<As students are filing into the lecture hall, Honoria Sorrel can be see fiddling with a projector. The first slide of the powerpoint reads: 'So You Don't Want to be a Ranger?'
Honey straightens up as the slide finally comes into focus, before glancing put at the sea of children still settling into their seats. She purses her lips slightly and wanders across the stage to a podium that had been moved aside - reconvening with Lamp the Sizzlipede who was watching her from atop the wooden stand.
No one can hear her as she speaks to the little fire-bug, although she does hand Lamp the projector control after a few moment.
As the crowd slowly settles - with much hushing from the other adult supervisors - Honoria takes a deep breath, and begins.>
"Hello Campers, welcome! My name is Honoria, and I am a Ranger stationed in Castalia city. Some of you might know me from the Shadow Sky Incident; I was one of many who assisted with relief efforts. I have been afforded the opportunity today to teach you about the Ranger Union and what it can do for you, even if you do not want to become an offical pokemon ranger."
<Honey waves her hand in the direction of Lamp, and the little bug uses his entire body weight to click the control, switching the powerpoint to the next slide. While this would have probably been easier for Honey to do herself, it was probably a bid to keep Lamp off her person, but still engaged with the lecture - probably to avoid Bug-Related Arson.>
"The Ranger Union is best known for its Area and Field Rangers... but you know, not everyone is cut out for that sort of job.
It's true! When you get older - don't give me that look, you will get older - Your life isn't always going to turn out the way you planned it. Sometimes we hurt ourselves. Maybe you will have a family! Or find that your passion is in engineering or marketing or security. Maybe you just hate being outside or in the field.
And that's okay! Just because you aren't a Ranger doesn't mean the Union is a dead end for you. There are tons of opportunities that people don't know about and most Ranger schools have programs for these jobs as well."
<The slide turns again, displaying the internal communications office for the Almia Ranger Union - a room of screens, computers and one massive monitor detailing the location of every styler in Almia.>
"Let's talk Operators. You all got your phones - yea? Did Miss Ellisa ask you to put them away? Well - not all of you are listening. I see you in the back. Yea, you! Hot tip: If you want to hide your phone, don't turn it on in a dark room. But you my friend might be a perfect fit for an Operator.
Operators are our IT management team for the Union. Prior to the invention of phones they were people who coordinated local Rangers, organized job boards and sent messages between Bases to facilitate smooth operations.
Now that we have satellite radio and modern communications integrated into our stylers, Operators work as a hub of all incoming reports and updates from Rangers in the field. Being knowedgable of software - both new and old - is crucial because if something goes wrong you are able to help with repairs, suggestions and even call emergency services. Not only that! Operators can reassign missions, give constant updates and are often the people who begin and end missions for Rangers. You get to boss us around over the phone - it's great."
<Lamp switches to the next slide, which shows a few images of strange, clunky looking stylers alongside modern, watch-like stylers. There are also a few photos of people wearing matching coveralls standing around a stange red machine. Historically astute members of the audience would recognize these as a Gigaremo Unit. It seems to have been dismantled.>
"Mechanics! The sister-field of IT. Where operators know what to do when software is on the fritz, Mechanics are responsible for building, maintaining and repairing all of the computers, stylers and other wacky gadgets that rangers use."
<The next slide contains a photo of a strange, vibrant green leaf affixed to a post. It seems almost normal - except for the mesh along the bottom and metallic components to the stem.>
"Look at this. Not quite a clunky old styler, huh? My friends, this is the first artifical pokemom leaf ever conceived. It works too! With some grafting you can attach this prosthetic to any grass pokemon that has lost a major body segment and it will provide them with a method of creating their own food. This is what I mean when I say 'mechanics'. Tools and Tech that go beyond your average smartphone.
... although it does help to know how to remove a SIM card from a phone.
If you love the idea of keeping a well oiled machine running or even inventing your own machines on someone else's dime, the Union offers scholarships for high school students - encouraging your to pursure higher education and create something that you can share with the world."
<This slide has a giant image of the Goldenrod Ecological Society's logo on it, alongside various photos of research labs, equiptment and a few remarkable members of the scientific community, including Professor Oak and Professor Sycamore. There is a noticable blank spot on the upper corner of the slide - as if a photo has been deleated hastily and not replaced in time.>
"Not many people know this, but a lot of the research that the Union supports doesn't actually relate to the field of pokemon conservation. True - creating better medical systems and styler technology is benefical to the Union as well as the medical industry. But there is a lot more to it than that. Which leads us to..."
<Honey provides a little bit of entertainment by jazz hand-ing her way through the next segway of her presentation. Although no one can see him, Lamp the Sizzlipede is also doing jazz hands. or jazz-nubbins.>
Now, this job isn't strictly 'working for the Union'. Your paycheck doesn't solely come from us. However. I don't know how many of you know this - but research is expensive! Last year the pokemon medical industry put 3.5 million dollars into new technology. Thats insane! I could buy the Union for that amount. But it gets used by people who want to know more about the world.
Now this doesn't really get explained to you so I'm going to lay it out here.
<Honey leans into the microphone, like she is about to share a deep dark secret in a hushed tone, and not through high end speakers capable of putting a Exploud to shame.>
"No one knows anything. The smartest, most well known scientist in the world can't tell you everything - heck they can't tell you anything with certainty. And thats how they like it.
The world is wide and vast and so crazy complicated. There are still arguments about photosynthesis, whether or not Flygon is a Bug or Dragon, and how bones heal. And the Union wants to support people who are trying to answer these questions - to create things like the prosthetic leaf and to inform policies to protect and manage pokemon-human interactions."
<This slide shows people hiking though thick underbrush, tagging 'mon and testing soil and water samples. While the focus of the images are clearly on the non-ranger personnel, a glimpse of @paldean-ranger-brandy can be seen in the background. Both her and her pokemon are staring up at a flock of murkrow in the tree above them.>
"Okay. So you don't wanna sit in a stuffy office looking through a microscope all day. But being a Ranger seems very stressful and you don't really want to deal with the people-side of the job.
May I present 'Survey Corps'. These are the enviromental sciences part of the Union. They are the ones responsible for long term monitoring and management of specific at-risk habitat and populations.
Their job is similar to Area Rangers, only if they see signs of human interruption they call the Area Rangers and get the heck out of dodge. Their job is strictly tagging pokemon, taking soil samples, checking water temperature and quality, monitoring construction sites for pokemon nests and even handing out hunting tickets for overpopulated species.
That doesn't tickle your fancy? What's that? You want to pet the pokemon but not get attacked by an angry Ursaring?"
<A massive photo of a little Sneasel takes up most of the projector. It is a strange color - purple instead of blue - but otherwise is staring up at the camera with a characteristic look of mischief. Other photos show pokemon being released into natural spaces, and infant pokemon nursing from bottles.>
"Rehabilitation is the name of the game! or job. Unsuprisingly there is a massive branch of pokemon welfare within the Union, both for the ride pokemon born and raised in captivity as well as injured pokemon who are going to be re-released. The Union also funds and runs its own breeding programs to reintroduce species back into their original habitats and potentially bring back ancient species that were wiped out by human intervention.
An example - not related to the Union - is with @sneasedtomeetyou who has spent time breeding hisuian sneasel - an extinct poison type - from the recessive genes recently discovered in modern sneasel. It's their hope to reintroduce these species back into Sinnoh because it was recently discovered that certain species of trees grow only after the seed has passed through the digestive tract of certain poison types."
<This slide shows what seems to be a group photo of a handful of trainers and their partners. They are all posing dramatically for the camera and wearing matching uniforms. In the distance there is a herd of Rhydon grazing peacefully, ignoring the presence of the humans and pokemon in the foreground.>
"What? Some of you want to deal with people more than pokemon? Jeez - picky crowd today.
Luckily I have a solution. The Union employs a lot of security forces both in the field and in their buildings. Because there are high risk pokemon in the protection of the Union - no I'm not going to tell you where or what they are, put your hand down - we need security guards who are skilled combatants to protect them. This is a perfect job for professional or aspiring trainers who need a fallback plan or simply don't want to be in the competitive scene anymore.
<The final slide is very empty compared to the previous ones - yet contains a lot more words. There is a provided email for the Pokemon Union as well as a large QR Code that seems to forward people to the scholarship page of the Union website.>
"In conclusion. The Union employs a wide variety of people with drastically different skills and needs. If you want to be Ranger - go for it! Be the best that you can be. But if you don't, I hope you will consider the opportunities presented here and maybe I'll hear you sometime over the phone telling me...
<Honey gives a bow to the applause of the crowd, and awkwardly leaves the stage... before having to even more awkwardly return on stage, retreive a very miffed Lamp, and exit again; blushing madly.>
