Over the next two days, Elaine fidgeted with her favorite wrench. Summer saw her looking at the red machine, moving her wrench back and forth between her hands. Summer had learned this was Elaine's version of pacing... and one had to be very careful about their electronics if they didn't want it to be dismantled (thankfully, Summer hadn't learned this the hard way). But near the end of the second day, Elaine was starting to calm down a little.

On the third day, Summer came out of her room at the Ranger Base to find Elaine pacing but not around the machine. There was a look of concern on her face. Summer looked around the lobby. She saw Vanessa, the Operator, with the same look on hers. But there was no Barlow, who was always in the lobby if there wasn't a mission going on, nor any other Rangers.

"Where is everyone?" Summer asked Elaine. "Are they still sleeping or something?"

"You need to get out to the forest now," Elaine said grimly. "There's a fire."

Summer widened her eyes. "Fire?!" She ran back to her room and whistled to Starly. "There's a fire, Partner; let's go!"

From its' perch, Starly opened an eye and stared at Summer to see if she was serious. At least once a week, she put Starly through a drill for whenever there would be a real emergency. She always cracked up with a laugh after a few seconds. Once Starly saw that Summer wasn't going to laugh anytime soon, it figured there was an actual emergency and flew to her shoulder.

Summer ran out of the Base and headed for the Vien Forest. She stared up at the sky, seeing a combination of dark and light gray smoke. Summer remembered from a Ranger fire-fighting class at school that what color the smoke told a Ranger how dangerous a fire was. This combo smoke said that this fire was light in one place of the forest and bad in a different part.

Even while running, it still took Summer several minutes to get to the forest. There was a haze in the air as she went. And soon enough, she saw Luana on the trail ahead with Bunny on her head.

"Lu!"

Luana turned around and sighed with relief. "Good timing, Summer."

Summer stopped and tried to catch her breath. "What's... been... happening?" she asked. "Why didn't anyone... wake me up? Where are Barlow and Crawford?"

"Crawford spotted the smoke half an hour ago on his walk before work," Luana started to explain. "When he Voicemailed Vanessa to get us over here, I guess we were too distracted about the fire to get you. As for the guys, Crawford's deeper in the forest, evacuating the Pokémon. And Barlow's keeping the fire from spreading into this section and to town. I'm making sure no one gets into the forest unless they have a Pokémon that can help out."

'A Pokémon that can help out...' Summer thought. She looked up at Luana. "Call Elaine and have her go to Chicole Village to get my parents. They have a few Water-types and a Ground-type that can help smother the fire."

Luana nodded and handed Summer a cloth. "All right. Crawford called a few minutes ago, asking for assistance further in, so you'll need this. You do know what to do with this, right?"

Now Summer nodded. In the fire-fighting class, she had also learned that it was important to cover your nose and mouth, so you didn't inhale too much smoke. And it also helped for that something to be wet.

"The river's only a couple minutes in, so you can wet the cloth in there. And there are Wartortle in there, too, for you to Capture. Watch for falling objects and be careful!" Luana had to yell the last part because Summer had taken off at that time with Starly flying behind.

The next forty-five minutes were rough. Summer had to keep an eye out for falling logs and keep her and Starly's temperatures down. Thankfully, Summer had Captured both a Squirtle and Wartortle. The Squirtle kept them all wet with Bubble or Water Gun while the Wartortle doused the logs that were on fire.

Soon Summer came across Crawford. "Hey, Afro Head!" she yelled out, using Luana's favorite term of endearment. Usually, the raven was the only one to use it, but occasionally the others used it, too.

Crawford turned, soot covering his face and uniform. "Ah, hallelujah," he sighed with relief. "The fire giving you trouble too, I suppose."

Summer wiped sweat from her brow. "Except for Fire-types, I don't know anyone it wouldn't give trouble to." She searched the area for Pokémon and only saw Crawford's Budew on his shoulder. "Why don't you have any Water Pokémon? It's dangerous to be in here without one."

Crawford held up his wet cloth. "This has been helping me out for a while now. Besides, the reason for me calling Luana for help in the first place is because of this." Now he held up his Styler. "The heat's making my Styler act up, and I can't Capture anything right now. I've been guiding the Pokémon out the best I can without it, but I won't be able to keep it up forever."

"Well, it won't be too long before it's back to normal," said Summer. "Before I came in, I told Luana to have Elaine get my parents. Their Water and Ground-type Pokémon should be able to help."

Crawford shook his head. "Unless one of their Pokémon happens to know a wide area Move such as Rain Dance, I'm not sure how much help they'll be. Does either of your parents have a Blastoise?"

Summer pondered for a second. "No, but my sister has a Castform. It knows how to use Rain Dance." She turned on her X-Transceiver and dialed April's number. When April's face appeared, Summer could see her sister's screen shaking.

"What up, Summy?" April asked. At the moment, the eldest Montgomery sibling didn't care whether or not her only sister Persian Glared at her. At April's words, Summer rolled her eyes. She seldom bothered to glare at her sister when she did that because April was used to the Glare in any case.

"Did Elaine come by the house yet?" Summer asked in return.

"Ten minutes ago. Abbie and I are on our way with the Pokémon. See you." And the screen went black.

"Who's Abbie?" Crawford inquired.

"My sister's Absol. Wonder if she could sense the fire starting earlier."

An Absol could sense impending disasters coming. Summer wasn't sure whether a simple fire like this was doomful. Then she remembered why she had called April and slapped her hand to her forehead.

"Sisters," Summer groaned and redialed April's number.

When answering this time, April was getting annoyed. "I said I was on my way, didn't I?!"

"Yeah, but I was trying to ask you something else!" Summer retorted. "Do you have Casty with you?"

"Of course. I figured that if there's a fire and you guys needed help from anyone who had Pokémon to help out, you might need Casty. His Hydro Pump should be able to take out a lot of this fire," April elaborated.

"We need his Rain Dance," said Summer. "I'm going to call Luana and have her let you through. I'll come to you as soon as fast as possible."

"No, I'll come to you. Abbie knows your scent; don't worry."

"But you don't know where I am in the forest!" Summer said quickly before her sister could hang up. Unfortunately for her, April did hang up midway through Summer's sentence. "Ugh! Can Abbie even know my scent in a fire?"

"Who knows," shrugged Crawford, wiping some sweat from his forehead.

"Squirtle, would you mind giving him a little Bubble?" Summer turned to her Friend Pokémon. The Tiny Turtle Pokémon nodded, and light-blue bubbles came from its mouth, lightly splashing Crawford's face.

"Thanks, Summer. Mind using your Friends to help out with the fire until your sister gets here?"

Summer nodded. She had the Water Pokémon use their Moves: Squirtle with Water Gun and Wartortle with Water Gun and Water Pulse. The surrounding trees, still ablaze, started to diminish slightly.

"Man, this fire is strong," Summer whined under her breath. "April can't come fast enough."

Only a minute later, an Absol appeared, April Montgomery on its back. Summer sighed with relief at seeing her big sister.

"This fire is immense," said April, looking around. She turned to her little sister. "I can see why you need my Castform." Then she saw Crawford. "Hey, you're the Afro joking guy, aren't you?"

"That's me," grinned Crawford.

"Bud!" The Bud Pokémon peeked out from Crawford's shoulder and smiled at April. "Bud budew!"

April smiled at the Pokémon. "Aw, a Budew. I remember when my Thorn was one."

"Thorn?"

"Her Roserade," said Summer. "Talk about this later, please and get Casty out?"

April cringed. "Ooh, right; there's a fire." She took out a red and white ball from her belt and threw it into the air. "Come out, Casty!"

A flash of white light and a light-grey Pokémon popped out. "Castform!"

"Hey Casty, I need you to help Summer out," April told her Pokémon. "Listen to what she says, all right?"

Casty nodded and turned to Summer. "Cast castform cast?"

Summer guessed that Casty was asking her what it needed to do. "Come on, Casty; we need to go in a little further for you to use Rain Dance." She turned to her sister. "Help out Crawford here and use Mom and Dad's Pokémon until Rain Dance is in effect."

"All right," April nodded. "Be careful in there."

"Head for the middle of the forest!" Crawford shouted as Summer and the Pokémon ran further into the forest. "Only seven more minutes that way."

Sweat was running down Summer's face, but she didn't bother for Squirtle to cool her down (although the Squirtle did it anyway without being asked.)

'This should be the middle of the forest,' Summer thought, skidding to a stop where the smoke seemed to be thickest. She coughed through her cloth and turned to Casty.

"Okay, Casty, now's the time. Use Rain Dance!"

Casty nodded and floated to the sky. "Castform!"

A blue glow surrounded Casty as he moved back and forth in a dancing movement. Dark clouds formed above him, and Casty's body went from the light-grey coloring to dark grey on the bottom and blue on the top. His head took the shape of a raindrop.

Casty then floated higher into the air and into the clouds as it started to rain. Summer, Starly, Squirtle, and Wartortle looked around the forest as the rain fell. The flames began to lessen, and the smoke faded.

Summer pumped her fist. "All right!" She jumped up and down on the spot and spun around. "Way to go, Casty! You did it!"

"Starly star!" Starly's voice had a gleeful tone as it cheered with Summer.

"Castform," said Casty, his face blushing through the blue. He floated down to Summer and the other Pokémon. The rain continued for a few minutes. Summer stuck her tongue out to catch a few droplets, then sneezed.

"If I'd known it was going to rain, I would've brought an umbrella for this fire."

Summer turned around and saw April and Crawford riding up on Abbie. Crawford had a huge grin on his face, indicating that he had spoken.

"For a joke, that one's not that funny," April said, getting off Abbie.

"Says you." Still grinning, Crawford also got off. "Good work, Summer. Soaked and dripping, it's Mission Clear!"

"Ultimate!" Using her right hand, Summer made a peace sign to salute to her head, spun around once, and raised the sign to the sky while winking and grinning at the same time.

Crawford did his pose, then turned to Summer. "Nice pose, Sum. I think that's the first time I ever saw you do it."

"That's because it's the first time I've ever done my pose," said Summer.

"Starly!"

"Castform!"

The two Pokémon landed on their humans' shoulders. April pet Casty on his head. "Good boy, Casty. That was an awesome Rain Dance." She took out Casty's Poké Ball. "Thanks for helping Summy out."

"Cast," smiled Casty as he disappeared into the Poké Ball with a flash of red light.

April's smile turned into a frown as she looked around the forest. "I'm glad you guys' mission was a success, but this fire's left me with a question: how did it get started in the first place?"

"I'm wondering that myself," said Summer. "Any ideas, Crawford?"

"I'm too burnt out to have any ideas," Crawford said, only half-joking. "We'll have to go back to the Base for now." He turned to April. "Thanks for bringing your Castform for us. And your family's Pokémon as well."

"You're welcome. Us trainers have to help out sometimes, too."

"Absol!"

April looked to the Dark-type. "What's wrong, Abbie?"

Abbie jerked her head behind the humans. The three turned around and saw a man with brown hair. He didn't have any Pokémon with him, and his eyes widened when he saw the Rangers staring at him.

"What are you doing here? Nobody was supposed to be in the forest unless they were helping with the fire," Summer demanded. "So, where's your Pokémon?"

The man grimaced and started to run. Summer was suddenly suspicious and ran after him.

"Summer!" April cried. She and Crawford followed Summer while Abbie ran to Summer's side and stayed with her.

"Something's not right with that guy!" Summer called back. She looked at Abbie. "Make sure he doesn't get far."

"Sol!" Abbie nodded and ran ahead.

"Ah! Get away from me!" the man shouted a minute later.

'Yes! Atta girl, Abbie!' Summer thought. She ran faster and almost ran into the man. Abbie was right behind him, growling.

"What are you up to?" asked Summer, hands on her hips.

The man didn't say anything.

"Summer, calm down," April scolded her sister as she and Crawford arrived. "You're probably scaring him. The Persian Glare can be a little disconcerting when others first see it."

Summer opened her mouth with a snarky retort when she noticed a red machine a little way behind Abbie. She closed her mouth and took a few steps forward to get a better look.

"I've seen that before," she murmured. "Where..." Then she remembered. "That's the same machine from Marine Cave!"

Crawford quickly stepped forward to see the machine for himself. "Wait a second... it is the same! Only it's a little burnt up than the other one." He looked at the mysterious man. "Do you know anything about this?"

The man's eyes widened even more, and he began to look nervous. "Um..."

Summer frowned. "That tone is on the guilty side; I think he does."

Everyone surrounded the man. "We're going to escort you back to the Ranger Base as a precaution," said Crawford. He looked over the man and saw the burns all over him. "And we'll get those burns treated as well."

April turned to Abbie. "Abbie, lead the way, please."

"Absol," Abbie nodded.

The man groaned.

An hour later, Summer and Crawford were back at the Ranger Base. They and the other Base members were sitting around waiting for Elaine, who tended to the man from the forest. Before April had left, Barlow thanked her for the help with the fire and asked for her to thank the rest of the Montgomery's for the use of their Pokémon. April had said she would and decided to embarrass Summer a little before walking out with Abbie. Summer had groaned but forgot all about the embarrassment when Barlow had promoted her to the next rank.

"He really smelt of oil," Summer was now saying, talking to Vanessa. "That definitely tells me he was up to something with that machine. Probably had something to do with the one in Marine Cave, too."

"We don't know that for sure," Vanessa said softly. Vanessa was usually soft-spoken, so Summer had to listen very hard whenever she said something. "For all we know, he could've stumbled across the forest machine when he was taking an early morning walk and accidentally caused the fire."

"If that's the case, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Luana. "Whether or not he actually caused the fire isn't for us to decide until he talks."

"That might not be for a while," Barlow came out from the infirmary, scowling. "The guy's refusing to say anything. He's not even saying what his name is."

The Base doors opened at that moment, and an old man with white hair came through.

"Whoever thought of that ridiculous prank with the flimsy barrier on Lookout Ridge could've done a better job," the man huffed. "All it took was a chop here, a kick there, and it fell apart as if it were made of toothpicks."

"It's nice to see you, Professor Hastings," Barlow interrupted the man.

The man, Professor Hastings, nodded. "Good to see you, Barlow, and the rest of your team. Now, where's this machine you've asked me to look over?"

Barlow pointed to the red machine in the corner. As the professor walked over to it, Barlow went back into the infirmary to get Elaine.

"Hmm..." Professor Hastings circled the machine. "So, this is your strange machine."

"Yes, sir," said Crawford.

"I believe I've seen something like this somewhere," the professor contemplated. "And very recently, too." He snapped his fingers and turned to the Base members. "That's right! On my way from Pueltown. There were these men carrying machines such as these, only with a little trouble; I presume because of its heavy weight."

"This machine was heavy enough," said Summer. "We had to get Big Bertha to carry it here for us."

Professor Hastings nodded. "I see. Then those machines must be burdensome if you had to get Bertha. And here I was, believing they were mailboxes."

Summer's brow furrowed. 'Mailboxes? What kind of mailbox takes more than one person to carry?'

"Well, we'll need someone to conduct an investigation in Pueltown," Professor Hastings said. He looked to Barlow, who was standing in the infirmary doorway. Barlow nodded and turned to the female Rangers.

"Summer and Luana, you two are doing the investigations; head there tomorrow."

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Word count: 2986