Oliver's Breloom's been acting out again. What would it take to get the Pokemon to obey him more? Maybe showing him that he didn't just let his Pokemon do all the work would do it. The only reason he really had Dragonite with him was for traveling, but this was decidedly not a mission where either his good buddy or his problem child were going to interfere. This was a Ranger mission. And he evidently had a firecracker for a partner on this one. Cross-training and/or burrowing rangers from other sections were not uncommon, even in his home region of Johto. Either way, this should be fun.

The red and black haired punk ranger waited by the east gate of Lavaridge Town with Breloom sulking behind him at being dragged to this shindig. As a young lady he recognized came up, he gave a friendly wave. "Good morning~" The young man wore the standard ranger uniform, though he also had a fair share of ear piercings. "I'm Cadet Oliver Shrakes. I take it you're Shalin Nariya? Ready to hunt down that Ninetales?" It had been a while since he had to hunt down a dangerious Pokemon without the use of his buddies, but after Mt. Pyre and the meteor, he needed to stay in shape so if the big boss of Rocket ever appears before him and they get into a brawl themselves, he'll take down the old man.


Shalin Nariya

Shalin thought she had come prepared to hunt the Ninetales with a belt full of water Pokémon that would be great for the job. The green-headed ranger was already well beyond the east gate, dressed in a green-colored Ranger uniform to indicate she was of fresh blood. There must have been a reason the higher-ups let a new Ranger go on such a dangerous assignment. Perhaps it was related to her skillset. "You got it! Rookie Shalin Nariya, wildest Pokémon rider this side of Hoenn! Though I've been working RangerNet tickets for about five months beforehand. Just off-grid." She grabbed a Poké Ball on her belt, sending the Pokémon inside out. "And this is Letheia, my Alolan--"

What came out of the Poké Ball was a Milotic that flopped on the ground, the water-type's normally tough scales becoming delicate as the extremely dry air started to wring the moisture out of her skin. "...Levy?!" Shalin exclaimed, withdrawing the water-type. She came to the realization that she had grabbed her Pokémon belt for aquatic missions. None of those Pokémon would help her here! "I guess?" she shrugged with a lack of confidence. "This wasn't how I... planned on getting it done, but it'll have to do." All she had to fight with was a paring knife for fileting meat with when out in the wild, as well as her AVIAN BOW. The latter, of course, would be much more useful, though she hadn't had the chance to return to Alexei Ivanov yet and get bundles of arrows blessed by the Djinni. Today, the artifact of the Sky Riders would be firing ordinary arrows. She drew the bow into her hand and looked ready to head into the canyon.

---

Oliver Shrakes

Ammunition: 10 ↑ 10

{WC: 290}
{PC: 2}

So she had a sense of humor. Good. Until she thought she was bringing out a Pokemon, only for a different one than she planned to come out. Evidently she grabbed the wrong team. That was fine, sometimes you just had to deal with a situation with whatever you had in hand. Still, the red head couldn't help but chuckle. Oliver started to walk to where reports had placed the Ninetales. While he preferred close range fighting, she was an archer it seemed. Breloom was out and sulkily following along, with his Dragonite keeping a close eye on the fighting type. Oliver had an array of tranquilizer darts, specifically for fire Pokemon. And a select few even more picky and used for a Ninetales.

"Dry as the air is, I'm sure there's hot springs or areas with hidden water caches and aquifers around. Even for as well mapped as the area is on such sources, more are discovered everyday. As a ranger, you need to make due with what you have, no necessarily with the best for the job. I take it you've had some tracking courses? Time to use them." Oliver himself took great care in looking for tracks and signs of the fire fox. If she was of any higher rank, he would have found her to be unproffessional in choosing the wrong team. It was possible to accidentally grab a different belt, but he would be less forgiving of someone more experienced. To him, it just comes with the territory to either pick the right Pokemon or team of Pokemon.


Shalin Nariya

"I have," Shalin answered. "Head Ranger annalise henderson lauded me in training for my knack for handling wild Pokémon in... an unusual way. You'll see. Hopefully." Her smile turned to a grin, remembering how much of a rodeo she had with the semi-wild giant Linoone in training. She had caught several Pokémon this way, too: Zuh, her Pidgeot, and Letheia, her Ninetales, had both been captured not by battling them with another Pokémon, but by grabbing some fur and holding on tight.

"If only I had a Pokémon I could fly on, this would be way easier," Shalin lamented. "Gotta do this the old-fashioned way this time. Let's get to the high ground and look for signs of this fox passing through. I know the species very well, as I had a Kantonian Ninetales stuck in customs for months. They only just turned her away, and I don't know why it took them so long to decide to deport her back to Ageos." With that, she began climbing the canyon trail to get on top of an overlook that would let her see for quite the distance.

As she rounded a corner, Shalin caught signs of a large Pokémon whose footprints were consistent with a Ninetales of the size described in the briefing. They weren't recent, but they were something. It looked like the fire-type had slid down multiple levels. Was it all the way in the canyon's base? Either way, it would take them a while to find out, given the age of the tracks.

---

Oliver Shrakes

Ammunition: 10 ↑ 10

{WC: 260}
{PC: 3}

Now that would be something he would look forward to. Seeing new techniques, and how they could be applied to his own, or making note and see how he could improve them if he can, and so on made Ollie giddy. He may be a mere cadet, but he was known for getting stuff done and not putting up with BS back home. And hopefully he'll garner that same reputation here. He fought against Rocket's head boss after all! Even with his Dragonite following, he found it rather humorious about the comment about flying. "Flight is nice, but with the tree cover, can be just as limiting. And often can't see the clues and tracks that lay underneath the canapy." Amazing as it can be, everything has its flaws, and sometimes not the best for a situation.

Plus there was the saying, "When you think you're in control, nature has a tendency to remind you that you're not." And humans can be so dumb. Customs turning away a Pokemon? Really? He wondered about that. "I would do some digging on that. It seems odd to turn away a Pokemon going to its trainer. Especially if said trainer is a Ranger." Someone did something dirty to his colleague. And he didn't like it. But you also needed to stay focused on the job at hand. So Oliver followed her up the trail. She spotted a print before he did. Sure enough, it was huge, very much like the reports said. Some more would indicate that it slid down the steep wall. The tracks were old...would she follow them or try to find some fresher tracks?

Shalin Nariya

A cadet Ollie may have been, but he was technically the commanding officer on the mission. He was responsible for Shalin's survival, which, unbeknownst to him, would be a handful. "I've heard that there are some bird Pokémon that have adapted to flying in the confines of a forest," Shalin replied to her superior. "Pokémon really can do anything, can they?"

With that, Shalin headed beneath the canopy and began her search. While looking for clues, it seemed that Ollie disagreed with the decision Hoennian customs had made. "I wasn't a Ranger at the time. I guess I could reapply and maybe things will change now that I'm a Ranger... though one who's new."

A large footprint, shaped exactly like that of a Ninetales, caught her attention. There was a certain detail about the marking its claws left on it only Shalin could recognize. If Oliver had a psychic Pokémon with him, it would have been able to detect psychic residue, as well. She looked perplexed as she followed the trail, keeping her eye on the feature unique to this Ninetales. "...Caprice?" Shalin mumbled, though loudly enough for Ollie to hear if he was paying attention.

---

Oliver Shrakes

Ammunition: 10 ↑ 10

{WC: 199}
{PC: 4}

"That is true. Though most of them are smaller in size. Fearow and Pidgeot comes to mind as the few larger bird Pokemon that can navigate forests. The fact that Pokemon are so versatile is part of why most professions, particularly our's, use them in our day to day lives." It was kind of amazing how many professions use Pokemon. From construction, rangers, even some house cleaning companies and landscaping. And with the sheer number of Pokemon out there, and more being discovered practically every week. And that's not counting specific regions either. Though it seems everything can be found in Hoenn due to one reason or another.

"Even so, it seems really odd. I would definitely try again." And still do some digging. Even if she wasn't a ranger, that still seemed really odd that they would deny it. They continued with the mission. Ollie noticed Shalin looked at the footprint longer than typical. And he looked at it. There was something slightly off about it, a claw mark. She still started to follow it, muttering a name. Her Ninetales? Would customs release a trainer's Pokemon like that out in the wild? If so, for what reason? A lot of things weren't adding up if this truly was Shalin's Pokemon. As they continued the walk, they soon found fresher tracks. The hair on the back of Oliver's neck tingled...and he could tell they were being watched now. Both his Dragonite and Breloom could feel it too, but only Breloom seemed nervous about it.

Shalin Nariya

"Exactly," Shalin nodded in agreement as she followed the trail down yet another cliffside that was shallow enough to slide down. "Though I only catch riding Pokémon, there is so much variety among even them. Zuh, my Pidgeot, was on the belt I was going to bring here. Ugh, I feel so bad for bringing the wrong Pokémon now..." There were even Paldean ride Pokémon out there, waiting for her to discover. She wouldn't find many, but the ones out there would be quite good.

"I will, but I'll need to take some time away from Nariya Expeditions to do it," she lamented aloud. One extra slide later, she spotted the majestic, golden fox, who was as enormous as was described; easily Rapidash-sized or slightly larger. She took out her pair of binoculars and used them to get a much closer look at the Pokémon. There were marks all over its fur from where a saddle, bit, and bridle had been attached, and there was evidence they had been removed relatively recently, at that.

"No way..." she whispered to Ollie. "...That's her. That's Caprice." Unbeknownst to her, because there was no one in Ageos to receive the Ninetales, and she had failed to legally claim the Pokémon outside the region due to the barrier, customs had little choice but to release the Pokémon into the wild. It was the fate of unclaimed Pokémon caught up in customs. "I knew she was moody, but to wreak this kind of destruction? We can't kill her, though. We just can't."

Shalin had an idea. It was reckless, but she had an idea that could energize the fox's memory. "I'm gonna try to ride her. She might recognize me," she continued to whisper to Oliver. "The floor she's on is nor far below us. I'm gonna try to jump on her from above and see if that jostles her memory."

---

Oliver Shrakes

Ammunition: 10 ↑ 10

{WC: 323}
{PC: 5}

Ah, so she's cut from the same cloth as Josh. "You and Josh Devlin would get along splendidly. He does much the same. Though I think he has an adreniline problem." He chuckled lightly. He found it endearing in a way...but the lad takes it a bit too far. There wasn't much else to say. They spotted it. A large, majestic Ninetales, every bit as large as the reports said. Taking out his own binoculars, he noticed the same kind of marks on the fur. Frowning, his mind raced. If this really was her...then why the hell did customs release her? She was claimed! Unless..."Was the barrier around when you tried to claim her? While that does explain some things, I would still raise holy hell about releasing her. Hoenn's situation should have caused some exceptions and extensions." Though that was neither here nor there.

The cyan eyed young man glared at her at the suggestion. "Just who do you think we are? That is an absolute last resort. There is always a reason for acting out. Be it an invasive species to a thorn in a paw to being lost. As rangers, we are conservationists as well. We do not go around slaughtering Pokemon for the fun of it." His tense and near angry voice berated her. Did she not pay attention at the academy? Shalin did have an idea though. "Have faith. She's lost and alone. And if you two had a strong bond, it won't be so easily broken. Pokemon remember. If you need back-up, don't hesitate to ask or yell. Now go and reconnect with your old friend." His voice was much softer and kinder this time, encouraging even. It was just a matter of watching and making sure Shalin didn't get hurt.

Shalin Nariya

Shalin let out a single laugh at her friend's mention. "We already do. Before he got caught up in being a Gym Leader, we used to regularly go to Round One in Mauville together to play dance games. Now he's so busy he's impossible to get ahold of."

The topic shifted to the mishandling of Caprice, as well as. "Oh, I will," she agreed, shaking her fist. "There was no reason she should have been treated like this, barrier or no. I don't know if either region's government is fully responsible; she could have been caught between conflicting laws about Pokémon imports. Every region handles it differently."

"No, I agree with you; lethal force being authorized and it being needed are two totally different things," the green-dressed lady nodded. "...I'm going in. Wish me luck; I might need it." With that, Shalin slid down to the canyon's bottom level, where the Ninetales she thought was Caprice was seated and at rest. Her angle true, she landed right on the golden, majestic creature's back! She buried her hands in the giant fox's fur and held on tight.

The wild fire-type discharged small streams of fire from the tips of all nine of her bushy tails, at first trying to dislodge Shalin with speed and swift turns. It was a reminder that despite how prized Arcanine were as mounts for their high speed, Ninetales were no slouch in that aspect, either.

After a lap around a large, pillar-like rock formation, the Ninetales' fury grew. She started bucking, twisting, and contorting her body in wicked ways that made even Shalin yelp. Thanks to her EXTRASENSORY, she could turn in one direction and try to fling Shalin in another, a technique that would have dislodged her if the rider didn't see it coming. This was definitive proof that the Pokémon she was struggling against was indeed the stubborn, hard-headed Ninetales she had been separated from three years ago. Already knowing the fox would not be one to listen to words over instincts, there was only one way the budding Ranger was resolving this peacefully.

That was riding out the furious, bucking storm her old friend's instincts were putting her through.

---

Oliver Shrakes

Ammunition: 10 ↑ 10

{WC: 368}
{PC: 6}

Good, maybe she did learn some things at the academy. That, or she already figured and whole heartedly agreed with him. "Go get'er tiger!" With a smile and a thumbs up sign, off she went. Oliver on the other hand, went a different route to scout out the surrouding area. That was going to raise everyone's hackles. Best to go around and see if any Pokemon were nearby, and move them to someplace safer. And boy did the commotion really stir up some dust! He could even see some flames over there. But she was fine. Some Geodude were nearby, and Oliver told them about what was going on. They rolled away without word or question.

Some fighting types were having a blast when Oliver stumbled upon them. After warning them of the danger, the small group left. And that's all Oliver did for the longest time. Just finding Pokemon and letting them know of the danger nearby, and having them retreat or leave the area for the moment. At the human yelp, the cadet ran back, but luckily Shalin wasn't hurt and was still on the thrashing Ninetales. Before it could spot him, Oliver left to continue circling around the area, just getting everyone out safely. He even stumbled upon a trainer that was wondering what all the ruckus was about. After the brief explanation, the trainer high tailed it out of there. Looking back at the commotion, he hadn't heard any more human yelps or anything. Just a lot of thrashing, some flames, and so on.


Shalin Nariya

Oliver's support gave Shalin the second wind she needed to keep going. The Ninetales' fury continued to grow, now adding unpredictable QUICK ATTACKs to the mix. The white-knuckled rider was being pushed to her limit, just like Letheia did at the bottom of the Crystal Trench. This was similar, yet different; while this Kantonian Ninetales didn't have quite the speed of the Alolan one, her strength more than made up for it, skillfully shifting her weight right underneath where Shalin was sitting and thrashing her with maximum efficiency. She let out a pained cry at the top of the fire fox's leap; that one did hurt.

In one last act of desperation, the golden fox performed a spinning leap skyward. While not a particularly fast twirl, it would have been fast enough to be dizzying for most. Not for her, though! She was Hoenn's wildest Pokémon rider for a reason. She touched down and darted off in a QUICK ATTACK in the opposite direction of her current momentum, which brutally flung Shalin backward in her perch and caused the fire-type to suddenly rear.

Then, all became quiet.

The Ninetales, after catching her breath, let out an affectionate cry that only meant one thing.

"Caprice! It's really you!" Shalin exclaimed, her speech a lttle slurred from her own exhaustion after the whiplash-inducing momentum shift that could have easily shredded her hold on the fox. She gave the still-wild Pokémon a hug. Caprice, recognizing the trainer she had been separated from for months, relinquished full control to Shalin, who was happy to take it up the winding path leading back up the canyon. "Ollie, it really was her! I can't believe they would do something so cruel to her! No wonder she was so upset. I'm gonna have to have words with border patrol about this, because that..." she paused, shaking her fist. "That's not right!"

---

Oliver Shrakes

Ammunition: 10 ↑ 10

{WC: 316}
{PC: 7}

Oliver got done and got back to their original vantage point. And watched the rodeo from there. It was quite the show, but the Ninetales failed to shake Shalin off. Smiling, he watched as they reconnected and ran back to him. After the declaration, Oliver spoke. "I'd be going full on Karen mode on anything that particular division and section is in. Let it be known what they did. Light a freakin fire under them to go under internal review and do some retraining. Still, congratulations on getting Caprice back. Come on, let's go to Lavaridge to celebrate." The punk ranger started in that direction, waiting to hear the telltale sound of a Pokeball catching a Pokemon. Some relaxation from the saunas and hotsprings were going to feel nice. Especially for Shalin after a ride like that.


Shalin Nariya