victory_road | How Team Rocket stole Christmas...

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How Team Rocket stole Christmas...

'Twas six days before Christmas and all through their base
All the Rockets were working, putting their plans into place...

Just because there has been an absence of huge heists and explosions, doesn't mean Team Rocket has taken some time off from crime for the holidays. Everything but, in fact!

Under the eye of Jennies and gym leaders everywhere, Team Rocket has been putting their new dastardly plans into action by replacing every mall Santa and Elf (and boy, are there a lot of mall Santas and Elves this time of year!) with their own grunts and privates. Their goal? To scope out all the malls, shopping districts, and shopping centers in the two regions in preparation for the Saturday before Christmas, which just so happens to be the biggest shopping day of the year. No other day in the year has stores just so absolutely glutted with cash and valuables, registers and store safes overflowing with money. Plus there is all that yet unsold merchandise. Really, it just begs for someone to come and steal it.

Doing so would be the heist of the year, the talk of the season and who else but Team Rocket would be able to pull it off?

Of course, being that this is Team Rocket, they cannot help but want both the fortune and the fame. (Or is that infamy?) When you go big, you gotta go loud, and that is exactly what Team Rocket plans to do right at the biggest, busiest, most valuable market of them all: The Goldenrod City Christmas Market.

(Plus if everybody's attention is drawn to Goldenrod City where they've stationed their best and brightest, all the other Rocket members across the two regions will certainly be able to get away with their far more silent dastardly deeds with that much more ease)

Even among Christmas Markets, The Goldenrod City Christmas Markets is something special. There is no market more festive or more beautifully decorated. Winding through a part of town (having outgrown its old stadium home), the various stalls and shops sell valuables that cannot be bought anywhere else; valuable TMs, precious held items, even items like fossils and gems, Goldenrod has it all.

And soon. Team Rocket will have it all.

If a series of people in balaclava masks, heavy coats, and warm hats begin to filter into the Christmas Market as the evening wears on… well, it is the biggest shopping day of the year. And with the December chill nipping at everybody's noses and ears, there is nothing wrong with wanting to be warm while you shop… right?

---

Towards the end of the evening, as shoppers slowly start leaving for home, their wallets a lot lighter than when they arrived, the various intercoms that have been playing non-stop Christmas music for the last few weeks suddenly cut out with a strangle crackle. The bright and merry Christmas lights suddenly cut out, leaving the market flooded in darkness.

What's happening? A power outage? Did someone forget to pay the power bill?

But no, it's worse. Much worse.

“Prepare for trouble…
… and make it double...
You better watch out
We’re making you cry
Don’t make us shout
We’re telling you why
Team Rocket is coming to town!”

Dozens upon dozens upon dozens of warmly dressed market-goers suddenly throw off their coats, balaclavas and hats, revealing their Team Rocket uniforms underneath! The lights come back on again, but unlike the cheery twinkling of before, they are all a harsh red now.

Red like the Rocket R that has suddenly appeared everywhere. Even as many of the Rockets are swooping in to steal every TM, battle item, and cashbox that isn’t nailed down, other Rockets are putting Team Rocket’s mark on their surroundings: banners with the Rocket R (which had been hidden very cleverly within other decorations) are suddenly unfurled while the speakers blare something that is definitely not Christmas music. Even the large Christmas Tree at the centre of the market is a target, as a few grunts use their Psychic pokemon to tear the delicate beautiful ornaments of the tree, replacing them with the Rocket symbol.

And while there are always some guards and Jennies at the market, they are quickly surrounded by Rocket privates who deal with them with almost terrifying precision. It's as if they knew exactly what pokemon these Jennies were going to bring and made sure to tailor their teams to that.

With the Jennies dealt with, the chaos is complete. Who can help us now?

Who can save (the Saturday before) Christmas?

---

And as Goldenrod descends into Rocket chaos, all those who remained at home or who are out on the road will be treated to a very unusual visitor.

His arrival is heralded by the sound of sleigh bells, growing ever closer until suddenly you can spot it: a sleigh. And not just any sleigh. It’s the same sleigh you must have seen over and over in the past few weeks, gracing every advertisement, window display and Christmas decoration. It’s pulled by a singular Stantler which dashes through the air, its hooves skimming the clouds as it guides the sleigh lower and lower until it touches down onto the ground in front of your character (or, should you be inside, onto the roof). The single occupant of the sleigh rises, a massive red-clad man with an equally massive beard, and it is him, the OG (Original Gift-maker).

Santa’s jolly face is uncharacteristically serious as he extends a thickly gloved hand, his voice lacking its normal grandfatherly cheer.

“Trainer with your poke-might
Won’t you help me fight tonight?”

---

Event FAQ

What if my character does not want to help Santa?

Santa will understand. He'll look a little sad, but he will understand. He will depart, though he will give characters a candy cane before he goes.

Wait, is Santa giving us a lift to Goldenrod, then?

Yep! He can do that for everyone at the same time, because Santa is magic like that.

My character wants to help Santa, but they are not a fighter!

Not to worry! Even if your character is not a fighter, Santa can really use their help. You see, today Santa isn't just carting around gifts in his sleigh -- a quick reach into his sack will reveal First Aid kits and potion packs.

For anyone who wants to help out, but who aren't good at fighting, Santa would really appreciate it if they would be willing to help support others who are doing the fighting, and help heal any of the pokemon or people who may have gotten hurt by Team Rocket's shenanigans.

My character wants to help Santa and is willing to fight, but they don’t have any high level pokemon!

Worry not! Santa will provide! For everyone who wants to fight, but only has low-level pokemon, Santa will lend out two (2) of his little helpers: a Jynx in a fur-lined red dress and a Shiny Galar Zigzagoon (adorably candy-striped in red and white.) Both Pokemon are Level 60. Sadly, these are just on loan and Santa will need them back when the fight is over, but they will pose for selfies with you on request.

What about the non-Goldenrod locations? Is Santa sending anyone to fight off the Rocket operatives there?

They’re being taken care of by the Pokemon League, Gym Leaders, and all kinds of trainers from this world. Which doesn’t mean Team Rocket won’t steal some of what they’re aiming for anyway. It just means the other locations won’t be completely defenseless.

I have a Rocket character. Where are they supposed to be during this?

At the Christmas Market, of course! They’re one of the ‘best and the brightest.’

Wait, so when Team Rocket says they’re ‘stealing Christmas’ what they actually mean is that they’re robbing a bunch of places at once on the biggest shopping day of the year and taking over the Christmas Market?

Well, yeah. Did you think they were gonna go the Full Grinch? Nah. Raiding the cashboxes is way more profitable.

So, uh, how are we getting home again?

Time to walk-- No, no. Santa wouldn't do that to people. After everything has been dealt with, he'll give people a lift back to where he picked them up. Unless they'd much rather remain in Goldenrod City, in which case, that is fine too.

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"Combo approach! Why just throw fighting aliens or punch the bad guys? Why not both?"

It just makes sense to Jack. He has fists. He has feet. He can handle himself pretty okay in a down and out street brawl. It seems dumb to just stand here and let the alien animals do all the work.

The Rocket is swearing loudly and fluently, trying to pry the squealing rodent off his head, without dislodging his hat. His Xatu is flapping anxiously behind him and a faint pink glow appears around the rattata as the psychic bird pokemon joins forces in its removal.

Finally, though, they manage to remove the purple pokemon from his head and the Rocket hurls it back at Dimitri.

"Fine! Take your rat!" he snarls. "But Team Rocket knows your face now and when we don't find you in our database--" He draws his finger in a straight line across his neck, making a sound of something like 'ghk.'

Then he places a hand on his Xatu's shoulder and in a blink of an eye, they've vanished.

Oh. Teleport.

Edited 2020-12-26 18:28 (UTC)

The Rattata may or may not take a small snip of hair in her mouth when thrown off - good news, just the beard, Rattata teeth are no joke - before she's sent flying. And as she goes soaring through the air thanks to manhandling and psychic powers...

She starts glowing from the launch, and starts growing mid-flight, and, by the time Dimitri manages to awkwardly catch her, she has become much bigger.

Without thinking too hard about it, Dimitri just adjusts her massive weight in his arms and snarls at the Rocket. "I'll gut you-"

But then he's gone, and there's not even a reason to spew threats. Dimitri just stands there in place, shaking violently both from adrenaline pumping in his veins and doing his best to not hold onto his newly evolved Knocker too tightly. She might have more fluff like this, although not as much as Cofgodas, but she's still a fragile rat. Once he's breathed in a couple of times, he jerks his head to stare down at Claude.

"Your wrist?" he asks, hoarse and breathless.

Well, the Rocket has disappeared - fortunately Claude's at least heard of Teleport, so he doesn't have to question how too deeply - but Claude isn't really concerned about that. He hadn't exactly been planning on capturing the guy; he'd mostly just wanted to drag Dimitri away as fast as possible. Now, it seems, he doesn't have to.

"No harm done, Dimitri. See?" Claude holds up his hand, rotating his wrist thoroughly to demonstrate. "Everything's fine. You bailed me out just in time." Again, he adds internally.

He touches Dimitri's arm, gently. He can see the way the man is shaking. "So it's okay." His voice is soft. "You can relax now. Nothing bad happened." He smiles down at Knocker in his arms. "In fact, something good did! Look how big this one's gotten! Which one of them is it? I can't really tell them apart yet..."

[As long as they are with him... They'll pull him back. A part of Dimitri wonders if that's really true...]

[But he can't deny them, either. Finally, he nods, and rises up to his feet to follow after his friends.]

...Then let us find Claude. He is in disguise...

That's not quite a refusal, Dimitri notes. It's simply the kind of thing that someone makes when an offer is made they weren't prepared for, or that they feel shy about accepting. He keeps that in mind for later.

But again: There are other things to focus on.

Dimitri looks down at the Pokedex that Claude has out, thinking on their situation. A part of him wants to get out into the fray immediately, but... He knows now that there isn't any good to be had in rushing things. The Pokecenter is a flurry of activity, but at least it's safe for the time being - a good place to figure out their plan of attack.

"I suspect that the leaders are easy to spot... but reaching them will be something else," Dimitri says, which is just saying the obvious. It was always the leaders of their enemies, whether an officer or... otherwise that were the hardest to reach in the war. Dimitri is something of an outlier in that aspect. "If we knew where they were situated, or if they had somewhere to regroup... There must be somewhere or someone that is tending to any injuries, just like in any war."

In the midst of the Santas Amok, such as they are, Trainers may encounter a Santa that's a little bit... different.

He's shorter, for one thing. And... fancier. Way fancier. Instead of the traditional white and red suit, he's donned something more like a long and heavy robe, still red (of course) but now brocaded in gold. His boots rise halfway up his calf, and his beard is longer and more grizzled, with braids worked in and a gold ring near the end of its length. In his hands, he carries a large carved wooden candy cane.

And beside him trots not a Stantler, but a jauntily-outfitted Type:Null, a Santa cap atop its plume and jingling bells affixed to each of the four horizontal corners of its helmet.

His vicinity reeks of weed.

Yes, it's Rocket Beta Dirk Strider himself, under cover to evade detection by his unwitting bro and somewhat more worrisomely witted 'friend,' recent Champion Jane Crocker.

His self-appointed duty? Finding the offworld Players and sorting them out, the better to make way for the Game's Rocket Grunts to commit their larcenous crimes.

And you know?

He really thought the identification process would be harder.

Dirk likes to think himself a warrior-philosopher, but it doesn't take his kind of genius--or any kind, really--to put two and two together, even in this kind of chaos. And it doesn't take long for him to notice a trend.

Seriously, Obstagoon are rare enough in monochrome, nevermind these lurid hues, but even if that weren't the case--outside of one really weird night in the Ice Path, he's never seen this many Jynx in one place.

He doesn't know who's arming the new Players, but they've made bright blue and fuschia targets out of them.

The veterans were easy; they make quick work of the mindless grunts and almost unanimously give their Pokemon new names upon capture, so paying even a little bit of attention to the field of chaos gives him their locations.

Regardless of a Trainer's level of experience or their Pokemon's strength, Dirk arrives on the scene in dramatic fashion. He prefers dropping in from above--off a roof or stall cover, perhaps--but he's not picky. More than one person is tripped mid-stride, the hook of his solid wood candy cane looped around their ankle: look up, and there he is. (It's the only time they'll likely ever need to look "up" to see him.)

"Sup."

...what, were you expecting 'ho ho ho?'

Akane finishes laying out a poor, nameless Grunt with a hard punch to the underside of his chin that sends him flying. "--and stay away, you big jerk--" and then spins around, her eyes going wide.

"Dirk!" she hisses underneath her breath. "I almost didn't recognize you! Don't worry, I'm only beating up the Rockets from here."

Huh. Whoever this person is, they're obviously an adult man and not a teenage boy, so none of Akane's hackles go up. And they seem nice. They gave her a bottle of water after all.

"Watch out behind you!" she hisses and she attempts to dodge around the guy with the dreadlocked hair so she can punch the grunt directly behind him right in the kisser!

Edited 2020-12-26 20:17 (UTC)

No strange twitches or jerks. No limply held hand. Claude moves his wrist smoothly and without any issue. He was in time. Dimitri lets out a shudder of a breath, barely feeling the way Gremlin is gently papping at his neck.

"Something good..." He looks back down at the Raticate he's holding, who's wiggled to face him a little bit better. Right. She evolved. That's... Dimitri breathes out again, because it feels as though all he can do is breathe. He's going to have to adjust to what changes she's had versus Cofgodas. He can already tell that at least Cofgodas is fluffier in comparison to...

"Knocker," he murmurs, voice still a little hoarse from where he'd yelled and snarled. "I caught her just before we left for this place... There used to be a patch of fur on her tail that didn't quite match up with the others..." He'll have to investigate her tail, to see if there was anything on the skin beneath it. Raticates aren't so all-over furry like their smaller Rattata kin.

"I'll back you up. It shouldn't take long."

Your move, whoever you are.

Do not worry.

[With the Pokeball belt now relieved from the Rocket, Dimtiri gets off of the poor grunt whose day is now definitely kind of shitty, and looks down at him with definite disdain. The Rattata scurries off, looking quite smug about it all as she crawls up Dimitri's armor again.]

[Dimitri just growls at the Grunt. Said grunt decides they aren't being paid enough for this, and scramble to their feet and beat it.]

[Only after the Grunt is well and truly out of sight does Dimitri look back to Jane again.]

You may want to move on quickly from this place... lest they bring reinforcements.

[ . . . ]

What were you doing?

[It doesn't feel amazing to curbstomp a child, but I don't really feel bad about it, either. This is the kind of thing that alienates people, and sure, I understand why--but there are literally no consequences to losing at this outside of the suckerpunch your wallet takes. So calling it a moral issue is a little excessive.

Anyway, my paycheck and reputation depend on me interrupting this weird comedy routine, so when the kid sprints by, I seize them by the shoulder and spin them around to face me.]

Playtime's over. Beat it.

Claude's right about a lot of things. Self-taught, self-motivated, self-styled warrior that Dirk is, he's put a lot of effort into giving himself as much of an edge with his fighting style(s) as he can by stacking muscle onto his naturally-lean and somewhat-less-naturally short frame. Canekind isn't really his jam, but he knows it well enough, splinterways, to do some real damage if he wants. Or at least have some slick tricks up his begrudgingly donned (if festively warm) sleeves.

Because Dirk has fought a lot of inexperienced, ineffective, or straight up inept enemies his life for a variety of reasons, though, his expectations for what Claude will do next range from a reasonably competent parry to crumpling like a house of cards to attempted lethality. Which would be fine, except that the limitations of his current existence mean that he can really only prepare for one or two of these strategies, and none of the priority counters are meant for 'desperation bullrush.'

He has enough time, at least, to brace his weight and only take a half step back instead of a full stagger, but at this close range, he has no chance to dodge the leg sweep properly.

This turns out to be fine, though. Flanked by a second opponent, Dirk does the best he can do in a pinch: he swings the cane down, reflexively moving to parry the weapon he only just barely had a chance to see and lets his ass hit the ground, using his momentum to tuck up and roll instead of just eating shit on the nasty market pavement. He's on his feet again in seconds, and rushing the new guy with his heavy (candy) canekind like Claude never mattered at all.

Unfortunately for Claude and his Obstagoon, though, Air Slash is not a physical attack. Striking back at the air with twice the force as it was struck by said air still only strikes the air. In other words:

Obstagoon used Counter!

But it failed!

Given an opening, the jingly-helmeted chimera beast does the actual smart thing: crosses its claws and rushes the Obstagoon for a super-effective X Scissor.

Shit, it's almost like this Santa knows what he's doing.

"I've never been in battle like this at all," Claudia promises him, as she gives Sooter the antidote and sprays him with a potion. "The closest I've ever come is Field Day at school and you don't actually fight people like this, just, you know, pull on either end of the rope for the tug of war."

Truthfully, Dirk isn't sure how he feels about the fact that Akane did recognise him without his shades--and with a fake beard, Santa hat, and full-sleeved robe on to boot. 'Surprised' isn't really the word, although he is that. 'Uncomfortable,' maybe. He'll just unpack that later. He has work to do.

It does not occur to him that his voice might have tipped her off.

"Yeah, I can see that," he deadpans.

He didn't have a hard time finding Akane because she wasn't even trying to battle. Native Trainers and civilians don't resort to real fisticuffs, and of the offworld Players that do... well, very few of them do so with the gusto and tenacity of Akane Tendo. In fact, the only guy he can really think of as her peer in that regard is Ford Pines.

Which would be fine--he doesn't care a whit about the poor non-player Grunts she's laying out--but there's a conflict of interests here.

"It's kind of my job to make sure this goes off, though. Which means I gotta ask you to stop. Or at least slow it down, can you do that?"

Edited 2020-12-27 04:14 (UTC)

"I can't stop," Akane explains. "Santa asked me to. The real one," she adds, "not you." But then she sighs, huffily. "But I guess I can slow down a little. I don't want to get you and, you know, the others in trouble. Is... everyone here? I tried to, um, look for people I know are with you, but maybe some of them are in disguise too?"

Edited 2020-12-27 04:34 (UTC)

Dirk blinks, once. He's not as incredulous as he wishes he was, but he's just barely hanging onto his patience for this bullshit right about now.

While his expression doesn't change an iota, his voice pitches down slightly in irritation.

"....of course Santa is 'real' here," he mutters less to Akane than to the narrative void. "Of course that's a fuckin' thing."

He doesn't need to ask to know that this is the explanation for the dozens of shiny Obstagoon.

They're Santa's Obstagoon.

"Yeah, just slow your roll, maybe miss on purpose once in a while. Leave a few guys standing so that the rest of us can make some bank and get the hell out of here with something to show for it." He raises his voice back up to a more audible volume. But he's nothing if not helpful, offering her a strategy to look like she's actually trying. You know, if it matters that much to her.

"But anyone a lower rank than me is a Santa. A 'fake' Santa," he clarifies, still keeping it brisk. "Which is mostly everyone except Carly and a guy called Steven. If you're looking for someone specific, you're looking for fat people in jolly red and white suits, fighting housewives over the integrity of their winter blowout sales."

"Santa's real back home too," Akane points out. "Kasumi had a dream about him once; he told her she had to throw a Christmas party. And-- okay," she says, quietly. "I'll look out for them. And I know who Mr Steven is," she adds. "He's one of Connie's uncles. I guess her only uncle since Mr Jack doesn't look like he remembers being here before--and I saw him before as regular person, so I guess the new one isn't with you guys anymore?" She lowers her voice even more: "What about Mr Solus? Is he in disguise too?"

Mr Solus being one of the people she'd puzzled out were part of Team Rocket when Connie first told her about it.

[That sure is a bloody nose there. It may even be broken.]

No. I don't. But I should.

Maybe they'd learn a lesson that way.

[Look, Shiro's not a violent man. But Team Rocket has pushed one too many buttons.]

Admittedly, Grant is worried for a moment when he hears the ominous flapping of an approaching Pokemon - but one glance makes it pretty clear this one is... not gonna be a problem for him specifically.

It is... probably going to be a problem for the Rocket, who just came here to steal from children and is feeling very attacked right now. Not that he's retreating just yet, because it's just... one guy and also a Pokemon that's eating a coworker's boot, right?? So instead he just, wavers uncertainly in place, looking between the two.

Grant nods appreciatively at the Crobat, and lets Santa's Zigzagoon out of its ball before turning back to the Rocket. "Last chance."

She blocks the backhand effortlessly. "Akane Tendo," she replies. "And yeah, I don't think a lot of people know it's here. I only know because she ended up telling me about being forced to work for Team Rocket."

Her return attempt to punch him is still highly telegraphed, but maybe not as slow as the kick was. Hopefully he can avoid it, but otherwise she's mostly pulled the blow.

Okay so, listen. Listen. This grunt just came out here to do his job and steal some things and take some kids' wallets, and yeah, battling against some rando who saw fit to intervene was probably inevitable.

Two randos seems like a bit much, seeing as how he is not set up for a partnered battle, and the Rocket immediately falters... and makes the Strategic Decision to dart off, leaving a child who looks... honestly more baffled than shaken up.

The second the Rocket seems to be fleeing, Grant kind of deflates, and nods gratefully at Zuke while he walks over to check on the kid. "Hey, you alright? --Thanks, Zuke."

Yeah, he sure is. [The last thing Sylvain needed was to be thinking about Claude von Riegan's legs, again, but here he is. He shakes his head, hoping to knock the image free in the process.]

Last I saw, he would have been heading to regroup with the Rockets, likely to heal up. I... knocked Sturm out as part of his cover.

[Sylvain seems a little upset about that for a moment, but he tries to choke it down as best as possible.]

With Sooter treated, Dimitri puts him back onto his shoulder with a frown. Back in Faerghus, it was expected for most healers to have some combat experience... Of course they would never be at the front lines, but they had to keep themselves at least a little safe as they ran about the battlefield. He doesn't like the idea of an unprotected healer...

"Do you need protection?" he asks quietly. "I am looking for someone, but-" A moment's hesitance. It feels strange to be a defender when he's for so long felt nothing like it. "But I could keep you safe while you ventured out to heal others."

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Page 11 of 36

How Team Rocket stole Christmas...

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Rocket Beta Dirk Strider | OTA

Re: Rocket Beta Dirk Strider | OTA

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TECHNICALLY that was an OAV only storyline but fuck it

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