#such a gross (potential) deal for an even grosser person didn’t he run off to saudi arabia why are these mfs trying to come back

[maiteo]

did you hear about arsenal linked with b*nz*ma?

não I never have any clue what’s going on with anyone or anything anymore😭

but I hope he croaks before he’s able to agree to any terms!

[shxdowoforre]

((I made a banner! A basic one for my basic ass self but it helps organize things still! Now then, today’s headcanons are--))

TEAM SNAGEM HEADCANONS

(and how Snagem affected Wes)

A thank you to @tenderpoison for making me think of doing this. Because, honestly, I completely forgot that I had barely made any hc’s for Snagem! So it let me think a lot about how stuff worked there.

Snagem was founded by Gonzap and they were independent at first. Essentially just a bunch of bums from Pyrite, The Under, and any other asscrack in Orre were what comprised the members.

It was founded because, as stated on my base list of Orre hc’s, Orre’s government is a shithole and so was the economy, and Gonzap and co. wanted some damn money.

They literally stole anything and everything at first. Anything they needed for survival, or once they became stronger, anything they wanted. They stole shit. That’s just about their whole deal.

When they discovered the black market for Pokemon was hot in Orre because of its competitive battle scene is when they decided to focus on stealing mainly Pokemon. Stealing anything became kinda risky business when they tried stealing from a Trainer with ridiculous Pokemon because he battled the Colosseums all the time. ‘Cause at first there weren’t many of these types, but as the competitive battle scene picked up they were everywhere. And everyone wanted to win, and they’d pay top dollar for fighting machines.

Now, Snagem’s members had pretty decent Pokemon themselves, but they were nothing like the Orre Trainers’. They had trouble stealing any until Gonzap had to personally step up and crush some dudes to get the ball rolling. Because Gonzap is the only one who actually trained up his own Pokemon when he saw the Trainers getting tougher.

Even after this, the Snagem members Pokemon didn’t get much stronger, and they often borrowed some stolen Pokemon on loan from Gonzap to get stuff done or, more commonly, they instead taught their Pokemon moves to turn them into trolls. Status moves like Sleep Powder, Smokescreen, Swagger, etc. They began relying on these moves to KO the Trainer and just take their Poke Balls rather than deal with a tough battle. Quicker, easier, why not?

Plenty of Snagems members didn’t even steal though, because they're lazy asses. These guys would hang round the base and just laze on the couch or be general mechanics/contractors.

Snagem’s HQ is a janky hovel, but it’s tough to breach. The canyon helps a lot with providing defense, but the stolen pieces that comprise the whole place are still pretty sturdy. Orre tech in general can be as advanced as Aether’s, so with that stolen stuff they can still have a pretty tough fortress.

If you get through the front door, you then have to deal with all the crowds of Snagem dudes that will rush your ass when they discover an intruder. See: Pokemon Colosseum opening. No matter how tough your Pokemon are, Horde Battles are a bitch, and Snagem does not follow standard battle rules.

In addition to the HQ, Snagem had several points of territory across Orre that they enforced and kept other smaller gangs off their turf. There were no other set bases besides maybe the abandoned house of the day.

For the internal hierarchy of Snagem members, it started a little like this.

1. Courier/Frontman: You’re not so much a member of Snagem as you are just somebody they hire on as a mule or pretty face to advertise. Couriers just run packages to people Snagem is dealing with or other Snagem members who need it. You compete with Pokemon for the Courier position too. Wanna know why Wes is a fast runner? Wanna know why Wes has such a speed machine and can drive so well? There’s some reasons. He started in this position, and he damn sure wasn’t gonna lose it. Now, as a kid, of course, he could only handle small hover bikes, but he learned how to mod them fast.

2. Base member/Lazyass: Base members of Snagem don’t do much besides just do basic errands and stuff. Anything other members can’t do basically gets shoved onto these guys. Including the grosser stuff like cleaning up ‘the messes’. They never elaborated on what. They’d just say to go clean up this mess or that mess. And Base members gotta do it. Or they can be lazy. A lot do. The HQ doesn’t smell nice. Especially since Orre is hotter than Groudon’s Drought.

2.1 Mechanic/Contractor: These guys are still technically Base members but they can actually, like, do stuff. So they’re treated a little better, and they don’t have to clean gross stuff up! They fiddle with all the machines and make sure the HQ is in good condition.

3. Thieves/Snaggers: Aka when Gonzap actually starts to give a fuck about you. If you meet your quota. This is arguably the most valuable tier members can be, even more than Admins. Anyone in this tier is part of the group of people that are assigned to go out and steal what is needed. Don’t care how, don’t give excuses, steal it. Steal everything you’re told to, or it’s back to Base member for you. Even some Snaggers were just those types that used Sleep Powder, but if you could steal, and steal all on your quota, you could be in this tier. Snaggers are regularly in contact with Couriers to pass off the goods to, and this is where Wes first met a Snagger. Immediately, it sowed the seeds in his head that would eventually lead to him wanting to pursue a higher position in Snagem. Snaggers are often the ones who get busted out of prison. Mechanics and Contractors, maybe. Admins, yeah. Snaggers, absolutely. Base members/Couriers/Frontmen? Lol they’ll send you a postcard.

4. Admins: Usually Gonzap’s close and trusted advisors and enforcers. Strong, yes, but they don’t have to be a Snagger. If you are, you may as well be a unicorn. Wes was on his way to being that rare combo before he stabbed everyone in the back.

5. Boss: Gonzap. Duh. The toughest dude, leads only the most important missions. Pretty standard stuff. A lot of day-to-day stuff gets left to the Admins but if he gets involved, you probably fucked up big time.

Now, Snagem also has a fun little ‘initiation’. It’s actually quite simple: Go to the HQ and report to Gonzap. Thing is, they have a messenger, usually another Courier, tell you this. No nice cushy ride for you. Go get there yourself. The most you may get told, if the member is nice enough to tell the Courier, is that it’s at Eclo Canyon. Normally people stop right there and go ‘Nah’ and back out. Plenty who try never show up. It’s safe to say, if you successfully find the HQ, you now know Eclo Canyon like the back of your hand. Which is important as all members need to know how. Wes cheated a little and stalked a Grunt there after being lost, but it worked!

New members are often treated roughly and used as a whipping boy a lot by other members. Aka they’d battle and fist fight a lot. Base members are the ones who really do this because they’re bored and it’s funny to punk a new guy.

They are nice to give you a uniform, but Wes didn’t like wearing it because they didn’t have a lot of different sizes and he was too small. He got a LOT of ‘attention’ for a while because of that.

Food in the earlier days of Snagem was a little scarce, and they didn’t ration. Get to your food first and take it before someone else does. Hiding it can work, but it normally gets found and it’s always nobody’s fault but your own if it does. That leaves eating it right there, but if another grunt is upset they didn’t get any they may just fight you until you puke it up to spite you. Wes had this happen several times himself.

Now, you don’t have to eat the food Snagem scrounges up. Nobody stops you from going out and getting your own. The HQ isn’t Snagem members’ house. It’s an HQ. You don’t pay rent for it, you work. Food is considered a luxury provided when they can give it. If you do go out to grab your own, don’t think other Snagem members won’t tail you. Just ‘cause you’re getting it from somewhere else doesn’t mean they won’t still try to take it or spite you.

Earning your respect in Snagem can take a while or it can happen really fast. Normally it involves asserting yourself enough to know that if anyone tries something, you’re gonna get thrashed. Contributing to Snagem a lot is another route. If you contribute a lot to Snagem but aren’t strong, you’re a ‘Daddy’s Boy’ and they fuck with you more than if you were just a new guy.

When you do earn your respect, everyone backs off, and you’re more or less finally seen as an equal, and people generally can get pretty friendly. You are ‘one of them’ sorta. It doesn’t mean any of the bullshit will stop, but they sorta feel like you can be trusted as far as Snagem is concerned. About as close to good friends and bros as can be. As long as you stayed with Snagem.

If you turn on Snagem, they will hunt you and utterly beat the hell out of you. Probably take all your stuff too. And they won’t stop. Not unless Gonzap calls them off.

So, overall, Snagem’s atmosphere is very much summed up as ‘a junkyard full of a pack of junkyard dogs’. Come on in if you can find em, but we ain’t gonna coddle anybody. Figure it out or leave.

All this was fine and dandy until Cipher came along. They gave one special thing to Snagem, and that was the Snag Machine.

Cipher completely took advantage of Snagem about it too. They knew Snagem would jump at the chance to use it, and so they used Snagem first as test subjects with their clunky Beta versions. The ones that were like vending machines.

These things were cumbersome and ridiculously hard to make use of. It wasn’t until Wes got the bright idea to actually disguise them as vending machines sitting on the back of a concealed truck did they actually steal any Pokemon with them. But Wes saw huge potential in this technology and was eager to see where it would go.

Eventually, to ‘thank’ Snagem for its help, Cipher ‘gifted’ them the only handheld Snag Machine. But it came at a steep price. They could have the Snag Machine, but Cipher demanded they go out and steal for Cipher as well as themselves.

Snagem, essentially, became Cipher’s bitch and stole at the snap of their fingers. Wes noticed this shift very quickly and he did not like getting put back into that tier after clawing his way out of it. He wasn’t gonna be nobody’s bitch, but if Snagem wanted to, Wes would treat them like one.

Snagem’s reaction was pretty basic when Wes betrayed Snagem, as seen in Colosseum, but Wes felt nothing when he betrayed them. Wes is a product of his environment, and Snagem undoubtedly created a monster by fostering his megalomania with their system. Several things, like the literal fighting for food, and the treatment of new members, contributed to the complexes Wes still has, such as never wanting to depend on anyone. The hyperaggressive environment, in turn, made Wes hyperaggressive when he felt threatened or wanted to assert dominance. He wouldn’t have even felt a need to assert any sort of dominance if Snagem hadn’t beat it into him that he had to, lest he be pushed around by everyone. Wes had his own bad traits, but Snagem basically took all of Wes’ bad personality traits and amplified them.