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POSTED ON Apr 9, 2022 14:23:06 GMT

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Like most of his compatriots, cleaning up the beach was something that was done as expected as a Ranger. Today however, they were sent on it as a job after an immense concert festival at the Slateport Beach. Himself, and one other by the name of Derek Hoffman. Callan sweeped broken glass into his bag, using a picker to pick up the smaller pieces as he turned to Derek. "Hey, when you were inducted in the rangers, did you ever expect this was going to be the job?"

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POSTED ON Apr 9, 2022 14:30:24 GMT

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"Yeah, though usually it's the rangers with less seniority." Callan was one of the senior rangers in the association. Having him out here, picking up trash? He either really cared, or could use the money. Judging by his question, it was probably the latter. No shame in that.
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"For me, it's sort of like downtime...only I'm still putting in hours." Having dealt with his fair share of crazy disasters, it was relaxing to be able to get paid to walk along the beach. His thick sandals made sure that wasn't compromised by any of the broken glass. "Why, you looking for trouble?" Gathering some spent cans and tossing them into the basket on his back, he looked over to Callan with curiosity. He'd never made it a point to get to know his seniors, nor they him.

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POSTED ON Apr 9, 2022 14:41:07 GMT

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"Fuck man..." He grumbled, remembering exactly how grueling it was to actually pass the examination. He stashed the broken shards into the capsule in front of him, as they moved up the beach cleaning along the way.

"You know they had me climb Mount Chimney for my practical exam." He grumbled, "Six day survival in the wilderness, capture tests, field healing, emergency battle drills, and all culminating in a battle against the Head Ranger." He clippered a destroyed beach ball nad folded it into the trash bag. "And here we are, picking up trash."

Callan shook his head at his question. "No man, just thinking out loud. I kind of expected that once I got my badge, it'd be rescuing people off of mountaintops and diving into volcanoes to rescue some lost Baltoys." But that was wishful thinking, and also irresponsible. He should have wished the rest of his ranger life was as boring as possible, since that meant there'd be no strife. "How long have you been a ranger for?" He asked in return. "I always thought the Gym Leader gig would be nicer."

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POSTED ON Apr 9, 2022 14:55:43 GMT

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"Closing in on a year now." Derek recalls joining the rangers last summer, the season quickly approaching once more. "Speaking from experience, being a gym leader is cool and all, but it's a lot of responsibility I personally didn't care for." Stabbing a piece of paper, it was quickly stuffed into the bag clutched in his other hand. How should he put it...
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"I always wanted to battle the up-and-comers, y'know? Test out the trainers who hadn't a single badge to their name. But it ended up with me facing off against a lot of the region's best trainers. Some of which didn't even need my badge—Members of the current elite four and whatnot. Maybe they just wanted to check me out. Or maybe they were perfectionists who just needed to have every badge the region's ever minted." Rolling his eyes at the memories, he picked up the pace out of subconscious frustration.
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"Anyway, if by nicer you mean more popular, then yeah, it's better. As for myself, I've been lightly considering kyle lopez's minor league."

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POSTED ON Apr 9, 2022 15:03:13 GMT

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Callan paused as he listened to Derek talk about his experiences as a gym leader. He hadn't thought of it that way, and he was considering taking a more active role in the Region too. But if it was simply just a roundabout of experienced trainers, then it sort of made sense why it might have been disillusioning. "Yeah, I was considering taking it as a role too." He replied.

"Though, I guess for me, I'd probably do it just for the money. My options have been expanding a bit the last few months." Callan took a moment to reflect on how he had essentially been nothing, but within a year's time, had skyrocketed... relatively speaking. Compared to being a bum in debt trying to get out of college, this was a welcome change. "I've heard about that league too." Callan spoke, "But not much about the details, what's it about? Isn't it basically just a set of gym leaders?"

At any rate, the name Minor League was a little off putting, it made it sound unofficial. Which it might be, but it could have had a nicer name that rang to it. "The PR needs some work though." He smiled.

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POSTED ON Apr 9, 2022 15:20:20 GMT

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"Well if it's about the money, his minor league probably isn't a good fit." Though condoned by the champion, it was something of a pet project to either help raise the capability of Hoenn's rangers, or maybe alleviate the pressure on gyms leaders when it came to holding matches. With everything that'd been going on, worrying about badges probably wasn't very high on their list. Only for those who aspired to earn them.
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"It's a chance for some of Hoenn's more experienced trainers to get a little bit of the spotlight, I suppose. Hoenn has gone through quite a few gym leaders, and even expanded how many official gyms are allowed in the circuit." It certainly helped to save face for the league by nearly having a gym leader for every town and city they governed.
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"They'll probably become gym leaders someday. I think of it like an unofficial probation period, or something to that effect. They hold no authority, but their talents don't fall on deaf ears. Some may even raise public morale." It wasn't such a bad gig, it was just dwarfed by what others viewed as bigger, and thus better. But even the elite four and champion could lose. Some were there when the league forfeited Sootopolis to Rocket, after all.
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"But yeah, if it's for money, I don't have a clue what you should do. Gym leaders have it well, and I believe there is an opening right now. Might as well shoot your shot if that's what you want. I'll stop by and try for a badge sometime if you get the job."

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POSTED ON Apr 9, 2022 15:41:30 GMT

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In response to Derek's reply, Callan took a moment to consider his thoughts before speaking. "I'll have to think about that a little more, I don't doubt my ability to battle, but I'll need a few more tools first. Maybe get a few challenges under my belt before I think of myself as Gym Leader material."

They continued to move up the coast, sweeping across the beach and combing out broken bottles, destroyed electronics, used condoms and Pokemon "litter". "I'm still new at this right now." He began, "Thirty is an age that really gets to you, especially when you have kids, you start to think about what's best for them and not yourself. Maybe I should stay in a safer job, see my daughter grow up, rather than acknowledging my talent for battling and take risks for glory." Callan shrugged it off, he could use a cigarette right about now, they'd almost finished the beach.

"You wanna grab a beer?"

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POSTED ON Apr 9, 2022 16:39:06 GMT

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"Take your time, Hoenn ain't going anywhere." At least that's what he hoped, but who was to say, really? Legendary pokemon could quickly change their mind, and promptly tell the region and it's inhabitants to fuck off.
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The mention of kids comes as a bit of a surprise. "So you're a dad?" Derek stopped in his tracks. Good for him, though for some reason Derek always imagined that as something for those who looked to be a bit older. Maybe he just wanted to spend his youth selfishly. Or maybe he just hadn't found love like Callan had.
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"Being a gym leader would be a bit dangerous then. My old mentor, mateo martinez was someone I thought to be untouchable. Now, though? Not so much. At the end of the day, someone has to foot the bill." News revolving around Mateo's initial disappearance was quite scary to contemplate for the average person.
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"You trying to go when we're done?" Keeping up with his partner as they neared what might as well be the finish line, Derek inquires about the timing of the beer. Not because he's busy, but because he isn't. And an ice cold beer after a hot day at the beach was probably the best way to treat himself right now.

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POSTED ON Apr 9, 2022 17:32:13 GMT

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Finishing up the last of the garbage on the shoreside, Callan took his trash bags and lobbed them into the junk container. "Yeah, it's not exactly something that I was prepared for though, you know?" Callan replied, "I was pretty young when I had my daughter with my ex-wife. We broke up though, and Liore, my daughter, she's getting what she needs." From the other dad. A bitterness flowed into his veins. It was strong motivation, if nothing else.

"Yeah, but I reckon it's worth it for some people. What else are you going to do with you life?" There was something glorious about dying early, never fading away to wasting and atrophy. For Callan though, he had decided long ago he'd like a comfortable life, just about when he got married. "What was Mateo like?" He asked, it's hard to put a personal perspective on people who were larger than life, and Mateo was one of the strongest trainers when he was here.

Eventually however, the rest of the garbage would be cleared up. "There's a pokemart nearby that sells alcohol, let's grab a drink there."

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