A low cackle left Rex's lips. His breath fogged as his eyes narrowed into slits.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah..." Rex took another deep breath as the Marowak continued to dance among the souls of the dead. Departed souls were incinerated and turned to cinders, yet they still persisted in this world as imprints left behind. "Haaaaaaaaaaah..."

Battle. Conflict. Littleroot burning flashed in the young trainer's mind. Dialga overhead. Rocket's boots shook the earth. Melody was strong. She was strong. He wanted to be as good as her. He wanted to be her.

He wanted to best her.

"Go! Dance!" Gallade's eyes narrowed into slits as he danced between spirits. Marowak's fire jumped to Gallade's blades as the duo slashed through the spirits through Psycho Cut. "We'll save them! Champ, find the rangers! I'll hold them off!"

Keep fighting.

---

Melody Miro

'toge toge!' Togepi waggled his fingers in annoyance as Caleb denied the small egg uppies. Such villainy from the other Harcourt was expected, but from this one? Shocking. Abhorrent. Vile. 'pi!'

Togepi waddled over to Rex and demanded uppies, which the young trainer gracefully obliged.

"Y'all are gonna be fine. Don't worry!" Rex beamed at them with remarkable warmth and compassion. No, not compassion, fervor. "Caleb and I will keep you all safe!"

Togepi began to waggle his hands, which to Caleb's chagrin, began to turn into a Metronome. A bright light filled the room as the Metronome manifested.

"Check this, Caleb!"

---

Caleb Harcourt

Magikarp Splashes were as thrilling as battle, some would say. Rex would do a super cool triple kickflip and everyone would take a photo of it. Maybe he could ride the momentary fame into something genuine. Kickstart his Gym Challenge properly.

As if he needed the help.

Still, it was time to surf.

---

MAGIKARP SPLASH
tloODAgW

DELVE DEEP INTO THE OCEAN. FIND YOUR TRUTH AND GRIP IT TIGHTLY. REACH FOR POWER.

IT BECKONS YOU.

EMBRACE THAT BECKONING AS IT COVERS YOU IN A WARM BLANKET. BECOME SOMETHING GRAND AND GLORIOUS.

DELVE INTO THE SEA. FIND YOUR PEARL.

---

8/8 - move tutor
rKe64jUg

A boat beat swimming, he supposed. Especially from a hundred feet below sea level.

"Yeah, yeah. I've got it here." Rex dug into his pocket and pulled out a slightly damp hard drive. It was wet, admittedly, but Sea Mauville was a ship turned into a preserve. If its tech wasn't waterproof, that was between them and Arceus as far as he was concerned. "Catch."

Rex prepared to throw the drive in a high arc, before blinking in realization.

"Bad idea. I'll just hold onto it for a minute." Rex patted himself down. A few bumps and bruises, but nothing particularly life threatening. He could keep going. He was happier that the drive was secure, otherwise the rangers would likely put him on standby and not take him off until the heat death of the universe.

A fate best avoided.

"I think we did pretty well, all things considered."

---

Roy Aker

Rex ducked under a falling pipe, slid under a chunk of debris, and slipped around a dangling wire. Munchlax did the same, though the small beast was remarkably quick, dancing around the hall with impeccable dexterity.

"Yessir!" Rex nodded in agreement as water dripped down. His clothes were going to be ruined by this escapade with Roy, and he couldn't afford new ones. Hopefully this side hustle with the Ranger Corps came with some part-time pay, otherwise Rex would be sleeping under an overpass when this was over.

The door was tantalizingly close. The young trainer lunged forward, pushing against it with all his might. Rusty hinges creaked and grinded as the old mechanisms folded under their weight.

"Get in, Roy!" When the gruff man was clear, Rex and Munchlax began to push the door shut. "Gimme a hand!"

---

Roy Aker

Rex stared at Caleb like he was an utter tool.

"Nah, not with Togepi. He's insanely good at landing his Metronomes. It's because he's the strongest, Caleb. He can beat anything!" Rex nodded in pride as Togepi waggled his fingers again, demanding uppies from Caleb. Togepi's Super Luck ensured that his Metronomes were always flawless. "You just gotta believe!"

It was hard to believe Rex when smoke and dust was filling their lungs.

The door to the women's restroom creaked open, before falling off its hinges. Rex grinned and chuckled as he entered, clearly proud of he joined Caleb within.

"We're here to save you, up-up!" Rex waggled his fingers much like his Togepi, who used a Life Dew to restore the vitality of the trapped people. "Ta-daaaaaa~!"

---

Caleb Harcourt
02. Locate and free any trapped individuals.

'Toge...' Togepi waggled his fingers as a Metronome blossomed. 'Pi!'

Suddenly, Gaius disappeared in a flash of light. His Lucario followed suit, disappearing as Togepi Teleported them away, his Super Luck giving the egg the perfect opportunity to send Gaius careening deeper into Sea Mauville.

Roze Falkner and Eris Halla would hate the force of nature that Togepi had sent their way, but what was Rex to do?

"What the fuck was that?" Rex stared at Togepi. "Where'd you send him?"

---

gaius marcellus
14. Ensure the area is safe from remaining threats.

Meltan, devourer of doors and destroyer of handles, is a powerful entity. His strength is unrivaled by anyone in the world. Doors kneel before his unquenchable thirst and insatiable hunger.

Unfortunately, crabs are not metal. They consist of crab. That fact placed Genny and Rex in an unfortunate pickle. Without Meltan's might, they'd have to defeat the Crawdaunts in more traditional ways. Not a problem, given Rex was the best trainer in the world and Genny was the best sidekick in the world.

"Elite Ranger? They sent the big guns to help me! I appreciate the help and the save, but..." Rex squirmed from beneath Genny as the Crabhammer passed their heads by. If it weren't for Genny's quick thinking, Rex would've been crab food. "You're in my personal space!"

Not that he'd complain. Much, anyway.

"We can't escape. You don't get it, Cromwell. I'm not here to run." His eyes swam with fervor, the adrenaline of battle and war rushing through his veins. If he was an addict, then this was his fix. "We're gonna win."

He rolled the Elite Ranger to his side as the Crabhammer swung another strike over them. It struck Rex's Kirlia, who slammed into the wall with a moan.

---

Genevieve Cromwell
-thanking Genny for the same, waxing introspection
-yapping about personal space
-refuses to escape, needs to fight
-Kirlia gets clapped
27. Handle encounters with hostile individuals or pokemon.

A Gengar? Here? Unlucky!

Yet still, Rex wanted to throw hands with the phantom Pokémon. He could beat it! He could totally beat it! While Melody's Hatterene danced with the specter, Rex tapped a Pokeball, causing a Gallade to appear in a flash. The knight had recently evolved when facing dire circumstances, and it was keen to test its power.

It closed its eyes and kissed the Aqua Cutter emerging from its blades, which grew to the size of the room. As Melody offered an opportunity for retaliation, Gallade opened his eyes.

And the Gengar's afterlife began to end.

A blade split the ghost's body in two as Rex started to help Melody to her feet. He was helping her. Her! One of the strongest trainers in the region!

"You good, Top Champ?"

---

Melody Miro
27. Handle encounters with hostile individuals or pokemon.

'Toge toge!' Togepi reached out its arms towards June, demanding uppies for his hard work. 'Toge!'

Rex staggered to his feet, a small bit of his hair was ablaze. He quickly patted it out and rubbed his forehead. It looked like he had lost a fight with an oven. That wasn't necessarily true. They had lost a fight with the fridge, but June didn't need to know that. From a nearby section of rubble, Rex's Munchlax emerged.

'Toge toge!'

"Nice work, Togepi!" Rex cheered as he looked around. "That was remarkably easy! That's why we're gonna be champs when we beat the Elite Four!"

Rexturned towards June, bewildered.

"What did I do wrong?"

---

june sleigh

'Toge toge?'

Togepi's eyes grew wider as he waggled his fingers in an attempt to melt the delivery girl's heart. Yet June was a hard woman whose heart was only open for Fletchlings and Varooms. Togepi was not a bird (yet) nor a vacuum cleaner, thus he was irrelevant. Yet the finger waggling continued.

'Toge?'

It became clear that the Togepi was uttering some eldritch verse in an attempt to do something. A Metronome began to emanate from Togepi's hand, which he then tapped against one of the many crabs. A bright light flashed in the room, blinding June and Rex to the great power of Togepi.

'Pi.' He tapped the Kingler.

---

june sleigh

No, no. Bacon was cooked. Idiot June.

Still, he respected her guts. He had thrown hands with a series of Gravelers once in Granite Cave, and he still had the scars across his knuckles to prove it. The fight had been all fun and games until they all exploded on Rex, nearly causing a cave-in. That was then, though. This was now.

"Hey, that was a pretty good punch! You've got some fight in you." Rex nodded in approval as he lunged forward alongside her. Blind leading the blind. He didn't even care about Bacon, but the thrill of the fight. The rush...

Intoxicating.

Which was why he was flung into a wall by an enraged Kingler. Rex grunted as he slid down to the floor, before quickly getting up to his feet. As June struggled to throw hands with the crustacean, she would see something by her foot.

'Toge toge?' A Togepi looked up at her with large eyes.

---

june sleigh
27. Handle encounters with hostile individuals or pokemon.