lilycove didn't hold anything for mar except the iron lady forge. she beelined for the storefront, thrilled at the thought of her own request. her recent work with fellow rockets in hoenn had rewarded her with information about the region like talented craftspeople among their ranks. and so mar walked into the bladesmithing shop with a stupid grin and a lot of hype.

"my, my," she said as she scanned the storefront, ensuring there were no civilians inside at the moment. "a little birdie told me that one could get an excellent blade here." mar's kalosian accent was thick, though it was muddled with something else, the lazy tongue of seafarers -- though mar would never call it 'pirate speak' as it had been dubbed by fools in the past.

"ye can hook me up with a cutlass, right? i'm new to the block, in a manner of speakin, and i'm hopin to find something intimidating. and something that can cut tall grass with ease. i'm visitin some ruins and sometimes it feels better to navigate without relyin on pokemon, ye know?" she spoke to the lady with the ease of an old friend, but her gaze split between the more established rocket and the front door, just to ensure no civilian came in. though, mar was careful enough to say things that would give aurelie plausible deniability -- a necessary courtesy for someone above her rank and with such a specialized skillset.

Aurelie Lefevre

☉

tourists in the city had cried out about how cute the horde of pikachu were, and eventually mar decided she had enough free time to warrant grabbing a few for the black market. they were widely considered cute, so it was going to profitable.

of course, she hadn't expected this many. there were probably a hundred on the route, all smushing into each other, creating electric charges and using iron tail to dig. one of them found his prize, a thunder stone, and evolved into a raichu, which was less cute and more temperamental than pikachu.

mar pinched the bridge of her nose, then released capsakid and clobbopus. "go subdue these things, will ye?" the two went off into the horde, but mar was having second thoughts. how profitable would this be if she left with scorched electrocution marks that ruined her clothing?

☉

mar looked between the two initiates, but neither had an answer under her expectant gaze. "rocket does not reward the meek."

"doesn't it reward those who think?" the angry one asked.

mar laughed again. "no. it rewards those that plan, that connive, that outsmart. but think? ye won't get paid to think. ye won't get respected fer thinkin. rocket has ties all over the world, but in hoenn? they're fighting a war. and ye can't win a war if yer thinkin. how bout ye think on that one til it gets through yer skull." she was intentionally dismissive, enjoying the way the angry initiate huffed.

mar walked between the two initiates and around them, constantly on the move as she monologued, body language at ease as she looked each initiate up and down from every angle. "bein a rocket is bout respect. earning it, using it. but ye must understand two things. first is that we live in secrecy most of the time, and yer earned respect means nothing in the general world unless ye have something special that's public knowledge. second is that the respect ye earn in rocket can make ye millions, can draft ye armies, can lead ye to treasures and relics folks can only dream of. but ye can lose it in an instant."

"respect among criminals like honor among thieves?"

mar smirked. the girl just wasn't getting it. or perhaps, she was getting it, and she was realizing rocket wasn't something for her. "respect is power." the girl rolled her eyes, really committing to her character, but mar seized the opportunity to shoot an arm out at the woman's shoulder and drag her to the ground, following her and pinning her arms behind her back with a knee.

"it's also currency," mar explained, finishing her thought nonchalantly. "and tell me, did ye think we wouldn't notice an officer's belt? or ye shoes?" upon her statement, it became obvious to the quieter initiate that the woman pinned under mar was, indeed, wearing very basic components of an officer's uniform, mixed with what now seemed to be over-the-top rugged clothing to sell a thief image.

the woman struggled beneath her, but mar held her with the ease of a woman who'd fought for her place in the world for decades. she looked to trinity with sadistic pleasure. "guess we're goin over disposal before we talk bout the startin' bonuses."

trinity beckman

☉

mar turned to trinity quizzically as the woman described the rotom episode. rather than acknowledge it was news to her, she said instead: "that's what i'm talkin' bout. this region... there's some sort of power in. something strange is happening, moreso than anything i ever saw in kalos."

the source of its strangeness eluded her. she had theories. there were too many different areas to investigate. she had her work cut out for her in terms of scouring just archaelogical sites if that's where she chose to focus her attention first. it was difficult to prepare a plan of action when an entire region seemed to thrum with power, but it didn't seem to stem from just one source.

mar ignored the pokemon that arrived around them in the forest, more interested in trinity and the rotom episode. "what would you even use a rotom for? aren't those little guys too chaotic for battle?" not that she could say much; her dhelmise was patient, but almost to a fault, and it did not care for the speed of battle like her other pokemon did.

[assing

trinity beckman

☉

it wasn't quite the intimidating figure she had pictured, but there was something charming about the fairy keys jingling along the path. shit. she was charmed. it had to go into her collection. she snapped her fingers, siccing capsakid on her. the grass villain headbutt the key pokemon. it jingled angrily, but its shield had no impact on the pokeball she tossed at it.

catching klefki my beloved

☉

mar shivered as trinity reached a crescendo, the spooky story she'd weaved crashing down upon the trio of initiates at her key words. mar and clobbpus wrangled their members down as the hisuian zoroark claimed its own victim. before the initiates hit the ground, mar was breaking out into pleased, manic laughter, shrill and mocking and forcing her to wrap her arms around her belly to brace herself against the laughing fit.

she wiped a tear from her eye as she stepped away from her initiate, clobbopus doing the same. "how was that, rocketlings? scared?" the one that had been beneath her hands was still pale, and he scrambled to his feet at her words and through himself overboard. huh.

the one beneath clobbopus had picked him up and tossed him, demonstrating her strength and anger. her nostrils were flaring as she rolled to her feet, taking a brawler's stance until she noticed capsakid had moved from her position at the bird's eye to the boards at her feet during the fog. the grass menace crossed her arms and seemed to dare the rocket initiate to try something, but she wised up, obviously outnumbered.

"good. anger can save yer life. disobedience, however, will take it. painfully. when ye commit to rocket, ye can keep yer personal interests, personal criminal activities, and other goals in mind, but ye will always take a knee to yer superiors." upon saying it, the middle initiate, the one that had been actively victimized by the zoroark, took a knee. mar laughed unkindly.

"the two of ye can survive cowardice, so ye will make it past day one. but tell me, are ye smart enough to last longer? to climb higher? what did ye two do wrong?" she turned to trinity in case the woman had additional questions for the initiates, though trinity might feel more inclined to take a moment at the sidelines to observe the initiates instead as they answered. many initiates made the mistake of believing their test was over before it was; they would be tested until they were past grunt-hood.

trinity beckman

☉

the sealeo rolling across her path was pretty, but it lacked the hard edge she was seeking. while she would need something cold and intimidating in her future, it wasn't quite the type in her cards. not at the moment. she needed to cough up some pokedollars for some pokeballs in her near future anyhow. ah, a pirate's work is never done.

skipping

☉

hoenn wasn't as ugly as she'd feared. kalos was gorgeous, but hoenn had its own hidden gems. she hadn't been all over yet. she preferred sea routes. still, she didn't hate the icelands and the odd pokemon she saw traversing the rough terrain.

☉

mar hummed thoughtfully as trinity shared that her mission was for a valuable pokemon. it was vague, but intriguing all the same. trinity was good company like that. "these woods are basic, but it would not surprise me if there was something really special out here. this region... i swear, it has had the weirdest occurrences lately. i've been missing out on some of the fun while i've gotten settled, but i won't miss out any longer."

she was desperate to see what legends she could uncover. the bits and pieces she had told her that valuable treasure and power rested just beneath the surface of the region, if she only had the skill and knowledge to look for it. she turned to trinity with a grin. "pleasure, always. business comes naturally when seeking pleasure." she had made her riches just pursuing passionate projects and fun, petty thefts.

the duo were soon surrounded by pokemon. mar released her clobbopus and let it bind the overqwil; clobbopus always prioritized pokemon native to the sea, and he was excellent at subduing. she took the opportunity to toss a pokeball effortlessly at the poisonous fish. "i hope this isn't a fool's errand you've been sent on."

catching overqwil

trinity beckman

☉

mar had to school her expression to stop from chuckling. trinity could captivate an audience with no special tricks, but the fog was an excellent touch. for a mere second, mar considered using capsakid's sunny day to ruin the atmospheric impact, but she was good at restraining herself from the destructive impulsive thoughts she was prone to. when it came to trinity, that was.

when the fog was thick enough to cover her, she stepped back and maneuvered around the ship to get behind the rookie on the left. her clobbopus curled up behind the one on the right. still, she waited. mar wanted to grab him and startle the kid, as much as clobbopus did his victim, but it felt cruel to interrupt trinity's storytelling. whispering, she croaked out: "help us... please, help us..." clobbopus couldn't take after her lead in this regard, so he just rolled and unrolled his tentacles against the ship's floor, creating a popping sound that echoed ominously in the environment, though both clobbopus and mar were a few feet from their respective victims and wouldn't be seen in the thick fog if their grunts turned around in fear.

mar waited for trinity to bring it home so they could see what was left of the drivel.

trinity beckman

☉