The approaching figure Fenelle saw was one of Hoenn's most recently-crowned Champions, Mauville Gym Leader Josh Devlin . Dressed in a blue, water-resistant uniform easily recognizable as Ranger garb, his Palafin steed sped across the waves. The Pokémon's snout was encased in a fist-shaped, aqueous form meant to mimic its Hero Form's JET PUNCH. Yanking on the dolphin's reins, Josh ordered a sharp turn from his partner, the Palafin kicking up quite the spray as he swerved, giving Fenelle a good look at just how big the Pokémon was for his species. Not a giant, but certainly substantially larger than the average one of his kind.

The Ranger's Pokémon extended his tail deeper into the water to act as a water brake, slowing down before reaching an unexpected guest. "Ahoy!" Josh cried toward the blue-haired individual before his eyes shifted toward the floating debris. "...Pokémon eggs?" he asked, curious.

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Oh well. There's several things to recognise about the approaching figure, the first maybe being a ranger, the second being Mauville's Gym Leader, the third being a League nuisance. Nonetheless, Fenelle stows away those feelings in favour of having the easy, genuine reaction to the larger-than-average Palafin that Josh rides.

(Also it seems like dee couldn't just up and away with those eggs then. Pity.)

Dee waves at the Gym Leader at the greeting that dee visually perceives, and then moves to quickly take out der phone to type. "Hi! I'm deaf, so I couldn't hear what you just said." Der Text-To-Speech module activates with the generic masculine voice, while Fenelle ponders how to communicate with the other further. However, in the meanwhile, dee notices that the other's been looking at the eggs, and points at them with a questioning look on der face. "I just found those eggs out here. I'm not sure if they should just ... float here?" dee continues typing on der phone to let the synthetic voice sound out.

The Lapras seems professionally undisturbed by the new arrival, whereas the Autism Gang both start displaying varying degrees of curiosity and reservedness, as well as just plain old social awkwardness. Fuecoco seems to be the most curious about the other two, jumping up and down on his ice float while Vanillite is making sure there'd always be an ice float.

Josh Devlin

Ecco hovered near the eggs, Josh spotting a message-in-a-bottle nestled among them. Popping the cork on it, he read the hastily-scribbled letter inside:

--

Crew of the S.S. Carina
Log 04XX2024, XX:XX HDT

We are done for. It's only a matter of time before Kyogre sinks our vessel to the sea floor. If you are reading this letter, heed our last request: deliver these eggs to their rightful owners in Slateport City.

(Below is a list of the Pokémon eggs with their recipients and addresses.)

--

The Ranger shed a tear for those on board the ship. He had never heard reports of skyler dross being unable to control Kyogre. Was this what happened to a legendary Pokémon that had become separated from its Avatar? It was disturbing. First, MATIAS SILPH and his out-of-control Patron. Then, Kyogre? This was one reason Josh was glad Swift seemed to be under his complete control... for now. Made out of Sacred Ash, the Raikou lacked a personality of his own, instead being a reflection of his bearer.

Hearing the text-to-speech, Josh would float as close to the deaf stranger as he could manage, typing out a message on his phone and showing it to them, requesting if they could exchange numbers for the duration of their impromptu mission. Provided they accepted, Josh would communicate to the traveler by text message. Regardless, he would show the letter to them and click open two more Poké Balls containing a stout-looking Primarina and Feraligatr. Both of them wore saddles on their backs as well. Provided they were familiar with the Gym Leader, it would have come as no surprise...

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Fenelle's eyes are locked on Josh's face as he reads the letter, and dee sees his facial expressions shift and change. Dee believes to recognise sadness, grief even, and worry - that letter must not bear good news, even if dee has a hard time picturing what exactly this means. As Josh approaches, dee leans forward to take the letter and read the message on his phone. There's one moment of hesitation (acting), before der right hand is raised to sign yes with der head nodding. Dee quickly pulls up the common messenger app, then the QR code to scan to add dem to contacts.

While Josh's adding dem, dee reads the letter with a fairly neutral expression, which is intercepted by a frown, and then a moment of upset disbelief - similiar to Josh's reaction, as Fenelle swallows the likely last letter of an entire crew, focused on at least seeing the eggs delivered as intended. There's also a hint of a more personal worry as dee then takes der phone and starts typing.

("Mille" instead is memorising it rationally - dee also makes notes of der current location, setting up a GPS pin on der phone while typing the message to Josh. This could be valuable intel about Kyogre's current state.)

Hello, I am Fenelle! That was ... very scary news. Do you think Kyogre is still around here? We should maybe try and deliver these eggs before anything can happen to them ...

Der gaze is turned upwards, too, wondering if there's any pokémon up above (or even down below) who'd like an easy snack.

Is any egg missing?

Dee cranes der neck, having another better look at the eggs and also spotting Fuecoco looking at the other new pokémon with wide eyes. (Yeah, from what dee knows, it's no surprise to see them already saddled as well.)

Josh Devlin

Josh would return the Rocket's message with a longer one, Ecco floating near Dimitri, the Feraligatr appearing somewhat on edge.

Champion Devlin, but I prefer Josh. The last reports I heard of Kyogre were in Lilycove some weeks ago. Could be anywhere in Hoenn. I can't imagine what a brutal way all those people on the ship went. Let's honor their final wishes and get these eggs delivered.

He counted the eggs, cross-referencing the address list provided in the letter. To his dismay, there was one missing. "Dimitri, see if you can find it nearby," Josh ordered. "I get the feeling we're not going to find it, though we have to at least try. It could be anywhere." Turning back toward Fenelle, Josh composed another text message to her.

There's one missing. An Inkay egg. Gonna forward you a picture of what we're looking for.

He would forward a copy of a stock image of an Inkay egg to Fenelle while his Feraligatr fruitlessly searched nearby, his wake perhaps upsetting the ice floes and making the surf a bit rough for Ecco and Fenelle's Pokémon.

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Fenelle starts wondering what Josh was typing, as the text message comes in again. Surprise is visible on der face, as dee hasn't kept up with the news completely - so a new champion, huh? (Dee should probably pick up watching the daily evening news again.) Immediately, der fingers would start typing a response,

Oh, congratulations, Josh!
And that's both ... reassuring and worrying. I really hope it won't be anywhere nearby here ... yeah, it's really.
Let's do our best so this all hasn't been in vain 😤😤

Dee glances at der pokémon while sending the messages - while actually cared for dearly, and stronger than they look like, there's no chance one braincell could survive against a Kyogre on a rampage.

However, the sea is calm for the moment, and Fenelle seems to relax, then worry again as Josh seems to notice something, commanding his other Feraligatr to search, if dee had to guess. The explanation comes in quickly.

Gotcha. I don't think I've seen anything like it while being out here- oh!
But there's this other mass of flotsam a bit farther away, maybe it got caught in there?

Now that dee thinks about it, there's been quite some amoutn of flotsam around here. But then, der attention is caught by Fuecoco getting dangerously close to falling into the water in the wake of the Feraligatr, alarming Vanillite. Careful! dee signs quickly, as the Vanillite does another Ice Beam, now freezing bigger parts. However, this wouldn't be sustainable and Fenelle leans down from der seat on the Lapras. Come up here, enough swimming. Fuecoco refuses, however, hoping from one stirred ice float to another, seeming to regard this all as a game.

Josh Devlin

Fenelle's reply warmed Josh's heart; this search was certainly a nice distraction from thinking about the late Kyle. He can't imagine what the Emergent's inner circle must be going through with him gone. Upon learning of the width of the floating debris field, he would reply to his partner:

I'll make a quick pass around here. Will let you know if I find anything. For now, I'll have my Feraligatr start ferrying the eggs we have to shore. His name's Dimitri. He's friendly as can be and won't bite, I promise.

Dimitri and Staccato helped load some of the Pokémon eggs onto each other, lazily swimming toward Slateport Beach. In the meantime, Ecco picked up the pace, the wake perhaps making the ice floes a bit difficult for der Fuecoco to stand on. His eyes shifted back and forth as he circled the floating wreckage at quite the clip, though still slow enough that he could keep an eye out for what he was looking for.

He provided Fenelle no update, though if they were to glance in the direction of the chattering Palafin, they would be able to see Hoenn's newest Champion hard at work. If the egg was in the nearby seas, they would find it.

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Fenelle nods at Josh's message - dee would leave the running and scouting to him, since he'd be faster at it than dem, as der rented Lapras is also rather prized for size and unfazedness rather than speed.

Got it! Good luck, I'll also keep an eye out should the egg be somewhere else. We will keep guard here and defend the eggs, and then also get to shore once the last eggs are over. Can one of yours also keep watch at the shore?

Despite being surrounded by a whole team, dee seems to not even consider splitting der gang up at all, like it's just a thought that never crossed der mind. (Which, true.) Dee then turns to Dimitri for a moment, too, waving in greeting, before signing "Dimitri"- but really, it's just the sign for Feraligatr with d-form instead of the usual form. We'll rely on you.

However, the wake isn't too kind on the Fuecoco, which seems to be enjoying the challenge way too much for Vanillite's sake. He seems to become slightly exasperated, and then just ice-beams Fuecoco himself, who's then become encased in an ice block - but hey, he floats now! Fenelle shakes der head at der pokémon, not being concerned because dee knows der croc-pokémon to be incredibly resilient. In fact, the inner part of the ice already starts melting, letting the pokémon inside wave his arms happily. Ralts, please bring him up here now, dee signs, and the pokémon readily obliges.

Fenelle's look lingers for a moment on the champ slash gym leader as he quickly makes his way over to the debris that dee has mentioned before. Dee wonders if that's a match with the behaviour of someone trying to drown in work, something else to do - get their mind off something. Or honestly, just a goody-two-shoes worker. Dee shrugs, turning back to the eggs just in time to see a shadow appearing.

Getting der pokémon's attention with a clap, dee quickly signs. Ice Beam under the eggs. Magnet Rise, to the eggs. Teleport to me. Sweet Scent there, Thunder Wave. Ember, Roar. Dee uses move-signs combined with the names of der pokémon, and they quickly get to work, saving the eggs from the sudden group of Sharpedo appearing, before quickly going to town with them, luring them slightly away before shocking them to paralyse, before a (now freed) ferocious roar from a tiny pokémon sends them farther away, too.

Josh Devlin

Fenelle's team of Pokémon had been able to repel the Sharpedo handily as Josh's dynamic duo of Dimitri and Staccato ferried the recovered delivery to shore. Even after the failed attack and shuttling the entire clutch to safety, Josh and Ecco were still gone. Had something happened to him? He was out for an awfully long time. Dimitri was growing worried as the Feraligatr kept watch, just as Fenelle had asked.

Just when Staccato was about to abandon his post, Josh and his Palafin returned, accompanied by another message to Fenelle:

A search of the immediate area turned up fruitless. It may have gone down with the ship. Either way, I don't think we're finding it here. Let's just head into town and get these eggs to their rightful owners. I'll file a report with Ranger HQ about the missing egg. Knowing the Pokémon in the area, it might be in the tummy of a Wailord or Dondozo by now.

A grim thought, but it was what happened to unattended Pokémon eggs in the wild. After all, Pokémon had to eat something. The food chain was part of nature, and one every Ranger had to recognize. If the egg was really important to the client, oceanographers would get involved. Josh was far from a marine specialist; if anything; it was the environment he was least comfortably in.

All they could do was do the best they could with the tools they were given.

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Ferrying over the eggs goes over pretty well, all things considered - except the bigger attack which has been swiftly solved. However, as dee moves over with the last eggs from the spot, dee looks around for a moment, then frowns slightly. Dee doesn't spot Josh anywhere - he didn't get lost or swallowed up by something, right? ... nah, that's extremely unlikely. So dee also gets to the shore again, but only found his two pokémon as well, apparently not knowing where he could be either.

It's a bit awkward while waiting, but dee nods at the Feraligatr and Primarina and gives them a thumbs-up with a cheerful smile, that then flattens out to a neutral expression once dee turns away. Actually not a sign of any dubious intent - just the way der facial muscles seem to work, hyper-engaged in conversation and not used at all outside of it. Then dee turns to Josh's pokémon again, signing, I'm quickly away - gotta give back the Lapras. Then, dee scrunches der face a bit, before using exclusively imagery - pointing at the Lapras, moving der hands from demself to the nearby rental station, just to signal that dee wouldn't just jump ship now.

(Even if dee doesn't have any commitment in emotions, dee's curious about the actual delivery, where the eggs might go to.)

After finishing up the rental Lapras business, Josh still hasn't returned. Fenelle's wondering what to do if the champ-ranked would actually not return, but he does then, with a grimm expression that Fenelle regards with a questioning frown, before reading the message and sighing, nodding.

I see. 😔😔
But we could secure the others at least!
Can I see the adresses? I can put up some routing maybe if you don't already got it.

Dee then pulls up der map app on der phone, which also features a routing option as well as other conveniences, and shows it to Josh for a second, before sending another text.

I do a lot of errands, so I know my way around town, too.

The joy of being a fully employed-actual intern.

Josh Devlin

The pensive emoticons were expected from Fenelle. Josh was disappointed, too. Such was his line of work, though; no matter how good of a Ranger he was, he couldn't save everyone. Such was the hardest lesson to learn for anyone with a heroic personality. He would take a photo of the address list and forward it to Fenelle when asked, along with another message:

That would be great. Can we stop at a Pokémon Center? Dimitri's not the greatest at moving on land, and none of my other Pokémon can do so at all.

Were they to agree, Josh would place a phone call to KEVIN STROUSER, his secretary on duty. "Kevin, can you retrieve Din, Basil, and Medli and upload them to the PSS, please? I need them in Slateport. Thanks." He was sure the grass-types would appreciate absorbing the dripping water from both Josh and Fenelle if they knew how to ride on land. Once Kevin had done as asked, the Leader said goodbye and disconnected the call, making his way to the nearest Center. There happened to be a delivery to a business just a few blocks away, too.

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As Fenelle gets the photo with the adresses, dee immediately gets to work to punch them into the app. For a moment, dee becomes entirely focused on that task, only registering Josh's message afterwards as dee sends Josh the finished map - a map of Slateport, with the adresses marked and the quickest pathing done and marked as well.

Fen hopes that dee hasn't stood there for too long, unresponsive to the world - that's definitely not something an Ordinary Person Does.

Dee shakes that thought for now, dee would need to do any adjustments to the normal-person.exe later (which. may or may not actually exist, somewhere in der brain), and finally starts reading Josh's messages.

Oh, one sec.

Before elaborating, dee changes the starting location to the nearest pokémon center and resends their current route. It's the tiniest adjustment that really doesn't do anything but please der brain's occasional, most inopportune needs for perfectionism.

Now it's good! Yeah, let's go, I want to get Olusola checked up, too, just in case.
🧊🧊

Dee points at Fuecoco, who honestly seems like he's in the best shape ever. Nonetheless, while Josh's sorting out his pokémon, Fenelle walks up to Nurse Joy and presents The Boi. Who is indeed healthy despite walking on ice floats for a long time, which isn't surprising to dem. The actual goal of that little interaction is clear, as Nurse Joy hands him a treat for being so adorable, which he claims with success.

As they reunite with Josh, dee sends:

🧊🍬🧊🍬
We're ready!
... oh we don't have a ride right now.

Dee should have considered that while Fuecoco's been fooling around to get his treats. (Which are also the only reason he ever goes to the doctor, since he seems to be immune to any kind of physical ailment.)

Josh Devlin

Josh was relieved to see the lines at the Center were not long. Slateport's vast network of them made sure trainers didn't need to wait too long to get their Pokémon the medical care they needed. Thankfully, all Josh needed to do was access a PC to send his Pokémon back to Mauville Gym.

Once the swap was complete and Fenelle was done checking up on their Pokémon, Josh would release three quite-large grass Pokémon for the last mile of the delivery: a cheerful-looking Sawsbuck, a Leafeon gigantic for his species, and a Meganium whose flower petals' SWEET SCENT wafted on the wind. All three of them were geared up for riding and the delivery, their saddles perhaps beckoning Fenelle aboard one of them. He would message them back:

That's why I went back to the Pokémon Center. You're more than welcome to saddle up with Din the Sawsbuck, Basil the Leafeon, or Medli the Meganium!

He didn't particularly enjoy typing their names out longhand, but making sure they weren't mixed up was important.