~ Northrun, Gullveria ~

The flash of an entercard lit up the room brightly, making Fafnir's invisible frame outline in a golden sheen. As the lights dimmed, a Skelederge, Gengar, Drapion and Audino became visible. The pokemon then spread out about the room, occupying much of the small space.

"Alright, quit hiding." Gunka scoffed, "I know you're there."

The Dragapult gradually made himself visible, "That's no way to speak to your superior and you know it."

"Whatever. I have your key," Gunka presented the spacial key to Fafnir. It's pink glow gave a distinctive ambience in the room that drained the hubris from all parties in the room. "What does the boss man need with this thing anyways? Don't the Eternarifts distort space already?"

"And that's exactly why he needed the spacial key. Without it, somebody would eventually awaken the slumbering Palkia and begin reversing our progress. Recall the incident with the time gears years ago?"

"You mean the Temporal Heroes?" Gunka inquired, "Ah… I get it now."

"Thanks to you, that's one less loose end tied up. The boss now needs the Temporal Key, its partner, in order to completely prevent-"

"Excuse the interruption, Fafnir," Arin cut off, drawing the Dragapult's ire, "But if we start stealing the keys, wouldn't that draw another human to our world? I mean, with the other world-ending catastrophes, humans were drawn to this world to save it. What makes this time so different?"

"Of course," Fafnir snarled, "In fact, the human is all a part of the plan. We only have to wait until they show themselves."

"And why is the human so important?"

"Because even in their base forms, human-turned pokemon for some reason are absurdly powerful. Recall that these humans are some of the ones that felled the Mighty Sky Rayquaza, the Temporal Titan Primal Dialga, the Bittercold outbreak and the Dark Matter incursion, all in their base forms. And that does not even account for their evolutions."

"So, are you saying we take the threat out before it becomes aware of its purpose?"

"No, Arin. We convert this threat into an asset. The boss is planning an attack on key locations to filter out potential lands the human may travel to. Specifically, key areas where past humans have resided in Talgeria."

The Audino tilted his head, "You mean Treasure Town and the rest? What about the other humans? Wouldn't they get in the way?"

The Dragapult lunged at the Audino, instantly locking him up, "Enough with these questions! If you have so many, ask the boss himself!"

"Don't worry, you won't have to look far for me…"

What entered the room was a white-maned, bipedal creature with slash marks all about the face. Its hunched stature indicated ferocity, and compounding it, the deep voice indicated the utmost confidence and charisma. He wore a brown cloak with a dark-purple looplet wrapped around his left wrist. Accompanying him is Shasha, whose demeanor appears to be wavering between fearful and stoic.

"Shashie! B-Boss?!" Gunka nearly screamed, "I wasn't expecting you for another few days!"

"Bastian, boss, I believe this belongs to you." Fafnir handed over the spacial key over to him, who reached his hand out and slowly took it from him, inspecting its features.

"Hmm, this will do nicely," Bastian grumbled, "But we have a new plan. The lot of you and some others will come with me to a place called Lively Town. I have learned of the presence of a set of keys that reside there. It will likely be well guarded, so stock up. We leave tomorrow."

- Chapter 5: Team Nova, On the Map! -

~ Hakari Village ~

Waking up early in the morning, Traximus stretched his small body and lifted himself from his bed. Exiting his room, he found that his mother was making breakfast as usual, but found the Froakie friend he made yesterday standing near the counter. 'Oh, that's right. We did get him yesterday…' The Bagon yawned an awakening breath and stood next to Rico.

"Good morning," The Salamence welcomed, "I have breakfast ready for you on the counter."

Rico approached Traximus and gave him a look. "How are some basic apples this nutritious?"

"No idea," The Bagon lifted his apple off the counter and into his nubs, "But they are delicious!" The Bagon was about to take a large chomp into his apple when there was a knock at the door. Putting his apple back down, he asked, "Mom? Are you expecting somebody?"

"No? Could you check the door?"

"Yeah." Traximus walked over to the door and pushed it open, revealing a familiar looking Shinx standing right outside. Turning to him, he asked, "How can I help… Oh! It's you from yesterday. What's going on?"

"My boss asked me to deliver this to you, since I'm guessing you're the leader," The Shinx passed Traximus a letter, "Make sure you read this over carefully, and take whoever you want to the guild whenever you're ready."

As the Shinx left, Traximus decided to take the letter back over to his mother and Rico. "What was it, Traximus?" Haruka asked.

"A letter, I'll read it out loud," Traximus cleared his throat.

"Dearest Bagon,

Thanks to your sudden bout of heroism and bravery standing up to those threats in Loxton Tunnel and the apprehension of the Excadrill Gang, we offer you and your friends a spot in our guild. We understand that this is sudden, considering that it was very recent that this event happened, but we hope that you take this offer. The guild hall is just up north from Hakari Village. Should you accept this offer, you should have no trouble finding us.

We typically serve up to six pokemon per team. Please consider your teammates.

Signed,

Agent Wayne Barlow."

"My word!" The Salamence exclaimed, "You went into Loxton Tunnel and defeated the Excadrill Gang?! Why did you not tell me this!?"

"Oops." Traximus laughed a bit, "Sorry mom…"

"Wait." Rico pondered, "This is… a job offer?!"

"Yes." The Salamence peered at Rico, "They appear to want you and your friends to become full-time explorers." She then looked back to Traximus who appeared to be mulling, "Well, are you excited? Because you're going, right?"

"Yeah, I'm going," Traximus muttered, holding his head down, "But it doesn't feel right without Nel."

"I understand. I remember when the two of you would talk nonstop about being a Rescue team when you were younger. But don't give up hope! There's always a chance you can see him again!"

After a bit of silence, Traximus lifted his head up, "Hmm… Thanks mom. I- We'll do our best for him!"

"That's the spirit!" The Salamence cheered, "Now go get 'em! I'll be rooting for you on the sidelines!"

"Yeah! Come on Rico, let's go!"

The two pokemon ran out the door, the letter being swiped back up by Rico. Getting outside, Traximus made a break for Kruler's house, with Rico following behind. A swift knock at the door drew loud footsteps to the duo, as what came to the door was a Feraligatr.

"What's the problem," The Feraligatr yawned, "Gosh, it's so early…"

"Where's Kruler," Traximus asked, "I need to talk to her about something."

"What for? If you can tell her, you can tell me."

"Okay then. We're gonna become 'explorers'. Or something like that," Rico explained, holding the letter up, "See, this letter even says so."

Taking the letter, the Feraligatr silently began reading it to himself. After a bit of reading, he went wide eyed and raced back into the house. Some yelling ensued from behind the door, and after a while, Kruler swung the door wide open with Palla right behind her.

"What's this I'm hearing about being explorers?!" Kruler shouted, "Did you guys have a whole adventure without me or something?!"

"Palla didn't tell you?" Traximus tilted his head, "We jumped into this place called 'Loxton Tunnel', and long story short, helped another exploration team and now we're becoming a team. Officially."

"Uh-huh… And who's this?" She asked, pointing at the Froakie.

Traximus approached Kruler and got within whisper distance. "That's Rico," He said quietly, "Can you keep a secret?"

"Yeah?" The Totodile replied, squinting at him, "Why? Is he a mobster or somethin'?"

"No, worse," Traximus whispered, "He's a human. Or at least he says he is."

Kruler was about to gasp loudly, but Palla stepped in and shushed her before she could open her mouth. Such a gesture managed to go unnoticed by the Feraligatr, however, as he hovered over the group.

"So, Kruler, what do you think?" The Feraligatr asked, calmly, "Can you trust these pokemon?"

"Wait, dad, you're letting me go?" Kruler mulled, "I thought… you would fight it?"

"I had some time to think some things over. And maybe, with all these new friends you're making, you might be growing up faster than I can keep up with. So if you can trust them, I'll allow you to go. Just this once."

"Dad…" Kruler muttered, "I trust them! They were with me at the university! We'll be the best team there ever was!"

"Then that leaves one thing." The Feraligatr then set his eyes onto Traximus, "If I hear that anything happened to my baby girl, then I'll come for you. Got it?"

"Dad, no!" The Totodile blushed in embarrassment, frantically pushing everybody out, "Okay, we're an exploration team starting now, let's go, woooo!"

After a chuckle from the Feraligatr faded into the distance, the team found themselves wandering towards the northern gate of the village. On their way, they noticed the elder lounging about near the gate heading outward. Feeling no reason not to present themselves, they approached the elder. Despite being blind, the elder managed to sense their arrival and met them before the gate.

"Ah, young ones. To where are you off to this fine morning?"

"We're off to the guild building," Kruler explained, "We're going to become an exploration team."

"Hmm," The Golduck scratched his chin, "I reckon that you should be careful these days. The ferals are getting more and more agitated for some reason."

"'For some reason?'" Palla repeated, "Do you guys think it could be because of an alpha?"

"Perhaps. It could also just be a random coincidence… Regardless, I hope you young ones find what destiny you seek through this guild."

"Right," Traximus puffed his chest out, "But where's Kroto? He didn't stay at my house."

Traximus glanced at the two girls. Kruler of which responded, "No, I haven't seen him. He didn't stay with me either."

A moment of silence passed before the rustling of bushes caught everybody's attention. Turning towards the cause of alarm, they found a black tail with a white stripe sticking out. They were about to investigate when all of a sudden, the familiar sight of Kroto emerged from the bushes.

"Looking for me? I was getting what could be considered breakfast," Kroto commented, holding up a vine of grapes.

"Yeah we were. We're going to become an exploration team!" Palla exclaimed, "Are you coming with us?"

"Oh, sure."

Kruler rolled her eyes sarcastically, "Don't sound too excited, you're just brimming with energy today."

"So then, what guild are we headed to?" Kroto asked, munching on a grape.

"Supposedly one up north from here," Traximus explained, "The pokemon from yesterday are going to be there, and I think they may have put in a good word on us."

"Then that settles it," Kroto stretched out his lengthy back, "Don't slow me down now!"

"More like don't slow me down!" Kruler interjected.

"All right team," Rico cheered, pointing northward, "Let's head out!"

~ Wayne Explorer's Guild - Entrance ~

After a long walk, Team Nova found themselves moving towards a small facility. Arriving at the gates, two bisharp guards holding spears immediately pointed their weapons at the smaller pokemon, causing them to stagger backwards.

"Halt. Identify yourselves at once." The Bisharp on the right demanded.

"We-We're here to become the newest recruits in the guild!" Traximus stammered.

The guards looked between each other and then back to Team Nova, "Show documentation or leave at once!"

Traximus handed over the letter he was given. The guard on the left inspected the letter thoroughly and intensely. Team Nova looked between each other in apprehensive silence. After some time, the guards returned the letter and stepped to the sides. "You may enter!" They both shouted in unison.

Feeling uneasy, the team made their way into the compound. "What a welcoming party…" Kruler crossed her arms.

"Is-Is this place the guild?" Palla quivered, "It looks more like a labor camp than a guild building…"

Gazing at the main building, it was constructed like almost any other fortress. Rectangular, gray, and uninteresting. Occasionally there were windows that lined the walls, giving some semblance of what was going on inside, but they were too far away to tell.

"Well guys, we're about to become official explorers. Let's head in." Kroto stated, taking the lead.

"Since when were you leader?!" Rico shouted, taking after Kroto. The others merely shrugged the interaction off and moved inward towards the building.

As Team Nova headed into the building, they were greeted with the sight of numerous pokemon swarming the halls. Some pokemon were lounging about, others were chatting about the latest news, and others were checking out the bulletin boards that were scattered about the place.

"Seems busy. Who are we supposed to meet again?" Kruler asked.

Traximus looked at the letter, "Somebody named Agent Wayne Barlow." He looked up from his letter, "Do any of you know what pokemon that might be?"

Some shrugs and sighs gave Traximus the answer he was expecting. "Well, better ask around then…" The Bagon groaned.

The guild hall was deceptively large. Team Nova found it hard to navigate the halls of the guild without running into some pokemon or getting entirely lost. Nevertheless, they agreed to split up and search for the whereabouts of this Agent Wayne Barlow. Eventually, when enough time passed, Team Nova regrouped near where they entered in the compound.

"So what did you guys find out?" Traximus asked.

Kroto rolled his shoulder, "Well aside from the lecture I got about being new here, I found that this Agent Wayne Barlow is the boss of this place, and that he resides in the upper floors. He's in an office, but who knows which one."

"Then that's where we're headed!" Rico declared, "Come on, let's see who this guy is."

Finding a stairwell near the eastern side of the compound, the team ascended upward. As they continued forward, they noticed that despite the boring look of the outside, the inside looked relatively well kept. There were no obvious signs of wear, the tiled floors looked almost spotless and the walls were lined with various depictions of pokemon, of which Team Nova didn't know the significance.

"Woah," Kruler stated, eyes widened, "This isn't what I expected."

"I know, right?" Traximus responded, equally as impressed, "They really went all in with the decorum in here."

"Ah, you must be the Bagon I sent the letter to."

Team Nova turned their attention to the pokemon to their right. A pokemon with bright yellow armor with red accents and a head of flame appeared in their sights. Accompanying him was an Unfezant to his left and a Shinx to his right.

"Um, that's me," Traximus replied, "Are you this 'Agent Wayne Barlow' we're looking for?"

"Yes, that would be me," Wayne replied, "Let's cut to the chase. You're here to register your team, are you not?"

"Yup!" The Froakie replied.

"Hmm. Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't let non-evolved pokemon join our ranks without training first. But given the apprehension of the Excadrill Gang and the current situation we're put in due to… circumstances, we will discuss the terms of becoming a full-time exploration team. Come, follow me."

The team did as instructed and followed the Armarouge to a room behind him, leaving the two other members of the guild behind. Upon entering the team found that the room was very dark, save for the candles on the desk in front of them. However, a bang upon the wall by Wayne caused all the torches lining the wall to light up.

"Wow!" Palla jumped, "You can do that?!"

"Hmph. It's the only surprise that I can pull on newcomers nowadays," The Armarouge responded, walking to his desk, "Now, for formalities… You're here to register your team. Can I get a team name and an active roster please?"

"We're Team Nova," Traximus started, "And my name is Traximus. The Passimian is Kroto, the Totodile is Kruler, the Axew is Palla, and the Froakie is Rico. And we have a sixth one who's not here right now. His name is Neltharios and last time we saw him, he was a Charmander."

"I see, I see. So Team Nova, with five active members and a sixth inactive member, am I correct in that assumption?"

Traximus looked around to his teammates, all of whom gave nods, "That sounds correct, sir."

"Good. Starting tomorrow, Team Nova will be on the active registry as an official Exploration Team. For today, you can have a tour of the compound and get adjusted to life here."

"Really?" Kruler asked, "That's it? No fanfare or nothing?"

"Please. We have you active tomorrow because we have to prepare for the induction ceremony that happens when a new team is added to the roster. And believe it or not, you aren't one of the first teams to be inducted tomorrow."

"Oh?" Kroto's interest piqued, "That's something to look forward to!"

"Right, then. Let's get our tour going and await our first day on the job!" Traximus pumped his nub in the air.

"Yeah!" The other members of Team Nova followed suit.