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Rouge did not look amused. Its mouth formed a grim line where the jester lay in the dirt, arms folded together across its chest. Well if this wasn't just dandy. The hooded head lifted slightly to better view the offered hand. If Rouge's eyebrows were visible, they would have been furrowed in suspicion. That is, until another grin broke out. "Peachy! Just taking a stro~ll! Wonderful weather. No stampeding Tauros."

"Zor?" Two against one? And Cotton Spore? Hooo boy. Still, as he dodged all but the edge of the cloud, Zero merely smirked. He'd take all three of the target's Pokemon on, if he had to!

Rouge considered this odd person for a moment. Offered a hand... asked if Rouge was okay... and now introductions? First, it was time to get up. Rolling the legs up, the jester hoisted itself into a wave of motion that would leave it on its feet and standing. The only accompaniment was a deep "hup!"

"Never know, with stampedes. Never know," Rouge stated offhandedly, dusting itself off and completely ignoring the request for a name. "Especially when dealing with sales." Rouge leaned sideways at the waist to view around Inigo. "Or loud earmuffs."

Zero snickered softly at Bonnie's back. Bonnie may have been onto them, but the human seemed to have conveniently missed every scrap of evidence that could have suggested ill intent.


"'Hey You,'" was the straight-faced answer to the second name request. The jester leaned forward a tad and smiled conspiratorially. "Seems to be a crowd favorite." Rouge straightened again, balancing on the right foot and rising to stand almost on the tippy-toe of that boot. The clown raised its left hand, flat with the palm down, to about the level of Inigo's height. "You sure are high up there." Its mouth scrunched into another frown at the unfairness of it all. "Easier for maneuvering through those stampeding crowds, I'd wager."

Zero tilted his own head, curious but wary. What was this? Like owner, like Pokemon? He seemed to ultimately deem Leilani as a non-threat. 'It's...' The Zorua's ears twitched, catching onto some sort of unknown cue.


Rouge grinned and bounced on its heels. "They have their advantages," the jester answered cryptically. This was followed by a final bounce and sudden, "Well bye!" The jester bounced back several feet, kicked into a back-flip to cover more ground, hopped backwards with a wave farewell, then performed a couple cartwheels and disappeared down the trail. Zero sprinted in a different direction, and quickly disappeared as well.

Meanwhile, down some gloomy back street in a shady neighborhood...

"Heeeeey! Bud-dy! I got music thingums for sale! You want to buy one, right?" Rouge grinned. The burly man being addressed didn't return the enthusiasm. The clown waved a hand nonchalantly, unfazed by the looming shadow of the hulking being. "Oh, come now. I know you've already sold that last one for a higher profit." The grin turned serious. Dangerously serious. Even with the mask, the glare could be easily sensed, causing the man to balk. "And don't think I don't know that amount..."

Five minutes later, Rouge strolled along the sidewalk of the largely empty street. The high spirits countered the sun that was attempting to set beyond the horizon. The clown was in possession of one less MP3 player, but in the item's place, the jester carried a higher payoff. Could this day get any better~?

Curses! It only took the clown a split second for reflexes to kick in, skip backwards two steps, and ground its feet down into a defensive pose. The problem came when Rouge recognized the person that had somehow managed to catch the clown with its guard darn. The jester grit its teeth. Such a predicament... Rouge suddenly gasped dramatically, and recoiled for added effect.

"P-p-p-PIANO!" Rouge pointed in an excessively dramatic fashion to an area somewhere behind and above the shoulder Inigo had closest to the building. Whether or not the distraction of nonexistent sources worked, the clown turned to bolt in the opposite direction in the next instant.

Unaware of the pursuing earmuff (because--seriously?--how could the cotton puff POSSIBLY continue following after so long?), Rouge gained a fair amount of ground from the starting point. That is, until-

"WAH!"

"Gotcha!"

Well, this was just great. First a shrieking earmuff, and now the clown was being held in the air by the long vines belonging to an Ivysaur. A group of half a dozen thugs and hoodlums emerged from the alleyway the jester had been just about to sprint past. "Looks like we've caught ourselves a Jack in the box," one brute--the owner of the released Pokemon--joked. The rest snickered along while the clown simply sent a deadpanned glare in return.

"Seriously, you guys? I thought we already went over this." Rouge gave a devious grin. "Or are there some ground rules that need covering again?"

The head brute scoffed. "Maybe first thing that needs covering is exactly whose turf it is you're running through."

Oof! ...Oh hey! The pink powder puff managed to keep up, after all!

"What the Hell? Where'd that thing come from?" one of the thugs asked. Obviously, none of his friends were going to be able to answer. They did notice the shiny Ponyta's arrival, however.

"Guys. Guys! Is that-"
"Well well. This day just keeps getting better," the man who spoke took a few steps forward, out of the shadowy alleyway and onto the shadowy sidewalk. In his hand, he lightly tossed a Pokeball, the Pokemon inside waiting to do its master's bidding.

Rouge cast a sidelong glance at Bonnie, although the mask hid it well. The only suggestion of the action was a partial turning of the head. "Easily distracted, ain't they?" the clown commented casually.