I just sometimes feel like I ramble.

Barnaby liked ramblers. In his line of work, ramblers were a goldmine of information. The more people talked, the more articles and shows he could produce. Maybe that's why he didn't mind her way of speaking and interacting. It was better than trying to pry words out of a stale conversation.

"Is that such a bad thing?" He asked, but wasn't sure if Francie actually heard him. Almost as soon as the words left his lips her body began to shift in the saddle.

Once he realized she was trying to slip off his horse, Barnaby extended his arm for Francie to grab onto and balance herself. She managed to stick the landing, albeit less gracefully than most. He trotted along after her while she went to check on her LYCANROC.

They were met with a somber scene: a HOUNDOUR that was quite outclassed by Francie's Pokémon and subsequently beaten down.

"Poor girl," Barnaby concurred, frowning. "Didn't stand a chance."

Coincidentally, more Pokémon of a similar level walked out of the grass just ahead of them. Noticing one of them was a QUILAVA, he nodded in its direction, indicating for Evangeline to take care of it. One well-placed Scald and Poké Ball later, the Volcano Pokémon was his.

francie myrtle
[fire/rock]
catching QUILAVA <3

☉

making her way over to the ball that had clicked to signify she'd caught the houndour, she immediately let the poor thing out and started to use a few items, to nurse her back to health. a little revive here, a super potion there, that kinda jive.

lyonel stayed close by her, making sure nothing moved in the brush. when he did hear something, he quickly zero'd in and used an IRON TAIL to attack. the little DWEBBLE that had gotten caught by his eye went rolling, returning the attack with a ROCK BLAST before moving closer to francie, as if she'd protect her from dangerous doggo like she'd protected the little doggo!

"don't worry," she told the dwebble before eyeing her lycanroc. "you're safe with me-- and would you stop picking a fight with everything that breathes??"

the dwebble was safely tucking itself into francie's arms as she withdrew the houndour and then used a pokéball to attempt to capture the dwebble.

lyonel, on the other hand, snorted like 'bet' and then made his way through the grass again to go about terrorizing the local wildlife. really? hadn't that pretty boy asked for a ponyta? maybe this would scare one out.

// capture attempt DWEBBLE, -1 pokéball

BARNABY FINCH

With Francie stopped for the moment, tending to her newly acquired HOUNDOUR and yet another victim of her LYCANROC's, Barnaby dismounted from Océane and joined the kneeling woman. His RAPIDASH gave him a furtive glance and quiet snort as he left her side, but otherwise stayed put.

He looked on as Francie cradled the DWEBBLE in her arms, reassuring and friendly. What stood out the most to Barnaby was the crab's dark, beady eyes - quivering in fear, but locked onto Francie as if to say 'yes, please help!'

"You have a way with Pokémon." He began, throwing a small smile toward the DWEBBLE. "You rode your ONIX like it was nothing. Are you a trainer, perhaps, or...?"

francie myrtle
[fire/rock]

☉

"i'm a little bit of a lot of things," francie thought over while caressing the dwebble in all the right places, trying to get him to calm down. He eventually ended up relaxing by curling into his rock a bit and against francie's arms. "i was a trainer for a while, then a gym leader, then a sort of hoenn representative for a while before going back to being a trainer again. now i'm a ranger, helping to represent the silph company within that outlet."

she took a small breath, thinking it over. was she good with pokémon? she supposed so. lots of people said she had a real knack for it.

as she contemplated and put the houndour into its new capsule, putting that capsule on her belt, she looked toward lyonel who was fussing with something else in the grass. with a rush, suddenly lyonel came sliding out of the grass while holding the head of a cranidos.

all it took was lyonel being that close and using his IRON TAIL to twist and crack against that skull of the cranidos for the poor little pokémon to grunt and hit the ground.

noticing something else in the grass, lyonel gave a huff and howl. francie immediately knew what it meant.

"watch out, something else is in the grass." she warned barnaby.

// capture attempt CRANIDOS, -1 pokéball

BARNABY FINCH

On Francie's prompting, Barnaby shifted his stance to better perceive the threat skulking in the bushes. Within moments, the Pokémon revealed itself to them, smaller and less threatening than what he was expecting.

Another HOUNDOUR? Perhaps a friend of the previous dog, searching for its lost companion? If so, that would be a little sad.

Reunite them. Not a bad idea, and one easily achieved.

The poor pup, having just witnessed Lyonel's carnage, had its hackles raised and its body lower to the dirt. Fear flashed in its eyes - but it was brave, and stood its ground.

"Evangeline. Power Gem, please." The STARMIE had already readied itself beside Barnaby and, at his command, a shimmery beam of pure power shot from the core of its central gem.

The hit was decisive. HOUNDOUR was KO'd immediately and, with a flick of his wrist, Barnaby lobbed a Poké Ball at the little one. Once caught, he'd retrieve the capsule and handed it to Francie.

"For you. A friend for your other pup." He offered it to her with a pleasant smile.

"It sounds like you've had quite the storied career. Trainer? Gym Leader? Ranger - for Silph Co., you said?"

Interesting...

"Are you enjoying your work there?"

francie myrtle
[fire/rock]
catching HOUNDOUR

☉

seeing barnaby's starmie just take the little houndour out didn't phase francie. the law of pokémon was something she'd become numb to. and wild pokémon, she had learned, could be very brutal. best to get ahead of them and apologize later, sometimes.

other times, they could be reasoned with. and much to her surprise, barnaby just handed her the capsule. she smiled brightly, taking it and nodding.

"thanks... and, as far as working for the silph company, i love it. i've always wanted to, and i finally got the courage up to apply."

though, could surprising FERNANDO SILPH on christmas day and telling him, 'hey fernando, i'm here to stay!' really count as applying for the job? sure.

it'd gotten her the job, at any rate.

lyonel came closer, avoiding the scary ass starmie that could wipe the floor with him given the chance and instead moving closer to give the terrified dwebble in francie's arms a friendly sniff.

// passing

BARNABY FINCH

"Well then congratulations are in order! It's not everyday that one finds a career that they love."

Barnaby quietly wondered to himself, though — about FERNANDO SILPH and his company. He'd heard of Fernando, of course. Councilman, Gym Leader, CEO... he was a man of many hats, it seemed. He probably had a treasure trove of stories to tell. Perhaps one day Barnaby would receive the privilege of interviewing him.

Suddenly, the tell-tale sound of churning earth and rock diverted Barnaby's attention away from Francie and her growing hoard. A look of shock crossed his face as, terrifyingly enough, several large rocks were seen hurtling their way.

"Merde— Protect!"

Thankfully, they were saved by Evangeline's quick action. As the stones crumbled against his STARMIE's energy shield, Barnaby glanced around, attempting to identify their attacker. It didn't take him long to notice a lone GOLEM atop a nearby ridge.

A GOLEM was a more concerning opponent than the other Pokémon who'd passed their way. Plus, it had a height advantage on them. Tch. Thinking fast, Barnaby released his only Pokémon that could potentially sway the rock type's upper hand. FLYGON.

"Quickly! Fly high and use Supersonic!"

francie myrtle
[fire/rock]
catching GOLEM

☉

there was a lot that one could learn from another in battle. even more one could learn from another when a rhyperior emerged during the golem's attack and one had to battle with the other and help protect them and their pokémon.

newly acquired or otherwise.

so francie stood, lyonel immediately taking off toward the mountain and using his ROCK CLIMB to travel up the mountain until he reached the rhyperior's body.

"knock it down with the golem using an iron tail!"

lyonel's eyes shimmered that familiar scarlet red, glowing as he twisted his body and howled. the iron energies on his tail whipping into the rhyperior who howled and stumbled backwards onto the golem, but not without trying to grab the lyonel and CHIP AWAY at it's frame.

lyonel withstood the attack and snorted, keeping close to the flygon that had confused the heavens out of the golem that was now beneath a nearly fainted rhyperior.

// capture attempt, rhyperior

BARNABY FINCH

Watching the strategy francie myrtle employed with just one attack, Barnaby was convinced of her skills as a former gym leader. She and her Pokémon were able to subdue two strong opponents as if it were child's play. An impressive feat for sure.

"Excellent, Francie!"

For good measure, though, Barnaby instructed his FLYGON to finish off any stragglers with its Dragonbreath. That meant both the GOLEM and RHYPERIOR, as well as a wayward QUILAVA that just happened to poke its head out from a nearby clump of shrubs. Poor thing; nevertheless, it was soon added to Barnaby's collection along with the GOLEM.

Wiping sweat from his brow, Barnaby confessed with a laugh, "I think that's a good place to stop for the day." He withdrew both his STARMIE and FLYGON before calling Océane over to his side.

"Would you like a ride back into town, Miss Myrtle, or will you continue on alone?"

francie myrtle
[fire/rock]
catching QUILAVA

☉