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rangers had to be ready for anything. this was their basic statement, the brave creed that each ranger took to heart when committing to the job. the forces of nature never rested, and so rangers all over hoenn (and in other respective regions, as well) had to prepare themselves accordingly. [break][break]

mika nakayama didn't expect a fire to break out in the small town of littleroot, but regardless of her expectations, her presence near the town meant that she had to act. an order was put out to any rangers in the area to quell the fire, and protect the citizens and wild pokemon from the spreading flames. [break][break]

she had just the pokemon for the job. talonflame would fly overhead and circle around areas of interest, while walrein and arctovish followed after, the two aquatic pokemon traveling on the crest of walrein's surf to get around in the rural fields. it was a good idea because they could douse any fires or embers as they traveled throughout the farmland, while also keeping pace with the talonflame's speed. mika let the three of them work together to deal with any threats on the outskirts, while she stayed closer to the edge of town together with her shiny dusk lycanroc and prinplup at her side. [break][break]

"komainu, be on the lookout for any people or pokemon. chiyo, have your brine and bubblebeam attacks ready to go." the two pokemon nodded in acknowledgement. komainu was a blur of color, running on swift paws that smudged the ashen surroundings with deep blue, bright eyes narrowed in focus. a stray group of hoppip here, a couple of scared kids there, and komainu worked hard to herd everyone to safety. [break][break]

she spotted another figure in the not-so-far distance, presumably another ranger that seemed to have a handle on the situation, as well. "you're a ranger," mika huffed as she approached Yuina Higashi , her prinplup running beside her. "this fire's tough. i had my pokemon take care of a stretch of land just now, but we've got our work cut out for us. i'm here to help in any way i can." so focused on her mission, mika realized she didn't yet introduce herself to the other woman. "my name is mika nakayama. i don't suppose you know what started this fire?"[break][break]

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mika felt relieved to be in the company of a fellow ranger. the way that yuina delegated tasks and kept a cool head despite everything gave mika the impression that she must have been a ranger for some time, because her experience certainly showed. and it was this experience that mika would not only cling onto, but hope to emulate someday, as well. [break][break]

"alright, that sounds like a plan. i'll send my walrein with your feraligatr and my arctovish with your hisuian samurott." mika turned towards the field where they were working on putting out the flames, and whistled loudly to get their attention. within moments, all of her pokemon returned to her, and she relayed yuina's instructions to the water-types, accordingly. that left mika's lycanroc and prinplup to remain by her side, while her talonflame remained aloft in the sky to watch for any stragglers. [break][break]

the blue-haired ranger looked back at yuina and said, "you're welcome, yuina. thank you for helping me out as well, i hadn't fought too many fires before this, but i'll do everything i can to be helpful." because mika considered themself useless if they couldn't be of service, after all. "i hope your dusknoir finds something worthwhile, then. for now i'll have my pokemon do what they can to make sure the town stays cool..." there were a few stray flames blazing too close to the a nearby building, so mika ordered her prinplup to put it out. [break][break]

"if it's a fire-type pokemon at large, i can also have my talonflame relocate them." sora was used to long flights, after all. if he had to ferry a stray pokemon all the way back to mt. chimney, alone, then he'd be able to do it. (and mika would even reward her firebird with all sorts of treats and favors, including one of its favorites: a rage candy bar.) but mika wouldn't do anything unless it sat right with yuina first. she was her senior for a reason, after all. [break][break]

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their pokemon were certainly working hard. mika kept a watchful eye, but glanced at yuina when she spoke. "alright. you have a point." after all, it could've been an accident just as much as anything. with any luck, they wouldn't even need to do anything else after the fire was put out. mika exhaled audibly — at least they had that going for them. [break][break]

"prinplup, use brine over there! lycanroc, follow up with stone edge to snuff the little flames!" her pokemon followed her command, and mika felt a sense of relief as more and more flames subsided. [break][break]

she said, "oh, you're welcome, i should thank you for your help, as well. this certainly isn't something that someone can take on by themselves. and our pokemon are doing a fantastic job. i won't say anything just in case i jinx it, but..." the unspoken meaning of we might have this under control, after all carried through, anyway. [break][break]

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"alright, i'll sweep this side and make sure nothing builds up again." she nodded at yuina, then parted from her senior ranger momentarily to work with her own pokemon. prinplup and lycanroc did a sufficient job, and at some point, talonflame returned from his sky patrol. a proud and heavy cry from the firebird told mika that it didn't see any other pokemon or people trapped at the edge of the fire. she breathed a sigh of relief: things were really going well, then! [break][break]

eventually, yuina returned, and her sage advice was a guiding light for mika to follow. "oh, thank you. i'm just glad i could be of help. i'll look for any remaining flames on this side and put them out." she nodded. "you can count on me." [break][break]

as the other ranger rode away on her hisuian arcanine, mika ordered prinplup, lycanroc, and talonflame to stay near her and help smother out any fires. prinplup used water attacks to put them out, while lycanroc's rock attacks smothered the flames, and talonflame blew out any small embers to snuff out the warmth in their coals. [break][break]

what started as a raging fire now was reduced to tiny flames and smoldering embers. though the air was still thick with smoke and ash, mika hoped that the smog would disappear in a few days, leaving the town of littleroot peaceful once more. [break][break]

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soon enough, it seemed most of the damage had been controlled. mika's pokemon smothered out the last remains of any stubborn embers, and she made it a point to have talonflame (without its usual flames, of course) flap its wings to blow away any harmful ash from the remaining plant life that managed to survive the initial scorch. [break][break]

then yuina returned with the pokemon in tow, and mika praised her arctovish and walrein for their job well-done, confident they'd done all they could in their time away from their trainer. [break][break]

instead, her attention turned towards yuina, and the skewer in her hands that had been evidence of the fire's origin. a campfire left unattended or put out improperly, the result of human error. mika's chest ached with sympathy and disappointment. this could have all been avoided, but instead, a good chunk of littleroot town's natural beauty and farmland had been razed with fire. on the bright side, they stopped the flames from spreading any further beyond the city's limits. at least they could celebrate that. [break][break]

"i see," mika relented. "in that case, we had better report this back to hq. i can also check one last time for any anomalies, if that's needed." she nodded once, then said, "at the risk of sounding like a greenhorn, i'll say this: i'm thankful to have had your guidance and help in this situation, yuina. i hope i can become a ranger of your resourcefulness and repute one day, as well." [break][break]

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