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It had been awhile since he had seen Josh. The last time they had interacted without things being life-threatening was when they had made plans to do some video game that involved dancing; of course, getting abducted to do forced labor had kind of messed with those plans as well as the whole war business. However, now that things were calming down somewhat, he decided he should try and uphold the plans that had been made for a while and had texted Josh that he was up for him, showing him the ropes of the dance game he had mentioned.
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It would only be after he received some kind of confirmation that he would finish getting ready and head out. To day he was wearing a RUBY-colored button-up over a pair of nice jeans that would be easy to move in; that way he wouldn’t have to worry about damaging any of his clothes when he decided to actually give the game his friend had mentioned a chance.
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Using Rook to get to Mauville made it so he arrived in Mauville sooner than the appointed, which was what he wanted. He wanted to have enough time to get to where he needed with time to spare. Not wanting to risk spooking, he jumped off of Rook while he was still a few feet above the ground and returned the steel bird back to his pokeball before starting to make his way through the city.
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Luckily, with only a bit of searching, he found the arcade building. Unsure whether or not Josh had arrived and was already inside, he decided to wait at the entrance just in case the older male was still on his way to the arcade.[break] Josh Devlin

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

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Battling had never interested him much, but lately, with the things that had been going on, he had decided he needed to get stronger. And one of the best ways to get stronger, according to most people, was the gym circuit. However, there was still his reluctance for battling to think about; luckily for him, there were options outside of battling one could do depending on the gym one applied to; because of that, he had started out with something small. Well, not really small, but small for him considering he wasn’t about to push himself completely outside his comfort zone.
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Of course he knew as his trip through the gym circuit continued he would have to get over his hangups about battling. He didn’t really mind battling if he absolutely had to; he had never been the type to go out of his way to battle somewhere, and he highly doubted he would ever get past his hangups completely. At least not to the point he’ll ever be CHAMPION material.
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Coming out of his thoughts, he was surprised to find himself in front of the gym he had applied to. As quickly as the surprise flickered across his face, it was gone, leaving behind the usual default expression of impassiveness.
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Entering the gym, he allowed his gaze to scan the surrounding area, taking in everything about the gym before making his way over to who he assumed was the person who let the gym leader know a challenger had arrived. After confirming he had a gym challenge with the gym leader set up, he went and leaned against one of the walls to wait instead of sitting down.[break] Hideo Kino

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

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“Yes, I’ve been a ranger for around a year now. I often tend to Pokémon even when I’m off the clock though,” he admitted with a small shrug. Of course that wasn’t one of those times. He was actually on patrol when he was supposed to be, and as far as he knew, none of his fellow rangers knew he patrolled even when he was off the clock. Of course, even if they did, it wasn’t as if he would CHANGE his ways.
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Mentally shaking himself, he returned to the conversation at hand. Committing her name to memory, he spoke. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Thea, and no need to thank me; it’s just part of the job, and don’t worry about it; there's no telling how worse off things would be if I hadn’t had your help,” he stated, ignoring the slight discomfort from the gratitude thrown his way. With the way he had grown up, being shown gratitude made him just a bit uncomfortable, not that he showed it.
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Now if her presence had made things worse, it would be different. But since that wasn’t what happened, he wasn’t bothered by the fact she had decided to get involved. Though he was sure others might be. On the other hand, if it had been him hurt and she had decided to help him, there would probably be words; he wasn’t the best at accepting help.[break] Thea Naito

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

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Well, that was news to him. He hadn’t been aware that berries would have any use in the field of science. One could learn something new every day, though he wasn’t sure it was something he would be too interested in learning in depth. No science was more of that one kid thing.
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That kid just seemed to live and breathe off of knowledge. Though he supposed that was what one got when their dad was a Pokémon PROFESSOR. It would be stranger if he wasn’t into the whole science thing, if you considered that fact. Ever, on the other hand, had always been more into history and surprisingly enough literature, especially ones that were considered older classics.
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“I suppose so; I admit I don’t know too much about science. I’m more of a history buff. As for your question, eating them, I guess, not the real sweet ones though,” he said with a small shrug, trying not to sound bored like people said he often sounded.
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He didn’t mean anything by it, so hopefully she wouldn’t take it personally. There were just some aspects of science that rubbed him the wrong way. He wasn’t about to get into that one mission with the woman, though. Perhaps it was his way of trying to protect her from how some people abused the power of science; in all honesty, no one could really tell with Ever what his reasonings were.
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Despite his wandering mind, he had no trouble picking berries and putting them in the basket they had been given. However, he wasn’t quite so wrapped up in thoughts that he was unaware of her taking pictures. However, it wasn’t until he saw the camera move from his peripheral vision that he became more aware of what she was doing.
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“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked rather bluntly as he turned to face her, the task of berry picking momentarily forgotten.[break] easterbelle flowerly

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

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So far as tensions between Team Rocket and the League increased, he had avoided involvement in the WAR. However, with the way things were going, he was sure he wouldn’t be able to avoid involvement for too much longer. He had a tendency to be sucked into things he didn’t care for after that.
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With everything that was going on lately on his mind, he had decided he needed to prepare himself. That involved putting himself through different stuff, and that would improve him both physically and mentally, though some might disagree with the latter.
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His physical condition was actually already pretty good. Exercising was something he had always taken pleasure in, so that wasn’t too big of a problem. Neither was physical strength ether, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t room for improvement. There was always room for improvement, which was why he had made his way to Mauville, where he had learned of an obstacle course that had been set up; the problem was that it seemed to be an obstacle course that required teamwork to complete.
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Despite being a ranger, he wasn’t the best at teamwork. At most, he tolerated it. Resisting the urge to sigh, he pulled out his phone and sent out a request for someone who could help him with a bit of a training exercise. Since he was unsure what any of his friends were doing, he posted the message somewhere just anyone would see it; hopefully it wouldn’t be anyone who would mean him harm.[break] Lydia Magnusson

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It was really nothing; he had already been in the area. Of course, even if he had been at home, he probably would have rushed over. There was just something about Pokémon being in need he couldn’t ignore. Probably his desire to PROTECT those around him no matter how he tried to act otherwise, because he couldn’t just show those around him that he was someone who actually cared about those around him.
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The bit about the captain was unexpected, and he had to resist the urge to sigh. Hopefully he wouldn’t be a crying mess when they got to him. Pokémon he could deal with, crying not so much.
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“Right, our top priority should be the containment of the Silicobra. There wouldn’t be much point in trying to rescue the captain if he has some fear of snake-type Pokémon and does something drastic to keep himself safe,” he pointed out as they made their way on to the cruise ship.
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Upon hearing the introduction, he would briefly cast a look at her over his shoulder before returning the introduction. “It’s nice to meet you, Airi; my name’s Ever.”
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For a bit, silence would lapse between them, giving him time to think of what could be done to remedy the problem. He had some ideas, but he needed to think of how well they would work out. Before he could think too much about his ideas, the young woman spoke once more, pulling him out of his thoughts.
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He considered the question before responding. "Well, I’m trying to put together an idea, but it would require me making use of Flash,” he commented, gesturing to the Zeroara before continuing. “Zeroara are known for generating electricity by throwing their paw pads to create a magnetic field; I’ve considered doing that and having them create a magnetic field around the Silicobra like an electric cage. It would keep them in place, and with their immunity to electric attacks, we wouldn’t have to worry about them being hurt. Unfortunately, I’ve never tried what I’m thinking, so I’m unsure if it would even work.”
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Of course there was also the problem of them accidentally causing damages to the cruise ship if they weren’t careful. So there was that.[break] AIRI WATANABE

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

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He wasn’t sure what the older man wanted him to say. That life had already messed him up so much that he had just been numb to what had happened? That while he was much better at handling situations like that than the average person, he wasn’t really dealing with it as well as he could. That he was completely and utterly not okay and had never really been.
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Sure, he was sure he could say all that and maybe more, but he didn’t think he could. Admitting he might actually be over his head. That he might actually need help wasn’t exactly his strength. He had way too much PRIDE in him to actually ask for help, which in a situation like this wasn’t exactly a good thing.
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“What can I say? I’m used to hardships; what’s one more thing to make sleep impossible? My life’s never been easy, and aside from seeing someone so brutally killed, I can’t say I was too phased by what happened. Pain doesn’t bother me; I suffered broken ribs, among other things, well before I ended up in Hoenn, and being abducted wasn’t the first time I ended up in a near-death situation either; I’m more used to my life hanging in the balance than being safe,” he admitted, tone somewhat resigned.
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It was clear he had accepted suffering as just a way of life at this point. Sure, he was sure he could figure out a way to rectify it, but what was the point in that? He had already come to terms with the fact that life in general just sucked.
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Was that the best way to go about living? Probably not.
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It wasn’t entirely healthy to go about your life expecting the worst to happen. But would he do anything to change his point of view? No.
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"Anyway, I don’t like burdening anyone with my problems,” he told the older man as he redirected his attention to Flash, who sometime during the conversation had wondered a bit away from them, probably searching for that noise that had seemed to catch their attention, though Ever himself hadn’t heard anything.
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The Zeroara seemed to figure things out and looked back at their trainer as if to say they had noticed something. “Flash seems to have heard something,” he told the older ranger as he resumed walking, not even remembering having stopped.[break] ollie morales

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

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He didn’t think he had ever seen someone quite so excited about picking berries before. It was kind of strange exactly, and it took everything in him not to just stare at her. Staring was rude after all; not that had ever stopped him before. Well, okay, it hadn’t stopped him from glaring at someone; he had never actually stared at someone.
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“You do that?” he muttered, keeping his gaze fixed on the trees. Seriously, how could anyone be this eager? Don’t get him wrong; he didn’t mind helping out; in fact, he was the type to often go out of his way to help others. It was just...
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How could anyone still be so eager with all this heat? Okay, maybe it wasn’t as hot as it had been in the past few weeks, but for someone who had spent the first sixteen years of his life in a cooler temperature, it was hot.
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When he had first arrived in Hoenn, the weather had been an ANOMALY to him; he didn’t even know things could get so hot outside of cooking anyway. Even after four years, he wasn’t completely used to it.
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The young woman’s voice pulled him out of his annoyance about the temperature, and he glanced briefly at her. “You mentioned studying berries, didn’t you? Any particular reason why?” he inquired as he got to work picking some berries.[break] easterbelle flowerly

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

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“Then call me Ever.”
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Being referred to by his first name was definitely better than going by his last name. He could tolerate it, but it still made him fairly uncomfortable, like he should be looking over his shoulder for his father. Not that his father had ever been a ranger or anything like that.
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A patrol, huh? He wondered if it would actually end up being so simple. With his luck, probably not.
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“Sounds good,” he said, simply trying not to jinx anything. Maybe if he didn’t say too much in the way of what they were doing, nothing would happen. Maybe it would actually stay a patrol. He doubted with his luck it would happen, but it was worth a shot.
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Just the thought of any Pokémon being hurt made his expression darken slightly. He never liked the idea of Pokémon being hurt; it’s why he still had certain hangups about battling. He was getting better at getting past some of those hangups, but it wasn’t easy when he wasn’t one for violence; he didn’t even like action movies on the off chance there would be violence.
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“Will do, though I do have a Pokémon that has healing, so that should help as well if that were to happen,” he mentioned, trying not to get too hung up on the idea of a Pokémon; maybe he was injured somewhere in the cavern system.
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Some emotion passed through his SAPPHIRE orbs at the line of questioning but disappeared before the emotion could be determined, leaving behind the usual impassiveness. “I’ve been well enough. I got caught up in that whole abduction mess; wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle though.”
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He wasn’t sure how much his superiors knew about all that. And he honestly didn’t care enough to ask. Though he supposed he would rather not be seen as crazy. So if that could be managed, he was all good.
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Before he could add anything else. Maybe return the question. Flash suddenly became more alert and started looking around like they were trying to figure out what direction a sound it had picked up was coming from.[break] ollie morales

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

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As expected, it didn’t take long for her to recognize him. The fact she seemed so happy to see him was weird though. It wasn’t like they had done much talking back in Galar, unless you counted a mostly one-sided conversation where he had given the most simple responses he could give. Due to his line of work, he hadn’t gotten much better at holding a conversation, but not by much, something that definitely showed with his next response.
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“It has,” was his simple response.
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To be fair, he hadn’t grown up in the most loving environment, leaving his emotional development pretty stunted—not that she would know that. Very few people knew what it had been like to grow up with his father, and he preferred it that way. The less people knew about his PAST, the better. At least that was his opinion on the matter. People like his grandparents thought otherwise. Something about people knowing what boundaries not to cross or such nonsense.
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Still, he wasn’t about to get into how he grew up with just anyone, which is why he simply shook his head upon hearing her question. “No, I live in Hoenn. I moved out here to live with my grandparents when I was sixteen.”
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See, he was able to honestly answer her question. She didn’t need to know why, though he was sure he would be able to come up with an honest answer that didn’t delve into what had gone down with his father.
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“What about you? What brings you here? I know you mentioned visiting, but it’s a weird place for a vacation spot,” he pointed out, leaving out the whole war as the reason for it being a poor vacation spot idea. [break] Anastasia Harmon

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