@DarthSeverus394Cue the ominous thunder, ladies and gentlemen, because IT! IS!
ALLIIIIIIIVE!Name: Dr. Nicholas Jenner
Appearance: Wiry and somewhat gaunt for such a well-off citizen, Dr. Jenner rarely takes as much care of himself as he honestly should. It is not uncommon for him to sport rings under his eyes from many a sleepless night of work, and his thin frame speaks of a habit of skipping meals in favor of other time-consuming pursuits. While not overly burdened by stress, the lack of attention he pays his body has nonetheless caused his age to start showing, and it is obvious at a glance that he is too weak to put up much of a fight should the need arise. He wears simple dress shirts and ties even when off duty, but as this is a rare enough occasion in its own right, few people have ever seen him in any outfit without a long, white, and frequently unbuttoned labcoat draped over his shoulders, which he often neglects to take off even when leaving the workplace.
(He's older than this and doesn't smoke, but believe me, finding a
mostly appropriate image of someone in a labcoat was already nigh impossible)
Age: 37
Personality: Dr. Jenner is a sly, opportunistic man with few loyalties to anyone or anything other than himself. Often coming across as manipulative and condescending in his interactions with others, he tends to believe that he is the most intelligent person in the room and is eager to offer his opinions on most subjects even if they are neither requested nor appreciated. As he values efficiency over ethical conduct, these opinions are rarely popular outside of the Regime's most devoted circles, but he makes little effort to hold his tongue even in the company of people who find his ideology disagreeable; to him, hurt feelings are an insignificant price to pay for the sake of progress, and he expects to be judged for the results of his work rather than the methods used to achieve them. Pride is a great weakness of his, and he is easily agitated by anyone who expresses doubt in his abilities or finds his accomplishments less than impressive.
Background: From as early as his youth, Nicholas Jenner was recognized by the academic world as a talented and brilliant mind. After graduating MIT with a doctorate of science and a very promising thesis on the evolutionary processes of Pokemon, he was quickly snatched up by the Regime and put to work in one of its many research divisions, developing seemingly innocuous new technologies as a means of determining just where he belonged in the organization's vast power structure. Far from naive, the young Dr. Jenner understood that he was being tested almost immediately and rose to the challenge by drawing his peers into intense competitions over the recognition of their superiors. He quickly advanced through the ranks in this way, gaining a reputation for his diligence and willingness to exploit others - human and Pokemon alike - to achieve his goals.
The Regime was delighted by Jenner's initiative, and wasted no time in opening its gates to a number of secret projects deemed too disturbing for the public eye. For over a decade and a half, he worked as part of a team responsible for developing new methods of exerting control over Pokemon, streamlining the process of breeding and mass-manufacturing ideal servants, and as the head of one project which earned him a great deal of his present fame within the Regime's inner circles, creating a safe treatment to force evolutionary changes in otherwise immature Pokemon with only minimal risk of them developing complications further down the line. Throughout it all, Dr. Jenner was lauded as a model citizen and a flawless example of the qualities that the Regime sought in its most loyal supporters. He became the head of his own research division, and was given access to staff and resources that would have made his former peers seethe with envy. He had everything he could have possibly wanted from atop the pedestal they had placed him upon.
Time crept on, however, and while Jenner continued to make good use of his resources, his employers within the Regime began to grow complacent. Their brilliant scientist's value had been quantified at last, and believing that his loyalty to their cause was beyond questioning, their attention slowly drifted elsewhere. His work was put to use without its creator being recognized, with news circulating through the Regime's academic culture trending ever more strongly towards young talent and the promising changes that it could bring to their society as a whole. Dr. Jenner began to grow disgruntled as his own accomplishments went ignored, and as his budgets grew stricter and his staff grew smaller, his opinion of the Regime swiftly diminished alongside them.
Things came to a head when the details of his reassignment came down from above. A young man of nearly half his years was sent to assume control of his facilities, and with them, ownership of his staff and all ongoing projects that they were responsible for. Dr. Jenner himself was given the choice of being involved in a number of other projects throughout the country as an assistant director, but opted instead to take a long and much-needed vacation touring the country - in no small part to avoid violently losing his temper in front of his new superiors.
In truth, Jenner's tour throughout America was a cover for him to begin seeking members of the rebellion. Through bribery, anonymous inquiries, and the abuse of his access to Regime databases, he has spent the last four months chasing rumors of rebel activity outside of the attention of his employers and his would-be allies alike. Despite a great many close calls and frustrating setbacks, this search has ultimately brought him to New York city in the hopes of making direct contact with a rebel cell that the Regime has yet to discover, so that his revenge might begin in earnest.
Pokemon Name and Species: Sabi, Seviper
Pokemon Background: Sabi is a rejected member of a breeding program intended to supply Regime VIPs with Pokemon fit to protect them from unexpected attack by rebel forces and other civilian threats. As part of one of the program's later generations, her performance during the initial combat trials fell comfortably within acceptable limits, but she responded unexpectedly poorly to attempts at psychological conditioning and was eventually retired from active training due to the perceived risk of her acting out against her owner or failing to respond to commands during a crucial situation. When she was later discovered to be infertile, she was forced out of the program completely and entered the "open market" of Regime officials who lacked the status to be assigned high-grade, fully obedient Pokemon, but who still had enough pull within the system to lay claim to capable defects for their own personal use. At the time, Dr. Jenner was just such an official.
While Dr. Jenner originally intended to use Sabi as a tool purely for his own protection, he soon became intrigued by her independent tendencies and took her on as a subject of study as well. He would leave her outside of her Pokeball for extended periods of time without instruction purely to observe how she reacted, even going so far as to have her oversee his discussions with fellow researchers throughout the day. Later, he began to experiment with providing positive and negative reinforcement to shape her behavior in more subtle ways than the traumatic conditioning processes she had undergone in the past, and found that they were far more effective on her than even he could have anticipated; given enough agency to make decisions on her own, the seviper began to take an active role in protecting her owner, taking advantage of instincts and a reaction time that far exceeded his own in the process.
Having become undeniably invested in Sabi's development, and knowing there was only one thing left to do, Dr. Jenner took to exploring the limits of her intelligence in his spare time. At present, this remains a personal project that has been kept indefinitely on hold due to the already heavy scrutiny he has attracted from his colleagues for thinking to foster independence in what they consider a dangerous living weapon. Were it not for the proven success of his efforts so far and the lenience afforded by his status, it is likely that Sabi would have been confiscated and executed long ago - but in defiance of the Regime's close-minded prejudice, Jenner still insists upon calling her by name and treats her like a pet, if unaffectionately, in private.
