"Wow, look at all of this!" Kristine looked around to see people and pokemon alike playing at the beach. Children were running around with small pokemon, likely belonging to them or their parents. She saw a man from a distance throwing a frisbee for his electrike to catch.

"We have parks at home, but nothing like this," Kristine mentioned to herself. Grabbing the pokeballs from her belt, she began to prime them before releasing her team.

"Okay, Espeon! Fletchinder! Pikachu! Machop! Snorunt! Come on out!"

All five of her pokemon greeted her as they were summoned. Kristine didn't quite think through that children and fans of her Power Duo conquest would overwhelm her in a matter of seconds. And that's exactly what happened.

"Wow! Look at your pokemon!" said a boy who appeared to be seven or eight years old. He kneeled down to pet Snorunt.

"Yep, this is my team!" Kristine proudly stated with people surrounding her and her pokemon.

"Hey, I only see five pokemon!" a woman mentioned. "Any plans to complete your team?"

"Of course!" Kristine replied. "I just don't know when it'll happen. But I have room for one more!"

More children ran up to pet Kristine's pokemon. Machop took this as an opportunity to showcase his strength, picking up one of the children with just one hand and impressing the crowd.

"Excuse me, coming through," Kristine saw Julian make his way through the crowd to get to her.

"Hey Julian!" Kristine waved.

"Hey," Julian waved back. "Geez, can't move two feet without getting swamped, can't you?"

He then addressed the crowd. "Okay everyone, don't want to smother her and her pokemon now. Let her enjoy the beach."

Soon enough, the crowd dispersed and went back to their activities.

"Thanks Julian," Kristine smiled.

"Yeah, no prob," Julian replied.

"I was wondering who was drawing in the crowd," Bran approached the two.

"Hi Bran!" Kristine happily greeted.

"Hey," Bran smiled. "I'm just here at the beach, training for my match with Meeks tomorrow. There's a lot going on here."

"Yeah," Julian added. "There's games and stuff going on. Where's Jason, anyways?"

"Oh, he's competing in the water tournament down there," Kristine pointed at the respective direction.

"Him and Amanda," Julian mentioned.

"Amanda's competing too?" Kristine asked.

"Yep," Julian gave a nod.

"Don't you think you should…you know…"

Julian didn't understand what Kristine was getting at. "What's up?"

"I don't know. Watch her? Cheer her on?"

"She's a tough trainer. She's got this!"

Ugh, boys can be so dense at times, Kristine thought.

"All right," Kristine continued. "Let's check out the beach."

Kristine continued on with all of her pokemon still out, alongside Julian and Bran.

"Hey, are your pokemon out too?" she asked both of them.

"Yep," Julian replied.

Seconds later, Pidgeotto flew over the trio.

"Mmhmm," Bran nodded.

"Wait," Kristine became curious. "Julian, even Onix?"

"Even Onix," Julian snickered.

"But how-"

"There's a sand dune park nearby. I just dropped him off there."

"I see. They don't leave any pokemon out of the picture in this city."

"Herdier!" A herdier suddenly ran up to Bran.

"Hey buddy," Bran greeted.

"Herd!" Herdier greeted back before running off.

"Herdier is one of your new pokemon, right?" Kristine asked.

"Yep!" Bran confirmed. "Honedge, too."

"Honedge, eh?" Julian seemed intrigued. "How'd you manage to catch that one?"

"When that blizzard came in the central part of the Mountains, I got stuck out there," Bran explained. "Honedge of all things appeared and guided me to shelter to wait out the blizzard. Afterwards, it wanted to continue with me."

"Honedge!" Honedge floated towards Bran and company.

"I left my pokedex back at the pokemon center," Kristine said, observing Honedge. "It's really interesting."

"Like a hovering sheathed sword," Julian examined.

"Its body is the sword itself," Bran continued. "It can unsheathe itself in battle."

"What's the lore behind this pokemon?" Kristine became even more curious.

"Legends say honedge is born when a spirit attaches itself to a sword," Bran said.

"A human spirit or a pokemon spirit?" Julian asked.

Bran shrugged. "I'd say a pokemon spirit. But that story is centuries old. No one really knows its origin."

"Ghost pokemon sure are mysterious," Kristine added.

Honedge soon floated away.

"Hey," Julian looked ahead. "No way, that's a volleyball game with pokemon playing!"

"Wait a second," Kristine observed. "The setter. What kind of pokemon is that?"

"A poppilo," Bran confirmed.

"A poppilo? I'm not familiar with that."

"That's a pokemon from Alola, isn't it?" Julian asked.

Bran nodded. "Poppilo is one of the starter pokemon for new trainers there, I think."

"It's only recent that Alola decided to join the world stage in general," Julian added. "They've been very traditional since, well, the beginning of time."

"Their league is very new too, right?" Kristine asked.

"Yeah, like less than ten years old," Julian replied.

"There's certain pokemon in Alola that adapted to the region, too," Bran added. "Rattata and raticate, for example, are dark and normal types."

"That's awesome," Kristine seemed intrigued.

As the three approached closer to the field, they noticed the poppilo scoring an ace by throwing the ball upwards using its nose and slamming it just over the net using its fin, with the ball slamming the ground right between a raichu and a slowbro.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about, Poppilo!" a spectator, presumed to be the pokemon's trainer, cheered it on.

"That looks fun as heck!" Julian looked on in amazement. "I wonder if it's a pickup game!" he ran towards the field without another thought.

"I guess that really impressed him," Kristine chuckled.

"He's got quite a bit of energy," Bran observed.

"Yeah, like my brother. No wonder why those two seem to click pretty well."

"What are you going to do, Kristine?" Bran asked.

Kristine turned her head towards the ocean. "Well, I've swam in lakes before, but not an ocean."

"There's a beach not too far from where I lived when I was younger," Bran said. He looked ahead, past the volleyball field. "It doesn't seem to be as crowded here as the other direction."

"Thinking about training?" Kristine asked.

"Gotta get ready for the gym battle tomorrow," Bran said.

"Do you need any help?"

"I need a strategy," Bran rubbed his chin. "Meeks uses Raichu, along with Lairon and Gabite, at least in the last thirty matches."

"Hence the name Team Power. He will test your strength and resolve."

"So fight power with power?"

"Well, to an extent. But remember, fighting to a gym leader's strength will be a good way to lose. I'd fight power with speed."

"Kadabra's fast."

"How about your new additions?"

"Herdier can run, and Honedge can be evasive."

"I'd make sure they're battle ready, given their inexperience. With Kadabra at their side, just have them train on speed, both for offense and defensive purposes."

"And use moves to incapacitate or immobilize," Bran added.

"That, too."

Bran smiled. "It's settled then. Thanks, Kristine."

Kristine smiled back. "Yeah, anytime!"

"Well, I'd best get to it!" Bran proceeded towards the more open area.

He let out a loud whistle, signaling all of his pokemon to converge on him.

"That's a good idea," Kristine muttered. "Using a signal like that to get everyone's attention."

She approached the ocean, and took her sandals off before touching the water with her feet.

"It feels nice," she noticed. She embraced the ocean breeze and smell, and was able to stare upon the endless ocean.

Suddenly, she saw bubbles emerge from a concentrated area at a distance. It became closer.

"What's that?" she wondered.

The bubbles approached Kristine. A moment later, a pokemon emerged, wailing towards her.

"Woah!" Kristine attempted to back off, but the serpent-like pokemon knocked her over by its tail by mistake.

"Ugh!" she fell on her back.

"Dratini!" the pokemon yelled. It appeared to be in some sort of distress.

"Espeon!" Espeon ran towards Kristine.

"Pika!" as did Pikachu.

Kristine got back up. "Ow."

"Dra…" Dratini was still wailing around, but it was on its side. Kristine feared it was dying.

"Dratini!" she approached the pokemon. "What's wrong?"

She examined Dratini, but noticed no physical injuries. Then she realized it could be sick, or even poisoned somehow. She instinctively pulled out a potion and an antidote from her pouch, and attached the bottles with injector nozzles.

She then encountered a flashback, when Jason came down with the flu, and how that experience terrified her. How Jason nearly succumbed to it, and how she nearly believed he was gone for good.

Stay strong, she told herself. She calmly kneeled down to Dratini, and began to pet its head.

"It's okay, Dratini," she said, before quickly injecting its neck with a potion.

Dratini seemed to calm down, with the potion's effects kicking in.

Kristine then injected Dratini with an antidote. Dratini calmed down completely before closing its eyes. Kristine checked for a pulse, and determined it was just resting.

"You're gonna be just fine," Kristine said as she sat down, with her hand on Dratini's head.

By then, Machop, Snorunt, and Fletchinder converged onto her. Bran also ran over, with his pokemon behind him.

"Kristine!" he ran next to Dratini in concern. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it is now," Kristine breathed a sigh of relief. "Listen. Can you get in touch with emergency services? Seeing what I just saw, I don't think what I gave Dratini is going to last forever."

"Yeah, sure thing!" Bran complied, and took off with his pokemon in tow.

People began to notice what was going on. Moments later, a small crowd formed around Kristine.

"Is it okay?" asked a woman. "Do you need assistance?"

"My friend is getting help," Kristine replied. "I gave it a potion and an antidote."

"Whoa whoa what's going on?" Julian approached the crowd, preparing to be Kristine's guard once more.

"This dratini is sick," Kristine replied.

"What?" Julian kneeled down. "It's sick?"

"Yeah, but I think I made it better for the meantime."

Moments later, Bran ran back with two familiar faces Kristine and her brother encountered before.

"Kristine!" a woman with short, brown hair wearing glasses, a blue tank top and ocean camo pants kneeled down next to her. "Remember me?" she spoke with a kalosian accent. "I'm Brie, water conservationist. You and your brother defeated me and my partner in the Power Duo."

"Yeah I remember!" Kristine happily replied. "It's very good to see you!"

"And I'm Joe in case you forgot," a man with brown spiky hair wearing a blue shirt, ocean camo pants, and sunglasses also kneeled down next to Kristine. "Let's take a look."

"He's calmed down, all right," Brie observed, feeling Dratini's neck.

Joe pulled out a scanning device of sorts, and aimed it before Dratini. "There's a lot of poison in his system. This is not a run of the mill Poison Sting, mind you."

"Is he going to be okay?" Kristine asked in concern.

"If we act quickly, yes," Brie replied, gently holding Kristine's hand with her two hands as a sign of assurance. "We need to get him to our treatment center quickly!"

"That's for sure," Joe agreed, pulling out a pokeball. "Dratini must be contained for now."

"Dratini!" Dratini slithered behind Kristine, frightened.

"I knew this could happen," Brie said, before addressing Dratini in a calm tone. "Don't worry, we will take care of you and make you better before we release you."

"Dratini…" Dratini remained behind Kristine.

"He's obviously frightened," Joe said. "The poison's making him delirious no doubt."

"He's not trusting us," Brie added. "We're running out of the precious time Kristine bought us."

Both conservationists then looked at Kristine.

"He trusts you," Joe said.

"You have to capture him," Brie added.

"Well, I'm glad I carried that last empty pokeball with me," Kristine gave a determined nod as she primed the empty ball.

"Dra…" Dratini faintly spoke, nudging the pokeball.

"He'd complete-" Kristine spoke, trying to break down the situation in her mind, before she was promptly yet politely interrupted by Brie.

"Dear, we need to contain Dratini! No time to think! We can ask questions and ponder the situation later!"

"Got it!" Kristine gently tossed the ball as it projected Dratini into it. The ball became bound uncontested.

"Right, now let's go!" Joe said.

"Follow us, Kristine!" Brie spoke as everyone got back up.

"Where are we going?" Kristine asked, running behind Joe and Brie with her pokemon running alongside her.

"To the pokemon conservation treatment center in the medical district!" Brie replied.

Kristine quickly faced Julian. "Find my brother! Let him know!"

"Right! I'll go pick up Onix after I get Jason and we'll meet you there!" Julian said, taking off and recalling his pokemon without a second thought.

"I'm coming with!" Bran insisted as he ran alongside Kristine.

"I appreciate it!" Kristine smiled, as she began recalling her pokemon. Bran did the same.

As Joe, Brie, Kristine, and Bran ran in one direction and Julian ran in the other, a man with a blond ponytail and wearing black bathing suit and tinted sunglasses quietly observed the ordeal. He wore a translucent earpiece, enabling him to communicate with a remote source discreetly.

"Sharpedo-one to base," he addressed. "The serum is negative. Repeat, the serum is negative."

"Copy that," a man's voice replied. "What's the analysis?"

"Subject was on track to terminate," the agent informed. "A girl managed to stabilize it with a potion and antidote. Experts arrived at the scene and are now transporting it for treatment."

"It was too strong for the pokemon and has a weak defense system," the man replied. "Tell the team to balance the serum."

"Sir, if we implement it on an evolved pokemon –"

"We need to test it on base pokemon to ensure its efficiency," the man insisted. "We risk collateral damage and being compromised with powerful pokemon. Overseer's orders."

"Yes sir," the agent complied. "I will relay the results to our field agents and will alter the serum."

"Good. We're making progress. With the sonic pulse functional, we need to expedite our ocean operations."

"I'll see to it we get it done."

"We admire the determination."

"One more thing, base."

"What is it?"

"The girl."

"What about her?"

"James' daughter, of all people."

"Irrelevant. A mere coincidence."

"Understand. Nothing more to report."

"Continue the good work out there. Base out."


Joe, Brie, Kristine, and Bran ran towards a five-seat orange buggy. Joe took the wheel as Brie sat next to him, with Kristine and Bran behind them.

"Petal to the metal, Joe!" Brie yelled.

"Don't need to tell me that twice!" Joe replied, hitting the gas pedal with his foot.

Joe accelerated the buggy off the beach and into the streets. Red sirens flashed at the front and back, giving him the right of way through stop signs and traffic lights.

"Something doesn't quite add up," Joe mentioned.

"What do you mean?" Brie asked.

"I'll talk to you after the analysis, in private."

Joe made a sharp left turn into a district devoted to medical research and studies. The buildings were pristine white or cream colored, and some of them towered over a dozen stories high. Kristine imagined it as a small city designed as one massive pokemon center.

Joe took the buggy towards the entrance of a dome-shaped building. He abruptly hit the brakes at the emergency drop-off point as the four practically jumped out of their seats, rushing through the automated glass doors.

"We have a priority one!" Joe briefed a nurse who was alerted by the sudden entrance. "Male dratini, less than a year old, critical condition by an unknown poison or substance. It has been injected with a basic potion and antidote."

"Where is it?" the nurse asked.

"Here!" Kristine handed the nurse the pokeball where Dratini resided within.

"We'll get it treated right away!" the nurse took off to a nearby treatment room, with Joe and Brie running behind her.

"Well, what do we do now?" Kristine asked.

"Wait and see, I guess," Bran replied.

"Hey, have a seat," a male assistant approached the two. "Let me get you some water."

"Yeah, that'll be great," Kristine smiled.

"Thank you," Bran added.

Kristine and Bran sat in the waiting area as the assistant gave them each a bottle of water moments later.

"I hope Dratini is okay," Kristine said, awfully concerned.

"He's in good hands," Bran assured her. "Congratulations on your sixth pokemon."

"My sixth pokemon…" Kristine thought about it. "I actually have a full team now, if Dratini wants to come along with me."

"You saved his life," Bran said.

"But that's what they're doing right now," Kristine pointed towards the door where Joe and Brie went through to follow the nurse.

"Kristine, that was you," Bran reiterated. "You kept Dratini alive long enough for professional help to arrive."

"Just like Jason…" Kristine muttered.

"Pardon?" Bran didn't hear her.

Kristine began to develop tears in her eyes. "I did the same with my brother. I helped keep him alive long enough for the rangers to take him back to the Central Pokemon Lodge. I was so scared that day. That thought ran through my mind when I saw Dratini flailing around like it was in so much pain. I couldn't imagine anyone going through that. I couldn't bare the thought of failure."

"But you didn't fail," Bran spoke sternly. "You saved Jason, and now you saved Dratini. Be proud of what you've accomplished."

"Yeah," Kristine sniffled, but had a smile on her face. "Thanks, Bran. You're a good friend."

"I try," Bran chuckled.

"If you'd like, I can watch your battle with Meeks tomorrow," she offered as a sign of moral support.

"I'd like that," Bran accepted.

Kristine grew attracted to Bran at that moment. She felt the urge to show affection by holding his hand. But that moment was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Jason, Julian, and Amanda.

"We got here as fast as we could!" Jason ran up to Kristine and Bran.

"Wait, how did you get here so fast?" Kristine asked. "And where's your shirt and shoes?"

"Oh yeah…" Jason looked down to suddenly realize he was running on bare feet.

"I mean it sounded like it was an emergency," Amanda added before facing Jason. "I didn't know you actually forgot about your stuff on the beach."

"It's just a shirt and shoes," Jason shrugged.

"Dear brother, we'll have a chat about that later," Kristine addressed, holding the extreme urge to roll her eyes.

"So get this," Julian mentioned. "There's a service in this city that takes you from one place to another!"

"Like a taxi service or public transportation?" Bran asked.

"Uh, the one where you get in a yellow car with blue stripes?"

"Yes, that is called a taxi service, and the colors depend on what city you're in, but they're generally supposed to have bright colors."

"Is that what it's called?"

"Yeah. Alston had a similar service. It's outdated now. I'm surprised they still have it here."

"Outdated? Really?"

"Yeah. I'll explain it to you, sometime."

Moments later, Brie stepped outside to address Kristine.

"Oh, hi Jason!" she greeted. "Remember me?"

"Of course!" Jason replied.

She approached the gang, facing Kristine. "So I have good news for you. We managed to neutralize what was inside Dratini. We would like to keep him here to monitor his health.

"Yeah, that's fine," Kristine agreed.

"Good," Brie smiled. "You have one potentially powerful pokemon, provided it wants to remain with you."

"I remember seeing a dragonite when I saw footage of the Inventum Cup a few years ago," Julian recollected. "It swept an entire team one match."

"Dragonite…" Kristine muttered under her breath. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I don't even know what's going to happen from here.

"Kristine, a moment?" Brie asked.

"Yeah, sure," Kristine got up.

"Come, let's go see Dratini," Brie said.

"See you guys in a few," Kristine said to the gang.

Kristine followed Brie through the door. They proceeded down a hallway before entering a room on their right. There, Kristine saw Dratini flat on his stomach on a patient table, monitored by a computer system that a nurse was operating. Joe stood there, observing his scanner.

"I've noticed where you inserted the potion and antidote," Brie mentioned. "Do you have advanced knowledge about medicine?"

"Not really," Kristine gave a shrug.

Dratini tilted his head towards Kristine.

"Hey there, buddy," Kristine walked over to pet him.

"You have some good instincts," Joe said, looking at Kristine. "Maybe once your adventures are all said and done, you should try becoming a conservationist. Even a rescuer."

"I never really thought about that far," Kristine replied.

"Never too early to start thinking," Joe smiled.

"What you did was a great thing today," Brie added. "You saved Dratini's life. Once you turn sixteen, the Inventum Ocean Conservationist Initiative would like to extend an offer of apprenticeship to you."

"Like a job?" Kristine asked.

Joe chuckled. "Yes. A job. But they say you're not working if you're doing something that you love."

Kristine felt flattered. "I appreciate it. Truly. I guess we will see what happens in the future."

She turned towards Dratini. "I'm glad you're doing okay."

"You can go back to your brother and friends," Brie said. "I thought you'd want to see Dratini for yourself."

"I appreciate it, thank you very much!" Kristine smiled.

As she approached the door back out to the hallway, Dratini cried his own name.

"Guess Dratini doesn't want you to leave," Brie observed.

"Huh?" Kristine turned around.

"Dra! Dra! Dratini!" Dratini yelled.

Dratini seemed to calm down when Kristine approached him once more.

"Hmm," Kristine pondered. "Hey Dratini?"

Dratini tilted his head.

"I'm what you would call a pokemon trainer. My goal is to travel Inventum and compete in battles and tournaments that would, in return, help me enter the Inventum Cup. I have three badges so far and would need twelve to enter. I currently have five other pokemon for my team, which means I have room for one more. I want to make this clear to you that you don't owe me anything, but I want to ask you if you're interested in completing our team.

"The challenges will be tough but if you're into battling and competing, then this is something right up your alley. And you'll be alongside Espeon, Pikachu, Fletchinder, Machop, and Snorunt. I'll be traveling alongside my twin brother Jason and his pokemon as well. I can give you some time to-"

"Dratini!" Dratini nodded at Kristine with full confidence.

"Well well," Joe laughed. "I take it he wants to come with you."

"Then it's settled," Brie determined. "We do not unbind Dratini from Kristine's pokeball when he's released from here. He goes with her."

"You're letting me keep Dratini?" Kristine asked.

"Why not?" Joe replied. "You're a capable, responsible trainer with a very good head on your shoulders. Dratini is in good hands."

"So Dratini is officially part of the team," Kristine gleamed, having felt so accomplished for sealing her team.

"Congratulations, dear," Brie commended.

"Thank you all, very much!" Kristine smiled. "I'm going to tell everyone!"

She bolted through the door and ran down the hallway, heading back into the main lobby.

Joe looked on briefly, snickering underneath his breath at the cute reaction Kristine just gave. His body language suddenly became more serious as he faced Brie.

"Walk with me for a moment," he said to Brie, subtly gesturing towards the nurse inside the room."

"Yeah," Brie complied as she followed him out into the hallway.

The two proceeded towards the other end of the hallway before entering an atrium. It took them to a massive circular aquarium, filled with hundreds of rescued water pokemon. From horsea to wailmer and from magikarp to carvanha, the aquarium served as a refuge to those found injured, orphaned, or who endured other unfortunate circumstances in the unforgiving ocean. Joe and Brie occasionally passed by other colleagues wearing the same uniforms.

"So I looked into what was in Dratini," Joe said, showing the scanner's results to Brie. "It's not a pokemon's poison. It's not a natural part of the environment. This thing was aggressive and reckless, and we should be thankful it was reckless."

"What do you believe happened?" Brie wanted to know where Joe was getting at.

"I believe this was artificial in nature," Joe replied. "And that Dratini was abducted before being injected with it and released back in the wild. For what purpose, I don't know. But I would like to find out who is responsible."

"We're conservationists, Joe, not rangers or police," Brie tried to reason. "If you believe there is foul play in the ocean, then we need to inform RPD and Team Power. Have them investigate."

"If whatever this is becomes produced in large quantities, it could cost the lives of many pokemon," Joe argued. "We need to track the source, and then we can begin to find answers."

"Then give the police or Team Power all the information they need and they can take it from there," Brie firmly stated.

Joe sighed, and stopped. "Yeah, you're right."

Brie stopped next to him. "The main question is why would someone do this to pokemon?"

"Someone with a twisted view on how things should be run," Joe said. "Call me paranoid, but Team Rocket among others all had visions on how things should be run. Whether we are dealing with an individual or a group, I don't know. Their purpose, I don't know. But the thing that almost got Dratini tells me one thing: someone or some people out there are up to no good, and we need to find answers and fast."