Pokemon Rangers. Protectors of nature. Cyber Sleuths. Investigators of the digital. Born in different worlds these two brands of vanguards fought alongside mysterious creatures known as Pokemon and Digimon. One day a Pokemon Ranger falls from the sky while in pursuit of mysterious villains. At the same time a experiment gone wrong whisks two Cyber Sleuths and their friends to his world. A new story is about to begin for these young adventurers.
"Ugh…" Takumi slowly opened his eyes. A ringing sound echoed in his ears. The area seemed dark, with slits of light slipping through. "Oh…my head…" he groaned sitting up. Now he could tell that he was surrounded by trees, covering the sky. "What is this place…?"
"Owww…" Looking to his left he saw Ami get up on her knees and shake her head. "Huh? What happened?"
"You okay? The, last thing I remember was the device at EDEN going haywire. After that a bright flash and…I don't know…Uh, oh. I don't see Arata, or the others anywhere!"
The twins got up and dusted themselves off. "So, wait…" Ami asked. "Did we get sent to the other world? Is this the Digital World?"
"I don't know…it looks like the jungle we went to there but…something's off."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know." Takumi said. "The air just feels…different." He then activated his Digivice. "*sigh* I can't get a hold of Kyoko or the others. Figures."
"Let's see if we can find someone and ask."
"Right."
The two teens walked out of the trees and into the sun. "Wow. This place is to the brim with nature." Ami said. "Huh? Hey, look over there!"
Two Sunkern came towards them. "Digimon? Huh. I stand corrected." Takumi said.
"I've never seen those kind of Digimon before."
But then they noticed something. They seemed angry. "SUN!" Without warning they spat seeds at them.
"Whao!" Takumi and Ami jumped away just in time.
"I don't think they're happy to see us!" Ami said.
"Yeah? What gave it away?" The Sunkern prepared for another volley.
"Terrier Tornado!"
"Poison Ivy!" From behind Takumi and Ami a green tornado and sharp thorns zoomed past and intercepted the attack before striking the Sunkern flinging them into the trees.
"That's what ya get for messing with my buddies ya floating…seed things!"
Takumi and Ami's eyes widened. They knew that voice. Slowly they turned around to see a white rabbit with green stripes on its ears and a horn run towards them. Next to it was a green plant with eyes and a pink flower on its head. "Hi guys." The plant said.
At first they were shocked into silence. Surprised smiles rose on Takumi and Ami's faces as they ran to them. "Terriermon!"
"Palmon!"
The rabbit jumped into Takumi's arms. Ami lifted Palmon up with tears of joy in her eyes. All four shared a laugh. "It really is you!" the boy smiled like a kid that got just what he wanted for his Birthday. "I'm so glad I get to see you again!"
"Ha, ha! Me too pal!" Terriermon laughed patting him on the head with his ear.
Ami hugged her Digimon. "I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too!" Palmon cried.
Takumi and Ami put them down. "This is amazing! Guess this is the Digital World after all!" Takumi laughed.
"Is it?" Terriermon asked. "Palmon and I were just in it until a few moments ago. We got blasted by a bright light and ended up on this island."
"We thought there were other Digimon here." Palmon added. "But none of them seem capable of talking."
"What? Then how did…wait…Takumi. I think that might have been more than a dream you had after all." Ami said.
"Huh?" Terriermon asked. "What are you talking about?"
"I had a dream that Alphamon told me that Digimon were disappearing." The boy replied.
"Well, ya heard right! And I'll bet anything we just found out where!"
"So, how'd you two end up here?" Palmon asked.
"There was an experiment at EDEN we attended to. They were going to send employees to an alternate earth they descovered." Ami explained. "But out of the blue, the program went haywire, and then there was a bright flash. Next thing we knew we were here. This must be the alternate world that Rie mentioned. Let's see if there are any humans around here."
"Right." Takumi nodded. "Terriermon, Palmon? Ready to do some good old investigating?"
"You bet!" Terriermon said climbing up Takumi and resting on the top of his head. Palmon grabbed onto Ami's shoulders.
"Okay! Let's go!" They continued to walk down the path. Soon a beach came into view. "So, this is a dessert island." Takumi said. "Think anybody lives here?"
"I haven't seen a beach in a long time." Ami smiled. "It sure feels relaxing."
"Is that why, there's a guy just lying down in the sand over there?" Terriermon asked pointing ahead with his ear.
"Huh?" Ami and Takumi, looked at the shore, where they saw a young man with brown hair and a peculiar uniform. "Oh, my gosh!" Ami screamed.
Takumi ran over to him. "Hey, are you alright?!" He knelled down, grabbed his shoulder and flipped him over onto his back. "What's this? Some kind of air mask?" He slowly took it off. "Look's like he's still breathing."
"What happened to him?" Palmon asked. "And what do we do?"
"I'm thinking…"
"Pro…fes…or…" They averted their gaze to the boy as he started mumbling.
In the Ranger Union, Ben and Summer stood before their leader. Professor Hastings. "Young Pokemon Rangers. I've heard so much about you. I'm Prof. Hastings, the Ranger Union's Chief of Technology. Are you familiar with my work?" Ben and Summer were about to reply when he laughed. "No need to answer that. I called you both because I have an extraordinary mission for you two."
"An extraordinary mission?" Summer asked.
"I'm sure you have heard of this. There is an awful group of people who control Pokemon and take them from their homes. They are called…Pokemon Pinchers!"
"Seriously?" Ben chortled. "Do they have their own action figure line up too? That's the corniest name I've ever heard!"
"Hmm? Interesting. Keith said the exact same thing. Anyway, up until recently, the members worked independently, but now these Pokemon Pinchers are starting to become a unified outfit. The question is why. In any case, they're probably up to no good. I want you two to head for Oblivia region, investigate their plans, and if necessary, stop them."
"Oblivia Region?" Summer asked.
"Whoa, wait! Wait a minute!" Another man ran into the room. "If you need an explanation of the Oblivia region, leave it to me! I'm Murph, and I'm in charge of PR here at the Union!"
"Murph! I will take care of the explanation, thank you very much!"
"Please, Prof. Hastings! Don't take away any of my few remaining responsibilities!" The Professor sighed in defeat. "…Well then." Murph said. "Let me give you a brief explanation of the Oblivia region. In a sense, it's a place that rest of the world has forgotten about. It's a carefree and peaceful paradise!"
"You may be right that it is a peaceful paradise." Hastings nodded. "That is however, exactly what these Pinchers may be after. The area is so peaceful that we only have one Area Ranger stationed there."
"This is the Oblivia region's motto: "Oblivia, Island of Ancient Ruins and Legends." Sounds like adventure, doesn't it?"
"Indeed. Actually, many archeology buffs have been visiting these islands. If I ever have the time, I would definitely like to visit, but…" He then turned back to the Rangers. "Now listen, you two. It may be peaceful, but don't let your guard down."
"Now is the second part of my explanation of the Oblivia region." Murph said.
"There's more?" Ben asked.
"Yup. There are nine parts in all, so make yourselves comfortable, okay?"
"That's enough!" Hastings glared. "If you are that desperate for work, I'll think of something for you to do. At any rate, this mission is urgent."
"If you're going to give me a job, make it something fun, okay?"
"That's something you'll just need to look forward to. Our discussion has gone slightly off track, my young Rangers. Depart immediately for the Oblivia region. Cooperate with Pokemon and foil the Pokemon Pinchers' plans. Defend nature and peace for everyone."
Ben and Summer saluted. "Yes, sir!"
Ben and Summer performed their special ranger poses. "So, we're off to the islands of Oblivia!" Summer said.
"Yup! I'm counting on you, partner!"
"Hey, can you hear me?"
"Nnnngh…Huh?" Ben's eyes slowly opened. Being blinded by sunlight he tired to get a view of who was in front of him. Once they adjusted, he saw Takumi.
"Oh, good. You're awake. Here, let me help you up."
Ben slowly reached up. Takumi grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. Ami spoke to him next. "We found you unconscious here. Are you alright?"
Ben lifted his goggles up. "Yeah…I think so. Thanks. You two from around here?"
"Uh, no. See we-
"Current location…X coordinate 055665 Y coordinate 355671 Seawater has penetrated the Styler's Voice Nav. circuit."
"What was that?"
Ben held up his Styler on his wrist. "Current location… X coordinate 05 bzzzzz… Y coordinate bzz…Seawater has penetrated the Styler's bzzzzzz…"
"Cool Digivice. Is that a new model of some sort?" Takumi asked.
Ben gave him a strange look. "Digivice?"
"This is Dolce Island in the Oblivia region…Bzzzz…Recovering Voice Nav. Program. Recovering Voice Nav Program. Please verify that you own this Styler by entering your name."
"Ben Natsuya." The Ranger spoke into the device.
"Your name has been verified. Recovery is almost complete."
"You're name's Ben?" Takumi asked.
"Huh? Oh, sorry. Yeah, that's my name."
"Well, I'm Takumi Aiba. And this is my, sister, Ami."
"Nice to meet you." The girl smiled. "Oh, and these two are Palmon and Terriermon."
"Hello!" the plant said.
"Good thing we found ya huh?" Terriermon smirked. Ben stared at them with a look of disbelief. "Uh…did we say something wrong?"
"No way! Your Pokemon can talk?!"
"Pokemon?" Takumi asked.
"Hold on a sec!"
Ben held up his Styler so it was facing Terriermon. "Scanning…Scanning…Error. Unable to identify."
"What? That's impossible! The Stylers have been programed with data on every Pokemon that exists, even legendries!"
"I think you mispronounced Digimon twice." Terriermon said.
"Digimon?"
"This is another world, Terriermon." Ami said. "Things could be different here."
"Another world?" Ben asked.
Takumi sighed. "Well…this may be hard for you to believe but…"
Takumi and Ami explained everything to Ben. Including the Digital World. The young Ranger was surprised with certain topics as they came up, but he listened to the whole story. "So, you two are from… "Tokyo?" And there's this "Digital World" where these "Digimon" of yours come from? Can't say I've heard of either."
"I know, this is too bizarre to believe." Takumi admitted.
"Hey, I never said that. If that's where you're from, it's where you're from."
Both Sleuths looked at him in surprise. "Huh?! You just…believe it?! Just like that?!"
"Well, you seem honest enough. Besides, what would you have to gain by lying? And if you were going to lie you would have made one that didn't sound so bizarre."
"…Fair point I guess." Ami said. "So, Ben, what happened to you?"
"The last thing I remember was seeing a huge object come at me in the water and getting blown away. Next thing I knew I was waking up, looking at you."
"What were you doing in the sea? You had a strange mask on." Takumi said. "Are you a scuba diver or something?"
"No, this is an Aqualung." Ben explained. "And the only reason why I was in the sea in the first place was because that creep- Ben's sentence came to a halt. His eye's widened as what previously happened clicked back to him. "Oh, no."
"What's wrong?"
"SUMMER!" Ben pulled his Styler back up. "Contact Summer Minami!"
The Styler lite up again, but only static was heard. "The Styler's communication functions cannot be recovered. Communication with Summer is currently impossible."
"What?! Dang it…"
"Summer? Who's that, a friend of yours?" Ami asked.
"She's my partner. I was with her chasing after Pokemon Pinchers…their leader took aim at her and…I freaked out! I just flew in front of her without thinking and got knocked into the ocean and…! Ugh…" Ben sighed and spoke into his Styler. "Give me my current location."
"Current location… X coordinate 055665 Y coordinate 355671 You are currently on Dolce Island in the Oblivia region. According to the data about this area: Dolce Island is uninhabited. The nearest inhabited island is Renbow Island, which is north of Dolce Island, across a narrow strait."
"Great. Well at least I made it to Oblivia."
"You mentioned chasing pinchers." Ami said. "Are you a cop?"
"Seems more like a special forces member." Takumi said looking at Ben's uniform.
"I'm a Pokemon Ranger. I work around the world to protect peace, people, Pokemon, and nature. I was sent on a mission to investigate the Pokemon Pinchers."
"I see…" Takumi nodded. "Well in that case want some help? We may not look like it, but Ami and are a detective's assistants."
"Yeah! If there's something strange going on, we can't just ignore it." Ami nodded.
"Uh, guys? Shouldn't we be more worried about how we're going to get home?" Palmon asked.
"Well, we don't know what to do about that right now." Takumi replied. "We might as well do something productive."
"I don't know…" Ben said. "You guys are civilians, I can't just drag you into Ranger business."
"You're not dragging us, in, we're following you. You can't help that." Terriermon smiled.
"Well…alright. Just follow my lead and be carful."
"Fair enough." Takumi smiled. "First things first…you called that thing a Styler, right? It said the nearest island is north, so maybe we'll find a dock or something in that direction."
"Alright. Follow me." Ben walked away from the beach and back towards the jungle. Takumi and Ami were close behind. He expected to see many Pokemon, around but it was almost like the whole island was empty. "Huh…it's quiet…too quiet…"
As they walked past a stump, Ami noticed something. "Hey, look over there."
A Pichu with a ukulele walked sadly across the grass. "Pichuu…"
"What is that? Is that a guitar, it's wearing?"
"Pichuu…"
"That's a Pichu." Ben said. "The little guy looks sad…"
The Pokemon then noticed them. Its eyes flared in anger as it rushed them. "Pichu!" Without warning it shot electricity from its cheeks at them.
"Whoa!" Ben, Takumi and Ami jumped out of the way narrowly dodging it.
"Oh, ya wanna fight tough guy?!" Terriermon asked as he and Palmon jumped down ready to confront it.
"Let's go!" Palmon said. "Poison-
"Wait!" Ben rushed in between them. "I'll handle this!" He held his wrist up and aimed at Pichu. "Capture on!" His Styler flew forward. With a few hand movements it looped around Pichu six times.
"Pichuuu!"
Ben held his hand back, moving the Styler away as Pichu coated itself with sparks. Once they died down he spun around it five more times. The loops it formed, closed in on Pichu. The Pokemon calmed down. "Hey, it stopped attacking." Ami said.
"What did you just do Ben?" Takumi asked.
"My Capture Styler convoyed my feelings of friendship to it. It knows we mean no harm." The Ranger said as he caught the disc.
The Pokemon smiled at Ben. Then it took out it's ukulele and played a tune. "Oh, how cute! It plays music!" Ami smiled.
"Better him then Jimiken." Palmon joked.
"Pichu! You're okay!" An old man ran up to the Pokemon.
It turned around, happy to see him. "Pichuu."
"Hmm? Where are your other Pichu friends?"
"Pichu…"
"Don't know, huh? Who were those folks who showed up on those UFO-lookin' things anyhow? I was far away, and I couldn't see very well…But what were they doin' chasin' Pokemon 'round anyways?"
"Uh…excuse me sir?"
The man then took notice of Ben. "Well, what do we have here? A Pokemon Ranger! I've never seen ya 'round these parts. What's yer name?"
"I'm Ben. And these two are Takumi and Ami."
"Not bad names. I'm Booker, the master shipbuilder from Rainbow Island across the way."
The Pichu approached Ben. "Pichu!"
"This island doesn't have many places much higher than this, so if there was a tidal wave or somthn' there wouldn't by anyplace to run. So, to make sure I'm ready, I'm always buildn' small boats. They're life rafts for the Pokemon that can't fly or swim."
Pichu stroked the strings of his ukulele. "Pichuu! Pichuu!"
"Seems like Ukulele Pichu's taken a shine to you!"
"Ukulele Pichu?" Ben asked.
"I came up with the nickname "Ukulele Pichu." The blue ukulele looks great on Pichu, eh? This little Pichu's smile always makes me feel better when I'm worn out from a hard day of shipbuilding. So, I threw together a ukulele with leftover wood. It can't really play, but every time electricity runs through it, the ukulele makes a little twang. So, it's a great toy for Pichu."
"Pichuu!"
"That's cool. Can it play rock n' roll?" Terriermon asked.
"Well, if Pichu learned I suppo- Booker stopped right there and looked ready to jump out of his sandals. "G-goodness me! Did that there Pokemon just talk?!"
"DIGIMON! Why does everyone think I'm a Pokemon?!"
"Calm down, Terriermon." Palmon sighed. "Um, sorry about that. I'm Palmon. We're not Pokemon but…well, it's a long story."
"This…has been one strange day…first the UFOs now this."
"UFOs?" Takumi asked.
"When I was strollin' 'long the beach of Rainbow Island, I saw UFOs flyin' above Dolce Island. I was worried about the Pokemon, so I hurried over on my boat. When I got here, a suspicious group was chasin' 'round the Pokemon. Then before I could even holler, they disappeared into the sky on their UFOs. Were they aliens? Or these "Digimon" things?"
"Come to think of it when I woke up, I heard some strange buzzing noises." Terriermon said. "But I thought it was all in my head."
"This Pichu was fine, but there's no sign of it's little Pichu pals or any sign of it's other Pokemon friends." Booker sighed.
The Pokmon stopped playing and dropped its head. "Pichuuu…"
"They probably hid themselves somewheres. By the way, youngsters, this here's no place to camp. Want me to take you to Rainbow Island?"
"That would be appreciated. Thank you." Ben smiled.
"No need for thanks." Booker replied, returning the smile. "To get to my boat, we need to go north then east. It's on a pier on the beach. Let's head that way first!" He then turned to Pichu. "Now, Pichu. Why don't you go let your hidn' friends know that those bad folks are gone. You can use the sound from your ukulele to let them know!"
"Pichu! Pichuu!" the Pokemon replied running into the trees.
"Say hello to your friends!" Booker then turned to the others. "Now, shall we get going?"
"Lead the way." Ami nodded.
The two of them and Takumi left first. Ben followed but stopped briefly. "UFOs…the Pinchers were flying vehicles that looked like that…did they already hit the island…?"
"Ben, here comes another one!" Takumi called.
He then hurried on ahead to catch up. A Bulbasaur stood in their path. "I got this!" Ben said, shooting his Styler. With a few loops the capture was complete.
"Bulb!"
The Pokemon walked over to Ben who petted it. "Good boy. By the way, while I'm explaining the Styler to you guys anyway, once I catch a wild Pokemon, it becomes a friend. It'll follow me for the time being."
"That's interesting." Takumi said. "So, what now?"
Ami stopped in the path. "Uh, guys? A log's in the way."
Up ahead Ben saw the fallen tree in the path. "Must have been those Pinchers. Fortunately, I got just the solution! Bulbasaur!" The grass type shot razor sharp leaves at the log, slicing it apart. "Thank you Bulbasaur!" The Pokemon ran off happily.
"So that's it? You just release him right after?" Terriermon asked.
"The Pokemon belong here. I can't keep them."
"Not even one?"
"Well, all Rangers can each have a Partner Pokemon. My partner, Summer has a Staraptor."
"And you don't?"
Ben shrugged. "They come by sheer chance. I guess I'm just not lucky. But I manage on my own. Anyway, let's go."
They continued north, before turning east at a cliff. As they passed by, Ami caught glimpse of the Island across the water. "Hey, look."
"That's where we're headed—Renbow Island. I live in Cocona Village on that island." Booker said. "Renbow Island boasts bountiful Pokemon-filled nature, simple honest folk, and the magnificent Wireless Tower on top of the mountain."
"Amazing." Takumi said. He then glanced at a stone plate at their right. "Hmm? What's that over there?"
"Hmm? Oh, that? Good question actually. It's been around for as long as I can remember. No idea what it's for."
Ami walked over to it. Another plate was attached with something written on it. "There's something written here. Words in Oblivia's ancient script meaning 'and pierces' are written here. Amun."
"Amun?" Takumi asked.
"Amun is the writer for Oblivia's songs." Booker explained. "The ones about the Hero of Oblivia. Well, anyway, we're almost there. Shall we get going?"
"Right." Ben nodded.
They continued east and soon came across a set of stairs going down. But Booker was shocked with what he saw as he ran down them. "What? My boat is gone?! He sighed as he walked back up. "I must've been in such a rush that I plumb forgot to tie my boat to the pier. I may be a master shipbuilder, but I'm a tad rash and tend to do things like this from time to time…Now I've done it…I can't get back to Renbow Island now."
"Oh, great." Ben sighed. "Well, what now?"
"Wait…" Ami said. "Didn't you say something about making boats for the Pokemon here?"
"Oh, yes, that's right! In fact…there!" Booker said pointing to a boat at the edge of a cliff. "We can just use the ship I've started buildin'!"
"Started?" Takumi asked.
"No need for the worried face. Even if it ain't finished, I still built it! It's still safer than other people's finished boats. I need a favor though, Ben. Can you push that boat into the ocean? Usually I need five strong backs to move it, but today all I got is you. You're a Pokemon Ranger, so you can figure somethin' out, right?"
"Five?!" Takumi asked. "Ranger or not, how can one guy-
"Relax, Takumi, I saw just what I need on the way over." The Ranger smirked before turning around and running off. "Be right back!"
Terriermon turned to his Tamer. "Any idea what he's doing?"
"Not a clue."
"Hey, if you count me and Terriermon, we've got four." Palmon said. "Maybe we can push it."
"Heck, if you could become Megagargomon, you could just toss it in." Takumi shrugged, looking at Terriermon.
"*sigh* I know. I miss being big. And flying. And-
"URSAAAAAAA!" A large bear came charging out of the forest, roaring with it's claws out.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Takumi, Ami, Terriermon, and Palmon were so frightened that they fell over.
Booker smiled and approached. "Why hello there Ursaring."
Ben laughed as he walked up from behind it. "Okay, who did I get?"
"Very funny, jerk!" Ami grumbled as she sat up.
The bear ran over to the boat and shoulder charged it. It went sliding down the cliff and splashed into the water. "Thank you, Ursaring!" Ben waved as it walked away.
"You caught Ursaring that fast!" Booker grinned. "That's a Pokemon Ranger for you! Now we can go to Renbow Island." The four along with the Digimon descended the stairs and walked to the beach. "Well then, now our long voyage shall begin!"
"Will it really take that long?" Takumi asked. "The island's not that far."
"Well, actually, it's over in a flash. I've just always been wantin' to say that."
"I don't think I've ever been in a boat like this." Ami said. "This'll be fun!"
"Here's hopping, you don't turn out to be seasick." Ben joked.
"Pichuuu!" Ukulele Pichu ran over to them.
"Pichu?" Booker asked with a concerned look. The Pokemon leapt into the boat. "What's wrong, little Pichu? You couldn't find yer friends?"
"Maybe they left on the boats you made when the UFOs showed up." Ami suggested.
"Pichuu!"
"Hmmm. It sure seems like Pichu wants to look for its friends and leave this here Dolce Island." Booker said. "Okay, get on board. Pichu's going to come with us to Renbow Island!"
Everyone climbed onto the boat. Booker took the ores and soon it drifted away from the island. "Why do I have the feeling this is the start of something big?" Takumi thought.
"Hey, look guys!" Ami said, pointing to the sky. A rainbow emerged over the island they were moving towards.
Her brother smiled as he petted Terriermon, looking at it. "Yeah. This is gonna be another grand adventure."
"Let me go!" Summer screamed. Her Staraptor was taken from her, and the man in red was carrying her with a metallic claw on his flying machine to who-knows-where. Her own scarf was tied over her eyes, keeping her from seeing. She tried to pull her arms free but she couldn't break through the metal claw with human strength alone.
Suddenly she felt herself lowered onto a sitting position on a metal surface. Then she heard an alarming amount of footsteps approach, and voices breaking into murmurs at the sight of her. Then she heard the leader's voice. "Get the bird in with the other Pokemon. Then truss the brat here up and lock her up elsewhere."
"Yes, sir!"
The claw released Summer, who tried to reach for the blindfold, only to be wrestled to the floor. Her right hand was outstretched with her other hand pinned against her back. "OW! What are you doing?!"
"Break her gadget!"
Summer yelped as she felt her arm get stomped on. The Stylers Energy took any damage she would receive but eventually she heard it break. Then her right hand was pulled behind her back with the other before she felt both of them get tied together with rough ropes. She felt them pull her onto a kneeling position before wrapping more rope around her upper arms and body. "Ngh! Stop that!"
"On your feet little girl!" one of the Pinchers ordered as Summer was grabbed by the back of her vest and roughly hulled to her feet and brought inside…wherever she was via a flight of stairs. She was pushed down countless halls with occasional turns until she heard a door open and was pushed into a room. She felt two Pinchers grab her by the legs and felt rope wind around her ankles.
"Cut that out!" They tied her upper legs and shins before pushing her over. Summer yelped as she landed on her back. She struggled like mad as the Pinchers laughed and left, locking her in the room. "This can't be happening…Ben…Please survive that fall…please be safe…"
