Mille's finished an errand out in the sweltering heat, and the way back to HQ seems incredibly long. Once more a reason to get a Teleport-able pokémon, but for now, dee would have to suffer ... gladly, dee spots a bakery nearby that openly advertises air-conditioned. Dee would not linger on that thought any longer, welcoming the artificial cold and the smell of sweet, sweet sweetness.

Before starting to browse the wares, dee and the floating Rotom-tablet next to dem would take a moment to calm down and look at the general store- spotting a particularly fancy and interesting Alolan Ninetails. It's shiny, and moreover, dee squints ... ... these are some strange markings indeed. But, as ever, attention doesn't actually stay for too long as dee notices a familiar face. Dee gestures for the Rotom to follow and start translating, tapping Makoto on the shoulder, before pointing to the Rotom.

"Oh, hey Makoto! Didn't expect to meet you here." The Rotom's voice a default, but seems to accurately say what Fenelle signs.

Makoto Kurumi

Though it has happened before, and will likely happen time and again for a long time... It still took Makoto by surprise, when Mille suddenly approached and greeted them. They blink a bit as they turned around to face the cracker proper - their surprise likely plain to see. And not only that, but it seemed that dee had a new method of communication - one that was, quite honestly, pretty fascinating.

They glance between the Rotom and Mille both - and wondering if this translation aid goes both ways, they would pose a question to them. "I... Didn't expect this, either, but hello. Does your Rotom handle me talking like this?"

Tsukiko, meanwhile, would roll over onto her back to better eyeball Mille (albeit upside down,) wondering who this person was. Clearly, dee was familiar with her trainer, so surely dee was someone of interest?

Fenelle Miller

The surprise is not an uncommon sight for Mille, and it's good that Makoto isn't the type to largely flinch and flail - it's always making things a bit awkward even if dee could understand the reaction. Mille nods at Makoto's question that would simultaneously be transcribed by the Rotom into text. "Ms Lulu Flint used Rotoms to communicate with me, it's really a neat idea. This Rotom's very adept at translating, it might be its best quality." The Rotom appears largely impassive, but might be a bit hurt - well aware that it's not as cut-throat as Rocket pokémon might need to be.

"I'm thinking if a Porygon might also be good for such things," dee adds, before turning to also look at the pastries around here. "Are you also on a break?" dee signs, letting the Rotom translate it into robotic speech (and also text on the screen).

However, dee still doesn't manage a full look at the baked goods, as the Vulnona catches der eye again. Curiously, dee looks at the fox that's on the floor and, without further thinking, finds demself bending der body as if to go upside down without der feet actually leaving the ground.

Makoto Kurumi

Makoto nods along as the Rotom helps translate for the both of them; it was indeed quite the handy little helper, cutting out a lot of the trouble. "A Porygon could help, but... I imagine your Rotom is versatile enough for this sort of thing." They mused - glancing to the little ghost in question. Of course, perhaps they were a little biased to the electrical ghosts; but if all Mille needed was someone to help with translations, this Rotom seemed to have that down-pat.

At the question of break, they nodded. "I have today off," They responded simply. In public, they weren't going to speak of Rocket - wanting to keep their civilian life and their thief life as separate as possible. But, they did have a day-job at a Rocket-owned business as a cover, for their civilian identity.

Noticing Mille's gaze towards Tsukiko though... "Ah... That's Tsukiko; one of the few Illumina pokemon I mentioned to you before." They introduced - even if they blinked a bit, at der show of flexibility. "The hot weather was making her moody, so I brought her here so we could both cool off."

Tsukiko, too, seemed impressed. Her attention was had - and she'd roll back over onto her front, sitting up to regard Mille proper, briefly sniffing. A friend, perhaps?

Fenelle Miller

Mille nods at Makoto's input, taking a moment to think it over before signing a reply, "That is true. This Rotom's very accustomed to my signing, so it's running quite smoothly. It might boil down to personal preference ... and to see how things will go." Attachment is a dangerous game in a region so unstable - dee is prepared to lose any part of der team, even if some might be really truly devastating.

It's a relief when Tsukiko actually takes an interest in Mille, too, so dee could stand proper again and not risk further worsening der already existing back problems at der ripe age of 21. "Ohhhhhhhhh," is the translated sound, but truly, Fenelle's just standing there with an ":O" face. "Ice pokémon can suffer quite some in Hoenn, huh?" dee muses, thinking to der Vanillite. Though he seems to do fairly well, maybe because of being included in a horde with a fire type.

"I'm on break right now, if you wanna. Chill together," dee signs, completed by some finger guns that the Rotom is too perplexed to translate. "Tsukiko is also shiny, isn't she?" Fenelle asks, offering a hand for her to sniff - if that's how things go? She's actually not really that sure how to interact with pokémon in a friendly manner.

Makoto Kurumi

Makoto nodded in agreement, as Mille commented on how well (or unwell, really,) ice pokemon got by in Hoenn. "The winters getting colder probably helps them a bit... But, the summers are still quite hot." They spoke, pondering over how the climate could continue to shift, with the passing years.

It only stood to reason that, with how each winter has been getting colder than the last, that the next one could be even colder. Assuming trends continued, of course.

Makoto blinks a bit at the finger guns - even if the Rotom wasn't to translate it, they got the meaning loud and clear here.... To which, they'd nod. "Sure," They responded; supposing that they may as well. It was better than just sitting around doing nothing.

Tsukiko would happily sniff - then nuzzle - Mille's hand meanwhile, happily looking up to dem. Friend! This was a friend. She liked friend! With a bounce in her step, Tsukiko would step closer, ready to follow dem around.

Makoto chuckled softly, before nodding. "She is; and I think she recognizes how distinctive she is, really."

Tsukiko tilted her nose up a little in proud body language. She was a pretty foxy, and she knew it!

Fenelle Miller

""One can only see," Fenelle agrees with a murmur, thinking about the shifting climate - and well, how the world in general seems to be one legendary's bad day away from caving in altogether. But that might be Hoenn's nature as origin point, ruled by powers far beyond understanding ...

And beyond understanding, or at least causing some disbelief, might be der pun as well as the finger guns. Dee does seem to look smug for a fraction of a second before dee nods at Makoto's agreement. But before it would be time to actually have a look at the wares offered here, the shiny illumina alolan Ninetales. Fenelle chuckles at Tsukiko's happy greeting, even if it also has a slightly awkward, surprised edge - truly unfamiliar with the art of getting along with pokémon.

"They really do," Fenelle grins, giving the fox a slightly hesitant pat on her chilly head. "Is there anything you'd like to eat?" dee then asks, looking at Tsukiko at first, but also gesturing at Makoto as well. "I've only been here before a few times, and I can recommend the cream puffs for sure. They're surprisingly light." Almost with a cloud-like texture, but not as heavy as dee perceives candyfloss to be.

Makoto Kurumi

Makoto can't help a soft chuckle, as Fenelle and Tsukiko interact - finding it a little endearing. They always did love that friendly cuddly side Tsukiko had.

The question of what they'd want, though, was a good one. They'd ponder for a second - their gaze meeting Tsukiko's own - before responding "Cream puffs sounds good," with a nod. They'd probably be nice and cool, given that they had - well - cream inside.

Tsukiko, too, would show her own agreement with a little yap, tails swishing as she looked for a vacant table to hang out at whilst she waited on Makoto and Fenelle both. She'd place herself right underneath the table - the prime spot for her to put her head on either Makoto's or Fenelle's knee, if she wanted to beg either of them for a bite of the pastries.

"I might try something a little more savory, too..." Makoto mused, looking back towards the menu. So many options, it made it a little hard for them to settle on one - but maybe one of the cheesy breads would be nice to try...

Fenelle Miller

Fenelle follows Makoto's gaze in Tsukiko's direction for a moment, and then nods as dee signs at the Rotom, something it wouldn't translate. Temperature meter. See what the coldest pastries are here, dee instructs, and the Rotom dutifully goes to work. It's a bit odd, frankly, seeing Fenelle care about any pokémon, and what cruel implications it might have considering der team at the moment.

Still, the Rotom keeps quiet and merely fulfills his duties. "I've heard the cheese ones are pretty good, too," Fenelle chimes in at Makoto's contemplations, "even if I never tried one. Too much of a sweet tooth, but the puff pastries are pretty good here in general, I think their savoury ones are also good." With precision and not much thinking, dee has loaded up some of the sweetest pastries onto der tablet and prepares to ring it all up - maybe also contemplate to get some ice cream later from that little freezer that they definitely only got to boost their summer sales.

Once they were all seated, Fenelle smiles slightly at Tsukiko's ideal positioning. "Has she been Illumina as you've got to know her?"

Makoto Kurumi

At Fenelle's recommendation Makoto nodded, and would add a couple of the cheese pastries to the order. After a few moments of consideration, they'd also let Tsume pick out a pastry, and would also pick out something with caramel - perhaps it'd let Fenelle get close to little Kuro. De might take interest in its Illumina markings as well - but without food motivation (which caramel was its favorite flavor,) it was quite shy.

Tsukiko would likely be happy with one of the cheese pastries, meanwhile. It wasn't too hard to make her happy, in the treats department.

But on the subject of Tsukiko... "No... When I had gotten her, she was an ordinary - if shiny - Alolan Vulpix, at least as far as I know. But that changed not long after she evolved - and she developed the markings, one spring." They spoke.

Perhaps Tsukiko had always been Illumina, and it only became apparent as she got older. Or some exposure to something caused it, much like a number of her other strange abilities... It was hard to say, really; but with Fenelle's general intelligence and curiosity on the matter, perhaps de could figure it out. "How much do you know about Illumina pokemon, personally?"

Fenelle Miller

Fenelle regards Makoto's decision with curiosity, wondering what their thought process might have been. But then again, it's not like dee actually put that much thought into der own selection, which is mostly motivated by what dee hasn't tried before or what is just oozing sweetness in every possible way. (And a bottle of water, to wash it away so der teeth might have a chance at surviving.)

As dee gets seated, dee does notice another little creature briefly - is this another pokémon of Makoto's? But Fenelle focuses more on their words then, nodding along as they carefully chew their sweet pastries of various flavours (including some caramel ones). "It's mostly surface," dee then explains as a question is thrown into der direction, and dee takes another bite, swallows, before continuing.

"After our experience in the RKS, I researched them more and read up on it. It's still fairly mysterious to me, however, and I'm not entirely sure what these markings might mean ... and there doesn't seem to be a consensus either that I know of. I wonder if it's some kind of charm, or blessing, or something of the sorts," dee contemplates. "Their purpose could be as varied as their origin ..."

Makoto Kurumi

As Makoto joins Fenelle at the table, the smell of the caramel piques Kuro's interest. The little Zorua emerges from Makoto's shadow - having hidden there much like any other ghost-type might. But it does not show itself completely, peeking out from behind Makoto's leg.

Makoto takes note of this - and smiles softly. They take one of the caramel pastries - breaking a piece off of it to feed to Kuro, and then offering the pastry to Fenelle for dem to do the same. "This might let you get a closer look at Kuro's markings, if you want."

Indeed, Kuro's eyes flicker between Fenelle and the pastry, even as it munches down the piece that Makoto gave it.

Tsume takes a seat at the table as well, meanwhile - the Zoroark idly nibbling on his choice of pastry.

On the subject of Illumina pokemon though, it seemed that Fenelle didn't have too much of an idea more than they did. "It feels a bit like a blessing," They mused with a little nod. "From the chatter of others... It sounded as though the phenomenon is based on Infinity Energy." Though they are not really as scientifically inclined, to understand the specifics of it all.

It isn't long though, before they feel a weight on their knee. Makoto glances down to see Tsukiko looking up at them with the most pathetic eyes she can muster - and with a small fond sigh, they break off a piece of one of the cheese pastries for her. They don't know how she packs away the calories, which how food-motivated she is.

Fenelle Miller

Fenelle notices the sudden appearance of another pokémon, too, this time another Shiny indeed and another with faint Illumina markings. And good taste, as dee remarks, seeing that it seems very interested in the caramel pastry. "Thank you," dee quickly signs before taking the offered caramel pastry, breaking off another small piece and offering it on a flat hand to Kuro, seeing if they might take the bait. Either way, the appearance of him in general is quite fascinating.

Generally, dee regards Makoto and their pokémon with a slight fascination as dee is only used to bonding with six really - and even those six could almost count as one braincell, anyway, given how they refuse to be apart. Dee isn't even sure anymore how dee got them ... it feels like they've been around forever.

But now, only Rotom is out, watching the interaction with the most impassive look it could muster while trying not to think too hard. Maybe a cursed thing to do, bless a pokémon with intelligence when most of its other non-Rotom kin are more simplistic. Or maybe, a blessing.

Dee nods at Makoto's talk about Illumina, "Yes, they definitely seem to tie back to Infinity Energy. I've read that Crystablooms, as their cores house massive Infinity Energy, might have to do with Illumina as well ... which would perhaps explain why the tree in the simulation might be connected, too ... It's interesting how "Life Force" may manifest in this way." Another pause. "Their brilliance does feel like a blessing rather than anything else. They're really pretty, too."

Fenelle ponders for a moment unmoving, before Tsukiko's pleading eyes catches der attention even from across the table. Dee grins slightly at this sight, before taking a bite off der own pastry. "I wonder if I may come across an Illumina pokémon in the wild sometime."

Makoto Kurumi