Celia Auclair would burst through the door into an office that was, for the most part, utilitarian, save for a healthy potted plant in one corner and a cherry blossom bonsai on the desk. An Absol slumbers beneath the meager shade of the corner plant's leaves. At present, the blinds overlooking the Lilycove shore are closed, and the room is lit by an overhead light. Another glow comes from the laptop screen in front of the startled councilman, whose deep brown eyes flick upward to meet the angry mother's gaze.

"Ma'am, you can't just barge in here—"

A chorus of other voices, mostly inquiring after the interruption, are quickly silenced as Orion shuts his laptop. Now, the strained voice of the secretary remains: "I tried to tell her, Councilman Lykos, but she wouldn't listen!"

She closes the door on the poor, harassed employee, and marches right up to seat herself across him.

Orion's mouth is somewhat agape as he struggles to find the words to properly reprimand this woman. He'd been in the middle of a conference call! This was a government building! Barging in uninvited was just plain rude! But he's stalled enough by the sheer gall of the woman that she's more than able to say her piece before he's finished collecting his thoughts.

"Should I call security?" asks the voice beyond the door.

Orion is the one to break eye contact first, instinctively looking at the photo that's placed on his desk. His stomach drops. Andy Blackadder, the kid on the warfront.

"I'll handle it, thank you!" Orion calls back, then looks Celia dead in the face as he adds, "I can call them myself if I need to."

His heart is already beating too fast as the anxiety gets its claws in him, and his ire at the interruption wars with sympathy for a worried mother chasing whispers of her son. That doesn't give her the right... But he softens, a little, and takes a breath before presenting a hopefully measured response: "I don't know what rumours you're following, but that doesn't change the fact that you're trespassing on League property. My office runs on an appointment schedule for a reason, miss...?"

Naturally, the councilman winds up here by accident.

Alakazam can only teleport him so far in a single trip, and he's resting under the shade of a Petalburg tree when he notices the crowd gathering nearby. He thinks it must be some sort of party, or perhaps the woman that exits the house is some sort of celebrity. That's not what catches his eye. It's the muscles. Were it not for the redness in his cheeks, Orion would blame the heat in them on the Hoennian sun.

His staring must be mistaken for intent on participation, for the next thing Orion knows he's being swept up in the group that files into the woman's home.

Woah, this place is really nice...

His attention snaps to Michiko as she explains the various things that needed doing, and his sympathy for this woman's need to rely upon strangers makes him stick around. He frowns thoughtfully at the mention of the ring; he's no good with plumbing, however...

"Del, do you think you could help?"

An Espeon chirps at the councilman's feet, winding around his legs with a twitch of her forked tail before leaping onto the bathroom counter. The red gem set in her forehead pulses with light as she stares down into the drain like it's an ice-fishing hole, balancing over the sink's rim with dainty paws. After some time, Orion hears the soft rattle of the ring against the piping as Delphi's psychic power extracts it from the drain. It's placed carefully in the palm of her trainer's hand, where he ferries it to Michiko.

"Is the ring you'd lost, ma'am?"

TASK: 'PLUMBING SKILLS'

Sign Orion up, this sounds amazing.

Bless the old woman — she addresses him as councilman, and Orion is roughly snapped out of his stupor with the reminder that he has a public image to uphold. Though his cheeks remain hot with the remnants of shame, he pulls himself together enough to smile and shake his head.

"It's no trouble, ma'am," he insists. "I'm here on behalf of the Rangers."

The Council had decidedly bigger issues than this to be dealing with, but he'd handle those during work hours. If anything, this job could be considered a vacation from the paperwork. The Ranger alert had roused him from a midday nap but he was a man who stretched himself so thin as to be almost invisible and had accepted without a second thought.

Dreading the closeness of a ride on the Zebstrika, Orion quickly excuses, "Oh, I wouldn't want to burden your Zebstrika more than necessary, I've got my own transport!"

It's not the Alakazam he retrieves from its ball, but a Girafarig who whinnies upon being released from confinement. Her tail growls and snaps at the air, but Orion seems unperturbed as he pats the Pokemon's neck and climbs aboard. Following Peanut's lead, the Girafarig ferries her trainer to the intended site, where she bends her long neck to nibble at the grass.

Dismounting, Orion's gaze fixes upon the logs. Heavy, but manageable thanks to his psychic-types. It's not until Leo addresses him that his gaze snaps back to the other. "Hm? Oh, I... well, I grow berry trees, sometimes, and I have a few house plants. Kind of tradition in Fortree." His laughter is a little strained. "So I think I'll manage. You?"

As he listens to Leo's response, he directs his Girafarig to begin lifting the logs one at a time with her psychic abilities.

[break]

leo del río

Found some unclaimed gachas while updating my documentation for Orion! REGULAR from TOWER CHALLENGE and a PREMIUM - PSYCHIC from LILYCOVE WARFRONT. Lastly, some shards!

from my PC
x5 RAINBOW SHARD for a PREMIUM GACHA - PSYCHIC.

from my PC
TYPE 2 EVO to evolve ROWLET -> DARTRIX.
TYPE 3 EVO to evolve DARTRIX -> DECIDUEYE.
LEVEL TUTOR to replace Decidueye's SHADOW SNEAK -> PHANTOM FORCE.

purchasing for -75PD
ABILITY CAPSULE to change Decidueye's OVERGROW -> LONG REACH.

So startled is Orion by the man's sudden approach that he has no time to jerk his arm away before he's physically dragged toward the stern-faced old woman. Either his partner neglected to realise how tense Orion's muscles were beneath his hold, or he didn't care.

As soon as they're standing before their host, Orion tugs away from Leo as gently as he can, hoping to escape notice.

Thanks to the anxiety spinning his thoughts into a whirlwind, the councilman misses the majority of options the woman provides. He's recovered enough to catch on when she mentions a green thumb, and stammers somewhat awkwardly, "Oh, I have — um, I'm OK at gardens."

His cheeks flush. He'd rather be anywhere else.

[break]

leo del río

"Fern's all right," Orion says in his fellow councilman's defense, though his smile suggests he knows that kyle lopez is messing around. He looks at Fernando as he playfully adds, "most of the time."

A year ago, Orion wouldn't have been caught dead at a social gathering, let alone one populated by the region's gym leaders and council, but the position had done well to quite literally drag him out of his shell. His stomach still flutters with anxiety as he carefully selects the scraps of the hotpot passed up by others, not wanting to be rude and butt in as they all seemed comfortable doing, but he's at least relaxed enough to enjoy himself.

He's close enough to the Rangers in attendance to hear Raziel Beckett's question. Hoping their previous encounter has become water under the proverbial bridge, he chuckles and weighs in, "Stealing from each other is a 'them' thing, I think." He manages to grab a couple Magikarp filets. Common as they were, he enjoyed the familiar flavour.

[break]

FERNANDO SILPH

It says a lot about Hoenn that Orion's only slightly alarmed by the sudden appearance of Pokemon he's never seen before. Silvally jumps in front of him, defiant and snarling, but Orion worries that he's taxed the chimera too much already.

Reluctantly, he returns Percy and tosses out a Drifblim.

I probably shouldn't tell them I've never tried this before... He knew that some Pokemon didn't survive a move like this, but these were desperate times and the Drifblim was a ticking time bomb. It's one of the reasons he hasn't used the ghost-type much, afraid that its wild nature might cause it to explode at the wrong moment. This, however, is the perfect moment.

Valerio tells them to take cover, and the councilman tosses his Drifblim into the chaos alongside Garbodor. Upon noticing the trash Pokemon begin to glow, Drifblim copies it in earnest. Like an overfilled balloon, the ghost-type expands and expands until the pressure is too much and it EXPLODES.

[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon drifblim"]
EXPLOSION / 250BP / 790 / 1000BP

[break]

Kazimir Wynter Valerio Dachev Adrian Malcolm

in my PC
LEVEL UP MOVE to teach Drifblim EXPLOSION.

"Ice, huh?"

He'd been thinking of more water, himself, but he's not an avid spelunker and retracts his hand from Swampert's pokeball as Valerio leads their charge. He'll go with the group. It's worked so far.

His Silvally has proven to be effective in more ways than one, and he pats it fondly as it rematerializes next to him.

With its crest, Silvally stands taller than the councilman himself. It bares its fangs as it sizes up the boulder, ice forming on their sharp points. When it finds the right weak point, it lunges forward and sinks those fangs into the molten rock. Orion worries for Percy's health, but he seems to be holding up all right.

[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon silvally"]
ICE FANG / PHYSICAL ICE-TYPE / 65BP

[break]

Kazimir Wynter Valerio Dachev Adrian Malcolm

from my PC
LEVEL UP MOVE to replace Silvally's DOUBLE EDGE -> ICE FANG.