Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The cafeteria was busy, as usual. A Team Rocket grunt maneuvered her way through the obnoxious sea of black and red otherwise known as the lunchtime rush, squinting and scanning the room with tired, green eyes. Finally, she spotted a vacant table. Her food was already getting cold, but she didn't care. Ria sat her tray down with a sigh as she melted inelegantly into her seat. 

Smack. Smack.

Her relief was short lived. Almost immediately, two other trays made contact with the tabletop right across from her.

"Well, well, well."

The voice was familiar; it was the unmistakable rasp of Butch. When Ria looked up, he and Cassidy had already seated themselves, uninvited but confident they belonged, just the same. 

"If it ain't the flavor of the week." He continued. "We were just talking about you."

"Along with literally everyone else." His partner flipped one of her long, blonde pigtails over her shoulder and abandoned her tray, coming around to Ria's side of the table and leaning in close. "Butch, take my picture with her."

The blonde haired woman flashed a peace sign and smiled wide. Ria hurriedly tucked a loose mahogany strand behind her ear and copied the gesture, sure that today especially, she looked just as homely as she always felt next to beautiful, prepossessing, and perfect Cassidy. Her smile felt just as artificial as her interest in talking to either of them in that moment, but she couldn't ask them to leave. As friendly as she was with Butch and Cassidy, they both still outranked her. Allies were hard to come by in Team Rocket, and allies in higher places were an even more extraordinary treasure. It simply wasn't worth it to blow them off.

"I take it you've seen the video." Ria muttered, pushing the food around on her plate with her plastic fork. It had already started to congeal, and even though there had been a sign outside of the kitchen proudly touting the name of today's special, she had already forgotten what it was supposed to be.

"Saw it?" The other woman laughed. "Butch was the one who filmed it!" 

Ria's fork clattered as she dropped it, staring open mouthed and processing what Cassidy had said. Her expression changed to one of outrage and she glared accusatorially at her green-haired colleague.

"That was you?!"

"Calm down, calm down," he waved his hands in a manner she had seen many times before, usually when he was trying to cool his own partner's explosive temper. "You should be thanking me, ya know. Yesterday, you were just a nobody grunt. But now? You're an intranet celebrity!" 

"You say that like it's a good thing."

"That's because it is a good thing. Look," Cassidy slid her phone over to Ria. "You should see how many likes this thing has on Rocketbook already. You don't want to be a grunt forever, do you? Now people are going to start remembering your face, and as quiet as you are, that's the only way you're ever going to get promoted." 

Ria didn't say anything as she looked down at the screen, warily eyeing the figures in front of her. Team Rocket members were strictly prohibited from using their real identities on any form of social media due to security concerns, so Giovanni's recent initiative to provide a social networking platform exclusively for Team Rocket members had been a hugely popular success. In light of recent events, however, Ria couldn't say that she was a fan. The video in question had already been liked close to three hundred times, and viewed more than thrice that. She wasn't interested in re-living her earlier battle with Domino at all, but Cassidy had already pressed play. 

"Check out that excellent camera work." Butch started talking over the audio right away, although Ria didn't really need to hear it to know what was being said. She remembered very clearly how Domino had gloated, thinking the battle had already been won. 

"Be quiet," his partner shushed him. "This is my favorite part." 

"Oh, yeah. Mine too." 

The three of them looked on as Ria's Houndour started to glow and change shape, transforming into a larger and much more fierce looking Houndoom right in the middle of the training field. Butch and Cassidy laughed on camera and in real time as Domino's Roserade fell pitifully to a fiery attack. 

"Look at her face!" Butch cackled. "It's like you didn't even care that the flamethrower would be overkill. And look at your face! You don't even know what to do."

"I didn't." Ria said quietly. "I didn't ask Houndoom to use Flamethrower, either. It just...decided to. On its own."

She crossed her arms and looked away from the still unfolding battle. She didn't need to see any more. If she could go back in time, she would have forfeited right then, and had she been thinking clearly, she probably would have. It had just been a training exercise, after all, and although she had been volun-told to do it, had Ria known how things were going to turn out she would have surely done something besides stand there and let her pokemon rain fire on one of her commanding officers.

"Well, either way, it was hilarious." Butch said around a mouthful of french fries. "...damn, these are cold."

"I don't think Domino found it very funny." Ria said.

"Oh, please." Cassidy rolled her eyes. "She got cocky. She wanted to humiliate someone that had a type advantage over her to make herself look like a better trainer. She does it all the time, and she usually picks on spineless grunts like you because she thought you wouldn't have the backbone to actually defeat her even if you wanted to."

"My backbone had nothing to do with it." 

"Maybe not yours," Butch chuckled, "but that Houndoom of yours is another story. I guess she wasn't counting on it having a mind of its own."

Ria sighed.

"I don't get it. I never had a problem with it listening to me when it was still just a Houndour."

"Well, whatever reasons it came up with in its little canine brain, if you ask me," Cassidy said, "they were right on point. That little witch had it coming." 

Behind her, almost as if she'd been summoned from hell by the mention of her name, Ria saw Domino emerge from the crowd and begin approaching the table. She had a sly smirk on her face, which usually meant she was put to no good.

"Uh, Cassidy," the brunette tried to interject. This could go quite badly, she realized, as she watched her former adversary come closer. Butch and Cassidy liked to tell anyone who would listen that they were the Boss's favorites, but it was no secret that the title actually belonged to Domino.

"-if only Houndoom had missed Roserade entirely."

"Cassidy." Butch, by now, had followed Ria's gaze and also become aware of the impending danger. His partner, unfortunately, took no heed of either of her table mates' concerns. 

"HQ has been a much better place now that that spoiled little brat has been taken down a peg."

"Oh, and what spoiled brat are we talking about, exactly?"

Cassidy froze at the sound of the other woman's voice. Every bit of color seemed to drain from her face for just a moment before she collected herself and turned to face her fellow officer, who was standing over her shoulder. 

"Domino!" Cassidy had a very specific tone that she used when she was being fake polite, and that was the one she was using now. "Oh, you know..."

Her violet eyes seemed to search every wall in the cafeteria for an answer.

"Actually, it's nobody that you would know at all." Butch stepped in for the save. "Most definitely not anyone at this table or in the immediate vicinity of it!"

"Absolutely not!" His partner did not hesitate to agree.

"Well, feel free to carry on with your discussion." Domino said, looking down at the lowest ranking member at the table. "I'm not here to talk to either of you. I'm just here to see my good friend Ria on some urgent work business." 

"Work business?" Ria repeated. She had been in Team Rocket long enough to know that some kind of retaliation from Domino was likely, but she had expected it in the form of extra work detail, or maybe even being sent on a field assignment to an undesirable location. She hadn't imagined Domino would come and personally seek her out this way. In fact, she would have thought she was the very last person Domino would want to be seen with right now. 

"This is for you."

The elite pulled a brown envelope from behind her back and handed it to Ria with a coquettish smile. She hesitantly opened it and began to read as Butch and Cassidy leaned in behind her for a closer look.

"Surprise! You're being audited!" Domino sang in an overly cheerful voice, not even waiting for Ria to finish before announcing it. 

"What?!" 

The brunette stood up from her chair, clutching the piece of paper so hard the edges wrinkled. Her eyes darted over the wording again and again, trying to make sure what she was reading was correct. It was an official order, there was no doubt about that. It had also been signed by Giovanni himself.

"Sorry, Ria. Had to do it." Domino's remorse sounded more like sarcasm than anything. "You know it's my duty as an officer to make sure everyone follows the rules."

"But I didn't break any rules! We just had a pokemon battle." 

"Oh, please." The blonde crossed her arms. "We both know a grunt like you shouldn't be able to defeat an officer like me in battle. Even if you did have a type advantage, that thing was out of control. That can only mean one thing - your Houndoom is way too powerful to be handled by a Team Rocket grunt." 

"But you have no way of knowing that," Ria protested.

"And that is exactly why we're going to audit Houndoom's power level!"

The cheerfulness of Domino's reply made Ria's stomach tighten, but she couldn't very well do anything about it. 

"You know as well as I do that Team Rocket members are only allowed to keep pokemon up to a certain level, depending on their rank. If we find out that it is above your level cap, then Team Rocket will take possession of it, retrain it, and redistribute it accordingly. This may be a criminal organization, but we have rules for a reason, and those rules apply to everyone, even me. The Boss would just be so disappointed in me if I saw something like this and didn't take action to make sure that you're being compliant, you know? I really had no choice."

"...I guess I don't either." Ria looked back down at the order sullenly. "When do I have to do this?"

"Well, luckily for you, I'm in a great mood." Domino smiled, pushing Cassidy out of the way and putting her arm around Ria's shoulders. The other blonde scrunched her face up in obvious annoyance, but Butch shook his head as if to remind her to keep her cool. She only crossed her arms and took a step back as Domino continued. "I'll tell you what. I know you're about to leave on an assignment, so we can wait to do this until you get back. That'll give you time to say your goodbyes to Houndoom. Don't worry...I promise you I'll take really good care of it."

Ria bit down on her lower lip from the inside to keep from saying anything as Domino cackled and walked away, seeming completely satisfied with herself.

"Gee...that sucks." Butch was the one to tactlessly break the silence once his fellow officer was out of earshot. Ria narrowed her eyes at him, fighting the urge to explode.

"She wouldn't be half as mad at me if everyone hadn't of seen that video, you know." 

She was proud of herself for being able to remain calm when she said it.

"Hey, there were plenty of people at that training who saw it first hand. That would have put her on a warpath with you anyway." Butch defended himself.

"You're both officers. You have to tell me," Ria pleaded, "is there anything I can possibly do to get out of this?"

"There's no way." Cassidy was blunt in her reply. "Team Rocket is and always has been very strict about adhering to these audits, ever since that incident in the past. It happened before Butch and I joined, but I'm sure you remember them talking about it in training."

"Yeah," Butch echoed. "You know the one. The one they talk about, but also won't really talk about." 

"That's right." Ria brought her hand up to her chin in thought. "It actually happened right around the time I joined Team Rocket. I remember hearing about something big that had happened, but I was a lot younger then, and..."

Her voice trailed off for a moment and she paused, remembering the chain of events that had led her to Team Rocket in the first place. There was no need to get into that with Butch and Cassidy right now. 

"...I had a lot going on at the time. I didn't really get involved in those conversations."

"Well, I heard something about it from a guy I work out with, whose brother dated Wendy in HR, and she knows everything." Butch said. Cassidy rolled her eyes, but he continued nonetheless. "The story goes some big shot elite agent decided he wanted out of Team Rocket. Obviously they told him no, but he wasn't taking no for an answer. So he just skips out one night. Makes a run for it."

"A deserter." Ria raised her eyebrows. She thought briefly of her time at the academy, and the drill sergeant's words echoed in her mind. Working for Team Rocket is an honor and a privilege that one does not simply walk away from! It had been a very nice way of putting it, but the meaning behind his words hadn't been lost on Ria or anyone else there that day. 

"Right." Butch nodded. "When the Boss finds out, he's furious. Pretty much sends the whole team after this guy, every special agent we had was on a manhunt that night. And when they finally tracked him down..."

He dragged his thumb across his throat in a dramatic fashion. Ria's eyes widened. Cassidy narrowed hers, but her partner, in full story-telling mode, was undeterred.

"They say it took almost 50 men to finally take him out. This guy was apparently a real hotshot trainer, and there was talk he coulda made it into the Elite Four if he wasn't a Rocket. Giovanni never wanted to have to deal with that again, which is why he put this policy into place where Team Rocket members are only allowed to have pokemon up to a certain level. If you want to have powerful pokemon on your team, then you gotta work your way up the ranks and earn his trust. Otherwise, if your pokemon becomes too powerful, then it becomes the property of Team Rocket."

"Wait! I have an idea!" Ria clapped her hands together. "You're both officers, so you can have higher leveled pokemon than I can. Cassidy, what if you take Houndoom for a while?"

"Are you insane?" She scoffed. "That thing is public enemy number one right now. I'm not about to put a target on my back for Domino." 

Ria sighed. It was disappointing, but she couldn't say that she blamed Cassidy for having that reaction.

She unclipped Houndoom's pokeball from her belt and looked at it. 

"It just doesn't seem...fair."

"Well, it's probably not, but it is in your employment contract." Cassidy reminded her, at least seeming to have some empathy in her voice when she did. "There's not much you can do about it. It's part of what we all signed up for." 

"Maybe you should just use the Team Rocket issued pokemon from now on." Butch suggested. "It's what we do. Delibird will bring whatever pokemon you need when you're out on an assignment, and you can swap out pokemon any time you want. It's kinda like a subscription service, and you can tailor your team to whatever type of work you're doing. It's neat." 

"He's right," his partner agreed. "Catching your own pokemon is allowed, sure, but you just get attached and eventually you either have to hand them over to Team Rocket or set them free. It's not worth it...but I guess we don't have to tell you that. Come on, Butch, we're running late."

"Sorry, kid." Her partner said as the two of them stood up with their trays. "That's a real tough break. Here! You can have the rest of my fries." 

"...thanks." 

"French fries? Really?" Ria heard Cassidy hiss at him as they walked away.

"Well they always make me feel better after a bad day."

"You JUST said that they were cold..."

She sighed as their voices trailed off and stared sadly at her lunch tray, which now overflowed with the addition of Butch's leftovers. Even if they were cold, she actually did like the fries here. 

Unfortunately, she had completely lost her appetite. 

Chapter Text

Ria struggled to unload a large crate from the truck. It had just come in this morning with more supplies. All of the lab equipment had been unloaded days ago when they first arrived, so it was probably more food and drink for the mess hall. She wasn’t sure what was inside this one in particular, but from the weight alone it felt like it must be more bottled water.

Even with the pallet jack, it was way too heavy for her. Thankfully, it was the last one.

She sighed and took off her hat, using it to wipe the sweat from her forehead as she leaned against the side of the truck to catch her breath. Almost as soon as she did, she was interrupted.

“Hey, you there.”

Ria turned to find herself face to face with a very large, very imposing man in a silver uniform. She saluted him immediately. He was Tyson, the squadron leader in charge of operations on this mission. She stood in his shadow as he towered over her, blocking out the sun that was coming through the open bay doors. The top of her head only came up to the middle of his chest and she knew he must be well over six feet tall. He might even be closer to seven.

“At ease.” He said. “Great news. The experiment is a complete success. If you haven’t heard by now, we’ve captured Suicune and we’re getting ready to transport it back to the main lab at headquarters to study it. I need you to start loading up all of these supplies so we can head out of here as quickly and efficiently as possible. Got that?”

Ria’s leg muscles trembled with fatigue, and she wanted to melt into the floor right then and there. She had been unloading trucks all morning. Did they really have no idea they would finish today? Could they not have let her know?

“But…that was the last one…” she whimpered.

“What was that?” He leaned in.

“I-I said, yes sir.” She used the little bit of upper body strength she had left for a second salute, fighting tears. When he finally walked away, it took her a moment to regain her composure before she started reloading the truck.

“Suicune, huh.” she muttered to herself. “The North Wind…”

She started thinking about a cryptopokemonology special she’d watched late one night in her dorm to distract her from the daunting task at hand. She was surprised at how casual Tyson had seemed when he mentioned that Team Rocket was now in possession of a legendary pokemon. There were some pokemon that were so old and so rare, scholars didn’t even agree on their existence. Suicune was one of those. The way Tyson spoke about capturing it, though, it was like he’d done this kind of thing a million times before. Like it was a Hoothoot, or something.

She wondered if she would get to see it.

“Excuse me, miss?”

She was approached by a young girl with blue hair in pigtails. She was a bit younger than Ria, probably a teenager, in a grunt uniform. This had to be one of her first assignments, Ria thought, judging by her age.

“Do you know which way to the lab where Suicune is? I know this is just an outpost, but it’s still so big and confusing…haha” She laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head.

“Oh, sure! There’s only one main lab here, and it’s that way,” Ria pointed. “In that building.Take the first left, then a right, go down the long corridor and you’ll see an elevator. Take it down to the basement. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to things. There are no signs in case any outsiders show up that aren’t supposed to be here, but they pretty much use the same setup every time.”

“Wow, that’s great to know! Thank you so much! Oh, and one more thing. What’s the password to get in?”

Ria hesitated, eyeing her up and down. They weren’t supposed to give out passwords to each other. If someone forgot, they were supposed to see Tyson or whatever officer was in charge that day to get it. Even newer grunts should know that.

“That’s not allowed. Sorry.”

“Oh, please.” The younger girl grabbed her arm. “It’s my first day, and I already got in trouble once for forgetting my ID. If I go and ask that big scary guy for it I’m gonna be mopping floors for a week!”

She pleaded with her eyes. Ria remembered her first few weeks on the job, how tough it had been and how many times she had screwed up. Team Rocket wasn’t exactly at the forefront of training and development. It was more of a sink or swim kind of deal.

She sighed.

“Fine. But you didn’t get it from me. It’s FearowFeather. Whenever Tyson is working, it’s always FearowFeather.”

“Oh man, thank you so much! You’re the nicest person I’ve talked to all day!”
Ria smiled and waved as she darted off. It felt good to be appreciated for being helpful, for once.

Once the other girl was out of sight, she looked around. There were a couple of other Rockets in the bay, but none that she knew and none very close by. She leaned against he interior of the truck and slid down until she was sitting cross legged on the floor. She pulled out Houndoom’s pokeball and studied it. It was a Moon Ball. She ran her thumb over the black and teal design, tracing the crescent emblem on the front. She’d never seen one in person before it had been given to her, but since then it had become her favorite pokeball of all.

She knew she had been avoiding this, but now was as good a time as any, with everyone preoccupied with getting ready to leave the outpost. She pointed the ball toward her feet and called it out.

Houndoom materialized in front of her. It sat and lowered its head until its deep, red eyes were level with her own.

“You’re so big now.” She said softly, reaching for it. Before, when it was a Houndour, she could almost wrap her hand around its muzzle. That wasn’t the case any longer. She could feel the power in its jaws even though they were closed. Even its breathing seemed deeper, heavier, more powerful.

She remembered how her father had taken her to watch the Elite Four battle for her birthday the weekend she had turned nine. She remembered how excited she was to finally see Karen in person, how she had been even more excited to find out that she was getting her very own Houndour after. She remembered how tiny it had been when she first held it. It was hard to believe that little puppy had grown into the monstrous hellhound that loomed over her now.

It didn’t seem right that Team Rocket could just…take it away.

“Houndoom, there’s something that I need to tell you.” She said. She wrapped her arms around its neck and rested her cheek against it’s ebony fur. It was just as sleek looking as ever, yet had a thicker, more wiry feel than its much softer Houndour coat.

Goodbye, she thought. This is the last real chance I’m going to have, and I need to tell you goodbye.

There was a loud rumble in the distance, which sounded like thunder, and she ignored it at first. The large explosion that followed proved much harder to ignore, and Ria leaned out of the truck to be greeted with a scene of absolute chaos.

Smoke billowed out of the main building, and Rockets were running back and forth, in and out of the bay. Pokemon had been called out of their balls and she thought she heard the sounds of battling outside.

This wasn’t good.

“Houndoom, let’s go.” She said. It nodded and leapt off of the truck after her. Together they headed outside.

Almost as soon as they left the bay, Houndoom slammed into Ria with the full weight of its body, knocking her to the ground. Before she had time to ask it what the hell it thought it was doing, she felt a strong gust of wind as a brown blur whizzed by their heads. Houndoom stood over her in a protective posture as she peered out from between its forelegs to see a battle unfolding before them.

Two Fearow were swarming a Dragonite, hammering it relentlessly with attacks.

“Great, Fearow, now give it another twin Drill Peck!”

Her eyes followed the voice and it became apparent the Fearow belonged to Tyson.

They were something to behold. Fearow wasn’t exactly a pokemon she ever thought of as extremely powerful, and it certainly wasn’t rare. It wasn’t the type of pokemon she pictured an officer to have. Tyson seemed to have these two expertly trained, though. They were in perfect sync with each other; it was almost like watching an air ballet.

“Dragonite! Use Thunder!”

Sadly, they were no match for a powerful electric attack. Ria struggled to her feet and ran with Houndoom towards the lab, ducking behind another large pallet of crates just as she heard the familiar and unwelcome wail of police sirens. She peered around the corner, waiting for an opening, but to her dismay, it looked like there wasn’t going to be one.

“Damn it.” She muttered, watching as Tyson was handcuffed by officer Jenny. Two other officers were standing by at the ready. He was so big, she thought, he could have probably easily taken them all. She wondered why he didn’t try, but then she saw the Arcanines. 

There was only one other way she could go - through the lab.

It had been built on a hill, and there was an emergency exit in the basement that led out of the opposite side. If she acted fast, she could make it there in time to get to safety. It would put her below the line of sight of the cops so she could flee through the woods and head back toward the main base, or at least hide out there behind the outpost until it was safe to come out again.

She was greeted with the sound an an almost deafening alarm as she entered the lab. She decided not to risk the elevator and headed straight for the stairs, which, thankfully, were a little quieter. She stumbled down the last few steps and her exhaustion from unloading the trucks earlier was becoming apparent. She leaned against the wall to try and catch her breath, but felt two horns in her back as Houndoom urged her to keep moving.

“Right…I’ll rest when we’re safe…”

When they entered the basement corridor, Ria almost immediately collided with something and was knocked to the ground, along with whatever it was she hit. As she looked up, she realized it had been another person.

Although they hadn’t ever spoken or been introduced, she recognized him from the bright white blaze in his bangs. It contrasted sharply against the rest of his dark hair, and had reminded her of a lightning strike against a heavy thundercloud. It made him stand out from the rest of the scientists, which she supposed was appropriate since he seemed to be in charge. She had seen him talking to Tyson quite frequently as well as ordering some others around, scientists and Team Rocket agents alike.

“Where did you come from?” He snapped, adjusting his glasses. He seemed agitated, and she noticed he appeared somewhat disheveled in contrast to his earlier very put-together appearance.

That’s fair, she thought, the base is being raided.

“You should have evacuated by now.”

Ria barely had time to consider reminding him that he hadn’t evacuated, either, when there was a loud crash and a flash from the next room. A large blue creature leapt into the hallway behind them and stood there, glowering.

“Is that-“

“Yes.” the professor finished for her. "Suicune."

She could barely process its name before its mouth started to glow and it released a powerful jet of water. Ria barely evaded it, but the scientist was not so fortunate. He was knocked violently back into the wall.

“Whoa, are you okay?” She called out. He didn't answer, and she worried he might be unconscious. As if things weren't bad enough, she thought to herself, in a panic. The last thing she needed right now was to be charged with allowing one of the scientists to get injured, and a very important one at that. 

Houndoom barked and again leapt between Ria and the other pokemon before she could go check on him. She tensed, fearing now for Houndoom's safety as she watched Suicune ready itself for another Hydro Pump. Of course it had to be a water pokemon. The floor was already slick in the aftermath of its first attack, and she lost her footing. She stumbled backward, managing to catch herself on something rather than falling to the floor once again.

Looking up, she realized it was a Persian statue.

Although she had mostly found them annoying in the past, it being a little tedious to scan one’s ID badge every 50 feet or so to avoid a trap, for once she was thankful it was there. She backed away to see a large security cage fall from the celiing and surround Suicune, leaving it perplexed, and then immediately enraged that it had nowhere to go.

The legendary pokemon flung it’s body violently against the bars to no avail. It cried out and released a barrage of attacks. Though powerful, water did little against iron. Seeming to realize this, it released what Ria guessed to be an Ice Beam attack and started to once again tackle the now frozen bars.

“You recaptured it?"

She turned to face the professor. He was sitting on the ground, holding his head and watching Suicune incredulously. He seemed to have come to his senses, at least, but she noticed he appeared to be bleeding. That distinguishable streak of white hair was now suffused with pink.

“I guess I did.” she could hear the surprise in her own voice, but he didn't seem to notice.

She knelt beside him, with Houndoom close behind. It stood protectively against her while keeping an eye on the rampaging legend. Even it seemed to understand it would be no match should the other creature break free, and nudged its trainer as if to hurry her along.

The scientist eyed it warily, his discomfort clear despite Houndoom being very clearly on their side. 

“It…it’s rather protective of you, isn’t it?”

Houndoom glanced down at him, and his posture stiffened enough that Ria could see it.

“If that thing bites me-“

“Trust me, Professor, he’s the least of our worries.” Ria cut him off as she noticed Suicune pause its onslaught to catch its breath. She tried to pull him to his feet. “The police are here, and we need to get out of here, fast. Houndoom, help me.”

Still dazed, the professor nodded, but continued looking over his shoulder as she pulled him toward the basement exit, the hellhound close behind and nudging them both along the way.

Chapter Text

Hun made no attempt to hide his displeasure. The gym was not exactly a favorite hangout of his, and it was the last place he had come looking for her. Attila always loved it, of course, because in his opinion the only thing better than having bulging biceps was showing them off to anyone that would take the time to look.

The professor had sent them on separate errands today. They had been surprised to receive an email from him that morning, given what they had heard of his current condition, with a separate request for each of them. Attila had started bickering since Hun’s assignment was decidedly easier, not even requiring him to leave the base. He had demanded they trade, but Hun, as usual, insisted they did not deviate from the plan.

The smell of sweat assaulted his senses. He had never been one for crowds and preferred to get his exercise in the solitude of the outdoors. Exercise was supposed to be meditative. The constant murmur of conversation, the steady whir of treadmills and the loud clinking and clanging of the weights was a solid reminder of why he avoided this place.

Surprisingly, it didn’t take long to locate his objective.

Sebastian had a talent for being descriptive, and Hun knew her immediately when he saw her. She was a bit more plain than he had imagined, but exactly as the professor had described - an average looking girl with sad eyes and an angled, reddish-brown bob. Her eyes were a shade of green that was actually fairly striking, but that was the most interesting thing about her appearance. When she dismounted the treadmill he made his way over to her, hating how much he stood out for being in his standard uniform among everyone else’s workout attire. Still, it would have been stupid to change just for this.

“You must be Ria.”

She turned around to face him. Her face was flushed from her workout.

“I am.” She looked him up and down in a nervous way and saluted. He knew for a fact they had never worked together, but Ria was not so sure. She knew she had seen him around before at least, and decided not asking for his name would be a wise decision on her part…just in case she should already know it. Hun nodded to indicate she could relax her salute, but her body remained tense.

“…are you here for my audit?”

“Your what?” Hun narrowed his eyes.

“Nevermind…”

“Professor Sebastian sent me to get you. He’s requested a meeting with you. I’ll give you time to go get cleaned up and changed, and then we should go.”

“A meeting?” She asked. “With professor…you mean the one with the, you know,” she pointed to her bangs and did a lightning bolt motion with her finger.

“Yes, that one.” The annoyance was obvious in Hun's voice. It never failed to amaze him how these grunts could be so pitifully unaware of the important players in this operation. “The CSO. He would like a word with you. I don’t have all day, and you'll only irritate the professor if you keep him waiting, so let's go.”

“Yeah, but,” she motioned to the gym equipment. “Right now? I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

“We don’t make appointments.”

He was unimpressed with her already, and Ria picked up on the ice in his tone. She sheepishly laughed and held up her hands.

“Right…I’ll be just a minute, ok?”

Hun waited by the refreshment bar as she retreated to the locker room. A couple of female agents walked by and loudly giggled, undoubtedly trying to get his attention. They stood near, laughing and batting their eyelashes his way. Hun ignored them, resisting the urge to outright roll his eyes, but his complete lack of interest didn’t seem to deter them in the slightest. 

When Ria returned in her uniform, he motioned for her to follow him and they left without a word. They passed a number of grunts who murmured and pointed in the corridors along the way. Hun heard her sigh audibly at one point behind him. He was, of course, curious about her apparent notoriety, but he didn’t ask. Attila undoubtedly would have, had he been here, but Hun made it a personal rule not to involve himself in the affairs of others. Of course, usually he didn’t have to when Attila was around. It was almost like his partner had a personal rule to do the very opposite.

Ria remained silent as they passed through the corridors of HQ until they took one particular turn.

“So, um, who did you say we were going again? His name, what was it?”

“Professor Sebastian.”

“Right…you said he was the ‘CSO’. What does that mean?”

Oh, Arceus. Hun sighed before answering. “Chief Scientific Officer. In other words, he’s the head scientist.”

“Oh…wow.” She seemed surprised. “So, then, shouldn’t we be going to the labs? Which are...um...not this way?"

“Idiot.” Hun glanced over his shoulder. “We’re headed toward the infirmary. He’s still recovering from his injuries after the raid.”

“Has he been hospitalized this whole time?” She asked. "I knew he was hurt but I didn't know it was that bad."

She sounded genuinely concerned. Hun hadn’t been there and didn’t know much about what happened, but it was becoming obvious this girl was one of the grunts on duty that day.

“I wonder why he wants to see me…” she wondered out loud.

“If I had to guess,” he told her, “ it’s probably because he wants something from you.”

Whatever had transpired this time, being sent to fetch people for urgent meetings with Sebastian was nothing new to Hun, or even Attila or Tyson, for that matter, and he felt that he had a pretty good idea of what was coming next.

“But what could he possibly want?”

“Full of questions today, aren’t you?”

“Sorry…” her apology was meek.

“I don’t know who you are or what you’ve done,” he offered,” but I have known the professor for a long time, and there is one thing I am certain of. Sebastian doesn’t talk to anyone for no reason. This is either going to be very good or very bad for you, and it usually trends toward the latter. You’ll do well to remember that when you’re talking to him. Not that I care in the least.”

“It sounds like you don’t like him very much.”

“I don’t like anyone very much. And I like it that way.”

Of course, that wasn’t quite true. It was more that Hun was indifferent to most people, but had no problem with Sebastian in particular. He had actually been quite good to Hun and Attila, and they were very loyal to him in return. The fact remained, though, that he was bit of a deal maker. Hell, that’s how Attila and Hun even got involved with him in the first place. Their entire partnership was born from a deal they made with him.

“I’m sure you like your partner, though, right?”

Hun almost tripped up and they stopped. They had arrived at the infirmary, but he did a quick about face and got very close to her. She backed up but he continued to close the gap between them.

“You know, you're getting dangerously personal with someone who outranks you. By a lot.” He snapped, leaning in. She flattened against the wall as he got closer.

“S-sorry. I-I mean I don’t know you guys or anything, but I’ve seen you around and it seems like you’re always together. I just thought-“

“It’s none of your business.”

“Sure, you got it.”

She reminded him of a Buneary, cowering in the shadow of a Mightyena. Weak. He had no use and no tolerance for the weak. Had he cared more he might have wondered how someone so weak could possibly come to be a part of an organization such as this one, but it seemed to Hun that Giovanni was more interested in a body count lately than anything else. He and Attila had talked about it at length. They would bring in just about anyone these days, qualified or not, and it was up to officers like Attila and Hun to whip them into shape. It was frustrating, to say the least.

He backed off and she relaxed.

“We’re here.”

She followed him inside and they were greeted almost instantly by one of the nurses. The infirmary was busier than usual - the professor hadn’t been the only one who was injured in this most recent failure of a mission.

“Can I help you?” The nurse already seemed annoyed.

“We’re here for Professor Sebastian.”

The nurse gave a disapproving glance toward Ria, who waved and smiled courteously from behind Hun, and crossed her arms.

“We’re overcrowded as is. We're only allowing one visitor per person at a time right now.”

“He’s expecting us.”

“I’m sorry, but rules are rules.”

“Fine.” Hun said, calmly. “Do you mind relaying that message to him?”

“Fine. I will.”

She disappeared though the swinging double doors.

“Um,” Ria peered around Hun’s shoulder. She considered tugging on his sleeve to get his attention, but decided against it. “Should I just go back alone? I don’t mind.”

“Just wait.” He instructed, without turning around.

Moments later, the nurse emerged through the same doors. She was pale and looked more disheveled than before.

“H-he’ll see the both of you now. Right this way.”

Hun smirked. The good doctor, as Attila liked to call him, was nothing if not predictable.

Chapter Text

Officers get bailed out of jail.

That was just one of the many perks afforded to those who managed to climb the ranks of Team Rocket. The work was more dangerous, the pokemon more powerful, the consequences more severe, but as long as you did your best for Team Rocket, then Giovanni would make sure you were taken care of. That was the idea, anyway. While the grunts that were packed in with him whined and squabbled over privacy and space, Tyson quietly planned out the apology he would deliver to the Boss.

The first day, as he waited in that damp, cold, and not to mention cramped cell, he knew it was coming. On the second day, he hoped it was coming. On the third day, he felt an odd combination of relief and disgust as he saw his smiling blonde cohort appear in the hallway behind the cop. Of course they would send Attila. She led him down to the cell and Tyson sighed, watching them approach. He supposed he should just be glad to be getting out. Though he would undoubtedly have something sarcastic to say, it was better to see Attila than to suffer through another day of hearing from no one at all. 

The man in question nodded at Tyson over the teal haired officer's shoulder, winking over the rim of his sunglasses before pushing them back up the brim of his nose. It was oddly reassuring, in spite of how unhappy he had been to see him. Tyson nodded in return. The officer remained expressionless when she twisted the key in the lock. He could tell she was doing this against her will. Those chocolate eyes were anything but soft peering at him from between the bars. She wasn’t stupid; Attila wasn’t wearing a Team Rocket uniform, but she could tell he was somehow involved, and she didn’t want to let Tyson go. He could see that in her expression.

There was a murmur from some of the grunts as the brown haired man stood. Envy, indignation, suspicion. It typically never took this long for the boss to post bail. When the cell door slid shut behind him, Tyson heard one of them ask another why he should get released when it was his fault they ended up there in the first place. The knowledge that the grunts would probably sit here for weeks to come kept the urge to lash out at bay. He ignored them as he lumbered down the hall behind his captor and his coworker.

As he collected his things, Jenny issued a warning that if she saw him sneaking around in a Team Rocket uniform again, she'd arrest him on suspicion of illegal activity right away. Tyson said nothing, but stared down at her as he slipped his silver coat back on. It was a silent fuck you, but apparently effective enough that the officer narrowed her eyes at him. He turned his back to her and followed Attila out of the Goldenrod City Jail.

It had only been three days, but the sun was so bright Tyson had to shield his eyes as they approached the car. They hadn’t dared utter a word to each other as they left the jailhouse, but he was finally able to speak his mind from the security of the passenger seat.

“He couldn’t have just called? They usually don’t send someone in person when they post bail.”

“Well you would know, wouldn’t ya?” Attila laughed, checking himself out in the visor mirror before starting the car. Tyson scowled. “It wasn’t the Boss that bailed you out. It was the doc.”

“Sebastian.” Tyson said, disbelieving. It wasn’t uncommon for Attila to pull his leg.

“Not kiddin’ ya.” It was as if the other man read his mind. “Why did you think I was here? To visit?”

“Hmph.” He grunted. It made sense. The part about Attila fetching him for the professor. Sebastian would have paid in cash, and you can’t do that over the phone. But what didn’t make sense was why. He would have thought the professor would be furious. Just as Giovanni hated to waste his money, Professor Sebastian hated to waste his time.

“Hey,” Attila elbowed him, and pointed his phone camera at Tyson’s face, much to his annoyance. “Gotta let the good doctor know I completed my assignment." 

“Focus on driving, you idiot.” Tyson tried to ignore him and looked out the window. “I still don't believe you. I thought Sebastian would’ve been pissed.”

“Yeah, well, he is irritated with you. That was a legendary pokemon, after all. But you’re not doing him any good ‘vegetating’ in jail. His words, not mine.”

“Sounds like something he’d say.”

Tyson had replayed the mission in his head again and again over the past three days, trying to figure out exactly what went wrong. At first he thought maybe it was the kids. He knew they didn’t look familiar, but they’d gotten a lot of new recruits lately and he was just glad to have the help. It didn’t make sense to him how they even got Team Rocket uniforms, or how they got the password to get in. They’d have to start instituting security checks, no doubt, but the more he thought about it these nosy little kids weren’t the problem. It was the mastermind behind it all. It was that damn Lance.

His blood boiled as he thought about that pink-haired dragon trainer. He’d been the reason everything had gone wrong, and this was the second time he had meddled in Team Rocket’s affairs when Tyson was involved. He interfered, the kids escaped, and Suicune got away.

The most infuriating part wasn’t even that he’d had those kids sneak into their operation undercover and get all that info. What really made him sick was that while they were there, they were actually pretty good agents. They were competent, on time, respectful. He had praised them for a job well done and was going to give them accolades after the mission was over. They must have been laughing at him the whole time.

Lance must have been laughing, right along with them.

Tyson opened and closed his fist a few times, reminding himself that he was in a moving vehicle, even though what he really felt like doing was punching out the window. He needed to force himself to think about something else, at least until he could get somewhere to blow off some steam. He needed to focus on what was ahead, not behind.

Giovanni had left him to rot, which meant a great deal of money must have been lost on this project. He got that, understood it even. The professor had bailed him out, and as shocking as that was, it could only mean one thing. He wanted something. Compassion wasn’t one of the professor’s defining traits, and he had no doubt that unless there were some reason that Sebastian wanted Tyson to be available, he would still be sitting in that cell. That alone was more concerning than anything.

It didn’t take long for them to get back to headquarters. Team Rocket had a major base outside of Goldenrod, which was, despite being so well hidden in the rocky terrain, not too far from the main road if you knew where you were going. Attila parked them in the deck, which looked to be mostly empty. Not totally surprising, given it was a week day and it was getting pretty late. The air was quiet, not even a Yanma in the background even though it was that time of the year. The sound of the vehicle doors slamming was almost deafening.

Tyson didn’t want to ask, but knew he had to.

“Do I have orders upon my return?”

“I think he wants to see you, or talk to you in the morning or something. He probably emailed you. Don’t bother going to his office, though, he’s banged up pretty bad from the raid. He'll be in the infirmary for a while.”

“Damn.”

An injury. Tyson tried not to think about how that would likely sour Sebastian’s disposition more than usual.

They approached the main entrance and marched right through, saluted by the grunts on either side, not even having to show ID despite Attila not being in uniform. If word had gotten out about what happened in Ecruteak, none of them were letting on. Not that there were many grunts willing to disrespect an officer to his face, even after a failure like this one.

Tyson stopped in the hallway before parting ways with Attila.

“Thanks for the lift.” He nodded and motioned with his thumb in the general direction they came from. "And for not being a bastard about it." 

"Yeah, well. Shit happens." Attila nodded back. A few months ago, it was big news that Attila and Hun had failed a mission of their own. They had purported to have seen Raikou, though not a lot of people believed them. Even the professor, who had sent them, seemed skeptical they ever had it in their possession given that he had never actually seen it for himself. In the end, they showed up empty-handed and some very expensive equipment had been destroyed. The experience seemed to have mellowed them both out a bit, at least for the time being. For Tyson, it was a pleasant and welcome surprise. This was the first time he had ever seen Attila display anything close to empathy.

“Where is Hun, anyway?”

“Working on something else for the professor. Whatever it was, I’m sure I’m about to hear all about it, I’m supposed to meet up with him. You coming?”

“I’m gonna head back. It's been a long three days.”

“Right, maybe another time then. See ya.”

Tyson watched him saunter off for a minute before he turned and headed in the opposite direction. He rolled his shoulders and felt his back crack as he passed a group of grunts. He stared ahead, not making eye contact with anyone.

When Sebastian recruited Tyson to work for him, he’d had one request, and that was to work alone. It wasn’t often that he regretted that decision, but today, he envied Attila and Hun. He wasn’t exactly used to failure, but even Tyson had to admit, it might have been nice to have somebody in his corner when everything else went to hell.

Chapter Text

Sebastian tried adjusting his position yet again, with difficulty. No amount of pillows and no particular position seemed relieve his aching body, and he was irritated at the reality that brought to light - he wasn’t as young as he used to be. The headache wasn’t helping, either. Coffee might have helped. Coffee would have been great, actually, and had he been thinking, he would have asked Hun to bring some along with that girl.

“Professor.”

Speak of the devil, he thought, looking up as Hun addressed him. He had always been prompt, but had still returned with her much sooner than expected.

“Come in.” He sighed, waving them closer. They both approached his bedside, though Ria stayed about a foot behind her silver-haired escort, curiously peering around his shoulder. Although she hadn't had very much interaction with him until the end, the professor had seemed much more personable to her when they were in the field. Now, he seemed just as cross as he had been when they had bumped into each other in the hallway, perhaps even more.

There was an open laptop on the table by his bed, and a few folders scattered about his lap, which he gathered and set aside. She studied the bandages peeking out from behind his dark grey bangs, surprised that he was working in this condition. She decided it would be best to stay silent unless directly addressed.

“Thank you, Hun. I can always count on you to get something done expeditiously. You may leave us now.”

Ria tensed, surprised by the immediate dismissal. She had expected, for some reason, that he would stay. It was obvious from Hun’s posture and expression that he was taken aback as well, though he quickly regained his composure and did not dispute the professor’s request.

“If there’s anything else you need, sir, I’ll be close by.”

He bowed respectfully to Sebastian, but offered no parting words to Ria as he quickly exited the room. The professor nodded toward the door after he left, indicating to Ria that he wanted it closed. She quickly complied, and shut the door as quietly as she could, just in case Hun was still within earshot. She didn't want to do anything that could be perceived as rude by anyone at this point. The last thing she needed was another enemy, with the Suicune mission over and her audit still looming over her head.

“I don’t believe we were ever actually introduced.” Sebastian said, as she returned. “I’m Professor Sebastian, and that spectacular failure you witnessed a few days ago was my little research project.”

“Sure,” she nodded, surprised at his seemingly unbothered attitude regarding the fate of the operation. Not counting this most recent assignment, she had only worked with Professor Namba before, who was notorious for having meltdowns when things didn’t go his way. “It’s nice to meet you. Again. Formally. I’m Ria.”

He chuckled.

“I know.”

That unnerved her somewhat. She glanced again at his open laptop.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he did his research, she thought. She was aware that Team Rocket kept files on all of its members, and she’d heard they were extremely detailed, right down to things like blood type and favorite color. Ria’s philosophy from the start and been to keep her head down and tried to stay out of the way. Until recently, that had proved to be very successful, so she’d never been in a situation before where she thought someone might have pulled her file to read. It made her nervous.

“You'll have to forgive me for cutting right to the chase, but even in my current condition, I’m a very busy man. So,” Sebastian crossed his arms as he studied her. “Why did you do it?”

She truly looked clueless as he awaited her response.

“I…don’t know what you mean?” She asked.

“Don’t be coy. I’m concussed, if I can remember it, I know that you can. Upon our very first meeting, you…” he paused, “…extricated me from a very difficult situation.”

She thought it was an odd choice of words. Little did she know, it was a very intentional one. The professor was well aware that had she not been there, he could have very well met his demise. However, just because he was aware that she had saved his life did not mean he was going to put the words into her head.

“Oh, that.” Ria laughed nervously. “I-it was nothing. I was just doing my job. There’s no need to thank me, if that’s what you called me here for.”

“Sit down.” He said it politely, with a smile, but somehow it still carried the weight of a command. She obediently slid into one of the empty chairs at his beside. “Your modesty is exhausting, you know.”

“My modesty?”

“Even if you won’t admit to it,” he continued, “ We both know I owe you one, so to speak, and I’d prefer not to leave it this way. As I mentioned, I tend to stay busy, and I’d like to bypass this Persian-and-Rattata back and forth of you pretending you don’t want anything out of it. So, tell me, what’s on your agenda?”

“Well, I don’t have an agenda,” she said. She was beginning to understand there was a flip side to what Hun was talking about earlier. If the professor was the type of person that Hun said he was, and he liked the thought of having people owing him something, it must also mean that he couldn’t stand the thought that he might be indebted to someone else.

Sebastian remained silent for a moment more as he watched her fidget in her seat. Was she truly so naive? This timid little thing at his bedside was his savior from before? She had seemed much more confident under pressure, and he wondered for a moment if it was possible that Hun had made a mistake and brought the wrong one. When he requested a meeting with her, he fully expected her to be ready to take advantage of her position, had even prepared for whatever amount of mental sparring he might have to do to maintain the upper hand. And yet, now, seeing her, he almost pitied her. Her posture was stiff, and she would barely look him in the eye for more than a second or two. She was the one with all the power here, and still she was afraid.

In spite of his uncharacteristic almost-pity of her, and the fact that she didn't seem to realize what an excellent opportunity this was, the professor knew he needed to close the metaphorical door on this ordeal so that she could not come back and try to extort him for it later.

“You mean to tell me,” he laughed softly, almost disbelieving, “ that you saw one of the most important people in Team Rocket in distress and you just stepped in because, what…it was the right thing to do?”

“Yes?"

He smirked, arching an eyebrow.

"Are you answering me with a question?"

"Listen,” Ria stood, surprising him with her sudden boldness. Her face was flushed, but as nervous as she had seemed, she certainly wasn’t shy about leaving a conversation before she’d been dismissed. “ I told you before, I was just doing my job. It’s nice to formally meet you, I’m sure we’ll work together again someday, but this was all totally unnecessary and I really must be going now. I wish you all the best during your recovery."

She bowed to him before turning to leave, but he wasn't finished. There was one question he still needed an answer to.

“You know,” he said slyly as she approached the door, “even if I’m to believe that your motives were completely altruistic, I’m surprised that when presented with this opportunity, you didn’t even mention the fact that you’re about to have your Houndoom taken away.”

She froze at the door and turned back around to face him.

“…you know about that?”

Sebastian's expression changed into one of great self-satisfaction. There it was. Though his injury had rendered some of the details unclear, one thing he had not misremembered about their encounter was her incredible attachment to her partner pokemon. He had exposed the nerve and she had reacted exactly as he expected she would. Her eyes were locked on his now, searching for answers.

“My dear, who do you think has to perform your little audit? Data collection falls on the research department, of course. You’re on my list.”

“But, Giovanni ordered this. Is there actually anything you can do to stop it?”

Sebastian seemed, once again, annoyed.

“I don’t think you realize who you’re talking to." he huffed indignantly, crossing his arms. "Anyway, I don't intend to stop it. I also don't intend to leave things as they are between us, so if you’re not going to ask, allow me to offer. I have a little proposition for you.”

“…I’m listening.” She hesitated, but took a few steps back in his direction. The logic of it all checked out. Intentional or not, she did save his life, and it did make sense that someone in his position wouldn’t want something like that hanging over his head, just like Hun said. She was also out of options as far as what to do about Houndoom. The possibility that he could help her was really all she had. It couldn’t hurt to hear him out, at least.

Sebastian motioned toward the chair again with his eyes and a nod. He was very good at nonverbal communication, she thought, resuming her position.

“ It’s really very simple.” He explained, lowering his voice as though someone might be listening in. He was already quite softspoken, and Ria leaned forward to hear him more clearly. “When it’s time to process your audit, I’ll fudge the numbers for you."

"Fudge the numbers?"

"Yes. Your Houndoom will appear to be weaker than it actually is, and you’ll get to keep it. Houndour, as a species, typically evolve around power level 24, give or take. As a grunt, you’re able to keep pokemon up to a power level of 25. I can believably process this to make Houndoom appear at the upper end of your range, and you’ll get to keep it.”

“That sounds really easy. It almost sounds too good to be true. How sure are you that this would work?”

“Oh, it will work. If you keep that thing on a tight leash afterward, we shouldn’t have a problem. I do need to warn you though, this will only work one time. If you come back up for an audit again, I won’t be able to believably alter the numbers twice.”

“That makes sense.”

Sebastian outstretched his hand.

“So, what do you say? I’ll fix things so you get to keep that horrid little hellhound, then you and I will consider things even and never speak of this again. It’ll be our little secret. Do we have a deal?”

Ria paused, weighing her options. It was actually quite a generous offer, and one that could get them both into trouble if anyone found out about it, so she didn’t think he would try to use it against her later. It was also the only option she had on the table besides running away from Team Rocket altogether. Her mouth went dry and she swallowed as she imagined the outcome of that scenario. Ria knew she wasn’t fast or clever enough to outsmart someone like Hun who would undoubtedly be sent after her if she tried to desert.

She took his hand and shook it.

“It’s a deal.”

Chapter Text

It hadn’t often been out of its pokeball for the past few days, which was unusual, given its mistress's affinity for it. When it had, she had not been herself. Fear. Sadness. Not all humans were easy to read, but just like pokemon, all humans had weaknesses. This was hers.

Houndoom peered up at the window overhead where its trainer stood with the man in the white coat. It was more subtle than before, probably because the man in the white coat was with her, but she was once again making the face the humans did when they were afraid.

Its muscles twitched beneath whatever it was the white coated man had ordered the other humans in white coats to attach to it. They had shaved patches on its chest, shoulders, and forelegs, and attached sticky little circles with long black tails joining it to more human things. There were three large, rigid looking trees coming out of the ground ahead of it, but they were more sinister looking than any trees Houndoom had ever seen outside. They were obviously human-made, perfectly shaped and exactly identical, the same cold color as the walls, the floor, and almost everything else in this room.

Houndoom focused hard on its trainer. It needed to get up there to her, and it didn’t know how. It didn’t know why she had brought it back to The Lab. The Lab was bad, filled with cold, hollow-eyed humans that were nothing like her. She must not have known that, or she never would have brought it back here. That meant it would have to take it upon itself to get them to safety, as soon as it could figure out how. They had to get out of The Lab.

There was a loud but brief, high pitched squeal, followed by a fluttering sound before it heard human voices.

“I’ve turned on the intercom. Have it use Flamethrower.” It recognized the man’s voice from before. He had slowed them down when they had escaped the raging blue beast, and Houndoom had needed to support his dead weight on its back for some time. It wasn’t sure why its mistress had bothered with him. Unlike pokemon, humans seemed to have a very poor survival instinct, often having no problem putting themselves in danger for the stupidest of reasons. Houndoom had only complied was because it didn’t think its mistress would follow without the man in the white coat. The objective was always, of course, to protect its mistress, so it had dragged the annoying little man to safety as well. 

“Houndoom,” its trainer’s voice echoed overhead as she leaned toward something it couldn’t see from where it stood. “Use Flamethrower on those rods in front of you, ok?”

Houndoom remained still, eyes on the two of them. The annoying little man seemed anything but little from this point, gazing down at it with something in his eyes that Houndoom didn't like. This wasn’t a battle, and although it understood what they wanted it to do, it didn't understand why.

“Flamethrower.” its mistress said again.

Its suspicion of its surroundings and its distaste for the man in the white coat continued to override the desire to obey her. She wanted it to battle some strange thing that was not even alive just because that man told her to. That couldn’t mean anything good. It didn’t trust him, or any human in a white coat. It had been with its mistress for moons now, and it had been almost as many moons since it had thought about this place, but as her commands echoed off of the walls of this shiny, unnatural smelling room where everything was cold and bright and human made, memories from its puppyhood came rushing back.

A rangy looking Houndour desperately gnawed on the metal bars of its enclosure, fur still damp from its ordeal earlier in the day. It had already chipped one tooth, but its determination didn’t waiver. Unlike the lethargic and listless creatures in the cages surrounding it, it had been at this for hours and showed no signs of giving up soon. It had been prodded, poked, probed and nearly drowned. It had already decided that it would not put up with that for one more day. The room suddenly lit up and it stopped chewing to stare at the bright circle overhead. The strange and tiny man-made sun the humans seemed to be in control of was back, and two of them appeared in the room beneath it. A man with wild hair like fire wearing a white human garment approached the cages, followed by a taller man with hair dark like the earth and eyes the color of leaves.

It growled at them.

White was bad. It had picked up on that word very quickly. We need more white coats in here, the man with hair like fire had said earlier. Humans in crisp looking garments bright like snow had swarmed the room soon after that. No human in a white coat was to be trusted.

“We had tested a serum on it that we thought might grant immunity against certain elemental attacks, but the experiment was a failure.” The man in the white coat explained. “We don’t know what the side effects might be, and it isn’t friendly. Are you sure this is the one you want? I have a Growlithe that we haven’t touched yet. I’ll let you have it for the same price.”

“It has to be a Houndour. It’s her favorite.” The larger man bent down so that he was eye level with the pokemon, the tone of his voice making it evident that he was quite pleased. He bared his human fangs at it and Houndour flattened itself against the back of the enclosure. What deeply unsettling creatures, showing their teeth to express joy. “She's been yammering on about it for months now. Seems like I’ve been waiting for you guys to get one forever, so thanks for this. I owe you one, Namba.”

“That’s Dr. Namba.” The shorter man barked as he took out a circle with little sticks attached to it and started flipping through them. He tried a few on the cage; it was apparent he didn’t remember which one worked. “And please, you’re doing me the favor. We have far too many specimens in the lab right now as it is. We can't very well let them back into the wild after we've experimented on them. The ones we can't sell have to be destroyed.”

The Lab. Houndour focused on those words. The Lab was bad. It had to get out of The Lab.

“Haha, right on.”

“I am curious, though. Why now? They would give her one next year when she enrolls in the academy.”

“Ah, you know what kinds of starter pokemon are available for Team Rocket kids. I don’t want my daughter to end up with a Rattata or something, ya know?”

“Fair enough.” There was a loud, clicking sound as the little man finally seemed to find the stick he was looking for. “But if she gets caught battling with it before next year, you didn’t get it from me.”

The door opened. Houndour snarled at the hand that reached in but the man in the white coat expertly grabbed it by the scruff of its neck. It snapped, but the angle by which it was being held meant his flesh was just out of reach. It was almost as if he had been expecting the attack. The puppy kicked and wriggled as he held it out to the other man.

“It’s not my fault if she gets bitten, either.”

The larger man reached for Houndour and it continued to growl as his large hands wrapped around its chest and took it from the man in the white coat. This human had a different energy from the others it had been dealing with, and inexplicably, Houndour relaxed as his giant fingers massaged small circles behind its ears.

“Hmph.” The angry little man in the white coat made a noise that sounded to Houndour like a tiny bark. “I suppose they were right about you. That’s the first time that little one has calmed down since it’s been here. Let me get you a pokeball.”

“Don’t worry.” The taller man chuckled. “I’ve got one.”

He produced a teal and black sphere with a yellow sliver on the front that reminded Houndour of the moon. It felt an unfamiliar but comforting warmth as it was surrounded by energy and came to rest inside the ball. 

The white coated man with the white blaze in his hair was making the face the humans did when they were annoyed. He reminded Houndoom of the firey-haired man it had remembered from before, if only for a moment. 

“Give us a moment.” He turned away and ordered some unseen entity behind him. A lot of shuffling could be heard and it sounded like multiple humans were leaving the little room with the window where he and the mistress stood. She remained still as the man in the white coat returned his attention to Houndoom.

“If it will not attack then we cannot measure its power, and you will automatically fail.” It heard him say. “There’s nothing I can do for you if that happens.”

Her face was showing more signs of concern as he continued.

“If it won’t even listen to you, then perhaps you shouldn’t be allowed to keep it after all.”

Even from this distance, Houndoom could sense her mounting fear. Its lips curled back as it opened its jaws, and a low, guttural growl echoed through the chamber.

“Houndoom,” it heard its trainer's voice again, more urgent than before. “I know this is scary and weird, but I really need you to do this for me, ok? Please?”

It stopped growling and studied her.

“Please trust me. It’s ok. Just use Flamethrower and we can get out of here.”

Slowly it turned away from the window and faced the manmade trees. It was clear that it would remain in this chamber until it complied with the human’s desires, reasonable or not, so it would do what it must to be reunited with its mistress. It spread its forelegs, repositioning itself.

“That’s it!” She sounded pleased.

It visualized the men in the white coats. The one with the white blaze. The one with hair like fire. She did not realize they were not to be trusted, and so it was up to Houndoom to show them what to expect if they tried to hurt her. She wanted Flamethrower, but that was not enough. Its insides grew warm, then hot as the familiar, acrid smell of its fire mixing with the toxins in its own belly filled its nostrils. Houndoom opened its powerful jaws and unleashed with all its might a fearsome Fire Blast attack. If it had to disobey her to protect her, then so be it.

Chapter Text

The door to the data lab was already open. Sebastian was inside, alone, just like the other scientist said he would be. He stood at the counter near the printer, working diligently on a laptop as the rapid tapping sounds of his fingers on the keyboard filled the room. Tyson approached and stood in the doorway. The fluorescent overhead lights in the hallway behind him cast a shadow off of his rather sizable figure that darkened part of the room. Seemingly lost in his work, the professor either did not notice or did not acknowledge he was there. It was hard for Tyson to tell, sometimes, whether he was being accidentally unrecognized or willfully ignored.

Three very long and very uneventful days had passed since Attila had gotten him out of jail. It had been difficult to appreciate the downtime; it was highly unusual for someone of his rank, and he quickly became restless with nothing to do. He had checked his email and his phone again and again, but the request he had expected from the professor was suspiciously absent. Finally, although Tyson wasn’t excited about facing him for the first time after their failure in the field, he decided to take a proactive approach and visit the lab as soon as he heard that Sebastian had been released from the infirmary.

“Professor Sebastian.” The larger man addressed him from where he stood, offering a salute as the scientist glanced over his shoulder.

“Oh, it’s you.” He said dismissively, returning his attention to his work. “What is it?”

“I’m checking in for my next assignment, sir.”

Tyson took a few steps toward the professor, who at that point reached for the laptop screen and closed it halfway. He turned it toward himself defensively and shot a wary glare in the other man’s direction, causing him to stop in his tracks. It was a little weird, Tyson thought, as Sebastian typically never missed an opportunity to boast about his work, but he quickly dismissed the concern to refocus on his purpose for being there. His job standing was his number one priority.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm,” the professor said, though his tone seemed to indicate the opposite was true, “ but I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with you yet.”

It was a discouraging, if not ambiguously threatening response, but the larger man’s composure never faltered.

“Then I apologize for bothering you, sir. It’s just that Attila suggested you wanted to speak with me.”

Sebastian narrowed his eyes as he pretended to study the figures on the screen in front of him. He certainly remembered sending Attila to get Tyson out of jail, and he vaguely remembered having some purpose for doing so, but he couldn’t remember what that conversation looked like at all. The doctors had warned him that some memory loss can happen for weeks or even months following a concussion, but it was a frustrating side effect, nonetheless. They had suggested he take a leave of absence from work, which he acknowledged he probably should have, but the mere thought of Namba as the interim department head was enough for him to decline without further consideration. He had signed a waiver the same day that he was returning to work against medical advice.

“Unfortunately, I don’t recall.” He said, after some hesitation. “You’ll forgive me for not being able to remember everything after you nearly had me killed, I’m sure.”

“ Of course, sir.” Tyson took the admonition in stride. He was, at this point in his career, an expert at side-stepping Sebastian’s passive aggressive remarks.

“ If you really need something to do, there’s been an accident in the unscheduled study lab.” The professor offered without looking up, fingers once again flying across the keyboard. “Go see if you can help clean up so the scientists can focus on their work.”

Tyson balked internally. He wasn’t thrilled at the idea of doing grunt work, but thought it best not to say anything. He remembered that Attila and Hun had been on cafeteria duty for an entire month following the destruction of the Crystal System. Although he had been greatly amused at the sight of them shoveling rice in their aprons and hair nets, he had also felt a great deal of second hand embarrassment watching them serve food to the grunts whose lives they had previously made hell. It was a humiliating position to be in, and not one he himself wanted to experience, that was certain. He supposed compared to that, one afternoon with a bucket and a mop didn’t seem so bad. It was like he was getting off easy, almost suspiciously so.
“On my way, sir.”

Sebastian barely noticed his departure as he printed the audit paperwork, giving it a final once over before exiting the lab. He paused at the door, overcome for just a moment by the feeling that he was forgetting something once again, but ultimately shook his head and continued toward the room where Houndoom and its trainer were waiting.
His laptop sat open on the counter, cursor still blinking exactly where he had left off after altering the numbers on the report.

“Go ahead and call it back into the pokeball.” A green haired scientist instructed Ria as she re-entered the chamber where her partner pokemon waited, still hooked up to the calibration machine. The smoke had mostly cleared, but a few thin, transparent wisps still hung in the air. “We tried to unhook it from the machine already, but it’s really…bitey.”

Houndoom snapped at him as if to perfectly emphasize that point. He stumbled backwards a few steps before he cleared his throat and coughed into his elbow, seeming to struggle momentarily to breathe. He was one of Sebastian’s assistants, she knew, but she had been so worried about the outcome of the audit she had already forgotten his name.

“Right. Sorry about that.” She apologized, fumbling with her belt to get its ball ready. “Houndoom, return.”

The electrodes that had been attached to it fell to the ground with a series of muted thuds. Houndoom glowed red as it returned to energy and was absorbed into its ball.

“Man, that really burns your sinuses.” The scientist cleared his throat for a second time and tugged at the collar of his shirt. “I don’t know how you stand it.”

“It’s really not that bad.” She mumbled under her breath. He was overreacting, but she was too close to being in the clear now to upset someone so close to the guy helping her out of this mess.

“That fetid smell is a normal after-effect a Houndoom’s attack.” Ria and the other scientist turned toward the sound of Sebastian’s voice as he rejoined them. He was flipping through what she assumed was the audit paperwork as he continued. “Its flames are poisonous. Our friend Ria here is probably noseblind to it after, let’s see, how many years now?”

She looked toward the vaulted ceiling as she did the quick math. She got Houndour when she was 9, so that meant…

“Fifteen years.”

“Very informative, sir.” the green-haired scientist was holding the collar of his shirt over his nose, and Ria rolled her eyes. “May I be excused?”

“Yes, go on. Get out.” Sebastian ordered him away with an apathetic wave. He seemed more than relieved to be dismissed. Once they were alone, Ria was very quickly brought back to reality when the professor turned to her with a very serious expression on his face. She felt nauseous for a moment as she was almost positive he was going to back out of their deal. Why wouldn’t he, after seeing Houndoom blatantly disobey her?

“I would think after a decade and a half it would be more obedient than that.”

“W-well,” she faltered at first, but quickly collected herself. For Houndoom’s sake, she could not fold in on herself, not even in front of someone as imposing as Professor Sebastian. “Houndoom is still recently evolved, and we’re getting to know each other all over again. This also wasn’t a real battle, so it was probably confused. You saw first-hand how well we work together in the field.”

He looked entirely unconvinced. Ria tried to swallow, but her mouth had gone dry. It felt to her like an eternity passed before he finally spoke.

“Let us be clear about one thing. Under any other circumstances, I would be advocating for this Houndoom to be taken away from you. Its actual power level is close to forty, and I don’t think you have the skill or the ability as a trainer to recognize and enforce the level of discipline a pokemon like that needs. That’s likely why it didn’t evolve around the level standard for its species. The fact that you didn’t even realize this further evidences my concern.”

His words cut, and Ria felt like her heart dropped into her stomach.

“That being said,” he continued, “we did come to an agreement. I will, of course, hold up my end of the bargain, but I want you to walk out of here on the understanding that this makes us even. Nothing that should happen to you after you leave here today is my problem or my responsibility. And should you do anything to damage my reputation for signing off on this,” his voice dropped half a register and sent chills down her spine, “then I will consider us on unequal ground, and losing your Houndoom will be the least of your concerns. Understood?”

Right then, his phone loudly and repeatedly vibrated in his pocket, ruining the gravitas of the moment. He muttered something Ria didn’t quite catch as he quickly scrolled through it and tucked it away.

“Well? Do you understand or not?”

“Yes of course,” she nodded earnestly.

“Then we’re all done here.” his tone reverted to his more genial default as he retrieved a pen from his front pocket. “Now, it seems that I’ve misplaced my clipboard, so if you don’t mind.” He twirled his finger, indicating to Ria that he wanted her to turn around. She did so, staring at their reflections in the observation glass incredulously as he used her back to sign off on the paperwork. His ability to flip flop between absolutely intimidating to perfectly pleasant was terrifying in and of itself.

“Thank you, sir.”

"You're quite welcome, my dear." He paused at the door for a moment before hurrying off to whatever else seemed to have demanded his attention. “And Ria...do not make me regret this.”

Ria hadn’t realized how much tension she had been carrying in her shoulders until he finally left the room. Realizing she was still clutching Houndoom’s ball so tightly her knuckles were white, she quickly minimized it and reattached it to her belt.

Close to forty, she repeated in her head. The news that Houndoom’s actual power level was so high had shaken her confidence even more than Sebastian’s harsh assessment of her as a trainer.

“Hmph. Houndoom's level might be really high, but I have a ton of skill and ability.” she said to herself out loud as she started toward the door. As she caught another glimpse of her own reflection before the automatic doors slid open, she admitted to herself that even she didn’t completely believe that was true. Ria took a deep breath. This was supposed to be the answer to all of her problems, so why, she wondered, didn’t it feel that way at all?

***

Hun watched unenthusiastically as Attila struggled to cram their luggage into the overhead compartment. He had given up on trying to stress the benefit of traveling lightly to his partner ages ago. No matter how reasonably they started out, there always seemed to be just one more thing that Attila could not live without.

“I’m going to call the professor before we take off.”

“Yeah, whatever. Tell him not to put us in economy class next time.” The blonde muttered as a flight attendant approached hesitantly.

“Excuse me, sir, I’m going to need you put away your bags and sit down before we can depart.”

“Whadda ya think I’m tryin’ to do here?!”

Hun placed a finger in his free ear to drown out the bickering as the professor picked up on the other end.

“I’ve been expecting your call. I trust you and Attila received your assignment and are on your way to Kalos?”

“We’re at the airport now.” Hun explained. “About to depart. Given the sudden nature of your request, we’re still a bit in the dark about what exactly you want us to do when we arrive.”

“Don’t worry, I’m emailing you the details as we speak. There’s a particular item I need and I’m including a few leads on where you might be able to locate one.”

“Is this something that can only be found in Kalos, then?”

“Yes. It’s called Houndoominite. I want you to find and bring me one as soon as possible. And Hun, I need it urgently, so do be quick about it.”

Hun shot a warning glance to Attila as he inelegantly collapsed in the aisle seat and invaded his partner’s space. The flight attendant tapped her foot impatiently, pointing to her ear to signify it was time to hang up now.

“Yes, sir. Consider it done.”

Chapter Text

"That was pretty terrible.”

She heard Cassidy's voice, but it was another moment before Ria could stop panting enough to collect herself and make eye contact. She leaned against the cool brick wall of the learning academy building as the other woman handed her a water bottle.

"I still made the cut, right?”

"Just barely." Cassidy sighed. "Literally within a second, and don't look now but I think Sarge has something to say to you about it.”

“Rianne."

Drill Sergeant Viper barked her full name as he approached. She winced at the sound of it. She obediently saluted as he towered over her, the silhouette of his blue mohawk blocking out most of the sun. Her blonde companion slyly but quickly distanced herself from the situation like an Ekans from a Yungoose, leaving Ria alone in his imposing shadow.

“Sir."

"I don't know what's on your mind, but I would suggest clearing your head before your next physical fitness test. Do you want to know how close I was to having to send you back to basic training?”

"No, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me." She sighed.
He narrowed his eyes, and she gulped.

"Uh...I have a feeling you're going to tell me, SIR.”

"Two tenths of a second. Do you want to repeat basic training?”

"No, sir.”

"Then get it together, recruit, because if I see you toeing that line next quarter I'm going to assume you want to spend another six months with me riding your ass while you run that obstacle course over and over again! Are we clear?”

"As clear as crystal, sir!”

"Hey!" Seemingly done with Ria, he called out to another grunt over her shoulder suddenly and loudly enough to make her jump, quickly making off to harass the next one.

Ria sighed with relief as she watched his retreating back.
She hated the annual physical fitness test, and of course this year it coincided with all of the stress and chaos of her little Houndoom situation. Why wouldn't it, the way her luck was running lately? Normally she would never let herself show up so unprepared - no one in their right mind wanted to go through the humiliation of repeating basic training - but so much had happened in the past few weeks she could hardly even think straight, much less keep up with her own personal training. The only day she'd tried to exercise had been the same day Hun came to collect her for her meeting with the professor, and she never got to finish.

"At least it's over now," she murmured to herself as she turned the corner. "All of it.”

The locker room was crowded as usual and she was glad she had come early to make sure she actually had a locker. She practically had to force herself out of the shower when she was finally clean. It was almost hypnotizing, watching the dirt and grime spiral down the drain until the water ran clear. It got much hotter than the showers in her dorm building did, and she wished she could stand there and let it cascade down her back forever. She reluctantly wrapped herself in a towel and headed back to get dressed and collect her things.

"So I guess you escaped another month at the academy with old Sharpedo head after all?" Cassidy opened the locker door beside Ria's, seeming to appear out of nowhere now that it was safe to do so.

"For now, anyway." Ria chuckled slightly at the nickname. The tall blonde opened her mouth to say something else but was cut off before she could even begin.

"Well, that's just a shame, isn't it?”

The two of them turned around to face the source of the third voice. Domino seemed to have materialized behind them in the steam from the showers like a Misdreavus in the fog.

"I was thinking a little extra time at the academy might do that mutt of yours some good." The blonde twirled one of her curls, which were just slightly starting to lose their shape due to the humidity in the room.

“Domino."

The surprise was evident in Ria's voice. Cassidy had waited for her, but she was shocked to see the other woman still around. 

"I thought all the officers already tested this morning?”

"Oh, we did." Domino's cheerful and childish tone which seemed to curry her favor with so many other Rockets seemed almost creepy to Ria. "I waited around for you, silly!”

“For...me?"

"I heard Houndoom passed its audit with flying colors and I just had to come congratulate you personally. I am surprised, though." She got closer, and Ria didn't realize she was subconsciously backing until her shoulders hit the locker door behind her. " I could have sworn when we battled that it was at a much higher level than 28. As an officer, I just sort of have a feel for these things, you know? It's not often that I'm wrong.”

Ria tensed. There was no way that Domino could know Houndoom was said to be at level 28 without seeing the results of the audit. She remembered the day Hun had brought her to meet with the professor. She especially remembered that uneasy feeling she'd gotten when she saw his laptop open, recalling how he'd seemed to know everything about her. Although Domino was not as high up in the organizational hierarchy as the professor, Ria supposed that someone of her rank could also get access to that kind of information if she wanted. The records, including Ria's personnel file, would have been updated by now to reflect the results.

"Oh, well" the brunette laughed nervously, rushing to put on a few more items of clothing as quickly and discreetly as possible. Being caught half-naked added a level of vulnerability to this exchange that she didn't exactly care for. She couldn't prove it, but she was almost positive Domino had cornered her here for that specific reason. "It was probably just a fluke. You know how type advantages can go.”

"Yeah, you know, that's what I keep hearing. Type advantages. A lot of people have told me that since they watched our little battle. It's still racking up views out there on Rocketbook." Domino's tone had dipped slightly, and the annoyance was starting to emerge, but she quickly corrected it. "You know, I think we should make absolutely sure that it was a fluke. That's the other reason I wanted to see you today. Know where I'm going with this?”

"Um," Ria, glanced toward Cassidy, who nodded. She seemed to know exactly what Domino was about to suggest. So did Ria, but she most certainly didn't want things to head in that direction. She decided that playing dumb was the easiest way out. "I actually don't know. No idea. You'll have to get back to me another day on that! I'm just so tired, and it's been nice talking to you but I'd better get back to my room and-“

"Oh, Ria, don't be silly!" Domino grabbed her shoulder to stop her from continuing to get dressed, twirling her around so they were facing once again. "You know exactly what I mean. I thought we could have a rematch!”

"A rematch?" The disdain was evident in Ria's voice. She knew what was coming, but somehow hearing the suggestion aloud made it that much worse. The professor's words replayed in her head as she imagined what a rematch with the officer would entail.

‘Should you do anything to damage my reputation for signing off on this...losing your Houndoom will be the least of your concerns. Understood?’

"You know, Domino, I just don't think that's a very good idea.”

"Well of course it is." Domino persisted, refusing to take no for an answer. Ria again looked towards Cassidy for help but they didn't seem to be on the same page at all. The taller blonde gestured toward the shorter one; it was almost as if she wanted Ria to say yes.

"Unless of course," Domino continued, "there's some reason you wouldn't want me to battle your Houndoom again. I can't think of any reason you would have, unless of course something unsavory was going on that you managed to get past even our scientists.”

Or involving them, Ria thought, and got a chill. Domino was flirting with the line between the truth and the facade she had put up with Sebastian's help, and it was making her anxious.
"Look, I don't want to battle you. You promised if Houndoom passed its audit, you'd leave me alone.”

"Tch." Domino scoffed, tossing one of her curls over her shoulder and straightening her red and white cap. "I don't remember promising you anything. So you're saying you won't do it?”

"Of course she'll do it." Cassidy finally spoke, and Ria shot a panicked look her way. She seemed unperturbed, smiling overly pleasantly at the other blonde who returned it with an identical expression. The level of obsequious politeness between them was almost sickening. "Ria is modest to a fault, but the truth is, she would absolutely love to battle you.”

"Oh, well, it's a good thing she's got a friend like you to speak up for her at the right moment, then." Domino spoke to Cassidy before quickly returning her attention to the other girl. "I already checked your schedule and I know you don't have any assignments tomorrow, so I'll see you on the training field first thing in the morning. Same place as last time. Sound good?”

She didn't give either of them a chance to respond before she turned to leave, laughing sweetly and waving goodbye over her shoulder.

"What...what was that?!" Ria snapped, forgetting momentarily that Cassidy was, in fact, also a higher ranking officer than she was.

"I know you've had a lot going on recently, but use your brain. Go ahead, finish getting dressed." She leaned against the locker before continuing as as Ria put on her belt and boots.

"This is your chance to finally get rid of her.”

"By engaging her in a battle? Yeah, Cassidy, no offense, but I think you and Butch have been hanging around Professor Namba for too long.”

"Look, it's great your Houndoom passed that stupid test, but obviously Domino is not going to let this one go. Unless you give her what she wants, that is, and let her win.”

Ria did stop for a moment to consider what the other woman said. It wasn't the most terrible idea, she had to admit. If it worked.

"You really think if I throw the match, she'll leave me alone?”

"Well, if you don't try, I see a lot more locker room ambushes in your future." Cassidy said jokingly as they grabbed their bags and began to leave.

-

Butch was sprawled out on the bench, staring at the ceiling, bored even with playing on his phone at this point. He bolted upright as his partner and her companion finally emerged from the women's locker room.

"Well, it took you long enough." He barked, before noticing the look on Ria's face. "Eh? What's wrong with you? You're as white as a Dewgong's tail.”

"She's going to battle Domino tomorrow and we have front row seats!" Cassidy answered for her.

Ria scowled quietly as Butch burst out laughing. She had already snapped at his partner in the locker room and didn't want to press her luck. Besides, although neither of them were very well known for their patience, of the two, the teal-haired man did have the more sensitive ego.

"Battle Domino? Are you kidding?" He laughed, but his demeanor quickly changed. He started to rub his chin as if a thought had occurred to him. "Although, it's not totally a bad idea. If you battle Domino and let her win, then she's likely to get off your back for a while.”

"That's exactly what I told her!" His partner cheerfully exclaimed.

"Look at us," he reached for a high five, which she quickly returned. "Sharing a single brain cell!”

Ria rolled her eyes at the inside joke.

"Yeah, great. Well, I'm pretty beat...I'm going back to my room. I'll see you tomorrow." She said it with a defeated sigh, adjusting the position of her gym bag over her shoulder and heading toward the dorms.

"Great idea! Be lazy and don't do any training tonight so you're completely unprepared tomorr-ow!" Butch had started to call after her, but even though she didn't see it Ria could tell that his partner had swiftly elbowed him in the side.

"It'll be fine!" Cassidy's voice sounded much sweeter than her partner's as it echoed through the halls. "We'll even let you buy us lunch tomorrow as thanks for the great idea!”

Maybe they were right, Ria thought to herself as she passed through the halls. It couldn't hurt to be optimistic. In theory, the plan could work. It would be easy enough to throw the match, if Houndoom would just listen. She doubted Domino would bother to bring Roserade back for this, either. It would truly be a surprise to her if there wasn't something even bigger and badder awaiting them on the battlefield the following day. An unwanted win would already be incredibly unlikely, and after everything that had happened lately, surely her luck was starting to change.

If it did work, she resolved, she would buy Butch and Cassidy's lunches for the entire week.

Chapter Text

A small crowd had gathered in the observation area of one of Team Rocket's outdoor training fields, and Ria had mixed feelings about it. She was already nervous enough about the battle going the way she needed it to, and the judgmental eyes of her team mates made it even harder to concentrate. On the other hand, the larger the crowd, the more satisfied Domino would likely be with a victory. If that happened, then maybe her life would finally start to go back to the way it used to be. She glanced over at Butch and Cassidy, who both grinned and gave her a thumbs up from their seat in the bleachers. Somehow, the gesture was not as reassuring as it should have been.

It was a particularly sunny day, and upon noticing Domino had decided to bring Roserade back for the rematch after all, Ria noted it might be best to avoid any of Houndoom's fire type moves altogether. She called her partner out of its pokeball and knelt beside it, placing a hand on its muzzle and gently encouraging it to look at her instead of their opponents, who were prepping on the opposite end of the battlefield.

"Listen Houndoom," she said quietly, its ruby eyes locking onto hers as she spoke. It seemed to be hanging on her every word, which gave Ria the slightest hope that perhaps, just this once, everything would work out in her favor after all. "More than ever, I really need you to do exactly what I say, ok? Even if it doesn't make sense. We do not want to win this battle. Do you understand?”

"Riaaaa, are you ready?" Domino's singsong voice beckoned from behind the white line on the other side of the field.

"I'm ready!" She called back as she stood and nodded.

"Oh, I almost forgot to ask. Do you mind if I record this?”

Ria hesitated. It seemed to be an innocent enough request. She glanced up at the stands again, where Butch and Cassidy both shared a look and shrugged in her direction.

"I guess that's okay," she answered, "but why would you want to?”

"I just learned so much from rewatching our first battle, I don't want to miss that opportunity again! You understand, right?”

Even though she didn't believe that was the real reason, Ria figured that in the worst case scenario, Domino would try to get a video of her winning the battle to start circulating instead of the old one. That wouldn't be so bad. Besides, telling her no might only serve to upset her further.

"I don't have a problem with it.”

Another grunt with short, aqua blue hair stepped up to the centerline and raised both arms. Although she didn't recall his name, Ria had crossed paths with him before. She recognized him as part of Domino's regular entourage.

"Alright!" he announced, and a hush fell over the field. "The battle between Rocket Grunt Ria and Elite Officer Domino is about to begin. This will be a one on one match between Houndoom and Roserade. No move limitations and no time limit. The last pokemon standing is the victor. Are you ready?”

Ria nodded, as did Domino.

"Begin!" The grunt called out and swiftly removed himself from the line of fire, taking his place as referee on the side of the field.

There was an awkward pause followed by a broken wave of laugher from the spectators as both battlers waited for the other to make the first move.

"Go ahead, Ria, you won last time so you can start!" Domino cheered, as upbeat and over the top as ever.

"Okay then!" Ria hesitated again, debating which of Houndoom's moves to use. She had expected an all out offense from Domino, but apparently the officer had other plans. Roserade was a grass type, but it was also part poison, so she decided that was the angle she should go for. "Houndoom, start off with Sludge Bomb!”

Houndoom glanced over its shoulder at Ria before obediently firing off the attack. Although it wasn't going to be very effective anyway, it still seemed more powerful than she would have liked. She couldn't outright tell Houndoom to go gently, though, or it might appear obvious she was trying to throw the match.

"Dodge, it, Roserade!”

Roserade did an elegant backflip, narrowly avoiding the ball of sludge that bubbled and pooled in the dirt where it had stood before.

"Alright," Domino called, "now use Magical Leaf, just like we planned.”

The plant pokemon's petals glowed various hues of pink and blue before they were hurled toward its opponent with a flick of its arms. Most of the leaves bypassed Houndoom entirely and came straight toward Ria like tiny knives. She hastily ducked to avoid them, and her uniform was nicked in a few places as she did so.

Houndoom's snarl stood out loudly from the razzing of the crowd.

"It's okay Houndoom!" Ria quickly attempted to quiet it as she picked herself up off the ground and dusted herself off.

"Oh, sorry about that," the blonde called, still sounding as bubbly and exuberant as ever. "We've been working on our accuracy with that move, but I guess we still need a little practice!”

"It's no problem!" Ria forced a smile and a wave. She was aware that her tone sounded just as perfunctory as Domino's right now, but was too flustered from the last attack to think too much about it. "Houndoom, use Sludge Bomb again, ok?”

Houndoom's mouth started to glow red and she felt her heart jump into her throat. This was exactly what she was afraid of. It was upset, and it had ideas of its own.

"No, no, Houndoom, Sludge Bomb. Exactly what I say, remember?”

The dog pokemon hesitated at the slight panic in its mistress's voice, and Ria felt her entire body relax as the glow of the impending fire blast faded.

"Oh, come on." Domino said before it could attack, starting to sound a little annoyed for the first time since they began. "All that talk about type advantages, and you're going to keep using poison attacks against us?”

"O-oh, my mistake!" Ria laughed, rubbing the back of her neck. The collar of her uniform was already damp from a combination of her nerves and the relentless sun. "I'm so dumb. I thought poison was super-effective against grass types, but you know what? I totally forgot that Roserade was part poison, too!”

"Riiiight." Domino seemed thoroughly unimpressed. Ria studied her carefully, but if she saw though the lie, she didn't let on. "So why don't you use a different move then? I'm feeling generous. Go ahead.”

"Okay, ah... Houndoom, use Dark Pulse!”

Houndoom shook its head, seeming almost as cross as their opponent, changing to a different type move for the third time in a row. It released a Dark
Pulse, which Roserade easily avoided, having had ample time to prepare to dodge in the time Ria had been unable to decide on an attack.

The crowd murmured and the brunette tried not to look at them, tugging on the brim of her cap and wishing she could disappear beneath it completely. It was embarrassing, but she reminded herself that the entire point of this was to lose anyway. It would be over soon enough.

"Roserade, use Magical Leaf again!”

Another barrage of sharp, glowing leaves launched toward Ria. She tried to back out of the way and stumbled, falling on her behind. She winced as she felt a burning sensation underneath her left eye, realizing one of the leaves had sliced her on the cheek.

"What the hell, Domino?" She barked, bringing her hand up to wipe a way a drop of blood. She was sure now that it was intentional; Roserade hadn't even aimed in Houndoom's general direction that time.

"Like I said," Domino purred, "we need a little practice.”

Houndoom was growling again. Flames penetrated the air between it's fangs as it powered up once again to defend its trainer. There was an excited murmur. The crowd watching seemed to love it.

"Houndoom, don't!" Ria called out, immediately regretting her outburst.

"Forfeit now!”

Ria heard Butch's gravely voice cut through the noise the spectators and their pokemon were making. She turned towards them and Cassidy echoed his sentiment.

"You need to forfeit the match!”

Ria considered it and realized that they were right, this really was her only option at this point. It might leave everyone watching a bit disappointed, but a forfeit would still give Domino the win.

"I forfeit! Houndoom, back down, we forfeit the match!”

"You can't forfeit, we've barely started." Domino seemed less than pleased with the decision. “Roserade-"

The blonde was interrupted before she could order another attack as Houndoom, on its own accord, opened its jaws and fired off a flaming twanas shape in her direction. The attack was clearly aimed at Domino, and she scrambled to try and avoid it as it rapidly approached. Although she was able to steer clear of a direct hit, the flames licked her right arm as it passed. She visibly cringed, hurriedly trying to remove what was left of her white glove as her skin blistered beneath it. After she recovered from the initial shock, she glared with a fiery intensity behind her violet eyes that Ria hadn't seen before, not even after the outcome of their last battle. Whatever she had been planning today, this surely had not been a part of it.

"Ma'am! Are you okay?" The grunt referee clambered toward her, but the elite held up one hand, remaining surprisingly composed in spite of nursing a Houndoom burn.

"Did you get that?”

"Recorded? Yes, ma’am."

"Good. Call the match.”

He turned toward the bleachers and the crowd quieted for a moment.

"The match is discontinued due to personal injury!”

There was a largely disappointed roar before most of the spectators started to leave their seats. There was also some booing, and Ria wasn't sure if that was because the battle was discontinued or if it was intended specifically for her. Domino closed the gap between herself and her opponent as the crowd began to dissipate, and it was obvious as she approached that despite her stoicism, she was in incredible pain.

"I'm sorry-" Ria started to apologize.

"That brute," the blonde pointed an accusatory finger at Houndoom. Ria swiftly recalled it into its ball, as though that were enough to save it from the incoming wrath of her superior. "It attacked me on its own, and everyone saw it.”

"Hey, you had your Roserade attack me first!" Ria responded, though it sounded even to her more like a desperate plea than a real retort.

"I told you the move missed. If you don't believe me, the whole thing was recorded." The corner of her mouth turned upward in a smirk. "Still, I can't believe your Houndoom just deliberately disobeyed you like that, especially if it's only level 28.”

"It wasn't attacking you, it was defending me, ok?”

"Well, whatever it was doing, it wouldn't listen to you at all when you tried to call it off." Domino scoffed, starting toward the building again but stopping for just a moment when she was shoulder to shoulder with Ria. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to fill out an incident report when I get to the infirmary. We can't have you running around here with a pokemon that won't listen to you, regardless of its power level. You know that.”

Ria shook her head, looking around helplessly to see Butch and Cassidy jogging over, conveniently just in time to avoid Domino.

"What the hell happened?" Butch asked, once the other officer was out of earshot. "That thing won't listen to you any better than that?”

"Are you kidding me right now?" She snapped at them. "This is all your fault! Both of you!”

There was a part of Ria that knew this was a mistake, but the stress of everything that had happened over the past few weeks and the panic she was feeling from ending up in the exact same situation now overrode her judgement. "What a fantastic idea, really!”

"Hey," Cassidy seemed to bristle at her sarcasm, and there was a warning in her tone. "Watch it. It would have been a great idea if you had that monster trained properly, but you don't. This is on you.”

"Yeah, we were only trying to help you." Her partner added, rather aggressively. "Which is more than we had to do, considering we outrank you now.”

"By a lot." Cassidy quipped. "Which you seem to be forgetting.”

"Well do me a favor." Ria seemed unphased as they towered over her. "Don't help me anymore!”

"Oh, trust me, we won't." The venom in Cassidy's tone matched hers exactly. "You're all on your own now. Come on, Butch, before someone sees us hanging around this grunt.”

"Big mistake, kid." He muttered, shooting her a sideways glance before following his partner off the field.

"I don't care!" She called after them, her words echoing off of the now empty stands. "Nothing you can do could possibly be worse than what's already happened!”

They didn't even turn around to look.

Ria threw her hat on the ground and fell to her knees, taking Houndoom's pokeball off her belt and staring at it for a second before holding it to her chest. Her lungs and her throat burned as she fought to quell the emotion that continued to rise within her. She couldn't even bring herself to call it out now.

She took a deep breath and replayed her options, which weren't many, over in her head again and again. Even if she fled, it would only be a matter of time before the consequences of her desertion caught up with her. As tempting as it was, running away from Team Rocket would just be a temporary fix with a not-so-pretty end.

There was really only one thing left for her to do.

---

"Can you believe that?" Cassidy ranted, repeatedly pressing the elevator close button. No one was around, but she didn't want to take any chances. "That brat! You know what? I'm glad Namba is sending us to Celadon City tomorrow. That means there's no chance we'll have to see her stupid dog or her stupid Ria face around HQ for an entire week.”

"Mm. I don't think the Houndoom'll be an issue much longer.” Butch mumbled half-heartedly. They were almost back to their room now and she had been going on about their altercation the entire time. Seemingly offended by his response, she turned to look at him as the elevator started to ascend.

"What's wrong with you? How are you not as mad as I am about this? She disrespected both of us.”

"I dunno...I mean, she did, but do you think maybe we shouldn't of told her to do that after all?”

"Oh, please." Cassidy rolled her eyes. "The only mistake we made was trying to help someone that obviously doesn't deserve it.”

"Doesn't she though?”

Cassidy didn't say anything.

"I'm just saying," Butch continued, "do you remember who showed up with bail money all those times when we went on that arrest streak? You know, back when we kept running into those twerps?”

"That's when she was support staff, and she was assigned to do that. She was sent by the boss. Arceus," Cassidy swore, pressing the number to their floor as though that would make the elevator move any faster. "Stop romanticizing people doing their jobs.”

"Yeah, it was her job, but she didn't have to bring you coffee every time because she knew if would make you feel better.”

"Well, what do you want? I'm not apologizing. At the end of the day, that was still blatant insubordination, and she's lucky all we did was walk away. I would say that makes us EVEN for the coffee. Don't let her get in your head, Butch." She barked over her shoulder as the doors opened and she stormed off the elevator. "We didn't do anything wrong.”

"Well, actually," he sighed, muttering to no one but himself as he trailed along behind her. "We kinda did.”

Chapter Text

Ria exhaled shakily as she stared at her reflection in the steel, automated door. She placed her hand on her chest and could feel her heart beating incredibly fast. It had never stopped, really, not since her battle with Domino had gone awry, but she was sure running all the way to the laboratory didn't help. 

'Should you do anything to damage my reputation for signing off on this...losing your Houndoom will be the least of your concerns. Understood?'

The professor's words echoed in her mind as she took another deep breath, attempting to calm her nerves. It was one thing to be summoned to a meeting with him like before, but coming to the lab to seek him out on her own accord was a whole new level of intimidating. He was the head of an entire department, echelons above her in rank. She paused for a second to wonder if this was something that could get her into trouble, but that worry quickly evaporated as she remembered how much trouble she was already in. For Houndoom, she had to try, and she willed herself to think of a more positive outcome. Sure, he had asked her to keep a low profile and she had done the exact opposite of that, but he certainly seemed level-headed when they had talked before. If she explained how this happened, she was almost positive he, as a reasonable person of science, would understand.

Almost.

"Time's up.You can do this." She closed her eyes and whispered to herself as she clutched her key card, preparing to step through the doors.

"Do what, exactly?" 

Ria jumped at the sound of the voice coming from behind her as she realized she was no longer alone in the corridor, whirling around to face its owner.

A tall, muscular blonde man peered down at her through semi-opaque sunglasses with a suspicious curiosity. She recognized him immediately as Hun’s partner; his name, she remembered, was Attila. Unlike Hun, who kept mostly to himself, Attila seemed to be fairly popular with the other members of Team Rocket and Ria had heard a bit about him in passing. He was supposedly a ruthless former pokemon poacher, and most notably, she realized, as she craned her neck to make eye contact with him, he was huge. She had seen him from a distance around HQ, but this was the first time she had ever encountered him face to face. She was reminded of how small she felt standing next to Tyson in the bay when she had been unloading trucks. They had to be about the same size.

"I, uh-" she stammered, taking a step back so that she was no longer in his shadow. She hadn't even heard him approach, and she couldn't help but think how frightening it was that someone of such an incredible size and stature could move so quietly. She supposed that was exactly why he was a member of the special affairs team. She cleared her throat and straightened her posture. "...maybe you can help me, actually. I need to talk to Professor Sebastian. Do you know where he is?"

Attila laughed heartily.

"Funny stuff. Outta my way, ankle biter, I got places to be." 

"Ankle b..?" She was caught off guard by the insult for just a moment before her resolve returned. She huffed and turned away from him. "Fine. Forget it. If you won't tell me, I'll just find him myself."

"Oh, so you were serious?" Attila seemed amused for a second before grabbing the collar of her uniform and pulling her a few steps back from the door. "Yeah, no. Let's go ahead and add that to the list of things you're not gonna do today." 

"But you don't understand," Ria wriggled free of the very loose grip he had on her uniform. "It's really important, and I don't have time to-“

She quieted as he bent down until he was eye level with her and lifted his shades. His eyes were a mesmerizing blue-grey color, and she thought she might have found them quite handsome if he hadn't of insulted her moments before. 

"You must be new or dumb. Little grunts don't get to just waltz in here and talk to Professor Sebastian, and part of my job is making sure that doesn't happen. Which, in case you haven't realized - it ain't gonna."

"I'm not new, OR dumb, thank you." Ria smiled slowly, taking great care not to allow herself to explode like she did on Butch and Cassidy earlier. She had no history with Attila, and she had a feeling that she might not be so lucky if this conversation went any further south than it was headed already. "The professor knows me. I've talked to him before."

"Doubt that." The blonde scoffed, standing upright again. "If he knew you, then I'd know you. And I definitely don't know you." 

"Well," Ria's eyes darted around the room, searching for something, anything that might enable her to get out of this mess. Suddenly, she had an idea. She didn't know why it didn't occur to her before. "If you need proof, why don't you just ask Hun?"

He narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, you're somehow buds with Hun now, too?" He asked, sarcastically. "That's impossible. We haven’t even been at HQ. We just got back from a mission the professor sent us on right after- ohhhh, wait a minute." Attila put his sunglasses back on and grinned. Ria's shoulders slouched and she sighed, all too familiar with that look by now. He had seen the video.

"So you're that little weirdo with the out-of-control Houndoom I've heard so much about." 

"...that's me." She sighed, feeling a sense of dread. 

"Well, I gotta say, I didn't expect you to be such a pip-squeak. You looked like much more of a badass on video.” He laid a massive hand on her hat and tousled her hair. “I had no idea I was in the presence of a celebrity."

Attila smiled cordially as she glowered at him and fixed her appearance, then he motioned to the door. Ria narrowed her eyes, not trusting the gesture or the man who made it in the slightest.

"Wait. Really?"

"Oh, yeah, you go right on ahead. I wouldn't want to have to battle you or nothin’. I’m shakin’ in my boots over here.”

The sarcasm wasn’t lost on Ria. She eyed him up and down, having every intuition that something wasn't right, but she was still pressed for time. She had to get to Sebastian before Domino acted on her threats about Houndoom. If she could just get into the lab, at least, she would deal with whatever tricks Attila was playing later.

She swiped her key card against the pinpad and flinched when a robotic voice screeched at her.

"ACCESS DENIED. INSUFFICIENT SECURITY CLEARANCE." 

"...you knew that would happen, didn't you?" 

Ria glared straight ahead. She didn't even need to turn around to know that Attila was about to burst with laughter, which he quickly did. Of course, when she came here before, the professor had been the one to open the door, but it hadn't occurred to her that not every Team Rocket member would have access to the lab.

His cackling was infectious. A couple of scientists approached and started to chuckle as they passed despite having no way of knowing what was going on. Ria's embarrassment quickly dissipated when she watched them both swipe their IDs. The pinpad lit up green and the automated voice greeted them with a much friendlier tone.

"ACCESS GRANTED.”

Attila, still doubled over laughing at his own prank, wiped away a tear. Her eyes darted back and forth between him, the two scientists, and the open door.

Had Hun been with him, she would have never even considered trying what she was about to, but her window of opportunity was closing as fast as the automated doors. She bolted between both of the scientists, pushing them out of the way and running as fast as she could straight down the hall, leaving Attila behind.

He was stunned for only a moment before he took off in a full sprint behind her. 

She had correctly assumed she was faster than him, but Ria's small lead was short lived. Attila's long legs allowed him to close the gap between them like a Rapidash on fire. She had almost made it to the elevator at the end of the hall when she felt something hitch on the collar of her uniform, causing her feet to fly out from under her.

She struggled and squirmed in an effort to get away from him, but Attila had a much firmer grip on her this time.

"You tryin' to get me fired, you slippery little Patrat?" he wheezed, reminded suddenly of why he usually payed the role of muscle instead of momentum. "Now I'm gonna have to teach you a-"

"Attila."

A sharp voice brought the scuffle to an abrupt halt, and blonde and the brunette looked toward its owner. The elevator doors had opened to reveal an annoyed looking Hun. Professor Sebastian was beside him, impossible to read behind his trademark non-duchenne smile. Nonetheless, Ria’s eyes brightened as he two of them stepped into the hallway in tandem.

"Hun! Professor!"

"Well done, Attila." The professor spoke directly to the larger man, sounding pleased. "You've brought my next little test subject to me before I even had to ask." 

She paled at the mention of the phrase "test subject”, hoping that was some attempt at a joke, and that the professor just wasn't that funny. 

"Professor," Hun's immediate interest in his statement made her feel like that wasn't the case. "Would that have something to do with the items we brought back from Kalos?"

"What did you bring back?" Ria asked, but Hun only responded with an icy glance before returning his attention to Sebastian. 

"Very perceptive of you, as usual, Hun." Sebastian praised him, "I'm afraid it's classified for now. I trust I can count on your discretion, given what you already know?" 

Hun and Attila shared a look before both nodded. Ria wondered what unspoken understanding had passed between them.

"I appreciate that I can always count on you both. You're dismissed."

"But doc, what about this?" Attila asked, tugging on Ria's upper arm for emphasis and almost lifting her clear off the ground in the process.

"You may release her. I'll take it from here, if you'll forgive me for not escorting you the rest of the way out."

She smiled up at him with faux sweetness as he scowled at her from behind his sunglasses, giving her a push towards the elevator before finally letting go. The two super elites saluted the professor and departed down the steel corridor in the opposite direction. 

"Professor Sebastian,” she wasted no time in starting to plead her case. “I’m not sure what you meant just now, but I came here today because I really need to talk to you. It's about Houndoom."

“You and I do indeed have much to discuss." He chuckled softly as he pressed the elevator button, glancing over at her as the doors slid open. "But we will do so in the privacy of my office. Come along.”

He didn’t sound upset, at least. Still, she hesitated. 

“Ria. Don’t make me ask you twice.” 

She swallowed so hard as she joined him on the elevator that she was certain he heard it. The doors slid closed behind her and she got a chill. It felt like the temperature dropped ten degrees as they descended into the lab below.

Chapter Text

Attila cracked his left shoulder and groaned slightly as the two men walked down the corridor. They passed a grunt who stopped to salute them and ignored him completely. 

"Wrestling with that little twerp's got my shoulder all outta whack again." the larger man grumbled. It had been bothering him for a few weeks now, ever since that run in he'd had with a very spirited Tauros they brought back to the lab. It was just starting to feel better, too, right until his little scuffle with...what was her name? Hun had mentioned it, but he forgot.

"You'll be fine, Attila. Don't worry."

The reassuring words almost caught him off guard. Hun had always been sharp, and they had worked together for quite some time now, but his perceptiveness was still surprising at times. It wasn't the first time he had seemed to notice Attila's concerns about taking something permanent away from a fight. He'd never said it out loud, and they had never really discussed the reason why, but still, somehow, Hun knew. 

He adjusted his sunglasses, a sobering reminder that sometimes things don't, in fact, turn out just fine. Attila resolved that rather than worrying, it would be best to just not think about it at all. 

"Well, we don't have any orders right now." he changed the subject, stretching and placing his hands behind his head. "Whadda ya wanna do, Hun?" 

"I think you know what I want to do."

The blonde looked over with a charmingly crooked smile, peering over the top of his sunglasses with a mischievous look.

"Oh yeah?"

"Do you still have it?"

Attila's face fell as it became clear they were not on the same wavelength, though whether Hun simply missed the suggestion or chose to ignore it was hard to tell.

"Oh." He answered flatly. "That." 

Reaching in his pocket, the wrangler produced the glimmering blue and grey orb in question. He tossed it in the air playfully, but Hun, as fast on his feet as ever, snatched it away before he could catch it.

"Hey!"

"Be careful." The slighter man snapped. 

"Chill." Attila drawled in his rural Johtonian accent. "You're one to talk about bein' careful, sneaking behind the good doctor's back like this."

"We're not sneaking around." Hun objected, calm and composed once more. "Sebastian didn't ask for Steelixite, did he? He wanted Houndoominite, which we delivered. I just so happened to pick a little something up for myself along the way. Besides, there's nothing wrong with doing a little experimentation of our own. If anything, he should be proud that his influence on us has fostered such a desire for learning."

"Yeah, yeah." Attila muttered, rolling his eyes at his partner's sarcasm. "We're a real couple o' scientists. Whatever. That still doesn't explain why we gave him all the other megastones he didn't ask for."

"Those were a distraction," Hun explained, " and a nice little bonus that will hopefully keep him from getting too upset when he finds out what we've been up to."

"What you're up to." Attila quickly corrected him. "We're finally on his good side again. Maybe you liked shoveling slop onto peoples' lunch trays, but I'll snap my shades in half before I go back to cafeteria duty."

He physically cringed as he remembered the weeks following the Raikou fiasco. The professor had been in rare form then, though it seemed to Attila that he was more upset about his precious Crystal System being destroyed than the fact that the Raikou got away.

"Rest assured, Attila, if it doesn't work then he doesn't have to find out at all. We don't have to tell him everywhere we go and everything we do, especially considering how secretive he's been about this whole project in the first place."

"Speaking of secrets, since you brought it up, Steelix is pretty huge. Mega Steelix is probably even bigger. Where are we even gonna go and try this without anybody finding out?"

Hun smiled in a way that told his partner he wasn't going to like the answer before he even opened his mouth.

"The Black Hills, of course."

Attila stopped dead in his tracks.

"No way. Uh uh." He held up his arms in an X to emphasize his disagreement with the idea. "Ain't gonna happen." 

Hun stopped with him for only a second before he turned way from Attila and resumed walking again.

"You know," he said, and his tone had taken a change for the serious. The bitterness was subtle, but Attila picked up on it right away. " Most people in Team Rocket would kill for families that still wanted to have anything to do with them." 

The larger man paused. He knew this was a sore topic of conversation and it would be wise to really think about what he was going to say.

"Yeah, you're right about that, but even if I wanted to go... the less time we spend there, the better it is for them. You know that."   

"Yes, but we need the privacy and the space afforded by your uncle's ranch. If you can think of another place we can do this undetected, I'm open to suggestions."

Attila sighed. There were plenty of remote areas in Johto, but the whole region was just crawling with pokemon trainers these days. There was always the chance of an encounter, and the last thing they needed was some kid to come along and run their mouth about witnessing a mega evolution in Johto. News like that traveled fast, and the cops would be out in droves since it was outlawed in this region. If they were caught, which was a big 'if', but a risk nonetheless; having to explain to the professor why they needed bail money would be a nightmare. Worse than that, if Giovanni found out they had been arrested for running around Johto with a Mega Steelix, he'd likely shut down the professor's project before it even got off the ground. The Boss hated anything and everything to do with the police involvement, and the professor hated anything and everything to do with restricting his scientific freedom. Attila didn't want to be responsible for either. 

There was no other option. 

"Fine." He conceded, sounding none too happy about it and making no effort to hide that from Hun.

"We won't stay long, Attila. That I can promise."

Chapter Text

"I see." Sebastian condoled, tone sodden with pity as he poured himself another cup of tea. "So now you have no friends and no pokemon. Poor thing." 

"I guess, if you want to put it that way." Ria sighed into the brim of her own cup. His soft, monotonous manner of speaking was oddly reassuring, whether his sympathy was genuine or not. She took another sip as he smiled and leaned back in a chair that she couldn't help but notice was much more posh than the one she was sitting in. His office was really very nice. Plaques and degrees touting various achievements adorned the walls, plants thrived in almost every corner, and books actually appeared to have a place on the shelves behind him. To be fair, she hadn't spent a lot of time in the labs or the adjoining offices. She could only compare it to Professor Namba's, which on any given day looked like a monsoon had just come through. 

The tea itself was good. It tasted sweet, like some type of berry which Ria couldn't identify. She had never encountered anything that tasted quite like it, and could only guess it wasn't native to Johto, meaning this was probably not an inexpensive treat. Unfortunately, it was starting to go cold. Whereas the professor had time to already finish one cup, she had been so busy recounting the events that lead her to seek him out, she had barely touched her own. It felt wrong to waste it, she thought, rubbing her thumb against the porcelain handle, but it also felt wrong to sit there, calmly sipping tea while such an urgent problem loomed over her head. 

"Professor," she started, sitting the cup and saucer down on the mahogany executive desk that separated them. She straightened her posture and rested her hands on her knees, steeling herself against...well, she didn't really know. He had been nothing but polite so far. "...I know that when we last met, you said nothing that might happen after I left the lab is your problem."

Sebastian folded his hands, and she could swear his smile grew just the tiniest bit wider. 

"Yes, I did say that." 

"I also know I'm not really in any position to ask you for help, but that's what I came here to do today."

His smile never wavered and he remained silent and still, except for his eyebrows, which he raised ever so slightly. She was unable to tell what the meaning behind that was - he could have been offended by her impertinence or maybe even just laughing at her on the inside. She bowed her head to come across as respectfully as possible before she continued. 

" Please. I made a mistake, and probably embarrassed us both. I've tried to think of everything, and I mean everything that I could possibly do to fix it, but I came up with nothing. That's why, as an absolute last resort, I came here. I thought maybe you would have an answer, or at least be willing to help me think of one. I mean," she looked up, smiling sheepishly, "you are like the smartest person in Team Rocket, right? If anyone knows a way out of this, it would be you." 

The silence was peppered with her subdued, nervous laughter as she waited for his reply. He chuckled softly as well, though in a way that made her feel like he was not quite so amused.

"A valiant attempt to stroke my ego." he finally spoke. "And an audacious move on your part, coming here to speak with me today after you explicitly disregarded my advice."

Ria recoiled internally at his words. Advice was a funny way to put it, she thought, as he opened the top drawer to his immediate right. She watched with interest. Her uneasiness was quickly replaced with curiosity as the professor produced a black case. He slid it between them and ran his fingers along the velvet finish, toying with the latches for a moment before opening the lid. 

"That said," he continued, smiling down at whatever was inside, "I'm not entirely surprised to see you again. I would be lying if I said I didn't have you in mind when I requested this."

He turned the case slightly towards her, revealing its contents. Inside was a collection of small, circular items of every color imaginable. They almost looked like they could be gemstones, but they were too perfect. Were they smaller, she would have guessed they were marbles. Sebastian reached into the box and pulled out one stone in particular, holding it up to the light. It was a pale, translucent red sphere, about half the size of a pokeball, with a darker black and burgundy swirl in the middle that almost looked like a flame. It shone brilliantly even under the fluorescent overhead lights, and the beauty of it distracted her for one fleeting moment from everything else that was on her mind. 

"Do you know what this is?"

"I don't." 

Her eyes remained transfixed on it as he held it out to her and dropped it in her palm. It was heavy, smooth, and beautiful. 

"These are mega stones. This one is Houndoominite." 

"Houndoominite." She repeated, turning it over in her palm before looking up at him. Realization dawned as their eyes met. She didn't know why she was surprised. He'd made it clear during their first interaction that he didn't think much of her as a trainer. Ria looked down, feeling incredibly disappointed. "So, that means this whole time, you were counting on me to fail."

Sebastian's modest laughter, this time, seemed unquestionably authentic.

"I wouldn't be a very good scientist if I wasn't any good at predicting behavior, would I?" 

"I guess not." She muttered, handing the stone back to him. "But why do you have so many? It just seems like you could have your pick of test subjects here, so I don't understand why you'd want my Houndoom for this."

"I had, in fact, only requested the Houndoominite," he explained, "but as usual, Attila and Hun have far exceeded my expectations. They've brought me almost every type of megastone that's been discovered in the Kalos region to date. That will hopefully prove very useful to us later, but right now, I can't do much with them. A trainer's bond with their pokemon is apparently a key component in successful mega evolution, something of which Team Rocket is in very short supply. Part of the delay in getting this study off the ground, so to speak, has been the lack of a suitable candidate. Ineffectual as you are as a trainer, when I saw how much you care for your Houndoom-"

"Absolutely!" Ria interrupted him, unable to contain herself until the end of his explanation. She stood with a determined expression on her face. "I'll be your candidate! This is fantastic news, just tell me what I need to do, and I'll do it." 

"Unfortunately, it's no longer that simple." Sebastian responded flatly, not sharing her enthusiasm one bit. Her face fell as he continued. "You've complicated my plans a little bit. While I was expecting you to get yourself into some kind of trouble, I wasn't counting on the severity of your little roust with Domino. Houndoom burns don't heal, I'm sure I don't need to tell you that. I doubt she'll be interested in simply letting this go."

"But what does she have to do with anything? Aren't you a department head? You outrank her by, like," Ria parted her hands in an exaggerated fashion, "you know. A lot." 

"I am indeed, but I didn't get here with a complete disregard for workplace politics, you know. Giovanni is quite fond of her. There's a quote, I'm trying to recall..." He leaned back and stroked the sides of his goatee, twisting the tip in his fingers as he looked at the ceiling. "The friend of my enemy is no friend of mine? I believe that's right..." 

She sat, the uneasiness from before making an unwelcome return. 

"So, what are you saying, exactly?" 

"Forgive me for being blunt, but it's simply not worth it for me to get involved. You are the enemy, my dear. You are about to lose Houndoom after all, meaning neither you or Houndoom are of any use to me."

Ria tried to swallow but found herself unable. Her mouth had gone completely dry. In the span of mere minutes, he had coaxed her to the summit of the mountain of hope and abruptly cut the cord, letting her fall to her death.

"It's a shame, really." Sebastian sighed, "Had you been able to keep your head down for just a little bit longer, everything would have worked out perfectly." 

"Please don't say that." She hit the edge of his desk with both of her hands before she even realized she had done it, causing an audible clatter as the porcelain pieces rattled against each other. It was evident that he didn't care for the gesture, and she withered quickly under his disapproving stare. She looked down again, thankful that her bangs were long and covered most of her face when she did.

"We seem to have a little problem with outbursts, don't we?" 

"Professor," She fought to get the words past the tremble in her chest. A few droplets appeared on the wood finish of his desk and she halfheartedly wiped at it with her sleeve, trying and failing to hide her face from him at the same time. "Isn't there...something...you can do?"

Sebastian watched, silently and with clandestine delight, as she succumbed to her breakdown. All signs pointed to his intuition being correct. It was a little mean to take it this far, even he would admit, but it was better to be absolutely sure. In all the ways he had imagined she might react, none was so perfect as this. She was extremely attached to that pokemon. Not only did that mean she would likely be able to pull off a successful mega evolution; it also meant he had to say but one word, "Houndoom", and she would do anything he so desired.

The problem was that now, given her apparent penchant for making enemies left and right, there would be extra hoops for him to jump through in order to make this happen. There remained one question for him to answer. Did the benefit outweigh the risk?

"Now, now," he soothed. "It isn't that bad. It's just a pokemon. They'll give you another one." 

"He is not just a pokemon!" She glared and snapped at him now. For a split second, behind the trembling and the tears, there was a fire that had been absent during their first meeting. Seeming to catch herself, she looked away, and it was extinguished almost as quickly as it had appeared. In that moment, his decision was made.  "My father gave him to me. You wouldn't..."

"Understand?" He finished the sentence for her, suppressing an outright grin. "How endearingly cliche." 

He almost would have liked to see what she would do if he did turn her away. It would no doubt be entertaining, he thought, but that would benefit no one, least of all himself. He had invested far too much in the prep work for this study to let it fall by the wayside for his own personal entertainment. There was no telling when, if ever, he would get his hands on another viable pair of subjects.

Sebastian stood and joined her on the opposite side of the desk, grabbing a box of tissues from the shelf behind him as he did.

"You are truly desperate not to lose your companion, aren't you?" He asked. 

"...what?" She looked up at him tearily as he placed the box in front of her. "Yes."

"Are you willing to do absolutely anything I ask?" 

Ria hurriedly wiped her eyes, again opting to use her sleeve rather than the tissues he offered her. She eyed him hesitantly.

"...yes. I'll do anything." 

"Then make yourself presentable while I make a couple of calls. We'll need to get ahead of Domino, and you know appearances are very important to Giovanni."

Chapter Text

It was unusual for the professor to make a request like this with no explanation.

Tyson paused for a moment to collect himself before entering the conference room. He wasn’t exactly the nervous type, but regardless of how well he knew Sebastian at this point, an impromptu meeting with one of the department heads and Giovanni himself was enough to rattle anyone. His last two encounters with Giovanni had been groveling apologies for failures in the field, and he had hoped not to find himself toe to toe with their leader again until he had something positive to report. Sebastian, apparently, had other plans.

The professor had been very short with him on the phone, which made the whole thing seem even more ominous. Deciding the best course of action was to just rip off the band-aid, so to speak, he steeled himself against whatever awaited him on the other side, grasped the gold plated handles and opened the large, mahogany double doors.

He fought to hide his surprise as he took in the scene before him. Giovanni and Sebastian sat opposite each other. He had expected them, of course, but not the grunt that was sitting to Sebastian’s immediate left. Her name escaped him, but he recognized her face from the research base where they’d held the captive Suicune. Having replayed the day’s events over and over again in his mind, he remembered her well. He’d been talking to her just before those kids had set it free and all hell broke loose. Usually one to make fun of Attila for his ridiculous superstitions, he was beginning to wonder if perhaps there was something to that, after all. Maybe he had jinxed himself by telling her they’d caught it.

“Tyson.” Sebastian purred his name in a way that sharply contrasted with his earlier demeanor, bringing him back to the present and forcing him to refocus on the matter at hand. “I appreciate you joining us on such short notice.”

“I apologize for the delay in getting here.” He replied as he approached the empty chair beside the girl. Unpleasant memories of their last encounter aside, it was a bit of a relief to see her there. A grunt brought face to face with the boss like this was almost never a good thing, but her presence meant that Tyson himself was less likely to be the focal point of this meeting. Unless, of course, they were going to pin some of the responsibility for whatever had happened on him. He was her commanding officer at the time, so it was always a possibility. Thinking back, he was pretty sure he’d given her an easy assignment loading and unloading equipment that day. It was hard to imagine how she could have possibly screwed that up. 

He stopped to give a brief and respectful bow to Giovanni before taking his seat, but his existence was barely acknowledged. Behind a dismissive wave of his hand, the other man was, instead, very involved with scrolling through whatever was on the tablet in front of him. 

That suited Tyson just fine.

“Sebastian.” Giovanni’s tone matched the intensity behind his eyes as he put down the device and placed a hand on Persian’s head. “I hope you don’t take me for a fool.” 

Many would have withered under a statement like that from the boss himself, and Tyson admired Sebastian for not doing so. Unlike the girl who sat between them, who visibly tensed, the professor didn’t even flinch. 

“Now, Giovanni,” he addressed him as if talking to an old friend. “Why would you say a thing like that?”

“You stated in your report that this Houndoom was unremarkable, and that this girl was too ineffectual of a trainer to be considered a real threat to anyone but herself.” Giovanni seemed to be reading directly from the tablet now. Tyson glanced at the subject in question out of the corner of his eye. In another setting, he might have laughed at the way she instantly paled at the professor’s blunt criticism. He returned his attention to the Boss, who folded his hands and leaned back, to Persian’s apparent annoyance. It nudged him in an obvious plea for attention and he brushed it off before he continued. “Now you claim that you need them both for a research study. Did something change, or did you perhaps make a mistake?”  

“Well, that is the problem with a head injury.” The professor replied, not only unphased by the accusation, but seeming to own it. “It can take a bit of time to return to one’s usual level of mental clarity. I was mere days out of a hospital stay for a concussion when I wrote that report. The error was, admittedly, my own fault. I shouldn’t have returned to work before I was ready, but that doesn’t change the facts. Delayed as my realization may have been, the bond that I have identified between these two would undoubtedly help to further my ongoing study of mega-evolution.”

“I was told when you first mentioned this to me that you aimed to accomplish mega-evolution on command, without the need for stones or a strong bond between pokémon and trainer.”

“That is our ultimate goal, and as I have also mentioned to you time and again, we must fully understand something to overcome it.”

Tyson’s eyes went back and forth between the boss and the professor as they parried with words. Giovanni seemed to be testing him, but also seemed to be buying the answers, at least. He looked once more at the girl seated between himself and Sebastian, able to study her without awkwardness since she seemed to be preoccupied with the conversation between the other two men. So far, this discussion seemed to have everything to do with her and nothing to do with him. He knew there had to be some purpose for his presence in this meeting, but he had yet to see it. 

“While I can accept that your injury may have impaired your judgement,” Giovanni answered after a brief pause, “ I am still having trouble with your proposal. You’re aware that this type of closeness is exactly the type of thing I don’t like to see within our ranks. Pokemon exist to serve humans. I can’t have everyone running around putting the welfare of their pokemon ahead of our goals, nor can I allow our members to be armed with extremely powerful pokemon that are more loyal to their trainers than they are to Team Rocket. This is a business, and part of my duty as a business owner is to mitigate risk. That is why I’m hesitant to agree to something that accepts and promotes these perilous ideals, temporary though it may be.”

“Understandably so.” Sebastian soothed, in apparent concurrence with Giovanni’s concerns. “Were this just any agent, I would agree with you that the risks outweigh the benefits. However, I would be remiss if I did not remind you that during our failed attempt to capture Suicune, had this courageous young woman not stepped in when she did, our good friend Professor Namba would be running your research department right now. It is no exaggeration to say that I owe her my life, and her heroic actions in the field clearly indicate that she has only the best interests of Team Rocket at heart. I, for one, don’t believe that we should reward such an act of valor with suspicion and doubt.”

Even Tyson was surprised by how good that sounded. He knew Sebastian had been injured after the Suicune mission, but he hadn’t heard anything about the heroism of anyone there. He looked at the agent in question, wondering for a moment if perhaps he had misjudged her on appearance alone. The surprised look on her face told him that, contrary to Sebastian’s testimony, it probably was an exaggeration after all. The professor was, at the very least, embellishing a little bit, and she wasn’t doing a very good job at hiding that fact. Typical of a grunt. Tyson tapped her with his knee under the table to get her attention, and she adjusted her posture and expression just in time for Giovanni to turn his attention from the professor onto her. He studied her carefully, which seemed to make her nervous.

“You.” Giovanni addressed her directly, and she became so rigid she reminded Tyson of the tail feather on Attila’s Skarmory. “ I’m sure you’re aware that just as I received this request from Professor Sebastian, I also received a report that your Houndoom seriously injured one of my elite officers. What do you have to say about that?”

She started to say something, but from their side of the table Tyson could see the professor signal to her with his hand out of Giovanni’s line of sight. A single wag of his index finger, the meaning of which was unquestionably shut up and let me do the talking.

“We have already addressed that.” Sebastian answered for her. “Rianne is of course deeply sorry for what has occurred, and will be reaching out to Domino with a personal apology, as will I. We are also taking steps to ensure that she has the proper training to prevent something like this from ever happening again. Isn’t that right, Tyson?”

There it was. The reason for his being here. Sebastian looked over at him and their eyes met. Behind his plastic smile and forced politesse, there was a warning in the professor’s gaze that told Tyson there was only one correct answer to this question.

“Right.”

“Tyson has agreed, pending your approval, of course, to take on the role of Rianne’s mentor. He will be personally responsible for managing her development into a highly skilled and capable elite officer.”

Tyson looked at her again, managing somehow to keep a straight face but internally incredulous at the professor’s suggestion. The pieces of the information he had gathered in this meeting somehow didn’t even fit together to make a cohesive story. One moment he was watching her struggle to unload a pallet of water from one of their supply trucks, and the next time he saw her…acts of valor? A Houndoom? Something about Domino being injured? Then there was Tyson’s apparent role in this scenario, which he was still unable to quite wrap his head around. She smiled up at him awkwardly, in a manner most unfitting of a newly promoted Team Rocket elite.

He wondered if Sebastian was still concussed.

Giovanni’s eyes were on Tyson now, then the girl, then back to Tyson once more. It was an agonizing twice over that seemed to last for an eternity before he finally addressed the professor once again.

“You have a tremendous amount of faith in your own intentions, as well as the both of them, it seems.” 

“They have my every confidence. I only need your support.” 

Giovanni leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs. An audible purr filled the room as he began to massage Persian behind the ears once more.

“There will be conditions, Sebastian. Stay behind for a moment so that we may discuss. You two are dismissed.”

“Take her to the lab, Tyson, and wait for me in my office, please.” The professor added. 

“Yes, sir.” Tyson nodded. He and the girl - Rianne, he reminded himself - saluted in tandem before leaving the room. 

“Don’t touch anything.” Tyson snapped as he saw her reaching for the bookshelf. They were the only words that had passed between them since they arrived at the professor’s office. She quickly retracted both hands behind her back and he relaxed again, trying to get comfortable in a chair that was much too small for him. “He gets annoyed when things are out of order.” 

“Yes, sir. Sorry.” 

“Knock that off, too. You don’t have to call me sir anymore. Apparently.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t know about any of this.” She said quietly, lowering herself into the professor’s chair. 

“Ya think?” He barked, causing her to tense in a way that almost made him feel bad. He was on edge, certainly, because if there was one thing Tyson hated, it was a surprise. Especially a potentially career-altering one. He closed his eyes and reminded himself that regardless of whatever game Sebastian was playing right now, she was still just a grunt, and this wasn’t her idea. “So what happened out there, anyway? In the field, with you and the professor. And what’s all this about your Houndoom?”

She blinked at him, looking absolutely astounded.

“You mean…you haven’t seen the video?” 

“What video?”

The doorknob turned, grabbing their attention and effectively ending their exchange for the moment. Tyson glanced at the clock on the wall, surprised to see the professor back so soon. Whatever Giovanni had wanted to discuss must have been resolved fairly easily. Sebastian narrowed his eyes and turned his head slightly at the sight of the girl in his chair, which was enough to get her to vacate it quickly and rejoin Tyson on the other side of the desk.

“You’re dismissed for the day, Ria.” He said to her, staying by the door and holding it open. “You have a lot to do. You’ll be contacted by Wendy in HR and she’ll walk you through it.”

She looked at Tyson, wide-eyed and doubting, then back at the professor, seeming to have trouble processing what was going on.

“So…he said yes?” She asked hesitantly as she stood, approaching the door. “What were the conditions?”

“You needn’t worry about those.” Sebastian smiled at her politely. “It’s all taken care of. Now, go on. You have a big day tomorrow.”

“Professor.” She gave an exaggerated bow. “Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me, and to Houndoom. I promise we’ll both work very hard.” 

Tyson could hear the waiver in her voice, which furthered his curiosity. It might not be today, but he was going to get the full story on this, if it was the last thing he did. He wondered if Attila and Hun would know more.

“I’ll hold you to it, then.” 

She saluted Sebastian and she started to leave, then did a double take and saluted Tyson as well.

“You, too, Tyson. Thank you.” 

“Yeah, whatever.” He looked away, feeling his cheeks burning just a little. She was so polite, even for a grunt, it was embarrassing. “Get outta here.” 

When she had disappeared and the door was shut behind her, Tyson turned around in his chair to face the professor. The older man smirked.

“Surprise.” 

“Professor, I have to express my concerns.” 

“Wasting no time, are we?” Sebastian asked, utterly deadpan as he strode over to his desk, taking his seat.

“I know I’m a little bit out of the loop, here, but she’s just a grunt. She’ll be skipping ranks to work with us. She can barely even unload a supply truck, and you want to just throw her in with the elites? Not to mention how much this is going to piss off the other officers. Respectfully, sir, you’re putting a lot at risk here. This isn’t going to be an easy task.” 

“No, it won’t be,” Sebastian smiled and folded his hands atop his desk, “but in light of recent events, I would say that you owe this to me, wouldn’t you?” 

Tyson balked at the question. It was hard to argue that point. 

“This has been a difficult year for the research department.” Sebastian continued, sounding more tired than before. Whatever had transpired between the time they left him alone with Giovanni and now, it seemed that even his famous forbearance was reaching its limit. “I am on rather thin ice at the moment, as are you, Attila, Hun…Namba…and anyone else that’s contributed to the department hemorrhaging money this quarter.”

“Do you mind, then, if I ask what Giovanni’s conditions were?”

The professor sighed, removing his glasses for just a moment and rubbing between his eyes, almost as if the thought of it alone gave him a headache. 

“Domino suffered a Houndoom burn. This is easily treatable, but she will need medication for the rest of her life to nullify the everlasting pain. One hundred percent of her medical expenses will come directly from the research department’s budget.”

“Arceus.” The larger man muttered, and they were silent for a moment. “…why don’t you just take it out of what’s-her-name’s pay, since the department is losing so much money already?” 

“The resentment that would come from that wouldn’t do me any good. This new project is the most promising endeavor I have to bring to the table right now, and that Houndoom in particular is key to its success. As far as its trainer is concerned, I’m not expecting you to make a top agent out of her overnight, or at all. What I do need from you are three things.” Sebastian explained, beginning to count off on his fingers as he continued. “Keep her out of trouble, keep her out of everyone else’s way, and above all else, keep her happy until I can get what I need to move this project on to the next stage.”

The elite frowned slightly as he extrapolated the meaning of what the professor had laid out for him.

“You’re not planning on this being a permanent arrangement, are you?”

“Take it to mean what you will. Just know that I need for this to go well, Tyson. If it doesn’t, Giovanni is going to make drastic cuts to the research budget, which means I will have to start making cuts. I don’t think I have to tell you what that means for you and your silver-vested associates.”

Tyson swallowed, realizing his throat had gone completely dry. 

“Understood.” 

Chapter Text

Even from the other side of their makeshift battle field, he had a powerful presence. If people had abilities like pokemon did, Ria thought to herself, Tyson’s would be Intimidate.

Her fingers brushed the tip of her new, silver uniform jacket as she reached for Houndoom’s pokeball. Though she now matched him in attire, she knew she was still leagues below him in skill. She thought about how quickly and coordinated his pokemon had moved when she saw him battling Lance that day in Ecruteak City. 

The last two weeks had been a blur. She knew the day would eventually come where she had to hold up her end of the contract she’d entered with the research department, but it had been easy to forget in the chaos of acclimating to her new role and the lifestyle changes that came along with it. 

“Ready?” Tyson’s loud, booming voice echoed in the helicopter bay as he freed Fearow from its ball. Even though she’d pretty much been at his side ever since their meeting with Giovanni, she didn’t think she would ever get used to just how well his voice carried. He towered, arms crossed, like a mountain in the distance as he waited for her response. The large, tawny bird pokemon he had summoned landed gracefully beside him and began preening itself, seemingly unconcerned with the battle that was about to take place. Ria swallowed hard. The bracelet on her wrist that held the keystone the professor had given her suddenly felt very heavy as she detached Houndoom’s pokeball from her belt. 

“I’m not even really sure how to use this,” she called out, looking overhead to the mezzanine where the professor was standing, safely out of the way. 

There was a brief but unpleasant squall as he pressed the button on the megaphone in his hand. 

“The energy corresponds with the mega stone attached to Houndoom’s collar, allowing it to change form at your command.” He explained. “That’s as specific as I can be at this stage of the study. Just do your best. We will hopefully understand more about the mechanics as it relates to Houndoom’s biology after your battle today.” 

“Ok.” She took a deep breath, facing Tyson once more. “I’m ready.” 

“Whoa, hold your Ponyta for just a second!!”

The sound of Attila’s voice was jarring. Ria tensed as she followed the sound of it and saw him approaching with Hun. It was surprising to see them, to say the least. When she had expressed being nervous about battling in front of another crowd of people, the professor had assured her that there would be no spectators other than himself. This was to be for data collection only. That was why she and Tyson had been permitted to battle in the privacy of the helicopter bay that was attached to the lab.

“You weren’t gonna start without us, were ya?” The blonde threw up his hands in mock offense. Ria glanced at Tyson, who rolled his eyes and shook his head, seeming more annoyed at their presence than anything. Her eyes jumped from him up to the professor who, though more polite in his presentation, appeared equally unimpressed.

“I’ve been trying to contact you for days.” He spoke flatly into the amplifier.

“Our apologies, professor.” Hun answered this time as the duo flanked Ria on either side. “We were in an area with little to no service.” 

“If you need to speak with me, wait for me in my office. I’m busy at the moment.”

“It can’t wait. This is what we wanted to talk to you about, actually.” Hun turned to look at Ria before continuing. “I know that our little friend here was set to battle Tyson as part of your research study, but I’d like to battle her myself.”

“Y…you would?” She stuttered, taken aback. The request was as shocking as it was sudden, and it seemed to her that she wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Tyson and Sebastian exchanged glances before the scientist raised the megaphone once again. 

“Why?”

“Tyson’s had the little squirt all to himself for weeks now.” Attila placed her in a loose headlock and rustled her hair as Ria squirmed, trying to pull away to no avail. “That just ain’t fair.”

“Attila’s right,” his partner chimed in. “We are cohorts now, after all. It’s only right that we should also get the opportunity to know her better.”

Sebastian paused, seeming to consider the options carefully before answering.

“You’ll have a type advantage, so this should be an easy victory for you.” He addressed Ria directly. “Are you alright with the change?” 

She hesitated. She wasn’t, not really, but she couldn’t think of a sensible reason to decline, especially given the elemental benefit she would have over Hun. Although she wasn’t typically competitive, this seemed like a battle that she was supposed to win for the study, and she really needed the professor’s study to go well. It was the only thing keeping her and Houndoom together at the moment. It was a gamble whether it would even listen to her these days, so she figured she could use all the help she could get. 

“I’m ok with it.” 

“Atta girl-“ Attila vigorously rubbed his knuckles against her head one more time before finally letting her go. She squinted at him as she combed her fingers through her hair to undo the damage he had done to her appearance.

As Tyson swapped places with Attila and Hun, Ria went ahead and called Houndoom out of it’s ball. It immediately lowered its haunches to the ground and began to scratch at its neck, still unaccustomed to the collar it now wore containing the Houndoominite. 

“Do you think I’m making a mistake?” She asked quietly, looking over her shoulder as Tyson took his place behind her. He narrowed his eyes just slightly as he studied his two associates on the other side of the underground hangar. 

“Worst that could happen is Attila might try to jump in.” He answered. “If he does, I’ll be here with Fearow for backup.”

She relaxed a little when he said that. In spite of his imposing stature and his sometimes abrasive manner of speaking, Tyson had actually been great at helping her adjust to her new role. She still had a long way to go, but he seemed to care a great deal about his own job and it helped, at least, to know that he was there for support. She nodded at him and turned around again.

“I’m ready. Houndoom, let’s go.”

It stood and lowered its head, glowering at Hun as he wordlessly called Steelix out of its pokeball. The giant steel snake released a low, metallic sounding rumble from it’s jaw as it materialized in front of its trainer, extending its body until it loomed menacingly above them all. Since her transition, she’d learned that Hun’s pokemon had a reputation for being particularly violent, and she tried not to think about the things she’d heard as she reveled at how large and frightening it really was. 

“Excellent.” The professor declared from his position above. “Let us begin.”

“I’m in a good mood,” Hun called out, “so I’ll let you have the first move.”

“Alright Houndoom.” She said. “Let’s give this a try. It’s time to mega-evolve and use Fire Blast on Steelix!” 

As Ria touched the keystone attached to the bracelet on her left wrist, to her surprise both it and Houndoom started to glow. Her eyes widened as it changed shape in front of her. Its horns lengthened and thickened, curving outward and pointing up toward the sky. The exobones on its back and around its neck grew and multiplied, forming a much larger and intimidating breastplate. It’s pointed tail forked at the tip, and its claws almost doubled in size, changing to a blood red color. The pride she felt over the successful transformation was short-lived, lasting only a moment before Houndoom started shaking its head as if it were struggling with something. It’s body shuddered and it released a guttural growl in a low timbre she had never heard before. It sent a chill throughout her body.

“Houndoom?” Her voice cracked as she called for it.

It jerked its head toward her, wild-eyed with its tongue lolling out of the side of it’s mouth, seeing her but at the same time somehow looking straight through her with that vacant, ghoulish stare. It looked absolutely monstrous. She was frozen in it’s gaze and heard Tyson mutter an expletive from behind her before Houndoom abruptly turned and started to charge at Steelix, fangs bared. 

“Houndoom, no, I said to use Fire Blast!” 

“Steelix, stop it with Breaking Swipe!”

The steel pokemon maneuvered its body quicker than Ria would have expected something of that size to move, bringing its tail around in a whiplike motion and hitting Houndoom dead center in the chest plate, knocking it off its feet. It was sent tumbling backward and came to rest a few feet back. She could see its legs shaking as it pulled itself to its feet, heaving and snarling and seemingly ready to charge again, its thirst for battle seemingly unaffected by the powerful blow its body had just absorbed.

“Now, Steelix,” Hun pulled back his sleeve, smiling genuinely for the first time since she’d met him, revealing a bracelet identical to the one that held Ria’s keystone. “Mega evolve and use Giga Impact.”

Ria tensed, unsure if she had heard him correctly. Her doubt was quickly erased as Steelix began to glow and change form just as Houndoom had earlier. It nearly doubled in size, dwarfing them all and making the spacious helicopter bay seem smaller than it really was. Its eyes turned blue and parts of his body appeared to have crystallized, pieces floating in the air around it. Houndoom rushed at Steelix the moment the transformation was complete.

“Houndoom, stop!!!” Ria cried, to no avail. 

Steelix, moving much slower this time, raised its tail high. Houndoom leapt for it, clambering on one of the protrusions from the larger Pokemon’s body and attempting a futile Crunch attack against the subterranean serpent’s diamond-like exterior. Steelix brought its tail town with force, and Houndoom with it, slamming the canine into the ground below.

“Don’t be an idiot!” Tyson snapped, grabbing Ria by the collar of her uniform as she rushed to Houndoom’s aid, but she was stopped only for a moment, easily slipping out of her silver jacket. She was fumbling for the unconscious Houndoom’s pokeball as she positioned herself between it’s body and Steelix, unable to get ahold of it fast enough to stop the match.

“Houndoom can’t do anymore.” She said shakily as she watched Hun come closer.

“And after only two moves. Well, then,” Hun’s tone was playfully malicious as he held up one hand, signaling Steelix to hold off on any further attacks. He came to a standstill where Ria knelt beside her fainted canine. “I guess you’d better surrender.”

“Okay.” She said tearily. “I give up. You win.” 

“Great job, Steelix.” He congratulated the victor as he recalled it into its pokeball. When it had disappeared completely Ria finally relaxed, placing a hand on Houndoom’s heavily wounded shoulder as she touched the moon ball to its fur, causing it to disappear from the battlefield as well. 

“Hun.”

Sebastian, by now, had rejoined them on the first level, and they both turned to look at him as he approached. If he were surprised, upset, or at all affected by what had just occurred, there was no real trace of any of that on his features. The only noticeable change in his demeanor was that his usually present smile was completely absent.

“Professor.”

“You really should have told me about this.” 

Chapter Text

“You knew, and you didn’t think you should SAY something?!” Tyson roared at Attila, balling his fist and slamming it against the front of the drink machine to emphasize his point. The light flickered under the impact. Ria rested her head in her hands as she sat on the bench and stared at the pale blue hallway tile between her feet. There was no point in trying to drown them out, but there was no point in trying to focus on their conversation, either. Her only concern right now was whether Houndoom would be okay. She closed her eyes, as if that would somehow protect her from the memory of the deeply unsettling way it had looked at her after it changed form.

Only two moves. 

Hun’s voice was clear in her mind as she replayed their short-lived battle in her head. She couldn’t believe she had thought, maybe placing a little too much faith in what the professor said about this being an easy victory for her, that she and Houndoom could actually stand a chance against a duo like Hun and Steelix. Then again, Houndoom wasn’t really the problem. It was her. Hun, Attila, Tyson…she was nothing like them at all. 

“I don’t owe you crap.” Attila said nonchalantly, popping the top on the canned coffee that had fallen out of the machine when Tyson hammered into it. “Hun’s my partner. Does the word camaraderie mean anything to you?”

“Maybe there’d be a healthy sense of camaraderie between ALL of us, if YOU two didn’t have your HEADS stuck so far up each other’s BUTTS!” 

“Caaaalm doooown.” The blonde seated himself beside Ria, motioning toward her with his thumb as he did. “She ain’t even upset, so what’s your problem?”

“I am upset.” Ria lifted her head, glaring at him. “I had no idea you guys had a Mega Steelix. How is that even fair?” 

“Well, you had a mega pokemon, too.” Attila smiled against the edge of the can before taking a sip. “And you had a type advantage. But I guess that’s only fair if you don’t suck.”

He went to tousle her hair, a gesture Ria was all too familiar with at this point, and she knocked his hand away with an audible slap before scooching away from him.

“Uh oh. You bite like a little Ekans when you get mad, huh?” 

She ignored Attila’s unbothered chortling and looked up at Tyson.

“Why didn’t he tell me that Houndoom would act that way?”

“The professor? Yeah, I don’t think he knew.” Tyson answered, rubbing the back of his neck as she had noticed, by now, that he often did when deep in thought. “I mean, Steelix didn’t.” 

“Steelix doesn’t have a measly little grunt for a trainer.” 

“Shut UP Attila!” Ria and Tyson snapped in unison. 

“Tch.” The blonde scoffed, crossing his legs. “Listen, you might be wearin’ that silver jacket, but that’s not what you really are. It’s like crossplay or something.”

“I think you mean cosplay.” Tyson muttered, covering his face with his palm in obvious secondhand embarrassment. 

“Yeah, whatever, you would know. Point is,” Attila returned his attention to Ria, “there’s people here that care about our mission and their career so much that they would kill for a chance to wear this uniform. And there’s people that have been through a lot worse for the right to wear it. You just getting one handed to you because your little doggy friend meets some kinda special conditions isn’t gonna sit right with a lot of people.” 

She glanced at Tyson, who looked away. It seemed that, even if he wasn’t tactless enough to come right out and say it, he felt there was at least some truth to Attila’s statement. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what he meant by “a lot worse", either. 

“None of this was my idea. I mean, I did ask for help, sure, but I didn’t ask for this.” She stood up, tugging on the sides of her uniform jacket for a second to emphasize her point. It fell back to her sides as she crossed her arms and faced away from them. “I’ve done nothing but listen to what other people have told me to do since Houndoom evolved, and-“ she paused for a second as she remembered her fight with Butch and Cassidy. She hadn’t spoken to either of them since. “…all that ever does is get me in more trouble. Maybe that pisses you off, that I don’t care about anything else,” she glanced over her shoulder at Attila, “but just like you're loyal to yours, Houndoom is my partner, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure we stay together.” 

“A heartwarming sentiment.” The three of them turned toward the sound of Sebastian’s voice, realizing the double doors had opened and he had emerged, with Hun close behind. “I suppose now is the perfect time to tell you that Houndoom will be just fine.” 

He held out Houndoom’s pokeball and Ria, relieved, rushed over to take it, glancing warily at the silver haired officer peering over the professor’s shoulder as she did. She bristled and quickly averted her eyes as Hun smiled slyly in her direction. Sebastian had ordered him to follow so they could “have a word” as he worked to revive Houndoom, but whatever those words had been, they seemed to have had little effect on Hun at all. The professor, too, seemed to have already forgiven the offense, which was almost infuriating to Ria despite her gratitude for the improvement in Houndoom’s condition.

She willed herself not to think about it too hard and focus on the most important thing.

“It’s really going to be okay?” She asked.

“Its injuries were quite serious,” the professor explained, “but not enough that we need to keep it here for observation.”

Ria recoiled internally at the thought. Although Team Rocket possessed a lot of the same healing equipment, the lab was not a pokemon center. “Observation” while it was there could mean any number of things at the whim of the scientists, and although Professor Sebastian would have had a vested interest in protecting the welfare of his research subject, she still felt better that she was able to take it with her.

“ It’s very fortunate that Houndoom has so much extra bone protecting its core in mega form.” he continued. “That being said, it needs to heal, and it will do that best inside of its pokeball. Don’t disturb it for a few days, at least.”

“Oh.” Ria’s shoulders fell. “I just…I wanted to see it.”

“If you must,” he answered, “you can check on it later. But don’t overdo it.” 

“So, how exactly am I supposed to train her if Houndoom is out of commission?” Tyson joined her in front of the professor, towering over them both in a way that she was sure probably wasn’t meant to be as intimidating as it was.

“Hm, I thought of that, too.” Sebastian smiled at the question, producing a black and white pokeball with the familiar red R emblazoned on the front. He turned back to Ria. “You were eventually going to be given a second pokemon. I had planned for that to happen when you were more well adjusted to your new role, but plans change, don’t they?” 

Ria tensed, speechless. Another pokemon was, if she was being honest with herself, a huge deal. She’d never had another besides Houndoom, had barely even considered it. It wasn’t that she didn’t like them, she had just never really been interested in having a second, and as of late her lack of confidence as a trainer pushed the thought even further into the back off her mind. Houndoom, as deeply as she cared for it, was hard enough to manage as it was. She could only imagine what it might be like to have two that wouldn’t listen to her, and paled as she imagined Houndoom having a twin. But no, she decided, it was incredibly unlikely that they would give her another Houndoom after all the trouble she’d had with the first. She barely had time to even wonder what the new pokemon could be before the professor released it with no further warning. 

The first thing she noticed were its pronounced antennae, which were already feeling around as it materialized in front of them. It was obviously a bug type, and seemed rather small, compared to Houndoom. Its metallic looking exoskeleton gleamed under the fluorescent lights of the laboratory, red eyes focusing on Ria almost immediately. It snapped its mandibles a few times in what she hoped was some kind of greeting, but could just have easily been a threat. She reflexively took a step back, bumping into Tyson for a moment as she did.

“Uh...what is it?”

“This is Durant.” Sebastian introduced it as casually as he might have introduced a long time friend at brunch. Attila, by now, had lost his battle against the whimpering and wheezing he had been trying so hard to stifle since the metal ant had appeared in front of them. Ria heard Tyson sigh an expletive behind her as the other man burst out laughing.

“Is there something wrong with it?” She asked flatly, assuming there had to be another reason for Attila’s reaction. It looked a bit peculiar, and and it certainly wasn’t a pokemon she would have ever chosen for herself, but Durant’s appearance alone couldn’t be that funny.

“Well, no, unless you count the fact that it isn’t especially popular.” Sebastian answered against the backdrop of Attila’s disruptive cackling. “We’ve had it in the lab for ages. I’m sure Tyson has already gone over this with you, but I’ll explain it anyway. One of your many responsibilities as a member of the Profit Expansion Division is running defense for us, so to speak, to protect our research and our interests while we’re in the field. We do favor steel-type pokemon for this task because of their high defensive capabilities. They have consistently proved invaluable in protecting our assets, and that is why every officer of your rank is issued one. This one, for some reason, always gets overlooked.” 

“For some reason.” Attila wheezed, pushing his sunglasses up on top of his head to wipe away a tear. 

“Oh, it suits you, Ria.” Hun spoke, seeming to find the same delight in the situation as his partner, but doing a far better job of maintaining his composure. 

“You know, if you have a problem with me,” she snapped, “you can just say it.”

“Oh, it’s nothing personal.” Hun took two steps closer, now shoulder to shoulder with the professor as he stood in front of Ria. Whereas he had seemed mostly indifferent to her during their first meeting, if not a little annoyed, there was a new animosity smoldering beneath the surface of his cool gaze. As they stared each other down, she was instantly reminded of what Attila said earlier, about her circumstances not sitting right with some people. “You just don’t belong here. As long as you understand that, then there is no problem.”

“Go wait in my office.” Sebastian, finally, seemed to have had enough of their antics, addressing Hun before Ria could respond. “We’ll continue our conversation when I’m done here. Both of you.” 

The scientist cut his eyes toward Attila, and though his tone was mildly annoyed at best, it seemed to be enough to quickly sober the other man’s sense of humor. Their pomp and arrogant demeanor didn’t abate, but Attila and Hun did then leave without another word.

“As I was saying,” the professor redirected the conversation with ease, recalling her newest team member into its capsule without pause, “you shouldn’t underestimate Durant. High speed and high defense are a rare combination in the pokemon world. In addition to that, it’s not native to Johto, so the majority of the trainers you may encounter here are not going to know how to respond to it. You can easily use that to your advantage. You’ll see what I mean, I’m sure.” 

“…okay.” She said hesitantly as he handed her the pokeball, surprised at the level of thought he seemed to have put into the selection. 

“Now, if you’ll excuse me-”

“Wait, Professor Sebastian.” 

He paused mid-stride as she grabbed the sleeve of his labcoat. Tyson made a troubled sounding noise before seemingly catching himself, as though she had committed some great faux pas.

“Go on. I’m listening.”

If he was offended by the gesture, he hid it well. 

“When we were battling before…” Ria faltered for a moment, struggling to find the right way to ask him what she needed to know. “When it changed into mega form, the way it looked at me, I just…did this…hurt Houndoom?”

“Hmm.” Sebastian didn’t answer right away, responding only with that little noise he often made that suggested he knew more than he was willing to share. He clasped his hands behind his back and studied her for a moment.

“If I say yes,” at last he spoke, seeming to be choosing his words carefully. “Are you going to back out now, knowing that will be the end of your relationship with Houndoom?”

Ria hesitated, feeling something lurch within her chest as she considered what that meant. Something about the way he had avoided giving an outright answer was an answer in itself. She looked at Tyson, who seemed visibly uncomfortable when their eyes met, searching for an answer that wasn't there. He shook his head just slightly, and she wasn’t sure if that meant that he couldn’t answer for her, or that maybe she shouldn’t answer Sebastian’s question at all. 

She looked back at the professor, whose expectant gaze remained unchanged as he waited for her decision. If the answer was yes…that would be a terrible thing. On the one hand, she could end Houndoom’s suffering by abandoning it in the process. On the other, she could allow its suffering to continue to satisfy her own selfish desire that they stay together. It was as if, with that one question, he had opened a door to reveal two very ugly versions of herself that Ria didn't want to see.

“…you know that I don’t want to lose Houndoom.”

“Well, if the answer changes nothing,” he smiled, “then the question is not worth answering, is it?”

Chapter Text

Professor Namba was a troll. He was a maniacal, egotistical, deranged, hateful little gremlin. Despite all of that, Domino admitted to herself with a smile as she ran her hands over the cool, silver exterior of Professor Sebastian's laptop; he was an ally worth having at times like these. The wild-haired, short-tempered little man that hovered over her shoulder had a special brand of conniving brilliance that made him an absolute godsend to anyone with questionable objectives and the bribe money to achieve them with.

"You've really outdone yourself this time, professor." She commended eagerly as she opened the computer and hit the power button to awaken it from sleep. Her excitement quickly faded as they were bathed in the glow of the lock screen demanding the password in exchange for access to its coveted contents. The blonde's smile disappeared and her shoulders slumped as she scolded herself internally for not realizing this was too good to be true.

"Seriously?" She huffed, crossing her arms. "What good is his laptop to me if I can't even see what's on it? You called me all the way down here to your stupid lab for this? Thanks for wasting my time."

"Don't be dim." Namba reached over her and began pecking out a seemingly very long combination of letters and numbers. "Obviously I have the- excuse you, do you mind?"

The professor quickly turned the laptop away from her when he noticed her attention was focused on the keyboard.

"What's your problem?" She quipped. "You're already letting me look through his files." 

"You're paying for a few minutes of top secret access. If you want his password, that's going to cost you extra," he barked. Domino scowled and averted her eyes, crossing her arms as she waited for him to finish. Though she despised being snapped at, it wasn't worth getting him all riled up before she found what she was looking for. If the information wasn't any good, then she would simply run straight to Sebastian and tell him that Namba had access to his computer. Even if the feisty little orange haired man told him she'd tried to buy her way into his files, he'd never believe a word out of Namba's mouth. They were almost too easy to play against each other sometimes.

"There. Have a look." 

The doctor's abrasive rebuke was quickly forgotten as Domino returned her attention to the screen, greeted with the very last thing Sebastian had been working on. It was the audit she had requested for that...

"Houndoom." She muttered, narrowing her violet eyes as she scanned the information. Her suspicions had been correct. He was definitely involved. She knew it the moment she saw that irritating girl strutting around in one of those silver research department uniforms. But why? It was surprising to her that the head scientist would be handling something like this. Audits were conducted all the time for compliance. Even with their recent personnel shortage, that type of procedural monotony seemed way beneath someone like him, but the contents of his laptop didn't lie. 

Domino absentmindedly twirled one of her blonde pigtails with around her left index finger as she pondered the information in front of her.

The more she scrutinized Houndoom's bio and stats, the more confusing it was. The very same pokemon that had defeated her Roserade, the one that wouldn't listen to its trainer and left her with this unsightly, painful burn she would carry for the rest of her life...was completely and totally average. There was nothing at all that would explain how or why Professor Sebastian, of all people, had invited himself into this situation and brought her plans to get rid of this mutt to an abrupt and annoying halt.

"I don't get it." She wondered aloud.

"Neither did I, but then I took a closer look. " Namba gloated from behind her. "What might be of interest to you is this. Hit the 'undo' key."

"You're weirdly invested in this, aren't you?" She glanced over her shoulder before searching for the right key.

"Just do it. Here."

The professor's impatience took over and he reached around to do it for her. Her  eyebrows shot up and she let out a small gasp as she saw the numbers change. 

"Keep going." Namba encouraged with an almost maniacal glee as she resumed control.

Domino watched as with every click of the mouse, it became more and more apparent that the document had been heavily edited. The results of Houndoom's power audit changed before her eyes.  It wasn't level 28 at all. 

It was close to level 40. 

"That explains the promotion." She hissed.

"Shady business, isn't it?" 

Namba's amused chortling filled the silence when she didn't answer. 

It made sense and didn't at the same time. Of course that was the only way Ria would be able to keep that overpowered hellhound at her side, that part was clear, but why did that matter to Sebastian? If he wanted the Houndoom, then surely he could just take it. The research department confiscated "specimens" all the time. That meant there was some reason he needed to keep its trainer close as well. 

Domino leaned back and crossed her arms. She wasn't even aware that they knew each other, and at this stage in her career, she'd made it her business to have a pretty good idea of who associated with who. What a weird and powerful connection for a grunt to have. Why did he hide this in the first place, then turn right around and promote her? Giovanni would have had to sign off on that. Had Sebastian already been caught? Was he covering for himself in case he did get caught later? It seemed like a risk someone as calculating as him would never be bold enough to take. 

"Hey," she swiveled around on the stool and stared straight at Namba. "How do they act around each other? Do you think they could be...you know...."

His blank stare irritated her. For one of the most intelligent people in Team Rocket, he could be surprisingly oblivious. She made an obscene gesture with her hands and Namba's features contorted into an expression of appalled understanding.

"He wouldn't. He's slimy, but he's not stupid." The disgust was evident in the professor's voice. 

"Well, what else do you know about this then?" The frustration was just as evident in hers. "The only thing you've led me to so far is a dead end, and that's not what I paid for." 

"Hmph. I didn't make any promises about what you'd find." He snapped. "I only said you could take a look. But since I do so appreciate your business, I'll give you a tip. It's part of his precious little mega evolution project, apparently." 

"Mega evolution?" Domino repeated.

"Yes. I'm sure it's all in there, but his research is encrypted so I haven't had a chance to-"

"PROFESSOR NAMBA!!" 

The scientist in question moved his body to quickly block the laptop from view of the two scientists that had just entered the room.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?!" He lashed out at them.

"We're sorry sir, but the Tauros you infected with the enhanced pokerus prototype has broken free, and it's out of control!"

"Egad! Go!" He pointed toward the door. "Do what you can to control it, I'm right behind you! You," he turned to Domino.

She tensed. It was always a gamble to try this on a coworker, but she thought that maybe in the chaos, there was a chance she could win him over. This was too great of an opportunity to let slip by.

"Oh wow, that sounds super urgent." She put on her most charming voice. "You'd better go, it sounds like they really need you! I'll take care of everything here."

"It doesn't work that way," The professor barked. "And I certainly don't have time for this. Out!" 

"Please." Domino crossed her arms behind her back, swiveling back and forth on the stool. "I just wanted to check one more thing, then I'm out of here. I'll lock everything up behind me, I promise. You can trust me." 

A terse few moments passed between them before the silence was interrupted with a loud crash down the hall. Namba hesitated for only a second more before he broke for the door, and she knew she had won him over.

"Don't be here by the time I come back, understand?"

"Don't you worry about a thing, professor," She leaned into the hallway and called sweetly after his retreating back.  "Believe me, I won't be!"

The moment he turned the corner, she wasted no time collecting the laptop. Domino held it close to her chest as she slipped out of the data lab, being careful not to shut it all the way since she didn't have the password to get back in.

"And neither will this." 

Chapter Text

“I wouldn’t exactly say you deserve this, but here. It’s on me anyway.”

“I think I deserve it.” Ria sounded just as tired and irritable as she was. Her eyes opened halfway when a drink can appeared on the table in front of her. She lazily followed the length of the arm that placed it there until her eyes met those of the man at the other end of it. Though he only arched an eyebrow, it was hard not to find anything Tyson did intimidating, looming over the table at nearly two meters tall.

“I mean…thank you.” she sheepishly corrected herself, straightening her posture as he took his place across from her. 

The mess hall was almost completely empty, and some of the chairs were already turned upside down on the table. The sky was pink and mottled with violet clouds on the other side of the window, and Ria stared out at it, having hard time believing everything that had happened to her within the span of a few hours.

She had been too timid to ask, but she had hoped that after her intense battle with Hun earlier, she would be allowed to go home for the rest of the day. The only thing on her mind was Houndoom. Even though the professor had advised against disturbing it, she wanted to check on it to make sure it was okay. She guessed it shouldn’t have surprised her that her trainer had other plans. 

“A loss and a draw in the same day isn’t that great on morale,” Tyson’s voice drew her attention back to the present, “but try not to let it get you down.”

A draw was being generous, Ria thought to herself, scowling a bit as she watched him take a long drink. She peered around the lip of the table to see how Durant was doing. It feasted happily on the pokemon food in front of it, seeming to be completely undeterred by the events of its sparring session with Fearow. Despite its steel typing, which should have evened the playing field a bit, Tyson had wiped the floor with her. He had mercifully called it a draw at the end, citing his reasons that Fearow was getting tired and had had enough. 

“Are you really gonna talk to me about morale when you made me battle again, after what happened earlier?” She objected pitifully, crossing her arms on the tabletop and resting her head on them.

“Yeah, well, I honestly didn’t expect things to go this way. It knows Thunder Fang.” 

“…th…Thunder Fang?!” Ria jolted upright as if she had been hit by the move in question, which only caused Tyson to smile and try to hide it by finishing off his drink. “How did you know that?! I don’t even know what moves it has yet, and it’s my pokemon!” 

“Because I checked the database. Like you should have.”

“ The database?”

Tyson sighed and outstretched his massive hand, wiggling his fingers as she stared at it blankly.

“Give me your phone, idiot.”

She complied and leaned forward, watching as he navigated to one of the many apps she had never really bothered to use before.

“The Team Rocket Central Computers Database. We have access to it right from our phones now. Look.” 

He turned the screen around to face her and she took it from him. Sure enough, there was a detailed breakdown of all of Durant’s stats and moves on the screen in front of her. She remembered now, seeing it in her hands, being told about all the information she could access from the central database. It was sometimes requested on missions, but there was always someone scrambling to be first with the answer. Ria was always more than happy to stand back and let the others fight over who could be most helpful to the boss that day. Having known all of Houndour’s attacks by heart before it evolved and never having borrowed any pokemon from Team Rocket, she had never needed to use the database for herself, either. 

“…I guess they did mention this in training.” She admitted. “I just sort of…forgot.”

“Pay attention, then.” Tyson continued. “Type in your ID number in the search bar and see what happens.” 

Ria’s eyes widened. There was information on Houndoom in there, too.

“But how…?” She started to ask, but paused, realizing as she scanned its data that she had seen those numbers before. “…oh.” 

“That’s right.” Tyson seemed to already know what she was thinking. “We tested Houndoom’s power level, so even though it’s not a Team Rocket pokemon, it’s in your arsenal, so all the data we have on it was put into the system as well.”

Ria didn’t say anything. She wondered what he would think if he knew just how off these numbers really were. 

“ Since we keep such complete records,” he continued, “this is also a pretty useful tool for battling. Try SA99002.” 

Ria’s shoulders fell. 

“Oh…yeah. That’s Hun, alright…and Steelix.” She frowned a little. “It would have been nice to know about this before my battle with him. Or you, for that matter…I wish you had told me before.” 

“It’s a lesson.”

“Yeah, right.” She scoffed, rolling her eyes at him. “That sounds like something Attila and Hun would say.” 

“I’m serious.” Tyson barked, in a tone that suggested she was getting a little too comfortable with her sarcasm around him. She reflexively straightened in her seat as he continued. “A grunt would have to be reminded to check the database. An elite would be aware of every resource that’s available to them, and would have already done so without being asked.” 

“…I guess you’re right.” She said softly. 

He really was trying to teach her something, after all. It hadn’t even crossed her mind, even though it’s something she should have known about since she started. “…maybe I should study your Fearow.”

“That would be wise, since I'm sure we’ll battle again.” 

“They have almost identical stats and movesets,” Ria murmured, slowly scrolling through the information with her index finger. “…do you ever use anything else?”

“Not really. It’s rare.” He answered. His tone became prideful as he continued. “A lot of people underestimate Fearow, but they’ve served me well. That gives me an advantage in battle, believe it or not. People don’t expect much out of bird pokemon, but they’re a lot more versatile than they get credit for.”

“You must really like them, if you requested two of them.” 

“Well, only one of these belongs to Team Rocket. One is mine, I brought it with me when I joined.”

“I didn’t know that.” Ria perked up immediately. “You're like me, then. You have your own pokemon.”

“Hm. Yeah.” He smirked a little. “I guess we do have that in common. Now we just have to get Houndoom to listen to you as well as my Fearow listen to me.” 

“It’s kind of weird they gave you another Fearow if you already had one, though, isn’t it? They told us in training to try not to have more than one pokemon with the same weakness…right?”

Her momentary hope that he would be impressed with her remembered knowledge passed as she noticed how the corners of his mouth had dropped when she said that. 

“…Tyson?”

He seemed to hesitate a little before answering. He looked away before he did. 

“Well…it was a special circumstance. This other one was used by my partner.” 

“…partner?” Her eyes widened.

“Yeah.”

“I thought you said you only worked alone.” She looked down at her phone, scrolling back up through the data that Team Rocket had on him in their system. “It says that here, too.” 

“Yeah. That’s right.” His tone had softened again. “…she was irreplaceable.”

Ria gasped a little as she realized what he meant, but said nothing. Tyson crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, looking out of the window. He looked wistful, almost sad - something she had never seen. An apology for bringing it up was on the tip of her tongue, but he continued.

“ I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else using her Fearow, so I asked if I could keep it. You’re right that they don’t want you to do anything that’s gonna put you at an obvious disadvantage, but I was able to convince them to give me a chance. They allowed it once they saw how good Fearow and I were together.” 

“Tyson…I am really sorry.”

His eyes darted back to her when her hands rested on his forearm and she felt his muscles tense beneath her fingers. There was an uncertainty behind his eyes that, after a moment, turned to understanding. Though her initial reaction was to pull away, she didn’t, nor did she feel like she had to explain why.

He studied her quietly, with a seriousness that he hadn’t before, wondering to himself who it was that she had lost and how he had missed it. It explained so much.

“I want to make a deal with you!” Ria said sharply, suddenly, her hands falling on the tabletop with a flat thwack as she hoisted herself out of her chair. Though she stood, Tyson was so large that there still wasn’t much of a height disparity between them.

“A what?” He furrowed his brow, surprised at her sudden change in demeanor. The sincerity in her eyes had been replaced with fire.

“A deal. You’re gonna keep training me, and I’m gonna battle you again. And again and again, probably, but one day, I AM gonna beat you. And when I do, I want to be your partner.” 

His eyebrows shot straight up stared at her a moment with his mouth hanging open before he seemed to come to his senses, slamming his own hand down on the table.

“You idiot.”

Unexpectedly, she didn’t flinch.

“Didn’t you hear a word I just said?” He continued. “There’s a reason I like to work alone. I don’t wanna get myself into another situation where I’m responsible for anyone but myself. It’s bad enough I have to train you already. Besides, you’re a long way off from being on equal ground with me.”

“I know that, but I mean it.” Her determination was unwavering. “When I can finally beat you in a pokemon battle, it means I can take care of myself and you don’t have to worry about me anymore. And then,” she spread her arms wide, “we can be the best duo in all of Team Rocket.”

Tyson stared at her in disbelief, still trying to wrap his head around her proposal. He shook his head and crossed his arms, needing a moment to even figure out how to respond. 

“ Yeah? And what do you get out of this ridiculous deal?”

“The best partner in all of Team Rocket…and, as an added bonus, the look on Attila and Hun’s faces when they realize we’re better than them.” Ria winked and smiled waggishly, extending her hand. “Do we have an agreement?”

Tyson sighed and looked down at her outstretched hand. It was absurd. It was funny. It was even a little heartwarming, if he wanted to admit it, which was a refreshing break from the malignant, toxic attitudes so many of his cohorts seemed to share. If there was one thing he appreciated, it was passion, and if there was one thing he had noticed from watching her in the short time they’d known each other, she had no shortage of it. It was obscured behind layers of awkwardness and reserve, but it was there. Part of him honestly wanted to believe that she could do it. There was one thing, however, that echoed on his conscience and prevented him from taking her hand.

Keep her out of trouble, keep her out of everyone else’s way, and above all else, keep her happy until I can get what I need to move this project on to the next stage.

In his usual way, the professor had been indirect but clear that he had no intention of this being a permanent arrangement. He couldn’t outright tell her that, he knew, but he couldn’t let her go on blindly trusting that things were going to work out for the best when he knew that wasn’t the case.

Especially after she had been so kind to him.

“Listen, Ria…”

Her face mirrored the concern in Tyson’s voice.

“I know I have a long way to go, but I swear I can do it.”

“It’s not that.”

“Then…what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” He spoke slowly, cautiously, and Ria tried hard to read what that meant. Whatever connection they had before was severed when he averted his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s just that, before you go getting all ambitious…I really think you should be careful about-“

“Oh, isn’t this just so cute.”

The two of them turned toward the sound of Domino’s voice. She peered around the laptop she had balanced on her forearm, nose scrunched impishly above a coy and insincere smirk.

“I hate to interrupt your little date here, but I need to borrow her for a moment, Tyson, if that’s alright with you. I’m sure it will be.” 

Chapter Text

Keeping them waiting when something emergent came up was not entirely unheard of, but Hun wondered if this time it might have been done out of spite. The professor’s propensity for snide behavior when he felt he had been wronged was also not something entirely unheard of.

“There’s a lotta stuff on mega evolution in this book.” 

The silver haired man glanced over at his partner, still noisily thumbing through the pages of a text he had pulled from the professor’s bookshelf while they waited. Hun had to credit him, for he had incorrectly assumed that Attila would not have the attention span to appreciate it. It was either incredibly fascinating or he was incredibly bored…or perhaps, a perfect combination of the two.

“That isn’t surprising. He is studying it, after all.” 

“It says here that mega evolution can actually be painful for the pokemon. Something about the stress it puts on their bodies. Like, really painful for some of ‘em.” He peered over the rim of his sunglasses. “You think it hurt Steelix?”

Hun’s expression darkened.

“It doesn’t matter if it hurt Steelix. Steelix has a job to do. Call it an occupational hazard if you must, Attila, but you’re starting to sound just like that girl.”

“Sheesh. It was just a question.”

“Well, if you ask me,” the corners of Hun’s mouth curled into a sneer as he remembered the battle from earlier. Proud was not a word he would typically use to describe his relationship with his pokemon, but it was the only one that came to mind. “…Steelix seemed to like it.”

“I think that you liked it.” The larger man snickered. “But that does make sense.”

Hun arched an eyebrow.

“What makes sense, Attila?”

“Why you were able to get Steelix to mega evolve so quickly. The reason the professor wanted Ria for this is because relationships are an important part of this mega evolution thing, right? But somehow, your Steelix did it anyway, even though you’re really shitty to it. Really quickly, too. It didn’t take us any time at all to get it to mega evolve.”

“Yes, I know. I was there.” Hun rolled his eyes at his partner’s choice in words. Steelix was treated perfectly fine; theirs was a business relationship. Failing to dote upon one’s pokemon didn’t equate to being a shitty trainer, but that was a conversation for another time. “We’ve been over this, Attila, it just seems that the professor’s research was wrong.” 

“Yeah, maybe, or maybe it’s just that your Steelix is the exception to the rule.” 

“The exception…” Hun repeated, starting to follow Attila’s train of thought. Steelix had always liked to fight. Its lust for violence was the very reason he had tolerated it as a partner for so long. He was a little disappointed in himself for not making the connection first. “…very astute of you, Attila. Normally a strong bond between a pokemon and trainer is necessary for mega evolution, but Steelix must have been able to do it because it enjoys the pain and suffering of battle.”

“Yeah, exactly. It’s a masochist.”

Attila turned another page, oblivious to the awkwardness of his comment or his partner’s annoyed look. As long as they had worked together, Hun doubted if he would ever be fully prepared for the other man’s unpredictable utterances.

“That isn’t quite what I-“

Before he could correct him, the doorknob turned. 

“Heyyy,” Attila drew out the word as he turned around and smiled cheekily as the professor entered the room. “The good doctor finally joins us. I was starting to think you forgot about us. Surprised we’re still here?”

“A bit.” He replied monotonously, narrowing his eyes and extending a hand as he approached the larger blonde man. Attila grabbed and shook it, but when Sebastian’s expression made it clear he did not, in fact, find that action cute or funny, Attila pouted and handed over the book instead. The professor slid it back into its home on the shelf before he strolled over to his desk. “Friendly reminder - please do not touch anything in my office. Especially when I’m not here.”

“Our apologies.” Hun answered dryly. “You’ve only kept us waiting all day. Attila gets restless, you know.”

“So very sorry about that.” It was obvious from the doctor’s tone that he wasn’t sorry at all. “Surely you can understand why I might need a moment to gather my patience after the two of you so boldly insulted my intelligence.”

Attila and Hun shared a glance. They had already steeled themselves for a lecture, but wordlessly agreed that his mood seemed more concerning than expected.

“There are forty-six mega stones known to exist in the Kalos region.” The scientist continued, settling in the chair opposite them. “You brought me a complete set, minus one. One that just so happens to correspond with a pokemon that you have in your lineup. You must think I’m a fool.”

“It could have been a coincidence.”

As he said it, Hun realized now may not have been the best time for cool remarks. Attila had been a bad influence.

“Don’t.” Sebastian’s reply was clipped and serious. “I knew that you had it. I had other matters to attend, so I decided to let you play with it for a little while. What I didn’t count on was the fact that you would actually be able to utilize it and pull off a successful mega evolution. That was my mistake.”

“Why’s it a mistake? Isn’t that a good thing?” Attila asked.

“No. As a matter of fact, it isn’t. I had to do a great amount of pandering to Giovanni’s ego just to get this study off of the ground, which, as you know, I despise. Then, the moment I turn around, the two of you have already completely invalidated it.”

“Actually, professor,” it was Hun that spoke up this time. “I don’t think we did. We have a theory regarding why Steelix was able to mega evolve in spite of not meeting the usual criteria.”

“A theory? Is that so?” The professor smirked. “Well. aren’t we a couple of scientists. Let’s hear it.” 

“Steelix…” Attila smiled confidently and crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. “…is a masochist.”

Hun cringed internally at the silence that befell the room. An eternity seemed to pass before Sebastian sighed.

“You know, I really haven’t the patience right now for your sophomoric humor.“

“Hold on, professor. Though he may not have worded it in the best way—“ Hun cut his eyes at his partner. “Attila has a point.”

Sebastian rewarded him with a dull stare, but seemed to be waiting for him to continue.

“We believe that Steelix was able to mega evolve because it enjoys battling.” 

“Elaborate.”

Attila took a breath, as if he were readying himself to explain, but Hun held up a hand, silencing him before any further damage could be done.

“We know that, per your research, Steelix shouldn’t have been able to mega evolve. As much as I would like to believe it was my skill as a trainer that caused it to do so, I can admit that wasn’t the case. Steelix enjoys battling so much that it doesn’t require a strong bond with me to mega evolve. That isn’t typical, but as you know, Steelix is not a typical pokemon.”

“…your Steelix does have a rather violent nature.” Sebastian mused aloud, twisting the tip of his goatee between his thumb and forefinger. “This is a rather interesting development indeed. I didn’t have a control for this study simply because i didn’t think it would be possible, but you’ve proved that is no longer the case”

“Perfect.” Attila observed confidently. “Hun can be your control. It’s the ideal scenario.” 

“…well it would be, if I weren’t so annoyed with you for going behind my back, wouldn’t it? Regardless of how intriguing your little discovery was, there's still the matter of how you discovered it. You know what my policy is on honesty.”

The two agents seated across from him shared another glance. 

“Perhaps you can forgive us, Professor,” Hun cautiously ventured. “…since our actions benefitted you in the end?”

Sebastian’s expression contorted into one of reserved annoyance, but the door to his office opened before he could answer. Tyson had to duck just slightly to get his head into the doorway.

“Professor Sebastian. Sorry to interrupt, but...I really think you should come with me."