[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

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“True enough, however, with my ranger trainer, my college classes, taking on the gym circuit, as well as any other extracurricular activities, it can be hard to find the time to learn new things,” he said, only sticking to part of the truth. Because the truth was, that was only part of it.
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His parents wouldn’t allow him to do something they deemed dangerous, which would definitely include working with tools. They would undoubtedly already get an earful if they found out he was in training to be a ranger. They would definitely worry about him pushing himself too hard.
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While he wanted to live his life to the fullest, perhaps it was best not to push things too far. And yet, he wanted to prove himself independent. And one good way to do that would be to learn to fix things.
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Pushing thoughts of independence to the back of his mind, he decided to focus on the original purpose of them being out here.
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The sound of Mistral’s cry had him looking up; however, he couldn’t see her, meaning she was currently outside of his line of view.
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“Guess she spotted them,” he said, knowing the Swellow would circle back if she had to lead them to the Mareep.[break] Eris Halla

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[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

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“Hmmm…maybe,” he agreed.
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“Though it does make me wonder why such a smart Pokémon would allow themselves to be swayed like that. It’s also possible the Oranguru doesn’t fully grasp what he did as being wrong. They’re smart enough to pretend to be trainers but might not fully realize that stealing or controlling another Pokémon isn’t the right way to go about that,” he said, his expression thoughtful.
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It was clear he was looking for other possible scenarios in case it hadn’t been tampered with. Never just assume the first one is the right one. In any situation, always look for every possible scenario.
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Anyway, calling it in was the right call. “Hopefully it’ll be able to be helped,” he said upon seeing the older ranger call it in.
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At the comment, he shook his head. “Being part of Team Rocket doesn’t necessarily make you bad, just like being in the league doesn’t necessarily make you good. There are bad people everywhere. Assuming they’re only in Team Rocket will only get you into sticky situations.”
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It wasn’t that he agreed with Rocket; it was just that he saw the world in more than just black and white. He was also aware that everyone had a reason for what they did. There was no telling what caused a person to turn to Team Rocket.[break] robin coello

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[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

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"Yeah, I caught him as a Zorua when I was ten. Well, I say caught, but he technically chose me after me and my sister saved him from some other Pokémon that had ganged up on him. I tended to his injuries while my sister chased off the Pokémon. However, with how protective he is of me, one wouldn’t think there was a time he needed saving,” he explained, a chuckle escaping him when he said the last part.
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Mirage was probably his closest friend. Sure, he had human friends now, but he would never be as close to them as he would Mirage. With Mirage, he felt he could talk about anything.
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"Yeah, I wouldn’t know what to do if something happened to him. We kind of just look out for each other. Outside of my siblings, he was my first friend, so we’re pretty close.”
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As she introduced her Pokémon, her gaze flickered at them. Before she said anything, she was already introducing herself. “It’s nice to meet you, Gominha, Zeus, Belle, and Thea,” he said with a friendly smile before continuing. “And my name is Absalom, but I also go by Axel.”[break] Thea Naito

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[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

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Mirage would start by using Shadow Sneak to appear behind the Oranguru before hitting it from behind with a Foul Play, causing the Oranguru to turn its attention to the Hisuian Zoroark. This would create an opening for Royal, who had returned to his trainer's side, to hit it from behind with a Night Slash.
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It was clear that it was a bit overwhelmed by dealing with super effective moves being used against it. Realizing it might try to flee along with the stolen Pokémon, he directed Mirage to go for one final attack - a Foul Play that would knock out the psychic type.
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Picking up the dropped Poké Ball, he returned the Tropius to its Poké Ball before handing it over to Robin. "We should call a team out here to ensure the Oranguru gets to safety. It's not safe to leave a Pokémon fainted like this where any wild Pokémon could come along and attack it," he pointed out.
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"Anyway, that Tropius belongs to our client. We should report back that we succeeded in getting the Pokémon back and give the Tropius back to its rightful owner. Hopefully, this will teach the client to keep a better hold on their Pokémon."[break] robin coello

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[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

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He supposed that by "that" she meant they were on a break. Still, it was good to know he wasn't bothering her. His return smile was a bit awkward, as he still felt a little uncomfortable around people his own age due to the isolation he had experienced before coming to Hoenn.
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To distract himself, he allowed his gaze to trail over their surroundings. He noticed the Pokémon she had with her: a Minccino, a Primeape, and a...
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The last one that caught his attention was a Wigglytuff. Before he could mention that he had one himself, the girl returned from looking through her bag.
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The offer of water caught him off guard, but he accepted it with a nod. "Thanks," he said as he reached into his own bag and pulled out what seemed to be a small bowl. If it wasn't already obvious what he was going to do, it soon became clear when he placed the bowl in front of Mirage and poured some of the water into it.
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Only after taking care of Mirage did he take a drink himself. "Thanks, he's a Hisuian Zoroark. He's the one I've had the longest," he explained.
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"His name is Mirage," he added in response to her question.[break] Thea Naito

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[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

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"Yeah, it's hard knowing that his powers can affect him like this. Of course, I would try to avoid how much I use him in battles, but..." he trailed off. The truth was, Mirage wasn't just his strongest Pokémon; he was also the most stubborn and protective of him.
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The truth was, even if he tried to prevent Mirage from battling, he would still do it anyway. It wasn't really him being disobedient, although some who didn't know Mirage well might assume so. No, Mirage was just so invested in keeping him safe that he would jump into battle at a moment's notice.
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That said, the idea of a Pokémon being able to assist him hadn't even crossed his mind. He would have to look into that.
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"Me too," he agreed before finding himself curious about something. "Does Pulse have to use his healing abilities a lot around the ranch?"
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It was in the midst of having that conversation that he would realize neither of them had introduced themselves. Luckily, the older male wouldn't think anything of it and would simply follow up with his own introduction.
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"Nice to meet you as well, Thomas."[break] Thomas Benoit

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[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

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"Thanks, he's a Hisuian Zoroark."
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If things were different, he would go into full lecture mode. After all, it was clear he had never seen the variation of Zoroark before. However, since things weren't different and they had some lost Mareep to contend with, he decided to leave the lesson for another time.
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He scanned the Mareep before scanning the area around them. Good, nothing dangerous seemed to stand out. Seemed aside from finding a way to herd them, they wouldn't have to worry.
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Seemed like their best chance. "Good, we'll start there then. And if these aren't the farmers' Mareep, it's possible he'll know who they belong to."
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Always go into a situation with a contingency plan. Never assume your first decision is the right one.
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At the question, he eyed the Mareep thoughtfully. "Perhaps we could offer them something better than grass food-wise and get them to follow us that way," he suggested.
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Other than that, he had nothing. None of his Pokémon were really known for herding.[break] Knight Naito

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[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

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"Will do," he said before signing off. Once he had, he would turn his attention to the father. "Hey, I promise I'll help you get down. Just do everything I tell you, and I promise you'll get safely out of the tree and be reunited with your son."
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The father was scared and still seemed uncertain. He could see that. However, the older male finally seemed to put some faith in him, and reluctantly, he nodded.
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"Good," he said, not bothering to hide his relief.
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Slowly descending, he told the older male exactly how to place his hands and where to put his feet as he began to help him climb down. It was slow going, with him having to coax him to continue a few times before the older male eventually found himself on the ground once more.
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Not bothering with verbal praise, he simply nodded to the older male as he got off Mistral, returning her to her Pokéball as he swung himself into Mirage's saddle. Once settled, he would take out another Pokéball, releasing Gemini from his Pokéball.
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Seeming relieved that he wouldn't be faced with riding an unusual mount, it didn't take much coaxing to get him to get on Gemini. Only after he was sure the boy's father was settled would he urge Mirage to start moving, Gemini immediately following after them as they made their way to the meeting spot.[break] Josh Devlin

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[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

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Listening to what she had to say, he simply nodded. Pen repairs were good, though he felt something stronger should be kept in place. Anything from bad weather to predators could break into a pen if one wasn’t careful. He was just thankful this mission involved tracking down some Mareep and not what had killed them.
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"Fixing fences though, is this... how did you come to know about repairing fences?" he inquired, barely keeping himself from asking if it was normal child behavior. He could hear his sister now, being careful about what he said. How saying certain things would get him strange looks.
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As it was mentioned that they should focus on finding the Mareep, he nodded again before gesturing to a part of the fence. Guiding Mirage to jump over the fence, his gaze flickered briefly to the other teen. He felt a bit bad about remaining on the back of Mirage while she walked. He was well aware it was best to remain on the back of Mirage, but telling himself he would be fine as long as he didn’t push himself too hard, he swung himself off his back.
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"You should rest a bit, Mirage," he said, looking straight ahead.
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"Hmmm... that's problematic," he agreed as he took a Pokéball in hand, releasing a Swellow from its contents. "Mistral, take to the skies and see if you can see anything. We're looking for some missing Mareep. Alert us if you see anything."
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Having received her orders, the Swellow took to the skies, flying a bit ahead of them to see if she could see anything.[break] Eris Halla

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[attr="class","header"]WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER

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"It's a pretty handy ability. Of course, there are other Pokémon that can have the ability. My suggestion is, unless you plan on keeping a Glameow, not to go for a Glameow for the ability," he said, seeming to be on the same line of thinking as she was.
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Before she could inquire as to why, he continued. "Once it evolves into Purugly, it'll lose the ability. It's not an ability that a Purugly can have."
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Finally, it seemed Royal had found the little troublemaker, and upon hearing the older ranger, he nodded. Trusting Royal to meet up with them, he urged Mirage to make his way to where the psychic-type Pokémon was.
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As Robin jumped off her Dragapult and onto the Tropius, he was a bit caught off guard. Especially when she decided to slide down its neck lines like a fire pole.
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As the Tropius tried to shake her off, thanks to the Oranguru, he mentally shook himself. He joined his companion in getting off his own Pokémon before ordering Mirage to target the Oranguru.[break] robin coello

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