He tensed when touched, but relaxed as she spoke. It seemed surreal, that she wasn't angry about him being in Team Rocket. But it was a good kind of surreal. He couldn't help constantly expecting the worst and to be shown wrong is disorientating in a good way.

"Thank you." He murmured, sighing out in relief. "This has been coming for a long, long time. I actually took Robbie from them, when he was a Stufful. They never realised. But this is something they can't ignore and would seek to punish. I had to disappear, so they couldn't find me. Individually they are not strong, but as a group they would be able to overwhelm me. Even with the Pokemon I released at my side." He reached down and unclipped a Pokeball from his belt, thumb stroking over it.

Claudia returned Tseng's nuzzle, before drawing back. But she was still smiling, completely at ease with this intimacy. "I know you will. But we know how Team Rocket works. They rely on their numbers or on unfair odds to win a fight. Until we can be certain they are devoting large resources to finding Walter and Alessa, we must tread as ghosts do."