That was fair, but in Ollie's mind, the guy still made good time. Josh mentioned his Dragonair, and for some races, Ollie could understand the wish. "For multi-obstacle races, yeah, Dragonair would be a better fit. Dragonite is a strong swimmer too, but not as strong as its pre-evolutions, nor can it dive near as deep. I didn't care one way or another with mine...he just did to protect me from some particularly strong Rocket members by Blackthorne's mountains." Sometimes battles had a way of making a pokemon make the choice. Not everything was controlled by the trainer. The second you think you're in control, nature has a way of showing you that you're not.

Oliver chuckled a bit when everyone perked up. Mrs. Toral wasn't just concerned about people though, she also made some hand baked Pokemon Treats, delivered by her own Arcanine and Gardevoir. The round woman unpacked that and practically shoved them into Josh's arms. "Don't forget to feed your team! Especially those adorable Arcanine!" She also shoved some treats into Ollie's arms to feed his Dragonite. After making sure he was fed, the red head joined his compatriot to the line of volunteers and victims. The woman was a master at what she did...he half wondered if her boys were doing okay away from home.

"About how long of a rest do you plan on having before getting round two? Do you need some help?" Dragonite would be pretty good at at that, as would Bravary for that matter. Not that he was in any real hurry to get supplies, this was a good most of the day job. Not even counting the little extras to help out here and there.

Josh Devlin

Yvaine started with introducing her posse of Pokemon. An adorable and clumsy Shinx, a Gliscor, Kommo-o, and a rare Zoroark, which did ellicit some gasps as to its size. Ollie listened to her sell herself off as an explorer. Much better than what she admitted to being. But he supposed that it was still mostly true. The woman even pulled out a jewel of some sort, definitely gaining everyone's interest. Including his. She went into each Pokemon's roles. Yvaine did well in following through with the objective. Plus reading the crowd. Shinx was even a little bit mischievous, and played a little bit, feigning like they did something wrong. It was very cute. Yvaine may claimed that she couldn't beat a ranger's presentation, but she was sure making him earn any kind of victory with this.

She then went to explain her Zoroark, and their bond. Looking at his Dragonite, he saw that his orange buddy did the same. They looked back at the crowd and gave them a thumbs up sign. At the same time, elliciting some chuckles. But her words rang true in so many ways. The woman began taking questions, mainly by asking who or what pokemon they wanted to see. That's right, Zoroark's ability was Illusion. A handy thing. After a few more questions, she gave the floor back to Miss Heckliable. Yvaine whispered to him about the whole thing, and he whispered back. "I sure couldn't tell. You were a natural." With that, and one more applause and thank yous, the group left, with a teacher again thanking them for their time and their stories.

Taking it all in stride, Ollie thanked them for having him and Yvaine. He let his Pokemon have some fresh air though. "Well, I think that went quite well. You say that you didn't know if you could compete with a ranger's presentation, but I'd argue you won that one. Even if by a little bit." He sort of teased her a bit with some light jesting, but he meant what he said.

Yvaine Varron

Luckily, Oliver didn't have to wait long. The caravan came with quite a bit of fanfare. It looked like the food drive was a huge success. Mrs. Toral cooed over the Arcanine and other Arcanine, wanting an Arcanine playdate or something. Either way, the round woman took charge of the food. Smiling at the ranger, he nodded. "Looks like you got quite the haul. We should probably work on logistics for a food drive from Slateport or Mauville...Dragonite is great for that if everything is secured quite well." And that was the key word...secured. Speed was all good and all, but if the supplies you were delivering broke and damaged to beyond repair, then it was all for not.

It didn't take long for Dragonite to show up with another shipping container. As soon as he sat it down, the main coordinator came in, opened it up, and started wheeling out appliances. Overseeing everything...the smell of food soon attracted his attention. Mrs. Toral was evidently known to be an extremely good cook. Two of her boys were out on an adventure, with one having earned his first gym badge, and the youngest one having earned two badges. Huh. Kind of funny that the younger one was more successful in that regard. Anyways, he looked at Josh. "Wanna get some food before we make the rounds to see where and how else we can help?"

Josh Devlin

Oliver chuckled. "I don't think the message said, you just went with the safest option. Not always a bad thing. You know the saying, better safe than sorry." The red head was dressed in the standard Ranger uniform, which wasn't necessarily formal or casual. Just at the ready for whatever was required of him. "Did you transfer to Hoenn or recruited locally? Or I guess how did you get interested in the job? You don't have to tell me, just trying to get to know you...feel free to ask away from me as well."

Sacha seemed to be a bit on the unsocialble type. Best not to scare him too much. Oliver himself was usually an open book. He didn't mind sharing his experiences or anything. He was fairly open, and open minded.

TLDR
Interacting with SACHA ROSIER

One of the few things he could cook, and he already had a compliment. "They are. One of the few things I can cook. Yeah, sounds like you're plenty busy. Gym leaders tend to be pretty packed anyways. Sounds like you have a lot more energy than most people." Maybe even so much as being an adrenaline junky. Still, he prided his Dragonite's speed and power. "Maybe I should take your challenge though...I do take pride in my Dragonite's speed and power, but never really tested his speed in a race. Would love to do so in a fun way." And Arceus knows they don't have much time or fun to begin with. Most of his off time was spent going to cheap parties.

The food was certainly attracting a crowd. Three fruit pies attracted his attention. The guy that brought them looked a lot more formal than most here. Most here at least looked semi-familiar, if not by appearance then by reputation. But not this guy. Walking on up, he sat down across from SACHA ROSIER. "Good morning. I'm Oliver Shrakes." Again, he gave his most charming smile. Maybe that could get the man to not be so...dower. This meeting will eventually be handing out assignments, and there was plenty of time to be serious then.

TLDR
Continued minor interaction with Josh Devlin
Attempted interaction with SACHA ROSIER

Its been months since the Littleroot Fire, and still things weren't rebuilt?! Part of the problem was the remote area. Even Oldale town was fairly small and remote, but they've been struggling to get supplies. Oliver had arranged for supplies to be brought in via his Dragonite, but he had a helper as well, in the form of Josh Devlin, the racer, minor going major League Gym Leader he'd met at the party. Somewhat of a party...Ranger's meeting, whatever you wanted to call it. Part of a new initiative to provide much needed relief to populations that's been under siege from Rocket. He really wanted to be wherever the frontlines were, but relief was just as important.

His fast dragon flew above everything with a shipping container, making everyone gasp. Yet, the big guy just flew gently down on the designated area. That was one. One more to go, plus whatever his helper was bringing in. His faithful friend zoomed off towards Slateport for the second container. Opening it up with a key, it revealed lumber, electrical supplies, plumbing supplies, and more...basically the means to repair and rebuild homes and businesses. There were even a few small appliances in there. The second one would have larger appliances, including large coolers for the local grocery store. Hopefully Josh was bringing in food for the relief effort. There was a rather large woman named Mrs. Toral there already set up and ready to get to cooking with volunteers. Contractors were already going through the container and designating where the supplies would go. And Ollie let them to it. So long as there wasn't conflict, he figured the locals would know best. 


Dawn of a New Day Valor Prompt Fire Fighters
Josh Devlin

Well now...this was interesting. Sighing heavily, Ollie hadn't really made much progress on getting to know a lot of his fellow rangers. A lot of no names knew that he was a hard worker, and he had done several missions. But no one that he's seen a lot of or anything. Could be a good opportunity to make some friends. The bad boy ranger had brought a very cheesy, very fatty cheesy potato casserole in a hot dish. Nodding at the over enthusiastic lad that he saw was ollie morales on the nametag. Well, that was hilarious. Granted, his own nametag said his full name as Oliver Shrakes, but he did go by Ollie too. Maybe someone to talk to just because their names were similar/same.

Going to the designated area, he found several people...none of which were familiar faces, though he's heard of a few. Going over the pot luck, he placed his dish with the rest, and a large spoon for it on top of the glass lid. When ready, should be easy enough to take it off and slide the lid under the actual dish. There was the councilwoman too. It did kind of looked like people were already sampling a few things, so he went ahead and took his dish's lid off and slid it under the actual dish and put the spoon in for people to try. Now to try to find someone to maybe talk to? The cyan eyed man scanned the room. Oh, a gym leader in noah faber, with a former councilman? Well, still better than Greyson Connors. He almost wondered if he would be asked to take that guy's nontraditional challenge.

Well, whatever. Grabbing a plate, he piled on some steak fries and piling on some chili on top of them, he looked to interact with Josh Devlin. He's heard the guy was just made a new gym leader, and was something of a racing fanatic. While Ollie wasn't much of a racing fan, he did have some high speed Pokemon that he certainly wouldn't mind pitting against someone. He waited for the guy to finish speaking to the Head Ranger...someone that he himself didn't have much interaction if any with since his transfer from Johto to here. That pasta dish did smell great though. "Most pasta dishes are easy to do, but hard to make truly stand out. Not much of a connisiuer, but one of my siblings are. You're Josh Devlin, right? Nice to meet you, I'm Oliver Shrakes." Ollie's hair was two toned, mostly red with some black in there, had ear piercings, and gave the new gym leader a charming smile.

~brought a cheesy, fatty, cheesy potato casserole.
~nodded at Ollie, started talking to Josh.
~has a plate with steak fries and chili on top of the fries.

Ollie looked at them. Yeah, sure enough, seven badges, including the Requiem badge. "Which one was the toughest? I've heard Greyson Connors's is pretty brutal. But reading about it, I can certainly appreciate it. I don't get along with him, but I can at least appreciate his challenges." It was sort of an odd way to phrase it, but he didn't know how else to say it. The kid had guts and skill, and obviously knew how to train his Pokemon. "I would certainly hope the gym leaders wouldn't pull their punches, no matter the opponent. I'm looking forward to seeing you on the big screen soon." Namely when/if the kid challenges Hoenn's champion.

The kid's brother was also a ranger, and much like everyone else, had been swamped with work. After some encouragement, Ollie laughed a bit. "I'll think about it. The only one I might be interested in taking is Connor's. If nothing else but to show him up. Take advantage of the festival while you can, and good luck on the final gym badge." He couldn't help but feel like that after getting that last badge, Hideo was going to hit the ground running to the Elite 4. He also made a mental note to find out who was Hideo's brother. Nevertheless, it was a goodbye for now. His Dragonite barked as such to both Rocky and the kid wonder. Off they both went. Tonight had some club specials going on, and he was definitely going to take advantage of those.

Hideo Kino

Oliver simply nodded. He could see why. The guy was small, and awfully young. He got a name and what he's doing. Going aorund Hoenn and doing gyms. He was about to ask how many when the kid let loose that he had seven badges. That made him sputter. Even Dragonite stared at the kid. The Lycanroc grinned at the honorable mention. "That's really good...up for a little show and tell?" Not that he didn't believe the kid. More so because the kid was so close to being able to challenge the Elite Four. He also did have a couple questions. Namely toughest challenge so far, and the most fun challange so far.

The kid seemed excited, even got an Elite Four member hyped to battle him. Ollie couldn't tell if the kid was pulling his leg or not, though it wasn't exactly completely unheard of. Hideo asked the red head if he had any badges yet, even saying that his own Dragonite had helped out. "Oh, I know Dragonite can hold his own. He's been my main battler for years. If I'm going into a fight, he's the one I choose. Braviary is pretty strong too, but not quite as good. Everyone else I have I haven't had for long, so I'm still working with them. But I don't have any badges. Ranger work keeps me plenty busy. These days off I prefer to use for relaxation. My Pokemon like the breaks as well."

Hideo Kino

Oliver laughed at the comment. Too affectionate for too long? The kid was a shrimp, so a big Pokemon giving hugs could be...uncomfortable. "Rocky sounds like they take a similar role as my buddy here. He keeps everyone in line." His Dragonite puffed up in pride. He was always proud of his power. Then he sort of ruined it by slurping on his drink. Chuckling and shaking his head he was about to move on when the kid asked him how long he had his Dragonite for, explaining how long he had Rocky. Sounded like they had a lot of similarities.

"Not quite six, but pretty close. I think eight was how old I was, so eighteen years. He was an injured Dratini I found in the mountains near Blackthorn City in Johto. My parents were a little hesitant in me taking him in and taking care of him...but, well, here he still is with me. Let me tell ya, it was interesting moving a dragon that was a full foot longer than I was tall and weighed a good twenty pounds heavier back to our house. In mountainous terrain." The big dragon just plopped a seat. He heard Ollie share his story before, so he wasn't too concerned. Plus, he knew that Ollie wouldn't do anything to agitate the Lycanroc. "Name's Ollie. I'm a Pokemon Ranger that got reassigned to Hoenn after Sootopolis City got taken over. What about you, squirt, got any big dreams?"

Dragonite rolled his eyes. Of course the kid did. What kid didn't have big dreams? He so wanted to remind his trainer that once upon a time, Oliver wanted to be a space marine or pirate of the seas. Or even the Johto League Champion. But whatever, he would just continue to slurp on his fruity drink and let his trainer be...he doubted Ollie would talk much to a random kid that wasn't interested in being a ranger.

Hideo Kino

Despite his bad boy looks, Oliver was actually quite observant. One had to be if they were going to be any kind of successful ranger. So he did notice one Pokemon in particular get defensive over...a small child? At the approach of him and his Dragonite. Luckily, his big oaf doesn't just run up to people and hug them, he was much more subdued than that. They weren't heading directly towards them, but it was still comforting that the Pokemon was so protective of his trainer. And seemed for all the right reasons too. He was barely in range of what the kid was saying to his loyal friend.

Chuckling, he had to respond to it. "More so since the Dragonite line is more common in the Johto and Kanto regions than here in Hoenn. Still, try to cut the guy some slack, he's just being a good friend and lookin' out for ya." Despite already having been here for quite a while, he still had a bit of a Johto accent. Dragonite, for his part, just waved and smiled, being friendly. But still didn't move from behind his trainer. Neither one knew or could tell that the kid was blind as of yet. Still, maybe a friendly conversation could help relax the pupper?

Hideo Kino

Oliver watched in amusement as a couple of kids jumped every time his Dragonite's tail swished around. It was kind of cute. Dragonite had been keeping tabs so he wouldn't accidentally hurt the children either. Holding onto his pineapple and orange drink, Dragonite had been enjoying his time off. Normally he'd be lazing about on his chair watching TV. Oliver, meanwhile, was having an alchoholic drink, one of the fruity specials. But it would be the only one he'd be having this afternoon. No more until the evening, more than likely at a party. Almost as if reading his mind, Dragonite did a playful punch to his trainer's shoulder. "What? Don't worry, I don't intend on getting smashed like last time..." The red head recieved an almost harsh glare from his oldest partner.

Running a hand through his hair, he shook his head. He really didn't mean to get so drunk. Then breaking and entering into someone else's home. Then fending off a vicious Eevee. And the owner of the apartment being an absolute saint in the form of andres buenaventura. Again, his Dragonite did his little barking giggle thing at the thought of helping his trainer back to their place. He was only thankful that his trainer didn't go to jail or worse.

Moving on, it had been awhile since he was out and about. Stretching, Dragonite stood up. Luckily Oliver was almost done with his drink, and looked at his dragon questioningly. The big guy just barked at him to hurry it up so they could explore a bit more. Chuckling, Ollie finished what little he had left, paid for it, and started to walk. It was nice having a relaxing walk with his monster of a Pokemon. And the dragon didn't seem to mind that it was off duty and didn't have to be out and about. The poor guy would get too restless. But also too considerate to try to work off some energy, since he didn't want to disturb anybody. So off they went towards the beach.

Neither one could seem to get enough of it. They were from the mountains, Blackthorne City in Johto. Despite all the disasters around, Ollie had noticed Dragonite was a little more relaxed here. At the least, not as tense here in Hoenn than in Johto. It's been a while since he pampered his big boy...so why not go do things that the orange beast wanted for a change?

Hideo Kino

The Shieldon asked again if the Vulpix wanted to play with them, since they didn't get an answer. The young lady said they weren't, and warned that her Pokemon wasn't the friendliest with strangers. As if hearing this, his Joltik jumped off of Shieldon and walked closer and waved, introducing themselves, and begging them to play with the duo. Oliver nodded at her about the advice. Maybe she was like him and wanted a small break. She also asked why he was there. "One part taking a break from those same parties and one part patrolling the beach unofficially. I'm usually around during the day, so I don't see them at night much. I work as a Ranger, but I'm usually on duty during the day, and also usually too tired to check it out in the evening or nighttimes. What about you? Taking a break from the crowds yourself?"

It might be a little rude to guess, but considering that almost snappy reply, she might find it better than trying to find some half-ass lie and go with the potential half-truth. Not that it was really any of his business. He usually tried to keep his nose clean on that. He didn't like people prying into his life terribly much...he'd answer questions, so long as they were nice about it.

orchid bellerose