“Capture on!” Kellyn pressed the Ranger Union button on his red gauntlet, and it released a spinning top that circled Heracross, a Bug/Fighting Pokémon sitting on a branch in one of the forest’s thick trees.

        “Hera?” it asked, lowering its berry and studying the halo around its rigid, navy torso and strong hind legs.

        A blue, rope-like Capture Line appeared between Kellyn’s gloved fingertips, and he moved it in quick circles, yelling, “Vatonage! Ha! Ha! Ha!” There was something so satisfying about drawing loops to capture Pokémon.

        Still in awe, Heracross didn’t move.

        It wasn’t long before a white light washed over it, and it stood on its branch. Its wings buzzed open, and its horn knocked a few berries down. “Hera!” the Pokémon cried out, clenching its fists.

        “Yes!” Kellyn said, his green eyes sparkling. “Capture complete!”

        Just when Heracross hopped down from the branch and waited for his orders, he reset his Capture Disc and sprinted forward, jumping. Kellyn pointed it at a Burmy, hanging from another tree branch like a bat, next. “Capture on!”

        “Burm?” said the Bagworm Pokémon. A few leaves dropped from its cloak, and it frantically shook its head at the sight of them and the Capture Disc.

        Again, the Capture Line appeared between Kellyn’s fingertips, and he drew his loops. “Vatonage! Ha! Ha! Ha!” His arm no longer grew tired when he did this, so he was in perfect shape to practice before returning to Almia.

        The familiar white light blanketed Burmy, and it broke free from its branch, dropping before a group of ferns and facing Kellyn.

        He landed, brushed sweat from his brown hair, and announced, “Capture complete!” Two perfect captures, but they weren’t the hardest Pokémon. However, Kellyn had to use all his resources to practice for Parity. Show the Union that he still had it in him as a Rank 10 Top Pokémon Ranger—and was the perfect Ranger to capture Parity and check the Luminous Crystal in Altru Tower.

        Something flashed in the shadows, leaving Kellyn to pass Heracross and Burmy and release his Capture Disc on instinct. “Capture on!” He gasped, though, when a figure appeared from the shadows, and his Capture Disc smacked him in the face.

        “Ow!” Ash Ketchum, a friend Kellyn met while on a mission to help a kidnapped Riolu, fell onto his backside and snatched his nose.

        His Partner Pokémon, an Electric Mouse named Pikachu, leaped from his shoulder and landed before him. “Pika! Pika!” he yelled.

        “Ash!” His traveling companions, Brock and Dawn, appeared behind him and stood on either side of him. Dawn, a girl with long blue hair and blue eyes, was Ash’s age, and Brock was a little older, around Kellyn’s age. They both wore bags on their backs and knelt to Ash, who massaged his nose.

        At first, Kellyn stared, but then he recognized the trio and blushed, closing his eyes. “Oops. Capture incomplete.”

        Maybe he was trying too hard to prove himself to the Ranger Union.