March 16th, First Year

Thin snow crunched under his boots as Ingo strode purposefully into Jubilife Village. To Ingo, it certainly felt thin compared to how thick the snow was in the Coronet Highlands. He couldn't quite place what he felt when the noises of the village came to his ears. Reluctance? Nostalgia? Joy? He had certainly never felt anything like it when he had to return back to his mandatory station at the Pearl Clan Settlement in the Alabaster Icelands.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't Warden Ingo!"

The man hardly had time to turn around before Captain Zisu clapped him hard on the back, her thick red hair blowing in the wind. If it knocked the breath out of him, he did not say anything or make a displeased noise. Certainly not. Ingo smiled and readjusted his hat.

"Greetings, Captain Zisu."

"Ingo, please. Just call me Zisu! No need for formalities! You should know that by now!"

One look from Zisu and Freight- Ingo's first partner, a Gliscor- immediately tapped its stinger against its pokéball, sealing itself inside. Both he and Ingo knew how particular the Galaxy scouts were about pokémon roaming about within the village.

"Miss Zisu-"

"Warden Ingo."

Ingo looked away. "Zisu," he grunted begrudgingly. "I do not mean to sound rude, but was the commander not due to receive me today? I was told that I would be escorted by his scouts." He took a quick visual sweep of the village as if drawing attention to the fact that none such scouts were anywhere. "Would you happen to be my escort?"

Zisu faltered for only a moment. "I wish, but no. The commander was supposed to be here, but he had something come up at the last moment. I think he was called for some business with that landmass off the northeastern coast of Hisui."

"That particular set of tracks?" Ingo muttered aloud. "I do believe that area has been uninhabited for years- or at the very least, from what I have heard. Was Jubilife not supposed to be stationed there?"

Zisu gave him a trademark look, her arms crossed as she bodily faced him, eyebrows raised. "Which means…?"

Oh. She did not understand me. "What I meant to say was, the commander originally intended for Jubilife Village to be built on that landmass, did he not?"

"Now that you mention it, we were! To avoid conflicts with the Diamond and Pearl Clan, of course," Zisu explained nonchalantly. "Hey, weren't you here when we first showed up?"

"No. I have only been here in Hisui for nearly two years. I arrived at this station shortly after the Territorial Dispute War came to a halt. Nasty bit of trouble, that. Coincidentally that was when Leader Irida first took her position as the conductor of the Pearl Clan. My knowledge of the Galaxy Team is foggy at best."

"I don't know all the details myself. We both got here around the same time then, huh?" After a minute, Zisu shook her head and gave him an apologetic smile. "Right, right. Long story short, the commander isn't here right now. He is a busy man, after all!" She waved him forward, guiding him down the main street with a pleased smile. "Anyway, I'm glad to see you back here so soon! You have no idea how dull it gets around here." She then flashed him a coy grin. "Think you have time for a rematch? If the commander's not here, then you've got plenty of time to practice with me!"

Ingo pulled the brim of his cap to shade his eyes, his fingers twitching automatically toward the pokéballs hidden beneath his tattered jacket. His heart began racing and his chest began to burn with an emotion the old railmaster just couldn't place. He cleared his throat, adjusting his ceremonial wooden cuff on his left arm as he straightened out his posture. "It would be an honor to battle with you, but I unfortunately do not have the time to derail myself. I have a duty to perform."

"Ah, but the commander isn't here," Zisu challenged him, palming one of her own pokéballs. "I'm sure the captain wouldn't mind if we do some training," she drawled, eyeing him like a Luxray would a small Buneary. "Right?"

The strange energy began to build in his chest and fingers again. Ingo found himself nodding, clasping his hands together as the corners of his lips pulled upwards in a sly smile. "I look forward to seeing how well you fight. Therefore, I will exert every possible effort to battle with you. All aboard!"

Ingo would never truly tire of pokémon battles. Even then as he stood side-by-side with his Tangrowth, Boxcar, his hands were trembling and he knew that he was breathing much too fast but he did not take notice.

Zisu was a fierce opponent; a heavy-handed strength wielder who preferred moves with unrelenting backing power. Moves that often cleaved through the battlefield. Ingo saw in her tactics two things; unknowing brilliance and reconcilable ignorance. Moves would tear apart the earth, creating unique obstacles for both Ingo and his team to pivot and weave through. On the other hand, the moves Zisu called forth often had destructive side effects such as debris landing in the river and clogging the grain mill further down. That, or nearly setting fire to the straw roofs of the nearby longhouses.

Across from him, Captain Zisu stood defiantly, still confident despite the battle having lasted for nearly twenty minutes. Her Honchcrow wobbled in its place on the training grounds, its dark wings trembling as it attempted to stand for one final move.

Ingo felt that it was an excellent matchup on Zisu's part, to swap out her Steelix for her Honchkrow to combat Boxcar. However, he had one more trick up his sleeve. He felt his smile spread even further. He had already come prepared for such a tactic. "Boxcar, Strong Ancient Power!" The behemoth pokmon beside him lumbered forward, its vines twisting into the earth to crack it apart with ease. Boxcar then snarled and summoned a barrage of stones from the earth, holding them aloft with what Ingo knew to be a coy grin.

Zisu's eyes widened with horror as she hurried to call to her partner. "Honchkrow, use Agility-"

"Not fast enough!" At Ingo's command, Boxcar lurched forward and began blasting the other side of the ring with the chunks of the broken-apart arena, a flurry of dust and snow spraying into the air. Ingo watched with a slight twinge of satisfaction as a large chunk of earth slammed into the Honchkrow and slammed it into the ground. It did not get back up again.

Captain Zisu's face scrunched up, her hands balled into fists as she recalled her partner. She gave Ingo a begrudging smile. "I can't believe it," she commented wryly. "How come I never get to beat you?"

Ingo smiled. "I have won this time," he began, his mouth beginning to form words on its own, "but your talent is very strong! Your tactics… reading… You have great skills. That's right! I would like to battle you again and again! Please ride the Battle Subway again soon!"

Zisu smirked. "So I take it that you're bragging now? You're talking all funny again, Iggs."

"Ah." Ingo gave a slightly embarrassed cough. There goes my engine off its rails. "My apologies."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Zisu waved his stutters away. "Next time you come around, I'll beat you for sure. You can count on that! Besides," she began lowly," I gotta make sure my scouts know who's in charge around here."

March 17th, First Year

The commander was not due to return until the next day. Zisu had graciously allowed him to stay in one of the uninhabited rooms in the row houses near the training grounds and while he appreciated the favor, he felt bad about keeping his partners consistently contained in their stations. They were too large to release in the rowhouse, anyhow.

Morning came and with it, a series of rapping on his door. It had completely startled him awake. "One moment, please," Ingo groaned, doing his best to ignore the ache in his neck and knees; he figured he must have not rested his engine properly. Then again, he had sustained wounds in those places that always ached in cold or stormy weather. He quickly donned his Pearl Clan tunic and reached for the door.

"Ah. My apologies for the early morning wake, my good man! Sorry to disturb you." The man outside the door was tall and stocky, adorned in thick winter wear that, while it was suitable for the harsh Hisuian winter, looked quite out of place next to the simplistic wear of the clans. The man cleared his throat. "Captain Cyllene would like to speak with you in place of the commander."

"Of course, Professor Laventon," Ingo rasped. "If that is what the captain wishes, then so be it."

"It won't be until sunhigh, of course," Laventon continued. "I know you're not much of an early riser so I put in a word to postpone the meeting."

Ingo blinked. He hadn't known Professor Laventon for long but even so, he was already appreciative of his goodwill. They had corresponded with each other before via paper and quill but they shared only a similar hobby of being interested in pokémon.

"Thank you very much, professor. Should you require any notes from me, do please ask!"

Laventon gave him a coy smile. "That was my intention, hehe. Oh, but do take your time! I have no current reporting scouts as of now so I would appreciate it if you could look over some of the notes they've gathered and see whether they appear the same in the Coronet Highlands."

"Of course."

After an hour of sifting through research notes with the professor and comparing them to what he knew- and inwardly chuckling at a few of the drawings that the scouts had made- an intelligence scout had knocked at the professor's door with a message of summoning. He had been bid into the center Galaxy Hall by two of the security corpsmen and waiting for him was Captain Cyllene along with Captain Zisu.

"Warden Ingo," She dipped her head, hands behind her back as cool as ever as she sent the scouts away. "The commander sends his deepest apologies for his absence regarding your meeting with him and your subsequent stay in Jubilife."

"It is an apology that is not necessary, captain. My duty as a warden is not solely restricted to the tracks of the highlands, after all." Ingo cut to the chase. "I have heard about young Warden Lian's misfortune with his lord. How is he faring? I've not yet had the chance to see him."

The captain jerked her head to the screened-off door to her right, her narrow eyes tense but bright. "He's undergoing treatment for his multiple lacerations. He also suffered a small concussion during the assault. Nurse Peselle stated that he should recover by the month's end."

"We had to relocate him from the Oreburrow Encampment due to sudden floods," Zisu cut in. "Apparently, something is happening in the Horseshoe Plains and they thought the boy would be safer here."

"Let us get right down to the issue at hand, then" Cyllene resumed.

"Of course."

"Warden Lian is no longer capable of guarding his designated lord: the same lord which has been responsible for mauling many of our scouts and foreigners who have not yet settled. The commander as well as Lady Irida have requested your assistance-" she pointed her quill directly at Ingo- "in calming Lord Kleavor's frenzy."

"That's a mouthful," Captain Zisu muttered, shaking her head. "You know Cyllene, you could always just say it plainly. Makes things easier." The red-head tutted, turning back to Ingo. "Listen Iggs. The fieldlands aren't safe anymore and my scouts can't even protect our designated camps without somebody going missing or getting horribly injured. You're the only pokémon wielder we know of that might stand a chance of getting Lord Kleavor out of that state he's in. Believe me, the commander would if he could, but he can't."

Really? A tired old man like me is the strongest wielder they can think of? He knew that Zisu had been training her scouts to become more comfortable with wielding pokémon, but for her to specifically trust him with this? He'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous about the prospect.

Ingo hadn't been the first pokémon wielder there by a long shot. The first wielder had been Commander Kamado. He had brought the skill from his homeland and had used it to chase away the wild pokémon and flatten the land to create Jubilife Village. Ingo had never seen the commander's pokémon; no one had. A part of him itched to challenge the commander and see how strong the bond between him and his partners were- but then again, that part of him always itched when it came to pokémon; especially battling alongside them.

"The commander has already set aside a mandatory stock of items he believes will be beneficial in your task. They will be kept in the training arena barracks. Captain Zisu is in charge of holding them for you until further notice. We request that you aid our scouts in determining Lord Kleavor's abilities and status. You have the ability to search farther than we can, but we do not wish for you to become injured or incapacitated on the field. Do as much as you feel comfortable with."

Zisu grinned. "Aww! Is my stoic captain becoming a softie? 'Do as much as you feel comfortable with'?"

"Captain Zisu-"

"You heard the lady, Ingo," Zisu drawled. She then adopted a more serious stance, crossing her arms in front of her. "The last thing we need is our best shot getting injured. I know you're all about your safety checks but… just- be extra careful, alright? We have no idea what we're getting ourselves into."

"I understand," Ingo nodded. "I pride myself on finishing my safety checks in a mannerly order. I will add extra checks if so desired. I will couple with the next group heading out." When neither captain spoke, Ingo cleared his throat. "If that is all, may I speak with young Warden Lian? I have much to question him about concerning the attack."

"You may," Captain Cyllene nodded. "If you discover any pertinent information, please bring it to my or the professor's attention. That is all."

Zisu gave a quick nod to Cyllene and ducked out, pulling Ingo along after her as she continued the discussion under her breath. "Just a bit of a warning, but Lian might be a little foggy on the details due to his concussion. Peselle's working on it but it's not going all that smoothly," she muttered. "If you need me, just swing by the training arena." Zisu led him to the medical wing and with a wave, departed from the Galaxy Headquarters.

Finally alone, Ingo turned to face the screened-off medical room. Now, to speak with Warden Lian before setting off for the Obsidian Fieldlands with his new coupled scouts. This should be an interesting turn of events.