Tick tick tick tick tick tick.

The monotonous chatter of computer keys being pressed, pausing only for the author to consider how to phrase his next thought, and then the chatter would resume again. Every so often, there would be a longer pause, as the writer would take a sip from the mug of coffee set beside him while he perused the previous paragraph, wondering if perhaps he should add anything further to it, or just press onwards.

The man seated at the computer was a handsome young man, with neatly groomed brown hair and hazel brown eyes that shared warmth even from behind a serious expression. Although he had no facial hair, he was older than most teenagers, if not in his twenties already.

His attire was clean, yet casual. A plain white buttoned shirt, and simple brown formal slacks. His desk was organized, albeit with a few scattered wads of paper that had been brainstorming ideas gone wrong, and a few pencils of varying lengths and sharpness.

The man rubbed his chin, leaning onto the back two legs of his chair as he studied the last sentence of the document he was typing up. Something about it still felt off...like it needed to be worded differently.

Then again, he was a perfectionist when it came to this, and no matter how many deadlines were thrown at him or in danger of being met only by the skin of his teeth, he'd still obsess over minute details. It was a wonder that he had this job at all, but at least he had the option to work without being disturbed by his chattier coworkers.

His computer interrupted his thoughts with a bell sound, and the icon of a postal letter appeared in the corner of the screen. This caught his attention. The only person who was able to contact him at this computer was Marcus. So pushing the thoughts of the report aside, he navigated to the message screen.

To his pleasant surprise, he found an option for a video chat available, so naturally, he checked the little box and waited. A window popped up, and he found himself looking at the face of his younger brother. All their friends and family commented constantly about how Marcus looked like a younger version of Adrian, but right now, Adrian was inclined to agree with them. Marcus hadn't quite gotten the grooming habits down, but he had the same youthful, energetic features and even similar hair color. The difference was possible a few shades of brown, but no one was ever really that attentive to the detail.

"Hey, Adrian!" Marcus said brightly. From the looks of the surroundings behind the younger boy, Adrian assumed that he was making the call from inside a Pokemon Center. Although he had only been to Sinnoh a few times in his life, he could definitely recognize the similar layout of the books on the shelf behind Marcus, describing proper care of one's Pokemon.

"Hey, little man," Adrian replied, his face spreading into a grin. "How's things?"

"Going great!" Marcus replied brightly, holding up a narrow case, exposing the two shaped bits of metal inside. "I got the second badge a few days ago, and I'm in Veilstone now."

"Nice!" Adrian said with a fond chuckle. His brother had always dreamed of pursuing championship status in the League, but had waited an extra few years before starting to be sure that he'd have enough money to afford the traveling and expenses without needing to phone home for advances and such. Adrian himself had never fancied the competitive side of Pokemon training, but as his family would constantly remind him, he was a gifted trainer. He had done his fair share of traveling and battling before preferring to just encourage his brother's journey while working.

"So how are things for you? Busy at work?" Marcus wondered. Adrian raised an eyebrow slightly. He knew his brother well enough to know that this was going to lead into some sort of a request.

"I'm AT work, but it's fine if I chat for a little bit. Just finishing up an article that the big guy wants printed, the usual stuff. What's on your mind?"

Marcus shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "So, I challenged the Veilstone Gym the other day, and man, I got creamed...her Lucario's vicious, totally took my team apart."

"Don't let that discourage you. Pokemon training is just as much strategy as it is matchups. Got to be prepared for a wake-up call now and then," Adrian mused.

"Yeah...but I bet if I had caught that shiny Espeon, things would have gone better," Marcus sighed.

Adrian furrowed his brow slightly. "Back that sentence up for a second, I think I misheard..."

"Oh yeah, I saw a wild Espeon. It had black fur and-"

"Uh...Marcus, dude, shiny Espeon have green fur. Are you sure it was an Espeon? And not like...a Luxio or...I dunno, something Sinnoh."

"No, Sparky's a Luxio now, it definitely wasn't a Luxio," Marcus insisted. "It had the forked tail, the forehead gem, was near a wild Leafeon. Which by the way, was completely psychotic."

"Psychic. Espeon are psychic," Adrian corrected. Marcus rolled his eyes.

"Not the Espeon. The Leafeon was psychotic. Went completely crazy and started clawing and biting at my Pokemon. Put a new spin on the phrase 'wild Pokemon'."

Adrian frowned. "I hope you backed off if that happened..."

Marcus rolled his eyes again, but he was smiling. "Yes, I did listen to your lecture about safety of the trainer and his Pokemon are a priority, and not to go running after wild Pokemon or ignoring the territory markings."

"Good kid," Adrian chuckled, shaking his head. "Okay, you've gotten enough small-talk in to ask for a favor. What's up?"

"Can I borrow one of your Pokemon? I'm having a bit of trouble with the gym, because Laura and Sparky are a bit...fragile. Could I borrow your Vaporeon? You said she takes hits like a champ."

Adrian laughed. That was just like Marcus, to strategize less on synergy or type matchups, and more to focus on the role a Pokemon could fill in a team. It wasn't a terrible way to go about things, but it still lacked the right level of judgment. Still, such things could be learned in time, so he wasn't too concerned.

"And what's your plan? To use her as a shield?"

"No, you said she also has a wicked Attract, so maybe I could unbalance the Lucario a bit, and even if it doesn't work that well, she can take more than one hit and fight back. Laura can't even take the one hit yet, and Sparky's not quite strong enough."

Adrian considered for a few seconds, absently twirling a pen between two fingers.

"There's actually two issues with that. The first, and actually official, reason is that Aureia's difficult to work with. She's not going to just listen to you. Even if I was standing right there and told her to cooperate with you, she'll dismiss everything you say, because it's you saying it and not me. She's also very aloof. She's not going to get along with your Pokemon, they're going to just annoy her and then she'll start trying to spite you."

Marcus blinked. "Oh, that's right...does she even get along with YOUR Pokemon?"

"She likes Ember, hates Avis," Adrian chuckled.

"Hm...wait, what's the second issue?"

Adrian paused before answering. "Well...she recently has been hanging around with a wild Eevee that seems to have taken a shine to her. He seems kind of chipper, but she's oddly tolerant of him."

"Oh...so you can't loan her because she's...dating?"

"No, I can't loan her because she'd hate you," Adrian reminded him with a teasing smile. "And I think if I separated her and the adorable stray, she'd give me hell for it."

"...why don't you just capture it for her, then?"

"Because Aureia hates being set up. If I push them together, she'll get mad and reject him out of spite for me breaking her rules. If I even say they look adorable together, which they totally do, she gives me this withering look that promises me a full soaking if I tease her further. And she'll do it, too."

"Heh, I remember that before I left," Marcus laughed, getting a reminiscent glint in his eye. "Right before a job interview, too."

"Yeah, good thing it was a part-time gym trainer position at a Water gym, or that interview would have crashed and burned," Adrian chuckled.

"Speaking of burned, what about your Charmander? I don't actually have a Fire-Type other than Laura's Fire Punch."

"Repeat that sentence to yourself in your head," Adrian said. Marcus looked puzzled, glancing to his upper right thoughtfully. "Now keep in mind that Ember doesn't use fire moves."

"Seriously? Huh...you've got weird Pokemon, man."

"Thank you," Adrian said, grinning. "On a more serious note, she's also ridiculously volatile right now. It's uh...a seasonal thing. I keep her off my roster for the first month of spring. These days, she only lets Avis near her unscathed."

"Is this going to segue into why you can't loan me Avis, either?" Marcus asked.

"No, I can't loan you Avis because Avis thinks you'll end up keeping her."

"...what?"

"You're right, I'm going to stick with the 'she's the only one who placates Ember' excuse," Adrian chuckled. He glanced at the wall clock and frowned. "Ack, we're actually running a bit long, so I'll make this next bit quick. Try to train up your Pokemon more, use one of the routes outside whatever city you're in, and hunt around for Psychic-Types or something else to address your type weaknesses."

"Hmm...yeah, I'll probably end up doing that. And if that doesn't work?"

Adrian considered for a few moments. "Go visit one of the other closeby cities. It's possible that you'll have a better match-up against that Gym, or just be able to find other species to work with. Don't try to keep rushing ahead to the next Gyms every time you win one, or you'll find yourself outclassed too quickly."

"All right, I'll give that a shot. See you, Adrian!"

After giving his own farewell, Adrian disconnected the call and steepled his fingers thoughtfully. He wouldn't have loaned Marcus any of his Pokemon even if he didn't have awesomely legitimate excuses, just because he felt his brother would need to earn his own experience, and Adrian had trained with most of his Pokemon for well over a year, so they knew him and trusted him more than they'd trust anyone else. It would be a disservice to the Pokemon and Marcus to even attempt it.

It was true, though. He did have weird Pokemon. That was why he worked with them. One of his side jobs had been looking after Pokemon that had been abandoned or undergone some sort of traumatic experience. Even Pokemon breeders and Daycare Centers had acknowledged his gift at handling Pokemon of eccentric or aggressive personalities. Really, the ones he had with him now were small fry compared to the temperaments of some of the Pokemon he had worked with before.

Aureia was distant, but not aggressive. She had been abandoned, and then captured by a criminal team member that later got arrested. Ember was reclusive, but her aggressiveness had gone down significantly over the past two years. When he first took her in, after narrowly saving her life from a losing battle against a vicious Charmeleon, she had been so hostile that he almost suspected the two had been related. Some of her tantrums had even gotten warnings from the authorities, concerned about public safety, but despite the fines piled on him in the form of tickets, he had persevered, and it had paid off in the end. As for Avis...Avis was just weird.

None of them would be Pokemon he'd be comfortable giving to another trainer, sibling or not, even temporarily. The first two weren't quick to trust others, with potentially hostile results, and Avis tended to irritate or frustrate a lot of Pokemon for some reason. He and the Snivy weren't close enough yet for him to have the same understanding of her quirks and issues as he did for the other two, but that would come in time.

Speaking of time...he needed to finish up this last section of the article if he wanted to leave work on time. He had already seen the next assignment in his in-box, and that had been something that required off-site investigation. Specifically, a venture towards the Ruins of Alph, where scientists, trainers, and other researchers had been more befuddled than normal by the unusual sights, sounds, and writings. The rumor was that the Ruins themselves were frustrated by the lack of progress in deciphering the hieroglyphic writing and tile puzzles, so they were throwing up flashing neon signs as clues or something.

Obviously, such stories had been exaggerated for comedic effect, but the idea that the famous ruins drawing more attention than usual was a perfect excuse for newspapers and magazines to throw out catchy headlines to attract buyers regardless of the actual content or information of the article.

Normally, Adrian might be insulted by the reduced priority of credible information opposed to epic-sounding headlines. On the other hand, it was an expenses paid trip to stare at fascinating stuff and write drivel, and that beat sitting in the boring, stuffy office all day while writing drivel.

"Eh, screw it," Adrian muttered aloud and hit the Print button. As the printer beside his desk whirred to life, Adrian grabbed a stapler and slung his bag over his shoulder. He'd drop the article at his boss' in-box on the way out, and then be on his way towards the next thrilling adventure of his part-time career.

...why did he work here again?

End of Arc 1