The ship went up with three Mareep. As designated powerhouses, they weren't battle-trained, but they could be called upon in an emergency. They didn't have any fighting technique, but they were strong, the Garrison had been breeding them as fuel agents for years.
They could have killed almost anything.
Katie knew there was foul play.
The last message she'd gotten from her brother came two nights before the disappearance.
We've managed to get closer, but it's acting strange.
The Pokémon they'd been studying.
The satellite feed from Kerberos had come out with a Pokémon that had never been seen on Earth. Never on any planet in their solar system.
They'd been sent up there to find it.
It looks like we were wrong about the type, all the scans are reading Dark.
They'd gone up with a fairly rounded team, but with a clear assumption they'd find an Ice-type up there.
A team built to be strong against Ice types, plus the standard Garrison cargo.
Three Mareep, and an Eevee.
Just in case the alien environment affected its evolution. No sense going all that way without one.
Nearly every cadet at the Garrison trained an Eevee. This one was Shiro's. After so many missions, it had really come to love her dad.
"Stop chewing that," she said to her Minun.
Minun spat out the shoelace and began to chew on her chair leg instead.
Matt's Plusle was lying on her windowsill. She had put it there two hours ago.
She was sad right along with it. But her sadness was a fire, it was the hundred papers covering her desk and the forged documents and the nights with no sleep.
She hadn't told them yet.
"Hey, guys."
Minun stopped chewing on the chair. Plusle didn't react.
"I think I have enough stuff together to pull something off."
She picked Minun off the floor.
"But I need you guys to keep it a secret. Because I'm leaving."
Plusle picked up its head.
"I'm gonna sneak into the Garrison and find out what happened to Dad and Matt."
Minun held tightly to her fingers.
"Yeah, I know," she said. "Of course you want to come. But I don't know if that's a good idea, someone might recognize you. Genghis definitely will."
They mostly saw Genghis during Garrison events, where Plusle and Minun always insisted on being carried in its pocket. Iverson wouldn't have allowed it if he didn't have so much respect for her dad.
She jumped a little when something touched her arm.
Plusle had come off the windowsill and hopped onto the desk.
She smoothed back its ears.
"If I take you with me, I don't know when I'll be able to let you out again."
With the exception of three Mareep, the Pokémon on the Kerberos mission had all been confined and inactive for months.
Viable, but not the kindest thing to do.
The Plusle hopped down to take Minun by the paw. They looked at her with meaning.
"You're sure?"
Both of them nodded.
She smiled and pet them on the head.
"Thanks, guys."
Softly, they chirped at her.
She took the Poké Ball out of her pocket. She let out a breath and pointed it at them.
"Return."