Chapter 2 Orientation Day
January, 3029
Off the coast of the Kalos Region, a passenger vessel made its way along the region's coast, towards the docks of Lumiose City. It was dinner time, as the vessel's passengers gathered in its dining hold for quality food and musical accompaniment. Towards one end of the atrium, Kade sat at the edge of a long table of strangers.
"You know, I was wondering why the hell Dad had us go to Lumiose by boat. But I ain't complaining. This food tastes crazy." Kade shoved a large bite of lasagna into his mouth. "…Makes me wonder how much all this shit cost. You think Dad's got some benefits from the Rangers? Gallade?"
Gallade, the final Pokémon evolution of Ralts, sat across from Kade, and was too distracted by his delicious bowl of garlic and mushroom soup. He made a grunt in response as he ate. "True, true. Or he's rewarding us for finishing all of his training. Cause honestly, we deserve this." And there was truth to Kade's statement from an outside perspective. Within the general standard of all regions and cultures of the world, Kade had a phenomenal physique. His casual clothes were tight against his arms and shoulders, as he took his light jacket off and laid it against the back of his chair, for the heat of the crowded room was getting to him.
"But yeah, we gotta go to sleep early tonight. The boat's gonna dock at like 5 a.m. or something. And I don't wanna be tired cause we got the whole day tomorrow to explore the city with Dawud and the others. Oh yeah, Dad and Decidueye wanted to meet up for breakfast too." Kade bit into a piece of garlic bread. "Then the next day, we got our interview with our new squad leader."
The two finished their meals, lounging at the table for a few more minutes before heading to their rooms. "I hope once we get there Dad'll finally answer some questions. Like, why did he want us stationed in Lumiose specifically? You remember when him and Mom got into a huge argument about that? She was going off about how dangerous it is for Rangers to work in Lumiose City and stuff. Like, I didn't know she knew Pokémon Ranger workings like that, since she's an architectural engineer. And we moved all the time when we were kids cause of Dad's 'work'. You ever wonder why? He never really gave me a straight answer anytime I asked him, or he'd say something like 'you'll understand once you're a Pokémon Ranger yourself'. And also, he never had us go into like, an official Pokémon Ranger training program. He only ever trained us himself, saying how the organized training programs or bootcamps were just a big waste of time for us. Which I mean, he might've had a point, cause do you remember how easy the entrance exam and entrance interview was?"
"Besides the people we met at those events also, we don't really know any other Pokémon Rangers besides Dad and Decidueye have we?" Kade asked. "Gallade?" "Oh yeah. That dude with the scars all over his face. He was Dad's friend or something. Haven't seen him in a while though. Oh! And that old commander dude from Alola. He was pretty chill." Kade looked around to see people slowly starting to leave the dining hall. "Alright, let's head back to the room."
The next morning, the ship found its dock at the main port of Lumiose City. The sleep deprived Kade and Gallade walked out onto the main deck from their rooms with their few bags. "Still dark out…" Kade mumbled to himself as him and Gallade got to the edge of the ship and disembarked.
It was there that the city lights struck them. Skyscrapers stretching thousands of feet in the air decorated with dozens of neon colors, illuminating the city and all that was around in an eternal day of rainbow. "Damn… Never mind." Kade and Gallade stood on the dock staring in awe of the Lumiose City's splendor before them.
Kade then felt a buzzing in his pants pocket. He pulled out his thin smartphone, noticing an incoming call from Jeffrey. Kade answered, holding the phone outward as a 3D hologram sprouted from a tiny projection at the phone's top. "Hello?" "Kade. Are you and Gallade in the city yet?" Jeff's voice was staticky through the hologram. "Huh, good timing. Just got off the boat." Kade held the phone out, letting Jeffrey see Gallade as well. "Great, just making sure. See you in a little bit." Jeffrey said. "Sweet, I'll see you and Decidueye there then." Kade nodded. Jeffrey waved his digital hand before his image fizzled away from the call's end. "Hm. I thought breakfast would be later. I should've guessed Dad and Decidueye would be up this early." The two made their way down the dock, finally entering the city.
In years past, whenever Kade and Gallade had visited the city, it was always with their father. Jeffrey would take them to popular places like amusement parks, movie theaters, and Pokémon tournaments. Having traversed the cityscape by car exclusively, the two were in awe of finally using the city's famous Light Rail, a public transport system using trains carried by magnetic waves over long, narrow beams that stretch through and out of the city.
From the station near the dock, the two entered one of the cylindrical passenger cars, where they were then gestured by a digital screen prompt to strap into a vacant seat. The train ejected from the station and hovered upon its rail at hyper speed. Kade felt his body quiver a bit at the G-force of the train's launch. He looked up to see the other people and Pokémon unphased, for they were all used to this mode of transportation. The travel from the port station to the hotel was less than 5 minutes.
"Now, to find our hotel." Kade said with a tone of relief as he and Gallade exited the train station. The city streets of the Travel District were jam packed with tourists flooding in and out of the many hotels, despite the winter season. Kade didn't expect it to be such an ordeal to simply walk the sidewalk. On top of this, loud music and ad-runs playing from television speakers lining the bars and venues at the base of each building echoed out into the street like a concert. "…Oops… …My bad…" Kade couldn't help but bump into people. It was insanely difficult for him to navigate the small pockets of space within the dense crowd, and his frustration slowly grew hotter.
Kade suddenly felt a firm grip on his forearm, yanking him from the sidewalk into a hotel entry way. He stumbled slightly into the lobby, looking up to see Gallade holding his hand. "Man… Fuck all that…" Kade brushed himself off. "Never had to deal with this shit with Dad leading us around. Last thing I wanna do is get lost in this city." He took off his hat, quickly wiping sweat from his face.
Gallade lightly tapped Kade's back with his fist. "Gallade." He said. Kade turned and looked at him for a moment. "…yeah… I'm fine. It ain't a big deal…" he took a deep breath before the two of them approached the front desk, all while Kade kept Gallade's words at the forefront of his mind. "Don't worry. We still got each other."
The interior of the hotel was lit up with streams of neon colors lining the ceilings and floors, complimented with transparent tables and counter tops in the lobby to accentuate the rays of light to further brighten the room. Kade checked both him and Gallade in with the front desk attendant. She gave them a room key, along with a paper note. "Someone left this note. They said to give it to you once you got here." She informed. "uh… okay." Kade unfolded the note.
(Sorry, but something urgent came up and Decidueye and I had to leave. I'll make it up to you two later.)
Kade's frustration grew hotter. Gallade lowered his head upon hearing Kade read the letter. "I'm just…" Kade crumpled the paper in his fist. "Like, we haven't seen him since the end of training 4 months ago. And now it's-… whatever." He pocketed the note and turned towards the hotel's dining room. "I'm hungry." He grumbled.
The dining room was simply a separated diner contracted with the hotel, with their own staff and cooks. The design of the restaurant was a complete contrast to the hotel lobby with candlelit tables and intricate wall designs, imitated the famous feudal era a millennia ago. The smells of fancy soups and berry salads filled the room. "Good morning, how many are we having?" the hostess asked, readying some menus. Kade and Gallade looked at each other. "Just us-." he cut himself off as he saw something out of the corner of his eye.
What appeared to be a scuffle occurring at the back of the restaurant started to intensify between two individuals. Kade leaned forward to get a better view, to see a tall, tattered looking man trying to flee the scene, but a young man close to Kade's age was keeping him in the confrontation. "YOU AIN'T SLICK! YOU AIN'T SLICK BRO!" The young man's voice echoed from the back. It was a voice Kade recognized too well. He turned to Gallade and gestured to follow him to the back "I think 'our boy' is here". The hostess just stared at what seemed to be the precursor to a fight, not wanting to get involved.
"Let go of me, kid! You're fuckin crazy!" the older man's hand was wrapped around a wallet, he carried it like an unscratched lottery ticket as he tried pulling his way free. But it wasn't the teen holding onto him, it was his Pokémon, Chesnaught. A strong grass-type pokemon whose enormous hands had an unbreakable grip. The Chesnaught just smiled at this guy's feeble attempt to slip away. The teen didn't seem too flustered about the situation, rather, despite his smaller and wider stature, he taunted the thief at his amateur pickpocketing ability. "Usually pickpockets ain't wearing them big ass earthshattering clogs for boots, bro. Just drop the wallet, I won't do nothin." The Chesnaught's trainer shrugged "I- I can't believe this kid's tryin to rob me." The thief said to the side, noticing spectators beginning to appear.
"Here man, let's check the ID." Kade said, now suddenly standing right next to confrontation, opening the wallet. "What the-." The thief turned to see his empty hand, shocked at how he didn't even feel the wallet leave his fingers.
"Damn… this you?" he said, flashing the ID at the thief, and the picture clearly depicting the teen, before tossing it to its rightful owner. "We good. Release the slimeball, Chesnaught." The large Pokémon released his grip. "Now get-." The thief immediately started throwing punches towards Kade the moment he was freed. Kade took the first hit hard in the face, stumbling backward as he got into his stance. "He said you could go, man." Kade looked unfazed, raising open palms towards the thief. The thief swung some more, this time, missing every hit as Kade dodged and deflected each throw. He didn't swing back as they danced around the back of the restaurant, now with a crowd gathered towards the front, watching the fight.
"I'll spare you from these hands! Gallade!" Kade called. Gallade dashed over and picked the thief up by the collar of his stained sweatshirt with no effort. "Throw his ass out-." Kade turned, noticing the crowd murmurs become shouts. "Hey, hey! What's that Pokémon gonna do?" "Yo that Gallade's gonna kill that guy!" Kade heard from the crowd. Upon hearing this, Gallade lightly tossed the thief away, towards the crowd. The thief stumbled a little bit before hobbling out of the restaurant and into the busy sidewalks. A few of the spectating crowd had their phones pointed at Kade and Gallade, their cameras still recording.
One of the head chefs stormed out of the kitchen. "What the hell is going on out here? This isn't the damn club! Sit down or get the hell out!" he shouted throughout the restaurant. The crowd slowly dissipated as Kade watched the chef glance their way briefly before returning to the kitchen without another word. "At least he didn't kick us out." Kade said.
"Yo, how's your face?" the teen walked over to check on Kade. "Still radiating with sex appeal." The bruise on Kade's cheek had already taken color. The two looked at each other in silence for a moment, trying to maintain straight faces for as long as possible before the teen burst into laughter as Kade dropped to his knees, laughing at his own pain in his cheek. "I can't! I can't! Kade, you look…" the teen couldn't contain his laughing fit. "No way it's that big, bro. I barely feel it." Kade said, rubbing a hand on his swollen cheek. "It's too much! It's too much." The teen helped Kade back to his feet as their laughing settled down.
"For real, it's good to see you again, Kade." The teen said. "You too Dawud, I didn't think I'd find you here of all places. It's been a minute." Dawud patted Kade's shoulder. "You and Gallade should come eat with us, we just sat down like 5 minutes ago." As they walked to Dawud's table, Dawud took a second, silent glance at Kade's face. "…pecha berry-ass face…" Dawud muttered, causing Kade to shove him.
"Chesnaught, Greninja, Delphox, look who we found." Dawud gestured to Kade and Gallade for his Pokémon team already sitting at a round table in the back corner of the restaurant. Chesnaught, the large and mighty grass-fighting type Pokémon greeted Kade with a fist bump with its girthy knuckles. The slender, water-dark type Pokémon, Greninja, got up from his seat with excitement in seeing Gallade again, somewhat ignoring Kade. And Dawud's third Pokémon partner, Delphox, sat perusing the small, digital menu kiosk affixed to the table, uninterested by Kade and Gallade's arrival.
Everyone sat down at the table. "Aight, you first, Kade. What you and Gallade been doin within the year we saw you guys last?" Dawud asked. "Man… where to start…" Kade dug in his pocket and pulled out his wallet, flipping it open to reveal his Pokémon Ranger Identification. "Well, I'm officially a Ranger now. OFFICIALLY. Gallade and I got promoted from Recruit to Scout a few months ago after going through hell during our dad's training. We filed our paperwork and what not and now we are here in the city for squad selection tomorrow morning." Kade explained. "What's squad selection?"
"It's where the squad leaders with open positions on their teams from all over the world come and draft in their new squad mates. We're hoping we get into a chill team. I heard that there's a large disconnect between elite Ranger squadrons and the Board of the Association. So the enjoyment of being a Ranger completely depends on what squad you're put in. And the squads will just pick up orders posted by the board and do them as they please."
"I swear, the Pokémon Rangers sound more and more like mercenaries each day." Dawud put his hands behind his head. "And so that brings up another question. Why did you wanna be a Ranger in the first place?" he questioned, his voice taking a sudden, serious tone. "Well that's…" Kade looked a Gallade as he thought. "Dad kinda forced us? … No, that's not it… We wanted this from the beginning. It's because of all the stories he told us when we were younger about the Lugia attack, and all the people he and Decidueye saved. I don't know if he hammed it up or not but we thought that being a Ranger was just the coolest. We just wanted to be heroes like Dad and Decidueye were. Even as strict as he was in our training, he's still the dopest guy I know."
"But… he does do this thing where he'll just disappear for a while without a word, and then come back like nothing happened, saying he went on a business trip. Like tonight, we were supposed to meet them here at this restaurant, but he had to bail at the last minute for Arceus knows why. Maybe now that we're in the job we'll find an answer."
"Well that answer was good enough for me!" Dawud smiled. "What about you Dawud, still chasin that Ace Trainer status?" Kade pondered Dawud's three Pokémon, all of which seemed stronger than when they last met. "Funny you say that." Dawud reached into his bag beside his feet, rummaging around until he pulled out a rolled up flyer. "Bam." He slapped it on the table before Kade and Gallade. "What's…. This is a World Pokémon Tournament promotion, right? Wait…. No shit! That's you!" Kade pointed at the poster. On it showed pictures of all the contestants in an action movie style collage at the bottom of the poster. Sure enough, Dawud's image was among those displayed.
"I mean, it's only the second highest division tournament. This ain't exactly a competition for world's best." Dawud shrugged. "Still! Being top 20 or 30 is still fucking awesome, dude." Kade sat admiring Dawud's inclusion into the poster's artwork. "Got any more of these lyin around?"
Eventually everyone's food arrived as dinner began among the six friends. "So… Kade." Dawud looked around at his Pokémon. "Can you still do it?" he asked. "Hm?" "Greninja?..." the Pokémon prodded. Kade glanced around their surroundings before answering. "Yes. I can hear you loud and clear." He said quietly. "Delphox?" Delphox questioned out of the blue. "Well I sure hear 'what am I gonna eat today' more than you'd think." He chuckled. "Delphox" the Pokémon was being serious. She explained to Kade the words of Pokémon that can be heard within a chaotic place such as Lumiose, trying to get a human's point of view, all while Dawud just stared blankly.
"Well, if you put it like that…" Kade took a deep breath. "It's the same shit you all hear. I don't think I react too differently from a Pokémon's words just because I'm human, maybe cause I've been listening to them most of my life. But I know I hear some shit I'm not supposed to every now and then. Especially so since I keep that aspect a secret to most people and Pokémon."
Chesnaught then added to the thought, explaining to Delphox the intricacies of interspecies communication, as if he were an expert. "For sure, for sure. There are some things you don't gotta speak, read, or write for others to get you, you know? It's just gotta be the right person, or the right Pokémon that knows you the best. Ain't that right, Dawud?" Dawud was completely spaced out from the incoherent conversation. "No, yeah. What Chesnaught said." He shrugged. They all laughed at his monolinguist comprehension. Delphox stayed silent, eyeing Dawud as she thought to herself.
As dinner ended and the check was paid for, Kade and Dawud sat thinking to themselves how they could make this spontaneous night run longer. "…You know, it's been a while…" Kade began. In that moment Gallade and Greninja stood simultaneously, pointing, and shouting at each other in a challenging manner. "What? What's up?" Dawud looked around at them, slightly startled. "Know of any good practice arenas around here?" Kade asked. It took a moment for Dawud to clue in on what he meant, and when he did, a large smile formed across his face.
The Colosseum was Lumiose's epicenter for famous Pokémon battles and tournaments. Within its district lie numerous practice battlefields where only the elite of the region's Pokémon league were permitted to use. Dawud had this prestige, acquiring access to a full size arena, just for the six of them. "This is our main spot." He told Kade. "I hope Gallade's ready. We've gotten a lot more powerful since we battled last." "Please, we're full-fledged rangers now. You don't have a clue what's about to happen."
The overhead lights shuddered on, lighting up the arena floor. Kade and Dawud assumed their trainer positions at each end of the open battlefield, while Gallade and Greninja stood ready on their respective halves. Delphox and Chesnaught spectated from the side. The rules to a mock Pokémon battle such as this were simple. Beat down your opponent until they are unable to battle.
"Ready?" Kade and Dawud stared each other down from across the battlefield, waiting for Chesnaught's gesture that would signal the start of the battle. The air was still as everyone was frozen in place. Chesnaught then dropped his arm, as both Gallade and Greninja seemingly disappeared in a flash. "That's good!" "Nice!" The two boys complemented each other as their two Pokémon emerged from their supersonic bout in a clash of blows, sending a shockwave throughout the arena.
The battle had started. Kade paced in his box as he made callouts to Gallade, his eyes glued on Greninja. Dawud stood still with his arms crossed, like a dad observing his son's baseball game, occasionally calling for Greninja to switch fighting styles. Both Pokémon exchanged blows at lighting speed, darting around the edges of the arena, sometimes slamming each other into the battlefield's walls, leaving cracks and holes in the already battle-worn reinforced concrete.
Greninja's fighting style involved deception, utilizing feint attacks to try and catch an opening on Gallade. But Gallade had locked onto his target and wouldn't lose sight. He fought like a heat-seeking missile, enduring through every one of Greninja's attempts to throw him off, as Gallade threw out his signature move towards Greninja, psycho cut, a short arc of psychic energy which sliced through the air like sickles, exploding on contact with the arena's barrier walls.
At one moment, Greninja performed the double team ability, dashing from one spot to another back and forth, creating multiple images of himself standing in their own respective spots, causing Gallade to hesitate for a split second. Within his illusion, Greninja prepared his signature water shuriken ability. Gallade noticed this movement from the multiple images and identified a pattern to Greninja's motions. As the water shuriken was about to leave Greninja's hand, Gallade darted for a quick punch at one of the double team's images.
He picked right, punching Greninja square in the face, rocketing him against the arena's wall, kicking up a cloud of dust in his impact. Gallade darted for the cloud to strike again at the staggered Greninja. He threw a punch at the slumped Pokémon, only to find his fist collide with a lump of concrete, turning it to dust. Greninja had used a substitution, which Gallade completely fell for. Gallade couldn't even react to the ruse before feeling Greninja's leg against his back. Greninja crumbled Gallade with a single kick, sending him rolling through the ground several feet with a light rumble. "Gotcha!" Dawud yelled.
Kade flicked his fingers in anticipation. "Come on…" he muttered to himself. Greninja then went for a second strike as Gallade did prior. But Gallade had no substitution ability of his own to defend with, he just lied on the ground, recovering from Greninja's blow. Greninja stomped down toward's Gallade's face. Gallade's eye's then jolted open, spinning his legs off the ground in a slight, spiral motion as the two Pokémon collided, generating an even larger puff of dust.
The two trainers stood staring at the dust cloud. No sound came from it. They couldn't see any movement of light or shadows flashing from within. "Reposition." Both trainers ordered. There was no response. "Are they…" Chesnaught then suddenly held up his hand. The trainers looked at him giving the signal for the end of the fight, before looking back at the dust dissipating.
As the dust settled, it was there they saw both Pokémon lying on the ground, unconscious. "YOOOOO!" Kade exclaimed as he and Dawud jogged over to them. From the marks on both of their faces, it appeared that both Pokémon dealt knockout blows to each other. Chesnaught walked over to get a look for himself. "Chesnaught" he declared. "It's a tie." Kade repeated to Dawud. Dawud lightly patted Greninja's cheek with the back of his hand. The Pokémon's eyes fluttered open and shot up from the ground, looking around before making heads from tails. Upon noticing he fainted, he assumed defeat, until noticing Gallade still lying in his deep sleep. "Greninja?" the Pokémon asked in a raspy voice. "Nah, we couldn't tell. So we're calling it a draw." Kade said. Greninja threw his hands up in despair.
Gallade slowly roused, sitting up calmly. "Gallade…" he groaned. "Yeah. It looks like he dug your face through the dirt." Kade chortled, helping Gallade to his feet. "That was a solid fight though." "Good game." Kade and Dawud shook hands. "…Gallade?" "No, you won't fight Chesnaught next. We're done for the night." The five of them laughed. Delphox still stood at her distance, sighing at this waste of time.
As they got ready to leave, the group sat on an empty set of bleachers, having their post-battle water. "So Kade, you meet anybody in the Rangers so far?" Dawud asked. "I mean…. Besides like other commanders and the like that talk down to the likes of me, there was this one girl my Dad had me train with for a period of time. Her name was Tyrene, and her Pokémon was a Blastoise." "Ohhh a girl, hmm?" Dawud chastised, leaning in real close.
"Nah, nah dude. Trust me, it ain't like that. In fact anytime we're in the same place we're always trying to pick fights with each other. But I'd say we're still friends. Like, she's nice and cool when she wants to be and Blastoise was pretty chill, although they had this like, father/daughter type of relationship going on which I thought was kinda weird, but… I guess I'm the only one that can pick up on that type of shit. I do hope, though, that I see her again in the field or something, because she is definitely one hell of a Ranger. Dad's pitted us up against a few other trainees before and none even came close to being as tough as her and Blastoise…. Dude… stop looking at me like that." Dawud sat with squinted eyes and a chastising smirk like a smug statue as he listened to Kade.
"Ok, alright then. What kinda people YOU'VE been meeting?" Kade interrogated. Dawud chuckled softly before answering. "You know… Other trainers in the tournament and shit. Everyone's so focused on the tournament right now though, so nobody really bothers planning get-togethers and shit. That kinda atmosphere…" he trailed off. "Anyone in specific?" Kade asked once more. Dawud just vaguely nodded his head, moving his hand around as if he was talking, yet he sat in silence. "…Training and scrimmages are… like, super time consuming you know? Doesn't really… give me time to get out and about."
Kade had known Dawud long enough to tell when he was lying. "Bro, that's-." Kade prepared his own chastisement, until he noticed the strain in Dawud's expression, slowly becoming wary of the layers to this façade he was putting up. "I mean… That's okay. If you're busy, you're busy. No getting around it." Kade decided to leave it there, telling by the manner that Dawud stared into space that this topic was troubling for him.
"Nah, it's cool. It just seems like everyone in the league is so… unapproachable. I don't really know why. I'm just never, like, in the mood to talk to any of them, cause they're all so competitive, you know?" Dawud explained. Kade just nodded along with it, knowing that something was going on since the Dawud he knew was one of the most social people he'd ever known. "When you put it like that, I wouldn't be surprised if Pokémon the league heads were just a bunch a a-social weirdos. There's a few who act like that in the Rangers too. Cause I know they're all missing out by putting someone like you off." He spoke with his chest.
"That ain't-." "It's true! I'm telling you; they're all missing out. And I know four Pokémon who know how fun it is to hang out with you. And Pokémon don't beat around the bush." The three male Pokémon all nodded in agreement while Delphox just rolled her eyes.
Dawud became red in the face. "I mean, shit. It's fun hangin out with you guys too. It's the shit I look forward too throughout the year." He said quietly. "Yo, now that Gallade and I are here to stay, we gotta build a bigger group. People we can do all the goofy shit you come up with. Find some chillers in the league and I'll gather some in the Rangers, then we can go grab drinks or something. That's a homework assignment for you." Kade suggested. "Yeah… that'd be cool." Dawud nodded. The lights in the arena then began to power down automatically. "I think it's getting late." Kade turned. "But not late enough." He raised an eyebrow. Dawud sat in deep thought once more. "Wanna go throw used fuel cells into the ocean and watch them spark?"
"Hell yeah."
Back at the hotel, Kade slept a restless night, with Pokémon Ranger dominated thoughts spiraling through his mind. He would get selected for a squad that morning. 'A squad', he thought. It was his dream to get to this stage for as long as he could remember. "No matter what, I'm sure Dad will be proud." But the hundreds of scenarios his mind formed of tomorrow and onward would not leave him at peace. "I hope I'm capable of this change." He realized how much he didn't know what to expect. What would his squad mates be like? What would his squad captain be like? He lay dwelling on these concerns, almost to the point that would make him sweat. He turned his head to see Gallade sleeping soundly in the adjacent bed.
"He's gotten so strong. I feel like I'm not keeping up." He stared at him for a long time with tired eyes. This thought only opened new avenues to new worries as his heart started to race. "…shit…" it was then he remembered what Gallade told him earlier in the night as they entered the city. "Don't worry. We still got each other." After remembering this, not even a minute passed before Kade was fast asleep.
Kade and Gallade woke up early the next morning to arrive at the Lumiose Pokémon Ranger Barracks in a more than timely fashion, it was an attribute pounded into them by Jeffrey. "If you're late, you're dead." He would tell them repeatedly. They arrived at the barracks a little before 7:30, going through the standard security procedure which included a brief flash of the ID and a head nod from a half-asleep security guard.
There was little difference between the barracks and your typical college campus. There were dorm buildings, office buildings, lecture buildings for various purposes, complemented with scenic walkways and courtyards. Kade and Gallade entered the main building at the barracks, the Pokémon Ranger Union (PRU). Their squad meeting was one building over, so they decided to spend the time waiting in this building for it had coffee shops, TVs broadcasting news and places to sit.
In the lobby, pasted on the PRU's dashboard wall, were the graduation pictures of every recruit that took part in Kalos' Pokémon Ranger Recruit Program. Kade perused the wall with slight interest. "Seems that they organized all these recruits based on their scores. I wonder who the top recruit was." He turned his eyes towards the top picture.
His breath stopped. His muscles tensed. "Tyrene… was top of her class? ..." Mounted at the top of the portrait pyramid was a photo of a stern-looking young woman, short in stature, and with wavy, light brown hair and skin tone to match. She had a certain intensity within her emerald, green eyes that Kade remembered being constant in her demeanor. Adjacent to the name plate 'Tyrene Williams', read the score she received from the training course. 5833, it read. The scores for second place and beyond all sat below 4000.
"Comparing scores?" a voice from behind spoke. Both Kade and Gallade spun around in surprise, completely unaware that anyone else entered the lobby. Kade composed himself immediately. "Ah, nah. I ain't in this class." Behind him, stood a taller man in his mid-twenties, staring brightly at the top of the mounted portraits with similar green eyes to Tyrene's. Kade then noticed eerie spectral shapes floating above the stranger's slicked back, navy blue hair. They formed the visible face of the ghost-type Pokémon, Mismagius, silently laughing to itself, keeping the rest of its body invisible, while only revealing its pink glowing eyes and mouth.
"Are you here for squad selection, then?" the stranger's attention now fixed on Kade. "Yea, we're just chillin until it's time for the meetings." Kade said. "I see. Same as me then. I gotta say, you seem pretty young to be among the selected. What's your name?" the stranger had already acquired Kade's hand for a handshake without him noticing. "Kade Hollinder. And I'm 18, I can't be that young for the selection from what I've heard about it." Kade decided it wouldn't hurt to be open with the other rangers in hopes of forming more relationships within the association, despite this person being particularly strange. "I'm Owen. Williams. Kade, huh… Why do I feel like I've heard that name before?..."
Owen's eyes suddenly darted down the union's main hallway. He stared in total stillness for a moment. "…You alright?" Kade leaned forward, trying to vaguely follow his gaze, only to see the building's continued emptiness. "Sorry. It's a… nervous tick. Anyways, nice meeting another new guy. My sister is supposed to meet me here, but it seems like she's late. Not that that's anything new." Owen's eyes returned to the graduate board, focused on the top portrait once more. 'No way, is this guy Tyrene's brother?' Kade thought.
Gallade tapped Kade's shoulder, then tapped on his long forearm, gesturing for Kade to 'check the time'. "Oh… Gotcha. Looks like it's time for-." "Your meeting? Goodluck. I've heard the squad leaders of Lumiose are pretty easy going, so hopefully it will feel like a job interview." Owen explained while his eyes constantly darted to the right. "Well, good luck on yours too." Kade stepped away, waving to Owen who was already staring proudly back at Tyrene's portrait on the wall. "Jeez. Man seems a little jumpy."
Kade and Gallade climbed up to the second floor of the union as nerves began to set in. The building seemed larger on the inside than how it seemed out in the courtyard, and it felt like an eternity walking to their designated meeting room on the other side of the dimly lit hallway. Kade expected there to be other meetings going on in the vicinity, but the only thing he heard from each door he passed by was dead silence, leaving him listening to the slow acceleration of his own heartbeat.
They stopped and stood briefly outside the door labeled 'Chair Room 227A'. Kade took a deep breath. "This is it." He knocked with a weak hesitance, yet loud enough to make his knocks sound less pathetic. Half a microsecond passed before the door opened to which Kade and Gallade were met with the menacing glare of an Empoleon. "Empo…" they grumbled. The Pokémon shifted out of the way for them to enter. Kade was taken aback by the odd tone of voice this Empoleon bore. Empoleon caught this reaction and returned back a gaze of skepticism.
"Good morning, Scout, welcome to the 1st Regiment. You're Kade and Gallade Hollinder, right?" A tall, brawny man stood with his back turned to the door, gazing out the window of the meeting room which overlooked the courtyard below. The morning sun reflected off the side of his bald head, vaguely illuminating the wall next to him. "Yessir."
"Have a seat." Kade and Gallade promptly sat down at the broadside of the plastic meeting table. The Empoleon moved to the wall behind them and stood attentively. "First, introductions." The end wall of the room opened up from the center with a quiet hiss. Behind the wall was a large projection screen, where digital 3D images of files and records appeared, floating mere inches away from the screen.
The Ranger's face, name, and title blinked to life in the presentation. 'Clayton Pendale: Captain of the 1st Regiment.' It read. "Everyone in the squad just calls me Clay. Don't worry about remembering titles and whatnot." Following came Empoleon's identity as Clay's Pokémon partner. "Empoleon and I have been a part of the Rangers for 15 years, and squad leaders for 10. The 1st Regiment plays its part in the PRA as a protective force for the most vulnerable areas of Lumiose, as well as security for our own superiors." The projected slideshow transitioned to a picturesque mural of Pokémon Rangers posed before a background of Kalos' mountain range. "We are the world's agents of peace." Clay said as if reciting a script.
The rest of Clay's presentation was Ranger jargon which Kade had been lectured on by Jeffrey many times already. Kade felt he was sitting in on a school lecture leading his attention to drift away. The presentation blinking away and the room's lighting returning to normal lurched Kade back into reality. "Now that that's over with..." Clay's expression changed from welcoming to unimpressed. In the brief silence, the noise of a crowd could be heard just outside. Clay walked over to the window and opened the blinds. "Come over here." Clay ordered, as he stared out the window. Both Kade and Gallade went over to join him.
"Look down there." In the courtyard below, groups of the other Pokémon Rangers were gathered, conversing with each other, sitting around plastic event tables, and eating plates of buffet breakfast. "See that? That's the Pokémon Ranger Selection in progress." Clay pointed. "It's like watching the first day of an adult summer camp. They're probably down there playing name games and talking about aspirations and all that. Can't even take a shit around here without hearing the noise of some kind of party going on." Clay turned to Kade. "Not what you expected, hm?"
"I mean… I didn't really know what to expect." Kade stood not knowing how he should act in the moment. "Hm. Can't really blame you." Clay turned the screen back on, showing a document with Kade's full name as the title. "Your file shows no history of enrollment for any PRA courses or training programs. Gallade hasn't done any qualification tests for any of his attributes where the PRA's code of enrollment recommends a Pokémon takes at least four. All the two of you have to show that remotely qualifies you to enroll in a squad is a letter of recommendation from a Ranger who's rank Major or above. And low and behold, this Ranger shares the same last name." Clay paused for a moment to gather his thoughts, while Kade stood completely bewildered. "Command has really fucked me on this one…" Clay hissed as he turned away.
"…Ah, fuck it… I'll give 'em a chance." He turned back to Kade and Gallade. "Yes. One chance. Because I know your father and the type of Ranger he is out in the field. I want to see if some of that's rubbed off on you." Clay handed Kade a folded piece of paper. "I want you to tell me what this is." Clay said. Kade unfolded the paper, revealing a long sequence of letters and numbers written in pen. Kade recognized the pattern within the sequence almost instantly. "…These are Sinnohan coordinates." Kade answered. "Awesome. You might know a thing or two. Those coordinates show our squad housing. I want you to be there in… let's see… 25 minutes. Got it?" Clay didn't give them a chance to answer before having Empoleon show them the door. "Um… Copy…"
"Dismissed." Clay finished. Empoleon showed Kade and Gallade to the exit. The door closed quietly behind them. The two of them stood awkwardly glaring at the wall before them. "…You think we passed?..." Kade looked at Gallade. The Pokémon seemed equally as confused as Kade was.
Still inside the meeting room, Empoleon turned to Clay with a questioning gaze. Clay leaned against the table, tapping his foot vigorously. He shook his head. He shook his head again. "They're just kids…" he whispered. He turned to Empoleon. "It seems like the association still does not have a clue as to what's going on in the city… But a recommendation from Major Hollinder?" he released a heavy sigh. "The Major better have a damn good reason for forcing an 18 year-old on me."
Kade walked down the hallway expressionless, his eyes glazed to the floor before his feet. Gallade followed behind, looking at him worriedly. "What the hell was he on about? Did Dad set us up or something?" he glanced at his digital watch and sighed. "Right. We gotta be at that location in 25 minutes." Kade then mulled over the map on his watch as they got outside. Upon finding the matching coordinates, Kade stopped in his tracks. "Yo Gallade, this is far away as shit. Not even the light rail would get us here in time, from how indirect the route would be. Look, there's no station remotely close to this place and a taxi or bus would take way too long. Hm…"
"Gallade" the Pokémon suggested. "You for real? We only done that shit in training with Dad. And the farthest we've gone with that was like 80, 90 miles?…" Kade noticed they were just under 30 miles from their instructed destination according to the map. "Oh… OH! Nah that's a great idea. This distance is nothing." Kade secured the straps of his bag to himself as securely as possible. "Alright. Let's do this."
June, 3027
"Dad, why'd we stop in the middle of nowhere?" Jeffrey got out of the family SUV with Decidueye briskly following him. "Get out the car and I'll tell you." Kade and Gallade stepped out onto the gravel road, looking around at the remote forest surrounding them. Jeffrey and Decidueye approached the two. "Now, once you two are out in the field, you'll occasionally be put in a position where you guys will need to get somewhere far away in a short amount of time, because the mission demands it. Rangers all have varying methods of long distance travel with their Pokémon partners, based on that Pokémon's capabilities. What they all have in common is that they're faster than human's normal walking or running speed. So here, I will help you two figure out how Gallade can get the both of you from point A to point B in a timely manner. So we are at point A, and home will be point B."
"Home?! We drove for like 45 minutes! We can't walk that far!" Kade retaliated. "Remember what I said about being a complainer, Kade." Kade cooled a little. "You won't get explaining if you keep on complaining." He unenthusiastically recited. "Now, let's take a look at Gallade, what can he do? We know he's fast; we know he's strong, his endurance can always be better. But overall, he's good at getting himself around. Now we add you to the equation, son." Jeffrey walked around the two, rubbing his chin. "What do you think?"
"Gallade could carry me?" Kade suggested half-heartedly. "Perhaps. But you want to make sure Gallade can maneuver and function as if he wasn't carrying anything. So what can you do to simulate that if Gallade did carry you?" Jeffrey proposed. Kade turned to Gallade in deep thought. "…I guess, if I were trying to subdue someone in like a fight, I'd wanna grip strong enough that they couldn't shake me away. But I also don't wanna restrict Gallade either…"
Kade paced around Gallade, sizing him up. "Here, stand up straight, Gallade." Gallade took a stance before Kade climbed onto his back, finding a position where he could hang on firmly. "Alright, move around some." Kade instructed in a slightly strained voice. Gallade ran and jumped around the forest floor, while Kade desperately held on, adjusting his grip several times, occasionally falling from Gallade's back. He then held his own arms wrapped around Gallade's torso, forming himself into a human backpack. "This feels like its it." Kade said, memorizing the grip he had just come up with.
"You got it?" Jeffrey checked in. "I think so." Kade said as he stepped to the ground. "Sounds good. See you two at dinner then." Jeffrey and Decidueye then promptly got back in the SUV and drove away immediately. "Huh… they really left." Kade mumbled. Gallade tapped his shoulder, gesturing for him to get on his back. "Right. Let's give it a shot."
January, 3029
Kade held tight to Gallade with his now perfected grip, as Gallade bolted alongside roads and trails, taking the shortest possible destination to the coordinates, which lie in the edge of the mountains, east of Lumiose City. Any time Kade felt he had good balance, he'd use an arm to check the map again, giving directions now and again to Gallade as he ran. Despite being unfamiliar with traversing the highly advanced city scape of Lumiose, Gallade and Kade were still covering ground as effectively as if they were flying. They flew by other pedestrians and Pokémon that paid no mind to their unconventional method of travel.
Clay Pendale, captain of the first regiment, remained in the same meeting room, organizing digital files on the large, thin screen against the wall, when an incoming call flashed in front of his work. Clay answered, causing a video feed of a tall, pale man with circular glasses and long brown hair appear. The man sat at his computer desk in a dark room, with only the light of the monitor before him illuminating his face.
"How are the new guys doing, Gino?" Clay asked. "They're already halfway here." The man spoke with a deep, monotone voice. Clay tapped his thigh. "…Really?" he muttered. "Yes. And once they break city limits, I predict their pace will quicken." Upon hearing this, Clay thought for a moment, glancing at Empoleon standing at attention behind him. "Hm. Feel free to head out and meet them." Clay instructed. "Copy that." The man smirked vaguely before ending the video call. Clay then continued on his work as normal. After a few minutes, they heard a knock at the door. "That would be the second recruit." He got up from his chair. "Let them in, please."
Gallade darted through a construction site lying just before the trees at the base of the first mountain. He ran with Kade in and out of the steel skeletons of apartment buildings surrounded by piles of dirt and gravel. "Take a right after this second building." Kade guided. Gallade hit the corner with his foot, changing trajectory.
The instant he passed the building, the two were met with a steel beam flying straight towards them. Gallade reacted quickly, leaning to the left, dodging the beam entirely as it sped passed their heads, into a gravel pile behind them. The pile exploded into dust and snow, showering the building adjacent with the pitter patter of small stones.
The change in momentum from Gallade's dodge was too great for Kade, however, knocking him to the ground where he was sent tumbling under the construction next to them. "Ah shit-!" Kade stopped himself and scrambled into a building's soon to be foundation. From under the partially finished floorboards, Kade saw Gallade dodge a second steel beam, which then shattered a portion of the foundation of the building far behind. Kade carefully crawled out to see something floating in the sky.
"What the hell?! Is that- Is that a Magnezone up there?!" Hovering a hundred feet in the air above them, the electric-type Pokémon, Magnezone, lifted a third steel beam into the sky with its magnetism abilities. It then spun its round, metallic body, flinging the beam at Gallade once more. The beam stuck into the ground next to Gallade like a spear, spraying both of them with gravel.
"Damn! Only a move or two could reach Magnezone way up there! It's staying away from the tops of these buildings too, there's really no way to reach it!" Kade looked at his watch. "We don't even have the time to fight it anyways." Through the gaps and cracks of the construction, Kade could see the Magnezone hovering watchfully in the sky, its gaze fixed at the base of the building Kade hid under. "Looks too far away to reason with as well."
"Gallade! Regroup!" Kade then dashed to a new hiding place after shouting his order, where a steel beam promptly drilled into, dusting up the underbelly of the building. "This motherfucker's really tryin to kill us, huh?" Kade panted as Gallade appeared at his side as the dust settled. "Ok, pick me up. We gotta run." The two locked arms, back to back. "Remember! I'm your eyes! Just run toward our destination!"
The Magnezone had pulled two more steel beams with it up into the sky as it waited for more sound and movement. After a still moment, it saw Gallade dart out into the clearing, carrying Kade on his back. Magnezone propelled a beam their way before pursuing. "SIDESTEP!" Kade yelped in fear, seeing the steel beam hurtling straight towards them. Gallade jumped to his right, before the steel beam struck the ground to his left, toppling over and over beside them as Gallade ran, before slowing to a stop and tipping to its side. This sequence repeated as Gallade broke into the tree line of the forest at the base of the first mountain. Gallade dodged a few more beams, where he watched the speed of each one as they zipped right by his face.
"Is its plan to just throw shit at us? If that's the case…." Kade watched as it retracted a pile of rebar from the construction site now behind them. "Now Gallade! Use Psycho Cut!" Gallade spun around as Kade held on for dear life, shooting out splices of violet energy from his arms towards the Magnezone. Gallade turned back and began to run while Kade watched the arcs of energy soar towards Magnezone.
Kade saw Magnezone glow a bright yellow for an instant before destroying the shots of Psycho Cut midair with a beam of electricity, causing an explosion of energy. "We baited out a move! Good! Here's the bad news! This motherfucker knows Zap Cannon!" While the rebar continued to levitate towards Magnezone, the Pokémon began to power up another Zap Cannon. "Hey! It's gonna-!" In that moment, both Kade and Gallade felt an enormous electrical surge within their bodies, causing them to topple just over the top of the small mountain.
Magnezone then let loose the stack of rebar it had acquired, riddling the top of the mountain with the thin steel missiles, spraying rock and dust about. The Magnezone hovered in wait, watching the dust settle, scanning for any signs of movement. It moved closer to the mountain, stopping just as it breached the top. On the other side of the mountain, the Magnezone found the scattered bodies of Kade and Gallade slumped against the mountainside, covered in dust and small rocks.
After observing patiently, Magnezone hovered in for further investigation, scanning for any signs of movement as it closed in. The Pokémon found Kade slumped against a boulder with his mouth gaped open and a bloody scratch on his right cheek. It turned to see Gallade mostly buried under a pile of forest debris from the blast of its Zap Cannon. Only Gallade's arm was visible, lying motionless in the dirt.
Magnezone lowered to Gallade and began blowing rocks and sticks from the pile on top of him. It then sensed the sudden sound of a stone tumbling down the hill side. It swiveled around quickly to be met with a battered Kade standing upright, wielding a large pine branch with his hands. Kade brought the branch down with all the force he could muster. "HAHHH!" he swung at Magnezone with a crazed look in his eye, only to be zapped away by Magnezone's Thunder Shock.
The very moment Magnezone delivered a small burst of electricity into Kade's body, the Pokémon felt the grip force of something beneath it latch onto its back. Gallade sprang from the debris, spraying small stones and sticks everywhere. He clutched the back of Magnezone tightly as Magnezone tried to levitate upward. Gallade ripped it back down to the ground and began dealing heavy blows to its metallic hide. Magnezone tried to retaliate, but Gallade maneuvered around it so that he always stayed behind it. He continued to keep Magnezone from flying off by constantly slamming Magnezone back into the ground.
While Gallade fought Magnezone, Kade struggled just to stay on his feet. The shock Magnezone had administered left a burning sensation all throughout his body. The static electricity he felt was so intense that his clothes would shock his skin repeatedly as he moved. "agh-!" he breathed heavily, watching the Pokémon fight unfold before him through glazed eyes. He knew Gallade couldn't keep Magnezone on the ground forever due to his spent stamina from running all this way. "I gotta help…" Kade dizzily bent down and picked up a half piece of a splintered log, finding a twisted knot in its core to hold onto. He then rushed towards the battle and lunged at the occupied Magnezone.
Magnezone noticed Kade's charge and shot him with its Thunder Shock ability. Kade held the log outward, absorbing the electric shock in its wood. In the split second Magnezone diverted its attention, Gallade slammed it into the ground again, allowing Kade to leap on top where he used all his weight to try and pin it down. Magnezone tried shocking him again, this time, going through him unaffected. "I ain't grounded, motherfucker!" Kade smashed the log into the top of Magnezone, causing bark and splinters to fly everywhere. "WHAT DO YOU WANT, MAN?! ANSWER ME!" Kade smashed it repeatedly until there was nothing left in his hand but a single rotten splinter. "GALLADE! CLOSE COMBAT!" Kade pushed downward onto Magnezone as Gallade took a stance, unleashing a flurry of heavy blows into Magnezone's broadside.
The force of Gallade's attacks forced Magnezone out from underneath Kade, drilling the Pokémon into the mountain side. Kade tumbled down the hill briefly before regaining his footing. He looked up to see Gallade standing at the ready beside a cloud of dust. Kade froze as well. They waited. Nothing came from the dust. No sound or beam of light was there to continue the fight. "To me, Gallade." Kade watched the downed Magnezone lie unconscious within a pile of pulverized vegetation while Gallade cautiously backed towards him. "K, let's go."
The two fled the scene in haste, resuming their journey towards their original destination. They followed the mountain roads and paths uninterrupted while constantly checking behind their backs, around corners and tree lines, until the came upon a single cabin which rested on a short overlook. Gallade let Kade off his back, as they both scanned the area. Kade looked down at his watch and confirmed that they were at the exact coordinates given to them. "Welp..." he wiped some of the dirt from his face. "We're here."
With the adrenaline long faded, Kade found his muscles aching immensely as they walked slowly towards the cabin. He concentrated on all surroundings as they neared the driveway, until they stopped sharply at the sight of the front door opening. A pale woman with a dark, silver perm stepped out. She was dressed in a thick blue robe and needlessly fluffy slippers. The woman approached Kade and Gallade, walking out onto the driveway. "Good morning." She waved, holding a mug of coffee in her other hand. "You must be the new additions. Or you could be assassins sent to kill me." She pressed her thumb against a thin remote hidden in her hand. Suddenly, several gun turrets sprouted from trapdoors from the cabin's walls, aiming their barrels directly at Kade and Gallade's position, as tiny lasers traced around their faces. "Can I see your ID?"
Kade barely reacted to the automated guns shining their laser sights right on him. "Those, uh… won't shoot me if I move to grab my wallet, will they?" Kade asked. The woman shrugged with a half-smile, holding out her hand. Kade stared blankly for a moment. "…Holy shit, man." He scoffed, reaching for his wallet, and retrieving his ID. He tossed it with the skill of an amateur card thrower. The woman caught it just by the tips of her fingers, before reading its contents. "Hm. Welcome to the team, Kade and Gallade Hollinder." She threw it back to him like a throwing scar, the ID's edge barely cutting into Kade's skin as he caught it. "Ow, what the-."
The turrets disabled, disappearing quickly into their compartments like they were never there. "My name's Mavis. I'm the objective officer for this team." She inspected them up and down, seeing the scratches and dirt that covered them. "Come on in. We got some food waiting." She turned and headed inside, with Kade and Gallade slowly following.
The cabin's interior design was much more decorative than Kade was expecting. "Nice place…" Kade commented, looking around at the etageres lining the walls with pictures of other people and Pokémon Kade could only assume were rangers, as well as a variety of awards and crystalline trophies. Mavis pointed towards the large kitchen and dining room combination, where breakfast had been prepared and set out in their pans. "Kitchen is right over there. Although you two should probably wash up a bit. Kind of disgusting right now, no offense." She suggested. Now that they were inside a clean residence, Kade and Gallade could see how filthy they were. "There're towels in the bathroom for a shower. And try not to take too long, we'll want you guys ready to meet the other new guys once they arrive."
"Other's-?" Kade noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Adjacent to the kitchen lay the sprawling lounge with a long couch indented into the floor. A sliding glass door opened into the living room, where a tall, pale man stepped in with heavy brown boots. His long brown hair blew about with the light snowfall breezing through the open door. He wore round glasses and a thick, white trench coat. "…Hi." He mumbled, closing the door behind him. "h-hey-!" Kade pointed outside the glass door. Hovering just a few feet above the deck, staring intently back into the house, was Magnezone.
"Hm? Oh. Forgot to tell you. Yeah. That's my Magnezone. And I'm Gino. Had him run you guys through the wringer a bit. Nice fight. Saw the whole thing through my drone. Won't lie though, the way you fight Kade, kinda scary. But you beat him back pretty good. So… good job. You passed. This test at least." Gino slid the door shut and took his coat off. Magnezone rotated outside and flew away over the edge of the deck, down the slope of the overlook. "Test? I thought we were getting fuckin jumped." Kade sighed heavily. "You did? Good. I was hoping that'd be the feeling you guys would get during the fight." Gino explained. "Why's that? Do you guys get jumped a lot?" Gino and Mavis looked at each other. "You guys should clean up first. We can talk about… all that after." Mavis shooed them towards their quarters.
Kade opened the door to a surprisingly large bedroom with a single queen-size bed in the room's corner. "Woah." They found the rest of their luggage placed at the foot of the bed. "…Not bad, not bad." Kade walked up to a TV screen placed in the wall opposite from the bed. He ran his finger over the smooth buttons at its base.
"So, how did they do out there?" Mavis asked as she gathered some food for herself. "Hm? Oh. I thought they were good enough. They had a relatively straight forward way of battling. Weren't very subtle in their approach of the house, but I personally wouldn't expect them to know any better." Gino put his winter clothes away in the closet by the front door. "I see. They must be from out of town?" Mavis sat at the table while Gino made his way to the kitchen to grab some food himself. "That's right. But they do have a father whose been working with the rangers here in the city. Don't really know much about him though." Gino sat down across from Mavis. He spun his fork around in his fingers while staring intently at his food. "Something's on your mind." Mavis raised an eyebrow. "…Kade. At the end of the battle before, he leapt onto Magnezone and started yelling at him, asking him questions. Somewhat in a way where he expected an answer." "I mean, people will yell and flail and act in all kinds of ways in a stressful situation like that. Poor kid probably thought he was gonna die." Mavis chuckled. "I can see that. Just haven't seen someone engage a Pokémon like that too much. If that were a real fight, Magnezone would have vaporized him then and there."
Mavis noticed a tiny colorful square briefly flash in the corner of Gino's glasses. "Interesting. Someone just stepped onto the back deck." Gino stated, as a faint image of the outside porch reflected from within his glasses. "Who?" "There's nothing there." He swiped his hand in front of his face a few times, altering the image in his glasses to cycle through all the camera angles that were posted all around the cabin. "Nothing."
The screen door opened suddenly. Both Gino and Mavis spun in their chairs towards the door, pistols drawn. "Woah, slow it down there!" A voice emanated from the empty space of the open door before Owen's image appeared. "Sorry for startling you two. I had Mismagius hide ourselves on our way here cause there's this crazy Magnezone flying around that attacked us out of nowhere! You… You guys are in Captain Pendale's squad, right?" Mismagius chuckled to herself with pride.
Mavis eyed Gino with an eyebrow raised. A smug smile grew across her face as she holstered her weapon, excited for his reaction. Gino put his gun away as well. "…So you can become invisible?" he inquired calmly. Mavis could see the veins in his hands bulging with intensity. "Surely it is. It's a typical ghost-type Pokémon maneuver to become incorporeal, yet, who knew it could bypass all the drones you have flying around." Mavis aggravated him further. Through the corner of his eyes, Mavis could see his gaze of thunder directed back at her.
"It's not quite like that, actually. What Mismagius does is she uses her own incantations to cause hallucinations for anyone who hears them. She can make people and Pokémon see anything she wants or doesn't want them to see with them. She can even use them to make people fall asleep too. So I just had Mismagius block out our appearance for anyone who hears her." Owen explained, all while Mismagius bore a cackling smile, proud with her deception.
"So that was that laughing sound I heard!" Kade's voice emanated as he appeared around the corner of the hallway with fresh clothes and wet hair. As they noticed, Kade and Owen pointed at each other. "You're here too?" they said consecutively. Gino and Mavis watched with confusion as Owen hastily approached Kade. "Nice job passing your interview, bud." Owen congratulated, shaking Kade's hand. He waved at Gallade down the hallway. "I passed? Cause I still don't really have a damn clue."
"Ah, did Clay treat you like shit too?" Owen asked. "If I were you guys, I wouldn't mind it too much. That's just how Clay treats anyone he doesn't trust." Mavis informed them. "Sweet, at least it's a mutual feeling of disgust." Kade turned back down the hallway to his room. Magnezone returned to the house in bewilderment. The Pokémon was rather astonished to see Owen standing in the room. Magnezone hummed with confusion. "Don't worry. We didn't see him coming either." Gino reassured him.
Kade returned to everyone else with a sweatshirt on. "Hey, wasn't there one more person coming? Like, besides Clay." he asked. "Yes. It may be a while, though. The Captain requested he evaluated her himself." Gino explained. "Her?"
Just then, the entire cabin shook at the sound of an explosion outside. "WHAT THE HELL?" Kade and Owen both stumbled a little bit. Mavis and Gino stood and walked swiftly to the entrance window. "It seems she's still being evaluated." Gino commented. "I wanna see!" Kade hurried to the window. Outside, a large plume of dust had been kicked up, leaving everything beyond the driveway shrouded. Within the dust, two silhouettes of Pokémon could be seen dashing about. A jet of water splashed against the side of the cabin, followed by a second water jet, and then a third.
Amidst the Pokémon battle, the force of one of their blows dissipated the cloud of dust, revealing the battle clearly. A Blastoise and an Empoleon could be seen fighting each other viciously. The Blastoise threw a punch downward towards its smaller assailant. The Empoleon dodged as Blastoise's fist collided with the ground with unbelievable force, kicking up another cloud of dust, hiding the battle once more.
"Holy sh-!" Kade suddenly saw a person break away from the cloud of dust and sprint directly towards the cabin. They swung the door open swiftly as they entered, slamming it behind them, where they leaned against it. "Aha! My being has arrived at the coordinates! This assignment was too easy!" They proclaimed.
"Hey Ty! I missed you this morning." Owen greeted. "You're also bleeding all over the place." He added. "And you look like you've just been having the coziest day ever, Owen. I guess Mismagius' little tricks even work on the veterans!" Tyrene Williams shot back with a crazed look in her eye. Her clothes were torn and dirty. Her long, brown hair was in complete chaos as it was caked in dirt and blood. "It's like I've always said, you wouldn't last a minute in my shoes!" she pointed at him, with a sort of psychotic smile. "Good thing I'm in my own, then."
Tyrene craned her neck. "Who are you guys?" she asked. Mavis stepped forward. "First why don't we settle down a bit? We can do introductions once the adrenaline's run its course, yes?" she suggested. However, the reaction Mavis witnessed suggested the opposite was occurring, as she noticed Tyrene's gaze met with Kade. "What. The hell. Are you doing here?" Tyrene pointed directly at him. Kade then pointed back. "Glad to see you too, Tyrene. Can we eat before we fight this time?"
"Fight?" Clay stepped through the front door with Blastoise and Empoleon standing outside behind him. He looked at Kade and Tyrene pointing at each other. "Whatever this is, I'm already tired of it. End it." He ordered. "Yessir." Ty straightened up, erasing the crazed look from her face. Clay walked through the entry way with Mavis, Gino, and Empoleon immediately following him. Blastoise was still outside, scratching his head while trying to figure out how to fit his enormous body through the front door. "Alright…" Clay began. "Time for breakfast."