This was not his literal first day on the job, but it was fair to say that Vlad was more than a little lost when he heard that a Malamar had gotten loose and begun to swing around Ditto balls like it was no-one's business. Honestly, he was almost tempted to nope out and just claim he was still too new to know exactly where to go, but- on the other hand, making a good first impression right from the get-go meant that he'd probably make it, right? At least, that's how the gruff man reasoned his actions as he stepped up to join the already prepared redhead and his Dragapult.

""... Aye aye. Muscle?" He flicks the pokeball holster on his belt gently and watches as a single ball rolls off from it and bounces on the floor- and in a quick blast of light, the older Druddigon clambers out to join the fray, snarling as her eyes take hold of a Ditto that is already transforming to match her almost exactly- sans, perhaps, a pair of dotty eyes that do nothing much more than to piss her off.

""You take whichever you-" Muscle lets out a terrible, ear-screeching roar as she charges forwards, locking arms with the ditto-Druddigon in a sort of standing wrestle. No proper moves used yet, no orders given, just a burst of adrenaline and anger. Copying is oft a form of flattery, although in this case imitation seems to simply have made her mad. ""... Want." Sigh.

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ooc: tagging in Valerio Dachev

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Okay, embarrassing himself in front of a senior aside, things could've gone a lot worse. While Muscle isn't exactly doing anything in terms of moves, keeping the ditto-Druddigon still does make for a great distraction so that the Dragapult can get a solid hit in. The quiet whistle of an incoming Dreepy alerts Muscle, and she quickly turns her wrestling partner of a ditto-Druddigon around so that it receives a good blow to the back, while keeping Muscle safe from the hit. While she has no intention of going and dropping the fight, Vlad quietly nods at his supposed superior. Might as well follow a pro's lead.

"Right. Muscle, back." Without further word, he suddenly recalls the battle hungry dragon back into her ball. She'd be mad at him, but he can handle that later. Instead, he reaches for another ball on his belt and lets it drop, releasing Hustle, the Galarian Zigzagoon. "Hustle. Go ahead. Find the Malamar. Try and keep it still so we catch up to it before it runs off again." Hustle had been running with the pair up until that point, but it lets out an affirmative yip and suddenly sprints ahead, zigzagging around before disappearing further into a hallway to try and track down the Malamar.

Vlad takes a glance at his superior-for-now one more time and raises a brow. His tone is a bit dry, but he doesn't sound insulting as much as... Genuinely curious, maybe. "Stuff like this a common occurrence here?" Maybe it was meant to be a joke. The landing isn't all that good, though.

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OOC: - Valerio Dachev
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A lot of troublemakers, huh. Really reminds him of home, then. All the better for accommodating to living here. The semi-tropical air of the region was already a far cry from how it usually felt in Galar. He opens his mouth to jape a bit about that, but then the question about his status in the organization comes up, and he shuts up for a second before answering again. "Fresh as can be, I'm afraid." He snorts. Being stuck with a newbie to handle chaos like this must grate on someone, or so he thinks- can't really think of anyone standing his presence for very long as is.

Before he can say anything else self-deprecating or think such thoughts, they come to a stop and look up to the kaju-Dragapult, his eyes widening for just a second before he spots that Hustle's already managed to hustle his way past the large creature, perhaps before the two dittos had combined. He cracks a little smile to himself before nodding over to Valerio. "Aye aye." He kicks into a sprint just as his ally's Dragapult engulfs into the phantom mist, straight towards the gigantic ditto amalgamation... And then, he kicks into a slide across the metallic floor, grunting as he feels a loose bolt or such scratch against his side as he goes and slides under the fake ghostly dragon. Ah, well. What's a little pain for all the gain.

He kicks up into a run from the slide, thanking whatever force is out there that he still has the limberness of his orphan days despite not having done anything like this for quite a while as he keeps running after Hustle, who seems to have the Malamar's scent- and just as he thought, he can see the floating evil genius of a pokemon just ahead. "Distract it. Sand Attack." A simple command, but Hustle yips affirmatively as the zigzagging ruffian kicks into a higher speed, leaping from side to side of the hallway until he jumps onto a wall and kicks off of it, flying past the Malamar as he suddenly kicks up a storm of sand hidden in his paw right in the escaping ruffian's face. The Malamar lets out a surprised sound and comes to a halt, tentacle wiping at the sand to get it off. He yells back over to Valerio. "Got it to stop!"

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OOC: - Valerio Dachev
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Old guy? Ha, he wasn't that old- not that his looks really made his relatively young age clear, what with him looking like that. He should clean up a little one day and maybe he'd look the part. He grunts a quick affirmation and prepares to call Hustle back now that he's done his job, after all, the little raccoon wasn't quite built to handle a Malamar... But, of course, things were never quite as simple, Vlad's brows raising as the now three Malamar all turn towards them, ready to fire their hypnosis at the two. It's by mere reflex that he tries to do the typical thing, close his eyes and cover his face by lifting his arms, but even if that worked partially, he still feels a haze enter his mind. After all, Malamar were masters in this specific craft.

"Ugh- Hustle, do... Something-" His voice echoes out- and, thanks to the raccoon pokemon not being in the way of the Hypnosis, he actually manages to act. The Zigzagoon once more bounces up and off the wall of the hallway, hopping one two three- across all three heads of the Malamar. Not quite disrupting them but doing enough to gather their attention for a second as he lands... And then, ah. Let's just say that the motions that he does are quite taunting, and while it's impossible to understand Pokemon, one might get the understanding that he's said something quite crass and mean about the Malamar's (and the Dittos) parents right in their faces. At the very least, the angered reaction and the ceasement of the Hypnosis beam is enough of a hint, the haze in Vlad's head slowly dissipating. "Ugh. Good job, Hustle. Just-" He glances over to Valerio. "Mind helping my buddy out before he gets stomped by three angry squids?"

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OOC: - Valerio Dachev
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He's a little miffed that he didn't participate in a more direct manner, really. If Muscle hadn't had her little episode with the very first ditto thanks to the imitation business, maybe he could've shown off and made a slightly better impression... Although, as his experiences before have told him, a good operation needs both muscle and hustle to work out, and he just had to be the hustle in this case. He watches the slimes pool up, making a disgusted face for a second. Eugh. This all looks so much more gorey than it really is, and he's coming to realize that he might just have a fear of ditto goop... Or he would've if this experience hadn't gone so well.

The real one is captured, and the day is 'saved' as it were, although he blinks when he's actually complimented for a job well done, even if done through the dizzied tone of someone who'd taken a Hypnosis to the face. He's quiet for a bit, as if just taking it in, before then blinking and coughing. "Ah. Vladimir... Downfolk. Just Downfolk will do. Or Vladimir." Or Vlad, he almost says, but that might be a little too familiar. He walks over to the now captured Malamar and picks up the ball, weighing it in his hand. No matter the size of the troublemaker, the great equalizer that is being captured always seems to work out. Hm. Not his kinda squid though, he's decided.

"I'll go and get this delivered, then. Good work out there, uh. Boss." He bows his head quietly and already starts to walk off, Hustle bouncing and yipping along behind him before climbing up onto his shoulder, hanging there until Vlad at some point recalls him into his ball. A job well done, a nice enough introduction made to Rocket, and hey- running around has probably introduced him to the base's architecture a little bit better. Although, he can't help but feel like he forgot something...

Ah. Right. He forgot to ask for the other guy's name.

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OOC: let's turn 'er in! Valerio Dachev