Disclaimer: As you already know, this is a Pokemon-based Fanfic. I do not own the universe or franchise or property of the Pokemon entity as a whole. All rights go to their respective owners.

Note: The image of the setting this takes place in can be found here: [ photobucket - tinyurl: /standingsetting ] courtesy of Photobucket.

Chapter One: Routine Orientation

The war was long since over, and, yet, it still waged on. The tall stalks of skinned and fractured trunks that once stood high and mighty in the most expansive stretch of untainted lands were now barely supportive enough fortresses for their former inhabitants. Creatures of the air and the land alike now hid beneath the surface of the earth, residing within elaborate tunnels and passages, labyrinths and caves which were their natural defenses against the terrors that paced the lands overhead. The creatures that once walked upon the earth and settled on a plot of land, speaking to one another in tongues that they themselves didn't quite understand, creatures that captured these cowering animals beneath the surface to use them for their bidding. It was torture. They were pitted against one another for the bragging rights of who had the most skilled catch. To think that these individuals were long since gone was a dream within a nightmare.

The skies were bland and gray, and no light leaked through the stretch of darkness overhead. A buzzing hummed through the stale air, light breezes forcing its way through space as if it was fleeing from something horrendous, something frightening. Ruby eyes, so complex to operate with hexagon-framed images coming in from just about all directions, received information, even in this installation of ominous darkness.

"See anything yet?"

A voice came from the left side of the Yanmega's head. It sounded stern and educated, as if it had never once been a dopey and brainless Slowpoke before. The Yanmega stopped in its flight to do a quick spin. "Nope. I've been out here for about three minutes, and I haven't seen one yet. They must be raiding one of the towers." Its speech was quick-paced and retained its nasally ring. He sounded like an individual who would be fit well to fixing up technology if he possessed the body of a human. He resumed his flight.

"Alright, then. Come back in for the night. We have to talk to the Recruits." Came the stern baritone. The Yanmega nodded and dipped down to fly closer to the ground, over the large gaps and fissures and gaping holes of the earth. The dirt that was once clogged with green, luscious grass was now barren and patchy, barely producing anymore plants from the scorched surfaces. He strafed to the right, veering off into a large arc and flattened out into a glide to the ground. With a vertical wave of its body, it dropped at a ninety-degree, and descended into one of the larger fissures. "You've got it."

There was the usual commotion in the North Norm Assembly Hall. The commotion this time, however, was from the routine excitement and anticipation of the new recruits. The Force made it a point to attempt to recruit as many rogue pokemon as they could; they needed all the help they could get.

Voices hushed down and eyes looked up to the front of the room to see a Slowking on the peak of the small, dome which proved to be his announcement stand. He stood with an unfaltering expression - assertive, but not overly-aggressive as to scare them all away. Naturally, his goal was to instill courage in the lot of them.

"Welcome, New Recruits," The same voice that spoke to the Yanmega projected over the three-by-four lines of pokemon they had managed to scrounge up. This was their largest group yet. "I would like to firstly bring to your attention that you are in the protection of the Force, here. We, as a band of pokemon who have the resolve of bringing peace to the land, will protect you from Ghost." At the mere mention of the name of their alleged adversary, the potential members and already active members tensed up, but no one spoke a word. Slowking continued.

"I am Solomon. I am the leader of this faction, and I aim to maintain order and progress in these facilities." He folded his hands behind his back, large eyes amplified by the lowering of his eyelids. He gave the dull, scrutinizing look to each and every one of the recruits for a moment before his chest rose and fell quickly. "As I look over the lot of you now," He paced to the left, looking odd as he walked on an angle without so much as a sign of struggle only to turn back around, "You all show promise. Some will aid in the defense, some will aid in the support, and some will aid in the offense. All of our facets are equally important, and whichever you are assigned to will be based on your capabilities. You should not think anything differently. If you have any qualms with your positions, however, you should voice them immediately. We shall not have anyone drag down this organization because of their preferences." He held up a pink hand, rounded at the tip, to ward off questions or complaints that immediately surfaced.

They all knew to hold their questions for their instructors, and - even then - they were expected to perform first and complain later.

He turned back to ascend up the three-foot mount once more. "There are eight Leading Staff Members, who you will address as their species with a "lead" preceding it. Myself, for example, you shall call me 'Lead Slowking.' Everyone understand?" He paused for a moment to see the reactions of coherence and accord before resuming. He stood at the peak once more. "Let me introduce them to you, one by one." He stepped backwards as the assembly line would approach the hump as they were called. "This is Lead Grovyle, Greenvyle; Lead Meganium, Mega; Lead Simmisage, Sage; Lead Monferno, Montferer; Lead Luxio, Lucky; and Lead Tangela, Angela." He blinked twice, watching as the Yanmega he had sent out earlier to do scout work had returned. "Ah, and of course, Lead Yanmega, Yan-Yan." Each had gestured their greetings as they passed by the Slowking on the pristine and shiny, white stage. It drew in the attention of the recruits, as diverse and dynamic as they were themselves, to have such an arrangement of influential and powerful pokemon in their midst.

"You have been assigned to a respective Staff and Party already. But, before you shuffle off to introduce yourselves, you must be told of the rules and regulations." He explained that they were not allowed up on the surface without at least two staff members and three fellow party members present; that they were not allowed into the caves or labyrinths on any accounts; that they were required to attend all instructions held by their respective mentors; and the basic rules of the organization: no aggressions between members, no coveting of property - the works. All in all, the assembly went well and the mass of twelve or so pokemon were dismissed.

They milled about to find their instructors, and once they had all be rounded up, they began introducing one another. There was a gaunty looking mareep paired with a buneary and an aron. With them, a kangaskhan stood towering over her pupils, eyes strong and expecting, but also compassionate for the little lost souls. She would treat them well.

In another group, two versions of the bulbasaur evolution line - a bulbasaur and an ivysaur - stood close to one another, eying a torchic. They had been arranged with Lead Tangela, whose eyes expressed all the fright and concern that she was experiencing for her pupils. She was barely larger than two of her own pupils, but she had an air of experience about her; she knew more than they did, at the very least.

Next was Electabuzz's trio: a complacent assortment of a magnemite, a duskull whom everyone was warily watching from the corner of their eyes, and a foreigner, it seemed. He tugged at the stretchy flesh that served as a protective pouch about his waist. The scraggy jutted out his jaw and huffed out in relief. He thought he was going to get worse.

An unfortunate group, it seemed, had been cropped to be with a disgustingly abrasive muk. With his sludge all over the place and his fumes, none of the recruits seemed disappointed with their groups except for two of the members in this one. An ambitious houndour and a seemingly headstrong turtwig shared moments of mutual distress before catching the other's eye and then a glare before snapping their vision in the opposite direction. A shy and withdrawn oddish seemed hurt that neither of her teammates wished to play with her.

As the few conversations among the groups had been interrupted by the dismissal, courtesy of Lead Slowking, Solomon, Lead Yanmega approached him on his stage, the two watching as the squads filed out behind their respective leaders, some watching or speaking more than others. The bustle filled in the silence of the auditorium, even after the entrances were vacant and the rest of the staff members were either lounging around, or went elsewhere to tend to their duties.

Yan-Yan's wings twitched and he writhed his body, getting an odd vibe from the taller, pink figure beside him. His eyes were closed, and this interested the insect pokemon. "What do you think?" An interval of silence. This made the yanmega think over his own question, pertaining to his thoughts on the matter. Did these new recruits have what it took to survive out here? This wasn't a light life anymore, and by the looks of these recruits, they had already forgotten what was up on the surface.

"What do I think?" Mused Lead Slowking slowly. He rubbed at the side of his head with his appendage, brushing absentmindedly against the shell atop his head. Once he was done with his contemplations, he looked up at the light circuits that their entire electric pokemon populace had stored in the systems, glowing dimly so as to not waste their supplies. There were also torches being fed oxygen from the outlets beneath them, the flames courtesy of the few fire pokemon who were associated with the faction itself.

The pink pokemon's lips flattened out into a line, his left brow quirked. He didn't truly know how to get it out in a simple word or two, but that was all he would be able to produce for the time being. That, or a simple, upended sentence. And that's what he settled with.

"Well, only time will tell."