The Pickup Merchants is a neutral organization, made up of beings with the semi-common genetic ability Pickup, alongside other technical skills.
History[]
The team was formed by Thantos the Linoone, a petty thief with a knack for finding salvageable items and equipment, as well as other rare treasures including uncommon foods, clothes and, more importantly, gold and other expensive minerals. Conscious of this, he did not act upon it until bumping into Starina the Ambipom, someone else with the same ability. The two each had siblings, and some of them had that same skill, prompting Thantos to investigate.
He discovered that all people mentioned possessed a similar genetic strand - a command to create the genetic ability known as Pickup. Through talking with Pokemon Professors in Central City, Thantos discovered that numerous Pokemon evolutionary paths could have that same ability, and medical professors agreed that both Pokemon-Mobian hybrids and purebred Mobians could also possess the ability, although not as commonly as the known Pokemon species.
Quickly, Thantos and Starina began recruiting, starting with their siblings, then expanding out to accept other Pokemon families and even Mobians, all of whom possessed that ability, or similar ones, like Honey Gather. Thantos guided the group into a semi-legitimate form, where they would scour zones to collect discarded items, while others would also be first on the scene after a battle to salvage any repairable technology they could sell.
However, some of the members had Thantos' blessing to steal as well. Pokemon who lost their ability upon evolution also gained a place within the organization, either as a "fixer", a "watcher", or a "seller". At one stage, Thantos himself lead a scrounging run into the Transitory Mists, only to be attacked by the Nihlic Clan of Nihlus. However, he managed to barter his way out of the predicament, having to give the Nihlic Clan preference for any information or items they acquire.
The organization has also had dealings with G.U.N and other groups, paramilitary or otherwise, whom can either buy the offered goods or services outright, or barter for them with information or other such goods.
Policies[]
The main policies of the organization are simple.
- 1) Goods collected must be transported for assessment, never assess yourself.
- 2) Take care not to alienate potential customers - bad publicity leads to bad issues.
- 3) Don't be afraid to steal - the "finders keepers" claim still works in our line of work.
- 4) Always watch your allies - keep them safe on and off the salvage grounds.
- 5) Never keep items for yourself, but bring it in for your wage.
Base of Operations[]
The Pickup Merchants' main base of operations is a rather large building called the Junk Tower, to the southwest of Westopolis. However, smaller Junk Yards exist around Mobius with the primary function of sorting and shipping the items and intelligence reports back to the Junk Tower.
Skills & Tactics[]
Most members of The Pickup Merchants are Pokemon, and as such use a mixture of elemental abilities through their unknown power source, alongside their biological weapons. However, most finders, both Pokemon and Mobian also carry a combination of melee and ranged weapons for self-defense, as do the fixers and sellers that either purchased the equipment out of their wage, or learned the weapon as a finder. Tactically, members rarely enter into combat, but when they do, they focus on a combination of stealing through Thief and Covet, and defensive techniques. However, in a group, they can also pose a rather large threat due to their mixed elemental types and mixed combat skills.
Vehicles[]
The primary vehicles used are a mixture of Junk Freighter-type cargo ships and Junk Freighter-class star freighters, each fitted with a reasonable defensive armament, while for land-based transfers, Junk Trucks are used, again fitted with their own defenses in case of bandit attacks. Salvage Freighter aircraft and Salvage Transport Starships are also used to transfer battlefield salvage to the Junk Tower, again, with defensive weaponry and armor present.
Members[]
- Thantos the Linoone (Leader, "CEO")
- Starina the Ambipom (Vice-Leader)
There is more members than those listed, this is mostly a rough outline
Finders[]
- All in this list have Pickup unless otherwise stated to be Honey Gather
- Aepus the Munchlax
- Beechbone the Hedgehog
- Calla the Lilipup
- Ethan the Lilipup
- Kane Foxowth (Fox/Meowth hybrid)
- Nelson the Munchlax
- Regolio the Aipom
- Samuel the Phanpy
- Sandra the Zigzagoon
- Tadeusz the Munchlax
Fixers[]
- Areyis the Hedgehog - Ability: Unknown
- Damecus the Jackal - Ability: Unknown
- Harriet the Vespiquen - Ability: Unnerve
- Lars the Lilipup - Ability: Vital Spirit
- Load the Vespiquen - Ability: Unnerve
- Louise the Pachirisu - Ability: Run Away
- Shaken the Meowth - Ability: Unnerve
- Sibal the Lilipup - Ability: Vital Spirit
Sellers[]
- Adam the Rabbit - Ability: Unknown
- Force the Vespiquen - Ability: Pressure
- Naithen the Chaoshog - Ability: Unknown
- Scrapp the Herdier - Ability: Scrappy
- Zack the Sheat (Cat/Sheep hybrid) - Ability: Unknown
Watchers[]
- Adrian the Hedgecat - Ability: Unknown
- Lenora the Galvantula - Ability: Compoundeyes
- Tabitha the Hedgehog - Ability: Unknown
- William the Beartic - Ability: Swift Swim
- Wilhelmina the Beautifly - Ability: Rivalry
Pilots[]
- Antilles the Hedgehog - Ability: Unknown
- Boris the Centaur - Ability: Unknown
- Brayden the Faun Butterfly - Ability: Unknown
- Jayden the Hedgedragon - Ability: Unknown
- Rita the Mouse - Ability: Unknown