the mawile appeared, locking eyes with skrelp and using fake tears. "uh-uh, none of that!" mar snapped her fingers for skrelp to leave the pokemon alone, and thankfully, the seadragon obeyed. mar had little interest in fighting the little random pokemon out here that didn't serve her interests. furthermore, she didn't trust those mawile. they liked to play nice for a moment and strike when you let your guard down. it was something she could appreciate. when she wasn't on the receiving end, that is.

skipping

☉

she had learned some things from the simulation, but she left with more questions than answers. on the other hand, she'd learned a lot about xenon. the scientist was too collected about the events of the simulation, something that unsettled her, but she knew she would come around herself to understand the simulation was completely unreal and would not hurt her.

still.

the hand was a thing of nightmares. she sympathized with xenon's anger in coming out of the simulation, though mar didn't hold the same disdain for the origin storyline that her partner did. "thanks fer the introduction to the simulations," she finally said. "the hand was... an unwelcome sight." she put the simulation equipment down and rose to her feet, swaying like folks who step on a boat for the first time and can't hold themselves together because of it.

"i'd like another visit, uh, if that hand doesn't reappear." her eyes fell on xenon, and she naturally looked for signs of being crushed by the horrifying hand, but the scientist seemed totally okay besides her hostile outbursts. the woman was more eccentric than she'd initially assessed, but she'd also been remarkably cool-headed in the simulation. mar knew it was in her best interest to stay on her good side, as the woman's intellect clearly made her a better partner in crime than an enemy.

Xenon Antheil

☉

"vegetables," mar murmured thoughtfully. a few of her bobas had already been green in color, but she liked it. she knew she wanted cabbage to be the base and had capsakid grab some. but...

she wanted to be adventurous.

cabbage served as the base, but she chose to complement the base flavors with salt. she poured it over the regular tapioca pearls, then blended kelp in with cream to make a foam for the top. it was unconventional, but the natural hint of salt from the sea-gathered kelp would work with the savory cabbage. it represented mar more than anything else she'd created, bringing in those seaside elements. capsakid looked far less confident about the blend, but mar wanted to produce interesting drinks far more than conventional ones. "cabbage is me favorite vegetable," she mused aloud, "but a little seaside fun belongs in this here drink." she was more pleased with those boba than any before, happily presenting it.

_PlVg9v4

☉

the future?

mar had little time to react. xenon continued talking about the interdream mist, something she'd never heard of, and mar's head spun a little. this little simulation was opening a lot of avenues for her future exploration. as overwhelming as it was, she loved the validation that she'd been so right to come to hoenn. she did, however, have little time to enjoy herself.

she sensed xenon's distaste for the past. trying to be agreeable, mar added: "the way things used to be isn't as important as the way they can be. i'd rather look forward." though, she wasn't sure she was ready to buddy up with a future pokemon.

xenon was calm as you please while a gigantic hand assaulted their ship, insisting she was done with the simulation as if it were nothing. mar, on the other hand, had just witnessed the thing of nightmares. the hand, if it could be called that, terrified her to her core. "w-what the fuck is that thing?!" meanwhile, it grabbed xenon, who resisted not at all. "wait! no!" mar reached out to grab her, but she wasn't fast enough. she fumbled at her belt for a pokeball, but no member of her team was suited for the job of re-securing her.

shit. the fear and panic of being left alone -- of not knowing what that thing could do to xenon -- overrode all of the logic of it being a mere simulation.

Xenon Antheil

☉

shalin was unmoved by mar's emotions, which would've angered her more, but the captain-elect chose to fly off to verify her information. mar was just about ready to do something risky when shalin left her pokemon to watch her while she went to the skies. dhelmise could probably do some real damage if mar pulled him out, but she did not feel very confident about it. clobbopus and capsakid loved combat, but the pokemon in front of them looked seasoned. on top of it, she wasn't sure she could flee since she lacked ride pokemon, and the woman would absolutely catch her if she stayed on ship.

her hands were tied. she was prepared for handcuffs when shalin dropped down, but the woman confirmed her report. mar tried not to look too relieved.

and what name to give her?

hm. "margaret." she would need to see what kinds of pokemon shalin was known for having at her disposal so she was better prepared for the future. she was sure this wouldn't be her first time seeing her.

Shalin Nariya

☉

mar was unaware of what was transpiring on the beach. capsakid was pulling clobbpus out of the way of the shieldon when a strange mist appeared and she gave up, self-preservation taking over. she ran to the boat without clobbpus in tow, hustling onto the ship and flinging herself onto mar's leg to hold tight. she was a little scared, but she wasn't going to say anything. she wanted to be out of here and, coincidentally, out of the way of the scary mushroom pokemon.

clobbpus wanted to fight the mist, but he finally saw the shriveled shieldon, he cried out and fell over himself trying to leave, glove-like hands in the air in terror as he fled. he also clung to mar's leg the second he got onto the ship, trembling as he wrapped all of his tentacles around her. "what's gotten into ye fools?" she rolled her eyes, annoyed at their behavior and the furret all the same.

paxton concordas

☉

ollie morales. she committed the name to memory just like shalin's, but she wasn't sure how much value she'd get out of looking into either of them. she didn't like to study, anyhow.

"an hour ago," she said, steely in her anger. "three of 'em. masks. i saw a claydol and that was it." she snapped her fingers. "lights out. ye know what it's like to have control of yerself and then to have it ripped away in a second? to watch these boys come in and take what's yers?" she summoned an anger from something else to use as a prop, remembering how her father was locked up in kalos for treason and a dozen other missteps. taken from her by idiots.

"this ship is me birthright, and they came in and took it from me without a second thought. and i could do nothing, trapped in my own body. by the time their claydol finished with me, it was the only thing left on the ship, and it fled while i got my bearings. i don't know where they went. but i know where they're going." emotion served for good smoke and mirrors, but in bringing up old feelings, she was consumed in them, tying herself to the story she was weaving like it was real. "i'll bury them in the sea, let kyogre feast on their bones."

Shalin Nariya

☉

mar was glad xenon didn't look down her nose at mar for lacking powerful pokemon; power was a tenant of rocket, but mar was new enough to hoenn that she hadn't had enough time to train her pokemon up to snuff. the forces at work in the region were unlike any she'd encountered elsewhere, so she did have to prioritize their strength, but she was still finding her rhythm in hoenn with her trafficking, which required their work as laborers.

she was pleased to follow the scientist's lead as they got away from the man that mar admittedly didn't understand. the simulation was so strange. she fought the urge to roll her eyes as xenon mentioned sheep, but she had spent time with the uber sciencey types and understood a bit of superiority complex came with the territory -- and it wasn't like mar was rushing to study the simulation in-depth or run any experiments herself. she was happier with old-fashioned criminality... but this simulation was a part of the puzzle that hoenn was, so she couldn't afford to let it go ignored.

"okay, well i'll work on my theories while ye keep us alive. if ye've got this place figured out, i should be able to gather some clues after a few go-rounds. if these things branch out from two distinct choices, i'm sure it makes fer an interesting little tree." she would have to sketch up a physical map of her pathing in the simulation to better understand things.

and then an interesting thought came to mind. "is yer odd pokemon from this very simulation?" she had a vague familiarity with odd-looking variations of actual pokemon, but she hadn't found a lot of information on it lately and didn't want to outright ask for fear of looking out of touch.

Xenon Antheil

☉

milotic was stunning. skrelp didn't have the natural beauty to stand up to such a pokemon, but as the whirlpool settled, skrelp came up beside miltoic, algae-like appendages fluttering out much like the milotic's beautiful ears moved in the water. the poisonous moves from the skrelp were off the table, so skrelp stuck to pushing water and posing, doing little flips in the water to earn a little attention without stealing the spotlight from the water-type that earned it most naturally.

mar was pleased that skrelp was playing the sidelines. they would have to work on developing an understanding of 'time and place' for his more toxic moves. the show was perfect, though, and the audience rose with an uproar of applause, pleased at the beauty of water pokemon. even mar was excited about the finish moves, though she still preferred dark, deep-sea creatures over the prettier ones. "that's some good riding," she congratulated as she stepped close to the tank, surprised he didn't throw up from the chaos of the whirlpool.

Josh Devlin

☉

shit. things weren't working.

she brought out another pokemon that mar wasn't well-equipped to deal with. she didn't have a good opportunity to bail, either, as shalin had demonstrated a collection of fast ride pokemon already. mar was running out of options.

"ye can't treat me like this!" she exploded, voice rising. "just because i'm an outsider, ye think i'm a liar? it's unbecoming for ye hoenn folk to think i'm a liar and a cheat because i'm from kalos! how do ye live with yerself? and yer in charge of people! unbelievable. i want yer supervisor's name." putting shalin on the defense could help, but she had to hope the woman was unused to such accusations, that it would throw her off. otherwise, mar would need something really remarkable as a smokescreen, or she was risking her ship.

Shalin Nariya

☉

no one thought of lilycove and pokemon trafficking together. that's why it was such a good location for small-scale shipments. mar had her ship in the shop for repairs, getting some of its planks fixed after she was attacked by a ranger and failed inspection. she'd been itching to get back into things, however, and an admin had tossed her this task.

with a stranger.

some other rocket was going to be with her, a 'sage' that apparently had good skillsets for this kind of thing. someone who did less of the logistical end like mar did but could handle theft and working in the shadows just fine. a small ship was waiting for them just off the coast, looking like a medium-sized fishing boat. their task was to move the crates of mystery pokemon from behind the pokemart to the ship without raising suspicion.

mar stood in the alley behind the market with her push-cart, which would be able to carry the crates for them easily. but before she gave the signature knock on the mart door, she waited for her partner in crime.

sage morgan

☉