- ✩ ── 𝐀𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍 ！
❝ 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝚃 𝙸 ❞ male • 21 • snagger • gateon port • tags: --
Good old Gateon Port was as fetid as ever. The smell of the sea was sickening today, pooling through the streets of the entire town like a cold morning fog. Adrian had been to the city many a time, though, and he was used to its eccentricities, including the permanent saline smell. He would've rather been back home in Pyrite Town, but for the last few months he'd been moving around a lot more, in no small part thanks to the task he'd been given by the professor back at the pokemon lab. It still felt a bit strange to him that Professor Willow had recruited him for such a mission. He was little more than a street urchin from Pyrite Town, with a moral compass that was much less straight and narrow than someone like Professor Willow's. He certainly wouldn't have given himself a machine that could steal pokemon, but it hadn't been his decision to make. Professor Willow must have seen something in him. Maybe it was just that he was streetwise; he'd been around and had seen trainers with shadow pokemon, as well as knowing a bit about how groups like Team Cipher worked. She had seemed to recognize this in him while he'd been training with her and the other snaggers, but there was no way for him to be sure of what was going on in her own head. Most of the others had stuck around for a bit longer than him, but many were also younger and more uncertain about the idea of using a machine to steal pokemon from other trainers. It wasn't the first time Adrian had even done something like steal a pokemon, but he had never used a snag machine before - only smuggled away pokemon coming in on shipments. Stealing a pokemon in battle the way a snagger had to was a different beast altogether.
Adrian's absol walked beside him, claws clicking quietly as his red eyes scanned the passersby carefully. Even outside his pokeball, Judas almost never left Adrian's side. Even when he was startled, he never ran off or jumped out in front of Adrian, just stood by his side like a soldier at attention. He'd always been a bit of an odd pokemon, at least as long as Adrian had known him for. Now, Adrian needed him and Jezebel more than ever, and the two seemed to know it. He felt like he hadn't seen as much of Team Cipher as he should have, though. Well, it wasn't like he was in a hurry to get on with wrangling shadow mons or anything, but the thought still made him a little uneasy. Cipher probably knew they had people after them now, and they were getting stronger by the day. Who knew how many they had on their side by now? And, on top of that, how many shadow pokemon had they already created? Cleansing them all was bound to be no easy task, even for a group of trainers. Of course, Adrian the thought didn't worry Adrian quite as much as it should have. He had Cipher figured for type of organization that eventually collapsed on top of itself no matter what, and he was sure he could survive until such a time as that happened. But, if he had to choose, he would rather the organization didn't get much further than it already had. That sentiment, in its simplest form, was why he had accepted the role of a snagger in the first place. Life in an Orre ruled by Team Cipher wasn't unthinkable, but it would be a much harder life for Adrian than his current one. Therefore, it was better to stop them before they got ahead.
Maybe that was a cynical way to look at things. Oh well. Adrian was distracted from his train of thought when he noticed Judas stiffen and glare harshly at something Adrian couldn't pinpoint. There weren't many people out yet, and Orre didn't have wild pokemon (especially not in Gateon Port), so what was it Judas was staring towards? Adrian immediately reverted to pretending not to notice and subtly slipped his hand into his bag to touch his snag machine. He didn't like wearing the thing on his arm at all times; it was a dead giveaway to anyone that he was capable of stealing their pokemon and would no doubt try. Any member of Team Cipher would take note immediately and avoid him like a plague. It was better if he retained the element of surprise.
- ❧ ── 𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐑 ！
❝ 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝚃 𝙸 ❞ male • 41 • cipher admin • citadark isle (cipher hq) • tags: --
Lab work was, at times, dreadfully boring. But, it was necessary. Alistair took his organization's work very seriously, even down to the minute details that others usually preferred to ignore. Perhaps that was why he was here, back at the base, instead of out and about at Gateon Port. Not that he would've preferred that - Gateon was a rather unsightly place, and Alistair didn't always get along too well with the other administrators when they were assigned together. Julian certainly knew that - and it could have been a motivator for him to keep them separated when the stakes were set so high. But, of course, Alistair could never truly decipher the motives of another, not even their leader. But, in many ways, he was glad he was here taking stock of the lab (or overseeing others taking stock of the lab) rather than fighting to get a bunch of pokemon off a ship. Marie was on his heels as he moved industriously throughout the room, following dutifully but watching him with an air of irritation. She had grown quite used to being doted on at every opportunity, as had his other pokemon - aside from xerneas, which was out of its poke ball less than the others due to its powerful and volatile nature. Despite the reputation of shadow pokemon as unruly and difficult to control, Alistair had found his to be fairly agreeable, perhaps even more so than Marie, who was the only non-shadow pokemon on his team at the moment. It might have been due to the fact that Alistair's were pokemon with more timid dispositions. Either way, he didn't particularly like insubordinate pokemon, but the power of shadow pokemon was not to be trifled with. That was why Cipher kept creating them, after all. With enough shadow pokemon, they could become unstoppable.
Ah, a nice thought. A pity said thought was interrupted when his furfrou leaned up and bit the edge of his coat in her teeth, causing him to stumble and drop his clipboard. "Marie!" He scoffed in a scolding manner, scowling down at her as he quickly lept to recover everything he had scattered. The pokemon remained indignant. Ah, but he couldn't stay angry at her. She was perhaps the only living thing he would ever tolerate such rude behavior from. Plus, she looked so lovely today in her debutante trim. It might have been his favorite style for her fur, alongside the la reine - though the matron trim suited her as well. It was important to him that his pokemon look their most elegant and graceful at all times; he didn't know how other trainers managed to get on with ugly or plain-looking pokemon. With his composure regained, Alistair went back to taking stock of the lab, this time taking off one of his white gloves to rub Marie's head as she walked beside him.
