There came a disturbance from afar as the brushes and shrubbery of the woods would shake along. Lucia looked around for any signs of trouble and frowned, wondering what could have possibly been lurking around in an area that was among the most peaceful in Hoenn. Yet as it grew closer, she reached to pull the incubator closer to her in an effort to protect it. It meant a lot to people, so she had to ensure nothing would happen to it!

"Do you he- Gah!"

Hero looked around with her until the Dunsparce emit a soft hum to let her know the direction they were heading in. The danger came in the form of a large Arbok that had made a bid to try and make a mad dash towards the egg and swallow it whole. Yet as it neared, Lucia scooped up the incubator and then scooched back on her behind.

"Nononono! Please don't eat us, please don't eat us..."

The top part of the snake-like Pokemon reared up just in time before it would come to rest right before the young trainer. But sitting on top of it would be a familiar face.

"Shalin?!" Lucia nearly shouted as the adrenaline coursed through her body. After managing to calm herself, Lucia stood up to meet the eyes of the ranger she had met at the VCT. "Yeah, we were on our way to Oldale to delivery an egg and I kinda...got us lost. What're you doing here?"

Shalin Nariya

☉

Lucia looked up at the giant Arbok as it was staring straight at her, or was it the egg inside of its warm home that it had been eyeing? Either case, it definitely wouldn't be too filling for the snake.

”Nice to meet you, Rumble.” Lucia said with a muted wave. She was much too on edge from the intense stare of the snake Pokémon to really calm herself down. ”You're, u-uh, cool.”

Luckily, Shalin had agreed to assist her in delivering the egg just in time for the festival. That was one problem down, but the force preventing the mission was still ever present in front of the child and ranger.

”Really? We could use the help! Do you know the way out of here?”

Hero puffed himself up at the Arbok, I flaring himself to bulk up and not appear so much as a snack. His trainer noticed this and quietly put a hand onto his head to help him calm down.

”I really don't even know if we're close to Oldale anymore…”

Shalin Nariya

☉

And just like that, Ranger Shalin to save the day! Lucia was happy to see that somebody could find their way back home to civilization instead of just getting lost in the woods all day. It was lucky considering that Lucia didn't have a phone, on the count of technically being homeless.

”Northeast of Oldale? But that means that we passed right by it!” Lucia groaned.

Hero tried to offer some sympathy for her plight by bumping into her leg and letting out a soft noise. Although not enough to push aside her frustration, the sentiment was appreciated

”Riding a Pokémon? You can do that?” Lucia asked. It was a pretty dumb question considering what Shalin had been on top of, but maybe she was part of an ancient family that could ride Pokémon like that. ”I don't really have anything.”

She was covered, as a strange Pokémon she had never seen before would be called out by Shalin. Lucia's eyes went across the surface as her eyes widened at the mysterious creature. ”Who is this?” She asked Shalin, carefully attempting to pull herself on the saddle while keeping hold of the incubator in the same hand.

One aboard, the trailer offered some small signs of affection to the Pokémon. ”She looks cool.”

Shalin Nariya

☉