Hey everyone.

I love the Pokemon Ranger series but I have a soft spot for Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia and especially towards all of the characters in this story. I wanted to write a story based on the game that has been in my heart and on my mind for so long. Like I literally replayed through the entire game about a month or two ago and it completely rekindled my love and adoration for this game. I love the history. I love the lore. I love how you get introduced to characters, get separated from them, and then get reunited with them in a later part of the film. I love the story that these animators portray and I wanted to expand on that. The story is separated into three "arcs" kind of like the game is set up (with the Ranger School, being a Ranger, and then promoted to Top Ranger). So, here is Vatonage which is based on the game.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters portrayed in this story; all rights go to Nintendo and they're awesome characters.

ARC ONE: RANGER SCHOOL

Chapter One: New Student

"This styler is not like the styler you will use in the field," the man, Mr. Kaplan, spoke with confidence as he handed over the green device in his hands. Kate took it in her hand, looking at the green Ranger symbol. "This styler cannot use features that Rangers use, such as Poké Assist. In addition, the school styler is limited to only capturing three Pokémon at a time. Which hand is your dominant hand?"

Kate nervously raised her right hand after shifting the styler to her left hand. It seemed odd to hold it with this hand. Mr. Kaplan crossed the distance between them and placed her hand on his shoulder. Kate shifted nervously as he dug for something in his pocket. He pulled out a silver bracelet that had a tag on it. She briefly saw her own name, Katelyn Morrow, on the white tag before Mr. Kaplan ripped it off. A second later, Mr. Kaplan was fastening the silver bracelet around her shoulder.

Kate eyed the bracelet curiously. At the top of the bracelet was a green device that glowed green when Mr. Kaplan touched it. The device in Kate's hand shook a few moments afterwards and Kaplan smiled at her shocked face.

"This bracelet will allow you to connect with any school styler to use," Mr. Kaplan informed Kate, stepping away from her. Kate raised her arm to look at the bracelet. "Each bracelet is assigned to a specific student so you will return the bracelet once you graduate. However, each student will receive another bracelet for their styler once they reach their assignment." He stood in silence until Kate looked up at him. "Put your styler in your right hand and we can get started on your entrance exam."

Kate did as told, bringing her hands together to move the styler into her dominant hand. The bracelet vibrated vividly.

"Tighten your grip," Kaplan instructed.

Once again, Kate followed his instructions. To her surprise, a capture disc launched out of the disc and landed on the floor. The disc buzzed wildly on the floor. Kate turned towards the styler in her hand. There was a light blue rod of light sticking out of the styler. Curious, Kate moved the styler and the disc spinning on the ground moved along with it. Kate laughed to herself though only a grin formed on her face. Now, she truly felt like a Ranger.

"Do you have a good feel of the styler?" Kaplan questions, watching her. She tentatively nodded her head. "How the styler directs the disc?" Kate moved the styler around in sloppy circles and ovals, around Kate's feet and then around Kaplan's. The teacher chuckled. "Are you ready for your first capture, Katelyn Morrow?"

"Kate," she corrected, speaking for the first time. Her voice was a bit shaky from nerves. What kind of Pokémon would they have her catch for her first capture? Would it be a Bidoof? Or a Charmander?

"Ahh," Kaplan spoke, amused. "She speaks." She smiled at him. With this styler in her hand, she felt all of her nerves that arose from the boat ride (and subsequent walk) disappear. She had left her hometown, her family, and what remained of her friends to become a student of this Ranger School. Her nerves had been rampant on the boat and the walk as she pondered a simple question: was it worth it?

Now, holding this styler she knew it was.

"Are you ready?" Kaplan asked again.

"Yes," Kate spoke. "I am."

Mr. Kaplan smiled and he turned towards the Pikachu, which Kate did not even see until the teacher acknowledged it. The electric mouse Pokémon hopped off the desk and marched over to the spot in front of Kate. With a nod from Mr. Kaplan, the Pikachu started running around the room, as though he had done this before on numerous occasions. Kate gripped the styler and the capture disc (still spinning on the floor) sprung to life.

Careful and cautious, Kate guided the capture disc around the Pikachu. Every time that Kate completed a loop around the Pikachu, she felt the styler buzz beneath her fingertips. After three or four loops, the styler buzzed wildly. Somehow, Kate knew it meant that the capture was complete. Mr. Kaplan smiled a devious smile, walking over and pushing a button on side of the styler. The capture disc flew back to the styler with ease.

As Mr. Kaplan walked away from her, he laughed menacingly. However, Kate could tell that it was all a show. "Congratulations, Katelyn 'Kate' Morrow. You are now an official member of our secret army, Team School." Kate raised an eyebrow and attempted to suppress a chuckle. "For proof of your enrollment, you are now the proud temporary owner of that school styler. And together, we shall rule the world!"

Kate was certain that Mr. Kaplan might descend into faux menacing laughter if there was not a woman who cut him short from the other side of the room, "Mr. Kaplan, we've talked about you teasing my students with your silly performance." Kate turned to see a brunette woman walking towards them. The teacher was slender, wearing a bright green blouse and a fitting white skirt. On her feet, she wore beige flats. The woman was shorter than Mr. Kaplan, who towered over the both of the women by a head.

The man left out a small laugh. "I'm sorry, Kate, but the moment was too perfect. If it helps, I've done it to almost every student." He nudged her with his elbow.

"It's okay," Kate spoke with a shrug of her shoulders. "I understand."

Mr. Kaplan looked towards the woman to make a comment but she must've given him a look because he coughed before continuing. "Congratulations, Kate. You've passed the Ranger School's entrance exam with flying colors! That was quite an impressive capture for your first time ever holding a styler."

"Thank you, Supreme Leader Kaplan," Kate commented, bowing slightly as she spoke. Mr. Kaplan laughed so quick that he made a noise that sounded like a pig. His cheeks flushed red as he moved to cover his mouth. His eyes darted to the woman.

"Don't encourage him," the teacher slightly scolded, but it was clear that even she was trying to hold back her own laugh. "Congratulations, it's been very hard to impress Mr. Kaplan for a few years. If he says it's an impressive capture, it must have been. Now, you're officially a student of the Ranger School. I'm your class teacher, Ms. April, and you've already met Mr. Kaplan, who will teach you capturing." The teacher in question waved.

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. April," Kate spoke.

"Come on," Ms. April spoke, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and guiding her outside of the shed (as Mr. Kaplan gave an enthusiastic wave). "Let's go get you changed in time for class."

...

Ms. April had taken her to the staff room, which was empty except for a couple of cluttered desks, a few bookcases, and a green ranger banner on the far wall, and grabbed a uniform for Kate to change into. In the bathroom, Kate was slightly disappointed to see that the uniform had shorts. However, she mused that she needed to get used to it.

Once she changed, Kate exited the bathroom stall and looked at herself in the mirror. The denim romper was a pair of shorts and a tank top swon together. She had been given a belt that settled on her waist to make seem like they were two different pieces. She had not put on the green jacket or the gloves. In fact, she was having a hard time tying the uniform yellow tie around her neck. Kate's eyes drifted to the styler on her hip, hanging to her belt by the clip on the handle. She was really here. She was really on her way to be a Ranger.

Kate returned her eyes to her reflection, taking in the sight of her light brown pigtails and bangs. From her facial features to her blue-gray eyes, she took it all in as though she was looking at herself for the first time in her life. Most of the students in this school looked up to the Top Rangers as role models of what to be. How long would it be until the students draw the similarities between her and the new Top Ranger? His hair was darker than hers and he was taller than her by a head (or at least, he was when he left), but they had the same eyes, the same facial features, the same mannerisms.

It wasn't hard to tell who Kate was if they really paid attention.

"Kate," Ms. April questioned, stepping into the bathroom. At the teacher's entrance, Kate snapped out of a daze and pulled the green jacket over her shoulders. "Is everything okay?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah, I just can't seem to get this tie to work.." Ms. April nodded, stepping closer and showing her the complicated steps until it was properly tied. Kate thanked Ms. April with a smile and the teacher moved to walk away. "Ms. April," Kate spoke. The teacher paused as she moved to open the bathroom door. "I have a request."

"What is it?" Ms. April questioned.

"Is it possible to not tell the other students who I am?" Kate questioned. "I know that my brother is a hero to the majority of these students and a former alumni of the school; but, I don't want the other students to expect me to be just like him. We're different people."

"Kate," Ms. April spoke, reaching out to touch her shoulder. "Don't worry. The news that Kellyn is your brother will only come from you, when you want it to." Kate felt herself relax as though there was an invisible weight she did not realize she was carrying. "Come on, the other students are waiting for you."

"Is my roommate in my class?" she questioned. She knew that the dorms were split so two girls or boys were given a room. There were only a handful of rooms because of the limited amount of students. The only reason Kate was able to become a student a month into the year was due to another student dropping out. So, there was an empty bed.

"Yes," Ms. April spoke. "Rhythmi will be your roommate and she is in my class. Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get along."

Kate nodded. Kate just hoped that this girl, Rhythmi, would nice about giving up her room which she (currently) didn't share with anyone.

…

Kate had willed herself not to be nervous. And from the relatively short walk from the Staff Room to the classroom, this fact was true. Kate was not nervous. At least, not until she stepped into the classroom and the entirety of the class was looking her direction. Then, her stomach knotted and butterflies flew though her stomach. It was like snapping a finger and her entire demeanor changed.

As Kate walked nervously to the front of the class, she attempted to hold her head high and not cower into her nervous shell. She'll become a Pokémon Ranger just like everyone else (well, most of them) in the room and she deserved to be here just as much as everyone else.

Even if she was a month behind.

As Ms. April guided her to stand beside her, Kate looked around at the other students in the classroom. There was one kid with black hair. There was a girl with short auburn hair and a small green clip in her hair beside him. Both were dressed in the school uniforms looking like they were made to wear them. There was a blonde girl with curly hair and bangs similar to Kate's. She smiled brightly at Kate, making her feel slightly more confident with her appearance and place within the classroom. Beside the only empty desk (which was surely her spot), there was a cocky boy with spiky red hair and a smug smile plastered on his face.

Kate stopped the urge to groan.

Great, she thought, one of those guys.

"Class," Ms. April announced. "This is our new student, Kate. I hope that you all give her a warm welcome." The brunette teacher gave a long look towards the red-haired boy as though she was threatening him to move the wrong way. "Kate, why don't you go ahead and sit next to Keith?" She motioned to the empty chair.

Kate nodded her head, trying not to speak in squeaky noises, and moved to go sit down in the chair. As Kate sat down and pulled her chair closer, she felt a pair of eyes looking at her. She glanced over at Keith, who once again watched her with a smug smile on his face. Then, the boy turned and returned his gaze to the teacher.

Ms. April launched into a review session about the previous unit. However, Kate had a hard time concentrating on her words at the present time. It was difficult when there were a handful of eyes staring at the back of your head. The students, all except the blonde, were looking at her with interest as though they were all dying to walk over and find out her deepest and darkest secrets.

Or, a voice in her head thought, they already know that you're a Top Ranger's kid sister.

Kate paled at the thought. While it wasn't a life threatening secret that required Kate to be pulled out of school, it was a frightening one to Kate who did not want that secret to be spilled just yet. She wanted to be able to make friends on her own accord instead of who she was connected to.

"Now that we have gone over the review for the previous unit," Ms. April announced. For a moment, Kate felt all of her students' eyes leave her. There's an annoyed look on Ms. April's face like she knew that she would need to be going over the review again later this afternoon. "Since the class seems to be distracted, I am electing the next thirty minutes of the remaining class time to meeting our new student. After that, I want you guys in the dining hall to continue this review in a more attentive style."

The class looked at her, looking at her with confused eyes.

"Is that a deal?"

"Deal," the class chorsed.

"Good," Ms. April replied. She walked over to the blonde across the aisle from Kate. "Rhythmi, can you show Kate around the school? In addition, do you mind showing her where the dorm you will be sharing will be?"

Rhythmi beamed. "Of course, Ms. April!"

"Thank you," Ms. April replied before she headed outside the room. As she left, she turned towards the class, "Please, take it easy on Kate. I do not need you lot to run her off before she even really had a chance to settle down." Then, she left.

As though the other students were planning it, all of them rose from their seats and headed in Kate's direction. However, the first person there was Keith, who leaned on her desk as he attempted to make himself look more important than her. "Hey, new kid," he greeted. "I forgot your name already, but how long did it take you to capture that Pikachu? Like, an hour?"

Kate was too stunned that she couldn't think of a proper response as she stood up.

However, Rhythmi was the next person to reach them. "Keith's just a show off," she spoke, putting her hands on her hips. "You're better off ignoring him," she added, though it seemed like she was simply teasing him. "Instead," she continued, taking Kate's hands and pulling her from behind the desk, "You should be listening to me! I'm not here to be a Ranger. I want to be an Operator." She looked at the others before leaning close to Kate, "Because then I can order Keith around like my servant once we graduate."

Keith let out a shallow laugh. "Funny, Rhythmi."

She gave him a glare. "You know that I'm kidding." She took Kate's hand again and pulled her towards the classroom go. "Come on, let's get this tour started." Once they were free of the classroom, Rhythmi let her hand go. "I'm sorry for dragging you out of there," she apologized. "I can tell that you don't like the spotlight that much."

"Just don't like being the new girl is all," Kate responded. "Especially when I know that this sort of thing isn't generally normal."

Rhythmi shrugged, understanding. "That's true. Come on, I'll show you the school."

...

Even though the Ranger School was only two stories, Kate thought that the building was massive.

In addition to their own classroom, there was another classroom across that hall that belonged to Mr. Kincaid. The teacher of that class was blonde and simple, not standing out too much compared to Ms. April. Other than the fact, he wore more hairspray in his hair than any man that Kate had ever met before. He wore a pair of ironed, gray pants, an expensive-looking yellow button-up, and a maroon sweater vest. The kids in his class seemed uninterested in his class. With a small greeting, they're gone as though he would rather send them into the pit of hell than have them for one more minute in his class.

Before heading to the library, the two girls briefly stopped in the Staff Room to see the principal and Ms. April. However, they were deep in conversation so they did not stay for long. Next, Rhythmi dragged her to the library that was situated at the back of the school. It is in the library that Kate meets the influential scientist-to-be, Isaac, who is deep in thought (and with a mushroom cut). She also meets one of her classmates, Halley, who loves the library, as well as Ponte, the self-proclaimed "conflicted marshmallow boy". Isaac is quiet and doesn't talk to her more than a brief sentence; but Kate does not get much time to try and get him to talk before Rhythmi is dragging her upstairs to the dorms.

The living quarters of the students were all situated upstairs. On one side of the room were a handful of pink doors that led to the individual girls' dorms. On the opposite side, there were an equal number of blue dorms that signaled the boys' living space. In the large common area, there were a lot of desks and plush chairs where students could do assignments or studying. In addition, there was a pool table and a television that was currently showing a football game for some of the students that had wandered their way up here.

As Rhythmi was explaining about the various times students were allotted in the common area on each day, the bell rang. The blonde lit up in excitement. "Come on," she pushed, moving towards the stairs. "There's one more place that I need to show you before lunch!" Kate followed after the blonde, going down the stairs and out the front doors the school.

As the two of them stepped out onto the pathway to the shed, Kate registered a mass of small brown Pokémon, Bidoof, running away from a woman, who cried after them. Kate counted the amount of small brown Pokémon that were running around the lawn. There were so many of them that she did not know if she counted them correctly but she thought she saw nine. The brown haired woman caught sight of the two of them as they rushed over to the frantic woman, "Janice," Rhythmi gasped. "What happened?"

"I accidentally stepped on the lead Bidoof's tail as I was trying to feed them and he started running around," Janice spoke. "Now they're so riled up that they won't eat or listen to me. Can you help me calm them down?" The last part was directed towards Kate, who was already moving to grab the Styler from the clip on her belt.

"I thought I heard a commotion out here!" Kate pivoted to see Keith, heading out the front door with his Styler in hand. "You, new kid!" The boy pointed the blue rod of his styler towards her, his capture disc spinning excitedly at his feet. "Let's see how good you really are! I challenge you to a race. The one who catches the most Bidoof wins. Are you up for it?"

Kate let out a sigh, gripping her styler and seeing the capture disc shoot from her styler. "It doesn't sound like I have much of a choice."

"That's the spirit," Keith grinned. He leaned over, like he was fixing to run a race. "Three… Two... One… Go!"

...

At the end of the "race", Keith had caught five of the Bidoof while Kate only managed to capture four of them. The caretaker of the Pokémon, Janice, was enthusiastic at the two capturing and calming down all of the Bidoof that were out of control. There was a twinkle in her eye when she shook Kate's hand as though she knew what Kate wanted to hide. However, she did not speak of it which Kate was thankful for. There was a kick to her step as she walked off to feed the Bidoof on the opposite end of the grounds, promising treats in apologies.

Rhythmi sighed heavily, placing her hands on her hips as she turned the red-haired boy with them. "Are you satisfied now, Keith?" She gave a solid glare to the boy with spiky red hair.

Keith ignored Rhythmi and turned his attention towards Kate, who just watched the two with an amused smile on her face. "I'd rate your captures 65 out of 100." He paused and Kate watched him curiously, raising an eyebrow. "But, I'll be honest: I was pretty surprised by how you did. You're pretty decent for someone who just learned about this."

While that wasn't technically true, it was her second time using a styler and the first time outside of a controlled environment like the entrance exam. "Thank you," Kate spoke. "I think that's a lot coming from you."

"It's Kate, right?" Keith questioned, extending his hand.

Kate took his hand and shook it. "That's right," she paused, letting him think for just a moment that she didn't know his name, "Keith."

He smiled at her, sheepishly. And then, Rhythmi punched Keith in the shoulder. He flinched and reached up to rub his arm while pushing the blonde away from him. "Keith! You knew her name the entire time, didn't you? For goodness sake…" Then, she grabbed Kate's arm and dragged her away from Keith. "Come on, there's one more place that I still need to show you!"

Keith jogged to keep up. "You haven't shown her Ascension Square, yet?"

"No, we were on our way there when someone decided that he wanted to have a race to capture the Bidoof instead of just catching them himself," Rhythmi teased, looking at him over her shoulder. "Come on," Rhythmi instructed Kate, pulling her towards the stairs with Keith following behind.

...

Ascension Square was beautiful.

The grass was fine cut and pristine as though it never growed. There were a few trees in the square that were well-maintained by one of the faculty of the school that Kate had not met yet. The square backed up to the ocean which had a small dock for a boat to dock. There wasn't a boat there at the moment which lead Kate to wonder as to why they decided to place a dock on the school with no boat to show for it. In the center of the square, there was a large statue that depicted the official Ranger symbol elevated on two platforms.

Rhythmi motioned towards the large statue. "This is the Pledge Stone," she informed Kate with a glance in her direction. "Legend states that if you make a firm pledge with your friends here, it is sure to come true." She motioned towards a set of markings that depicted people's names all around the base. Kate leaned forward to spot the different markings. "Some of those who have pledged have carved their names into the stone."

Kate ran her hand over her brother's name at the base of the statue.

"Yes," a cool voice said, "Though, not all pledges are depicted on that stone." The three of them turned to find an elderly gentleman descending the stairs to meet them. Kate recognized him because of the fact that she had seen him briefly in the Staff Room briefly conversing with Ms. April. He had gray hair that was swept to one side and a pair of glasses that made his eyes look like they were twinkling. He wore a brown suit with a green tie. He stepped closer to the three of them and smiled brightly at Kate. "You must be Kate, our new student."

"Yes sir," she spoke. She reached out to shake his hand. "We tried to talk to you earlier but you and Ms. April were busy."

"I understand," the principal spoke. "That is why I chose to find you myself so that you can know who I am." He outstretched his hand. "I'm Principal Lamont. My last name is a little long so the students here just call me Lamont." He turned towards Keith and Rhythmi, who looked nervous being acknowledged by the principal. "Janice informed me of how you helped with the Bidoof in the courtyard and I thank you both for helping her. However, I would like to speak with Kate privately."

"Of course," Rhythmi spoke up. "We'll save you a spot at lunch." She gave Kate a hug and quickly informed her that lunch was held in the common room on the second floor. Then, she and Keith headed up the stairs towards the school, talking curiously with one another.

For a moment, Principal Lamont watched them go. Once they were gone, he waited a few heartbeats as though he wouldn't put it past Keith to come back and attempt to overhear whatever they were going to talk about. Then, he moved to the statue, sitting on the base of the statue and folding his hands together on his lap. "Ms. April informed me that you do not want the other students to know that you are related to Kellyn."

"That's correct," she responded. "Is that a problem?"

"Not at all," he replied. "In fact, I believe that it's an excellent idea. The students might assume that you will get special treatment because your brother is a Top Ranger when that is simply not the case. Actually, I believe that Ms. April might push you harder so you can surpass his image that he's left behind."

Kate nodded.

"But," he added. "I want you to know that I know the true reason as to why you don't want your fellow students to know of his identity."

She glanced up at him with wide eyes.

He chuckled. "For the first month of Kellyn's admittance, he spent the entire time wondering if he made the right decision, leaving the family. He came to me a lot because he was sad from what he did. And while I do not agree with how he did it, you have to admit that he's done some fantastic good in the world."

Kate looked at him with wide eyes and stepped backwards once he stood up.

Principal Lamont did not seem affected by her reaction as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "I know you and Kellyn have some issues to work out and I implore you to work them out. Family is all we have." He patted her shoulder before he started to walk away.

"Is all of that true?" Kate questioned.

The principal turned back and nodded. "Hold onto your family," he advised. "I know from experience how pushing away your family can be a lonely time."

And, with that, Principal Lamont left her alone in Ascension Square, staring at her brother's name.

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed. Please review telling me what you like (or don't like) about this chapter. If you want to stick around for more, just hit that follow button by the review box. I hope to see you guys next chapter where we deal with the "Test of Courage"!