The Great Bulk Character and Lore Guide

Main Cast:

Team Yin-Yang

"Makuhita", AKA "Makky":
Sex: Male
Ability: Thick Fat
A human-turned-Pokemon that was raised in a rough household alongside his younger brother, who as far as he knows, was not transported with him. He has a loud and energetic personality, which makes him both many friends and enemies. Beneath his exterior, however, lies a determined core. He has an extreme level of pain tolerance and durability, fighting through injuries and agony that lesser Pokemon would wilt under.

Some Pokemon might think he's an idiot due to his loud, reckless demeanour, but there's more going on inside his head than most pick up on. He's capable of being philosophical at times, and when he's pushed, he can come up with solid tactics.

Makuhita has deeply buried anger issues stemming from both genetics and his childhood, although he's learned to control himself to the point where he can keep calm under almost all circumstances. The way he acts when he loses his temper hasn't been shown completely, but it was hinted at when he fought Lombre for the first time. Upon seeing him aim for Asana, he immediately broke the outlaw's arm, and if it weren't for his own self-control, Makuhita would've killed him.

Makuhita is a slow, yet sturdy brawler whose style relies on a mixture of Arm Thrusts, wrestling moves, and grappling. His body is highly resilient against blunt-force attacks such as punches and kicks. The usage of Aura Expression can further augment his natural durability, making his body tougher than stone.

His main weakness in battle is his lack of speed and mobility. He has to wait for faster, more nimble opponents to come to him. Another minor weakness is that his head isn't as well-protected as his body, as it lacks fat reserves to cushion blows.

Aura Abilities:
Crude Sensing: Makuhita is technically able to sense Aura, although only at about an arm's length away from himself and at a very poor quality. This is due to his overly active mind and inability to focus. He used to be unable to use this consistently, but as of Part 8, he's managed it.

Basic Expression: Makuhita has a basic understanding of Aura Expression, and has externalized his Aura and fired off a projectile at least once, although he cannot replicate the feat yet. He can bolster his body, too, and unlike Asana, he can target more specific regions, such as his fat or muscles.

Burning Determination: A peculiar quirk of Makuhita's soul allows him to burn brighter the more injured he is. His Aura is both generated and expelled faster the more injured he is, making him even harder to beat. However, at this point in development, there's a risk to it: if he gets hurt badly enough, his body cannot vent out Aura sufficiently, and is soon overloaded by it. This weakness will go away with proper training, but it is a present threat for now.

Asana (Meditite):
Sex: Female
Ability: Pure Power
Held Item: Power Band (worn around the neck)
A harsh, driven, stubborn, yet loyal Meditite who is a gifted Aura Sensor. She had a desire to focus on her Aura mastery and skill in fighting full-time, but due to needing to pay her bills, she was shackled with caravan guard duty, a job she hated. She only quit and moved to the bounty hunting business at Makuhita's urging, and took quickly to it.

Her relationship with Makuhita started as being tense, bordering on outright antagonistic, due to how their personalities conflicted. She saw him as a boorish, oafish dolt who almost ate her out of house and home and regarded his attempts at concealing his origin with suspicion, but she slowly warmed up to him. Nowadays, he's more like a brother in her eyes.

Due to being a Sensor at birth, she grew up with a sense of pride and superiority to others around her. However, due to the realities of adult life, she had to take caravan work to make ends meet, and there, her pride morphed into arrogance. It's only due to Makuhita that it melted away, allowing her to make genuine friends in Roserade and Sonora.

Her fighting style is a skilled mixture of both psychic and physical combat. She can dish out tons of damage, but she can't take it in return. As she develops more, her fighting style will likely morph into a more hyper-aggressive form.

Aura Abilities:
Long-Ranged Sensing (Can sense for quite a long distance. She has trouble spotting details in her surroundings, but if she focuses, she can make some things out.)

Basic Expression (Can aura-boost limbs and moves.)

Lombre/Tallarin:
Bounty: 3,500 5,000 7,000 Poke
Rank: B A S
Wanted for: Murder, Caravan Robbery, Assault, Fraud
Sex: Male
Ability: Swift Swim
Distinctive Features: Speaks in a slow, tired voice, and has a distinctive scar running down most of his left arm. He's also lankier and a bit taller than most of his species, giving him a distinct, reedy-looking appearance. The sound of his voice varies on the guise he's in, too. When he's hiding as Tallarin, he speaks with the accent his father and brothers had, which sounds vaguely hispanic. When he's out of cover, though, he speaks without his accent.
Held Item: Depends on the situation. He wears a Mach Ribbon when he knows he has to fight out in the open, wears a Sneak Scarf when he needs to be stealthy, and uses a Scope Lens whenever he needs to snipe from particularly long distances.
Location: Grass Continent

Lombre immigrated from the Mist Continent to the Sand Continent in his teenage years due to earning the ire of a member of a local gang, and quickly got a start as a conman. He'd sell all sorts of counterfeit goods, but the most notable were his fake evolutionary stones, which he chiseled and painted by hand. However, as time went on, word got around about his merchandise, and he had a harder and harder time selling it.

One day, as he was being chased out of another town, he bumped into Cacturne, who helped him fend off the irate villagers. Even though he was unskilled at the time, he still possessed a remarkable aim and an ability to operate under the worst pressure, having ran around and evaded a Copperajah until they were exhausted.

His defeat by Asana in Part 1 unveiled a few more character traits of his, such as his self-judgmental nature, his ability to retain grudges, and his loyalty towards the few Pokemon he trusts. Motivated by his humiliation, he trained himself up and became just as much of a force to be feared as his boss, all within the span of three months.

When Team Yin-Yang confronted Team Verdant, he fought Asana. When Sonora convinced Cacturne to stand down, he warned him not to believe her, as he thought her and her companions were tricking him. In his mind, this was a conspiracy to claim the thirty grand on his boss's head, that they'd then split three ways. This opinion of his is only further reinforced by his background as a scammer, which made him jaded and prone to second-guessing the intentions of others. The whole reason why he bonded with Cacturne in the first place was because he was filterless and had no need to lie. If he said something, Lombre knew he meant it.

Cacturne didn't listen, and furthermore, he gave orders to Lombre not to shoot Sonora. He hesitantly complied, although he warned Makuhita and Asana that he wouldn't forget what they did: he stated he'd murder them both the next time they seen him, angered by what he saw as them psychologically manipulating and gaslighting the one person he trusted.

Lombre possesses two sides to his demeanour. Around most people, he's adverse to causing needless violence and at times is even apologetic if he's pushed into fighting. For example, he had the opportunity to kill Empoleon of Team Masquerade, but he refrained from doing so, instead telling him not to throw his life away and that he'd be of no use to Roserade as a corpse.

However, when it comes to Makuhita and Asana, he's very cold, merciless, and practical. He will use any means necessary to attempt to kill them, no matter how underhanded they may be. If innocents get wrapped up in it, he blames it on Team Yin-Yang for "forcing" him to do what he does, showing a hypocritical and slightly delusional side to him. Ge has to constantly convince himself that his actions are necessary and that they're merely for the greater good in capturing what he sees as monsters.

In battle, Lombre is very dangerous if his opponents are unprepared. When outside of melee rnage, he dominates the battlefield with his Bubble Beams, which he can fire both rapidly and precisely. He's an especially gifted sniper, being able to take out Pokemon from long distances.

He's rather inexperienced in close-ranged combat, however, and tends to rely on his Giga Drain roots in such engagements. They can be controlled individually and are prehensile, being ideal for both grappling and whipping.

When it's raining, he becomes even more dangerous, as his ability causes him to become much faster. If he's wearing his Mach Ribbon at the time, he's overwhelmingly fast, but this tends to tire him out quickly.

However, he has quite a few distinct weaknesses. He doesn't have Rain Dance, as its activation time is too slow for his tastes, so he has to rely on Rainy Orbs to utilize his Ability. They're in limited supply, and as Asana demonstrated in her second battle against him, he can be disarmed of them or have them destroyed. Utilizing both Swift Swim and his Mach Ribbon does speed him up to absurd levels, but this tires him out much faster than normal.

He's a rather frail fighter who has to rely on Giga Drain and evasion in order to stay standing in longer, more drawn-out fights. It's for this reason that he prefers to finish things as quickly as possible. This habit can be exploited if one's smart enough.
His trademark ability is to manipulate the properties of his Bubble Beams. He can alter their size, shape, and penetration power. If he wants them to be, they can act more like bullets. This makes him especially fearsome if he's fighting to kill, although in most cases, it'd usually take a lot for him to be pushed to that point.

In any case, he's pretty tough for a middle-aged salesman.

Abilities:
Enhanced Smell: Lombre has a sense of smell on par with canine Pokemon, gained from eating Gummis. This is based off the IQ Skill Acute Sniffer, which his evolutionary family can learn in Sky.

“Intuition”: This is the other main skill Lombre picked up from Gummi consumption. He instinctively knows the layout of the land surrounding him, even if he's never been to an area before, and he can also sense when those with hostile intent towards him within close range. He can't sense their strength or numbers, but it makes him hard to jump regardless. This is pretty much the IQ Skills Map Surveyor, Stair Sensor, and Trap Seer bundled together, with some extra stuff thrown in.

Master of Deception: Lombre is good at acting and lying, due to his many years swindling other Pokemon. He has practically no tells for when he's fibbing, and he can be very persuasive when he wants to be.

Important Characters:
This section is for important, reoccuring characters, or those whose histories are important to the overall plot.

The Shah (Kingambit):
Bounty: 20,000 25,000 35,000 40,000 Poke
Rank: ~★~ ★★
Wanted For: Murder, Terrorism, Robbery, Theft, Unlawful Annexation of Land
Sex: Male
Ablity: Supreme Overlord
The Shah started out as the chief of the Crossed Blades tribe living in the mountainous parts of the North. Twenty years ago, he conquered and unified the other two tribes, the Cloaked Daggers and the Axeheads, evolved into a Kingambit, and annexed much of the North, taking special care to target mining towns, as they were a lucrative source of Poke. He was a tyrant in every sense of the word, doling out harsh punishments ranging from forced labor to execution for slights or defiance against him.

He was able to keep “his” land through the power of his army and the absurd amount of raw strength he possessed, being able to cut through solid steel as if it were air. Many bounty hunting teams and organizations tried to take him down, but none could. The only one that got even close to it was the Smith's Rebellion, which he only survived through via underhanded means.

Ultimately, it was one of his own sons, Shamshir, who led to his downfall. With him being taught compassion by Bismuth and emboldened by Makuhita, he led Team Yin-Yang, Bismuth, and his troops into the capital to dethrone his father. Due to their greater unity, they performed far better than they had any right to. Seeing the disarray, the civilians of the capital realized that the Shah and his army weren't invulnerable and worked with Shamshir's men, storming the palace and defeating the Shah after Asana had faltered.

The Shah, in spite of his strength, was an extremely unskilled battler. To Asana, reading his movements was like looking into an open book, and due to her agility, she was the greatest obstacle between her team, Shamshir, and Bismuth, only being defeated due to her fatigue and a Quick Seed wearing off at an inopportune time. If he didn't think of himself as infallible and actually took time to refine his fighting style, the Shah could've wiped the floor with everyone effortlessly.

"Cacturne the Unbreakable":
Bounty: 30,000 Poke
Rank: ★
Wanted for: Murder, Caravan Robbery, Assault
Sex: Male
Ability: Water Absorb
Distinctive Features: Wears a worn, brown poncho, and has scars all over his body. He speaks in an accent typical of the Saguaro Tribe, a nomadic group of Cacturne native to the Thirsty Desert.
Location: Sand Continent

Cacturne is the most infamous caravan bandit known on the Sand Continent, and was one of the few daring enough to target those come to and from the North during the Shah's reign. He has been reported captured or killed on at least seven different occasions, but he always finds a way to survive or escape. To put it in his own words - “The Great Thirsty doesn't raise quitters.”

He ran away from home with Merry/Sonora due to their romance being considered unacceptable among the two tribes they came from. They quickly made a name for themselves as bandits, and were a stellar team. They even considered themselves married, in spite of being unable to do so “properly”. However, his wife turned herself due to her guilt and dislike of murder, and thus he was left alone for years until he recruited Lombre.

Cacturne also has two different sides to him, depending on who someone is. He couldn't care less about “outsiders” or his victims, owing to the mentality his tribe imparted onto him in his childhood: to him, it's only himself and his kin that matter. He's unfaultingly loyal to those he considers “kin”, and if any of them betray him, it cuts into his soul deeply. He's also known for lacking a filter in social situations.

Cacturne has no professional “education” in fighting, but he has over a decade and a half of experience, and he's known for using dirty tricks in his fights. The most notable of these is a Pin Missile to the eyes, although he also likes to shoot Bullet Seeds when his opponents least expect it.

He turned himself in after Sonora and Team Yin-Yang convinced him to surrender, with them citing how badly his isolation hurt him. Currently, he is serving his sentence, and due to his surprisingly good behavior, he may be eligible to enter his prison's rehabilitation program.

The Platinum Syndicate & Over the Moon Brewery

Nickel (Roaming Gimmighoul):
Bounty: 3,000 Poke
Rank: D B
Wanted For: Conspiracy to commit assault, theft, and robbery, Leading a criminal organization
Sex: N/A
Ability: Run Away
Distinctive Features: Wears a pair of teashade glasses that are tinted silver. Tends to hide in the storage of his "talent", such as in backpacks, bags, etc.
This outlaw may seem dimunitive and harmless, but do not be fooled. He has a high degree of battle acumen and tactical skill, and typically "manages" other outlaws and coaches them in combat. He bounces around from accomplice to accomplice as they succumb to injury or capture, his dimunitive size allowing him to escape with ease. He has a higher bounty than other outlaws of his rank due to both his role as a mastermind and his numerous escapes.

He believes himself to be an intelligent puppetmaster, although that is far from the truth. One merely has to witness his two-faced behavior to see behind his mask. He tries to be polite to Pokemon he wants things from and attempts to butter them up, but he's also infamous for the verbal abuse he hurls towards “talent” and subordinates who he thinks are underperforming. However, he is legitimately smart when it comes to combat and leading others, and has turned even the worst battlers into competent threats.

His motive, above all else, is greed. He wants to become as rich as possible, and this avarice is only quadrupled whenever Gimmighoul Coins are involved. This defining character flaw of his often causes him to throw out sound logic and judgement whenever money is involved.

He has left the Sand Continent for the Grass Continent, and is building up a gang there. His group is growing fast, and his actions are quickly causing eyes to fall upon them.

Cobalt (Clobbopus):
Bounty: 1,000 Poke
Rank: E C
Wanted For: Theft, Assault
Sex: Male
Ability: Limber
He's a common thug who was unexpectedly recruited into Nickel's burgeoning gang. He's gruff and aggressive, but simultaneously cautious. Along with Makau, he's usually the first to complain about any missions Nickel has. Ironically, in spite of his cautious nature, he likes gambling. He's terrible at it.

His fighting style is simple, yet effective. He uses his thick tentacles to block incoming attacks, then counters them with everything he's got.

Thicket (Floette):
Bounty: 100 Poke
Rank: E
Wanted For: Bootlegging, Selling Alcohol Without a License
Sex: Female
Ability: Flower Veil
Having been kicked out from a long family line of vintners, she had a home constructed and geared up to sell her goods in Capim, only to find out she needed a license to do so. Outrage over the price, perceiving the requirement as an insult to her craft, and her belief that brewing booze is an Arceus given right led her to become a bootlegger instead. She brews both conventional alcohol alongside more "unique" items, the most notable of which being the Cheri Bomb: by fermenting Blast Seeds and Cheri Berries together and filling a hollowed out apricorn with the mixture, she essentially invented low-tech hand grenades. They have to be shaken first before they detonate, though.

Thicket also has a deep love for flora, especially flowers, and any mistreatment of the latter makes her upset. She tends to trip up offenders with vines or spray them with hallucinogenic gas the first few times, but those who repeatedly attract her ire have been known to have their houses spontaneously explode or catch on fire while they're gone. She joined up with Nickel after he and Cobalt transported a barrel full of Cheri Bomb juice to the house of a Mudbray who had been grazing on Capim Town's flowers.

Dewalt (Drilbur):
Bounty: 1,000 Poke
Rank: D C
Wanted For: Theft, Breaking and Entering
Sex: Male
Ability: Sand Rush
He started out as a customer of Thicket's, but when Team Corvidae crashed her business in an attempt to arrest Cobalt and Nickel he stepped into action. He joined their gang after the fact, pledging to use his strength to act as a bodyguard. He's oddly polite for an outlaw and thief, having scolded Team Corvidae for "causing a fuss" with their antics.

He hits harder than Cobalt, but is more frail in return.

Ampere (Wattrel):
Bounty: 700 Poke
Rank: D C
Wanted For: Theft, Breaking and Entering, Assault
Sex: Female
Ability: Wind Power
Ampere is an easily excitable daredevil who joined Nickel's gang in order to go on high-stake robberies. She's rather fragile, but she loves charging head-first into opponents. She shines the most in ranged, aerial comat, but she'll only resort to attacking at a distance begrudgingly.

Shanks, AKA "Shellbreaker the Thirteenth" (Galarian Slowbro):
Bounty: 5,000 Poke
Rank: S
Wanted For: Theft, Assault, Breaking and Entering, Property Destruction, Murder
Sex: Male
Ability: Quick Draw
Distinctive Features: Has a purple marking on his head, and a Shellder on his arm. He also has a broader frame than the average Slowbro, and is a bit pudgy.
No one on the Grass Continent knows where Shanks came from, but back on the Water Continent, he was well-known as the youngest in a long-spanning family of strong, brutish criminals. "Shanks" is just the name he used before he "earned" the right to use the family name, which he uses as an alias. He forced himself into Nickel's gang after admiring how violent they were. He looks goofy and innocuous to many first-time observers, but behind that lies a very unstable, unpredictable individual. He tends to go off and do his own thing when there's nothing of interest for him to do, usually snacking or napping, but if one interrupts him while he's doing such activities, he'll assault them until they're barely hanging on. He's an unreliable ally and nearly uncontrollable, only sticking around in the Platinum Syndicate due to thinking he'll find an heir there. Everyone wants him gone, but they're all too scared of him to kick him out.

In combat, he's a juggernaut that can take and dish out extreme amounts of damage, but in return, he's very slow on his feet. However, this doesn't mean he's helpless: his Ability, Quick Draw, allows him to move and fire his Shellder arm extremely quickly, far outpacing the rest of his body.

Shanks is easily the strongest out of the current members of the Platinum Syndicate, and could beat the entire group with ease. Only experienced or skilled Pokemon can take him down, and even then, it's near suicide to overpower him with raw force. If one wants to beat him, he needs to be outwitted or outmaneuvered. He's a brute above all else and he's even slower than Makuhita is, outside of his Shellder arm.

Makau (Alolan Rattata)
Bounty: 600 Poke
Rank: E D
Wanted For: Theft, Assault
Sex: Male
Ability: Gluttony
Distinctive Features: He's a few inches smaller than a normal Rattata. He's very much a runt.
Makau was a largely unremarkable thief that was part of a gang that focused their operations on food theft. Almost all of the stolen goods would be cooked and fed to their leader, Gula, and their lieutenant, Hilo, and they were largely overworked. He was caught by Thicket after she was a victim of one such robbery, and through her cleverness, recruited him.

He's one of the main chefs for the group and has taken quickly to the usage of Cheri Bombs, proving to be adept with them. He's nervous and has a bit of a cowardly streak to him, and when Nickel tries to push him to help with an operation he perceives as too dangerous, he tends to remind him that he is technically Thicket's employee instead of his, so he doesn't have to follow his orders.

Dria and Fornix (Solosis and Elgyem)
Bounty: 700 Poke
Rank: D
Wanted For: Robbery, Theft, Assault
Sex: Female (Dria), Male (Fornix)
Ability: Magic Guard (Dria), Synchronize (Fornix)
Dria and Fornix were members of a small gang that made the mistake of trying to rob the Blue Claw Inn a few months before they joined Nickel's gang. Crabrawler beat and single-handedly captured all but the two of them, and they joined the Platinum Syndicate to find work. They serve as ranged attackers, but it's their telepathy that convinced Nickel to let them join: the two are capable of communicating across vast distances, and he saw the tactical uses for such an ability.

Caerwyn (Honedge)
Bounty: 2,500 Poke
Rank: A
Wanted For: Too many things to list. He's had hundreds of years of time to add to his criminal record.
Sex: Male
Ability: No Guard
Caerwyn is a Honedge that's drifted from group to group. He's been a hero, a villain, and everything in-between, and joined Nickel after the Gimmighoul impressed him. His past is shrouded in even more history than Shanks, and he repeatedly claims to be hundreds of years old. Like him, he wants to pass his knowledge down, and has chosen Nickel to receive it.

He's easily the most skilled out of all of the members of Nickel's gang, and has the signature ability to hide in and manipulate shadows.

Misc Pokemon:
Thicket has a couple dozen Alolan Rattata working for her, helping her produce her goods. They were recruited from Heatran's Kitchen like Makau was, and he played an instrumental goal in swaying them to her side.

Side Characters:
This section is for recurring characters who are not as important as the ones in the previous section.

Team Stardust

Cassiopeia (Clefable)
Bounty: 5,000 Poke
Rank: S
Wanted For: Theft, Assault
Sex: Female
Ability: Magic Guard
Cassie is a rather unusual human. She was a pro wrestling junkie before she was ripped away from her own life, and in her new one, she decided to pursue her dream: to become the greatest heel of all time. Her and Leo have robbed countless individuals, and make quite an efficient duo. Unlike most Clefable, she usually relies on physical attacks and wrestling. She has a lot of strength and agility to her, and she hits hard enough that even Makuhita can feel it.

Leo (Venonat)
Bounty: 1,000 Poke
Rank: A
Wanted For: Theft, Assault
Sex: Male
Ability: Compound Eyes
Leo isn't as much of a showboat as Cassie is, but he's still a rather skilled fighter. He tends to rely on rapidly firing Psybeams from his eyes. He's quick on his feet, although he's not as fast as his partner is.

Team Masquerade:

Roserade:
Sex: Male
Ability: Poison Point
He's the leader of Team Masquerade, alongside their eyes and ears. He and his partner have worked as bounty hunters for over seven years. He didn't let his victories cloud his mind, though, remaining cordial and friendly with Team Yin-Yang in spite of their lesser experience. His fighting style revolves around heavy use of footwork and evasion, alongside pumping opponents full of toxins and Venoshocking them.

Roserade possesses some cleverness to him. When he was abducted by Lombre, he waited for Team Yin-Yang to show up and for Lombre to be absorbed in his interactions with them before setting himself free and attacking. He was also able to discern that Lombre only possessed killing intent towards the two of them. As Roserade predicted, Lombre let him live after he ensured Team Yin-Yang could run away.

Empoleon:
Sex: Male
Ability: Torrent
He's the muscle of Team Masquerade and was immensely prideful, to the point of blinding him to the good traits in those "lesser" than him. It was only after seeing the sheer amount of punishment Makuhita could take that these tendencies began to wane, with Empoleon admitting that he and Asana can "punch above their weight" and that brute strength doesn't solve everything. His utter lack of agility made him a sitting duck on the mission his and Asana's team worked together on, and after he learned his lesson, he worked to rectify that.

He takes his duties and bond with Roserade very seriously, being willing to risk his life in order to protect him. If Lombre didn't talk him out of making a suicidal last charge, he would've gotten himself killed in the line of duty.

Sonora, aka "Merry" (Maractus):
Sex: Female
Ability: Water Absorb
She's an ex-outlaw living in Redkiln, although you wouldn't be able to guess that by her usually cheery demeanour. The only hints to her past are the numerous scars across her body. She used to be Cacturne's wife and partner in crime, having ran away from home with him due to the fact that their tribes hated each other and wouldn't have accepted their relationship as legitimate.

She always had an aversion to bloodshed and killing, and was known for the means she went to in order to preserve the lives of her victims, including dipping into her own medical supplies to save them. However, she couldn't avoid it entirely. The few deaths that she did cause filled her with a great sense of guilt, prompting her to turn herself in. She tried to convince Cacturne to go along to her, but he was so set in the mentality he was raised with that he couldn't conceive of anything better than the life of crime he lived.

In spite of her mirthful exterior, she's weighed down by her remorse for her past, and feels guilty for leaving her ex-husband behind. She still keeps the Gold Ribbon he gave her as a sign of their union.

Sonora was known for having many different disguises and aliases in her time as a bandit. Opuntia and Cochemia were two such names she was known by, but the closest thing to a true name that she has is “Merry”, a nickname Cacturne gave her that only the two of them are supposed to know.

In battle, she usually relied on sheer firepower above all else, alongside dance-like movements.

Deputy Magneton:
Sex: N/A
Ability: Analytic
He's the one Makuhita and Asana typically turn in outlaws to, because his boss, Magnezone, is constantly busy with paperwork. He's been in his position for a long time and has seen both the best and the worst of the Sand Continent, on both sides of the law. His boss is the oldest Magnezone still in active service.

Minor Characters:

Heatran's Kitchen

Gula (Alolan Raticate):
Bounty: 700 Poke
Rank: C
Wanted For: Conspiracy to commit assault and robbery, Leading a criminal organization
Sex: Male
Ability: Hustle
He was the leader of Heatran's Kitchen, known for his gluttony and overworking those under him. After the Platinum Syndicate launched a raid in retaliation for their business partner being robbed, all of his gang members were siphoned away from him, leaving both him and Hilo powerless.

Hilo (Morpeko):
Bounty: 900 Poke
Rank: C
Wanted For: Assault, Robbery
Sex: Male
Ability: Hunger Switch
He was Gula's lieutenant, handling the day to day operations of Heatran's Kitchen and punishing those who slowed down in their work or went out of line. He is known for radical mood swings, being friendly one minute and hostile the next. However, he has the heart of a coward – when Shanks brutalized him, his first instinct was to plead for mercy.

The Flock:

Foi (Galarian Farfetch'd):
Bounty:
4,000 6,000 Poke, plus 1,000 for each accomplice brought in
Rank: A S
Wanted For: Extortion, Theft, Assault, Caravan Robbery
Sex: Male
Ability: Steadfast
Distinctive Features: Plumage is darker than normal. The leek he wields is longer than his own body, and he wears a necklace of smaller stalks taken from his rivals.
Location: Sand Continent

This Pokemon was the leader of a gang of Flying-types known colloquially as “The Flock”, totalling five individuals. Their usual M.O was to force caravans on southern routes to pay a toll for “protection”. Those that pay were protected from any lesser robbers, but those that didn't were promptly assaulted and frisked for all their valuables. He's also known for his peculiar habit of wearing a necklace of leeks taken from rival Farfetch'd; praying and asking for them to lend their strength to him each time he enters a battle.

Foi is an anomaly among his species not only due to his different physical features, but his prowess in combat. His oversized leek was able to send lighter combatants flying with a single swing, and if Makuhita didn't work with Mawile to disarm him, he would have won against them both, in spite of the damage Jolteon inflicted on him before that fight.

Even after he was disarmed, however, he ripped off two leeks from his necklace and continued fighting, making quick work of the latter and fighting the former, a Pokemon with durability as his strongest trait, to a draw.

Knuckle and Sandwich (Doduo):
The two heads comprising this Doduo fight amongst themselves constantly when not in battle, and their nicknames result from an incident surrounding this – Foi threatened to give them a knuckle sandwich if they didn't stop trying to maim each other, and he followed through on his threat. They possess a great degree of speed that they could amplify even further with Agility, which forced Asana on the defensive.

Pidgeotto:
He wasn't featured much, but he finds Knuckle and Sandwich's antics amusing. Makuhita defeated him in a surprising showing of technique, using an Arm Thrust to disable his wing and then rain attacks on him while he was open.

Swellow:
He's a masochist who revels in the pain battles inflict upon him, growing stronger the more he hurts due to both that and his ability, Guts. He was able to outmatch Asana easily, but like a fool, he left himself wide open to gloat. This was promptly exploited, leading to his downfall.

Staravia:
She's the only girl in the gang. Not much is known about her, but Makky and Mawile worked together to defeat her.

The Twins of Terror

Electabuzz:
Bounty: 7,500 Poke
Rank: S
Wanted For: Assault, Theft, Looting
Sex: Male
Ability: Static
He's the elder brother of the Twins, by a few minutes. He and Magmar terrorized multiple villages in the frigid Southwestern part of the Sand Continent, only to be stopped by Team Yin-Yang and Team Masquerade at Snowdrift. He's a bit smarter than Magmar is, having remembered to pack a Reviver Seed for each of them, and focusing on conserving his power while outnumbered. The two brothers also get into frequent arguments and shouting matches; combat being one of the few times they don't butt heads.

Magmar:
Bounty: 7,500 Poke
Rank: S
Wanted For: Assault, Theft, Looting
Sex: Male
Ability: Flame Body
He's the younger brother of the Twins, known for his dimwittedness, poor aim, and tendency to start fires inside of buildings. He often makes statements that are easily misinterpreted by others.

“Ash-Dancer” (Alolan Marowak):
Bounty: ???
Rank: ???
Wanted For: ???
Sex: Male
Ability: Rock Head
Distinctive Features: Has darker skin and a skinnier build compared to other Marowak. He's also known for being able to control fire.
Not much is known about this Pokemon, other than the fact that he works for a shadowy criminal organization. Even the name he gave Makuhita was nothing more than an alias. Due to his skill with his weapon and the properties of his signature move, Shadow Bone, he was able to dominate Makuhita until he first tapped into Aura Expression, breaking his bone in half and pressuring him badly enough to force him to retreat.

Purugly:
Bounty: 1,000 Poke
Rank: A
Wanted For: Theft, Assault
Sex: Female
Ability: Defiant
She's an older outlaw that Makuhita and Asana faced while helping Fee, a client of theirs they worked for during the events of Part 8. Her stubborn, defiant demeanour is the only trait of note that she possesses.

"Iron Wing" (Hawlucha):
Bounty: 300 1,500 Poke
Rank: E C
Wanted For: Assault, Theft, Caravan Robbery
Sex: Male
Ability: Limber
Distinctive Features: None

Originally nothing more than a petty crook, this bird of prey started climbing the ranks with the help of an accomplice: his "manager", Nickel. With their insight and tactical knowledge, he graduated from picking pockets to engaging in the competitive "industry" of caravan robbing. The sheer frequency and increasing effeciency of his attacks sparked discussion of moving him straight to A Rank before Makuhita and Asana captured him. Nickel promptly abandoned him the moment he was defeated.

Bismuth (Tinkatuff):
Sex: Female
Ability: Mold Breaker
She is the local smith in Kimberton, and because of that, she wasn't pushed out of the Shah's territory or executed like the rest of her kind. She's kindly and patient, managing to wear down Shamshir's guard and make friends with him. She has a deep respect and admiration for her mother, and wishes to be like her one day. Her family line is considered eccentric by the rest of Tink-kind, as they're more even-tempered and forge their weapons instead of building them from scrap. As a result, they've historically been seen as outcasts among their species.

Shamshir (Bisharp):
Sex: Male
Ability: Defiant
He is one of the Shah's sons. His assignment was to command and oversee the Bisharp and Pawniard guarding Kimberton, and he was also tasked with keeping an eye on Bismuth to make sure she didn't follow her mother's footsteps. However, that failed, with her bringing out a sense of empathy within him that extended to not only the Northeners, but his own men. Unlike the rest of his family, he didn't treat those under him as expendable pawns or tools, instead thinking that anyone who has the courage to fight should be treated with respect and dignity.

He isn't very expressive with his emotions most of the time, although he does have problems with his anger. Said issues caused him to fight more recklessly against his father than he should have, and in fact, he almost decided to end his life. He didn't do it, however, for two reasons: he didn't want to let down his friends and let his anger dictate his life, and he didn't want to turn his father into a martyr.

Electrum (Tinkaton):
Sex: Female
Ability: Unknown
She was Bismuth's mother. She led the Smith's Rebellion five years before the events of Part 6 and was a fearsome warrior in her own right, being able to take the Shah on by herself. The only reason she perished was due to him feigning surrender and hitting her with a Kowtow Cleave.

Tauros the Firebrand (Paldean Tauros):
Bounty: 12,000 Poke
Rank: S
Wanted For: Assault, Theft, Property Destruction
Ability: Anger Point
Distinctive Features: He has black fur, unlike most Tauros, and is also able to shoot flame from his horns.
This Pokemon got his moniker not only from his pyrokinetic abilities, but also from his extremely violent and aggressive temperment – he has been known to start fights over the slightest of issues. Makuhita and Asana tried pursuing him once, following him into what was formerly the Shah's lands. He was captured by Shamshir's men the day before Team Yin-Yang arrived and was sent to the capital for judgement, although the political upheaval in the region has left his fate uncertain.

Thievul the Shadow:
Bounty: 8,000 Poke
Wanted For: Breaking and Entering, Theft
Rank: A
Sex: Male
Ability: Run Away
Distinctive Features: None
Held Item: Sneak Scarf Ripped off by Asana.
Thievul may not be a tough fighter who can survive anything like Cacturne, but his stealth and ability to make clean getaways have resulted in a career even longer than his. For 23 years, Thievul has been stealing from rich and affluent Pokemon. He takes great care to remain hidden, even concealing his scent, and only leaves one article of evidence behind to show his mark - a card with his pawprint on it. Due to the sheer length of his career, his bounty is much higher than others around his Rank.

He was only captured through the efforts of Asana and her skill at sensing Aura - what she saw was a slightly timid thief who, in spite of his poor battling skills, was unpredictable in a fight, owing to a bag of items and tricks.

Hitmontop:
Bounty: 3,500 Poke:
Rank: A
Wanted For: Assault, Theft
Sex: Male
Ability: Technician
Distinctive Features: Wore a Power Band around his mouth.
Held Item: Power Band Given to Asana.

A stylish outlaw who used a mixture of skill and flashiness to attack numerous exploration and outlaw hunting teams as both a means of thrill-seeking and gaining notoriety. He gave Makky his first loss, although Asana beat him thanks to a combination of her Aura Sensing skills and preparedness. Due to Asana unintentionally reminding him of his mortality and some words from Makky, he might change his ways once he's done serving his time.

Team Corvidae:

Dee (Rookidee):
Sex: Female
Ability: Keen Eye
She's the leader of the team, and is known for her recklessness. Her and Smoliv are bounty hunters, although they struggle a lot more compared to other, stronger groups.

Smoliv:
Sex: Male
Ability: Harvest
In contrast to Dee, Smoliv is shy and slightly cowardly, usually taking up a role as support. His usual tactics involve him spraying glue-like oil onto his enemies to restrict their mobility, although he's a surprisingly competent battler if he's backed into a corner.

Team Watchers:

Espathra:
Sex: Female
Ability: Speed Boost
She's a blind Sensor, and the team's leader. Her role was primarily to find hidden passages and details others would miss, via using her ability to detect changes in the environment. Her philosophy behind Aura is different compared to others due to her not being a fighter, focusing more on finding hidden meanings and revealing that which is concealed. She's quite old, being 87 years of age as of Part 3.

Indeedee:
Sex: Male
Ability: Psychic Surge
Espathra's husband. His role was in reading and navigation, since his wife is blind, alongside boosting the damage of Hatterene's moves. He's very concerned with etiquette, and is implied to get violent with those who breach it.

Hatterene:
Sex: Female
Ability: ???
The third member of Team Watchers, who never retired in spite of her advanced age. She was mentioned as being introverted, although very kindly to those she opened up to. She was the team's main battler.

Team Stakeout:

Gumshoos:
Sex: Male
Ability: Strong Jaw
He was the leader of Team Stakeout, and was known for being one of the best trackers of his day. He was very meticulous and analytical, always making sure to do his research before his team went to track down their targets. He was also known for his professionalism, and he was shown to care deeply for his fellow team members.

He was murdered by Cacturne in his rage over what he perceived to be his ex-wife's betrayal. Team Stakeout had arrived to his hideout a week after she left, and he believed she snitched and gave them his location. However, the truth was that they were tracking him and Merry/Sonora down before the latter had decided to abandon her life of crime.

Arcanine:
Sex: Male
Ability: Flash Fire
Not much is known about this member of Team Stakeout. However, he was the only Pokemon in their group to escape from Cacturne's wrath alive, and is how those in the present know of his hideout's location. Currentl,y he's the president of the Arcanine Detective Agency, which is known as one of the best investigative groups on the Sand Continent.

Stoutland:
Sex: Male
Ability: Sand Rush
He's another member of Team Stakeout, known for his expertise in travelling through deserts and other extreme terrain. He, like Gumshoos, was killed by Cacturne's hands.

Jolteon:
Sex: Female
Ability: Volt Absorb
A novice caravan guard with a bit of a cowardly streak who works with her best friend, Mawile. She's a bit of an airhead, and after witnessing Makuhita's victory over Iron Wing, she fawned over him for a while. She took him on a date to The Saloon, a pub in Sahra Town, but her bubble was burst when she found out that he didn't even know it was one, and that she wasn't his type.

After the incident that led Team Yin-Yang to become bounty hunters in the first place, she got chewed out by Mawile and became far better at her job, giving even an S-Rank outlaw some trouble.

Mawile:
Sex: Female:
Ability: Hyper Cutter
A caravan guard who works with Jolteon, Houndoom, and Rhydon. She's a bit arrogant like Asana started out being, although she's more sarcastic, many of her words being veiled insults or back-handed compliments.

Polteageist:
Sex: N/A
Ability: Cursed Body
He's a potter from Redkiln who was, at one point, a perfectionist. The pot he lives in is noticably shoddier than others of his kind - he was tricked by Lombre into buying a counterfeit to evolve into 20 years before the events of Part 3. He also describes himself as one of the few Pokemon on the Sand Continent who can make good porcelain.

Mienfoo, aka the Sourdough Supremacist:
Sex: Male
Ability: Reckless
A baker from Redkiln known for his constantly shifting mood, passion for his work, and insistence that sourdough is the superior form of bread. His family has been baking for generations, and the sourdough starter he nutures is old as, if not older than Redkiln itself. He views baker's yeast as "soulless" and has a particular disdain for bread leavened with the assistance of Fidough breath, hating it for being, in his eyes, unsanitary.

Deliliah (Aggron):
Bounty:1,000 Poke:
Rank: A
Wanted For: Theft
Sex: Female
Ability: Rock Head
She was the leader of a team of bandits that camped around Mt. Horn and shook down those who tried to climb it. Her and the Vivillon that she worked with started to rob people due to financial troubles. However, once they got enough money, they had different opinions on what to do. Del wanted to continue robbing others, while Mulberry and Milkweed wanted to quit being criminals. Del started treating them more like tools than friends, and it took Makuhita's advice to make her realize the error of her ways. Notably, when the three of them worked as a team, they did far better than they did against Team Yin-Yang. They almost beat Lombre and badly injured him, too.

Mulberry and Milkweed (Vivillon):
Bounty: 500 Poke Each
Rank: B
Wanted For: Theft
Sex: Male (Both)
Ability: Friend Guard (Both)
Distinctive Features: Mulberry's wings have the Sunset Pattern, while Milkweed's have the Meadow Pattern.
These two Vivillon are often mistaken as brothers, but they're just close friends. The fact that their wing patterns are different proves that they hatched in completely different areas. Milkweed is rather shy, while Mulberry is more outspoken about his opinions, and is rather clever. When Lombre tried to pass himself off as a merchant going to set up shop in Treasure Town, Mulberry pointed out that not only was that settlement a poor option for an aspiring salesman, but that he also had no goods with him.

Geography:

Sand Continent:

The Midlands:

The Midlands are, as the name implies, the region comprising the middle of the Sand Continent. The conditions are far more hospitable here then in the North and South, and thus, crops and produce are grown here to be exported to the more extreme regions.

Oasis:

A town west of the Mystery Dungeon Holey Meadow. They're one of the agricultural towns in the Midlands that export their goods to the rest of the Sand Continent.

Redkiln:

Another town near Holey Meadow, located to its Northeast. It's known in particular for its ceramics, pottery in particular.

The North:

The North is, like much of the Sand Continent, rather mountainous, and its border is marked by the Thirsty Desert and its corresponding Mystery Dungeon, with the same name, at its southern border. The Thirsty Desert is the most inhospitable spot on the whole continent, its only permanent residents being hardy tribesmons and survivalists. Nonetheless, travellers and traders alike must pass through it in order to it to get to and from the region.

Past the Thirsty Desert, a large part of the North is comprised of mining towns and mountain-dwelling Pokemon, including tribes of Bisharp and, in the past, Tinkatuff and Tinkaton, although the latter were driven out after the former were conquered and unified by the Shah. He controlled many of the mining towns, although thanks to the efforts of Team Yin-Yang, their allies, and the citizenry of the North, he was deposed and arrested.

Kimberton:

Kimberton is one of many mining towns, and is the home of Bismuth, who's the local blacksmith. It was situated close to the southern border of the Shah's lands, back when he still controlled them.

Parched Gorge:

A location near the center of the Thirsty Desert known for being even hotter than the rest of the region. It's basically Death Valley levels of hot. Team Verdant's base is located in a cavern in one of its walls, where they are protected from the heat.

The South:

The South is split into two sub-regions, the Southeast and the Southwest. The Southwest, unlike the rest of the Sand Continent, is rather frigid. Notable Mystery Dungeons include the Hall of Magic and Snowy Cave. The Southeast is primarily made up of deserts, mountains, and coastline, and is where Sahra Town is located.

Krabby Cave:

A small Mystery Dungeon to the south of Sahra Town. As the name implies, its entrance is in the shape of a Krabby. It's rather small, and mostly home to Water-types. Hitmontop used to use the bottom of this dungeon as a hideout.

Snowdrift:

Snowdrift is a town located in the frigid Southwestern area of the Sand Continent. The Twins of Terror were cornered and defeated here.

Events:

The Smith's Rebellion:
The Smith's Rebellion was an uprising against the Shah that happened five years before the events of Part 6, led by a Tinkaton named Electrum. Many flocked under her banner in the hopes of freeing the North from his tyranny, but they unfortunately failed.

Miscellaneous Notes and Lore Tidbits

The outlaw ranking system used on the Sand Continent is similar to the mission difficulty rankings in Explorers missions, with the ratings beyond five stars trimmed out, as I found them redundant. From
lowest to highest, the ranks are:
E, D, C, B, A, S, ★ (One Star), ★★ (Two Stars), ★★★ (Three Stars), ★★★★ (Four Stars), ★★★★★ (Five Stars)

E, D, C, and B are primarily used for criminals such as your typical petty crooks, muggers, and conmen. A-Ranked outlaws are a dangerous threat to the average civilian, but can be dealt with by most exploration and bounty hunter teams who know what they are doing. S-Ranked outlaws could easily defeat nearly any civilian, and your average team would have to prepare heavily to prevail.

The Star rankings are where things become far more dangerous. It's advised that only seasoned teams go after even One-Star outlaws, and things only become dicier as the number of stars go up. Five-Star outlaws are living legends; pillars of villainy that come only once every generation. It would take a large group of skilled fighters to take them down, whether due to raw strength, or the influence they possess among their fellow criminals.

The naming schemes of Bisharp and Pawniard that are a part of the tribes of the northern Sand Continent:

The Crossed Blades, the tribe that Shamshir and the Shah are a part of, are named after swords. The Axeheads, the tribe that Shamshir's ex-lieutenant Talwar was a part of, get their names from axes. The Cloaked Daggers, the tribe Scalpel came from, derive their names from knives of all sorts, regardless of whether they're weapons or tools.

Sneak Scarves can muffle a Pokemon's Aura signature, although it doesn't completely erase it. It makes it harder for Sensors to detect them, although the better they are at detecting environmental changes, the easier it is for them to detect Scarf users. For example, Asana's sensitivity in regards to the details of Aura wasn't the best circa Part 3, so the only reason she detected Thievul was because she was specifically looking for things that were out of the ordinary. In contrast, someone like KFC would've been able to detect Thievul easier, while Espathra would have been able to pick him out with ease due to her highly specialized skills as a Sensor.

Thirsty Desert Tribes:

There are multiple tribes living in the Thirsty Desert, the two of them being the Saguaro and the Cholla. The former is made up of entirely Cacturne, and they are foreign to the Sand Continent, only having arrived a couple hundred years ago. The Cholla, on the other hand, are a mixed population of Maractus and Cacturne, although the latter have shorter brims on their hats than those of the Saguaro.

The Platinum Syndicate and Over the Moon Brewery:
These are two criminal organizations ran by Nickel and Thicket respectively. They work closely together, although they are technically separate entities. Thicket's organization supplies Nickel's with a portion of their sales and wares alongside a place to live in, and in return, Nickel's group supplies Thicket with manpower.