Welcome to Gaia! ::

Word had gotten around base rather quickly about the mission that had been thwarted by Team Galactic, and resulted in a crash. Even Asch had heard about it, and suddenly found himself being summoned to Kunai's office. His previous assignment had been postponed in favor of something else.

The group that had temporarily gone missing, had been on their way to the outpost to scope it out. But due to Team Galactic, a new approach was being taken. Instead of a full team, they were sending out two agents that specialized in infiltration, making it more low key and not as likely to be interrupted. The two selected agents had been none other than Asch and Aila, the recently paired partners.

After receiving detailed instruction for the mission, Asch had left quietly in order to make preparations. Suiting up in the appropriate gear and outfit for just such an occasion, he was set to meet with his partner in the garage. His usual attire would not do well in this setting, thus the agent was entirely dressed in a form fitting dark gray and black stealth suit, complete with boots and gloves, while a small pack was slung around his shoulders. Long red hair, which could not be allowed to get in his way, was tied back with a single black hair tie just above where the bright red started to darken at the ends. Two pokeballs sat on his belt, along with a hip pouch for necessary tools.

Ready to leave, Asch was now awaiting his partner's arrival.

When Aila arrived, she would find him leaning against a concrete pillar, keys already in hand. Green eyes lifted when he heard her footsteps, and for a moment he didn't answer her. Asch had not worked with any female agents in such missions, up to this point. As he looked her over, he had to turn his face away to hide the slight blush that was creeping up on his cheeks at the sight of a girl in such tight attire.

Despite raging teenage hormones, he quickly stamped them out and retained a neutral expression. He had no feelings for this girl anyway, they were simply partners and that was it. They would get their job done, and in a professional manner.

Straightening up into a standing position, he then moved towards the sleek black vehicles parked nearby. "Yeah, let's go."

Despite the fact that he was barely old enough to legally drive, Asch had no problem with handling the vehicles. Since he had been the first to arrive, he had gotten the keys and been self designated as the driver. He doubted that she would object, and if she did, too bad. At the very least, driving would keep him distracted.

Reaching one of the all-terrain vehicles, which was pretty much necessary for going anywhere considering the sandy terrain that surrounded HQ, Asch opened the driver's side door and climbed in. With a turn of the key, the engine started and within moments, the vehicle emerged from the garage and out into the desert. The sun lowering in the sky and painting it with brilliant colors.

The first few minutes went by in silence, but eventually the red head broke it. "So, you were on the last mission." He had heard plenty, but he figured most of it was just exaggerated rumors and less face. "What happened?"

Asch didn't have the luxury of staring at the sunset, but he could at least admire it out of the corner of is eye. Kodo was a region unlike any he'd been to, especially with the lack of Pokemon League presence. It was a much different feel here as it wasn't a main Pokemon Trainer hub. Closer to Grande Ile, and yet completely different from his native island as well. Plus the terrain was incredibly diverse. Deserts were something he was accustomed to though, after having spent several months in Orre, thus he had no trouble driving through the sand.

Green eyes shifted towards Aila for a brief moment as she spoke, the wheels in Asch's mind turning as she mentioned Team Galactic. He remembered hearing mention of them, but nothing in detail. He was new to the Kodo base after all, and only knew what he'd been able research in his short time here. "How many times has Team Rocket encountered them? What are they like?"

Brows lowered as Asch scowled at the windshield, listening intently to Aila's words as he focused on the terrain and lack of road. There was a grunt from the agent as they hit a bump that jostled the vehicle sharply, but it wasn't enough for him to lose control.

"What could they possibly hope to gain from interfering with us? It makes no sense." This said in a manner of indignation, despite the fact that he'd never encountered them personally. He did hear that a Ho-oh was stolen, but what about these other events? What was Team Galactic's objective exactly? Especially when concerning them?

As she went on to describe the trio, his frown deepened. "So a bunch of idiots have been getting the better of us," he stated in a unimpressed tone.

"Heh," was the only reply he had to give in response to all of that. It was something to think about, and Asch was interested in observing this gang of idiots that seemed to be good at outsmarting them. There was something behind all of this, and Aila's suspicions could very well be right. However, he wasn't going to worry about it right now, they had more important things to focus on.

However, Aila's reaction to the bump didn't escape Asch's notice. Thus, after a few moments of silence, he brought it up. "You afraid of cars or something?" Not exactly the most tactful, but he wasn't trying to be.

Asch was in mild disbelief at this. "You let one experience affect you like that?" Surely it couldn't have been that bad, could it? But then, women were perhaps just more... frail in that regard. It irritated him slightly. Thus he huffed in annoyance. "You can relax, you're safe with me." If he knew Nyx, he probably would have been even more indignant, considering that woman herself didn't like to drive and was very poor at it.

"You get carsick," he replied in that continued tone of disbelief. Now he was starting to wonder what kind of girl they had paired him up with. Not that Asch didn't have his own weaknesses of course, but this was just something he hadn't expected.

The red head sighed, both at Aila's distrust of cars, and the fact that they were starting to cross into the plains and onto a road bound for Camphoreon. That would make the trip easier and less rough from this point until they came back.

"Its a machine, there's nothing to trust. The only thing that makes them potentially dangerous is the driver, and idiots on the road."