"Right behind you!"
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With a similarly brazen plunge through the rippling rift, Penelope found herself warping into the familiar realm of dust and floating rock, this time with a new face to accompany her.
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DEREK HOFFMAN. Best Ranger in all of petalburg. Or, at least, that's the title she used to greet him.
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Dusting the dust from her pants, Penelope hid a pained expression behind the curtain of her falling hair. Cian. It still hurt to hear that name, especially coming from someone else.
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"We broke up, actually," she attempted to chuckle, but it fell short, coming out dry and frayed. "But! I'm glad you agreed to join me. It's been too long, you know? You gotta stop disappearing on me."
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[attr="class","ooc"] DEREK HOFFMAN[break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

[attr="class","icon"]

"oh..." he wasn't ready for that one. thought of it, sure, but derek hadn't always been the best at dealing with moments like these. he figured they might be on a break, but to have severed ties...
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best he could manage on the spot was to assure penelope of at least one thing.
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"yeah... it has, hasn't it?" a forged smile graces his features as he considers how to put a temporary lid on something that still seemed to foul penelope's mood. that dry laugh... their councilwoman was a real trooper, wasn't she? trying to save face in front of everyone, no matter who or what it was.
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"to be honest, it's because of what Katherine Fairburne said to me." turning away to face the mist and smoke that filled the landscape, derek pressed a hand through the waves to begin making their way.
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prompt #26 encounter/engage with a gargantuan golurk with a bloody spiked shield on its back. when it finds lost spirits, it grabs them to impale on its spike, cleaning the border of stubborn souls.

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"i've been torturing myself over that whole conversation, and why she thinks someone like me could somehow force something as rogue as registeel to make me their avatar... perhaps she knows something i don't." or she just hated the idea of anyone but her benefitting when she decided to lift a finger.
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"arceus, i hope she never becomes champion." a long, dragging sigh escapes derek's lips as his figure dissapears into the mist, should penny not follow quickly enough. "...that would be the day." the day he finally considered changing sides. "but i'll be around if you need anything. just get ahold of me and i'll be on my way! life's not as busy now that i'm no longer a gym leader." rangers had it easy... most of the time.

Penelope wore her appreciation for the swift change in subjects boldly. There was no hiding the reality of her situation: for as much as she now held feelings for MATIAS SILPH, she still very much missed what she once held with CIAN MAHER. It wasn't perfect, but for her, for that short period of time, it was everything.
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There was no turning back time, though.
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All she could do was make peace with what was and what will be.
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"Is that right?"
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Habits of politics came trickling in, as with this tricky subject, she opted for neutrality. Neither supporting nor contradicting what was obviously a sore topic. Instead, she focused on what she could say without consequences. All while following the man of silver into the rolling mist.
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"Yeah, I heard about that. A real shame," she frowned, eyes tethered forward. There was no knowing when the next interruption may arrive. "What are you going to do now?"

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[attr="class","ooc"] DEREK HOFFMAN[break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

[attr="class","icon"]

"well, i figured i'd go back to being a ranger."
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that's how derek had gotten himself into this whole mess. the incident regarding registeel, and his unpleasant encounters with katherine. "it'll give me more down time to look into some things... and spend more time with my friends." he turns back to penelope for a brief moment, although stops dead in his tracks before hurling himself back into her.
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the raging fist of a rogue golurk misses it's chance to seize derek within it's grip. the ranger secures a pokeball in hand, releasing it to reveal a shadow-ified steelix that meets or exceeds the enemy's every measurement. animosity, most of all.
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"fuck!" the shock is there, but derek cannot linger within it. it's not just him, but penelope as well he is looking out for. "shadow rave!"
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a violent thrust of it's tail impales the earth, causing ripples of darkness to protrude from the earth like stalagmites, threatening to puncture the armor of the giant golurk already.
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only they don't, and derek looks to his present company for help as the golurk engages the steelix in an all out brawl.

Just before she could respond, the ranger took action for her. Their bodies collided, sending the duo toppling backward as a golurk's arm swung overhead.
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While his hand reached for his steelix's ball, Penelope's reached for her Mr Rime's. The only pokemon she trusted in the heat of a surprise attack.
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Penelope wasn't the same as she was before. She didn't need to wait on another's command or assumed assistance from those around her. Now, thanks to MATIAS SILPH and others, she held at least some semblance of strength within herself.
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"Icicle Spear!"
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Without even glancing back at Derek, Penelope had released her first lash of commands, evoking a singular pick of ice straight at the vulnerable titan.
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The monster of metal groaned at the effective move, and its joints begin to grow sluggish with movement.


[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] DEREK HOFFMAN[break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

[attr="class","icon"]

having weathered enough battles with pokemon of such enormous stature, derek does not hesitate to add another to the field. and this grimmsnarl needs no instruction, delivering a brutal sucker punch upon their enemy.
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slowed, and now stammering, derek is glad to see the towering figure of the golurk collapse onto the ground. they're able to catch their breath and continue on their way. "whew..."
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that was the closest a pokemon had gotten to him in a while. with the dense fog, it made it hard to avoid such a thing. "looks like you've made some progress with your training." derek's remark is directed towards penny, regarding her mr. rime. though it was still a silly looking pokemon...
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"but man, i didn't know there were giant pokemon out here." he'd seen in during the events of the darkest day, so maybe it shouldn't be much of a surprise. but derek didn't think this place was giving off the same energies. maybe there really was a lot more for him to figure out about this place.
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"did you know?"

"I have," she offered a faint smile, memories crawling back to MATIAS SILPH and their time spent training together. For all that he was, he was, at the very least, a good teacher. Tough, but fair.
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Penny stretched her arms over her head, sighing.
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"Yeah. I've spent a few days exploring this place - dangers as hell, in more ways than one."
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Something she had learned the hard way.
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"Is this your first time here?"

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[attr="class","ooc"] DEREK HOFFMAN[break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

[attr="class","icon"]

weird how their roles have changed. that penny treks into dangerous new territories, while derek still seems shocked about giant pokemon. it wasn't his first time dealing with either.
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"no... but i kinda freak out like it is, huh?" he can't hold back the nervous laughter. there's no real reason to.
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"so, uhm. what else have you encountered out here?" in the border, or elsewhere. anything that might help derek during a future visit. "anything worse than that thing?" meaning the giant golurk, of course.

"You could say that," she shook her head.
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Between the whirl of spirits and bite of malicious intent, there was no sanctuary in the home of the undead.
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Hands shoving into her pockets, she began directing their trek forward, closer toward the inn she'd once explored with another partner.
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"There are a lot of malicious spirits around here - some worse than others. The worst one I've seen almost killed me."

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[attr="class","ooc"] DEREK HOFFMAN[break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]