I scrolled through my phone, fingers flying over numerous Bulbapedia entries. Currently, I was checking the Tranquill page – Garica's Pokemon species. Before long, I was looking up moves that could be learnt, by Pokemon. Type advantages and disadvantages. There was so much the condensed briefing – meant to prepare me for etablishing diplomatic relations with Azelf – left out for the sake of brevity and consistenty.

When Azelf informed me of what she could do, that made everything a whole lot easier. I did mange to wrap my heads around the stat blocks after a while, though none of it made much sense as it pertained to reality. Just how powerful was Azelf when compared to Garica? The stats block showed me which one was more powerful and where, but without any frame of reference, it was impossible.

Lt. Sanders had come to speak to me. "The lab boys in London are working on the ins and outs of Pokemon biology. Simple blood tests, skin cell examination. Their objective is to phase out Bulbapedia for a more comprehensive resource. We'll have a Terran Pokedex up and running in no time," he'd said.

"What will happen to Bulbapedia?" I asked.

"That, we don't know. Any physical copies of the game are still in circulation out there, so my best guess is it'll stay up for the foreseeable future. And, Sargent." He held up a hand. "I heard about your Pokemon battle with the Tranquill you brought in."

My mind raced as I tried to formulate a response. 'Lieutenant-"

"Cut through the formalities. Why did you accept the battle?"

"Sir! It was not my idea. Azelf told me that it would only come after it was defeated."

"You put yourself and your squad in great danger!" He sighed. "While Azelf is quite powerful, did you not understand she is a diplomat first, and a combatant second?"

"I- Yes, Lieutenant!"

"Then why did you accept? You should have overridden her desires! What if she was injured?!"

"I did attempt to override her wishes. But she was insistent. And, yes, I knew of the risks, Lieutenant. But I trusted that she would be able to defeat the Tranquill after she told me about her capablities. Besides, I didn't want to refuse due to her-"

"Powers?" Sanders replied. "We don't have any Pokeballs or Potions to our name here. Not even a Pokemon with healing abilities. Do you understand? How would you revive Azelf if she fainted?"

"Yes, Lieutenant. You are correct. We have no way of reviving or healing Pokemon at all."

"Sergeant, make obtaining a healing Pokemon your top priority."

"Affirmative." I hesitated. "Do we have any other plans for Azelf? I saw what she could do first-hand. If she were pushed..."

Lt. Sanders frowned. "We've got Palkia in Edinburgh. They've been demanding to see Azelf for a while."

"Palkia?" I asked.

"it's been two weeks since the Shift. Have you not checked Bulbapedia at all in that time?" Sanders pinched the bridge if his nose. "He's the damn... god or whatever of space. There will be an official ceremony in a few weeks, and you - yes, you - have been ordered to go with your squad and Azelf. Do not let me down, Sargent. Or any of the others present. We want to make a good impression on these Pokemon like with Azelf. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal, sir!"

"Good. Now, onto more... recent matters. Specifically, the battle."

"You want me to-"

"Yes, I want a report of the battle you had with the Tranquill. Specifically, what you did, start to finish."

"So - when I approached the Unfezant I asked for one of its kind to join my squad."

Sanders kept watching me as I spoke.

"It immediately brought one of its kind over to me, telling me that I would be allowed to recruit them, but only if I defeated the candidate in battle. A duel, of sorts."

Before I could explain the reasoning to Sanders, he stopped me. "I have been given a similar briefing as you, Bradford. Continue."

"Alright. So, with the Pokemon challenging me to prove my worth as a leader - as if that meant anything, I'm a good sergeant - I informed Command of the situation."

"Why did you go ahead with the battle?"

"The Unfezant was insistent. It's how they do things back in their world. Duels to show skill-"

"Sergeant, I am aware of the concept of Pokemon battles."

"I told Azelf I would be ready to battle when she was. Then, I ordered everyone back to the IFV except for Browns, the medic, before telling everyone to back up." A deep breath. 'I wanted a clear space for battling - and didn't want to risk collateral damage."

"Good." Sanders replied. "I would hate to report that some of your squad got turned into mincemeat by a stray attack."

"Frankly? Pokemon battles are nothing like in the games or show. It's... surreal seeing it happen for real, right in front of you. Really, I froze up at the sight of Azelf getting hit."

"Do you know how much of a risk you took doing this?"

"Yes, LT. So, I asked Azelf about her moves before - luckily I did that. Once I had my composure back I ordered Azelf to shoot homing stars out of her tails before blasting her opponent with what looked like a mind-ray. That knocked the Pokemon out cold for about half a minute before it got back up."

"Did Azelf or the Unfezant say anything?"

"The Unfezant praised my ability to clearly command a legendary Pokemon in battle. I think it was impressed by how quickly I adapted to what was happening. Even Azelf saw my skill first-hand. She wasn't too impressed by how I froze up, however."

Sanders gave me a stern look. "While you were in a new situation, losing composure like that is deadly in the wrong circumstances. Be glad it was in what could be considered a duel instead of a life-or-death battle."

"Yes, sir," I replied. "Do we have any reliable air support, yet?"

"The skies are relatively clear, though much of the air support in London is tied up. Fliers keep buzzing them," Sanders replied, shaking his head.

"Has Command got any info on new Pokemon appearing?"

"Yes. A wolf-like Pokemon named Zacain showed up in London a few hours ago, along with several other Pokemon. This is the reason why the meeting with Palkia got shifted back. Right now the British Royal Army is trying to contain the situation." He paused slightly. "Eyewitness reports have identified some of them as being from the eighth generation of the Pokemon games."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." I replied. "What else do I need to know?"

"There's been talk of establishing town militias to combat hostile Pokemon from Prime Minster Terwin. You're training the first batch of recruits. Secondly, I want you to bring Azelf in here. She should be informed of the situation too. You are dismissed."

Outside, I found Azelf twiddling her thumbs while she telekinetically rolled pencils out of boredom. A cough drew her attention. "LT Sanders wants you to see him, Azelf. It's a direct order from him."

"I see."

Sanders closed the door to the room, and they left my sight.

I opened my phone and scrolled down to the list of YouTube videos. The highest-listed on the Trending page was "Yveltal attacks Eiffel Tower" showing a clip from the news recording a few days after the Shift.

I turned down the volume so that only I could hear the audio. Yveltal gave a mighty roar, subtitles translating what he said.

"BOW TO ME, PARIS! FOR I AM DEATH!"

The helicopters of the French Army lit him up with spotlights.

"SHINE AS MANY LIGHTS AS YOU WANT! IT WILL NOT HELP!"

There was laughing too - of the cameraman, probably - and a few groans from the onlookers before the video ended.

Below the video were a few comments.

- Wow, so not only is Death a giant dragon-bird thing, he's also a huge attention seeker.

The myriad replies though were slightly less amused.

I closed the video and turned off my phone. The next few days would be long ones.