"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 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

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, 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 been given a mission patrolling the area where the forest met the ruins. We'd keep an eye out for monsters that shouldn't have been there, and if anything went wrong it didn't matter we were top of our rank. We'd done hundreds of missions in and around the ruins. It had almost become the specialty for our squad. Even when other rangers feared the ruins Mike would charge in completely unphased. Our training taught us everything and prepared us for anything after all. That training manual always felt a bit thin in hindsight. We had walked for only a few minutes when we stumbled onto the half-eaten corpse of a fully grown Ursaring. Standing over it 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'd 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. Broken bones and a nasty gash in my shoulder 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, the sheer trauma on his body and blood loss had him fighting for his life. 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.

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 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 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. Lucas had been helping me deal with them using his psychic abilities. 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 were 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 at those, but be better suited for this world.

My thoughts went to the first time I put my uniform on. Without it, 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, it felt like momentum was the only thing keeping me going at times.

I scarfed down a few handfuls of granola before heading out the door to get my pokemon. They would be resting in the barn behind my house. It was a rugged wooden structure with timber walls and a rounded roof. It was originally intended for housing livestock, but being so close to the edge of town the house had been unclaimed by any farmers for quite some time. I took the property a couple years into my silver rank thinking it'd be nice to have my own place. The barn had been especially handy as my team grew in numbers and size. While the barn had plenty of space for all of my pokemon and it was convenient for me, not all of my pokemon preferred to stay there. They would instead stay at the Ranch, a tract of land set aside for Ranger pokemon to roam freely in.

In the barn, I had four of my eight pokemon. Lucas was already in his pokeball, leaving Yanso, my grovyle, Rath, my houndour, Pierce, my kabuto, and Tex, my Lairon. 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.

I patted him on the head before stowing him in his pokeball. I crossed the room heading to a large tub adjacent to the stove. Pierce was just scuttling out of it and down a ramp as I got close. He wasn't particularly fast on land, but he moved dutifully across the dirt floor.

"Ba- Buto!" He called, reporting for duty.

I picked him up and cradled him in one arm before pulling his pokeball off my belt and returning him to it. That just left Yanso, who usually stuck to the loft. I waited a moment expecting to hear him stirring by now.

"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 on his tail, and one time he even had four symmetrical puncture wounds 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 until 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.

"How are we supposed to be partners when you won't talk to me?" I sighed, "What am I supposed to do?"

He dismissed my concern waving a hand and let out a dry chuckle.

"That doesn't answer my question. I swear, one of these days I'm gonna have time to have this conversation. We gotta get to work," I grumbled my worry being overtaken by annoyance.

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 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 was technically three stories, but it also had a watchtower that went up to about seventy feet and the radio tower was well over one hundred. 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. Fields and orchards surrounded Letchworth. Even though I had left behind my life on the orchard I still felt at home when I smelled freshly tilled soil and saw the little colorful buds of appricorn trees.

But life out here had its share of bad memories. No matter how old I got or how many times I heard it, an alarm whistle would chill my bones. The real difference was that now I had to run towards it. I grabbed a silver and red pokeball off my belt and took a deep breath. No matter how scared I was I knew how much scarier it was to be alone. I charged towards the source of the noise as farmhands were running for the gates. Soon enough, I found what caused the alarm. A beedrill, fully grown and highly venomous, was tearing its way through baskets of early harvest pink apricorns. Thankfully the giant insect was content to eat the fruit instead of targeting the workers.

"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.

"You get one chance to clear out. Leave, or we'll force you to," I demanded standing my ground.

The Beedrill chattered its mandibles refusing. It took flight and lunged at Tex and I. Neither of us gave ground.

"Now, stone edge!" I ordered just as the beedrill reached Tex.

Tex reared up and slammed his front feet into the ground sending up a spray of stones that pelted the Beedrill. Some of the stones pierced its exoskeleton causing green blood to drip down its yellow skin. The wounds were shallow, but they were enough. The beedrill turned stinger and flew off. I did a quick sweep of the area to make sure it hadn't been trying to set up a nest. Thankfully, It seemed to have just come for a bite, and it wouldn't be back if it was smart. No meal was worth getting hurt for. It had been a fairly textbook fight, but that was a comforting thought nowadays. Just six months ago I'd faced something that wasn't supposed to exist. If nothing else I had grown increasingly fond of the mundane.

After I radioed in a report on the beedrill I finished my walk to HQ for the meeting. Unlike silver or bronze rangers I didn't have a weekly shift schedule, but instead had a place at the morning briefing and received my daily tasks from there. I was right in the middle rank as far as Rangers went. Bronze and Silver were under me and sometimes under my command. Meanwhile, Platinum and Diamond rangers were my commanding officers. The only other ranks were for special heroes who served with exemplary courage and valor. I wasn't entirely sure the ranks were ever given out anymore. After all, Tyler had somehow avoided earning them.

The HQ was rather quiet this time of day, one of the reasons I tried to come in so early. The shift changes for patrols wouldn't happen for another half-hour when the day officially switched over. The meeting was timed to match up with that so that each meeting was always held right as the day started so each day was a fresh start. For me, it felt the days never ended sometimes. Sure I'd sleep between them, but no matter what I'd wake back up to the same worries and fears. I'd done well pushing them down while I walked. The fresh forest air was good for that. But here even with so few around it felt like I had a thousand eyes staring at me. Were they thinking the same as I was? Worse? At best I could hope for indifference. I ran up the stairs before I could get stuck in my thoughts.

I ran all the way 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. That was typical, though I didn't expect to still be the first one to arrive after my run-in with that beedrill. I sat down at the massive wooden meeting table. It had been cut from an enormous 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 as the conference table. The semicircle shape 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. I picked my usual seat at the left middle chair. It was the closest I could get to sitting in the corner without being at Tyler's side.

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 was 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 at the right edge 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. For all intents and purposes, he was the second in command. 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 stereotypes of a square-jawed soldier and a cowboy. He always wore field uniform with a diamondback ekans skin belt and black leather cowboy hat. The prosthetic replacing his left arm only added to the intimidation factor. Paul was accompanied by his partner Pokemon Syan, a Pasore Big Brown Crobat. Unlike common breeds, it was a ground flying type and noticeably larger in the body. The Pokemon ducked through the door with grace before roosting on a cabinet in the corner wrapping its wings around itself like a bundle of tarps. 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 internally acknowledging how little had actually changed," 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.

"Only you could find ledgers interesting Miss Maria," Paul chuckled.

Maria simply rolled her eyes back to her Pokedex. 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 of a ranger town out west called Pasore. 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 many rangers. 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.

Alice and Tyler arrived at the same time. Both were discussing something before entering the room, but I couldn't make much out beside their voices. They entered the room and sat down one after the other.

Tyler was one of the best 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 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. Tyler was the reason we were able to defeat the dragon but were we supposed to do if he wasn't there?

As much as my brain tried to focus on worrying about Tyler when Alice sat down next to me and set her hand on mine 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 personally 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. Being a ranger put a lot of responsibility that came before ourselves.

"Good morning," Tyler began placing his tablet on the table, "It's good to see you home safely Paul. Everything went 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 they piss off any local pokemon. The area right at the edge and they haven't seen many Pokemon there, much less a threat," Paul replied shaking his head and shrugging, "It's all the best kind of boring."

"Good. Been a long while since anyone has done some reclamation. If it's boring so be it. Now let's get to what's going on today. Maria?" Tyler turned towards his niece resting an elbow on his knee.

"All minor assignments have been handed out already. Maurice took the one you gave me this morning," Maria said double-checking her tablet.

"Makes getting to our work much easier. Alice, Jaklo, I'm sending you to the south end," Tyler spun towards us pointing in my direction, "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 about that storm still doesn't seem right."

There had been a rare spring blizzard that hit the area a few weeks ago and forced us to evacuate people from the south end of the park where some historic sites were preserved. Blizzards were common this far north during the winter, and it could snow all the way into May, but having a blizzard so suddenly in March did border on bizarre. Tyler pushed his tablet over to us showing weather reports from the time including a weather radar which showed an extremely dark blue spot moving to the south end of the gorge and staying there until the blizzard ended.

"As you can see there was something at the center of this blizzard. Maybe it was just a weather phenomenon, but my gut says otherwise," Tyler pulled the tablet back and shook his head as he watched the radar one more time, "I need you two to search the area and make sure it's safe. Understood?"

"Mhmm. If this thing is as cold as the radar shows I think I'll pick up some thermal goggles from the armory," I replied starting to consider the situation.

"I'll go pick up Agro from the Ranch. I met him down there at the falls. He'll notice anything odd," Alice said.

Tyler dismissed us and we hurried out. Alice went to dispatch to grab the local patrol reports while I went downstairs to the armory. I requested a pair of thermal goggles from the acting quartermaster. They weren't very typical equipment, but I had picked up some interesting tactics over the years and found thermal goggles were extremely useful during the winter. Alice and I met up outside and began to talk while we walked towards the ranch.

"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."

Alice shrugged seeming less certain. It was a fairly long walk to the ranch, having to go out the west gate and then a ways farther to reach the Ranch House. The building was a mix between a barn and a bunker. Since it was such vital infrastructure but existed outside the walls it was heavily fortified, but it still had been designed after a barn in the end. The bright red paint might have been a bit too on the nose though. Only rangers and ranch hands were allowed inside, so the place was largely empty. The ranch hands would be scattered across the ranch tending to pokemon and gathering them when a Ranger made a request. Alice went straight to the PC in the corner to make a request for her pokemon.

"Who were you bringing again? 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?" I rambled my anxiety starting to creep up on me again.

"Jaklo we're not going to the ruins you don't need to worry," Alice turned from the computer to give me a tired but caring look.

"Fine, fine, I'll just get Plasum," I sighed trying to keep my head on straight.

I put in his ID and found out where on the ranch he was. It began to zoom in on his location. Eastside, the south-east side, hundred yards, twenty yards, one yard. The GPS zoomed right in on the Ranch House.

"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. The haunter had a dark blue body that he could morph and stretch into many different shapes. He spun in the air clapping his hands in delight that his joke had gone so well.

"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 was 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, he got a bigger than usual grin when he spotted the old building. The Inn was only twenty feet from the gorge and had picturess views. The paint had long worn off the building, but it still had its charms with large columns in the front and a lot of detailed woodwork all over. The museum said the building was from the late eighteen hundreds meaning by now it was nearly six centuries old. I'd doubt even Mr. Letchworth expected it to stand that long, but we hoped he'd appreciate them being put to use. While the buildings had been kept for historic purposes, we didn't do it for posterity. The inn acted as a weather station and housing for those who staffed it. Ironic that it was what had to be evacuated in the blizzard. The yard around the inn was covered in debris, downed antennae and satellite dishes alongside fallen branches and shingles. We'd have to send some forge workers up with the staff to make repairs.

"Tahaunt!" Plasum cackled gliding between the pillars at the front of the inn.

"Is it ironic or just weird that my ghost pokemon is the happy one?" I sighed.

"There's nothing wrong with Plasum being cheery. You're the one being weird today," Alice said nudging me with her elbow.

"Sorry…I had the nightmare again… things were going okay for a while there. I thought things were changing, but…" I trailed off staring at the distance.

"Just because you had the nightmare again doesn't mean things weren't getting better. Things have been nice and quiet lately. We'll be okay," Alice smiled taking my hand.

I begrudgingly smiled, "How come when I tell myself that is doesn't work?" I huffed giving Alice a comically miffed look.

"If I told you that you might think you don't need me anymore," Alice frowned.

"I've needed you long before any of this, and I will need you long after," I smiled pulling Alice close, "After all who else is gonna put up with my terrible sense of humor?"

"Heh heh hauntaa," Plasum laughed as he joined the hug.

"Apparently Plasum has that covered, but don't worry. I know you keep me around for more than that," Alice winked and started walking away accentuating the natural swing of her hips.

I couldn't help but grin. Even as wound up and worried as I was, she just made me smile. Alice was one of the few reasons I always got up in the morning.

"If you're done staring we should get to work," Alice said nonchalantly grabbing a blue and white pokeball off her belt.

She held it out in front of her and a ray fired off over the gorge. A massive form was created in the red light, but as it faded a Gyarados appeared. The teal serpent splashed down at the bottom of the waterfall. Even with half its body underwater, the monster held its head halfway up the hundred feet deep gorge.

"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 cheerily as she waved to her gigantic sea serpent.

"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. While he's at the falls you can look around the old paths," 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 remains of an asphalt path.

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," I said simply, "We should do the museum next."

Alice nodded and we headed that way. I turned the thermal goggles back on when we were about twenty feet away from the building. At first, nothing seemed different. The building was definitely cooler, but it was all stone and in a well-shaded area, so that wasn't out of the ordinary. We moved in closer, but as we approached the door I felt a chill. A wind blew by us that felt way colder than it should. It was extremely faint on the goggles, but I could see wisps of freezing air slipping under the door. I grabbed Alice's hand and tapped the side of my goggles to signal that I saw something. 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. 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 history 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 an icy body, 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 making it stagger back. Plasum took the opportunity and 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 came around from the other door with her wartortle Sholt. 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 an empty 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 catch up with them. 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 need one," 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 weather station staff.

"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 majority of 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 of their 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 weren't mutually exclusive.

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.