virtual reality...? rifts...?

this was all viable information to intake. after all, the primary purpose of traveling abroard for him was gaining an opportunity to learn as much about the world outside of his home as he humanly could - aside from current events, that is. setting the thoughts of impending doom aside for the moment, it would be wise to concentrate on the task at hand: continuing with this expedition, with many possible risks still lingering in the back of his mind. alas, no amount of morality could measure up to the cumulative resolve of a nationwide unit. or maybe...

no...

discourse among rangers would surely prove to be detrimental not only to themselves, but also to the people and pokémon who needed them. best not to dwell on that right now. he'd rely on the info that'd just been given to him for the time being, etched into his consciousness with taps on his chin. "ghosts, huh? come to think of it...yeah, why not. i don't really mind them, despite all the nonsense about them being non-existent; it would be cool to see some for myself though..." he motioned, averting his eyes to his sword-armed companion in reference to it. the ceruledge itself was, in fact, partially a ghost.

expect the unexpected...?

if there was anything that silv had learned during his past life as a competitive pokémon battler, it was exactly this. of course, he hadn't expected to run into another person in this endeavor, and especially not some peculiar creature that he had just inadvertently trotted over. a oddly-colored stunfisk flailed about, only to be met with a swipe of the ceruledge's, uhh, edge!

"point taken..."

expect more of the unexpected, silv.

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD KLINKLANG APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD BLAZIKEN APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

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[attr="class","wildtab"]

She can't fight the laughter as she watches the Stunfisk. Speak of the devil, eh? A shiny this deep in the cave was very unexpected indeed. "How nice! I don't really do shiny hunting, but that's pretty cool." No shiny besides the Duskull she saw in that vision, at least.

Robin grinned as she thought about his openness to more ghosts. "Well, I know some haunted houses if that's your jam. But I do totally recommend the Border. You can even see a Marshadow if you hang around long enough for them to come out." She wasn't sure how interested he was in pursuing rare pokemon. She had been scared of Marshadow before she met one herself, and he'd been so persistent that she had no choice but to add him to her team.

Quagsire used focus punch on an aggressive Klingklang. Robin sighed through her nose. "There's a lot of aggression in the wild these days. I really shouldn't try to do any expeditions solo. Safety in numbers, yeah?" She wondered about his strengths, if he was better suited to wildlife handling or rescue missions or conflict. "Is that your thing - exploring the wild? I prefer to be dispatched where pokemon need help or are being rowdy and need to be redirected." Something about his chosen partner made her think he preferred a straight-up fight.

"yeah? i'm not much of a shiny hunter myself, but this? as luck would have it, huh...?" indeed, lady luck must have been smiling upon him from somewhere in the great beyond. and of course, even if it was of a species that the man himself hadn't been particularly found a need or a use for, there'd be no question in siezing the opportunity to add to one's collection.

"the border, huh?" a road less-traveled, perhaps? in any case, that little tidbit got his attention. "it's worth a look, when i'm not out on a job like this, that is." the mention of a particularly rare pokémon especially piqued his interest.

eyes widened, and focused as he considered the question, looking on as another metallic critter was brought down. this time, it was at the hands of the quagsire. was he truly more in tune with the wild than anything else? "you could say that. but at the same time, there could also be pokémon out in the wild that may need saving or may be in need of direction too, right?"

safety in numbers...

well, yeah! that's why he was here, after all. "speaking of wild..." ceruledge would now come to face to face with a creature that silv may otherwise would not have imagined seeing anywhere in the wild. a fated duel, or at least that was the vibe given off. a series of psycho cuts and blaze kicks would be exchanged between the dark knight and the bipedal avian combatant, a blaziken, bringing both to one knee. a stalemate, giving ample time for silv to launch a pokéball at the bird.

"and speaking of aggression..."

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD LAIRON APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD TYROGUE APPEARED!

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Robin considered his response. It was true, you could value battling at the same time you accomplished helping people, but the front lines and the background were distinctly different. "Be honest," she said softly, more seriously than she had before, "where would you rather be: surveying wildlife and rescuing them or putting bad guys in their place?" It wasn't a perfect dichotomy, as Rangers did do both, but.

She just wanted to get a better grasp on him. Her real advice would change based on his preference.

She ducked suddenly, like a sixth sense went off, as a Tyrogue kicked past her in the air where her head had been. "Aggressive indeed," she echoed as she straightened back up. Quagsire caught the Tyrogue's foot as it landed and jabbed him with a focus punch. Robin gave him a wary look. "It's going to be like this for a few months, I suspect."

"it's hard to say..." what a loaded question.

but was there to be a right or wrong answer to it? in any case, silv would need to be cautious with his response, in which he would resort to silence as he considered while walking. perhaps the girl's view of him, aside from a first glance, may be impacted by his answer as well. so there was that to take into account as well. of course, he'd been out on the fields - as a trainer or otherwise - for long enough to possess some means of insight.

shaking his head, he decided that perhaps...

"i think that, as people in our position, to have a preference in that sense may be...less than ideal. from our point of view, to say we prefer to be doing one particular thing or to be in one certain area, we may see that as playing to our strengths. but from the perspective of those who need us to do other things or to be in other places, it may be seen as negligence. regardless of how many asses may get kicked, or how many lives can be saved..." or lost for that matter. "i think versatility in this field is just as crucial as diligence."

speaking of diligence, a lairon could be seen headbutting a wall in an attempt to break through it, but silverio would disregard it, allowing time for ceruledge to recuperate from its epic battle just moments ago.

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD KLANG APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

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[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD MAMOSWINE APPEARED!

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He definitely had a good head on his shoulders.

"Versatility," she echoed approvingly. "I agree. I think it's good to play to your strengths, but every Ranger should know how to complete a search and rescue or win a pokemon battle. I had to take lessons to manage battling myself, but I've won a gym badge since then." She beamed. It had been a hell of an introduction to the gym challenges in Hoenn. She couldn't afford to focus on them, but testing herself periodically was a good way to prepare for all that was coming.

She came to a stop as a Pilowswine blocked their path. "I haven't seen one of these in here. They're usually somewhere colder than this." Displaced? Abandoned? She couldn't say. Some trainers did release pokemon in the wrong environment because of a lack of understanding where pokemon naturally belonged. Though, with the space rifts, it was hard to know anymore.

she seemed to be content with his response, a relief.

knowing how to play the field and how to command one's unit on it were equally critical to one's success, or so he had come to believe in his own time invested as a trainer. the mention of gyms, however, especially hit home with the man. he could aptly recall his time spent traversing the lands of paldea in search of his 'treasure'. throughout the years, even while clearing the gym challenge there, he had come to realize that the prize he sought out was nothing purely physical. rather, it was the invaluable experience he had gained that had given it all any meaning.

"you don't say...i wonder what the gyms are like here...?"

but alas, suppose that was a story to be told some other time. for now, surely there must be a way to manuever around this massive, undomesticated swine, perhaps the one remaining obstacle standing between to the rangers and what silv could only hope to be an exit. maybe robin would be right in saying that it may not belong in this area. but in lieu of current events, who could possibly say for certain? not silverio, to say the least. one thing was for sure though, that being this obstacle needed clearance.

a menacing staredown ensued between the gargantuan hog and silv's dark knight pokémon, neither refusing to let up. the mamoswine abruptly look to thrash out at the dual-bladed soldier, but the ceruledge would meet the beast in kind with a punishing flare blitz.

a stalemate. the hog yielded, seemingly acknowledging its newfound adversary's power. "...well, that was unusual. but...i guess i shouldn't be surprised, given the current state of things..."

right...