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The duo of Grimmsnarl and Bronzong is quick to move to eliminate another threat that popped up, but Fenelle quickly moves to intervene, dragging their attention elsewhere with der laser pointer as if dealing with cat pokémon.

We'll capture it, dee signs, before letting the pokémon charge the Magneton to weaken it enough so that the capture would be easy enough. From experience with der own Magnemite, chances are that it's got an ability that would be quite useful indeed ...

capturing magneton

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Fenelle is 84.9% sure that this is some sort of test, but that concern is quickly overthrown by seeing Iron Treads "in the flesh". That curiosity is then quickly put in order again by Theo's question, forcing them to focus on the task at hand.

Both options have advantages, dee starts signing while contemplating. Here, with Iron Treads being especially sturdy, I vote wait. Dee also looks across, from the top of the sandbank. We're also higher up. We can wait until they're close, then ... Dee uses der hands to symbolise a spiky wheel, which topples down, rolling and gaining speed while impaling their enemies, with facial expressions to match.

(Dee wonders if the "scorched earth trails" would become glass in this desert environment.)

THEO BECKETT

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As Fenelle gets the photo with the adresses, dee immediately gets to work to punch them into the app. For a moment, dee becomes entirely focused on that task, only registering Josh's message afterwards as dee sends Josh the finished map - a map of Slateport, with the adresses marked and the quickest pathing done and marked as well.

Fen hopes that dee hasn't stood there for too long, unresponsive to the world - that's definitely not something an Ordinary Person Does.

Dee shakes that thought for now, dee would need to do any adjustments to the normal-person.exe later (which. may or may not actually exist, somewhere in der brain), and finally starts reading Josh's messages.

Oh, one sec.

Before elaborating, dee changes the starting location to the nearest pokémon center and resends their current route. It's the tiniest adjustment that really doesn't do anything but please der brain's occasional, most inopportune needs for perfectionism.

Now it's good! Yeah, let's go, I want to get Olusola checked up, too, just in case.
🧊🧊

Dee points at Fuecoco, who honestly seems like he's in the best shape ever. Nonetheless, while Josh's sorting out his pokémon, Fenelle walks up to Nurse Joy and presents The Boi. Who is indeed healthy despite walking on ice floats for a long time, which isn't surprising to dem. The actual goal of that little interaction is clear, as Nurse Joy hands him a treat for being so adorable, which he claims with success.

As they reunite with Josh, dee sends:

🧊🍬🧊🍬
We're ready!
... oh we don't have a ride right now.

Dee should have considered that while Fuecoco's been fooling around to get his treats. (Which are also the only reason he ever goes to the doctor, since he seems to be immune to any kind of physical ailment.)

Josh Devlin

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Fenelle looks at the speech-to-text with a pensive look. "So, you mean muck?" the robotic voice sounds out. Then, dee suddenly jumps forward, frowning- quickly examining the many little things on the floor. Nothing has ended up covered in grime or something, right?! Relieved as dee doesn't find anything concerning, dee leans back. "There's nothing wrong with my parts. ... but some are broken." Turns out, tinkering too much isn't too good for the hardware life.

However, the question about reading is met with a shake of the head, and dee nods, noticing the slight motion that isn't put into the motion of rolling eyes. "How? It's hard to imagine in any city ... or did you grow up elsewhere?" dee ponders, genuinely baffled and curious and also very forward with der questions. It's ... Interesting, dee signs, pensive.

"Do you want to learn?" dee then asks after overcoming the first curiosity. After all, it's not like people keep underestimating dem because of der lack of hearing - while dee is still taking spoken words with a grain of salt. How the hell do you communicate with so limited means?

Alphonse Zoram

Xuanyi is glad for one moment to have successfully captured the attention of their knight in steely company, but this doesn't last too long - after all, the Cacturne has went in for an attack, that has swiftly been blocked by the metal wings of the steel bird. The pink-haired seems to be equally impressed as well as intimidated, as they take an unconscious step backwards, getting some distance between them and the fight. They could run off, but now, that just seemed rude, even if this would fully serve the purpose of the stranger intervening.

(At least Fenelle thinks that they swooped in to save their pokémon-less ID - it definitely would make for a better story, in der opinion.)

There's even more pokémon that the blonde calls upon, pokémon that slowly do make Xuanyi back off, even if they seem to also understand that these are, by no means, hostile. Still, their mere presence seems to instill a certain kind of fear in them, and it shows in widened eyes, that also do not look away from the object of their fear.

Okay, maybe they glance at the other person present, too.

This moment of inattention might lead to the following turn in battle - the Cacturne has definitely clocked Xuanyi to be the weakest among the group, and also quickly calculated its odds against the trio of steel pokémon. Unsurprisingly, it barely stood a chance - so instead, it kicks up sand with a Sand Attack, wanting to distract Mireille's pokémon while getting past them, seemingly going for Xuanyi directly!

Mireille Wynter

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The trio moves quietly under the cover of the night, and quickly come to face their first disturbance. Even from a distance, they could see that the routed entrance onto the property is blocked by a Jolteon, crackling brightly with electricity. Fenelle isn't sure what it's doing here, but they need it gone, quickly and quietly.

Dee motions for Bronzong and Grimmsnarl to move onward, before taking out their pointer, quickly turning the laser on- and off again, doing the agreed morse code for Bite and Psywave to take out the Jolteon quickly before it could alarm anyone.

And then, onwards it is.

skipping jolteon

Gacha Tyrantrum coming from Fenelle Miller and trade confirm! \o/

People often don't think Fenelle the type to enjoy things like Visual Novels (or stories in general), but they would be quite wrong. They quite like reading and seeing all those non-sensical stories people come up with, trying to figure out what any of it might mean ... but when dee boots up Rondezview-of-Luv, der goals are different. After all, this app is supposedly as close to real life as can be ...

... and something rather unexpected pops up. Dee frowns, connecting back the dots of the route summary as dee opens it up ...

Dee is aware that a number of higher-ups in the Rocket hierarchy have been found on the app, but this might be a first. Dee immediately also tries to set up a screen capture, wondering if the app might let them - but even without, dee starts the route, or else it might disappear before dee could investigate further.

Seems like it's about catching the culprit behind the infamous Poison-Tea Party way back when ... Reading the options, dee is extremely tempted to pick "I'm here for a cup of tea", wondering if dee should pretend and try to be a good cop (impossible) or not. However, it also feels like the fastest route to get kicked out, given that they're already closed up ...

"Someone made a complaint of screams coming from inside."

MARILYN HASEGAWA

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Compared to before, the stealth mission today has way more manpower. It's also a bit ... difficult if one of them is as clingy as he is, and barely stays in his ball, and only because dee has moved it from der bag to attaching it to der belt. (It's also, arguably, better to have them there, in fact. Easier to reach in a pitch.)

Dee takes out a little laser pointer, switching it to a white colour. Let's go, dee tries to convey with the agreed symbols, but the assembled Grimmsnarl and Bronzong take a moment. Dee waits patiently, before seeing their heads (and bodies) move up and down in agreement, then goes.

(It's so inconvenient when it's actually more convenient to be in physically there to get an easier in ...)

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Grimmsnarl indeed tenses up at the insecurity, seemingly to add to his intimidation - but he doesn't move further. Bronzong and Bisharp have fully lost interest, as they've finally found something more interesting - a solid metal ball that they could do something with. Anything.

It seems like typing it might be- ... however, this is not the face of someone who's comfortable with phones, which Fenelle hasn't thought possible in this day and age. And also because for dem, a chronically online person, some views definitely are warped compared to "normies".

And then. He speaks again-?

Dee frowns as the person moves forward, but doesn't make any hostile moves - this situation is just so very strange to dem, so dee really doesn't know what to expect. And then, there's another moment of confusion. "What did you mean with 'Duck'?" dee asks via TTS, before nodding, "I think this should wo... ..." Dee stops typing.

"You can't read?"

Alphonse Zoram

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Ferrying over the eggs goes over pretty well, all things considered - except the bigger attack which has been swiftly solved. However, as dee moves over with the last eggs from the spot, dee looks around for a moment, then frowns slightly. Dee doesn't spot Josh anywhere - he didn't get lost or swallowed up by something, right? ... nah, that's extremely unlikely. So dee also gets to the shore again, but only found his two pokémon as well, apparently not knowing where he could be either.

It's a bit awkward while waiting, but dee nods at the Feraligatr and Primarina and gives them a thumbs-up with a cheerful smile, that then flattens out to a neutral expression once dee turns away. Actually not a sign of any dubious intent - just the way der facial muscles seem to work, hyper-engaged in conversation and not used at all outside of it. Then dee turns to Josh's pokémon again, signing, I'm quickly away - gotta give back the Lapras. Then, dee scrunches der face a bit, before using exclusively imagery - pointing at the Lapras, moving der hands from demself to the nearby rental station, just to signal that dee wouldn't just jump ship now.

(Even if dee doesn't have any commitment in emotions, dee's curious about the actual delivery, where the eggs might go to.)

After finishing up the rental Lapras business, Josh still hasn't returned. Fenelle's wondering what to do if the champ-ranked would actually not return, but he does then, with a grimm expression that Fenelle regards with a questioning frown, before reading the message and sighing, nodding.

I see. 😔😔
But we could secure the others at least!
Can I see the adresses? I can put up some routing maybe if you don't already got it.

Dee then pulls up der map app on der phone, which also features a routing option as well as other conveniences, and shows it to Josh for a second, before sending another text.

I do a lot of errands, so I know my way around town, too.

The joy of being a fully employed-actual intern.

Josh Devlin

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Tension builds up between the pokémon, quickly subsided as their respective trainers move to calm the situation down. (Or, in Fenelle's case, wait 'till they realise they're over-reacting.) Then, Grimmsnarl returns to a body-guard-ish position, while Bronzong and Bisharp hang back again, trying to occupy themselves while only the Hisuian Goodra doesn't pay the newcomer any mind.

Fenelle frowns at the spoken words, inaudible to dem, and reluctantly puts down the tools and machinery dee has been holding to get out der phone. "I'm deaf, so I didn't hear you. Can you type or write down what you want? I'm working on something," dee lets der text-to-speech, Rocket custom module, work its speech, while gesturing to the space in front of dem.

The scene: Fenelle sitting on the floor, cross-legged, with a bunch of small parts in front of dem, and many, many, many laser pointers, taken apart partially or completely.

Alphonse Zoram

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The training course of the day does not exactly look ... inviting. Dee looks at der partner for the day, bowing and waving at them before taking out der phone. "Hello! I'm Fenelle, and I believe we're supposed to do the course together?" dee lets der text-to-speech (the custom rocket module) speak words over the zipzap of the Voltorbs. "I'm deaf, so we can communicate by gestures, sign language, texts ..."

Dee fixes der gaze on the course, too, and its surroundings ... where could dee hack this to make it all over faster?

Calliope Alvara