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"Hey, I'll take it!" Beau laughed. He turned to Jack and gave a quick thumbs-up of acknowledgement, allowing Torben some personal space without actually recalling him into his pokeball. With a low grunt, the bear crouched down at the side of the path, plucking a long shoot from the ground that he began chewing on absently, falling into step as the little group set off once again.
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"Better you than me on the paperwork," Beau commented as he walked alongside Jack. "It's the one thing I don't miss about the Gym. One time I sent in a 402C instead of a 204C and this dude almost got shipped off on a Luvdisc trawling boat instead of getting his badge win logged," he grinned, abashed, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Bet you're too careful ta let something like that happen, though, huh?"
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The slight tension in his shoulders eased as he walked with his friend. He felt good, for the first time in months. It was more of a relief than he'd even expected to be able to come back to Dewford, and joining up with the Rangers let him feel like he was actually on the verge of something truly useful in this crazy world he called home. Heck, the fact that Jack, of all people, was the one to meet him for orientation felt like a sign all in itself.
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His grin softened into a small smile as he took in the afternoon sun of the island - Torben trudging behind him, Jack at his side, and Watts barking ahead at a Wingull, pouncing playfully after the bird along the path.
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Yeah, this was gonna be good, he could tell.

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Beau caught his breath as the scene around them resolved into a broad glade, and he gazed about in wonder. "Wow," he murmured, "Talk about whiplash." At Jack's comment, he nodded, though when he noticed the other man seemed more to be saying it to himself than to Beau, he offered Jack a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
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When the other man moved forward to the tree, Beau stayed standing behind, squinting to examined the forms of a few of the petrified pokemon surrounding the glade. A quick glance at Jack told him that the other man was about to touch the tree, and he couldn't help a reflexive wince as he recalled what happened only moments prior in the tomb, but a silent sigh of relief deflated his chest as the danger seemed to pass.
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His eyebrows raised as Jack made his inquiry, and Beau shrugged. "You got me, brah, but it's worth a shot!" He tossed a pokeball before thinking to question whether his pokemon would have made the transition into the simulation with the rest of him, but he was quickly gratified at the appearance of Nemo the Swampert, who promptly set to spraying the tree with a rippling wave of water from his mouth.
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Beau ambled up next to Jack, nudging him slyly and grinning at the tree. "Can't hurt, right? I bet its bark is worse than its bite."

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Running a hand through his hair absently, Beau ran through the preparations one last time. Projector? Check. Couch? Vacuumed. Living room? Mostly clean. Food? Ready to go, or as close as it could be - the enormous bowl of batter was in front of him on the counter, studded with the most luscious blueberries Beau could hand-pick from the five pints he'd brought home. The rest were for snacking, sure, but these pancakes had to be perfect. He arranged the syrup and butter next to the bowl for the fifteenth time - couldn't make them until they were ready to eat or they'd get cold, but he might as well make sure he was ready for that point when it got here - if it got here.
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He'd even put some effort into his clothing, opting for a button-down shirt and dark jeans that, if he had to admit to himself, were probably nicer than anything Klaus had ever seen him in while they'd been out exploring. He'd even managed to tame his hair, with the aid of some kind of goop from his neighbor, into a neat swoop.
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The knock at the door brought him out of his reverie, and he almost stumbled as he dove for it, catching himself on the handle with a thump that his visitor was sure to hear from the outside. Picking himself up, he took a deep breath, smoothed the front of his shirt down, and opened the door.
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He caught sight of Klaus, and couldn't quite suppress the grin that appeared, his anxiety doing some kind of weird morphing trick and shifting into butterflies the minute he laid eyes on the man.
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"Oh, uh, hey! Come in!"

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Beau nodded as the woman introduced herself, and took a moment to examine the area they were in more closely - there really was something new every corner he turned in Hoenn! He'd been here his entire life and thought he'd seen it all, but if the past couple of years had taught him anything at all, it was to expect the unexpected.
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His brow furrowed in a slight frown as she offered an apology from the get-go, and he tilted his head slightly, curious. "Why're you sorry?" he blurted out. You be you, brah! Long as you're not tellin' me that, like, I got rocks for brains or somethin', you can talk fancy if you wanna!"
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He offered a reassuring grin, mirrored by the Swampert standing at his side. "Anyway, don't sweat it, I'm excited to work with you!" He placed his fists on his hips meditatively, peering around until he focused on the cavernous path twisting further into the Area, the sounds of wild pokémon echoing from within.
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"You feel like givin' it a shot that way?" he inquired, firing finger-guns in the indicated direction.
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"Uh, yeah, brah, it's MAD!" Beau bellowed back at Gunner over the melee. He picked himself up off the ground and scowled, picking a tiny pebble from his upper arm and flicking it away contemptuously. He clambered over to Gunner and the researchers, checking on the third man, who only had a low, whistling breath to offer. "Better than nothing," he grunted, hoisting the unconscious man over his shoulder.
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A lull in the fighting caused him to look up toward the Walking Wake, who bared its fangs in a vicious snarl before a HYDRO STEAM surged out of its maw. Nemo darted in to intercept at the last second, uttering a pained cry as the attack hit him and dispersed, a cloud of white mist filling the air.
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Though the strange pokemon was stronger than expected, two against one was still good odds, and between Gwyn ap Nudd's electrical fangs and Nemo's resilience in holding back the other's attacks, the Walking Wake was brought low, panting. Beau grunted and threw a pokeball toward the creature, but it whipped its head around and dove into the pool from which it had been drinking, vanishing with a splash.
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Supporting the unconscious researcher, Beau looked around for Gunner with raised eyebrows. "I'd say good on us, but I don't like our chances if that sucker decides to come back. I'll get this dude, can you help him and..." he trailed off, glancing to the unmoving researcher lying on the ground.
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Beau nodded as he, Gunner, and their pokemon made their way through the tunnel. He didn't have to be a strategic genius to know that the claustrophobic confines of the cave did not lend themselves well to a brawl. He should know, he'd once nearly been on the losing side of one near Rustboro. Fortunately, it had been Geodude mating season, and with the timely arrival of a herd of them...
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He shook his head brusquely, clearing his thoughts. Some things did not bear remembering.
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The Arcanine's rumbling growl brought him up short, and he peered ahead, catching sight first of the pokemon ahead of them, then the numerous clusters of Tera crystals that sprinkled the surroundings. Gunner's hissed warning drew his attention to the three fallen researchers, and his eyes widened in recognition.
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Moving as quietly as he dared, Beau shuffled, crouching, toward the researchers. When he reached them, he experimentally placed two fingers to the first one's neck, feeling for a pulse. After a moment, his shoulders slumped, and he moved to the second, repeating the gesture.
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This man sat bolt upright with a scream of fright that echoed around the walls of the cavern, causing the Walking Wake to whirl with a snarl, orienting first on the shivering researcher, then on Beau right next to him.
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Beau swore and dove out of the way, narrowly missing being hit by a DRAGON BREATH. Nemo bounded forward from the grotto entrance, retaliating with a ROCK SLIDE that sent chunks of the cave ceiling mixed with Tera Crystals raining down on the saurian pokemon. "NOT COOL, BRAH!!" Beau hollered at the traumatized researcher, who offered a whimper in response.
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Beau nods, setting his plate to the side. "Yeah, I'm almost done with my Ranger orientating, so shouldn't be too bad before I can jump in and pull some weight around here for you." He tilts his head curiously, brow furrowed. "Eterna-whatnow?" This entire conversation consists of news to him, but he wonders how bad the situation must be, exactly, for Navy to speak like he has a vendetta against this portal specifically.
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The sheriff then proceeds to rattle off a tongue-twister of a name that has Beau merely nodding his head eagerly in lieu of trying to repeat it, because even he has the self-awareness that he'll likely mangle the pronunciation without practicing it first. "Yeah, I'll give you my number - just give me a yell and I'll be there." Not that he's particularly looking forward to ghost-hunting; he did in fact scare easily, but he wasn't about to give Navy any reasons to be unsure of his usefulness in getting Dewford to something resembling normalcy.
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A rueful grin tugs at his lips, his demeanor markedly more serious than the usual breezy attitude he conducts himself with. "Public service," he agrees. "It ain't easy, but somebody's gotta care enough to do it." He swirls the ice in his glass around absently, glancing toward the ceiling in idle thought. "I just hope it doesn't get worse before it gets better, but there's always something, feel me?"

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Beau's grin widened, and he nodded. "Too cool! Now I know they're gonna be in good hands for sure!" He hadn't had the chance to work with many rangers yet outside of his little island corner, but he had to admit there was something to this "networking" thing people talked about. How else would he have ever found out that the head ranger was, like, a dude? A cool dude?
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His attentioned turned to the bottleneck at the entrance deeper into the Chasm, and he forgot to really do anything as Ollie's Venusaur blipped into existence and blanketed the path of the oncoming horde with SLEEP POWDER. "Hey, uh, hey," Beau murmured under his breath, elbowing Torben in the side surreptitiously. "You got anything like that you can do?"
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The Pangoro regarded Beau with an impassive scowl, then offered a singular low grunt in the negative. "Fine, fine!" Beau retorted, holding his hands up defensively. "Just thought I'd ask! You know how the good guys always level up or get some kinda weird power upgrade before the big fight! One at a time it is, I guess."
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A surprising number of the oncoming Paradox Pokemon succumbed to the Sleep Powder, falling to the ground between one stride and the next, but a scattered contingent still made its way forward. "Playin' it cool, got it, brah, sir!" Beau called to Ollie in response, crossing his arms as he regarded the persistent attackers who made their way toward the station. A Brute Bonnet, incongruously, was the leader of the vanguard, and Torben obligingly offered a NIGHT SLASH that bisected the pokemon's protective foliage veil.
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"Say no more!" Beau heaves himself up from the chair with a grunt of effort, shooting the other man a thumbs-up. "Back in two shakes." He disappears into the kitchen, preceding an enormous clatter of dishes, pans, pots, what sounds like some kind of squeak toy, and the clinking of something into glasses. He returns shortly thereafter, a relatively respectable-looking sandwich and chips plated in each hand, and he sits one in front of his guest before resuming his seat.
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Following him is the Snubbull from prior, a wooden tray clenched in his underbite, bearing two glasses of ice water. Beau takes one with a beaming smile, and the small dog wheezes around the table to sit impatiently before the sheriff with the other glass. "jack wainwright, that's him! We go way back, it was cool as all get out seeing him here. Complete surprise, but you won't find a more reliable dude, dude."
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He sets into his sandwich with the gusto expected of a man his size, though he has the manners to swallow before he speaks again. "Yeah, brah, I'm not about to miss all the fun, not when it's close to home. 'Sides, sounds like you need your hands less full," he grins.
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He finishes the sandwich in three or four bites, but curiously leaves the chips untouched. "On the money! My best brah Torben's a Pangoro, but I spent most of my time training Water-types," he explains. "Then at the gym, I decided I really wanted to be more about trainers learning about determination and stickin' to their guns, so I spread out a little bit. Basically if it hits hard, I got it," he winks.
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He gives the man a break in the conversation to eat while he turns over the influx of information about the little island town he calls home over in his head. At length, he clears his throat. "So, where do I start? Sounds like there's some more people I oughtta meet, and ghosts and creepy wormholes don't wait for a convenient time, do they?"

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When the scientist's gambit was blown and he took a PSYCHO CUT to the back, the rest of the small gaggle of Rockets sprung into action as Jack barreled along the path. The pair set for the ambush gave up their position in favor of trying to stop the man from reaching the building, skidding down the embankment and hurling pokeballs toward the intruding Ranger.
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A Golbat and an Arbok materialized between Jack and the Station, fangs dripping in venom, while the grunts yelled something unintelligibly but with an undeniably pompous undertone.
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The researchers, for their part, saw the fighting coming toward them and scampered into the station. One busied herself in the front room, plugging a portable drive into the computer and hurriedly setting to work on the keyboard, while the other man ran into the back and snatched Beau's pack from its place on the wall.
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"Hey, what do you think you're doin' with that, brah?" Beau demanded angrily, rising from his seated position and slamming his fists against the glass of the enclosure. The scientist grinned nastily. "Turning the tide. Go kill that Ranger!" he shrieked, throwing one of Beau's pokeballs as a spray of red light materialized.
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The pokemon resolved into a wheezing, rheumy-eyed Snubbull who looked around with a huff. He sighted the man in a white coat snarling above him, then his trainer trapped in a cell on the other side of the room. He spun in place irritably, coughed once, and promptly latched onto the scientist's ankle with a CRUNCH that sent the man yowling in pain into the front room, stumbling into a table and knocking electronics onto the floor.
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"Get 'em, Chaos!" Beau whooped, pumping his fist in the air. "But, like, be careful! You don't know where that's been, dude!"
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