"Aw, you got started without me." Derek chimes in from behind the duo, the beach of sand silencing his footsteps as he approached. The way here was a long one from where he had been staying, and getting up early was, well, getting harder. Even just getting out of bed proved enough of a struggle, sometimes.

"It's nice to know people still care about keeping things clean around here. I'm Derek by the way. And that-" Pointing out to the ocean, a shy little Sobble could be seen poking it's head out from the water, observing the new faces cautiously from afar. "That's Jonesy. He'll come say hi when he feels like it. Not sure he'll be much help cleaning though."

Fanning open his own bag, Derek's pace quickens as he begins to try and catch up with how much trash the girl had collected so far. Moving a little ways off as to cover more ground, it strikes him that he forgot to ask. "I overheard that one there is Marie, but what's your name? If you care to tell, anyway. Won't hurt my feelings if you don't."

"That's right! I've been meaning to go check it out. Might end up making a fool of myself, but I really wanted to try and sign up for a battle if it's not too late." Smiling awkwardly as he thought about it alongside her question, Derek stops picking up trash to rub the back of his head nervously.

"And I just got back from Johto, actually...but I was here for a couple years before that. You don't seem to recognize me - NOT that that's a problem or anything! I sorta prefer it that way right now. But I, well, I actually used to be a gym leader over in Petalburg." Realizing that he'd stopped working out of nervous reflex, Derek quickly darts around to pick up the remaining trash that littered the section he was in. "I miss it. Not being a gym leader necessarily, but the city. How about you though? Been in Hoenn for long?"

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Derek responds before finding himself chuckling some at the notion only lowly cadets should have to clean. "I've just always took well to being part of the community, I guess. Y'know, participating, even with menial things like cleaning up. And I am a cadet now anyway, same as you. Can't really blame them for demoting me. Not with how I left...and the timing couldn't have been worse, I reckon."

Rounding up the last bit of trash in sight around him, Derek tied off the bag before letting loose another pokemon. The Machamp that came out seemed eager, ready for anything...at least until it realized what it was being tasked with. "Randal, could you take that over to the dumpster for me?"

As if to show off to the Lopunny it noticed, Randal's reluctant stance soon turned into vigor. But instead of walking it over, he lifted the trash bag and hurled it the entire distance, plummeting into the metal container with an audible thud. Derek couldn't help but look bewildered for a moment, but soon returned his attention to the conversation they were having. "How different is Hoenn from Nimbasa? Like, besides the trainers being tougher, is there anything you miss?"

"Randal, go clean that up or you don't get to enjoy the beach later with the rest of us." Averting his gaze from the Machamp, Derek took in what Shiloh had to say with a long pause. "Well, you're not entirely wrong. I guess it's just one way of determining just how dedicated you are, y'know? Hoenn needs good people now more than ever. And from what I've seen so far, you fit the bill. As for Kanto...I'm sorry to hear it. I can, well, I can only imagine."

Even being on the other side of Mt. Silver, Derek and his parents always harbored fear of the wide-growing influence of Team Rocket. And things weren't looking to bright here in Hoenn, either. His little sister used to talk about going over there and beating them all up. Wishing it were that easy, Derek couldn't help but ask.

Scouring the area for any stray morsels of garbage, the lonely Sobble finally came out from the water, plucking a piece of garbage near Shiloh and handing it to her with a worried look on it's face - as if it's whole life was riding on whether she accepted it's help or not.

Taking note of her mannerisms when he commended Shiloh for what she did, as small as she thought it to be, Derek couldn't help but smile a little. "I mean it." The thing was, all these powerful trainers didn't always stop to help the little guy. Not with the little things like this. Many were preoccupied with bigger tasks, bigger threats. Derek looked up to Mateo Martinez, but he never really had the time to sit down and talk with them. The few times he interacted with his idol, it was always a battle, or something to that effect.

He really just wanted a mentor.

"Well, I can't speak much on that. I've tried to avoid messing with Team Rocket. We can't really wipe them off the map, so pissing them off doesn't seem like the move. I wouldn't want to instigate anymore violence. I'd like to think Hoenn has seen enough of that."

But what did he know?

Chuckling at his Sobble that began crying, Derek finished tying up his second bag before offering his shoulder to the little guy. His tears of joy continued, however, drenching the trainer's shirt seemingly without end. "These are happy tears by the way. Thanks for the help Jonesy." Patting the Sobble's head, it eventually calmed down and looked between the two humans as it seemed like they were saying their farewells.

"No problem, and thank you too. I'm gonna go and get changed, but we should hang out sometime. Maybe take a trip to look for wild pokemon, or something. I'll look for you in Lilycove." Dismissing himself with a wave over the shoulder, Derek turned to make his way back into town.