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The old woman curled up with the Zigzagoon, Oddish, Skitty, and Zangoose on the matted floor as they laid down for a nap. It was the Zigzagoon's first day at the Day-Care and she wanted to make sure he was comfortable. The regulars took kindly to him, to her relief. His owner would be returning in a couple days, but she wanted to make sure he was having fun in a new environment.
Mrs. James had to keep him company most of the day on account of the weather. The little Zigzagoon seemed not too fond of water, which seemed slightly unusual. But she didn't mind reading to him and having him go through tunnels and toys. She just also had to keep an eye on the others to make sure they didn't get sick for being outside in the storm too long.
She was glad to have opened a Day-Care. Her profession as a Breeder was taking a toll on her body. She wished to continue her career, but not have to travel. Now she, alongside the Johnson Academy and the Fairfax Hospital, worked toward education in Pokemon health, training, and behaviors. She enjoyed learning new things from up-and-coming Breeders, but always advocated for the use of natural remedies. The Lavaridge Medical Centre and the Berry Farm were often her go-to recommendations.
A particulary round Azumarill gently rolled into Mrs. James' side just as she began to nod off. The blue orb squeeked and cooed. Mrs. James realized that someone had entered the Day-Care in need of some assistance. When she made it around the corner from the hall to the front desk, a girl and a boy, likely to have not known each other, could be seen adjusting herself from being in the downpour to being in a dry building. Despite the adjustment, they trailed water behind her upon the wooden floor.
"Joy," Mrs. James addressed the Azumarill. Her voice, though aged, was light and soft, almost a whisper. "Please grab a towel for these two," she finished with a smile full of warmth and happiness of a fulfilled life to the girl and the boy. "What can I do for you?"
The egg placed on the counter looked ordinary enough. However, Mrs. James hadn't known of an egg being produced at the Day-Care within the past month, even. "I'm sorry, miss," she said in her cloudy voice with an equally soft smile that pushed sagging skin in an endearing manner. "I've not seen an egg here for over a month, now."
Her eyes were filled with empathy, whether for the girl or the egg was uncertain. She touched the egg lightly with a liver-spotted hand. Joy had returned with towels for the two with a bright, yet tired, grin akin to the elderly woman. The egg was chilled from the rain, immediately putting Mrs. James in a concerned panic that she played through with "Come with me, dear. Joy, here, will take care of your pack," she said as she caressed the egg against her chest and led the girl further into the building. "And Joy," she began to add as they turned around the corner, "please show this young man to the bathroom to wash up and change." A light giggle could be heard echoing through the hall. She'd smelled the odor from the boy, indicating he must have been traveling for some time.
Past a couple nursery rooms was a space with a few empty incubators. They were utilized to keep the egg safe when she felt the parents weren't careful enough to not crack it or tend to it themselves. It seemed the light egg weighed 50 pounds in the arms of the old Caretaker as she lowered it into the box and turned on the heating blanket. Her hands worked gingerly to wrap the egg tightly in it's plush softness. It might have felt like a half hour's wait for the girl standing there, watching.
Eventually, Mrs. James turned around to face the girl. She gave another of her aged smiles, closing her eyes which smiled just as brightly. "Please, dear," she said, gesturing her tired arm toward a chair across the room. The woman paced behind her to take a seat next to the girl. "So, where did you find this egg, then?" she asked while acknowledging the Corsola that followed the girl closely. She reached her finger down toward the Coral Pokemon, knowing how rough their skin usually was, and allowed the Corsola to approach if she felt comfortable.
The Azumarill at the front desk hobbled over to lift up the girl's pack. But the poor thing was too old and round to lift it up very well. She squeaked and oo'ed to the boy to help her hang it up onto a hanger behind the counter. She then smiled and chirped with pleasure as he helped her. She waved him to the right, the opposite direction the girl and woman had gone. She showed him to a quaint bathroom with an antique bathtub fitted with a shower head. The Azumarill showed him where she'd gotten the towel he had currently as well as soaps, washcloths, shampoos, razors, and other toiletries. Mrs. James was always the gracious host and always made sure to keep her Day-Care stocked with anything and everything anyone passing by would require.
Far-off thunder rumbled in the sky. The thick gray clouds seemed unmoving. Still, the worst of it floated northwestward and the downpour had turned to rain. From above, Slateport was decorated with small dots of umbrella's and rain hats. The weather didn't do much to deter shoppers or natives on their usual schedules. Though the wet season of Hoenn could be brutal, it wasn't anything that would prevent people from carrying out their patterns of daily life.
Slateport was known more for its Marketplace more than it's Center for Marine Biology. Possibly because it was the only place in Hoenn to find rare and exotic goods, but more for the Black Market that, inevitably, formed from the lack of Fairfax oversight. Rangers were usually stationed at the Marketplace to deter patrons from practicing illegitimate purchasing practices. However, any investigations usually ended up fruitless. If you kept your head down and didn't attract too much attention (or too many enemies), you could do very well in Slateport.
The harvesting of "sentient products" was generally frowned upon. But, like anything else, there was still a market for it. Fairfax goods, specifically, could be sold at a much greater profit while selling it for less. Most could tell when goods being sold were "legitimate" or not simply from the pricing. However, most didn't care since they were the same product, regardless.
Even so, everyone cared for the aesthetics of the city and worked to keep it clean and functional. Against what most Black Markets would do to the state of a city, foreigners couldn't tell that Slateport was the underbelly of the region. Only when such practices negatively impacted individuals, Pokemon, or the environment would Rangers intervene.
Wildom was one individual that the Rangers were actively pursuing. He'd managed to establish a contact with someone working with the Fairfax Association directly. The audits and inventory seemed to always be off. It became such a problem that the Association began laying people off. But this did little in the way of rectifying the loss of revenue. Before it could get out-of-hand, Marilda Fairfax, the "Queen" of the Association, began to request the attention of the Rangers to Slateport, Lilycove, and Mossdeep. Months passed, however, the the deficit only remained steady. Whoever was stealing from her knew what they were doing, it seemed. So she paid the best money to hire a personal Detective, a man from a foreign Region but with a widely-popular reputation.
Detective Jin Azuma was paid the best money to travel from Alola to Hoenn to track down anyone to gain any knowledge that she could add to her web of conspiracy. She just requested that no one knew he was there and that they had no connection to each other.
Air passed through pursed lips which produced a tone high and bright. The cool dawn air forcasted a storm later that day. The cresting ocean waves chopped and rippled with dull oranges and yellows. The sand formed cold and hard from the night. White sheets scattered the blue and violet sky. Far in the distance coasted a fishing boat, casting nets for Corphish and Clauncher. Goldeen and Finneon weren't their aim, but they certainly wouldn't dispose of them. Pelliper and Wingull circled around, unable to get close enough without a Swellow or Braviary darting through to push them back. However, there was one Wingull circling the waters low, unharrassed by the predators. It must have been there to guide the netting.
Honnings' vessel passd by the horizon. After its wake cleared, a blackened image was seen bobbing in the waters. It was a fateful fortune to not become the prey of any Tentacool or Tentacruel. Arceus forbid a Carvana or Sharpedo pass by. But these waters were generally too shallow for such predators. And there was much easier prey to be found, as well.
Fredrick Briney was the seventeeth son to be born in the long history of Briney ancestry. His own father died soon after he was born, lost at sea and found floating near Sea Mauville. His mother moved back to the Sinnoh region once Fredrick came of age, unable to continue mourning in the house where she'd lost her husband. His wife left him for a cousin of the Fairfax family, unsatisfied with the lifestyle (and lesser income) in the seafaring business. His son was the only family he had left. Having just turned 8, Fredrick began to worry his son would leave, as well, to adventure as a trainer or coordinator. He'd try to tell himself that he only needed his Pelliper and his ship, but knowing that he had family that chose to leave him left him slightly bitter, though rightfully so.
The stranger seemed adamant he forget ever seeing the man. However, seeing someone in such a state (and with a slight accent indicating he was foreign) made it difficult for Fredrick to just let him walk to the next city. By the stranger's trajectory, it seemed to be Rustboro, which could only be reached through Petalburg Woods. That was certainly an unhealthy choice to make. Traveling on foot and soaking wet was something he couldn't let go. So he started loading up his gear into his, almost antique, tackle box. Gripping that in one hand and clenching the rod under that arm, he paced through the sand to reach the stranger.
"Oi!, he shouted not-too-loudly but with enough force to grab the man's attention. "Oi, come on in and shower off that sea, yeah?"
Fredrick's tone was light and smiling over its rough sound.
"And we'll get ya some new clothes," he added after examining the man's size. He looked similar enough in height, but Fredrick's frame was noticeably wider than the stranger's. "What can I call ya?" he then asked, respecting his privacy.
An aged Pelliper alit next to the two men. "Ah, Daisy," Fredrick said with a sad smile. The creature reminded him of his wife, ex-wife, but this Pelliper had a heart infinitely more genuine than that leech. The Pelican Pokemon looked up to the stranger and cooed cutely, however tired.