With the fighting at Ultra Deep Sea being in the past now, the usual day-to-day life as a rookie ranger was starting to filter back in. El had been assigned to meet with another ranger on Route 103 - with a certain Razz Kingsman .

Which, getting to work alongside a Head Ranger was the last thing that El had expected - and the notion of it all felt a little nervewracking - but okay! They could do this! They'd try their best, make a good impression on Razz, and go from there! The fact that it sounded like this would be training more than anything helped in matters, too - that they weren't going to be thrown into any serious situations.

Which, with the fact that this would be a bit easier going in mind, they decided to bring a few of their newer pokemon with. It'd be a chance for everyone to learn, that way!

As El arrived at the meeting spot, it'd be atop Akero the Togekiss, with Bibidi the Alakazam floating close behind. Both pokemon would land nearby, and the young ranger would - with Bibidi's help - carefully step down to the grass below, their cane in hand. "Uhm- Reporting for duty, sir!" El called with a half-giddy half-nervous smile, saluting with their free hand in Razz's direction.

Bibidi, glancing in the direction of the head ranger, would gently brush up against Razz's and Salem's minds in a psychic greeting.

Finally, Akero looked Razz up and down - making a soft, almost inquisitive whistle... Before ultimately losing interest in him rather quickly - deciding to instead chirrup and nuzzle at El, as if to reassure them.

How would today go, they wondered?

Razz Kingsman

Lead the way? El blinked a bit - seemingly caught off guard - but... Eager to please, they'd nod - deciding that it was time to do a switch-out. Pulling out a pokeball to recall Akero, and then pulling out another pokeball to send out another pokemon. "C'mon, Mernos!"

Out came a Flapple - the little dragon-type chittering as she perched on El's extended arm, tail loosely wrapping around for balance. Large wide eyes glanced around - before settling upon Razz and Salem, whereupon she'd proceed to cock her head from side to side like a curious puppy. Who were they? What was the little fella? Are they friends?

El couldn't help a warm chuckle at the behavior. "We're on patrol today - can you be our eyes in the sky, like we practiced?" Sure, maybe 'eyes in the sky' was a bit generous, given that this route was mostly forest - but the sentiment of having Mernos be an extra set of eyes from above was still there.

That, and this was both an opportunity to give her some fresh air, experience, and burn off some energy all the same. El found that she tended to get bored and cooped up pretty easily, when idle or kept in her pokeball for too long; and when she gets bored, trouble often follows. So, setting her to a task like this would be the perfect way to sate her needs.

With an affirmative squawk, Mernos flapped her 'wings' once, twice, and then was off - the little dragon taking flight to keep an eye out for the group. Bibidi would keep tabs on Mernos psychically - so that if she saw something of interest, the alakazam could quickly pass it on.

But with that, El would begin walking - their eyes scanning their surroundings. They figured that checking up on the local hotspots for wild pokemon would be a good place to start - and so, they began by making their way towards a river that they believed ran through here.

And as they walked, Razz would pose a question that had them blink a bit. "Oh - uhm - my family? I think I'm the first," They spoke, visibly thoughtful. "My parents weren't all that interested in this sort of work - and my brother, uhm..." They trail off, thinking briefly, before continuing "I don't know if he's all that interested, either. He's - uh - probably traveling around as trainers do, y'know?" A half-truth, hopefully a passable one - but there was the slightest strain in their smile.

El wore their heart on their sleeve too clearly, to ever truly lie; even if they didn't want to draw attention to the reason they left home in the first place.

Razz Kingsman

El pauses a bit at Razz's response - it's pretty easy to tell that they aren't sure whether to take it as a joke or not, the subtleties of Razz's tone going over their head. Eventually, they settle upon a sympathetic smile. "Guessing they - uhm - had other ideas, for what they wanted you to do...?" They questioned - hoping it wasn't too forward, but knowing how it felt to a certain degree, if they were on the money.

While they were sure that Mom would be supportive - even if worried aplenty - by them becoming a ranger... The question of how their Dad would react honestly felt like a bit of an enigma. Especially given how much he wanted them to become a gym leader, when they were still back home. (Especially given how much they had no interest in becoming a gym leader, and yet never felt confident enough to say so.)

The sound of a distant roar would catch El's attention though - and they couldn't help but blink a little as their gaze snapped in the direction of the sound. That sounded like a sizeable pokemon - certainly bigger than what one would usually find here. "This place is... Usually mostly bug or water pokemon, right?" They asked - though it appeared to be a mostly rhetorical question, as they continued "I can't think of any pokemon that'd fit the bill and also make that big a ruckus, unless it was like..."

They trailed off, visibly thoughtful as they began to move towards the noise - but more slowly, more carefully, compared to before. Was it a Croconaw or Feraligatr? A Golisopod? The place didn't strike them as being the place for a Gyarados, unless some random Magikarp had just evolved... It was possible it was a pokemon that, say, wandered over from the ocean or the adjacent Route 110, but...

In any case, they'd glance over to Bibidi. "Does Mernos see anything?" They asked her - wanting to get a better picture of the situation ahead of time.

To which, the alakazam would close her eyes in focus as she reached out to Mernos' mind with the question - and then had to sort through the 'response' that the flapple gave. (Which was to say, a mess of overlapping 24-7 trains of thought, as if Mernos couldn't decide on which one she wanted to focus on at any given moment.) But, it did not take long before the psychic type had a few images - from Mernos' perspective, hidden up in a tree - to pass on to El and Razz both.

And these images in question would reveal...

Razz Kingsman

Salem's gesturing gets a blink from El initially - but then it clicks, and they're unable to help a soft chuckle, nodding in understanding. Razz seemed a bit like Isaac Merlo, in the sense that they both left home at a rather young age. The head ranger was far less emotive than Isaac, though - which did make it a bit hard to read him, sometimes. But that was okay... In a way, the comparisons helped them feel a little more comfortable around Razz.

But now the two knew what was causing all the ruckus - namely, an aggron duo fighting against some lycanroc! And with it came the question - what to do?

El opened their mouth - but paused for a second, considering, before they actually started speaking. "It... looks like they're fighting over territory. The two aggron - maybe mates - look as though they found the cave first, but then the pack decided they wanted it." Wanted it a lot, probably - it was ballsy of the rock-types to be picking a fight with a couple of steel-types.

But given the location, El couldn't exactly blame them - the den would probably have easy access to food and water. And given that it was turning to spring, a den or similar such shelter would be vital as a safe place to raise one's young.

"I think we should, uhm... Probably wait, and keep tabs?" El spoke - glancing to Razz carefully, as if hoping for some sort of tell as to whether they were making the right call or not. "Fighting for territory isn't bad - wild pokemon do it all the time, and stepping in right away could make both sides even more agitated. But we want to make sure things don't get out of hand, right?"

Pokemon - especially those like Aggron - had plenty of destructive power. If either side of the conflict got particularly riled up, the surrounding environment could end up suffering for it.

Razz Kingsman

Right... Stuff like the Silent Icelands' forming probably had a lot of pokemon on edge or agitated as it was. And when backed into a corner - even if only a figurative corner - a wild pokemon's usual go-to was to bare their teeth and fight back in some way, any way, they can possibly think of. That was the sort of thing that usually kept them alive for another day, after all.

The little bit of praise does put a shy smile on El's face though, as they nodded in response. "Thank you, sir." They replied, averting their gaze to instead glance in the direction of the fighting. Razz was right - getting an in-person look would be a good idea, and being a bit closer would mean that they could more quickly intervene if things got out of hand.

Thus, they'd begin moving once more - towards the scene of the fighting - at a careful pace, being mindful to not make too much noise or disturbance. Bibidi would hang back a short distance, meanwhile - both to avoid being noticed with her larger size, and because her psychic abilities meant she didn't need to be right next to El to intervene if things went awry.

Razz Kingsman

Upon coming onto the scene, El couldn't help but find themself confused at the sight before them. They had thought this to purely be a territorial dispute; but if that were the case, then wouldn't the two Aggron be more willing to actually fight back? To fend off the Lycanroc pack?

Bibidi, however, quickly caught on to the problem. She could feel it, the distress and pain coming off of the Aron children, the worry and resignation of the parents - her expression twists with a similar distate to the one that Razz felt. She gave El a mental nudge...

... And when El could spot the scene within the cave proper, their own expression became one of deep empathy - a pained look flickering across their face. "This is..." They began - before trailing off, shaking their head. "I don't want to interfere with the fight itself... But I can't let the Lycanroc hold those Aron hostage like that."

El and Bibidi shared a glance - the alakazam reading at their surface thoughts, as they considered a plan. She nudged at one thought, another, bringing them to the forefront - giving her input for said plan - and when the two found a consensus...

... She'd disappear - and in her place, the two aron would be placed upon the grass, thanks to Ally Switch.

Within the den, Bibidi's gaze settled upon the Midnight Lycanroc - and attempting to use the element of surprise, she'd try to use Telekinesis to harmlessly throw the werewolf out of the den. This was not her fight - but she had no qualms in giving the rock-type a piece of her mind, by giving them the figurative boot.

Meanwhile, El was quick to get to work - sending out Akero, and pulling out a first aid kit. "Give me a hand, Akero!" The two were ready to tend to the children's wounds, to make sure that they'd be back in tip-top shape as soon as possible. First things first, would be to disinfect and staunch any bleeding.

And Akero would be happy to provide her Life Dew, and to try and soothe the two Aron with soft, melodic, whistles.

Razz Kingsman

Though the two Aron were understandably quite spooked, the gentle coos and whistles of Akero and El's gentle tone of voice seemed to put them at ease. Life Dew-dampened gauze would be pressed to open wounds, blood and debris dutifully washed away. They didn't need to go as in-depth with first aid on pokemon as they did on humans, given that healing moves usually did the trick - but the gentle touches still helped to calm down the steel-types and let them know they were safe.

Meanwhile though, it seemed that Razz was quick to send out a Greninja he owned. With a whistle, the frog pokemon was quick to engage the pack all at once, and chase them off! Bibidi would watch the fight from where she lingered in the den for a few moments, but soon Teleported back to El's side - not wanting to aggravate the parents by intruding on their space for too long.

So focused in their work though, the rookie would jump a bit as Razz's hand pat them on the shoulder. The praise caught them a little off guard - but it felt plenty warm in their chest, drawing a shy smile as they nodded. "R-right, sir!" They responded with a smile.

With the danger gone though, it was high time to get these little ones home. "C'mon, buddies, do you still hurt anywhere?" They checked in on the two Aron one last time - and when the two hatchlings were already getting up and ready to move, El couldn't help but laugh warmly. They must be ready to go, then.

Thus, they'd push themself up onto their feet - leaning into their cane as they did. Once steady, they'd coax for the two children to take the lead in moving in the direction of the Aggron parents. "This way, little guys. Let's check on your parents too, okay?" The fully-evolved duo probably would appreciate a bit of medical attention, too.

But of course, El wasn't going to lead the charge. Knowing how some wild parents could be, they were careful to not put themself or their pokemon between the Aron and the Aggrons. Additonally, they'd watch the two steel behemoths carefully as they approached - keeping their eyes peeled for any signs of further agitation...

Just because the rangers rescued their children, didn't mean they'd automatically be all hearts and rainbows, after all - wild pokemon were still wild, and needed to be treated with the respect and carefulness that any wild beast demanded.