Gladion Montblanc (Gladion's Team) | Pokémon World | Infinity Train (Project Solitaire)
Project Solitaire
The 400 Rabbits Car was a peaceful car that was going to have a reign of prosperity under its ruler, the White Rabbit. But before Utahoshi could even begin, the Apex barged in and Grace Monroe murdered the leader. The after-effects caused Utahoshi's friend, Kisaragi, to swear revenge, and create an anti-Apex group called "Solitaire" in order to give the Apex what they have inflicted by making them potentially murder other passengers if need be.
Nothing can go wrong from this, right?
In General
- Aborted Arc: They were initially meant to be the final obstacle that the White Gestalt were going to face... in theory. In practice, after a few scuffles with them, White Gestalt eventually do their plan and leave the train before an actual final confrontation between them could happen.
- Alice Allusion: They're obviously referencing the card soldiers.
- Destructive Saviour: For the loosest possible definition of "saviour," at least. Their mission statement may be to save the Train from the threat of the Apex forever, but in practice, their goal is to destroy the Apex in revenge for Utahoshi. As early as the Fog Car, the group was called out for going overboard in their "noble mission"- with 52 members, they already outnumber The Apex at least two to one- and most of the Project Solitaire members have superpowers or high-tech weaponry up their sleeves! When they finally meet the Apex in the Doormouse Car, the resulting clash leads to the Denizens they were "protecting" furiously calling them out in the aftermath. The Apex may be dangerous, but even if they were in the mood to pillage (which they weren't- they were in the process of fleeing) the Denizens could hide somewhere out of the children's reach. The Project Solitaire members had gone after their enemies with high explosives- and they couldn't even bother to aim properly! The net result was one Car nearly burned to a crisp, and an unscathed Apex. And none of the Solitaire members even regretted their actions afterward- they simply said that if such destruction was necessary to kill the Apex, then it will be worth it!
- The Dreaded: In Voyage of Wisteria, London has bad memories of fighting them. They're so bad that not even Chloe of the Vermillion could stop them if they were still active while she was on the Train.
- Foregone Conclusion: They're not around in Blossoming Trail and in Voyage of Wisteria, Kisaragi states that he needs to gather his "scattered cards", meaning that the White Gestalt (or at least London and Easter) ended up defeating them.
- Not Me This Time: After every single Passenger on the Train is subjected to a vicious Mind Rape, the Apex, who were the only Passengers in sight of each other at the time, assume that it was a follow-up attack by "those Solitaire guys." They had obviously planned to weaken the Apex by mentally torturing them before attempting another attack. They were mistaken in this conclusion- that dose of trauma was a result of the White Gestalt's brilliant plan. The members of Project Solitaire merely intended to hunt the Apex down and murder them as quickly as possible.
- Playing Card Motifs: Each member is represented by a certain playing card.
- Zangetu's card is Ace of Clubs which symbolizes a pursuit of knowledge. He's the one who asks Gladion why he fights the Apex. Gladion even asks if the reason why Zangetu is even asking these questions is for Kisaragi getting leverage.
- Gaim's card is Two of Hearts, representing relationships.
- Ryugen's card is Four of Hearts which are usually seen as omens for darker things on the horizon.
- Malika's card is Queen of Hearts.
- Shout-Out Theme Naming: So far, the members are named after the Kamen Riders from Kamen Rider Gaim.
General Zangetsu / The Ace of Clubs
The first member of Solitaire to fight off White Gestalt in the Canals of Fondue Car.- Anti-Villain: He's part of Project Solitaire but he has a sense of chivalry and keeps things fair between him and Gladion.
- Casual Danger Dialogue: He talks to Gladion about himself as if this was a dinner conversation.
- Light Is Not Good: Wears bright armor and is part of Project Solitaire. However he does have an honorable side.
- Meaningful Name: His attire and name is based off Kamen Rider Zangetsu
- Mythology Gag: The fact that Kisaragi requests of him is a subtle one. Kamen Rider Zangetsu has a Fourze Lockseed as shown in the Gaim movie and Zangetsu even emulated Fourze's "It's Space Time!" catchphrase before stopping himself.
- Noble Demon: After Gladion saves him from nearly dying in hot cheese fondue, he declares Gladion the winner of the battle and tells Daimonji to step down.
- Starter Villain: The first member of Solitaire to be introduced.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: He doesn't give Gladion any breathing room and would have won if Gladion didn't save him from falling into a fondue canal. Gladion even notes that he needs to start taking active combat practice.
Gaim / Two of Hearts
A rabbit partnered with Ryugen.
- Blue Is Heroic: For a stretch on the term "heroic", but he wears bright blue armor and is off to stop the Apex.
- Everyone Has Standards: Tells Ryugen that they're rabbits, not savages over the idea of wanting to shoot Gladion dead.
- Friend to All Children: He gives Jack Hotchner a pat on the head to comfort him that they're friends (much to Larkspur's annoyance)
- Samurai: Dressed in blue samurai armor.
Ryugen / Four of Hearts
The younger brother of Zangetsu and partner of Gaim.
- The Gunslinger: He carries a gun in hand and wouldn't mind shooting Gladion in the head.
- Oh, Crap!: Has this look when he learns from Alex Shepherd that One-One turned him into the Bogeyman.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: He's the younger trigger happy brother to Zangetsu's Noble Demon.
Malika / Queen of Hearts
- Combat Pragmatist: Throws a moltov cocktail at Lexi to burn him alive. Kisaragi even notes that this is her fighting style and she never carries a weapon on her.
- Heel–Face Turn: By Voyage of Wisteria, she's aiding Ogami.
- Meaningful Name: Malika is based on the Arabic word "Marika" or "Queen" and her card is Queen of Hearts.
