Hoenn was a lot warmer than Petrel had ever been used to; it was like hell, he thought as he trudged through burning humidity that made him far too damp to even sweat. Why would people live here willingly? He couldn’t wait to finish up his business, catch the next flight out—maybe he’d go somewhere cold. Maybe to Sinnoh or back to Russia. But that was a long time coming; right now, there was work to be done. That was the only thought keeping him going as he trudged up Mt. Pyre.
One may wonder what an ex-Rocket had business in Hoenn for, and to be fair, on the surface it likely seemed there wasn’t any real rhyme or reason. But Petrel was on his own now, no Team Rocket to back him up and afford him with cash he suddenly found himself needing (it had been far easier to spout his communist rhetoric when he hadn’t needed to pay for a place to live or even food) and with only his own personal influence in the black market and drug trades to support himself, it behooved him to search for ways to extend his network, to find people to ally with in case he needed help. And Hoenn, like many regions, was a premiere location for gangs much like Rocket.
In fact, Hoenn was home to two, as far as Petrel was aware, and though he frankly had never been to interested in what sort of bullshit they pulled, he knew a gang like like either of them would be a star contender as a partner in his crime. Or at the very least, he could make nice and be sure they weren’t going to get anyone to shank him or something.
And that led him here. He’d listened around, kept his ears and feelers out, and while there seemed to be some sort of odd, gaping emptiness in the whispers concerning either Team Aqua or Team Magma; but it was Team Magma he found first. Rumor had it one of the admins still showed up around here, and Petrel was eager for his first meet-n-greet, whether or not they knew he was coming.
And he wasn’t disappointed. As he reached the top, where he spied the famous orbs he’d heard so much about since he arrived, his eyes fell to a person that matched the descriptions he’d been able to scrounge up. This was it. Time to shine. He ran his hands through his hair to neaten it, slicking it back, then straightened his suit jacket before striding forward and clearing his throat, slapping on his most charming smile.
“Hey,” he greeted, “are you... who I think you are? You’re from Magma, right?”
N’s exploration of the regions as the past few years had gone by had taken him many places. Just as many, however, he hadn’t yet had the chance to visit. Mossdeep Space Center in Hoenn was one of the latter places. The sky was clear and a steady breeze was blowing over the island city.
He was gazing at the white rock nearby the center, thinking about the wishes it represented. He couldn’t help but recall the Light Stone at the same time, and distracted as he was, he allowed Zorua to jump from his arms to wander nearby.
So of course, the moment he came back to attention, it was to discover his friend had gone and disappeared on him. It wasn’t an unusual occurrence; N wouldn’t consider himself too concerned. But it was still a foreign place, and he’d hate for Zorua to get into trouble--
Ah. There he was. Several long strides later and he was at the side of the shorter purple-haired woman his constant companion was poking at in curiosity.
“Zorua, you shouldn’t be bothering her...” The Pokemon’s tail swished in response, but he remained gazing up at the stranger. Bringing his eyes to meet hers before they darted away, N said, “Sorry about him, miss, ah, I hope you don’t mind.”
