Akacen

Pokémon: Hoenn - Make a Wish

Oracle’s saving grace was her ability to Detect and be aware of the near future even in the heat of battle. Despite this, to move quickly enough out of the way of such a devastating attack proved impossible. It was no surprise she wasn’t used to such power. Not being the fastest flier, her Light Screen proved largely ineffective as it shattered when the Moonpulse contacted it. Half of Oracle’s back seared black and she tumbled in a spin towards the ground with the other three. Despite Antligon and Syressa almost absorbing some of the impact, Oracle was not in as ready a state as she might otherwise have been.

While she usually would have tried to continue the fight, she saved her energy, feeling Ether and Tristan having returned, and Shaq’ti’s plan to teleport the three of them to safety. One wing was able to work on more or less controlling her spin and her descent somewhat. Before they teleported, she’d report to Ether that Forrest was engaging Taurus with Kangooroom and Halcrow. The Malamar seemed to be out of commission - perhaps the weakest battler of the three?

“What a fucking idiot…” Tristan grumbled out loud, shaking his head. “Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie,” he continued, cursing the situation they found themselves in.

Luckily Ether had the situation well in hand. Well, as much as he could, at least. He didn’t need Shaq’ti to communicate that she hoped he would ensure the rest retreated safely. That was already the plan.

Zen was, literally, a life saver here. Pandora was the only of Tristan’s team who was, more or less, forever grounded. When the Fissure tore through the landscape, Zen would Magnet Rise itself and use Telekinesis to lift Pandora to safety. Veritas and Vertigo rarely deigned to touch the ground. And having already passed Arine, it was already floating and trying to control its spin after being clipped by the Giga Impact, almost threatening to break one of its legs.

Zen, however, couldn’t have anticipated that the Tauros was as agile as it was fast. Impossible that such a gargantuan creature was also so deft, it thought. Setting Pandora down, she was at the monster’s mercy, but she proved resourceful, just barely sliding away on some ice she made for herself. If she hadn’t, she likely would have been gored and split in two.

Vertigo was tasked with meeting up with Forrest, Halcrow, and Kangooroom. The fastest of Tristan’s team, he was the best choice. Hovering just above the forest floor, he flew right for them, his mind reaching out to Forrest to let him know he was coming and that they were going to rendezvous back at Ranger Headquarters. This wasn’t a request or something to discuss. An order coming from a Pokemon, especially not one’s own, might have been disconcerting if the situation wasn’t so dire.

Upon reaching the scene, Vertigo first wanted to ensure that Malamar was still down. Should it be, he would command the three of them to gather around him. None of Tristan’s pokemon had tried to teleport anyone or anything without physical contact. Tristan always considered it superfluous and unnecessarily draining, if not outright dangerous. In the meantime, he first attempted to use his Telekinetic power to hold Taurus in place. Should that fail, which was likely given his immensity, he would try to send Taurus back with a Psychic attack, if only to give them the moments they needed to teleport out of here.

Ether coordinated the others: Veritas was to get in touch with (literally) Marionetta, Wickengu, and Arine; Aequitas was to catch up with Pandora, Zen, and Damselraed. Tristan and Ether were sticking around to make sure everyone was accounted for and got out of there safely. To the point of Ether throwing a Swift at the Tauros just to get its attention, if possible.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before the Altaria made it down to them, so time was of the essence. They needed to move fast.

Pokémon: Hoenn - Make a Wish

Tristan couldn't go. Not yet.

Pokeballs appeared in the air and the remainder of his team was released. He wasn't about to leave Forrest here all by himself, after all. At the speed of thought, commands were given, allowing only a moment for each of them to perform their duty.

Oracle rarely showed her true skills and capabilities in battle. While she was far from Tristan's strongest battler, she was not to be taken lightly. Even by an impossibly powerful giant Altaria. Her rather typical size allowed her to Detect the trajectory of each of the Meteors and glide around them as she moved away from Antligon's Boomburst. She was already Wishing for Flygon to recover, the eyes on her chest glowing a dull yellow, even before he was hit by the Rainbow Rush. Still Syressa's Heal Pulse would reach Antligon first. Oracle's mind reached Syressa to reassure her, "I've got him... focus on Altaria." Her assuredness was comforting despite whatever doubt Syressa might have had.

In a graceful divebomb, Oracle met up with the unconscious Antligon to be nearby and slow his descent with her own Psychic if he didn't manage to wake up in time. However, she knew he would. Her attention then shifted to focus on the giant foe hurdling around. Oracle froze in the air, floating motionless while her eyes glowed a deep yellow and, from out of nowhere, the winds shifted. And they would keep shifting to blow from behind Syressa and into the Altaria. However, Oracle was rather compromised in this position and would rely on her colleagues to ensure her safety.

Veritas, from the Tauros' opposite flank in relation to Vertigo, unleashed a desperate Aura Sphere. Her hands collected Aura from herself, even as she drew it in from all around. Then the orb was sent forward, winding and weaving through the forest to meet its mark. She knew it wasn't going to stop the thing, but their task was just to do as much damage as possible while it thundered forward.

From the other side, Veritgo's fiery Hidden Power rushed in pulses at the Tauros as he flew, hovering just over the ground and barely keeping up. His spoons glowed white hot as the concentrated energy released towards his mark. Veritas had no hope of keeping up and just kept releasing small Aura Spheres, one from each hand, over and over. Each one found its mark, weaving through the trees and branches to do so.

While Aequitas would have preferred a head-on assault, he was strictly ordered not to, and instead started a flurry of Mach Blades, each faster than the next as he increased his Agility bit by bit with each slash of his blades. He'd jump and float over the Tauros, slashing in an X over its back. His feet moved ever faster, and within only a couple of Mach Blades was he easily keeping up with the Giga Impact.

Arine was allowed the forward position, unleashing an unrelenting stream of Water Pulses into the Tauros. Her gem glowed as water streamed from the tip of each arm while she spun into a blur, her gem a nearly perfect circle. Tristan, and by extension Arine, hoped that if all of this didn't fell the Tauros, that after it would be sufficiently confused. They figured it couldn't block its hearing and inner-ears. She would Rapid Spin and lift herself with Telekinesis should the monster not stop before reaching her.

And Zen, from underneath the creature, would compel the Earth's Power to erupt in perhaps an attempt to trip it up, throw it off course, or stop the attack altogether. It's eyes glowed while each leg impacted the ground as pistons into the ground, the power of which erupted just before the charging Tauros.

They were all lucky to have worked together for so long (and, you know, the whole psychic thing), ensuring each of their attacks didn't hurt Aequitas as he rushed back and forth over the beast.

Pandora would be last. Once the Tauros stopped, she would a Lovely Sweet Kiss on it, and also do her best to Attract it to her. And, oh boy, was she ready!

Only once commands were given did Tristan's hand brush against Ether and two would disappear from sight. They would appear in Tristan's office in the Ranger Headquarters. His head whipped around to ensure no one was around. Lights were on, but no one seemed to be nearby or passing the door. "Good..."

Ether ensured the door was locked while Tristan rushed and fumbled the documents into the safe behind his desk. He cursed at himself through the whole thing, his thumb too sweaty for two attempted readings. Papers and folders would fall out of his bag and onto the floor, so he'd have to pick them up. Everything was a mess and he hoped they'd be able to make sense of it all afterwards.

Once he was done, which took entirely too long he thought, the pair would teleport back, this time a safe distance from the engagement area they hoped. His heart seemed to stop beating as his eyes took in what happened in all of probably 20 seconds.

Pokémon: Hoenn - Make a Wish

The only consolation of all of this is that, at the very least, in a way he was correct. There was a veritable treasure trove of information, documentation, and intelligence here. A shame that they would only be able to get a fraction of a percent of it. He hoped beyond hope he had picked correctly.

Tristan had been in some tight spots before, sure. But none of them had been this outright dangerous, nor nearly as important. At the same time, it felt like it took all day to move through the base, collect what they could, and leave, and just minutes as they rushed through to not get caught. His heart was racing from the excitement and anxiety of it all.

“Fuckin’ bitch,” he gasped as he witnessed the charging Tauros and glaring Malamar. The last syllable would be heard by Forrest and their Pokemon on the ground as they materialized. “Fuckin’ shit…” he said again out loud before he got his thoughts together. Luckily, the files were already in his bag, though a bit over-filled what with all the medicines already in there.

”Get Oracle back here. Now.” He was frantic, desperate not to have her add physical injury to the mental ones she was already dealing with. Ether relayed the message to which Oracle reached out to her Trainer directly.

”I will help…” Her smooth, lilting, echoing mezzo was nearly as captivating as Veritas’. More importantly, though, Oracle spoke with an authority and gravitas that Veritas simply couldn’t possess. With as much time as Oracle spent in various moments in time, when she bothered to speak there was an undeniable weight to it.

Tristan was fuming, but he knew better than to argue. ”You’d better keep your Detect up.” His anger masked his fear and despair. It was a beautiful day - no rain in sight. So, he figured there was no fear that Damselraed would die today. And, also, Pisces wasn’t here, so doubly true.

She didn’t respond - of course she was already doing this, and she saw right through him. Shooting up into the sky at an impressive speed (for a Xatu), she started to form a Reflect Screen in such a manner as to leave enough space to get Antligon behind it when the need inevitably arose. Certainly not a fighter like Flygon, she would do what she could to support him in his endeavor to protect them from this Draco Meteor.

Back on the ground, Tristan knew that Veritas and Ether combined could teleport them out of safety, but neither he nor Forrest were about to leave their Pokemon behind. Not with someone as conceivably powerful as Taurus here. “We need to stall until Oracle and Antligon come back, then Veritas and Ether can get us out of here.” Tristan was decidedly on the verge of panicking. Indeed, he was barely keeping it together. Only the worst scenarios rushed through his head over and over as he considered what they should do.

What could they do?

Almost on instinct, Tristan released Vertigo from his pokeball. “Do your thing…” Vertigo was only more than happy to comply. It seemed that, even in the most stressful of situations, Tristan possessed the ability to keep things together and enact a decent plan.

At least, he thought it was a decent plan.

Vertigo considered various Nasty Plots as he hovered in the direction of the charging Tauros. Upon entering range he would start with Confuse Rays. If those didn’t work, he’d go straight into Hypnosis. While Vertigo liked to play as much as the next pokemon, he knew this wasn’t the time or place to do so lightly.

Pokémon: Hoenn - Make a Wish

It was a good thing that Ether was so selfless. Otherwise, he would be well within his right to go off on his own and do work for the rangers for himself! There was a part of him that felt like he was holding his oldest and closest Pokémon back from his full potential.

The thoughts were clocked by Ether, of course, but no comments were made. Instead, a short break was taken. Despite the heat, he was actually somewhat cold, what with Pandora Misting both of them for a while now. He wondered if Forrest was cold, but he seemed like the kind of person who’s body didn’t care about temperature too much.

At the mention of Starmie, he only nodded, but Pandora was more than capable of creating a chunk of ice for Tristan to hydrate himself with. That, and all the Mist they would have been inhaling the whole way resulted in Tristan not being terribly hungry.

Watching Forrest eat, though, he felt his stomach starting to grumble. He rare brought any sort of snack or provisions with him. With the ability to teleport virtually anywhere at any time, there was never really a need to. His pride wouldn’t allow him to ask for some, though.

Even though he was a little hesitant to admit it, Forrest’s idea was a good one. Still, he had to consult with Oracle about it. ”What do you see?”

Either way, he would end up going with Shaq’ti. He still had Arine and Aequitas, along with Vertigo and Zen if things got really bad. “Ether will make sure you aren’t picked up by any prying eyes, as it were.” He was referencing all of them - Ether was able to ensure several individuals within a small radius were imperceptible by telepathic or empathic scans.

“Let’s go.” He said to Shaq’ti. ”Veritas, Oracle. Make sure no one goes in behind us… if you can.” Usually that wouldn’t be an issue, but he remembered who he was dealing with. He wasn’t used to psychic abilities being used against him.

Pokémon: Hoenn - Make a Wish

He rolled his eyes before answering “Running on about an hour or so of sleep over here.” At this point he had to let Pandora out. Ether had to help reign her in and keep her focused on just keeping the two of them cool in this oppressive heat with a nice Misting.

“I mean, that has to be it. I don’t know of anything they actually accomplished. If it wasn’t a diversion, then it was a test of the response to the attack and resilience of the system.”

He started to go off on a stream-of-thought monologue at this point. “If it was a diversion, what were they covering up? I didn’t hear of reports of any findings during the clean up. So, if they needed a diversion as big as that, then how is there no trace of what they did? Did they really need to attack the power system to do something that might be that easy to cover up?

“That’s why I think it was a test of something. The system itself? The response time? What resources the powers-that-be were willing to drop on something so vitally important? Where might they attack next? Are we going to be ready or willing to respond to whatever is going to come next?

“And how the fuck was it so easy to capture Jonton? It’s almost like he allowed himself to get captured… no offense. But, why did he engage? Did he know it was you that was coming for him? Did he really think he could defeat you? And with Jonton just being a pawn, and seeing the power of that Gorebyss… is this really just this Pisces character leading this thing?

“Is he leading this group himself? What if he’s part of some cadre that is organizing things? Are they all as powerful as he is?” His tone was starting to become noticeably more anxious and tense. Pandora grabbed his hand at Ether’s request to take him out of his own mind for a moment so he could compose himself.

“And that’s why we’re here. It’s far more important to infiltrate, get in, and collect as much intelligence and documentation and information as we possibly can. We’re so in the dark, we can’t possibly know what to do next. I just worry about the other teams investigating the other safehouses.”

And now he went off into another tangent. “And if Jonton, a mere pawn - well, maybe a rook or knight if we’re being generous - had this many safehouses that were this hard to find and get what little intel we could on them, how many more are out there that have actual answers?” He seemed desperate and hopeless as he continued to think out loud.

Pandora squeezed his hand again and gave him a burst of cold, making him shiver all over. While Forrest was physically expressing his anxiety and fear, it was clear that Tristan had been internalizing and speculating about it all resulting in much the same mindset.

There was so much more that he couldn’t verbalize. How did some undercover Agent know when and where Jonton was going to be before Lady Fairfax? Did Marilda really lose that much control over her own Wharf that she didn’t know what was going on there? Did Jonton push his family out? What did it take to do that, if so?

How did the Rangers mobilize so quickly to apprehend and take control over the Wharf? Was Jonton the only mid-level operative there? What was he doing there?

What contracts were Asuna and Samantha doing for him? Was Ms. Shade working for Jonton? How was she involved in all of this otherwise? Was she also working for this Pisces and Mrs. Fairfax at the same time? Did Ms. Shade have even stronger Pokemon than Samantha? Why was Asuna there by herself? What was Samantha doing in the meantime, to come back and get her once she was essentially safe? Why did Samantha attack him so abruptly?

For a third time Pandora had to pull him out of his own mind so he could focus on walking behind Forrest and not tripping.

Pokémon: Hoenn - Make a Wish

“Reckless, indeed.” Tristan agreed. “And I’ll make sure I actually look good when we are invariably harassed by the Press. Good thing we both have plenty of experience with them.”

This was yet again another jab, however lighthearted. He knew Forrest was notoriously horrible in front of the Press. While Tristan was rather practiced, what with his professions and natural demeanor, he’d have to remember to help out Forrest. Though, ideally, Forrest wouldn’t be left alone with them.

“But, no. I like to look at least half-way decent when I destroy and humiliate a bunch of idiot assholes who couldn’t even make an independent thought if they were held at gunpoint.” While there was a sort of jesting in his tone, there was a hardness to it that would suggest he was displeased, to say the least.

However, he wasn’t letting it get to him in quite the same way it was all getting to Forrest. Rather than brood and get all moody and depressing, he chose to be jovial, if not simply sarcastic and “witty”.

Feeling rather comfortable that they were alone and not being followed, or otherwise undetected, he chose to pass the time with some small talk. “So, I hope you had a nice evening and were able to get some rest?” He was more hoping that one of them would have at least gotten some sleep the previous night. Though, with kids, he figured there might be less sleep and more wrangling of children. A terrible prospect, he thought.

“So, any thoughts about all of this? Any ideas of why they targeted Mauville? What their endgame might be?” He quickly changed the topic to something more pertinent, and not quite as potentially personal.

And a different perspective and insight could help jumpstart his own calculations.

Pokémon: Hoenn - Make a Wish

If Forrest truly thought Tristan was trying to impress anyone right now, he would only be partially right. This particular outfit was a dressed-down version of his court-appearance attire. He wanted to make a statement while being as practical as he was able to allow himself.

"He's on-edge. Shaq'ti isn't able to get through to him." Ether made Tristan shift his awareness from his own concerns to that of his partner. He'd never seen Forrest this up-tight before. It was actually concerning. He worried that Forrest wouldn't be at his best for what was to come. And he desperately wanted - needed - Forrest at his best here.

A few beats passed and Tristan let him share his experience camping here. Camping? Here!? There weren't any facilities for MILES! Ridiculous. He never understood why people would forsake the creature comforts of a city for the dirty nothingness of the wilderness.

And the bug Pokemon. Tristan HATED the bug Pokemon. Well, the small ones, anyway. They were always bothering him, crawling on him, flying into him. It was terrible.

It certainly had nothing to do with the fact that his team was rather vulnerable to bug-types. No, certainly not that.

And, of course, Damselraed was an exception to this.

"Well, you'll have to find the easiest path for me, I guess." He chuckled, doing his best to try and lighten the situation. He was rather good at playing whatever part he needed to, but Forrest knew him pretty well, and with both of them so on-edge, it was more likely Forrest would see through this. He wouldn't address it, though.

"And at least one of us has to look good as we dismantle this terrorist cell." The smirk on his face could be heard as he spoke, even as his eyes darted around, piercing into the forest and getting updates from Ether.

Pokémon: Hoenn - Make a Wish

There was a part of him that kind of felt bad. Tristan made sure that Damselraed was looking at him when he popped one of the last bubbles she blew and flashed her a smirk and a wink. Ether shared in this, popping a bubble himself and wagging his tail playfully.

Veritas was released, read-in to the situation by Ether, and moved forward into the mid range - a bit outside of Shaq’ti’s range to map the grounds, discovering how many individuals they might have to deal with. Her awareness was expansive - being a natural empath and with so much training and experience in the skill, even at her distance she independently kept an eye on the main group occasionally while reaching out ahead to sense anyone long before they might come into view. While the sphere of her awareness was almost a couple hundred feet, she was able to, in a moment, focus in one direction over exponentially longer distances. And having an intimate relationship with Ether, and Ether’s own reach, this was a comfortable practice for the pair.

She’d hover silently among the trees, her eyes dimly glowing while her mind probed. Oracle, for her part, was given the go-head to start to See the Future to be their early warning system of sorts. With Antligon hovering right over her, she was rather safe to pull her focus.

Ether was glad he didn’t have to also scan the immediate vicinity at the same time, feeling comfortable to leave that up to Shaq’ti. So, being able to focus on just being the communications hub was actually refreshing. Commands and updates were near-seamless as the group moved through the forest and straight for the cabin. The jewel at his forehead pulsed slowly as he performed his job impeccably.

While their combined forces would be more than enough to defend themselves from most any hostile forces, Tristan was still rather on-edge. In any other situation he would consider this set-up rather safe and secure. But, with the powers they were dealing with, he knew they were incredibly vulnerable. His concern would be picked up by Ether and Shaq’ti, causing Ether to spend more time keeping in touch with Veritas than anyone else as they moved. Veritas was in the most vulnerable position, while also the most crucial. His right hand grasped the strap of the satchel so that it was close to his left, ready to release Aequitas, Arine, and even Vertigo if the situation called for it.

It took a few long moments before Tristan was able to internalize and respond to Forrest’s light-hearted jab. “What do you mean?” He started in protest. “We’re just walking through some woods. It’s not like we’re hiking a mountain or anything.” He sounded more incredulous and defensive than the comment might have warranted. He’d add, “At least I have more than one outfit to my name,” as a way to demonstrate that he wasn’t actually taking it seriously, and rather just playing along while lightly jabbing back. Tristan looked Forrest up and down with a smirk to really lay it on, adding a chuckle for good measure.

Pokémon: Hoenn - Make a Wish

Typical - such nice weather had to be spent working. Though, this time, he was likely putting his life in danger. Though, less-so with Forrest by his side. He was rather confident that, with both of them, they would be relatively safe. There was that nagging in the back of his mind about Pisces and that Gorebyss. If it was that powerful, he could only wonder how powerful the Huntail might be.

But, no, he had to focus on the task at hand. They needed to get in, neutralize the place, and get any information they could out of this place. Hopefully the coordinates in the reports were accurate and they wouldn’t need to wander around for too long.

This guy desperately needed to get some variety in his wardrobe. At least he had more than one pair of boots. But, like, there are different color shirts out there. Just… get one? The pack on the ground was also interesting. What could he have brought? But, that’s fine. All the better. Tristan only brought himself the small satchel of medicines and supplies he’d gotten before leaving the Ranger HQ.

He’d keep the lady and the egg in-mind while they moved forward, but chose not to breach the topic with Forrest. He wanted to learn more about it before bringing it up. And, there were more important things to discuss. Time was precious.

Before answering Forrest’s question, he released Oracle from her pokeball inside his Trainer Gauntlet, which was more like a sleeve than anything and easily covered by his shirt. Both of which he would roll up over his elbows. Arine and Pandora would have to help keep him cool today.

Tristan communicated to Oracle that she should keep out of sight and to not engage, but go towards the coordinates and start to check it out. She, as stoic as always, just turned her head to focus an eye on her Trainer, giving her affirmative, before flying off through the middle-canopy towards the reported location of the base.

“Oracle is going to scout things out, let us know what it looks like there. She’s going to see if she can figure out what they’re doing here and the purpose of the base, and also try to see if she can find a way in for us. I’d like to find a way in unnoticed so we can get a closer look before they start to run. Or worse, destroy the evidence.” Tristan noted Forrest’s somber demeanor and, while he was curious about it, he appreciated it at the same time. It was nice that he was still taking this as seriously as he was.

“I think it’ll be best if they don’t know we’re here for as long as possible. It’s likely they know what happened yesterday and won’t take a chance to fight against us. And we want as few runners as possible. So, we’ll need to come up with a plan to detain as many as possible, ideally all of them. And as soon as everything is secure, we’ll call the Rangers in to take them all in and secure the evidence before we move on.” He paused, looking around for a moment.

“Thoughts?” He asked as he took in their surroundings a bit more.

Pokémon: Hoenn - Make a Wish

Furthermore, he was more than content to allow the Grand Watcher to presume she knew what it was she was truly asking, and thus what the answer actually meant. Oracle experienced visions rather frequently. Regularly, even. But, such extreme and intense visions - ones that she couldn’t handle herself, were very rare.

He also didn’t report to her, so she was free to underestimate his team all she wanted.

Spending what little time he could with his family, the Guthermuth’s included, was well-received by Tristan and Ether. While the latter was understandably on-edge, it was here on Mossdeep Island that he let down his guard in a way he almost couldn’t anywhere else. This was home. His Trainer’s parents doted on him more than they might a child - spoiling him rotten. Tristan would joke that he would have to be careful, otherwise Ether might leave him for his parents.

Ether rarely contradicted the idea.

And his colleagues in the Elite Four - it wasn’t so long ago that they were testing would-be Championship competitors, but he had already almost forgotten their various quirks. He was, of course, much too caught up in everything that had happened during the past 24 hours. He was glad that Fredrick was taking this seriously, at least. He was always the more level-headed of the three. But he was also a bit disappointed that Bingham couldn’t seem to be bothered.

But, none of them could really know. Tristan himself didn’t really understand everything that was going on. But he knew it would only be worse than the Mauville Explosion.

He would stay awake most of the night in the courtyard of the Condo Complex, laying amongst his pokemon. They were the closest thing to a family that he had, after all. Ether stayed curled up at Tristan’s feet atop the thin blanket he had gotten for himself. Veritas had to break up Vertigo and Aequitas more than a couple times. Arine, meanwhile, enjoyed the pool, rushing back and forth, jumping out and to perform brilliant tricks. It was nice to watch Arine enjoy theirself and relax while they had the time.

Jynx had to be roped in by Ether a few times as well, having wandered off to find where her “friends” had gone, and she knew almost everyone on the island. It was the middle of the night, Ether had to remind her. They’re all asleep. And luckily they’d be away before most of them woke up. Zen mostly just hovered around a bit, making sure they were impeccable and meticulously blemish-free before “shutting down”.

Ether ended up having to wake Tristan up at 0500 so he could wash up, get ready, and have a quick breakfast with his family before heading out.

It didn’t take him too terribly long to get ready. He decided to wear something a little different for this particular mission. A burgundy long-sleeve button-up shirt with khakis held up by a black belt. Black wingtip derbies finished off the otherwise simple ensemble. A tan sport coat draped over his shoulders like a sort of cape. While ultimately rather similar to his all-black outfit yesterday, he looked like an entirely different person.

By the time Tristan made it to his parent’s house, Percival and Persephone were already there. “Sorry I’m late!” Tristan called out as he opened the door. “In the kitchen!” Deirdre called back.

The house was rather nice - Tristan’s parents made good money, and it showed. Their house was light and minimalistic. A couple of mirrors helped open up the hallway and a room. Flowers would add that splash of color and would liven up otherwise muted rooms. Efficient would be an accurate word to describe the home. Tristan appreciated it; his condo being furnished in a rather similar manner.

In the kitchen he would find everyone. Leon was finishing up the food while Deirdre readied drinks. Percival and Persephone sat at the counter ready to be served the light but delicious-smelling meal. Oracle was in the corner like a statue, unmoving even as Tristan entered the room. His heart skipped a beat then started to race at the sight of her. “How’s she doing?”

“Well enough. Don’t put her through whatever you did before, though. She could use a couple more sessions.” Deirdre was stern, on the verge of scolding her son. Ether wasn’t the only one she spoiled. All of Tristan’s pokemon would get the star treatment when given the chance. Indeed, Ether had his own place set and was already walking over to it, taking some laps of water and sitting ever so patiently to receive his food.

“I cooked your favorite!” Leon couldn’t help but go over and pet Ether’s velvet fur. “Dad…” Tristan sighed disapprovingly. “How’s my favorite Espeon?” Deirdre only piled on the praise and love in spite of her son’s protests.

Tristan just rolled his eyes and sighed. He was used to not being the favorite when his team was involved.

“Oracle is resilient. You should be glad…” Persephone’s praise was, at the same time, complementary and a warning. She seemed privy to and would thus echo Deirdre’s sentiment about her. “I’m lucky…” His voice trailed off as his gaze settled on Oracle, then to Ether who was purring and fully taking in all the petting and attention he was getting. His tail flicked lightly as he did so.

“I can’t stay for long. Sorry.” Tristan realized the time and wasn’t about to be late to his own mission. He’d drink some juice and take a few bites of food, but otherwise tried his best to forget about what he was about to do and try to catch up as best he could.

This was one of the few instances where that was easier said than done. Tristan spent quite a lot of his time in Mossdeep. It was his home. He was born and raised here, after all. And with travel times not really being a thing, it was never really an issue to stop by between engagements. While his jobs kept him busy, he always made time to see his parents and his best friend at least once a week.

However, with each passing year there were all those missions he was on, official and not, that he couldn’t tell them. It seemed like most of his life was a secret from even the people he cared about most. It was hard at times, but he always managed to get through it. Especially after this mission he’d have more than one session with his therapist.

“I’ll see you soon,” he felt like he was lying as he said that and gave everyone hugs and they said their goodbyes. His gaze would linger on Persephone and Percival - a knowing glance. They were accomplished trainers and he knew they would be a comforting and welcome layer of protection for his parents atop the Rangers that had already made themselves known. Tristan was impressed that they had a pretty decent cover story - his parents were important people in their own right, and while it made sense, Deirdre and Leon were pretty sharp and knew how to read between the lines. While Deirdre had been in some sort of denial, there was no way to ignore that their son was doing something potentially dangerous. That said, he received extra long and tight hugs from his parents and even Persephone.

Much was left unsaid - they knew he wouldn’t answer even if they asked. They would only share their love as much as they could.

Offering each of them an emotional smile, he held up a hand to wave for a moment while his other hand reached down to pet Ether’s head, and the pair disappeared to leave the four of them behind.