Welcome to Gaia! ::

When her name was coupled with those of Aila and Sam, she was slightly relieved to be traveling with at least one person she knew. She had quickly piled in after the other two before the jeeps set off through the desert.

At Sam's question to either she or Aila if they had been there, the violet-eyed woman shook her head. "Not Sandalwood, but I've been on the outskirts of Cypress forest." It wasn't too long ago, before she'd gotten Zeus, but it hadn't been that long at all.

She pulled her pokedex from her bag and brought up a map of Kodo to give herself a refresher on where exactly Sandalwood and Lake Elemi were in the forest. She couldn't help but wonder where exactly the outpost in Sandalwood was - and if they had similar outposts all over Kodo. The one in Camphoreon was still fresh in her mind from when she'd explored it with Aila, would this one be the same?

"Oh hey, neat." Sam resisted the urge to fiddle with her own pokedex as she watched Claire. Man, it was easy to forget how useful the buggers could be.

And then she was distracted from further comments, by the sudden appearance of trees off in the distance. She squirmed in her seat, trying to get a better glimpse of the forest looming in the distance. "Wow," she commented to no one imparticular. "Lotta wood there."

Claire wasn't a big fan of bumpy rides, but thought better than to voice that opinion. She had no desire to be snapped or yelled at for frivolities.

As they (thankfully) came to a stop, she grabbed her small bag, leaving the larger one in the jeep for now, and jumped out. It made sense to leave the majority of their belongings in the vehicles, anything they didn't need for the field work of the training mission, because it seemed ridiculous if they were supposed to carry a large bag and try to steal pokemon. It would more than likely hamper an escape.

With that in mind, she slung the small bag over her shoulder that contained her essentials for a field mission, and stepped to the side to await anymore orders from their superior.

Sam finished rummaging through her duffel, selecting a small backpack, then followed and exited the vehicle. A safe distance away, she rolled her shoulders and stretched her arms, careful of those around her. Nothing like pissing off someone who ended up promoted above and before you.

She could give herself a real workout later, shake off the last bits of lethargy from that bumpy ride once Seth had given them free reign. In the meantime, she gazed unabashedly at her fellow Rockets.

... Man, she really didn't know anybody. That could be a problem.

Seth watched with arms folded as the Rockets piled out of the jeeps and lined up in front of him. He made a quick head count to make sure everyone was present before addressing the group once more.

"The route is a short walk due northeast. You can find your location and the route on your Rocket Dex GPS. You may pair up or work alone, I don't care. No groups larger than two, though. I will be watching all of you, and I want to see each of you perform individually."

The elite slung a backpack over his shoulder as he talked, while Raion tilted his nose up slightly as he observed the mass of grunts and trainees.

"Steal as many as you can, but remember, you can only keep ONE Pokemon. If I find anyone trying to keep more than that, there will be consequences." This said with a cool tone.

"Now get going."

After the car ride, Faleen was feeling relaxed and ready to get moving for the mission, stretching out a bit when they were dismissed out into the field, hands clasped together as she felt a couple of pops running up her back, the Grunt grinned and reached into her pocket to pull out her Dex so that she could get a better feel for the area.

One finger tapping on her chin, eyes studying the map until she seemed satisfied with what she was able to maintain in her memory.
Closing it up and putting it back into her pocket for later reference, Faleen hitched up her backpack onto her back and hurried off into a more covered part of the forest.

While she walked she mentally toyed with potential strategies for how she would be able to successfully, and efficiently obtain pokemon from trainers.
The fact that she had no experience in this did not sit well with her; she was just going to have to figure out the best way.

One hand moved to her thigh as she walked through the heavier brush in the forest, knowing there was going to be a trail coming up soon, she had no intention of going onto the trail, but she could get another set of eyes to scout out the area for her.
with out a word she tossed out one of her pokeballs, the bright light bust forth, forming the silhouette of her Shuppet, before the light broke away, and his large deeply colored eyes opened, blinking a couple of times as he looked to his master, waiting for her order.
“Shup, Shup.”

Faleen took a few steps forward to meet him once the pokeball was caught back into her hand and returned to her strap.
“Scout ahead, remain unseen and come to me when you find a target” she told him.
With a firm acknowledgment, the Shuppet suddenly twirls and vanished from view, leaving Faleen to continue through the woods toward the edge of the path.

Aila dispersed along with the other assembled Rockets, finding her own path into and through the woods to the designated area. No one seemed so inclined to seek partnership with anyone else for the exercise, and this suited her just fine. A thief's work was best done on the thief's own skill, after all.

When she had buried herself sufficiently far into the thick of the forest, checking her pokedex to mark her location and her proximity to nearby roads and clearings, she unclipped the pair of pokeballs from her hip and released their occupants. The Ivysaur and Misdreavus regarded each other warily; it was not often that they were asked to work together.

"This is work," Aila warned as she dug into her bag and drew out a change of clothes, designed in a manner that targeted girls years younger than the one that would be wearing them. "Keep guard. I will explain." Fleur turned with a resolute "saur" and kept lookout with vines raised and ready to strike any intruder, and Revenant peered through the trees halfheartedly.

"We have been charged with the task of the acquisition of pokemon," Aila said, pulling on a skirted pink blouse and securing the ribbon in the back. "I will locate and engage a trainer. Fleur, you will accompany me at my side. Revenant, I wish for you to remain hidden and act only when I signal so." She rolled the legs of the pants close to her knees and tied the laces on her shoes as she began a mental review of her vocabulary. She rose to her full height and tested the soles on the forest undergrowth. "Are we clear?"

"Ivysaur!" A vine raised in salute accentuated the pokemon's yes, ma'am!

"Misdrea..." The ghost was not nearly as excited, but she would behave accordingly if it would garner her a bit more leeway.

"Very good. Let us proceed." A few minute's walking and Aila and Fleur were in search of their target, Revenant trailing along in the shadows of the trees where she could remain undetected.

There was no question of partnering with any of the girls around him (oh look, all but one was taller than he was; lovely), or with anyone else for that matter; he didn't know them, didn't trust them, and thus refused to rely on them unless it was completely necessary. After checking some details on his pokedex, Frost took the single pokeball from his belt and released its occupant; this was all the help he needed.

"Glaaaace?" Skiron blinked up at his trainer and gave himself a shake, scattering snow lightly across the ground around him. This place was new. He hadn't seen much of their new home other than the base yet... It seemed nice enough. A bit warm, but then that went for most places, and it wasn't hot enough to be uncomfortable. Besides, even if it had been he wouldn't have minded too much so long as his trainer was with him.

"Our first mission in this area," Frost informed the pale pokemon succinctly. "Pretty standard; steal what you can. We'll see how things go once we find a trainer, but I think standard procedure should suffice." It was a pretty good strategy by and large, the best of a limited number of options available to the pair... Perhaps he would soon have more options; the elite had said they were permitted to keep one of the pokemon they stole. Were they allowed to choose, he wondered, or would the elite sift through for any real gems first to either keep for himself, or hand over to his friends?... Humm, well, only one way to find out. Nodding to his pokemon partner, Frost moved off northwards.

Skiron gave a soft purr of acknowledgment and set off beside his trainer; it was good to be working with him again, he'd been getting a little bored of just training on the base. It wasn't long before they reached the edge of the well trodden route, and as one pokemon and trainer began to scan for a suitable mark with chilly eyes; they had no intention of coming away from their first mission empty handed.