Ein: the scientist who invented Shadow Pokémon

Without Ein, not a single Shadow Pokémon would ever have existed. Cipher has its boss, its Admins and its colosseums to move the merchandise, but it all starts in a lab planted in the middle of the desert, in the Orre region. That's where a young scientist perfects the treatment that shuts off a Pokémon's feelings, and that process is what the whole organization goes on to exploit.

Contents

• The Shadow Pokémon Lab, a Shadow Pokémon factory
• An unscrupulous scientist, and a meticulous one at that
• His place in Cipher's org chart
• Rain Dance, Toxic, Lightning Rod: his battle method
• His path through Pokémon Colosseum
• What becomes of him after Colosseum
• Ein at a glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

The Shadow Pokémon Lab, a Shadow Pokémon factory

Ein runs the Shadow Pokémon Lab, buried deep in the desert, and that's where he puts Pokémon through the Shadow protocol. He doesn't just apply the technique — he invented it: the organization treats him as its brains, and none of the program would exist without him.

The lab is just one link in a chain. Once treated, the Pokémon travel on The Under Subway to reach Venus and Miror B., whose job is to move them through their respective colosseums. Ein manufactures; the others distribute.

His second front is defensive. He does everything in his power to keep these Pokémon from being purified, the only process that can undo his work: every heart given back to a creature is one unit lost to Cipher.

An unscrupulous scientist, and a meticulous one at that

Ein is young, and willing to do anything to get what he wants. Nothing holds him back: shutting off the emotions of a defenseless creature, shaping the most fearsome fighter possible — his results are all the justification he needs.

That lack of scruples sits alongside genuine administrative discipline. He keeps a copy of every experiment report, filed away in folders that he circulates to the rest of the organization. The mad scientist keeps his binders up to date.

The game makes him stand out visually from the Trainers grouped in the Scientist class. His gray lab coat falls to his calves, and its edges are cut into star points: enough to spot him at a glance in a lab corridor.

His place in Cipher's org chart

Cipher in Pokémon Colosseum fields four Admins, and Ein is the one who holds the technique. Venus and Miror B., two of his peers, handle the visible side of the trafficking; only he knows how the merchandise is made.

His first appearance places him in The Under, on a video call with Nascour, with Venus at his side. He briefs his superior on the progress of his research and tells him that his most powerful creation will soon be delivered.

His doctrine is also the harshest in the organization. He recommends simply getting rid of anything that could thwart Cipher's plans, naming Rui and Celebi outright. The lab doesn't just produce: it also picks out the troublemakers.

Rain Dance, Toxic, Lightning Rod: his battle method

Twelve Pokémon are on record in his roster: Raikou, Gyarados, Altaria, Starmie, Lanturn, Mantine, Golbat, Crobat, Pelipper, Huntail, Rhydon and Manectric. The first, in its Shadow form, is clearly his favorite.

His strategy rests on three pillars. Rain Dance paves the way: the downpour boosts his Water-type attacks and makes Thunder reliable. Toxic then takes over, indirectly backed up by Confuse Ray or Protect.

The third pillar is defensive: Lightning Rod draws the opponent's Electric attacks toward itself. At Realgam Tower, he fields Manectric, Starmie, Pelipper, Crobat and Rhydon — the lineup the manga would later reuse as is.

🔥 Gyarados is part of his roster: see the section dedicated to Gyarados.

His path through Pokémon Colosseum

His office is on the third underground level of the complex, and that's where you catch him wiping a disc. Ein debuts his Shadow Raikou on this occasion, and loses the battle anyway.

The defeat doesn't shake him, because it comes too late. The last batch of Shadow Pokémon has already been sent to his boss, led by a Shadow Tyranitar that he presents as his most powerful creation.

He turns up again at Realgam Tower, where he holds one of the four ID Badges that control access to the Colosseum: he hands over the Yellow ID Badge and leaves, bowing out of the fight. Once Evice has been arrested, Ein goes to train at the Deep Colosseum; beating him there is what forces Agnol to come out of hiding.

What becomes of him after Colosseum

Ein is absent from Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, but his work outlives him: Lovrina inherits the lab and the research there. The Shadow process changes hands, not nature.

The manga adaptation of Pokémon Colosseum gives him an appearance. He still serves Cipher there and opposes the hero, with exactly the team he fielded at Realgam Tower in the game.

The localizations kept almost nothing of his French name, Teck. He becomes Ein in English as well as in Spanish, Genus in Italian and Professor Culpa in German — only that last version openly spells out that he's a researcher.

Ein at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Ein in Pokémon Colosseum?
  One of Cipher's four Admins, and the boss of the Shadow Pokémon Lab planted in the middle of the desert in the Orre region. He's the one who developed the treatment that turns an ordinary Pokémon into a Shadow Pokémon.
• What is Ein's signature Pokémon?
  Raikou, in its Shadow form. He debuts it in his very first battle against the hero, in his office three levels below the surface of the complex.
• What is Ein's battle strategy?
  Three pillars: Rain Dance to boost his Water-type attacks and make Thunder reliable, Toxic indirectly backed up by Confuse Ray or Protect, and Lightning Rod, which draws in the opponent's Electric attacks.
• Does Ein appear in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness?
  No, he's absent from the game. Lovrina does inherit his lab and his research there, however, so the Shadow Pokémon program carries on without him.
• Where do you face Ein for the last time?
  At the Deep Colosseum, where he goes to train once Evice has been arrested. He's the final opponent of the fourth tournament, and beating him is what it takes to make Agnol come out of hiding.

In short

Ein holds the one place in Cipher that no one can take from him, that of the inventor. Venus and Miror B. distribute, Nascour gives the orders, but the Shadow process comes out of his desert lab — and it keeps running after he's gone, in Lovrina's hands. You can beat the scientist without shutting down what he brought into the world.