~ Abandoned Labatory, Talgeria~

Being teleported repeatedly made Neltharios sick. However, they eventually made it to their destination, in the middle of a dry and arid town near an inconspicuous entryway. The dry air gave way to the abhorrent heat that went about the dusty environment. While other pokemon might have found it debilitating, Neltharios found it relaxing, almost soothing for some reason. Being accompanied by Alcryst at this place, however, made the relaxation brought about by the environment useless, as his unease overtook his being.

"Was this your lab?" Neltharios asked, holding his head, "It looks rather… worn. Like it hasn't been used in years."

"Correct," Alcryst agreed, "This used to be my lab before I was attacked by Team Blackhand, who I'll explain more about later. For now, I want to dig up some things. It might help me understand your situation a little better."

Alcryst examined the exterior of the building, looking for the entryway. Soon, he spotted a dial on the side of one of the walls. He twisted and contorted the dial in a myriad of different ways before a click was heard and the door opened up.

"After you, I guess," Neltharios said, trying not to let nervousness take over his mind.

Alcryst paid the Charmeleon no mind and entered into his laboratory, obviously expecting him to follow. Neltharios did as expected, and followed the Alakazam into the strange laboratory. The walls were adorned with blueprints and all sorts of technical jargon that Neltharios couldn't understand.

"I suppose I should expose who I really am, just to build at least a little bit of trust between us," Alcryst began, "I am Tagerian, and yet most of my services were used by Gullveria. I, along with my boss, were responsible for the modernization and the wide distribution of Entercards across both nations. The purpose of my work was to continue the labor that Espeon and Umbreon laid out before us, and so I got to work."

Alcryst looked at Neltharios, who held a blank expression, "Oh, sorry. For some reason in Talgeria, it's custom for pokemon to not name themselves. They are typically given names after achieving a great feat, or being related to those who have done such. Anyway…"

Alcryst led Neltharios to a set of stairs on the far side of the room. The Alakazam ushered the Charmeleon into the flight of stairs. "During my time, I had plenty of prototype devices at my disposal. The looplet on my arm is one of these. It came about when I was researching Eternarifts."

"Okay, and what does all that have to do with me?" Neltharios asked, "What does your story have to do with me?"

"Because there's something I have to admit to you about the Eternarifts… And I need your word that you won't tell anybody about it."

"Hmm… You did save my life, so I guess I can keep your secret. Alright, what is it?"

"Very well…" Alcryst turned around, "My former boss… He's responsible for the weapon of the Eternarifts, and there's evidence I've personally gathered that hints that he's the new leader of Team Blackhand."

Unlike the last time he fought, Rico felt infinitely more prepared for this. In fact, he almost thought it came instinctually for him. Water gun after water gun was landing on the Cyclizar, and every time it hissed, Rico felt a wave of glee wash over him.

"Yes! It's faltering!" Rico screamed to his teammates, who weren't having as good of a time as him.

"Rico! We're out of reviver seeds! Fight carefully!" Traximus yelled.

"Not a problem! I've got this! I've just gotta focus real hard!"

Rico was about to launch another water gun, but found that he couldn't. As he sprinted to his right he dodged a dragon claw that was aimed at his last position. 'Kroto told me about this. Our moves aren't infinite. Looks like I have to tap into my inner human and get tactical!'

Rico picked up a rock on the ground and climbed up the giant Cyclizar. The creature lurched and thrashed about, trying to get the Froakie off it, but Rico wouldn't let go. He climbed to the face of the Cyclizar, eventually reaching the eye area. From there, he smashed a rock on the eye of the Cyclizar, causing it to swing wildly and eventually throw the Froakie off towards the rest of his teammates.

"Good going Rico, I think you blinded it!" Traximus cheered.

"There's no time to celebrate! Do you got something that can make my water gun come back?!"

Traximus pulled out a max elixir, "Here, try this!"

Rico took a deep breath. 'There's no time to mull over how disgusting this might be. We have to beat this thing!' The Froakie ingested all of the elixir and then threw the bottle to the side. He then peered into the eyes of the Cyclizar, with the one eye Rico attacked appearing to have blood dripping from it.

"Traximus! Palla! I need you guys to slow it down!" Rico yelled, "If I can hit it really hard with some water attack, I think I can take it down!"

Traximus looked between the injured Palla and himself, then looked back to Rico. "If you're sure you can take it down, then I'll trust you! Ready, Palla?!"

Palla only gave a weak nod as she stood up. Traximus tossed her an oran berry, to which she caught and ate. "I'm ready, Traximus…!" She gritted her teeth.

The two dragons rushed the Cyclizar, once again garnering its attention. Team Blade looked on, intrigued. "Pfft. They might actually pull this one off. It's all thanks to that Froakie, though…" The Sceptile commented.

Traximus rolled left. Palla rolled right. The incoming dragon claw struck the ground, causing a mass of dirt and grass to be uprooted from the ground. A dragon breath from Traximus hits the Cyclizar's right side, an aqua tail from Palla hits the Cyclizar's left side. All the while, Rico is charging up a highly pressured water attack.

"Keep going, guys! I'm still charging!" Rico shouted.

Another dragon claw. This time, Traximus was hit in the chest with a left hook, flinging him backwards. Palla got momentarily distracted, causing her to get hit with a breaking swipe from the tail of the Cyclizar, flinging her back towards Rico. 'Uh oh! This is bad!' Rico thought to himself, 'I'm still not done charging! My teammates!' The Froakie looked between his teammates. The Bagon had scrapes and bruises all across his back and face. But that's nothing compared to Palla, who hacked up some blood, staining the grass. She curled up in a ball, muttering something inaudible, but she had tears steaming down her face, which gave Rico all he needed to know about her condition.

'Dammit! Come on! Charge Faster!' The Cyclizar kicked it's left foot against the ground, kicking up plenty of dust. 'Almost there…' The Cyclizar got on all fours and lowered its head. 'Just a little bit more…' The Cyclizar then began charging full speed at the bleeding Palla, intent on killing its target.

"NOW!" Rico screamed as he fired off a high-pressured torrent of water from his mouth, straight at the Cyclizar's other, non-damaged eye. As the torrent of water rushed the lizard, it pierced through the eye and through the skull, causing a ton of blood to rush out of the creature's body, mixing with the high-pressure water causing the blue color to turn red. After a bit of waiting, the Cyclizar went limp, and then fell to the ground, shattering the rock formation above its head on the grassy field.

The Aegislash and the Sceptile of Team Blade went over and administered some aid to the downed members of Team Nova. Meanwhile, the Ceruledge went to inspect the Cyclizar.

"Well I'll be damned. You actually pulled it off Froakie." The Sceptile said, hoisting Traximus over his shoulder.

"You managed to defeat the Cyclizar, practically by yourself. Your teammates were useless, and yet you managed to carry them to victory." The Aegislash complimented, holding Palla, "Many teams fail when incompetent teammates hold them back."

"Just what are you, Rico?" The Sceptile inquired, "Are you perhaps… human? Only a human could clutch something as wild as this, even with the type advantages."

"Maybe I am," Rico growled, "But I don't appreciate you insulting my teammates like that."

"Hmph. These losers? I think you're better off joining a competent team like ours. How about it?" Sceptile offered, "Wanna ditch these weaklings for us? We'll take care of you unlike them."

"...I'll think about it." Rico stated.

After confirming the death of the alpha, the Ceruledge returned. "Sceptile. Target is down. Hakari Village is safe. For now."

"Good. Then let's return to base." Sceptile ordered.

~ Wayne's Explorer Guild - Wayne's Room ~

When Team Blade entered the room with the beaten and battered dragons alongside Rico, Kroto and Kruler dashed up with worry in their eyes. Rico immediately ran up to Agent Wayne, attracting his attention.

"Ah. You're back. What was the result of the mission?" Agent Wayne asked.

"Alpha slain. All thanks to this Froakie," Aegislash answered.

"Well done, Rico." Agent Wayne stared at the Froakie, "You've proven yourself. No wonder you're aloof to everything around here, you are a human."

Rico didn't feel accomplished. He snapped back at Wayne, "This was the test?! You send me into a life or death scenario in which my teammates would have died if it wasn't for my situation?! What would have happened if I wasn't a human?!"

Agent Wayne initially froze and said nothing. He then closed his eyes and said, "Then it would have been an unfortunate loss of life. All over a lie. Thankfully, you weren't lying, which enabled you to win today. Do not snap back at me again, Froakie."

Kroto and Kruler looked back at Rico and Agent Wayne. They went wide-eyed and Rico could have swore he heard snarling coming from the both of them. Unfortunately, Team Blade stood in between them and Rico, and to complicate things, they had both Traximus and Palla in their arms. Team Nova was powerless to do anything about Agent Wayne in the moment, and tensions were running high. Ultimately, Rico dropped the act, and silently stormed off.

"Take those two dragons to the medical bay for recovery. They will likely be out for a few days. Team Nova can take a break until then. They will have paid leave for now." Agent Wayne declared, "Now everybody, disperse and get out of my sight."

~ Wayne's Explorer Guild - Residence Hall ~

Rico immediately went and sat on his bed. His triumph during the fight had all but faded, leaving behind exhaustion and a depressing mood. 'My teammates. They could have died over proving I'm human. Which means what Traximus said was true, at least to some degree.' He looked down at his hands, 'Am I truly a calamity bringer to this world? What is my purpose here?'

"Hey."

Kroto's voice brought Rico's attention to the door, "I overheard Team Edgelord talking about you earlier. What's this about joining them? You're not about to abandon us, right?"

"No way!" Rico shouted, but then lowered his head, "It's just that Team Blade is so much stronger than us right now… We have no hope of opposing them or Agent Wayne. And it sucks so much when they're both willing to throw away anything to finish the mission, even lives!"

"I hear you," Kroto sat beside him, "It's actually horrendous that the lives of Traximus and Palla mean nothing to them, but what are you going to do? Fight them? You're just one pokemon. Human or not, you can't take on an entire guild of pokemon."

"I don't want to fight them…" Rico leaned back on his bed, "But it's just so frustrating! I hate that Team Blade!"

"Don't worry. We'll be better than them, I'm sure of it."

"See, you say that, but how long will that take? By then Team Blade could be even better, perhaps even the best!"

Kroto fell silent. Rico knew that his silence gave away the fact that he didn't have an answer. However, just as the Froakie was about to say something, Kroto said, "You know… Being the best isn't just about strength. It's about the bonds that are made and what you achieve. Being strong means nothing if you don't have a good avenue to put it through." The Passimian looked upward, "At least, that's what I was taught."

When the Froakie fell silent, Kroto continued, "Team Blade may have the upper hand in raw power, but when it comes to forming bonds and building renown, it looks like they might have a bit of trouble being anything more than just hired muscle."

"I guess," Rico reluctantly agreed.

Kroto then got up from his seat and walked over to the desk. He then pulled out some ink and some paper and began writing something. Rico, meanwhile, went back to his sulking. 'Being more than just muscle, huh?' He thought, 'If I'm to survive in this world, then do I have to build a reputation like this? Yesterday sounded more fun than today was.'

Rico rolled around in his bed before eventually drifting off and beginning his slumber.

~ Wayne Explorer Guild - Wayne's Room ~

Agent Wayne tapped his connection orb. He muttered, "Contact Sergeant Garland, priority zero."

The orb gleamed for a bit before sustaining a light blue glow. "This is Sergeant Garland. Agent Wayne Barlow, speak."

"We have confirmation. The Froakie is human. This is a strange, and yet welcome development. However, he is part of that exploration team, Team Nova. We need to keep watch over them to ensure that we don't lose our asset."

"I see. What do you purpose?"

"We need to put the team through rigorous training. Training that will force them to evolve. I've scanned over their ranks. The Bagon and Axew look like they're about to evolve, the Totodile already evolved, but the Froakie looks like he needs more time."

"And what will this entail?"

"I, personally, will give them the most difficult jobs we can muster at this point in time. Yes, I will have to send them after Team Blackhand's operatives. But evidence is slow to come by, so it will likely take a bit for the requests to come piling in. In the meantime, I could send them into mystery dungeons, and if possible, have them fight more alphas."

There was a bit of silence on the other end for a brief moment. Then, "I hate to be so cruel to these younglings, but we must do our part to secure our homeland, and they must do theirs. I'm giving you the green light. You may give them those jobs, so long as it's appropriate for their skill. I don't want our human killed."

"As you wish, Sergeant."