In the beginning, this is mainly a Pokemon Ranger fanfic, but there will be some crossover with Shadows of Almia as well later on. I love both games! Btw, this is also a Solana/Spenser, which is different. I love Spenser and saw Lunick as more of a best friend than a romantic interest while playing the game, so sorry to all you Lunick/Solana fans! I hope you enjoy it! And please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of their characters, even though I kinda wish I did. That's all!

Spenser

"The Ranger Union has called me up," Elita admitted, crossing her arms. "I knew it was only a matter of time. They're giving me a month to have a replacement leader ready."

I was busy getting Elita and myself a glass of water from the kitchen of the Ringtown Ranger base. Elita had styler-mailed me saying that we needed to talk. Honestly, it made me a little nervous. We may be on the same level status-wise, but she scares me the most out of all the Fiore base leaders.

"So you'll be working as a real Top Ranger now," I answered, giving her one glass and keeping the other for myself, "Congratulations. Anyone in mind for your replacement?"

"That's what I'm here to talk to you about," Elita replied, setting her glass down on the table with so much as looking at it. So much for hospitality. "I've been thinking and Silent Chris is, well, silent and Freddie is nowhere near where he needs to be. Neither of them quite has the charisma or skill to run the base. I want you to give me Solana for a week or so for a test run."

I had unfortunately taken a sip of my water the moment before she imparted the request, and I was so surprised that I found it hard to swallow. I coughed so hard I thought I was going to hack up a lung.

"Spenser, are you okay?"

I cleared my throat, trying to stop my eyes from watering. "Yeah, I'm good," I answered weakly, "Did you say Solana?"

"Don't act so surprised," Elita grinned, "You've kept her for too long. You gotta share the talent."

"I don't know if she's ready to take on that kind of responsibility," I set my glass down, deciding to not take another sip until my conversation with Elita was over.

"She's definitely the best Ranger for the job," Elita countered, "She defeated the Go-Rock Squad and captured several legendary Pokemon. From what I hear, she works hard and always puts herself behind her team and Pokemon. At this point, she's only going to get better. Need I go on?"

I made a face. "From that aspect, yes, she's very good, but does she have the leadership qualities necessary?"

"From what I've seen, she's told you what's what more than a few times," Elita replied, eyebrows raised.

I made yet another face, realizing I was losing the argument. In the five years that Solana has been one of my Rangers, she's definitely stopped being afraid of me. She has shown amazing judgment in when to put her foot down and when to let things slid. Sometimes I barely even notice that she's bossing me around until after. She knew how to make people feel okay taking her orders.

"Look me in the eyes, Spenser, and tell me she's not ready," Elita challenged with a knowing smile, and I found I couldn't do it. Solana would excel at every part of it. She would love both the freedom and the responsibility of it. Was it so horrible for me to want to hold onto her? I would miss our everyday exchanges: the way her face looked when she got up for the early morning patrol (she tried to punch me one time when I went to wake her up), the way that she and I teased the crap out of Lunick for his relationship with Aria, the way that she and I stayed up late together every night (me doing my daily reports and her helping me remember everything that happened), and, jeez, I could go on and on forever.

"Are you scared that she won't pass the test?" Elita asked, eyes unreadable.

A jolt of pure fear shot through me. For the whole first year after my own leader test, I spent every waking minute trying to forget what I had experienced. But I had long since realized that such a thing would never happen. I would remember it for the rest of my life, long past the time when I stopped being a Ranger. However, it was necessary to prove your worth as a Ranger not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. You could be the best Ranger in the world, but if you didn't pass the test you could never become a leader.

Luckily, I was saved from making a reply when Lunick burst in the door, breathless. "Leader, we've got a fire in Lyra Forest. Solana was walking back from Fall City with Aria and spotted it. The two of them are on the scene now, but are requesting a lot of back-up."

I shot a look over at Elita. "Up for it?"

Elita grinned. "You bet, but we will finish this conversation later."

"Of course," I answered, motioning for the door, "After you."