Welcome back to the Celadon Job, introducing the first new scene. Hope you guys enjoy, both new and old readers! Disclaimer: I own -nothing-!

Chapter Two

Gyarados Garage, Cerulean City, Kanto

Ash rubbed his stinging cheek. "Alright, I deserved that," he admitted as the furious redhead glared at him. His friend Gary simply looked amused, glancing between his oldest friend and the man's ex-flame.

"Ketchum, if the next words out of your mouth include 'Silver' or 'Investigation', so help me Arceus, I will hit you with my truck," the redhead warned dangerously.

Ash put his hands up to calm the girl.

Gary was enjoying the fact that Ash Ketchum, former Interpol agent was terrified of his ex. "Listen, Red, you got someplace we can talk? I promise, if Ash says either word, I'll give you an alibi, alright?" Gary asked, with all the charm he could muster.

Misty glared between the two for a moment before nodding. She began walking towards the offices, indicating to follow her. The pair obeyed, following her into a small office littered with pictures of the girl's older sisters and cars, the occasional car part. A simple desk and a computer so old that it made Gary wince sat in the center of the room, and the seats consisted of seats ripped out of actual vehicles. Closing the door behind them and taking her spot behind the desk, she waved a hand to the two seats in front of her desk.

"So, what brings you two to Cerulean that it couldn't be said over the phone?" she asked defensively. Ash wasn't high on her list these days, and Gary had always been a shameless flirt, not even worth her time. Together…

"We'd like to offer you a job," Gary told her, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head and a smirk on his face.

Misty shook her head. "I have a job, as you recall. I manage this garage," she stated, gauging them both. 'What are you two up to...' she thought to herself, eyes narrowing.

"No. Not a day job. Some custom work. Listen, you watch the news lately?" Gary asked.

MIsty nodded slowly. Silver had been on the news for the past few hours since his release. "So, Ash won't say Silver, but you will? Get out," she told them flatly.

"Misty, five minutes. That's all we ask," Ash told her.

Against her better judgement, she nodded. "Fine. You have five minutes. Speak," she told them.

Gary smirked. "As you've likely heard, there's a new Casino opening in Celadon City in three weeks. Giovanni Sakaki's place. We want to hit it," the brunette told her bluntly, running a hand through his brown, spiky hair.

Misty rolled her eyes and deadpanned. "This is my shocked face, can you tell?" she asked them sardonically. "Look, I don't want to hear about Silver, or Team Rocket, or Interpol Investigations, or the justice system," she told them, doing her best to control her temper.

That's when Gary's face broke into a grin. "Good. Because we've tried Interpol and the justice system. Didn't get far. So we're trying a different method," he explained.

Ash leaned forward, folding his hands and resting his elbows on his knees. "We're not going to arrest Giovanni. We're going to rob him."

Misty blinked. She stared at Ash like he had grown a second head. Turning back to Gary, she saw his grin threatened to crack his face, it had spread so wide. She shook her head and blinked a few times.

"Well, I think my hearing is going from all those car stereo systems I've installed," she rationalised. "Either that or I'm going insane, because I could swear that you, Ash Ketchum, former Boy Scout, former Police Officer, and former Interpol Agent just suggested robbing a casino. Run by one of the most powerful men in Kanto," she explained, beginning to laugh lightly.

Gary's grin didn't waver. "Yup. You heard right, Red. So, you in?" he asked, as if asking something simple, like going out to lunch. Granted, Misty would have turned lunch down in a second, but this…

She shook her head in disbelief. "So, let me get this straight; You two want to knock over the Celadon Game Corner Casino. Run by one of the more powerful members of the Rocket family," she said slowly, before being interrupted by Ash.

He raised a finger. "On opening night," he clarified.

Misty blinked. "On opening night," she repeated, "And you want to hire me to help you? Do you have any idea how much trouble we could all get in for even suggesting this?!" she asked, her voice gradually getting higher and higher. She glanced out her office windows conspiratorially. The last thing she needed was one of her people walking by and the wrong moment and thinking she was actually considering this.

Ash began counting charges off on his fingers. "Conspiracy to commit grand larceny, conspiracy to commit grand theft, conspiracy to hack a private server, conspiracy to run a confidence game, possibly jaywalking," he told her.

She growled. 'Of course Ash would take that literally,' she thought to herself. "What makes you think, in your deranged little world, that I would honestly help you both with this?!" she asked is a hushed shout. "I lost almost a year of my life while you two played cowboy, hunting down that little red headed rat, and now, after all you put me through, Ash Ketchum, you walk into my garage, and want me to help you rob a bloody casino?! Give me one good reason I shouldn't have my receptionist call the cops on you two right now?"

Ash sighed, his expression determined. "Misty, I'm sorry things didn't work out between us. I truly am. But I lost the last two years mourning my mom and Gary's grandfather. I did everything I could to get justice done and put it behind me. And the justice system said no. The past is still there. So I'm not asking you as your ex. I'm not asking you as an officer of the law. I'm asking you as a determined, angry man. Help me bring these idiots down. Help us take everything from them, like they did to us," he told her, a strange glint in his eye.

Misty picked up her phone, debating if she was going to call the police or not. That's when Gary spoke up again.

"Did I mention the job pays at least six figures, if everything goes according to plan, possibly more?" he asked with a smirk.

While her expression didn't change on the exterior, inside she was floored. 'That's more than I make in two years,' she realized. Still, she dialled her receptionist. "Hi, Lanette?" she asked, and the two men held their breath. "I need you… to call Rusty. Tell him I need to take a few weeks off. Yeah, starting tomorrow. I know it's short notice, but something came up. Alright. Yeah, I'll be here the rest of the day. Alright, bye," she stated, hanging up and putting her phone back onto her desk.

"Alright, you two," she told them. "I assume it's not just the three of us against the house?" she asked.

Gary nodded. "You'll meet the crew when Ash does. There are four others. We'll come by to pick you up tomorrow morning," he explained, and she nodded.

She glanced at Ash, whose expression was unreadable. She considered asking if he was alright, but pride demanded otherwise. She stood. "I'll see you both tomorrow, then. I'll be in the parking lot by six," she informed them, causing Gary to groan.

"Why do people think it's normal to get up so early?" he asked rhetorically, gaining a smirk from Misty and Ash.

Tomorrow would be a busy day.

Cerulean City, Kanto

Gary sat in the passenger seat of his blue sports car, snoring lightly, as Ash drove them towards the Gyarados Garage. The streets of Cerulean City were completely empty this early in the morning, making it a simple task to get to the garage. Under normal circumstances, Gary would have only gotten to sleep a couple of hours ago. Six AM was not a time he normally acknowledged unless he had already been up twelve hours prior. So, while Ash drove Gary's expensive car down the streets, Gary caught up on some much needed sleep, and would likely still be asleep when they pulled into Celadon City. Which left Ash apprehensive.

Misty and he had parted on bad terms. The simple fact that she had agreed was still shocking, and he half expected to pull into the garage parking lot only to see a group of police come out. To be fair, he didn't blame her at all for the break up. Things just… didn't work out. Still, he wasn't looking forward to having to speak with her without Gary awake.

As he turned onto the correct street and spotted the garage parking lot, he let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. In the parking lot, sitting in her blue pickup truck was Misty Waterflower. Pulling up, he stopped in front of the garage, waiting for her to fall in behind the car. When he was sure she was following him, he started making for the highway, heading south towards Saffron City and eventually Celadon City.

Celadon City, Kanto

"Gary, we're here," Ash told his friend as he pulled into the warehouse parking lot.

"Ugh… Five more minutes…" he replied groggily. Ash had the foresight to rent the warehouse before they left Pallet for the next month using what was left of his savings, to use as a base of operations.

Throwing the car into park, he got out, slamming the door to hopefully wake the lazy brunette millionaire up. He watched with a feeling of dread as the pickup parked next to Gary's sports car. Zipping up his brown leather jacket, he made his way towards the door of the warehouse, key in hand. He had on the same jacket he had yesterday, with a set of torn up jeans, running shoes, and a white dress shirt under his jacket. His unruly raven hair wasn't brushed, and he looked tired.

As he started unlocking the door, he turned back to the vehicles, where Gary was slowly waking up. His friend had on dress slacks, a clean white button up shirt, a black vest, and a pair of spotlessly clean shoes. Oak had a history of being a lady's man since his teens. Heir to the Oak fortune, he'd always dressed well when going out, and his job as a hacker paid very well. He had an expensive lifestyle, he even had a fanclub devoted to him. What he lacked, however, were challenges.

Misty, on the other hand, had grown up in a middle-class home with three older sisters. Hand-me-downs were normal for her. Her job as the garage manager paid decently, though, so she updated her wardrobe to shy away from her sister's fashion sense. Hopping out of her truck, she wore a pair of simple jeans, a sleeveless sea-green shirt, work boots, and a light gray bandana.

She made her way over to Gary's car and opened his door, grinning as she heard the startled yelp of the brunette nearly falling , his seatbelt was on, keeping him from falling onto the pavement below his car.

"Oi! Red, I'm up, I'm up!" Gary sputtered, flailing and getting tied up in his seatbelt. Misty chuckled as she walked away from the car and towards the warehouse door. Gary, now very much awake, managed to untangle himself and get out of the car, quickly jogging over to the pair. "You know for the record, I respond much better to coffee and pretty girls rather than life threatening head injuries and suddenly losing what I'm sleeping on. You know, just for future reference," he complained as he stretched.

Ash just shook his head, a smile on his face. 'Some things never change,' he thought to himself, unlocking the warehouse and opening the door. As he and his two companions walked in, lights began kicking on.

"Alright, so we're in Celadon City. Now we just need to get the place set up and wait for the others to get here," Gary told them as they walked into the abandoned facility.

Misty whistled. "This place is bigger than the garage," she realized. "How much did this set you back, Gary?" she asked.

"The warehouse? Nothing. From me, anyways," he replied. "Ashy-Boy paid for the warehouse rental out of his own pocket. Part of the deal," the brunette explained with a grin.

"Deal?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ash replied. "I rent the base for the crew, and he covers the crew's rates until the payout," he explained.

"Rates?" she asked again. Misty was still a bit in the dark on everything since their conversation yesterday, recruiting her.

"Yes, rates. Some of us prefer being paid."

Glancing among them, the three realized none of them had said a word. Looking around, they saw a figure walk out of the shadows of a stack of pallets. The three froze, each watching the stranger carefully. He was wearing black jeans, a gray turtleneck, black denim jacket, fingerless gloves and a dark purple knit cap. The trio thought they saw dark purple hair falling around his face from beneath his hat.

Ash was vaguely sure he'd seen him before, but couldn't place him. Misty, however, was settling into a combat stance.

Gary just smiled. "Should have figured you'd beat us here," he said, walking towards the dark clothed man and extending a hand. "Shinji," he greeted.

Taking the hand with a neutral expression, the stranger shook it. "Oak. You should know by now I do my research before a job," he told them, his voice slightly scratchy. Turning to Gary's companions, he looked them both up and down. "Ketchum. Underworld wondered where you vanished to. Never thought you'd jump sides," he told the man gruffly.

Misty and Ash frowned. "Can't say we've met. You know me, I take it?" Ash asked curiously.

"Someone like you goes off the streets, people know," he replied, turning to Misty. "What's your story?"

She blinked. "I wasn't aware I needed one," she complained, shooting Gary a look.

He just smiled. "Guys, I'd like you to meet Paul Shinji. Our hitter," he introduced with a grin. "He'll handle security and retrieval for the team, along with some other things," Gary explained.

"Good to meet you. I'm Misty," she introduced herself.

Paul nodded. "How many more?" he asked, turning back to Gary.

"We've got three more coming, then we can get into the planning phase," Gary explained as he began walking over towards one of the loading doors. "Come on, give me a hand with the door and lets get the vehicles parked, then we can set up."

An hour later, and the crew had gotten all their vehicles inside the warehouse, Paul had done a sweep of the area, and Gary was setting up his computer systems. He'd taken over a second story room overlooking the warehouse as his base of operations, likely used as an overseers office back when the warehouse was built. Offices had been selected to act as bedrooms, and now all they needed was the rest of the crew.

Private Warehouse, Celadon City, Kanto

"Max, are you sure this is the place?" May asked.

"Yes, May, I'm sure. This is the place," Max told her as he pulled their red rental car into the parking lot. Even though he would argue it to the death, he was beginning to wonder if he had the right address himself. Would he admit that? No way.

As he found a spot and parked, he began wondering what sort of job Gary had for them. 'Gary's a hacker. What use would he have for a tech specialist and a thief? Just me, I could see, maybe upgrading some tech or security of one of his clients, but why bring May into this too?'

May undid her seatbelt and got out of the car, enjoying the cool Kanto air, wearing a set of jeans, sandals, a red blouse, and her signature red bandana keeping her brown hair from her sapphire eyes.

Max exited the driver side, wearing a simple green t-shirt and khaki pants, sneakers, and his glasses. The two nodded to each other and headed towards the access door on the side of the warehouse. May was about to knock when he saw another car pull into the lot, this one white.

"Who's that?" he asked.

May could only shrug as she balled her fist and began pounding on the door. A minute later, the door was opened by a brunette man with spiky brown hair and a grin.

"Max!" he greeted. "It's been, what, a year since that tech job in Johto? Good to see ya," he told him, holding his hand out to Max, who shook it with a smile.

"It's been too long, Gary. This is my sister, May," he introduced, indicating the brunette girl beside him who offered Gary her hand.

Gary nodded and took the hand, kissing the back. "The pleasure is mine," he stated.

May simply smirked. "You're trouble, aren't you?" she asked sarcastically. "Flattery will get you nowheres, you know," she told him as she went back towards the car to get her things.

Gary looked around and finally saw the second car. "You guys take two vehicles?" he asked, his brows furrowing in confusion. Before Max could answer, the door of the white car opened, revealing a beautiful woman with midnight blue hair, a white trenchcoat, high heeled shoes, and a confident smile.

Max's jaw dropped. "Is… Is that Dawn Berlitz, the Sinnoh actress?" he asked.

Gary's expression turned to a wide grin. "You would be correct, my young Hoenn friend," he replied, poking fun at the fact that Max was the youngest person on his crew. "As much as I'd like to tell you she's here for me, though, she's part of the crew. I'll go open the loading bay doors, grab your car and let's get you, May, and Miss Berlitz offloaded."

It was a few hours after noon when the crew were all finally settled into the operations room. Gary had set up several of his monitors in addition to a projector screen system. Max had commandeered a table for his own laptop and variety of technical gadgets and equipment. The rest had all settled into chairs around the room, each waiting for full introductions and the plan.

Gary stood up in the front, his back to the window overlooking the warehouse floor. "Welcome all, and thanks for coming. I hope you all had a good trip," he began. "I am, as you all know, Gary Oak. The greatest hacker in Kanto, and possibly the world, millionaire, and criminal extraordinaire," he said with a bow.

"And he's just so humble…" Misty remarked sarcastically. May and Dawn giggled, and Ash nodded in agreement, a smirk on his face from Gary's antics.

Grinning arrogantly, Gary continued. "Many of you probably know former Interpol officer Ketchum, AKA our mastermind for this job. Ash is in charge. If any of you have a problem working for a former cop, you're free to leave. No hard feelings, and thanks for coming."

The brunette glanced around. No one got up. "Alright then, welcome to Operation 'Break the House'. First up, we've got Misty Waterflower," he told them, pointing out the redhead sitting with her legs up on one of the tables. "Misty's our mechanic and driver. She's also one of the best racers on the Kanto circuits, holding best lap times on two separate tracks."

She nodded, getting a few raised eyebrows, even from Ash.

"Next up, Paul Shinji," Gary continued, indicating the quiet purple-haired man. "Paul's our hitter, and will be one of our insiders. He's capable of killing you with his bare hands, and is fully versed in knives, firearms, martial arts, retrieval, and generally hitting people."

"Hn," Paul responded, ignoring the looks the others gave him.

"The one person here everyone probably knows, besides me and my handsome face of course, is Dawn Berlitz. She a famous actress from Sinnoh. What you probably didn't know is that Dawn here is one of the best grifters in Sinnoh. She's run confidence games all over the region and she's going to be our other insider."

Dawn stood up and gave them a polite bow. "A pleasure. I can't wait to get this show started," she told the others.

"Finally, you have the Maple Siblings, May and Max. Max's one of the best technicians and equipment specialists I know. He can play backup hacker, if I'm otherwise occupied. He can also program a VCR, should we need it," Gary joked, gaining some light chuckles.

"Because I'm sure the fate of the entire heist will fall upon whether or not he can properly program a VCR," Misty joked with an amused smirk.

"May, on the other hand, is one of the best thieves you'll ever have the pleasure of meeting. She can lift everything out of your pockets just by smiling at you and pick a lock in seconds. She also has a major sweet tooth. Every major jewel heist in Hoenn in the past four years were pulled by one of two crews. The Maples were the more successful crew."

The pair smiled, nodding their heads to their compatriots.

Gary took a seat in front of his computer and waved for Ash to continue. Nodding, the raven-haired ex-cop stood up and headed to the front of the room.

"Alright Gary, run it," he told the brunette. A picture of a large building appeared on one of the monitors.

"Three weeks from now, Giovanni Sakaki opens the Celadon Game Corner Casino. Team Rocket's latest front. For those of you who don't live here in Kanto, Team Rocket are the major crime family here. Pokémon poaching and smuggling, stolen cars, money laundering, gun running, you name it, they control it here. We've got one shot to get this right, because if we screw this up, Team Rocket will destroy us. The good news is that when we hit them, we won't have to worry about any law enforcement. Giovanni won't call the Houndoom down on his own property, which gives us some room to work."

Gary moved to the next series of pictures, blueprints to a pair of buildings.

"So, for the next few weeks, recon and preparations begin," Ash continued. "We've managed to get the basic blueprints for the Game Corner and the Rocket's main base of operations in Celadon. Since Gary and I are fairly notorious in the Rocket ranks, several of you will be running recon jobs. Dawn, Gary's going to set you up with a fake ID and credentials to get you inside. You're going to infiltrate Giovanni's casino and get us whatever you can in the next three weeks."

The blunette nodded. "Do you have a way in for me, yet, or shall I get creative?" she asked, studying the blueprints intently.

"We were thinking movie executive from Sinnoh, wanting to use the spot for a movie shoot, but if you've got ideas, let's have em," Gary replied.

Dawn got up and slowly walked up to the screen. "What do you have on him?" she asked. A second later, the monitors changed to show a well dressed man with close-cut black hair.

Gary began going over his background. "Giovanni Sakaki, born August first, age forty-three, grew up in Alto Mare in Johto before he moved to Kanto. Took over the Sakaki branch of Team Rocket when he was twenty-three, killing his own father to do so. Wife, deceased, and a son, Silver Sakaki. A year ago, Silver did time in a Kanto correctional facility for a drive by shooting. Got a plea bargain and got his sentence reduced. His testimony put Archer Apollo, another Rocket boss, behind bars, which let Giovanni take over the Apollo's business in Celadon City."

All the while, Dawn tapped her chin in thought, a smile slowly growing on her face. "Alto Mare, huh? I'll have an identity for you to build tomorrow at the latest," she told him, returning to her seat. She folded her hands and continued listening.

Ash returned to his spot. "Shinji, you're our other insider. We want you to join Team Rocket as a grunt, so we can learn about their personal security here in Celadon. There's no way they'll leave it to the local PD, and on opening night, they'll need all hands on deck. Get in, learn what you can about the building and operating procedures," he told him. Almost as an afterthought, he added "And the vehicles. I want everything you can get on their vehicles."

The man looked sceptical, rubbing his stubble-covered chin. "Alright. Haven't done much grifting work, but I can give it a shot. I'll give Oak one of my old IDs. Get me in, and I'll get you your intel."

Ash nodded. "While Gary sorts that, you and Max are in charge of setting up a security system for the warehouse. We don't want any uninvited guests. Max, I'll also need some sort of communications other than phone. Got anything?"

The boy genius smiled. "Yeah I've got some bluetooth headset systems that I've been meaning to try. Hidden mics, real time transmission, tracking. Just get me a list and a few hours and I'll have some systems to test," he replied.

"Alright, good. May, you're on exterior surveillance and infiltration," Ash continued, nodding to the brunette woman. "You worked almost exclusively in Hoenn, so I doubt anyone will recognize you over here. I'll need whatever you can get on this place, blueprints, security specs, the people…"

The brunette raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Ketchum, you know this isn't my first job, right? You chased me enough to know that much. I'll have a complete dossier of the place, the entry points, security weaknesses, you name it," she said, leaning back in her chair, crossing her arms with a smug smile.

Ash bowed his head. "Alright, fair enough. I recall how your jobs go. Do your thing and keep me posted," he replied.

Misty blinked. 'I wonder how those two know each other. He never mentioned her before,' she thought to herself.

"Misty."

Shaking her head, she looked back at Ash, realizing he was now onto her part. Straightening up, she nodded.

"You're going to be on recon. Later, once Shinji gets the intel on their vehicles, I'll need you to make a perfect replica of one of theirs. Think you can do it?" he asked.

Misty nodded. "I can do it. If Paul gets me what I need, I can clone you a vehicle," she replied.

He nodded. "Alright then, you all have your jobs. We've got three weeks of prep, and only one night to get it all right. Everyone clear on what we need to do?" Ash asked, glancing around. Six nods greet him. "Good. Let's get to work."

Celadon City, Kanto

Dinner time had rolled around, and the team had all found their own machinations to keep them occupied. The team spent the last few hours unpacking their gear, with Max and Gary turning the overseer's office into a command and control center.

Paul had moved into a room next to their command center, traveling extremely light, only clothes and an assortment of exotic knives. He also helped Max and Gary set up a full security suite for the warehouse. Cameras, door sensors, the works.

Dawn had moved in a large amount of clothing, wigs, and makeup to one of the offices, turning the place into her own personal dressing room. It reminded Misty of living with her sisters. Thankfully, Dawn was far less overbearing than Lily, Daisy, and Violet.

May had a variety of tools and gadgets brought in, most of which were custom built by either her or her brother. How she had everything smuggled into Kanto was another story. She also had a staggering amount of snacks, from chips to cookies, popcorn to sodas. She had caught a few looks, but no one had questioned it.

Ash traveled light, only a simple duffel of clothing. He had gotten used to traveling as such from his days in Interpol. Chasing thieves and mobsters was normal for him. Being the thief, that was taking some getting used to, but he could manage.

Misty traveled similarly, just a duffle of clothing and mechanic tools. While her sisters traveled with enough clothes to wear something different every day of a month, she was much more pragmatic.

When the crew had finally settled in, it was decided that Gary and Max would finish setting up their network. Seeing as Gary and Ash were fairly well known in Kanto, and especially to Team Rocket, Misty was sent out to get food, the crew settling on pizza. May decided to tag along to recon the local restaurants.

The pair were on their way back in Misty's truck just as the sun began to set.

"So, what do you do, anyways?" May asked, stack of pizzas on her lap, two boxes of which were reserved for the brunette and her appetite.

Misty shot an odd glance at the brunette as she drove towards the warehouse. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, all I know is you're a mechanic. And you have some talent in racing? Are you an underground street racer or something?" May asked brightly, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was asking Misty if she was a criminal.

'Well, I am sort of the odd one out. I am working with a bunch of criminals to rob a casino, after all.' Misty sighed, thinking how to placate the woman. "I used to street race with some guys back in the day. My sisters all dated car guys, idiots who had more money than brains, but I was more interested in how the cars worked," she replied, curious on why she was talking about her life to a jewel thief. "I wasn't the type to wait on a boy like my sisters. Rather just go out and do it myself."

May smiled. "So, you beat on the boys growing up?" she asked, amused at the thought.

"Yeah. The look on their faces when they realized their best time was just beaten by their girlfriend's little sister was priceless," she continued, a small smile on her face. "How about you? You're not quite what I expected."

May gave the redhead a lopsided grin. "How's that?" she asked good naturedly.

Misty shrugged. "I guess I just figured a jewel thief to be… different, that's all," she confessed. She felt slightly embarrassed, having this conversation about assumptions with a known jewel thief.

"What, you were expecting an old guy with a mustache and a cane? Old car chases and black and white movies? Bow ties and tuxedos?" she asked, her grin still in place. "Nah. Max and I have been scheming together since we realized we could work together to raid the cookie jar. He skins his knee, I swipe a few cookies, when mom and dad are done kissing the boo boo and making it all better, he and I meet outside and settled up," she explained. "Granted, before that, we fought like Skitty and Poochyena," she added.

"You still do, from what I heard. Gary said you were two arguing where to park earlier," Misty noted as they pulled up to a traffic light, waiting for a green.

May rubbed her head sheepishly. "I… can't really argue that."

The light changed and Misty pushed the truck through the intersection, heading towards the outskirts of town where the warehouse was. Her new home for the next few weeks. "Hey May, can I ask you something?"

May grinned. "You just did," she joked.

Misty rolled her eyes. "How do you and Ash know each other?"

May shrugged as she adjusted her grip on the pizzas in her lap. "Ash chased me in Hoenn once or twice about three years ago. Think he had just joined Interpol, ended up as added security in Ever Grande for a big jewelry exhibit. One that Max and I happen to… 'visit'. Amazing ramen there, by the way," she added. "Anyways, he was on my trail for a few months. Skitty and Rattata for a while, there. He vanished about a year after that. Heard he went back to Kanto. Haven't seen him since. Before today, anyways."

'Two years ago would have been just about the time of his mother's death,' Misty realized.

"How about you? How do you know him?"

Misty blinked as she realized May was talking to her again.

"Uh… He kinda pulled me over for speeding one day back when he was with the Kanto PD. Let me off with a warning. Couple days later, his car pulls into my garage for repairs. We tried dinner. About a year ago, things kinda started getting… tense. We, uh… we parted on bad terms. I certainly wasn't expecting him to walk into my garage and bring me on board for this," she explained as the pair pulled into the warehouse parking lot. Her expression didn't change.

May was silent for a few moments, as if debating if she wanted to really open this particular can of Dunsparce. She decided against it, opening the door and heading towards the warehouse entrance.

Misty was thankful. And aware that May, and likely the rest of the criminals were nothing like she expected.

Private Warehouse, Celadon City, Kanto

"Ahem."

Paul looked up from the blueprints he was studying and saw a certain blunette poking her head into his room. "You need something?" he asked.

"Just wanted to make sure you're going to be alright. I understand you haven't done much grifting work? Want a few tips?" she asked with a smile.

He rolled his eyes, returning his attention to the blueprints. "I'll be fine," he replied gruffly.

Dawn didn't take the hint. "You sure I can't help you? I can probably assist in a cover story, at least," she prodded.

Paul glared at her. "Look, I don't tell you how to act, little miss dress up. I can handle myself," he told her.

Dawn frowned. "Well, there's no need to be rude about it," she replied crossly.

"There's also no need for you to be here pestering me, you troublesome woman," he shot back. 'Note to self; tell Gary I'm doubling my rates if I have to work with her,' he thought to himself with annoyance.

Dawn put her hands on her hips, angry. "Troublesome? I'm the troublesome one?" she asked in disbelief.

Paul smirked. "Exactly, Troublesome. Now, are you done yet, or are you going to continue to pester me?" he asked, looking up from the blueprints he was studying.

She narrowed her eyes, glaring at the man. "Sorry for trying to be nice and help out! I mean, Arceus forbid you accept some outside help. And this does happen to be my area of expertise," she argued.

"Troublesome, look, I know you're probably really used to pathetic sycophants bowing to your every whim, but I just don't care. Now, be useful or get out," Paul told her firmly.

Dawn glared at the purple-haired man before stomping off. Just as Paul let out a sigh of relief, her blue-haired head popped back into the doorway.

"And my name is Dawn! D-A-W-N!" she shouted, leaving the room again.

Paul smirked and shook his head. 'She's going to be a headache.'

Dawn marched back into the main office, arms crossed and sat down in one of the chairs.

Gary shot her a grin. "Having fun with our hitter?" he asked playfully.

"He is infuriating!" she replied, glaring at the Kanto hacker. "Where did you find him?"

Gary rolled his eyes. "He's the best. He's a loner, and has a reputation for a bad attitude, but he's exactly what we need for this job. He has his part to play, you have yours," he explained.

She was about to argue when she heard the loading doors open. Ash popped his head into the room shortly after that. "Food's here. Who wanted the pineapple and ham?" he asked with a look of distaste. Max raised his hand.

As Dawn got up to get food with the rest of the crew, her thoughts turned to a certain purple-haired annoyance. And she couldn't help but think of the differences between him and her auburn-haired admirer Kenny back in Sinnoh.

Private Warehouse, Celadon City, Kanto

Night had fallen over Kanto.

Gary was up late, as usual, working on his laptop in the office he and Max had commandeered.

Across from him sat Ash, going over a set of blueprints. "The vault's in the sublevel, so we'll need to get into the elevator shaft to get access."

"Unless they think we have access," Gary suggested as he continued working on his laptop. "What if we pull a Violet City?"

Ash tapped his chin in thought. "That could work, but it'd have to be timed exactly. I think I'd prefer just sending May down the shaft."

"Ashy-Boy, if they have the kind of money I think they do in there, considering they need enough cash to cover each and every chip in the casino, I doubt May will be able to get it all up and out," Gary argued.

Ash sighed. "We've got a month to figure out a way. We'll have time later," he said, fighting off a yawn as he rolled up the blueprints. "I'm going to get some rest. See you tomorrow, Gary."

Gary raised a hand in acknowledgement as his friend left for his room, still typing away at his laptop. Eventually, satisfied with his work, he sent the email onwards to its destination with a tiny twinge of regret. 'Remember, it's just business. Nothing personal.'