The Adventures of Ranger Agnes

"I imagine they learned a lesson that day," Rigel said dryly, a smile quirking the corner of his mouth at the Ekans' name. That suited his sense of humor nicely.

The unmistakable muzzle of a Jolteon peeked slowly out from under the desk, puuuuushing his little head until bright black eyes were semi visible and he could chirrup back.

Rigel paused at the front of the desk and very carefully booped the little black nose with the toe of his boot. "Move, Lumi."

Lumi retreated and with the loud crackle of static zoomed over to sit in bop his paws on a thick metal rod in the corner. The static transferred and he trotted back to circle Agnes and her team curiously.

Rigel smiled fondly, settling behind his desk. "So, Ms Turner. Historically speaking the Academy heads don't... really try to give you expectations about your posting. Or rather, they didn't for the last set I worked with. I would like to know, however, if you do have expectations or ambitions, as well as any budding specialties.

"Please note," he said seriously. "The only wrong answer is a lie. I want to know what you are thinking. I need to know who and what I'm working with, beyond your test scores."

Out of the corner of her eye, Agnes sees Riptide flick her tail in a friendly manner as Lumi approaches and smiles; she has a feeling they'll get along well, despite the Type difference.

She then turns her attention back to Rigel’s question, giving it the serious consideration the subject is due.

“Truthfully, I don’t know that I have any solid expectations, as such,” she tells him honestly after a moment. “I’m not really ambitious in the traditional sense? But I do want to help people and Pokemon, and my team and I are dedicated to that goal. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a Ranger,” she adds, some of her passion for this dream slipping into her voice. “Not for glory or fame or anything like that. But because I believe in the work and I feel like it’s what I’m meant to do.” She takes a deep breath. “That being said, I know I'm new at this and I'm realistic about what that means. My team and I have trained hard and I think we've got the skills to be an asset in a variety of circumstances, but we don't have much real experience yet. So I'll defer to your judgment,” she concludes. “I just want to help, and to learn how to do that to the best of my abilities. We'll do whatever's needed.”

Blaze gives an affirmative bark, tail wagging.

@pokemonecho

Agnes watches fondly as her two Pokemon step forward to gently nose at Rigel's hand before returning to her side, then blinks as she registers the question. “Hm? Oh, we swam here from the mainland,” she replies cheerfully. “Down Route 18. It was really refreshing actually!”

Blaze gives a low chuff of agreement, tail wagging happily. Riptide gives a low trill as if seconding the motion.

Indeed, the swim had been invigorating rather than exhausting, particularly since the conditions had been so good. Agnes could have made it regardless, of course, but sunny weather and a relatively peaceful ocean certainly made it easier even for someone who was athletic. And with Blaze and Riptide at her side -both of them just as adventurous as she is- it had been exceptionally enjoyable.

@pokemonecho

"You swam," Rigel said slowly, as if testing the words on his tongue. A slow grin pulled at his mouth. "You and I really are going to get on just fine, my friend. Come on, this is my office. I'd like to chat a bit.

"Very considerate, not dripping everywhere," he added as he turned to lead the way in. "Not that there's a thread of carpet on this floor, but still, the principle stands. Very polite. I like that, when it's reasonable."

Sometimes, in a Ranger's life, it wasn't reasonable to be polite. But that was for later.

There was a lazy chirrup from under his desk, a yellow forepaw stretching out. Rigel arched a brow. "That's how we get stepped on, Lumi. Do you want stepped on?"

The paw retracted hastily.

#agnes turner adventure #pokemon echo

Agnes can't quite help the small giggle that escapes her. "My younger sister has an Ekans who likes to leave his tail poking out from under the couch a bit like that," she remarks, shaking her head with a smile as she thinks of Marianne and Hisstopher. "He's learning that it's a spectacular way to get accidentally squished or tripped on." She vividly remembers one occurrence in particular where Marianne had been racing around getting ready for school, only to trip over her partner's tail and faceplant on the living room floor.

(Agnes had fondly and dutifully patched them both up, valiantly squashing down the impulse to tease because it had been readily apparent that both of them had already reached peak embarrassment over the whole thing.) She sits down now in front of Rigel's desk and gestures for Blaze and Riptide to settle themselves as well.

Blaze sits to her right at once, half-pressed up against her leg; Riptide is a bit slower to take up position on the left simply because she pauses first to chirp a greeting in the general direction of the space under Rigel's desk, where the yellow paw had emerged from.

@pokemonecho

Agnes smiles back. “It’s wonderful to meet you, sir,” she says sincerely. “I'm very happy to be here.”

Which is an understatement, really. Being a Ranger has been her dream for what feels like forever, and to have that dream finally coming true makes her feel like she's about to vibrate out of her skin from excitement.

“This is Blaze and Riptide,” she goes on, gesturing to her Growlithe and Vaporeon in turn; Blaze gives a happy bark in greeting while Riptide gives a vaguely feline chirp. “The other three members of my team are resting right now, but I can introduce you whenever you like. Oh, and I'm sorry if we're a couple minutes late,” she adds, because she's fairly certain that she's still on time if not early (her internal clock is generally pretty accurate, as is the sturdy waterproof watch on her left wrist) but her parents raised her to be mindful about punctuality and it's something that's stuck with her even into adulthood. “I didn't want to mess up your office by dripping sea water all over the floor, so we stopped by the showers to get cleaned up first.”

@pokemonecho

Rigel offers his hands, fingers curled loosely into his palms to allow the Pokemon to sniff at him if he likes. He was about to give some idle comment, perhaps what good condition they were in, or about how her teachers had commented on their good behavior, or maybe even something about Lumi - his Jolteon - and how it would be nice for him to have more playmates his size, but then she continued.

"A couple minutes is fine as long as we're not mid-critical-mission, I'm not --" A pause. A very slight headtilt, his bangs swaying. A brow rose slowly, as he turned that phrasing over in his head.

Dripping sea water all over the floor.

It wasn't that windy, the waves weren't that high -- he'd checked. An insane but plausible reason popped into his head. He had learned, as a Ranger, not to dismiss his instincts, but... "Agnes, what happened that you were that wet?"

Agnes watches fondly as her two Pokemon step forward to gently nose at Rigel's hand before returning to her side, then blinks as she registers the question. “Hm? Oh, we swam here from the mainland,” she replies cheerfully. “Down Route 18. It was really refreshing actually!”

Blaze gives a low chuff of agreement, tail wagging happily. Riptide gives a low trill as if seconding the motion.

Indeed, the swim had been invigorating rather than exhausting, particularly since the conditions had been so good. Agnes could have made it regardless, of course, but sunny weather and a relatively peaceful ocean certainly made it easier even for someone who was athletic. And with Blaze and Riptide at her side -both of them just as adventurous as she is- it had been exceptionally enjoyable.

@pokemonecho

The elevator ride up to the floor that Rigel’s office is on is simultaneously very quick and yet also the longest elevator ride she's ever endured. She attributes this dichotomy to the feeling of excited anticipation that’s zipping through her. Blaze and Riptide seem equally impatient, although Riptide is comparatively more sedate about it; Blaze has been pacing circles around her ever since she hit the UP button.

She lets him get it out of his system for a moment, then gives a soft whistle to catch his attention. “Settle,” she tells him, warm but firm, and he obediently pads over and sits at her right-hand side. “There's no reason to be nervous,” she tells him, and if it's a reassurance for herself, too, well. No one needs to know that but her and her team.

She's perfectly confident in herself, her Pokemon, and their combined skills, of course. But she's wanted to be a Ranger for as long as she can remember, and so there's still that bit of jitteriness over the fact that she's really here and really doing this.

Still, this is where she's meant to be; she is absolutely certain of that, can feel it down to her bones.

And more than that, it's where she wants to be.

“This is going to be great,” she says decisively, nervousness fading away (hopefully for good, this time). And as the elevator continues to ascend she finds herself grinning just as much as she did when she first got accepted into the academy. "Really great."

Blaze gives a low chuffing sound in agreement, and she scratches the top of his head as Riptide gives an amused trill and flicks her tail.

The elevator glides to a halt a few seconds later, the doors sliding open with a pleasant chiming sound.

“Well,” Agnes says, stepping out of the elevator with Riptide and Blaze on either side of her, “here we are.”

@pokemonecho

And that was the elevator. Rigel pushed off the doorframe with his shoulder and stepped into the hall. Dark hair streaked with silver, still mostly black but giving those first signs of getting older. (He liked to think he wore them well.)

Agnes, like most trainers, looked more alive in person than in the scanned record -- but her eyes still had that same bright eagerness of the candid mid-training shots. She was alert and eager and he had such a good feeling about it.

"You must be Ranger Turner," Rigel said, smooth tenor cutting through the amicable quiet. He offered her a warm smile. "My name is Rigel. I'll be your Supervising Officer."

Agnes smiles back. “It’s wonderful to meet you, sir,” she says sincerely. “I'm very happy to be here.”

Which is an understatement, really. Being a Ranger has been her dream for what feels like forever, and to have that dream finally coming true makes her feel like she's about to vibrate out of her skin from excitement.

“This is Blaze and Riptide,” she goes on, gesturing to her Growlithe and Vaporeon in turn; Blaze gives a happy bark in greeting while Riptide gives a vaguely feline chirp. “The other three members of my team are resting right now, but I can introduce you whenever you like. Oh, and I'm sorry if we're a couple minutes late,” she adds, because she's fairly certain that she's still on time if not early (her internal clock is generally pretty accurate, as is the sturdy waterproof watch on her left wrist) but her parents raised her to be mindful about punctuality and it's something that's stuck with her even into adulthood. “I didn't want to mess up your office by dripping sea water all over the floor, so we stopped by the showers to get cleaned up first.”

@pokemonecho

Ranger Arrangements with

@ranger-agnes

Agnes, meanwhile, wastes no time when it comes to locating the showers on the first level and ducking inside to rinse off both herself and her companions.

Riptide is more easily taken care of than Blaze, of course, courtesy of the fact that she’s not forty pounds of muscle and fur the way Blaze is, but even Blaze seems to enjoy the wash; he squirms a bit once it comes time for her to towel him off, but otherwise bears up under the fussing with good grace.

(She suspects that he wants to make a good first impression on Rigel as well, which is both amusing and heartwarming.)

Once her Pokémon are taken care of, she quickly finishes toweling herself off and gets dressed in her now mostly-dry clothes (for not the first time, she finds herself grateful for investing in clothing made out of quick-drying fabrics designed for use in all sorts of outdoor conditions, because there is a very drastic difference between putting on soaking wet jeans and putting on faintly damp hiking shorts).

Then, finally, she turns her attention to the blueprints Stacy had given her, tracing the path to Rigel’s office with a finger and carefully committing it to memory before tucking the papers away and setting off down the hall with a cheerful whistle, Blaze and Riptide trailing along behind her.

As it happened, Rigel was not really inclined to stay put if it wasn't part of the job. Give him a task and he'd take care of it at once, every last bit of applicable and relevant protocol applied, of course but just staying still when he didn't even have paperwork? Mmmno. Besides, the grape vine had disclosed that his awaited student had arrived, and he wasn't going to wait long. He had too much energy tucked away under his neat, calm facade to not at least duck across his office to the lounge area and get some cocoa with a splash of black coffee in it.

Humming contentedly, he went to lean in his doorway, shooing his fellow officers off as a couple swung by for some light teasing. Hazel eyes looked more of a honeyed gold then yellow-green or brown, fixed keenly on the elevator entrance. Unless she got terribly lost (unlikely from what her instructors had said) she would be here soon.

He could hardly wait.

The elevator ride up to the floor that Rigel’s office is on is simultaneously very quick and yet also the longest elevator ride she's ever endured. She attributes this dichotomy to the feeling of excited anticipation that’s zipping through her. Blaze and Riptide seem equally impatient, although Riptide is comparatively more sedate about it; Blaze has been pacing circles around her ever since she hit the UP button.

She lets him get it out of his system for a moment, then gives a soft whistle to catch his attention. “Settle,” she tells him, warm but firm, and he obediently pads over and sits at her right-hand side. “There's no reason to be nervous,” she tells him, and if it's a reassurance for herself, too, well. No one needs to know that but her and her team.

She's perfectly confident in herself, her Pokemon, and their combined skills, of course. But she's wanted to be a Ranger for as long as she can remember, and so there's still that bit of jitteriness over the fact that she's really here and really doing this.

Still, this is where she's meant to be; she is absolutely certain of that, can feel it down to her bones.

And more than that, it's where she wants to be.

“This is going to be great,” she says decisively, nervousness fading away (hopefully for good, this time). And as the elevator continues to ascend she finds herself grinning just as much as she did when she first got accepted into the academy. "Really great."

Blaze gives a low chuffing sound in agreement, and she scratches the top of his head as Riptide gives an amused trill and flicks her tail.

The elevator glides to a halt a few seconds later, the doors sliding open with a pleasant chiming sound.

“Well,” Agnes says, stepping out of the elevator with Riptide and Blaze on either side of her, “here we are.”

@pokemonecho

Ranger Arrangements with

@ranger-agnes

Agnes, meanwhile, wastes no time when it comes to locating the showers on the first level and ducking inside to rinse off both herself and her companions.

Riptide is more easily taken care of than Blaze, of course, courtesy of the fact that she’s not forty pounds of muscle and fur the way Blaze is, but even Blaze seems to enjoy the wash; he squirms a bit once it comes time for her to towel him off, but otherwise bears up under the fussing with good grace.

(She suspects that he wants to make a good first impression on Rigel as well, which is both amusing and heartwarming.)

Once her Pokémon are taken care of, she quickly finishes toweling herself off and gets dressed in her now mostly-dry clothes (for not the first time, she finds herself grateful for investing in clothing made out of quick-drying fabrics designed for use in all sorts of outdoor conditions, because there is a very drastic difference between putting on soaking wet jeans and putting on faintly damp hiking shorts).

Then, finally, she turns her attention to the blueprints Stacy had given her, tracing the path to Rigel’s office with a finger and carefully committing it to memory before tucking the papers away and setting off down the hall with a cheerful whistle, Blaze and Riptide trailing along behind her.

As it happened, Rigel was not really inclined to stay put if it wasn't part of the job. Give him a task and he'd take care of it at once, every last bit of applicable and relevant protocol applied, of course but just staying still when he didn't even have paperwork? Mmmno. Besides, the grape vine had disclosed that his awaited student had arrived, and he wasn't going to wait long. He had too much energy tucked away under his neat, calm facade to not at least duck across his office to the lounge area and get some cocoa with a splash of black coffee in it.

Humming contentedly, he went to lean in his doorway, shooing his fellow officers off as a couple swung by for some light teasing. Hazel eyes looked more of a honeyed gold then yellow-green or brown, fixed keenly on the elevator entrance. Unless she got terribly lost (unlikely from what her instructors had said) she would be here soon.

He could hardly wait.

The elevator ride up to the floor that Rigel’s office is on is simultaneously very quick and yet also the longest elevator ride she's ever endured. She attributes this dichotomy to the feeling of excited anticipation that’s zipping through her. Blaze and Riptide seem equally impatient, although Riptide is comparatively more sedate about it; Blaze has been pacing circles around her ever since she hit the UP button.

She lets him get it out of his system for a moment, then gives a soft whistle to catch his attention. “Settle,” she tells him, warm but firm, and he obediently pads over and sits at her right-hand side. “There's no reason to be nervous,” she tells him, and if it's a reassurance for herself, too, well. No one needs to know that but her and her team.

She's perfectly confident in herself, her Pokemon, and their combined skills, of course. But she's wanted to be a Ranger for as long as she can remember, and so there's still that bit of jitteriness over the fact that she's really here and really doing this.

Still, this is where she's meant to be; she is absolutely certain of that, can feel it down to her bones.

And more than that, it's where she wants to be.

“This is going to be great,” she says decisively, nervousness fading away (hopefully for good, this time). And as the elevator continues to ascend she finds herself grinning just as much as she did when she first got accepted into the academy. "Really great."

Blaze gives a low chuffing sound in agreement, and she scratches the top of his head as Riptide gives an amused trill and flicks her tail.

The elevator glides to a halt a few seconds later, the doors sliding open with a pleasant chiming sound.

“Well,” Agnes says, stepping out of the elevator with Riptide and Blaze on either side of her, “here we are.”

@pokemonecho

ranger-agnes: Ranger Arrangements

Agnes grins back, nervousness eclipsed with growing excitement thanks to Paul’s warm welcome. “Thanks for the help,” she replies. “And for the tip about the showers,” she adds with a laugh. “The swim to get here was wonderful, but I have to admit that I was a bit worried about tracking salt water and sand everywhere once I arrived. I’m trying to make a good first impression, you know?”

(This’ll also give her a chance to rinse the salt and bits of seaweed out of Blaze’s fur and towel him dry before the inevitable sulking about soggy fur sets in, something that is honestly in the best interests of everyone involved.)

“Anyway,” she says as she angles herself towards the aforementioned entry and starts swimming in that direction, “I don’t want to be late, so I’d better get going. It was nice to meet you, Paul! See you around sometime!”

@pokemonecho

“I’m sure you will,” Paul agreed, waving before taking off on his Lapras.

The attendant, who introduced herself as Stacy and was part of the operations staff, seemed equally surprised that Agnes had actually swam the length of Route 18 - but in an impressed way, admiring her strength and skill and stepping briefly out of her booth to coo over Riptide and Blaze. She provided Agnes with a set of blueprints for the areas she had access to, and trailed stickers to Rigel’s office.

“I’ll call ahead,” Stacy promised. “So he’ll actually be there by the time you three are all cleaned up. Good luck!”

Ducking back into her booth, she set about texting first. One never knew what Rigel was up to, after all.

Agnes, meanwhile, wastes no time when it comes to locating the showers on the first level and ducking inside to rinse off both herself and her companions.

Riptide is more easily taken care of than Blaze, of course, courtesy of the fact that she’s not forty pounds of muscle and fur the way Blaze is, but even Blaze seems to enjoy the wash; he squirms a bit once it comes time for her to towel him off, but otherwise bears up under the fussing with good grace.

(She suspects that he wants to make a good first impression on Rigel as well, which is both amusing and heartwarming.)

Once her Pokémon are taken care of, she quickly finishes toweling herself off and gets dressed in her now mostly-dry clothes (for not the first time, she finds herself grateful for investing in clothing made out of quick-drying fabrics designed for use in all sorts of outdoor conditions, because there is a very drastic difference between putting on soaking wet jeans and putting on faintly damp hiking shorts).

Then, finally, she turns her attention to the blueprints Stacy had given her, tracing the path to Rigel’s office with a finger and carefully committing it to memory before tucking the papers away and setting off down the hall with a cheerful whistle, Blaze and Riptide trailing along behind her.

@pokemonecho

ranger-agnes: Ranger Arrangements

“I’m Agnes,” she replies, offering up a friendly but slightly nervous smile as she halts her forward momentum and starts treading water instead. “This is Riptide-” she gestures to her Vaporeon, who surfaces long enough to give a trilling sound of acknowledgment before elegantly dipping below the surface again, “-and Blaze.” She takes note of the Ranger’s faintly bemused expression and feels obligated to tack on, “He likes to swim.”

Blaze gives an affirmative bark, and proceeds to paddle around Agnes in a little circle as if to demonstrate.

Agnes gives a little huff of laughter, expression fond. “He also likes to show off sometimes,” she remarks dryly. “And yes, I’m a new ranger. I graduated from the academy a few days ago and was told to come here and speak to Senior Ranger Rigel.”

@pokemonecho

The man grinned, and it was warm with welcome and bright with playful anticipation. “Oh, you’re Rigel’s huh? He’ll be pleased about that. And you duo there, too.”

He waved for her to jet up onto the entry slope nearby. “There’s an attendant that will direct you to the showers on the first level; not good to leave salt water on the skin. I’d take you myself but I’m about to be on duty. The name’s Paul, and I imagine you’ll see me as you come in and out - I’m the Second Shift guard here on Route 18. The attendant can also track down Rigel and point you to him when you’re ah… dried off.”

Paul’s grin was complete with a twinkle in his eye, some part of this amusing him, but nothing malicious to be sensed.

@ranger-agnes

Agnes grins back, nervousness eclipsed with growing excitement thanks to Paul's warm welcome. "Thanks for the help," she replies. "And for the tip about the showers," she adds with a laugh. "The swim to get here was wonderful, but I have to admit that I was a bit worried about tracking salt water and sand everywhere once I arrived. I'm trying to make a good first impression, you know?"

(This'll also give her a chance to rinse the salt and bits of seaweed out of Blaze's fur and towel him dry before the inevitable sulking about soggy fur sets in, something that is honestly in the best interests of everyone involved.)

"Anyway," she says as she angles herself towards the aforementioned entry and starts swimming in that direction, "I don't want to be late, so I'd better get going. It was nice to meet you, Paul! See you around sometime!"

@pokemonecho

#agnes turner adventure

ranger-agnes: Ranger Arrangements

“Well,” Agnes says as she reaches the point where Route 18 turned from a land route to a water route. “Looks like it’s time for a swim.” And contrary to what most people might expect, she’s actually looking forward to it.

She and her Growlithe have been on the go ever since they departed Carmine City this morning (having opted to spend the night at the hotel there after their trek from Ochre Oasis), and a refreshing swim honestly sounds like a fabulous idea.

“Do you want to spare yourself from all that water and get some rest before we arrive at Cobalt Tower?” she asks Blaze now, retrieving his PokeBall from her backpack.

Blaze huffs at her in a dismissive way that clearly means ‘no’.

“Alright, have it your way,” she concedes, putting away his ball and pulling out her Vaporeon’s PokeBall instead. “But don’t come to me later sulking about wet fur.”

He gives her a betrayed look, as if the very implication of such a thing is slander of the worst kind.

Since she’s had Blaze since he was a pup and is therefore very familiar with his love of swimming but paradoxical fussiness when it comes to being wet in the aftermath of swimming, she ignores his wounded look with the ease of long practice.

“Come on out, Riptide,” she says instead, and smiles when her Vaporeon bursts out of her PokeBall. “We’ll be heading across to Cobalt Island,” Agnes tells her, gesturing to the calm waters that comprise the remainder of Route 18.

Riptide makes an affirmative sound and wastes no time in slipping into the water. Agnes takes a quick moment to double-check that her backpack is secure and then follows suit, catching up to Riptide with two quick freestyle strokes as Blaze leaps in behind them with a tremendous splash.

Not much longer now, she thinks, and there’s a knot of excited anticipation mingled with nervousness in her gut at the thought of her upcoming appointment. Almost there.

@pokemonecho

It was a fairly long trip from the mainland to Cobalt Island for a swimmer any way you traveled, but it was definitely doable for someone in shape and in practice. And of course, the smarter way was definitely Route 18, though both had buoys lining the path with little ledges swimmers could pause at if necessary.

It was a good day for a swim, hot and bright without a cloud in the sky. Granted, as one neared the island the temperatures did begin to drop without any immediate evidence as to why. (Was that something in the water off to the right as she approached? It was hard to say.)

There was, however, definitely an older man in full Ranger uniform riding out of the sea level entry on a Lapras that looked startled to see her swimming. That might have had something to do with the Fire-type happily accompanying her. “Well hello there. Here for the gym? Or no… no, such bold tenacity could only be a new ranger. What’s your name, kid?”

@ranger-agnes

#agnes turner adventure #pokemon echo

"I'm Agnes," she replies, offering up a friendly but slightly nervous smile as she halts her forward momentum and starts treading water instead. "This is Riptide-" she gestures to her Vaporeon, who surfaces long enough to give a trilling sound of acknowledgment before elegantly dipping below the surface again, "-and Blaze." She takes note of the Ranger's faintly bemused expression and feels obligated to tack on, "He likes to swim."

Blaze gives an affirmative bark, and proceeds to paddle around Agnes in a little circle as if to demonstrate.

Agnes gives a little huff of laughter, expression fond. "He also likes to show off sometimes," she remarks dryly. "And yes, I'm a new ranger. I graduated from the academy a few days ago and was told to come here and speak to Senior Ranger Rigel."

@pokemonecho

Ranger Arrangements

It was a bright, sunny afternoon on Cobalt Island, and Rigel was stuck in his office high up on the ninth floor - for now, but only until his next appointment arrived, which would both free him from paperwork and make things very interesting.

Agnes Turner (notably of Turner’s Grooming in Tinted Town) had glowing reports from the academy. She’d done well in theory and in practice, and upon graduation with honors was not merely sent off with a partner as most were. No, no she was sent to him. They had high hopes for Ms. Turner and he was looking forward to seeing where her path led her.

So, for now, paperwork. But once Agnes arrived on the island, once she set foot in his office… the real fun was going to begin. And he couldn’t wait.

@ranger-agnes

#agnes turner adventure #pokemon echo

"Well," Agnes says as she reaches the point where Route 18 turned from a land route to a water route. "Looks like it's time for a swim." And contrary to what most people might expect, she's actually looking forward to it.

She and her Growlithe have been on the go ever since they departed Carmine City this morning (having opted to spend the night at the hotel there after their trek from Ochre Oasis), and a refreshing swim honestly sounds like a fabulous idea.

"Do you want to spare yourself from all that water and get some rest before we arrive at Cobalt Tower?" she asks Blaze now, retrieving his PokeBall from her backpack.

Blaze huffs at her in a dismissive way that clearly means 'no'.

"Alright, have it your way," she concedes, putting away his ball and pulling out her Vaporeon's PokeBall instead. "But don't come to me later sulking about wet fur."

He gives her a betrayed look, as if the very implication of such a thing is slander of the worst kind.

Since she's had Blaze since he was a pup and is therefore very familiar with his love of swimming but paradoxical fussiness when it comes to being wet in the aftermath of swimming, she ignores his wounded look with the ease of long practice.

"Come on out, Riptide," she says instead, and smiles when her Vaporeon bursts out of her PokeBall. "We'll be heading across to Cobalt Island," Agnes tells her, gesturing to the calm waters that comprise the remainder of Route 18.

Riptide makes an affirmative sound and wastes no time in slipping into the water. Agnes takes a quick moment to double-check that her backpack is secure and then follows suit, catching up to Riptide with two quick freestyle strokes as Blaze leaps in behind them with a tremendous splash.

Not much longer now, she thinks, and there's a knot of excited anticipation mingled with nervousness in her gut at the thought of her upcoming appointment. Almost there.

@pokemonecho