[attr="class","text"]

Finally, some reinforcements.[break][break]
Weary from his recent fight with the mysterious Rocket (BARNABY FINCH) who had slipped past the League's Granite Cave defenses, Caleb turned somewhat sluggishly to greet the newcomer.[break][break]
"Hey, yeah, a Rocket got by me," Caleb sighed, frustration evident in his ton. He pointed in the direction the man had fled - deeper into the Ultra Deep Sea, which wasn't good. "I did some damage, though. He will need to regroup before looking for Seal Stones. We should probably still warn the research groups..."[break][break]
Caleb paused, actually taking in the sight of the other man. He was very familiar. Not because Caleb knew him personally, but because...[break][break]
"You're kyle lopez, aren't you?" Caleb blurted out, shocked that this particular man had been sent to help out some random Ranger cadet rather than take on a much more important task, whatever that might be. "The Champion?"

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

[attr="class","text"]

Pretty humble, Caleb thought as kyle lopez brushed off the fact that he was the current League Champion, immediately moving away from the subject. Caleb would have expected somebody with that sort of title to be arrogant, but Kyle seemed anything but.[break][break]
Caleb considered Kyle's two proposals. If they went straight to the camp, they might be able to set up some defenses before Caleb's Rocket adversary - or any Rockets - found it. If they chased after Caleb's Rocket, they might find a Seal Stone - Rocket had discovered them to begin with, and had a jump on the League. Maybe the man Caleb had fought wasn't even worried about any of the current League research groups; maybe he already knew exactly where to go.[break][break]
"We should go after him," Caleb decided, staring off in the direction his opponent had fled. "He'll either lead us to our own camp - in that case, we'll be able to help our researchers fight - or he'll take us to an area we didn't know about. That could definitely be useful."[break][break]
Caleb turned to Lyra, assessing her current wellbeing. She had attempted to heal herself back up with a shower of LIFE DEW after their recent fight, but she still looked more tired than usual. "Ready for more?" He asked her, a wry smile touching his lips. She trilled, defiant. He chuckled, then turned back to Kyle. "I'll ride my Lapras. Feel free to follow with your own Pokémon, or hop on. She can move faster than I can."

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

[attr="class","text"]

Caleb blinked. The League Champion hadn't even thought to bring a water Pokémon to a...watery realm?[break][break]
"Super rude," Caleb agreed with a laugh, keeping his thoughts to himself. "Hop on!"[break][break]
Lyra's great shell had more than enough room for both men. Caleb held onto her neck as she took off through the strange ocean-like environment. As they rode, Caleb began to feel more and more wary. Not just from the earlier fight, but...something about their surroundings made him feel on edge. As if a monster might burst out of the shadows at any moment. There are worse things down here than Rockets...[break][break]
"So, uh, I take it you haven't found any of those Seal Stones yet?" Caleb asked Kyle, turning to conversation to ward off his unease. "I'm not even entirely sure what they're supposed to look like..."

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

[attr="class","text"]

Oh, right. His name. Maybe he should have introduced himself sooner to someone as important as Kyle. Idiot, Caleb chastised himself.[break][break]
"Caleb Harcourt," he said, twisting around on Lyra's back to look at the other man. "Ranger out of Slateport. Sorry about that, should have said something sooner."[break][break]
What Kyle had said about the Seal Stones - that they'd probably "know it when they see it" - didn't exactly comfort Caleb. What if some terrible beast was guarding them or something? It would be better to gather as much intel as possible. Interrogating a Rocket made sense...if only Caleb had been able to hold onto the one he'd just fought...[break][break]
Speaking of, there was no sign of that man. They'd been riding now for several long minutes. Lyra came to a stop by a cliffside that looked as if it had seen a minor avalanche recently. Boulders and shattered Tera Crystals littered the seafloor. Maybe some kind of altercation had taken place here?[break][break]
"Any ideas how we might actually find some Rockets? One second we're getting reports of fighting, the next it seems like everybody's gone into hiding..."

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

[attr="class","text"]

Dream mist? Caleb vaguely remembered some reports about it. Supposedly it led to another rift, a realm called the Interdream Zone. It sounded like something Caleb definitely did not want to encounter. But alas, Kyle was probably right.[break][break]
"Can't say I've got anything better in mind," Caleb admitted. He indicated to Lyra that she should keep going. The Lapras continued to swim onwards; as she did, Caleb kept his eye out for dream mist. Would he know when he saw it? He'd encountered deadly mist in The Border, but moreso because of its ability to completely obscure one's companions, aiding the attacks of the vengeful ghosts that prowled that realm. What did the Ultra Deep Sea have lurking about? Caleb wasn't sure he wanted to know.[break][break]
Something caught his eye up ahead - a small group of people huddled around...pinkish-purple mist.[break][break]
"Hey, is that one of our research teams?" Caleb wondered aloud. The group were dressed in civilian clothing, with some protective measures - goggles, gloves, industrial boots. They definitely looked like scientists to Caleb. A table was set-up with tablets and other data collection devices. There was also digging equipment...supposedly Seal Stones could be found around dream mist, but how far down one had to dig to find them was currently unknown.[break][break]
"Might be a good idea to warn them about the Rocket we saw, since we happen to be here," Caleb suggested to Kyle, motioning for Lyra to swim down to their allies.

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