While Airi puts on the suit, Scout figures he should too. Then he makes any final adjustments to the ship's course and slings a rope ladder off the side of the boat so the two of them are able to climb back up later.

He joins Airi and her team in the water. While treading water, Scout summons Horsea and passes along their plan, and they split up. The waves are choppy this far out from shore, but Scout is a strong swimmer, and the wet suit helps.

Smoke begins to fill the air from where Horsea huffs and puffs at the center of the school. It's disorienting for the Corsola as well, who bob around aimlessly. Some at the edges of the cloud attempt to escape but Scout herds them back inside to where they're protected from the Tentacruel. It's difficult to see and breathe even with the goggles from his wetsuit's mask — good thing they brought the oxygen tanks.



AIRI WATANABE even if Airi isn't getting in the water I think she'll still need the wetsuit because of the smoke, since they won't be able to see / breathe much

Scout swims, sprinting through the water, and it isn't until he hears the cry of Careful! that he turns and realizes the two of them have taken separate paths, diverging at a diagonal angle. He watches helplessly as the Lurantis takes care of the Poipole, which incapacitate the Sharpedo in a miraculous stroke of luck.

"You okay?" he calls out. Then, hovering in a circle, Scout points at an opening in the tall caverns where a large ledge forms. Peering inside, he can see light filtering in from somewhere illuminating the walls. Perhaps it leads somewhere. "In here?"


@haoyu

Holmes is a chatty, rambly type of guy. The nervous energy emanating from him in waves sets Scout on edge, making it difficult to hold eye contact. He stares at his feet and just says, "'Kay, sure. Um. Porter."

Scout is a Fortree native, born-and-raised, and has not left Hoenn in all twenty years of his short existence. So he doesn't have much to compare to, but even still he can understand Holmes's point — things were getting weird around here, with portals and legendaries and wars.

"Just dinner. Mushrooms 'n stuff. Just tired of eating outta cans. You hungry?"


porter holmes

BATTLE OF PETALBURG MAIN EVENT

SIGN-UP

OOC NAME: aloe[break]
CHARACTER: SCOUT WILDER[break]
FACTION: league[break]
POKEMON PARTY (MAX 6) same as prelude![break]
NOTES/COMMENTS: scout is concerned abt his induced memory loss from hawkins putting him to sleep and devastated by loss of civilian life; also im sorry for this late sign up i hope is still ok......

He's thankful that Haoyu seemed to be in agreement; they needed to stick together and watch each others' backs. Scout knew to be vigilant even in the quietest, most commonly-traversed backwoods. Here, in a totally new world? All of his senses were primed to be on the lookout.

As Scout followed the scientist on their ascent, the hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle. He paused to scan the depths below. Sound seemed to travel poorly, dampened by the thick atmosphere, so it was difficult to make out what exactly was causing those bubbling jetstreams. He could make out flashes of purple...

A glimpse of tall dorsal fins was all that he needed to see. "Gotta — go!" Scout said, renewing his efforts to swim up, up, up. "Sharpedo!"


@haoyu
07 escape corrupted sharpedo and veluza attempting to hunt you down.

Scout sets them to chug along ahead at a steady pace — the closest thing to cruise control you could get with this type of boat — and hops down to join Airi on the deck.

"Horsea can Smokescreen," he replies. It's a good thought. His gaze rises to meet hers for the first time this mission. "They absorb sunlight through the orbs, so it'll weaken and confuse them."

But... Scout looks overboard again, mentally assessing the size of the herd. Some of the Corsola have begun to notice the predators, and those at the front have come to a stop. Still, though, there are stragglers floating on the outskirts. "We'll need more than just your Mudkip to herd the group. Horsea can't do it if it's keeping up the Smokescreen."

He glances at the wet-suits. "You a good swimmer?"


AIRI WATANABE

It's a little crazy, how much trash there is in the oceans. Scout's heard it's particularly bad over the coast of Slateport, to the point where the city hosts an annual diving activity to separate Clamperl from items of human origins. Most of it is garbage, but maybe you could find some good stuff, too. Saltwater stings the corners of his eyes as he dives in without preamble.

yomJxYWx

Petra doesn't answer, lost in her own world. Perhaps he had missed something over comms earlier when he'd turned his Pokégear off...

As much as Scout is concerned with his fellow ranger's condition, the basic rule of their training is to attend to civilians first. Anyone on the force should have the skills and fortitude to watch out for themselves.

"Um, let's just check you checked out first," he tells the elderly woman. "We've got doctors outside."

She follows him out out of the wreckage to the street outside; the previous emergency personnel have left with their vehicle and those in the most critical condition. Scout is grateful to see the doctor still there: a competent, benevolent face. "I don't suppose you're a Pokévet, too?" He asks. "Did they take that family, and the other woman - ?"



PETRA MONROE Hawkins wanted to leave it up to you if he's been putting the other civilians to sleep, or if they left with the emts

10 MP per IC post in your prelude thread.

—
150 MP TOTAL

In the city, huh? "She must have been far from home," Scout says; the story is another reminder of the spreading effects of habitat loss, and the displaced Pokémon left behind. He frowns down at his rod. The least they can do is fish sustainably out here.

When the Yanmega approaches, zipping up and around Scout's head in a dizzying blur, he's torn briefly on whether to attempt capture. The bug-type Pokémon around here are common and not in any particular danger of population loss. But he figures he's already caught one Pokémon today.

So he waves the Yanmega away with an open palm, and Shroomish puffs a few toxic spores in its direction. Eventually it gets the hint and flies away. Scout watches it skim the surface of the water.

His gaze flickers back to the tussling Pokémon on the pier, then to the man. "Nah," Scout says, "Don't care for battling too much. I like the outdoors, though. Think we could protect it better."



Fletcher Hyland

Scout doesn't have the best vantage point from the back of the boat; the pilot's seat is in a small cabin elevated above the deck, so he's better positioned to see far-off aquatic obstacles, but everything below the ship's hill is out of view. But that's why they have partners for missions, right? Airi's voice rings out a second later.

A lone Tentacruel? It's not what he's expecting; Scout's basic knowledge of Tentacruel seems to include the fact that they tend to hunt in packs, with others in its evolutionary family.

Though maybe... maybe it isn't alone.

Eyes widening, Scout realizes then that distant shapes of red and magenta, which could at first glance be easily mistaken for light refractions off the Corsola, are instead the characteristic glowing orbs of a school of Tentacool. They move in formation and begin to surround the Corsola, cutting off their path.


AIRI WATANABE

Scout wondered what type of breakthrough the scientist means. There was so much they didn't know about this strange world: its origins, its connection to theirs, its strange inhabitants... even the Pokémon here were odd.

Already it felt as though the laws of physics here were different. "It's strange that we can breathe," Scout said, swimming after Haoyu in the thick air-water-atmosphere. It was a little difficult to keep all of his baggage from floating away. "I'd like to stick together, if that's alright."

@haoyu

It was a hike through the tunnel, and Scout's backpack was weighed down with various outdoor supplies: energy bars, granola and trail mix, a flashlight and headlamp, a compass, rain gear, extra footwear and a change of clothing, a gallon of water split between hydration packs and bottles, and a small, lightweight tent that folded up neatly on top.

The expedition was meant to be short; neither he nor Tso had the equipment to stay longer, but Scout had no idea what to expect, and wanted to be prepared for the worst.

As they approached the light, their footsteps became lighter — and suddenly they were floating, swimming through the air. And the weight on his back was no longer so heavy.

Awed, Scout floated behind the scientist, and reached out to skim the bioluminescent flora that lined the cave mouth with his fingers after Haoyu had done the same and not immediately perished. Below them, the cave opened up to an endless, murky cavern, and as Scout peered down he realized he had no chance of seeing the bottom.

"Are you looking for something?" He wondered. Where to even start?


@haoyu

A lone Corsola, smaller than the rest — adolescent or simply runty, it's unclear — flags behind the group. The shadow in the water continues to follow at an even pace, foreboding.

Scout leans forward over the railings and cranes his neck for a better view. Something in his gut is raising alarm bells. His fingers go to his belt and close around the Pokéball containing his Horsea. But there's no use summoning it now; their motorized, albeit tiny, boat could go much further than the tiny water Pokémon could in the same span of time.

It's a tight balance they need to strike with navigating the boat: too far away and they won't be able to intervene in time should trouble arise, but too close and the waves could disturb the Corsola they're here to protect.

"We should get closer," Scout says, then turns on his heel to move to the back of the ship where the rudder sits. "I can steer. Can you get the spotting scope?"

AIRI WATANABE