Devi ricocheted off of the boulders a few more times before Trey thought to take stock of their surroundings. He did it infrequently to check for wild pokemon of course, but this kind of training required more attention than usual. Regardless, something did catch his eye, though it wasn't a wild pokemon. He squinted further down the river, not expecting to see a guy suddenly wading in so deep that he might as well have been swimming. It was a nice day, considering the month and weather; he couldn't say he blamed him for doing it. What he didn't expect to see was a Sharpedo emerge from a pokeball before the guy climbed on top of it. Before he could form an opinion, the pair began glowing—

"Damn," he mumbled to himself, watching the transformation take place. He'd never had the tools to do it himself, but he'd studied Mega Evolution enough to be able to catch the signs. Devi paddled back to shore to catch a glimpse, too, Atreyu standing from his spot to observe.

Was he watching? Absolutely. Did he care that the other guy might've thought that was weird? Well, not really. One had to acknowledge that people may gawk when you just used a Mega Stone. He was probably used to it.

Slowly, Trey and his Mudkip made their way down the riverbank, stopping when they got close enough to be within talking range. "You plan on using this part of the river for training?" he asked, hands on his hips. The area was big enough for multiple people to train if they wanted to, frankly, but Devi sort of needed as much focus has he could get. That'd be a little hard with a Mega Sharpedo zooming around. "We can go somewhere else, no big." He noticed the Manectric on standby—saw that it had a saddle, too. "Do you race competitively or something?"

Josh Devlin

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"Oh yeah? Huh." He remembered a few similar sports events being announced over certain radio stations in Kanto, but he'd never witnessed anything like that personally—not a water race, at least. "I haven't made it out that way yet to see it for myself, but I'll take your word for it, ha. Still, on a Sharpedo like that? Bet he cuts through currents like butter."

He gave a little wave to the Manectric on shore, Devi sounding off his own "'Kip!" in reply. At this guy—Josh's—next statement, his brows lifted in slight shock. A Gym Leader, huh? He couldn't say he was expecting that one. Based on the location, Mauville was his best guess, but he couldn't say for sure. "That's—"

When the bass-boosted vibration thrummed through the area, Trey winced, watching as Josh's Mega Sharpedo tore through the water to take care of a Seismitoad. "You can help too, Devi. Try to shoo it away with a Hydro Pump, yeah?" The Mudkip responded happily, placing his paws back into the river before sending a pressurized, massive pulse of water from his mouth at the larger pokemon. Trey would've asked for Water Pulse—Hydro Pump was kind of overkill—but that probably would've interfered with Josh and his Sharpedo.

Trey heard something rustle in the bushes behind him; when he turned to see what it was, a little Helioptile came stumbling forth, ears standing straight up in alarm. The conversation and ruckus must've drawn it out. The ecologist watched to see how the pokemon would act, and after sizing the situation up, its ears lowered, the little lizard seeming to deflate with a sigh. Trey smirked; it must've been worried. He eyed the Helioptile curiously, and it watched him, too. Trey considered. After having most of his pokemon confiscated by Rockets in Kanto, his team had been extremely limited... if he wanted to get a leg up in Hoenn, diversifying his types would be helpful. "Yo, little guy," he said, and the Helioptile looked up at him expectantly. "Wanna come with me?"

It tilted its head, and in that moment, Trey pulled out a pokeball, tossing it and watching as the lizard disappeared in a flash of red light.

He glanced back to Josh, rubbing the back of his head. "Do you need any help with training? Maybe my Mudkip could make some currents with Water Pulse, or he could lob a Rock Throw your way..." He paused, smirking sheepishly. "Don't really have any rideable water pokemon to help with, though. Devi's way too small."

Josh Devlin
capture attempt!

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