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Mau, in all his nerdy glory, had caught wind of an event happening in Camphoreon. A garden party, of sorts. An older woman, self proclaimed pokemon fan and gardening expert, was hosting a show of her newest imports. Rare plants from around the world. That was what had grabbed Mau's attention. The fact that the woman boasted her pokemon was what sealed the deal on him attending. But because there would be a fair crowd, he hopped, he wasn't about to operate alone.

A partner. Something that Mau didn't have officially. So the fist familiar face he saw, unfortunately, was about to be dragged off to what could well be an afternoon of old socialites and their pompous boasting about money and pokemon that they wouldn't ever train to their full potential.

Mau's victim for this fun filled afternoon? He spotted a blond grunt that he recognized from a mission not too long ago. What was the man's name again? "... Xander." Mau stopped him in the halls. "Go dress nice. You're coming with me." He didn't really give him a chance to say no.

Mau wasn't sure how to convey the level of dress for this event. "Step down from Sunday best." that seemed appropriate. "Rich pokemon fan's bragging party. Prepare for droll, long winded speeches about pokemon and plants. Be ready to steal, make sure you can run." There wasn't really much of a plan of action. He only hoped there was something worth stealing and that this wasn't going to be for naught. "We leave in 20." Hopefully that would give the man enough time to dress up and grab some pokemon, just in case. He was about to step away when he thought of something more. "Spring colors." It wouldn't due for them to show up in dark earth tones, grey, or black. "Meet me in the garage."

With that, Mau left Xander to make himself presentable. A red-violet and white striped button up shirt and some light, neutral slacks with a complementary light coat. His hair was combed back, causing the dual toned hair to look predominantly dark navy. He grabbed 4 pokeballs, slipped a few things into his pockets, others clipping to his belt, hidden between pokeballs, and covered by the casually untucked shirt before he was suitably ready for what he assumed would be a fairly easy score. A quick once over and he grabbed a small bag and left to the garage to wait for Xander.

On such short notice, Mau had to nod in approval at the man's appearance. "At least you don't look rushed." He said simply before sliding into the car he had checked out for the day. At least he waited for Xander to close the door after climbing into the car before pulling out. "I apologize for the short notice and... out of the blue request." Request? Hardly. A request usually allowed the other party to decline. "In the off chance that trouble arises, I did not wish to take on throngs of angry socialites by my self." His thin lips curved up in a half smile. "And you know, if your dress wasn't appropriate, I'd just stop somewhere, but you something, and make you change in the car." He said it almost like a threat. He was serious. But Xander was fine how he was.

"I expect there to be an abundance of water and grass pokemon. Under evolved. Of course this is stereotyping. Old rich folks would want the rare, cute things, and given it's a garden party... I don't imagine grass types to be in short supply." That was actually his main objective. If he could find grass types to add to his own collection. But any pokemon he could obtain for the lab was also good.

The drive to Camphoreon was peaceful, mostly. A few bumps in the road before they reached the paved streets was all. The house they arrived at could have been called a mini mansion. It had what looked to be it's own parking lot in front as guests arrived. Elder ladies and gentlemen were making their way towards the expanse of flowers and shrubs that circled the house. Many were accompanied by small pokemon. When the shuffling of feet and the noise from the street calmed enough, a few notes of classical music drifted down to where Mau parked the car. "Shall we?" He asked, exiting the car.

Mau reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a stiff card. It was white with raised boarders and lettering of green. The look on Mau's face was perhaps smug and approving. He handed it to Xander to look. "I suppose for this event you might want to call me Marcus." The invitation was addressed to 'Sir Marcus Massri and guest.' the card depicted flowers and detailed the time and place that this event was happening, signed by their hostess as 'The Lady Elanor Willington.'

"Let's suppose you're my brother in law. My wife, your elder sister Helen had a previous engagement and sends her best regards." As he spoke, he slipped a band of gold onto his left ring finger. Should I call you Alexander? Or would you prefer something else?" He wanted all loose ends covered before they made their entrance.

Mau nodded, taking back the card and tucked it in the pocket of his light coat. "My dear Alexander you are quite right. You see? Had I not told you this would prove an excellent bonding experience?" Sure, he was putting on airs already. He reached to his belt for Mai's pokeball. She would fit in best, he presumed. He healed up the ball. "My Ivysaur will probably enjoy this." He spoke softly before releasing the large grass dinosaur. She looked the part of a pampered pokemon, being a little weightier then other ivysaur. Really, she was just lazy, and it took all of Mau's efforts to get her to move, unless they were on a mission. Then the fat little thing could motor.

"Saur." She stretched grumpily. The orange bud on her back shaking a little as she did. Mau wasn't sure what pokemon Xander had. Had he seen the man fight on the mission? He didn't recall.

When the pair would finally make their way to the gate, the sound Mau heard made him cringe. Was that... a chorus of... Bidoof? He seriously hoped the party wouldn't be over run with the fink faced rodents. They were greeted at the gate by a man who appeared to be a butler, and asked to see their invitation. The moment of truth. Mau handed the card over, and the butler squinted at it, then at Mau and back to the card. before bowing and waving them to enter.

And Mau's fears were realized. There were Bidoof running about everywhere. He wanted to kick them all and leave right then. But he stayed, hoping to see these 'rare plants' from over seas, and the sounds of other pokemon drew him further in. Hopefully this wasn't a waste of time.

Mau nodded as the eevee was brought out. It was cute, and should do just fine. He glanced around as they reached the crowd of finely dressed women. They were idly chattering about bidoof this, and lotad that. A couple looked at the pair through coke bottle thick glasses magnifying their eyes to saucer proportions.

One lady, dressed more finely then the others in attendance shuffled over to them. Mau stopped and looked at her. The woman stared at him for a moment before breaking into a wide smile. "Marcus you old fiend." She said with a shaking voice. "Is that really you? I swear to arceus you never change." She was squinting at him as if it would help her vision any. She smacked her lips together a couple times before turning her gaze to Xander. "Your wife didn't come?" Mau sighed with relief that his story could hold up.

"No. Unfortunately she had a previous engagement and was unable to attend. Though my brother in law, Alexander, has attended with me." He gestured to the blond. Almost instantly, all eyes were on him.

"What a dashing young man!"

"Look at how cute his face is!"

"What a darling!" Soon, Xander would be faced with a swarm of old women, reaching to pinch his cheeks and touch his arms. Everyone was marveling at how young he was. Mau was separated from Xander by a sea of old women.

Mau had to cover his mouth to hide the amused smirk that threatened to break out into a fit of laughter at the poor boy's misfortune. Such is the curse of youth. He thought about leaving Xander to fight for himself, but soon, the well dressed woman had shuffled away and tapped on a glass to get everyone's attention. A few ladies still held onto Xander's clothes or cheeks, and Mau thought one woman's hand was probably grabbing the young man's butt.

The woman, who now Mau was sure was Elanor Willington, began speaking about how she had gotten come enigma berries. That got Mau's interest. But when she withdrew the potted plants, Mau was somewhat disappointed. They were just charti berries. Rare plants indeed. He snorted that it was so far a waste, and flinched when a bidoof rubbed against him. He wasn't quite gentle when urging thing to get away from him. Mai did a better job at pushing the critter away and acting like a spoiled daddy's girl. The woman prattled on about the expensive plants, and Mau was sure she got swindled. ... maybe by some other rocket branch, which was satisfying to think.

Mau shook his head. "Yeah, I suppose I do. Drinks on me tonight." He half snorted. "No, they're not what she-" Mau stopped when he saw a fluffy tail wagging behind the woman, Elanor. A striking young growlith emerged behind her. From this distance, Mau couldn't tell if the pup had a strong muscle build, or if it was all just fur. But it was remarkable. The colors were unlike anything he'd seen on a growlith, and deep down, he wanted to get his hands on it. He put on a pleasant smile.

"My dear Alexander, you just haven't seen the true beauty of the gardens. A lot of work goes into these." He looked at Conrad, and smiled. "I'm sure there are pokemon about that help too. ... Non bidoof pokemon." He added darkly. There was a light, high pitched 'war?' sound and instantly, the ladies were fawning over the cute puppy.

"This won't be a total waste of time if we can catch a prize or two."