Frankly, she was surprised to hear from him. Given her unfriendly and admittedly inappropriate response to his company the last time she had seen him, she had assumed their friendship and relationship in general had been scrubbed.
It was what she deserved, honestly.

But here he was, standing by her side once again, asking her if she is sure about this. Her eyebrows raise and she glances at him, surprised by his question.

"Yes."

Her fingers clench into fists to still her trembling. She breathes in, holds it, breathes out.

"I need as much information as I can possibly get."

DEREK HOFFMAN

☉

Stormy blinks, perplexed by what it is he's saying, up until, of course, he hands her the device. It is foreign, obviously, and she glances up at him to say as if to say 'what am I supposed to do with this?'

One word, however, as she scrolls through, stands out to her. It makes her blood run cold and her hairs stand on end.

"Ultraspace?"

What was the bigger picture that he was alluding to? What did all of these words together mean? It felt like she was staring at a science textbook. Had illeana reyes seen this? Would she be able to make sense of any of this?

"It won't be too late. We can't afford to be too late."

DEREK HOFFMAN

☉

"Right."

It didn't really make her feel better, but that was mostly because so far she had been useless in the hunt for Unown. She had fallen violently ill during that cafe baking shift work thing that the League had called her in for, so she hadn't been there to receive her goodies. Wherever else people had retrieved those mysterious Unown deciphering devices, Stormy didn't have one.

And she didn't have one of the mysterious Pokemon, either.

She was grasping at straws, running her fingers under the tap trying to hold onto something physical.

"Give yourself more credit, Derek."

Stormy doesn't have the heart to answer his questions. Conspiracy or not, something had to be done. She could only hope that they found real answers instead of more questions and more dead-ends.

While Derek takes care of and captures a Spiritomb, Stormy sizes up a Kadabra. It was bigger than the Abra she had caught the other day, and less susceptible to merely teleporting away before she had a chance to attack it.

However, when she does release her hellhound to take care of the wild Pokemon, the Kadabra does teleport away, but it doesn't go far. It appears behind the Houndoom to perform a TELEKINESIS and throw her mutt to the ground. Fortunately, the hound recovers quickly and retaliates by latching onto the Kadabra's leg with sharp teeth and relentless strength.

It does not take long before the Kadabra is out of commission and Stormy can capture it.

capture attempt on kadabra

DEREK HOFFMAN

☉

Reluctant to acknowledge the wild pokemon that crossed them next, Derek looks over to Stormy as she tells the ranger to give himself more credit. "I'm not really cut out for pondering things I don't understand. The whole notion of that war that took place, and everything that's happened since then..."

Such thoughts brought him back to his time in Johto. How helpless he was to do anything for his sister. And how hopeless he felt when being there meant he could do nothing for Hoenn as extraterrestrial life lay siege to it. That useless sorrow was something he needn't repeat.

Maybe Stormy was right, and he should try even harder to be worthy of that credit.

"It's just a lot to take in. Like... Who am I, really, to think that I can help stop any of this?" Many were there, and that many were enough to scrape by. He was just a pokemon trainer turned ranger. His days as a gym leader were nonexistent, with no merit to back them up.

"Up there when we were facing Groudon, I didn't do a whole lot. My endorsement from the league felt kind of...complimentary. Sure, I still decided to ascend an active volcano with a raging Groudon, but that could be said for more than a dozen trainers." Realizing he was dragging on, and seemingly whining about his own inability, Derek drew quiet for some time to gather his thoughts.

Stormy Silph

☉

That was all she thought about lately. Not fun, not dates, nothing frivolous or easy-- just the pain and the fear and the trauma that she and the rest of the region was dealing with.

"You're Derek Hoffman, one of my closest friends and one of Hoenn's most capable trainers. You're helping just by being here."

She looks up at him pointedly, as if daring him to argue further. She can only hope that he can feel her pride in him. He had been a gym leader, a role model, a hero in the eyes of his city's people. That hadn't changed even if he no longer held the position. He was still exactly who he was meant to be, and he was here. That meant something.

"But you were one of those dozen trainers. You, out of all of the people in Hoenn. You were with me and everyone else on that volcano, and you were incredible."

His gaze lowers as does his voice, but hers only follows. She steps closer to him, though she is inevitably awkward. It doesn't help that nearby, her Houndoom is being ceaselessly harassed by a wild Xatu. It's howling and barking is awful and annoying, but surprisingly, Stormy's full attention is on Derek.

"But you don't need me to tell you any of that."

With an unceremonious thud, the Houndoom takes down the Xatu and begins dragging its unconscious body back to Stormy.

capture attempt on xatu

DEREK HOFFMAN

☉

No comment is made about the way Stormy's pokemon mercilessly faints the Xatu before dragging over it's limp body. Instead his attention is afforded only to Stormy, and a pokeball he looses on a wild Hypno that seems to be be looking at them mischievously.

A gesture of the head is all it takes for the Grimmsnarl to understand. 'Go get'em, Crota.'

In the meantime, Derek mulls over everything she's said to him, especially the much appreciated encouragement. "You're right, I don't." A hand brushes her hair, messing it up a little. "But it's still nice hearing it from you."

Noticing his Grimmsnarl call over, Derek is slightly surprised to see it done already. Using a pokeball to capture the Hypno, the ranger pockets it before turning back to her. "What do you think Groudon dreams of while he sleeps up there on Mt. Chimney?" A silly question, but one he hoped Stormy might humor.

Stormy Silph

☉

She doesn't comment either. It is just another day in the life of Miss Stormy Silph.

Instead, her focus remains entirely on him and the soft expression he bears. It's sweet, and she finds herself embarrassed and blushing at the affectionate ruffle he gives her.

"You're messing up my hair--"

She shies away, smoothing down her brunette waves and looking away. Stormy twitches her nose and considers his question seriously. She crosses her arms and leans on one leg, tapping her chin for good measure.

"Volcano unicorns."

Yes, she was sure of it. Like Rapidash and Ponyta, but with fins like a Vaporeon so they could swim in the lava.

Houndoom takes after the Grimmsnarl, but instead of attacking the Hypno it goes after a wandering Duskull. The Pokemon's bone mask is appetizing, and it takes Stormy a moment to realize that that is what the dog is chewing on, not some more naturally occurring bone that didn't belong to anyone specific.

"Drop that! We don't eat Pokemon-- at least not that one!"

But just as the Duskull moves to SHADOW SNEAK away, the Houndoom pounces on it again while Stormy moves to capture it.

capture attempt on duskull

DEREK HOFFMAN

☉