PxrtalMxster's Pokemon AU RP

He was pleasantly surprised to hear her join in badmouthing the place. Sure, he was great at playing polite, but it was never any fun.

James blanched at ‘disappear’, and swore he could feel the colour return to his cheeks when he realised she was only joking. He might’ve assumed it was a joke, if not for his own boss disappearing people at the snap of his fingers.

But he laughed, relief and humour swirling up his throat; his chuckle was genuine, and he couldn’t have stopped it if he’d tried. It simmered down to straight lips soon enough though. He wasn’t trying to get in trouble here. For once.

“U-Understood,” he stammered, and the salute he gave was like a reflex: a reset to professionalism, lest he come across a little too callous. “I certainly wouldn’t want that.” 

He chewed at her words. “I take it you have firsthand experience with Mr. Faba then, ma’am?” He grimaced a little, wringing his hands as he wondered if he was prying too much. “May I ask, how you’ve, erm, fared?”

She smiled a bit at his chuckle, glad that she could at least get him to loosen up a bit. It was very tiring to be around so many boring people all of the time. Not that she made an effort to talk to people who didn’t spark her interest anyways.

STRANGE EMPLOYEE:

Lillie was in awe at the stranger. The way she had skillfully commanded a Pokemon like Zorua to obey her was stunning. From what Lillie had read, Zorua were pranksters and many didn’t listen to trainers. She shrunk back a bit, not taking the employee’s hand. If the employee was serious about helping her, she’d have to work for it. Lillie, timid as could be, was done trusting strangers.

“Do you have a good hiding spot? I can explain everything once we’re hidden away. I don’t trust anyone in here. People I’ve known all my life are suddenly after me.”

There was a noise, and she suddenly jumped, letting out a cry.But as it turns out, it was just the Pokemon that were playing a short distance away that Zorua had been hiding in.

“I’m sorry I’m so jumpy! We need to go…”

She didn’t look too offended at the rejection of her hand. It was only offered for practicality, so the girl could keep up easier. If she didn’t want it then it was her loss. That was how Kayla rationalized it at least. Otherwise it really would have hurt her feelings.

At the girl’s question, Kayla realized she didn’t really think about where she was going to take her. She had originally planned on just taking her to her dorm the normal way, but she was now realizing that probably wasn’t possible with how many employees would be in their path. So that only left one other option that she really didn’t want to share with anybody else but there was no option.

“Yeah I’ve got a place, just don’t tell anybody about it, okay?” She gave a side glance to the girl to signal her to follow before the woman darted for a nearby rock formation. Climbing it with an agility that Aether certainly hadn’t taught her. She then felt the metal wall at the top and pulled away a loose panel she clearly had been aware of previously. Revealing what seemed to be either a secret passage or a maintenance tunnel, depending on what it was used for.

She really didn’t know, did she?

Darn it Mother, just how long have you been hiding everything?

“Maybe it’s safe for you or for the Pokémon… but not for me. Not at all. I’ve…” Lillie stopped, she didn’t want to say anything. This person was an employee, someone who likely trusted her mother to some degree. Lillie couldn’t destroy someone’s perception of her mother like that, no matter how her mother had acted towards her.

“Please just trust me. My mother wants to do something irreparable to the Alola region. She needs my Cosmog to do it.”

It was the best Lillie could do, but she felt like that would just raise more questions. Darn it, why was it so hard for her to just follow her gut and hope someone trustworthy had come along!?

As she started to say more, she heard more footsteps from around the corner, the Aether Employees were not a quiet bunch.

“Please, don’t let them find me. If you help me I’ll explain everything!”

Kayla had been suspicious there was more going on in the foundation than she knew, so having the daughter of Lusamine tell her these things was the confirmation she had been after. Not only that but the girl was willing to explain further if she could escape from the employees currently approaching. So Kayla’s answer was clear.

She then glanced over to a group of playing Yungoos. One of them seeming a little different from the rest. As soon as it met the woman’s glance, the Pokemon immediately came running to her as she turned her attention back to the girl.

“Sounds good to me. We’ll make sure they don’t find you.” Kayla then reached into her pocket and pulled out a small device. It certainly wasn’t anything provided by Aether. It looked pretty homemade. Although it seemed all the inputs were into her work tablet she plugged it into.

Before there was even time to ask any questions, the Pokemon running towards them changed form. Revealing that it was in fact a Zorua. The Zorua circled Lillie, taking in every bit of information about her appearance as it could before spinning in the air and landing as an illusion of the girl. It smirked and then ran in the direction of the Aether Employees.

@portaltrainer

A sigh escaped the girl’s lips. Team Skull had brought her back to Aether Paradise. She’d been separated from Nebby, and was clueless as to what to do next. She wasn’t a Pokémon Trainer, and plenty of Aether employees were only interested in Lillie’s “well-being”, not listening to her protests about what her mother actually wanted from the poor Cosmog.

“I’ve been walking for a while now… I’m really tired.”

While she was supposed to be waiting, she had decided to sneak out. No doubt that would cause some alarm, and Lillie would have Aether Employees after her. Just as she sat to rest, her prediction came true, and she heard footsteps approaching.

She turned tail and ran the opposite direction, only to stop right in the gaze of an Aether Employee. Lillie had seen this specific employee around a lot, she seemed like the kind who worked with Pokémon a lot, so the job had her going back and forth quite a bit.

“Um… please don’t do anything to me! I just want to get my Cosmog and go somewhere safe. Please don’t take me to my mother.”

It took her a few seconds to even process who was currently in front of her. Lusamine’s daughter. Although she’d only seen the girl from a distance from time to time. So she didn’t know if this was normal behavior or something else.

At the mention of taking her back to her mother, Kayla couldn’t help but consider the idea. Even for a moment. It would certainly earn her Lusamine’s favor, which was something she had been after. However, the look in the girl’s eyes prevented her from making a decision. She needed a clearer picture of what was going on.

Oh, that was the issue. Florie could definitely relate to communication issues.

“I see. So you’re worried you won’t meet their expectations.” She left it open whether she meant “expectations” in terms of project goals or interpersonal skills, but it didn’t really matter, did it? Personally, Florie believed judging the quality of someone’s work by their ability to socialize was beyond stupid, but unfortunately that was how workplaces… well, worked.

“I admit I never had to apply for a job in a different department. IT sort of just adopted me.” It wasn’t a department that required a lot of communication that couldn’t be done by mail or consisted entirely of coding instead of human language. Science, she guessed, was a lot more interconnected.

And getting over things was nowhere near as easy as people made it seem, she knew that from experience all too well.

“Well sadly things don’t always just fall into your lap.” She sighed. “I’m sure I’m capable enough for the job, but I don’t really think I’ll be able to fit into the dynamic.” She confirmed that this was about interpersonal issues.