poaching was a job none too glorious; reserved for the lowest of grunts, and rather basic at that. it was simple: you steal pokemon. you extract them from their owners, or perhaps from their wildlands if they are valuable enough, and you sell them for money. it was profitable so long as you set your morals aside, and cassidy found it easier than it perhaps should have been.

she was keenly aware of elisabeth's questioning tone, eyes watching her flip through the file on her desk like an arbiter. waiting for judgement, cassidy's gaze idly wanders to the sprigatito on her lap, endeared to its large and curious eyes.

only a few seconds pass, but it feels like an eternity before elisabeth makes her conclusion: that her talents were wasted poaching.

she can't help the owlish look in her face, her eyes wide and blinking in disbelief. in her mind, she knew that these words are most likely lies, or at least a disguise to hide less pure intentions. but despite knowing all of that, she was still a famine for praise, and elisabeth had given her just enough to stay hungry.

"i...i suppose you're right, miss fiorelli. i was previously a model, but i had made a mistake, and i had to face the consequences." cassidy says. she does not want to make excuses, nor does she want to waste elisabeth's time.

instead, she looks forward at the underboss's suggestions, her musings implying a greater responsibility. espionage and the like was not something she had considered for herself, but cassidy thinks that she was more than capable of doing so if asked. and so she poses her next question, eager.

"what are some places you would have me?"

Elisabeth Fiorelli

cassidy was no easy trainer; she treated her pokemon with strictness, ensuring that they were obedient and reliable. she did not give them names, for she did not bond with them like typical trainers would. but she could be surprisingly lenient on some matters; today, her eevee had broken out its pokeball, and she had found it endearing enough to let it free as it ran in circles around her. she disliked how overly friendly it was as baby pokemon were prone to be. but kasper had responded positively, and the eevee took to playfully batting back at the audino with a few loud mews, taking it as a game.

she listens to kasper carefully, her eyes following the grand swing of their arms. "it is rather ominous." she confirms. it was certainly a place that was not hospitable; dark stone tinged with green from overgrown moss, complete darkness and the lack of life. she steps closer to the tunnel, the darkness swallowing the weak light of her flashlight. one could say that the cool air kissing her skin was a sign of the ghost's presence. or at least, a greeting to the rocket's entry.

she was not someone good at assuring others, but she tries anyways, if only to keep kasper calm. "there is no need to worry, spirits do not attack unless provoked. but in the event they do, i believe that we are both capable enough trainers to combat them."

kasper thaler

she does as she's told, placing the coffee on the table before walking over to where she had entered, turning the handle and silently pushing the door shut. closed doors can mean many things; vulnerability and trust, secrets. but to cassidy, it usually meant that something terrible was going to happen. she knew from experience the model industry that preyed on its bright eyed talent, and the predators that roamed their offices. it was all too familiar.

and so she cannot help but wonder what this closed door meant; elisabeth was no kind person, that much is that truth. no underboss of a mafia organization got their title by being good. but as much as her instincts had told her to run and never look back, her legs instead carried her to the open chair across from elisabeth's desk, obedient.

her chest tightens and her stomach twists, and yet she finds that she prefers this familiarity, knowing what to expect. she takes notice of the underboss's mocking tone, reminiscent of times past. it's simply the rules of the game—and so she slides back into her role like a glove: hungry and compliant.

"of course, ma'am. i am cassidy, formerly a civilian, now a recruit. my colleagues say that at my current state, my skills are best suited for poaching. however i'm still exploring and eager to learn." she says, still doggedly earnest despite the way it reflects on her reputation. she did not like to lie, nor overstate her influence. at the end of the day, it was the only way she knew how to survive—truth. only truth.

Elisabeth Fiorelli

they seem more like friends than coworkers, going as far as to dig their elbows into each other, and speaking with such casualness that she felt strangely out of place. cassidy could not help but be formal, the stiffness of her words had always been a part of her that she couldn't shake.

and not only that, but pride was very much an aspect that she'd retained despite her situation, and she admittedly was not keen on being bogged down with chores. she remembers when she'd paid people to do it for her; the help that would fetch her dresses from the tailor's and the maids that would cook dinner for her. but that was long behind her.

"i see." she responds, swallowing her pride the best she could. she slowly follows cato and the eevee, taking note of the modest apartment; as homely as two men could make it—plain couches and furniture, stray clothes, and the occasional misplaced object. by all means, she has seen worse. it certainly must be somewhat difficult to keep the apartment clean with a baby pokemon around.

she frowns at aris's question. mint said he saw potential in her; she doesn't know if she will be able to prove him right. she had been a former model, and that did not particularly cross over to any life skills. but his small tasks had been a warm-up she supposes, for what she'd do here. "i was told i'd fit best as poacher. perhaps for battling, given time and training."

Aris van der Veld cato

her ninetails alerts her of it first—she barks, and cassidy turns, her eyes landing on the little gible. pale blue, small libs that can barely hold up its circular body. it stands there for a moment, long enough for to determine what pokemon it is—but not long enough to linger, as blue flames lick at the corners of its mouth, and she suddenly ducks. overhead, the heat of its DRAGON BREATH makes her neck warm.

a little mischievous, was it?

vidya waits for her command, and she flicks her head to the wild pokemon, letting her ninetails do what she needed to do. a simple DAZZLING GLEAM surrounds her pokemon, rainbow-colored and bright. the gible was small, and its sent flying as vidya slams her shoulder into it.

she throws the pokeball, watching it shake slightly before it stops.

capture.

it should be a little more agreeable than the metagross, no?

CAPTURED GIBLE

oldale was perhaps the most rural one could get in; a small village where many elderly people like to retire to, and perhaps the few families that were eager to provide a quieter place to raise their kids. she was not too fortunate, having been born in the extravagance of lilycove city.

and so stepping in oldale for the first time felt like stepping into a new region. what she'd noticed mainly was how quiet it was, with rarely a shout or a yell to fill the air, and the idle wanderings of their inhabitants. they spent very little time in the town itself before leaving for the wild lands.

they were in a slight hurry—if the rumours were true about these psychic, they'd certainly make enough money to tide her over for a while. they hadn't quite found one as of yet, even as her eyes roved across the forest, searching for the spot of red and white amongst the green foliage.

she slows to a stop beside tempest, shaking her head at the offered canteen. "no, but thank you." she says politely. the smile on his face was inviting, and she found him friendlier than most people. it had been a welcome change to the various rockets she had met since her induction. though she idly wondered his motives, and why someone so kind would join the rockets in the first place.

she did not want to pry, and so she asks him a lighter question instead, making way for small talk. "how long have you been in rocket for, sir?"

Tempest Quinn

amaura confirmed thank u!! :3

it was an honor, really, to be working under one of rocket's underbosses.

she had known of the previous rocket's fall, and how this new organization had functioned as more of an organized crime group than a gang. but she was still surprised to see that they had a few programs to settle their new recruits—a rotation program no less—to become familiar with the senior officers in the organization.

but she supposes that even bad people care about retention and treating their workforce well.

and so now she had been rotated in for elisabeth fiorelli, the underboss of rockets, only second to the true leader. she was admittedly nervous, and eager to please. and so she did what any intern was wont to do—there's a coffee in her hand, warm and freshly poured from a cafe nearby.

the clock strikes at the top of the hour when she arrives, marking her appearance as only a few seconds before late. she had hoped that this goodwill would curry some slight favor; she had asked around for elisabeth's coffee order after all, and she'd made sure that they had made the coffee to expectations.

cassidy knocks before entering, quietly approaching elisabeth's desk with doe-like caution. and so with the coffee cradled in two hands, she proffers it towards the underboss with a dip of her head in deference.

"miss fiorelli, thank you for giving me this opportunity. i will attempt to fulfill my duties and responsibilities to the best of my abilities—my will is yours."

Elisabeth Fiorelli

on the route outside fallarbor town, with dust falling from the skies and the pokeballs on her belt, cassidy finds herself alone once again, only with her thoughts as company. she thinks about the metagross she had captured recently, one that had begun to prove rather dangerous.

what is fascinating about strong pokemon and intelligent pokemon, is that they had a mind of their own. she may be the owner of the pokeball that had captured them, but by no means is it a guarantee of their social contract with her. the metagross she had captured was unwieldy and refused her authority. when she had returned from her last expedition, it had broken out of its pokeball to her surprise, and nearly destroyed the club before she had returned it.

sooner or later, she would have to pay reparations for the metagross shaped hole in the doorway; the damned creature.

but that only meant that she needed to be patient. it was tempting to be cruel; the her zweulous could very well hit it into obedience. but she found that the beatings made them weaker and listless, and instead, she would simply wait it out. she was a patient girl, and if it did not want to listen, she will simply wait until it did.

after all, there is nothing more punishing than to be trapped when you were previously free.

isn't life cruel?

she nods, following the deep indents alongside the mud, until it had forked off path—presumably the moment in time that the storm had become too much, with torrential rains and obscured paths. from there, they could follow the broken foliage and disturbed ground. fortunately, they had other tools at their disposal.

the noctowl flies above, wings silent. she only knew where it was by the shadow it cast in the fog. another set of sharp eyes, better than of humans. she had no such pokemon to compare, and she looked at his hand signals with such curiosity that she wondered if she should implement them herself.

but there was a more pressing question; one that she had to vocalize despite it all. perhaps it was redundant, one that should be so obvious considering the situation. but she needed to hear it for herself, to make sure that this was real and as serious as the situation implied.

"we have to find him first, so that we may kill him...correct?"

Zev Harcourt

FERNANDO SILPH for june

cassidy was not one to target the wealthy and powerful. and even more so, someone who seemed to be polite and rather involved in the community. she was not someone who liked to put a target on her back, knowing that she was still new and adjusting to the life of a rocket. despite all that, she is someone who listens to orders—and from an underboss no less.

and so, when Elisabeth Fiorelli tells her that her next target was fernando silph, she did not question it. but she did in the least, make a note of it in her mind—it was a surprise to know elisa's level of influence, and how deep rocket had infiltrated hoenn's elite. perhaps, she thought, that it meant that she was on the winning side.

and for her, a guarantee at survival.

it's past midnight when she finds him in a bar, having downed few drinks; a typical salaryman's crutch. when he finally leaves, she quietly tails him, sticking to the shadows and staying unseen.

she acts only when they are finally alone—isolated.

out of her pokeball, the quick materialization of her pokemon: vidya. her ninetails' eyes glow, and a red aura suddenly surrounds fernando silph, a DISABLE that suddenly stops his movements.

"mr. silph." she greets politely. she sneaks up behind him, reaching for the pokeballs hanging off his belt. "i do apologize for the sin i am about to commit."

[attr="class","poketeam"]

FERNANDO SILPH

taking with Alba Evovae