hmm, she's a prickly one. he mused to himself, his ever-present smile never faltering even as her tone cut into him. barnaby decided to save himself the headache of trying to befriend her and would simply focus on the mission for now. he was, in fact, not an idiot and had definitely picked up on summer's disinterest.[break][break]

so, he'd step back and let her take the lead. "of course, my apologies." his voice was light and pleasant. she exited the van and he followed suit, swinging by the back of the vehicle to grab their supply-filled backpacks before heading out. he offered her one. "please, after you." he almost purred, every word dripped in honey. perhaps they would get along in time. the prickliest plants always seemed to have the most beautiful flowers, after all.[break][break]

following a small trek into the interior of the forest, the pair arrived at a particularly large clearing. an abundance of pikachu scurried throughout the space; some roamed through the tall grass looking for dropped apricorns, others were chipping away at a couple of scattered boulders, and a select few were resting by a quiet pond in the distance. barnaby crouched at the treeline and watched the swarm for a moment or two before leaning toward summer and asking, "how would you like to approach this?"[break][break]

+ Summer Atreides [break]
mission: pika pickup[break]
bingo prompt 1/4

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

barnaby nodded along as summer spoke, processing her plan and weighing it against his. "i like your idea. most of these pikachu look relatively young, so they shouldn't pose too much of a problem." he paused a moment to glance over and inspect her EMBOAR. my, what a brute of a pokémon. [break][break]

"i agree, space is key here. we can't have them running off into the forest. i'll sneak around to the other side of the clearing and begin there." barnaby looked to summer for confirmation, but quickly added, "ah! i almost forgot to mention. here." he shouldered his backpack off of him and unzipped it to reveal its contents: a mass of rubber-lined netting. "this may come in handy. use it if you'd like. there's some in your pack as well."[break][break]

and that was it. game on. he rezipped his bag and began to carefully slink along the edge of the wood. once he reached the opposite side of the glade, he'd quietly release three of his pokémon: fleur, odette, and celeste. an alolan NINTETALES, kantoan NINETALES, and LIEPARD, respectively. these pokémon were lithe, swift, and cunning. perfect for what he had planned next.

[break][break]

+ Summer Atreides [break]
mission: pika pickup

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

The four of them studied their quarry for a moment. They were situated beside the pond, just at the edge of the forest. From this vantage point Barnaby had a good view of the group of PIKACHU nearest the water; they were lounging leisurely, sleeping the afternoon away. Easy prey. A few words and a simple hand signal toward his Pokémon began the HUNT.[break][break]

It was systematic. Flawless, as most things that Barnaby did were. He paid a hefty price for each of his Pokémon and that money bought near-perfection. The three of them were fast as greased lighting and within seconds had surrounded the group of electric rodents. Dual beams of fire and ice struck the PIKACHU before they could even register what was happening. Once they were sufficiently weakened, Barnaby cast his rubber-lined net over them for good measure. Each was soon secured in its own Poké Ball. [break][break]

With the first group taken care of, Barnaby signaled for his girls to move forward. That was, until, Big Papa RAICHU came barreling out of a particularly tall patch of grass. And by barreling I mean it was actually unleashing a ferocious VOLT TACKLE upon its nearest opponent - Odette. "Merde! Evade!" And the NINETALES did indeed... but just barely. The RAICHU rerouted quickly and turned to face the invaders, electricity crackling along its entire body. Perhaps this wouldn't be as easy as Barnaby thought.

[break][break]

+ Summer Atreides [break]
mission: pika pickup[break]
bingo prompt 2/4

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Summer to the rescue, indeed.[break][break]

She strode over with a kind of languid confidence that Barnaby admired. He gladly welcomed her help and, upon the successful netting of RAICHU, let out a sigh of relief. The rubber netting nullified its electric attacks and left the giant rodent vulnerable. Despite this, it still thrashed wildly about, threatening to undo their progress.[break][break]

"No, unfortunately not. But this should do just fine." Barnaby replied casually.[break][break]

"Fleur, blind it." She obliged with a DAZZLING GLEAM, leaving the RAICHU wailing in pain and pawing at its eyes.[break][break]

"Odette, burn it." The NINETALES followed up with a fiery WILL-O-WISP. As you can imagine, the smell of charred fur wasn't the most appetizing.[break][break]

Barnaby threw his last Poké Ball at the RAICHU. The capture was a success.

[break][break]

+ Summer Atreides sorry for the wait! ;-; i wasn't feeling well the past week or so and am just now getting my strength back[break]
mission: pika pickup[break]
bingo prompt 3/4

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

A cursory glance around the now-emptied meadow showed that their mission was indeed at an end. Whatever stragglers remained had long escaped into the safety of the forest.[break][break]

"Yes, I believe so." Barnaby smiled at Summer, content with their work and admittedly glad to begin the journey back to headquarters.[break][break]

Still, the RAICHU's screams lingered in his mind. He didn't relish causing the Pokémon pain, but in their line of work it was a necessary evil.[break][break]

After collecting their equipment the pair of ROCKETs returned to their van and stashed the captured Pokémon in the back. Barnaby elected to drive again, but decided against the probing questions and road trip games this time.[break][break]

He did, however, stop at Pokébucks on the way home to celebrate their success. Two venti pumpkin spice lattes, to-go!

[break][break]

+ Summer Atreides that's a wrap! thanks for threading with me~[break]
mission: pika pickup[break]
bingo prompt 4/4

[attr="class","pokeclass"]