Screams fill the bank as the door comes crashing down. He, along with the robbers, are distracted for a brief moment as they all turn to look at the newcomer and her golden cloud-like dragon.

The air around him seemingly ripples as the Altaria’s shrieking voice echoes all around them. The Pokken Rider’s eyes glow for a brief moment as the suit begins filtering and muffling out the sound; though he can feel the reverberations against his body.

Tanking through the attack thanks to the suit, he reaches out, grabbing one of the criminals, slamming him into the ground. Before they can even attempt to resist, his fist begins to glow and he unleashes a wave of electricity across all of the robbers and their pokemon, stunning them with a Thunder Wave in the process.

He looks back at the woman, giving her a thumbs up. ”Thanks for the assist, citizen.”

Somewhat perplexed by the woman’s request, Hendrix nods in response. ”Sure.”

Hearing the eagerness and the slight excitement in the woman’s tone causes him to feel some trepidation towards the challenge; after all, gym leaders are skilled battlers and while he has experience, he’s normally the one battling, not his pokemon.

Taking a deep breath and steeling himself much like he does when masquerading as the Pokken Rider, Hendrix quietly swallows his jitters before turning back to the woman with confidence and fire in his eyes. ”Of course. That’s the only thing I have to give you.”

Reaching behind his belt, he whips out a pokeball, tossing it into the air. A loud pop rings out from the pokeball followed by a vigorous growl then an earthshaking thud as a Charizard descends and lands onto the ground – with flame wreathing from its lips.

The tall redhead quietly analyzing and assessing the situation, assertively calls out to the flying trio. ”Lyger, air drop!”

Hearing its trainer’s command, the Incineroar lets out an aggressive growl, nudging its shoulders against the Skarmory’s talons. It releases, dropping the fiery tiger down as it focuses its fall downwards towards the Dottler – its psychic powers unable to distort or confuse it due to its typing.

Crossing its arms and ignoring the other opposition, it slams down with a powerful CROSS CHOP while combining its attack with the Doublade in its hands to simultaneously strike it with an AERIAL ACE

The Skarmory, finding it hard to maintain its flight due to the Dottler’s confusion, begins its descent, scattering caltrops from its wing in the process throughout the ground as it leaves dangerous SPIKES on the ground to make it harder for the bugs to retaliate.

The site of Arcanine and Growlithe playing around is a nostalgic sight. For a brief moment, he reminisces to superior officer jenny who oversaw his brief athletics training while serving under Interpol. Finding some fond memories in these trying times is enough to bring him slight joy as he pulls out a pokeball, casually lobbing it out at the crowd.

Digging out an almost crushed and nearly empty pack of cigarettes, he pulls one out and places it into his mouth whilst casting his gaze down at the girl with his nearly crimson eyes. ”You basically did more than hack into information, you pretty much created your own little backdoor into the system.” he retorts, lighting the cigarette in the process.

He pointlessly shakes the lighter in his hand like a match, causing the tiny ember to flicker and disappear before slipping it back into his pocket. The redhead can’t help but to stare at the young-looking girl, wondering who would let her wander the facility unsupervised.

Suddenly remember her mention a ‘Fern’, he surmises that she’s referring to FERNANDO SILPH. Shrugging his shoulders, he leans down towards the girl to stand face to face – the cigarette in his mouth roughly a foot away from her face. ”Yes.” he answers the girl teasingly with a smile. Understanding that the smell of nicotine might be unsuitable for a youth, the engineer pulls himself away, straightening his back in the process.

Hendrix glances around the facility before looking back down at the girl. ”So, how about that tour?”

Uncaring about the lack of attention he’s receiving as the two are talking, the man simply looks up towards the clouds and blows out a puff of smoke from his lips. He casually drops the cigarette onto the floor of the ship, promptly stepping on it to put it out. Grinding his foot for a few seconds, he lifts it up to pick up the crushed cigarette and discards it into his back.

He can see the coral beneath the clear waters out in the distance. Lifting his body up, he approaches the wheel, and leans his forearm against the cabin window. ”Well, Plank. Seems like we’re pretty much here.” he states the obvious.

Not missing a beat and not waiting for a confirmation, he begins placing his diving mask over his head and starts sliding on the air tank onto his back. Pulling out a pair of waterproof earbuds, he slips them into his ear before placing the diving suit sleeve over his head. Pulling out a second pair, he places it against the window counter.

”Here, these’ll make it easier for us to communicate in the water. You can keep it if you want as a commemoration of working together.”

Hendrix slips away and sits at the edge of the boat, his back facing outwards as he preps to dive into the water. The Sharpedo shifts away from behind the boat to swim alongside it, using its ability SPEED BOOST to keep up with its pace. It patiently waits patiently for its trainer to drop into the depths below.

Stepping into Lilycove’s gym, Hendrix let’s out a sharp whistle as he’s thoroughly impressed by the facility’s cutting-edge technology and cleanliness. It’s a far cry from the gym in Petalburg. Smiling, he approaches the receptionist’s desk, taking out his ID card and pressing it against the counter.

”I’m here for my appointed challenge.” he says with a charming smile forming from his lips.

The format is simple, they’re to conduct a single battle with two pokemon. Feeling rather confident with his Charizard and Ditto at the side as the Ditto can adapt to any situation it’s in. The redheaded trainer politely waits.

Quite content with his current haul, Hendrix ventures deeper into the Safari Zone, wondering what else he might find. To his surprise, he finds a family of Buneary nearby. Unwilling to interrupt and take away a family member, the redheaded engineer ignures and passes by.