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POSTED ON Aug 18, 2020 7:52:24 GMT

maddonis was no scientest, but he knew rocks. he knew caves. he knew mining to some extent, though one would never guess it by looking at him. he was at the far, rich end of a long line of those who had profited off of picking caverns clean. sure, the family had employed others to do the hard labor for hundreds of years from the point at which they could afford it, but knowledge of the trade was still valued and well-taught to all glosse children.

this was an interesting mission for him to embark on. he didn’t quite mind the idea of wearing a hardhat, and he was feeling a bit like a child again, daydreaming about the treasure they might find. he was remembering his parents. he was remembering daga, running around him with a toy shovel. fuck him. he should have beat him with it when he had the chance.

he deserted his reverie when a man neared him in the park outside their destination. his partner. whom he’d met before. which was fine, only it hadn’t been through team rocket. it had been on his own estate. awkward.

“oh.” maddonis stared. it wasn’t often the man was visibly caught off guard. “you’re familiar.” baby blues didn’t falter from the man’s unmistakable violet eyes, as though he was trying to gauge his trustworthiness. was the world really that small? they’d done business before, and being seasoned in the same corner of the crime underworld, they were bound to run into each other again. no harm in working for the same people. funny finding out at such a moment.

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POSTED ON Aug 19, 2020 1:05:47 GMT

He was about to get on with the pleasantries before the rocket had mentioned finding him familiar.

”Oh? Is that so?” Now that could either be a good thing or a really, really, really bad thing depending on who it was that was recognizing Samuel. Given that this person didn’t seem that upset at the sight of him, at least for now, Samuel was in the clear.

But where exactly was it that this person would find him familiar or even in the reverse case. That’s when Samuel looked closer at the person in front of him, really getting a good look and that’s when it all clicked.

”Oh wow! I would’ve next expected to run into you here of all places!” Seriously what were the odds? He didn’t strike Samuel as the type to be doing this sort of work, maybe get someone else to do it for him but it was a nice blast of nostalgia seeing him here.

”How have you been? Business been treating you well?” Samuel at this point had been out of the game for a bit so any big changes would be beyond his knowledge.

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POSTED ON Aug 19, 2020 4:04:16 GMT

the man didn’t recognize him at first, which would have been preferable, really, but then something visibly clicked and maddonis stiffened, ready to become defensive if necessary. a wave of relief washed over him shortly after, that samuel didn’t mind running into him. they had done shady dealings in the past. a little distrust would have been natural, and understandable.

he was amused at the man’s enthuasiasm and shrugged. “i know my rocks.” stones, gems, jewels, etc. this truly was his perfect mission.

upon his question about his business, he faltered. he wasn’t sure how transparent he should be about stroyah continuing to work with other syndicates back home, using his mines, and making his money. team rocket had become quite stingy, and although he wasn’t stealing any of their profits, it could be said that he was not putting all of his efforts and worth into them, which seemed to be generally expected.

“business is fine.” he responded curtly. then, realizing his rudeness, softened it with a smile. “shall we?” he gestured towards the mouth of the cave still down the path a bit.

he allowed silence to hang in the air for a moment, just walking. “i suppose it’d be foolish to say i’m surprised to see you, what with rocket’s primary objectives as of late.” valentine was a prosperous and well-traveled smuggler. he’d always gone where the money was, and rocket was making it in substantial amounts. maddonis was teasing him a little, in his own way, maybe. he had no room to judge, though. wealth was a grand part of life.

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POSTED ON Aug 19, 2020 19:36:54 GMT

Well Samuel supposed he couldn’t really argue with the man on that. Given their family business, there wasn’t anyone else really better to have on the job.

”That you do.” He responded with a smile. Samuel wasn’t the type to pry in this situation so when he was given such a short and quick reply he didn’t think much of it.

He knew better and given the profession that he was in being nosy was a quick way to end up six feet in the ground and Samuel liked being alive.

”Yes, let’s.” But before he would go down the path he let out his Excadrill.

It’d be nice to have the Pokémon out and ready just in case something went sideways and they needed a quick out or for whatever excavating needs they might have.

Maddonis has a bit of a point there; this really wasn’t Samuel’s scene.

He normally preferred easier and less noisy operations but hey this is where the good money was and he wanted it.

”Well ever since I came back home all the good work’s been with Rocket so there doesn’t seem to be much of a choice.” He said with a shrug.

”Though it’s where all the money is so I’m not complaining!”

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POSTED ON Aug 19, 2020 20:18:16 GMT

maddonis followed suit, releasing bitxilore from her ball. she had been good for several missions thus far, and he was glad he’d decided to bring her along to hoenn, even if it did mean his carbink was suffering miserably. the sableye walked a little ahead of the group.

at samuel’s explanation, he gave a small smile, “i figured as much.” maddonis was not unlike him. he’d have gone to the ends of the earth to protect his family’s fortune. money, power, and blood were his holy trinity, and they were constantly battling for precidence within his mind.

they walked for a moment in silence. “what do you know about the stones we're looking for?” he was perhaps as versed as he could be with public knowledge, maybe a tiny bit more. he knew they could help to MEGA EVOLVE a pokemon, and that was the big thing. samuel had traveled the world and spoken to many people, and he was also his senior in rocket. there was a high possibility he had more of the scoop than maddonis did.

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POSTED ON Aug 19, 2020 21:29:41 GMT

”Oh?” That was in part what they were after for here after all.

”Hmmm a bit but probably not as much as I should.” Samuel replied, rubbing his chin.

”Mysterious stones that grant a Pokémon immense power, allowing them to reach a new form beyond what was considered their final stage.” A basic explanation as to what they were and what they did.

”No one really knows where they came from outside of them suddenly appearing after the Mossdepp incident. Which might have something to do with their appearance but I haven’t had the chance to investigate that any further nor does anyone I know have any information further than that.” He’d shrug, turning his head to look to Maddonis.

”Eager to get your hands on one, huh? Well, I don’t blame you, they probably cost a fortune. Be grand to get one for keeping and another for selling!”

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POSTED ON Aug 19, 2020 22:12:26 GMT

maddonis listened as samuel reitterated the facts he had already known. he’d never seen one with his own eyes, though, and the cryptic teasing of a physical description piqued his interest. he wouldn’t express his desire to take the treasure for himself, but he’d admit, “i’d love to get a look at one.”he was daydreaming. not to mention, the power of mega evolution seemed great, however unnatural. and that was another thing. were they even really stones at all, per se?

they trekked on, and soon the cave was looming over them. maddonis released his chandelure to help with the light. bitxilore continued leading the way, her movements becoming more erratic as they ventured deeper. the sounds of pokemon echoed ahead, although it couldn’t be determined how far away they may have been. “i’d say we should be deep enough to start checking around.”

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POSTED ON Aug 20, 2020 3:13:50 GMT

”You and me both.” He had his own suspicious about the stones and how they worked and their implications but he’d keep that to himself.

Once he got his hands on one of them he could confirm these thoughts and it’d probably help enlighten what’s been going in this region.

Samuel was quite familiar with this cave and its layout.

Where people that came before them had checked to find their own treasure and what spots that hadn’t been touched yet by anyone were all things that the smuggler was well aware of.

That’s why he didn’t protest when Maddonis decided that they should stop here.

”Sounds good to me.” He replied.

”If you’re Sableye points to a spot it thinks holds some gems or anything rare my Excadrill will be able to dig it up in no time.” The little ghost Pokémon always had a knack for finding the good stuff.

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POSTED ON Aug 20, 2020 3:40:40 GMT

maddonis nodded. “bitxilore—” the sabeleye had stopped near the area as well, nosing around without being told. he gave a satisfied ‘hm.’ the sableye had really shown herself to be a surprisingly helpful servant. he then released mohs and decidueye. “help her.” he commanded shortly, and they obediently began to help in their own ways. the carbink eyed the sableye cautiously. it added INSULT TO INJURY, having to do hard labor while trying to avoid being eaten.

as the pokemon worked, maddonis gazed down at an angle, watching carefully. after a little time, a change in the soil and then color could be noticed. “stop!” there was something there. he glanced over at samuel excitedly, hoping it was, by some dumb luck, what they’d come for. they could have been there for hours without hitting anything, and there was a chance it wasn’t the stones, but it was something. and they’d had sableye’s senses to trust that it was something of value. he went over to the hole in the earth, and admitted, “i don’t know what they look like.”

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POSTED ON Aug 20, 2020 17:22:51 GMT

Well that was certainly fast and while Samuel could almost share in his companion’s excitement he was held back by his suspicions.

He didn’t doubt the sableye’s ability to find something of worth, hell, Samuel was pretty sure it was coded in their genes to be able to find it but a mega stone?

Maybe he was being too skeptical and their luck was just looking up today.

It’d been quite a while since he’d last had such a successful dig so maybe this was the universe’s way of fixing that, it’d certainly be a welcomed change of pace that was for sure.

Samuel examined the handiwork of their Pokémon, trying to find what it was they were looking for.

”They’re quite vibrant in their color, vary in sizes but most are about the size of a Pokéball when they expand. Oh and they have this double helix looking pattern in the center of them.” Samuel explained as he shifted through their results. He didn’t see any mega stones but he did see some gems and to his surprise evolutionary stones.

”No mega stone here but still have some useful stuff here.”

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POSTED ON Aug 20, 2020 22:47:45 GMT

maddonis nodded. “how interesting.” he wanted to see one even more now. it certainly didn’t sound ‘of the earth’.

seizing the opportunity while dirt wasn’t flying, bitxilore took hold of a few gems and snuck off to a corner, gnawing at them feverishly.

maddonis picked up an evolutionary stone and brushed off some of the dirt with a gloved hand, inspecting it curiously. there was an uncharacteristic innocence about him when he did this. while his infatuation with power had increased his interest in these types of objects specifically, maddonis also just really liked looking at rocks. like, the colors, the textures. it was satisfying to him, to turn it over in his hand and feel the cool surface. so long, it had sat there in the ground, in peace, transforming slowly. he offered it to samuel for further inspection.

he stared at bitxilore, trying to hide the ice in his heart to keep up appearances. samuel had known him from a different, less angry time. “bitxilore,” his voice still rang like a call to a buttler. he could only hide himself so well. “where to next?” the sableye blinked for a moment and then, gems still in tow, began to zigzag around again, eventually coming to another prospective spot before plopping down and continuing to gnaw.

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2020 5:20:05 GMT

When Maddonis handed over the stone Samuel immediately got to inspecting it. Now there wasn’t much of a point to doing so if they were going to just use it for its evolutionary properties but if they were going to sell it they had to make sure the stone was presentable.

Not too many cracks or other imperfections and the type of evolutionary stone were also important.

Some were definitely more valuable than others so they had to determine that as well. But if they kept finding them then they could just sell in bulk and not split hairs over that.

His Excadrill followed behind the Sableye to the new digging spot and started to get to work.

”I hear there’s even a mega stone that’ll make a Pokémon like your Sableye even stronger. There a Pokémon in mind you’d like to find one for?”

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2020 20:54:49 GMT

his sableye. it was strange. he’d not thought about bitxilore as being his own yet. she and fortuna had previously belonged to his parents, and his family’s home. pets, essentially.

he gave a ‘hm’ with mirth. “if bitxilore gets any stronger, she’ll kill my carbink.” he did consider a moment, though. bitxilore had assisted (loosely) in a handful of missions thus far, and had steadily overtaken mohs as maddonis’ #1, whatever the meant. regardless, she was… special, sentimental somehow, and he wasn’t sure she’d ever be one of his battle dogs. “i haven’t had much use for her powers until recently. she was more of a mascot in her previous life.” hell of a masoct. very ‘nothing’s ever enough, take what you want’.

maddonis looked back at the blur of the drilling pokemon, dirt flying. “maybe my dewgong.” he considered,. fortuna had also been a pet, but he’d seen her less growing up. she had stayed in a pool in a part of the estate he had rarely visited. while he seemed to be nicer to fortuna than bitxilore, he was, for some reason, more comfortable putting her in harm’s way. “what about you, mr. valentine? if you could inject power into any pokemon, which would it be?” his pristine face turned towards samuel curiously.

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POSTED ON Aug 22, 2020 16:06:26 GMT

Samuel had honestly never thought about the idea of a Sableye eating a Carbink and honestly it made him pause and look down at the little gremlin, now seeing the Pokémon in a new and probably more disturbing light. He was glad Maddonis had said what Pokémon he’d like to empower as the image of a bunch of Sableye eating Carbink popped into his head and he didn’t exactly like it.

”Hmm?” What Pokémon would he like to make more powerful? He had a lot to choose from but one in particular stuck out more than the other ones.

”Dewong’s a nice choice. As for me, I’d probably pick my Milotic.” He answered, folding his arms and thinking further about the prospect of that.

”Already a strong and beautiful Pokémon so seeing it evolve even further would probably result in something amazing.” And after he said that it looked like his Excadrill had stopped his digging.

”Alright! Let’s see what we’ve got!”

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POSTED ON Aug 22, 2020 21:23:02 GMT

milotic. while maddonis was still trying to catch up to his fellow rocket grunts in terms of pokemon knowledge, he was familiar with the serpentine beauty of a water type. in fact, he could recall wanting one as a child.

“i always did like milotic.” he agreed wistfully. indeed, it would have been interesting to witness the pokemon’s transformation.

as the group of laboring pokemon came to a stop again, maddonis’ curiosity piqued once more. yet again, though, they had discovered more of the same. he picked up some of the findings and turned them over, bagging them. he looked at bitxilore and then back at samuel. “perhaps we should make our own judgment this time.”

but it wasn’t bitxilore’s fault, really. they were hours off from the right spot, and they would perhaps go on like this for the rest of the day and find nothing. a solid and profitable amount of spoils that would garner the approval they needed from authority, sure, but there was a high chance they’d not meet the ultimate goal of their mission.

@samuel

leavin this to kinda wrap up if you want, up to you!