There was something in the air alright. The muffled sound of waves faded into the new background. Replaced with a quiet whine, which slowly grew in intensity. Any nearby Pokémon scurried to the safety of the brush in fear of the unknown as whatever it was grew closer.

What the heck was up with the racket? Maoja turned towards the approaching newcomer with a face that suggested she wasn’t amused by the sudden disturbance. This was her quiet time, darn it! Her chance to unwind! Hadn’t she dealt with enough at her job?!

Deep breaths, Maoja, she reminded herself. In… out. In… out. No need to get upset! Everyone else was just as welcome to enjoy the trails as much as her. Even if it scared off all the probably cute Pokémon she would’ve fed a berry or two from her pocket. With any luck, they’d just go around her and be on their merry way!

But it didn’t. Instead, it stopped a few meters away. That constant drone of flip-flaps made it impossible to even think. It looked… vaguely green? Hard to tell. And it had a couple of things that jutted out from it. No matter how hard she squinted, or how close she pressed her sunglasses to her face, she couldn’t make out specifics.

“...Hey, your… uh, Escavalier? It's making some really weird sounds!” She yelled out. “Might want to get that checked out by a doctor or something!”

Wait a second. Did a trainer accompany this Pokémon? Or was it wild? Please let the trainer be nearby.

She held her hands in a comfortable yet visible position. As long as the creature knew she meant no harm and had no way to do harm, maybe it'd leave her alone? “Whoever is there, can you turn your bug down? I can’t hear anything!”

---

Shalin Nariya

Holy smokes, how close would this thing–

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH–”

BEEDRILL!!

Maoja jumped back a few feet, away from the massive insect. She never got along with the bugs that had wings, and she certainly wouldn’t today. Unfortunately, she backed up right into a solid object. With her balance all out of whack, it was natural for her to fall over.

Right on top off, and off of, another Pokémon. Ugh. What was this one? It and where did her sunglasses go? “That's wonderful, stranger, but do you see my–”

She nearly headbutted the creature right next to her. A face as flat as a table, and as gray as one too. Its massive maw and sunken eyes were the only details she got before she once again recoiled back. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA–”

This time, she chucked a Poke ball at the thing that spooked her. Almost unceremoniously, the creature disappeared into the ball with a flash of light. Why hadn’t it run off? Couldn’t it hear that infernal Pokémon from a mile away?

“Ralts!”

One more time, Maoja backpedaled away from yet another newcomer in a hurry. She didn’t need to be right next to the thing, on the dirt and grass, to know what it was. Why was there a Ralts here? Ok, something had to be up for something like a Ralts to not notice the racket.

“Jimmeny crickets! Stranger, I think we got a couple of deaf Pokémon on our hands! What should we do?” She turned in the general direction of Shalin, still not exactly sure where she was. I think I heard her from the direction of the Beedrill, and that thing was mighty big. And I think I saw a saddle, or something. Hopefully she doesn’t crush my glasses.

-1 Poke ball, catch attempt on the Bastiodon

---

@shaylinnariya

Maoja saw the giant insect close the distance in front of her, a giant blob that attacked the much smaller one. It must’ve gone on the aggressive and assaulted that poor Ralts! Even worse, the racket it caused hurt even worse than before. Somehow. She covered her ears with enough force to crush a soda can.

And only when the racket stopped and the Ralts disappeared into a Poke ball did she release the pressure on her ears. Only replaced with the girl who also might’ve gone deaf. The way she yelled said so, rather. “My GLASSES! DO YOU SEE MY GLASSES?”

Man, where could they have gone? Her hands shot out to her sides. Nope, not right next to her. She switched her position to be on her hands and knees, then slowly crept forward. “If you see them, please let me know. Otherwise, I’ll have to buy a new pair, and they take forever to get shipped in!”

Another half-truth. The paperwork took forever. Arceus above, if the people at the DMV thought she was slow, they should’ve met the people she had to contend with for that process. Took twice as long, somehow. Bless their hearts, though, if they didn’t do their damnedest to make the process as painless as possible.

Wait. Maoja struck something hard. A black shape– yes! Faster than Shalin could get to them, she pulled them close. “Never mind, found them! Thanks anyway!”

“Now that all that hullabaloo is done with,” she pulled herself back onto her feet and held out a hand with her classic, warm smile, “My name is Maoja! That was… quite the greeting on your end! Don’t think I can top that.”

She pretended to not hear the sounds of chaos and destruction that occurred somewhere off in the distance. It sounded like that Graveler and Turtonator that always gave each other grief. Maoja only knew because she frequented this path– the two always wrestled somewhere in the forest. Nearly crushed her one time! Terrifying business.

“GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVVVLLLLLLLEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!”

“TURRRRRRRRRTOOOOOOONAAAAAAAAATOOOOOOOORRRRRR!”

CRASH! CRACKLE CRACKLE CRACKLE. If you ignore them long enough, they’ll go away! It worked last time! I think.

Pass on both Pokémon.

---

Shalin Nariya

“Well, Shalin, I’m not going anywhere in particular. Just on a walk,” Maoja motioned what should’ve been the general path. Used by all sorts of people and vehicles and rideable Pokémon, it also had a much smaller place to the side. Where they stood on the side of. “Good way to clear my mind and enjoy nature.”

The girl took a deep breath. Yep, that was nature alright! Also a bit poison-y from the Beedrill’s attack, maybe? And all the damp air from the nearby body of water. But there still remained a hint of that earthy, grass smell, and she was all for it.

But… which way to go again? All that excitement jumbled her sense of direction. However, it was a left or a right. One way would take her to Rustboro, and the other would take her to… whatever was North. Fallabor, maybe? Pretty far away though. She gave a quick glance both ways.

And the way on the right looked like Rustboro! “I usually go out around here-ish, little further, then follow the path back. Done it dozens of times! Perfectly safe.”

“And you’re more than welcome to join me! But maybe not your Beedrill. Little loud. Can’t hear all the wonderful nature sounds,” Maoja explained. Like the Alcremie’s goopy walk off to the side. The living-dollop of cream cheered happily as it roamed about. Its sickeningly sweet aroma reached across the path, but distance made it bearable.

But… there was a tree in their path. About a half-dozen meters ahead. Was that always there? Landscapers sure knew how to work fast! “So, any cool riding stories? Since it sounds like you’re pretty wild!”

Pass on Both Pokemon

---

Shalin Nariya