[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.
[break][break]
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.
[break][break]
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.
[break][break]
The sight of the Pokémon already saddled up reminded him of something.
[break][break]
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.
[break][break]
"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.
[break][break]
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.
[break][break]
THEO BECKETT must have realized this as well. A raised hand from the older male brought him to an instant halt.
[break][break]
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.
[break][break]
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.
[break][break]
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.
[break][break]
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.
[break][break]
Yes, that is what they would do.
[break][break]
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

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

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

[attr="class","setting"]

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.
[break][break]
"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.
[break][break]
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.
[break][break]
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.
[break][break]
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

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

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

[attr="class","setting"]

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.
[break][break]
"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.
[break][break]
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.
[break][break]
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.
[break][break]
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.
[break][break]
"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.
[break][break]
"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.
[break][break]
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.
[break][break]
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.
[break][break]
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.
[break][break]
"An Umbreon," he pondered. "It might be a good Pokémon to have around."
[break][break]
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"]

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

[attr="class","setting"]

His gaze remained fixed on the Megalopolans as they neared. Nodding discreetly to Ares, the Gallade swung his bladed arm towards their enemies, unleashing the move Sacred Sword onto them. However, he wasn't expecting the attack to catch onto another trainer's attack and redirect the Heat Wave from their Pokémon onto the enemies.
[break][break]
He watched as some of them burned before briefly glancing towards Cadeyrn Osmond. Without bothering to see if he was watching or not, he gave the other guy a curt nod, the only acknowledgement he received. That is, if he was lucid enough to perceive the compliment.
[break][break]
Once that was done, he returned his attention to the Megalopolans. He was prepared to launch an all-out assault on the aliens when he heard the order to start boarding. He shot the Megalopolans one last look before retreating. He didn't like fleeing, but he wasn't stupid. His mentor would've said something about retreating to live and fight another day.
[break][break]
With that in mind, he retreated. However, that didn't mean he was any happier about it. If it were up to him, they would all die here and now. But he knew it wasn't up to him, and he wasn't reckless enough to try and take on the Megalopolans all by himself.
[break][break]
Upon boarding the ship, he ignored everyone around him and moved off by himself. The Gallade, who had stayed by his side, kept an eye on everyone as they began their journey out of the cave.

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + watches as the mixed attack hits the Megalopolans [break] Reluctantly gets on the ship despite wanting to just take out the Megalopolans here and now [break] Ignores everyone and decides just to enjoy the ride

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

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

[attr="class","setting"]

The ploy worked to some extent. He was able to get close to the Megalopolan, parading around as Spencer, as Spencer was blocked from his assassination attempt by the expanding space-time distortion. Before he could try another attempt, Apollo grabbed him and flew out of range of the expanding space-time distortion before he could be thrown back and injured.
[break][break]
Without the smokescreen, he could easily see what was happening. Realizing that the Megalopolans were scrambling fully onto Apollo before directing him to take off after the Megapolans. Following his trainer's orders, the Charizard followed after the Megalopolans.
[break][break]
He ignored most of what was going on around him to focus on trying to get to the Megalopolans. He wasn't going to let them get away that easily. All he wanted was to take every last one of them out.
[break][break]
Seeing the ship come into view, he got to where he was in front of the ship before jumping off of Apollo and landing in between the ship and the Megalopolans. Returning Apollo to his Pokéball, he released Ares from his Pokéball before bracing himself to fight against the remaining Megalopolans.
[break][break]
Ares was ready as well and prepared to use Sacred Sword against any of the Megalopolans that neared them. While Ryker was prepared to take them out with the hidden blades, though he wasn't opposed to using just regular hand-to-hand combat, which was why he had fallen into a stance for combat.
[break][break]
They needed to eliminate the Megalopolans now, while they were weakened. One of the lessons his mentor had taught him was to prevent targets from escaping and regaining strength. It always complicated matters when that happened, and he knew this from experience. If they had just taken out the other gang, they wouldn't have been able to retaliate. Every decision had consequences, and he didn't want to go through what had happened with his gang again. If they allowed the Megalopolans to leave and they returned, they would pose an even greater threat.
[break][break]
"We must prevent them from reaching the ship. If they manage to escape, I believe they will come back, stronger and more dangerous," he emphasized, glancing at his fellow unaffected individuals.
[break][break] YsWoOUzU

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + Gets close to the head Megalopolan but is stopped from taking him out [break] Charizard saves him from being blown back by the Space time distortion [break] Directs Charizard to fly towards the ship [break] Gets there and returns Charizard and releases Gallade [break] Gallade is prepared to use Sacred Sword against the Megalopolans [break] Knows from personal experience that letting the leave and come back fully recovered is a bad idea [break] Goes with Choice 1

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

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

[attr="class","setting"]

Upon hearing the question, he gave it some thought. His initial reaction was to suggest killing the person, which made sense given his profession. However, he felt that there might be more to gain from the situation. He decided to consider what his mentor would have done, as there were times when his mentor had wanted him to do more than just kill someone.
[break][break]
"I suggest we try to obtain any necessary intel in exchange. If they informed the league about us, it would only be fair for us to learn about the league in return. We cannot allow the league to have the upper hand. We should strive to level the playing field or even gain the upper hand," he explained to the older man.
[break][break]
He had not expected to give such a lengthy response, and his throat was now sore. He had never been particularly talkative, and the past ten years had only made it worse, as he rarely spoke. Perhaps he should have spent those ten years talking to himself. He was fortunate that his voice did not sound hoarse or rough, as if he had not spoken in a while.[break] THEO BECKETT

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

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

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

[attr="class","setting"]

As he mentioned thinking alike, he nodded. Thinking alike when it came to names wasn't that uncommon of an occurrence. He decided not to go into all that though. There just wasn't much point in getting into all that. Though considering he wasn't the most verbose of people, he didn't see much point in carrying on a long conversation about name preferences.
[break][break]
"Fenris is a good name that any Pokémon would feel proud to have," he told the younger male. And he wasn't just saying that because he had a Pokémon named Fenris either. He had just liked that name. Though he felt he had read of that name somewhere and he had just felt the name was just right for a Mabosstiff.
[break][break]
As the gym leader took off, he urged Apollo to take off after him. Of course, since Ares had a speed-based move in his move set, he was faster, but Apollo wasn't shabby himself. Charizard had been trained for years to be quick, even without the use of a speed-based move.
[break][break]
He was in the midst of going through the turns Josh had on Ares when he noticed movement from below him. Letting his gaze dart down, he saw a Salandit. The dual type saw them as well and sent fire at them, which Apollo sliced through the fire blast with Air Slash.
[break][break]
After the attack hit, Ryker tossed a Pokéball towards the Salandit before she could try for another attack. He did all of this while barely slowing down.[break] Josh Devlin

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

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

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

[attr="class","setting"]

Sensing someone approaching he turned his head to see Tempest Quinn. Upon hearing the question he blinked. Was he asking him for a response. Was this one of those rhetorical questions he had heard about. It seemed it might be, and yet he really didn’t want to be wrong if it wasn’t.
[break][break]
Despite knowing they were the only two at the cliffs edge at the moment he had to resist the urge to make sure no one was behind him. It was still strange for people just to strike up a conversation with him. He didn’t really understand it. But he supposed he should at least say something.
[break][break]
“I don’t know, I guess despite how they appear they are highly intelligent beings,” he said his expression neutral. He would barely pay attention to anyone else who came close to the cliffs edge. As far as he was concerned unless someone directly interacted with him he saw no point in acknowledging them.
[break][break]
With the light Apollo’s flames had provided Tempest Quinn’s Lucario was able to start up a walk way. Though he was more than ready to watch the path he made he briefly turned away when someone spoke of warnings about canine and fire pokemon. His eyes landed on the woman who had spoken staring at her unblinkingly for a few minutes.
[break][break]
Her emotion. What was is it? He had seen similar emotions on past victims of. There was a name for it. Oh he couldn’t remember. Was it worry? No it wasn’t that. Too intense of an emotion for that. Realizing he was kind of staring he looked away.
[break][break]
“Apollo isn’t the one you should worry about,” he told her his expression giving nothing away. While it was true Apollo was his strongest he wasn’t his cruelest pokemon. No that title would have to go to Ares. The Gallade could be quite merciless after all.
[break][break]
Having no more to say to Aubre McKenna-Settentrione he turned away. Upon turning around he noticed that a path down the cliff side had been made. He eyed the path before letting his gaze trail over the rest of the group. Though his gaze would go straight ahead once more once people started going down. “Meet up at the bottom,” he told the dual type before following after the others.
[break][break]
Once everyone was down he eyed the ship. There was nothing between them and the ship. Things seemed just a little too easy. As the prisoners moved past the group he allowed the blade hidden up his sleeve to slide free. Nothing was ever this easy. This had to be some kind of trap. Bracing himself his unblinking gaze remained fixed on the on the one prisoner as he revealed himself to be an imposter. Though considering the other prisoners desire to protect him he could only assume they were all imposters.
[break][break]
As if angry he looked down. Hearing what they said he had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. “Heh, like I would let a bunch of freaks do me in,” he said looking up his eyes mocking. “I’d like to see you try asshole.”
[break][break]
His mocking gaze remained fixed on them as Apollo landed beside him. Without needed to be told he cloaked the place in smokescreen cutting of visibility off a bit. It would be hard to find in such conditions unless one had been trained to use their other senses in battle, like he had.
[break][break]
Hoping it wouldn’t be blown away to soon he made his move. Hoping to use the poor visibility to his advantage he moved quickly and silently for someone his size. His hope was to slip through the Megalopolans guard and take out the head guy before anyone was aware what was happening.
[break][break]
If that didn’t work…. Well he was a trained killer. He would just kill them all. True the prisoners may just be brainwashed like half of their group, or whatever it was. But it was also safe to assume that they were Megalopolans as well. But he wanted to use that conclusion as a last resort.[break][break] 19XGitK8

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + TL;DR: Acknowledges Tempest Quinn and responds [break] briefly watches the bridge be made before acknowledging Aubre McKenna-Settentrione [break] heads down with the others. [break] figures things are going to easy so isn’t surprised by the trap [break] has Charizard use Smoke Screen [break] plans to use Smoke Screen as a cover to get close to the lead Megapolan and take him out

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

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

[attr="class","setting"]

The ploy wouldn't work, he realized that. Despite appearing to give in before suddenly fighting back again, he could feel himself starting to get pulled under. Now, he had stopped struggling because he had wasted a lot of energy fighting back. Just as he thought he was going to be pulled under, a younger man and his Hisuian Goodra saved him.
[break][break]
Now freed, he turned his attention to the blue-haired man. "Thanks," he commented, feeling his energy coming back now that he wasn't struggling. He was used to a bit of a workout, so recovering energy from something like this wasn't hard. Though he had a feeling it would be an entirely different matter if he had been pulled under. Speaking of which, he really should get out of the water.
[break][break]
Giving Noel Parker a curt nod as a way of saying thanks again, he returned Fenris to his Pokéball. He didn't want to risk Fenris being grabbed again either. With that out of the way, he made his way to the other side of the water. Once out, he turned to see how everyone else was faring.
[break][break]
Not everyone had been as lucky as him. Some of the group hadn't been freed from the trap in time. Of course, these people only looked like they had had their energy drained. He supposed as long as nobody died, everything was fine.
[break][break]
He was about ready to join the fight, but as soon as it started, it was over. And soon, others were joining him on the shore. Turning away from the Dhelmise, he started heading towards the light. From behind him, he could hear a move being used to push back the Dhelmise, but he didn't turn around to see what happened.
[break][break]
Upon reaching the campfire, he looked around. The first thing he noticed was the cages. They had people in them. Prisoners for the Megalopolans, he assumed. They didn't seem like Megalopolans to him, so he didn't think it was a trick this time. But that didn't mean he was about to let his guard down.
[break][break]
Seeing that people had already made their way over to the prisoners, he decided to turn his attention somewhere else. Making his way to where the ground dropped off, he looked down. He thought he could see what looked like a ship down there, but it was kind of dark down there.
[break][break]
Frowning, he released Apollo from his Pokéball. "Use Flamethrower so I can see a bit better," he told the Charizard as he picked up a rock off the cave floor. When his companion used Flamethrower, a bit weaker one, he dropped the rock and listened for it to hit the ground. He didn't hear anything, so he figured it was a pretty long drop. Someone could get pretty hurt if they weren't careful.
[break][break]
He supposed they could fly down, provided enough people had flying Pokémon. His Charizard could at least carry two people. But if not enough people had flying Pokémon, that idea was out. Scaling the walls would be impossible. With what little Apollo had provided, the walls had seemed smooth.
[break][break]
And even if that wasn't the case, he didn't fancy getting caught on the cliff face if they were attacked. That would be disastrous. There had to be a safe way down, though.[break][break] 8Uueeh|H

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + open to interaction. [break] thanks Noel Parker [break] returns Mabosstiff before getting out of the water [break] sees others are checking in on the prisoners so checks out the chasm [break] releases Charizard and had him use a weak flame thrower to provide better light [break] tries to see how far down it is by dropping a rock [break] decided it’s pretty far down and tries to think of ways they can get down

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","milkcredit"]milky

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

[attr="class","setting"]

The others' arrival didn't take long, right on time. Although he was sure that would be expected of someone who was a part of a group of criminals. What kind of example would one be setting if they were late in recruiting a new member? Not a very good one.
[break][break]
As he questioned his readiness, he nodded. "What do you want me to do?" Straight to the point, but that was just the way he worked. There was no use in dragging things out more than they needed to be. Beating around the bush had just never been his style.
[break][break]
As he waited for some kind of instructions, he went over a mental checklist of everything he had on him. It was always good to make sure you had everything and that he was fully prepared. Preparedness was the first rule of being an assassin. Sloppiness would lead to getting killed, after all. Though he supposed that all depended on what his assignment was.[break] THEO BECKETT

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

[attr="class","pokeclass"]