Having been furloughed, Raju decided to do various odd jobs to get by. Which also included helping the League with various stuff. Which was good, seeing as he was a gym trainer for one Josh Devlin. Sea Mauville was also close enough that he didn't have much in the way of traveling expenses. This particular job included working with a Ranger Captain to retrieve some stuff from the depths. The recent fighting had been brutal. Thankfully, Rocket hadn't tried anything on Mauville itself. But close by was another story. He was to help retrieve a safe from a fallen vessel. He had a good team of water type Pokemon that would make that relatively easy. Add in the ranger captain, and he was sure this was going to be a cake walk.

Sadly, he was running a little late no thanks to some morons who didn't know how to drive. On his scooter, the blonde got to the spot he was meeting the captain. Clad in swimming shoes, a form fitting swimming shirt, belt with six pokeballs on it, and trunks, all black, Raju bowed apologetically. "Sorry for being late. Traffic was...surprisingly heavy." It was a shock. Either way, he took out two of his pokeballs and tossed them, showing Finny the Swampert and Typhon the Gyarados, which was smaller than a normal one. "Ready whenever you are."


Shalin Nariya

Shalin was a little surprised to see Raju traveling using a scooter instead of a Pokémon. Wasn't he employed with Mauville Gym? No matter. He was here, even if a bit tardy. "It's okay; sea travel has been a mess this summer," the Captain tried to comfort Raju. "With the region about to break out into a full-scale war, things have gotten a little crazy."

With that, Shalin would go over the operation with Raju. "So in Sea Mauville's southeast quadrant, there's a vessel at the coordinates I'm sending you now. On the very bottom level of that vessel is a safe we need to bring to the surface. Rocket's probably after it, too. Be ready for a lot of underwater combat; I trust you have a Pokémon that can help you breathe underwater."

Shalin waited for Raju to hop onto one of his Pokémon or demonstrate how he was traveling to their destination before continuing. "The only advantage we have is that we have the vessel's schematic and know where the safe is at. We just have to beat them to it. Let's go!" With a squeeze to the steel-type's sides, Jorn was off at a brisk pace -- and climbing.

---

Raju Mystic

36. Organize and manage logistics of the operation.

{PC: 2}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Jorn          Empoleon       Good

She wasn't mad or anything. Awesome, she wasn't a stickler. Though the upcoming war was also quite...concerning. He thought they always were, just more...subtle. But then again, he was more observant in more localized areas. Miss Nariya went over the operation. About what he expected. Except for that last part. A...Pokemon that can help you breath underwater? "Like what?" He was really curious on this point, since he was pretty sure Empoleon wasn't one of those Pokemon either. Though it did remind him to take out his rebreather and the small oxygen tanks to replace every so often.

The blond hopped onto Typhon, his faster Pokemon. Finny was there as defense. Already knowing where the ship was, the Swampert moved ahead. Though soon enough, the ranger started the pace. Typhon didn't have any issues keeping up. Though Finny wasn't a racer, they were a fighter. Thankfully, they didn't have to punch out any Pokemon out of the way. But if Rocket had beaten them to it, it may be helpful...

Shalin Nariya

Empoleon wasn't one of those Pokémon, but Milotic was. The deep-sea Pokémon was adept at forming giant air bubbles around itself, making it possible to breathe even at Sea Mauville's depths. If her air supply ran low, she could rely on Levy to top it off. Raju Mystic could, too.

It would not take the Swampert and Empoleon long to get to the sunken vessel. Thankfully, League comms worked just fine underwater. "See if you can find us a way inside. If not... we might have to brute force our way through." The Steel-type was more than capable of it; an Empoleon's horns weren't just for show. They were some of the most dangerous weapons the species possessed. "And keep your eyes open for Rocket," she reiterated as Jorn made a counterclockwise turn, doing as she asked Raju to do.

---

Raju Mystic

25. Perform thorough searches of the area to locate missing individuals or threats.

{PC: 3}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Jorn          Empoleon       Good
Levy          Milotic        Good

She didn't answer him. That was annoying. Hopefully that wasn't a sign of things to come. As they dove in, they found the ship quickly enough. Raju swam off of Typhon the Gyarados, and had one of the scariest fish around swim a patrol around the place. He heard the ranger on the coms. "Roger. Though we might want to avoid having to do that." Between angering anything inside and potentially damaging the safe, and its contents, brute force wasn't always the way to go. And that was coming from a brute force type of guy. Finny the Swampert and Raju tried to find a way in. Starting with the deck. Door was locked. Or barracaded. Going to the wheelhouse, that was unlocked. And there was a way in. Swimming through the hole, he passed by a dead body. Moving on, the blond found himself inside the ship proper.

"Found a way in. Wheelhouse." Raju and Finny cautiously swam forward, flashlights on. It was they passed an open door that Finny got attacked by a Tentacool. The duo wrestled away from Raju as he swung a fist at the Rocket trainer that exited shortly after, complete with their uniform. That...didn't do much. Underwater fighting was so much different than on the surface. They also started to wrestle around in the hallway, with Raju initially being on the backfoot. But the fighter soon showed his muscle and had the guy pinned against the wall at the floor. If one was already here...where were the others? Looking up, he noticed Finny had the Tentacool frozen on the "ceiling," and stuck. Still...he waited for Shalin to arrive.



Shalin Nariya

Shalin breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Raju had found a way in. "Wonderful work, Raju," the Captain replied, her speedy Empoleon following the Orthrus member into the sunken ship. Seeing the bodies strewn about the ship, some of which looked recent, made her shiver on the inside. Had Rocket known and was here for the safe, as well?

Once the coast was clear, Shalin approached Raju, Jorn landing on the corridor's floor to give both mount and rider a breather. "I don't like that Rocket's found this vessel first. We gotta hurry up and find that safe before they do," she urged. With her Milotic being so large, Levy wouldn't be able to easily search such cramped quarters. "I'm taking this thug up to the surface to question him. Be back as soon as I can." With that, she left to extract as much information as she could from the agent...

---

Raju Mystic

{PC: 4}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Jorn          Empoleon       Good
Levy          Milotic        Good

Shalin complimented his work, and found him with one of the Rocket goons. She didn't like that they were there first. Just meant more excitement to him. She took the goon to the surface to get more information from him. Raju and Finny continued to explore the ship. They found more bodies, those that couldn't escape or got trapped. But so far it was quiet again. Too quiet. The blond soon found himself to the deepest part of the ship, the cargo hold. And yet, he still didn't see any strange lights or any other sign that the Rocket was in a team. This was very wierd to him. Sure, he was doing this by himself right now, but originally it was the two of them searching.

Finding a safe, it was a small thing. He almost missed it. This was worrying. No one around. Finny's guard was up as well. "Found the safe. Still no other signs of Rocket." Cautiously swimming towards it, he was about to grab the safe when he decided to check under it. Wires. That shouldn't be there. Looking underneath, he found it. A bomb. "Problem. Safe is booby-trapped. Orders?" Maybe that's why there was only the one Rocket. He was bait, to let them know that something was up. Or to make them rush and then blow them up and then take the safe. Raju was no bomb expert. And so he awaited orders from Shalin on the plan.


Shalin Nariya

Raju had every right to be suspicious that there was only a single Rocket survivor. Once Shalin had finished questioning the lone agent, threatening the use of a Vine Whip ride that would leave them in pain without a Sygna Suit, she had discovered the worst. Rocket had already pilfered the documents, and that the safe in the hull was a trap to lure high-profile Leaguers to their deaths. "Raju, it's a red herring! Get out of there as soon as you--"

Click.

"Say sayonara to your friend, lady..."

Hurling her Venusaur's Poké Ball to the most stable part of the wreck, Shalin's Sygna Suit materialized in place of her diving gear. A VINE WHIP grew from the palm of her hand, which she used to crack at the captured Rocket's cheek and knock him out. That cut looked nasty!

Shalin urgently radioed back to Raju. "Raju, get out of there, NOW!"

For the clock, and the fuse, were both ticking...

---

Raju Mystic

{PC: 5}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Jorn          Empoleon       Good
Levy          Milotic        Good
Saria         Venusaur       Good

As soon as Shalin spoke, Finny moved in and used Protect to defend him and itself from the explosion. The blond's Gyarados got closer to the new hole in the ship, looking around for any threats, seeing the shine of the Protect. Knowing that Raju was safe, Typhon continued to patrol the area. Raju was not amused by the explosive going on. One good bit of news...the safe was fine. Just a dent in the bottom and some marks. Grabbing the safe, he started to swim up. "I'm fine. Finny knows Protect. Rocket best not be there when I arrive." He was going to punch the shit out of him. The former gang member told Finny to assist Typhon in securing the waters for now.

Upon reaching the surface, he saw the Rocket was still there. Taking off his gear and dropping the safe, he dangeriously approached the guy, who was starting to stutter. All it took was one punch to knock out a tooth and knock the guy out. Pity. Taking the safe and putting it upright, he handed it off to Shalin. Hopefully that scumbag will be picked up too. Either way, mission complete. If only he had more time with that Rocket...

Objectives done:
4. Send a pokemon for recon. (Raju's Swampert doing recon.)
12. Ensure sufficient supplies for the mission. (all the equipment they need)
20. Establish a secure perimeter to control movement in and out of an area. (Raju's Gyarados patrolling the area)
27. Handle encounters with hostile individuals or pokemon. (Mostly Raju and his Swampert, but some Shalin)
28. Recover essential resources or items.


Shalin Nariya