Panting as she arrived, Liv ran up to the nurse at the front desk. "Can you heal my friend?" she asked. "She's hurt really bad."

"Of course, please, let me see her," the nurse said calmly, gingerly picking up the Vulpix. "Oh, she fought a rock-type Pokémon, didn't she? That's not good."

"We didn't want to fight it, but it didn't want to let us go," Liv tried to explain. "I had to step in and grab her before anything worse happened to her."

The nurse looked up to Liv and was mildly alarmed. "Oh dear, did you get hurt by the wild Pokémon? You're going to need some treatment too!"

Liv shook her head and took a step back. "No, I'm fine, just a few bruises. Please, just heal Claret… I'm just going to take a rest over there."

The nurse nodded and handed the small Pokémon to the Chansey next to her, who carted the Vulpix off to the back rooms. Liv wobbled over to the waiting area of the Pokémon and collapsed on a chair. She looked down to her shirt, which was torn from the wild Geodude's Roll Out. She also noticed that her stomach had some minor scrapes that had dry blood caked on it. She touched it and winced.

"Whoa, that looks rough," said a young woman sitting by her. She wore a white coat buttoned up, a mid length black skirt and some clean white gloves. Liv turned to her and shrugged. "How'd you get that?"

"Fucked up a Geodude who hurt my baby," Liv replied, plastering a confident grin on her face. The woman covered her mouth and giggled. Liv liked the sound of the woman's laugh and continued. "I'm a bit protective of my Vulpix, and the Geodude didn't want to let us escape."

"Oh, I'm sure that mean rock with arms had it coming," the woman agreed with a nod. She brushed her light blue hair away from her face and smiled. "That's a pretty bad type disadvantage, I'm happy it made it out alive, although I must ask… why didn't you put your Vulpix in a Pokéball? Surely that would have been easier to carry it around?"

Liv opened her mouth to respond, but realized she didn't have a good answer. "I… um… didn't think of that…" She felt the confidence leave her as she realized, yet again, she had made a rookie mistake. "Claret is just… never in a ball, you know? Her whole life, she's just been by my side, the thought never occurred to me."

The woman seemed apologetic. "I didn't mean to sound like I was shaming you," she assured, "It's just my Pokémon is in there too. Had I not put him in a ball, he surely would have died…"

"What happened?"

"Bit off more than we can chew," she sighed wistfully. The woman shook off the feelings and smiled at Liv. She extended a hand over to Liv. "I'm Willow by the way, it's nice to meet you!"

"Liv," she replied, taking her hand and shaking it. "And likewise. You don't happen to know where I can get some new clothes, do you? I'm not from around here."

"Oh, of course, I'd be happy to! I just need to pick up my Pokémon before we go, they should be out any second." She stood up and walked over to the counter and began to talk to the nurse behind the front desk. Liv watched for a few minutes as the nurse returned a pair of Pokéballs. Willow thanked the nurse and returned to Liv. "Alright, I'm ready. It might be a while before your Pokémon gets out, but she'll be in good hands there. The PokéMart isn't too far away."

Liv got up, whispered a thanks and followed Willow out. "Are you training to face the Elite Four too?" she asked innocently. Willow arched an eyebrow and giggled.

"Oh no, not me. I mean, I would like to get stronger, but collecting badges isn't exactly something I have time for. Is that what you're doing?"

"Yeah, it is," she admitted. "What makes you so busy that you don't want to get some badges? If not for the Elite Four, then at least for some bragging points."

Willow gave Liv a look and shrugged. "Eh, I've got a job I feel like I'm married to. Wasn't sure about it at first, but I like nice things and the pay is great."

Liv's interest suddenly piqued. "Oh that sounds awesome! What do you do?"

"Lots of traveling, some battling here and there, tracking down rare Pokémon, stuff like that. It's not terribly hard, but it can be draining at times. Why? Are you interested?"

"Am I?" Liv asked excitedly. "I mean, heck yeah I'm interested. I promised my mom I'd send money home, and after earning 60 Pokédollars from a brat on Route 30, I can see that being a run-of-the-mill Pokémon trainer isn't exactly… lucrative."

Willow laughed at the girl's misfortune. "Oh wow, that's horrible! You can't buy anything with that kind of money. Well, I could put in a good word for you, but I'd be risking my neck if I did, you know? I'd prefer to get to know you first before I risk doing something like that."

"What sort of things are you looking for? I don't mind traveling, or battling, or any of the things you've said," she said eagerly. "Do you have to see how tough I am or something?"

Willow's expression changed into one of intrigue. She began to inspect Liv up and down, circling around her a few times. "Alright, look, how's this? We'll get your clothes, pick up your Pokémon and then I'll give you some tests of sorts, yeah? It's not long, but if you fail any of them, I don't think I can risk my reputation and vouch for you."

Liv grew determined, and nodded. "I won't let you down."

The two continued their little shopping trip, Liv picking up some Pokéballs and picking out some rather cheap clothes, as she didn't exactly have a ton to spend, and the two returned to the Pokémon Center. Willow had to leave shortly after arriving, leaving Liv alone in the waiting room, after exchanging numbers. Liv began to wonder what the test could possibly be. Did she have to catch a Pokémon? Or maybe the two of them were going to battle? But that was only one aspect of her job. Maybe she was here to track down a rare Pokémon! It was a possibility, but Liv had no experience in tracking anything, and with Claret in the Pokémon Center's care, she could exactly go out and practice now.

Liv slapped herself lightly to get out of her own head. She didn't need to worry, Willow would surely give her hints to pass, right? She sure hoped so.

"Olivia Forsythia! Your Pokémon is healthy now!" the nurse called out. "Please come to the front desk!"

Liv jumped up to her feet and rushed over to her Vulpix, who sat on the counter waiting for her. Upon seeing Liv, Claret jumped off the counter and into her arms. "Oh, I missed you too, baby," she cooed, nuzzling her nose into the Vulpix's. "Thank you, nurse."

"Anytime! We hope you have a wonderful day!" she replied, giving a small bow as she did. Liv allowed Claret to hop down to the ground and the two left side by side.

"Oh, Claret, I have some news," she told her friend. "I met this woman, really pretty. She might offer me a job, but we have to pass a test first. Sounds exciting, huh? I don't know what she does exactly, but she makes money money. Not that chump change little Jon gave us."

"Vuul?" Claret asked. Liv looked at her partner. She tilted her head in confusion.

"Oh, I mean, we're still going to collect badges, don't worry about that. We just need money because… well, we're sort of broke. Prices out here are more expensive than I thought. I couldn't even upgrade our tent because the one I have is too old for them to take it as store credit…" Liv sighed and kicked a pebble on the ground. "Look, we'll just stay until we can get back on our feet, alright?"

Liv took out her phone and looked at her new contact. She had put a little heart next to Willow's name, and wondered if she should message her tonight or if she was coming off as too desperate. Deciding to wait until morning, she picked up Claret and headed towards the city's Pokémon Gym. The door was opened, which for some reason surprised her. She thought there would be a bouncer of sorts, but it seemed going to Pokémon Gyms was something anybody can do.

"Hey there!" greeted a man with blue hair. He wore soft blues with accents of white, giving the impression of the sky. "Are you here to challenge me?"

"Ah, no, not yet," admitted Liv, scratching her cheek sheepishly. "I was actually hoping to ask you for some training tips. I'm from Cherrygrove and getting here was a nightmare…"

The Gym leader looked genuinely surprised. "Are you serious?"

Liv took his question as if she had done something wrong. "I was, er, I am! I mean, I know I have no chance at beating you as I am now, but I still want to become stronger. I thought asking a Gym leader would have been the way to go, since you know, it's clear that you know what you're doing…"

"Right," he said, rubbing his chin. "I just had a challenger last night, but it's been pretty quiet around here. Sure, come on in, I'll give you some tips."

"You will?" Liv asked excitedly. "Oh I'm Liv, by the way. Olivia Forsythia."

"Falkner," he introduced, holding his hand out. Liv rushed over to shake it, thanking him profusely. "I'll be honest, Liv, a lot of trainers are too proud to admit their shortcomings. It takes a different kind of strength to admit your weaknesses, so color me impressed. So what sort of troubles did you come across on your way here?"

Liv scratched her head and thought back to her first few mistakes. "Well, my Vulpix here hasn't really ever battled before last week and I haven't been a trainer any longer."

Falkner hummed in understanding. "This is good," he said.

"How? I haven't even picked up the basics, other than 'attack until you win'."

"It also means you haven't picked up any bad habits yet," he replied. "Tell me, if your Vulpix was facing an opponent with a type advantage, what would you do?"

Liv didn't even have to think about her response and answered immediately. "We ran. Fast."

"A wise answer, but what if you can't escape? Wild Pokémon can act out very aggressively if they sense easy prey."

Liv fell silent and began to think. She couldn't hit everything with a frying pan, could she? Probably not, so she kept that answer to herself. "Well, I wouldn't want her to get hurt, so I'd get her out of there… but I don't know what I could do if we were out sped…"

Falkner nodded, and thought to himself. "How about a mock battle? I'll use one of my newer Pokémon just so I can get a gauge of your battle instincts?"

"Um, sure, I guess… My Vulpix is only level 6 at the moment."

"Noted. Go stand over there and we'll get started. Since this is a mock battle, we won't need a referee." Falkner walked over to his side, where a case of Pokéballs sat neatly. He looked over them and took out a single one and tossed it to the arena. From it a tiny blue bird with a red face emerged.

"Whoa, what the heck is that?" she asked, taking out her Pokédex. To her surprise, her encyclopedia did not have the information on the strange Pokémon.

"It's a Taillow," Falkner said with a grin. "I got it from a pal in Hoenn."

"Why is it so damn cute!?" she gushed, resisting the urge to go pet the tiny bird. She shook her head and composed herself. "Focus, Liv, you can do this. Claret! Go!"

The Vulpix hopped off from her head and faced off the small bird Pokémon. She puffed out her chest and shot off some small flames, readying herself for battle.

"Taillow, peck!" ordered Falkner. The small bird suddenly zipped high up out of reach of Vulpix and dove down with its beak pointed right at her. Liv was surprised at how quickly the bird flew, but did her best not to panic.

"Claret, dodge and use Ember." Vulpix attempted to dodge, but the Taillow was too quick and landed a successful peck to the side of Vulpix, before swooping up to avoid the flames. Luckily, the Vulpix was able to withstand the beak, and shot her flames as intended. The majority of the flames missed, but she managed to tag the bird, charring the ends of its feathers.

"Nice thinking," complemented Falkner. "What will you do now? My Pokémon has the reach and speed advantage. How will you overcome this?"

"I'm working on it!" she shouted across the battle arena. Vulpix's ring of Ember wouldn't do much to an aerial opponent, so that option seemed like a waste of energy. Suddenly a thought came to her mind. Another move they had discussed, but haven't been able to put into practice. "Vulpix, Faux Tailwhip!"

Falkner was amused by her plan, and decided to humor the trainer. "Taillow, focus energy and follow up with another peck."

The small blue bird circled up in the air for a few moments before quickly descending again to strike Vulpix. The small orange fox waggled her tails at her, before locking eyes with the bird, activating her Disable.

"Ember!" Liv shouted, noticing that Claret had stopped waving her tails. The Vulpix jumped back as the Taillow suddenly unable to peck, and was singed by the full force of Claret's embers. The Taillow nearly crashed into the ground, but managed to fly up to avoid the collision. Falkner nodded in approval.

"It's not often I'm impressed twice," he admitted. He took out his Pokéball and pointed it to Taillow. "That's enough, return Taillow."

Despite not being in the battle herself, Liv could feel the rush of the practice and eagerly ran up to her Vulpix and picked her up. "Okay, what can I do better?"

"You're a natural," he replied. "Your instincts are good, and your Pokémon understands you on a very deep level. However, if that Vulpix is your only Pokémon, you won't get very far. I noticed you don't have any Pokéballs on your belt, so I can only assume you've only got the one. A trainer cannot rely on a single Pokémon to get them through, and while your Vulpix admittedly has potential, what could it possibly do in a rock or water gym? Your inexperience in battle was obvious as well. While the two of you communicate well, you are not used to ordering you Pokémon around, are you? The Taillow you fought has been in my possession only a few days, how long have you had that Vulpix?"

"Uh, two years," Liv replied, hanging on to every word he said. "It feels like much longer though."

Falkner nodded as he walked over to the two. "You two will go far, but you have a long way to go before you're ready to face any Gym leader. You and your Vulpix need to understand the dynamic between trainer and Pokémon, otherwise you'll remain stagnant. Earlier when I asked you what you would have done if you faced a Pokémon with a type advantage, you said you'd run, and if you couldn't escape, you'd still try to retreat. That is a non-answer. Had you more than just a single Fire-type, you'd be able to formulate a much better plan. The first things I would recommend you do is catch a few more Pokémon, understand their strengths and be prepared to cover their weaknesses. Train with them and get stronger as a team. You won't be able to accomplish all of that overnight. You've impressed me with your mind, but your Pokémon isn't exactly excellent. Not yet, that is."

"I see," she said, a bit demoralized. She tried to shake off the feeling, and forced a smile on her face. "Well, thank you, sir. I'm going to take your advice to heart and we're going to come back someday and earn a badge from you. That's a promise."

Falkner smiled at her determination. "I look forward to it."

Liv walked out of the Pokémon Gym feeling a renewed sense of excitement. She had impressed a Gym Leader, even if she would have likely lost in a real match. Not only that, but Claret seemed to share her drive, as she began to rest on her head less and less. "Come on, girl, let's go catch you some teammates."

Liv and Claret returned to Route 31, where they ran into more and more Bug and Grass-type Pokémon that Claret had become excellent at defeating. She knew that she should catch at least one other Pokémon but none of the ones she faced seemed like they would make a good fit on her team. Well, theoretical team. Maybe it was due to her inexperience or perhaps she was just picky? It didn't help that she only had about eight Pokéballs to work with, meaning she couldn't just throw them at the first Pokémon she saw. Claret had seemed to be getting a tad bit faster at both following her orders and getting around the battlefield.

"How are you feeling, Claret?" asked Liv, taking a seat on a large rock. "Up for a few more battles? Or do you want to call it a night?"

The Vulpix yawned and curled up next to Liv, giving Liv her answer.

"Alright then, I'll set up camp again. You just take a rest, alright?" Liv began to set up her campsite like before, this time doing so a bit faster, having some practice. After getting the tent set up and the fire pit dug out, she heard her phone go off. It was Willow.

"Oh, Willow! Hey!" Liv greeted, unable to keep the smile from forming on her face.

"Hey Liv! Are you ready for the test?" she asked. "I'm by Sprout Tower."

"Wait, you're testing me tonight!?" Liv asked, looking over to her partner who was soundly asleep.

Willow laughed on the other end. "Of course! You seemed so eager, so I did my best to find a suitable test. Why, is there a problem?"

Liv hesitated for a moment. "I… Well, Claret's a bit worn out… She's had a long day. We did some battles after she got out of the Pokémon Center. Is there going to be any battling?"

"If everything goes right, nope. But on the off chance there is, I got my Pokémon on me. Don't worry, just come on over!" Liv hesitantly agreed and looked at her campsite. It would be fine if she sprayed more repel around it, so she did just that. She gently woke up Claret.

"Hey girl, I got to go do that test with Willow. Do you want to come with me, or do you want to stay here?" The Vulpix wasted no time in hopping into Liv's arms and climbed up to her head. "I thought so. Come on, let's go."

Liv approached the massive swaying tower and looked around for Willow. She thought about trying the front door, but she felt somebody cover her mouth and pull her aside. She nearly panicked and made to swing, but a familiar voice hushed her.

"Shush, they'll see us," Willow said to her. Liv looked up to see her wearing a black hat she wasn't wearing before. She removed her gloved hand from Liv's mouth, and winked at her. "Are you ready, Liv?"

"Y-yes ma'am," she said, swooning a bit. She felt her face turn a heat up and looked away. "Uh, yeah, I'm ready. What am I doing?"

Willow looked over to Violet City and back to Liv. "Have you been to the Pokémon Academy here?"

"Uh, no, I haven't had the chance to go," she admitted. "Why?"

"You see… I used to go there," she said. Her expression was suddenly saddened. "Truth be told, I've been in this city for a few weeks now. When I was younger, I had caught a Dratini but I couldn't control him… so I came here to learn to be a better trainer… but you see the professors teaching there are a bunch of frauds. They took him from me, telling me that Dratini was only worthy of an experienced trainer, and then they kicked me out and played ignorant when I came back with the police."

Liv's heart broke. She could not imagine losing Claret in such a way, and for such a thing to happen to Willow affected her viscerally. She resisted tearing up and instead grew a righteous anger in the pit of her stomach. "What do you need me to do?"

Willow's expression became hopeful, and she hugged Liv. "Thank you, Liv. I knew you'd understand! You see, the professors recognize me, so I can't go in anymore. Heck, even being associated with me would be bad news, so you cannot mention my name, okay? You need to go in, pose as a student and find out where they're keeping my Dratini. He may have evolved since then, so just keep an ear out for any Dragon-type Pokémon, alright?"

Liv nodded, before hesitating. "Wait, is this really the test?" she asked. "I mean, I'll gladly help you do this, but… what's this got to do with the job?"

"I need to know that you're reliable," she answered simply. "Even if you don't manage to find my Pokémon, gather whatever information you can regarding where they're keeping him or other stolen Pokémon. I know this sounds like a strange job, but what I do is… I'm kind of like a lost and found; I take people's request who've lost their Pokémon and I do my best to retrieve them. That's why I travel so much, clients can be across the region from their Pokémon. My last job went south because the client's Pokémon had forgotten him, and attacked me despite my pleas to come home."

"I see…" she said, thinking it over. She didn't buy her story, not all of it, but a part of her so desperately wanted to believe her. But first, she had to sort out her doubts. "But this Pokémon I'm going to go find… it's not yours is it?"

Willow's eyes widened. The faux sadness dissipated and she became guilty. "I… I wasn't sure if you'd agree to help me otherwise…"

Liv blushed a little bit and looked away, forgetting her reservations. "I mean… sure, I'd totally do anything for you. I mean, to prove myself, you know? Not that I wouldn't do stuff for you otherwise! I would, but like, we're not here because I like you, you know? I mean, I do like you, but that's not why I'm here!"

Willow nearly fell over laughing at Liv's attempt to hide her emotions. Liv's face grew red and she cleared her throat very loudly. "I'm just going to… go now. I'll let you know if I find anything… Come on, Claret…"

Trying to walk off the embarrassment, she approached the Pokémon Academy and walked through the doors. It was well lit, and it seemed like the class had just ended a few minutes ago, so she walked up to the front where a kindly old man was gathering his supplies.

"Hello young lady, how can I help you?" he asked. "I don't think I've seen you around."

"I just got to town last night," she replied, scratching the back of her head. "I heard I can learn stuff about Pokémon here, is that right? I'm a new trainer and I don't know what I'm doing."

The man laughed and put a hand on her shoulder. "You've come to the right place, miss, but the wrong time. We just finished our lessons on statuses, and we're packing up for the night. Why don't you come back here tomorrow a little earlier?"

Liv frowned and let out a sigh. "I would love that… but I can't. I've only been here a day, and I've already heard rumors of people stealing Pokémon! I hoped I could learn a few things and leave tonight."

The man frowned at her, which caused a shiver to go down her spine. "Who told you this?" he asked. "Violet City is peaceful, I can assure you that there is no criminal activity going on around here. Falkner isn't just our Gym Leader, he's a police officer. I suggest you report what you heard to him, if you truly want these rumors dispelled."

Liv looked down, as if he scolded her, but did so to hide her panicked expression. 'Falkner is in on this? Oh shit, this goes deeper than I thought.' She looked back up with concern on her face. Then it made sense to her. Of course Falkner was in on it! He had a Pokémon from an entirely new region, there's no way he could have gotten his hands on it without offering something from this region. Was Falkner running a blackmarket, all the while appearing to be some sort of paragon of this city? Liv grew angry at herself for allowing herself to be duped. "Does Falkner have a lot of rare Pokémon?" she asked.

"Rare Pokémon? I suppose he does," he admitted. "Although they're only rare to these parts. Why do you ask?"

Liv quickly wiped the expression of conspiracy off her face and appeared innocent once again. "I just wanted to be comforted in the fact that he's strong enough to repel any would-be criminals," she replied. "If he has strong Pokémon, I shouldn't have anything to worry about. I'll try to come by tomorrow for class. Thank you, sir."

The man nodded, confused, and waved her off. Liv made for bee-line towards the front door and looked around for Willow. When there was no sign, she took out her phone and called her.

"Over already?" Willow asked, amused.

"No, we got bad news," she said, looking over her shoulder to ensure she wasn't being watched. "I have a tent pitched outside of town, I don't feel safe talking here."

"Oh, of course! Just tell me where it is and I'll meet you there!"

Liv typed out some directions and hit send, before running out of the town. Luckily, her tent had not been raided or damaged by wild Pokémon, which allowed her to just sit on a rock and try to relax. Had she really stumbled onto a blackmarket being run by a Gym Leader? This sort of thing hadn't happened since Red dismantled Team Rocket all those years ago. Still, she could not deny what she heard, she'd have to tell Willow. She plucked Vulpix off her head and held her to her face.

"We've come across something big, Claret," she said to her friend. "Falkner was probably laughing at us while he tried to keep up his nice-guy act. I should have known not to trust him, I mean, he has blue hair for fuck's sake. What kind of a freak has blue hair? I mean, Willow has blue hair too, but she's totally different, Claret, I can tell. She's like, super nice and took me to the store to buy things, not to mention she finds people's lost Pokémon and returns them… and she's… cute, you know?" she added, blushing. She looked down to her Vulpix who tilted her head at her. "You're cute too! Don't get me wrong, Claret, you're the cutest! She's a different kind of cute.

"Damnit, Claret, you're number one and two in my heart, you know that! Why can't there be a third? No, no, no, don't turn away from me! Claret! Come on, I've been stuck at home all my life, is it wrong to have a crush on somebody?! It's not like I'm going to become a totally different person, let me enjoy this feeling! Like when she… held me… What a rush that was, huh? Like one moment I thought I was gonna be robbed…" She put a hand over her chest and sighed. "I guess I wasn't wrong…"

"You weren't wrong about what?" Willow asked, emerging from the treeline. Liv immediately shrieked and fell off the rock she was on.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Liv shouted, face burning red.

Willow looked confused and scratched her cheek. "But… you're the one who told me to come here. I can go, I didn't mean to interrupt wherever it was that you were doing."

"No, don't leave!" Liv cried out, getting to her feet. "I mean, you're here now, let's um… you know, hang out or something… wait, no, I found some stuff out! Right, that's why you're here, not to, um, fuck, I'm a mess."

"Is everything okay?" she asked, giggling at the unintentional innuendo.

"Yes, everything's perfect," Liv confirmed. "Wait no, things are not perfect! Except you, you're perfect! Shit, I mean, look Pokémon, right? Um, information."

Willow walked over and put her hands on Liv's shoulders. "Hey, hey, calm down, alright. Just breathe with me." Liv turned bright red, but obeyed. In a matter of seconds, she felt normal again, and sighed. "Better?"

"Yes… thanks," she said. "I'm sorry, I've never been out on my own before. Kind of new to me."

"That's alright, just take your time. What did you find out?"

Liv sat down on the rock and thought back. "I mean, the teacher got really defensive when I mentioned I heard about people stealing Pokémon; immediately threw Falkner's name at me. Apparently he's a police officer too? Anyway, he told me that I should report whatever I heard to him, but then I realized that Falkner is probably in on it. He has a Pokémon from Hoenn, which I didn't even know you could transfer from. He used it against my Vulpix earlier today, but I didn't really think anything of it.

"Then I realized that the academy is probably taking people's rare Pokémon in exchange for those foreign ones so they could have an edge over their opponents. I mean, I've researched Flying-type Pokémon before, but I've never heard of one so fast at such a low level before. But that would mean that the Pokémon you're looking for is long gone… I'm sorry, I just realized that…"

Willow smiled at Liv and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Liv, I've been dishonest with you again. You see, there was no Dratini I was looking for, I just had to see how you gather information. To say you've done well would be an understatement, I'd say you passed with flying colors. I've had my suspicions on Falkner for a while, but he knows how to stay clean, not to mention he has really strong Pokémon. How do you think I ended up in that Pokémon center? Given how well you've done, I think you've got what it takes."

"W-wait, really?" she asked, now thoroughly confused. "Does that mean that you'll put in a good word for me?"

Willow nodded then took off her backpack. "Truth is, I don't need anybody's permission to get a new hire. One of my jobs is to scout out for new recruits, and with the fire you have in your belly, I can tell you're going to be a fine addition. You're smart, you don't take things at face value and most of all, you've gained my trust."

Liv's body started trembling in excitement as she attempted to keep her face neutral, but a wide grin continued to form. "Does that mean I got the job?"

"There's a few more formalities that we have to go, got to take you to HQ, get you properly trained in Mahogany Town up north, but as far as I'm concerned you're in. You've shown yourself to be resourceful in gathering information, competent in battle and most of all, blend in easily. I'll walk with you to Mahogany Town, since I know your Vulpix is likely not going to be able to handle the wild Pokémon until it gets a bit stronger. We should be there in a couple weeks, if we set out tomorrow morning. Are you still interested?"

"Absolutely!" Liv said, eyes wide and smile wider. Willow smiled and handed her a bundle of black clothes with a pair of boots and hat sitting neatly on top of it. Liv graciously accepted, on the verge of tears. She didn't know why she was so emotional now, but she could only imagine what it would be like to work with Willow, to see her on a regular basis, not to mention that they were about to set off on a couple week hike, just the two of them.

"That's great to hear," she said, unbuttoning her coat. Liv blushed slightly and turned to look away, but instead she looked eyes with Willow. As she took the coat off, a bright red R was emblazoned on her black shirt. As she neatly folded it, she took out another hat from her bag and put it on. "Welcome to Team Rocket, Liv."

"Thank you, Willow, I'll– wait, what?"

Author's Note

I've decided to update now, but I am still willing to accept feedback! Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

With Love,

~Liz