Disclaimer: Do not own pokemon, of course. If you're not fond of pokephilia, people attracted to pokemon, or anything of the sort, please stop here and get out because I don't need to accumulate hate just because it's something I like reading and writing about. In this story pokephilia is not illegal and a fairly common practice, as pokemon have evolved to the point that they all speak English, eliminating the speech barrier—and realistically, that barrier is the only thing keeping it from being just as common as interracial or gay relationships, considering they're cute, intelligent, and sentient.
CHAPTER 1: "Fool me three times…"
Kalos. It was a land highly considered one of the more romantic regions. Were one to set sight on the trainers, the pokemon, and various locales, they would quickly understand that Kalos is a place for lovers, artists, and starry-eyed dreamers.
Snowbelle city, a quiet little hamlet situated in the mountains of the frigid north, was no exception. Flakes of crystalized humidity dropped gently from the heavens of the night sky, each one its own special piece of the powdery puzzle that blanketed the town year-round. To say that it was a picturesque visa would be an understatement, as in tandem with the quaint architecture, presence of whatever snow-topped greenery could grow in such a harsh climate, and the subtle charm of a crescent moon's gentle beams shafting down through the thin layers of high-flying cirrus clouds, one would be hard-pressed not to snap a photo just to make a nice postcard for a family member.
*RUMBLE*
However, wintry weather was not always such a pretty thing.
"Ugh… What…" Started a young boy, jarred awake by the sudden racket, and vibration of the ground. Rubbing the sleep from his green eyes as his transition from slumber to consciousness gradually took place, he suddenly snapped to attention, realizing exactly what was going on. "Oh… no… No, no, no! Not again!"
Diving out of bed, he hastily threw on some fuzzy Buneary slippers, as they were the only footwear he had quick access to, and clumsily burst through his bedroom door, so fast he slid across the polished wooden floor and into a table in the hallway, knocking nearly every object it held off.
"GILL! GILLIAM! IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, scrambling to his feet against the poor traction of his adorable night-time shoes. "IT'S ANOTHER AVALANCHE!" He screamed, trying to maintain balance and move in the direction of his elder brother's room, fighting both the quaking ground, and the volume of the imminent cataclysm simultaneously.
A man probably in his late twenties, or early thirties kicked open the door to his own bedroom, so hard that it came unhinged on the top. Unlike his younger sibling, the man had already half-dressed himself in his winter gear, coming into view while pushing a gloved hand through the arm of a long, white trench coat with a fur-rimmed hood. "NO SHIT, ED! WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU HEADING FOR THE SAFE ZONE?!" He boomed, demanding to know why his brother had opted to come to him first, and not see to his own well-being.
The younger of the two gritted his teeth, looking at him as if the answer had to be obvious. "LIKE I WOULD JUST LEAVE WITHOUT CHECKING ON YOU!" He retorted.
Gilliam's dark blue eyes flashed with a deadly seriousness, as he moved with much more swiftness and grace amidst the trembling ground than his kin, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat, and grabbing him by the shoulders. Before Edward had time to react, the much stronger man had forcefully turned him around and shoved him toward the front door. "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! I'M A RANGER FOR ARCEUS' SAKE! AND FOR THE RECORD YOU HAVE ABOUT 50 SECONDS TO HAUL YOUR LITTLE ASS OUT THAT DOOR OR YOU'RE GOING TO BE STUCK IN THIS DAMN HOUSE UNDER FOURTY FEET OF SNOW!"
The youth hesitated, turning to look back at him like he was crazy. "THEN COME WITH ME!" He pleaded.
The man shook his head, "I CAN'T DO THAT, I HAVE TO GATHER MY THINGS SO THAT I CAN RESCUE EVERYONE WHO DOESN'T MAKE IT TO THE SAFE ZONE. DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME, I'LL JUST RADIO MACE TO TELEPORT ME OUT WITH HIS XATU, BUT THERE'S NO GUARANTEE THAT HE'LL GET HERE BEFORE THE TEMPERATURE GETS DANGEROUS, SO GO!" He ordered.
Hesitating for another moment, Edward shook it off and obeyed when his brother shoved him again in the direction of the door, opening it and slamming it behind him, taking off into the frigid air and four plus feet of snow in nothing but his pajamas and a pair of cute pokemon slippers.
The 'Safe Zone' as it was called was a tall structure at the center of Snowbelle, built to harbor people safely from avalanches and blizzards, situated with the housing built all around it so that people from all parts of the town could easily get to it in case of just such an event. It was a building with three generators all linked to an interior heating system, standing proudly at roughly ten stories high, triangular in shape, as not to be toppled by avalanches or harsh winds. People who make it there can take an elevator to the top where there are supplies and a satellite array for communications, and the top of the building was fitted with a helipad just as an extra precaution.
Gilliam prayed that his brother still had enough time to make it, but having him stay here would be even more dangerous, as when the house was hit, the air would become limited, and the temperatures would drop so far below freezing, dressed as he was he could die of hypothermia in just an hour of exposure. That, and the house, though built to withstand tons of snow, wouldn't necessarily hold up under the force of being hit.
Not wasting another second, the Ranger pulled up his hood, and warmed his hands, as he set to climbing the stairs to retrieve his rescue gear. He needed to find his beacon, probe, and a shovel, at bare minimum. Fortunately, this avalanche was one he had prepared for, as this was the third one this month. At first, it all seemed coincidental, but now there was no doubt in his mind…
Someone, or something, was causing this.
After he made it up the stairs, he quickly found all the equipment he had set aside. First, his beacon. This was a necessary precaution when an oncoming avalanche was an issue, as the beacons were capable of detecting one another within a certain distance, using a special radio wave. In case of an avalanche, every citizen of Snowbelle was given one, and instructed to equip it to themselves when the need should arise. Also, were he to get trapped himself, other rangers would be able to locate him and dig him out, provided he could stay alive long enough. Grabbing this, he quickly activated it and pinned the device to the inner pocket of his coat, before grabbing a small metal bar, his probe. This was a collapsible piece of metal used to determine the exact distance needed to dig in order to extract people trapped under snow, so that they didn't become injured by the heavy metal shovel, which he grabbed next.
Pocketing the probe and wielding the shovel, he started to turn around, then he spotted his avalung. The odd-looking device consisted of a mouth-piece, air collector, exhaust pipe, and valve, all connected to a backpack he had previously stocked with MRE's and other necessary supplies. During a burial, people who survive an avalanche tend to die from asphyxiation if not rescued quickly, even faster than they can freeze to death, because the heat from their breath causes the snow to melt, and refreeze, which prevents oxygen from getting through the snow, making toxic levels of carbon dioxide to accumulate. This device was to be worn to prevent this, by taking the outward breaths and spreading them out over a larger distance, decreasing the heat and pushing the CO2 behind the person rather than in front.
Seeing this object, Gilliam cursed himself that he didn't have time to give it to his little brother in case he didn't make it. He did pin the boy's beacon to the back of his shirt before he ran out, (to be truthful it was his own, which he'd kept on him, but he knew there was no time to get the other one) but the avalung would have been much better. If this were to happen again, he'd have to make sure to give it to him and tell him to keep it in his room.
But for now, he reached for the avalung-equipped satchel and…
*SSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHCRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEESHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!*
He had reached a little too late. The avalanche had made it to the house, and the sounds of creaking wood and shattering glass overtook all of Gill's senses, as he was thrown to the ground roughly, only able to wait it out as it carried on for nearly a minute, the structure of the home groaning and cracking against the weight of the tons of fresh powder, which spilled through every window as much as the packing would allow.
"Augh…." The ranger groaned, hoisting himself off the ground. He could only thank his lucky stars that the house withstood yet another impact, as it still hadn't been repaired fully from the last time. "As soon as everyone's safe, I'm heading straight up that mountain with a sack full of charges and getting to the bottom of this…" he promised no one in particular.
Of course, explosives were also used in avalanche prevention, by blowing up certain areas, causing smaller, less harmful snowslides to prevent too much from building up. He had done this after the first avalanche… and even more on the second. It didn't make any sense that this was happening at all, there shouldn't have been enough buildup.
There was a crackle, issuing from the ranger's jacket as he stood up, dusting himself off. "*Krrtz* Plusle, this is Minun, do you read? Over. *Krttz*" Came a jarbled, but relaxed voice.
Gilliam fished the walkie talkie out of his coat, pressing and holding the transmission button to respond to his ally. "There's a bit of interference, but I hear you, Minun. Over."
A moment passed before he got a response. "*Krrtz* Glad to hear it, everything just settled over here on my side. X managed to use his prophetic powers to tip me off about this one, so I'm already at the Safe Zone, about to go out onto the roof to check things out. *crackle* -eant to contact you earlier, but I only had a few *click*-inutes to get here. Are you alright? Over. *Krrtz*"
Gilliam was glad to hear that X, Mace's Xatu, had forewarned him about this one, because his teleport was going to be key in saving everybody; running the risk of Mace's house being destroyed and him with it would have increased the number of possible casualties exponentially, as he was the only other ranger stationed in this town, which would have left Gill to rescue everyone on his own. "Roger that, Minun. Hey, did my brother make it there alright? Please say yes. It's only a short walk from here, but he was really short on time when I shoved him out the door. Over."
"*Krrtz* I'm fine, Gill. But you didn't answer his question… are you alright? *Krrtz*" Came the voice of Edward. The ranger breathed a sigh of relief before responding.
"You're supposed to say 'over' when you're done talking, you big dummy. With your grades, I'd think you'd know that. Over." He chuckled.
It was not a secret that the 16 year old boy was not only really smart, but a clinically proven super-genius, with an IQ over 220. The boy had already, before his time, graduated out of high school, and was currently living with his older brother while trying to decide what sort of career he wanted to apply his vast intellect to. It was also nice not having all the colleges in Kalos constantly hounding him, as Snowbelle was a pretty secluded city.
"*Krrtz* Oh for the love of- *crackle* I'm not in the military, and neither are you. The use of codenames and all the technical jargon is completely irrational in this scenario and arguably *zztttz* -ust something you want to do for the rare opportunity of correcting me on something. *btzz*" The boy quipped, refusing again to say 'over'.
Before the ranger could say anything, the walkie talkie crackled again with Ed's voice. "*Bltzz* And you STILL haven't answered my question. ARE. YOU. O. K…? *Fttz*"
Gilliam held the communication device to his face as he put the avalung-satchel on his arms, strapping it into place over his jacket. "Naw, Eddy, I'm smashed underneath ten tons of snow and house rubble, if you didn't notice. This is a transmission from heaven." He scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"*krrtz* See, even you didn't say 'over' that time. *bfftz*" the boy remarked, curtly.
A vein stood up above the ranger's brow. "Just put Mace back on, you smartass. We might have people dying out there."
After a moment, Mace returned to the conversation, and the two discussed the process they were going to use to rescue everybody. First, X was going to teleport Mace there, and get him out, and then they were going to rescue everyone that might be buried in the snow outside using the probes and signals from the beacons, and finally they were going to use teleport to enter all the other houses, and rescue any citizens that might have been trapped within, just like last time.
After agreeing on this plan, they set to work. They had no difficulty with getting Gilliam out of his house, the real work started when they searched for beacon signals in the avalanche. They found three people trapped beneath the snow, and two pokemon, a Vulpix, and a Pikachu. Because of its internal heat, the Vulpix was fine when they found it, however the Pikachu was in a critical state. One of the humans they found, also, a bit too late, didn't make it, and the other two were suffering from extreme hypothermia. After transporting the injured to the medical center of the safe zone, they went to the houses, and this is where the longest part of the night passed. Gilliam estimated over half the population of Snowbelle were trapped within their homes with their pokemon, but fortunately, none of that group of citizens were critically injured. However, there were a few houses that were utterly destroyed by the avalanche. Only when they took a head count would they find out if those houses had people in them.
The two rangers worked into the morning, securing everyone and making sure they were heated and fed, as they radio'd for help from the safe zone, calling for some fire types to melt off the snow so that they could get started shoveling out their houses and getting back to their normal lives.
While they waited for the support to arrive, Gill took off a glove and scratched at his scruffy chin, seeming to be in deep thought as they sat inside the top level and conversed. "I tell you one thing, Mace, enough people have died from this. It has to stop."
The slightly younger, but more lightly built ranger pushed his glasses up his nose, scratching his ebony head of well-kept hair as he took in the fire burning in his comrade's eyes. "What do you think is causing it?" He asked.
The dusty blonde man put his glove back on, cracking his knuckles as he rose, and began pacing the room in thought. "It's either some kind of terrorist attack, or a really strong ice type having some kind of fit up in the mountains. We need to get our Riot Rods and Riot Balls and head up there as soon as possible. And I mean like we teleport up there as SOON as the melting brigade arrives. The perp might still be around."
"Well that shouldn't take long, and I already have my equipment." Mace corrected, indicating the gear on his belt. Mace was usually more well-prepared than his cohort in general.
Mace's Xatu cocked his head to the side, before adding. "You know, you really should get your own pokemon in this line of work, Gilliam. I know it's not required, but you can only do so much without some kind of partner. And I'm sort of tired of being a personal transport service every time this happens. But if this means it won't happen again, I suppose I can't argue on the validity of nipping it in the bud."
Stopping for a moment to regard X, Gill nodded at him with a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that buddy, but you're an important part of the team. Lots of people would have died today without you. I really do appreciate it, sorry if it doesn't seem that way. And I know I should get a partner… but you know how it is. I just work better alone."
The Xatu closed his eyes in an appreciative manner, but then his look darkened to something more serious. "I think you're just afraid you might lose another one."
Gilliam visibly tensed, as if a chord had been struck, but said nothing, resuming his pacing, possibly in a much more irate manner for a good moment, which dragged by in silence.
Mace cuffed his pokemon on his green head, eliciting a birdlike wark. "You know he doesn't like it when we bring that up. You'd think a psychic type would have little more insight, geez."
Edward watched as his brother pulled his hood up, even though they were inside and the area was adequately heated, and sighed. He knew he was just doing it to hide his face.
Years ago, his brother had a Lucario named Locke. They were together since Gilliam's younger days, and when he became a ranger, Locke was made his official partner. The only memories Ed had of Locke were when he was about 4 to 6 years old, but he was always cool, gentle, and caring, often watching after him in his brother's place. Then, 10 years ago, there was a fire at a pokemon center, caused by Team Rocket. They robbed the place of all the valuable pokemon, then set it ablaze to get rid of the evidence. This was when his brother was stationed in Hoenn, designated as the watcher over wildlife in Petalburg Woods, which was right next to the center. Being in the area, before help could arrive, he charged recklessly into the flames to save the people still trapped inside, and worried about him, Locke charged in as well. Being a steel type however, Locke didn't last long, and ended up never making it out.
Of course, this was all back when Gilliam was just a regular pokemon ranger. Edward examined the emblem on the patch of his brother's trench coat, which was emblazoned with the letters 'RBR' and an illustration of a Castform in its Hail weather forme. It was the same as the coat worn by Mace, who was also part of the Riot Ball Rangers.
Unlike regular rangers, Riot Ball Rangers were in a class all their own, made up of only the most highly decorated and elite rangers in the whole world—earning the right to become one didn't come without either tens of years of experience, or being literally some kind of hero.
The difference between a typical ranger and the RBR was what they were equipped with, how they were trained, what type of work they were permitted to do, and what level of authority they had within the law. The main difference of course, was the equipment.
Noticing his brother did not currently carry any, Ed looked to Mace, who was, as usual, equipped with a belt of Riot Balls, the very device for which the RBR were named.
They looked like the average pokeball in shape, but that's where the similarities ended. The ball was clear, but emitted light, glowing an eerie bluish with the power held deep inside. Along the sides of the balls there were fins, to make them more aerodynamic when thrown, much like the Beast Balls of the Alola region, but rather than being straight, they curved along the spheres, making them spin when thrown. In all capital letters on each Riot Ball, was the word 'SUPPRESS'.
These balls were special in not only looks, but in their function. A normal pokeball consisted of three things: a compliance regulator, stasis field, and a registration chip. The stasis field was the energy that shot out, turning a pokemon into data to be contained within the ball. The compliance regulator altered this data so that the pokemon caught would be friendly toward those who caught it, and not attack. The registration chip sent out a signal that registered this particular pokemon's data throughout a universally used netcode to show who caught it, creating a failsafe that made it to where it could not be captured by somebody else until released, which cancelled this function.
However, A Riot Ball consisted of no registration chip, or compliance regulator. Just a much, much more powerful stasis field, called a 'suppressant field.' This field could capture anything with a pulse, not only pokemon, and turn them into data to be stored within the ball, so they could be used in the apprehension of not only unruly pokemon, but humans that break the law as well. The balls also had a 100% capture rate, meaning anything caught would not break out. It accomplished this because the suppressant field had a special wavelength that rendered anything captured utterly unconscious.
However, the downside of this is that all these balls were fragile, and the suppressant field could only be used once. Meaning they were disposable, one-time-only balls mainly used for transporting criminals and pokemon to a detention facility whenever they caused trouble. Without a compliance regulator or registration chip, they did not change the behavior of the target or indicate any type of ownership of course.
The Riot Ball Rangers were named as such because they are the only individuals within the government permitted to use these devices, and were often called in as a special forces task group to suppress riots that couldn't be handled by the police or other government officials. Other people tried to get their hands on this technology, but the balls could be remote detonated by those in charge of their distribution, and each ball had a failsafe that would detonate it if used by anybody other than the person designated to use it.
Looking along Mace's better-equipped coat, Edward noted his stun baton. It looked like any normal one now, but when activated, these weapons, called 'Riot Rods' by the RBR, could be set to emit a special electrical pulse that emulated any pokemon type, meaning they could be set to a polarity that any pokemon is weak against to better suppress it, nonlethally, of course. Each and every RB Ranger was heavily trained in both the use of the Riot Balls, and the Riot Rods, which they used with the Kali stick fighting martial art.
Edward turned his gaze back to his brother, who had stopped pacing, and simply stared out the window with his back turned to them, awaiting the arrival of the melting brigade with some semblance of impatience, as he nervously tapped his snow-shoed foot.
Gilliam blamed himself for the death of Locke. The ranger saved not only Nurse Joy, but 4 sick pokemon by himself that day, sporting many second and third degree burns that took many years to heal, and some still left their scars. He however, did not notice that Locke had followed him in until it was too late. Ridden with guilt, he would always ask himself things like 'why didn't I pay more attention' or 'why didn't Locke's aura telepathy reach me, was my mind so closed off?'
Soon after that Gilliam was made into a hero, and nominated for the RBR afterwards. They offered him pokemon partners to team up with when he was initiated, but he refused, saying that he'd never again put a pokemon in the same kind of peril he himself was willing to face, and if they wanted him to be RBR, they'd take him and only him. He used the remorse and righteous fury that he felt over his friend's demise to power through the training, rising to the top of his class even though he didn't have a partner. The only reason he wasn't famous was the fact that the identities of RB Rangers are kept secret, and the work they do that don't involve their designated areas are always kept covert.
Edward sighed as he watched him. He might have been a genius, but he always felt he could never live up to the kind of man his older brother was.
"Good, here they come. Get them on the radio, Mace. I'm going up to meet them and make sure they land alright." Gilliam said, stepping into the elevator that led to the roof.
When the door slid shut, Ed heard the sound of a chopper, and turning to look outside, he could only barely make it out in the distance. His brother had a really good eye for motion.
"Roger that." Mace said, standing up and changing the frequency of his walkie-talkie to the channel used by the melting brigade the last time they were called in.
The youthful blonde stopped paying attention, just falling into his own thoughts. He wondered if he ever had what it took to make the kind of positive differences his brother did in the lives of others every single day. The boy was wimpy and bookish. The most he could do was probably like 20 pushups. Perhaps he had mastered some of the highest levels of chemistry, invented a few things, and discovered an entirely new element (which was named Pokkenium), but in the face of his brother's shadow, he truly saw just how much louder actions spoke than words.