It had been a pretty quiet day at Mauville, with Gwen spending most of the day shopping around for supplies and restocking her fridge. Gishath waddled beside her, carrying a bag of groceries on his head while busy teething on a block of ice to keep him cool in the hot sun here.

"Ugh, it's so hoooooot." Gwen wiped some sweat from her brow. "I thought Hoenn was supposed to be spring weather all the time."

Their little walk took them across the community board of Mauville, which held several flyers and such for events happening around the region that the League and more were handling for the season. They had passed by it time and time again through the days, but it wasn't until Gwen noticed a fresh paper flyer that she stopped to read it.

And her jaw hit the floor.

"A Personal Assistant to...Freya Morningstar?!"

Gwen tore the flier off of the board, just in case she was seeing things correctly. She studied the paper up close before letting out a squeal of excitement.

"Gishath, do you know what this means?"

A muffled hissing noise came from the toothless Gabite chewing on ice.

"What? No, I mean...Maybe. But this is exactly the kind of break I was waiting for! This will be the best little step to becoming a Pokémon Professor!"

With starry, hopeful eyes, the ranger took off into the streets while forming a plan in her mind. She just had to ace this interview! Especially if it would give her an advantage in the eyes of the League! It would be a bit moving around appointments and the like, but she could totally do it! Her phone flickered open as she went to put her name in the running.

---

The big day came quickly afterwards, as Gwen entered the office dressed in a fairly business ready attire. A kind of nice blouse with business pants, heels and a belt. Her feet hurt and she struggled in these foot traps, but as long as it would make her look presentable!

When the time came to come in, Gwen gave it her best professional stride and walked into the office of the Councilwoman. She looked different from their last tearful meeting, lacking the thick glasses she had broken to show off her cheerful expression while waving at Freya.

"Good morning, Ms. Morningstar!"

She took one step into the room and nearly fell as her legs wobbled and tried to balance herself. If needed, her bag was on her person, which had all of her usual clothing. Gishath waddled in after his trainer, eyes gleaming up upon seeing Freya as the Gabite chirped in greeting her once more.

”Good point. There's a lot here to see. It's crazy how people can just live in a place like this without any light.”

Gwendolyn observed, with her Gabite matching her enthusiasm to explore but lacking the willingness to attempt more peaceful glances at passing Pokémon and people. It certainly was more welcoming than the previous spot they had found themselves at. Maybe giant Xurkitrees wouldn't start trying to electrocute them upon sight here.

A part of her was ready to start scavenging around the ruins in hopes of finding some in tact pieces of technology to disassemble and hopefully discover something that she could easily integrate into one of her ranger gadgets or more. Would they technically still be stealing here? The city had seen better days, but it didn't look like anybody could live here realistically. Her stream of thought came to a halt upon being offered some of the crystals on the ground that Ameena was quick to discover.

She took one of the Z-Crystals handed to her and held it up to the light, inspecting it in front of the light provided by her Magneton.

"I've seen some of them before. But seeing them drained is just...insane."

Gishath sniffed the residue of ones scattered around them. While not as enticing as the rubies and gems back at the Draciary, he still had enough to try and gather enough for himself. Gwen glanced down for a moment until a flickering light caught her eye from a machine that was close by. A strange design was on top, but the can front and center did catch her eye.

"Is that..."

Her feet carried her closer to the machine to inspect it fully. Beyond her initial thoughts, it was a vending machine! But instead of where a dollar bill was put into the machine, there was a slot for something entire entirely.

Something that was in the same shape of what was in her hand.

"No way!" Gwen gently slid the defunct Z-Crystal into the slot as it fell through. "A vending machine?"

The sound of churning, electric gears could be heard loudly scraping against one another. Gwen had been afraid that the machine was going to explode after so many seconds of grinding. Just as quickly as it was born, the noise pollution subsided. A rumble came from somewhere inside before spitting out one of the cans plastered on the front.

Her hands looked around the surface of the can, studying the weird language and design.

"Is this some sort of weird recycling system? They drain Z-Crystals and turn in the bodies for...drinks?"

---

07. discover barely working vending machines that dispense odd tasting energy drinks in exchange for defunct Z-CRYSTALS.

It was painful for anybody to experience loss or even trauma, even Pokémon weren't spared from it. During the discussion, Gwen gave Ameena total attention, even furrowing her troubled brows while hearing about the poor Espartha that had suffered so much. But still, she couldn't just not allow the thing to suffer.

”I see…” She puffed her cheek out in a frustrated manner, but understood that it wasn't her place to be making calls on the behalf of Ameena. ”I wish I could help a little more, at least. But I'll leave it to…”

She froze at the tanned hand coming to her face. Her eyes followed it as Ameena tucked a loose strand of hair away. While the gesture was likely just making sure she looked presentable, it was anything but plain to Gwen.

The poor girl felt her cheeks flush haphazardly. It was the very same movement she had seen time and time again in her manga and online serials. But she felt her insides just…what was the right word? Squeeze out? Explode?

---

---

It was a few seconds after Ameena had stopped talking that Gwen managed to snap back into reality again. Somewhere in the hazy maelstrom of thoughts going through her head was a response to her first statement.

”R-Really? I, ah, mean, I try to be friendly. I guess it's just kind of natural. I just like getting to know other people.”

Ameena did have a point about what would more than likely be in store for her at the Draciary. It wasn't always going to be full of happiness and Tauros steaks for everybody. Something was going to happen eventually that would affect her as it had when the ranger had learned about her Espartha. While she had normally been so happy to volunteer, it wasn't until now that the thought entered her mind.

Hesitation caught her words, only letting go after the younger of the two looked towards the Goomy on her arm.

”It's hard out there, like you said back in Ultra Space. Everything we've seen is fucked up, and I doubt with the war coming, it will get better.”

The Goomy let out a malleable “squee!” noise as Gwen dug into her bag and pulled out a water bottle. She uncorked the top and dunked her fingertips in, then held them above the Goomy. The slime producing dragon was pleased with the result, as Gwen smiled a little. She had learned so much under freya morningstar 's wings and put her utmost faith in the Councilwoman.

To some, it was blind loyalty, and Gwen couldn't blame them for it. But she wanted to be somebody anyone could rely on in this world, and Freya had given her a chance.

”But somebody has to be there for the Pokémon who we can help. I'm not the most experienced compared to every other Ranger or worker at the Draciary, but I want to leave the world a better place than it was when I was here. I think I owe it to the Pokémon anyway.”

Gwen looked up at Ameena again, all heroic like and as if she had finished giving an awesome little power up moment before snickering to herself.

”Or maybe I just don't know what else I would be good at. Professor Conway sounds nice, but I haven't even been to college yet…”

More attacks came for Gwen and her Whimsicott from Registeel, bracing themselves for the impact of the attack that would never come. Instead, a sudden shield appeared around the both of them, protecting them from harm. The Whimsicott cheered at the successful block while Gwendolyn smiled at illeana reyes with a nod.

"Thanks for the save, Professor!"

There would be a time to nerd out with her and tell her about her dream to become a Pokemon Professor as well. There was a boss that needed to be taken down! Gwen let some of the other people deal with doing the direct damage dealing moves. She'd just have to work her magic from afar with Mischief.

She wouldn't let the Registeel bring about RUINATION!

"Stun Spore again, Mischief!"

The Whimsicot flung spores from its fully body towards the legendary.

---

VGJFs3wf
+10 SHIFT
+10 RIDDLE

NOTES:
- 2/3 HP
- Whimsicott uses STUN SPORE
- Riddle Guess :: RUINATION

Gwen really did enjoy her time spent with Ameena. The scientist and CEO of the company was quite the interesting person. She had learned a lot thanks to their little expeditions out, and she had felt more comfortable in her abilities for the time being. Those smiles and emotion she gave the other woman were so sincere, leaving her so vulnerable. Had the woman the desire to manipulate her, she would have a bright young mind to mold until given a reason otherwise.

The ginger haired Ranger listened to Ameena's tale with great intent. A Flittle was quite the cute first Pokemon for a person to have, and Gwen almost found herself growing envious of such an adorable bird. Maybe that was why her adoration turned into horror at what had really happened to that first Pokemon of hers.

"Oh, Arceus..."

But what had really cemented that concern in her was what ended up happening to the other Espartha. Her mind wandered over into trying to see what she could recall about psychics and something that Robin might have known about. But Gwen really was out of her element here. She did have to try and offer some way of trying to alleviate that look in Ameena's eyes.

"I'm sorry that happened. I don't really know much about psychic types, but I can try and find something that could help her. I'm sure one of us knows what they could do to bring her some peace of mind."

"Gishath, try not to run off in this. We can't see anything worth squat." The Gabite hissed in response.

Another dip into Ultra Space, though this time, Gwen found herself by Ameena proper, surrounded in a dimly lit area. It was like nightfall but somehow, even darker, if such a thing was possible. Gwendolyn had prepared for this voyage unexpectedly, as she had her handy Magneton all ready to go. There was her Xurkitree she had been wanting to try out, though she really wasn't in the mood to really test inviting more Ultra Beasts to fight them.

"Hang on, Ms. Abadi. I got this."

She took out Reppi's pokeball and threw the Magneton out into the blackened space in front of them. The wirey, robotic cry of her electric-type signaled its arrival into the field. She rubbed the exterior of their skin before looking at her pal.

"Mind giving us a little light, Reppi?"

The trio of eyes had began to glow an intense gold color as their bodies began to expel a soft light that allowed for some amount of limited vision inside of this strange place. The Ranger looked back towards Ameena with a thumbs up as their spotlight into the darkness was a means for them to begin to explore.

"Where to first then?"

---

01. use an ELECTRIC-TYPE Pokemon to help light your way.

Oh, whoops. Sometimes Gwen did just forget that not everybody knew all the internet slang and lingo that most of the younger generation was a part of. She tried to think of a way to explain this to Ameena without sounding like a complete slob. It was a difficult job into itself, all things considered. So maybe she should gloss over a couple of things...

"Heh, sorry. When I graduated high school, I was kind of at a dead end with my life. I really didn't know what to do, and I usually only played games in my room all day. My parents were pretty busy with their business and rarely stopped by home. So I usually ordered food and just lived inside."

"But then one day, my friend said they were joining the Rangers. She was one of the few people I knew, but I also...She means a lot to me. So I left home with her to come here and be a Ranger. I promised myself that if I couldn't be something more for me, I could do it for her."

The Goomy jiggled alongside Gwen's movements. He looked over at Ameena and let out a pleased series of slime-filled noises and slithered down his trainer's arms. A trail of goo followed his path as Gwen watched him with such glee. At Ameena's question, she thought for a bit.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. He's just always been this cute little Goomy. I've never really tried battling with him so I'm sure's a bit rusty. What about you? What was your first Pokemon?"

Gwen tossed a look at the ghost enthusiast beside her, none other than her best friend and coolest girl in all of Hoenn, robin coello ! She hadn't realized she was also here to answer that call, and would nod to her with a grin.

"Anytime. Now let's kick some Regiass!"

The fierce dustbowl that the massive Pokemon had conjured up was something fierce. Her Whimsicott nearly was blown away by the fierce winds, although she caught her just as the Pokemon was about to fly away. The legendary was slowly whittling them all down, while it was able to endure whatever they could throw at it.

Gwen held back and let everyone plan ahead with what they wanted to do in return. The duties appeared to be split between shielding other people and going for straight out damage. While her Pokemon didn't have much in terms of the support department, she could at least help try cracking through to the Registeel!

Her eyes went to Cillian Quinn 's Cradily using Solar Beam and decided to follow up, unable to think of another good

"Solar Beam it, Mischief!"

The WHimsicott gathered energy into its fluffy little mane, glowing bright with energy being gathered in itself. When enough was gathered, her "floof" almost crackled with nature energy. She twirled around and unleashed the SOLAR BEAM at the Registeel across from them.

But all those eyes were like some weird little Claydol.

---

ZJ1Hqoxm
+10 SHIFT
+20 BLAST, IF EVEN

NOTES:
- 2/3 HP
- Whimsicott uses SOLAR BEAM
- Riddle Guess :: CLAYDOL

"Whoa, Registeel?"

Gwen arrived on the scene, late as per usual. The novice ranger stood in the thick of the battle, her Whimsicott bouncing along behind her. She had gotten her little Ranger's call about the stray steel-type that was going around, being haywire. She had received notice that robin coello where somewhere here, and wasn't going to let her friend dive into this alone.

The other people were still going on strong, with some people she recognize and others she didn't.

"Let's back them up, Mischief!"

The Whimsicott shook its fluffy body around as a trail of sparkles and more swirled around the Registeel as Gwen's partner would use STUN SPORE.

---

knGByJ9Y +10 SHIFT

"Huh, I like it! You've really thought this through. Have you ever thought about-"

Gwendolyn stopped as she attempted to grab the fleeing Gabite but was thwarted after he dived to the side. After a few inches away from his owner, another muffled hiss came out. She groaned and lowered herself down to her knees to go for a dive.

"Ever thought about something less rigid? I mean, yeah, you give up durability for flexibility, but I'm sure that a lot more Pokemon could benefit from- Gotcha!"

Gwen dove at the Gabite and wrapped her arms around him after one final dive. She laughed and rolled him into her arms before attempting to wrestle the flank from Gishath's toothless maw. He growled at Gwen as the two continued to fight.

"From something where the wings are less boney and more like membranes. I'd love to combo up or help on it, if you think you could use the help!"

Gwen didn't feel like a nerd, at least in the traditional sense, since coming to Hoenn. It had been a pretty weird time in her life, uprooting her entire life for Robin, becoming more active and ultimately, being a somewhat normal member of society.

But the League and Hoenn were anything but normal.

”Metallic wingspans? Sounds pretty cool, but won't those attract lightning and thunder for the ones at higher elevations?”

Gwendolyn had thought the concept was worthwhile, especially for the more vulnerable species whose wings were extremely vulnerable. Although she wondered how it wouldn't weigh them down or affect their flight ability.

”I'm kind of for it, though. And if you had a sudden job you needed help with so I don't have to go there, I'd appreciate it.”

She chuckled to herself at the plan, then found Gishath attempting to sneak an entire Tauros flank inside of his mouth, which far exceeded what the Gabite was capable of. She scolded him while the smaller dragon-type let out a muffled hiss and ran away from her.

Gwendolyn had always found it weird that she had to be walked back to Ameena at this point, considering the adventures both had been through. She wasn't going to try and sneak away and find some classified documents, risking her entire ranger career in the process. Maybe it was just some company standard or something? Regardless, she didn't mind being escorted in.

On top of her head was her one and only Goomy, the little guy wobbling about as he was busy jiggling around as his trainer turned a sharp corner to enter the office of Ms. Abadi. The owner of the company greeted Gwen in her usual manner, but behind them, Gwen could spot a Rotom hovering. She had captured one several weeks back and been struggling to keep him out of her tech, lest he break something.

”It's nice to see you again, Ms. Abadi.” Gwen offered a small salute with two fingers tapping against the side of her head before rocketing off at the halfway mark. ”It was scary, but it's not every day you get to catch a glimpse of something like that. I haven't been able to really sit still ever since. This must be what Shalin Nariya feels like all the time.”

One post joke later, Gwen plucked the Goomy from her head and held him inside of her hands. The Pokémon looked over at Ameena and offered wobbly chitters from his perch inside of the hands of his trainer.

”Nice catch. I have one back at base myself. He gets into everything, which is borderline insanity if you're a tech geek like me. Is yours any better behaved? Oh, and this is Slushie.”

She motioned to the Goomy in her hands with a wide grin.

”She's the first Pokémon I ever caught. Back in my NEET phase, I was kind of a slob and left takeout everywhere in my room. Slushie got stuck in a soda cup and she's been with me ever since.”

”I can't help it! They're so cool! Like, have you ever measured the wingspan of a Druddigon? Or watched a Garchomp fly before?! Hell, even those really fucked up prehistoric Pokemon that the know-it-alls in Galar mismatched. You can't tell me that's not cool!”

Gwen laughed to herself, gazing down at Gishath while the medium sized Gabite busied himself with falling in behind her. Maybe one day, she would be able to ride him as they soared across the blue skies together. Until then, they were both locked to the rocking terrain of Hoenn.

”You and Freya must go way back.” Gwen said with a grin. ”It's cool you got a job here, of all places.”

She noticed a stray piece rib from one of the boxes that had spilled onto the floor and went to retrieve it before Gishath could try and swallow it whole. The cold, frozen boney treat dripped a bit of blood onto her hand as she tossed it back up onto the crate.

”Need any help with anything? I figured I'd ask before I go wash out the Noivern pits.”

The smell of that godforsaken habitat was enough to seek a distraction before attempting to risk your life cleaning guano off the walls.