"Go straight back to your family, okay? Don't linger here too long."

I gently stroked the little baby seel in my arms before I released it back to the sea. Due to the horrid weather that struck a few weeks back, a small group of seel pups were separated from their parents. It is our job as Rangers to reunite them with their family, so we tracked down the dewgong pack that is most likely to be the family of the seel pups and release the pups back into the sea.

It had been three months since my first and last encounter with that poacher.

There was no hide nor hair found about that mysterious poacher. All we know are the two pokemon that he uses and the fact that he may be a Dark Specialist. It is worrying. Logically speaking, it wouldn't be too hard to identify a trainer like him from the League's database who is probably strong enough to be a Gym Leader. Yet, there is still no progress on the matter.

As usual, my older brother flipped the moment he found out that I got myself into yet another dangerous situation, but he still acquiesced to my request and help to train me and my team further. However, he is now personally investigating that particular case both as a member of the Police Force and also as a Gym Leader. Last I heard, he met another dead end halfway into the investigation.

I think I had improved a lot over the last three months, but my experience with that poacher, even for that short one moment, was harrowing enough for me to not want to see him ever again.

It's indescribable, that feeling of hopelessness when every single one of your pokemon got sniped down like that in quick succession. It's like his houndoom didn't need a break from firing all those Dark Pulses. The rate of fire was so fast that it is unnatural.

"Ah, the joy of seeing family members reunite with each other." Torrent sighed in contentment as we watched the seel pups yipping happily when they reunited with their pack.

Just yesterday, Jacky and Amy had decided to take a long leave of absence to attempt the upcoming Ever Grande Conference in Hoenn this year. They will be attempting Hoenn's gym circuit on the Elite level. I am a little worried since the Lilycove Invasion had just happened about two weeks ago. Team Aqua had launched a large scale siege on Lilycove city. Many had perished.

The Hoenn League launched a counterattack just a mere ten days after the invasion, dealing a crippling blow not only on Team Aqua, but also on Team Magma. It puzzled me, because if the Hoenn League had the strength and ability to wipe them off the map all along, why wait until after the invasion had happened to do so? Countless lives need not have died.

Team Aqua's uprising had a global impact. Every region had tightened security on their borders and put them on temporary lockdown when the Lilycove Invasion struck. No one can go in and out until the storm had passed, and it only just passed very recently. The ten days between the Lilycove Invasion and the counterattack launched by the Hoenn League was a very tense ten days for everyone around the world. On my end, my squadron was on duty 24/7, constantly on high alert.

Not a very fun experience.

Border lockdown is no longer in effect in every region, but security is still very tight. In some places, Team Aqua's bold move had encouraged villainous teams in other regions to try and attempt something similar. Team Rocket had also gotten bolder in their actions recently. It's everything the news is reporting about nowadays.

This world is not a safe one, which is why I am here as a Ranger. I can help make things a little safer for both humans and pokemon, even if it is just a little.

Since both Jacky and Amy had taken a leave of absence that is estimated to last for half a year, our commander decides that he might as well write in a request to the higher ups for this period of time to be our squadron's lull period for the year since the other squadrons in our regiment already had theirs. We finally get the chance to take a breather. We still go on missions, but they are mostly a lot easier and peaceful in nature, and thus not requiring as much manpower. We don't need to be in camp as often. Our commander wanted to see if he could get Rangers from other regiments to fill in the slots left behind, even if it is just temporarily, but so far none that he found met his expectations.

Hence, it is just the four of us right now.

"No, don't come back to us! Go back and find your mummy!" Rufus yelled out frantically when the released seel pups suddenly began to swim back in our direction for reasons unknown. "Go! That way! Not this way! That way!"

Crown did a huff and unceremoniously blew the seel pups backwards with a flap of his large wings, landing them just right into the middle of the dewgong pack.

"Crown, be nice." I chided my starter, who obviously didn't listen to a single word I just said.

"You know, I wish easy missions like this can get assigned to us for the rest of our career." I spoke as we both watch the dewgong pack leading away their young back into the vast sea.

"Famous last words. You just had to jinx it, don't you?"

"Oi, shitheads, I'm done on my end. If you two are done sightseeing, it's time to head back now!"

"Someone just can't take the time and appreciate the beauty of mother nature." I grumbled when Nightmare's unpleasant voice sounded through the comms.

"Because, you goddamn geniuses, I want to knock off on time for once!"

And thus, with Nightmare constantly harassing us to pack up and go, the three of us met up halfway before flying straight back to our camp without any fanfare.

"Mission accomplished, boss." Torrent reported to our commander the moment we reached our barracks. "The seel pups had safely reunited with their pack."

"Good job, now shoo and get out of here. I have paperwork to finish and I don't want to see any of your ugly mugs for the next three days."

"Love ya too, boss!" Torrent yelled out as he disappeared out of Pyral's office with Adam trudging behind him.

"May the force be ever in your favour, boss!" I cheekily stuck my tongue out at my commander before quickly bolting out of his office, lowering my head enough to dodge the crumpled piece of paper he threw my way.

Ah, the joy of finishing a mission early and having all the time in the world to do whatever you want to do for the rest of the day.


"Bug catching contest?"

"Come on, sis, it will be fun!"

"You know I dislike most bug type pokemon. The only type of pokemon that will interest me are flying types." I retorted. "And they must belong to the bird family too."

"Yeah, that's so true, because Glide, Beats, Cotton, Tino, Echo, Emi, and Aria totally belongs to the bird family."

"Rude."

I pushed my annoying brother's head away from me in a lazy fashion.

"Sis~"

"Ask Falkner to go with you."

"He's stuck with Gym Leader duties. Come on, sis! The National Park is not even far from here!"

I sighed. Guess I won't be able to catch up to the latest episode of my favourite drama series today.

"Fine, fine. You win, you little brat."

"Don't be such a downer. I heard that the contest this week even has some of the rare bug types from other regions! Many bug types are also part flying types, right? Maybe you can add one more to your team!"

"I don't really like bugs. All the creepy crawlies feelers, the compound eyes, the squiggly legs, and all that. Ugh." I shivered a little as I imagined the images of the typical bugs in my mind's eye. There's a good reason why I didn't add any bug types to my team even if they would fit right in there.

If there's one thing I brought over from my previous life, it would be my aversion to bugs. Yes, not something you would really expect out of a Ranger, but in my defence, bugs.

At least I don't have Amy's superstitious fear of ghosts. She's worse than me in this regard.

"Then find one that doesn't look like one! Maybe like pineco, or if you are lucky, a forretress!"

"Right. And let them explode me into itty bitty pieces. There are better ways to commit suicide, brother dear."

My brother and I continue our squabbling as I let Crown and Dia fly us to the National Park.

The National Park's Bug Catching Contest is a big event that attracts locals and tourists alike, held once every single month, once everyday for the duration of a week. Depending on the season, the variety of bug type pokemon one can find there can greatly differ.

According to Ciel, this week's bug type pokemon are supposedly filled with the rarer ones that the organisers imported from other regions. Bug enthusiasts from all over the region, and even from other parts of the world, travelled here to take part in this world-renowned contest. The contest is also very popular among trainers who just started out on their journey and is looking to add a bug type to their team since the level of entry is set to be rather low.

Ciel entered the both of us into the contest. The rules are simple. Each of us are given twenty Sports Ball, a special type of pokeball to be used during this contest. Every contestant are only allowed to catch one bug type during the competition. While they won't take away our pokeballs that houses our pokemon team, because there had been nasty accidents that happened when participants didn't have access to their full team when they were unfortunately caught in a bad spot, we are only allowed to register one pokemon to be our partner for the duration of the contest. We can only let out the rest of our team only during emergencies or in self-defence.

The section of the park where the contest is being held at is being constantly patrolled by trainers employed by the organisers, both for security purposes and also to monitor the ongoings during this time. Anyone found to flout the rules and caught by these trainers will be disqualified immediately.

I'm not too sure what criteria the judges will use to determine the winner of the contest, but I don't particularly care. What I care about is that all contestants are allowed to keep their captured bug type after the contest ends.

Since I am already here against my will, I might as well add another pokemon to my team.

The duration of the contest is two hours. If the contestant somehow used up all twenty Sport Balls, they are also automatically out of the competition, although anyone with a brain would probably only use up three to seven Sports Ball at most. Any leftover Sport Balls have to be returned to the organiser.

"See you later, sis!" My younger brother waved me goodbye as he excitedly ran off in a direction without waiting for my reply. Wait, if he is going to go on his own this whole time, why drag me here?!

That little shit.

"Let's get going." I told Beats as he hovered around me without making a single sound. He is a little grumpy at the fact that I called him out in broad daylight when there is no mission to be done, but he is still a very easygoing fellow.

Relatively easygoing when you compare him to the rest of his species.

The reason why I decide to let Beats accompany me is because his ability to use echolocation is extremely useful for searching and scouting purposes. He doesn't even need to see where he is going because he is just that good at it. He can see what the eyes can't. It is how his species hunt their prey out in the wild. Beats is in his element right here.

Among the known pokemon with the bug-flying dual typing, the only species that don't look too 'buggish' to me are the masquerain species, an evolution of the surskit line. To add on, masquerains are able to fly freely in any direction with their four wings, which makes them very agile fliers. The only drawback is that due to its highly absorbent wings, it does not cope well with moisture, but they can be trained to overcome that weakness under the right tutelage.

Even then, the fact that masquerains are the pokemon equivalent of a helicopter, being able to not only hover, but fly freely in any direction, is a tempting enough thought to make me want to try and capture one for myself if I ever want a bug type. This is the only pokemon I will be looking out for today. If I am unable to find one, then I am fine with returning empty handed.

Despite not coping well with moisture, masquerians are still more likely to appear near water bodies with clean water. It might be because it lived most of its life by skating on the water surface of ponds and lakes as a surskit, but from personal experience I know that masquerains tend to congregate in such places and hide out in the nearby trees.

Hence, the first places that I am going to comb are the known water bodies in the National Park within the demarcated area set aside just for the contest.

"How hard can it be to find a masquerain?" I asked no one in particular as Beats led me around the National Park while we embark on our quest. Beats let out a brief chittering sound, as if offended that he is incapable of completing such an easy task.

"I know, I know. You are the best when it comes to finding your prey." I praised Beats and I watch in amusement as the bat pokemon visibly preened at my statement. "But seriously, if we really got ourselves a masquerain, please don't eat him or her up, okay?"

In the wild, most bug type pokemon on the smaller size tend to end up as prey for the zubat species and its evolutionary line. My worry is not an unfounded one.

After close to half an hour of traversing through tall grass and muddy ground, we finally reached a large water body that looks like it might be home to wild surskits and masquerains. The water is relatively still in here, which further solidify my belief that it is very likely that we might meet a masquerain here. Surskits and masquerains love calm waters.

Beats and I slowly walked along the perimeter of the mini lake we found, carefully checking the trees to see if any masquerains might be hiding in the hollow trunks. We met the occasional ledybas and ledians along with other more common bug types seen in Johto, but we left them alone. The prize that we set our sights on are the masquerains. If we cannot find one, surskits are fine too. I don't mind training another flier from scratch since my squadron is on a lull period right now. I have all the time in the world.

Carefully avoiding a large web that obviously belongs to a venomous ariados, Beats guided me to a large and hollow tree. He gave me a signal, and I immediately know that what we had been trying to find for the past one hour has to be in there. The masquerain is probably taking a nap in the tree if I have to make an educated guess.

"Alright, do your thing. Flush it out, confuse it, then we are going to capture it. Remember, no eating it."

Beats made a sound that is his equivalent of scoffing before proceeding to fly straight for the tree. He used a deafening Screech that is directed right into one of the holes of the hollow tree.

Ouch, that has to hurt.

A hole exploded on the other side of the tree as a pokemon zoomed out of there and into the sky. Its path was quickly blocked by Beats, who immediately used a Wing Attack to smack it back down and preventing it from making an escape.

A masquerain buzzed angrily as I saw crobat flinched a little, an effect that I recognised to be brought about by masquerain's Intimidate ability. The masquerain is understandably mad for the rude awakening Beats had given and immediately fired an Air Slash at Beats' direction.

There is no way that attack is going to land a hit on my crobat, but I still cannot help but be impressed at how that Air Slash easily fell several large trees. I was even more impressed at how the masquerain moved in the air as it zipped around the area with Beats chasing after it. Forwards, backwards, up, down, left, and right. It's really like what is recorded in the pokedex. There is no direction that masquerain cannot fly. It is a living helicopter.

I really, really want to capture this guy right now.

A supersonic from Beats managed to catch masquerain off guard and Beats quickly followed up with a Cross Poison, sending it careening down onto the ground. I immediately threw a Sports Ball at it, only to be awed at how the masquerain abruptly changed direction in mid-air to avoid the pokeball.

For a wild pokemon, those moves are impressive. I'm going to capture this masquerain even if it meant using all twenty of my Sports Ball.

"Swift!"

Beats pressed on the advantage with Swift, an attack that never misses. The ray of stars hit masquerain squarely in the face and left it a little dazed from the impact. I used this chance and threw another Sports Ball. With Beats hovering protectively in front of me, we watched with bated breath as the contraption wriggled and squirmed on the ground.

After about ten seconds of struggle, the masquerain gave in and the Sports Ball went still.

"We did it!" I gave a cheer and threw my hands up in the air. Even Beats let out a victory cry. The past hour was not in vain after all!

I picked up masquerain's pokeball and cleaned off the dirt on it with my sleeve. A quick scan of my pokedex told me that this masquerain is a male.

"What name should I give this guy?" I wondered out loud as Beats and I slowly trekked back to the starting point, our objective for today completed. This masquerain is already a very good flier, imagine the aerial maneuvers it can do after I put him through my training regime. Just thinking about it makes me want to jump into training immediately.

Beats gave a grunt that conveyed his indifference.

"True. Why am I even asking you in the first place?"

With Beats' help in locating my wayward brother, we met up with Ciel soon enough.

"Of all the pokemon here you have to catch, you have to catch the one that looks the most buggish."

"But Sis! This pokemon is so rare! It is the highlight of the contest! And what else do you expect me to catch in a Bug catching contest?!"

I stared at the wimpod moving around Ciel's feet in a circle. To be fair, it could have been a lot worse. Ciel could have caught a caterpie, scyther, or heaven forbid, a heracross that loves to hug people (Ew). At least I have experience in interacting with the wimpod species since Rufus has a golisopod on his team, and they tend to keep their distance from anyone that is not their trainer.

"Remind me to help you ask my friend for tips on how to raise this little guy. He has a golisopod."

"Really?! Thanks a lot, sis!"

"You can thank me by volunteering for dinner duty tonight." I ruffled his hair as we slowly make our way back. Although our entire family are flying type enthusiasts, Ciel is not as one-track as Falkner and I when it comes to adding pokemon to our team. He is more interested in knowing more about the secrets of every pokemon than in becoming a trainer.

"Wimpod is very skittish though. Queenie and I had a hard time trying to catch it because it's so timid and it can run really fast." Ciel admitted as we threw glances behind us every ten or so meters, making sure that the wimpod is slowly following us from behind. They are notorious for being cowardly, always running away at the first signs of danger. It is common for them to spit out large amount of poisonous liquid the moment they think that they are being threatened, so the best we can do now is to let it interact with us within its comfort zone while our pokemon kept an eye on it from the air. When it gets to know us better, then it might start to open up to us a little more.

The only good thing about this little guy is that it is also known for eating literally anything, thus also earning them the nickname of 'the cleaners of the sea'. They are very easy to raise if you give them space to hide and run around. You need to give their species their own personal space since being overly friendly to newly captured wimpods might stress them out to the point of death instead.

As expected, Ciel and I didn't win the contest because the judging criteria turned out to be how heavy and big the captured prize is. Masquerain and wimpod are far from being the biggest bugs around. The top 3 winners earned themselves some really decent prizes, but I don't really care. All I really want is the masquerain I just caught.

"And now, in Third Place, we have-"

BOOM!

I was thrown to the ground when numerous explosions suddenly appeared around us, shaking the ground in a violent tremor and throwing up a huge amount of dirt and dust in the process.

Ciel!

"Ciel! Ciel!"

"I'm here!"

I quickly reunited with Ciel through the chaos and quickly let out my pokemon team. They immediately went into battle mode and surrounded Ciel and I in a protective circle. The entire area where all of us contestants are at for the prize giving ceremony is now engulfed in flames and constant explosions.

"Sis! What is going on?!"

"I don't know!"

Screams continue to ring through the air as men in black suits appeared out of nowhere and started attacking indiscriminately left and right. I can see sections of the park on fire as wild pokemon taking residence in there was forced out of their homes when they flee, only to be quickly subdued and captured by these people.

I saw the huge red 'R' on their suits and I immediately knew what is going on.

Team Rocket

"Echo! Get Ciel out of here, now!"

"Sis?!"

"Go! This is no time to argue with me! Go get Falkner! Only he can handle this!" I forcefully shoved my younger brother on Echo's back and got him to quickly take off into the air. I can at least stay behind and try to help out people who might need me, but Ciel is not even a trainer. He is a sitting duck in here.

There's also no way I'm risking my little brother's life in this shitfest. I managed to calm down a little when I saw Echo swiftly carrying my younger brother out of the area and disappeared into the sky towards the direction of our hometown.

"I know we only just met." I told masquerain as the newest member on my team hovered in mid-air, looking very lost at what is happening around us. "But I need all the help I can get now, and I am willing to trust you. Can we trust you too?"

The masquerain narrowed its little beady eyes and buzzed defiantly, but another explosion in the distance got it to reluctantly accept my offer. This is no time to be squabbling and masquerain clearly understands this. Our chances of staying alive is higher if we work with each other.

"Thank you." I quickly thanked masquerain as I climbed onto Crown's back. This is no time to be sitting around.

"Into the air! Prioritise the safety of the civilians! Masquerain, stick close to me! Let's go! "

My team flew into action as I quickly dialled the emergency hotline that is directly linked to Pyral's office number. I know for a fact that my workaholic commander is in the barracks right now. Any normal civilian would call the police, but I have faith that my own regiment can sortie faster than the cops, because we are the 1st Regiment.

"What is it, Skye? I'm-"

"National Park! Rockets! Get reinforcements from somewhere! We are in deep shit here!" I yelled into my pokegear the moment the line was picked up on the other end and then hung it up. I cannot afford to be distracted right now. Already, a stray Thunderbolt came too close to Crown and I for comfort because I was distracted.

Thankfully, it seems that there are no shortages of skilled trainers in this area, seeing as how some of them had grouped up and tried to take control of the situation from where we are boxed in at the plaza. It's not the worst place to be trapped in, to be honest. At least the exit out of the park is nearby and it is easy to form a defensive line given the geography of the area.

Team Rocket must be feeling generous today. I can work with this.

"I'm a Ranger from the 1st Regiment! Elite trainers, please form a defensive perimeter around the plaza! Focus on not letting the Rockets pass us! Intermediate and Advanced trainers, provide support wherever you can! Novice trainers, please escort anyone incapable of fighting away from the area and direct them to the exit! And someone please call the cops!"

My presence has definitely changed things from how our efforts to defend ourselves are suddenly more organised and how people are now acting with a calmer mind. The name of the Ranger's 1st Regiment is known far and wide in our region, since only the most skilled of trainers are accepted there. People are willing to listen to us in times of crisis since we actually know what we are doing.

"Any Psychic Specialists here?! Search out the enemies and teleport the injured out of the battle!" I yelled out from Crown's back as my flying types immediately cleared our surrounding air of dust and smoke, giving us some much needed visibility as we tried to wrestle aerial superiority away from the Rockets. We need every advantage we can get right now.

"Rock, ground, or Steel Specialists! Please raise as many covers as you can! Water Specialists, please ensure that the forest fire does not reach us! Our priority isn't to win! I repeat, our priority isn't to win! Our priority is survival! We just need to survive until reinforcements arrive! Hang in there! Reinforcements are already on their way!"

I'm glad that trainers on our side seemed to have no qualms in taking instructions from me, placing their trust in me that I am really from the 1st Regiment. Already, trainers are directing their pokemon who are adept at creating covers or providing defenses to raise rocks and slabs of earth to shelter us from the Rocket's onslaught. Rock and Ground Specialists are already working on creating a temporary bunker for us to hide in with their pokemon. Trainers who are too inexperienced helped out by ushering the civilians out of the area, thereby allowing us to fully focus on our battles. Many of us stick to commanding our pokemon to fire their attacks from a distance since we really have no idea just how many Rockets we are facing right now. We are fighting blind until a Psychic Specialist is able to give us eyes on the situation.

"The Rockets are spread throughout the park! I think they are trying to net all the bug types in the area while keeping us pinned down!" One trainer, who is obviously a Psychic Specialist shouted out. "I think they got some of the people out there who didn't make it back in time! Their psychic signatures just sputtered out!"

Ah, shit.

"Ranger, what do we do?!" Another shouted.

I did a quick headcount of the manpower I have on hand and I frowned. I don't think it's wise to take anyone with me. Firstly, I have no idea on who they are and what are their capabilities. They might be a burden to me instead if they cannot keep up. Secondly, although the number of skilled trainers are not a small number, it isn't very big too. I cannot risk the safety of the majority for the few who might or might not be already dead. Rockets can be very merciless in their heists.

In that case, the best course of action that can allow us to save both the people stranded out there and the majority here who are forming a defensive perimeter at the plaza will be for me to go out alone and save as many as I can, because I can. However, I cannot just leave. I have to at least nominate a leader to take over my responsibility here so that things will not spiral down into chaos.

"Anyone here part of STAR, Ranger, or is a cop?"

"I am from STAR." Someone raised his hand timidly into the air. "But I only just entered service for three months-"

"This is an emergency. You will have to do. Unless there is somebody here more qualified than you in handling a situation like this, you will have to take command of the situation while I go and rescue whoever I can. Remember, get everyone to keep your distance, don't let the Rockets get close. Just make sure everyone hold for as long as they can until the reinforcements arrive. Reinforcements ARE coming, so stay hopeful. Throw status inducing moves at them while you are at it too, it will slow the Rockets down. I will guide the stragglers to safety here, so don't hit them! If all else fails, just avoid direct confrontation with the Rockets at all costs and buy as much time as possible, clear?"

"But-"

"Am. I. Clear?"

"... Yes."

"I'm counting on you."

"Don't worry, we will look out for each other!"

"Yeah! Go do your thing, Ranger! Don't worry about us! Be careful out there!"

"Get those Rocket bastards while you are at it!"

I managed a smile at their words of encouragement.

"Thanks, guys."

My team and I flew off immediately after the Psychic Specialist gave me the generic direction of where my help might be needed. The Psychic Specialist even kindly lent me his kadabra which is able to use Teleport in case I need to transport an injured who might not be able to move. The kadabra is not as skilled in that move as I like it to be, but this arrangement will have to suffice. Unfortunately, I am somehow the only Flying Specialist around, so I'm the only one who could quickly reach those who need help in time.

"Carpet Bomb maneuver! Lay them to waste!"

Utilising the teachings that Falkner drilled into me and my team after my first encounter with that terrifying poacher, my team mercilessly did a carpet bomb maneuver at whatever Rockets we can see below while we are on our way to find the stragglers. I'm reluctant to use the bigger moves because I have no idea who else might be down there and I don't want to hit a friendly by mistake.

I can see some Rocket members stealing pokemon from several downed trainers, which Hawks knocked the living daylights out of them when we arrived. Some of my team remained in the air while those who can fight effectively on the ground landed with me, forming a defensive perimeter around me and the downed trainers.

"Get them back to your trainer! Once done, see if you can locate my psychic signature and Teleport back to me! If not possible, then just stay with your trainer!" I quickly shouted my instructions to the kadabra over the hell of fire raining down at us. I dumped the bag of pokeballs that were in the Rockets' hands onto the bodies of the unconscious trainers, which I presumed to contain the pokeballs that originally belonged to them before the Rockets snatched them.

I watched as kadabra teleported both itself and them in a crackle of psychic energy. Once I confirmed its exit, I gave my next command.

"Go! Fly!"

My team flew up into the air again and regrouped, heading straight into the line of fire. There is a sizable group of Rockets in the direction we are facing and we had drawn all the aggro towards ourselves for the carpet bombing we did earlier. Cosmo sent me a telepathic message that all she sensed there are people with hostile intentions, so I can now command my team to use our bigger moves.

"Tino! Draco Meteor! Bomb them to hell!"

My usually gentle dragon gave a savage roar as she fired her attack, immediately calling upon a rain of draconic meteor down on our foes. The rest of us didn't slow down in our flight as we simply charged right through. Any Rockets that Tino missed, the rest of my team sniped them down from above with righteous fury.

There is an old saying spoken by the very first Indigo Champion, and that is in war, never ever cross a Flying Specialist if you can help it. In the days of the warring states, there was a damn good reason why Flying Specialists were so feared. In war, we can be nigh unstoppable under the right conditions.

There was a reason why any pokemon with the dragon typing must be approached with caution, but there was also a reason why pokemon with the dragon-flying dual typing under the command of an enemy is a threat that must be immediately put down. There is a reason why the dragonite species is so highly coveted in both Kanto and Johto.

Pokemon can be our best friends, but they can also be trained to be highly efficient killing machines.

We repeated our actions several times, trying my best to control my anger when I spotted corpses of the innocents who were unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Any stranded civilians and trainers that I spotted who can still move and save themselves, I gave them verbal instructions to head for the plaza because my hands are full. Thankfully, the kadabra is skilled enough in Teleport to keep coming back to me and it was a great help in transporting any stranded we found who could not move by themselves. My main priority is to rescue any stragglers that are stranded in all this mess. If there are any Rockets that I can take down in a jiffy while I'm at it, then that is a bonus.

"Aria, Glide, Rock Slide!"

Aria and Glide buried another small group of Rockets in a massive Rock Slide. Cotton released her Stun Spores as the rest of my flying types beat their wings and sent it flying towards another group of Rockets hiding among the trees, the dosage in it so highly dangerous to humans that it is able to paralyze them for life. Cosmo and Masquerain hovered around Crown and I, protecting us as they tried to locate any friend or foe that we might have missed.

Glide used an Earthquake that flushed out the rest of the Rockets, allowing us to get in another free shot.

"That flier's too strong! Leave her! We had gotten what he had come for! Retreat! Retreat!"

Immediately, psychic types appeared all around the area and began teleporting all the Rockets I could see out of the National Park. Even the downed ones are being teleported out of the area. Any Rocket that I can see that is still alive is disappearing at a rapid rate, only leaving behind those who are already dead.

They are so deadly efficient, so terrifyingly swift that it is scary. I'm not even sure if the 1st Regiment or the STAR forces can achieve such efficiency. If Team Rocket launch another attack with the same deadly precision, on a bigger scale, on God knows where…

There is still time before all of them vanish into thin air. I have to at least capture a few Rockets alive so that the Indigo League can organise a counterattack, like what Hoenn did for Team Aqua and Team Magma. Only then can something be done against the mysterious Team Rocket.

"Don't let them escape!"

I have no idea why the Rockets are here and launched such a massive assault. If we ever want a follow-up action to track these elusive Rockets down, then we need to at least capture a live one for interrogation.

"Beats, Mean Look!"

Beats' Mean Look prevented an escape via Teleport for a small group of Rockets. Dia swiftly knocked them out. Emi and Glide even managed to nail a few of the Rockets' psychic types.

And then everything went wrong again.

There was another audible crackle of psychic energy and a new player made his appearance on the warzone. A man in black, also sporting the same 'R' on his uniform looked back up at me disinterestedly from the ground. He is definitely different from the usual Rocket grunts based on what I can see, since his attire marks him as different. Most of his face is covered by the high collar shirt and large breton cap he is wearing. His hands are in his pockets even in this chaos we are in, as if deeming me a non-threat.

However, subconsciously, my entire team pulled our distance away from this guy. Even just by standing there, this man exudes the aura and pressure of the truly strong. He is someone that you don't want to ever cross paths with.

Whoever this is, we cannot underestimate this guy.

'Mistress, look at his pokemon.'

A snarling houndoom by his side bared its fangs at us and I immediately broke into a cold sweat.

It's the same houndoom that had single handedly defeated my entire team back at Cherrygrove Nature Reserve.

The poacher. This is the poacher which poached the mamoswine! He was a Rocket all along!

"Spread out!"

My team immediately scattered, and it was just in time as the houndoom fired an absolutely massive Dark Pulse from its maws. Even after the gruelling training Falkner put me through, I immediately understood that there's no way we can hold our own against such a highly trained and skilled pokemon.

I'm still outclassed, outmatched, and outgunned.

"Masquerain, Water Sport!"

I really hope that he is able to use that move. I didn't have the time to check his move list with my pokedex yet.

Fortunately, masquerain did know how to use Water Sport. With that, houndoom's fire type moves will have its damage cut.

"Keep your distance! Hit-and-run! Go!"

My team zipped erratically in the air as we rapidly bombard attacks on the lone Rocket standing in our way. Fighting him shouldn't be my main priority, but if I leave him alone, who knows what else he might do? My greatest fear right now is that he might head straight for the area the rest of the trainers are gathered at and demolish them in one fell swoop. There is no one here that can stand up to him.

Furthermore, I'm sure that help is on the way. Pyral is definitely on his way here, and if all goes well, my older brother too. Between the two of them, I'm sure they can subjugate this villain.

My eyes widened in shock when our attacks simply bounced off an invisible dome of barriers that surrounds the Rocket and his houndoom. How? Houndooms are not known for their defensive abilities and the houndoom is definitely not using Protect, so HOW?! THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE!

Come to think about it, how did this Rocket teleport himself here without a psychic pokemon? Houndooms are also not capable of learning Teleport, so how?

With another howl, the houndoom released a massive Inferno that forced us all away. The heat and the sheer size of the flames is so strong that it makes it look like masquerain's Water Sport had no effect whatsoever.

I'm starting to think that even my older brother will have problems dealing with this guy in a head-on battle.

"Blow the winds in his direction! Hurricane! Don't stop moving! Don't let it get a clear shot!"

The pokemon on my team who can use Hurricane immediately followed my command and tried to use the houndoom's own flames against it while continuing to fly unpredictably in the air. After the overwhelming defeat we experienced under the hands of this Rocket previously, none of us are willing to repeat the same mistake.

However, the wall of flames had blocked our vision of the Rocket.

"Cosmo! Is he still there?"

'Mistress! He's gone! I can no longer feel their presence!'

Shit. He used the Inferno as a smokescreen to make his getaway, probably with Teleport. He also probably took his fallen goons with him while he was at it.

I suddenly heard Tino giving a loud cry and I whipped my head in her direction. I can easily tell that she was attacked from behind from how she is evading attacks that came from nowhere. My team immediately reacted as we scattered once more while trying to support Tino, who is already struggling to stay afloat in the air. Someone had managed to get a lot of damage in on Tino, somehow.

I soon got my answer. A massive and savage-looking hydreigon bellowed its challenge at us from the air. Riding on it is the Rocket from earlier.

That bastard. He didn't escape! He teleported into the air to launch a sneak attack!

"Draco Meteor."

Oh shit.

"Get to the ground and huddle together! Defensive formation! Use Protect!"

Like we practiced, my team quickly gathered around me on the ground and everyone except for Tino and Emi threw up a shield of Protect that encased us in a dome, defending ourselves from the falling rain of meteors. Tino used this chance to heal herself up with Roost.

"Emi, drop them out of the sky! Thunder!"

A huge pillar of lightning crashed down at the hydreigon and its rider, but to my frustration, even Emi's attack bounced off even before it reached the dragon. There is something protecting the Rocket and his pokemon and I have no idea what it is.

'Mistress, I believe that is a result of simultaneous usage of Light Screen and Reflect, although I myself had not seen such expert usage of these moves. I also just sensed a faint presence that is constantly trying to evade my senses. I believe that there is another creature out there lurking at the sides.'

A secret helper. Now that explain things.

"Beats, you heard Cosmo! The both of you hurry and flush them out or we can never bring this guy down!"

With Beats and Cosmo pairing up to deal with the unknown, the rest of us continue our skirmish with the Rocket. There's no way the hydreigon can fire another fully powered Draco Meteor again at such short notice, so we took into the air once more. The hydreigon continues to fire a barrage of long ranged moves at us from its three heads. Unlike Adam's, this hydreigon seemed to lose all sense of reason in battle and is simply charging at us recklessly without any care of its wellbeing. The Rocket doesn't seem like he cares, letting hydreigon do whatever it wants.

But it may be our chance to turn the tide around. Tino is good at close quarters combat, but the same cannot be said for the hydreigon species.

"Tino, Dragon Rush! Aria, Double-Edge! Crown, Tailwind! Everyone else, support them!"

With a speed boost from Crown's Tailwind, Tino zoomed right at the hydreigon and bodily crashed into it. Aria dived down from above, but a black blur jumped up from hydreigon's back and hit her away with great force using an Ice Punch.

"It's a weavile! Dia, Air Cutter! Get it away!"

One of the hydreigon's heads intercepted Dia's Air Cutter with a Dark Pulse. The weavile cackled as it immediately sucked in a breath before unleashing a massive Blizzard that blew us all away while still in mid-air.

"Get back! Tino, Safeguard!"

That power in it was unnatural. I bet my money that it must had secretly powered up with a few usages of Nasty Plot or something while it was hidden on hydreigon's back all along.

A sudden vortex of fire engulfed the hydreigon and its rider in a huge pillar of fire and a familiar figure flew into view while riding on a charizard. From another side, an army of flying types flew in and immediately surrounded the pillar of fire, boxing the Rocket in with no way out. On the ground, dangerous looking fire types formed a perimeter, not wanting our target to escape.

Help had arrived.

"Boss! Falkner! You two are late!"

"It's supposed to be my break with the three of you on leave!" My commander yelled back at me. "Arceus damn it, Skye! Why did you keep finding trouble for me to deal with?! What's your damn problem?!"

"I WAS ATTACKED!"

"Skye! Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine!" I shouted back to my older brother, who is riding on Majel, his own pidgeot and starter. "Be very careful! This guy is a Dark Specialist and is very tricky to deal with! He may be on your level!"

"We caught this guy while we were at it." Pyral's emboar held an unconscious zoroark in its grip. "Was casting a wide area illusion around the area, made it hard for us to locate you until your crobat broke it."

As if on cue, Beats and Cosmo flew back to my side, looking battered but also very proud of their achievements.

'Good job, Cosmo. You too, Beats.'

'I will be sure to relay your message to the rowdy one.'

Trust Cosmo to always be a cool cucumber no matter the circumstances.

"This guy is the poacher from Cherrygrove and he seems to be high up on the command chain within the Rockets!" I quickly relayed what I had learned so far. "We need to apprehend him!"

"Leave this to us, Skye." Falkner said in an authoritative voice as his flying types flew right in front of me and my team, giving me a hint to stay out of the incoming fight. "I'm sure that there are still people out there that needs your help. Battling is my expertise, not yours, so you go do what you do best, search and rescue."

"Falk-"

"You did well, Skye. Now, go. Leave this to us. This is my duty as Gym Leader. Reinforcements are already on their way."

I sent my brother a worried look. He may be a Gym Leader, but he is also my brother.

"Ciel is cooking dinner tonight. Don't be late."

"I won't."

With that, my team and I turned tail and flew out of the area, trusting my commander and my brother to be able to handle themselves.

Falkner better come back alive and in one piece, or I will never forgive him.


Name: Skye Bale, 16, Female

Known affiliation: Indigo Ranger Force, Johto Region, 9th Ranger Regiment, 1st Ranger Regiment

Rank: Staff Sergeant

Code Name: Zephyr

Pokemon Team:

1. Pidgeot (Crown), male

2. Gliscor (Glide), male

3. Skarmory (Dia), female

4. Crobat (Beats), male

5. Jumpluff (Cotton), female

6. Dragonite (Tino), female

7. Noivern (Echo), male

8. Emolga, (Emi), female

9. Hawlucha (Hawk), male

10. Sigilyph (Cosmo), female

11. Aerodactyl (Aria), female

12. Masquerain, male

Name: Falkner Bale, 25, Male

Known affiliation: Johto Police Force, Johto Thirteen Pillars, Violet City Gym Leader

Pokemon Team:

1. Pidgeot (Majel), male

2. Noctowl

3. Fearow

4. Dodrio

5. Honchkrow

6. Xatu

7. Crobat

8. Skarmory

9. Delibird

10. Togekiss

11. Swellow

12. Staraptor

13. Pelipper

Name: Ciel Bale, 13, Male

Pokemon Team:

1. Pidgeotto (Queenie), female

2. Wimpod, male

Name: Walker Bale, 55, Male

Known affiliation: Ex Violet City Gym Leader, Ex member of Johto Thirteen Pillars

Pokemon Team:

1. Pidgeot

2. Skarmory

Name: Jacky Marsh, 19, Male

Known affiliation: Indigo Ranger Force, Johto Region, 1st Ranger Regiment

Rank: First Lieutenant

Code Name: Venom

Pokemon Team:

1. Scolipede

2. Crobat

3. Tentacruel

4. Nidoking

5. Skuntank

6. Venasaur

7. Toxicroak

8. Weezing

9. Dragalge

10. Beedrill

Name: Amy Rose, 17, Female

Known affiliation: Indigo Ranger Force, Johto Region, 1st Ranger Regiment

Rank: Sergeant First Class

Code Name: Powergirl

Pokemon Team:

1. Furret

2. Pidgeot

3. Lopunny

4. Ursaring

5. Wigglytuff

6. Exploud

7. Blissey

8. Tauros

9. Miltank

10. Cinccino

Name: Adam Clive, 20, Male

Known affiliation: Indigo Ranger Force, Johto Region, 1st Ranger Regiment

Rank: Sergeant First Class

Code Name: Nightmare

Pokemon Team:

1. Houndoom

2. Honchkrow

3. Umbreon

4. Weavile

5. Shiftry

6. Sableye

7. Greninja

8. Hydreigon

9. Pangoro

10. Krookodile

Name: Rufus Grandell, 21, Male

Known affiliation: Indigo Ranger Force, Johto Region, 1st Ranger Regiment

Rank: Master Sergeant

Code Name: Torrent

Pokemon Team:

1. Poliwrath

2. Kingdra

3. Dewgong

4. Gyarados

5. Feraligatr

6. Slowking

7. Crawdaunt

8. Floatzel

9. Jellicent

10. Golisopod

Name: Pyral Furnes, 38, Male

Known affiliation: Indigo Ranger Force, Johto Region, 1st Ranger Regiment

Rank: Lieutenant Colonel

Code Name: Cremator

Pokemon Team:

1. Typhlosion

2. Arcanine

3. Charizard

4. Magmortar

5. Magcargo

6. Alolan Marowak

7. Torkoal

8. Infernape

9. Emboar

10. Pyroar

11. Chandelure