Hello, everyone. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my first story here. Before you read the second chapter, I'd like to make something known. Going forward, there will be parts that feature other languages. I do not speak these languages as I am still learning them, so I will unfortunately have to resort to Apple Translate. However, if you happen to speak any of the languages and you would like to provide a correction for any mistakes you see, please feel free to do so in a review or DM.

Also, since many others do this, I should clarify that I do not own Pokémon or PAW Patrol. They are properties of Nintendo and Spin Master respectively.

Chapter 2: Welcome to the Lookout

After a short trip, the now very large group found their way to a tower on top of a hill. It looked grand and high-tech, with what the Pokémon assumed to be the team's logo on the front. They were amazed that this belonged to this kid. "Wooahhhhh..." they all said together once again.

"Dang, Ryder. This is yours?" Asked Zoe, walking next to him as the pups parked their vehicles in their own spots around the tower.

"It is! It's all of ours!" He then walked up to the doors, which opened automatically. "Welcome to the Lookout!"

Everyone once again gasped, and a couple whistled at it again as they walked inside. "Hmm…I'm guessing this is just the hangout space and everything pertaining to your work is upstairs?" Asked Lila.

"Yes, that's where our computer is kept, as well as the entrance to the slide that the pups use to get into their vehicles," Ryder responded. "Behind the logo out front is where the pups' gear is kept when not in use."

"(Dang, this kid must be rich)," Patch said half-sarcastically. "(Either that, or Mommy and Daddy are funding this whole thing)."

Lila nudged him on his front leg a bit. "(Oh, come on, Patch)," she said with a small smile, "(don't be like that. They seem to be running a pretty good operation here, if their response to our appearance was any indication)."

Patch blushed a bit but quickly shook it off. "(Good point)," he agreed quietly.

"So, it's just you seven here?" Zoe asked. "Up in this tower?

"Yep!" Answered Skye. "We do have other members, but they don't live here. They have other owners, but they'll still swing by to help us when needed!"

"Really?" Maria asked, curiously. "Do you they share you guys' specialties, or do they each have their own?"

"Nope, everyone has their own specialty!" Ryder responded proudly.

"Really? What other grounds do you guys cover?" James asked.

"Well," Chase began, "there are quite a few. They range just about everywhere from city missions to dinosaur rescues."

The Pokémon almost dropped their jaws in surprise. That was not something they expected to hear. Ancient Pokémon were rare enough to come by in their own world. If creatures such as dinosaurs still existed here, they figured it would be in their best interest to keep their eyes and ears open for any more surprises they might encounter here.

"So, tell us more about yourselves!" Skye said excitedly.

"Yeah!" Rubble agreed, wagging his tail. "We wanna know more about you guys and where you're from!"

The Pokémon all exchanged looks with each other for a moment before Zoe spoke up. "Well, we come a place known as the World of Pokémon. Pokémon are all of the various different creatures that coexist in our world alongside humans. Some Pokémon live with humans, but most live in the wild. However, those of us that do can form strong bonds with them through which we can all become much stronger. There are over 1,000 different species of Pokémon and there are different categories of powers that each species has, called Types. There are eighteen of them: Rock, Water, Electric, Grass, Psychic, Poison, Fire, Ground, Ice, Fighting, Ghost, Dragon, Flying, Bug, Normal, Steel, Dark, and Fairy. Some Types are strong against others, some are weak to others, and some are neutral. Some Pokémon can have two Types, which can be advantageous or detrimental depending on the situation. This is demonstrated in fights, called Pokémon battles. It's done usually in sport by humans who befriend Pokémon, and they battle alongside each other to get stronger..."

The pups listened intently as Zoe explained battles to them all. The other Pokémon noticed that their smiles were slowly fading with each sentence spoken. They had a feeling that they knew exactly why, too.

Once Zoe finished explaining everything from catching to competitive battling, the pups looked pretty sad. Their mood was confirmed when Rocky spoke. "That sounds completely inhumane and barbaric! Humans catch you just to make you guys fight? I mean, that's just crazy!"

Maria responded in a soft voice to try to calm the mood, "we understand why you may feel that way, but we assure you that most Pokémon actually don't feel that way. Yes, some Trainers are cruel and only seek to use their Pokémon for personal gain. But most are not like that, far from it as a matter of fact. We can promise you that."

"Yes," James added proudly, "the primary objective for the team of a human and Pokémon is to grow and learn alongside each other. In the end, the goal is for both sides to benefit in some way."

Lila smiled warmly and spoke, "Our Trainer has been nothing but amazing to us since he met us all. And if he hadn't done that, none of us would have known each other! He brought us together. He loves us and we love him. And we know he and our other two friends back in our world are working to get us back home." She then let out a small gasp. "N-not that there's anything wrong with here, of course..."

"It's ok," Ryder said with a chuckle, "you guys are in an unfamiliar place. We'd probably feel the same way if we were in your situation."

While all this was happening, Patch couldn't help but think it a bit ironic that Rocky would make that comment. They were in a fairly similar, albeit not as violent place as they were. They were a team of non-human creatures owned by a human who sent them into missions seemingly on the regular. Even further irony could be seen in the fact that both Ryder's main team and a team of Pokémon consisted of six each. Lila noticed that Patch seemed to be somewhere else, so she nudged him lightly to get his attention. "(Hey, what's on your mind?)" She asked him quietly.

Patch immediately snapped out of his trance and tried not to notice the warmth rising to his face. "(Eh, nothing. Just, that I don't see why Rocky would make that remark even though one could easily say the same for his team.)"

"(Well, he is young. They all are. I mean, so are we, but we're definitely older and more experienced to know that there's no wrong being done to us by our Trainer. All this is new to them it seems, so I wouldn't hold it against him.)"

Patch sighed and gave a light smile. "(Yeah, I guess you're right.)"

The pups seemed calmed down after the Pokémon's words, and everyone continued to share more about themselves as the afternoon went on. The pups learned some interesting things about their new otherworldly friends. Zoe and James liked to race every now and then due to them both being fast runners and Martin would occasionally spectate and referee from the sky. Patch had a simple but understandable love for seeing new places and what they had to offer, as did Lila. She and Maria also had a love for music and would often sing together. Everyone else loved music too, but Maria and Lila were the most passionate about it. They also talked about their three friends back home, and mentioned how Trekke was an accomplished Trainer who was always ready to lend a hand and how Henry and Cassie simply loved to eat. Soon enough though, dinner time came, and they were quickly faced with a dilemma: what were the Pokémon going to eat?

Ryder scratched his head as he tried to think of something. "I'm not sure what exactly what it is you guys eat, but we have plenty of dog food here if you're willing to try it."

The Pokémon once again exchanged looks which each before agreeing to give it a shot.

"Sure!"

"Why not?"

"Can't be that different from Pokémon food, can it?"

Ryder went to get the dishes. He was glad he kept some extra around, just in case any of their friends or otherwise guests stayed over. Once he had them all set, he filled them each up with food. "Go ahead and see how you like it!" He said as encouragingly as he could. After examining it for a moment, Patch went and took the first bite. Once he had a mouthful, he chewed it and made sure there was nothing in it that would be unhealthy for them. After confirming there wasn't, he swallowed.

"(So, what's the verdict, Patch?)" Maria asked anxiously. She wasn't a particularly picky eater per say, but she did like her food to be at least decent.

"(Well, it's not fantastic...but it's not terrible either. Try it, guys.)" Doing as he suggested, his friends dug in as did the pups, who were waiting to hear their opinions.

"Hey! It's actually pretty good!" Zoe said after she ate a bit.

"Yeah, it's not that different from Pokémon food," Lila added. The other Pokémon nodded or made some noise in agreement.

"Well, it's good to know that!" Ryder said with a hint of relief in his voice.

As dinner went on, the Pokémon and pups talked amongst each other. Soon, each Pokémon and pup seemed to connect with one another on something, such as Skye's and Martin's love for flying and Rocky and Lila's love for nature. Marshall even managed to connect with James, as the latter resembled a horse. Marshall explained that horses and Dalmatians had a history of getting along with each other well, which the Rapidash found rather endearing.

Before they knew it, bedtime came, and the pups got ready to head to bed. As much as they wanted to continue talking to their new friends, they knew they could continue their conversations the next day. Since the Pokémon didn't have their Poké Balls with them, Ryder said they could sleep in the Lookout. As everyone laid down, ready to hit the hay, Zoe spoke to Ryder again. "Thank you once again, Ryder. You and your pups are very kind."

"You're welcome, Zoe. It's our job to help those who need it, however we can. No job is too big, no pup is too small." Zoe couldn't help but smile at that. After exchanging their "good nights," Zoe joined the others and Ryder took the elevator upstairs. Before everyone fell asleep, however, Martin voiced a curiosity that made everyone's eyes jolt open.

"(Wait...where's the ring...?)"

Trekke, Cassie, and Henry were in Professor Rowan's lab studying the ring with him. After digging up some old books from his closet at home that had been collecting dust for a good couple of decades and bringing them to the lab, the four wasted no time in looking over every little detail to see if they could find any means of bringing their lost friends back home. After a couple of hours, the professor piped up. "Everyone, I believe I found something," he announced confidently, yet with a hint of sorrow in his tone.

"What is it, Professor?" Trekke asked hopefully.

"It says here that the ring reacts in a certain way to those who come close to it. It says that when those who go near it have an unfulfilled purpose somewhere, they are immediately sucked into the ring and sent to wherever they need to be. From there, it is up to them to discover what their purpose there is and how to fulfill it. Only then will the ring regain its light and await whoever may come next." He then showed some of the following pages, which detailed stories from millennia past of those who supposedly were sucked into the ring, fulfilled their purpose and were returned home. Then, he read to them one final bit of information. "It says here that wherever the ring sends someone, it then temporarily duplicates itself and can be used to return home when it is time. The biggest problem is, sometimes the ring appears with the person immediately, and sometimes it appears so far away from them that it takes years to find. Although, I assume it's always found in the end, as I cannot find any documented incidents of people disappearing into the ring, never to be seen again. Everyone always manages to come back home."

Trekke slumped into a chair and sighed as he rubbed his fingers across the bridge of his nose. "So, in short, there's nothing we can really do except wait?" He hated that idea, and he hoped that somehow there might be another way to get them back home sooner.

The professor sighed himself and stood up from where he was sitting. "Unfortunately, yes, it seems that way. Even if we could find a way to get them all back quicker, we don't even know where they ended up."

The Trainer and Pokémon lowered their heads in defeat. "I guess that's true..." Trekke conceded. "Well, whatever purpose it is they need fulfill, I'm sure they'll get it done. And if I know them, they'll get it done well."

Adventure City was one of the safest cities on the planet. It had the lowest crime rate, highest life expectancy, highest education level and some of the greatest economic opportunity of any major city. And, as a result of the low crime in the city and surrounding counties, the prison that was situated near the city outskirts was relatively empty. That was, save for a few bad apples. After all, the crime rate was low - not non-existent. One such resident of the building being a scientist who had recently been thrown in after nearly destroying the city and possibly even the world. She had a hunger for power like no-one else in the city had ever seen. And being behind bars again only fueled that hunger. She would get what she wanted.

And I WILL make them pay for humiliating me.

The woman was laying on her bed. It was around 11:00 P.M. She was brainstorming how she could possibly bust out this time. Her thoughts were interrupted when an alarm blared throughout the prison. As she covered her ears, she looked up to see something that she thought was a hallucination: her cell door was opened. She waved her hand through the doorway to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Sure enough, she was free. She then saw some of the other prisoners making a run for it and took her chance as well.

She ran like there was no tomorrow. She sped past every prisoner and dodged any guard that tried to catch her. Soon she escaped the building and disappeared under the cover of night. She didn't stop running, though. She booked it all the way back to her old hideout.

Once she made it, she noticed right away the giant hole that had been created from the explosion of her Meteor Magnet. "Just another thing they'll pay for," she said as she collapsed into her old chair, utterly exhausted. After taking a breather, she went to change into her regular clothes. When she went back to her chair though, she saw something on the floor that she didn't notice before: an odd, golden ring. "What is this?" she asked herself out loud. After a few seconds, it shook in her hand, causing her to drop it. She picked it back up. The same thing happened. Then she did it a third time. And a fourth. Eventually, she grabbed a pair of pliers from a table and held the ring in it. Nothing happened. She waited a little longer. Still nothing.

"Interesting..." she said, completely intrigued. She placed the ring on a table and decided to study it the next day. She thought about making a run for it, assuming that her place would be the first that the cops would come looking for her. But before she could make her decision, she flopped on her couch and fell asleep.

She woke up the next morning and instinctively went to check her phone. To her surprise, it was still there. Also, to her surprise, she was still home. She checked the news on her phone to see if anything came up about the prison break the night before. Immediately, she saw several articles. Clicking a live news video, she watched and listened as they described what happened. Apparently, some idiot cop accidentally unlocked every door in the building. If that ain't the most cliche way that could have gone... she thought to herself.

"While the police have managed to apprehend most of the escapees, five remain at large," the anchor woman said. They then showed five mugshots of the remaining prisoners, along with their names. However, it was the last one that the woman in the chair read out loud to herself.

"Victoria Vance."

"They'll never get me again." She said before she picked up the golden ring with the pliers again. There was something unusual about this little trinket, and she was going to find out what.

"I, Victoria Vance," she said to herself, "will reclaim all that power, and then some!"