Thomas' attention would quickly be caught by what looked like a Skitty and a Torracat battling. Thomas would stop in his tracks, watching the battle unfold. The Skitty in particular seemed to be learning the ropes of battle, and seemed to be holding its own against the Torracat. The Torracat was restricted to using open-palm strikes, without the use of its claws. As he watched, he would hear a familiar voice calling out to the two felines.

Thomas would spot the green-haired young woman behind the voice. As she turned to face him, Thomas would slowly walk up to her. "It's been a while, Cait.", Thomas called out to the younger woman. "How have things been for you?"

A Snubbull would stumble out of the bushes nearby. The sight of the Skitty and the Torracat battling would immediately set the timid pup on edge. The presence of the Torracat would make the pup especially nervous. It didn't take long for her to turn tail, and head back off into the brush, not wanting to deal with the trouble.

---

tags: cait alfric
notes: Passing on Snubbull

When Cait acknowledged the presence of the former Interpol Agent, he would flash a brief smile at her. "Crazy.", Thomas would tell Cait. Considering her position in the League, he figured she'd have heard about the operation that ended in the extraction of Commissioner Goode, and likely heard of the media circus surrounding footage leaked of the operation itself. "I see. In any case, I wanted to congratulate you on becoming Mauville's Gym Leader.", he'd tell the young woman.

As soon as the Tsareena was spotted, Thomas knew exactly which direction this was headed. If anything, her deciding not to capture the beautiful Grass-type would've been a shock, considering that it was not only her specialty, but an extremely useful Pokemon in general. Thomas would watch the skirmish, which gave him an impressive showing from both sides. Indeed, the Torracat had shown impressive progress in her training, while the Tsareena, despite being Wild, and at an overall disadvantage, showed great strength and promise. With training from Cait, she'd be a proper force of nature.

But before Thomas could congratulate her, a Bibarrel would curl up, tucking herself in like a ball, and rolling towards Thomas at a fast pace. Thomas would spot this, and manage to roll out of the way of the attempted assault, quickly turning to see the Bibarrel smack into a tree.

"Of course.", Thomas muttered, plucking a Pokeball off his belt, and sending out Brutus the Pangoro.

The Pangoro would immediately begin by attempting to smash the large beaver with a Hammer Arm. The Bibarrel, who recovered from the impact with surprising speed, evaded the attack with a quick Aqua Jet, before slamming into the Pangoro with a reckless tackle. The Pangoro would let out a growl, before throwing a quick Bullet Punch at the Bibarel, then following it up with a Hammer Arm. This time, the quick jab would manage to strike the beaver, before the burly arm of the bear would come down on it, causing the Water-type to collapse into unconsciousness.

---

tags: cait alfric
notes: Passing on Bibarel

"Thank you. Brutus here is another of my oldest friends. Along with Ripper, he was one of the two Pokemon I trained with all those years ago in Kanto.", Thomas would tell Cait, a smile on his face. "Yes, Fighting and Dark-type.", Thomas responded. When she mentioned that she was having trouble managing some of her Dark-types, he couldn't help but frown for a moment. "Mind if I ask what kind of difficulty they're giving you?"

But before Thomas could continue on, Brutus would feel something coming. A Dodrio would leap at him with a Jump Kick. Brutus would watch, before calmly stepping to the side, and allowing the three-headed bird to collide into the tree behind them. As she reeled in pain upon her knee meeting the tree, Brutus capitalized on the opening, throwing a Bullet Punch at her, before smashing her down with a Hammer Arm. A shocked squawk was all the avian could manage to utter before she was knocked into unconsciousness by the impact of the Hammer Arm.

"Good work, Brutus.", Thomas told the Pangoro, who held out a fist for Thomas, which Thomas gently bumped into with his own. He would then turn back to Cait. "If you'd like, I could try to help you with your Dark-types. Brutus here is far from my only Dark-type, and I've been dealing with them for years now.", Thomas would offer to the younger, yet higher ranking League member.

---

tags: cait alfric
notes: Skipping Dodrio

"I see. It's good that you've got two of them listening to you. I'd like to observe your training sessions with the others, just to get a full picture of what's going on.", he'd tell her. "Would that be alright with you?"

Soon after the battle with the Dodrio, Thomas would spot a Whimsicott stumbling towards him. The species was familiar to the trainer, not only from his years in Unova, but from his girlfriend's ownership of the Pokemon. The fact that it wasn't as lively as one would expect of the species was an immediate red flag. In fact, the creature's movements were rather troubled, and it looked to be visibly ill. Thomas slowly walked up to the creature, who finally stumbled onto its face.

The Kalosian knelt down to get closer to the Grass-type's level. Thomas gently turned the Whimsicott over, noticing that it looked to be badly poisoned. On top of which, the body looked to be badly battered in general. While its wounds would heal in time, it would require proper medical attention if it hoped to recover fully, at least without the risk of being preyed upon by an opportunistic Pokemon in the wild.

With its condition only getting worse by the moment, Thomas knew he had to act fast. "It'll all be over soon, little one.", Thomas reassured the Whimsicott gently. Thomas would fish an Antidote out of his bag. The trainer would spray down the body of the Whimsicott with the treatment. Soon, the Grass-type would be relieved of the poison afflicting it. Its expression would ease as it felt some relief, albeit the creature was clearly exhausted from the ordeal it went through.

Thomas gently offered the Whimsicott a treat. The Whimsicott would weakly take the treat, slowly, yet steadily nibbling on it. "I know it's sudden, but you still don't look too good. If you come with me, I can make sure you make a full recovery. What do you say?", Thomas asked the Whimsicott, pulling out a vacant Pokeball, and awaiting its answer.

Upon getting his answer, he would hear Cait speak to him. With a solemn frown, he'd turn his head towards the green-haired woman. "It's a long story. If it's alright with you, could we talk about it over tea, or drinks? I'd cover, of course.", Thomas would ask Cait.

---

tags: cait alfric
notes: Cap attempt on Whimsicott