Though hoping to avoid it for the sake of maintaining the peaceful state of mind he had, Derek quickly found himself as the object of pursuit by a wild Exeggutor. It must've seen him lay down the lure, and been unhappy that he was baiting pokemon out into the open. Or maybe it was mad he didn't stop to notice it however many steps back it was chasing him from. Either way, he wasn't about to lose to a half egg, half tree pokemon.

Loosing Randal, the battle started when the Exeguttor landed a mega drain on the Machamp. A swift ice punch rendered the foe unable to battle, though Derek was unsure if it was just playing dead because it never tasted the punch of a Machamp. Especially one like Randal. "Alright, don't gloat over the loser's body." Derek remarks as he continues moving, reluctant to give into Randal's showboating. It was really starting to go to his head.

SKIPPED EXEGGUTOR

PSYCHIC INCENSE SOLO WILD

☉

Having placed the incense already there wasn't much else to do. Rather than sit and wait Derek decided to walk the route, as patience hadn't exactly been his strong suit as of late. Especially with his mind racing with all the talk of meteors, sea people and all kinds of apocalypse level events that were going on right under their noses.

At the very least this walk through route 116 was helping to ease his mind. Derek didn't get as many chances to go out now that he was a gym leader, and that was beginning to put a damper on his mood. Just a little. Maybe he would set what happened if he requested a little time off...

PSYCHIC INCENSE SOLO WILD

☉

Though they couldn't very well see the thing, it was obvious something had just shot at them. While Derek stopped in his tracks, Randal leaped forward, both intercepting the psybeam while it launched and also lashing out with his own attack.

The revenge for even daring to attack his trainer would surely hurt, though it wasn't as well-placed as he'd have hoped. While Machamp spilled onto the ground, there was no telling how good he got the Kecleon. It seemed like they might've missed completely. As such, Derek resorted to something else.

Lobbing forward another pokemon, the Starmie that came out took no issue with his command. "Rapid spin up ahead!" The Starmie launched itself, gaining momentum and propelling itself off of every surface, ricocheting around until it eventually hit something it didn't even realize was there.

The only confirmation of something being there was that face, and also the badge case it spit out after being hit in the gut.

Gerald was quiet all the while as they closed the distance, and neither did he sent out any pokemon. Were his pokemon a little big for fighting inside the cave? Nah, he wouldn't be down here if he was defenseless... So why wasn't he helping?

Gerald Kaiser

☉

"The report said they were being lead in circles." Collapsing in from one end while Adrian did the other, it was obvious they'd run into something eventually. "If I found one, the other must be by you." If Adrian couldn't understand that much, well...

Maybe that was putting it a little harshly?

"Are there any pokemon in sight?" If a lack of people to socialize with bothered them, the Ditto may be forced to cope by imitating the pokemon native to Shoal Cave. "Just look carefully, I'll be there soon."

Adrian Malcolm

☉

The individual he'd encountered turned to greet Derek, but didn't say much. Just one thing, really. "Di." And then it pointed towards a bend in the trail.

"Did you run into anyone before me?" The question was answered by another "Di." It was kind of cute, actually, but it insisted on pointing again.

A phone call grabbed his attention, which Derek promptly answered. "Yeah, I think I found it." The pokemon seemed to get the hint, provoking it into making a run for it in the very same direction it had been pointing towards.

"Oh no, it won't be that easy!" Allowing his Hisuian Zoroark to roam out of it's pokeball, the pokemon unleashed it's swift at their ankles, which caused the Ditto's movements to slow. Add in the temperature of the area, and it basically came to a halt. Well, that and his pokemon had cut it off by running ahead.

"You still there?" Derek asks, using a pokeball to retrieve the Ditto that'd been incapacitated. "The Ditto's in a pokeball now, but it was just pointing in a single direction. There might actually be another one..." Which, if them taking two paths meant anything, probably indicated that the Ditto's partner was somewhere around Adrian's side of the cave. Or so he assumed.

Adrian Malcolm

☉

Letting her speak uninterrupted, Derek only chimes in when Jessie finally mentions what she does for work. And also during her time off. "Sounds like you meet a lot of people." One thing about his current occupation was that it revolved mostly around pokemon. There wasn't anything bad about it, but, you know...

"I'm a ranger. For now, anyway. I've started to consider a different field, or maybe one I'd be familiar with." Allowing her to have free reign over the ingredients for the next batch, Derek leans back and decides to indulge in more conversation. At least until she asks for help with something. "I was a gym leader a couple years back, and part of me wants to go back to it." And another part of him was curious if she knew anything about that sort of thing. "Do you battle with your pokemon? Y'know, like, competitively. For badges, or sport."

Or maybe for some other reason she might've had.

Jessica Manner

☉

"I didn't either." This whole game was something Derek didn't exactly like to play, simply because it seemed a little callous towards those they were naming. Even if they weren't here to hear their names uttered for this, or for that. It was just a little insensitive, and he was definitely a sensitive person. Most of the time...

After eventually going through his choices and reasons for picking them, Callan finally tries to make some choices to see Derek's type. And, fortunately, Derek knows quite a bit about the choices he's given. Except for the one.

"I don't really know much of anything about PENELOPE LIVY, so they'll have to be my kill option. 'Cause I know the other two fairly well." Luka was someone he'd bumped into quite a bit around the region, and almost thought about dating sometime ago. But he'd never got around to asking because there were bigger fish to fry on his plate.

"Date luka chêne and marry Elisabeth Fiorelli." The other one, Elisabeth, had been one of his partners during the speed-dating event some time ago. "Don't get me wrong, I could easily switch up the two, but one of them works in the same city as me."

And when dating, it was often customary to bring flowers. How could he ever expect to impress a girl whose career was growing the very best floral arrangements in Hoenn? This seemed like the easy way out. "What order would you put them in?" The drink was starting to settle in, and rather than think of another three names, he simply wondered how Callan saw it.

Callan Young

☉

The soothing sensation of being healed was a beacon of comfort in the moment, though almost aided in sending Derek into a slumber. But their pokemon were still fighting, so for the moment he could only nod towards his Machamp, which was looking at him worryingly.

Loosing itself upon the other Derek, the Machamp makes contact with a dynamic punch that sends him flying away towards the slip-space portal between their dimensions. Or whatever it was called. Derek wasn't a physicist or even highly educated to begin with.

Though paralyzed, Sea!Derek's Inteleon quickly relieved itself of it's pokeballs constraints and carried them away. The only true sign of damage was the stray scarlet arcs of what appeared to be electricity running along their suit. But they quickly faded from sight, retreating back to the place they came from. Sea Hoenn.

It might've just been the adrenaline and healing, but soaking in some water felt like a really good idea right about now. So now, seeing that their job appeared to be done, Derek couldn't help but let his head hang low for some rest. Whether Matias saw it fit to carry the gym leader himself or relieve himself of the burden and allow the Machamp to carry him back was up to him.

MATIAS SILPH

☉

It wasn't until something was pulled out from one of the pockets on his jacket that Derek realized it wasn't just the dimly lit cave making him thought he saw or felt things that weren't there. Weren't happening.

Because they were.

"H-hey, HEY!" Watching his badge case slip out, Derek tried ripping it from the invisible clutches of whatever had grabbed it. But he failed, and it began to scurry away, putting distance between them.

"Get back here you little-" Obviously in full pursuit, Derek and his Machamp were quick to turn their backs on Gerard while trying to keep up with whatever it was they were chasing.

Gerald Kaiser

☉

Finding that the latest pokemon was of no interest to him, Derek motion for his pokemon to follow as they made their way out of Meteor Falls. The Gothita probably had a mom around here somewhere anyway, so he didn't want to give said parent anxiety by fainting or capturing it.

On the other hand, he'd failed to find any signs of Registeel having passed through. He figured as much, but it was at least nice to check another place off the list. Which meant he wouldn't have to worry about something happening here. Meteor Falls was one of his favorite places in Hoenn, after all.

SKIPPED GOTHITA

END OF THREAD

☉