Fandom Pokémon: Kalos (Roleplay Thread)

[Hecotoro]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

GRANT

Gym Leader

"Keep dancing, go for another icy bite!"

Tyrunt watched as the grass type danced around looking cute while he too shook his body. The small lizard wans't feeling stronger, but faster defintely. Like a Sceptile, the prrrr echoed through the arena as Tyrun lowered his head and dashed foward, the icy fangs forming around it. The cold jaw opened wide as it lunged for another Ice Fang.



Interactions: CloudySkyLoftyMoon

 

[CloudySkyLoftyMoon]

Esther

ID No.

171027

Click Me!

Ribbons:

~ Cabaletta Coterie ~

Pyrrha

Lv25

Halay-Alae

Lv22

Pari

Lv10

Maçiera

Lv20

L' Basseau

Lv18

Kasriel

Lv22

~ Coterie's Moves ~

Pyr's Moves

Halay's Moves

Pari's Moves

Halay's Moves

Susu's Moves

Kasriel's Moves

Tuesday, July 12th — 9:30 a.m.

Cyllage Gym [Cyllage City]

Code by Ami

Although they could keep Tyrunt neutralized, Esther knew that speed would be a problem, especially with Tyrunt’s powerful Ice Fang. She wasn’t certain Maçiera could out-heal the damage and if those attacks started coming faster? No…before Tyrunt could get on a roll, they needed to rack up some serious hits.

“Head-on, use «Play Rough»!”

While Tyrunt sped forward, Çiera bounced to meet it, icy fangs meeting fairy mischief as the Pokémon clashed. After withstanding several ice-type moves, even several uses of Synthesis hadn’t been enough to completely restore Çiera’s heath and the Bounsweet’s legs crumbled beneath it as it was knocked out. Esther wasn’t surprised. They hadn’t got lucky with Play Rough softening Tyrunt’s attacks, but regardless, the Oblivian figured Kasriel could clean up from here on. Çiera returned to her pokéball and Esther tightened her grip on Kasriel’s.

“Alright, let’s finish up with «Snarl»!”

Esther raised her foreleg, she wound up her arm and then she took aim at the far side of the battlefield—as far from Tyrunt as possible. After what was surely the best throw of her life, Kasriel’s Pokémon released almost next to the Gym leader himself, putting more than enough distance between Kasriel and Tyrunt. Enough that the racoon Pokémon was able to chortle and demean without worry of an immediate counter-attack.

Spoiler: Bag

$6,920 | Pokéball x0 | PokéToy | PokéFlute

---

Quilt Set
Hammock Set
First-Aid Kit
Flashlight
Toiletries
Water Bottle (1/2 Gallon)
Water Purifier & Filter
Gothic Lolita Set (Clothing)
Lace Set (Clothing)
Chic Asymmetry Set (Clothing)
Winter Gear (Clothing)
Kilt
Ballet Flats
Climbing Gear
Swimwear
Detachable Rollerblades

 

[Hecotoro]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

GRANT

Gym Leader

Tyrunt T-bagged the grass type as she was being returned.

"Distance? No peak is too far for us, Bulldoze!"

Tyrunt watched as the foul mouthed rat appeared on the other side, sending a nasty Snarl his way. The rocky dragon took the damage head on and replied by smashing his tail multiple times, sending shockwaves towards his opponent.

Despite the enegry of Tyrunt, he was running on fumes, preparing to go in for one last attack.







Interactions: CloudySkyLoftyMoon

 

[CloudySkyLoftyMoon]

Esther

ID No.

171027

Click Me!

Ribbons:

~ Cabaletta Coterie ~

Pyrrha

Lv25

Halay-Alae

Lv22

Pari

Lv10

Maçiera

Lv20

L' Basseau

Lv18

Kasriel

Lv22

~ Coterie's Moves ~

Pyr's Moves

Halay's Moves

Pari's Moves

Halay's Moves

Susu's Moves

Kasriel's Moves

Tuesday, July 12th — 9:30 a.m.

Cyllage Gym [Cyllage City]

Code by Ami

The damage was piling up, Kasriel hadn’t gone unscathed from his clash with Omanyte and Esther knew they were on the brink. Now was the moment of truth, her final gamble of the battle! If they could win this exchange then victory was assured, but if they couldn’t… well, that was that. Regardless, it wasn’t a risk she could avoid—

“Last time, Snarl!”

After that Bulldoze, Kasriel's legs were weak, trembling. Mustering up all his bravado the zigzag pokemon released on last vicious, tongue-lashing, Snarl!

Spoiler: Bag

$6,920 | Pokéball x0 | PokéToy | PokéFlute

---

Quilt Set
Hammock Set
First-Aid Kit
Flashlight
Toiletries
Water Bottle (1/2 Gallon)
Water Purifier & Filter
Gothic Lolita Set (Clothing)
Lace Set (Clothing)
Chic Asymmetry Set (Clothing)
Winter Gear (Clothing)
Kilt
Ballet Flats
Climbing Gear
Swimwear
Detachable Rollerblades

 

[Patriot]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

MONTAGNE KHASTIL

July 14th — Lumiose City, Kalos

If there was one thing Monty needed after the past couple days, it was a distraction. Hour after hour of pouring over maps, drawing up strategies, planning routes — if he saw a notebook and pencil he might scream. Lucky him, though, it was Thursday. Time to get out of that fuckin’ warehouse and think about something that wasn’t underground for a few hours.

He and Oracle put feet to pavement through Lumiose’s shopping district, and the former craned his neck to annoy his partner for a bit.

“Excited to hang out with your favorite person?” Monty’s grin was wide, but Oracle just rolled her bright red eyes and turned her nose up at him.

Really, why should she be excited to see that woman? Just because she covered her visit to that lovely spa?! Sure, her coat was clean and brushed and fluffy and silky, but why should that matter?!

“Oh, speak of the devil,” Monty added as he spotted a waving hand a little ways down. He picked up the pace, but Oracle lagged behind. Pretentious as the Absol was, she probably didn’t want to stoop so low as to hurry.

Monty caught Azumi’s greeting and grinned again — “If it’s with you, mademoiselle, I’ll walk Lumiose for the rest of my days.”

He could almost feel Oracle’s glare searing a hole in his back, but he continued.

“You have somewhere in mind for a suit? Unless we’re starting out here—“ The gangster turned to the shop that the blonde woman had parked herself out front of. He never got metal’s appeal, but maybe Azumi was into it?

Spoiler: Pokemon Team

Queen Oracle the Honored One

Chauffemagne

Abnégarde

 

[Hecotoro]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

GRANT

Gym Leader

"Go in for Ice Fang! The peak is in sight, last stretch!"

Tyrunt wagged his tail, the first Snarl made him feel wearing but that didn't stop him from charging ahead with that speed he had gained. The rocky lizard had its prey in sight and was about to go in for the finish blow...

Snarl!

Once again the dark bitch sent out a wave of dark energy, hitting the lizard in the air. The Tyrunt was forced to crash into the ground, unable to stand up anymore.







Interactions: CloudySkyLoftyMoon

 

[Hecotoro]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

AZUMI

TOWERS

Thursday, July 14th, Lumiose, Kalos.

"You're quite a charmer monsieur." Azumi replied with a giggle. The interaction grabbed the Meowscarada's attention, which allowed her to notice one of her bestest pals in the whole wide world, Oracle.

The grass dark type skipped over to her playmate for the day. She held up her empty paw, smiling as she did, then closed her paw, placed it behind her back and then poof! She spawned some flowers on it, offering them to the moody white furred Absol.

"Well there is this one place I know of, that is exclusive for men's wear and specially tailored suits. It's small, not popular but the gentleman and his wife are very nice and put a lot of effort into it. I'll lead the way."

With a smile, the blonde took to Monty's side and led the way, keeping her eye out for Lily. She didn't want the Meowscarada to annoy Oracle with her magic tricks. The location wasn't far away, but soon they were in front of a small shop. There were a few traditional suits on display on the front and at the counter was an old man trying to read his computer. The inside was a classic brown with shelves full of different accessories and parts to make all sorts of different suits.

"Monsieru, I brought you a costumer." Azumi announced as they stepped in, grabbing the attention of the old man. "This is monsieur Montagne. Monty, this is monsieru Barbos. He likes to talk about his days out on the sea."

The old man smiled and walked up to the two, being significant smaller and looked up at Monty, like if he was analyzing him. "Where did you find this washed up model?"

Azumi laughed and placed her hand on Monty's shoulder. "He is actually quite brave and honest. Don't let his rough outerior fool you."

"I know a scroundal when I see one. Smells like one too, you don't have showers in the ghetto?"

Azumi giggled, brushing the jokes aside. "Don't worry Monty, he's a kind soul, just cranky. I'll go look for your wife monsieur Barbos, I haven't spoken to her in a while. Lily, don't touch."

Azumi patted Monty on the back before going deeper into the shop, leaving the three alone.

Lily poked Oracle with her hips. She pointed at the different jewelery set to try on, mostly men's wear but still shiny.

Interactions: Patriot

Spoiler: Bag

Money: 84,750
Bag:
x10 Great Ball
X5 Pokeballs
x4 Super Potion
X2 Revives
X2 Paralyze Heal
X2 Antidote
X1 Burn Heal
X1 Ice Heal

Spoiler: Pokemon Team

x5

 

[Patriot]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

MONTAGNE KHASTIL

July 14th — Lumiose City, Kalos

Oracle's red eyes turned venomous when Lily bumped her, but they just as quickly became infatuated with the lovely treasures on display. Between their visit to the spa some time ago and the feline's clear eye for all thing shiny and sparkling, the Absol might forget to be irritated by the trickster and her trickiness.

She padded over to the treasures, leaving useless Monty to do useless Monty things, and set her sights on a beautiful ring covered in gems. What did humans call it? A bracelet? It was about the same size as the one she got last time they went shopping with Azumi, but silver and glimmering.

She had to have it! Where was useless Monty...oh, still with the old man? He'd better hurry up!

Monty was, in fact, in no hurry. If anything time seemed to slow down the second Azumi left him alone with the stuck-up old fucker running the tailor, and it was taking all of his willpower to not crack him in his mouth. The smug, better-than-you look in the tailor's eyes...it made his blood boil.

"There are showers in the ghetto," the gangster remarked through a stone face, "But if you'd believe it there aren't many tailors. Her graduation's tomorrow, and if you can find it in your heart I'd like to get a suit. Black and blue color scheme."

Spoiler: Pokemon Team

Queen Oracle the Honored One

Chauffemagne

Abnégarde

 

[Hecotoro]

Azumi no bbcode cuz Kyu makes fun of it Towers.

"Bah!" The old man punched Monty's shoulder and walked to the back of the counter. He took out a measuring tape and walked back to Month. "Spread em."

While Monty got his measurements, Lily eyed the prize that caught Oracle's eyes. She tapped the glass with her black claw with a mischievous smile. The green feline covered the glass with her paws, covering the bracelet. She looked at Oracle and with a wink, the accessory appeared on Lily's paw. She offered it to her bestest of friend with a smile.

Azumi returned from the back, only to find Monty covered in clothes and samples. "I hope he's not giving you a hard time." Azumi spoke up, the message clearly for Monty but Barbos took for himself.

"He's all lumpy. Seems to me you got yourself a brawler. Shouldn't be around a lady like you." The old man lifted Monty's chin before letting it drop. "But nothing I can't fix. Pick your colors. Choose a blue and then a black or gray."

Azumi watched Barbos walk away and scoot closer to Monty. "I think he likes you." Azumi whispered. "Any plans after this?" The blonde looked at the clothe covered man, seeing how the colors matched with him.

 

[Patriot]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

MONTAGNE KHASTIL

July 14th — Lumiose City, Kalos

Finally, someone who knew how to get things done! While useless Monty did useless Monty things, Lily produced Oracle's treasure! She motioned for the useful feline to slide the treasure over her horn, and as soon as it was in place she searched for one of those cave-slivers that always seemed to be in human clothing stores.

Oracle caught sight of herself in a cave-sliver, and naturally was completely smitten. And why wouldn't she be?! A beautiful queen, and a beautiful treasure to compliment her! Now all she needed was for useless Monty to make himself useful and buy it! What was taking him so long, anyway?!

"I think you and I think very different things about who grandpa over there likes," Monty replied to his companion dryly, eyes shifting over to the old man as he rummaged through some cloth scraps. The entire experience with Barbos wasn't too different from in-processing at La Santé — rough looks, rough words, and rough handling. Still, the old fart was Azumi's tailor. It wouldn't do him any good to teach the old man a lesson. At least, not right now.

"As for after this?" Monty thought for a moment while he absentmindedly shuffled through the color samples before settling on one of the blues and a black. His grey eyes softened and connected with Azumi's, and a grin spread across the young man's face. "Preferably spending the rest of the day with you mademoiselle. If you don't mind me dragging you along on a couple of my own errands."

Between him and the Old Guard lieutenants, Monty'd drawn up a laundry list of supplies to pick up for his descent. Luckily, most all of them could be passed off for run-of-the-mill trainer items.

Spoiler: Pokemon Team

Queen Oracle the Honored One

Chauffemagne

Abnégarde

 

[Hecotoro]

Azumi Towers.

The young Kalosian popped a smile when she heard Monty's invite. Azumi couldn't remember the last time she had gone shopping with a friend in Lumiose. The city had so much to offer and since the blonde spent most of her time hitting the books, she had missed endless opportunities to enjoy what it had to offer. A firm nod was her answer.

"I'll stop by to pick up my dress in the morning monsieur Barbos." She called out and got only a "bah" and some angry whispers from the shop owner. Despite the rude response, Azumi seemed to take no offense. "We're living Lily."

Azumi looked around and found the Meowscarada with Oracle, who was rocking a new accessory. "Oracle! Wonderful choice it brings out your pretty eyes." Azumi placed her index finger to her chin. "We could add a nice cape to go with it but that might hide your smooth fur. We can figure it out."

Azumi gave Monty a pat on the shoulder, as if to say good luck with the situation. "I will wait outside."

Outside, Azumi and Lily stood by. The trainer lookes through her phone messages, checking details about tomorrow's event and replying to her sister and father.

 

[Hecotoro]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

AZUMI

TOWERS

Friday, July 15th, Lumiose, Kalos.

It was time.

About two decades of studying and planning for this day. Azumi took in a deep breath as she closed her mirror. She quickly tucked it away in her purse while at the same time taking out the money for the cab. She stepped out, the big building in front of her filled with all sorts of political figures, rich people and future colleagues of the cop to be.

Azumi’s phone vibrated. The Rotomphone popped out to reveal a message from her sister saying she was going to be a bit late, the usual. Azumi didn’t mind her twin being late, what she was worried about was her date-er, companion, arriving late. If what Maker said was true, walking into the event alone was a bad sign. Plus, she was hoping Monty’s presence would keep her fellow classmates from hovering around her.

Monty was almost to the venue himself, already clad in his black-and-blue suit courtesy of that tailleur connard Azumi brought him to. His fingers RAP! TAP! TAPPED! against his knee, and the closer they got to the Opera Garnier the more he regretted his decision to come.

THU-THU-THUMP!

Honestly, what was he thinking?! Waltzing into a police academy graduation with no plan, no backup, and no way out if someone recognized him. All sorts of people who could show up had their fingers in his smuggling case, and it wasn’t all that long ago that he was sentenced — only six months.

THU-THU-THUMP!

At least he had one card up his sleeve. The cab pulled up to the Garnier, and Monty turned to the backseat’s other passenger. “You ready?”

Oracle was busy admiring her reflection in the window, chiefly the diamond-studded bracelet that set her trainer back a few hundred bucks, and glared at him through the reflection when he interrupted. Monty’s own expression soured — “Oui, oui, you look magnifique, mademoiselle. Let’s go.”

The gangster steeled his nerves as he and Oracle got out of the cab, and his eyes scanned for…there she was. They confidently crossed the short distance between them and Azumi, and Monty called out — “Countess Towers!”

When they reached her, the gangster took her hand in his own and brought it up to kiss. “Félicitations, mademoiselle, big day, eh? You look superbe!”

Azumi felt relief as she watched that one person she was waiting for arrive. The feeling of worry was replaced with satisfaction as Monty looked better than she expected. Even Oracle looked more glamorous than normal. The greeting was even more formal and Azumi couldn’t help but smile with joy at the situation. Now all they had to do was survive the night.

Normally Azumi had no problem talking to her superiors. But tonight, she felt as if the person she had chosen as her companion was going to be part of who she presented herself as. In other words, they were going to judge Monty along with her. Also, her boss and colleagues were one thing, the one person she worried most about was the one that had judged her all her life. Her sister.

“You look very handsome monsieur and Oracle looks absolutely stunning.” She meant and was glad they had the beautiful Absol with them. Azumi had gone against the idea of bringing one of her own Pokemon out. Nana was moody and she couldn’t go out without Flabebe following her. Lily was great but a bit of a mischief and the rest of her team weren’t big on big crowds.

“Shall we get going?” Azumi wrapped her arm around Monty’s. He was her guest. So, naturally she had to be the one to guide them around.

“Gladly,” he replied with a grin. For once Oracle looked as happy to be around Azumi as her trainer, since the Absol was practically beaming at the compliment to her superior looks and taste in treasures, and said trainer added, “Lead the way.”

The sound of classical music got louder and louder as the duo got closer. The first thing was to get Azumi’s invitation validated which was done easily and quickly by one of the guards at the front door. The entrance was enormous, decorated with Kalosian history all over it. Kinda made Azumi wonder if they could’ve used all the money for such a building in better things. Unfortunately, she wasn’t speaking her mind much that night. The thought of her superiors taking it personally made her uneasy. Therefore, she had to be that Kalosian woman. Look pretty, laugh at their jokes and curse them in her mind.

As they stepped into the foyer, Azumi could already feel her former classmates looking over their way. Being one of the few women in her generation and always taking the top spots when it came to grades, it got her all sorts of reputations. Probably the main reason they were watching them was to see who she had decided to show up with at the graduation. Their faces explained everything, a mixture of confusion and disappointment. Still, Azumi didn’t care about that. Her attention was on the man who had been watching them since they walked in.

The puffy mustache, the bulky build, the pitch black eyes and the booming old man voice that made criminals in the street run in fear. The famous Chief of Police, Charles Barreu. Many saw him as the city’s hero, but Azumi had learned things she wished she hadn’t. Usually he handpicked graduates and he always wanted the ones he liked, being because they are pretty or easy to manipulate, near him. Reasons why Azumi thinks she was pulled into Lumiose.

Monty noticed the man’s gaze, too, along with the rest of the people milling about waiting for the event to start. Did he really stand out so much that they’d all picked up on him? No, a lot of these people looked to be Azumi’s peers. So what was the big deal?

The mustache who’d been eye-fucking them from the moment they walked in seemed like he’d suddenly made up his mind, and approached the pair (plus Oracle) before Monty could ask his companion who he was. His hand outstretched for a handshake, and his deep, rich voice said, “Mademoiselle Towers, I’m glad to finally get the chance to meet you.”

Monty watched the man’s pitch-black eyes drift up-and-down over Azumi, then they shifted his way along with the hand — “Charles Barreau, Lumiose Chief of Police. Et toi?”

The gangster met the handshake and replied in his best attempt at a ‘formal’ tone instead of a ‘fuck you’ — “Montagne Khastil.” Barreau’s grip was strong, and firm, and Monty noticed the scarring on the man’s knuckles that matched his own. He was about his height too, somewhat of a rarity among Kalosians, and definitely bulkier. He was sharp, too. The cop’s black eyes were reading Monty the same way his steel-grays were reading him.

“Montagne…Khastil?” Barreau’s eyes studied him for a moment, and if something clicked behind that mustache Monty couldn’t tell. “Have we met before?”

Better shut that down quick. “I don’t think so. I’ve been in Lumiose all my life, though.”

If the cop didn’t buy it, he didn’t show it. “I see. Well, Ms. Towers—” He shifted back to Azumi. “—you’re excited to come to Lumiose, yes? I requested your talents specifically, you’ll surely be an asset to our mission.”

“Bonne soiree monsieur Barreau.” Azumi shook his hand and had to wait until he let go of hers before she could continue. “I am prepared to join your forces here in the capital. But I can’t really say I’m excited. I’ve spent a lot of time here and was hoping to get to explore more of our great nation.”

Azumi smiled but as soon as she got the chance she exchanged a quick glance with Monty. Her annoyance couldn’t be more clear for that split second. “I would really appreciate it if you find a suitable place for me beyond our city. Of course, I do plan on demonstrating my skills and commitment to what we do before then.”

“Lumiose has much to offer so long as you don’t resign yourself to anything.” The chief’s retort was cool and formal. “I wasn’t a fan of my first assignment either, in truth, but so long as you make the most of it you can go far.”

Monty thought he caught something unsaid in Barreau’s words, and the annoyed glance Azumi’d shot convinced him to ask once the old guy got the hell away from them.

Barreau wasn’t done, though. “Besides, there is plenty of good to do here. Gang violence, organized crime, scores of other problems to solve…the only city in our beautiful region that has it worse is Dahara. Performance like yours…it doesn’t show up in every class. You must excuse my being selfish in selecting you to join the best of the best.”

His black eyes raked over Azumi again, and it set Monty and Oracle’s alarm bells off. The gangster stole a glance at his partner, who was staring at the chief who hadn’t even acknowledged her presence, and subtly waved a hand. It wouldn’t do anyone any good to start something here, especially not Azumi.

“Right.” She knew there was no use in trying to get out of it. For now, she could only state her preferences and hope that one day they would be taken into account. “And I promise to do my best. I will try to tackle as much of the crime in our city as possible.” Knowing there wasn’t much else to do about the situation, Azumi once again offered to shake his hand. “If you’ll excuse me, me and Montagne have not checked out the rest of this wonderful building.”

Azumi turned towards Monty, securing his arm once more. “Shall we?”

“Absolutely.” The gangster was eager to get away from the freak with the mustache, and he let Azumi lead him off while he tried to ignore the holes burning in the back of his head from Barreau’s gaze. There was something unsettlingly familiar about the chief, but Monty couldn’t place where he knew him from.

They headed deeper into the building, and once they were out of earshot Monty said, “What a fuckin’ freak. That guy’s gonna be your boss?”

“I'm afraid so.” Azumi sighed as they stopped by the main staircase. “But it’s okay. It’s normal for employees to not like their boss right? I guess I’m not the exception. On the bright side, monsieur, maybe we can hang out every once in a while. Unless, you’re planning on leaving Lumiose soon? Which I understand you being a young trainer and all, but if you are in the capital, I won’t be difficult to find.”

“I suppose that is pretty normal,” Monty conceded. His own boss had been getting on his nerves from the moment he got out of La Sante, sending him on wild goose chases every which way. “And I won’t be going anywhere for a while. As long as some people—” He glanced down at Oracle and her bracelet. “—keep up their tastes, I need to keep up my bank account. It’s back to work for me for a while.”

“Well I think she deserves it.” Azumi began walking with Monty up the staircase to what would be the main room for the event. Like before, they were admitted by some guards through a big elaborate door.

Once inside, the duo looked for the table assigned to them. They were basically in the front, with the table saying Azumi + 3. She seemed relieved to see it was still empty as they took their seats. But, Azumi’s tranquility vanished when her voice cracked through the air.

“Typical Azumi to sit in the front row.”

Azumi’s smile faded and she turned to face the origin of the voice. On her way to their table, was an almost identical woman to Azumi. Unlike her twin though, her dress was black with traces of red and her hair was into a bundle. Her attitude was completely different, a breeze of superiority around her while the same feeling of a wild card. The smirk learned from her older brother and somehow the mannerisms of her sister.

“Wow you actually got a date?” The new arrival said, keeping her eyes on Azumi but extending her hand to Monty. “Are you going to introduce us?”

Azumi fixed her posture, throwing her loose hair over her right shoulder. “Maker, this is Montagne but he prefers Monty, Monty this is my twin sister, Maker.”

Woah. Talk about two sides of the same coin. The girls were practically identical, but even the ways they were similar were entirely different. Both carried themselves with confidence, but where Azumi’s was poised and sure Maker’s was completely in-your-face. It was like the new arrival knew she was capable of anything, and she wanted everyone else to know it, too.

Maker hadn’t even looked at him, either, which was almost as annoying as that Barreau guy’s eye-fucking. Monty smoothly stood from the table and accepted Maker’s extended hand, bringing it up to kiss the same way he did Azumi’s. “Enchanté mademoiselle, and I’ve gotta say I was expecting someone a little different when Azumi said her sister was coming.”

“I'll take that as a compliment!” She finally looked at Monty. “So a native, huh? Born and raised here? You fit the type.” Maker looked at her sister with a gleam in her eye. “Good catch, sis.”

Maker took her sit and scoot closer to Monty. “Sooo… cards on the table. What are your intentions with my sister?”

“Maker.” A harsh whisper came from Azumi, but fell in her sister's deaf ears.

“You know she doesn't put out on the first date right?”

“Maker!”

“What? When did you learn what put out means?” Maker laughed at her sister's reaction. “I'm kidding. Just breaking the ice. Monty, you a narc?”

Maker talked a lot, and the gangster felt like he could barely keep up with her. He popped a finger up as he hit each question — “We’re friends, we haven’t had a date yet, and I don’t have much to narc about. That hit everything?”

Monty shifted forward, leaning his elbows on the table in a complete violation of some fancy-shmancy dining rule he didn’t give a shit about, and asked some questions of his own. “You a trainer? Goody-goody style, jumping in to solve problems and all that like Azumi?” Maker didn’t give off the same vibe Azumi did, but he was curious where the almost-cop got it from.

“Goody-goody? What are you, five?” Maker laughed at her own attempt at a joke. “Of course not. We might look alike but trust me, we are nothing alike. Sure I’ll jump in a fire to help someone out, why not? Will I go out of my way to find people in need of help? Nope” The twin shrugged and pointed at her sister, with her blue eyes still set on Monty. “We already have one Towers sister doing that, two is too many. Now, you asked if I am a trainer.”

Azumi rolled her eyes as Maker seemed to puff her chest in pride. “You bet your ass I am. Fire type specialist, in charge of the one and only Cinnebar Island fire gym in Kanto. Not official, at least not yet. But I’ll ace that test no problem.” Her eyes shifted to the white Absol. “Seems you’re a trainer yourself. They do say the best way to know someone is through a battle…” She took out a small Poke Ball from her purse and set it on the table, allowing it to enlarge with a Flareon curled up and sleeping inside. “I have to warn ya…” She leaned closer to Monty, whispering to him. “I didn’t bring my beginners team though.”

“Maker, that’s enough.” Azumi pulled back her sister, who still had her glaring eyes on Monty. “Don’t listen to her. She does this all the time. She picks on boys who she knows she can defeat just to inflate her ego.”

Maker’s smile faded and gave Azumi a frustrated look. “My ego? We are literally in YOUR graduation. Whatever, not like it would be much of a battle. At least not now, that Absol looks feisty. Bring her around my gym sometime, then we can have an equal spar.” Maker’s gleam returned to her face. “We’re just going to ignore the fact that you said you haven’t gone on your first date, YET?”

Monty’s eyes flashed from impressed to annoyed throughout Maker’s spiel, but by the end of it he had a better idea of who she was. If anything, she was like him. At least, him before he got out of prison. She was strong, she knew it, and she flexed it every chance she got. If she was strong enough to become a gym leader…

He shot a glance at his partner. She’d taken one of the table’s empty seats, since clearly it was for her, and she was studying Maker with an expression Monty’d never seen before. The Absol’s crimson eyes flickered between the girl, to the poke ball, and back to the girl. Oracle was reading her the same way Monty read Barreau. Even if her and Maker wanted a fight, though, he didn’t.
Monty leaned back and crossed his arms, a grin spreading across his face as he answered Maker’s last question. “I also said we’re just friends.” It wasn’t really a matter of whether or not he wanted to ask out his beautiful, smart, strong, talented companion, but that he absolutely couldn’t. Especially not now that she was graduating the academy and would be working in the Old Guard’s primary operating location.

“If we ended up in a nice restaurant with some candles lit and a bottle of wine, though, I guess you might call that a date.” The gangster gave Azumi a quick wink, and continued. “Might be a little difficult between all the swimming in Yanmega nests, though.”

Maker smiled, the type of joy someone got when they obtained the answer they were looking for. “Yeah I heard about that. Azumi told me. She also wouldn’t stop talking about how cool you are, huh sis?”

“Well, I talked about everyone.” Azumi said, avoiding eye contact with anyone. “I just happened to spend more time with Monty.”

“Sure.” Maker turned back to Monty, trying to see if he also found it funny like she did. “So, when does this thing start? The sooner we finish here, the sooner we can party.”

Like if the universe was waiting for Maker’s instructions, the curtains opened and there stood the chief of police. The ceremony was mostly just stating all the great things the Kalos Police Force had done in the last year or so. After hyping themselves up, they started to talk about the future of the city and how crime was now going to be vanished by their future cops. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, each graduate walked up one by one to collect their well earned diploma. As soon as Azumi stood up to go get in line, Maker once again shifted her attention to Monty.

“This is boring huh?” She leaned her chin on her hand. “So, Montagne, Azumi said you’re a new trainer. Why wait so long to chase your dreams? That Absol should be twenty times stronger by now if you had started your journey sooner. Were you too broke to start out? Not trying to shame you, it’s a legitimate question.”

How should he answer? Telling the whole truth was completely out of the question, but how much had Azumi told her sister about his past? His eyes were on the black-and-blue clad woman while she waited in line, and he didn’t take them off of her when he answered, “It wasn’t a money thing. I just…never really had an interest in it until recently.”

Or a real interest in it at all. Training wasn’t some grand goal or dream, it was a job. “I don’t know how much Azumi told you, but I just got out of La Santé a couple months ago. Figured it was time to turn a new leaf.” Just the thought of Lumiose’s most notorious prison made Monty’s scar ache, and he subconsciously reached up to rub it.

“We’ve got a pretty decent start, though, right Oracle?” The Absol perked up at the name-drop, and irritation flashed through her red eyes before she went back to thinking about how great she was or whatever she was doing.

Maker looked impressed. “I did not know that! A criminal? That woman, over there, becoming a cop is dating a criminal? Okay I was curious about you, but now I am really interested in whatever is going on here.” Maker placed her hand on his forearm. “Do you smoke? It’s going to be a while before she gets called up.”

Monty thought about it for a second, flipping his gaze between Azumi and Maker, until his worse judgment combined with his craving for a cigarette to win out. “Oui, yeah, I do.” He tapped his breast pocket and nodded to the exit. “Lead the way.”

Maker smiled and took his arm. She waved at Azumi and pointed to the doorway, getting a nod from the cop to be. As they made their way out, once again, Monty was the envy of many. Some were probably confused to Azumi’s outfit change and some who new she was a twin, wondering how the fuck did Monty get to escort both.

Once outside, to Maker’s disappointment, it was drizzling. People had gathered under the roof at the entrance or had opted to just go inside. “I don’t like the rain. I don’t get what’s the big deal about getting wet.”

Maker crossed her arms and looked at the city in front of them. “So, spill the beans. I wasn’t going to ask in a room full of cops. What did you do?”

“Nothing special, really.” Monty reached for his cigarettes, offering Maker one before lighting up. The only thing that surprised him about the question was that the woman had enough tact not to ask him to delve into his criminal history in a room full of cops. “I work for a shipping company. One of my coworkers was using the warehouse to…” How should he put it? “...move things he shouldn’t have been moving. I kept my mouth shut, and he paid me to keep it that way.”

HUFF…PUFF. “‘Course I’d already had a record by then. So when the cops raided the warehouse and my coworker tried to pin me as an equal accomplice, there wasn’t much I could do to defend myself. Couldn’t exactly afford a good lawyer, either.”

HUFF…PUFF. “Four months in La Santé and this beauty–” Monty traced the scar along his jaw. “–for my trouble.” The gangster studied Maker’s face, searching for her reaction.

Maker had rejected the cigarette, she smoked every now and then but usually with a few drinks on her. Her expression was that of amusement though. Like some kid hearing a bedtime story. The thing about Maker, she had a thing for bad boys. Probably her brother's influence or it just ran in their blood.

“You have a bad taste for friends then. Except for my sister though. Well…”

Maker laughed and took Monty's cigarette, she took a puff from it and stuck her tongue out. “Really? The cheap kind? I'm surprised Azumi didn't mention this. Knowing her, she probably did a background check and everything. Even if you told her. She did it for every boy I dated and friend I had.”

She patted Monty on the back. “If she's still hanging out with you, guess she didn't find anything bad. Or she didn't check. Which is unlike her…” Maker eyed the cheap cigarette smoking individual, “Something going on between you two I should know about? Azumi doesn't trust just anyone. Heck she might not even trust me.”

Might not even trust her own sister? That didn’t sound like the Azumi Monty knew at all. “She definitely has her quirks,” the gangster replied after another cigarette. “Maybe it’s just mon charme diabolique that got me through her screening.” He ran a hand through his hair and smirked, then tossed his burnt-out cigarette butt.

“We are just friends, though.” If what Maker said was true, then Azumi had likely already seen his entire criminal history going back to his first petty larceny or truancy when he was a kid. Why hadn’t she said anything to him about it? He thought she was a lot more straight-forward than that.

“Yeah, sure.” She had her suspicion but it seemed Monty was sticking to his story. She might have to get him drunk for more details. “Let's go back. Need to take a picture of my sister holding that diploma.”

Maker grabbed Monty's arm again. “Let me know if it doesn't work out though.” She teased.

Both of them walked back inside, the area a bit more empty than before due to people walking inside to watch the ceremony. Maker sat down, leaning forward to rest her head on the palms of her hands. Her Rotomphone came out on its own, snapping pictures of Azumi as she got her diploma. Once the blue dressed twin returned, Maker asked for pictures.

She must've taken at least fifty with her sister in different poses and then snatched Monty to take some with him. She hugged his arm for one picture, asked him to put his arm around her waist for another and so on. Her smile curved more though as she got out of the way and pushed Azumi into Monty.

“Come on! Smile and pose like you liked it. This might be the first of many anyways.”

Azumi cleared her throat and stood next to Monty. She straightened her back and wrapped her arm around Monty's. “Sorry if this is uncomfortable.”

“I couldn’t be more comfortable, mademoiselle,” he replied softly, completely oblivious to the glare he was getting from his feline partner a few feet away. At first Oracle was just bored, since the entire event was just stupid humans doing nothing but TALK for what felt like an eternity, but now she’d been irritated beyond belief. Honestly, between the red-Azumi and useless Monty fawning over the blue-Azumi there was nobody paying attention to HER!

As the photos were taken and hands were shaken, it was that time of that night. The magic in the air, the joy and happiness of all the good boys from Lumiose gathered in one place. Wishes started to become true as the chief of police winked upon a star and announced, “We have open bar!”

“Finally!” Maker announced. She wrapped her arms around Monty and Azumi. “Monsieur Monty of the streets. Will you do us the privilege of getting some drinks?”

“Bien sûr, mademoiselle,” Monty said as he slipped out of Maker’s grasp and started heading toward his favorite place at any event. Oracle trailed after him, an annoyed look in her eyes as she realized it was time for useless Monty to start acting like a fool, and when they got to the open bar her trainer went all out.

Cognac shots for the three of them, and some basic champagne cocktails to wash them down. If they were gonna drink, they were gonna do it right!

“Madames,” the gangster announced as he swaggered back over to the twins. “Refreshments have arrived.” He held the drinks on a small serving tray, and presented them with a flourish.

Maker took her drinks into her hand and pretended she didn't notice Azumi watching her so she knew what to do. “Then a toast.” Maker held up her shot, “To new friendships…” She looked at Monty with a slight smirk on her lips, “And to family!”

Clink!

Azumi watched as her sister drank the small glass in an instant and let out a loud sigh of satisfaction. So, she attempted the same, gulping the Cognac in one go and…

Blegh!

She tried to keep her composure but the sour expression on her face betrayed her. She was about to complain when she saw Maker already drinking from the longer cup. It made sense, to wash down the nasty taste in her mouth. So she did, and continued and didn't stop until it was empty.

“Wow Azumi calm down.” Maker said, watching her sister eye the almost full glass on her hands. “This second one was meant to last longer.” She giggled.

Azumi cleared her throat. “Well maybe that's just how I like to drink it.” Clearly trying not to admit she was a virgin when it came to consuming alcohol.
For all of Azumi’s bravado, it didn’t seem like she liked to drink much of anything. Regardless, Monty couldn’t be outdone. He drained his own drinks just as quickly, and wiped his mouth with the same hand holding the now-empty champagne glass. “If I knew your pace was this quick I’d’ve pushed harder to get you to go out with us after the Shabboneau tourney!”

“‘Course, I was the only one actually drinking…” He trailed off, suddenly remembering how the night ended with a wine-fueled brawl and a stint in the drunk tank, and expertly changed the subject to something a little less sensitive.

“I thought I might get to meet your brother, too,” he said to Azumi, his eyes shifting between her and Maker. “What’s so important he couldn’t make it?”

Before either of the twins could answer, a woman dressed in some kind of waiters’ uniform came up to them with what Monty could only assume were more complimentary drinks. Xerneas he’d have to start going to more professional parties! The gangster swapped his empty glass for a full one and gave the woman a quick ‘Merci’ before looking back at Azumi expectantly.

Azumi was completely caught off guard when the question about her brother came up. Her first reaction was to snipe a glare at Maker, who in response only giggled. Then, she waited for Monty to switch up his drinks. “He’s a criminal. Probably in jail.”

Azumi copied her friend’s manors and swiped her empty glass for a full one. “I’d rather not talk about him if you don’t mind.” Her blue eyes darted towards Monty, as if daring him to try and push the subject further.

Maker broke the tense by laughing and shoving her sister playfully. “Oh come on, he needs to know what his possible brother-in-law is like.” Maker drank from her glass before moving over to grab Monty’s arm. “Look, it’s simple. Our brother is just different from us. Like a lot. Unless you pay close attention to his face, you can’t tell. Besides, he’s not a criminal. Azumi just exaggerates.”

“Maker, can we just talk about something else?” Azumi gave her sister a pleading look, which made Maker drop her hold on Monty. “Thank you. I’m sure Monty has a lot more questions besides our family drama, right monsieur?”

No love lost on their mystery brother, and so different from the twins who were already night and day? Then there was the way Azumi’s demeanor switched up when Monty mentioned him. If she felt so strongly about her own brother, then if she found him out for real she’d probably kill him.

The gangster took another sip, but before he could say anything else Oracle thrust herself into the middle of the group. She was getting absolutely tired of listening to the humans prattle on about this nonsense and that nonsense, with NONE of it having to do with her! She turned her head to the side, showing off the treasure wrapped around the base of her horn to the red-Azumi. Blue-Azumi had already complimented her superior taste, but it was about time for red-Azumi to show some respect!

Azumi’s eyes fell on the dark type. She smiled and pressed her hands together, admiring the jewelry she was obviously trying to show off. “You look amazing, Oracle. I’m sure you would win without any trouble in a beauty contest.”

Maker, on the other hand, smirked at the demanding tone the Absol gave off. She admired the confidence the dark type carried and wondered where she had gotten it from. “If I’m not mistaken, Oracle is it? She is very well taken care of. A fur like that, that horn and those claws. Either Monty here is a professional groomer or he pays to have her groomed.” The twin drank from her glass and her eyes shifted back to Monty.

“Now I’m more curious about having a battle against you two.” She bit her tongue playfully while she felt Azumi’s gaze on her. “But it’s not my night. Maybe you could swing by my gym one of these days…” Her eyes set on Monty before giggling away at the subject. “Now come on, Azumi. Where are the fun people at? You two are going to Yawn me to sleep. Oh! I know, I know. Azumi, you have to let me borrow your date for a tag battle. Please?” Maker leaned against her sister.

“Well I don’t mind…” Azumi looked uncomfortable. “If it’s okay with monsieur, then It’s okay with me.”

“I doubt we’d make for great partners,” Monty said before taking another sip from his glass. “Oracle doesn’t play too well with others, and the rest of the team’s a little…young.” The Absol HMPH’d and turned her nose up, affirming that she indeed had zero interest in battling alongside someone else.

The gangster’s eyes gleamed and shifted between the two sisters. “A battle between the two of you, though? I’d pay to see that.”

Azumi giggled and shook her head. “Oh I’m not a battler like my sister. My training is focused on public safety and support to rangers and other activities that require specific skills.”

Maker rolled her eyes and shrugged. “What she said.” She looked down at Oracle, a small smirk appearing behind her glass. “But if Absol can’t keep up with one of my own. I understand. A true fighter can adapt to any situation, just shows she still has a lot of training to do then. But at least you look pretty, Oracle.” Her challenging eyes scan the dark type, waiting for her to take the bait.

“We’ll have to take you up on that another time,” Monty cut in before Maker could do whatever the hell she thought was doing any longer. Lucky him, ending her little attempt at goading his partner with ‘you look pretty, Oracle’ more or less ensured the rest of it went right over the Absol’s head. Ever the self-obsessed diva, Oracle simply blinked and waved her treasure around some more. Maker was right, she did look pretty!
The gangster drained the rest of his drink and glanced around. No serving girls around… “I’m going to get another drink.” He nodded for Oracle to follow along, like a bitch.

“Bring me something stronger!” Maker called out before playfully tugging on her sister’s hand. “I’m going to the little girl’s room, wait for me here, kay?”

Azumi nodded and watched her sister walk away before turning her attention towards the direction Monty went. Without noticing a waiter gave her another drink. The cop in training had her eyes set on her “date”. She was worried he wasn’t having a good time or that Maker was making him uncomfortable. She needed to apologize later. She worked so hard to make new friends, she wasn’t about to lose them. However, as she watched Monty from a distance, she noticed a familiar figure approaching Monty. Why was HE talking to Monty???

The gangster was in the middle of knocking back another shot when he heard a voice behind him.

“Monsieur Khastil, correct?”

Fuck, why was this guy back? Monty turned to see the same mustache and big body that pissed him off earlier, Azumi’s soon-to-be boss…whatever his name was.

“Azumi’s back that way, Monsieur…” Monty pointed a thumb toward his companion, but the man’s eyes only shifted her way then back to him.

“Barreau.” His voice was gruff, almost more-so than earlier. Monty stood up a little straighter, abandoning the bartop he’d been leaning on, and turned to face the man head on. Oracle’s attention was caught, too, and her venomous red eyes set on the chief.

“Please, take a seat.” Barreau gestured to a stool and took one of his own, but Monty stayed standing.

“I’m not exactly looking for a conversation. I’ve gotta get back.” Something was way off about whatever the fuck this guy’s deal was, and Monty wanted no part of it. He turned to leav—

“Assault.”

Wha—

“Battery, extortion, drug smuggling, attempted assault on an officer, conspiracy to smuggle.”

The hair on the back of Monty’s neck practically leapt to attention. He turned back around to see Barreau’s cold black eyes burning holes into his. He gestured to the open stool next to him again. “Let’s have ourselves a little chat, Monsieur Khastil.”

Just what the hell did this guy want? Monty glanced back at Azumi— she was watching the whole thing. He couldn’t just run, could he?

An agonizing second passed before the gangster took the seat. Oracle stood right behind him, and both set an irritated look on the chief. “What do you want?”

“What I want,” Barreau began, spinning himself around to flag the bartender. “Is the best and brightest in my department.” He pointed to one of the top shelf liquors and held up two fingers. “Candidates like Ms. Towers, for example.”

The bartender poured two glasses over ice and passed one to each man. “And what does that have to do with me?” Monty slid the glass closer to himself, and Barreau picked his up.

“Everything.” Barreau held the glass to his nose and inhaled softly. “Ah…tobacco…and hints of…vanilla and citrus. It’s the details that make a good cognac, Monsieur Khastil. The details.”

“Ahuh…”

“That’s what this whole thing is for.” Barreau rolled his eyes and took a sip from his glass. “The academy, that is. We could take any street rat from the Estival District and train them to be an officer, but the details are what separate them from the best.”

Monty clutched his glass tighter. “Really? I would have never guessed.”

“You can drop the pretenses, Khastil. We’re just having a conversation.” Barreau took another sip from his glass, never taking his eyes off the gangster across from him.

“So, what, you pull my file or something?” Monty took his first sip. Where the hell was this guy getting all those hints of whatever-the-fuck from?

“I recognized you from the moment you walked in. A detective of mine got his rank working that drug smuggling case of yours.”

“I did my time.”

“That you did.” Barreau took another sip. “One of the bigger drug busts we’ve had in years, and you served…four months in La Sante. ‘Course your accomplice got twice as long. But that’s only one case on your rap-sheet.”

“Do you have a point?” Monty’s knuckles were nearly white from how hard he was clutching his glass. It was like this guy sat him down just to show off how much he, a fuckin’ chief of police, knew about his case.

“The point, Monsieur Khastil, is that someone with a record like yours creates details for the people around you. Those details that separate people like you from people like us…that’s what we look for when candidates come through the academy. Things that can’t be taught in a curriculum.”

“Integrity, honesty, commitment, discipline, the list goes on. Candidates that have those traits, they make it through. Those that don’t find other careers.”

“I’m not exactly looking for a career here.” Monty rolled his eyes, but Barreau’s didn’t move. They hardly even blinked.

“The thing is, Monsieur Khastil, evaluations of those details never stop. Take Ms. Towers for example—” He gestured to the woman across the room. “Integrity, honesty, dedication, persistence, ingenuity…she’s far and away the best candidate we had come through this class. She’ll go on to do great things for this city, likely for the region as a whole.”

For all the nice things the mustache had to say about Azumi, Monty felt like the whole thing was a set-up for one big BUT. He kept his face calm and calculated, but he felt his blood starting to rise.

“However—” There it was. “—when she associates herself with criminals, even going so far as to bring one here as a date. Well…it calls those traits into question. Her decision making, her integrity…it begs a second look into those details of her’s.”

THUMP-THUMP-THUMP!

Was this guy threatening her? Monty let go of his glass and set his hand flat on the table to keep from making a fist. The fur along Oracle’s spine stood on end, and with his other hand Monty motioned for her to restrain herself.

“I did my time, and I’ve had a clean record since I got out.”

“That’s not true, Monsieur Khastil. Just last week you were detained in Camphrier, and if this is how your Absol conducts itself in this kind of setting I can only imagine how you let it act outside.”

THUMP-THUMP-THUMP!

FUCK! His night in the drunk tank? Was he fucking kidding?! And calling out Oracle, too?

“This business with Ms. Towers is all hypothetical, of course.” Barreau finished his glass and set it down. “Someone above her would have to…initiate any investigation into her character.” The chief’s cold black eyes burned into Monty’s again.

THUMP-THUMP-THUMP!

“What do you want from me, then? To stay away from her?” Monty could barely keep himself seated. His blood was pumping, he was itching, itching for a fight.

“I’m afraid it’s already too late for that, Monsieur Khastil.” Barreau stood up from his stool, reached into his breast pocket, and set a business card down on the table. “When you receive a call from that number, answer it. And do enjoy yourself the rest of the night.”

Barreau walked away, and Monty felt his blood pressure slowly drop. He took a deep breath and looked down at his partner, who was still staring at Barreau’s back like she’d run him through at any second.

“Oracle, please.” Monty’s voice was a whisper. She looked up at him with fury, and he looked down at her with just as much. Neither of them wanted to just sit there, but they had to for now.

The gangster drained the rest of his liquor in one gulp and abruptly stood. His back was to Azumi, unintentionally blocking her view, and he looked down at the card. Nothing but a number…there was nothing he wanted more than to pick it up and shove it down that mustached-prick’s throat, but he picked it up and slid it into his pocket.

Deep breath…calm down…Monty straightened back up and looked back down at his partner. “Let’s get back, already.”

Azumi stood by watching Monty having a conversation with her future boss. Just watching the scene unfold only made her despise the man more. She wanted to be away from him, but reality only reminded her of the cruelty that was. She was going to have to see him daily and just like Monty’s expression could say it all, she felt they both were in the same boat. That man was a nightmare.

She made her way over to them, only to see the mustache individual walkway as she approached the scene. As Azumi reached the bar, she spread that soft smile across her face to try and make Monty’s sour expression go away.

“Everything okay? What were you two talking about? Did he say something about your record?” Azumi took the same seat her boss had taken before. “I swear that your record doesn’t affect our friendship in any way. On the contrary, monsieur, I applaud your effort to change your ways and become a better person for it.”

“Merci…mademoiselle,” Monty said after a moment, settling back into his seat while keeping his eyes on the bar. Something about her words felt…weird, and not in a good way. “I’d rather not talk about it now, though.”

He felt restless, like he needed to get up and do something. Instead, his baser instincts opted for a liquid distraction — “Excusez-moi…oui, do you have anything Unovan? Two shots, please.”

The bartender had the drinks poured in an instant, sliding one to each of the bar’s occupants, and Monty knocked his back instantly. He lay his hands back flat on the table, trying to calm himself down.

Azumi looked down at the drink. Was there a drink in this damn place she could enjoy and not shot to the back of her throat? With a slight nudge of her head, she took the beverage. She hit the drink and made a sour face as it burned down her insides. “Monsieur, I think this is the part of the party where we dance. I'm not an expert, but I promise to try my absolute best and like they say, leave it all on the dance floor.”

Azumi didn't wait for an answer. She hooked her arm around his and dragged him away. The music was simple yet with a catchy rhythm. The blonde Kalosian took Monty's hand and placed it on her hip while her other entangled with his. At first she was focused, keeping track of the beat and making sure to synchronize with her body. But, after a moment or so she began to do it naturally. Her face relaxed more and her focused expression.

“Where did you learn to dance, Monsieur?”

“One of the things I picked up growing up,” Monty answered softly. He’d been dancing since he was a kid — one of the many skills the girls at the brothel over the years thought he should have.

He could feel the alcohol finally starting to do its job, and his anxiety melted away little by little. A grin spread across Monty’s face, and he quipped, “I’m not surprised the distinguished Countess Towers knows what she’s doing. I’m just glad I can keep up with you.”

Azumi giggled and tried to look away, but her eyes darted back to Monty. “I’m not that good. I learned the basics. I didn’t want people to think I couldn’t dance back in school so I learned just in case.”

The countess stood quiet for a moment and then chuckled a bit, like realizing something. “This is actually the first dance, you could say school dance, I actually participated in. Thank you once again for the company monsieur, I’m having a good time.”

The world melted away for a moment, leaving just the man and woman dancing together. Despite the bullshit, Azumi was having a good time with him of all people. A gangster, a criminal, dancing with a cop-to-be…no, a cop. And he was having a good time, too.

A light blush settled into Monty’s face, and he smiled softly. “Thank you for inviting me, mademoiselle. We should make this kind of thing a habit.”
“Really? You want to run into my boss more often?” Azumi’s eyes shined with hope that he got the joke before she laughed herself. “But if you mean us spending time together, sure, I would love to.”

As the night went on, the twins shared Monty and took turns dancing with him. Once the alcohol kicked in and Azumi started to laugh more often, the celebration finally ended. The twins left in a cab, with Maker giving her number to Monty and forcing him to promise he will visit her gym in Kanto. Azumi kissed her date on the cheek and asked him to let her know when he was going to be free again. With the night ending, a new day started.

Azumi headed to prepare herself for a new job and a new chapter in her life while Monty’s path seemed to grow darker as the future began to settle on the young trainer.





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Spoiler: Bag

Money: 84,750
Bag:
x10 Great Ball
X5 Pokeballs
x4 Super Potion
X2 Revives
X2 Paralyze Heal
X2 Antidote
X1 Burn Heal
X1 Ice Heal

Spoiler: Pokemon Team

x5

 

[Hecotoro]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

AZUMI

TOWERS

Monday, July 18th, Lumiose, Kalos.

First Day.

Years of studying, training, practicing, preparing and finally, she was living her dream. Azumi Towers was now an officer of the law, a warrior of good against bad, the authority that will smite evil! Yes, it was about time she got to do... traffic duty?!

Beep!

Azumi rolled her eyes at the car honking at her. She gave the driver a mean look as she raised her hand and signaled for him to stop. "It's not your turn!" She called out. She could see the man yelling and making faces at her, but that didn't matter. All that effort to be the top of her class, in her entire generation, to get praised by her superiors time after time and for what? As soon as she walked into the Police Station and reported to her supervisor, she was sent to deal with crossroad that had a busted street light.

This was not at all what she had expected. All she could do was look at the technician hanging on the broken light, every once in a while to see if he was almost finished. She had never been cursed at in such a short amount a time. People were angry, specially in the morning trying to get to work or school. It was nobody's fault, but Azumi couldn't help feeling a bit guilty she couldn't solve the problem herself.

Splash!

"Seriously?!" Azumi cried out as a cup of coffee was thrown at her feet. Her eyes looked up to see a red car driving away with a group of teenagers inside laughing. "Wait..." She looked down at the cup on the floor again. "That's littering!"

Azumi seemed a bit excited as she held up her whistle to her lips and whistled at the red car driving away. "Stop! That's illegal!"

She actually expected from them to slow down and return, but instead they just kep driving and turned into the next street. "Oh no you don't!" Azumi reached for her radio, "I have a 10-61, I'm going after them."

She heard her radio cracked in response, but no reply. She didn't have time though, the bandits were already getting away. "Nimbus, let's go!"

Azumi started running as her Altaria emerged from her Poke Ball and flew alongside her. "Chase down the red car with four teenagers that turned left on Rue Crémieux. RotomPhone, keep track of her with her gps."

"Hey! What about the traffic!"

Azumi heard someone call out, but she had better, er, more important, business to take care off. She looked at her phone floating next to her as she ran. She used the alleyways as shortcuts while she saw Nimbus' signal stop, like a block away. "Huh?" Azumi slowed down and ran to the location, to her surprise, there was actually traffic on this street too. Altaria was sitting on the roof of the red car, while the teenagers were standing outside trying to shoo her away.

Azumi arrived with an amused look on her face. "Good job, Nimbus."

The teenagers turned around and their expressions went sour when they saw Azumi. The driver stood by while his three companions left. "Hey miss, we didn't throw that cup, I swear. We just laughed at it, that's all."

"Say it to the judge." Azumi always wanted to say that. She pulled out her small notebook and began writing up a ticket for him.

"Aw come on! My dad is going to kill me if he sees this! Look, I'm sorry. I just wanted to look cool in front of my friends." The teenager leaned on the car and crossed his arms. "Is this going to effect my driving record?"

Azumi looked at her phone as the Rotom came up with the information on the driver on its screen. "Driving permit? You mean you're-"

"17. I still don't have a license." The teenager placed his hands in his pockets and straightened up. "Please, let me off with a warning."

Azumi looked at the kid, her heart tugging at his sad, begging expression. "Just... keep trash off the streets." Azumi sighed, putting away her notebook.

"Holy shit! For real? Oh man thank you so much, um, officer... Towers! I swear I won't forget this." The teenager quickly jumped into his car. "I'll make sure to give those other three a good scolding, yeah? Thank you again!"

Azumi smiled and waved as the teenager drove away, to the next street light since traffic was too heavy. Nimbus landed next to her trainer, taking her head pats as a reward for flying around the corner and sitting on the target. "Code 4." Azumi said into her raido as she began to walk back to her original spot.

"Sorry, where you saying something?" Her radio replied back.

As the young police officer made her way back, her energy dropped to zero. The scene in front of her was just chaotic. It seemed that those two minutes she left her spot, there had been an accident. It was nothing major, but now she had screaming citizens and a technician who somehow was on the ground arguing about a spilled soda. "I have a 909." Azumi said into her radio as she walked into the scene, the screaming and negative energies turned to her as the citizens of Lumiouse expected her to fix the situation.

"Sorry, what was that?" Her radio answered back.

Interactions: Patriot

Spoiler: Bag

Money: 84,750
Bag:
x10 Great Ball
X5 Pokeballs
x4 Super Potion
X2 Revives
X2 Paralyze Heal
X2 Antidote
X1 Burn Heal
X1 Ice Heal

Spoiler: Pokemon Team

x5

 

[Hecotoro]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

AZUMI

TOWERS

Tuesday, July 19th, Lumiose, Kalos.

Azumi on the job, Day 2.

“I'm just saying, maybe give out a warning or two every now and then.” Azumi's supervisor adjusted his glasses as he looked at the stack of tickets Azumi had turned in the day before.

“Sir, with all due respect, this city has had enough warnings. All of these tickets are well deserved by people who refused to obey the law.” Azumi sat across her supervisor's desk. She crossed her arms over her chest and her legs one over the other. Her blue eyes focused on her superior’s face. “If we were more strict on our traffic laws, there would be less traffic incidents. It's simple science.”

“Look, I know jumping from theory to practice isn't always easy.” The red headed supervisor rubbed his forehead as he took his seat and drank from his suspicious smelling coffee. “But if you go around punishing everyone, you're going to get hate. Does our police force really need a worse reputation right now?”

“Wouldn't not doing our job give us an even worse reputation? How does letting things slide make people take our job seriously?” Azumi leaned forward, the passion in her eyes more clearly as the supervisor avoided eye contact. “If you want a more easy going traffic cop out there, then you got the wrong person on the job.”

“Alas, don't worry you're not going back out there.” The traffic supervisor started going through some documents. As he opened his mouth to continue, Azumi quickly interrupted.

“I'm not going to be your secretary either. I'm tired of people suggesting that!”

“Whoa! Relax.” The ginger man chuckled and tossed a yellow folder towards Azumi's side. “You're being changed to a different department. Courtesy of the chief. Guess he took a liking to you. Newbies rarely get such opp-” He finally decided to look Azumi into the eyes, only to realize she had left as soon as he gave her the folder. “Why do they always disappear?”

Azumi walked across the police department. Several officers turned to watch her storm by. But, her eyes were focused on the office of the sergeant. As she stepped in, she noticed already two gentlemen inside. One was the sergeant in charge of the department and an equally old looking man. The sergeant seemed to be in his 40's, with a dark skin tone and gray hair along his hairline. His mustache was definitely from the 70s but his eyes seemed full of rage and frustration.

Across him sat Officer Martin. His white skin tanned from years of service, his black hair mostly gone from the top of his head while his sides were pitch black, probably dyed. He had signs of not having shaved in a few days and his baby blue eyes seemed mischievous and suspicious. However he wore a pearly white smile, with a silver tooth outshining the rest.

Martin stood up and removed his hat. “Well we weren't expecting you so soon, partner.”

Azumi bowed her head slightly. “Sorry, I didn't see him and thought you were alone, Sergeant Jones.”

Jones stood up, clearly aching while doing so. “No worries, I was just about to call for you. This is Officer Martin. Martin, this is our newbie, Towers.”

Azumi nodded and shook Martin's hand, except he didn't let go. “Pleasure is all mine. I heard how you managed to write more traffic tickets in one day than most do in a week or two. First day and already a legend.”

Azumi gave a polite smile. “Just doing my job sir. I understand I will be under your wing today?”

“Right. Once the Serge here announced you were coming in for a parol, everyone started fighting over ya.” Martin finally let go of her hand and crossed his arms, smiling devilishly. “Chief suggested me though. Was just talking to the serge here about it.”

“You're a veteran and the chief wants to see how she handles herself in your area.” Jones didn't look happy, he gave a slight hint of concern, but shook his head and sat down, taking out a cigarette.

Azumi watched her new boss light up the tabacco and frowned. “You shouldn't smoke in here.”

Martin chuckled and looked at the annoyed Jones. “I love her.” He placed his hand on Azumi's shoulder. “Let the sergeant be, he has a tough job as it is. Come on, let's get going.”

Azumi left while Martin exchanged a few words with Jones before closing the door after them laughing. As they walked across the department, Martin kept stopping by the other veteran officers. Apparently he had won some sort of friendly bet and was collecting money.

“You lucky S O B!”
“Share that luck with the rest of us!”
“Should've been me!”

Martin just laughed and shook his head. As they walked into the parking lot, Martin pointed to one of the newer police cars. “Nice ride huh? Rather ride my Mabostiff, but he slow as hell.”

Azumi stopped at the passenger's door then looked across towards Martin. “Is there a company baseball team?”

Martin laughed, confused, and asked, “What are you talking about?”

Azumi shrugged her shoulders. “I thought I heard an officer say you wouldn't even get to first base.”

Martin laughed loudly as he opened his door. “Um, yeah, that. We are thinking about a baseball team. You interested?”

Azumi got in and looked around the car. “Sure, I'm not a professional but I can play.”

Martin smirked as he closed his door. “I'll let em know.”

The veteran turned the car on as he watched Azumi pull out a small notebook. He shook his head as they started to move.

“Why are we in Magneta Plaza?” Azumi said as she got out of the car.

The drive had been short, but that didn't stop Azumi from asking questions about the job and Martin's past experiences. He was quite open about most things and overall seemed like a nice guy.

“This is my area, if you ever want your own patrol, you have to start at the bottom.” Martin placed his hands on his belt and nodded towards a small coffee shop. “Come on, coffee's on me.”

“Oh, I brought my own water bottle.” Azumi said as she adjusted her uniform.

“Ha! My own water bottle, good one. Come on, Tickets.”

“Tickets?”

“Your new nickname. Makes ya one of us.”

Azumi smiled a bit, she always wanted a nickname.

The two cops got their coffee cups. Azumi was ready to leave when she noticed Martin taking a seat. “Excuse Officer, are we not on patrol?”

Martin looked around. “We sure are. Take a seat.”

“I don't understand. This goes against the concept of patrolling.” Azumi stood by the table, coffee cup in hand.

“You have a lot to learn, Tickets. See, people see cops walking around and they shut up and avoid us. So, we blend in. They drop their guard and bam! We get the latest word on the street.”

Azumi raised an eyebrow and sat down. “Okay. I don't get it. But, I trust your experience.”

“Just my experience? Hurting my feelings. Can't have a good team if there's no trust between us.” Martin's sly smile hid the fact that his eyes were examining the blonde in front of him.

“No offense, but I can't trust someone who just sits around in the area of Lumiose that needs our help the most.” Azumi set her cup down on the table. “So far, I'm learning what NOT to do.”

“Ouch! You sure got an attitude. But see, if you were paying attention, you would notice that group of kids using a battle as a distraction while exchanging something.”

Azumi looked clearly confused for a second before she followed his line of sight. Just as he said. In the plaza there was a battle going on, Pangoro versus Gogoat. The battle wasn't too intense, more like a show of strength and moves. On the sidelines though, six more teenagers were gathered and Azumi noticed them exchanging backpacks.

“Should we do something?” The blonde cop said as she began to stand up.

Martin shook his head. “I'm just a lazy cop according to you, do what your books say.”

Azumi rolled her eyes. “Fine. I'll handle it. Enjoy your coffee.”

Martin leaned back and watched Azumi walk away with a cocky grin on his face. “Love watching her go.”

As Azumi walked up to the group of kids, they stopped their battle and gathered around. One of them stepped up, a tomboyish girl wearing a red cap. “Lose something?”

Azumi placed her hands on her hips. Despite her authority, a few of the boys were her height or a bit taller. “Shouldn't you be in school?”

That seemed to be a joke because the group of teens laughed as soon as she spoke. “We're still on vacations, lady. Is that a crime?”

“Then why are you carrying backpacks?” Azumi focused on their leader.

“Because we're freaking Pokémon trainers, duh.”

“Pokemon trainers have items and objects in their backpacks according to the necessity of their teams.”

“No shit.”

“So why would Pokémon trainers exchange backpacks.”

“None of your business that's why.”

“It is my business. I need to make sure you aren't exchanging anything you shouldn't be.”

“You ain't looking through our shit. So fuck off.”

Azumi crossed her arms, annoyed by the girl standing up to her. “Fine. You won't mind if I call your parents then.”

The girl in the cap sighed and looked around her group. “Officer Martin is cool with us, go talk to him.”

“He sent me over.”

“Fuck. Alright, you can look. Chubby, show her the goods.”

Azumi cracked a smile. She waited patiently as the thicker teenager walked over and opened his backpack. The cop looked in, expecting to find drugs or alcohol. But instead, her cheeks blushed and she looked away.

“That's, um, do you have permission, nevermind, just…”Azumi sighed. “Why?”

The red cap girl shrugged. “It makes money. People buy this shit.”

Azumi shook her head. “Get rid of it, I'll check your backpacks tomorrow.”

The leader of the group rolled her eyes and walked away with her team following after.

Azumi sighed and walked with her head down. For a second she thought she would have her first bust. But it was just a bunch of kids carrying-

Bump!

Azumi felt the impact on her shoulder. She turned around and for a second the memory of Monty flashed in her mind. One of the two men she had bumped into looked her up and down while the second one adjusted his shirt. “Sorry madam, my fault.”

Azumi looked at the man she had hit for a second or two before bowing lightly. “My apologies. I was a bit distracted.”

“What on earth could trouble such a pretty lass?” The second man said as he tipped his hat towards Azumi.

“Nothing major. I apologize once again. Please stay out of trouble.” Azumi tipped her hat in return and turned to walk away. She could hear them chuckling and whispering, somehow feeling their gaze on her until she made her way back to Martin.

As she sat down she knew Martin was laughing and talking to her. But, Azumi was on to something. For some reason, those guys reminded her of Monty and there was something there she felt she needed to say.

“Brothel!” Azumi finally spoke up, getting an astonished look from her partner.

“Now I know we don’t get paid a whole lot, but ya don’t gotta start working there.” Martin joked around, chuckling a bit nervously. “But if you’re in the business, I’m buying.”

“No! Ew!” Azumi made a disgusted face as she understood his ‘joke’.

“Ew?”

“Look, those two guys, they reminded me of something. Well, of someone…” Azumi pondered for a moment, deciding if mentioning his name was a good thing.

“Oh, ooooh didn’t know Tickets already had someone… punching her ticket.” Martin smiled, waiting for Azumi to laugh at his attempt at making a joke. But she seemed to just ignore him.

“I met someone who grew up around these parts and mentioned there’s a brothel. If any criminal activity is going on, which there clearly is! That would be a good place to start looking.” Azumi looked about ready to go, like an Arcanine who just picked up a fresh trail.

“Settle down, Tickets. Unless you want to go undercover as one of the girls, then we can’t do much.” Martin shrugged and took a drink from his coffee.

“What are you talking about? You’re a veteran cop. Surely you must know what to do! Wait, there’s no way someone hasn’t tried this before, why haven’t we?”

“About time you start thinking more clearly. We’ve tried everything with that place. Raids, search warrants, we even lost a female cop who went undercover and stayed there. Whatever they’re hiding, there’s nothing we can’t do without evidence.”

Azumi looked down at her coffee cup disappointed. “So that’s it? My job is just to make sure kids aren’t selling hentai on the streets?”

Martin laughed out loud. “How in the world do you know what, nevermind. Not what I’m saying, Tickets. There’s a time and place, we just need to be ready to move in when we see that opening. For now, we blend in, let them drop their guard and when you least expect it, bam! We have em cuffed up in the back seat.”
Azumi was… uninspired by his words, but her mind was already trying to find a way. If she could find a way to bring down whatever was happening in that place, she could definitely be considered for a detective job. What she needed was a connection to such a place and she just happened to know one.

“Right, you are the veteran.” Azumi smiled and drank from her coffee. “What is this?” She looked down at her cup.

“What? Coffee too strong for you?” Martin said with a teasing look as he took another sip.

“Quite the opposite, it’s too weak. How are we going to protect our city with such a low level beverage?”

While Martin had his laugh, Azumi sent a quick text.

Sorry to contact you for business and not for pleasure, but I need your help.



Mentions: Patriot

Spoiler: Bag

Money: 84,750
Bag:
x10 Great Ball
X5 Pokeballs
x4 Super Potion
X2 Revives
X2 Paralyze Heal
X2 Antidote
X1 Burn Heal
X1 Ice Heal

Spoiler: Pokemon Team

x5

 

[CloudySkyLoftyMoon]

Route 10

Kalos Region

July, 12

th

| 8:00 a.m.

Dizzying. The world spun; a color-splotched smear of green. Round n’ round n’ round n’—urk! She was gonna be sick; she was gonna lose breakfast. She didn’t think she could lose breakfast; not in here, not within a Pokéball—this strange, other-space where her mind and senses wondered separate from her maw, and paws, and claws. In a way, it was impressive—formidable even—that she could be reduced to such a state.

She had thought she’d gotten used to this. Thought she’d adapted. She had made peace with the temporary restrictions of her circumstances, hadn’t she...? No, evidently not. Leaping, spinning, fits of frenzied spasms—Houndour had prior observations of this… ‘dancing’, but nothing could’ve prepared her for the first-hand experienced.

“We’re he~ere! Last stop on the Kalos Express. Route 10!”

The world tumbled to a pause; sensation raced through her paws, soft and firm—then it slipped. Familiar scents filled her head, fragrant and smokey—was that a hint of Pinap berry?

“Houndour…?”

Her throat constricted; her stomach rebelled.

“Eek! Oh, GROSS! It’s on my shooOOEES, gross, gross, GROSSS! EEEEEK!”

---

“Route 10 huh…your home is…uh, nice?”

Nice? No, it simply was.

Route 10 wasn’t ideal. Prey was sparse and hard-fought; Eevee were the easiest marks, followed by Snubbull. The others? Emolga were elusive; delicious, but rarely caught. Eelectrike were fierce rivals, almost never worth the conflict. Hawlucha were…dangerous. The few other Pokémon that roamed the route weren’t even edible: Golett, Sigilyph, Nosepass…

The pack had tried to move before, but the north and south were bracketed by mountains. The only way past them was over or though. Neither was feasible.

Route 10 wasn’t great, but it was home.

Houndour stiffened as warm arms wrapped around her neck, her lung filled with the smell of perfume.

“Good luck out there…I’ll miss you.”

This was…nice. She could see why some Pokémon chose a life of…subjugation. Although it wasn’t for her, Houndour wasn’t afraid to admit she too would miss this odd human. A life of easy meals and stressless travels, one of higher thoughts and greater concerns than the next ; a life where she could aspire to more than just survival. A good life, but she couldn’t—wouldn’t, trade her pack for the good life.

As the Human released her—both from her embrace and the bounds of her pokéball—Houndour howled softly. A howl of loss and of farewells. A howl for a life that could’ve been.

Then, steeling her resolve, she set off for the tree-line.

 

[Hecotoro]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

AZUMI

TOWERS

Wednesday, July 20th, Lumiose, Kalos.

Day 3 on the job. (Part One)

"Well, Tickets, seems like we're stuck together for a while." Officer Martin said as he took his seat on the driver's side.

His eyes scanned Azumi while she looked through a small notebook. A smugly smile on his face. He had placed in a good report on Azumi's behave regarding their first day together and the seargant had agreed to keep her with Officer Martin, of course, at Martin's request. Now, Azumi didn't really seem to care she was on patrol with him on again, it was probably better than traffic duty. But, the traffic department had complained that she kept brining in too many tickets, so it was better to keep her off that department meanwhile.

"I'm afraid so..." Azumi said quietly, putting her notebook away and turning to face her superior. "I'm guessing we're going to sit around drinking coffee again?" The blonde woman said, looking unamused and preparing herself mentally to feel useless another day.

"Oh?" Martin seemed to enjoy her suffering as he turned the car keys and ignited the engine. "Now, what kind of teacher would I be if you weren't learning on the job? Yesterday, you learned to take it easy while scouting the area. Today, we will go straight into some action."

Azumi's eyes seemed to lit up while she buckled her seatblet. "Really? If that's the case, I would really like to investigate this brothel situation I mentioned. I have a feeling of where it might be. I noticed a few gentleman walking in that direction and based on what they were wearing, I checked the area."

"Ha! Did you? You found a brothel just looking at what people wear?" The veteran officer watched ahead as the car began to move out of the parking lot.

Azumi's voice seemed to get filled with excitement as she spoke. "Yes! You see, I thought it was odd to see such fine suits in the moring. Of course, my first thought was, maybe they were going to work? But you see, there isn't really any place in the area that requires such formal wear. Then I thought, maybe some sort of event? But once again, there wasn't anything booked or any revenue that would require you to wear such an outfit and specially not on a Tuesday morning."

"Maybe they just like to dress fancy." Martin shrugged.

"Of course, that is a possibility. But you told me we were sitting around drinking coffee to scout out anything that sticks out, right?" Azumi turned away from her partner and looked out the window. "Well, in that specific direction, the amount of grown men was higher than that of anyone else. Now, I'm not saying everyone going that way was heading to such place, but it is oddly suspicious."

"Okay, Tickets, we'll look around." Martin turned and smiled at her. "Part of the job is trusting your gut. We'll follow yours this time."

Azumi turned to face him, her mood livelier than before. "Really? Thank you! I'll check every stone and corner, to make sure we don't miss anything."

With Azumi in a better mood, the ride was once again full of questions about the job. She kept picking Martin's brain, like to all the teachers she had in the past, to learn as much as possible from him. She was constantly looking up past cases, asking his opinion on them and now and then would swerve into politics. Still, Azumi was radiating energy. Her passion for the job was clear, something Martin couldn't help but smile about.

After they arrived and got some coffee, Martin allowed Azumi to lead. "Right." Azumi took out her notebook while her Rotomphone popped out next to her. "So, according to this area, I crossed out any places that aren't shady enough. Things like daycares, coffee shops and even clothing stores. I chose to avoid those since these places can be frequented by a cop. Therefore, having a brothel in such place would be way too risky. So, what kind of places do cops not visit during patrol?" Azumi turned to her partner, her eyes glimmering with hope.

"Well, if I were a cop, I wouldn't visit a brothel on duty." He replied with a chuckle, followed by a drink from his coffee.

Azumi rolled her eyes and turned forward. "I won't point out what is wrong with that statement." She sighed. "There's several places, an adult film theater, a bar and a gym. The last one though has too much traffic during the day, so that leaves us with-"

"Adult films." Martin replied with a smug smile. "Let's go, you choose the movie, I buy the popcorn."

"Ew!" Azumi shook her head. "No! Obviously it's a bar."

Martin chuckled and stopped walking. "You want to go, into a bar, dressed as cops and ask for a brothel?"

Azumi crossed her arms and bit her lower lip. "Right, we wouldn't get anywhere like that."

Martin raised his cup to Azumi and they started walking again. "Walking into any bar right now and asking around about such a thing like a brothel, will just make the activity go quiet."

"Unless they don't know we're cops..." Azumi looked at Martin, with her focus on her thoughts. "I have an idea. But, I don't like it."

Martin grinned, "Oh I know exactly what we have to do. But, I WILL like it."



Mentions: Patriot

Spoiler: Bag

Money: 84,750
Bag:
x10 Great Ball
X5 Pokeballs
x4 Super Potion
X2 Revives
X2 Paralyze Heal
X2 Antidote
X1 Burn Heal
X1 Ice Heal

Spoiler: Pokemon Team

x5

 

[Hecotoro]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

AZUMI

TOWERS

Wednesday, July 20th, Lumiose, Kalos.

Day 3 on the job. (Part two)

"That's you outfit for a bar?" Martin raised an eyebrow as he looked Azumi up and down.

Azumi looked down at her outfit, confused by the comment. "I don't see any issues with it. Online it said this was a good outfit."

"Well, I expected something a little bit more skimpier." The veteran officer said as he leaned against his car, his eyes still fixed on Azumi.

"Skimpier? Why would I wear something like that?" The young officer crossed her arms, clearly uncomfortable by the conversation.

"Well, we are trying to convince them we're on a date. Girls usually try to look sexy for that." Martin smirked as he stood up straight and adjusted his worn out brown leather jacket. "Anyways, you're still going to catch everyone's attention."

"We never said we were pretending to be on a date." Azumi snapped back, "I'm not goint to even ask what you think an appropiate outfit would have been! Seriously, your jokes can be considered sexual harrasment you know?"

"Jokes?" Martin chuckled as they began to walk towards the bar in front of them. They had landed on a bar located in Hibernal Avenue, called Le Trou. It wasn't a big establishment, but Azumi had chosen it due to the traffic of older man heading there after work. She figured if there was some shady business going around, that was the place to start. Martin had suggested some more livelier ones, but the blonde refused to change her decision. After their shift ended and with permission from seargant Jones, they decided on meeting up at night, were Azumi expected would be more movement.

As they walked in, just as they had witnessed before, most of the clients were men. Some were acompanied by skimpier dressing women while a big chunk were hanging around alone at the bar or in small groups. One of the waitresses walked by, swaying her hips and winking at Martin. The veteran officer seemed about to start drooling as his eyes fixated on her. Azumi just rolled her eyes, trying to focus on their task.

"Let's just get a table." The blonde officer began to walk through the room as some eyes turned to admire her. It was exactly what she wanted to avoid in such a place, but it seemed no matter how she dressed, it was an inevitable. Of course, Martin looked proud of himself as he walked after Azumi. Puffing his chest and greeting random men with a firm nod. Once they had chosen a table, they sat across each other, both officers looking around the bar while their waitress showed up.

"Hey Nancy, why don't you bring me a nice cold beer and a martini for the lady?" Martin's smug smile shone as he looked up at the red haired woman standing next to them with a notebook.

"Beer, Dark." Azumi said with a strong tone.

"Oh? I never took you for a beer drinking kind of gal."

"Probably because you have never dated one." Azumi looked at her partner with a clear sign of annoyance on her face.

The waitress pressed her lips together and place her pen behind her ear. "Two beers, coming right up."

Martin chuckled as his eyes watched the waitress leave. "Oh trust me, I've had plenty." The officer then turned to his partner and leaned back on his chair. "So, Tickets, why did you decide to become a cop? With a body and face like yours, you could have made easy money in a lot of places."

Azumi smiled at the waitress as she set down their drinks and then glared at Martin. "I love my region. Therefore, I want to make it a better place."

Martin sneered. "That's it? It has nothing to do with your dead mother?"

Azumi felt her heart drop as her eyes fueled with anger. "That is a private matter and I would appreciate if you didn't-"

"Or your criminal brother?"

Azumi bit her tongue. Her jaw trembled as Martin looked more confident than ever. "I understand you had to look through my file. But, these are subjects I-"

"Crime took away your mother AND brother. So, you decided to become a cop to try and protect others from the same crappy fate you were given. Your sister seems to be the most normal one of your bunch. I follow her on Shinxtagram of course. I also found some old photos of your mother in some contests she participated in, beautiful too. It's a shame really, such great looking women stained by-"

"Enough!" Azumi leaned forward and slammed her fist on the table. "I will NOT tolerate you talking about my family like that ever again!"

Martin's smile faded away. "You don't really have a choice here, Towers. You're under my command right now and I will deman your respect."

"Fuck your respect." Azumi's eyes seemed ready to shoot flamethrowers at the man. "Earn it, like everyone else has to in this world. Forcing respect on to others is disgusting."

Both officers locked into a stare for a moment or two. Azumi's heavy breathing seemed to be the only thing that could be heard until a nearby table broke into a laughter. Martin smiled and shook his head slowly.

"What are we doing? We're partners, right? I over stepped, sorry." He held up his beer towards Azumi.

The newbie sighed loudly and leaned back on her chair, stretching her arm out to clank her beer with his. "Apology accepted. In return, I apologize for raising my voice. It was very unprofessional of me and it won't happen again."

Martin smiled and took a sip from his beer. "So, besides fighting for justice, what else does Tickets do on her free time?"

Azumi scanned the bar once more, her eyes noticing something on their waitress. "How did you know her name?"

Martin raised one eyebrow. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"The waitress, you talked to her by her first name. How did you know it?"

"Oh come on, why are you being so suspicious?" Martin chuckled and took a long drink from his beer. "She has a name tag."

Azumi looked back at him and nodded firmly. "Right."

"So..." Martin cleared his throat. "Your hobbies?"

"Oh! Right." Azumi smiled at her partner. "Well not much for anything formal at the moment. Training myself and my Pokemon is a top priority. "I noticed you have a Mabosstiff? Pretty amazing looking."

"Ha! Good ol Mabo, he's a cranky one. Once he locks on to a criminal, he takes em down one way or another. I swear he might have enjoyed biting humans a bit too much. But as long as he's on my side."

As the night went on, Azumi would keep looking around the place while Martin kept trying to chat her up, only to end up talking about himself. The young officer did notice a few things though.

"I hate being judegemental..." Azumi began while Martin ate from his nachos. "But, aren't some of these men... well, I don't know how to say it..." Azumi bit her lower lip a bit as she tried to come up with the proper words. "Too ugly for some of the women they are with?"

Martin stopped and swallowed forcefully before bursting into laughter. "I hate to admit it, but you're right. I happen to be one of them."

"Well I don't think they have the same situation as we do."

"They're probably escorts."

"Escorts?"

"Yeah. You know, you pay a fine looking gal to go on a date and flirt with you. Don't worry, nothing sexual involved. They're just paying for good company." Martin took a drink from what seemed to be his fifth beer, his eyes, once again, fixed on Azumi.

"Well then, that explains why a lot of them come to this bar." She said, a hint of disappointment in her tone. "I guess I was wrong on this one."

"Well, what can I say, sometimes your gut is wrong. But don't worry, I don't mind lurking around at night in different bars with you." The smirk on his face growing wider as he took advantage of Azumi's distracted eyes to take in more of her image.

"Well, it's getting late. We should get going." Azumi took out her wallet, looking through it to pay for her drink.

"You mind paying my share? I left my wallet in the car."

Azumi's eyes looked up, annoyed. "Sure."

Martin stood up, adjusting his belt and holding in a brup. "I'm going outside for a cigarette."

"Sure, I'm using the bathroom really quick."

Azumi got up and watched as Martin tumbled out of the bar. She stood there and waited for Nancy to come collect the paycheck. As she did so, Azumi stopped her by tapping her shoulder. "Excuse me, Nancy, right? I think I found your name tag on the floor in the girl's bathroom."

Nancy giggled and shook her head. "Can't be, we don't use name tags. Probably some office worker."

Azumi smiled and took a quick look at other waitresses in the bar. "Right, right. I left it by the sink anyways, just in case."

Soon, she found herself outside with Martin while he smoked away. "You are in no condition to drive." She said while looking at his red face.

"Oh, I'm fine. My mind is wide awake, a couple beers barely do nothing to me. But hey, if you want to take me home, I would be more than happy to accept the offer." He tossed the cigarette tail to the side and stepped closer to Azumi.

Tickets closed her eyes and made a disgusted face. "No, I had enough of the smell of cigar for the day. Besides, if you crash and die, I can simply apply for your spot on the force." She smiled innocently before turning to walk away.

"Ha! Good one." Martin said as his eyes fixed on Azumi's lower half. "You were joking, right?"

"Good night officer." Azumi called out as she walked away. The flash of a Poke Ball being opened visible down the street.

Martin waited for Azumi to be out of sight and then walked back into the bar.

Mentions: Patriot

Spoiler: Bag

Money: 84,750
Bag:
x10 Great Ball
X5 Pokeballs
x4 Super Potion
X2 Revives
X2 Paralyze Heal
X2 Antidote
X1 Burn Heal
X1 Ice Heal

Spoiler: Pokemon Team

x5

 

[Hecotoro]

Azumi Towers, Thursday, July 21st.

Another day on the job.

Azumi's day wasn't going great. They had placed her in traffic duty since Martin had taken the day off. Of course, her supervisor groaned when she turned in her stack of tickets. If people knew how to follow the rules though, maybe Azumi wouldn't write so many tickets. To make this worse though, she had sent a message to Monty earlier that day. But, even with her shift over, there was no response.

However, that wasn't going to stop her from following her trail from the night before. Martin seemed to be very good at pretending to be a morron or was actually one. It was obvious something more was going on in that bar, but he obviously refused to acknowledge it or was to embarrassed to admit he had been there several times before. Enough to be acquainted with their waitress.

Azumi walked into the drinking hole. The atmosphere was the same as before and she once again felt shivers down her spine, courtesy of the eyes savoring her while she walked in. The blonde woman this time went to the bar. It was common sense that bartenders usually knew more than the average drunk.

She took a sit at a stool in the corner at the edge of the bar, making sure if someone was to bother her, they would only be able to sit on her left side. The newbie police officer smiled at the bartender and raised her hand. "Got any imported beer? Anything dark will do."

 

[Patriot]

Jacques Lalande - Bartender
Lumiose City, Kalos

---

There were only three reasons a young woman would walk into his bar alone at this time of night, and as far as Jacques was concerned the one who just sat down at the end of his bar didn't fit any of them.

Not many women had dates at a bar like his, and not many of his regulars had dates with a young lady like her. There was the possibility that she was looking for work, but she didn't fit the mold for that either. Her demeanor didn't scream 'I need money' nor did she look like the type of girl to be running away from something. She was too...sure. In truth he hadn't seen a young woman like her come through looking for work since the boy's mother.

There was always the possibility she wasn't looking to work but was looking to pay, but after a lifetime dealing with people he knew enough that she didn't seem to be there for that, either.

Jacques didn't turn around when the blonde asked for a drink, but did move to fill the glass he'd been drying. "Then anything dark you shall get, mademoiselle."

The glass filled quickly and he set it down in front of her, and at the same time took a good look at his customer. There was something...oddly familiar about her. The blonde hair, the blue eyes...but what was it?

"Are you waiting on someone, Ms...?" The bartender trailed off, expecting the young lady to introduce herself.

 

[Hecotoro]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

AZUMI

TOWERS

Thursday, July 21st, Lumiose, Kalos.

On job, day 4.

"Ms. Khastil."

Hopefully Monty wouldn't mind, but it was the first name that came to her head that wasn't related to her or her family in some way. For now she wouldn't give out a first name, she had to be mysterious.

"And no, I'm not waiting on someone." While that was a good reason to be there, since she wouldn't be caught dead in such place, nobody was ever going to arrive. She had sent a text to Monty, but he seemed unavailable lately. Maybe Azumi was being too pushy? Her first good friend and she scared them away. Anyways, she needed a reason to explain why she was there by herself. Of course, she chose the only route she knew she was good at and could answer any questions regarding it.

"I'm here working on a social experiment that involves depression and alcoholism. So, I chose this place. Not saying something is wrong with your bar monsieur, on the contrary, it is quite calm and somehow comfortable. If you don't mind I will include that as a probable reason why people come here to get drunk." Azumi shared a while for a second. "Actually, it would really help me out if you were to point out some people I could interview? Don't worry, this will all be annonymous. If you would like, you can choose your code name, Mr...?"


Mentions: Patriot

Spoiler: Bag

Money: 84,750
Bag:
x10 Great Ball
X5 Pokeballs
x4 Super Potion
X2 Revives
X2 Paralyze Heal
X2 Antidote
X1 Burn Heal
X1 Ice Heal

Spoiler: Pokemon Team

x5

 

[Patriot]

Jacques Lalande - Bartender
July 21 - Lumiose City, Kalos

---

Ms. Khastil, eh? Ah, so that's who he was dealing with.

"Jacques is fine," he said, picking up a dirty mug from the sink to wipe down. "And while I appreciate your complimenting my bar, I'm not sure my patrons would appreciate the implication that they are...how did you say it? Depressed alcoholics?"

The old man took his attention of the girl and rinsed out the mug, swapping his dirt rag for a clean one to dry it out. At the same time, his foot tapped a button hidden on the underside of the bar the would warn the brothel not to let anyone in or out. The girl's was quite the story to tell — social experiments and interviews. Unfortunate that she'd already given herself away as the one and only blonde-haired blue-eyed dignified officer-of-the-law who'd been hanging around their very own Mr. Khastil.

Antoine had warned them that she might turn up, but her coming alone was unexpected. The boy must've let a lot more slip than he should've.

"Why this bar, anyways, Ms. Khastil?" Jacques asked idly.

 

[Hecotoro]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

AZUMI

TOWERS

Thursday, July 21st, Lumiose, Kalos.

"That's quite a redundant question, monsieur Jacques." Azumi replied, her blue eyes examining the face of the bartender. "For a bartender I expected a bit more ability in the listening part. The again, I guess that is all media. Better to judge things myself than depend on old movies and television shows." She adjusted her posture and looked around the bar.

"I will not be letting these people know the reason for my experiment of course. But I do have to consider that they had a hard day at work and this is the best place for them to relax at. It would be selfish on my part to bother them now." She sighed, leaning forward on the counter and resting her head on her right hand. "Would you happen to know the local hot pants? There is always that one man who tries to get into every woman's bed and considers himself a smooth talker." She looked at the bartender. "I'm sure I can get everything I need from him and will not have to bother your other customers. I promise to leave a good tip if you help me out."


Mentions: Patriot

Spoiler: Bag

Money: 84,750
Bag:
x10 Great Ball
X5 Pokeballs
x4 Super Potion
X2 Revives
X2 Paralyze Heal
X2 Antidote
X1 Burn Heal
X1 Ice Heal

Spoiler: Pokemon Team

x5

 

[Patriot]

Jacques Lalande - Bartender
July 21 - Lumiose City, Kalos

---

"The local...hot pants." The old man thought he'd heard every manner of slang the kids were saying these days, but that one took him back. He paused from his glass-drying for a second, and his old eyes scanned the room for the hot pants the girl apparently wanted so badly. What could be the harm?

A pair of his sloppiest-drunk regulars were in the middle of an argument over the rules of pool in the corner — absolutely not.

Another regular was all alone, passed out a table after paying for a full bottle of some of the cheapest scotch Jacques stocked. A messy man going through a messy divorce, with his regular attendance at the brothel only being one of the problems him and his wife were having. To sum up, he was another terrible choice.

The selection wasn't great, but...where was...there. The bartender's gaze settled on the hallway that led to the bathroom, where another man had finally appeared.

"Antoine!" The bartender called out and waved the man over. The tall, olive-skinned, smooth-talking devil waltzed out of the hall like he owned the place, and was wiping his hands on his pants when the old man beckoned him. This girl wanted a hot pants, she'd get a hot pants.

As he made his way to the bar, Jacques turned back to the girl. "You can leave that tip any time, young lady."

---

Disaster always had to strike at the least opportune times. Sometimes it was when you just got your heartbroken. Sometimes it was in the middle of breaking some hearts. Other times, it was while nature was calling.

The bar's warning alert, pinged straight to his phone, literally caught Antoine with his pants down. Merde, of all the lousy days he paid a visit to their top money makers it had to be today that there was some problem. He wrapped up his business and stepped out of the bathroom, only to spot tonight's problem the moment he turned the corner.

Blonde hair, blue eyes, dignified — was that who he thought it was? There was no fucking way she'd come to the bar, the one place Monty should've known not to let slip.

Jacques beckoned him over, and he answered in kind. "Yes? Are you finally ready to forgive my tab?"

The old man rolled his eyes and motioned with his glass to the blonde woman at the bar-top. "She wants to talk to you."

 

[Hecotoro]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

AZUMI

TOWERS

Thursday, July 21st, Lumiose, Kalos.

Azumi turned around and saw that familiar face. It was that hijo de su puta madre that she had met before. The blonde police officer stood up. She looked straight into the eyes of bitch ass Antoine and cracked a smile. "This is as far as you're ever going to go you piss smelling slug!"

Azumi kicked the man in the stomach and proceeded to do an earth breaking Stone Cold Stunner on the old man. As she slammed his neck against her shoulder and sent the drunken flying backwards, she landed on her bottom. She quickly stood up and ran over to his unconcious body. Azumi stood over him and shook her head. "And that's the bottom line, cuz Ah-Zu-Mi said so!"

The police officer grabbed a nearby beer, chugged it and threw the bottle against a glass. She looked at the bartender. "Towers 3:16 says I just whooped this man's ass, yeah!"

Having ended crime with one strong movement that spread fear across the Kalos criminal organization, Azumi used Nana to track down the cowarding Monty somewhere underground. Using her Lucario, the fighting Pokemon went down there, used a piledriver to kill all the ghosts and then dragged Monty out. Lucario took charmed Oracle and left with her to figure out their lives while taking over Oracle's old territory. Azumi took Monty and made him her stay at home husband. The End.


Mentions: Patriot

Spoiler: Bag

Money: 84,750
Bag:
x10 Great Ball
X5 Pokeballs
x4 Super Potion
X2 Revives
X2 Paralyze Heal
X2 Antidote
X1 Burn Heal
X1 Ice Heal

Spoiler: Pokemon Team

x5

 

[Hecotoro]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

AZUMI

TOWERS

Thursday, July 21st, Lumiose, Kalos.

Azumi turned around to meet the man the bartender was talking to. She couldn't believe she had to improvise an actual interview to keep her act up. Unfortunately, her luck had ran out, if she had any to start with. The man she had been referred to was none other than Monty's friend, Monsieur Antoine. Not only was now Azumi looking like the type of girl that would go to such bar, but he might tell Monty! The second making her worry a bit more than it really should.

Azumi tried to hide the embarrassment of being in such bar at such hours by smiling. "Monsieur Antoine? I never expected to run into you at such place." If she shot the shots first, maybe she could keep the conversation under her control. "Do you frequent here often?"

Azumi had turned and stood up while she spoke. She offered to shake the man's hand, despite her mind reminding her the man might've not have washed them. "I'm working on a social project and was looking for the local hot pants and was directed to you. Does this mean you're a ladies man monsieur?" She tried to keep her tone playful and innocent. The last thing she needed was making the situation more awkward.


Mentions: Patriot

Spoiler: Bag

Money: 84,750
Bag:
x10 Great Ball
X5 Pokeballs
x4 Super Potion
X2 Revives
X2 Paralyze Heal
X2 Antidote
X1 Burn Heal
X1 Ice Heal

Spoiler: Pokemon Team

x5