The weather was unusually cold. It was only the early autumn, but at this rate late-autumn might as well be mid-winter. An unexpected chill in the air made Daniel Slate regret deciding to pack light. If he was getting this cold on the way to the laboratory, just a short walk from his old apartment, what would walking miles on the road feel? Luckily the top of the hill holding the lab was in sight. Quickening his pace to a light jog, he hurried inside.

The room was surprisingly more crowded than he expected. Despite being in a town quite a ways away from the major population centers, it seemed like the reputation of the lab and the appeal of the job reached far. After checking in and filling out basic paperwork, all that was left was to do was wait for his name to be called. After spending some time gauging the speed at which people were called (agonizingly slow, it seemed that the head professor was doing all the interviews himself), a news story on one of the waiting room TVs caught his attention.

"… following more reports of Pokémon smuggling in the Kingdom borders. The smugglers have been reported to unlawfully capture rare and endangered Pokémon to be sold illegally in foreign markets to wealthy individuals. The funds for the project were drawn from the Type-Omega defense budget with claims that the current period of peace is evidence that the Omega situation is improving…"

"What a shitty place to be in. Either we let some fucking smugglers do what they want, or we leave our asses wide open for some Omega to attack."

A voice beside him brought him back to reality. Following the voice brought his eyes to a woman about his age, watching the same broadcast he was. One look was enough to tell him that she wasn't from around here. Her tanned skin and bright blue eyes contrasted sharply with the normally pale and brown eyed citizens of the Caelania, not to mention her somewhat heavy accent.

"Was it the swearing or are you just staring because of my looks?" She said tauntingly, turning to face him.

"It was actually the accent, I can't quite place it." He responded, suddenly realizing how long he's been thinking about it, still staring at her.

"That noticeable, huh? You caught me, I'm not from Caelania, I'm actually from down south. Way down south. Kirishvek to be precise."

The Republic of Kirishvek, very far away from the Kingdom. He knew the area was somewhat infamous for its instability, causing many of its citizens to leave, but he never expect to find any amost halfway across the world in a nation more or less opposite of Kirishvek.

"You're quite open, kind of nice for a change. The people around here aren't very talkative… Or as vulgar."

"I was more or less raised by day laborers, I've learned to be talkative. Not too big on modesty though."

On the other side of the room he heard a door open and one of the attendants call his name. He was actually expecting to be waiting for much, much longer. Maybe none of the others qualified?

"That's me." He said to his conversation partner, then excusing himself. "Good luck with your interview."

"Don't worry, they used to let children do this. I've got this shit in the bag. But good luck to you too."

He could add "cocky" to his list of first impressions. Nonetheless, he thanked her entered the next room with attendant.

Inside the small room was a singular table and two chairs facing across from each other. In the chair opposite of his sat a man who didn't appear to be much older than him with a dark beard and a lab coat. Not the person he was expecting the professor to be, not nearly as old and not as intense as his imagination led him to believe.

"Daniel Slate, age 19… From Amethyst City it seems, but currently residing here."

"That is correct." Daniel responded.

"Well, then. I'm professor Willow, and this is my lab. We need a few people to conduct a simple survey of the natural populations. Simple stuff, just listing what lives where and roughly how many of them you can find. If any irregularities from the last survey pop up we'll mark it for further study.

"Now the first question is simple, we are unable to provide a Pokémon for safety. Do you currently have one you would feel comfortable traveling with?"

"Yes sir, I have a Magnemite I've been with for a few years." Daniel responded, tracing the outline of the pokeball in his pocket containing his Pokémon under the table.

"Good, we'll test its capabilities as an assistant Pokémon later." Professor Willow replied, relieved. It seemed some had come here without even owning a single Pokémon. "Let's start with something simple. How about the WPT classification system, explain it to me."

Daniel took a deep breath and began.

"The Wild Pokémon Threat Classification System, or the WPT, is a system used to classify the danger a certain species of Pokémon would pose to humans. Most Pokémon are rated from Iota- harmless, small, and passive- to Gamma- large, deadly, and hostile. Above those are the final three classifications- Omega, Beta, and Alpha- reserved only for Pokémon of massive strength, considered to be legendary by the general population."

"Go into more detail about the final three, if you would."

"Omega- The end. Often called "harbingers of destruction". These Pokémon are massive in size and are capable of large scale destruction, but tend to stick to the rules of reality. They can be both singular Pokémon and an entire species, such as the only Groudon or the Ho-oh species.

"Beta is a bit trickier. They're called "reality shifters" for a reason. They're like Omegas, but don't necessarily have to obey the laws of reality, and instead can bend or even change the rules. They have the ability to modify time, warp space, or even grant wishes. Usually there's only one of these per species, like the Dialgia or the Palkia."

"And the last one?" The professor said holding back a grin.

"Alpha- The beginning. A Pokémon on a level that can only be described as God like. Able to create life from nothing, as well as completely destroy it. Only Alpha exists, Arceus."

"Very good. Very, very good." The professor said, pleased.

….

After a lengthy interview and hours of testing, of both him and his Magnemite, Daniel entered the small room once again. The professor across from him again, looking pleased.

"I believe you are right for this job, and I wish to extend you an invite to participate."

….

The assistant guided Daniel to a room further back in the lab. Unlike the interview room, this one was much larger. A large TV screen took up most of the wall to his left and around it were several arm chairs. Sitting down around the screen were two others, who he assumed were other candidates that were accepted, including the girl from the lobby.

"Good to see you aren't just talk." Daniel said, announcing his arrival before sitting down.

"I was almost afraid you weren't going to make it. Now I feel like I didn't waste my luck on you." She snarked back, stretching her back as if she had been sitting for a long time.

"I see how it is," the third person, a tall-ish man who appeared to be a little older than him with blonde hair and a short, rough beard, interrupted. He spoke in a tone of mock offense and made exaggerated hand motions to accompany his words. "You'll wish random strangers luck but not your dear friend. I could have failed you know."

"Shut it, you knew you would have passed anyways." She snapped back, the third person flopping back into the couch smiling. "Actually, I don't think we've actually introduced ourselves." She said, turning back to Daniel. "My name is Sara, and the drama queen over there is Nathaniel."

"Nathan also works." Nathaniel piped up, making a small hand wave.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Daniel, though you probably heard that earlier. So I take it you two know each other?"

"I guess you could say we've known each other a long time. Nathan was the older boy across the street in the neighborhood I lived in when my family came here." Sara explained.

"You could say that I was the older brother she never had." Nathan added on.

"Nor did I want."

"C'mon, don't act like I'm an embarrassment to you in public! You used to cling to me all the time."

"Strange, I don't remember any of that. Are you sure this wasn't a dream you had?"

"Do you want me to bust out the examples?"

Before the argument could fully take off the pair was interrupted by the door opening. Inside stepped a young woman he assumed was the last accepted candidate. She had short, brown hair partially hidden underneath a winter hat she was already wearing.

"I hope I'm not interrupting something." She said, taking a seat in the last empty seat.

"Not at all," Daniel replied. "I'm Daniel."

"Sara."

"Nathan."

"I'm Elise, nice to meet you." She responded after everyone else had introduced themselves. "I saw the professor in the hall just before I came in, I think he'll be here in a minute."

Right on cue, the door opened and let in Professor Willow, carrying a small bag with him.

"Well, now that it seems you've all been introduced, why don't we begin?"


(Author Note: Hooray for world building. The next chapter should hopefully kick up the pace.)