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Hayes made a habit of working out, on the basis that it was easier to do things when you were in shape than when you weren't, and therefore being able to sprint up a flight of steps and still have breath was worth periodic exertion and an increased laundry load.

This sort of reasoning guided the Rocket to the gym today, dressed in an old t-shirt and track pants. Switch rode along on his shoulder as per usual, but when Hayes passed through the doors he jumped down to run off, only to stop at the sight of a Pichu doing something with a pink-haired girl.

Hayes made note of the pair as well. He came often enough that he knew who were regulars and who weren't, as gave Kofuku a friendly smile as he neared the machines. "What's awesome?" The question was mildly put, curious but not intrusive.

Hayes looked down at the collection of tools and parts; his eyebrows lifted slightly. "Whoa. That's quite a haul, little guy," he grinned. "Piika pi," Switch agreed. The Pikachu cocked his head to the side, looking at Gizmo with new-found interest. One ear flopped over.

"Haven't seen you around before. You new?" the sandy blond asked. As he did so, he prepared for his workout, fishing an MP3 player and a pair of earbuds from his pants pocket. He had a vague idea of who the girl was - she matched up to a photo in one of the new grunt dossiers - but no more than that.

"Always nice to meet a pretty girl." The phrase fell from his mouth as easily as he smiled and returned the handshake, moving on. "I'm Hayes. This's Switch." He nodded in the direction of his Pokemon. "So welcome to the team."

Switch tilted his head in the other direction, mirroring Gizmo. After a moment, he straightened up and came closer. "Piika," he declared, plopping a paw on the baby Pokemon's head with a nod. You're okay, squirt.

He glanced sidelong up at Kofuku, then back to Gizmo questioningly. "Chuu, pika pi?"

"Anyway," the blond Rocket gave the treadmill a light thump, "were you doing anything with this?"

The compliment seemed genuine enough; Hayes radiated a mellow calm in response to Kofuku's sass. "Got any plans? World domination, capturing Arceus, that sort of thing?"

Switch gave Gizmo another pat, this time a reassuring "Chuu, chuu." Not to worry, young one. He pulled a screwdriver from the pile and sniffed at it, ears flicking.

"Thanks." Tools, 'she'.. not many girls he knew of owned tools. Lock picks, sure, but hex keys and multi-bit screwdrivers were another matter. "You live next to Faleen or something?" He slipped the earbuds into his ears and stepped onto the treadmill, pressing the power button and waiting for it to warm up.

Hayes made an amused sound and keyed in an exercise routine. "Just don't get on Seth's nerves too much," he advised, glancing up from the terminal. "I said something about his favorite programming language and got sent to the Sky Peaks. During the blizzard of the century, even." He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

As the treadmill whirred to life and the Rocket started off at a relaxed walk, Switch followed after Gizmo to return the screwdriver he held.

"That was you?" Hayes sounded somewhere between amused and amazed. He opened his mouth to say something more, closed it, and shook his head. "..yeah, looks like I better watch out for you," he grinned and waved casually. "Seeya."

He flicked the volume dial on his MP3 player, and as techno started drowning out the sounds of the room, settled into his workout.

"Pika!" Switch waved at Gizmo, then wandered off toward the snack machines. When nobody was watching, a Pikachu with a little ingenuity could snag a few candy bars.

The routine was programmed to start out easy, then escalate in speed and slope, so Hayes didn't notice anything when the machine's whirring increased and the belt began to move faster. He just adjusted his pace to match, picking up his feet a bit more. The smooth swing of his arms was interrupted when he pushed his ever-slipping glasses back up the bridge of his nose, nodding slightly to a complicated synthetic beat.