention."

"How are those problems?"

"A faster metabolism mean I use up my energy quicker, and my healing rate is influenced by a number of factors you don't have to deal with. Now can we drop the subject, because I'm starting to get a little unnerved with discussing this, and besides, I could really use some sleep?"

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that. It's just so fascinating, Y'know?"

Ari sighed. "I guess. We can talk more later. Just let me sleep for now, all right?"

"Sure thing, Featherboy."

"Please stop calling me that…"

He knew Landon wouldn't, of course. To be honest, if it wasn't for the fact that it referenced his talent, he really wouldn't care. Landon had nicknames for nearly everyone. Still…

Ari sighed, adjusting the pillow slightly. He had a feeling it was going to be a long week…

I know it's short, but this is just the intro. There should be more going on next chapter. Bonus points to anyone who can figure out Ari's talent (though I think there are more than enough clues to make it obvious) and I'd like to hear any other thoughts regarding it, as there may be additional points to hand out…

Also, in case you are confused about Ari's Pokémon:

Theo: Jolteon, male, Ari's Starter Pokémon

Jet: Vaporeon, male

Pixie: Sylveon, female

Oracle: Espeon, female

Omen: Umbreon, male

Corran: Leafeon, male

Kelvin: Flareon, male

Cas: Glaceon, female

Darius: Eevee, male

Aeon: Eevee, female, Shiny

Only six of these Pokémon are on his team at any time; the rest are left behind and are considered "off duty". Currently, Ari's team is as follows:

Theo

Cas

Corran

Kelvin

Oracle

Aeon

Hope this helps!

(Oh, and expect this to possibly go on hiatus at some point, since I have both other fics and real life to deal with. Thanks for reading!)