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pokémon can be said to be full of surprises...[break][break]

especially when it comes to linking up with those of their own, in more ways than one. a little known fact about some is that many oftentimes prefer to lurk in the deepest shadows of the night. one can only hope that none would seek to haunt any unsuspecting souls of humans or fellow pokémon inhabiting specific fields or zones across the region. on the flip side, ensuring the safety of the environment, and everything in it, is exactly the reason that a man such as one silverio eligio delfino had enlisted with the rangers here; it was means to further advance his environmental studies, and also to give back to the pokémon, for that they've a vital part of his survival for time immemorial.[break][break]

and speaking of survival...[break][break]

one peculiar request in particular to the rangers in the stone-forged city of rustboro has warranted the paldea native's undivided attention -- a task that requires a team of two to venture into the wilds in the darkest of night. why? the reason may surprise you: apparently, it's a mating season for a certain species of bug-type pokémon. but for some odd, something -- or perhaps someone -- is allegedly preventing them from peacefully initiating their process of procreation. something about the sparkling dust which the ledyba and ledian leave that may be attracting other pokémon? that seems likely to be case.[break][break]

a night job, huh...?[break][break]

an opportunity to undertake such a job has not come very often for the one-time paldean league champion. and surprisingly enough, it seems that he's not the only one interested in taking this job. nonetheless, as the sun began to set along the horizon, the man finds himself standing beside the city's entrance, lying in wait for the one whom would be designated as his partner on this expedition. he did not mind the wait, for was admittedly arriving a tad early to the assigned meeting point.[break][break]

lo and behold...[break][break]

unexpectedly, sounds of what seemed to be tires aggressively grazing the grounds below prompt silv's attention. whatever made that noise had zoomed past him rather quickly, garnering a breeze that renders his raven-hued hair disheveled for the moment. as he took the minute allotted by this to refurbish himself, a voice emits from a few short feet away. he turns to find a woman there, unceremoniously dismounting from a motorcycle.[break][break]

"...pretty hot..."[break][break]

the bike was, at least. although the woman in question appears to be quite the looker herself, despite what looked to be something akin to an animal's ears as part of her attire, silv seeks to focus his mind and body on the business at hand. with a small smile, in spite of her unorthodox greeting, and perhaps a playful one at that, he responds, "hey you, too. i was told to meet up with my assigned partner for a job tonight - someone by the name of arabella. i'm guessing that's you?"[break][break]

eyeing the bike intently, he considers the invitation to a ride for but a second. "that's your bike?...sure, i'll ride along, why not. it sure beats walking, especially at this time of day, or night. name's silverio, by they way. that may sound like a mouthful, so just 'silvi' is fine."

Arabella Trovato

NOTES

✦ mission: sparkling spawning[break]
✦ ---[break]
✦ ---

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the inevitable time of war has come, much to the chagrin of many folks all across the region who may be hindered by the damage in some way - either physically or emotionally. silverio has heard the news of the its effects, in which some have rendered cities and their inhabitants critically wounded. the news poked and prodded his mind like a sharp needle stabbing at one's goosebump-infested skin. but what seems to hurt the paldean most of all was not the chaos left in the wake of a primal beast, and not the countless people that have been left worse for wear. what bothers him more than anything...[break][break]

is that he couldn't be there to help...[break][break]

the lives of several friends and allies may be changed for the worse, and silverio mainly blames himself for his inability to offer the support that they deserved during a time where hoenn - no, the world - needs them most. the man himself begins to wonder if he truly deserves to call himself a ranger. it's possible that airi, the one called 'navy', and all of the other compatriots he has gained in recent memory may think positively in that sense, but no. what's worse than making a bad impression on people...[break][break]

is making no impression at all...[break][break]

nonetheless, there's work to be done yet, such as reporting all recent activity. the actions in question? the relief efforts in sea mauville; silv had managed to maintain a personal record, listing names of the people he had helped and vice versa. upon submitting a report featuring one name in particular, it wasn't long before he receives a message through the rangers' communicative network. suppose that there was one finer detail that requires a hint of clarity.[break][break]

perhaps...[break][break]

questions begin to boil in the proverbial cauldron, that is, until arriving at headquarters in mauville to see who it was precisely that called for him. her! the captain that had blatantly shunned him for wanting to help keep her safe - more importantly, to help keep her alive. regardless, stern sapphire eyes tend to her.[break][break]

"hello, captain...i heard you were calling for me?"

annalise henderson , kyle lopez

NOTES

✦ ---[break]
✦ ---[break]
✦ ---

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his life to this point had flashed before his eyes prior touching down at a locale perhaps far beneath the initial grounds. keiko didn't appear to any better off in that sense. on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the best, a judge could slam them both with a whopping 'zero' for their respective landings.[break][break]

with his hands planted on the steel floor below him, he propped himself back up to a vertical base. sounds of something beating began to ring in the man's ears, but as it turns out, it was something far greater - louder - than an impending migraine. countless rock-fairies, seemingly working in unison. but for what!?[break][break]

"i'm not sure what this is supposed to be, but..."[break][break]

slow steps forward as his eyes scanned the walls. what could the carbink be poking around slabs of stone for? was there something hidden down here that no other person or pokémon had managed to uncover as of yet? or...perhaps...[break][break]

"i think we've just found that so-called main power source; think about it for a sec'. these carbink must have been digging around, slaving away here for who-knows-how-long, and maybe they're likely to have found nothing at the rate they're going. remember the pillar we saw earlier? it was missing some gears; if i had to guess, i think these guys are probably digging for part to replace any missing gears."[break][break]

such is the life of a scholar; theories, experiments, trials-and-errors. all for the sake of learning. and boy has he learned some big deal from this adventure.[break][break]

"if that's the case, then...i don't think that's fair. i think it's clear that these guys need some help..."

keiko mori

NOTES

✦ prompts completed: 4 of 4[break]
✦ greninja is still burned lol[break]
✦ 32 either by exploring clockwork tunnels underneath the city or the castle, liberate carbink who have been working in other coal engines for eons.[break]
✦ ---

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"what...!?" well...[break][break]

this could've gone far better. at first glance, the elevator appeared to be fully functional...until it wasn't! as if the two humans hadn't already experienced enough disasters since the beginning of this expedition, well, add another one to the ongoing list of unpredictable mishaps. but just as the man would rush over to lend a helping hand to her, keiko managed to pry it open, and not a moment too soon as their pokémon had finally come scampering from behind them, miraculously evading the rampaging tsareena-bots.[break][break]

"thanks for the help, now you go and rest up, too." the ranger called for his knight to return to his spherical headquarters and rest along the straps of his waist. because surely, there wasn't enough space inside the elevator for two humans and two pokémon, or perhaps not even just one of them. he would stand by his theory, that something must be responsible for providing the necessary energy for this entire world.[break][break]

"i hope you're right, although i think it's plain to see now that some of these mechs have a mind of their ow- waaaaaahhh!?!?!"[break][break]

was an elevator supposed to move that quickly? it felt more like a freefall from an airborne corviknight than a motorized descent. by the time the wild ride would come to an end, the paldean found himself downed with his back slammed against a wall. "dammit...oh, you alright?"

keiko mori

NOTES

✦ prompts completed: 3 of 4[break]
✦ greninja is still burned lol[break]
✦ ---[break]
✦ ---

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soon enough, her audino joined the fight to suppress the menacing mechanical fruit queens, and its burst of flames would indeed cripple some of the tsareena-bots. should the flames be enough to melt through their steel frames, it could provide an opening for her trainer and the others make haste and flee the scene. to help make sure of this, the dark knight pokémon broke his stance, swinging his sharp blade-arms to swat the machines' legs away. with heat intensifying in both arms, it swung once more, a series of blows with his bitter blade were enough to knock those bots back a tad.[break][break]

a chance to escape![break][break]

but even so, the bots refused to relent; it was as if they had sensed a disturbance within their kingdom, in which case, they may have deemed the two humans and their pokémon as such - as if they were some form of an anomaly, that they didn't belong here. meanwhile, silverio was quick to follow suit of the pinkette, allowing her to choose a path outward for them for the sake of their survival. he accelerated, turning to left at the fork in the halls just as she did, coming at a stop to...an elevator? the kind that one would find inside organized caverns.[break][break]

neither her audino nor has ceruledge had brought up the rear. "please be okay..." meanwhile, with the opening provided by their combined strengths, the ghostly warrior waved an arm at the audino, with the other arm motioning in the direction of whence their trainers had sped off, signaling for them to make their move out of this predicament.

keiko mori

NOTES

✦ prompts completed: 2 of 4[break]
✦ bingo: anomaly[break]
✦ greninja is still burned[break]
✦ ---

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"it might've been...i'm starting to think this whole place is being powered by something...as to what that might be, who knows..."[break][break]

as one who sought to study the environment itself, he would've loved to get a closer look at the device that had just fallen into ruin. in fact, he could vaguely recall one of his teachers in paldea who specialized in researching ancient artifacts. a farcry from the mechanisms that he and keiko have toyed with up to this point - the skyline, the door leadingo the castle, and not to mention, the first mechanized volcanion they had battled against.[break][break]

one thing was certain: they needed more clues...[break][break]

keiko was right; since their arrival in this realm, there was no other person in sight, only them, surrounded by technology unlike any he'd ever seen in the past, passing through what appeared to be remains of an unresolved war. like her, he would also hope to find as much as a hint on what may be lurking here - or what did lurk here for a time.[break][break]

and yet...[break][break]

something may have just found them instead. at the sounds of metal clanking the floor below them, silverio slowly turned his eyes to look behind them. what had come into view was nothing short of a shocker: a trio of metallicized minions resembling a queenly pokémon known for their majestic, powerful legs - tsareena. and with a burning red hue in their eyes, they appeared to be hazardly hostile. "shit...!"[break][break]

silv instinctively tossed a pokéball to summon his noble dark knight, ceruledge, to the field. with his blade-arms, he'd clash with a leg from two of the metal dolls. if there was a time for two humans to go and haul ass, it would be now.

keiko mori

NOTES

✦ prompts completed: 2 of 4[break]
✦ bingo: war[break]
✦ greninja is still burned[break]
✦ 29 encounter mechanical tsareena that hunt you aggressively, attempting to fence with their sharp, blade legs.

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what he had previously stated was nothing more than a simple hypothesis. although, the bones flooding the grounds here may very well be the work of nature itself, but any attempt to prove such a theory would be deemed erratically impossible at this rate. with that in mind, silverio opted to not waste time in playing what would sound to be a guessing game with the environment.[break][break]

caution as to not step over the rotting skeletons. along the path to potential discoveries, his partner picked up a mechanical trinket, which catches silv's widened eyes. but before he'd have a chance to examine it himself, it breaks apart, no fault of keiko's though. surely there must have been a use for it, as he would guess. "every machine supposedly has a source that powers it..."[break][break]

could the brilliance of the aura that had dispered from the broken sphere have been that source? like a lab rat freed from its cage, though there was no telling at this point. still..."i can't say for sure, but if that's the case here, then i'd say this little trinket may have just run out of juice." light steps continued ahead as the paldean sought to wrap his head around all the mechanical wonders they've seen thus far.

keiko mori

NOTES

✦ prompts completed: 1 of 4[break]
✦ bingo: brilliance[break]
✦ greninja is still burned

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important ranger business has come up, leaving silverio with little choice other than to attend to it, which begs a question: what to do with the baby pokémon held firmly in his hands. as much as he would insist on raising this extraordinary specimen to be a valuable ally during his exploits, unfortunately, time was not on his side - and it hadn't been for the last several weeks now.[break][break]

and so, a darling little eevee that has been entrusted to him is left in the care of another. temporarily. a lively little thing, he is, and curious to boot. a fellow pokémon by their lonesome catches the eevee's eye; he scoots around the rock it's seated on, in the hope of garnering the mawile's attention, his fluffy tail swaying to and fro all the while, with excitement akin to a newly-crowned champion.[break][break]

Chrysanthe Kubrick

NOTES

✦ mission: daycare playdate[break]
✦ bingo: champion[break]
✦ ---