[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby grinned at Mint's thumbs-up, though she didn't return one of her own; it wasn't really her style. She watched as Zucchera, her Thunder absorbed by a lone Marowak, got hit twice by a Bonemerang, once after it had been thrown and once on its way back to its owner. She was about to shout for Arachne to take care of the Ground-type nuisance, but Mint was one step ahead of her. Ruby's excitement swelled even further at the sight of the Feraligatr, a much more traditionally menacing Pokémon.

[break][break]All this excitement, this battle frenzy, was starting to draw out Ruby's competitive side. When Spritz had to close his mouth to recover from Hydro Pump, Ruby took the opportunity to shout out a command: "Don't let him outdo you! Infest 'em!"

[break][break]Arachne hissed at the oncoming enemy Pokémon and summoned dozens, if not hundreds, of tiny black bugs beneath her. Like a shadow, the swarm slid toward the oncoming horde and latched to its members' feet, slowing the onslaught to a crawl as most tried to kick off the little intruders.

[break][break]"Centiskorch, use Sunny Day!" one of the cultists shouted. "For the glory of Groudon!"

[break][break]Great, there was the crazy cultist talk. More worryingly, the rain clouds parted for the sun, which somehow shone even brighter now and gave the cultists the advantage again. Arachne's water bubble meant she was mostly safe... from Fire-types, at least. From the Golems rolling toward her? Not so much. Ruby didn't like to think about it, but her team suffered from a Rock-type weakness. Luckily, she had a new addition that'd help with that.

[break][break]Assuming she was willing to listen, anyway.

[break][break]"Delphi, Bulldoze!" she shouted as she tossed the Garchomp's Poké Ball into the fray. Luckily, Delphi and Ruby were actually on the same page for once. After a roar of challenge, she stomped down, causing the ground beneath the Golems to rumble and shift. They were tossed off course and had to take a moment to reorient themselves.

[break][break]But they weren't the only threats targeting Spritz and Arachne.

[break][break]"Charizard, use Solar Beam!"

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby had never had much of a sleep schedule aside from preferring the cooler Orre evenings and nights, but ever since she'd joined Team Rocket, even that had been thrown out the window. On some days, she was out late doing jobs that the higher-ups wanted to keep out of the public eye. On others, she was stuck under the humid heat of Hoenn's sun either because of a wild Pokémon's habits or because someone had decided that Rocket needed a publicity boost. Tonight would be one of the former types of days, which would be better if the humidity would actually clear out and let things cool down. She didn't think she'd ever stop hating this sticky feeling, no matter how long she lived in the region.

[break][break]Apparently, some Rockets who'd been skimming off the top of the group's profits had holed up in a cabin in the shadow of Mt. Chimney, so it was up to Ruby and her assigned partner to beat some sense into them. And this is why you don't piss off the people you're working for, she thought as she hiked down Route 112 in the growing darkness. Just for this special occasion, she'd decided to bring along her trusty nailbat, which she held over her shoulder with one hand as she walked. Even she had to admit it was pretty impractical for a weapon, especially when you threw Pokémon into the mix, but these days, it was mostly used to show that she meant business. And if she got to hit someone with it? Hey, even better. As long as the nails didn't get caught in her victim's clothes. Or skin. That was always a pain in the ass.

[break][break]She spotted Onyx sitting up from his place on the ground where Ruby had been told to meet up. How long had he been there?

[break][break]"Sleeping on the job?" she teased.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby's panting was ragged as she turned fully around to watch the figure go flying back. Ha! She knew it! Whatever it was, she could hit it! Emboldened, she stomped forward to deliver a full beat-down on this "ghost," but when she got closer...

[break][break]"Oh, great. It's you." What was this guy's name, again? Ivan? No, Isaac, that was it. All the fight drained out of her system, and her panting turned into gradually steadier breathing. Of course it would be the overly dramatic goofball who'd pull a stunt like this.

[break][break]She saw the pot coming down half a second before it landed on Isaac's head with a satisfying CLONK, and she let herself laugh at the spectacle. Even Cerberus joined in with a few deliberate pants, his form of chuckling. "That's what you get for messing with me, dumbass!" she exclaimed. Combined with the unexpected compliment on her fighting skills, that little taunt was already making Ruby feel better. "'We'? What are you gonna do, hide under that pot?"

[break][break]She crossed her arms and gave Isaac an unimpressed look. "I wasn't scared. You just got the drop on me, and look how that turned out for you. 'Sides, there's no such thing as ghosts. Now tell your buddy over there to knock it off." She jabbed her thumb toward the still-slamming cabinets.

[break][break]Yet Isaac's buddy, a Totodile apparently named Watson, was right there at his side. But if it wasn't him making all that noise...

[break][break][break]BANG!

[break][break]Ruby tried not to jump at the sudden noise, but she still flinched as she spun around. "Okay, it's not funny, Isaac!" she said. "Call off your other little friend out there!" That had to be what it was, right? Just Isaac continuing to mess with her?

[break][break]Cerberus, meanwhile, began barking and hopping in place, hackles raised. Ruby tried to pretend that he was just excited for a fight and not trying to signal that something was wrong.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

A mighty roar shook the air before a tall black-and-red figure jumped out in front of Ruby on the other side of the bridge: an Incineroar. Whether she was guarding this area or was just looking for a challenge, it was clear that she wanted a fight. And Ruby was more than happy to give her one.

[break][break]"All right, you wanna go?" she asked. "Then let's go. 'Rachne, show 'em what you've got!"

[break][break]The Araquanid emerged from her Poké Ball with a hiss of challenge, mandibles clicking. Despite the type and terrain disadvantage, the Incineroar still seemed confident, even grinning with excited anticipation. She leapt at her opponent and began to Thrash. Arachne flinched back but quickly regained her composure and Lunged at the Incineroar.

[break][break]The Incineroar's battle frenzy kept her going for longer than expected, even as she was barraged with Liquidation, Leech Life, and an Infestation. Eventually, though, she fell to one knee with a quiet growl of surrender.

[break][break]"Heh, not bad," Ruby said to the Incineroar. "You really know how to hold out, huh?"

[break][break]The Incineroar raised her head to look at Ruby. When their eyes met, they both felt that pull, that mutual understanding that can blossom between a human and a Pokémon. Ruby had expected to be hiking for a while before she found the perfect new addition to her team, yet she'd barely stepped onto the route proper before meeting this Incineroar. And she had no doubt they'd work great together. She pulled an empty Poké Ball from her bag and tossed it at the Incineroar, a wordless way of asking whether she would join the team.

[break][break]

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Route 114, nestled between Fallarbor Town and Meteor Falls, was apparently home to a variety of powerful Pokémon. And when she stepped onto the Route itself, Ruby could see why: in the distance, the fertile farmland gave way to a stretch of grassland at the foot of Meteor Falls' rocky exterior, which looked like hell to climb. Varied environments and what looked like a grueling hike? There had to be some good Pokémon around here.

[break][break]She scanned ahead of her as she crossed the bridge over a lake created by the waterfalls, looking for signs of wild Pokémon in the distance. What did she even want? Something strong, definitely. Something that looked cool and intimidating. She just hoped she'd find something like that here.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby glanced over at Johanna and had to resist the urge to facepalm at her pathetic display of intimidation. At least she tried...? Actually, Ruby wasn't sure if that made it better or worse.

[break][break]For a moment, Adrian looked like he was considering her offer, but his smug smirk immediately had Ruby on edge. She'd been expecting questions—what kind of idiot just accepted an offer like that without asking at least some?—but she hadn't expected that counteroffer. Ruby had to admit that was ballsy, especially if he'd overheard what his subordinates had said.

[break][break]Johanna looked like she wanted to say something, but she ultimately kept her silence. Ruby honestly wasn't sure if she even had this under control or not. She'd been drawing from her past experiences in Orre and basically bluffing her way through this whole conversation. She was surprised it had been working so far!

[break][break]Ruby chuckled. "When I said 'little,' I didn't mean 'little' like your ragtag bunch here. We've got a whole base with everything you could ever need. Even has a spa, if you're into that kind of thing. And you can make good money if you're willing to get your hands dirty."

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ghosts on the sub... What a stupid rumor! Ghosts weren't real! People were probably just hearing the sounds of the ocean—everyone knew the ocean was weird as hell—or, at worst, a Ghost-type Pokémon playing pranks. Yet Ruby had gotten stuck on night-patrol duty to figure out what the noise was. What, was the rest of Team Rocket too scared to do it themselves? Actually, now that she thought about it, wasn't someone else supposed to be doing this with her? She hadn't seen anyone else around, though. They'd probably chickened out.

[break][break]At least Ruby had Cerberus at her side. Not because she was scared or anything, but because Dark-types were naturally strong against Ghost-types. Ruby may not have had the best education, but she at least knew her matchups when it came to her favorite types. And if having someone else by her side made the weirdly empty labs less quiet and empty, that was just a bonus.

[break][break]Cerberus suddenly raised his head and sniffed the air. Ruby, too, straightened up, already ready for a brawl. "What is it?" she whispered.

[break][break]Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!

[break][break]Her gaze snapped toward the source of the sound of cupboards being opened and shut rapidly. Cerberus growled. "Who's there?!" Ruby shouted into the darkness. She fished for her flashlight and clicked it on, only for the beam of light to flicker out in an instant, casting a brief shadow on the wall. "The hell—?!" She smacked it a few times, trying to get it to work, but all it did was cough out a few pathetic attempts at light before dying completely, illuminating the morphing shadows a few times with its last breaths.

[break][break]"Fuck," she whispered. Great, she didn't have a light. But that didn't matter! She had Cerberus, and he'd have the advantage against this little prankster. Everything was totally fine—

[break][break]"Do you believe in ghosts?"

[break][break]What was that? What the hell was that? Did Ghost-types talk? Ruby looked up toward where it sounded like the voice had come from, but she didn't see anything. Goosebumps raced across her skin. Why'd the scientists have to keep the labs so damn cold?

[break][break]"Gh—! Whoever you are, I'm not falling for it! Get out here so I can kick your ass!" Adrenaline coursed through her veins, and she chose to weaponize it, preparing every inch of her body for battle. Ghosts weren't real. Whatever it was, it was something she could fight. It was fine.

[break][break]She didn't even let the creepy voice below her finish its sentence before she spun around and snapped her foot out in a panicked low kick with a "Fuck off!" Shortly after, Cerberus spun around and let out a Roar, aiming to knock whatever was behind them back.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

You could take a girl from the desert, but the desert would never truly leave her. It would be forever ingrained in her body, letting her recall in an instant how she had survived in it before. For many, the desert was a trial of survival. For her, it was just a natural part of life, like breathing. Heck, Route 111's desert was one of the first places Ruby had gone to search for wild Pokémon after arriving in Hoenn from Orre. It was where she'd found her Skorupi, Skorpios, who scuttled along his trainer, happy to be back in his home terrain.

[break][break]She was dressed for the part of a desert survivor, too. Her skin was protected from the sun with loose, light clothing, a wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses, and she had a sturdy backpack filled with plenty of water, energy bars, trail mix, and various other medical and survival supplies. She probably wouldn't need all of it, but it was always best to prepare for the worst in such an unforgiving environment. It would have been preferable for her to travel in the evening when it was cooler, but her current mission meant she had to contend with the merciless sun.

[break][break]Oh, well. Not like she hadn't dealt with it before.

[break][break]"See anything, Skorp?" she asked in a low voice. She'd been keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of something serpentine, but she hadn't exactly done her homework on snake-tracking. She figured her and Skorpios's combined desert expertise would get the job done well enough.

[break][break]Skorpios paused in his scuttling. Oh, right, he was supposed to be looking for snakes, not just enjoying a walk with his trainer! He opened his eyes wide and let his gaze dart around the sandy dunes and rocks around him. Ah-ha, there was an indent in the sand! He chittered to get Ruby's attention, then pointed to the long trail with one claw.

[break][break]"Ah-ha," Ruby whispered. "Get ready, buddy."

[break][break]The two crept after the trail until they saw something move behind a dune to the left. Without being told, Skorpios dug down and continued following from under the sand while Ruby waited from a distance, listening carefully. But the next sound she heard didn't sound like Skorpios driving his tail into his prey, even if she did also hear a distressed warbly hiss immediately after. She rounded the other side of the dune to see a Silicobra pinned down by some Y-shaped fork attached to a pole. Holding onto said pole was a redheaded, eyepatched woman losing her balance in the sand, something the Silicobra was taking advantage of in its attempts to wriggle free.

[break][break]"The hell?" was all Ruby could say to the sight.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Bryan's seeming disinterest in her Pokémon didn't help with Ruby's nerves at first, but he apparently was listening, and Ruby felt a little swell of pride when he told her to use Sandstorm. Except then she remembered that she'd be using Delphi for that, and while the Garchomp was a powerhouse, she tended to do what she wanted in battle instead of listen to Ruby. Ruby really, really hoped that the Dragon-type would listen to her for once.

[break][break]Bryan didn't directly answer Ruby's question, only telling her that he wanted to "cut loose." That put a smirk on her face. Seeing a Rocket Beast cut loose was bound to be good. Her mask wasn't anything fancy compared to Bryan's—it was a cloth mask with a grinning-teeth pattern that covered the lower half of her face—but she still tied it on.

[break][break]To Ruby's complete lack of surprise, the cultists got even more annoying when told to fuck off. Ruby rolled her eyes with an annoyed sigh. Luckily, Bryan was quick on the draw, sending out a strange chimeric Pokémon that Ruby had never seen before. And then he put a disk in its head? But before Ruby could dwell too much on this strange creature, she got her signal.

[break][break]Come on, Del, don't fuck this up for me...!

[break][break]"Delphi, use Sandstorm!" she shouted as she tossed the Garchomp's Poké Ball into the fray. At about the same time, Ruby had to do a double-take to make sure she was really seeing Bryan summoning a ball of light to blind the cultists. Was that...?

[break][break]Delphi let out a roar and charged at the Kingdra that one of the cultists had sent out. Wait... where was the sand?

[break][break]"Delphi!" Ruby yelled even louder. "Sandstorm!"

[break][break]But the Garchomp didn't listen, instead surrounding herself in a blue draconic aura and hitting the Kingdra with a Dragon Rush, knocking it out instantly.

[break][break]A cultist's voice rose up above the chaos: "Swampert, Ice Punch!"

[break][break]Delphi whirled around to confront the Swampert that stomped over to her. She tried to catch her opponent's fists on her arm blades, but the frozen punch was too much for her to withstand, and she staggered backwards.

[break][break]"Oh, for fuck's sake..." Ruby grumbled.

[break][break]"Protect the altar!" a cultist shouted. "Someone stop that Pokémon!"

[break][break]"Does anyone know what type it is?" someone else called out.

[break][break]"Who cares?!" a third voice cut in. "Just hit it with something!"

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Cerberus looked baffled at the trainer and Pokémon completely unaffected by his mighty Roar. His confusion morphed into indignation when the human ignored him and commanded his Swoobat to blow the Smog away... right back toward Ruby. He let out a bark of warning, but there wasn't much he could do to stop the cloud from drifting over to his trainer.

[break][break]Even with her balaclava on, Ruby covered her mouth and nose with one hand as the smoke came closer. Dammit...! Fine, if this guy was going to play like that, then Ruby was fine with doing this the more... direct way.

[break][break]"Oh, shut up already." She stepped out of the shadows, which might have looked more dramatic if she hadn't picked up the pace to get away from the Smog cloud. It didn't help that her speech had been muffled by her hand, which she only lowered when she was safely away from the gas. "I don't have anything to 'talk out' with you. And I'm not afraid of a bunch of old coots! What are they gonna do, tell me to get off their lawn?"

[break][break]Cerberus lowered his stance and growled, knowing full well that Ruby, unlike this Ranger, did want a battle. And Cerberus himself wanted to show that he wasn't one to be ignored. "Respect"? What a load of Tauros waste!

[break][break]"Beat 'em Up, Cerberus!" Ruby shouted, pointing at the Swoobat.

[break][break]Now that was what he liked to hear! Cerberus raised his head and howled as his body was enveloped in a dark energy. That energy gathered in his mouth and then flew to Ruby's Poké Balls. Then, one by one, the Balls burst open, but instead of a white light, the Pokémon emerged surrounded by the dark aura that had summoned them. First came an Araquanid, then a Skorupi, then a Scyther, and finally a Garchomp, all flying out one by one to strike at the Swoobat before retreating back into their Poké Balls. At the end, Cerberus also leapt up to aim one final strike at his Psychic-type opponent.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Holy shit, that was a Rocket Beast. Even a newbie like Ruby knew who Bryan Delarosa was, and he was pretty easy to recognize with his mismatched eyes. She knew she'd be dealing with a higher-up, but she hadn't realized just what kind of higher-up. She managed to keep her eyes from popping open in surprise for more than a fraction of a second.

[break][break]"That's me," she said, managing to keep her voice level. She was determined to keep her cool in front of him. The last thing she needed was to make a fool of herself in front of a Beast.

[break][break]Before they reached the cultist themselves, Bryan stopped them to ask what Pokémon Ruby had on her. "I've got Araquanid, Houndour, Skorupi, Scyther, and Garchomp. The Garchomp's got Sandstorm, so that should slow them down." She had to admit that it wasn't the best team for dealing with Water-types, but being able to cancel out their rain with sand would be useful, at least. "What about you?" She was curious to see what kind of team a real Rocket Beast would have on him.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Or he could just laugh at her. That worked, too, sure. A small smirk rose to her mouth, and she shrugged. "What, you want me to call you King of the Mankey instead?" Regardless, it seemed that this Adrian respected her enough to give out his name, so she had that going for her. Apparently, the little taunts were working, just not in the way she'd expected.

[break][break]She lit her cigarette and handed the lighter back to the boy, already taking a drag. Then, she tilted her head up and blew her smoke into the air. "I like your attitude, kid," she said to Adrian. "Me and my friend here are part of a little group against useless goody two-shoes. And we're looking for new members. You guys seem like you like causing a bit of trouble, so we think you'd fit right in. Right?" She nudged Johanna with an elbow. It wasn't meant to be painful, but Ruby wasn't exactly a gentle person most of the time.

[break][break]Already, whispers were floating into the air with the cigarette smoke. Some were curious about what this group was. Some had their own guesses, though others said that was impossible—their leader had died and they'd disbanded, right? But all of them kept looking at Adrian, waiting for his answer.

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Holy shit, Ruby couldn't believe this guy hadn't seen her. If she weren't trying to be stealthy, she'd be laughing her ass off. For the time being, she was safe from the Smog thanks to face covering and the fact that Cerberus had fired it in the opposite direction. All she had to do now was slip around this guy while she still had cover, and—

[break][break]And he had a Tyranitar. Great. There was no way she'd be able to sneak past the both of them that close to the door. Fine. She'd just have to use brute force to get past them. She liked it better that way, anyway.

[break][break]She reached for Arachne's Poké Ball but stopped when Cerberus jumped in front of his opponents and let out a Roar, trying to get Titan and his Trainer to back off. Ruby grit her teeth. "Dammit, Cerb," she hissed under her breath. The Houndour didn't stand a chance against a Tyranitar, but Cerberus was too cocky to back down now.