MARCH UPDATE

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

7,240 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Aug 2, 2022 6:43:00 GMT

Josh had been enjoying Splashfest a lot despite the big race being canceled. Mantine Surfing was a unique take on riding, and even if he struggled with it, it inspired him to look into tracking down a Mantine for himself for long trips over the waves. They were fairly speedy and had quite long range among water Pokémon. He also spent a lot of time playing carnival games, and seemed to be quite good with his sidearm throws around the Dunk Tank; he had hit the target far more often than he missed. Today, though, he wasn't in casual clothes. He was in his Ranger uniform.

There was work to be done.

Josh checked his Ranger email one more time to review today's briefing:

TO: Josh Devlin (josh.devlin@hoennrangers.gov)
CC: Julia Davis (julia.davis@hoennrangers.gov)
MISSION: "To Sink One's Teeth"
PROTOCOL: Criminal Hit
DANGER: ★★☆☆☆
There have been reports of increased Sharpedo poacher presence around the waters of Slateport City. Splashfest has attracted schools of them, which in turn, has attracted attention from unscrupulous folks that would remove them from the ecosystem in an effort to get rich selling their teeth on the black market. Your mission is to apprehend a particular poacher whose Law Enforcement dossier is attached.

Best of luck!

He had the perfect Pokémon for it, too. Josh using a Sharpedo might attract the attention of the poacher in question, particularly considering his dossier indicated he didn't have too long of a track record. Said lack of track record was the only reason a Rookie like Josh was even eligible to take the mission. Due to the low volume of Mantine Surfers, Josh was able to use one of their docks to cast off with one of his water Pokémon. He summoned Snacker, his Sharpedo, and texted Julia that he was ready to begin the mission. He slipped off the edge of the dock and onto the Sharpedo's saddle, the Bully of the Sea pacing in eagerness to get started once Josh was harnessed up.

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Resheph Dragonair Good
Snacker Sharpedo Good

{WC: 342}
{PC: 1}

Mission: To Sink One's Teeth

close tab

played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

July 5

Fortree City

pansexual

Ranger

Elite Ranger

135 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

612 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @julia

POSTED ON Aug 2, 2022 20:52:50 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","julia"]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

A Ranger's work was never done, even if basically the entire region was throwing one big vacation party. Actually, it was probably because of that vacation party that Julia had work to do. Some ne'er-do-wells were sneaking in through the big crowds trying to have fun, and now, it was up to Julia to stop one of them!

[break][break]It wasn't just her this time, either. She was being joined by Rookie Ranger Josh Devlin to find and apprehend a Sharpedo poacher off the coast of Slateport. And according to the text she just got, he was already at the dock and ready to go! She sent back a quick omw! and picked up the pace. The streets were still flooded with festival-goers looking for their next activity, but many of them made way when they saw Julia's Ranger outfit.

[break][break]Or maybe her leg. But Julia preferred to think it was the former.

[break][break]When she arrived at the docks, she saw a spiky-haired Ranger already in the water. She walked to the edge of the dock and smiled down at him. "You must be Josh, right? I'm Jul—whoa, that's a big Sharpedo!" Julia's eyes widened not in shock but in awe when she realized just how large the Sharpedo that Josh was riding was. It even had its own saddle! But then she remembered that she was supposed to be on a mission, and that meant being professional. "Eh-heh, sorry about that. I'm Julia."

[attr="class","juliatag"]Josh Devlin

[attr="class","juliapokes"] ♂︎ EARLY BIRD | PLUCK, TRI ATTACK, AGILITY, LUNGE, DRILL PECK, SWORDS DANCE

♀ SHELL ARMOR | SING, LIFE DEW, CONFUSE RAY, WATER PULSE, ICE BEAM, RAIN DANCE

♀ STATIC | THUNDER SHOCK, PLAY NICE, SWEET KISS, NUZZLE, NASTY PLOT, CHARM

♂︎ BLAZE | FURY SWIPES, PLAY NICE, SCRATCH, LEER, FLAME BURST, --

[newclass=.julia] width: 450px; margin: 0 auto; font-family: roboto; color: #aaa; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: .5px; text-align:justify; padding-top: 20px; padding-bottom: 20px; line-height: 15px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.julia b] color: #d49736; font-size: 11.5px; font-family: trebuchet ms; letter-spacing: .5px; [/newclass]
[newclass=.julia a] text-decoration: none; color: #d49736; font-style: italic; font-weight: lighter; [/newclass]
[newclass=.julia h1, h2, h3] display: inline-block; [/newclass]
[newclass=.julia h1] font-size: 13px; font-weight: lighter; color: #d49736; letter-spacing: .5px; line-height: 0px; font-family: monospace; text-transform: uppercase; [/newclass]
[newclass=.julia i] color: #d49736; [/newclass]
[newclass=.julia u] text-decoration: none;border-bottom: solid 1px #d49736; [/newclass]

[newclass=.juliatag] text-align: right; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-top: 20px; font: 10px monospace; [/newclass]
[newclass=.juliatag a] font: 11px Montserrat; font-weight: 800!important; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0px; text-transform: lowercase; [/newclass]

[newclass=.julianotes] text-align: justify; padding: 20px 40px 10px 40px; font: 10px monospace; letter-spacing: .3px; border-top: solid 1.5px #323232; [/newclass]
[newclass=.julianotes h1] font: 14px Montserrat; font-weight: 800!important; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; color: #d49736; text-shadow: 2px 2px 0px #1e1e1e; padding-bottom: 5px; text-align:center;[/newclass]
[newclass=.julianotes a] font: 11px Montserrat; font-weight: 800!important; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0px; text-transform: lowercase; color: #d49736; [/newclass]

[newclass=.juliaw] padding: 40px; background: #272727; [/newclass]

[newclass=.julia span] display: inline-block; [/newclass]

[newclass=.juliapokes] text-align: center; margin: 0 auto; background: #d49736; padding: 5px; width: 440px; margin-left: -40px; margin-bottom: -40px; margin-top: 10px; [/newclass]
[newclass=.juliapokes img] margin-top: -10px; padding-bottom: 5px; [/newclass]

close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

7,240 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Aug 4, 2022 2:43:40 GMT

Josh cast off from the dock and coaxed his mount into turning around to face his partner that would be approaching soon. As he waited for her to come, a light flailing motion caused him to flinch and tighten his hold on the Sharpedo's main fin. Well, light by his Pokémon's standards; to his rider, it felt like the thrust from a kicking land Pokémon. "Easy, buddy! We can warm up while we wait."

Josh guided his Sharpedo out to sea, then pulled a turn so sharp his leading knee submerged below the waves. In a burst of Aqua Jet aimed toward the dock at a shallow angle, Snacker leaped above the waves. "Yee-ha!" Josh cried as the adrenaline rush kicked in from the powerful jump. Snacker flourished his jaws mid-jump before splashing down near the dock, his wake dangerously close to getting the now-present Julia wet.

"Ah, there you are, Julia!" Josh smiled toward his acquaintance that was quickly turning into a new friend. "Yeah, Snacker's a big boy, isn't he?" The proud water-type lightly flailed just like before, showing his powerful jaws to Julia. "He's just really fired up is all! To save some of his own kind, no less. Josh, semi-professional Pokémon Racer," the Sharpedo's rider introduced himself. "I rarely have time to do Ranging during the racing season, but I'll be much more active after October rolls around."

Josh made sure to review the mission with her one more time and what their objective would be. "You have a water Pokémon, right? If not I have a Dragonair you can ride out to sea," the yet-in-training Ranger offered his co-worker.

Julia Davis

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Resheph Dragonair Good
Snacker Sharpedo Good

{WC: 277}
{PC: 2}

close tab

played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

July 5

Fortree City

pansexual

Ranger

Elite Ranger

135 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

612 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @julia

POSTED ON Aug 4, 2022 17:45:11 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","julia"]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

As she approached the dock, Julia saw her mission partner and his Pokémon dash through and jump over the water. "Nice!" she called out. She stepped back from the splash that the powerful jump created, laughing. She clearly wasn't bothered by almost getting wet, especially since she was going out to sea soon.

[break][break]"Make sure you save some of that energy for chasing the bad guys," she said to Snacker, her tone light. She turned back to Josh. "Nice to meet you! Do you use Snacker for races? He's definitely got the energy for it."

[break][break]So racing season ended in October, huh? Julia forced down thoughts of the meteor and instead thought of asking about Pokémon races after this mission was over. Maybe she could do one with Chester.

[break][break]"Don't worry, I came prepared. Come on out, Lazuli!" She popped open one of her Poké Balls, and the Lapras manifested in the water with a song-like whistle. Julia patted her on the head before she turned around, allowing Julia to hop onto her shelled back. "Ready?"

[attr="class","juliatag"]Josh Devlin

[attr="class","juliapokes"] ♂︎ EARLY BIRD | PLUCK, TRI ATTACK, AGILITY, LUNGE, DRILL PECK, SWORDS DANCE

close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

7,240 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Aug 5, 2022 7:57:39 GMT

Josh smiled when Julia complimented Snacker on his performance. "I do use him for races; in fact, I just used him in one not too long ago. His Aqua Jet is really fast." Snacker seemed to love Julia's flattery, especially after seeing Lazuli, the young woman's Lapras. "I would show you, but I doubt your Lapras could keep up with him when we go out to sea."

Lapras were about the most easygoing aquatic mounts possible. They weren't overly speedy, were easy to control, and most importantly, were very intelligent. Unlike Josh's Pokémon, they could be controlled entirely through verbal or even empathic commands. Their shells made for natural saddles, as well. They were perfect for beginners. "Ready," Josh confirmed, Snacker swimming a couple swift circles around Lazuli before his trainer reined him in. "Snacker, can you behave, please? We're on official duty."

As the two headed past the range of the wave generators for the Mantine Surfing contest, Josh's head tilted toward Julia's face. "Wait...you're the same Julia I met at Round One in Slateport the other day, aren't you? When we played SSR with Shalin? I didn't recognize you in your Ranger uniform!" He started reminiscing about their recent meetup, though he still remained vigilant for signs of their target. If anything, he would be able to lure them out with Snacker. There was no way they wouldn't take the bait of such a large Sharpedo...right?

Julia Davis

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Resheph Dragonair Good
Snacker Sharpedo Good

{WC: 241}
{PC: 3}

close tab

played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

July 5

Fortree City

pansexual

Ranger

Elite Ranger

135 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

612 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @julia

POSTED ON Aug 11, 2022 20:11:19 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","julia"]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

"Lazuli's a good swimmer, but... You know, I don't even think we've tried to go that fast before, have we?" she asked the Lapras. The first part had mostly been said out of reflex. Julia wasn't sure if Josh even saw Lazuli's prosthetic back flipper or if he was just commenting on how fast Snacker was, but she still felt the need to point out that Lazuli could swim just fine with it, thank you very much. Just like how Julia could still walk, run, climb, and do all kinds of other stuff with her own prosthesis. In response to her trainer's question, Lazuli let out a low hum. That was a "no," then.

[break][break]Lazuli watched Snacker swim around her, then let out a gently scolding hum. Julia giggled to herself. Some people had a mom friend. Julia had a mom Pokémon.

[break][break]Once the duo was past the wave generators, Josh spoke up again. Julia beamed. "I thought you looked familiar! Small world, huh?" A shiver clung to her spine. Those words were a lot darker given current events, but she had to box that thought up for later. It was time to get to work.

[break][break]"I might have an idea," she said. "The poacher's after Sharpedo, right? If we split up, they might go after you, then I'll keep watch and move in when they spring the trap."

[attr="class","juliatag"]Josh Devlin

[attr="class","juliapokes"] ♂︎ EARLY BIRD | PLUCK, TRI ATTACK, AGILITY, LUNGE, DRILL PECK, SWORDS DANCE

close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

7,240 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Aug 13, 2022 8:15:22 GMT

It seemed that Julia's Lapras did not approve of Snacker's showing off. Once they had passed the festival grounds and to the open ocean, the two discussed their strategy. "Oh, are you suggesting we serve as a decoy?" Come to think of it, if their targets were poaching Sharpedo, a target like Snacker might be too much for them to resist. "That might not work; I'm a big guy and I would be pretty visible, even sitting behind Snacker's fin like this."

Then the internal lightbulb clicked. "I have an idea. It's still early enough that they might have a hard time seeing east. Snacker and I could hide in the sunrise, then while they're distracted with me, you could move in!" It was a daring one, but effective-sounding. The two had no idea how organized their targets were. From the briefing, it didn't seem that the poachers had a lot of experience, but even inexperienced criminals could be very well prepared.

If Julia didn't have a better idea, Josh would begin to execute his plan. "My frequency is one one niner decimal four three. I'd appreciate it if you stayed on comms. Let's save some Sharpedo!" With that, he broke formation with his fellow Ranger, Snacker shooting to the southeast and scanning for signs of his target. He also released his Dragonair, who swam alongside the Sharpedo briefly. "Resheph, can you provide aerial recon, please? I'll keep an eye on you. Do a corkscrew with your Agility when you find them." This was where he wished he had some kind of light-emitting attack on his Dragonair to help with signaling. Unfortunately, the only one she knew was Hyper Beam, which would draw far too much attention.

It did not take her terribly long to locate a medium-sized sea vessel with a tank full of Carvanha and Sharpedo prominently visible from the air. Much of the equipment on the vessel would be invisible from sea level. The moment Josh noticed his Dragonair fly in a knot then starting to return to him, he radioed his co-worker. "Cadet Davis, Rookie Ranger Devlin. Resheph has confirmed the target ten o'clock. I have visual. Repeat, I have visual, over."

Julia Davis

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Resheph Dragonair Good
Snacker Sharpedo Good

{WC: 366}
{PC: 4}

close tab

played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

July 5

Fortree City

pansexual

Ranger

Elite Ranger

135 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

612 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @julia

POSTED ON Aug 15, 2022 20:04:53 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","julia"]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

"Mm-hm!" Julia affirmed with a nod. Josh did have a point, though: the poacher(s) would probably see that he was on Snacker's back. She was going to suggest that he hop on Lazuli's back with her, but Josh came up with the even better idea to hide in the sun's morning light. That way, they'd see the silhouette of a big Sharpedo, a perfect target for them, but be less likely to see Josh himself. And this way, Josh would be right there when the poachers moved in, meaning Snacker wouldn't be in any danger.

[break][break]"Perfect!" Julia said. She made sure her communicator was tuned into the stated frequency, then grinned at her coworker. "Let's do this."

[break][break]Julia pulled out her binoculars and watched the opposite horizon once Josh had headed southeast. She didn't see anything, but the voice on her radio confirmed that their targets were in sight. She followed Josh's directions and spotted the vessel in the distance. From here, it just looked like a regular ship.

[break][break]"Copy that; I have the target in my sights," she said into her radio. "Who's Resheph, anyway?"[break][break]

[break]Meanwhile, on the deck of the boat, one of the poachers caught sight of a blue serpentine shape streaking through the sky. "Well, would you look at that," he said with a grin. "Not our target, but probably still worth a pretty penny... Hmm?" He followed the Dragonair's trajectory toward something in the water. He had to squint his eyes against the sun's rays, but the shape was unmistakable: a Sharpedo. And a big one, too.

[break][break]"Boss, boss!" he shouted. "I found one! And it's huge!"

[attr="class","juliatag"]Josh Devlin

[attr="class","juliapokes"] ♂︎ EARLY BIRD | PLUCK, TRI ATTACK, AGILITY, LUNGE, DRILL PECK, SWORDS DANCE

close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

7,240 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Aug 16, 2022 5:24:39 GMT

"Resheph is my Dragonair," Josh answered. "...They mean business. I see two harpoons bow side and several nets starboard side. Might need you to provide cover. I'm going in. Over and out." He stowed the communicator in a water-proofed spot, then firmly held his Sharpedo's reins, weaving across the waves to deceive the ship's crew.

As one of the harpoons raced toward Snacker, Josh pulsed the Sharpedo's reins sharply. "Snacker, use AQUA JET!" he commanded. The bladed projectile sailed underneath him as the two rose above the waves on pure momentum from the Aqua Jet. While Snacker was able to make minor adjustments with his Aqua Jet, he was very limited in power with it due to the lack of water intake. It shouldn't have mattered much; most of the crew was busy operating metallic nets used to mass harvest wild Carvanha and Sharpedo. One of them had snagged several of the highly aggressive aquatic Pokémon into a metal net. The wilds panicked in the confined space of the net, inadvertently biting at each other as part of their escape instincts. It was not a pretty sight. Both the crew on deck were occupied with getting their heavy, metal-laden net to the ship's deck.

By the time the crewman who had fired the initial shot saw there was more than a jumping Sharpedo rocketing toward him, it was almost too late. "There's someone on its back!" the one who fired the harpoon shouted. Snacker used the last of his Aqua Jet to curve his leap around the corner of the ship, letting Josh dismount and board the medium-sized vessel. "Electabuzz!" the same crewman called out, bringing forth a tall and angry-looking electric-type. No doubt his intent was to use this to soften up the Sharpedo so they could be mass captured easily. "Use your THUNDER SHOCK!"

Julia Davis

{WC: 307}
{PC: 5}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Resheph Dragonair Good
Snacker Sharpedo Good

close tab

played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

July 5

Fortree City

pansexual

Ranger

Elite Ranger

135 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

612 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @julia

POSTED ON Aug 17, 2022 21:36:21 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","julia"]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

"Ohh. Understood." Her tone was light at first but then darkened at Josh's description of the boat. "We're on our way. Over and out." Saying those words was a lot less fun in an official context. Her days of playing spy and detective had made it all seem so fun, but as much as she loved her job, she had to face some ugly things out there. But she was determined to stop as much of it as she could.

[break][break]"Let's go, Lazuli," she said. Her Lapras let out a song note of affirmation and paddled toward the boat as fast as she could. She wasn't nearly as fast as a Sharpedo, but she could feel her and Julia's combined determination spurring her on to stop any other innocent Pokémon from getting hurt.

[break][break]When they came into view, one of the other crew members shouted that another Ranger on a Lapras was on her way. Julia was weighing her options when she saw Josh on the deck. Without his Pokémon. And with an Electabuzz charging a Thunder Shock. That wasn't good!

[break][break]Julia had to act fast. "Lazuli, Confuse Ray the Electabuzz!"

[break][break]A low, eerie wail echoed across the water as orbs of light in a myriad of colors floated from Lazuli's mouth and across the deck to their target. They swirled around the Electabuzz's head, drawing its attention and making its gaze go in drunken circles. The Thunder Shock sparked from its body in Josh's vague direction, but the Electabuzz's newfound confusion meant its aim was off.

[break][break]That was one problem taken care of. But now Julia was faced with two more, namely the Electrode and Eelektross the other two crew members had sent out. Julia reached for her Poké Balls, but already, the Eelektross was being commanded to use Thunder Wave.

[attr="class","juliatag"]Josh Devlin

[attr="class","juliapokes"] ♂︎ EARLY BIRD | PLUCK, TRI ATTACK, AGILITY, LUNGE, DRILL PECK, SWORDS DANCE

♂︎ INNER FOCUS | AURA SPHERE, METEOR MASH, MACH PUNCH, DETECT, DRAGON PULSE, NASTY PLOT

♂︎ OBLIVIOUS | ICE SHARD, ICY WIND, ICICLE CRASH, MUD-SLAP, BULLDOZE, MIST

close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

7,240 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Aug 18, 2022 1:59:05 GMT

noah faber likes this

Julia's cover fire was just in time. The CONFUSE RAY caused the Electabuzz's THUNDER SHOCK to sail wide. Resheph clobbered the electric-type with a horn-first DRAGON RUSH from above. Badly hurt but not out for the count, the yellow and black Pokémon was able to get up quickly by bracing against the ship's rail. "Electabuzz, CROSS CHOP!" the poacher commanded, taking advantage of his close range to grapple the serpent and whirl her in dizzying circles. Josh didn't seem distressed one bit; if anything, he was smiling.

"Gotcha."

Just like with the Hariyama during his gym battle with noah faber , Resheph curled her neck around to face the Electabuzz. "HYPER BEAM!" he cried. The orange column of pure energy surged from the Dragonair's horn, vaporizing objects in its path and singing any Pokémon unfortunate to be standing there. Even the weapons crew was not safe; though two managed to duck for cover, one took a direct hit from the attack, along with all three of their Pokémon. Even the captain's cabin had its roof vaporized. Seeing the dragon-type's display of her full power, the three withdrew their Pokémon and put their hands up.

Resheph was sweating, exhausted almost as much as she was after the Gym battle where she learned she could do exactly what she just did. While she was recovering from the exertion, Josh investigated the ship's deck, finding a canister filled with Sharpedo teeth and a tank with several badly injured Pokémon of that species. Sure, individual teeth grew back quickly, but when an entire mouth was harvested, they would take a long time to grow. With the amount of food the species needed to function, the poor Pokémon would die before all their teeth regrew.

Once Resheph has recovered enough to threaten the three trainers, Josh walked between two unfired nets and turned his attention back toward Julia. "It's under control up here." Hearing a familiar Sharpedo cry, Josh's eyes shifted toward Snacker, who appeared to not only be struggling one of the metal nets, but was out of range for a Poké Ball's beam to reach him. "Anything you can do about these nets?" he asked, not though his communicator, but over raw air. "See if you can free all these Sharpedo, including mine. Mine is under there, too. I'm going to contact Dispatch to get an Officer and a Marine Ranger out here for the ones we can't free. This is going to be a mess to clean up, and I feel this is well beyond our pay grade."

Julia Davis

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Resheph Dragonair Good
Snacker Sharpedo Poor

{WC: 430}
{PC: 6}

close tab

played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

July 5

Fortree City

pansexual

Ranger

Elite Ranger

135 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

612 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @julia

POSTED ON Aug 22, 2022 0:24:39 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","julia"]

[attr="class","juliaw"]

Julia instinctively ducked when the Hyper Beam was fired even though it was safely above her. The same couldn't be said for the poachers, though. Julia felt a bit sorry for anyone unlucky enough to get directly hit by that, but these were poachers they were dealing with here. They kind of deserved it.

[break][break]"Good to hear," Julia said when Josh confirmed things were under control. But there was still work to be done with several Carvanha and Sharpedo—including Josh's!—stuck in one of the metal nets. "I'll see what I can do." Julia would have been more than happy to work "above her pay grade" to do good for the region, but whether she actually would be able to or not was a whole other story.

[break][break]She swam over to the net on Lazuli's back, but that just seemed to agitate the trapped Pokémon, causing them to growl and bite in a futile attempt to escape and strike. With them all crammed together like this, they mostly ended up biting each other, which only riled them up even more. "Whoa, whoa, it's okay! We're here to help you." None of them seemed to understand Julia's words, unfortunately. "Hmm... Lazuli, think you can calm them down?"

[break][break]Lazuli nodded, then began to softly Sing at the mass of netted Pokémon. It wasn't a song meant to put them completely to sleep; rather, it was one intended to make them drowsy enough that they'd stop thrashing about and hurting each other. Still, Julia had to cover her ears to keep it from affecting her. It took a while for the song to work on such a large group, but eventually, most of them had settled down, allowing Lazuli and Julia to approach again.

[break][break]Julia pinched a section of the net between two fingers. Definitely a solid metal mesh. Burning it was out of the question unless she wanted to roast the Pokémon trapped inside. Spot might have been able to cut through it with the spikes on the backs of his paws, but that risked creating sparks. If only she had something to cut it with...!

[break][break]"I don't think there's anything I can do with this net, sorry!" she called up to Josh. "The Pokémon are calmed down, though!"

[attr="class","juliatag"]Josh Devlin

[attr="class","juliapokes"] ♂︎ EARLY BIRD | PLUCK, TRI ATTACK, AGILITY, LUNGE, DRILL PECK, SWORDS DANCE

close tab

played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

7,240 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Aug 23, 2022 5:15:38 GMT

Lazuli's song did the trick; it had made all the Sharpedo drowsy, including Snacker. With the wilds no longer a threat to him or to each other, he had Resheph fly backwards, constantly facing the poachers that had their hands up. She hovered close enough to the net Snacker was inside of for the beam of the water-type's Poké Ball to reach him, freeing him. Unfortunately, capturing the Sharpedo under the mesh was not an option.

"Good work, Julia," Josh complimented. "That's one thing I'm finding from working with you. Since I came from the Gym Challenge to do Ranging, most of my Pokémon are trained for battle, not for fieldwork like this. It's been a real adjustment." Once his Sharpedo was secure, Resheph took him to the ship's deck, the Dragonair keeping a close eye on the criminals as he radioed Slateport Law Enforcement Dispatch.

"Dispatch, this is Rookie Ranger Devlin, do you read? Over."

"Rookie Ranger Devlin, this is Dispatch, read you loud and clear."

"Dispatch, the Sharpedo situation off Slateport Bay is stable. Targets have surrendered. We need an officer to take all three of them into custody, over."

"Roger, Rookie Ranger Devlin. We'll send out a squad to your coordinates right away."

"Thank you, Dispatch. Over and out." With that, he immediately switched frequencies to contact Slateport Ranger Dispatch. "Dispatch, this is Rookie Ranger Devlin, do you read? Over."

"Rookie Ranger Devlin, this is Slateport Ranger Headquarters. Go ahead."

"Dispatch, we have stabilized the Sharpedo situation in the bay, but we have a problem. The poachers were using metal-framed nets, and we have no way to free the Sharpedo safely using the tools we have. We're going to need a Marine Specialist out here and take things from here, over."

"Roger. We'll get one sent out as soon as we can. How many Sharpedo are still trapped?"

"Stand by." Thankfully, their drowsiness made them much easier to count, rather than when they were flailing about over and under each other. "Niner Sharpedo confirmed, over."

"Niner Sharpedo, got it. We'll send a team out ASAP."

"Thanks. Over and out." He let out a big sigh of relief and turned around to face Julia, Resheph still keeping an eye on the surrendered goons out of her peripheral vision. His JUDGMENT to leave the rest of the mission to experts in their field won out over his CONFIDENCE to see the mission through himself, which would have potentially endangered the lives of the poor Sharpedo. "Help is on the way. Once they get here, I would say this is mission accomplished - what about you?"

Julia Davis

{WC: 436}
{PC: 7}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Resheph Dragonair Good
Snacker Sharpedo Poor

Notes: Josh and JULIA DAVIS saved a school of Sharpedo from being harvested for their teeth, but the metal-covered nets left the two a problem they could not handle on their own. Rather than going into the problem guns blazing and exhibiting CONFIDENCE to the point of foolhardiness, Josh made the JUDGMENT call to escalate the remainder of the mission to a specialist trained in these specific scenarios. He saved the lives of the entire school of Sharpedo by recognizing that he was not equipped with the tools to see the mission through himself, but he knew how to get the attention of someone who could. That is a skill that will serve him well for the rest of his life, no matter what he does.

Three Virtues: JUDGMENT / Thread 2 of 4 complete!

close tab

played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

July 5

Fortree City

pansexual

Ranger

Elite Ranger

135 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

612 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @julia