[attr="class","evantalk"]

He likely comes into focus a bit more clearly than expected and as the other draws closer they will find a gentle "Well somehow, yes." waiting for them in the pocket of weakening snow. His pokemon are clearly ready for the unusually harsh winter even if the native ones are not.

The Volcarona looms above his head, the waves of heat stemming from her gentle wings enough to keep their small cluster from fearing the snow. The Delphox beside him keeps the group on the ground warm, the mimikyu on his shoulder seems to be eager to cuddle into the scarf around his neck and tucked up over his chin. His hat almost slips on but she returns it to where it belongs before it can fly away in the wind and it is the Musharna at his feet that moves the snow out of their way as they walk, the psychic type being far too used to such endeavors.

"I'm a little surprised I got the call really, but I suppose the ranks have thinned now that everyone's safer than they had been huh?" he's more of a reserve call and he knows it. Truthfully he prefers it that way. He's got far too much on his plate nowadays to try and take on all of these endeavors as well.

He reaches up with a quick gesture of his gloved hand. "Meg, Solaria." their names are enough to move them into action, his mimikyu jumping to his feet, her copy cat allowing her to double the volcarona's heat wave and create a source that will stay by his side, the bug type moves to find the other pokemon in the snow, offering a buffer between them at the storm so long as they can stay within her radiating heat.

Evan cannot say he'll make things easy, but he's prepared to make it possible at the very least. It's not until the last second he realizes this face may actually be a bit familiar, though he can't quite nail down why.


>>Hi ovo/ Orion Lykos
>>Volcarona & delphox producing heat
>>Mimikyu using copy cat to also give heat via volcarona
>>Musharna using psychic to help clear the snow.

[attr="class","orion"]


Orion stares in wonder at the Volcarona; he's heard of them, but he's never seen one before. They're beautiful creatures, even more so up close. After a pause, the ranger directs his gaze back down toward her trainer.

"There's been more work than you'd think with this damned weather." His tone conveys quite clearly what he thinks of all the snow and ice, and he gestures at the storm that continues to rage around them as he speaks. "Half the Pokemon in the region need to relocate for warmth, and that's not even mentioning the idiots who decide to try mountain-climbing in the snow—"

His tone is grating, and he catches himself.

"Sorry. It's been a rough day."

He pulls off his knit cap to drag a hand through his hair pushing it back from his face before replacing the cap and starting to walk. As their combined fire-types and the Musharna work together to combat the snow, the man's face comes into clearer focus and the Orion frowns.

"Shit, I think we've met before." It's not Evan himself that's deserving of the grim tone, but the circumstances of their last job that has him grimacing. "We were defending a bank. You're, uh...? Shit, sorry, I'm not good with names." They'd met briefly and then separated in order to deal with the robbery, so what Orion remembers of the man is obscured by the broader memory.

"... that was you, right?"

It'd be a bit awkward if not, he thinks.

[attr="class","evantalk"]

Evan laughs, but it's not really at his agitation exactly. "No need to be sorry, I imagine this month has been hell for you guys. You called me and trust me, I'm pretty much the bottom of the list." at his own request, of course. Evan's helped the rangers in the past during his many travels, he can't be at the ready whenever they want but he can offer them an extra hand when they need it. Like right now.

"'Sides I'm one of those mountain climbing idiots too despite the weather, though so far I've gotten back down on my own without a problem!" there's a slight tilt to his head that somehow makes the gentle smile even more so. He's playing off the comment with a verbal grace that can only come from someone that talks too much to too many people.

He steps in line with the other, slight gestures to his pokemon adjusting their positioning so that the mimikyu's heat with cover the front of the pack, his Volcarona the back and the delphox will walk between them [the squishy humans] to ensure that they don't succumb to the weather any more than the pokemon will. His musharna only sighs as he begins winding up greater sweeps of snow with his psychic self- carefully avoiding burrying the other individual's fire types beneath the frost.

His hands return to his pockets, hoping to avoid the chill that always seems to settle into them too easy. "When the banks were new?" he glances at him again, thinking a little more about that adventure that he hadn't really deigned to commit too strongly to memory after giving an official report of the individual he dealt with.

"That's explain why you look familiar." he nods along, taking no offense at all to the fact he doesn't remember his name because frankly, evan doesn't remember anything worth shit without putting a lot of effort into it. "I have no idea what your name is either, I don't remember things very well sometimes, especially faces and names." it's more the voice that tips him off, actually.

"Evan Fader then, and I won't be offended if you forget again."

Orion Lykos
>>evan don't care it's fine

[attr="class","orion"]


Orion's used to his attitude rubbing people the wrong way. He could be abrasive and aggressive and some people simply didn't know how to deal with that... but this man seemed to weather irritation like he was made to.

"We've had less volunteers with all the snow," he sighs. He can't blame people; the last thing the rangers needed were a bunch of green trainers that didn't know how to conduct themselves in the changed environment. "Too dangerous, I think."

People were getting lost in snowstorms, hurting themselves when slipping on the ice, there were cases of frostbite from those that weren't sure exactly how warmly to dress... it was a mess. Snow might be pretty, but he'd give his left arm to never see it again.

His Typlosion lumbers to the front of the group, the intensity of the heat coming off her back helping the Musharna to clear a path for the duo. Behind them, the beleaguered Tropius trundle after the group with their leafy wings tucked against them for warmth.

"If you can make it down by yourself, you're not one of the idiots."

There's an edge of dry humour to his tone, now. This man is very... likable, easy to talk to. Orion's quietly glad that the rangers were scraping the bottom of the barrel for volunteers, because it meant having a mission partner he could stand to deal with.

He chuckles, relieved they'd both forgot.

"Orion Lykos; same goes."

[attr="class","evantalk"]

"Orion, I'll try to remember that." it's about a 50/50 chance that he will. Not because he won't try though, it's just not as simple as putting effort. Most never realize it but he's long since accepted that his memory will probably never be good. He'll write the name down somewhere later though, and that should make it easier.

Evan glances over his shoulder, checking on the pokemon behind them and assessing the group as a whole. They're clustered together fairly well but the snow and the wind makes it hard to be sure they haven't got someone straying too far from the core of the pack. He whistles over the wind and his Volcarona circles their group, corralling any that seem to be straying outward even the slightest back in before returning to her original positioning. He doesn't expect any of the tropius will go far but the longer the trek the more likely they are to misstep from exhaustion.

He waits until she returns to her spot to continue talking, eyes on her bright colors in the snow to ensure there is no need to address the pokemon directly. "That goes both ways, less people do the work but if people aren't ready to brave the weather then you risk needing even more hands for search parties than you already don't have." not everyone was ready for this. Most weren't even, at least around here. The region didn't usually have to worry about weather like this.

He looks at the man and grins a little. "Nah, I go up pretty unprepared, I'm just more used to doing this kind of stuff than most." he shrugs, not entirely convinced he's not a bloody fool because it's not like he's gone up the mountainsides prepared for the weather. He's already been scolded once for it even. "But thanks, I suppose I'm at least nto viewed as one of the idiots then." he chuckles, because it's funny how things work sometimes.

Orion Lykos

[attr="class","orion"]


Orion nods his agreement, glad that Evan seems to understand their plight. Some people seemed to expect the rangers to be everywhere at once, but they weren't superhuman. There were only so many of them, not all of whom were equipped to deal with extreme weather conditions. Orion was lucky enough to have been an avid outdoors-man since his youth, so the job had been a perfect fit.

"Yeah. I've worked two missing-persons cases since this whole mess started." Usually a matter for the police force when foul play was suspected, but the victims in this case had been a mountain-climber and a deep-sea diver. His expression is grim as he recalls memories. "One of them was being held hostage by Ledian. Fucking Ledian, can you believe it?" He shakes his head. "With spears!"

It sounds too ridiculous to be true, and yet he's completely serious and sincere in his delivery.

"Well, if I get called out to help you down a mountain, I'll try not to be too disappointed."

His tone is dry and deadpan, but he sneaks a brief flash of a smirk in hopes of reassurance.

Conversation is brought to a sudden halt as an ominous creaking preludes a thunderous crash, a large tree-branch falling victim to the weight of snow and ice and landing across their path. Orion's briefly seized by panic, rushing forward—

"Nova!"

—but he's relieved as the snow-blurred shape of his Typhlosion clambers over the log and growls her frustration.

"Well this is a fucking problem," Orion mutters. "Got anything good to deal with this, or are we gonna have to go around? I've got my Absol and Espeon, but I don't know if they'd be of much help, and my Hydreigon... well, I'd rather not startle our wild friends even further."

He gestures with his head back toward the Tropius. His Hydreigon was a temperamental thing.

[attr="class","evantalk"]

Evan's laughter is loud and boisterous and contagious as he listens to Orion. He believes him whole heartedly because he's seen his fair share of ridiculous things in the time he's spent traveling and truly, pokemon are limitless by comparison to things humanity will consider acceptable.

The crack interrupts him and the response is instinctual, his arm reaches out to stop his pokemon and the group behind him. "Vince, on your right" his voice is calm and firm and the pokemon gets the idea with ease, dropping the snow he's been shifting out of their way and moving the psychic energies into the direction of the falling branch. Uncertain of where it comes from in the snow he seeks only to ensure it rolls off in front of them and away from the pokemon in the front before they're crushed.

"Vince- the musharna has telekinesis but he's getting tired by now. Anything you've got with psychic properties would be good. He'll just need a little support to help make sure it's high enough for long enough for everyone to make it under. The Volcarona and mimikyu can herd the tropius under it."

His eyes have been squarely on the branch but his face never shows a sign of concern. He's not even frustrated because he supposes it should have been expected. Most of the trees in this area aren't made to weather stuff like heavy snowfall. They're probably lucky they haven't been faced with worse problems yet. He turns to the other individual, calm as can be. "Unless you've got a better idea? Vince will need to rest after just in case we need him again."

A tap on his wrist releases another pokemon, adding his own espeon to the mix. The purple creature flicks her tail up at him with obvious distaste for the cold but waits for whatever may be asked of her.

"I don't like the idea of stressing him out that much but I haven't got anyone with the bulk to deal with that, the other options will take too much time and I doubt we could get it to burn in this." He looks at him now, the worry about his pokemon a little more evident on his face now that he's voiced what was on his mind.

Orion Lykos

[attr="class","orion"]


There's relief in his eyes at the mention of Telekinesis: none of his Pokemon had such capabilities, but he's seen the move in action with Laurence's Metagross on the beach. The mega-evolved Pokemon had lifted a bloody Wailord back to the sea, so he had no doubt that a capable psychic-type could move this log out of their way.

Even better, he thinks his Pokemon can help.

"Support is what my Delphi's made for," he assures Evan, releasing the Espeon in a burst of light. She gives a soft croon in the direction of Evan's own in greeting, then looks up to her trainer with a flick of her forked tail. "I want you to give a Helping Hand to that Musharna there, all right? We're depending on you."

He bends down to stroke her neck, looking her in the eyes. They don't — can't — communicate with words, but the psychic-type can sense the gravity in Orion's voice and in the air around them, and her purple eyes blink back at him slowly before the gem on her forehead begins to pulse with energy.

She touches her nose to his, then wanders over to Musharna as Orion straightens up.

Channeling her own psychic power, the relatively-fresh Espeon gives Vince a helping hand by directing that energy into him.

"She's ready when you are"

[attr="class","evantalk"]

Evan smiles. "Perfect."

The musharna looks up at him with what Evan recognizes as a sigh. He can tell he's growing tired, as much as the pokemon is one of his must trusted friends there's no denying he's an old man of a pokemon. The psychic pink bowling ball doesn't hold up the way he used to when they were both much younger.

"Mai, Aether, support him."

The pokemon turns with a whine, just to be sure Evan knows he's getting tired but doesn't protest further. The pokemon knows he's the best for it, the glow of his psychic energy is stark against the white of the snow, a bright purple pink. The log begins to float in the air, not nearly as high as it could had he been fresh off the boat but they had quite the trek out here to begin with. The rest of his pokemon do the same, their psychic auras folding around the log to ensure it stays upright long enough for them get the tropius under.

A snap of his fingers brings the volcarona and the mimikyu back to attention. "Alright time to go, get them through." her spins a finger in the air and the Volcarona begins herding the pgrass type forward with her heat, intense enough to usher them forward now and ensure they move. The mimikyu lures them under the branch with a comfortable warmth, working together to coax them through as fast as they can.

Evan turns back to the ranger. "You know how many there are better than me, make sure they all get through." he was the one that picked them up, Evan wouldn't remember worth shit anyway.

He trudges forward with his pokemon, stopping beside the musharna and kneeling down to place a gloved hand on his back while he watches to be sure they all make it through, acting as spotter in case his pokemon falter.

Orion Lykos
>>feel free to handle an unruly straggler or something ovo/

[attr="class","orion"]


No matter how many times he witnesses it, the power of psychic-types never ceases to amaze Orion. The log is wreathed in psychic energy and slowly lifted into the air, Orion's Espeon wincing a little at the draw of her own power through the gem on her forehead. The helping hand she'd given the Musharna seems to have done its part, however, for the log holds as trainers, Pokemon, and charges pass beneath it.

One of the older Tropius lags behind the group, its movements sluggish and breathing labored.

"Calypso, go support it!"

He'd prefer to send the stronger Nova out for something like this, but the flames on her back might well cause more problems than they'd fix. Houndoom leans against the Tropius to give it some degree of warmth and Orion urges it forward with a hand.

"Come on, buddy, we're almost there. You can make it."

The creature lumbers forward on unsteady limbs but finally manages to get clear of the log and Orion quickly rushes underneath with his Espeon in hot pursuit before he nods to Evan.

"That's all of them, we're good!"

Squinting through the snow, which has thankfully let up a little since they'd started their trek, Orion's almost certain he can spot the lights from the city of Fortree. They're almost there! He laughs softly in relief, snow gathering on his shoulders and in his hair, but he can't bring himself to be weary with victory in grasping distance.

"I think it should be smooth from here on out," he breathes. "They've set up the shelter just across the bridge there, on the edge of town. Man, am I ever glad you showed up when you did! I don't know how we'd have gotten past that tree without you."

[attr="class","evantalk"]

His pokemon hold steady, the only man sighs underneath the mental weight of the log. He'll hold out, they both know he is just as stubbornly determined as Evan is. The musharna has been at his side too long to simply allow something like this to be a problem. He'll just be expecting one hell of a nap when it's over.

"Steady girls." his other psychic types follow the herd, though their focus stays on the log they tread carefully under it while the do, seeking to keep as few of them from straggling under it as possible. they find themselves waiting on the other side, the delphox especially seems to worry about the trainer she's begun to favor strongly. It's only because he is still smiling that she seems to let it go.

When the last of the tropius make it past the obstacle Evan pats the musharna's side. "I'll make it over and return you once you lower the log old guy, get some rest." the musharna coos his agreement, because he's more than ready by now. Evan makes it through the snow as fast as he can and the nod to his pokemon is enough for them to be ready to lower the log back to the ground. It collides with the cold earth with a dull thud and he taps the ball his pokemon belongs to, retrieving the musharna from afar and allowing him the chance to rest.

"Good." he turns back to the other man, pleased to hear they only have so much further to go before they're done. Though his pokemon can certainly make it he's not eager to spend much longer in this weather, clearing or otherwise. "I think it's about time for us to all get inside and warm up. This snow really has been a bit much this year." Despite the circumstances, Evan chuckles.

Orion Lykos