"Woo, look at those pretty eyes!" Rico mused, while jovially petting Vulpix's icy mane. They seemed to mutually get along with each other's Pokémon. Perhaps the two of them had more in common than just being members of the same shady organization.

Upon hearing Melody Miro's name, a deep scowl marred his handsome countenance. "Now I remember! I was about to give that stupid whale a piece of my mind! How dare he get in the way of my perfect shot!" He ranted with angry, pupil-less eyes and a mouth filled with sharp, triangular teeth. His vengeful, if a bit cartoony fury was juxtaposed by Maddie's continuous purring as Nina gently scratched the top of her head.

nina larson

☉

Parting ways with the kinky couple, Rika entered the illustrious casino proper, awestruck by the flashy interior design and the machinations that kept the entire venue running, each Pokémon carrying out a specific task. And the best part? All of these Pokémon technically belonged to Team Rocket!

Czar's pupils narrowed as he noticed the curly tail wiggling among the patron's feet, his hunter instincts kicking in. Luckily the Rattata crawled into a hole on the wall before it could become cat food. For his troubles, the zeta predator got a comically-sized bump on his head, as he crashed into said wall.

"Oh, you poor, poor thing. I know what will cheer you up..." Rika said, picking a teary-eyed Czar up in his arms, before strutting towards the roulette table. "Wanna see the ball spinning? I bet you do!" He petted the Alolan Meowth's head, whose already big eyes widened even further in anticipation.

"I think I'll bet on EVEN as well." The cross-dressing grunt said, placing 2 CHIPS on the table. His other Meowth, Duchess, got so excited that she accidentally unleashed her PAY DAY move. A bunch of koban coins rained down from the ceiling, a true gambler's blessing.

//outfit lucky numbers: 6, 16, 49
//no. of chips: 8
//pay day active for all participants this round

☉

Ah, Pikachu, the arch-nemesis of Team Rocket in some other dimension. Here, it was just an annoying rat. Bass let out a girly shriek, ducking behind one of the Slowbro in order to avoid the Electro Ball. Scowling in sheer contempt, he produced two Pokéballs from his pocket. "So you wanna do this the hard way, huh? Addie, Maddie, turn that tofu into minced meat!"

The flamboyant grunt sent out a Persian and a Meowth. It was already a two-on-one not counting his partner. Team Rocket didn't play fair, baby! "Addie, Hypnosis! Maddie, Fury Swipes!" The Persian deftly moved out of the way of Pikachu's Electro Ball, before emitting hypnotizing beams from its soul-piercing, red eyes, while the Meowth furiously swiped at the yellow rodent with its claws.

DANNY HALL, ollie morales

☉

BREEDING REQUEST

LET US TAKE CARE OF YOUR POKEMON

[break]

Rico Bassanello [break]
ZqaaUlrR

The Meowth drew closer to Nina's hand, purring and headbutting her slender, well-manicured digits. It then batted its big, catty eyes curiously at the noises that came from the lady's phone. "Nyaaah?" It meowed questioningly, as if to ask why she wasn't answering those messages she got from her friends.

Meanwhile, Rico seemed to have finally noticed her Alolan Vulpix, crouching on his knees and reaching out to pet its lovely, snow-white fur. "You can call me Rico when we're having fun, and Bass when we're doing business. That way it's nice and simple." He replied to the scarred woman, drawing a quick 'R' in the air with the tip of his finger. "Or are you here for business right now? I'm always up to commit some felonies!" He added, half joking.

nina larson

☉

Ignoring skyler dross's somewhat boorish comment about falling on her buttocks, Rika seemed far more intrigued by her alleged profession. "Ah, a treasure hunter. I'm certainly enjoying myself more now that I've met someone who's also in the business of collecting pretty things. Gold and silver coins, rubies and sapphires, diamonds and pearls, gotta catch them all!" The flamboyant grunt declared.

Speaking of treasure, the casino's owner soon made his dramatic (and very life-threatening) entrance, officially opening its doors to the droves of thrill-seeking gambling addicts. His sweet harem of Gardevoir and Gothitelle presented the patrons with mystery boxes containing their 'lucky numbers', which would apparently be important for the games that were about to partake in.

Rika began to approach one of the Psychic Pokémon, when Czar purred loudly in order to get his attention. The Alolan Meowth was apparently already holding one of the boxes between its paws. Its Pickup ability had finally come in handy. "Oh, thanks, my sweet baby!" He dotted the cat for being such a good boy. "Now let's see if fortune truly favors the bold and good-looking..." He smirked, opening the box with greedy eyes.

//outfit 10x starmie chips

☉

Things were getting interesting between Martín del Mar, Elisabeth Fiorelli and BARNABY FINCH, as the three of them seemed to be engaged in some sort of twisted love triangle. Well, that characterization may have been a bit generous given Elisabeth's visible disdain for the fabulously-dressed journalist, but their interactions were juicy all the same.

It all culminated in a bold bet proposed by Barnaby. Should Elisabeth lose, she would have to give him a genuine compliment. "Ohohoho, that's so evil of you, Mr. Finch! Devious even! I love it!" Rika chimed in, raising his gloved hand next to his mouth and laughing like a spoiled noblewoman.

The trio seemed to be heading towards Melody Miro to shower her with compliments, although Elisabeth soon broke off presumably in order to get as far away from Barnaby as possible. The effeminately-dressed grunt also excused himself, leisurely approaching skyler dross and angelo vestri.

"Darling, those heels are simply to die for! Where did you buy them?" He kicked things off with a compliment, unaware of the fact that those very heels were the subject of a different, sultrier wager made between the young couple. "Ah, where are my manners? I'm Rika, pleased to meet you. I'm just a regular connoisseur of all things that look pretty." He said, flipping his feather boa around himself.

//outfit

☉

Oh dear, this was getting crowded, wasn't it? It was halfway to be expected in a large public event like this. Rest assured, 'Rika' kept up a cool and aloof front even when overwhelmed by multiple people. "Pleasured to meet all of you. If casinos weren't to my liking, Mr. Del Mar, I wouldn't be here, fufufu~" The cross-dressing grunt laughed softly, finally letting go of Martín del Mar's Cash Money.

... and instead turned his attention to Elisabeth Fiorelli's Sunshine. "My, what a fitting name. She does shine like the sun!" He remarked, leaning down and smiling warmly at the little Sunkern. "Perhaps she has taken after her trainer." He added with a playful wink.

He then took a moment like everyone else to admire Melody Miro's performance. What a talented young artist! He could almost forgive her for having her flying Wailord photobomb him the other day.

Surprised to hear that BARNABY FINCH had dated Hoenn's favorite philanthropist, Rika's hand hovered near his O-shaped mouth. "Oh my, Mr. Del Mar. I must say you have some excellent taste!" He playfully said, while Czar and Duchess waved at Barnaby with their respective paws.

//outfit

☉

Rico nodded as his 'assistant' handed him one of his special concoctions disguised as hair products. The Gardevoir sat elegantly on the chair, leaning her head against the sink.

"How long is this going to take?" The middle-aged woman inquired.
"Gardy's hair needs to be handled with extra care, ma'am. Did you know that nine out of ten Gardevoir go bald before they reach Level 50?" The flamboyant stylist explained, eliciting horrified gasps from both trainer and Pokémon. The man chuckled softly. "Don't worry, we won't let that happen to you! I'll tell you what. Why don't you go outside to do some shopping and we'll give you a call once we're done here."
"Well, I do like shopping." The woman mused. "Alright then, I'll see you soon! Be nice to these lovely young men, Gardy!"

No sooner did Gardy's trainer take her leave than an energetic man walked in. Rico's blood froze as soon as he beheld his uniform, letting out a shrill, effeminate cry. "EEEYAUGH!!" Had the cops found out about their illicit activities already? Unless... that man was there as a simple customer. The latter seemed to be the case.

The disguised grunt quickly composed himself, clearing his throat. "Pardon me... I was just petrified by the sorry state of your hair. I'm afraid you're out of luck, officer. This shop is for Pokémon only. Off you go now, bye-bye!" He attempted to shoo the officer off. Frankly, the sooner they got him out of their hair the better (pun not intended).

Shi Mikhaylov, URIAH BLACK

☉

Rika's emerald eyes were drawn to the little people fountain that had formed around the literal fountain. So many important and influential people! It really went to show how far Team Rocket's reach could stretch. Ravishing as he was in his black dress, he couldn't hope to hold a candle to Elisabeth Fiorelli's beauty. And BARNABY FINCH looked like an exotic prince in his flamboyant attire.

"My, my, what pristine company we have here!" The cross-dressing grunt approached the trio, making no attempt to alter his voice. His high-pitched shrill wasn't the pinnacle of masculinity anyway. Naturally, his boss Martín del Mar should have no trouble recognizing him, but there was nothing wrong with doing a little bit of role playing. "Oh, I should introduced myself. I'm Rika, and these adorable babies are Czar and Duchess." He gestured at the two Alolan Meowth.

Rika leaned in front of Martín's shiny Kantonian Meowth, lowering his gloved hand in order to pet its head. "Mmm, how lovely... The face of POG Bank is looking radiant as always." He remarked, his hand moving down and gently scratching the underside of the Meowth's chin, which he knew was their favorite spot.

//outfit

☉

"Nina, Nina..." The blue-haired man repeated the name, trying to commit it to memory. "A pretty name for a pretty lady!" He gallantly remarked, winking at her and flashing a smile of sparkling teeth.

Speaking of things that sparkled, Maddie seemed interested in the shiny jewel that dangled from the woman's ankle. Climbing down from her master's shoulder, the feline Pokémon approached Nina and started pawing at the moonstone charm, very much like a cat.

"The name's Rico." The man introduced himself in turn, before cupping a hand around his mouth. "Though I use the name Bass in my other job." He discreetly added.

nina larson

☉

What's this? Accompanied by two Alolan Meowth, a beautiful woman with neck-length, sky blue hair confidently struts up to the casino's entrance, her stiletto heels clicking against the whitestone archway. She is clad in a stunning, black dress, a white feather boa elegantly draped around her bare shoulders.

Little did all those people gawking at her know he was actually Rico in drag. No, he wasn't planning to transition. He just liked getting in touch with his feminine side every now and then, so tonight he would be 'Rika', the mysterious socialite from a faraway region.

//outfit

☉