The park was massive, making up a couple acres worth of wilderness that had been manicured and altered to be perfect for any canine Pokemon. The grassy, floral area near the entrance slowly transitioned into a dry prairie with plenty of large boulders and fake cacti for the residents to mark. The ground steadily rose into a towering hill in the middle of the park, which was often used by children in the winter months for sledding. In the summer, it simply acted as a nice lookout point over the rest of the park. On the opposite side of the hill sat a small forest, broken up by a couple bodies of water. Watering bowls, shaded seats, and miscellaneous dog toys could be found scattered throughout the entire area.

[break][break]While this dog park was located close to Mauville Hills and was likely only meant for the wealthy residents of the apartment complex, Zilla had never been asked to show proof of residency. She’d been coming here for years, as it proved to be a nice way for Mightyena to let out some energy without terrorizing the local wildlife. Today was a special day, however. She’d recently procured a Houndoom, and a dog park seemed like the perfect place to make the new party member feel welcome.

[break][break]Zilla entered through the front gate, walked through the meadow, and finally arrived at the arid portion of the park — where the grass grew thin and the dirt turned to sand. First, she called out Mightyena, a black-and-grey canine with a shiny coat and a powerful set of claws. He emerged from the pokeball wagging his tail and panting excitedly. ”I know, I know. Wait a sec,” the Rocket grunt chuckled. The Mightyena dipped into a play-bow, tail still wagging, and waited as he was told. Next came the Houndoom, who appeared from her ball with some hostility. Hackles raised, teeth bared, tail erect.

[break][break]”It’s alright, mama,” Zilla said. Mightyena, realizing there was some tension between the two, rose from his bowing position and barked once at the fire hound. Houndoom tore her gaze from her new trainer just long enough to catch Mightyena’s eyes before looking forward again. They didn’t need to speak for the intention to be clear: he was trying to get her to play with him and she was more concerned about her pup. The grunt slowly lifted her hands up to her chest, palms turned out, and said, ”Your baby’s fine, I promise.” Houndoom continued to growl, seemingly unconvinced. ”I promise,” Zilla repeated, a bit quieter.

[break][break]”Here’s the deal. You can either stand there glaring at me for an hour, or you can go have some fun. Either way, you’re not seeing her until we get back home.” Had it just been the two of them, she may have reconsidered pushing her luck. However, she knew that if the Houndoom tried to attack then she would not only have Mightyena there, but she’d also have a park full of trainers to help subdue the aggressive hound. She wasn’t concerned. Slowly, Zilla lowered her hands and walked to one of the shaded benches. Without a word, she sat down, crossed her legs, and watched as Mightyena barked again in a desperate attempt to get Houndoom to play.

[break][break]

+ Bond Bridge Mission, open to anyone!

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"The illegal kind," the stranger replied before quickly changing the subject and eying Mightyena. The dark canine snarled and snapped his jaws once, threatening the mystery man. Zilla said nothing. She'd already told her starter to back off; if the man pressed his luck and hurt as a result then that was his own fault. Zilla crossed her arms over her chest, shifted all her weight on one leg, and raised an eyebrow inquisitively. She clearly wasn't buying the nice-guy small talk.

[break][break]Seemingly aware of the fact that his mark was running out of patience, the stranger finally explained who he worked for and what he wanted: Team Rocket wanted to recruit Zilla. Dark eyes widened in surprise at what he just said. Team Rocket? THE Team Rocket? The same one that overthrew Kanto's League? Her shocked expression quickly shifted into one of confusion. Had her illegal activities really caught the eye of the most infamous mob on this side of the Pokemon world?

[break][break]It felt like a prank.

[break][break]No. It felt like a set-up.

[break][break]Zilla cracked a smile. It was forced, and the stranger could probably tell, but she didn't care. She wanted to disguise her fear and paranoia as amusement. "Am I being accused of something?" she hissed through the grin, "Do I need a lawyer?" This dude was definitely with the police... right? Definitely. But she'd be fine. She hadn't said anything self-incriminating. Then again, this guy wasn't acting like any cop she'd ever met before.

[break][break]Maybe he was the real deal. Maybe Team Rocket really was looking to rebuild in Hoenn. The idea wasn't too far-fetched. And she would have been a valuable asset if they could convince her to steal for them or to leak information regarding the Game Center's security. Though the possibility of the mystery man being part of Team Rocket was slim, there still was possibility. This could all be real, she thought. Even still, Zilla kept her defenses up and waited to see how he'd respond to her questions.

[break][break]

+ Killian Decker

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

When Kepler began speaking, Zilla quickly tuned him out. As much as her job at the Mauville Game Corner forced her to be good at quick math, she didn't care so much about its scientific application. Such things were beyond the scope of her understanding or interest. She was more like a gun: someone needed only point her at a target, pull the trigger, and let her handle the rest. Kepler, on the other hand, was more of a scientist than a common criminal, and so his priorities were misaligned with hers.

[break][break]Zilla made a face under the mask and tore her gaze from the other grunt. "Arceus, why did I have to get stuck with the nerd?" she wanted to grumble, but she bit her tongue and kept the ridicule to herself. The sooner they got the job done, the sooner she'd be able to ditch the little weirdo.

[break][break]Her ears pricked up when Kepler mentioned that the lens would be an investment to Team Rocket's science department, however. Zilla wasn't a die-hard member of the organization — a fact that many of the elites were surely aware of — but she was loyal to them all the same. They had treated her well, they protected her against the long arm of the law, and they offered plenty of opportunities to make money. If she could pay them back for supporting her life of crime, there was little reason not to. Perhaps this lens, she thought, was an excellent way to do just that.

[break][break]"Alright, alright, dork. I'm in," she said with a dismissive wave of the hand, "I can't promise anything, but I'll try to steer clear of your precious lens." Okay, so maybe that was a bit harsh, but Zilla was tired of all the science talk. It made her feel stupid, and that didn't sit right with her. She liked being the one in charge of the conversation, so silencing him and assuming some dominance over the situation was the best way she knew how to handle it.

[break][break]

+ kepler brueshaber

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Zilla watched in silence as Mightyena ran after Fletchinder, knowing full well that she was losing sight of her two strongest party members. Regardless, she continued along at a leisurely pace. Traveling this route had never given her any issues in the past, and aside from the bugs and birds her starter had frightened from the trees, she hadn't seen many other wild Pokemon. Best case, she'd whistle and the duo would come running back to her side—provided they were close enough to hear. Worst case, she'd call out one of her under-leveled Pokemon to defend her while she got away.

[break][break]As if to test her might, a Pawniard emerged from the underbrush, looking angry and perhaps even a bit confused. Did the Karrablast tell the rest of the forest of the frightening Mightyena that was running around and terrorizing the locals? Certainly not. Pokemon didn't communicate like that, especially not in nature. But that didn't change the fact that a walking knife-set was now looking for a fight. Zilla slowed to a stop in the middle of the path, all the while staring down the Pawniard.

[break][break]It sharpened its blades and grunted, doing its best to challenge or scare off its human opponent. Zilla cocked an eyebrow, unclipped a pokeball from her belt, and pressed the released button. In a flash of light, a Charmander roughly the same size at the wild Pawniard emerged on the battlefield. Just as he had been trained to do, the lizard immediately growled to intimidate the enemy... but when compared to Mightyena's powerful stance and fierce snarl, Charmander's tactic was pretty adorable. Even still, the Pawniard appeared to hesitate for a moment before lunging forward.

[break][break]Charmander likely would have had more than enough time to move out of the way, but Zilla had different plans. "Take the hit!" she hollered. And like a loyal soldier, he did just that. The Pawniard slashed both hand-blades across the defenseless lizard's chest, though it held back some — no doubt a response to the not-so-intimidating growl from earlier. Even still, the blow caused the orange lizard to scream out in agony.

[break][break]Seeing him in pain like that made Zilla's heart ache, but she stayed strong. It was purely strategic, she told herself. His Blaze ability super-charged his fire attacks when he was severely injured; and despite the fact that there was no way to tell if he had suffered enough damage to activate the ability, the Pawniard was now too close to avoid a counterattack at point-blank range. "Flamethrower," Zilla said, and the Charmander once again obeyed without question.

[break][break]As the tiny knight stumbled backwards, away from the stream of fire that now engulfed its body, the Rocket grunt pulled an empty pokeball from her bag and tossed it at the wild Pokemon.

[break][break]As Zilla and Charmander waited with bated breath, Mightyena and Fletchinder arrived at the outskirts of a nearby farm where a man stood over an unconscious Drapion. The fire bird flew in lazy circles over the farm, indicating that this was where he was headed all along. Mightyena was slow to approach, not wanting to startle the stranger or start a fight without his trainer; however, introductions had to wait. The sound of rustling caught the dark dog's attention. An Anorith. Mightyena erupted into a fury of barks, alerting the farmer of the wild Pokemon's presence the same way he would have done if something was sneaking up on Zilla.

[break][break]

+ Thomas Benoit
[break]+ Zilla attempts to capture Pawniard.

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Zilla watched with growing skepticism as the man pulled out a cigarette and brought it to his lips, only to drop the stick on the ground and crush it out under his boot. Was it an odd tic? Some kind of threat? Or had he been offended that she didn't offer to light it for him? Regardless of the reason, it was incredibly bizarre behavior.

[break][break]She was about to release Mightyena from his hold, no longer wanting to deal with someone so unpredictable, but the man's next words piqued her interest. He wanted her to work for him because, as he put it, "stinky fingers are valuable in my profession." There was no denying her history with pick-pocketing and thievery. He knew Zilla's name, place of work, and "hobby." Chances were he knew more about her than he was letting on.

[break][break]"What kind of 'profession' is that?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow inquisitively. Only a fool would agree to join a stranger's illegal operations without first prying for more information. A name, an address, or even a phone number would have given her something to go off of, but she had a sneaking suspicion that her pursuer wouldn't give up such personal information about his employer so easily.

[break][break]

+ Killian Decker

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