islandshore | Voicemail/IC and OOC contact;

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Voicemail/IC and OOC contact;

"This is Riku. Looks like you just missed me, so leave a message, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

If you're here for Training Center business, press 0, and I'll redirect you to our info."

[Should characters press 0, they'll be presented with a list of options:

1. Purchase pass.
2. Arrange battle.
3. Arrange private training.
4. Rental services.
5. Job opportunities.
6. Pokémon roster.

If your character presses 6, the following list will appear:]

[A second list pops up labeled "All-Out Only:"]

[A third and final list pops up labeled "Special Requests:"]

[If a character clicks on a Pokémon, a menu will pop up listing their stats, moves, whether they're available for rent, and their current status. See here for details.]

PGC contact;

[However, that's not all. Riku's set up a secure line, with its own automated message.]

"You've reached the Pokemon Guardian Corps. If you're here to report an emergency, press 1. If you're here to join the cause, press 2. For all other purposes, stay on the line."

[ooc: Please head your comments appropriately with video, text, and voice and note if you're calling for Training Center Arrangements.

For OOC Training Center business, please note which service you'd like to arrange. For rentals, list the Pokémon your character is requesting, what they'll be used for, and the total cost if your char is after more than one. I'm more than happy to handwave pass purchases, since I realize that repeatedly noting purchases could get a little time consuming.

For a job, I'm cool with an IC interview or OOC coordination. Whatever works best.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

You were the one who spoke of trying to protect against Team Rocket, correct?

So I've done some very low-key snooping and I think I've got an idea of some of the other businesses that are owned by my employer's parent company.

Which would be our sister-tower in Violet, Silph Co. in Saffron, and the Game Center here in Goldenrod.

Make of that what you will.

[Look, you need to give a little to prove you're trustworthy, right? And it's not like people don't already suspect Silph Co anyway.]

[Oho. Well, this is some juicy intel right there. Game Corner's not a surprise, but Violet and Silph? Huh.]

Appreciate the leads. You know if Lavender's one of them, too?

Either way, that gives us more areas to add to the watchlist. But man, if they've got Silph, that's... definitely not tipping the odds in our favor.

But I guess it was always gonna be an uphill battle...

Sorry. I actually *meant* Lavender Town. I had a late night last night and my brain went 'Town named after the color purple... Must be Violet Town.' The one with all those ghosts and the other radio tower in Kanto, not the one here with Alph. Although there's probably some presence there anyway.

But yeah, not great odds. I know one of Armin's friends suspects Silph Co already, though. We were talking about it on the gear before prom.

The Game Center makes a lot of sense to me, though. I mean, it's gambling. One of the things the mob is classically involved in. And what is my parent company but the pokemob?

Edited 2020-10-06 23:20 (UTC)

Yeah, that's me. Who's asking?

Hey, it happens when you've got all these color-coordinated towns. I get it.

And you're right. Gambling's always kinda seedy as it is. Bet it's a great way to turn a profit, though. Those games are basically designed as an addictive money sink.

Ah, I might have some information that would be useful for you. Though I'd prefer to speak either in person or on the video function of these things?

Only due to not having figured out the security settings on these messages, I assure you.

Exactly.

Silph Co, I assume, is what they use as an outlet for profitable/marketable inventions that their scientists come up with, while keeping the more nefarious ones to themselves--as well as a respectable front operation whose books they can cook to hide their criminal profits. And, of course, their monopoly on mass-market pokeball production means that even if my parent company should fall short on funds, they can just borrow from Silph Co, who is making money hand over fist on the things.

(It makes you wonder how much of the attack on Kurt this summer was *really* over the old Slowpoke Well grudge and how much it was about his handcrafted balls being Silph Co's only competition.)

I can do in-person or video. Up to you.

Guess it depends on what's most convenient. I'm all the way out in Celadon, so if it's easier to just switch over, I get it.

I have a contact inside the organization now. Sweet kid too. It's too bad she's been press-ganged by the pokemob.

Only problem is that she's as new as hell and doesn't know much about anything yet. But hey, it's something, right?

(She recently did a public post on the 'gear. If you see it, be nice to her and don't go pointing fingers? She really *is* a good kid, despite it all.)

[Scorpia is his favorite newbie to crime mentor, but she has to work on maybe not giving away she's a Rocket on her very first public post, so he doesn't have to make up bullshit like this so that Riku won't be suspicious of their friendship.]

Edited 2020-11-02 05:00 (UTC)

Huh. That the newbie with the two starters? I had a hunch, but with an attitude like that...

Man. I hope the Rockets don't chew her up and spit her back out. I'll see what I can do, though, and I definitely appreciate the heads up.

Yeah, that's her. Like I said, she's a really sweet kid. Gives great hugs too. I encouraged her to catch her bi-weekly quota--did you know they *have* to turn a pokemon in every other week or they get in trouble with the admins?--instead of stealing it, like they're told to.

(Also, I can confirm now that there's a sub-basement system that you need a special key card to get the Tower elevator to take you to it.)

But honestly, Riku, I really do feel bad for some of the people who're stuck as Rockets. Sure, you've got the kind of jerks who set off bombs for fun, but you've also got people like my new friend, who're perfectly nice and kind people who happened to wake up in a mysterious underground facility instead of with Fake Mom--and then they get indoctrinated into a criminal organization. Don't get me wrong, there's some definite bad guys in there, but I suspect a *lot* of them are good people in an uncomfortable situation.

[Honestly, it's true. He'd count himself among the bad guys--he enjoys crime far too much, after all--but so many of the youngest Rockets have been nice kids. Nice kids that he's played crime uncle to.

He doesn't regret it. Someone has to look out for the Londons, Scorpias, and Steve Palchuks of this world.]

Edited 2020-11-08 01:54 (UTC)

[This is slightly backdated, but somewhere around the fifth/sixth of January, every Aurora League member is going to get one of these. It's a hand-written letter with a Pelagic gym letterhead leaving no doubts as to the sender.

It reads:]

I hope this letter will not be seen as me overstepping my bounds but --

I think the Aurora League should meet.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noticed that strange things are happening -- first the wild rumours about pokemon losing control, then the incident at the Safari zone, and now the message that was visible in the sky during the New Year.

Perhaps I'm worrying too much, but it is starting to feel like what happened a year ago when that creature managed to find its way into this world. That didn't come out of nowhere either; there were several smaller events that preceded it though we didn't see the connection at the time. I'm not necessarily saying that this is because of that same creature (though 'He will be back' could certainly be a reference to it) but something certainly seems to be going on. And perhaps this time, if we act early enough, we can put a stop to things before it gets that bad.

I know the Pokemon League is undoubtedly monitoring this situation too, but there is no reason why we of the Aurora League couldn't look into things as well. Or at the very least share our thoughts. Several of us are gym leaders and come into contact with a lot of trainers. Someone may have heard or seen something that, on its own, isn't particularly troubling, but if put together with other, similar accounts, could indicate something brewing.

Plus, even if there is nothing to share of that sort, I think it would be good to get to know each other a bit better. Several new members have joined us since that November. Who knows, we might need to depend on each other again in battle, and wouldn't knowing more about each other and how we fight help if it ever comes to that again? It's easier to trust someone at your back if you know what kind of person they are.

I know all of us are pretty busy, but I'm hoping you could all make time to meet on the 27th of January. That is still nearly three weeks from now, which should give those of us with gym schedules and other jobs enough time to arrange for some time off. I've even found a good place to meet at, where we can both talk and even battle if people would like. I've enclosed the address on a separate card in this envelope.

I hope to see you all there, though please let me know if you cannot make it.

Yours truly,

Armin Arlert

PS. Please do not worry about the costs involved. When I asked Lance for suggestions on where to meet, he told me the Pokemon League has a discretionary fund for these kinds of things.

[As mentioned, there is a card inside the envelope with the address of a battle club in Viridian City.]

I've been putting off telling you this, but I'm not working in the Newsroom anymore, so I don't know how often I can pass on anything to the PGC after this. It wasn't because I was frightened. It was because Tyler disappeared back in December and someone had to step in for him at Fight Club and I quickly realized that I couldn't be the main person running it *and* work at the Radio Tower *and* have a life.

However, I'm still friends with that Rocket girl I told you about, though, and I even hired her at Fight Club as a bouncer, so we have regular reasons to interact. And also because I figure it might encourage the other Rockets not to interfere with the business. She's a good kid. I mean, she was out at Christmas, but evidently it was mandatory, so I don't hold it against her so much.

(She's still catching her quota rather than stealing them. Some of the other Rockets who were press-ganged like her are doing the same thing. This could possibly be considered a good sign?)

Hey! A charming young lady said you're the guy to contact about things involved with trying to address Team Rocket's activities. My name's Claude von Riegan, and I'd be interested in potentially offering my services...assuming you want them, of course.

Also I may or may not be in some hot water with Team Rocket already, so let's just say I'm motivated.

Hey, we're always looking for more recruits. Especially right now. After what happened over the holidays... Geez.

But what exactly's got you on their radar?

Well, it's related to what happened over the holidays! Specifically, I may have...borrowed one of their members' uniforms to do some light reconnaissance among their ranks.

[Which is to say, Claude stole a Rocket uniform right off a grunt's back and tried to infiltrate them. This didn't meet with a whole lot of success, but it was certainly audacious.]

I may have been seen. And threatened. By several individuals.

Edited 2021-01-25 11:17 (UTC)

Oh dang. That's pretty gutsy.

[Impressive. Definitely a good detail to add to a metaphorical resume.]

So basically, you got on their bad side and now you've got a target on your back.

Heh. Well, as someone who's probably in the same boat, I'd have to be pretty dense to turn you down. Always good to see initiative.

I've always had a habit for coming up with wild schemes and big gambles back home. It hasn't really changed here.

That said, I don't know how on the bad side of Team Rocket as a whole I am. I snagged a couple backup pokémon they were lending out to their foot soldiers - very weak ones - and I definitely annoyed a few of their operatives personally, but I don't know if I made anywhere near enough of an impact to get the organization's attention as a whole. I can't pretend my plan was particularly effective...but hey, it was the best I could come up with on the fly.

I have to say, the biggest draw for me of whatever resistance you've put together is more information about Team Rocket itself. I've got a thousand questions.

I can try to answer at least some of them. Can't say I'm the biggest authority of how they operate now, but I've seen their past schemes and I know how desperate they can get.

Well, the biggest question I have ties into their recruitment policy, if you can call strong-arming new arrivals into their ranks recruitment. How is it that the people they're forcing to work for them haven't collapsed the whole works from the inside by now? The person who recommended me to you told me that the location of their headquarters is more or less known thanks to someone on the inside, and I can't imagine all the things people literally forced into their ranks could give away out of dissatisfaction and spite.

I've also been wondering - someone told me that people can't be killed in this world. That you just wake up after 'dying' at a Pokécenter, so murder is impossible and people only die of natural causes here. Assuming that's true...I can imagine Team Rocket would be an organization very eager to try to find some kind of loophole in that clause. Death's an effective threat and tool in the hands of the unscrupulous and criminal, after all. Depending on how depraved they are, I could see them testing to see just how far one can stretch the definition of 'natural causes'. You don't know if they've gone to such extremes, do you?

I ask because one of the Rockets I pissed off definitely made a throat-slashing motion at me before he escaped, so I'm trying to figure out if that was an empty threat, a threat from someone who doesn't know murder is off the table in these parts, or an indication of something I need to keep an eye on.

I'm not sure why, either. There's no way every new Rocket recruit's on board with what they gotta do, so you'd think there'd be a more concentrated effort to gut it from the inside out.

All I can think of is their resources, numbers, and presence are the problem. You might not be able to die, but torture's probably still in the cards. Or they could bribe their members with money and benefits, too.

Guess the other option's that the immortality only applies to us? Would make for an odd imbalance, though.

Is it immortality? I was just under the impression we couldn't be murdered. Does it extend further than that?

Hmm... Not sure about old age.

Think part of it's the average ballpark most of us show up as. Usually kids to early twenties. Sometimes thirties and forties, but we haven't had a whole lot of elderly people show up, let alone stick it out long enough to die of natural causes.

I know the locals can die, though. Otherwise Pokemon like Yamask and Phantump wouldn't exist.

I had it explained to me as something like "we can't die of anything but natural causes", although to be fair, I don't know it's that's exactly been tested, so much as it's the current working hypothesis. What seems to be known for sure is that murder here doesn't lead to any kind of permanent death, at least not for outsiders like us, but it may be that any other functions or limits beyond that are pretty murky.

Anyway, I guess this is all getting kind of off-topic. It seems like you've got the same kinds of questions I do, and no answers yet. So setting that aside - what kind of anti-Rocket organization is this that you're running? What sorts of things do you and whoever you're working with do? And how can I help?

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

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Voicemail/IC and OOC contact;

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[encrypted, text] oops. thought I got this! my bad

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You're good, no worries

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11/1 (text encrypted)

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Re: 11/1 (text encrypted)

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1/17 (backdated)

Mid-January

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apologies for the delay! been a bit busy with work-related things

np!

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