Andrea had been training her dragons in Meteor Falls when she heard a commotion of wild Absol yapping and snarling at each other. Whenever wild Pokémon went nuts, it wasn’t a good sign, which was doubly true for the species literally dubbed the Disaster Pokémon.

“What’s going on here? Calm down!” The dragon-costumed girl tried to placate the feral beasts, only for one of them to bite into her arm, eliciting a sharp cry of pain. “Aieeee!”

Chomper was a shoot first and ask questions later kind of guy. In fact, he didn’t ask questions. The shiny Hydreigon just barreled straight into the Absol with an Outrage.

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Chomper snared and growled, looking for anything with a pulse to tear it to shreds. Ro’s sudden interference somehow made things worse. The three-headed drake looked ready to trade blows with his sworn rival, his multiple jaws igniting with flames.

“Stop! I’m fine. Absol didn’t bite me too bad, see?” Andrea rolled up her sleeve, revealing no lasting marks upon her skin where the feral cat (fox?) had bitten her. Only then did Chomper’s fury subside.

Even if she hadn’t been seriously injured, Gardevoir’s first-aid was much appreciated. The dragon-hooded girl turned to Lars. “Been a while indeed. Any idea of how to get those Absol to calm down… preferably without hurting them?” She asked.

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Chomper kept his reptilian gaze fixated on Ro, while hovering back to Andrea’s side. One day, the two pseudo-legendaries would settle the score for good, but today was not that day.

The young PokéManiac considered the seasoned ranger’s theory, before coming up with one of her own. “But Absol can only sense impending disasters, right? Like a sixth sense. What if they’re just trying to warn us about something?”

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“N-no way!” The young PokéManiac blurted out. Even a whole year later, the wounds from Meteno were still considered fresh. Now that one of its three legendary patrons was on the loose, Hoenn had even less chances of surviving another apocalypse.

“Maybe they’re just stressed out because they remember how they felt a year ago when the meteor was near.” She proposed an alternative theory. “You know, like when you’re reminded of something sad or traumatic. Pokémon can have depression too!”

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Now that the Absol were no longer yapping at them, Andrea tried approaching them to see if they were hurt. If any of them were sick or injured and the rest of the pack was protecting them, that could explain why they looked so agitated

She noticed the subtle shift in the former head ranger’s mood when the topic of past trauma came up. “Move on from what? Did something happen?” The draconic cosplayer quizzically asked, turning towards Lars.

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The young woman pursed her lips. She could tell that Lars was hurt, just like she was hurt when she had lost Meatloaf, her Salamence. With war waging continuously in Hoenn, loss had become a constant.

“Who did you lose, Mr. Anderson?” The dragon fanatic mustered the courage to ask.

Chomper squinted his eyes at Ro, as if saying “Spill the beans, you hunk of junk!”

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Now that the Absol seemed calmer thanks to the Gardevoir's soothing energies, Andrea felt confident enough to approach one of them, trying to gently pet its white mane. "Don't worry. We're here to help you."

Speaking of help, Lars needed a shoulder to lean on. The guy had been through a lot. Even Chomper ceased his aggression, his three heads staring at the former head ranger with pity.

"I don't know what to say... That sounds so sad." The trainer of dragons said. "Didn't they leave you anything to remember them by?" She then asked.

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