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POSTED ON Jul 29, 2022 14:49:35 GMT

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

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

[attr="class","skullbody"]Isaac usually wasn't the most enthusiastic about speaking with the press, if he was being honestly. That was doubly so when they were coming at him on Rocket duty. The whole point of the mask and motorcycle deal was to not speak with anyone, dangit! Though in Penelope's defense, he had initiated, if only to make sure she wasn't one of those Groudon cultists in disguise.[break][break]

Now he was back at the scene of the incident. Mask still on, guard still raised, because it'd be a cold day in hell before Isaac broadcast his true identity all over Hoenn. That was the miracle of journalistic integrity, at least. If both of them colored within the lines, nobody would have to escalate things.[break][break]

Besides, a Rocket grunt existing somewhere wasn't news anymore. These days, you couldn't throw a rock into a crowded street without pegging one actual grunt and at least three sympathizers. Surveys anonymously asked people whether they favored their iwn government or an outside insurgency that spilled over from Kanto. Legendary Pokemon literally threw their lot behind them! At this point, Team Rocket existing wasn't newsworthy. How long this whole game would last, on the other hand? There was a real scoop.[break][break]

That'd have to be a story for another time, though. And frankly, Isaac did not want to be the one in the hotseat for it. Instead, he was here on more neutral business. The Mew-Man had descended from the skies here but days ago, tearing through a pack of Groudon cultists like a pack of Carvanha on a Miltank carcass. Who was it? What did it want? And how and why did it eat his Eevee, albeit briefly?[break][break]

Nuts fo the faction war. Nuts to Splashfest. Nuts to the meteor, even. This was going to be the real scoop of the century.

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Captain

Penny, the coveted

She/her

September 25

Petalburg

heterosexual

HBIC Director

Council

5'6" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @penelope

POSTED ON Aug 4, 2022 10:47:04 GMT

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Memories of that faithful arid afternoon still shudder down her spine as she slowly enroached on the cultists' grounds for the second time that month. After retrieving her broken camcorder, the strange pokemon had left, leaving both her and her fellow victim just enough time to exchange contact information before deciding to meet up again.
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Not ideal, given how JUICY it would've been to interview him then and there, but with the destruction of her camcorder fucking things up, she needed to return back to the station to manually retrieve the capture footage.
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That was when she noticed it was distorted. Fuzz. Almost impossible make out in the haze of action. In one, flawless swoop, it became a UFO citing instead of concrete evidence of their experience.
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Sighing, the woman trudged up the rocky terrain, hair bundled up behind her in a tight ponytail. "Hello," she greeted, smiling, "Hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long."

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[attr="class","ooc"] Isaac Merlo[break]

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Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

949 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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POSTED ON Aug 4, 2022 13:13:31 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

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

[attr="class","skullbody"]"Nah. If anything, Mew-Man was the one who really kept us waiting. Y'know, with the whole yeeting your camcorder off of a cliff thing," Isaac said. It was almost strange to be speaking so casually in his Rocket guise. It was totally unbefitting of the voice-disguising throat strain and the skull shaped game face to just use the word "yeet" like that. But that's what happened when business required a softer touch.[break][break]

The reporter had come alone, too. Good. It wasn't an ambush. In a show of good faith, Isaac had similarly left his burner far, far away, resting on a rock somewhere in the periphery of his vision. Isaac wasn't the type to menace reporters on a whim, but he knew most Rockets weren't the type to cultivate a trustworthy reputation when in full Rocket guise. He wouldn't have blamed her at all if she was suspicious.[break][break]

Luckily, she didn't seem to be. Them being united for one purpose helped. "So, lay the damage on me. How much of the footage got lost in the drop?" Isaac asked. "Figure I might as well get that out of the eay before this interview starts. Y'know. So I have an idea of how crazy we're gonna sound once we actually start talking."[break][break]

Depending on their luck, this'd either be a journalistic breakthrough or some UFO hunter tier rambling. As someone who had lived through it, Isaac was praying for the former.

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Captain

Penny, the coveted

She/her

September 25

Petalburg

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HBIC Director

Council

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i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @penelope

POSTED ON Aug 7, 2022 22:46:50 GMT

Lulu Flint and THEO BECKETT like this

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This wasn't Penelope's first entanglement with a rocket. From the likes mr. THEO BECKETT himself to the passionate scientist (Lulu Flint ) she had interviewed a month earlier, there had been no shortage of dangerous conversation inflicting the normalcy of her typical cozy afternoons. This time, however, she didn't have to fear for her life.
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Or, at least, she didn't feel the need to.
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Given her time on the field, Penelope had developed a natural tendency to rank those around her into three categories: threats, non threats, or tbds. This man fell into the second category.
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"None of it." Causally, she reached forward to hand over the replacement camcorder she bought. A copy of the film was already place inside and ready to be replayed. "The footage is still intact, but..." She gave him a second to see for himself. "Whenever that pokemon comes on screen, the film gets distorted."
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Isaac Merlo[break]

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played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

949 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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TAG WITH @isaacmerlo

POSTED ON Aug 7, 2022 23:10:22 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

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

[attr="class","skullbody"]Huh. Penelope wasn't kidding. Most of the footage was way more clear than you'd expect from a camcorder that had gotten flung off of a cliff. It was just that the film distorted anytime the lens was on the Mew-Man. It was some pretty bad distortion, too. At this point, they'd basically be describing some vaguely lavender blob.[break][break]

"Eesh, that's rough," Isaac said. At the very least, his first inclination was to agree with her assessment. None of this was going to be usable. Yet, despite that . . . something about Isaac made him not want to dismiss this right out of hand. "But, hold on. A lot of this footage is still clear, right? It's just the parts when the Mew-Man's on screen?"[break][break]

Okay. Okay. The gears in Isaac's head were starting to turn now. "Alright. This part here? The hurricane?" Isaac said. "I think we can use that. My team all shows up on the footage, right? Totodile, Aggron, Dhelmise, Eevee, Cubone? Yeah, no. None of them could whip a wind up like that if they even tried. And that Groudon cult . . . well, that's the exact opposite of their deal. So that rules out any source but the Mew-Man, yeah?"[break][break]

Every neuron was firing off at once now. "Are there any other Pokemon that do something like that? Distort camera feed of themselves if they don't want to be seen?" Isaac said. "If we can at least give evidence of something similar happening, or repeat the phenomenon itself . . . it's a long shot, but long shot's better than no shot, right?"[break][break]

Now if only he could think of the right Pokemon for the job. Isaac was really good at fast talk and throwing out ideas, but Giratina was in the details and those were always his weak spot.

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[attr="class","skullinfo"]306 WORDS / nina larson

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played by

Captain

Penny, the coveted

She/her

September 25

Petalburg

heterosexual

HBIC Director

Council

5'6" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @penelope

POSTED ON Aug 16, 2022 5:28:21 GMT

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The kid was hopeful, at least.
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Pursing her lips, she silently listened as he rambled on, letting him flesh out his ideas before ultimately crushing anything without substance.
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"Without hard evidence, it'll be no better than an internet myth," she shrugged, reaching out for the camcorder again. "We can spin it as such until more comes through, but that's just the reality of the situation."
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It snapped close and she snugged the device back into her back.
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"If you want to try recreating it, we'll need a psychic type. Do you have one on you?"
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Isaac Merlo[break]

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played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

949 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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TAG WITH @isaacmerlo

POSTED ON Aug 16, 2022 13:17:51 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"]"No dice, huh? Damn," Isaac said. Penelope had more experience at this kind of thing, and clearly didn't need a spoken brain jam to come to the conclusion she'd already reached. If there wasn't a Mew-Man on camera, no amount of circumstantial evidence would make this more than a minor rumor.[break][break]

Still, she did have a plan. A replicated phenomena might not be perfect, but it might do the trick. And it seemed a psychic Pokemon would be the key to pulling it off. "We're in luck. I've got one with me," Isaac said, taking out a Pokeball and releasing a cute little Chingling. Compared to his imposing Rocket guise, it was hilariously unfitting.[break][break]

It curiously orbitted Penelope's camcorder, occasionally making little jingling noises as it peered down at the device. "Just let us know what we need to do, and consider it done," Isaac said.

[break][break]

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played by

Captain

Penny, the coveted

She/her

September 25

Petalburg

heterosexual

HBIC Director

Council

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i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @penelope

POSTED ON Aug 31, 2022 21:18:07 GMT

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"Perfect."
[break][break]
Mirroring her partner's movements, she sent out a pokeball of her own and released her trusty magnemite. The steel type beeped happily and floated around the reporter twice before taking his place beside her, ready to accept the camcorder.
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"Sorry, he gets antsy if I don't take him out often," Penelope apologized and gave a shrug. "Alright, Mag, start rolling the camera at him, got it? Good. And you," She pointed at the rocket's chiming pokemon, "use PSYCHIC on it." Finally, her gaze would return to Isaac Merlo, more determined than before, "My guess? if that thing was a pokemon, then it definately used some psychic move to disrupt the footage."
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Isaac Merlo [break]

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played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

949 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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TAG WITH @isaacmerlo

POSTED ON Sept 1, 2022 3:26:26 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"]"Oh, please, you got nothing to apologize for," Isaac said. "A Pokemon's gonna do what a Pokemon's gonna do. 'Sides, the little guy's adorable." Thank goodness the cameras weren't rolling. Now Penelope would be the only person hearing a Rocket Grunt so casually fussing over a rambunctious Pokemon.[break][break]

With Magnemite on camera duty, it was Ringo's job to fill the other half of the equation. "Alright, Ringo. Hit it," Isaac said. The Chingling squeezed its eyes shut and focused really, really hard, its entire body starting to jingle like a bell. Pulses of Extrasensory energy began to emanate out from it with each jingle, focusing in on the camera to try and scramble its reception.[break][break]

"The good news is, if this works, we've got some plausible deniability as to why the footage got screwed," Isaac said. "The bad news is it'd be just as plausible for skeptics to say one of our own psychics was responsible. But, hell, you probably already thought of that, huh?" Penelope had already pointed out they'd be dealing with pushback, after all. She was also the far more experienced journalist of the two. Whether this trial was for her own knowledge or as part of a more intricate plan, Isaac knew she was the one in the driver's seat now.[break][break]

Was it dangerous for a Rocket to put so much trust in another? Maybe. But it wasn't like saving people's asses from Groudon cultists was a crime, and at least the press could be counted on to be neutral. What, was this reporter gonna go run off and join the Council or something? Fat chance.

[break][break]

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played by

Captain

Penny, the coveted

She/her

September 25

Petalburg

heterosexual

HBIC Director

Council

5'6" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @penelope

POSTED ON Sept 21, 2022 15:48:31 GMT

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"This will be more for us than them, anyways."
[break][break]
The little psychic time took it's doing it's thang, chingling until the camcorder's sensors flipped in on itself. All the while, Penelope kept to the side, taking flickering glances of both the Pokémon and the man. Trust was a fickle thing.
[break][break]
On one hand, he was a rocket. An organization that never failed to make her brows twitch from frustration of all the devastations they've created. It made her actually have to side with the league at times, and well, that fucking sucked to say the least. Alas, a minor partnership should be fine, she supposed, since they will both be getting what they want.
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"So," The word popped out, filling the space between them as they awaited the results to come through. But, before she continued, the magnemite floated back to her, offering up the camera that was certainly now messed up. "let's see if it worked."
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Practiced went at work on the camera for a second. Then she looked back up, a grin quirked up the side of her cheek. "Check it."
[break][break]
She flipped the little video screen toward him and replayed it out; the same static from the previous video was found, distorting its contents. "Looks like that thing was a pokemon, after all."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Isaac Merlo [break]

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played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

949 height

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

awards

4,320 posts

DOLLARS

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TAG WITH @isaacmerlo