Nicole Newman, June 9th, Budew Drop Inn, Motostoke, Galar
Nicole looked at the pictures that Lara had ready, taking her time to analyze the pictures. Ignoring Lara's fumbles, the woman looked at her pictures with a sharp eye. The pictures were of good quality and showed a lot of passion, even if they were a bit old. As she finished seeing all of the pictures, the woman smiled at Lara. "You've got talent, those are some good pictures. You can take pride in them, I have yet to see any pictures that get close to that level."
Stretching her arms, Nicole covered her mouth as she yawned. "Excuse me, but I think I'll go to sleep. It's been a busy day and you are probably tired as well. Thank you for bringing me here, good night." She stood up and made her way to her room, untying her hair as she fell asleep.
Nicole Newman, June 10th, Budew Drop Inn, Motostoke, Galar
Nicole awoke early, getting dressed and getting a simple breakfast as she waited for Lara to show up. It was the reasonable thing to do, as the redheaded girl did get her a place to sleep. As she took a sip of her coffee, she looked out of the window. It was going to be a nice day for flying, clear skies with decent winds. Hopefully Cassidy would behave herself, she really did not want to deal with an angry Skarmory. She could handle an angry Cassidy, but Lara? She had her doubts.
--------------
Ezio Farello, June 10th, Sky Fortress, Oblivia
Morning had come in the Oblivia region, and a night of discomfort left to make place for it. Ezio awoke with a sore body, the result of falling asleep on what was essentially a giant rock. Pasados' Rhyperior had yet to let go of the man, and he was forced to sleep against the Drill Pokémon. As the sun rays shone on the Pokémon, she awoke with a big yawn, revealing her sharp teeth. Still, she seemed to be very friendly, as if she didn't see Ezio as a threat. The Rhyperior looked around before her eyes landed on the armor, causing her to let her head hang. The grief was still fresh.
Unable to do much more, Ezio patted the Pokémon's stomach in an attempt to comfort her. Minutes passed before the Rhyperior let Ezio go and she stood up, clearly stiff due to old age. The man wasted no time in getting up, though he also was not immune to old age or a bad night's rest. Rolling his shoulders, he picked up the armor and showed it to the Rhyperior, who finally seemed to accept the fact that her old partner was no longer among them. The Rock type let out one last wailing cry before turning to Ezio, staring at him patiently, as if waiting for something.
Ezio understood what the Rhyperior waited for and reached into his satchel. The only Pokéballs he had available were Timer Balls, but it felt fitting for how long this girl had to wait for a resolution of what happened to her partner. Offering the Timer Ball to the Pokémon, she touched the ball and got engulfed in a red glow, before entering the ball and being caught. Looking down at his new partner, Ezio clutched the ball close to his chest before looking up at the sky, a breeze blowing through his hair. As he looked at the blue sky, the man whispered.
"I will take good care of her."
With the Rhyperior having a good home, that left the Rock Armor. Laws and regulations meant that he couldn't just take it home, as that was essentially graverobbing and could get his permit revoked. It wasn't as if he had a will or something from Pasados either. Whilst no one knew it existed, and he could easily write it off as an held item, it would not sit right with him. He'd have to turn it in to a museum or return it to the site where he found it, and the latter was not the most appealing option. He felt the power of the regular armor, let alone this specialized armor. He could not let this fall into the wrong hands.