Memo’s journey is… much less extravagant than former archaeologist Remiel Calcifet’s. There’s no relaxing ocean wind or dramatic sea sprays; just the angry clangor of an angry Skarmory. Beneath them, hopping and in and out of the waves, is little Olimpia; and much further below looms Hydra’s shadow, ever watchful over her young spawn.

Guavafang’s cheerful salutations just make Acero angrier. The Skarmory rattles her tailfeathers threateningly; Memo scowls at his crochety bird; but when he looks up at Remiel, his face turns into a smile.

“Nice goggles,” he says, tapping the sides of his own.

Remiel Calcifet

☉

Remiel smiles in turn, offering a small wave in greeting as his Noivern approaches an atoll for landing. "Thank you, and likewise, of course." He responds over the sound of the rapid wind, his Galarian accent managing to slip past it nonetheless.

Shortly afterward, his Noivern descends and lands onto the ring-shaped, coral reef island. The deep, dark lagoon at its center bubbles... almost as if something alive lives within it. But, for now, Remiel pays it no mind as he hops off his dragon-bat's back and waits to see if the stranger will join him. "My name is Remiel. What's yours?"

DUO WILD + Guillermo Marceliño

☉

The atoll is a sweet relief, as Acero is not the most comfortable of flying mounts. He directs his cranky Skarmory to land nearby Remiel Calcifet, hopping off the steel-clad bird and stretching his arms high.

He, too, chooses to ignore the lagoon at the center of the island, instead swiping a hand throug his locs and inhaling the warm, salt air.

“Guillermo,” he says, breaking into a grin. “Galar, huh?” He jerks a thumb at his chest. “Spikemuth. Born and bred.”

There’s a strange keening noise-- like the sound of metal rending underwater, or a distant roaring. Moments later a large, blue shape breaks the surface of the ocean surrounding them-- a Tentacruel, flopped down on the atoll surface; behind it, in the sea, emerges the head of a very pissed-off looking purple seahorse.

Hydra, protecting her baby.

Memo rescues the landbound octopus by capturing it in a Pokeball. Hydra snorts water through the end of her cannon-like nose and disappears beneath the ocean’s surface again.

---

catch attempt tentacruel. water/flying/dragon

Remiel Calcifet

☉

Ah, a countryman then?

Remiel might have expected him to recognize him as prince, but the people of SPIKEMUTH weren't known for caring about that sort of thing either. They'd always lived on the fringes of the kingdom, in one way or another. Though, culturally speaking, they had produced a great wealth of artistry for Galar time and time again.

"Hammerlocke." Remiel responds, turning when a TENTACRUEL emerges from the depths of the atoll. He's not allowed to pay the creature much attention, however, as an ARCHEOPS descends from a palm tree nearby. Its screeches fill the air as it attempts to QUICK ATTACK the larger Noivern below.

One quick tussle later, and Guavafang has the Archeops helplessly pinned beneath its claws. A rabid LEECH LIFE occurs for a short while before Remiel approachs the two, pulling an empty luxury ball out from his pack and tossing it at the defeated, prehistoric bird.

"Shame to the paleontologist who dug up these bones... and the scientist that revived them, only to let them run amok in a new world..." He sighs.

---

✨ catching archeops

DUO WILD + Guillermo Marceliño

☉

Ahh, Hammerlocke. The black castle of the Galar region-- always a cold, unmoving reminder of class differences, permanently pressed into the horizon.

Still, Memo had uncountable reasons to leave his home region-- and any memories, connections, and prejudices-- far behind him.

He watches Remiel’s Noivern tangle with the Archeops until the latter is bested and laying sore in the sand.

“Yeah,” Memo has to agree, though he hasn’t ever thought about it like that before. “Seems like a lot of work to just… let it go.” Something like that-- the digging, the rebuilding, the reanimating-- seemed an insurmountable task, especially to just let the beast free to be caught by any Tom, Dick, or Harry.

“How long have you been in Hoenn?” Memo asks, curious about his fellow expat.

There’s a discordant jangling from nearby as Acero has faced off against a Sealeo. The large, blue pinniped has beached itself on their atoll, and it opens its mouth and brays back against his Skarmory’s angry shrieks. Acero’s protestations turn into an attack as she leaps up and claws at the portly creature with her metal claws, rending large gashes in the seal’s side.

Memo tosses a Pokeball to collect the injured creature, earning a deathglare from Acero, who definitely felt like she had it handled.

“Stop picking on things,” Memo scolded.

---

catch attempt sealeo. water/flying/dragon

Remiel Calcifet

☉

"Three years this December." Remiel responds, watching as a KRABBY skitters around him. Seemingly aware of Remiel's royal status, and considering itself the 'prince' of this atoll, the crustacean aggressively courts the man for a battle. The sharp snap of its claws, however, attracts the attention of the omnivorous Noivern.

Hoping for a tasty snack after its last meal was taken, the large bat descends upon the crab in a flurry. It hurriedly attempts to stuff the struggling little thing in its mouth afterward, on the verge of another LEECH LIFE, before it disappears in a flash of light. Remiel had cast another ball, and Guavafang had been deprived of food once again.

"A lot has happened here in the last few years, however," He casually continues. "Sometimes it feels like I've been here much, much longer."

---

✨ catching krabby

DUO WILD + Guillermo Marceliño

☉

Wow, three years. Memo smiles into the sun, thinking. How different would his life had been if he’d left home earlier? Would he have made it to Hoenn earlier? Found Alex, earlier? Been happier, earlier? He shakes his head, jerking himself back to the present.

He watches Guavafang sink down, mouth empty, and bites back a snicker.

“Oh, god, isn’t that the truth,” Memo says, running a hand through his hair. “Between Avatars and meteors and friggin’ space-time distortions. I’ve only been here for, like, half a year, but it seems like an eternity.”

He jumps a little as something lands on his shoulder, then calms when he realizes it’s just a Chatot. The little bird squawks and turns its head upside down, peering at him; Memo fishes in his bag for a berry, slightly soft and squished, and offers it to the parrot, who seems placated by the snack and sets about ripping it into little pieces for consumption.

"So, you just out exploring?" he asks absently, rubbing the music-shaped crest of... apparently, his new parrot.

---

catch attempt chatot. water/flying/dragon

Remiel Calcifet

☉

"Welcome to the Hoenn experience," Remiel smiles, reaching into his bag for a pack of trail mix. "Strangely enough, I find that all the disaster and conflict has a mysterious way of drawing you in and keeping you here. Not unlike a WHIRLPOOL, I suppose."

Meanwhile, just nearby, a FLOATZEL pokes its head out from the water with a curious sniff. It spots the handful of nuts that Remiel pours onto his palm, and is suddenly prompted to swim over and try to steal them. But Guavafang intercepts, of course, striking the Floatzel down with an electrifying WILD CHARGE.

Having been in the process of chewing and eating his nuts at that point, Remiel reaches for an empty ball in his pack with a single hand. He casts said ball towards the unconscious otter on the shore, watching as it is devoured in a flash of light. As he saunters over to go retrieve the new capture, Memo makes his inquiry.

"I was told I might find some ruins along these water routes," Remiel answers. "Independent exploration is, sadly, the only way I can put my archaeology degree to use these days." He sighs, shaking his head.

---

✨ catching floatzel

DUO WILD + Guillermo Marceliño

☉

Remiel has a point. It is like a whirlpool-- dangerous and forbidden and powerful in its destructiveness and mystery. “Yeah, that’s incredibly accurate,” Memo agrees, though he thinks of his own reasons for staying, and they’re significantly more domestic and blonde than a whirlpool.

“It is always a new adventure. Keeps us on our toes.”

A Noivern, likely drawn in by Guavafang’s presence, swoops down to investigate. Unfortunately for it, it draws rather close to the Horsea in the water, and is shot out of the sky by a vicious hydro pump; it hits the water with a splash and a large, purple tail wraps around it, drawing it under, before flinging it, waterlogged and bedraggled, back on land.

Memo hits it with a Pokeball.

“Oh, you’re an archaeologist, too?” he asks, interested piqued. He is vaguely reminded of Cillian Quinn (or, at least, his alter ego, whom he met during a speed date, some months before) who also had a passion for history, though he was a paleontologist. “Dang, you sound busy. That’s exciting, though. Have you found a lot of ruins, in Hoenn?” He was more of an arts kid, so his knowledge of what constituted the Past(™) was vague, at best-- a romanticized notion of castles and dinosaurs, sometimes mixed together, for flavor.

---

catch attempt noivern. water/flying/dragon

Remiel Calcifet

☉