"I will call for the shutdown of all manholes; that kid is too neat-dressed to be a tramp discovering a golden finger that lets her have a sumptuous meal."
Cynthia, who was not trained to judge people so easily, craned her neck a little at how harshly her 2nd friend (who was near her age) in Kanto was able to judge and think that the girl had something fishy going on. The logic is, of course, known and explained to Cynthia: a false alarm will cause them some collateral, while negligence will cause them the mission itself, so it's better to: something strange= something bad, than something strange= don't be judgmental of homeless people.
_This is why I'm not suitable for this work; I would have been swooned over and entangled my hands while saying 'aww so cute!' after I said that. Yes, after this I will be a full-time trainer; I have yet to get a badge from Sinnoh while I collected 8 commemorative plushies from all major gyms in Kanto..._
As Cynthia sighed, ridiculing herself, she silently nodded in Alexandra's remarks before pulling out a Pokeball from her Pokemon Holster, which is under a modified pocket in her black dress, pressing the enlargement button, and letting Riolu out.
"I would like to train my Pokemon how to do a faint pursuit. I would be the one blocking that manhole."
Alexandra nodded.
_________________
While the Hardy couple were yet to be aware that their movements were already tipped because of some judgmental eyes that suspected their daughter's movements, Hana Hardy caught the Eco bag full of groceries with two hands, while Vincent caught Felicia. The groceries would be their stockpile while they leave Indigo and go to a different region to create a new life; on the surface, they were already mid-level Pokemon breeders with some experience working in a private breeding lab, so they should be fine on the job-finding front.
They also made sure that their daughter's future and new identity is secured, giving Felicia a Purrloin which she would use to either become a Pokemon Trainer or a Pokemon Coordinator. The Pokemon would evolve into a strong and, at the same time, beautiful Liepard, so either path is fine; Felicia also has some interests in these two paths.
"Mommy, why do we need to go to a manhole... it's so stinky... why do we need to throw away our colognes..."
In this operation, the seasoned former Team Rocket members turned husband and wife went all out in their preparations and were able to consider everything in their person that can be detected by any kind of Pokémon abilities as well as technologies inspired by them. This includes colognes, facial powders, body lotions, and other makeup that have some potential to get them caught; of course, all of the things that can implicate them with Team Rocket are also burnt and are now sitting in their garbage as carbon.
In short, only their clothes, their standard-issue Pokémon, as well as a Poké Ball that seems to have a Pokémon inside that they were supposed to deliver to their outskirts base that will then be delivered to their main base to serve as a Pokémon for a final stand of sorts for their leader, Giovanni. Obviously, for these two, the Pokémon is more useful to secure the future of themselves and of their daughter than to protect some mafia boss that's just delaying his capture, and most definitely death.
"Some... bad guys, yes, some bad guys are trying to steal Mr. Ty from us, so we will escape with him because we don't want that to happen, right?"
Felicia, the spoiled and innocent-aged girl, immediately believed her father; she puffed up her cheeks as she grew angry.
"Purrloin and I can help!"
As their daughter offered her own assistance, pulling out her Purrloin's Pokeball that was inside the chest pocket of her dress, Hana Hardy immediately held the hand of her daughter and then sat down for a moment and mustered the best smile that she could. In these trying times, the time when their freedom is the nearest yet the most difficult to attain, faking a smile more than those used in businesses is a very good skill, for their daughter didn't even see the pain and desperation in the smile of her mother.
"No, Purrloin is still a child; your dad and I can handle it, okay? You just have to listen to us."
Hana Hardy then kissed her daughter on the forehead before lifting the eco bag alongside Felicia. Vincent was at her back, holding an enlarged Pokeball; he would be the main battler of their last operation as Pokemon thieves, smugglers, murderers, con-men, and many more, towards being a caring mother and father for their child and a happy family until the end of their lives. However, Hana and Vincent were once again reminded that plans are meant to not be followed; for the moment they were about to get out of their positions, they saw a silhouette that suddenly blocked the faint light coming from the manhole that connects the city to the sewers.
It was a shadow with a child-like height, and upon closer look, it was not a child at all; instead, it had fur that was blue in color, except on its eyes, which had a mask-like design colored black. There are protruding pairs of horn-like spikes on both sides of the upper part of its head; however, its dog-like ears are dangling in a position similar to that of humans.
And as if to reiterate that Hana and Vincent will have a very tight opening to their freedom, a voice resounded right after the Pokemon Riolu landed and dashed towards the 3 humans in front of it.
"Stop dashing before I say anything!"
It was a firm yet young voice, barely affected by puberty; it was accompanied by a girl also jumping down the manhole with a black dress swaying around against the air of the sewers, alongside yellow hair that reflected the light coming from the surface.
_Cynthia Celestica!_
While the two couples were shocked in a split second in a series of events that also happened in such a time span, Cynthia Celestica observed the two couples while considering the conditions of the mission.
_There's the child... yeah, she looks like the one in the picture... the man has a Pokeball, he's the fighter while the woman is holding the child, doesn't seem like a hostage, she would escape... the next manhole is around 3 intersections from here according to the map I memorized... alright, I'm supposed to be just their faint and 'fear factor', so I should make Riolu prioritize making faints... which already failed..._
Indeed it failed, not only because Riolu is just a child but also because Vincent and Hana are seasoned Pokemon trainers that know how to use underhanded methods to their best and most efficient usage. Furthermore, in their escape, they already know their role; thus, they don't need to panic and instead executed them perfectly.
Hana hugged her daughter tighter while shouting that Felicia should too, which the child did before the wife of the Hardy family ran as fast as she could. She ran as if she had no baggage, probably because she had run far more difficult terrains and had carried living and dead bodies heavier than her child and groceries combined. Vincent, who knew very well of Cynthia Celestica as well as Pokémon behaviors in general, tightened the grip of his Pokeball, something that Cynthia saw in a heartbeat.
"Riolu! Snatch that Pokeball away from the man's hand!"
Cynthia commanded before landing on the putrid waters of the sewer, her eyes still glued to the man who already started to sway around the hand where the Pokeball was whilst the other was reaching into his back pocket, and pulling out a taser. Vincent pointed it at Cynthia with a pained expression before pulling the trigger.
Seeing this, Cynthia immediately dodged away from the trajectory of the taser, landing on a dry area. However, it seems like Riolu had underestimated the reflexes of its master, as the moment the wire and claw of the taser were released, it used the above human reflexes of its own to abandon its current command, somersaulted in mid-air, and kicked the taser away.
"NO RIOLU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
If it's within Cynthia's character, she would've cursed already for how much of a problem child Riolu, who was immediately electrocuted and had passed out, really was. All unevolved Pokemons are childlike, but only Riolu is such a problem! While Cynthia is glad that it's her Pokemon, she can't wait for it to evolve and be more mature.
_Damn! Now Cynthia can release her Garchomp!_
Vincent's original plan is to take out the brain of Riolu, AKA Cynthia, and in turn use Tyranitar and make it release the true meaning of its name in the sewers and to make Interpol prioritize the lives of the people above; he can still whip the wire to the side to attempt a second electrocution if she dodged (which Cynthia just did). However, now that Riolu took the blow and was incapacitated, the most dangerous person in the whole sewer capable of commanding a Pokemon trainers can only dream of seeing is now gritting its teeth.
Vincent didn't hesitate and immediately threw the Pokeball towards Cynthia before getting Riolu's limp and unconscious body and grabbing the Pokemon away.
"ICE BEAM!"
Cynthia looked at the man who had already started running and immediately chased while pulling out a Pokeball and throwing it directly at her while cursing the popularity of her Garchomp's 4x weakness to ice.
"FLAMETHROWER! HOLD IT DOWN! I DON'T WANT YOU TWO TO GET OUT OF YOUR POSITION FOR EVEN AN INCH!"
As the two Pokeballs collided, creating momentary sparks whilst Cynthia ran away to chase after Vincent Hardy, two Pokemons came out of the thrown Pokeballs; one is a green giant resembling a green porcupine, its mouth about to burst with cold energy, while the other giant is a landshark which is about to release scorching flames.
"TYYYYYRAAA!"
"CHOOOOAAA!"
Both monsters, due to their height, bumped their heads to the not-so-tall ceiling of the sewers before firing the pulsating ice and flames within their mouths, causing a light of blue and red to spread throughout the sewer system as they collided. Stray flames and ice shards, as well as ice engulfed in flames, burst out in the middle of the two monsters, embedding themselves into the walls.
While Ice is a weakness of Garchomp, Cynthia's Garchomp is still way stronger than Tyranitar despite both being pseudo-legendaries and also the fact that Flamethrower is from the weak type of Ice Beam; the frost that was supposed to encase Garchomp instead got forcefully ejected towards Tyranitar, causing it to be encased by a thin film of ice before being burnt by the flames, which the Tyranitar didn't mind.
"Gaaaarrraaarghh!"
Garchomp didn't stop after winning the initial altercation as it still bore the commands of its master, instead Garchomp channeled the mysterious energy innate to all Pokemons in its claws, making it glow and ultimately, extend into one foot long each before swinging it to the still recovering Tyranitar, who wasn't able to dodge in time, making its face explode with dust from the ceiling and the rocky composition of its body before bashing into the walls, causing tremors that all of Interpol agents inside the sewers felt.
"Graaaa!"
______________
"Riolu is hurt, I'm getting involved."
Cynthia's words were precise as she continued to chase the abductor of her Pokémon, gritting her teeth.
_Damn it, this guy has longer strides than me and more tank! And I've been hiking mountains in Sinnoh for 3 years!_
Cynthia was frustrated, while Vincent was also, of course; normally, an adult can outrun a child, but in the Pokémon world, some kids are way stronger than you, just like how there's a small bird that can murder a human if the said human is not so careful.
"If you didn't give back Riolu, your daughter's going to see her father get beaten by a kid!"
Cynthia shouted, causing Vincent to look back before attempting to run faster to get out of the lady's sight, to no avail, of course. So instead, he replied.
"If I give this back to you, I would have to give up and surrender! My child will have a criminal for a father if that happened! I would rather get my face destroyed than to humiliate my child for eternity!"
Cynthia sighed, not replying anymore, or else she would feel more emotional. While she couldn't understand the humiliation children with criminal parents have to endure, she could feel in the father's voice the desperation and truth of all these feelings of his. He did all those acts against Pokemons for a human he cherishes more than Pokemons and he is willing to do it one last time.
Cynthia slowly stopped running as she pulled out a Pokeball.
"You have been warned."