PURCHASING/REDEEMING

welcome to the poké mart!

1X Free Water Evo (From completing this Mission) on Azura to evolve to Primarina. She forgets Bubble Beam and learns Sparkling Aria

TOTAL

do come again!

## PD

Frostfire

Toki Akiyama's curry entry

thread summary: Toki and El arrived at the scene of a forest fire on Route 104. The two worked together to fight back the fire and discover the source; A wounded Quilava who got caught in a poacher's trap and lashed out in retaliation. After calming the Pokemon, treating its injuries, and putting out the fire, Toki and El went back to Petalburg for a well-deserved break.

why is it important?: It marks important growth for Toki and El, where both realize how far they've come as Rangers and the good they are able to do in that position for Hoenn. It's been a long, tough road blocked by self-doubt, but Toki has begun to grow past that in favor of seeing what he's capable of and what he will be capable of.

"That's it..." Toki said in a reassuring tone as the Quilava began to eat the treats El had provided. He listened to El's advice "Aigis? Can you do that? Can you help us calm it down?" He asked. Aigis' eyes lit up in its own way of showing its understanding. Aigis went up to the Quilava with the others and knelt down, eyes brightening as it gently communicated psychically with the injured Pokemon. It encouraged feelings of safety. That it was going to be okay. It quelled its guilt over the fire, emphasizing it wasn't its fault. Whoever hurt them was no longer here, and they can start healing.

Toki handled the trap, pulling out bandages and padded gloves to get a good grip. "One...two...three!" He said with a grunt as he pulled the trap apart. The Quilava growled and hissed in displeasure, but as soon as the potion touched the injury, its breathing began to slow into a cautious, but calmer pant. El and Toki bandaged it up while Aigis encouraged it to take it easy on the injured leg for a little while. The Quilava staggered a little, but it began to slowly move now that it was no longer in pain. Surprisingly, it was already trying to help stop the fire by smothering the flames with its own flame-resistant body. The smoke was beginning to clear, and the orange haze slowly began to fade as they worked together to snuff out any remaining embers.

It took a few more hours of work, but soon the forest fire had been dealt with. Toki sat down, back against a tree with a heavy sigh as he wiped his brow "Oh thank Arceus that's over." He said, glad to finally have a chance to breathe. "Good job out there, El. You've become a really good Ranger. You're...really an inspiration." He said with a smile as Toki's Pokemon gathered around him. "Hey everyone...you all good? Here, let me get some burn heals out..." He inspected his Pokemon and applied burn heals when needed. Thankfully none of them were hurt that badly.

"El you really did great out there! You kept calm, did what needed to be done, and we got through it all in one piece." He sighed a little bit "I feel like I'm growing as a ranger too. It's been a tough road, but...I think I'm going to do good things while I'm here, you know?" He said, thinking about the future. "Ah, but...those are thoughts for the future. Let's get back to town and grab a bite. I think I heard there was a new malasada place in Petalburg!" Toki really was growing as a person. He was beginning to truly believe in himself and what he was capable of doing. He didn't like the feeling of second guessing himself or stumbling over every word. He stood up and stretched "Let's go find it! My treat."

El Sunderland

Toki nodded "Yeah...sometimes it's best to see what you can find and which Pokemon work well together than worrying too much about it." He always was the type to overthink things and worry too much about a lot of things. To him, El had a lot of wisdom that they should be proud of, but for now it was time to focus on what was happening around them. "Azura, keep it up. Dampen the heart of the blaze the best you can and we'll get this settled soon. Aigis, do you notice anything?"

Aigis' looked around without a sound save for the whirring of its body. Its eyes lit up as it scanned for anything out of the ordinary to focus on. While Aigis looked around, El had found something troubling. He looked over the chain and blood with a wince "Poachers...there are enough problems in Hoenn right now, and they're still exploiting Pokemon to feed into their own selfishness." Toki felt anger bubbling up but he closed his eyes and calmed himself. Nothing to be done for it now aside from help the Pokemon that was caught in it. Aigis looked at the trail, then slowly panned its head across the trail. Its eyes lit up and it pointed to a nearby burrow.

Cautiously, Toki took steps towards the burrow. He tried not to make any noise as he circled to the entrance. "...There you are." He said softly as he spotted an injured Quilava, trap still clamped around its leg. Its mane and tail flared out as it growled in a mixture of fear and agitation at the approaching human. Toki slowly  crouched down, hands at his sides to avoid startling it further. "It's alright...everything is going to be alright." He promised. "El, do you have any berries on you? Carefully toss one its way. When it eats and has its fill, I'll try and keep it calm while you take a potion, some bandages, and try to get the trap off." He said as he handed El a potion "It's good quality. It should numb the pain near instantly if we're quick about it. I'll go on your mark."

El Sunderland

Toki looked at Namielle with a bit of concern. Poor thing was not in his element right now in more ways than one. He didn't seem to notice any signs of a clue yet, though that was fine. The search was just beginning in earnest, after all "Well I hope he knows we appreciate his bravery today. This is the sort of thing I wish no one had to ever deal with." He said, slowly reaching over to give Namielle a reassuring pat on the side.

El had all his bases covered here. Admittedly Toki's strategies were limited, though he had a first aid kit and potions just in case. "I may need advice on how to better build teams. You have so much covered. I accepted this mission when all I had was Azura for reliable water coverage." He said with a sigh "But let's not worry about that now. It's not the time for me to be insecure about these things."

The second they reached the origin of the blaze, Azura quickly went to work alongside Namielle to dampen the area. Toki began to examine the ground quickly for tracks "No feathers, no hoof tracks...no trail. Talonflame's family, Slugma and Magcargo, Ponyta and Rapidash...all off the table. Could be a Houndoom...that could be bad to deal with. Growlithe, Charmander, and Vulpix families could also be responsible...though there are too many other tracks to be completely certain."

As they pushed back the fire, Toki would look for any signs of poaching or injured Pokemon. He kept his ears out for Pokemon cries "If you see it, keep a good distance. Offer it food and back off, keep a potion on hand when it's calmed..."

El Sunderland

"Let's hope it's as simple as an accidental fire." Toki said with a nod. A wild Pokemon, especially a fire type, wouldn't be really compelled to flee from a blaze. The question is what would have angered it so? Either way, the only thing to it was to proceed deeper into the forest while the blaze was being beaten back. "Azura, Setsuna, come with us. Everyone else, keep the flames at bay. Run away if you have to, we'll be fine." He said as the group ventured deeper.

Namielle seemed to be pretty cautious, and the vicinity around him was safe thanks to Muddy Water. Occasionally Azura would whip forward with an Aqua Jet to send an arc of water and mud kicked up by Namielle along the path. "With this much moisture in the air it will be harder for the fire to spread further. We prepared well. Good job." He said to El as they continued to walk. "Hear anything yet? Your Goodra seems on edge. I haven't heard anything out of the ordinary just yet."

Setsuna kept an ear out as well. He always had a good head on his shoulders and an overall attunement to the world around him. He could feel when things were thrown out of balance. It must be a benefit for Pokemon who had the power of Aura. Part of Toki wished it was something humans could learn to tap into.

They were beginning to see fewer fleeing Pokemon. They must have all fled by this point "Alright, stay low, stay quiet. Let's listen for anything out of the ordinary." Toki instructed. He gulped. What was he doing offering advice like an instructor? He was still new, all things considered. Was he overstepping?

El Sunderland

"Admittedly I'm limited on water type moves, but Azura's Aqua Jet, Bubble Beam, and Icy Wind should help out plenty as we try and figure out the source of all this. Aigis is on rescue duty and the others are smothering the flames with loose soil." He explained his situation the best he could to El. He tapped his chin thoughtfully "If it's Pokemon made, something must have seriously agitated it. Calming it won't be easy, but it's the job of Rangers to pacify them whenever they're rampaging. First thing's first is to find whatever it is. Once we figure that out, we can come up with a better course of action." He placed a hand on El's shoulder gently "It's good to think ahead, but without knowing the truth, it's all speculation. So let's find the truth."

Aigis and the other Pokemon were busy keeping the area free from the blaze. Aigis slashed at some of the denser foliage to prevent the blaze from catching them while the rest moved debris and fallen trees out of the way. Pokemon darted through the foliage, escaping the blaze. "Watch where they're fleeing from." Toki pointed out. He pointed to the fleeing Pokemon, their tracks, and then deeper into the forest "That'll be where we want to check first. That make sense?" He asked.

Toki felt somewhat out of his element. There were so many things he didn't quite understand. Hoenn was rapidly changing, and he was falling behind. He tried to put that behind him for now. To worry about that in the middle of a crisis would only put more people and Pokemon in danger. "Alright El...let's make our way in. Stay close." As they walked, Azura shot Bubble Beams and Icy Winds through their path to keep the area damp. In that sense, they should have a safe return path should things get too dangerous.

El Sunderland

• player/ooc name: Connor Tavarin
• character tags: Toki Akiyama
• ic posts for characters: Frostfire
• are characters in directories?: Y
• any notes/comments:

Toki had already been hard at work with the evacuation efforts, ordering his Pokemon to do what they were best at. "Azura, use Aqua Jet and Icy Wind to dampen the flames! Aigis, keep a look out for people trapped and use your speed to shepherd them to safety. Setsuna, Oro, Taruk, smother the flames with any loose soil you can kick up!" He ordered them around with a sense of confidence he was still new to, but he was using it to great affect here. His Pokemon spread out, Azura whipping water about with Aqua Jet and cooling the area with a few sprays of Icy Wind. Aigis stoically darted through the trees and avoided fire the best it could in search of people in need. Setsuna, Oro, and Taruk went about gathering mounds of dirt to throw onto the flames to smother the embers.

Toki wiped his brow, sweat beading on his brow as he adjusted the goggles he had on to protect his eyes from the smoke and ash. At being called, he turned to see a familiar face "El! Everyone's doing fine for the moment. What about you and yours? Everything good?" He looked around to assess the damage. He looked at what was burned and what wasn't "This fire's insane...it flared up out of nowhere. Judging from what's been damaged, the origin must be a little further in." He said with a sigh. He handed El a pair of goggles if they didn't have any already, along with a cloth mask "Put these on. Don't want to inhale smoke or have it get in your eyes. Do you have any idea where we should start?" The area around them was beginning to calm, but there was still a long fight ahead.

Despite all that he was doing, Toki still felt completely out of his element. He wasn't here for what happened to Petalburg during some Avatar incident. He wasn't even sure what an Avatar was! Still, he had to do something. There was a lot he wanted to figure out, but all of this came first. He was ready to make a name for himself.

El Sunderland

• player/ooc name: Toki Akiyama/Connor Tavarin
• character tags: Toki Akiyama
• dropped characters' tags (if applicable):
• ic posts for characters: Smells Like Wet Dog
• are characters in directories?: Y
• any notes/comments:

Toki wasn't qualified in explaining the intricacies of chemistry to Ettie to describe the difference between saltwater and the salt they use for seasoning. Though he tried to at least say...something that was close enough "Salt and water just don't really mix in a way that makes it safe for consumption. I'm not a chemist, so I can't really explain exactly why it is the way it is. Salt on food though, that's a different story. It's interesting that way, since not only does it make some food taste better, it actually works really well in preserving food. Too much salt is bad for you though, as is...well, too much of any food, really."

"I really do miss home sometimes...it doesn't help that I've always struggled to meet and interact with new people." Toki said with a sigh as he looked out at the horizon. "Being out here, trying to be a ranger? It's what I want to do but I can't just keep sitting on the sidelines. I should make a place for myself that reminds me of home. Remind me of where I came from and what I want to do. My Pokemon really appreciate the traveling too, so I definitely want to do that for them."

Azura was having the time of her life interacting with the Pokemon around her. Ettie then took Toki's hand and urged him to play with them all, too. "Oh who am I to say no right now? Sure thing. Azura!" He called out as the Brionne dove into his arms. He laughed and hugged her before letting her jump back into the water.

A lakeside would probably be the most peaceful, at least in his opinion, and Ettie had a good point that water types could help in the event there was an accident with a fire type. He nodded, and would consider his options later on.

He crossed his arms a bit and chuckled when Ettie mentioned the water at the beach tasting bad "Ocean water is full of salt, which makes it undrinkable. Even if you could stomach it all it would do is make you sick and not really hydrate you at all." He explained.

Ettie would suggest taking into consideration what his Pokemon would want or need. He looked over at Azura, who was adoring her time with the Primarina, then to Malik, who took in the warm sun and rested peacefully. "Maybe a beach would be for the best...it reminds me of home, and Azura being able to explore her species' habitat would probably do wonders for her. She lost her mom by the time I met her, so seeing your Primarinas have probably helped her heal in a way she didn't know she needed."

He watched as Azura swam alongside the other Pokemon, singing along and overall having a wonderful time with them all. Toki rubbed at his eyes a little, sighing happily as he watched. "Seeing that makes me happier than anything."

• player/ooc name: Connor Tavarin
• character tags: Toki Akiyama
• ic posts for characters: Smells Like Wet Dog
• are characters in directories?: Y
• any notes/comments: