Joe
Joseph “Joe” Ishimoto is—in every way, shape, and form—better than his cousin.
Wow, one paragraph in and I can already tell I’m going to hate this guy.
Steven is stuck as the heir to his dad's stupid company. Joe is free to use his parents' money however he wants. Steven is Champion of Hoenn; if he loses a battle, he loses his title. Joe is a Colosseum Master; all he has to worry about is putting on a show for his fans. Steven has only a few fans. Joe has a whole fanclub. Steven kisses rocks. Joe kisses babes.
Yuuuuuup, this guy is definitely going out of his way to zero out his audience sympathy in live-time.
Steven came to Pokétopia once, either to flex his wealth by vacationing or to gloat to Joe. He got a Rental Pass. He had declared war on Joe's home turf.
Pathetic.
But did Steven
win?
Steven was used to battling on regular battlefields during the day. Joe, as Colosseum Master of the Gateway Colosseum, knew how to fight in darkness and colorful light. Steven chains himself to two types with many weaknesses. Joe uses Normal types—they only have one weakness, and they have an immunity—and he uses a variety of other types, including types that can counter Steven's Pokémon. Steven doesn't have a strategy; he only strikes when he thinks he can strike a weakness. Joe has a strong strategy: Protect. Protect. Protect.
Better hope that Steven didn’t teach any of his ‘mons Taunt.
Steven attacks. Joe plans. Steven attacks again. Joe switches to Plan B. Steven gains the upper hand. Joe planned for this as part of Plan X. Steven has grimy Rock types. Joe has neatly groomed Pokémon. Steven has rusty Steel types. Joe has Legendaries. Steven is stupid. Joe is better. Joe is better. Joe is better.
Joe, you can admit you’re losing in live-time here. Though I actually fired up Bulbapedia to see if this guy was canonical to a game, and… huh, he really
does have a resemblance to Steven in PBR, doesn’t he?
Steven always wins. Joe always loses.
Pathetic.
Yeah, figured. So this isn’t even the first time that Joe’s taken an L like this to Steven, huh?
Gray Coat Blue Coat
"Welcome to my castle!"
The man in the blue coat rolled his eyes at Kruger's introduction. This kid wasn't a pushover. Good. Only the strong could get into Kruger's castle. Only the strongest could dethrone the king.
Oh, so
this is why it’s called ‘Revolution 9’, since it’s following NPCs from PBR, right?
Kruger Faustus knew how to exploit his opponents' weaknesses, but if the man in the blue coat had any weaknesses, he hid them well, just as Kruger did for his own weaknesses. In the end, the man in the blue coat won.
The man in the blue coat? As in Riley?
"Well played," Kruger said as he shook the man in the blue coat's hand. Neither one smiled.
Kruger saw the man in the blue coat later that night, sitting in the corner of Joe's nightclub with his Espeon and Umbreon, the ones who had defeated Kruger's Ambipom and Drapion. The man in the blue coat's face was stone cold, but he pet his Pokémon well enough to make them purr with glee. Those two had been cheerful even on the battlefield.
Oh, well nevermind then. That’s Wes. Guess that confirms that there’s some version of Colosseum’s events that went down in Facadeverse.
And then, the man in the blue coat's facade broke: he smiled at his Pokémon.
Oh, so Wes
does have a soft side to him in this setting.
His smile turned into shock when he noticed Kruger walking over to them.
"H-Hey, you didn't see anything—"
Kruger: “
Suuuuuure I didn’t.”
Like a crack in a boulder—an intricate, ornate crack that added to the rock's beauty—Kruger smiled. "Hey, I never got your name, kid. Want to talk over drinks?"
Wes: “It’s… uh…”
Espeon: “*Leo.*”
Umbreon: “*Seth.*”
Wes: “Oh for crying out loud, are you two seriously doing this localization gag thing again in
another story?!” >.<
Kruger: “Not sure what that’s all about, but sounds like you’ve got quite a story to tell. What do you say we hit up the bar and you can tell me all about it?”
