Well. At least he wasn't bored anymore.

[break]To be completely honest, Riley had been almost anticipating something like this. Maybe it was hyper-vigilance, but Orre was such a crime-ridden shithole, you couldn't go a single day without getting mugged or some shit. So it would be just his luck to be at the bank during the middle of a robbery. Riley sighed, quietly taking his headphones out of his ears and jamming them back into his pocket as he tried to hear what the robbers were saying. Blah blah blah, generic robbery nonsense. Cool.

[break]Riley took a moment to observe the situation. Three bogeys—one harassing the bank teller with a gun, while two others kept the crowd at bay with pokémon. A serperior and a salazzle. The salazzle was acting particularly menacing, blowing fire to intimidate the crowd. There was a few security staff around, including that one intimidating dude with the dragon types, but who knew if they'd be able to defuse the situation without hurting the crowd. Ahead of him, an older woman let out a quiet sob, shaky hands gripping tight to her purse.

[break]"Don't worry, ma'am," Riley muttered, his voice low and hoarse. He was... really bad at this comforting thing. "We'll be okay. As long as we don't get in their way, they have no reason to hurt us."

[break]One of the goons seemed particularly eager to prove him wrong, however, as the salazzle's flames drew far too close to the crowd. The lady ahead of him stumbled back, letting out a scream as she fell down and scrambled away. Riley affixed the grunt with a glare, stepping in front of the woman. "Hey, asshole!" He shouted, pointing at the salazzle. "We were complying! Get your pokémon under control before it kills one of us!"

[break]Reaching down to his belt, he grabbed a pokéball, releasing Espeon in a flash of light. The cat-like pokémon took a moment to assess the situation, then affixed the salazzle with a pointed glare, his pink fur standing on end. Riley hesitated—was it worth escalating this situation? Then he looked back at the woman, who was shivering in fear on the ground. Fuck it.

[break]"Do it, Espeon!" he snarled, and Espeon let out a wave of Psychic energy towards the Salazzle.

[break][break]

+ MISSION: Bank On It

[break]

Gunner Graves

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

As Espeon leapt bravely into battle, the entire standoff exploded into chaos. 

[break]Several of the citizens in line were screaming their heads off, with the lady behind him in particular letting out several high-pitched screams as she scrambled away. Meanwhile, the serious-looking security guide with the dragon types had also dove headfirst into the fighting. The dragons bore down on the pokémon and their trainers, while the guard went straight for the gunman who was currently harassing the teller. Riley's heart skipped a beat as the gunman aimed straight towards the guard, but in a blink, the guard managed to point the gun upward. As the gun went off, the entire crowd reached a fever pitch of panic, several people racing towards the doors.

[break]The salazzle recoiled from Espeon's attack, letting out a hiss and a puff of smoke as it turned to face the two of them. "Espeon!" Riley shouted, and the eeveelution reacted in turn. Both he and Espeon dodged low, narrowly avoiding the pillar of fire that came their way. Espeon retaliated, getting in close and using a PSYCHIC blast to knock the Salazzle off its feet. 

[break]Riley, meanwhile, raced towards the salazzle's trainer. Though not the largest or strongest person, Riley was toned with lean muscle, and a clean uppercut to the guard's chin was enough to stagger him backwards. Riley followed this up with a hard shove, and the grunt was knocked clean off his feet and onto his back.

[break]In the distance, Riley could hear shouting from outside the bank—shouting that did not sound very pleasant. Reinforcements? That couldn't be good. Grabbing his second pokéball, he called Umbreon into action. The black dog landed in a huff, immediately falling into a fighting position. "Umbreon!" Riley called, pointing to the fleeing crowd. "Protect the civilians! They might be running into a trap!" With a nod, Umbreon took off after the crowd, quickly catching up just as they streamed into the street.

[break][break]

+ MISSION: Bank On It

[break]

Gunner Graves

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

The dragon-types leapt upon upon the serperior and its trainer, their attacks finely honed and dangerous. The serperior attempted to fight off the Salamence with a LEAF STORM, but it was ineffective against the dragon-type's hide. The salamence bore down upon it with practiced lethality, and the serperior crumpled with a shriek that pierced even the screams of civilians. Its trainer did not face much better, as the hydreigon intercepted him and tossed him back into a wall, knocking him out cold.

[break]Riley, meanwhile, had managed to bring his own opponent to his back with a swift uppercut, followed by a hard shove. Espeon, meanwhile, had focused in on the Salazzle, his psychic energy quickly knocking the poison-type out cold. Still in a state of adrenaline, Riley sent out Umbreon to follow the crowd and keep them safe, but this turned out to be a false alarm—the sounds from outside were simply the security team attempting to subdue the crowd.

[break]As one of the security guards approached Riley's opponent in an attempt to cuff him, he gave Riley a rather dirty look. In response, Riley stepped away from the man with a simple shrug, and allowed the guard to do his job. He knew that he had kinda escalated that situation, and it could have gone very very badly if it weren't for that guy with the dragons. But he wasn't going to sit by and let people get hurt just because some idiots didn't know how to do their job properly.

[break]Speaking of the devil, that serious-looking man approached him, a frown on his face. He reprimanded Riley for acting so rashly, but also commended him for his bravery. "Thanks," said Riley, giving the man a nod. Crouching down, he pet Espeon as the psychic-type wandered up to him, scratching him behind his ears for a job well done.

[break]Riley then looked up at the stranger, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Did you know this was going to happen? Did the bank know?" Riley had noted just how much security the bank had been running, but figured it might just be the way they did things in Hoenn. But seeing this guy... no. He was way too competent to be a simple bank security guard. His dragon-types alone basically tore that serperior to shreds.

[break][break]

+ MISSION: Bank On It

[break]

Gunner Graves

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

A professional, dismissive response. Perfectly crafted to avoid giving away any information. Riley scoffed. "Sure," he replied, shaking his head. "So the answer is yes, then?" People only withheld information like that when there was something to hide. Of course, there was a... sizeable chance that the man was just a massive stick-in-the-mud, but Riley had his hunch, and he was sticking to it.

[break]The man pointed him to one of the security guards if he was looking to complain, before suggesting he clear out with the others, as the bank was likely going to be closed for the rest of the day. With that, the man turned and headed away from the front doors, clearly seeking a back exit of some kind. "Well," Riley muttered to himself. "Obviously, I'm not going to do that." He tugged his jacket on tighter, before following the man and his dragons.

[break]"Look," Riley said, catching up to the man and falling in step behind them. Umbreon flanked him, while Espeon had returned to his pokéball to rest. "I'm not looking to complain. I'm mostly just curious as to what your whole deal is." Riley prodded, though he tried to be a bit casual about it, his hands jammed into his jacket. "I mean, you're obviously not a security guard, so... what are you?"

[break]"And furthermore... aren't you at all curious why the bank was still hit, even with the extra security?" Riley was partially fishing for information—how much did the man know about the hit? "I mean, any smart crew would have seen you plus all the other security and abandoned the plan immediately, but they still went through with it."

[break][break]

+ MISSION: Bank On It

[break]

Gunner Graves

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Riley was aware he was pushing buttons. It was mostly intentional.

[break][break]So he was mildly surprised when the man stopped with a sigh, before pulling out an identification card and showing it to him. Riley leaned in, squinting, just as the man read it aloud: Agent Gunner Graves, from the Hoenn Bureau of Intelligence and Counterterrorism. Which... was not really what Riley was expecting. Bureau of Intelligence... just how high up the ladder was this "security guard"?

[break][break]"Huh," Riley said, his voice light. "I fully expected you to lie to me." He shrugged, shoving his hands back into his pockets. "Well, for the record, Agent Graves—I'm glad you were there. Things could have gone really bad if you weren't. So... thanks." Riley certainly owed him one, and he didn't forget that sort of thing.

[break][break]Agent Graves gave his insight into Riley's questions. His theory? Desperation, and the potential for consequences which outweighed any risk involved with doing the job. Riley nodded, his face grim. Maybe he was reading too much into it. "Does this sort of thing... happen often?" Riley asked, as they stepped out of the back exit. He wouldn't be super thrilled to realize that he'd traded one crime-infested region for another.

[break][break]

+ MISSION: Bank On It

[break]

Gunner Graves

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

As they walked out onto the street, Riley couldn't help but ask the final question lingering on his mind: was this sort of thing common around these parts? Gunner's response wasn't exactly reassuring. Apparently, this exact thing wasn't necessarily common, but Team Rocket's activities were certainly becoming more and more prominent and bold as time went on.

[break][break]Riley nodded, his face serious. Even he had heard about Rocket, despite his distant upbringing. It was hard not to hear about a terrorist organization who basically had an entire region on lockdown. So, hearing that they had an increased focus in Hoenn as of late was not ideal, but at least now he knew. Now he could be ready.

[break][break]Taking an Alakazam out of a pokéball, Gunner prepared to leave, but not before imparting one final word of warning: if Riley saw anyone suspicious, he should report it to his nearest police immediately. Riley frowned for a moment—his relationship to the police wasn't the best... but he nodded. "Right. I will." And with that, the agent was gone.

[break][break]Riley sighed, as he and Umbreon were left alone on the back street. In the distance, he could still hear the sound of sirens. "Agent Gunner Graves..." Riley muttered. A beat. "There's no way that's his real name, right?" Riley added, looking down to Umbreon. The dark-type stared back at him with unblinking red eyes. Riley chuckled. "C'mon, let's get home."

[break][break]That was enough excitement for one day.

[break][break]

+ MISSION: Bank On It

[break]

Gunner Graves

[attr="class","pokeclass"]