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Gladly, der frequent rentals of pokémon made Fenelle somewhat used to handling other's reins, even if the situation feels a tad bit different now actually knowing that this is just someone else's normal pokémon. Fenelle does think that Medli might be used to non-Josh people riding her, just judging from what dee knows about the Master of Faster and the fact that dee is now in the saddle.

Dee nods at Josh's last message.

It has. The fee is [insert the ingame correct fee here lol].

And then dee takes off at a normally fast speed, pointing the Meganium here and there. Most of der floating autism gang has decided to stop floating as soon as they started moving, and quickly crowded the area before the front seat so they wouldn't get left behind (which is the worst fate for any of them). (Dee vows to never evolve these idiots.)

The first stops were thankful, gladly - they're circling the outer city, avoiding all heavy traffic areas. However, a traffic jam is bound to happen eventually ... Dee stops before they reconnect to the main road again, glancing at the side alleyes to their left and right.

Do you know of any shortcuts, maybe? Or we can try ... the next location is exactly in this direction - if we wanna weave through some streets while keeping SWbW- Southwest by West.

Josh Devlin

Fenelle's final text would go ignored, not to disrespect dem, but out of respect for Slateport's laws. He didn't need to know the fine for texting and riding; Mauville had a similar law. Vehicle accidents were serious, but riding accidents were even more dangerous. A sudden loss of speed could result in a mount trampling over its rider, and could easily be lethal depending on how stout the mount was.

Josh wasn't very familiar with Slateport City; he simply followed the route that Fenelle had presented before, even if traffic made it a little slow. As nice as riding a Pokémon was, there was one thing that very few biological modes of transportion had.

That was a horn. And not the sharp kind.

While the delay wasn't too long, the traffic jam only taking a few minutes to clear, it would make the rest of their route a little tighter. At their last stop light before their destination, Josh stopped the narrow-bodied Eeveelution next to Medli and dee, the Meganium's SWEET SCENT diluting the exhaust of the motorcycle in front of them.

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Fenelle should've expected Josh to be one to stick to all rules and laws, which. Yeah. (Boooooring. But Fenelle also doesn't really want to get into trouble either.)

As they come to a halt in front of a red light, Fenelle seems to suddenly look puzzled. And then looks at the Meganium again, whose sweet scent got most of the autism gang enchanted. While the light's still signaling a stop, dee quickly writes out a text.

I didn't think of Sweet Veil being able to cover up exhaust fumes. Interesting.

But, something like Clear Smog would probably be better for the underlying environmental problem ... ... and there goes the phone again. It's only a bit to their destination, however, and it's only fortunate that someone is out in the front, too. It seems like they might be looking for something, someone to come by, and seem to be more than surprised to see Mauville's Gym Leader arriving.

"Oh, Mr Devlin?" they greet Josh as the duo approaches the shop specifically. "Are you- looking for some carpentry?"

Josh Devlin

Upon being asked about woodwork, Josh slid off Basil's back and retrieved the eggs that the business requested. "Nope! Just dropping off your order," he answered, Basil stepping perhaps a bit too close to the representative. The Leafeon's and Meganium's leatherwork were certainly impressive; it was a sign that Josh was quite moneyed. Why, then, was he doing a delivery job that paid less than what got him those kinds of riches in the first place?

Once their delivery was compelete, Josh pulled his phone back out to catch up on dee's texts.

The best shortcuts are through roads where the speed limit's higher. If you know back roads to our next destination, we might be able to get there a little faster. And thank you - it's a trick I picked up on when working deliveries in Mauville. Now, where to next?

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Fenelle lets Josh handle the delivery and social parts of the project, instantly returning to der phone as they stood still. However, it's actually for business - checking the location and route to the next delivery station, which wouldn't be too far from here.

Dee doesn't let the astonishment show that truly, Josh only picks up the phone now, but it makes sense. Well, maybe dee needs to be more careful too or he'd actually drag dem to the police station for minor offenses ... But, before their journey continues, dee would also respond to the text Josh sent.

I think there's actually some along the way ... they are a bit narrow though, so we're also losing speed at the same time. What's better in this case?

Dee has no idea how nimble his pokémon might be, or these two that they're riding in particular.

It's quite useful indeed. I should consider my Milcery for this, too ...

Just gotta be careful that she's not shaken too much.

As for the next, it's a couple of streets this way - we're just moving through the residential area here, so there shouldn't be traffic jam for the next couple of stops.

Josh Devlin

Josh cross-referenced Fenelle's route with publicly available traffic data. While the residential roads had a lower speed limit, it was a more direct path to their next destination. After crunching some numbers, he replied to Fenelle:

It seems they're about the same time, accounting for distance and traffic. Do you enjoy riding fast? If you do, we can take the back roads. Otherwise, we can go through the residential area, as you proposed. I'll follow you this time.

Holding Basil's reins, Josh was ready to trail his coworker astride the Meganium.

I don't particularly mind either, but we can go fast!

At least up to the speed limits here. Fenelle isn't entirely sure if dee would actually be able to keep up with what the Quick Badge Leader's idea of fast is, but has some insurance in this case that this wouldn't be any crazy speed that would leave dee in need of another lunch. So, their task specialties combined, the egg delivery goes quite smoothly, until they finally end up at the last adress. And ... another piece of tragic news.

"Oh ... that's ... Grandma wanted ... those eggs. But she passed away last week- and I don't think I can take care of these eggs. I'm sorry." The middle-aged person seems flustered seeing the two delivery people on their doorstep, seemingly at a loss. Fenelle does der best to make a sympathetic face (whatever that means) despite only having a faint idea of what might be going on - the viseme has been really unclear.

"Sorry, uhm. Could you- could you take those eggs in? Maybe? Sorry again."

Fenelle glances at Josh, waiting for him to wrap up the interaction before taking out der phone again to ask what happened just now. Dee can read however that right now, taking out der phone and starting to type might be somewhat of a bad idea.

Josh Devlin

Josh frowned when he heard the news that their final delivery was supposed to bring one last sense of joy about a dying woman. "I am so sorry for your loss," the Champion sympathized. "We will make sure the Pokémon within these eggs are given good homes. It what your grandmother would have wanted, right?"

Josh was more than familiar with the pain of loss, though with Pokémon. How many of his partners had died for the war effort? More than he wanted to admit. Seeing so many be taken from him had almost hardened his heart to the concept of loss. Once they were away from the final destination, ready to head back to Slateport Ranger HQ to report their completed task, Josh shared the news with dem.

They were for that resident's grandmother, who passed a week ago. I'm going to take them to HQ so that they can find better homes; I'm a little picky about which Pokémon I raise. Did you enjoy riding Medli? You're more than welcome to come out to Mauville Gym to learn more.

Even in a moment of loss, he couldn't resist being a shill, could he?

The conversation wraps up and ends without the eggs being given over, but Fenelle does der best to keep that frown at bay for the moment. Dee lifts der phone to type, but stops as dee sees the dots appearing on Josh's end, and simply waits for him to text first. Since that's the last station and they're somewhat close to der home, dee pats the Meganium, signing Thanks before der phone vibrates with the new message.

Oh, another death. Dee frowns, sighs and then nods.

My condolences for them ...
But yes, that sounds like the best course of action. It's getting late so I'll make my way home, it's not too far from here. But this was fun!
👍👍👍
I'm not much of a trainer, but thanks for the offer!

The latter part is not quite hard to believe as der autism gang already starts goofing around again. But then again, it seems like every civilian should be prepared in times of war ... or something like that. Dee however would part for now, waving Josh good-bye as dee walks home simply by foot.

Josh Devlin