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POSTED ON May 20, 2022 7:10:22 GMT

H!ZOROARK ? | ILLUSION - bitter malice, extrasensory, nasty plot, shadow sneak, shadow claw, swift

"Can you believe this?" Reports of strange-eyed individuals sending people in circles at Shoal Cave like some kind of prank had finally reached the mission board. There was a pretty obvious suspect, but until they had trainers scope it out, they didn't want to suggest anything definitive. "Seems like this daycare egg stuff has got everything in a bind." Trainers were fighting for the right to breed with this pokemon, or that. Pokemon theft was on the rise. Gacha were being purchased like crazy. "If it turns out to be a Ditto, I am gonna have mine teach it a lesson."

How they would manage that, he had no clue. But the idea of setting them straight was there, and that's all that mattered.

Oh, and making sure nobody was still lost and going in circles in there. Yeah...
Adrian Malcolm (MISSION)
☉

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Fonz

Masculine

October 19

Slateport City

Bisexual

N/A

6'1" height

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POSTED ON May 20, 2022 7:35:08 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","adrianwt"]

[attr="class","adrianwtw"]"Let's just see what we're in for, first." Didn't do them any good to get ahead of themselves, or work themselves up. It would only cloud their judgement. And after all, it's just a side hustle for Adrian, so he isn't particularly bothered one way or the other. If trainers were allowing themselves to be duped... that was entirely on them.[break][break]

It does remind him of an ages old adage, however:[break][break]

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.[break][break]

"We should be able to sort this out soon enough."[break][break]

They were hoofing it along, making good time as they ventured deeper into the caves when he thought he saw another trainer. Perhaps they could ask what they knew...
[break][break]

[attr="class","adrianwttag"]DEREK HOFFMAN

[attr="class","adrianwtpokes"][break]

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played by

noble

hoffman

he/him

twenty-eight

october 20th

blackthorn city, johto

heterosexual

ranger

ex-gym leader

5'11" height

old habits die hard, i guess.

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TAG WITH @derek

POSTED ON May 22, 2022 3:55:08 GMT

" Yeah, yeah."

It wasn't a huge deal, but it was annoying enough.

The ditto must've really been going through it at the hatchery if they were willing to come out to Shoal Cave in order to hide.

"You go one way, I'll go another."

Splitting up meant they'd be able to cover more ground. And there was no way they would get duped by some ditto pretender.

Speaking of which...

"Hey there."

He'd found someone already.
Adrian Malcolm
☉

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played by

Fonz

Masculine

October 19

Slateport City

Bisexual

N/A

6'1" height

Just keep running. It's what you do best, isn't it?

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TAG WITH @fonz

POSTED ON May 27, 2022 4:53:56 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","adrianwt"]

[attr="class","adrianwtw"]"Alright." Derek could play shotcaller.[break][break]

As he went along by his lonesome, Adrian left Derek to pursue the lone stranger, taking it upon himself to move deeper into the cavern. He didn't see anything unusual at first, just a surprising level of wildlife activity. It seemed every way he went, he was encroaching upon this or that, having to adjust his path to give pokemon a wider birth. That's when it dawned on him.[break][break]

Maybe... some of the wild pokemon were actually Ditto themselves?[break][break]

Try as he might to single one out, he wouldn't be able to discern them, even should he rely on his preternatural aura sensing capabilities; this simply wasn't part of his toolkit. Only a Ditto trainer or species specialist would be able to spot the inconsistencies.[break][break]

He ends up calling Derek over the phone: "Any luck?"
[break][break]

[attr="class","adrianwttag"]DEREK HOFFMAN

[attr="class","adrianwtpokes"][break]

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noble

hoffman

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twenty-eight

october 20th

blackthorn city, johto

heterosexual

ranger

ex-gym leader

5'11" height

old habits die hard, i guess.

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TAG WITH @derek

POSTED ON May 27, 2022 5:22:24 GMT

The individual he'd encountered turned to greet Derek, but didn't say much. Just one thing, really. "Di." And then it pointed towards a bend in the trail.

"Did you run into anyone before me?" The question was answered by another "Di." It was kind of cute, actually, but it insisted on pointing again.

A phone call grabbed his attention, which Derek promptly answered. "Yeah, I think I found it." The pokemon seemed to get the hint, provoking it into making a run for it in the very same direction it had been pointing towards.

"Oh no, it won't be that easy!" Allowing his Hisuian Zoroark to roam out of it's pokeball, the pokemon unleashed it's swift at their ankles, which caused the Ditto's movements to slow. Add in the temperature of the area, and it basically came to a halt. Well, that and his pokemon had cut it off by running ahead.

"You still there?" Derek asks, using a pokeball to retrieve the Ditto that'd been incapacitated. "The Ditto's in a pokeball now, but it was just pointing in a single direction. There might actually be another one..." Which, if them taking two paths meant anything, probably indicated that the Ditto's partner was somewhere around Adrian's side of the cave. Or so he assumed.
Adrian Malcolm
☉

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Fonz

Masculine

October 19

Slateport City

Bisexual

N/A

6'1" height

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POSTED ON May 27, 2022 5:32:59 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","adrianwt"]

[attr="class","adrianwtw"]Adrian ended up waiting for Derek to finish things on his side before they could answer him properly. It seems Derek was beginning to consider exactly what Adrian already had: that the Ditto was running cover for something else hiding out in the caves. Probably more of those missing Ditto.[break][break]

"Think so? Well head on back this way, but I'm not sure how we're going to be able to tell..." Would they battle everything in the cave, just to be sure? Adrian wanted to see how Derek approached the situation.[break][break]

Vainly he tries to rely on his aura sensing abilities, seeing nothing distinguishing about the auras of the pokemon that he chanced across.
[break][break]

[attr="class","adrianwttag"]DEREK HOFFMAN

[attr="class","adrianwtpokes"][break]

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played by

noble

hoffman

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twenty-eight

october 20th

blackthorn city, johto

heterosexual

ranger

ex-gym leader

5'11" height

old habits die hard, i guess.

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TAG WITH @derek

POSTED ON May 27, 2022 7:37:27 GMT

"The report said they were being lead in circles." Collapsing in from one end while Adrian did the other, it was obvious they'd run into something eventually. "If I found one, the other must be by you." If Adrian couldn't understand that much, well...

Maybe that was putting it a little harshly?

"Are there any pokemon in sight?" If a lack of people to socialize with bothered them, the Ditto may be forced to cope by imitating the pokemon native to Shoal Cave. "Just look carefully, I'll be there soon."
Adrian Malcolm
☉

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played by

Fonz

Masculine

October 19

Slateport City

Bisexual

N/A

6'1" height

Just keep running. It's what you do best, isn't it?

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TAG WITH @fonz

POSTED ON May 28, 2022 23:21:22 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","adrianwt"]

[attr="class","adrianwtw"]"Of course there are pokemon."[break][break]

The deal was telling them apart. A Ditto worth its salt wasn't going to sit there dopey-faced with beady eyes and make your job easy; they were masters of imitation, if Derek hadn't forgotten. Spotting one by happenstance wasn't just going to happen with the snap of his fingers.[break][break]

"Forget it, I have an idea." The call ended with a click.[break][break]

Releasing a Slowbro, Adrian would systematically use disable on the wild pokemon. If a wild Ditto had impersonated any of the wild pokemon without learning to emulate its moves, then maybe, just possibly, they might be able to break the function of its cells through the use of its move, TRANSFORM. It was the only idea he had on hand.[break][break]

It didn't really make sense, but none of this did.
[break][break]

[attr="class","adrianwttag"]DEREK HOFFMAN

[attr="class","adrianwtpokes"][break] (W) ♂ REGENERATOR / Tackle / Confusion / Future Sight / Growl / Disable / Move #6

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noble

hoffman

he/him

twenty-eight

october 20th

blackthorn city, johto

heterosexual

ranger

ex-gym leader

5'11" height

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POSTED ON May 29, 2022 2:51:20 GMT

(T) RANDAL ♂ | NO GUARD - bulk up, dynamic punch, ice punch, revenge, rock blast, strength

Thankfully Adrian had an idea, and he arrived just in time to see it being put into effect. One by one the wild ice type pokemon were being filtered through. And eventually one of them showed the signs Adrian must've been looking for.

Rather than use his Zoroark this time, Derek chose to employ his Machamp. Because, as they both would've guessed, the Ditto was making a run for it. "Randal, stop it!" Leaping out at the Ditto, a dynamic punch would confuse it and cause the pokemon's sense of direction to dwindle. Even up and down wouldn't be as obvious as it was before.

And the injury itself wasn't anything to shake off either. Rather than try to run, the Ditto seemed to struggle about in the snow. A provided pokeball was used to retrieve it, allowing the two of them to get back to their lives. "Thanks for the help." They'd always headed off in opposite directions, and this time was no different. He wondered when they would both sit down again for a drink. "Take care 'til next time." A friendly nod was cast Adrian's direction before Derek took his leave.
Adrian Malcolm
☉

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played by

Fonz

Masculine

October 19

Slateport City

Bisexual

N/A

6'1" height

Just keep running. It's what you do best, isn't it?

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TAG WITH @fonz