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[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie nodded attentively in response, eyeing the floating pink mist with trepidation. She'd heard many stories of the interdream mist but had never encountered it before, let alone interacted with it. But then, she'd never been this close to a faction battlefield before either, so she was certainly willing to listen to any advice and instructions Zev had to offer.

Half an hour ago, she'd been in her happy place. She'd been enjoying the task of organizing and packing up bags and boxes of Rocket-issued Pokeballs, weapons, and armor. The red-haired smith had loved the opportunity to handle the guns, swords, knives, and tactical armor from Rocket's arsenal and armory. Some of it had even come from her forge, which never failed to fill her with a surge of pride.

But now it was time to deliver all those goods, starting with the Pokeballs of backup and emergency Pokemon to the explorers and fighters along the front lines. She'd been surprised to see Zev as her partner, thinking the Beast would be out there lurking in the darkness waiting to ambush some Ranger somewhere. But there he was atop a macabre-looking Type: Null, his manner as businesslike as ever.

"Thanks for the advice," she replied sincerely, summoning her own Copperajah and climbing atop the massive Pokemon to take her seat. She held tightly to the shoulder bag filled with Pokeballs slung across her body. "Hopefully, the mist is the only potential danger we run into out there.

"But...somehow I doubt it will be," she added in a quieter voice, with a brief sigh. Then she cleared her throat, trying to be as professional and impassive as she could.

"Still, let's get started. First shipment is a supply of backup Flying types for the airborne scouts up in the hills. They're running into some resistance from people shooting down their Pokemon, I hear."

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

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[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie stifled a gasp of surprise when the Houndoom burst out from hiding to attack them and again when the two Rangers rushed forward to engage them. While Zev leaped agilely off his Type: Null's back and land on his feet in an acrobatic display, she wasn't so quick. Taken off guard just as much as she was, the Copperajah let out a noisy bellow and reared back on its hind legs, tumbling the redhead to the ground in an undignified heap.

Climbing slowly to her feet, Aurelie feared for her Copperajah's chances against the Houndoom and breathed a sigh of relief when Zev's Type: Null sprang toward it first. Instead, the second Ranger's Gardevoir glided forward and engaged the Copperajah with a HYPNOSIS.

"You can resist!" Aurelie urged her Copperajah, trying to keep it from falling asleep. "Don't get lulled by her tricks! I believe in you!"

Whether through good fortune, simple probability, or possibly even her encouragement, the Copperajah managed to resist succumbing to slumber and stayed alert and resolute. Letting out another trumpeting cry, the elephantine Pokemon charged forward and assailed the Gardevoir with a powerful HEAVY SLAM. The weight of its massive metallic body overwhelmed the slender Pokemon, eliciting a groan from the League Ranger and a whoop of triumph from Aurelie.

Rubbing her bruised tailbone ruefully, the red-haired smith darted a glance over at Zev to see how he and his Type: Null were doing, one hand hovering over her Pokeballs and the other over her knife in case he needed backup. Even though he's a thousand times more qualified than me, she thought wryly.

"Look out!" she couldn't help crying out as the snarling Houndoom lunged forward at the Type: Null with a fierce CRUNCH.

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[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Startled that her Copperajah's HEAVY SLAM hadn't knocked out the Gardevoir, Aurelie whipped her head back toward her own battle. "Crap! Right!" she exclaimed at Zev's directive, wincing when the furious Gardevoir counterattacked with blazing MYSTICAL FIRE.

She rushed over to her reeling Copperajah but stopped herself at the last minute from touching it, after seeing the faint singe marks on its vibrant green skin. Instead, she whispered soft, soothing words to the elephantine Pokemon while rummaging in her backpack for healing potions. I wonder if that Gardevoir has a special item or berry that helped it stay on its feet, she thought, eyeing it balefully.

After administering a Hyper Potion to her Copperajah to restore some of its lost health, she urged it forward again. It slowly climbed to its feet, much like Aurelie had earlier after falling off the Copperajah's back, and then charged forward vengefully to slam into the Gardevoir with an IRON HEAD. Letting out a piercing shriek, the Gardevoir collapsed to the ground in a dead faint.

Yes! Second Steel-type move does the trick! the redhead privately exulted. But Aurelie knew better than to simply stand there and revel in her victory. Drawing her knife while the Ranger was still gawking at his unconscious Pokemon, she took three strides forward and closed on him, shoving him backward forcefully into the tree he'd been hiding behind before the ambush.

Holding the knife so that its tip was pressed against his throat, she hissed sharply, "Give me your Pokeballs, berries, medicine, weapons, and communicator. Now. Or..."

She twisted the knife point so that the Ranger could feel it prick his skin. "I'll do worse than just make you faint. Oh, and uh..." Aurelie pressed her lips together in thought. "I'll need your rope or belt or spare strapping too." After all, it wouldn't do to leave him running around freely, even without supplies.

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

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[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Outwardly, Aurelie nodded crisply at Zev, even though he wasn't looking toward her at the moment, and obligingly moved forward to tie up the other Ranger. Squaring her shoulders, she did her best to project an air of ruthless efficiency as they lashed both Rangers tightly to the tree trunk. They bound them both several times around the chest, waist, and legs before tying off the rope in several intricate knots.

Inwardly, Aurelie breathed an immense mental sigh of relief that the Ranger had actually fallen for her threatening demeanor and acceded to her demands. Even better, Zev had quickly and smoothly backed her up, lending his own considerable menace to the cause. No wonder the two Rangers had looked so afraid.

In the end, they came away with a small pile of extra Poke Balls—Aurelie imagined they were spare or empty ones, as she doubted they would've given up their own personal Pokemon—two first aid kits, and some hiking and camping gear: bedrolls, flashlights, knives, matches and lighters, a hatchet, and packs of dried fruit. She worked quietly alongside Zev to load the additional haul into the packs that were already carrying the Pokeballs they were ferrying.

Aurelie wasn't as sure what to do about the radios, but she figured Zev might have ideas to either listen in on League communications or feed misinformation to them. Either way, it was better than having the Rangers warning their brethren about two Rockets holding them at knifepoint.

Only once everything was loaded up and they were mounted on their Pokemon, riding out of earshot of the trussed-up Rangers, did Aurelie finally venture a comment. "Maybe I should've made them take off their uniforms too," she commented with a smirk, looking sidelong at Zev. "We could've masqueraded as Rangers and taken even more of them by surprise. Well, except they were both taller than me and heavier than you, so...maybe not."

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[attr="class","aurelie_body"]When Zev didn't simply roll his eyes at her half-joking suggestion, motivated mostly by the silly image in Aurelie's head of making the two Rangers go naked, she raised her eyebrows in surprise. Am I better at this Rocket stuff than I thought? Or is Zev just in such a serious mode right now that he's taking things very seriously? The latter seemed far more likely to be true.

"That's a good point," she agreed when he brought up the likelihood of being attacked by fellow Rockets. Then her smirk deepened as she went on in the same tone, "For now, we'll stick to just shopping at Rangers 'R Us, then. After all, can't beat the prices, right?"

She fell silent as their Pokemon had to navigate some particularly rocky, steep terrain on the way to the foothills where their supply drop was planned. The Type: Null leapt agilely through the area, while her Copperajah simply barreled and stomped through. Their humans held tightly to their supplies, keeping the bags of Pokeballs and other provisions from jouncing loose.

Thankfully, everyone arrived safe and secure at their destination, much to Aurelie's relief. As the Rocket scouts hurried forward to collect their deliveries, Aurelie breathed out a thankful sigh. Smiling at Zev, she added, "Thanks for helping cow those Rangers into handing over their stuff.

"And hey, don't forget you have a knife sharpening appointment at my shop next week. Three months really flies by, doesn't it?"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT