As luck would have it, Gavin would arrive mere moments after Killian Decker fired off his text. Unaware as to its contents or the other's assumption that he might have stood them up, the underboss cracks a sleep-stiff neck and lifts a hand in greeting.

"Decker."

They've never been properly acquainted, but Gavin had done the barest minimum of research before coming to the meeting.

"Have you heard from Lex?"

Amber eyes scour the courtyard as if searching for the missing party.

Lex had just finished up a meeting with Lulu Flint before heading towards the submarine’s courtyard to meet Killian Decker and Cillian Quinn. Dutifully, she stopped at the bar and eased the anxiety with a shot of whiskey. That’s what made her almost late. Being on this sub gave her more anxiety than she wanted to admit . . . especially after the whole Genesect incident. It was a miracle Killian talked her back onto it. Well, maybe not that much of a miracle considering it was him.

Her pocket vibrated with Killian’s text but she didn’t bother to reach for it. Lex could only assume it was him asking where she was considering it had turned to their appointed meeting time. Impatient, beautiful man.

Her sixth sense always seemed to know exactly where he was. When she entered the courtyard, her amber eyes fell on his figure, a blonde standing before him.

“Gavin,” she smiled on her approach, giving the Underboss a courteous nod, “I hope I didn’t miss anything,” her gaze shifted to Killian, the same warm look settled on her face she always had when he was around.

Killian Decker & Cillian Quinn

"Killian." There a strange smile on the lips of the underboss, a faraway look that suggests he's thinking of something else. It vanishes as quick as it had appeared, and he nods. "All right."

No sooner has he asked after her than Alexandra Briarwood appears; Gavin plays along with Killian Decker's jest, his now-serious expression never wavering.

It only intensifies when Decker brings up shadow Pokémon. His gaze reflects approval as he inclines his head. "I know a good deal, and I would be happy to impart whatever knowledge I can. Where would you like to start? What's piqued your interest in them?"

Just finishing up? Her lips pulled into a tight frown with a suspicious narrowing of her eyes. She could see through his bullshit like fine crystal. It helped to know she wasn’t even late, just annoyingly on time. She was surprised to see Cillian Quinn play along with it. Apparently, they must have hit it off, “Ha, ha, very funny,” her words dripped with sarcasm. It didn’t help that she didn’t want to be on this sub in the first place. Arms crossed across her chest, a defensive stance that warns she wasn’t too keen on the teasing.

Killian Decker dove right into the subject at hand. Shadow Pokemon. That and Legendaries had been an annoyingly obsessive topic since the organization’s meeting on the remote beach. Lex remained silent, glancing from Gavin to Killian, eager to see what piqued his interest most (not that she didn’t already know). He had only asked to meet the Shadow Gardevoir countless times since the beach. Lex had remained stubbornly resistant to his request, wanting to make sure she had control before putting him at risk.

Killian Decker & Cillian Quinn

Alexandra Briarwood seems bothered by the needling; Gavin doesn't apologize, but acknowledges her disgruntlement in the back of his mind and endeavors to lay off.

"Are you asking how they're made in the wild, or how Rocket recreates the process?" It's a rhetorical question; Gavin answers both branches without pause for reply. "It's believed to be a result of Ultra Beast toxin, most commonly that of Nihilego. The Beast that looks a bit like a Tentacool, if you're unfamiliar with the name." It was hard not to know of their appearance, at least, given that one of them had possessed the commissioner and used her to try and kill everyone. Hoenn was wild. "As for how Rocket does it, well..."

His lips purse, almost a smile, but it's bitter. "We don't know."

Much to the dismay of the underboss, the shadow laboratory had run out of juice. The process designed by Klaussner and Fowl had been kept top secret, and they'd yet to figure out its recreation.

"But I'm working on it," he adds, shrugging. "It's not an easy process, and they're quite rare."

He was, therefore, very proud of his collection.

“The wild?” Lex couldn’t help but look a bit surprised. She wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed but she definitely didn’t know there was a wild “version” of Shadow Pokemon, “Your shadow pokemon with the dark crystals, are those wild types?” she recalled the Sandslash, Roserade, and Aerodactyl from when Gavin taught her about the Gardevoir. The fact that hers didn’t have black crystals is what made her assume it must be different.

“Besides appearance, is there a . . . strength or ability difference between the wild ones and artificial?” Look at Lex being intrigued and asking questions.

Lex was also surprised to hear that Rocket didn’t actually know how they made their own Shadow Pokemon, “Huh,” she grunted, brows pinched in thought. With Rocket’s scientific resources and the caliber of the scientists themselves, she assumed they’d have some sort of idea.

Killian Decker & Cillian Quinn

"Wild in the sense that they weren't created in a lab," he amends, at Alexandra Briarwood's surprise. "It's not a natural process by any means."

He can see the crystalline beast when he closes his eyes, sometimes. He thinks of it swallowing the light until there's nothing left.

"They are a particular anomaly that is unfortunately classified." Because he didn't want to share his traumatic experience with the whole of Rocket, if he could help it. "Just know that they're different from both lab and 'wild' sorts, and that Rocket isn't responsible for their... corruption."

Killian Decker seems intrigued by the crystals, and so Gavin pulls out a capsule and lets his Roserade into the verdant courtyard. In place of petals, one of its flowers forms as a black blossom of dark shards.

"There's more than one," he says of Nihilego, "but it's been a long time since I've seen one."

His lips purse at Killian's disdain. "To myself, as well, I assure you."

As he expected it would, the subject shifts to Lugia. He feels in his chest a protective surge.

"Nihilego," he replies, curt. "Rocket rescued it."

Lex simply nodded in understand as Gavin clarified the differences between the beasts. It made her wonder if there were more Shadow Pokemon out there besides the ones that Rocket controlled. If there were, she assumed they must have made an effort to acquire them.

She was surprised to see the sudden appearance of the Roserade. The corrupted pokemon’s dark crystals had a beautiful glow beneath the courtyard’s natural light. She took a moment to admire the unique pokemon this close. Lex envied Gavin’s confidence to casually release his Shadow Pokemon like this. Obviously, it came with experience which she was sorely lacking at the moment.

Killian Decker & Cillian Quinn