TO: Shalin Nariya (shalin.nariya@hoennrangers.gov)
CC: STERLING WARDEN (sterling.warden@hoennrangers.gov)
MISSION: "Nest Immigration"
PROTOCOL: Rescue
DANGER: ★☆☆☆☆

BRIEFING:

A transformer near an apartment complex in the west district of Rustboro City has blown as a result of a flock of Taillow and Swellow nesting atop it. GMH staff are unable to service the transformer while the Pokémon are there. Relocate the nest elsewhere in the vicinity.

You will be assisting Rookie Ranger Sterling Warden on this mission. Protect them and the bird Pokémon at all costs. If more than two Taillow are seriously injured, consider the mission a failure.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

a) Protect Sterling Warden
b) Relocate the Swellow nest
c) Minimize wild Pokémon casualties

Good luck! We're all counting on you.

One of the most important skills a Ranger Captain had to have was supervising and overseeing the growth of new Rangers. She kept a Fearow's eye out for tickets that would be easy for new Rangers to be walked through how to handle. One of those tickets she would be handling today was a request from GMH Holdings to relocate a Swellow nest that made restoring power to an apartment complex impossible. Today, it would be their job to move some bird Pokémon out of the city to make those repairs possible.

Seated in the lavish-looking saddle of a Kantonian Persian that was quite large for her species, Shalin replied to a nervous-looking Sterling. "It's okay, Sterling! She won't bite or scratch," she reassured. The big cat looked well-behaved, a sign of her skill as a trainer and Ranger. "Great to meet you in person. I'm Captain-in-training Shalin Nariya. I'll be in charge of Rustboro's Rangers once some paperwork goes through the League soon."

With introductions over, she briefed the Rookie in case they didn't have their RangerNet documentation handy. "See that nest?" Shalin pointed to several Taillow chirping above a power pole and a transformer. "We'll need to get them down. GMH has already cut the power, so there's no worry about being electrocuted up there. It's just a matter of climbing up there and moving the nest somewhere where they won't cause problems. If you don't like the idea of climbing a ladder, I've got a Pokémon that can take us up there." Several, actually, though some might be a little more hair-raising than others...

they cast their gaze skyward. it's a good thing that, out of all the things that frighten them, heights isn't one of them. they're not nervous around the big persian; in fact, they have to hold back from trying to pet it. somehow they feel she wouldn't mind, but it still feels... improper. like they need to introduce themself first. they're just not sure how to do that. they don't have much experience with unfamiliar pokemon.

"r-right..." they need to be prepared for a little bit of a fight. swellow can get a little territorial during nesting season, they've heard. "maybe... a ladder would be okay to start with..." they'll feel a little more secure that way. maybe later they can try riding a pokemon for the first time.

they release their honedge from its ball. it can levitate, so it can stay with them as they climb. it hovers near them, what seems to be a single eye peering at shalin before it wraps its long, blue cloth around sterling's upper arm. "...i think i'm ready."

[ Shalin Nariya ]

Luckily, the city had come prepared for Sterling and Shalin, the Rangers only having to move a nearby ladder into place to reach the transformer. It would be a tall one. Once it was in place, the Captain-in-Training called on two more of her Pokémon: an Alolan Ninetales the size of a Rapidash, quick to freeze the ladder's four legs in place with ICE BEAM in order to ensure it wouldn't go anywhere. The arctic fox wore a saddle and reins that sparkled the same light blue colors as her fur.

"Should be sturdy enough for you now, Sterling!" Shalin chirped. The Honedge wrapping its tassel around them was a bit of a concern, though she trusted they knew each other well enough. Still, Letheia kept watch over them in case they fell; an impact with a fluffy fox would be far less painful than that with concrete.

Shalin had her own way up to the nest; her second Poké Ball contained a Venusaur almost one-and-a-half stories tall. She would have blocked traffic in one lane had the road not been closed. "Can you give me a lift up there? And remember, I'm not suited up, so no whipping!" With a nod and a grunt that felt like a bellow from any other Pokémon, the grass-type extended one of her giant vines. She took a seat on the bulb at the end of it, holding on with all four limbs as it raised her next to Sterling. "How familiar are you with Sleep Powder? I think that's the best way to get them down safely without drawing the ire of Swellow," the wild child suggested.

they fix their gaze on the secured ladder. their ascent is slow, clumsy, and careful, because they've never really used a ladder before. sure, step-ladders, but real ladders...? their honedge is a comforting presence. most people might find it a little creepy, but it's a pokemon sterling's had since they were much younger. they only recently made it official before moving to hoenn-- their honedge had lived near them in galar, and they'd frequently interacted, but it had been wild for quite some time.

they stop climbing when shalin releases her massive venusaur. if she could see her eyes behind their hair, they'd be popping ouit of their skull right now. in shock, their grip on the ladder loosens. feeling this, their honedge tightens its own grip on their arm, reminding them of where they are.

sterling shakes themself out of it. "i don't have... uh, experience, with... sleep powder, but i know how it works," they say. "my kirlia... knows hypnosis, though." the problem is that lancelot wouldn't be able to reach the nests by himself... but shalin seems to have a plan, and sleep powder should work pretty well for their purposes. if necessary, their kirlia's hypnosis can be a backup plan.

once they reach the top, sterling gazes at the bird pokemon guarding their nests. they wish they could just talk to them, tell them that they're in a dangerous location, but... sadly, that's impossible.

[ Shalin Nariya ]

One of Shalin's weaknesses as a Ranger Captain-to-be was rearing its ugly head: while she was far from intimidating, her Pokémon were. All of them were big. Some of them, like Saria, were terrifyingly so. Her vine was so big and thick that Shalin could sit on the bulb at the end of it and wrap her legs around it like she was riding a Dragonair.

When Sterling let out some exasperated words, mentioning that they had a Kirlia with Hypnosis, Shalin took the opportunity to use this as a confidence booster for her partner. "Hypnosis is easier to control than Sleep Powder," she pointed out to them. "Let's have your Kirlia try it first!" She cupped her hands and tilted her head down. "Hey Saria, think you could stretch your other vine up here?"

With a nod, the grass-type obeyed, drawing out an equally thick vine next to Sterling. Sensing their previous unease with the ladder, Shalin offered to help Sterling with that issue, as well. "If climbing is what's scaring you, you can hop on my Venusaur's vine! She won't drop you, and you could get your Kirlia right up to the nest, where the Hypnosis will be most effective!"

sterling clings harder to the ladder at the thought of riding her venusaur's vine. she says it won't drop them, but... oof. they feel a lot more secure having something to hold onto. "i-i'm alright up here," they call out nervously. using one hand, they fumble with their bag until they've got ahold of lancelot's pokeball. they release him onto the vine, where he balances perfectly. the kirlia peers curiously around him.

sterling seems a bit more comfortable talking to him than to shalin. "hey, lancelot," they say quietly. "we're just gonna be putting these guys to sleep and moving their nests, alright? can you use your hypnosis?" they point at the birds nestled away, oblivious to what's coming. sterling's kirlia nods.

"...al... alright. we're ready... i think." with two of their pokemon at their side, sterling waits for permission to begin.

[ Shalin Nariya ]

As stable as the vines were, Shalin understood Sterling's hestiancy. There wasn't a lot to hold onto at the end of the vine, and all it took was one flinch from the Pokémon for chaos to ensue. "Figured I'd at least ask! If you're more comfortable climbing, that's a-okay!"

With the Kirlia in position, Shalin called out to her Venusaur. "Hey Saria, can you get your SLEEP POWDER ready in case something goes awry?" With a nod that shook the rider some, the grass-type confirmed her readiness, remaining silent as to not scare the wilds. "Alright, Sterling, fire away when you're ready!" she turned back toward the nervous young man. Saria's spare vine floated toward the nest, ready to grab the small birds after they had fallen asleep and safely ferry them to the ground.

the taillow and swellow have no idea what's coming. the swellow eyes them warily but doesn't put up a fight just yet; a massive venusaur isn't exactly the most subtle thing in the world. though they're aware of the rangers' presence, the birds aren't going anywhere. if it was that easy to scare them off, it probably wouldn't have been necessary to call rangers in to do this job in the first place.

lancelot stands at the ready. sterling waits a moment, hanging onto the ladder for dear life. just let the swellow get distracted... there! the bird's focus changes to one of its babies. "use hypnosis," sterling mumbles quietly. the kirlia balancing on the vine turns his gaze toward the nest, and shoots off a hypnosis, eyes glowing... but at the last moment, the swellow looks up and sees the attack coming. it narrowly dodges it, and takes off into the air with a beating of its wings. the taillow in the nest squawk urgently, realizing something is going on. the hypnosis manages to hit one of them, but only one.

the swellow has its eyes fixated on sterling's kirlia. "uh oh--"

[ Shalin Nariya ]

Seeing the Swellow airborne, things were starting to unravel. As much as she wanted to watch them try to resolve the situation themselves, that bird was way too speedy. Seeing it zip above streets and around power lines, Shalin wished she could fly on one. Sadly, the blue birds were too small for her to sit on, even at the size they had been recorded at coming out of Distortions. Knowing what she had to do, she clutched the vine's bulb tightly. "Saria, use SLEEP POWDER!"

The Venusaur shook her giant flower about, the motion sending pulses up her vines and flicking the tenured Ranger about. While it didn't have the supersonic speed and power of a Vine Whip's crack, every undulation felt like she was being flung into a thick foam wall from not being Sygna Suited up. "Careful, Saria!" she shouted through her delirium, dizziness quickly setting in from feeling like she was being yanked in multiple directions at the same time.

Pollen catapulted into the air from the pressure the Venusaur had built up inside her flower, anything inside the cloud suffering from intense lethargy. If drowsiness would cause Sterling's hold on the ladder to become wobbly, Shalin would have Saria catch them with her other vine and gently ferry them to the ground.

the swellow is heading straight for sterling's kirlia; thankfully, shalin intervenes with a timely sleep powder. the particles coat the bird, and its eyes begin to flutter closed before it can begin its assault. slowly, it flutters to the ground and then falls asleep, its wings still partially outstretched.

the flapping of the swellow's wings, sadly, send some of the dust over to sterling. they can't help but inhale some of it, and their eyes start to grow heavy as well. first their grip on the ladder tightens as they realize what's happening... and then it loosens. they can't fight the drowsiness, and slowly start to fall backwards.

seeing this, lancelot the kirlia startles, and his eyes start to glow red. his psychic catches sterling before they can fall, and holds them in place, hovering by the ladder. the kirlia breathes a sigh of relief now that he knows everyone is safe.

[ Shalin Nariya ]

Saria held her other vine beneath Sterling, but it seemed their precaution was not needed. The young individual's Kirlia came to their rescue, setting them on the ground with ease. Shalin's Venusaur slowly lowered her vine, setting the wild child on her own two legs and letting her hop off. She was still a bit woozy from the way the vine had shaken her around, but was otherwise okay.

Once she had her bearings about her, Shalin gave Sterling a pat on the back if they allowed it. "You okay?" she asked. "I think this is a job well done. Just gotta clean up and get these birds to a Pokémon Center for treatment. After that, we can let them back into the wild." While they were speaking, Saria extended her vine to scoop up the empty nest for relocation elsewhere in the city. It did not matter where they moved it, so long as it was away from electrical maintenance equipment. "Wanna get some lunch together? Rustboro's got some good sandwich shops near Ranger HQ. Wouldn't be too big of a detour."

even just inhaling a few spores of sleep powder was enough to knock sterling out for a solid few seconds. they're recovering from it, but clearly drowsy and unsettled, wobbling as they stand. their honedge is still holding onto them, helping them to stay upright, and their kirlia watches to make sure they don't start to fall asleep again. for all of sterling's hesitations, their pokemon certainly seem to care for them just as much as sterling does them.

"hwuh? i, uh..." if they weren't so damn out of it, they might have refused, making an excuse to avoid further human contact. but half their mind is elsewhere, wondering if they can use lancelot's hypnosis to help them sleep at night when they need to fix their sleep schedule. dumbly, sterling just agrees to whatever shalin says right now. "y-yeah, sure, i guess." they won't realize what they've said until they're already at the sandwich shop. at least the food will be good... even if they're embarrassed about their usual order being so sparse, given that they're quite the picky eater.

mission accomplished! and with only a little collateral damage.

[ Shalin Nariya ]

Sterling seemed ready to pass out, the Rookie having inhaled too much Sleep Powder. Shalin popped open the Poké Balls containing Serena and Letheia to provide support for her exhausted partner if need be. Regardless of travel arrangements, she would lead the way to the aforementioned sandwich shop. It was close to Ranger HQ, delicious, and most importantly, didn't break the budget.

Her mouth salivated as she got in line. A turkey sub sounded so delicious about now. Thankfully for Sterling, the line wasn't long, letting them place their order quickly. "Sit at a table and rest, Sterling. I'll bring your food to you. Getting a meal in you might be what you need to wake up." After a quick bite to eat, the two would return to Ranger HQ to turn in their job, and most importantly, obtain their checks.