Like Pigs To The Slaughter

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park

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Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

I've got a, I've got a

Pocket fulla sunshine

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

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Isaac Merlo

Like Pigs To The Slaughter

POSTED ON Jul 7, 2022 2:56:45 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

[attr="class","skullimg"]

[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]Isaac really, really didn't want to be here. But he was rapidly learning how little choice he had in the matter.[break][break]

He just had to make a name for himself, diving into mission after mission, job after job, didn't he? For the most part, he was able to disguise it well. He focused his missions on meddling in the affairs of the rich and powerful, breaking up the activities of gangs that he could justify as worse, and acts of theft, propaganda, and destruction that wouldn't actually threaten anyone of importance. It was a good plan. A solid plan. It meant he was raking in the cash and keeping too busy for the less savory work.[break][break]

He flew too close to the sun when the Ampharos job was assigned. Actually securing the Ampharos may've been small potatoes compared to disrupting an economic rival's lighthouse, but Team Rocket didn't like when their plate was missing its potatoes. Good will helped, but it didn't keep Isaac entirely out of the line of fire. And now there was a real monkey on his back.[break][break]

No. Literally. The Oranguru that tailed Isaac, Zaius, was not his first choice of Pokemon. It was a "gift" from Mars, which was naturally a massive red flag to look for any strings attached. It was a very strong Pokemon; easily his strongest next to Kiryu now, if not even stronger. It was also, arguably, smarter than Isaac was.[break][break]

It was the perfect way of gauging whether a promising young rookie was going soft.[break][break]

At least Isaac wasn't the only one who had reservations about today. Some of the other rookies were equally nervous. A few tried to hide it with brave faces; they were the ones who dragged their feet the most. Others were more honest about their squeamishness, traveling in a pack and whispering their misgivings among one another. However, for every rookie in Isaac's boat, there were others that had were all too gung-ho to get started. A trio of rookies near the front of the pack were bragging and boasting about how many pearls they'd be able to round up.[break][break]

And then there was the man monitoring them today, Felix. Dangit, why couldn't this be Mint instead? Of all the higher ups, he was the least terrifying. Though maybe it was better than another run-in with the one who brought him into the fold in the first place. Still, while he'd seen Felix in passing before, he'd never gotten so up close and personal with him before. Maybe this'd be a good chance to see what Rocket's upper echelon was like . . .[break][break]

"So, Spoink pearls, huh?" Isaac said, doing his best to keep his tone steady and neutral. It was clear from the smirk on Zaius' face that he hadn't quite succeeded. Damnit, why couldn't that damn, dirty ape keep its paws off of his mind?

[break]

[attr="class","skullinfo"]484 WORDS / Felix Gallagher and Thomas Benoit

[attr="class","skullcredits"]TAIKO!

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played by

Captain

He/Him

October 25

Canalave City

Bisexual

ANVIL General

Ex-Admin

missing you

will forever be my burden to bear

6'7" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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Felix Gallagher

Like Pigs To The Slaughter

POSTED ON Jul 17, 2022 22:16:13 GMT

The capturing and procurement of Spoink pearls.

It was a simple mission, and yet, when it was brought to Felix's desk, it came with the unexpected detail watching over a handful of untrained, newly grunts. Typical. Even when promoted to admin, he was stuck spending his time doing grunt work.

"Yeah."

There wasn't much more to say, was there?

Cool and stoic, the admin general kept his gaze fixed forward, occasionally sweeping their surroundings with an attentive watch. The reason behind this abnormally large group was the repeated reports coming in from 'missing' grunts failing to return with the pearls. Personally, he'd chalk it up to a couple of unreliable teens escaping the bad decisions they made, but he couldn't exactly tell the assignment that.

So he kept his mouth shut and his eyes focused. They were nearly there.

Thomas Benoit + @isaac

☉

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Tagger

Arbok Nine

he/him/his

October 31

Shalour City, Kalos

Heterosexual

Ranch Owner

Ex-Elite 4

Desiree Blooms

"My guiding light."

6'04" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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Thomas Benoit

Like Pigs To The Slaughter

POSTED ON Jul 21, 2022 1:28:39 GMT

Rocket never changes.

No matter how much they spoke of change, they could always be relied upon to engage in they industry they lead: Pokemon trafficking. A swarm of Spoink drew them in, like Mothim to the flame. The promise of harvesting their pearls was too good for them to pass up on. And though the wide-eyed fools in the group were reluctant to do so, there were those who didn't share in their hesitation.

Waiting in the shadows above was The Phantom. Next to the masked killer was a Clawitzer, hunkered down and garbed in sheets that blended in with the terrain, a sort of ghillie suit for the sniper.

As he watched the group make their approach, he recognized one face among them. The same man who had thwarted his ambush of the truck carrying a Stonjourner, and his target at the time. And it seemed that he was leading the motley crew of Rockets. Three of them, leading the pack, also stood out. The directional microphone he pointed towards them allowed him to hear what they'd have to say.

Today, the Rockets would learn a harsh lesson.

The masked man in black would carefully make his way down to greet the Rockets, giving them a head start. The Clawitzer would hunker down, under the cover of the sheets.

tags: Isaac Merlo Felix Gallagher
notes: tl;dr

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played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

I've got a, I've got a

Pocket fulla sunshine

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

awards

4,402 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @isaacmerlo

Isaac Merlo

Like Pigs To The Slaughter

POSTED ON Jul 21, 2022 3:00:12 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

[attr="class","skullimg"]

[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]Yeah. That was really all Felix had to say, huh? Isaac almost couldn't blame him. Team Rocket poached Pokemon and took what they wanted. It's what they did. It was the part of them he hated most, but it'd be naive to act like it wasn't something they did.[break][break]

But normally, Isaac could at least ignore it. He'd always busied himself enough to push it into the background. Yeah, there was bloodshed, true. It wasn't on his hands, and really, didn't all big movements have some bloodshed behind them? Rocket had already had one purge where they pushed their worst elements to the wayside. Maybe that'd happen again. And again. And again. Then a peaceful Rocket could reign over the region, sitting pretty in the spot those meteor-dropping assholes were squandering.[break][break]

Ugh. He was digressing. None of that high-minded philosophy meant a thing right now. Only two things mattered. A, that Team Rocket was harvesting Spoink pearls. B, that Isaac was one of the grunts chosen to embark on that duty. Any and all thoughts outside of that matter were just (un)comfortable distractions he was giving himself. Nothing more, nothing less.[break][break]

How could anyone blame him? Seeing that Spoink pack in the distance, bouncing obliviously while chewing on some truffles, was destroying Isaac's heart! He wasn't completely ignorant. He knew that Pokemon predated one another in the wild. But that was different. That was a question of need. This, on the other hand, was a want. A cruel, brutal want at the expense of a whole pack of living beings. Couldn't Rocket just set up a farm, like any normal organization?[break][break]

"How do you do it?" Isaac asked his supervisor. It was amazing how much difference verbal emphasis made. Depending on Isaac's tone, he could have been asking for simple instructions, or he could have been asking Felix how he lived with the decision he was making.[break][break]

The answer in this case was nestled somewhere between both.

[break]

[attr="class","skullinfo"]327 WORDS / Felix Gallagher vs. Thomas Benoit

[attr="class","skullcredits"]TAIKO!

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played by

Captain

He/Him

October 25

Canalave City

Bisexual

ANVIL General

Ex-Admin

missing you

will forever be my burden to bear

6'7" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @felix

Felix Gallagher

Like Pigs To The Slaughter

POSTED ON Jul 24, 2022 21:51:46 GMT

"How do you do it?"

Sharp green eyes flicked over to his side, hardened by experience and loss. In his mind, there was only one real way to take the question -- unless he wanted to assume the grunt was incapable of the elementary process of securing a spoink pearl.

"I just do."

He could've said more, and elaborated beyond a barebone response, but the grunt didn't need that. Strength through perseverance -- that's what any new recruit needed when joining rocket, or any organization within the business. Otherwise, it was easy to get bogged down by the details of one's own moralities.

From afar, a large land shark trailed from the group's outside perimeter, yellow eyes surveying their surroundings. Gallade, on the other hand, kept close to their center.

Thomas Benoit Isaac Merlo

☉

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played by

Tagger

Arbok Nine

he/him/his

October 31

Shalour City, Kalos

Heterosexual

Ranch Owner

Ex-Elite 4

Desiree Blooms

"My guiding light."

6'04" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

2,803 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @thomasbenoit

Thomas Benoit

Like Pigs To The Slaughter

POSTED ON Sept 3, 2022 0:19:29 GMT

Rather than being greeted by the hooded man, instead a Hydreigon would rise up from the cover of the terrain to greet the group of Rockets. The Hydreigon's position was at a point where what he would do next would keep the swarm of Spoink and Grumpig out of the line of fire. The Hydreigon would waste no time in blasting at the group of Rockets with a Dragon Pulse barrage.

Spotting the Garchomp at the back of the group, the Clawizer took aim at the dragon, and attempted to pick it off with an Ice Beam.

With the ambush set in motion, the Phantom emerged, immediately tossing out two Pokemon: a Galvantula, and a Pangoro, both no doubt familiar to Felix. The Galvantula would attempt to ensnare as many of the lesser Rockets as he could with an Electroweb upon deployment. Meanwhile, the Pangoro would attempt to get the Gallade's attention with a Taunt.

tags: Isaac Merlo Felix Gallagher
notes: Hydreigon emerges, attempts to blast at the group with Dragon Pulse
Clawitzer attempts to snipe Garchomp with Ice Beam
Galvantula attempts to neutralize multiple Rockets with Electroweb
Pangoro attempts to Taunt Felix's Gallade

close tab

played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

I've got a, I've got a

Pocket fulla sunshine

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

awards

4,402 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @isaacmerlo

Isaac Merlo

Like Pigs To The Slaughter

POSTED ON Sept 3, 2022 5:26:35 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

[attr="class","skullimg"]

[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]How did a Rocket do such a cruel thing? They just did it. Except, today, they wouldn't be.[break][break]

Dragon Pulses rained down on the pack of Rockets like artillery shells, Isaac throwing up his arms to try and shield himself. Being closer to the back of the pack, he wasn't in the line of fire here. Despite this, he could feel the force of the impact as Pulse after Pulse came crashing down, forceful sprays of dirt and plumes of azure smoke being left in their wake.[break][break]

Clearly, something had gone wrong here. Unable to see through the smoke, Isaac threw a pair of Pokeballs down onto the ground. "Sectonia, cover us!" Isaac called, a Vespiquen rising up to meet his voice. Drones flew from her hive, forming a hexagonal wall that pushed forward into the smoke. Isaac couldn't see the grunts that had been bombarded. He had no idea if they were okay. But maybe, just maybe, he could intervene before the next volley.[break][break]

The next volley wouldn't be energy, however. Instead, it would be webs. Each hit would slow the wall down, making it harder to flutter in front of any Rockets and leaving them open to further attack. Even Sectonia was tagged by a particularly far-flung one, letting out a buzz of distress as it splattered across her thorax.[break][break]

His second Pokemon, a Honedge, kept close to him. The last time a mission went unexpectedly wrong, ana fell had given him this Honedge to ensure that he'd keep safe the next time. Just in case history repeated, Isaac wanted to be prepared this time. He squinted, trying his damndest to peer through the smoke and see where their attacker was coming from. Maybe once the smoke cleared, he'd be better equipped to dive into the fray.[break][break]

Isaac wasn't the only one to notice this affair. Zaius observed the situation, stroking his chin carefully. Electrowebs were a deceptively dangerous technique, not only injuring their targets but also slowing them down in both the short and long terms. He reached down towards a web that had landed by his side, giving it a gentle poke with his finger. His fur stood up on end from the resulting zap, and he could already feel his muscles numb. Interesting.[break][break]

Perfect.[break][break]

The Oranguru clapped his hands together, then spread them out wide. The dimensional fabric between his hands started to shimmer, swirl, and warp, then expanded outward to encompass the majority of the battlefield. If their unknown assailant wanted to try and slow them down, he could have his wish! He'd just have to be careful what he wished for as the Trick Room reversed their fortunes.[break][break]

[break][break]