Pokemon Ranger Chapter 70: Spencer's Saga: Pt 1 By an Ordinary Fan, a pokémon fanfic

"Looks like it's going to be another beautiful day, doesn't it?"

That was the rhetorical question that Megan asked Spenser Hayate, leader of the Ringtown Pokemon Rangers, as she dropped off another stack of paperwork onto his desk. Ever since the wedding, the week had been full of sunny days, which was raising the morale of the group.

"Yeah; it's a shame that good weather can't last forever. In fact, with our luck, it'll probably start raining by tomorrow...You know, it'd be nice to take some time off in Summerland while the sun's still shining," Spenser replied, his back facing Megan. Though the lower-ranked Ranger didn't know exactly what he was doing, she had a feeling that he was slacking off, as she could faintly hear music that would be fitting for a battle of sorts.

"Well then, boss, you're just in luck!" Megan told him as she picked up a letter that was on top of the latest pile. "This message was just sent straight from that tropical paradise! It looks urgent, and lucky you, the postman said that it should only be read by you. Oh, and I've got a small question…who's Kimbly?"

"…Kimbly? Kimbly Faustkin?! Well, nuts!" Spenser burst as he quickly swiveled his chair around, and stuffed his DS into his pocket before Megan could see it. "That loony once made me play Twenty Questions…give or take fifteen…just so I could have the 'privilege' of escorting him to Summerland! Pardon my language…but what the freakin' hell does that creep want now?!"

Spenser quickly snatched the letter out of Megan's hands, tore it open, and read it aloud. "Dear Spensey-sama, I hope that this message reaches you with great haste. Remember that research project I asked you to take me to? Well, it was supposed to be finished this week, but something went wrong. Some trottel…sorry; 'moron'…was poking around the Jungle Relic, and…well, you should really, REALLY come down and see it yourself. The local ranger leader…Carlos, was it? …Anyways, he's currently busy somewhere else, so it looks like you're my only hope once more. Hope to see you soon! Yours truly, Kimbly." After a few seconds, Spenser takes a deep breath and moans, "What an idjit."

"Sounds like this Kimbly guy really rubbed you the wrong way last time you met. I take it you're going to assign this task to someone else, right?" Megan asked.

"Actually, I think I'd rather take care of this matter personally," Spenser told her as he grabbed his styler and headed for the door. "If anyone's going to slap some sense into that Cloud Cuckoolander, it's going to be yours truly!"

Quickly, Spenser headed for the upper floor of the Ranger Base, and called upon his Fearow. One short flight later, he had arrived in the much more tropical Summerland. The sky there was cloudless, and it looked like the good weather would continue for weeks and weeks. The sound of the ocean's waves crashing upon the shore was much more calming than the thunder back home. The sight of the Go-Rock Quads bickering at the local travel agent was…

…Wait a second; the Go-Rock Quads?! Spenser wondered where they had gone to after the wedding, but he didn't expect to find out so soon.

"Whaddya mean, our flight's been cancelled?! Don't you have ANY clue how famous we are? We're the freakin' Go-Rock Quads, and no friggin' problems with your lousy ruins should stop us from doing our thing! Now, give us our tickets immediately!" Clyde demanded, but the travel agent refused to give in. She told him that, since the group had done previous harm to the Relic, they would not be able to leave Summerland until there was proof that they had not gone back to being evil. Billy, Tiffany, and Clyde looked quite ticked off as they received this news, while the fourth sibling did not seem as though he really cared.

Spenser wasn't really in the mood to stick around and watch the Quads for much longer; there was a semi-loony scientist somewhere in Olive Jungle that he really, really wanted to pound some sense into. However, as he was about to leave, he heard one of the siblings call out to him; specifically, Garret. "Hey, Spenser! This is quite a remarkable coincidence, is it not? I assume that you're checking into the matter that is currently halting the progress of my siblings and I. Might I please request to, dare I say it, be of assistance? It might feel awkward to work together, in your case and in mine, but I think it's evident that putting a stop to this current problem would be a better use of my time than listening to my brothers complain about it for the next hour or so."

Spenser chose not to refuse that offer, because he did not want to waste time arguing with the young smarty-pants whilst the mayhem at the Jungle Relic continued. And so, the leader of the Ringtown Base and the teenager with the Base Guitar-shaped styler journeyed through the jungle towards their destination. Along the way, Spenser attempted to mentally prepare himself for his meeting with Kimbly. The man acted like a maniac, but he was certainly a smart maniac. By the time they entered the Relic, Spenser was prepared for anything that could possibly come out of Kimbly's mouth…

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!"

…Except for a pathetic, meager cry for assistance. The sight of the Jungle Ruin flooding with lava was also an unexpected sight, though Spenser quickly snapped out of it. He quickly rushed over to where the shriek had come from, but found that a rock was blocking the passage. Quickly taming a nearby Rhydon solved that problem in a snap, though, and he & Garret quickly went inside the chamber to see if Kimbly needed some sort of medical aid. But once they arrived, they saw that Kimbly's cry was born not out of pain, but of paranoia.

"Ack! Get away from me! Those swirls on their stomachs…they're trying to invade my precious brain and turn me into their slave! KIMBLY QUIBBLE FAUSTKIN, VICE-PRESIDENT OF HASERO INCORPORATED, WILL NEVER BE THE SLAVE TO SOME LOWLY POLIWRATHS! YOU HEAR ME? NEVER!" Kimbly shouted at the two Pokemon he had been trapped with, completely oblivious to the fact that Spenser and Garret were standing just a few feet away.

"Relax, you insufferable twit; the cavalry has arrived," Garret told the blonde researcher as he reached into his robe and pulled out his musical Styler. In a quick few seconds, he and Spenser had each tamed one of the water types. Garret then continued to belittle Kimbly by uttering, "You can't seriously be the scientist that Spenser told me about on the way here, can you? I mean, just look around; this cavern is FILLED with natural materials that could have been combined in a scant few seconds to blow open the exit, so we wouldn't have needed to waste precious time saving your behind. I mean, of all the…"

"That's enough, Garret; let's deal with the whole 'abundance of lava' matter first, shall we? Now, Kimbly, do us a favor and tell us what the heck happened here," Spenser said. Kimbly told the two about how the research group had been prioritized on testing how changes in a Pokemon's diet would affect their battle performance. One of the test subjects, a Magmar hyped up on seltzer water, had developed a case of the hiccups and had blown open a hole in the ruins. It turned out that the legendary Pokemon known as Groudon, who usually resided in an entirely different region, was taking a 'summer vacation' of sorts underneath the ruins. Since the hole that the Magmar created lead directly to Groudon's chamber, it thought that it was being attacked, and…the rest was quite self-explanatory, really. Oh, and of course, all of the other scientists had already fled.

"Groudon? Seriously? …Perhaps this excursion will be more entertaining than I had at first presumed. To catch a glimpse of something so rare…what a marvelous experience that will be! Hurry; let us go onwards and tame the beast below! I will not just let time pass us by when an opportunity of a lifetime is right beneath our feet!" Garret told the others, now filled with great enthusiasm.

And so, the now-trio decided to venture into the heart of the Jungle Relic, hoping to put a stop to the recent panic. After Garret used the Poliwrath he had tamed to cool town a puddle of lava that was blocking access to most of the Jungle Relic's passages, Kimbly led the group to the Magmar-made hole that marked the entrance to Groudon's chamber. One jump and a short fall later, the three guys were standing right in front of the cause of the excessive magma: Groudon.

"So, I've got to tame a legendary…if nothing else, this out to be…fun," Spenser told the others as a grin formed on his face. Groudon immediately shot a beam of energy at the trio, which scattered them across the room. Quickly, Spenser used the Poliwrath that he had tamed to activate the Water Poke Assist feature on his Styler, allowing him to temporarily create giant bubbles. Acting fast, as there was no telling when another beam would be used against them, Spenser trapped Groudon inside of a giant bubble and proceeded to capture him with his Styler. Now that he was subdued, the Groudon quickly fell over in exhaustion. "Capture Complete! All right, this job is done! As long as we get out of here quickly, he shouldn't be bothering anyone else around here for a long, long time!"

Soon, the three guys had left the Jungle Relic, and were now walking through the Olive Jungle in order to get back to Summerland. "Ah, what a sight that was! If the Squad was still running, I would have loved to get my hands on that beast personally…but times have changed, and I'm perfectly content as-is. I can hardly wait to tell my fair siblings what a wonder they have just missed!" Garret said, his eyes shining with glee.

"Yeah, it was…by the way, Kimbly, who was the scientist in charge of looking after the Magmar that made this whole mess?" Spenser inquired.

"It was…uh…well, to be honest, it was me," Kimbly told him, an awkward smile on his face.

"That's what I was hoping for," Spenser replied, as he gave Kimbly a swift punch to the face. "Dear Arceus, I've wanted to do that since the first time we met!"

The End…of Part 1.

At least, long enough to make a phone call to his boss. "Hallo, Hasero-sensei. The device worked perfectly…is what you want me to say, of course. But it didn't. Instead of my Magmar absorbing its power, Groudon went completely bonkers. Don't worry, though; I've identified the flaws, and the next time we attempt to capture a legendary, those 'Sypho Crystal' things should work perfectly. Of course, to be sure, I should try it on a legendary…though it's a bit too soon to try my luck with Groudon again. It's certainly a good thing that I'm the kind of guy who's got back-up plans for his back-up plans, isn't it?"

Kimbly then pulled a tracking device of sorts out of his turquoise lab coat. It showed that some organism with high psychic energy was heading towards the Krokka Tunnel. "It's only a matter of time, DNA Pokemon…and then, you shall be mine!"

A few minutes later, they had reached the town again. Spenser, with his job done, decided to fly back to Ringtown before the paperwork he abandoned grew even larger. Garret told the other members of GRQ about what it was like to see Groudon with his own eyes, and though his siblings didn't really believe his story, they were still glad that he was safe, and that they could continue their tour. As for Kimbly, he decided to stick around town for awhile.

The End…of Part 1.