velvet can't help but let out a little 'snrk' at the stunky's flight. it leaves a foul smell in the air, wafting through for a little bit, and then that dies down as well. "smart pokemon," she comments. it immediately assessed the situation and than evacuated the premises. despite the smell, she has to admire it a little.

it isn't too long before they encounter another pokemon. though... it looks like that same exact stunky that came across them earlier. velvet blinks, but doesn't hesitate to send out her chandelure this time. its flames grow bigger and bigger until they're a towering inferno, and it sends them flying at the skunky. the other pokemon lets out a shriek of pain... and then its form changes, shifting, until there's a zorua standing before them defiantly. the little fox launches itself at kikimora... and then phases through, its fury swipes not landing. it's already pretty worn down, and it seems rather young... velvet takes pity on it and throws a pokeball.

after it stops wobbling, she grins and gives shigure a V for victory with her right hand. "we're getting awfully lucky today!

[ SHIGURE URUHA ]

catching zorua!

velvet's dressed to the nines, despite it being entirely unnecessary. she's got her makeup on, her hair styled, a flattering outfit that's not too skimpy but also doesn't leave a lot to the imagination... she's prepped and ready to meet her cousin, as though she's trying to impress her. to say here i am, this is who i am now to the girl who knew her as a child. before velvet changed, and the world changed with it. back when she was still 'velma ashton', normal child.

her delcatty is with her, outside of her ball today. the cream and violet cat is sitting primly by velvet's feet as she waits, accepting the occasional scratch behind the ear. she has a sparkly black bandana on with bad blood's logo printed on the front.

when velvet finally sees ivy approach, she shoots to her feet. "ivy! over here!" she calls, and her stomach does a flip. am i... nervous? why the hell would i be nervous?

[ ivy ashton ]

'do what you want with the dragalge', shigure says. velvet scoffs as the dragalge, seeing two fresh, new opponents, immediately flees the scene. it weighed its options and figured it was best to survive to fight another day, she figures. she can't really blame it; that was the smart move.

she watches shigure's battle with sharp eyes, though it's over just as soon as it began. "whooo! go shiggy!" she calls, pumping a fist in the air. the ball closes around the bisharp, which seems to give in pretty quickly. not surprising, given the type advantage fighting types have over its dark/steel typing. it's questionable whether the pokemon will listen to shigure, especially given his lack of... well, passion, but that's something they can find out another time.

once the ball is back in shigure's hand, velvet starts walking, not waiting for them. "we're doin' good so far! let's keep going!" it's as if she's trying to cheer them on... just a little. or maybe she's just that impatient.

[ SHIGURE URUHA ]

PURCHASING/REDEEMING

welcome to the poké mart!

1X type 1 evo (100 PD) (skitty --> delcatty)
1x level tutor (40 PD) (toxic for toxapex)

TOTAL

do come again!

140 PD

a distraction wanders into view. a lone weepinbell, flopping along the pavement, the slap of its bottom (or... whatever it has) startling velvet into turning around. she stares it down, until it sadly flops away. the other pokemon, on the other hand... it appears to be an impenetrable barrier of blue and purple spikes, before two of those walls lift up to reveal a tiny, impish face inside the fortress. velvet is immediately in love, gasping. "what a cutie--!"

then shigura speaks again, and velvet blinks.

"oh, yeah, i forgot to bring extra pokeballs..."

oh well! she sends out her galarian rapidash. its fairy typing will take extra damage from poison attacks, but its psychic attack and its speed more than make up for that. the toxapex still proves quite stubborn thanks to its defenses, baneful bunker, and recover. one psychic isn't enough to do the trick-- and the toxapex heals soon after. after a while, though, it seems to have exhausted its recover ability, and one more psychic is enough to take it down.

velvet throws a ball. the pokemon is sucked up inside, and the ball wobbles a few times before settling.

[ SHIGURE URUHA ]

catching toxapex!

it was the howling that brought velvet out here, that ethereal "awooooo" in the distance that signified something was afoot. she doesn't normally make trips like this, but something drew her toward the noise. as she creeps closer, she realizes she (and several others) have stumbled upon a swarm of lycanroc and rockruff. they're doing dog things, lounging around, playing, licking each other. velvet wrinkles her nose as she thinks, trying to figure out if there's any chance of capturing them.

after a little while, one of them breaks off from the group and trots off in silence. velvet follows, confronting it outside the main area. she sends out her galarian rapidash, defeating the beast and throwing a pokeball at it. hopefully the capture will stick... she doesn't think she'll get another chance like this tonight.

0aVcl1|u

it's a literal ghost town here. the city hasn't bothered to reconstruct this area, and you can tell simply by walking here that something is amiss. this is the land of the forgotten, the parts of the city those in charge don't want to acknowledge. the people who live here are much the same; velvet and shigure are given close scrutiny by the scruffy vagabonds squatting in these abandoned homes. not all of them are aligned with team rocket, but most at least allow the gang to do as they please. in a place like this, there isn't much choice for them.

which makes this the perfect place to find pokemon, of course. the fewer the people, the more active the wildlife gets.

"yeah, duh." velvet trots alongside her morose companion. she's used to their lack of energy by now, even if she finds it rather dull. "i've heard a lotta dark and poison types have moved in here and are causing problems for people. we can kill two birds with one stone if we catch them." remove them from the equation... and use them for their own devices. like the kecleon velvet caught with Kouji Matsubara earlier, these types of pokemon can be incredibly useful for the purpose of deception and conquest.

[ SHIGURE URUHA ]

whoa, lots of names were just dropped on her. and here she is without a notepad... she nods along, trying to make a mental note. by now she's just about finished her meal, having picked her plate clean with only a few scraps left. for such a petite girl, she eats surprisingly fast.

"i mean, sure, i'd be down for whatever. it doesn't hurt to try, right?" she intends to do more than try, but physical labor is her primary weakness. she's always been the sort of girl who gets others to do the work for her by flattering them, batting her eyelashes, and talking them up. that doesn't bode well for her intrinsic motivations, but she hates being vulnerable more than she hates exercise. "if you wanna, like, give them my number or something..."

she grabs a napkin and extracts a tube of liquid lip from a pocket. she writes her number on the napkin in bright red, and hands it over to amor.

[ Amor Rose ]

velvet throws open the lighthouse door. "huh?" she glances over her shoulder, and then turns the flashlight on her phone off. they're illuminated by the light of the city now, though it's dim due to their distance from the city proper. surprisingly, it's warmer out here than it was in the lighthouse. there's nobody else around here, so there's probably no harm in having this conversation.

she turns around and folds her arms. "why d'ya think?" she says, as if that's a stupid question. "money, fame, power, influence, connections... same reason as anyone else." she assumes so, anyway. she's never cared enough to ask this question of anyone. "just 'cuz i like to have a little more fun doing it doesn't mean i can't be a little nefarious." velvet grins.

[ Kouji Matsubara ]