Snattle: the Cipher Admin who was running for office

Cipher didn't just try to get around the authorities of Orre: it tried to take their place. Snattle is the political piece of that scheme, one of the organization's five lieutenants in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, and the only one whose main weapon is a campaign. His success therefore hinges on a variable his colleagues never have to watch: what the region's residents think they know about him.

Contents

• A Candidate from the Top of a Criminal Organization
• Phenac City Occupied, Its Residents Underground
• Marcia's Tapes and the Camera Turned Around
• All About Image, Never About Blame
• A Celestial Roster with a Kamikaze Style
• The Orre Colosseum and the Secretary Post
• Snattle at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

A Candidate from the Top of a Criminal Organization

Snattle belongs to Cipher's top brass, but his turf is neither a lab nor an unloading dock. He is running to lead the Orre region, and that candidacy is part of the master plan far more than a personal ambition his superiors put up with.

The calculation is crystal clear: an organization with one of its members running the region has little left to fear from it. The Grand Master Greevil has therefore reserved that seat for his Admin for the day Cipher seizes power, which would turn Cipher into Orre's legal authority.

The promise also works as a leash. No lieutenant has as much to lose as he does if evidence gets out: the others risk their freedom, while Snattle risks his career on top of it. And ONBS, the network that succeeded the Kids Grid, has set out to document precisely what the organization is up to.

Phenac City Occupied, Its Residents Underground

The operation carried out in Phenac City doesn't come from its Admin's imagination: it's written down in black and white. The instructions come from the Data ROM that Michael had uncovered at the Cipher Lab, a document Exol later snatched back from ONBS to return it to the organization. Snattle follows them without straying a single step.

The city is seized, then emptied of its residents: the entire population ends up locked in the basement of the Pre Gym. Cipher Peons then take over the streets, disguised as locals, so that any passing visitor sees nothing but an ordinary town.

This staging meets a logistical need. While Phenac City plays at normal, Gorigan's men are emptying the S.S. Libra a few kilometers to the north: taking the city isn't the goal of the maneuver, it's the curtain drawn in front of the real operation.

Marcia's Tapes and the Camera Turned Around

ONBS sends a reporter, Marcia, to the scene along with a cameraman. Snattle has the two journalists locked up in the town's abandoned stadium and demands their recordings, the only things capable of demolishing his campaign before it even begins.

The scene says a lot about his method: he argues rather than threatens, calmly explains that these tapes must under no circumstances go on the air, and goes as far as politely asking that they be handed over. What he fears isn't being judged, but the damage it would do to his reputation if word got out that he had silenced an entire town.

Michael bursts in before he gets anything, having single-handedly taken down all the fake townsfolk. Egrog, his right-hand man, is beaten on camera, then Snattle suffers the same fate and retreats to Citadark Isle. ONBS airs the footage: in a single evening, the region learns of the would-be governor's rout and the full scale of the plot.

All About Image, Never About Blame

The game doesn't make him an ideologue but a professional vote-chaser. His morality ends where the vote count begins, since he'll team up with any lowlife as long as the alliance brings in ballots.

The obsession even rubs off on the way he battles. To him, a Pokémon battle is a platform, not a pastime, which explains the care he takes never to underestimate an opponent, even a child: a defeat gets noticed, and what gets noticed is paid for at the ballot box.

When things fail, the blame always lies elsewhere. On Citadark Isle, he still considers his plan perfect and singles out Lovrina and Gorigan as its only two flaws, before blaming the reporter for his televised humiliation. His defeat line there ends in an apology to Greevil, whose favor he courts relentlessly.

A Celestial Roster with a Kamikaze Style

His profile notes a preference unmatched among the other lieutenants: Snattle fields genderless Pokémon. His Shadow Pokémon also share a celestial theme, with Lunatone for the Moon, Solrock for the Sun and Starmie for the stars of the night sky.

His battle style embraces sacrifice. In the Orre Colosseum, every one of his Pokémon knows Explosion, and he counts on Protect or Endure to weather the blast of his own attacks. Every turn becomes a bargain: brace for the damage or take it full in the face.

Nothing is set in stone, though. Only four Pokémon are drawn at random from a list of six, from Electrode to Regice. Finally, he's the only Trainer in the game who can chain Shadow Sky into Weather Ball, which lets you confirm that his Castform's attack becomes typeless in that weather.

💥 Gengar is one of his Pokémon: browse the section dedicated to Gengar.

The Orre Colosseum and the Secretary Post

The organization's downfall doesn't close the case. Snattle hasn't given up on governing Orre and falls back on the region's Colosseum to rebuild his legitimacy, since he can no longer lean on his former employer.

There he closes out the second round as the final opponent and turns the tournament into a hiring process: the winner of that battle walks away with the title of private secretary to the future governor. The post goes to Michael — in other words, the very boy who had already beaten him in Phenac City and then on Citadark Isle.

His French name sums up the character fairly well: "Vamper" comes from "vamp," itself taken from "vampire". The localizations went for other angles, from Snattle in English to Arroganto in Spanish, by way of Sif in German and Arpagone in Italian.

Snattle at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Snattle in Pokémon XD?
  One of Cipher's five lieutenants, in charge of the organization's political wing. He campaigns to lead the Orre region while his colleagues take care of the labs and the logistics.
• Why does Snattle want to govern Orre?
  Because Grand Master Greevil promised him the post if Cipher seized power. A Cipher member at the head of the region would give the organization free rein over the whole territory.
• What does Snattle do in Phenac City?
  He carries out the instructions from the Data ROM: the city is seized, its residents are locked in the basement of the Pre Gym and replaced in the streets by disguised Cipher Peons, while Gorigan's men empty the S.S. Libra farther north.
• What Pokémon does Snattle use?
  Fourteen are documented, including Lunatone, Solrock, Starmie, Gengar, Electrode, Metang and Castform, with a marked preference for genderless Pokémon. In the Orre Colosseum, four of them are drawn at random and all of them know Explosion.
• Where does Snattle's French name, Vamper, come from?
  From the word "vamp," short for "vampire." Other languages chose other paths: Snattle in English, Sif in German, Arroganto in Spanish and Arpagone in Italian.

In short

Snattle is the only Cipher member whose career depends on public opinion, and that's exactly what makes him vulnerable. His colleagues lose labs or cargo; he loses a reputation, live, in front of the entire region. He learns nothing from it: after the debacle, he climbs back into a tournament ring, promising a secretary post to whoever beats him. The plan was perfect; it was everyone else who failed.