"Ah…morning at last." Perfuma said as they got out of their lodgings the next morning. "Guess we better…"
"Hold it." Granite said approaching them. "You can't go…without these." he said, showing three Pokéballs.
"Hang on, aren't those three..?" Scorpia asked.
"Orders from the professor. There are Pokémon that aren't afraid to attack humans so it would be best if you three carried these three. Perfuma is to be given Rowlet. Tsubaki is to have Cyndaquil. And Hayase will get Oshawott." Granite said.
"Oh, how wonderful! I have a Rowlet of my very own!" Perfuma said while receiving Rowlet's Pokéball.
"This will definitely help. Thank you." Tsubaki said with a bow, receiving Cyndaquil's Pokéball.
"Appreciated." Hayase said holding Oshawott's Pokéball.
"Well…you people seem…quite the characters." a voice said as a man approached with long blond hair.
"Yeah…of course you'd be here. Shouldn't you be with those sellers?" Granite asked.
"Come now. I am just simply curious." he said.
"Who's this guy, Granite?" Scorpia asked.
"I am Volo of the Ginkgo Merchant Guild. The go-to place for all of your mercantile needs." he said. "I've already heard of the people who fell from the sky. That is quite the tale."
"Well, that's…a coincidence." Tsubaki said.
"Hmm? And you have Pokémon? How marvelous. You people are full of surprises. So how about it? A little battle to initiate you all?" Volo offered.
"Hmm… Okay, sure." Tsubaki said.
"Excellent. Now…come on out…Togepi!" Volo said sending out Togepi.
"Okay… Let's make a good impression, Cyndaquil!" Tsubaki said as she sent out Cyndaquil.
"Togepi…attack with Tackle!" Volo said as Togepi tackled Cyndaquil.
"Ember!" Tsubaki said as Cyndaquil attacked with Ember, burning the egg like Pokémon before it tumbled over.
"Hmm…you're quite skilled given it's your first time." Volo said, recalling Togepi.
"How could you tell?" Tsubaki asked.
"The way you let me have the first move. It shows you are either cautious or new to battling." Volo said.
"Ah, right. Yeah, I am still new to this kind of thing." Tsubaki said.
"No worries. You'll likely battle with mostly wild Pokemon. Very few people here actually keep Pokémon on hand or even know how to use Pokéballs. We're one of the lucky few who do. So be proud." Volo said.
"Wow… so no one else really battles with Pokémon here? That's kinda… I'm not sure how I feel about that." Rutega spoke up.
"Don't fret. Times will definitely be changing here." Volo said. "Have fun." he said as he walked away from them.
"Hmm…that guy…" Granite murmured. "Okay…enough horsing around. Let's go."
The group was then seen walking down a path before arriving at a large field.
"Welcome to the Obsidian Fieldlands. One of the five areas that we've listed on the map so far." Granite said.
"Wow. So you don't even have a full region map?" Rutega asked.
"Fraid not. Jubilife Village is the only settlement. Unless you count the Diamond and Pearl Clan settlements. We do have a camp here…but we can't really expand further until we better understand Pokémon." Granite said. "Right…your targets are relatively simple Pokémon. Bidoof, Starly and Shinx. You are to capture these three Pokémon and you'll be welcomed into the group."
"Got it! Starly is mine!" Rutega said.
"Hmm… Sounds easy enough." Tsubaki said.
"Let's start with Bidoof. They're incredibly friendly and passive." Perfuma said.
"She's not wrong. They're dopey and rarely react. Why look." Granite said pointing to the Bidoof as they walked about without a care.
"Hmm…" Hayase pondered before throwing a Pokéball at one and captured it. "It is done."
"Next, you'll be capturing Starly. This will be a little trickier since they're really skittish." Granite said.
"No problem for me. I know exactly which kind of berries Starly likes. Most of them either go for Cherri Berries or Yache Berries." Rutega said, flipping through her berry collection. "Like these." She said, before seeing a Starly and tossing over a Yache Berry.
"Is that…all right?" Perfuma asked.
"Very. If a Pokémon is prone to running…using food and sniping it in hiding are usually the best approaches since it makes the capture easier." Granite said.
"Aaand… done!" Rutega smiled seeing sparks pop out of the ball once she hit the Starly, before seeing something else in the distance. "Hey, is that a Chimchar over there? ...Nah, I'm seeing things."
"It's possible. Chimchar do live in the Obsidian Fieldlands." Granite said.
"Last is Shinx. They're…pretty aggressive." Tsubaki said.
"Ah right. Task at hand. You're right about that. Shinx can be aggressive. They aren't afraid to attack humans." Granite said.
"What do you think, Perfuma? Do you want to take this one, or can I have it?" Tsubaki asked.
"I'm not sure I can properly train an aggressive Pokémon like Shinx. How about this? I can battle it, and you catch it." Perfuma said.
"Alright. You can count on me for backup." Tsubaki said.
Perfuma led the group a bit more ahead and saw a Shinx nearby a bridge. As soon as the Flash Pokémon saw her, it let out a growl before trying to tackle her. Perfuma was able to evade and ready Rowlet's Pokéball.
"Okay, my first battle! Go, Rowlet!" Perfuma said, tossing her starter out, initiating a battle. "Use Leafage!" Rowlet obeyed and hit Shinx with a barrage of leaves.
Shinx then used Thundershock as it dealt a bit of damage on Rowlet.
"If I remember right, Electric types are weak to flying type moves." Perfuma said. "In that case… Rowlet, use Gust!"
"H-hey, Perfuma, wait!" Tsubaki tried to call out to her as Shinx was hit with the wind with not much damage.
"You've got it backwards! Flying types are weak to Electric!" Granite called out.
"Guess I gotta get in there. Cyndaquil, help her out!" Tsubaki said.
"Oshawott…you provide assistance!" Hayase said as both starters were sent out.
"You sure that's a good idea? Electric types are pretty dangerous to Oshawott." Tsubaki said.
"Oshawott….Razor Shell. Let your blade fly true!" Hayase said.
Oshawott drew its scalchop as it ran at Shinx. Shinx went for a Thundershock as Oshawott moved passed it and sent it flying.
"Tsubaki! This is your chance to catch it!" Scorpia called.
"O-okay, okay. Let's do this!" Tsubaki said as she tossed a Pokéball at Shinx. Shinx was pulled in as the ball fell and shook before the sparks emerged.
"Well done, Tsubaki!" Perfuma congratulated. "Although… I have to apologize for my blunder."
"This is a learning experience. A chance to learn from mistakes." Granite said. "But still…you all captured the requested Pokémon so…you pass."
"Thank you. Still, you were right when you said that wild Pokémon are dangerous around here." Tsubaki said.
"Just be glad it was not an Alpha." Granite said.
"Alpha? What does that mean?" Hayase asked.
"I will simply say this. If you see a Pokémon with glowing red eyes…run." Granite said.
"Probably best not to dive too deep into that." Tsubaki said.
"But still, now that we've caught these three Pokémon, we're in the Survey Corps." Scorpia said. "Let's report to Cyllene so that she can officially approve us."
"Actually, she isn't the one you'll report to for this." Granite said. "It's the Commander who will be seeing you all."
The group soon returned to the village as they entered the base, going to the top floor as a man in robes stood tall.
"Welcome. I am Commander Kamado. I lead the Galaxy Expedition Team. I have been informed of your situation…including how you all fell from the sky." Kamado said.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Commander." Perfuma said. "As of today, we're new members of the Galaxy Teams Survey Corps."
"Hmm…" Kamado said before taking her and throwing her to the floor. "You are much too presumptuous. You need to learn not to reach random conclusions like that. Though that was likely learned from someone you knew."
"Whoa! He just sumo tackled her to the floor." Tsubaki said.
"Youch…" Rutega winced.
"This man is indeed quite skilled." Hayase said.
"Now…as this one stated, starting today, you all are part of our ranks." Kamado said. "You will start as no star recruits. Each day, you will perform missions and understand the creatures known as Pokémon. Now then…you are dismissed."
"Understood…commander." Hayase said as they left.
"That was… a unique greeting." Perfuma said as she recovered her senses.
"It was no greeting. He was assessing your combat strength as well as teaching you some manners. He is definitely not weak." Hayase said.
"Yeah, I kind of figured that. You definitely don't want to get on his bad side." Tsubaki said.
"I agree. I'd hate for him to do that to me." Scorpia said. "Anyway, I'm glad we get to keep those Pokémon we were assigned to catch as a test. Now the question is, what do we do with them?"
"Well, I know I'm keeping the Starly I caught." Rutega said. "Since I can't use… yeah. I might head back and see if I actually saw that Chimchar though…"
"Tsubaki's got dibs on that Shinx for sure… but what do we do with Bidoof?" Scorpia asked.
"Well, Hayase caught it, so it's his call." Tsubaki said.
"I shall leave it in the pasture so it can become stronger." Hayase said.
"Sounds fair. I'm just glad we get to stay." Perfuma said. "And happy we have the opportunity to gather info for the Pokédex."
"Opportunity…sure. Whatever you must tell oneself to cope with being stuck here." Hayase said. "Now…we retire for the night and then head out tomorrow."
And so the five did, sleeping away during the night. However, while they were dreaming, something supernatural happened during the night. A bolt of golden lightning struck a large tree in the Obsidian Fieldlands, startling all the Pokemon nearby as well as a few people who were in the area.