victory_road | 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Sylvain takes a quick moment, pressing potions to the balls on his belt. He isn't suer if they're needed at this point ,or if they've rested enough, but he figures it best to try all the same. Once he's relatively certain that the creatures are in good shape, though, he nods to his companions.]

I'm assuming none of us are allowed to go our separate ways at this point, huh?

[While Felix would be fine on his own, Sylvain certainly wouldn't allow Dimitri out of his sight. He had to assume the other two were thinking the same of him.]

Let's go track down our little lost deer, then.

I'm not letting either one of you out of my sight. [Yep, Sylvain called it.] That goes for Claude too, once we find him.

[Felix retrieves the sword from the corner and checks over his Pokemon; the borrowed Jynx is in most need of aid, so he spares a few potions and then puts all of them back in their balls except Varley and Zoltan before he moves out into the mall, glancing back to make sure Dimitri in particular is following.]

[Then... They are sticking together. Dimitri considers this as he makes sure that his Rattata are in most decent condition - their use of swarming has helped them either outnumber their opponents, or put a risk of friendly fire into the equation. This has worked out for them quite well... Especially with the Obstagoon being more of a clean up tank.]

[With them checked out, Dimitri looks at the other two tentatively.]

...Is it truly all right for me to be with you both?

[Sylvain, always casual, always refusing to take things serious, nearly stumbles at Dimitri's words. He chalks it up to all of the tender affection, with an extra helping of still trying to understand the feelings from his childhood.

As it is, it takes everything in his power to not comment. He bites down on his lip, hard enough for it to color white, then releases.]

Nowhere else I would rather have you, Dima.

{Felix blinks, startled yet again by Dimitri saying...things...like that. But he knows now what the prince means by it, so he manages not to embarrass himself this time.]

That's a ridiculous question. Why are you even asking?

I...

[It's hard to get the words right, honestly. Hard to explain himself, even holding all of his rats together as a reassuring and warm weight.]

...I frightened you both. Did I not?

[He's not so oblivious to miss that. He never was. It's just... He couldn't bring himself to care, not fully, not really, before.]

And I frightened the two of you in kind. And yet I doubt you two will let me out of your sights. [He doesn't need for them to answer to know it's true.]

It's the same thing with us. As long as we are with you, we're able to pull you back. We're not letting our Mitya go anywhere, right Fe?

[He glances half over his shoulder briefly. 'We,' huh? It didn't look much like 'we' from where Felix was standing. Not until after Sylvain calmed Dimitri down with all those...caresses, while Felix was busy making it worse, anyway.

He turns his eyes to the front again to keep watch for trouble, responding quietly.]

Right.

[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...

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.]

...I also ran into Claude. [And sort of wishes he hadn't. Thanks for this mental image all over again, Dimitri.] He's risking too much with this reckless infiltration of his. He's already been caught once. I had to bail him out.

[Felix knows how Sylvain feels about killing enemy mounts, so this reaction doesn't surprise him, but he certainly would have done the same in Sylvain's place and what's done is done. So he doesn't address it. There's nothing much to be said, anyway.]

[All of this news isn't making Dimitri feel any better, and his next step is almost a jolt forward.]

He cares for Sturm so much... and if Sturm is recovering, then he is in even more danger of being caught in a bad situation.

We need to find him immediately.

[No more fooling around. Trying to recover himself, Dimitri quickens his pace towards the exit.]

[Sylvain considers them both for a minute. He wants to trust Claude to his own devices. But if what Felix has said is true, then the other man is in too much danger to be allowed to continue.]

Yeah, let's go.

[He races ahead, trying to get out ahead of Dimitri. As his knight, he should be ahead of them all. The first to take a blow.]

[The thing about running ahead of people is that you take your eyes off of them in order to look ahead. This isn't a bad thing for a little while as the three of them start running about the marketplace, trying to look for a certain disguised Rocket with an impeccable pair of thighs peeking over the edge of some boots...]

[But Dimitri is keeping an ear and his only eye out as they run, along with his four rats. As they go running, something catches Hob's attention right as Felix goes to intimidate some Rockets away from them...]

[Just like that, Dimitri follows the alarmed squeaking of his rat, and he's off.]

How Team Rocket stole Christmas...

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