[right][b][h3][color=8dc73f][i]Aster, the Phantom Thief[/i][/color][/h3][/b][/right][hr][hider=Important Information][quote][u][b]Location			[/b][/u]
Pureplain City

[u][b]Interacting With	[/b][/u]
Happiny (and some other Pokémon)([@PlatinumSkink]), Cyril, Basil & Cecil([@hatakekuro])

[u][b]Current Health	[/b][/u]
[color=39b54a]Excellent[/color]

[u][b]Held Item		[/b][/u]
N/A => Stone(?)[/quote][/hider][hr]
Cyril couldn't help but giggle with a wide, toothy smirk as he withdrew his arm, pointing it up directly to the sky, [color=ed1c24]"Yup yup, didn't expect to see you here either, pretty convenient huh!"[/color] He continued to chuckle, placing a hand on his hip as he raised any eyebrow, combing the boy over as he drooped his arms a little. [color=ed1c24]"Sorry about that by the way, couldn't resist."[/color]

While he was talking, he whipped is head around to search the park around for Aster, only to not find a trace of the green Pokémon; heck, the Paras he was conversing with had scattered in that area, and it was not occupied by some aggressively playful Shinx. Cyril's eyes widened as he bit his lip, frantically searching the park for the Budew. This was probably not a good idea in the slightest as he felt his heart pumping harder and harder. Where was he, where did Aster go? Ugh, why did he even suggest such a stupid idea?! Idiot, idiot!

Cyril was actually knocked out of that worrisome thought, albeit briefly when Basil went over to his partner, Cecil, and asked if they had found something. Considering they were located by a bush and monkeying around trying to tell Basil something, maybe they were signalling that they found a Pokémon, more importantly, Aster!

Following after Basil, Cyril peered to the side of he, leaning down to level with the boy's face, [color=ed1c24]"So Basil, whatcha' doing right now anyways?"[/color] Despite this question, he wondered what those kids over by the pond were getting so worked up about... actually, why did most of the common Pokémon around the park congregate there?
[hr]
As the Phantom Thief Aster made his escape back into his hideout, he peered outside the bush for a brief second as he jiggled his bulb. The police and gangsters of these streets were persistent, but even they were no match for the esteemed and suave Phantom Thief Aster! He puffed out his chest with a smirk on his face as he retreated into his secret lair, where he could begin planning his next heist while the others wasted time, trying to seek him out.

And what better to be in his lair were his... stones? Wait what? This shattered the Budew's immersion for a second as he totted on over to the pile, unsure about what these things were, besides stones, let alone what he even found. Leaning in, his bud began to waver a bit as it unfurled to touch a stone before looking up to see a pink creature.

Aster stayed perfectly still as they began sorting through the pile of stones before acquiring one and placing it proudly in her pouch. From what Aster could tell, she seemed jovial until she looked up to catch a glimpse at the Budew, which caused a surge of electricity to shoot down his spine, shivering for a moment. Was she like those Poochyena's and Shinx he just encountered?

[color=FBD4D5]‘Happiny?’[/color]

Or not.

From what Aster could see, she seemed as curious about him as he did about her, and unfurled the bud to give a little wave to her, [color=8dc73f]"Fwee?"[/color] Despite his own gesture, he still inspected the baby Pokémon, who reclined back and smiled and held her hands up, [color=FBD4D5]‘Hap, Happiny,’[/color] she cried out with a smile as she leaned in, curious about the similarly shaped green Budew.

[color=8dc73f]"Fee... Budew,"[/color] Aster responded, puffing his tiny chest out as he interacted with the other Pokémon; seemed like the duo were introducing each other to one another as [color=FBD4D5]‘Happiny!’[/color] From what Aster could tell, she seemed to enjoy his presence, or at the very least didn't mind it as she rubbed the little rock in her pouch, purring to herself. Was that supposed to be like an egg?

[color=8dc73f]"Bud, fwee?"[/color] Interested in the piles of rocks that were gathered at the center, Aster picked one up to examine it only for the Happiny to frantically cry out as she held her little arms, frantically wiggling them, [color=FBD4D5]‘Hap, Hap, Happi!’[/color] Aster stumbled around a bit, confused by this action as he danced around the rocks a bit while she explained what it was, only for him to place it back into the pile, calming the baby down.

[color=FBD4D5]‘Happiiiii,’[/color] as that little spiel came to a close, she sniffled, giving Aster a small pat on the back, apologizing. [color=8dc73f]"Fuh-fwee, fwah,"[/color] unraveling a bud, Aster empathized with her, reassuring that everything was OK. Wait a minute, this was kind of like a treasure to Happiny, which meant...

[color=8dc73f]"Fwee!"[/color] Aster suddenly announced, doing a little twirl before hopping onto the pile and puffing out his chest, much to the bewilderment of his new friend, [color=FBD4D5]‘Happi?!’[/color] He couldn't help but lightly blush, twiddling his feet on the rocks as he looked down, explaining it all to her, [color=8dc73f]"Fwee, fwah fwee! Budew fwah, bud fwee, fweeeee! Fweeheehee!"[/color]

Happiny didn't get it much at first, but the way her eyes lit up with a small o as her mouth opened in interest made her clap before doing a little twirl of her own, [color=FBD4D5]‘Happiny!’[/color] Whatever this was, it seemed like she was interested in this little roleplay and got into it as well, [color=FBD4D5]‘Hap, Happiny!’[/color]

Aster smiled as he hopped off the pile, gesturing for her to follow him; the heist was on! Their target was to add more gems (rocks) to their hoard! As the Phantom Thief Aster, and his partner in crime, Lady Happiny neared the edge of the door to their safehouse, his partner suddenly tugged on him. Being the ever so charming thief, Aster turned his head ever so slightly to see that his partner, Lady Happiny, was... shaking?

[color=c4df9b]"Fwee? Bud, Budew, fwah?"[/color] Happiny twiddled her little nubs for hands and looked up with a frown, [color=FBD4D5]‘Hap, Happiny... Pi, pi pi... Happi...’[/color] Those words sunk in for Aster, right, she couldn't leave, especially in this state, with everyone calling out and seeking her out, there's no way they would play like this... which meant.

[color=8dc73f]"Fwee! Fwah, fwoh, bud!"[/color] Happiny looked up to see Aster smiling, with her staring to glow a bit as well. Yes, she could be mission control! And then after this, they could play whatever she came up with! Happiny was elated as she hugged Aster, thanking him before seeing him off, making sure not to reveal her presence too much as Aster burst out of the bush, making what he believed to be a really cool pose.

And now, the Phantom Thief began his heist! Locked up in the bank by the lake, there was said to be a mysterious gem that was under lock and key! Security members patrolled the area nearby and the police were on the hunt for him and his partner, with giant flesh mechs seeking the capture of his lovely partner, Lady Happiny! He would need to be quick, nimble, and sneaky! This would be tough, but Aster, the luxurious Phantom Thief, could handle it!

[color=8dc73f]"Fweee!"[/color] Aster yelped as a couple of new Shinx and Poochyena noticed the little bud Pokémon dashing through the 'streets,' and with their own agenda began to trot, pursue, or run at the Budew. Aster could feel his little heart beat as his eyes widened at the small horde of Pokémon that was following him, [color=8dc73f]"FWEE!"[/color]

Even with the police and gangsters on him, they would never catch him! Was it because he was naturally adept at dodging fellows like these? Nah, it probably had to do with the fact that a Budew was somehow faster than a Shinx and Poochyena! Seriously, look this up, how is a Budew faster than these two Pokémon?!

Regardless, he made his great escape, hopping over hapless citizens who watched in curiosity while others got caught in the mix, becoming the victims of police 'brutality' (being tackled and cutely pawed or barked at) or advanced upon by 'gangsters' (being tackled and cutely pawed or barked at as well). Whatever the case was, this caused a bit of a stir in one area as multiple Pokémon began congregating around that area before some of the children running around the park seeking the pink baby Pokémon noticed something.

[b]"Hey guys, there's a green baby Pokémon as well!"[/b] Oh no. The shrieking of the childre- flesh golems intensified as they caught wind of him! This wasn't good at all, oh geez, oh god, they were after him now too! [color=8dc73f]"FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"[/color] The panic only intensified as he got closer to the pond, with Finneons resting and relaxing in the pond, swimming around only to poke their heads out from time to time to interact with other Pokémon or children. Of course, what they didn't expect was there to be a stampede of Pokémon and children coming towards their oasis, seemingly spearheaded by the Budew who seemed to have tears forming in its eyes.

Some took it as a sign of playing, others went on the defensive. Whatever the case was, some of them began to shoot Water Guns directly at him, or just splash the water with some Pounds. Looks like security would be a pain for our hero- OH GOD THERE ARE MORE CHILDREN COMING FOR HIM, OH GOD!

Bobbing and weaving between the Water Guns, some barely scraped by him, only to splash a pursuer, sometimes knocking them back if they were a Pokémon. A few of the children sometimes giggled, others cried out in pain and screamed happily that they were wet, causing this whole situation to be a right mess as it broke out into a right battle royale with the Finneons diverting attention away at times, some Pokémon deciding it would be fun to play with the kids or Poochyena's, all while the Paras chittered in the background.

Thanks to his raw skills and charisma, Aster, the Phantom Thief, was obviously able to create a distraction, and not because so much happened in the span of a couple of seconds, resulting in a mishmash. Taking this opportunity, swinging on in, but much to his chagrin, there were many, many gems (rocks)! They all looked alike, possibly to hide the real gem amongst them all! Aster had to be quick and discern the real gem from the fake and get out of there before security locked the safe. Looking through the rocks, he saw one.

Snatching it up, he observed it for a second before nodding to himself with a smile on his face, [color=8dc73f]"Fwee!"[/color] Yes, this had to be it! This rock was so much more smoother than the others, or at least that's what he thought. Feeling the polish of it, Aster held on tightly to the rock between his buds before observing the area around him.

[center][i]Aster obtained a Stone(?)![/i][/center]

With that said, he began to look for his escape route, before noticing the perfect opening! There, now was his chance, as he dashed forward through the ensuring chaos, bobbing and weaving between each playful paw, tackle, and sometimes even battle that spontaneously occurred. [b]"Hey, the green baby Pokémon is getting away!"[/b] No, the flesh security alarms caught him?!

Forcing his legs to move even faster, Aster sprinted down the streets as a part of the horde broke off from around that area to pursue him, with those flesh golems tossing their own Pokéballs at him. While most missed, one manage to bop his head before tumbling to the ground, [color=8dc73f]"FWEE!"[/color]

Ouch! Ugh that golem managed to get a hit on him, but that seemed to give them pause for a moment while the rest of the horde continued their fervent pursuit, [b]"Wait, why didn't it go in the ball?"[/b] Still, everything (didn't) seem so fine and dandy, as Aster noticed a familiar face as he got closer and closer to the safehouse, [color=ed1c24]"Aster?"[/color]

Sorry partner, but he couldn't stop now, but he could tell that Cyril was worried based on the fact that he was being followed after by a decent amount of Poochyena's, Shinx's, and one or two children who were throwing out their own Pokémon while waving a Pokéball in their hand. The situation seemed dire, but the flesh golems seemed to be stopped by his partner! Did he input a code to disable them?

[color=ed1c24]"Wooooaaaah, hey there kids, that Budew isn't for catching, he's my partner!"[/color] Despite this most of the Pokémon ignored Cyril, causing him to peer at where his partner ran off to. Aster looked behind him as well, jiggling his bud a bit before hopping back into the safehouse, bringing along a slew of Poochyena and Shinx, who barked at the bush or pawed at some of the leaves.

Following that, some of the children Cyril managed to pacify began to grumble before stating that they wanted to catch the kitty and dog, before pointing and running towards the bush.

Oh no. Aster had to warn Happiny, their safehouse was compromised! What might happen next? Will he be able to protect his new friend?

Find out next time on Aster, the Phantom Thief! Stay tuned trainers!