What a boring afternoon. Josh was never taking another patrol shift for the Rangers if he could help it. Sure, he needed a certain number of patrol hours to graduate and become a fully-fledged Ranger with his own authority, but after that, never again unless he had to. He wanted to go to the action, not wait for action to come to him. It made sense; after all, Pokémon racers were not well-known for their patience.

Even all of Josh's Pokémon had grown bored, despite him taking turns aboard the Manectric, Boltund, Luxray, and Zebstrika as they made their runs up and down Route 120. "Come on, four o'clock," he said to himself, keeping an eye on the time as he gave the Zebstrika a break and climbed atop Saber, his Manectric. Blitz, his Luxray, let out a yawn as the four trotted down the road through the rainforest.

A short distance after the first checkpoint, Josh caught a glimpse of a large Pokémon bucking a person off. He urged his Pokémon to pick up the pace, which they obliged. The distance wasn't so great that he needed to push the electric-types to a full gallop, but it was a quick enough pace that they could arrive on the scene and help the young man. "You okay?!" the young man in a green Ranger uniform asked.

Nana disregarded Matt's nagging at her. Only to lift her ears as the sound of trotting footsteps reached her ears. Head and eyes snapped forward, half positioning herself between her trainer and the oncoming force. Instead, he seemed friendly, so she relaxed. Sitting on her hunches as she began to groom her paws, scratching them over her ears to groom those as well. Matt watched her movements, before looking up to the man towering above him.

"Yeah dude, I'm fine. She does this when she's done with me being on her."

Pushing himself up onto his feet, he dusted off the back of his shirt and legs. Looking towards the ranger, he looked him over. Riding Pokemon...? That was cool. It had him a little jealous. It would be cool to race pokemon like that.

"Names Matt," He offered his hand out for a shake.

It was clear that the young man cared for this Arcanine deeply. Perhaps she had evolved recently and was still getting used to her new form? It could have been a trainer skill issue, as well; Arcanine were notoriously difficult to raise, whether it was taming their energetic nature or adapting to their haughtiness. They were fantastic race Pokémon for simpler courses; Josh had at one point considered one, as their Extreme Speed came with the least violent gallop out of any Pokémon that could use the move. That still wasn't saying much, though; the move's very nature tested the rider's strength and reaction speed in a harsh way, pushing athletes to their limits to use the blistering speed meaningfully.

"Did she evolve recently?" Josh asked the young man, flipping the visor on his helmet so his face could be seen. "Some Pokémon are like that right after they evolve...especially ones that change dramatically when they evolve." When Matt offered his hand for a handshake, Josh reached down to accept it, though he did have to stretch. Being a few feet off the ground made the handshake a bit awkward, but the spirit of the exchange was there.

"Great to meet you, Matt! Name's Josh. I'm a Pokémon Racer looking to turn pro. Part-time Ranging is my side hustle. It was the Gym Challenge, but I gave it up." His thoughts shifted deeply to what Raikou told him in his dream, and how he gave up the Gym Challenge as a result. He became nonresponsive for a half-minute before snapping out of the trance-like state. "This is Saber right beneath me." The Manectric let out a bark accompanied by the sound of crackling sparks as Josh introduced him. "He's the first Pokémon I ever had. And these three are Blitz, Crash, and Raiden," he gestured toward the other three Pokémon, his Lyxray, Boltund, and Zebstrika. All four of them, the Manectric included, were decked out in full riding gear.

Crash looked a bit cautious around the Arcanine, but Raiden was courageous enough to step forward and greet the fire-type. "I'm actually just about to get off duty for the day. Where you headed? We might be going the same way."

Matt was thrown off by the question presented to him. Why would he ask that? Looking towards Nana for a brief second, it was changed back to Josh at the handshake. Realizing he did make that a bit awkward, he rubbed his neck with his hand sheepishly, with an apologetic face towards the one on the pokemon. "Oh, nah, she hasn't evolved recently- or well, I can't exactly tell you." A brief trance came over his face, remembering how he got her. "She's a rescue," that was an easy way to put it. "Her name is Nana, she just likes to nanny me most of the time." That got a snort from the canine.

"Side hustle, eh? The gym challenge is my partners goal right now. I'm kind of along for the ride.. and thinking about joinin' the rangers, myself."

That was something he did need to discuss more with his SO, at a later date. "The other two I got with me is Kazzy, a rockruff, and Dagger, a riolu. But they're up for now. The rockruff likes to bolt at the sight of a leaf falling off a tree." That puppy would be the death of him. "Dagger isn't very social, very shy. So I keep them up until I can socialize them better."

He had ranted off, blushing as he coughed. Feeling silly, he looked back towards where Fortree should be. "I'm here visitin' the partners family, but Nana decided we needed to go for a walk."

A rescue? What a touching story. Some of the most viral Pokémon success stories involved Pokémon rescued from the wild or from abusive trainers. "Rescues? Those are some of my favorite stories to hear about. That's actually what I'm studying to do as a Ranger: search-and-rescues." He muttered something incomprehensible, then "stupid patrol reqs." He perked up very quickly when he mentioned his partner was taking on the Gym Challenge. "Send him right to me, then!"

"I can't recommend joining the Rangers enough," Josh's tone suddenly changed to that of a passionate salesman, one who truly cared about their job. "Flexible schedule, pays well, and you get to make a difference in people's lives. One they'll never forget. That's the most rewarding thing about Ranging: knowing that your actions made a positive mark on the lives of people and Pokémon."

"Good choices for a Ranger," Josh remarked. "My other two I have here are Ares, a Charizard, and Resheph, a Dragonair. They're my eyes in the skies if I ever need to fly. Ares is just prone to tempers, so I need to be careful with him." He turned Saber around as Blitz broke formation to introduce himself to Matt's Arcanine. Raiden was looking impatient, the Zebstrika dragging his front hoof across the ground repeatedly, looking like he could bolt at any moment. "That's where I'm headed too, and I bet our Pokémon could get us there fast!"

Matt was just, never proud of telling the story of how he got Nana. It was not a cute sappy story, it was one of blood sweat and tears. A small sigh. "Short story, saved her from some poachers." Hopefully, Josh would leave it alone at that. Not wanting Nana's mood to sour and her have a fit.

Nana huffed towards the ones coming to meet her. The impatience of the horse had her raising her eyes. A brow raised as she stared the zebra down. Snorting fire towards them, her tail flicking in the air. But she would sit back on her hunches, watching them expectantly- until her ear perked towards the last thing Josh said. Head turning as she barked towards Matt- declaring her answer!

A jolt from Matt, blinking towards the canine. He knew it would be a yes out of her, but not one this excited! Grinning as he grabbed a hold of Nana and heaved himself up onto her back. "Oh I know she can, think you can keep up, ranger?" Matt was biting off more than he could chew, but hey, who didn't like a challenge?

Fate however seemed to have bigger and better distractions for the now duo of humans! A rustle in the bushes, which set off Nana. Her snarling and backing up away from the ground. Head reared back to protect Matt. Who almost fell off her again. "Whoo! Ease, ease! It's just a bush, Nana-"

It was not though! A poochyena came dashing out, barking and yapping, trying to be threatening to them. Matt huffed, climbing up on top of Nana's head to peak over. "Really? This is what you were freaking out over, girl?"

Patting her mane to soothe her, he slid off her back. Slowly, he crouched down, getting to the barking canine's level. Digging into his pants, he pulled out a treat. He kept them for his own dogs. "Here ya go, you want a treat? You probably don't wanna come near me, huh?" The poochyena stared, dismissive, untrusting. But their noise did betray them. Sniffing curiously at the treat, a paw shakily came forward, before they would dart back and back into the bush. Eyes peering out as Matt tried not to chuckle at it.

Going to sit cross legged on the ground, he looked towards Josh. "Ever deal with skittish dogs? Food is a good way to bring 'em around I've noticed." As he said that, the poochyena was coming out again. Going to the treat and snatching it. Gobbling it down and looking at Matt with squinting yellow eyes. He offered another treat, getting it to come closer towards him. Letting the dog come at her own pace.

Once she was comfortable and within his lap due to treats, Matt looked her over. Seeing she looked a bit of the scrawny side, which was why she came over so easily for the food. With a nod, seems he would be adding a new team member. "What you think?" He asked his Arcanine, who only nodded. Matt grinned, offering a pokeball to the pocchyena. "Wanna be full all the time?" As if that was even a question! The poochyena nosed her snout to the ball to be sucked inside.

A challenge, was it? Those were words Josh loved to hear. "I'm not trying to become a pro for nothing!" he replied without hesitation, Saber and the rest of his Pokémon equally excited. Route 120 was also an extremely rural road, with almost no traffic. Anyone who was rugged enough to travel this route was also strong enough and smart enough to know to yield to Pokémon flying down the road at what were probably unsafe speeds. He knew what he was doing, though!

As the rest of Josh's Pokémon were lining up, he saw Matt befriending a wild Poochyena with Pokémon treats. That was the one thing Josh was not looking forward to; while he was very good with his own Pokémon, and even others' tamed Pokémon, wilds were a totally different story. Other than befriending Crash by rescuing him when he was still a Yamper, he had caught all of his Pokémon through battle. Not unexpected, given the career he had just changed from.

While Matt was playing with the wild pup, Josh checked the regional map on his phone. It was one of the most useful apps He really needed to invest in a rubber outer case for it, what with the Pokémon he was constantly around. A wild Cinccino diligently cleaned up the scraps of food the Poochyena left behind. Josh made a mental note to start shopping for one when he got back to Fortree. They were still a long ways away, though. That was good, though: these Pokémon could cover that distance quickly!

"Matt," Josh called out to the traveler. He might have been able to get a quick look at the racer's vivid phone wallpaper before he pulled the regional map back up. They were about thirty miles out from Fortree, a distance that would take them hours to cover on foot. With their Pokémon, they could reach Fortree in a matter of minutes. "I like the idea of splitting a race to Fortree into two legs. There's this huge tomb that's haven to Ghost-type Pokémon. We can use that as a checkpoint."

After giving Matt a chance to check their route. "Here's my idea. How about we get warmed up first. No Quick Attack or anything of the like before that. Then for the second leg into Fortree, they're not off limits anymore. Your Arcanine...Nana was her name, right? She knows how to use Extreme Speed, right? You'll have a big advantage over us." Goading, yes, but the curious and competitive Josh wanted to see what Matt's innate skill was atop a Pokémon.

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD ABSOL APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] JUSTIFIED
[attr="class","wildtabox"]NIGHT SLASH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]LEER
[attr="class","wildtabox"]QUICK ATTACK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]PURSUIT
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Matt Vice Josh Devlin

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD UNFEZANT APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] BIG PECKS
[attr="class","wildtabox"]FEATHER DANCE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]QUICK ATTACK
[attr="class","wildtabox"]SKY ATTACK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SWAGGER
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Matt Vice Josh Devlin

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Matt Vice CAUGHT THE POOCHYENA!

Catching a poochyena was not on his to do list today. But! Now! He had himself a new addition to the team. Hopefully Nico did not get to mad he was bringing home a new mouth to feed... Or Tekka get jealous of another dark type. It was fine, surely! "Guess I'll call this little lady Deemu." Setting the ball into his pocket, he heaved himself onto his feet.

Going to Nana, he stroked along her fur. Turning back to stare at Josh with a sparkle in his eyes. "Oh yeah?" He was goaded on, not that Matt was that proud of himself. However, Nana was. She puffed out her chest, blowing a plume of smoke out of her nostrils. Flaunting herself as she snatched up Matt to plop him on her back.

"I think she agrees!"

Josh Devlin

Just like Matt, Josh had run into an unexpected potential ally in the form of a low-flying Unfezant that got a little too close to Josh's Electric-types. The colorful bird, singed by the static flying among the four Pokémon invading his territory, started glowing an angry orange. By the time the rider and his Pokémon were fully aware of what was going on, the avian dove into Blitz face-first with talons brandished: a devastating SKY ATTACK. Dejected that the Luxray would no longer be able to participate in the race, Josh commanded the electric cat to loose a SHOCK WAVE at the attacker before he could cause any more damage. A painful-sounding screech from the bird was the only cue he needed to withdraw Blitz and toss an empty Poké Ball toward the Unfezant. Josh would need to take the bird for a test flight or two to determine if he would be good enough for his racing team.

"Guess we're gonna be down Blitz for the race. But that's okay! It's all about having fun, right?" Josh said to Matt, though it was more to cheer himself up. That distraction over, his three electric Pokémon lined up where the race was to start. Five would have been more fun, but four would be the number Josh and Matt would get for this one. Josh began counting down from three; he had to do so verbally, as in the middle of nowhere, there was no speaker to squawk at him four times.

When he signaled the start of the race, all three electric Pokémon leaped forward, the Manectric's superior acceleration giving him the lead among his Pokémon, with Crash and Raiden following not too far behind. There was not a soul on the road, either; it was exactly what Josh loved to see. All he wanted to see was the woods flying by without a care in the world.

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD EXPLOUD APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] SCRAPPY
[attr="class","wildtabox"]BITE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]STOMP
[attr="class","wildtabox"]ASTONISH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SYNCHRONOISE
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Matt Vice Josh Devlin

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD CRAWDAUNT APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ADAPTABILITY
[attr="class","wildtabox"]DOUBLE HIT	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]WATER GUN
[attr="class","wildtabox"]HARDEN	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]CRABHAMMER
[attr="class","wildtabox"] METAL CLAW	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Matt Vice Josh Devlin

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Josh Devlin CAUGHT THE UNFEZANT!

Well he was not expecting a bird of all things to come out and get caught. Well good for Josh! "Congrats on the catch, mang." He said, before digging his hands into the mane of Nana. "Let's go!" Nana took her position, eyes focused forward. Digging her claws into the fresh dirt- and then they were signaled off.

Matt had to hold on for DEAR LIFE. The speed the Arcanine took off almost sent him flying off the back of her. "Nana!" He squeaked, eyes wide as be ducked himself down closer to her body. The canine howled in delight, pulling ahead of the pack as she seemed to be quite enjoying herself. Matt had to actually laugh at it. Seeing trees just zoom by was a thrill, along with the speed.

"Come on now, Josh!" He goaded the other one.

Josh Devlin