They reach the rangers outpost just before the sun's about to go down. The soft golden light of the evening sun leaks from the horizon as the cruiser makes its way into the parking space reserved for trainer vehicles.
The outpost is a collection of multi story buildings, each serving a specific purpose. One to house the researchers and ecologist doing research on the fields, another building for the pokemon rangers, another for trainer lodgings.
Lazarus takes the cruiser towards an empty parking spot after going through a checkpoint. The parking space is filled with cruisers like their own.
"We can get a room, but I want to camp outside. That's what we will be doing for an entire month, so we better get used to it." Lazarus says to his pokemon.
None of them mind.
Stepping outside the car, Lazarus can see pitched tents and camper vans everywhere. Trainers sit around in circles, chatting, while their pokemon play in the background.
He decides to pitch a tent before he goes to talk to anyone.
"Alright, come on out guys." Lazarus says as he opens the doors to the cruiser, "Go mingle around. I'll join you after I pitch the tent."
Eidolon is the first one out, he looks around and decides which place he wants to check out first.
"Don't get separated. Aurora you make sure none of these guys run off to someone."
Aurora looks at the overexcited Eidolon and Kamish who can't wait to fly around and sighs. She nods to Lazarus, accepting the responsibility of looking over her unruly siblings.
Eidolon decides on a place and takes Kamish with him, Aurora follows with Sol in tow.
Lazarus isn't worried about them, if someone happens he'll know through the psychic link. He opens the rear trunk of the cruiser and takes the tent out.
He looks around trying to find a good camping spot, but every place is pretty much the same, with groups of three or four colorful tent in a circle with a campfire in the middle.
He picks a group with an empty spot and makes his way over.
Three people, two male and one female, are preparing to light their campfire, with their pokemon are helping out. Machop, a humanoid looking pokemon is hauling wood. Cyndaquil, a small pokemon with a flame back is waiting to light the fire and a Buneary is dancing around with a few other smaller pokemon.
Machop sees Lazarus approaching and tells its trainer. The trainers give him a wave, which he returns.
"Evening guys." Lazarus smiles, the tent slinged on his shoulders.
"Hey stranger." The female, a year younger than Lazarus cheerfully greets back.
"What's up dude." A male trainer wearing a red Charizard t-shirt says.
"I was wondering if I could camp with you guys. If you don't mind." Lazarus asks.
"Oh yeah. The more the merrier. But you better have interesting stories to tell. These two are starting to bore me." The other male trainer wearing a blue jacket with a white t-shirt underneath says, as he hands another stack of wood to the Machop.
"Oh, we are boring you? Are we?" The female trainer says as she turns to the guy, "Who was it that was yapping the entire night about which pokemon keep the water of the Lake Verity clean and which ones don't?"
"Hey! water systems is an important field of ecology. But I wouldn't expect you to understand, you have never held a book in your entire life." The guy shoots back.
The girl ignores him and looks at Lazarus, "Don't worry about him, he's annoying. We'd be happy to have you. I'm Cloey by the way."
"Lazarus." He offers a handshake, "Nice to have met you."
She shakes his hand and then turns to the guy in the blue jacket, "You hear that Marin, this is how you treat a lady."
The guy sighs and says to Lazarus, "I'm Marin, and that is my annoying little sister. Don't take her too seriously, she has a habit of being... herself."
Lazarus chuckles in amusement, "I don't know man, she seems alright to me."
Cloey sticks her tongue out at Marin.
"Well, don't say I didn't warn ya later." Marin shurgs.
"I'm Jazz." The guy in the red shirt says, he looks to be a year or two older than Lazarus, the same as Marin.
"Nice to meet you." Lazarus nods at him.
"Let me help you out with that tent." Cloey says.
"Oh, don't worry about it. I'll manage the tent." Lazarus shakes his head.
"No. Let me help. I want to." Cloey pouts.
"Well, I can't refuse if you are being that nice. Now can I?" Lazarus agrees.
She helps him pitch the tent. Now there are four tents around their campfire.
"Oh! forgot to ask. Are you a trainer?" Cloey asks Lazarus as they make their way to the now lit campfire.
"Yep. I came here to train. What about you guys?"
"Umm. Marin and Jazz are doing a course on ecology, they have an assignment about... I don't know looking at grass or something, I wanted to see the pokemon in the area so I asked to come. Anyway can I see your pokemon?"
"My pokemon should be around here somewhere, I'll introduce them to you in a few minutes."
"Yay. So what kind of pokemon do you have?"
As they reach the campfire, Marin sees Cloey is on her seventh question in the last two minutes and says to Lazarus, "Should have taken my warning seriously when you had the chance."
Lazarus chuckles, "It's alright. I don't mind. I'm always happy to talk about my pokemon."
"Trust me bro. You won't be saying that in a few hours." Marin points him to a seat, which Lazarus takes.
"Guys he said he has a dragon. Can you believe it?" Cloey says to the group as she takes the seat next to her Buneary.
Jazz looks interested and turns to Lazarus, "Is that true?"
"Yeah." Lazarus nods.
"Which one?" Jazz likes dragons, he doesn't have one of his own but he does have t-shirts for every species of dragon there is.
"A Dreepy."
Jazz says in fascination, "Wow. I have never seen that one before. They are rare even in Galar, how did you even get one in Sinnoh?"
"Long story." Lazarus says.
"Bro, we are sitting around a campfire. Stories are what we need." Marin says.
"Oh and he has a Beldum as well." Cloey chimes again.
Jazz looks at Lazarus again.
"Yeah." Lazarus nods.
"Damn. Didn't know you were like that. I get to see two rare pokemon in a single day. Today is a good day." Marin says.
Cloey keep looking around, "You said they would be nearby but I can't see them. Where are they?"
"Let me see." Lazarus looks towards the other campsites, trying to locate where his pokemon went.
"Oh I think I found them." Cloey points to a spot not far away from them.
All four of them are circled around a pink pokemon. The Jigglypuff is singing a song, which makes all of them except Eidolon feel sleepy. He is dancing in the air to the tune of the song, Kamish is too but he is getting too drowsy.
'Guys, what are you doing? Get away from the Jigglypuff.' He says to all of them telepathically.
That makes the three of them alert, they all jolt back into their sense.
'A Jigglypuff's song can make you fall asleep.'
Kamish wants to hit the Jigglypuff with a dragon dash for making them almost fall asleep, but Aurora knows what he is like, so she scolds him with a yip before he can do it.
'Come here. I made some friends.'
They all come running to him.
"Can I pet the Vulpix, please please." Cloey asks Lazarus.
"You are going to have to ask her." Lazarus says.
"What's her name?" Cloey asks.
"Aurora."
Few minutes later, Kamish and Eidolon reach the campfire. Followed shortly by Sol and Aurora.
"There she is!" Cloey exclaims the moment she sees Aurora. "Hey Aurora, come here."
She looks at Lazarus, asking if it's safe to get close to this women.
Lazarus nods.
Aurora reluctantly goes near her.
"Wow, you are by far the most beautiful pokemon I have ever seen." Cloey exclaims as reaches her arms out to pick her up.
The praise makes Aurora pleased so she lets the women pick her up and pet her.
While Jazz looks at Kamish and Cloey plays with Aurora, Lazarus turns to Marin and says, "So, Cloey told me you are doing some kind of course on ecology."
"Yeah. Pokemon ecosystems."
"What can you tell me about the fields. I am looking to go deeper into the biome tomorrow."
Marin's eyes light up at the question, "What specifically do you want to know about? I can tell you about the geography, the temperature, the trees-"
"There he goes, the nerd." Cloey sighs, "Brace yourself, Aurora It's going to be another long night."