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The principal's office was stale and bleak, its cream walls reminding Zev of the way decades of cigarette smoke had stained his grandmother's kitchen. A gray-brown carpet, a large desk of dull, cracked wood, and a single diploma in a plain frame were the only other notable features.[break][break]

Zev sighed deeply, bored. Ten minutes had already passed while he waited in one of the chairs designated for visitors. He considered leaving, but that meant walking through the school's hallways to its entrance, and he didn't feel like running into his bullies a second time that day.[break][break]

Thankfully, the door to the office burst open just as he was starting to rethink his reluctance. His mother entered, looking frazzled as usual.[break][break]

"Zev!" she exclaimed upon seeing him. In a heartbeat, she knelt before his chair, her hands pushing back his black hair to better see the darkening bruise on his brow.[break][break]

His thin fingers grabbed her wrists and shoved her away. "Stop embarrassing me," he grumbled, scowling at her with an acute sharpness in his blue eyes. She faltered, then stood and stepped toward the principal, who was watching the exchange with interest.[break][break]

"Thank you for calling me, Mr. Choi," she said. Zev watched her wring her hands, then watched the way his principal's face transformed from intrigue to exasperation.[break][break]

"This is the third time Zev has caused a disruption in class," Mr. Choi explained to the woman. "It's clear he has no interest in being respectful to his classmates, especially in a learning environment."[break][break]

"Liar," Zev snarled, bristling.[break][break]

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Choi," his mother said quickly, to cover up her son's outburst. "I'll speak with him about it."[break][break]

Sitting back in his chair, Mr. Choi regarded her with an eyebrow raised in skepticism, but the fourteen-year-old caught the lightning-quick sweep of the man's beady eyes up and down her figure. Zev's anger flared.[break][break]

"Very well, Mrs. Harcourt," said the principal, his gaze flickering to her son. "See that it doesn't happen again."[break][break]

She thanked Mr. Choi for his understanding and ushered Zev from the office. With his mother at his side, none of the other students dared approach. They made their way to the parking lot without any troubling encounters.[break][break]

After climbing into the car, Zev said forcefully, "I didn't 'cause a disturbance'. It was Ashton and the fucking smooth-brained idiots who follow him around."[break][break]

His mother looked at him through the rearview mirror. "Please, Zev. What did I say about swearing?" But her eyes were tired, not angry, like she couldn't muster up the energy to scold him properly. "You just have to ignore Ashton and his friends. They want attention, and if you don't give them any, they'll get bored and leave you alone."[break][break]

"Is that what you tell yourself whenever men look at you like they're going to eat you for dinner?"[break][break]

Her eyes snapped back to him from the road, wide and round in the rearview mirror. "Zev! Don't speak like that to me!"[break][break]

He glared out the window in response, falling into a cold silence. His mother sighed, too used to this behavior from her teenage son. In fact, she could not remember a time in his life when he hadn't possessed such an unnatural ability to distance himself from everyone whenever it suited him.[break][break]

"Zev, please. Just try, okay? Once you graduate high school, you can do whatever you want, but try to stay in school until then. For me, please?"[break][break]

His silence was her only companion for the rest of the drive home.

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The behavioral specialist removed his glasses and set them on the desk in front of him. The gravity in his face expressed more than medical paperwork ever could, causing Zev's parents to exchange an apprehensive glance. Zev himself, however, watched the doctor with growing curiosity.[break][break]

The man caught his stare and, looking unsurprised by its intensity, cleared his throat. "We have the test results," he began, holding up a manila envelope. "And they have confirmed that Zev does indeed have antisocial personality disorder."[break][break]

"So our son is sick?" his mother blurted out immediately, wringing her hands. "Can he be cured?"[break][break]

"A personality disorder?" his father asked, brow furrowing in confusion. "Doesn't that mean he just has a bad attitude?"[break][break]

In his chair, the sixteen-year-old bristled at the notion that something was actually wrong with him. He didn't feel wrong; if anything, it was everyone else who was wrong. He'd said as much to the evaluators who'd interrogated him with useless questions as part of their tests.[break][break]

Across from them, the doctor raised his hand in a plea for quiet. "He has a mental condition—a mental illness, if you want to put it that way. It's more than a bad attitude, Mr. Harcourt. Antisocial personality disorder stems from a combination of genetic and environmental influences, resulting in an imbalance of hormones."[break][break]

He removed a scan of Zev's brain from the folder and held it up for the couple to see, pointing to the frontmost section of the brain.[break][break]

"We also noted decreased activity in his prefrontal cortex, which governs things like differentiating between right and wrong, understanding the consequences of actions, and so forth."[break][break]

Zev's mother cast her son a worried glance, while his father continued to look perplexed. "What does that mean, exactly?" Mr. Harcourt asked.[break][break]

The doctor took a deep breath, drawing on a well of patience built up over a long time. "It means your son does not conceive of morality the way normal people do. He is not able to make friends easily because he doesn't feel emotions like empathy that allow us to form bonds. He may exhibit violent, reckless behavior and harm others due to a lack of concern for their well-being."[break][break]

But Zev's father shook his head. "No, no, that's not possible. Zev hasn't harmed anyone before, not on purpose. It's not his fault he's been bullied."[break][break]

"Shut up," Zev hissed, but the man didn't seem to hear.[break][break]

"And he does martial arts now. He's very good at it. They're teaching him how to fight in a controlled way. He does well in school, too. He's just like any other kid."[break][break]

But the doctor shook his head. "It's possible for children with antisocial personality disorder to function within the bounds of normal society, but they will never be normal without therapy and medication. Now, our hospital can provide those things, if you are interested."[break][break]

The conversation turned to treatment and its exorbitant cost. Zev watched as his parents' faces paled. Turning to each other, they argued in loud whispers that did nothing to disguise the truth about their finances. Zev felt disgust build in his chest.[break][break]

"I'll find another job," his mother insisted. "You've heard the reports from his teachers. The things they found in his locker."[break][break]

The response from Zev's father was abrupt and vehement. "No! No, I will not entertain the stupid idea that our son is evil."[break][break]

"Not evil," the medical professional interjected gently. "But treatment will ensure his humanity."[break][break]

Zev had enough. He stood up without warning, causing his parents to look up at him as if they were noticing him for the first time. As if they'd forgotten they'd brought him into the doctor's office with them.[break][break]

"You're right, Dad," he said, using all of his willpower to keep the venom from coming out with his words. "I'm perfectly fine. This guy's just trying to scam you out of your money when you and Mom have plenty to worry about already."[break][break]

He stepped around his chair and headed for the door.[break][break]

"I'm going to the dojo to practice. See you later at home."[break][break]

Before slipping out into the hallway, Zev cast a final glance at the doctor seated behind the desk. The boy's fist clenched, white knuckled. He flashed a pleasant smile, even as he imagined ramming his fist through the man's skull over and over. And as the door closed to separate them, he did not bother suppressing the delightful shiver that ran through him at the thought of taking a life.

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Despite twilight descending upon Slateport City, Zev sat in his apartment in growing darkness. Shadows deepened in every corner as the last of the sun's rays clung to the floor and walls.[break][break]

He had just returned from cleaning up the back rooms of Howling at the Moon, where a power outage had struck the entire building. The power had returned on its own after an hour, but the electric company hadn't been able to explain what happened. For all they could see, their equipment wasn't malfunctioning.[break][break]

A growing hunch clawed at Zev's insides. He'd excused himself from the bar before anything could happen during its business hours, returning home to await the night.[break][break]

Alone and tense with apprehension, he picked up the flashlight he'd brought back from the bar and turned it on. The harsh beam shone on the ceiling, a perfect circle of light. He contemplated it for a moment, then lowered his gaze to the small device in his hand.[break][break]

He concentrated, imagining the light entering his body as a bloom of warmth.[break][break]

And then it happened. He could only describe the phenomenon as a siphoning of the light from the flashlight into his own body, leaving him plunged again into darkness.[break][break]

Zev clicked the button on the handle twice: off then on. Nothing happened.[break][break]

Setting the flashlight aside, he fished in his pocket for his lighter. So far, the only lights that had gone out in his presence had been electric. Artificial. And that seemed appropriate based on the reports about Necrozma from past incidents.[break][break]

But surely the Devourer of Light could do more than that?[break][break]

The lighter came on and flame burst to life, a steady burn. Zev concentrated on it, inhaling as he imagined the light of it entering his body. At once, the fire went out. Another small burst of warmth unfurled inside him.[break][break]

He tried it again. And again. And again. For fifteen minutes, he experimented with his lighter until he was satisfied he had control over the siphoning of the light.[break][break]

Then he stood from the couch and walked over to his balcony. A cool breeze ruffled his hair as he overlooked Slateport City's lower district. Far below him, it awakened to life with the coming of night, stirring from a daylong slumber. Cars honked as pedestrians traversed the sidewalks and side streets, traveling from market vendor to food stall and everywhere in between.[break][break]

Zev regarded the city's lights in a way he never had before, a keenness to his gaze as he scanned the skyline. A blanket of bright pinpricks, they mirrored the cold and distant stars.[break][break]

And they were his for the taking.[break][break]

"Smoke," Zev called out, and the Gengar who had grown up with him emerged from a nearby shadow, red eyes glowing above a toothy grin. "We're going out."[break][break]



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The holding cells of Team Rocket's laboratories contained some of the most dangerous specimens found across Hoenn. Besides Pokémon that could tear holes in the submarine if not sedated, the cages occasionally held failed grunts, traitors, and prisoners of war.[break][break]

Regardless of species, they had lost the greatest lottery. Fate saw them strapped to an operating table, inches beneath the gleaming edge of a scalpel's blade.[break][break]

But Zev was not visiting to witness a creature's final days. Quite the opposite. He stood at the door of a cage near the end of the row. Thick glass separated him from the chamber's occupant—the artificial Pokémon known as Type: Null.[break][break]

In the dark cell, it seemed more like a hulking shadow than a beast, its bulk taking up most of the space. Tiny eyes of a sickly hue stared back at Zev as the creature's low snarl filled the air between them.[break][break]

The man pressed the console on the outside of the cage; the door unlocked with a soft click and slid open. The Type: Null's gaze darted toward the movement, suspicious. Every new experience seemed to unnerve it. As it shifted on its feet, Zev could see the tension in its muscled body. Like it was poised to spring at any slight provocation.[break][break]

"Do you recognize me?" he asked. The Type: Null's attention snapped back to him at the sound of his voice.[break][break]

He stepped inside the cell.[break][break]

"I created you." With Naomi Sato's help, but the Pokémon did not need to know that. "That means I'm your master."[break][break]

Zev recalled the moment of his Type: Null's awakening. Its wide eyes, its wild thrashing against the bonds that held it.[break][break]

Its shrieking.[break][break]

A huffing noise joined the growling that filled the air, and the hitman got the sense that the creature was smelling him behind its mask. It pressed itself against the back wall of the cage. Perhaps his scent was one the Pokémon associated with those first moments of life.[break][break]

With fear.[break][break]

Zev took a step toward it and raised his hand.[break][break]

Type: Null lunged.[break][break]

Zev grunted as his back slammed against the wall, shoved by the beast's weight. A pincer-like foreclaw ripped his shirt, but no wound formed; no blood spilled from tender flesh. Instead, between the ragged tears of fabric was a layer of black crystal.[break][break]

Rearing back, Type: Null swiped at Zev with its other foreclaw. The assassin raised his arm to block as crystals sprouted along his skin. He bore the impact of the blow with gritted teeth and a wicked grin.[break][break]

"Are you done yet?" he asked the Pokémon.[break][break]

It screamed at him, confused, and lashed out one more time. But Zev was ready. With a mere thought, he covered his entire body in the armor. Jagged spikes protruded from his shoulders and arms. Type: Null smashed its claws against their edges and yelped in both surprise and pain.[break][break]

Taking advantage of its shock, Zev grabbed the abomination by its mask and wrestled it to the ground with all his strength. It thrashed with all its limbs, but he trapped it with tendrils of crystal that bit into its skin, drawing dark blood.[break][break]

At least the beast was intelligent. Type: Null quickly calmed, realizing it did not have the upper hand. Finally, it lay still, panting heavily as its beady eyes stared up at Zev. He recognized uncertainty in its gaze, a question it could not ask.[break][break]

What will become of me?[break][break]

"Very good," Zev said. One at a time, he retracted the tendrils into his body. Type: Null did not try to attack or flee; it simply remained prone at his feet. "You obey me now. Do well and I'll reward you. Disobey or disappoint me, and I will only hurt you more."[break][break]

The crystals retreated into his skin, leaving a torn shirt but unblemished flesh. He kept his hands on the Pokémon's mask, however.[break][break]

"Do you understand?"[break][break]

Type: Null nodded in a single twitch of its head.[break][break]

Zev released it and stood up straight. Slowly, it raised its head but did not get up off the floor. "Good." He opened an empty Pokéball. "Now come with me."

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Zev woke with a start.[break][break]

Through the nearest window, the first hint of dawn tinged the gray sky with tender pink and blue. Yet it did not reach the bedroom, ensconced as it was in deepest shadow.[break][break]

Everyone was still asleep, from Neffatari Nzingha curled up under the covers at his side to the pile of Rockruff and Yamper puppies on the floor by the foot of the bed. In the darkness, Zev listened to their breathing.[break][break]

But the peaceful rhythm did not lull him back to sleep, not with the dream still vivid in his mind as if he had lived it: a conquered Hoenn, with him holding the position of Team Rocket Boss. Lying there, he revisited each moment, holding it up for inspection.[break][break]

And then, afterward, he recalled the strange apparitions that had manifested in the Interdream Mist on the new island—notably the one that had looked like him, but older and wearing a crown. He possessed the same air of total authority that Zev's dream self had exuded.[break][break]

Which did not surprise him. It was part of his nature, his personality. But in Team Rocket's present hierarchy, he could not exert it as strongly as his other selves had. Admins and underbosses filled positions higher than him on the pecking order.[break][break]

[break]

The echo of Elisabeth Fiorelli's taunt when she'd pulled rank caused Zev's hand to clench into a fist. The shadows around him deepened further, radiating a cold malevolence. Only then did he notice them, and how much time had passed since he'd awakened.[break][break]

Dawn's pale light illuminated Mossdeep, but the bedroom remained swathed in darkness as if it was still night.[break][break]

Zev rose from the bed, moving slowly so as not to wake Nenet. Nothing was amiss in her room, so he left it, padding quietly down the hallway. Pink mist curled around his ankles before dissipating with his passing.[break][break]

Finally, he reached the living room. His Nidoking, who he'd ordered to keep watch during the night, raised his head in greeting. Purple scales had blackened to an inkiness like the ocean depths. The ones on his belly and inside his large ears had turned a deep shade of violet.[break][break]

And while his eyes had not changed color, they glowered at his master with a cruel, intelligent malice.[break][break]

At once, Zev understood what had happened. The Nidoking reminded him of other Shadow Pokémon he had seen, from Cillian Quinn's Dhelmise to BARNABY FINCH's Steelix. And now, he had one of his own.[break][break]

He smiled, but it was wrong and wicked, and did not reach his eyes.

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