As per usual, the Pokemon didn't pay him much mind. That was quickly getting annoying. The poor little guy tired out and stopped struggling as the creature answered him. All Pokemon have power. And we require all Pokemon. Cryptic, and ominous. Just like before, its chest opened up and spewed the little guy out. While in shock, it took a bit before it realized that it was free and scrambled away. Though it was tempting to catch it. Oliver left it. "And what will you do when you've copied every Pokemon?" Walking forward, he stopped only about four feet away. This thing never showed hostile intentions towards him before, but that didn't necessarily mean that would hold true here.


FERNANDO SILPH

• player/ooc name: Jun
• character tags: Keenan Toral
  Aaron Toral
  Oliver Shrakes
  Asher Baran
  Niky Racz
• dropped characters' tags (if applicable): N/A
• ic posts for characters: Oliver Shrakes : pkmn-hoenn.boards.net/thread/31286/dragons-workout?page=1&scrollTo=369974
  Keenan Toral : pkmn-hoenn.boards.net/thread/31145/canyon-king?page=2&scrollTo=369315
  Aaron Toral (very last post I did was on Jan. 1): pkmn-hoenn.boards.net/thread/30215/aces-proving-ground-gym-thread
  Asher Baran : pkmn-hoenn.boards.net/thread/31131/comforting-thoughts
  Niky Racz : pkmn-hoenn.boards.net/thread/30337/winter-masquerade-holiday-event?page=24&scrollTo=368591
  
  
• are characters in directories?: Y
• any notes/comments:

Ah, so he got the purpose of this semi-wrong. Though when he mentioned the greenhaired lady, Oliver did pipe up. "She'd have to be to stay on Caprice the way she did to reclaim her. Plan on taking lessons from her?" He joked a little bit. When Josh returned his Arcanine and brought out Tiamat, his own Dragonite waved at her. Who waved back. Awww...were they warming up to each other? That was cute. Looking down the easy slope for a speedrun, Oliver did speak again. "Remember, mine doesn't know Extreme Speed, even if he damn near flies close to it in straight lines. I wouldn't mind a race, but I doubt I'll win if you plan on using that move. Still, we'll give a good showing." Dragonite nodded enthusiastically in response. He may not win, but he would be maybe two seconds behind. And he already had his riding gear on for Ollie to ride him, so why not?


Josh Devlin

Oliver got done and got back to their original vantage point. And watched the rodeo from there. It was quite the show, but the Ninetales failed to shake Shalin off. Smiling, he watched as they reconnected and ran back to him. After the declaration, Oliver spoke. "I'd be going full on Karen mode on anything that particular division and section is in. Let it be known what they did. Light a freakin fire under them to go under internal review and do some retraining. Still, congratulations on getting Caprice back. Come on, let's go to Lavaridge to celebrate." The punk ranger started in that direction, waiting to hear the telltale sound of a Pokeball catching a Pokemon. Some relaxation from the saunas and hotsprings were going to feel nice. Especially for Shalin after a ride like that.


Shalin Nariya

Oliver laughed at the response. Well, only one way for a Pokemon to get better. It's fine if they were a specialist, but it should also be a testament to how well trained it is to be able to know when to dial down that specialty for something else that's not its primary strength. As expected, however, the Arcanine went past him. Even though he had waited to catch his breath some at the end of the maze, he powerwalked up to where the dark haired man was. And the Arcanine was bucking wildly just like the Pyroar earlier. And got taken off much more violently. One for three. "Thirty-three percent is failing. Ground mounts wise, total fail. Overall is still up in the air. Get it. What's next?"

Oliver looked over the various peaks. Technically, their run was over. Unless they headed down the easy path down towards Lavaridge town. "Lavaridge is just past the easy slopes that would be good for sheer speed. Alternatively, we could give our flyers some wing muscle via the peaks or darting around close to the ground. I'll leave it to your choice this time." His Dragonite looked pumped to exercise his wings a bit. Small, sure, but they packed quite the punch.

Josh Devlin

Oliver reread his instructions. The Silent Icelands...and Kyreum. Even the most potent of fire Pokemon weren't spared the icy grave. The struggle for Hoenn to continue existing...and to understand what was going on and causing these disasters, and why was everything trying to destroy it. But it was better to keep fighting than lying down and die. At least you could boast that you fought till the end. But these reports of a strange Pokemon and more got him sent out here, since it was so similar to what he had encountered before.

That strange Pokemon on the coastline trying to get out so desperately. He didn't bring his Dragonite with him for this. Ice and dragon-types usually don't mix well. And there was plenty of ice-types around, but they were far more skittish than the appearance of a human normally causes. And he found out why. A scene very similar to one that he had witnessed with his Dragonite played out in front of him. Putting away his orders, he spoke outloud. "I doubt that little guy has any power to offer you. And I thought you wanted out. I figured as soon as the barrier was destroyed, you'd be out of here. What gives? Grown attached to our chaotic region?" His voice had a tinge of amusement in it. But he also hoped that the Pokemon wasn't just eating that Arctibax.

FERNANDO SILPH

Good, maybe she did learn some things at the academy. That, or she already figured and whole heartedly agreed with him. "Go get'er tiger!" With a smile and a thumbs up sign, off she went. Oliver on the other hand, went a different route to scout out the surrouding area. That was going to raise everyone's hackles. Best to go around and see if any Pokemon were nearby, and move them to someplace safer. And boy did the commotion really stir up some dust! He could even see some flames over there. But she was fine. Some Geodude were nearby, and Oliver told them about what was going on. They rolled away without word or question.

Some fighting types were having a blast when Oliver stumbled upon them. After warning them of the danger, the small group left. And that's all Oliver did for the longest time. Just finding Pokemon and letting them know of the danger nearby, and having them retreat or leave the area for the moment. At the human yelp, the cadet ran back, but luckily Shalin wasn't hurt and was still on the thrashing Ninetales. Before it could spot him, Oliver left to continue circling around the area, just getting everyone out safely. He even stumbled upon a trainer that was wondering what all the ruckus was about. After the brief explanation, the trainer high tailed it out of there. Looking back at the commotion, he hadn't heard any more human yelps or anything. Just a lot of thrashing, some flames, and so on.


Shalin Nariya

Oh? He succeeded in staying on. And his comment went completely ignored as Josh returned the Pyroar and took out Arcanine for the last leg of the journey. Mostly? He did still have two flyers left. "The last leg to the top prefers precision and turning over raw speed. So be careful." He pointed at the short tunnel that was the beginning. The black and red haired man would expect him to just blow past him when he started sprinting towards it. Once out, he would turn sharply so he wouldn't fall off and go up to his left. The incline was steeper than the previous one, but he still kept a fast pace, not quite sprinting this time.

Once he was up, Ollie again turned left to the beginning of the hardest part, a maze of tunnels. Taking the first few steps in, the ranger cadet went to his right, then left, left again, right, going on past an opening, right, and so much more. Not every turn had another place to go to, not every opening lead to the way out. It did have markers showing you the way, but if you're too fast or just outright oblivious, you'd miss them by a country mile. Oliver didn't really need them since he studied the map well enough to navigate without any help. He just wondered if Josh went on ahead of him or if the adreniline junky slowed down enough to make the turns and see the markers showing you the right way. Well, he'd keep his ears out and wait to see if he had any luck in getting out...

Josh Devlin

Ah, so she's cut from the same cloth as Josh. "You and Josh Devlin would get along splendidly. He does much the same. Though I think he has an adreniline problem." He chuckled lightly. He found it endearing in a way...but the lad takes it a bit too far. There wasn't much else to say. They spotted it. A large, majestic Ninetales, every bit as large as the reports said. Taking out his own binoculars, he noticed the same kind of marks on the fur. Frowning, his mind raced. If this really was her...then why the hell did customs release her? She was claimed! Unless..."Was the barrier around when you tried to claim her? While that does explain some things, I would still raise holy hell about releasing her. Hoenn's situation should have caused some exceptions and extensions." Though that was neither here nor there.

The cyan eyed young man glared at her at the suggestion. "Just who do you think we are? That is an absolute last resort. There is always a reason for acting out. Be it an invasive species to a thorn in a paw to being lost. As rangers, we are conservationists as well. We do not go around slaughtering Pokemon for the fun of it." His tense and near angry voice berated her. Did she not pay attention at the academy? Shalin did have an idea though. "Have faith. She's lost and alone. And if you two had a strong bond, it won't be so easily broken. Pokemon remember. If you need back-up, don't hesitate to ask or yell. Now go and reconnect with your old friend." His voice was much softer and kinder this time, encouraging even. It was just a matter of watching and making sure Shalin didn't get hurt.

Shalin Nariya

"That is true. Though most of them are smaller in size. Fearow and Pidgeot comes to mind as the few larger bird Pokemon that can navigate forests. The fact that Pokemon are so versatile is part of why most professions, particularly our's, use them in our day to day lives." It was kind of amazing how many professions use Pokemon. From construction, rangers, even some house cleaning companies and landscaping. And with the sheer number of Pokemon out there, and more being discovered practically every week. And that's not counting specific regions either. Though it seems everything can be found in Hoenn due to one reason or another.

"Even so, it seems really odd. I would definitely try again." And still do some digging. Even if she wasn't a ranger, that still seemed really odd that they would deny it. They continued with the mission. Ollie noticed Shalin looked at the footprint longer than typical. And he looked at it. There was something slightly off about it, a claw mark. She still started to follow it, muttering a name. Her Ninetales? Would customs release a trainer's Pokemon like that out in the wild? If so, for what reason? A lot of things weren't adding up if this truly was Shalin's Pokemon. As they continued the walk, they soon found fresher tracks. The hair on the back of Oliver's neck tingled...and he could tell they were being watched now. Both his Dragonite and Breloom could feel it too, but only Breloom seemed nervous about it.

Shalin Nariya

Most likely, yes. But Oliver wasn't going to confirm that. Instead, the red and black haired punk ranger just bowed extravagently. He was awesome, what can he say? The Furret was no slouch either, and it did to a dance around them with a happy grin on its face. It actually looked quite cute. Josh switched over to a Pyroar. The fire lion stretched, and Josh got on, racing to the tunnel. Shaking his head, Oliver followed at a brisk pace, his Dragonite following after them.

The tunnel led them up for a couple dozen yards, then circled down. And then back up again, but for much longer. While he couldn't see Josh, he could hear him and his Pyroar. And it sounded like a wild ride. Eventually going up and into a large room that was much better lighted, Oliver witness the last part of Josh's ride. Once the man was taken off of the massive Pokemon, Oliver approached him. "That's two down. At this rate, you'll still have two left for a trip unless you plan on going all the way to Lavaridge with them." The next one was a short tunnel, then scaling the side of the mountain again. And through a small maze of tunnels to end up on the other side. It'll make speed far less important, and value precision and quick turning more than anything.


Josh Devlin

Oliver watched the Furret's gate, and took note on how it moved. Poor thing was so low to the ground that Josh had to work just keep himself from dragging on the ground. Well, if the rider was determined...

Even when the duo went past him, Oliver didn't increase the pace that much. Especially since it was likely that at the top, Wiley will try to buck Josh off. When he got up there, sure enough, one U-Turn later saw the man go flying. And rolling far enough that Ollie put his foot at the man's shoulder/side to get him to stop. With a goofy smile, the red and black haired man shook his head. "You have a problem, friend." Okay, his turn.

Approaching the Furret calmly, he patted the thing on the head, and scritched behind the ears. Then Oliver hopped on. And off Wiley went. Even using the same maneuver to try to get him off. But no matter what the Pokemon did, Oliver hung on. The Furret had to use a combination of U-Turn plus another move to make the cadet slip off. And even then, Ollie landed on his feet, even if stumbling back. "That's not so bad. Ready for part two, Josh?" He grinned at the gym leader. Part two would have them going through the tunnel right there, and go up, then down, then up again to a larger cavern that led to the outside again.

Josh Devlin

Now that would be something he would look forward to. Seeing new techniques, and how they could be applied to his own, or making note and see how he could improve them if he can, and so on made Ollie giddy. He may be a mere cadet, but he was known for getting stuff done and not putting up with BS back home. And hopefully he'll garner that same reputation here. He fought against Rocket's head boss after all! Even with his Dragonite following, he found it rather humorious about the comment about flying. "Flight is nice, but with the tree cover, can be just as limiting. And often can't see the clues and tracks that lay underneath the canapy." Amazing as it can be, everything has its flaws, and sometimes not the best for a situation.

Plus there was the saying, "When you think you're in control, nature has a tendency to remind you that you're not." And humans can be so dumb. Customs turning away a Pokemon? Really? He wondered about that. "I would do some digging on that. It seems odd to turn away a Pokemon going to its trainer. Especially if said trainer is a Ranger." Someone did something dirty to his colleague. And he didn't like it. But you also needed to stay focused on the job at hand. So Oliver followed her up the trail. She spotted a print before he did. Sure enough, it was huge, very much like the reports said. Some more would indicate that it slid down the steep wall. The tracks were old...would she follow them or try to find some fresher tracks?

Shalin Nariya