Ameena does a poor job of hiding her surprise. His outfit is so terribly casual. The man she'd met at the chasm was not only a Rocket Beast, but the Tempest Quinn, aka a man married to the Cillian Quinn ... who she had said should study a better science. Of course, such a statement was before she knew she was talking about Cillian, but still. [break][break]

She hoped he had not shared that comment with Cillian. [break][break]

Tempest had been so laid back at the chasm. It was hard to believe this was a man so fearsome he had earned the title of Beast, and yet, Ameena knew better than to question it. She had seen zero incompetence from the Rocket leadership she'd met so far. "No," she finally answered, eyeing the Eevee beneath her, "I usually stick to tea." [break][break]

She tried to piece together this easy-going spirit with the things she'd heard of this forming strike force. "You seem rather jovial for a man preparing for the upcoming activities." The war, of course, though she wasn't sure subtlety worked with him. "I came here to discuss that strike team of yours, actually." She turned her head to see Gardevoir imprisoning a poor Doublade, then refocused her attention on Tempest. "I was hoping to hear more about it."

TAGS – Tempest Quinn [break]

NOTES – catching doublade[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Ah, so the other man was a bit of a sap. She was pleased to hear he was around for a simple errand, though his interruption of her behavioral observations was still less than ideal. She could see from his Omastar's movements that he was either a competent trainer or had lucked out with very capable pokemon. That his husband was a Paleontologist brought a small sigh to her lips. "I cannot walk two feet in Hoenn without running into someone intrigued by rocks and fossils." She tsk'd. [break][break]

"If your husband has any interest in an active and current science, I am always entertaining dream research students. Simply look up Doctor Abadi - my secretary's information is public and attached to my name." Her research was decently publicized, but not so much as her information technology company AbCon. In any case, she really would love to discuss the sciences with someone new.[break][break]

"No, no," she insisted as he offered his hand, "that trouble can be all yours. I have no interest in getting involved with them so closely. Not without more lab equipment, at least." She was intrigued by his commentary about the inside of them, but that would be his adventure and not hers. [break][break]

She let Gardevoir rough up another Iron Boulder just so he wouldn't be sliding into a death pit of several active, angry ones.

TAGS – Tempest Quinn [break]

NOTES – mission (the great chasm of hoenn)[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

He was easy to miss when he wasn't going out of his way to be daunting. Or so she assumed, though perhaps it was no effort on his end to exude that threatening aura, and it was only an exertion to hold it back. In any case, she was pleased he cut straight to business. Pleasantries would have set her on edge.[break][break]

"Abadi," she greeted in kind, inclining her head to his Lucario. Her Gardevoir had no other name, so the duo followed him without further fanfare. She immediately cut to the chase. "Is it finalized? Do we know for certain that the course of action to take is... forward?" [break][break]

They passed a few steel types, which seemed prevalent in this area of the city. Ameena favored female pokemon and informed her Gardevoir telepathically to ensure they kept the Tinkaton for her collection.

TAGS – Cillian Quinn [break]

NOTES – catching TINKATON[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Even with their initial meeting in the great chasm and follow-up in a cafe of Amor's choosing, Ameena had a hard time putting Cillian into a box. She was good at categorizing people, but he evaded her. Archaeology had been an unexpected curveball given his more business-like appearance. He hadn't seemed strange enough, either, to belong to the upper echelons of Rocket, and yet he did. He seemed level-headed, which she appreciated it, but she wished he was an easier read. [break][break]

She had to take the opportunity to walk the city with him. There were plans to discuss as far as the coming war was concerned. If she was lucky, she would have a better idea of just who he was, also.

TAGS – Cillian Quinn [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

When she caught wind of a strike force within Rocket, it piqued her interest immediately. She had been working on her team's strength a lot lately. She also wanted to prove her value to the organization. If things went south during the coming battles, she wanted them to feel inclined to bail her out of any trouble. Being a researcher might not be enough, so she was eager to learn more about the opportunity. She waited alongside Gardevoir for one Tempest Quinn. She had a name, but no face.

TAGS – Tempest Quinn [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Fallarbor held little value. The air quality was horrific, no festivals were ever held here, and the people coughed incessantly. Ameena had little interest in visiting, but its proximity to the volcano gave her an opportunity to find pokemon that otherwise were not easily discovered in Hoenn. The pokemon typically attracted to such an environment were hardy and sturdy. One had to be tough to survive the unforgiving volcano and volcano-adjacent terrain. Still, Ameena looked grim as she walked through the outskirts of town, hoping she and Gardevoir could scare up a good addition to her team.

TAGS – Yuina Higashi[break]

NOTES – make it double[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Gardevoir gave her a wilting look as Ameena pulled out a pokeball. "What? I can use this one." The psychic was utterly unimpressed. The wooper in question was trying to stuff dirt in its mouth. Ameena was at a loss for words to justify catching this one. The Gardevoir stared and waited. Okay, so maybe Ameena needed to bring a less judgmental pokemon with her when seeking out tunnel critters. Whatever. She tossed a ball at the unattentive, dirt-loving pokemon and prepared to leave.

TAGS – [break]

NOTES – catching! [break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

An ocean of sunlight bathed the rocks, lighting it with wide swathes of orange like ripe fruit. The ground was warm. It promised to hold her like a grandparent. By all means, it should have been enjoyable to fall into the earth despite the dust of the excavation crew and the uncomfortable tools of the archaeologists, but neither of those factors were the detractor.[break][break]

The rock giant above her with a righteous boulder between its paws was the problem. Ameena couldn't move. The first strike had crushed her ribs and tucked her body into the ground much like how a key slotted into its keyhole. If she had had the strength, the will, the state of mind, she could have tried to peel herself from the Ameena-shaped depression. Her only saving grace was that this revisit of the RKS scenario had not left her with anxiety or animal terror. [break][break]

Instead, a deep apathy filled her stomach like cement. The giant, Regirock, beeped and tossed the rock down with no further fanfare. She couldn't even be bothered to close her eyes.

d r e a m – R 8[break][break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]