Gotta Catch Em' All: Team Galactic Diamond

[Lychee]

RAE
Trainer Palila Rae
Location: Floaroma Town
Team: Dartrix (25/25), Chatot (26/26), Oricorio (fire) -shiny (15/15) Eevee -shiny (25/25)
Partner Pokemon: ---
Items: 1x Honey, 2x Greatball, 4x Pokeballs, 4x Healballs, Potion, Revive, Chesto Berry, Water Stone, Pidgeotite, Journal, Sketchpad,
Locked Pokeballs: Staravia (25/25), Wingull (25/25), Prinlup (25/25)
Points: 164(+1 from posting) Posts: 63P + 13TG

Palila raised an eyebrow when the officer came in. Eterna City? She had never even been there! She nearly spoke out to protest that she hadn't done any crimes there, when she remembered that this could actually be faked and a helpful thing to get them out of the cell. She angrily bit her lip as the officer insulted them for being sloppy criminals.
What does he want, kids who are pretending to be classy criminals? Please, you pretentious passimian, of course we wouldn't be like that! She retorted internally, remembering how sloppy and silly the Team Skull grunt kids in Alola were. She thought suits or classy clothing ruined life, because they were super impractical. It didn't occur to her that he meant sloppy as in careless- she thought it was a clothing insult.

As they were loaded into the back of the transfer van, Palila went to go tuck her hands into her pockets- which didn't work as they were handcuffed. It did, however, remind her that she had pockets full of pokeballs! They hadn't been confiscated, somehow! Perhaps that wasn't police protocol, or it would stress out pokemon too much. Either way, she was impatiently waiting on a way to get most of her pokemon out again. And.... in the back of her mind she was wondering where her Chatot which had flown the coop during the arrest had gotten off to (and how it would find her again!)

The van stopped abruptly and she bumped sideways into Pat, and didn't bother with an apology. The driver got out and there was a brief pause before a few thumps and the doors to outside were flung open. Palila squinted into the light.
Blue hair, futuristic outfits.
She grinned a big wide grin.
"Alright! Excellent! Great stuff dudes!" She climbed out of the van awkwardly (as her hands were still cuffed) and nodded at them, listening to their command as one of them attempted to pick the lock on her cuffs.
"I'm totes on board for surfing this wave but I gotta get my flippers free first... Dudes... why not just use the key." She was still offering her cuffs to the galactic grunt trying to unlock them, but peeked around the side of the van and saw the officers who had been knocked out still had their keys attached to their belt. She pointed at them, but then the grunt finally unlocked her cuffs.
"Uh, never mind I guess, maybe it's a matter of pride for you guys"
She rubbed her wrists a little, looking up at the sky.
Way off in the distance, there was a wingull and a chatot circling each other.
"Oh yeah! I forgot about Gemstone Grans wingull!" She exclaimed to herself, and noticed both birds seem to turn towards the area and begin making a beeline for the trainers.
"Valley Windworks, was it? Well, I'm good to go whenever you are." She announced to anyone, deciding the birds would catch up eventually.

[Lychee]

RAE
Trainer Palila Rae
Location: Valley Windworks
Team: Dartrix (25/25), Chatot (26/26), Oricorio (fire) -shiny (15/15) Eevee -shiny (25/25) Torchic (5/5)
Partner Pokemon: ---
Items: 1x Honey, 2x Greatball, 4x Pokeballs, 4x Healballs, Potion, Revive, Chesto Berry, Water Stone, Pidgeotite, Journal, Sketchpad,
Locked Pokeballs: Staravia (25/25), Wingull (25/25), Prinlup (25/25)
Points: 165(+1 from posting) Posts: 63P + 14TG

Palila snorted with amusement when Knuckles called her 'young lady'. It seemed so proper! It seemed far too polite.
"I'm Rae. Flipped you the bird AND gave you a pokemon, my dude; so I figure it evens out. I suppose you're 'Knuckles', right? And you're our sweet silent Patty-cake" She turned to her teammates in turn, saying their names aloud to remember. She had heard the grunts mention Knuckles' name, and had already been introduced to Pat during the distraction fiasco.
"I'm guessing Oberon was your pal with the smooth hair and smooth attitude?" She hadn't been formally introduced to him, but she could put two and two together.
"He mentioned something about the Windworks too, so I reckon we'll catch up with him soon. "

She shoved her hands into her pockets, glad to feel a pokeball in her hand again. She let out her fiery oricorio, giving it a nod of approval.
"I'll send out a bird to scout ahead and make sure the way to Windworks is clear, yeah?"

The grunts nearby looked over at Palila, frowning.
"Oy, if you're a new recruit, you can't use that sort of pokemon!" One of them exclaimed, and Palila looked defensive.
"No- you're supposed to be given a new recruit pokemon too, to train up in the ways of team Galactic. A Pokemon like oricorio probably won't listen to a new grunt, yanno?" They explained, and Palilas face softened slightly. Oh, they thought she was new
One of the grunts elbowed the other, and he dug around in his pockets for a pokeball.
"We were told there were some newbies around, so here, this ones for you. Came from a trainer we beat up on the way here, and stolen pokemon always need more work. I can't be bothered with it. You take it." He said, handing over the pokeball.

Pokemon Claiming: Torchic
Cost: 0
Event: Team Galactic Start Unlock

Palila took it, looking both surprised and grateful. Last time she was given a pokemon in this dimension it had grown into her Prinplup, who had been invaluable on her journey so far.
She let out the pokemon in question.
"A torchic?" She glared at the team rocket grunts, and the torchic sedately pecked at a speck on the ground.

"They become powerful fighters!" The team rocket grunt sneered. Palila glared at him.
"You.. it... its a chicken. Its a dumb baby chicken." She watched the torchic wiggle its toe, then peck its own foot, thinking it was a worm.
Palila sighed.
"Fine, whatever." She accepted that these grunts thought she was probably a dumb baby trainer too, and made a note to beat them in a pokemon battle later on if she saw them again.

[Lychee]

RAE
Trainer Palila Rae
Location: Valley Windworks
Team: Dartrix (25/25), Chatot (26/26), Oricorio (fire) -shiny (25/25) Eevee -shiny (25/25) Combusken (16/16)
Partner Pokemon: ---
Items: 1x Honey, 2x Greatball, 4x Pokeballs, 4x Healballs, Potion, Revive, Chesto Berry, Water Stone, Pidgeotite, Journal, Sketchpad,
Locked Pokeballs: Staravia (25/25), Wingull (25/25), Prinlup (25/25)
Points: 167(-16, -20, +1 from posting) Posts: 63P + 15TG

((I'm a speedy writer! Sorry, and don't worry- until Max posts again, I'm stuck at this post being my last.))

Palila looked sideways at Pat, who was out of the van by now, and knuckles who hadn't said one way or the other if she should scout ahead with a bird. Clearly, no answer was a positive answer!
"Well, it'll be good experience for you, so I guess you can go for a fly anyway. Take the baby with you." She directed Oricorio towards the Torchic. At the moment, both of them were fire types so they seemed to be on the same wavelength. The little Torchic held out its stubby wings, and Oricorio carefully wrapped its claws around them. It hefted the baby bird up into the air, struggling with balance more than weight. The two pokemon awkwardly climbed in height until they were slightly above the treeline, then seemed to follow the road towards the Windworks.
At some points the Oricorio slipped and dropped the Torchic a few meters, but would catch it again by a claw or tuft of hair. It was great training! For what? Well, these little birds had no idea. Regardless, they kept up their almost circus-like fly-and-catch routine until they were nearly out of sight. At that point, they both seemed to glow slightly.

Levelling up: Oricorio
Level Change: 15 --> 25
Point Requirement: 20
Points remaining: 147

Pokémon You're Evolving: Torchic
Pokémon it Evolves Into: Combusken
Evolution Point Requirement: 16
Points On-Hand: 147
Points After Evolution: 131

As the Torchic suddenly increased in size, while Oricorio decidedly DIDN'T, the plan no longer seemed to work. There was a horrible moment where the two birds in the distance reached for each other and couldn't hold on, so combusken tumbled and disappeared behind the treeline (probably landing somewhere on the road up ahead).
Palila put her hand to her face.
"That is literally the WORST time to evolve..." She mumbled, and began walking around the van to continue up the road and reconnect with her pokemon. Or, possibly, see if they were injured.

As she strolled past the two officers who were knocked out, she tilted her head. They had keys, sure, but they also had other things, surely. They had some pokemon.
"Are we just going to leave these guys here?" She asked aloud, feeling somewhat bitter towards them. Being accused of crimes she didn't commit made her almost want to do some real crimes, just so it was worthwhile being in trouble next time. "They have some pokemon...?" She poked a ball gently to inspect it. A strangely coloured buneary was in one, and another off-colour bunnelby was in another. The other officer probably had a similar set. She supposed they both had standard issue pokemon, and wondered if they were cloned using the same technology that Dash had used to give her the shiny grey eevee.

She waited briefly for a yes or no from the crowd.

[Lychee]

RAE
Trainer Palila Rae
Location: Valley Windworks
Team: Dartrix (25/25), Chatot (26/26), Oricorio (fire) -shiny (25/25) Eevee -shiny (25/25) Combusken (16/16)
Partner Pokemon: ---
Items: 1x Honey, 2x Greatball, 4x Pokeballs, 4x Healballs, Potion, Revive, Chesto Berry, Water Stone, Pidgeotite, Journal, Sketchpad,
Locked Pokeballs: Staravia (25/25), Wingull (25/25), Prinlup (25/25)
Points: 168 (+1 from posting) Posts: 63P + 16TG

((I clearly have a difficult time understanding whats going on when things aren't specified. Sorry! Next time, please mention things that are important-- like whether we have our pokemon or not! Or mysterious vans parked on a path where there's no other traffic! I just automatically fill in the gaps when things are left unsaid, but I don't want to break any rules or godmod.))

Palila snapped out of her daydream where she was treated nicely and given a pokemon by the grunts, instead quietly pocketing the pokeballs she got back from Knuckles and listening to his speech about following orders.
The grunts told her to control herself, and she gave them a blank stare. Sure, she had been thinking about letting out a pokemon to scout, but so far she had done literally nothing since getting her cuffs unlocked. In some alternate reality, maybe, but in this reality, no, she hadn't said or done anything. Pat, also, seemed to have said relatively little.

During the walk to the windworks, Palila was confused. Did these grunts not have any form of transport? She looked back at the police vehicle and daydreamed about having stolen the policemens shiny pokemon. Alas, it was not to be. Also, surprisingly, there were no pokemon on or nearby the path during the time they travelled to the windworks. They walked swiftly, and didn't come across anyone else until the grunts in disguise let them into the windworks area.

As they arrived, Palila peeked around at the high cliffs surrounding the building, and stared up at the huge windworks power generator. The grass outside the windworks seemed practically vibrating with pokemon, and she stuck with the group, not knowing how powerful they might be (and also knowing electricity was not the friend of most of her pokemon).

They were led into a large room where two familiar teenage boys and Oberon were waiting. Palila was trying very hard to keep her face masked blank and her mouth shut, but occasionally would have to close her eyes and take a deep breath. When Oberon turned to her and berated her for ruining his little mission, she took another deep breath, taking care to keep her voice even.
"Sorry, SIR, I didn't really understand the plan." She didn't dare say any more, for fear of looking like she was making excuses.
The truth was, Oberon had certainly told her that he wanted the cops distracted, but he didn't actually tell her how. From this point on, she was going to analyze this leaders every word and follow it to the letter (or get beaten up, most likely). Unfortunately for her, it didn't seem like he was very good at giving commands yet. He certainly didn't seem to be the person in charge at this site- she'd seen the grunts looks of disdain, and figured someone else probably older, more experienced and more powerful was probably running the show.

Palila listened to Knuckles try to defend himself, and then try to put the blame on Pat. She struggled to stop a smirk from sliding onto her face as the machop nodded and agreed with his owner. It reminded her of what her little brothers did when they got in trouble at home- blame each other and fight. Her eyes went over to Pat, wondering if she would get defensive too, or simply take all the blame. Sometimes it was easier to have a willing scape-gogoat.

When there was a gap in the conversation, the scruffy looking boy about her age piped up and held up a pokeball. She squinted at it, trying to remember what was inside it.
"I'm Rae." She didn't hold out her hand to shake or anything, but made a cross between Team Skull and Alolan hello sort of hand-sign movement, pointing up and down. "I had a few... extra pokemon." She was still highly on her guard while inside the windworks and surrounded by so many grunts. That said- maybe she could finally get a proper ID out of this!
"Storing Pokemon uses an ID card and mine is... out for the count. I caught extra Pokemon and because I can't store them in the PC, their balls lock automatically. That one, and the ones I gave to Knuckles and Pat, were all kinda trash in battle. I had to kick 'em to the curb to free up some space in my hoodie." She shrugged, putting her hands into her pockets.
"If they turn into some other pokemon thats a bit less terrible later, let me have a look, yeah?"
Internally, she marveled at the fact that the three trainers she'd thrown pokemon at were actually all here and all apparently part of the same team. Evidently, it hadn't made them much friendlier to her- if anything it seemed like Luke was more suspicious.

[Lychee]

RAE
Trainer Palila Rae
Location: Valley Windworks
Team: Dartrix (25/25), Chatot (26/26), OricorioF -shiny (25/25) Eevee -shiny (25/25)
Partner Pokemon: ---
Items: 1x Honey, 2x Greatball, 4x Pokeballs, 4x Healballs, Potion, Revive, Chesto Berry, Water Stone, Pidgeotite, Journal, Sketchpad,
Locked Pokeballs: Staravia (25/25), Wingull (25/25), Prinlup (25/25)
Points: 131 (+1 from posting) Posts: 63P + 17TG

Listening first? I'm fine at listening! Wait- Shhh brain! I think he's saying something important now...
Palila tried to pay close attention as she was shown how to use the black market card. Except, she wasn't very good with technology to begin with- so most of it went over her head. Surely it was straightforward, right?

She held her new trainer card like it was made of gold. So precious! So important! She hoped nobody would ever take it from her, and had the feeling that maybe everything was going to be alright. This team was wonderful for giving her such a proper and prized possession- nothing like the shoddy rip-off that her original crew had given her.

Going over to the PC, she slid her card through the slot carefully, and watched the screen morph into a black market style shop.
Looking through the selection, she noticed a few creatures which were available had little star marks next to them, so she clicked onto them, curious about what it meant.

*Buneary claim from Easter*
*Pidgey claim from Desolates birthday*
*Possibly a mystery pokemon from my half-birthday, if it is in the black market?*

A nice big red "Cost: FREE" sign came up on the screen as she poked these pokemon, and Palila looked over her shoulder curiously, wondering if it was a glitch of some sort. She wondered if she needed to put Pokeballs into the machine in order to fill them with the black market pokemon, or if they came out already in a pokeball.
"Uh, hey, what am I supposed to do now? Do I put a ball in, or does it come out?" She whispered to the nearest Team Galactic member on a machine next to her.


"Hey, um, boss-man? Where are we actually going next? Like, do I need water pokemon or fire or electrical or whatever?"
She asked across the room, lingering on the PC and touching the locked pokeballs in her pocket. She would be loathe to give them up at this stage, but if they weren't useful at least now she could put them away into the PC.