Honestly, Amelia felt a little goofy in her new uniform. Unlike, other rangers, even those of a higher class than she. Amelia wore, what she thought, looked a space suit. The skin-tight, black suit, the knee-high boots and the visor all gave the impression of an intergalactic discovery operation, rather than a ranger.

Although, all of it had a purpose and were a necessity. For example, the visor doubled as a handy info screen powered by a Rotom. In the same way, a Rotom could power a Computer or a Bike.

She was still a Ranger Cadet and had been tasked, among other things, to keep Mauville and connecting routes secure. Thankfully, so far everything had been very chill and she hadn’t had to act as of yet. But, she wasn’t going to take it easy, just in case.

As she wandered down the banks of Route 118, she caught sight of a variety of people passing by her. Often giving her looks of confusion and interest. But, Amelia merely smiled and waved. A good relationship with the locals would make for a good start, she thought.

Halfway down. She caught sight of a trainer with a Pokemon that she had not seen before. It was holding binoculars in one hand and floating by the side of its trainer. “Rotom, search?”

“One second. One second!” A robotic voice sounded as if from her own head. The visor lit up with a sharp-looking smile and two large blue eyes. “Scanning! Got it!”

“Elgyem. It’s the Cerebral Pokemon. Psychic Type! It controls tremendous psychic power. Most reports of alien sightings are actually just people mistaking Elgyem for an alien.”

The voice said in an electronic voice as a picture of the Pokemon flashed up, next to it. Identical to the one right in front of her.

Altagracia Contreras

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It was the first time that Amelia had ever seen this Pokémon. A strange little thing it was indeed. Nothing like any other Pokémon she had yet encountered in real life or through the Rotom database.

Startled by the alien appearing so suddenly in front of her face, Amelia fell backward. Fortunately, she only fell onto a grassy knoll, so no harm was done. Then, just as she was about to stand back up, a voice spoke out of nowhere.

“Rotom, did you hear that?” She asked, startled once more. Looking from left to right to see where the sound has come from.

“Hear what? Hear what?” The electronic voice said, warping into a puzzled emoticon across the visor. Equally as puzzled, Amelia looked up into the grey face; the large green eyes stared back at her. It was like this little alien, Pokémon was able to speak into her mind directly. Bizarre.

“Why should I be afraid?” Amelia said to herself, inside her head. Assuming she could do the same and speak through thought. “I also mean you no harm.”

“Telepathy. Anticipates an ally's attack and allows them to avoid damage. Although, it appears a secondary use allows the connection of minds for communication purposes. Fascinating.” The Rotom blinked several times and the screen flashed. It clearly excited by this new discovery.

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Once again, the voice spoke inside her head using the power of telepathy. However, it seemed ill-adapted at speaking in a coherent language. Most of what it said, was broken and confusing. Until the last few words asking about the words that were being spoken by her visor.

“Oh, that’s my Rotom. It’s the...” Amelia paused for a second, trying to find the correct word to describe what Rotom was.

“Well, it’s like the guiding voice of my suit. It helps me out with my job, I guess you could say. Gives me valuable information as needed.”

“I’m a Pokemon Ranger. We provide protection and help with the conservation of wild Pokemon and the environment. Also, we care for civilian's needs too. Not like the police do, though… it’s hard to explain.” Amelia said, a little lamely, pausing once again.

As she did so, another voice, this time out loud, spoke from behind them. Amelia turned to see the trainer of the Elgyem.

“No, mam. Your Elgyem is no trouble at all. They have been a pleasure to talk to, actually.” She bowed her head in a respectful manner. “My name is Amelia. I am a Ranger Cadet. It is very nice to meet you.”

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The young ranger smiled at the women who stood before her, only pausing as she posed a question. “Well, I’m a cadet. So, I’m just trying to get a lay of the land, as it were. I’m currently stationed inside Mauville. So I walk the surrounding routes, also. But, all seems pretty peaceful lately.” She sighed to herself while thinking of two words, ‘thank goodness’.

“How about you? Just a nice day out?” She asked, trying not to sound accusatory on accident.

While, Amelia didn’t notice the battle and eventual capture attempt of the Mantyke, by the Elgyem. She did, however, catch sight of a second Pokemon climbing up the bank towards them. Amelia looked down at the small frog-like Pokemon. “Oh, hello? How are you doing today?”

The little frog looked back at Amelia and for a few seconds, their eyes locked. Before Amelia could say anything else, it opened its mouth and released a sound. A terrible, high-pitched sound that echoed down the route. “Rotom, scan!” Amelia cried, putting her hands over her ears.

“Palpitoad. Vibration Pokemon. A Water/Ground type! It weakens its prey with sound waves intense enough to cause headaches, then entangles them with its sticky tongue.” Rotom said in a raised voice. Only barely heard by Amelia over the sound of the Hyper Voice.

As the sound faded away, Amelia caught sight of the little frog giggling to itself. “Okay, then. I can also play that game. Eevee, lets go!”

She raised an arm and Poke Ball shot out from the rounded gauntlet on the left arm. It spun outward, bounced off the ground and up into the air. With a flash of light it burst open and a small, brown and fluffy Pokemon appeared between herself and the Palpitoad. The Eevee let out a little chirping noise, as if alerting the trainer of its readiness. “Quick Attack!”

Eevee burst forward, engulfed in white light. It opened its mouth and released a barrage of luminous bubbles. But, unable to react in time, the Palpitoad was knocked back by the force of the attack. As it steadied itself, Amelia called out, “Double Kick!”

Once more, and due to the close range of the Eevee at this moment. It was able to deliver two kicks onto the Palpitoad. This time it toppled over onto its back. “Gotcha! Catch mode!”

Amelia raised a hand, and a Pokeball appeared between her fingers. “Let’s go!”

With a sight whoosh, the Poke Ball burst away from her palm and stuck the fallen frog, which was still struggling to stand back up. It was engulfed in light and then vanished.

“I didn’t really want to have to do that. But that Hyper Voice could have been dangerous for citizens around here. I’ll make sure it gets healed. Back at base, though.”

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As she bent to pick up the Poke Ball, Amelia paused for a split second. Unsure how much she wanted to reveal to a complete stranger about her tech. “Well, it’s not a Ranger created piece of equipment, nor is it made by myself. But it’s definitely useful.” She said, putting a hand to the back of her head and laughing.

“You don’t know how much trouble I had to go through to get it authorized for use.” Amelia continued, purposely leaving out the part. How it had been difficult to get permission until she had explained it had been a former ranger who had created it for her. Then they had no choice but to allow her to use it from then onward. All the way through her basic training, through rookie-hood to now as a cadet.

As she thought about it, the emoticon face of the Rotom flashed across the visor. A sharp, spiky smile.

Following this, Amelia bent down for a second time and stroked the head of her partner, who had been rubbing against her legs in turn, softly purring. Awaiting approval for her battling prowess and skill in catching that wild and rather annoying Palpitoad.

Looking up at Altagracia, Amelia realized she had not yet asked for something rather important. “May I ask what it is you’re researching? I’m sorry, I forgot to ask earlier. In spite of the frog attack and all.”

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Amelia nodded twice as she took in Altagracia’s words.

“The habitats and behavior of Pokemon is something I can definitely empathize with. We rangers strive to protect both Pokemon and their habitats as best we can. So, I hope we can work together in the future!”

Meanwhile, Eevee had trotted over to the bank and looked down into the deep, clear water. Only to see her own reflection looking back. Then, Eevee saw it in the waters reflection. A large blue shape shooting down out of nowhere. She yelped, but was unable to move fast enough. Eevee had vanished.

So lost in her own conversation with Altagracia, Amelia had completely failed to notice the Elgyem’s activities and had noticed that the little alien had now managed to capture two Pokémon all on its own. A Mantyke and a curious Manetric. “I’d really like it if we could help each other out,” Amelia added, nodding her head. “That’s one of the reasons, I joined the rangers!”

“Isn’t that right, Eevee?” Amelia said, turning to look for her partner, who had seemingly vanished. She turned on the spot. “Uh, Altagracia. Do you know where my Eevee went or you Rotom.”

The little emoticon face appeared, once more, across the visor. It looked slightly puzzled. “Searching. Searching. Eevee is above us.”

Now, it was Amelia’s turn to look puzzled. “Above us?” She looked up and caught sight of a large shadow, spiraling around them. Wings out-stretched, although, the big something was flapping hard as if in distress. “Rotom, Scan!”

“Scanning! Scanning! Cramorant! The Gulp Pokemon. It’s Water/Flying! This hungry Pokémon swallows Arrokuda whole. Occasionally, it makes a mistake and tries to swallow a Pokémon other than its preferred prey.” The visored Pokemon drawled off. “I don’t understand where is my Eevee...”

“Oh, so… you don’t think… EEVEE!!!” Amelia shouted, as she put two and two together. Panic flowed into the poor girl as she looked up. Putting her hands against her mouth, she shouted as loud as she could. “Hey! Cramorant! Come down here, will you! Cramorant”

The bird with the full mouth looked down. It’s long neck was tilted so far it looked painful. It landed softly right in front of Amelia. It let out a loud squawk, opened its mouth wide. Revealing the slightly damp, but perfectly fine – Eevee.

“Rotom! Rotom! It must have mistaken Eevee for a snack. Note: Eevee are not snacks for Cramorant!”

Ignoring this, the young ranger stepped forward. Just as the Cramorant spits Eevee back out, right into Amelia’s open arms. “Phew you’re okay. I was worried for a second there.”

Amelia stepped forward and slowly put her hand out, tentatively towards the bird. “Hey there, you cute, silly bird. How about I get you some real food back at base?” She said, smiling and putting a hand against the long beak. It tilted its head from left to right, the large blank eyes focusing on Amelia. After a moment of thought, it seemed to agree with this and bend down, waiting.

“I believe it wishes to be caught!” Rotom called out, the frown emote turning into a jagged smile.

“Okay then. Catch mode, go!” Once more, Amelia raised a hand and a Pokeball appeared from within the gauntlet. It fired out and struck the head of the bird, right above the beak. It let out a final squawk and vanished into a flash of white light. “I’ll make sure to get you the best fish, I can find. Little buddy!” Amelia said, bending over to pick up the still moving Poke Ball.

Catching the Cramorant!

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