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Though Zev should not have been surprised to see kyle lopez on the battlefield, his own eyes widened behind his mask. A mix of eagerness and trepidation filled him, warring emotions that caught him off guard.[break][break]

Here, finally, was an opportunity to take down the Top Champion. To tear a pillar of the League out from its foundation. And yet a strange and savage possessiveness accompanied a peculiar thought:[break][break]

"Kyle is in danger."[break][break]

Which was absurd. Of course, he was in danger. Zev was there. He was going to kill Kyle.[break][break]

At least, before anyone else could lay hands on him.[break][break]

Still, he felt compelled to speak when, in other clashes, he had not.[break][break]

"No mask is going to hide your identity, Lopez," Zev said, though the name Kyle had almost slipped out. With his own mask on, his voice came out distorted, changed by the modulator built inside it.[break][break]

"I'll only tell you this once: leave the island. Go home."

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Typical Kyle. Nothing he said surprised Zev. Instead, a wave of irritation passed through the Rocket Beast as Kyle closed the distance between them. "Stubborn fool."[break][break]

He clicked his tongue, and Hatterene burst into motion. She launched herself at Kyle's Mightyena, her clawed tentacle whipping out to brush against the dog's fur as she used MAGIC POWDER.[break][break]

Meanwhile, Zev drew his combat knife from the sheath at his belt. Sunlight glinted off the dark steel of its blade, reminiscent of the black metal shards from another time, another age.[break][break]

He charged at Kyle, knife raised.

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Kyle grabbing Zev's wrist and guiding the knife to bury into his shoulder was the last thing the hitman expected him to do. Zev's eyes widened. In fact, so shocked was he that he didn't register Kyle grabbing his mask at first.[break][break]

Only when he felt the cool breeze against the bare skin of his cheek did Zev snap back into action. Calling on the crystals in his body, he covered himself in a void-black carapace before the unmasking could reveal his features.[break][break]

It was good that he did, too, for Kyle unleashed a cataclysm unlike anything Zev had ever seen him do before.[break][break]

An inferno blazed around Zev as lightning struck the earth amid freezing rain. His clothing was drenched at once, parts of it freezing with a layer of ice. With a grunt, he tried to wrench his knife free from Kyle's shoulder.[break][break]

Hatterene shrieked as she was struck by flames, her skin badly burnt. She managed to swipe at the retreating Mightyena with BRUTAL SWING but could not stop it from snatching one of Zev's Pokéballs.[break][break]

Feeling the tug, he swore out loud and lashed out at the thief with a raking claw.

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Seeing Kyle wear his mask brought a surreal quality to their clash. It was the mask Zev had worn early on in his career as a hitman, before Team Rocket had taken over the region. For him, the design on its front represented his rise—in wealth, power, and infamy.[break][break]

He had brought it with him to Hoenn for its usefulness, however, not for any sentimental feelings. And the League was unlikely to trace it to his true identity. He hadn't used it in six years. No one back in Kanto would remember it.[break][break]

So Zev sheathed his knife, then spread his hands wide. His fingers ended in wicked, razor-sharp points. "Good. I only want your best, Lopez."[break][break]

Kyle's second Pokémon, a Metagross, appeared in a flash of light. At the same time, the Pokéball that had fallen to the ground opened. Zev's Huntail emerged, jaws snapping.[break][break]

Then the Mightyena's HOWL pierced the air, somehow louder than the roar of the wind and rain and fire all around them. A shudder passed through Huntail and Hatterene, though they stood their ground.[break][break]

Zev whistled, high and sharp. His Pokémon charged. Huntail summoned a WHIRLPOOL around the Metagross. Hatterene glowed, a crystalline aura encasing her as she Terastallized before swiping at both of Kyle's Pokémon with BRUTAL SWING again.[break][break]

In the chaos, Zev rushed at Kyle, aiming a clawed hand at his head.

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The shock of Kyle's knife not shattering as it blocked Zev's attack was enough to leave Zev open for Kyle's kick. The Rocket Beast stumbled backward. Thankfully, he regained his balance before he could fall over, still too stunned to retaliate right away.[break][break]

Blue eyes stared at the knife with laser focus.[break][break]

The metal did not gleam in the light, instead appearing much like a void cut out of space. Its shape was practical, more of a hunting knife than one meant for combat. Yet Kyle wielded it expertly, as if he had been crafted specifically for his hand.[break][break]

"Where did you get that?" Zev demanded in a rough tone, the sound like stone against stone.[break][break]

He could only reach one conclusion: that Kyle had ventured into Lesser Megalopolis and collected shards from the ULTRA BEASTS there, using them to forge that knife. But was that even possible?[break][break]

Nearby, his Huntail cried out as she was crushed beneath the Metagross' weight. Twisting around, she retaliated with CLAMP. Hatterene assisted, ignoring the Mightyena for a moment to rain MYSTICAL FIRE upon the Iron Leg Pokémon.

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"Galar."[break][break]

Zev's mind, convinced that Galar had been nothing more than a ridiculous dream, went immediately to Zamazenta's shield instead. It had turned black and crumbled when the Ruination struck it, shedding black metal fragments. Some had been siphoned into him when he'd neared them, but not all.[break][break]

Kyle must have collected some, Zev decided. Perhaps he'd also gone to LESSER MEGALOPOLIS where the same material coated Guzzlord and Blacephalon in armor.[break][break]

But he had no time to voice these thoughts. Kyle attacked, blade swiping at Zev's body. Crystal rang together as the blade skidded across Zev's arm, raised to block the attack. In retaliation, the Rocket Beast kicked low, attempting to sweep Kyle's feet from under him.[break][break]

The HAMMER ARM crushed Huntail's body, knocking loose scales by the handful. Huntail squirmed beneath the weight of the Metagross, jaws still clenched around one of its legs as she continued to CLAMP down.[break][break]

But her strength was fading fast; she would not last long. Her only hope was for Hatterene's MYSTICAL FIRE to force the Metagross away or kill it.

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