How Team Rocket stole Christmas...

[indigo_league]

'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.

Comments

[uncutetomboy]

She's probably seventeen by now? Eighteen at the most. So yeah, practically a kid.

"Really," Akane says. "It was really stupid too. So, uh, this boy at school named Kuno from the year above me, who was kind of friends with my second older sister but also kind of not? He decided he liked me. But instead of acting like a normal person, he decided that since I was one of the strongest fighters in town back then, he'd make a rule that boys would have to defeat me in combat to go on a date with me. So I'd have to deal with that every morning before class. They only stopped when my dad stuck me in an arranged marriage."

She makes a disgusted face at that. Even if she does like Ranma now (sometimes), the stupid engagement wasn't fair to either of them.

[uncutetomboy]

"I'd like that," she says. "I'm gonna be going to Kanto soon with Cassandra because we haven't done most of those badges--I've only done Blue's and I don't think Cassandra's done any--but when I'm in Goldenrod, I can definitely come and visit. Oh--should I call you Teacher or Master?"

(She means, of course, sensei or sifu, but translation effect.)

[uncutetomboy]

His words make her feel warm. People don't usually compliment her on her intelligence. She's not stupid or anything, but Nabiki was the clever one in her family. Even Kasumi was pretty smart, considering the kinds of books she used to borrow from Doctor Tofu. Akane got decent grades, but that was about it.

That and the fondness in his voice--it's nice. If it were coming from a boy her age, she might balk at it, but it's not. It's coming from a grown-up man, probably as old as her dad if not older, who she likes and trusts. She can't help but smile shyly back at him--and she really does have a very cute smile. The kind of expression that transforms a face.

"Of course I will," she tells Mr Solus sincerely. "I know it's okay to be the kind of pervert who doesn't hurt people here--which, um, is good because I'm sort of one too--but it wasn't okay at all at home and, well, we didn't treat people like us very well." She frowns, then. "I didn't treat people like us very well."

Her cheeks are still warm, but not for the same reason as before. "Um. Anyway, I know about wanting to keep that stuff a secret. So I won't tell on Dirk and I won't tell on you! But I'm glad that you two know about liking each other. Because it's always weird when you start liking your best friend that way and you don't know if they like you back. I only found out about Connie because she accidentally talked to Mr Steven about it in front of everyone, because everyone's pokegears were messed up."

[zukeini]

………..

Huh.

"...That's, uh," Zuke said with a long pause. His face looked like he was trying to solve many math problems and all he came up with were letters and maybe some historical figures for some reason.

"And everyone thought that was all okay," he continued. "No one bothered to come up and say that was really messed up? Because that sounds MESSED up."

[epitaffio]

The confusion is mutual, because if the name Palchuk is supposed to elicit any particular emotion, it, er... isn't working.

"Well, I'm... busy!" He is; even if Steve did happen to catch him at a moment when he doesn't look all that busy, it should be easy to see that Doppio is carrying some spoils of his own. "Go find yourself a pushcart or something."

[pretendingto]

[Kayo patiently sprays the potion on her shoulder with a decisive nod. She turns back to Sylvain for a moment, thinking, before she returns to fussing over the pokemon.]

You aren't?

[pretendingto]

[Even with her palms pressed to her ears she still hears the thud of the stick against skull and it shivers through her in the worst way. She can't take her eyes off of Dimitri and what he's doing, some instinctive part of her saying that she can't turn away from danger.

She does finally look away when she feels a little paw on her hand. Big brown eyes peer down at the rat pokemon, and she reaches out her free hand to pat it on the head.]

You trust him?

[She asks in a small voice, flicking her eyes toward Dimitri.]

god i was so tempted to just write "No." and leave it at that

[nastyboy]

"No," is the almost immediate answer. Dimitri frowns. "You sell yourself to others as careful and intelligent, and yet will absolutely take the occasional risk or gamble. That is why I must follow."

[amaure]

There are many ways he could have expected Akane to respond to what he said--the smile at his praise is one, but her naming not only himself and Dirk, but also herself, a pervert decidedly was not.

For a long beat, he's left staring down at her, bewildered and a little dumbstruck by her casual use of the term, and what more she reveals. Well did he know about her and Connie, having played witness to the technology running afoul, but he was not quite aware of Akane's shortsighted view of such relationships.

...Perhaps that's unkind, but he figures her ignorance is truly that, than something more malicious. If not for them being in the middle of a heist, perhaps he'd take some time to have a dialogue with her about it, but now is not the time.

"...Indeed, there are those who are possessed of close-minded beliefs towards those whom dare to differ from what they mistakenly preceive as a social norm. They are scant the example to follow." He offers softly as he gathers himself from his astonishment, his eyebrows settling from their prior skyward position.

"Nevertheless, I would not name us perverts, but that is a conversation for another time." As he speaks, his voice is gentle and measured, lacking any animosity or judgment.

The cofagrigus who has been standing behind Akane this whole time, still as a statue, finally moves around her to lay flat on the ground, lid open. Solus' gaze falls to it, and then the netted Golurk, his eyebrows ticking upward in thought. With a pointed flick of his eyes from the Rotom to the Golurk, the net is released and retracted.

"My apologies for disposing of your Golurk, but shall we meet on the battlefield once more, I am afraid you will be treated to an encore. 'Tis nothing personal. Yet, I will not seek you out to stop you in your quest of becoming a heroine. So, I suggest affording me a wide breadth, and I shall offer you the same courtesy."

OTA!

[insidegalra]

The Observer
Before things get hot, Thace can be found on one of the rooftops overlooking the market, with his Aegislash and Meowstic by his side. He's not making much effort to hide that he's up there, and seems to be wearing rather tight black pants, rather than his usual clothes.

He's not there long, especially when Santa's recruits start coming in. The Meowstic, however, seems to hold her position, and has a walkie talkie? She's using it a lot, and other Pokemon (or people who can understand Pokemon) will be able to tell that she's the eyes in the sky, directing at least two strike teams groups to trouble spots down below.

The Super Hero
Santa isn't the only (relatively) big name to show up at the Christmas Market. There is a very tall man in skin-tight black, with black Persian ears attached to his full-face mask, and a black Persian tail swinging by his calves. He's only ever seen briefly, coming out of the shadows to provide aid and then disappearing just as quickly after a solemn nod (and often with a helpful item or berry for Santa's Recruits). Dropping in from above is a favorite means of entrance.

And what is the Black Persian doing? Well, he steps in when someone is losing badly in a Pokemon battle or being physically assaulted by Rockets and having trouble holding their own. If it's an assault, the Rocket in question is at the very least getting punched, and likely to end up in a joint lock, or winded and face-down.

If it's a Pokemon battle, the Black Persian has... a black Persian? A single black-colored persian (a real close look will reveal it's Pokemon safe spray-on hair color) who is clearly level 100 and been taught a lot of TMs and HMs.

So, what's happening when the Black Persian appears before you?

The (evil???) Rocket
There is also (after a certain someone gets their uniform stolen) a tall Rocket Grunt in ill-fitting uniform that's much too tight in the shoulders and chest and too short in the torso (at least the gloves cover the slightly short sleeves) stalking around.

This one only shows up if there's a fellow Rocket about to be injured/captured, or is at risk of the same after losing at Pokemon. He likes to show up behind the Rocket's opponent and go for a headlock, but will also block/deflect attacks or have a Hydreigon drop in with a Roar.

His introduction is always paired with a gruff and annoyed, "no captures or arrests! If you can't hack it, get back to base."

And if someone wants to try to follow him as he makes a quick exit afterward, well, he's fast and will try hard to shake any tails.

The Pokemon (strike teams)
There are also Pokemon wandering around the fray, mostly lending a hand (or is it paw?) to Santa's Recruits who find themselves against much higher level opponents. People who know Thace will recognize the Pokemon as his, but Thace himself is nowhere in sight, and at least one Pokemon on each group has a walkie talkie?

The first group consists of an Aegislash, a Noivern, an Azumarill, and an Alola Vulpix.

The second group consists of a Klefki, a Diggersby, a Falinks and a Haunter.

(And if it's really necessary, they can call in a Flareon, Toucannon, Beautifly, or Cherrim as backup.)

They will stick around long enough to make sure people and Pokemon are healed up and then head off to wherever their (next target) destination is.

The Rocket

[fingersandteeth]

The Rocket might be trying hard to shake any tails, but it's not so easy when another Rocket teleports in directly in front of him, Xatu at his side. He's paunchy, with a long grey beard and black eye behind his domino mask.

"So you were the one that stole Jules' shirt off his back," he muses out loud, his accent thick as anything. He looks the Rocket over with a smug smile. "I heard over my earpiece what a great help you've been--have you ever thought of working for the Team for real?"

Then he winks.

[cyan_maid]

Bring it on, then! Deva - we need a Psychic Terrain!

[Ah, that's the situation, is it? Deva frowns and focuses on the Salazzle - it's mostly all the commotion that had confused her, but a battle? That makes perfect sense. She cries out as the battlefield gets weird!]

[cyan_maid]

[She just starts shoving her stuff in her bag faster.]

No?? Why the hell would I just hand my things over! You want it, you're going to have to fight me for it!

[But it's not going to be an easy fight!]

B...ish?

[insidegalra]

The problem with such a crowded and chaotic place is that getting where he needs to be isn't always as simple as he'd like it to be.

Case-in-point, dodging a wild Shadow Ball has ended up with Thace, in Rocket disguise, right between a mob of people and an active battle, so he's trying to thread his way through and--

That's someone he recognizes from the network. Which doesn't preclude also being a Rocket, but he needs to be careful. His voice is gruff and accented, very different from his usual soft and precise intonation. "Watch yourself!"

If Claude's stolen Rocket uniform might raise eyebrows, so does Thace's. There aren't many people seven feet tall here, and Thace is much broader than the other one he's encountered, so the Rocket top is very tight across the shoulders and chest and too short in the torso. (Technically he isn't wearing the bottom half of a Rocket uniform at all, but it's black so he's counting on people not paying close attention.)

[insidegalra]

Help is on the way! "Diggersby! Dig Dig!"

In the form of four Pokemon that don't seem to have a trainer anywhere. The Haunter among them is carrying a walkie-talkie. The Klefki and Falinks have berries for Shadomaru's Pokemon, holding them out like offerings.

Meanwhile, the Diggersby has got this. He's unleashing a Smack Down followed by a Bulldoze. Even if the Weezing's got Levitate, Smack Down takes care of that, leaving the Poison-Type very vulnerable to Ground attacks.

A

[insidegalra]

Thace is looking for a way to mitigate a disaster in the making without people knowing it's him. He's got one side of it down, but has realized a superhero disguise will be very ineffective if he wants to keep Rockets (Steven and his adopted family) from getting severely hurt or captured too.

He drops down behind Jules almost silently, Aegislash floating down behind him. "I'll be taking your uniform; hand it over and no one gets hurt."

Not hard to put a menacing growl in, and considering he's also ridiculously tall, Thace gets to loom! A little tiny bit.

[uncutetomboy]

"Don't worry," Akane promises, looking at the Cofagrigus with nervous eyes. "After this, I'm definitely staying out of your way. Do you, um, have a Revive? Because otherwise I'll see if I can find a healer. And-- I'd like to talk again when there's not a bunch of fighting going on. Maybe I could come to your house when I'm in Goldenrod? Or we can talk over the gear."

[nastyboy]

[Gremlin is a pretty average sized Rattata, which makes him very easy to pet. He makes some incoherent chittering noises, probably meant to be reassuring, before he pauses as Kayo speaks. He blinks those big ol' eyes of his, and looks over to where Dimitri is determinedly tying the Grunt's hands together. A curious cock of his head, and then Gremlin looks back up to Kayo with a beam. It's easy for him to nod his head.]

[He loves Dimitri, after all. Lots of good treats and video games. Gently, Gremlin bumps his head up into her hand again. It'll be okay, stranger girl! Things will be fine.]

[Meanwhile, Dimitri stands up from the grunt and tries to flip some of his hair out of his face. He should have brought the hair tie Felix gave him... but he didn't want to lose it. He'll have to deal. In the meanwhile, he looks back to the girl again.]

...Were you going to heal someone?

[uncutetomboy]

"I mean, he was the kendo club captain, so he was kind of a big deal at the school," Akane says, bitterly. "And he was rich and from an old family. And it turned out later that his dad was the principal, so..."

Kuno got away with too much stuff, to be honest.

[insidegalra]

Thace looks mildly startled and bemused. Not upset at all, just that was very unexpected to hear.

"I-- well, I've never really taught anyone in a dedicated way? You're free to use whichever is more comfortable for you."

[braveloyalhugs]

I made sure they wanted to come with me first!

[The protest is an honest one, but there's a flicker of discomfort visible on her face...

And then she's throwing a combo of punches. Her style might not be highly polished, but it's effective and she's very, very strong. Decently quick too.]

[braveloyalhugs]

"Yeah, it works really well when you wanna give someone what's what but don't wanna hurt them too much! If you want, I can show you--"

Somewhere, there's a shout of 'hurry it up, Grunts' which might not be directed at them but makes Scorpia stiffen anyway.

"But maybe it'll have to be later. At base? There's places with enough space there."

[braveloyalhugs]

"Yeah, I do." Scorpia grabs on too, smile sad but firm. "Never give up hope. Always hold out for the good things. Doubts are gonna be there no matter what; the trick is to push them down and ignore them!"

She shrugs, a little sheepish. "At least those are what I've always lived by, and yeah, it got real hard there for a while, but then I found where I belonged and was cared about and it was great."

"And then I got kidnapped here and made a Rocket, but that's cool, because I get to meet all kinds of wonderful people. Like you!"

She bites her lip. "But you look like you could really use a hug. Uh, a friend-hug, I mean! And I'm the giver of the best hugs, five years running. Also the only one who bothered to enter, but anyway! Name's Scorpia!"

[uncutetomboy]

"Teacher, then," she says. Sensei. "And it's just-- respectful. You're supposed to respect older people. Unless they're Dirk, because he won't let me call him Mr Dirk."

She calls the perverted grandmaster of her martial art by the courtesy title of 'Grandfather.' She really means that.

[woofdad]

Grant is... about ready to start trying to remember what he knows about heart attack symptoms, frankly. He doesn't know how long he's been trying to track Chip down for, but it's been far too long, that's for sure, and there are still Rockets everywhere, and he doesn't know where the rest of their group is to help him look either, and--

Well, he's having a bad time. He would be expecting to be about to have an even worse time, being approached outright by a Rocket like this, if it weren't for who the guy was carrying.

His brain scrabbles over what the guy says, even while he fumbles to take Chip, looking from their face to the Rocket and back again. "Wh-- you did-- they climbed what?!"

Okay, yep, impending heart attack was definitely justified.