It had come as quite the surprise that their deeds had attracted an audience in Aqua's short time in Hoenn already. It had not even been a month and already, there were more than enough things for them to keep busy with. However, it comes as a surprise that somebody would leave a letter and a bento set for them to take after leaving it at their last job of the day. Tucked neatly between the folds of where Aqua had kept the emergency getaway for their raid on a housing development a mile away.

Could this be some kind of sting operation? If somebody was trying to catch them, they would have done it more discreetly. But meeting at Mt. Pyre of all places, during the night and alone? It screamed a lot of words and all of them involved handcuffs or a cage. Still, they couldn't say they were totally uninterested. And it had been a while since they ate properly. The bento box was delicious and they wanted to dig in. But they still hesitated.

Poison. Tampered with. Maybe even a bomb. They couldn't take any risks.

Aqua walked alone up the road to Mt. Pyre alone. Their trademark umbrella was held down closer to the head in order to mask their identity. Before making their way up the mountain, Aqua would take out all of the Pokémon currently in their person save for Lapras. The Pokémon would be commanded to wait alongside the brush and mountainside in case this was indeed. Some sort of ambush. For protection, their Bellibolt made itself at home nestled inside of their hood. Aqua then began the trek up with bento box in hand.

A short while later, they saw a woman alone, resting by a fire with the evening skyline behind her. Aqua approached her wearing a neutral but skeptical expression. Could they trust this woman? The evening was going to be interesting depending on what she wished to meet over.

Marguerite

☉

"bienvenido," mar greeted with a widening of her hands, a pleasant grin on her face. her posture was very relaxed. she gestured to an open camping chair on the other side of the bonfire from herself, bento box on its arm. "please, come join me." she brought one arm to rest on the back of her chair, bent at the elbow and opening her body posture to look both open and non-threatening. it was cocky, as she knew how dangerous this individual was, but she wanted to express her lack of desire for conflict quickly.

"i will cut to the chase. i think ye have a lot of promise, and i want to help ye achieve it." her kalosian accent came through, mixed with something distinct, a quick and intimate dialect shared between criminals of the high seas. "ye have a knack for trouble - good, artful trouble. i'm a longtime... enjoyer o' trouble. but not enough people share the art o' it. the love o' it."

she let her words hang in the air, not wanting to overwhelm the kid. "but ye do. if ye want more opportunities, more resources to do it? i can help ye out. in exchange, we can collaborate on some common goals."

Aqua Kennedy

☉

Aqua met eyes with the woman across from them but didn't match her hand signs. They slowly seated themselves across from them as blue locks were tucked neatly behind their jacket hood. She was open and didn't seem to want to start a fight here. The clothing wasn't a dead giveaway for them, but anything could happen when private meet ups like this were a thing. Aqua's eyes went to the bento box as a soft growl from their stomach had come from them.

But they still refused to eat a single bite. Not until they knew they could trust her. The woman spoke about the kind of "trouble" that they found themselves in since arriving in the region. It was a funny way of putting it. Trouble for the League when a rich merchant cried about wanting something, but encroaching pollution sources on Pokémon habitats were seen as just a byproduct of the current era. Something that could be written off by some person who was far too high to see the effects of. She expressed interest in their goals and passion for their hijinks.

"Mm..." Aqua thought to themselves, still upright in the seat and not once taking their eyes off of the woman. It was sketchy and every ounce of their being was urging them to leave and run away, but some part of Aqua wanted to hear the woman out. See what she wanted from them and how she would help them out.

"What do you want?" Their voice was soft and near androgynous, much like their appearance. It was fitting for somebody who would have rather spent their days enjoying the beachside sunset than to be forced into fighting for what should be untouched by the hands of humans that had no business being there. Mar could also tell they hiding a lot of emotion behind theur words and stride. Somebody that wore their heart on their sleeve and now had little heart shown to others. "And who are you?"

Marguerite

☉

they got right to it. mar could appreciate the straightforwardness. hell, she could reward it.

"i want to use ye." she leaned forward, far more serious than she'd demonstrated before. "i think ye have the potential and skillset to make it far in hoenn, in rocket, in whatever goals ye hold dear. i want us to work together, and i will help get ye started in rocket. get their resources, get in their pockets. ye can have yer own trouble, but contribute to rocket's brand of it, too."

she let her words hang in the air for a moment. "ye can say no. i have no intention of hurting ye. and if we work together, ye can step out of a mission. but i expect ye to help me when i need it, and i will help ye. and together, we can accomplish goals for rocket and get more power, more resources, more... more." rocket was a gust of wind and the world was a bird cage; they were lucky enough to have the skill (the criminality) to open the cage, but they needed more to get going, to really maximize their freedom from the status quo and from society's expectations.

rocket offered that. and mar could help them dance between rocket and their own goals in exchange for their skills.

Aqua Kennedy

☉

That was quite the agreement that she had just thrown out of there off the bat. Aqua was still uncertain about whether they could have trust anything this woman said. It was a fairly risky move. In this little criminal world, nobody seemed to rely on it these days. It was every man for themselves, even with the close knit gang that they themselves had once affiliated with. "So...partners." The words spat out like a poison dart. Something that Aqua had been averse to ever since fleeing from Sinnoh. There was another second of silence or so as Aqua looked behind them. Nobody was coming from behind as far as they could tell. Neither was there anybody from around them.

"I don't know." Aqua frowned. "What use would I be to you and Rocket? I've seen what you and the League do. Both of you couldn't care less about what happens to Pokémon. All you know how to do is to destroy their homes and pass out flyers patting yourselves on the back for winning a pointless war." It was quite some time since Aqua talked. They had spent so much time remaining quiet for so long that they had almost forgot their own voice. It was nice, in a way. But they still weren't sure about deciding. "I became a criminal to protect Pokémon from humans, not to hurt them."

Marguerite

☉

"my dear," mar began as aqua finished, leaning forward, "it is a rookie mistake to assume anything about me." she slowly pulled her pokeballs from her belt, initially in their minimized form, but growing in her hands at her behest. "look here." she released all of her pokemon, putting her trio of trouble on display. "me team is healthy and happy. i care. do i hug trees to save pidgeys? no. but."

she could not summon dhelmise for aqua's eyes, as it stayed by the ship loyally. it rarely ever saw combat or anything other than the seas. "ye believe i act to serve me best interests. trust, then, that it isn't in me best interest to burn forests or dry up wetlands. indeed, i seek treasure in hoenn. destruction of the region only makes those searches more difficult, makes it harder to find terrain described in lore and follow maps transcribed in myth." it was completely true. "what i want from ye is yer understanding of pokemon and the environment. yer clever. yer always ten steps ahead. most importantly, yer devious. i'm not asking fer yer life or fer ye to betray yer principals. i just want ye to stand with me fer as long as our goals align, aye?"

Aqua Kennedy

☉

Aqua jumped back when she reached for something, going to their hands and ready to signal their Pokémon to ready themselves for an attack until the woman had just laid out her companions before them. It was a pretty ballsy move. What if they could just attack them then and there and be over it all? Aqua watched her while thinking over the offer given. It did sound like it was lucrative and best of all, not as hated as interrupting the ecosystem as it once was. They said nothing for a few seconds until an answer was given.

"I'll do it." They may or may not have needed the money right now. "I...just need food." A good meal was good still, but they were still entirely penniless out here. Another loud growl from Aqua's stomach had caused them to let out a sharp whistle. Not to attack but to protect themselves. Out from the forest's edge, A Squirtle, a Sneasler, and a Paldean Wooper made themselves known from the treeline. A Tadbulb even poked its head out of their hood.

Aqua slowly set it down before the group and allowed them to eat it all. They took some minor bites of a rice ball but nothing substantial. All of it was reserved for the Pokemon. They, however, would control themselves to keep from having their team suffer. Although their team did look up every now and again out of worry. "I'm fine...I'm fine." They told them over and over again. Aqua, however, had a hand on their stomach in case of another stomach growl.

"We haven't been able to rest for a bit. SO this is...nice."

Marguerite

☉

a hungry stray, hm?

this was perfect. capsakid had been starving when mar found her, and she'd offered the capsakid food and earned her loyalty. capsakid was a feisty little villain without mar's tutelage, a natural. it was a match made in heaven, or somewhere much hotter.

mar was happy to see history repeating itself. "i've got plenty o food fer ye and yer crew." she looked to them with satisfaction, like the delcatty that got the cream. "come t' me ship. me rations'll hold ye over til we get to the next city. meanwhile, we can see what plans ye got on yer docket." mar rose to her feet slowly, not wanting to scare the pokemon. "and if ye stick 'round, i'll get ye a special somethin." she gestured to the cutlass at her hip, custom made by aurelie, a fellow kalosian.

Aqua Kennedy

☉

Aqua's eyes showcased just how attentive he was with Marguerite's offer. The premise of a full meal forced the criminal to feel their mouth begin to water. Their Pokémon even seemed enticed by the offer as well, though Aqua watched her rise up slowly. It was a tempting offer that they had accepted. Maybe it was the hunger that drove them. Or maybe it was that desire to be back out on the sea once more, not wanting to be land locked for so long. Whatever it was, Aqua smiled at the captain and stood up alongside her.

"Thank you." Aqua said to the other Rocket. They had some reservations about joining Rocket but anything was better than allowing the League to destroy the environment. "I, uh, I'm Aqua." An alias to protect who they were before this all started. The ecoterrorist looked at the weapon on Marguerite's hip with a veiled interest. It gave the appearance of a true pirate, one that certainly had a future underneath Mar's flag.

"I have a few areas that I'm almost ready to hit. The closest one is still gathering their equipment in one place. Then I'll just have my party destroy it. As for valuables, there's a millionare's home close to the coast in Mauville. We can go there and check it out."

Marguerite

☉

mar was pleased to learn the name of her new associate. "ye can call me mar, but don't blink if ye hear anyone call me maguerite or margo or anythin. ye gotta go by a lot of names in this business. aqua's fine, but think of a back-up should ye need it." authorities were getting better about putting names to faces. she had spent her time in previous regions as different deviations of mar, but she never told non-rockets that just 'mar' was her name, allowing her to exhaust those names to people she would screw over.

"hurtin the rich? i love it." she stretched her arms over head, abandoning her chair and letting the fire distort her image as it cackled between her and aqua. "we can show em who runs this region all day long. so long as ye don't steal from rockets. they don't tend to hoard much wealth, except to influence politics. i don't prefer the upper echelons of rocket, the ones that do the real politicking, but if ye do good, ye can run with em and demand some positive environmental changes. or pretend to be a ranger and run with them. we all wear more 'an one face here." she hoped aqua would get comfortable with that duplicity. it was a necessity for successful operations, most of the time.

some wore multiple faces better than others, but she kept things simple. she liked the easy stuff, getting her hands dirty and stealing. she didn't care much for the larger region-centric plays, the ones that involve government or secret labs. "well, let's get ye some real grub, yeah?" she started walking down towards the beach, not looking for aqua to follow. if they needed more time, they could take it. mar was just eager to be on her ship before she developed land legs.

Aqua Kennedy

☉

"Mar, right." Aqua repeated, committing the woman's name and face to memory. They were still somewhat on edge about whether or not they could trust the others, but so far she was pleasant enough. The promise of food also helped but they hated relying on others so much. Maybe it was just that little bit of them wanting to stay away from people?

A new code name would be nice. Aqua hadn't really bothered to think of one besides what name they had chosen since coming out to their loved ones. If this Rocket business meant that they would be going up against the League, a moniker was going to have to cover up who they really were. Not that Aqua cared much about hiding themselves when their work was so blatantly out in the open.

Mar began the long walk back to her ship as Aqua followed like a lost dog shown some food. They were quick to catch up and divy up all of their Pokemon back to their pokeballs. Even Lapras wasn't forgotten about as they picked them up on the way over to the ship. Aqua looked back at Mar for a moment and then back. What could they really say? Were they partners in a way? Maybe. So they should be friendly then! They remained silent for a few stretches before their mouth opened.

"Thank you." Aqua said calmly. "I just want Pokémon to have a good home."

Marguerite

☉