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Blue was definitely angling to kick this guy’s ass.[break][break]

Though she wasn’t certain that she was really getting much out of the battles, apart from the fact that it was forcing her to come out of the hiding she’d been in after Galar. After she’d tried to flee the shadow of Rocket.[break][break]

Her eyes narrowed as the man she was matched against smiled winsomely at her. What was that about? Blue’s head tilted in abject observation, but she tried to be…uh, polite. “I’m Blue.”[break][break]

That was sufficient, right?[break][break]

Was he trying to distract her by being so smiley? She wasn’t sure what the endgame was.[break][break]

Bonnie was much more amiable toward her opponent— a low, chuffed wuff sent back toward the lapras that rose above her. Undeterred by the rain that began to fall, Blue tapped the tera orb in her hand and lit the mightyena in a poisonous, crystal glow.[break][break]

“Do you battle often?” she found herself asking. It was probably the most actively conversational she’d been for the whole tourney thus far.

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The woman - Blue? - gave him a flat, almost suspicious look. Caleb balked, blushing. Was his attempt at flirting that distasteful? His smile transformed from playful to sheepish.[break][break]
"I didn't used to," he replied, focusing on the question she'd asked him. "I only recently started taking an interest in improving my battling skills. I'm a talented fighter...on my own. But with Pokemon?" He absently ran a hand through his hair. "I've got some work to do."[break][break]
The gym circuit, training with freya morningstar, entering a tournament like this...it was all supposed to elevate him to a new level. Whatever that was, he hoped it would be enough to protect the people he cared about. Enough to stand against Zev someday, should it come to that.[break][break]
Lyra trilled, signaling her eagerness to get the fight going. A torrent of HYDRO PUMP surged forth from the rainstorm she'd conjured, heading directly for Blue's Mightyena.[break][break]

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Was she being a little too terse? The way his face flushed with color would suggest as much. Blue sighed, face screwing up with a flicker of frustration at herself before she forced it to smooth out again. Then— there was an attempt at a smile.[break][break]
It was up to Caleb whether or not he thought it was a very good one.[break][break]
But she figured she should at least attempt to go easy on the poor guy. It wasn’t his fault she was socially stunted.[break][break]
She nodded in response to his answer—taking a sort of comfort from it. Almost a little kinship too. “Me too,” she admitted, eyes darting away, “I used to be in the underground brawling circuit.” She paused, “Wait, you’re not a cop…right?”[break][break]
Hope not.[break][break]
Equally as eager to get the show on the road, Bonnie let a howl volley up her throat before the jet of water blasted into her side. She tumbled, but sprang back up, shaking out her coat before lunging forward to slam into the lapras with a SUCKER PUNCH.


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Caleb laughed.[break][break]
"Definitely not a cop."[break][break]
Could Rangers arrest people? He didn't think so. Either way, he wasn't about to bring that up, either. He was the last person to judge anyone for their choice in vices.[break][break]
Wait, brawling circuit? He gaped at her for a moment, her actual statement settling in, then collected himself. It wasn't every day that he ran into cute girls who were also fighters. Not the kind that battled Pokemon, but the kind that punched people.[break][break]
"I guess we have that in common, then," he commented, a newfound respect entering his tone. "What do you do exactly? Like, as a job."[break][break]
As if channeling her mistress's past life, the Mightyena surged forward to land a devastating punch to Lyra's flank. The Lapras bellowed in pain, then gathered her power and blasted a DRAGON PULSE right back.[break][break]

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She snorted out an amused breath, “That’s a relief.”[break][break]

A brow rose, though, when he insinuated his own role within the circuit.
Clean(ish?) cut guy like him? Color her surprised.[break][break]

“Oh yeah? Funny how that works.” She didn’t tend to meet too many brawlers around. But his next question actually drew a real, genuine bark of laughter when the realization set in. “A cop.” She laughed again. “Formerly. I just kind of bounce around these days.”[break][break]

No need to mention that she had been a mole in the PD and an enforcer after that. Or that THEO BECKETT was preventing her from successfully leaving. “You?” So okay, maybe she didn’t mind this guy.[break][break]

At the very least, this was probably the chattiest she’d been in the tourney.[break][break]

Bonnie yelped as the lapras blew her back with a blast of draconic energy. She skidded across the pitch then rolled back to her feet, baying loudly as she dove toward the other Pokémon with maw opened, full of POISON FANGS.

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Oh, so she was the cop. Well, former cop. That was confusing. Caleb eyed her, trying to make sense of this former-cop former-illegal brawler. Could she possibly be a Rocket defector like himself?[break][break]
"Ranger," he answered. "Elite rank, working out of Slateport." He paused, then made a decision. "I'm involved with the Amnesty Program. You know, for integrating former Rockets back into society as members of the League."[break][break]
It wasn't entirely true: he'd been having his own issues getting invested in the Amnesty Program. Memories of a painful argument with ollie morales came to mind, but he shrugged them away. Now was not the time to deal with the guilt he felt about that particular relationship. He was merely curious how Blue would respond...[break][break]
Lyra attempted to block the venomous fangs of the Mightyena with her shell. In response, she summoned a tidal wave of HYDRO PUMP to once more push her adversary back.[break][break]

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She’d probably said too much. Normally, Blue was tight lipped out of sullen reticence, but maybe not the most deceptive person. It was why she’d been plucked out of the PD, after all, and then put to work where she could use her fists and her aggression more frequently.[break][break]

Where it had been believed her greater potential was.[break][break]

But Blue didn’t really want that anymore, no matter how many times Theo dragged her back.[break][break]

Her head tilted as he explained his placement, and then went on in a direction she’d not anticipated. Something fluttered in her chest, strangely akin to hope. But that wasn’t something she’d allow to flourish–not when she was in the thick of it like this.[break][break]

“That’s a thing? I had no idea.” She hummed, eyes narrowing slightly, “Involved like…a leader, or a member?”[break][break]

The blast of water served its intended purpose as it barreled into Bonnie, sending her back a few yards with a yelp. But she remained a persistent nettle. Circling the lapras, she darted in and way repeatedly as she snapped at Lyra with CRUNCHING nips like a herding dog.


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"Just a member," he admitted. He was barely involved, out of a stubborn insistence that the League didn't actually care about Rocket defectors, but it was technically true. "I escaped Kanto a few years ago. Came here to start over."[break][break]
He shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant, but he knew the weight such an admission carried. Kanto Rocket didn't exactly have the best reputation, and for good reason. Out of all the branches of the criminal organization, it was by far the worst one.[break][break]
Lyra seemed to sense that she had some advantage over the Mightyena. Glowing with a bright azure light, the Lapras gathered power into her shell until it was super-heated with energy. A swirling funnel of water formed before her, which expanded until it was larger than she was. The HYDRO VORTEX surged forth towards Bonnie as the rain continued to fall around both Pokemon.[break][break]

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“Oh, I see.” Her response bore no real judgment, but something in her expression took a turn toward stricken. For someone helplessly stuck with hands tied, it sounded like a lifeline. Blue wasn’t so naturally trusting, though, and she had her doubts. If he were to voice his opinions, he would find her of a similar mind. Rocket or League, no one had really ever made her feel as though she mattered.[break][break]

Of course, Shinra Moro cared. But that was because he was Shinra, and she was Blue, and the nature of it had little to do with where they stood. And well. At one point, THEO BECKETT had made her feel as if she’d mattered too.[break][break]

Now, that only felt like a lie. Everything they’d lived in that fictitious Galar, foggy as it was now, had been exactly that. A story.[break][break]

What did this man, this Caleb, gain from telling her these things? Perhaps she was just another tally mark. A number in the system to make a program look good. Starting over? She didn’t know what the idea looked like anymore, as much as she’d failed to succeed.[break][break]

She swallowed down the flutter of panic in her chest, and let her gaze fall away to the footfalls of her mightyena as she struggled to turn tail and outrun the HYDRO VORTEX rushing her way. The torrent swept her off her feet and sent her plunging under the water only to be spat out on the far end of the field.[break][break]

Soggy and dazed, Bonnie howled–charging in one final, reckless bid to TAKE DOWN her opponent.

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Something in the woman's demeanor changed then. She seemed to fold in on herself, becoming distant as some memory or thought process consumed her attention. To Caleb, she appeared almost...melancholy.[break][break]
Did she have some experience with Kanto? With Rocket? Had he inadvertently triggered unpleasant memories for her? A pang of guilt coursed through him, and he grew quiet himself, averting her gaze.[break][break]
The battle came to a end as Blue's soaking wet, dazed Mightyena attempted to haphazardly tackle Lyra. The Lapras easily avoided it, gliding to the side. She stared down at Bonnie, amused. Droplets of water shone in the sunlight, the entire area coated in the aftermath of the Lapras's Z-Move.[break][break]
"Thanks for the battle," Caleb said finally, ending the awkward silence. He regarded Blue once more, then walked up and held out his hand. "If you're ever in need of a Ranger, look me up. Last name's Harcourt."[break][break]
A small smile touched his lips.[break][break]
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Had she made it weird? It seemed like she had. Frustrated, Blue shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. The silence was heavy, muting even the battle sounds in her ears.[break][break]
Her issues were not his to shoulder, or suffer the consequences of. Her broken, sullen behavior. Her inability to hold a normal conversation without devolving into a dodgy, skittish mess. A cornered dog, much like her own companion.[break][break]
There was nowhere left for Bonnie to run. And when the lapras stared down at her, she relented. The mighyena crouched low in defeat, belly brushing the ground as her tail swept low from side to side. Another match over, just like that.[break][break]
“Yeah, ‘course,” she replied, somewhat absently as her brows creased together. Her hand rose, pokeball clasped between her fingers to recall Bonnie in a beam of light.
Her lips pressed together as Caleb approached her, and her eyes rose to study his face carefully. Then, a hesitant hand reached back and clasped his. Blue nodded, slowly at first, before it picked up rapidly. “Yeah, uh–yeah. I’ll do that.”[break][break]
The tentative workings of a returned smile tugged at one corner of her mouth. Ghostly and flickering, but present all the same.


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