You have no chance to survive

[these_balls]

Who: Rocket Grunts, Magma Grunts, and Aqua Grunts! Basically all the Grunts!
Where: The Whirl Islands and Cinnabar Island
When: February 1st
Summary: Pretty much this
Rating: PG-13? It doesn't need to higher than that? Right, guys?
Log:

The orders are pretty simple. Go in. Wipe out the Team Aqua and Magma Grunts. That's it. So there's not going to be any farewell speeches or anything like that from the Admins because they're of the opinion that you guys have totally got this.

And if you don't...

Well, don't worry about that for now.

Instead, just worry about getting to the nearest base and boarding a helicopter. After that, you've got a short (or long, depending on which base you're heading to) ride ahead of you to some islands in the middle of the ocean, inhabited by a bunch of Aqua and Magma Grunts who have no idea this surprise is on the way. So just do what you do best, Rockets!

And as far as the Admins are concerned what you do best should be to win at all costs. Anything less and well, that would just be an embarrassing return to the region for them. And nobody wants that.


QUICK LINKS
EVENT INFO | QUESTIONS | PLOTTING POST

☆ HELICOPTER RIDE THREAD ☆ TEAM AQUA BASE THREAD ☆ TEAM MAGMA BASE THREAD ☆ AFTERMATH THREAD

Comments

DURING THE HELICOPTER RIDE

[these_balls]

Since there's nothing to do on the possibly long ride over there, why not chat with your fellow Grunts in the helicopter? The admins aren't here, and the pilot's busy flying the chopper, so it's not like anyone's going to tell you to shut up and focus on the mission or anything. Feel free to mingle to your heart's content and don't worry too much about who got on where or how long the helicopter ride is! Or exactly how everyone fits in these helicopters anyway.

TEAM AQUA BASE

[these_balls]

If you've been deployed to the Whirl Islands, you have the easier of the two drop offs. The helicopter lands outside one of the cave entrances and each Rocket's been given a map which should, in theory, lead to the Aqua base and not get any of you horribly lost, never to be seen again.

But assuming everybody makes it there in one piece, you'll find yourself at the base! Which isn't really much to write home about, but Team Aqua's Grunts are wandering around the base and definitely ready to deal with any intruders. Especially Rocket intruders who are looking to loot them or try and kick them out. They're not in the mood to deal with any of that today.

(frozen comment) WHAT YOU CAN STEAL

[these_balls]

-WAY TOO MANY ESCAPE ROPES (seriously take as many as you want)
-1 Nugget or Rare Candy per Grunt
-1 of these or an Incense per Grunt
-1 Damp Rock per Grunt
-1 scarf per Grunt. They don't do anything, but man do they look cool!
-Various berries
-Various Pokeballs (Mostly of the Poke, Great, and Ultra variety. No Master Ball here, sorry)

TEAM MAGMA BASE

[these_balls]

Now if you're being dispatched to the Team Magma base, you have a slightly tougher way of entering. The base is below Cinnabar Island, so the entrance happens to be on the side of the island. The actual side. So you'll basically be jumping from the copter into the entrance. The Rocket pilot has mercifully gotten close enough that any idiot could make the jump, but still, that's a thing to be aware of.

Which might look suspicious to anyone that's familiar with Cinnabar Island. Here's this entrance to a super secret base constructed on the side of an island that's basically undergone perpetual construction forever? Could the construction company on Cinnabar be a front for Team Magma? Or just glitched into an infinite loop of constructing nothing forever?

Conspiracy theories aside, there's no map leading to the base, it's a simple straightfoward path leading into the Team Magma base. Oddly enough the layout and lootable items are almost identical to the Team Aqua one. So maybe there is something up with that construction company after all.

The Grunts are about as likely to take your arrival about as well as their counterparts too. So stay sharp, Rockets!

(frozen comment) WHAT YOU CAN STEAL

[these_balls]

-WAY TOO MANY ESCAPE ROPES (seriously take as many as you want)
-1 Nugget or Rare Candy per Grunt
-1 of these or an Incense per Grunt
-1 Heat Rock per Grunt
-1 scarf per Grunt. They don't do anything, but man do they look cool!
-Various berries
-Various Pokeballs (Mostly of the Poke, Great, and Ultra variety. No Master Ball here, sorry)

AFTER THE BATTLE

[these_balls]

Congratulations to the winners! And to the losers well...you tried, and nobody can take that away from you. The helicopters are en route to pick everybody up, but it's going to be a while before they get there, so feel free to talk among yourselves, collect any items you haven't grabbed yet, and just poke around what's left of the bases.

But given the battles and the fact that some people have been setting off explosives and who knows what in some of them, you might want to tread carefully. Still, it's definitely worth checking things out for those items since after the admins finish remodeling, they're going to be conveniently lost during construction. Or stored in a Rocket warehouse next to all those other items Team Rocket has a seemingly endless supply of. But get them now while they're free and don't require a requisition form or anything like that!

[grapeeater]

Team Aqua, huh? Well, there's an easy solution for that. Micchy's got one hand on his Kadabra's Pokeball, but he has Aki the Pachirisu on his shoulder. Hopefully they won't run into something too difficult, but you never know.

His first stop though is going to be those computers. He leans over them and tries turning one on as long as no one's around. What are you working on, Team Aqua?

[whos_that]

Man, computer duty sucks. There's really nothing to do since October except mess around on them and scroll through Archie's blog for the latest post about how Team Magma is stupid and how Maxie's a giant stupid jerk with a stupid face. So basically, business as usual.

What's not business as usual is some stranger in a Rocket uniform using one of their computers. In fact, how did a Rocket even get in here to begin with?

“Hey you! Get away from that!”

MAGMA HELICOPTER

[aufsassig]

[If you have the misfortune privilege of being in the helicopter heading for the Magma Base along with Schuldig, it's entirely possible that you will end up seeing him doing one of three things along the way:

1) Looking out the window, and by extension quite possibly judging the hell out of the NPC pilot for his skills (or in Schuldig's opinion, his lack thereof).
2) Fiddling with something in his backpack, which he's got pinned neatly between his feet and the support of his seat, so it doesn't move around while in transit.
3) Playing Tetris on his Gear and annoying fucking everyone.

Hey, it's a long flight, and he's got to keep himself entertained somehow.

However, aside from the small handful of ways he may be making a petty nuisance of himself, he's not at all withdrawn or giving the impression that he wants to be left alone; his body language reads as relaxed and open, and he'll cheerfully chatter to anybody within earshot if he catches them looking. Feel free to hit him up, even if it's just to tell him to turn that damn music off; he'll probably oblige.

Alternatively, text him! He's got his Gear out anyway, and we get wi-fi up here...right?]

[grapeeater]

He looks up, and Aki chitters, hopping to the ground. Are they going to battle? She could use some exercise!

"No. This base and everything in it is now property of Team Rocket. Leave, or be forcefully ejected from our base."

It's not as convincing when he's not in armor... or backed up by anyone... but with his Pokemon he should be able to take care of them. That's why he volunteered for this base to begin with. Type advantages would not be kind to him with Team Magma.

MAGMA HELICOPTER

[ajustcaws]

[Aw, yeah, flying! And you can actually sort of tell where you are in the air, too. The jets that took everyone to Kalos went over the clouds, so it was really tough to see anything cool... but these were a lot easier to see out of!

So at least very early on, Cynthia's going to be glued to one of the windows and watching the scenery go by. ...however, it's kind of hard to keep her mind on one thing at one time, so eventually, she starts trying to chat up the NPC pilot and ask if she can drive.

...the answer is always no, but she keeps asking again every once in a while just in case he changes his mind.

In between that, though... well... it's catchphrase time. She's got to come up with some killer opening lines to throw at these nerds, after all! But she's actually at a bit of a loss this time around.

...maybe it's because she's helping the criminals fight other criminals so is this really bad?? She kind of wishes she was with those Team Aqua guys, actually, they seemed pretty cool. But anyway! She'll look over at anyone in earshot and give them a very serious look.]

Comrade, I have a very question of critical importance! Do you know any good magma puns that would be good in a finishing line? I'm totally blanking out over here.

[whos_that]

“Your base?!”

Who the heck does this guy think he is? She'll reach for a Pokeball and bring out one of her level 41 Golbats. It sure is at a disadvantage against the Pachirisu on his shoulder, but she figures she's got this one in the bag anyway.

“Yeah, right. You Rocket dorks couldn't kick us out if you tried. This base is Team Aqua's and the only one getting ejected from here is you!”

[aufsassig]

[Well, it's gotten someone's attention, at least. Stupid puns and dumbshit theatrics? Not a bad way of spending a helicopter ride.]

Haha, what're you in the market for? Something cheesy like, "This time you're the one who got burned"?

[divinitea]

[Celes had remained silent during the helicopter trip, keeping her cap pulled down low over her eyes and hovering near the back, away from the others. She's still not quite sure what possessed her to respond to the orders, but...well, she was frankly getting sick of lying around in her bedroom, and the thought of beating up some random criminals sounded just up her alley. Hopefully she'll be able to smash some things, too. That sounded nice.

...now if only the uniform wasn't quite so stupid. This skirt with these boots....horrendous...

At least she has Victoria the Gothitelle to help her make it to the ground without embarrassing herself.

So if you happen to be a member of Team Magma, you might notice a female grunt with (DANGAN RONPA SPOILERS) short black hair and rather pale eyes, walking silently through one of the rooms in the base, accompanied by a Gothitelle.

...speaking of which-]

You're rather happy today, you know.

[It's true; Celes has never seen Victoria quite this...exuberant. Could it be because of all this Team Rocket nonsense? Hmmm...

...well. Anyway, Celes will keep walking around the room, her hands linked together in front of her. Maybe there's something worth stealing in here...that's what Team Rocket does, isn't it? Steal things?

...

...oh, whatever.]

AQUA HELICOPTER

[unkinder]

[With the helicopter being far too full of strangers for his liking, Nagi has found a seat as far back as he could manage near a window. This is the first time he's ever actually been out on call for Rocket duty like this, and one might wonder why such a young kid has been enlisted into their ranks anyway. Well, trainers are usually supposed to be around ten, aren't they, so it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise if you think about it.

While usually he would have his Gear pulled out in an effort to make himself look as unapproachable as possible, right now it's put away and his gaze is directed somewhere past his knees at the corner of the seats across from him. He's got a minimized pokeball in his hands; he doesn't seem interested in letting out whatever is inside, but instead is just rolling it around between his fingers to give his hands something to do.

Perhaps he's full of nervous energy, or just incredibly lost in thought about something. It's hard to tell, since his expression isn't giving away much. Guess you'd have to ask to find out!]

MAGMA HELICOPTER

[ortion]

[Helicopter rides are nothing new for Dist by now- he's put his personal one to use quite a lot since his promotion to Division Head. But of course it's always a little different when he's not actually piloting it. It means he needs to make good use of the free time on the way there.

Sitting on a very large and very fancy chair that probably takes up way too much space for its own good and...also appears to be floating a few inches off the ground, Dist will either be tapping away at an electronic tablet he brought along (likely double and triple checking his work for the projects he brought), grooming his Roserade whenever she's out and sitting on his lap, doing touching up his makeup with a lovely purple compact and straightening his lab coat...he's basically doing everything he can to busy himself so he doesn't get bored.

While he's doing any of these things, he's perfectly open to chat with other Rockets! It's a long ride, so anything to pass the time helps.]

[katostrophic]

[Well, one person who is completely unbothered by that chair is Kato; mainly because he's seated himself on the arm of it to chat to Dist while he taps away at a laptop. His Lunatone is hovering around his head...which might explain why that laptop is floating. Psychic Pokemon are such useful things. Speaking of Ranpu, he's currently wearing what looks to be some sort of collar around his bottom half. It doesn't appear to be bothering him that much, but it does look somewhat odd.

After a few moments of silence, Kato will grin and turn to Dist, indicating something on his screen. Each collar that he's testing has its own little monitoring window, and they're all showing green. Good to go!]

Everything is online and waiting to be activated...I must admit, I'm rather excited.

[...

HE'S GUNNA BLOW UP SO MUCH STUFF-]

How are things your end?

[ortion]

[Dist is actually in the process of fitting a rose clip to a similar odd collar strapped to his Roserade's neck when he's addressed. He looks over to the data on Kato's laptop, then returns that grin with a pleased smile of his own.]

Good, good. I just finished obscuring Rosamund's collar somewhat, should she get hit in that area.

[While Rosamund looks very happy with her new fancy collar, the idea of getting hit in the neck is never a pleasant one. Thanks for that idea, trainer...

Dist shifts a bit to produce his tablet from an inside sleeve of his lab coat. He powers it on to show Kato similar tracking screens.]

All of the Pokemon I created have been distributed and are being properly tracked. We'll see how well they hold up during battle- though of course I have high hopes for them. They were modified by me, after all.

[Slipping his tablet back into his coat, he settles into his usual resting position, leaning on one side- toward Kato in this case. As he gently strokes Rosamund's petals, he continues to look at his partner.]

I'm proud of you, you know. You've been working very hard these last few weeks. I've no doubt that your creations will produce similar success.

[It's definitely good for the both of them to get out on the field again, especially when they get to put their hard work to use.]

[katostrophic]

[SO MUCH STUFF oh wait was that a compliment-

...

...you said you're proud of him and his explosive inventions

nobody has ever said that to him

...give him a minute]

Well, I certainly hope so. It wouldn't do to disappoint my boss, after all.

[He's trying very hard to be smug but that comment threw him a bit. Honestly...]

Thank you for agreeing to help me test my invention, by the way. It's much appreciated.

[...]

I'm proud of you too, you know. You've come a long way.

[Apparently we're just going to have a Moment in this helicopter, Dist]

[whos_that]

Patrolling the base, patrolling the base, why is he even patrolling, there's nobody here besides Team Magma? Seriously, they've been here for a really long time and not once has he run into any intruders. Probably because of the whole entrance in the side of a volcano thing, but still. There's usually nobody here ever.

Which makes it weird that the door to that one room with the crates of scarves is open. Why they even have so many scarves is beyond him, but hey, Maxie sent them here, so there must be some reason. He'll just poke his head in here to see what's going on, and...

...um.

Who is that? And why does that look like a Team Rocket uniform?

“Who are you? What are you doing in here?”

[ortion]

[If it helps, if Dist noticed that little bit of change in Kato's demeanor, he doesn't comment on it. To him, it's only natural to compliment his subordinate's hard work. His standards are high, so anyone who even makes it into his division is worthy of some amount of praise. Of course it always helps when you're his partner too.]

Of course, I'm happy to help. But don't let this get to your head though- you haven't even entered the woods yet. I expect these collars to work with excellent accuracy- especially the one for Rosamund.

[There are times where he has to get real and be a serious boss though: this is one of them!

...but then Kato had to go and compliment him back. Damnit. Surprisingly he's able to keep composed, though he does display a brief look of surprise before retreating to his coping mechanism of choice: smug, smug everywhere.]

Why thank you. It hasn't been easy of course, but I manage.

[No helicopter ride is completely without a Moment, clearly...

OKAY SERIOUSLY THOUGH.]

I know we've spoken a few times about it, but I want to confirm your plans once we land. I'd like to keep track of you even after we've separated inside.

[divinitea]

Celes doesn't react to the Magma Grunt's question; Victoria had informed her that he was approaching, so his sudden appearance is no real surprise. That doesn't mean it isn't wanted, though.

"Beatrice."

With a flash, Celes' Ninetales appears, roaring (or, well, making the closest noise to a 'roar' that she can manage) and gnashing her teeth. She doesn't approach the Magma grunt just yet, instead pacing back and forth in front of her trainer, not taking her eyes off her target.

...now is the point where Celes should say something, isn't it...what is it that Team Rocket says?

"Your base belongs to us, now. I'd run, if I were you."

...that was so lame, and yet...kind of...fun?

...whatever.

[whos_that]

Is this really happening? Like, for real? Is Team Rocket really here and really going to try and kick Team Magma out? If so, they're in for a rude awakening because Mr. Grunt here doesn't think they're going anywhere. In fact, he's going to point that out by making the mistake of laughing at Celes's claim.

“Run? You're the one who should be running if you think you're going to fight fire with fire! Go! Mightyena!”

Out of the Pokeball comes a growling Mightyena. Which isn't a fire Pokemon. Then again this is Team Magma whose Grunts tend to only rotate between three Pokemon and only one of them is a fire type. Anyway, it's at level 89 and just sort of waiting for a command, so it looks like the first turn goes to Celes.

[katostrophic]

[Oh, don't worry - Kato tested Rosamund's collar twice as much as he tested those going onto his own Pokemon. The last thing he wants is for the damn thing to fail when it's on Dist's favourite Pokemon...]

Of course, sir.

[Since we should probably start behaving like Division Head and subordinate, after all.

...even if that compliment was rather nice, hee.]

I intend to make my way into the heart of the base and find the best spots where I can test my invention. I'm thinking of blowing holes in the walls, so it's easier for us to infiltrate it properly.

Anyone who is foolish enough to get in my way will be removed accordingly.

[Even if he can't Explode, it's so fun watching Hydra battle, after all...maybe he could bypass the Pokemon and just send him after the trainers...]

You'll be able to contact me on my Gear at any time, and I'll have Ranpu with me. If all else fails, Kaiser should be able to contact him.

Where do you intend to go?

[fauxtographs]

[While Emmy has found she doesn't really enjoy most of what Team Rocket tends to do (which came as no real surprise, honestly...), as soon as she'd found out the details of this particular mission, she signed up right away. Dealing with those idiot teams from earlier? That sounded far more like a pleasure, rather than work!

So after zipping down from the helicopter, she dashed into the base, keeping up a quick pace while looking around. It doesn't seem all that impressive...]

The Rocket base is a lot nicer than this...it smells so salty in here...

[Well, regardless, she's here to do a job, so do it she shall! After testing one of those warp panels, Emmy has found herself in a boring room with nothing more than a door and some crates. How boring - she wants someone to fight! Time to nip out through that door, then!

Surely that will end well, and not be a bad idea!]