"W-whoa!"

Kate yelped a little as she lost her balance on the cliff she and Keith were scaling. She grabbed a nearby vine and hung there as she struggled to regain footing. "You alright?" Keith yelled down to her.

"Y-yeah!" Kate answered, finally finding a good foothold. Keith clambered onto the platform and held his hand down to Kate. She took it gratefully.

"Alright then; one, two, three!" Keith grunted, pulling Kate up. The brunette grabbed Keith's sleeve to better steady herself, and when she had finally gotten onto the platform the two found that they were quite close.

Keith stepped back embarrassedly. "S-sorry." He muttered. "No problem," Kate replied, her face slightly red.

Keith looked over the cliff. "Hey, we're pretty high up…" He commented. Then he grinned and said, "Hey look, I can see Rhythmi from here! HEY, RHYTH!"

The blonde was sitting on the ground below them. She looked up and waved. "Man, she looks like a little ant from up here!" Keith laughed.

Just then, Kate's Voicemail rang. She answered and Rhythmi's face popped up on the screen. "Ah, Rhyth!" Kate smiled. Rhythmi said, "There's a big gap between your platform and the next, you're going to have to get across it. Don't try climbing the wall, it's too dangerous."

Kate nodded. "Got it." She answered. Rhythmi signed off. Keith looked over at the said platform, which was about thirty to forty feet away from them. "OK, how can we do this…?" He mumbled. Then something caught his eye.

"Oh. Oh, no way." He laughed. Kate followed his gaze to see a large leaf, and its stem spiraled to the ground. The girl blinked. "…What's that?" She inquired, walking toward the plant with the boy. Keith looked at her, his amber eyes sparkling.

"This is Springy Grass! Oh, man, I loved this stuff as a kid!" He explained. "See, you just jump on the grass and it'll launch you fifty feet, easy! Let's go!"

But Kate was resolute. "No way! I'm not putting my life into the hands of some grass!" She stated. "Let's find another way."

Keith sighed. "Alright. Guess I've got no choice…"

He picked her up bridal style.

Kate's eyes widened. "Keith. Put me down." She ordered. Keith backed up. "Keith," Kate said again nervously, "Put me down. Put me down."

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Springy Grass Catapult Ride is about to begin," Keith said in a professional voice. "Please check your seatbelts and keep your hands and legs inside the vehicle at all times."

Kate started, "Keith, don't you DARE—"

Keith charged for the Springy Grass and yelled, "BANZAI!" As soon as he stepped on the grass, the two were catapulted across the gap. Keith was laughing, Kate was screaming, and somewhere below them Rhythmi looked up and murmured, "Did I just hear something?"

After what seemed like a lifetime to Kate, Keith finally said, "Kate, it's finished."

Kate's pale eyes flew open as she tried to stop her racing heart. It didn't help any when she realized that she'd clasped her arms tightly around Keith when he'd jumped and buried her face in his neck. Her face burned.

Keith's state of mind wasn't doing any better as he tried to distract himself from Kate's thin arms around him and her soft skin against his. His face was light red, but he tried to stay calm as he said again, "Kate, the ride's over. Down."

Kate hopped down from his arms, but then aimed a kick at his head. Keith ducked just in time to prevent himself from being decapitated.

"IDIOT!" Kate screamed. She then whirled around and stomped off. Keith straightened up and followed guiltily.

A few minutes later, the two were climbing back onto another platform to see a Pinsir lurking about. It caught their eye.

"Kate," Keith murmured. "Walk away slowly. Pinsir are insanely violent."

Kate looked at him questionably. "Come on. They can't be that bad. Let's just move on and ignore it." She walked briskly to the next climbing wall, but in that same instant the Pinsir streaked towards Kate and slammed her into the wall, cutting her uniform with its pincers as it went.

Kate slammed against the wall. Keith was alarmed. "Kate!" He yelled. "Tempo, Water Gun!"

Tempo shot the usual clear water from its mouth towards Pinsir, and it went flying down to the platform below, unharmed (though very sore and irritated).

Keith ran to check on Kate. "Dude, are you OK?" He asked frantically.

"N-not a dude," Kate coughed weakly. Keith almost laughed in relief; at least she was well enough to contradict him.

The brunette wasn't in her best health, however. Her ankle looked twisted and swollen, and her left arm was slashed lightly and just barely bleeding. Her pale blue eyes flickered slightly as she tried to keep them open.

"Tempo, clean her wound with cold water so it doesn't get infected," Keith ordered, "I'll get the bandages out."

Within minutes, Kate's wound had been freshened by Tempo and Keith was carefully wrapping her arm in the long white bandages Rangers were required to keep stashed in their belts. Kate looked up at Keith with a surprised, confused and impressed expression. Keith caught her eye. "Something wrong?" He asked.

Kate blinked. "Ah, n-nothing." She stammered. "I'm just surprised you know about medicine and all, that's it."

Keith stared into her eyes for a minute, but then shrugged and looked down as he said, "My older brother's in medical school, and since I was always scraping myself up in one way or another when I was a kid I tended to learn a few things from him."

"YOU HAVE A BROTHER?" Kate screamed.

Keith winced. "Yeah. Didn't I tell you about him?" He asked. Kate shook her head and answered, "No… Come to think about it, I don't know anything about your family."

Keith blinked. "Really? I thought we talked about it… Well, I've got an older bro and dad back in Sinnoh. My brother's in medical school, as I already said, and my dad's a cop. It's pretty cool."

The spiky hair boy stood up, and Kate staggered up as well. "Wait, what about your mom?" She asked curiously.

"Dead," Keith said shortly. "Died three years ago."

Kate blinked once, then twice. Metro tinkled nervously, and Tempo shuffled about awkwardly. Kate then looked down guiltily, muttering, "I-I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have asked."

Keith looked over at her, a slightly surprised expression in his amber eyes. "What? There's no need to be sorry." He said. "She was a cop, and she died on the job. She knew the risks."

When he saw Kate's still worried expression, he sighed and put both hands on either side of her face, forcing her to look into his eyes. "It's fine, Kate. It happened a long time ago, OK?" He assured. "Don't worry about it, seriously."

Kate stared into his eyes for a few moments, frozen, but then relaxed. "Y-yeah," She murmured. "Sorry… Oh, wait. Did she teach you how to draw?"

Keith's eyebrows raised in impression. "How'd you figure that out?" He inquired curiously. Kate smiled. "I had a feeling."

Keith laughed slightly and released her. Kate casually put a hand against the wall (she was really trying to support herself) and asked, "So… Are you finished with my portrait yet?"

Keith laughed again. "Almost," He answered amusedly. "I worked on it a little more last night. It's nearly done." Kate grinned happily in response.

Then, unexpectedly, Keith bent down. Kate blinked. "Wha…" She started, but Keith cut in saying, "There's some more Springy Grass here, and I can't let you jump that with your ankle. Get on."

Kate hesitated a moment, but then reluctantly climbed on and wrapped her arms around Keith's neck. Keith stood and began, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Springy Grass catapult ride is about to—"

"Just go," Kate laughed.

Keith ran forward and jumped on the grass, and they were again shot into the air.

But this time, Kate wasn't so scared anymore.

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A few minutes (and some careful maneuvering around more Pinsir) later, the two felt another quake shaking the ground—and this one was even more violent than the last.

"Whoa!" Keith exclaimed, shaking a little. Kate, having gotten down from Keith's back already, grabbed a rock for support and shut her eyes until it was over. Eventually the quake stopped.

Keith looked around. "We must be getting close…" He murmured. Kate nodded, slowly opening her eyes.

Just then, Rhythmi called. Kate picked up quickly. "Yeah, Rhyth?" She asked. Rhythmi seemed uneasy. "There's something above you; it seems as if its hanging onto the ledge. It's too small to be a human…"

Keith blinked. "So could it be a Pokémon?" He suggested, looking up.

"SHIELDOOO—"

"GAH—"

"K-Keith?" Kate exclaimed, taken off guard by the sudden entity that had just cascaded onto Keith's head. Keith lay on the ground, shocked himself by the sudden bombshell. "Ow…" He moaned. Kate took a closer look at the object that had so gracefully deposited itself onto Keith's skull, and saw that it was indeed a Pokémon. She ran it quickly through the browser and then declared, "It's a Shieldon!"

"Yes, yes, that's lovely, Kate. NOW GET IT OFF OF MY HEAD!" Keith yelled. Kate 'eeped' and hurriedly scooped up the Shieldon. Keith staggered upright. "Ow… Jeez, what was that about?" He groaned. Kate was cradling the Shieldon happily. "It must have been walking around above us, but slipped and fell." She deducted. "I guess it's lucky you were here to break its fall…" Keith scowled.

"Whatever, just set it down where it won't fall again and let's keep going." He said. Kate nodded and tried to set it gently onto the ground, but the Shieldon squealed like a stuck pig and clambered back into Kate's arms.

"I think it wants to stay with us for a bit." Kate said, looking up. Keith growled under his breath.

"Look, I'm not about to become a Pokémon orphana—" He started, turning to face them, but stopped short when he saw the Shieldon.

Its black eyes were stretched large and it looked pleadingly up at him in a way that almost scarily resembled Kate back in Ranger School when Keith was in the middle of refusing her request to snag her an extra cookie or plan an attack on Mr. Kincaid for forcing her into detention for jogging—jogging, not running—through the halls. That being the case, he suddenly felt a determination not to let those Poke-eyes get to him, not to break down and agree to the request, not to let himself lose to this tiny Pokémon—

"Fine, it can come for a bit." The words were out of Keith's mouth before he knew he'd spoken them.

Kate's eyes lit up in happiness, and the Shieldon cried out in joy and launched itself at Keith's head, where it promptly made itself at home in his spiky reddish-brown hair. Keith scowled up at the Pokémon. "Get. Down." He commanded. The Shieldon didn't move.

Kate giggled at the two. "You're actually a big softie, aren't you, Keith?" She smiled. "Shut up!" Keith snapped, turning red in the face. "Let's just go, OK?"

A half hour later, the group was, according to Rhythmi's constant check-ins, getting closer to the quakes. Kate quickly jumped down from the ledge she had been perched on where Keith quickly caught her and set her down. "I think we're almost there…" Keith murmured, looking down the cliffs. Shieldon held on tight to the boy's hair so as not to fall (again). Keith glowered up at the Pokémon.

"Let's go down a little farther." Kate suggested. The nearest platform was a very large one below them, and the quakes were louder than ever down there. Keith nodded. "Yeah, but climbing will be boring. And slow." He sighed. Then he hatched a daring plan. "Hey, Kate." He grinned evilly at her. Kate shifted around nervously. "Y-yes?"

Keith picked her up bridal style again.

Kate huffed angrily. "Keith, there's no Springy Grass around here." She chided. "Put me—" Then she noticed he was backing up slowly, facing the edge of the cliff. Her eyes widened as she got a grip on what he was about to do. "Keith. Keith. Keith, don't you dare—"

"CHAARGE!" Keith yelled, and then he started sliding rapidly down the cliff. Kate screamed, clutching Metro tightly in her arms, Shieldon squealed excitedly with Keith, and Tempo slid beside them ecstatically. When they reached the bottom, Keith put his companion down, and after dodging another one of her fatal kicks, they walked towards where the quakes were coming from.

When they turned a corner, they were shocked at what they saw. Two ferocious Rampardos were ramming in a wall angrily. Two men dressed in dark suits with a mysterious purple emblem stood next to a small mobile laptop with the same purple emblem on their costumes.

Kate stared at them intently. "OK, we'll just walk up slowly and ask them what they're—Keith?" She looked around for the spiky-haired boy and Shieldon.

"Hey! You goons! What're you doing around these parts?" Keith was already proceeding to yell at the sinister duo. "K-Keith!" Kate screamed, running out of her hiding place.

One of the men seemed nervous. "W-who're you guys? Rangers? You're dressed like Rangers and all…" He said cautiously. His companion punched his arm. "Idiot! Of course they're Rangers!" He yelled.

Kate stepped forward. "Um, we've been hearing complaints about quakes here. May I ask who you are and what you're doing?" She inquired gently. Keith gaped at her politeness.

The man who had punched his partner jumped and said, "Uh… I'm a geologist! I'm conducting soil analysis here with my partner! Right?" The other man nodded fervently.

Keith raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" He said suspiciously, and it became apparent to the men that Kate and Keith were playing the 'good cop bad cop' routine on them. Keith went on to ask, "Then what's the soil made out of around these parts?"

The first man bit his lip while the other stammered, "U-uh… Well, t-there's, ah, there's red clay, and, um, some calcium, and a whole lot of dirt, and... Um, some water, yes, water, and uh... A dash of salt and, ah—OH, FORGET THIS!" He yelled when he knew that Keith believed his story just about as much as he believed Rhythmi was a quiet and reasonable person. "They know we're from Team Dim Sun, so let's just shut them up already! Go, Rampardos!"

The man's partner hurriedly tapped in some sort of code on the laptop, and instantly the pair of Rampardos turned around from battering the rock wall to the two Rangers and their Pokémon. Keith scowled and grabbed his Styler, while Kate simply sighed, knowing it would eventually come to this, and took her stance, removing her Styler from her belt.

"CAPTURE ON!" The usual Capture Discs shot out of the Stylers and began circling the Rampardos. It was obvious the two had improved in their capturing skills; they were much faster than before. Kate, however, seemed to be struggling a little due to her injured arm from when she had been attacked by the Pinsir. Keith glanced over quickly and ordered, "Tempo, help Kate out! Water is strong against rock!"

Tempo nodded and ran over, assisting Kate's Capture disc with his water abilities. Kate shot a fleeting look of gratefulness at Keith before going back to capturing her Rampardos, which was now pathetically trapped in a bubble.

Keith turned back to his Rampardos, but was now finding it much more difficult due to the fact it kept throwing freaking rocks at his Capture Line. Just then Shieldon, who had been perched on his shoulder this whole time, tugged on his sleeve eagerly. "What?" Keith muttered distractedly. Shieldon pointed to the Disc, then to itself. "Shieldon shield!" It suggested. Keith's eyes widened as he opened his mouth to say no, but then stopped himself. Shieldon was a ground type… and ground was effective against rock…

Keith sighed. "Fine. Let's see what you can do!" He consented grudgingly. Shieldon cried out happily, then jumped into the Capture Disc. It immediately turned Ground-Type brown, and before he knew it Keith realized that Shieldon's Assist was causing an earthquake.

By now Kate had captured her Rampardos, which had promptly fled the scene, and she clutched Metro as she gasped at the sudden quake. Keith looked up at the Rampardos to see that it had been weakened by the tremor, and, taking advantage of this, he quickly began circling it again.

A few minutes later, the Rampardos was finally captured, and it fled immediately. "YES!" Keith yelled in triumph, and Shieldon jumped out of the Disc and promptly threw itself at Keith's head.

The Dim Sun goons were shocked. "Wha… That's… you shouldn't have… WE'RE OUTTA HERE!" The brasher one yelled, and his companion scooped up the laptop before they bolted, sliding down the cliffs.

"HEY! HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Keith shouted angrily, but Kate put a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head, and Keith knew she was right; it was futile chasing after useless goons like those two.

Instead, he looked up at Shieldon, who was now happily perched in his flyaway hair again. He seemed to want to say something, but couldn't quite get it out. Kate giggled. "You want her to be your newest Partner Pokémon, right?"

Keith gaped at her incredulously. "OK, one, how do you know it's a girl, and two, how did you know that?" he asked. Kate giggled more and said, "To answer both your questions, I just know."

Keith shook his head slowly at the girl. "You're incredible." He mumbled. Then he addressed Shieldon. "But yeah, I do want you to be my second Partner Pokémon. How about it?"

Shieldon nodded. "Shie shield!" It—she squealed in joy. Tempo jumped up and down happily. "Buizel bui!" He cried.

Keith nodded as he grinned and said, "You need a name." He thought for a moment, then declared, "Alright then, how 'bout Treble? So long as we're going along with the whole music theme here."

Kate beamed and nodded as Treble cried out louder than ever, "SHIELD!", which apparently meant yes. Keith grinned more as he turned and started walking away, saying, "Alright, let's go. It's getting late, and if we don't get back to Vientown within the hour we'll get chewed out by Barlow."

"Again," Kate added as she followed happily.

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"WHERE WERE YOU?"

…Shouted Barlow as the two Rangers and one Operator looked down guiltily. Barlow was tapping his foot angrily, and a vein in his forehead looked as if it was about to burst. "You were supposed to be back six hours ago. SIX!" Barlow roared. "And Keith, why do you have a Shieldon?"

"Treble," Keith corrected sourly as his newest Partner glowered with him. Tempo had already scampered off to Partner Farm. Barlow looked as if he was going to inquire further, but then looked down and said, "You know what? I don't even want to know. Just—just go to your rooms, OK? And no dessert for any of you tonight!"

"AWWW!" Kate and Keith whined obnoxiously, but Barlow pointed towards the door leading to the dorms with a look that clearly said: 'Don't push it'.

A few minutes later, the group was sitting in their room. Kate and Rhythmi were sitting on Kate's bed playing cards, and Keith was working on Kate's portrait at the desk they all shared. Finally he sighed and announced, "It's finished!"

Kate jumped off her bed and ran over. "Lemme see, lemme see!" She demanded excitedly.

Keith held up the paper to reveal a simple pencil drawing of Kate in her Ranger uniform, holding Lyrical in her arms and having Metro perched on her head. She was smiling happily, and her pale blue eyes, being a light gray in the picture, sparkled eagerly. Kate stared at it with wide eyes. Keith seemed nervous as he asked, "Is it OK? Do you like it? I can redo it if you—"

She threw her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek.

Keith's face immediately turned a fiery red, and Rhythmi's eyes widened as she violently restricted the urge to scream in happiness. Treble simply turned pink and hid its head in a pillow, thinking it wasn't supposed to be seeing this, and Metro chimed in joy. Kate finally pulled back and took the portrait from Keith's hands, exclaiming, "It's perfect! Oh, Keith, thank you so much!"

"U-um," was all Keith could manage as he tried to comprehend what just happened. Rhythmi, still smiling like a Keith-level idiot, hopped down from the bed and looked over at the picture. She gasped. "Wow, it looks just like her!" She said. "Good job, Keith!"

"Ngh." Keith mumbled, standing up, his face still blazing. "It's getting late. We should get to bed or else Barlow will chew us out even more tomorrow…" The three shuddered at the thought.

"OK, lemme just do one more thing!" Kate said, and with that she took out a roll of tape and promptly posted her picture onto the wall next to her bed. Keith blinked. "You like it so much that you're posting it on the wall?" He asked. Kate smiled and nodded. "Yep! It's the best picture ever! I love it!" She said again.

"Well, as long as you like it…" Keith muttered.

Ten minutes later, the three were all in their beds. The girls were asleep, but Keith was still awake, his heart racing from what had just happened. Treble climbed up onto Keith's chest and looked at him with big black eyes that shone somehow in the darkness.

A side of Keith's mouth turned up in amusement as he stroked Treble's large head affectionately, but then he looked up at the ceiling in confusion.

"Jeez, Treble," He sighed quietly, "What do you think I should do?"