A Ranger's Mission: A Lost Soul

Interlude - Thoughts of a Pokémon, Professor, and a Public Cafeteria

The inside of the rooms that Pokémon Center gave Trainers were comfortable, much more than William’s bedroom Charon had seen at the Accumula Boarding Home. It had two large beds, a desk and chair, and carpet flooring with quite a few stains. The closest washroom was down a small hallway in the room to keep it away from the sleeping area. The kitchen was compact, but had enough room for a sink, stove, and fridge; strangely, it didn’t have any scent of coffee that humans seemed to be so fond of.

‘Why drink pesticide when a Chesto Berry works just as well?’ Charon’s repeated thoughts on the matter surfaced again; it was something he could never understand about humans throughout his existence on this plane, especially when they would always make it almost toxically sweet.

Human oddities aside, it was a good place to rest. The sun was about set but hadn’t quite reached the point of tinting the sky. William had brought dinner back to the room for them after Charon and Ronin had been looked at by not only the nurse, but also the Professor. While he had been poked and prodded before by both professors, it had been interesting to see what changes they’ve made in the last hundred years… or so.

“What… kind of Trainer is William?” Ronin asked suddenly but quietly. Drawing himself out of his thoughts, Charon looked down at the young Oshawott, meeting his faintly curious expression.

Charon took a moment to close his eyes and think… but couldn’t find anything concrete yet to give. “Hmm… I’m not sure yet,” Charon hummed before turning in the direction that William had gone to wash up… and clear his head after what happened in the battle.

The Oshawott‘s face shifted into confusion. “Weren’t you his Pokémon before me?”

“Not exactly. No, it is more accurate to say that he is my ward.” Charon said, which he knew clarified nothing from the expression the Water Type gave him...

The Typhlosion sighed, closing his eyes in thought for a moment before explaining. “Many moons and seasons ago, William appeared here in his current… state, against his will, his soul lost and condemned…; I have seen it only a handful of times in my existence. Hisuian Typhlosion are guides for lost souls… and while William may still have a physical form, it would be a crime for me to not assist someone so lost in mind, body, and spirit.”

Ronin’s expression was still confused, but shifted to something softer. “Appeared…? He was forced here… to be a Trainer?”

Charon’s chest grew heavy with a great weight, pulling him down as he sighed and felt himself physically slump. “Yes… to both.”

He paused for a moment as he gathered his thoughts to explain it to the young Water Type. “He comes from a land far beyond our own… and one that is beyond this plane, by means that still eludes him or I. His body forcefully shifted and changed — which has… caused some complications, but it could have been worse.” Charon mirthlessly chucked for a minute. “The adults say William is wise for his age. I wonder if that holds true if they knew how old he really is….”

Charon shook his head and grumbled as he thought back to those early days when he first found William. ‘To this day, I will still never understand human stubbornness and bureaucracies.’

Turning back to Ronin, Charon continued. “While I cannot comment on his ability or nature as a Trainer yet, I can speak for how he is as a person.”

“Aren’t… humans able to hide themselves? Like what he was doing with the red lady, and the professor?”

The Oshawott impressed Charon with his observational skills, but he still had much to learn about this world. “Oh, young Ronin… a soul's true nature cannot escape a Ghost.”

Charon chuckled with maybe a bit of a sinister tone, but he quickly moved to explaining. “William… yes, he hides his true self among other humans out of fear for what may or may not happen to him if he reveals the truth… and from what he has explained, he is right.”

The old ghost growled as he remembered the young soul’s woes and fears of what may happen if he revealed himself. Charon was tempted to hide them both away until it had all passed… human cruelty has not changed throughout the ages.

“...If it does come out, he won’t be able to be a Trainer… be free?”

The silence from Charon spoke volumes. Ronin stared at the Typhlosion for a long moment before nodding. “Okay… I won’t tell anyone then.”

Charon stared at Ronin for a long moment as a smile came onto his face. “...Thank you. While William hides himself from humans in higher positions, his true nature still shines through in moments beyond his soul.”

With a hum, Charon sat back for a moment and let his mind run over William as a person and as a soul. “He’s what some may call an ‘overplanner’, but he does so because he cares for others, and worries about what could happen through his inaction…. Even if I disagree if it should be his responsibility, he’s taken it on his shoulders on top of his preexisting burdens.”

“At the core of it… he cares for others more than he cares for himself, but feels conflicted on how he can help with the restrictions he has now.” As he ruminated on this, Charon frowned slightly as he started to remember William's initial questions and anxieties about Pokémon battling he had asked him before.

“It can also be a bane for him due to his needlessly anxious, overplanning nature, but we have yet to see…. I’ve had to educate him on the nature of battles due to his preconceived notions.”

Ronin listened with rapt attention, his own expression pinched as he thought about it… before frowning… “Okay… so you’re the Trainer?”

The old Typhlosion laughed heartily; he wasn’t entirely wrong. “In a manner of speaking, I suppose… but it has been many, many seasons since I’ve really fought… oh, so many seasons and moons…” Charon said with wistfulness entering his tone…

‘The last major battle I remember fighting was… the war with Zdarova? Shortly after that, maybe…?’

He forced himself to focus, turning to Ronin with a sigh. “That does, however, remind me… we are both learning for this new age. While time has weathered my knowledge and understanding of modern battling, William has never fought nor has had experience truly with any real Trainer before this. We will make mistakes that may seem… odd.” With a grunt, Charon grumbled and crossed his arms. “...Like what happened today.”

Ronin looked nervous at the serious expression on Charon’s face. “Do… you mean the burnt field?”

“Exactly.” The old Typhlosion growled out, shaking his head before pausing as he heard the noise of the washroom door unlocking. William emerged, his expression nervous and exhausted. It was clear his thoughts were elsewhere in the look in his eyes.

Charon pushed himself from where he was eating dinner with Ronin and walked over to their Trainer, standing as much of his full height as he could as he stared down at William.

“You panicked.” Charon stated simply, both scolding and voicing his concern at the same time towards William. The tone must have surprised Ronin, who seemed to let out a squeak in the background.

William, for his part, seemed to expect it as he sighed in frustration, but not at Charon. “I know. Having your brain and other senses scrambled at the same time isn’t exactly pleasant for humans...” William started, with a tone that seemed to protest against the Typhlosion, yet within, his soul had pain, regret… guilt.

“Confusion wasn't in Hisui either, so my experience wasn’t better than yours, kid.” Charon grumbled aloud, stressing the kid part. It made William wince in shame, withering under the Hisuian Typhlosion’s gaze as he continued.

“I am saying it now so that even unconsciously you will remember, and not make this mistake again… Overheat is fine in organized matches, but in a friendly match with no stakes, especially when I’ve used Calm Mind, it should not be used in a panic like you did.”

With another faint rumbling growl, Charon continued. “I wasn’t able to control my body. Imagine what would have happened if I used a Strong Overheat with no restraint?” William’s soul seemed to squeeze in on itself from what Charon could feel through the link.

“I know you’ve said before that you’re not comfortable giving orders, and that at home, battles would technically be considered... what did you call it... cockfighting?” William nodded in confirmation, looking a bit squeamish. “I get your discomfort, but you must understand that I am fighting alongside you, not on behalf of you. I need you to be my rear guard and my second opinion, and when I’m incapacitated or focused in the heat of battle, I have to trust that whatever decision you make is the right one. Using a reckless move such as Overheat like that is not only dangerous, it breaks that trust. Do you understand?”

William’s other hand rubbed one side of his forehead. “I-I know, I’m sorry. I tried to stay calm, but I couldn’t — I didn’t know what was going on and it was the only thing that might have worked and I thought I was — or was gonna throw up and then they’d see something was wrong and—” His voice clipped and cut off, as if his throat was tightening from just the memory of the event as Charon could see him swallow.

Charon could see and feel the tumultuous conflict with William, and thought back to that moment of the battle…. Water Pulse had changed since he last encountered it in a serious fight… to inflict a new status effect like that… he was glad it was not around when he battled before.

As soon as he got hit by the wave, it was like all of his senses were being attacked all at once, his ears rang and everything turned blurry, his muscles struggled to respond or move on their own, and his vision blurred and doubled. The only thing he could focus on was his link between William and what they had been using… and ‘hearing’ William was… distressing.

‘charon i cant—’

‘everything is spinning—’

‘i— why cant i move—’

‘charon— help—’

‘please—’

‘get it away—’

They should have predicted the effects of feedback in their link… the Typhlosion had worried about this since seeing his soul empty of the same life energy that followed everyone. He could only hope at the time that his soul being different would lead it to not affect him as they never intended to fight like this.

Evidently, that wasn’t the case.

It was his own fault as well to an extent that he attempted to rectify as soon as one coherent thought registered what was happening. Barely managing to keep it from completely overwhelming William with whatever focus he had left. Even then, the feedback still going through was enough to send his ward into such a panicked state.

He dreaded to think what would have happened to William’s psyche if he didn’t do that.

Charon, on his end, had felt like he was reduced to his base instincts as well, only focusing on two things. The target, and his charge. And when the foggy voice of William’s voice entered his ears calling for Overheat in a desperate plea…

Well, he acted automatically.

He was glad to see William act so swiftly to assist Arthur afterwards. Once he came to his own senses, he had to admit he was in awe at how quickly modern medicine could actually heal instead of only dulling pain until it could be treated.

However, that still left the issue at hand…

Sighing softly, Charon moved downwards to William’s eye level, placing his paws on William’s shoulders and looked him in the eye. “I know, and I’m sorry I did not realize that it would impact you as well. However… there will be others who may attempt to use Confusion causing Moves on me, and by extension, or even directly, on you.”

William stared into Charon’s own eyes with faint worry, but nodded at Charon’s words, knowing them to be true as he continued. “You… and to an extent, I, will need to build better tolerance, control, and in your case, restraint on your dependency on it in battles when it comes to our link. Especially since we have young Ronin as well.”

“I know, I’m sorry I panicked.” William said with his tone exhausted, yet, not resigned.

“We have time, William.” Charon stressed softly. “I know you have a weight… especially now with these International Police and the busybody League watching…”

Charon growled at that thought, those in control always feared what they didn’t understand, or sought to exploit it until discarding. That was a constant throughout history.

He forced it away for now, instead focusing on helping ease his charge’s worry. “Things have been forced into motion… but we can work around them. You do not need to panic. You are not alone in this, kid.” Charon stated, the ‘kid’ nickname much softer than before, more endearing, making William sigh and nod while leaning into Charon quietly…

The moment of pause ended when William jolted slightly as Ronin’s flipper placed itself on his leg in support, making the Typhlosion chuckle and send a smile down to the young Water Type, pride in his eyes with a hint of excitement.

What a band they’ll make… Charon may not know what kind of Trainer William is now, but from the physical, to the spiritual, he was William’s guide no matter what path he took, or who opposed him… and he knew Ronin would join him on that oath as well to watch him grow.

He wondered how Unova, or even that Professor would react in time if things panned out as he hoped…

Professor Juniper’s personal study was quiet and organized, with stacks of papers and folders neatly sorted to the left of her computer, and a cup of coffee she had made before the League meeting was to her right. Sadly, the cup had long since gone cold, but the professor still sipped at it as she thought about the day, sitting back in her chair.

She had just finished sending a group email to Professor Elm and Rowan to set up a voice call to discuss the aforementioned ‘discovery’, but with no mention of what it was in the email for security. She wasn’t about to break the promise she had made to Charon. Also on her computer were her compiled notes on Charon’s health that the on-site Pokémon Center staff had assisted with just today after the battle, stored on her private file server.

But Professor Juniper wasn’t thinking about any of these things. No, instead she kept thinking about the young boy who had found the aforementioned Typhlosion… dragged into the spotlight without choice, sooner than he should have for his age…

Much like the three Trainers she gave Starters to as well almost two years ago.

‘Could I have done more?’

It was a question that Aurea had asked herself after the attack on the Pokémon League many times before. Three Trainers she gave their starters just a little under two years ago; two of the Trainers she had seen growing up from when they were young children threw themselves right into the middle of it; one Trainer never returned.

And she did nothing to help them.

All she did was watch with Bianca in horror as the news showed Hilbert sprinting up the stairs that had stabbed at the heart of the Pokémon League to face Team Plasma alone right after fighting the entire Elite Four.

The Gym Leaders stood by and watched it happen, but at least most of them stepped in afterwards against the sages. The Elite Four had no such excuse, and stood by and let it happen. Champion Alder stood by and watched it happen.

And so did she. And Juniper didn’t even have the courtesy to watch in person.

Almost as if she was being tested by the Twins themselves, she heard her door open behind her.

“Professor? Are you okay?” A voice called out, Bianca poking her head in.

Forcing a smile on her face, she turned to her new assistant who was standing in the doorway.

“Yes, just reviewing my observations today, that’s all. Thank you for letting me borrow Musharna today; I’m sorry she was so exhausted by maintaining the barrier…”

Bianca didn’t look convinced by the clear deflection, but smiled anyway and nodded. “Of course Professor, it was no trouble at all. She’s resting now with the others… though, it sounds like the Pokémon that was in the battle put her through the wringer holding everything together.”

The Professor snorted. ‘That’s certainly one way to phrase it.’

From her estimations after reviewing the battle footage, Charon must have used Calm Mind at least twice, and Ranger Lena’s Lucario used it an estimated three or four times during that stare down. And it still wasn’t enough to protect him from the sheer heat of a Hisuian Typhlosion.

She couldn’t lie; she was both fascinated and frustrated by the use of non-verbal commands in battle; subtle status moves were challenging to identify through visuals alone. She’d have to analyze the recording again later with Professor Kukui; it has been a while since she spoke with Burnet as well…

Before she could get sidetracked further, she focused her thoughts to respond to Bianca. “The battle… got a little heated, literally. If the move at the end was a Ghost Type I wouldn’t have been surprised if the shields would have broken entirely… Musharna was a great help in keeping everything contained. Thank you again for letting her come with me, her assistance was invaluable today.”

Bianca looked a bit flustered at the praise, but smiled and nodded. “I’m always happy to help! Do you need anything else I can help with?”

“No, nothing for now… just need to sort through the recordings… I’m sorry to ask, but can you close the door? I need to keep the privacy of the Trainer who is in them.”

‘That I wish your group could have had.’

The passing thought nearly made Juniper’s smile falter, but it must have been unnoticeable as Bianca only smiled back and nodded before leaving. Juniper maintained her smile until she heard the door click, only to sink into her chair and close her eyes. Visions of the three young Trainers more than a year ago setting out with their Starter Pokémon, so bright-eyed and excited, only for Team Plasma to ruin everything.

Bianca seemed the most alright of the three of them, but her self-confidence was shattered, and would take years to heal. Her situation with her father didn’t make things any better… there was a reason Juniper had put in a guest bedroom at the lab….

Cheren had thrown himself into his work, and she knew he was a Gym Leader now, as well as a teacher at Aspertia City at Alder’s recommendation. However, he had been so busy… or distracted himself with work from the thought of his best friend vanishing suddenly, that he didn’t come back to Nuvema Town.

Hilbert didn’t even return, simply vanishing after beating Alder and rejecting the title of Champion. With little preamble or stated reason besides “I’m going to find N”, then simply flying off on Zekrom with his entire team shortly after. His Pokédex continued to ping its status code, meaning he was alive, but she assumed that he manually turned off the tracking, or being so close to Zekrom’s electric field constantly had fried some components. She, nor even Professor Oak who had designed the forsaken device, could get a readout on his location. He hadn’t even called his mom before he left.

She felt responsible, even if it was through inaction. She was the one who gave out those Starters to the three of them. Bianca, Hilbert, and Cheren, and saw what happened to the two friends left behind.

‘Could I have done more?’

And now, there was… a child being thrown out to the political Lycanrocs, monitored through proxy by the League and the International Police. She at least had a better opinion of the Ranger Union than the others; however, a Journey was supposed to be about self-discovery, learning about oneself… not forced to take center stage between the disaster of politics or, Twins forbid, possibly take on terrorist organizations.

She didn’t think the Unova Region could take a second one so soon.

William didn’t even appear to be over seven years old… and it was why she forced herself to take more proactive steps before she arrived. She set up his Trainer ID — and by extension his League Net account — as well as made sure enough information was temporarily censored until his first Gym Battle. (Though Lena might have a bit of trouble getting access, with her not being a Regional Professor….) On top of that, Juniper prepared a Pokédex with the beta software ‘Habitat Mode’ installed to help him navigate the changing Unova biodiversity with the Unova Diversity Act, as well as one of her Starters…

Everything surrounding him also pointed her in the direction that something was different about William as a new Trainer, compared to how Bianca, Cheren, and even Hilbert were.

With the clarity of hindsight, Professor Juniper turned back to the beginning, picking apart all the threads with a finer focus. First, William’s intelligence both academically and emotionally.

From what Clare had presented in the handouts, he was clearly ahead of his peers, with discrete mathematics and calculus being college-level courses. (...After looking up what discrete mathematics was first, of course.) The only oddity was his history grade, but everyone had their weak points.

With grades like those, it would have been trivial for him to get accepted into an advance placement Ace Trainer program once he was older, get a partner Pokémon, or even a Starter early from the various opportunities. He could be a rising star among the battling, or even academic world if he wanted. And yet, he refused, repeatedly according to Clare, to even consider the idea of a partner Pokémon. A chance that most children would physically leap at the chance to get, he declined.

From Clare’s descriptions of William during the first half of the meeting, William was determined to both keep to himself, yet not cause any problems in the two to three years he had been in the system. He wanted to go under the radar, not stick out. Hiding himself through bureaucracy to just appear like a kid who just… had some holdups.

Honestly, it was almost impressive.

While the answer appeared obvious to others on why he did so, something still wasn't right. Charon’s and William’s relationship… it wasn’t just that of a kid, and an old, friendly Pokémon. William’s emotional intelligence about what was going on nagged at her… she didn’t buy that he was just forced to grow up early. It was something else.

Running her thoughts back again to the beginning of the meeting, she took a deep breath. The Professor certainly didn’t expect to see an extinct evolution of Typhlosion this week, and she certainly also didn’t expect to have such conflicted feelings and have to put on such a mask during that mess of a meeting.

And she never expected a seven-year-old to be wearing such a controlled mask as well to hide his true emotions and thoughts, even if some slipped through the cracks when he was surprised by Iris’s question.

“…we don’t always get what we want.” William’s words echoed in her head again, adding onto all the oddities and contradictions.

‘While that’s true in life sadly, why are you so certain? So resigned to it, or even going on a Journey?’ Juniper thought to herself, frowning as she started running through the meeting again with her eyes closed.

She was too busy schooling her thoughts and expressions among the various groups and acting as damage control until Chairperson Erma walked in. She had to temper the Unova League being over reactionary, still struggling to maintain itself with a Champion retiring so soon after the attack on the Pokémon League itself and with poor Iris not having nearly enough political capital; while keeping the International Police from strong-arming the situation and separating an apparent young child from their first Pokémon.

‘It’s like they don’t even care about the optics of that, so soon after Team Plasma.’ She thought with a twinge of bitterness, but she took a deep breath and refocused her thoughts.

When William walked in with Charon by his side akin to a protective guardian, Juniper out of everyone at the table was probably the least affected by the display when the Hisuian Typhlosion seemed ready to drag Jake to whatever afterlife there was.

No, she was more fixated on William, who commanded Charon with a simple motion of his hand and a look, the old ghost acquiescing after some time and a silent conversation.

If the situation was anything else, Juniper would have been tempted to call the scene staged. A nearly screen-perfect performance to show his control over such a strong Pokémon to convince others of his strength, and she knew others may have called it such as well.

William’s eyes, however, afterwards, weren’t the eyes of a child surrounded by adults, curious with childlike wonder about who they were, or scared as if about to be scolded. It was sharp, focused, the gaze of someone who knew they were walking into a den of Luxray.

That’s what convinced Professor Juniper that it wasn’t a display, William telling Charon to stand down. It was the act of someone not wanting to show their hand, possibly out of fear they were masking expertly, or maybe even foresight, knowing they’ll need those cards later. A level of emotional intelligence that no child should have in this situation.

But most damningly, it was almost like William was expecting to be pulled into this mess. Putting up no apparent resistance to being told he was to go on a forced Journey, monitored which most Trainers would dread and protest vehemently.

He just accepted it, resigned to it.

Even so, however, his first ‘battle’ showed that even if he was resigned to it, he wasn’t going to take off the mask yet.

His alleged first battle with Lena was a clear display of keeping his cards close to his chest in battle, a technique only experienced Trainers used after years of building trust with their partners. While it was very likely that Charon had some sort of training before William, normally there would be some struggle between a new Trainer and their Pokémon. Yet, Juniper observed no friction between the two, William and Charon were completely in sync.

He was capable of baiting opponents and capitalizing on mistakes, or making them make mistakes.

And the second battle showed that they didn’t need commands, at least… mostly. Lena clearly had more experience fighting non-verbally with Aura, and by all accounts was the more honed trainer.

Though, William also showed a degree of… uncomfortableness at the injuries that battles could give Pokémon. It appeared contradictory at first glance from the batting style Juniper observed.

‘Aggressive, and punishing… hallmarks of past experience or tutoring? Or… someone who feels cornered and lashing out?’

It was a musing for another time. She shook her head to refocus her thoughts on their communication…

While Lena and Arthur clearly used Aura to communicate, she pondered more about how William and Charon communicated… it was clear they had a link of some sort, and trusted each other… but the confusion at the end…

Charon nearly looked like he was having a seizure while standing, similar to Pokémon who had never experienced confusion before, with those glowing red eyes that looked feral…

She had glanced at William to see how he would react as a Trainer under pressure, but he appeared to be having his own panic attack and be in pain. The hand in his sweatshirt was gripping his body, his face pale, his eyes unfocused and shaking as he struggled to speak. Juniper could barely make out his plea for help from Charon before calling out for Overheat.

Arthur was lucky to have used Calm Mind so many times to raise his defenses, with how much energy Charon put into the attack, he probably would have been aching for days if he hadn't. Whether it was from confusion not letting Charon control the output or out of protectiveness for William, she didn’t know. Maybe both.

Maybe it was Charon doing something with how they communicated, or the effects of whatever happened to William lessening, but he was able to rush forward to take care of Arthur’s burns immediately after battle.

Too many maybes. She was going to have a long couple of nights after this....

Juniper waited until he, and a moment after Lena, assisted with getting Arthur at least back on his feet before stepping forward. She noted how William looked and sounded as well, unlike a kid or even a normal Trainer, he looked… reserved, and attempting to downplay his actions knowing that Overheat was overkill for such a match.

It was a level of awareness for someone so young that divided him from his peers, or other Trainers she had seen.

It made her wonder what would happen on his Journey, silently praying to the Twins, or Arceus Almighty, or whoever was listening, that he wouldn’t have to go through what any of her previous Trainers did. Unlike them, he was going to be forced into the public almost close to day one with the existence of Charon.

It was… one of the reasons she offered him a Starter as well. And to her joy, he picked Oshawott, connecting with him at a level no other Trainer had picked up on.

If anyone asked, there was dirt in her eye that was making her eyes water.

Juniper sighed in exhaustion, anticipating the all-nighter she was probably about to do. She grabbed her TV remote on her desk and pressed a button, turning the TV on the wall on… she may as well listen to what was going on while preparing her discussion with Elm and Rowan tomorrow…

She may have not done enough with Team Plasma the first time, but she was going to make damn sure that she did enough this time.

“Good evening, and welcome to UBC7 News, the center of Unovan information and beyond. I’m your host Valerie, and this is The Nightly Report with Valerie.”

“Tonight, let’s start with the most recent development. The Pokémon World Tournament, recently built in Driftveil City, has announced that they are sending invitations to Gym Leaders to help promote the battle facility. As of now, they’ve only confirmed they’ve sent invitations within Unova, but rumors say that some invites have gone to Gym Leaders from out of the region.”

“That’s sure to push excited Trainers starting this League season to train as much as they can with their team, and we can’t wait to see what that brings with the season starting less than a month ago. We’ll be the first to show live footage of battles if any Leaders outside the region decide to participate.”

“In other news, a report from the local Pokémon Rangers show that there is an increase in Weedle, Kakuna, and Beedrill appearances within and around Pinwheel Forest, suggesting an infestation. The local Venipede population has been noted to become more frightened of travelers and started to appear deeper in the forest, with one report from a witness indicating that they are being attacked by Beedrill.”

“As of this time, the Rangers advise Trainers and any passerby to avoid the deeper sections of the forest until they can identify the location of the possible infestation. A possible closure of Pinwheel Forest to investigate and handle the infestation is reportedly being discussed.”

“This also comes at the heels of the Unovan Federalist Caucus calling for the budget of the Pokémon Ranger within Unova to be slashed by over half due to the effect that the Unova Diversity Act had had with the following statement.”

The video feed cut to a politician standing outside the Capitol Building at the League.

“‘The ineptitude of the Ranger Union assisting our law enforcement with removing Pokémon that fall outside the act is a clear showing of being pointless red tape that weakens our great Region. Their continued demand to introduce new Pokémon from outside of Unova that disrupt our native species and populations, attack Trainers and travelers, and refuse to take action when issues arise and sit back and twiddle their thumbs while leaving our overworked local law enforcement to clean up the mess. The Ranger Union has been nothing but a detriment to our national safety, security, and welfare and should be treated as the foreign enemies of the state that they are.’”

“The Ranger Union themselves declined UBC7’s request for comments. However, insider reports suggest that Rangers are currently investigating a Pokémon’s origin that falls outside of the Unova Diversity Act. The International Police has been assisting local police with Trainers who break the ‘Release Policy’ in place, but allegedly, no information is being passed onto the Rangers about the location of where some Pokémon were released.”

“Only time will tell how this will develop. Public opinion of the Rangers is still higher than the Unova Pokémon League among Trainers according to a recent poll by Passerby Analytics. It is noted though that the areas closest to the Pokémon League, and Route 10 show statistically higher support for law enforcement and even the International Police. You can find the full report on their website.”

“And with that, that wraps up our nightly recap… ah, my apologies, one moment…”

“...”

“I-Is this true? This happened just now?”

“...Understood.”

“I apologize for the interruption, however we have breaking news.”

“It is reported by the International Police that one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma, Zinzolin, has escaped custody.”

The Pokémon Center’s cafeteria fell silent at the sudden announcement, disbelief, and shock freezing everyone in place. After a moment, the hushed murmurs transformed into sharp discussions as the shock the information gave everyone was replaced by a tidal wave of emotions from every spectrum. Lena leaned forward, trying to read the captions on the TV, her food largely forgotten about right now as the voices of the surrounding patrons filled her ears.

“He escaped? How?!”

“Interpol sucks at holding criminals…”

“Was it an inside job? Or—?”

“Shh—I’m trying to listen.”

“Did he get his Pokémon too?”

“Is Team Plasma returning?”

The voices started to grow even louder, the food being forgotten for the most part by everyone… until a quiet whisper nearest to her made her snap from her private musings.

“Fuck…. you were wrong Charon....”

Lena turned to look at William, sitting across from her with his eyes locked on the screen. He was grinding his teeth as he stared at the mugshot of Zinzolin, panic clear in his eyes, uncaring if anyone around saw or heard him…

Beta Readers:

David “TheBlizWiz” R

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