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"I don't know," Haze scrunched her eyebrows down, "It just seems…too bright."

She twirled once more in front of the full body mirror, scrutinizing the elegant golden Japanese outfit accented with silver seams. If you looked closely enough, you could see small flower designs embroidered all along the dress in the lines of silver. Although the dark red Blaziken couldn't quite bring herself to like the dress that adorned her.

"You're overthinking it. If anything you look beautiful in it," Dagger said as he leaned against a wall. Haze suddenly stopped in mid-twirl and turned toward the Gallade. She blinked a few times as she eyed Dagger to process what he just said. Dagger at the same time shifted on his feet and looked away. If Haze didn't know any better, she would have thought he was truly nervous…or was he?

"You really think I look 'beautiful' in this dress?" Haze asked half-jokingly, but with a hint of seriousness.

They both stood there in silence as the question set in for the Gallade.

"Well…" Dagger began, trying to find the right words.

The two stood in silence again as an air of tension filled the room. Haze opened her beak to say something else, but was cut off by the electronic sliding door opening as a person walked in.

"Well, this is new. I finally leave you two alone for more than five minutes and I don't come back to an argument."

It was their human partner, Jake, standing at the door, a mocking smile on his face as he entered his room in the PEF HQ. Of course, Haze and Dagger couldn't help but gawk at how different he looked right now and almost completely forget their earlier engagement. He wore a neatly trimmed black tuxedo that appeared to be hand tailored to make him look older in a good way. What really stuck out for the two pokemon the most was that his normally unruly black hair had been slicked back to give him a more sophisticated look.

Jake chuckled and entered the room, "So are we just having a staring contest or something?"

Haze shook her head to clear her mind, "Yeah and it's also the first time you don't look like a 12 year old kid."

Jake throw a scowl in her direction as the Blaziken chortled behind her joke that always got under Jake's skin.

"ANYWAYS, are you about ready, we got 15 minutes before we leave," Jake said to get them off his pet peeve topic.

"Just about," Haze waved her arm dismissively, "I thought I'd just look over my dress one more time."

"Like you did about several other times already," Dagger smartly remarked.

Haze bristled with annoyance and went to tell Dagger off.

'*sigh* here we go again,' Jake thought, but then began to think back to earlier that day when they received their mission.

---

Jake, Haze, and Dagger stood before Admin Dakota in the Intel room waiting for him to find the right files on his touch screen desk. Eventually, one of the comp techs took pity on the Admin and remotely pulled up the correct file for him to present.

"Ah, thank you Miranda," Admin Dakota said, "Now Jake, this next mission I'm about to give you is very important, and far more demanding than anything I've given you so far."

Dakota tapped on the file on the desktop to open it up and produced a window that scrolled a flourished looking letter of invitation.

Jake spoke aloud as he read it, "The 7th annual Hearthrome City gala and auction graciously invites all of Sinnoh to our prestigious event on the beginning day of the Fall season. Indulge in grand music, cuisine, and social interactions that the gala has to offer. And take part in the extravagant auction in which all funds are to be donated to the betterment of Sinnoh's Scholastic Society."

Jake looked up with a bit of confusion hoping to find the answer to what that meant through the Admin. Dakota saw his confusion and shifted the window aside to show another. This window scrolled a text log that was the all too familiar PEF mission report filled out by another member. Just as Jake started to read it, Dakota decided to paraphrase it to continue on with the briefing

"I've received a report that a couple items of great technological value are going to be up for auction in this year's Hearthrome City gala. I've also received word in this report that Team Sigma will most likely be making a move to procure these pieces of technology. The gala will be held tonight and I need a member of PEF to go undercover to apprehend any Team Sigma agents that are attempting to steal anything from the auction."

Jake took in the severity of this mission that he was being assigned. It would be his first undercover mission which brought a great level of anticipation and anxiety.

Then it hit Jake that there were a few things on his mind, "Sir, wouldn't it be easier to send a couple members as security to use a deterrent than just a member undercover?"

Dakota shook his head, "We already asked the Hearthrome City mayor if the PEF could provide additional security, but he refused ensuring that there was nothing of value in the auction that Team Sigma would want."

"Alright, but am I the only one going undercover? Why not send more members?"

Dakota shook his head again, "As much as I'd like to, we don't want to lose trust in the Sinnoh residents by going against their wishes. Though at the same time we can't just ignore any threat that Team Sigma poses to Sinnoh. That's why I can only send one member for this mission, and I know I can trust you to accomplish this."

Both Jake and Haze were stunned by how much faith they have been given by their Admin. Even Dagger raised an eyebrow to show his surprise.

"As I said, this is an undercover mission so you and one of your pokemon need disguises before you go tonight."

Jake leaned back in surprise, "Sir, why can't I take both Haze and Dagger?"

"Sorry Jake, but we can't risk Team Sigma catching onto us if they are there. As much as we went to stop them, we also want to try to apprehend any agents for interrogation to gain better intel on their master plan. With a smaller team, you have a better chance to blend into the crowd and catch Team Sigma off guard."

Jake began to contemplate this; on one hand, Dakota was right about making his team as small as possible to better catch Team Sigma off guard. Though at the same time, he didn't like the idea of leaving one of his teammates behind. Jake crossed his arms and looked from Haze to Dagger, furrowing his brow in concentration.

"…Haze, you and I are going to the gala."

Haze jumped in surprise, "Me?!"

Dagger just raised an eyebrow, his equivalent to a surprised look.

"Sorry Dagger, I just think Haze would have a better chance of blending into a crowd; no offense."

Dagger just shrugged, "None taken."

Dakota nodded as Jake made his decision, agreeing in the logic.

"Very well, but you won't exactly have to leave Dagger behind," Dakota said, "We can place him on standby outside the gala in case you need help."

"Sounds great," Jake said, "You okay with that, Dagger?"

Dagger nodded once.

Dakota began his conclusion of the mission briefing after the team decided their roles, "Right, as I said, this is an undercover mission so you will need disguises and you won't be able to take your Receiver."

"But sir, how will I get ahold of Dagger if I need back up?"

"Don't worry; I have Professor Alex whipping up a smaller, more concealable device you can use if things get rough."

This eased Jake's and his team's concern. With the plan set, Dakota directed Jake's team to the desktop again to finish preparing them for the mission.

"What time is it now Jake?" Haze asked.

Jake returned from his flashback and checked the sleek silver watch he was wearing. It looked like a normal, run of the mill analog watch and read '6:28'; though this was watch was a little more special. Hidden behind the winding watch hands, there was a transmitter that would send out a distress signal to a Receiver when the adjusting knob was pressed 3 times. Professor Alex, the one who had made the watch, had assured that the system was simple and easy to operate. Though Jake still felt a little worry that the little device might suddenly short circuit and electrocute him or something. But Professor Alex had told him that he personally tested it and nothing went wrong…there was still that little nagging feeling at the back of his mind though.

"The gala starts and 7:00 PM, so we have about half an hour," Jake said, "So let's go over the main points again."

Haze groaned, "Again?"

"Yes, again," Jake chuckled at Haze's childish reaction, "Alright; so first, Dakota already prepared our false ID's and registrations so we can appear to be just an average pokemon trainer team."

As Jake explained this, he and Haze looked over the papers they held that showed this.

"With this, no one should think we could be any different from anyone else there. Even so, we still need to maintain our cover. This means that when we are at the gala, my name is Trevor Martinez, an average pokemon trainer that does not have the ability to communicate with pokemon. Haze, you will be my starter pokmeon I received in Hoenn named Krystal, and we've traveled to Sinnoh to explore a new region after journeying through our own."

Haze pouted as she ran this over in her mind as well, "I wish you could have come up with a better name for me."

"Sorry Haze, the papers are already made," Jake responded, snickering inwardly, "Now while at the gala, our main objective is to keep an eye out for any signs of Team Sigma. If we do find anything suspicious, we are to call Dagger in for back up and confront the threat as discreetly as possible. Dagger, you will patrol the outside of the contest hall where the gala is being held. My watch also has a mini Receiver that you can signal me with if you notice anything suspicious."

Dagger nodded, "Understood."

"Good, it's just about time we get going so pack up anything we still need and go."

Description
"I don't know," Haze scrunched her eyebrows down, "It just seems…too bright."

She twirled once more in front of the full body mirror, scrutinizing the elegant golden Japanese outfit accented with silver seams. If you looked closely enough, you could see small flower designs embroidered all along the dress in the lines of silver. Although the dark red Blaziken couldn't quite bring herself to like the dress that adorned her.

"You're overthinking it. If anything you look beautiful in it," Dagger said as he leaned against a wall. Haze suddenly stopped in mid-twirl and turned toward the Gallade. She blinked a few times as she eyed Dagger to process what he just said. Dagger at the same time shifted on his feet and looked away. If Haze didn't know any better, she would have thought he was truly nervous…or was he?

"You really think I look 'beautiful' in this dress?" Haze asked half-jokingly, but with a hint of seriousness.

They both stood there in silence as the question set in for the Gallade.

"Well…" Dagger began, trying to find the right words.

The two stood in silence again as an air of tension filled the room. Haze opened her beak to say something else, but was cut off by the electronic sliding door opening as a person walked in.

"Well, this is new. I finally leave you two alone for more than five minutes and I don't come back to an argument."

It was their human partner, Jake, standing at the door, a mocking smile on his face as he entered his room in the PEF HQ. Of course, Haze and Dagger couldn't help but gawk at how different he looked right now and almost completely forget their earlier engagement. He wore a neatly trimmed black tuxedo that appeared to be hand tailored to make him look older in a good way. What really stuck out for the two pokemon the most was that his normally unruly black hair had been slicked back to give him a more sophisticated look.

Jake chuckled and entered the room, "So are we just having a staring contest or something?"

Haze shook her head to clear her mind, "Yeah and it's also the first time you don't look like a 12 year old kid."

Jake throw a scowl in her direction as the Blaziken chortled behind her joke that always got under Jake's skin.

"ANYWAYS, are you about ready, we got 15 minutes before we leave," Jake said to get them off his pet peeve topic.

"Just about," Haze waved her arm dismissively, "I thought I'd just look over my dress one more time."

"Like you did about several other times already," Dagger smartly remarked.

Haze bristled with annoyance and went to tell Dagger off.

'*sigh* here we go again,' Jake thought, but then began to think back to earlier that day when they received their mission.

---

Jake, Haze, and Dagger stood before Admin Dakota in the Intel room waiting for him to find the right files on his touch screen desk. Eventually, one of the comp techs took pity on the Admin and remotely pulled up the correct file for him to present.

"Ah, thank you Miranda," Admin Dakota said, "Now Jake, this next mission I'm about to give you is very important, and far more demanding than anything I've given you so far."

Dakota tapped on the file on the desktop to open it up and produced a window that scrolled a flourished looking letter of invitation.

Jake spoke aloud as he read it, "The 7th annual Hearthrome City gala and auction graciously invites all of Sinnoh to our prestigious event on the beginning day of the Fall season. Indulge in grand music, cuisine, and social interactions that the gala has to offer. And take part in the extravagant auction in which all funds are to be donated to the betterment of Sinnoh's Scholastic Society."

Jake looked up with a bit of confusion hoping to find the answer to what that meant through the Admin. Dakota saw his confusion and shifted the window aside to show another. This window scrolled a text log that was the all too familiar PEF mission report filled out by another member. Just as Jake started to read it, Dakota decided to paraphrase it to continue on with the briefing

"I've received a report that a couple items of great technological value are going to be up for auction in this year's Hearthrome City gala. I've also received word in this report that Team Sigma will most likely be making a move to procure these pieces of technology. The gala will be held tonight and I need a member of PEF to go undercover to apprehend any Team Sigma agents that are attempting to steal anything from the auction."

Jake took in the severity of this mission that he was being assigned. It would be his first undercover mission which brought a great level of anticipation and anxiety.

Then it hit Jake that there were a few things on his mind, "Sir, wouldn't it be easier to send a couple members as security to use a deterrent than just a member undercover?"

Dakota shook his head, "We already asked the Hearthrome City mayor if the PEF could provide additional security, but he refused ensuring that there was nothing of value in the auction that Team Sigma would want."

"Alright, but am I the only one going undercover? Why not send more members?"

Dakota shook his head again, "As much as I'd like to, we don't want to lose trust in the Sinnoh residents by going against their wishes. Though at the same time we can't just ignore any threat that Team Sigma poses to Sinnoh. That's why I can only send one member for this mission, and I know I can trust you to accomplish this."

Both Jake and Haze were stunned by how much faith they have been given by their Admin. Even Dagger raised an eyebrow to show his surprise.

"As I said, this is an undercover mission so you and one of your pokemon need disguises before you go tonight."

Jake leaned back in surprise, "Sir, why can't I take both Haze and Dagger?"

"Sorry Jake, but we can't risk Team Sigma catching onto us if they are there. As much as we went to stop them, we also want to try to apprehend any agents for interrogation to gain better intel on their master plan. With a smaller team, you have a better chance to blend into the crowd and catch Team Sigma off guard."

Jake began to contemplate this; on one hand, Dakota was right about making his team as small as possible to better catch Team Sigma off guard. Though at the same time, he didn't like the idea of leaving one of his teammates behind. Jake crossed his arms and looked from Haze to Dagger, furrowing his brow in concentration.

"…Haze, you and I are going to the gala."

Haze jumped in surprise, "Me?!"

Dagger just raised an eyebrow, his equivalent to a surprised look.

"Sorry Dagger, I just think Haze would have a better chance of blending into a crowd; no offense."

Dagger just shrugged, "None taken."

Dakota nodded as Jake made his decision, agreeing in the logic.

"Very well, but you won't exactly have to leave Dagger behind," Dakota said, "We can place him on standby outside the gala in case you need help."

"Sounds great," Jake said, "You okay with that, Dagger?"

Dagger nodded once.

Dakota began his conclusion of the mission briefing after the team decided their roles, "Right, as I said, this is an undercover mission so you will need disguises and you won't be able to take your Receiver."

"But sir, how will I get ahold of Dagger if I need back up?"

"Don't worry; I have Professor Alex whipping up a smaller, more concealable device you can use if things get rough."

This eased Jake's and his team's concern. With the plan set, Dakota directed Jake's team to the desktop again to finish preparing them for the mission.

"What time is it now Jake?" Haze asked.

Jake returned from his flashback and checked the sleek silver watch he was wearing. It looked like a normal, run of the mill analog watch and read '6:28'; though this was watch was a little more special. Hidden behind the winding watch hands, there was a transmitter that would send out a distress signal to a Receiver when the adjusting knob was pressed 3 times. Professor Alex, the one who had made the watch, had assured that the system was simple and easy to operate. Though Jake still felt a little worry that the little device might suddenly short circuit and electrocute him or something. But Professor Alex had told him that he personally tested it and nothing went wrong…there was still that little nagging feeling at the back of his mind though.

"The gala starts and 7:00 PM, so we have about half an hour," Jake said, "So let's go over the main points again."

Haze groaned, "Again?"

"Yes, again," Jake chuckled at Haze's childish reaction, "Alright; so first, Dakota already prepared our false ID's and registrations so we can appear to be just an average pokemon trainer team."

As Jake explained this, he and Haze looked over the papers they held that showed this.

"With this, no one should think we could be any different from anyone else there. Even so, we still need to maintain our cover. This means that when we are at the gala, my name is Trevor Martinez, an average pokemon trainer that does not have the ability to communicate with pokemon. Haze, you will be my starter pokmeon I received in Hoenn named Krystal, and we've traveled to Sinnoh to explore a new region after journeying through our own."

Haze pouted as she ran this over in her mind as well, "I wish you could have come up with a better name for me."

"Sorry Haze, the papers are already made," Jake responded, snickering inwardly, "Now while at the gala, our main objective is to keep an eye out for any signs of Team Sigma. If we do find anything suspicious, we are to call Dagger in for back up and confront the threat as discreetly as possible. Dagger, you will patrol the outside of the contest hall where the gala is being held. My watch also has a mini Receiver that you can signal me with if you notice anything suspicious."

Dagger nodded, "Understood."

"Good, it's just about time we get going so pack up anything we still need and go."