Frederick always enjoyed his work as a ranger. Not only did he get paid to just be in nature and interact with the wildlife, he had the occasional pleasure of doling out justice to poachers and the various types of people who were harmful to the environment. It may not have been as often as when he served on the force back in Kogane, but it was still just as satisfying. But when the opportunity arose to travel to the Whirl Islands and deal with the pirate problem that had sprung up there he simply couldn't pass it up. The idea of kicking a couple good for nothing crimianls out of his favorite spelunking spots was all too appealing to the dark skinned ranger. In fact if he hadn't been given this assignment he just might have had to 'coincidentally' show up and try to solve the problem anyway.

Frederick would arrive to the rendezvous location atop his trusty Yanmega, the massive insect eagerly scanning the area as all six legs simultaneously made contact with the sandy beach. Every time they arrived here Race would have to quickly take in the sights, as he knew that it was only a matter of moments before he would be tucked away into his ball until it was time to set off again. It may have been nice to rest after the lengthy flight across the open waters, but it would've been nice to actually explore the island with everyone else. The long haired man would jump down from his pokemon's back, a hand gently placed on the side of the large bug's round head as he offered him a smile. "You can stay out a bit longer this time, my friend. Just stay put so our partner will be able to find us."

Due to the rushed nature of this operation, Frederick was unfortunately unable to receive a report on the woman that would be joining him for the mission. All he got was the name Fran Fallone and that she was supposedly more than capable of providing any support he may needed to apprehend these criminals. Normally he would have liked to bring in someone he knew would work well with his methods, such as Vivi, Ashley or Azad. The last thing he needed was for someone who didn't understand getting in the way of his work. Too many times had he been paired with people who lacked the firmness to properly handle the situation, thinking that these criminals could simply be reasoned with.

The man let out a soft sigh as he looked off into the distance, pondering the possibilities of what sort of partner he may be forced to adapt to. Fingers tugged at the cuffs of his long white dress shirt before his thumbs would slide behind his suspenders. The man certainly didn't look like he was about to dive into a cave, carrying only a satchel and dressed in his usual unassuming clothing. Yet he didn't seem too concerned about all this, his gaze shifting to the side to look at his eager pokemon. "Enjoy it while you can. She should be here any minute now."

                          

An excited buzz from Race was the ranger's first hint that his partner was close. Golden eyes would follow the gaze of his insect partner toward the shape of a woman on the horizon, eyes narrowing into a squint as he struggled to make out the details at a distance. As she came closer and he was able to get a better look at the woman he would find himself being pleasantly surprised. Not only did she have a certain mature beauty to her, there were a few details about her appearance that suggested that she was as capable as he was told.

Simple clothing suggested a down to earth personality, someone who wasn't going to get to worried about getting their hands dirty in there. Her impressive physique and confident stride suggested she was in excellent physical condition and that she wasn't afraid to put those muscles to good use. Hopefully the results of his quick examination would prove to be accurate. Lips curled into a friendly smile as the woman greeted him and offered an introduction, head head bowing slightly as he responded. "Frederick Ferdinand. The pleasure is mine." It was reassuring that the woman's plain and to the point introduction seemed to support his previously formed theories. Now he just to hope that her tough exterior wasn't just a show that would crack once put to the test.

It seemed like before he even had a chance to straighten his posture the woman would be looking in the direction of the cave's entrance and suggesting they get a move on. Shoulders shook slightly as the man silently chuckled to himself, a hand reaching to his belt to pull of an empty pokeball. "Time is of the essence, isn't it? Very well, let's get started." With that the ranger would return his pokemon to it's ball, the yanmega offering Fran a cheerful buzz of farewell before being engulfed in light and being absorbed into the sphere. With that done the dark skinned ranger would start to make his way along the rocky path, steps places carefully to ensure each foot fell on a secure and stable stone.

"Luckily for us these caves are surprisingly well suited for travel by foot. There shouldn't be any need for harnesses or anything. I just hope you don't mind getting your clothes a little dirty." He would look over to the woman with an amused smile, rolling up his own sleeves as he spoke. It wouldn't be too long before the pair reached the mouth of the cavern, where Frederick would stop and turn to his partner. A hand would reach back to his belt to pull off another pokeball which he would idly roll in his palm as he addressed his partner. "Any questions to ask before we get in there?"

                          

The hint of amusement in his smile grew stronger as she referenced her clothing, only further proving that his earlier assumptions were accurate. Not only was it satisfying to know he still had that investigative touch, but it was good to have full confidence that she wasn't about to hesitate should things start to get a bit messy in there. Though it was still up in the air what exactly she was willing to dirty her hands with. Of course that was a bridge to cross when they got to it, the ranger in stead focusing on the positives that had been presented to him thus far.

The man would take a moment to adjust his collar, as he nodded in agreement with her words, a soft chuckle sounding from the back of his throat. "As do I." There was something particularly amusing about sending out contradicting signals, his words contrasting his unusually dressy appearance. But in his mind clothes, no matter how nice they were, were meant to get dirty. That's what laundromats and dry cleaners were for, right? With that little exchange out of the way Frederick could focus on her question, one that he would answer simply by lazily lobbing the pokeball in his hand. From it would emerge a rather snooty looking ampharos, the electric pokemon's judging gaze looking Fran up and down before relaxing and settling on his trainer.

"Wooly here is more than capable of lighting the way. Just...don't look straight into his tail." Ampharos were well known for the bright light that emanated from the tip of their tail. These things were powerful enough to pierce even the most dense of fogs, which would surely be enough to light the way in the cavern. "Now then, let's see how deep these things go." There was a hint of excitement to the man's voice as he made his way into the cavern, the ampharos following closely behind him.

Once they were inside Wooly's tail would light up, filling the previously dark and shadowy area with a red tinted light. The ampharos would be careful to control how much energy it focused into it's tail, ensuring that the light was bright enough to illuminate the area without blinding the ones it was supposed to be assisting. Frederick would continue to tread carefully, his eyes slowly scanning the area for any signs of danger be they pokemon, loose rocks or even traps set by the pirates. The sounds of the his steps softly echoed through the hollow tunnels, the accompanied by a variety of other sounds native to the environment. It was all quite relaxing to be honest. So relaxing that the ranger seemed comfortable to engage in conversation, albeit with a hushed tone. "So Fran, is this your first time chasing down wanted criminals or is this a personal hobby of yours?"

                          

Frederick's brows slowly rose as the woman gave a frank answer to his question, head tilting ever so slightly to one side. Not only was this something the kind of job that she sought out, it was one that she enjoyed? How interesting. He may have already assumed that she was a rough and tumble type of person, but he would have never dreamed that he would be paired with a partner that openly enjoyed hunting down criminal elements. The possibility of the pair being able to properly punish these pirates before delivering them to the 'proper' authorities was slowly increasing, which was an exciting prospect to the vigilante.

But he would keep his joy contained for the moment, shaking his head as he turned his eyes away from his partner to focus on the path ahead. "I do, but not as much as some might think. Rangers have many duties, so it's not every day that I get to indulge myself in the hunt like this." It was one of the few things that he missed about serving as an officer in Kogane. Back then there was always a case to be worked, criminals that needed to be shaken down and people who needed to be put in their place. Working with Lore helped scratch that itch a bit, but nothing was quite as satisfying as getting in there personally and cracking a few heads in the name of justice.

The ranger's steps came to a halt alongside Fran's, his brows furrowing and gaze hardening as he stared out into the darkness that surrounded them. As useful as Wooly's light may have been, turning it on to full intensity would have given their position miles away. Thus they were forced to push into the endless darkness of the cavern, something he was quite used to in his time exploring caverns such as these. However it was always difficult to pin sounds in these environments, the constant echoing and reverberations making them hard to identify. "Get ready." Wooly's eyes narrowed as he stared into the darkness, his fur crackling with electricity as he would charge up in anticipation.

Whatever was coming there was more than one, though the echos made it impossible to tell how numerous they were. All they could do was brace themselves for whatever was coming and hope that the ones they were pursuing hadn't caught wind of them somehow. It wasn't until the swarm got closer that Frederick would realize what was headed their way, arms immediately raising to protect his head. "Brace yourself!" Immediately as the words left his mouth the flock would swarm through, most of them managing to dodge their forms while a few would ram themselves into the ranger and his pokemon without a care only to flutter off and rejoin the rest of their swarm.

Fortunately they weren't too numerous or violent and would pass quickly, though a few that were unfortunate enough to bump into the charged up ampharos would end up twitching on the ground, paralyzed from the static electricity. Frederick would turn his attention to Fran, who was clutching yet another one of the poor creatures. It was pretty obvious from looking at her why she was so irritated, a soft laugh escaping from the man as she tossed it aside and he watched it hurry to rejoin it's group.

With a shake of the head the ranger would turn his attention back to the green eyed woman, a hand reaching into his satchel as he spoke. "A few scrapes and bruises, but at least I'm better off than your friend over there." He looked down at himself as he spoke, his previously pristine clothing now riddled with patches of dirt and a few tears from the creature's wings.

The dark skinned man would pull a small plastic baggie containing a white cloth out of his bag, which would release the faint aroma of alcohol as he opened it. Fingers reached in and pulled out the cloth, which he would hold out toward his wounded teammate. "Zubats aren't exactly known for their cleanliness. Might be a good idea to disinfect that cut." They were making good enough time that there was no reason to hurry on at the risk of long term repercussions.

                          

The ranger nodded in agreement as he took the cloth and stuffed it back into it's baggie before placing both of them back into his satchel. Perhaps his suggestion on the side of caution had annoyed the woman, but that couldn't be helped. Better to have a mildly annoyed partner than one that was at risk of becoming more of a liability than an asset. Luckily she at least seemed to be genuinely faithful for his assistance, so he couldn't really be too upset with her outlook. Especially considering that they did need to keep going if they didn't want to risk the operation.

With a quick gesture toward Wooly the trio would continue to cautiously make their way through the tunnel, the ranger now putting aside his enjoyment to focus on the task at hand. Before he felt comfortable enough to simply take in the cavern's relaxing atmosphere and engage in some light conversation. But there was no telling what had disturbed the flock of zubats. For all they knew their targets were going to be just around the next bend, and Frederick for one wanted to be ready for it. A hand would move up to the cylindrical holster that ran parallel along his suspender, fingers slowly undoing the metal button that held it closed and before sliding out the black metal cylinder it contained. He wouldn't do anything with it just yet, simply keeping a tight grasp on it as they continued to move in deeper.

His steps would start to slow as a vague shape appeared on the horizon, the hand gripping the cylinder raising up to be level with his shoulder. Legs would bend slightly as his stance shifted, left arm bent slightly as he held it out in front of him. His relaxed expression hardened, golden eyes narrowing as he focused on the mass in the distance. He wasn't sure what they were about to find, but it was definitely out of place. It seemed they had finally come across the pirate's lair, and he wanted to be sure he was ready for whatever came at them.

Yet the man's squared shoulders would relax slightly as they got close enough to actually see what had been pained on the boulder. Frederick's brows would furrow, a hint of confusion appearing in his expression. After a slight pause his lips would curl into an amused smile, his shoulders shaking slightly as he did his best to stifle a chuckle. "Is this the pirate's hideout or a child's 'secret base'?" A bit of laughter slipped out of his throat as he looked over to Fran, shoulders rising and falling as he shrugged. "I suppose we'll have to add vandalism to their list of crimes. Shall we?" A hand would gesture toward the path as he turned to continue to move deeper into the cave, maintaining a slightly more relaxed version of his previous battle ready stance. Part of him was expecting to round the corner and see a bunch of children in pirate costumes at this point.

Just as the warning sign suggested it wasn't too long until signs of activity had started to reveal themselves. At this point the cave's floor had been riddled with litter. Food wrappers, beer and soda cans and even a few discarded pieces of clothing that they no longer had any need for. It seemed that the gang of thugs were as dumb as their sign suggested, as it seemed that the group had absolutely no security precautions set up to ward off or even warn them of intruders. Perhaps they thought that their hideout was too well hidden to be found, and that any random cave divers would have been scared off by their little warning sign.

The long haired ranger's steps would come to a halt as light came into view in the distance. A flickering glow reflected off the damp cave walls around the corner, suggesting that it's source was just around the bend. A hand would raise to Wooly, the ampharos nodding in understanding and dimming the light of his tail to where the group could only see each other and the ground just in front of their feet. "This is it. Prepare your pokemon. We move in as soon as you're ready." Despite the impending conflict Frederick's voice would remain completely level, his previous lightheartedness replaced with pristine calmness. Yet even in the dimmed red light of Wooly's tail there was an unmistakable determination in his eyes. This was a man who was ready to see some action.

                          

[attr="class","Vgentempbox"]

[attr="class","Vgentempbox"]