12: On the Map

“It’s here Alex! Our team stuff is here!” I am started awake by Thunder shaking me awake and shouting at me. Well… If it wasn’t clear already, now I know for certain that I’m never going to be able to sleep in. Best adapt around that…

“Ugh… Just give me a moment… I’m only half awake…” I drowsily respond.

“I’ll meet you outside in Paradise Center when you’re ready.” Paradise Center is what we call the area that we first see when we enter our barren plot of land. It makes it sound like a city center. Which I guess Thunder intends to make this place.

“Sounds good, Thunder.” With that, Thunder exits the house, leaving me to get myself awake and ready for the day. I splash my face with cold water from the sink (or the variant thereof in this lower tech world) which definitely does the job. I put on my bandana and head outside to meet with Thunder.

“Ah. There you are, Alex.” Thunder replies in his infectiously cheery voice. He and the rest of New Hope were gathered around what appeared to be a sort of package. “Come on. Let’s open it up.”

“Want to do the honors, Alex?” Dunsparce asks.

“Sure.” I reply. Using my leaf tail, I cut open the box and open it up. And inside are five badges, a nice looking shoulder bag, and a note. I take the note and read it aloud. “Congratulations, Team New Hope. You are now officially recognized as a team by the Helping Adventurous Pokemon Prosper Institute.” Oh, so HAPPI was an acronym? Huh. Not something I’d think of for an acronym but hey, whatever works. “Enclosed in this package are your five team badges and your treasure bag for holding loot you may find during your adventures. Your badges are capable of a special move called a ‘Team Attack.'” What? Team attack? What are they talking about? “When in combat, your badges charge up. When they start glowing you can execute an attack that will take out most threats with ease. Don’t worry about how to use them, you’ll know when it’s time to use it. Now go and explore, New Hope! Have the adventures of your wildest dreams.”

“Woah! This is so cool!” Emolga exclaims. He takes out the badges and passes them out. (Of course being a little less kind to Virizion when he got to her.) the badges themselves have a bit of weight to them. They closely resemble Thunder’s Moltres sketch, the yellow bird with orange flames, with an added red gem on the bird’s chest. It’s a nice design.
“I’m curious what this ‘Team Attack’ is all about.” I say.

“Yeah.” Thunder agrees. “We should try it out. I remember seeing an item acquiring mission for Forest Grotto. Someone wants us to bring a bunch of Nanab berries that grow in that area. That should let us give it an adequate test.”

“Sounds like a plan. Are we ready to go?” The unanimous response is yes. “Alright. Let’s head out.”

“Out of curiosity, what brought you to Post Town, Virizion?” Thunder askes as we stroll through the forest. “You don’t usually go to this area of Unova Minor.”

“Are you familiar with the Rainbows of Hope?” She asks.

“I’ve heard them referenced, bit I’ve never heard about what they were.”

“They were an intricate set of rainbows that could be seen from Post Town. It is said that whoever views the rainbows was instilled with a powerful feeling of hope. Sadly, though, with all the rampant distrust, they seem to have vanished.” Wait… Rainbows? Out of all the things, rainbows? Guess they don’t carry the same connotations that they do on earth. Ah well. No reason to get worked up about it. “Wait… I hear something.” We all stop as Virizion scans the area for dangers, readying ourselves in the event of a fight. And sure enough, there was one. A Vespiqueen emerges with a swarm of Combee that all come right for us.

“Bees… Of course it’s bees…” I mutter silently to myself. Then we all get to work fighting the swarm off. I use my tail as a fan, creating gusts that knocked several of them off course. Thunder starts shocking them, the electricity arcing from Combee to Combee. Virizion goes for the Vespiqueen, firing leaves shrouded in energy that hone in on her target. Emolga takes to the skies, zapping them like an aggressive storm cloud. Dunsparce… Well… To his credit he’s trying… They’re just to fast and nimble for him to hit. Unfortunately I’m finding myself in a similar situation. But overall, we’re doing well.

That’s when it happens. The badge pinned to my bandana starts glowing. As does everyone else’s. And I know it was time to try out our trump card, the team attack. What happens next felt like a scene from an anime. I take the badge of my chest, pointing it skyward as green energy from everyone’s badges converges into mine. “Team…” I find myself shouting. I then bring the arm holding it across my chest, then the pay out. I thrust the badge forward. “…Attack!” I finish the yell and an explosion of green energy expands from the badge, throwing back all of our attackers, knocking them out instantly. Once this had concluded, we all just stared, dumbfounded by what had just happened.

“…that was awesome!” Emolga cries. “Incredible! I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“I’ll admit. It was quite the spectacle. And extremely effective on top of that.” Virizion agrees.

“That was awesome, Alex! Great work!” Thunder says.

“Thanks… I guess… Well, one things for sure. This will come in handy in the future no doubt.” I agree. That was an incredible experience. I wouldn’t mind doing it again. “Now, come on, everyone. We’ve got a mission to complete.”

“Lead the way, Alex.” Thunder says. So I do. The rest of the trip is uneventful. We continue through the forest, find the berries, return and deliver them to the client. It was Team New Hope’s first successful mission. Hopefully the first of many.