Lianna,

Well, you're right. Don't worry too much about the man who stole the Stylers. It doesn't really matter. He probably already knows that what he did was wrong, and I'm sure that his punishment is having none at all. Oh, and I have some good news for you. Mom, Dad, and Reyna are moving to a place called Chicole Village. Have you heard of it? By the way, Chris says hi. He says he misses talking with you, and he wants you to write to him. I don't know what you two would possibly talk about. He never speaks at all.

Elita

"Today, you will finally be going on your 1-day internships. You will get to experience what it's like to be a real Ranger, Operator, or Mechanic. For that, you will have to go out to the facilities that you've signed up for. Don't take any side trips on the way. And please be careful."

Ms. April walked over to Lianna and Keith.

"Lianna and Keith, you two are off to the Ranger Base in Vientown. That's where Crawford is. He's the Ranger who left our Outdoor Class to go rescue a Mantine, remember?"

Ms. April walked away and Lianna and Keith stood up to leave the room. Rhythmi walked over with a smile on her face.

"I'm trying out to become an Operator, so I'm going off to the Ranger Union. Oh, that reminds me. Today's newspaper had a special feature on the Ranger Union!"

Rhythmi handed Lianna a newspaper that had The Almia Times written on the front. There was a picture of Chairperson Erma. Next to it was a picture of the command center.

"The Ranger Union's really far from here. I'd better leave soon. See you this evening."

Rhythmi left the room and Keith turned to Lianna.

"Come on, Lianna. Let's go to Vientown."

They left the building and walked to the area that they found the thief in.

"Heeeelp meeeeee!"

They ran over to a tree and saw a man trying to climb up.

"Hey, it's Little Tim. Playing hide-and-seek with some Bidoof?"

"No, that's not it! Can't you tell by what you're seeing? These B-B-Bi-Bidoof are attacking me!"

The two Bidoof jumped around the tree that Little Tim was clinging to.

"Listen to them! 'Bidoof, Bidoof!' They're going to maul me, I can tell!"

"No, Little Tim, I think the Bidoof just want to play." Keith told him.

"Sure, boy, that's easy for you to say. But I won't deny it. I'm scared, even deathly a-scared of Pokemon!"

"Awww, but these Bidoof are so cute…" Lianna cooed.

"Lianna, have you ever met Little Tim? He's the milkman around here. He's seriously afraid of Pokemon, but they seem to like him. I'm suspecting it's the smell of milk that makes him a Pokemon magnet. Anyway…a Pokemon Ranger always steps up to lend a helping hand. These Bidoof seem kind of agitated, though. They might be a bit tough. Let's split up. You capture one, and I'll get the other!"

Lianna nodded and she went to capture a Bidoof. Keith and Lianna both finished at the same time and grinned at each other.

"Little Tim, everything's under control. We've calmed the Bidoof and released them."

Little Tim climbed out of the tree and smiled nervously at Keith and Lianna.

"That scared me a-plenty. I was good and scared, but I was saved. I was saved, but I'm still good and scared. But I owe both of you a big thanks. Those Bidoof were out to maul me. By the way…this here student seems to be a new face to me."

"This is Lianna, who came from Fiore. Lianna's awesome at doing captures. Second only to me, even."

Lianna lightly pushed him and he pushed her back.

"Oh, a new student, you say? Well, my new friend, thank you ever so kindly for saving me. I run a small dairy farm with my family in a town called Vientown. You should come calling one day. Our young'uns will be happy if you visited."

"Little Tim's got a bunch of kids. His wife's famous around here, too."

"I surely won't forget you saving me. You'll make fine Rangers, I'm sure of that!"

Little Tim ran off back to his home. Keith went over to Lianna looking nervous.

"We're running late. Let's hurry to Vientown!"

They were about to go through the gate when Ms. April walked over to them.

"Lianna! Keith! You helped Little Tim with captures, I've heard. And, instead of competing like usual, you even cooperated with each other. That's how real Rangers would act. Now, keep your chins up and off you go to Vientown as if you were real Rangers!"

They both nodded and Keith ran off. Lianna was about to say something to Ms. April, but Keith came back and grabbed her hand, pulling her away. He was dragging her across the bridge that led away from School Island when they saw a little blond girl. Lianna pulled her hand away from Keith and went over to the little girl.

"I came to see him, but…"

"Who's that little girl?" Keith asked.

"Hi, there, honey. What's wrong?" Lianna asked the little girl.

"My big brother… He's not here."

"Your big brother, huh? Well, I'll tell you what, I'm going to stay right here with you until your brother gets here, okay?"

The little girl smiled and hugged Lianna. Someone walked up behind them and peered down at the little girl.

"Hi, what's going on?"

Someone else walked up and pushed through to stand next to Lianna.

"Melody? Melody, it is you!"

"Hi, Isaac! I came to meet you!"

Melody ran over and hugged Isaac.

"Melody! I told you not to. Didn't I say you're not allowed to leave Pueltown by yourself?"

"I'm sorry! I just wanted to see you…"

"Melody… You're still a little kid. That's why I worry about you so much. Well, let me introduce you to my friends. This is my sister Melody."

"I'm Ponte! This is Keith and Lianna. Nice to meet you, Melody."

"Melody? I'm not angry with you anymore. Thanks for coming to meet me. We'll go back together."

"Yep! Bye bye, Big Brother's friends! Bye bye, Big Sister!"

"Big Sister?" Lianna questioned.

"We have to get moving, too. We'll look bad if we show up late. I think Vientown's off to the west."

They both ran to Vientown and went to the Ranger Base.

"Oh, wow, my heart's starting to pound. How are you feeling?"

"Kinda nervous, but super excited!"

Lianna went in first, followed by Keith.

"It's awfully quiet… Isn't there anyone here? Hello? We're here from the Ranger School! We're Keith and Lianna!"

"Oh, I'm sorry! I had to duck down for something, so I didn't see you come in. You must be the students for the 1-day internship. I have something here for you. Over here, please."

Keith and Lianna went over to the Operator behind the desk and she set something down on top of her desk.

"Are you surprised by how quiet our Ranger Base is? Everyone had to go out to handle a critical mission."

"Everyone had to go out on it? It must be one whopper of a crisis!"

"Yes. Yes, it is. Some Bidoof… Oh, no, I can't force myself to say it! But, anyway, I think I know who you are. Lianna and Keith from the School. We've been told you were coming. Our Leader left me a letter for you. Let me read it to you. 'Welcome to the both of you! Here's a mission from the get-go! I've left an extremely important parcel with our Operator. Collect it from her, and bring it to Breeze Hill, which is west of the town.' That's it for the letter. It have the extremely important parcel right here for you. Please don't tip it on its side. And never, ever flip it upside down. Here it is. Please do treat it with care!"

Lianna grabbed the parcel from the Operator and held it tight.

"To get to Breeze Hill, go west when you leave the building. You'll need to turn and go toward the beach. Keep going past the beach until you come to the sign and stairs for Breeze Hill."

The two left the Ranger Base and stood outside the building.

"Wow, we were assigned a mission right from the start. If we succeed, we could make it into tomorrow's newspaper, I bet."

"I don't know that we'd make it into the paper, but I bet the Rangers would want to work with us later, after we graduate."

They followed the directions the Operator gave them and came up to the beach.

"This is beautiful! The water's so blue!" Lianna exclaimed.

Keith smiled at her bright eyes and excited expression. They were leaving the beach when they saw an elderly man with a Pachirisu, a Larvitar, and a Munchlax.

"Ah, Pachirisu, Pachirisu. So cute, so cute. What's wrong? What's wrong, Munchlax? You're not saying you're hungry already? Ah, Pachirisu, Pachirisu. Go on, eat up all you like."

The three Pokemon went over to their owner, ready for food. The man saw Lianna and Keith and turned all of his attention to them.

"The way you're dressed tells me you're students of the Ranger School, yes? On 1-day internship, I would guess. Well, then, let me give you a quick quiz that you'll find enlightening. Here's my first question. What is a Partner Pokemon?"

"Oh, that's an easy one. A Partner Pokemon is an especially friendly Pokemon that always goes with a Ranger." Lianna answered.

"Ding-ding! Correct! The Rangers I know all said they met their first Partners here at Nabiki Beach. Very well! Question two! A Ranger can only have one Pokemon as the one-and-only Partner?"

Keith answered that question.

"Nope! That's not true!"

"Ding-ding! Right again! A Ranger will get opportunities to add the second partner and more as time goes on. But, you can still only have one Partner accompany you at any one time. The other Partner Pokemon must remain patient and remain at home. It was nice chatting with you, kids. Now, run along and finish your mission."

Lianna and Keith ran off and found the stairs that led to Breeze Hill. Lianna was about to rush up the stairs, but Keith grabbed her hand to make her stop.

"Breeze Hill's just up these stairs. I wonder what kind of critical mission's going on up there… Even I'm starting to feel kind of nervous."

Lianna smiled at him and took her hand from his.

"Keith, don't be nervous. You're a great Ranger. Trust me; you're going to be fine."

They both went up the stairs leading to Breeze Hill and saw a group of rangers.

"Oh, hey! Rangers! There's Ranger Crawford from our Outdoor Class! So, what do we do? Just go up and introduce ourselves, right?"

"Yes, Keith, we go introduce ourselves."

Keith walked up, shaking like a leaf. Lianna put a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down.

"He-Hellomeetcha!"

Lianna took her hand from Keith's shoulder and covered her mouth, stifling her laughter.

"Did I just hear you say 'Hellomeetcha'? You nervous? Well, that's not hard to understand. This is, after all, a key mission. So… The extremely important parcel. I fully expect it to be safe. Hand it over, but be gentle. One careless shake and it's ka-plow."

Lianna gave the man the parcel and took her place beside Keith. She was giggling slightly, which Keith heard. He pushed her and she pushed back.

"All right, people! Gather 'round! Lunch's here!"

Both Keith's and Lianna's jaws dropped at the announcement.

"I was getting impatient for this!"

"Hahahaha. Oh, the stunned looks on your faces! Remember me? I'm Crawford. Like, Crawford from your Outdoor Class."

"How could we forget that crazy afro?" Lianna asked.

She had lost her shocked expression and replaced it with a sarcastic smile. Crawford grinned at her and walked over.

"You seem different. Not as shy, I think is what it is. Am I right?"

"Yeah, you're right. Being around Keith and Rhythmi helped a lot with that. By the way, I talk to Elita. She said she remembers you being in her class."

Crawford blushed a little and went to sit beside a girl with black hair. The man Lianna gave the parcel to was sitting at the front of the group with a Makuhita next to him.

"Good work, the both of you. This mission's cleared! The name's Barlow. I'm the Leader of this Ranger Base. This is my Partner Pokemon, Makuhita. Oh, there's another thing… This prank isn't my doing. Crawford there thought it up."

"That's not fair, Leader! You're the one who was going on about what a great idea it was."

"Hi, I'm Luana. I fell for the same 'gotcha' prank a year ago. But in my case, the lunches were all mushed up from me swinging the parcel around! I'm pleased to meet you! This Buneary is my Partner Pokemon. Isn't she a cutie?"

Lianna saw the Buneary and rushed over. She sat down and hugged it.

"She's so adorable!"

"I'm not a Ranger. I'm a Mechanic. My name's Elaine, but don't worry if you can't learn all these names at once."

"Uh, um, I'm Keith! And this is Lianna! We're, uh, reporting for 1-day internship duty! And, uh, I wish I could have a Partner Pokemon of my own one day!"

"Oh? Starting to feel at ease now? Sorry for tricking you two like that. It's become a tradition for us." Barlow said.

"That's enough with the introductions. Leader, let's feast on the extremely important parcel they kindly delivered." Crawford said.

"Yes, I'm famished!" Luana yelled.

"Then let's get right down to it. Welcome to our trainee-welcoming lunch!" Barlow exclaimed.

"Wow, the food even looks delicious. It's not like last year's." Elaine told them.

"I'm sure glad to hear that!"

Everyone began eating and laughing. Barlow was telling stories from when Luana first became a Ranger. Crawford was making jokes and Lianna was doing the same thing. Keith was still nervous, but he was beginning to calm down.

"Help! Rangers! Po-Pokemon have gone wild!"

Barlow jumped up and ran over to the boy who ran up.

"What seems to be the matter?"

"We were down on the beach when the Pokemon there started acting mean! They've surrounded my girlfriend and won't let her go!"

"Okay, I get the picture. We'll handle it from here. It's an emergency mission! We're taking a break from lunch! To Nabiki Beach! Move it! Lianna, Keith, you come, too!"

"Roger!"

Everyone abandoned the lunch and ran down to Nabiki Beach, ready to help.