Nights passed in rapid succession. Everything had been quiet and peaceful as of late. There hadn't been any more attacks on the Team Star bases, but each of the crews remained vigilant. The thieving pokemon were still out there. Small towns across Paldea were still falling prey to them. Fortunately, Atticus and Eri had the endurance to be on the lookout every night, despite the exhaustion slowly creeping up on them. The grunts had the luxury of taking turns, but the bosses had no such luck. Even now, Atticus did his best to stay awake, sitting outside of his tent in a meditative state.

"Hey, Atticus?" The ninja peeled his eyes open to look at the grunt. "Would you, uh, like a drink? Maybe a soda or coffee?"

"Nay, I need no caffeinated beverages." He forced back a yawn that threatened to escape him. "Please, do not concern thyself with me. You need only focus on keeping our base safe."

The grunt was about to respond when an aroma hit his nose. "What's that smell? It's…almost sickeningly sweet."

Atticus lifted part of his hood in order to sniff the air. "The fiends are here!" Shaking off his weariness, he was on his feet in an instant. "Alert everyone! We must be prepared to fight!"

The grunt took off for the little microphone by their boss's tent where announcements could be made to the entire crew. "Heads up, gang! Our pilfering pokemon are in the area! Get ready to defend our base with everything you've got!"

All over the base, grunts were scrambling around and calling out their pokemon. Atticus brought out his team as well, but he immediately noticed something wrong. Three of his five pokemon were wobbling around as if they were in a trance. Atticus tried giving them orders, but they didn't seem to hear him at all. A lot of grunts were having a similar problem. Muk, Revavroom, and Dragalge were unable to do anything. However, Skuntank and Toxapex were able and willing to act at his command. Why are only some of them affected by the aroma? he asked himself. What sets them apart from the other pokemon?

The realization hit him, and he was quick to return his incapacitated pokemon. "The scent! It's affecting the male pokemon!"

A dark figure suddenly leapt from a nearby tree, sailing past the ninja and his pokemon to hide in the darkness. Before he could issue a command to his team, a glob of purple poison covered Toxapex. Surprisingly, the poison type was afflicted by its effects. Atticus returned Toxapex, jumping back alongside Skuntank to avoid another Toxic attack.

"Poison that can inflict other poison types." He narrowed his eyes to peer through the darkness. "There's only one pokemon with that ability." Catching a glimpse of movement in the shadow of a tent, Atticus directed Skuntank toward it. "Flamethrower!"

Skuntank aimed a blast of fire at the unknown creature, watching it leapt from its hiding place. Just as suspected, a Salazzle crouched before him, hissing and lashing her tail. It was no wonder the slippery lizard had managed such surprise attacks. That also explained the sweet, enticing scent that had all the male pokemon stumbling about like lovesick fools. But how could one Salazzle cause all that by herself? As if to answer that question, something far bigger landed between the Salazzle and the ninja. The piercing gaze of a Grimmsnarl landed on the boy and his partner. Taking her chance, the Salazzle darted away to escape.

"No!"

He barely took one step after her before a punch from the Grimmsnarl forced him to jump back to avoid being squished.

"Out of the way, wretch! Skuntank, use Toxic!"

A glob of purple fluid was shot from her tail tip. Grimmsnarl dodged the attack and went after Skuntank with its fist, forcing her to run and avoid the attack. Atticus only now realized he wasn't the only one in a bind. He looked around to see his teammates battling against powerful foes. There was an Ursaring, a Tyranitar, a Salamence, a Beartic, and even a Gyarados slithering around causing havoc. The whole base was in chaos.

"We don't have time for this," Atticus muttered through clenched teeth. "Ready yourself, Skuntank, and use Sucker Punch!"

Skuntank baited the Grimmsnarl to attack, and when it lunged, she moved so quickly that it couldn't get away. Her glowing claw made contact, or at least, it should have. The opponent vanished into thin air right when she touched it, catching her by surprise and nearly making her fall on her face. A shocked gasp left the ninja's lips.

"What…?" He paused to look around. Every grunt was busy in an impossible battle against tough foes. None of the opposing pokemon were landing or receiving hits. "This is all…a ruse. Nothing more than a distraction!"

Upon scanning the area, he spotted something amid the ongoing conflict. A dark figure slipping out of a tent with a bag full of purloined goods. Returning Skuntank, Atticus took off running after them. With his agility, he ducked and dodged battling pokemon and grunts. The figure looked his way, noticing him, and started fleeing. It was too big to be the Salazzle from before, and the way it ran was too…human. Fortunately, the stolen items were slowing the thief down, allowing Atticus to catch up. When he was in range, he tackled the foe to the ground, making them let go of the bag in the process. Sitting himself on their back, he effectively pinned the perpetrator down.

"Caught you, vile wretch!" Atticus suddenly froze, sitting up slightly to look them over. He couldn't believe his eyes. "Lady…Violet?"

The person was facedown on the ground, but the Salazzle outfit was unmistakable now that he got a clear look at it. Her familiar face became visible when she turned her hooded head to glare at him.

"No… This…this cannot be…" Atticus got off her, stunned. "The thief is…you." Violet said nothing in response. She just slowly picked herself up off the ground. "Lady Violet, whatever is the meaning of this? Please, tell me what is-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence before she abruptly kicked his legs out from under him, making him fall back on the ground. Snatching the bag again, she turned and ran once more. Shaking off the shock and jumping to his feet, the ninja gave chase again. He leapt over the fence surrounding the base in order to follow her. The nimble girl suddenly jumped up into a tree, and Atticus was quick to copy her. She might've been swift and light on her feet, but so was he. The sounds of the battles grew distant as they hopped from tree to tree.

"Lady Violet!" Atticus called. "Please, wait! I merely wish to speak!"

The girl ignored his plea. She was forced to stop when a branch she landed on snapped. She fell from the tree, dropping the bag and tumbling and rolling across the ground to keep from getting hurt. That mishap gave Atticus enough time to catch up with her. Potions and supplies littered the tall grass where the bag had come open. He paid them no mind, and instead, marched over to grab hold of the girl. Snatching her arm as soon as she stood surprised her.

"My lady, please…"

Violet readied her free hand to hit him, but he was quick to snatch her wrist and push her back into the tree she'd fallen from. Still, she squirmed to try and free herself.

"Would you just talk to me!"

The sudden outburst surprised Atticus as much as it did her. He was normally never one to shout in such a manner. Finally, Violet stilled, her heavy breathing matching his. Letting go of one of her arms, Atticus pulled down his headwear to show his misty eyes. Locking eyes with him, the girl allowed his shaky hand to push her hood off her head, fully uncovering her face.

"A-Atticus…" she whispered. Violet was holding back the urge to cry, but her watery eyes were evident. "I'm sorry…"

"Since when did you become a thief? Since when did you decide…to deceive me?"

The girl was taken aback by how shaken he sounded. His expression was one of sorrow. Slowly, his grip on her arm loosened, but he remained attentive to whatever she may say or do.

"I-I never deceived you," she answered honestly. "You've always been my friend. That hasn't changed." She glanced down at her suit. "And I really was using the outfit you made me for gymnastics…at first."

"But you stopped going to school and you never answered my calls. Please, Lady Violet, tell me what's going on. What's happened to make you turn to a life of burglary? I wish to understand."

Violet could tell by his slightly more casual manner of speaking that he truly cared to know. She'd only seen him break character a couple times before, and it was always when he was overly emotional. Just as she opened her mouth to explain, a threatening hiss made Atticus twist around. The Salazzle from before was skulking toward them.

"It's okay, Salazzle," the goth said. Salazzle stood, tilting her head inquisitively. Violet turned her gaze to the tiny Starly hiding in the tree above. "And you can come down now. We've been caught."

Salazzle seemed to eye Atticus suspiciously as she went to her trainer's side. As for the Starly, it hopped down, transforming to land on large claws replacing the wings it previously had. The Zoroark growled softly at the ninja, moving closer to the girl. Violet rubbed Salazzle's head and gently scratched Zoroark behind her ears to get her attention off Atticus.

"You both did so well. I'm proud of you. But it seems we've finally met our match."

Atticus watched the trio, touched by the affection and loyalty the two pokemon showed Violet. "So, you had Salazzle draw our attention and incapacitate those in the way, and used Zoroark's illusions to give you an easy getaway. I must say, thy ingenuity is quite impressive. How did you use Salazzle's pheromones to such an extent?"

Violet sighed. "Not exactly something to be proud of, but I taught her to use Sweet Scent to strengthen the potency of her pheromones. All she has to do is sneak around and fill the area with the smell." Hugging her arms, she locked eyes with him. "So, um, do you really wanna hear me explain everything?"

Atticus nodded. "I do."

"Well, for starters, I apologize for ghosting you. I only did it because I didn't want to make you into a criminal, too. Team Star had its own problems to deal with, so making you into thieves was the last thing I wanted."

"I see. I accept your apology. Pray when did all this begin exactly?"

"After you made me this outfit," the girl answered honestly. "I started small when I…needed the extra money. At school, I'd started pickpocketing. No one ever noticed me anyway, so it was easy to get away with it. But over time, I started putting my gymnastics skills to use and hit up a shop in Artazon. Even though I knew it was wrong…" She leaned back against the tree trunk, a single tear slipping free. "It was…thrilling. For once in my life, people took notice of me. I was there. I wasn't invisible anymore. All the headlines were about the mystery thieves striking Paldea. It was a fun, effective way to get easy money. I never wanted to target Team Star's bases, but I needed something while the heat died down in the towns." She started crying in earnest, unable to hold back any longer. "I'm sorry, Atticus. I never wanted to cause you and your friends so much trouble."

Her pokemon leaned into her, both ashamed and apologetic as well. With a sad smile, Atticus stretched his arms out. Violet stared at him through teary eyes, then slowly approached him to accept his invitation. She grabbed hold of his shirt and buried her face in his shoulder, feeling his arms wind around her. The embrace was comforting. Atticus knew how to soothe her, that was for sure.

"You can have…your supplies…" the girl mumbled through her cries. "I've already sold…the stuff from the other bases… Sorry…"

"You are forgiven, my lady. And you have my word that all of this shall remain between us."

Violet picked her head up to show her stunned expression. "What…? You can't be serious…"

"But I am." He reached up, using his fingers to wipe away her tears. "Thou art my friend, Lady Violet, and as a friend, I will gladly carry this secret to my grave if thou wish it. But under one condition."

Violet was quick to nod. "Anything."

"You must tell me why. What has driven you to the life of a petty bandit? Why do you need so much money in the first place?"

Violet stepped back, clutching her hands to her chest. "Because what I treasure most needs that money." She noticed the puzzled look on his face. "It'll be easier if I show you. Here, return the supplies and meet me outside of Tagtree Thicket."

"Very well. I'll be but a moment."