Cap stood outside the bar, wiping his hands on his jeans and staring up at the vaguely-threatening dome of storm that had appeared over the mall. Huh. Not exactly what he'd been expecting to see on his lunch break but he'd seen weirder things. Probably. He glanced over his shoulder at the door of the bar. It was pretty quiet, they wouldn't miss him if he was gone for a few minutes. He had to check out whatever this thing was.[break][break]

The walk to the mall slowly shifted his feeling from burning curiosity to hesitation. The air around him began to crackle even before he was within touching distance of the dome. Something wasn't right here. He faltered just an arm's length from the swirling membrane.[break][break]

"What the hell is this?" Finally gathering his courage, he reached out a hand to tentatively trace his fingers across the surface of the dome only to find that his hand passed through without any resistance. Almost without thinking, he stepped forward, watching as the purple membrane engulfed his wrist, elbow, and shoulder. And then he was inside.[break][break]

The weight of the air around him seemed to weigh him down. Grunting, he had a sudden change of heart and turned to exit the way he'd come in, but the distance between him and the edge of the dome seemed to stretch on forever. He frowned. One step, then another, before it was too much to keep walking. He went to one knee, struggling against the weight pressing down on his shoulders. That was when he saw it. A writhing mass of white and red bearing down on him, seemingly materialized from nowhere.[break][break]

"No!" A flash of red light blinded him for an instant. When he squeezed his eyes open, Typhon was standing between him and the white beast. Only it wasn't Typhon. Or it was only part of him? Cap squinted. The edges of his form were fuzzy, shimmering in and out like the air above hot pavement. Flames danced in an out of reality, trading with ghastly purple tendrils. Typhon opened his mouth, but—instead of the fire Cap expected—ghostly orbs swirled around him and rocketed towards the aggressive Pokemon.[break][break]

The pressure suddenly became unbearable, as if the whole storm were condensed down and pressing on him. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to scream. He wouldn't go out screaming. Then, just as quickly as it had come, it was gone. He blinked and looked up. The edge of the dome was just feet from where he knelt and the red and white Pokemon was gone. Typhon stood before him—or at least he thought this strange Typhlosion must be Typhon—tilting his head. Cap stood carefully, returned Typhon to his Pokeball, and made a mad dash through the membrane of the dome again.[break][break]

When he came out the other side, a different sort of darkness enveloped him. One of streelights and the bustle of a city's nightlife coming alive. He blinked, having expected the sun. Cap's face screwed up. He pulled out his phone to check the time. 12:02am blinked back at him.[break][break]

Slate was gonna be so mad.

[break][break]

+ Form Change: Typhlosion -> Hisuian Typhlosion

"Tripped off a ship and into the arms of a cutie, huh? Must've been a warm welcome to Hoenn." He couldn't help but grin as Alexei managed to down two whole sticks of dango in one go. Like a snake. He tried to stifle a giggle. In fairness, that was going to be him in about five minutes when he had a plate of taiyaki in front of him. There was nothing to keep a man from his fried fish cakes.[break][break]

He nodded along to Alexei's explanation of his hometown. "Not a fan of the heat, huh? See, I'm just the opposite. I hate cold. I'd much rather be on a sunny beach any day." A beach sounded nice right about now. Ah, but the line was moving forward again, and Cap decided this was the perfect spot to be. For the moment. "I thought Hoennian winters were supposed to be pretty mild, but this year has been cold. Like... disgustingly so."

[break][break]

+ Alexei Ivanov[break]mission: festival fantasies

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky

Holding his breath, Cap returned Nemesis to her Pokeball as the sounds of Ra scooting the crown through the vent faded. At least the hard part was over. Now for the slightly-less-difficult-but-still-pretty-important part: getting the fuck out of here. Stuffing Nemesis' Pokeball back into his pocket, he dug out his phone and silently tapped out a message.[break][break]

🎁👑🎁 package secured 🎁👑🎁

Granted, he didn't think Barnaby would take the time to read the message. Still, he felt like he needed to update his partner on the situation. Cap slipped over to the door as he returned his phone to his pocket. He slid his foot back into his shoe, holding the door open with his knee. Inhale. Exhale. He had to trust that the employees were plenty distracted by Barnaby. Being hesitant now would cause more of a scene than just committing.[break][break]

He pushed through the door, rounding on it to catch the handle before it could click closed. He turned the handle and, using his thumb to gauge the distance, let it close as quickly as he dared. Once it bounced against the doorframe, he slowly released the handle and, in two long strides, he was back to looking absently at the jewelry on display.[break][break]

He gave it a few minutes so as not to arouse suspicion, shifting from display to display, before he (mostly) casually made his way back out into the department store proper. Now he and Barnaby just had to find the vent that led outside and retrieve their stolen goods. Whipping out his phone, he made a beeline to his favorite shop.[break][break]

meet @ auntie applin's. 🥨🤤 we'll get a pretzel and pick up the goods. 👑 👎👎🙅‍♂️

[break][break]

+ BARNABY FINCH[break]mission: a diamond in the rough

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky

As determined as Cap was to escape with his fried fish intact, the Croconaw was more persistent. Cap's steps sunk into the sand and slowed him significantly, but somehow the Pokemon didn't seem to have the same problem. In fact, when Cap turned to see if it had given up, the damn thing was right behind him. He tripped with a food-muffled yelp, sprawling onto the ground. The Croconaw grunted in success but didn't pause. It quickly clamored over his body, shoving its nubby little fingers into his mouth to get at the food that was still there. As one is liable to do when a Pokemon shoves its dirty hands into your lips, Cap yelled and spit, flailing his hands. He reached into his pocket looking for... well honestly he didn't know what. A weapon? One of his Pokemon's balls? Anything to get this thing off of him. The Croconaw, for its part, was happily shoveling spit-covered fried fish into its mouth. Cap's hand finally landed on something and he swung his arm around, clocking the Pokemon across the head. As luck would have it, he'd grabbed an empty Pokeball, and red light shone in his eyes as the Croconaw was engulfed and sucked into the device.

[break][break]

+ catching.

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky

As Cap munched, a snuffling, snorting sound caught his attention. Not far from where he was sitting, a red fin broke the surface of the water, followed closely by a pair of nostrils and then squinting, searching eyes. Cap froze mid-bite as the Croconaw lifted itself onto the beach, sniffing around as it did so. Cap glanced down at his fried fish in the same moment the Croconaw discovered that was the source of the delightful smell. Ah, hell.[break][break]

"No. No! Absolutely not. You stay over the—NO!" Cap had to scramble to his feet as the Croconaw bolted for him, waddling with a surprising amount of speed. The fries left on his plate went flying into the sand, discarded, and were quickly run over by the Pokemon. It had much better food in mind. Cap sprinted away, stuffing as much of his meal into his mouth as he could, with a fat little crocodile close on his heels.

[break][break]

+ catching.

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky

Cap leaned out sideways, eyeballing the extent of the line. How could he make these people vacate his queue? The wheels were turning, ideas rumbling around in his head. His fingertips tapped the top of one of the Pokeballs on his belt. What were the chances he'd just get kicked out? Alexei asked if he was really planning to spend all of his money on fried cakes and he clapped his hands together with determination, looking the other man straight in the eyes. "Who cares about ramen when there's taiyaki?" He could only hold the expression of disbelief for a moment before he grinned again. "Anyhow, Slate will probably spot me a couple of bucks for sushi. He knows how broke I am."[break][break]

The line crept forward again, Cap bouncing impatiently on the balls of his feet. He could smell the little bean-filled cakes. They smelled so good. Alexei leaned over and showed him a picture of the partner in question, and Cap was distracted from his taiyaki mission. He tilted his head, grinning at the picture on the phone.[break][break]

"Oooooh," he cooed, bringing a hand up to his mouth. "He's cute. Good catch, Alex." He resisted the ever so slight urge to swipe on the picture, see if anything incriminating came up. "You said you're from Unova, huh? What city?"

[break][break]

+ Alexei Ivanov[break]mission: festival fantasies

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky

Dewford, while fairly small as far as cities went, provided a surprisingly rich food culture. Cap had never been a foodie, but with more money coming in through Ritual, he'd been able to splurge a bit more on himself. Making a trip out to Dewford to sample their local cuisine was the kind of treat he wasn't used to. As he sat on the beach, picking through a basket of fried fish and practically inhaling the french fries, he had to admit that things were going well. He hated admitting when things were going well. That only put him on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It always dropped. Whether it was getting kicked out or being sent to the front lines, the sword of Damocles seemed to always be only a swing away.

[break][break]

+ ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky

He should've expected some nonsense like this from a kid named Mint Frost. He kept having to lean back any time their mark looked away and give sharp, angry glances to his partner. There was a plan and this guy was not sticking to it. Cap was trying to keep the ranger's attention, but Mint kept pulling it away with stupid, coy giggling and inane questions. Why wouldn't he just shut up and get in position? The ranger excused himself and Cap's attention snapped to his partner.[break][break]

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm doing my job." He scoffed, glancing back up to the front of the herd where the two rangers were talking. "I got hired because I'm good with people," he hissed. "So clearly you're the one who's supposed to snatch the Pokemon. How could this be any clearer?" Cap pinched the bridge of his nose with a gloved hand, sighing. "Look, I get it, you're probably new. You got your wires crossed, that's fine. We can still salvage this if you'll just get with the fucking program and get ready to snatch those Bergmite."

[break][break]

+ mint frost[break]mission: cold caravan

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky

Barnaby gave no indication that he'd realized Cap's request, much to the blonde's annoyance. He had to trust that his partner would know what to do. Lord, being a team player put a lot of strain on his little heart. He only needed a moment's patience before one of the employees walked back and began to open the door to the storeroom. He turned, seemingly interested in a display, and watched as she punched in the code and entered the door. He'd planned on just re-entering the code once she left, but the distinctive beep of the keypad made him anxious. Shit.[break][break]

Thinking fast, he slipped his foot from his shoe, idly pretending to peruse the jewelry beneath the display, and waited with bated breath. He heard the employee shuffling at the door and tensed. When she passed through, she was so excited to get back to the potential sale that she didn't push the door shut. It shifted slowly on its hinges, closing automatically. Cap held his breath and, with his foot, slid his shoe in between the door and the jam.[break][break]

By some miracle, it worked.[break][break]

With the door propped slightly ajar and the employees completely enraptured by Barnaby and his fake sale, Cap was able to slip into the back room unnoticed. He pulled his shoe back on, easing the door closed quietly. He turned and was greeted with a full view of the storeroom, covered wall-to-ceiling in priceless jewelry and gems. He gave an excited fist-pump. Until his gaze landed on the prize.[break][break]

Right. A wholeass crown.[break][break]

Cap practically delfated. How was he supposed to sneak something so huge out of the back room without being noticed? It wasn't like he could slip it into his jacket pocket and be on his way. For a brief moment he invisioned himself simply setting the crown on his head and walking his happy ass out the front door. So confident that no one was the wiser.[break][break]

Luckily his attention landed on a grate in the wall before he could dedicated a single other braincell to that stupid plan. Of course, the vents! He dug around in his pockets, pulling out two Pokeballs. In a flash of red, Nemesis and Ra were released.[break][break]

"Over here," he hissed at the pair, directing them just under a vent in the wall. Cap snatched the crown from its place on the shelf as he walked by, cursing it under his breath. He tucked the crown uncerimoniously under one arm and lifted the Pikachu up onto his shoulder. With a helpful leg up from Nemesis, Cap was able to reach the vent. He pried open the cover and shoved the crown in. "Your turn," he said, and Ra leaped up into the vent after the prize. "Take it until you find an opening that leads outside. We'll meet you there." Replacing the cover, he could hear Ra slowly begin to scoot the crown through the vent system.[break][break]

Now he just had to get out of here.

[break][break]

+ BARNABY FINCH[break]mission: a diamond in the rough

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky

"Oh yeah?" He was always curious where others had come from. There were a lot of transplants to Hoenn, he'd discovered. Plenty from Johto and Kanto, but even more from places he'd never even visited. Unova, Alola, Almia. There was a faint hope he could travel one day. For fun, not because a boss sent him somewhere. All thoughts of far-off places were erased when he saw the line to the taiyaki stand. He groaned dramatically.[break][break]

As they filed into the line, Cap patted his pocket. "I made some good tips. I will not shy away from spending every cent of it on taiyaki." It was true, too. He'd done it before, he'd do it again. Cap was a man with no shame when it came to tasty fish cakes.[break][break]

He eyed Alexei with a lopsided grin, nudging the other with his elbow. "Together, huh?" He waggled his eyebrows as the line crept forward. "That's one way to hook a man. Well, spill it. What's his name? How long have you two been together?" He craved the gossip.

[break][break]

+ Alexei Ivanov[break]mission: festival fantasies

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","credit"]milky