jasonwolf
Semper Vigilus
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2010
- Messages
- 9,771
- Reaction score
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CONTENT WARNINGS:
- Strong Violence/Gore - Explicit and/or frequent depictions of blood, injury, torture, dismemberment, violent deaths, and/or mutilation of body parts. This is a story about soldiers, not everything can be done up with a nice little bow.
- Strong Language - Explicit use of slurs, no matter how infrequent or frequent they are. Currently, there is mostly just swearing, but I know that tensions will be on the rise in later chapters and even worse language may be used.
- Mild Suggestive Themes - Implicit and/or rare mentions of nudity, sexual behavior, and/or sexual innuendo. These are adults who do adult things. Its all fade to black for actual ehm... "private interpersonal interactions", but I feel its safer to mention than not
- Substance Use - Implicit and/or infrequent references to the consumption of drugs, alcohol, and/or tobacco, not including implicit themes of addiction and/or abuse. Again these are adult characters and as such use certain substances. Currently, its very minor, but later chapters are likely to see more of it, though still within this rating.
Special Credits:
Gen 7 "thedarkdragon11" Sprite resource
Gen 6 "MrDollSteak" Sprite resource
Gen 6 The Smogon XY Sprite Project
Gen 7 Smogon Sun/Moon Sprite Project
*All sprites will be labeled as they are used.*
UPDATE NOTES:
Consider 12/2/18 the starting point for all updates mentioned from here out.
Gen 7 "thedarkdragon11" Sprite resource
Gen 6 "MrDollSteak" Sprite resource
Gen 6 The Smogon XY Sprite Project
Gen 7 Smogon Sun/Moon Sprite Project
*All sprites will be labeled as they are used.*
UPDATE NOTES:
Consider 12/2/18 the starting point for all updates mentioned from here out.
12/2/18: Updated all team banners: Alice received team member changes, Mike's team received some name changes.
Chap 6: Description of Alice's house added.
Chap 6: Description of Alice's house added.
12/2/18: N/A
Chapters:
1. Gr Jaklo Wight and the New World
2. The Old World
3. Faded
4. A Walk in the Park
5. Hit Fast, Think Hard, Move Smart
6. Stalling
7. The Best Defense
8. Damnation
9. Why
10. Night We Stand
11. Dawn We Ready
Photo/Art Gallery:
Yanso, Lucas, Pierce, Rath, Tex, Plasum, Baroness, Nort
Holt, Aggy, Chelsa, Lai, Gus, Rask, Shir, Cath, Nerb
Bermite and Steenee from Smogon XY and SuMo sprite projects
Aeron, Nix, Cobalt, Wizic, Reger, Gordo, Quik, Sparks, Feld, Odette, Fe, Led, Copper
Turbine, Jett, Vent, Liam
Raizer, Cackle, Shortle, Eli
Noivern sprite from Smogon XY Sprite Project
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“Would you forsake your child in the name of progress? Would you forget your mother for the sake of progress? Would you betray your friend for the sake of progress? Then how can we do this to the Pokemon who got us here? What gives us the right or the reason to destroy not only our mother earth and fail our Pokemon friends but deny our children the future they deserve? It must end here. We can’t turn back the clock, but my friends we can make a new future, A future that saves Pokemon and ourselves. To do that we have to give up our petty ways and relearn the respect that fostered our growth. It will not be easy, and the costs are high. My generation has failed this earth, and so we leave it to the next. We go to where we can do no harm, an exile for our failures. You true children of the earth who have proven your dedication to a new mission. To save what we lost. I know that together you and your Pokemon can save this world. Do not doubt, do not despair. With your Pokemon at your side, you can do anything. Arceus forgive us and be with you.” – Arthur Neil, Farewell Address
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You’d think in a world full of monsters everyone would be afraid. That we’d cower and hide and run. Some do, but not everyone can stand idly by. There are few that stand up and face the dangers of the world head-on for the sake of those who can’t. Many call us brave. I thought I was. Nothing could have possibly made me brave -enough to handle the sight of my best friend lying in a pool of his own blood his left leg blown off, his right broken in three places, and too many other injuries to count. Terror filled my body and froze me solid. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think. I wanted to run away. I wanted to run to him. I wanted to fall down and cry, but I could only look upon the consequences of my failure as a friend and as a Ranger.
Mike and Alice, my friends and coworkers, and I had reported in for a normal call. Just another monster moving a bit too close to town for people to be comfortable. It was just a teddiursa, a little omnivore, though that usually meant its momma Ursaring wasn’t far behind, so we went over without another thought. We would shoo it away, and if anything went wrong it didn’t matter we were top of our rank. Our training taught us everything and prepared us for anything after all. That training manual always felt a bit thin in hindsight. When we arrived the ursaring was dead, mauled, and largely eaten while the teddiursa was nowhere to be seen. Not too far away standing in front of a trail of fallen trees was a dragon tall enough that it breached the canopy. It’s brownish green scales let it blend into the expansive forest like a growlithe in tall grass. It was almost like it had materialized right in front of us. Dragons were not meant to exist here. They were supposed to be extinct in this region, yet one was staring us down with blood dripping from its bladed maw. Yet another image that I’ve never been able to purge from my mind.
I’m not sure if it was valor or foolishness that made us attempt to fight the beast. As Rangers, we had tamed and trained teams of these Pokemon to help us. Altogether there were over twenty-five of us: Three trained rangers, and twenty-four Pokemon. The dragon tore us apart in minutes. Everyone was battered, bruised, slashed, and bloodied. We sent Alice to go get the other rangers while we tried to stall the dragon just a little longer. I could barely stay standing at that point, so Mike charged in. He and his partner Pokemon Aeron, an aerodactyl, were a force to be reckoned with. They gave the dragon a real fight. Riding on Aeron’s back as he flew around the beast Mike was able to precisely guide the Aerodactyls attacks letting them outsmart the dragon. Even then it couldn’t last forever. They had to execute everything perfectly. The dragon only needed one hit. The dragon Pokemon roared and a purple energy began to build in its mouth. A huge laser fired off hitting Mike and Aeron. While Aeron had his natural protection as a Pokemon, Mike was a human and the attack disintegrated his left leg. The two fell from the sky with a horrible thud and crack.
We only survived because of the Ranger head, and pretty much every other ranger in the town showed up. They were able to drive the dragon off, but for us, it was too late. Everyone would live, but I almost wished I hadn’t. Most of my injuries were bad and would have me laid up for weeks, but Mike was clinging to the very edge of life. He was in ICU for over a week. People were certain he’d die, and in a sense he did. He pulled through the injuries, but he never recovered. Mike wasn’t the same person in the slightest. I saw a great leader, a courageous fighter, and my best friend become a cold distant hermit. Meanwhile, I was suddenly given his responsibilities whether I wanted them or not. I had become the best ranger in town short of the leaders, and yet I didn’t really change at all save for one thing. I was terrified of that dragon and the calamities it wrought.
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Chap. 1
GR. Jaklo Wight and The New World
GR. Jaklo Wight and The New World
Yanso, Lucas, Pierce, Rath, Tex, Plasum, Baroness, Nort
A low, but booming roar echoed through the woods. Everything shook, the trees shuddered, the ground became unsteady, and my very bones felt like rubber. I looked around trying to find the source because I knew that roar as much as my own voice. The dragon had come back. The forest was misty and dark. If I was lucky it wouldn’t be able to see me. I couldn’t see it either though. I could try to run, but a Ranger shouldn’t run. It was my job to fight, but what chance did I have? The roar sounded again, but it was much closer. I had no time to think. I sprinted as fast as I could in a blind panic. All I knew was fear. With luck, the fog would cover me let me get far away. I wasn’t like Mike. I wasn’t strong enough.
Ahead there was a tall evergreen with a hole near the bottom probably a burrow of some sort. I squirmed in desperate to hide. It was a tight fit but manageable. I peered out at the forest floor waiting and watching. The roar echoed out again and again. Every time I heard it I sunk back deeper into the burrow. Soon I heard its footsteps. Each one rocked me to the core. The shaking was so intense it actually shook up my breathing and made me cough trying to get air back in. The steps sped up until the sound was right on top of me. With one more thunderous step, the dragon’s foot landed right in front of my face. I wriggled and struggled to try and go back further. Something underneath me came loose and I started falling down into darkness.
Everything was inky blackness now. No matter what direction I looked, even down at myself, I saw nothing. A single word began to echo in my head: Coward. It repeated over and over again nagging at me. Voices of my friends, my family, of everyone began to jeer and shout at me.
“Coward!”
“Fraud!”
“Strip his rank!”
“Exile him!”
“Shut up! I’m not a coward!” I shouted back.
“Then why did you abandon me?” It was a single voice now.
I looked up to see Mike crippled and bloody on the ground staring at me.
“Mike! I didn’t leave. I just… I wasn’t strong enough. I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough!”
“You’re just a pathetic coward. You did this to me. It’s your fault!” He shouted.
The voices came again screaming and roaring. I collapsed curling into a ball.
“No. I didn’t. I’m not," I muttered trying to endure the onslaught.
“Noc tou Noc!” I heard a new singular voice cutting through the jeers.
Looking up I saw my Noctowl, Lucas. Why was he here now?
“Noc tou woo," He cooed putting a wing over me.
His eyes glowed purple and the darkness began to fade to light.
I opened my eyes seeing Lucas standing next to me with his eyes still glowing. It was another nightmare. Noctowl’s had psychic powers letting them quell or cause nightmares and dreams, so Lucas had been helping me deal with them. I patted Lucas on the head giving a weak smile. He nuzzled up against my hand happy to see me up and moving again.
“Thanks, buddy. Good thing you’re used to taking night shifts. You should get some rest now. I’ll be fi-ine," I told him yawning through my words as I scratched at the stubble on my face.
He tilted his head not so certain.
“Don’t worry. First one in what? four weeks? I call a month between nightmares a success at this point. Now I gotta go to work," I said not letting him stop me now.
Lucas had to oblige and let me get up. I opened up a small dresser and got one of my uniforms out before climbing down from the sleeping loft. Going underneath I entered the cramped bathroom. Minimalism wasn’t just an idea here in many ways it was life and others the law. I took care of my business in there very quickly and got dressed. The attire was simple, but we needed it to be wearable more than elegant. For guys, it consisted of cargo pants, a two-tone shirt that matched the town’s colors, forest green and slate gray, and some heavy duty boots. I always wore a cap as well, but that wasn’t required. Girls had basically the same uniform, but their shirts are cut longer to give a kind of fake skirt look. The original Rangers just used the old Avance Ranger uniforms from back before, so we modeled the modern design to hint to those, but be better suited for this world.
My thoughts went to the first time I put my uniform on. Without the uniform, I was a completely unremarkable person. I’m not saying I considered myself ugly, but I didn’t stand out much by looks. Brown hair, brownish-amber eyes, a farmers tan from working. At most once or twice I was told I had a kinda pointy chin. Then again, Alice liked to mention a fire in my eyes and my smirk, but she’s a very biased source.
Once I put that uniform on people saw a whole other person. When I got it I was so excited. I had made something of myself. I went from Jaklo Wight fruit picker to Ranger Jaklo Wight. I was living the dream then. Now putting it on felt like painting a target on my back. I always knew the risks, but until you actually are at risk you won’t fully grasp it. Even then I kept moving. I ate breakfast before going to round up my Pokemon.
I went to the barn built behind my house. It was a rugged wooden structure, like everything else in the town. I pulled open the door and was hit by the smell that came with keeping Pokemon. I coughed and mocked vomiting.
“Damn it guys. How many times have I told you to keep the door open some?" I groaned backing up a step.
There was a general tone of grunts and groans dismissing my comment. Most of my team was off at the ranch, an open region set aside to let Ranger Pokemon live in when we didn’t need them. For now Tex, my Lairon, Rath, my Houndour, and Yanso, my Grovyle and partner were here with me. Rath was curled up in the corner by a little wood burning stove that we used during the winter. The bony plates around his body were a gritty tan like a fossil. He was looking up to me only vaguely interested. He was far more of a night Pokemon, so he was probably just getting to sleep now. He would get up when I needed him, but more than likely he’d be fine to rest now. He had been working days for the last week, so he deserved some time off. I’d switch him with Plasum, my Haunter. Tex was the next to acknowledge me. His stony skin had taken on the reddish tinge of hematite from a steady diet of the local minerals. He lumbered out of a little pen and sat down in front of me with a thud.
“Larr," He grunted sitting down at my feet.
“Yanso? You up there?” I called looking up to the loft.
After a moment I climbed up there, but he wasn’t around. I wasn’t sure where he could be now. He had been rather strange since the dragon as well. He was off in multiple ways. Most notably he kept running off and showing back up with some sort of injury. They weren’t even normal or logical ones. Burns inside his mouth, signs of electric shock, and one time he even had four symmetrical puncture wound on his forearms that he refused to explain. I tried everything I could to make him stop, but he wouldn’t do that, much less tell me what was happening. When he was here he was pretty normal, but it didn’t quell my worries.
I stepped outside and blew a piercing whistle. A minute or two passed and Yanso came walking slowly out of the forest. His dull green scales made him hard to spot in the brush, but I’d gotten pretty used to it over the years. He was nursing his left arm, but I couldn’t see any external injury when he got closer.
“If you didn’t keep coming back hurt. I wouldn’t care what you do when we aren’t working," I told him looking over the arm.
He winced when I touched his arm trying to get a better look. I pulled a medical spray, that we called potions as slang, off my belt and used it on a large bruise that had formed. I grilled Yanso over what he was doing, but he just looked away and grumbled.
“I don’t know what you are doing or where you are going. How are we supposed to be partners when you won’t talk to me?”
He dismissed my concern waving a hand and let out a dry chuckle. My best hope was that he didn’t want me to worry, but how couldn’t I? I was starting to understand how my parents must have felt when I started Ranger training. I didn’t see my Pokemon as children, but I had a responsibility to lead them. For now, I had to simply bare that. Short of keeping Yanso locked up there was nothing I could do. I made him get into his pokeball at the very least so he could rest. He pressed his hand on the front of the sphere pushing in a tiny button. It sprung open and a red light shot out. Yanso vanished in the light as it was pulled back into tiny red gems scattered around the inside of the ball. I clipped the ball onto my belt before getting Tex stowed away as well. I would get other Pokemon for my team after the morning meeting. Equipped but not ready I headed off.
The walk to HQ took me from the edge of town, where my cabin acted as a sort of outpost, to the very center. The HQ stood above all the other buildings. It’s three-story metal and glass facade visible from most places. While it was nothing compared to the buildings of the old world it was a monolith to people today. It was part military base, part bunker, part town hall, and part hospital. It was the center of life really. Around that were the artisans and merchants. We weren’t a capitalistic people, but everyone deserved to earn wages and to spend those wages on whatever they wanted. It was a down to earth highly personal kind of commerce. Before I even got there I had a few acres of farmland to go past. The entire outer ring of Letchworth was farmland, ranches, and orchards. I had grown up on an apple orchard, so the sights of freshly tilled soil and budding trees was always a nice sight in the morning. I spotted an old family friend struggling to pick up a big basket of pink apricorns and decided I had enough time to stop by for a chat.
“Mr. Faln, didn’t Dr.Runstad say you’re not to carry things heavy things anymore?” I said while lifting the basket.
“Just because I’m not supposed to doesn’t mean I have a choice in the matter. We’re always short handed for the spring harvests. They always steal my boys to plant the fields," He grumbled.
“Well, they usually get that taken care of pretty fast. I can check in for you if you’d like. See if they can spare a few more for your orchard.”
“That’d be a real help.”
I brought the basket back to the drop-off point. I was about to give Mr. Faln another warning, but I was cut off by an extremely loud whistle.
“So much for getting to the office early," I grumbled, “Mr. Faln if you could please head inside until the all clear.”
“Go get’em boyo," He told me before heading into the storehouse.
I ran off towards the sound’s source. There were a lot of workers heading in the exact opposite direction. The whistle kept sounding in rapid bursts. I came across the reason for the alert. A Beedrill was chowing down on some baskets of apricorns.
“Tex, up and at’em," I called summoning my Lairon.
The Beedrill looked up from its feast and threatened me jabbing its needles in my direction.
“Move on, or we’ll force you out," I demanded.
The Beedrill chattered its mandibles refusing. It took flight and lunged at Tex and I. Tex slammed his front feet into the ground sending up a spray of stones that pelted the Beedrill. It turned stinger and flew off. Tex and I made a quick sweep for any signs of a nest or young. It seemed to have just come for a bite. It’d stay away for now. No meal is worth getting hurt for. Even if it did there’d be more Rangers on patrol to handle future problems.
I eventually arrived at the Ranger HQ in the center of town and reported for the briefing. I was a sort of middle rank as far as Rangers went. There were two standard ranks lower, bronze and silver, and two higher platinum and diamond. The only other ranks were for special heroes who served with exemplary courage and valor. As a gold Ranger, I received very different work from the silver and below. They would usually get patrol routes for a month or two occasionally groups would go on little quick recons and pick ups. Silvers sometimes were support for Golds, but normally just had regular duties.
I headed up to the top floor where Tyler, the Ranger Head, had his office and the meeting room. I was the first person to make it there that morning. I sat down at the massive meeting table. It had been cut from a massive tree that was felled at the founding of Letchworth. Half of the log had been made into the Ranger Head’s desk while the other was here used at the conference table. The semicircle let the Ranger head be equidistant from all of us, but still be clearly in charge of the situation. There were five chairs around the curved side one for all of the gold and higher Rangers.
Maria was the next to arrive her heels clicking distinctly on the wooden floors. While I wore a field uniform on most occasions she always was in her official regalia, a nearly knee-length white dress with green and gray details, short sleeves, and a high collar. Her black hair kept tied up in one neat bun. I didn’t know why she always wore the fancy uniform, but I also always felt weird about asking. Usually, the full regalia was worn for conferences between Ranger groups from different settlements and two holidays: memorial and founders’ day. When she came in I nodded to her in acknowledgment but stayed quiet. We were more business associates than friends. There was certainly no animosity, but we simply didn’t exist in the same circles. She sat down on the opposite side of the large oak table and took off her glasses before opening up a Pokedex.
Everything was quiet short of the little clicks of keys on devices until Paul arrived. He was the second in command for all intents and purposes. He was the scary uncle to all the Rangers. While he wasn’t so bad if you stayed on his good side, his appearance still scared bronze and oak Rangers stiff. He was a tall built man who completely owned the stereotype of a square-jawed soldier. His entire left arm had been replaced with a prosthetic that only added to the intimidation factor. Originally we hoped that Mike could use one, but his left leg’s nerves had been too badly damaged. Paul was accompanied by his partner Pokemon Syan, a Crobat. The Pokemon roosted on a cabinet in the corner wrapping its wings around itself. Paul seemed ill-prepared to pass the time and instead turned to us,
“So either of you get anything interesting done last week?” He asked having just returned from a short trip up to Rushing, a small village that fell under our jurisdiction.
“No, not really. I’ve been up to the usual things," I sighed," Nothing special.”
“Well, I had a lovely week. Finally got Tyler to review the equipment ledgers, and I had a wonderful dinner with Simon," Maria joined in very pleased with herself.
Paul just looked at her unamused. While Maria and I didn’t travel in the same circles Paul and Maria traveled in nearly opposite circles. Paul was a rugged man of the land. He was a fifth-generation Ranger his direct ancestry going back to one of the founders. Sure Maria was related to Tyler, but he was an outlier and married in. Most of Maria’s family were shopkeepers and craftsmen. It was interesting to see someone like her get this far. She didn’t have the same mentality as a lot of us. Typically Rangers were nature people who grew up on the edges. The artisan families rarely had children who joined the Rangers. There are debates on why: maybe it’s since artisan families tend to have fewer kids and need someone to carry on the family shop? It could be the inner city mentality that they aren’t as close to the wilds. No one can say for sure.
Maria simply rolled her eyes back to her Pokedex. I sipped my canteen and continued working. Alice and Tyler arrived at the same time. Both were discussing something before entering the room, but I couldn’t make much out besides their voices. They entered the room and sat down one after the other. The table being a half circle put all of us lower-ranking Rangers around the RH.
Tyler was one of the better RH’s we had in Letchworth. He was old enough to be wise but young enough to still do work. He wouldn’t be young forever. More and more wrinkles seemed to show up every week and his eyes, once the color of spring leaves, now were dark like an old hemlock’s needles. Even though he was only in his early forties gray was creeping into his hair and he’d missed a few days from issues. Tyler was the kind of guy who’d only miss something if he literally couldn’t move.
As much as my brain tried to focus on worrying about Tyler when Alice sat down next to me I became entirely distracted. Alice was a cheery cheeky beauty. Her big blue eyes always had a clever thought hiding behind them and her lips would curl into the tiniest smile if it was particularly good. I was particularly fond of her long blonde hair. She usually kept it in a ponytail, though a few strands would always slip free and hang by the left side of her face. We smiled at each other knowing we’d talk after the meeting about “us stuff”. We had a lot of responsibility that came before ourselves.
“Good morning everyone," Tyler began placing a tablet on the table, “It’s good to see you home safely Paul. Everything has gone well in Rushing I assume?”
“About as well as they could. Their demolition plans for the ruins seem sound. They don’t think they’ll need any assistance if urban Pokemon become provoked. The area is very fringe and they haven’t seen many Pokemon there at all much less a threat," Paul reported sounding far too official for how he looked.
“Very good. Been a long while since anyone has done some reclamation. Let’s not forget that those urban areas are also valuable habitats for Pokemon. Our world needs a certain balance of the natural and urban areas," Tyler noted reminding us even though we all knew that very well, “Anyway on to current matters.”
“All minor assignments have been handed out already. Maurice took the one I posted this morning," Maria said.
“Makes getting to our work much easier. Alice, Jaklo, I’m sending you to the south end. We need to check on the status of the Museum and Inn before we send people back up there. Normally I’d have lower Rangers do this, but something in their report concerned me about that snowstorm.”
During the winter a storm hit the area that forced us to evacuate people from the north end of the park where some historic sites were preserved. I had seen the reports myself, but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. I wasn’t going to turn down a possibly easy mission though. A day off never hurt. Even if it wasn’t it’d just be a normal day. I had visited the historic sites a couple times. Funny to think these sites lasted this long yet the cities were collapsing. We tended to them carefully wanting to preserve the important history of humanity.
“Alright. I’ll prep some gear for the area," I said thinking of a couple things I’d like to have ready for this trip.
“I’ll go pick up Agro from the Ranch. I met him down there at the falls. He’ll notice anything odd," Alice said having formulated a plan.
Tyler sent us on our way. I hurried to the armory to grab a pair of thermal goggles. I had become quite keen on them for tracking sneaky prey. Alice and I met up outside and began to discuss ongoings while we walked.
“So I was gonna pick up stuff to make meatloaf tonight. You wanna come over?” I asked casually.
“As romantic as meatloaf sounds I don’t know if I can tonight. I have so much paperwork to get through. Why is it that we have to make a thirty-page file for every Pokemon we catch?” She sighed looking at me like I had some better answer.
“I dunno. Gotta keep track of the Pokemon we have somehow," I shrugged taking her hand and squeezing it.
“Isn’t that Slate’s job? Why can’t I just make one of his techs do it?” She replied still upset.
“How about this you bring the paperwork tonight and we’ll get it done together?” I suggested having submitted my fair share of capture reports.
“How am I supposed to get work done with you around? You are extremely distracting," She said slyly, “And I do mean that in a good way.”
“Work first fun later. We’ll breeze through it," I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t help but smile a little, “Besides we got easy work today. We’ll be home by lunch.”
Before we could get to the ranch we had to go past Prof. Slate’s lab. The man was an expert on Pokemon adaptation and the father of Michael Slate jr. I had gotten to know him fairly well from when I was just a kid going over to the lab to hang out with Mike. It was a big part of how I got to know about Pokemon and even how I really determined the Rangers were the place for me.
The now gray-haired professor was in front of the lab talking to one of his techs. Slate was accompanied by his partner Pokemon a bronze Klinklang. The mechanism Pokemon was certainly a strange one and apparently inspired the creation of gears way back when. The professor’s was currently changing out gears keeping its own weird rhythm with the many different small cogs. As it turns out the only real Pokemon was the main gear with a face. It created the other gears to store energy which it constantly has to expel. Since it has more gears to channel it into a klinklang is much stronger than its previous evolutions. I decided there couldn’t be much harm in stopping by.
“Ah, Mr. Wight. Good to see you again," Prof. Slate nodded to me when he saw me approach.
“You’ve known me since I had baby teeth. You can just call me Jaklo.”
“You spent years hoping I’d treat you like an adult, and now you ask I speak to you as a child.”
“You know Mike gets his stubbornness from you?” I retorted, “Where is he anyway? I haven’t seen him since winter.”
The professor sighed his eyes dark behind his glasses.
“You know how he’s been. He tends to stay in the garden with Aeron. I’ve tried every day to get out and moving again, but that’s the farthest I can ever get him.”
I gritted my teeth the thought of my friend giving up on life was painful to me. He was the best of us, and now he wasn’t even a Ranger.
“Alice. I’ll meet you at the ranch. Goodbye professor," I told them as I dashed off towards the back of the Pokemon lab where the professor had kept a garden
He used it to study Pokemon in a slightly more natural but controlled environment. I saw Mike in his wheelchair staring into a still pond his Aerodactyl partner beside him. I walked up to him, but he didn’t react.
“Been a pretty nice spring so far this year. Good time to start getting out there again," I said stepping up beside him.
“Letchworth has always been a beautiful place. Farmland reclaimed by a man with a vision of nature for the people," Mike said, “It’s the Ranger’s dream I suppose.”
He closed his eyes taking a deep breath.
“You know even though you aren’t active duty anymore we could use you at the meetings. Your insight meant a lot. I’m sure Maria could always use your know how to manage the bronzes and silvers.”
“Maybe. I have… things to do," Mike said his voice telling of how his spirit was broken more than his body.
Aeron looked to his partner and nuzzled against his shoulder. Mike went back to looking into the pond. I took this as my cue to leave. I had tried to force the subject once before, and it only made things worse. I took everything a step at a time. I had seen some good and some bad as time went on, but Mike was still nothing like he used to be.
I hurried to the north side of town and up to the ranch’s farmhouse. Alice was there using the GPS console to find out where her Pokemon were on the ranch.
“Who are you picking up?” I asked so I could plan better.
“Aggy and Kona," She told me not taking her eyes off the screen.
“I was planning on bringing Plasum. Maybe I’d bring Baroness, but you already have plenty of water types. Is three Pokemon enough for now?”
“Jaklo we’re not going to the ruins you don’t need to worry," Alice turned from the computer to give me a look.
“Fine, fine, I’ll just get Plasum.”
I put in his ID and found out where on the ranch he was. It began to zoom in on his location. Eastside, south-east side, hundred yards, twenty yards, one yard. The GPS zoomed right in on the farmhouse.
“What the?” I turned towards Alice but instead came face to face with a horrific mug dripping purple ooze.
“Fuckin hell!” I shouted jumping backward.
The face transformed into Plasum who laughed hysterically.
“Yeah yuck it up. You’re only adding to the stereotype buddy," I grumbled grabbing his pokeball and stowing him away.
We double checked everything and headed off towards the main road so we could get up to The South end where two major sites and a minor one remained from the old world: The Glen Iris Inn and the Letchworth Museum and then the Mary Jemison memorial. The Inn was originally the country estate of William Pryor Letchworth. Letchworth saw the beauty in the land and with his fortune began to buy it back so that it couldn’t be destroyed and that which was already damaged he began to replant. A fitting model for us. The museum had artifacts from the area, and Mary Jemison was an interesting mystery. Much had been lost about her, but a statue remained over her grave. We had no intention of disturbing it.
I sent out Plasum when we arrived at the north end. The Inn was only twenty feet from the gorge and had picturess views, but there had been some buildings further up when the area was a park. We had kept one of them as a little storage shelter for the bigger equipment up here. A fair few devices were thrown around from the storm. I collected a couple of antennae and a weird dish and dragged them up onto the inn porch. I’d leave it to the forge workers to fix it. I knew a thing or two about tech, but not enough to mean anything. Plasum was laughing as he floated back and forth between the white columns on the porch.
“Tahaunt!” He cackled.
“At least one of my Pokemon is still has a positive outlook," I deadpanned.
“Heh heh hauntaa," He smiled opening his void of a mouth wide.
“Alright alright. Come on we got work to do," I told him.
“Speaking of that," Alice said grabbing a blue and white pokeball off her belt.
She held it out and a ray fired off over the gorge. A massive form was created in the red light, but slowly it solidified into the giant water type Gyarados. The water serpent splashed down and looked up at us from the river rapids.
“Alright Agro. You get recon duty. I need you to search up and down the river for anyone causing trouble. Just roar if you need us," Alice said.
“I do not understand how that used to be your little Magikarp," I muttered looking at the massive beast.
“And despite that, he will always be my little Aggy," Alice smiled.
“Well let little Aggy work. You should go up to the storage sheds when Agro is up on the falls," I suggested.
“Okay. Plasum don’t let him do something stupid without me," Alice said giving me a kiss on the cheek before heading up the way to the storage buildings.
Plasum morphed his face into big lips and made kissing noises before breaking into laughter.
“I let you out of that pokeball, and I can cram you back into it," I warned him grabbing it from my belt.
He shrunk back holding his hands up.
“Ok then let’s get to work," I told him as we headed into the Inn.
Plasum went ahead of me and began to lurk through the Inn phasing through walls without a care. He loved the ancient building soaking all of its history. Before I headed inside I pulled on the pair of thermal goggles. On thermal, he left a distinctly cold trail, but it faded fast. I did a full sweep of the inn taking mental notes of anything out of place, but nothing stood out much. When I got outside Alice was just coming back.
“Not a thing. We should do the museum next," I said simply.
We headed over climbing a short staircase up to the museum's large front door. Just before Alice grabbed the doorknob I pulled her back and put my hand over her mouth before putting a finger in front of mine. I pointed to my goggles and then whispered.
“That doorknob is ice cold same for the windows. There’s freezing air slipping out from under the door. Something is inside.”
Alice nodded and we backed up to search the perimeter. We split up and moved around the old stone building to inspect it. There were no signs of forced entry or damage really. The building had an archive cellar with a back door. When I saw there was no sign of cold there we headed in. The archives seemed just fine, but the cold was seeping under the door to the main floor. I had plasum open the door since his ethereal body wasn’t bothered by the cold too much. Inside the building was a strange fog and it felt like the depths of winter. I crept in my vision all shades of blue from the thermal goggles. Alice kept close as we went down the central hall. The building had three rooms. Two smaller rooms were on the right one holding a library and the other natural exhibits, fossils and such; meanwhile on the left was one large room about the human history of the area. On my thermal view, the cold was stronger on the left side around the doorway into the large room. I peeked around the door jam and scanned the room. I froze where I was when I spotted a figure in the room colder than the air around us. It just floated there a slightly darker silhouette in the fog. I conveyed everything to Alice and we formed a basic plan. I sent plasum in to engage first.
“Plasum, sucker punch!” I ordered making the first move
The figure shifted, but Plasum was there in the blink of an eye his ethereal fist solidifying to uppercut the figure. The Pokemon reeled holding its chin. The fog faded somewhat now only rolling along the floor rather than filling the space. The figure was revealed to be an effeminate blue and white Pokemon with bright yellow eyes and a red sash around its waist. It screeched angrily and frost began to form on every surface.
“Plasum keep on the offensive.!” I ordered not wanting to give the Pokemon any time.
My Haunter morphed into a giant terrifying face that startled the Pokemon. Plasum began to slash away with his clawed hands. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard as Plasum scratched at the Pokemon’s frozen outer shell. Alice ordered Sholt to join in. The Wartortle dashed towards the ghost head lowered. He leaped just before reaching it and smashed the icy Pokemon into the wall breaking the plaster and denting the stone wall.
“We need to get it outside," I told Alice knowing that a battle in here could spell disaster for the ancient building.
“Way ahead of you," She replied pulling out a pokeball.
She threw it like a pitcher and beamed the ice Pokemon in the head. The ball opened and pulled the Pokemon in.
“Plasum phase it out!” I ordered realizing where this was going.
He grabbed the pokeball and concentrated gripping it tightly as he pulled the solid object with him through the wall to the outside. Alice, Sholt, and I sprinted through the main entrance to get outside. The ice Pokemon had already broken free and was blasting Plasum with a gale force wind filled with sleet. He was pinned down against the museum holding up his hands to block as much of the barrage as he could. Sholt ran back into the fight unleashing a powerful blast of water from his mouth. The ice Pokemon looked like it had been hit with a boulder when it was knocked sideways from the hit. Plasum lunged at the ice Pokemon grabbing on tight with one hand and pummeling it with the other. He hissed with anger smashing his fist into the Pokemon’s chest over and over. It struggled to break free, but its physical strength was puny compared to its elemental power. Plasum wound up one more haymaker, his fist becoming cloaked in fire, and punched his foe right in the face knocking it out cold.
The Pokemon wasn’t too hurt, only little scratches and bruises possibly a black eye from that last hit. Pokemon were extremely durable. They’d usually use up all of their energy and be unable to fight before they’d start being badly harmed. I took the opportunity and ran up pressing a specialty temporary pokeball against the Pokemon. The ball would only hold the Pokemon briefly so that we could move her out to somewhere safe. There was no way to force a Pokemon to stay in a pokeball, but these were specially made to hold on much longer than a normal one. They were only ever used for the greater good though. The Pokemon was sucked up into it and we all breathed a sigh of relief.
“Alright. Let’s relocate her and report in," I said, “I need a hot shower.”
“Make that we," Alice joked relieved.
We released the Pokemon up near the urban edge since it seemed keen on buildings for habitation. I pulled out my radio and honed in on the town’s signal. I went over what happened and told them that it was safe for the team to return. Alice and I decided we’d wait for the team to arrive and see if they needed any help setting things back up. Seeing as we had the space we sent out all of our Pokemon for some fresh air. Alice and I sat next to each other on the open lawn behind the Inn. Our Pokemon did as each pleased either resting themselves or socializing. Pokemon were just like people in that way. They could be social and think if they wanted to. They simply showed it more around people. Closing my eyes and pulling my cap down before laying back head on my arms I apparently dozed off because next thing I knew Alice has poking my ribs with the tip of her boot. I shook away the daze and saw her and the preservation team.
“What? I work hard. I’m entitled to naps," I grumbled not wanting to admit how restless my night had been.
I got to my feet before inquiring about what needed to be done to get the team moved in again. There actually wasn’t a lot to do. The weather monitoring equipment had survived the snow and would at most need some recalibration. Everything else was standard maintenance. Alice and I left them to it and headed back to town.
We walked along with our main partner Pokemon. Yanso was still young and just a foot shorter than me. Fully grown he’d be much taller than me. Sholt was only about hip height on Alice. He’d get bigger when he evolved and then grow up to be taller than Yanso. Trainers and their Pokemon were always a motley crew. Hundreds of species each with different traits on its own. My team was of all sorts. Reptiles and mammals, tall and short, strong and swift. Each played a special role. Between Alice and I we had gathered around sixteen Pokemon. Even still the bond one makes with their first Pokemon partner is stronger than anything. Nothing can change that. Not the passing of time or the worst of fates. At least that’s what I hoped. Yanso had been strange as of late. He felt distant, but he never seemed any less loyal. I wasn’t going to let that ruin us though. I could never give up on my friends even if that hurt me more.
It was early afternoon when we got back. Alice went back to her house leaving me to walk home with Yanso. As soon as I was in the door I started pulling off my uniform. I threw it in a pile and jumped in the shower. The water was almost painfully hot, but it felt fantastic after that bitter cold. Up here we were used to cruel winters and mountains of snow, but that didn’t mean I liked it. My bathroom turned into a sauna after only a minute or so. I slumped against the wall letting the water pour down on me. I shut my eyes trying to sort through my thoughts.
Overall it hadn’t been so bad. That Pokemon had put up a fight, but that was actually small fry to me now. My team and I had come really far. I had raised most of them from their littlest forms, but even my newer ones were growing stronger. Things over the last few months had been going surprisingly well. My life seemed to be coming together again. I was still scared, but fear and hope aren’t mutually exclusive. Mike had even been getting out a little bit, mostly just to the ranch to visit his Pokemon, but that was huge considering how many weeks he spent never leaving the lab.
I was just getting out of the shower when I heard someone knocking. Knock, knock, knock...knock...knock. That was definitely Alice. I grabbed my boxers and put on some jeans before letting her in. She had already washed up and changed into a turquoise sweater, beige pants, and a pair of nice leather boots.
“I thought you were coming for dinner," I said kind of confused why she was here so early.
“I was coming because of you. Dinner is just a side benefit," Alice laughed leaning up against my bare chest.
I hugged her holding her close. We looked into each other's eyes before sharing a slow kiss. I was damn near certain she was the one. No one made me feel the way I did when I was with her.
“I suppose it’s a good enough reason," I chuckled.
The evening was pretty lazy from that point on. We just talked and existed. Right now it was all I needed. No matter how bad or many my worries Alice could take them all away. When it was us together that's all there was.
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