A/N: Hello everyone! So, I know the dialogue may be a little stiff in this story. You'll see that mostly in the parts where I am borrowing from the game's dialogue which does not flow as nicely or as fluidly as when I'm writing the conversations myself. I want to remain true to what transpires in the game with my own characterizations and spin on it. I will go back and amend and edit the dialogue more closely when I get the chance, but for now, I just wanted to hurry up and upload this chapter I'd completed months ago as it's well overdue.

That being said, I hope you can still enjoy this chapter.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas everyone!

Solana and Plusle entered the Fall City Ranger Base and were greeted by Joel and Professor Hastings.

Joel spoke first. "Welcome back, Solana, and good job. The citizens of Fall City were very happy with your work. You perfectly understood the Ranger's role in society, and you worked hard to live up to it."

"Why thank you, Leader Joel!" Solana replied excitedly.

Joel nodded. "Solana, you've earned a promotion. I hereby certify you Ranger Rank 3."

Solana was beaming. "Really? Another Rank up? Already?"

"But of course. You've earned it, lass." Followed Professor Hastings.

"You hear that, Plusle?

"Pla Plah!" Her partner pokémon said jumping up and down enthusiastically.

Joel spoke again. "Solana, when you go up in Ranger Rank, there is another benefit. A new segment is added to your Styler's Partner Gauge when you reach Ranks 3, 5, 7, and 9. To tell you the truth, all stylers have a 5-segment Partner Gauge to begin with. We cap the number of segments on the Partner Gauge to avoid putting too much stress on the partner pokémon. Your partner, Plusle, has grown much stronger being with you, so it can handle more pressure."

"Plah Plah!" Plusle cheered as she climbed atop Solana's right Solana and pumped her tiny fists.

"Allow me to remove the first cap on your styler's Partner Gauge." He said as he removed a clip clasped around Plusle's work collar and Solana's styler. "Solana, you are now authorized to operate your styler with a 2-segment Partner Gauge. Congratulations."

"Wow, thank you again, Leader Joel!"

"Pla Pla!"

Joel nodded. "You've been handling jobs one after another since escorting Professor Hastings. You sure you're not too tired?"

"Nope! Of course not, Leader Joel! Plusle and I are ready for what the world has to throw at us. Right, dear?

"Plah Plah Pla!"

Just then, a civil engineer rushed inside the Fall City Ranger base.

"Joel! We've got a situation on the boil down in the waterworks! The aqueducts are supposed to be absolutely clean, but they're overflowing with horrible sludge! That's never supposed to happen, so I went to investigate and what do I find? The place is crawling with Grimer! Joel, I'm begging you, we need help! You've got to do something! And the smell! It's putrid down there!"

Joel smiled softly. "Mr. Civil Engineer from the Waterworks Bureau, you've come to the right place. I'll send out a Ranger to the waterworks right away."

The civil engineer nodded. "I knew you were the guy to see, Joel. You catch on fast. The thing is, we never had Grimer show up in the waterworks before. We can't figure it out. So, I thought maybe the Rangers could do something about them. I'll run along and wait outside. I'm depending on you, Joel."

Joel sighed lightly. "It seems as if there's no end to the troubles affecting our city. Unfortunately, Fall City has an acute shortage of rangers because of the ongoing Go-Rock Squad investigation. In fact, Solana, you are the only ranger who is free."

"What about Lunick? He is my partner after all? Shouldn't he be joining me on this mission?"

"Lunick has his own mission he is attending to. He isn't available to help you right now, Solana. I'm sorry."

Solana was disheartened. She was really looking forward to going on a mission with him again.

"So, you don't get a choice in this matter. You must accept this mission. Of course, as you're already aware, that is the Ranger's role, so you don't ever get to refuse anyway."

"Yes, Leader Joel."

"So, this is your mission: Capture the Grimer that have overrun the waterworks. Also, the captured Grimer are to be turned over to a ranger who is specially trained for the role of rehabilitating misplaced Pokémon. Understood?"

"Yes, Leader Joel."

Joel nodded. "Solana, you are the one and only ranger that Fall City can count on now. Do not disappoint. You are dismissed."

Solana bowed to Joel before leaving. As soon as Solana and Plusle exited the base she heard a voice call out to her.

"Hey ranger! Over this way!"

She saw the same civic engineer who had entered the base standing in front of a manhole cover. She followed to where she had met him before and climbed down the ladder leading to the sewer. As soon as she entered, her styler started to ring and vibrate. It was a text message from her Leader Spenser.

From: Spenser

To: Solana

I've heard the latest from Joel. You might be intimidated being in an unfamiliar city, especially without Lunick, but I'm sure you'll acquit yourself fine. Both Joel and I are too busy with the Go-Rock Squad investigation to do anything else. What's important for you is not to worry about the Go-Rock Squad. You need to take on missions and gain experience. That's why I also want you to go out on the Grimer mission. Make me proud!

Having a look around, Solana observed the sewage system. There were many pipes and units on this upper floor of the tunnel system. She suspected she would run into most of the gunk on the lower levels.

She looked towards her partner pokémon. "You ready to go down there, Plusle?"

"Pla!" her partner returned with a determined look on her face. Carefully, Solana dismounted further.

As soon as she stepped onto the platform she gagged. The scent was putrid and nauseating. She covered her nose with the sleeve of her arm and looked back at her pokémon.

"You okay there?"

Plusle nodded. A Pokémon's body could withstand a lot more a than a human's but there was no denying that rancid odor.

Solana then noticed a Fall City ranger standing off to the side and guessed that he was the ranger she was to hand the Grimer over to once she caught them.

"…Pwaaah! This stink is downright awful! I've been holding my breath! You're Solana, right? My name's Henry. I'm the ranger they sent down to recover the Grimer you'll capture. Glad to meet…Urf, this stench is getting to me…The stench is even worse the farther you go in, so I'm sorry but I'm going to wait out here."

"Okay."

"Every time you capture a Grimer, I'll come running to recover it, and then I'll dash right back out."

"Okay. Sounds good. I'll see you soon."

Tears streaked down Henry's face. "…Urf, I can't take it! I'm holding my breath!"

As Solana traveled the corridors, she captured a Totodile, but not too long after that she happened upon a pool of green sludge where she then saw a slimy, amorphous pokémon. It had two large eyes with beady pupils and a gaping mouth with a gray tongue. The scent was overwhelming.

"This must be the Grimer they were talking about," commented Solana. "Okay, Load Capture!"

She released her capture disc and began encircling around the sludge creature. Within three loops she had it captured.

The green sludge on the ground appeared to have evaporated away once it was under her control. The same ranger she met earlier, Henry, approached her. "When you capture a Grimer, the green sludge goes away, it looks like. I'll take the Grimer, so keep at it, and…Urrpp! This stench is overpowering! I'm not going to inhale."

He then walked away with the Grimer.

Solana also managed to catch a Corphish and a Magnemite along the way.

"Ohh small mercies! You're here at last!" said another of the civil engineers that was in the underground pipe. "The waterworks supplies drinking water to the city, so we've tried to maintain its purity at the highest level. What went wrong? Why would Grimer suddenly appear? They've never been here before…"

"Don't worry, sir! My partner and I will get to the bottom of this!" said Solana.

"Plah Pla!"

Walking to the right, soon enough Solana ran into two more Grimer. They left a trail of sludge as they walked which damaged the capture line loop, and in turn, the capture styler as it took damage. That's when she had to rely on the PokéAssists of her two water-type pokémon to entrap them in bubbles off the ground and perform her capture that way. It was ultimately successful.

Henry returned.

"Good job on another capture, Solana…But how can you stand the stench?"

"I'm just focused on the mission, I guess," Solana replied nervously.

"I'll relieve you of the Grimer…Urrrf…I can't take this! I won't breathe anymore."

And with that he walked away with the captured Grimer.

Solana gasped. "Man, those pokemon really are smelly. But they can't help it right? They're born from sludge in dirty streams or seabeds that are exposed to lunar radiation. We've just got to make the most of it, Plusle."

"Pla Plah!" she replied cheerily give her ranger a high five from perched on top her right shoulder.

Solana soon managed to catch a Drowzee. With each new capture, Plusle did a little cheer for her partner. She found another civic engineer near the end of one of the of the water breaks.

"The rotten Raticate…They keep gnawing on the metal fence. I can see one of them scurrying around on the other side of the water…Hey get lost you little vermin! Whoops, sorry, I'm yellin at that critter, not you."

"Don't worry, sir. I'll get that Raticate out of your hair." Solana replied, a little put off at the way he was shouting at a pokémon that was just doing what it was known for doing. Now she may have understood what people meant when the called certain pokémon pests. Going further deeper into the sewage, Solana came across a gunky floor covered in green sludge. There were Koffing hovering about everywhere releasing noxious gases.

"Wow, I never expected to see a ranger here so quick," replied another civil engineer. "I'm gratefully impressed!" He pointed to the ground. "The sludge coating the floor is what was left over after we tried to filter the water to make it drinkable. It's very slippery. Don't try to skate on it or anything. It's too dangerous."

"Will do."

Solana tried her best to walk carefully across the gunky, murky floor, but she kept finding herself losing her balance and slipping. Plusle was perched on her shoulder, so she had to be careful for both of their sakes. There were many openings where she could drop down to her demise in this section of the waterworks, so she absolutely had to be careful.

At the top of the hole, she found the enraged Raticate and it wasted no time charging after her. After vaulting to the side, Solana released her capture disc. Because the Raticate kept using its large teeth to chomp through her capture line loop, Solana decided it was time to call on the help of her Partner Pokémon.

"You ready to do this, Plusle?"

"Pla Plah!" her pokémon replied, determinedly.

"Alright. Thunderwave, Plusle. Partner Gauge Level 2 cap!"

"Pla Pla!"

Plusle jumped in front of her ranger and hopped directly in front of the enraged Raticate. She then released four long streaks of blue electricity at the Raticate. It was instantly paralyzed, and Solana was able to make a swift capture.

"Alright! Wait to go, Plusle! You were awesome out there!" she raised her hand for a high five which her partner happily obliged.

"Plah Plah Pla!" she shrugged, indicating that she was a natural at this.

Solana then reached into her pack and pulled out a Paralyze Heal. She gingerly approached the Raticate who was still wary but calmed.

"Easy now. This will help you to feel better, I promise."

Solana spritzed the Raticate with the healing spray and its paralysis instantly went away.

"There. Doesn't that feel better?"

"Raticate. RaRa!" it replied cheerily.

"Now no more mischief out of you. These waterworks need the metal fences and beams for support of the infrastructure. How about you hang around with me until we find you a more suitable place to live?"

"Raticate."

"Sounds like a plan."

Solana and her Partner and Friend pokémon then descended the ladder. Solana suddenly lost her footing and slipped right off one of the broken metal banisters to the ground down below.

"Plah Pla! PLAH!"

"I'm alright, Plusle." Solana called from below as she got back to her feet. "I just fell on the landing below this one. I'll be up shortly.

"Pla Pla…" Plusle sighed in relief.

Looking around, Solana saw more Koffing hovering around and had to cover her nose and mouth and hold her breath so not to breath in its noxious fumes. When she found the ladder, she quickly climbed it and she was reunited with her pokémon. Plusle leapt into her arms snuggling up close to her and wiping her face in her chest.

"Hey now, it's okay. I'm alright. Look at me. I'm alright."

"Plah Plah," Plusle cried tearfully as she looked her ranger up in her eyes.

"No crying. I'm not in any danger, okay? Besides, we've still got a job to do."

Wiping her tears, Plusle nodded before perching herself on her ranger's shoulder.

"Plah Pla!"

"That what I want to hear!"

After ascending the ladder, Solana caught a few more Magnemite to replenish her styler before releasing one back into the wild. She quickly ran into another sludgy area with Grimer occupying and made fast work capturing them.

Henry, the Fall City ranger, approached once more. "…Good…urp…job. Do you…maybe like this aroma? Urrrp! It's making me nauseous."

Solana flipped her hand. "No way! But I gotta do what I gotta do. We gotta job to complete."

He nodded with tears in his eyes. "You're right. I'll do my job and take what you capture. Don't expect me to breathe…" and with that he took his leave.

Solana put her hands on her hips. "Well, he's gonna have to breathe sometime or he'll pass out."

Solana continued following the path where she saw the green sludge when she came upon two open sewage pipes dispensing water. One was a dead-end, but the other led to a completely other system. And lo and behold whom she found at the entrance but Aria.

"Sabrina! What are you doing here?!" she asked incredulously.

Solana's brow furrowed. "Actually, my name is Sola –"

"Wait, let me guess: You're capturing the mass outbreak of Grimer? Giggle…It sounds like the perfect job for a rookie like you."

Plusle and Solana both growled lowly. "Well, then what are you doing down here, Aria?"

Aria flicked her hair. "My mission is to investigate the Go-Rock Squad, obviously. We got word that one of their members is lurking down here. But anyways…It smells beastly here. I can't be wasting time on my top-priority mission, so I'll be on my way. Move out of the way, Salina."

She roughly pushed passed her to the sewer line above.

"My name's Solana!" Solana shouted back.

"Whatever." Aria replied nonchalantly with another flick of her hair.

Solana glowered. "Oh, I really do not like that girl!"

"Plah Pla!" Plusle nodded, sticking out her tongue afterwards in the direction of the place Aria stood moments ago.

Solana petted her on the head. "Well, at least I know you go my back. Let's go."

Solana followed down a few more walkways and corridors until she came across yet another copious pile of green sludge, and sure enough, three Grimer were there roaming around. Using the help from the Drowzee and Crocanaw she befriended she was able to make a successful capture of all three Grimer.

Henry returned. "Sometimes, rangers work out of the public's sight…Urp! This is horrible! I can't talk…Talking makes me breathe. I'll take these without a word."

And he quickly left with the three of them. As Solana continued west, she came across the same uppity ranger she ran into not long ago.

"Oh, what is it, Sarah? Did you want to cross over to this side?" She said with a large smirk on her face. "It won't be any fun if I just tell you, so I'll give you two hints. I'm only saying this once, so listen!"

"Seriously? This is not a game, Aria! We are both on very important missions here."

But Solana's cry fell on deaf ears. "There is a post here and there is a Tangela somewhere. You can figure out the rest for yourself. I have to be going now. Bye."

And with a flick of her hair, she turned away and left.

Solana was fuming. But she didn't have time to worry about Aria now. She had to focus on her mission.

'Okay. Tangela. Let's start with that.'

A little further up the falls, Solana ran into a Croconaw and a Tangela, both of which she wasted no time capturing. Walking back down to the post, she requested the help of the Tangela to use its Vine Whip to fling her, Plusle and their friend pokémon over to the other side, which it happily obliged.

"Thank you, friend!" Solana called out as it fled.

Solana followed the pipeline northwest and then south and came across yet another pool of green sludge surrounded by Grimer. She quickly made capture of them relying on Plusle once again to stun them.

Once again, Henry the Fall City ranger ordered to take them appeared once the capture was completed.

"Great job! That should have been the last of the Grimer you needed to capture. You should return to the ranger base and report to Joel."

"Understood. Thank you."

"No thank you! I'll finally be able to breathe again soon," he joked. It was then that he noticed something. "Huh? What the…? There's an even worse stench coming from over there. Ugh! It's making my noise go weird."

Paying no mind to the stench this time, the Fall City Ranger left with the Grimer in tow.

"Maybe we should investigate, Plusle?"

Plusle nodded. "Pla Plah!"

"Waah! Muk!" Solana heard someone cry from the entrance. "It wasn't just the Grimer. There's even Muk going amok!"

"Oh no! We better hurry, Plusle!

"Plah Pla!"

As Solana trekked her way back to the entrance, she caught a Magneton to help replenish the energy of her styler. She soon got a message on her styler.

From: Joel

To: Solana

I've just heard that Muk has appeared in the waterworks in addition to the Grimer. I understand that it isn't rampaging, but there is the danger of it contaminating the water supply. I'm adding the capture of the Muk to your mission.

Using the help of the friend pokémon – the Crocnaw to entrap them in bubble, the Drowzee using its psychic abilities to lift them off the ground – and finally her Plusle to paralyze it, Solana was finally able to successfully capture the Muk and its Grimer buddies.

Henry returned. "That guy's stink has got to be ten times worse than any Grimer. I mean, it's so overpowering, I can't smell anything anymore. Look see? Watch me breathe deeply. In, out, in, out!"

Solana stared at him uneasily.

"Okay, I'll haul this last lot away. Good job, Solana."

And with that, he finally left the waterworks.

"Guess we should be heading back to Joel too, huh, Plusle?"

"Pla Pla!" she cried cheerily.

"Sounds like the situation in the waterworks has been settled." A voice called from behind which Solana immediately recognized as Aria's.

She tried to maintain her composure. "Did you happen to spot any Go-Rock Squad members, Aria?"

"Uk, no! And my clothes smell horrible now. There's no reason for me to stay here even another moment! So, I'll be on my way. I wouldn't dawdle if I were you. You should report to the Ranger Base right away." Aria said before leaving her.

Solana sighed miserably and made her way out of the waterworks. Further down the corridor a few levels above, a Go-Rock Squad stood lonesome looking over the cleanup that blue-haired ranger just made.

"Tch…"

Solana and Plusle entered the Fall City Ringtown base. Joel was sitting behind his work desk with Professor Hastings at his side.

"Urf…That Grimer reek…" Joel commented absentmindedly.

"I know I smell horrid, Leader Joel. I will go take a shower and get cleaned off as soon as I can."

"Uh…Nevermind, it's nothing," he muttered, clearly embarrassed he let his disgust show. "You restored the clean drinking water to the citizens of Fall City by yourself. You restored the city's lifeblood. Those captures you made would have challenged veteran Rangers! You've outdone yourself again. I'm hereby certifying you as Ranger Rank 4, Solana."

"Yay, alright!" Solana cheered as she pumped her stylus in the air soon followed by a cute little cheer and dance by her Partner Pokémon Plusle.

Joel continued. "Solana, now that you are a Rank 4 Ranger, there's something I should tell you. You are now permitted to add one more friend pokémon to your party when you reach Ranks 4, 7, and 10. Actually, all stylers have the capacity to allow up to seven friend pokémon in your party. However, novices can't make full use of party pokémon if there are too many. That's why we cap the styler. Allow me to remove the first cap on your styler's party capacity. Solana, you are now authorized to be accompanied by up to five friend pokémon in addition to your partner."

Just then, both Joel's and Solana's stylers began vibrating.

From: Spenser

To: Joel and Solana

I've got unconfirmed reports that the Go-rock Squad has resumed activities in Summerland. Solana, if you're not on an active mission, head for Summerland.

Solana's heart fluttered.

Don't get too excited, Solana. This isn't a mission. I want you to gather intelligence on the Go-Rock Squad with your own eyes and ears.

Solana's heart sank. When was she finally going to be taken seriously as a ranger and be given the higher ranked missions already?

"The Go-Rock Squad may be in Summerland? Hmm…The Go-Rock Squad on loose on that peaceful island…" murmured Professor Hastings

Joel shook his head. "Now even Summerland is threatened by the Go-Rock Squad…I would like you to go there immediately but there's a major problem. For some unknown reason, the ferry to Summerland hasn't been running. If you took the Dragonite Bus, you would be in Summerland instantly…But you can't use it at your Ranger Rank. Now what to do?"

Joel took a step back and closed his eyes to ponder for a moment before snapping his eyes back open as a sort of 'Aha!' moment.

"…Oh, that's right! How about asking Jonah the Lapras Guy who is always in the harbor? If you explain your situation, he may be willing to let you ride Lapras. Jonah is quite a reasonable and generous person. It's worth a try."

"Yes, Leader Joel."

"But please, get cleaned up first before you head out."

"Of course. I'll head to Ringtown right away and get washed up."

"Good. You're dismissed."

"Let's go, Plusle."

"Pla Plah."

As Solana and Plusle started to exit the base, they noticed the ranger they met out by the alleyway on the mission before last sitting behind one of the lobby desks with his twin brother.

"Hey, Lind? What about you? Any luck at all?"

"So, far, we investigated pretty much every possible place we could think of. But we haven't had any luck tracking the trail of the Go-Rock Squad…"

His brother then spoke up. "Hey, come to think of it, has anyone seen Aria around lately? She's got the chops to be a great ranger. If anyone can track them down, Aria can. She's considered the No. 1 candidate to become Leader, even. Or so it's rumored."

"Stop spreading rumors, Keith."

"I'm just saying she's a hottie with the skills to do some real good, you know? Though she'd never give any one of us the time of day, am I right?"

Lind sighed in annoyance. "Regardless of how attractive she may be, I can do without that harsh personality and bad attitude. No ranger will become an Area Leader like that."

"I guess you're right," Keith shrugged.

Solana tried to keep her disdain for Aria to herself. "Well, I'll be seeing you two around, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, Solana. Bye, Plusle." Lind waved.

"Plah Pla Plah!"

And with that, the two partners exited the Fall City Ranger Base. It took them a lot less time to get back to Ringtown than Solana remembered. She must have been getting more familiar with her surroundings after all. When she entered, there was pretty much no one inside except for the healing station receptionist, Murph, who was off in the kitchenette fixing himself a snack, and Lunick, who was seated directly in Spenser's work chair with Minun standing on the long table in front of him.

Lunick's face then became a mask of disgust and he covered his nose with both of his hands. "Phew-Whewie! What is that God-awful odor?!"

"Yeah, yeah. I know I stink, Lunick," Solana said unenthused as she walked up to him. Plusle jumped on the table to greet Minun.

"Solana, that's you? Good grief! You reek majorly bad!"

"Yeah, well tramping around in a sewer all day while tasked with capturing and subduing a bunch of Grimer and Muk wouldn't leave you smelling so pleasant either!" she retorted, clearly offended.

"You went down in the Waterworks? It doesn't usually smell that bad down there. That's where Fall City gets their clean drinking water from."

"Yeah, well it was contaminated, and I was tasked with cleanup duty."

Lunick looked her up and down. "Man, they really did a number on you."

"Would you stop?!" Solana asked placing her hands on her hips. "You're supposed to be my partner and you're being all mean and cheeky."

"Why am I always declared insulting by you just because I'm being honest? Honesty doesn't equate to bluntness, insolence, or savagery. You're just too sensitive. What, would you have me lie and say you smell like a bed full of roses? That wouldn't be a very partnery thing to do. And I am telling you the truth, which is that you stink!"

"Alright! I GET IT! That's why I'm here in the first place. To get cleaned up and head out on another mission."

Lunick unclasped his hands from his nose and mouth and sat back down in Spenser's chair and started typing on his computer.

"That wasn't a mission. You're doing standard recon; I was right here when Leader sent you the message."

Solana gawked at him. "You were spying?"

"Hardly. I had just gotten back from a mission of my own when he sent that message out to you and Joel."

"Oh," Solana relaxed slightly. "Hey, where is everybody?"

"Everybody's on high-alert with the Go-Rock Squad investigation, even Leader. I'm here manning the front desk for any requests we might get while he's out."

"Really? He trusts you that much to run the base for him in his absence?"

"Um, excuse me, who's been working here longer than you, Miss Know-it-All Goody-Goody?" he said standing up and placing both palms of his hands on the desk.

Solana shoved him. "Don't call me that."

"Well, then stop acting like you know everything. You have no idea how deep the bond Leader and I have is. Of course he trusts me."

"Or you were the only other available ranger besides Murph since you just got back in from a mission," Solana said matter-of-factly.

"That's…That's beside the point. He wouldn't have asked me to do it if he didn't trust that I couldn't."

"Yeah, sure."

Lunick huffed and sat back down in Spenser's chair.

"You know where the showers are. How about you get in there and give yourself a thorough cleaning? Your reekage is suctioning all the cleanliness the forest is providing my space right now."

"Oh shut up, you jerk. Come on, Plusle."

Plusle waved bye to Minun before hopping off the countertop and following her human to the storage room.