Bee’s Genesect had quite the powerful Zap Cannon. It had done plenty work on its own and certainly bought them time earlier when it happened. Yet it only had its own body to rely on. Self-made electricity could only get so powerful, and so destructive before it threatened to tear the user apart. They were limited by their own capability. Not enough, and the attack was pitiful. Too much, and the raw power would burst from their body.

Self-control was important. So when you combine a creature that can hold a seemingly infinite amount of energy in their body, and give them a potent outside power source, and a penchant for razor-sharp focus when it came to electricity…

Everything not unplugged burst into debris and flames as its energy was sapped. Cable’s head glowed like a supernova, and the raw power burst forth from it rivaled a true power plant. The Iron Bundle that had closed the distance vaporized beneath the raw energy unleashed. Everything in the background didn’t appreciate it either.

And once the Genesect delivered their powerful Hyper Beams, the horde stood zero chance. A small army’s worth of potential– gone in fifteen seconds. Grigori rarely saw scorched earth of this scale, but… he shivered, despite the flickering flames that all the attacks left in their wake.

They’d destroyed the landscape, but the base was safe and so were they. This was a victory in a sense. Grigori uncovered his ears and visually checked out Bee. He looked to be safe and unharmed. Good.

“Well, Mr. Bee,” He said as he started to turn around, “Good work.”

The Xurkitree was recalled before it could do any more harm. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to sit down inside for a bit. That was… something.”

Strange. He used to feel entirely comfortable with the sight of charred grass, smoldering bits and a sense of utter annihilation. But now, his legs struggled to keep him upright, like noodles, as he carried himself back inside the complex. Maybe Cables had sapped some of his own nerves, in the chaos.

---

BARNABY FINCH
TOTAL: 381
 FFTGROX3

They could replace research, even if the scientists would grumble at the mere prospect at it; they could not replace the scientists themselves. If they perished, then they were permanently down the insightful minds at play. Before Grigori could voice that, though, Bee placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

The tables had been turned since their last meeting, it seemed. Not the exact same scenario, but the thought was all that was necessary. “Well, I can’t not trust you on the matter–”

“SCIZOR!”

In the moment of distraction, something terrible happened. That bastard. That arrogant, overconfident bastard. The Scizor had put himself into a terrible position, overzealous in his slaughter. It only took a moment, one tiny slip up– and an Iron Bundle leaped squarely onto his back.

“Scizor?”

As he tried to remove it with the viscous Dual Wingbeat of his meager wings, a second one jumped onto his arm. When he tried to remove that one, a third one clung to his leg like a suicide bomber. Iron Bundle after Iron Bundle jumped atop the insect before it was drowned in a pile of mechanical death machines. And then, he was gone. Brought beneath the tide.

A geyser of water followed suit, enough to rumble the very earth. Grigori pulled out his Poke Ball and held it out with a shaky arm, “Arceus be damned– please come back, please come back…”

“Oh thank goodness,” Tears formed in his eyes, relief, as the signature red beam reclaimed the Scizor from the battlefield. But now wasn’t the time to worry– the Techno Blasts only did so much. Single-target tactics weren’t enough. With a grim expression, he pulled out a ball and turned to Bee.

“Admin Bee, please tell all the scientists to unplug their equipment,” he said as he released his next Pokémon. A black-cable bundle of nightmares emerged, with a white, thorny head immediately on the prowl for power. And such a juicy source was right behind it. It wasted no time and snaked backwards. It Ingrained itself into whatever openings it could and started suckling the–

“Cables, please Zap Cannon!”

Or that. That worked too. Oh well. Energy built up in its head, and pointed straight toward the encroaching horde. The lights above flickered before exploding into thousands of shards. A Gimmigoul coin fell alongside it, and Grigori quickly snatched it from the air. “Mr. Bee, please keep buying time and stand back…”

PROMPT COMPLETE: Get a number and get an extra 25 PD Idr the exact one

---

BARNABY FINCH
TOTAL: 273
 otHYXQv2

“Then I pray that the beast responsible does not keep it up,” Grigori said as the whirlpool began to sweep away the riffraff. A welcome reprieve; several had been ready to blast the beefed-up insect into watery dust. This let him Close Combat yet another piece of wall and another opening crumbled to rubble.

Slowly, but surely, Scizor made progress. Hole after hole was destroyed, and the progress made by the Beast’s Shadow Lugia started to matter. Even if it seemed upset by Cillian’s command to support the insect.

But Grigori knew the true problem that lay with the scenario: there were a lot more burrows than they could’ve ever predicted, and the heat build-up started to show. Thanks to the sudden flow of water that splashed the walls, they could all see the steady supply of steam that bubbled on its carapace. And it only grew more violent, the sizzle audible across the cave as he continued his mad dash to the finish line.

Would he cross, or would he melt into the floor before he could accomplish the task? Hard to say, but Grigori didn’t like the possibility. Something tugged in his heart, a primal fear seldom felt.

“Scizor, please don’t push yourself!”

“SCIZOR SCIZOR!” The bug didn’t even spare his trainer a glance. For he only had one thought on his mind: get the job done. He was a proud Team Rocket Pokémon, and he’d not fall in the clear view of Underboss Cillian. Another Close Combat destroyed another burrow. His muscles protested, but he dashed to the next one with determation in his eyes. Only a couple more left…

“Mr. Cillian, almost there! Just a little further…” he said. For the Underboss, or for himself? He clutched the left side of his shirt tight, enough to turn his knuckles as white as the underbelly of the Shadow Pokémon. “Please work, please work…”

---

Cillian Quinn
TOTAL: 536
2/3 Mega Evolution Turns
SAEP0bto

It was time for Grigori to move out of Slateport City. As much as it pained him to do so, it was growing increasingly obvious as to why he needed to do it. June was the main factor– the distance wasn’t insurmountable. Far from it. However, he found himself needed there more and more, as conflicts continued to arise.

How she continued to throw herself him them with little regard for her own safety. That caused problems, as always, and he needed to be there to help her. Beyond that, though, were the few moments that proved problematic. Zev, Cillian, Elisabeth– they probably had a lock on for his apartment.

He’d given them the excuse to do it, and now that the ‘painful’ part was past him, he wanted to not worry about it as much. They could still find the information easily, but they wouldn’t have it committed to memory. Yet.

And he’d found a perfect place as well. June had spoken wonderful things about annalise henderson , and she’d seen Rory Faust around the submarine a time or two. He didn’t know the fourth person, but he was sure it’d be fine. He dealt with Rocket folk often enough, and they couldn’t be better than the average terrible roommate.

Besides, maybe he could get insight into June’s own life through the ranger. It’d make his life a lot easier.

That’s why he knocked on the door with a briefcase in hand, ready to finalize any last-minute changes or agreements necessary to ensure the survival of this lease signing. He wasn’t desperate, so he wasn’t going to sign anything that said he had to pay all the rent for every tenant.

"Excuse me, it's Grigori Sokolov! I'm here to speak with the lease-holder of this apartment!"

---

annalise henderson Rory Faust marilee beaufort

Grigori looked up at the towering Garbodor. How the people ran, and how they cowered from the sight. A few others ran forward instead of away; commendable souls in this time of need. He was one of them, and he wasn’t here for malicious purposes this time.

No, As soon as he heard about the outbreak in Littleroot, he knew that something else would happen. An event like that seldom occurred in isolation. While this wasn’t… exactly, what he envisioned would follow, it was still important to help out.

That’s why he brought Cables to this fight. Even if it wasn’t particularly thrilled, or excited, or angry, or upset, or much of anything– it didn’t hold back. Not for anything. “Cables, please subdue the Garbodor to the best of your ability!”

It looked at him with its lack of eyes, and then pivoted back to the lumbering pile of trash. Its tendrils snaked out, right toward a small phone booth. Black cables sunk into the very box, and the lights flickered on top.

Energy amassed inside its head, which grew brighter and brighter until Grigori had to cover his eyes. And then– as if lighting struck. A viscous, monstrous, devastating strike of electricity surged forth. A Zap Cannon of terrifying proportions barreled forth, faster than light itself.

And straight into one of the barriers that protected it. “Good work, Cables!”

It did not respond, instead focused on sucking the remaining power out of the now defunct phone booth.

---

assist by break the eight dynergy barrier segments

Grigori quickly stepped into the room and shut the door softly. Even gentler footsteps carried him to the beside, and he quickly took a seat in the chair. The flowers were deposited, without consent, onto his lap. Let him figure out the surprise hidden betwixt the shadows.

Or something. Poetry was hard.

“And you as well, Mr. Shred,” he said. When’s the last time they’d properly ‘hung out’? He didn’t count the time behind the Poke Mart, when the Beast had stars in his eyes and freedom in his heart. That left… the time he blew up Shred’s car. Damn. Too long, and for the wrong reasons.

But he kept that to himself for now. “I apologize I hadn’t shown up sooner. Time flies when you try to herd your own Skitty.”

June. Howard. Actual Skitty– one of which was burrowed inside his vest. The bulge shifted, and then began to move to the collar of his shirt. Its small head poked, and with closed, tired eyes. Cream had caused her own share of problems, but they never beat out the first two. He should probably be doing stuff for them right now.

“But they can wait for a spell,” a faint smile crept onto his lips. “So…”

How the hell did he approach the situation? Or, rather, avoid it? He didn’t want to be the twentieth one that asked him ‘how is everything’ when it was very clearly not good. “Have they told you how long they plan on keeping you couped up? Surely not for long, I hope.”

---

Shred

The pair of Skitty stayed firmly behind Grigori’s legs, even once the last Iron Bundle twitched into oblivion. The larger feline was an awful presence, one they both actively shielded themselves from with water-soaked dress pants.

As Jayden brought up the Scizor, he would rejoin them from the mass of broken parts, his red body stained with the grease and fluids from their foes. He clicked his claws idly, still hungry for more. In a way, his Pokémon were more aligned to Rocket than he these last few years. Not a bad thing, necessarily.

“Yes, Mr. Cross,” he said. Scizor smiled and doubled the clicking. His way to laugh. “I’ve had Scizor since I was in Rocket. We’ve been through a lot, these years. A good friend, and even better battle partner."

The grunt’s gaze went past Jayden for a moment. Thirty-one years of service– a long time to crack skulls in Rocket’s name. A flash of frustration ignited his mind, but he quickly calmed it. The work of the Chien-Pao, no doubt. Steady thoughts. To reveal doubt is to reveal weakness.

He returned his vision to the present. “How has your time in this area been? I hope I haven’t distracted you from another mission, like many other grunts surely have.”

Yet his attention was soon distracted again: something moved in the distance, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of it. But he did try to look past Jayden, towards the disturbance that threatened to dispel the brief moment of peace.

---

jayden cross
TOTAL: 352
8DGZVCAT

Oh no. Even Cillian’s Pokemon knew better than to test fate, the way they Volt Switched out of the fray. If he was going to do that, then he’d need to get serious too. Especially if the Underbosses next choice was THAT beast. A great, monstrous thing that causes a great stir in the cave. Iron Bundle, little more than sacks of potatoes, get thrown around.

“Scizor, I think it’s time!” Grigori pulled a band out of his pocket. A Mega Band, which twinkled brightly as he tapped into its power. Soon enough, a transformation occurred within the red bug; his claws doubled in length, and he adopted a fierce visage of ‘armor’. Additional protection for his metal carapace.

The transformation didn’t take long before the Scizor became Mega, and even deadlier by default. Despite the constant water and ice moves, a heat started to fill the enclosed space. The grunt knew he could only maintain the form for so long until he melted into a steel puddle.

“Please target their burrows! We need to stem the tide,” Grigori called out. Scizor nodded– now wasn’t the time to increase his kill count. He snapped his claws on any Iron Bundle in the way, until he reached the first burrow that they stemmed from. A crushing Close Combat crumbled the stone, which shortly collapsed in on itself. One down… who knew how many to go.

Like plugging holes in a sinking ship.

But as the winds whipped and jostled the machines, living and dead, Grigori saw something strange: deep prints in the floor of the cave. When did those get there? He quickly pointed to them, “Mr. Quinn, do you see those? They seem awfully larage for an Iron Bundle…”

---

Cillian Quinn
TOTAL: 432
|as8iquY
1/3 Mega Evolution Turns

But… he had… and his words were…

Grigori simply nodded and rose from his spot in the chair, a sheen built up on the surface of the leather. Sweat. “As crystal. Thank you, Mr. Quinn.”

There was little point in trying to delve into the mind of the Underboss. Grigori thought they’d been on the same page for most of that meeting, only for him to say something like that. Wasn’t the entire point of this that as long as she wasn’t in the way, everyone would be content?

It was confusing, and in a way that defied all logic. No wonder he and Elisabeth Fiorelli had been appointed as Underbosses; they worked in ways few could hope to understand. That made them hard to replace, and even harder to get the upper hand on.

Yet as he quietly left the office and started to walk down the hall from whence he came, he couldn’t help but consider the conundrum. Why did he focus on his relationship with someone not in Rocket, and not his slight towards Zev? The latter was a much more serious issue, in Grigori’s eyes. Disobedience was the real killer.

It nearly claimed him a minute ago. But maybe it was best to be glad his face wouldn’t end up on a milk carton– immediately, rather. He kept glancing backwards as he retreated into the depths of the cold, pressurized submarine. Eyes on the shadows, in case a monster stepped out. One much like his own.

---

Cillian Quinn

“I do not recommend your Shinx try much of anything, Mr. Laurence,” Grigori said quietly. “While it’s my first time in this location, I’ve seen the things that come from here. Hell, I’m unsure how well Freddy will fare.”

As dark as it was (literally and figuratively), the small creature was the perfect size to be plucked away if it tread too far from their little group. It might be able to fight back against the little Beedrill-esque creature, but anything bigger would utterly outmatch it. Best to stay close and run at the first sign of danger.

Especially if it was a Nihilego. Ruthless monsters. “And remember; we are here to collect more samples for research. If you’re able to develop a more efficient antidote, then by all means, but we’re not doomed if an accident happens.”

“Or if we leave here empty-handed,” Grigori ducked underneath an outcrop as the heartbeat got stronger. A strong, unknowable heartbeat that filled the very air with its tremor. If this made them run with their tails between their legs, then it’d be perfectly fine.

Yet the meager light from the small feline would prove fine enough in this instance: a small, natural cave. He didn’t see any immediate threats, nor active movement. Save for the far wall, which looked perfectly alien and fleshy and alive. Other than that, there was little else besides a pile of goo in the far corner and scattered debris. Likely rocks from the ceiling and…

Bones? He bent down and picked up one of the white white pieces of hard material. “You reckon this was a person, Pokémon, or neither?”

---

Laurence Whateley

Was the grunt ever glad that Cillian was not his opponent, but instead his ally. Grigori watched with careful eyes as the duo began their assault upon the group of mechanical death traps. Brutally efficient in the way they dismantled the machines one by one.

While the Luxray darted around and tackled them with dangerous Wild Charges, the Scizor surgically removed heads and limbs with steely Bullet Punches. Together, the initial horde of Iron Bundle was decimated. Especially with the help of the ominous Shadow Miasma.

While robotic parts and attacks unfurled in front of him, Grigori stepped away from the opening, “Things look to be going smoothly so far. How many do you think are inside this one cave, Mr. Quinn?”

Truth be told, Grigori had a strange feeling inside his chest. One that said there would be some sort of complication to their assault. Things were never as they seemed, and this seemed too easy.

Grigori nervously peeked back into the chaos of the assault. Some of the Iron Bundle had wised up as they came out of their burrows. Water and Ice stared to fly around the enclose area, but that was to be expected. No, the bigger thing was…

“Mr. Quinn, why does it look like they haven’t made a dent in the horde?”

---

Cillian Quinn
TOTAL: 337
 ngyWrINl

Grigori donned his signature attire, a classic Team Rocket Grunt uniform, and a mask. Atop his head sat a Fisher’s mantle, adorned with numerous fishing hooks and bobbers. It’d been a gift from Gabe, so long ago. It felt wrong to wear it as he committed a crime in the name of the organization.

Yet it felt even worse to not. A conundrum he’d yet to figure out.

But now wasn’t the time for such pesky inner turmoil. Zero emotion would work better as he stormed inside the building. A massive, terrifying mud-caked bear followed him inside and roared loud enough to drown out the idle hum of a heater. “Everyone, please get down on the ground and make no sudden moves!”

This was important for money and intimidation. The fewer people that felt safe in their natural habitats, the better. Grigori felt entirely unsafe as he rushed towards the front register and decked the cashier. They fell to the ground in a heap, unable to even protect themselves from the firm, harsh blow.

The bear kept a watchful eye on the front door, and the stragglers that rushed to the ground and kept their hands over their heads. Anyone who didn’t immediately comply was growled at in a dark, twisted way. Good. Less the grunt had to do, the better. The easier this was, the less conflicted he’d feel afterwords.

He slammed the drawer with a hammer and began to collect the meager bills in the first register. First, he’d collect from these easy sources. Then, he’d crack the safe with the help of Freddy. And then if the police showed no signs of showing up, he’d start to collect from the innocents.

Hopefully it didn't come to that.

---

Noel Parker

Sounded like Luxray and Scizor were two sides of the same coin. It’s all Grigori can guess while Cillian clicked his tongue (his favorite method of communication, it seemed) to stay the Luxray’s actions. He knew it all too well; the Scizor had its habit, and he’d been unsuccessful in trying to calm it. Just how it was.

This also means they’re in good, capable hands with their selection of Pokémon. Scizor nodded at Cillian’s suggestion and quickly did a little jig. A Swords Dance, more akin to a pre-celebration celebration. As if the odds of their success were one hundred percent. The grunt hoped this wouldn’t be their downfall.

But he gave the Underboss a short nod. No point in waiting around. If anything, it prevented the Iron Bundle from potentially coming out of their dank home and surprising them instead. Thus, their assault began in earnest.

With any luck, it wouldn’t turn around on them in a horrific manner.

---

Cillian Quinn
TOTAL: 216
 KyTdWFBn