Ember grumbled softly as he awoke. A beam of sunlight was shining in his eyes trough the tree branches above. The sun was well above the horizon, and the village Pokémon were starting to go about their days. He sat up and watched them quietly, going over the previous day's information in his head.

Team Iustus was missing in action. Meaning that they could be dead, or even worse. He couldn't help but imagine a group of terrible, evil Pokémon hurting his father and his teammates in some dark cave on the other side of the world.

"Or..." he said to himself, a newer, brighter thought popping into his head, "they could need help... a-and no other teams can get to them!" Hope filled his tiny chest, and he stood up in his excitement. "I could go help them! With a team of my own!"

"But... I don't have a team..." He deflated a little bit at the realization. "I'm only a kid, so going out there by myself would be impossible... where would I even get Pokémon to go with me?"

A gentle cough interrupted his reverie, causing him to turn and look. Yen and Gregory sat on the ground behind the bench with smiles on their faces. "We would," the Meowth said happily.

He looked down at them in confusion. "R-Really? You guys would really make a team with me?"

"'Course we would," Gregory chirped happily. "It sounds like fun!"

"B-But, we'll be gone a long time! Won't you be homesick or something?"

Yen shrugged. "So? We can't just let you go out there alone. You'd only get yourself into a whole mess of trouble." She hopped onto the Bench and sat next to him, watching their Deino friend struggle to climb up with them. "Besides, we'd miss you if you left us behind."

"Yeah! We're your friends, and friends stick together!" Gregory nuzzled Ember's cheek happily. "That's what your dad's team always said!"

Ember nodded in agreement. "Yeah! Let's go ask Auntie Hilda if we can go!"

The trio cheered, running down the cliff and down to the village, eager to hear her response.


"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" The Stoutland glared down at the three Pokémon in front of her. They flinched at her volume, looking at their feet. "What on Earth made ye think it was a good idea?!"

"W-Well, we thought that we could go look for Dad..." Ember said quietly.

Hilda growled softly at him. "Yer too young ta be doin' somethin' so dangerous! What if ye got hurt, or lost!?"

Yen glared back at her, her light für bristling. "We'd be fine on our own! We're not little kids!"

"Ye may as well be, young lady!"

Gregory cleared his throat, directing the angry Stoutland's attention onto himself. "Ms. Hilda, we just wanted to go find Fire-Heart. We're the right age and strength to become a Rescue Team. I looked it up and everything."

She sighed loudly, shaking her head. "Ye kids aren't gonna let this go, are ye?" She sat down and looked them over with tired eyes. "I'll think about it. I'll tell ye tomorrow what my decision is."

They nodded, grinning to each other in excitement before running outside.