It took her all of 45 seconds to figure out where the culprits had rushed off to, and another two minutes to catch up with them. Keran didn't particularly enjoy chasing down low lifes, but she didn't have much of a choice with this one. She was the authority figure here, even if she was new to the job. "Hold it!" She called, attempting to add a threatening tone to her voice.
The grunt cackled, stuffing his pilfered goods into the bag on his back. He wouldn't give these up for anything! Even that terrifying sounding woman. "Not a chance! I'm going to make the boss proud!" He ducked inside a tunnel, grabbing a wingull along the way. Now he had a hostage to negotiate his way out, and as soon as he cleared the tunnel, he was home free! Boss Maxie would be so proud of him. He might even get a promotion! 2nd best level E grunt! He could taste the sweet sweet praise already~
Keran growled, enraged at the felon that was running from her. She'd gotten there just in time to see him steal a poor old man's wingull and dash into a cave. This was soooo not what she'd signed up for. "Sir, stay out here and wait. I'll get your wingull back to you safe and sound in just a few minutes." She attempted to reassure him, hoping he'd listen. She knew what she was doing, so he should just listen to her.
Not waiting to see if he would actually listen, she ran in right after the grunt, chasing him to the dead end in the middle of the tunnel. "You're not getting away now" She growled, her posture having turned into something a lot more threatening than a fresh faced trainer. She'd been down this road before and she knew how to handle these types of jerks. They didn't care a thing about their pokemon, it was just about their own goals.
"Tch." He spat, realizing he was backed into a corner. "I don't care how scary you are, you ain't getting these parts back, or this wingull." To emphasize his point, he threw his pokeball, releasing a poochyena to battle. "Go!"
"Blaze, double kick!" Keran stood aside, letting Blaze get a running jump at this poochyena. It was all the guy had on him, and she obviously had the upperhand here. Not only did his attack land, it was a critical. It knocked their opponent out in one shot. "Good, now back down." She called, advancing to the now suddenly scared grunt.
"I told you you're not getting away. Now hand over the parts and release that poor man's wingull." Keran threatened, getting into his face. Clearly this grunt had no idea who he was dealing with. If Blaze was able to win a battle with just one blow, this grunt should be terrified of the power of pokemon she traveled with.
"F-fine! Just don't tell my boss!" He threw his hands up in defeat. The wingull he'd stolen just moments ago rushed away from him, returning to it's owner. One hand in the air, he reached for his shoulder bag, retrieving the stolen parts. "Here, you can keep the stupid things. We'll find another way." He huffed, holding the out to her.
Keran kept her eyes on the grunt, spotting the freed wingull in her peripheral. She reached out to take the offending parts, managing to wrap her fingers around them when he shoved her aside and rushed out of the tunnel.
He may not have had the ability to escape her, but there was no way he was going to get caught up going to jail. Maxie would have his hide, and he'd be kicked out of Team Magma for sure! He'd already catch a lot of flak for deserting the situation and not getting the parts, but what could he do? That pasty woman was really terrifying when she was mad!
She winced, having been pushed into the rather rocky wall. It hurt more than she would ever admit to anyone, but that wasn't her concern. There was someone approaching and she couldn't look like she'd just gotten beat up. Really, she'd just gotten angry and threatened a poor guy until he ran away and gave back what he'd stolen.
"Are you okay?" She asked, standing up straight, looking directly at the older man who'd come in to check on her. "Did he hurt you on the way back out?"
"Thank you so much! You saved my darling Peeko!" He pulled Keran into a tight embrace. "If you ever need a ride anywhere on the oceans, please come by my house! Peeko and I would love to help you out!" Mr. Briney smiled wide, releasing her from his shockingly strong grip. There was no way he was going to let this debt go unpaid. She was just too kind!
"But you are okay?" She asked, looking at him a little incredulous. "Please, it's not that big a deal. Dealing with these guys is my job. I'm just glad you and Peeko are together again." Keran nodded, truly glad to see the two reunited.
"We're fine. Thank you again Young Lady." He hugged her again, taking off with Peeko. They had some bonding to resume. His darling Peeko had to be in shock. He needed to comfort the poor girl.
Okay. Well that guy was weird, but then, who in this world wasn't a little weird? Keran sighed, walking out of the cave. Somewhere in the back of her mind she noted the the cave was really a tunnel, but it wasn't anywhere near an important thought to her at that moment in time. She was far more concerned with something entirely different. Team Magma was quickly turning into a problem. They were before, but it was something she could ignore for a little while.
As she exited the cave, the scientist she'd helped in the woods greeted her. "Thank you again!" He assaulted her, grabbing his savior's hand. "Come with me, Mr. Stone wants to meet you." He gushed, dragging her along. Mr. Stone really did want to meet this extremely helpful young lady, and she did have the parts that were just stolen from their building. It was only right that she manage to get them back.
"Uh.. Okay?" She was confused. It didn't look like she was getting out of this, but she could at least take her hand back. And she did, snatching it back quickly. He was pushy, but at least he understood that small decency.
It didn't take them long to reach the Devon building, and even less time to reach the top floor. And that was climbing the stairs of all things.
"Okay, wait here just a minute, I'll tell Mr. Stone you're here." He had stopped entirely, blocking Keran's path to the director. He was certain she could easily shove him aside, especially after the way she handled the thief that was so keen on throwing a wrench in their plans.
The scientist approached Mr. Stone's desk, smiling at him. "Sir, the young woman who recovered the stolen items is here."
"Good good. Send her over." He waved, chair turned around and facing the window to the rear of the desk. This girl, he had a feeling about her. But first, he needed to talk to her.
"This way, this way. Mr. Stone is ready to see you." He urged, trying to pull Keran towards his boss. Maybe she'd become a co-worker. Mr. Stone was generous like that… Arceus knew he wouldn't mind the chance to interact with such a pretty woman daily.
"Right, thanks." She brushed the scientist off. Ker wanted nothing to do with the whimpering man, not in the way he thought he had a chance with her. "Please excuse me." Green eyes snapped away from the scientist to be directed at the back of the chair. This was something involving business, there was no reason for another party.
"Thank you Rodger, if you'd please excuse us." Mr. Stone dismissed the scientist. Rodger was lucky he wasn't being fired. He'd almost been robbed in the woods just outside of town, and then he was actually robbed while inside the building.
"O-oh. Okay. Thank you Sir." He bowed, quickly exiting the office.
"Right then." He turned around, facing the young woman that had been so kind to rescue his pilfered items. "Please, have a seat Ma'am. Someone will be in momentarily to bring you something to drink." Mr. Stone gestured to the chair just in front of his desk. He waited a moment for her to be seated. "I'd like to thank you for recovering those parts. As it were, they're fairly important to a project in Slateport." He started.
Keran started reaching into her bag to fish out the parts she'd just gotten back. "I have them right here." Her fingers wrapped around the package. All it took was a gentle tug and it was sitting in her lap. "Here you are Sir." Ker deposited it on his desk. Returning the items. She was, in theory, done here now.
"Ah, thank you again. I'd like to ask a couple of favors of you. I'm sure it's on your way, but I'd still like to compensate you for the trouble." He began again, making no move to tuck the package anywhere. "But first, it's lovely to meet you. I'm Joseph Stone. Please, call me Joe." He smirked, "What may I call you?"
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Stone." She gave him her patented fake smile. "I'm Keran, of the Johto Pokemon League." At least he would know he wasn't dealing with an amature. This was technically her job.
"You must be the new member my son was talking about." Mr. Stone continued to smile, truly happy to have met her. "I see Johto's not slacking in their selections. You're a very accomplished trainer." He complimented. "And you used a combusken to fend off the young man who stole those parts? Why a low level pokemon like him?" Mr. Stone questioned, shocked a member of the Elite Four would carry around a young pokemon rather than their established powerful team.
"Thank you Sir." She bowed her head in acceptance of his compliments. "Blaze isn't quite as low level as you'd think Mr. Stone. I'm traveling with him because he wants to be a strong pokemon. I also can't seem to transfer my league team over here just yet. I need to speak with a young lady named Lanette?" She sounded a bit confused. Mostly in that she was making sure this was accurate information. If he had a son in the local league, then he would most certainly know about transfering pokemon from one region to another.
"Ah. You're training a wonderful pokemon." He smiled wide, "Yes, Miss Lanette would be who you should talk to about transferring your pokemon. She's completely designed the holding system here in Hoenn." Mr. Stone nodded, confirming her information. "I'll give her a call once we're done and let her know you're on your way. Incidentally, my favor does happen to be on your way. My son should be in Dewford right now, looking for more rare stones. Would you be so kind to take this letter to him for me?" He asked, pushing an envelope towards Keran. "And taking those parts to Capt. Stern in Slateport? It's a bit of a roundabout way to get to Fallarbor, but right now, it's the only way. We were working on a tunnel from here to Verdanturf, but it was harming the whismur that live in the area and we were forced to stop."
"Since it's on my way, how could I possibly say no?" She smiled, a little irritated this trip was going to take so long. At least she knew they couldn't possibly be making this trip any harder on her than it already was. Hell, Mr. Stone was probably about to arrange the trip between the three cities. "Letter to your son, parts to Capt. Stern."
"Yes yes!" He continued to smile. "May I borrow your pokenav for just a few moments?" Mr. Stone asked, holding out his hand for the device. Surely she would hand it to him. And of course, she did. He tapped a few buttons, plugged something into it, and tapped a few more buttons. After he removed the device and handed it back to her. "There you are, completely updated to contain the latest apps and keep you up to date with the news and such."
"Um, thank you again Mr. Stone." She was a little confused, but took back her device. All this technology at their fingertips, and they still hadn't managed to come up with a way to combine a phone, pokenav, and a pokedex in a compact manner yet.
"It also includes a communication feature. It's in its experimental stages right now and can't do two way speech yet, but it will allow you to deliver your voice messages in real time. Provided the recipient isn't otherwise occupied." He explained, having caught her look of confusion. "Of course, this isn't what I was going to compensate you with." Mr Stone didn't want her to think for a second he expected to give her so little for such tasks.
"Mr. Stone, I couldn't possibly accept anything more. I'm quite literally, just doing my job." She insisted, not entirely sure if she should even consider taking payment for this.
"Oh, but I insist." His tone seemed jovial. "An all expense paid trip on the S.S. Anne for two. And of course, treatment befitting a luminary such as yourself. Everyone will bow to your every whim." The way he spoke of it, he wouldn't take no for an answer. "You deserve to relax every now and then, and a cruise is a wonderful way to manage that. Of course, all your pokemon are welcome, and if you'd like the entire ship to yourself and your guest, just say the word." Truly, the cruise liner was at his beck and call. This gesture was nothing to him. So long as she was able to enjoy it and herself.
"I couldn't possibly accept that Mr. Stone!" She was shocked he'd offer something so lavish so freely. She was acting like a Delibird for him! There was no reason for him to go out of his way to do something like this for her! "Please, why don't you donate the money you'd spend on this trip to charity?" She suggested, hoping he would take her up on that one.
"It's too late Keran, the tickets are already here." He grinned, placing them on top of the envelope for his son. "This really isn't costing me a penny, and I won't take no for an answer. You don't have to go on a cruise now, but you should at least consider it soon." As soon as he'd finished a beep sounded on an intercom.
"Mr. Stone, your next appointment is here." Said the voice, crackling through the poor quality of the intercom.
"If you'll please excuse me Keran, it seems work calls again. I hope you have a safe trip." He smiled again, not giving her a chance to deny his offer again. "Dorris will show you the exit. And please, you're always welcome here at Devon."
Ker sighed, collecting the items, some forced, some willingly taken. She may have been being dismissed, but she wouldn't find it rude. A bit forceful perhaps, but not rude. Too bad she didn't know who to bring with her on this unwanted cruise. It could be fun if she were ever in the mood for it...