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Beau ducked his head reflexively as the Salamence passed overhead, peering intently at the unfolding events as the dragon deposited its rider to the ground before vanishing back into its pokeball. He regarded the new arrival with a curious furrow of his brow; he was still learning about the structure of the League, but he was pretty sure that his understanding of the HBIC acronym did not apply to whatever this man was wearing it for.
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Moving forward, he returned the handshake firmly, a broad grin lighting up his features. "That's me," he affirmed brightly, "An' you can just call me Beau. Good to meet you, br- er, Agent Graves!"
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Straight to business it was, not that Beau could fault him - there were people at risk, if they weren't already beyond rescuing. "Yeah, I got filled in on the way over. There's a missing team of three, last seen goin' in this cave here." He approached the mouth of the cave, a slight frown wrinkling his brow. "No recon yet - that's us - but they're saying odds are good we've got a wild one in there to deal with, which makes me nervous for the nerds."
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He paused, seeming to catch himself, and corrected: "Researchers."
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Beau blinked as the Arcanine was released from his pokeball, caught halfway between listening to Gunner's introduction and marveling at the size of the canine. He was impressed, and he knew he should be, because he'd never met a pokemon with a middle name before.
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His brow furrowed as he considered his options, and after a brief moment he released his Swampert, who grumbled pleasantly as he maneuvered to Beau's side. "This is Nemo!" he offered proudly. "He can, uh, fight stuff if we run into baddies!" He nodded decisively, secure in his contribution to the team, and Nemo mirrored the nod with a discordantly happy smile on his amphibian features.
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Despite his extensive mental preparations, he had neglected to change the batteries in his flashlight, and so he was left to hold the dead light source in one hand - because at least the officer would know he had one - and walk behind Gunner as he led the way through the cave. When they came to the spiderwebs, his nose wrinkled in disgust. "Nah, I can't even pull those down if I wanted to," he agreed. "We oughtta- ohrightokay," he redirected hastily, darting after Gunner as the Arcanine advanced toward the webbing, and soon after Beau felt the heat on his back as the spiderwebs were momentarily a wall of flame, and then cinders.
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Coughing, he waved his hands to disperse some of the smoke, pausing as Gunner's flashlight swung over along the newly-exposed passage. A scattered set of enormous saurian footprints were visible in the shiny mud on the cave floor, and Beau squinted at them. "Those don't look right," he pronounced eloquently.
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Beau nodded as he, Gunner, and their pokemon made their way through the tunnel. He didn't have to be a strategic genius to know that the claustrophobic confines of the cave did not lend themselves well to a brawl. He should know, he'd once nearly been on the losing side of one near Rustboro. Fortunately, it had been Geodude mating season, and with the timely arrival of a herd of them...
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He shook his head brusquely, clearing his thoughts. Some things did not bear remembering.
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The Arcanine's rumbling growl brought him up short, and he peered ahead, catching sight first of the pokemon ahead of them, then the numerous clusters of Tera crystals that sprinkled the surroundings. Gunner's hissed warning drew his attention to the three fallen researchers, and his eyes widened in recognition.
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Moving as quietly as he dared, Beau shuffled, crouching, toward the researchers. When he reached them, he experimentally placed two fingers to the first one's neck, feeling for a pulse. After a moment, his shoulders slumped, and he moved to the second, repeating the gesture.
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This man sat bolt upright with a scream of fright that echoed around the walls of the cavern, causing the Walking Wake to whirl with a snarl, orienting first on the shivering researcher, then on Beau right next to him.
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Beau swore and dove out of the way, narrowly missing being hit by a DRAGON BREATH. Nemo bounded forward from the grotto entrance, retaliating with a ROCK SLIDE that sent chunks of the cave ceiling mixed with Tera Crystals raining down on the saurian pokemon. "NOT COOL, BRAH!!" Beau hollered at the traumatized researcher, who offered a whimper in response.
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"Uh, yeah, brah, it's MAD!" Beau bellowed back at Gunner over the melee. He picked himself up off the ground and scowled, picking a tiny pebble from his upper arm and flicking it away contemptuously. He clambered over to Gunner and the researchers, checking on the third man, who only had a low, whistling breath to offer. "Better than nothing," he grunted, hoisting the unconscious man over his shoulder.
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A lull in the fighting caused him to look up toward the Walking Wake, who bared its fangs in a vicious snarl before a HYDRO STEAM surged out of its maw. Nemo darted in to intercept at the last second, uttering a pained cry as the attack hit him and dispersed, a cloud of white mist filling the air.
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Though the strange pokemon was stronger than expected, two against one was still good odds, and between Gwyn ap Nudd's electrical fangs and Nemo's resilience in holding back the other's attacks, the Walking Wake was brought low, panting. Beau grunted and threw a pokeball toward the creature, but it whipped its head around and dove into the pool from which it had been drinking, vanishing with a splash.
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Supporting the unconscious researcher, Beau looked around for Gunner with raised eyebrows. "I'd say good on us, but I don't like our chances if that sucker decides to come back. I'll get this dude, can you help him and..." he trailed off, glancing to the unmoving researcher lying on the ground.
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