Chapter 2

Change and a Challenge

Much had changed for Team Dawn Breaker after their assistance with the recapture of Glaucuous Town. Fueled by their success against a captain level enemy, they began to take higher ranked missions, each with varying levels of success. While they completed each mission, as one would expect, the higher the mission ranking, the harder it was to complete. So far, the young team had not dared to take any A ranked missions though they did take C ranked and the occasional B rank.

Not only that, but the team had also become something of a legend among the trainees and some of the younger teams. Never before had a team in the Latios Division forsaken the normal channels of the training program and formed a team with such a level of success as Team Dawn Breaker. Even among the older members of the Latios Division were impressed by the young team's performance.

However, many wrote off the team's success as Stride assisting them during missions. It was a well known fact that Stride had taken on a new team and many thought that Stride was doing the work for them in order to hide the fact that they were as good as an average rookie team. These claims were generally ignored by most either knew that Stride would never do such a thing or they had seen Team Dawn Breaker in action.

It was a common sight to see the team working with either Monty or another resistance member in the training center. They would enter the training center almost daily and would constantly push themselves to their limits each time. They could be considered masochists with all the training they did and with the recent induction of the once wild Sandshrew, their efforts to not only improve themselves but also their overall teamwork.

While they were almost constantly in the training facility, that did not mean they did not take time to relax. They would make it a habit to try and meet up with the friends that they have made in the division. If one were to encounter the team, they would be surprised of how different they seemed from when they were training to when they were relaxing.

Zero acted basically the same as he was when training and when not. He had always been withdrawn and borderline cold around strangers, though he had begun to open up more. It was only when he was with his team that he truly opened up. If one were to see him, their jaws would most likely hit the ground to see a laughing and smiling Riolu as opposed to the standoffish one that would walk around.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Furno, who had been boisterous, had toned down significantly. He acted much more mature when faced with new or frustrating things, unlike before when he would act naive or childish. That is not to say that he was not still excitable at times when he was extremely happy, he just didn't wear his heart on his sleeve so to speak.

Quill was still...Quill. He enjoyed telling jokes and messing with the team -mostly Furno. He was laid back by nature, though he when he trained, he became a monster. The young Quilladin was rather ruthless when fighting his opponent, notorious for holding nothing back in fights, even when sparring. However, his laid back attitude caused him to become lazy when it comes to training, forcing Zero to give him 'incentive' to get him moving, much to the Quilladin's chagrin. Oddly enough, however, he loved getting into fights.

Dusty was an odd case. He acted shy around most Pokémon and rarely spoke, even around his team. When he did speak, his voice sounded almost child-like and innocent. However, much like Quill, the Sandshrew's personality would drastically change in battle. His eyes would become sharp and cold. His posture became rigid and fierce. He was not a 'heavy-hitter' like Quill, but he was powerful. He had an analytical eye when it came to battling. He would either wait and attack when his opponent was unprepared or would draw his opponent into a trap. This made him an invaluable member of the team.

The team worked quite well together despite their evident personality differences. Because of Dusty's natural analytical mind, he melded in almost perfectly with the team. However, they still ran into problems every once in a while.

"Quill! You almost hit me!" Furno shouted angrily.

"Sorry about that!" the Quilladin shouted back.

"Seriously, that's like the second time in the last five minutes! Are you trying to hit me?!"

"Of course not!" Furno glared at his teammate and noticed the mischievous glint in his eye.

"You are doing it on purpose!" he shouted angrily.

"Furno, I would never do such a thing," Quill said dramatically, clutching his heart as if he were hurt by Furno's words, though he could not hide the smile that was creeping over his face.

Infuriated by the Quilladin's constant joking, Furno decided to get even. The moment the grass-fighting turned around, Furno shot a small bout of flames at him, igniting his tail.

"WAAH!" Quill yelped in pain. Everyone in the training center found their attention drawn to the Quilladin as he danced around with his tail on fire. He finally managed to put out the flames and glared at the innocently whistling Chimchar. "What the hell, Furno?!"

"Oh, sorry," Furno said sarcastically. "I was aiming for something else."

Quill growled in anger and fired a barrage of glowing needles at the fire type, making him yelp in surprise.

"What the hell, Quill?!"

"Sorry, I was aiming for something else," Quill mocked.

Furno growled and lunged at the spiny armor Pokémon with a thunder punch. Giving his own undignified yelp, Quill jumped to the side to avoid the attack and lost his balance. With a small thud the Quilladin fell onto his back, his limbs outstretched and flailing like a Squirtle.

Furno fell over in laughter, clutching his sides as he watched the grass-fighting type struggle. Quill finally managed to get to his feet, his face red in a mixture of embarrassment and anger. Glaring at the still laughing Chimchar, he released a battle cry and pounced on the unsuspecting fire type.

The two began rolled on the floor, scratching and punching each other, all the while spouting insults at the other without any real heat in their voices. Most of the center's occupants were watching the fighting duo with a mixture of annoyance and mirth on their faces. One Pokémon in particular could only watch with a sigh.

"Don't you two ever quit?" Zero asked more to himself than to the quarreling duo.

"He started it!" both shouted at the same time, causing them to glare at the other and resume their fighting.

Zero pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"I am sure you did nothing to warrant the actions of those two," Dusty said as he walked up to Zero.

"Thanks, Dusty," he said half-heartedly, trying hard to not roll his eyes.

"You are welcome," the Sandshrew said, not understanding the Riolu's sarcasm.

Zero just sighed. "Dusty, you remember our talk about sarcasm, right?"

The Sandshrew gave his leader a confused look before a glimmer of understanding flashed in his eyes. "I apologize, Zero. I did not realize you were speaking in sarcasm," he apologized.

"You don't need to apologize," Zero said, barley suppressing a sigh.

Dusty, while a lot more intelligent then he was when they first found him in the wild, did not understand sarcasm or jokes very well. He understand the mechanics of joking, but he was unable to discern when they were directed towards him. He was a...very literal Pokémon. At first, this made him a target of Quill's joking, but this soon stopped when Quill failed to get more than a curious glance from the Sandshrew.

Speaking of Quill, Zero turned back to the duo that were still rolling around on the floor. Quill had certainly proved himself to the team. When he first joined, Zero though he was nothing but an overzealous fanboy who sought to get in the good graces of Team Surge and while he was, he proved that that wasn't all he was.

Quill, while a bit of a joker, was reliable and knew when it was time to be serious. He pulled more than his own weight on the team having had to save the others' hides at times. He further surprised Zero by stating that he wanted to stay part of their team, not Team Surge's. He was committed to Team Dawn Breaker and he was had become a valued member and a good friend.

Furno too had gone through a rather drastic change. The timid and slightly insecure fire chimp had become a strong and confident member of Team Dawn Breaker. He no longer questioned what he was doing and had become confident in his abilities. He still had moments of childishness, as could be seen as he fought almost constantly with Quill, but he was a kid. Heck, they all were kids. Zero looked turned his attention to himself and how he had changed.

Zero, when he had been found, spoke the bare minimum. He was confused about what was going on around him and didn't know how he should act as a Pokémon. He was a human trapped in a Pokémon's body and despite knowing nothing of his past, he still felt out of place in the world. He felt as if he had no place in this world, but now...

Now he was more self-assured in who or what he was. He opened up more and though he was still wary around new faces he became confident in how he acted. Being called a Riolu and acting like one had made him accepting of his predicament. There were even times that he forgot that he was human and the scary part was that he was okay with that.

He felt comfortable as a Riolu. Maybe because it was all he knew, but regardless of why, he was okay with how he was. He liked this life. He liked the friends that he had made since waking up in that forest. He didn't know what kind of life he had before he turned into a Pokémon, but he found himself caring less and less about that. He was Zero, the leader of Team Dawn Breaker and that was all that mattered.

The former human looked down at his quarreling teammates and couldn't help but smile. This was the life he had now. He lived for his team, the Pokémon that had become family to him. A family that he was willing to lay down his life for and it wasn't just them. Brooke, Ducky, Zeke, Glenda, Team Tempest, Team Surge -though maybe not Seth-, they were all important to him. Their beliefs, their desire to end the emperor's tyranny, they became his desires and he would fight for them to his last breath.

"I see your training session has been productive." Zero turned and saw Bolt padding towards him.

"Bolt!" Furno exclaimed. He quickly pushed Quill away and got to his feet. The Quilladin grumbled angrily, but Furno ignored him. "What are you doing here?"

"What? Can't I come and see how Stride's hatchlings are doing?" the Manectric teased.

"No, it's not that," Furno quickly pacified. "It's just that Stride normally comes to check up on us."

"Yes, well Stride's been feeling stressed out as of late, so he's taking a break for a while."

"Oh," Furno said, slightly depressedly.

"What, you don't like me?" Bolt said, looking away as if he was hurt.

"What? No! I'm just- We're just-"

"Furno, he's messing with you," Zero interrupted, barely suppressing a sigh.

"Oh..." A bright blush colored the Chimchar's. "I knew that!"

"Sure you did," Quill muttered under his breath, though Furno heard him.

"Shut up, Quill!"

"Was that a joke, Zero?" Dusty asked in a low whisper, causing the Riolu to sigh loudly.

"I see your team is as sharp as ever," Bolt commented, physically straining not to laugh. "Anyway, I came here to see how you four are doing with your training, but I see you've got it handled." Bolt gave them a knowing look.

"No, no! We're still training! We're just...taking a break!" Furno said unconvincingly.

"Right," Bolt said, clearly not believing the fire type's words. "So how are you four doing?"

"We're okay," Zero answered. "A little tired from training and missions."

"You know your allowed to take a break every once in a while, right?" Bolt asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We know, but we want to get stronger."

"Ah, come on, Zero!" Quill swung his arm around the Riolu's shoulder. "We've already become a lot stronger. We can afford a break. I mean, we've aced every mission we've taken since the team was created! I think we deserve a break."

"I don't know..." Zero said uncertainly.

"He does have a point, Zero," Furno added. "We have been working really hard. One little break won't stop us from completing missions."

"Yeah, listen to Furno," Quill added. "At the rate we've been working, we could take a whole month off and we'd still rock!"

"Hmm," Zero said noncommittally.

"Come on, please, Zero!" Quill pleaded. "Please?"

"I still don't know," Zero said. "What do you think, Bolt?"

"Well like I said, there's nothing wrong with taking a break. Heck, I just told you Stride was taking a break," Bolt sagely. "Though you shouldn't become too overconfident in your abilities. There's always room for improvement."

"We know, but come one, we're amazing!" Quill bragged.

"But there will always be someone stronger," Bolt pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's why we're a team," Furno said earnestly. "We work together so we can beat foes like that."

"Besides, we've taken down a captain and a legendary!" Quill boasted. "We can handle anything!"

Zero didn't say anything, though did smile marginally at his teammates. They had come far since joining the resistance and he was confident in their ability to complete missions. They have been faced with strong foes in the past, but they have always been able to pull through with their combined strength.

"Hmm," Bolt hummed, an unreadable expression on his face. "So you're confident in your abilities."

"Of course we are!" Quill exclaimed, puffing out his chest.

"Yeah, if we work together there's nothing we can't do!" Furno added, determination burning in his eyes.

"Furno...that was seriously cliché," Quill said.

"Shut up!" Furno snapped.

"Guys," Zero chided.

"Well, if you're so confident, I have a mission just for you four," Bolt said. Team Dawn Breaker couldn't help but gulp at the sly smirk that spread over the discharge Pokémon's face.

-Resistance-

Bolt led the team of four to the mission board. Swiftly maneuvering through the mass of Pokémon he tore a mission off the board and padded back to the quartet with the paper in his mouth. He placed the mission in front of them and smirked at them.

"Well here it is," the electric type said almost evilly. "If you four think you're strong enough, then this mission is for you."

Tentatively, Zero reached down and took the paper, casting an uncertain glance at the still smirking Manectric. Quill peered over Zero's shoulder and read over the mission.

"A B-rank? That's it?" he questioned disbelievingly and a little disappointed.

"No offense, Bolt, but we've done B-ranks before," Zero said.

"Yeah, and we handled them with no problem," Quill boasted, earning nods from the rest of the team sans Dusty.

"Oh? But this is a special mission," Bolt said cryptically.

"Special how?" Furno questioned.

"This one is much more difficult than most B-rank missions. Several other teams have attempted to complete this mission and all of them have failed," Bolt said with a slight sinister edge in his voice.

"Seriously, all them?!" Quill asked, snatching the mission from Zero's paws and reading it at a furious pace.

"All of them," Bolt confirmed.

"It's says that there is a thief hiding in a place called Malignant Meadow," Quill read, still scanning over the paper.

"Malignant Meadow," Dust repeated. "That name is a paradox."

"Yes, it used to be called Miraculous Meadow for its variety of exotic flora, but it became twisted and deadly when it became a mystery dungeon," Bolt explained grimly.

"What kind of Pokémon is the thief?" Furno asked.

"It says that its a Throh," Quill answered after skimming over the sheet.

"A fighting type," Dusty murmured. "We have no type advantage over such a foe."

"That doesn't matter," Quill said determinedly. "We didn't have a type advantage against Spikefang and we still won!"

"Yes but he severely underestimated you three," Dusty pointed out. "If we are to go against an enemy who has been dealing with resistance members on a continuous basis, he will most likely not give us such a luxury."

"Whatever," Quill scoffed. "We'll take the mission and we'll complete it like all the others."

"I do believe that that decision is not yours to make. Zero is the leader, not you," Dusty said, a glimmer of annoyance flashing in his eyes.

Quill spluttered in shock and anger. "I never- I never said I was the leader!" he said furiously.

"Then why are you trying to make decisions for the team?" the Sandshrew challenged.

Quill's face became bright red with anger. He opened his mouth to shout at the mouse Pokémon when Zero cut him off.

"Quill! Stand down!" Quill turned his glare towards Zero who returned it with one of his own. The two stared the other down for several tense seconds before Quill turned away with a huff.

Zero suppressed a sigh of frustration. Arguments like that have been frustratingly frequent between the two Pokémon. At first it had been just Quill teasing the ground type, but when he didn't respond in a way that Quill liked, things began to get ugly. It almost always started the same way: Quill would say something as a joke, Dusty -being the literal individual that he is- pointed out how whatever Quill said contradicts a proven fact, and Quill snaps at Dusty. It was a never ending cycle and it was getting on Zero's nerves.

He really couldn't fault Dusty for his part in these arguments as it was in his nature to be literal, but Quill's part in all this was surprising. Sure, Quill argued with Furno a lot, but with them it was in an almost brotherly manner. When it was with Dusty, it was almost personal and, if his emotion sensing was working properly, Quill was angry at the little ground mouse whenever they fought and Zero didn't know why. He wanted to ask, but at the same time, he didn't want to overstep his boundaries.

Bolt gave the team a confused look. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, we're good," Zero said, casting a hard look towards Quill. "We'll take the mission."

"Oh? Are you sure?" Bolt asked almost challengingly.

"We're sure," Zero nodded before glancing at the Sandshrew next to him. Seeing his slightly worried expression on his face, Zero said, "Don't worry, we'll be careful."

Dusty nodded half-heartedly at Zero's claim, clearly still skeptical over the entire mission. Zero ignored this in favor of staring determinedly Manectric. The two resistance members stared each other, locked in a battle of wills. Finally, Bolt cracked a crooked grin, showing off his sharp teeth.

"Well I guess it's decided then." Bolt turned and began to walk away. Right as he was about to turn the corner, he glanced back at the team and smirked evilly at the team.

"I do hope you four come back alright. The last team barely made it back in one piece." With that, the discharge Pokémon slipped around the corner, leaving the quartet alone with their musings.

"Well that was ominous," Furno laughed nervously.

"He was just trying to scare us," Quill said with a scoff.

"He sounded serious," Furno said, slightly anxious.

"He was being serious," a Flygon said, coming to stand next to the team.

"What do you mean?" Zero asked.

"That mission has sent many teams to Dr. Kuren in just under a week," the Flygon explained.

"Seriously, it's that bad?!" Furno cried in disbelief.

"If the mission is that difficult, why not raise the mission's ranking?" Dust asked.

"It's not that simple," the Flygon said with a shake of its head. "You see, two things are taken into account when assigning a mission's rank: difficulty and the amount that the client is willing to pay. Each mission has a minimum poké requirement so if a client can't afford the payment for a higher ranking mission they have to settle for a lower one."

"But that doesn't make since," Zero commented, a frown marring his face. "Isn't that dangerous for resistance teams? I mean, if a client can only afford a C-rank mission, but in reality the mission is A-rank, that could put the team completing the mission at risk!"

"That is true, but when the client gives the parameters for the mission it is determined if the mission is truly that rank. If the mission proves to be more difficult than the mission's ranking then a warning is put on the mission. However, there are instances where the client lies about the parameters in order to get someone to do the mission quicker, but those are isolated incidences."

"That's not very reassuring," Furno grumbled worriedly.

"Hey, the system's not perfect, but it's all we got," the Flygon said with a nonchalant shrug. "Anyway, if you're really serious about taking that mission, I wish you guys good luck." Nodding his head towards the group, the dragon-ground type flew off.

"Well I feel so much better about this," Furno said sarcastically.

"That is good, but we should still remain vigilant," Dusty said.

"He was being sarcastic," Quill said waspishly.

"Quill," Zero warned, causing the Quilladin to huff. Zero sighed at his teammates attitude before addressing the fire type. "We'll be fine, Furno. Remember, we've fought strong enemies before. This will be no different."

"R-Right." Furno's expression hardened into one of determination. "Right!" he said with more certainty. "We can do this, together!"

"...Still cliché," Quill mumbled.

"Hey!" Furno shouted indigently. Quill laughed loudly at this and even Zero chuckled lightly. Eventually, even Furno began to laugh and soon, the entire team -sans one- was laughing mirthfully.

"I don't understand. Was that a joke?" Dusty asked confusedly. The trio looked at each other before all three of them doubled over in laughter, further confusing the mouse Pokémon. "What? What did I say?"