What was it with this region and crises? Mirri could have sworn there was one every couple of weeks at least. Just the other day she had helped with another incident involving bad weather – only this time it was much worse. A hurricane was not something she had ever experienced, nor wished to. Coming in to help save people was something she could do though.

After all, she was able to help, so she would help. It really was as simple as that. Helping others was in her nature, was her desired path in life. Mirri just did not feel very safe herself as she approached the meeting point on her Corviknight. The winds were still rather strong. They made it in one piece, but she was quite glad when they landed all the same.

Once she was close enough she did spot Devlin though. It was not a surprise to see him there, of course, but still a welcome sight nonetheless. Especially once she heard gunshots. “I seem to always find you in less than pleasant circumstances, it seems.”


Josh Devlin

"I'm just glad you can be a consistent help, Mirri," Josh answered, Saber greeting the Officer with a bark. "Doesn't come as a surprise, though; it's a four-alarm fire for Slateport. They wanted both Officers and Rangers to help with this one. Remember, we don't have to engage anyone. All we have to do is rescue victims and report thefts. I'm not afraid to go toe to toe with them if need be, but our priority should be looking for people trapped beneath rubble. You need a lift, I've got my three Pyroar ready for you. Now let's go."

Regardless of travel arrangements, the rider would courageously direct his mount toward the sound of the gunshots he had heard earlier. It let the young man to a small, half-ruined, high-end apparel store where two masked men were holding a cashier at gunpoint. Not wanting to make himself known quite yet, Josh slowed his Manectric to a walk when he was across the street. He slowly made his way to the door, seeing the robbery in action. Just as he saw wads of cash go into a black bag, he got close enough to the automatic sliding door to trigger it, then whispered into his Manectric's ear the command to use THUNDER WAVE.

The attack struck the men's right hands, causing them to drop their firearms. From beyond the terrified cashier's desk, the Master of Faster showed his credentials, marked as Elite Ranger and Mauville Gym Leader. "Put your hands where I can see them! Now!" While neither of them could lift their hands all the way to the air in surrender due to the current that had run through them, they were quick to assume positions of surrender, the stunning electric attack leaving them with little means to fight back.

Grateful for the save, Josh even went as far as to pick up the black bag and dump its contents onto the register's conveyor belt. He immediately radioed for Slateport Police to take over, who were on the scene within minutes. One good deed done, he switched frequencies to Mireille Wynter 's. "Mirri, this is Josh. Do you copy? I've thwarted a robbery at 71st and Vale. What's your current position and status? Over."

---

Mireille Wynter

{WC: 372}
{PC: 2}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Kairi         Vaporeon       Good
Winky         Greninja       Good
Aslan         Pyroar**       Good
Simba         Pyroar         Good
Kovu          Pyroar         Good

“Never understood how and why people would go stealing in situations like this anyway,” she replied without thinking much about it. Well, without thinking about that saying that out loud. She did wonder about the topic at hand, though. At the end of the day, it would be best if everyone just evacuated. Hence, it always confounded her that others would simply use that time to steal when they could use it to run. Did not make much sense to her.

Philosophical ramblings were misplaced, though. They had work to do. Hence, she just nodded. Then she called forth her Mudbray. It wasn’t that she did not trust the ride offered. But if things did get problematic, she wanted to be on her own steed. It gave her a peace of mind. Her Mudbray she knew how it would act. There was no doubt that the Pyroars would obey her. But this one she knew.

Hence, she settled for this, mounting up. It was best to stick together. Hence, she followed him. He had more experience with large scale operations. Best to leave it to him in that regard. It would not take long before they found their first occurrence. There likely would be many. She saw him easily handle that, though. It was unnecessary to add to a volatile situation that was calming down. Instead, she listened for sounds other than the rain. There was some light mewling, which she followed.
While Josh waited for the police, she found a small situation in one of the side streets. Evacuations were for humans. Truly wild Pokemon knew by instinct to run from the storm. But the street-wilds did not know nature that well anymore. Seeing a Meowth trying frantically to get out from under a fence that had half fallen onto it when it dislodged from the walls, she got her Honedge out. “Carefully, free it,” Mireille ordered. A few fell swoops of a ghastly blade later, the fence was cut up on the edges, no longer pushing down the Meowth. There were no thanks. It simply darted off, hopefully to safety.

Hence, she reported just that. “A block or two south of you. Status is fine, just saved a Meowth.” The way she understood it, saving Pokemon was also her job.


Josh Devlin

Mirri's decision to call on her Mudbray instead was respectable. To those not prepared for it, Pyroar were a wild ride. They could reach absurd speeds, and their flexing backs, even with saddles designed to mitigate the motion, could have proved a challenge for inexperienced riders. The vibration from a single roar or purr could also have been unsettling.

With police Arcanine quick to surround the would-be thieves, Josh and his Manectric moved on. "Roger, Mirri. Great job. I will be heading further north along the storm line. Contact me on this frequency if you need me. Over and out."

After a couple minutes of surveying, Saber picked up a scent, a static bolt flying out of the top of his yellow mane. Squinting and focusing in the direction of a destroyed residence, Josh faintly caught the distinct cries of Pikachu from beneath the building. While his Pyroar didn't have the fine motor skills to lift debris out of the way, they could work together to lift objects short distances and push it long distances out of the way. Three Pikachu leaped out of the collapsed house when a particular piece was removed, the small electric-types helping locate their trainers... or in this case, their trainers' mutilated bodies, crushed and pierced by large pieces of wood.

The rodents looked devastated.

"Arceus..." Josh swore. "I'm so sorry for your loss. All three of you." He set empty Poké Balls down in front of them. "We'll need to find the three of you a new home. You're too sweet to just go back into the wild. You know that?" One of them leaped toward Josh's face, startling the Gym Leader as it did its best to hug him.

---

Mireille Wynter

{WC: 286}
{PC: 3}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Kairi         Vaporeon       Good
Winky         Greninja       Good
Aslan         Pyroar**       Good
Simba         Pyroar         Good
Kovu          Pyroar         Good

The Honedges swirled about, agitated, maybe a bit frustrated. But all Mirri could do was shake her head. “It’s fine. Has to be. If you found nothing then we can’t get where someone is. Probably no one there,” she told them before deciding to head further east instead. The duo of blades had just returned from trying to get into a damaged building as far as they could on the lookout for survivors, evidently without any luck. Yet, that did not mean that things were nearly as grisly on her end as they had on Josh’s. Just that there was no one over there that she could help right then and there. Not the best of situations, but lamenting that would do them no good. Hence, she went back onto Mudbray and decided to move along, her swordly ghosts following along.

Rounding a corner, she found something again. Only this time, it would probably have been superfluous to do much, as she watched a Pikachu trying to hug a trainer. Without context, she did not reserve any judgment and instead simply acknowledged Josh being there. “You got the situation here under control?” She briefly looked up at her Honedges, as they started to move about more erratically. “The situation is clear, yes? With regards to the weather, I mean. These two are usually good at reading that sort of thing. They are ghosts after all, they know calamity. Something seems off here. But I can’t tell you what, really.”


Josh Devlin

The situation on Josh's side, unfortunately, was grisly, having confirmed the trio of Pikachu had become orphans. The largest of the three was quite big, roughly the size of the average Raichu, its leap nearly knocking Josh off his perch on Saber's back. "Easy, boy!" the Ranger chirped, able to identify it as a male due to the pointed tail.

As Mirri called out to Josh, he turned his Manectric around to greet the Mudbray-mounted trainer. "I think so; just need to take a few more photos to help identify some bodies. It's so sad," he reported as the large Pikachu let go of him and fell onto the front edge of Saber's saddle. "These three are orphans now," he gestured toward the two Pikachu on the ground and the one in front of him. "Their entire family died when the tornado collapsed their house."

As Josh turned to the side to slide off his Manectric's back, likewise did the Pikachu, leaping toward Josh again and smiling. He flinched when the electric-type's cheek touched him, but not one volt came out of it. "What is it? Are you saying you want to come with me?" Mauville's top trainer asked. "I think there are better trainers out there for you and your friends," he argued. "We'll get you to the Pokémon Center and to a shelter, where we can find you a new home." Insistent, the Pikachu crawled behind Josh and leaped up to his backpack, sensing the essence of THUNDERSTONE within. Gnawing at its corner, the electric rodent exposed itself to the evolution stone's radiation, transforming it into a Raichu that was easily Blinky's size. He fell onto the grass beneath him, nearly slamming his chin into a piece of wood.

The Raichu's deep cry was unsettling, but the affection was there. Josh rolled over onto his back and gasped, beholding the largest Raichu he had ever seen. Thinking of the saddle on Saber's back, the Raichu crawled away from him and pointed his tail at his own. "Well... when you put it that way, I can't exactly refuse, can I?" he blushed. "I can't welcome you to the team yet. We have to find your Poké Ball first... Toralf. I'll call you Toralf."

---

NOTE: This is a flavor evolution for Josh's Gacha Kantonian Raichu.

Mireille Wynter

{WC: 375}
{PC: 4}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Kairi         Vaporeon       Good
Winky         Greninja       Good
Aslan         Pyroar**       Good
Simba         Pyroar         Good
Kovu          Pyroar         Good

Mirri did not really know what to say in that situation. A lot of her day to day social interactions she had learned through novels. And when something like this happened in those, that was usually left with some amount of silence and gravitas, not with dialogue from a third party.

Probably just meant she did not have to say anything. Instead, she had her Mudbray come close without disturbing the scene and pulled out her phone. Slightly grimacing, she decided to make some pictures as well. Her Honedges were still, well, on edge regarding something, so she felt like they probably should be ready to move sooner, rather than later.

Then again, if something did happen, things probably would become problematic, again. Hence, she instead got off and started to look for the aforementioned Pokeballs. They would not be able to bring the….bodies with them, but that would at least offer some solace to these orphans, maybe. It was the best she could do in that moment to keep herself occupied and not intrude on the moment, though it was one of her honedges that eventually pushed some pokeballs out of a darker corner.


Josh Devlin