'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.

Bacon wormed forward, bless her heart. She wormed and wormed and wormed through the crevices of the ship into the room in question. The insect's heat caused old metal to slacken and melt. As Bacon wormed into the room in question, she was surrounded by angry crabs.

Pincers snapped. Claws clacked against each other. Kinglers peered at Bacon like she was a sizzling snack. Bubbles frothed and overflowed as they jumped the centipede, intent on snapping it in two.

"June? Like the month?" Rex scratched his head thoughtfully. He was a few matchsticks short of a cinderbox, for sure. "Do you have eleven siblings?"

Idiot. Meanwhile, Munchlax lunged towards the locked door, before quickly stopping. The tub of lard waggled a finger and used Metronome.

Bang! The door exploded off its hinges, opening the room with Bacon and Krabby to June and Rex.

"Ta-da!" Rex waggled his eyebrows. "Let's go!"

---

june sleigh
43. Force open a locked or barricaded door to access a critical area.

How could a ranger break the rules so easily? What sort of cruel man was Caleb Harcourt to do such an abhorrent thing?

Oh well. If it was to save people, Rex supposed he could make an exception and not report Caleb to their superiors. It was a dire thing to break into the women's restroom—a sacred haven that refused entry to the vile construct known as the urinal.

"Don't worry, we've got this! We're professionals!" Rex shouted helpfully as a Togepi waddled up to Caleb's foot and nudged him. "Togepi!?!?"

'toge toge?' He looked up at Caleb with huge eyes, before turning to the blockaded door. Togepi waggled his fingers in a Metronome. 'pi!'

The door, along with all the rubble that blocked the way forward was blasted off its hinges, allowing access to the illusive women's restroom.

"Hell yeah!" Rex scooped up Togepi. "Nice work!"

---

Caleb Harcourt
43. Force open a locked or barricaded door to access a critical area.

Roy and Rex both had three letter names that started with 'R'. As far as the young man was concerned, that practically made them blood brothers.

And blood brothers didn't leave on another behind. Especially when they risked drowning or decompressing in the vast pressure of the ocean outside. Between Munchlax and Feraligatr, little got in the duo's way as they tried to ascend through the sinking preserve. Why was it sinking? Hell if Rex knew.

"Haul ass, Munchlax!" Munchlax did so, shooting ahead far faster than the rest of the party. "Metronome!"

Munchlax waggled his finger once, causing an Ice Beam to strike a nearby wall and cover it with ice. Rex rolled his eyes at the mediocre roll.

"Use something good!"

The finger waggled. A nearby fire extinguisher exploded.

"Something better!"

The finger waggled. Roy and Rex's hair suddenly jumped up, full of static electricity. It would've been funnier if the duo weren't at risk of drowning to death.

"Oh for fuck's sake! Block the water!"

The finger waggled again, and a Crafty Shield formed itself from various pieces of debris behind Roy and Rex, reducing the deluge into a thin trickle, though the barrier would not hold.

In the distance, the end of the hallway beckoned.

---

Roy Aker
30. Use a pokemon to manage the flooding or water.

This fight made no sense. It was a paradox that had no right to exist. There was no drive here, no motive. It was just two people smashing each other to bits.

It was... glorious.

The high was kicking in. The drive to battle. The drive to wage war. The need to prove yourself superior. It was the same thing that Navy would condone, but the Elite Four had learned the virtue of constraint long ago after great losses. Rex had lost people, too. He just found that virtue to be highly taxing. Irrelevant.

Meaningless.

"Hahahahahaha...!" Rex grinned as blood dripped from his face. His pupils dilated and his nostrils flared. "Fuck you!"

He punched Gaius in the jaw.

The Gallade still danced with the Lucario, the former's Sharpness making its blade a danger to anything that came near it. Sparks shocked the floor, turning puddles of water into hazards. Still, they continued to dance. Yet Rex's Gallade did not experience the same joy as his trainer.

Something else entered the battle, though.

'toge toge?'

A Togepi looked up at Gaius.

---

gaius marcellus
03. Address environmental hazards.

Ah, right. Munchlax.

Rex had forgotten about him, if the young trainer was being honest. It didn't help that the tub of lard had plugged the hole with his preposterous girth. With a deep sigh, Rex meandered over to the pipe that Munchlax was embedded into. He nudged him, and faint chatter echoed through the pipes.

"Alright, Munchlax. You gotta get out of there." Rex grumbled as he started pulling on the Munchlax's body. "Come... on! Munchlax!"

Slowly but surely, the tubby creature slid from the pipe.

"Gimme a hand, Roze!"

---

Roze Falkner

""I'm here to get stronger and get some pocket change! Does it look like I can afford waterproof clothing?" Rex protested before putting a hand on his chest. Sparkles glimmered around his head as he chuckled. "Don't worry. When I'm the champion, I'll make bank from all my sponsorship deals!"

No person so destitute deserved to be so arrogant about their future financial situation, but Rex was both proud and lacking in shame. Besides, Thomas was holding Togepi for him. Hopefully the former Elite Four wouldn't feel too embarrassed to be in his proximity.

'Toge toge!' Togepi applauded his trainer from Thomas's arms. 'Togepi!'

The egg certainly wasn't complaining to be doted on, that was for sure.

Meanwhile, Thomas's Marshadow would find a locked manager's office chock full of files. Folders full of corporate sabotage, employee wages, and company schedules lined the walls.

---

Thomas Benoit
41. Secure corners and blind spots to ensure the area is safe to act in.

If this prick wanted a fight, then Rex would give him one. They would dance and he would win, because Rex was strong.

He had to be strong to represent Littleroot. To ensure that the people there never suffered again when the blue dragon came from the heavens to rend the sky and time asunder.

Servers sparked and lit ablaze as Gaius's Lucario struck Gallade back into them. The knight quickly rose, emboldened by its recent evolution. The thrill of power was new to the knight, and his blades would sever the Lucario in too.

Another Aqua Cutter doused the fires of the burning server room.

Rex, meanwhile, took the blow from Gaius like a champion, growling in pain. This interaction didn't make sense. This wasn't a Pokemon battle! This was an all-out brawl!

"FUCKER!" Rex kicked him in the shins. "FUCK OFF!"

---

gaius marcellus
31. Use a pokemon to suppress fires.