Thanks again for reviewing Chapter 6! Now that we had a preview of the Pokémon, let's go ahead and get this started and pick up from where we left off. Very long chapter, by the way! Here's Part 2—Enjoy! Also, happy holidays!

The two boys were having a small conversation as they hurriedly strolled from the School Road towards the large, wooden bridge that connected two lands together. The vast, wide body of water below spanned towards the blue sea, allowing Water-type Pokémon to swim freely. With the morning sun just above, decorated with clouds near it, the scenery looked like an oil painting made to perfection. It was beautiful and serene. The two Adepts were walking side by side as they began their crossing of the bridge, still chatting away. Unbeknown to them, they were still being tailed by the small brown Pokémon, who was watching them, eyes intently upon both though more so on the blond. Just something about the human was alluring. It really needed to find out soon.

As the two teenagers continued on, both noticed someone up ahead. They slowed down a little, and Matthew broke the ice and asked, "Keith, who is that, do you know?" Standing in the center of the bridge was a little girl, no more than nine years old, waiting nervously. In her hands was a stuffed doll version of a Pikachu, woven for little children for her age and younger. She had sun-bright yellow hair which reached a bit past her shoulders. Her bangs were parted neatly down the center and spread apart like a slightly opened book. Portions of her hair from the back slung out like a curl, giving them almost a heart shape naturally. Peculiar, but honestly cute to say the least. She was adorned in a red dress, with a polka dot design etched at the bottom, a light, purple sweater, white stockings and matching red buckle-on shoes. Her eyes were blue as the sky's color, which was quite stunning. The small girl began pacing a little, seemingly impatient for something or someone.

"I don't know, Matt." Keith answered truthfully.

When they advanced closer towards the pacing girl, they overheard her mumbling out, "I came to see him, but…" Huh? Who did she come to see? Deciding to see what was wrong, the two Rangers-in-training approached her, concerned for what the matter could be.

"Hi, there," Keith spoke up first, "What's up?"

The little blonde girl blinked, stopped pacing when she was called to and noticed the two older boys in front of her. Both wore worried expressions of sorts, and both were wearing very familiar uniforms. Were they perhaps students from the Ranger School? Hugging her doll closer, the girl looked away abashedly. "Um… My big brother… He's not here."

"Your big brother?" Matthew repeated. He and Keith looked around for a few seconds, and didn't see anyone who may have been here before with this girl, or if they saw anyone who resembled her. Of course, they didn't have any luck, so they returned their focus on her.

"Who might that be?" Keith asked next. Just as the nine-year-old was about to speak again, another voice called out to them. It was kind of familiar to Matthew, though Keith knew it quite well.

"Hi, what's going on?" It was Ponte, the boy with the flower-pot styled hair. He was also the boy who was contemplating over his future career of being a Pokémon Ranger, Mechanic or Operator. Poor kid couldn't figure out which one he wanted to do, and believed attending the Ranger School would help him decide. Unfortunately, not yet. Walking up behind Ponte was a familiar face; it was the mushroom-haircut genius student that was in Mr. Kincaid's class, Isaac. The other blond paced up beside Ponte before noticing the small girl standing near Matthew and Keith. His eyes went wide with sudden surprise.

"Melody?" He tried, getting a good look at the girl. When she looked up to respond, he confirmed his earlier reply. "Melody, it is you!"

"Isaac, hi!" The girl, called Melody, instantly lit up like a light the moment she spotted the familiar face of the mushroom-haired boy. "I came to meet you!" She hurriedly raced over to Isaac, grinning all the way and hugged him tight. Said teenage genius blinked a bit before returning the gesture, though clearly upset at seeing the small girl here.

"Melody! I told you not to. Didn't I say you're not allowed to leave Pueltown by yourself?" He began scolding her, gently separating her from his person. His diamond blue eyes hardened a little at his little sister, for one, not listening to him and for two, being here by herself. "It's dangerous. Something terrible could have happened to you and I wouldn't have known."

"I'm sorry!" Melody squeaked, frowning and lowering her head. "I just wanted to see you…"

Isaac sighed deeply, unable to stay angry at his sister. "You're still a little kid. That's why I worry so much about you." Noticing the others were there, who were obviously listening and waiting patiently for their sibling scene to end and part, Isaac nodded, smiling a little. "Well, let me introduce you to my friends, Melody." The girl brightened a bit as her big brother didn't seem so upset anymore. She smiled too, hugging her doll again.

"This is my sister, Melody." He introduced, the girl waving a bit timidly to the three other boys. The other students spoke one after the other, introducing themselves as well.

"Hi, I'm Ponte!"

"The name's Keith."

"And I'm Matthew. It's nice to meet you, Melody."

"It's nice to meet you, too!" She chirped back.

Isaac turned his little sister towards him, their similarly blue eyes meeting. "Listen, Melody. I'm not angry with you anymore. Thanks for coming to meet me." The small girl beamed brightly once again, hugging her big brother with all her might. She truly loved him and always wanted to make sure he was okay. It was what little sisters were supposed to do! She didn't think he would have minded if she made the trouble of walking to meet him. He deserved something nice like seeing her after so many months away from home while he studied to advance his career goals.

"You're welcome, Big Brother!" Melody giggled, so happy that Isaac wasn't mad at her.

"Come on, we'll go back together."

"Yep!"

As the two siblings began to walk off, Ponte nodding to catch up with them, Melody turned to wave at them. "Bye-bye, Big Brother's friends! Thank you!" The pair of Adepts watched in silence as the trio walked off, and waved back at Melody. It was a heartwarming scene that didn't need any interruptions—it got solved all on its own anyway. They waited in momentary silence as the small group of three walked down the bridge and eventually from their visions of sight. A minute or two later, the Earth Adept broke said silence.

"Looks like that's taken care of," Matthew noted, smiling. "I'm glad she was united with her brother."

"Same, but wow, I didn't know Isaac had a little sister," Keith added in. "I guess the more you know, huh?"

"Yeah, for sure."

The two stayed there for a moment before a gentle wind blew by. It struck home for both that they were delayed yet again! They nearly forgot about the 1-Day Internship. Oh, that wouldn't do. "Oh, we should seriously get a move on ourselves. We'll look bad if we show up late." Keith reminded, getting on edge with anxiety. He didn't want to be late to something as professional and awesome as watching real Rangers in action. "I wonder what they'll have us do when we get there?"

Matthew shook his head as they hurried on after the same path as the trio before them did. "Not sure, but yeah, let's go. I don't want to be late, either!"

Along the way through the School Road to Vientown, according to their instructions, Matthew and Keith stumbled upon a few wild Pokémon; a Budew, Taillow and bouncing, brown rabbit Pokémon called Buneary. The blond instantly recalled that his friend, Karis, mentioning she loved rabbits and had a pet one back in Kalay at one point. Since the Buneary was already recorded in his Browser, he'd sketch a picture of one and send it to her. Hopefully, she'd like the little bunny Pokémon, too. They bypassed a girl with brown hair held up in a ponytail, sporting a pink and white dress on the road. She was helpful to the boys, telling them they weren't far from Vientown and told them they were just a seven minute walk there. Brimming in excitement, the duo Adepts hurried along, keeping even strides and avoiding as many Pokémon encounters as possible. Sure, they needed the experience in capturing, however now was not the time to do so.

Once again, the small brown Pokémon that had followed behind them at a reasonable pace, waited until they were far enough to continue its goal. It had taken notice of the strange energy that emanated from around one of the boys' capture lines, wondering how they could have done so. It was definitely a mystery; how could humans generate such power? Maybe it was another one of their artificial tricks, like those Styler gadgets.

"I'm pretty sure this is the town," Keith said, once they arrived at the entrance of a small town with a few buildings—mostly homes—scattered about. Grass covered majority of the path roads throughout the small town, and several trees lined all around, which made the green-bound town livelier. Matthew glanced around in awe, taking a deep breath. Seeing the greenery of the scenery made him relax; being within the midst of his affinity of earth was a helping grace for him. Noticing a welcome sign close by, Matthew smiled.

"Yeah, this is it for sure. Just have to find the Ranger Base, where we're supposed to be going, according to this." Matthew said as he pulled out his folded instructions sheet. Unraveling it from its fold, he examined the paper once again, nodding to confirm his earlier statement. "I'm pretty sure it's that huge, circular dome one way over there that looks like someone decided to grow grass on the roof…" Matthew added, inspecting their surroundings and pointing out what he was looking at.

"How so?" Keith wondered, shielding his eyes from the sun's light to see what his friend was pointing at.

"The Ranger Union's headquarters looks like someone had decided to grow a tree on top of the building, I had seen in a newspaper article Kate showed me earlier this morning," the blond explained. "I sort of put two and two together when I spotted that building. Seems similar to it, and I guessed to be honest." Matthew smiled, though he seemed unsure but sure of himself. Unsure if that was truly the one they needed to go to, and sure that he was right. Strange!

"Oh, well that's pretty convenient, huh?"

"Yeah. Anyway, let's hurry and get there!"

"It's almost nine o'clock now," Keith said, glancing at his watch on his left wrist. He gotten it as a belated birthday gift from Rhythmi a week and a half ago. Apparently, she had saved up her allowance she was sent from her parents to buy it. Keith treasured it ever since he received it. Heck, he hadn't even taken it off since then, either.

The boys moved through and around town, wanting to ask a couple denizens of Vientown where to find the Ranger Base. One man named Hans, a reporter from Pueltown, had pointed the way to the two. He was a fair-skinned man dressed in a tan business suit, having medium black hair, glasses and brown eyes. Thanking the reporter for the information, the Rangers-in-training hurried along, eventually finding their destination. "This is it," Matthew announced, as they stood outside the glass, automatic doors of the red and blue building. It had several windows and the insignia of the Ranger School apparently imprinted on the glass of the doors as well. Hm, it must be a universal symbol of sorts for the Almia region.

"Oh wow, my heart's starting to pound…" Keith said, having stared in awe at the huge dome structure for a while with Matthew. It was seriously a breath-taking sight to see. "Matt, how are you feeling?"

"Still pretty nervous," Matthew answered truthfully. "Just like earlier. Ready to go in?"

"I was born ready. Let's go."

When the pair of friends entered into the dome building together, the small brown Pokémon that had been following them stopped. It had already followed them into this human populated place—again, as it had been here more than once—and going inside a large tree-house thing would be pretty risky. It knew it shouldn't, and couldn't, go in there where a bunch of other human beings would be there. Could be dangerous, and it knew, for certain, that would not bode well. Pondering, the brown-furred Pokémon decided, perhaps it could go and find that beach. Sometimes, its friends would take it there and they would play together.

"Eeemooo~!" Well, what a surprise! The small brown creature perked up its ears and turned to the source of the familiar noise. It smiled wide when the other Pokémon approached it. It was gliding around on its membrane-like wings, excited to see its best friend here. The two always played together every day, even if it rained.

"Hey, are we going to the beach again?" the gliding one, that landed, asked.

"Yeah, we can go for sure!" the brown nodded in approval. "I was following two kids from that school place earlier, but they left somewhere."

"Really?" the first one gasped, obvious shock in its pale-blue eyes. "Wow! Were you scared?" He surely hoped his friend wasn't scared. After all, she was the bravest of them both.

"No, not really. I mean, it was weird but well…" the brown one trailed, looking away a little.

"That's really brave of you! I would've been really scared. Humans aren't so bad. I mean, one day I'd like to be like with one. Like follow them around and help them!"

"I think I know what you mean. I'd like to one day, too. And, don't worry; those ones weren't scary. Just, just really strange. I'll tell you about it later. Come on, let's go to the beach!"

"Okay! Yay! Let's go, let's go!"

The two friends hurried off, scurrying through Vientown's many small shortcuts the Pokémon would use to play hide-n-seek or just to maneuver around town without being seen by watching eyes. It wasn't long until they reached the white sands of the beach, and smelled the fresh, salty water entering their nostrils. It also didn't take them long to rush towards the water and make big splashes. Other Pokémon that had been nearby, including some friendly Water-types, joined in and played with them. Today couldn't possibly go wrong!

Inside the Ranger Base

Keith and Matthew entered into the dome structure that was the Ranger Base, excited to see real Rangers—again—and what they'd have to do on their 1-day Internship. However, as they stood near the automatic doors, the place seemed rather empty. There were two desks in the back, one on the left, the other on the right, and a small lobby area with comfortable couches and a table. There was that floating 'save machine' again that recorded a Ranger's progress, as well as update them on any information they needed to their Stylers. A back door was present between the two counters, and the two wondered silently where that led to. It was quiet, too quiet.

"It's awfully quiet…" Keith stated the obvious, and Matt agreed.

"Way too quiet," Matt added. "Isn't there anyone here…?"

They waited for a moment before Keith broke the awkward silence. "Hello?! We're here from the Ranger School! It's Keith and Matthew!"

"We're here for our 1-day Internship!" Matt called out next. Hopefully, somebody would respond.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Ah, there was someone. "I had to duck down to get something, so I didn't see you come in!" The boys looked around and finally saw someone standing behind the counter on the right. It was a woman, with purple hair styled in a bob. She was wearing a sea-green colored business suit—with a matching skirt than slacks—a cream shirt underneath and a red tie around her neck. She had picked up something that looked quite heavy and placed it on the countertop. "You said you boys were here for the 1-day Internship? I have something here for you. Over here, please."

Smiling in delight, finally, Keith and Matthew exchanged glances and made their way quickly towards the counter where the nice woman was. When they were there, the violet-haired woman bowed politely in greeting and they returned it. "I'm sorry for that earlier. My name is Elena, and I'm this Vientown's Ranger Base Operator! It's a pleasure to meet the both of you!"

"Thank you, Ms. Elena. It's good to meet you as well," Matthew greeted back.

"Hey, Ms. Elena? Why's the base so…empty?" Keith asked, the question having nagged the back of his mind.

"Are you surprised by how quiet it is here?" Elena said, phrasing it like a question. When the teenage boys nodded back, she donned a serious expression. "It's because everyone had to go out and handle a critical Mission." Matt and Keith went wide-eye slightly, glancing at another again. Really?

"Everyone had to go out on it?" Keith wondered, staring at Matt.

"It has to be extremely serious if everyone had to go," Matt added to their slight conversation, getting worried. Already there was something happening.

"Yes, yes it is," Elena said, frowning. "Some Bidoof… Oh, no, I can't force myself to say it!" The tone of her voice was exceptionally believable however, for the Wind Adept present, something about how she said it clued him in quickly. Keith wasn't about to activate his ability to read minds; he wasn't close enough to the woman for one, and two, Matthew advised before was better to not read minds too often, for the sake of the mind reader's brain, unless it was necessary. Something was fishy here. But, then again, maybe it was just how it seemed. Maybe there was something serious going on and maybe they'd have to go on it. Oh, he hoped so! That'd make them look cooler and it was a Ranger's job to help. Dropping his suspicions immediately, Keith focused on Elena.

"Anyway, I've been told who you two are yesterday evening, and that you both would be coming here for the Internship. Our Leader left me a letter to you boys. Let me read it." The purple-haired Operator unfolded a sheet of paper with clear handwriting on it. She took her glasses from her front shirt pocket and put them on. "Here we go: 'Welcome to the both of you! Here's a Mission from the get-go! I've left an extremely important parcel with our Operator. Collect it and bring it to Breeze Hill, which is west of the town.'" Elena stopped, now returning her attention to her two-person audience. "That's it for the letter. I have the extremely important parcel right here for you two." She nodded towards the wrapped package she had picked up and placed on the counter earlier. Matthew went ahead and took it, being careful.

"Please don't tip it on its side and never, ever flip it upside down," Elena stated in a grave tone. The boys nodded and she smiled a little. "Please treat it with care! Remember, to get to Breeze Hill, head to the western exit of town. Turn to right when you leave this building and follow the path until you see the sign that indicates the direction of Nabiki Beach on it. You'll need to turn and go towards the beach." She paused for a moment for them to process the information before continuing her explanation again. "Keep going past the beach until you come to the sign and stairs for Breeze Hill."

"All right, we'll get this there then," Keith said, a serious expression on his and Matt's faces. "Matt, let's get there and deliver this. We don't want to ruin this important Mission!"

"Agreed." Matthew said, then turned to the Operator. "Thank you Ms. Elena! Hope to see you later!"

"Bye now! And be careful!" Elena called out as the teenage Adepts quickly and carefully headed out the Ranger Base with the parcel.

Vientown — Outside

"Wow, we were assigned a Mission right from the start," Keith said as they exited the Ranger Base. "If we succeed, we could make it into tomorrow's newspaper, I bet."

"Probably, but for my sake, I hope they don't." Matthew laughed. The hype over the S.S. Alchemy had nearly ended two months ago. There was still some chatters about it throughout the school house. If they had described him perfectly in that newspaper article, then he may be recognized by the populace if he were to get published. Again, may he add. Keith joined his friend in his slight mirth as they followed the instructions given to them by Elena moments ago. Thankfully, Vientown wasn't as large as they thought; a few citizens were outside with their Pokémon, enjoying the great weather and scenery. Minutes later, they found a sign.

"Looks like we're going the right way," The blond-haired Adept said, his fellow Adept agreeing when he read the sign as well.

"It says, 'Nabiki Beach. This way. Those who meet there become good partners.'" Keith read the sign. "Huh, interesting."

"It could be some significance there to the people who live here. Maybe they do meet their partners here," Matthew said, almost implying something. Almost. And, at the implication, Keith turned beet red, a little darker than his hair.

"Sh-shush and let's go." The red-haired teen grumbled.

"Ha-ha, whatever you say." Matt chuckled in a sing-song voice. Teasing Keith when possible was always fun and entertaining.

Hurrying along the path ahead of them, the boys came across another scene change; a rocky cliff side was over towards their right as they passed it, towering them about twenty feet in height. Pine and oak trees littered the sidelines as they made a natural path towards stairs leading down to a white, sandy beach. Despite having his boots on, Matthew felt the soft sand below, and while it wasn't quite as hard as dirt ground, it still had that texture of soil. It seemed softer than the beach sand that was known across Weyard. Along the way, the boys saw and even spoke to two people who were enjoying their time at the beach as well. A girl wearing a pink bikini, her bronze colored hair tied up in a high ponytail stated she met her boyfriend at that very spot, and the reason they got along together. Her boyfriend, who was a brunet wearing a casual blue shirt and brown shorts mentioned there being an old legend that went along with Nabiki Beach.

Something about "if you meet someone here, you're sure to become close friends." Huh, that's what the sign had said before. Was it perhaps true then? Pondering and putting that notion aside, the Rangers-in-training found another staircase leading up, and upon reaching the top of the stairs, they met an old man—who was wearing a dark blue vest-jacket, a simple white shirt underneath, khaki pants and had a strange do with his graying hair and beard—with a few Pokémon Matthew hadn't seen before.

"Ah, Munchlax, are getting hungry?" the old man cooed. The round, blue and white Pokémon perked up as soon its name was called. "Eevee, Eevee, your tail is so fluffy and soft," he said next. The small, brown little Pokémon grinned in delight. This old man was always nice to it and its best friend, as well as other Pokémon that were around. "Oh, Emolga? Are you hungry, too? Well, come on, you three, eat up! There's plenty more berries where this came from!" Keith and Matt shared a short glance before the two decided to make themselves known.

"Hello there," Matthew greeted, smiling.

"Ah, hello there," the old man noticed them and returned the gesture. "Hm, the way you're both dressed tells me you're students of the Ranger School, yes? On a 1-day Internship, I would guess."

"We are, sir," Keith replied, factually.

"Hm, well then, let me give you a quick quiz that you'll find enlightening." Uh-oh, not a random quiz. Still, this should be a piece of cake. "Here's my first question: What is a Partner Pokémon?"

"Oh, that's an easy one," the red-haired teen said with confidence. He had studied nonstop, and this had been on many of the random quizzes Ms. April gave them every Friday since this school years began. "A Partner Pokémon is an especially friendly Pokémon that always goes and travels with a Ranger."

"Ding-ding! That's correct!" the old man chimed happily. "The Rangers I know all said they met their first Partners here at Nabiki Beach." Hm, that was interesting information. "Very well. Question two! A Ranger can only have one Pokémon as the one-and-only Partner?" Matthew took it upon himself to answer this one.

"No sir, that's not true. Sometimes, a Ranger will have opportunities to have more Partner Pokémon later on as time progresses."

"Ding-ding! Right again!" Matthew and Keith smiled and gave each other a high five for getting the questions right. All that studying was paying off for sure now. If random people can randomly quiz them on Ranger-related material and they could get it right without having to try, then they'd surely pass the finals! "It's true that a Ranger will get a chance to add a second and more Partners eventually. However, you can still only have one Partner Pokémon accompany you at any one time. Other Partner Pokémon that are gained must be patient and remain at home or a safe location where they may stay and wait."

"Right," both boys said simultaneously. Oh boy, wait until they tell Ms. April about this random pop quiz without her giving it.

"By the way, my name is Mr. Woodward. I live in Vientown, and make wood carvings of Pokémon. When you have time, come visit. For now, I suppose you both can't wait to get your own Partner Pokémon, hm?"

"Of course. It'd be like, really cool. I wish I could meet mine now…" said the fiery-haired Wind Adept. He gaze over the three Pokémon that were eating berries happily, and could only smile at them. He recalled seeing a Munchlax before, way before he came to the Almia region. He also recognized the one called Eevee, too. However, the other last one, he wasn't so sure of. Wherever that one came from, it looked pretty cool. It sort of reminded him of a Pikachu, only with wings.

"I feel the say way, Keith," his friend said, glancing at the three creatures as well. He'd never seen anything like them before. He wondered if Keith were familiar with them, and would ask later on. For now, they had to get going and deliver this parcel. "Anyway, Mr. Woodward, it's been nice to meet you. My name's Matthew and he's Keith. We have to go now, though."

"Sorry," aforementioned auburn added after.

"It's no trouble, boys. It's good to meet the both of you as well. Hurry along now! I don't want to keep you waiting!"

The boys bid the old wood carver a goodbye, as well as the three Pokémon with him. They ran ahead, a fire brimming in their hearts as they thought over the prospect of having a Partner Pokémon. They wondered what kind of Pokémon would bond with them in a friendly way to become their Partners. Well, perhaps that's after they've become full-fledged Rangers. Five minutes later, the pair of pupils reached yet another set of stairs leading up. A sign was planted nearby, having read, "Breeze Hill, May lovers beware of falling rocks!"

"Yes Keith, do beware falling rocks," Matt teased his friend again, who burned red once more.

"Q-quiet you!" Keith grumbled again. "A-anyway, it seems like Breeze Hill's just up ahead. I wonder what kind of critical Mission's going on up there."

"I'm not sure. I hope they're doing all right."

"…Even I'm starting to feel kind of nervous…"

"Keith… It's going to be fine."

"I hope so…"

The pair of friends, Matthew still carrying the important parcel as carefully as he could, went up the stairs, ran along another small path that led to even more stairs. They gave each other a wary glance, the jitters of being both anxious and nervous itching and bubbling in the pits of their stomach. What was going on up there? Were the other Rangers all right? Anxiety was never one of Matt's cup of teas, and with a nod, the two secretive Adepts jogged up the stairs, worry written on their faces, despite what Matt previously stated moments ago. In all honesty, he was still nervous.

"Oh, hey! Rangers!" Keith noted as he spotted a few people up ahead. "And hey, there's Ranger Crawford from our Outdoor Class." Matthew spotted them all as well, and blinked. What were they doing? "So, um, what do we do? Just go up and introduce ourselves?"

"I suppose we do. Seems to be the right thing to do…" Matthew said kind of quietly. He was unsure what to do, too. This was a pretty awkward situation. Counting to three, the boys approached the waiting group of people seemingly standing around, a red and white blanket—what is used for a picnic—on the ground. Weird, but they didn't really notice it. Gathering his courage, Keith was the first to speak up.

"He-Hellomeetcha!" He blurted out, stumbling over his words. If this had been any other situation, Matthew would have laughed. But, doing so at this time would have been unnecessary, therefore he refrained from doing so. The others, including the startled Pokémon with them, all turned to see the teenagers standing there looking both clueless, worried and nervous all at once. There was a young woman with short, burnt orange hair, wearing red overalls, a long sleeve white shirt that currently had said sleeves rolled up to her elbows, simple sneakers, fair skin and bright green eyes stood by, smiling. Huh, why was she doing that? She also had a small, yellow pack around her waist, handy for anything like a bottle of water, and red goggles over her head. There was also a man that was pretty muscular there, with burgundy colored hair, though very short. He had a mustache and shaven low beard that went around his mouth, and seemed around his forties. He was sporting the Ranger uniform, however, he had a vest version of the shirts other Rangers would have on. A plump, yellow looking Pokémon, with red circles on its cheeks, thin eyes, and black covering its balled up hands, that reminded Matt of a doughnut or trash-bag looking head walked beside him as the burly man approached the two teens.

"Did I just hear you say 'Hellomeetcha'?" he asked. "You're nervous, hm?" When the boys supplied him with a unison nod, the man chuckled. "Well, that's not hard to understand. This is, after all, a key Mission." A light pause expanded between them before he continued. "So… The extremely important parcel. I full expect it to be safe."

"Oh, ri-right. Here it is, sir," Matthew stammered a bit, the nervousness catching up to him.

"Good. Hand it over, but be gentle. One careless shake and it's ka-plow." Oh, that couldn't be good. Paling, the boys gave each other another side glance, panic running rampant in their minds. Ka-plow?! What? Was this some sort of bomb or what? Not trying to find out, Matthew handed over the parcel, carefully, gently, slowly and any other adjective that could describe "gently" to the burly Ranger. He took it and knelt next to the picnic blanket. "All right, people! Gather 'round! Lunch's here!"

"I was getting impatient for this!" the girl with the overalls said, grinning. What, seriously? Lunch? Keith and Matthew were absolutely appalled by what they were seeing. What just happened?

"Hahaha," Crawford laughed, "Oh, the stunned looks on your faces! Hey, remember me? I'm Crawford. Like, the Crawford from your Outdoor Class." Well, he wasn't hard to miss, that was for sure. "I'm sorry I had to cut that class short for handling that Mission." The brown-haired Ranger turned and knelt next to a very familiar Pokémon both students recognized easily. "Do you remember my Partner Pokémon, Budew?" At the mentioning of its species name, the budding Grass/Poison-type jumped in joy, grinning wide. While it chirped its name in delight, the two Adepts clearly heard the Budew say, "Hello, nice to meet you!"

The boys eventually shook from their stupor, and waved to the tiny dual type. Chuckling, the burly Ranger and his strange buff, doughnut appearing Pokémon—to Matt, at least—that followed him walked over to the other side of the picnic blanket, smiling. "Good work, the both of you. This Mission's cleared! The name's Barlow. I'm the Leader of this town's Ranger Base." Hm, Barlow? That name was slightly familiar, too. Where had they heard that name from? The Area Leader of Vientown turned to the buff, round yellow Pokémon next to him, staring at it proudly. "This is my Partner Pokémon, Makuhita."

"Maku!" The Fight-type Pokémon chimed, however, in short translation to what the boys heard, it said, "That's me!" When one begins to understand what a Pokémon says, it naturally seems like a strange conversation. Though, the others didn't know the two students could actually understand the magical creatures, so without trying to cause alarm, they simply nodded in respect to Makuhita.

"Oh, there's another thing…" Barlow began again, his dark colored orbs eyeing the afro-haired Ranger to his right, "This prank isn't my doing. Crawford there thought it up." Keith and Matthew exchanged glances with another, yet again, before looking at the aforementioned.

"That's not fair, Leader!" Crawford countered, gawking. "You're the one who was going on about what a great idea it was!" Even Budew was agreeing with its Ranger friend. The only female Ranger of the group with a Buneary at her side, who also seemed familiar, shared a quick chortle with the other young woman across from her. Shaking her head at the light banter between her fellow Rangers, she turned to Keith and Matthew.

"Hi, I'm Luana," she introduced herself. "I fell for the same 'gotcha' prank a year ago. But in my case, the lunches were all mushed up from me swinging the parcel around!" Oh, so that meant she was a graduate from a year prior. Well, that's cool; at least the two wouldn't feel too left out of the loop! Matt smiled and Keith chuckled, in which the rest joined in a for a bit. "Anyway, I'm pleased to meet the both of you!"

"Pleasure's ours, Luana." Matthew replied.

"Thank you. Oh yes, this here is Buneary, my Partner Pokémon. Isn't she a cutie?" Luana added, rubbing the brown rabbit's head affectionately. Buneary beamed happily at the gesture, rolling up her ears in embarrassment but otherwise, glad to be introduced to the newcomers.

"Buuunn~!" Buneary chirped, though it was heard as, "Hi there~!" to the pair of Adepts.

"I'm not a Ranger," the young woman wearing the red overalls started up after Buneary's greeting. "I'm a Mechanic. My name's Elaine, but don't worry if you can't learn all these names at once."

"Uh, um, I'm Keith and this is Matthew," Aforementioned Wind Adept began stuttering once again. Boy was his nervousness becoming contagious—now Matt was getting just as nervous as his friend! "We're, uh, reporting for the 1-day Internship duty! And, uh, I wish I could have a Partner Pokémon of my own one day!" Keith stared at his spiky-haired friend, hoping he would say something to add so he wouldn't be put on the spot like he was, with everyone looking at him. Matt caught onto the notion seconds after and tried to smile again. Curse that anxiety!

"As he said, my name is Matthew. Um, I came to learn and become a Pokémon Ranger for the good of the world and to discover more opportunities. And, uh, I hope I get my own Partner Pokémon some day, too." The blond added next, feeling quite awkward about it.

"Ah, feeling a bit at ease, now?" Barlow noticed, which the Rangers-in-training slowly nodded as their reply to. "Sorry for tricking you two like that. It's become a tradition for us."

Crawford, feeling less indignant about earlier, spoke up again. "That's enough with the introductions. Leader, let's feast on the extremely important parcel they kindly delivered."

"Yes, I'm famished!" Luana agreed wholeheartedly. The three Area Rangers and Mechanic of Vientown all sat down, their Pokémon following suit, as they unraveled the "extremely important parcel", which turned out to be a picnic basket. Barlow opened up the basket, taking several kinds of food out, with paper plates and utensils. There was fresh loafs of bread, fruits in bowls, sandwiches, containers filled with water and juice, and berries and round little cupcakes that seemed to be for the Pokémon, too. It all looked so good!

"Then, let's get right down to it," The Leader grinned, "Welcome to our trainee-welcoming lunch! You boys come on and join us!"

"Wow, the food even looks delicious," Elaine commented, glancing at all the available selections placed on the picnic blanket. "It's not like last year's."

"I'm sure glad to hear that!" Keith beamed. He turned to Matthew who mimicked the action, "We were told not to put the parcel on its side and never, ever upside down… Well, no wonder, huh? It turned out to be everyone's lunch."

"Yeah, I wouldn't have guessed that. Well, at least we made it here safely with it, right?" Matthew said, then phrased his question. When his friend replied with a single nod, they both took their spots where they had stood near the blanket, joining in on the picnic. The scenery from here was fantastic; the wind was calm and felt nice, evident by Elaine's addition of a small conversation. Apparently, Breeze Hill, which lived up to its name, was her favorite place. During the time spent, Luana commented on their school uniforms, and how it brought back memories. The boys, including Crawford, chuckled together; well, she had said she'd been on a familiar prank a year back, so no wonder about that. After a while, Crawford asked them if they came through NabikiBeach, and told them that's where he had met his Partner Pokémon, Budew.

Interesting. So not only do people meet, but people and Pokémon do as well.

Matthew finished eating his two sandwiches—both bologna and cheese—and decided to get a better view of their surrounding area. Over the cliff, one could see the massive ocean waters that circled the Almia region's coast, as well as distant cliffs and rivers ebbing through small ways to get by. Many Flying-type Pokémon wove through the sky as if they were made to dance elegantly through the air, groundless. Several brushes and trees in the faraway shores on made their grounding area for many others to live and share the nature with. It was so beautiful, so scenic, seeing it brought memories to Matthew. Breeze Hill's outstanding liveliness reminded him of Weyard, his homeland. A gentle wind mowed through his unusually spiky locks, capturing them easily despite they looked like they had been gelled there.

"Vientown's a laid-back country town," Barlow's voice sounded from the left of Matthew. Said teen turned to Area Leader as he approached him, Makuhita in tow. "Not much happens in the way of thrilling or exciting there. It's not like some movie or game, though."

"Sir?" Matthew wondered, being very clueless about what the man was trying to get at.

"It's very peaceful times now, and Vientown is one of those places in Almia that's at its best." Barlow explained, smiling a fair bit. "Sure, there are times when there's a few Pokémon that get riled up, lost, or hurt. It's our job to help them. We maintain the peace around the world for both us humans and Pokémon alike." The older man glanced down Matthew, who was deciphering everything that had been stated. He placed a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder, "You'll know what I mean soon enough. Now then, are you finished?"

"Right… and um, yes I am." Matthew replied a little too quickly for his liking. Barlow wasn't a scary man; far from it. It could be the tone of his voice that he needed to get used to. However, before the Leader of the Vientown Rangers could say anything else, a familiar person came rushing up, panicking. It was that guy with the blue shirt and brown shorts from before!

"Help! Rangers!" He shouted. He easily garnered everyone's attention. "Po-Pokémon have gone wild!"

Barlow was there within an instant. He approached the panicking man, trying to calm him down. "What seems to be the matter?"

"We were down on the beach, my girlfriend and I, when the Pokémon there all of a sudden started acting mean!" He explained, rather quickly, then added, "They've surrounded my girlfriend and won't let her go!"

"Hm, okay I get the picture. We'll handle it from here." Barlow told the brown-haired citizen. He turned to his team, his cheery disposition gone and replaced with an expression of hardened depth. This was serious business now. "It's an emergency Mission! We're taking a break from lunch! To Nabiki Beach! Move it!" He commanded. Elaine, Crawford and Luana, along with their Partners, hurried off immediately. When they were already half way gone, he glanced towards the teenage students. "Matthew, Keith, you come, too!" The guy with the trapped girlfriend and Barlow left hastily, followed behind by the Trainees. They had to hurry and get there to help!

Rookie Mission: Soothe the Pokémon at the Beach!

As soon as they arrived on the scene, everyone was there. Mr. Woodward, the man from before, and the Vientown Rangers. Down below, just from the stairs that led to the sandy beach, there was the girl from before, standing in the middle of out of control Pokémon, whom were circling her. They seemed to be confused or something; it was definitely not right. In fact, Keith and Matthew gave one another stares before sensing something. Everything had a Psynergy or aura signature that was unique to them, and that included Pokémon. The three Pokémon from before, the Emolga, the Eevee and the Munchlax as well as two pink, slug creatures were acting roughly, unlike their usual behavior. Not only that, there was a faint presence somewhere that was agitating the Adepts, albeit not as effectively as the Pokémon.

There was some strange noise, as well as odd vibrations and sound waves, but it was faint. Where was it coming from?!

'Matt, something's not right…' Keith telepathically said to his companion.

'I know Keith. I can sense it. You hear that weird sound, too?' Matthew answered and reciprocated with a question.

'Yeah. And I don't know where it's coming from! Can you sense it by using your energy?'

'A little bit, but I can't pinpoint it or anything. It's really, really weird. Just what is going on…?'

'I don't know, Matt, but I don't like it.'

"We have to clear this mess up!" Barlow shouted, gaining the attention of everyone around him.

"What happened to the Pokémon, anyway?" asked Crawford. Really, it would be nice to know, and it would help them in the future.

"They look like they could be dancing…" Elaine commented, having seen the commotion below.

Mr. Woodward, the kind old wood carver shook his head. "They're friendly and docile usually!" He said in a defensive tone. However, nobody could ignore the fact he was definitely worried about the situation. "I don't know what's gotten into them. They're not like themselves!" How odd. They were perfectly fine half an hour ago when the two students bypassed. What caused them to misbehave and change all of a sudden? Something fishy was going on here, and the boys—nor the Rangers—liked it one bit. This wasn't normal, not at all. "They're good Pokémon, really. Please, I beg of you, calm them down!"

"Please! Do something! Hurry!" the young woman who was surrounded shouted, too scared to move or do anything else. Poor thing, they had to help quickly!

"Okay, people, listen up!" Barlow began, authoritative tone and all. "Crawford and I will capture the Shellos! Luana, Matthew and Keith, you catch the other three Pokémon!" He eyed the two students next, "You two, capture your targets just like you learned at school!" Together, all the Rangers did their unique Ranger poses—Luana raising her arms up and twirling once as if in a cheer, Barlow throwing two punches forward, then one in the air, and Matthew casually tossed his Styler up in a similar fashion as Keith, though performed a counter-clockwise midair flip then caught his Styler as he landed—in perfect unison and darted off to capture their assigned Pokémon.

Barlow and Crawford hurried and engaged the two Shellos separately while Keith, Matthew and Luana headed towards the other three. Quickly, without knowing it the red-haired teen engaged the confused Emolga and Matthew rushed for the Eevee. Luana carried on with catching the Munchlax. Little did the boys know that something unusual would happen to them soon…

"CAPTURE ON!"

The Emolga was clearly in some sort of pain, Keith deduced quickly as he saw its scrunched up face. He kept his distance as he launched his Capture Disc, prepared to calm the strange critter down from whatever was ailing it. 'There's definitely something weird going on, I can feel it…' He thought gravely, steering his disc around the Pokémon. It seemed to have noticed the spinning top, and believing it was in some danger, it fired off electrical sparks to stop it from getting close. Keith hissed lowly to himself as he moved his line and disc away in time before the attack from Emolga neared it. Wow, that thing was kind of fast. 'Still, I've never seen a Pokémon like this before. Emolga, huh?' Keith hurried again and controlled the disc with his Styler to loop around the electric flying squirrel, putting all his feelings into each loop he created around it. The Emolga seemed to be getting better slowly as he went, the only confirmation he had that it was working.

'Emolga, I don't know what's wrong, but you have to calm down. Please, listen to me!' Keith thought, but hoping the emotion of said thought would transfer effectively towards the dual-type.

Matthew, who had engaged the brown little Pokémon called Eevee earlier, was trying to decipher what the problem could be. This was certainly the strangest predicament he'd ever been in, minus his journey around Weyard. Nothing could beat how strange that turned out to be. His pale-blue eyes focused on the scampering fox looking thing, taking great notice of its facial features. It seemed like it was in some sort of pain, but what pain? It looked healthy enough, seeing as it was running around aimlessly, back and forth. Could it be something within its mind, then? 'But how could that be?' He thought to himself, preparing his Capture Disc as he launched it. It spun easily on the sand as it would on hard ground, and remained in place as Matthew kept his hand with the Styler still. 'What's causing Eevee and the others so much pain that they have to attack others?' The blond-haired teen whirled his disc around the Eevee, looping it a few times, hoping his thoughts to calm it were making it clear. However, the brown Evolution Pokémon thought twice about the Capture Disc, believing it was something that would cause it harm. It reared its head back and began charging for it! Matthew cringed for split second, pulling the Styler back to steer the disc with it, evading the rampant charge of the tiny brown fox. Whew, that was close.

Determined, Matthew steered the disc towards his target, still channeling his emotions through each successful loop. 'Come on, Eevee. Calm down and snap out of it!'

Both boys had a bit of trouble, more so than the two Bidoof no more than an hour and a half ago. Sure, the Bidoof attacked, or tried to attack their Capture Lines, they didn't try to zap the line or charge at it much faster than usual. Keith's Styler did sustain a little bit of damage from a Quick Attack Emolga used, which jolted his system. Matthew, on the other hand, not only had damage done to his Capture Line but to his foot as well. The Eevee had ran into him, striking his foot before he had the chance to move out of the way. Boy, can these little guys pack that serious punch! These Pokémon weren't kidding around when on a mission. Thankfully, after several more loops, the boys, along with Luana, finally captured the out of control Pokémon; Emolga, Eevee and Munchlax. Whew, that was a dozy!

Mission Clear!

Finally, all the Pokémon were captured and calmed down. The man even calmed down his panicking girlfriend while Elaine and Mr. Woodward looked on from the stairs, worried but in high hopes the Rangers and Trainees would get the job done. They weren't wrong in that at all. "How's it going, people? Your captures successful?" Barlow asked once things were calm enough.

"You bet, Leader!" Crawford called out first, a wide grin on his face. "How about you, Luana?"

"I got hung up a little at the start, but I managed." The black-haired Ranger answered back. "How about the students?"

Keith and Matthew nodded simultaneously, smiling. "We succeeded in our captures, too." They reported together.

"There appears to be no injuries to the Pokémon or people," Elaine announced from where she had been standing near the stairs.

Nodding to the good news he was hearing, Barlow continued, "Good work, people! The Pokémon seemed to have calmed down, too. They're good to go. Let's release them." One by one, the Rangers let the Pokémon go; the two Shellos returned to the sea, Munchlax let out a yawn before heading back to its nest tree. However, for Keith and Matthew, the Emolga and Eevee remained. They didn't go back. Huh? That's strange. What was also very strange was the two felt something, like a weird sensation itching the backs of their necks. These Pokémon… They felt…well, odd.

"What's the matter?" Barlow asked, wondering why the students hadn't released the Pokémon yet. "Someone must've taught you how to release Pokémon by now!"

"Um, well…" Matt began, feeling a little awkward about this situation.

"It's not that…" Keith tried, but trailed off too. Before the pair could finish, the young couple approached them, feeling much better that the problem was handled quickly and successfully by the Rangers. Thank goodness, too!

"Thank you for saving my girlfriend!" He said, thanking them with all honesty.

"Thank you so much," She said as well, then added, "We heard strange noises coming from the sea." Ah, so the two boys weren't the only ones who heard a noise, then! "We also noticed a big cargo ship pull away and disappear over the horizon. And then, all of a sudden, I was surrounded by the Pokémon…" The girl explains, hoping her story would be informational. "I think they were startled by the cargo ship."

Considering the girl's story, Barlow putting that tidbit on the backburner for now, spoke, "Well, whatever happened, I'm glad to see you folks are safe." The Leader then turned to his two Rangers, "Crawford, Luana, sweep the beach. Just to be on the safe side, all right?"

"Roger that, Leader!"

"Understood!"

Next, Barlow faced the two students who were still there, still with the unreleased Pokémon, strangely as it looked. "Matthew, Keith, you both did good work. You did well with your captures. Thanks in no small part to you two, we managed to calm down those Pokémon. In the world of Rangers, we call it… Mission Clear!" Feeling victorious, the boys smiled triumphantly performed their perfected Ranger poses, smirking confidently. Wow, being a Ranger, while tough, was very good work! The rewarding feeling of helping out people and Pokémon alike was thrilling. Yes, this is what they wanted to become, and now that they've had an actual taste of what it was like to be a real Ranger, they were even more ready. "Well, I'll be! You've already got Ranger poses!" Barlow laughed heartily. "Looked good, too."

"Anyway… All right, people, we should head back to the Ranger Base." Barlow began to head up the stairs that led to Vientown when Keith spoke up.

"Hey, what about the lunch?"

The burly Leader stopped in his tracks dead on when he heard that. "Oh, right! Hold it a second. I forgot; we need to clean up after our lunch. You two boys go on ahead to the Ranger Base without us. To make up for the prank, we'll go the cleaning up." Once he confirmed this with the students, the Area Leader next said, "Sundown's coming soon. Let's move it, people!" With that, the couple and Mr. Woodward returned to Vientown as did the boys, albeit to the Ranger Base. The two Pokémon were seemingly eager to follow the boys. Odd. Barlow and his crew hurried back to where the picnic was to clean up, pack up and head home.

Ranger Base — Vientown

It was 7:09 PM, a few hours after the others returned to the Ranger Base, the basket empty and only the picnic blanket remained. They had chatted about topics such as Captures, how to capture effectively in different methods, more explanations of Pokémon and their typings, as well as getting a small snack. Their Partner Pokémon were idly having a conversation with one another, chatting about today's stunning events no less. However, it was soon getting late, and the two students had done their work and even stayed a while longer to have hearty and informational conversations. "Well, the rest of the sandwiches we brought back have been 'cleared.' There's nothing else on the agenda." Barlow said as he looked at Crawford and Luana. "It's time we said good-bye to the boys."

"Matthew and Keith, don't forget those captures you did today." Barlow finished.

"It'd be neat if the both of you could be assigned to our Base. We'll be sure to keep you busy delivering our lunches." Crawford said, joking all the way. Everyone chuckled once again at the brown-afro haired male's words. He could be a real jokester, that was for sure.

"You know," Luana began, glancing at the two students from her former school, "Crawford was really looking forward to today. He was saying how he would get to see those kids from Outdoor Class again."

"Really?" Keith asked, giving the aforementioned Ranger his full attention.

"Thanks, Crawford." Matthew added in. The brunet's face slightly tinted red from complete embarrassment, though he wasn't going to lie about what his fellow Ranger said. It was the truth, all and in. No need to deny it! He simply nodded sheepishly, turning away a little as he tried to hide his flushed face. Keith smirked and Matthew grinned at the action. Crawford was almost as fun to tease as Keith and Rhythmi were.

"Your Ranger poses were really cute," Elaine said, smiling. Now that got the two students flushing slightly in embarrassment at her comment. Still, it was good to be praised for good deeds and works nonetheless.

"Everyone," Keith started, feeling much better and proud of himself, "thank you so much! I'll never forget what we experienced today. I'm sure of it."

"Thanks again, and good-bye!" Matthew called out after. As the two turned to leave, even approaching the exit, they stopped when they saw an old man coming through. Being polite, they stepped aside to allow him in, despite the older man not even acknowledging their existence. They guessed he hadn't seen them yet. "Ah, what have we here?" The old man, who was in the white lab coat, mahogany colored slacks, using a walking cane and shaggy, white hair asked. "What's this gathering all about?" He looked around and spotted splotches of green and turned about-face to see the two boys standing by the door. "Hmm? You're the Ranger School's students?" Well, that's pretty obvious.

"Yes sir, we are," Matthew supplied.

"We were here for our 1-day Internship," Keith pitched in.

"Ah, that's why. Now that you mention it, we had two girls come to the Ranger Union on a 1-Day Internship today," The old man said, brimming with an evident smile on his face. "They were both dead set on becoming Operators, especially that cheerful blonde haired lass. I do believe her name was, uh… Misery? Something like that." Misery? Who was that? As soon as the question popped into their heads, Keith and Matthew suddenly figured out who it was. Rhythmi! How did this man get her name confused with an "M" name? "Well, I've memorized your faces! I hope you two will give me the chance to work with you in the near future. Hurry back to the school, now. You don't want to wander out in the dark. You boys take care."

"Um, thank you." Both Adepts spoke again in unison. Wow, they've been doing that for a while now. With a polite bow of respect for the elderly, the two exited the Ranger Base.

Vientown — Outside

Not even a few minutes of being outside, and the boys were surprised yet again! "Oh, hey! It's those two Pokémon again!" Keith shouted, rather loudly. When they approached the Emolga and Eevee, who had seemingly waited patiently for the two Adepts to come outside of that building, out came Barlow and Crawford, who overheard the shout previously made by Keith. "What's all the shouting out here? Is there a problem?" Just as he spoke that, the Area Leader noticed the Flying electric squirrel and the brown fox Pokémon standing nearby. "Oh… Pokémon from the beach?"

"Oh, I get it." Crawford began, pondering on an idea of his and wanting to get it out. "I bet they came to see the boys because they're happy about being captured." In response to the brunet's claim, Emolga and Eevee chirped happily and both took a closer steps towards the boys in respective manner of their responsible students who captured them earlier. Barlow's face lit up a little in recognition when his fellow Ranger mentioned it, now seeing it himself. "That sounds possible, but these two aren't Rangers yet. Not officially, anyway. We can't permit you to have Partner Pokémon." Oh, what a bummer. Keith and Matthew both frowned; these two Pokémon clearly wanted to be with them, so how come they couldn't keep them as future Partners, then?

"I know how disappointing it is, but not this time. Not now." Barlow continued, noticing the clear disappointment the students displayed. "However, it's okay if you want to spend some time together, though. But, be sure to release them before you go back to school."

"It's too bad, but Partner Pokémon are only for after you become a Ranger…" Crawford added, frowning. "Sorry, guys."

"Well, I guess it can't be helped then," Keith said, his tone indicated he was a bit frustrated and sad. But, if that's how it had to be, then he and Matthew would have to simply accept it. "It hurts to let them go, but… We'd better get back to school, before it gets too dark, Matt."

"Yeah…" the blond said as well, looking down at the Eevee next to him. It's brown eyes were full of mirth and joy, being near him, apparently. Matthew smiled at the creature and it reciprocated it. Emolga decided to boldly land on Keith's left shoulder, smiling as it locked its pale-grey eyes with the red-head's own. Both shared a soft, touching and tiny affectionate moment before the boys headed off, with the Pokémon in tow. "Hey, Keith, I want to spend more time with Eevee… Let's try not to rush too much." Matthew suggested, hoping his friend would agree.

And agree, he did. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Keith said, once they were close to the eastern exit of Vientown, the same one they entered hours ago. Once again, out on the School Road, the boys and the two Pokémon walked in silence, trying to savor each and every moment they could until they had to separate for who knew how long. However, when they reached halfway through the route, Keith spoke up. "Matt, for some reason, I feel a deep sort of connection to this Emolga," he began, "I don't know how though, but it's like it feels right to be with it."

"I'm not so sure how it works, but…" Matthew began his reply, trying to think. "I feel the same towards this Eevee. In a way, I think it may have to do with that story behind the beach. You know what that sign and those people told us? That people and Pokémon come together to meet each other? I think that's how it went."

"Hm, true. But, is it also a possibility our Psynergy attracted them, too?"

"That could be another way to say it, too. Pokémon are just magical creatures, as people from my homeland believe they are to be. They control specific elements. I suppose if our elements coincide with another, we can connect with them that way, too." Matthew tried, hoping his perception wasn't confusing. After all, this was his first time connecting with a Pokémon, so he wasn't sure of it.

"Oh… Well… I hope that was the case, too. If the story's true and your theory's right, too, then that would be really cool."

"Agreed." Though, he was counting more on that story than his Psynergy, silly as it sounded. Old folklores and tales from the past were always interesting to Matthew, and he took great pleasure in deciphering each legend or myth he was told. It was, more or less, a hobby of his when he had the time as a younger teenager. True to that, he still liked doing that, but had to put that on hold throughout that perilous journey in Weyard. Unfortunately, they two students reached the bridge that connected the school with the rest of the region. This was the halfway point, and this is where they would have to part.

"It's sad, but we have to wave bye-bye to you both here." Keith said sadly. Emolga and Eevee frowned at that. They didn't want to say good-bye. They wanted to stay with them. They were certainly very interesting human beings, and wanted to learn more about them. Eevee even stalked them earlier just for that, too. "I wonder if we'll see them again… It'd be pretty cool if we could, huh?"

"Uh-huh…" Matt nodded, frowning. He shared the sentiment with the two Pokémon. They were both creatures he'd never seen before, and surely very interesting. But, they weren't official Rangers yet, so they couldn't keep them. "Maybe we'll see one another again someday." It was hard, but eventually, the two Pokémon understood. They couldn't be with them right now. The two began their trek back towards the main School Road path they had taken, slowly walking. They shared one last glance with the students before taking off. For small critters, they were certainly fast, just as Keith suspected, personally of that Emolga. Boy, they were going to miss those two… Just as they turned to walk the rest of the way to school, two voices beamed at them.

"Yoohoo! Wannabe Rangers!"

"Hello there!"

The boys stopped, hearing the very familiar female voice behind them. They turned and spotted the blonde-haired girl that was Rhythmi excitedly approaching them. Kate was with her as they should have been. "Are you getting back now? How did it go as Rangers?"

"Was it fun?" Kate asked next, smiling wide.

Keith, slightly forgetting his down mood previously, also smiled when asked. "It was like, wow! As soon as we got there, we were assigned a Mission!"

"But it's top secret, so we can't give you the details. Sorry." Matthew said, feeling a little better. "How about you girls? Any fun on your end?"

"Yeah, we went through a whole lot ourselves." Kate began.

"And Professor Hastings kept mistaking my name to be 'Misery', for one thing." Rhythmi added, sounding a little annoyed. Keith couldn't help but chuckle at that and thankfully it went by unnoticed by the girls, though not Matt. "Anyway, it's getting dark and we should be heading back now."

Kate nodded in agreement. "We can report on our days later, when we get back. I can't wait to tell Kellyn about today though. Oh, and Ms. April will be waiting for us! Come on, let's go!" She urged her fellow students. Agreeing to that, they all walked side by side, as a small group together, heading across the bridge again. It was currently 7:34 PM, and they needed to be back before 8 PM. The school gates would close by then, and they'd be locked out—not very good situation to end up in! Despite the sorrow mood the two Adepts had been in, today was definitely one of the best days to have happened to them since the school year began. Matthew couldn't wait until he wrote to his family and friends about today's events, as well as new sketches of Pokémon he would be drawing, too. Tonight would be a long night of writing letters.

Letter from Uncle Felix, two and a half months later

"Dear Matthew,

It's been a while since I've written to you. Your parents are very excited you will be graduating the Ranger School very soon, I'm sure they've written to you about that. I am exceptionally proud of you myself.

Good news, nephew. I'm much closer to you now. Everything has finished moving in and we, the both of us since you'll be with me now, in a way, finally moved to that little town called Chicole Village. Just finished up yesterday evening, actually. I'm glad you and your new friends are growing closer, Matthew. I heard Piers would be sailing again. He might bring everyone with him so they can see you for a few days, and see what Almia's truly like.

Keep training and keep learning.

Don't forget to come by and say hello to me. I know you'll be busy, and I'll be expecting you once you graduate. Remember, I'm here to support and help you while you're in Almia, and anywhere else I can. Don't give up your dreams, you hear? Tell Sol I said hello as well."

—Uncle Felix

Whew! This is done!

Don't ask me why Matt's Ranger pose is the way I described. I always imagined him to be like really cool and heck, Keith backflips in his pose. I don't like the standard Ranger poses the main protagonists do. Looks so…boring. Need some spice to my life. And, the pose for him originates from the Wolfkin's 3D render from DD, somewhat. They like do a cool flip when attacking. xD Oh, and don't worry; the Stylers of the main characters will get damaged even more as the story progresses. Just because I aced (or rather, S-ranked) nearly every capture in the game does not mean Matt will. Haha.

Lastly, Keith's original Partner was a Buizel in SoA; I made it Emolga. It fits, type wise. Emolga is Electric/Flying. That's what Wind Psynergy basically is. And sorry; the game spams the Ranger poses after every Mission Clear. I won't type out their poses or that they do them each time though. Maybe a couple times.

I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter! Review if you like. :D