Matt, always said, he hated the beach. At last sand. Annoying. Got everywhere. It's already between his toes. The water would be a better place to be. In there with his boyfriend, seeing him soaked... that made him trail off in thought. A dopey smile came to his face, looking like he was enjoying his daydream- until Kazzy barked and got his attention. The canine bringing him back garbage that needed to be cleaned up.

"Oh, huh? Sorry, what?" He looked at Nico, thinking he had said something to him and not talking to his pokemon. Seeing Lilypad out, he snorted at the poor goat being disgruntled over the sand in her nose. "Eh, why not make it a party?" He asked Nico, soon letting loose Nana and Dagger. Nana barking happily, rolling right into the sand. While Dagger made a face, going to climb on top of Nana to get away from the sand now.

"Well... aight then you guys."

nicodemus unken Josh Devlin

A beach-cleaning assignment was not Josh's idea of an exciting Ranger duty. He wanted to go hunt poachers, do sea rescues, or even chase away some unruly wild Pokémon. Playing janitor was far from why he joined the Rangers. It was better than patrolling a rural road for hours on end, saying hello to a traveler maybe once an hour. At least he could see tangible progress in his work.

The green-uniformed Ranger sat astride Aslan, his king Pyroar. He had learned to leave the Electric-types in the Poké Balls this close to the sea. One discharge, intentional or not, could be lethal or seriously injuring to people and Pokémon in the shallows...particularly from Pokémon raised by what could be arguably considered an Electric-type specialist. He surveyed the beach at a brisk pace, smiling as the lion galloped across the sands and left big pawprints behind.

The Pyroar had some additional cargo, as well; a box containing several large, fine nets at the end of poles. These would let Josh easily scoop up trash along the beach without having to dismount his Pokémon. As he made his first pass, Josh recognized a familiar face and an unfamiliar face conversing with one another. "Matt! Hey!" Josh shouted and waved, starting to slow the Pyroar to a stop near them.

Matt had lost sight of Kazzy in the sand. The only thing left of him was his tail, that was like a shark fin out of it. Running around blindly within the sandy depths of the beach. Only shaking his head, at least he wasn't chasing any pokemon, or Juvon.

Nana did not seemed bothered by Dagger getting on her. Barking and going to lick the smaller canine. But all their attention was drawn to the fact at the charging Pyroar- and Nana stepped in front of the boys, protectively, at first. Until the scent of Josh hit her nose, snorting and then just flopping. No reason to watch if it was a friend!

"Vwh- Josh?" Matt was taken off guard too. Reaching a hand up to wave up at him. "Well, yeah, I know him. We met a few days ago... actually he was with me when I got Deemu. Did I not explain? oops."

Josh Devlin

As Josh approached a more populated area of the beach, he slowed the fire-type to a mere trot. He had to be careful with Aslan's speed; Pyroar were known for being fast, stealthy hunters, but this Pyroar was so fast that he had no need for stealth. "I knew you had volunteered to help out with cleanup at Splashfest, but I didn't know we would have a third! This one of your friends?" he asked Matt, who looked frightened of the glowing king of the jungle. "Aslan here is well-behaved, I promise." The moment he heard the Pyroar deeply inhaling, Josh tugged back on him sharply. He had caught it just in time, too; Aslan loved impressing new friends with his roar. "Not with this many people around! We can't go scaring the entire beach off!" He rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry if we scared you. If you're joining us, what's your name?" he asked the wide-eyed young man. "I'm Josh, a Pokémon racer looking to turn pro. In the off-season, I do work for the Rangers, as you can see." He scooped up an empty soda can with one of his nets and hopped off his mount just enough to throw the aluminum can in a nearby recycling bin and empty his net into a trash bin next to it. The two could clearly see the Pyroar decked in full riding gear, the lion's harnessing quite a bit more extensive than a more common mount like a Zebstrika. It was needed to keep the rider as stable as possible due to how much the fire-type's back flexed during a high speed run.

Josh pulled out an extra long-handled net not unlike the one he was using and gestured toward Matt. "How have you and Nana been doing? If you've become a lot more adept at controlling her since our race, you might find this useful. Should be able to get all the big stuff your small Pokémon can't get, and being on your Pokémon is a lot faster than covering the beach on foot." While the racer was merely offering a suggestion based on his personal preferences, he might have come off as a bit pushy to others.

Oh. Oh no. He knew he was in trouble. One could see the sweat drops going down his face. Rubbing the back of his neck, he leaned in to give him a little kiss to the cheek. "Sorry, thought I told you. Dinner on me?" An attempt tp soothe his almost mad boyfriend. But he was just being dragged more and more under the bus.

"We raced when we were heading back..." Ooooof Nico might kill him.

Grabbing the net from Josh, he looked at Nana. "You wanna give it a whirl, girl?" Nana looked up with a questioning glance, then at the net. A brow raised, before a snort as Dagger crawled on her face to stare. Glaring.. ha, daggers towards the net. Before going off to go climb on Lilypad now, how rude.

Nana walked up, lowering herself down so she could be hooked up. "Yeah? Alright. You wanna ride with me babe? Or do you want to do something else?" Looking to Josh, he smiled. "Thanks dude, appreciate it."

Josh Devlin

Perhaps Josh's entrance was a bit overwhelming for a flabbergasted-looking Nico. After all, Pyroar were not common mounts. Especially not big males that looked like they could lead an entire pride of their kind. In the wild, they were very aggressive; even experienced trainers were expected to give them a wide berth. When Nico expressed interest in Aslan, Josh slightly nudged the big cat's sides with his knees, the two approaching and letting him get a closer look if he wanted. "Pyroar are some of the most versatile Pokémon I've ever ridden. You wouldn't think a big cat would have good stamina, but Pyroar can run surprising distances before tiring. Their claws make them good at turning corners, and they're very fast." Aslan let out a deep purr of approval that might have startled the others if they hadn't seen or studied the Kalos species much.

Josh's eyes shifted about as Nico introduced the remainder of his team. "I couldn't even see your Pikachu! He's well camouflaged up there," he remarked, immediately recognizing the electric-type's gender by his tail shape. The Skiddo seemed like she didn't want to talk to humans too much. "That Skiddo will serve you well. After she evolves, you'll have some quick feet under you if you ever need to travel a long way. That reminds me, I should check on Nitro, my own Gogoat that's stuck in Hoennian customs. Not now, though. There's a job to be done."

If neither of the other two would lead the way, Josh would take the initiative and begin combing the beach. "You're welcome, Matt! I try to come prepared." He helped get Nana set up before turning back to Nico and his Pokémon squad. "I have more ride Pokémon and another net if you need to borrow one, Nico. I'm not trying to cut either of you off; I like getting to know you two better. I'd just like to stay on task. That's all." His eyes shifted to his left and right, looking for any loose aluminum cans, plastic bags, or anything else littering the beach. He made sure to keep the Pyroar to no faster than a trot, as to respect those still using the beach.

The dreaded chips. Oh no, he really made him upset to be demanding such a salty treat! Batting his red eyes at him with a puppy face, he just pouted. "Alright." He would never tell Nico no, so there would be so many chips at dinner that night. So. Many. Chips.

Letting the two converse, Matt turned to stare at Dagger. Giving them a look as they disgruntled the goat. "You know not everyone wants you climbin' on them." He huffed towards the canine, who only turned to stare at Matt with a bland face. Waving their paw at him dismissively. Matt clenched the imaginary pearls at his neck. "How rude!" The fake exclamation finally though, caught the attention of the puppy that had buried himself within the sands.

Kazzy perked his head up, blinking towards the sudden abundance of people and pokemon. Eyes going wide at the giant cat.... before his eyes went on the tail.

Tail.

But he looked to see Matt and Nico getting up on top of Nana, whining as he ran over to them. Dancing around Nana's paws and doing his little dance to try and get up there with them. "Aww, there you are. Will you get him, Nico?" Kazzy kept whimpering, he wanted up high!


At Nico's question, Matt only huffed. "It was one race." The little pout could have been cute.

Josh Devlin

Nico seemed to be overly interested in Aslan's riding gear. It wasn't that Josh couldn't ride his Pokémon "raw"; he was more than capable of controlling his Pokémon with the bridle of trust alone. He just preferred the tactile control that riding tack offered. "We've known each other for a long time, Nico," Josh answered. "I had him for a couple years before he would let himself be fitted. While there are plenty of Pokémon where riding without it is okay, you have to have tack to be on a cat." He guided Aslan to the closest trash can, dumping the contents of his again-filled net in there before setting the net, and his backups, on top of the two bins.

Josh and Aslan had worked hard enough to take a quick break to demonstrate what they were all about. Behind them, the area they had already cleaned up had a wide open path; there were a few sunbathers close to the grass, and a few more close to the waves, but there was a wide open stretch of beach where the Pyroar could let loose. "Let's go for a little run, Aslan!" He turned the fire-type around and squeezed his sides. The lion entered a swift gallop - not quite racing speed, but enough to show he could really zoom.

Once Josh felt he was far enough away from them, he yanked on the Pyroar's reins to command a 180. The obedient predator kicked up quite the cloud of sand reversing direction, Josh grunting from the force of the turn. The two charged toward their original position, Aslan's back flexing harshly yet Josh was fairly stable. He was still bouncing around a fair bit, but his saddle, optimized for felines, played a big role in keeping the rider stable enough to control the speed. "Whew!" Josh whooped. "That never gets old!" He coaxed the fire-type back toward the recycling and trash bins he had left his nets at, restocking them.

"I've had to deal with an aloof Pokémon myself," Josh related Nico's story back to him. "I didn't bring her here, but one of my first racing Pokémon was an Absol. She keeps all her thoughts bottled up. Is this Pokémon of yours also an Absol, by chance, Nico?" he asked. "Even after being caught, Absol tend to be introverted."

Matt was busy adjusting the net ties to Nana while Nico busied himself with tugging up Kazzy onto the back of Nana. The pup came easily with his paw, barking and licking Nico's face in pure excitement. Tail wagging rapidly behind him as he went to wiggle himself into Matt's lap in the front. He sat at the head of Nana!

It caused Matt to get scooted back right into Nico. Turning to him a little flushed face, to steal a quick kiss to his cheek, and his focus going back to Josh. "Once I get better handling on Nana, we can go so fast it's like we're flying, but better!" He said, seeming very excited over this, an emotion he didn't show much.

"I can't wait to show you."

nicodemus unken Josh Devlin