Altered March 10th, 2022

In this world, whether we like it or not, some Pokemon can't keep their promises. It's not the end of the world if they don't, either; Mystery Dungeons will still form, and the world's balance will eventually be rebuilt. Well...not without some cooperation between Pokemon. Again, to make life easier, it would be best if all promises were kept...especially a Keeper's.

Number 18, Keepers shall use their common sense, deductive reasoning, and or ask for assistance regarding other difficult decisions and actions, so as to not allow a disturbance in the balance or breaking of the Sentinels Code.

A small envelope holds a letter.

Inside this envelope is a letter addressed to:
All requested Keepers to a League-Bound Organization.

Forwarded from:

The Chief of the Bristberg Mana Research League.

The Coordinator of the Bristberg Mana Research League.

All Rescue Team Members and other members of the Bristberg Mana Research League.

A new mandate from Tiger and Dragon of the Keepers Committee.

Attention all Mana Research Leagues, Rescue Teams, and League-Bound organizations located and stationed in the Constellation Continent!

All able-bodied and able-minded Keepers, of any status, Domestic, Stray, and Feral, shall go to any League or other League-Bound Organizations they were summoned to within two to four weeks of their agreed contract. If not, then the Wicked Blow Police Department will be called and the Keepers will be left to their fate.

Also, all Domestic or Stray Keepers between ages fourteen through twenty-eight shall enlist or commission with a League, League-Bound Organization, or an unbound group led by a thirty-two plus years old Keeper. Don't speak of the event from twenty-eight years ago in great detail, we don't need strife in the community.

If any Keeper of a League or League-bound Organization suspects another Keeper from anywhere to be unlocked please alert the Keepers in the Chief or Coordinator position.

That is all for now, may the Eternal Lord grant you his power.

There was a forest to the North-West of Bristberg, the teal-colored mountain heartlands of the Constellation Continent. This entire region, named Hunter's Plains, had homes of various sizes sprawled about a vast distance, making it called a village. On the western side, the foliage blended into dark brown and orange colored sandy bases of numerous mountains; this was considered the outskirts and less ventured side of the village. In the empty wildland, there was a shack nestled by a pond.

This shack had two beds, a table, and some chairs, with a fire pit outside. Inside two Pokemon lay on each bed, facing the ceiling. An Axew and an Espurr, two Keepers the Bristberg Mana Research League needed.

Two Pokemon that two humans, soon to be Pokemon needed. They were Keepers who the world needed.

"Hatchet," the contralto voice of the Espurr said to the Axew across from her. "We need to start taking our Keeper responsibilities seriously," she then sat upright on her bed, brushing her dark grey-furred chest. "This means looking for things on our own, like Wicked Blow or the mana artifacts, we're Keepers just like the others in the League," the Espurr had the same grey fur on her muzzle, and snout.

"Yea yea I know Kobi," Hatchet, the Axew replied. His voice in a light smoky drawl, close to a southern accent as he rolled over on his side to face her. "Living here and staying local isn't gonna cut it anymore," the Axew ran his claws over the unique thin dark green stripe marks on his torso and his head.

"It can be life or death when we make mistakes," Kobi explained, opening a small saddlebag with her forepaws. "Or if we don't understand our roles in society, to restore and maintain the balance."

"I've known this longer than you, we'll be fine," the Axew waved his claw. "Once I go get us some more seeds and berries it'll be okay to head out," Hatchet sighed, narrowing his light red eyes as he rummaged through his satchel. "We'll be fine."

The Espurr across from him sighed, latching close her saddlebag. "They say they need us and any other Keeper we find to follow the Keeper's Oath of the Sentinels Code."

"Yup, it's fine as long as they aren't Wicked Blow," the Axew rolled his shoulders back.

"Are you sure?"

"Maybe," Hatchet stretched. "Anyway with that new mandate, I guess we've really gotta play our part outside of the village."

"But y-... our parents never told me anything about either Oath or Code before," Kobi groaned, gingerly dropping to the floor on all fours. "First the Vanguard's mana artifacts research, and now this," she got up on a stool adjacent to the sole table of the shack. "Do I have to figure out everything myself?"

"You shouldn't have to, don't sweat it," the Axew turned to face Kobi. "Ma and Pa didn't tell me about the Oath or Codes, it was a Keeper from over the orange and tan mountains in the west," Hatchet winced before yawning. "From New Withered Savannah."

"Oh," the Espurr on the table narrowed her eyes when her companion winced. "Hey," she faced the Axew. "What's up with you?"

Hatchet stared past her, and out the window. "I'va been having these crazy mood swings," he placed his arms under his chin. "And then way too many bad thoughts, what do you call them?"

"Intrusive," Kobi answered.

"Yeah, intrusive thoughts," the Axew looked down, his eyes darting left to right. "Could this have something to do with the balance?"

"Well the balance hasn't changed much since five years ago, during the Disruption," the Espurr grumbled, her tail lowering. "It's not the balance, it's you. Your presence is the thing that's changing day-to-day."

"Oh, it has?" Hatchet's eyes widened for a second. "Well, I think this may have something to do with my dreams then."

"What do you mean?" Kobi blinked at her 'brother'."Nightmares or something?"

"No, much better than that; I had a Dream Mark," he explained. "It's still a tad bit blurry right now, but this means I'm going to meet another Keeper soon!"

"Really, I remember you explaining those! I had one too!" the Espurr across from him jumped over to the bedside. "What's a Dream Mark look like for you?"

"First two days ago I saw lots of yellow fruit, like Pinap and Sitrus Berries," Hatchet grinned. "Then the next dream they came back, this time heaps of them were in the dream," he paused to open his claws, spreading his arms wide. "And then just last night there were these glimpses of a yellow Pokemon talking to me!"

"Wow, I had dreams that started last week, first it was just brown and light blue blobs, some sort of strong breeze that felt so real," Kobi explained, brightening her eyes. "Then it became clear over the next few days it was a specific town, I understood it was a place with a massive river and tons of brown rocks," the Espurr put on her saddlebag. "Pebble Creek matching this description to the tee."

"What about the Pokemon?"

"I know for certain they are a light brown rock-type, I remember the taste of each type of Keeper, rock-type is like cocoa," Kobi grinned. "Yours should be like a nice sour berry."

"I see, thanks for reminding me," Hatchet grinned before he reached over to pick up his satchel. "Anyway these Keepers are bound to help us and we will help them, which means we'll have to make sure it's safe for them."

"And that leads into your plans?" Kobi questioned, getting on the floor once again.

"Maybe, I'm planning on going back home to work on the building of the grain silo and the fruit preserve," Hatchet sighed. "Then I'll head south through the mountainside little Mystery Dungeons to Ventura Woods before I reach the Bristberg Underpass and that Mystery Dungeon."

"Mine is to hurry over to Pebble Creek," Kobi answered. "Then train the Keeper and then use the Vanguard's research to look for the artifacts."

"Who are they, this Vanguard ya keep mentioning," the Axew placed a claw on Kobi's shoulder. "How'd ya get their research?"

"They were a legendary Rescue Team. Dad gave it to me," the Espurr narrowed her gaze, darting her eyes back and forth. "It's kinda complicated, Hatchet."

"What did you find?"

"By reading their findings I found leads on two separate locations of some mana artifacts."

"You said that they were nearby where you need to go and where I want to go, correct?" Hatchet rubbed at his arm strap.

"Yeah, one by Pebble Creek where I'm heading off to find the Keeper of my Dream Mark," Kobi said as she used Psychic to pull out a dungeon map of the Continent from her saddlebag. "These three Mystery Dungeons are possible sites: Stoneskip Hill, Timberreed Seep, and Mist Ravine."

Her brother peered at the map before tracing a line through the three dots.

"And the other in either Needlemaw Peak, Brittlesand Sierra, and, Twistbolt Sands Summit," the Espurr pointed. "They are Mystery Dungeons that count as the shortcut to Bristberg."

"Alrighty, that sounds fine by me," the Axew laughed before leaning towards the window. "As long as you take me with you that is."

"Nope. Not gonna happen."

"Why not? There might be dangerous ferals!"

"Most of the time ferals don't approach me," the Espurr sighed. "And I'm not going through too many Mystery Dungeons by myself."

"Exactly," her brother grabbed her foreleg. "I'm coming with you!"

"No you don't seem to understand where I'm coming from, my Dream Mark is specific," Kobi growled. "It calls me to a town where I'll find another Keeper- your Dream Mark is vague, you can find plenty of yellow things on the way to Bristberg."

"But then why don't you just come with me after you find your Keeper?" the Axew begged. "I can leave early and go through all across Hunters Plains fighting ferals and we can forget about those artifacts till were in the League-"

"I'm going to be researching the Vanguard's findings, something you should be doing," the Espurr sighed. "And teaching the Keeper I will find. You should try to do the same, not worrying about ferals."

"But what if Wicked Blow finds ya?" Hatchet pestered.

"Stop trying to change ta subject, you know both of us can't miss the appointment with the League!"

"But-"

"You've known how to read much longer than I have," Kobi grumbled. "The Wicked Blow Police will get us! Not just the normal Pokemon Police, we'll be treated like those bastards again!"

"Okay," Hatchet lamented. "After our family finishes that construction project I'll go to Bristberg, to tell them what you're up to."

"Thanks," the Espurr smiled, opening the front door. "I've got to leave right away so I can try and hurry back before the four weeks are up, take care now!"

Back at the Bristberg Mana Research League, Coordinator Cooper stood outside the Classroom where Team Sharp Claw waited.

"Master Zeraora will reach the Mohz Dunes in about 5 weeks after going up through the Hunter's Plains villages to the west of Bristberg," Cooper repeated the information from the letter Mcbone received. "And they will be on the lookout for Keepers who don't take their responsibilities seriously, particularly ones who should know better…"

Then he watched as his mate pulled out another letter. "This one's for you specifically," the Stoutland said through the plastic tube in her teeth. So the Granbull took it.

"I'll be going now," the Chief wagged her tail. "Have fun."

Cooper sighed as he read the contents of the letter and then looked towards a clock stone. "So the 'Tiger' of the Committee is here today and actually wants to meet with me while Sharp Claw goes with that their ward to Brist Mountain Mystery Dungeon."

He glanced over at the clock stone again before entering the Classroom."Alrighty guys, let's continue our lecture," the Granbull wiped down the chalk and whiteboard. "Keepers have an interesting place in our little slice of the world."

"They make up about forty-five percent of the population of each Continent in the Celestial Hemisphere," he pointed his paw at the three Pokemon. "You know what that means?"

Nevada closed their eyes and sighed. "It means, usually in most spaces we," the Charmander paused, looking up for affirmation from Glade and Linus. "Well, the Sentinels, outnumber Keepers."

"Correct, and you know what Keepers are able to sense and possibly impact?" Coordinator Cooper asked, stepping past the boards and towards the window.

Linus waved his webbed hand up. "Mana, but there's so much to it," the Treecko tilted his head.

"Yes, Keepers and mana go paw and paw in this world!" Coordinator Cooper dramatically yanked open the blinds. "We need you, Sentinels, to be aware of everything that we can do," the Granbull unlatched the window and then he stuck his head out. "I want you to keep Keepers in check!"

He stopped his barking and pulled his back. The Coordinator was met with the perplexed and slack-jawed reactions of his subordinates. "Anyway, mana is very important for our everyday activities as League members, does anyone know why that is?"

Glade tapped her pencil on the table and coughed. "Mana is how we access our moves right? Cause we can't directly take in the energy in our bodies right?"

"That energy for moves, aren't they called Power Points?" Nevada questioned. "We use Ether, and Max Ether supplements to refill them in Mystery Dungeons because we cannot manually take them in the mana from their environments or we'll get the Carnal Sicknesses and go feral."

"Yes!" Coordinator Cooper paused, lifting up his paw. "Nice work Sharp Claw! Let's do a little physical demonstration, I want you all to practice taking in the mana required for each of your moves and then show them to me, without letting them fly loose okay!"

"Now I want to remind you again, Team Sharp Claw, that after class you have a request," Cooper cleared his throat. "I want this to be a good teaching moment as we won't be scheduled for another class anytime soon."

The Charmander, Totodile, and Treecko young adults looked up from their notes and chatted amongst themselves for a bit. They compared their work to the whiteboard, chalkboards, and posters along the wall.

"Keepers and the world's balance," Nevada started to say, looking off to the side. "We as Sentinels know what they are, but what do they mean to Keepers?"

"Well," the Coordinator sighed. "I was meant to end the lesson sooner but I guess I can humor you."

'"Who really are Keepers?" Linus rubbed underneath his chin.

'"Keepers are Pokemon that are in tune with the world's balance of mana," the Granbull repeated slowly, pacing around the table in front of him.

'"What does that mean?" Glade grumbled. "There's a balance to all this?"

"You all know that there is the mana that we use for elemental typing in our bodies and in our moves right?" the Coordinator asked the three Pokemon.

"Yes," Team Sharp Claw replied.

"There is also mana, the same mana that is in the outside world, all across the Celestial Hemisphere," Cooper drew a large circle on the whiteboard.

"So the mana that is in the world is called the balance?" Glade questioned. "How does the balance of mana really work with Keepers?"

'"The balance is something we Keepers can understand in our body," the Granbull started writing on the board. "How equal the energy of each elemental type is."

"What else exactly?" Glade tilted her head. "We know you've told us you felt this terrible pressure and bad tastes from other Keepers' presences but what about mana levels by themselves?"

"We can tell if other Pokemon mana levels are unequal only if they are unlocked," the Coordinator explained.

"Unlocked means that someone used the key artifact of one of their types on them, correct?" Linus asked.

"Yes," Cooper answered. "Now for the world's balance, it gets tricky, as there are factors based on where you are, either inside a Mystery Dungeon or just in a normal area."

"Inside of a Mystery Dungeon, there is an average amount of mana pressure that we Keepers can feel," the Granbull explained. "Normally it is firm, but if it is 'crushing'," he then paused. "Or too 'loose', this means the Dungeon is unbalanced."

Coordinator Cooper then walked back towards the map. "For the world's mana outside of Mystery Dungeons to be unequal the only way Keepers can tell is the same way you Sentinels can."

"None of us could evolve after the massive shift in the balance during the Disruption," Nevada replied.

"Yes!" Coordinator Cooper smiled.

"But how?" Linus waved his hand. "There was so much going on, and I wasn't there for them-" the Treecko sighed. "Nevermind."

"The unbalanced state of the world meant Keepers of Wicked Blow messed with the mana artifacts," the Granbull rubbed the back of his head.

"The artifacts…" Glade grumbled, clenching her eyes in concentration.

Cooper began to clean off the chalk-board and white-board. "Don't fret it as a Sentinel, most Keepers don't know where exactly, it could be here or on another Continent."

"Oh, I see," Nevada sighed. "Hopefully Keepers can work together and find possible locations for them."

"What are the locations called?" Linus asked. "Not that we can go inside, just so we can inform any Keepers we find.."

"Mana Temples," the Coordinator finished wiping down both boards. "They are hidden away inside Mystery Dungeons."

"What?!" the three Pokemon shouted. "Just like that!? In places, we go to daily?!"

"Yes, Mystery Dungeons, but you probably won't be finding a Temple today, " Coordinator Cooper smiled. "Well at least at the place I told you yesterday that I need you to escort a client through, Brist Mountain Mystery Dungeon."

"That never-ending maze?!" Sharp Claw groaned. "But we just went there!"

Coordinator Cooper chuckled. "Well now we have a guest, where else did you think you were going after class?" the Granbull then pushed back the boards. "Your new Keepers teammates will arrive sometime in the next few weeks. Understand, Linus, Nevada, Glade?"

The Totodile sucked in her teeth. "But you only have us listed for some damn boring missions that are just outside of town!"

"Well tough shit," Linus patted Glade on the head. "Just finish em' like we always do."

Nevada tugged on the Treecko's arm. "Glade's right, it's so tiresome going to the same place doing requests over and over against mainly the same Pokemon day in and day out!"

"I need you all to prepare," Coordinator Cooper sighed. "Just as I will do my part, I need you to do yours."