The next day, at about two in the afternoon. Jessica just stared at a small metal case that Prof. Rowan had handed her, or rather at its contents. Inside, was a small metal pin, depicting a Pokéball with two feathery wings extending outward, the words "SP Guard" were written on the front in bold yellow. Next to it was a red device that seemed to hinge open, though Jessica hadn't seen the inside yet. And lastly there was a smaller, plastic case with her name written on the front in what seemed to be gold marker.
Next to her, Matt was looking down at his own case, with the same contents. The only difference Jessica could discern was that his device had more of a blue color.
"Jessica, Matt" Professor Rowan said, "what you have before you is an offer. I would like you two to assist me in my research of the Sinnoh region's Pokémon. The device before you is a Pokédex, designed to automatically record data on Pokémon you encounter that myself and those working with me in the lab can then analyze."
"So, you want us to catch as many Pokémon as we can?" Matt asked with his hand raised.
"Not necessarily. While we can gather more information from a Pokémon that's been caught, we can still gain a lot from observation alone. More than that however is that we don't fully understand the impact of removing Pokémon from their environment and we don't want to take unnecessary risks. If you join, you will be asked to abstain from catching too many Pokémon from any one area." The Professor responded.
Jessica opened the Pokédex, which displayed some basic information like her name as well as stats on how many Pokémon she had seen or caught. But it was also noticeably incomplete with a basic silhouette filling in where there was probably meant to be a photo of her as well as a noticeable empty space for a rank or title next to her name. But truth be told, she was just glad that it was her name, given she was still in the process of changing it legally. She glanced at Professor Rowan who smiled.
"Don't worry , I know only what's in the court's papers; and so long as I remain in charge of the research division I will make sure that you are treated right and only judged for who you are and nothing else."
"Thank you sir." Jessica nodded her head, her eyes watering just a bit.
"Now then, if you choose to accept my offer you will be working alongside Dawn on this project. I hope that she will be able to show you the ropes. Now, I understand that this is an extraordinary offer to drop into your laps under such short notice, you may of course take as much time as you need to come to a decision."
"I'll do it!" Mat said the moment Prof Rowan stopped talking.
"Are you sure? After all this is a rather important decis-"
"Yeah, I'll do it." Matt reaffirmed.
"With all due respect sir, he's been sold since you put the case in his lap" Jessica said. "He's been trying to get into the SP Guard since middle school."
"I see, and what about you Ms. Mizuki?" Rowan turned to Jessica.
Jessica hummed for a moment, "If I take more time I'll just talk myself back and forth until I scare myself out of the thing I really want. Yes, I'll do it."
The Professor smiled. "Thank you, I know this is a lot to ask. I've already discussed my offer with the headquarters in Jubilife, they'll be expecting you to report-in within the next week." He then stood up and gestured for them to do the same. Taking the pins from the cases they had been presented. "I, Professor Abraham Rowan, Captain of the Research Division of the Sinnoh Pokémon Guard, officially induct you as members of the same. Wear this badge with pride and dignity for the betterment of and protection of the Sinnoh Region, and the world." He then proudly affixed the badges to their shirts.
Not long after, once Jessica had gotten everything sorted, she met up with Dawn north of town. Dawn was wearing her SP Guard uniform, which consisted of a leather jacket featuring the SP Guard logo on the front, it was mostly white with pink accents to denote the research division along with a matching pair of pants that Dawn looked very good in.
"So, what did you call me out here for?" Jessica asked.
"Well, since you still have a few days before you need to head to Jubilife, I thought I could show you the ropes a bit. I'd have invited Matt as well but…" She trailed off.
"He's already left for Jubilife." It wasn't a question, Jessica knew he'd do something like this. "Did he at least remember to bring a radio or a phone?"
"Ah, no. That's why the Professor has already told the Rangers to keep an eye out for him. I'm sure he'll be fine." Dawn said, scratching the back of her head. She then took a Pokéball out from the special holster that was on her belt, which Jessica was also wearing. "I'm going to teach you how to catch a Pokémon!"
And so they moved further northward, following a tracker that the Professor Rowan had placed on a Pokémon he thought would be good for capture. As they moved, Dawn kept a close eye on a steadily moving red dot via the GPS on her phone. "Alright, it should be coming into view any minute now." It turned out to be much sooner than that as suddenly the dot began to move much faster and then two Pokémon broke through the line of trees to the west, viciously attacking each other.
Jessica's jaw dropped, she recognized both Pokémon. One was one of the Starly that attacked her at the lake. She recognized a scar on its back from where a tree had pierced it when Dorgo knocked it down, she didn't even realize it had survived, and to be up and fighting already? Pokémon were more amazing than she realized.
The other was one that everyone in Twinleaf knew, a Bidoof named King Bamos who had made multiple attacks on the city walls, which he apparently found delicious. It was definitely weird to see him this far north but she wasn't going to stop and ponder that right now.
She reached down, both for Dorgo's Pokéball, and an empty one. King Bamos was on the losing side of the fight. Everytime he lunged at the Starly, it avoided the attack and hit back harder. She grit her teeth, sure he was a bit of a nuisance, but no one in Twinleaf Town actually disliked him. When he wasn't trying to eat the walls he was a very well mannered and friendly Pokémon who generally took care not to step on people or buildings. And she wasn't going to let him get hurt any further.
The Starly slammed into King Bamos, sending him to the ground. As he struggled to get up, the Starly rose into the air before diving bombing the Bidoof, aiming to land the killing blow. But suddenly its target disappeared in a flash of light. Unable to stop itself, it crashed into the ground beak first.
Jessica watched the Premiere ball she'd tossed at King Bamos wiggle and shake as the Starly slowly began to rise out of its crater. After several tense seconds, it stopped shaking and Jessica heard a small clicking sound as the ball properly locked. Jessica breathed a sigh of relief, a somewhat premature one though as the Starly stood up.
It looked around seeing that its opponent had vanished, and then it spotted Jessica. Its eyes narrowed as it recognized the human that had gotten away before, and played a role in the scar it now sported on its back. It let out a very loud squawk and rushed at them, only for a bright flash to envelope its vision before it was slammed by Dorgo once again.
The Starly let out an angry squawk, not that Dorgo was phased by it. He'd beaten this Starly once and he'd do it again. He glanced back at his new human partner, the same girl who had called him out to fight this Starly last time, though she didn't seem as scared, good. If they were going to work together she'd need some confidence. If there was one thing that wild brutes like this Starly didn't understand, it was just how much stronger a Pokémon could get with help from a human, and Dorgo was looking forward to proving it.
The Starly's screeched once again before it tried to pry into Dorgo with its beak, only to be stopped by its hard shell. The vibrations from the impact irritated the scar on its back and the injuries from the Bidoof. It was then slammed in the side by Dorgo, driving it back into the dirt.
As it lay there, it began to accept that it was about to die, that Dorgo would jump on its skull or drag it through the ground or stab it with another tree. As the Turtwig loomed over it, Starly readied itself for oblivion. But oblivion did not come, instead a bright light enveloped it. It found itself in a new place, where there were shining lights flickering all around it and it felt as though something had been wrapped around it. It thought of fighting, breaking these bonds, but it was too tired. It had fought all its life and earned nothing, so maybe it was time to give in, finally rest. The Starly's eyes closed once again as it strangely felt its bonds loosening.
Jessica's eyes lit up as the Pokéball holding the Starly locked shut. Running over to Dorgo she gave him a nuzzle on his nose before going and picking up the Pokéballs."Well, King Bamos already has a name, but for the Starly, I think I'll call you Litra." she said with a smile before clipping them both to her own Pokéball holster, the one part of her uniform she'd actually received thus.
"That was amazing!" Jessica turned around to see Dawn carefully lowering herself into the crater that Jessica was currently standing in. "I mean it, I've never seen anyone be so brave and confident, let alone on their first day. I mean really, you just caught two Pokémon without any help and that Starly looked like it hated you specifically! Most new recruits would be on the verge of panic after something like that!"
Jessica chuckled as she scratched the back of her head before gesturing towards Dorgo. "I dunno, ever since I got him, I've felt like I don't have anything to fear." She said before giving him a pat on the nose and returning him to his Pokéball.
They stuck around a bit longer so that Dawn could catch the Pokémon for herself, another Bidoof from King Bamos's nest. This also gave Jessica the chance to meet Dawn's Piplup, a surprisingly aggressive specimen named Peguila. Apparently the Piplup that had been in the case with Dorgo and Matt's Chimchar was Peguila's sibling. Their eggs were recovered from their nest when the iceberg it was in started to collapse due to the heat put off by Groudon during the Super-Ancient Pokémon incident three years ago. There was no sign of their parents anywhere.
Jessica smiled as she listened to Dawn explain all of that, the way Dawn's eyes lit up when talking about his personality and abilities, the way her voice sank when talking about what happened to his nest. It seemed like she was really passionate about Peguila and Pokémon research. That was something Jessica didn't see very often back in Twinleaf. It was nice to finally talk to someone other than Matt who saw Pokémon as anything other than nuisances at best or monsters that need to be destroyed at worst.
After some time they headed back to Sandgem Town. As they entered the gates however, Jessica was nearly thrown back as someone wrapped their arms around her in a very tight hug. It took a moment to realize as she struggled to keep her balance, and another moment to realize who it was that was hugging her.
"M-Mom?" Jessica sputtered out as her mother eventually loosened her grip. "I'm not complaining but what are you doing here?"
"Well, we came to see you, tomorrow at least, but we came here early so we could spend some time with you." Jessica glanced around, realizing that 'we' must mean her mom and Matt's, who Jessica noticed standing not far away.
"Sorry, but Matt's already gone ahead, you know how he is." Jessica told her.
"Yeah I figured, the boy is so much like his father, it makes my heart ache, but I know he's picked up his fathers better traits as well." She said with a sigh.
Jessica went her separate ways from Dawn and spent the rest of the day with her mom, first they went to the Pokémon center to get King Bamos and Litra checked out, which involved a lengthy conversation about King Bamos going with Jessica and how the people at home would feel if he was absent. Then they went to the nicest restaurant in Sandgem Town, a slightly above average burger joint. Jessica's favorite kind of place. But then the sun set and they parted ways, Jessica was staying at the small dormitory for SP Guard members next to the lab, while her mom had apparently been invited to use the guest room at Professor Rowan's house.
The next morning, Jessica and her mom went out to the north gate together. "Professor Rowan said they'd have a uniform ready for you when you get there. Now, you stay safe, you do what you think is right. And don't let anyone ever tell you who you can or cannot be."
Tears forming in her eyes, Jessica pulled her mom into a hug. "I will, and I'll be sure to call as often as I can." She glanced over at Matt's mom, "and I'll be sure to keep Matt safe too." Squeezing her mom as tight as possible, she practically whispered, "Bye Mom."
"Bye sweetie, take care." Her mother responded, tears flowing freely. Then with both a heavy heart and great excitement for the future, Jessica left for Jubilife and an adventure that would change her life forever.