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Alphonse Gambino

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The wave of heat which came off a sudden downpour of fire washed over Alphonse and his men.[break][break]

The hulking, eight-foot Kalosian had his typical, neutral expression on. Lidded eyes that looked on in a bored expression even as the glow of flame threw itself upon all in sundry. His jacket was still worn like a cape - and hid his huge arms from view somewhat. But his own grunts - The Minutemen - fought all around him against pirates left and right. To one side of him a Growlithe bit into a man's leg. And to the other - a pirate tried to club a Minuteman, Pokémon be damned.[break][break]

Alphonse had been in charge of this small cargo ship - and of course he had been attacked by bloody pirates. With his cigar between his teeth the man strode forward towards the belching flame in search of where the pirates were trying to board his vessel. From within the shadowy recesses of his cape there was a crisp snap and then a flash of light as a Pokémon was sent out. The man growled a single, unheard command to the Beldum - and it rammed itself into a pirate hard enough to crack several ribs.[break][break]

Al cast his gaze skyward - to find the source of the sudden assist. [break][break]

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After flying by the ship with a jet of fire, Dorian made another pass, in order to deploy two more of his Pokemon. A Houndoom and Incineroar would emerge from their Pokeballs, wasting no time in wreaking havoc on the ship, slaughtering pirates and Pokemon alike. Meanwhile, Dorian would fly towards the cargo ship that was under attack.

As Dorian approached, his Charizard, would take in the sunlight. Taking aim at some of the pirates on their Sharpedo, the Charizard would unleash a Solar Beam, sweeping her head in order to catch as many of the pirates as she could in the beam.

"To land, or to continue our aerial bombardment~", Dorian mused with a twisted grin.

---

tags: Alphonse Gambino
notes: Mission - Sink or Swim

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Alphonse Gambino

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If Dorian did choose to land, Alphonse might have considered it redundant. [break][break]

Sure, it was his ship being attacked - or rather, a ship under his command. But Al had defended it valiantly so far and his Minutemen and a couple of Rocket Grunts fought fiercely. Some used guns and others cudgels - but most, of course, used Pokémon. Alphonse made a sweeping gesture of one, massive arm and the Beldum seemed to respond as if it were an extension of Al's will. The Beldum was as a telekinetic limb for Al in that moment - and it bludgeoned into two more pirates who had come at Al, and then into their Liepard. The predatory Pokémon was a certifiable threat - though it was less of one in the water. And both Pokémon and its pirate owner fell into the sea.[break][break]

Al advanced on the pirate who hadn't gone overboard - and picked the man up by his neck. While Dorian was looking down and assessing the battlefield it wouldn't be hard to see the mob boss known as Minuit. Greater than eight feet tall he now lifted with a single hand a kicking, flailing pirate who was using both hands to try and pry steel-strong fingers from his throat. And when those searching hands reached down to blindly fumble for a Pokéball - Al twisted his hand and snapped the man's neck cleanly. Then he threw the corpse overboard too - and the nearest men would hear Alphonse growl something akin to:[break][break]

"Get off my ship."[break][break]

From there, Al looked up again to Dorian and raised a hand to hail him - whether or not Dorian decided to descend or to continue his reign of terror in the skies was of course his choice. But Al would sooner thank the man for coming to his aide. That was only polite to do after all and Alphonse Gambino was nothing if he was not a gentleman. Al waited upon one edge of the ship even as pirates and grunts clashed behind him. The man seemed bored by the conflict, eyes half-lidded as they regarded Dorian.

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Dorian took a moment to watch the action from his vantage point. It seemed the pirates chose the wrong ship to go after today. Even if Dorian hadn't come to attack, it seemed this group had the situation under control. Still, he was glad to get in on the action.

Dorian couldn't help but grin like an idiot as the mountain of a man hoisted a pirate by his neck, before snapping it, and dropping his corpse into the waters below. Dorian didn't know who the man was, but he already liked his style.

Dorian tossed a Pokeball onto the deck, unleashing Porkchop the Emboar. The Emboar would waste no time in clobbering pirate and Pokemon alike, further supporting the Minutemen who valiantly defended Rocket property.

Doprian gave the massive man a nod of approval and affirmation, before flying back towards the pirate's mothership, again blasting any pirate he spotted on the way over.

---

tags: Alphonse Gambino
notes: Mission - Sink or Swim

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Alphonse Gambino

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Alphonse watched the man soar upon the back of his Charizard. And it made Alphonse a little more capable of understanding the pastime shared with him by Josh Devlin . He had been impressed with his ride upon the back of Braver the Arcanine. Originally Alphonse had considered 'Riding Pokémon" an activity of children like his daughter or a colorful euphemism for some of the offerings by Edouard Dumont within the backrooms of his casinos and hotels. But now, Alphonse found he desired more than before to evolve some of his Pokémon that they might be able to support his weight. He knew that his Bagon would have no trouble once it was a Salamence - and Gyarados would be able to handle him as well.[break][break]

To see a man soar through the skies on the back of a dragon - well that was a symbol of power as old as time. And Alphonse could respect any man who controlled a dragon so completely. His bored expression changed slightly - a muted expression of curiosity as the Emboar was released. The stocky pig proved even more effective than Alphonse and his Beldum at doing damage - and though Minuit could not really find himself favoring the strange-looking Pokémon he did have to admit it was quite effective. Even without fire it seemed to command the battlefield - and much like Alphonse, it seemed Dorian had trained his Pokémon to act independently of his verbal commands. Alphonse had spent months doing the same - even before his Pokémon came to him these days, he would usually have them trained to understand certain short, non-verbal commands.[break][break]

But Al couldn't let Emboar have all the fun. And as the last of the pirates cowered away from the Emboar and turned to run - Alphonse brought his closed fist down into empty air from five yards away. The Beldum used tackle in perfect sync with Al's arm movements as if it were a telekinetic boxing glove. The pirate crumpled into a half-conscious heap before the Emboar - and Alphonse reached the pirate before the fire pig could. He picked this man up too - by his lapel this time, and stood him on his own two feet. He was the last pirate left alive on the Rocket Cargo ship - and though the pirates had their own vessel, Dorian was doing a bang-up job turning it into a tinderbox. Al looked over his shoulder to the pig - and spoke.[break][break]

"Well done. But I need one of them, at least, alive. I'm going to take this one below deck for some private conversation. If your master stops by please direct him below."[break][break]

And with that Al gave the man a hard shove between the shoulder blades that sent him stumbling towards the nearby staircase built into the ship.[break][break]

Al hadn't worked someone over for information in a long time - and he considered the burning pyre of the pirate ship a loss. He would have preferred to seize the ship himself and sell all of its assets. Pokémon and property could be repurposed - and people could be plunged for wealth and information. He wondered only for half-a-moment if Dorian would try to capture anyone on the ship alive. And then Al gave another shove that sent the terrified pirate tumbling down the stairs and into the darkness. He hesitated only for a half-step before issuing a command as one hand, unseen within the folds of his cape, fidgeted with something.[break][break]

"Beldum, return."[break][break]

And in a flash of light the hovering, steel Pokémon was recalled - and Al stepped down below decks.

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The Emboar would find himself having an easy time smashing through the pirates. Partially, it was thanks to the fact that many of them had turned tail to come to the aid of their mothership that the heat had died down.

The Emboar would give the large man a nod and a gruff cry, before 'tending' to the dead pirates aboard the ship. As he was trained to do so by Dorian, he would begin to consume the corpses of the fallen pirates. Though Alphonse wouldn't see this grisly sight, the Minutemen on the dock would surely bear witness to it.

Naia Kayode could attest to such brutality.

Aboard the mothership, the Houndoom and Incineroar duo continued their massacre of the pirates. The Houndoom's tail wrapped around the neck of one unfortunate pirate, tightening around the man's neck violently. At the same time, the Houndoom ripped the throat out of another pirate with his fangs.

The Incineroar charged into a group of pirates with Darkest Lariat, sending several of them plummeting into the waters below.

Dorian would land on the ship, casually strolling through the massacre playing out before him. A pirate would take aim at the Mad Dog. Before he could fire, his Houndoom found him first, pouncing on the man, and proceeding to tear his throat out with his fangs.

---

tags: Alphonse Gambino
notes: Mission - Sink or Swim

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Alphonse Gambino dorian westcliff

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Alphonse would set to work interrogating the pirate he had captured alive.[break][break]

Some men seemed like impenetrable fortresses of secrecy and confidence. They kept their master's secrets and would take most of them to the grave. Even when one really put the screws to them - some men would scream or cry out - but they wouldn't blab. They wouldn't be the proverbial set of loose lips that sunk a ship. Alphonse could respect men like that - and they gave him a challenge when it came time to work them over for information. He could always tip his hat to a man who kept his faith and silence. Alphonse had earned the scar across his face by keeping his silence - and it had nearly killed him. But he had remained quiet, and some men Alphonse knew would die before they broke and spilled their guts out to a captor.[break][break]

This pirate, however, was not one of those men.[break][break]

Alphonse had barely laid out the instruments of his work when the man began to panic. The pirate hiccupped and - Alphonse realized - was trying not to cry. He was a young man - nineteen or so. And Alphonse was perplexed why one so young should throw in with pirates - but the boy was a man in Al's eyes. No child protected by Alphonse's single rule against injuring youth. The boy had dug his own grave and Al wasn't going to let him off easy. This work was about sending a message, however - so he supposed that he could afford to make a deal with the young man. Alphonse could use the boy - he could plunge him for information and make an example of him. Well, a bigger example than that Dorian had made of the tinderbox that was the pirate ship.[break][break]

"Okay! I'll tell you everything! I'll let you know where we're laid up, how we get around so quick, whatever you wanna know, man! I'm telling you, I'll talk!"[break][break]

"I know you will." Alphonse said simply, and then he eyed the little handsaw which lay upon the cart of sharp instruments. He frowned - and gestured to a Minuteman.[break][break]

"You will talk. And you will survive our conversation. I'm not going to use these to interrogate you. There will be no need."[break][break]

The Minuteman handed a Pokéball to Al, and one flash of light later a large, yellow creature with a huge honking nose and a lazy look about him stood before the young pirate who was tied to his chair.[break][break]

"Drowzee, hypnotize him."[break][break]

The tapir-like Pokémon began to wave him arms slowly, methodically up and down in strange, fluid patterns. And soon the boy had eyes just as lidded as Alphonse's own. His lips were slightly parted - but no noise escaped him, and he stared at the Drowzee as if he were half-asleep. Alphonse nodded - and gave the Pokémon a dismissive wave of the hand. The psychic beast stopped waving his arms and seemed to simply watch the pirate, as if admiring its own handiwork. Alphonse didn't have the saw to use himself - nor to simply pry information from this coward of a boy.[break][break]

"Now, boy... Let us have a talk about what it means to be a pirate. And to steal from Team Rocket."

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