Despite it only being a few moment,s LEx was growing impatient. She tapped another pokeball on her hip to expend the pent up energy. She continued to watch Ryker work in the meantime, finding herself mildly impressed as the battle raged on.

A sudden, sharp shriek echoed out of the tent, abruptly caught off by something. Lex’s attention snapped back to her own task, narrowing her gaze on the shadows that stirred past the billowing fabric. She tensed, ready to spring once the PROTECT fell.

Only a moment later, the barrier glitched out of existence and the ex-beast grinned. She rushed towards the opening, slipping inside and out of Ryker’s view. The inside of the tent was dim. A shattered light scattered broken glass across the floor. Smoldering embers seemed to grow brighter by the second. Embers became flames as a fire snatched up the parchment on the table. She’d have to make this quick.

Lex got to work, shoving whatever she could in the bag slung over her shoulder. Books, papers, data pads, you name it. A woman, pale and distorted by fear laid crumpled in the corner. The Shadow Gardevoir was hunched over her prey, greedily sucking them dry as they lay dying on the floor.

The fire grew brighter, raging across the tent and up the fabric side. She could barely see in the thick black smoke, “Hecate, that’s enough! Come on!”

Reluctantly, the specter rose, long, bony hands reaching to take their trainer and TELEPORT her back outside the tent as it was consumed by fire.

---

ryker hayes

Rj2fDY1j
Total: 250

“Don’t apologize, it’s unbecoming of your station,” she tched, waving a hand as if to dismiss the apology all together. Powerful people didn’t apologize. Especially to people below their rank. And right now, Lex was certainly below his rank. If there’s one thing she learned as a Rocket Beast, it was to rule with a tight fist. Fear and respect kept people in line.

Lex only stopped briefly at the sound of crinkling paper. She half turned to look back at Amor and study the sketches. They were pretty good, actually. She hadn’t had the opportunity to run into any of the three pokemon yet, but she’s faced worse. Much worse. Or so she imagines.

“I think Houndoom is on this one’s scent,” she pointed towards the raptor-like pokemon. The wide, three toed footprints best matched its body shape, “Guess we should be ready to run into it at any point . . . or more than one if they hunt in packs,” her voice held a pitch that hinted towards the thrill of danger mixed with professionalism.

---

Amor Rose

7SHhpICV
Total: 790

The deafening silence was broken by the shuffle and the flash of a shadow. Her amber eyes followed the pokemon as it disappeared back through a broken door and into another room. Lex’s eyes narrowed on the location, and her head shifted to motion towards it. The Shadow Gardevoir slipped into a shadow, stretching past and and through the crack of the door.

---

Skipping!
Poison / Dark Spawn #2 please!

It was quiet, too quiet. She had been watching the abandoned building for hours and not so much as a shadow moved within it. No pokemon, no people. Just a void of nothingness.

Impatient, she decided to act. With a heavy grunt and a thrust of her bulky boots, the thief kicked down the rusted door. Its hinges shrieked and the metallic partition fell to the floor with an echoing thud.

Lex stepped inside, greeted by a dark, empty void, “Ugh, fucking nothing. We got played,” and that informant would certainly pay the price of her wasted time.

---

Poison / Dark Spawn please!

The remnants of the fainted VOLTORB smoked in the wake of the explosion, spreading a hazy fog over the stony ground around the camp. It was an unexpected perk of the move, giving her even more cover. The ex-beast waited patiently, crouched in a shadow like Pyroar stalking its prey. Her amber gaze shifted over to the assassin. She watched him, judging as she always did. Her head tilted slightly, neither impressed nor disappointed for the time being.

She moved swiftly and silently in the cover of the crystals like a ghost amongst gravestones. The hideous creature that resembled a Gardevoir followed in her wake, half present in their plane and half phased into the phantom realm. Lex caught the shimmer of a barrier erected around the tent itself. The PROTECT prevented her from entering the area, but that wouldn’t stop the Gardevoir, “Kill whatever’s keeping that up,” she ordered.

The Shadow pokemon obeyed, slipping into another PHANTOM FORCE to sneak past the PROTECT and eliminate the source.

---

ryker hayes

8|Uz_qJ9
Total: 146

Lex certainly shared Amor’s sentiment. Being in someone’s debt was more stressful than it was worth. At her core, Lex was a loyal woman with a twisted sense of honor so a debt ate at her more than she’d care to admit. Having a Rocket Scientist in her debt . . . that seemed like a good position to be in. If her thirst to quench her desires wasn’t so strong she may have just written it off and assured him he wasn’t. However, that wasn’t the case here. Instead, she smiled a salacious smile laced with devious intent, “I’ll be sure to collect,” her voice dipped low into a sultry tone before she turned slowly to continue leading them down a path and wound through the crystals like a maze.

Houndoom blazed the trail, nose to the ground to stay on the scent they picked up from the footprints they came across earlier. The arachnid that helped free Amor was sucked back into its pokeball. The ex-beast frowned, growing wary as the crystals started to curl overhead to form more of a cave than a path through the sparkling forest, "Stay close," she suggested, sparing a quick glance back at the scientist, “What is it exactly we’re looking for again?”

---

Amor Rose

vXtcfLsx
Total: 673

Something that reassembles the combination of a grin and smile creases across her dark lips as he brushes past her, “Good things come to those who wait,” this time, there is clearly a playfulness that dances through her words.

Lex is quick to spin on her heels, following the wake of the hazy smoke. Her hands find their way to the pockets of her leather jacket again. The ex-beast’s gaze drifted between the back of Theo’s head and the growing crystal formations around them.

“Heard of ‘em. But that’s about it,” she doesn’t bother to busy herself with Hoenn’s politics. It’s not her job to protect the region from extraterrestrial forces, “I think I saw them in Littleroot?” It’s more of a question than a statement. The events of Littelroot were a blur and she didn’t look for answers.

---

THEO BECKETT

04yMv6TB
Total: 572

Her eyes wander for a moment, openly assessing the man in front of her as she traces his figure from the blonde hair down to his boots. She is judging, or perhaps letting her mind formulate some other uses.

“You may not have another use,” Her voice almost sounds playful. She shrugs gently, leaving some optimism to hang in the air, “We’ll see.”

And they would, eventually. Beyond her desire for vengeance she doesn’t really know what she wants. Everything else has been suffocated, revenge is all she can see, feel, and taste. Lex has always been a feircly loyal woman. Earn her loyalty, and it certainly does not go unrewarded.

---

THEO BECKETT

Ed6TSvNf
Total: 541

The perpetual frown the wore actually twitched up into a little bit of a smile. Her gaze openly studied him, giving little away to her actual impression. So far, she liked him. Tolerated may be a better word. He didn’t try to chit chat, he didn’t try to propose some crazy scheme. Sometimes, the simpliest plan was the best. Hopefully, nothing would get in their way.

“Alright, let’s do this then.”

The ex-beast was sucked into her own shadow, leaving Ryker alone to his own devices. Not everyone appreciated being sirited away against their will.

Lex and the Shadow Gardevoir reappeared on the dark edges of the campground. She was still, silent as a ghost. The only movemnet was the slow roll of a Voltorb. It’s metallic body danced with the lights of the surrounding tera crystal towers.

Before they even knew what hit them, the pokemon EXPLODED in a violent burst, rocking the ground beneath them and roaring off the cavern’s walls. Shouts and chaos ensued, the trap sprung for her partner to take advantage of.

---

ryker hayes

QJkiYNB_
Total: 107

The urgency in his voice stopped her in her tracks. The Houndoom paused when they felt Lex’s apprehension. A low growl rumbled through the throat as their eyes began scanning the surroundings.

“Great,” she growled from between her clenched teeth. Carefully, she shifted her weight to look back at Amor. He appears stuck in the sticky, but strong, webbing of the Spinarak. It was a good idea to avoid grabbing her, unless she asked. He was smarter than he seemed, after all.

The Houndoom joined the Charizard in blasting the nest with hellfire. The canine’s INFERNO rage across the sticky webs, shriveling them up to create a path of escape. Didn’t matter that they glowed, Lex recognized the urgent need to get out of there.

In a curious turn of events, she went against her warning and promise of self-preservation only a few minutes ago and chose to help Amor free himself of the sticky webbing. Lex crouched down and released an ARIADOS of her own. The little creature’s FURY SWIPES made quick work of its species’ webbing, freeing Amor’s feet, “This way!” she signaled, rushing to follow the Houndoom’s path. Hopefully it didn’t lead further into the nest.

---

Amor Rose

v85bMOUi
Total: 613

Lex wasn’t a stranger to defiance. The same ember burned in her eyes perpetually. She welcomed a challenge because it gave her a violent opportunity. Whether she overcame it or was crushed by it, the thrill was still the same. Amor decided to let the defiance come and pass like a wave on the beach. Lex was both satisfied and disappointed. In the end, it probably wasn’t best to get on the bad side of Rocket’s Head Scientist. She might need him one day.

“Quite alright,” she smiled, slow steps sauntering her past Amor while her Houndoom sniffed furiously at the footprints to catch a scent, “It wouldn’t have killed you,” she continued, pausing momentarily to look up at him from behind the shade of her sweeping red bangs, “Just maimed,” it was her version of a light hearted joke to clear the air.

Lex let Amor swoon over the shimmering crystals (that was his department). She was just here as some extra muscle. She continued to follow the Houndoom a few steps past him to scout ahead.

---

Amor Rose

0un79hQl
Total: 446

Amor proved to be more chivalrous than she was, which was fine. That meant more protection for herself and less guilt if the inevitable time to choose came to pass. She laid out her cards plainly. If he chose to accept them, he signed his consent.

Amor’s drawn out question left Lex puzzled. Slowly, her brows knit together into a deep crease. A dark shadow crossed her glare, clearly unamused by the invasion of privacy. She’d keep it vague, she decided. If he wanted to believe Walsh sent her on an errand, sure, but she’d make it clear she didn’t appreciate the prying, “Hm, I thought you better than that, Amor,” her head tilted when she sneered, “You should know better than to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong,” the lingering threat could be interpreted that she held confidential information, or that she was just sincerely perturbed by the question. Regardless, he’s supposed to be a smart man. Anyone who knew even the most superficial details of her life knew she had an obsession with her fiance. He was her greatest strength, and her greatest weakness. Her disappearance shortly after the ex-admin’s was proof enough that she went after him. Didn’t take a Rocket Scientist to deduce that . . . or so she thought. What a disappointment.

---

Amor Rose

6_1UpksS
Total: 361

Lex basks in the haze which might be mistaken for his gaze. She breathes in the fresh plume, licking her lips beneath her subtle smile. The normally rigid and on edge former beast finds her moment of peace in the nostalgia and the high it brings which drives her to speak more candidly than normal.

“Nothing lasts forever,” the somber tone in her voice hints towards her learned experiences. Eventually, the smoke would dissipate and the stale air would be a painful reminder of what she’s lost and what she can’t have, “But I’m sure we will find ways to remain mutually . . . useful.”

---

THEO BECKETT

Lr_mCMJw
Total: 419