The Unfezant stood in front of us. "So, human, you wish to ask our services. I will gladly allow one of my flock to join you – on one condition."

'What is that condition?" Bradford asked.

A wiry-looking Tranquil hopped forward. "This is one of the flock's adventurous members. You will be allowed to have this one as a companion if you defeat her in battle," the Unfezant replied. He noticed Bradford looking at his rifle. "The usage of weapons is not allowed in this instance." He gestured to me with a wing. "The Pokemon that accompanies you shall be the one you use."

"Why?" Bradford asked.

The Unfezant chirped. "I notice you claim to be a leader of these soldiers. Prove your words and skill by defeating this member of the flock in battle."

"I..." Bradford tapped his foot as he thought. "Wait a moment." he pulled out a radio. "Lieutenant Sanders, we made contact with a Pokemon. It requests a... uh... Pokemon battle, with us." he shook his head. "The way it works, is; if we defeat one of its kind in a Pokemon battle, we can recruit them. We only have Azelf here. Permission to proceed?"

The radio was silent for a time. Then a voice said, "Sergeant, this is uncharted territory. Withdraw immediately and do not engage the Pokemon in battle."

"Copy that," Bradford replied. Let's go, Azelf."

As we walked back to the IFV, I spoke. "I will gladly take part in this battle, since I haven't had one in so long. Bradford... I notice you have the same will as these master Trainers I had the privilege to meet. Now, it is the time to see if my belief is true."

"No, Azelf. My superiors ordered me to leave and discuss this with them!" Bradford replied. "Get back to the IFV. Azelf, if you can convince the Unfezant to not host a battle to get his help, now would be a good time. We are not to fight him, or whatever Pokemon he sends at us, understood?"

",I will take part in this battle myself." I replied. "Listen. You told me that you needed more Pokemon to help the town. This is the best way."

Bradford frowned as he mulled over what I said. "What else can we do to get them to come with us?"

'There's food. or you could ask them."

"I don;t think the Pokemon would accept our rations. Did that Unfezant say anything else?"

"He was adamant. If you want to get another Pokemon, you have to battle him."

He sighed. "I guess needing another Pokemon is quite urgent. We might not get a chance like this again. Fine, Azelf." He turned to his men. "Change of plans! I want Browns to come with me immediately. Everyone else, stay at the IFV until I come back. Is that understood?"

The other soldiers replied with a shout of, "Yes, Sargent!"

Bradford gave a nod. "Don't blame me when this goes wrong, Azelf! Sanders will have my head for this." He checked his squad: they were a fair distance away and standing in front of the IFV, before slinging his rifle over his shoulders. "Alright. What moves do you know?"

"I know Swift, Psybeam, Rest, and Extrasensory."

He gave a quick nod as he pulled out his phone, looking up what I told him. "Fine, Azelf. Let's do this."

The Tranquill opened with a Quick Attack, slamming into my side. I groaned as pain shot through my body.

"Azelf! You alright?" Bradford shouted. He looked shocked.

"Just call out what you want me to do! Don't just stand there!"

"Azelf, Swift!" Homing stars shot out of my tails, heading straight for my opponent. Upon contact, they exploded and tossed it about.

It quickly regained balance and flapped its wings with immense vigor. A gust of wind blew – one powerful and hard enough to make Bradford shield his eyes. "C'mon! Hit it with a Psybeam!"

I nodded and concentrated as hard as I could. The beam shot out, striking the Tranquill square in the face. Completely stunned, it fell out of the sky and slammed into the ground.

Bradford's face was still fixed in shock. It was only broken when the Unfezant stepped forward.

"He says ,"You have done well. Few humans where I come from have managed to command a Legendary to that effect. Your world has many great and disciplined warriors if what I have seen in my brief time on your world is anything to go by. Farewell." I agree with him."

Browns tapped him on the shoulder. "Sergeant – we should tend to both Azelf and the Tranquill when we get back. I'll help the veterinarians with anything I can."

"You go do that," Bradford said. He turned to the Unfezant, who was about to return to his flock. "I must ask – does she have a name already?"

The Unfezant shook his head. "No. If you wish, you can give her a name."

"Alright, how about 'Garcia'?"

"She says, "That is a lovely name." I'd say the same too."

Bradford nodded. "Williams, Browns, you two stay behind the IFV and watch Garcia. Let's go."

"How's the newest addition to the squad doing?" Browns asked. He'd dropped off Garcia at a local veterinary clinic a few moments before with me. I'd chosen to watch the vet and his assistant prod her with various medical instruments.

"She's mostly fine. Some soreness from all these elemental attacks, I think." He turned to me. "You must be Azelf. Is it OK if I do a check-up on you too?"

"I... Well, you are the friendly type. Sure." I watched as he took out a stethoscope and carefully touched me.

"Any pain or soreness?"

"I am fine. Psychic Pokemon in general have basic information about everything going on in their bodies. Most Pokemon are capable of healing themselves or other Pokemon too."

"Hmm." The vet frowned. "I see. In any case, if Garcia here was an ordinary bird, we'd be able to do some imaging and x-ray work to check her bones and flesh just to be sure. The X-ray machine here has not been tested on Pokemon at all - it's quite a risk to do that."

"Looks like it's bandages and disinfectant from here on out."

The vet nodded. "You two should be OK. I wish I knew exactly what strained your body, but I don't. The only advice I can give is to hold off on using your powers for a few days."

"Understood."

Before we left, I heard the vet mutter, "Smithers, get to work on calibrating the X-ray machine. I want the entire clinic's inventory taken stock of too."

The assistant - presumably Smithers - hurried away to do her job. The way she looked at me was odd - even without scanning her thoughts, she seemed afraid.

The vet noticed me looking at her. "Smithers isn't really used to seeing Pokemon around. None of us really are, in fact." He pressed a button on a nearby remote control, causing a television to light up. "This is the first time I've had Pokemon patients."

"Wait, you didn't treat Pokemon before?"

"Nope! Compared to the ones in London - England's capital city, the amount we've treated is two." He gestured at me and Garcia. "Ah, I see that the negotiations with Palkia are going well."

On the screen, Palkia stood, speaking to men wearing fancy clothing. They were discussing something, with what was likely a reporter's voice layered over the video.

"The Pokemon known as Palkia has demanded an answer as to the whereabouts of Dialga, a Pokemon they are related to. The British government is currently trying to determine the whereabouts of the aforementioned Pokemon and if they are still alive-"

"Man, as if a dragon with powers over space itself wasn't enough. The man both of you you see speaking to Palkia is the leader of this nation, Prime Minister Austin Trewan." The vet clicked another button on the remote, causing the image to change.

"In other news, the Pokemon Rights And Movements Act was just passed. This Act allows Pokemon in the United Kingdom the right to basic self-defense if attacked, as well as the right to travel and use any public transport at no cost if they so desire, provided they cause no disturbance to passengers."

"Are Pokemon allowed in human establishments yet?"

"That's up to the owners of the establishments to decide, I think," Williams replied. The image changed again.

"-it has been two weeks since the creatures known as 'Pokemon' have appeared on Earth. Nintendo has released more information regarding what to do - which can be found on various UK police and government websites. This information contains detailed design documents on Pokemon biology, as well as many Pokedex entries the company has written up when they designed the Pokemon-"

I frowned. Designed Pokemon? There was hardly any time to ponder this, as the TV switched once more.

"-while most of the Pokemon attacks have stopped, experts estimate the damage to London is in the millions of pounds. Other nations across the world have suffered similar fates." Some buildings scrolled into view, clearly partially destroyed; great holes were torn through some of them. A few dead bodies littered the streets; some humans, both uniformed and not, as well as Pokemon. Finally, there were some native animals that were of the very dumb and feral variety mixed in.

"Man, you gotta hand it to the soldiers. They pushed out almost ninety percent of the Pokemon in a week. The relief supplies finally got through," the vet said. "We're lucky, I think. Never had that sorta thing here before."

"Alright!" Brownss replied, cheerful as ever. 'C'mon. You look like you need some fresh air, Azelf. Goodbye, Garcia. See ya later."

A question lingered on my mind as we left.

If Pokemon in general had not existed on this world until a few weeks before I arrived, then they could not know what Pokemon were. Yet, they did, going so far as to 'design' Pokemon.

How was that possible?