Almost

Taking her first step out of Rustboro City was an unusual experience, made all the more unusual by how normal it felt. This should be a momentous occasion, Summer thought, the first step out of the city where she'd spent the majority of her life. But it just felt... right. She supposed that meant she was ready; just yesterday she'd been a mere student, but today she was an aspiring ranger entrusted with a vital mission, two loyal pokémon by her side. She continued to walk onto the verdant Route 116, making sure to be vigilant; wild pokémon could jump out an any time, and it wasn't so early in the morning that she could be sure to avoid other trainers.

(Set the Scene - Route 116. Complication - An NPC acts suddenly. Altered Scene: Altered. Alteration: Add a Random Event. Random Event - What Happens - Communicate (Physical). Involving - Rumours (Technical). So, um... a lot to interpret here. Fortunately I can just borrow scenes from the actual pokémon games if I get really stuck :P)

Luck seemed to be on Summer's side as she managed to navigate the route without incident, and before too long she could see her goal, Rusturf Tunnel, looming in front of her. The tunnel was still being worked on, she knew, and could be treacherous, but it was the most direct route towards Lavaridge Town that didn't involve crossing the ocean, so she had **** but to enter the rugged cave where wild Whismur made their home.

As she went to approach the tunnel entrance, however, she heard heavy, charging footsteps behind her. Wheeling around, heartrate increasing, she was met with the sight of an olive-skinned man running towards her, clad in a blue bandana and clothing that gave him the somewhat comical appearance of someone dressed as a pirate for a fancy dress party. He was carrying a steel briefcase in one hand. Summer grabbed one of her pokéballs quickly, not sure of the man's intentions, but he acted almost as if she wasn't there, rushing past her and towards the entrance to Rusturf Tunnel.

Summer shrugged in bemusement, and was about to continue her own approach of the cave when another running man appeared behind her, dressed in a green suit and panting for breath, sweat dripping from his reddish-brown hair. "Y-you...!" he called out to her as he approached, stopping to rest against a nearby tree. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, but had a boyish quality about his face. "D-did you see a... a..."

"A man in a pirate outfit?" Summer asked. She was utterly bewildered by these events but couldn't deny being curious, even if she really shouldn't be stopping to talk to random strangers if she could avoid it. At the man's nod of confirmation, she nodded back. "He went into the tunnel," she said, and the man sank further down against the tree.

"Dammit... I'll never catch him now! And even if I do, he'd just destroy me with his pokémon! Man, I'm so fired!"

Summer frowned. The man didn't mean anything to her, but... she was someone who tried to help those in need, even somewhat pathetic office workers like this guy clearly was. "What exactly happened?" she asked.

"The briefcase I was carrying contained important parts for a job my company, the Devon Corporation, is working on," sighed the man, clearly willing to divulge his woes to anyone who would listen, including random teenaged girls he'd never met before. "And that guy mugged me for it back in the Petalburg Woods!" he continued. "What's worse, I know exactly who he is, and he's bad news. There's a rumour about an extremist gang forming to oppose the noble work of Team Magma. That guy has to be one of them - Team Aqua!"

The noble work of Team Magma? Given what Roxanne had told Summer about the team's true activities, the wording made her uncomfortable. But still... stealing was unquestionably immoral behaviour, under any circumstances. "And he's a pokémon trainer, right?" Summer asked. "And you're not?" The man nodded, shakily. Summer gritted her teeth. A man with the privilege of training pokémon, using them to prey on someone who couldn't even defend himself. She knew what she had to do - it was reckless, but she didn't care. "I'll get your briefcase back for you," she said. "Just wait there!" Before the Devon employee could say another word, Summer was off, hurtling towards Rusturf Tunnel at full pelt.

(Fitness [1d8] check for pursuing the thief - rolls 8. 8 explodes, 2nd roll is 6. 8+6=14 - critical success!)

Summer knew she needed to sprint hard to have a chance at catching up with the apparent 'Team Aqua' member, so didn't slow down even as the light faded around her, the grass under her feet turning to hard stone as she entered the gloomy cave. Running as fast as she was with such limited light, she was lucky to not trip on a stray rock and injure herself, but Arceus seemed to be on her side today, in more ways than one. As her eyes adjusted to the low light and she rounded a corner, she saw the man in pirate garb in front of her, his path forward blocked off by rubble - there had clearly been a cave-in at some time before he had entered the tunnel.

"S-stop right there!" she called out, coming to a stop a few feet away from him. Her heart pounded in her chest, and not just from all the running - confronting a regular trainer could be dangerous for inexperienced girls, let alone a criminal like this guy. Regardless, she raised the pokéball containing her Marill in front of her and stared the thief down as he turned to face her. "G-give me that briefcase! Right now!" she commanded.

(Action Focus - How does the man respond? - Deceive (Physical).)

Surprisingly, the man did not immediately throw out his pokémon and launch an attack - perhaps he was less confident in his abilities as a trainer than Summer assumed. Instead, his face changed to one of desperation. "Please..." he said, his voice surprisingly timid. "This briefcase, it... it has medicine inside. Medicine for my daughter." Summer lowered her pokéball hesitantly. This hadn't at all been the response she'd expected. "She's sick," the man elaborated. "Really sick. Devon make the only cure for her condition and... they overcharge for it. Look at me." He gestured down at his clothing. "I'm not a rich guy. I had to steal it; it's the only way to make her better. Please... you take this case away from me, you're denying my daughter a chance at surviving. I... I don't think I could take it..."

(Research [1d6-2] check (-2 for Summer's 'Gullible' hindrance) for if Summer is fooled - rolls 6-2. 6 explodes, 2nd roll is 6-2, 6 explodes again, 3rd roll is 6 AGAIN! Think it's safe to just say critical success at this point lmao; Summer is rolling pretty great today. I'll reward her by allowing her next roll to be an auto-success.)

Summer studied the man's face, trying to see if she could discern how sincere the man was being, before her eyes drifted down to the briefcase. There was lettering on it. She couldn't make all of it out in the dim light of the tunnel, but... was that something about turbines? Her eyes narrowed. This wasn't medicine. "You're lying," she snapped. "Now give it here, thief!" As she raised Marill's pokéball once again, she saw something move behind the alleged Team Aqua member.

(Summer uses her 'Pokémon Ranger' edge to enlist a wild pokémon's help.)

The wild Whismur, disturbed by the noise being made by the two humans, locked eyes with Summer only briefly before seeming to come to a decision. A terrible wail was emitted from the pink pokémon's mouth, right into the pirate-garbed man's ears.

(Wild Whismur uses Uproar - auto-success).

At the high-pitched sound the man cursed and covered his ears with his hands, dropping the briefcase to the floor - Summer sprang into action, darting forward and retrieving the steel case before retreating back away from the criminal.

"Dammit!" he cursed, whirling around to glare at the rogue wild pokémon and throw a pokéball, releasing a Koffing. Summer, however, took this opportunity to throw out her Marill, meaning the man and his poison-type pokémon were outflanked.

"You really want to try that?" she asked, and the man cursed again.

"You'll pay for this, bitch," he snarled. "You haven't heard the last of Team Aqua. Koffing, Smokescreen!"

(Koffing uses Smokescreen [2d6], rolls 1 & 6 - success.)

Thick, black smog erupted from Koffing's body, and all of Summer's vision was lost to her. Panic gripped her as she realised she had effectively been rendered defenceless in the fog, but when the smoke cleared she saw only the wild Whismur in front of her, starting to scurry away - the man and his Koffing were gone. She wasn't sure how he had gotten away with a rockslide blocking his only exit, but Summer wasn't going to take any chances; she scurried out of the cave as quickly as she could with Marill following along behind her. She clutched the briefcase tightly as she ran, and as her nerves started to calm down she felt immensely proud of herself - what she'd just done was proper Pokémon Ranger work. As she stepped out into the light of Route 116 once again, she couldn't help but smile to herself - these last couple of days had been full of ups and downs, but nothing could dampen the feeling of being able to accomplish the goals she'd had since she was a little girl.

She found the Devon employee still slumped where he had been previously, but he quickly stood as she approached, face lightening up as he saw the briefcase in her hands. "You did it! Holy shit, you did it!" he beamed, practically glowing with relief as Summer handed him back the briefcase. "Thank Arceus you were here, um... shit, sorry, I didn't get your name."

"Summer," she replied, the man's obvious gratitude making her feel even prouder of what she'd accomplished.

"Nice to meet you, Summer," the man said. "I'm Cody. I work in R&D at Devon. If you come back with me to the office, I'm sure my boss would be happy to reward you."

"It's no trouble," she said quickly. "I really don't expect anything in return for helping out. Besides, I'm hoping to get to Verdanturf Town by the end of today, so I don't really want to head back to the city." She grimaced a little as she realised that there was now a mountain of rubble blocking the direct path through Rusturf Tunnel. That was definitely going to make things more complicated.

"Oh..." Cody looked taken aback. "Well, uh... I have to have something I can give you. Um..."

(How Much - What is Cody's reward? - Surprisingly lacking).

He rummaged in his pockets for a few moments before pulling something out. "Ah, here!"

Summer stared at the object in his hand. It was unmistakeably a pack of condoms, each with the Devon Corporation's logo featured prominently. Summer's face flushed. "What the hell?!" she snapped. "You're giving me condoms?!"

"They're all I have on me!" Cody protested, clearly a little hurt. "Besides, you trainer girls need them, right? Can never be too careful!"

Summer scowled at him but knew that, actually, he was kind of right. While a lot of male trainers would just outright refuse to use a condom when claiming a forfeit, them being easily accessible certainly made them more likely to do so; the contraceptives were therefore almost as important for a girl to have on a pokémon journey as pokéballs. Reluctantly, Summer took the condoms from Cody and shoved them in her shorts pocket. (Summer gains condoms x10).

Cody smiled, looking relieved. "Oh, I can give you my Pokégear number, too!" At the expression Summer made in response, he quickly added. "N-not in that way! I-I mean, you're very pretty, but I have a girlfriend. Well. Friend who's a girl. Um. It's complicated, alright! But having a contact in Devon Corp is a pretty sweet deal for a trainer like you, especially in R&D like me! I can hook you up with sweet gadgets and stuff! Probably. I think."

Summer ended up exchanging numbers with Cody, more to get him to go away than out of any desire to remain in future contact with him or receive any 'sweet gadgets' down the road. Finally, giving one last statement of thanks, Cody headed back to Rustboro City, briefcase in hand, allowing Summer to continue on with her quest... or try to, at least. Getting to Verdanturf Town had just become a whole lot more difficult...