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Chapter Text

The first thing Summer felt was a soft, gentle breeze and the warm rays of the sun on her skin. She let out a groan as she opened her eyes, rubbing the grogginess from her eyes. As she stood up, she found herself in a familiar place, the beaches of Dolce island.

“Pichu!” Summer looked down to see that her partner Pokemon was looking at her with wide and curious eyes. The young woman smiled and knelt down, putting a hand on Ukulele Pichu’s head.

“People of Oblivia!” Summer’s head snapped upwards and her pupils shrunk as her eyes locked with the sky fortress of ancient legends. “Behold our power and tremble!”

Summer could only watch as the main cannon of the Sky Fortress started to glow purple before launching a beam of energy at Dolce Island. Summer was locked in place as it got closer and closer, purple light enveloping everything around her before—!

Summer shot out of bed with a shout. She could feel tears pricking her eyes and sweat beading down her forehead as she gripped her sheets.

“Pichu…?” Summer’s ears perked at the sound of her partner Pokemon. She looked over to see the small Pokemon sitting at the foot of her bed, a frown on his face.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Summer said, more to herself than to the Pichu. Even though her stay at Oblivia and subsequent return to the region was long over and she had since returned to the Ranger Union in Almia, dreams of Dolce island’s destruction had haunted her every night since. For six months, Summer was unable to get a good night’s sleep due to the haunting memories of that fateful mission.

“What time is it?” Summer shook her head, trying to ward off her intrusive thoughts. Ukulele Pichu responded by hopping off the bed and heading towards the window. He pulled one of the curtains, letting the dim morning sun shine through.

“I guess it’s time to get up, then,” Summer muttered to herself as she stood up. “You ready for today?”

“Pichu!” Her partner replied enthusiastically as he ran up to the dresser in the room and hopped on top of it before grabbing his ukulele.

“I wish I had your energy,” Summer replied as she got dressed in her ranger uniform and left her dorm room. As she made her way to the dining area, she saw another ranger waving her down.

“Good morning, Ben,” Summer said as she sat down at his table.

“Morning, Summer,” Ben said with a small smile on his face. “How you holding up?”

“I’m… holding,” Summer heaved a sigh. Ben frowned as his eyes focused on Summer’s.

“Summer, your bags are getting worse,” Ben sighed as he poked at his food. He then perked up and sat up a little straighter. “Oh yeah, that reminds me. Professor Hastings told me that he wanted to see you.”

“Alright, I’ll see him,” Summer stood up and looked down at her partner. “Let’s go, Pichu.”

“Wait, you’re not going to eat?” Ben asked.

“Not hungry,” Summer replied as she left, her partner scrambling behind her.

Despite appearances, Ranger HQ was quite a big building. Summer had to navigate through a maze of hallways before making her way to the Professor’s office. Summer knocked on the door.

“Apologies, Dr. Clavell, please hold one second,” Summer could hear the Professor’s voice through the door. “Who is it?”

“You wanted to see me?” Summer asked.

“Oh, Summer. Perfect timing. Please come in,” The Professor said. Summer obliged and opened the door. The Professor was sitting at a desk and looking at a tablet. “Summer, come here. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

Summer obliged and walked around the desk to see the tablet. On the screen was an aged man wearing an orange suit and glasses.

“Dr. Clavell, this is Summer, the ranger I was talking about earlier,” Professor Hastings said. “Summer, this is Dr. Clavell, a good friend of mine I met overseas.”

“It’s nice to see you, Summer. I’m looking forward to having you at our school,” Dr. Clavell nodded his head.

“School? What are you talking about?” Summer looked at Professor Hastings with a quizzical expression.

“Ah yes, this is what I called you here for,” Professor Hastings nodded. “Dr. Clavell and I are holding an exchange program. You see, in other parts of the world, people and Pokemon work with each other in very different ways. For the sake of expanding our knowledge, we decided to do an exchange. For a few months, a ranger will attend Dr. Clavell’s school, Naranja Academy, and a Naranja student will intern at the Ranger Union. You have been selected to go to Paldea and attend Naranja.”

“Attend school?” Summer reeled back, almost offended at the notion. “Wouldn’t I be more helpful back here?”

“Summer, you are one of our best. I can only have the best on outreach programs like these,” Professor Hastings said. “Since you look ready for a Mission, I’d like you to prepare now. Come back here when you’re ready for a Mission Debriefing.”

“I… understood,” Summer’s shoulders slumped, but she accepted her face. She turned around and left the room, mentally preparing herself for her next mission.

As soon as Summer left, Hastings turned back to his screen and saw a deep frown on Clavell’s face.

“This isn’t just about knowledge, is it?” Clavell asked.

“You noticed?” Hasting’s brow furrowed.

“I’m an educator. It’s my job to know when a youth is struggling,” Clavell shook his head. “Something terrible happened, didn’t it?”

“I won’t share the details, but you’re right. I don’t know how to help her, but she isn’t getting better here,” Hastings shook his head. “I’m sorry for hiding this from you.”

“Setting all of this up for just one of your rangers,” Clavell let out a small chuckle. “Ever the bleeding heart, aren’t you, Hastings?”

“It’s why I’m still here,” Hastings heaved a sigh.

“Some things never change, do they,” Clavell said. “Anyways, one of our students has graciously lent a room for the Ranger that ends up coming to Paldea.”

“So a student already knows about our little program?” Hastings raised an eyebrow.

“Champion ranked trainers are privy to information that others don’t have,” Clavell explained.

“Tell me more,” Hastings leaned back in his chair. Today was going to be a long day.

“I can’t believe he’s making me go to school,” Summer grumbled as she fastened her styler onto her wrist. She did her time at Ranger School. She should have to go back to school. She was sixteen. She graduated.

“Pichu!” Pichu’s cry snapped Summer from her stupor. She looked over to see the agitated expression on her partner’s face, but it seemed he wasn’t agitated for the same reason she was.

“Pichu? What’s wrong?” Summer asked. Pichu slapped his cheeks a couple times before pointing at Summer.

“No, you’re right. I need to get my head in the game. A mission’s a mission,” Summer nodded her head and smiled as she grabbed her bag. “Let’s go.”

As she rushed out the door, she recoiled as she almost rammed into Ben.

“Ben?!” Summer gasped. “You almost ran into me?”

“Sorry,” Ben let out a flustered laugh. “I was just concerned. After that meeting with Dr. Hastings, you went straight back to your room with a terrible scowl on your face. Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Summer shook her head. “Hasting’s sending me to another region again.”

“Already?! It’s only been a few months since we came back from Oblivia. You can’t be going out on another dangerous mission like that,” Ben shouted.

“No, it’s not dangerous,” Summer said. “Hastings wants me to go to school in a region called Paldea.”

“Paldea… can’t say I’ve heard of it,” Ben shook his head. “Will you be alright, though?”

“Yeah. Hastings seems to have set everything up,” Summer nodded her head. “I don’t think it’ll be dangerous.”

“If you say so,” Ben heaved a sigh. “Just keep in touch, alright?”

“Alright,” Summer said with a smile. “Anyways, has Nema talked to you recently?”

“Yeah. She said she found a school where she could study engineering at,” Ben said. “Rand and Leanne are doing good. Rand is considering retirement, but he says he has a couple more years left.”

“That’s good,” Summer nodded. “Anyways, I’ll see you around.”

“See you around,” Ben said.

With a nod, Summer navigated her way back to Dr. Hasting’s office. When she entered, she saw that Hastings was now standing in the middle of the room with a contemplative look on his face.

“Reporting,” Summer said as she stepped in, closing the door behind her. “Ranger Summer, ready for duty.”

“Good to see,” Hastings said as Summer stepped forward. “Your mission is simple. Go to the Paldea region to learn how to become a Pokemon Trainer. Go through the curriculum at Naranja Academy and learn as much as you can. You will be going to Cabo Poco where you will be staying for a few days before the start of the term. Do you understand?”

“Understood,” Summer nodded. She then did a spin and struck a pose.

“Yes, I suppose this is the start of your mission,” Hastings nodded his head. “Say, do your signs still work? I had a talk with Brooker and he said he didn’t know if they would work outside Oblivia.”

“I haven’t actually tried,” Summer admitted. “There hasn’t been a reason for me to.”

“Try to summon Latias. I must admit that it is much faster than any ship or plane we have,” Hastings said. “I have uploaded Paldea’s map to your styler and marked Cabo Poco onto your map.”

“Understood,” Summer said. “I’ll… see you after I complete the mission.”

“Summer, I know you can do it,” Hastings said with a small smile. “Please do your best.”

“I will,” Summer said as she left the room and made her way outside the union building. She took a deep breath as she leaped in the air. Despite months of not using sign mode, her moves were as practiced as ever, letting the styler’s capture disk fly through the ground, forming an incomplete star to summon Latias. After the symbol was complete, it flashed on the ground before the disc returned to the machine on Summer’s arm.

Summer landed on the ground and waited… and waited… and waited…

“Looks like she’s not coming,” Summer muttered sadly as she looked up at the sky. Hanging her head, she turned around and prepared to go back to tell Hastings the news. Just as she was about to open the door, she heard a familiar cry. Whirling her head around, she saw Latias barreling towards her.

“Latias!” Summer felt a face-splitting smile grow on her face as the legendary pokemon landed next to her. “I’m so happy you came!”

The Latias let out a happy cry, seemingly unaffected by the long trip from Oblivia to Almia.

“Hey Latias, I need to go to a region called Paldea,” Summer said. “Do you think you can do it?”

The smile on the Pokemon’s face faded away as an uncertain frown replaced her expression.

“Is it far?” Summer asked. “It’s okay if you can’t.”

Latias let out an indignant cry and shook her head wildly.

“You can?” Summer smiled. “Thank you?”

Latias nodded her head and Summer jumped onto the Pokemon. Within seconds, Latias had taken off and pierced the cloud.

“Are you sure you’re okay with them living at your place?” Clavell asked through the screen of a Rotom phone.

“Of course! I’d love to learn how an actual Pokemon Ranger ticks!” Nemona replied with a smile. “I heard they don’t even do traditional Pokemon battles.”

“You’d be right,” Clavell said before looking to the side. “It seems that the Ranger is already on her way.”

“Really? That’s fast,” Nemona said as she stood up, dusting the sand off her body. She looked out from the Cabo Poco beach and looked out onto the horizon. “A Pokemon Ranger, huh…? I can’t wait.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Welcome to Paldea

“How are you holding up, Latias?” Summer asked. Using her styler as a means to breathe in high altitudes and speeds, she used the speaker built in to communicate with the pokemon she was riding. Latias let out a cry and though it didn’t sound like she wasn’t exhausted, there was a bit of a waver in her voice. It made sense, considering they had been flying for two hours straight.

“Don’t worry. We’re almost there,” Summer assured the legendary Pokemon, who nodded and smiled in response. “You’re doing great.”

Latias let out another cry and promptly nosedived into the clouds.

“Ahh!” Summer let out a scream as they pierced the clouds, revealing the Paldea region below. It was huge, much bigger than Oblivia, and even a little bigger than Almia. It was a giant mass of land with a giant crater in the middle of it.

I wonder what’s in the crater, Summer thought as she opened up the map on her wrist. “Latias! We’ll be landing on the southern beach!”

Latias let out a cry of approval as she dipped at an even steeper angle and started to go even faster, threatening to throw Summer off of her. Luckily before that could happen, Latias started to slow down as they approached the beach. Summer could vaguely see a person running out of one of the large houses as they approached the beach, but they couldn’t be sure.

“There!” Summer shouted as she pointed at the rectangular section of the beach that had been replaced with a sort of field. It made for a good landing spot. Luckily, Latias took the hint and landed atop the field. Summer got off and took a deep breath and cracked her back. Two hours in that position was wildly uncomfortable.

“How are you holding up?” Summer asked as she put a concerned hand on the Legendary Pokemon. She could see the sweat forming on Latias’ body and the tired expression on her face. “Don’t worry, Pichu and I will protect you while you rest up.”

“Pichu!” The small Pokemon voiced his agreement as he hopped off Latias and strummed his ukulele a few times. Latias smiled, if only a little bit and nodded in thanks.

“That was so cool!” Summer whirled around, her hand gripping her wrist as she heard a shout and saw a girl that looked to be her age running over. She had black hair with a green streak and an enthusiastic smile on her face. “When I heard a Pokemon Ranger was coming, I didn’t expect you to arrive on the back of a Legendary Pokemon!”

“I uh…” Summer was used to this kind of attention, but the girl’s energy had taken her off guard. Before she could speak any more, the girl had swarmed her with bright, sparkling eyes and an eager grin on her face.

“How did you catch it? What moves does it know? Can we battle? Please?” She asked, the speed and volume of her voice increasing with each question.

“Catch…? Move…? Battle…?” Summer held her hands up, her head spinning and a blush on her face as her head was bombarded with unfamiliar words. “I-I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you’re talking about… and you’re a little close.”

”Oh, my bad! You’re here to learn all that stuff,” The girl chuckled as she stepped back and rubbed the back of her neck. “My name’s Nemona and you’re gonna be living at my place until school starts.”

“I-I see… My name’s Summer,” Summer took a deep breath to steady herself. Would she even be able to survive with such an energetic person for a few days? “I’ll be in your care.”

“The pleasure’s all mine. I’ve been reading about you guys since I was a kid,” Nemona’s excited demeanor started to shift as she stood up straighter and the excited smile had reduced to something a lot more sincere. She extended her hand for a handshake. “Sorry for the enthusiasm, but it’s kinda like meeting a childhood hero, ya know?”

“It’s okay,” Summer returned the smile as she shook her hand. “I’m really excited to learn what I can from you.”

“Yeah. Dr. Clavell has told me what I need to show you before we take you to Naranja, so follow me!” Nemona let go of her hand and ran towards the road leading upwards to the houses, Latias seemingly forgotten.

“Latias, would it be okay if you stayed here?” Summer asked. Latias nodded in approval. “Alright then. Let’s go, Pichu.”

“Your Pichu’s really cute! I love his ukulele,” Nemona complimented. Pichu responded by twirling his ukulele around his body and strumming the strings, the electricity channeling through his body into the ukulele. “And talented too!”

“I’d be lost without him,” Summer admitted. She’d put her hand on the Pichu’s head, but doing so while he was playing was quite dangerous, especially after all the upgrades Brooker, and eventually his brother Hastings did on it.

“Well there’s no better way to learn how to battle than with a Pokemon you’ve bonded with,” Nemona said with sparkling eyes. “Now come on. My house is just up here.”

“Alright,” Summer said as she followed Nemona up the road. On the surface of Cabo Poco were two large houses, with the one closer to the beach being larger than the other.

“This one is my place,” Nemona said, pointing at the larger of the two. “Don’t worry about my parents. They’re overseas a lot, so it’s just going to be the two of us.”

“I… see,” Summer frowned, noticing Nemona’s smile starting to waver as well. Summer knew what it was like to be alone. She never knew her own parents, after all. “Well, thank you for letting me stay with you.”

“It’s no biggie! It’ll be nice to have some company for once,” Nemona’s smile solidified as she offered a thumbs up to the Ranger. “Let me show you inside. We can talk about the stuff you’ll be doing in there.”

Nemona led Summer into the house and into a large dining room with a furnished wooden table in the middle. Nemona sat down on one of the many seats and gestured for Summer to sit down. As Summer sat down, Nemona waved her hand and a small screen flew from her pocket and into the air.

“So Dr. Clavell sent me a list of things he wanted me to go over with you,” Nemona said as she moved her hands, her eyes moving up and down the screen. “First thing’s first, do you know what a pokeball is?”

“I… don’t,” Summer shook her head. Nemona nodded as she took out a small red and white ball and threw it on the ground. The ball opened up like a capsule and with a flash of light, an unfamiliar pokemon flew out of the ball. It was a small, fluffy thing that stood on four legs. Its paws were large for its body and it looked up at Summer with beady, brown eyes.

“Pokeballs are what we use to keep our Pokemon close to us,” Nemona said. Summer’s expression must have said something, because Nemona’s eyes widened slightly and her eyes widened. “They’re comfortable, I promise! I would never let my Pokemon be shoved in an uncomfortable situation.”

“If you say so,” Summer nodded her head. She’d have to do some investigating on these pokeballs, but Nemona seemed trustworthy enough. If she couldn’t trust Nemona herself, she could trust that she wore her heart on her sleeve. From the little interaction they had, Nemona seemed to speak her mind and nothing else.

“Anyways, here in Paldea and a bunch of other places in the world, we do this thing called battling,” Nemona explained as her eyes returned to the screen. “We bond with our Pokemon by pitting them against each other. It’s like a sport.”

“What?” Summer felt her fists clench and unclench. These people were forcing Pokemon to fight with each other? “You…”

“Pichu!” Before Summer could say anything, Pichu hopped onto the table with a determined look on his face. “You agree with her?”

“It’s the culture here,” Nemona said patiently as her eyes locked with Summer’s. “Pokemon don’t get injured too badly and we make sure they’re treated well, like they deserve. Fighting together helps us bond with each other in ways that we can’t otherwise. They’re our partners. I promise you’ll see what I mean when you start doing it for yourself.”

“I… don’t know if I can do that,” Summer shook her head. “I’ve had Pokemon help me in battle before, but… it’s different. We don’t use Pokemon unless we need to. They help convey feelings of friendship to others.”

“We do the same with battling,” Nemona assured her. “Our strength in battle is a testament to our bonds. That’s why it’s so beautiful. That’s why I love it so much.”

“I guess I can try it… if Pichu is okay with it, of course,” Summer looked at Pichu anxiously. Her partner Pokemon, however, had a confident look on his face. There was nothing but unwavering trust in his eyes.

“Don’t force yourself, Summer,” The screen flew back into Nemona’s pocket. “We still have a few days. It’ll take time to learn how things work here.”

“Thanks, Miss Nemona,” Summer took a deep breath. Nemona was right. Things worked differently here and Summer needed to see for herself before judging.

“You don’t have to be so formal,” Nemona waved her hand. “We’re the same age… or at least I think we are.”

“Yeah,” Summer nodded her head.

“Now, what else, what else…” Nemona muttered. The Pokemon on the floor hopped up on Nemona’s lap, earning a startled cry from her, but she then smiled and started to pet it. “Oh, this is a Pawmi, by the way. I recently caught him, so he doesn’t have a name yet.”

“Caught?” Summer asked.

“Yeah,” Nemona nodded her head. “We catch Pokemon by throwing pokeballs at them. It’s a complicated thing.”

“Catching… like taking them from the wild,” Summer noted, her body tensing up again. “Like Pokemon pinching?”

“God, no!” Nemona seemed shocked at the idea. “I admit, there’s some people that do that, like Team Rocket in the Kanto region, but I heard they’re long gone. Pokemon can’t really be caught if they don’t want to. Most Pokemon can easily break out of a Pokeball.”

“Hmm,” Summer nodded her head. The Pawmi seemed to be quite happy with Nemona, so there was no reason to argue with her logic.

“How about Ravio?” Summer asked. It had been months since she had returned to the ancient Cocona village, but the young boy had always been on her mind. She wondered what kind of man he became. She wondered if she could even call Celebi all the way here in Paldea.

“Ravio’s a wonderful name!” Nemona’s expression brightened. “What do you think?”

The Pawmi stretched his fluffy limbs out and let out a small noise of approval.

“It’s settled then. Welcome to the team, Ravio,” Nemona said excitedly. “You’ve got a knack for naming things, Summer. I can’t wait for you to meet the rest of my team.”

“Team?” Summer tilted her head.

“Yeah, the rest of the Pokemon I work with,” Nemona nodded her head. “I’ve been battling for a while now, actually. I’m what’s called a Champion Ranked trainer. Like other sports, Pokemon battling has a league, and a Champion Ranked trainer is someone who’s gone through and completed the league.”

“Woah, that’s pretty cool,” Summer admitted. She had to see what this Pokemon league was like.

“Yeah,” Nemona wasn’t able to hide the look of pride on her face. “Anyways, how are you doing? That was a lot of information I threw at you.”

“It is a lot. I think… I think I need a minute to process it all,” Summer nodded her head. She was still on the fence about the whole Pokemon battling each other thing. Maybe she just needed to see it in action.

“Of course. Let me show you to your room,” Nemona said as she stood up. “It’s just down the hall here.”

Nemona led Summer down the hall and opened the third door to the right to reveal a medium-sized bedroom with a full-sized bed, a table, and a dresser. “I know it’s not much, but this is yours until you get your own dorm at Naranja.”

“No, this is plenty,” Summer said with a smile. “Thank you so much for letting me stay with you.”

“It’s no problem, I swear,” Nemona put a hand on Summer’s shoulder. “I hope you enjoy your stay here at Paldea.”

Summer could only smile back as she locked eyes with Nemona. If everyone in this region was as kind as she was…

“Yeah, I think I will.”

Chapter Text

Penny sighed as she turned on her computer. Ever since she left Team Star, she’s been longing for human connection. Unfortunately, talking to people is a bit tough, so she turned to the comfort of her screen. Luckily, she found a pen-pal she had been talking to for the last couple of months. Seeing her emails would always brighten Penny’s day. This pen pal was bright, energetic, and smart. They had a lot in common, but the pen pal had more energy than she could ever have. As soon as Penny opened her email, she found a new message. She quickly clicked on it and read the contents.

Cassiopeia,

Thanks for writing back! I love hearing about your litter of Eevees. I wonder what they’ll all evolve into! Well, knowing how you are, they’ll all evolve into Espeons if you aren’t careful haha. You’re really friendly, so I can totally see that happening.

In other news, Mama and Papa came back from their conference! It was a success. They got lots of praise from a bunch of bigwigs and they’ve been allowed to continue their research. I’m really happy for them, but I’m sad I won’t be able to see them as much. Speaking of which, I got accepted into the school I applied for! I’m already in the air, but I managed to make a miniature receiver out of some scraps so I can still send this email while I’m on the plane. Isn’t that amazing?

Also reading your previous email, you’re telling me you haven’t heard of Pokemon Rangers?! That’s crazy! They’re amazing people who go all over the world to protect Pokemon from bad guys! My Papa’s a pokemon ranger too! And my best friends. I haven’t seen them in a while, though. They had to go back to Almia after their mission here was complete, but I’ll see them again? I’m sure of it! And who knows? Maybe we can all meet up together. I’m sure Ben and Summer would love you as much as I would.

Oh, the plane is landing soon. I’ll wrap things up here because I’m moving in straight away and I have to focus on unpacking. Write back as soon as you can!

Your friend,

Nemanator

Penny couldn’t stop the smile on her face as she read the letter. Nemanator was quite scatterbrained, but that was endearing. From the looks of it, she’d just write what was on her mind when it was on her mind, so there was no sequential order. Penny looked down to see one of her Eevees, Rascal, looking up at her.

“Come on, you know you don’t need to ask,” Penny said as she extended her arms. The Eevee smiled and chirped his excitement as he hopped onto Penny’s lap. “Now… what to say…”

Penny spent the next hour leisurely crafting a note to her friend with an Eevee on her lap, and for that hour, Penny was happy. She had exactly what she needed.

“How are you feeling?” Summer asked as she put a hand on Latias. The first thing Summer did after breakfast was come straight down to the beach to check on her friend. The Legendary Pokemon seemed to be a lot less tired and was happily playing with Pichu when Summer found her way back down.

The Latis let out a cry of approval as she slowly started to float a few inches off the ground.

“That’s good,” Summer then looked to the endless ocean and into the horizon. “Are you going back to Oblivia now?”

Latias followed Summer’s gaze before frowning. After a couple seconds of consideration, Latias shook her head.

“Yeah, it is pretty far, huh?” Summer frowned. “Sorry for doing that to you.”

Latias responded by nudging Summer’s shoulder playfully and offering her a reassuring smile.

“Thanks. I guess you’re staying with me in Paldea,” Summer said.

“Summer!” Summer turned when she heard her name to see Nemona running in her direction.

“Good morning, Nemona,” Summer greeted the energetic girl with a small yet earnest wave.

“Morning,” Nemona said as she slowed down before stopping in front of Summer. “I know what we’re going to do today.”

“What do you want to do?” Summer asked as she clenched her fists behind her back in anticipation.

“I’m going to show you and Pichu how to battle!” Nemona said as she held out a pokeball. “Come on! The field is right here.”

“A-are you sure?” Summer took a step back. She was still uncertain about the prospect of battling. She knew that she had to get used to it and eventually battle herself if she wanted to get by here, but now? “Isn’t it a bit too soon?”

“Are you kidding? Now’s the best time to get started!” Nemona said. “Nothing gets your blood pumping like a battle early in the morning. I promise I’ll go easy on you!”

“I don’t know…” Summer looked down at Pichu, who seemed to be bursting with excitement. “Even if Pichu wants to try, I’m a little nervous…”

“I understand,” Nemona seemed to have a moment of realization as her shoulders straightened and her demeanor calmed a bit. “I’ll walk you through it. We’ll go slow, alright?”

“Alright,” Summer said as she turned to Latias. “I’m sorry to do this, but can you move a bit? I think we’re on the battling field right now.”

Latias let out a cry of approval as she moved over a few feet to the stand and watched the pair of humans intently.

“Alright, since Pichu’s already out, we’ll just have him on this side of the field,” Nemons gestured to the half that Pichu was standing on before pointing to the square at the end of the field. “This is where you’ll be standing, alright?”

“Yeah,” Summer jogged over to the square that Nemona was pointing at while Nemona made her way to the other side of the match, where she grabbed the Pokeball that she had shown.

“Alright, Ravio! Let’s show them what we got!” Nemona threw the Pokeball to the center of her half of the field and the Pawmi shot out of the Pokeball with a determined look in his face. “Hey Summer! Do you know what moves Pichu has?”

“Moves?” Summer called back.

“Yeah! Like what it could do! Here, let me show you!” Nemona said. “Ravio, use Thundershock! Away from Pichu this time.”

The Pawmi let out a cry as a small bolt of electricity fell from the sky and onto the center of the field, dissipating as soon as it came.

“Although there’s technology you can use to learn what kind of moves Pokemon use, I like to feel it out. It’s more personal that way,” Nemona said. “Just think about what he’s capable of and put a name to it.”

Summer nodded her head. She thought about Pichu’s performance and the different ways he used electricity through his ukulele. Pichu was also capable of calling lightning, but it was a lot stronger than the little Thundershock that Ravio emitted, so it couldn’t be the same thing. It was much bigger and much stronger. Perhaps…

“Pichu! Try using Thunder!” Summer called. Pichu turned around and made eye contact with Summer. As soon as they did, there was an instant understanding between the two. Pichu whirled around and took out his ukulele.

“Pichu!” The Pokemon cried as he strummed his ukulele. Clouds formed around them as electricity started to crackle. Summer took a step back as several large, electric blue volts crashed down into the ground, hitting the field multiple times. Despite the large size of the bolts, none of them managed to hit the Pawmi, though it succeeded in scaring the thing.

“Ravio!” Nemona instantly took out her Pokeball and Ravio quickly returned to the small ball. “Wow! You really gave me a fright, there!”

At least she cares about her Pokemon, Summer thought as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “S-sorry about that.”

“Sorry?! That was amazing!” Nemona exclaimed. Summer swore she saw actual stars sparkling in her pupils. “Hold on! I can’t be using Ravio against a powerhouse like that.

Nemona dug in her bag before taking out another pokeball. “You’ll work! Gumdrop! Let’s show this newcomer what we’re really made of!”

Nemona threw the Pokeball and a large, purple pokemon appeared on the field. Slime coated its body and its green eyes fixated on Pichu before letting out a roar.

“Isn’t this a bit much?!” Summer shouted. She had seen this pokemon, Goodra, a couple times in her mission since her return to Almia. They were powerful dragon type Pokemon and while Summer knew she could take one on, she was worried about having Pichu up against the Goodra alone. She put her hand on her wrist. If things got out of hand, she would have no choice but to use her styler.

“You have the strongest Pichu I’ve ever seen! I can’t hold back!” Nemona said with an eager grin. “Gumdrop! Use Sludge Bomb!”

The Goodra roared before shooting a large sphere of poison at Pichu.

“Get out of there!” Summer shouted. Pichu cried out in fear as he jumped back, narrowly missing the poison. As it splashed onto the ground, it started to sizzle as it burned through the field.

“Dragon Pulse!” Nemona shouted. Gumdrop opened its mouth and a large shockwave emitted from it. Pichu dove out of the way, but the shockwave kept barrelling towards Summer. Being quick on her feet, Summer managed to sidestep the blast as she extended her wrist. The capture disk shot out of the styler and flew towards Gumdrop, spinning around the pokemon several times until it stopped its assault.

“Capture complete,” Summer sighed as she fell to her knees, the capture disk flying back to its slot in her styler. Pichu ran up to her with a concerned look on his face. “I-I’m fine…”

“That was so cool!” Nemona returned Gumdrop to her Pokeball as she ran up to Summer with wide eyes. “I’ve never seen a styler in action! You threw out your wrist and it went all—!”

“Nemona,” Summer looked up at the girl with an agitated expression on her face.

“Oh,” Nemona seemed to realize her mistake and her shoulders dropped as her smile quickly faded in favor of a guilty frown. “I-I’m really sorry about that. I saw how strong your Pichu was and I got lost in the moment and…”

“It’s fine,” Summer took a deep breath as she stood up. Summer could see the passion burning in Nemona’s eyes as she battled. It reminded her of a lot of people. It reminded her of Ben when they went on missions together, it reminded her of Brooker when he was repairing the Union, and it reminded her of herself when she was doing Ranger work. She looked down at her hands. They were shaking, but not from fear. A primal excitement welled up inside Summer. “I… I think I can understand why you like battling so much.”

“Right?” Nemona’s smile quickly returned as she extended a hand to Summer. “You’re gonna be a great trainer, I know it. I can’t wait to see you learn the ropes and everything. We’ll battle again once you get a hang of things, alright?”

“Yeah, but please don’t go crazy like that again,” Summer said as she grabbed Nemona’s hand and pulled herself up.

“No promises,” Nemona laughed. “Gumdrop’s actually one of my strongest Pokemon. She really helped me through the Pokemon League.”

“She’s something, I’ll give you that,” Summer took one more deep breath, trying to calm the adrenaline that was coursing through her veins.

“Well that was definitely quite the workout!” Nemona said as she stretched her arms. “Hey, you seemed pretty quick on your feet there. Did you have to do that kinda stuff while working as a Ranger?”

“Don’t you know it,” Summer sighed as she looked down at Pichu. “You doing alright there?”

“Pichu!” Pichu nodded his head and strummed the strings on his ukulele again.

“Looks like he’s raring to go!” Nemona laughed. “Say, how’d you meet this little fella? He’s definitely not your ordinary Pichu.”

“That’s a long story,” Summer said as she felt her smile growing.

“Well, we have all day. I can’t wait to hear about it,” Nemona said. “Let’s go back up and wash ourselves off. Battling you worked up a mean sweat.”

“Yeah,” Summer said as the three of them made their way back to Nemona’s house while Summer started to weave a tale of Pinchers, Legendary Pokemon, and a Ranger with a special Pichu by her side.