(DARK SOULS BEGINS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER. For now, we've got some build-up to do.

The Reviews

Jacob9594: Dude, Zubat reminded the world why the Galar games had to nerf it into fucking oblivion. It is just as powerful as we remember here in this game.

LogBook: Gotta love skewed priorities for the sake of comedy.)

The next morning in Hisui, Aubrey was still asleep by the time Vanessa woke up once again. Vanessa, of course, had gotten some ideas. If Aubrey wasn't going to wake up on her own, she would have to take matters into her own hands. A mischievous smirk crept on her face as a result.

"Hehehe," Vanessa chuckled, grabbing some pans. "Time to clap." What would happen next was a barrage of loud noises that shook Aubrey awake.

"Wha-!?" Aubrey sprung awake at Vanessa's pan clapping. "Sheesh, what the heck, Van?"

"Expect this every day you sleep in," Vanessa responded bluntly.

"Okay..." Aubrey stretched her arms out as she got up from bed. "Guess that's what I get for having Vatonage as my alarm clock instead of what normal people do."

"Yuup." Vanessa agreed.

"Now you mind making us breakfast with those pans?" The older ranger sheepishly requested.

"Sure." Vanessa went ahead and started cooking their breakfast while Aubrey got dressed and ready for the day. While the younger ranger worked to make them breakfast, Rei would come on by, looking a little concerned.

"I heard a loud banging, is everything alright?" He asked.

"Yes. Just me giving Aubrey a wake-up call," Vanessa explained.

"Oh right...you did mention that yesterday about her Umbreon," Rei remembered.

"Yeah...though I do appreciate it, partner," Aubrey mentioned. "Next time maybe not try and wake up the whole neighborhood? Just a suggestion."

"One of the guards thought someone was being attacked. Thank goodness I told them I'd look into it and they went 'Fine by me.'" Rei added. "Nice to know that it wasn't anything worth raising the alarm over."

"Yup. So just expect that from me," Vanessa responded.

"You got it, Vanessa!" Rei replied in a cheery way.

The three would have breakfast together and head to the Galaxy Hall, where currently there were two individuals having some sort of argument - a man dressed in blue and black and a woman dressed in pink and white.

"Look who's being punctual!" The man shouted. "Finally realized you're wasting almighty Sinnoh's precious time by bowing to a sham!?"

"There you go again, insisting on your false image of almighty Sinnoh as a ruler of time!" The woman huffed. "My people follow the true almighty Sinnoh - the font of all creation and ruler of space!"

"Hah! You could have all the space there is and still not know what to do with it," The man scoffed. "Like in that head of yours."

"Excuse me!?" The woman put her hands on her hips. "Are you really suggesting that you make better use of your time than we make of vast Hisui's space? So what if you call me empty headed, it's better than your rash thinking one!"

Aubrey watched this scene with Vanessa and Rei, whispering to Vanessa, "...What the heck are they yelling about?"

"...Soo I think one of them is talking about Dialga and the other Palkia," Vanessa whispered back.

"Judging by their clothes...hard not to say who is who," The older ranger realized.

"Better than some!" The man exclaimed, their argument continuing. "It's a miracle you showed up on time, oh mighty leader of the Pearl Clan. I worried you'd get lost in the pointlessly vast space you're so fond of and never show up."

"Me? Get lost?" The woman fanned herself with her hand, scoffing at the idea. "In almighty Sinnoh's great gift to the Pearl Clan - in our world's very basis? You wish!"

The man closed his eyes for a moment, letting out a sigh. "What I wish instead was that I didn't get dragged into arguing with you. Almighty Sinnoh forgive me...I'm off to Commander Kamado's office."

"I believe it was you who started this whole argument? Some time efficient person you are! That's where I'm going too." Both of them would head on inside the Galaxy Hall.

"...So uh, when's the wedding?" Aubrey jested, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Never." Rei deadpanned.

Vanessa meanwhile, was trying to stifle some giggles. "...I am really trying not to laugh since I know they are talking about two differnt Pokemon."

"What did Finn call it, dramatic irony or something?" Aubrey wondered. "Anyway Rei, who the heck were those two?"

"Those were the leaders of the Diamond Clan and Pearl Clan. You remember Mai from yesterday?" Rei explained. "She's with Adaman, that man you saw there, who leads her clan. The woman's name is Irida, leader of the Pearl Clan."

"Huh, interesting," Vanessa mused.

"The Diamond Clan puts a lot of importance on time, as you can tell," Rei continued. "And the Pearl Clan is all about space, you heard what she called it, I presume. 'The basis of our very world.'"

"But like, don't time and space go together? Like, if you didn't have time, the space wouldn't go forward or something?" Aubrey theorized.

"...I...don't exactly follow..." The Survey Corps' member sweatdropped.

"Okay. Time for a bit of a lesson." Vanessa would walk along with the two of them to a good spot to take a seat, which would be inside Laventon's office.

"Oh hello there!" The professor greeted. "Can I help with anything?"

"Yeah, you wanna hear Van talk your ear off for a little bit?" Aubrey requested.

"Well I'd be most delighted to learn anything new you two have to share about your world," Laventon mused. "Sure, take a seat and share with us what you know."

"Okay, can I borrow this chalkboard?" The Sinnoh native requested.

"One moment..." Laventon went ahead and flipped the chalkboard over to the other side for Vanessa, erasing some doodles from it. "Here you are!"

"Thank you." Vanessa drew a rather good rendition of the Mystri Stage from the Sinjoh Ruins. "This is the Triangle of Creation. The two on the bottom are the Symbol of Time to the left and the Symbol of Space on the right. These represent the Legendary Pokemon Dialga, Lord of Time, and Palkia, Lord of Space. The one at the top is the Symbol of Antimatter. It is the representation of Lord Giratina. His purpose is to keep the balance of the world should it get skewed too much in one of the other directions. In the center is the Symbol of Creation. This belongs to Lord Arceus."

"So in other words...the clans have fought over nothing?" Rei then asked, taking Aubrey by surprise.

"Correct. Also, and this is a guess, that time-space rift miiight be the fault of Lord Giratina.. He kinda hates his dad for banishing him to another dimension," Vanessa continued. "Though to be fair Lord Giratina is...fairly violent in how it does things…"

"Wait, hold up, fought over nothing?" Aubrey asked Rei.

"In the past, the Diamond and Pearl Clans have fought over whose version of almighty Sinnoh is the true one," Laventon informed. "I think if they were to hear this, they might not believe it at first. Or rather, be in shock over how all their years of conflict have been for naught."

Vanessa's skin paled at hearing this. "...Oh dang."

"And furthermore, Vanessa, if I may bring up a question about your theory on this Giratina being behind this...if Giratina is as violent as you claim, wouldn't it be more direct in getting its revenge?" The professor continued.

"Hmm, possibly. Though someone could be manipulating him," Vanessa responded, drawing a small image of the Distortion World on the right side of the chalkboard. "Lord Giratina lives here. This is the Distortion World where time and space…are...not in perfect tune with each other…as you can tell with the waterfalls going in the wrong direction and the floating islands."

"Ugh..." Rei grimaced.

"I see..." Laventon put a hand to his chin. "Though who could ever curry the favor of such a powerful Pokemon? Anyone would naturally suspect the two of you."

"Woah, no way. Not me. I don't follow this stuff like Van does," Aubrey quickly defended.

"And anyone who knows me would know I would leave Lord Giratina alone…as well as take me out of the picture as soon as possible, since I know a method of stopping any one of these three for certain," The younger ranger added. "The Red Chain."

"So you're saying whoever is responsible for this doesn't know this method, correct?" Rei guessed.

"Correct. The Red Chain is created using the Lake Guardians. The lake Guardians live in the three lakes of this region and are the source of human consciousness," Vanessa continued on with the explanation. "Mesprit is the Bringer of Emotion and lives at Lake Verity. Uxie is the Being of Wisdom and lives in Lake Acuity, and finally, we have Azelf, the Being of Will at Lake Valor. When all three work together they make the Red Chain which can bind any member of the Creation Trio. This is another Safeguard put in place by Lord Arceus...though one that can be abused if in the wrong hands."

"Then maybe they do know how to make it, but simply play innocent around Giratina if this is true," Laventon commented. "Now, this is all very fascinating. How not one, not two, but multiple powerful Pokemon created Hisui...but at the same time, it's best if you don't report this to the commander or captain, you two."

"Why not?" Aubrey raised an eyebrow.

"Believe me, as a man of science it pains me to hide information like this." Laventon sighed. "Our commander is a very guarded person. Naturally he isn't completely trusting of you as Rei and I are. If he were to find out you know all of this information, he may grow even more wary around you both."

"Hmm.. I can understand that." Vanessa nodded. "There is.. one more thing…" She would go ahead and draw the Azure Flute. "If this all goes south, this would be our ace in the hole if we can find it. The Azure Flute played atop Mt. Coronet would allow us to speak to Lord Arceus directly in his home of the Hall of Origins."

"Well you can understand it, but I can't." Aubrey folded her arms. "Why would all of this make us more suspicious?"

Laventon would go to erase the board as Rei spoke up. "Because...if you had all this information on these Pokemon, the commander might think you'd use this information to not only open the space-time rift, but also do other things to the village," He explained. "The professor and I have seen what you two can do first-hand. Even though we've only known you rangers for a few days now, there's just no way you two could be capable of doing something so horrible. Sadly, I don't think you could convince the commander as easily as us."

"I'm going to assume something bad happened to him because of some wild Pokemon," The younger ranger said. "Given that they are…way more ferocious here than our home."

"So what, we're supposed to keep this on the down low?" Aubrey wondered.

"Until we can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt who is truly behind this space-time rift, I'm afraid we'll have to for the time being," Laventon answered. "If it makes you feel any better, I thought this was all quite interesting."

"Yeah, and hopefully this talk helps you get closer to the truth," Rei gave a reassuring smile.

"It does help to get everything down in one spot," Vanessa agreed. "I would say keep these drawings up but keep them hidden."

"Eh...I went ahead and erased them to be safe..." Laventon sheepishly admitted.

"Oh it's fine I can redraw those if needed," The younger ranger assured him.

"So, if you're quite finished, you better go head on up to the commander's office," Rei advised. "No doubt he's got a new mission for the two of you."

"Alright...but this really doesn't narrow it down aside from the fact we know we're not the culprits." Aubrey stood up, ready to go face the commander. She made a mental note to keep all of this under wraps from the rest of the Galaxy Team.

Once the two got to the third floor, they'd see Adaman and Irida in Kamado's office.

"What do you intend to do about that Kleavor, Commander Kamado!?" Adaman demanded. "He may be descended from a warrior of almighty Sinnoh, but look at the mess he's making. We can't sit back and let him rage on!"

"Kleavor?" Aubrey whispered to herself.

"You do get right to the point, Adaman..." Kamado commented.

"Time wasted is lost." Adaman shook his head. "And as such, we can't afford to let such a problem go unchecked for long."

"Well, tell me - what would you have me do?" The commander then brought up. "Kleavor is a precious lord of the Pearl Clan, is he not?"

"And that's the point. My clan can't intervene directly when a lord of the Pearl Clan is concerned," Adaman responded. "But here we have Irida here who is more than willing to sit on her palms and let things run rampant."

"That is so not true!" Irida defended. "Yes, I know full well you don't want our people up at each other's' throats again. Neither do I. But the problem isn't that I don't want to let Lord Kleavor run rampant, the problem is I don't know how to best help it yet. These things take time."

"Can they take less?" Adaman innocently requested, causing Irida to facepalm. She did notice the rangers there.

"Who are these two?" She asked.

"These two are Aubrey and Vanessa, new hires into the Galaxy Team," Kamado explained. "They call themselves Pokemon Rangers."

"Pokemon Rangers?" Adaman put a hand to his chin, getting an idea.

"Yes. We protect the peace between people and Pokemon and prevent people from misusing Pokemon," Vanessa explained.

"Is that so? How generous of you," Irida remarked. 'If that is true, of course,' She added to herself.

"Say, Irida. If what they say is true, how about they help with this whole mess?" Adaman suggested.

"We just met them and you're already suggesting we take on their help." Irida rolled her eyes.

"Oh don't mind her. I heard from Mai how you two were able to deal with the big Kricketune on Deertrack Heights," The Diamond Clan's leader informed. "Tells me you're the real deal."

"Thank you!" Vanessa's mood picked up.

"Okay, start from the beginning," Aubrey requested. "What happened?"

"We don't know what drove Lord Kleavor into a frenzy," Irida explained. "But all we know is that it happened last night. You heard that crack of thunder too, right? Once it hit, we heard that Lord Kleavor had gone into some sort of frenzied state. Nothing us of the Pearl Clan did worked in quelling his anger."

"Not only that, but some people in the Galaxy Team have been injured too," Adaman added. "I'd like to know what caused this myself. What if it were to go after the Diamond Clan's nobles?"

"Hmm, yes. The Security Corps' initial response was met with sharp opposition from Kleavor," Kamado agreed.

Aubrey looked to her partner. "Hey...you don't think what we saw last night has anything to do with this, right?" She whispered.

"Hmm…it very well could," Vanessa whispered back.

"If you have something to add, then say it directly," Kamado ordered. "What are you whispering about?"

"Well, we did see something last night when we were getting ready to head to bed. It was a big flash of yellow lightning. Looked like it hit somewhere in the Obsidian Fieldlands," The younger ranger explained.

"Yeah, and it was after we had earned Wyrdeer's respect," Aubrey continued. "This Zubat who is friends with both clans was warning us that something big happened, and then we saw a crack of that lightning hit somewhere farther off in the distance."

"That would be the same spot where Lord Kleavor makes his home," Irida confirmed.

"I see..." Kamado closed his eyes in thought. "I have a proposition if you two are willing. Why not send the rangers here to observe Kleavor before deciding what must be done?"

"Hmm...well, it does exercise caution and foresight, two things I value a lot," Irida remarked. "Okay then. You might have wowed Adaman with your skill, 'rangers', but I'll believe it when I see it firsthand."

"Yeah, it sounds good to me. Plus we were thinking of getting the lay of the land for the rest of the Fieldlands today anyway," Vanessa agreed.

"Well I'm already sold on this," Adaman mused. "Gives me a chance to see how good you Galaxy folk really are, with all your weird ways, putting Pokemon in those strange balls and what have you."

"Regardless, I'm still a bit skeptical of their stories," Irida confided. "Could someone have really fallen from the rift like that? To be thrust into Hisui from almighty Sinnoh?"

"Trust me, I don't get all the details myself either," Aubrey admitted. "I'm just here for the mission."

"Then your mission is to figure out what to do about Kleavor's frenzy, and quell it," Kamado spoke. "Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," Vanessa responded.

"You got it!" Aubrey agreed. "Mission Start!"

When they struck their poses, Irida was more interested in this, and Adaman had an amused chuckle. Kamado of course had no reaction.

"Keep in mind that you are strangers who appeared one day out of the sky above us. People are naturally suspicious of your presence here," The commander reminded. "If you wish to be truly accepted-"

"Yeah yeah, I already got that part. Prove our worth and trust through merit," Aubrey quickly responded. "Now c'mon, let's get going, partner."

"Yeah. Let's." Vanessa nodded in agreement.

Adaman and Irida would go with the rangers as they left Kamado's office.

"The Lord of the Woods, Kleavor, is descended from a Pokemon that was blessed with almighty Sinnoh's own power," Irida explained. "No other Pokemon you've encountered before can compare to his strength. Be warned."

"By the way, uh...what's a Kleavor?" Aubrey asked. "We've never encountered one in our world."

"It evolved from Scyther after it sharpens its blades on a special material," Adaman responded. "I do believe it's called...Black Augurite?" He looked to Irida for confirmation, getting a simple head nod from her. "Yeah, Black Augurite."

"Huh…" Vanessa thought about that for a moment. "Huh. interesting. We do not have Kleavor where we are from...maybe this mineral has just vanished or is really rare. We have Scizor, I know that."

"Scizor?" Irida raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Vanessa would go into her Arc Styler and brought up Scizor. "Here it is."

"Strange...how did it get to that form?" Adaman wondered.

"Ah well, first you have to have an item called a Metal Coat. It looks like…this." Vanessa did the same for the Metal Coat, showing them an image on her Arc Styler.

"Okay...maybe this is your world's substitute for Black Augurite, but it doesn't work the same," Adaman suggested.

"First you get that, and then what?" Irida continued. "Do you have to do something special with the Metal Coat? Like...do you rub it on them like a Potion?"

"Wha- no." Aubrey blinked in surprise at that suggestion, though internally thought it'd be hilarious if that was how Scyther evolved into Scizor.

"Yeah. In our world we can trade Pokemon over long distances.. for whatever reason, some Pokemon only evolve in this method and while holding an item like this," Vanessa continued. This got both Adaman and Irida to pause at the thought of that.

"...Trade?" Irida asked. "Trade as in like...exchanging goods kind of trade?"

"I can't believe almighty Sinnoh would make things that way," Adaman remarked. "What if the person you're trading with doesn't give back what you wanted evolved through this method?"

"Oh trust me. We know what happens," Aubrey responded.

"You two get involved?" The Diamond Clan leader guessed.

"Yuup. That was...a rather bad day...for the guilty party," Vanessa answered, looking at Aubrey. "Did you have to break the bones in his hand?" She then saw the expression on her partner's face. "...Oh who am I kidding, he had it coming."

"She did what?" Irida gasped.

"This oughta be good," Adaman commented. "Only the important details, please."

"Oh, we tracked the trade cause this has to be done in a certain method. We entered the guy's home. He pulls out an improvised weapon. Aubrey here ducked his swing and ended up breaking his hand in retaliation. Well, it was more of an accident, she was aiming for the arm that was holding the weapon," Vanessa explained.

"I was only trying to disarm him," Aubrey commented.

"Heh, nice one," Adaman mused, but Irida was less than pleased.

"Still, this whole practice bothers me...almighty Sinnoh created vast Hisui so Pokemon could live freely throughout," She said, arms folded. "We're meant to stand alongside Pokemon, not count ourselves above them!"

"Look, Irida, I totally get where you're coming from," Aubrey assured her. "Van and I totally get that. We don't consider ourselves above Pokemon in any way. If anything, they're a big part of the reason we're able to do our jobs."

"Is that so?" Irida wondered.

"Look, I'm gonna cut to the chase here, Irida," Adaman spoke up. "How about you accompany the rangers to help deal with Lord Kleavor? Not only do you know him better than they do, but it'll give you that opportunity to see how they work alongside Pokemon as a team."

"Hmm. I like that idea," The younger ranger concurred.

"I...suppose that would be for the best," The Pearl Clan's new leader relented. "Very well. I'll take your suggestion, Adaman. This time."

"Ah, I'm sure it'll be fine," Adaman commented. "If Mai's report was anything to be believed, Kleavor is gonna be in good hands."

"You know it." Vanessa seemed to really like Adaman so far. The guy is very very personable and the second person to not doubt them at first. Aubrey meanwhile, was hoping to get to know what Irida's deal was during this time. She looked younger than Adaman, and while understanding her positions, did want to prove to her that she and Vanessa as rangers meant no harm.

The first thing the rangers did with Irida was go to Cyllene to cover the details of this mission. In there with her was Rei and Laventon.

"Ah good! You're already here!" Laventon greeted. "And I see that the Pearl Clan's leader is joining us as well."

"I hate to admit it, but it was Adaman's idea for me to accompany these two," Irida confided. "He said it would give me the chance to see for myself what they're truly made of."

"Very well." Cyllene was internally surprised that Irida would be taking suggestions from Adaman, but was willing to allow it. "Professor Laventon. The briefing, if you would."

"Yes, let's get right to it," He responded. "So, rangers, I understand you've been requested to find the cause of Kleavor's frenzied state and assist in calming him down. But as you are aware by now, Kleavor is a mighty thing. Nigh invincible, even!"

'I'll be the judge of that...' Aubrey thought to herself.

"I doubt that would be the case," Vanessa remarked. "Everything has to have a weakness."

"The Security Corps tried throwing Poke Balls at him when they were attacked, but I'm afraid they didn't even come close to catching him," The professor continued.

"That's because Lord Kleavor is not meant to be captured and treated as a lesser by anyone who waltzes into his domain," Irida huffed.

"Yes, it would seem that he is a far trickier opponent than any of the aggressive species of Pokemon," Laventon agreed, frowning.

"I'd like to be perfectly clear on this point," Cyllene interjected. "This mission will put you two in extreme danger. Do you believe you can handle it?"

"A ranger's job is all about danger," Aubrey responded. "Shouldn't be too different from what we're used to."

"Very well." Cyllene nodded. "Then let us go over the particulars. The Diamond and Pearl Clans revere their nobles because they believe these Pokemon serve their 'almighty Sinnoh', correct?"

"Yes. They do," Irida confirmed. "We leave offerings to express our gratitude towards them in locations we refer to as the nobles' seats."

"So perhaps a good starting point on our research would be to find out what sort of offerings the clans make to their nobles," Laventon wagered.

"In that case, we'll need to speak with Lord Kleavor's warden," Irida spoke up.

"Oh I get it," Vanessa realized. "If we get the offerings, we might be able to calm it down."

"That would seem to be the case," Rei agreed. "Anyway, Irida, where's the lord's seat for Kleavor?"

"Lord Kleavor's seat is at Grandtree Arena, in the heart of the Heartwood. His warden is a boy known as Lian," Irida explained. "He is a brilliant child. I'll lead the way there, rangers."

"Hey, now that we got that camp at the heights, getting there should be easier," Aubrey mentioned.

"Yes, I have heard how you have a base camp there," Irida responded. "We can have your Security Corps lead us there and I'll take over."

"Sounds good to me," Vanessa agreed. The two would follow Irida's lead out of the village, but along the way, their Ginkgo Guild merchant friend would call out to them.

"How are things, my good rangers?" Volo called, causing Aubrey to pause in her tracks and softly sigh.

"Pretty good Volo, and you?" Vanessa responded.

"I just wanted to give you some Super Potions to use in the field," Volo explained, giving a couple Super Potions to Vanessa. "Think nothing of it. Having the Survey Corps out and about studying Pokemon is great for business, you know."

"Is that right?" Irida asked, folding her arms.

"Why yes. Irida, right?" Volo responded warmly. "Supporting the Galaxy Team now with these rangers here is an investment in my own fortunes!"

"Sure...let's go with that." Irida pinched the bridge of her nose. Vanessa was now confused that she seemed to be the only one who didn't mind Volo. Aubrey merely gave her partner a shrug of the shoulders, understanding why she didn't mind the guy.

"Rough crowd..." Volo commented to himself. "Well...I must be off then. I can hear the ruins calling to me!" With that, he would head off.

"While I don't mind people doing business out here, to call supporting someone an investment feels...wrong to me," Irida mentioned to Vanessa. "Almost like he's more interested in helping you for his own gain."

"That is odd," Vanessa conceded the point.

"Though Aubrey was quiet during the whole conversation..." To Aubrey, she asked, "Is something about him bugging you?"

"Ah, well...I dunno, Irida. Everyone here is naturally wary of us rangers, except for Laventon and Rei I guess, but this guy is just welcoming us with open arms like we've lived with him all our lives," Aubrey responded. "Just bugs me, and my partner here thinks I'm being paranoid."

"A bit, yeah," Vanessa conceded. "But I'm not dismissive of her paranoia." The trio would walk along with the Security Corps to the Highland Camp as the conversation continued.

"Has Aubrey's gut feelings here served you well in the past?" The Pearl Clan leader asked Vanessa.

"They usually do. But I'm also not going to throw away a possible ally for no reason," The younger ranger answered.

"Usually?" Irida sounded curious.

"It's okay Van, you can tell her. I can handle it," Aubrey commented.

"Oh, just several times on the job, her gut feelings have gotten us out of more problems than they have caused," Vanessa informed.

"In other words, I'm more on the ball than off the ball," Aubrey followed-up.

"I see...maybe Aubrey's more of the people person between you two," Irida wagered.

"Maybe…" Vanessa sweatdropped. "Normally I'm the one keeping her out of trouble."

"Ah, I see. Sorry for making that awkward..." Irida responded.

"To be honest, I only recently became leader of the Pearl Clan. Neither of you appear to be marauders in the slightest, though you know what they say about books and their covers."

"Ah, don't worry about it, Irida," Aubrey reassured her. "Once you see us in action you can draw your own conclusions. You know what they say about actions and words, right?"

"...Touché," Irida couldn't help but crack a smile at Aubrey's retort. Vanessa chuckled as they went along.

During their trek, they would pass by a spot known as Nature's Pantry, and the rangers would hear the cries of Paras. Turning around to look in their direction, they would see the Paras were looking quite pugnacious.

"Oh, there's Paras. I hear they're quite aggressive," Irida commented.

Aubrey blinked, before exchanging a glance with Vanessa. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yup…burn them." Vanessa would send out Cyndaquil.

"Axel! Soren! Let's get you two some training together!" Aubrey exclaimed, calling out her Ponyta and Zubat.

"We're...gonna be here a while, aren't we?" Irida sweatdropped, spotting something in the distance. "Be wary of that Alpha Parasect in the back part of the pantry!"

"Don't sweat it!" Aubrey beamed, readying her Arc Styler for that big one.

"Yeah," Vanessa had her own Arc Styler ready, but let Cyndaquil do the work. "Those Mushrooms are valued as Medicine ingredients."

"They are?" The older ranger seemed a bit surprised by this, having Axel and Soren go wild on the swarm of Paras.

"Yeah, supposed to extend life…honestly, I think they are just very healthy," Vanessa responded.

"Sounds like something Adaman would like for more time…" Irida commented to herself.

Aggressive as the Paras were, they were merely Paras against three Pokemon that could do quadruple super effective damage against them. All that remained was the Alpha, who was not very happy at its fellow Paras getting clowned on.

"Let's do this together, partner!" Aubrey shouted.

"You got it!" Vanessa responded.

"Capture ON!" Both cried, flicking out their Capture Discs to get to work on taming the Alpha Parasect.

Irida kept her distance, but was quite surprised. "So that's how they're able to do it..." She commented quietly.

Between the two rangers and their Pokemon providing assists, they would capture the Alpha Parasect quite easily!

Aubrey smirked recalling her Capture Disc. "Capture complete."

"Well...I can certainly say you're both skilled," Irida complimented upon seeing the tamed Alpha gathering up its fainted Paras and scuttling away.

"Thank you," Vanessa responded.

"Taking on an Alpha without any fear is certainly something that-" Irida stopped herself upon seeing Cyndaquil glow. "Vanessa, look! Cyndaquil!"

"Oh?" Vanessa turned around to see this. "...OH!" Thanks to the battles they had, Cyndaquil had evolved into a Quilava!

"Hey, nice!" Aubrey complimented, patting Axel and Soren. "You two were awesome in there."

"Pony!" Axel brightly smiled.

"Baaaaaat!" Soren cried triumphantly.

"Oh, seeing him as a Quilava is good!" Vanessa had a smile as well, petting Quilava for a job well done.

"Well, I suppose now that I've seen that your skill is the real deal, shall we continue on to Grandtree Arena?" Irida suggested.

"Of course," Vanessa agreed.

"Lead on!" Aubrey agreed. Irida gave a nod as she continued leading them towards Noble Kleavor's home.

(And I think that'll do for this chapter. Next time, DARK SOULS BEGINS FOR REAL I SWEAR. Also we'll get a new Pokemon for Vanessa because hey, it's high time she gets something other than Quilava lol. Bye for now!)