[attr="class","rubyw"]

It figured she wouldn't immediately find something else worth some actual money. But at least this stuff was still useful. Seriously, who was dropping this stuff into the ocean?

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[attr="class","rubyw"]

Huh, the girl who'd commented on that other woman's curls was up on the seat now. Not that it mattered; Ruby was going to give her her all either way.

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[attr="class","rubyw"]

Oh, hell yeah, now this was what she was talking about! She pulled up a valuable-looking pearl from the seafloor and grinned. This looked both pretty and valuable. Ruby was more concerned about the latter, of course. Did Jade like pearls? If she didn't, Ruby could sell this one and get her a more suitable gift.

[break][break]Her hunt wasn't over, though. Spurred on by this victory, she continued digging around in the sand, searching for more valuables.

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[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby could have spoken the thought that the woman's curls would be ruined out loud, but she figured she was above such a petty insult. Instead, she focused on her throw.

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[attr="class","rubyw"]

There was probably something deep Ruby could say about this temporary throne over the pretend-dangerous waters, but fuggit. She just wanted to throw the ball and dunk someone so she could feel smug.

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[attr="class","rubyw"]

Okay, cool, something that wasn't a Poké Ball. Still, this area had been a total wash so far. Ruby looked around, then steered Arachne to a deeper area of the sea. Maybe there wouldn't be so much junk over here.

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[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby was spending some much-needed quality time in her Mossdeep apartment when the news stated that beds of Eelektross were coming to the city's shores more often. "Oh, dear," Jade said. "We should be careful going outside, then."

[break][break]"Yeah, no kidding," Ruby replied. "Those suckers will bite down on you and turn you into a nice, crispy lunch. Don't walk around with any barbecue sauce on you."

[break][break]Jade giggled softly at that. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind. I'll make sure to keep my Pokémon out, too."

[break][break]"Attagirl." Ruby grinned even though Jade couldn't see it. She worried about her younger sister, of course, but Jade knew how to keep herself safe. She was too smart to do anything stupid. Unlike Ruby.

[break][break]Even so, Ruby still found herself near Mossdeep's shores, Delphi's Poké Ball in hand, ready to cull the herd. The fewer there were around to bite Jade's legs off, the better Ruby would feel. Besides, if she could catch one of her own, it'd make a powerful addition to her team. She was killing two Pidgey with one stone here, and she wasn't even supposed to be the smart one!

[break][break]She heard a spark-filled growl and saw one crawling toward her. Perfect. "Let's go, Delphi!" she shouted before releasing the Garchomp onto the battlefield.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby blew out an angry stream of bubbles when she picked up yet another Poké Ball. This was bullshit. She directed Arachne to turn around and head for the surface, but something glinting in the sand caught her eye. She swore, if it was another damn Poké Ball...

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[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby thought she maybe recognized the person in the seat, but only vaguely. Well, not like it mattered. If you were in the seat, you were Ruby's prey.

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[attr="class","rubyw"]

"Pretty much," Ruby said after Isaac had summarized her points. "Dunno about the cold, unfeeling void bit, but as long as the Pokémon's well-trained, you should be fine." Ruby had had plenty of nights where she hadn't dreamed, but it was more likely that she just hadn't remembered her dreams; apparently, actually not dreaming was pretty rare. And that obviously wasn't the case with Isaac here.

[break][break]His next few questions had Ruby shrugging her shoulders. "Beats me. I've never used a Musharna before. That's something you'll have to find out yourself. I remember something about not going near it when its mist is dark 'cause you'll start seeing shit, so maybe it's a vibe thing? I dunno, it's something to do with self-defense." She continued: "It should be able to tell the good dreams from the bad ones and only eat what you tell it to, but I guess you can have it show you the good dreams with its mist if it doesn't."

[break][break]Ah, there was some of that familiar light returning to Isaac's eyes. As annoying as he could be sometimes, Ruby preferred that over seeing him look like the walking dead.

[break][break]"Pretty much any Pokémon that can use Dream Eater should work if it's trained well enough. Hypno and Musharna are just the most natural ones, I guess." She thought for a moment. "You planning on catching them yourself or getting them from somewhere? There are training and breeding facilities for service and therapy Pokémon."

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby knew she was doing bad things. She wasn't under some delusion that Rocket were the misunderstood heroes who would take down the corrupt League. Hell, she'd been there when the old Rocket regime had laid siege to Verdanturf. She was just used to people, herself included, being hurt for bullshit reasons or no reason at all. It wasn't fair, and she knew it, but if she didn't harden her heart against as much of it as she could, she'd never get anywhere. And this was just the "anywhere" she'd ended up at.

[break][break]Noah cut off any further banter with his simple answer to her taunt. Well, damn. There wasn't much Ruby could do with an honest answer like that, especially when he seemed so unhappy with himself already. Ruby had no qualms against fighting the League in any way she could, including verbally, but there was only so low a person could punch before they felt like total scum, and Ruby wasn't quite there yet. She held back any further mocking words and instead focused on the battle.

[break][break]"Pull back!" she called out to Arachne after Noah gave his Cinderace the order to attack. Arachne jumped off her prey, leaving his chest wide open for Speedy to plant his foot into. The Tyranitar toppled to the ground, making the ground shake. It wasn't as satisfying as Ruby wanted it to be. Neither was the way that Noah, sitting on the ground, told her to just grab what she wanted and leave.

[break][break]"You'd better not try anything," she said, though her tone lacked any real accusation. She didn't think he'd really try anything in his state, but you could never be too careful. "Keep an eye on him," she said to Arachne before she left the room, leaving Noah to mope. The Araquanid walked backwards as she followed Ruby out, doing as her trainer had asked and making sure Noah didn't try anything. Ruby quickly located the room with the incubating egg in it and snatched it up before anyone else could show up to ruin her night.

[break][break]Well, that could have gone better. Her plan to be sneaky hadn't worked out, and her opponent hadn't even felt good to take down in the end. She'd even had to work with him to take down the rampaging Tyranitar. All this for one egg. She hoped it was a damn good one.

[break][break]She was going to be pretty pissed when she found out it was just to improve the base's spa services.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Dammit, she was hoping Xerneas wouldn't say that. She wasn't keen on the idea of prostrating herself before even a Legendary Pokémon, but she was even less keen on the idea of having her blood sucked by thorny vines. "Right. Your Grace." She hoped kneeling was good enough.

[break][break]This is why I'm not religious, she thought before standing.

[break][break]Adding insult to injury, Bryan noted the importance of strategy over just brute force. "Yeah, I know. Try telling that to her, though," she said, looking at Delphi's Poké Ball. Maybe today's screw-up had taught her that actually listening to her trainer was a good idea, but Ruby wasn't holding out hope.

[break][break]"Trust me, I already know the error of her ways. But if you're offering to train us..." Her voice perked up a bit with interest. Maybe something good could come out of today, after all. What better training could she ask for than from a Rocket Beast with a style similar to hers? She was still embarrassed at how Delphi had acted, but if she could get stronger and show she'd taken his lessons to heart... Well, who knows?