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"I guess that's kind of what you have to learn to expect from Hoenn," Frank said, shrugging.[break][break]

Perhaps it wasn't the most reassuring answer to give Yuina, but it was the truth. He'd heard or seen as many crazy things since he'd first arrived in the region almost a year ago.[break][break]

"If it's too much, you could quit being a Ranger. Do something more lowkey. Unless you're a crazy adrenaline junkie who likes to chase danger, like me." He offered her a lopsided grin.[break][break]

As they walked, a Grimmsnarl stepped out from between two trees and growled at them. Dante, eager to defend, leaped at the wild Pokémon. The Grimmsnarl managed to attack first with ASSURANCE before the Lopunny smacked his foe with PLAY ROUGH.[break][break]

Frank threw a Pokéball to capture the Bulk Up Pokémon.

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Between Frank's and Dwayne's Pokémon, the Beheeyem and Elgyem were quickly bested. They fled, no longer interested in whatever was in the barn that had attracted them. Silence fell upon the building, though Frank's heartbeat still pounded loudly in his ears.[break][break]

"I don't know what that fucking was," he said as his face broke into a bewildered grin, "but that was kind of cool. Wasn't it, Rex?"[break][break]

His Persian meowed in obvious dissent, but Frank didn't seem to notice the cat's tone. Instead, he turned to Dwayne.[break][break]

"You know, I don't think I need the drugs anymore tonight." He laughed. "But I'll take it anyway, and here's your money."[break][break]

He picked up the paper bag from the floor of the barn and stuffed the bills into Dwayne's hand. "Have a good one, yeah? Don't get picked up by any more aliens."

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Frank could not help but smile at Yuina's offer. She had no idea what he'd gotten himself into, and considering how sweet and innocent she seemed to be, she was better off never knowing.[break][break]

"I appreciate that," he said anyway.[break][break]

He listened as she recounted all the incidents she'd experienced so far as a Ranger. Wildfires, aggressive Pokémon, and mysterious islands seemed par for the course for Hoenn's Rangers, at least from what he'd heard.[break][break]

But by the way Yuina spoke, more lay beneath the surface. Frank nudged her with his elbow. "Such as?" he said, gentle prodding so as to coax more stories out of her.

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Frank was taking a sip of his coffee when Hazel voiced a subtle suggestion, a promise in the pause between his words. Frank's eyebrows shot up into his forehead.[break][break]

First, because upstanding citizen @albrecht was surely suggesting something illegal. And second, because the prospect of salvaging his own financial situation was incredibly appealing. And what was a little dirt on his hands, considering what he'd already been through?[break][break]

Setting his cup down onto the table, Frank said firmly, "I said I'd do anything, Hazel. I meant it."

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Frank shrugged. "I've been trying my hardest these past few months but unfortunately, nothing's worked. I'm starting to look into other avenues for income, but we'll see how that goes."[break][break]

Yuina did not need to know he had already agreed to more illicit work. Nothing that caused any direct harm to others, of course. Frank did not have the kind of stomach for that.[break][break]

"Enough about me, though," he said, pivoting. "What's Rangering like? What sorts of things are they having you do?"

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Frank's eyes lit up as soon as he saw the gorgeous man Damien had chosen. "You sure know how to pick them, amante."[break][break]

His arm slid from Damien's shoulders, but the lack of contact was only brief; Frank took Damien's hand and laced their fingers together. He led the way to the target of their interests, a lazy smile spreading across his lips.[break][break]

"Well, if it isn't Adonis." That was a famous mythological figure, right? "Did the poets breathe you to life for tonight?"[break][break]

Then he laughed, to show he wasn't taking himself seriously.[break][break]

"I'm Frank, and this is Damien. What's your name, beautiful?" His violet eyes sparkled with mischief. "Or would you prefer we call you 'our Adonis' for the rest of the night?"

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Frank watched Yuina catch the Purrloin with mild interest. However, more rustling in the tall grass drew his attention. A wild Skitty emerged, drawn by the noise.[break][break]

"Finance is a pretty competitive industry," he admitted as Dante bounced ahead and landed a DIZZY PUNCH on the Skitty. Its sharp cry of pain was cut off by the Pokéball Frank threw to capture it.[break][break]

"But it's more than that. We invested a lot into a client relationship I thought would bring us a lot of revenue, but they canceled on us at the last minute. And because RotomTV is a massive corporation, no one is going to fault them but scrutinize me."[break][break]

He sighed.[break][break]

"We lost a bunch of other clients afterward, and haven't been able to bounce back."

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Frank watched from the peak of a sand dune as two groups of Pokémon battled on the broad desert plain below him. He wasn't familiar with either species; one was tall and slender, while the other was broad and bulky. It seemed, at least, that the latter was winning their clash: more of the former lay unconscious on the sand.[break][break]

"What do you think, Brando, Kathy?" Frank asked, addressing his Wigglytuff and Krookodile. "Looks like those orange ones are going to win the fight. I wonder what they're fighting about."[break][break]

The two Pokémon at his side uttered noncommittal noises.[break][break]

"Yeah, hmm. I don't know either."[break][break]

Several individuals of the larger Pokémon species broke off from the main group as the battle wound down. They started up the sand dune toward Frank, prompting him to stand up a little straighter. His instinct was to flee, but the Pokémon looked haggard and weak.[break][break]

"You think you could take 'em, Brando?"[break][break]

The Wigglytuff gave him an exasperated look, then opened his mouth to SING. Almost at once, the strange Pokémon collapsed where they stood, having fallen into a deep slumber.[break][break]

Frank whooped, pumping his fists into the air. "Great job!" He threw a Pokéball at the nearest one to capture it. "I bet you could've taken all of them."[break][break]

Brando rolled his eyes while Kathy snickered.[break][break]



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Frank raised his eyebrows at Yuina's admission. "Oh yeah? The Rangers, huh?"[break][break]

He knew a little bit about the organization. They were esteemed ambassadors to the general populace, bridging the gap between human and Pokémon, helping civilians wherever they were needed.[break][break]

To Frank, the vocation seemed noble, even though he wouldn't be caught dead among their ranks.[break][break]

"I'd say congratulations but it sounds like you've been running yourself ragged with them."[break][break]

He exhaled deeply.[break][break]

"Things aren't okay at the office, but I'm not going to bore you with that stuff. Let's just say business isn't going as well as it was at the start of the year. I've had to lay off a lot of staff recently."

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"Yeah? Me too," Frank said, though the strain in his tone betrayed just how stressful the thought of work was to him. "I'm glad to get away from it all. Admittedly, I'm not much of a 'walk in the woods' kind of guy but anything to get away from the office, right?"[break][break]

Side-by-side, the group started down the forest trail. Frank's Lopunny loped easily at his other side, dark eyes scanning the woods for anything amiss.[break][break]

After a short while, a Scrafty emerged from between two trees. She glared at the approaching group in an attempt to INTIMIDATE, but Dante quickly used FLATTER to confuse her. With an amused smirk, Frank tossed a Pokéball at the bewildered Scrafty.[break][break]

"What kind of stuff is the museum asking you to do these days?" he said afterward, turning to his companion.

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