He frowns at the sight of the Grubbin, realizing their hunger for electricity may prove somewhat fatal to Taka. Still, the Talonflame seems confident enough as it lets out a piercing shrill, swiping its figure downwards towards them with flames wrapping over its body. With a swift Flame Charge it smashes its body against the bugs with careful force to avoid scorching the floor with its heat. Swooping over them, it seems faster than before as it reels overhead.

He can smell the sweet aroma coming from the Vileplume which manages to draw away the still conscious Grubbin, luring them slightly closer. "... Good job." he says with some admiration. Seeing this, the Talonflame flies downwards again with fire still wrapping around its body as it strikes into the swarm once more, garnering more speed in the process. In its claws it manages to hold onto one of the freshly evolved Charjabugs. Slightly charred from the fire from the Talonflame, its body seems to momentarily sparkle with electricity causing the Talonflame to release it from its clutches. The burnt Grubbin crashes into the ground.

Slightly worried about the swarm, his eyes narrow down and scans the area carefully, wondering if a Charjabug or Vikavolt might actually be lingering around in the area. He looks back to the man who seems both disgusted and bothered by the sight of the bugs leaving him wondering why he'd be have to deal with another person with some sort of bug phobia. Letting out a low sigh, he approaches the man and pats him on the shoulder.

"You'll be fine." he says unconvincingly with a deadpan expression.

Hearing Adrian’s antagonistic quips, his brows scrunch close together. Clearly, he had done something to offend the edgy punk, but it honestly doesn’t matter. Rolling his eyes towards the young man’s attitude, he can’t help but think of his similarities with faye samos . He nearly shudders at the thought.

Seeing that there’s no room for conversation, the estranged ranger quietly keeps to himself as usual. Another attack from the Vileplume leaves the swarm nearly finished – most are already unconscious from the combined efforts of the poisonous flower and the fiery hawk flapping overhead. ”Let’s finish this up then.” he says, clicking his tongue to signal the Talonflame. Fire wreathes around its body as it lets out a shrill caw, yet…

The power goes out within a single flash. If it weren’t day and the sunlight wasn’t beaming through the windows, the only thing that would’ve kept the two from the darkness would’ve been the Talonflame’s ignited body. He can hear the low hum of electricity sparking in the air, and like a flash of lightning, a large Vikavolt zooms outwards, aiming its massive maw-like pincers at the Talonflame.

The bird, still alert and wary of the situation manages to narrowly dodge the sudden attack but doing so causes the flames to disperse as it swiftly retreats to the ranger who just stares at the Vikavolt.

The large flying beetle is surprisingly nimble and intelligent as it manages to evade the Vileplume's poisonous gunk shot. His eyes narrow with a cold glint upon seeing Adrian becoming slightly flustered about missing the shot; even going as far as to curse loudly as a result. Hearing his demand, the ranger rolls his eyes once again, not bothering to refute.

”Taka.” he calls out to the Talonflame, who darts forward at the Vikavolt. The two flying creatures fly about within the apartment with the hawk close behind on the electric beetle’s tail like an aerial dogfight. Despite its nimble swiftness, the Talonflame proves to be much faster as it strikes the Vikavolt with a powerful Brave Bird. The sudden force manages to stun the flying bug as it plummets, crashing momentarily into the ground. Its body twitching, struggling to get back up.

The gym leader frowns when he watches the punk crush the Vikavolt beneath his boots. It's a cruelty watching its life get snuffed out so wantonly. "We're done." he says dismissively.

He extends his arm out and the fiery hawk flies back, perching itself atop his arm. He leans down and fiddles through his bag, pulling out a small treat for the Talonflame to eat. He doesn't even bother to look back at Adrian as he begins to pack his things. At this point, he wasn't interested in interacting with him any further. Instead, he reached for his phone and began to dial away.

"We'll leave the clean up for the professionals." He puts the phone against his ear, waiting for his call to go through.

He momentarily glances back at the Vikavolt's carcass, shaking his head as he's reminded why he preferred Pokemon over people. Isolating himself back to silence, he begins making his way for the door. His job's finished and he doesn't want to stay any longer.