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Sev watched Leo scurry back to his companions for a moment, before she realized that she had, in fact, completely forgotten about the two girls at the bottom of the pit. She scrambled over to the edge of the hole and kneeled down, peering carefully at the bottom. Two girls stared back up at her, faces morphing from fear to hope, probably out of relief that she wasn't in the same uniform as the grunts had been.

She gave a small wave, and called down, "Are you two okay?" Not a moment later, she found herself joined by Dusty, as well as by the Torchic and the Vulpix (who were keeping a cautious distance), all looking down the hole as well. Sev knew she didn't have a rope. She thought about trying to dig at the edge, lowering it enough that the girls could pull themselves up or she could reach them, but even if Dusty was a Ground-Type he did still have nubby legs. Trapinch are built to make traps out of sand, not really to even out the edge of a dirt pit to help people climb out.

"Okay, think," she said to herself. "What do I do?"

"No... No, I don't." Sev's face fell. "He never told me." She put the photograph hastily back in her pocket. Dusty drew next to her and nuzzled her leg with his snout, churring quietly.

Looking up, Sev could see the other two grunts getting furiously impatient. "You should really go now, before they come back to get you. And thanks," she added, mustering up a smile. "That's the first lead I've gotten. It means a lot."

"No, but he's an old friend," she explained. "A very important one. And I really need to find him."

She looked at him hopefully. He seemed to know something, and that was a first. Dusty, a little weary-looking, toddled over to his Trainer and looked between the two people curiously.

Surprised as she was, she accepted the Pal Pad number. "Don't worry, I'll figure something out. You should probably go, though," she said, gesturing toward the other grunts.

He looked back to see his leader's impatience and visibly cringed. He turned to her one more time to attempt a good-bye, but Sev was pulling something out of her jacket pocket and she held it out to him.

It was a photograph. In it, a giggly little girl was sitting on the back of a prancing Absol, fingers curled in its white fur. Close by the playful duo, waving at the photographer and smiling warmly, was a man of about thirty. He had a sharp face and a thick build, and the arm he wasn't waving seemed to be in a cast at his side.

He looked up from the photograph to see Sev's face had become more serious.

"Before you go, though," she said quietly, pointing to the guy in the photo, "have you seen this man?"

Sev did not move an inch. Dusty, used to this being the way of things, did not move either, and did his best to keep his jaws closed and not look threatening.

"I'm Sev," the trainer continued, her voice soft and careful. "Dusty and I are traveling all over the region. We've just started out, but he and I have been friends for a long time." Sev couldn't say how common or uncommon it might be to tell wild Pok?mon your life story, but as much as it was an effort to assure them that you mean no harm, it can also draw the attention of any Pok?mon with a sense of adventure. She'd seen it in action just as often as she'd heard Risaire's stories.

"I once calmed down a territorial Ursaring by telling it a joke. Never underestimate a Pok?mon's capacity to understand you, Sev. Many of them know more than we could ever imagine."

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, she reached a little further forward, brought the Berries a little bit closer.

Surprised that the red-haired grunt had paused, Sev locked eyes with him. There was harshness there, but also a little softness, and she felt compelled to apologize. "It wasn't personal," she offered, not finding it right to force a smile. "But we couldn't just stand by. I'm sorry-"

"Uh oh." Sev took a moment to look up from her tickling victim to see that the Rattata had all been knocked out. She looked back at him and grinned, still teasing his sides. "Looks like you guys are out of Pok?mon now. So how about we negotiate now?"

Both grunts--even the one holding the other one down--looked up, startled, and found their defeated Pok?mon around them. The red-haired grunt gave her a mutinous glare, but held his ally down long enough to let Sev get up safely.

She brushed herself off and looked between the three of them. "So, then. I'll ask nicely again. How about you guys let those girls out of this pit you dug, and we all go our separate ways?"

"Good," Sev whispered to Dusty, fishing through her bag. "I have a couple berries left. How about we make a friend, big guy?"

Dusty nodded and looked to the pair of Deerling, eyes sparkling with determination toward the friendship.

Sev positioned herself carefully in the shrubs, hoping to not startle the two Pok?mon when she would finally come out. Risaire's methods of capturing Pok?mon had always been a bit unorthodox, but considering they had netted him a phenomenal partner like Solte, Sev had unshakable faith in them. Faith in herself, maybe not so much, but definitely faith in her mentor,

With a deep breath, she stepped out before the Pok?mon, holding out an Oran Berry in each hand. "Hey, there," she said quietly, easily, trying to emulate the tone Risaire would always take when he met wild Pok?mon. The Deerling started, heads bolting up and legs tensing, and they eyed her warily. "Easy now. Easy. Dusty and I here would like to be friends. Is that okay?"

Sev's Edu: Pokemon:
Rolled 2d6+3 : 4, 6 + 3, total 13

 "Atta boy!" Sev cheered breathlessly, seeing the Rattata her partner had knocked out now that she was free from the grunt and back on her feet. "Now, onto the next one! Bite again!"

As her Pok?mon rushed to follow through with the order, she noticed too late when one of the other Rattata intercepted. Dusty let out a growl as he was hit, but stayed on his feet and took the opportunity to get close and attack himself.

Fairly confident her Trapinch could handle things for the moment, she turned her attention to the duo rolling and thrashing on the ground. The red-haired one had definitely helped her out, and even with no faith in her personal fighting skills she felt she ought to lend him a hand. Luckily, the girl of the trio was distracted by her unconscious Rattata, so Sev rolled up her sleeves, took a deep breath, and when the dark-haired guy was on top of the pile she jumped in and aimed right for his sides.

"Aren't you guys on the same side?" The dark-haired guy, in between fits of frustrated laughter, tried to buck her off but she held on, tickling him with all her might.

"Get in close and use Bite!" Sev called, and Dusty made a move for the nearest Rattata, snapping his jaws shut hard.

 "So much for that... All right, Dusty," Sev called, and the Trapinch let out a growl in readiness, "get to those Rattata! We have to help that Vulpix!"

Dusty, eyeing the grunts carefully, began skirting them and the hole. Sev watched them, too, as well as the Torchic, waiting to see if they meant to go after either Pok?mon.

Dusty had started training on his own this morning. Or at least, Sev was pretty sure this was his idea of training.

The Trapinch had found a small hill near their campsite, and had taken to pitching himself down it. With his head so large and round, the journey involved a lot of rolling and wobbling, and more often than not he would end up on his back, flailing in frustration as he tried to get back on his feet. He'd grunt and grumble and his tiny legs would kick in the air, and it was equal parts adorable and unnerving for Sev, especially when he threw a fit when she tried to roll him back over.

"I just want to help!" she insisted, but his little growls seemed to equate to "Noooo, let me get this!" and she'd settled for sitting in the grass at the hill's bottom, watching him.

It took a good portion of the afternoon??he'd refused to stop for lunch??but Sev began to notice him catching himself on his feet a bit more often, and rolling back upright just a little bit faster. With dinner fast approaching, she decided she'd try whipping up something special to reward him for his hard work today. And maybe also to fill him up enough that he might feel like actually taking it easy tomorrow.

"Ah, look out?!" Sev's hand shot out, trying to catch the girl on her way down, but to no avail. She heard the thud and two surprised yelps from the bottom of the pit. "Oookay," she thought, turning to the trio with the most placating smile she could manage. "New plan. You guys seem like charming, intelligent folk, and I'm not really one for violence. And I think we can all agree that trapping a poor girl in the bottom of a pit is a little unnecessary. So, how about this?"

Pulling out Dusty's Pok?ball again, she aimed it toward the Trapinch, ready to withdraw it. "You guys call back your Pok?mon, and I'll call back mine. No fighting, no one in any danger." When the trio stared back at her but didn't protest, she took that as a sign that she could continue. "Then, you guys move along, leave this pit and these girls behind, and we all part ways as friends." She turned to the red-haired stranger specifically. "Please?" she asked gently. "I don't like fighting."

Sev was relieved to see that this girl was not in the same uniforms these others were wearing. She was not so glad that the ones who were in uniform (and still actually paying attention) had redirected their focus and were eyeing the Torchic greedily.

And the new girl was heading right for the face-off.

"Hoo, boy," she muttered, eyes darting from Trainer to Trainer to Pok?mon to Pok?mon, "what've we gotten ourselves into?"