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“I feel like I've been staring at this stupid... what the fuck are you? A fuckin... uh... head-trap lookin' thing for the past two months,” and Bailey rubbed her eyelids, sending splotches of red and orange straight into her retinas with every twist of her balled fists. The pressure against her eyes seemed to make her headache feel less shitty.[break][break]

Kapow patted the top of her head. His enlarged hand almost driving her into the ground. “Too rough! Too rough!” And he snapped his hand back, looking saddened by his enhanced strength and his trainer's... frailness. Humans were so squishy--[break][break]

“Ugh. Screw it,” and she turned to stare at the encroaching pokemon, fetching a pokeball from her waist. “You're gonna get in this fuckin' ball, or we're gonna have a problem. You don't want a problem.”[break][break]

Kapow cracked his knuckles, just to cement her point.[break][break]

“Just let it happen,” and she chucked the pokeball.

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They collided, sending stars that danced before her eyes.[break][break]

Bailey had loosened her grip, stumbling back from the crack of skull to skull. “What the fuc--” and a hand reached up to shield her forehead from another consecutive strike. A goose-egg would be eager to form beneath her touch, even if she drove pressure to where she had been struck.[break][break]

And her pokemon–as capable as they seemed–were far more focused on their trainer than the fleeing Rocket member. “What are you all doing?!” She had shouted as Kapow and Bumbo came to her side, holding her head to inspect the damage. “I'm fine! Not me! Get him–”[break][break]

But it would be too late.[break][break]

/end

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“This is real freaking neato,” Bailey Cooper murmured as she shoveled another handful of popcorn to Chubs the Spheal. The small, rotund pokemon squealed in delight at every performance, at every sparkle, as he clapped his tiny flippers with the cheers of the audience. At one point in her life, the young officer would have rather dropped dead than be spotted at an event like this–but for Chubs? She would do anything for Chubs.[break][break]

She brought the second handful to her own mouth as lounged in the cushy armchairs that the theater had to offer; the damn concession stand had charged an arm and a leg for her large bag of popcorn... and the several mixed drinks she had chugged prior to taking her seat. Floating on a nice buzz, Bailey is able to muster a shred of interest as she watched the rotation; some faces were familiar, others were not.[break][break]

It took her a moment to find the straw to her Rum and Coke. “Mime girl totally has it.” Chubs made another stupid sound that made her giggle, pinching his inflated cheek.[break][break]

“Maybe the dude with the Golbat, but... I dunno. Something about his face creeps me out.” Her drunken observations were not made to anyone in general–just for Chubs. “What did you think?” He clapped. Did he agree? Bailey could only hum, knowing that his judgment was far better than her own.[break][break]

She chugged the rest of her drink, returning the small plastic cup to its holster. “Perse is in the running, too... I didn't think she'd be into this stuff... nah, nevermind. She's cultured. I should have guessed.”[break][break]

The officer leaned herself forward as the final contestant took the stage–[break][break]

“Pfff–” She choked. Another council member? And, of all the council members, it was him?[break][break]

Chubs beat his flippers against Bailey's back as she suffocated; laughter threatening to gargle with the burn of the rum and coke as it went down the wrong pipe. “Fuck,” and she slapped a hand to her mouth to suffocate her laughter. How did they rope him into this? How much did they pay him?[break][break]

Nice speech–just not from him. That predatory smile? Yikes.[break][break]

Someone tried to hush her. She tried to ignore the fizzling burn that met her nostrils as she finally stopped the laughter that threatened to rip her apart.[break][break]

tldr; bailey is here to watch with her adorable spheal

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Was he serious?[break][break]

“Hah!” The hard bark escaped her mouth before she could stop it; her mind immediately presuming that Fernando was joking. Escorting a delibird? When he was a member of the council? Yeah, right. Was he getting ready to campaign for the chancellor position? “Very funny. No, seriously, what are you–” He was not joking. Her amusement died the moment she realized the sincerity of his words.[break][break]

Those poor, sick children in Fallarbor. “Oh. Uh. My bad.” Now she looked like an asshole.[break][break]

He did not look like the charitable type. Was that a rude assumption to make? Maybe. The officer could only cringe inwardly and try to navigate around this situation before it was beyond repair. “Yeah, I'll tag along,” and she found herself following after him. [break][break]

“It's orders... and... those poor kids, right?” Fuck.

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The earthquake roused more than just the ground.[break][break]

Bailey almost toppled when the ground quaked; her hands grasping the side of the very pillar they had been inspecting. Its presence kept her upright and unfazed as Persephone handled the wild encounter. The officer knew the Ranger was a skilled trainer. In all honesty, it made her wonder why she had been asked to tag along. She supposed it was power in numbers–the looming threat of Rocket weighed on everyone's minds.[break][break]

They had to be ready for anything.[break][break]

Which was why–through the shifting sands–Bailey was able to spy the emerging Palossand as it prepared to join the fray. “Nuh uh, nice try,” and she kept one hand braced to the pillar while she fetched a pokeball. “Come on, Turtonator!”[break][break]

And it was not a Turtonator. It was a Blastoise.[break][break]

One Hydro Pump lowered the ghost pokemon's health enough for her to throw an empty capsule; she needed more ghost types.

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“If worse comes to worse, we can just use Extreme Speed,” Bailey could still feel the road rash from that incident, but it had done a damn good job of helping both of them clear that chasm.[break][break]

The widening of the passage was appreciated. It made the space they occupied feel less claustrophobic; the purple sheen that glittered on the walls made this place feel mythical. It matched their conversation about legendaries. If one were to appear at the end of this passage, the officer wouldn't have been surprised.[break][break]

She tucked her hands into her jacket, figuring it was not going to happen. “Just gotta watch out for those hyper beams.” That had been the one moment that stood out to her; the one time she had felt a moment of fear. It had been awesome and terrifying. It was still hard to comprehend that raw power.

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“God. No,” Bailey groaned as she stared at the wild pokemon that had dared to wander beyond the tall grass; dumb hand monkey looking bitch.[break][break]

She flipped it off. The outward aggression made the wild Ambipom bristle and bare its fangs. Guess it was time for a battle, huh? The officer could feel her head pulsing, either from frustration or from her hangover. “Bring it,” and her other hand tapped one of the pokeballs on her waist, releasing her Kommo-o from his confines.[break][break]

And the moment the punching dragon emerged, he mimicked Bailey's gesture. Two sets of middle fingers.[break][break]

The monkey lost interest, sensing that this was not its day.

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