Chapter 1: Transfer
The first thing Summer felt was a soft, gentle breeze and the warm rays of the sun on her skin. She let out a groan as she opened her eyes, rubbing the grogginess from her eyes. As she stood up, she found herself in a familiar place, the beaches of Dolce island.
"Pichu!" Summer looked down to see that her partner Pokemon was looking at her with wide and curious eyes. The young woman smiled and knelt down, putting a hand on Ukulele Pichu's head.
"People of Oblivia!" Summer's head snapped upwards and her pupils shrunk as her eyes locked with the sky fortress of ancient legends. "Behold our power and tremble!"
Summer could only watch as the main cannon of the Sky Fortress started to glow purple before launching a beam of energy at Dolce Island. Summer was locked in place as it got closer and closer, purple light enveloping everything around her before—!
Summer shot out of bed with a shout. She could feel tears pricking her eyes and sweat beading down her forehead as she gripped her sheets.
"Pichu…?" Summer's ears perked at the sound of her partner Pokemon. She looked over to see the small Pokemon sitting at the foot of her bed, a frown on his face.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Summer said, more to herself than to the Pichu. Even though her stay at Oblivia and her subsequent return to the region was long over and she had since returned to the Ranger Union in Almia, dreams of Dolce island's destruction had haunted her every night since. For six months, Summer was unable to get a good night's sleep due to the haunting memories of that fateful mission.
"What time is it?" Summer shook her head, trying to ward off her intrusive thoughts. Ukulele Pichu responded by hopping off the bed and heading towards the window. He pulled one of the curtains, letting the dim morning sun shine through.
"I guess it's time to get up, then," Summer muttered to herself as she stood up. "You ready for today?"
"Pichu!" Her partner replied enthusiastically as he ran up to the dresser in the room and hopped on top of it before grabbing his ukulele.
"I wish I had your energy," Summer replied as she got dressed in her ranger uniform and left her dorm room. As she made her way to the dining area, she saw another ranger waving her down.
"Good morning, Ben," Summer said as she sat down at his table.
"Morning, Summer," Ben said with a small smile on his face. "How you holding up?"
"I'm… holding," Summer heaved a sigh. Ben frowned as his eyes focused on Summer's.
"Summer, your bags are getting worse," Ben sighed as he poked at his food. He then perked up and sat up a little straighter. "Oh yeah, that reminds me. Professor Hastings told me that he wanted to see you."
"Alright, I'll see him," Summer stood up and looked down at her partner. "Let's go, Pichu."
"Wait, you're not going to eat?" Ben asked.
"Not hungry," Summer replied as she left, her partner scrambling behind her.
Despite appearances, Ranger HQ was quite a big building. Summer had to navigate through a maze of hallways before making her way to the Professor's office. Summer knocked on the door.
"Apologies, Dr. Clavell, please hold one second," Summer could hear the Professor's voice through the door. "Who is it?"
"You wanted to see me?" Summer asked.
"Oh, Summer. Perfect timing. Please come in," The Professor said. Summer obliged and opened the door. The Professor was sitting at a desk and looking at a tablet. "Summer, come here. There's someone I'd like you to meet."
Summer obliged and walked around the desk to see the tablet. On the screen was an aged man wearing an orange suit and glasses.
"Dr. Clavell, this is Summer, the ranger I was talking about earlier," Professor Hastings said. "Summer, this is Dr. Clavell, a good friend of mine I met overseas."
"It's nice to see you, Summer. I'm looking forward to having you at our school," Dr. Clavell nodded his head.
"School? What are you talking about?" Summer looked at Professor Hastings with a quizzical expression.
"Ah yes, this is what I called you here for," Professor Hastings nodded. "Dr. Clavell and I are holding an exchange program. You see, in other parts of the world, people and Pokemon work with each other in very different ways. For the sake of expanding our knowledge, we decided to do an exchange. For a few months, a ranger will attend Dr. Clavell's school, Naranja Academy, and a Naranja student will intern at the Ranger Union. You have been selected to go to Paldea and attend Naranja."
"Attend school?" Summer reeled back, almost offended at the notion. "Wouldn't I be more helpful back here?"
"Summer, you are one of our best. I can only have the best on outreach programs like these," Professor Hastings said. "Since you look ready for a Mission, I'd like you to prepare now. Come back here when you're ready for a Mission Debriefing."
"I… understood," Summer's shoulders slumped, but she accepted her face. She turned around and left the room, mentally preparing herself for her next mission.
As soon as Summer left, Hastings turned back to his screen and saw a deep frown on Clavell's face.
"This isn't just about knowledge, is it?" Clavell asked.
"You noticed?" Hasting's brow furrowed.
"I'm an educator. It's my job to know when a youth is struggling," Clavell shook his head. "Something terrible happened, didn't it?"
"I won't share the details, but you're right. I don't know how to help her, but she isn't getting better here," Hastings shook his head. "I'm sorry for hiding this from you."
"Setting all of this up for just one of your rangers," Clavell let out a small chuckle. "Ever the bleeding heart, aren't you, Hastings?"
"It's why I'm still here," Hastings heaved a sigh.
"Some things never change, do they," Clavell said. "Anyways, one of our students has graciously lent a room for the Ranger that ends up coming to Paldea."
"So a student already knows about our little program?" Hastings raised an eyebrow.
"Champion ranked trainers are privy to information that others don't have," Clavell explained.
"Tell me more," Hastings leaned back in his chair. Today was going to be a long day.
"I can't believe he's making me go to school," Summer grumbled as she fastened her styler onto her wrist. She did her time at Ranger School. She should have to go back to school. She was sixteen. She graduated.
"Pichu!" Pichu's cry snapped Summer from her stupor. She looked over to see the agitated expression on her partner's face, but it seemed he wasn't agitated for the same reason she was.
"Pichu? What's wrong?" Summer asked. Pichu slapped his cheeks a couple times before pointing at Summer.
"No, you're right. I need to get my head in the game. A mission's a mission," Summer nodded her head and smiled as she grabbed her bag. "Let's go."
As she rushed out the door, she recoiled as she almost rammed into Ben.
"Ben?!" Summer gasped. "You almost ran into me?"
"Sorry," Ben let out a flustered laugh. "I was just concerned. After that meeting with Dr. Hastings, you went straight back to your room with a terrible scowl on your face. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything's fine," Summer shook her head. "Hasting's sending me to another region again."
"Already?! It's only been a few months since we came back from Oblivia. You can't be going out on another dangerous mission like that," Ben shouted.
"No, it's not dangerous," Summer said. "Hastings wants me to go to school in a region called Paldea."
"Paldea… can't say I've heard of it," Ben shook his head. "Will you be alright, though?"
"Yeah. Hastings seems to have set everything up," Summer nodded her head. "I don't think it'll be dangerous."
"If you say so," Ben heaved a sigh. "Just keep in touch, alright?"
"Alright," Summer said with a smile. "Anyways, has Nema talked to you recently?"
"Yeah. She said she found a school where she could study engineering at," Ben said. "Rand and Leanne are doing good. Rand is considering retirement, but he says he has a couple more years left."
"That's good," Summer nodded. "Anyways, I'll see you around."
"See you around," Ben said.
With a nod, Summer navigated her way back to Dr. Hasting's office. When she entered, she saw that Hastings was now standing in the middle of the room with a contemplative look on his face.
"Reporting," Summer said as she stepped in, closing the door behind her. "Ranger Summer, ready for duty."
"Good to see," Hastings said as Summer stepped forward. "Your mission is simple. Go to the Paldea region to learn how to become a Pokemon Trainer. Go through the curriculum at Naranja Academy and learn as much as you can. You will be going to Cabo Poco where you will be staying for a few days before the start of the term. Do you understand?"
"Understood," Summer nodded. She then did a spin and struck a pose.
"Yes, I suppose this is the start of your mission," Hastings nodded his head. "Say, do your signs still work? I had a talk with Brooker and he said he didn't know if they would work outside Oblivia."
"I haven't actually tried," Summer admitted. "There hasn't been a reason for me to."
"Try to summon Latias. I must admit that it is much faster than any ship or plane we have," Hastings said. "I have uploaded Paldea's map to your styler and marked Cabo Poco onto your map."
"Understood," Summer said. "I'll… see you after I complete the mission."
"Summer, I know you can do it," Hastings said with a small smile. "Please do your best."
"I will," Summer said as she left the room and made her way outside the union building. She took a deep breath as she leaped in the air. Despite months of not using sign mode, her moves were as practiced as ever, letting the styler's capture disk fly through the ground, forming an incomplete star to summon Latias. After the symbol was complete, it flashed on the ground before the disc returned to the machine on Summer's arm.
Summer landed on the ground and waited… and waited… and waited…
"Looks like she's not coming," Summer muttered sadly as she looked up at the sky. Hanging her head, she turned around and prepared to go back to tell Hastings the news. Just as she was about to open the door, she heard a familiar cry. Whirling her head around, she saw Latias barreling towards her.
"Latias!" Summer felt a face-splitting smile grow on her face as the legendary pokemon landed next to her. "I'm so happy you came!"
The Latias let out a happy cry, seemingly unaffected by the long trip from Oblivia to Almia.
"Hey Latias, I need to go to a region called Paldea," Summer said. "Do you think you can do it?"
The smile on the Pokemon's face faded away as an uncertain frown replaced her expression.
"Is it far?" Summer asked. "It's okay if you can't."
Latias let out an indignant cry and shook her head wildly.
"You can?" Summer smiled. "Thank you?"
Latias nodded her head and Summer jumped onto the Pokemon. Within seconds, Latias had taken off and pierced the cloud.
"Are you sure you're okay with them living at your place?" Clavell asked through the screen of a Rotom phone.
"Of course! I'd love to learn how an actual Pokemon Ranger ticks!" Nemona replied with a smile. "I heard they don't even do traditional Pokemon battles."
"You'd be right," Clavell said before looking to the side. "It seems that the Ranger is already on her way."
"Really? That's fast," Nemona said as she stood up, dusting the sand off her body. She looked out from the Cabo Poco beach and looked out onto the horizon. "A Pokemon Ranger, huh…? I can't wait."
I recently played Guardian Signs again and I forgot how much I loved this game. There's a lot of stuff that's just perfect to write into a fic. I want to do a deep dive on the Guardian Signs MC's character I feel like doing it in this format would be a fun way to do it. With that being said, please do consider leaving a review! I would love to read and reply to your thoughts. Also please join my Discord! I would love to talk to you all and answer all your questions! I talk a lot about my thought process while writing, so if you're interested in that, do consider joining. The url is discord . gg (forego the spaces) followed by a slash and CpVs7R8KXz. Unfortunately you'll have to type the rest of the url in manually because I'm not allowed to post links. If you want to read chapters as soon as they're finished along with a slew of other benefits, check out my Patron at pat reon dot com slash kfpisnotacult. Already working on chapter 2 and it'll be there as soon as it's done. Thank you for reading and I'll catch you on the flipside.