ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF FALLARBOR TOWN...[break]

[attr="class","setting"]

[break]
"tallulah."
[break][break]
he echoes, committing her name to memory. her energy doesn't go unnoticed, but it does go unmentioned.
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"i'll do my best not to steer you wrong."
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he smiles, patting the top of his hair bashfully. he'd led his fair share of league related activities, still, the idea of training someone was odd. he himself was in her position a few months ago. it was hard to forget.
[break][break]


"let's go meet them, then."
[break][break]


the duo approach the large wooden porch, greyson taking the lead to half-way step onto it and reach out with a welcoming handshake. an elderly man with leathery skin approaches to reciprocate the greeting. his straw hat and overalls looked as worn as the calluses on his ​hands.
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'owdy. ye both be da' people?'
[break][break]


greyson nodded, looking out at the arcanine, and then out onto the pastures.

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"we are. how many hives are we looking at?"
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the elderly farmer scratches his chin, turning to the rest of the group. a voice from the back calls out, though. feminine; no nonsense.
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'three. we wan' em handled.'
[break][break]


he looks past the front-man and onto the woman. she was just as ancient and, unlike the others, was sitting on an old rocking chair. so this was the alpha then, huh?
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"of course ma'am. we'll see what we can do. can someone point us in the direction?"
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they oblige and soon the duo are heading in the direction of a grouping of trees. greyson turns towards the rookie, violet eyes assessing.
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"so, rookie— what's the plan?"
[break]

@tallulah

ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF FALLARBOR TOWN...[break]

[attr="class","setting"]

[break]
"that's not a bad plan."
[break][break]
he watches her closely as she finishes. he couldn't help but detect a glimmer of excitement.
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not that he could fault her for it.
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"just be careful. one misstep and you could be facing three very aggressive hives, or worse, a wildfire that could devastate this portion of the region."
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those of course, were extremes. but extremes needed to be accounted for.
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"i'll have ace standing by to assist. but she will not interfere unless it's absolutely necessary."
[break][break]

he releases one of his pokemon as he talks, the light dissolving into a beautifully plumaged pidgeot that rests on his outstretched arm. she tilts her head towards tallulah and greyson scratches her with a hooked index finger.
[break][break]

"we'll finish this in a few hours with zero troubles and make these farmers happy. then, after, i'll buy lunch."
[break][break]


he nudges his head deeper into the wood, giving the girl permission to start.

[break]

@tallulah

ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF FALLARBOR TOWN...[break]

[attr="class","setting"]

[break]
while tallulah handles the drones, greyson moves to extract the honey. having his own hive back at his garden, he had little trouble in extracting the honeycombs. the sounds of combat wage on behind him, but he finishes rather quickly. pouring the wax and honey combination into a jar to be separated later.
[break][break]
satisfied, he turns towards the woman, and gives her a thumbs-up.
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as he approaches, he can't help but notice something. he kneels down and checks the knocked-out bug-types just in case, but still finds something is missing.
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"it's strange how there is no vespiqueen in this hive."
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each hive usually has their own queen. could this be some sort of greater-vespiqueen? greyson holds the thought.
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"next one, then."
[break]

@tallulah

ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF FALLARBOR TOWN...[break]

[attr="class","setting"]

[break]"are you getting tired?"
[break][break]
he places the jar of honey back into his bag. he had half-a-dozen jars thus far, between the two hives. he expected more, for their size. and once again, the lack of a queen, troubled him.
[break][break]
ace landed on a branch behind him, trilling in a low-coo. she wasn't the only back-up he'd planned. the second was unknown, even to tallulah.
[break][break]
"i can take over, if need be."





[break]

@tallulah

ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF FALLARBOR TOWN...[break]

[attr="class","setting"]

[break]greyson nods, understanding. to battle as many pokemon as the arcanine did, and come out relatively unwounded— an accomplishment, easily.
[break][break]
"i... don't know."
[break][break]

greyson has no problem admitting when he doesn't have the answer. however, something bothers him; an itch he couldn't scratch. the feeling lingered just on the edge of his mind. no matter how hard he tries, it remains.
[break][break]

"come on."
[break][break]

the two continue, until they finally come across the last hive. this one is larger by far, nearly twice as so, and with a large contingent of combee going in and out. the swarm turned towards them as they approached, their incessant buzzing drowning out most noises.
[break][break]

but, greyson wasn't watching the drones. violet eyes tilted upwards to lie on a descending pokemon.
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the vespiqueen.
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it looked no larger than your average queen bee, but, the source of the problem was clear. emerging from the insect's skin,, like small, parasitical limbs, were a number of large mushrooms.
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"i think we found our problem."

[break][break]

he doesn't look in tallulah's direction, the officer's gaze never leaving the new-threat. he stands alone before the horde that now turns menacingly in his direction. at once, an ATTACK ORDER is issued and the swarm — minus the queen — rush in greyson's direction.
[break][break]

"we'll handle this. once you see the queen begin to engage us — get the honey."
[break][break]

behind him, ace's beak picks at her wings with little concern. she only looks up when a second pokemon emerges from behind a tree. she looks irritated; cranky. still, she raises her wand and a pulse of PSYCHIC energy shot outwards. when it meets the swarm, they stop in their tracks, suspended in the air mere feet in front of greyson.
[break][break]


he doesn't flinch.
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the delphox moves quietly to his side, her attention pushing past the drones and onto their queen.
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"took you long enough."
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there's an edge in his voice. one that could only be put-together with the smirk that pulls his lips back. the battle-hungry excitement that clouds his vision.
[break][break]

"let's get started, then."
[break]

@tallulah

ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF FALLARBOR TOWN...[break]

[attr="class","setting"]

[break]one queen was little trouble for the battle hungry delphox. she was a veteran of half-a-dozen skirmishes at this point, including a near-defeat to a certain gym leader and his scollipede. since acquiring the dual-type back in the fiery caves, autumn had grown exponentially. so, when two more vespiqueens emerge from the brush, each sporting their own unique flavor of the parasitic mushroom, greyson barely registers the increased threat.
[break][break]
the droning of bees die as a MYSTICAL FIRE consumes them. next, the thuds of the dozens as they collapse unconscious are like a quickly silenced heartbeat. he can't help but process it as an omen of what is to come.
[break][break]

eventually, the three queens stand as one against the fox, and the battle can finally begin.
[break][break]

***
[break][break]

the bout comes to a conclusion mere minutes after it begins. the delphox shows little signs of actually breaking a sweat as the trio of vespiqueen lie still in the grass.
[break][break]

the league officer squats down in front of the pokemon, inspecting the strange plants that grow from their skin. most had, in the conflict, been annihilated in the fire. some, however, still remain. he doesn't dare reach out to touch it, though.
[break][break]

he turns to tallulah, no doubt finished collecting the honey at this point. sharp features conflicted; thinking.
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"we'll need to report this to the league. likely, they will want to collect samples. i've never seen this kind of... outbreak before."
[break][break]

greyson shakes the ordeal off. dwelling now wouldn't change the facts. he would act in accordance to regulations.
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"lets get this honey to the farmers, and explain the situation best as possible. we'll restrict access to the wood, just to be safe."
[break][break]

he stretches, sighing in frustration, annoyance and confusion. violet eyes blink, and he looks once again towards his partner.
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"good job today."[break]

@tallulah