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 Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 3:29 pm
"Only once a year."
Stepping into the medical center, Walpurgis responded. "Some people do. I prefer to wait, as it doesn't take that long." He motioned over to a healing machine. "You put the pokeball in here, and it rejuvenates your pokemon." Demonstrating, he placed Gangrel and Satori's pokeballs into the machine.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 3:58 pm
Saya nodded, and made another mental note to be extra prepared for the next "food fight." She didn't want to be caught unaware and have to defend herself against other hungry Rockets.
She watched Walpurgis freely place his pokemon into a machine. Saya stared at the contraption with a look of distrust, then at Walpurgis, then back at the machine. She held her pokeball up, but didn't let it go.
"Are you sure it doesn't steal pokemon?" She was suspicious of it, along with any type of gadget this Rocket base has.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 4:23 pm
Walpurgis looked up towards the sky thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose it might, but given I've never had any problems with it, the fact that Team Rocket has no need to steal it's own pokemon, and the fact that your pokemon needs healing, I'd say that it's a risk we're all willing to take." He looked back to Saya, smiling kindly. "If it makes you feel any better, you can wait until Satori and Gangrel have finished healing so you can see there's no foul play."
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 5:46 pm
Saya took a long moment to ponder what was said, then reluctantly agreed that it made sense. She placed her pokeball in one of the slots of the machine. Her fingers lingered, as if she was having second thoughts about trusting a gadget of all things. Finally, she took her hand quickly away and brought it back to her side, like she might change her mind if she did it too slow.
"I still think food is a better choice." She nodded, matter-of-fact. "What should I do with her after she's healed? I don't want to turn into pokemon food." Saya's mind was brought back to the battle earlier, and how her pokemon tried to hurt her. She had no idea how to handle pokemon at all.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 8:34 pm
"Well, that's entirely up to you. Most members of Team Rocket prefer to beat their pokemon or treat them cruelly until their pokemon fear them. I don't subscribe to that method. I prefer to treat them with kindness and respect. It takes longer, and, in all honesty, is far more painful to the trainer. I don't even know if it produces better results. All I know is that's how I do it, and it works for me." Walpurgis shrugged. "It took me years to get Gangrel to trust me, but I can honestly say he's the most loyal pokemon I've ever seen. He doesn't much care for the other members of Team Rocket, but he'll listen to me. Take that for what you will."
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 11:54 am
Saya was horrified by the preference of how Team Rocket treated their pokemon. She would never hurt pokemon intentionally. If they posed a danger to her, however, that was a different story. She will, first and foremost, protect herself.
"Why would you want to do it the hard way?" It wasn't that Saya was questioning his methods. She was wondering why this guy was so nice-- to her and to pokemon as well. Maybe it was because her life was filled with bad people and caretakers who didn't care, so kindness was a new concept to her.
The healing machine made a sound as it worked, bringing Saya's attention back to it. "Why do these things have to make sounds?" So unnecessary.
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 4:18 pm
Walpurgis closed his eyes. "I grew up an orphan in Kanto. I had nothing. No family, no friends, no pokemon. Everything I had was stolen; clothes, food. I took the bare minimum of what I needed, never more. One day, a group of police officers found me. They figured anyone living in the slums would know something about Team Rocket. They... attacked me, to say the least. Of course, I had no information for them. I don't know if they didn't believe me, or if they just didn't care, but they only stopped attacking me when I was half dead. And then they left me in the streets, bruised and broken."
The rocket opened his eyes, gazing off into the distance. "I don't know how long I lay there, cursing my lot in life, but a Team Rocket member found me. He took me in. Team Rocket gave me food and clothing, gave me shelter. They gave me a home. The man who found me taught me to fight, taught me about common herbs. He was the closest thing to a father I'd ever known, and Team Rocket became my family."
Walpurgis shook his head, chasing away the memories before they could take a darker turn. "I take the more difficult path because my pokemon are my family, too. That's all."
Walpurgis shrugged at the girl's second inquiry, figuring it to be a rhetorical question.
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Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 1:10 pm
Saya blinked. She wasn't expecting such a serious answer. She didn't expect his story to affect her, but it did. It tore at whatever sliver of a heartstring she had left. It reminded her of her own, and why she had left her home. It seemed that many Rockets had similar stories and had joined for similar reasons, or at least from the ones she met.
Saya was a bit remorseful she had plotted to steal from him earlier. Her expression was sullen. "I know what that's like." She spoke softly, staring at the ground.
"I had a family, but it wasn't mine. I had little, but it was something. My siblings--" She spat out the word like it was something disgusting, which she was ashamed to have to use. "Bullied me because I was small and a girl." She narrowed her eyes, as talking about it brought back terrible memories. "I was on my own and had to learn to protect myself. Wild pokemon were my only company." As she said this, she felt quite spoiled. While she didn't have much, she still had something.
What was that thing people did to make others feel better? Saya gave him an awkward hug, and then spoke, barely audible. "I was planning to... steal from you earlier. I feel terrible," she admitted. Her expression was blank, guilty. She didn't look up once. She was fully expecting to be shoved off.
"I-I like your way of training pokemon better." Saya decided, taking in all that Walpurgis has said, as she reached to take her pokeball back from the machine. It had laid forgotten for the moment, as Saya had been lost in thought.
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Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 1:34 pm
Walpurgis looked down at the girl, smiling softly. He planted a hand on her head, patting her softly. "It's okay. Don't worry about it. People like us, we learned to do what was necessary to survive - I won't begrudge you that. But you aren't alone anymore. Team Rocket is my family, and now you are part of that family."
He retrieved his pokemon from the machine as well. "If you would like, I would be happy to help you train."
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Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:35 pm
She was forgiven, just like that? Where was the punishment and anger she was so accustomed to? Walpurgis was so understanding that it was strange to her and left her feeling numb. 'Family,' she realized she didn't really know what the word meant, upon thinking of the only one she knew-- her own. It was definitely not the definition he was talking about, she was sure. Saya felt a sense of hope and that life being a Rocket will be better than the life she had known.
She nodded, gave him a small smile back, and followed in silence.
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