The tall woman sat on the opposite side of the vehicle, her long, violet hair catching the breeze of the drive. Tia, the usually silent leader of Team Wild Dragoons, was an enigma of a woman to him. 

He thought himself lucky to get time to get to know her, something most people would probably claw tooth and nail for, and every so often he would get to see the person behind the ice cold glare.

“Ya keep staring, and Murkrow are gonna peck your eyes.”

Rai whipped his head over his shoulder in surprise at this statement, turning his attention to Minnie, forgetting she was in the truck at the moment.

One of the few joys Minnie got out of life was messing with people, and Rai was one of her favorites. Ever since they were kids, she made it her job to mess with this guy.

As the two rangers exchanged words regarding who was staring at what, the ever silent Tia had decided to speak up.

“You two seem close.” She commented in a very curious manner.

Minnie commented on how much of a treat this was to actually talk to her.

He went on to add that the two of them had known each other since they were young, their parents were friends so they were always around each other.

“Yeah, we have seen some shiiiit in all of these years.” Minnie chimed in with a chuckle.

Rai added that they went to ranger school together and stuff, Minnie attempting to add on the fire in his family's business, but he quickly cut her off.

He questioned loudly about the equipment in the truck bed, asking if this stuff would really improve their skills.

Tia collected all of this information before processing the question.

"Yes.” Tia responded simply.

The rangers exchanged a look. They had all been working and training around each other for a few months now, and they still couldn't get a lot out of her.

“So, what do you enjoy about competing?” Rai asked to keep some conversation going.

Pausing for another moment, Tia looked at the rangers before turning her attention back out the window.

“It's fun. I feel free.” She stated.

“You're weird.” Minnie responded bluntly.

Rai had snapped back, the two getting into another bickering match.

This whole time they had been driving on one of the many back roads of Sinnoh to avoid traffic and people, so their route was pretty clear.

Or so they thought.

“Stop!” Tia called out in distress, prompting Rai to slam on the breaks with wide eyes.

Minnie had tumbled forward due to being unrestrained in the back seat, collecting herself as she rose up from the car's floor a bit agitated.

“What the hell was that all about?!” She snapped at Tia and then Rai, who both seemed fixated on the road.

Her eyes squinted in confusion as she finally noticed what was the source of their troubles.

Everyone in the car was stunned in silence as they all focused on the strange figure in the middle of the dirt road.

A figure in all black tactical gear stood dead center of the road, their face and head completely indiscernible due to the complete helmet-like face mask they wore.

“Hey, nice uh...cosplay...i think? Sorry if we messed up your photoshoot, but you're in the middle of the road, and we need to keep moving.” Rai called out as he leaned his head out the window, getting no response from the figure who started to approach the car.

Rai and minnie exchanged a glance. They knew a bad sign when they saw one, but they had a plan for aggressive individuals.

“Hey look-” Rai called out as he began to open his car door to try and talk to the figure, only for it to be pushed back shut on his by an identical masked figure, with a third appearing on the opposite side of the car.

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.