ARC 1: The Birth of a New Era

Ah, the world of Pokémon. When you think of it, you’d expect this world to be a beautiful, magical place with friendly inhabitants and the ability to be virtually anything, especially in a world where humans don’t exist. Vast landscapes with bustling towns run exclusively by pokémon; It would seem like nothing could go wrong.

However, that is not the case this time. Enter the region of Anonami, a large island with one of the biggest cities in the land. In fact, the city is so big, it covers more than half the island! Furthermore, the civilization of this land is quite advanced. It’s not uncommon for you to come across a couple of skyscrapers while walking downtown, and that’s only what you can see on the surface. The parts that aren’t city are made up of lush forests littered with mystery dungeons, topped off with a large snowy mountain near the back. The beautiful islandscape, as well as the thriving, bustling city makes the region seem quite welcoming to outsiders; a land of opportunities for anyone.

However, on the inside, one will see that the region has become a corrupt place to live in, even going as far as the simple residents being this way. Most people are extremely rude, the city is ridden with crime, and corporations control and manipulate nearly everone, roping people in and leeching off of them. Overall, it’s a dangerous place to live, and it’s easy to get sucked into its facade. So then how and why has this region continued to thrive?

The region is home to the self-proclaimed Capital of Rescue Teams, called Project Moonlight – named after the greatest rescue team in the region. With the region being as corrupt as it is, Team Moonlight was the light at the end of the tunnel; they did more than just rescue people. Their methods were completely non-violent, and they even ran charities to help various causes for just about everything. But it’s not just Team Moonlight who supports the region. Being the Capital, the region is pretty much run by rescue teams; over 50 have been registered in the guild! They seem to be the area’s saving grace, but in reality, while they do take their jobs very seriously, most teams really only do it for fame and money. As a result, most of them have become shallow and cold, some only doing their jobs just enough to get credit for it. And they get praised for it! While Project Moonlight’s intentions seem pure, the hub has become just as corrupt as everything else in this region.

Zari knew this all too well.

Near the center of town, the little Hatenna stood at the large billboard. This was where missions for rescue teams were posted. Currently, there weren’t many jobs posted, and thus, no one else was around. However, one stood out to Zari.

A wanted poster. There was a picture of an Umbreon on it, and a large bounty was put on it. Evidently, the poster had been up for months, and yet remained unanswered. Zari stared at this poster; her emotion was near impossible to read with her eyes hidden underneath her hair. But at this moment, even she couldn’t tell you what exactly she was thinking.

It had been like this for a while now. Zari didn’t live in a house, and instead lived off of whatever she could find. It wasn’t hard, mind you; Pokémon were built to live like this after all. That didn’t make it any less miserable, though. She usually avoided the city, but this time was an exception. She often found herself wandering back to this billboard when no one was around. Truth be told, she envied the rescue teams. However, she also knew how corrupt the industry had become, and that deeply saddened her. She believed that rescue teams were meant for performing acts of kindness, yet it’s turned into nothing more than a cash grab. She just wished that one day, a rescue team who actually cared about helping people would rise up. Maybe she could be a part of it…

Ah, who was she kidding? There was no way she could fit on any team, she thought to herself. And even if she could, you need a team to be in a rescue team. Zari was all alone, and had been for a long time. She felt like everyone around her despised her. Sure, she knew being shy wouldn’t help, but she was scared to death of being walked over if she tried. It was a cycle of thoughts she couldn’t break.

Feeling these thoughts swarm her again, the small, pink pokémon finally decided to slowly walk away. No point in sulking more than she felt she needed to. She nearly tripped on the strands of hair that acted as her arms, but that didn’t deter her. No one was there to laugh at her this time.

She wandered back into the forest. It was quite peaceful there. The forest wasn’t too clogged with trees, giving it a welcoming presence with the sun’s rays peeking through gaps in the leaves. At the very least, there was some joy to be had in exploring these beautiful woods all the time. And so there Zari wandered, alone with her thoughts. But it didn’t stay that way for long.

Without warning, three pokémon jumped out at her, blocking her path: a Scraggy, a Meowth, and a Nuzleaf. The crooks took Zari by surprise, and she froze. She’s been through this before. She knows why they’re here.

“Alright, let’s make this easy,” the Meowth said, brushing its hair back in the sassy way most Meowths of Alola do. “Just hand over your belongings, and no one gets hurt.”

This wasn’t the first time something like this has happened. But even so, Zari looked terrified. All odds were against her. For one, she didn’t have a single thing to her name, she was completely broke. Surely they’d want a fight because of that, and she wouldn’t stand a chance against these folks! Running was an option, but Zari was paralyzed with fear and couldn’t find it in her to run, or even speak. All she could do was stammer, her entire body quivering.

The crooks apparently noticed this. “What, so you don’t have anything?” the Nuzleaf said, cracking its knuckles. “That’s a shame… guess we’ll have to beat something out of ya.”

But before anyone made a move, the Scraggy suddenly got knocked over from a blow from behind. The figure that attacked landed in between Zari and the crooks. The crooks got distracted from their comrade getting hit, and that gave the newcomer enough time to blow out a chilling rush of snow at them all; Icy Wind. The unsuspecting crooks were blown away from the harsh winds, and landed in the bushes. All was quiet again, signaling the crooks’ defeat.

Zari was still in shock during the fight. After it was over, she snapped back into reality, her mouth gaping. What just happened? The details were fuzzy to her, all that she knew was that she had just gotten saved from being mugged! Zari cautiously looked over at her savior.

It was a Vulpix. Not a regular one, it was one of those snow white ones that were originally thought to be native only in a certain tropical region. That was debunked to be not true, many white Vulpix lived in the mountains of this region, but that didn’t matter right now. What did matter was a question Zari was thinking about. Why would this Vulpix save her? What were they doing all the way out here anyway? Were they in a rescue team? Zari was still thinking about this situation when the Vulpix turned to her. It was wearing a purple flower in its hair, right next to its left ear.

“A-Are you okay?” the Vulpix asked in a gentle, feminine voice.

Zari looked up at the Vulpix for a moment, still trying to find her voice. “I-I’m alright…” she finally managed to squeak out.

“Okay, good,” the Vulpix responded. There was silence for a moment. It was clear that neither pokémon knew what to say next. It was almost as if this was a first for both of them. It was Zari who broke the silence after a few seconds, though it seemed much longer than that.

“Uhm… th-thank you…” she said quietly, “for uhm… saving me.”

The Vulpix was quiet, but she nodded in understanding, smiling gently. Zari felt the need to question why the Vulpix had saved her, but felt it wasn’t a good time to bring it up. Normally, Zari would feel uncomfortable, but this time was different. She sensed the Vulpix’s kindness in her. In this region, that was a rare sight; she almost forgot that these kinds of people exist. But it still left Zari wondering a number of things. So how should she address it?

“Uhm… my name’s Zari…” Why was Zari telling a complete stranger her name? That question flashed in her mind, and she almost choked up when it did. In the end, though, she knew introductions were the best way to start the conversation.

The Vulpix quickly got the message. “O-Oh!” she said. “My name’s Stella.” From this, Zari started feeling a lot more comfortable around her. As a result, she found herself talking to her more.

Even though she wanted to keep talking, she found herself running out of things to say. “That… that was amazing, what you did there,” was what she squeaked out. She meant what she said, but she immediately thought that statement was really corny, so she followed it up. “Are you in a rescue team?”

Stella shook her head. “No, I’m not,” she said, reinforcing her body language. The hint of sadness in her tone told Zari something that she likely wouldn’t admit.

She was like her. Alone, homeless, wandering. Yet, despite the world being against them, they remained kindhearted and hopeful.

“I’ve always wanted to start a rescue team though,” Stella continued, going back to Zari’s question. “That’s why I do what I do. I love helping people; I think everyone deserves to have some help,” Stella thought back a bit, but quickly shook herself out of these thoughts.

“Really?” Zari said, sort of in shock, even though she figured that out already. “Me t-”

Before she could finish that statement, though, she was cut off by a commotion in the distance. And it didn’t sound good.

Stella noticed it too, and after a moment of taking in what was going on, she ran off in the direction of the noise. Against her better judgment, Zari followed her, though she struggled to keep up, having only stubby feet to move on.

They made it to the source of the noise, but by the time they made it, it was already over. Amongst the trees were a group of pokemon. One of them was a Ditto, and its entire body was tied up. The rest all looked identical. There were six of them gathered around, and they were all smaller than the ditto, though one was a little larger than the rest. They had round, black bodies, stubby feet and no arms, and wore yellow helmets with a single red spike on the forehead.

“We got him, fellas!” one of them exclaimed, resulting in a cheer of agreement from all but one.

“Let’s take him to the authorities right away,” the larger one said.

But before any of them acted, one of the orbs looked right at the two bystanders. “Uh oh. Hey boss, we got some witnesses,” it said in a feminine voice.

“So what if anyone saw us?” another one snapped. “Clearly if they were with him, they would have done something.”

“Yeah! We got the bad guy, the people will see us doing good! And I for one would love the attention.~” another female one said.

“Alright, alright, let’s all calm down,” the biggest one spoke up again. It then turned to the two wannabe fairies. Its helmet visor opened up, and it looked at the two with bluish white eyes.

“Uhm… sorry,” Stella spoke up. “We didn’t mean to-”

“Don’t worry about it,” the big one cut her off, though he wasn’t exactly unpleasant. “We’re just doing our job here, and this isn’t exactly a private place, is it?”

“Nope, it sure isn’t!” one of the others blurted.

“Zip it,” said one of the females.

‘Job?’ Zari thought to herself, then spoke up. “Uhm,” she stammered. “Are you-”

“A rescue team?” One of them finished her statement. “We sure are!”

“I said shut it!” the female said again, this time slapping the other across the face, though it was more like a kick due to lack of arms.

The bigger one quietly sighed at the two, but continued on. “Allow me to introduce ourselves. My name is Chase, and these are my companions: Donavan, McKayla, Olivia, Colin and Sage. As Colin said, we’re a rescue team, Team Falinks.”

Zari was in awe. Rescue teams certainly weren’t uncommon, but she couldn’t help but feel something that numbed her. Maybe it was amazement? Or perhaps envy? Either way, Zari was stunned to be in their presence, especially since they were so nice, which WAS uncommon.

“Now if you’ll excuse us, we have a ruffian to take care of, so we best hurry along,” Chase said. He and his team turned back to their captive.

…Only to find that there was no captive. While the Falinks had their attention turned, the prisoner somehow escaped, leaving nothing but a pile of rope in its wake.

“OH GODDAMMIT,” McKayla shouted after a brief moment of silence. “He got away again?! We were so close this time!”

“McKayla, will you calm down?” Donavan said, half calmly, half harshly. “You whining about it isn’t going to help us catch him again.” McKayla looked like she was about to have a temper tantrum, but somehow, Donavan’s stern tone made her pipe down, though she still looked enraged.

“Uhh,” Stella said, voicing her and Zari’s confusion about the situation. “Who was it that you captured here?” She knew well enough that some criminals had to be incapitated to be arrested, but the team’s violent reaction to the Ditto’s escape had her concerned.

“Only one of the most dangerous criminals in the region,” Chase explained. “He’s a member of the most destructive team here: Team X.”

Team X. That name rang a bell in Zari’s head, and while she couldn’t quite pinpoint it at the moment, she knew it was nothing pleasant. Stella on the other hand was as clueless as a Slowpoke. “Are they a rescue team?” she asked.

“Nope. Quite the opposite, in fact,” Chase said. “They’re hellbent on world domination, but unlike most others with that mindset, they absolutely have the power to do so. That’s why we all have to keep an eye out for them. Every member is extremely dangerous, and no one has been able to find out much about them.” All this info was scary to the two wanderers, but they both decided not to comment on it further. All they could hope was that they’d never have to deal with them.

“But enough of that,” Chase said, apparently thinking something similar. “What are you two doing out here anyway?”

“Oh, uh…” Stella knew Zari was with her, but it only just hit her that she was with her. Why had she stuck around for so long? In her mind, Stella wasn’t the most interesting or likable person, and she figured Zari would have left by now. However, that wasn’t the question she was asking. “W-We were just passing by,” was her answer, which wasn’t entirely untrue.

“Aww, I was hoping you’d be the press…” Olivia commented.

“This isn’t a common path people who are just ‘passing by’ take,” Donavan said darkly. “Why are you really here?”

“W-We just overheard the commotion over here,” Stella said, getting a bit frightened now. “W-We just… uhm…”

“Th-Thought we could help,” Zari quickly said to back Stella up. Stella might have been backing herself into a corner with half of Falinks’ members growing suspicious. Honestly, for good reason, but she knew Stella wasn’t a bad person, and felt the need to defend her.

Her simple statement caught Chase’s attention. “Are you a rescue team, by chance?” he asked.

“N-No, we’re not,” Stella hung her head, pausing for a moment. “We just… wanted to help, maybe.”

“Hey! You should totally sign up then!” Colin exclaimed.

“Colin, shut it,” McKayla said to him with a slap.

“Sign up?” Stella repeated after a small pause.

“Well, you do have two people,” Donavan said. “That’s pretty much the only requirement.”

Stella thought for a moment. It was true that Zari was still with her, but the Falinks were under the false impression that they had been together for a while. Stella had only just met her! She didn’t even know if she was sticking around because of her. Maybe she just wanted to help the formation pokémon out too, and had no interest in traveling with her. And even if she did, would she even agree to starting a team with her? Stella found this unlikely, considering no one else ever did. Zari didn’t seem like the adventuring type, and might chase her off from even mentioning the idea to her.

Zari, however, had a different question on her mind. “But… what if we’re no good at it?” she said.

“So what if you’re no good at it?” Chase said with a shrug (or rather a silent attempt at one due to no arms). “There’s over 100 rescue teams here, but only the top 10% ever get public attention, maybe less. A new rescue team like yourself wouldn’t have to worry about it! So use it as a learning experience. That’s one thing people don’t think about when being in a rescue team: it helps you grow. You gain so much experience that you wouldn’t have before. And that’s what makes it worth it in my opinion!”

“I’d still like the attention part more…” Olivia muttered.

Stella and Zari were quiet after that monologue, but they weren’t left in silence for long. “Alright team, we better move out.” He turned to the silent girls one last time. “It was a pleasure talking to you two. Falinks! Fall back!”

The six armored pokémon lined up, with Chase in the lead. They covered their eyes with their visors again, and marched away.

There was another silence after the group had left. The things the Vulpix and Hatenna were told were left to sink in for a moment. Thankfully, that didn’t last for long.

“Us? Create a rescue team?” Zari said, half to herself, half to Stella.

“O-Okay,” Stella interjected, wanting to keep things from becoming too awkward. “I know we just met… We don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Stella looked down as she continued. “I’m sure there’s probably people who would want to who’re better than me…”

There was a pause. “Stella…” Zari said after what felt like hours. “I want to start a rescue team. I want to start one with you.”

“Huh?” Stella looked at Zari. “But… but why?”

“Because… you’ve been the nicest person to me in a really long time,” Zari responded. “Even if we just met… I want to go with you, because… I know we can become something special.”

Stella blinked. “You really think so?”

Zari nodded in affirmation. “So can we? Please?” Zari seemed quite eager, which wasn’t common for her. Stella could tell this meant a lot to her. And it meant a lot to Stella too. This had been her dream for so long, and with someone like Zari by her side, this would be a dream come true. So of course, there was only one answer Stella could give.

“Zari,” she said, “I would love to.”

The smile on Zari’s face was unmistakable. Stella’s face lit up too. They both were happier than they’ve been in a long time. Not only because of the team they were starting, but because of having each other’s company. They could tell things were looking up.

“Well then,” Stella said after a brief moment, “let’s head to the guild so we can sign up.”

“R-Right!”

And with that, the two set out on their adventure.