Sitting on a nearby tree stump, Zev watches the field test with an indifference approaching boredom. He exhales smoke from his lungs before putting his cigarette back between his lips. "That took three seconds," he remarks. "Enough time for someone with instinct to take cover — or at least run. Is that delay planned, or are you going to make adjustments? And have you measured its lethality yet? How likely is one of those going to kill someone at close range?"

The tone of his questioning is strict pragmatism. Zev had agreed to meet with Henry and witness the field test out of passing interest, but only in terms of the practical application of the other man's research. And, Zev assumes, few other people can stomach the mere concept of turning a Magnemite into a living bomb, even though other species are quite capable of self-destruction. Zev can't see much of a difference between the two scenarios; one is simply an alteration for human interest.

In any case, there is something quite refreshing about being able to exist in another person's company without needing to pretend to be someone else. Though Zev has not known Henry for long — or at all, really — it's clear that the scientist is more similar to Zev than most people are.

DUO WILD | Henry Driscoll

Zev frowns as various scenarios flash through his head, each one based on his past experiences. He mentally swaps out the traditional explosives he would normally use for Magnemite bombs and imagines the hypothetical results. Based on Henry's answers, Zev eliminates many of the possibilities, but a few do remain. Using such Pokémon as bombs could be viable, then.

This analysis transpires in the time it takes Henry to rummage through the steel cube and express disappointment at finding the Magnemite's remains. Zev's full attention snaps back to the present as Henry's Ferrothorn attacks the wild Pokémon lurking in the nearby grasses. At the same time, a Grapploct emerges from the underbrush, its many tentacles writhing. Zev glares sidelong at the unwanted intruder.

"Get rid of it," he commands quietly to the empty air.

Smoke, his Gengar, materializes instantly between his master and the wild Grapploct and casts HEX. Bewildered by the sudden attack, the Grapploct turns and flees back into the tall grass.

"It'd be useful in some cases," Zev finally admits to Henry, gesturing with his cigarette to the plastic container held by the the latter's Toxtricity. "I'm not opposed to using unconventional methods to achieve my goals. Have you done enough testing to calculate the failure rate, though? A grenade is almost guaranteed to explode every time. But these Magnemites?" He raises a skeptical eyebrow.

Henry Driscoll

[break]Note: Passing on this spawn.

Zev listens to Henry's increasingly passionate tirade with the same cool indifference with which he watched the Magnemite die, even as the other man displays obvious signs of aggression. Zev is fairly certain Henry won't attack him, and even if that were to happen, he's certain he's stronger and faster than the kind of scientist Henry appears to be. Still, Zev does take note of the comment about the one hundred percent success rate and the number of trials conducted before this one.

As Henry's rant dies down, an animalistic screech fills the air from above. Zev's gaze snaps in its direction, but he relaxes upon seeing the Monferno in the branches of a nearby tree. Another Pokémon. He almost turns away in disinterest when the ape bares its teeth at the two men and tenses its entire body for a pounce. Zev knows that is no bluff.

Without moving from his seat on the tree stump, Zev issues another order to his Gengar, who still floats at his side. "Smoke, SHADOW BALL."

From all of the shadows that surround them — Zev's, Henry's, the stump's, the trees', even each slender blade of grass — pour snaking, black tendrils that race towards the Gengar's location. When they converge on the ground in front of the ghost, they surge upward violently, coalescing into a writhing ball of tangible shadow. It lances through the air at the Monferno, who is in mid-leap and collides with the attack head-on. Zev finally stands as the fiery ape thuds to the ground. Wordlessly, he tosses a Pokéball at its prone form. Might as well, he thinks.

Without waiting to see if the catch is successful, he turns back to Henry and takes a drag from his cigarette. "You done?" Zev asks, referring to Henry's earlier outburst. He glances at the steel cube where the Magnemite had exploded and blows out the smoke. "Tell me about the other things you're working on."

Henry Driscoll

[break]Note: Catching Monferno.

Zev watches the Grimer and Swanna swiftly disintegrate into nothingness with raised eyebrows. He is no stranger to the rapid damage acid can deal to flesh, but suffice to say, he had not anticipated this sort of experiment in Henry's arsenal. Zev takes another drag of the cigarette before turning back to the scientist and saying with genuine wonder, "That was something I wasn't expecting. Very interesting, Doctor Driscoll."

In that moment, a Gligar descends into the clearing — perhaps to investigate the noise the melting Pokémon had caused. Zev's Gengar rises to meet her, casting a HEX upon the smaller creature and causing her to tumble to the ground, dazed. She lands near Zev's feet. He glances down at her and apathetically drops a Pokéball onto her prone form.

"I only have one question," the man continues, adopting a practical tone once more. "That Grimer looked pretty ill and moved slowly. Do you have plans to correct that?"

Henry Driscoll

[break]Note: Catching Gligar.

Zev nods as he listens to the lecture, glancing sidelong as a Heracross stomps into the clearing, searching for food. Smoke looks up at his master with an expression Zev recognizes as inquiry, though it would be difficult for most to know due to that ever-present Gengar grin. The man nods, and Smoke surges at the Heracross, running his tongue across the startled bug's face in a LICK attack. As Smoke leaps upward and away, Zev tosses a Pokéball at the paralyzed Heracross.

"Makes sense," he then says to Henry, conceding the logic of the scientist's rationale. "That kind of behavior will cause more suspicion than a Magnemite bomb, but I have to admit, its effectiveness was impressive." He takes a final drag of his cigarette before putting out the butt of it with the bottom of his shoe. "I'm sure Team Rocket would pay a fortune for both types of Pokémon if you were thinking about selling them. And they may put them to more frequent use than I would."

Henry Driscoll

[break]Note: Catching Heracross.