Pokémon Academy: Ch 1b: Recruits [IC]

[Snap Crackle Pop]

Aurelia nodded towards Zeke and hurried over not long after, her eyes were constantly flickering around and she was really straining her ears to pick up every sound. Whoever it was that screamed so shamelessly was a fool, but that crack still echoed in her mind- it did not help her nerves. Her left hand held Cirus' pokeball and since Trix had refused to stay in his, he followed after his trainer, appearing like a measly rattata- he always was overly protective like that. Lia was also carefully monitoring the mansion, looking for a possible point of entry that wasn't a door or window, seeing at how the attention of the owners was clearly caught at this point, it might be a bit too obvious, and she didn't want to enter the house and walk right into a person, obviously.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

"I've got an idea; but you'll have to open the door. Can you pick locks? I can throw stones into some windows and hopefully the people inside'll get distracted," said Zeke, apparently having the same line of thought. Maybe Brian and I could chuck stones into more windows to confuse the guys inside, he added mentally.

[Snap Crackle Pop]

Lia cracked a grin at the question. "Picking locks are easy, especially with a psychic type," she tapped on Cirus' ball before releasing the pokemon and placing her on her shoulder; she would risk getting separated if shefollowed on foot. Cirus seemed to understand the situation and remained silent upon exiting it's ball, and instead made herself comfy and kept a look out. "I suppose that is the plan."

Some of the RoG members had their pokemon out fighting the guard Herdier while some of the other recruits either found hiding spots or were just out of sight for the three. It appeared like some of the guard dogs- one of the Growlithe and a Houndour.- were on the move and approaching the three as they plotted.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

"Vee, vee!" Pixel heard them approaching and cried out to let the others know. Zeke realized what she meant and didn't turn as he picked up rocks to throw. Catching Lia's eyes-- wew, they were frikkin iridescent, he couldn't help noticing even though he was used to it-- he made sure she realized what Pixel's cry meant, his head just barely nodding backwards to indicate that they had to get up and go cause the dogs were there. The gentle gurgling sound of water continued in that silence-- Zeke's eyes lit up. "Fountain, fountain," he mouthed repeatedly. He didn't know for sure, but chances were that at least one of the guard dogs were a Fire-type; one Herdier remained asleep and the other, he last saw, was facing off against the other recruits. If they came close enough Pixel could slap water with her tail the same way she would with dust and sand; Trix probably could as well, or Cirus could manipulate the water maybe...

[Ojama Yellow]

Brian had grinned when the Tangela's Sleep Powder put one of the Herdier to sleep, but for some legendary reason only known to God, the other one stayed awake. "Come back," he said, gritting his teeth. After a bit of chaos and getting separated from Lia and Zeke for only a brief period, he joined them again. "So, what's the plan?" Then he heard, yet again, pawsteps drawing closer. His feeling was confirmed by Zoah floating closer to him, a worried look on her face. "Zoah, be ready. If they come into view, immediately use your Confusion to throw them back."

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

"Fountain. Spray em when they get close. Chances are one is a Fire-type. Lia unlocks the door, we distract the doofs inside by throwing rocks at the windows and or fend off the incoming guards," he said quickly and quietly that the guards wouldn't hear. Pixel stood with her legs tensed, determined and ready to move.

[Sutoratosu]

Without another word, Galen opened the door and exited the Vehicle, sending out a certain tool of his the moment his boots hit the ground.

"Make yourself a Cop real quick," he said to the Zoroark that emerged from the capsule he had released. It looked up at him quizzically for a moment, then procedded to Follow orders, turning into a male Police officer dressed in an Identical Uniform to Galen's.

"This good enough?" it asked in human form, the male voice a little gruff... could use a little work vocally, Galen had to admit, but it should still work.

"Perfect," He nodded as he shut the door to the car. "Now... let's go get into position by the fence. Keep us cloaked from sight; I wanna catch them just as they're high tailing it out of here." with that he walked off towards the hole one of the cadets had made in the perimeter, assuming this would surely be where they'd all try to make their exit. He choose a waiting spot near the tree line, Crouching down beneath a small oak as his tool joined him. A moment later the air shimmered in front of them for a few seconds.

"Cloak's up." His Zoroark turned-fake-cop said silently. Alright... the voice would definitely need a bit of work later. Good thing Galen would be doing all the talking anyway.

"Good," he said, watching as the cadets began to commence their robbery. "Now get down low and keep your mouth shut."

If anyone looked at the area where the Oak was, they wouldn't see anything out of the ordinary there. The 2 cops crouching underneath it would be completely invisible to the naked eye... The tree would look like it could be any other anywhere else in any other wooded area in the world. All thanks to Zoroark's Illusion...

[Chim]

Stratos

All round the perimeter more police officers showed up and hid themselves waiting for the RoG members to come out. Some of them were close to Galen and under his direct command.

Team Super Burglars

The door suddenly opened and three guards came out. They saw the scrambling and fighting and headed towards the battles. One of them whistled drawing the attention of the Houndour close to Ezekiel’s group. It left to follow orders which only left the Growlithe. If they didn’t make a move fast they would have to deal with the guard dog and the group would surely be exposed.

************

If one of the members would open up the now unlocked door, they would see the reason why they were targeting this place. The entry hall was enormous. A red carpet reached a marble staircase that led to the first floor. Even from their point of view they could see a lot of paintings that decorated both the ground and first floor. The walls on both floors were also made out of white marble.

The staircase had 4 expensive looking vases that appeared to be art from Kalos. Two of the vases were placed at the beginning of the staircase; one on each side. The other two, which were bigger, stood on top. On the high ceiling hang a big chandelier decorated with crystals. There were only 2 doors. On one the left and one on the right; both were closed.

********

“Mhm?” Melody mused. “I thought there were six guard dogs. Two Herdier, two Growlithe and two Houndour?”

Teach laughed. “That’s right. Is there anything wrong?” he asked with a serious tone, even though he was not.

“I think you already know,” Melody answered. “But why didn’t you tell me?”

Teach shrugged. “It’s more fun this way. And besides, you might have told Cutie…” He grin showed a bit of his white teeth.

“C’mon! Like I would tell anyone about this! By the way, when did it happen?”

“The evolution? About two days ago.” Teach grabbed his binoculars back and focused on the recruits. “I wish I could see their face when they see a Houndour in front of them…”

“Where is the beast?” Melody asked interested.

“We placed him inside, but don’t worry; it won’t attack until the first people steal something and attend to escape.”

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

The front door was thrown open and shut-- did they lock it? It didn't look like it! Lia wouldn't have to unlock the door, but it might still help to throw the rocks at the windows, Zeke decided. After all, those can't be the only human guards that were in the house. The sound of footsteps thundered past. A whistle. A set of paws followed suit, running in the direction of the footsteps. Zeke kept holding his breath; still a guard dog persevered towards the thick bush all three hid in. But... "Either Zoah or Cirus can probably manipulate the water in the fountain with Confusion. Mix it up with Tangela's Sleep Powder-- it's sure to stick to whatever Pokemon is coming our way, but we'll have to fire it at close range to make sure it hits," he hissed under his breath. He moved the stones he had in his hand, rolling them between his fingers. "I still think we should throw stones at the windows though; those guys can't have been the only guarding staff." The Eevee at his side resisted growling low in her throat, her heart racing.

Then Zeke shook his head. What was he even thinking? There was a way to get in quicker, all right.

He just had to be sure that the guard dog was definitely a Fire-type. No; it had to be-- both Herdier were preoccupied, one with sleep and the other with recruits. In that case that left a Growlithe or Houndour... both were Fire-types.

"Forget it-- I'll be the vanguard this time and go ahead." Inquisitively Pixel looked at her Trainer; he nodded.

The brown blur dove into the fountain and flicked stream after stream of water at the Growlithe at point-blank range as Zeke reached up and threw a pebble at the right window of te second floor. When that was done he hightailed it to the door- and scrambled inside, the Eevee running with him.

Edited October 13, 2014 by ZephyrEnyalios

[Chim]

As Ezekiel managed to get into the house, he saw the entrance hall was completely empty. There were no other guards or staff and not even footprints could be heard indicating he walked into a trap. The only thing he had to decide right now was what he would steal. Would he take a painting? A vase? Or would he open up one of the doors?

[Snap Crackle Pop]

Well, Zeke seemed to have make it in alright, Lia thought, getting ready to make a dash for it to the door as well. Geronimo. Unfortunately, as she did make her dash, she waited a bit too long and the Growlithe had time to recover from the hosing down it received from Pixel and took a leap at the girl as she ran. Trix, bless his heart, took care of things, intercepting the lunge that the fire type made and tackled him to the ground, which gave Cirus enough time to move some of the water from the fountain using confusion and spray the dog, although the blast had hit Trix as well. Aurelia recalled Trix to his ball to keep them moving and she slipped into the house.

[Ojama Yellow]

Brian grinned as Lia's Trix and Cirus temporary took out the Growlithe. "Neatly done," he said to her as he entered the house after her. "Now let's just try to keep us safe, shall we? Zoah, Confusion." The Bronzor, who was still floating next to Brian, used her mind powers to control the door, closed and locked it. "At least that'll keep the dogs out for the time being. Well, it'll also keep the reinforcements out, but that's something to worry about later, I guess."

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

What a rush! But it wasn't over. Phase Two had started... and the silence in the house was unsettling. This room was too big, almost like his house's entry hall, though of course quite smaller... But still, why would anyone even want a hall THIS large? "Why do I get the feeling that the cool stuff here's all rigged...?" Zeke murmured, looking at the pretty vases and paintings, as well as the doors. The diversion for the people upstairs wouldn't stay for too long, though-- they had to make a move. His first thought was to go for the vases at the bases of the stairs, though upstairs had the bigger, prettier vases. Zeke gulped. Neither were safe choices: the entry hall was too open, providing almost no cover at all; the stairs were wide AND open... The paintings were no different, hanging from pretty marble walls without even so much as a pillar to hide them... What about the doors? but what if more guards were hanging there?

Nope, nope. "The vases upstairs look too big to carry," Zeke reasoned. "Going for a painting or two." With that he moved to the wall to the left which he deemed had better-looking art, the Eevee following suit, her brush-like tail still wet with water.

Edited October 14, 2014 by ZephyrEnyalios

[Ojama Yellow]

"Be careful, there might still be some traps around here," Brian replied as he studied one of the paintings on the wall. There didn't seem to be any traps or mechanics installed on the painting. On the other side, mostly the traps were behind the painting. And Zoah was quite restless as well. "Let's just...be careful. Now that the door is shut, we can't get out very quickly. Tangela, come on out," Brian said as he called out the Tangela again. "If there still are guards, reinforcements might come in handy."

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Zeke chuckled, the nervousness showing just a little bit in his laugh. "Don't worry, I won't get us killed-- y'all gotta grab something too, though, or they'll chew us out." Glancing quickly at the door and doing a quick 360 check around him, he added, "I don't think the other grunts plan on coming in any time soon, or that using the front door is even an option for escaping since the guards're outside... but, we'll burn that bridge when we get there." He had come close to the paintings. Swallowing down his hesitancy and checking for any strange mechanisms like wires, sensors on the sides of the frames and whatnot, his fingers inched closer and closer to a medium-sized painting of some... colorful shapes. What the hell was the standard for expensive, "high-end" art these days, anyway?

[Antares]

A new person entered the vicinity, a saf distance away from the conflict. He stood at six feet tall in a tall trench coat. He withdrew a knife from a sheath from the coat's belt and picked his teeth. He observed the recruits, brushing his long blonde hair past his eye to fully observe the situation.

"So we've got new recruits eh? Hope we can whip them into proper trainers with minimal time. In case the recruits are wondering, my name is Corwin, if they want me to, I can teach them basic survivalist skills. Your Pokemon can only take you so far in the woods. I luckily stumbled upon some members and now I'm a good member here. Give your service and you recieve comradery and respect in return."

Edited October 14, 2014 by Antares

[Ojama Yellow]

Brian went to stand next to Zeke, who was examining the painting thoroughly. There didn't seem to be any traps installed. Then again, Zoah was still floating around nervous. "I don't know what you're going to do, but decide fast," he said, "I don't feel safe around here." Then he turned around, and started to scan the area. He couldn't help feeling nervous. This mission was by far more dangerous than any of the other things he had done in the past. "What do you think, Lia?"

[Snap Crackle Pop]

Lia nodded, looking towards Brian and Zeke as they spoke and looking back to the paintings and art work, trying to determine what looks the most valuable and practical to carry in her backpack. Upon re-entering the house she had released Trix again and gave him a brief pat for his good work, but he looked rather disgruntled after the hosing down. He hated getting wet. Cirus was smirking faintly after exchanging a glance with Trix, but she remained on guard, sensing her trainer's unease. Aurelia certainly agreed that they should get going, but she couldn't quite place why she felt so strongly about it. Not to mention she felt absolutely terrified of getting caught or something bad happening. This was just a break in, she didn't want anything worst than a broken leg to befall a person.

"We should hurry but judging from the level of paranoia this guy has, for all we know these are flashy dummies," she said, gesturing to the elaborate art work and vases. "Would they put their most valuable items in the entrance hall? Should we take the risk and go farther in or is this one of those 'hiding in plain sight' sort of things?"

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

"It's... usually of high value unless proven otherwise, isn't it? I mean obviously the original painters wouldn't bother painting copies of their art, right?" After a pause, Zeke barely manages to stop himself from exploding and hisses in frustration, "What the heck makes a fake a fake anyway?!" Although, the number of valuables in the entry hall alone was ridiculous indeed. They felt like they were booby traps in a way. Frowning, Zeke pulled away from the painting he was about to pull off the marble wall.

"I think we should check the other areas first; but that means we'd have to split up." The last part came out as more of a slow mumble of realization. Somehow he could already feel the addition unsettling vulnerability one would get from being alone in enemy territory.

[Chim]

Everything was quiet inside. There was no movement upstairs or in any of the others rooms as far as the new agents could tell. Outside, however, everything broke loose. Yelling and small explosions filled the air and seemed to get louder by the minute.

“Break that door down!” a heavy voice yelled.

“No, break the windows!” a woman added to it.

“I won’t let you!” a third interfered.

If the small group of thieves already inside the house didn’t want to get dragged into the fighting they had to make a move fast.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

"Guys, I know a way to confuse the others more to buy us time, but it's gonna involve a lot of smoke, so I think we have to decide what to do and who goes where. Now," he added, still struggling to maintain his composure as he had a hand on Ignition's Pokeball. Everything, admittedly, was freaking him out. And the fighting outside wasn't helping. Seeing her Trainer's plan immediately, Pixel scampered up his shoulder when he knelt down in order to let her to climb up, tail still dripping wet though Zeke disregarded this.

Edited October 17, 2014 by ZephyrEnyalios

[Snap Crackle Pop]

"Well, I'm one for splitting up and getting our goods before meeting up outside," Aurelia said. Her eyes were darting around the room, but they often returned to the door. "I think it would be easy enough to call out if anyone got into trouble."

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Tightening the straps on his gloves, Zeke nodded in response to Lia. "At this point, I don't think there's any need to shut up should we have to scream," he said. "It's already hell outside, and the other blokes are right about to bring the party inside. What about you, Brian? " he asked, turning to his brother in criminal activity or whatever it was called. "Although, you've got Tangela, so I think you'd have an easier time getting downstairs from up on the second floor if you got cornered."

[Chim]

((I’m going to move everyone along. The duration of this mission turned out to be ridiculous.))

After Brian, Ezekiel and Aurelia managed to steal something, they ran into a powerful Houndoom. They were fortunate enough that at exactly the same time the other members broke in through different places. Windows were smashed and the sound of breaking glass was everywhere. Two others forced to door and kicked it in. All those humans screaming and running around were much more fun to hunt down.

Outside the mansion, in the garden, they met little resistance. The guards were defeated and couldn’t stop them. Some of them were knocked out while others barely had any energy left to even yell at them. But everything went wrong the moment they said foot outside the fence. They were immediately surrounded by dozens of police officers. Each of them seemed to have at least two Pokémon out. The RoG agents were outnumbered to bad it wasn’t even funny. All three burglars were placed in a different police car and had to wait for who knows how long until every other member was caught.

When everyone was finally caught the police officers transported them without saying a word. No one knew how much time passed or even how long the ride was. All the agents saw was a building with the police sign above the door.

Aurelia, Ezekiel and Brian saw each other again when they were placed behind bars with the other agents. Every now and then an officer showed up to pick out one of them, but none returned. They couldn’t see or hear anything except for a dark corridor with four cells. Three of them were empty and two officers kept watch.

[Sutoratosu]

Galen, still dressed in his Cop get-up and his Zororoark still using her Illusion ability, Stepped up to the bars, two other fake officers close behind him, ready to subdue any uprising when he opened the door. He had a pair of Prescription Aviators on in place of his actual Glasses, his facial expression cold as stone, giving him a soulless look.

"You," he said, making his gruff far more gravelly than it actually was...and it was very convincing. As it should be, given he had gotten some practice with it in the past. His index finger was pointed towards Ezekiel as one of the other fake cops opened the cell, reaching in and grabbing the young man roughly before pulling him out and slamming the door shut behind him, locking it back. "You're next, bub, Get walking." The two cops under his command grabbed hold of either of the man's arms, dragging him behind them as they walked off down the concrete corridor of the fake station house.

Their little stroll stopped once they reached an area with a large mirror set into the far wall, a locked oak door sitting right beside it. His Zororoark walked over and took out a ring of keys that Galen had given her just for this act, unlocking the door and holding it open for them. Without a word the other guards dragged Ezekiel inside, plotting him down into one of the hard, uncomfortable wooden chair on one end of the steel table. Galen and his partner in deception entered shortly thereafter, the Disguised Zororoark turning to the two grunts. "Leave us," she said in convincing male voice.

"Yes sir," the Cops nodded, exiting the room and taking their places behind the one-way mirror looking in on them. The door clicked shut behind them... It was show time. Galen was gonna see how serious this kid really was.

"Alright, kid," he began, his voice a perfect, Gravelly Monotone. He reached into his back pocket, feeling the RoG Cadet's capsules there. "Let's get right down to business, son. I just sat through a good 10 or 20 interrogations tonight from your little robbery stunt, and all of the other suspects all say you were at the head of the operation and planning. You must have been damn smart to get as far you did with it, but right now you're looking at about 30 years, at the very least, for the felony charge of Grand Theft in the 1st degree." He leaned forward on the table, his aviators seeming to bore into the young man's soul. He'd just let those words sink in for a minute...