Ask to Join Pokémon Ranger, Almia goes old school. RP thread.

[Paddler]

It was barely a minute until Celia arrived, with Zian already hopping around happily. The Lycanroc still kept its distance from people a little, but it had become less cautious ones it got used to being around the ranger group. As it was skipping through the weeds something big and grey came running at it. Lefty liked having a new pall. He was all about business when duty called, but on a morning like this, who could resist a good frolick? Not far behind him Jake came out of the woods. He'd been up early so he'd walked around a bit, getting a feel for the weather and the forest conditions of the day. and eating some berries while out there anyway.

"Good morning everyone, beautiful morning wouldn't you say?" The man said, "There's nothing like a few clouds and a bit of a breeze for a long walk."

Jake checked with Celia to confirm the communications were done, then he checked with Wynter. Jake was thoroughly impressed with the amount of work she had done. Of course, since he was the one with the Rhyhorn he didn't have to worry about packing too heavy. He could just tie his entire bag onto Lefty if he needed to. Just as the older ranger was about to check with Frank, Taylor showed up. (OOC: Or not, if you have a better idea. It's your character.)

 

[jade421]

"Thanks, I hope for the best working with you. With all of you." Taylor said with a smile to Frank as he seemed friendly, and Star seemed to grin a bit at the compliment of her nickname. Before she had a chance to further add on to the conversation when the one named Jake appeared and requested the little "campfire club" as she dubbed it in her head gather around which she did. Jake had made mention of the previous exploits of those present her, herself included which seemed surprising before Jake mentioned of his desire to want to take some recruits with him to Chicole Village.

This more than even anything got Taylor's intrigue. This was it, her first real test as a Ranger recruit, even if he dubbed it an exercise this was the biggest one she had met since coming here and she had been prepared to prove her worth. Taylor had been specifically told that she had no specific role like Frank or Wynter but to be prepared for some tracking which had played to her strengths. None the less Taylor was prepared for whatever role needed as she turned to Star who seemed to share the same determination.

The next day, Taylor managed to wake up on time this time....but an incident in the recruit showers that Taylor would rather have avoided speaking of caused her to arrive among the late crowd all the same much to her own frustration. Still, she had not missed the role call and arrived just as Jake made his arrival and gave his opening comment.

"Y-yeah, good breeze." Taylor said, as she tried to play it up that she had been there from the start or at least not have them dwell on her late arrival again as Star stood right by her side as both trainer and Pokemon appeared ready to go.

 

[malcolm debourg]

Andy and Aqua were both up early this time so as not to arrive late yet again. His first experience as a new recruit with Frank and the others was a pleasant one, with Andy providing some help to a pichu caught in a bear trap as well as gaining knowledge about catnip, a plant he hadn't heard of before then. Presently, the young recruit is busy packing his bags for the days mission, whatever that was.

That would include berries knives, his hot plate to cook berries if the need arose, and a few feet of rope. After 2 minutes spent packing his stuff up, he heads off to the camp to join the others for the mission. No real problems getting there, but, everyone had once again arrived before him and was ready to go, both recruit and mouse facepalm, they were late again!

"Hello everyone, where are we headed to today?" curious on what the mission was and trying to draw attention away from his tardiness.

(ooc: Heh, late again, hope this post works but now he is with everyone.)

 

[DarkHydraT]

"Indeed sir, and by the looks of it everyone is here." Frank said as he put his book away and gave a mission briefing. "Wynter, Celia, Taylor and Andy. We are going to Chicole Village to find out who the trap setters are that we encountered a few days ago. Thanks to Celia and Wynter, we were able to rule out the eastern island and find out that the plants used for some of the traps grow in the south near Chicole Village. Mister Southwoods put me in charge since I am from Chicole Village and thus know the area around there, any possible comments or complaints should be said now since there is a chance that it will change. I don't want anyone to complain after we already set out. Taylor and Andy, be on time next time. Got it? Are there any questions before we set out?" His voice couldn't compare to that of Jake in terms of intimidation, but he was sure that he had the attention of the recruits.

 

[Paddler]

(OOC: Assuming there are no questions, if there are this either happens later or not at all.)
(More OOC: I'm not trying to step on Frank's toes here by moving the group out, I just figured that nobody is looking to complain and I should try to introduce some stuff to interact with and make choices about.)

And so it happened that the group of rangers set off across the bridge where a few days earlier they had found Msyu the Glameow, and into the home region of Frank and Celia. Jake was relaxed and not expecting trouble. He didn't need to be available to the trainees at all times but he also didn't need to hang back and shut up like it was some sort of test. So he hung around the middle of the pack and stopped to look at something every now and then. It was nice being on the road, as always. Lefty was trotting along just fine as well. The big hump of beast might look a little intimidating to smaller Pokémon, but his aggression free personality usually makes that go away. Around lunch time the Rhyhorn found himself walking with both a Marill and a Glameow on his back, who seemed to be playing some sort of game. (OOC: unless their players have other ideas.)

At that point the group got to a minor crossroad Jake recognized. The main road went to Vientown. Keeping up a good pace they could just about make it there without making camp. Vientown had a ranger base they could visit, but since there had been regular contact with Bootcamp Island this would give them only a few days of new information. Although it would be fun for the recruits to meet the between one and a handful of rangers that were probably there when they arrived. The other option was not so much a road in that it didn't lead anywhere and wasn't meant for travel. Paths like this were a way for people who lived off (or in) the forest to get around. Sometimes your destination is simply the forest itself. The paths changed over the years, but were known to the locals and often to the rangers, and this one went in the right direction for Chicole Village.

The crossroad sat in a small artificial clearing in the woods, where a half decent view of the sky opened up. People had used the paths to get timber and other materials out of the woods and onto carts, and they had cleared some space to make this job easier while allowing other travelers to pass. At the edge of the clearing sat a big old tree. It marked the point where people had stopped removing trees because this one would have been too much work. Jake looked at the tree with some interest, because it was positively crawling with Weedles, most of them seemingly making their way up the tree. In some spots further up you almost couldn't see any bark because of the mass of poisonous little bodies wriggling about on it. "Hey guys," Jake said while he put his backpack down on the other, less Weedle covered side of the road and walked towards the tree, "take a look at this. How often do you see something like that? That's pretty cool."

 

[DarkHydraT]

(OOC: This will happen later if others have questions)
Frank looked around at the plantlife, many of them he recognized due to his wandering around as a kid. Only now did he realize how much plants he fell into, almost all of them had some kind of toxin in them. Nettles, poison ivy, poison oak, even the rare mushroom in the shade of some oak trees. As he took in the surroundings, Jake said something that caught his attention. A large tree, absolutely covered with Weedle was in front of them. So many Weedle were on it, he could barely make out the bark of the tree at some spots.

"That is indeed not a sight you see often, but this is troublesome. Weedle eat their weight in leaves every single day, and this amount can destroy a forest in a matter of months. And unless I am mistaken, there is most likely a nest nearby and a lot of angry Beedrill. We can't just harm them, that will only make matters worse. Maybe we transport them to an other forest. Wynter, think you can create a net or something to move many Weedle at once? Perhaps Lefty could carry it, but these Weedle need to go. Loggers' End might be worth looking at, although we need to take a detour for it. We won't take all of the Weedle since they are part of the ecosystem, but moving about a third to a half should allow the ecosystem to balance itself and prevent it from being eaten. Let's get to it, people." Frank said, this was a problem they needed to tackle. And weren't they Rangers, people who took care and protected nature?

 

[AceyPie]

Celia hanged back at the very end of the group, Zian hanging back farther. She took her time taking in her childhood and memories, and even if she did get seperated Celia knew the place well... well enough to be able to ask and find them easily, they passed over the bridge from the previous mission, scary things. They could've lost their troop leader right then and there, Celia shook her head at the thoughts and continued walking with the group.

A couple of hours (OOC: I assume) later the group stopped at a crossroad, Celia still embracing her old memories of this place she called her 'playground', continued walking, unaware of her surroundings she bumped into Frank "Ack! Sor..." Celia backed away a bit and from the corner of her eyes she saw the big tree completely infested with Weedle "...ry?" She turned her head to the rare sight "When did Ol' Reliable get so..." 'Ol' Reliable' Even if the tree was completely veiled with the brown, crawlers, Celia had still recognized as a Landmark from her youth, she would climb this tree -and fall off- plenty of times, it was almost unrecognizable, It took away her train of thought thus inabling her to finish the sentence

 

[jade421]

Hey guys, take a look at this. How often do you see something like that? That's pretty cool.

Taylor didn't even finish hearing the words spoken by Jake, for the moment she and Star arrived with the crossroad and immediately her impulses took over when her eyes gazed on the amazing site. With her partner Pokemon comfortably on her shoulder, Taylor immediately dashed towards the large tree that had the numerous Weedle on it, careful to avoid stepping on any of them as she seemed to gaze at the collective "hive" with a large grin matched by her partner Shinx.

"Wow! I've never seen so many Weedle in one place. This tree must have plenty of sweets on it to attract this kind of crowd." Taylor said, more to herself & Star but she had spoke loud enough for the others to here as she inspected the tree closely as she and Star soaked in the gathering as they had never seen anything like this before and wondered what did attract them all around and on this specific tree.

 

[Nukas]

Lucas had gotten everything ready to try and meet the group of new recruits on their way. He had gotten the word from some of the other rangers at the station in Vientown, and he decided his vacation would have to come to a close. He was young, but his knowledge in the field was invaluable to the rangers. He often times was the first to analyze a situation and come up with the best course of action. He figured since he knew that the recruits would be going through this path anyway, he would meet up with them and see his Jake again, seeing as how he was trained by Jake not too long ago. The only problem was his sister.

"Wait, there are poachers out there and you expect me to just let you go? You may be a Pokemon Ranger, but you are also my little brother. You're just not equipped to handle anything on your own." said Aubrey his slightly older sister.

"Aubrey I'm just meeting some new recruits, besides I have Cobalt with me. I have been in dangerous situations before you know." This seemed like the same conversation he had with her about a year ago when he went to the boot camp. Then he got the same lecture when he actually became a ranger. He thought he would be able to win this one too, he was wrong.

"Nope, I'm coming with you this time, no ifs, ands, or buts." Aubrey truly did worry about her brother. She thought he would have come running back to her by now because he couldn't last without her, but he was too shy to admit it. So she decided to go with him to meet these recruits to see if he could actually handle himself. She grabbed Scarlet and her bag of cooking supplies and headed out with her brother.

 

[kyuukestu]

"Ew..."

Although not particularly traumatized at the sight of bugs, the sight of that many bugs, made Wynter's skin crawl. She'd been idly, and enviously observing Mysu as the feline rode leisurely a top lefty, when the group had encountered the mother of all worm-holes -errr, worm stumps.

Without a moment's hesitation, she decided, "My rope's not touching that," she paused for a moment, searching for a reason, "I need to reuse this rope, I can't have Weedle toxins all over it." Her expression still unsightly, she scanned the area briefly before coming up with an alternative. "I can weave a grass net, but I'll need help collecting all the grass for the net. The longer the blades of grass, the better."

Taking the long way around the stump of Weedle, Wynter began to search the surroundings for suitable pieces of grass. She bent at the knees and began plucking blades of grass, vine-like plants, or young supple branches, careful to get as much length as she could.

 

[malcolm debourg]

"Yes sir" he responds, feeling annoyed to be chewed out for being late again as he and the rest of the group set off for Chicole Village, the path leading there was apparently covered in various forms of plantlife, most of which he recognized as poisonous, the more annoying type of poison plants like ivy, sumac, and oak that could give one a seriously irksome itch if skin contact was made. While he continues walking the path with the others, a look to Lefty, the Rhyhorn, reveals Aqua and a Glameow riding the rock pokemon while the cat plays around with her ball tail like its a yarn ball, "Silly cat." he smiles enjoying the little display, the usual cat and mouse rivalry not being a thing with her,

Farther up the path turned into a crossroads that split off into 2 paths neither of which were that recognizable to Andy at the moment. However, what was recognizable came in the form of an old tree that was practically buried in Weedles, the little bugs nearly covering its entire length. "That is, quite the unusual sight" he noted agreeing with what Taylor said about something attracting the many Weedles though unless that tree had a treasure trove of berries hidden in its hallows somewhere, perhaps from other bugs, birds or rodents, he didn't think it was only berries.

 

[Paddler]

"I'm sort of siding with Wynter and her ropes here," said Jake, "Rhyhorns may be some of the most poison resistant creatures out there (OOC: 4x resistant to poison attacks in the main series mechanics, though no immunity to getting poisoned), but that doesn't mean Lefty would like to be covered in these guys for several days of travel. But I get your concerns Frank. The lower branches have already lost quite some leaves, so odds are these guys will eat this tree before they're done with it. And they might cause more disruptions than that."

Jake tried walking around and peering into the tree, but he couldn't get a good view of the higher half of it. "What do you folks think they're doing all gathering in one place?" He paused a while, looked around some more and then added "A few years back I was around the river in the right time of spring. Hundreds of Finneon, several of the usual schools together, were swimming up the river to above the falls." *He smiled and said "The local Bibarel and Buizel went wild." As he kept looking up into the tree he got to his point: "The Finneon migrate to lay eggs, the Floatzel go after them for food, but these guys may be looking for protection. ...I think they might be getting ready to evolve."

 

[Nukas]

Lucas and Aubrey finally made it to where the cadets and Jake were. Lucas was excited to see Jake, Jake was the first person who actually gave him some confidence in himself, even though he wasn't as active as the other Rangers.
"Hello Jake, Lucas Matthews reporting for duty. I was told about your mission with the poachers and decided to cut my vacation short to help you and the new recruits."

Aubrey was confused about why her brother was acting so formal to this old dude, she never personally minded authority much.
"So who are you guys and what are you doing. I thought you were supposed to be catching some poachers not playing with Weedle. How can I trust people who can't even seem to stay on task to keep my brother safe."

"I'm so sorry about her Jake, she's my sister and she wouldn't let me leave her behind. I know she's a civilian, but she knows how to handle herself. She is also a great cook and can cook something up for you and the cadets if needed. So anyway, what seems to be the situation and what kind of talent did the recruits bring to handle it?

 

[Paddler]

Jake looked down from the tree and shook his thoughts for a second. "Hey Lucas, nice seeing you again. And Cobalt too. How is the little guy? I heard just after we parted ways he actually bit a Graveler one of the rangers stepped on. I would have payed money to see that. The skills of the new guys? Why don't they tell you themselves? Gang, this is Lucas. Or if you want to tease him about that notebook he puts to good use, The Recordkeeper. Lucas, this is the gang. They're only a few days in, so it's okay if you haze them just a little."

Jake then noticed his annoy-sense tingling, something or someone was annoying him. He turned to see a young civilian schooling him on how to do his job. "One, that's none of your business, not unless you ask nicely. And two, it's not my job to keep Lucas safe, that's his job. Trained him for it myself." This was mostly a lie, while a ranger always needed to mind their own safety this was a job you simply cannot do without people watching your back. Jake just had problems finding the right words sometimes. As long as the intent was not malicious or manipulative, he'd go with a clever sounding lie over getting stumped by someone trying to give him an attitude. "Now, Miss..." *Pause for hearing her name* "Aubrey, right. I don't need a cook. I work just fine with civilians, but they need to be on my team rather than on my back. Your brother and that mon of him can handle themselves, I promise you." He pauses for a moment as he feels something land between his shoulder blades as if it drifted down on a string. He reaches back there, stings himself ones and then pulls off a rather meaty Weedle. "Also, we seem to have picked a rather poor place to be chit-chatting, so I'll go back to discussing the current situation while looking up now. Have a nice day miss Aubrey."

(OOC: This seemed like a good time to go sort of ahead of my turn a little, as the situation kind of called for me to react.)

 

[DarkHydraT]

Frank listened carefully, Wynter made a good point about reusing her rope. "Fair enough, don't want that rope to be drenched in poison." He said as he began to gather long blades of grass, vines and anything that was long and not containing toxins. "Evolve? Kakuna are easier to carry due to their lack of barbs, but they are bigger and heavier. Not to mention the amount of angry Beedrill we will encounter when moving Kakuna. We better hurry." He soon gathered quite the batch of material when some new voices were heard.

"New folks huh? Interesting. Hello Lucas, the name's Frank. Nice to meet you, although I can't shake your hand due to obvious reasons. And I heard you mentioning something about skills, I am a medic if you consider that a skill." Frank ignored what he presumed to be Lucas' sister as Jake seemed to be able to handle her and continued collecting material for Wynter to use.

 

[Nukas]

"Well it's great to have you Frank, and yes I personally would consider being a medic a skill. We can never have too many medics, this job can get dangerous and I know I'm always happy to have a medic at my side, Arceus knows I always need one. Anyway, this Weedle infestation does seem to be getting out of hand, I overheard you all talking about a rope basket. That's great, but there are two big flaws with that strategy. One, for this many Weedle you would need a huge basket. As you said, we can't use rope because it's reusable, but plain grass would not be able to hold the weight of that horde. My suggested course of action would be to make multiple baskets, each containing no more than five weedle. If you had a grass type Pokemon with you, we could probably make half the baskets, but we'll make do. Second, unless one of you have any skills otherwise, we have no way to get the Weedle into the baskets without getting poisoned. I'm sure Frank is a great medic, but the less people he has to save, the better."

Aubrey was surprised at the way her brother was handling himself, for a second she forgot she was there to protect him. She wished she could do something to help, as Lucas was kind of just rambling on, she started to think. She did however hear Lucas say something about attracting the Weedle. "You say you need to attract Weedle huh??? well I happen to know an expert chef who would love to help her little bro out, and knows the perfect recipe for the job."

Lucas ignored his sister. He loved her, but god she just can't let him do anything, or the recruits for that matter. This was their time to get in some real experience. It would also be perfect practice of what kind of quick decision making needs to happen in the field. "Anyone else have an idea? I still don't really know everyone's skills so I can't properly assess the situation for options."

 

[DarkHydraT]

Frank grinned, he liked this kid. "Well, thanks. I might be able to befriend a Budew or two, but I don't know if I can befriend one in time. It's worth a shot though." He said as he pulled another vine from a tree and put the collected material in front of Wynter which was quite the heap. "If any of you are stung by the Weedle, tell me now. Stay away from that tree unless you need to be close, like Lucas said I would like this mission to succeed without having to treat anyone. In case of a sting when I'm gone, wrap this tightly above the stung area and remove the poisoned blood. I will try to find a Budew in the meantime." He said as he grabbed two rolls of bandages and a small knife, tossing them onto the ground. "When I return, I better find both rolls intact or put to good use." With those words, Frank left to find a Budew to aid their cause.

 

[jade421]

"I think you guys are overreacting. Weedle tend to be more scared of you then you are of them. So long as you don't do anything to startle them and keep a safe distance you should be okay." Taylor said, as she had some experience with wild Pokemon of the forest like Weedle as her casual attitude around them seemed to show her assurance in that area.

"Say mind if I tag along? I think I can get us a good bird's eye view." Taylor said with a grin as she followed Frank with Star right on her shoulder. Star seemed to want to highlight Taylor's idea, as the Shinx moved from her shoulder and used its clawed paws to scale up a tree and stood on a high branch with a grin, getting a good view of the forest as Taylor rolled her eyes a bit.

"Nobody likes a showoff Star." Taylor commented as Star smiled and the Shinx playfully stuck a tongue out at Taylor.

 

[DarkHydraT]

"There is a fine line between overreacting and taking precautions. This is a case of the latter as this many Weedle can destroy this forest in a matter of months at best if left unchecked. That's why I'm trying to find a Grass type and why you are allowed to join me, Taylor. And that bird's eye view sounds not that bad, Grass types don't just live on the ground after all, some live in trees, ponds or deserts." Frank said as Star climbed up into a tree and Taylor stuck her tongue out. "That is a good demonstration Star, nicely done." He said with a chuckle and continued walking.

"Let's see, we need vines so I'd say Pokémon that know Vine Whip or Power Whip are good solutions. Point is, we need to put ourselves in danger to test that. When I test if a Pokémon has either move or is capable of creating and using vines, I want you to stand back and only help when I ask you to. Got it? I don't want to carry a wounded recruit back just because they denied orders, I only have so many medical supplies and I'd like to not use them if wounds can be avoided." Frank said with uncharacteristic sternness for his standards as he stopped and turned to face Taylor.

 

[kyuukestu]

Getting to work, Wynter began to weave to the grass together, creating a net of grass that was three layers thick. The grass wasn't all that strong after all, so it required a multi-layered design to carry a hefty load. The work progresses at a steady rate, Wynter's skillful fingers twisting, twining, weaving, and knotting blades of grass until it created a matted pattern. Her fingers moved on autopilot, having performed this pattern at least a thousand time before. "This will take...perhaps another half an hour before it's completed."

She spoke to no one in particular, merely giving her fellow rangers a time frame to work with. Once she'd gotten nearer to completion, she'd have Mysu slice off some branches with her claws, and then she'd weave the grass around the branches and use the branch as a handle for the net. She'd been rather invested in her work and hadn't quite been paying attention to her surrounding, the arrival of the siblings hadn't gone completely unnoticed, but she hadn't been paying rapt attention to their words. Their voices had simply gone in one ear, and out the other.

 

[Paddler]

Jake ignored Frank's medical opinion. He had been stung before, and he wasn't betting on this being the last time it would happen in the very near future. Besides, it had been a pretty soft sting. That meant only a little venom was injected right? He unceremoniously dropped the Weedle on the ground, halfheartedly sucked out some of the venom, and stopped doing that when he tasted the stuff. Right, this is not one of those "way too sour but otherwise kind of okay"-venoms.

Jake would love to get some eyes up in that tree. What was it that drove all those bugs up this specific tree? "Hey Wynter" he said, "since you're not using that rope, can I borrow it for a moment?"

It took a few more sentences of explanation before Wynter understood he was not planning to drape her rope in poison while climbing this Weedle-covered tree. Instead, Jake planned to climb one of the trees next to it. Most of the larger low hanging branches have been removed in a combination of loading spot upkeep and people being just a bit short on firewood, but there was a good branch a little higher up and Jake managed to throw the rope over it, after tying it to a piece of wood from the ground. Jake thought about handing one end to Lefty for a moment, but decided to tie it down on another nearby tree instead. He couldn't have Lefty pull him up either way, not without detracting a few years from the rope's life expectancy.

When the knot was done, Jake started the climb.

 

[Nukas]

Frank knew what he was talking about when he said don't get stung, Lucas had been stung by one of those little suckers before and was out cold for a day. Granted he was only 7 at the time and he didn't have any medical supplies with him, but it still sucked. But even though Frank warned against it, the very next thing Lucas noticed was Jake sucking the venom out of a wound. By his calculations, based on his estimated weight and size, Lucas thought Jake had about a minute and 45 seconds before he started to feel weak. He wouldn't outright pass out, but he wouldn't be able to hold onto that tree he started to climb, and Lucas didn't want to test the durability on the white-haired girl's rope.

"Jake get off of that tree now, you won't be able to hold onto it in another minute and 26 seconds. I'll have Aubrey go and find some berries for an antidote," being a chef, Aubrey knew what berries were best for what circumstances. "Cobalt, I need you to go with Aubrey so that she can find her way back here when she finds the right ingredients. Aubrey is it ok if I take Scarlet and you take Cobalt while you go look for berries."

Aubrey didn't know how to react to this. She knew her twin was smart, but those calculations took him seconds. She wanted to stay by his side, but if he was right, the Senior Ranger needed those berries. plus this would give her a chance to grab some berries to attract the Weedle. That way Lucas would have to let her stay because she was useful. She took Cobalt and went to find those berries.

 

[kyuukestu]

Finishing a section of her net, pulling the final strings together into a single-layered butter-fly net, Wynter set the woven construct aside and prepared to add another layer. She was faintly aware of what was going on around her, especially after her rope had been commandeered for a rather questionable task, so she was quick to insert her own opinion into the situation. As she carefully weaved grass strand after grass strand together, she spoke loudly, "The First-Aid kit's in Frank's bag, that might prove useful?"

Her fingers came to a halt, and her head careened about her neck, turning to stare at Jake. Her memories returned to her younger days, painful stings by Skorupi who roamed the Haruba Desert. Often enough, the area of injection would be quickly wrapped up with cloth or rope to slow the circulation of blood throughout the body, and at the same time the spreading of the poison. That course of action would, at the very least, buy them some time before the full effects of the venom set in. "You can slow the venom by applying a wrap to the infected location, that might also prove useful."

Her 2 cents added to the discussion, Wynter refocused, the net slowly coming together beneath the ministrations of her skillful fingers. Her thoughts wandered, there was something afoot -likely trouble. She was no bug expert, but Pokemon didn't gather in such vast number by sheer coincidence alone. Perhaps something, or someone, had drawn them here. An enticing piece of bait, or perhaps a natural instinct. Whatever it was, the Rangers would need to address it before they label this issue solved.

 

[DragonFlye]

Jordan took a long swig from his canteen, finding himself parched. He'd dismounted quite awhile ago to give Thorne a break from carrying his weight, especially considering that the past few hours had been as exciting as they were. The man carded his fingers through the Gogoat's leafy mane as he listened to the buzzing of the lush forest around him.

It was quite literally that, a buzz. The nearby Pokémon had been showing an odd amount of excitement usually reserved for mating season and the like. It was almost like the trees themselves were on high alert. While it may seem peaceful at first, that wasn't necessarily the case. Just earlier, in fact, when Jordan's temporary team of rangers had been patrolling the area, he'd spotted a Kriketune in the path that'd appeared to be injured, judging by its shivering and limping form. It was still fast, though, using its glossy black wings to supplement its speed as it darted into the brush away from the group. Jordan had hustled Thorne into action immediately, and they'd rode off the road in an attempt to keep it from hurting itself any further.

As it turned out, the poor thing had been poisoned, from what Jordan guessed was a nasty spat with another bug-type. It was lucky that he'd had a small amount of salve made from crushed Pecha berries, but he'd used the rest of it up to coat the Kricketune's leg while Thorne held it still with his slender vines. It was worth it, though, to know that the Pokémon would heal up just fine as long as it took it easy. Even now, as they found their way he could pick out the faint notes of the Kricketune's cry every so often. On the other hand, after such a stunt, the rest of the rangers he'd been with were nowhere to be seen. He huffed.

Jordan wasn't particularly worried, though. He figured the other rangers had headed back to town to rest up after the pair had disappeared, or seen something else that needed their attention. It was a huge forest, but they'd meet back up eventually, if not on the road, then back at base. See if he bought them a round after leaving him behind, though, he thought with a chuckle.

He found himself studying the sun's position and planning their route back to the main road, with Thorne walking slightly ahead until the large Pokémon's ears perked and he slowed to a halt. Jordan nearly bumped into his partner's side, and stopped to listen for whatever had caught the Gogoat's attention. After a moment, he spotted a flash a blue in one of the trees in the distance. A Shinx, he realized with surprise. While not unheard of in Vien Forest, the electric-type was still pretty uncommon, and this one looked to be searching for something. Interested, Jordan tugged one of his partner's horns toward where he saw the Shinx. It took a bit of persuasion; Thorne knew that checking out interesting Pokémon wasn't part of their job, but his partner was easily distracted with shiny things.

"C'mon, buddy. When's the last time you saw a Shinx hang out in a tree like that?" Jordan said as Thorne finally decided to follow. "I bet there's somebody over that way."

 

[Paddler]

Jake heard Lucas shout but ignored him. "One minute 26 seconds," he mumbled to himself, "right. Like I've never been stung before. He may not be as fresh as the others, but he's still not always comfortable enough with the job. Now let's see..."

With some effort and slightly light in the head from the sudden climb Jake reaches the branch at the top of the rope. With some maneuvers that probably looked about as elegant as a Sealeo climbing a cliff he found a way he could sit on the branch while looking into the big tree. He didn't... wait, he did. There was something in there, something...

The lightness in Jake's head wasn't going away. In fact, it was... Ho, hey, what's happengot to grab hold of the branchtoo late...

Jake took a slow-motion backwards dive off the branch. About two thirds of the way down Jake's ranger reflexes grabbed the rope for him and he swung more than fell onto the ground. It probably looked like pretty cool, much smoother than how Jake had gotten up there in the first place. Jake stayed down for a few seconds, but when the worried looking faces appeared over him he decided to get up. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Now stop..."

As Jake was speaking suddenly a strange glow filled the big tree, more than bright enough to draw the attention of anyone who was looking the other way. It looked colorful, but not like any real color you'd see on a Pokémon or a can of paint. Or maybe that was just the Jake's lightheadedness talking. As the light got to its brightest point suddenly all the Weedle started glowing as well. "What the..., what is... Oh, hey..."

(OOC: I feel fine mam, I don't wanna fall out of a tree. In fact, I wanna go for a walk.)

 

[jade421]

Star seemed to beam at the praise offered by Frank which caused Taylor to roll her eyes, amused grin present all the same before she overheard Frank as he explained the basic idea to her; the need for a grass type in the scenario the Weedle go a bit too far. Reasonable all things considered, though she had not been so enthused to know she'd only be helping if he asked for it and had been asked to take a backseat.

Taylor had not strived to be a ranger just to sit back and watch others do the work.

"Hey, I agreed to help you out. That doesn't mean I just sit on the sidelines and watch while you do the job. I can help here, in spite of what you might think me and Star are not helpless in situations like this. Not like we'll just stick our head in a Spearow nest or something." Taylor pointed out as she felt she could help Frank rather than just be non-active support for the guy.

 

[DarkHydraT]

"Nope, it is probably a Beedrill nest we're poking and I don't have to remind you of the infamous temper of a Beedrill do I? I want to do this without any injuries if possible and I don't know how a Pokémon will react until it reacts. I understand that you want to help, but I hope you also understand that I don't want you to get hurt. Am I clear Taylor?" Frank replied to the fellow trainee.

"Let it sink in for a while, I'll go look for a Pokémon. There should be Budew not too far from here." He said as he entered the shrubbery, carefully looking around as to not miss a thing. "That's interesting, snapped branches." He noted before continuing his search.

 

[Nukas]

Aubrey was busy searching for the berries she needed. She found Sittus berries to attract the Weedle once the baskets were done, but she was struggling to find Pecks berries. She saw the two kids who went off to find a Pokémon, but they were far away and seemed busy. She did finally see one, but it was about as high in a tree as you can get. "Ok Cobalt, I'm gonna boost you up to that branch, I then need you to get the berry by jumping from branch to branch. Once you have it, jump down and I'll catch you.

Cobalt understood Aubrey, but he was a little scared to do what she asked. They weren't in sync like he was with Lucas. Still Lucas asked him to go with Aubrey so he did what she asked. He then dropped 2 perhaps berries down to her and she caught them. It was basically his test to make sure she'd catch him. Then he jumped.

Aubrey was ready to catch Cobalt, but then she heard a voice that she hadn't heard before. It sounded as if he was talking to someone, but they weren't responding. She got distracted by this and forgot about Cobalt, who was now on the ground, barely conscious. Aubrey knew this was bad, but then she remembered that one of the two ranger recruits she saw was a medic. She ran over with Cobalt in her arms to get help.

 

[DragonFlye]

Jordan wasn't sure whether or not it was his imagination, but he could've sworn the buzzing energy of the forest had increased in intensity. However, Thorne slowed down and tossed his head, which, for all the years they'd worked together Jordan knew was a signal that the grass-type sensed danger, and as odd as he found it the man trusted his partner's instincts. Thus, he was on high-alert as well.

"What is it, buddy?" He murmured before he too heard the crunching and snapping of running feet on the leaf litter and realized that something was on its way past, and quite quickly at that. Jordan spotted a flash of auburn hair, but he knew that Thorne wasn't generally threatened by humans themselves, so that wasn't what had him on guard.

"Hey!" He called, giving chase nevertheless. He knew that kids liked to play in the forest every now and then, much like he himself had as a child, but if something was riling up the wild Pokémon, it wouldn't take much for one to hurt a civilian, even if they didn't pose a threat. "Hey, kid, wait up! It's not safe out here!"

As the pair broke through a particularly thick shrub, however, he realized that there wasn't one person out here, but rather three. He recognized one of them as a rattled Aubrey Matthews; her brother was a young ranger at the same base that Jordan himself worked at, but the other two were unfamiliar. "Aubrey? What're you doing all the way out here? Is Lucas here too?"

 

[Nukas]

Aubrey noticed heard someone calling out to her, it was that guy Jordan who works with Lucas on the base. "Yes Lucas is here, but I don't really have time to talk." She turned to the boy who said he was a medic, "I need to know how good of a medic you are, this is a life or death situation please help him"

 

[DarkHydraT]

Frank turned around, shoving some bushes to the side. "Life or death? Is it this Minun and what happened to them? Give me all the details you know. Taylor and Star, you're with me. I could use some extra hands and some electric shocks if it all turns to hell." He said as he paced towards Aubrey and expected her to listen to him.

 

[Nukas]

"Cobalt fell out of a tree, he got really hurt. I don't know how to help him. He is just barely hanging on. We were out collecting berries because that ranger, Jake got stung by a couple of Weedles. Could someone please take these to the others" she said holding up the berries. She almost never said please, but she was too worried about Cobalt to be stubborn... or say that she actually was supposed to catch him and she failed.

 

[DarkHydraT]

Frank rubbed his eyes and muttered. "For Arceus' sake, I told them to stay away from that tree." He straightened his back and nodded at Taylor. "Change of plans. Taylor, if you would be so kind to bring those berries back? Jake knows what to do with them, I'll stay here to help this Cobalt. The Grass type can wait for a while right now, this is a bit more important." He first checked if there were any visible injuries, which apart from some scratches there weren't.

"Alright, I am expecting some internal wounds and maybe some broken bones. A fall out of a tree could be very bad for a Pokémon this size." Frank said as he layed Cobalt down onto a flat rock, using it as a table of sorts.

 

[DragonFlye]

Jordan would be the first to admit that he was more than a little confused and concerned, but the young man with the med kit at his waist seemed to know what he was doing, and once the teen dropped Jake's name, Jordan understood that these must've been new recruits to the ranger force, and that meant that these were his coworkers.

"Do you know the way to your team?" He asked the unfamiliar young woman, who's name he now understood to be Taylor. "Thorne and I can give you a ride back."

(OOC: The following is if Taylor accepts his offer @Sarah316)

"Here, sit in front and navigate, he's pretty gentle," Jordan told her after she'd mounted, and once she did so Jordan sat right behind her on the leafy Pokémon's back. He knew Thorne wasn't particularly wild about the new addition, but he took it like a trooper, and the trio wove through thick underbrush and trees at Taylor's direction. Once it seemed like they were getting close, Jordan squinted at the clearing up ahead.

"Is that clearing...glowing up there?" He wondered out loud.

 

[jade421]

Taylor had been about to retort, before Frank heard some rustling in the bushes which naturally attracted her attention as Star jumped from the tree branch to her shoulder as they had been informed that someone was injured. Given the panic in the tone of one she presumed was another plead with someone to take the barriers to the others. And even without Frank's urge, Taylor knew what she had to do as she went over to take the berries.

"I'll take care of it, don't you worry!" Taylor assured before she was offered a free ride by another individual and his Pokemon named Thorne as she gave a nod before she moved on its back gently while Star clung to her shoulder like its life depended on it. With that they seemed to set off. As they rode, Taylor had also taken note of glowing in the clearing ahead just as Jordan made a comment on it.

"Y-yeah, I see it. What is it?" Taylor asked, as Star looked on curiously while both wondered what lied ahead of them.

 

[Nukas]

Lucas had to cover his eyes while he was standing over Jake. It seemed like The Weedle were evolving, which meant they would probably need twice the amount of baskets as before due to the weight change. He didn't have time to wonder about that at the moment seeing as how they had a ranger down. Just then, Lucas saw a very familiar Gogoat with that girl and her Shinx and Jordan, a ranger who works with him on the base. It seemed like that girl who Lucas remembered being called Taylor had the berries they needed. "Jordan it's good to see you, I'm sorry it had to be under these circumstances. Thorne will be very useful here. It was Taylor wasn't it? Thank you for the berries but where are Aubrey and Cobalt?

 

[DragonFlye]

Jordan held his hand up to block the dimming light and took stock of their surroundings as he and Taylor entered the clearing. Ah, there was the other twin! He smiled a greeting at Lucas, but the smile fell just as quickly at the younger man's question. Aubrey had been pretty worried, and for all the time he'd known her she'd never been the one to plead with anyone. Lucas was needed here, though, so Jordan chose his words carefully. "Good to see you too. I heard Cobalt had an accident and took a fall, so Aubrey stayed behind to help. She has someone there with her though, a guy with some medical supplies," he told Lucas as he dismounted. On the ground, Jake looked to be pretty lightheaded, but a small amount of Weedle venom wasn't usually life-threatening, in his experience, at least if it was treated properly.

"Southwoods, buddy, we all wanna see you live to retirement, and I guarantee you everybody at home'll make fun of you if you're taken down by some little bugs." Admittedly, he wouldn't be as confident ribbing his superior if the man wasn't weak from poisoning, but Jordan had little trouble teasing a man when he was down. Besides, he was sure that Lucas was very capable even without specializing in field medicine, so with Taylor and the fresh berries, Jordan knew that Jake would be right back on his feet pretty soon.

With that, he allowed his attention to turn to the mass of evolving bugs. Another recruit was only a short distance away, her silvery hair in its intricate style standing out, and she looked to be fashioning a net from her spot on the ground. He soon understood; the group looked to have been concerned about a large group of Weedle gathering in this particular spot, and for good reason. Not only did the tiny bug-types have a voracious appetite for plant life, but their evolved forms were highly aggressive.

He dropped to a knee beside the young woman, who's fingers were moving quickly to knot together pieces of long grass that a Glameow appeared to be collecting for her. They'd been there quite awhile, if the ground around them, nearly stripped of grass, were anything to go by. He beckoned his partner to follow him to see if they could help her out.

"It looks like you're making nets to gather the Pokémon, right? I'm no knot artist, but maybe we can reach some of the ones up top?"

 

[kyuukestu]

While Wynter had drowned out the din of voices in the background, focusing solely on her work, the blinding flash that flooded the forest as the group of Weedle began to evolve in succession was more than enough to forcefully drag her attention back to the buggy-situation. Her expression fell slightly as she came to the same conclusion Lucas had; she would need to weave at least twice the number of baskets she'd originally planned for. Bringing a nail to her lip, she bit down tentatively, her mind churning like gears as she thought through a better way to proceed.

No sooner than she'd begun pondering, than Jordan had knelt next to her, offering his assistance. She swiveled in place, eyes falling onto the unfamiliar ranger -just about the 10th one in the past hour. "Thanks, I could definitely use a few helpin-", Her eyes widened abruptly, and her body froze in a rigid manner. "Wait! What did you just say..!? The top..? That's it! You're brilliant!" Epiphany gleaming in her eyes, she burst into giggles, "I can just widen the tops of the baskets and make them wide basins! Unlike Weedle, Kakuna won't be moving so we don't need to trap them!"

While she would've moved to throw her arms around Jordan in a bearhug; emblazoned as she was with new passion, she'd thrown herself back into her work, remaking the baskets into more suitable basins and caskets which would allow multiple Kakuna to be carried without issue.

 

[Nukas]

When Lucas heard that Cobalt fell, he was worried, and he could tell Jordan was holding something back, but he was sure he'd be alright. From what he could tell, Frank was a pretty competent medic. He couldn't worry about that at the moment though, Jake needed some medical attention. He got one of the things Wynter was using to weave the baskets and wrapped it around Jake's arm. This would stop the poison from spreading anymore. meanwhile, he had Jake eat 2 Pecha berries, which would be able to counteract the poison. Now the hardest job, getting Jake to rest instead of getting straight back into it.

 

[jade421]

Taylor soon arrived as they took of note of the Weedle as they seemed to be evolving in mass, but that was a secondary concern as she worked to pass out and distribute the berries to those in need of them.

"No worries, and yes it is Taylor." Taylor clarified as Jordan handled the explanation that concerned what happened to Aubrey though her attention shifted back to the aforementioned Weedle who were beginning to involve the Kakuna. If anything, this would make moving them a bit easier which others seemed to have thought of as a proposed idea to use the baskets on the "mostly" immobile Kakuna seemed to reach the ears of other ranger recruits with one seemingly quite giddy about the idea.

"Hey mind if I help with that?" Taylor asked the girl named Wynter as she seemed eager to offer her aid while Star looked curiously on, though its grin matched Taylor's own.