Locke had taken quite a liking to both the treetop city and its seaside neighbor, and found himself aimlessly wandering the routes between the two often. He had a particular fondness for the pier overlooking the bay surrounding Mt. Pyre, a spot few people frequented, save for the occasional fisherman. It was nice place to take a rest, and his Pokémon seemed to agree.

De-De and Li-Li were busy trying to coax Tini-Tini underwater by playing a whack-a-mole type game with the baby Dratini. Whenever one Delibird went down, the other popped out the other side, making him turn in circles trying to catch them. At one point both penguins dipped underwater, and the frustrated serpent dove after them, so that when they resurfaced together Tini-Tini was nowhere to be found. They turned here-and-there trying to find the dragon, until he burst out behind them, surprising the troublesome duo and earning a hearty laugh from their trainer.

The creaking of wheels behind him pulled Locke’s attention from the game and back towards the road. A Luxray was carefully pulling a cart full of Pokémon eggs along the dirt path towards Fortree. “Well there’s something you don’t see every day,” they said under their breath. They stood up and brought their arms over their head in a big stretch, then pointed back in the direction of the cart. “Let’s see if they could use a hand.” One by one they helped their Pokémon out of the water and went to wave down the travelers.

“Excuse me!”

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

[attr="class","vivalyric"]花散らせ今吹くこの嵐は
まさに春泥棒

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The sight of the girl was accompanied by an acrid mix of blood and smoke on their tongue. They quickly swallowed down the unpleasant memory to offer their name with an awkward chuckle. “Uh, Locke. I guess we never really got a chance to exchange names, huh?”

“I could ask you the same thing. Doc-er-Eva told me you didn’t seem too well off yourself,” he replied, giving the girl a once over for any sign of her injuries. Then, after realizing he hadn’t actually answered her, he added, “But I’m doing fine! All patched up and back on my feet!” He didn't miss the regret in her voice, and so forced a cheery tone into his own. She shouldn't have to worry about things outside of her control.

“I’ve actually got a friend in Fortree, so I’ve just been hanging around the area while recovering.” They gestured towards the cart while asking, ”Are you heading out that way? We’re not doing anything if you’d like some company.” De-De gave a little salute beside them, ready to work. The sight of someone as young as Eris working might’ve seemed strange to anyone else, but Locke could remember running errands at a similar age back home even without a Pokémon to protect them.

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

[attr="class","vivalyric"]花散らせ今吹くこの嵐は
まさに春泥棒

[attr="class","vivabot"]

[attr="class","vivabot"]

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Locke found themselves easing into a relaxed grin as the young girl bounced around. “This is De-De and Li-Li,” they introduced the Delibird duo with a pat on each of their heads, before picking up the baby dragon to add, “And this little fella is Tini-Tini. The Dratini slithered his way up their arm and around their shoulder to peer out at Eris from behind Locke’s head. “He’s never been on a delivery before, so this’ll be good practice!”

Locke moved to let Eris take the lead as they continued down the road. “So, have you been to Fortree before?”

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

[attr="class","vivalyric"]花散らせ今吹くこの嵐は
まさに春泥棒

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“I do! I get to go all over Hoenn and my Pokémon help. My job would be a lot harder without them.” De-De puffed up with pride at the praise, adding a bit of swagger to her step as she led the little caravan.

“You've gotta have some sort of strong immune system to not fall sick!”

Or you force yourself to keep working even when you’re sick. “Ah, ya get used to it,” he said with a noncommittal shrug.

Their gaze followed hers upwards, shoulders relaxing under Tini-Tini’s weight as they drank in the blue expanse above them. They weren't sure they could entirely agree with Eris' sentiment. Fortree was a wonderful city in many ways, but they couldn't fathom how Alexei Ivanov could live so deep in the forest, cut off from the sky by the thick tree line. No, as much they liked to visit the treehouse city, Locke much preferred staying out in he open like this. “A secret base huh…Those are pretty popular around here aren’t they? Any particular visitors ya got in mind?”

“That…man took her with him though.”

The question was innocuous enough on its own, but Eva Morales’s words rang in Locke’s ears. Her frowning face, the way she’d looked down at her hands at some invisible stain, it was as disconcerting now as it was then. He wasn’t sure what answer he was fishing for, but anything had to be better than knowing nothing at all.

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

[attr="class","vivalyric"]花散らせ今吹くこの嵐は
まさに春泥棒

[attr="class","vivabot"]

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“Right, right. Think I remember my mom mentioning the same thing.” Locke could easily hear his own mother as Eris chided him. Even the Delibirds were peering back him with twinned expectant looks. “Guess I could take a break now and then…” he conceded.

Hideo and Doug. He filed the names away to think about later. What, exactly, he was going to do with those names Locke didn’t know, but he met a lot of people through his work and it seemed like something to keep in mind.

Their heart warmed when the offer was extended to them, getting the impression that this was a girl who could make friends with just about anyone. “I might have to take you up on that,” they said with a smile.

As the familiar woodland surrounded Fortree came into view, Locke, still feeling the need to learn more about this kid, pulled out his Pokénav. “Tell ya what. How ‘bout I give you my number, and you can call me whenever you need something dropped off at that secret base of yours. Or for just anything really.”

[attr="class","wizzcred"]❤ wizz

[attr="class","vivalyric"]花散らせ今吹くこの嵐は
まさに春泥棒

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