Journey

Death of Duty

Part 4: A Fuschian Safari

Grief

There's an empty hole where they once were. It never fills. You just get better at stepping over it. — Hearthome City Gym Leader Melissa Fantina

"Hold," crackled the voice. "Wait for them to cross the ridge."

I gripped the rifle tighter, keeping the scope trained on the crest of the ridge opposite me. There was a deep gorge dividing the two ridges, starting further up the mountain where the rock formation split. I could see three heads bobbing along, moving further along the other side of the ridge. "They aren't crossing," I replied into my headset.

"Keep your pants on, rook. The Lieutenant Colonel is always on time. No way he'd pull a stunt like that on last qualifying test."

I chuckled. That was one thing that the last two months had taught me. My commanding officer had drilled the importance of punctuality into me every single day since I'd joined the outfit. He hadn't failed to cross the ridge for some light recon work at the same time and place each day since we'd begun the exercise.

"Right you are, Sergeant." I peered through the scope, watching Lieutenant Surge's closely cropped hairline bob out of sight. I scowled, peering closer and watching the other two helmets of Surge's squad disappear behind the ridge. "Hold on. They all just disappeared."

"I've got movement," my partner said. His voice was panicked, like he wasn't expecting company yet. A burst of static overtook the line and threatened to drown his next sentence. "Ke-p ~-tch o- th- r-~dg-."

I pulled away from my scope for half a moment. "Sarge? Sergeant McCulloch?"

An explosion of static was all the response I got. The magnemite line tended to have an adverse effect on communications and most of Surge's tactics abused that ability extensively. I glanced up, across to the ridge across from me. A flash of sunlight reflecting off something metallic on the opposite ridge instantly drew my gaze.

I hit the dirt. The bolt of lightning tore through the air above me, whizzing uncomfortably close to my head and spearing the dead tree I was sheltered under. I scrambled away as the tree burst into flame, stopping some twenty feet down the ridge. I grabbed Acolyte's ball off my belt, releasing my marowak beside me.

"Keep me covered," I ordered. "I need a better look at what Surge is doing."

He nodded, proudly stepping up onto the ridge as he hefted his bone club. His movement was smooth and practiced, like he'd never had his elbow snapped by a murderous kangaskhan. A bolt of lightning sailed across the gorge as if on cue, only to be harmlessly absorbed by Acolyte's club.

I crept back up the hill, peering through my rifle's scope. Surge was staring back at me, his shit-eating grin wide across his face. His raichu stood impassively beside him, like it hadn't just tried to surprise us with a thunderbolt. The magnezone that I had been expecting floated behind them both, supremely focused on its task of jamming our communications. He waved at me and pointed further up my side of the ridge. Both of his pokemon were wearing ill-fitting helmets and I realized that we'd been duped.

I turned, immediately spotting the smug smile of Corporal Reyes. He raised the flag at me and tipped his helmet in my direction, winking once. He released his ryhorn, preparing to slide down the gorge under Surge's cover. I swore, lowering my weapon as I turned back to look at my CO.

Luna's mind touched mine suddenly, panic nearly overwhelming me as the strange sensation of mixed thoughts and emotions overtook my mind. I felt fear and surprise as a memory of a jackbooted thug marching up the ridge behind me played out across the link between us. I spun around, bracing myself behind a boulder as I peered down the ridge.

Luna appeared from the brush below, making a mad dash up the hill towards me. I returned Acolyte, making a mad dash down the ridge towards Luna. I'd only tried this trick once, but I was desperate. No way I was letting Surge steal the flag on the very last exercise of my training. I didn't know where McCulloch was, but he'd join me if he hadn't been eliminated.

Private Wertz burst from the underbrush at the base of the ridge, shielding her eyes from the sun. She peered up the hill, spotting me sliding down the loosely packed dirt at a breakneck pace. Small rocks and chunks of dirt sprayed free as I half-ran, half-slid down towards her.

She threw up her arms, shielding her face as her Mr. Mime teleported in front of her.

I raised one ball in my left hand, returning Luna as I raised a second pokeball in my right hand. I released my newest pokemon, jumping off the ridge with everything I could muster. I only prayed that she would actually catch me this time. I'd missed the first time around, and nearly broken my leg on the fall.

She spread her massive wings, catching on the warm updraft rising off the earth. I hit her leathery, blue-grey back and held on for dear life as the wind was driven from my lungs by the impact. I hollered in fear and joy as my pokemon flapped her wings madly. She stretched and whipped her tail out behind her, nearly seven feet long from nose to tail. She'd be more than fourteen when she finished growing. She'd been too small for us to fly together until last week, but she'd taken to the new challenge admirably.

"No fair!" shouted Private Wertz. "I can't do that!"

I leaned back over my shoulder, laughing as we soared away on the warm updraft. I cupped my hands over my mouth, shouting down to the woman. "Get some wings, novice!"

My aerodactyl tossed back her head, roaring a deafening cry of agreement. I laughed, patting her on the side of her neck. "Now they know you're coming. Couldn't resist the roar just once, could you?"

My aerodactyl growled a happy noise as she flapped hard to gain altitude. She glanced back at me, one eye looking at me nervously.

"Just relax, Artemis," I said. "You know how to fly. It's exactly the same, just with me here too." I leaned in closer, holding tight to the spike jutting out from her neck. "Keep low, and be ready to change direction on my word. We're going ryhorn tipping today."

She growled in affirmation, pushing herself harder upwards with great effort. Aerodactyl are not naturally strong flyers. Artemis struggled with pure flying like we were doing now, preferring to make short maneuverable glides rather than longer airborne flights. It was a side effect of her wings being attached to her powerful forelimbs rather than protruding from somewhere along her back.

I held tight to her neck spike, watching the edge of the ridge rapidly rise up to meet us. "Up!" I shouted urgently. "Up!"

Artemis cleared the edge by maybe half a meter. She gripped the top of the ridge for a moment before launching herself downwards with a pump of her powerful wings. Rocks sprayed out from where she grabbed with her talons.

"There!" I shouted, reaching up and pointing down at the ryhorn. Corporal Reyes dismounted his ryhorn, leaping away as the walking tank turned to face us.

Artemis adjusted slightly, angling herself on a steep approach. Reyes' ryhorn charged back up the hill towards us, but my aerodactyl soared over it effortlessly. We had another target.

We were the defence for Red Team. McCulloch and I had one job. Hold the flag as long as possible, until the rest of the team could capture Surge's flag. Odds be damned, I would do that.

Artemis flared her wings as Surge's raichu began his bombardment. The first bolt cut into our path and killed our momentum. The second was aimed more carefully, to knock Artemis from the sky and ground me.

Unfortunately for Surge, that was exactly my plan. We had already reached my target. All I had to do was run interference. I slipped off my aerodactyl's back, returning Artemis to her ball with a single smooth movement. Luna was out in a flash of light.

Reyes turned, his hand dropping to his belt. He never got the chance. Luna's eyes flashed and a simple expression crossed his face as the confuse ray worked its magic. Acolyte was out half a moment later, intercepting another flying bolt of lightning.

I tore the flagpole from Reyes' hands, a savage grin on my face. "I'll take this back, buddy." I shoved him solidly, sending the older man down flailing.

He reached after me clumsily as he tried to rise, his response severely delayed by the confusion. "Gimme that back…" he mumbled, his words slow and garbled.

Acolyte barked a warning, another bolt of lightning absorbing smoothly into his club. He gestured over his shoulder, at the ryhorn barrelling down the gorge at me.

A ryhorn in motion is almost impossible to be stopped. They move like thunder and nothing can stand in the way of a charge. Fortunately, a walking tank like a ryhorn couldn't corner for shit.

I crouched slightly, waiting for the opportune moment. Too early and the ryhorn would correct his course. Too late and I'd be tossed overhead like a broken rag doll.

I threw myself to the side, Acolyte imitating me as Surge waited for an opening. The ryhorn thundered past, crushing a path through the underbrush and leaving a loose path of rubble and broken twigs behind. He skidded down the gorge as he attempted to stop, rumbling in frustration.

A bolt of lightning speared the earth not inches away from me. I felt the heat from the bolt and glanced up at Surge's shit eating grin as I lifted the my team's flag triumphantly.

"Come and get it, old man!"

I knew Surge was too smart for that. He'd never take the bait and give up such a strong position. However, that wasn't the idea. All I needed was his attention. I had it. All of it.

Acolyte stood tall, his club raised in preparation. I saw a spark erupt from the raichu's cheeks and took cover behind my marowak.

It was as if the sky had opened up and all the fury of a powerful storm focused solely on me. I ducked behind Acolyte, letting him tank the storm with his natural immunity. Stray bolts tore into the rocky gorge around me, but Acolyte kept me protected.

"McCulloch here," my sergeant's voice crackled out of my radio. "Need some help, rook?"

I peeked out from behind Acolyte as the barrage of lightning mercifully stopped. "Give him hell, sarge."

A winged shadow cut across the gorge, deftly spinning off trajectory as Surge's raichu attempted to knock it out of the sky. The skarmory corrected easily, coming in at Surge with a steep dive to close the distance.

I turned away as Reyes' ryhorn finally skidded to a halt. The corporal got to his feet, shaking his head and blinking rapidly. "Dirty trick, rook. Confusion is a coward's tool. Want to see what it gets you?"

I planted the flag in the rocks behind me. Corporal Reyes had been a gym challenger before he'd joined the Rangers. He'd never earned more than the three badges he had now, but almost a decade of training under Surge erased any doubt in his ability. He was a powerful trainer in his own right, even if he hadn't evolved most of his pokemon yet. Still, I was confident I could at least stalemate him. I was stronger than most intermediate trainers now.

"Nothing in the rules about confusing opposing trainers," I said calmly. Luna stepped in front of me, growling at our colleague. Acolyte stood at my side, keeping a wary eye on Surge and McCulloch's battle. "But I do take issue with trying to take the flag without a real fight."

He smirked and raised a ball. "Oh you're so on." He tossed the ball into the air as his ryhorn plodded over to him.

Reyes' ace took the field and I gritted my teeth. The flaming simian crouched in front of him, eyes locked on Luna. Flame roared off his tail and I could feel the heat off of him from nearly fifteen feet away. Reyes' monferno beat his chest and dropped into a fighting stance.

Another trio of winged shadows soared overhead, a pair of screeching pidgeot in hot pursuit of Captain Harding and her fearow. Harding's helmet was gone, her fiery red hair streaming in the wind. She urged her fearow into a steep dive, avoiding a blast of lightning from Surge as he turned. McCulloch's skarmory screeched in fury, pressing the opening that Surge had left and forcing the Lt Colonel back on the defensive.

The flag streamed out triumphantly behind Harding, blue fabric flapping in the wind as the fearow swooped overhead. The pidgeot tried desperately to catch up, but the Captain was home free.

I smirked as Reyes looked at me in utter frustration. "Guess you didn't see that coming."

I sat heavily at the mess table, dropping the tray of hardly edible food in front of me. "You'd think that we'd at least get a decent meal for the occasion," I grumbled.

The lieutenant colonel looked up at me from the end of the table. I could see the smirk already tugging at the edges of his mouth. "Come now, we can't be setting the expectations too high," he said jovially. "Then everyone would join the corps."

I chuckled. "And heaven forbid they do that." I picked up my fork, eying the thin gruel that the mess hall served. It was some kind of nutrient paste served over a scoop of boiled rice and a thin cut of boiled pidgey. "We might actually have the manpower to do our jobs."

Surge leaned forward, changing the subject. "So, we have a lead on Rocket."

The table went quiet, all of the side conversations grounding to a sudden halt. I stiffened my spine and sat just a little bit straighter.

"Sir?" Harding asked, leaning over the table. She brushed her hair back over her ear, exposing a trio of jagged scars running down her face and onto her neck. "Is it something a little more concrete than last time?"

Surge's scowl could have curdled milk. "Yes. It it does fit their profile. Poachers seem to have been a little bolder than in recent years." He leaned back, lifting his first bite leisurely. "However, Leader Koga has evidently had some trouble apprehending the poachers. They are very capable trainers and seem to be extremely coordinated compared to their usual culprits. He's forwarded the information to us as part of our operation."

A muffled groan spread across the room as the rest of the unit voiced their displeasure. Surge sighed heavily and sat up in his chair.

"Look, I don't like wild tauros chases either. But this one seems a little more solid than the last few."

Harding raised her hand. "Permission to speak freely, Sir?"

"Always, Captain."

"It's a wild tauros chase," she said plainly.

A few quiet chuckles echoed around the mess hall. Surge cracked a smile of his own. "That it is, Captain. However it is a well substantiated one, so we're deploying anyways." He picked up another bite and looked up nonchalantly. "We ship out first thing in the morning."

She got to her feet, offering a quick salute. "Anything further?"

"We will be actively surveying the Safari Zone, so pack for wilderness survival. Koga's report mentions disturbances in the deepest sections of the park, and Fuchsia Ranger Command corroborates some strange sightings in the last month. Something about half-evolved pokemon, which could connect it to Rocket." He lazily slipped his bite into his mouth, looking around the room slowly as if he was testing us all. "Something odd is going on. If it even has the slightest thing to do with Rocket, then it's the best lead we've had since we started hunting them. It's worth a look at least."

I looked down at the meal, my attention waning as Surge droned on. My mind was already far away, thoughts of avenging Pride drifting unconsciously to the forefront of my mind. I tried to push away the pain, but that was all I had.

Dinner went on the same as always. Reyes and McCulloch spent half the time trying to one-up each other's lewd jokes while most of the unit talked amongst themselves. I spent the meal in silent thought, my mind dominated by my fallen nidoking.

I glanced up at the clock as I scarfed down the last of my meal, gauging the time. I grinned to myself. I had enough time for some training before bed.

Vermillion's gym was a quiet place in the late evening. Everyone else was inside, packing their bags for the morning departure. It was just me in the training fields that sat behind the gym, watching the sun dip lower on the horizon. The entire ocean seemed to be cast in a soft gold glow and not a single cloud dared to mar the sky.

My hand dropped to my belt, finding the empty space that Pride's ball had sat. I'd left it empty, choosing instead to put Artemis in the last empty space on my belt. I couldn't bear to fill that space yet.

I picked up Luna's ball, releasing my starter beside me. She looked up at me, instinctively nuzzling into my waiting hand. I scratched her without hesitation, absentmindedly brushing my fingers through the tufts of rust coloured fur on her chin. I felt her mind brush against mine and felt the soft concern through the psychic link.

"I'm alright, girl. Just thinking about him a lot."

She pulled back and I caught an image of Pride happily sitting at my side. I felt a pang of longing and knew that she was hurting too.

"Yeah, I miss him too." I smiled as best as I could. "He was our first real teammate. He was a damn good pokemon."

Luna hung her head and I felt as though the hole inside me had doubled in size. Her eyes refused to meet mine and I knew that she blamed herself.

I forced her to meet my eyes. "It wasn't your fault," I said softly. "If it was anyone's fault it's mine. I should have trained you guys better, had a better plan, made better choices during the battle…" my voice trailed off. I'd been so up my own ass for the last two months that I had hardly spent a moment to consider how my pokemon felt about losing Pride. "Luna, you are the best damn pokemon I could have ever asked for. If anyone is the failure here, it's me."

She met my eyes and I knew that she was still in there. She was still as strong as ever. She just needed some proof.

"You could never fail me," I said. My hand went into my bag, finding the smooth, warm stone at the bottom. "I know that. You know that." I pulled out the stone. She stared at it as if entranced and I knew that the time had come.

My pokemon needed this, to move on from her perceived failures. I might have still needed to grieve, but Luna needed to move on. I needed her to move on, even if it was only so she could drag me kicking and screaming with her.

"Break it," I said calmly. I knew that she could do it. She'd made so much progress during her time training here. Her fire was hotter, she mentally stronger, and we'd made huge strides with her natural agility. She was ready to evolve, mastering her vulpix form so well that I worried that she would stagnate if she did not evolve soon. "You're strong enough. You've been strong enough for a long time. Probably since we left Celadon."

I put the stone in front of her and stepped back. She looked down at the stone as if I wasn't even there, completely entranced by the faintly glowing rock.

"Luna," I started calmly. I barely even needed to give the order. "Flamethrower."

She sucked in a breath, never breaking her stare with the stone. I felt the rest of the world fade away as her mind touched against mine. Everything else just dropped away and it was only the stone. I could see it through her eyes, feel its presence in every beat of her heart. It was filling my mind, blocking out everything else. Luna and I were as one, both of us completely focused on the fire stone.

She spat a jet of flame, engulfing the stone completely. I felt the stone react, reaching out to our souls as if it wanted this. Luna's stream of fire intensified, melting the sand beneath the stone. I heard it crack and felt a surge of power rush through Luna. The stone whined in protest, but the entrancing power reached out welcomingly. It wanted Luna to do this, wanted to help her reach her full potential.

I heard a louder crack and it was as though the sun ignited on earth. I felt the heat from Luna's fire, and felt her pour on the power where before she would have faltered. The stone fed the flame, urging Luna to break it open and claim the prize within.

And then it cracked. The outer shell crumbled away, leaving a small red rock no larger than one of her delicate paws. A corona of power engulfed Luna, drawing her in as the stone seemed to glow brighter.

She leaned in, her pride swelling as she mirrored my emotions. Her snout touched the stone and a blinding light engulfed my starter.

I stepped back, shielding my face as Luna grew larger. Her tails split one final time, her limbs lengthening and her body gaining cords of lithe muscle. She tossed back her head and howled as raw power like she had never felt before coursed through her changed body. Her eyes flashed purple and I felt her mind touching mine as she tested her newfound ability.

My ninetales stepped back from the molten puddle of glass, her mind embracing mine. She looked dead into my eyes, psychic fire glowing in hers as she strained to process her emotions. I felt her struggle with the foreign concept of words and realized that I knew her intent perfectly.

She looked into my eyes as she finally conquered the concept of language. I felt intense gratitude echo into my mind and knew what she was going to say before she did.

"Thank you, Master."

My hand went to my belt as I searched for my voice. "Let's show everyone what you just did," I said, choking up. I felt my eyes watering and knew that Luna knew I was proud. I lifted a pair of pokeballs and smiled through my tears. "Let's show everyone what you just did."

It was quiet, the barracks practically silent. I lay awake like always. Only the light of the pokegear screen illuminated my bunk.

Surge had set me up with an aftermarket gear that had been specially scrubbed by somebody Surge trusted. It couldn't be tracked back to me, unless I did something stupid and identified myself.

I groaned, swiping away from the open page. I'd been researching Giovanni Sakai almost every night, poring over every single scrap of information that was public record. Surge had even forwarded me a few classified documents that Lance had provided him.

To put it bluntly, there wasn't much. Giovanni was like a ghost, barely even appearing in public searches outside of League article mentions. None of his gym challenges were public record, same with his own League challenge nearly thirty years back. It was as if someone had carefully manicured every aspect of Giovanni's persona until all that was left was useless chaff.

I tabbed over to my messages. I skimmed through the mission briefing Surge had sent out for what felt like the hundredth time. There was nothing there, save for a hunch. I grimaced at the prospect of slogging through the Safari Zone in pursuit of nothing.

If nothing else, I could challenge Koga for the Marsh badge while I was in Fuchsia. Red and Blue had both earned their badges in the same week. The boys were probably halfway up the eastern coast of Kanto by now, closing in on Lavender if my estimates were accurate.

I exited Surge's messages and my eyes lingered on the one below it. The one that I hadn't had the courage to answer yet. I opened it for the thousandth time, emotions churning in my chest.

Marcus. I'm sorry. I don't know if this message will reach you, but it isn't going to work. It was nice to speak with you, but I can't be alone here anymore. I'm going back to Johto to be with my family. Thanks for being there. I'll be watching for you at the Indigo Conference. Maybe if you're ever in Johto, we can meet again.

I'm sorry,

Aya.

I closed the message again, pushing down the pain in my chest. She'd sent the message two days after Celadon. She'd been gone for two months and I still felt this way.

Whether it was losing Pride, or losing Aya, or both, I was lost. My mind raced and without Luna's calming presence, I couldn't stop it. I felt alone, more alone than I ever had before.

Maybe Aya and I had never really been a thing. Maybe it was all just a figment of my imagination, a misinterpretation of intent by my desperate mind. I didn't know. Now I never would. The screen shut off and I scowled at my morose reflection.

I reopened the pokegear, navigating my way back to the browser. I opened the article on training juvenile aerodactyl that Harding had forwarded me. If nothing else, I could bury myself in my training. I had my team. They were my family now. They were everything I had. I would be the best I could be for them.

The chopper swung low, circling over the small clearing in the trees that served as our landing zone. The second, slimmer chopper hovered overhead, waiting for the first squad to deploy. The fat, overloaded transport chopper slowly lowered to the ground as I watched a small herd of ryhorn stampede away from the roaring flying machine.

I felt us touch down with a light jolt and unbuckled my safety belt. Wertz and Reyes did the same beside me, with Captain Harding getting to her feet across from me.

"Squad two, get prepped." Surge's voice was interspersed with static and I had trouble making him out. "Second LZ is twenty-two minutes out. First squad, move out."

The bay door at the back of the chopper lowered as I slung my pack over my shoulder and lifted my rifle. The Captain was the first out, shielding her eyes from the late morning sun. Reyes was second, with me directly behind him. Wertz brought up the rear, a half-step behind me as we exited the chopper.

We'd made a morning departure, skimming across Rainbow bay in the pair of choppers. We were deploying at the northeast edge of the Safari Zone, with squads two and three deploying further along the north edge of the park. Surge was to go on ahead, making contact with Koga before he returned to update us with any additional information that Koga cared to provide.

We watched the transport chopper rise into the air, joining Surge's sleeker attack helicopter in the sky. They disappeared on the horizon, leaving our four person squad alone in deep wilderness. I felt the skin on the back of my neck crawl and the hairs raise as I shuddered unconsciously.

Wertz dropped to one knee as she opened her pack. She pulled out a ball and released her aipom. The little simian disappeared into the trees, surveying the immediate area for any obvious threats.

Captain Harding raised an eyebrow at me as she released her persian. The massive feline affectionately pressed her head into Harding's waiting hand and was rewarded with a scratch under her chin. "Something wrong?" she asked. Harding was good at reading people, even better than Surge was at times.

I shrugged, warily shifting my gaze off the trees. "I can just feel the eyes on me," I replied. "I don't like it."

The Captain turned, raking the tree line with a quick glance. "If it's any consolation, humans don't normally come this deep into the Safari Zone." She looked back at me with feigned concern. "They're probably just as nervous as you are."

"I'm with the rook," Reyes said nervously. His hand went to his belt, resting on the trio of balls waiting there. "It's creepy."

I released Luna beside me, reaching for her instinctively. I felt her mind touch mine as she nuzzled affectionately at my hand. Her creamy beige fur was warm to the touch and I felt some measure of calm cross my mind.

"When did that happen, Private Wright?"

I turned to look at Captain Harding. "Last night, ma'am. We decided that she was ready to try again." I looked back at my ninetales happily. "She was more than ready."

Reyes sidled up beside me. "Damn, Marcus. She's gorgeous."

"That she is," I replied. Luna held her head high and I felt some small measure of pride. "Don't let her hear you say that too often though. She's got a big enough ego as it is."

The Captain's persian sniffed cautiously at Luna, seeming to test Luna's boundaries. My ninetales puffed her tails up, growling slightly. I watched a puff of smoke curl from Luna's mouth as she curled back her lips and exposed her teeth.

"That's enough," I ordered. "Raxus is our friend."

Evolution has a different effect on every pokemon. When Acolyte had evolved, his stubbornness had practically doubled. Curie's evolution had sparked a newfound maturity in my baby. She was more motherly than childlike now. But Luna? She seemed outwardly the same. However I could tell that something was different. I could feel something new whenever she touched my mind, something angry, something almost vengeful.

I pushed the thought away. Luna and I would figure it out soon enough. Maybe I was still hurting, maybe Luna was a little harder than she used to be. But we'd be alright. We were still together, that was what mattered.

Wertz's aipom swung down from the tree he had climbed, chattering happily. "It's clear. Pommie didn't find anything worth alerting us over."

Captain Harding slung her pack over her shoulder. Raxus padded off, ostensibly to scout ahead. "Alright, children. We're burning daylight. We've got sixty or so miles to Fuchsia and I'm not accepting anything less than ten today."

Reyes let out a long, low groan. Wertz and I just smiled.

Captain Harding's initial estimate turned out to be wildly out of line with reality. She'd wanted us to cover ten miles before we had to make camp for the night. We barely made it six before the sun started to dip on the horizon. The terrain had been rough going, with thick jungle slowing our progress to a near crawl. We'd picked up the pace once we reached the river, but that still left us behind schedule.

Luna crept forward, low to the ground as she stalked the herd. The only clue to her presence were the cream coloured tufts of fur sticking out from the underbrush. I could see the slowpoke's pink skin through the trees, could hear the soft stream of water splashing and the quiet grunting of the slowpoke as they mindlessly fished for food along the banks.

I waited, watching for any surprises. None came. I whistled once and Luna rocketed forward. She clamped her jaws over the back of the closest slowpoke's neck and wrenched it to the side. The pokemon dropped, its neck broken. Not one of the other slowpoke reacted.

I crept out of the brush, trying not to be noticed. I hefted Luna's kill over my shoulders, grunting with the effort. Six months ago, the effort would have utterly exhausted me. I turned, disappearing back through the brush before the group of slowpoke even began to react.

I returned to the makeshift camp less than twenty minutes later, following the column of smoke rising into the sky. Reyes was tending to the fire, both of the women watching him struggle with the smouldering log.

I dropped the slowpoke into the dirt beside the fire, grinning ear to ear. "I went to get dinner and you couldn't even get a fire going?" I glanced over at Harding and Wertz. "You two enjoying the show?"

Reyes turned to face me as Harding chuckled to herself. "Hey, not everyone has a fire type. It rained yesterday. Every scrap of wood I could find was soaked through."

I pointed down at the smouldering log. "Luna, help him." I glanced back at him. "You do have a fire type," I said.

He shrugged. "He's tired," Reyes said. "Wouldn't sleep before the mission."

She sucked in a breath and bathed the log in pure flame. It whined before it finally split with a loud pop.

The kindling under the log ignited and the fire roared to life as Luna sat back on her haunches. She looked at me smugly, licking at her chops and gazing longingly at the slowpoke.

I turned towards my team. Artemis was curled against the trunk of a thick tree, warily glancing over at Reyes' and Harding's teams. Acolyte sat patiently in front of my aerodactyl, keeping the murderous avian calm with his presence. The two of them were practically inseparable, Acolyte doing more to tame Artemis' wilder side than I ever could.

Vector was perched in the tree, at home in the heavily wooded Safari Zone. He had spent the day as part of our team's scout group, mapping the way forward with Harding's scyther. I never could get a good sense where his mind was, but my heracross hadn't tried to leave yet. I figured that was a good sign.

I sat against the tree, smiling absently as Luna plodded over to my side. Curie leaned against me and I sat back to watch the sky darken as the sun set. For a brief moment, I felt peaceful.

All was calm with the world. All was good. For the first time since Celadon, I felt whole again. I should have known that it wouldn't last.

Artemis dove towards the earth, her wings tucked flat against her body. She'd spotted something. I saw Harding circling up above, peering down over the side of her fearow. They were on a much shallower descent than Artemis, but it was clear enough that they were heading towards the same place.

I leaned against a tree that had fallen into the river. Reyes and Wertz trailed behind me, both of them keeping a wary eye on the water since a golduck had gotten overly territorial with us.

"Captain," I started as I activated my comm piece. "We can see you coming down. Any trouble?"

"Got something suspicious on the ground." She replied brusquely. "Maybe a hundred to two hundred feet from the river bank. Heading down to investigate."

Reyes looked over at me. "Think it's something to do with Rocket?"

I shrugged. "Could be anything. The Safari Zone is-"

"Harding here," the Captain interrupted. "It's a massacre. Something violent happened here."

Reyes' hand went to his comm unit. "Any idea what happened?" he asked cautiously. "Can you identify the remains? Wild pokemon tend not to leave much behind. It could give us a clu-"

"It's a nido pack," she said solemnly. "At least what's left of one. I count three queens, one king, and at least a dozen juveniles." She paused for a long moment. "I've never seen anything like this. They've been torn to pieces. Literally."

I felt my hand shaking madly as I reached for my comm unit. "Repeat your last, Captain."

"Something tore this pack apart. Something big." She went silent for a moment. "Converge on my position," she ordered. "I am roughly two hundred feet off the river. You can't miss it. Follow the blood."

My hand dropped to my side. Pride's face was fresh back in my mind. His blank stare, the strange angle his neck was bent, hovered in front of my eyes. Luna's nose touched my hand and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I scratched the top of her head and nervously swallowed the lump in my throat.

I pushed the emotion away. We were on a mission. I had a job to do. I could grieve later.

I wiped away the barest trace of tears and looked down at my ninetales. "Lead us to the Captain," I ordered.

She met my eyes with her own. I felt her reassuring touch for half a heartbeat. I shut the thought of my dead nidoking out. I was a Ranger now. Duty came first.

Pokédex Entry #142 – Aerodactyl

Aerodactyl are a formerly extinct species of avian pokemon that resided in the Argent Mountains nearly 35 million years ago. It is unkown what caused these ferocious predators to go extinct, but it is suspected that an apocalyptic event in the wilds of northern Kan-Jo wiped out vast numbers of species.

Aerodactyl have been resurrected with the assistance of Blaine Katsura of Cinnabar, and a small colony has been established for study of these ancient creatures on Sawtooth Island.

A small number of juvenile aerodactyl have been sold off to trainers for further study of these prehistoric Pokémon's suitability for training. At this moment, the study remains inconclusive.

Intermediate Trainer KT#07996101

Indigo Ranger Corps, Special Task Group, "Zapdos" Squad,

Private First-Class SN# 109-512-6591, Marcus Wright , current team:

Luna, Ninetales

Acolyte, Marowak

Vector, Heracross

Curie, Chansey

Artemis, Aerodactyl