Chapter 3

Vague Job Description

May, 3028.

Outside a Pokémon stadium in the Alola Region, Jeffrey Hollinder sat on a bench next to the stadium's entrance, soaking in the tropical sun against his skin. Beside him stood a tall, elderly man wearing a brown sunhat. The old man took a hit from his vape pen engraved with the Pokémon Rangers insignia. He held his vape out to Jeffrey who respectfully declined. "No thank you, sir."

The old man brought it back to his person, pocketing it in his Commander of the Pokémon Rangers uniform vest. "Wouldn't hurt to loosen up every once in a while, Major. I know you most of all could use a little down time." The Commander spoke as if screaming at recruits for 20 years was the key to his promotions. "Finding a place to sit is loose enough for me." Jeffrey replied.

"I don't blame you. Alola's humidity hits the lungs a little differently than anywhere else." The Commander looked out towards a nearby beach, where waves glittered in the blazing midday sun. An ocean breeze ruffled his curly white hair which hung down to his shoulders. "But damn is it hot. I want to go back inside where the shade is. The next battle's about to start anyways, isn't it?"

"It's already started." Jeffrey said. "Oh really? You don't care about watching this one?" the Commander asked. "Commander Kayle, the results of these battles are only proving my case in the Pokémon Rangers' deterioration. My son has decimated every opponent the Pokémon Rangers Basic Training has produced. These recruits and their Pokémon even have a few years over him and still, Kade and Gallade still come out on top without resistance. They aren't getting stronger from these exercises."

Where Commander Kayle expected to see pride, he instead felt the frustration seeped into Jeffrey's words. "I still haven't forgotten the situation your family's been in, Hollinder. And I know that the Rangers have been anything but helpful to you since the flood. But your concerns aren't unique. Everybody wants the good ole days to come back to where everyone in the force puts their work in, but it's as if the PRA has lost the knowledge to do so, or they know how difficult it would be to gain our lost strength again."

"But don't go thinking you're the only one doing something about it." Kayle handed Jeffrey an ID chip. Jeffrey inspected it with curiosity, before pressing the chips security button in its center, sending its data directly to his phone. "What am I looking at?" On Jeffrey's phone screen, a picture of a girl was displayed.

With her hair tied back and her arms crossed stiffly, Tyrene Williams glowered towards the camera. "A camp graduate…" he read on through her description. "…scored 5833 on the exit exam." Commander Kayle watched the surprise emerge through Jeffrey's face. "That's huge!" he exclaimed.

"I was hired to give Tyrene special training sessions by her father, Dr. Williams. Vincent. You might know who I'm talking about." Kayle asked. "I do. He's one of the four High Professors. Lives in Lumiose. I didn't know he had children… Wait a minute, he hired you?" Jeffrey eyed Kayle.

"A little side hustle never hurt anybody. But money isn't the only reason I did it. I did it for the same reason you raised your boy the way you did. I recognize the Rangers are sorely lacking in an elite class of younger operatives. I remember how it was 20 years ago when you and all the other young rangers were the face of the organization. Your Decidueye and the other Pokémon involved with the Oceanic Battles were the stuff of legend. But nowadays, your average Chancey working at a hospital would fare better in battle than your average Pokémon recruited by the PRA."

Jeffrey sat reminiscing at the mention of the Oceanic Battles. "…It shouldn't take wars, floods, or instability to motivate Pokémon Rangers to be strong." He sighed. Suddenly, Decidueye burst through the front doors of the stadium. "!" he gestured for them to come inside.

The three hurried to the stadium's balcony which overlooked the battlefield. They arrived just in time to witness trainee Kade Hollinder's Pokémon, Gallade, supplex PRA 1st class graduate Tyrene Williams' Pokémon, Blastoise into the soft turf below, despite Blastoise being twice his size. The whole stadium rumbled from the slam.

"What the hell kind of hold is that?! Talk about conventional!" Tyrene shouted across the court. "Conventional?! I'm tryna win, lady!" Kade shouted back. Blastoise reoriented himself quicker than Gallade with great perseverance, as he gripped Gallade's arm and threw him like a tree branch into the stadium's wall. Gallade recovered in haste and engaged with Blastoise once more.

Neither Pokémon bothered to perform large, energy taxing abilities. Rather, they preferred beating the tar out of each other with their own martial maneuvers. And their trainers were encouraging this form of combat, as they shouted commands to their Pokémon and obscenities at each other.

Jeffrey stood awestruck by this spectacle. In all of Kade's years, he had never seen him struggle against another opponent like this besides Jeffrey himself. "Wow! Look at em go!" Commander Kayle cackled. "This is…" Jeffrey could feel the shockwave of each punch thrown by the Pokémon lightly breeze against his face. "End it, Blastoise! With Hydro pump!" Tyrene instructed. "You ain't ending shit! Gallade! Hit him with Psycho Cut!" Kade gave the command to let loose. "Holy hell…" Jeffrey braced himself as the two Pokémon unleashed their strongest abilities at each other.

Gallade's Psycho Cut, an arc of radiant, violet energy, surged towards his opponent. Blastoise's Hydro Pump, a blast of pressurized water burst from his mounted shoulder cannons towards Gallade. In the grace period where both abilities were in motion, both Pokémon darted to the side, dodging their opponent's attacks. The arc and the blast of water impacted the arena's wall with such force they shattered the concrete casing, revealing the bent and broken rebar within. The two trainers were showered with concrete chunks and dust, causing the Pokémon battle to pause.

Jeffrey and Decidueye rushed out onto Kade's side of the court. Kayle followed, exited at how impressed this battle had him feeling. "Kade?" the cloud of dust was still prominent in both corners of the arena. Through it, Jeff spotted Kade's figure standing as a silhouette within. "Huh? What's wrong, Dad? Something happen?" Kade was caked in concrete powder. He was composed as though the Pokémon battle was still in progress, unphased by the wall behind him being blasted to smithereens.

"Kade, we're renting this place." Jeffrey scolded. Kade looked around at the rubble littering the arena floor. "Shit. My bad. I was really caught up in the-." Just then, intense yelling came from the other side of the arena. "…It's like he has a script for this! We aren't ending the battle just yet!" Tyrene stormed across the field towards Kade and Jeffrey.

"YOU! How were you able to predict Blastoise's weight and lift him like that?!" Tyrene, also caked in dust, pointed a finger in Kade's face. "Huh? I just told Gallade to grapple his big ass and he did. If you don't want Blastoise to get lifted tell him to bulk up a bit, I don't know." Kade shrugged. "No! No! How does your Gallade lift anything with those oversized pencils for arms?!" Ty was absolutely fuming, gesturing sporadically at Gallade who was just standing by, minding his business. "I don't know, training? The hell you want me to say?!" Kade began getting visibly annoyed as well.

"Alright, alright." Commander Kayle's voice carried over the arena, as he and Blastoise joined the rest of the group from the settling dust. "Time for battle briefings." Kayle pulled Tyrene away. She shot Kade with a menacing glare as her mentor took her and Blastoise away to a separate part of the stadium for their briefing.

"We'll just do yours here." Jeffrey sighed. Gallade hobbled over, stretching out his sore legs every other step. "Man… That girl's on something, Dad. I'm telling you..." Kade was still turned towards the direction Tyrene walked off. "Well, tell me about the battle. How was it?" Jeffrey asked. Kade focused back on the briefing. "Honesty, that battle was tough. Really tough." Kade and Gallade sat on the ground, as if both of them were exhausted from battle.

"What about it was tough?" Jeffrey and Decidueye sat as well, forming a circle. "It felt like Blastoise was reading Gallades moves before he could dish them out. Gallade had to move a lot faster than those other battles before, since Blastoise is wider and taller than Gallade is. But he was matching Gallade's speed super precisely. That put us in a bad spot. But then, I don't know… Gallade figured something out. What was it, Gallade?" Kade asked.

Gallade then went into a long explanation on the results of the Pokémon battle. Kade was listening to his words intently as Jeffrey sat looking back and forth between Kade and Gallade, not understanding a word spoken by his son's Pokémon. He saw Decidudeye's expression alter in understanding as Gallade went on and on about the battle. But that was the extent of real time translation Jeff could receive, whenever the Pokémon would talk amongst themselves around him.

Even so, Jeffrey held a sense of pride in the engagement both Kade and Gallade had with this battle. He could tell that the boys faced a real challenge today, and he was happy to see their analysis take place, despite Gallade's unknown tongue.

"Do you think you boys could win if you battled again?" Jeffrey asked. "Oh for sure. 100%. She just caught us lacking cause all the battles before were complete washes. Just gotta take her more seriously next time." Kade and Gallade both bore an aura of intensity, ready for more. "Good answer."

Commander Kayle brought Tyrene to one of the stadium's conference rooms. Tyrene and Blastoise sat down at the meeting table while Kayle stood at the head of the room. "Introduction." Kayle initiated their briefing routine. "The battle began as any other battle we've had so far. Our opponent engaged Blastoise recklessly, considering how much of a larger Pokémon Blastoise is compared to Gallade. Nonetheless Gallade used basic martial abilities to which we could counter easily with Blastoise's innate durability." Tyrene recited the battle as if she were a professor being interviewed in a documentary.

"The problem was faced when we noticed Gallade's immovable set of stances. The Pokémon was like a statue with foundation digging deep into the Earth. Yet he maneuvered around Blastoise's punches like water. And the trainer made little commands, all while having this stupid look on his face like he was in complete control, but I…" "Stay focused." Kayle broke in.

"Right." Ty didn't realize how frustration had taken hold of her face. She readjusted, projecting calm clarity once again. "I admit. We neglected the usage of abilities in order to dominate our opponent with sheer strength and technique. But the way our opponent met us so unconventionally led us to be distracted by the heat of the moment. I feel it appropriate to say that technique itself slipped both our minds as we tried to chase an unnecessary objective. And in turn, ended the battle with an undetermined conclusion."

Tyrene ended her summary with her hands folded on the table. Blastoise let out a low sigh of completion during the silence that preceded. Kayle turned away from the meeting room's window and pulled out a chair from the table. He sat across from Tyrene and Blastoise. "And how did the battle make you feel?"

Tyrene slammed her fist on the table, shaking the floor beneath. "WHO THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE IS? HE NEVER MADE A PROPER GREETING, NEVER ACKNOWLEDGED THE OFFICIAL RANGER'S CONDUCT OF BATTLE, AND EVEN FALSE STARTED THE FIRST AND ONLY ROUND! THAT DICKHEAD HAS NO IDEA HOW A SCRIMMAGE IS SUPPOSED TO BE! WE DIDN'T SPEND 12 YEARS TRAINING OUR ASSES OFF TO STRUGGLE AGAINST A COUPLE HILLBILLIES!" She paused, taking a deep breath as she recomposed herself. "…I conclude my briefing."

Kayle nodded slowly, half listening as he swiped through emails on his phone, skipping over any with an uninteresting subject line. "One more question, before we go… On a scale from 1 to 100, how would you rate your willingness to battle with Kade and Gallade again?" Commander Kayle asked. "100."

January, 3029.

Clay Pendale, Captain of the 1st Regiment, ignored the searing tension between Tyrene and Kade, as he commenced his team's first meal together. "So Kade, what's living in Kanto like?" he asked. Kade wondered where this sudden interest came from, after the attitude Clay met him with earlier. "Kanto is just where I was born. My family actually moved around regions a lot, cause of Dad's work in the Rangers. I don't think we stayed in one place for more than a year."

"Did you guys ever live here in Kalos?" Owen leaned out to face him. "Nah, I remember my Dad saying something like 'Lumiose is a cool place to visit, but I'd never want my family living there'. But I don't know, I've never had a bad experience whenever we came to the city in the past." Kade explained. "I think he's got a rough past with this city."

"It's got something to do with that flood back in 3014. Right? That was the year?" Everyone's face was solemn at the mention of the flood. "I've only learned a little bit about it from Dad. He told me that Lugia caused it, and that all of Kalos' coasts were submerged. But I don't really know anything beyond that. I actually wanted to know more about it once I got here, since it seems like a pretty big deal."

Clay sighed, knowing everyone's eyes were on him, silently urging him to take the responsibility of explaining the event to Kade. "Well the flood is relevant with being a Pokémon Ranger. And your basic summary isn't wrong. Lugia flooded this region's western cities. Shalour City, Geosenge Town, Cyllage City, and Ambrette Town were all destroyed by the waves. Witnesses who were closest in proximity to Lugia said they heard it speaking about seeking retribution and how Kalos had overstepped its bounds. That's all that had been recorded, any further motives are unknown. Eventually, Lugia was defeated by General Huron Giriki and Naganadel, a unique, otherworldly Pokémon passed down through the generals for over 500 years. They also lost their lives in the battle, taking Lugia with them."

"But Lugia didn't go down before taking 400,000 people and 20 thousand Pokémon with them. I shouldn't have to tell you how much of a sensitive topic this is. You won't run into anybody in the city who isn't connected to someone who died in the flood." Clay explained further. Kade sat listening, still flabbergasted by Clay's now encouragingly instructive demeanor. One effective enough to leave the other natives of Lumiose City to feel no need to deliberate more on the topic with objective description.

"Now we focus on rebuilding. It is our main priority as the 1st Regiment. We are Rangers providing our services to heal the community. We'll talk more about our first project later today, after dinner." Clay stuck a piece of buttered toast in his mouth.

"Owen and Tyrene, how do you guys feel being in the same squad as siblings?" Mavis asked. "I don't mi-." "Currently coming to terms that I'll never escape him." Tyrene groaned sarcastically. Owen threw his head back in laughter. "You never will." He said quickly before laughing again. Mismagius' ghastly image appeared atop Owen's head, where she cackled with him in sync.

"Clay told us a little bit about you guys too. What's it like having a High Professor as a parent? I bet you're constantly dodging paparazzi anytime you go out." Mavis rested her chin on her folded hands. "Nothing too crazy goes on when it's just us two out in the town. All the popularity is on Dad." Owen said. "Not ALL of it. There's so many bullshit bloggers and journalists online talking about us and Dad, always trying to start something between us." Tyrene added, impaling a piece of chopped custap berry with her fork. "It's easy to ignore them, Ty." "What- I- I do! The only thing that bothers me is how people always assume we live in Dad's shadow. And that is just not the case."

"Ain't that the truth. I seen a few interviews with Dr. Williams, and I sensed no resemblance, especially knowing how you and Blastoise fight on the battlefield." Kade smiled wryly. "What's that supposed to mean? You already trying to challenge me again?" Tyrene leaned forward over her plate. "Alright, you two have to tell us about this drama between you two." Mavis insisted. "Please don't." both Clay and Gino groaned simultaneously.

"It's nothing like that." "We just battle a lot." "Like A LOT." "Until one of us wins." "We've already won." "Maybe like, one battle." "Definitely more than one." "Well it couldn't be any more than we've won against you." "That is astounding, how false that statement is. We're definitely your superiors." "Cap."

Kade and Tyrene went back and forth until Mavis broke in again. "So who's won the most?" she asked. Kade and Tyrene argued momentarily before Kade turned to the Pokémon eating at their table apart from their trainers. "Gallade! You think we've won more battles against Tyrene and Blastoise or what?" he called. Gallade and Blastoise were too enveloped in a civilized discussion with each other to notice Kade beckon. "…I think it's safe to say we're rivals."

As the tension between Kade and Tyrene mostly quelled, Mavis wiped her hands with a napkin as she prepared another question. "What I'm wondering now is, why did all of you want to become Rangers in the first place? Tyrene?" Clay reengaged with the conversation, the question piquing his interest. Tyrene sat pondering, finishing her glass of water.

"It doesn't take a genius to point out all the problems and crime going on in Lumiose City. And I figured if there's any way to provide my service to my own city, it'd be by protecting the people and Pokémon from any… entity that would prey on them. I like to think that I know a lot of people in the city from all walks of life, and a common complaint I hear is how little stability they feel they have in their own lives cause of like, pressures from the regional government or large corporations, or gangs even. And, not to criticize any of you, but I also hear that the Pokémon Rangers haven't really been living up to their name as the region's civil servants. So I wanted to step up and see what I could do. Cause I like the Pokémon Rangers and what they've done in the past."

Owen slightly nodded in approval of Tyrene's answer. "That's good, I like it." Mavis said. "What do you think, Clay?" "… It's natural to feel a call to duty when things seem unstable. And I know you've put in the work to back up your words, Tyrene. I'm looking forward to seeing how you will follow through, being a part of this team."

Clay turned to Owen. "How about you?" he asked. "I'm just here to make sure Tyrene doesn't blow herself up." Owen smiled. Clay sat expecting more to his answer, but he elaborated no further. "… I know you went through training courses as well. Surely you've put more thought into your purpose of entering this job than that." He prodded for more. "Well, I couldn't think of any other career that resonated with me as much as being a Ranger. There also aren't that many jobs out there that facilitate working alongside a ghost-type Pokémon like Mismagius." Owen flicked a jaboca berry above his head, where Mismagius caught it with a tiny nub for a hand. Her ghastly voice rattled as she ate. Clay and Mavis eyed each other, trying to think of what else they could get out of him.

Kade sat purposefully looking away, knowing that the question would inevitably fall on him. Yet he let the others distract themselves from turning their attention to him for he could not, for the life of him, devise an answer he believed they would accept. Gino noticed his detachment. "Kade. You seem like someone with high ambitions. What lured you to this job?" Everyone turned towards Kade.

"Well…" Kade was unable to craft a line in time. The pressure mounted as he sighed. "…It's something Gallade and I always wanted to do I guess. Dad brought us up in training to be Rangers and all that." He paused. "… That's it."

"Hm. That's it…" Clay repeated to himself. He stacked his utensils and used napkin on his plate and stood up from his chair. "Well until all of you can give me better answers, we will move to the living room and go over current job details." The three veterans of the regiment took their dishes back to the kitchen. Kade winced at Clay's words, agreeing that his response was lacking before quickly brushing it away from his mind.

Gino stayed in the kitchen as he took care of dishes, as everyone else lounged in the living room. Clay turned on the fireplace with a small remote, as a gaslit fire coughed into existence. "Now that all of us are here, I want to go over more proper introductions. Like I informed all of you before, I'm Clay, you only need to call me Clay, and I'm leader of our squadron – the first regiment. My Pokémon partner is Empoleon, you'll see him around more once we start going to work. Beside me is Mavis, she is our objective coordinator. Her job is providing our team with mission listings that the Association regurgitates onto its active regiments, as well as handling civilian relations. If you have questions about our missions, go to her first before coming to me."

"Over there we have Gino. He's our tech guy. You guys should get the gist of what a tech guy does by now, but you do need to know that he's the one in charge of providing our regiment with its arms and equipment. What we use on each mission is situational, we have specific code levels for each mission that each requires a specific list of gear, and we'll go over that as the time comes. Gino's Pokémon partner is Magnezone, whom I know Kade at least is familiar with." "Oh for sure. I think I've still got a surge inside me." Kade shifted on the couch as the popping of static electricity crackled throughout the back of his shirt.

"And I'm the Captain of this regiment." Clay pointed to himself. "That is my official rank, but do not address me by it. Especially not in public." The three newcomers glanced at each other with confusion. "What I want you three to understand is that we operate under an aura of secrecy. Whenever we're out in the city, we keep our Ranger status to ourselves. It protects us and makes our job as public servants easier."

"Why is that? Wouldn't it be better for Pokémon Rangers to build their reputation by making themselves known while serving the public?" Tyrene asked. "Yes. You are completely right." Clay nodded.

"Fact of the matter is we have enemies. PRA enemies. And they're people who are, as of now, impossible to identify-." Just then, Gino stopped what he was doing in the kitchen, and hurried to the coat rack. "I'm going. Beacon check." He announced to Clay. "Signal?" Clay asked. The newcomers turned to Gino by the sliding door that led to the house's outdoor balcony. "New numbers. Hopefully nothing irregular." He quickly threw on a long, dark maroon overcoat. "Magnezone." He stepped out onto the balcony, closing the door behind him as a gust of cool air entered the living room. A hidden trap door in the ceiling opened up above the wooden support beams, wide enough for Magnezone's disc shaped body to fit through. Through the glass, they could see Gino leap from the edge of the balcony before landing on Magnezone, as the two flew away towards the breathtaking view of the distant city.

"Now, what were we talking about?" Clay turned his attention back to his recruits. "Where's he going?" Kade asked. "Don't worry about Gino. He has his own side projects. All you need to know is that they're beneficial."

Clay sat in recollection for a moment further. "Right. There are enemies to the Rangers. Our working theory is that they are a crime syndicate that operate primarily in Lumiose City. But it's just a theory. We have no evidence determining their process of organizing or who they are organized around. All we know, is that… well… That they're organized, and they've steered public favor away from the Rangers within the Kalos Region."

"How did they do that?" Tyrene questioned him. "Over the last 15 years, we've been engaged in a battle of information, ever since the end of the flood. With so many lives lost and people dislocated, the blame for it all has fallen on the representatives of the city for not being able to keep up with such an influx of people. But there are many powers among the leaders of Lumiose. Powers with different affiliations, different codes, different bindings. The Pokémon Rangers Association is only one of these powers at the top. And since the PRA was most involved with containing Lugia's flood, we consequently took on the responsibility of fixing the situation as well."

"But Lumiose City is the biggest city in the world. If you combined the populations of the next four largest, it still wouldn't have as many people as Lumiose. And it's still expected of us to take care of any societal shortcoming citizens of this city experience. Because that is the standard of our job."

"I'm lost." Owen broke in. "I get you're saying we have a lot on our plate as Rangers, but what's OUR job specifically? Within this squad, what do WE do about all this?" he asked. "You three will better understand the method to our madness by experiencing it firsthand. This brings us to our next subject, and our first assignment all together."

"Starting tomorrow, we will begin building houses for a community in the Zygarde Mountains." Clay tapped on the surface of the transparent surface of the glass coffee table. A digitized screen lit up in response, displaying itself as a keyboard. After several brief key taps on the table, a new screen emerged for everyone to see, showing a picture of a newly constructed house with a short, middle-aged woman standing in the foreground. She wore a construction vest and denim jeans, as she posed for a picture with her arms crossed. "We'll be aiding the Creetley Construction Company, locally known as Triple C. The woman right there is Shauna Creetley. Shauna gained a land grant from the Regional Parliament for a small portion of the Zygarde Mountains that the company has just started building on. I'll let Shauna explain more in detail what the plans are, but to put it simply, we'll be building homes that can survive along steep mountainsides."

Clay displayed a picture of dome-shaped structures protruding from a cliffside. They were colorless and appeared to blend in with their surrounding rocky surface. "What's important is that Triple C came to us specifically for assistance in this project. Through them, we will build a connection that will be beneficial for the PRA." He turned off the screen hidden within the table's surface. "Anyways." Clay stood up from the couch. "Now to go over what matters to each of you specifically. Follow me."

He led the group through the house, into the basement. The basement's interior design was completely opposite to the main floor, as it was built and kept as an armory for the Rangers. The lower level was spacious, having no individual rooms except for a single protrusion in the wall by the stairs, with a single steel door that separated the rest of the armory and the room itself. The walls and floor were all reinforced concrete with pipes and wires visible, lining where the wall and ceiling met and running up into various holes to provide their separate purposes to the floor above. Also lining the walls of the open basement were huge, grated lockers that, from a glance, contained weapons and ammunition, enough to arm a legion of men. "This is the basement." Clay gestured around him, towards the basement's entirety.

Kade found it odd how all the room's contents were lined up along the walls, leaving the center of the room empty. He looked at the vacant, concrete ground around him, and noticed thin cracks running along the floor all around him. Clay walked to one of the shelves and searched out a small, blockish safe. He turned the dials until the tiny vault door popped open, before retrieving three, small remotes, each of which only comprised two buttons.

He studied each remote for a moment before aiming one of them at an empty spot on the floor. He pressed one of its buttons, causing a refrigerator sized monolith to jettison from the floor. The concrete pillar had steel plating along its edges, and a single combination door which faced everybody in the room. "Owen. This is your storage."

Clay unlocked the storage unit. Everyone gathered close to see what was inside before Clay retrieved the first item by the door. In his hand, he held a pair of thin, clear goggles. "Here." He handed Owen the goggles, which mostly resembled an average pair of glasses, except for a small augmentation where the lenses angled obtusely at its outermost edges. "Glasses?" Owen asked, lifting them up to his eyes. "Rub your finger along the left frame." Owen did so, feeling a vague switch against the tip of his finger. He pushed in slightly, feeling a click. In an instant, his vision became black and white through the lenses. "Huh…" he pressed the switch again and again, cycling through a collage of vision enhancing filters. He passed from night vision and colored thermals, to boosted saturation and magnification. All the while the others stood looking at him awkwardly, as it appeared that he was just tapping his finger against his glasses.

"Owen, your role title in our squad as its official PRA wordage is reconnaissance. But the term we use is infiltration. We as a unit adhere to your judgment on whether an area serves as safe passage for us. We've appointed you this role for yours and Mismagius' ability to get around unseen. Your utilization of Mismagius' hallucinations is… unique." Clay said.

"Oh… I see." Owen took the goggles off. "Seems like a lot to shoulder, especially if your trust in me to fulfill this job is based on Mismagius alone." He looked up at his Pokémon resting on his head. "It definitely is not. I also received a few letters of recommendation from your previous supervisor, as well as your father. Your supervisor, Major Dens, told me about your time spent on base as well as the firing range. Despite it all being off-books and casual, I was wondering if you could interpret his language for me when he described your performance as… inhuman?"

Owen stared blankly at Clay. "I don't know. I hope I wasn't the weird guy on base." he pondered to himself. Kade's eyes drifted into Owen's storage, where he noticed hanging within its interior wall was the largest sniper rifle he had ever seen. "I guess we'll wait and see what the Major meant by that." Clay pointed the remote towards the storage unit once more, pressing a button and returning the storage within the floor. "Oh should I have put these back?" Owen pointed at his goggles. "Nope. You're a glasses-wearing man now. Get used to them." Clay handed him the remote for his storage.

With the second remote that he held, Clay recalled a storage unit similar to Owen's designated one, except it's width occupied almost half the basement's diameter as it rose out of the ground with an electronic whir. "Tyrene, everything in here is at your disposal." Clay said, placing his hand on the grated door to the containment unit. Tyrene stepped forward and peered through one of the many doors. She stood solemnly, containing her amazement at the assortment of weapons and gadgets that lay inside.

"In private, I've gone over your role in our squad in more detail, but for the other two, all I need you guys to know is that Tyrene is our muscle, our frontwoman. Every weapon, tool, gadget, whatever you call it, she has the certification to use it. No other Ranger in years has gone above and beyond to do this." Clay explained. Tyrene just stood and soaked in all the praise he gave her with a half-smile.

"And so, with being the most certified on this squad, Tyrene, Blastoise, if either of you fuck up, we're all dead." Clay handed Tyrene the remote for her storage. "…Yessir." She clutched it with purpose, recalling the large storage unit back into the ground.

"Last but… hm… also least." With the final remote, Clay summoned a third concrete storage unit from the floor. It was half the size of Owen's, partially resembling an average high school locker. Clay opened the door, to reveal a standard set of Kevlar armor. On a small, metal stand in the center of the locker sat a mechanical bracelet with a thin blue light wrapped around it which faded in and out at a suppressed pace. Clay picked up the bracelet and gave it to Kade.

"Slip this on your wrist." Clay instructed. Kade squeezed his large hand through the bracelet, before it wrapped perfectly around just above his forearm. "Now hold your arm out and press that button on the side." Kade quickly found the rectangular button protrude from the band and pushed in firmly. He then felt his entire arm jolt as a transparent screen burst into existence from a small opening in the band, facing away from Kade. After regaining control of his arm, Kade held it steady as he stared at the anomaly before him.

A screen the size of a riot shield seemed to levitate from the point where it appeared on the band. Kade moved his arm around with little resistance. The screen followed, as if attached to an invisible axel on the band. He reached his other hand out to touch it, expecting to feel the smooth surface of glass or plastic. Instead, his finger simply stopped as it arrived upon the screen's surface.

"This shield is probably the most advanced piece of equipment we own. It was developed at Kelser Research Center with the purpose of mimicking the psychic Pokémon ability, Light Screen. From personal experience, I can assure you that it blocks anything. Here, see for yourself." From the corner of his eye, Kade saw Clay dash towards him. He reacted, swinging the shield in between himself and Clay, who he saw was now holding a steel pipe. Clay swung with all his might towards Kade. Kade flinched, seeing a flicker of wrath in Clay's expression.

Clay's strike halted against the surface of the shield. There was no indication of the pipe meeting its mark, but it appeared to everyone else that Clay simply stopped his motion. "Damn, man!" Kade gasped, looking up at Clay standing calmly with the pipe still in his hand. "Feel anything?" he asked. "…Not really, no." Kade took a step back, examining the shield. At first he thought Clay had faked him out with the swing, but the look on everyone's faces told him that Clay meant to follow through.

"Like I told Owen, keep that bracelet on you. Never take it off." Clay ordered as he closed Kade's small storage unit, causing it to go back down within the floor. He handed Kade the remote. "With this shield, you've become the shield for our squad. No matter what mission we carry out from here on, that's all I want you to think about, is being our shield."

Kade turned his head towards Gallade. "Does that mean Gallade gets one too?" he asked. "Out of all the Pokémon here, Gallade probably needs one the least." Clay said. Kade raised an eyebrow, silently comparing Gallade to Blastoise and Empoleon, the noticeably bigger Pokémon. "…Besides, we only have the one. So if you ever see Dr. Kelser out and about, tell him thanks for the gift."

After showing them the basement, Clay led everyone back upstairs and out onto the balcony behind the house. The wood deck sprawled the entire length of the house, furnished with an outdoor dining table, a lounge area with a small, brick fireplace, and a hot tub resting in the far corner. "That's all I have to show you for now. Take this time to rest until tomorrow when we leave for the mountains. Welcome to the team, you guys." Clay turned and walked back into the house as Empoleon followed.

"Thought there was going to be more to see." Tyrene said. "Oh that's right, Owen, we gotta videocall Dad. He wanted us to after we got to the house." She pulled out her cellphone. "We?" "Yes! He wants BOTH of us to call him. Come on." Owen let out a sigh as they both went back inside to find someplace private for their phone call.

The only ones left on the porch were Kade, Gallade, and Blastoise. Kade looked around, making sure nobody else was near. "…Anyways, what's up Blastoise. How you doing?" Kade gave Blastoise a fist bump as all three of them leaned on the railing overlooking the distant city. Blastoise's voice was a soft rumble as he told Kade about his day. "Damn, that early? Gallade and I got here on a boat, what, yesterday? So we got to chill a bit before our meeting with Clay."

"Speaking of, was he a dick to you and Tyrene during your interview or whatever?" Kade asked. Blastoise thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Well what the fuck, he was giving us all kinds of shit during our interview while we barely even got a word in, like, it was crazy. And then we get here and he's talking to us all normally… well, sort of. Like, what did we do?" Blastoise listened to Kade complain before giving his rumbling response.

"No way, dude. He actually likes you guys?... oh just you and Tyrene?... Gotcha. Yeah well, I'm sorry we can't all have perfect records like you two." Kade said. Blastoise continued on about Clay's liking towards him and his trainer. "…I get it, man. We just don't got the stuff to show for it like you two. But that don't mean we can't take you in a fight." Kade smiled. "And it's not like any of us got any experience to begin with."

Blastoise gazed out into the distance for a moment, before asking Kade a question. "… Nah, I haven't told anyone yet." Blastoise pressed further. "…One, I don't want everyone thinking I'm crazy. It took long enough for my own parents to believe me when I first knew how. Two, If I told them I could talk to Pokémon they'd wanna know how, which that story itself is even crazier." As he spoke, Kade shook his head at the idea of his secret being exposed. "…And my Dad told me something one time. How like, people would try and use me for shit if my talent got out."

Blastoise pondered for a moment, before asking Kade another question. One he didn't expect Blastoise to ask. And it was one that after a minute of recollection, Kade realized he had never been asked before.

"Well, How are you going to use your talent?"

"…I don't know. For me it's just speaking… Like, it's second nature." Kade stood in deep thought. Blastoise then patted him on the shoulder, informing him that he was going back inside. Each of the large water-type Pokémon's steps caused the deck to shake as he made his way to the door. Kade still looked out over the city. "I don't think I ever thought about it like that..."

From the distant cityscape, Kade and Gallade saw a figure slowly grow closer and closer. Kade broke away from his thoughts as he made out the image of Gino riding Magnezone, flying back up the mountain.

Kade and Gallade waited until they arrived at the porch, where Gino stepped off Magnezone. "Hello Kade. Gallade." He retrieved a strange piece of tech that looked like a GPS strapped to the side of Magnezone. "How was the tour?"

"It was pretty short, not gonna lie. But this place is pretty cool too. Back home wasn't even as nice as this." Kade said. Gino didn't reply, as he grabbed more bagged gear off from Magnezone. "Clay also gave me this wristband thing." Kade held his arm out for Gino to see. "Good." Gino slung his final bag over his back. Kade and Gallade looked at each other in slight awkwardness. "…So… where did you head out to do?" Kade asked as Gino began walking towards the door. "Surveying." He said as he slid the door open. "Oh yeah? Is that gonna be one of our routines later down the line?"

Gino stopped partially through the doorway. "…I hope not." He muttered before closing the door behind him. Magnezone hovered above the house and entered through the trapdoor specially made for him. "Can't get a read on that guy." Kade commented. Gallade shook his head in agreement.

In the living room, Magnezone settled in his little indent in the floor. Gino knelt down beside his Pokémon, turning on a small pen light and shining it against Magnezone's broadside. "Let's take a look." Gino's light revealed an even more intricate series of wires strung around Magnezone's spherical body. Gino traced his light along a certain wire, until he reached a small conglomerate of electrical parts. In his other hand he held a small electrical chip where he plugged it into the micromachinery affixed to Magnezone. He then translated the pattern of lights that flashed before him from the circuit. "Batteries got fried. It must've been too cold." He popped the chip out along with a set of small batteries from the circuit.

"Send a current through the system. And then shock me if this system is painful" Gino requested. Magnezone emanated a brief hum from within his body. A light lit up along the wires for a microsecond before Magnezone released the current he created on his own. He blinked at Gino, signaling that he was in no pain. "All's good then. I will find you new batteries."

Gino took with him the loose pieces of tech, and left Magnezone in the living room to rest. He headed towards a small office room at the end of the main hallway. He entered, finding Clay and Mavis talking with each other at Clay's desk. They both turned towards him. "Clay. Mavis." Gino greeted in a monotone voice.

"How was the survey, Gino?" Mavis asked. Clay sat focused on his thin computer screen. "There was a single disruption today. I recorded one large energy signal this morning, while we were training the new members." Gino sat down in an armchair next to Mavis, as the room had been oriented in a way for all three of them to gather. "Should we act on it?" Clay asked. "The reading was barely larger than today's average. Not noticeable to be an outlier. Not worth the investigation."

"If that's the case…." Clay returned his focus to his computer. Gino eyed Clay, watching the light of changing computer windows flash against his face as he worked. "…What were your results? Clay?" Gino asked. "Hm?" Clay looked up, seeing Gino and Mavis watching him closely. "Oh, right. Yes. We're keeping all of them."

"Yay!" Mavis clapped her hands together. "They seem like a fun bunch. I bet they'll settle in in no time." She said. "I'm comfortable with Tyrene and Blastoise. Owen seems like the type to have motivational issues, but his performance with Mismagius avoiding Magnezone was very impressive, I'll admit." Clay paused, pushing one edge of his computer monitor to the side, causing it to swivel so its screen faced Mavis and Gino.

"I still have issues with Kade and Gallade. While they passed the exercise against Magnezone, I can't condone their methods if how they went about subduing Magnezone reflects how they tackle any hostile interaction. On top of that…" He gestured to the computer screen.

The screen displayed a photo of Kade's driver's license. "This, and a small background check is all I have on Kade and Gallade's file. There's no course history or references from any member of the Rangers besides his own father."

"Insufficient paperwork is grounds for termination. That's going by the books." Gino stated. Clay nodded in agreement. "Yet you said we're keeping them?" Mavis raised an eyebrow. "Obviously. You two saw him, right? Kade's built like a Machamp and Gallade clocked in at what? 80 something miles per hour? While carrying Kade on his back? I'm not about to throw that away just yet."