Prologue: Mission Lighting

Dear Volunteer

As a recruit of the Ultra Task Force, I am honored to disclose to you the plan for your first mission, ‘Lighting’.

First, you shall assemble at a glade in Lush Jungle, where there is a spaceship from Ultra Megalopolis, the USN 2000. General Dulse of the Ultra Recon Squad will wait for you there. Please open the attachment below to view the GPS location of the destination.

After the whole squad arrives, the USN 2000 will travel to Ultra Plant, the natural habitat of UB-04 a.k.a Xurkitree. The objective of the Ultra Task Force is to catch 10 Xurkitree specimens for the purpose of research.

The task of catching is allocated to volunteer Champo Nion. All other volunteers must help him weaken the Xurkitree.

WARNING: Xurkitree’s attacks pose dangers ranging from permanent paralysis to instant death. Ensure a distance about 5 meters away from any Xurkitree.

P.S: All of the information in the email is confidential. DO NOT DISCLOSE OR SHARE THIS EMAIL OR ATTACHMENT TO NON-VOLUNTEERS.

We wish you a safe mission.

Ms. Anabel Saiko

Supreme Chief of the International Police

A 20-year-old man sat in front of the email displayed on his laptop. His brown eyes crawled across each word. The golden rays of morning bloomed from the adjacent window and stroked his dark skin.

After completing the email, the man switched off the laptop and got up from his chair. Twirling one of his dreadlocks, he recited the email in his head as he walked away from his desk.

Sergio Anderson, he thought to himself. Your squad might catch a few UBs or flee in desperation. But please… please ensure that everyone survives. Your quest should not drive our loved ones to despair.

Sergio went to his bathroom and undressed for a quick shower. He returned in just a towel, his eyes fixed on a particular coatrack next to his vanity. Rested on this coatrack was his Aura Guardian outfit, the uniform of his adventure. Sergio was trained in Aura manipulation, a factor which got him selected for the UB mission in the first place.

He put on a fresh pair of boxers from his wardrobe and approached his vanity, its mirror reflecting his slender and toned body. He donned every piece of the outfit one by one with meticulous attention. Once he was dressed, he observed the reflection of his fighting attire: a bright azure coat and simple brown trousers. Sergio completed his outfit with a pair of long gloves from his drawer, thick boots and an elaborate fedora with spikes on its brim, all in the same blue hue as the coat. After a quick gander at his homely surroundings, he deserted his bedroom.

Like an astronaut’s spacesuit, the outfit was necessary for Aura arts. It was a source of Aura. Without it, Sergio’s techniques would siphon off his own Aura and lead to death. The dense fabric was unsuited for the hot Alolan weather, but it was to be used in a different environment altogether.

Sergio arrived at the kitchen, and was pleased by the presence of his beloved family. His parents, kid brother and teenage sister were seated at the dinner table, marveling at his costume. He was startled by his pet Herdier, Brownie, circling him with glee. Sergio settled himself at the dinner table before Brownie could jump on him.

“Ready for your mission, Sergio?” said his brother.

“Why shouldn’t I be, Marco?” Sergio smiled at the cherubic eyes of his younger sibling.

“For three months you’ve been training hard,” said his sister Shawna, pushing dreadlocks off her face. “And yet you’ve never told us what you’re even doing in that mission.” She crossed her arms.

“It’s top-secret. I’m not allowed to disclose it to anybody except my squadmates.”

“Why not us?” Marco questioned. “You can’t keep secrets from your family!” His squeaky voice endeared him to Sergio.

“This is not a promise between friends. This is a serious matter from the Interpol.”

“Now, Sergio,” said his father. “This is not the time to chat with Marco and Shawna. Here’s your breakfast.” He passed a bowl of cereal and a fruit salad to him.

“Dad, this is the only time we get to be together!” Sergio’s normal tone masked his wistfulness. These might be his last minutes with his family.

“What’s the matter?” his mother said in that lovely cadence. “You’ll be back by evening, right?”

“No worries, Mom. I’ll try eating and talking at the same time.”

Sergio managed to hold deep conversations with his family as he ate his breakfast. They chatted and laughed over his powers, accomplishments and challenges while the terrifying subject of his mission loomed without a shout-out. He finished his breakfast on time and booked a flying taxi on his phone.

The Andersons waited until they saw a descending Skarmory from the window. The Skarmory held a carriage from its talons. The flying taxi had arrived.

“Alright, I’m off to my destination,” declared Sergio. “Goodbye! I promise to come back safe and sound!” He hugged every family member, including Brownie, one by one.

“What’s with this melodrama?” Shawna hissed. “You ain’t leaving this house for good!”

“Come on. I’m just being grateful.” Sergio gave the brightest, widest smile he could manage. He wanted to etch a conspicuous memory into Shawna’s head, just in case. The whole family left the house.

As the Andersons bid goodbye with wishes of good luck, Sergio got into the carriage. The Skarmory took flight and Sergio exchanged waving hands with his family as the taxi rose into the sky.

---

Where’s the glade?

Deep in Lush Jungle, Sergio searched throughout the meandering thickets. Shrubbery submerged his feet up to his ankles. He closed his eyes at intervals to scan his surroundings with Aura vision, but all he could find were plants and Pokemon.

Wasting the entire day hunting down the USN 2000 was the last thing on his mind. Spaceships may not emit Aura, but at least some humans would certainly be manning his destination, tucked away in a cumbersome location for the sake of privacy.

Sergio found a unique Aura outline in the distance. In the center of countless dull blue trees stood a shocking pink signature. Sergio recognized the color as psychic energy. The signature was humanoid, but did not resemble an Oranguru or Passimian. It boasted a remarkable similarity to a flesh-and-blood human.

He opened his eyes and ran, so intrigued by the signature that he did not pay attention to a sleeping Fomantis in front of his giddy feet. The Fomantis was tumbled aside and lunged at his legs in rage. Its war cry gave Sergio a scare. He ran faster while paying more respect to the ground and foliage. He preferred to leave the little mantis alone rather than injure it in a one-sided fight.

Suddenly, Sergio stopped. Not on purpose. Not by a stray tree. He just froze mid-chase as if he hit an invisible wall. His arms and legs were handcuffed by a strange force. A pink glow washed over him.

Amidst the verdant foliage, he identified a young, fair woman in dark clothing. One of her hands was an outstretched palm in front of him, emitting the same glow Sergio was enveloped in. “You’re Sergio, aren’t you?” said the woman, smiling.

“Rada?” Sergio gasped as he was released from the psychic hold and the glow dissipated. “How did you find me?”

“With your costume,” laughed Rada, taking a look at the cobalt of Sergio’s outfit. “It couldn’t be any less conspicuous.”

“So we finally meet in person!” Sergio shook hands with the violet-haired lady. “Aren’t you looking for the spaceship?”

“You’ve hit the Tauros’ eye. Did you find it?”

“No. I’ve been here for around half an hour.” Sergio turned around and found no trace of the Fomantis that chased him. “What about the Pokemon that was chasing me? Where did it go?”

“I pushed it away with my PSI.” Rada showed off her glowing hand for a while. “Didn’t the email already have a GPS image attached?” She took out her phone from her pocket and showed him the image.

“It would be tough to switch between the map and the image. Let me open my own map.” Sergio accessed the map application on his own phone and compared it with the GPS attachment. The rays filtered by the canopy glared the screens, making the maps difficult to read. After some adjustments and examination, the two empowered humans managed to trace their location to the destination. They began to walk together, with Sergio keeping track of their path and Rada keeping an eye out for wild Pokemon.

Every week, Sergio had a video chat with his squad, discussing their preparations and strategies. He already established a long-distance friendship with Rada, fascinated by her similar circumstances as an empowered human. But to witness her telekinesis in person in a spot of danger was something else entirely.

After some trekking, Sergio and Rada slipped beyond yet another wall of foliage when they stumbled upon a vast, circular expanse of grass. They briefly thought they had exited Lush Jungle before discovering the USN 2000 in the middle. It was as large as a bus and boasted a design more streamlined than what the engineers of this world were capable of.

“Would you look at that, Sergio?” Rada said, feasting her eyes on the otherworldly transport shining under the flood of morning light. “This is the most beautiful spaceship ever!”

“It looks too advanced,” Sergio remarked. Through the blinks of his eyes, he already sensed the presence of people.

As the duo approached the spaceship’s door, they heard a familiar voice. They turned around to see Detective Looker greeting them.

“Sergio and Rada, you have done a fine job searching for the glade,” he said, exchanging handshakes with the youngsters. “As you will soon traverse uncharted territory, your sense of direction will play a crucial role in the UB missions.”

“We accept your useful advice, Mr. Looker,” Sergio replied. “We assure you of our safe return.”

“Excuse me?!” Looker raised his voice, clenching his fists and furrowing his thick eyebrows. “I am part of the exploring squad myself! How can you be so ignorant?” Rada was amused by the sight of his spiky black hair flopping about.

When the three squadmates entered the spaceship, they encountered two blue-skinned humans, members of the Ultra Recon Squad. They wore sleek white bodysuits and bulky helmets which obscured their eyes. One stood in the middle of the pristine interior of the spaceship and the other was seated at the cockpit.

“Mr. Looker,” the standing human said in a stilted monotone. “Are those two our squadmates?”

“Yes, General Dulse,” Looker replied. “Only Kai is yet to arrive.”

“Please take your seats.”

Sergio, Rada and Looker went to the seats at the sides of the interiors. One of their squadmates, a dapper Ace Trainer in sporty blue clothing, was already lounging on one of the seats.

“Hello, Champo! Have you prepared well for the mission?” said Sergio, occupying a seat next to him.

“Of course I have, Aura Guardian,” Champo chuckled, running his fingers through his carefully-styled blond hair. “Why not?”

“What Pokemon do you have on hand?”

“A Pikachu, a Dugtrio and a Chesnaught. All three of them will resist Xurkitree’s attacks.”

“Where did you get the Chesnaught from?”

“I borrowed him from the Battle Tree. He packs Earthquake to pulverize those wireheads.”

While Sergio and Champo chatted and discussed their strategies, Looker sent Rada to find Kai and guide him to the spaceship. In no time, she returned with the musclebound Black Belt, who bowed to his comrades before taking an empty seat.

“Now that the whole squad is here, we shall take off shortly,” Dulse announced, still standing. “Please fasten your seatbelts and put on the helmets which are under your seats.”

Sergio removed his hat and picked up a helmet resembling Dulse’s. “Mr. Looker, why should we wear helmets?” he asked. “Will the spaceship travel at high speeds?”

“If you pass through an Ultra Wormhole, you will be hit with amnesia as a side-effect,” said Looker, seated in front of him. “I’ve been through one myself. I have recollected nothing from my past since then. The helmets have shock absorbers which protect your brain from the impact of the wormhole’s power.”

After everyone was ready, Dulse was seated next to Looker. “Pilot Gamet, please initiate takeoff.” he said as he fastened his seatbelt.

The other blue-skinned human pressed a button on the instrument panel. A small cannon at the top of the ship ejected a laser. The laser made contact with the air and exploded into light that cloaked the whole windshield. The light faded, revealing a transparent tunnel suspended in the air, filled with incandescent white light. Cracks of energy wreathed in an aurora pulsed from the droning tunnel’s entrance, giving it the appearance of a hole smashed into glass.

“We are taking off in three, two, one!” Gamet yelled as she pulled a lever. A mechanical roar erupted from the ship’s engines. Purple fire flared from the exhausts and the ship began to hover in the air amidst leafy updraft. It ascended to the Ultra Wormhole and was immediately sucked in.

The ship was thrown into the tunnel of light at the speed of a bullet train. The light blazed through the windshield and into the interiors. Protected by the helmets’ visors, the Ultra Task Force withstood the piercing shriek of the ship.

---

Once the shriek stopped, the squad found themselves and the ship inside a wasteland. Scores of rocky plateaus dotted the landscape as Xurkitree of all sizes lit up the mushy fields below, some walking with jittery gaits and others rooted in the ground. Gigantic wires were coiled around some of the plateaus, forming impromptu bridges and cliffs. The whole world was awash in a somber dark blue, undisturbed by even the faint glows of Xurkitree heads.

“This is the Ultra Plant,” Dulse stated, observing the blankets of dark clouds choking the sky. “Here, we will catch ten Xurkitree. Please make a landing soon, pilot.”

Gamet directed the ship to descend a little. She scanned the chaotic terrain and selected a particular platform. The ship gently reached the platform. The jets shrank and the engines made a final din as the ship landed on it. The engines were shut, allowing the squad to unbuckle their seatbelts and get up from their seats. The regular humans removed their helmets; Sergio replaced his with the Aura hat.

“Squadmates, kindly follow me outside.” Dulse marched to the shut door. “Looker, you may remain inside the ship with the pilot.” He unlocked the door and opened it. Sergio, Rada, Champo and Kai followed Dulse outside the ship and perused the eldritch wilderness.

“It’s so dark here,” Kai remarked, staring at the horizon. “How do we find our way?”

“Leave it to me,” Champo bragged. He threw a Pokeball at the dark gray ground, releasing his Pikachu. “Use Flash to illuminate this space!”

The Pikachu gave a determined cry and discharged electricity from his cheeks. The area around the squad was brightened. Flash did not affect the whole Ultra Plant but it provided a sphere of luminosity that found use as a makeshift torch.

With the help of Pikachu’s light, Dulse examined the wealth of plateaus beyond him. He found five Xurkitree rooted in different plateaus. “We shall catch that Xurkitree first,” he said, pointing to one of the wiry beings in the distance. “Since it is far from our spaceship, we can battle it without any of its attacks hitting the spaceship.”

The Ultra Task Force crossed the first of many wire bridges tangled around the forest of plateaus. A thunderbolt crashed behind them, startling the comrades in a burst of light more luminous than Pikachu’s Flash.

“Everyone, speed up,” ordered Dulse, his voice gruffer than usual. Champo took a Beast Ball off his belt as he and his Pikachu followed the man from Ultra Megalopolis. Sergio, Rada and Kai guarded Champo from behind, prepared to ward off any Xurkitree targeting him. As the entourage snaked toward their target, they paced their steps as carefully as possible to avoid making any noise.

Right when they were about three feet away, the Xurkitree jerked into life in an explosion of electricity. It made a loud, distorted gurgle as it thrashed its arm wires about.

“Pikachu, use your tail to absorb Xurkitree’s electricity!” Champo instructed. Sergio charged an Aura Sphere from behind while his teammates backed away.

Bathed in a flare of Z-Power, the Xurkitree began with a Discharge. It charged electricity in its spiky head and blasted a lot of it into the air. Everyone shielded their eyes from the blinding attack.

Pikachu jumped into the air and swung his tail, sucking the whole deluge of electricity into it.

The Xurkitree used Electric Terrain. It planted its arms into the ground and pumped electricity through them. Sparks pooled into the ground and spread through the whole platform. The squad felt electric tingles in their feet.

Sergio fired his Aura Sphere, hopeful that it will lock on to its target. Champo let the blue fireball race at the Xurkitree before he throws a Beast Ball.

The Aura Sphere zipped past the Xurkitree, disappearing into the murky sky like an isolated helium balloon. Sergio could do nothing but gawk at the botched attack.

“How did it miss?” Sergio gasped. “It’s supposed to be 100% accurate!”

“Ultra Beasts don’t even have Aura to begin with!” shouted Dulse.

“Then what’s the energy Xurkitree’s surrounded in?”

“It’s Z-Power!”

Reality hit Sergio. Just as Pokemon depended on Aura, Ultra Beasts depended on Z-Power for their attacks. If Ultra Beasts lacked Aura signatures, why wasn’t this information communicated to him?

Right when Xurkitree raised its right arm for another attack, a pink force immobilized it. From the tail end of the squad, Rada trapped it in a telekinetic attack.

Champo flung his Beast Ball at the rag doll of cables. The ball opened, engulfed Xurkitree in a shroud of energy and snapped shut. The ball bounced on the ground and once it settled, Champo waited for it to complete its customary treble of shakes.

One.

I thought it’d escape at first shake!

Two.

Okay. Good.

Three.

Are Beast Balls really this effective?

An explosion erupted in front of Champo’s eyes.

Xurkitree rose from the blazing remains of the Beast Ball with its arm encased in a sheath of energy resembling a stalk. It slammed the arm at Champo and Pikachu. The trainer and his partner tried to scurry out of reach.

Champo managed to evade the Power Whip by a hair’s breadth.

Pikachu didn’t.

Pikachu was knocked out in a single hit. Xurkitree’s Z-Power aura intensified. A distraught Champo quickly withdrew him and sent out Dugtrio in his place.

Dulse aimed a laser shotgun at Xurkitree as it charged more electricity in its head. Before Xurkitree could let out another Discharge, Dulse shot a laser bullet which crashed into its neck. It fell to the ground in a heap. All it could do was flail its arms like an overturned Bug Pokemon.

Champo threw another Beast Ball at the struggling Xurkitree, and this time it failed to break out of the ball. “Aww yeah!” he exclaimed, snatching the ball from the ground. “Beast Balls are more effective than I thought! You don’t need to stockpile 10 or so balls for a single Ultra Beast. Like with Ultra Balls.” He juggled the ball in his hand.

“I’m sorry, Champo,” Rada rued, lamenting his Pikachu. “I should have bashed Xurkitree against the ground. Now how do we nullify the electric attacks?”

Champo fell silent.

“Listen, squadmates,” said Dulse, grasping his shotgun. “Since Pikachu is now unable to battle, we must keep our distance from the Xurkitree. Give utmost priority to long-range attacks.”

The Ultra Task Force had just turned around when they were unnerved by a bevy of cacophonic cackles from behind.

Four Xurkitree leaped at them from under the short cliff. Their childlike heights belied their giggles of malice. They swarmed around the squad like maggots to a corpse.

Sergio thrust out his arms and conjured a wall of Aura between his squadmates and the baby Xurkitree.

The juveniles unleashed electric attacks which lashed at the Aura shield’s surface and lit up the space around them. Shrill crackles of electricity assaulted the squad’s eardrums. Sergio felt the pressure on the wall seep into his arms.

Without hesitation, Rada grabbed one of the Xurkitree with her telekinesis. With a motion of her arm, she hoisted it across the Aura shield and slammed it onto the ground. The Xurkitree went limp.

Champo stashed the fainted Xurkitree into a Beast Ball, relishing the potential academic prospects. He then told his Dugtrio to dig under the ground, pass beyond the Aura shield and attack a Xurkitree from below. Dugtrio disappeared under the earth while Sergio maintained the shield.

To the squad’s surprise, the three Xurkitree dispersed off the cliff before Dugtrio could reach them. Dugtrio returned to her trainer.

“Did the tykes…” Rada wondered. “…withdraw?”

“NO!” Kai alerted all of them, looking beyond the cliff. “They jumped off the cliff to bypass the Aura shield!“

Sergio’s Aura shield disintegrated. He and his squadmates watched in horror as the baby Xurkitree skipped along the wire path below the cliff. When one hopped onto the platform, Kai retracted his arm and landed a devastating punch that sent the little demon flying. Chesnaught did the same thing against the second Xurkitree.

The third Xurkitree attacked Chesnaught with a Thunder Shock. Chesnaught wailed as the stream of electricity dug into his tough skin.

“Whoa! You okay?” Champo gasped as he rushed to comfort Chesnaught. He found splotches of soot on the Grass-type’s weakened skin. While Champo healed Chesnaught with a Hyper Potion, Rada swept the last Xurkitree away with a telekinetic throw.

“How are baby Ultra Beasts this strong?!” Champo cried. “That Thunder Shock hurt as much as a Vikavolt!”

“They’re called Ultra Beasts for a reason,” said Rada.

“Now squadmates, we shall-“

Dulse was interrupted by a flaring pink beam that swooped at the Ultra Task Force out of nowhere. Before Dulse could blink, the beam crashed point-blank into Chesnaught. The Spiny Armor Pokemon collapsed in an instant.

“Chesnaught!” Champo yelled. He and Dugtrio saw a huge burn on Chesnaught’s side. “Where’d that Signal Beam come from?” His eyebrows furrowed in fury.

Dulse found the Xurkitree which blasted the Signal Beam atop an adjacent platform to his left. He whipped out his gun and fired a laser at it. The Xurkitree belted out a Discharge that extinguished the laser. Dulse grew desperate as he shot barrage upon barrage of laser bullets at the Xurkitree, whose continuous Discharge destroyed every one of them.

Sergio, who stood at the the other side of the platform, watched Dulse toil to bring down the Xurkitree. Obliged to help his leader, he was about to launch an Aura Sphere when he noticed a glimmer of light to his right. Expecting another danger, he turned.

He saw a humongous Xurkitree advancing from the horizon, illuminated by a bright light from its tail plug. Tail Glow. He gazed at the skyscraper-sized monstrosity like a Deerling in the headlights, lost for words on the devastation it would bring. We can’t survive its Discharge…

“SERGIO, ON YOUR RIGHT!”

“Champo? What…GWAAAAH!”

Sergio was ensnared in the copper fingers of yet another Xurkitree, knocking off his hat in the process. With Aura coursing through his arms, Sergio began to wrestle out of the Xurkitree’s hand. This foe must be taken out fast, to give the squad enough time to escape the giant Xurkitree.

But for every finger shoved, another pierced him like a whip with a hook on its end. Sergio was caught in an endless tangle of filaments.

Champo’s Dugtrio popped from underneath the ground and slashed at the Xurkitree’s feet, causing it to fall and let go of Sergio. Meanwhile, Rada was restraining Dulse’s opponent, allowing him to recover. When Champo was about to throw a Beast Ball, the dark sky turned a hot white.

Sergio turned and shuddered at the giant Xurkitree, its head flaring with electricity that set the sky on fire like a sun. “EVERYONE!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, alerting his squadmates. “ESCAPE!” He started to generate an Aura shield, his only cry of hope against this lethal Discharge…

Before he could expand his shield beyond himself, his sight was flooded with light.

The giant Xurkitree unleashed a tsunami of electricity which engulfed the entire archipelago of cliffs. Fragments of rock were flung, wires were burst open and a deafening explosion rang throughout the Ultra Plant. Even the clouds above were scattered haphazardly by the sheer power of the Discharge.

Far away from the carnage, Looker saw the cauldron of electricity from the window of the spaceship. He heard a sharp noise from behind and turned his head to see a frightened Rada, who had just teleported into the ship.

“Mr. Looker!” Rada yelled. “A huge Xurkitree completely obliterated the squad!”

“WHAT?”

Rada explained the ordeal to him. Flashbacks of the Faller razed Looker’s mind as he came to terms with the news. Gamet came running from the cockpit, worried about her captain.

“I’ll go teleport all of them here!” Rada stated. “There could be a chance of survival…”

“Don’t go now, Rada!” Looker warned, showing her the lingering glow of ground zero. “You’ll get blinded!” Once the glow abated, Rada warped away.

The first to be brought into the ship was General Dulse. There were cracks all over his blackened uniform and his visor was broken. Gamet knelt at Dulse, pleading for him to wake up. Dulse could only make a weak, incomprehensible groan.

Kai was the next to be teleported. He was unconscious, covered in soot from head to toe and his gi in tatters.

Then came Champo and his Dugtrio. Like Kai, he was drenched in ash. Though Dugtrio withstood the attack thanks to her Ground typing, she was listless, running a high fever from the electricity absorbed.

Looker and Gamet closed in on the injured squad members with first aid kits. As they treated their allies, they wondered how long Rada was taking to get Sergio.

Rada was searching for Sergio at the spot where the Ultra Task Force last fought. All land in the blast’s radius was swathed in coal-black ash. Many platforms had their tops chipped off. Towers of smoke gushed from the scorched earth.

She had shouted Sergio’s name so many times that her throat became sore, not withstanding fits of coughing in the smoke. Behind her, she found the Xurkitree which grabbed Sergio, reduced to a husk of burned and short-circuited wires.

This is where he last stood, Rada thought, looking around the expanse of soot. I can’t find him anywhere! She was able to trace the shape of a hat near the Xurkitree corpse.

Rada gingerly walked to the hat and picked it up. She inspected the charred hat’s shape: flat, with a row of spikes along its brim. Sergio’s hat.

Sergio Anderson, the first Aura Guardian of Alola, is dead.

Her ally is dead. Her new friend is dead. This noble, handsome and admirable young man was extinguished before she got to know more about him. Before he could write a new chapter of light in Alola’s history.

Rada arrived at the spaceship sobbing into Sergio’s hat. Looker couldn’t bring himself to console her; he was shedding tears too, for Sergio as well as Champo, who had no pulse in his wrist.

It was a tragedy which could have been avoided.

---

In a dimension beyond Ultra Space, there lay another world. Much separated this world from the home of the Ultra Task Force. It had completely different continents, many pockets of spatial instability and most notably, no humans. Pokemon ascended to sapience in humanity’s place and built impressive civilizations of their own.

On the beach of a stray island in the vicinity of this world, a Barbaracle eyed the calm azure sea which cradled the island. The sun was inches above the horizon, spreading its warm orange hues across the sea. In spite of the breathtaking landscape, the Barbaracle just stood with a cold expression.

The placid scene was rudely interrupted by a droning noise. The Barbaracle looked around him, hunting down the source of this alien sound. To his distant east, he found a colorful ring of light just above the sand. He ran after the ring, believing it to be the source of the droning.

The Barbaracle was too slow to reach the ring before it closed and disappeared. However, his curiosity was rewarded with an even more intriguing discovery.

A human.

“Coast Guards! Look what I found!” shouted the Barbaracle. “You’ve got to see this!”

A Bombirdier, a Kabutops, a Corviknight and an Ariados gathered behind the Barbaracle to observe the human. Identifiable as a male, he had a dark shade of skin, his hair dangled from his head like ropes and he wore an elaborate blue costume. The Ariados inspected the human and deduced that he was unconscious.

“This human is in a fainted state,” said the Ariados. “He will wake up after a day or so.”

“We all know what happens whenever a human appears in this world, right?” the Kabutops chuckled.

“Every time a cataclysm approaches, they are summoned here in a Pokemon body and save the world,” said the Corviknight.

“But this one didn’t turn into a Pokemon! Besides, he is the first human in this world in over 120 years.”

“Don’t dwell in the past,” the Bombirdier sneered. “Saving the world is definitely not our motto. Let those rotten dungeoneers deal with that. We, Team Renegade, live to spread suffering.”

“Then if we let the human wake up,” the Barbaracle warned. “he’ll come back with a band of followers and destroy our syndicate! Always having this stupid little thing called justice, those humans.”

“Then take him to the boss,” said the Bombirdier. “She’ll convert him to evil!”

“And he will never think of justice ever again!” laughed the Barbaracle.

The Barbaracle hauled the human in his powerful arms and marched toward Team Renegade’s hideout with his cronies. Smite the Scizor, their feared figurehead, would be delighted by such a dark opportunity. A big step was being made in their quest to drive all Pokemon to despair.

Right?