Rain splattered across the faces of those traversing the streets of Nimbasa in the early morning. The long black raincoats of the business women who refused to let splashes ruin their perfectly new shoes, the hooded jackets of the young students who were running off to school and to seek shelter from the rain, the bright yellow, pink, orange, and bright blue raincoats of the young toddlers and children splashing in every puddle- they all blended together to form a bright picture in the rainy, dreary morning air. The sounds of the occasional car honk or the laughter of children followed by the scolding of their mothers were all drowned out by the rhythmic pattern of 'drip, drop... drip, drop...' Of the rain. It was all so peaceful; an otherwise normal day in Unova's city of lights. Normal, however, is what that day was not.
The children were not followed by a stray Purrloin begging for food, nor were the business men and women assisted by a Sawk to help carry their many bags and suitcases. There weren't any fresh teenagers running around street corners in a haste to battle their Pokemon before the school day starts, and even the little Pokedolls that young girls carried and played with their whole day were gone. The air was thick with rain, but it was also thick in tension- who wouldn't be if you're entire lifestyle and region was seized by an evil organization?
Among those raincoats were blue and grey uniforms, patrolling the streets and watching for any suspicious figures out there. Many thought that it was overkill- the fact that they constantly patrolled the streets for concealed trainers despite the fact that it had been four years since they put in place the outrageous, but respected, rules of the modern society. The larger cities were more heavily watched, with about 100-150 members in the larger cities, but the much smaller ones only had patrols of 10-15; and only 8 members were placed in Nuvema and Aspertia Town. When the takeover began four years back, so many lost their jobs. PokeCenter nurses, police officers, scientists, Pokemon gym leaders, trainers, elite four, and even the champion. Any job that had any relation to Pokemon- it caused so many to loose their income. Jobs like construction, they just lost their ability to use Pokemon in their building, but many people lost their jobs in that devastating time.
Due to the lack of jobs, Team Plasma saw the opportunity. They advertised that any person could join in Team Plasma's ranks, not to mention that it was a decent pay. After a week of announcing that jobs were available, Team Plasma had tripled the size of their workforces and continued to grow more and more. They had ridiculous amounts of people; its not a surprise if the next door neighbor is a member.
The cold rain splattered on the ground incessantly despite all of Team Plasma's antics. A small figure huddled in the far right side of the city stared at the rain as it continued to fall relentlessly. Irene Safedale found inspiration out of curious things, just like the rain that fell on Nimbasa in that moment. "The rain doesn't care about Team Plasma. It goes ahead and does what it wants. Just because humans can't interact with Pokemon, the rain doesn't care. It falls anyways." She muttered; looking up and at the stormy sky. The thick grey clouds were like a blanket, forever trapping the rain between it and the Earth. A small thud behind the young adult made her spin around in panic, but what she found wasn't so frightening. It was a young child, maybe the age of 6. Her backpack had slid off her shoulder and the strap had lodged itself between the panels of the rotting wood on one of the benches. It was a very simple fix, just lift it up and pull it to the right, but the small girl seemed to be frantic about where she was going and tugged on the rest of the bag in the opposite direction. Her age prompted that she hadn't yet discovered how if you look at a situation from a different angle, that could help you solve it.
Irene smiled to herself, swiftly walking to the young girl. "Do you need some help?" She asked softly as if her very words would physically shatter the young child. The girl looked up at her and shook her head yes. Gently Irene pulled the backpack up and out of the rotting bench and handed it to the young child. With a wave and many thanks, the girl was gone; having rushed off to her destination. Somehow that child reminded Irene of herself- both physically and in mindset. The girl had a similar shade of her dirty blonde hair- and her eyes were strikingly similar. With the exception of her central heterochromia, which made Irene's eyes have a golden brown ring of color around the pupil, anyone could have mistaken this girl for her sister. Irene sighed, pulling her raincoat closer to her skin- as if that would warm her from the chill she felt suddenly down her spine. It was a warm, muggy day, but the ominous feeling like she was being watched chilled Irene to the bone.
Once the looming shadows of the Ferris Wheel were far behind her, and the bustle of people in Nimbasa's street returned to Irene, she instantly felt more comfortable. In the back of her mind, her Kalos Girl said that she needed to go clothes shopping because it was obvious that her Kalos clothes didn't fit in with the Unova Trends. It wasn't too wild, her attire that is, it was a simple three quarter sleeved pastel blue shirt, a pair of white jeans, and some brown boots that were tucked beneath her pant legs. Over that was her raincoat- a slick black jacket that hung to mid-calf, but it hung open in the front past her hips due to all the buttons popping off due to poor quality and constant use. Irene sighed at her own thought process. She just landed in Unova last afternoon and she wasn't even concerned about her Pokemon who were stolen. Shame on her, shame on her. The sudden and unnecessary guilt that flooded Irene in that moment almost forced her to hang her head and wallow in her own pity, but she didn't have time for that. She had to get home, but not until she had her whole team in her possession
No anti-Plasma groups have shown their face for the past two years- Irene learned that from gossip. Maybe it was a horrible idea to imagine herself being part of an uprising, but Irene kind of liked the whole plot of an evil organization made of thousands upon thousands of well trained soilders fighting a weak, but motivated group of rebels with a passion of their own- it was something she would see in a story book. The good guys always win- but in reality, that kind of uprising would probably fail. Irene must have looked shady, hanging her head down and slowly walking through the less populated areas of Nimbasa, because two Plasma members eyed her from across the street. After a quick discussion between the two, they both marched towards Irene. She kept the emotion off her face, but inwardly she panicked. If they were to search her, they would definitely find Echo around her waist, and she would be thrown in jail. However, she halted in 'respect' for the Plasma officers, but her hands were inside her coat. They couldn't see what she did. Secretly, she took the Pokeball out of her bag and reached up her shirt's seam. It was loose enough, so in case of a situation like that, Irene had sewn a pocket into the inside of her shirt. When the Pokeball was inside the pocket, it was nearly invisible. It mearly appeared like Irene's shirt was sitting wrong on her hips.
"Hello ma'am. We are Team Plasma officers and we have reason to believe you are suspicious of carrying Pokemon. You fit all the criteria...head down...walking in non populated areas... big coats... looking around you carefully..." One male Team Plasma member seemed fairly new and began to recite the criteria for a suspicious person. A woman next to him seemed much more seasoned and swatted at his arm. "She doesn't need to know why were searching her, just that we are you idiot!" The woman hissed, and averted her eyes back to Irene. "Hand over your bag and give us your name please, or we'll have to resort to more violent methods." The man said, obviously reciting a scripted sentence. Irene looked around their waists. 'Hypocrites.' She thought angrily- seeing the pokeballs looped around their belts; most likely filled with Pokemon. Suddenly, Irene had an idea. Maybe learning that second language in high school would come in handy.
"Salut! J’ai peur que je ne parle pas anglais et je ne comprends pas, Désolé !" Irene plastered the happiest, most innocent and confused look she could to her face and smiled widely- as if she were greeting these people politely. She was greeting these people politely, but the intention behind it wasn't so pure. "Excuse me? I don't speak dumb." The female Team Plasma member placed her hands on her hips and scowled at Irene. "Désolé? Ma langue n’est pas stupide, je dirais que votre visage est plus stupide que mes sons de la langue." Irene smiled outwardly, but was cracking up inside. If this lady could only catch that stupide was the same thing as dumb, she might have caught that Irene could actually understand her. The woman began to grow angry, and threw her hands up in frustration. "Ugh! Kalos people these days!" She hissed, and grabbed Irene's bag off her shoulder. The man looked very surprised at the sudden outburst, but proceeded to check the bag as the woman checked Irene's belt and pockets. When they found nothing, they returned the bag. "I'm sorry to bother you ma'am. We'll be going now." The male Team Plasma member said as he literally dragged the woman away with him. "Monsieur le Président, je suggère que vous obtenez un nouveau partenaire de travail, cette femme est une poignée !" Irene laughed as she waved "happily" goodbye to the two members. "Thank you and have a good day!" She added in English, and walked away laughing to herself.
((Note: I removed the part about her hoping to Castelia. It just didn't fit in and it was a feeble attempt at trying to lengthen my post. Sorry for any confusion.
Just if you're wondering, this is what Irene said in French.
"Hello! I'm afraid that I don't speak English and I cannot understand you, sorry!"
"I'm sorry? My language isn't dumb, I'd say your face looks more dumb than my language sounds."
"Sir, I suggest that you get a new work partner, that woman is a handful!"))
The children were not followed by a stray Purrloin begging for food, nor were the business men and women assisted by a Sawk to help carry their many bags and suitcases. There weren't any fresh teenagers running around street corners in a haste to battle their Pokemon before the school day starts, and even the little Pokedolls that young girls carried and played with their whole day were gone. The air was thick with rain, but it was also thick in tension- who wouldn't be if you're entire lifestyle and region was seized by an evil organization?
Among those raincoats were blue and grey uniforms, patrolling the streets and watching for any suspicious figures out there. Many thought that it was overkill- the fact that they constantly patrolled the streets for concealed trainers despite the fact that it had been four years since they put in place the outrageous, but respected, rules of the modern society. The larger cities were more heavily watched, with about 100-150 members in the larger cities, but the much smaller ones only had patrols of 10-15; and only 8 members were placed in Nuvema and Aspertia Town. When the takeover began four years back, so many lost their jobs. PokeCenter nurses, police officers, scientists, Pokemon gym leaders, trainers, elite four, and even the champion. Any job that had any relation to Pokemon- it caused so many to loose their income. Jobs like construction, they just lost their ability to use Pokemon in their building, but many people lost their jobs in that devastating time.
Due to the lack of jobs, Team Plasma saw the opportunity. They advertised that any person could join in Team Plasma's ranks, not to mention that it was a decent pay. After a week of announcing that jobs were available, Team Plasma had tripled the size of their workforces and continued to grow more and more. They had ridiculous amounts of people; its not a surprise if the next door neighbor is a member.
The cold rain splattered on the ground incessantly despite all of Team Plasma's antics. A small figure huddled in the far right side of the city stared at the rain as it continued to fall relentlessly. Irene Safedale found inspiration out of curious things, just like the rain that fell on Nimbasa in that moment. "The rain doesn't care about Team Plasma. It goes ahead and does what it wants. Just because humans can't interact with Pokemon, the rain doesn't care. It falls anyways." She muttered; looking up and at the stormy sky. The thick grey clouds were like a blanket, forever trapping the rain between it and the Earth. A small thud behind the young adult made her spin around in panic, but what she found wasn't so frightening. It was a young child, maybe the age of 6. Her backpack had slid off her shoulder and the strap had lodged itself between the panels of the rotting wood on one of the benches. It was a very simple fix, just lift it up and pull it to the right, but the small girl seemed to be frantic about where she was going and tugged on the rest of the bag in the opposite direction. Her age prompted that she hadn't yet discovered how if you look at a situation from a different angle, that could help you solve it.
Irene smiled to herself, swiftly walking to the young girl. "Do you need some help?" She asked softly as if her very words would physically shatter the young child. The girl looked up at her and shook her head yes. Gently Irene pulled the backpack up and out of the rotting bench and handed it to the young child. With a wave and many thanks, the girl was gone; having rushed off to her destination. Somehow that child reminded Irene of herself- both physically and in mindset. The girl had a similar shade of her dirty blonde hair- and her eyes were strikingly similar. With the exception of her central heterochromia, which made Irene's eyes have a golden brown ring of color around the pupil, anyone could have mistaken this girl for her sister. Irene sighed, pulling her raincoat closer to her skin- as if that would warm her from the chill she felt suddenly down her spine. It was a warm, muggy day, but the ominous feeling like she was being watched chilled Irene to the bone.
Once the looming shadows of the Ferris Wheel were far behind her, and the bustle of people in Nimbasa's street returned to Irene, she instantly felt more comfortable. In the back of her mind, her Kalos Girl said that she needed to go clothes shopping because it was obvious that her Kalos clothes didn't fit in with the Unova Trends. It wasn't too wild, her attire that is, it was a simple three quarter sleeved pastel blue shirt, a pair of white jeans, and some brown boots that were tucked beneath her pant legs. Over that was her raincoat- a slick black jacket that hung to mid-calf, but it hung open in the front past her hips due to all the buttons popping off due to poor quality and constant use. Irene sighed at her own thought process. She just landed in Unova last afternoon and she wasn't even concerned about her Pokemon who were stolen. Shame on her, shame on her. The sudden and unnecessary guilt that flooded Irene in that moment almost forced her to hang her head and wallow in her own pity, but she didn't have time for that. She had to get home, but not until she had her whole team in her possession
No anti-Plasma groups have shown their face for the past two years- Irene learned that from gossip. Maybe it was a horrible idea to imagine herself being part of an uprising, but Irene kind of liked the whole plot of an evil organization made of thousands upon thousands of well trained soilders fighting a weak, but motivated group of rebels with a passion of their own- it was something she would see in a story book. The good guys always win- but in reality, that kind of uprising would probably fail. Irene must have looked shady, hanging her head down and slowly walking through the less populated areas of Nimbasa, because two Plasma members eyed her from across the street. After a quick discussion between the two, they both marched towards Irene. She kept the emotion off her face, but inwardly she panicked. If they were to search her, they would definitely find Echo around her waist, and she would be thrown in jail. However, she halted in 'respect' for the Plasma officers, but her hands were inside her coat. They couldn't see what she did. Secretly, she took the Pokeball out of her bag and reached up her shirt's seam. It was loose enough, so in case of a situation like that, Irene had sewn a pocket into the inside of her shirt. When the Pokeball was inside the pocket, it was nearly invisible. It mearly appeared like Irene's shirt was sitting wrong on her hips.
"Hello ma'am. We are Team Plasma officers and we have reason to believe you are suspicious of carrying Pokemon. You fit all the criteria...head down...walking in non populated areas... big coats... looking around you carefully..." One male Team Plasma member seemed fairly new and began to recite the criteria for a suspicious person. A woman next to him seemed much more seasoned and swatted at his arm. "She doesn't need to know why were searching her, just that we are you idiot!" The woman hissed, and averted her eyes back to Irene. "Hand over your bag and give us your name please, or we'll have to resort to more violent methods." The man said, obviously reciting a scripted sentence. Irene looked around their waists. 'Hypocrites.' She thought angrily- seeing the pokeballs looped around their belts; most likely filled with Pokemon. Suddenly, Irene had an idea. Maybe learning that second language in high school would come in handy.
"Salut! J’ai peur que je ne parle pas anglais et je ne comprends pas, Désolé !" Irene plastered the happiest, most innocent and confused look she could to her face and smiled widely- as if she were greeting these people politely. She was greeting these people politely, but the intention behind it wasn't so pure. "Excuse me? I don't speak dumb." The female Team Plasma member placed her hands on her hips and scowled at Irene. "Désolé? Ma langue n’est pas stupide, je dirais que votre visage est plus stupide que mes sons de la langue." Irene smiled outwardly, but was cracking up inside. If this lady could only catch that stupide was the same thing as dumb, she might have caught that Irene could actually understand her. The woman began to grow angry, and threw her hands up in frustration. "Ugh! Kalos people these days!" She hissed, and grabbed Irene's bag off her shoulder. The man looked very surprised at the sudden outburst, but proceeded to check the bag as the woman checked Irene's belt and pockets. When they found nothing, they returned the bag. "I'm sorry to bother you ma'am. We'll be going now." The male Team Plasma member said as he literally dragged the woman away with him. "Monsieur le Président, je suggère que vous obtenez un nouveau partenaire de travail, cette femme est une poignée !" Irene laughed as she waved "happily" goodbye to the two members. "Thank you and have a good day!" She added in English, and walked away laughing to herself.
((Note: I removed the part about her hoping to Castelia. It just didn't fit in and it was a feeble attempt at trying to lengthen my post. Sorry for any confusion.
Just if you're wondering, this is what Irene said in French.
"Hello! I'm afraid that I don't speak English and I cannot understand you, sorry!"
"I'm sorry? My language isn't dumb, I'd say your face looks more dumb than my language sounds."
"Sir, I suggest that you get a new work partner, that woman is a handful!"))
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