Rai heard as he lowered his hands from his face and opened his eyes slowly.

His eyes were met with a far less harsh white light, much more like LED lights, still obnoxious but bearable as he noticed faces staring at him, some even chuckling.

As his eyes adjusted, he identified his surroundings as some kind of elevator that was filled with his friends, the scruffy haired jab worker, and a couple of those masked forces.

Rai heard snickering from somewhere he expected as he looked over to Minnie at his side, getting a kick at his awkward entrance. 

He then heard some muffled snickers and chuckles coming from a few guards, causing him to become a bit annoyed, ready to have some kind of snappy comeback, however his annoyance would turn into embarrassment as even the usually stoic Tia was letting out some giggles. Rai wasn't as annoyed but was feeling a blush cross his face.

“Don't feel too embarrassed. A lot of people don't know how to react to their first portal. It's just a little funny seeing a reaction like that from you of all people.”  The scruffy haired scientist explained.

Rai wondered what he meant by that, however he wouldn't have a lot of time to dwell on this thought as the elevator rose past the blank walls that they had been viewing on their way up, as they now felt like they had been shot upwards into a whole new world.

The Rangers and Athlete stood in awe as they saw what looked like a large, interconnected biosphere-like enclosure more than double, maybe triple the size of any structure they had seen.

Tia had been to her fair share of sporting venues and arenas, while Rai and Minnie had been to many major rehabilitation facilities, natural biomes, and enrichment compounds, but they were far less complex and much smaller in size.

There were mountain ranges that made Mt. Silver and Coronet look pitiful by comparison. 

The different types of environments were perfectly structured, with many different types of pokemon inhabiting them so peacefully.

The mountains could be seen eventually crossing into forested areas, with streams flowing into lakes. Beaches having long strands of sand eventually become deserts and not a single sign of disharmony. 

Every Pokemon seemed to have enough space for roaming, resources, food, and even the weather, which was perfectly centered and balanced to their individual needs.

They were all in amazement, with Rai being the most excited as he pushed himself against the glass, really observing and noting how so many different species of pokemon were able to coexist in such an amazing place.

His surprise grew as the elevator stopped in midair before shifting into horizontal movement, knocking the newcomers off their feet, with Rai and Tia falling into each other and Minnie falling into a guard, getting close enough to make out just barely an eye, with a familiar and haunting look to it.

As everyone regained their footing, Rai and Tia engaging in a rather embarrassing display of awkwardness, they were all once again in awe of the fact that they were moving over the entire facility, able to see pokemon, landscapes and life happening in just a trip in an elevator.

“This is only but a fraction of what we have built here, but you should consider yourselves extremely lucky as very few people get to visit the “The Jar.” The scientist explained as he waved his hand in the air to make a virtual console appear, to which he swiped and pressed a few things before the omni-vator slowed and changed its course.

Minnie had finally gotten over her amazement to finally snap at the scientist, asking what was the point in dragging them here, they seemed like they had everything they needed, and usually people who have a ton of armed guards aren't always up to something good.

He responded that the guards were to protect the valuable assets of the facility. However, they can be a bit gung-ho when visiting new locations, but they mean well.

Minnie looked over the guards, not feeling much better at this explanation.

“As for why we needed you all.” He added.

“We don't.”

Everyone was confused at this statement.

“We only needed him.” The scientist explained as he pointed to Rai.

Rai was pretty shocked at this statement, as he tried to rationalize the whole thing with Minnie trying to get more answers, causing a bit of a ruckus in the small elevator, which had gone dimmer as they had entered a tunnel, leaving behind the light of the beautiful biosphere.

He felt his back against the wall, trying to assess the situation as the omni-vator had slowed to a stop with the door being at his back.

“Ok, I'm not too sure what you mean by all of this, but I'm not that important. I-i’m just a normal ranger from Sinnoh who loves pokemon.” Rai began rambling while Minnie continued to struggle and make the enclosed space more inhospitable. 

“I think everyone would feel a lot better if we talked this out, maybe over a nice cup of-” Rai tried to rationalize and negotiate some level of peace in the chaos, with him slowly backing out of the enclosed area, only for him to collide with another body, causing both it hit the ground with the contents of the other individuals bag spilling all around.

Rai began apologizing profusely, not noticing the comotion dying down as he began shuffling around to pick up papers, pencils, and a pair of glasses that weren't his, as he returned them to their owner, his eyes widening as the owner placed his glasses back on his face.