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Elinor Anderson had been up there for a while now! That made Julia even more determined to hit her target this time. She took careful aim, and then she pitched the ball as hard as she could.

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Well, this was an unusual situation. Not the part where she was keeping an eye out for Beheeyem trying to abduct fluffy Wooloo for reasons that Julia still didn't understand, but the part where her partner for the night was a 12-year-old. If she could read minds, she'd find it even stranger that they shared the thought pattern of trying not to think about their impending doom and past losses by focusing on a present issue.

[break][break]Hideo had a Beheeyem of his own to help with the mission, this one distinguished by his star-shaped sunglasses. "Oh, I love those sunglasses!" Julia had exclaimed upon seeing them. Not only were they useful in telling Elga apart from other Beheeyem, but they were also fun and stylish! Maybe she should invest in some accessories for her own team...

[break][break]Julia had one Pokémon of her own out: Spot the Lucario, whose aura sense would help track down the culprit, no matter how sneaky they tried to be. Sunglasses probably wouldn't be his thing, but maybe he'd like a cool scarf? Julia would have to think it over once they were done here.

[break][break]"You think that's what they're doing? Just playing with them?" Julia asked. Probably not, but the other possibilities were straight out of a sci-fi horror movie. And not the cheesy kind with bad special effects that you laughed at, either.

[break][break]As the two trainers talked, Spot watched the horizon, the four appendages on his head partially raised as he searched the area for any unusual auras.

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Julia had to admit she was a bit nervous about working directly with a Ranger Captain. But more than that, she was excited! She'd actually get to see a captain in action and see what kinds of techniques and Pokémon he used. Of course, Julia wasn't just planning to watch. As always, she was going to give this mission her all. What was the point if she didn't?

[break][break]She was doing some simple stretches to keep her energy in check when the captain finally arrived. "It's nice to meet you, Captain Vollans!" she said, reaching for a handshake. "I'm excited to be working with you today." He seemed nice, which helped tamp down those bits of nervousness that Julia still held.

[break][break]"I have, yeah! Though usually it's just one or two defending their territory or some scared Pokémon lashing out." She hadn't dealt with something like this before: two troupes of Fighting-type Pokémon were getting into increasingly violent clashes over resources that were affecting the other Pokémon of the habitat. Naturally, the Rangers had been dispatched to stop them, and Julia was lucky enough to be part of this mission.

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"Ohh. Understood." Her tone was light at first but then darkened at Josh's description of the boat. "We're on our way. Over and out." Saying those words was a lot less fun in an official context. Her days of playing spy and detective had made it all seem so fun, but as much as she loved her job, she had to face some ugly things out there. But she was determined to stop as much of it as she could.

[break][break]"Let's go, Lazuli," she said. Her Lapras let out a song note of affirmation and paddled toward the boat as fast as she could. She wasn't nearly as fast as a Sharpedo, but she could feel her and Julia's combined determination spurring her on to stop any other innocent Pokémon from getting hurt.

[break][break]When they came into view, one of the other crew members shouted that another Ranger on a Lapras was on her way. Julia was weighing her options when she saw Josh on the deck. Without his Pokémon. And with an Electabuzz charging a Thunder Shock. That wasn't good!

[break][break]Julia had to act fast. "Lazuli, Confuse Ray the Electabuzz!"

[break][break]A low, eerie wail echoed across the water as orbs of light in a myriad of colors floated from Lazuli's mouth and across the deck to their target. They swirled around the Electabuzz's head, drawing its attention and making its gaze go in drunken circles. The Thunder Shock sparked from its body in Josh's vague direction, but the Electabuzz's newfound confusion meant its aim was off.

[break][break]That was one problem taken care of. But now Julia was faced with two more, namely the Electrode and Eelektross the other two crew members had sent out. Julia reached for her Poké Balls, but already, the Eelektross was being commanded to use Thunder Wave.

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Julia still didn't understand why a Rocket, of all people, was walking her through a grounding exercise. She didn't dismiss the possibility that he was just trying to get her guard down, but this was a really complex way of doing that. And with how much this exercise had Julia focusing on her immediate environment, it wouldn't be very effective, either.

[break][break]She couldn't help but feel a bit proud that her verbal snipe had Isaac sounding bashful. But then Isaac explained Kurze's rough past and how it led to his behaviors. Even though he'd just tried to kill her, Julia couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the Bisharp. She'd worked with troubled Pokémon in the past, and she knew that their circumstances could lead to behavioral issues. Potential vehicular manslaughter was a new one, though. If this had been anyone else, Julia would have commended them for sticking with Kurze despite his issues.

[break][break]"You probably shouldn't let him drive again, then," she said instead. "Not unless you train him or something. Just, you know, don't train him to run people over." Okay, maybe giving advice to a Rocket was a bad idea...

[break][break]She wasn't sure whether she wanted to accept his apology or not, so she focused on the grounding exercise, instead. Four things she could feel. She'd been taught to focus on physical feelings in these situations to keep herself from getting stuck in her own head. She reached out and stroked each of Chester's heads, one at a time. "I feel Chester's feathers." She knelt down to pick up Sparkie and put her on her shoulders. "Sparkie's fur. I feel the warm night air. And..." She focused for a moment. "I feel my feet firmly on the ground." Technically, she could only actually feel one of those feet, but that wasn't the point.

[break][break]She knew how the rest of this exercise went. "I hear your motorcycle running." Which made it all the stranger that he'd set his Poké Balls aside since that kept him from getting away so easily. Chester let out a low warble. "I hear Chester, and..." She looked over at Sparkie. The Pikachu tilted her head before realizing what Julia wanted and letting out a squeak. "And Sparkie.

[break][break]"I smell her, too. She's not stinky or anything; she's just right here." Still, Sparkie looked a bit bashful, so Julia scratched behind her ear to make her feel better. "And I can smell the motorcycle fumes. And for taste... unless you want me to lick my Pokémon—" Sparkie looked rather horrified at the thought, but Chester just looked amused at Julia's quip. "—I taste the inside of my mouth. It's still a bit minty."

[break][break]Her breathing had evened out, and any trace of panic or anger seemed to have dissipated. It always felt good to be fully back in the present, to not be worrying about the past again. As she reveled in that feeling, she realized something. "Wait. Frivolous? You're carrying bombs! Where are they? Where'd you tell your Dhelmise to go?" She wasn't panicking anymore, but that didn't mean she wasn't worried about whatever—or whomever—those explosives were targeting.

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Another one of those blue shards! Julia'd heard that if she collected one of each color, she'd get a prize. Maybe she could trade this spare blue one for another one. Now, what else was down here...?

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Ooh, this was a big one! Just like with the Lanturn, she invited the Whiscash to hang around until she was done. It seemed pretty chill with the whole "being hooked" thing and floated alongside Lazuli once it was free. Julia cast her line again.

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It was time. The hardest trick in the set awaited her: the deceitfully named Magikarp Splash. It looked easy, sure. No crazy flips or jumps that risked dropping her into the ocean. Just a couple of easy spins and turns followed by essentially having the Mantine flop in mid-air. But the precision was what got most people. If you didn't do it perfectly, it didn't count toward your score. Magikarp was often underlooked, especially when all it could do was Splash about. But if Julia wanted to nail this, she'd have to really think about just what that Splash looked like and imitate it to perfection.

[break][break]Here goes nothing!

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[break]A sloppy performance, nothing like a true Magikarp. The judge gave her a thumbs-down. Dang.[break]

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Thankfully, her "opponent" this time was an actual adult, so Julia didn't have to feel nearly as bad about giving the ball the best toss she could.

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A Lanturn! How particularly friend-shaped! "Hey, there," Julia greeted it. "Wanna hang out with us for a while?" Lazuli sang a soothing note, one that spoke of Julia's sincerity and unwillingness to hurt her new friend. The Lanturn seemed to be convinced by this, for once the fishing hook had been safely removed, it swam nearby.

[break][break]"Awesome!" Julia said. But what else could she find? She cast her line out again to find out.

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Come on Julia, focus! Remember what Angus taught you about Over-the-Gyarados!

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[break]It seemed that little mental pep talk was all she needed! Julia let out a victorious "Whoo-hoo!" once she'd safely landed on the Mantine's back after, in her opinion, an epic flip. She could hear cheers coming from the shore.

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Under the sea... Under the sea~

[break][break]Dang, that song was gonna be stuck in Julia's head for ages after this! At least it was catchy.

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Aww, the girl up there now was just a kid! Julia knew it was all fair play, but she still felt bad as she tossed the ball. "Sorry!" she called, a bit embarrassed.

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