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"no one expects much of me, looking like this." for the first time since they met, reese actually looks at lash. normally he avoids eye contact for anything more than a second, and doesn't more than glance at a new acquaintance. but now, while his gardevoir is busy carefully lifting the pyukumuku back into their natural habitat with the aid of her psychokinesis, he pushes his usual shyness to the side.[break][break]

they give her a small, gentle smile. "i know how that feels," they say quietly. "people... judge by appearances. they don't care what's on the inside." their eyes lift to the sky for a moment. "i do, though. i can feel you're more capable than you might seem... i think so, anyway." their gardevoir finishes up her rescue of the poor sea-dwelling pokemon, and returns to reese's side. he folds his arms. "...well, anyway! it looks like this stretch of beach has been cleared off." peach is flitting around trying to find more pokemon to rescue, but it seems she's come up empty-handed.

[attr="class","bottom"]i breathe inside the bomb shelter with you.[break]
[break]Lasciel Elis
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his eyes widen. he looks away guiltily. "i-- i..." several years ago, he might have argued with her. he might have said that any help is better than none, or that he was hardly a trained aid worker who knew what to do. but his own confidence has been shattered into pieces, so he doesn't retort. he just mentally berates himself for not doing more, for not being better. she's right, he thinks. you're not taking this seriously enough.[break][break]

peach's return saves him from having to respond. the ribombee hovers in front of the two, gesturing. internally, reese breathes a sigh of relief. "she found something," they say, a little too quickly. they're eager to follow the fairy type to where a number of pyukumuku lay, having been thrust further up on the beach than they'd like by the flood waters receding.[break][break]

"...iris, if you would." the gardevoir nods, and her eyes glow as she lifts one of the pyukumuku up into the air, floating it over to the water where she deposits it.

[attr="class","bottom"]i breathe inside the bomb shelter with you.[break]
[break]Lasciel Elis
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how does something like this even happen...? sure, hoenn has a hotter climate than kanto, johto, or sinnoh, but for a fire to start something has to have started it. battles between wild pokemon can sometimes spiral out of control, but there aren't a lot of fire types in the area... there's really no point in dwelling on it, so reese has pushed those concerns to the side and rolled up his sleeves, literally, to try and contain the blaze until rangers can officially deal with it.[break][break]

basil, their azumarill, has already begun to shower the area with water from his rain dance. several months ago, reese rescued him from an injury that may have done him in, and then released him, not expecting to see him again. but recently the two met up once more, with basil having evolved. there's still a nasty set of scars across his belly, but the azumarill seems to have taken heart from reese's aid and now is more than happy to pass the good will along.[break][break]

meanwhile, reese is ushering other trainers out of the way. "it's dangerous here," he explains. "if you can't help fight the fire, please-- oh!" distracted, he's walked directly into someone going the opposite direction. he squints. "--sorry about that-- do i know you...?"

[attr="class","bottom"]i breathe inside the bomb shelter with you.[break]
[break]CASPIAN LEVESQUE
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reese hears the caw and angles their head upwards. when lash says her murkrow has found something else, they nod along and gently place the skitty back on the ground. "alright, you stay out of trouble now," they call after the kitten pokemon, which is already scampering away, eager to leave the seaside.[break][break]

iris and reese follow lash to their next target. the gardevoir, of course, stays guarded, but reese does not follow his pokemon's example. "it's a good idea to have your pokemon scout the area from above," he observes. "actually..." in the next moment, he's released another pokemon; a pink ribombee, its scarf fluttering in the wind. "peach, could you take a look overhead and see if you find anyone in need?" he asks politely. the ribombee agrees and flies off to survey the area.

[attr="class","bottom"]i breathe inside the bomb shelter with you.[break]
[break]Lasciel Elis
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elise's reasoning makes sense, honestly. verdanturf is connected to rustboro via the cave nearby, and it's not a long trip at all. reese makes the trip himself sometimes, when he and his pokemon want to stretch their legs a bit. being from the boonies, though, he tends to get a bit overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of the city, which is why he chose verdanturf of all places to live. it reminds him of his hometown in sinnoh, floaroma, a town covered in flowers.[break][break]

he blinks when elise makes the comparison to to remiel's draciary. he laughs sheepishly. "ah, that's actually where she's from..." he explains, as he goes back to lift another box. "i've been a few times now. blossom loves to play with the pokemon there." he supposes it's like visiting family for her. his other pokemon enjoy the visits as well, but only blossom and peach have any strong connections there.[break][break]

the next box is put away. carnation the lurantis has a bag in her claws now, carrying it gingerly over the threshold into the apartment. they're making steady progress... likely because so many of elise's belongings were lost in the flood. at least she has the financial backing to recover from the not-so-natural disaster, reese thinks.

[attr="class","bottom"]i breathe inside the bomb shelter with you.[break]
[break]Elise Calcifet
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reese remains oblivious to the slight tension between the girl and his pokemon. he follows after her to where a structure has collapsed, trapping the occupant inside. just by looking at it, he thinks it might have been a shelter for some bidoof at some point, something the beaver pokemon built for itself. how painfully ironic, then, that it could have easily become a tomb.[break][break]

they nod at their gardevoir. "iris, if you would," reese says. the gardevoir puts her hands out, and a gentle blue glow envelopes her. working slowly, she takes apart the collapsed hut piece by piece, starting from the top. the wood gets deposited on the beach, and after a few moments, the psychic type manages to uncover the pokemon inside; not a bidoof, but a skitty, shivering and still wet from the surf. reese kneels down. "oh, you poor thing," they murmur.[break][break]

thankfully, they brought some towels. they dry off the skitty as best they can, then wrap the towel around it to keep it warm. reese stands again, looking at lash. "were there any others you noticed?" he asks, the skitty still in his arms.

[attr="class","bottom"]i breathe inside the bomb shelter with you.[break]
[break]Lasciel Elis
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reese rushes after konani to take cover with her. the flock is in a frenzy, and he can't help but wonder what's causing it... they're greedy, yeah, but usually not this greedy. something must have agitated them, he thinks, though he doesn't have the first clue exactly what that "something" may be.[break][break]

reese rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "...sorry this had to be your first impression of hoenn," he says. "this is somewhat out of the ordinary. they're not usually this riled up." he turns, aquamarine eyes scanning the girl and her unusual equipment. he tilts his head. "did you come in from alola...? you must be exhausted." the island region is a long ways away from here, a trip that takes quite a while by boat.[break][break]

he hears something land on the canvas overhead. a pelipper leans down, gives them an evil look, and then shoots a water gun at them. thankfully, holly is there with her mirror coat, sending the attack straight back into the bird's face. annoyed, the pelipper flaps its wings and lands a bit further away. reese now looks thoughtful. if we can just figure out what the problem is, maybe we can stop them from attacking people.

[attr="class","bottom"]i breathe inside the bomb shelter with you.[break]
[break]Konani Hidaka
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if anyone were to ask reese what the best cities in hoenn are if you just want a breath of fresh air, he'd say either verdanturf or slateport. it's not even a contest for him, really. verdanturf smells crisp and flowery, while the sea breeze in slateport is just to die for. despite the chaos in the region, there are still serene places where one can relax.[break][break]

...which is not the docks at the moment.[break][break]

a group of travelers arrived in the harbor, stepping off the boat and walking down the ramp, and just as soon as that happened all hell broke loose. with a thrashing of wings, a swarm of wingull set upon them. from where he's standing with his lopunny, reese can't tell what's worse: the screaming of the passengers, or the screeching of the gulls. the flock is awfully desperate, trying to yank anything that might be food out of their targets' hands. reese can only hope no one loses a finger.[break][break]

one girl in particular is having the worst luck. she seems to be alone, which might be why she's being hounded so hard. reese sighs.[break][break]

"headbutt!" his lopunny bursts through the crowd, and slams her head into one of the gulls.

[attr="class","bottom"]i breathe inside the bomb shelter with you.[break]
[break]Konani Hidaka
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if only reese was more capable of standing up for himself... he might have noticed the oddities here, the suspicious way she phrased the sentence. but all he can do is nod his head vigorously; honestly, even if he hadn't bumped into her, he might have offered to help. he prefers to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, however naive it might be, especially in a place like hoenn.[break][break]

"sure, we can do that easily enough." it's basically what they were already up to in the first place after all. "just show me where and iris will help out." the gardevoir beside him nods as well. her psychic abilities are the whole reason she's out here in the first place, rather than one of his other pokemon. said gardevoir, however, does seem a bit more suspicious of lash than her trainer... they're fiercely protective pokemon, and lash will have to be careful if she doesn't want to invoke its ire.

[attr="class","bottom"]i breathe inside the bomb shelter with you.[break]
[break]Lasciel Elis
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