Latte had the pill pushed down his throat as the Houndoom continued whining and panting during the entire ordeal. It was utter heartbreak for Magnus to listen to, that much was certain. Vee quietly watched him as she continued to kneel down and pet Latte as she gave a thumbs up to the other man. "Anytime. Latte's a part of the family like any of us." She could tell he was overstressed with this, and shared some of his pain at least. It wasn't her companion and his pain was twice the amount of her own, but the most she could do was to be there for the both of them. After a few more hand licks, Vee got up to work on helping the other wounded animal in the room.

"It's no biggie, boss. Honest. I'm just glad I could get here in time." She said, sitting down next to him. The size difference was noticeable, but she still tired something to help him feel better. Her hand fall on his arm as the girl tried to smile a little. It took a few pats here and there before she'd look back at the resting Houndoom. "Just don't beat yourself up, boss. You couldn't have known what Latte ate. Let's just...No, I know he'll pull through. He's your dog, right?" Vee said, trying to force a grin out of the man as she patted his back. "That means he's just as strong as you are."

Magnus appeared to be feeling slightly better and even offered takeout from them. Her stomach growled softly while the mechanic laughed a little and leaned back in her seat. "I'm game! Show me your favorite movie. Something that you can watch over and over and over again." She tried to appeal to his interests, attempting to distract him from the pain of almost losing a beloved member of the family. Every now and again, Vee would look over to check on Latte and make sure she was feeling alright. Just walking over to pet her, check on the other dogs, and such.

Jack Magnus

"It's not as easy as it sounds." Vee said while her grin turned into a pout at Marshall. While not a touchy subject, it was still nothing short of embarrassing to admit that somebody didn't know how to catch Pokémon at her age due to a scale of factors. Her eyes whisked away from Marshall as she crossed her arms underneath her chest. "I never had to catch any of my Pokémon. Noodle did it to himself and Thrasher was a birthday gift. I haven't even told Keira. That's how personal this is." He did step off his bike and give a confident little smirk, which only caused the girl's smirk to widen.

"You're a lifesaver, Marshall!" she said and took out Thrasher's Pokeball and followed the other guy around as he'd show her the ropes. "You take the front and I'll watch for the first one." The two were off as they began to walk around the outskirts for a bit in search of a wild Pokémon. It didn't take long for their hunt to yield the first of their hunt: A Scrafty that would growl at their approach. Her finger shot towards the fighting type as Vee looked to the co-founder of ORTHRUS.

"Found one! Now what're you doin' first? I suppose you can't just throw a pokeball at it and it'll go quietly..."

@marshall

Even by just looking at Latte, disregarding the loud, pain filled whines, it was the farthest thing from a minor stomachache. Vee's hand moved to the pup's head, stroking its dark colored fur as it would lick it between pants and soft whines. She'd kneel down and continue to try and help the pup feel a little bit better. Her knees carefully maneuvered around the audience of dogs that had been around and anxious about the state of one of their own.

"It's okay. You're gunna be alright." It was said in the heat of the moment. Something that came from her mouth to help the Pokémon feel better. Trembling hands went to stroke the Houndoor's fur coat while her eyes went to Magnus. It was hard to imagine the same man who was the head of their gang, reduced to something so human. Although Vee couldn't say it wasn't something anybody would have done in his position.

Her worst suspicions are confirmed as Magnus gave her the rundown on what had occurred. Latte had be the unfortunate victim of of eating something he shouldn't have or getting bit by an Ekans or an Arbok. Either situation wasn't the best case scenario. Magnus was rushing to shove the pill into the treat in order to feed it to Latte, but he wouldn't budge. All the pup would do was to lick it a little if he was interested.

Time was of the essence, and they were running thin on time. He'd swivel over to her and ask for her to hold his mouth open so that they could force him to swallow it. Vee was a little conflicted. She didn't want to cause him any more discomfort than the poor thing had been through, but if he didn't down this pill, there was a good chance that he would...

Nope, not thinking that. Not ever.

"Sorry, Latte." Vee said softly, gently inserting her fingers on the sides of his mouth and forcing it open, but not enough to injure him any. Her heart ached as she heard the noises, wanting to just cover her ears. It reminded her too much of the groans and grunts that the others had made long ago. A pained desperation that your life was in jeopardy and you had no control over what was going to happen. She tried to help comfort Latte some again, watching Magnus administer the pill but with hands shaking something fierce.

"Go for it, boss."

Jack Magnus

Vee had been spending most of the day lounging around Mauville City on her day off. There wasn't a whole lot to do when she wasn't good on funds to head towards Rustboro or any other place, but it was nice to spend it with her Pokémon. Noodle, her trusty Dunsparce, had been receiving lots of affection and treats as she walked with him through the city until her phone vibrated in her pocket.

She brought it up to her face to be met with a message from Magnus. He wanted her to pick up a prescription on her way back home. Come to think of it, the afternoon sun was kind of dwindling down already. So this was just a good chance to end her day with. Fingers tapped the screen in a fast rhythm and hit send while picking up Noodle and hurrying away.

"On it! brt, boss!"

She walked to a nearby Pharmacy quite a few blocks away from Mauville Mods and entered, the scent of stale chips and hand sanitizer filling the air as a line was forming. She groaned but quickly got in line and waited her turn. She waited...and waited...Ugh. Noodle had been busy on top of her head, slithering down to the shoulder as he'd let out a soft mutter to one of the scrappy looking Raticate looking up at it. They feuded for a bit as Vee watched it jump up and aim for the defenseless thing. The owner, of course, was on their phone up until Vee had her Pokemon above her head with a leg arched back and ready to kick. "You wanna control your rat any day now?"

Thus began another heated argument in the lobby. People stared at the older teen squaring up to a man taller than her up until the counter read her number. "You're lucky this place is savin' your from an ass kickin'!" she sneered at the man, storming up to the counter as she went through the spheal and got the medication. "So what's it for?" she to herself while walking out of the building and reading the bottle. According to the label, it was it was used to moderate to severe poison applications reduced the effects of swelling that usually came after being inject-

Wait, a minute, what?
"Something's up. Let's get runnin', Noodle!"

The door to the hideout opened as a pair of feet came roaring inside. "Boss?!" Vee yelled, panting heavily as she made her way inside of room Magnus was in. She was red in the face, carrying Noodle in one arm and the prescription bag in the other. She sets her Dunsparce down and rips the bag open to hand the bottle to their dark haired leader as her eyes shot to the canines huddled around each other. In a doggie bed is Latte, whimpering softly. Her heart cracked, the girl kneeling down carefully to get a better look at the suffering pup. "WH-What happened to Latte?! Is he gunna be alright?" she asked Magnus, brows furrowed in worry.

Jack Magnus

It was another quiet day for the Orthrus gang, and Vee had been going stir crazy. With most of the crew at the Mod shop being busy with other things that she couldn't fiddle with, it didn't take long for the girl to find something else to amuse herself with. Thankfully, one of the guys had just finished some adjustments on a certain individual's bike and was ready for a test drive. Vee wasn't going to just tear off on anyone's bikes without telling them, especially not Marshall's. So she did the next best thing, stepping up to the man with keys in hand.

"Make a right up ahead!" Vee shouted while riding with the other man, her arms around him as she was happy as a Muk in a sewage system. The roaring of the engine, the wind blowing through her hair, the little mechanic was in heaven like this. They had taken a drive together to test the changes made to his bike, but Vee had asked him to take her away for "something or other". Even when asked, she refused to elaborate and only gave vague answers. Once they came to a rest area, the younger girl hopped off Marshall's ride and began to stretch. Leaning forward all that distance was a work on the back.

"How is she running? Fast enough for you?" Vee cracked a grin before taking a look at the outskirts of Slateport. While not as beautiful as the portside city itself, the rough roads leading to the area had a certain rural charm to them. After his answer, Vee turned back to Marshall and messed with the goggles resting on her forehead. A tick she did when upset or something was on her mind. She opened her mouth to speak and hesitated. Would he think of what she was going to ask as annoying?

"Okay, so you're probably wondering why I asked you to come here. And it's really stupid. But i needed your help." Vee brought out an empty Pokeball in her hand with furrowed brows. She looked at the roads and bushes behind her before inhaling and spitting out what she wanted to ask. "I wanted to catch Pokémon with you, but I dont know how and I didn't want to embarass myself in front of the others. Maybe you could...show me how?"

@marshall

VALERIE LOXLEY

HISTORY

Valerie, Vee for short, is a Hoenn native that was one of many unfortunate children whose parents became entangled in Rocket's heightening activity when she was younger, and never once knowing her parents. She went from foster family to foster family for the good part of her childhood before running away when she was 13. Some time during her stretch of homelessness in Rustboro, a boy she had been childhood friends with since grade school named Harper, led her into joining his brother's gang. After much consideration, she was offered a spot as one of many recruits which provided her a shelter and food, but not without earning her keep. Thus began the long streak of petty crime and juvenile hall visits. Life in the gang was fairly hectic, and while most of the members were older and knew exactly how to throw a punch to get their way, or to "encourage" her to do a job better, Valerie did find some kind of home with these people she found herself embedded in.

When she was 16, Harper and her made frequent stops to hotwire vehicles, usually cycles or smaller sized vehicles, and rush them to the gang's garage for scrapping and disassembly. It was here that the girl found her love of tinkering and all things speed related. She was introduced and flourished in her new environment for a time. Anything leaving her station was known to be top quality, and within 2 years of service here, she was a part of the leader's personal crew of mechanics that boosted whatever he may have needed.

As their influence spread and the ego of her bosses grew larger, demands began to pile sky high. More threats were made to the team to increase output or risk punishment. Several incidents occurred as somebody that Valerie had known for years had been the outlet of frustration by their brash leader. The sight of her tools, caked in blood from others frightened her. Enough so that Val made the decision to leave. A formal notice was given to the leader in person, as she tried to approach him peacefully as to not cause any harm to her. She was promptly beaten within an inch of her life and warned that leaving would. Bloodied and bruised, she begrudgingly continued slaving away the warm days and cold nights, trying to numb everything else away. It had been a normal morning as news of an impending attack by a certain group had come to her ears.

When ORTHRUS had all but dissolved her gang, Valerie slunk away and went into the alleyways as she was left to fend for herself yet again. She performed odd jobs every now and again, but found herself terrified of people from what she had seen. The many nights of remaining awake and dreading hearing some small branch of her leaders had banded together and would take her back. The only way to push these thoughts away were to focus on her small bits and pieces of work. Eventually, she was found by a mysterious woman, @keira , that took note of her skill with jacking bikes and the like. All it took was a meeting with Jack Magnus for Valerie to be welcomed aboard.

Ever since, Val has been a proud member of ORTHRUS, working underneath her fellow members at the gang owned business, Mauville Mods & Repair. It's been a relatively long road she's walked, but for as welcoming as they are, she can't help but feel...odd?

PERSONALITY & TROPES

Val lives and breathes the Criminal Found Family trope, and much like the rest of her gang, is neither aligned with the League nor Team Rocket. She's devoted to serving the gang since rescuing her from the streets and her loyalty will likely never sway away from them. Even if she's doubtful of herself, she'd never betray any of them.

She's just as lively and hotheaded as many of the street world tend to be. She loves competition and isn't afraid to speak her loud and boisterous mouth no matter who listens. Despite this, she's very easy to get along with and does take an interest in things she's never done or experienced before. It's why there's been long conversations at night when Valerie wanders into somebody's room and asks them all about what's outside of Hoenn and what they did at their home regions. It's common to see her interest in the world remaining despite the hardships she's faced, but at heart, Valerie's just a punk that wants to learn more about things she's always wanted to. It's very common to see her talking about a subject or topic she's hyperfixated on before switching to something different a week later.

Every shell does have its cracks. To those who manage to keep her still long enough to check, it's evident that Val has some unresolved tramua by several reasons. She hates people discovering her flaws, viewing them as parts of herself she wants to tear out entirely but can never fully rid herself of them. She's doubtful of her presence in ORTHRUS; that her gang puts up with her only for her mechanical work and nothing more. They always reassure her and say they're a family, but she's never really had one anyway. So how would that even work?

This causes Val to work herself to extremes well past her limit. Because she can't let the team think she's some dead weight around. It's led to a perfectionist streak as she can't turn in or finish something unless it's absolute perfect. Some have watched her stay late at work to attempt perfect a customer's order and either come out at the crack of dawn or be found asleep on the floor surrounded by energy drinks.

CURRENT PLOTS

ORTHRUS
Val is a member of ORTHRUS, a gang led by Jack Magnus . She works as one of several mechanics in the gang owned business, Mauville Mods & Repair as an apprentice underneath @deimos . While not responsible to much of what goes on in the recruitment and operations end, if there's ever a need for a bike or a way to go fast, Val and the rest of the crew are always ready!

SEEKING:

• League (civilian) and Rocket (unaligned) characters interested in joining ORTHRUS
• League and Rocket characters wanting to hire ORTHRUS for jobs
• Jobs and vehicles to work on inside of Mauville Customs. (You may even get to pet her Dunsparce!)
• Conflicts with gang rivals and law enforcement

A PAST LEFT UNRESOLVED
Years ago, you were making good money, maybe more than your average grunt. You were either a high ranking lowlife sitting on top of an up and coming gang in Rustboro or whipping the new recruits into shape. That's when it all came crumbling down. You were left from square one and a most prosperous source of income, now stamped out. And the one thing that's left you to go on is a rat in the group.

From your information gained so far, a certain somebody would have good reason to snitch...

SEEKING:

• Any aligned characters a part of her previous gang, must have some level of officer status
• Detectives or officials on the trail for evidence or a testimony to charge the leader with before he's released.
• Mentioning this will cause Valerie to dive deeper into her trauma, probably lots of anguish!

OTHER PLOT HOOKS

PAST CONNECTIONS

• Members of her previous gang from her early teen years
• Authorities or League officials who have chased her before
• Family or friends of family that have a child lost to the foster care system

NEW CONNECTIONS

• Friends and allies on the wrong side of the law
• Business contacts
• Racers or Silph Cup enjoyers
• Any kind of motorbike enthusiast!

RELATIONS

ACQUAINTANCES

FRIENDS

• Jack Magnus - Beloved leader of ORTHRUS. He's the reason she's not starving in an alleyway somewhere.
• @marshall - Second in command. Val respects him, although tends to shy away when he's upset.
• ozias ambrose - She sees him on occasion, but nothing too concrete just yet.
• @keira - The woman that began everything. She's an older sister to Val, loves her dearly.
• Leilani Ka’uhane - One of the hostesses at Olympus. Val's always thought she was pretty. Tends to blush while speaking with.
• Jasmine Blair - Another hostess at Olympus. She seems nice, although they've never talked. Still pretty!
• @deimos - The master mechanic. She's learned a ton from him and trusts him in every regard. Has a weird pigeon fetish.
• raphael dos plumas - She knows he's close to Keira, but isn't sure if he extends the same to her.

LOVERS

VALERIE'S INFAMY FILE

PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE X PRIVATE KNOWLEDGE

INTRODUCTORY BLURB

SUBTITLE - QUOTE - LYRIC

Valerie (Vee or Val, by Orthus) is a fiery spirited member of Orthus, working at Mauville's Mods as Deimos' apprentice. She's fiercely loyal to the gang and always at the ready to join in with their shenanigans.

PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE

WHAT CAN BE LOOKED UP

• Valerie was one of many children displaced as a part of the ongoing Rocket excursions, her parents whereabouts unknown.
• She bummed around in foster care, going from family to family. No matter how many transfer came, none of them ever sticked and Val always felt unwanted.
• She eventually met Harper, an older boy at school, that brought her into his older brother's gang for food and shelter
• Val was caught multiple times in a variety of petty crimes: shoplifting, theft, vandalism, etc. Her records are still present at the juvenile center.
• When she was 16, Val was introduced to their garage and put to work with stealing bikes and things. Her interest, noted by Harper's brother, vouched for her to be taught at their garage in order to fund their boosting underground market.
• Various instances of mistreatment and punishment due to an increase of demand and priorities had caused the girl to harbor resentment for her superiors. An attempt to officially leave resulted in a merciless punishment.
• After their turf was being taken over by ORTHUS, Val split away and stayed underground while working on her own cycle projects on her own time. She was eventually found by @keira who introduced her to Jack Magnus and was subsequently recruited.
• A recently active member of the ORTHUS gang, within the previous year.
• Currently living in Mauville City.

LEAGUE KNOWLEDGE

POINTS OF INTEREST FOR THE LEAGUE FACTION

see PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE

ROCKET KNOWLEDGE

POINTS OF INTEREST FOR TEAM ROCKET FACTION

see PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE

PRIVATE KNOWLEDGE

PERSONAL SECRETS

• She actively wonders who her parents were and why she was never good enough for them.