In this world, whether we like it or not, some Pokemon can't keep their promises. It's not the end of the world if they don't, either; Mystery Dungeons will still form, and the world's balance will eventually be rebuilt. Well, not without some cooperation between Pokemon. Again, to make life easier, it would be best if all promises were kept...especially a Keeper's.

Number 1, a Keeper shall do everything in their power to protect the balance of the world's mana.

In a brightly lit office room, there was a single letter placed on a desk. The paper was unfurled gently, as the contents were very important. Though some of the words on the letter had been smudged the overall information was still readable.

Dear Stoutland

'This isn't just a game we Mana Research Leagues can send our Rescue Teams to play in. There are forces of absurd power lurking around every Mystery Dungeon, city, and wildland. These Wicked Blow ruffians are searching for more powerful Pokemon to recruit into their nefarious group. They've even recruited some stray and feral Keepers, so it's important we keep Pokemon safe, as many as we can.'

Signed Centiskorch

"Oh dear," a deep, but gentle voice started. "You've received yet another letter," the voice belonged to a Granbull. He stood in that same office room, watching the river from a window as he folded his arms. "It's the second one this week from him," he glanced down at the other Pokemon in the room, a Stoutland, who mulled over the contents of the paper at the singular desk.

The two of them were in the Main Office of the Bristberg Mana Research League. It was the early hours of the morning, around seven. Only about thirty minutes right after the post office delivered the mail to the mailbox.

The Granbull began to pace around the desk that enclosed the other Pokemon, occasionally peering over to check on her progress. After a while he stared out the window, taking in the view of the mighty river below them.

The Stoutland placed her paw at the side of her desk, fiddling with the wide knob on the drawer. "I understand Chief Centiskorch is looking out for me," her spouse immediately approached her right flank, his ears perked to listen closer. "But could he not act like we are hatchlings?" the Stoutland grumbled, then gently nudged the paper towards the Granbull, careful not to damage it as she reached for a folder.

"That Centiskorch is just trying to remind us of the issues and threats housed above the Heartland," the Granbull waved his paw. "Honestly I'm worried sick myself, I can't bear the thought of all the horrors those Pokemon could face without my guidance and-"

The Stoutland shook her fur, the badges on her harness loudly clanking. "Why does he assume that I, as Chief of Bristberg Mana Research League, would be toying with my Rescue Teams of all Pokemon?"

"Well if anything it was one of his Rescue Teams," her partner rolled up the message, placing it somewhere safe. "Some Pokemon from his League were the ones that had a major accident off the island to the north of their League," the Granbull explained.

"Oh, how unfortunate," the Stoutland at the low rise desk raised an eyebrow at the markings across another page. "Well," she turned towards her partner. "This reminded me of something that you played a vital role in."

"Reminded you of what in particular?" Granbull's tail sank to the ground. "Could it be like the Vanguard? How I failed them? How I allowed them to be hunted liked ferals of the past? How-"

"No," Stoutland moved closer to her mate, placing a forepaw on his side. "Cooper?"

Cooper let out a choked cry, tears running down his muzzle as the grief swelled within him. "Yes, Laty- Mcbone?"

"Don't fret it, my dear," Mcbone embraced him. "I was only going to mention that Sharp Claw is the only Rescue Team we have stationed here at the League."

"But you know as the Coordinator I feel responsible for everything that happened to the Vanguard and their families!" Cooper lamented, trying to contain his terror. "I should have stopped them. I should have told them not to research any further. I should have just-"

"As Coordinator, you need to try and focus on right now," the Stoutland below him stared into his eyes. "Can you do that for me, my love?"

"But, what should I do?" the Granbull whined.

"You can teach to help the next generation," Mcbone nuzzled her head into his chest. "We've got to earn our reputation back and prove to our League colleagues that we are capable and trustworthy."

"You are right," Cooper brightened before he placed a paw on her head, sighing as his nerves calmed. "Not all is lost, we can still recover."

"That's right, Team Blue Heroes and Team Aegisdrip are off right now to secure our glory-" the Stoutland tried to rant but her partner suddenly moved out of his position, sending her to the floor. Her reflexes were sharp and she just stamped her paws down. "What's wrong?"

"I should have sent Team Blue Heroes out there quicker," Cooper groaned. "At this rate, they won't catch up-"

"They'll be fine. It's time for you to tell Sharp Claw about the new mandate," Mcbone interjected before standing up and trotting towards the exit. "Be sure to give them a refresher course on all the League's mission statements."

"Ah, right, list A and list B," the Granbull picked up a modestly sized stack of papers and three folders as his mate opened the door. "We are expecting to have many more Pokemon running around here as freshmon Rescue Team members and apprentices."

"Yes, be sure to prepare them for their new teammates," the Stoutland gestured to the window with her snout. "They'll be easier than the ones from list B, considering they are not young teenagers."

"I'm glad that Sharp Claw will be handling the ones from list A," Cooper smiled. "I want to prepare them to understand why their new teammates are so important; they are Keepers after all."

"This will be a little test to see if we can use it on new members later," Mcbone wagged her tail with her departure. "By Mew, it will go swimmingly!"

"Good Morning Team Sharp Claw!" Cooper, with his back to the ajar door, smiled as he saw the three Pokemon walking up towards the classroom. The Treecko, the Totodile, and the Charmander all waved back to him from across the hallway. Their Coordinator nodded when he noticed that they were already wearing the proper attire, their green, blue, and grey striped scarves, and normal rank badges.

"How are you doing Linus?" the Granbull closed the door once they made it inside. "Are you fairing well as Team Captain?" he questioned as he placed a stapled set of papers down on a low table before he rolled it from the left side of the room. The Coordinator made sure the table was directly in front of the whiteboard and chalkboard.

"I'm havin' a swell time Sir," Linus, the Treecko, said in a voice full of western drawl. His short-stocky frame and his brown eyes sparkled in the light of the sun. "I'ma always tryin' to watch out for these two and all, trying to be a better Team Captain," the Treecko pulled a chair up to sit in between the Charmander and the Totodile.

"I see, well I think you are doing a passable job, but I need you to help these two deal with their pasts better Linus," the Coordinator said as he held open a book in one of his paws before he began to start writing on the dry-erase board. "Are you doing just as well, Glade?"

Glade, the Totodile rubbed at the bandages on her forearm and shoulders before she lifted her head. "Yeah, I'm fine Sir," Glade sighed. "Just as long as I don't run into any more electric-types."

"Well, I can't make any promises on that Glade," the Granbull pulled out a meter stick to draw lines on the board. "I need you to work on overcoming your fears and hatred."

"It feels like you gave us that mission dealing with that damn Rotom outlaw on purpose," Glade grumbled as she loosened her cape.

Cooper ignored the Totodile's complaints and turned to the Charmander beside her. "Nevada, how are you? You were working on speaking your mind and such right?"

"I'm… okay I guess," the lanky Charmander waved their claw, opening the folder in front of them. "Just thinking about our last mission- and stuff."

"Alright," the Coordinator pulled forward the whiteboard. "Does anyone has anything they want to say before I start my lecture?"

"Well, actually I'm not okay," Nevada piped up nervously, their tail curling around their chair.

"What's wrong Nevada?" the Granbull lowered his ears in worry.

"I just feel like I could have really let the team down on the last mission," Nevada sighed. "I had this voice in my head telling me that you all are gonna abandon me," the Charmander's voice trailed off when Glade buried her snout into their chest.

"Don't worry, we won't leave you," the Totodile explained, further embracing her teammate.

"Really?" Nevada questioned.

"Yup, you're our family now," Linus also got up to hug the Charmander.

"No matter what?" they asked

"Of course!" the Treecko sat back down. "Are you ready for class or do you still need some time to talk?"

Nevada nodded. "I'm ready," the Charmander cleared up, rubbing tears out of their eyes. "Sorry for the hold-up."

"It's quite alright, now this lesson is great because your new teammates are Keepers, like me" Coordinator Cooper began, pointing at the top right corner of the board. "And all of this is part refresher course and part new content, as there are new mandates Pokemon in Leagues need to follow," the Granbull paused to make sure everyone was ready.

"The first mandate on the list is to make sure each of the Rescue Teams of a League can enforce the Sentinels Code and the Keeper's Promise," Coordinator Cooper uncapped a marker and started to write out bullet points. "We will go over all these rules you have to learn and memorize later so don't worry."

"Next on the list is that Keepers are not allowed to be on Teams without Sentinels, which means Pokemon who aren't Keepers, like you all. If not, they need to be on a Team with at least five members," the Granbull explained. "And the last one is related to it. We have to try and get as many Keepers into organizations that will properly monitor them under the Sentinels Code."

Coordinator Cooper tapped one of the bookshelves along the wall with his ruler. "This means organizations like an Explorer's Guild tied to a Mana Research League or a League itself, whatever is closer," he waited for Team Sharp Claw to finish jotting down their notes before he erased the board. "Before I talk about Keepers I believe I need to have a bit of a lesson on goals and mission statements of Leagues."

"The goal of our Bristberg Mana Research League is to locate and secure mana artifacts," Cooper paused his writing, gesturing across the entire room.

"B-but can't only Keepers do that?" asked Nevada. "Or do you mean something else?"

"I'll explain the specific things you can do to help after we are done with this and the following section," Coordinator Cooper explained, waving his paws. "I'm sorry about this but we have to get through each section before we can get to the complicated topics regarding Keepers and mana."

The Granbull continued away on the whiteboard. "The next goal is to monitor the amount of activity in any hotspot that we are called to," he finished, studying the expressions on the young adults' faces.

"Our League is responsible for extremely important tasks," Coordinator Cooper pressed. "Other Leagues in our Continent and even the organizations across the Hemisphere are depending on us."

Glade, Linus, and Nevada looked up from their notes, each sporting a different bit of concentration. "To explain the scope of this I want you all to pay close attention to the lands of the world," the Granbull pointed his meter-stick towards the chalkboard. Above the left side of the board hung a large rectangular map. On the map were five various shaped Continents.

"As you all know we live in the Celestial Hemisphere, and on the Constellation Continent," the Coordinator pointed to the large three-toed claw-shaped mass near the center of the map before moving to the left towards another map.

"We reside in the Town of Bristberg, nestled in the Heartland or the Azulo Region of the Constellation Continent," the Granbull placed a paw on his chest. "Can someone name all of the other important cities and towns in the region that have Leagues?"

Nevada raised their claw. "If I recall correctly there is Palm Shore to the East, Red Rock to the Northwest, and Winter's Reach to the Northeast," the Charmander then paused to glance up at the map, rubbing underneath their chin. "Aren't there two more Leagues, Coordinator Cooper?"

Cooper nodded. "Yes, but they are currently classified security detail procedures under the League Committee," he lamented.

"So you can't tell us jack about them!?" Glade yelled.

"Unfortunately not at this moment," the Coordinator cringed.

"That's so freaking lame mon!" the Totodile shouted, pointing at the map and then back her notes. "Come on!"

Linus tapped the desk with his palm. "Quiet down Glade."

The Granbull at the boards began to wipe down some old material and then he thwacked the meter-stick at the front. "Okay, now I can tell you the mission statement of two other League's: Red Rock and Winters Reach."

"Why can't you tell us about the Palm Shore League's mission?" Linus asked, opening and flipping through his notes. "Is the mission classified for some reason?"

Coordinator Cooper shook his head at the Treecko. "No, it's just that currently, theirs is going to be changed."

"Oh," Linus tilted his head. "So you are waiting for up-to-date information and all, I see."

"Yes, anyway the City of Red Rock's mission is to keep communication flowing well between all Leagues," the Granbull scribbled on the whiteboard fervently. "They make sure all of the information on various interests are up to date, and our plans are strategically aligned."

"Winter's Reach mission is to find the identities of Pokemon in Wicked Blow," Coordinator Cooper pointed across the map to the base of the right claw. "They also try to find the locations of their strongholds. They research where Wicked Blow is planning to go and strike."

The Granbull continued writing on the board. "Now all of our Leagues have separate duties and goals for one reason. To help Keepers keep their promises to the world."

"Our new teammates are going to be Keepers, right?" Glade leaned backward in her seat. "Tell us more about them! What are their names, what species are they?"

"Well," the Coordinator planted his ruler on the floor. "I was going to reveal them later but do you really want to know now?"

"Yeah!" Nevada cheered, brightening their flame. "We need to know as much as possible to make the best first impression Sir!"

Cooper ruffled the back of his head. "Mew's whiskers you all must be bored, fine I'll tell you," the Coordinator paused when there was a knock at the door. "Team Sharp Claw's two new teammates are an Axew named Hatchet and an Espurr named Kobi."

"From the Northern outskirts of Hunters Plains?!" Linus shouted, falling out of his seat. Then there was another knock on the door.

"You shut it!" Glade yelled, grabbing the Treecko's chair. "Ya crazy gecko! Shouting louder than a damn Blast Seed going off!"

"Now you're the one getting excited Linus," Nevada laughed, holding the Treecko's shoulder and his back, keeping him from dropping to the ground. "Don't freak out so much."

"B-but that's my little brother, and his friend," Linus slammed his fists into the table when he sat in his chair before he dramatically slumped down. "I can't believe I have to deal with him! A Pokemon that still follows my village's backwater ideals for Mew's sake!"

"Oh goodness," Cooper placed his meter-stick down on the chalkboard and walked towards the door. "I have to go, you all get an early break."

The Granbull then stepped outside and was immediately greeted by his mate. "Yes Mcbone?" he asked the Stoutland, who held a folder in her mouth. She lifted it to his paws and he opened it. "No, it can't be!"

"Yes, Master Zeraora, of the Sentinels Union is close by," Mcbone panted. "Chief Centiskorch just sent out an emergency message to all the Leagues."

"They are performing a routine mandated Keeper check so soon?" Cooper gasped. "This means everyone not in a League can be judged, by Mew! Hatchet, Kobi, and every other Keeper found by Master Zeraora will have to pass their judgment… Or they will be slain."