#⊰ Ꜳ ⊱ ⋮ ❛ checkmate. ⸢ VERSE ⸥

[tcpdog]

I  like  filling  the  silence With  casual  violence I’m  killing  my  time  just  to  quiet  my  mind So  I’m  numb  to  the  pain  now My  life’s  filled  with  haze  how Did  I  let  these  distractions Become  my  bad  habits Obsessed  with  the  status  of  everything  that  just Don’t  mean  anything  now It’s  emptying  me  out

This  is  my  downfall

[tcpdog]

Was Archer ever convicted because of his involvement with Team Rocket? How would he handle prison?

I’m going to assume you mean after HGSS, when Archer revives Team Rocket and tries to bring Giovanni back as their boss.

I have several ‘paths’ / verses for what happens after Archer and the other executives are defeated and Rocket is again ‘shut down’, so the answer to this would vary depending on which path is followed.

I tend to default to the assumption that Archer (and the other executives) are still at large, after the showdown at the Radio Tower. he’s managed to successfully evade the authorities even before being recruited into Team Rocket, so his skills have only grown since, and he’s pretty fucking good at not being found when he doesn’t want to be.

the thread I have with Saz  ( @lookertickets​​​ )  takes place post-HGSS, where Archer had intentionally shown himself to draw Looker to his location and lured him into a back alley where he planned on finishing him off. of course it isn’t exactly turning out the way Archer wanted it to. so the police are still very much on the hunt for ex-Team Rocket members, especially the four executives and their former boss.

I actually had a headcanon that, if TR were to ever actually ‘fall’ and its information, assets, etc. confiscated or put into jeopardy, there was a plan between Archer and Giovanni, which essentially manipulates all of their information that could be used as evidence, and frames Archer as the mastermind behind it all. any connections between the two of them would be painted as Archer trying to frame Gio instead, and using him as a backdrop or scapegoat.

essentially the information is arranged and presented to make Giovanni look completely innocent and Archer completely guilty. this is on purpose, with full awareness and agreement from both of them, because Archer wants to take the fall so that his boss can live freely. so he would basically be convicting himself at that point, of everything Rocket has ever done (and, admittedly, a lot of it is his doing, since Archer was basically the engine of Team Rocket and did the bulk of the work required in running it).

I like to imagine the universe of Pokémon in a more realistic (and thus darker) setting or perspective than is canonically represented, because a lot of what would make sense in it has to be ignored or only vaguely referenced by the writers, since it IS a children’s show. that’s the kind of mindset I use for this blog’s content, as it makes things much more interesting that way.

if Archer were convicted, he would either get life in prison, or the death penalty. I don’t think it 100% impossible for truly heinous and longstanding criminals to be put to death, even in the Pokéworld (if it were more realistic of course) because Archer qualifies as – among other things – a terrorist, and the leader of a terrorist organization. he is dangerous even behind bars, and a lot of lives – Pokémon and human alike – were lost, ruined or traumatized because of him and Team Rocket. those lives, and their relatives, would want justice. there would be a lot of support, in this darker version of the Pokéworld, for the harshest punishment on those who were the driving force behind Rocket.

but assuming he was given life in prison, I also imagine that it is just as harsh (and sometimes lawless) as the real world’s prisons can be. some of the inmates look at him with respect and fear, others would absolutely despise him. Archer would most likely be kept in solitary, at least until when they can ascertain if he’s going to be as much trouble behind bars as he was outside of them.

I’ve spoken with Saz in the past of how it would be like for Archer in prison (particularly in the case of if Looker is the one to bring him in). his biggest abusers would very likely be other officers and prison wardens. as he’s not only a hated criminal, but the presumed leader of the largest and most notorious crime syndicate in the world, they’d treat him as bad as they felt they could get away with (which is a lot, since he has life in prison, and no one is going to want to look out for his ass.)

ironically, Archer would use this abuse to vilify his own beliefs that the police are the true ‘criminals’ of this world, and as much as they like to tout their ideals of justice and how they’re right and he’s wrong, they’re really no different from Team Rocket. he would obey when it is in his best interest to do so, but for no other reason than that. he’d talk down to the officers and basically push his limits as much as he could, and they’d only use that as an excuse to treat him more like shit, which feeds back into his beliefs that he draws his behavior from… and it’s basically a vicious cycle of that.

it helps distract him from his despair at the loss of Team Rocket and Giovanni, so…that’s a plus, I guess.