Learning that the path ahead only leads to a dead end, the Pokken Rider grits his teeth beneath his helmet and slides to a halt, but that only gives the icy yeti the opportunity to attack the two of them. Facing the Abomasnow’s massive arms, the eyes from his helmet briefly dim and flicker as suddenly a barrier is erected all around them.

The giant pokemon’s arms rebound against its failure as it bewilderedly stares at the helmeted vigilante. The Pokken Rider gently sets Chu-E onto the ground before standing tall and tauntingly points over at the Abomasnow. It lets out a massive roar and leaps at the vigilante; however, before it can actually attack, the hero’s eyes begin flickering again as he suddenly multiplies into four!

Using the confusion to his advantage, the hero begins circling the pokemon, who swipes at him in retaliation; however, as it strikes one of the Pokken Riders, it suddenly fades as if it were never there to begin with.

”Quick, run while it’s focused on me!” the vigilante heroically commands, giving Chu-E enough time to flee as the Abomasnow busies itself with him.

Feeling her delicate hands against his course, rough hands, Pokken Rider loosens his tensely clenched fists. He exhales a deep, exasperated sigh, finding his lack of control over his emotions somewhat embarrassing.

The Pokken Rider slowly nods in agreement. ”I get that. I really do.” It’s the entire reason why he’s taken up the mantle of some crazed vigilante, even if he’s not. ”So if someone’s gotta do it, why not let me?” he asks genuinely.

Wrestling his hand away from Stormy’s soft grip, the helmeted vigilante lifts his hands against his helmet before pulling it upwards. A loud hiss can be heard as steam is vented out from behind him, revealing red hair as the vigilante reveals his face.

Determination can be seen is his eyes as he foolishly reveals his identity, but his trust in the Pokkenger is firm and if the girl in front of him is so affectionate with the hero to the point of knowing his name, then his trust with the other hero extends to her.

Hoenn is once again abound with danger, but rather some alien force from some different dimension, it’s now nature running its course. With the swarm of Magcargo suddenly emerging from the magmatic depths of Mt. Chimney, the Pokken Rider emerges once again to fend off the sudden attack.

Holding out a hand, the masked vigilante emits a pulse of electricity from his suit, shocking them with a powerful THUNDER WAVE.

As they begin slowing down, the masked hero pulls out a Pokeball and tosses it into the swarm.

Hendrix smiles towards the excitable youth. ”Lyger? Yeah, he’s pretty strong.” he affirms, patting the black and red furred tiger on the shoulder. It lets out a gruff snort as its tension quickly leaves, leaving behind a proud grin.

Off in the corner of his eye, the redhead spots a small branch falling from one of the nearby trees. His eyes immediately lock onto the camouflaged bug pokemon who’s shocked that it’s been found so easily. ”Hold on.” he says to Andre, pointing over at the grassy bug. ”Lyger, use Cross Chop!”

Hearing Hendrix’s commands, the Incineroar pounces into action, charging at the tree on all four before leaping towards it with both arms crossed. The Incineroar’s forearms glow a bright white as it strikes against the tree, causing it to shake violently. Slipping off, the Wormadon falls against the ground and not giving any it any time to escape, the black and red furred tiger swipes its claws at it, picking it up from its long antennae.

Seeing his opportunity, Hendrix tosses a pokeball at the pinned Wormadon.

”Galar, huh?” he questions, finally turning back to the short youth. ”Fancy that, I’m from Galar too. Name’s Hendrix.”

Hendrix had only just stepped into the kitchen when he’s suddenly pounced on by a green dog. Electricity seems to shimmer off its body as it wags its small tail. Sitting in front of him, the dog stares at him with its beady eyes in a quiet plea for food.

”Shoo, I’m trying to prep some food.” he chides, but his words only aggravate the dog as it shuffles its feet quickly to begin tugging at his pants with its sharp teeth.

The redheaded engineer lets out a loud yelp as he tries to shake his leg free. ”What are yo- Let go!” but his demands do little to get him out from his sticky situation. Defeated he finally relents, slowly moving to the kitchen pantry with the dog in tow.

Tugging open the door, he frantically looks around for the dog’s kibble – his eyes momentarily shining as he finds what he needs. Reaching out, he pulls out the dog food, showing it off to Thor. ”You want some of this? Then let me go!”

The Electrike finally relents, giving Hendrix the opportunity to fill its bowl before properly putting the dog food back in the pantry.

With his New Year’s shopping out of the way, Hendrix ascends the hardly used stairs and into Mauville Hills, nearly losing himself in awe by the ritzy ditzy complex around him. ”Maybe I should just move here…” he suggestively mutters to himself.

Alas, even with his position at the Research Institute of Evol, the redhead engineer doubts he can properly afford it. Taking the opportunity to wander and loiter around, Hendrix begins taking in the scenery.

Hendrix’s left brow questioningly arches up as he listens to the large, burly man speak. A co-anchor, not a co-worker? Yet, before the engineer even has a chance to properly process the ranger’s meaning, he’s bombarded with a long, winding explanation.

He frantically raises a hand in a vain effort to slow the man down yet gestures alone aren’t enough. ”Hold on, hold on.” he interjects. ”Is this a job interview, or is this a marriage interview? I honestly can’t tell.”

His expression is mixed between flatter and awkwardness as everything feels a little too sudden, but as the man slides over his business card, things finally begin to click. ”Ah, I’m not sure if I’m a proper fit.” he politely declines. Reaching within his jacket, the ex-Interpol officer turned engineer pulls out a metal business card holder, embossed with the symbol of Evol and pulls out his own business card.

He gently sets it down between the table and his index and middle finger before casually sliding it over to Zac. ”Still, if you’re going to be giving me your business card, I might as well exchange mine.” Hendrix’s lips curl up into a suave smile. ”Hendrix Emmerson, head engineer of the Institute of Evol.”

A Cherrim waddles out from the tall grass nearby, attracted to the sweet scent of berries from the Chikorita’s Natural Gift. Hendrix arches a brow, tempted to pass by it, but considering the gentle breeze and the nice weather, the red-haired engineer shrugs his shoulders, pulling out a pokeball.

The Cherrim perks its small head upwards at the tall man. Their eyes lock for only a brief moment, but that’s enough to garner its interest and it begins inching its way towards him like a small lost child.

Leaving chance up to fate, Hendrix sets the pokeball down as he watches the grass pokemon come closer towards him. It pokes at the strange, round device in front of it and with a pop, the ball suddenly opens, pulling the Cherrim in.