MAY - JUNE TEST DRIVE MEME

[indigo_events]

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Comments

Goldenrod City

[fingersandteeth]

[The man she's addressing is dressed in business casual: a button-down shirt with rolled up sleeves, dress slacks, dress shoes, and a loosely knotted tie. He's on the taller side, dark, and handsome--though he's also about twenty years older than London, so she probably shouldn't try to flirt with him. He's Latino, bespectacled, and lightly bearded--and there's a distinct look of barely concealed amusement in his eyes as he meets hers.]

I might, [he says, in a perfectly pleasant tone of voice,] but I'd rather not open my briefcase out here on the street--the papers would get all blown around, you see. But we're quite close to the Radio Tower, where I work. Meet me in the alley behind the building in five minute and I'll get you your pokemon.

[So. Is London going to take his offer?]

[yay_heiress]

Ooh! You work in the radio tower too?

[He is quite cute, but equally as important, he's offering to help her, and he could be rich, which is a far bigger deal now that her own assets appear to have been completely cut off.

She's going to take his offer at face value. She needs a pilfered pokémon, and he's offering one. She gives him a sly nod, not new to shady business practices thanks to her hotel mogul dad.]

You've got yourself a deal.

i random rolled for the contents of the ball and everything

[fingersandteeth]

[He raises an eyebrow. Are you sure you ought to mention details of your mundane life to strangers while in uniform? Well. He'll talk to her about that later, in the alley.

Speaking of which, he is in fact waiting for her there when he says he'll be, lazily tossing a pokeball in his hand.]

Here, [he says, tossing said pokeball to her.] One female Purrloin, level fourteen. You'll want the ones you actually turn in for your quota to be at least level fifteen, but since I suspect you're still in training, I'm sure they'll let it slide. It's even properly stolen--I mugged it off some clown a few weeks ago, but it wasn't high enough, so I figured I'd launder it through a blind trade later.

By the way, you really should hold off on telling random people where you work while you're in uniform--it's not widely known that the Team has a presence still at the Tower and I'm sure the admins want to keep it that way.

[Oh look, London, you were targeting another Rocket all along!]

Ooooh, awesome!

[yay_heiress]

[London arrives after the five minutes specified earlier, and she peers around the corner of the building and into the alleyway to spot the man she'd seen earlier.

When he tosses the pokéball at her, she's taken a little by surprise and fumbles it a bit, but ultimately manages to not let it fall. She's quiet as he explains, and even rarer of a feat, she's actually listening to him.]

So, you're a part of Team Rocket, too. [She had already established an incentive to be good at this gig. Back home as an heiress to one of the world's largest hotel chains, London's funds were essentially limitless. But here, no one's even heard of a Tipton hotel, and she hadn't been able to contact her father at all, which means she's completely cut off. Which is a big problem for London Tipton.]

So, we're supposed to mug people for their pokémon, but would I be able to negotiate with someone for it? [Considering the wheelings and dealings she's used to seeing from her father, she's far more likely to try to steer clear of using physical violence to get pokémon from others. There'd have to be a really good reason to put her nails and face in danger of becoming less beautiful.]

Re: Ooooh, awesome!

[fingersandteeth]

Mmhm. Steven. I'm a Private. [In other words, her senior in the organization.] And you could, though I wouldn't do it in uniform, no matter what they say about always wearing it on Rocket business. There's also pickpocketing, of course, breaking and entering, catching the Pokemon yourself and lying when you turn in your quota because they don't check... [He shrugs.]

How have you been doing with your pickpocketing lessons? Charming them outside of uniform and stealing their balls off their belt might be a decent strategy if you can hack it.

[yay_heiress]

[London nods, grateful that she has so many options, but her eyes snap to attention when he mentions being out of uniform.]

You mean I don't have to wear this hideous outfit all the time?! Oh! Yay! [She jumps a bit, clapping her hands rapidly. It's the little things.] Honestly, that will make things so much easier! This farm girl said she was gonna beat me up because of my Rocket uniform! I'm way more trustworthy when I look fashionable!

[When Steven brings up the pickpocketing lessons, London shrugs, although she does hold a haughty air as she does so.] I'm pretty good at it, actually.

[fingersandteeth]

Only on official Rocket business, [Steven says.] Well--and it's not a bad idea to wear at least the hat and the mask while you're in the base underground. But yeah--I prefer to do my own mugging in plainclothes if possible.

That said-- they're pretty insistent on the uniform during Mandatory Training Hell, so you can't take it off just yet.

[But he smiles.] I'm glad you've got a talent. So yeah. Just-- concentrate on the good old 'charm and swipe' trick from now on. My friend Lydia favors that and she takes in a lot for the Team.

Anyway--what brings you to Team Rocket?

[yay_heiress]

[London grimaces.] You mean when I'm not in uniform I have to wear plain clothes? Oy, what next, a polo tee and crocs? [She may be a bit unfamiliar with the term. But then again, why would a fashionista heiress incorporate such a notion into her vocabulary?]

[She is quite good at charm, or so she'd been told, and she smiles as he gives her more pointers.] Charm and swipe. Got it!

I'm not really sure what brings me to Team Rocket. One night I was asleep in the penthouse suite of the Tipton hotel in Paris, and when I woke up, I was here in boring pajamas! Is stealing how people are recruited for this team, too? Because I'm pretty sure I was stolen!

[fingersandteeth]

[He can't help it. He chuckles.] No, no. Not plain clothes. Plainclothes. One word. It's a technical term. It just means-- well, normal clothing. Not a uniform. You can wear whatever you want out of uniform.

[But then he regards her with a certain, more focused interest. Huh. The girl was so flighty that he'd thought for sure she was a local recruit... but then, it wasn't as if Steve Palchuck was a shining intellectual light and he'd come from another world, same as any of them.]

Team Rocket didn't steal you, [he says quietly.] The entity who did just dumped you where they could press-gang you. But-- sometimes, I guess they are.

But here's the thing: you're not in the world you came from anymore, I'm afraid. You're somewhere entirely new. Instead of Paris, there's Lumiose City. Instead of France, the Kalos region. And you're not in either of those.

[yay_heiress]

[London gives a big, thorough nod, absorbing the difference between plain clothes and plainclothes, although she'll probably not use either term much. At least she gets it.]

Things do seem kind of off here. None of the birds look normal. I've never seen any of these cute animals before I got here. And also, [She takes out one of the pokéballs she'd been given and lets out the pokémon inside. It's her Rocket appointed pre-trained Staryu. London beams at it, pleased with how beautiful it is.] I get that people get gold stars, but why would they give me one this big that I can't wall mount? I mean, I can't even wear him as a brooch!

[fingersandteeth]

You probably shouldn't, [Steven says, frowning.] He's one of those animals too. They're called Pokemon and they're what this world has instead of normal animals. The team gave him to you, because they think you might need him to fight with--ah, that's what the pokemon animals of this world do. They fight each other for fun.

And-- since you're from another world like I am, I should probably let you know that the group of us who came from different worlds than this one all have a crew together and you're welcome to join it once your training is over. We work under Handsome Jack--he's our Alpha, which is as high as you can go with the Team if you're not native to this world--and he's very good at what he does.

[yay_heiress]

That explains why he squirts water.

[She nods, a bit more excited that there's a crew to join. She already feels less alone than she did before. She tilts her head at the mention of Handsome Jack. He does sound kinda handsome.]

What does he do?

[fingersandteeth]

As Alpha? Mostly he's there to intercede between us and the admins. He smooths things over. Helps us when we need it. Gets us cover jobs if we need them--he was the one who arranged for me to start working for the Tower.

Outside of Team Rocket... well, he's the CEO of his own company. Hyperion. It mostly sells novelty goods, but he's branching out into the nightlife too. Backing some clubs. My friend Tyler and I are doing one with him here in Goldenrod that's set to be open soon. My other friend Lydia's got one in Ecruteak.

[Also, he's Steven's boyfriend and three times your age, young lady.]

[yay_heiress]

Wow, it sounds like he's really important to the team. He must be really great, especially if he can shrink small enough to enter seeds!

Do you think I could meet him? My daddy's a CEO, and he says it's good to learn from other CEOs if you wanna be successful.

[fingersandteeth]

[Oh hell. She's as dumb as Steve P, isn't she? Well, you work with what you've got.]

He's wonderful. And-- I'll see what I can do to arrange a meeting with him before Training Week is over for you. If not, then when your training is done, I'll take you out for [Not drinks, she's still a kid, isn't she?] ice cream and ask Jack to come with.