Something something hares and tortoises, probably. Unclear how that came to mind, given that the master of faster was paired up with someone that did not even own a ride pokemon but instead very much went for a slow and steady approach.

In fact, Christopher did not use any Pokemon for transport but instead a good, old, reliable backpack that he had already shouldered with its precious cargo securely stashed inside. Balto the Boltund was at his side, but that was just mostly for company. Not like a grown man could ride a dog of that size. An Arcanine though? That would have been nice. He filed that under potentially useful for the future.

For the immediate future though, he exited the starting line and waved at the man who was probably going to help here. Well, either that or that celebrity just randomly hung out here, which he doubted. Still, Chris’ cool was unimpeded either way, he simply casually greeted the other. “Good day, sir. I take it you are here for this egg-spert delivery as well.”

Dead-pan delivery of dad jokes. Just like his own father had taught him.


Josh Devlin

Being limited to Pokémon other than felines and fire-types was a bit of a drag, but nothing the Gym Leader couldn't work around. At his belt were several more Pokémon that could help with the delivery. "I am! Elite Ranger Devlin or Champion Devlin, but please, I prefer Josh. Got assigned this last-minute, so the Pokémon I have with me aren't the greatest ones for the job, but they'll do."

Clicking open several more Poké Balls after dismounting Saber, revealing to Christopher the Manectric's saddle that looked conspicuously like a Raikou's thundercloud, from them emerged a Boltund and a Thievul that were quite large for their species, and not much smaller than Saber at that. Both of them, like the electric wolf, wore tack suggesting they had been trained to bear riders. "These two are Crash and Milo; they'll help with the delivery. You have a Pokémon for the trip? It'll make it a lot faster and easier."

---

Christopher Carter

{PC: 2}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Milo          Thievul        Good
Crash         Boltund        Good

He offered a shrug in response. “I got four Pokemon to my name, and most can’t do a thing anyway. But if there is work to be done, it ought to be done, right?” Besides, he was used to doing work himself instead of letting Pokemon do the work. That was why he did not have too many to begin with. They mostly were just pets, but he had been told to invest some more time into the business. And it wasn’t all too bad, really.



Besides, there was no shame in starting out later than others in some regard. His own Boltund took immediate interest in its kin, just walking up to it and sniffing things up as well. Apparently though, these were all ridables. He had heard of an elite ranger that was a bit obsessed with mounts. Guess that was Elite Ranger Chamion Devlin, better known as Josh, then.



As for himself, Chris just shook his head. “Nothing I could ride at least. Guess I would just slow you down unless I took one of yours. I did take the necessary courses for those sorts of things during training, at least.”


Josh Devlin

Josh frowned upon hearing Christopher's demeaning attitude. "Don't say that about your Pokémon! No matter what kind they are, they're trying their best for you. With time and attention, there's nothing they can't do for you!" Sure, individuals had their physical limits and were often best at a specialized set of tasks, but as a team, there truly was nothing a trainer couldn't do with them together.

Crash sniffed toward Christopher's Boltund before running circles around it. "Not now, Crash - you'll have plenty of time to play together when the job's over!" The obedient electric dog sat between the duo, his eyes shifting toward Christopher. "Feel free! They're used to strangers - Mauville Gym is also a riding and racing school, after all!" Though Crash seemed most interested in the older Ranger, any of them looked willing to ferry him about town. The other one would carry Josh, and the third, their cargo.

---

Christopher Carter

{PC: 3}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Milo          Thievul        Good
Crash         Boltund        Good

Huh? A rather strong reaction. But all he offered in response was a bit of an embarrassed shrug. “Didn’t mean to imply anything different, really. I, no, we just tend to acknowledge our current limitations. I am sure Starly would like nothing more but carry me to the skies, for example. But we both know that he can’t lift that much yet.” He idly touched the ball containing that one in the process. Honestly, he probably could do more to force an evolution in that regard, but that would seem wrong. That little buddy could spread his wings as fast and far and slowly as he wanted to, as far as Chris was concerned.

Both Boltunds seemed interested in playing already, but as the champion called his to order, Chris’ just kind of followed suit automatically, figuring it could just run besides the other. “The Boltund would be fine, I reckon. It’s a species I am used to, after all. Mine might not be as big, but he is still a good boy and sold me on them.”


Josh Devlin

Starly was a great bird Pokémon for the task; a Staraptor's extreme strength led themselves to be wonderful flying steeds. A particularly large one could handily seat two people, a feat reserved primarily for dragon Pokémon. "Once your Starly grows up, he'll be strong enough that you can soar the skies together." Come to think of it, Josh didn't have a Staraptor at the Gym, did he? There were so many common Pokémon strong enough to bear the weight of a trainer, and one day, he would have one of each. His Pokémon dying on the warfront didn't help in that matter...

"Have you ever ridden an equine Pokémon like a Rapidash before?" Josh asked, climbing aboard Milo and letting Saber pull their cargo. "If you have, he'll control exactly the same way. If you don't, I can give you a quick crash course if need be. No pun intended!" Perhaps it may have been intended, what with the Boltund's name...

---

Christopher Carter

{PC: 4}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Milo          Thievul        Good
Crash         Boltund        Good

“I am sure. Though I don’t think he is in any rush to grow up, and neither am I.” Well, no rush to push Starly grow up. Chris did consider himself a grown man, after all. Others half his age probably had him beat when it came to Pokemon and the battling and raising thereof, but that did not really impact him. He was doing things at his own pace, and thus were his Pokemon. As far as he was concerned, if Starly never wanted to evolve, that would be perfectly fine as well.



Though he had to admit that he should look out for a ride Pokemon of his own at some point. That just seemed convenient. “My family’s had Mudbrays for as long as I can remember as rides for the guests. It’s been a few months since I last used one, but that’s one of those things you just commit to muscle memory, I guess.” He gave a brief chuckle at the pun, mostly out of courtesy. Being one to make many of his own, he could not bring himself to fully ignore even the bad ones. “I probably can’t keep up on some kind of chase, but I guess this is more turtle than hare, anyway.”


Josh Devlin

Josh could respect that; while he didn't force his Pokémon to do so, the need for speed necessitated their swift evolution. He could relate, though. "I have a Type: Null that refuses to evolve even after being with him for eight months. We still... don't really get along. I've noticed that... rare Pokémon like him tend to be a challenge to connect with, but it's rewarding once you do." One day, he would be added to the rotation of Josh's legendary Pokémon for special Gym challenges, including the new one he had planned.

It seemed Christopher had the experience Josh was looking for. "Then for the trip across Verdanturf, Crash is all yours! Hop aboard! Just be a little careful with his speed; he's more sensitive to speed control than a horse Pokémon." His smile grew at the Ranger's analogy. "Yeah, we can't go super fast because of not just the cargo, but we're in the city, too. Pokémon, just like cars and trucks, have to obey the speed limit." With how rural many of Verdanturf's roads were, that speed limit was still higher than in Mauville. His Pokémon were so fast that it was often faster for him to go around the city and re-enter the gate nearest his destination than ride through it directly there.

Regardless of travel arrangements, they would ride and/or walk to their first destination: a flower shop not far from a Pokémon Center on the east side of town. Three of their eggs were to be delivered there. "The air here is so much cleaner than in Mauville," Josh noted aloud as he took in a deep breath, reining his Thievul to a gradual stop.

---

Christopher Carter

{PC: 5}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Milo          Thievul        Good
Crash         Boltund        Good

Not that he would know it. But Chris did not say that part out loud. He had some common sense, after all. Maybe one day he would get that kind of rare Pokemon, but for the time being, he just went with the flow and left it at that.

Instead, he carefully, but with purpose climbed on board of the ride Pokemon. Clearly, he knew what he was doing to an extent, even if he did not have the casual grace of a professional. He liked to think of himself as more of an amateur in anything he did not truly excel in.



But he liked to have the basics down like this. That was always the most important part, after all. “I never really had to think about the speed limit with Pokemon before,” he admitted. In part because he had mostly ridden them in more rural settings, but also because he had not exactly gone fast enough to run afoul of the law. “I will just follow your lead then. You probably have a good enough feeling for speed.” He lacked that, of course. But there was no shame in either that, or in needing instruction from someone more experienced.



“Mauville is just too congested most of the time for my tastes. But it can’t be helped sometimes. My kind of work tends to be in the city. Part of why I joined the program, at least I get out sometimes when on the clock, too.”


Josh Devlin

Crash let out a friendly bark after Christopher was comfortably in his seat, the Boltund ready to listen to his guest's commands, whether through the reins or verbally. "That is one advantage to being out in the country like this," Josh replied. One would think that a race track would be located in a much more rural part of the region. That his Gym was located just outside Mauville was a coincidence, having been the most open Gym from where the Battle Tower and Minor League headquarters were located when kyle lopez was in charge of them.

Josh slid down from Milo's back, retrieving two Pokémon eggs from the back of his Manectric and leaving the third for Christopher to handle. After a knock, the store's manager opened the front door, looking thrilled to see the eggs. "Just need a signature here," he gestured toward a clipboard he procured. While all three were of particularly common Pokémon, the species they contained were all grass-types. Perhaps the little ones would be for the business?

Their first delivery complete, Josh climbed back atop Milo. "What's next on our list?" he asked.

---

Christopher Carter

{PC: 6}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Milo          Thievul        Good
Crash         Boltund        Good

Time flew while on Pokeback, he found. One moment, they started, the next, they were already at the first stop. While the head ranger took on two eggs himself, Chris just made sure that the one he got was secured as snuggly as possible. These were rather fragile things, after all. He did not even want to think what might happen if they got one damaged. But that was normal. The fail case in anything that mattered was always best not truly acknowledged, he found. But that did not mean to run from the truth, of course. It just meant being confident enough to not fail in the first place.



For the moment, he let the other handle the administrative matters while simply delivering his own egg. That left him with enough to check out the itinerary on his phone before the other could even ask. When the question came, he had already prepared everything. “Next is a forester a bit more to the west, near the woods. Probably some kind of species that is useful in the woods like a Scyther.” Naturally, the last part was conjecture. But he always worked best if he had at least an idea as to what it was all for. Some context did wonders for his motivation. “Think we should split up and meet up again when we get closer to the city? I personally am fine either way.” They were not under heavy time constraints, after all.


Josh Devlin

Indeed, while riding a Pokémon, time seemed to fly. There was something amazing about being ferried about by one that moved at high speed. Even if it wasn't high speed by Josh's standards, it did make their job a lot easier. If he had gone any faster, he would have run the risk of shattering part of their cargo; Milo had one bouncy gait!

"Sure, if you want to split up the work!" Josh nodded in reply. "I can always track us on RaiCorp Vision." He hadn't forgotten the favor Josh Dragomir did for all the Rangers at Lilycove way back when. Where was he, anyway? He hadn't seen the tech executive in a while.

After exchanging route information, Josh would wave a brief goodbye to Crash before heading toward the aforementioned forester.

---

Christopher Carter

{PC: 7}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Milo          Thievul        Good
Crash         Boltund        Good

Ah, right. That thing. Christopher still had mild concerns about the application, from a data security perspective. And privacy, of course, but mostly just the safety concerns. He hadn’t really looked into it, but any tracking software always had at least the potential to be problematic.



Which did not mean that he mistrusted the one who made it. That man was on the other end of the tech hierarchy to Chris, after all. He probably was vetted as thoroughly as anyone could be. But he was always a bit wary of tech like this. Which uncomfortably reminded him of his own father.



So, for now, he just dismissed it with a light shrug. “Of course. Though I reckon we will just have the usual, uneventful deliveries. Not that he often delivered eggs, but it wasn’t too different from the grunt work he often did. Only he could not call it that since Rocket had appropriated the word. “I will see you when we get closer to the city then, I reckon,” he noted, before starting off on the loaned mount to deliver what he expected to be a Scyther to the forester.


Josh Devlin