ver 2.2 - inconsistencies in edits fixed.

Shadows of Almia

Chapter 7- Underwater Mishaps


"Elaine worked through the night to dismantle the Gigarama."

So that explained the loud noise that kept Kate awake all night, which resulted in less sleep and more bags under her eyes. At least she wasn't the only one who suffered.

"It's… Gigaremo…" Kate corrected him again.

"What? Gigaremo? Not Gigarama?" Barlow was almost awake, and fell back into his chair. "Don't sweat the details! You have to look at the big picture. Speaking of big, Big Bertha dropped by with an armload of milk pudding! Eat up, eat up!"

"Nice to see that you're up, though…" Kate took a bowl of milk pudding from Big Bertha, and ignored the fact that it looked more like her sister's disastrous tapioca incident than food in general. She ate it anyways, but she began to think how the Academy food was tastier than this gruel…

"That's our Miltank's way of saying thanks." Bertha laughed heartily. "It'll give you lots of energy!"

Kate graciously accepted it, and sat down in a spare armchair to eat. Actually, this pudding wasn't so bad, as long as she was able to stand the slimey appearance it had. Meanwhile, Big Bertha was trying to feed Oil-Stinker-Creep a mouthful or two, but he refused to eat.

"That guy refuses to say a thing," Barlow grunted in annoyance. "Just stick a spoon in his mouth. That'll be plenty."

"Now, hush!" Bertha bellowed back. "That's no way to treat anyone. He's the hungriest looking of anyone here."

Oil-Stinker-Creep's stomach betrayed him by letting out a thunderous grumble. He turned red and looked away at the floor while everyone was staring at him.

"What was your name again? Ollie?" Bertha held out a big spoonful. "Eat up now. Here, I'll spoon it for you."

After a while, he eventually accepted the spoonful of the food. And then he was happier than he was a few hours ago. Kate then watched Hastings and Elaine struggle to put the Gigaremo back together, when she noticed that Ollie opened his mouth to speak.

"... Urf... I... I don't deserve this…" Ollie sniffled. "... I... I... The Vien Forest's fire... That fire..."

Everyone turned their attention to him when his eyes watered with guilt. "It's all my fault! I'm clumsy, and I spilled Gigaremo's fuel... It splashed all over, and then... A spark plug went, and that lit the fuel, and the fire spread wildly, and... I didn't even know those guys... I just met one long ago. He said I could make some easy money, so I accepted. I didn't know what a Gigaremo was, or who they were, or anything... I'm sorry. It's my fault."

He began to cry, and Barlow then turned to Kate.

"Untie Ollie's rope."

Kate nodded and put down her bowl of pudding. As she approached Ollie, she began to noticed how much the rope had imprinted on his skin. Luana came along as well, and they both tried to untie up, but to no avail, they only made poor Ollie yelp in pain at the fact that it got tighter. This was the problem of a rope tied a 'smidgeon on the tight side.' Elaine then brought over a pair of scissors from her toolbox and cut the rope.

"OK, people, break time's over." Barlow called out and he turned to the massive lady. "Big Bertha, thank you kindly for your always-delicious milk pudding. And, Ollie... You're free to go. Thanks for coming clean about everything you know. We know now that you were just being used by a mysterious bunch. And now... That mysterious bunch is starting to make some noise."

He then turned to the Rangers and assigned them on patrol duty, to which Kate replied weakly, and dragged herself out. The pudding did some help to her lack of sleep, but she could barely do anything. Luana was then showing off today's issue of Almia Times, where it showed Kate performing a back flip off of the crate when that Toxicroak was chasing her. How did someone get a picture of that at such a good angle?

Kate was about to make her way out of the base when a voice stopped her.

"Kate, please, wait!" Ollie approached her. "My mo-... friend lives in Chicole Village. I'd like to see how she's doing, but I'm really bad at things like this. I'm too embarrassed to go alone... Please! Can you go with me?"

"Um… sure…" Kate smiled. "I'm visiting my family anyway, so you can tag along."


Karen popped out of the bushes and nearly scared the tar out of both Kate and Ollie the moment they stepped into Chicole Village.

"Listen, listen, it's scary!" she shrieks. "A hat ghost appeared at our Partner Farm! This way, quick!"

Kate then glanced at Ollie who nodded in approval.

"My errand can wait," says Ollie. "I think the hat ghost is a lot more important."

"Lead the way, Karen," Kate noted to her little sister, who nodded and took her by the hand and dragged across the village. They arrived to her parent's garden, labeled Partner Farm, where a series of yelps and commotions were heard.

Low and behold, a hat was moving around on its own, right behind the patch of carrots. And it had legs! Eventually a Kricketot wriggled out from under the headwear, and by reflex, Kate released her Capture Styler. Once it was done, Karen was smothering the poor thing with hugs.

"Oh! It was a Kricketot in the hat! It's so cute!"

"I thought it had to be something like that," Kate's dad appeared, clearly shaken. "Yep, I've been saying that all along... I did say that, you remember."

Ollie then looked at the small bug and how it jumped out of Karen's arms and began to circle about Kate's feet.

"This Kricketot seems to like you, Kate!"

Immediately, Kricketot was registered as a second Partner Pokemon. Everyone congratulated her.

"But it's a Partner," Kate sighed to everyone. "I can't bring two with me…"

Her father scratched his head. "Well, if that's the case, we can make this your meeting spot. Why, coincidence of coincidences, this place is even named Partner Farm!"

Shortly after, Kate told Karen to take care of the Partner Pokemon that arrive to the Farm, and they were left with Ollie to search for his friend's house. Apparently, they went in next door, where the lady who lives there was washing dishes, and didn't notice Ollie opening the door and walking in. The young man twiddled his thumbs nervously as he tried to say something.

"... Mom. I'm sorry I left you all alone for so long." He croaked. "I didn't mean to... I, um, how should I say this... I'm just so, so awkward and clumsy, and... I just fail at everything I do... Mom, I'm always causing you to worry... That's all I've ever been good at... But, um... I want... Please, I'm sorry, and um... I'm home, Mom."

A long silence ensued, as a son awaiting was waiting to be forgiven.

"... All I wanted was to hear you say 'I'm home,'" says his Mom after turning around. "Not how you're sorry or how you've made me worry or any of that. None of that matters to me. Nothing could make me happier than hearing your 'I'm home.' You look well too... Welcome home, my son."

Immediately, they ran to each other and hugged and cried. Ollie then turned to a skeptical Kate.

"It wasn't a friend, but my Mom who I wanted to see. I'm sorry for lying to you. I felt so sheepish about this..."

Kate shook her head. "It's all right, but I still need to be on patrol."


"Perhaps you can help me, Ranger. If you don't know, I'm the sign maker around these parts." The old man pointed to a post. "The appealing signs you see around? Those would be mine."

"Oh." Kate said flatly.

The old man frowned. "So, here's what's vexing me. The sign to Breeze Hill got flattened. It's crushed under a big fallen rock. It makes me sad, it really does. That sign was perfect for couples. That sign begs to be put back up again. But that rock is sitting smack in the way. Can you do something about it?"

"Yeah, I will."

With a quick bow, Starly and Kate ran off to pass by the beach, where people were lying around or splashing in the water. The children seemed to be having fun with the Seel that came to play.

Kate ventured into Marine Cave, to find a Nosepass waddling about. She captured it quickly, ran out to escape a flock of Zubat chasing after her that day. Kate arrived at the steps to Breeze Hill. Sure enough, a big boulder had toppled over the sign. The Nosepass crushed it before going away.

The old man, who had been following behind her, gave her a small smile.

"You're wonderful! I had an inkling that you'd get it done."

"Thank you, sir…" Kate nodded.

"My name is Webster… So, I brought out a new sign already." He planted it in the ground where the boulder once was. "That'll do it! Thank you kindly, Ranger!"

Kate went to completing more quests before coming back to the base, and being told by a tired Barlow to take a rest before he left the Base. Boy, did she really need that sleep.


"Oh my god!" Crawford was at his antics. Kate hit her head on the bedpost again. With mild seething, Kate unknowingly whacked someone hard on the back.

"Don't go into my room when I'm sleeping!" Kate was closing to bashing the man over the head the next swing.

Crawford then ignored her and pointed to the opened black box, the same box Tobias gave her. "My goodness, what is a sword doing in your room?"

Kate peered over, and noticed that a long curved blade was gleaming in the morning sun… That Tobias must really REALLY love trouble…

"I don't know, Crawford," Kate spluttered. "It was in that black box I took home yesterday."

"I thought you said it was a clarinet," the senior Ranger placed his hands on his hips. "I'm sure a young girl like yourself would know better than to lie."

"Look, I was only given this box," Kate pleaded. "I didn't know what was inside, until today."

"But this is real good handcraft…" He brandished it making zipping noises in the thick air of the room. "It's quite rare for me to see weapons like these nowadays, since the Pokemon World rarely has any use for firearms and swords. Have you been to Kanto?"

"No… I've heard of it before," Kate nodded. "And please don't do that… you might hit something…"

"Anyways," Crawford put the sword away. "Your superior Barlow is not here today, so I'm in charge."

"Um… yeah…" Kate sighed, then glowered at the senior. "Um… Crawford? I suggest you get out of my room…"

"Oh! Right!"


Indeed, Barlow wasn't here, but Luana was there to thrust today's special article into Kate's face. Today, it was about the Top Rangers who live at Ranger Union, Sven and Wendy. As much as she could merely swallow the toast that the Operator had made for them, she skimmed a few words… Top Rangers… She'll be there someday, that paper. The Styler then chimed for attention.

"Voicemail! Voicemail! Barlow here. I know it's early in the morning, but we have a situation on our hands. I need you in Pueltown as soon as you can come."

"Well, get going, kid…" Crawford sighed, taking the newspaper back, and she was still munching on the piece of toast as she left.


Kate's walk in Vien Forest was a bit more pleasant with singing Pokemon and recovering plants… ever since that fire, the Pokemon were doing their best to restore the beauty of the forest.

"Voicemail! Voicemail!" Hastings contacted her. "Please get moving and pick up the pace!"

"Um…" Kate turned around, seeing an annoyed Beedrill coming her way. "RIGHT!"

She eventually arrived in Pueltown, where Barlow was standing at the square. He waved for her.

"Kate, good morning!" Barlow saluted. "This is the situation: Norward Bridge is stuck open, meaning no traffic can cross. Prof. Hastings needs to cross the bridge to get to the Ranger Union. You know he hates flying on a Staraptor, so he has to go by land."

"Right…" Remember the green look on his face?

"We got here last night, so we spent the night at the Ranger Depot. Anyway, you need to see the bridge."

They were led down the long walkway of Pueltown to the Bridge, where Hastings was waiting.

"Ah, here you are, Kate!" Hastings called out from the crowd. "Good morning! Good morning, indeed! As you can see, Norward Bridge is stuck open with the spans upraised. The bridge's operator is nowhere in sight! How are we supposed to get across?"

"The bridge's operator is named Brook." Barlow noted. "He means well, but he tends to end up just spinning his wheels."

One of the fishermen raised his hands. "Brook? I saw him the in the harbor earlier."

Hastings then pointed his cane in the direction of said location. "Let's hustle to the harbor, then."


More people were walking about, in comparison to how desolate the place was when the Pokemon were still under mind-control. They found the missing gatekeeper lounging around the dock. To hide his irritation, Barlow gave the man a "friendly" slap on the back.

"Hi, Brook!" He declared loudly. "Can you tell us WHY your Norward Bridge is still stuck open?"

Brook sighed in defeat. "I'd like to see the bridge lowered into place just as much as you. But the key for raising and lowering the bridge is at the bottom of the sea. When I jumped into the sea after those creeps, the key fell out of my pocket!"

"OK, we get the picture." Barlow shook his head.

"You heard the man," He shoved Kate to the edge of the deck.

"Hey, what-"

"Kate, can you swim?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Recover the key from under the sea. This Micro Aqualung will let you breathe underwater."

A snorkel-like device was shoved into Kate's mouth before she could protest. She kicked at Barlow, asking why he wasn't coming.

"I... Uh... I'll stay on shore. It... It'll be better that way. Don't ask me why. You're on your own on this!"

He couldn't swim apparently… That's reassuring.

"I'll explain how things work when you go into the sea." He dragged her to the boat. "Just remember, you can't take any land Pokemon with you when you go underwater."

"The least I can do to help is take you out by boat to where I lost that key," Brook offered. "No thanks to that Gigaremo incident, all the boat runs out of Pueltown are closed, see. What I can do is ask a good captain friend of mine to loan me his boat. You just let me take care of things."

Before Kate could calm down from having plastic put in her mouth, she was pushed into the boat with Brook, and he went speeding off with her into the water. Barlow and Hastings looked at each other.

"You shoved her." Hastings stated.

"Well-"

"You shoved her." Hastings cut him off, prodding the man's cheek with his cane.


"... fast-running currents... be careful... down there... use the goggles…"

Kate was too busy trying to get the Aqualung off so she could talk, but she was immediately tossed into the seas, while Starly cried out in alarm. Once Kate was completely submerged in water.

I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die… Wait… I'm breathing! Kate looked at herself in disbelief. She then noticed that her Styler still worked, even under this much pressure. Hell, she's still living at this much pressure! She glanced up at the surface where she could see a Brook's boat bobbing about.

She paddled off, but stopped when she found it too hard to move at all. Grumbling, she then spotted a Finneon hiding behind the reef, and she whipped out her Styler to catch it. The Disc was even harder to manipulate and continuously drifted away from its path, much to her frustration. Maybe the Styler doesn't really work that well in the water after all…

The Ranger had the fish pull her around across the floor, as she tried to spot something shiny… Keys were shiny, but they're tiny! Damn Brook for losing his keys!

Wait… she saw something gleaming in the ground. She let go of Finneon and paddled down to the floor. For sure, these were Brook's keys, along with a rather awkward keychain, to say the least. Before she could get a closer look, a large Sharpedo zipped by, taking the keys by its teeth.

It then began to thrash wildly to get the alien object out of its mouth, and then it fled. Kate's Styler then chimed again, and she could hear Barlow yelling.

"Voicemail! Voicemail!" Barlow's face seemed desperate. "Have you found the key yet?"

"No…" Kate sighed. "I found them, but a Sharpedo got to it before me…"

The large man jumped, the camera shaking furiously. "What's that? A Sharpedo grabbed the key and took off with it?" He got up and stabilized the camera as he listened to Hastings nag at him from behind. "Fine, I'm upgrading this to a full Mission! Get the bridge key back from the Sharpedo!"

The screen flashed off, and Kate pointed her Finneon to the boulders that was blocking a large crack in the rock. It immediately crashed right through it, but swam away once it was finished and left Kate to sulk about paddling through the water. Fortunately, she found another herd of Finneon once she swam through the crevice, and captured a few.

She was beginning to find this mission ridiculous. How in the world could she search the ocean floor for a Sharpedo? She gave up on capturing any more Finneon and resorted to kicking off from the sea bed to move. Kate heard a series of distant banging. She paddled harder around the corner, and saw the Sharpedo ramming itself into the walls to get the key out of its mouth. When it saw here, it zipped away, and she jumped after it.

"Voicemail! Voicemail! Barlow here. If you need to swim across deep canyons underwater, a Mantine can help you... Or so I'm told. Capture a Mantine or two!"

Conveniently, Kate was at the edge of a deep trench… How did Barlow know she was going to get here? A Mantine was wandering about the premises, so she immediately relased her capture Styler. As soon as Kate hopped on the Mantine's back, she noticed that this boy went a lot faster than the Finneon. She'll get that key back really soon! After more currents, Kate dismounted the Mantine and released it. She found herself on firm ground again, where she spotted the same Sharpedo.

"Voicemail! Voicemail! Barlow here. Sharpedo swim extremely quickly... Or so I'm told. You'll have to catch fast-moving currents to catch up to your Sharpedo."

Unluckily, the Sharpedo heard that, and went speeding off. Kate really wanted to scream at Barlow for making this harder for her, but decided against it. She sighed in exasperation and hung her head before pushing off against the soft seafloor after the Sharpedo.

Much to her horror, there were more currents. And the Sharpedo was having so much fun bashing its head on the reefs there. It took notice of Kate, and in a rage, it charged at her. Kate looked around frantically, knowing she just couldn't swim away to dodge. And she saw metal. A pipe!

She grabbed for it, and held it front of her before the Sharpedo. It crashed into her, its teeth gnawing into the metal. Gee, that would've been her face. She pushed herself away from the Sharpedo as it recovered, and released her Capture Disc. It was back to normal at the fifth loop, and went at her again, this time for her arm. Kate gritted her teeth. That Sharpedo crushed that pipe from earlier! She swore inwardly as she tried to swim away, and decided to dive for the currents. Hopefully, she could get it to calm down here and then capture it.

The chase begun, and she was sighing in relief when she finally lost it so she could catch her breath, but her legs gave way, and the reef she was hanging on to crumbled. The current swept across the bed and slammed her into the wall. Her vision was fading againt. Kate attempted to get up, but her head was spinning, and the current was too strong. Even worse, the Sharpedo had found her. At this rate, she'll be dead…

Crack! Kate's eyes were slowly focusing themselves, and as she came back to her senses. The rookie gasped as the Sharpedo was being enveloped in its own cyclone of water, thrashing and kicking. The Mantine she had released earlier had come back and was directing the water tornado to give Kate more space to swim out. Kate took the signal perfectly and paddled up and released her Disc again, completely the loops. The Mantine nodded to her and left promptly.

The captured Sharpedo slowly swam up to her, and bared its teeth to her, and there it was, the key… in one piece. Kate sighed as she reached in, and grabbed for the metallic object. The Sharpedo began to be wary of Kate as she backed away from it, and its eyes followed a trail of red that coming from her head. Kate reached up to her forehead, and saw blood. She had hit that wall hard enough to really get this beaten up. Furthermore, she was littered with cuts. At least her arm wasn't lobbed off.

The shark then swam closer to her, and offered her a fin, wishing to give her a ride to the surface in return for helping it. Kate nodded, and grabbed the back of the aquatic animal, and it immediately went charging out of the cavern, leaving a trail of blood behind.


Brook was taken aback when Kate emerged from the water with a Sharpedo. He hurriedly pulled her into the boat, and Kate stumbled onto the floor, taking off her Aqualung and finally gasping for real air. The Sharpedo watched her expectantly, as the girl pulled herself over the rim to pat its head.

"Thank you…" She gasped. The shark made a small dance in the water before diving away into its haven in the seas. She then shakily handed over the key to Brook. The man began to dance in victory, waving his arms in the air.

"You found the key! I'll be frank with you, I thought there was no chance you would find it! Back to the harbour we go- What the hell happened to you!"

Before Kate could say anything, the poor man went absolutely ballistic and decided to drive Kate frantically to shore. Kate's vision promptly faded to black from fatigue

-*-sdafwe

"More bandages! On her forehead!" Barlow yelled as Kate groaned… Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw her superior as pale as a ghost, and Brook looking directly down at her.

"Ah, Kate!" He exclaimed. "You're up!"

"More bandages, damnit!" Barlow commanded a frantic Operator, who squeaked and ran in the other direction. He then turned his attention to Kate, who was lying on the couch. Starly was perched on his shoulder, wearing a concerned look for its master.

"Good," He sighed in relief. "Brook brought you back in a complete mess. Prof. Hastings nearly fainted at the sight of blood. Good thing we took you to Pueltown Ranger Base without delay. But the Operator nearly died at the sight of you. You good now?"

"Yeah…" Kate moaned as she slowly got up, but Barlow made her lay down. Brook was acting overdramatic and apologizing immensely about regretting to jump in the ocean, and not coming after Kate when she wasn't back after an hour. The Operator had hurried back and was beginning to redress Kate's wounds.

"You're starting to really impress me," Barlow says as he recoils at the sight of the uncovered gashes. "You weren't intimidated by all that water? You could open your eyes down there?"

Kate nodded weakly, and Barlow did the same. "... I see. It's Mission Clear!"

Kate could hear everyone else cheering, and she gave a weak smile. Talking was not a good idea at the moment…

"Anyway, you persevered under salty conditions and completed you Mission. I'm certifying you to Ranger Rank 3, Kate!"

Starly flew down to her shoulder as she sat up on the couch. She stroked it's feathers and watched them go away. Brooks was off to open the gate. Hastings followed, while Barlow stayed to make a report to home base. He then returned and hoisted her up onto her feet.

"We're getting to the Ranger Union, so they'll have better medical attention there."

"Ok…kay…" Kate muttered, and she began to walk by herself out of the base. They arrived the bridge, where Brook was just done jamming the key to activate the bridge. They walked across the road where a rather slim man with brown hair was jogging towards Hastings. (A/N: Murph isn't overweight? (*o*))

"Prof. Hastings! Boy, am I glad to see you safe and sound! It's so unlike your impatient self to sleep somewhere else. You sure had me worried."

"Ah, Murph," the old man snorted. "Who are you calling impatient! We must return to the Union and hold a meeting about the Gigaremo! Barlow, we must hurry!"

Right after, the two rushed off, leaving Kate and Murph alone on the bridge.

"Uh… and who am I…?" Murph bowed his head in defeat, but at the sight of Kate, he rushed over to her. "Well, hello! How nice to meet you! I'm Murph, and I'm in charge of the PR for the Ranger Union. That means I get access to all the Union's Ranger databases. So, of course I know who you are. It's my job to know these things. So you name was… What was it now?"

"Kate," the rookie replied flatly.

"That's right, that's right," Murph chuckled nervously. "I just needed to confirm that, yeah…"

"I wonder if you're doing your job…" Kate muttered under her breath in exasperation.

"Well, you just finished a mission, didn't you?" Murph continued. "You've got to be tired. Am I right?"

Kate pointed to the big bandage wrapped around her head. Murph recoiled and thought of an idea.

"Well, there's just the place up ahead for goofing off… uh no! I mean, relaxing! It's a nice park. Let's stop there for a while."

"Good idea… We'll go… the two of us…" Kate smiled, and she walked right past him, petting her Starly. "Let's get going, Starly."

Murph's jaw dropped. "Wait… since when was I left out of this conversation…?"


Starly launched off from Kate's shoulder and flew off to the nearby flowers as the Ranger watched the many passersby in the square. A large stage was planted smack-dab in the middle of the park, possibly for public festivals and music performances. Come to think of it, she remembered that a famed musical group was coming to perform here. For a long time, she didn't find much interest in any popular music, she forgot the name.

Meanwhile, a blonde boy with fair hair was strolling around that stage. He was wearing a lab coat… he must be a scientist working for Altru… but Kate's eyes lit up when she immediately recognized the bowl-like haircut.

"Isaac!"

"Huh?" The blonde looked at her with wide eyes. "Kate?"

"Don't you remember me?" Kate approached him. "I'm Kate from Ranger School, in Ms. April's class!"

"Well…" Isaac shifted his feet nervously. "I remember you… I guess we didn't talk much, but you and Keith really stood out…"

He then grasped Kate's hand with some strange determination in his eyes. "Hey, listen. My workplace is close by. Come with me, and I'll give you a tour… um… Kate, are you all right?"

"Nothing," Kate sighed and she saw Murph catching up to her from the corner of her eye.

"I'd like to join, too!" Murph raised his hand enthusiastically. "You work for Altru, right? I'm a big admirer of your employees!"

"And I as well." A voice brought shivers down Kate's spine, and Murph nearly fell off his feet. Kate blanched and turned, seeing the unmistakable man.

"T-Tobias…" she growled, wanting to pummel this man in the face really hard.

"You're all welcome to come, too." Isaac laughed nervously. "I assume you're also a friend of Kate's. The building's just this way! It's massive and you can't miss it."

Isaac turned on his heel and began to escort them, with Kate following. Once Murph and Isaac were out of hearing range, Kate whipped her head around to face Tobias.

"You know how much I want to kill you?" Kate hissed. Tobias smiled.

"Well, you never asked anyone, so serves you right for lacking sleep."

"Shut up." Kate growled. "Stop giving me pointless jobs and sending weapons to my house. You nearly scared the heck out of my friends because of that sword."

"Well, I can't just stroll in and give it to you." Tobias looked up at the sky. "Besides, I intend that you use this sword."

"And what good will that do?" Kate turned forward to climb the stairs. "I don't need to stab anyone."

"I didn't say you were going to stab anyone, Kate," the man folded his arms. "You're going to learn how to use it. As your last resort."

"Wha-"

"We're here," Tobias pointed to the tall purple tower. "You know it's temporarily called Altru Tower, but there's a contest for it now…"

"Don't try to change the subject, bastard…" Kate scowled. "I'll-"

Tobias then elbowed her in the ribs and she jumped back.

"What the hell was that for?"

Tobias motioned to the guards standing before the doors of the Altru Building. He then grabbed her arm and shoved her through the door into the lobby that was decorated with blue carpets and crystal chandeliers.

"Welcome to Altru Inc." A receptionist smiled brightly. "And welcome back, Mr. Isaac!"

The young boy nodded to her as she went back to her work, and he turned to face the guests.

"This is where I work," Isaac got Kate's attention. "Altru Inc.!"

He pointed to glass displays of machinery and rocks. "The ground floor is always open so people can see the exhibits."

Isaac then led the rookie to a wall of three portraits. "On the wall the portraits of Altru's presidents over the years. They're all amazing people." First is Milton Hall, then Brighton Hall, and then there's Blak-"

A scramble of chairs and feet as employees rushed to line up beside the edges of the purple carpet was heard, and all four of them turned to see the automatic doors slide open. First was a green haired man who was hunched over, his face greatly reminding Kate of that creepy joker villain in a book she read… or comic… she believed. The second person was a tall middle-aged man with black haired slicked back into a ponytail and his eyes obscured by shades. He wore his company colors: black and purple. The employees bowed graciously to the man.

"President Hall!" They said in unison. "Welcome back, sir!"

"Thank you," Blake nodded with a low voice. "I'll ask that you take care and not overwork. May we all do our best toward a bright future for the future generation."

"That will do," said the jester-like man. "Back to work, everyone. We mustn't inconvenience our customers."

Immediately, all the employees went back to work, leaving Blake alone. Isaac whispered into Kate's ear.

"That's person is our current president, Blake Hall. You're really lucky to see him in person, since he travels a lot."

Mr. Hall searched the room until he saw Isaac, and he brightened. "Ah, Prof. Isaac. I take it that your research is going well?"

He then turned his attention to Kate, Tobias, and Murph. "Oh? Who is our Ranger guest? Is she your girlfriend"

"She's a classmate from Ranger School," Isaac explained briskly while going red. "We only graduated together. We just happened to run into each other, so I gave her a tour of the first floor of the building."

Kate could not really tell what Mr. Hall felt with shades over his eyes, but she was sure she had a tugging feeling to just back away from him as he approached her. The man standing beside her was gripping the sleeves of his jacket, forcing himself not to reach for his gun.

"Something tells me he's not a safe character," Tobias muttered under his breath. Kate had to agree too. The man was now a feet away from her, and she could feel fear running down her back, and she was close to chattering her teeth under the strange feeling that she getting. Mr. Hall held out his hand, which Kate took instinctively as a welcome gesture, and she shook hands with him.

"It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance," He said smoothly, shaking her hand. "I've always admired Rangers for the work they do. You're to be commended."

Kate's brain was overloading from the strange feeling of hate from just touching his hand. She was afraid of it, and her head was throbbing quite painfully…

"May we all do our best toward a bright future for the Almia region." Tobias spoke up, smiling, placing a hand between her and Mr. Hall.

"And you are?"

"I am her guardian," Tobias smiled. "I'm only accompanying her."

"Yes…" Mr. Hall let go of Kate's hand, and he turned to Isaac. "Now, Prof. Isaac. Shall we return to work?"

"Y-yes, sir, President Hall!" A flustered Isaac nodded, and turned to Kate. "Kate… forgive me."

"Oh, it's nothing…" Kate smiled. "The tour was nice."


After Isaac had gone, Murph, Kate, and Tobias left the building and returned to Altru Park. Murph had to go on a quick restroom break, leaving Tobias with his student.

"Kate," Tobias warned her. "Don't go near him."

"Who, Isaac?" Kate asked. Tobias shook his head.

"No, I meant his boss. You felt that, didn't you?"

"Not really…" Kate nodded, and felt her head. "All I did was feel scared, but it's just me being afraid of strangers, I guess."

"I'll be looking into this for now." Tobias walked away from her. "Take care."

"Um… right…" Kate was left in the dust, and then snarled in irritation. She didn't even get the chance to punch him. To compensate, the rookie kicked the dirt into the air. Her Styler then beeped.

"Voicemail! Voicemail!"

Kate opened up the screen. "Hm? What is it Barlow?"

"Where are you?" He demanded. "I'm already at the Union."

"Um… I got backtracked…" Kate laughed nervously. "Sorry about that…"

Barlow sighed. "I get the picture. Just, next time… don't wander off when you have a mission to do, got it? Now, I need you bring a Water-type Pokemon that can destroy a Red Gigaremo. Stat!"

The screen then shut off again. Murph was walking to her, rolling down his sleeves. He then surveyed the square and gave her a puzzled look.

"Hey, where did your Guardian go?"

"He was busy," Kate walked in the direction of Ranger Union, according to the sign. "Um… the Union's this way… right?"

"Um, right!" Murph got to his feet and raced after her.


Kate stood at the stony path leading into the Union's sliding doors. She gawked at the size of the tree that was growing on top of the building. Starly chirped in excitement, and Murph chuckled as Kate's jaw dropped at the sight of it.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

"It's… huge!" Kate looked up at the tall building. Starly chirped in excitement. A Bibarel she had captured earlier was lazily rolling in the grass, ignoring any of the current happenings. It finally noticed that it had been left behind and went chasing after his temporary companions. It then collided with a Graveler once it went through the door.

Kate's stupefied face didn't fade as she observed the many operators rushing about making phone calls and Area Rangers filing in and out of the many doors of the Union, Pokemon of all sizes following after them. Murph then immediately pulled her out of her trance by shoving her up the escalator, which was already teeming with people. Today must be a busy day.

"Okay," He shouted over the din of bustling people. "They'll be in the conference room upstairs, second door up ahead!"

"Uh, right!" Kate shouted back as the escalator took her up to the next color. Murph kept waving to her until she was out of sight.


Just when he gets out of the hospital, he has to be back on duty. What kind a slave driver is Spenser, anyway? The guy probably was getting back at him for pushing him off the roof. Keith scowled as he ducked under a large boulder tossed at his head. Officially today, he hated Machamp. Moreover, his Styler was busted. Stupid second boulder for nearly crushing his arm. Only his Disc was functional, and what in the world could he use that for?

He had forgotten the next boulder, and he was blown into the wall of the temple. Slowly, he fell out of the imprint he made in the stone and fell onto his face.

"Hahahahaha!" A pink haired woman laughed at Keith, who was struggling to get up. "You and your useless Stylers! It's old fashioned compared to the Gigaremo!"

Oh right, the Gigaremo… that absurd outdated arcade machine that Team Dumpling was playing around with these days… Besides… who came up with Dumpling for a name of their crime syndicate? He was sure that a mafia family named after clams would be much better than this.

"Get up you miserable wrench," The woman sneered. "I want to have this Machamp face plant you into that wall."

"Oh… yeah…?" Keith smiled. He clambered to his feet, and with some difficulty, and reached into his pocket. His last resort, his father had instructed him. He slipped them on, showing off the intricate red circle that was traced upon it. The woman saw little threat in this.

"Are you some fashion plate? That's totally last year!" The woman didn't know when to stop.

"These aren't for show," Keith explained through panting breaths. "This is my counterattack."

"Are you kidding me?" the woman laughed even harder as her sides were aching. "Gloves? Is it going to turn into a big trident to skewer me with? You never fail to amuse me, boy. Wait till I tell my superior this joke! After I clobber you! Machop, crush him!"

The muscular Pokemon charged, but Keith quickly dived under his legs, and swung his foot across. His leg caught onto that of the Machamp, and the heavyweight warrior went toppling over onto his side. Keith slowly got up again, the dust still flying.

"O…Oi…" The pink haired woman muttered as she took a step back for each step Keith took forward. He didn't answer her, his eyes shaded out by the rustling red hair that fell over his face.

"Lavana… you said you liked fire… didn't you…?" Keith asked quietly, and the woman reached into her pocket and began to dial for a helicopter to come. They both were unable to summon any Pokemon, and Keith had broken his Styler. She gritted her teeth, and she gripped the ends of her pink leather gloves. Machamp was slowly getting up, much to her relief, but she knew that this strange kid would do that move on the Pokemon again. The Gigaremo could only control Pokemon around, and not summon any, which she had complained about a few times… but she had to stall time… just for that helicopter to come…

"Hey… you said you liked fire, didn't you…?" Keith spoke up again. Lavana didn't answer, and she folded her arms. Was he stalling time for something, too?

"Your point? I don't feel like playing games with a brat like you."

Keith raised his gloved hand to the direction of the Gigaremo. "Think fast."

Snap.