"Yeah, that's true." Derek remarks about the fact it wasn't their first time being growled at by a pokemon. The sort of thing was rather commonplace, wasn't it?

What wasn't so common was the fully grown Aggron that rounded the corner just ahead of them, immediately laying eyes on the trainers and growing aggressive. A gnarly roar and some kicking at the dirt floor was it's idea of intimidation.

But Derek and his Machamp weren't buying it. "Go ahead, Randal." The muscular pokemon loved fighting almost as much as he loved flexing his muscles. Battling too, but when it was a wild pokemon that's what really made it a fight.

The bulk up Randal employed prepared it to catch the Aggron as it charged. Wrestling it by the horns with both of it's left arms after it's failed headbutt, the Machamp let loose a critical dynamic punch that left the Aggron incapacitated, stumbling and falling to the floor.

Likewise, after a job well done, Randal turned to Derek for a high-five, noticing movement around his clothes. But there wasn't a draft in here...curious.

Gerald Kaiser

☉

" Yeah, yeah."

It wasn't a huge deal, but it was annoying enough.

The ditto must've really been going through it at the hatchery if they were willing to come out to Shoal Cave in order to hide.

"You go one way, I'll go another."

Splitting up meant they'd be able to cover more ground. And there was no way they would get duped by some ditto pretender.

Speaking of which...

"Hey there."

He'd found someone already.

Adrian Malcolm

☉

"Oh, them? Yeah, it was part of a litter hatched by the rangers while I was still one of them. But sure, we'll take the help." While answering, the Zeraora began to growl towards, well...nothing.

In reality it could smell the Kecleon, but it'd never done this before. Derek wondered what was wrong and, after it attacked the air, decided it must've been confused somehow...

Returning it into the pokeball, he waves a hand towards Gerard dismissively. "Sorry about that. They aren't exactly the most domestic pokemon for a trainer to work with." With that said and done, the two were able to be on their way in search of wild pokemon.

Gerald Kaiser

☉

"Can you believe this?" Reports of strange-eyed individuals sending people in circles at Shoal Cave like some kind of prank had finally reached the mission board. There was a pretty obvious suspect, but until they had trainers scope it out, they didn't want to suggest anything definitive. "Seems like this daycare egg stuff has got everything in a bind." Trainers were fighting for the right to breed with this pokemon, or that. Pokemon theft was on the rise. Gacha were being purchased like crazy. "If it turns out to be a Ditto, I am gonna have mine teach it a lesson."

How they would manage that, he had no clue. But the idea of setting them straight was there, and that's all that mattered.

Oh, and making sure nobody was still lost and going in circles in there. Yeah...

Adrian Malcolm (MISSION)

☉

"...Yesth." That was a lie, and the wince he made upon uttering just a single word was enough to tell Matias otherwise. The fact his lower jaw was split, as well as the blood leaking inside his mouth caused Derek's speech to be slurred.
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And Arceus, did it fucking hurt.
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He didn't appreciate the taste either.
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Regardless of all that, it was his emotions that ruled him. Instincts. Inner notions, no, demons telling him he had to get even with this...imposter. Reaching for a pokeball, it's contents revealed a familiar sight for the two Derek's. Randal, the Machamp. The state of it's trainer sent the Machamp into a fit once he motioned towards the other him, suggesting they were to blame.
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Even with his broken jaw, Derek was still able to mouth an "Attuh boi." to Randal as his form began to change thanks to the energy of their mega stones.
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But while the Machamp delayed Sea!Derek's retreat with it's rock blast, Matias would come to find that the Derek on the ground was beginning to lose consciousness. He was still losing blood, on top of the significant amount of pain he was in...

MATIAS SILPH

☉

BREEDING REQUEST

LET US TAKE CARE OF YOUR POKEMON

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Adrian Malcolm & DEREK HOFFMAN [break]
TxkJcCvC

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salac berries: -1 (derek) -1 (adrian) (tyranitar spawn plsu?)

breeding requirements - incomplete

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#1 (adrian) [break]
#2 (derek) [break]
#3 (derek) [break]

Obviously with the nature of the device, it wasn't exactly like wild pokemon would leave it be. The Grumpig he witnessed, for instance, waltzed right up to the device, sniffing all the while. Then, after reassuring itself that was the source of the smell, the Grumpig shoved it in it's mouth...

"Huuuh?!" Derek almost can't believe his eyes, but he owned a Grumpig himself. And yes, they liked to eat just about anything that smelled good. Because, if it smelled good, it probably tasted good.

But in this case, it didn't taste like much anything. The only saving grace was Derek quickly sending his pokemon after it. "Jonesy, stop that Grumpig!" A swift delivery of it's sucker punch caused the Grumpig to spit out the device it was chewing on. But that wasn't enough to stop it from rearing on them.

"Gheleon, you're up!" On command, the Zeraora let out a vicious snarl, causing the wild Grumpig to turn and run. In fact, it was so scared and ran so fast that it fainted after about twenty paces. Leaving it be, Derek inspected the device to ensure it was still working. Thankfully, it was, and they were able to find another spot to hide in anticipation of whatever was lured in next.

SOLO WILD (PSYCHIC INCENSE)

☉

"Thanks! And oh yeah, definitely an upgrade." Let alone salary, the authority he now had in his corner was worth the headaches that would undoubtedly come with it. "The citizens that recognize me have been very kind and supportive. I guess with everything going on having a gym leader around makes them feel more at ease."

Though it's not his problem by jurisdiction, he's curious about Rowan's mentions of the strange Tentacool. He never did get to do much marine work as a ranger...

But before he could dwell on that thought for too long, a familiar voice breaks out with both a compliment and greeting. "Oh, hey!~" While Derek would've gone for a hug, his hands were preoccupied with managing the food on the grill. At least his smile was telling enough that he was pretty happy to see Illeana show up.

"We were just talking about work. Is there anything new you got going on at your job?"

---

Jonesy had finished showing people to their blankets for now, resting his gaze upon the three individuals who were seated. Using his camouflague, he decided to sneak up for a closer look. Inching his way towards them, he grew more nervous in doing so the closer he got until eventually he was right beside Mint, who may have noticed some kind of weight settling down next to them on their blanket.

Or not, and the Sobble's first stealth mission was a success! Which meant now all he had to to was gather some intel on his 'targets'...

PETALBURG PICNIC PARTY

☉