Blaise stood outside the Magma base, He had secured an interview with the legendary team. He reached into his bag and checked the letter he'd received. It stated to wait on a bench nearby so someone could come and collect him.
Sitting down Blaise brushed his hair back and waited, closing his eyes to enjoy the bright sunshine. Soon a hand touched him gently on the arm. Opening his eyes he caught sight of a woman with red hair, leaning heavily against a Stoutland. He noticed that the Pokemon was wearing a saddle, perhaps this woman used it to ride, it would beat sliding down Mount Chimney every time you needed to go out. "I am one of the Admins of Team Magma, I'll be handling your interview"
"Blaise Hokage, Rosalie Lennon or Eleanor Blackwood?" She asked, looking down at a clipboard she held in her arms.
"I'm Blaise Hokage" He answered, he wasn't quite sure if this woman engaged in small talk so best keep his answers brief and to the point.
The woman nodded, marking something on her clipboard before handing him a piece of material "Cover your eyes with this, If you are unsuccessful, we don't want the location of our base given away" Blaise did as he was asked, not wanting to anger yet another gang...he'd already done that with Team Aqua. The material of the blindfold was unusually soft against his skin, and smelled faintly of Bluk berries.
Presently he felt a pair of hands take hold of his arm, the skin wasn't soft and delicate, like the hands who'd given him the blindfold.
"Mitch, if you'd be so kind, can you see he gets to the interview room safely?" So the person holding him was called Mitch.
"With pleasure, Kaori. Safely? When am I not safe?"
"I know you well Mitch, it's because of your strength I ask you to take care"
Presently he began to move, escorted by the member of Team Magma known as Mitch.
Roughly 5 minutes later, the blindfold was removed from his eyes, he was in an office now, sat at the desk opposite him was the female Admin from earlier...Kaori was the name his escort used and a man.
The man looked up from his pad of paper when the man standing behind Blaise cleared his throat. Instinctively, Blaise turned to look, only to come face to face with a human mountain.
"Mitch, you may leave now. Mr Hokage take a seat"
Blaise complied, having spotted a sleeping Houndoom to the right of Kaori. The only other chair in the office was directly in front of the desk.
"I am Maxie, the leader of Team Magma. This here is Technical Admin Kaori, if you are successful, you will earn a title based on your abilities like her and her fellow Admins"
Blaise nodded, noticing that the two sat opposite bore a distinct resemblance to each other.
"I understand." He answered, maintaining eye contact with Team Magma's leader
"What Pokemon do you currently have on hand?" Kaori asked, pen in hand. She was looking at him with curiosity.
"Two Slugma, a single Armaldo and a Swellow on hand" Blaise answered, a smile on his face "I also have a Umbreon and Murkrow" He noticed that she gave a slight nod as she scrawled his answer down on a pad of paper she had on the desk.
"What sort of battling style would you say you use? Brute force or skill?"
"I prefer to confuse and disorientate my opponents, perhaps making the battle tip to my advantage, almost unfairly before I go in for the win"
"Interesting, how do you carry that out? I am also a tactical battler myself but this sounds new" Maxie asked, steepling his fingers as he leant forwards"
"I have the ability to manipulate fire, to cause illusions directed towards my opponents...Once they are confused and under the effects, I hit as hard as I can to quickly finish the fight and move on"
"You're a coward then" Kaori's voice startled him, causing him to snap out of his trance.
"I dare you to one on one me then Technical Administrator Kaori, or are you an Administrator of Team Magma in name only?" It was a risky move calling her out like that, perhaps it would work, or it'd result in him getting thrown in the lava pit. Kaori looked towards Maxie, asking the unspoken question with her eyes
"Kaori, you shouldn't be battling, not in your current condition."
"Father, he challenged me, called me a coward. Let me beat him into the ground"
"No Kaori. I'm one move away from getting Homura in here to calm you"
"B-but I rarely get the chance to train my Pokemon. Please just let me have a one on one battle"
"Kaori Aoki Matsubusa. You are forbidden from fighting the new Admin until you have fainted less that four times in a single morning. Once your condition is more stable, I will arrange a battle. Admin Homura will train your Pokemon in order to help"
Maxie turned back to Blaise "I apologise for that minor disagreement. It is not wise, nor clever to challenge members of Team Magma without permission. Admin Kaori is unable to battle currently due to her health" He rested his hand on his daughter's and gave it a reassuring squeeze "Welcome to Team Magma, I'll introduce you to your colleagues now"
He extended his other hand towards Blaise, who took it in a firm handshake.
Kaori was the first to move from behind the desk. Blaise noticed she was in a wheelchair, a blanket wrapped around her legs as Maxie followed after her, gently guiding her around the corner of the desk
"Jealous much?" she asked, a smile on her face
"Well, it must beat having to walk around" He replied, slightly relieved that she wasn't angry that he'd been staring at her
Maxie opened the door to allow the small party out of the office. Once in the corridor outside, he motioned for Kaori to go on ahead before putting an arm out to stop Blaise.
"Before you ask her, she is a wheelchair as she has two life-limiting heart conditions. Treat her like her fellow Admins, or her fellow Admins will probably throw you into the lava pit"
Blaise sighed "She's such a little fireball, I wouldn't have guessed. I take it that the other Admins are aware of how to help her and I will find out in due course"
Maxie burst out laughing as the two of them walked towards the lounge "Fireball? Her? She's the sweetest and cuddliest person I know. I bet you 10 Pokedollars that she will be cuddled up on the sofa, either with one of the Admin's Pokemon or with one of them"
"Ok Sir, you're on"
The two men walked in silence for a few minutes longer, until they came across a set of double doors. With a firm shove, Maxie pushed them open.
The rom inside was big and homely, with a handful of sofas and armchairs gathered around a low cabinet, On top of the cabinet, a large flatscreen TV was playing a documentary about Dark Type Pokemon.
Sat on the sofa, were several people. Blaise noticed that they were mostly male but they all wore the same uniform as Mitch did earlier, hoods tossed back over their shoulders.
Kaori was sat, leaning against a man with pale purple hair. Next to him was the one both she and Maxie had called Mitch.
Next to Mich was another purple haired male, however his hair was a darker purple and had a shocking orange flash through it.
Maxie cleared his throat from behind Blaise, causing all of the assembled members of Team Magma to jump. Once he had their attention, he gestured to the open space nearby. One by one, the Admins filed over, the man with pale purple hair supporting Kaori as he whispered in her ear. Maxie nodded before introducing them
"You have already met Technical Administrator Kaori, next to her and currently holding her up is Field Commander Homura, Mitch is in charge of Vehicle Operations and Weaponry, The one with multicolour hair is Brodie, he is in charge of reconnaissance and intelligence. We do actually have one more Admin, Courtney. She is in charge of organising the bases supplies and raids." As he finished his sentence a dark haired woman barged past Blaise and knocked into Kaori… earning herself a muttered "Bitch" from the redhead
"She and Kaori do not see eye to eye. Never have and probably never will" Maxie pondered for a moment "Currently we lack someone who can act as the head of Special Operations, our covert missions that require additional training. Currently Homura handles that alongside his Field Commander duties, leaving him little time for personal matters. The role would fit you well. An fitting title would be Special Commander Blaise"
The other admins, bar Courtney clapped. Brodie was the first to step forwards to congratulate him, giving the new, blonde admin a slap on the back.
"Come sit down with us, we were just watching a documentary about Dark Type Pokemon. By the way Kaori always sits next to Homura, they're a couple. Courtney sits in that dark corner and glares at Kaori and Homura. Me and Mitch sit wherever there's space"
By this time, Homura had sat Kaori back on the sofa, before pulling her into a kiss, arm around her waist. Brodie laughed "Get your tongue out her throat, there are other people here and we don't want to watch you two play tonsil tennis. Plus you don't want her to choke"
Without missing a beat, Mitch called out "That's only if she was kissing your ego Brodie"