PokeGov I

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The group made no delay in finding the distant hill where a figure was standing over two bird Pokemon. The little color that Melody's face had was now drained. Angered, Tybalt and Alo made slight advances to their pokeballs. They were itching for a fight, but they both managed to contain their hostility as they approached the man standing over their Pokemon. Husky shared their hostility, but Cindeo had a strange feeling about this stranger. Daniel was upset at the thought of injustice occurring, but he remained a spectator due his lack of authority in the group.

"What do you think you're doing?" Husky demanded.

Upon closer inspection, the tall man wasn't quite a man; he couldn't have been much older than any of them if he was older at all. He was wearing a worn, dark trench coat that did a poor job of hiding his filthy jeans and simple dark green shirt. His black hair was a mess and patches of mud dominated his face along with most of his clothing. Despite the desperate need of hygiene, the boy looked sophisticatedly handsome. His deep green eyes met the advancing group with a strong sense of poise. After making a quick inspection of the determined group, he gave a simple but sincere smile.

"I'm healing your Pokemon. I assume that these are your Pokemon, right?" He asked the two boys leading the rest of the group. He was telling the truth: the Clefable he had at his side was using heal pulse on the two injured birds.

"But you injured them, did you not?" Alo quickly countered.

The stranger gave a concerned sigh and glanced at the trio of Pokemon in front of him. "I did. I tried to avoid it, but your Staraptor proved to be very territorial. You two are obviously fine trainers if you raised these two."

"Who are you?" Tybalt was all about getting to the point of things.

"That's a fair question. A traveler, I suppose."

"Nobody simply 'travels,'" Husky accused skeptically, which made Daniel blush slightly

"Alright, ya caught me," he said with mock-guilt while maintaining his dignified composition. Daniel decided that something about this guy didn't add up, but he couldn't decide what was off. "I'm looking for someone."

"Who?" Cindeo quickly asked energetically, apparently really wanting to take part in the conversation.

"Someone who can help, I guess," he replied simply.

"Help with what?" Alo demanded, unappreciative of the boy's vague answers.

"Ultimately, I'd say, protecting the world."

The group tried to hide their amazed curiosity. "Do you have someone in mind already?" Husky asked with curiosity directed more to the man than the question.

"I can't tell for sure."

"How does that even make sense?" Cindeo asked while still trying to figure it out in his head.

"Even if I have someone in mind, the job changes people. Someone well-qualified for the job might fall under pressure, while someone unsuspecting can rise to the occasion against all odds."

"What's your name?" Daniel finally pitched in.

"Caden."

Alo took his turn at asking a question: "What makes it your job to save the world?"

The newly identified boy smiled at the question. "It's not quite my job, but I volunteered."

Tybalt retorted this time. "And you thought you could simply place that responsibility on yourself?"

"Well the Legend's Council backs me up if that's what you're getting at."

Caden's audience gave a few muted gasps. Cindeo and Husky stood dumbfounded. Alo and Tybalt remained wary, and Daniel just looked confused. Melody, who had taken no part in the excitement of this curious stranger, stood still with an everlasting hostile expression.

"The Legend's Council exists?" Husky asked cautiously. Cindeo stood close to her with an equally astounded curiosity.

"What's the 'Legend's Council?'" Daniel asked, knowing he was missing something huge.

Once again ignoring everyone else's excitement, Tybalt got back to business. "Why are you telling us about this?"

Caden patiently ignored the general reactions and addressed only the last question. He was ready to be straight forward for once. "I would like to travel with you. I believe that my traveling with your Antidote operations team would help us both accomplish what we're after."

"You think that coming with us will lead you to your sought out universe-protector? Do you even know what our objective is?"

"I admit that I'm not fully aware of the details of your operations; my decision had a fair amount of spontaneity behind it. Though, I do believe that your travels will lead me to whom I am seeking."

After a few moments of silence, Tybalt replied with an edge to his voice, "As you're surely aware, it's not in my power to deny the request of a Legend's Council member. Yes, you may travel with us but not without a close, constant surveillance of your actions. I won't allow you to put my team through any more danger than they already encounter. Melody," he addressed without facing the girl, "I'm leaving him under your watch."

"Melody? You mean her?" Caden looked at the silent character with intense hostility in her eyes. He barely tried to contain an amused smile. "You do realize it's illegal to kill a LC member, right?" He commented with a somewhat suppressed laugh. "Alright. I have no intention to use my position to control your decision. I assure you that I mean no harm to you or your team. I will gladly accept this condition if you allow me to travel with all of you. All I ask is for one chance to work with your team; if I violate your trust even once, then I will willingly leave your team as if I were never here. You have my word."

The team members looked to their leader for his final say. Tybalt unclipped a pokeball from his belt and returned his Staraptor to it. "Very well. You still have my permission. Your chances of staying appear slim though: Melody will be the one to decide when you've violated our trust, and she doesn't seem to like you very much at the moment."

I've never seen Melody like this before. She really doesn't seem to trust Caden, Daniel thought. I wonder why..

"Yay, a new member! That makes two just this week!" Cindeo exclaimed, shattering the tense atmosphere. Daniel felt strangely relieved at the realization that he was no longer the newest member.

Cindeo continued his endless flow of questions: "Your Clefairy is so cute! What other Pokemon do you have? Where all have you traveled? Where did you grow up? How many different kinds of Pokemon have you seen? I bet you've seen them all!"

Husky was also up-beat despite the previous harsh mood. "Do you need a new pair of clothes? How'd you get so muddy anyway?"

While Caden was occupied by the lighter interrogation, Tybalt turned to Melody without easing any of his intensity. "You're usually so much better at hiding your doubts about a person. What's wrong with him?"

Melody finally broke her glare at Caden by closing her eyes. She exhaled wearily and looked back at Tybalt. "I don't think you have anything to worry about from him, though time will tell." Without saying any more, she turned and walked away to their previous meeting spot.

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