Joining Desiree and Vanilla was the former member of the Elite Four, Thomas Benoit. With rain rolling off of his hooded raincoat, the Kalosian's expression remained as stern and focused as ever. Admittedly, he wasn't exactly comfortable with Vanilla or Desiree putting themselves in this sort of danger, but he couldn't exactly dissuade them, either. He figured the best way to make sure they were safe, and to sate his own curiosity, was to join them.

Thomas would follow the pink-haired woman to the tent. Behind him was his Ceruledge, Mordred. The black knight looked up at the rainy sky in visible irritation.

"Kazimir, good to see you again.", Thomas greeted the Pokkenger, offering the musclebound man a fistbump. As Desiree and Vanilla would find out, the two were very familiar with one another.

Thomas silently listened as Desiree shared her own speculation about the situation at hand.

"I have to wonder if this has something to do with the recent Megalopolan sightings. Rather than using Pokeballs to tame their Pokemon, they use Nihilego and Naganadel-family Neurotoxins to subjugate them. Could well be the case, whether this is some kind of guerilla warfare campaign on their part, or an attempt to subjugate a Wild Pokemon gone wrong.", he'd add.

He'd flash open a bag containing syringes with Antidote contained within.

"Kaz, were you able to access any reports on the damage caused by the perpetrator?", Thomas inquired. He figured the Ranger among them would have access to such information. But if anyone else had that intel on hand, he'd gladly hear them out.

---

tags: DESIREE BLOOMS Vanilla Kingsley Kazimir Wynter
notes: Thomas is starting in Area 1
Thomas arrives with Desiree and Vanilla
Thomas joins Desiree to greet Kazimir
Thomas greets Kazimir warmly
Thomas offers his speculation, while showing he brought Antidote
Thomas asks Kazimir if he accessed any reports
Ceruledge stands guard

The first to hear the squabbling would not be the Kalosian, but his Audino. The hearing Pokemon could hear the argument from the Ranch grounds, some of them being scared by what was being spewed from the Archen.

Thomas worked to sooth the little ones as quickly as he could. For a moment, it seemed that the arguing died down, much to the relief of the Audino horde. Then it started back up, prompting one of the Audino to head over to investigate what was going on. The tall man would follow closely behind the pink healer, making sure she'd be okay.

The Audino would find the blonde, and her four Pokemon behind the tree. She'd immediately attempt to calm the Archen down with a Heal Pulse, an attempt to begin to defuse the situation playing out.

Thomas arrived shortly after, and spotted the woman practically restraining the Archen, and the Applin sitting behind the tree. He would also take note of the Noibat and Riolu, one sitting up in the tree, with the other also attempting to deescalate the situation.

"What's going on here?", the Kalsoian inquired.

---

tags: Guinevere Renner
notes: tl;dr

The Zoroark finds herself unable to avoid the Spark in time, her movements too sluggish to adequately avoid the attack in time. This allows the Spark to hit her critically, causing her to cry out in pain, and slump over. While she would remain conscious, the attack caused some serious damage.

As this was going on, Thomas would produce his own Tera Orb, and toss it towards his Zoroark.

A beautiful pink crown would float above her head, the constricting of her muscles relieved, as Terastalization took effect. The illusionist fox would find herself becoming a Fairy-type, as a result.

"I too have access to a Tera Orb.", Thomas remarked with a grin.

The Zoroark, now free of her paralysis, would unleash a Tera Blast towards the injured Lanturn.

---

tags: Josh Devlin
notes: Zoroark is critically hit by Spark. Zoroark is at under half health.
Thomas Terastalizes Zoroark. Zoroark becomes Fairy-type
Terastalization relieves Zoroark of Paralysis
Zoroark used Tera Blast (Fairy)

Once again, Thomas found himself exploring the Border. The last time he had gone, he managed to win over a Marshadow that challenged him, after a phantom of a strange Pokemon attacked them. The former member of the Elite Four was curious as to what secrets the realm held.

The bad news was that once again, he'd be babysitting an overgrown baby of a man.

As Thomas approached the man, he'd notice a Porygon holding up a camera towards him. The Kalosian was visibly annoyed. He didn't have time for what he considered to be childish shenanigans.

"I'm not a Marquis anymore.", Thomas dryly remarked. "And I'm here to seek some answers.", he'd add.

Thomas looked over to the island that had a moth-like appearance. With a sigh, Thomas started walking. "Just don't do anything stupid.", Thomas told the older man.

The Marshadow he befriended on his last trip hid in his shadow.

---

tags: Ozni Adebayo
notes: tl;dr

The Arcanine ate up the scratches and pets the Silph gave him, licking her affectionately in turn.

"I don't know how you do it, to be honest.", he'd remark. A funny remark, coming from a former member of the Elite Four, known for his philanthropic efforts, following his resignation from the International Police.

As she sat next to him, and the Musharna went over to greet the Stufful, the Arcanine went back to laying down behind them. If they wanted to lean back, he was close enough to be leaned on, as Thomas had been earlier. The Stufful nuzzled the Musharna eagerly, clearly being a more friendly Stufful than the species was reputed to be.

Pulse would go back to snuggling up to Thomas. Meanwhile, the Eevee and Pikachu duo would hop off of Thomas, and go over to examine the Silph sibling. If she could tell the difference from their tails, she could tell the Eevee was a male, while the Pikachu was a female. The female Audino, with a normal coat of fur, was noticeably shyer than the others, sticking to Thomas' side.

"Been better, could be worse though.", he'd answer the idol. A dry chuckle would be followed with him sucking in air between his teeth.

If she were to look closely, she could tell that he clearly took a beating fairly recently. Bruises on his face and arms were visible, with even more hidden beneath his clothing. A consequence of his latest stunt, the infiltration and assault of the Sootopolis Jail.

"How have you been holding up though? Been enjoying our little slice of hell?", he'd inquire.

---

tags: Delilah Silph
notes: Gene and Jeryn check out their new guest

"Sounds good to me. I'll be in touch, for sure.", he'd tell Kazimir.

"If she wasn't infiltrating Sootopolis, then she probably went to Lilycove or Slateport to investigate some portside operations. Perhaps she returned to Galar, to track down the bastards that killed her family.", he'd confide in Kazimir.

He knew that Rocket were swindling Galarians of their Pokemon, following the crisis brought on by Necrozma. He had attempted to attack one of these ships, only to come up short. All that blood spilled, in a moment of blind anger, and he couldn't even save the Pokemon on board.

What if she tried to stop them, too, only to fail?

"Thank you, again.", he'd tell Kazimir.

---

tags: Kazimir Wynter
notes: tl;dr

When offered, Thomas would take a seat next to the idol on the porch. Pulse wasted no time in rushing him, and bearhugging his master from the opposite side of the pinkette. Thomas wrapped an arm around the pink fluffball, holding him closely and lovingly.

Gene would find himself being picked up by the idol. As he was plopped onto her lap, the Eevee let out a happy little cry, gently butting his head into the palm of her hand to accept the pets he'd receive.

"Me? I've been mostly running this Ranch, but I've been trying to involve myself with the League again, here and there.", he'd tell her. "Sometimes it'd just be me using the Ranch as a summer camp that teaches kids how to raise Pokemon. Sometimes I'm off with the likes of Callan Young and Michael Navidson , helping them however I can.", he'd elaborate a bit.

"How about you?", he'd ask.

The Florges continued to cuddle up to the Arcanine. It was clear that she was enjoying the company of the giant puppy.

---

tags: DESIREE BLOOMS
notes: tl;dr