AU DETAILS!
Jan. 24th, 2016 09:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
withoutcontrolofmyself☽☾ Player Information
Name/Handle: Pyra
Are you 18 years or above?: Yes!
☽☾ Character Information
Name: Wes (XD002)
Canon: Slight AU, 11 Years Post Pokemon Colosseum.
Canonpoint: Eleven years post game and from the Yet Another Pokemon Forum’s Orre RP (Which takes place after Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness) after Wes has finished destroying the Pokemon HQ Lab.
Age: 28 (as he’s about 17 from canon game)
HMD link: http://withoutcontrolofmyself.dreamwidth.org/392.html
History: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Colosseum#Plot
The story of Wes was supposed to have a happy ending. After defeating the big bad of Pokemon Colosseum with Ho-Oh’s help, purifying all of the Shadow Pokemon, and releasing all except his starters to good homes, the former criminal decided to set off with his partner, Rui, to satisfy his natural curiosity and see another land where there were such things as wild Pokemon. The saviour of Orre set off to Johto and then Hoenn, spending six years overseas learning about different cultures and Pokemon. On his travels, he met Ardos (an antagonist from from Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness) who had just been defeated by the other game’s protagonist, Michael. After talking for a few months and befriending Ardos, Wes reveals he foiled Team Cipher’s plan previously. Ardos doesn’t take this lightly, as he is a devoted member of Team Cipher, and he begins his scheme to retake Orre and reinitiate the Shadow Pokemon plan by kidnapping Wes.
With Wes’ Espeon and Umbreon trapped in Pokeballs, Wes spends the next three years trapped in the Colosseum in the secretly re-excavated ‘Under’ where he was mercilessly tortured and experimented on, in order to test if a human’s heart could be ‘locked’ like a Pokemon. While Ardos rebuilds the ruined Team Cipher, he begins tearing at Wes’ body, injecting hormones and serums to make him move and fight faster, and replacing his left arm with the Snag Machine- the very device that was used to take down Cipher in the first place. Years of agony takes their toll on Wes’ mind, but he remains resilient until his partner Rui finds him. After a desperate fight with himself, Wes loses and ultimately kills his best friend by crushing her skull with the Snag Machine (which doubles as a mechanical hand). In shock of Rui’s death, Wes is sent over the edge and his heart is lost to darkness, locking him in an eternally aggressive, hateful and resentful cycle. With Ardos’ manipulation, he is totally obedient to Team Cipher.
In honour of the last being whose heart was supposed to be invincible to lock (Lugia, XD001), Wes is renamed XD002, and practically doesn’t remember his former name.
XD002 is not treated well by his masters, but he is treated well by his two Pokemon -who are not Shadow Pokemon thanks to a desperate agreement Wes made with Ardos- and a clumsy grunt in Cipher, a doctor ironically named Doc. They become partners and they execute Cipher’s will, despite Doc’s unwillingness to commit murder and arson like XD002 is. At the point he is taken to any game, Wes has just finished a mission where he snapped Michael’s mother (Professor Lily)’s neck and he set off a bomb in the Pokemon HQ Lab, burning dozens of scientists inside and destroying the only Pokemon Purification Machine known to Orre. He would have been stuck in his ‘room’ which is little more than a transparent box which he had been chained by his neck and limbs.
Personality: Before his capture, Wes already was quiet, but in the way a silent protagonist is. Generally he answers ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to things, but Wes is only an obligate mute, and prefers having others speak on his behalf unless it’s giving orders to Pokemon. Wes is a dangerous combination of being a powerful, pragmatic strategist, who is calm and calculating, but willing to take risks and do dangerous tasks (such as literally blowing up a wall to Team Snagem’s base to get their Snag Machine during the INTRO cutscene). Although usually he doesn’t flinch at teasing from his opponents, being called a traitor by Team Snagem members, and physical violence, much of this ‘calm’ is lost after his torture. Shadow Pokemon (and by extension Wes) are encouraged to be brutal, aggressive and emotional creatures, so when aggravated, Wes goes from a cold machine to a fiery monster.
Sadly, Wes is fully aware of his actions as Cipher’s prized possession (even if he is abused by the scientists there) and will spend the few moments he is alone to think. Usually these are despair-filled, especially when he remembers killing people and Rui, but he doesn’t outwardly show his torment besides a hateful look and gritting his teeth. In his AU, he has no time for PTSD flashbacks, but without Cipher constantly monitoring his vitals and making sure his head is ‘clear for work’, he’ll get them a lot in the games I take him to, much to his horror and confusion. Any red-hair girl in particular will make him run away in fear of crushing her head in.
Most of the time though, he operates like a machine- do the job, return to be repaired, rinse and repeat- to the point where Doc occasionally slips up and uses less human terms such as ‘recharging’ when Wes is sleeping. Wes appears cold and emotionless whenever he’s not in battle, and is ignorant to any injustice done to him, such as inadequate sleeping accommodations, constant slaps from the head scientists for disobeying, and being silent about Doc’s false report, when Doc lies about his contribution to a mission when Wes did all the work.
One thing that is clear though out the game and post-transformation into XD002 is that Wes is willing to do bad things to get what he wants and he isn't afraid to use violence when necessary. He believes the end justifies the means, and will eliminate anyone who stands in his way. While he isn’t beyond being able to change his opinion of things, Wes usually will stick to his beliefs to the bitter end and will fight for his interpretation of what’s right (which may be jaded by Team Cipher’s torture now).
Before, Wes didn’t talk much, but he was warm and opened up to those whom he loves or cares about, such as Rui and generally children. Though he's been literally rewired not to show any signs of ‘weakness’ sometimes parts of his old self would leak through, such as patting Doc on the head like one of his Pokemon when ‘congratulating him’ for making it out of a mission alive. Generally, Wes has a soft spot for animals/Pokemon, and he despises those whom would harm them, which stems from having being a defenceless child on the streets of Orre and having raised them from scratch. Having an Umbreon and Espeon even shows this love for Pokemon/non-humans, as these two can only evolve via Happiness and having a strong bond with the trainer. Even though as XD002 will now hurt children and harmless critters if ordered to, Wes will feel immense guilt for it.
Interestingly enough, this doesn’t apply when he’s harming teenagers, since the line is blurred for Wes since he had to grow up quickly in Orre. Especially when he feels like he has been wronged, Wes will feel no remorse for beating someone up. Again, this is a jaded interpretation: Michael having a Snag Machine that wasn’t partially his arm and being ‘free’ to go wherever he likes/not be a slave to an organisation infuriated Wes, resulting him in smashing Michael’s face into the wall several times.
Wes is a mess. He’s paranoid, hateful and broken, but he’s fighting on for the wrong team. He refuses to trust himself anymore (since he failed to fight himself and killed his best friend) and will actively search for someone to be responsible for him. Cipher has made him dependent, and he loathes it.
Powers & Abilities:
Name/Handle: Pyra
Are you 18 years or above?: Yes!
☽☾ Character Information
Name: Wes (XD002)
Canon: Slight AU, 11 Years Post Pokemon Colosseum.
Canonpoint: Eleven years post game and from the Yet Another Pokemon Forum’s Orre RP (Which takes place after Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness) after Wes has finished destroying the Pokemon HQ Lab.
Age: 28 (as he’s about 17 from canon game)
HMD link: http://withoutcontrolofmyself.dreamwidth.org/392.html
History: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Colosseum#Plot
The story of Wes was supposed to have a happy ending. After defeating the big bad of Pokemon Colosseum with Ho-Oh’s help, purifying all of the Shadow Pokemon, and releasing all except his starters to good homes, the former criminal decided to set off with his partner, Rui, to satisfy his natural curiosity and see another land where there were such things as wild Pokemon. The saviour of Orre set off to Johto and then Hoenn, spending six years overseas learning about different cultures and Pokemon. On his travels, he met Ardos (an antagonist from from Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness) who had just been defeated by the other game’s protagonist, Michael. After talking for a few months and befriending Ardos, Wes reveals he foiled Team Cipher’s plan previously. Ardos doesn’t take this lightly, as he is a devoted member of Team Cipher, and he begins his scheme to retake Orre and reinitiate the Shadow Pokemon plan by kidnapping Wes.
With Wes’ Espeon and Umbreon trapped in Pokeballs, Wes spends the next three years trapped in the Colosseum in the secretly re-excavated ‘Under’ where he was mercilessly tortured and experimented on, in order to test if a human’s heart could be ‘locked’ like a Pokemon. While Ardos rebuilds the ruined Team Cipher, he begins tearing at Wes’ body, injecting hormones and serums to make him move and fight faster, and replacing his left arm with the Snag Machine- the very device that was used to take down Cipher in the first place. Years of agony takes their toll on Wes’ mind, but he remains resilient until his partner Rui finds him. After a desperate fight with himself, Wes loses and ultimately kills his best friend by crushing her skull with the Snag Machine (which doubles as a mechanical hand). In shock of Rui’s death, Wes is sent over the edge and his heart is lost to darkness, locking him in an eternally aggressive, hateful and resentful cycle. With Ardos’ manipulation, he is totally obedient to Team Cipher.
In honour of the last being whose heart was supposed to be invincible to lock (Lugia, XD001), Wes is renamed XD002, and practically doesn’t remember his former name.
XD002 is not treated well by his masters, but he is treated well by his two Pokemon -who are not Shadow Pokemon thanks to a desperate agreement Wes made with Ardos- and a clumsy grunt in Cipher, a doctor ironically named Doc. They become partners and they execute Cipher’s will, despite Doc’s unwillingness to commit murder and arson like XD002 is. At the point he is taken to any game, Wes has just finished a mission where he snapped Michael’s mother (Professor Lily)’s neck and he set off a bomb in the Pokemon HQ Lab, burning dozens of scientists inside and destroying the only Pokemon Purification Machine known to Orre. He would have been stuck in his ‘room’ which is little more than a transparent box which he had been chained by his neck and limbs.
Personality: Before his capture, Wes already was quiet, but in the way a silent protagonist is. Generally he answers ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to things, but Wes is only an obligate mute, and prefers having others speak on his behalf unless it’s giving orders to Pokemon. Wes is a dangerous combination of being a powerful, pragmatic strategist, who is calm and calculating, but willing to take risks and do dangerous tasks (such as literally blowing up a wall to Team Snagem’s base to get their Snag Machine during the INTRO cutscene). Although usually he doesn’t flinch at teasing from his opponents, being called a traitor by Team Snagem members, and physical violence, much of this ‘calm’ is lost after his torture. Shadow Pokemon (and by extension Wes) are encouraged to be brutal, aggressive and emotional creatures, so when aggravated, Wes goes from a cold machine to a fiery monster.
Sadly, Wes is fully aware of his actions as Cipher’s prized possession (even if he is abused by the scientists there) and will spend the few moments he is alone to think. Usually these are despair-filled, especially when he remembers killing people and Rui, but he doesn’t outwardly show his torment besides a hateful look and gritting his teeth. In his AU, he has no time for PTSD flashbacks, but without Cipher constantly monitoring his vitals and making sure his head is ‘clear for work’, he’ll get them a lot in the games I take him to, much to his horror and confusion. Any red-hair girl in particular will make him run away in fear of crushing her head in.
Most of the time though, he operates like a machine- do the job, return to be repaired, rinse and repeat- to the point where Doc occasionally slips up and uses less human terms such as ‘recharging’ when Wes is sleeping. Wes appears cold and emotionless whenever he’s not in battle, and is ignorant to any injustice done to him, such as inadequate sleeping accommodations, constant slaps from the head scientists for disobeying, and being silent about Doc’s false report, when Doc lies about his contribution to a mission when Wes did all the work.
One thing that is clear though out the game and post-transformation into XD002 is that Wes is willing to do bad things to get what he wants and he isn't afraid to use violence when necessary. He believes the end justifies the means, and will eliminate anyone who stands in his way. While he isn’t beyond being able to change his opinion of things, Wes usually will stick to his beliefs to the bitter end and will fight for his interpretation of what’s right (which may be jaded by Team Cipher’s torture now).
Before, Wes didn’t talk much, but he was warm and opened up to those whom he loves or cares about, such as Rui and generally children. Though he's been literally rewired not to show any signs of ‘weakness’ sometimes parts of his old self would leak through, such as patting Doc on the head like one of his Pokemon when ‘congratulating him’ for making it out of a mission alive. Generally, Wes has a soft spot for animals/Pokemon, and he despises those whom would harm them, which stems from having being a defenceless child on the streets of Orre and having raised them from scratch. Having an Umbreon and Espeon even shows this love for Pokemon/non-humans, as these two can only evolve via Happiness and having a strong bond with the trainer. Even though as XD002 will now hurt children and harmless critters if ordered to, Wes will feel immense guilt for it.
Interestingly enough, this doesn’t apply when he’s harming teenagers, since the line is blurred for Wes since he had to grow up quickly in Orre. Especially when he feels like he has been wronged, Wes will feel no remorse for beating someone up. Again, this is a jaded interpretation: Michael having a Snag Machine that wasn’t partially his arm and being ‘free’ to go wherever he likes/not be a slave to an organisation infuriated Wes, resulting him in smashing Michael’s face into the wall several times.
Wes is a mess. He’s paranoid, hateful and broken, but he’s fighting on for the wrong team. He refuses to trust himself anymore (since he failed to fight himself and killed his best friend) and will actively search for someone to be responsible for him. Cipher has made him dependent, and he loathes it.
Powers & Abilities:
- Super Strength.
- Enhanced Speed and Endurance.
- A mechanical arm (Snag Machine) that allows him to capture Pokemon (Not relevant for game) and complements his super strength.
- Level-headed and highly intelligent.
- Skilled with machines.
- Very good survival skills/basic medical education.
- Hyper Mode- which activates like in Pokemon. When Wes’ emotions ‘rise to a fever pitch’ he becomes aggressive and disobedient. Though he becomes a lot more powerful by an adrenaline rush (amongst other physiological details) He stops following orders, he may attack a team mate, or harm himself. In this state, he’ll be unable to receive medical attention as he’s violent but will be able to shrug off physical and special attacks more easily. Hyper Mode ends when his TRUE name is called or a memory is triggered, though it may end when he tires himself out.
- Paranoid: With Ardos’ betrayal, Wes is going to be paranoid of strangers. Though he has to work with Team Cipher members, anyone not wearing the uniform is dubbed an enemy and will be regarded as such.
- Dependent (emotionally): While he doesn’t trust others, ironically he’s searching for someone to be responsible for him.
- Poorly expresses any emotion other than anger: An extension of being XD002. His heart is locked, and despite being able to show himself sometimes (especially when someone treats him well), he generally is as stiff as a robot.
- Highly aggressive and dangerous: See above. Has extra emphasis during ‘Hyper Mode’.
- Stagnant with positive emotion: He displays trouble expressing it (such as patting Doc’s head instead of smiling) since he’s been discouraged from it for the last three years. He’ll probably crush a hand if taught to handshake.
- Resentful of others: Tends to bear grudges. Forgive and Forget? More like Resent and Remember, then hunt down and harm those who’ve wronged you.
- Still a human and will die to poison and a headshot if he doesn’t dodge them. Hyper Mode may slow down how fast he dies, but very, very slightly.
- Constantly guilty over causing Rui’s death and can get paralysed by remembering. He displays PTSD symptoms.
additional segments
Date: 2016-02-01 04:01 pm (UTC)Ardos’ and Wes’ friendship:
In the Hoenn region, Wes met the new leader of Cipher, Ardos, in Route 111, in the desert. Wes went there in order to go and relax, to get a taste of home while he was on his travels, while Ardos went to go and investigate the ruins of Regirock to see if Cipher could use the Hoenn legendaries to help in their conquest. The desert is a big place and Wes got lost, eventually stumbling on to Ardos’ camp. Not realising that Wes was the hero who had saved Orre long before him, Ardos invited him to stay the night and they talked about legendary Pokemon. Ardos was familiar with Lugia, while Wes was well-acquainted with Ho-Oh and the legendary dogs, so the two of them spent the entire night sharing food and talking, all while not realising that they were both from Orre, rather than Johto, where those particular legendaries are usually stationed. Wes was interested in Ardos’ ‘research’ and Ardos appreciated Wes’ company and the man’s pragmatic battling style when they had a Pokemon match the following morning.
After helping with the deciphering of the braille, Wes asked if he could tag along and Ardos agreed, hence the next few months of travelling together. They never really were the best of friends, but they were friends in the loosest sense, and a good team. Ardos directed and Wes tended to address the more practical sides of things. It was a system that worked, until they headed out towards the sea.
The Reason and Betrayal:
Ardos never intended to be friends with Wes. Yes, he did form some kinship with him, but it was mostly because Wes was useful that he allowed Wes to accompany him. Ardos is an amoral man, and has always canonically always been faithful to Cipher’s cause and structure, even going as far to tell his brother that their father shall be referred to as the "Grand Master". At the end of Pokemon XD, he tries to force his father to destroy Citadark Isle to save Cipher despite the countless deaths that would result instead of accepting defeat. Even when his father, the leader of Team Cipher during Pokemon XD, and his younger brother eventually decided to leave and turns themselves in, he escaped, pronouncing that Cipher had branches in other regions, and would never truly die. He’s been quoted in the Post Game during the Orre Colosseum (where he is able to be battled despite being a wanted criminal, demonstrating his skill, cunning and potential connections he has to evade arrest) that he will revive Cipher.
From interactions found in the game, it’s evident that he’s resentful that Cipher has already been chased off from Orre once (however it’s often overshadowed, particularly because the game focuses on his younger, stronger brother). It is because of this resentment to the person who overthrew Cipher the first time, and the pain of a bitter defeat from Michael that forces Ardos to act the way he does.
After the cruise to Pacifidlog town, Wes confesses that he’s still afraid of the ocean, especially after being so used to the desert. This makes Ardos curious, after all there are no deserts in Johto. After some questioning, he finds that Wes is from the Orre region. Knowing Cipher was taken down by a ‘traitor with an Espeon and Umbreon’, Ardos contacted the last Grand Master, Greevil and learned that Wes wasn’t the smart guy from Johto he had assumed. He was a dangerous threat who actually knew how to deal with Shadow Pokemon. Between him and Michael, there was no way that Cipher had a chance, they were powerful and knew how to deal with Shadow Pokemon.
The idea came to Ardos after a long night of thinking: instead of trying to eliminate Wes and then Michael later (a route where he could see himself losing before his plans long gained momentum), he would try use his new ‘friend’ to his advantage. Make a threat into an asset: Wes was snagging Pokemon to save them before, so how ironic would it be for him to be its new Snag Machine. So while Wes is getting some supplies, he contacts one of Cipher’s Head Scientists and the maker of the Shadow Pokemon himself. Ein tells him that it is because Wes has such a good heart on top of his good head, that he is so dangerous to Team Cipher, so Ardos wonders if he can seal a human’s heart, make the problem go away and make the ultimate weapon in return. So while Wes was sleeping, Ardos had his Alakazam keep him in sleep and he took Wes back to Orre.
Locking the heart:
In canon, it is NOT stated how Pokemon become Shadow Pokemon and the data logs only state that it ‘shuts the door to their hearts’ '. Theoretically, this process could in fact be refined to focus on humans then, especially due to the emphasized connection between humans and Pokemon as addressed through the series as a whole.
The logs imply that they break the minds of a Pokemon by stripping it of all sense of compassion, empathy and emotion, leaving a killing machine behind. Many aspects of the Shadow Pokemon process seem to relate to abuse and trauma, which is exactly how it is made to be in this AU. An Absol was shown to be shoved in a small, metal box, and given electroshock therapy for several days as the introduction to its descent to darkness. Wes was subjected to outright torture for three plus years.
Anger, hate, fear, obedience. These are the four things that have to be programmed into a Pokemon to successfully lock their hearts after draining them of all emotion. Wes was broken down and then reformed to get him to be as good as the Pokemon. After strapping him to various machines, Wes was attacked over and over by Pokemon Admin’s Pokemon, predominantly the ones that wanted revenge like Ein, Venus and Dakim. It wasn’t hard to make Wes angry and hate all of them, after all, at the end of each day, Ardos would visit him, reminding Wes of how he was betrayed. Ardos would then personally deal with Wes: If Wes disobeyed any order he gave, or didn’t call Ardos master, he would be given an electric shock. Pain was a successful teacher, and while in the beginning Wes remained strong and resistant, his spirit began to whittle down.
When he wasn’t having drugs to help his physical performance, or being subject to Pokemon attacks, he was placed in a transparent box-like cage in a white room, forced to be alone with his thoughts. He tried to remain hopeful, but his bitterness began leaking through, shaping him to be the creature Cipher wanted. Torture, drugs, machines, even subliminal messaging.
Ardos thought it was both funny and convenient to make Wes’ greatest weapon a symbol of his slavery. He took Wes’ Snag machine and had his scientists modify it into an extra limb- a Snag Machine that could function as an arm. Then, he made sure Wes could really feel it as his arm was sawed off and replaced.
However dark his heart seemed, Cipher couldn’t quite get Wes in the darkness like they did XD001. He eventually became like a Shadow Pokemon, but it wasn’t enough. In his spite and his sick determination not to lose, Ardos wanted to have Wes irredeemable, but the lock on his heart appeared finally when Rui came looking for Wes.
Rui, Wes’ companion and the girl with the eyes that could see Shadow Pokemon. Years had passed since she saw Wes and she wanted to see what had happened to him. Unfortunately, Dakim recognised her and kidnapped her, bringing her to the facility. Not wanting to waste time making a weaker Shadow human and wanting to test Wes’ capabilities, Wes was ordered to kill Rui. By then, Wes was far gone, but a part of him did his best to fight the orders, to stop his mechanical hand from grabbing her face and crushing it in. However, he lost the fight and Rui’s skull cracked in his hand, her blood spilling out on to his fingers. That was Wes’ breaking point, where he felt all the guilt and pain from past sins, and the years of torture sunk deeper than ever. He became XD002, and allowed himself to be Cipher’s puppet. There was nothing left for him.
The last part of Wes’ locking came through from Ein, who allowed him to see through Rui’s eyes. He swapped the lenses in Wes’ eyes with Rui’s so he could see Shadow Pokemon without aide. Wes could see his own aura now, and it was darker than XD001’s.
The World:
Even before Cipher, Orre wasn’t all that a great of place. During Pokemon Colosseum, there was virtually no law (two cops in the entire city that was filled with crime and even had an underground city filled ONLY with criminals), bone-dry wastelands (excluding Agate City), and criminal gangs tearing up the place. After Wes dealt with things during his game, it seemed to have helped reshape Orre, and by the time Pokemon XD came around (A five year time gap after Wes’ adventure) Orre became less gritty, filled with Pokespots to actually catch wild Pokemon. Grass began to grow, water spread out from Phenac City and there was more than one organisation dedicated to doing good. With the disappearance of Shadow Pokemon after Michael’s time, Orre seemed to be shaping up as a region, even beginning to have signs of a Pokemon league being implemented. It was supposed to be a happy ending.
Unlike Pokemon XD, Cipher has gone back to their roots and began doing more subtle forms of attack, trying to keep out of the public eye. Their main form of attack is to start distributing Shadow Pokemon amongst criminals in the underground, using them as a distraction to hide from the real goal, making an army of Shadow Pokemon and loyal Cipher Peons, and putting Lady Venus from Pokemon Colosseum into a position of power: a Cipher admin more reliable and loyal than Snattle into governorship over Orre.
At the point where Wes has been taken, Cipher has just barely started its conquest, slowly letting its tendrils sink into the sands of Orre. Outside the behind the scenes Pokemon distribution and mayoral campaigns, their first major appearance is when they had Doc set a bomb up to destroy the ‘Robo Kyogre’, which had now become a tourist attraction, to prevent people from coming back to Citadark Isle. Ardos’ base has been set up here again, and he’s preparing to start making whirlpools to prevent people from coming in once Cipher is open to the public. The second public appearance is when Doc and Wes himself set fire to Professor Kamiko’s house after stealing his Pokemon Translators (which are actually useless but a good way to torture Pokemon further). The third appearance is when Doc and Wes bomb the Pokemon HQ lab and kill Michael’s mother to prevent further Pokemon purification. Wes has been at the forefront of most of these instances (Doc’s presence during the Robo Kyogre scandal was supposed to be held secret) because Cipher is planning on pinning Wes as the bad guy, making him seem like he’s the villain instead, masking Team Cipher altogether.
The main change in Orre comes when Lady Venus wins her campaign by a landslide and Wes has burnt down Celebi’s shrine in Agate City (which comes afterwards and he may be canon updated later to this point). Venus’ party takes over The Orre News Broadcasting Station and starts issuing propaganda, emphasising how Orre should be an independent nation and reject outside regions’ alliances, as they have rejected Orre in the past. This progresses to the eventual ban of ‘outsiders’ and Gateon Port is closed, creating a secure breeding ground for Cipher to start raising a larger army for world domination. In addition to that, the existence of Shadow Pokemon becomes more open and Wes steps out of the shadows- the News mostly placing any blame on the former hero of Orre. After Cipher steps in, crime is drastically reduced, several old gangs placed behind bars, at the cost of Orre being denied freedom from Cipher’s tyrannical reign.