Baranofl & Deedee the Ranger PMD RP

Vera could almost hear the record scratch in her head as she spun on her heel.

Staring at him for a goodly time, she finally decided he was being honest. Grabbing his arm, she continued to drag the hapless Pokémon up the hill. "Look at your arm, Ralts. Pokémon are everywhere here. I don't know what you are if you aren't originally a Pokémon, but that can wait." She hurried up the sloping path, the Guild coming into detail the closer she got. She could just about see one of the teams, hanging around outside the Guild. "Come on, don't slow down!"

She almost collapsed in relief when she saw Luxray, striding out from the Guild wearing a long, twice-wound Pecha scarf. Her partner, the tired-looking Roselia who was currently rattling off daily duties with a sense of purpose in his voice, trotted at a leisurely pace alongside her.

"Lady Luxray! Sir Rose!" She called, stumbling up the hill with Blake in tow.

 

"Vera," Lady Luxray gave her a soft nod. "I suppose you aren't here on business, considering your rush."

"Not today. There's a fire in Bluewood forest!" Vera announced. She felt her body hammering with each heavy breath. The rescue teams around her began whispering, and she stoically ignored them as she continued, "There's a thunderstorm. One of the strikes hit a tree, and the flying types fanned the flames trying to get away-"

"Of course," Lady Luxray agreed. Turning on her paw, she glanced around, finally catching sight of a Floatzel and his partner, Rhyhorn. "Floatzel's team, move out to investigate, and quell fires wherever you find them. Gather any other teams you need help from."

Floatzel huffed, but with a jab to Rhyhorn's side they moved into the building at a steady pace. Sir Rose, glancing between them, protested, "Lady Luxray, you can't be thinking-"

"Rose," Luxray whinned.

"...Sorry, ma'am." Sir Rose slumped. "Right. Well, Vera, since your business is finished here-" Roselia froze. "Is that a Ralts?"

"Physically? I'm fairly certain," Vera replied sharply. Turning to Luxray, she continued, "Lady Luxray, you were right. It seems I've finally made progress."

 

Lady Luxray smiled softly. "I'm glad to hear that, Vera. Many could learn from your determination."

Vera rolled her eyes. "Is now really the time for a philosophical lesson, Lady Luxray?" She gestured to the Floatzel and his companion, who had just left the large blue-domed building. "I mean no offense, but is there nothing else to be done about the forest fire? I would offer to help, but I'm unsure as to how, and..." She shrugged, glancing silently at Blake in explanation.

"I trust Floatzel's team to manage it," Luxray confirmed calmly. "They have certainly handled worse before. I suppose you will be borrowing the kitchens once again?" Sir Rose grumbled something about freeloaders under his breath, but he was quickly quelled by a cheerful glare from his partner.

"Yes. Come on, Blake, I'd rather not stick around in this rain!" Vera called back to the Ralts, who was currently studying his wavering reflection in a rapidly growing puddle.

 

"You'd be right," Vera confirmed, leading him down the winding wooden ramp towards the deeper parts of the Guild. "Luxray runs this guild. All rescue teams in the area answer, ultimately, to her." Vera considered. "Lady Luxray is a kind Pokémon, but don't let that fool you; getting on her bad side is a terrible idea, as is displeasing Sir Rose, her partner. They have at least a decade of exploring to their names, and it wasn't just item deliveries, if you get where I'm coming from." Stretching, Vera sighed. "She's been hinting at getting me to join the guild for a while now, ever since I started working around town, but you need two for a rescue team, and generally speaking Pokémon who come here looking to join come with a partner already chosen."

They stepped off the ramp into a large, circular room. Within, groups of Pokémon sat around tables or stood in corners, talking in a low murmur which spread through the room. Across from them, two large billboards brought the most attention; one was covered in hundreds of papers, while the other was coated neatly in mugshots.

"Follow me," Vera said, heading towards an entrance to their right. "We're headed to the kitchens." And, indeed, as they approached, the tantalizing, rich smell of cooking wafted through, along with the whistling of a cheerful Audino.

 

"Hey, Audino!" Vera called, waving. The Audino started, turning in surprise, before sending Vera a bright smile.

"Hi, Vera!" Audino replied. "The usual?" He held up a ladle filled to the brim with a warm soup. "I made extra!"

"Yes, please," Vera confirmed, leading the Ralts over to a table. Sitting down, Vera motioned for him to take a seat. "Eat your fill, Blake. Once you're done, we can talk about how you got here and what you're going to do about it."

 

"Nope, not a clue," Vera replied easily. "I've been working on that mystery for over a year by now." She gripped her bowl and took a sip of her soup, shrugging. "If your experience is anything like mine, Blake, then you should start to recover memories after a while. It all depends, really - but you need to trigger it with something you've seen before." She put down her bowl and stretched. "Well, Blake - what are you going to do?"

 

Vera laughed. "You forget the same thing happened to me. Okay, here's the deal; I live in town with Madame Kangaskhan. You can learn from her how to battle and such. Once you do that, we can sign up as a rescue team." She grinned ferally. "Travelling to far-off places, beating up bad guys, finding treasure, battling tough Pokémon... it'll be awesome! Are you in?"

 

"YES!" Vera punched the air. Finally, PROGRESS! Off in the background, Audino hid a snicker as Vera grabbed Blake by the elbow. "Come on, we haven't got all day! I have to introduce you to Madame Kangaskhan immediately!" Not bothering to keep her grip, Vera tore out of the door faster than Blake could follow, racing back out into the lobby.

 

Madame Kangaskhan's shop sat halfway down the sloping mountain. It was made of sturdy stone and had a brown tarp draped over it, marking it as hers. Other than the open shop window and the storeroom, there was a large lounging room with a few piles of hay, a small kitchen with much the same layout as the one at the guild, and a loft-like second floor with two bedrooms. Once upon a time, the second bedroom had been inhabited by Vera's predecessor, Kangaskhan's son. However, he had left on a journey long ago, and now it was just her and Kangaskhan.

With a bang! the door flew open. "I'm home!" Vera called, waiting impatiently for the exhausted Ralts to catch up. "And I brought back a new friend!"

The sounds of someone shuffling inside told Vera Madame Kangaskhan had heard her. Finally calming down from the cloud she'd been on over the excitement of a forest fire and meeting Blake, she slumped against the door and waited for the tired Ralts to stumble his way into shouting distance.

 

Vera shrugged. "Your loss, Blake, I don't slow down for anyone," she announced boldly. Chuckling, she added, "No worries, I got out of the habit of racing into dangerous Mystery Dungeons a long time ago." Rising, she smiled brightly as the large Pokémon lumbered into view.

Towering over the two smaller creatures, Kangaskhan gave Blake a gentle, motherly smile as she wandered in, claws and satchel filled with goods and her feet scraping quietly on the dirt floor every time she lifted her foot - which was larger than Vera, Kangaskhan being at least five times her height.

"Hello, dear," Kangaskhan greeted him softly, her melodic voice carrying her smile even when she turned away to begin stacking berries on shelves. "I'm so very glad Vera has made a friend. It doesn't happen every day," She continued, much to Vera's chagrin. "You're welcome to stay as long as you like - any friend of Vera's is."

Turning around, she sat down gently on the ground, glancing knowingly to Vera in a silent request to close the door. "Now - do tell me, what brings you here?"