A Bunch of Meanies

Roz’s letter from the previous day was important enough to get a reply almost immediately. Written on official Ranger letterhead, it was legible, but clearly written hastily. Terry still found it odd that the Elgyem read it with no problem considering she hadn’t even been able to write on her own.

Roz and Terry,

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Keep that Skarmory away from Mt. Steel for the time being. We will send a team to make contact with Registeel. Do not attempt to do so yourselves. Inform me of any additional updates.

Sincerely,
Archimedes

Wow, I’m actually doing something important enough for Archimedes himself to notice. “Dang, what’s going on here? I hope Registeel’s okay,” said Terry.

Roz gave an affirming grunt, but said nothing. Typical. Still, she was at least helping, which was more than Terry could say about himself. I guess I’m taking care of her. That counts, right?

He and Roz fell into a routine over the next few days. They patrolled the town in the morning to make themselves available in case anyone needed their help. Terry helped out with some lifting and made sure everyone could afford what they needed, even if he had to make up the difference out of his own pocket. By the afternoon, he barely had enough left for lunch, but at least a few other people wouldn’t have that problem. Roz…flew around a bunch. She was probably patrolling which admittedly was important.

Afternoons were reserved for training. One of their main exercises involved Terry trying to hit objects Roz was levitating with his Bonemarang. As she got better, he got worse. Early on he managed to catch her off guard with arcs and return shots, but as she improved the Elgyem simply jerked her tree branch, rock, or whatever else she was holding out of the way where he had no chance of hitting it. At that point, Terry congratulated her on making good progress, and they stopped playing that game.

In the evenings, Roz worked on her handwriting, and both of them went over the reports they’d received from Archimedes. There were summaries of which areas were affected by which kinds of disasters, mostly on the Air Continent. As expected, flooding was most severe in coastal areas, wildfires in forests and grasslands, avalanches and rockslides near mountains. Aquatic Pokémon described abnormalities in temperatures and currents.

One detail struck out though. While floods were present in nearly all coastal areas, the worst rainfall was concentrated on the western coast of the Air Continent. By contrast, the eastern part of the continent was dealing with unprecedented heat waves. 

Kyogre and Groudon lived near the west and east coasts of the continent respectively. Obviously, the Rangers had tried to meet with them, but it went no better than it had for any other god. Roz wrote to Archimedes recommending him to station any available Psyduck or Golduck with the power to suppress weather in areas affected by severe weather. As if Archimedes hadn’t already thought of that.

Eventually, the final day of their posting came. Their replacements, a Treeko and a Cyndaquil, arrived around mid-morning. Terry and Roz updated them on the mineral situation, Razor, and avoiding the depths of Mt. Steel. Afterward, the Elgyem and Cubone gathered their belongings and stepped outside.

“Are you ready?” Roz asked. Terry gritted his teeth and nodded. The Elgyem grabbed his hand. Seconds later, the two of them materialized. Terry caught himself with minimal difficulty after landing. 

“Welcome back,” Dulce greeted them once they’d stepped inside. “Sounds like it was a bit crazy.”

“It sure started out that way,” said Terry. “What happened here while we were gone?”

“We’ve had a lot of refugees from Baram Town. There’s been room for all of them so far, but that won’t last long at the rate they’re coming in.”

“Are there plans in place for when you run out of room?” Roz asked.

“We’ve got some people working on building temporary shelters. Rangers, carpenters, volunteers, anyone who can help, really. We might have you join them for the next few days.”

“Anything we can do to help,” said Terry. He and Roz went to write up their report on their posting in Greenmetal Village.

~~~

“Alright Roz, pass me the next plank.” The Elgyem levitated the item in question to Terry, who was situated on a growing scaffold. She held it in place long enough for him to position the nail and pound it in with his club. The scaffold was for one of several shelters currently under construction near the outskirts of Crosswind Town. 

The Rangers had already set up 20 or so of the tent-like shelters, though Terry had no idea how many they’d end up needing. Was it even possible to build enough? How long did they have? At the very least, he and Roz made a good team. Cliff Tyranitar led the construction efforts, and had paired physically strong Pokémon with those who could easily move the planks and other materials around.

A number of volunteer artists from town decorated the tents that were already up. “We could build these structures more quickly if we did not take the time to paint them,” Roz noted as she levitated the next plank up to Terry. 

“Yeah, I suppose so.” The Cubone hammered the first nail in. “But think about what this is like for these Pokémon.” He pounded in a second nail. “Don’t you think they deserve something to make this seem a bit more like home with all they’re going through?” Besides, these guys aren’t even working on building.

“I am unsure we can afford that consideration. How many of these structures do we need to erect, and in what span of time? We must prioritize.” At Terry’s gesture she passed him another plank.

“Oh! Hi, Roz!” called a voice from behind. The Elgyem nearly dropped her plank.

Terry looked up. “Hey Peter!” he answered. A familiar Caterpie approached, accompanied by a Blipbug, the latter waving shyly.

“What are you two doing here?” asked Roz warily, lowering her plank.

“I wanted to introduce my friend Collin,” the Caterpie explained, inclining his head toward the Blipbug. “Collin, this is the Elgyem that saved me in Tiny Woods.”

“P-pleasure to m-make your acquaintance, ma’am,” the Blipbug stuttered with a dip of his head.

Roz floated in place, completely dumbfounded. Terry decided to go to her rescue. “Keeping him out of trouble, Collin?” he grinned.

“I t-try, sir.”

“What’re you guys working on?” asked Peter. 

“We are constructing tents for the refugees from Baram Town,” Roz answered.

“What’s wrong with Baram Town?”

“Haven’t you heard?” said Collin. “My dad says it’s been storming off the coast for about a week. People are leaving while they still can.”

“What?! Wait, isn’t Baram Town pretty close to Crosswind?” Peter asked nervously.

“We’ll be alright, Peter,” Terry assured him, climbing down from the scaffolding. The Cubone bent down, putting his hands on his knees to put himself at the Caterpie’s eye level. “The Rangers won’t let anything happen to you.”

“You promise?” Peter asked, looking right into Roz’s eyes.

“We promise,” Terry responded before the Elgyem had a chance to answer. Roz looked around briefly at the ongoing construction. 

“I am…glad to see you are well, Peter. It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Collin.” Roz said awkwardly. “Peter, is it possible we could speak another time? Terry and I are busy at the moment.”

“Yeah, we’ve got a lot of these things left to make,” Terry hastily added, pointing his thumb at the tent behind him.  

“O-oh, sorry. Anyway, I’m sure I’ll see you around. Bye!”

“Bye Peter. Bye Collin,” Terry waved as the kids left.

Roz groaned and rubbed her head. What are you complaining about? Terry thought to himself.

~~~

Terry looked out his window the next morning to an unwelcome sight. “What are you doing?! Get out of there!” A familiar Gengar, Ekans, and Medicham stood in front of his mailbox, rooting through it.

“Ah, not like you’re missing anything anyway. All I found was this.” Specter held up a letter. “Looks like some Caterpie kid wants you to save his friend from Sinister Woods. Guess he’s met you before or something?”

“We got a personal request from Peter?”

“You guys are busy looking into that disaster stuff though, aren’t you?” Stella asked.

“We’ll take care of this. After all, it doesn’t matter who does the mission as long as it gets done, right?” said Cody.

Roz floated out the door. “What are you three doing here?”

“Don’t worry. We’re just taking care of some distractions so you can focus on more important things,” Specter answered. 

“Peter asked for us specifically. We should be the ones to do it,” Terry protested.

“Actually, he asked for the Elgyem. I guess you’re just part of the package,” Stella shrugged.

“Loathe as I am to admit it, they do have a point Terry; we have other matters to attend to.”

“See? Even the egghead agrees. Now leave the real work to the big kids and finish your homework,” said Specter with a condescending smile.

“What is the purpose of this antagonism? We have a common goal, do we not?” Roz asked.

Specter cackled. “Oh man, get a load of this one! Error, error, does not compute,” he said in a monotone voice, stiffly moving his arms up and down. Everyone gave him a confused look, except Roz, who shot him a deadpan glare. The Gengar bashfully rubbed the back of his head. “Anyway, let’s go, you two.”

“No, wait!” Terry protested. But they ignored him. “Roz! Why would you let them do that!?”

The Elgyem shrugged. “The important thing is that the job is completed. We have a post to be at. Why is it so important that we specifically do this?”

“Because Peter asked for us specifically! Do we really want those jerks to be the ones who show up with his friend? They’ll probably demand his eternal servitude of something. Besides, I don’t wanna get in trouble because we didn’t do a job that was assigned to us. I don’t trust Specter or his cronies not to report that we skipped out on it and they had to cover for us.”

Roz considered the possibility. “Very well,” she agreed with a sigh. 

~~~

The Sinister Woods certainly lived up to their name. The thick canopy overhead blocked out virtually all light, creating a dark, oppressive atmosphere on the forest floor. Most of the few plants that did manage to survive on the forest floor were poisonous. There were certainly plenty of insects present though. Terry’s scales offered some protection against mosquitoes, but made his life absolute misery when the stupid things managed to get under them. Roz’s psychic abilities didn’t look to be of any help against them.

“Found anything yet?” Terry asked for the dozenth time.

“No. I will inform you once I do.” Though they had only been trekking through the woods for perhaps half an hour it felt like at least triple that. The Elgyem somehow managed to remain calm despite everything going on. Finally, after another 15 minutes or so, Roz picked up on something. “I sense people in that direction,” she said, pointing.

“Wait, ‘people’, plural?” Terry asked as they walked. “He was supposed to be alone.”

“I think we both know who else is there,” Roz answered. Terry scowled.

They entered a clearing, finally earning a respite from the darkness. Specter, Stella, and Cody were waiting inside, sitting (or coiled, in Cody’s case) on a blanket.

“I thought he might talk you into showing up,” Specter greeted them. “Welcome to Sinister Woods. Take a seat.” The Gengar gestured to the blanket. “We have some things we need to talk about.” He pulled a biscuit from a basket and tossed the whole thing in his mouth, gesturing for Roz and Terry to help themselves. Neither took him up on the offer.

“Where’s Collin?” Terry demanded.

“What, the request from the kid? We made that up,” Stella answered. “We just needed somewhere private to talk to you,” she said, looking at Roz.

Terry sputtered incoherently. “What?!”

“I’m sure you have questions. We’ll get to them,” Specter assured the two. Terry scowled at them, but ultimately agreed and sat down cross-legged on the blanket. Roz did the same.

“Alright, what’s this about?” Terry demanded.

“Her, mostly,” said Specter, pointing at Roz. The Elgyem froze. “You ever been to the Great Canyon?”

“No idea; she doesn’t remem—” Terry started.

“Not talking to you,” Specter silenced him with a raised hand. “So, have you?”

The Cubone seethed. “Terry is correct. I have no recollection of any ‘Great Canyon’, but it is possible I may have been there at some point.”

“Interesting. Well, if you ever get the chance, I’d recommend going. Old Sier just might be able to help you get your memories back.”

“Wait, why did you think she’d been to the Great Canyon?” Terry asked suspiciously.

“Just a hunch,” Specter shrugged. “She looks kinda like another Elgyem I know from around there.  Thought they might be related.”

Yeah, and Groudon’s my uncle. Terry scowled. “Thanks, I guess.”

“Surely you did not lure us out here simply to ask about my past whereabouts,” said Roz.

“Very sharp,” Specter approved. “I figured we’d get the lighter topics out of the way first, but there is a reason we’re doing this all the way out here. What do you two know about the administration’s rise to power?”

“What?” said Terry, taken aback.

“Well, if the Elgyem has lost her memory, she won’t know,” said Cody.

“But you might,” finished Stella.

“I mean, what is there to know? They worked under Shiren Lucario, did really well, and he appointed them to take his place when he retired,” Terry answered. Everyone knew that.

“Kekeke…so naive,” said Specter. “Do you realize how much power those three have?”

“Well, yeah, I guess, but it’s a lot more efficient to have everything in one place,” Terry answered. Where were these idiots going with all this?

“What do you mean ‘everything in one place?’” Roz asked.

“Hmmph, well, since you don’t remember, let’s run over what exactly the Rangers, and by extension, Archimedes, Flint, and Cliff are over.” Specter started listing items on his fingers.

“One: search and rescue. If a Pokémon goes missing, it’s our job to find it and bring it back home. The entire Air Continent is under our jurisdiction. But, for an organization called the Rangers, that makes sense. That’s just the beginning though.”

He tapped another finger. “Two: law enforcement. We’re the ones who track down and apprehend criminals. As I recall you two doing with that Skarmory recently. Now, search and rescue, fair enough, but why would you have the same organization acting as your police force as well?”

“Because they both use the same skills,” Terry pointed out. “If you’re good at finding lost Pokémon, you’ll be good at finding criminals as well. Besides, that’s not unique to the Rangers. The other continents have similar organizations that work alongside the police.”

“Work alongside, not replace,” Stella countered. “And there’s a big difference between finding someone who wants to be found and someone who doesn’t.

“And that brings us to number three.” Specter raised a third finger. “Who do you think calls the shots in Crosswind Town?

“The town council,” Terry answered, looking unamused.

“On paper, sure,” said Cody. “But the administration has their ears. They’ll listen to the Rangers over anyone else.”

“What, so it’s a crime to be a respected organization that helps people and needs the government’s cooperation to ensure they can do their jobs? Gimme a break.”

“Keke…you ever wonder who else has to go without to make sure the Rangers have the funding they need?” Terry was slightly taken aback by this, but said nothing, waiting for Specter to continue. “Farmers, medical clinics, orphanages, you name it. Somehow, the Rangers always get the money they need, even at the cost of everyone else.”

“Terry, is this true?” Roz asked.

This was getting ridiculous. The Head Rangers would never abuse their power like that! “No!” Terry scoffed. “The Rangers have financial difficulties just like everyone else. I don’t know where you three are getting this from.”

Cody sighed dramatically. “We were afraid you might say that.”

“If something like this were happening, you wouldn’t really be aware of it though, would you,” said Stella. “You never were one to question things.” The Medicham turned her eyes on Roz. The Elgyem froze. 

Specter spoke up next, smug as ever. “Maybe try doing a little digging rather than just accepting everything you’re told at face value. For all the grief I give you, you’re a good kid. I’d hate to see you get hurt just ‘cause you were too trusting.” His gaze too fell upon Roz. Terry glanced at the Elgyem over his shoulder. This was going too far. Roz wasn’t Terry’s favorite person in the world, but it was not okay to treat her like this.

The Cubone rounded on the three Pokémon in front of him and leapt to his feet. “Shut up!” he roared. “My entire time here you’ve done nothing but taunt and harass me, and suddenly, out of nowhere, I’m expected to believe you care about me?! Do you seriously expect me to turn my back on someone who came to me for help just because her situation is a bit unusual? Or start doubting the Pokémon I’ve looked up to my whole life just because people respect them? I’m not just some dumb kid! I’m a grown adult, and unlike you, I actually want to make a difference in this world!”

Terry pointed to Roz and his voice started shaking as he continued. “The two of us are actually trying to figure out what’s causing these natural disasters and do something about it. Meanwhile, all I see you three doing is going around causing trouble and acting like children.” He took a moment to bring his breathing back under control. “Now if that’s all you have, Roz and I will be leaving.”

Cody and Stella were dumbfounded. Specter, by contrast, kept his signature creepy grin and actually started clapping. “So that’s the real you. I always wondered who you really were.” Cody eyed Specter warily and Stella looked rather uncomfortable. Terry glowered at the Gengar. “Maybe since you don’t have a literal mask you decided you needed a figurative one.” Something inside Terry snapped. He had no right to go there.

He was about to draw his club right then and there when Roz intervened. “It would appear this encounter was entirely unproductive. The Rangers’ resources, including their time, are precious right now. We cannot afford to waste them on frivolous pursuits such as spreading conspiracy theories, and certainly not on harassing each other. Do not forget that you too have a stake in this.” She held out her hand to Terry. She was right. There were more important things to focus on right now.

“Yeah, well, think about what I said. Things aren’t always what they seem on the surface,” Specter responded. Terry took Roz’s hand, and they teleported away.

They reappeared at Roz’s designated arrival point near Ranger Headquarters, where Terry fell the short distance to the ground. He took several deep, calming breaths. “Sorry about that. When he brought up…nevermind. Let’s just get our report filled out.”

They debated for a bit on what exactly they should include. Terry wanted to write down everything, but Roz advised withholding some details. The report stated that Specter’s team had made up an emergency and started a hostile confrontation.  But at Roz’s advice, they decided to leave out the part about the conspiracies; it wouldn’t do for the whole story to be rejected because they looked like jealous rookies.

They spent most of the rest of the day setting up tents. Physical labor, as usual, helped Terry get his mind off things, and he fell into a rhythm. Specter and his cronies were nowhere to be seen, not that either of them was complaining.

~~~

Terry immediately plopped down in a chair once they got home. Roz settled in the one next to him. “We should discuss the claims Specter made today,” said Roz.

Terry tiredly glanced at her through one open eye. “What about it? He was spouting complete nonsense.” He really wished they could’ve included those lies in their report. Specter would be all but guaranteed to be fired.

“What did Specter mean by literal and figurative masks?” Roz asked. “Cubone do typically wear bone helmets, do they not?”

Oh please don’t go there. Terry sat up straighter. “Yeah…I just…never really found one I liked.”

“I see. Then what was the figurative mask he mentioned?”

Terry heaved a sigh. “I don’t know. He’s always poking at me, trying to…I don’t know, see how I work or something. I don’t know what goes through his head.” Terry’s fists clenched. Now can we please change the subject?

“And now he’s saying I’m stupid for taking you in,” the Cubone said with an eye roll. It wasn’t his job to ask questions about people who needed his help. Besides, as annoying as she could be, it wasn’t her fault. She wanted to help just like he did. The only difference was, unlike him, she had something to contribute.

“I appreciate your willingness to take care of me,” Roz said at last. “If that is of any consolation.”

“Thanks,” Terry said. He was silent for a moment while he worked up the courage to continue. “I don’t trust Specter, but do you want to check out the Great Canyon sometime? If he’s right and you have family there…or maybe Sier knows something?” 

“Perhaps. But I do not think we can spare the time away from work right now. I know you are concerned about me, but I am fine as long as I keep busy,” Roz insisted. “Besides, our current work is highly time-sensitive.”

Terry scowled. “You know what? We’re going. I know you’ve said you’re fine, but don’t you think you need to be at your best to work on something this important?”

“You may be right,” Roz admitted, “but…I do not trust Specter.”

“Like I said, I don’t either. But think about it; what’s the worst that could happen?”

“I do not know. That is what scares me.”

Terry gave a conciliatory nod. The Cubone pondered their predicament in silence for a moment before his face lit up. “You’re scared to find out who you were, aren’t you?” he realized. “You’re not sure you’ll like the answer.”

“I…”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Maybe Specter’s full of himself as usual and it won’t be anything. But what if he’s right and we can finally put all this behind us? Don’t you think that would be worth it?” he pleaded.

“What if it just adds more complications? What we have now is not optimal, but I do not believe my memory loss is affecting our progress. There are too many other matters that require our focus right now. I would not want to risk jeopardizing what we have already.”

“It’s normal to be scared of the unknown. But I think figuring this out will help in the long run. Besides, if you’re right and your memory is connected to these disasters, this could be the key to everything.”

Come on Roz, let me have this. Let me make a difference for once.

Roz looked into her colleague’s pleading eyes and sighed. “If we find an opportunity, we will go. But solving this crisis comes first, agreed?”

“No, but I can tell you’re not gonna budge.”

“Good. I believe our next move should be to locate other Seekers. Perhaps between them, we can determine the cause of these disasters.”

“I suppose you’re right. Let’s worry about that tomorrow though. I’m beat.”

~~~

Three more days passed with little change. Roz and Terry focused their efforts on tent construction and gathering supplies. The Rangers were dispatched to local farmers and markets to secure food for the incoming refugees. Tents were already filling up, though there was plenty of space left before it became a real problem. For now. 

More disturbing news came the day after, when Archimedes, Cliff, and Flint called everyone into an assembly. Only a handful of Rangers were around as most of the Corps were elsewhere handling disaster relief. 

“I believe most have met our newest member over the last few days, Roz Elgyem,” Archimedes began, gesturing to her. “Roz brought a peculiar situation in the vicinity of Mt. Steel to our attention. Several days ago, we dispatched a party to establish contact with Registeel.”

“We told them to send word back to us within two days,” Cliff continued. “They still haven’t.”

Nervous murmurs ensued. “Why’d they risk sending anyone?”

“What’d they think was gonna happen?”

“I almost volunteered for that mission.”

“Which is why the three of us are going to save them personally!” Flint declared, posing proudly with his hands on his hips and a big grin. The murmuring intensified.

“We are leaving Octavia in charge until our return,” said Archimedes. “Do not attempt to follow us. The Alakazam paused to allow the weight of his orders to sink in. “You have handled these disasters better than we could have hoped for thus far.”

“We’ve been lucky here in Crosswind Town, but other places would’ve fallen apart if it wasn’t for you,” Cliff added.

“Oh come on, you two. Stop talking like we’re never gonna see ‘em again.” Flint rolled his eyes.

Archimedes gave a small smile. “That’s the spirit, Flint. Dismissed.” The Alakazam grasped his teammates’ hands and vanished.

Roz was floating out the door the moment they left. This was either very good or very bad, and probably nowhere in between. If Registeel really was connected to her mission, she needed to find out before anyone else…right? The Elgyem floated over the heads of other Rangers, desperate to get outside.

“Roz, wait!” She slowed down slightly to allow Terry to catch up. “Where are you off to in such a rush?”

Roz avoided eye contact with the Cubone. What was she supposed to say? That she was considering breaking orders? And no, she couldn’t tell him the reason because…because why?

“You’re worried about them too, aren’t you?”

<Y-yes,> she lied. <Can they really protect themselves against…against a god?>

Terry wrung his hands. <I don’t know. If anyone can, it’s them, but…the gods are on a completely different level from ordinary Pokémon.> The Cubone pulled out his club and held it like a cane, leaning his back against the wall with a dour expression. <They’re probably completely out of their league. I wanna help, but what are Pokémon like us supposed to do?>

Roz thought quickly, evaluating her options. She would almost certainly get in trouble, and there was a big risk of things she was trying to keep secret getting out. But when would she get another chance to see a Legendary Pokémon first-hand with powerful help to back her up if anything went wrong? This was a huge gamble, but an equally big opportunity that could possibly answer her biggest questions.

<We’ll just have to find out, won’t we?>

Terry’s gaze shot to her, wide-eyed. <Wait, for real? You…you actually want to try to go? But they have such a big head start. How are we supposed to get there in time to help?>

Roz considered the problem for a moment. She suspected Archimedes would teleport to the Ranger station in Greenmetal Village. They needed to ensure the Alakazam’s team was preoccupied with Registeel before they ran into them. If they didn’t, they’d just get sent home.

<This will require some difficult timing, but I believe I can get us there. Are you ready?> Roz extended a hand to Terry. The Cubone wordlessly clasped it, and the two of them vanished.