Nearing the campfire, Koda slowed down, slipping behind some bushes and peeking out. Though he wanted nothing more than to just walk up and take a seat by the flames to warm himself up, he had to be patient. Surveying the area beforehand was the correct choice as he didn't know who was positioned by the fire. It could be a mass murderer and he wouldn't even have the means to protect himself at this moment. He had neither experience in self-defense nor any pokemon besides Squirtle. For now, he wanted to see just what he was dealing with.

Poking his head out from the bushes, Koda shifted his gaze over the scene in front of him. There were about three people huddled around the fire, two of them were talking to each other while the last was curled up in a sleeping bag. It was hard to tell what they looked like from the distance they were at, them being in the middle of a rather large clearing, but from Koda's perspective, they didn't look too menacing.

One of the two talking was a young girl around his age with honey hair and grey eyes and the other was a male though it was hard to make anything out due to his turned back. Spiky brown hair was probably what stood out the most to Koda as he watched the two of them chat for a while.

They didn't seem very vicious or intimidating; the girl even seemed nice in a way. The only problem was the one laying on the ground. Koda had no idea what that person looked like and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Of course, he wasn't just going to sit there all day so despite not figuring anything out besides what they looked like, he stood up and walked over. Running in without a plan wasn't his forte but as of this moment, he didn't particularly give a sh*t. He was tired and hungry and out of patience.

He had walked about six feet forward, catching the attention of the other two, before he was lifted off the ground and into the air, as if lifted by an invisible hand. He could still move in the air but he was stuck in that one spot a few meters above the ground. The force keeping him afloat didn't hurt but it also did not feel entirely pleasant, as if there was a sort of vice on his lungs that made it difficult to breath.

"What the f*ck is this??!!" Koda shouted as he struggled to adjust himself. ((How the hell did I get up in the air?? A Pokemon?))

While Koda was busy flipping around and trying to get himself upright, the sleeping bag was unzipped and the person inside stood up. A young woman around the age of 18 or 19 years old stood up, long thigh length blonde hair catching in the wind. A rather loud yawn escaped the woman's lips as she rubbed her eyes before taking the time to stretch. After she was somewhat awake, the young woman walked over to Koda, completely ignoring the other two. Koda, who hadn't noticed her until she was almost in front of him, was a bit startled.

"Do you know why I'm making you float up in the air child?" The young woman spoke in a low sleepy voice but one that held hints of annoyance.

Koda, who was now getting used to the air suspension, put his hand to his chin now understanding how he was in the air. Psychic abilities. It didn't surprise him much however as he was already having a weird day. After thinking it over in his head, Koda said the first words that came to mind. "You have really long hair. It's quite lovely."

He wasn't even trying to flatter her as that's what he truly thought. Her hair was so long and fluffy yet was clearly well maintained. He couldn't even imagine how much shampoo and conditioner she used each time she took a shower. Girls already took a long time to get ready so he failed to understand why she would want the hassle of such long hair.

There was a pause, a brief hiatus in the girls words before she finally spoke again. "It's because you spied on us for a decent ten minutes before finally making your way over. As if hiding could conceal that monstrous aura around you."

"How much conditioner do you use each day?" Koda asked, completely disregarding what she had said. He didn't care about his own aura or getting caught spying. He just wanted to know how much she used and how much she spent a year on just hair products. He didn't even care that she was using psychic powers. It just went through one ear and out the other.

Caitlin grit her teeth in frustration. The male dangling in the air was completely ignoring everything she said and it was starting to seriously piss her off. She had to take deep breaths and try to keep calm otherwise she could destroy all the trees in her vicinity with her psychic powers alone. Though this child was irritating, she had to hold it together.

"Why were you spying on us?" Caitlin asked, her words snipped and full of authority. The lethargy in her voice had disappeared entirely as she glared at Koda with restrained hostility. "Who are you?"

Koda could suddenly feel the invisible force tightening, threatening to crush him. While he felt his heart being squeezed, a sort of sensation formed around his head. It was only now that he felt he was in danger as he struggled to breath.

"My....name is....Koda.....Johnson." He managed to squeeze out as he struggled just to be able to breath.

Almost the second after he revealed his name, Koda was abruptly dropped onto the ground. Pain shot up his body as he landed on his knees, the agony shooting through his being like a tidal wave. Still though, the pressure that had nearly crushed the life out of him had dispersed, allowing him to breath once again. Little by little his head cleared and his heartbeat returned to normal.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were Koda," Caitlin exclaimed apologetically as she hurried forward to help Koda up and onto his feet. "Sometimes I tend to get a bit carried away. Its a bad habit of mine, especially when I let my emotions slip."

"That was only a bit too far?" Koda asked incredulously as he rubbed his chest, the feeling of almost suffocating still lingered on his conscience. "Just how much were you holding back? Why act as if you know me?"

Caitlin gave a smile. "My name is Caitlin, a member of the Unova Elite Four and, from today onwards, I'll be your new teacher and instructor. You can thank me later. It's a pleasure to finally meet you Koda Johnson."

Koda was at a loss for words. Things had taken a huge 180 and he felt as if Arceus had something to do with it. With the ability to appear in someone's dream or thoughts via the mindscape, Koda was almost certain Caitlin was here on that mans doing. As for the two young people behind Caitlin, Koda didn't know what role they played in everything. For all he knew, Arceus could have manipulated them as well some way or another.

"So let me get this straight," Koda said, gazing at Caitlin who was now all smiles. "Arceus contacted you and gave some information before sending you over here to train me as well as helping me become stronger. The two behind you were also contacted by Arceus or just happened to join you on your way here."

Caitlin looked surprised, but only for a second. A look of satisfaction appeared across her face as she held up a finger. "You can be quite smart when you want to be. I hope you can keep that same powerful vibe when I put you through the ringer. As for what you said, you're mostly correct. Everyone present arrived as a result of Arceus, except that it was against our wills. While those two appeared here from a lightning strike, I flew down here from the Unova region. It was only after I got here that they learned what happened to them."

"So if Arceus can just freely talk to people then why does he need us? Can he use someone else to defeat Team Rocket?" Koda lowered his gaze, the gears turning in his head. "Getting people on his side sounds quite a bit easier than summoning me, someone who knows squat about Pokemon, to this world."

"Actually Arceus can't freely talk to people at all," Caitlin explained. "You're special in the sense that you have a special mind that's running on the same wavelength as his. The only reason I could speak with him is because of my psychic abilities. Of course there are some exceptions such as certain Professors who shall not be named. In other words, the two behind me were forced into this without knowing anything. As for why you were summoned and why Arceus seems to rely on you so heavily...I got no clue."

Koda nodded, understanding a bit more. He should've known there was some reason Arceus was going through all the trouble of summoning others. With the inability to contact the world without his plates, he could only watch the world fall into the hands of Team Rocket, to watch millions of pokemon become tools of murder and another few million to die or be abused. In this case, doing just about anything was much better than sitting around for the worst future to come around. If it was him in Arceus's position, he'd probably do the same thing as well. Although the question of why Arceus relied on him more than this elite trainer, he had no clue.

"Enough chatting amongst ourselves," Caitlin said. "Come meet the other two. The girls' name is Serena and the boys name is Brock. They're nice and will be of help on your journey."

The girl named Serena stepped forward, a rather shy look on her face. She was rather cute to say the least. Serena's outfit consisted of a grayish-black tank-top with a white collar, a red double waist side buttons pleated skirt, a dark pink hat with a black bow and hatband, black stockings, and black shoes. On her shoulder she carried a pink bag with black decals on it. The whole image was adorable, but due to the nature of the world, Koda couldn't help but keep his guard up.

"Hello Serena," Koda said with a gentle smile as he introduced himself. "My name is Koda Johnson and it's a pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand politely, hoping he didn't seem too menacing.

Serena eventually took his hand and shook it, her grey eyes now showing no traces of her previous shy self. "It's nice to meet you Koda. As you know, I am Serena."

After going over the introductions with her, Koda turned his attention to Brock who was standing some distance to the left of Serena. He wore an orange t-shirt, a lime green cargo vest with 4 pockets, a dark brown belt with a gold buckle and dark red pockets, brown jeans, and blue-gray sneakers with white trim. The first impression Koda got was that this guy was pretty cool although he had trouble seeing the guys eyes and he was also quite tan which made Koda curious.

"Brock was it?" Koda asked as he took a few steps over. "It's a pleasure to meet you." As he did with Serena, he held out his hand.

Brock took his hand without hesitation. "It's a pleasure. I look forward to working with you."

"Likewise." Koda took a few steps back and looked at the two of them. "Now, where did the two of you come from? You were forced here just like I was correct?"

Serena hesitated for a few moments before finally speaking. "I'm from the Kalos region. I arrived here a few days ago. I wandered around a bit until I met Ms.Caitlin. I've been with her ever since."

"As for me, I'm actually from here. I'm the Gym Leader of Pewter city." Brock adjusted the large backpack slung over his shoulders. "It took me a while but I was able to convince my dad to take my place. It was a hassle of calling from the Pokemon Center but here I am. It's a pleasure to be here."

After Brock finished, Koda nodded absently before responding. "I.....have to go to the bathroom real quick. Do you think you could watch after my Pokemon for a bit?"

Dropping his bag onto the ground, Koda pulled out the two pokeballs and threw them. After a brief flash of light, Pikachu and Leonardo stood tall. Pikachu looked a lot better than he had earlier, being able to walk and bounce around once again. Gathering the pokeballs from the floor, Koda placed them on the belt at his waist, feeling it was a better spot.

"Sure, I'll look after them," Brock said as he walked back towards the fire. "I'll whip up something for them. I love making food for Pokemon."

Koda hadn't heard him quite clearly because he had already darted away towards the cover of darkness. He didn't actually have to go to the bathroom, he just wanted to be alone for a second. After he got his thoughts sorted out then he would head back to the campfire and go to sleep.

After making it a decent ways away, Koda skidded to a stop. Taking the time to catch his breath, he looked around to make sure no one was around, though he couldn't see much in the darkness that surrounded him. At that moment though he didn't really care as he took a deep breath and sat down at the base of a rather large tree.

Koda pulled out the red plate he had found earlier, a palm-sized disk that radiated a red color that shifted and turned. This was the first of sixteen plates that Arceus had instructed him to find. With each plate, he was told that it could be integrated into the corresponding Pokemon type to drastically increase its combat ability.

"Okay, so this is the fighting-type plate." Koda flipped it over in his hands. "I guess I'll be needing a fighting type in order to use it. After I'm stronger and a better trainer, I'll catch one and use this item."

----------------------------

Koda returned to the campsite after staring at the circular plate for a while. A plethora of thoughts from the past day flooded his head, causing him to mull over many things and contemplate what his next move would be.

According to Arceus, Team Rocket would stay in the shadows for roughly another 3 years before starting a small yet silent war on the entirety of the Kanto, Sinnoh, and Johto regions. The other sides fought bravely but with Team Rocket having a bunch of insiders on the opposing side and having weaved a web of lies filled with false information that kept the other regions unaware, the war was brought to a swift end. With the three regions suppressed and Team Rocket in charge, the other regions began to prepare themselves while others wanted to take them down with pure force, not realizing that Team Rocket had already expanded to the point where it had its own spies situated in various places of power in regions throughout the world. From an organization that had been underestimated to one that threw the whole world into chaos. Koda had roughly a few years to change the fate of the Pokemon world. This was the reason he was brought here, to fight against this evil faction, before they had time to consolidate enough power to upheave society.

Koda's best guess was that Arceus wanted to use him, an unknown, otherworldly variable, to change the future that was currently set in stone. This was just a hypothesis of course, one that could only be proven if he asked Arceus directly. Back in the mindscape, Arceus had repeatedly dodged Koda's questions about why he had chosen him specifically, always changing the subject or giving him vague answers. It was still unclear as to why he, one in a few billion of other potential candidates, was picked.

"Hey Koda, over here!!"

The white haired young man glanced up, his thought process broken as his heterochromatic eyes shifted onto Serena, who happened to be waving and calling out to him. Next to the young woman was Brock who was feeding what looked like a floating rock with arms. After a few seconds, Koda decided to push his other thoughts away for the time being, at least until he got stronger, both as a trainer and as a fighter.

"Oh, hey guys," Koda responded, giving the two of them a smile. He glanced briefly over at Caitlin who, surprisingly enough, had climbed into her sleeping bag and fallen back asleep. For someone who was part of a group called the "Elite Four", she didn't seem that elite. Of course, looks were a deception in and of itself so Koda wasn't too concerned. He was almost positive she'd be a good teacher for him. At this point, he had to take what he could get.

"Hey guys, whatcha up to?" Koda asked as he grabbed his backpack. Probably for privacy reasons, the other two hadn't picked up his bag from where he had dropped it. "Need anything?"

"Not really, I just wanted to talk to you for a bit." Serena gave a sincere smile. "It'd be rather weird for us to travel together and not know anything about each other."

While this fact was true, Koda was hesitant about what he should share. He didn't know how much Arceus had told Caitlin and if she had transferred all, if any, of her gained knowledge to Brock and Serena. If it came down to it, he would simply politely decline telling them where he was from. Of course, if they already knew that he wasn't from this world then he would happily tell them about himself.

"Actually, I've been wanting to ask you both something." Koda set the bag down onto the grass before flopping down next to it. "Are you both okay with all of this? Being a few regions away from home is a big deal. Don't you have family who'll be worried about you? I'm almost certain that you didn't have time to prepare for this. None of what has happened was told to you in advance."

The area got quiet for a bit, nothing but the sound of crackling firewood and the chirping of crickets filled the night. The light from the fire cast a weird glow over Serena as she looked at the ground, her previous expression of curiosity slowly coming undone.

"Of course I'm not okay," Serena answered. As if she could be okay with anything that was happening to her. She was just starting out on her journey when she got struck by lightning, transporting her from Vaniville Town in the Unova region right to this exact clearing exactly three days ago. Scared and confused about what was happening and where she was, she had wandered about the forest and Viridian City until she had met Caitlin. "I want to go home. The 'adventure' I was so looking forward to seems like a complete failure. However, it doesn't appear I can do anything except continue forward. I don't have enough money for a plane ticket back so I can't go anywhere for the time being."

Koda nodded. He figured she was putting on a complete facade to keep others from worrying, indicating that she cared about the feelings of other people. Bottling up her fear and anxiety was all she could manage as she tried to cope with the events that were thrown at her one after another. Normal kids their age would've already succumbed to their stress and panic no matter how tough they claimed to be. It was very hard to face the unknown with a calm demeanor or to be as brave as Serena had been so far.

"What about you Brock?" Koda asked as he turned his attention away from Serena. He didn't want to continue to pry further lest he cause her to completely break down. "How're you holding up?"

Brock glanced over from the floating rock which Koda assumed was a pokemon, his eyes squinted slightly. "Well, I don't really have a problem, at least not like Serena. Pewter City isn't very far from here and if I like, I can simply head back. Of course, I decided not to. My dad, who had left previously, came back around three years ago and taken over the position of Gym Leader. When I got here and learned the situation, I simply traveled to the nearest Pokemon Center and contacted my dad. He'll watch my brothers and sisters while I travel with you...however long that may be."

((So Brocks situation isn't that bad really. In fact I'd say he's handling the news quite well. Whether that's because of his proximity to his home or because he's just much more mature than the rest of us, it's hard to tell.)) Koda sighed a little before reaching down to pet Pikachu who had just walked up to him along with Squirtle. ((To drag these two away from their families against their will. The severity of the situation must be quite high or Arceus wouldn't do this. Of course the question I have to ask now is...why these two?))

Koda had to wonder why Arceus chose these two instead of more of the "Elite Four". Though he had no idea what the Elite Four was, it sounded like they were some top notch trainers. It could be that summoning too many would raise a commotion as they could be related to some sort of governing body or some high ranking celebs. Whatever the case, Arceus had brought over two kids around his age with a clear intent, travel with them while getting stronger. While he was sure the god of pokemon knew what he was doing, he couldn't quite see the end game.

After asking these two a serious question, Koda switched it up a bit. He asked much different ones like what their hobbies were, what they liked or disliked. His intent was to get to know more about them and their personalities while also slowly easing them back into a comfortable vibe. After about an hour of talking, Koda felt he had a pretty good understanding about their characters. He wasn't Criminal Minds level in the slightest but rather both of them had pretty straightforward personalities.

Serena let out a yawn. It was around early morning and none of them had even slept a wink. "Well, I'm gonna turn in. G'night Koda. Night Brock."

"G'night," was a reply that was uttered by both of them as Serena walked over to her sleeping and climbed in. She was out like a log in minutes as her breathing slowly became steady and entered a set rhythm.

"I guess I'll turn in as well," Brock said as he tapped his pokeball against the floating rock. "See you in the morning."

"Technically it is morning," Koda said as he walked closer to the fire, putting his backpack down to use as a pillow. "So I'll see you whenever I decide to wake back up."

"Sure, night Koda"

"Night," Koda smiled as he got comfy, Pikachu snuggling up to him and Squirtle tucking himself inside his shell. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

----------------------------------------------------

While Koda was falling in a deep sleep with grin on his face, a mass murder was taking place at the edge of the city, away from the view of the police.

Located near the edge of Viridian City sat a large assortment of buildings surrounded by a chained fence. The surroundings of the fence was littered with guards armed to the teeth with guns and numerous varieties of Pokemon capable of easily sniffing out scents such as Arcanines and Houndooms. With constant patrols and towers strategically placed around the fence's perimeter, even a fly couldn't enter inside without being spotted. The Pokemon Research & Development Laboratory of Viridian City was a secretive place where only those working inside knew what was going on.

On the outside, everything appeared calm and quiet, the guards making their rounds without even a bit of trouble. Nothing was out of place unless one managed to slip inside and see the endless carnage strewn throughout the innards of the main building.

Broken bodies and puddles of blood lined the halls as figures clad in black stepped from room to room, carrying large bags that became bigger with each room entered. As it was the main building, the infrastructure was huge, a veritable maze of intersecting hallways and corridors leading to different labs holding different equipment.

Seated in the center of everything were three figures whose shape and identity could only be guessed at. The trio were staring at a monitor depicting a blurred out face, standing in a way that showed their respect.

"I see, so you failed to obtain the item then?" The man on screen asked, his voice unnaturally deep. "As my top unit, I expect that you have a reason for your failure. Let's hear it and then explain how you'll rectify it."

"Sir," Spectre #2 said, bowing his head passively. "As of earlier, we believed that item #203 was situated in the Viridian City Pokemon Center but after thorough investigation of their safe located in the back we couldn't find it. After triggering the alarm, we resorted to plan B."

"Before you progress any further," The man interrupted before Spectre #2 could continue talking. "I would like to know the possibility of the item being stored in the front."

"Less than 10% sir," Spectre #1 answered, her voice cutting into the conversation. "When dealing with a shipment, the protocol for any Pokemon Center is to keep the received item in a secure safe stored in the back. Taking it out before the recipient arrived is against the way they do things. While it is a possibility that it could have been removed before we go there, it's more likely to assume that David Babao came to collect the item before we arrived."

After a few moments of silence, the blurred figure let out a sigh. "Very well. Continue."

"Sir!!" Spectre #2 bowed again before beginning. "We believe that Babao had picked it up so we triggered the alarm at Pokemon Center to summon as many cops away as possible. After that we simply walked into the Research Lab near the edge of the city. As almost all of the guards here work for our organization, there wasn't any trouble."

"I don't want to hear how you got into the Lab," The man said sternly. "I want to know how you're gonna find the item. We can't let it go now that we're so close. It's a crucial part in the next step."

Right then, a man walked up and whispered something into the ear of Spectre #2. After whispering for about a minute, he handed a device similar to a USB before leaving.

"I just received word that we may have located where the item is," Spectre #2 said confidently as he inserted the USB device into the side of the high-tech laptop.

A loading screen appeared before a picture leapt onto the screen, making the blurred man into a mini box in the upper left hand corner. The picture was of the Pokemon Center lobby where a white haired young male was behind the counter gazing at a circular disc in his hand. Even from the camera one could see the swirling of the colors emanating off the palm sized object.

"That's the object," The man confirmed with a hint of satisfaction in his voice. "Seems like we're on the right track once again. Are you able to find out who he is?"

"It shouldn't take us long if he's registered into the system. We should be back on track in a matter of a month."

"THAT long??" The man was clearly displeased as the others flinched from his voice. "He could have disposed of it before then. Why does it take a month?"

"Rest assured Sir that we will have it in a months time," Spectre #3 replied, clearly dodging the question. "In the meantime, we should focus on building up new recruits and situating spies in key places throughout Viridian. If this guy goes anywhere then we'll know immediately."

"Very well," the man said after a long minute. "I'll leave it to Team Alpha. Don't fail me again."

After those final words, the screen went dark once more. The room went silent except for the constant movement of the group of grunts in the background.

"So what do you think?" Spectre #1 asked, her black glasses pointed towards Spectre #2. "Should we have killed him? James?"

James shook his head. "We could have done it at the time but then we never would have been able to find it as we wouldn't have thought to check the front. We relied too much on their system of doing things that we failed to check every possible outcome. There's no one to blame but ourselves."

"So then what's our next move then?" Spectre #3 asked. He picked up the laptop and slipped it into James's bag. "We can definitely have the kid in our grasp in less than a month. Why wait so long?"

"We need to give ourselves some breathing room. In about a month's time we should have enough power to easily subjugate Viridian city at a moment's notice. Once that's done we'll collect the plate and move on to the next city. No need to rush it, Meowth, Jessie."

Jessie nodded as she readjusted her hat which hid her hair. "In the meantime, let's clean up the area here." Turning around, she yelled to the grunts to pick up the pace.

Within an hour following the call, everything was gone including the bodies and puddles of blood. Nothing seemed to be out of place, not even so much as a fingerprint left behind. It was as if something had appeared and wiped everything and everyone inside clean off the Earth.