[attr="class","header"]EVERYDAY BY MYSELF I’M BREAKING DOWN

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Lavaridge Town was somewhere he hadn't been to often, not having much use for going to the hot springs. But a mission was a mission, and as a ranger, he wanted to be as much help as he could be.
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The person he was working with was someone he hadn't worked with yet, a newer face among the ranks possibly. He wasn't entirely sure because he hadn't had the chance to learn the names of everyone who worked among the rangers, only knowing the names of rangers he had worked with previously or some of the higher-ups.
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Usually, he would just fly to the destination, meeting his partner at the mission site. But wanting the exercise, he had decided to meet up with his partner before the mission and walk the rest of the way to Lavaridge. It helped that walking was a nice distraction from his thoughts, especially when the woman struck up a conversation with him.
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Realizing he was going fast enough that she had been struggling to keep up, he slowed his pace a bit before addressing her.
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"We're to protect nearby wildlife around Lavaridge and provide medical care if needed. Apparently, due to the appearance of the Silent Icelands, the weather patterns in Hoenn have changed, as well as the volcanic activity of Mount Chimney. Because of that, the volcanic ash that comes from Mount Chimney is being blown into Lavaridge. We've been tasked with helping to deal with the problem," he explained, trying to keep his explanation as short as possible.
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But it was still a pretty long-winded explanation, and now his throat hurt.
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Luckily, from all the talking and not from the ash polluting the air. Because like her, he had his mouth covered. However, unlike her, he had decided to tie a bandanna around the lower half of his face so he could have his hands free.[break] zoë crow

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[attr="class","header"]EVERYDAY BY MYSELF I’M BREAKING DOWN

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How could anyone do experiments on Pokémon? How could anyone in their right mind justify that? He supposed none of these people were in their right mind. That a lot of people in Team Rocket had something mentally wrong with them.
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Josh's voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and he curtly nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He wasn't exactly sure what he would say or how loud he would say it. And the last thing they needed was the risk of him giving them up. Though he figured that was about to happen anyway.
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He followed after the older male, eyeing the rockets. While he couldn't hear what they were saying due to speaking in lowered voices, he kept an eye on their mouths in order to read their lips. Having done this on multiple occasions, he knew how to do it without being obvious about it. In fact, for the most part, he seemed to be looking down at his feet.
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Eventually, two of the rockets left, leaving them with just the technician. After they left, he fully looked up just in time to see Josh make his move.
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Luckily, a threat was all that was needed for him to comply. To him, it seemed a little too easy. But he wasn't about to question things until he was sure whether or not he was right to have doubts.
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Following after the two, they finally reached the room they needed. As Josh got the door open, he kept an eye on their surroundings.
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Hearing the door slide open, he followed after the two. "Will do," he said, glad to find his voice steady as he positioned himself beside the door.
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Though his attention seemed focused on the door, he was still somewhat paying attention to Josh and the technician. So he heard Josh's command to the technician.
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Hearing the technician's response, he couldn't help but let out a snort of derision. "Yeah, we're not buying that," he said dryly without even looking at the two. Instead, he was keeping an eye on anything happening beyond the room, ready to sound an alarm if someone approached the room.[break] Josh Devlin

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[attr="class","header"]EVERYDAY BY MYSELF I’M BREAKING DOWN

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It seemed Sterling was on the same page as him. That was good. It meant he didn't have to try and spell it out for them.
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He grunted in affirmation of their statement, showing that he had come to the same conclusion. But other than that, he didn't do anything to show he was thinking along the same lines.
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When asked if he remembered what the guy looked like, he nodded before speaking.
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"Yeah, but he'll probably take off the second he sees me coming towards him," he said with a sigh.
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Perhaps threatening him hadn't been the best idea.
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Not that it had been much of a threat.
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Basically, he had just threatened to give him a lecture.
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Nothing to be really scared about.
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Still, he knew his type. He knew he would take off the second he saw him coming towards him. Either because he had threatened him or because he had already planned on doing so the second he could slip away after telling them about the fire.
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Yes, it was completely possible he had plans to run from the start.
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As he watched Sterling and his Kirlia tend to the punch, he suddenly had a thought. Perhaps a way to catch at least one of them.
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"Hey, does your Kirlia have teleport as one of its moves?" he would ask once Sterling returns after throwing out the punch.[break] STERLING WARDEN

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[attr="class","header"]EVERYDAY BY MYSELF I’M BREAKING DOWN

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Unsurprisingly, the Delphox wasn't the only one who didn't like the way things were going. Ever didn't like it either. He didn't like the fact that he couldn't figure out what Dizzy was trying to tell him through body language.
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Reading body language was an art he had perfected.
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He kind of had to, considering the kind of father he had. It was good to know what kind of mood his father was in to know how he should act, or if he should avoid him. Not that it had mattered very often. Ever, if anything, was very opinionated, and that had often landed him in trouble despite trying to judge someone's mood.
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So the fact that he couldn't judge what Dizzy was trying to tell him from watching his body language was a sore spot for him.
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Luckily, the fox Pokémon seemed to think of another way to tell him what had happened, and he started to watch as Dizzy began to use mystic fire.
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His gaze remained on the fire as shapes began to form in the flames, showing him what had transpired. Showing him that an Abra had taken away the Delphox's owner, presumably by accident.
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"Damn, that complicates things. But hopefully we can figure out where they teleported to," he said, trying to figure out just how they would accomplish that.
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In the end, he decided to use Jet as a means of communicating with a wild Pokémon. Apparently, Jet was more well-received than Dizzy, considering she got a face full of water when she tried to interact with the wild Pokémon.
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He gave Jet an apologetic look, even if it really wasn't his fault, before telling him to follow, since Jet had seemed to find information on the whereabouts of his trainer.
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As he followed after Jet by land, he considered releasing Nyx from her Pokéball to scout ahead. Much like he had done on an earlier ranger mission, it would keep them from running into any surprises while also giving them the advantage of an extra set of eyes. Nyx, being a Gliscor, was also better suited for finding things in this kind of setting and could easily double back if she was successful in the task.
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In the end, he decided it couldn't hurt and released Nyx from her Pokéball, telling her to scout ahead and alert them if she found the Delphox's trainer while she was scouting.[break] zachary stellar

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[attr="class","header"]EVERYDAY BY MYSELF I’M BREAKING DOWN

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Things weren't black and white, he knew that. He was well aware that everyone was capable of good and evil, no matter where a person came from.
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And yet, he couldn't accept people's distrust of the league. Well, maybe not the League itself, but the rangers. He just couldn't ignore people having distrust towards the rangers.
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He wasn't sure why that was.
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Things didn't usually bother him.
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But this did.
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Maybe it was because he had grown up faced with his father's scorn. He knew what it was like to be looked at with contempt. Not that he had seen anyone looking at him like that.
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But still...
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A small sigh escaped as he brought the thermos to his lips. After gulping down a bit of coffee, he lowered the thermos and looked around.
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His partner still wasn't in sight.
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Not that he was really expecting the older male to be here yet. After all, he had gotten here a bit too early. Earlier than was probably necessary.
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Nerves hadn't brought him out so early though.
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No, he had just wanted to get out of the house. But not wanting to risk the chance of getting caught up doing something else and running late, he had decided to make his way to the meeting spot, even if he was a little early.
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But now that he had nothing to do but wait, he couldn't help but think.
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To have doubts.
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There was a large part of him that doubted him and Oliver would be able to make much of a difference. That they would be able to change the minds of those around them.
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Growing up the way he had, he had come to find that things didn't usually work like that. Once people made up their mind about something or someone, they didn't usually change their opinion.
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He had to at least try though.
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Show people that he and the other rangers were there for them.
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That their faith had never been misplaced.
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Finishing the rest of the coffee, he slipped the empty thermos into his bag and waited. Waited for the older male to arrive.[break] Oliver Shrakes

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[attr="class","header"]EVERYDAY BY MYSELF I’M BREAKING DOWN

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The fact that she had used his shirt as a napkin irritated him. Seriously, was she a toddler? Thankfully, his irritation was hidden by his impassive expression. He didn't really want to keep arguing about the whole shirt thing, even if the material had rubbed against his scars, irritating them. Though he supposed he was partially to blame for that since he had tried to pull away from her.
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"Obviously," he retorted when she said to forget about the napkins. No point in napkins now. He had been hoping to prevent the whole mess in the first place, hoping to pull away before she could get any of the custard on his shirt. He just knew it wouldn't come out either, so that was a ruined shirt.
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He was half tempted to just take his shirt off. The scars kept him from doing that. The last thing he wanted was to have his scars on display, even if they now felt like they were burning from where the shirt had rubbed against them.
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Fiddling with his shirt to try and make it better, he half listened to what she had to say. "If it'll get you to leave me alone, I'll get your stuff back," he said, giving up on getting his shirt in a more comfortable position.
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With narrowed eyes, he watched the Wingull, trying to figure out just how to help her out. Well, he did have one idea...
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It was the kind of idea that got him lectured by his grandparents, the lecture about how he should pay more attention to his own well-being. He didn't have any better ideas though, so...
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His gaze flickered briefly to her before he let out a sigh. 'Well, here goes nothing,' he thought as he took out a Pokéball.
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Pushing the button, a Corviknight appeared in a ball of light. "We need to get this woman's grilled squid back," he said as he swung himself onto Rook's back while avoiding Nabi's gaze.
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If it wasn't obvious what he planned to do, it was made obvious when he had Rook fly up until they were level with the Wingull. "Come on, give that stuff back," he said before flying directly at the Wingull, one hand outstretched to make a grab for the grilled squid.[break] nabi park

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[attr="class","header"]EVERYDAY BY MYSELF I’M BREAKING DOWN

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Though caught off guard by the Delphox's sudden proximity, he didn't show it. Despite realizing it belonged to someone, he hadn't expected it to be so willing to approach him. He had always seen himself as a lover of Pokémon, so he decided to put aside how he felt to try and figure out what the Delphox was telling him.
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And he had no clue.
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To him, it seemed like the Delphox was trying to play a game of charades with someone who wasn't very good at the game. He couldn't make heads or tails of what the Delphox was trying to tell him. And this was coming from someone who had gotten pretty good at reading body language.
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Making a helpless gesture, he watched as the Delphox changed tactics. Now, instead of trying to act out what had happened, the Delphox tried to draw what had happened instead.
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A lot of good that was doing, though. All he was getting was that his trainer's disappearance had something to do with a Pokémon. A Sableye, maybe. He couldn't be too sure.
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He could see that his lack of comprehension was annoying the Delphox, and he pinched the bridge of his nose as he debated what to do. A sudden noise drew his attention, and his gaze swept the area around him. His gaze finally landed on some nearby water, and he cautiously approached to see a Carvanha.
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Well, that gave him an idea.
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Taking a Pokéball in hand, he pushed the button to release the Pokémon inside. A Sharpedo appeared in the water, and he addressed the dual-type Pokémon. "Hey Jet, do a bit of communication with the Pokémon, won't you?" he inquired.
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Once Jet had his task, all there was to do was sit back and wait. He kept his eye on the Pokémon as he waited. And finally, it seemed that Jet had something.
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"If you have something, lead the way. I'll follow along on land. I need to stay with the Delphox for now. If it comes down to it, the Delphox can ride you and I'll swim," he said, hoping it wouldn't come to the latter.
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Jet seemed to be in some kind of agreement and started to swim through the water. "Come on, we should follow him."[break] zachary stellar

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + sorry if it’s a bit vague. You can say Dizzy told Jet what happened if you want

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[attr="class","header"]EVERYDAY BY MYSELF I’M BREAKING DOWN

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"Rook, my Corviknight, is my longest companion. I've had him since I was ten. I found him as a Rookidee. Volt, my Zebstrika, I caught as a Blitzle three years ago. All my others I've caught more recently. With the exception of Celestia, my Galarian Rapidash, she just showed up as a Galarian Ponyta one day," he explained upon hearing the other speak of his own Pokémon companions.
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As the other male mentioned his devotion to sports, he nodded. Ten hours wasn't anything. Then again, Ever was someone who would stay up days on end. He went out of his way to avoid sleeping and saw nothing wrong with it. He was the guy who always had to have something to do and wouldn't know what it was like to take it easy if it hit him over the head.
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"That would be great. I don't mind a bit of a workout. A bit of a workout does the body some good. And all I see when it comes to sports is just another way to work out," he said, ignoring the little voice in the back of his head that told him he shouldn't push himself too hard.
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Any kind of compliment was still new to him, and he had to resist the urge to duck his head like some bashful kid. He had gotten through life not showing his emotions; he couldn't allow himself to let that slip now. Even if he didn't think Caleb would try to use his emotions against him, it was too ingrained in him not to allow his emotions to show, no matter the circumstances.
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Still, he had to get a grip on the embarrassment that was trying to make itself known. Luckily, he managed to do that before he spoke again. "Keeping Pokémon safe, that's my main goal. I want to help Pokémon. Some might wonder why not be a Pokémon doctor then. But I want to do more than that. Tending to injured Pokémon is all well and good, but I want to try and keep Pokémon from getting unnecessarily hurt if I can."
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The cop part of his question needed more thought. He couldn't just say my father used me as his own punching bag, and the thought of running into someone like that makes me break out in a cold sweat. Nope, no way could he say something like that. All that would get him was the older male's pity, and he didn't want his pity.
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So he needed another answer. He supposed he could stick to some of the truth but not the whole truth. Yes, that is what he would do.
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"As for why I decided to be a ranger and not an officer... I would rather not get up close and personal with really bad people if I can help it. I know as a ranger it can't be fully avoided, but officers tend to deal more with keeping the really messed up people at bay than rangers do."[break] Caleb Kahilii

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