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Williams and Jennifer sat on a park bench talking. Both looked up upon noticing my presence.

"Hello Azelf," Jennifer said. 'What brings you here?" She was no longer in her ranger uniform, instead wearing a plain grey shirt and jeans. The boots on her feet were still the same ones, I noticed.

"I didn't have much else to do after Bradford and Sanders dismissed me."

"There's not much to do in Keswick, I'm afraid," Williams said. "Sorry about that, Azelf."

"You know, Keswick has a museum dedicated to pencils. You could go there, it's worth the money."

"Wait, pencils?"

"Yes. Look, I'll take you there." Williams and Jennifer said. "I know the bill has been passed but that doesn't mean the museum has its own rules, you see."

The museum receptionist frowned when she saw me.

"There's really no ground rule even saying if Pokemon are allowed in establishments or not," she said with a sigh. "As long as they don't make a mess or damage anything, I guess they may come in."

"Alright!" Jennifer said. She handed the receptionist some money. "Here. The entrance fee. It's for both of us." Turning to me, she said, "Follow me, Azelf."

As we walked, I noticed that there was almost no-one else in the museum apart from the attendants and curator. "Has there been anything notable lately?" I asked. The quiet was good. it gave us more room to talk..

"Here? Well, the biggest thing I noticed is the lack of animal calls. Before, I thought it was the Pokemon scaring them off. Since I heard about that Scyther swarm, and the amount of animal remains found scattered around - I'm thinking these giant bugs are eating Earth animals." Jennifer turned away to look at a display near her.

I remained silent as she continued.

"I walked through Scyther territory once while helping the soldiers perform scout duty. Luckily, I had my shotgun and was accompanied by armed soldiers. It turns out, these things will hesitate at the sound of a gunshot. Killing more than three caused them to break off. It's not like these oversized bugs can block bullets with their minds, after all." She looked around. "What do you think of this world?"

"Your world is noisier than where I came from. Derentwater can't compare to Lake Valor in water quality either." Jennifer turned around, frowning. "No offense."

"No offense taken, Azelf. But, as a park ranger, it's my duty to protect the environment as best as I can." Jennifer stared at the stand near the display case, which provided extra information about the exhibit. "You want my thoughts on the Pokemon situation? I've been hearing less animal calls lately. With the increase in Pokemon - I'm thinking that our animals are dying. That's not good."

"Your fauna is decidedly more mundane than where I am from."

"Yes, which is why it's a concern. They have almost no actual way of fighting against a Pokemon. Short of us going to fight the Pokemon ourselves - which is a bad idea due to reasons you already know - there's not much we can do. So far I heard the people in London are trying to move as much native fauna into zoos as possible."

"Is that all?"

Jennifer beckoned for me to follow her. "The mayor's been planning to get a town militia established. Anyone who owns and is trained with a gun must help fight hostile Pokemon. It came up after that Beedrill swarm attacked a nearby town."

"And you plan to join it?"

"If I must fight Pokemon to protect my world, then so be it." We moved down a corridor into another exhibit describing the manufacture of writing implements. "I don't care what you say to me Azelf. I'm not letting any more animals and plants die. Not on my watch."

I looked at a selection of pencil leads and incomplete pencils in a display case, thinking. "What about the Pokemon that came here with no idea of what happened to them?"

Jennifer shook her head. 'Most of Earth didn't understand what had happened, Azelf! All they knew was that a franchise once thought fictional had come to life!" She groaned audibility. "Look. I know it won't be a proper solution. But I'll try to stop any Pokemon that try to hurt Earth's animals, at least locally. It's my damn job."

"Listen. As your friend I think that you choosing to fight hostile Pokemon - even for the sake of your world - would do you more harm than good."

"I have family in London, you know. Sometimes I lie awake at night wondering if they are still alive. If only I could go there to check..." Tears rolled down Jennifer's cheeks as I tried to comfort her. She carefully pushed me away. "I'm fine, Azelf."

"Have you forgotten I can read minds?"

"I know that! The reason I wanted to be part of the town militia was because I wanted to do something useful. Being a park ranger is fine, but if Pokemon start coming into the town? I won't forgive myself if someone was killed or injured when that happens."

"Fighting Pokemon won't bring these people back."

"I can at least ensure that the people of this town live in safety!"

For a few seconds, I stared at her. "You really do want to protect this town. I can see that you and the other humans here have the same will as the intrepid Trainers I have challenged in Pokemon battles, back on my homeworld."

"This town has been my home for the past five years, and I've got a job I love. Why would I not defend it?" She lowered her voice. "There are fifty people in the militia right now, including me. Don't you understand, Azelf? These people love their home so much they are willing to lay down their own lives!"

I nodded. "That's commendable. I hope you don't hurt any innocent Pokemon though."

"I know; the Pokemon didn't choose to be here." She stared at the ground. "Here, in our world, animals that wander into cities and attack people are put down. That is because most of our wildlife, unlike Pokemon, cannot be reasoned with in a meaningful capacity." A short pause followed. "I'm not convinced that Earth has gotten used to the fact Pokemon are actually existing."

" I thought your world already knew Pokemon as entertainment-"

"There's a difference in seeing a Pokemon as a character in media and a living breathing Pokemon standing in front of you. Listen. It's been great having you here to act as a liaison. Being able to understand what Pokemon are saying is great."

"Thank you. How much longer?"

"Oh, there's not much else here. There's a coffee shop out front, plus a shop that sells pencils. If you're thirsty I could get you something to drink."

"I am fine, thank you."

The receptionist gave a cheerful, "Come back any time!" as we left.

"Really," Jennifer said, "apart from you and Garcia the Tranquill, I haven't seen many Pokemon here. As for the animals - there's been a decline in the number of animals."

'With all the soldiers and weapons, I'm not surprised many Pokemon leave the town be."

"Yes - I'm glad no-one's had to shoot any Pokemon yet. Tell you, what, we can talk a bit more near the lake."

The Custos was out of sight this time, on the other end of the lake. Still, the soldiers near the marina greeted us was we drew near.

"Hello, Azelf!" one of them said. "You haven't brought people over before. What gives?"

"Just brought the one of the rangers over," I replied.

The soldier that had spoken picked up a stone and threw it over the surface of the lake. "Look at that, Private Winters. That damn stone skipped about five times."

"What are you two doing?"

"Just seeing how far we can throw stones. That was a favorite pastime of mine before the Shift."

"The Pokemon will object to having stones thrown at them."

"The fish won't, at least."

"I know Earth fish are not intelligent enough to speak or reason but I want you to stop that. You're disturbing the lake more than it already is."

"Says one of the Pokemon who showed up in this lake a few weeks ago," Winters replied with a sneer. "What do you have to stand on, huh? The Pokemon here are probably eating the fish in the lake as we speak. " He jabbed a finger at my face to make his point.

"Private Winters!" The other soldier tapped him on the shoulder.

"What is it, Corporal?"

"You are being rude to the Being of Willpower! She's a Legendary, in case you didn't know already! if you want to be cursed, go right ahead!"

"Sorry. Azelf, is it?" Winters stared at the ground. "That came out really wrong. it's just... the last few weeks have been a lot to take in. I - er-" He glanced at the lake. "Are we no longer allowed to throw stones into the lake?"

"Would you like it if I threw stones at your house?"

"No, Azelf."

The Corporal cleared his throat. "I'm Corporal Erwin. Guard duty near the lake is pretty boring most of the time so we've been trying to find ways to entertain ourselves. Apart from throwing stones I think meeting you face-to-face was the biggest highlight of the day."

"Whose squad are you part of?" Jennifer asked.

"We got Sargent Finch. He's a misery-guts. Y'know, he's one of the guys chosen to train the new town militia with Bradford. I feel bad for whoever gets him as their instructor."

"It's quite surreal doing my duties with armed guards," Jennifer stated. "I know about the monsters. it's just - I wonder if choosing to fight them was the best choice."

"Back on my world, I wouldn't condone attacking Pokemon," I replied. "But, what has happened to your world is clearly not any ordinary situation. I have a duty to keep the world in balance, after all, and judging by the state of your world right now, things are going badly."

Erwin gestured to himself and Winters. "Listen, Azelf. We're two soldiers, among the five hundred sent to this town. If anyone can handle this situation, it's gonna be us. Jennifer knows the national park like the back of her hand."

"Things have changed since last time I took a walk around the national park grounds," Jennifer added.

"Hell, you have your powers, Azelf. I'm sure that between the soldiers, the town militia, the patrol boat, any allied Pokemon we find and you, that we can handle whatever is thrown at us."

Jennifer turned to walk away.

"Where are you going?"

"I'll try to find Bradford and Finch. They're probably making preparations for the militia's first training session. Goodbye, Azelf."

"Goodbye, Jennifer."

This chapter is mainly for character development. Chapter 8 will be the flashback chapter.

See you until then!