"Yo!" Derek calls out, approaching from what might as well be the opposite end of the pond. Having gone to look around to see if he could find some of the pokemon or signs as to where they might've gone, it turned out that his efforts were in vain. They were already long gone, or perhaps his tracking skills had diminished from his time away from the wilds. At least he was able to find more than enough ponds for them to inhabit...

"I take it you're the one I'm supposed to be working with? The name's Derek." Reaching out to shake their hand as a friendly gesture, Derek nods his head towards the pokemon breaking out from the tree line shortly after him. "And that ball of muscle with arms is Randal. Don't look at his muscles, he likes to show off too much. Can't seem to get him to shake the habit of flexing at everyone." As if readily waiting to hear the word, Derek's Machamp began showboating as best it could, regardless if the two were paying attention or not. "He's doing it now, isn't he?"

Looking back, the Machamp quickly took a neutral pose, raising it's hands as if wondering why Derek would think such a thing. "Anyway..." Turning his attention back to the younger trainer, he manages to spy one of the pokemon they're supposed to be escorting out of the corner of his eye. "Let's do our best, uhm, what's your name?"

"Nice to meet you two. Let's get to work." As if ushered forth by the boldest among them, several other Chewtle began making the great journey towards the water, practically playing follow the leader. The birds of prey did not see their playing as anything more than a mobile buffet, coming out from the surrounding fauna with haste in order to take their bounty.

"Randal!" Derek calls on his pokemon, who swiftly jumps into their air, using his strength to grip four of the birds by their neck and throw them into a nearby tree. Derek himself stood in the way of the fifth, swatting at it with his hands in order to buy some time.

But the pokemon is quicker than Derek, delivering it's drill peck to his face instead. Landing just short of his left eye, Derek took a kneel while pressing a hand to his face, witnessing the blood it had drawn. "You'll regret that."

Ripping a pokeball from it's place on his holster, the bloodied orb sends forth Rasputin, Derek's Metagross. It's stern expression never seemed capable of anything but grim shrewdness, but seeing it's trainer bleeding brought forth a distinct hostility.

Pursuing the wild bird off site as it tried to flee from the steel behemoth, the sounds of it finally getting ahold of and pummeling the Spearow with meteor mash could be heard from the pond. "Damn birds. Never liked them anyway."

Wiping the red away on the dark denim of his pants, Derek looks over to Keenan to see where he and his Tyrun were at. For a little pokemon, it sure seemed capable. Watching it leap into the air to bite the bird and throw it definitely made him want to see what it would be like fully evolved.

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Keenan Toral | 2/5

"Don't worry, I won't." Derek replies after accepting the help, looking around at all of their pokemon. It was nice to see such a variety of pokemon working together, but Derek knew he couldn't dwell on such thoughts. They had a job to do.

"Jonesy, help us out by rounding them up and making sure they don't lag behind." Releasing the Sobble, it quickly took charge and started to usher the Chewtle on their side into something of a herd. The Metagross continued to intimidate the local predators with another violent display of it's meteor mash, which pinned down an Ekans that had decided to try it's luck on their side.

"Randal, carry as many as you can and get them in the water. Jonesy, use your water gun to keep them safe." Coordinating as best they could, the Machamp was quick to pick up a pile of Chewtle and take them to their new home. Even though some didn't realize the gesture and began to chew on his muscles, Randal maintained his composure and didn't lose a single one on his way.

Coming back for another batch, Jonesy shot down a rogue Spearow that was gunning for the back of the Machamp's head. Offering the little one a thumbs-up, Randal resumed his duties while Derek and Metagross began peeling their eyes on the surroundings. The wild pokemon had seemed to halt, yet a few could be seen eyeing them from the forest line. Were they going to try and attack in force, or were they simply waiting for the trainers and their pokemon to leave?

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Keenan Toral | 3/5

Suspicious of the way the predatory pokemon were acting, Derek only wished it were him to be picked up by the feral Fearow that now had both Chewtle and Keenan in it's grasp. Turning to issue a command, Derek's Metagross knew he was counting on it to deliver and darted forward in anticipation.

With great analytical knowledge and psychic prowess, Rasputin's aim proved formidable when they delivered the "Hammer Arm!" it's trainer wanted. Striking the bird so as to avoid causing Keenan and the turtles any harm, the Fearow was quick to release it's prey with hope it too would be spared.

But that's not what happened.

"You alright?!" Derek asks, having seen their sketchy landing. The Spheal's quick thinking helped, but that spoke nothing of the Fearow's efforts to protest Kee's interference. Even though the large bird was able to get away, Rasputin relentlessly chased into the trees after it.

Machamp used this time to rush more of the Chewtle to safety. Derek's first instinct was that the lesser predators would have taken the opportunity to catch them unsuspecting, but the spectacle of seeing their superior so outmatched caused any that did come forward to immediately turn the opposite direction. "Y'know, you got some guts grabbing onto that thing like that. And to think you were just telling me to be careful."

Unable to hold back a chuckle, Derek looks back over to see that a large majority of the pokemon made it to their new home. Just one more batch and their job here was done.

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Keenan Toral | 4/5

Ready to wash his hands clean of the endeavor, everything seems in order as they're driven back and paid for the job well done. Derek was ready to say his piece and head to his place, but Keenan asked something that stopped him in his tracks.

"Uh...yeah." Wishing to talk about anything else, his foot shifted nervously while he contemplated a further response.

"It wasn't a good time for me, so I don't really like talking about it." And that was the truth of the matter. "But while it lasted, Petalburg was good to me. Just wish I could say the same to them."

With no option but to allow the topic to dictate his mood, Derek's expression seemed to relay his reluctance to stay and talk about it any further. "All I can say to it is that it's an old chapter of my life. One I don't wish to repeat, or breathe life into."

Throwing a thumb over his shoulder in order to point to the road, the trainer made it a point that he was to get going. "It was nice getting to know ya, but I am afraid it's time for me to bounce. We can talk more if we meet again."

Wondering what the chances were, Derek made a mental note to steady himself when moments like these arrived. He didn't wish to seem distant or moody, but the topic brought on all kinds of feelings that he much preferred to keep somewhere below the surface. In any event, a quick hike took him a ways off where he would have enough space overhead to mount his Garchomp and take off.

END OF THREAD

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Keenan Toral | 5/5 Mission Complete!