Lex is tense, curious, and excited all at the same time. The weight of responsibility that comes with a Shadow Pokemon sits heavy on her shoulders but the prospect of what she can bring to her team is thrilling. The thief is pleased Cillian Quinn accepted her request for some advice on handling the Gardevoir. There really is no one better than the Underboss.

Other than amidst the chaos on the island, Lex hasn’t seen Gavin since their recruitment meeting. A lot of things have changed since then. Kaito is still after her but with Killian Decker back in her life there is a renewed sense of confidence that makes her far less timid. Combined with Valerio Dachev’s mentorship, she may actually be ready for this challenge.

“I am proud,” she admits with a small smile, “But not stupid,” Lex is painfully aware of her limitations, and is not afraid to recognize them. She is a careful woman, one that threads warily to keep herself at an advantage and avoid the opposite.

Her eyes curiously study the Roserade. Although intimately familiar with the grass-type, this one was quite different. It sparks the same curiosity the Gardevoir did when Lex first saw it. It doesn’t seem as feral as she expects from a shadow pokemon. Of course, Gavin has probably worked with it extensively.

Her head shakes, the long red ponytail flicking back and forth, “I haven’t spent any time with it yet,” it isn’t that she is scared, it is more so she wants to be careful. An arena made to contain it, should she not be able to control it is better than the open world, “Yes I do,” Lex turns her gaze back to Gavin, “If I can’t bond with it, how am I expected to gain its . . . obedience?” For the lack of a better term. Her current team relies on their bond to function like a well-oiled machine. Trust has been built, and it extends both ways.

Notes: Cillian Quinn

Gavin laughs, a deep and surprisingly pleasant sound that echoes in the large space.

He does not seem disappointed by the knowledge that she has yet to interact with the Gardevoir, merely nodding as if ticking off some mental box. He had expected questions, and so does not seem perturbed when she asks them.

"A strong bond is not the only way to inspire obedience." There's a grim note to the words as he remembers her reasons for pursuing Team Rocket. Escaping the past, escaping the same forced obedience the underboss alludes to. "You must let it know in no uncertain terms that you are in control. I don't mean through violence," he adds, shaking his head. "My Sandslash was determined to kill me when I pulled it from the labs. There was no bond between us, but I did not let it out where it could harm me until there was an understanding between us."

He releases it now, frost spreading around the corrupt creature's clawed feet as it surveys the room.

"Often, the best thing to do is to find an outlet for their aggression. Gardevoir, however... it possesses a different temperament than this one, here." He indicates his Sandslash with a lazy hand. "I think a commanding presence is what it needs."

Gavin is right in his thoughts that forced obedience doesn’t sit well with her. Having experienced it herself, she understands the resentment that some along with it and the desire to betray the master when presented with the opportunity – she did.

She listens carefully, nodding along as Gavin speaks about control and mutual understanding. Her eyes fall on the new shadow pokemon presented to them. It seems to be one of the ice-type Sandslashes she is not very familiar with. How many shadow pokemon did this guy have? And now the corrupted Lugia? She chose the right person to ask for help.

It was comforting to know the Underboss is familiar with this particular Gardevoir. However, it seemed she now had some big shoes to fill. The fear of failure wiggles it’s tendrils into her, but she keeps it buried deep.

“Commanding presence,” she echoes, moving herself deeper into the training room. Her fingers grip the beast’s pokeball that sits on her waist to pull it free. The cool metal is heavy in her hand. The reality was, the pokemon would never grow to trust her, that wasn’t something the Gardevoir was capable of. It was an empty shell, void of emotion. But it had to want something she could offer in return. Direction perhaps? Orders to keep it from remaining a restless spirit?

Her thoughts turned back to the previous trainer. A sensitive spot, perhaps, but curiosity got the best of her, “Its old master,” she peers over at Gavin, studying his features. She’d stop there if he seemed uncomfortable, “Could you tell me about him?” it isn’t that she desires to emulate Gavin’s old friend, but perhaps knowing more about him would give her an idea of what the Gardevoir expects from a master.

Notes: Cillian Quinn

Marcel. How to best sum up a man Gavin had grown up with so far as Rocket was concerned, from arrogant grunts to tired men disillusioned with Rocket's direction?

They had grown together, and now they have grown apart.

"A good man in a bad situation," Gavin says at last, pensive. "One of Rocket's best. He was head of Intel until Walsh sent him back to Kanto with Sinclair."

It hurts, still, to think of his oldest friend. They had not parted on good terms, and Gavin remembers vividly the fear he'd felt when Declan had spoke of their almost-fate. Dominic and Marcel had escaped the League, but what if they hadn't?

There is so much more he could say of the man, but much of it feels too personal.

"Shadow Pokemon, their corruption, it made him uncomfortable." He remembers the disgust and fear that Marcel had felt toward Lugia and Gavin's position as its master. What might he think now that Gavin had been made its Avatar? "I think it suited him that Gardevoir was kept at a distance, and it seemed to suit Gardevoir as well."

It takes a while for Gavin to gather his thoughts. As Lex predicted, a sensitive subject. Still, the Underboss does his best to describe his old friend. Lex remains silent, partially regretting her decision to press the matter but grateful all the same.

Distance. It would take a while for her to accept this. The emotionless ghost is really nothing but a shell. There would be not mutual trust, no acknowledgment of respect, simply existence. They will exist together as separate entities, one giving the other a sense of direction, “Thank you,” she acknowledges, appreciating his descent into the uncomfortable subject.

“I guess . . . there’s nothing else then,” she muses, with a subtle, hesitant tone to her realization. The hand gripping the pokeball twitches, a delicate movement that opens the capsule. The red light fades into the apparition. A Gardevoir, in the physical sense, but a wraith, nonetheless. Her tattered dress billows softly at her feet. She is dull, not only in the physical sense but also the emotional. Her white color is barren of any sort of glow, almost resembling a soft grey. The red eyes that turn to peer at their new master lack any sort of life.

Lex looks back at the specter, refusing to break eye contact. She’s lost in the gaze, much like the first time they met on the island. She’s drawn to the pokemon despite its indifference towards her.

A shift in the shadow pokemon’s consciousness feels the presence of Cillian Quinn. His odd aura calls to her on a level Lex would never understand. She can feel the corrupted Lugia’s pull. She turns, an inert gaze falling on Gavin and the shadow pokemon at his side.

Notes: Cillian Quinn

Gavin dips his head in acknowledgement of her thanks, but offers no further insight into Maeda nor the tumultuous relationship they had shared.

To glimpse the Gardevoir again brings back a slew of memories — a bloodied warfront springs first to mind, the roar of a truck's engine interspersed with a Guzzlord's horrific scream. Whether she cared for them or not, the wraith had doubtless saved many Rocket lives that day, including Marcel's, with her ability to teleport them out of harm's way.

He is pleased to see the determination with which Alexandra Briarwood meets its gaze, until such time as the Gardevoir's attention shifts to him.

He acknowledges her with a nod, but steps back.

"I'm not the one you're meant to serve," he says softly, and gestures toward his fellow Rocket. To Lex herself, he says, "Though Marcel's particular approach seemed to suit her, she belongs to you, now. I encourage you to find your own peace with one another."

He's certain, after all, that Emma Wolfe had treated the corrupt Cyrogonal far differently than he now did.

He’s familiar. The Gardevoir tilts her head, sifting through memories to try and place the face of the Underboss. Not because she wishes to remember, just simply gather data. The familiarity doesn’t stop in the physical sense. The Shadow Pokemon can feel the Lugia’s pull. It’s strong with Cillian Quinn. The corrupted power resonates with its own. The physical attraction is where the familiarity stops. She feels a dull sense of obedience. She moves forward as Gavin steps back, his words stopping her progress.

If frustration was something the Gardevoir was capable of, it would have been written all over the pokemon’s face. A primal urge to follow the corrupted power struggles with the reality of her situation. She isn’t meant to serve Gavin. The words resonate as a sort of command in the specter, the Shadow Lugia’s suggestive power is stronger than he probably knows.

The pokemon turns back towards Lex. A flash of light TELEPORTS the Gardevoir back to the redhead. She appears mere centimeters from Lex’s face. The Rocket is taken back, faltering with a sharp breath as she steps back in surprise. A pair of dull, red eyes peer into her soul.

Gardevoir slowly raises a hand, a long, tendril like finger moving towards her cheek. Instinctively, Lex’s hand moves to swat the hand away, but the phantom’s limb phases, her hand passing right through it. The same, cool, tingling sensation of Smoke’s ghostly body is left on her palm.

So, she’s a ghost? Interesting. Lex is familiar with ghosts, “Back,” she speaks firmly, the Gardevoir unmoving, “Back!” there’s more authority this time, and a movement forward to emphasize her words. The combination of the confident order and the movement is enough to drive the pokemon back. Her spectral form glides through the air and stops a few meters away. The way in which she twitches her fingers and tenses her shoulders are enough to clue a more experienced trainer into her intentions. She is getting restless.

Notes: Cillian Quinn

Gardevoir's teleportation surprises Gavin not for its existence, but for how close she brings herself to Lex. There seems to be little regard for personal space, made clearer by the way in which the wraith moves to touch.

It seems to unsettle Lex, but Gavin doesn't intervene.

"Good," he says, when she takes command. "Note her tension, the way her fingers twitch — she has energy that isn't being properly utilized. These are the problems you'll need to learn to solve."

He could offer advice, but first waits to see what Alexandra Briarwood's instinct will be.

A sigh of relief brins a small boost of confidence to Lex as the Gardevoir heeds her command and pushes itself back. Lex makes the mistake of meeting its glare. She misses the subtle hints it gives her until Gavin mentions them from across the room. Her gaze momentarily shifts beyond the Gardevoir to make sense of what he meant.

Amber eyes trace the Shadow Pokemon. Now that Gavin has mentioned it, she sees the tension – almost feels it. The pokemon needs an outlet for the pent-up energy. This Gardevoir is unlike other Shadow Pokemon, though. Lex can see it. It isn’t a blind rage and aggression (although that as certainly still there if coaxed out). She looks anxious, as if she is searching for something, anything. Truly a restless spirit.

A task, she needs a task. Lex doesn’t have one for her at the moment. Her mind races for anything she can tell the Gardevoir to do. There had always been something she wanted to try with a Psychic-type . . . But it could prove to be a dangerous request at the mercy of a Shadow Pokemon she doesn’t have confident control over yet. It would have to wait.

“Shadow Sneak,” her hand moves towards the opposite corner of the training room. She doesn’t want the pokemon to mistake the request for an attack on Gavin and his two Shadow Pokemon.

Red eyes follow the gesture. There’s a moment of hesitation, no doubt the Gardevoir considering how useless this command was. The pressure to obey from Gavin’ corrupted aura persuades her to oblige.

The dual type melts into the arena’s floor and sinks into her shadow form. The dark energy rushes across the room and up the wall. The Gardevoir steps forward from the shadow, reappearing as her physical self.

Notes: Cillian Quinn

As he watches the restless spirit, Gavin's thoughts intrude. Does she wonder what became of her previous master? Did she care for him at all? Somehow, he doubts it. It settles uncomfortably in his gut.

His eyes trace the path of shadow across the room, and Gavin's own shadow Pokémon watch their dark sister in earnest.

"Pokémon can't communicate with us directly." There were exceptions, particularly among legendary Pokémon, but that was irrelevant here. "But most can understand. Test her. Discern what she longs for, to both your benefit."

Fortunately, but also unfortunately, the spirit is a shell. There’s the memory of a previous master, but they are not unhindered by the chains of emotions. It is easy to move on, if that’s what you want to call it. Can one even move on if there’s nothing to move on from? It is fortunate Lex didn’t have to compete with such memories, but there is the same discomfort Gavin feels with a lack of loyalty.

Loyalty and obedience are very different.

Lex tears her eyes from the Gardevoir to look back at Gavin as he speaks. She doesn’t quite understand what he means but it. How on earth is she supposed to figure out what it wants?

She must have thought on it for a moment too long. The restless Gardevoir disappeared from the dark corner of the room in a dull flash of light, only to reappear in front of Lex again. Close, but not as close as the first time. Gardevoir has at least learned her personally boundaries with her new master.

Empty eyes peer expectantly at its master. Nothing? Fine. Gardevoir had an insatiable urge to find something. She didn’t know what it was, but it was missing, and the restless spirit felt it needed to find it.

“No!” Lex blurts out as the phantom moves towards the wall. Too late. PSYCHIC energy grips Lex, and with a casual flick of the wrist the red head is flung into the wall with a low THUD.

“Damn it,” Lex groans while rubbing the back of her head. She doesn’t wait for Gavin. The thief is already on her feet, pokeball in hand while the ghost phased through the wall, beginning her search for whatever she was looking for, “Shit,” Lex sprints across the room and tears open the door to start her own search for the rogue pokemon.

Notes: Shadow Gardevoir basically is like "fuck you I gotta look for something" and goes rogue

Cillian Quinn

The casual violence of a shadow Pokémon, even toward its own master, does not surprise Gavin. There are scars along his thigh where his own Sandslash had lashed out in its fury. He is not surprised, no, but alarmed nevertheless as he rushes to where Alexandra Briarwood has fallen.

She's on her feet before he reaches her, indifferent to his presence as she immediately goes on the hunt.

Gavin lets out a sharp breath of exasperation toward the situation as a whole before giving pursuit, recalling Sandslash and Roserade in favour of an Aerodactyl who gallops clumsily on hind legs in tight corridors. Yet there is a reason he summons it; the dark predator was adept at tracking.

"Target is a Gardevoir, shadowed. Ghost-type."

Dark spikes of crystal that protrude from the prehistoric beast at uncomfortable angles seem to draw in the sickly light of the watercraft as it takes a different route from Gavin and Lex, likely attempting to cut off the Gardevoir.

"Had to be a ghost-type," Gavin grumbles. "If you've got any of your own, they might be able to help."

Lex watches a sthe curious Aerodactyl rushes off in a different direction. How many friken Shadow Pokemon did Gavin have? Regardless, that wasn’t a question for this exact moment. There were more pressing matters.

She scoffs at his statement, “Yea, no kidding,” though that is one of the intriguing qualities of the Gardevoir – her typing. At Gavin’s suggestion a flash of light brings forth two more ghosts. Lex is intimately familiar with ghost-types. She wouldn’t necessarily consider it a preference, but they were quite useful in her line of work. Smoke the Gengar and Umbra the Dusknoir materialize before them.

“Find the Gardevoir,” The ghosts disappear as they phase through walls. Lex lets out a heavy sigh, her shoulders fall under the weight of disappointment. Perhaps she wasn’t ready for something like this, after all.

Notes: Cillian Quinn