A loud, wailing siren ripped me from the warm embrace of sleep and for a moment, I had no idea where I was or what was going on. Nearby, I could hear Claire groaning, obviously just waking up herself. Suddenly, she shot up, almost falling out of her bed in haste.

“Emergency.” she staggered towards the door, looking very much out of it.

That word, together with the siren, managed to kick my brain into gear and I realised that the siren was the emergency-signal, calling all first responders to action. First responders like Travelling Pokemon trainers, though I wasn’t sure just how Claire and I could help.

But we were called to help, so we had to go, at least if we wanted to keep our monthly stipend from the League.

Putting on our usual travelling outfits, Claire and I were ready in a few minutes, quickly heading towards the lobby. I was frantically trying to recall the emergency-procedures but my sleep-addled mind was drawing blank. Luckily, there were others moving in the same direction, other travelling trainers, their appearance mirroring our own. Sleepy, dressed hashapardly and a little confused.

The lobby was quickly filling up, the noise and chaos managing to make a small number of people appear to be a far larger group. Given that we had no idea what was going on, Claire and I stood near the edges of the milling group, huddled together in the cold lobby.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity but had been less than five minutes, the siren stopped and a middle-aged woman stepped up.

“This is not a drill, so listen up!” the woman called out, the noise instantly dyed down as if cut by her stern voice. “A massive swarm of Nincada has appeared nearby and is quickly approaching the city. Current estimate is that we’ve got half an hour, until the Ninjask that head the swarm will reach the wall. The bulk of the swarm will reach it roughly an hour later and we need to stop them.” the woman announced, her voice loud and intense.

“You will be assigned into groups. Move it!”

“New Trainers, gather over here.” a voice called, from one end of the lobby.

“Seasoned Trainers, with four to ten badges, on me.” a different voice called, from the other side.

“Any Veterans, with more than ten Badges, on me.” the original speaker called, imposing order on the chaos.

Claire and I followed the first call, to the gathering of New Trainers. It was only a small group, fifteen people, all around our age or a little older, two of whom we already knew.

“Cliff, Lucas.” I gave them a nod, getting a bleary greeting in return.

Giving a glance at the groups in the lobby, the largest was composed of the Seasoned Trainers, though it was only somewhat larger than the rookie-group. The Veteran group, on the other hand, was scarily small, with only two people who had approached the middle-aged woman.

“Okay, Trainers. This is most likely your first emergency, so I doubt that you’ll have any idea where to go or what to do. My colleague is currently clearing things with the seasoned trainers and you will be assigned as helpers and understudies to them. You will act as a second pair of eyes for them, watch their back and learn. I shouldn’t have to tell you, but this is a serious situation, so better bring your A-game. The people of Jubilife-City depend on you!” the attendant explained, her voice intense.

“Now, let’s assign you to your companions for the night.” she added, looking past us, to the group of seasoned Trainers. “On me.” she commanded and we followed her over, to the other group.

“Rookies, I will call out your names, you will come forward and get assigned to a seasoned trainer.” The man who had dealt with the seasoned trainers addressed us, a sheet of paper in hand. The first few were quickly and quietly assigned, without much of a fuss.

“Claire, of Twinleaf-Town.” She was the sixth person called and obediently stepped forward.

“You are assigned to Farrell, of Veilstone City.” the attendant announced, and a sleepy-looking guy in his mid-twenties raised his hand, gesturing for Claire to move over.

“Dani, of…” the attendant paused for a moment, and I was already stepping up, so he briefly shook his head.

“You are assigned to Ivie, of Pastoria City.” a woman, a few years older than me, stepped forward, raising her hand. Giving a nod of acknowledgement, I walked over taking up position behind her.

The assignment quickly concluded, with each of us rookies standing behind a seasoned Trainer, all looking somewhat less confused. Not that we truly knew what was going on, but we now had a back we could follow.

“Head over to the Gym, Leader Bree will assign you tasks and positions.” the attendant called out, gesturing to the door.

As the whole group was walking towards the Gym, Ivie fell back, moving next to me.

“Nice to meet you, though the circumstances could be better.” she gave me a wry smile. “As you’ve heard, my name’s Ivie. Could you tell me about your partners, so I’ve got an idea what we’ve got to work with?” she asked, her voice now serious.

“Sure.” I managed to stop a yawn. “Got Charm and Vio.” I replied, only to realise that it would mean nothing to her.

“Er, Charm is a Charmeleon, recently evolved, Vio is a Ralts.” I quickly added, getting a nod in response. Nearby, I heard Claire let out a surprised noise and when I looked, she was staring at me.

“That Charmeleon will be useful.” Ivie nodded.

“Can you explain what will happen now?” I asked, trying to make sense of the situation around us.

“I can at least try. Generally, the Gym-Leader will organise the defence, so we can intercept the swarm before it can reach the town. The local Guards will be out in force, but most of them are not trained to, or experienced in, battling wild Pokémon. Their job will be similar to yours, keeping an eye out in case a Pokémon slips by. Keeping them out of town is key, Nincada can be incredibly destructive, if only due to their number.” she explained, and I nodded along, not sure what we were getting into.

“Don’t worry, you are not alone out there. Is she your companion?” she asked, nodding towards Claire.

“She is, why?” I was a little confused at her question.

“Farrell, mind if we keep close during the night? Our followers are used to working together, let’s keep them nearby, so they can support each other.” she called, obviously familiar with Claire’s companion.

“We’ll have to see what Leader Bree wants. But sure, we can try.” he replied, before falling silent again.

“He can be a bit of a dunce.” Ivie quietly told me. “Claire, did you hear what I explained to your companion? It’s going to be the same for you, just that you’ll have to watch Farrell's back. You got a suitable partner for that?” Ivie loudly asked and her questions seemed to have pushed Farrell into action.

“Got it, got it, I’ll explain things to her.” he let out a sigh, before falling back and walking with a bewildered looking Claire.

“Good guy, just needs to be pushed from time to time.” Ivie told me, her voice suddenly very soft.

Before long, we reached the Gym, where another group was just arriving, similar in size and composition to the one we were in. In addition, individuals were slowly trickling in, forming a large mob of people, all softly talking to each other.

Finally, the Gym-door opened and a petite female walked out, her black hair already greying at the temples. She looked fierce in the dim light coming from nearby street-lamps and there was a brief scowl on her face, when she hopped onto a decorative planter, to get her head a little higher than the crowd.

“Quiet down.” her voice managed to silence the murmuring of the crown instantly. For a moment, I was certain I recognised the stern voice, but couldn’t quite place it.

“Now, Jubilife has stood for hundreds of years. It will not fall on my watch. So, all of you will help me defend it.” she exclaimed and the tone in her voice brooked absolutely no disagreement, as she quickly and efficiently began to call out assignments.