[attr="class","header"]RATHER BE THE HUNTER THAN THE PREY

[attr="class","setting"]

After concealing a bunch of weapons, he was ready to go.
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Well, almost.
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He still needed to make sure he had everything in his pack. Anything that could help in a place as dangerous as Area Zero.
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Everything he needed was in his bag, including his mask in case they had to deal with any leaguers. One could never be too sure when they had to deal with leaguers. In his book, it was better to be safe than sorry. For now, though, the mask would stay off.
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After strapping his swords and his backpack to his back, he was ready to go. Now all there was to do was meet up with his partner for the excursion.
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Leaving the base behind, he would head to the start of the Silent Icelands, which was the scheduled meeting point, on the back of his Charizard.
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"Ready to head out?" he would ask once he saw his partner.
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Whether or not he got affirmation, he would start to make his way into the crevice known as the Giant Chasm, their next stop being the research station.[break] Kazuya Yoshida
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WsJU6lLk

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]RATHER BE THE HUNTER THAN THE PREY

[attr="class","setting"]

One of the rules of an assassin was to never go into a situation blind. And that didn't only apply to dealing with people but also to the location. No one could really know what kind of secrets a building was hiding.
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That's why whenever he had a new mission or assignment, he always made sure to thoroughly scope out the situation before getting involved. That way, he could avoid any surprises.
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Most of the time, anyway.
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He still wasn't entirely sure what was expected of him for this assignment.
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Although that had nothing to do with scoping out the situation, but rather with what his superiors wanted from him.
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Speaking of which, Theo addressed him, pulling his attention away from the building in front of them and causing him to redirect his focus to the older male.
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"I have. If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's to never go into a situation blind."[break] THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]RATHER BE THE HUNTER THAN THE PREY

[attr="class","setting"]

An abandoned subway tunnel.
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Well, that wasn't creepy or anything.
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Something told him they would need to keep their wits about them. Not that he was planning on doing anything different. As a trained assassin, he had been taught to always remain alert.
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As Dorian entered the subway system, he kept his hand near the hilt of his knife. Unlike last time, he hadn't brought his swords. He hadn't had the time to tend to the blades. Not that he really needed them. He was more than competent without them.
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"Don't let your guard down either," he responded in a lowered voice.
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Every now and then, he would glance over his shoulder to scan the area behind them. It was made harder by the darkness of the subway system, but he managed.
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Each time he did this, he saw nothing. So he would turn his attention forward once more, but make sure to listen out for sounds from behind them.[break] dorian westcliff

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]RATHER BE THE HUNTER THAN THE PREY

[attr="class","setting"]

Finding a land Pokémon large enough for him to ride would be interesting. With his height, it was sure to be a challenge. But a challenge he was willing to take. It also helped that he liked to try new things, even if it wasn't something that would essentially help with his line of work.
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"Seems getting one would be ideal then. Though considering my height, it may be a bit of a challenge," he told him with an amused smile. Not for the first time, he was glad he had learned the art of faking emotions. Knowing emotions made someone seem more human, or so he had heard.
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Returning to Apollo's back, he would fly at a lower altitude as they continued on. It wouldn't be long after continuing that they would reach the south dock leading to Mount Pyre.
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Wanting to take in the scenery, he would halt Apollo and let his gaze sweep the area. Nothing especially stood out, not unless one counted the rift at the peak of the mountain. Something he had never had the privilege of seeing.
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He eyed the rift with interest before turning his attention to Josh.
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"So that's the rift? I've never been far enough up the mountain to see it before," he admitted.
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Huh? The way people had talked about it, he had been expecting it to look more intimidating.[break] Josh Devlin

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + skipping

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]RATHER BE THE HUNTER THAN THE PREY

[attr="class","setting"]

Everyone had a breaking point. It was just a matter of finding it. And it seemed Gothitelle's abilities were just what they needed for this guy. Because it wasn't long after using Gothitelle that they extracted the information they needed.
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Once the information had been extracted, he would turn his attention to the older male. He was unsure if that was it or if there was more to be done.
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From the way he was acting, he supposed that was it. That wasn't bad. He could use an easy mission from time to time.
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"My Pokémon were raised to help me with my normal work," he told the older male as if to agree with him.
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At the question, he was thrown for a bit of a loop.
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He had never been asked if he had any questions before, always being expected to just follow orders.
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How curious.
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He needed to think more on that later.
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But for now...
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"No," he said with a shake of his head.[break] THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]RATHER BE THE HUNTER THAN THE PREY

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Night shrouded them, but that didn't make him any less alert. His eyes tracked the movements around them, noting how many Megalopolans there seemed to be. A rough estimate made him realize that there were too many of them.
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There were too many for him and Dorian to take on by themselves, unless they both had a death wish anyway.
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The older male's voice pulled his thoughts away from pointless deaths, and he turned his attention to his friend. "Lead the way," he said, keeping his own voice low.
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It was clear that he would allow Dorian to take the lead while he took up the rear. That way, if any stray Megalopolans strayed away from the group and snuck up on them while they were in the tunnels, he could take them out before they realized what was happening.[break] dorian westcliff

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]RATHER BE THE HUNTER THAN THE PREY

[attr="class","setting"]

It was definitely a technique worth looking into. "Sounds good enough for me," he said as his thoughts strayed to teaching Apollo the move. It was something that would give him quite the edge, especially when it came to his career. Never again would he have to rely solely on Apollo burning everything down or using wind to tear through everything, both of which were a bit too destructive.
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Coming out of his thoughts, he watched as Josh healed up his Pokémon. However, his Pokémon still didn't seem too happy. They looked like how people looked when they had a lot of stuff on their plate. That was the best way Ryker knew how to describe it.
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Josh seemed to realize this as well and returned Ares to his Pokéball, only to send out a Boltund instead. Though he hadn't had many chances to see a Boltund, even he could see that this one was a little bigger than average, big enough to be used as a ride Pokémon.
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The sight of the Pokémon already saddled up reminded him of something.
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He didn't have a land Pokémon that could double as a ride Pokémon. None of his land Pokémon were big enough. Not even Hades was big enough. He supposed that's what he got for being so tall, though.
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"Crash is impressive, though I must admit I don't have a land Pokémon of my own that can be used as a ride Pokémon," he told the older male.
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Hopefully, that wouldn't be too much of a problem. He could still fly low on Apollo, he supposed.[break] Josh Devlin

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]RATHER BE THE HUNTER THAN THE PREY

[attr="class","setting"]

The guy was more resilient than he looked. He had seemed scared out of his mind when they had first entered. So he had expected him to be more compliant. However, even when he cut off a few fingers due to him not answering any questions, he still didn't break.
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THEO BECKETT must have realized this as well. A raised hand from the older male brought him to an instant halt.
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He twisted his somewhat towards the older male, giving him his attention while also making sure to keep the prisoner in his peripheral vision. Just because someone was tied up didn't mean one should take their eyes off of them. He had seen many people get killed for doing just that.
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A Pokéball was given to him and he eyed it briefly before turning towards the prisoner. "Sounds like something my mentor would say, however, my own Pokémon are…" he trailed off, unsure what else to say. Actually, there were multiple things he could say. Nothing that could really be considered nice though.
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In the end, he just shrugged before releasing the Pokémon from inside the Pokéball. A Gothitelle appeared in a ball of light. The little he knew of Gothitelle is that it could see visions of the future or past and show them to people. Later, he supposed he would need to do a bit of research on Pokémon.
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For now though, he had an assignment. If physical torture wouldn't work, perhaps mental torture would cause him to start talking. Perhaps start by trying to show him what would happen if he didn't become forthcoming.
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Yes, that is what they would do.
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With his mind made up, he indicated what he wanted the Gothitelle to do.[break] THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Actually had to look up Gothitelle since I didn’t know much about it

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[attr="class","header"]RATHER BE THE HUNTER THAN THE PREY

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Realizing that the older male was allowing him full reign over gathering information, he made his way closer to the bound man. As expected, not only was the man bound but gagged as well, probably to prevent him from trying to call out for help. However, a gag wouldn't be of much use if they were trying to extract information from him. Not unless the older male thought he was some kind of mind reader or wanted him to try and guess the information through a game of charades.
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"We're going to have a little chat, so I'm going to remove the cloth," he explained before pulling out a knife with a very sharp blade. "However, if you so much as try to call out for help, I'll start cutting off fingers and go from there," he warned in a cold, emotionless voice, holding the knife close to his face to ensure his warning got through to him.
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Only when he was sure the man wouldn't try anything would he remove the gag. And as he had said, if he removed the gag and the man did try anything, he wasn't afraid to cut off a finger or two. People didn't need all of their fingers to live or survive, after all. And there were other things he could take from him that wouldn't cause him to die either.
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Interrogation might not have been what he was known for, but that didn't mean he didn't know how to get things done. Extracting information was something he had done once, maybe twice in his lifetime, and that was only because his mentor had been busy with other things at the time.
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But he had never forgotten what to do. He still knew how to strike fear in the heart of the person he wanted information from so they wouldn't try any funny business.[break] THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

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[attr="class","header"]RATHER BE THE HUNTER THAN THE PREY

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So he had read the emotions right. It was good that he was getting better at the whole emotions thing. At least being able to read them anyway. He still couldn’t feel emotions but felt he understood them enough in order to fake them.
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"Yes, I think I'll do just that," he agreed with the other's comment about teaching his Pokémon Dragon Dance. It would definitely come in handy on missions, something that could be used to catch his target off guard. Outside of that... well, his mentor had once joked that he could be a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Whatever that meant.
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His mention of size got him thinking. If he remembered correctly, Mauville Gym's biggest attraction was their non-traditional gym challenge that involved racing Pokémon. So his mention of size probably meant he didn't want to add a Pokémon to his team unless he could ride it. That's what he figured anyway. He didn't ask, though, choosing just to nod.
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Seeing his own catch attempt as successful, he turned his attention towards the younger male to see how he was doing. He turned just in time to witness the Mandibuzz manage to land a hit on Ares before the Charizard retaliated and Josh captured the bird Pokémon in a Poké Ball of his own.
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Realizing both of their capture attempts were successful, he followed Josh towards the ground but, unlike Josh, didn't land. Instead, when Apollo was about a foot above the ground, Ryker jumped off. Not that it was that much of a distance considering his own height. Leaving Apollo to keep an eye on things from the sky, he turned towards the younger.
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"That was a pretty nasty hit Ares took. I hope he wasn't hurt too badly," he said as he moved to retrieve the Poké Ball containing his newly captured Pokémon. Might as well since they were down here anyway.[break] Josh Devlin

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + skipping

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]RATHER BE THE HUNTER THAN THE PREY

[attr="class","setting"]

Listening to what he had to say, he nodded. "That is usually my first instinct. It comes with the territory of being an assassin, though my mentor taught me that sometimes it's important to gather information as well," he said with a small shrug. He didn't tell him that it was usually because they were trying to find whoever their target worked for at the time; he saw no point in that.
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"Though death being the ultimate punishment only works with some people. I've seen people break under captivity and beg for death. It really depends on the person," he said, his thoughts straying to his own captivity. Of course, that hadn't been a problem for him, but each person was different. One never knew what could break a person.
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He followed along behind him, simply nodding as he was told he had given the response. The warehouse wasn't overly large, something that was further proven to be true when the door to the warehouse was opened to show their captive bound to a chair in the middle of the room.
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Nothing really stood out to him about the male. Not that he had thought for a second anything about him would stand out. "Don't worry, I'll get the information," he said, his gaze scanning his surroundings as he entered the room. He assumed the older male would be right behind him.[break] THEO BECKETT

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]RATHER BE THE HUNTER THAN THE PREY

[attr="class","setting"]

The younger male appeared to be enjoying himself. Was it joy that he was feeling? That's why he made that sound. "Enjoying yourself aren't you?" he asked, taking a random guess. Hopefully, he was right. If not, he would just say that he wasn't good at reading people. No need to let him know that he couldn't feel emotions.
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When the gym leader mentioned the possibility of adding a Mabosstiff to his party, he nodded. "You should. They're pretty useful Pokémon to have," he told the gym leader, noticing that Apollo seemed focused on something in his peripheral vision. He looked down at the dual type and followed his gaze, seeing him looking at a Pokémon.
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"An Umbreon," he pondered. "It might be a good Pokémon to have around."
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He used Flame Thrower against the Umbreon before following up with Air Slash before she could counterattack. Thinking that she had endured enough, Ryker threw a Pokéball.[break] Josh Devlin

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + catch attempt on Umbreon

[attr="class","pokeclass"]