Three more poachers. One had come out of his stupor mere moments after Vincent had reached the scene, screaming, scared out of his mind. Literally. The man could barely keep it together for a good five minutes and now he was just sort of lying limp against the tree, breathing slowly becoming more even.
“Three months of this,” Vincent said with a sigh as he stood from the man. “Who is doing this?”
The question was posed to no one in particular, since no one else was around, but Arluin cocked his head and huffed in response anyway. The Ranger ran a hand across his forehead and looked around. There had definitely been a battle, but whoever had won had done so handily. Just like the rest of the attacks. This was getting tiring. Sure, they were taking in a good number of poachers, but they weren’t really getting anywhere with finding the rest. Not to mention it was causing Vincent to run all over the region every time one of these “anonymous tips” came in.
Another poacher woke up and started screaming. It didn’t make Vincent jump anymore, though Milani jumped and shoved her head into Vincent’s leg. “Don’t worry, he’s still tied up,” the Ranger assured the Vulpix.
He’d been bringing her with him to let her get some field experience, start training her. She still had trouble with getting startled and keeping focus, but she was learning quickly other than that. Suddenly Arluin started grumbling, and Milani’s ears perked up, quickly trotting over, now ignoring the dying screams of the awoken man.
“What is it?” Vincent asked as he joined his Furfrou at a seemingly random spot near the tree of poachers.
The Pokemon sniffed around, slowly making his way around in a couple circles, then towards each of the poachers. He shook his head and huffed loudly at the one that was still unconscious, then whined a little.
Vincent frowned. “I’m going to need a little more than that. You smell something, obviously?” Arluin nodded. “Something familiar?” Another nod. “...Someone you know?”
The Pokemon nodded again and whined, laying down and looking at Milani. Vincent looked at the grey Vulpix and stroked his chin, a small pit forming in his stomach. From what little he’d been able to pick up on, each of these poachers were related to the man who Logan and Cherise were currently investigating as well. Which meant they were connected to the attacks on Faye’s ranch. Considering what she’d done before...
“Faye… Please tell me you don’t have anything to do with this…”
Arluin whined again and Vincent shook his head, wondering what to do now.
Present Day "That makes two.." Faye muttered as she stared at the two poachers sitting in front of her, backs pressed against a large tree, eyes fixed on the black haired child sitting in front of them in a trance. A pair of Zorua ears sticking out of her hair, the child's purple eyes were clouded over and unfocused. "Guess we're pretty much done-" A thud interrupted her, as a tall tanned man emerged from the forest with yet another, struggling, poacher over his shoulder. He dropped the man beside the other two, about to stand and bolt before the man who had brought him shifted. An illusion dropping, leaving behind a Zoroark who bared his fangs at the man until he back up next to his comrades. "Wh-What the he-" he shot a confused look at them, at the Zorua child and then at the brunette who stared at him with a Holocaster in hand. "Wh-What did you to to them!?" The brunette only snapped a picture of the three poachers, ignoring the man at first as she quickly emailed the image to the nearest ranger HQ. "I'm looking for someone... He led a team in Mauville and Fortree in the last few months, hitting at least one of the reserves in the last city-" "As if I'd tell you shit!" The poacher spat, prompting the Zoroark to snarl in warning. "Figured," Faye sighed, fingers tapping idly against her 'caster for a few minutes. The brunette had been doing this for months and yet still had no idea how to get information out of then, thinking that just the fact that they had been caught would be enough. "Ok, Medea, you know what to do. We gotta go before the rangers get here." With a flick of her ears in acknowledgement, the Zorua's purple eyes glowed momentarily, and the last poacher that had been brought to them joined the others in their hypnotic state. Returning her Pokemon back into their balls as Faye hopped on Serene, the brunette made the Altaria circle the skies for a bit. Medea's illusions always held on long enough for someone to answer ger anonymous tip but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Once she saw someone discover the poachers, she directed the dragon back home to Fortree once more with no more information than before. Her Pokemon were still missing and she was not much closer than she was from when they were first taken.
So today was far more interesting than I expected. Training turned into working and I not only took down a trio of poachers just outside Dewford, but captured a helpful Makuhita at the same time! I named her Shalla.
gamertoxicity that’s where I’ve been in case you were wondering what happened to me.
Considering Cherise had already defeated this Gym, Logan was out in the nearby cave training alone. Things were going pretty well, and a few nearby Trainers had helped a lot. It was, all in all, a good day. Wedge and Tycho worked as well together as Logan had hoped, living up to their namesakes. The two of them were the best choice for the upcoming Fighting-type Gym, but they weren’t the only ones getting some experience. Ooryl had even evolved into a Lombre, so Logan was on his way back to Dewford proper feeling quite happy with things and ready to take on the Gym and get back to the mainland.
So of course something had to go wrong. Just as Logan left the cave, Tycho perked up and bristled. Wedge soon followed suit. “What is it guys?”
They both squawked angrily and Logan nodded. “Okay, show me what’s up.”
Both Torchic and Taillow took off, and Logan followed them all the way to a small entrance along a cliff edge. It looked like it was normally quite well hidden, but it sure wasn’t right now. And a disturbance was obviously taking place inside.
“Okay guys, keep it quiet, this could get bad,” Logan said to his Pokemon, who grunted in agreement.
The young Ranger crept forward, and peeked inside. It was a small part of the cliff burrowed out and made as a sort of base of some kind, and he could immediately tell it was being used as one of the poacher bases Nova had mentioned. More immediate though was the Makuhita currently rampaging inside.
“Get around it!”
“Where? This place is too small!”
“Just hit it with something! Anything!”
One of the poachers’ Pokemon managed to land a hit, and the Makuhita stumbled towards the exit.
“Now!”
Another attack came and the Pokemon stumbled backwards, out of the base, past Logan, and collapsed on the ground.
“Phew… That was close, we could’ve been-”
“Ember! Wing Attack!”
Logan wasted no time in stepping into the opening of the base, sending his Pokemon in to attack. There were three of them, a Mightyena, a Pelipper and a Breloom. The Breloom dropped hard before the poachers could react. A follow-up attack injured the Mightyena and Pelipper, but they were regrouping now. Tycho was able to hold off the Pelipper, but it was difficult considering both Pokemon were evolved forms. Wedge was having difficulties with the Mightyena, and the Pelipper’s occasional Water attacks were not helping.
Logan was slowly losing ground, getting pushed further out of the base. He was just about to consider pulling out a third Pokemon to help - of all the times to not have Karok on him - when a Water Gun smacked Wedge into Logan’s chest.
The Torchic tweeted weakly and Logan held him close. “Hey, Wedge, are you okay? Come on, you’ve done good, let’s get someone else to-”
Just then Wedge barked back at him and shook his feathers, sprinkling some water into Logan’s face. He hopped out of his Trainer’s arms, and huffed at the two Pokemon, then began to glow. Logan blinked and there stood a Combusken, riled up and ready to fight. Logan grinned, thanking everything for the timing and knew he had this in the bag now.
“Wedge, Double Kick!” Logan shouted, indicating the Mightyena.
The enemy Pokemon were distracted by Wedge’s sudden evolution, and his opponent was completely blindsided as Wedge’s clawed feet slammed into the Mightyena’s head, knocking it aside.
“Tycho, Quick Attack!”
The Taillow darted forward, knocking the Pelipper off-balance.
“Wedge, Peck!”
Again the Combusken shot forward, slamming his beak into the enemy bird Pokemon, knocking it to the ground. Logan’s two Pokemon now stood unopposed and Logan crossed his arms at the poachers.
“Alright you three, I’m taking you in,” he said, still on a confident high from winning his battle, while also producing his Ranger ID.
The poachers looked like they might try something anyway, but Wedge huffed angrily again and they relented, slumping as they resigned themselves to their fate.
Of all the things Vincent expected to find when he went looking for the poacher Logan had indicated in his post, Faye was not one of them. He found the woman alone, and no poacher in sight, both Arluin and Milani at his side, and Colette soaring up above.
“Faye? What are you doing here?” He asked, his voice firm. “There’s supposed to be a poacher around here, you shouldn’t be here.
An Altaria circled Colette twice, in greeting before turning back her attention to the forest below as if searching for something.
At the sight of the ranger, Cinnie stood next to her trainer, head held high and with a slight growl of warning until Faye shoved her snout away as per usual. The brunette avoided the other’s eyes and with a sigh responded, “I know. She got away, Serene and Susie are looking for her though.”
The small Vulpix, upon seeing the Ninetails, barked happily and ran up to Cinnie, while Arluin stayed close by Vincent’s side, though was trying to keep a close eye on the young Pokemon. “You know? What do you mean you know? If you know, you really shouldn’t be here! I’ve got Colette looking, you should get your Pokemon and go home.”
Arluin looked up at Vincent and then over at Faye and Cinnie and cocked his head.
The fire fox lay down to Milani’s level, licking her nose in greeting with an amused sound, her body language relaxing but eyes drifting to Vincent now and then, ears pinned back once he started questioning her.
Faye took an involuntary breath before answering, “I, um, read it on the dash and decided to come check it out and..” And what? She rushed over to the area to find a woman in hysterics, a woman that fit the description she saw on the holodash, but that wasn’t needed seeing as she demanded her to give her her pokemon.
Her brows furrowed, as she recalled the memory, “She’s not.. very competent I think..”
“And yet she’s missing,” Vincent continued, still not looking any happier. “Not only that, but even if she isn’t, she’s still high up enough to be dangerous! You’ve already had one bad run-in, why would you put yourself in further danger!”
Arluin grumbled a little, very low, Faye wouldn’t hear though the more sensitive ears of the other Pokemon would pick it up. Vincent took the cue and realized he was getting worked up, taking a few moments to try and calm down.
He only spoke again when he managed to make his voice sound calm, and not panicked or angry. “Faye, please, just go home. I will keep looking for the poacher.”
Milani was barely paying any attention to anything going on, tails wagging happily from the attention from Cinnie, and pressing her head into Cinnie’s chest in an attempt to get even more.
The brunette couldn’t help but flinch as he raised his voice, “I’m sorry, she got away, I just-” She stopped as he continued, waiting until he was finished talking before trying to explain herself. “I’m already here, my pokemon are already here, looking for the poacher too. She has no pokemon, we knocked them out already so she can’t be too far by now.”
The Ninetales kept the Vulpix entertained, but her eyes flashed in warning as the ranger raised his voice. It didn’t take long for for a pair of humans to burst out of the foliage near them, one that Vincent would recognize as Medea. Panting and eyes glowing, she relaxed once she realized that it was just the ranger. The male figure that stood with her didn’t relax at the sight. The tall, tanned man glared at the other, with that same feral look Cinnie always gave him.
Vincent closed his eyes and furrowed his brow, taking a deep breath to keep from snapping again. Why was it so hard for her to understand why this was such a bad idea? She shouldn’t be here at all, having managed to knock out the poacher’s Pokemon or not.
As soon as the figures burst from the bushes, Arluin hunched over and growled loudly, moving quickly to stand between Vincent and whoever was approaching. Once the Furfrou recognized Medea, he turned his attention on the second figure, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Vincent was similarly tense, waiting to see what the figure would do before giving an order.
“I’m assuming you guys didn’t find her if you’re back already..” the brunette muttered, turning her attention at the pair of shapeshifters behind her. The man gave the Furfrou a cold glare, flashing a pair of fangs before shaking his head at Faye’s statement. “Okay, let me think.. I’m not leaving Vincent. I’ll be fine, I am fine, can’t you tell?”
Arluin didn’t stop bristling, but Vincent managed to tear his attention away from the… man? “I…” Well she was fine, but she could’ve been seriously injured, especially if the poacher had backup like when she’d stumbled upon the poachers at the ranch.
He sighed and shook his head. “Fine, you can stay,” if only because he could keep an eye on her from here. “Just. Be careful. And who is this?” Vincent glared back at the man.
“Mercer,” Faye flicked his ear with her finger, not too hard, but the action was enough for the illusion to fade away, leaving only a Zoroark. The pokemon snarled at her in response, opting to just lay flat on the floor and grumble to himself. “I’m watching him for a friend. And I will be careful, I promise, and if we keep standing here talking she’s going to get away!”
Vincent blinked in surprise, taken aback by the sudden appearance of the Zoroark, though Arluin continued to grumble until Mercer lay down. He still didn’t look too pleased, but he settled down enough for now.
“You have a Zoroark as well? Since when?” Vincent asked.
Milani had buried herself as deep into Cinnie’s fur as possible, frightened by Mercer’s attitude and sudden appearance.
“Like a.. month or two now? My friend sent him to me after the whole..” Faye trailed off, waving it off with her hand a bit. She really didn’t want to think about the night she got attacked, there were more pressing matters to think about right now.
As per usual, the Ninetales glared daggers at the Zoroark, letting the young Vulpix hide against her. The pair of foxes exchanged glares and snarls silently in hopes of not attracting Faye’s attention.
“Right…” Vincent sighed and shook his head, patting Arluin on the head, causing him to finally calm down entirely. “Well, let’s see if we can find the poacher then. Which way did she run off in?”
Logan had little time to celebrate his Gym win. Almost immediately after he’d won - he hadn’t even had time to go to the Pokemon Center first - Wedge turned and ran off. Maybe he was more upset about not battling in the Gym than he’d thought, or maybe it was something else. Whatever it was, he was gone, disappeared somewhere out on Route 116.
Thankfully Midna had been out of her ball, and was able to lead the pair of Trainers after the rogue Torchic. It didn't take long for them to find him, but he had already made it all the way to a cavern at the end of the route, a sign nearby naming it Rusturf Tunnel.
"There you are!" Logan exclaimed as he ran over to Wedge. "Don't do that again! I was worried!"
The Torchic seemed unphased by Logan's words however, and merely chattered incessantly. Logan couldn't figure out what he was saying though, so turned to Midna and Cherise. "What's he saying?"
Midna hovered close to the ground, listening to the Torchic's chattering with a curious glance farther into the forest. At Logan's question, Cherise spoke, "Well? What is it?"
The Gengar remained silent, disappearing from view with a soft cackle in Cherise's head. The red head sighed exasperated, calling out, "Midna don't start!" Ganon stood behind both trainers, tail swaying on the cave floor impatiently.
Logan slumped a little as he watched Midna go, staring into the area she disappeared in exasperation. "She didn't say anything, did she? She just left."
Wedge meanwhile continued chattering, but it sounded angrier now. "Woah, woah, hey, calm down buddy..."
The Torchic puffed up a little and clawed the ground. "What has you so worked up...? You see something you didn't like?"
Wedge huffed. "I'll take that as a yes. What could have you this upset though...?"
Just then, a loud scream echoed through the cavern, nearly making Logan jump into the rocky ceiling. "W-What was that!?"
Ganon grumbled behind them, seemingly amused as he fixed his eyes towards the direction Midna had been staring at last time, causing Cherise to give him a look without narrowed eyes, "Are you in on this too? Midna what did you do!?"
The Gengar reappeared in between the trainers looking pleased with herself.
At the sound of the scream, Wedge turned to look in its direction, growling. Logan groaned a little, wondering just what his cousin's Gengar and his new little troublemaker had gotten them into.
The answer came in the form of a woman, still yelling, barreling towards them, managing to pass both Logan and Cherise, but run straight into Ganon.
"G-G-Ghost! Came out of nowhere! Y-Y-Y-"
Wedge immediately began spouting flames from his beak and Logan's eyes widened in understanding. "You're a poacher!" That's why Wedge was so mad, he must have seen her while he was captive.
"Uh oh," was all the woman said, before trying to scramble away from the group.
Cherise stepped back by instinct, letting the woman run right past her before Logan's words clicked in her head, "Midna, don't let her-"
Another scream and a loud thud interrupted her mid sentence, as the poacher that attempted to flee now found herself pinned on the cave floor, with Ganon's heavy tail on top of her.
"OOF!"
The woman barely managed one step away from them before Ganon pinned her to the ground. That didn't stop her from trying to claw out from under it though, however that didn't last long either. Wedge was quickly in front of her, flames still bubbling up around his beak and squawking angrily.
"Hold up there Wedge," Logan warned as he walked up next to his Pokémon. "Don't hurt her. Yet."
He looked up at Cherise, and grinned. "I think we've got a nice opportunity here, don't you think?"
“Hmm,” Cherise hummed stepping closer to the woman with half narrowed eyes, “Maybe, if she even knows anything..”
“What!? How dare you not think I know anything! I’m Nova, I’m-” The woman seemed to realize what she was doing and shut up.
Logan’s grin, which he was trying and failing to suppress, wasn’t likely helping. “You’re what?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Not saying another word. I don’t trust you! You’re a Ranger aren’t you?”
Logan was going to ask how she knew that, but then realized he was shown off a lot thanks to the tournament, it was likely everyone knew the winner was a Ranger. Considering the targets of the poachers around him, the fact they knew who he was shouldn’t have surprised him. “Yeah, I am. But…” Ugh, he hated to suggest this, but he had a feeling the man he was looking for was far worse than the woman currently pinned under Ganon’s tail. “I won’t turn you in if you tell me about another poacher, the one I’m looking for.”
“What part of ‘I don’t trust you’ don’t you understand?” She spat back.
Logan sighed and rolled his eyes. “I swear on my badge I won’t turn you in, I won’t even mention you to the Rangers. Nor will she,” Logan tilted his chin towards Cherise and tried to make himself look hopeful for help.
The red head raised an eyebrow at him but otherwise said nothing with a small shrug.
Logan rolled his eyes. “But seriously, I won’t say anything. Plus, we’ll have Ganon not squish you or break a leg or… I dunno, whatever my cousin here feels like having him do!”
He wasn’t sure, but Logan thought he heard a small whimper come from the woman. “O-Okay, okay what do you want to know…?” She asked, defeated.
Now they were getting somewhere! “Let’s start with you. Who are you?”
“Nova.”
“And you’re a part of the poachers?”
She grunted, and Logan rolled his eyes.
“Fine. Okay, how about this, who’s the guy who attacked the PWT contestants in Mauville? You know about that right?”
Nova nodded. “Maxwell Zweiler, scary guy…”
Logan noted that down mentally, he’d pass that on to Vincent, see if it rang any bells. “What can you tell me about him?”
“He’s good at hurting people,” she said, and her tone of voice made Logan swallow, glad Cherise had been able to get away. “He also doesn’t stay in one place for very long. He hit Mauville and then ran up to like, Fortree or something. He also coordinates a bunch of pockets of his underlings around the region, they have little temporary, hidden bases they strike out of. That’s all I know, now get this thing off me!”
Wedge was still growling, but at least the flames had stopped spurting from his beak. Logan frowned with his arms crossed over his chest. There was no way he could actually let her go after that was there? She had given him what he wanted, and he had promised, but he’d only done that because he knew it’d work. Well, at least it did in movies and TV shows. But that didn’t end well very often. It had literally just been his only thought when she refused to talk, and he really did need the information, otherwise he and Cherise would end up wandering Hoenn for little reason.
So what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t tell the Rangers, but… Well… The holofeed was public, wasn’t it? It just so happened that there was another Ranger on it. That could work.
“Alright Cherise, let her go,” Logan said, doing his best to sound upset about it, which wasn’t too hard. “We got what we needed, and I promised…”
It was late enough that the holodash was completely dead, late enough that nothing was catching Faye’s interest on the television and even surprisingly late enough that Jen had already gone upstairs to bed a few hours ago. Faye was curled up on her couch, fingers tapping the sides of her mug and half paying attention to the programming. She hadn’t been able to sleep well ever since she stumbled upon the group of poachers, chasing after the wild pokemon on the ranch’s territory. Her head replayed the events various times, thinking what she could have done better. Her conclusion was always the same. Everything. She didnt need Vincent to tell her that she messed up. Faye knew she had.
The brunette rubbed at her eyes, bringing the mug up to her lips and grimacing, her tea had gone cold. Pushing herself off the couch, she cast a quick glance towards the chair Medea was curled up in fast asleep, the few times the Zorua didn’t have her illusion up and turned towards her kitchen. Dumping the cold tea in the sink, and refilling the kettle to make a new one, Faye dug through her cabinets looking for a snack when she caught movement from outside her window.
She pushed the curtains aside, looking out for a few minutes and quickly dismissed it, turning her attention back towards the stove just as she heard a knock on the kitchen door. Practically jumping in surprise, Faye looked through the window, turning on the light to get a better look at the man standing there, “Yes? Can I help you?”
“I need… help…” The man said weakly. “Poachers… they took my Pokemon…” He shook his head, as if he couldn’t speak any more than he already had.
Her stomach dropped at the thought as she quickly opened the door, stepping aside to let the man in, “Are you all right!? Did they hurt you?”
The man, who might normally seem quite large and imposing if he weren’t limping, stumbled into the house. “I tried to stop them… They… They…” He stopped and leaned against the wall, looking around. “Thank you…”
Forgetting to close the door, Faye turned and pulled out a chair for him, trying her best not to panic, as she reached for the phone on the counter, “All right, okay, just.. Uh, sit down and I can call my friend, they shouldn't be too far-”
As Faye pulled out a chair, the man’s eyes drifted back to the door where a belt of Poke Balls hung off a hook. The moment Faye mentioned calling someone though, he suddenly snapped back to full height, his feigned injuries disappearing, and he was across the room in the blink of an eye.
One of his hands wrapped around her wrist, keeping her from picking up the phone, another clapped itself around her mouth and then both pulled her close to him, pinning her in place. “You make a sound and you’ll regret it. I don’t like that you got most of my men rounded up the other day. Nor how you got a Ranger on hand so quickly. You stay the hell out of my way or this whole place will burn, you got that?”
Faye’s first reaction was to try and yank her hand back, a scream catching in her throat as he placed his hand over her mouth and struggled momentarily before he spoke. She whimpered, with a quick and shaky nod, heart pounding as her eyes fixed on the pokeball belt by the door that held her father’s Water type team. Too far from her reach, not that she could hope to break free long enough to release any of them.
Once he was assured Faye wouldn’t be doing anything rash, he dragged her back towards the front door, letting go of her wrist to grab the belt of Poke Balls near the door. “So, these contain those Pokemon you used to fend off my poachers? They’re so tough maybe I should take them with me…” He loosened his grip on her mouth to give her a chance to speak up, but should she make a noise, was able to quickly silence her once again.
The brunette stumbled a bit as she was dragged back, shaking her wrist a bit after he had released her, still feeling the pressure of the man’s grip. As soon as he loosened his grip on her, Faye lunged at the belt in hopes to at least be able to release one of the Pokemon. She prayed she could release one who’s moves she remembered. The team was bred and trained for battle, with years of experience, and they were competent enough to act without her instructions.
As soon as Faye made a move for the belt, the man grabbed her wrist and yanked her back, tossing the belt over his shoulder and clamping a hand over her mouth before she could shriek. “See, I thought we were clear on things, apparently we were not,” he said as he clamped down harder on her wrist and twisted it until he heard a pop. “Don’t. Cross. Me. And for that, I’ll take these Pokemon with me whether they’re worth much or not.”
Her first instinct was to bite into his hand, as hard as she could, struggling in his grip in another attempt to reach for the pokeballs. Pulling her hand back in response as he gripped her tighter, perhaps making it worse, a scream escaped her as the pain shot up. Faye stopped struggling, tears blurring her eyes, “Let me go, please, please..” Through the corner of her eyes she spotted Medea, peeking into the kitchen before turning and bolting up the stairs.
The man turned around quickly when he thought he heard something over by the stairs, then did a quick scan of the area again before addressing Faye. “I think I’ve made my point either way. You stay out of my way, you stay quiet, or you’ll get more than just a minor wrist injury.” With that he moved his hand away from her mouth and wrapped his arm around her neck, and squeezing slightly.
He kept squeezing, just enough to cut off her airflow, until she started to pass out. Once she was out, he bolted for the door, the belt of Poke Balls in his hand, leaving the ranch behind.
Uuuuuh, you chose a title idfk! D: [Closed w/ Vincent]
May 2; Previously
Faye sat huddled in a corner of the Fortree Pokemon Center, her Ninetales laying her head on her lap as her fingers worked through the Fire type’s fur, the warmth coming from her was comforting. Her eyes remained fixed on the nurses that went in and out of the backroom, they had told her she could just come back later, but she wasn’t feeling up to heading back home just yet.
The Pokemon the poachers had nabbed weren’t hers. They didn’t belong to anyone, but seeing as they were around the ranch’s grounds, the brunette felt responsible. The area surrounding them was meant to be protected, a safe haven for injured or sick pokemon, whether they had been abused, abandoned or just wild. It was one thing to hear about the poachings that were happening across Hoenn, it was a different one to witness what was happening with your own eyes.
