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kasper was pretty sure they had taken their eyes off of their food for just a second. of course, the billows of smoke that had greeted them as soon as they opened their oven told a different story, and the way their apartment smelt like death told a extremely different story.
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they had fled to open a window with no lack of hacking and coughing, and, hoping that the darkness and threat of war would keep most people away, crept back to the kitchen to look at the block of coal that had once been a premade lasagna.[break][break]
yeah. they'd have to order takeout.
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even as the thought crossed their mind, they can't force themself to do much more than look at the once-edible creation with all the defeat in the world. that had looked good, damn it. and it had smelled good until it didn't.
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before they can reach for their phone, something from the depths of the dark living room crashes. loudly. and then, just as quickly, zinnia begins to bark.

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they're not expecting the archeops to get a blow in on ameena's pokemon at all, but there's a telltale hiss of pain and an answering, almost proud cry from posie when he lets go. kasper thinks they'll have to get him some extra treats- even in training, he had done good in a way they hadn't been sure about.
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they don't get long to think about it before ameena's calling out- and the gardevoir, despite that, conjures up a mystical fire. they can feel the heat, and they draw up an arm to try to protect their face, squinting against it. between that and the light from the flame, they think the gardevoir is painted in a sickly shade of almost-emerald. "posie, use thrash!"
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the archeops lunges forward again, but his claws close around...nothing. ameena's move to pull the gardevoir into her pokeball had been quicker, and even then it takes kasper a moment to recover.
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"i think..." their first instinct is to joke that they'd not risk getting burnt to a crisp, but they push that aside. for now. even though it probably was a good joke. "i think being able to think of a better long-term strategy in the heat of the moment would be good." as it was, their pokemon had been doing what they could- maybe not what was best.
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"maybe having a better plan for defense, too?" in the end, both of their pokemon had ended on the offense, after all. "and...probably not raising my arm up like that." even if it had been instinctual. damn- they're sort of realizing just how many mistakes they had made there, now.

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is it bad, that kasper feels bad as soon as the stranger calls out? maybe it's the fact that he seems genuinely concerned, but something about it brings up a bit of guilt, and suddenly they wish they weren't alone in this. they think Tempest Quinn or ameena abadi would be able to handle this better, probably- kasper doesn't know why the two of them are in rocket, but they do know that both of them seem prepared for anything in a way kasper isn't.
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but they're not here.
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"i know." they don't want to sound apologetic, but they do anyway. a glance is sent to carnation, making sure the wildcard of a pokemon doesn't lunge forward just yet. they're finding they don't want to fight- not unless they have to. not when they'd have to look at someone who had seemed concerned and aim apokemon towards him.
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"i was- actually sent to take over for you?" it's a bold-faced lie, and they know it isn't even a good one, but they can't help but hope that he'll believe them, above all odds.

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"ew."
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if there was anything kasper didn't want to think about, it was that. the affection in which their fellow rocket says it doesn't pass over unoticed, though, and they're much more quick to focus on that than whatever their bosses did. "you know cillian?"
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he doesn't seem that scared of cillian, which...is odd, but kasper's plans to ask him about it are put on hold when he closes the laptop and asks them if they're ready to escort him. "yeah. ready to go whenever you are."
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and then, just as quickly as it would have taken them to breathe, curiosity gets the better of them. "how did you meet him?" just as quickly, they glance over, trying to judge if they should share just how much he scares them. if it isn't obvious already, from the way they're avoiding mentioning him too much like he'll pop from the shadows behind them.
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actually- as the thought passes their mind, they send a quick glance back. just in case.

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the first thought kasper has is wondering why the hell they hear boss music when the stranger turns. the second is a horrble, sinking realization of oh fuck is that who i think it is that settles firmly in their bones. they need to leave, they think. and now, probably.
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they had heard about the champion of kanto, and how she had been assumed to die in the takeover. but they were pretty sure she was here, either in the flesh or as some sort of weird grim reaper before whatever actually killed them, and they weren't sure what was worse.
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she doesn't answer, but the dragonite she releases is very much real and also heading for them. "oh fuck!" any attempt at seeming cool and intimidating is promptly abandoned as they make a dive for their sylveon, knocking the pink pokemon aside and skinning their knees pretty severely in the process.
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but they're alive. and not electrocuted, even if they can feel air almost crackling just above their head. blindly, they fumble for yarrow's pokeball, withdrawing the sylveon and releasing bluebell without even thinking about it too hard. the plain pokeball rests in their hand even after the shadow lycanroc is free- something that would have been comforting had their heart not been pounding so hard they're sure they could hear it.
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bluebell doesn't have the same reservations, apparently- before kasper can even really think past the panic, the shadow lycanroc is lunging towards the dragonite in an attempt to crunch down on anything he can find.

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kasper was no professor on the oddities of hoenn, not by a long shot, but it didn't take that to know that the odd plates were something rocket would be interested in. and, if they were being honest, they were also a bit interested in what exactly what was going on. they had lived here, after all, and in their nineteen years of life, they hadn't heard of anything like this.
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so, when they had heard of the supposed plate near oldale town, they hadn't hesitated in heading out to look for it, trailed by their typical archeops and arcanine. the two of them would probably be able to find something easier than kasper themself.
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if either of them decided to help, anyways. posie had woken up in a bad mood anyways, and zinnia was...zinnia. the arcanine didn't seem willing to help with anything unless it was food-related, and in those cases he just ended up getting in the way.
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they were determined to see this through, though. even if it turned out to be nothing. at least they'd know for sure.
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posie, circling lazily just out of reach, suddenly cried out and landed, rather clumsily, staring just beyond what kasper could see.

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there's a split second where ana winces at the mention of her outfit, and kasper also finds themself wincing, although it's more at the apparent lack of their social skills. maybe they had deserved that fall.
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luckily, she's moving on before kasper can think to clarify that they had meant it and wasn't trying to be mean or anything. or maybe unluckily? either way, the moment passes at the mention of the storm, and they're left with the option of bringing it up again and actually making things uncomfortable or letting it go.
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needless to say, they know what they're going to choose.
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ana admits she doesn't really know what she's doing, either, and it's like a weight is lifted off of kasper's shoulders. "thank arceus. i don't either, if i'm being honest. i know dog pokemon....can...help? maybe?" the rest of what they're about to say is unspoken with a vague gesture of their arm to the very unhelpful pokemon they had brought along.
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"they shouldn't be that hard to round up, though, should they? since they're tame?" were mareep friendly? kasper really hoped they were friendly. it would make it a lot easier to capture them if they could just be lured along.

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kasper, luckily, hadn't even noticed that chu-e had been ignoring them at first. it didn't really matter, anyway, because by the time he had decided to actually listen, they had decided they needed to get it out there. mostly because it was so awful and they hated it.
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they blink at his question, now that their theory about why kyogre destroyed their workplace was finished, and then wrinkled their nose at the idea. "no. i didn't even read part of it." maybe they would have out of irony if the rocket underbosses didn't scare the shit out of them, but the opportunity had passed.
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"i did tell his husband about it, though. he probably read it." maybe they should ask Tempest Quinn for his review on the series if he had actually bought them. all six of them.

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in the not-so-distant past, kasper was sure they wouldn't have done anything like this. if anyone had asked them six months ago, they probably would have said it was too much at the time. hell- if someone had asked them three months ago, they probably would have said the same.
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honestly, they probably would have the other day. but they didn't want to actually say that to anyone's face, so here they were. at least they had carnation with them- the tyranitar, despite being a newer addition to their team, had already become a comfort in a short amount of time.
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it's said pokemon that notices they're not alone first, and his low rumble of warning is what causes kasper to glance up, already preparing for....something not very fun, honestly.

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tempest doesn't bat an eye, either, and in any other world where that would have been worrying, kasper doesn't give it a second thought in this one. he's seen his fair share of traumatized, aggressive pokemon, they're sure- even if they don't know the extent of how he's seen them.
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they also don't question it when he gives them a contact to reach out to about the pokemon. in fact, no idea of any potential problems cross their mind. it's temp, after all, and maybe they're a bit biased because he hasn't done anything so far to really impact them, but they trust him. the fact that he's nice helps things, too.
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"rocket has pokemon trauma specialists?" it shouldn't surprise them as much as it does, but they're brushing the idea away and grinning at temp, entirely trusting and unaware of the can of shadow-worms he's opened for them. "thanks, by the way. for this. and the jobs."

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