Grey walls taunted me for hours. Stains of various colors were splattered across the walls, It made me sick to wonder what caused those stains. I sighed and sat down on the lower half of the old, small bunk bed. Erie scratching noises could be heard above, and I knew kendo was carving the roof with the chunk of wire she'd found hidden under the mattress. "Alright I know this isn't the ideal place to be right now, but we can make it work out till were free. Kendo leaned over the bunk and gave me a dead serious stare. She hadn't spoken beyond a few grumbles about Pooch and her other Pokémon. And the 'good for nothing police officers'.

"Kendo" I called in the gentlest voice I could muster, "I'm sorry about this mess, it's kinda my fault. It was my idea to fight anyways." Kendo let out a sigh and laid down on her bed. "Rangers are supposed to protect everyone, not sit in jail." I paused for a moment, "When did you decide to become a ranger?" I wondered, deciding to distract her from her surroundings and missing Pokémon. Kendo began her story, and it was my turn to sit patiently and listen.

"Every kid wants to be a trainer, and their ultimate goal is always to 'be the master.' I, on the other hand, felt like there was more to life then just being the best. I wanted to have a purpose, to help out. I just didn't know a job like that existed. Id never even heard of 'rangers' or 'the union.' When I turned ten, I went off like everyone else to be a trainer and get my own Pokémon. I decided before hand, however, to just have my one Pokémon and not take any others from their natural habitat. I was on my way to the lab when I saw a strange man. Not knowing who he was, I took the other way through the woods, despite my mother's orders.

"About midway through my walk I heard a shirking sound filled with fear and pain. Of course I was afraid, and I nearly turned back, but I kept thinking of what could be making the noise, and why. So I took of running in the direction of the sound. I gasped in surprise when I found the source of the noise. I found a ratatata with a noose around it's neck. The poor thing was trying to escape, but it was just strangling itself and making the problem worse.

"A strong trainer would probably figure its just a ratata and would never be strong. I, however, was horrified. I rushed forward and immediately began to try and free the poor thing. Filled with fear, it bit me. Quickly I drew my finger to my mouth and sucked on it for a moment, but the bite wasn't that bad, so I set back to work again. The bite had showed how scared the poor creature was and I was even more determined to free it.

"I began to talk aloud to the ratata, almost trying to force my strong feelings of friendship onto it. While I spoke I worked with the trap and finally I pinned ratata down and pulled the noose of it's neck. The little Pokémon looked up at me with thankful eyes and I felt like I had finally done something good. After scanning it's neck for injuries, I let it go and even helped it take its first steps back into freedom. Ratata shot back one final look of gratitude, then took off. When it was gone I rose to my feet and wrapped my hand without even wincing, then shouldered my pack with a smile. Turing around to head back, I came face to face with the man.

He opened his mouth to say something, but, thinking he was a poacher I had already switched into fighting stance. I had his face nearly memorized and could report him to the cops. I could probably outrun him too. He looked back at me, clearly surprised, and then he laughed. He showed me his badge and explained that he was a ranger. Of course, he then had to explain what a ranger was. I interrogated him with all kind of questions.

"The man explained how he had seen me get bit and was about to step in when I fixed the problem myself. After hearing his explanation and all about the rangers, I continued on my way. I was extremely happy to have finally found the perfect job for me, something that passed my wildest imagination. He informed of the ranger school, and said that if I wanted to go, he would take me there. That school wasn't something he was aloud to tell just anyone about."

Kendo trailed of into thought and I let her reminisce in old memories for a while. Her story was inspirational, and I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps being a Pokémon trainer was wrong. When we capture Pokémon, we do take them out of their natural habitat. Sure we care for them and train them, but what if they had a family, what if they never wanted to battle. Right there and then, I decided to not capture a Pokémon against its will and let it chose to come with me or not.

The story Kendo had told made me realize what it really meant to be a ranger. It was truly helping out Pokémon and doing what's best. My eyes moved to the corner of the jail. Outside of our cell, tucked away in a shelf, were our bags. An officer must have grabbed them during the chaos. Agony's bag was missing, she must have snagged it before they could. My bag was filled with Pokefood for Blitz, as well as his favorite flavor of treats. It drove me wild to not know where my little friend was, or if he was safe. Pokémon protection was very important to me, perhaps I was a bit like Kendo and had a future in helping Pokémon. "Kendo" I called again as a sudden thought crossed my mind. "You said you used to be a ranger, what happened that made you leave?"

Kendo opened her mouth to answer but then her voice trailed off. Her eyes had fallen upon Officer Jenny, who was now walking out of the back room, past our cell, and to the office. "Wait here" Kendo hissed and before I could as any questions she lept from the top bunk, landed on her feet like a glameow would, then rocketed off to the bars of the cell. "Jenny, we need to talk." She said, her voice had a strange authority that I hadn't heard before. Kendo snatched something from her shirt pocket and showed it to Jenny. I couldn't tell what it was, but it apparently meant a lot to the police officer because the second she saw it she started thumbing through her keys to find the one to our cell.

Kendo slipped out but the door was closed before I could even stand up. Jenny motioned Kendo to another room and Kendo glanced one last reassuring look at me before leaving me alone in jail. "She is coming back…" I muttered to myself again and again, trusting that my friend wouldn't leave me alone in jail. Minutes felt like hours though.

"Step on out, time for a phone call." An officer unlocked the cell again and motioned for me to step out. I did as I was told, and followed each order obediently, as I stood by the phone, about to dial my number, I coated my voice with innicense and looked at him with soft, sweet eyes. "Excuse me officer, but do you know where my friend went?" "She's talking with Jenny in the conference room." He replied, thinking a fifteen year old girl wouldn't be able to make use of the information. He was wrong.

The secound the words were out of his mouth I took off running. He got over his shock faster then I expected and bolted out the door after me. Three more guards jumped into action and blocked my route. I could see the door marked Conference room, but I couldn't reach it. Still, I wa running from the cops already, and had worked up an adrenoline rush, so I wasn't about to stop. Heels spinning, feet sliding, I turned around the corner and bolted down the hall. There was an air vent just the right size for a teenage girl, so I opened it up and wiggled through.

The shouts behind me echoed through the vent and I could hear the sounds of the guards trying to cram themselves in. My lean figure came in handy, as well as the cops' cravings for dounuts. The air vent was tight and hot, as well as very noisy despite all my efforts to be quiet. Whenever a turn approached, I tried my best to think about where I was in the building. It was like a giant maze and If I made one wrong turn, I couldn't turn around.

"So your mission is to capture Agony?" I heard Officer Jenny's voice and scooted silently to the source, through the small little window like thing on my vent, I could see her tall, blue haired figure, as well as a teen girl with black hair and red tips, Kendo. "Befriend her, then lure her into a trap!" Kendo replied, "It was going great until you ruined it." Her voice was filled with aggression as she glared at Jenny, I stifeled a gasp. "The ranger union didn't inform me of your mission, I couldn't have known about it. Still, you could have confronted me in the ally instead of attacking, that wasn't very ranger-like." "If I confronted you, Agony would have been suspicious, if were going to catch this criminal, I need to have her complete trust. Now just let Frost and I go, I'll look for Agony again and hopefully make her arrest soon enough." Jenny let out a sigh, seeming still to want to argue, but she motioned for a guard to escort Kendo back to me, then release both of us.

"TRAITOR!" I exclaimed, unable to contain myself any longer. Jenny whirled around and spotted my face through the air vent. I cursed under my breath, knowing there was no escaping now. Within seconds her police mode kicked in and she ripped open the vent. Two hands hauled me out. "How much did you here?" she asked with a firm, angry look. "How did you get here? You should be in your cell!" She kept yelling at me without giving me a chance to answer. The slowpoke guards finally made their way over to the conference room, ready to seize me.

"Take her away, ignore the previous orders to release her, this one isn't going anywhere!" I struggled against the guards, trying to bite their fingers as they grabbed my arms. "Lemme go!" I screamed, Kicking and thrashing about in their grasp. Officer Jenny stepped towards me and crouched down so we were eye to eye. "Your going to go back to your cell like a good little girl and stay there until the mission is clear, got that?" I spit in her face for a reply. Enraged, it seemed like the police officer was going to smack me. If she was, she never got the chance. The moment she whipped my spit from her face, the entire building turned pitch black.

"What happened to the lights?" "Someone check the power source!" "The timing here is just horrible." "Must everything happen at once?" The officers murmured back and forth to each other as they tried to feel their way around the room for the light switch. My plan was far to rash, and I wiggled free with no where to go. At that point it was like a giant game of sharks and minnows, except I was the only minnow in a sea of sharks, and all of us were blind. Doge to the left, duck down, jump to the right; avoiding each officer was impossible, I wish I had cat eyes and could see through the dark. Unfortinatly I didn't have echolocation like a zubat either.

"Got her!" "That's me idiot!" "Oww you kicked me!" All the officers were turning out to be my only advantage. I had climbed on top of a desk and was sitting there, listing to the officers hustle about grabbing one another. "Frost! Where are you!" Kendo's voice rang through the hall. A light flashed into the room, and there was Kendo holding a flashlight, two officers were with her. "There you are!" she exclaimed, her voice truly sounded relived, like she had actualy been worried, instead of a big lying turncoat. "Come on, were both getting out of here!" she announced, but officer Jenny stepped infront of me. "She's staying here" she snapped. Kendo opened her mouth in protest, but only the sound of breaking glass filled the air.

"Miss me?" Agony asked as she leapt through the shattered window. Malice was at her side, as well as very powerful looking raichu. "Get that girl" Officer Jenny called as the four beams of light turned to Agony. With all the light centered on her, it seemed like she was on a stage. Her and her Pokémon certainly did put on a performance. The raichu shot bolts of lighting in every direction, giving a few police officers an unexpected jolt. I leapt up from my spot on the desk and jumped into action, leaping through the air and delivering a kick to an officer who was rusing towards agony. 'You came back!" I exclaimed as I made my way to her side. "Obviously" she replied with a roll of her eyes. Malice rushed around, threatening officers off with his claws and slashing at whomever didn't head the warning.

"Lights out!" Kendo exclaimed, she flicked of her flashlight and one by one the other lights went out with sounds of bracking flashlights or batteries spilling to the floor. Now the only light was the electric bolts from Raichu. Varying lightning bolts created a strobe light effect as they flashed again and again. In one instant I could see officer Jenny whirling to face us, her hair beating against her face, her eyes filled with pure hate. In the next flash she was running towards us, through the kahos and commotion. Another flash, and I could see her advancing even closer, look of determination clear on her face. Agony was distracted by another cop, and I had no place to flee to. Next flash; Jenny lunged. I felt myself being rammed into, the air knocked out of my lungs. I fell to the floor, which was covered by as blanket of broken glass.

Some strange force pushed the weight off me. I fell into unconsiosness as I heard shouts and screams of Jenny. Just before I closed my eyes, I caught a glimpse of black hair with red tips, and I knew who my rescuer was.

"Come on Frost" Agony muttered as she heaved me up of the ground, I stumbled for a moment, staggering around as I tried to remember what was going on. I had little time to recover after my moment of uncounsisness, because as soon as I was on my feet, I was shoved out a two story window. "Ahhhhh!" I flailed my arms and screamed my head of as I fell, but of course I landed on the one and only Pokémon trampoleen; snorelax.

Bounce! Bounce! Bounce! I was shot in the air a few more times before I finaly lost all the momentem and landed soundly on Snorlax's tummy. Kendo helped me down with a smug grin, "You shoulda seen your face." I glared at her, as she thrashed her arms and put on a overly dramatic, terrifed face. I was not at all amused by the mocking. "Letss move gang" Agony's voice sounded powerful and strong, like she had just been elected sergant or something. She leapt from the window with Malice on one side and Raichu on the other. After a few bounces of her own, she slid of the big lazy Pokémon, whom was still sleeping, and took of running. We chased her and, of course, cops flooded from the building and began to chase us.

"Hey guys, gatcha something" Agony called from over he shoulder. My heart filled with excitement as I sawb my belt hurl through the air. I leapt into the clouds to reach it, and Kendo dove to catch her own belt. "Sweet" she called the secound she held her own Pokémon again. I felt the same way, complete again. "Lets run Blitz" I called and let my buddy loose. If we were ganna run for our lives, might as well do it together. Kendo statched two balls from her own belt as she fastened it to her waist. Pooch appered on her shoulder, and Sparks at her side. The cops hollored noisily and some of them had hopped on their motercycles before giving chase.

Agony lead us quickly to the left, then spun us to the right, and continued the sharp zigzag pattern in an attemot to loose the officers. She weaved through trees and we even darted through a busy street, but the officers were glued to our heels. "There gaining and we can't shake em" Agony called, scaning her mind for more options. "No problem" Kendo replied with a smirk. For a moment I rememberd all the times she had helped me out, and how she had saved me, now twice, from the wrath of officer Jenny. Could it all really be fake? Part of her mission? When Kendo stopped suddenly and whirled to face the cops, I didn't know what to think. "Sparks" she said, her voice filled with the sinister feeling of her next move. Everyone froze when they saw the evil grin. Not one officer moved. They were all only about five feet from Kendo, and she was a good twenty behind the rest of us. "Eruption!"

With that simple word, all peace was lost. Quilava performed his most powerful move, and probably the most powerful move I've seen. Lava went everywhere. Officers ran for the hills, the ground before us melted, and we had to duck ofr cover as fire rained down from the sky. I stared on with giant, meteor sized eyes, and Agony was just as stunned as well. "lets move" Kendo called merrily as she and Sparks darted towards us again. I stared, open-jawed at the scene of destruction she had left behind. I could help but notice how no one was badly injured. Was this all a hoax or did Kendo truly just burn down the jailhouse to save us.

"Come on Frost" Agony and Kendo called my name in unision and I whirled around, they were standing side by side like best friends and motioning for me to hurry. "There not enemies? Are they Blitz?" My voice was practicly silent, barely shaking Blitz's ear drum. He looked up at me as if I was nuts, then darted after the others. I followed without another thought.

"That was a close one!" Kendo sighed as we all sat down under the cover of the trees, cloaked in the beauty of a full moon. "You guys are lucky I came back." Agony smirked, clearly convinced that we would all be jail birds forever if it wasn't for her saving us. "We were actualy on our way out" Kendo said with a chuckle, then stopped and glanced at me, "Well at least I was, for some reason Jenny wouldn't let Frost leave." Without skipping a beat, I shot back a reply. "Think about it, we both have blue hair, both have a growlithe, shes twice my age, and still I'm the better of the two." My friends rolled their eyes, and Kendo mentained nothing about my easdroppping. That either meant that she didn't know, or she was to wise to say she did."

"Hey Agony, whats with the Raichu?" I questioned, hoping to escape my mind, and the doubts I had for my friend. Agony smiled and reached out a hand, resting it on her powerfull electric Pokémon. Name's Mizuki, and he's been my partner since he was a pichu and since the day I started training." I looked at Mizuki, then Malice, "So he's your first Pokémon?" I wondered. "Kept him hidden all this time?" Asked Kendo. Agony nodded, and pulled out a black pokeball. Normaly he hangs in here till fights get nasty, but this time he was actiolay stowed away with the gramps." "Your grandparents had him?" "Yup, we predicted some trouble, and in case the cops gatta holda' me, I needed to make sure my stuff was in a safe place. Before Kendo or I could ask any questions, Agony pulled put out a rolled up paper from her bag. As she rolled it out before us, I was more confused then ever.

The document was a map, but not just any map, it was a map of the entire world, and it was covered with dots of various colors, like rainbow ice cream had dribbled all over it. "Theses dots," Agony's finger hoped from one red speck to another, "these are all the wealthy people who own Pokémon." My heart skipped a beat, if Kendo really was on a mission to bring Agony down, then these next few moments could be the end. "The color red stands for an abusive owner, and pink stands for kind owners. My eyes spotted only a few pink dots in an ocean of red. "That's horrible!" I exclaimed, to shocked to devise a plan to get Kendo away from Agony. Neaarly every wealthy Pokémon owner was abusing their Pokémon, but that wasn't the worst of it.

"Green dots, are the non wealthy Pokémon owners, dark green are abusive, and light green are not." She pointed her finger to more dots around the world, the numbers wernt as sivere, but still made me sick. "These statisics weren't the same a year ago." Kendo piped up, her eyes were wide and she looked like she was about to murder someone. Turncoat or not, she was still a Ranger, and it was her job to protect everyone, especially Pokémon. "They weren't the same six mounths ago." Agony corrected. "Whats so different between six mounths and today?" I asked, my voice weak and heavy with greif. "Shinys" The answer nearly made me puke. Neither Kendo or I could speak, so Agony rose to her feet, strolled over to Malice, and began to speak.

"For unkown reasons, over the last few mounths the ratio of shinys has increased. Before it was an extremely rare treat to obtain a shiny Pokémon, now, any old shiny can be pearchased with ease on your local black market. Trainers who were once compassionate, have morphed into greedy, obsessive collecters who search out shinys. "Malice here was rescued, or as the cops say 'stolen' from one of the abusive owners. Over the past two mounths I've been hoping from house to house trying to do a jail break by freeing all the abused Pokémon I can. I normaly don't keep them for myself, but Malice was in such a poor condition that I had to take him and nurse him back to health.

My respect for Agony had just sky rocketed. There was no way Kendo could take her to prision now! She had saved countless Pokémon, even if it wasn't in a civil manner, that still deserved a trophy in my book. "I'm still drawing a blank to the cause of the shiny outbust, but perhaps the Ranger Union might know." I glanced up at Kendo, expecting her to reply, but she returned my look with a puzzled on of her own. "Im an ex-ranger" she reminded me, then turned to Agony, "If I was still in with the Rangers, I might know something about this. Perhaps theres a way I can still get some information though."

I rose to my feet and faced Agony, "let me help! My mom's a resercher, I'll send her all the information on the shinys and perhaps she can pull an explination together. Hesitation filled Agony's face, and her eyes shot a glance at her map, then at her Pokémon. "That maps got all my hit locations, and all the places I've yet to hit. If anyone gets ahold of it, the cops can figure out my route and possible get that much closer to catching me. "My mom wont" I resured her, praying silently that Kendo would keep this zip too. "Good reserchers never share information till the investigations complete." I promised, not relizing those words would bounce right back to bite me.

"That's why I'm not sharing" Agony announced as she rolled up her map. If you two wanna help then be my guests, I figured, now that your hard core and the cops are after you, might as well make it all worth while. I strolled over to my backpack, which Kendo had snagged from the prison before we escape. Inside was the camera my mother had given me. "Keep the map secret, but let me at least take a picture of the shinys, and tell her about the outburst, she can go her own way with her own findings. Agony finally agreed, and I shot a quick picture of Malice. The photo came out immediately and I scribbled some notes on the back of it. This was the one time it was a blessing to have handwriting that only a mother can read.

"She should write back soon, or call." I said as I sealed the photo in an envelope and stuffed it in my bag. I'd mail it as soon as we got into the next town. "Where to next Agony?" I asked, "Actualy, I kinda came here to hide from the cops" she admitted "The map of this place isn't to good, because the region is still developing. However, If my hunch is correct, this is the origin point of most of the shinys." "So we walk blindly till we figure out where were going?" Kendo guessed. Agony nodded and the three of us grabbed out bags. I felt the cumbersome box in my bag, and suddenly relized why I started this journey in the first place. "Remember Kendo, we still have to deliver those packages to Alex in Soceo City." I reminded her. After I spoke, I rembered thet the delivering was my mission, her mission was to bring down Agony. Part of me had no doubt that Kendo was as loyal as a police dog and that she would never betray a friend, but the other of me knew she was a pro ranger, and couldn't help but wonder if what she had told Jenny was true. In case it was, I'd watch her like a hawk.