Route 112, Hoenn Region
Theo, Rookie Ranger
It was supposed to be a quiet patrol.
Theo adjusted the brim of his too-big Ranger hat and peeked over the grass for the fifth time. It was a sunny day, white clouds floating over the sky, the very picture of a peaceful day.
Except for the screaming Loudred, currently shaking the forest to its roots.
"O-okay. Okay!" He clutched his stylus in both hands, sweat prickling under his uniform. "Keep cool. Like they taught in class, hold steady."
SKREEEEEECH.
Another roar ripped through the clearing, loud enough to make Theo's teeth vibrate. Leaves rattled, birds scattered, and a Zigzagoon shot past his foot.
Theo yelped and fell backward into a patch of wet moss.
He wasn't ready for this.
He was supposed to be following a senior Ranger. Someone experienced. Someone competent. But then a pack of Mightyena went rogue, and next thing he knew, Theo was being told he was "ready for solo duty".
Solo duty his ass.
Another screech shook the air. Theo peeked again.
The Loudred was stomping hard, fists pounding the ground, eyes wild and unfocused.
Not angry. Just scared.
It was panicking.
No collar, no tags. Wild.
Which meant: his responsibility.
Theo swallowed. He tried to channel the stories. Ranger Ben, the guy who calmed a rampaging Salamence with nothing but his stylus and his voice. He had rewatched the footage a dozen times.
Ben never flinched.
Theo was already flinching.
He'd read the emergency protocols. Memorized the stylus field manual. Heck, he'd even practiced on a wild Plusle once that got tangled in bunting during festival week.
But this was something he was not prepared for.
Still, he reached for his capture stylus. His idol never retreated; the least he could do was the same. The stylus to life in his hand, a soft white glow trailing the tip.
He took a breath. Then another.
"I can do this," he encouraged himself. "I, I have to do this."
This was going to be the start of the legendary ranger Theo. He can't quit now.
"H-hey, Loudred! Over here, big guy!" he called, voice shaking, "I'm just gonna help you, just a little, o-okay?"
He raised his arm, began the first arc.
The attack came before he finished the loop. Loudred screamed, and the pressure of the sound hit hard enough to disorient him. The stylus flickered. The loop shattered midair.
Theo cried out and dropped to the ground again as a burst of sonic force knocked his hat into the grass.
"WHY is this happening on my first patrol," Theo groaned, scrambling backward through leaves and dirt. This was not how he imagined his first patrol to go.
Then, A voice, low and steady.
"Roselia. Stun Spore."
The voice cut through the chaos in the scene.
A flicker of green darted past. Roselia landed with a rustle of leaves, and golden mist spilled from her blooms, fine and glittering.
The Loudred froze mid-roar.
His limbs locked up. His voice died in his throat.
A second Pokémon followed, Kirlia, eyes glowing softly. Psychic energy gathered around the Loudred, holding it in place.
And then the boy arrived.
Pale. Slim. Probably younger than him. Green hair tied back in a lazy half-knot. His coat hung too big on him, sleeves loose, hem brushing the grass.
He stepped calmly into the field, crouched right in front of the Loudred, like it wasn't a rampaging tank of a Pokémon two seconds ago, and spoke.
"Hey there," the boy said gently. "You're okay. No one's mad. Promise."
Theo blinked from where he sat in the mud.
The boy reached into his coat and pulled something from his pocket. A smooth, brightly-colored Pokéblock.
He offered it out, palm open.
"Hungry?"
The Loudred twitched. Then sniffed. Once. Twice.
And slowly, it leaned forward and took the Pokéblock from his hand.
The forest held its breath.
The boy smiled. "There we go."
Theo finally breathed again.
Then,
"Another crisis solved by Captain Rotom and his merry crew! Da-da-da-daaaah!"
A floating Pokédex zipped overhead, its face glitched into a grin.
What?!
Theo let out a startled yelp and nearly tripped over himself again. "Wh-what is that?!"
"Rotom Pokédex," the boy said, voice gentle but amused. "Pretty common in Alola. Comes with full Pokédex functions, a holographic map, multilingual translation settings, and the ability to sass me at all hours."
"I have no off-switch for personality," Rotom added proudly. "You're welcome."
The boy chuckled, shaking his head. "It's synced with my partner here. Can help communicate with agitated Pokémon, if they're open to listening."
Theo blinked. "Wait… it can talk to them?" That would be super helpful.
"More like interpret," the boy said, walking carefully toward the stunned Loudred. "Loudred, can you tell us what happened?"
Rotom began pulsing softly, emitting a low-frequency vibration. The Loudred twitched, let out a weak growl, and groaned something guttural.
Rotom translated with a sigh. "He says he got separated from his troop. Echoed his own cries and panicked. Poor guy thought someone was shouting back."
Theo managed to stagger upright, his knees still wobbling. His capture stylus hung limply from his grip, the tip scratched and bent. Worthless now. He didn't even remember dropping it. "I-It's no problem," he muttered.
He glanced at the Loudred, now calmly munching on a berry under Roselia's supervision, and then back to the boy. He couldn't help but ask: "And you're not… scared? Of that?"
The boy tilted his head, then looked at Loudred again, "Nah. It was just scared," he said. "Figured I'd be fine."
Theo stared.
It wasn't bravado. The boy hadn't puffed up or tried to play hero. There was no swagger. Just… calm certainty.
And Theo realized, not for the first time, that fear had ruled his every step since the academy dropped him in the field. His every lesson was about caution. Every senior ranger he'd met had emphasized control, control, control. Never emotion. Never connection. Just rules, and protocol, and containment.
And yet this boy, this trainer, had stepped in without flinching. He didn't command obedience. He listened.
He understood.
Theo tightened his grip around the bent stylus. He'd failed the one job he was supposed to do today. Maybe he was really not cut out for this.
"I, uh… thanks. For stepping in," Theo said, brushing dirt off his sleeves.
The boy nodded once. "You did fine."
Theo blinked. "I fell on my face."
"You stood up," the boy replied. "Even if your hands were shaking. Even if it was your first patrol."
He smiled, soft and sure. "You didn't run. That matters more than you think. For that, here."
Theo looked down, a little stunned. A candy.
"Call it a reward," he said a lopsided grin on his face. "You earned it."
Theo looked down at the candy, then up at him. He managed, "Thanks,"
"I'm Wally," the boy added, turning to go. Kirlia floated to his side. "Heading to Rustboro. First badge, you see."
"Theo," he said. "Rookie Ranger." Then, he added with a small nod. "So… good luck."
"You too." Wally offered a smile and added with a wink, "Next time, keep the hat on. Makes you look official."
Wally gave a small wave. Roselia dipped her blooms. Rotom made jazz hands with pixel fingers. Kirlia expressionless.
And together, they walked off into the trees.
Theo stood there a long while, heart still pounding.
"…That was cool," he whispered.
He looked down at the candy in his hand and gave a small, crooked smile.
Maybe he wasn't cut out for this.
But maybe that didn't matter. He stood up. He tried. He didn't run.
And right now… that felt like enough.
"Okay," he muttered. "Maybe I'll stick around."
Then, sighing, he turned toward the road, stylus in hand, and started planning the first and the longest incident report of his life.
...
Spark without a socket.Rotom
Being a Rotom was usually lonely.
Power plants were fun. Very fun. So many appliances to zap into! Lights to flicker. Cameras to photobomb. But nobody ever talked back. The Magnemite just buzzed, and the humans—well, they always screamed or tried to unplug him. Rude.
But then came Wally.
Wally didn't scream.
He played with him. Even when he seemed on the verge of collapsing, he never scolded him, just responded with a gentle smile. He didn't call him rude, just curious.
So, he followed.
Wally even offered him a home. Not just in a Poké Ball, boring, but in the coolest gadget ever: the Pokédex.
Rotom had never possessed anything that wanted him before. The tech purred when he slid in. Buttons! Screens! A fold-out map! It had apps. It had personality! Well… he had personality. Now, finally, so did his house.
Wally had laughed the first time Rotom introduced himself with a dance of pixelated fireworks.
After that, Rotom stuck close. Like, really close. He hovered by Wally's head during battles. Zap-zipped around camp. Took pictures. Played music.
Heck! He even had new companions.
Kirlia. Alice. Very elegant. Very stoic.
Rotom once tried to prank her by projecting a ghost image on the tent wall. She didn't blink. Just moved her spoon of Oran Berry porridge slightly to the left so it wouldn't spill. Terrifying. Impressive.
Roselia. Briar. Extremely serious about leaf angles.
Rotom had made her a slideshow presentation on historical garden design. She blinked twice, then added a flower crown to his antenna. High praise.
Feebas. Pearl. Shy. Nervous.
Rotom just loved Feebas.
He showed her hours of footage of Milotic: sparkling scales, majestic fins, slow-motion beauty shots from contest finals. Feebas never said anything, but her little fins always leaned closer.
Sometimes, Rotom secretly edited glitter effects over the video, just to see if Feebas noticed. She did. She blushed. Success!
But it was Wally who remained the biggest mystery of all.
Wally wasn't like other humans. He talked to Rotom. Asked questions. Let him stay in the Dex, even though he technically wasn't supposed to.
Most humans got weird about that. Said things like "technical interference" or "unpredictable behavior." Pfft.
Not Wally.
One night, Wally even gave him a nickname beneath the moon, "Tinker."
Rotom stopped mid-hover.
"From an old story," Wally explained. "She was small, fast, stubborn, energetic… made things work in ways no one expected. Kind of like you."
Rotom blinked; his screen flashed twice like cartoonish eyes. Then he zipped in a tight loop and made a noise somewhere between a spark and a giggle.
"Tinker," he repeated, testing it. "Tinker. Tink. Tink-tink! Oh, I love it."
Wally smiled. "So it's a yes?"
Rotom floated close and gave him a small, crackling zap on the shoulder, gentle, like a nudge. "Affirmative. Captain Wally has dubbed me Tinker! Designation accepted!"
And yet… Wally did strange things.
One night, he walked into the woods. Just him and Kirlia. Rotom followed, of course. Because he was a loyal companion (and also bored). That's when they found the Nincada.
It had been sitting on a rock, twitching. Wally crouched and said nothing for so long, Rotom thought his audio chip had died. Then Kirlia used a bit of light psychic pressure. Nincada stopped twitching.
It evolved.
Normally, that was cool! Evolution was sparkly! It came with music!
But then… the shell stayed behind. Something crawled out.
No eyes. No mouth. Just a halo and an empty hole where something once was.
"Shedinja," Wally had murmured.
Rotom had tried scanning it. His screen glitched out.
The weird part? Wally didn't look scared. As if he had expected it. He looked at Kirlia, and she nodded, as if they understood something unspoken.
Then, Wally caught it.
Rotom asked later, "What was that?!"
Wally had just smiled faintly and said, "A shedinja. My very own Deus Ex Machina."
Wally always said things no one seemed to understand. He knew things that he shouldn't.
When asked how, he always said, "It came from a distant dream."
His eyes always seemed sad for some reason.
Still… Wally was kind. And quiet. And stronger than anyone expected.
Rotom floated higher, watching the team as they made their way down the trail. Kirlia's arms moved gracefully with quiet poise. Roselia paused occasionally to sniff at bushes, swaying gently like she was dancing. Feebas sloshed softly in a small container clipped to Wally's side, safe and dreaming.
And Wally?
Wally walked ahead of them all, just a little. Eyes forward. Bag packed.
"Route 112 complete," Rotom chirped aloud, recording the log. "Next stop: Rustboro. First badge. First gym badge. Let's goooo!"
He zoomed forward in a flash of sparks, spinning a loop through the trees.
Because, for once in his life, Rotom wasn't just a ghost in the shell.
He was part of a team.
...
Thanks for reading~
Current Roster:
Kirlia (Alice).
Roselia(Briar)
Feebas(Pearl)
Rotom(Tinker)
Shedinja(???)