Trinity was silent for the most part after she reunited with Marguerite. The girl didn’t fare too well at sea, and it was a miracle that she kept her composure during her mission on Route 103. Once she had touched the sandy shore, Trinity had to hold back from kissing the very ground she now stood upon. She had a job to finish and she didn’t have the luxury of allowing her stomach to empty itself of its contents. Instead, Trinity simply motioned for Marguerite to follow her into the looming woods of Petalburg.

[break][break]The shade inside was a pleasant contrast to the overbearing ocean sun and allowed for just enough cover to avoid being watched. An oppressive silence filled the air, broken up only by the occasional cries of Pokemon. Once the blue haired Rocket was convinced that the pair hadn’t been followed, she turned to her partner.

[break][break] “My target was supposed to procure a valuable Pokemon for Team Rocket.” She started as she watched the pirate’s Capsakid wander the woods. “Something of a rare and elusive asset. But the only thing he told me was that it was in these damned woods before the fool passed out.” Trinity finished, leaving out the fact she’d tossed the man overboard once he lost consciousness. She turned and began to walk further into the woods, stopping to examine bush after prickly bush. “I didn’t think I’d need back up, though.” She continued, ignoring the small cuts forming on her fingers. “Or did you come out here for pleasure rather than business?”

[break][break]

+ ooc notes
Marguerite

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

mar hummed thoughtfully as trinity shared that her mission was for a valuable pokemon. it was vague, but intriguing all the same. trinity was good company like that. "these woods are basic, but it would not surprise me if there was something really special out here. this region... i swear, it has had the weirdest occurrences lately. i've been missing out on some of the fun while i've gotten settled, but i won't miss out any longer."

she was desperate to see what legends she could uncover. the bits and pieces she had told her that valuable treasure and power rested just beneath the surface of the region, if she only had the skill and knowledge to look for it. she turned to trinity with a grin. "pleasure, always. business comes naturally when seeking pleasure." she had made her riches just pursuing passionate projects and fun, petty thefts.

the duo were soon surrounded by pokemon. mar released her clobbopus and let it bind the overqwil; clobbopus always prioritized pokemon native to the sea, and he was excellent at subduing. she took the opportunity to toss a pokeball effortlessly at the poisonous fish. "i hope this isn't a fool's errand you've been sent on."

catching overqwil

trinity beckman

☉

“Did you hear about what happened in Lilycove?” Trinity asked. Marg was right; this region was filled with weird occurrences. It was never boring, that was for sure. “Some Rotom got loose and started making everything go haywire. Wasn’t able to catch one though…” The girl’s tone trailed off, disappointment evident in her voice about the missed catch. Rotom were cool, and having one would have been useful. But compared to Petalburg Woods, that incident had been light.

[break][break] As the trees loomed over them, blocking out most light, Trinity couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. It was heavy, like a weighted blanket thrown over her shoulders. It went well with the silence: quiet enough that the girl could swear she could hear the forest breathing. Like it was alive, and waiting… It didn’t stop Trinity from moving further. She had a job to do, after all.

[break][break] It was after one particularly tight squeeze through some trees did the Rocket girl finally notice a pair of eyes in the brush. No sooner had she seen them did their owner leap out at her! A Nuzleaf, swiftly striking at her head, burst forth from the shadows. She just barely ducked under it and, in the same motion, tossed a Pokeball out, releasing her Zoroark in a flash of light. The red and white Monster let out an air shattering roar, powerful enough to create a shockwave directed squarely at the Nuzleaf and sending it flying into a tree. Trinity rose to her full height from her mid-crouch and watched her attacker for a moment. “I’d like to find this thing, and fast. So be on the lookout for a red chest so we can get out of here.”
[break][break]

+ ooc notes Marguerite Passing on Nuzleaf spiral and shiv's baby

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

mar turned to trinity quizzically as the woman described the rotom episode. rather than acknowledge it was news to her, she said instead: "that's what i'm talkin' bout. this region... there's some sort of power in. something strange is happening, moreso than anything i ever saw in kalos."

the source of its strangeness eluded her. she had theories. there were too many different areas to investigate. she had her work cut out for her in terms of scouring just archaelogical sites if that's where she chose to focus her attention first. it was difficult to prepare a plan of action when an entire region seemed to thrum with power, but it didn't seem to stem from just one source.

mar ignored the pokemon that arrived around them in the forest, more interested in trinity and the rotom episode. "what would you even use a rotom for? aren't those little guys too chaotic for battle?" not that she could say much; her dhelmise was patient, but almost to a fault, and it did not care for the speed of battle like her other pokemon did.

[assing

trinity beckman

☉

Trinity also ignored the Pokemon that began to reveal themselves. It would seem that her Zoroark’s leering gaze was keeping some of the weaker creatures at bay, making it much easier for theRocket to continue her investigation unbothered. Of course the moron on the boat had to hide a small treasure inside the biggest forest in the region. Although to his credit, it would be hard to give exact coordinates with Trinity’s fist in his face. For that the girl cursed herself. Being tormented to the ocean sun wasn’t an excuse to be reckless.

[break][break] “They’re fast.” The Rocket girl replied to her partner without looking up from the bush she was rummaging through. “Chaotic, sure. But something my current team lacks is speed. But my desire for a Rotom is more for their utility than their combat ability.” Trinity rose up to her full height with a groan, resting her hands on her now aching lower back. “Rotom could probably survey this whole forest ten times faster than we could. And they possess the unique ability to infiltrate and override any electricity based machinery. You’d be able to give their chaotic nature focus and make it work for us.” Trinity took a mental note that she was creating a stronger desire for Rotom and began to make a plan to find one once she acquired some free time. “A Pokemon’s usefulness is more than just their combat ability.” She added without breaking eye contact with Marguerite. After a long second, the edges of her mouth ticked upward into a rare, yet small, smile. “And how’ve you been settling in? Hoenn has some interesting ruins around. Have you looked into them?”

[break][break]

+ ooc notes Marguerite Passing on Mon spawn

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

trinity's response displayed her analytical nature, but it wasn't very persuasive to mar. "rotom doesn't match yer style," she said decisively. "ye need some blue n grey pokemon to match yer style." aesthetic did have some tangible value as a rocket, but it came second to pure power. it was reasonable for trinity to want a rotom, but reason wasn't everything.

"or pick something with a helpful personality. rotom's chaos wouldn't help ye. capsakid? her deviousness helps me see things i missed. clobbopus is bold, brave. helps me remember that i take things by force. i don't ask for them." they supported her beyond her trainerhood.

she shrugged at trinity's question. "got some eggs in some baskets. been looking at some leads. real interested in rusturf tunnel, but i ain't found anythin yet. heavy on the yet." a gleam entered her eye as she passed by the pokemon in their path. "i'll find out what's in there eventually. but what are you up to out here? more focused on climbing the ranks, keeping your head down? or planning something far more dangerous?" she loved danger. more specifically, she loved danger with women like trinity, who understood it better than a person, better than a firearm, better than anything you could break down and analyze because danger was too fluid and organic and abstract for such analysis. and trinity knew that.

skipping

trinity beckman

☉

“That is why it falls on us to train them, is it not?” Trinity was hoping this question would bring an end to the Rotom discussion. It was a common conversation between the two, or similar topics, and it always boiled down to personal taste. The two of them could, and have, gone in circles for hours upon hours about picking their partner Pokemon. Especially when it came to personality.

[break][break] It was easy for Marguerite to find Pokemon with personalities that support her own. It was something Trinity attributed to her partner’s confidence. Marguerite knew who she was and had a powerful personality to back it up. She was reckless, but held herself with such a confidence that dispelled any doubt about her reckless nature. She stood out, plain and simple, and she made it work for her. She belonged at the front and she knew it.

[break][break] Trinity on the other hand felt like her roles were more fluid. Her job in a group was to fill in the weaknesses that the others had, or so she thought. By doing so, the members of her team would be able to bring out their best potential. It mattered not one whit if Trinity was good at one particular thing, because the likelihood of creating a glaring weakness in the squad would go up with each new member. It was something she mulled over while she absently listened to the irons Mar supposedly had in her fires. But then came the tough question.

[break][break] “Ranks, I suppose.” Trinity hummed thoughtfully. Moving Team Rocket’s goals would be easier as she climbed to the top, as her actions would have more influence. But, until then, she would simply continue to excel at the tasks she was given. Everything else would fall into place around that. Before she could formulate her next thought, something came crashing down on top of her.

[break][break] Trinity was only just able to jump back to avoid being crushed, but the shockwave of the falling object knocked her back to where Marguerite stood. Zoroark rushed to stand before her, growling at her assailant as Trinity rose to her feet and dusted herself off. Before her stood an Araquanid, the bubble on its head gurgling menacingly. “Zoroark, Bitter Malice.” She gave the command quietly and the Pokemon in front of her nodded. A red glint appeared behind the Araquanid, followed by six levitating balls of purple energy. All six fired at the Bug Pokemon, as rapid and as strong as a machine gun. The white Zoroark emerged from the forest’s shadows, as the one in front of Trinity faded like a mist. Trinity took the Pokemon’s confusion as a ripe opportunity to throw a PokeBall at it while it was still dazed.

[break][break]

+ ooc notes Marguerite
-catching ARAQUANID

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"trainin them to be stronger is one thing. i have no interest in teachin discipline. some pokemon have too much of a conscience, too. them fairy and psychic types can be empathic as hell." she had yet to see a fairy-reliant rocket. those pokemon were typically good healers and excellent against brunt-force dragon trainers, but their dispositions tended to be too soft. ground types tended to be hard-headed but simple. pokemon behaviors were easily grouped, though there were lots of exceptions.

mar raised a brow at trinity's new encounter and choice of teammate. "that thing looks crazy." then she considered it further. "might be good for scarin others, though. i can see that thing at night creepin up on someone." she laughed. she didn't have a strong sadistic bone, but she did enjoy a scare or two. she didn't feel too strongly about bugs, since they were largely weak in her eyes. "we gotta find a cute pokemon for ye now that ye have so many weird ones."

she stopped walking to lean against a tree, but as she did, a grubbin crawled around it and walked onto her shoulder like he owned the place. "pft - knock off!" she patted it off her shoulder, but the grubbin was fast and hopped down to her waist. "stupid thing!" she went to grab the thing to toss it away, but it knocked against the empty pokeball at her waist, triggering the capture mechanism.

catching grubbin

trinity beckman

☉

Trinity looked down at the Ball containing her newest partner, and then back at Mar quizzically. “You’re the one that said I needed something blue.” She said with a slight tilt of her head. The girl looked down as she made the Ball smaller before hooking it onto her belt. When the Rocket member looked back up to her partner, the pirate woman was being accosted by a local Bug type. Trinity watched and forced herself to keep her twitching mouth from breaking into a peal of laughter at the antics. Her Zoroark, on the other hand, made no such attempt. It let out a mischievous snicker while attempting to “hide” the act behind one of its claws.

[break][break] Once the episode was over, Trinity was back to searching for her mark. She pushed through a row of bushes and blinked as the light of a clearing hit her eyes. Not an unwelcome change to the shade covered woods, but Trinity did prefer the cool quiet. But as the girl looked on, she saw it. A red chest, roughly a foot tall, sitting in the middle of the clearing! “There!” She gasped, pointing as if the chest would’ve been easily missed otherwise. Trinity walked up to hit and felt a weight evaporate from her shoulders as she got closer to the treasure chest. Trinity leaned down to pick it up, letting out a grunt as she did. For such a small object, it was much heavier than it looked.

[break][break] Something felt off, though. Trinity blinked and held the chest to her ear, listening patiently. It was quiet, sans the sound of gold coins that shifted with each movement. The Rocket girl felt her stomach fall as her mind shot to the worst possible outcome. Hurriedly the girl yanked the chest open. It was filled bottom to top with golden coins. But not one speck of the gray imp Gimmighoul that she was on the hunt for. Where the little Pokemon would’ve been lounging on its bed of riches was merely a piece of paper, folded to look like a Murkrow. Trinity removed the paper, her mind and her pulse racing. It had been her mission to find this Pokemon! Did someone take it?! How’d they know it was here? Whatever happened, Trinity needed to find them and fast!

[break][break] The young girl turned around, hoisting the chest under her arm as they went to leave. But they were stopped by a Meganium conveniently blocking the path she took into the clearing. “I don’t have time for this…” She growled, a rare instance of anger breaking through her calm demeanor, forcing her to clench her teeth. The girl reached down with her free hand and tossed the Ball holding her new Araquanid at the Meganium– until Trinity realized her mistake. In her haste and emotion addled state of mind, she’d accidentally grabbed an empty PokeBall. It wasn’t until the Ball hit the Grass Pokemon, and released the catch mechanism, did Trinity realize her mistake.
[break][break]

+ ooc notes Marguerite catching Meganium

[attr="class","pokeclass"]