Whoever was coming up from the basement was getting closer and closer. Gwendolyn panicked and began to make her way around the house for some kind of hiding place. Something about this area was starting to bug her, and she felt the dreadful urge to find a place out of sight!

With Gishath in hand, the two made their way upstairs into one of the two bedrooms where they could hide. The closet on the first floor was the perfect spot for her, but she wasn't letting her buddy to hide on his own like this. "C'mon, buddy." she whispered to him and made her way into the rightmost bedroom. It was a bit more spacious than the living room, and Gwen quickly found a hiding spot for herself and Gishath.

She tore moved the bed mattress and then quickly dug out a spot for the two of them and dove in. Once snug, Gwen adjusted the bed to cover their hiding spot up and then could only pray...

At least the rumors were true. You couldn't really keep Shalin down and off of a pokemon without a pair of handcuffs and gourney straps. Gwendolyn did recognize and appreciated her unwaivering determination to remain wild and free as she was, but seriously! She just experienced something that would take full on HOURS to recover from. Her mouth opened scold her, but thought better of it.

She called out a large Houndoom to the field, which began to run circle around the two of them before then coming to a stop near the green haired speedster herself. Shalin asked if she had a pokemon of her own, to which Gwen shookd her head.

"I do, but nothing that's rideable." Gwen said with a pout. "Radar's still a Noibat and with a little trainings, I'm hoping he can be a speed demon of a Noivern! That's a long ways ahead though..."

"Yeah, I'm warmer now. Not 100%, but I can move around now. Thanks for the help." Gwendolyn smiled at Lars as she got rid of the blanket around her, though not before pushing her glasses back up her nose. Even her Goomy had been supportive of the little warm up. She let Lars take the lead and followed behind.

Their delve into the icy depths was soon interrupted but an enemy most foul: a Gastrodon that would stand before the two. Gwen watched as it had remained busy nibbling on a bit of fauna that had been lying around the path beside them. "Aww, look at it! I don't know what help a Gastrodon could be, but I can waste a pokeball on it."

She smiled, pointing at the Gastrodon. It hadn't noticed her which made it a perfect target for her. Cautious in her steps, Gwen took aim while its head was down and threw her pokeball at the aquatic mollusk.

Ugh, front door was locked as per usual. For a bad neighborhood such as this one, Gwendolyn should have expected that coming. She rolled her eyes and continued along with sneaking into the back of the house. Whatever Pokemon that could be making whatever noise that had been called in, she couldn't wait for back up to arrive.

The trainee carefully climbed over an old fence that led into the back yard. The paneling meant a lot of the deterrents weren't as tough to overcome. Gishath found his way in by cutting a hole in the sides where he could easily force his way through.

"Just this time. Freya would kill me if you started making it a habit to cut down people's fences." she whispered to him.

Gwen tried the door located in the back as the wintery chill only grew colder without a proper source of shelter from the weather. Much to her surprise, the knob turned all the way and the door opened.

"We're in." She said to her Gabite and slowly pushed the door to go inside of the house and close it behind her. She took several steps inside before a pair of feet had began to come up from the basement. She quickly looked around for a place to hide, picking up Gishath and taking him along with her.

It had been a usual sort of day for Gwendolyn. A kind of peaceful little patrol that went through Lilycove City like any other day. She was about halfway into the patrol with Gishath out when her radio picked up a call from HQ. Some reports of a mysterious wail into the night had been heard from some of the seedier parts of town. A ranger was going to be dispatched to her location soon to assist her in locating the source of the noise.

"We should head down there early and take a look for ourselves." Gwen said to Gishath. The Gabite hissed and trotted along with his trainer as the two made their way there.

Their entrance into the darker streets of Lilycove had put her on edge. She had never ventured down this far before. Gone were the nice beaches and lovely housing. All that there was were ruins of what once was. People sleeping the alleys and shacks. Even Pokemon running around so freely. She continued walking, even as people were eyeing her up.

The two stood before the home in which the noises had come out of. Gwen looked down at her phone again. The ranger was still several minutes out. And that Pokemon could be in trouble! She thought about what Robin would do in the heat of the moment and then made up her mind.

"We can't let whatever's in there wait any longer. Let's go, Gishath."

Gwen tried to look into the windows to see any source of the noise. Then she began to try the front door and or find any entrance inside. Worse case scenario, she'd throw a rock at the window or something!

A Glalie with bloodshot eyes? That was something that didn't come every day.

"Wow, it sounds like it's sick or something." The newbie walked over to collect her new Glalie with a concerned expression. The orange curtain of hair swung about while she rolled the filled pokeball around her fingers in thought. She looked back to Lars with eyes brimming with a curious mind. "Did you run into it during an expedition? Why're you hunting it here?"

He made quick work of the Piloswine about while she watched. The little thing was cute. She honestly wanted a Swinub to keep her warm on cold days like the one today. Although hairy, they definitely could hold in heat to stay warm. Speaking of hairy things, one hairy looking Pokemon would come out from the rocks nearby. Its massive arms flailed around at the intruders to its home. Fortunately, her Magneton was ready to go!

"Zap Cannon!" Gwen ordered. The group of fused Magnetites all focused on the Crabominable skittering about before unleashing their electricity. The attack pushed the furry thing back, staggered by the blow. She followed it up with a thrown Pokeball to capture the little guy.

[ Gwen tries to catch the Crabominable ]

With her Noibat caught and ready, Gwendolyn picked up the newest addition to the team. She had taken care of a small flock of Noiverns and Noibat while volunteering at Freya's sanctuary. Gishath was going to be a little territorial for a bit but they would come across that road when they came there. Elise, meanwhile, gave her own reason for being here.

"I hope this place hasn't been picked clean then. There's a lot of people that can benefit from those artifacts you're looking for." she admitted, tossing the Noibat's pokeball into the air where it fell back into her bag for safekeeping until they got to a PC. "People do tend to come here often, but that's not to discourage you or anything!"

The flapping of wings around them were heard as its carrier came closer. On top of the remnants of a broken pillar was a lone Pidove. It preened its feathers and looked over at the two. Gwen didn't really have any taste for them. Too many bad experiences with bird Pokemon did that to people.

"Sorry! I never introduced myself. I'm Gwen, a new ranger that just arrived here. It's nice to meet you."

[ Passing this round. ]

Gwendolyn was fortunate to be spared a little bit of the psychic pain that Shalin had received. Her eyes widened in surprise while Gwendolyn watched her in confusion. "Er, Shalin? Are you alright? Shalin?..." She didn't react to any of her comments or even her hand shaking her shoulder. The ranger trainee looked concerned and debated on calling for help over the radio.

"Shalin! H-Hey! Are you alright?"

She then quickly collapsed to her knees in a heap of negative emotion. Gwen knelt down and tried to comfort her during the episode. Dusk's horn stopped glowing and was given a moment of rest from the dark visions it had been suffering from. "It's alright. Just rest for a bit." Shalin filled Gwen in on what she saw. It was a terrible thing to see, especially somebody so close.

She did recover pretty quickly and ask to go riding. A request that she did feel a little conflicted about allowing.

"I...don't know. Do you feel up for it?" She asked Shalin. "We should be careful at least, No running too fast. Your mind just took a pretty hard hit."

The sight of the group of cacnea hobbling closer to accept her winter jacket and huddle inside of it for warmth. The sound of tearing and fabric being stretched to its full did cause some small amount of displeasure for Gwendolyn. It had been a gift but at least it was for a good cause.

"I can get a new jacket." Gwen smiled at Noah after watching the cacti pokemon fill the coat to its limit. "These guys can't get a second chance in a storm like this. Better that I freeze a little than to let them suffer."

The area started to shake violently as an avalanche began to hit the area. Snow found its way into the caverns in great amounts. She stood in front of the Cacnea to prevent any from rolling in on them. "We're gunna get snowed in if this fills up all the way!" Fortunately, Noah's Machamp was on the case. One flurry of punches later, the group was safe and sound.

Well, besides being trapped inside of a cave in.

"Th-Thanks, Noah." Her breath was visible as the interior of the cave began to slowly sap the heat as freshly packed snow filled in the entrance. Gwen cursed to herself while sorting through her brought Pokemon. "Crap, I don't have any fire-types that could melt this. And Gishath would freeze to death in this weather."

Panic had began to settle in. The trainee would be pacing back and forth while fiddling with her oversized spectacles. Her expression flipped between forced optimism and a mild form of panic.

"Ah-I don't know what to do, Captain. We don't know how far this cave goes. Should we risk going lower? It's going to get way colder the deeper we head..."

"Oh, s-sorry Profes-...I mean, Eva. Sorry. I'm just kind of...Whoa." Gwendolyn jittered in place while Gishath continued to watch the two with keen yellow eyes. Gwen, meanwhile, would continue to fangirl over the ranger captain standing before her. It was a bit embarrassing for her to nerd out over something so simple, but still meaningful.

"My name's Gwen. I'm one of the ranger trainees that joined a few months back with my friend, Robin. I'm kind of a techie, but I do electrical stuff as well as aspiring Professor type stuff."

Wow, her hair was way cooler up close! How long had she been growing it out? The braids, the little cute jewels, maybe even a RIBBON or two? It was a look gwen had wanted to try, but her hair always seemed to take forever to grow out. She wandered in her own thoughts before she caught herself staring, then looked away with a flushing of her cheeks.

"Ah-Anyway..." She began before the Phione would flutter out to land on Eva's shoulder. The appearance of another Pokemon had made the Gabite to focus on the water type out of interest. He didn't act out against it just yet, knowing that his trainer had her eyes on him. "Wow, a Phione! How did- Sorry! This is a lot." Gwen fussed to herself and managed to calm herself down.

"Restoring the Sky Pillar? That sounds like quite the job, even for somebody like you. I know you might have been wanting to go solo for a bit, but if you wouldn't mind..." She hesitated, looking away for a split second. This would be a good chance to talk with an actual Professor and pick her mind a bit. Maybe she could get some ranger-ing tips?

"Would you mind if I help you out?"

Even in the winter, Gwendolyn tended to really pass by the beach whenever possible. The cold weather had really made a lot of people avoid the frigid waters, but that meant that the Pokemon currently out and about had ample room to go around and stretch their legs. She came prepared with her team and some pokeballs to go hunting for more members of her team. They weren't dragons, but still very handy!

"I wonder what Pokemon are out and about." Gwen said, still chilling in her jacket as she began her walk across the sands.

Gwendolyn hadn't really given the idea much thought. There was a sort of science to bonding with one's Pokemon to become closer than ever. She did wonder exactly what it would be like to race so fast, going as fast as some of the fastest Pokemon could go. But it was still a lot for her to handle. But it would be a good way to make her get out of the lab so often. "That sounds fun, actually. Where could I learn more about this?" she asked before being interrupted.

Shalin introduced her other Pokemon besides the ailing Absol. Gwen looked at her and couldn't help but feel threatened. This thing was hella scary, as Robin would put it. Thankfully it was only looking at her and not doing much else. It was pushed out of her mind as she turned back to Shalin.

"I'm Gwen, one of the new ranger trainees. I joined with my friend, Robin, a couple of months ago."

Just as she answered, but stopping as something would be making her feel a sudden pressure around them. Her eyes went back to the Absol, though unsure of what it had been doing. "Sorry, is Dusk okay? Just...something is bugging me about it."

Her mood had been in a good place so far. Gwendolyn loved to see Robin so joyvial and playful. Her lips curled into a smile was the only expression that she had wanted to see them in. The homebody had remembered that day with her near the springs with her Munchlax and Toxel. The sheer stress and emotion from her best friend had echoed in her mind. She would find the man who did this to her.

She'd make him pay.

Maybe that's why her mood soured at the playful nerd part. Gwen's brows winced as for a brief moment, her patience snapped. "Look, can you please not...I'm trying to get out more, trying to be a better ranger. Trying to be enough for y-"

She caught herself mid-sentence. Her hands were balled and stance sterner and more aggressive. Her expression calmed down as the Gishath beside her looked up at his trainer. "Sorry, I'm sorry. I just- I've been going through stuff." She leaned against the wall and flushed about for a moment or two before picking up where they left off. "It's nice your team's been growing. I've gotten a few stronger Pokemon as well."

The Gishath's top fin flickered as it took off running in a hiss. "Gishath! H-Hey! Wait up!" She ran after her little bundle of violence. He held both hands behind him as he scampered towards one of the trees near the side of the building and then began to attack it. His sharp fins weren't too much of an issue but it was doing considerable damage to the foilage around it. "Gishath! Stop!" He growled up at the tree before one final ram, and then...

The fall tree had damaged the gate around the bank, landing with a loud thud as the top part landed on a roof of the next business. But something had fell out. Several men and woman bearing the uniform of Rocket grunts as they removed themselves from their hiding spot.

"Crap! That brat's Gabite tracked us down! I told you not to open up sleeping powder bag early!" one said to another larger one, smacking him upside the head.

"Ah, I see. Good work, buddy. I'm sorry for doubting you." Gwen offered him a slow pat of the head. Gishath continued to growl as yellow eyes looked up at her. They were a bit fearsome but he appeared more willing to allow her to touch him now. "You were going to try to rob the bank, huh? Well that's not happening! Robin, let's go!"