Chapter 49

Phase 2 of camp started off similarly to Phase 1. We still exercised on a daily basis, but not to the extreme that we had experienced in Phase 1. The days were now filled with basic land warfare training that began to grow our Special Forces expertise.

Additionally, at the beginning of Phase 2, our pokemon would be used with increasing regularity. As such, our pokeballs were returned to us. Since Alora did not have any pokemon, the League provided her one – a trained Marowak. We were then allowed to take some time to reacquaint ourselves with our pokemon. In Alora's case, she took time to meet her new pokemon. So, most of the cadets including myself immediately went outside to release our pokemon with the strict instructions not to battle, tear up the camp grounds, teleport, fly, or otherwise use them to travel away from the facility. I had gone a month without seeing my team, and I could not wait. Within minutes, my entire team had been released at the edge of the large facility courtyard.

After a few minutes of various shows of affection, I sat down in the snow and just enjoyed being in their company. Rufus and Ceto nestled in next to me, and Azrael towered over everyone, shivering uncomfortably in the cold air. Rufus, sensing Azrael's discomfort, stood up and walked a few feet away before letting some fire wash over his body in order to raise the ambient temperature in our immediate vicinity. Azrael gratefully leaned in over Rufus's warmth. Between Rufus and Saraph, we had plenty of heat.

Nearby, I could see occasional envious glances from other cadets towards Azrael and Titus. But, I could also see impressive pokemon in their lineups, such as a Rhyperior, a Golem, another Gallade, another Charizard, a Magmortar, and an Altaria.

Gabriel had an impressive lineup as well. I saw his Gardevoir named Ezekiel floating near him, as well as a deep purple Starmie, an Electabuzz, a Shiftry, an Arcanine, a Gliscor, and a Pupitar. Alora hung outside as well with her newly-received Marowak, and seemed to be taking a liking to the ground type pokemon wearing a bleached-white skull as a helmet.

After a little while, Gabriel and Alora made their way over to me to introduce our pokemon. Both Alora and Gabriel were struck with amazement at Azrael's size up close and regarded him and Saraph with wide eyes. Dragons were rare, and those of Azrael's size were even more so. Gabriel's pokemon were very wary of half of my team because of their size alone, but soon, with a little cajoling, they began to interact with each other.

Gabriel's Arcanine seemed to get along very well with Rufus and Saraph, his Shiftry cozied up to Gilles and Rufus, his Starmie seemed to like floating around Ceto and Dante, his Gardevoir preferred to hang around Dante, his Electabuzz rubbed up against Titus, and his Gliscor did not take long to end up perched on Azrael's shoulder. For the most part, Gabriel's Pupitar did not do much. Apparently, it had evolved about a year before Ace camp and there was no telling how long it would take for it to evolve again. For the time being, it was nigh-immobile, much like a Metapod or Kakuna.

While Alora was preoccupied admiring the larger pokemon between Gabriel and I, her Marowak made friends with Dante and Gabriel's Gliscor. Since Alora did not come from a pokemon training background, she very rarely had ever come across pokemon of their size in a non-aggressive capacity. So, she spent a lot of time feeling their skin, scales, and fur, and examining them. It was safe to assume that Gabriel had developed the Link with his pokemon after his Shift and, coupled with the mutual feelings of friendship between us all, our collective pokemon grew accustomed to each other much faster than normal.

Once everyone had had enough time to reorient their pokemon teams, we returned them to their balls and attended our first pokemon utility training class. There, we were taught that pokemon, like all of the firearms we were training to use, are weapons. Granted, they are smarter weapons with agency, but were tools nonetheless.

Ace trainers are Special Forces soldiers, but they are separated from armed service members in that they utilize pokemon in their personal arsenals. Because pokemon are tools, the soldiers themselves are the most dangerous units, and are therefore higher priority targets. When faced with another pokemon trainer, Ace trainer-to-trainer tactics primarily revolved around disabling or incapacitating the trainer.

Pokemon combat was added to our curriculum alongside our close-quarters-battling training. However, actual pokemon battling was not part of the lessons. Since pokemon were tools, all we needed to know what how to use them effectively and how to maintain them.

To learn to use our pokemon on an Ace level, we trained in pokemon battle tactics. These included varying strategies to eliminate other Ace trainers, taking into account varying squad sizes and enemy numbers.

Pokemon maintenance revolved around training techniques to increase speed, strength, and defense – much like the lessons Aoro gave me – and we were expected to coach our pokemon during our newly-allotted pokemon training time. The classes also taught cadets the concepts of mastering an element within our teams.

I had already grasped the concept, but most trainers had not. Like Aoro had told me, this kind of perspective was intended to be understood by the time trainers challenged the 2nd Elite, and since all of the cadets – with the exception of Alora – had only just beaten the first, it was not surprising that they would not have reached that level of expertise.

Our pokemon training was to be done within a two-hour allotment at the end of each day. To prevent cadets from inadvertently finding out others' Shift types, there were individual training fields spread out from the main camp. It gave cadets some privacy, but the trainers were always checking in to make sure we were actually using that time to train. By the end of the Phase 3, we would be expected to demonstrate this knowledge – though we did not know how.

Outside of pokemon combat, more subjects were added to our curriculum. We learned about demolitions, including grenades, mines, and domestic explosives. We practiced throwing various kinds of grenades such as flash-bang grenades, incendiary grenades, EMP grenades, and fragmentation grenades. We practiced setting depth charges underwater, pressure land mines, and tripwire mines. And lastly, we learned about various forms and uses of domestic explosives such as dynamite and C4.

We trained in tactical medicine, wherein we initially developed first aid and basic combat medicine skills. Part of the course was learning about common combat injuries and death in ground combat, and guidelines for giving and receiving medical care under fire and in the field.

Psychic resistance was also instituted. We trained in telepathy resistance, telepathy deceit, and teleportation resistance throughout the rest of training. These were lessons with Psychic Shifted trainers teaching us how to defend our minds from intrusion and our bodies from forced teleportation. I was especially proficient at this from the beginning due to my Shift and my former training.

Lastly, we trained in land navigation. All of the cadets with the exception of Alora – to my knowledge – were trainers with extensive experience in navigating along the pokemon trainer routes. Thus, some of this training was repetition. We needed to know how to use a compass, read topographical maps, and traverse them without becoming lost. Along with this training came instruction in rappelling and survival skills.

Ranger training already prepared us for many of the scenarios taught in Ace, but in a much less extreme way. While Rangers were not necessarily expected to need to use the military training very often, Ace trainers were. Our duties would be more geared to the extremely dangerous situations, and we were expected to use our training in such situations.

Every week we had physical testing, and every other week the baseline standard became a little more difficult. However, none of the cadets who made it through hell week had any problems passing. The danger of failing now transferred from physical capability and mental fortitude to skill development. All of the physical conditioning meant nothing if you could not hit your target or work effectively with your team. If we could not pass the basic standard competency tests at the end of Phase 3 known as the Ace qualifying exams, we would be removed from Ace. And, the qualifying exams were heavily skill-based.

Gabriel, Alora, and I worked well as a team. The more time passed, the more comfortable we became with each other. Gabriel was strong, confident, and fairly kind. Alora seemed a little broody, but she was strong and reliable. I truly hoped that the League would keep us together as a group, and while they had told us it was their intent to do so based on their predictions of our capabilities, it was difficult not to doubt their intentions.

For Phase 2, I had a slight advantage over my peers. I had already understood and applied the concepts of mastery training with my pokemon, I had training in psychic resistance, and I was well-versed in navigation. Despite my advantage, I used that time to continue my training plan with my pokemon, apply any new lessons that I learned to my training plan, and to offer advice where I could with my teammates. The fact that I had beaten the 2nd Elite before going through Ace training gave my word on pokemon training some credibility.

It quickly became apparent that all of us brought something special to our team. Not only did Alora quickly become proficient with all firearms, but she showed particular talent with the sniper rifle, while Gabriel was very gifted with psychic resistance and medical skills. However, the unique skills that would make all of us true assets to an Ace squad would not be revealed to each other until after we had passed our qualifying exams.

I was able to tell Gabriel about fostering dragon energy mastery without revealing my shift, and it helped him understand more fully what it meant to train for mastery in types that did not reflect his own shifted nature. And, Gabriel and I both helped Alora with pokemon training, psychic resistance, and land navigation as it was clear that she did not have the background.

Conversely, my teammates were able to help me in areas that I was struggling. Alora greatly appreciated Gabriel's and my help, so she willingly and eagerly reciprocated by helping us both improve our marksmanship skills. Gabriel likewise helped me with medical training.

Over the course of the four weeks of Phase 2, during our pokemon training sessions I continued to work with Azrael, Ceto, and Saraph with dragon energy. I also started learning about fire, psychic, ghost, flying, poison, water, and steel to help with my other pokemon. Ace camp had resources to help with each, which they made accessible to us in electronic format on our PokeDexes.

Occasionally, if we requested it, we could have a short instructional session with a Shifted trainer in certain types. This was dependent on whether or not one of our trainers were Shifted in the type that we requested, though occasionally they would bring in an Ace trainer with a Shifted type that none of our trainers had. I managed to receive a few sessions with a psychic trainer and a fighting type trainer, which were types that I foresaw having much difficulty understanding due to my Shifted nature.

However, my request for a ghost type trainer was declined which was a major disappointment because I knew that Gilles would be extremely valuable in my eventual fight against the 3rd Elite, and I wanted him to be ready to help pound the Elite's team into the ground – I had a personal vendetta against the Elite for his role in Lazarus's death, and his general role in making my life hell. The sessions were very helpful, but would require much more commitment past Ace camp.

I spent a lot of my pokemon training time researching different type characteristics while my pokemon team performed drills. My knowledge of each eventually grew to a rudimentary level. I would need to spend much longer fostering each, and probably need to visit various gyms before I could help my pokemon master all of their typings.

As we became more proficient with weapons throughout Phase 2, we started carrying them in our small unit drills. This included bringing firearms with live ammunition into building clearing scenario drills, patrolling drills, and unit movement drills through hostile zones. While Phase 3 would work on incorporating our pokemon full-time into these drills, we first needed to be able to operate without them in case the need ever arose. The idea is we should also be effective with conventional weapons in case we found ourselves in a situation in which we did not have our pokemon.

During land navigation exercises, we would occasionally be teleported to pre-designated training grounds with different terrain. We would need to use maps and other gear to meet up with each other and then reach an extraction zone. This sometimes included night exercises during which all of those skills and knowledge were put to the test.

Even with the months of consistent activity from our training camp, wild pokemon still migrated into the area. Whether looking for their own territory, ignorance, or apathy, they made homes in the areas in which we ran scenarios. For the most part, the Ace trainers and their pokemon had kept the camp safe from wild interlopers, but we were expected to deal with them ourselves during land navigation exercises. Managing wild pokemon was something we were going to need to be ready for while on the job.

Surveying was an important part of land navigation. We learned to use various surveying equipment – from handheld scanners to small programmable drones – to scan the terrain and create topographical maps of our own on our PokeDexes. This involved scanning terrain from different angles, which required that we reposition over large areas.

Location defense training also evolved. We had to subdue and defend trainers inside a building with paintball rounds while other trainers attempted to get inside or flank us. During those drills, we practiced keeping enemies subdued with basic supplies like zip-ties and duct tape. For example, we zip-tied their hands behind their backs, zip-tied their legs together, duct taped their mouths, tightly lined them up beside each other on their stomachs, and had them look in one direction. This kept them uncomfortable and immobile, lessening the chance that they would formulate a plan or take action.

Near the end of Phase 2, we started incorporating pokemon into half of our drills. Knowing which to use and for what purpose was very important. For example, if we were trying to retrieve someone, we could not simply destroy the building with a Draco Meteor from Azrael.

Our position – attacking or defending – determined what kind of characteristics in pokemon that we needed. For attacking, smaller faster pokemon were ideal – so Rufus, Dante, and Gilles. For defense, slower but more durable pokemon were more ideal – so Ceto and sometimes Titus. Some pokemon could be useful in both positions depending on the scenario. Space permitting, I could add Azrael, Titus, and Saraph, but in general my building clearing team was more geared towards attacking.

The end of Phase 2 passed without a hitch. Everyone passed. After our tests, which focused on individual skill proficiency, Phase 3 began. It had a greater emphasis on teamwork, though it was stressed that true team training would only begin once we passed the Ace qualifying exams. Regardless, we learned to communicate better throughout all of our drills. This was even more important during those wherein we utilized pokemon, since we needed to always know what and where our teammates' pokemon were, as well as the trainers themselves.

Land navigation evolved to incorporate another terrain variable: enemy forces. Along with surveying or figuring out our positions, rendezvousing with each other, and navigating to an extraction zone, now we had to do so while avoiding or subduing enemy forces.

We exercised valuable skills that helped us avoid detection, such as where to move and hide – like dense shadows and inside tree-lines. There was remarkable value in being able to remain absolutely still and quiet when enemy forces were nearby – monotonous patrolling forces or people going about their daily grind rarely ever pay attention to the details of their surroundings. And, if we were hiding underwater, we could wait for a long time using re-circulating respirators to avoid creating water disruptions or bubbles. Lastly, we were trained to use nature to our advantage – observing active visual and auditory changes in the natural world around us could alert us to hidden threats. For example, the sounds of bugs at night or birds during the day going silent could alert us that enemies were nearby.

When pokemon were introduced, both for us and for enemy forces, navigation became more complicated. Our general avoidance skills did not change much, even though there were added dimensions to our travel capabilities such as subterranean or aerial. Underground travel had a higher chance of alerting pokemon that could sense seismic disturbances. And of course aerial travel was easy to notice.

When ground pokemon were patrolling, extreme stillness and silence were invaluable. In scenarios involving psychic patrols, dark pokemon were invaluable. And, we learned that tranquilizers were very useful for traveling through a hostile area unnoticed, for if we were to neutralize a pokemon, their trainer would be able to see it on their pokeball.

Outside of land navigation, other drills began to evolve as well. Close-quarters-combat began to include weapons like knives, and hand-to-hand combat started including multiple people against one. In those situations in which running away was not an option, the general strategy was to position the enemies such that only one was a threat at a time, and then strike decisively to incapacitate them quickly.

Pokemon combat training changed. The difference was our home teams now worked together against other home teams and trainer teams in mock battles designed to subject us to a variety of scenarios. We did not truly battle pokemon, as it was seen as counterproductive to our own training.

Beating the 1st Elite was proof that we were exceptional trainers, and there was no purpose in engaging in dick-measuring contests between us where pokemon could get killed. Home Teams did, however, occasionally run scenarios against our trainers with paintball rounds that were relatively realistic. Their pokemon were trained well enough to avoid killing ours, and strong enough to withstand our pokemons' attacks.

Even someone like Alora, who only had one pokemon, was able to participate effectively. During those drills, Alora served as support and was good enough with firearms to compensate for her lack of pokemon. Since Gabriel and I were on her team, she had protection. And since she was so proficient with firearms, she was able to help us on the offensive. It just meant that Gabriel and I took a slightly more defensive role than we could have in pokemon trainer engagements.

Medical aid training became more advanced during Phase 3. Our lessons now included caring for pokemon-related injuries. Furthermore, we covered advanced skills for treating normal wounds and administering combat drugs for both ourselves and for our pokemon. Combat drugs were not necessary but they would potentially be available to us in certain missions, and were only to be used in certain circumstances – namely dire situations.

Combat drugs, or combat stimulants, had different uses for us and for our pokemon. For us, they were only to be administered if one of us was probably not going to make it out alive, but still wanted to go out with a fight. The stimulants could keep you alive despite massive blood loss and bodily injury, but the toll it takes on your body is severe. Basically, if all of our medical supplies have been exhausted and one of our teammates has been deathly injured, they could take a combat stimulant to help the rest of their teammates finish the mission or make it to extraction before they die.

Conversely, combat stimulants for pokemon were a little less restricted. There were a few different variants but they raised certain attributes for a short amount of time. They differed from drugs like BruteX or AggreX in that regard; unlike those illegal drugs, these were not permanent. But like the combat stimulants for humans, they took a toll on the bodies of the pokemon who were given them. They were occasionally handy, but prolonged use would have negative effects.

The lesson on combat drugs was a fairly short lesson, but it hammered in the point that we were probably going to undertake missions where death was a strong possibility. However, despite that macabre reality, in a twisted way it was a source of pride. To be the best soldiers that could be trained meant that we were the only ones capable of succeeding in the face of nigh-impossible odds. If we could not succeed, then no one could. That was empowering.

Lastly, demolitions training altered slightly for some cadets. We were schooled in the use of a few types of explosives, but many cadets had pokemon that could cause the same effect. For me, that included most of my team. With the use of Hyper Beam, Draco Meteor, Fire Blast, and Shadow Ball, among other techniques, the same goal could be accomplished.

Shadow Ball could turn large areas of concrete, among other things, into dust. Other techniques could have the same effect as C4 without the process of carrying, arming, and detonation. And, if we knew a high value target was in a building and that there was no possibility of civilian casualties, it was almost preferable to hammer the building from a distance with techniques like Hyper Beam because it kept the Ace trainers from exposing themselves to danger. Those techniques could also be used to raze enemy encampments so that enemy forces could not continue to use them. I had seen that tactic firsthand years before when I led Champion Volker to the Meteor camp, wherein he reduced the entire facility to rubble from the sky.

I seemed to have a higher concentration of pokemon on my team that could use such destructive techniques than normal, so my instruction was a bit more involved. Instruction therein focused on accuracy and controlled area of effect, which translated to more focused training with my pokemon.

Over the four weeks of Phase 3, Gabriel continued to show great expertise with medical skills and psychic resistance, Alora continued to shine with marksmanship, and I excelled in pokemon usage and tactics. Outside of our individual strengths, we all gradually continued to improve with all of the skills being trained to a state of proficiency.

When we reached the last few days before Ace qualifying exams, we all felt ready. Physically, I had never been in better shape, and the same could be said for Gabriel and Alora. The fitness exams would be no problem. Likewise we were all competent in weapons usage, small unit tactics, close-quarters battle, land navigation, medical aid, demolitions, and pokemon combat.

In spite of our confidence, we were not even halfway finished with Ace training. That fact did not set in until after we had spent the last day of Phase 3 taking the qualifying exams. Our skill competencies translated well on our Ace qualifying exams. My Home Team moved through each tested scenario effectively and without issue, displaying our knowledge and skills, until we finished there were no more tests to complete. Then we were given the evening off while our results were studied.

During that final evening of Phase 3, we were eating dinner, chatting, and generally waiting for our results when Lieutenant Vega entered the barracks and called us to form up outside. Everyone hurried outside, taking his orders to mean that our performances on the exam had finally been graded.

On the way outside, though, Lieutenant Vega stopped a cadet. His demeanor revealed bad news. It did not go unnoticed by anyone, but we did not stop to witness their interaction because we were ordered to report outside – with the exception of that cadet's team. I saw Bill, who at one point had occupied the bunk next to mine, stay behind as part of that cadet's team. He and the other two members refused to follow us outside, instead choosing to stay with the other cadet.

After standing at attention for a few minutes, Bill and the other two members of his Home Team reported to the lineup without the cadet who had been stopped. The three cadets wore somber, hardened expressions that only reinforced the obvious. That cadet had not passed the Ace qualifying exams. Ten of us now remained from the original 31, and the mood had turned bittersweet. That sour taste became more palpable when the cadet followed Lieutenant Vega out with his clothes and saluted his goodbye to us, tears in his eyes.

We all saluted him back, at the very least in recognition for being tough enough to last as long as he did. Then, we were addressed by Ace Captain Burkhart who had made a trip out to our facility just for this occasion.

"Congratulations to you all! You have passed the Ace qualification exams and are ready to begin specialty training, also known as your Practical Training. Making it this far shows that you have the grit and drive to become the best that we can make you. You should be proud of yourselves."

The Captain inspected us, pacing in front of us. He stopped pacing and looked satisfied. "While you've not technically graduated from Ace yet, you can take pride in this achievement. Even though the Practical Training lasts four months – meaning you aren't halfway finished yet – not many cadets fail after this point. You will still be challenged daily, but you have proven that you can withstand it.

"I'm pleased to give you your specialty designations today, with your team assignments. Tomorrow you will receive transportation to your new facilities." A camp trainer then stepped forward with a notepad and handed it to the Captain.

Captain Burkhart cleared his voice and then said aloud, "Vivian Rickard, Bill Nosko, and Adam Aquino, please step forward."

All three took a few steps forward.

"You three are assigned to a team together and will be reporting to General Ace, congratulations," he read, after which he shook each of their hands. All three of them looked at each other with somber smiles. They were somewhat disheartened, but they were happy to know that their team would not be split.

"Zachariah MacAfee, Alora Woelk, and Gabriel Mills, please step forward," the Captain continued. We all moved forward, smiling hopefully because he called us forward together.

"Congratulations, you three. You are all assigned to a team together with Ace Intelligence."

The other teams looked at us with wide eyes while the Captain shook our hands. We stepped back smiling, knowing that we were going to continue working together. Furthermore, being chosen for Ace Intelligence was exciting. Ace Intelligence invoked an unspoken wonder since, of the three specialties, it was the most shrouded in mystery. Ace Intelligence is generally associated with secret, highly important missions, which was intimidating, but also exciting.

The Captain did not wait for the sense of awe to clear on its own. "Filip Moreno and Aman Sierra, please step forward."

The sense of wonderment was interrupted by the announcement. The Captain had only called two of Home Team 3's four members.

"Congratulations, you two. You are assigned a team together in Ace Cavalry. And on a side note, congratulations Mr. Moreno for making it this time around." His ending compliment suggested that this had not been the cadet's first attempt at becoming an Ace trainer.

Both of the cadets looked disappointed, despite giving each other a small smile of acknowledgement after they shook the Captain's hand. The remaining two cadets formerly on their squad looked equally disappointed, but stepped forward knowingly as Captain Burkhart looked to address them.

"Last, but not least, Anya Dennis and Lucien Zavala, please step forward. You two are assigned a team together for General Ace. Congratulations." They shook hands and fell back in line. The assignments had been mildly shocking to us for multiple reasons: there had been an assignment to Ace Intelligence and a team had been split to be assigned to different specialties.

"All of you have my sincerest congratulations. Lights are out at 2300 hours tonight, so you can stay up and enjoy your achievements. Report outside the barracks with your belongings at 0600 tomorrow. The restriction on speaking about your Shifts has been eased, but not lifted. From this point on in Practical training, your Shifts will be incorporated into your training to fully transform you into Ace trainers. So, you may share the specifics of your Shift with your assigned teammates, but you may not share with anyone outside of them."

Subtle looks of excitement spread amongst us. The League when to great lengths to keep the Shift a secret. Yet, the Shift was a fundamental part of who we were, and up until now we had been prohibited from sharing it with anyone – even if it could be guessed or if we had revealed it to people in secret like I had to Marcus and Sheila.

The thought that we could now share such an intimate detail about ourselves with our teammates, whom we had grown to trust over the past three months, was both exciting and relieving. Simply being able to talk about the Shift with other people was relieving enough, let alone our own.

"Even though most Ace cadets finish Practical Training, I wish you all the best in the months to come. I know you will make your country proud."

With that, the Captain turned on his heels and walked away dignified, allowing an Alakazam to teleport him away.

"Fuck yeah, cadets!" one of the trainers yelled. "Congrats to all of you!"

Lieutenant Vega then snapped a salute to us, which was mirrored by the ten other trainers. "Dismissed."

We all headed inside the barracks. It was easy to see that our motions were excited and hurried. All of us could not wait to know our teammates' Shift details. A few trainers followed us in to make sure that no one blurted out their details prematurely in front of another team, but everyone remained quiet until they had gathered in four small groups around the barracks.

My team ended up huddled on Alora's bed in a small triangle.

"Who wants to go first?" Gabriel asked with a smirk.

Both Alora and I looked at him expectedly since he had spoken first.

He let out a small laugh and said, "Fine. I'm Psychic Shifted."

"Whoa, so that explains why you were so good with psychic resistance. So can you, like, read minds? And teleport and stuff?" Alora said, emphasizing her question with a spooky tone.

"Actually, I can read minds," Gabriel replied with grin.

"So then you already know what we are!? After we were told not to tell anyone?" Alora asked, scandalized and growing angry. "And what else do you know about me!? I didn't give you permission to read my mind!"

"Hold on, don't freak out," Gabriel told her with his hands up. "I don't actively read people's minds – too much baggage most of the time. Sometimes if someone's thinking intensely about something, I will notice it without trying. But, most of the time unless I actively try to read someone's mind, I won't know what that person is thinking. And, unless all I want to "hear" is a disjointed flash of thoughts subjective to a person, then I need to have a physical connection with that person."

Gabriel hesitated sheepishly. "…I will admit that I tuned into the room when we were told not to discuss our Shifts because I was curious, and heard everyone's immediate thoughts that included their Shift types. Everyone except for yours," he told me. "That's the only time I actively tried to read your mind, Alora, and it was only for finding out your Shift and everyone else's around me. But I don't know, Zach must have had training with telepathy blocking before Ace camp."

Alora seemed placated by his explanation, but was still mildly angry and violated. "I actually did," I said, trying to move us away from the awkward silence, but keeping my Shift a mystery until it was my turn. "I also had teleportation prevention training."

"That would explain it!" he said with a laugh. "But no, I cannot teleport. But I also have minor telekinetic and illusion abilities."

"Well we can't do it all," I said with a sarcastic, but playful, sigh. "Let's hear yours next," I said to Alora.

"Why not you?" she said with playful scowl.

"Because he already knows yours!" I said with a laugh. "It's unfair."

"Oh, waah!" Alora mocked me. "But, true," she admitted. "Okay. I'm Electric Shifted."

"Cool!" both Gabriel and I said together.

"Can you hold a charge or something?" I asked jokingly.

"Actually I can," she said with a laugh. Then she reached out and gave me a small shock on the arm. I could tell it was not simply static electricity because of its strength. It made me jump, which made Gabriel break out into laughter. "And my Shift made me super fast, and it super-charged my reflexes."

"That would make sense," I said.

"Yeah," Gabriel said. "Now let's hear yours! It's not often I don't know what someone's thinking. "

"Alright," I said, hesitating a little. Then I lowered my voice and said, "I'm Dark Shifted."

Both of their expressions fell into a mix of shock and a small hint of apprehension. "…That would also explain why I couldn't read your mind," Gabriel muttered.

The fact that I was Dark Shifted elicited that particular response for several reasons. Dark type pokemon in general were known to have somewhat scary and mysterious characteristics. It was probably unnerving for Gabriel and Alora to imagine the kinds of missions they would be sent on with someone who mimicked the skills of a dark pokemon. Even with their limited knowledge of Shifted trainers, they knew that this squad would not be normal.

"What does that mean?" Alora asked. "What can you do?"

"A lot of things, actually," I told them. "When I was a Ranger, I helped bring poachers in because I could see psychic illusions keeping the poacher camps hidden. But since I Shifted… I can interact with the world in a completely different way."

"You could see psychic illusions? Like, could you see through them?" Gabriel asked.

"I could never see through them, but I could see the surface of the illusions. It looked like a distortion in the air," I told him.

"What did you mean when you said you can interact with the world differently?" Alora asked.

"Well… the darkness holds almost like a moldable element for me," I tried to explain, forming my hands around an invisible ball as an example. "You cannot see or perceive it, but I can. And I can interact with it."

"That's actually terrifying," Gabriel said. "You're saying there's an element in the air around us that we can't perceive but that can affect us?"

"That's right," I told him.

"Show us," Alora said, curiosity getting the better of her.

"I don't know if I want to risk the others seeing, so I won't show you much until we've been transported to wherever we're going next. But for tonight…" I hopped off the bunk and sat down against the wall. I looked around to make sure there were no prying eyes but found none. Gabriel and Alora looked at me expectantly.

"When I interact with this element, it's visibly noticeable, and I can only do so for short periods of time. I won't actually be doing anything with it, but you will see what I mean." I then took a deep breath and Phased in. My eyes turned black and the edges of my silhouette turned into darkened blurs. Since the inside of the barracks was dimly lit at the moment, the blurred edges of my body were much more noticeable.

As soon as my typing was revealed, Gabriel and Alora gasped – Alora in what looked like wonderment, but Gabriel in fear. I quickly phased out to let them process the shock, but Gabriel's expression did not change immediately. Both spoke at the same time. "I knew I saw something!"

They looked at each other, but Gabriel spoke first. "I swore I saw that on the obstacle course, but I thought I was hallucinating."

"Same here," Alora added. "I thought it was a hallucination."

"You weren't," I confirmed. "I'm lucky I was able to catch myself and keep my phasing in check. 'Else others would've seen it." I refrained from mentioning the Shadow Frenzy. No need to give them anything else to worry about.

"Phasing?" Gabriel asked, catching my verbiage.

"It's what I call it when I enter into the state that lets me interact with the dark element."

"So what can you do with the element?" Gabriel asked.

"I can use it to augment my speed, strength, and physical capabilities," I started. "I can make arrows fly faster, make sharp weapons more deadly, detect people or pokemon hiding in the dark, muffle my footsteps, and even make myself nigh-invisible in the dark."

There was a pause of incredulity. "Can you really?" Alora asked.

I nodded. "And I was trained to do so by the 4th Elite of Sinnoh."

Alora's expression turned thoughtful. "If you have those abilities, then it's not hard to imagine what kind of role we're going to have."

Gabriel's expression turned pensive as well. "You're right," he told her. "I can't imagine those abilities are common. But, I guess, at least we'll probably see some action," eliciting a smile from Alora.

"I think you may be looking at it a little wrong, though," I told them. "I may have a rare typing – and it is rare – but the League also deemed it appropriate to put you on my team. Even if I wasn't what I am, you probably would have served a similar role due to your skills."

"You may be right," Gabriel said, considering it. "But regardless, it's still mind-blowing."

"I guess," I said. "What's mind-blowing to me is how you managed to shift while not being a trainer," I told Alora.

"That's right!" Gabriel said, his eyes now alight with curiosity. "How did you do it?"

Our attention was now on Alora. "That's a long story," she said with a small chuckle. "But I guess the short version – I spent the better part of four years in the Kanto armed forces helping small towns deter wild pokemon. About three years in I got injured and paralyzed from the waist down."

"Paralyzed!?" I asked incredulously. Gabriel looked likewise shocked.

"Yeah, I got charged by a Rhydon and couldn't get out of the way fast enough. My squad mates managed to get me out of there, but the damage was done. I spent some time in the hospital, but when I got out, I was stuck in a wheelchair. Armed services still found use for me in information systems – namely breaching defenses and exploiting weaknesses in computer systems."

"So they made you a hacker?" Gabriel asked, still overly incredulous.

"I wouldn't call it that, but I did get very familiar with more advanced computer security," she said with another chuckle. "I tried to remain active and competed in local handicapped sporting events for wheelchair races, but it was hard for me mentally."

Alora's expression dimmed and she paused in thought. Then she continued, but her demeanor seemed to suggest that she was skipping some uncomfortable information. "Some time passed and some stuff happened, and one night about seven months ago I was heading home from work in the rain, and I actually got hit by lightning."

Gabriel's jaw dropped as he gasped, but he let Alora finish.

"It actually knocked me out. When I came to, I accidentally fell out of my wheelchair. In the process, I noticed that I was able to move my legs. I still hit the ground, but when my legs moved I knew something had changed. It took me a little while to regain my balance fully, but I stood up and wobbled home. After that, I started building up the muscles in my legs, but I noticed early on that I was very fast.

"It didn't take long for the news to reach the League. When I showed up for work wheelchair-free, they passed on the information to the League, which then contacted me about trying out for Ace. They explained a little about the Shift and thought that it must have had something to do with my squad working with Rangers' pokemon, and the fact that I got hit by lightning. They thought that with my skills, I could be valuable to Special Forces."

"That is a crazy story!" Gabriel exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "A bolt of lightning caused you to Shift, which then cured your paralysis!? That's fucking wild!"

"No kidding," I agreed. "So if you never beat the 1st Elite, did the League not have you sign any sort of contract?"

"Well there was a contract, but it seemed pretty standard to me," she said. "It was like an extension of my armed services contract, but with extended service time from my previous military agreement for the specialized training if I succeed."

"That's where it starts…" I muttered.

"What do you mean?" Alora asked.

"I mean, in case you haven't noticed, many of the cadets were not here by choice. The League has a habit of using contracts to keep us under its thumb, usually against our will."

"Is that true?" she asked, with a grim, but unbelieving expression.

"I had to sign a contract when I beat the 1st Elite," Gabriel told her. "They told me it was because I had grown powerful enough to pose a threat to society if I ever went crazy or something, and that the League was only managing that threat. But the contract stipulated that I need to give the League a lot of service time."

"They said something similar to me when I beat the 1st Elite," I added. "When I beat the 2nd, I had to sign another one – one that "took into account my changed status as someone who had beaten the 2nd Elite." The stronger we get, the more contracts we have to agree to, and from what I've gathered, it mostly involves military service. Which is honestly pretty shady in and of itself considering they convey none of it before the challenge."

"Hmm," Alora said thoughtfully. "Yeah, springing it on you after the fact isn't okay. But I can understand that there should be protections against potentially strong rogue trainers, though I'm guessing by your attitudes that these contracts go beyond that?"

"Correct," I told her. "The contracts feel more like punishment or bonds of slavery than simple protections. We are able to negotiate, but they make it seem like you can't, which I think is very deceptive."

"That's unfortunate," she replied with a sigh. "But I'll have to remember that I can negotiate the contracts if I ever need to sign another."

"I wouldn't be surprised if they make you sign more in the future," I told her. "You may not have a conventional pokemon team, but I bet the League will find ways to influence you. Sometimes it has bordered on extortion for me. Before I negotiated my contract, there was a provision in it that said I had no say in when I retired – that the League had final say."

"That almost sounds too conspiratorial to be true," Alora said. "But the fact that both of you experienced this, and that the others here have too… That's kinda fucked up!"

"Tell me about it!" exclaimed Gabriel. "I had the same provision, but luckily I had my dad's friend to represent me as my attorney, who was able to lighten my service term obligation to seven years. He also put into the contract that any subsequent re-evaluations of the contract based on personal achievement need to be consistent with the level of achievement. Basically, it means that if the League tries to add on to the contract after I beat other Elites, then they can only do so at an appropriate rate relative to my advancement. I'm sure the definition of 'appropriate' will be fought over, though, when the time comes."

"Seven years seems like a long time for mandatory service," Alora said with a frown.

"It beats 'indefinite' years of service," he replied. "How many do you have?" he asked me.

"After I beat the 4th Elite," I told him sheepishly. "A year and a half."

"Are you fucking kidding me!?" he exclaimed, outraged. "I thought I got a good deal with seven years and you have a year and a half!?"

"Hey! Hold on!" I said trying to calm him down. "There's a reason why. My original contract said seven years with the stipulation that I beat the 4th Elite two years after I start, and if I didn't it would go to 15 years. I only got it down to a year and a half with an undefined deadline to beat the 4th Elite after I won my bet. And I beat the first two Elites a half a year apart to win that bet."

"And that's another thing," he added, only slightly placated. "Who in their right mind would make that kind of a wager? Even Champion Volker took over a year between his first two Elites."

"Well in my defense, I'm a really good trainer," I said, somewhat playfully, which earned me a punch in the arm.

"Good enough to beat two Elites in six months and set all kinds of records in recent history?" he asked facetiously.

I laughed. "But seriously, I'm a very good trainer. And when I made the bet, I was operating under the assumption that I had nine months to do it. The League took advantage of my ignorance because they thought there was no way I could do it in six. I probably would not have made the bet if I'd known at the time. But I did, barely, with them doing everything they could to stop me."

"I'd say you earned it," Alora commented. "I mean, you shouldn't have had to make the bet in the first place. My armed services contract was just an agreement that I understood each tour of duty was two years, and I had to sign it in order to join instead of retroactively. But the fact that you won the bet means you earned the lessened time in my book."

"I guess that reasonable," Gabriel muttered, still bitter that his contract was so much longer. It was actually fairly horrifying that even a lawyer specializing in Pokemon League law could only negotiate seven years.

Alora's words made me smile, though. She came from an entirely different background than the conventional trainer, but she nonetheless seemed to appreciate the achievements therein. And her perspective seemed to dictate that one take responsibility for one's actions, and when those actions called for it, to take pride unapologetically.

She sent me a smile as if to say, "I got your back." Then she laid down on her bunk and said, "Well tomorrow's going to be a big day. We should probably get some shut-eye."

As Gabriel and I agreed, five of our trainers came into the barracks with cases of beer and yelled, "Cadets assemble! You made it to Practicals - that means we celebrate!"

A loud whoop came from Bill's group as the cadets all hopped out of bed. Our first orders were to shotgun a beer.

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

The next morning found us packed and waiting in the facility courtyard for our specialty teleports. I did not know about Gabriel and Alora, but I was feeling a tad hung over. During the previous night, the trainers drank with us and showed us a side of themselves that we had yet to see: their human side. All of a sudden, we were Ace qualifiers drinking with fellow servicemen instead of instructors. And while some of us still harbored some resentment to the way they treated us during the last few months, it quickly fell away under the influence of comradery and alcohol.

It was still a tad chilly out, being the end of March, but the sun was still bright. I squinted in discomfort while we waited, and heaved a sigh of relief when our teleport arrived. Hopefully that meant we would be transported somewhere indoors where the sun did not have a personal vendetta against me.

"Home Team 8?" the woman asked me, Gabriel, and Alora. We nodded with a vocal affirmative. "I will be one of a few trainers who will be presiding over your practical development. My name is Lieutenant Commander Beth Peterson. Let's head out." She had an Alakazam whose eyes began to glow. Before I knew it, after a series of psychic jumps, the feel of the air around me changed. Suddenly, I was hit by an oppressive wave of heat and humidity.

I was standing in another facility courtyard, but this one was surrounded by dense tropical foliage. A light sprinkle of rain kissed my cheek, and the jolt of the new climate mixed with my hangover caused me to heave directly in front of me. It had a similar effect on my teammates. Gabriel emptied his stomach beside me while Alora clutched her stomach, managing to hold the contents of her stomach inside her.

The Alakazam and its trainer flinched in disgust before hurrying away from us to the barracks and waving us over. A sickened scowl stretched across her face, but she delivered us to our rooms. "These will be your quarters for the next month, after which we will switch locations again to train in a different climate zone. Keep your quarters in good condition, as another Ace specialty will be trading locations with you when you move to the next location."

In these barracks, we had our own rooms that connected to a main lounge – very similar to the barracks at Juliette's base. There were only five rooms on each side of the lounge, indicating that the number of cadets to ever get this far was few. We each took a neighboring room on the left side of the lounge, choosing to roost close to each other.

After we each claimed a bed, the Ace trainer called us to attention. "You have some time to make yourselves at home. Lunch is at 1130 hours and you will report to the courtyard at 1230 hours sharp for your first session. Hangovers will not be an excuse for tardiness."

With that said, Lieutenant Commander Peterson turned and walked out of the lounge. After she had left, Alora groaned and said, "Ugh, so much for a solid first impression."

"I'm sure she went through the same shit when she passed her qualifications," I said, laying down on a couch and covering my eyes with my arm.

"Maybe," Alora agreed and laid out on another couch.

Gabriel followed our lead and stretched out in a cushioned chair. He raised his finger and flicked it downward, causing the light switch on the other side of the room to shift. The lights went out and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was impressive telekinesis, Gabriel. You didn't tell us you were that powerful," I mumbled from under my arm.

"I did say I only had minor telekinetic abilities," he said. "I can only do small things like that right now."

"That's a bunch of bullshit," Alora grumbled. "Both of you get to do crazy shit with your minds. I just get to run fast."

"Correction," I said playfully. "You get to run REALLY fast."

"Shut the fuck up, Zach," she replied. I could hear the smirk in her voice.

We rested for about an hour and a half before heading to lunch. When lunch was finished, my hangover had mercifully subsided for the most part, so I felt a little more human.

In the hot and humid courtyard, we stood at attention while our new trainers gathered. There were a total of five, excluding the Lieutenant Commander.

"I trust you are feeling better?" Lieutenant Commander Peterson asked rhetorically. "You get one pass for such behavior, and that was it. From now on, it's down to business. Have you shared with each other your Shift details?"

"Yes, sir," we replied.

"Good, then we can skip those introductions," she told us. "Based on your Shift dynamics and individual strengths, you will be assigned to the Shadow Ops division of Ace Intelligence. This is our most secret, yet prestigious division. Keep that in mind as you train.

"You already know that Ace Intelligence deals with international information-gathering, espionage, and sabotage. Shadow Ops is the teeth of Intelligence. You will be specifically trained to undertake missions that require speed and finesse, but most importantly, clandestineness. You may be called upon to find and capture high value targets, or perform targeted eliminations of others. And you will do so quickly and discreetly.

"Your team's strong suits are speed and ingenuity, so you will be trained with those in mind. At this stage in training, we are turning you into Ace operatives. Your Shift characteristics will be developed and utilized in our training operations, your pokemon will be training alongside you, and more specialized skills will be cultivated.

"To start, Alora Woelk, the League has provided you with a pokemon. You will be provided one more from this point on. This is a special pokemon that is only entrusted with certain people with certain skills. Do not take it lightly."

The Lieutenant Commander presented Alora with a simple pokeball. Alora displayed its contents and read aloud, "Porygon2?"

"Yes, it is the only kind of manmade pokemon in existence. Its name is Jarvis," the Lieutenant Commander explained. "It is an artificially intelligent creature that will prove to be invaluable for your operations, not as a battling pokemon, but as a tool in hacking and navigating foreign electrical systems."

"We have the technology to create an artificial intelligence?" Alora asked with astonishment. I was shocked as well. This pokemon was not in any of my books, and I had never heard of such a thing. The introduction of such a rare, unknown pokemon almost overshadowed the news of our assignment.

"All information regarding this pokemon is classified Top Secret. For that matter, all of your specialized training from this point forward is classified. Information about Porygon2 will be sent encrypted to your PokeDex for you to familiarize yourself with.

"Alongside your training, your PokeDexes and pokeballs will be given upgrades. Your PokeDexes will now feature a four-point security system to access its files consisting of facial and voice recognition, thumbprint scanner, and five-digit PIN code. This way, no one but you can access your classified data. Your pokeballs will be given our clandestine upgrade which will dim the flash and suppress the sound when they release or recall their pokemon.

"Our first session will be training individual Shift skills. I have a trainer for each of you who shares your Shift, with the exception of Zachariah." She faced and addressed me. "But you've been trained well already, so you will be accompanied by a generalist who will help you strengthen your current abilities. After this session, you will share with your team your full capabilities, and your individual goals with those abilities. You will rely on each other fully during a mission, so you will need to know what each other is capable of.

"After dinner, we will begin jungle night operation skills. Tomorrow will resume physical conditioning alongside your training. Additionally, before dinner, you will visit with a requisitions officer to receive your weapons, and you will be required to train with those weapons from that point on. Feel free to arm yourselves to your comfort level, but keep in mind you will be required to always carry at least three weapons: a pistol, a main weapon, and a blade. Your main weapon can either be an assault rifle, shotgun, sniper rifle, or bow. The ammo we'll be using, except during target shooting, will be paint-infused rubber bullets and rubber-tipped arrows, so you will be free to practice your accuracy when appropriate.

"Now let's get to work, we have a few hours of Shift development and then an hour of show and tell before requisitions. Alora Woelk, you will head to Bay 4 with Warrant Officer Kazlauskas; Gabriel Mills, you'll head to Bay 7 with Warrant Officer Kleven; and Zachariah MacAfee, you'll head to Bay 8 with Warrant Officer Hoffman. Your Shift ability development is the only training you shall do truly separate from one another, since I want no distractions. Dismissed."

Our corresponding trainers took each of us to the aforementioned training bays, which consisted of eight conjoined buildings. I entered Bay 8 with Warrant officer Hoffman to find a large room filled with various obstacles, target dummies, and a number of what looked like light switches. It almost looked like Juliette's dark room, but smaller.

Before we began, Warrant Officer Hoffman explained what was in the room and demonstrated its capabilities. On one panel of switches, the switches controlled various lights in the building. If I wanted to, I could make the room pitch black. On another panel, the switches controlled the various obstacles, making them move or emit light at different intervals. The last panel had only a few switches, but there was a small screen accompanying them. That panel controlled programmed drones that had a variety of functions such as patrolling, seeking, etc.

"You've been trained by 4th Elite Juliette Ayer, so you know more about your Shift than I do," Hoffman told me. "However, my job is to observe your training and implement strategies to improve your abilities from what I can glean. I will also provide anything you need within reason to cultivate your abilities."

"Thank you, sir," I told him.

"Don't mention it. Let's start with the basics. I have read an examination on dark-type abilities, but this will be the first that I will witness them and I would like to get a feel for it." Hoffman brought out a pair of night vision goggles and shut all of the lights off. "I trust you can see?"

I momentarily considered feigning blindness to mess with the Warrant Officer, but decided not to. While it almost seemed like I would be teaching him instead of the other way around, I assumed that Hoffman was assigned to me for a reason. If he was anything like Aoro was when he trained Juliette, then I would probably benefit from his instruction.

After I verbalized a confirmation, Hoffman had me run through basic to intermediate skills starting with running and jumping, and ending with multi-skill actions like jumping while cloaked to a high platform. Hoffman understood that the Phantom State did not last long, so he ended the drills as soon as was necessary. Then he had me explain different ways that Juliette had taught me to strengthen my abilities so that he could incorporate those techniques into his own lesson plan.

"It looks like you were taught very well," he mentioned near the end. "You seem to have control over advanced abilities and a mastery over your Shift that new Ace qualifiers don't reach until well after the end of training. This will serve you well in the coming months, but I want to help you get further. So, let me know if there are abilities that you know of or have theories of but can't do at the moment and I will do my best to help you learn to do them." I told him I would think about it and get back to him by the next lesson.

When we finished, I rendezvoused with my teammates outside of the training bays. Both of them looked very excited. The Lieutenant Commander then gave us an hour to discuss and show our abilities to each other before we were required to report to requisitions.

Gabriel wanted to show us his abilities first, so we headed to Bay 7 where we found many types of objects on the floor. There were steel orbs of varying size from a marble to an orb 2.5 feet in diameter. There were also platforms of varying height, target dummies, projectile launchers, and some chairs.

Gabriel then explained that they determined which of the psychic abilities he was strongest in, which turned out to be mental manipulation. He had shown more proficiency early on with navigating mental blocks and retrieving information from a target mind. Eventually, he would be able to do much of it without touching his subject's forehead. Beyond that, he was able to lift and move smaller steel balls, and create weak psychic barriers and illusions.

When he finished showing us, I let Alora go next, so we headed to Bay 4. There, the room was mostly clear, but there were electrodes that looked to be made of different materials on one side of the room. Additionally, there looked to be circuitry on one part of the wall, the floor curved into the back wall, and the walls themselves were made of different metals.

Alora went to on to describe that besides being fast and having abnormally fast reflexes, even for a Shifted trainer, she was also able to create minor electric fields around herself. Eventually, she would be able to create an electromagnetic field around herself that could mess with magnetism, radio signals, radar, and even infrared. With her current electric field, she could change the electrical charge of the particles around her, and also store a small electrical charge in her fingers. She then demonstrated moving objects by giving them electrical charges opposite to her own.

I was last to demonstrate my capabilities, but I had a feeling that Gabriel and Alora were eager to see them. I conveyed my team generally what I had conveyed to Warrant Officer Hoffman, and then showed them a few of my abilities. I dimmed the lights progressively down the room so that they were standing in about half of full lighting, with the back of the room completely dark. I then phased in, which blurred my form significantly in the low light. Even though they had seen it before, Gabriel and Alora both appeared shocked.

I then cloaked myself and muffled my footsteps. As I moved back into the darkness, I quickly melded with the shadows until I disappeared entirely from their view. I could hear Gabriel mutter, "Good gods…" as I vanished, and then I used the Noxmiasma to pull myself up alongside the wall to an upper platform. From there I jumped from my perch to the rear of my teammates. As I landed, I drew the Noxmiasma to my feet and attempted to muffle them.

Unfortunately, I was not able to completely muffle the thud that occurred with that much force, but I yelled "Boo!" when I landed. Both of them recoiled violently. Gabriel yelled jumped to the side while Alora flinched to the side and slammed the back of her elbow into my nose.

The reflexive attack threw me onto my back, and I immediately grabbed my broken nose as it started to bleed. All the while, Alora was breathing heavily, looking like I had scared her. But her heavy breathing turned to giggles, and then to loud laughter after a few moments as she watched me writhe on the floor.

It hurt like hell, but even I had to admit that my plan had backfired in the funniest way. Gabriel joined into the laughter as well, and before long, they were helping me to my feet. "Serves you right, asshole," Alora told me, still laughing.

"Yeah, yeah…" I said, my face scrunched up in pain.

"Well that was horrifying," Gabriel said, also laughing. "But kind of cool too. Can you do anything else?"

I proceeded without messing with them again. I showed them my ability to project my voice, and coated my fist with Noxmiasma before punching a concrete road block on the ground and shattering its corner. I told them I had the minor ability to weakly shield myself, and that I wanted to try to develop the ability to send mirages of myself in the darkness. I also told them that I was wondering if there was a way for me to drain light from my surroundings like a Blackout.

Afterwards, we walked together to the shooting range, where the requisitions officer was waiting with a large selection of weapons. Alora went first, picking out an M11 handgun, an MK13 sniper rifle, an M4A1 carbine, a crossbow, and a standard tactical knife. Along with her weapons, she picked out a few custom attachments that fit her shooting style.

I picked out a standard M11 handgun with a holo-red-dot sight and a silencer attachment, a bow with custom scope attachment, a standard M4A1 carbine with holo-red-dot sights and scope, a standard tactical knife, and a tactical tanto – which I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had available.

"A sword, really?" Gabriel asked, looking at the 20" weapon.

"Not quite," I said. "But yes."

He rolled his eyes and shrugged, but smirked as he picked out an M11 handgun, an M4A1 carbine, an M4 shotgun, a bow, and a standard tactical knife. He also picked a few custom attachments for his weapons.

We dropped off our weapons at the barracks and ate dinner, talking about all of the possibilities that our combined abilities could achieve. After dinner, we met in the courtyard, where the trainers had us release our pokemon. Various members of my team acknowledged those of Gabriel's team and vice-versa.

From there, we followed our trainers into the foliage, immediately jumping into the lesson. We started off learning the best ways to traverse jungle undergrowth to preserve silence, speed, and cover. Various trainers' pokemon also accompanied us, directing our pokemon. It was a tedious, but comprehensive lesson on covert movement through dense jungle foliage that lasted well into the night. When the lesson was finished, we all went to be feeling excited for the training to come.

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) –

The following weeks were full of physical conditioning, Shift training, pokemon training, marksman drills, and scenario exercises.

Shift training progressed well with Gabriel and Alora. I managed to grow stronger and more adept with my abilities, but progress was slow to nonexistent with new abilities at first. This was fine with me, however, because I was already proficient with many tactically valuable skills.

Pokemon training outside of drills centered on focused technique control, type mastery, basic battle tactics and technique groupings, and trainer order transmission. General tactics could be conveyed via word of mouth, but move groupings needed to be relayed via whistling and other non-verbal methods to prevent enemies from knowing what to expect. Additionally, whistling is less noticeable at a distance than yelling orders.

Pokemon mastery progress for Gabriel went hand-in-hand with his Shift training. The Warrant Officer training him in his personal Shift abilities also gave him directions in mastering his pokemons' psychic types. Dissimilarly though, since Alora did not have an electric pokemon, a separate trainer helped her with her Marowak, named Theo, in ground mastery. As a non-pokemon trainer, she had a harder time understanding the concepts, so progress was not as fast.

All the while, I cultivated dragon mastery with my team. By the third week, Gabriel understood and actively cultivated his pokemons' psychic mastery, so he was able to start educating me. Alora shared what little she was able to about ground type mastery, Gabriel shared psychic pokemon type mastery, and I shared dark type mastery. Unfortunately, Gabriel and Alora would not be able to benefit from my knowledge of dragon type mastery.

Gabriel's and my typing turned out to be a huge boon to each other. As typing opposites, it was very difficult for each of us to understand the other's nature, but as teammates, we were patient with each other and actively helped each other understand when we could. Progress was not immediately, but mastery would eventually come.

Our scenario drills were diverse and numerous. The skills we practiced in Ranger boot camp and phases 2 and 3 of Ace camp were put to use in broader scenarios that had overarching objectives, like infiltrating a base to capture someone, and then exfiltrating with them in tow. We had to do so without alerting anyone, and if we did, we needed to finish the drill anyway. Pokemon were added to enemy forces in these scenarios, and we were taught how to deal with them.

Most methods of dealing with pokemon in situations in which our cover had not yet been blown – aside from avoiding them – was to incapacitate them quickly, but not to maim or kill them. Their trainer could easily see their status on their pokeballs, so the best way to deal with most of them was putting them to sleep. Another way was with a new technology created in the last year that had not been brought to the market: Recall rounds.

I learned that Recall rounds were engineered from the same technology as the Recall guns, and initiated the return sequence of a pokemon to their pokeball, almost instantly recalling the pokemon. The best part of the rounds is that the light produced when a pokemon was returned took place at the pokemon's position, so there was no attention-grabbing reaction on the pokeball itself. Granted, if the trainer was looking at the ball, they would see that their pokemon was suddenly in their ball. But unless the trainer was nearby, the flash of the pokemon returning to its ball would go unnoticed.

Throughout scenario drills, basic tactical ideas were hammered into our heads. This included staying quiet at all times until you have to go loud, working angles when clearing buildings, keeping weapons retracted – or close to your chest – when working in close quarters, and always clearing rooms without doors first in order to stay silent.

The addition of pokemon and our abilities made clearing buildings significantly easier and faster, as Gilles could move through walls, Gabriel could sense other minds nearby, Alora could cut the lights to an entire building from a simple outlet with Jarvis, and I could sense people within Noxmiasma. Dark and ghost type pokemon could then make short work of everyone inside the dark building.

Part of clearing buildings with offensive pokemon was teaching them what to do, but to strictly wait until you give them the go ahead. And part of clearing buildings with defensive pokemon was making sure they knew where to focus their defensive techniques, and where to position themselves so that they would not only be protecting us, but also not accidentally getting in the way.

Everyone in our teams served a purpose one way or the other. However, some of those purposes were much more specialized in different circumstances. For example, Rufus and Gilles had a very effective offensive purpose in clearing buildings or otherwise close-quarters situations, and Titus, Azrael, and Saraph served as extremely effective defensive pokemon. But, most could switch roles if the situation called for it.

As the weeks progressed, I grew more comfortable with Gabriel's and Alora's pokemon, and vice versa as they continually trained beside me and my team. I began to rely on them as well, which was not something that came easily. I truly trusted my team, and even though I knew that Gabriel's team was strong enough to beat the 1st Elite, I would never trust anyone or anything as much as my pokemon. However, just like I came to rely on Gabriel and Alora, I would eventually come to rely on their pokemon.

The weeks of jungle training went by in a flash of continued training. On top of general Ace training, we learned to traverse and survive in a rainforest. At the beginning of the fourth week that we were there, we were surprised by another team's arrival. And, I recognized them.

The team consisted of two people – the gray-haired man who had inspected me for hauntings, and his partner. They were introduced as the only other shadow ops squad in Ace Intelligence.

"Today, we welcome for the next week Senior Chief Petty Officer Jayden Sykes and Petty Officer 1st Class Quentin Trevino," Lieutenant Commander Peterson told us. "They will be drilling alongside you in different scenarios, demonstrating proper procedure in some and acting as competent enemy combatants in others."

Both Ace trainers were wearing dark green camouflage uniforms. On Senior Chief Petty Officer (SCPO) Syke's jacket arm was a sewn insignia of a silver pokeball inside a silver half-circle connecting the topmost points of three downward-facing silver chevrons. Above the half-circle was a silver star. On Petty Officer 1st Class (POFC) Trevino's jacket arm was the insignia of a silver pokeball above the three silver chevrons. On both of the Ace trainers' left breast pocket above their last names was sewn the letter "A".

"It's our pleasure to assist in training the next generation of shadow operators," SCPO Sykes declared, his gray hair covered with a camo hat. "We complete objectives that no one else can and win wars from the shadows. We're here to teach you how to do that. So pay attention and do what you're told, and we'll get along great."

"A Team will join us for the last week of every climate zone to ensure that you properly complete all mission competencies," Lieutenant Commander Peterson told us. "We're starting with a prowling scenario."

Prowling scenarios were those in which we had to navigate to an objective while avoiding detection by patrolling enemies, human and pokemon. We were allowed to use certain weapons, but the goal was to make it through without using them. In situations where we drew attention to ourselves, we needed to retreat and extract. This meant alarms ringing out and both pokemon and trainers coming after us. During those scenarios, our pokemon were allowed to go nearly full-powered but were not allowed to use attacks on trainers.

Since there was no way of knowing if an enemy was Shifted or not, we were taught to treat all humans as if they were. This was a lesson that we were expected to heed on every mission if we graduated. Shifted trainers were fairly rare, but to underestimate one could be the difference between life and death in the field. As such, a secondary outcome of our training was to kill or incapacitate Shifted trainers. Gabriel's mind reading would eventually come in very handy for that.

Our first prowling exercise with A Team was enlightening. They were so experienced and proficient in covert movement that they did not even utilize Shifted characteristics. They moved swiftly and silently, while their pokemon masked or compensated for everything that they did that might make them noticeable. POFC Trevino had a Weavile who kept them dark, and SCPO Sykes had a Mismagius that warped the shadows around them to blend them into the scenery.

They rarely chose straight shot paths to their objectives, choosing instead to use natural elements along longer paths to keep them hidden. In the first prowling exercise, their path was somewhat winding, but it took us alongside a river.

Several times, we encountered trainers and their pokemon. Most of the time when we did, their movement ceased suddenly, and the blackout dimmed significantly, the Mismagius extended and warped shadows of nearby vegetation, and we waited. They made no movement or sound. They also spoke quietly whenever they felt the need to talk. The main first lesson they offered was this: The approach can be as slow as necessary most of the time, but the execution of the objective needs to be fast.

General lessons were very helpful, but our second major lesson is that all of our lessons were not 100% fool proof. When conducting operations against other intelligent enemies, there were always exceptions based on the nuances of the situation. For example, at one point POFC Trevino stopped us and pointed. It took a while before I saw it, but it was a Rhydon sitting amongst the foliage. It had not noticed us, but we still froze and hunkered down into the brush.

We waited for about 15 minutes for the Rhydon to move, but found that it seemingly had no intention of doing so. "Notice how the Rhydon seems out of place out here? It is almost certainly a trainer pokemon," SCPO Sykes whispered to us. "If this was a mission where time was a factor, we would not wait more than 15 minutes to make a move. We dare not try to go past it – its seismic senses will locate us easily, so we either retreat and find another way around, or we put the enemy to sleep. If there is no other way around, like if it's patrolling an entrance that we need to pass through, then we put it to sleep when we're sure no one will notice.

"In this case, we're going to put it to sleep instead of finding a different route. You," he said pointing at me. "You're up. Hit it with a tranq."

I nodded and notched a tranquilizer arrow-round. In some scenarios like this one, we were allowed to use some fully functioning weaponry, and tranquilizer rounds were one of them. SCPO Sykes looked at me with what looked like both curiosity and cynicism. Placing my target at roughly 100 yards, it was a very difficult shot. I phased in and shrouded my arrow in Noxmiasma. I targeted the Rhydon with a little help from the sights, and released the arrow.

The arrow was both quiet and extremely fast due to the Noxmiasma, and it hit the Rhydon in the top of its right shoulder. The arrow penetrated the Rhydon's thick skin and delivered a potent dose of sedative. The initial hit caused it to grunt in surprise and a little pain, but it was asleep before it could make any other noise.

"Impressive," the Ace operative whispered to me.

"That's nothing compared to Alora. Her sniping skills are second to none," I replied.

"Take the compliment," he whispered, annoyed. "I don't know many people that good with a bow, even if you did use your Shift to enhance its momentum."

"Yes, sir," I replied sheepishly.

With that, SCPO Sykes moved forward with a crisp hand gesture. Other than the Rhydon, we engaged no enemies during that first prowling exercise. The same exercise was repeated that night, in completely different conditions. Not only was it dark, but it had started to rain, giving us both visual and auditory cover.

A Team still managed to avoid revealing their Shifts, though I theorized that SCPO Sykes was Ghost-Shifted due to ability to discern hauntings, and the fact that he was another shadow ops Ace trainer. Ghost-Shifted or not, Gabriel could not read his mind, or his partner's, as A Team had expertly learned how to shield their thoughts from prying minds. Even so, the night operation was almost laughably easier under their tutelage. Even with the presence of ground-type pokemon, we finished the drill in half the time, and did so without engaging anyone or any pokemon.

"What lesson did we learn tonight?" POFC Trevino asked when we finished the exercise.

"Night operations are much easier," I replied.

"Correct, but also inclement weather makes operations easier," he told me. "In fact, if you have a strong enough pokemon for it, you could summon rain, hail, wind, sand, or snow to provide cover. But if they aren't strong enough to make the storm large enough, then you risk the enemy recognizing it as a pokemon-induced phenomenon."

We nodded in understanding.

"Well that concludes our first night," he said. "We'll see you all in the morning."

- (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) - (-o-) -

Under A Team's tutelage, we practiced a wide variety of scenario-based tactics. Reconnaissance scenarios and tactical retreats developed some of these tactics. This included patient observation and stealth. When anti-teleportation fields were non-existent, teleportation was the preferred method. But, if we were within enemy lines and could not teleport to retreat, then speed was of the essence. Azrael, Saraph, and Gabriel's Arcanine, were very effective at quickly removing us from situations. All three were extremely fast and could be ridden.

However, in scenarios where we still needed to maintain a level of stealth, all three of us were fast enough to retreat a fair distance without pokemon. Alora was the fastest of us, and I was almost as fast as her, but Gabriel lagged behind us.

While keeping an eye on our targets, it was important to know what was going on around us. If we were next to a flowing stream to mask our scent and our sound, then we kept a water pokemon or two in the water, making sure to monitor the flow for any minute irregularities or otherwise that might denote mobile, imminent threats from the water. If we were prone in the bushes in foliage camouflage suits surveying the area or observing enemy activity, there were at least two pokemon standing guard nearby, usually including a psychic pokemon and one with keen eyesight and hearing.

The Ace trainers introduced pokemon combat in a very interesting way, as well. Utilizing drones that emitted holographic projections of people, they pitted us against their pokemon with the goal of incapacitating said projections. A projectile striking the holograms would show in bright orange light, and we would continue fighting until the trainers stopped us.

The lesson, on top of simple battling practice, was to continue fighting even after it seems like we had won. We should never take for granted that we have won a fight until all threats are clearly neutralized. Even if we took out the trainers, there would still be angry pokemon left out, so we had three options. 1. We neutralize or incapacitate the pokemon 2. We attempt to locate, and in Ace trainers' cases, hack, the trainer's PokeDex and recall the pokemon to its ball 3. We attempt to flee.

In cases where we fought Ace Trainers, hacking a PokeDex took time and focus – unless done by a Porygon. This is where Alora excelled. Even though she had a Porygon2 to hack, she was more than capable of doing it herself as long as she had cover. So, that became part of our exercises – protecting Alora while she hacked a PokeDex to recall its connected pokemon in close proximity after disabling their trainer.

A Team also taught us how to approach wild pokemon during missions. Sometimes it was difficult to tell which pokemon were wild and which were enemy combatants. In some cases it was easier to tell, though. For instance, if the pokemon was a second or third evolution of its species, and it was within a half-mile of an enemy structure, then it was safe for us to assume that it was a trainer pokemon. And within half of a mile of an enemy structure, indigenous species of pokemon were more likely to be wild pokemon, while exotic pokemon were more likely to be trainer pokemon.

This distinction mattered, for it determined how we dealt with the pokemon. Wild pokemon are very territorial and will, more often than not, attack other creatures that stray too close to them. Occasionally, older wild pokemon would leave us alone if they gauged us to be more trouble than we were worth. But in the cases where we were set upon by wild Rattata, Pidgey, Seviper, Treecko, and other jungle pokemon, we dispatched them as efficiently as we could, and our approach was only refined by A Team. After all, violent struggles were easy to notice.

The two members of A Team were masters at efficiency. When traveling with their Weavile and Mismagius, if they stumbled upon a smaller pokemon, the Mismagius made quick work of it, usually by means of decapitation or a cut throat so that it could not vocalize its distress. If a larger wild pokemon threatened to blow their cover, they both released a pokemon who then dealt with the threat, before quickly returning them to their balls. The dead bodies were either eaten quickly (if it was a small pokemon), hidden, or teleported away.

It took, at most, a few seconds for A Team to dispatch larger pokemon. SCPO Sykes had a very rare Ninetails that would immobilize the interloper while POFC Trevino's Gallade would quickly cut it down. In general, while we had weapons and were completely capable of defending ourselves against wild pokemon, our trained pokemon were the cornerstone of our arsenal. And, we actively adapted our teams to our situation.

At all times when we were conducting a stealth operation, we either had a dark or a psychic pokemon accompanying us. This was to mask our presence. I learned a new use for psychic pokemon in these operations: psychic masking, which was useful against other psychics. A Team started teaching our psychic pokemon to hide our presence from other psychic pokemon, which was a very advanced technique.

Psychic was opposite to my typing in concept, so it was a little more difficult for me to grasp. The best explanation that Gabriel used to help me understand the concept was likening a psychic pokemon's thought-detection abilities to a radar or radio, picking up all thoughts from the minds it comes in contact with. Psychic masking had to do with creating a psychic barrier around our minds which prevented them from being picked up by enemy psychic frequencies.

Psychic masking, coupled with dark-type Blackouts, kept our presence and numbers hidden from our enemies. And with A Team's guidance, we quickly learned to use such stealth concepts with greater efficacy.

Every skill we developed and trained was meant to keep us hidden, until we had no choice but to abandon stealth. Then, the tactics changed and we either fought our way out of a situation, or retreated.

Our pokemon learned beside us throughout our training, each adapting their personal characteristics to stealth and combat. My team was well-trained in combat, and Gabriel's was as well, but Ace training fine-tuned those combat abilities.

Outside of underground travel, Azrael learned to submerge himself mostly and almost slither through the earth, navigating around larger boulders that would make more noise being pushed out of his way. His movements grew much more deliberately fluid and quiet. While noticeable to other ground-type pokemon, he still became much stealthier.

Unfortunately, Azrael's size did not afford him the same stealth capability in the air. The sounds of his wings flapping, alone, was loud enough to give away his position if he was hovering or moving slowly. Alternatively, though, at higher speeds below Mach 1 he was very silent, due to his streamlined body. However, it was reinforced that recognizable pokemon presented an inherent risk to the identities of covert operatives, so the use of one – like Azrael – should be done with calculated caution.

When it came to combat, Azrael was a threat to be reckoned with. He may not have been particularly quick, but his attacks were extremely powerful and versatile. His size limited him in some situations, but otherwise added to his prowess. Few untrained pokemon would want to stand against him.

Saraph, unlike Azrael, was much lighter and was able to move much quieter while hovering. Unfortunately though, her species did not evolve for stealth. Their red color, large body, and fire usage were naturally very distinct, so using her during stealth portions of missions was off the table. However, in almost every other area, she was very effective. She was fast, ferocious, and packed a punch.

Titus and Rufus grew incredibly stealthy. Despite Titus's size, he was maneuverable and used Noxmiasma to lessen the impact force of his footfalls. Both were nigh soundless as they moved, but Rufus excelled in stealth; his size and speed made him virtually undetectable in the night. They both could use Noxmiasma to move when necessary to avoid any physical contact with the ground, negating a ground-type pokemon's ability to detect them, and extend some of those benefits to other pokemon and people around them.

In battle, Titus and Rufus were extremely effective, though almost opposites in approach. Titus was slower (though still very fast, especially for his species) but he could both give and take a massive amount of physical damage. Conversely, Rufus was extremely fast, and could give and take massive amounts of non-physical damage.

Gilles was naturally very stealthy, but under A Team and the Ace trainers' tutelage, his stealth characteristics were refined. While sneaking, he was almost always incorporeal, and stuck to the shadows. Or, he simply latched onto someone's back and hid in their shadow. Like Rufus and Titus, his capabilities could be extended to those around him; his shadow could be bent and extended to offer more cover.

In battles, Gilles was taught to be an invisible killer. He only became corporeal when attacking, and his non-physical attacks were focused and powerful. True to his species' reputation, there was nothing more terrifying in the dark.

Ceto's capabilities on land were much more limited than in the water, but she still learned to move in a more streamlined fashion to decrease noticeability. At some points, her tail unfurled and she almost looked like a floating snake as she slipped from cover to cover. A benefit that Ceto enjoyed, was the ability to float above the ground, escaping the threat of detection by ground pokemon.

In battle, Ceto was a special kind of powerhouse. With the help of A Team and the Ace trainers, we honed her into a sort of artillery-sniper. Her aim was impeccable at distance, and she could put a lot of power behind her attacks. Her Ice Beam was especially devastating.

Lastly, Dante's stealth capabilities flourished. He could create minor illusions around himself for camouflage, and extend that to everyone around him. He also learned to create small psychic force fields an inch above the ground under his steps to avoid triggering ground-type senses.

In combat, Dante was a terrifying force. His combat capabilities were just as effective at night as they were during the day, and his maneuverability was unmatched. He was fast on his feet, and his teleportation capabilities gave him an additional edge. And, when he struck, it was fast and immensely powerful.

My team was on a level above Gabriel's and Alora's – though it was understandable for Alora. She was not a pokemon trainer before Ace. Despite the difference in ability and strength, Gabriel's team was not to be taken lightly.

Gabriel's Gardevoir, Ezekiel, was a non-physical powerhouse, much like Gilles, but he also specialized in illusions. Where Dante could create minor illusions for camouflage, he still only looked to be an amateur compared to Ezekiel. The illusions were much more realistic and detailed, and they could be extended to encompass much larger areas.

Gabriel's Starmie, which he named North Star, was similar to Ceto in both battle and stealth capability, and his Shiftry, named Hemlock, was like Rufus in terms of stealth, but like Dante when it came to combat. She was fast, maneuverable, and hit hard. His Electabuzz was named Raijin, reminded me a lot of Lazarus – he was ferocious, very fast, and hit about as hard physically as non-physically. His Gliscor, named Nash, was like Azrael except much smaller, making him stealthy and dangerous. Lastly, his Arcanine, who was named Prometheus, was like Saraph – ferocious, gargantuan, and powerful. The difference was, he was much more maneuverable on the ground.

Gabriel's Pupitar did not receive much training due to its status. Pokemon that go through an evolutionary stage in a cocoon have extremely limited abilities. And unfortunately, it was not something we could change. Like all similar pokemon in a cocoon phase, it would evolve after it was done developing. Its evolution was entirely dictated by time, and there was nothing we could do to expedite it.

Alora's Marowak, Theo, was already well-trained, giving her some slack in regard to the training aspect of Ace. We quickly learned that the Marowak was given to her as a protective element in scenarios where we were separated. Theo was tough and extremely fast for its species. It was perfect for her, despite not being an electric pokemon. Additionally, after training with Theo for some time, I speculated that he was probably on a level consistent with a three-star trainer. Theo was probably more skilled than most of my team.

The Porygon2 was a different story. It was never used for battle, but was consistently used in hacking exercises and environment control - specifically, electrical systems that kept areas lighted and communications. The Porygon2 was so advanced that it could piggyback onto the radio waves between walkie-talkies and systematically hamstring communications. Additionally, it could navigate and sabotage electrical systems so quickly that if it wanted to, it could take out an entire city's electrical grid. It may not have been an electric-type pokemon, but it synergized well with Alora, and it was terrifying.

A Team ran various scenarios with us for one week and then left. Before they did, wanting to learn more about ghost type mastery, I approached SCPO Sykes and asked him if he was Ghost Shifted, and if he could tell me anything about mastery over its type.

"You're clever, aren't you?" he asked. "How did you know? I haven't used any of my capabilities."

"I put two and two together," I told him. "You were brought in to check me for hauntings, and you're on the only other shadow ops team. And unlike Psychic Shifted trainers, I saw your eyes glow. It was almost obvious."

"Huh, I guess so," he remarked. "In any case, I'll send you some notes about ghost mastery later."

By the time they left, I had already started training Gilles for ghost mastery. Then, at the start of our second month of practical training, we received another change in scenery. We were once again teleported to another training facility, with the same set of trainers.

Our new home for the next month was a winter wonder-hell. There may have been snow and cold weather during the first phases of Ace camp, but this was on a different level. We were teleported to a similar training facility right in front of a trainer with a Magmortar. Even with the heat radiating from the intense fire pokemon, the icy air stung at our backs like needles. There was hardly any foliage for miles around us, but there were clumps of conifers here and there.

For a month, we donned special attire to combat the extreme conditions. The gear was warm, but it was heavy and our faces were exposed to the arctic cold. Most of our pokemon were equally, if not more, uncomfortable in that climate. Especially those with natural weaknesses to the cold, such as the dragon, flying, ground, and grass type pokemon.

For Azrael, there was no place worse. When I first released him onto the snow, he recoiled with a roar and huddled onto the ground in as tight a ball as he could. His movements at first were slow and strained. Likewise, Gabriel's Gliscor had no resistance to the cold, and took a long time to grow somewhat accustomed to the extreme weather. Both Azrael and the Gliscor had dual weakness to ice, so while they eventually grew able to stand the weather enough to complete operations, they never grew even remotely comfortable.

To a lesser degree, Gabriel's Shiftry and Alora's Marowak were also weak to ice, and abhorred the climate. However, they developed a quasi-tolerance to the icy air and were able to perform effectively despite it.

Like the Shiftry and Marowak, Gabriel, Alora, and I would eventually develop a quasi-tolerance, but the discomfort of the arctic climate never went away. Many hours were spent learning arctic survival skills, and most of those hours were downright miserable at the best of times. The cold was a constant pain that only let up once we were back in the barracks.

The only pokemon of ours that actually seemed to enjoy the weather was Ceto and Gabriel's Starmie, who occasionally played in the snow when we were not drilling. Besides those two, all of our fire pokemon were not uncomfortable in the cold, mainly because of their ability to raise the temperature around them. However, they did not like the snow, especially when it melted on them.

Almost all of our training was done in the cold. Weapons training was done in a heatless range, small unit operations were conducted outside, and pokemon training was done outside. It was brutal, but we gradually learned how to survive and be effective in such cold conditions. Our land navigation training also brought us close to various arctic wild pokemon such as the Seal, Spheal, Snorunt, Swinub, Shelder, and Krabby species. As a result, we learned best methods of handling encounters and avoiding them.

Much of our strategies in the arctic incorporated a healthy respect for the environment. The extreme cold could kill us just as easily as an enemy pokemon. So while our clothing was white to match the arctic landscape, it was also insulated to protect us from the negative temperatures.

Even though the Shift made us unnaturally resilient towards the cold, arctic temperatures were deadly. Pokemon, though, were more resilient than we were. Even Azrael, who absolutely detested the weather with every inch of his being, was able to withstand the cold for prolonged periods of time. And when he became too cold, he used Flamethrower to warm himself up.

Aside from Azrael, my other pokemon were faring just fine for the most part, though with discomfort. But, it was very encouraging to see them being as effective in such extreme conditions. For example, we ran into a Sealio near the coast that attacked us. In seconds, my team had put it down. Despite a very thick layer of blubber protecting it, the Sealio had fallen to one slash of Gilles' claws. Rufus had then cooked it with an intense Flamethrower for good measure.

Weeks of training in such a cold environment toughened our resistance to the weather. Freezing fingers plagued our weapons training, and as a result, affected our accuracy. Food was scarce, so wild pokemon were generally eaten after we dealt with them. And our gear was bulky, so movement was hampered. This was particularly problematic when we needed to relocate quickly.

The arctic was probably my least favorite place, but I stuck through it. It was not permanent. I learned to survive and to operate at an acceptable level of skill despite the frigid temperatures.

When A Team showed up for the last week of the month, I was ready for their lessons. Likewise, Gabriel and Alora both toughed out the weather and held themselves to a high standard of excellence. Once again, we ran scenarios with them, learning through observation. Snow was much more difficult to move silently through, so we learned various ways to lessen our noticeability. Like in the jungle, we learned methods of traveling without being detected. We also learned best practices for tackling various theoretical missions that could take place in the arctic.

Ceto turned out to be very useful. A Team helped me train her and Gabriel's Starmie to create cover with light, voluminous snowstorms and subtly manipulate the terrain to help us move around quickly and quietly. SCPO Sykes also joined me for some of my pokemon training sessions to give guidance.

When the last week of the month ended, we were teleported to the exact opposite climate zone. We were immediately besieged by sweltering heat. Dry tan dirt and scarce vegetation stretched on in every direction, and hills and small rocky mountains dotted the landscape. It was all desert and the beginning of June.

The process of training us repeated. Priorities shifted and survival hinged on water availability and usage. Common indigenous pokemon included the Sandshrew, Gligar, Scorupi, Sandile, Onix, and Geodude species.

Being opposite of the arctic, our pokemon had opposite reactions. Azrael and Gabriel's Gliscor actively enjoyed the heat and dryness of the desert. Additionally, Rufus, Saraph, Gabriel's Arcanine, his Pupitar, and Alora's Marowak were all comfortable in the heat. Oppositely, Ceto, Gabriel's Shiftry, and his Starmie loathed the dryness and heat.

It was around this time that I started experiencing a change in perspective. Instead of viewing it as another kind of pain, I started viewing the climate as just another obstacle to overcome. Yes, it was uncomfortable to be thirsty and hot, or cold. But, like Hell Week, it was temporary. We had goals to meet, and the discomfort from the heat was just another type of discomfort like the cold. I could not be constantly focusing on such things instead of the objective, so I learned to numb myself to it.

Learning how to be effective in the desert for me was easier than in the arctic, but it was still a challenge. The ground did not make as much noise when you walked, and more of my pokemon seemed better suited for it. Vegetation was almost just as scarce, so food, shelter, and cover was difficult to come by.

In the heat of the desert, much of our attire was made to keep us cool, but it was nearly impossible. At least we wore hats that kept the sun out of our eyes. The heat bore down on us every day, but like the arctic, we learned to simply deal with it. I would put it out of my mind, even though it affected our performance to some degree.

The brightness would occasionally limit our eyesight, but certain kinds of pokemon could redirect sunlight so that we were not as addled. General fatigue was also a problem. When we sweat all hours of the day and water was limited, we ran the risk of passing out during an operation, or suffering from heat exhaustion. Limiting our movement to shaded areas helped manage the heat, as well as moving methodically through areas of no shade.

At night, being so cold, it was very similar to our previous training camp. So, we followed similar strategies for staying warm while also staying hidden. Luckily, we did not need to trudge through snow, so we were much more mobile. However, since we traveled relatively lightly to survive the heat, it meant that we did not have as much warm clothing for the night.

When A Team retuned for the final week of desert training, they refined the sandstorm capabilities with Azrael, Gabriel's Gliscor, and Alora's Marowak to favor size over intensity. This was purely for camouflage. They also taught us to use false heat waves as cover during the day, mainly through the use of psychic illusions. At night, dark and ghost pokemon were much more useful for stealth.

Our final month of Ace training took place in the forest. The climate was very agreeable in contrast to pretty much any other place during Ace training. By this time, we were refining our personal special skills, and those of our pokemon. At the end of the month we would be taking our final test towards becoming fully-fledged Ace Special Forces Trainers.

The last month almost flew by. I could feel the end of training growing closer and I had never been in better physical shape. Even though we engaged in long daily training, we had grown proficient with the various skills that were expected from us. At that point it was only repetition, and my squad's energy started rising fast. Training was drawing to a close and our excitement over that fact was elevating. The weeks went by quickly, and before we knew it, the last week was upon us. I looked back on our training with pride at that point – we had all come so far.

I had started training without much skill in firearms or medicine, and by the end of Ace training, I was downright deadly with all of provided weapons, and could treat a wound from most of them. Most importantly, though, I had learned to use my Shifted capabilities with a team. My Shift trainer had also helped me to extend the length of my Phantom State and to start being able to drain light from my surroundings.

Likewise, by the end of training, Gabriel and Alora had grown into competent teammates. There was no one more dangerous with a firearm than Alora. As skilled as I was, she made me look like child with a rubber-band gun. Beyond her weapons skills, she had learned to use her Shifted characteristics to a frighteningly dangerous degree. While we protected her in pokemon battles, she was fast enough to maneuver around to get quick accurate shots at her targets. Her electric Shift gave her lightning-fast reflexes and speed, which translated to her being able to aim and lineup shots with lightning speed, and react quickly to negative changes in her position. Additionally, she had been trained to manipulate electrical currents and fields around her to an effective degree.

Gabriel had grown into a formidable psychic. He had been trained to invade minds almost to the same extent as an Alakazam, and to keep a constant vigil on the environment around him. His psychic abilities had mainly been focused in awareness and mind-delving, which I learned had extra context when dealing with other humans. Apparently, it was easier for humans to detect psychic pokemon telepathy than a psychic human's telepathy due to the familiarity of a human's brainwaves over a pokemon's, so Gabriel's skills were that much more useful. And lastly, he was able to communicate to some extent with us via his mind, which made 100% silent communication possible.

When it came to our pokemon, Alora had developed a very good relationship with Theo. The Marowak was fast enough to keep up with her, and she had even learned how to use Theo as a tool to help her manipulate her electrical field. She could somehow use him as grounding to manipulate her abilities when necessary. Alora also had a very good relationship with her Porygon2. Being an artificial intelligence, Jarvis was very smart, and while it chose to keep to itself for the most part, it had good rapport with Alora.

Gabriel's pokemon had grown in skill as well. He had not achieved psychic mastery with his pokemon by the end of training, but he was making progress. Conversely, Azrael, Ceto, and Saraph had seemingly mastered the use of dragon-type energy. They could manipulate the energy flow and transition from different dragon-type attacks with ease. This achievement had allowed me to start addressing psychic, ghost, and fire types for mastery, and by the end of training, we had a good start.

Together, Gabriel, Alora, and I were efficient and effective. We could adapt to almost any situation, and we worked as a cohesive team. We were dangerous and our pokemon amplified that tenfold.

When A Team showed up for the final week of training, they followed us and observed while we undertook each scenario. They did not help at all, choosing only to offer feedback at the end of each exercise. And, they did not have much to critique.

Each scenario was mirrored at night, and each one we executed flawlessly. We used pokemon effectively each time, and hit our objectives with minimal hardship. If we ran into a wild pokemon, they were incapacitated quickly. If we needed to get past a trainer pokemon, we did so expertly with the use of tranquilizers or Recall Rounds.

Scenarios where we needed to retreat were just as successful. Our mix of pokemon and individual skills allowed us to extract from missions with explosive speed. On the ground, under the ground, or in the air, we were fast and cohesive. With Gabriel's advances in psychic training, we could move quickly with few words spoken through most scenarios. And with our diverse collection of pokemon, we were ready for any situation. By the end of the week, we felt like competent Special Forces soldiers.

We almost could not sleep on the seventh night of training, knowing that only testing stood between us and graduation. We stayed awake in the lobby of the barracks discussing what we would do when we were finally released. We knew that we would have a small period of leave before being deployed, and each of us had things we wanted to do, but visiting family seemed to be the trend.

Aside from spending some time with his family, Gabriel wanted to travel a little with his brother and sister on their pokemon training journeys. Alora wanted to go home and spend some time with her family as well, but apart from that, she did not seem to want to do much else. I wanted to visit my parents, but I also just wanted to spend some time with my pokemon without any pressure. I was thinking of visiting the training campsite I had established outside of Cerulean City.

The next morning started early. We had the basic tests for running, swimming, and pushups/sit-ups/pull-ups. Then, we spent a good portion of the day testing in marksmanship, demolitions, psychic resistance, and medical skills.

When we finally finished our medical skills test, Lieutenant Peterson told us that our exams were finished, and that results would be given the following day. This caused immense confusion, as we had not gone through any scenarios or battles. But, we were informed that the previous week of scenarios was our test. A Team had not joined in the scenario exercises, and had been observing us for the sole purpose of determining if we performed adequately enough. With that said, we retired for the rest of the day with some anxiety over the results of our tests.

In the morning, we ate breakfast and then reported to Lieutenant Peterson for our results. Even though I was confident in our performance, I was also extremely anxious to find out for sure. With my history with the League, I was expecting some sort of deception or betrayal.

Standing before the Lieutenant Commander, we received a proud smile. "You all passed your exams with flying colors."

We all let out a collective held breath and could not help but return her smile.

"With these results, you graduate from Ace training. You are now Ace Trainers. From this day on, you are Petty Officer Third Class Gabriel Mills, Petty Officer Third Class Alora Woelk, and Petty Officer Second Class Zachariah MacAfee in Ace Trainer Corps. The ranks generally reflect your Elite record or in your case Alora, your perceived skill level, but Zachariah, your rank also reflects your status as team leader. You have been appointed as such due to your general knowledge and leadership skills demonstrated through training. Tomorrow, you will all be teleported back to Pewter City to receive your ranks and honors. You will wear dress uniforms for this, and after the ceremony, you will have two weeks of leave before you will need to report back to the Pewter City headquarters for your assignment."

"Sir, will our parents be notified of the ceremony?" Gabriel asked.

"Yes, they have already been notified and will be provided teleportation."

"Thank you, sir," he replied.

"It's no problem at all. This is a big achievement, and you deserve to have your family's support." The Lieutenant then cleared her voice. "Last thing, it has been a pleasure training you all. Do your country proud."

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Current PokeDex Update

Two-Star Trainer: Zachariah MacAfee; KA523VI979E; Petty Officer Second Class, Ace Trainer Corps

Active Pokemon:

Azrael – Garchomp

Gilles – Gengar

Rufus – Houndoom

Ceto – Seadra

Dante – Gallade

Titus – Bisharp

Pokemon in Preparation:

Saraph – Charizard

One-Star Trainer: Gabriel Mills; KA698FU887; Petty Officer Third Class, Ace Trainer Corps

Active Pokemon:

Ezekiel – Gardevoir

Prometheus – Arcanine

North Star – Starmie

Hemlock – Shiftry

Raijin – Electabuzz

Nash – Gliscor

Pokemon in Preparation:

Friedrich – Pupitar

Pseudo-Trainer: Alora Woelk; KA776VE021; Petty Officer Third Class, Ace Trainer Corps

Active Pokemon:

Theo – Marowak

Jarvis – Porygon2

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Author's Note:

Hi everyone! Surprise, another chapter in less than six months! Crazy, I know. I've been writing a lot lately, so I may keep a quick schedule in comparison, but don't get used to it in case I lose inspiration.

I did not want to spend more than two chapters on Ace training, so I apologize if some parts felt rushed or not explained fully. I feel like I could write two more chapters if I went into detail about everything. Certain unnarrated aspects of training will be incorporated in future chapters, so context will be added eventually.

So, the first chapter of Ace training focused on the physical training. The physical standards were literally modeled off of my research of Seal Training, and then made harsher. It definitely focuses more on steady, constant physical exertion instead of showcasing the extreme physical capabilities of the cadets. This chapter dealt with the skills side of things, and the formation of Zach's squad. Hopefully you enjoyed it.

I hope to get another chapter out before another six months passes, but in case I don't, see you all next time!