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POSTED ON Oct 13, 2022 8:41:23 GMT

Raphael Pryde likes this

□

Good news: his heart hasn't given out in the aftermath of his electrifying encounter with Raphael Pryde. Better news: he's back to work, having got the all-clear from his doctor the day before. But the best news, though he wouldn't admit it, is getting to see Tam Fawley again. The captain had visited him in the hospital and kept in touch throughout his week of absence, but still.

He steps into Tam's office with an uncharacteristically relaxed air, apparently in a good mood. Altair, at his side as always, chuffs in greeting.

Immediately he notices something different: Tam's in uniform.

"Going out on a mission?" It's the only time when Slateport's captain isn't in a suit, if his observations are correct. He does spend an abnormal amount of time people-watching, and Tam is one of his favourite people. He's still technically on light duty after the warehouse disaster, but he tries to be casual as he asks, "Can I come with?"

mission: doesn't take a rocket scientist

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Azul

Tam

He/Him

February 14th

Icirrus City, Unova

Does it matter?

Slateport Ranger Capt.

Ranger Captain

166 height

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TAG WITH @tam

POSTED ON Oct 13, 2022 9:32:15 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twt2"]

[attr="class","main"]

He hadn’t expected to go on a mission today. His time as a captain is mostly on meetings and delegating tasks – choosing who the best ranger will be for each assignment. After all, it takes a lot of work and a lot of time to run a whole city, even if it’s just one department. Especially one as large as Slateport. Even more so when circumstances are what they are.
[break][break]
Between duties in their jurisdiction and helping with guarding Primal Points, the Slateport Rangers are spread thin, and that means that when a call had come from the police department, Tam had been left with no choice but to change into his uniform.
[break][break]
When Orion Lykos steps into his office and Clover gets up from her comfortable dog bed to merrily greet him, Tam realises he also doesn’t really have a choice in this matter. It’s either going with Orion or going alone, and in the end, there’s one undeniable truth that makes the decision be an easy one:
[break][break]
”Hey. It’s good to have you back.” The greeting is spoken with a mere glance while Tam adjusts the pokéball holster on his belt, yet he’s honest all the same. He had missed him. He may not realise as much, but it’s the truth: there’s a strange emptiness in Slateport HQ whenever Orion isn’t around for long.
[break][break]
”Police raided a shop with ties to the black market. They found a bunch of pokémon that they suspect came from Team Rocket. I’m going to check things out and see what to do about relocation…” Tam pauses, this time looking at Orion properly. He knows well how Orion is about Team Rocket, and he also knows that this mission could end up being more dangerous than what it appears to be.
[break][break]
He sighs, remembering the reports of Orion’s most recent mission, and there and then, blue eyes meet green ones.
[break][break]
”You can come.”
[break][break]
A sign of trust, perhaps.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Orion Lykos

[attr="class","notes"]

notes

[break]
Mission - Doesn't Take A Rocket Scientist 🌟

[attr="class","pkmn"]

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played by

thorn

orion

he/him

thirty

august 9th

lilycove

homosexual

ranger

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TAG WITH @orion

POSTED ON Oct 13, 2022 10:04:16 GMT

□

"It's good to have you back."

Blushing seems to be a consistent problem when he's around Tam, but it doesn't make him quite as embarrassed as it had in the beginning. Tam never seemed to mind.

Rocket.

Mere mention of the terrorist organization is enough to spark his fury, but Orion is solemn as he nods. He half expects Tam to deny his request on principle, and he isn't going to argue about it. He's been on his best behaviour.

"Wait. Really?"

He grins, ecstatic, then seems self-conscious as he reins it in and composes himself.

"I won't disappoint you. Promise."

mission: doesn't take a rocket scientist

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played by

Azul

Tam

He/Him

February 14th

Icirrus City, Unova

Does it matter?

Slateport Ranger Capt.

Ranger Captain

166 height

Don't know, don't care.

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TAG WITH @tam

POSTED ON Oct 13, 2022 10:35:43 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twt2"]

[attr="class","main"]

The fact that Orion blushes is barely registered by the captain. He notices, but he doesn’t mind, because as Tam sees it that’s just how Orion is. They have more important matters to concern themselves with.
[break][break]

"I won't disappoint you. Promise."

[break]
Has Orion ever disappointed him? Not really. Not as far as Tam is aware, at least. Orion had done reckless and foolish things that had deeply worried him. He had told him to be more careful on more than one occasion, he had even stopped assigning him risky tasks for a while out of concern that Orion would just stupidly throw himself at whatever danger stands in his path, but he had never been disappointed.
[break][break]
”I know.” This isn’t about disappointment, though. Tam knows as much, and perhaps that’s why he pauses next to Orion when walking towards the door, his gaze meeting that of the cadet once more. ”And I promise to make sure you don’t end up in the hospital again.”
[break][break]
There’s a smirk, fleeting. Teasing. A moment that passes as soon as Tam crosses the threshold.
[break][break]
”Let's go.”

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Orion Lykos

[attr="class","notes"]

notes

[break]
Mission - Doesn't Take A Rocket Scientist 🌟

[attr="class","pkmn"]

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orion

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thirty

august 9th

lilycove

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ranger

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TAG WITH @orion

POSTED ON Oct 13, 2022 18:05:05 GMT

□

I know.

It cannot be described in simple words, the way that makes him feel. Trust. It's not something he earns often, and for good reason. He couldn't be trusted, these days. He could hardly trust himself.

But Tam trusts me. It makes him feel warm.

Warmer, when Tam teases him and his cheeks flush again.

"Shut up," he fires back. "Gonna land myself in hospital just to spite you." A pause. "I don't mean that."

Sometimes, it was hard to know when Tam would take him a little too literally. But, like Tam doesn't mind his blushing, Orion doesn't mind having to clarify on occasion.

He follows the captain, eager.

mission: doesn't take a rocket scientist

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played by

Azul

Tam

He/Him

February 14th

Icirrus City, Unova

Does it matter?

Slateport Ranger Capt.

Ranger Captain

166 height

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TAG WITH @tam

POSTED ON Oct 13, 2022 19:48:17 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twt2"]

[attr="class","main"]

The clarification is more than welcomed, because yes, Tam would have absolutely taken Orion literally.
[break][break]
”You better not. I don’t like hospitals.”
[break][break]
He really doesn’t, and yet he had visited Orion, hadn’t he? Admittedly, Tam wouldn’t have done that for most people, but of course he doesn’t bother with saying this.
[break][break]
His attention shifts to the mission, and when they make it to the the building that had been closed off by Slateport PD, there is no longer room for jokes and teasing. The scene that awaits them is bleak. Pokémon are kept in cages in a dark room, and it’s clear that a few of them are in poor conditions. Some of them have a strange glowing pattern along their bodies, consistent with the Illumina phenomenon that started showing up after the Infinity Energy surge a few months back.
[break][break]
Something is not right.
[break][break]
”I figured Team Rocket would want to stock up on these, not sell them…”
[break][break]
Had they done something to these pokémon?
[break][break]
Rejects of some kind?

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Orion Lykos

[attr="class","notes"]

notes

[break]
Mission - Doesn't Take A Rocket Scientist 🌟

[attr="class","pkmn"]

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thorn

orion

he/him

thirty

august 9th

lilycove

homosexual

ranger

elite

'cause baby i can burn you if you get too close to me

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TAG WITH @orion

POSTED ON Oct 13, 2022 20:11:11 GMT

□

Orion's expression pinches. "Does anyone?"

He's always hated hospitals. Too many people, too much noise, and there was rarely a good reason to be standing in one if you didn't work there. He feels similarly about Pokémon Centers, for reasons exactly like this:

Weak cries of Pokémon kept in cages far too small to hold them. Most shy away from the beam of the rangers' flashlights, and Orion feels sick to his stomach when he sees the state of them up close. The Illumina patterns are dull with neglect, yet unmistakable for what they were. They glow with the same soft shine of Crystabloom flowers.

"These are the rejects." His tongue is thick in his mouth, voice tight. His flesh-and-blood hand shakes with rage. "Used up and tossed aside when they weren't needed any more."

His eyes burn and he blinks away the emotion.

mission: doesn't take a rocket scientist

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played by

Azul

Tam

He/Him

February 14th

Icirrus City, Unova

Does it matter?

Slateport Ranger Capt.

Ranger Captain

166 height

Don't know, don't care.

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TAG WITH @tam

POSTED ON Oct 13, 2022 20:25:09 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twt2"]

[attr="class","main"]

The smell of the room is one Tam has encountered many times before, and yet it’s also one he’ll never get used to. The same can be said about the noise. Pungent scents, cries, growls that come as signs of fear aggression… He tries to ignore it all, focusing on the visual state of the pokémon.
[break][break]
Tam is impassive about most things, but not this. Never this.
[break][break]
”Looks like it… Sick bastards must’ve been trying to make artificial Illumina pokémon or something.”
[break][break]
When he shines the light of his flashlight into a nearby cage, the Glameow within hisses loudly, entering the ILLUMINA STATE and shining even brighter than any other light there. Like a crystabloom growing in the darkness.
[break][break]
He shifts the flashlight away from it, not wanting to cause it anymore distress.
[break][break]
”Let’s start off by getting the calmer ones in pokéballs.”

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Orion Lykos

[attr="class","notes"]

notes

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Mission - Doesn't Take A Rocket Scientist 🌟

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orion

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thirty

august 9th

lilycove

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ranger

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TAG WITH @orion

POSTED ON Oct 16, 2022 17:18:52 GMT

□

"Either them or that damned Hatchery."

Though he hadn't paid it patronage himself, Orion's seen the results of the Pokémon bred there. Not just Illumina Pokémon but those akin to shadows, as well, and others with moves unheard of. All brought on by an unnatural surge of Infinity Energy. It made him sick.

His heart aches for the Glameow even as the feral cat blinds him with its glow.

"This is so fucked."

He hooks his flashlight onto his belt after turning it off, blinking as his eyes adjust to the lighting. There's a Paras contained in a cage that seems entirely docile; he might've thought it dead if not for the way the mushrooms on its back glow and pulse.

He gives it a soothing stroke before opening the pokeball.

mission: doesn't take a rocket scientist

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played by

Azul

Tam

He/Him

February 14th

Icirrus City, Unova

Does it matter?

Slateport Ranger Capt.

Ranger Captain

166 height

Don't know, don't care.

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TAG WITH @tam

POSTED ON Oct 16, 2022 19:20:11 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twt2"]

[attr="class","main"]

Orion is right, this is fucked. When the Infinity Energy surge had happened a few months back and that strange hatchery had appeared, Tam had heard about how a lot of people had kept on breeding pokémon for the sake of hatching something special, and even back then he had known that it would eventually lead to a situation like this one: where many of those “special” pokémon ended up in terrible circumstances. Like toys that are no longer new being abandoned by spoilt children.
[break][break]
Jobs like these may just be the hardest part of being a ranger.
[break][break]
”You’ll be fine.” The words are no more than a reassuring whisper, and they’re not really meant for Orion. They’re not even meant for Tam himself. They’re for the pokémon.
[break][break]
Calmly, without saying anything else, the ranger captain begins putting some of the pokémon in temporary pokéballs, taking great care not to scare them or disturb them in any way.
[break][break]
”Hm… You wanna use something to calm the rest down? Would probably be better for them.”
[break][break]
He could have his Sawsbuck use AROMATHERAPY, or even have his Blissey put them all to SLEEP, but he waits to hear Orion's opinion first.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Orion Lykos

[attr="class","notes"]

notes

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Mission - Doesn't Take A Rocket Scientist 🌟

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orion

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august 9th

lilycove

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ranger

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POSTED ON Oct 16, 2022 19:35:25 GMT

□

"Yeah," Orion agrees, voice rough with a combination of anger and grief for these Pokémon who hadn't chosen such a horrific fate. "I've only got Hypnosis; do you have something that can soothe them, first?"

He palms the pokeballs belonging to his Gengar and Spiritomb, but doesn't yet call them out. Pokémon who've been subjected to this kind of abuse likely won't take kindly to the sudden appearance of too many others.

Though Altair is at Orion's side as usual, the Absol doesn't have anything with which to assist in such a task. He sits at Orion's feet, perhaps in a display of relaxation to put the anxious captives at ease.

The Glameow that had earlier entered the Illumina State doesn't seem reassured, continuing to growl as fur patterned like the petals of a Crystabloom pulse with dull light.

mission: doesn't take a rocket scientist

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Azul

Tam

He/Him

February 14th

Icirrus City, Unova

Does it matter?

Slateport Ranger Capt.

Ranger Captain

166 height

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TAG WITH @tam

POSTED ON Oct 16, 2022 19:54:11 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twt2"]

[attr="class","main"]

There’s nothing easy about missions like these, and Tam is not the sort of person to pretend like there is. Perhaps some would argue that as a captain his role is to reassure his rangers, to check on them, and make sure they’re doing okay, but as Tam sees it, right now the pokémon come first. They have to endure this for the sake of the pokémon.
[break][break]
”Yeah, sec. Some Aromatherapy should do the trick.”
[break][break]
Saille is a pokémon Tam often has with him, yet that he rarely calls onto the field. The Sawsbuck is a beautiful creature: tall and proud, bearing autumnal leaves on his antlers in accordance with the season. He’s calm despite all the noise, and his gaze goes from their surroundings to Orion, fixing on him for a moment before looking at Tam.
[break][break]
Gently, the captain caresses the Sawsbuck’s neck, and with a light shake of its antlers, the soothing scent of AROMATHERAPY spreads all around them. Growling and hissing subside, and even the overwhelming glow of the Glameow dwindles.
[break][break]
”There we go.”
[break][break]
He’s sure that Slateport PD must be looking into matters while they’re busy with all this, so a mental note is made to ask them about their findings. What had Team Rocket done to these pokémon, exactly? Are they just illumina, or…?
[break][break]
For all he knows, Team Rocket is crazy enough to inject them with Crystablooms or something.

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Orion Lykos

[attr="class","notes"]

notes

[break]
Mission - Doesn't Take A Rocket Scientist 🌟

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orion

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thirty

august 9th

lilycove

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ranger

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TAG WITH @orion

POSTED ON Oct 16, 2022 21:09:47 GMT

□

It is both fortunate and unfortunate that Orion has dealt with all of this before; though his emotions spike at the sight, it does not send him into a spiral. If anything, his emotions are directed toward those who'd cause such things.

Was it possible for Pokémon to contract Infinity Energy intoxication, the way it was Primal?

Though meant for the Pokemon, Orion is similarly soothed by the scents spread by the majestic Sawsbuck. He lets out a breath, tugging a hand through his hair to disperse some of his tension before he sends out his ghosts.

"Hypnosis. Gentle."

His Gengar is more readily compliant, but a sharp look from the Ranger brings the Spritomb similarly to heel.

mission: doesn't take a rocket scientist

close tab

played by

Azul

Tam

He/Him

February 14th

Icirrus City, Unova

Does it matter?

Slateport Ranger Capt.

Ranger Captain

166 height

Don't know, don't care.

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part of

TAG WITH @tam

POSTED ON Oct 16, 2022 21:48:29 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twt2"]

[attr="class","main"]

To Tam, the Sawsbuck’s presence is as steadying as the sweet fragrance released by the leaves on its antlers, but that much is to be expected given for how long they have known each other. He’s always reluctant in relying on Saille for long, though, and once he’s sure the pokémon around them have been calmed, he gives the Sawsbuck a nod.
[break][break]
”Thank you, Saille.”
[break][break]
Just like that, it returns to its pokéball’s confines, and after clipping it back on his belt, Tam instead reaches for empty ones. His gaze fixes on Orion then, waiting while his pokémon use their HYPNOSIS on those that have been caged.
[break][break]
”Let’s move quickly… The faster we get them out of here, the better.” For both their sake and that of the rescued pokémon. There’s a pause, sky blue eyes meeting emerald ones. ”Thanks for coming with me today, by the way.”

[break][break]

[attr="class","tag"]Orion Lykos

[attr="class","notes"]

notes

[break]
Mission - Doesn't Take A Rocket Scientist 🌟

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close tab

played by

thorn

orion

he/him

thirty

august 9th

lilycove

homosexual

ranger

elite

'cause baby i can burn you if you get too close to me

437 height

i'll wreck this if i have to; tell me, what good would that do?

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TAG WITH @orion

POSTED ON Oct 16, 2022 22:01:55 GMT

Tam Fawley likes this

□

As the Glameow succumbs to his Gengar's HYPNOSIS, Orion opens the cage and gently brushes his hand along its Crystabloom-patterned fur. It's matted and filthy, but it soothes him to know they'll take good care of the Pokémon from here on out.

Tam's suggestion that they speed things up is met with a stiff nod, and he retracts his hand to retrieve another empty pokeball.

Feeling eyes on him, still, he glances at Tam and swallows nervously, smiling.

"Thanks for letting me."

It's shy but sincere; it meant a lot to him, to be back on the job. He'd prove that it wasn't a mistake.

mission: doesn't take a rocket scientist