And that is how Zev Harcourt, the Black Hand, notorious assassin of Kanto and Hoenn, found himself crouched in the tall grass at Jagged Pass, watching a herd of Spoinks as they grazed on the underbrush.

Truth be told, he had not been reluctant when he agreed to Aurelie's request. He liked her well enough to indulge her in this one favor, especially since he had invited her along to his own job some days ago. He had only scowled at her when she suggested they cover their faces to avoid being recognized. However, he had eventually acquiesced — on the condition they not wear the comical bandit masks she had brought and, instead, wear the more practical balaclavas he owned.

"Here's the plan," Zev explained to Aurelie in a hushed voice, though he kept his eyes on the Pokémon just a few yards away. "My Gengar and Yamask can keep the Spoinks from fleeing, and Smoke can put them to sleep if needed. We'll take as many pearls as we can and disappear deeper into the woods, away from trails and hikers." He indicated the direction with a tilt of his head. "We'll repeat the process for any other Spoinks we come across until you've collected enough pearls for your boss, or until it becomes too dangerous to continue."

Raising his head slightly, Zev swept the area with his gaze and saw no interlopers, civilian or otherwise. For now, he thought. Without making any sudden movements, he removed two Pokéballs from his belt and released the Gengar and Yamask held within them.

"Yamask, cast Disable on the Spoinks ahead to make sure they don't run away," he whispered to them in cold command. "Smoke, put any to sleep with Hypnosis if you need to. Go."

The two Ghost-type Pokémon glided through the air toward their prey, silent as tombs.

"We move as soon as Yamask attacks," Zev whispered then to Aurelie. "Have your satchel at the ready. Let's make it quick."

Aurelie Lefevre & jack wainwright

While no sun beat down through the perpetual ashfall of Jagged Pass, the volcanic earth was hot and that dome of heat was kept in by the high canyon walls and blanket of ash. Sweat beads on Jack's forehead and trickles down his neck as he strides down the trail, soaking into his hair and the neck of his shirt. With an annoyed huff, he pauses and carefully removes his camera from around his neck. Stripping off the shirt, he stuffs it into his pack with a smug expression. His smugness quickly fades as the hot air on his skin does nothing to alleviate the heat, though the smudges of ash that fall onto his bare skin do give him the feeling of a rugged adventurer.

Checking his surroundings for any wandering rhyhorn, he heads off the path near where he remembered having a prior encounter with a group of spoinks. While he missed Watts, he had again left the boltund at the apartment so as not to disturb the wild pokemon he was photographing. Alone, he crouched in the tall grass and slowly made his way forward with his camera at the ready.

Aurelie Lefevre & Zev Harcourt

Zev nodded in agreement and led the way through the tall grass, silent and stealthy, his Gengar and Yamask following him. The hiking trail eventually disappeared, winding in the opposite direction up the incline toward Mt. Chimney. After a few minutes, Zev slowed down and looked around, hoping to spot more Spoinks. The underbrush obscured much of the ground, however.

He signaled to his two Ghost-type Pokémon. They drew closer, obedient.

"Look for another group of Spoinks," he instructed. "Come back once you find them and lead us to them. Go invisibly."

Promptly, the Gengar and Yamask faded out out of sight. Zev sat back on his heels and waited, which allowed him and Aurelie to catch their breaths as well. In what seemed like no time at all, Yamask had returned; she chimed softly and gestured in a direction further southwest. Zev nodded at her, then at Aurelie.

With Yamask leading them, they wound their way to the edge of a small clearing. The gentle grunts of the Spoinks were audible in the tranquil silence of the forest. Zev was about to whisper a command to his Ghost-type Pokémon when he heard the distinct click click click of a camera shutter firing. Peering between the clumps of tall grass, he saw the unmistakable form of jack wainwright kneeling at the opposite edge of the clearing, camera in hand.

Of all people— Zev thought with frustration, ready to turn away and look for another herd. What is Jack doing here?!

Aurelie Lefevre & jack wainwright

The humid air in the clearing was uncomfortable still, causing sweat to run into Jack's eyebrows and trickle down his exposed clavicles. The muffled click click click of his camera shutter punctuated the heavy air as he crouched in the nearby grass with his lens trained on the group of merrily bouncing spoinks. Their happy grunts bring a slight grin to his face as he snaps a series of images though a sense of unease settles over him as he notices movement across the clearing through his camera lens.

With a sharp intake of breath, fear sends a chill down his spine in spite of the hot day and he carefully scans the area where he noticed the movement for signs of an impending rhyhorn attack. Using his lens to zoom, he finally spots a pair of people wearing balaclavas. Smart, he thinks to himself of the balaclavas, that would definitely keep the ash out of your mouth while hiking. I should probably get a lighter one for myself, I think my winter one would be too heavy for this warm weather.

Jack stands slowly, careful not to scare the circle of spoinks. Their bouncing calms as they look up at Jack's shirtless, ash-smeared form rising above them from the tall grass.

"Hey, you lot!" Jack calls out to the pair of people with a furious wave, "You here to watch the spoinks too? I've got some great pics of this group that I can send you!"

Aurelie Lefevre & Zev Harcourt

A dozen options raced through Zev's head as soon as he realized Jack had noticed him and Aurelie from across the clearing. Killing Jack was out of the question. First, it violated Zev's personal code of not killing without a very good reason, a moral compass that separated him from amateurs and depraved serial killers. Second, he had no means to dispose of a body quickly, not on that day. Running away was certainly an option, but not ideal; such suspicious behavior might cause Jack to alert the authorities, which would only further hinder Aurelie's mission.

Zev's only choice was to knock Jack out.

Just as Zev was about to stand up, though, Aurelie called out to the photographer. Zev stared at her incredulously, his jaw dropping open when she started speaking to Jack in Kalosian. Zev's knowledge of the language was rudimentary, but she seemed to be playing the part of a clueless tourist.

Fine, we'll do it your way, the hitman thought as he slowly rose to his feet, relaxing his entire body and assuming an embarrassed expression. Then he mimed taking photos to Jack, gestured to the camera, and tilted his head as if in inquiry.

Before waiting for Jack to respond, Zev approached, altering his gait to a lazy shuffle just in case Jack had observed his natural stride. Doubtful, but it doesn't hurt to be careful, he thought, gesturing again to the camera, then to the Spoinks that had resumed their grazing.

And then Zev was next to Jack. Zev moved as if to look at the camera's screen, then whipped his fist at Jack's head, aiming for the temple. A one-punch knockout.

Aurelie Lefevre & jack wainwright

Shit, Jack thinks ruefully as the woman starts talking, I don't speak Kalosian. Jack opens his mouth, wracking his brain for a dim memory of a conversational Kalosian course he took a uni but the other figure begins gesturing. As he recognizes the person miming photography, a sigh of relief escapes him. Happy that he can share the beautiful images of this cute grouping of spoinks, his smile widens as the other person approaches. His eyes lower to his camera as he begins to flick back through the photos. A soft glare obscures the screen and Jack shifts slightly to alter the lighting.

He never saw the punch coming. One second he is looking at his camera's screen the next second, darkness. The fire in his head consumes his thoughts, radiating out from a point behind his ear. Unbidden, memories flood across his consciousness: mocking laughter; jeering words; more pain; a parade of faces twisted in anger, disdain, pity, disgust; on and on and on. Time seems to slow as the memories fade and more sensations join the pain in his head: a rock jabbing sharply into his ribs, his shoulder twisting awkwardly against the ground, a small laceration across his cheek where something has cut into him. He lets out a small breath.

His eyes slowly open.

Aurelie Lefevre & Zev Harcourt

Zev heard the faint smack of Aurelie's hand colliding with her forehead. He looked at her and glared, as if to convey the message, "I usually don't leave people alive." He gestured to the Spoinks in reminder of their task, but she was already moving toward them.

As Aurelie scrambled to gather pearls from the distracted pig Pokémon, a curious thing happened. Zev's Gengar, Smoke — who had been absent for the entire encounter with Jack — emerged out of the ground and grabbed the pearl off one Spoink Aurelie had missed in her mad dash. Smoke floated toward Aurelie and tossed his prize into her open satchel, increasing her total from three to four.

Smoke then grinned at Zev and twitched his little ears expectantly.

Zev suppressed a sigh. He reached down and yanked two pearls off the remaining Spoinks without regard for their startled squeals.

"You like her, don't you?" he grumbled at the Gengar as he threw the iridescent spheres into Aurelie's satchel. Smoke giggled in his eerie way, even as his master took out two empty Pokéballs. "Enough. Let's leave."

In a flash of light, the Gengar and Yamask disappeared into their vessels. Reattaching them to his belt, Zev followed Aurelie at a brisk pace into the woods.

Aurelie Lefevre & jack wainwright

A whirling vision of the earth and sky greets him, spinning comfortably and accompanied by a pounding pain at the back of his head. Jack closes his eyes again, focusing on breathing in and out, reopening them when he feels steady. The startled squealing of Spoinks rattles around in his brain and the image of a figure ripping something from their head rattles confusingly around in his brain. What the hell is happening? he thinks through the fog in his head while his brain slowly pieces the scene together. As the figure disappears, the pieces of the puzzle click together and he realizes someone is stealing pearls from the Spoinks.

Heaving himself up on one arm, his vision explodes with light as pain rips through his head. When he opens his eyes again, he is back on the ground next to a puddle of stomach acid and the chewed-up remains of a protein bar. Wincing, he slowly makes his way to his feet and fumbles his phone from his pocket. In a few taps, he has the local Ranger station on the line. "I'd like to report a crime," he speaks into the phone.

The fog in his head clears more and more during his phone call with the Ranger station, though the dull ache in his skull remains. Removing a pokeball from his belt, he clicks it open and Poe appears in a streak of light. Gingerly climbing on the Corviknight's back, he says to the pokemon, "Let's go find those assholes."

At least they didn't break my camera.

Aurelie Lefevre & Zev Harcourt

Zev shrugged a shoulder at Aurelie's thanks and chose to ignore her comment about how adorable she considered herself. Instead, he picked his way down the slope and said, "You're welcome. Though don't get it in your head that you can call me up for these kinds of favors all the time."

Truth be told, Rocket's typical modus operandi was beneath him, better reserved for those who aren't willing to get their hands dirty.

Before Zev could reorient himself in the forest and lead them in a meandering loop back to the main hiking trail, Aurelie tapped his shoulder and pointed up at the sky. The approaching bird was small and indiscernible at first, but just as Aurelie blurted out "Is that Jack?", Zev identified the man on the Corviknight's back, too.

Zev did the first thing that came to mind. Selecting a Pokéball, he released his Infernape in a flash of light. The Pokémon clung to the lowest branches of the nearest tree. "Distract the Corviknight and its rider," his master instructed rapidly. "Buy us time to get some distance. I'll have Xatu bring you back."

With a terrible screech, the Infernape launched itself into the treetops, breathing jets of fire at the approaching bird as he leaped from tree to tree. Zev grabbed Aurelie's wrist and took off in the opposite direction. Once in a while, he glanced back to gauge the distance between Jack and them; for a while, the Corviknight dodged Infernape's attacks well, but with a rider on its back, it could not sustain an aerial pursuit without endangering its master. Finally, Zev judged that he and Aurelie had a moment for their true escape. His Xatu emerged from his Pokéball and tilted his expressionless head at them.

"Teleport us to Lilycove City," Zev commanded. "Choose a back alley or hidden area. Then come back for Infernape and bring him to the same location."

Xatu chirped obediently.

And suddenly, the three of them vanished, phasing back into corporeality two heartbeats later in Lilycove.

Aurelie Lefevre & jack wainwright