Ranger: Shadows of Almia C3

Chapter 3

"Mail's here," Rhythmi spoke as she handed Kate a letter.

"Thanks, Rhythmi," Kate spoke as she finished pulling her hair up into her ponytails, then took the letter.

"From your family. again?"

"Who else?"

Rhythmi nodded. "Good point. What's it say?"

"'Hello, Onee-sama!'" Kate spoke as she read the letter. "'You're last letter was amazing! Papa says he's really sorry you didn't get to ask your question, but not to worry. He says Rangers aren't judgmental…I don't know what that means, though. Also, I loved what you said about the Voicemail thing. That sounds awesome! Papa says he's really proud of you! Oh! We're going to be moving! Papa found a spot near Chicole Village that we're going to move to! We'll be there for your graduation! Love, your little sister, Mary."

"Aww, your family will be all moved here in time for your graduation, that's so sweet," Rhythmi spoke, "I bet you can't wait to see them. It's too bad graduation won't be for a few more months, though."

Kate nodded but then turned to Rhythmi and smiled. "But, they'll be here for it, and that's what's important."

"We should hurry up and get to class. Remember, today is our one-day internships."

"Oh yeah!" Kate jumped to her feet and quickly threw on her school uniform. Rhythmi and her then stepped to the door, where Rhythmi stopped her and twirled her around. The next thing she knew, Rhythmi had pressed her against the door. "R-Rhythmi?"

"I…won't be seeing you today. I have to go all the way to the Ranger Union for my internship and yours is going to be in Vientown." Rhythmi grew closer to her and Kate blushed heavily as she felt Rhythmi's breath upon her neck. "Promise me you'll be okay."

"R-Rhythmi…"

"I know you've had your difficulties here. Today, you're going out into the world and you're going to be a Ranger for a day. It's likely going to be the roughest day you've ever had. I just want you to promise me that you won't crack. Promise me you'll be strong."

"R-Rhythmi," Kate paused for a moment. "I-I promise."

"Good." Rhythmi smiled as she gently pushed her lips upon Kate's neck and gently bit down on her.

"I-is this really okay?"

"Why?" Rhythmi asked as she pulled away. "Is something wrong?"

"W-well, shouldn't we be getting to class? I mean…I don't think-"

Rhythmi put her finger to Kate's lips. "You don't need to think, just let things happen." Her hand gently pressed upon Kate's breast and she moaned slightly. Rhythmi then moved in, returning to the moment as she gently began to bite along Kate's neck, making her moan. Rhythmi's hand gently cupped Kate's breast and rubbed it carefully. Her hand then passed through the button-up shirt of the uniform and firmly gripped onto Kate's breast, making her quiver a little. "There isn't time to go any further," she spoke into Kate's ear. "But maybe we'll do more when we get back."

Rhythmi smiled as she pulled herself away, noticing Kate was now a deep shade of crimson. As a final tease, she pleased her lips upon Kate's, but she hadn't anticipated Kate easing into the kiss. So, Rhythmi decided to press the issue by gently sliding her tongue into Kate's mouth, then gently began massaging Kate's tongue with her own. Rhythmi did not stop there, though, as she pressed the issue further by re-groping Kate's breast, which made Kate gently moan into her mouth.

Rhythmi slowly pulled away from the kiss for a single moment. 'I think I'm beginning to love you," she spoke with a smile.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

Rhythmi giggled. "I love how you feel, how you react. I love every bit of you, and I think I want more." Rhythmi quickly undid Kate's tie, throwing it aside. She then began to unbutton Kate's shirt. If Kate could have turned any redder, she surely would have. Rhythmi's next move was to strip Kate's jacket and shirt off in a single move before pushing her to the ground. The next several minutes were spent in a very intimate moment between the two.

. . .

"Has anyone seen Kate or Rhythmi?" Ms. April asked as she looked at the two empty desks in her classroom. There were a few murmurs, but no one spoke directly. "No one? I wonder where they are…it's very uncharacteristic for them to be absent."

"Maybe they're absent for a reason like I was?" Keith asked, referring to the robbery of the School Stylers.

"I hope not."

"Sorry we're late!" Rhythmi shouted as she slid the door open. She and Kate looked rather flustered and Kate's uniform was jumbled.

"There you two are. Mind telling us what you two were up to?"

"Th-that is…we were just…" Rhythmi spoke at first, but she couldn't come up with an excuse.

"I-I overslept, Ms. April," Kate spoke up. "Rhythmi tried to wake me several times, but I kept going back to sleep. I had a restless night, so I didn't sleep well, and didn't want to wake."

"Is that so?" Ms. April asked in a rather unbelieving tone. Kate nodded, hoping her lie had gone undetected. She didn't really feel like explaining that Rhythmi had been having her way with her. Finally, after a moment Ms. April shrugged. "Well, let's just hope it doesn't affect your work today. Have a seat."

"Y-yes, Ms. April," Rhythmi and Kate spoke before taking their seats at their desks.

"Well, then, class, I'll cut this short. You know what today is. Be careful on your way out today. Remember to take the most direct path possible to your destination. There are a lot of shadows out there looking to do harm to kids your ages, so be careful and good luck. I hope to see you all back tonight. Dismissed!"

The class dispersed and Kate stood up from her desk. She walked towards the classroom door and was stopped by Keith. "You're going to Vientown, right?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"I'm going there, too. Why don't we go together?"

Kate smiled and nodded. She would have someone with her after all. She had been so worried she'd be alone the whole time. She had come accustomed to having people around her now, specifically her friends Keith and Rhythmi. "Let's go, then." The two headed out of the Ranger School and out the school gates.

"So, what did you two really do?" Keith asked and Kate tripped, turning a very deep crimson. "Ah ha! So you didn't just oversleep, did you?"

Kate buried her face in the dirt and mumbled something incoherent.

"What was that? Your face is in the dirt."

Kate pulled her face up. "I'm not telling you," she spoke again.

"Oh come on, I can keep a secret." Keith kneeled down next to Kate. "Let me guess, you and Rhythmi had a little intimate moment didn't you?" Kate buried her face back in the dirt and Keith roared out in laughter. "It's so funny to see you get embarrassed!"

Kate growled and quickly reached up, pulling Keith's leg out from under him and knocking him over. "You have to swear you won't tell anyone!" she shouted after pulling her face from the dirt.

"But it's awesome! The whole school would love to hear about this!"

"Swear it!" Kate shouted as she pulled herself out of the dirt. "I don't care what happens to my reputation, but Rhythmi…" She looked away.

"You care for her a lot, don't you?" Keith spoke with a smile.

"Sh-she…she was always there when I needed her...right from the beginning."

Keith nodded. "I understand. All right, I swear I won't tell anyone."

"You swear that if you do Arceus can kill you with fire?"

"Well, I doubt the God of the Universe would do such a thing just for me breaking a promise, but, yeah. I swear that if I tell anyone Arceus can come strike me down with fire." Keith smiled and Kate was about to smile before he added his next line. "Well, unless I tell Rhythmi, but that would just be for the fun of it." Kate slammed Keith over the head with a massive hammer that materialized out of nowhere.

"Come on," Kate spoke, dragging Keith's motionless form away by foot.

. . .

"H-hello?" Kate called out as she stepped into the Ranger Base in Vientown.

Keith stepped forward, looking around. There was nobody in the base at all from what he could see. "Weird…why is there nobody here?" he asked.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!" a voice spoke suddenly and they turned to see a young woman with shoulder-length purple hair stand up from behind a nearby counter. "I dropped something and I bent over to pick it up for just a second. I didn't even hear you come in."

"It's no sweat," Keith spoke with a smile. "Where are the Rangers?"

"Oh, it was so horrible!" the girl shouted. Kate guess she must have been the local Operator as she wore a blue vest and mini-skirt with a white button-up shirt under it. "They were all called away for an emergency mission!"

"An emergency mission that called them all way?" Keith shouted, rather shocked. "What happened?"

"It was just so awful, I can't say, but…those poor Bidoof!" Tears began to roll down the operator's cheeks and Keith began to quickly wave his arms.

"U-umm, well, I-I'm sure everything will be okay with them all on the case!"

"Oh, that reminds me!" the operator spoke and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. "They told me that, if they weren't back before you two got here, I was to give you a super important mission!"

"An important mission? For us?" Keith looked back at Kate who nodded seriously. "If they trust us enough, then we'll definitely do it!"

The operator nodded. "This package," she spoke before pulling a rather large package out from under the desk and setting it on the counter. "It needs to be delivered straight to Breeze Hill immediately!"

"Delivered to Breeze Hill, huh?" Keith looked to Kate who again nodded very seriously. "All right, if it's that important, we'll do it!"

"Oh good! When you take it remember never to flip it on its side, and never, I mean never, flip it upside down! Breeze Hill is just to the west. Take the path west until you find some stairs that lead south. You'll find a beach there. From the beach, make your way west until you see the stairs the lead up into Breeze Hill."

Keith and Kate nodded very seriously. "All right, let's do it!" Keith and Kate pulled out their Stylers and Kate did a twirl before holding her Styler up into the air, pulling the trigger just enough to engage the Capture Wand but not enough to release the Disc. Keith on the other hand performed a twirl in the opposite direction before thrusting his Styler forward, also engaging the Capture Wand.

"Oh! You even have Ranger poses already! How wonderful!" the operator spoke with a smile.

"Let's go!" Kate and Keith quickly rushed out of the base, heading towards Breeze Hill.

. . .

"Kate, look!" Keith shouted and quickly grabbed Kate, pulling her into the overgrowth nearby. "It's the other Rangers! This must be where the emergency mission is taking place!"

Kate nodded. "Y-yeah, they must have need of whatever is in this package," she spoke and held up the package. "We should go find out what's going on."

Keith nodded. "I-I'm nervous…" he spoke. "All right, here we go." Keith pulled all of his courage together and jumped out of the overgrowth. "He-hellomeetcha!" he shouted suddenly and Kate smacked her forehead as the Rangers around them jumped.

One of the Rangers, a rather short but muscular man turned. His skin was dark, and was so far the only dark skinned person they had seen. His brown hair had been cut rather short and he wore the standard Ranger uniform. He stepped forward, and Keith felt as if the very ground beneath him was shaking. "Did I just hear you shout 'hellomeetcha'?" the man asked very seriously. His face showed a slight twinge of anger. "Are you nervous?" Keith nodded very slowly. He folded his big arms over his chest. "Well, I guess that's not too much of a surprise," he spoke, his face mellowing a little, but still showing severe seriousness. "After all, this is a key mission."

"So, the very important package, I expect that it got here safely and unharmed?" the man asked and Keith nodded. "Hand it over, but carefully. One wrong move and it's KA-PLOW!" he shouted the last part as loud as he could which made Keith and Kate jump back nervously. Kate slowly reached out, handing the package to the man. "All right, that does it, nice and easy." He took the package into his hand and smiled as he quickly whipped around. "All right, everyone! Gather round! Lunch is here!"

Kate and Keith blinked confusedly. "L-lunch?" Keith asked.

"Awesome, I was getting impatient for this!" a girl spoke as she stepped forward. She was dressed in a red uniform with a yellow apron that covered only from the waist down. Her brown hair had been pulled up and spiked into a million little curly spikes.

One of the Rangers began to laugh and Kate immediately recognized him as Crawford. "Oh, the stunned looks on your faces!" he spoke to Keith and Kate. "It's great!"

Kate then noticed another girl off to the side who had shoulder-length black hair that she had curled up in the back. She, too, wore the standard Ranger uniform, making the brown haired girl the odd one out. Kate guessed the other girl was not a Ranger as she also did not have a Partner Pokemon with her like the rest did.

The muscular man stepped back, avoiding a large blanket that Keith and Kate had not previously noticed on the ground. It was red and white striped like a picnic blanket. "Good work, you two," the muscular man spoke with a smile. "This mission is cleared. My name is Barlow, I'm the leader of this Ranger Base." He waved to a small Pokemon at his side that had two large black spots on its hands looking almost like gloves. The rest of the Pokemon was a solid light brown color except for its two eyes which looked closed. "This is my Partner Pokemon, Makuhita."

"Nice to meet you," Kate and Keith spoke very formally and gave a bow.

"Oh, by the way, this little prank? It wasn't my doing. You owe that one all to Crawford. It's become a sort of tradition since he joined."

"I was the last one to do it," the black haired woman spoke. "I was careless with the package, though, so by the time it got here, the lunch was crushed." She rubbed the back of her neck. "By the way, my name is Luana, and this is my Partner Pokemon, Buneary." She waved to a small brown bunny-like creature at her side that had rings of fluff around its waist and small balls of fluff on its ears and feet.

"I'm not a Ranger, as you might have guessed," the curly brown haired woman spoke with a smile. "I'm a mechanic. My name is Elaine. Don't worry, though, if you can't remember all of these names at once.

"I'm Keith, and this quiet girl here is Kate," Keith spoke and waved towards Kate. "Sorry if she doesn't talk much. She's very shy, and tends to shut up at large gatherings like this."

Kate nodded and bowed.

Barlow smiled. "There's no reason to be nervous around us, dear. We won't hurt you or anything."

Kate looked down. "Th-thank you," she spoke before bowing again.

"You're that girl from Outdoor Class!" Crawford spoke. "Hey, I want to say sorry to you. You looked like you had an important question for me, and I had to run off on that mission before you had a chance to properly ask it."

Kate blushed and began to look around nervously. She had hoped that wouldn't have come up. "I-it's okay," she spoke very timidly.

"So, Keith and Kate, reporting for your one-day internship, yes?" Barlow asked.

Keith nodded. "Yes, sir!"

"Good to hear. I'm sure you'll all enjoy being with us."

"All right, enough introductions!" Crawford spoke up. "Leader, let's feast on that very important package!" Barlow nodded and set the package down, opening it up to reveal a large picnic basket inside.

"Yay! I'm famished!" Luana shouted. Barlow opened the basket and Kate and Keith's eyes went wide. A large assortment of sandwiches and fruits were inside the basket.

"All right, let's get down to it. Welcome to our trainee-welcoming lunch!" Barlow spoke with a smile. "Dig in everyone!"

"The food looks great! Not like when Luana brought it!" Elaine shouted.

"Hey!" Luana shouted back. "I was young and careless."

"It was last year…" Elaine spoke and Luana grumbled. The group sat down and began to dig into the food. They all smiled as they ate and conversed about various topics. Kate began to slowly grow a little less nervous, and had even spoke out once or twice during it. That was, until Crawford had a realization.

"Oh yeah, Kate," Crawford spoke. "What were you going to ask during Outdoor Class?"

Kate blushed heavily and she began to look around again. "I-it's…nothing!" she shouted. "Nothing, I…nothing!"

Crawford frowned. "You sure? You looked like your question was rather important. I just want to make sure it got answered."

Keith bent close to Kate. "Go ahead and ask," he spoke. "Wouldn't hurt any, would it? You were going to ask at Outdoor Class and then moped for three days that you didn't get to."

Kate looked down. She had honestly hoped the topic wouldn't come up, but it had. "I…that is…umm…"

"Either you ask or I will," Keith spoke very seriously and this made Kate's entire body begin to shake nervously.

Her heart was pounding loudly and her body was shaking almost violently as she opened her mouth. "W-well…you see…umm…that is…" she looked away, biting her lip and throwing her eyes shut. She just couldn't work up the courage to ask it.

"It's okay, dear," Barlow spoke as he quickly rushed to her side. "Look, just let it come out when you're ready, don't force it, okay?" He took Kate's hands and she quickly pulled away. Barlow blinked confusedly for a moment before he waved to Luana. She gave him a cock-eyed look before he waved his head towards her, beckoning her over. Luana stood to her feet and stepped over to Kate, kneeling down and placing her hands on her shoulders.

"Hey, calm down a bit, okay?" Luana spoke sweetly. "I'm here now." Kate's body continued to shake as she looked up into the sweet eyes of Luana. Tears appeared in her eyes and she pushed her face into Luana's chest, which shocked her a bit. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I'm scared!" Kate suddenly burst out and Luana looked up at Barlow. He gave a nod and she looked back down.

"Why are you scared?"

"Because…I'm different then everyone else," Kate spoke as she sniffled. "I've always wanted to be normal…but everywhere I go, people judge me for who I am." Her sniffling became worse and Luana wrapped her arms around Kate.

"Kate, listen, no matter what's wrong, no one here will judge you, okay?"

"Y-you don't understand, I'm not normal," Kate choked out. "I'm a lesbian, and I'm scared…"

Luana blinked a bit in confusion before she smiled. "Oh, honey, is that all it is?" Kate looked up at Luana, a bit confused by that statement. "Kate, just because you like girls doesn't mean you're a horrible person. In fact, I say 'Anyone who thinks that you're unnatural and evil just because you like the same sex can be damned!'"

Kate sniffled as she continued to look at Luana. "Y-you mean that?"

Luana nodded. "Yeah, and we all think that, isn't that right, everyone?"

"Yeah!" Barlow spoke with a smile and a fist pump.

Crawford nodded geekly. "Definitely."

"I agree!" Elaine shouted right away.

"See? Nobody at our Ranger Base will judge you, and if you get assigned elsewhere and they do, you just call us and ole Barlow here will come knock some sense into them, okay?"

Kate sniffled and turned to Barlow who chuckled. "That's right. Not a Ranger yet who's beaten me in an arm wrestle. I'm the strongest there is, so I'll definitely do that for you."

"Th-thank you," Kate spoke with a smile before wiping her tears.

"Was that what you wanted to ask?" Crawford asked. "If we'd judge you for being a lesbian?" Kate nodded quietly. "Well, now you know. We're all here for you, no matter what happens."

"Th-thank you, everyone." Kate pulled away from Luana before giving each one of them a hug, including Keith.

"H-hey now, I thought you were a lesbian," Keith spoke.

"Doesn't mean I can't hug a friend, does it?" Kate asked before flicking his nose.

Keith chuckled a little. "Yeah, I guess not."

"Help!" a female voice screamed and the Rangers quickly jumped to their feet. A moment later and a young girl of about sixteen who was dressed in a bikini came rushing towards them. "Help! Rangers!"

"What's wrong?" Barlow asked.

"M-my boyfriend…we were swimming in Nabiki Beach when we saw a big cargo ship pass by. Suddenly, the Pokemon started acting crazy! They've swarmed all over my boyfriend and they won't let him go!"

"Rangers!" Barlow bellowed as he turned back to his Rangers. "Lunchtime's over! We've got an emergency mission!"

"Right!" the Rangers shouted. Barlow pumped his fists together before pumping the air. Crawford gave out a billowing laugh before putting his hand up to his forehead in an L shape. Luana's Ranger pose seemed the most normal as she simply twirled and held out her hands.

"Keith, Kate, you come, too. You're interns, so this is partly your job as well."

"Understood!" Keith and Kate spoke, saluting to attention. All of the nervousness was gone in an instant and Kate was serious. They all quickly rushed down to Nabiki Beach where they found five Pokemon swarming around a young boy. He was no older then sixteen and wore a pair of blue swim trunks.

"Capture those Pokemon, go go go!" Barlow shouted.

"Right!" the Rangers shouted and rushed forward. Barlow stopped one of the small pink slug-like Pokemon in its tracks, while Crawford did the same to another of the same type. Lauana rushed forward, stopping suddenly as she surveyed the scene. Three were left, and with their friends being stopped by Rangers, these three were crying out, as if in pain.

One was a small blue creature that had a large mouth almost the length of its entire head. Another was a small bird, while the third seemed to catch Kate's attention almost instantly. It was a small-squirrel like creature with white fur. A blue streak went down its back and also covered the points of its ears. It's bushy tail seemed to have small harmless spikes on the end of it as well. "Wh-what do I capture?" Luana asked as she bit her lip. "They're all crying…but I can't catch them all at once…What do I do?"

Kate looked at Luana, then to Keith, who, seeing Luana in her state had also frozen up. Kate turned, hearing the cries of the Pokemon in front of her. Tears came to her eyes as she listened to their cries. Finally, she whipped out her Styler and rushed ahead. "Capture on!" she shouted and pulled the trigger on her Styler, unleashing the Capture Disc. She quickly began to circle her Styler in a rather large circle, circumferencing all three Pokemon. As she looped around them, she brought the loop in closer, forcing the Pokemon closer together.

"Please stop crying!" Kate shouted and made the final loop which connected her heart to those of the Pokemon. In an instant, they stopped and turned to Kate. The three Pokemon squawked loudly and rushed to her side, brushing up against her. "I…I did it?" she asked as she looked down at the three Pokemon she had now befriended. "I can't believe it…"

"She did it," Luana spoke, her eyes wide.

"I've never seen a capture like that," Keith remarked.

Kate smiled as she dropped to her knees and began to pet the Pokemon she had successfully captured. Luana shifted her weight onto one leg and put her hand on her hip. "What do you know? She's really good."

Barlow turned after his capture and noticed the three Pokemon around Kate. He then turned to Luana who stepped up to him. "Did she…?"

"Catch all three herself?" Luana asked. "Yeap. Amazing, isn't it?"

"Very." Barlow pressed a button on his Styler, which sent the Shellos running back to the nearby cavern. He then turned to Crawford, who had just performed the same move. "Crawford, look at this."

Crawford turned and noticed Kate was sitting on the beach with the Pokemon she had captured. "Amazing. A triple capture?"

Barlow nodded. "Yeah." He stepped up right behind Kate. "Such a shy little thing, and yet you can do something as amazing as this."

Kate jumped and whirled around. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Kate, you captured three Pokemon at once. That's a very hard feat to accomplish."

"I-it is?"

Barlow nodded.

"I-I don't know what came over me. I just…couldn't stand to hear these Pokemon cry out like they were. I had to do something…"

"So you ran forward and captured them all."

Kate nodded. "I-I've done it before, too…I captured four Gastly…"

"She did," Keith spoke. "I saw it all with my own eyes."

"Four Gastly?" Barlow asked, astounded. "Ghost Pokemon are near impossible to catch!" He turned back to Kate. "Kate…ou may be the best Ranger ever, and I'm not just saying that."

Kate blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. "I-I'm really not that good."

"Yes, you are," Luana spoke as she stepped over to Kate with a smile. "You did amazing." She then turned to Barlow. "L-Leader, I must ask your forgiveness…I heard the Pokemon crying out so loudly and I froze. I couldn't do anything because I knew I couldn't capture them all, but there was no way I was going to help them capturing them separately. I froze up…I apologize." She bowed.

Barlow shook his head. "A Ranger cannot hesitate. A ranger must be willing to do whatever is necessary when necessary." He then turned to Kate. "Like Kate. She demonstrated an amazing talent today."

Kate smiled and the squirrel-like creature hopped up on her shoulder and nuzzled her. "Seems that Pachirisu has taken a liking to you," Luana spoke with a smile. "It would make a fine Partner Pokemon."

"R-really?" Kate asked with a smile. "Oh, please, could I keep it?"

Barlow folded his massive arms over his chest and closed his eyes as he looked down. "Your Styler is a School Styler, as such it cannot handle Partner Pokemon at this time. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about it. You will need to be a real Pokemon Ranger before you can have a Partner Pokemon."

Kate looked down. "I-I see." She turned to her Pachirisu and lifted it off her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Pachirisu, but I have to let you go now, okay?" She set it down and pet it before pushing the release button on her Styler for all of her Pokemon. The bird and blue creature rushed away, but the Pachirisu stayed and stared. "G-go on, you're free."

"Pachi pachi," the Pachirisu spoke before rubbing against Kate's leg.

"Did you release it?" Barlow asked and Kate nodded. "I see. So it's feelings for you are just that heavy…" Barlow sighed as he once again folded his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. "Nothing we can do then. Kate, you'll have to find a way to shake it off you. If it wants to be your Partner, it'll have to wait until you graduate."

"Do you understand, Pachirisu?" Kate asked as she knelt down next to it and it smiled. "I can't take you along, not yet. Please, just…stay here, okay?"

"There's a legend to this beach," Luana spoke.

"There is?" Keith asked and Luana nodded.

"They say that anyone you meet here, you will become great friends with," Crawford spoke. "I met my Partner Pokemon here, too."

"So, you think the legend is true, then?"

Crawford shrugged. "Who knows? I'm not the only one who has had that happen, so it's certainly possible."

"Pachirisu…" Kate spoke as she stared at the small creature. "I just can't take you with me, okay? You have to go."

"Pachi…" the Pachirisu spoke as it frowned.

Kate sighed. "Mr. Barlow…umm…sir…I just…don't think I can do this…" Kate spoke as she stood to her feet. "I just can't let it go."

Barlow nodded. "I understand how you feel. When I met my Partner Pokemon it was the same way." He folded his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, sighing once more. "What to do?"

"Maybe you can make a promise?" Keith recommended and Kate turned to look at him. "Promise Pachirisu that you'll be back to the beach as soon as you become a Pokemon Ranger, and that you'll definitely take it with you then."

"W-would that be okay, Pachirisu?" Kate asked as she knelt back down to the creature's level. "If I come back for you when I become a Ranger?"

"Pachi pachi!" the Pachirisu spoke happily. "Pachi pachi pachi!" It ran around Kate for a moment before sticking its tail in her face. "Pachi!"

Kate smiled and gently pet the small creature. "Thank you for understand, Pachirisu."

"Say, why don't you keep it for now?" Barlow spoke suddenly which shocked Kate. "You're an intern, why not get a grasp for what having a Partner Pokemon is like? Just remember to let it go before you go back to the school."

Kate smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Barlow!" she wrapped her arms around him, which made him blush a little. He felt like a father giving his daughter the gift she had always dreamed of owning.

"Haha, all right, come on now," Keith spoke as he pulled Kate off of Barlow. "We've got a lunch to clean up."

Barlow smiled and shook his head. "No need. You two go ahead and return to the base. We'll clean it up."

"Wh-what? We couldn't let you do that…" Keith spoke quickly.

"I insist. You brought us the food, and you helped us capture these Pokemon. Leave the cleanup of lunch to us Rangers. Besides, it'll give Kate more time to be with her Pachirisu."

Kate smiled as her Pachirisu climbed onto her shoulder and she giggled. "Pachirisu…"

"So, what are you going to nickname it?" Luana asked and Kate blinked in confusion. "Once she's your Partner, you'll be able to name her."

"Her?" Kate turned to her Pachirisu. "How can you tell?"

"Look right here on its forehead," Luana spoke and pointed to the stripe on its forehead that went down its back and down its tail. "Notice how it ends at its ears?"

"Yeah."

"A boy's mark ends down near its eyes."

Kate blinked. "So it's a girl Pachirisu then…" Kate spoke and snuggled the creature. "That makes me even happier."

"So, what are you going to name it, then?"

Kate thought for a moment. "Pachi?"

Luana giggled. "How very unoriginal."

Kate blushed. "C-could you think of something better?"

Luana looked at the creature for a moment then smiled. "Emily. Definitely Emily."

"E-Emily? Why?"

"Cause I like that name."

Kate blushed. "D-do you like that name?" she asked the Pachirisu who immediately chirped its agreements. "Th-then Emily it is! Emily the Pachirisu!"

Luana nodded and turned, noticing Barlow and Crawford were heading off. "I better go help." She turned to Kate and gave her a light kiss on the cheek, which made her turn beat red. "You're very cute, you know that? I bet you'll make a great Ranger. Just never give up hope, okay?" Kate nodded slowly and Luana rushed off.

"Why do you get all the cute girls?" Keith blurted out as he stepped next to Kate, his arms behind his head.

"Because I'm cute?" Kate asked as she looked at Keith. "At least…that's what Rhythmi and Luana have said…"

Keith shrugged. "Meh, whatever." He turned towards Vientown. "Let's head back to the Ranger Base."

Kate nodded and her Pachirisu hopped on her head. "Emily…" she spoke as she looked at it. "I like that name, too."

. . .

The sun was setting as Kate and Keith stood before the Rangers of the Vientown Ranger Base. "Well, I guess this is good-bye for now," Barlow spoke.

"It's been great working with you two," Luana spoke with a smile.

"Maybe you two will get assigned to Vientown," Crawford spoke. "We'll make sure to keep you busy delivering our lunches." He laughed at his own joke, even though neither Kate nor Keith found it particularly funny.

"You know, Crawford here was so happy when he heard you'd be coming," Luana admitted and Crawford looked away. "You were always saying 'I get to see those kids from Outdoor Class again' weren't you?"

Crawford blushed. "Err…well, that is…I was just…worried that's all!"

"About Kate and her question?" Luana asked and Crawford nodded. "Yeap, that was definitely it, wasn't it?" Luana asked sarcastically before giggling. Crawford turned his nose up at her.

"Regardless," Barlow spoke, "never forget your captures today."

Kate and Keith nodded. "We won't!"

"And Kate," Barlow spoke which made Kate nervous. "Try to relax a bit more, okay? You're a great Ranger and a great person. Don't worry about what people think of you. Damn anyone who complains about your orientation."

Kate blushed and bowed. "Th-thank you, Mr. Barlow."

Barlow laughed. "Kate? Honestly? You can just call me Barlow."

Kate nodded and bowed again.

"Good-bye, everyone, and thanks for having us!" Keith spoke with a smile. "Let's go, I'll bet Rhythmi is already waiting for us back at the School." Kate blushed rather heavily when she thought about Rhythmi and everyone laughed.

"Must be someone very special for you to react like that," Luana spoke up.

"I…I think she's my girlfriend," Kate spoke, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

"You think?" Luana asked with a cock-eyed expression before hitting Kate lightly on the end. "If you don't know, then you should ask."

Kate blushed and nodded. "R-right."

Kate turned to walk out the door when an older man stepped in, knocking her over in the process on accident. "Ow," she whimpered and looked up at the man. He wore a white lab coat with a white shirt and brown pants. His hair had gone gray in his old age, and he hobbled on a cane.

"Pr-Professor Hastings!" Barlow spoke up instantly. "What do we owe the pleasure of your coming here?"

"Oh? Nothing in particular," Hastings spoke with a smile. "Just checking on the other Ranger Bases. I was also escorting a young lady back to the Ranger School." He turned, noticing Keith and Kate. "Oh, the two of you are from the school as well."

"Y-yes, sir," Kate spoke as Keith helped her to her feet. "I'm Kate Yamaki, fourteen years old and one-hundred and forty-three centimeters." She gave a bow and Hastings blinked a bit confusedly.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Kate, though I didn't really need to know everything about you." Hastings chuckled and Kate blushed.

"My name's Keith."

"Good to meet you, Keith. I just escorted a young lady from your school home…what was her name…Misery? Oh, I don't remember…"

"Didn't Rhythmi say she had to go to the Ranger Union for her internship?" Keith asked and Kate nodded. "I'll bet that's who it was."

"Well, it's getting late, you two should be off," Hastings spoke. "Good day to you two, and I hope one day you will allow me to work with you."

"Of course, Professor," Keith spoke and gave a bow, which Kate gave as well. The two then left, heading towards the bridge to School Island. "It's been one heck of a day, hasn't it?"

"It has," Kate spoke as they walked. Emily, her Pachirisu, was proper up on her shoulder.

"So, when are you going to let that thing go?"

Kate sighed. "I was hoping not to…"

"You know what Barlow said."

"I know…" They stopped at the bridge to School Island and Kate picked Emily up, setting her on the ground. "Emily…this is where we have to part for now, okay?"

"Pachi…" Emily spoke and frowned.

"I'm sorry." Kate wrapped her arms around the creature. "I don't want to let you go either, but we'll see each other again, okay? Graduation is only a month away. When I graduate, I'll go straight to the Ranger Base and become a Ranger. As soon as I do that, I'll come marching right back to Nabiki Beach and meet you there, okay?"

"Pachi…" Emily spoke, still sad.

"I know." Kate hugged Emily tight. "I'll miss you." A tear rolled down her cheek and Keith knelt down next to her.

"You'll see her again," Keith spoke to both of them.

"I know we will." Kate set Emily down, who slowly scampered off, stopping every few inches to look back. Tears rolled down Emily's eyes and Keith wrapped his arms around Kate.

"She'll be fine."

"I-I know…I just…don't want her to go…" Kate spoke before twirling on the spot and wrapping her arms around Keith. "Hold me…" she spoke and Keith blinked confusedly.

"Y-you want me to hold you?"

Kate nodded. "Rhythmi isn't here…and you're my friend, too."

Keith smiled and pulled Kate up against him, holding her tight. The two remained in the embrace for a few minutes before they heard a familiar voice. "Hey!"

Kate's eyes shot wide open and she whirled around. There, at the front of the bridge was Rhythmi, standing with her arms wide open. "Rhythmi!" she shouted and quickly darted forward, wrapping her arms around her and burying her face in Rhythmi's shoulder.

"Hey, now, what's all this about?" Rhythmi asked.

"Kate met a Pachirisu that wanted to be her Partner Pokemon," Keith spoke. "She had to let it go, but made a promise she'd see it again."

"Well, there you go. You made a promise, and a promise is a promise." Rhythmi pulled Kate back. "You'll see that Pachirisu again, no sweat."

Kate nodded and smiled. "I'm so happy to see you again." She wrapped her arms around Rhythmi again and Rhythmi giggled.

"All right, all right." Rhythmi pat Kate's back. "I'm happy to see you again, too. Come on, let's get you back to our dorms and you can tell me all about your day and how you were courageous all day, right?"

Kate nodded and Rhythmi scooped Kate up in her arms. "Keith, thank you," Rhythmi spoke suddenly and Keith blinked confusedly.

"Wh-what for?"

"For being with Kate all day. I'm sure you helped her more then you could possibly imagine."

Keith rubbed the back of his neck. "I-I don't know about that, but, sure." The two turned, returning to the Ranger School at long last. Their one-day internship was now over, and they had only a month of school left. Soon, they would be graduating from school and stepping out into their new jobs as Rangers and Operators. Their school adventure was now reaching its end, but they're true adventure was about to begin.

. . .

"Well, Kate, this is it," Kate spoke as she looked herself in the mirror. She was currently tying her tie on. "The day you graduate and become an official Pokemon Ranger." She looked down at a small sheet of paper on the dresser. "I was assigned to Vientown's Ranger Base, which is great. I can go there, get my Ranger uniform and Styler then keep my promise to Emily."

"Hey, Kate, who are you talking to?" Rhythmi asked as she stepped up behind her. Kate blushed.

"N-nobody."

Rhythmi smiled. "Really?" she bent forward and kissed Kate's neck. "You know, I'm being sent to the Fiore region to train up being an Operator…I won't be here in the Almia region again for a while…"

"I know," Kate sighed with a sound of dread in her voice.

"You'll have to sustain yourself for a while. I'm not going to be around for you to run to."

"I know…" Kate looked down and Rhythmi grabbed Kate's tie, untying it. "H-hey, I just got that tied."

"I know." Rhythmi reached her hand around to the front of Kate's shirt and began unbuttoning it and Kate blushed heavily. "I want to do it with you one more time."

Kate turned back to Rhythmi. "Y-you could have just asked…"

"Where would the fun be in that? There's no foreplay if I just outright ask you." Kate blushed heavily at those words. "Come on, we have until the bell rings before we have to get to the main hall." Rhythmi untied her own tie and tossed it aside. She then began to unbutton her own shirt and Kate blushed as deep a crimson as she could. She and Rhythmi had had intimate relations multiple times since their first time a month ago, but Rhythmi was always too interested in Kate's body for it to go further then Rhythmi pleasuring Kate. Today, she not only had the desire to be pleasured, but also the time as it was still early morning and graduation wasn't until the afternoon.

Rhythmi lied Kate down on her bed and Kate pulled her arms out of her shirt. Rhythmi then tossed her own shirt off before grabbing the middle of her bra and unfastening it, dropping the straps down so her bra slid off her body. She then grabbed Kate's straps and pulled them down off her arms before reaching behind her back and unfastening her bra. Her hands groped Kate's breasts carefully and she moaned ever so slightly. "Are you ready?"

"Wh-what if someone sees us?" Kate asked.

Rhythmi smiled. "Who cares?" she responded and slid her hand down into Kate's pants. Kate moaned, and the two shared a moment of intimacy that they had never shared before.

. . .

"Thank you, Kate," Rhythmi spoke as she and Kate lied on her bed.

Kate smiled. "You're welcome," Kate spoke as she wrapped her arms around her lover.

"I'm betting Carla will never be able to see us the same way again, huh?" Rhythmi giggled and Kate turned a deep crimson. One of the female students had walked into the dorms during their intimate moment. It had caught her so off guard her body froze up and she had found herself watching the scene for several minutes before coming to her senses.

"Y-yeah." Kate gently groped one of Rhythmi's breasts and she smiled.

"So, do you like my body?"

"Y-yes," Kate spoke with a blush.

"I'm sorry this was your only chance to experience this sort of thing."

Kate shook her head. "W-we'll do it again when we meet again. No worries."

Rhythmi giggled. "You're so confident…To be honest, I wanted this because I don't know if we will meet again or not."

Kate looked at Rhythmi with a frown. "Of course we will. You're only going to Fiore to train. They already said you'll be back in Almia within a year."

"But I'll be stationed at the Ranger Union. You're stationed in Vientown. That's halfway across the region."

Kate looked down. "We…we promised to be the best we can be," Kate spoke. "And we can't be the best we can be without each other. So, we'll definitely see each other again."

Rhythmi smiled. "I hope you're right." She kissed Kate gently. "If not, though, well, hey, don't hold up okay? If you meet another girl you like, go for her. She might just be the right one."

Kate blushed as thoughts of Luana returned to her. "W-we'll see." She rubbed the back of her neck.

"We should get dressed and get ready." Rhythmi spoke as she sat up. Kate nodded and the two stood up from their bed and quickly threw on their clothes once more. They stopped and redid their hair to make sure they looked presentable, then headed downstairs. At once they were greeted by a mob of boys.

"Is it true?" one of them shouted and Rhythmi waved her arms.

"What's going on?"

"Carla told us what happened!" another student spoke up. Rhythmi turned and saw Carla not too far away. She blushed quickly.

"I-I was nervous," Carla spoke. "I had just watched you two, and I came running out and was all flustered. Then someone asked why and I just blurted it out…I'm sorry!"

Rhythmi laughed. "Carla, there have been rumors about us since Kate joined the school, so we're used to it." She turned to the students. "Yes, it's true. No, we didn't record it. No, we won't do it for you. Go away."

There was a loud "aww!" that came from the group of students as they walked off.

Rhythmi giggled. "Let's go, the ceremony will be starting soon."

. . .

"And now, the Ranger School Graduation Ceremony shall begin," Mr. Kincaid spoke. The main hallway had been decorated up with flowers and streamers, and the ceremony itself was being held at the stairs. Principal Lamont was standing in front of the stairs with Mr. Kincaid and Mr. Kaplan to his right while Ms. April and Janice stood to his left. "First, a few celebratory words from the Principal."

"Congratulations, everyone!" Principal Lamont spoke up. "You've all done wonderful this year. Rangers, Operators, and Mechanics, three different roads, but I expect the same one thing out of all of you. Don't worry, it won't be anything impossible. 'Please don't forget to smile', that's what I want you to do." He gave a bow.

"Thank you, Principal Lamont," Mr. Kincaid spoke. "Next, let me call upon this graduating class's Valedictorian. Naturally, that would be our best student, Isaac!"

Isaac stepped forward and bowed to the class. "Today, we leave the shelter of this place of learning and nurturing. It is a giant step for us in our pursuits of long-held dreams. To the teachers who inspired us. To Janice, who was mother to us all. To all the Pokemon that loved us. And to all the books of the Library! We will never forget. Thank you so very, very much from all of us!" Principal Lamont smiled and handed Isaac a plaque for making Valedictorian. He then stepped down back into the group.

"Isaac, thank you very much for those most moving words," Mr. Kincaid spoke with a smile. "Next, the conferring of the graduation certificates."

"I would like to call upon one student as the representative of the graduating class," Ms. April spoke. "Kate Yamaki, please step forward."

There was hushed murmuring as Kate slowly stepped forward. Just as she stepped up to Ms. April there was a strange sound, almost like an explosion. Kate quickly turned to the stairs, gripping her Styler tight. "What was that?" Keith spoke as he looked around. "Was that an explosion? An earthquake?"

"That noise definitely came from the basement!" Rhythmi spoke and Mr. Kincaid turned quickly, becoming very nervous.

"Everyone, please keep calm!" Ms. April spoke as she noticed the crowd was beginning to get nervous.

"I-I'll go see what that was!" Mr. Kincaid spoke up and stepped forward, walking towards the basement. Just as he reached the stairs, long blue tentacles reached forward and wrapped around his arms. "Wh-what the heck?" he spoke. Another two tentacles shot forward, wrapping around his feet and lifting him into the air. A moment later, two large creatures that were seemingly made of the strange blue tentacles appeared from the stairs.

"T-Tangrowth!" one of the students shouted.

"H-hey! Put me down!" Mr. Kincaid shouted as he tried to squirm.

The Tangrowth began to move forward. "Everyone run for it!" Principal Lamont shouted and the class quickly took off at a run. It took a moment before Keith noticed that someone wasn't running with them.

"K-Kate?" Keith asked as he whirled around to see not only Kate standing firm in front of the Tangrowth, but also Kellyn. "What are you two doing? Get out of there!"

Kate held her Styler forward. "Capture on!" she shouted and pulled the trigger.

"Capture on!" Kellyn shouted as well, doing the same for his Styler.

"What do you two think you're doing?" Keith shouted, but it was no use, the two were not listening.

"Tangrowth! I won't allow you to hurt anybody here!" Kate shouted as she brought her Styler around, forming a loop around one of the Tangrowth. "I'm going to capture you!" Another couple of loops, and the Tangrowth seemed to grow angry. It brought its hands up and quickly unleashed several very sharp leaves from its body. Kate quickly jumped out of the way, maneuvering her Styler so that the Capture Disc continued spinning, avoiding the multiple leaves as it circled the Tangrowth once more.

This made the Tangrowth angrier and it quickly lashed out with one of its long vines. Kate quickly jumped into the air, doing a flip in mid air before bringing herself back down. A quick twirl and she made three quick loops around the Tangrowth. It was at this point that the Disc itself launched itself up into the air and began to spin downward in an arc.

The Tangrowth roared quickly bringing its claws out to strike at the capture line, but Kate anticipated this and caused the Capture Disc to quickly loop twice around the creature's claw before coming around and creating an empty loop, shrinking the capture line. Kate brought the Disc around once more in a large circle around the Tangrowth before throwing the Disc all the way across the room to the wall.

The Tangrowth roared loudly and raised its hands above its head, energy began to pull into its body as the sunlight around it seemed to grow brighter. "Solarbeam?" Kate asked. "I think not." With a quick twirl, the Capture Disc flew back, twirling up into the air and forming three full loops around the creature. "I have you now!" she shouted as she brought the Capture Disc around for one final loop, just barely making the connection before the creature would have unleashed it's Solarbeam.

Without a hesitation, Kate then brought her Capture Disc around, swirling once around the Tangrowth Kellyn was facing. Her Styler touched upon Kellyn's capture line and at once the line began to glow a bright yellow. She swirled her Disc around, bringing it opposite of the direction Kellyn was. A quick twirl, and her Styler swirled around, forming three loops around the Tangrowth, just as she had with hers. Her Disc then collided with Kellyn's and in a single instance the capture line grew with three times the power, creating a second successful capture.

"Capture complete!" Kellyn and Kate shouted in unison as their Capture Discs returned to their Stylers.

Everyone immediately went silent as they stared at what had just happened. Kellyn turned to Kate in the silence and, much to Kate's surprise, smiled at her. "Thank you," he spoke and gave a bow, which made Kate shirk back.

"I-it was nothing," Kate spoke. "I-I was just trying to help."

"Did you see that?" one of the students shouted.

"Kate and Kellyn just captured both of them!" another student shouted.

"All right, you two, put Mr. Kincaid down!" Kate shouted at the Tangrowth and they did as they were told. Kate smiled, then turned to Kellyn. "All right, let's release them." Kellyn nodded and they flipped the backs of their Stylers open and pushed a button, releasing the Tangrowth in front of them. The Tangrowth quickly rushed off, returning to where they came from.

"That was spectacular!" Ms. April spoke as she stepped up to Kate. "I knew I picked the right person to be the representative of the class."

Kate blushed sheepishly. "Th-thank you, Ms. April."

"Mr. Kincaid!" Principal Lamont shouted and Mr. Kincaid grew extremely nervous. "You're not hurt are you?"

"N-no, sir, but I must admit, even I had no clue what was going on."

Lamont put his hand to his chin. "So not even Mr. Kincaid knows why those Tangrowth rampaged. It's a shame." He smiled. "Well, the good thing is everyone is safe thanks to these two right here. Kellyn and Kate."

"Actually, it was mostly Kate's doing," Kellyn admitted, which shocked Kate even more. "I was struggling with mine, and she helped out after successfully capturing hers. Take a look at our Stylers. My Stylers energy is almost depleted. Another minute and it would have broken for sure, and Kate would have had to start capturing it over from scratch."

"Really now? And how is your Styler, Kate?" Principal Lamont asked.

"F-fine, sir," Kate spoke as she held it up.

"Nearly full energy. Looks like the only damage you took was once from its Razor Leaf at the beginning."

Kate nodded. "Th-that's true, sir."

"Absolutely impressive. I've never seen anyone able to capture quite as well as you. I think you have what it takes to become a Top Ranger one day." Principal Lamont then turned to Kellyn. "As for you, I recommend trying harder. Remember, you can't always make the loops, so remember to pull back at times."

Kellyn nodded. "I understand, Principal Lamont."

"Well, with that over with, what says everyone if we get back to the celebration?"

Ms. April smiled. "Kate, would you like to come up and be the representative?"

"Y-yes, Ms. April," Kate spoke and stepped up. Ms. April handed Kate the graduation certificates and as each person was called, she handed each of the certificates out. Finally, at the end, she was given hers and returned back to her spot in the crowd.

"Kate and Kellyn, I would like to say thank you to both of you," Principal Lamont spoke. "You took charge and captured those Tangrowth quite calmly. You gave a perfect example of taking charge during a crisis. And now, at last, the time has come for every one of you to set sail into the vast horizon that is your future. In closing, I will say this once again. 'Please don't forget to smile'. Congratulations, graduates!" With that everyone cheered.