... well. What now?

[Risaka]

The truck roared to life and sped away from Mel, leaving her in a cloud of dust even as she waved goodbye to the driver. Well, it couldn't be helped, she supposed; Claude had already been kind enough to drive her into town from Celadon. He had needed to come to Viridian on some business anyway, and it was really nice of him to give her a ride. After all, it just wasn't safe to travel alone in Kanto any more. It really was foolish of her, trying to set off on a journey alone, but wasn't that why she was heading to Pallet? To get a Pokemon to protect her? And possibly meet a Trainer or two to travel with as well.

"Of course, that would require actually getting into Pallet Town from here," the girl muttered to herself, tapping her lower lip with a finger. "I'd really prefer not to be mugged... I mean, it's not like I'm totally helpless, but I'd be so outnumbered." Her thoughts flickered to the pepper spray in her pocket, which had served her faithfully during her time in Celadon. Not going to be much help if she was ambushed.

"Well, nothing's going to get done by me just standing around here," Mel announced to herself. "Let's get going. I think it was this way?" she muttered, turning in the direction that Claude had went. "It's as good a way to go as any, I suppose."

[MiZerable]

The sound of heels clicking and clacking off of cold pavement echoed through the dark alleys of Veridian City as the metropolitan area’s cold hearted ‘mistress’ made his way down the streets of which he essentially owned. As always, Shotaru Kokonoe, the leader of the infamous crime syndicte called Team Rocket, was not alone, trailing behind him were his two favorite bodyguards, Quinton and Harley- looking as ‘menacing’ as ever.

Shotaru really had no reason for today’s act of wandering, other than to make his presence known as he so often said. He loved to assert his power, and for one with the power of all Kanto Underground Organizations, it is hard to be modest. To Shotaru, he was the Champion of his realm. Shotaru Kokonoe was to crime the same way Kage Camui was to Pokemon Battles. Simply synonymous. Despite the fact that he most normally was seen wearing the attire of a female, he considered himself a badass, and the few people who did actually know of his gender agreed.

But this peaceful stroll would come to an abrupt end as he elegantly made his way across a street- when a car driven by a male nearly decimated the group of three while in the intersection. A slightly frazzled Shotaru kept his cool, however, his loudmouth bodyguards would not. They were out for blood on this one, and they quickly turned their attention to the girl who had just gotten out of the vehicle which nearly ended their lives.

“Hey! You!” Shouted Quinton, the male bodyguard, agitation clearly visible on his face as he and his partner approached her, his loud voice causing a bit of a scene. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Do you know just who the hell you’re dealing with?!” Meanwhile, a few yards away, Shotaru had found a bench, on which he sat cross legged and lighting a cigarette.

[Risaka]

At the sound of shouting, Mel looked in its direction only to find that its source was heading for her. And it was directed at her too. A man and a woman were approaching her, anger hot in the man's voice as he drew everyone's attention. The only one unaffected, Mel noted absently, was the young lady on a bench a few feet away, smoking as if nothing at all out of the ordinary was going on.

"As far as I can tell, I just got out of a car. Apparently, that warrants being yelled at by some random passerby," she replied, mildly annoyed. "I don't really see what the problem is here. If anything, it's your own fault for just strolling out into the street like you own the place." And with that statement, Mel revealed just how little she knew of Viridian. After all, how could she have guessed that she was speaking to the bodyguards of Team Rocket's boss?

[MiZerable]

“Like we- Like we own the place?” The hot headed male stammered as he couldn’t believe the stupidity of the girl who stood before him. Had she spent her life under a rock? Aside from maybe the Elite Four and the Kanto League Champion, there was not a soul more feared and revered than the elegant leader of Team Rocket standing only yards away. By association- despite their usual cartoonish antics- have propelled Shotaru’s body guards to near celebrity status. There was no way anybody could be so in the dark about matters of Veridian City or Team Rocket… this girl- this brat must have been mocking him; or at least this is what he thought.

The much calmer woman beside him with the vain appearance and the arrogant swagger had a much less threatening tone- although she too mocked the girl. “We might not necessarily own the place… but our boss- Seriously Quinton, there’s no way this girl could be so naive!” She seemed more frustrated with the fact that her own fame was not instantly recognized, as with her fame and good looks, Harley became what some call the Sex Symbol of the Kanto Underground. “Who the hell do you think you are- talking down to us?” Their display of rage was more humorous than threatening- as it was hard to take the metrosexual and the airhead seriously at times.

So the two Rockets took a step back to form somewhat of a huddle to strategize as well as to calm down. After a brief powwow the two once again approached this girl, who in their eyes represented the epitome of disrespect and arrogance- an ironic concept actually- and to finally prove their worth to their boss, they would vanquish this infidel from their hallowed streets before the insect could even become an issue. They took a deep breath, and reached into their pouches, holding out Pokeballs in an almost synchronized fashion. As one voice, they shouted, “WE CHALLENGE YOU TO A POKEMON BATTLE!” releasing Snover and Probopass respectively onto the paved street.

Meanwhile, on the bench the scene was much less tense. As the crowed was gathering around the scene only a few yards away, Shotaru smoked his cigarette, putting it to his delicate lips as he inhaled the toxic smoke. A nasty habit, but one he would not break. He was not nearly as concerned as his bodyguards were about this naïve young girl, as quite frankly he rarely saw insects. But this girl was different- like the shiny bug that might evolve into something more; it was interesting to him. So he decided that he would watch the massacre that was about to occur. He put out his cigarette on the arm of the bench before standing up and blending in with the crowed- although it was relatively hard for him to blend- he didn’t quite dress like the average male… or female for that matter.