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

Steven's taking a break from coordinating from above to jam some cash into his belt pouches when he sees Jules.

Welp. That definitely explains where Thace stole his last second Rocket uniform. Steven wonders if he can get one out for him from stores if he's going to impersonate a Grunt in the future.

"Hey, hey, I'm gonna help," he says, in as gentle of a tone as he can muster while still keeping up the full-on Cheech Marin accent he uses for Rocket business. "Look, I'm gonna get you one of your pokemon out to defend you, buddy. Okay? Okay."

Steven plucks the first ball he sees and presses down on the button.

Whatever Jules might have said in response to that is muffled and drowned out by the sweater. He's so panicky ~~and inept with accents himself~~ that he's not quite put two and two together to figure out who's talking to him.

When the Pokeball opens, Yorick, Jules's Golisopod, bursts out. "Golisopod!" He's put his hands to the side of his head like he's about to freak out at the sight of Jules trapped in the sweater. Truly a fearsome Pokemon; this Golisopod has not outgrown his Wimpod instincts to hide from scary things. (He and Jules get along rather well.) He's sort of jumping up and down, trying to figure out where to start to free Jules.

"... okay. That's definitely not the one to do it."

Let's just take another ball off, see what's inside that one.

Edited (Icon) 2021-01-03 21:51 (UTC)

"Pinsir!" Curl, Jules's Pinsir, pops out. She has to stop for a moment and just stare at the sight of Jules stuck in the sweater and Yorick delicately trying to help him out. "Pinsir?" Please tell her you know what's going on, Steven. Please. She's confused.

"Jules is stuck," Steven tells the Pinsir. "You and your friend, help get him out and protect him from trainers who get the wrong idea."

"Pinsir!" Oh, is that all? "Pinsir!" She flexes her mandibles; she knows X-Scissor, it's fine, she's got this.

Yorick sees what's going on and dives out of the way just in time.

"PINSIR!" She sure did attack that sweater with X-Scissor. Somehow, Jules completely escapes harm, but the sweater falls to shreds all around him. ~~it is very anime~~ "Pinsir!" Curl's pretty proud.

"Curl?" Jules barely has time to register that his Pokemon's just destroyed a designer sweater to free him before a relieved Yorick is scooping him up in a hug.

Edited 2021-01-04 03:07 (UTC)

"You're welcome," Steven says, taking the opportunity to jam some evolution stones in another pouch. "Need anything else?"

Jules shivers. "A shirt that fits, a blanket, something to help me remember that a Winter Mantle just isn't a thing here." He's cold, okay? "Some guy stole my shirt!"

"I was wondering, yeah," Steven says, scanning the crowd for something appropriate. He's wearing a thick Rockets sweater over everything, with a layer of long underwear to keep him even warmer. The padding helps too.

Maybe they didn't make long underwear in Jules' size?

Oh, there's some blankets. He taps Golispod on the shoulder and points to them, so the hulking former wimp can grab one for his trainer.

"What did he look like? Do you remember?"

Sometimes, Jules is bad at remembering he's no longer got a Winter mantle largely insulating him from the effects of the cold. Plus, it's not like it gets that cold in his neck of the woods, anyway. What is remembering that long underwear exists?

"He was bigger than me!" That, perhaps, is the most distressing part of this than anything else. "He had, like, actual muscles and stuff." He might have said more but he's cut off by an avalanche of blankets being dumped upon him. Yorik is helping.

"Really?" Steven says, not quite keeping the amusement out of his tone. "Maybe I should try to get his pokegear number."

Look, Steven is a simple man with simple tastes. Big guys with muscles are hot.

Jules puts his face in his hands and half-mutters, half-whines something unintelligible about priorities.

Edited (typo) 2021-01-18 19:42 (UTC)

"That was a joke," Steven says. "I was trying to lighten the mood."

"At a time like this?" Jules all but wails. "I was robbed!" And fairly oblivious to the irony of that. "It was terrifying!" So oblivious. His Golisopod's got an arm around him and is giving him reassuring pats.

"I was mugged once too," Steven says, with a shrug. "I freaked out too until he threw my picture of my sister into a puddle. Then I kicked him in the balls, he dropped his knife, I grabbed him by the throat, bashed his head into the wall, and kept squeezing until he passed out. Then I took his knife—well, and my wallet back, of course."

There's a far-off nostalgic look in his eyes, but then he shakes his head. "My point is... God, what is my point? My point is that being robbed is terrifying, but if you can push past your fear, you'll discover capabilities you never knew you had."

"Oh. Oh. That. Um. That's way worse than min--geez, man, I'm sorry." Jules winces. "Some of us don't do well with fear, I guess."

"It's fine," Steven says, with a shrug. "The experience was harrowing, but it was what I needed to shake me out of the rut I was in. I was able to get my shit together enough to get rid of my fetch after that and take my life back from him, more or less."

He shakes his head again. "It's okay that you're not good at Fear," he tells Jules almost gently. "Not everyone is. Otherwise we'd probably all be Autumn. Anyway... do you think you'll be okay now? I should probably get back to what I was doing."

"Yeah." Jules sighs. "Yeah, yeah. You're right." He gives Steven a nod. "I should probably get back to it, too. I've got a couple new viruses I'm toying with, you know? We gotta keep it up."

Steven smiles. "I look forward to seeing what comes of them," he says. "See you later, Jules."

And he'll just teleport off with his Xatu at that point.

How Team Rocket stole Christmas...

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