Team Rocket 101

[indigo_league]

What... you thought the Pokemon world was all sunshine and friendship lessons? Think again!

New Trainers and Breeders will find they haven't been here long before starting to hear whispers of the nefarious criminal organization known as Team Rocket, responsible for everything from running shady business operations involving Magikarp and Slowpoketails to ambushing unlucky travelers and stealing their Pokemon!

But some people may find themselves being introduced to Johto and Kanto's seedy underbelly much sooner than the others... because while most "otherworlder" folks wake up in quaint little New Bark Town before setting out on their Pokemon journey, some will come to in a distinctly less welcoming venue: Team Rocket's secret headquarters in Goldenrod City.

Congratulations! You've been drafted into the coolest, most kickass, ain't-nobody-gonna-mess-with-us team ever!


ROCKET BASICS

HOW DOES MY CHARACTER WIND UP IN TEAM ROCKET?

Your character can join Team Rocket in one of two ways!

1. Upon apping your character into the game, you the player may choose "Rocket" as their trainer class instead of "Trainer" or "Breeder". This means that they'll be piped right into the team upon arrival whether they like it or not! Your character does not need to "fit" into Team Rocket based on background or personality traits-- it's entirely up to you. A grizzled crimelord is just as able to end up in Team Rocket as a Disney princess.

Or 2., the character may begin in the game as a Trainer or Breeder and choose to join up with Team Rocket voluntarily. It probably goes without saying that characters who do this are more likely to be bad eggs, but hey, everybody's got their reasons, right?

ICly, trainers who join the game as Rockets from the get-go will wake up in a dark dormitory-style bedroom, and come to find that they're in the official Team Rocket Headquarters, a secret basement level of the Goldenrod City Radio Tower (which is, surprise surprise, run by Team Rocket!). While they'll probably have a minute or two to themselves to get their bearings, they're expected to jump right into training.

TRAINING?

That's right, this isn't Mama's house! While Trainers and Breeders are more or less free to begin their journey however they please, Rockets have considerably less freedom starting out. The character is an employee here, and they're expected to act like it! For the first week of their stay in Johto they're more or less in bootcamp and will be learning the ins and outs of theft, pickpocketing, lock picking, and all manner of daring escape routes across the sprawling city of Goldenrod. They don't want to send anybody out to the field without giving them a base set of skills first!

This training is entirely handwaveable, but you are more than welcome to team up with fellow Rocket players to thread out your character's memorable first days on the job, whether it's two trainees commiserating over how terrifying Admin "Auntie" Apricorn is, or an older Rocket showing the newbie the ropes!

Either way, by the end of their first week, Rocket characters should be fully educated on the Rocket Code of Conduct:

1. Rocket members should never mention being members of the Team on public venues such as over unsecure lines on the PokéGear, even when speaking with other Rockets.

2. Rockets are required to wear their uniform, including domino mask, at all times while on Rocket business unless it is a covert operation requiring secrecy and disguises. On missions such as these, members will be required to remember a series of keywords that will identify fellow teammates, if unable to identify them on sight. Members with long hair should wear their hair up and under their regulation cap to provide less visibility.

3. While they may travel freely after completing their preliminary training, Rocket Grunts should be available accept at least one (1) mission from the Team at all times. This may mean being recalled/redistributed from where they are at the time; a special signal from the Radio Tower will connect with Rocket PokéGears (and ONLY Rocket PokéGears) to keep members informed and updated.

4. When not on a specific mission, Rocket Grunts are required to provide* at least one (1) Pokémon over lv15 to the organization every other week. High levels or rarity will be rewarded accordingly**. Grunts who fail to meet the Pokémon requirements twice (consecutively or otherwise)*** will be cut from the team.

* In this case, 'provide' implies theft, but turning in a wild-caught Pokémon is acceptable every once in awhile, particularly if it's rare.
** A Pokémon obtained over lv30 nets a P3000 bonus, with an additional P1000 for each 10 levels; Pokémon of uncommon rarity get the agent 1 single-use TM valued at P7500 or under of your choice.
*** A grunt is exempt from this if they are on TR business for 2+ weeks, on a special or full-time mission, or hunting a specific rare Pokémon.

5. Grunts will be required to submit a (oocly handwaveable) weekly report to their superiors informing them of any updates (or not) to the situation in their current location: new arrivals, economic changes, a surge in the number of wild Pokémon, and so forth.

6. Rocket Grunts MUST listen to their Admins, no matter what! Punishments for insubordination will be carried out at the Admin's discretion and can be as severe as they choose.

WHAT ABOUT STARTERS? ARE THEY THE SAME AS FOR TRAINERS AND BREEDERS?

Not quite! Team Rocket is always looking for an edge over the average joe trainer, and as such, new Rockets get a bit of a leg up on the non-criminal newbies. Instead of just having one starter Pokemon, Rockets enter the game with two!

1. The "Main" Starter: This starter is level 15, microchipped and pre-trained by Team Rocket, and can be any Pokemon from the starters list outside of the ones marked with a red "x".

Microchipped starters are more likely to "aggro" in battle regardless of their natural personality. It doesn't boost or change their stats, but one may notice that their starter is particularly aggressive or forceful in battle, or has a hard time winding down after a fight.

And thanks to their training, this starter will be, first and foremost, loyal to Team Rocket. This doesn't necessarily mean that they'll have a mean or unpalatable personality-- your character may bond with this Pokemon the same way any trainer would! However, all Main Starters will do what they can to encourage their trainer (politely or not so politely, depending on their nature!) to work hard for the team.

You may notice that the 'banned' starters are all pretty cutesy and harmless-looking-- that's no coincidence. Team Rocket has a certain 'tough' image to uphold, and can you imagine how silly it would look to send a bunch of Grunts out into the world with cute little Cleffa starters? Blech!

2. The "Supplementary" Starter: This second Pokémon is level 5, wild-caught and shipped in for the purpose of being a secondary starter (ie, not pre-trained or microchipped), and can be your choice out of the following:

Ekans, Koffing, Rattata (Regular and Alolan form), Meowth (Regular, Alolan, and Galar forms), Grimer (regular and Alolan), Magikarp, Zubat, Capsakid, Woobat, Scraggy, Murkrow, Croagunk, Stunky, Vullaby, Drowzee, Vulpix, Houndour, Skorupi, Seviper, Trubbish, Spinarak, Salandit, Nickit, Impidimp, Zigzagoon (Galar only), Sizzlepede, and Maschiff.

ARE THERE ANY PERKS TO BEING A ROCKET INSTEAD OF A TRAINER OR BREEDER?

What, two starters aren't enough for ya? Fortunately, as rough as being a Rocket can be, it does come with considerable bonuses for those willing to do the dirty work! You scratch Team Rocket's back, it scratches yours!

The aforementioned two starter Pokemon. Creature double feature!

A steady weekly allowance. It doesn't start out as much, but it's still a regular paycheck, which is more than most Trainers can say!

Free lodging in any official Rocket facility (located in Saffron, Celadon, Goldenrod, Lavender, and Mahogany) at any time, including hot showers, rec rooms with TVs and video games, cafeterias etc. Non-Rocket lodgings (ie, hotels and inns) will also be compensated for as long as the character is on official Rocket business! Travel on the Team's dime!

Exclusive mission rewards unavailable to Trainers or Breeders. This can mean rare items or Pokemon, as well as advancing in rank and getting access to swankier benefits (being able to request private rooms or helicopter transport instead of sleeping in dorms or flying on a Pokemon like a plebe, for example). The more impressive the mission, the more valuable the prize!

Rockets will use the Breeder rules when it comes to clutch size! Take that, trainers!

Within reason (we trust players to use their discretion), Rockets may also obtain Pokemon without adhering to the Pokemon Availability Pages. This is an organization of thieves, after all-- while overzealous Pokemon theft will be noted and aggressively pursued by the police (so don't overplay your hand!), every so often you may handwave your character stealing trained Pokemon from random NPCs anywhere on the map.

Example: Rocket Grunt Selina Kyle is performing a heist on a fancy dinner party in Saffron City where trainers from all over the world are congregating with their Pokemon, many of which are not species local to the area. While there, she spots a beautiful Alolan Persian that she just has to have, and keeps it for herself after returning the rest of the loot to Team Rocket.

HOW CAN CHARACTERS MOVE UP IN RANK?

All TR characters begin their careers at the Agent rank, more commonly (and less flatteringly) known as "Grunt".

From there, the ranks go as follows:

For regular field agents:
Grunt ('Agent') > Private > Beta > Alpha > Admin ('Executive') > Boss

For lab workers:
Grunt ('Technician' in the lab, 'Agent' on the field) > Researcher > Division Head > Lab Head (for a whole base) > Admin > Boss

To move up in rank, the technique is simple: missions and plots! Player plots, mainly, but participation in mod plots also goes a long way. Once your character has accomplished a few Nefarious Deeds (tm) for the Team's glory, just pop over to the missions post and comment to let us know what they've been up to! Taking initiative is always rewarded, even if it's just by getting creative with the missions you're given. If you want to come up with a player plot, feel free to submit to the Plot Suggestions post or scheme in silph_co.

Currently, "Admin" rank and above are NPC-only and not available to player characters.

WHAT CAN MY CHARACTER DO FOR MISSIONS?

The 'default' mission that Rockets are assumed to be carrying out if they're not doing anything else is Pokémon acquisition, as seen in the CoC above; money rewards can be obtained for extra rare or high-level captured Pokémon. If a character would rather not steal (maybe not something they should say out loud around any Admins, but an understandable thing for more upstanding characters to try and avoid!), any of the available missions can be requested on the missions post!　You can also ask for an individual mission, better suited to your character, if you need it-- the missions listed are guidelines, not restrictions!

CAN MY CHARACTER SEEK REWARDS BEYOND THE BASIC PERKS, LIKE RARE ITEMS OR POKEMON?

Absolutely-- if you feel like your character's been working hard or being particularly ambitious/creative with their dastardly deeds, the admins should be taking notice! Visit the missions post for more information about earning special rewards or moving up in rank!

WHAT ABOUT THESE MYSTERIOUS ADMINS? WHO DOES MY CHARACTER WORK FOR?

Well, there are quite a few-- the most 'famous' names thrown around are Petrel, Proton, Ariana, and Archer. But they are rarely seen around the base these days, and even when they're in town, they don't have time for all you Grunt peons.

No, the management you're more likely to see are two individuals brought in from Team Rocket's very top ranks specifically to whip all these otherworlder recruits into shape...

Uncle Haban: Uncle Haban, as he prefers to be called, is a Team Rocket Administrator and twin brother to Auntie Apricorn. His signature Pokemon is a disgruntled Spritzee. He looks gruff and tough, but favors a more diplomatic and even-handed approach to discipline. To him, every squeaky wheel can be reasoned with... but don't be fooled by his affable demeanor. He ain't your friend. He's just the 'good cop' of crime. Also? He hates Dragon-types.

Auntie Apricorn: If you smell sweet spring flowers in the dead of winter, take warning. Auntie Apricorn is near and she is listening. The second Team Rocket Administrator and twin sister to Uncle Haban is a towering woman with a voice like honey and methods like vinegar. Auntie is clearly the brawn to Haban's brains and believes in swift and thorough punishment. If you see some poor Rocket down on their knees in the bathroom scrubbing toilets with a toothbrush at three AM, Auntie's the one to blame. She often threatens those who step out of line with something called The Pokey Chokey, but to date nobody has seen it. Everyone knows* that this is because it leaves no witnesses.

*'Everyone' = Rocket Grunt Carl, who heard it from his cousin's best friend's sister. But she's related to Sabrina on her mother's side, so everything she says is totally true.

CAN MY CHARACTER LEAVE TEAM ROCKET?

Well, yes, and it can happen one of two ways...

1. Your character is 'fired' from Team Rocket. This usually results from extensive slacking on requirements (as the CoC says, miss two weeks of the required Pokemon delivery without good reason and YOU'RE OUT!). More serious violations are more likely to face reprimand, but straight-up laziness isn't worth the effort to punish, so out you go. However, because Team Rocket is super petty, you can expect to have your name reported to the police as a dangerous Team Rocket member by an 'anonymous caller'. So have fun with that!

2. Your character willfully deserts Team Rocket. This, Team Rocket takes much more personally. Rather than report you to the police, they'd much rather deal with you themselves, and they know a lot of ways to hurt you. This means that characters who break ranks and flee can expect to be a prime target for attacks by former team-mates-- depending on the circumstances of the betrayal, this can be as simple as being stalked/harassed/stolen from, or as harrowing as being hunted down and physically kidnapped back into Team Rocket's clutches for 'interrogation'. That's up to you as the player, although mods will happily help you make it happen!

Those who 'quit' rather than be fired probably went into it with a plan in place for eluding their vengeful ex-employers, but may discover that they're having a lot of difficulty in doing so, maybe even being caught up with and having to move hiding locations much more quickly than they initially predicted...

UH OH... DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THOSE MICROCHIPS?

It most certainly does. The aggression-boosting properties of the chips are only part of their function... the most important function of the chips is allowing the Team to keep track of its members' positions and correct them as necessary. Yes, that does mean they can use it to find a character who's gone AWOL. Big Brother is watching! ALWAYS WATCHING!

The chips are not common IC knowledge, as the Admins don't want to give away the biggest trick up their sleeve, but characters who have deserted Team Rocket in the past have found out about them the hard way after having their every move dogged by agents with a grudge. The microchips can be surgically removed, but the only way to do this is by requesting it specifically at a Pokemon Center. And unfortunately... asking for it is tantamount to turning yourself in to the cops and facing the music.

At this point, former Rockets seeking chip removal is something well-known to the Jennies, and while many don't feel particularly sympathetic towards anyone who worked for Team Rocket (even reluctantly), turning oneself in does mean you are entitled to a certain degree of police protection from Rocket retaliation.

It's up to each individual to decide which is preferable: punishment by the law, or being perpetually on the run from their former team-mates.

ANYTHING ELSE?

That's about it. Keep your nose clean and listen to your Admins, and you'll do fine, kid.

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