A large bat (GLISCOR) zooms between the trees of evergreen and across the night sky almost soundlessly. RAZERBAIT has always been Belial's choice of scout, especially for assignments done in the dark. Even against the supposedly supernatural, the mercenary captain had faith the Gliscor could handle itself.

Which, of course, left him plenty of time to chat with the beauty that he had apparently been paired with.

"You must be Summer Atreides ," With a single foot propped up against a rock, Belial gazes down at her from above a small ledge in the forest. "I didn't know Rocket hired them this good-looking." He smirks.

"Then again... here I am."

Anvil CEO and mercenary captain. The shiny new gun in Rocket's right-hand. The black wolf of the Stone family.

---

⚠ mission: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

MISSION + Summer Atreides

☉

Unbeknownst to Cygne, Belial was starting to get used to being Team Rocket's resident errand boy and babysitter. The mercenary captain and his company were being paid well to fill the void, anyway. Though the validity of such an idea is, understandably, questionable after he gets reeled into the lake like some child.

The world becomes a realm of deep dark blue and rampant bubbles to the man for a while. As he struggles to reach and unclip the Pokéball at his hip, however, he continues to grip onto his fishing rod with the other, as bewildered eyes try to discern the identity of his would-be captor. And, just as he realizes what it is, he feels a very human hand pull him backward.

Belial gasps and chokes on a cough for a moment as water exits his lungs and air fills it. He releases his fishing rod in the meantime, and laughs when his chest is capable of doing so without choking again. "The legends were true... there's a fucking monster in this lake!" He says, shaking his head.

And, unfortunately for her LUVDISC, she had just bought a front-row ticket to the BASCULEGION's teeth (BITE).

MISSION + ana fell

☉

Belial shrugs. Your loss, his expression says before he reaches in for another tourtiere. The bite is enjoyed just as richly as the first as his right hand man speaks up again.[break][break]

"Quick to business as usual..." The man smiles, eyes darting up to meet Fix-It's as he lifts his cloth napkin to the corner of his mouth to clean up. After casting it back down, he reaches out to seize his glass of water. "Our employers have a new project in the works. We've been asked to assist, but I wanted to run it by you first to get your opinion."[break][break]

Pausing to take a sip, Belial's cunning eyes wander elsewhere and scan the room as he thinks. In all his years of combat and field experience in foreign territories, he'd never before come across a region with such adversaries. The money was good, sure. But this was a big (and potentially dangerous) step forward for ANVIL. "... what would you say to fighting avatars?"[break][break]

+ ...

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Belial blinks out of his stupor at the sound of a voice. Was he hearing things? He turns over his shoulder and is immediately relieved at the fact that he isn't. Though the embarrassment that washes over him like a wave is arguably worse, he thinks.

He sharply turns away.

With a sudden case of cold detachment, he drops the Raticate corpse from his arms like a heap of unwanted trash, rising from the floor and wiping his hands clean with a few slaps on the side of his pant legs.

"... It's already dead."

---

⚠ mission: cut one's losses

MISSION + Kenjiro Yamada

☉

In the distance, the GIANT CLEFABLE in a pretty pink tutu (that this party was meant for) sat on a velvet throne and gasped at the sight. The masked man and his Mienshao worked together to flip a table, in the meantime. The latter huffed when Toni's Shinx hissed at her.

The masked man, in the meantime, regards the familiar woman with a smirk as security comes rushing in past the crowd from all directions. "Good money is enough to make anyone bold, isn't it? Everyone has a price. Gumball over there failed to pay hers." He amusedly adds, regarding the Clefable with a nod before a Machoke comes charging their way.

A lightning fast kick to the Machoke's face (BOUNCE) sends the Mienshao flying into the sky, and her opponent crashing into a table across from them. Her master engages with one the security guards shortly thereafter, dispatching the man with a flurry of punches and one devastating kick to the chest.

---

➼ mission: poke party

MISSION + Antoinette Spina

☉

Belial laughs. "That's fair. I've raised a few Gyarados in the past, actually. They're very popular in my line of work." There wasn't much that hit harder than a HYPER BEAM from the tyrant of the seas, after all.

Happy to continue taking his mind off work, however, the man's expression beams with something devilishly pleased as her flirtations sprout beneath his continued gaze. "It's Belial," He answers. "Though you're free to call me whatever you'd like." He winks, gently pushing himself away from the edge of the pool as he wades in deeper.

"I definitely didn't expect to have such fine company here," He adds, a tower of toned muscle soundlessly splitting steaming water apart before he reaches down to cup a handful in his palm. Splashing it across his bare and slightly scarred chest, he softly rubs it about with his hand before doing the same for his broad shoulders.

After enjoying this for a moment, and savoring the nice breeze that sends a shiver down back, he tilts his gaze in her direction again with a smirk. "You doing something later?"

---

📍 poppywine spring, lavaridge town
⚠ mission: new year, new me

AHOGADO + Amber Lenoir

☉

Fingers grip the harpoon gun in his hands as his feet pedal him deeper towards the ocean ridge below. He's not comfortable in an environment where he his capacity to protect himself has been so severely limited. He's not losing his cool either, but he's certainly not as calm and collected as his stoic Mienshao is.

"Straight shot down. Last I checked on the radar, anyway." He replies through the scratchy mouthpiece transmitting between them. "And if things go sideways... straight shot up."

As pure black shifted into hues of dark blue, however, a strange glow began to shift into the realm of visible perception. Was that... a distortion? Underwater? It certainly looked like one: a massive-dome like barrier holding the ocean's water at bay despite the enormous pressure.

And, within that dome, a prehistoric world. One that existed before the great flood.

---

➼ mission: luvdisc dive

MISSION + Elisabeth Fiorelli

☉

Belial squints at the sight of something nosediving from way on high. Chai, too, looks up to see the large swan sharply have itself steered upwards by its rider. The two watch with mild fascination as they eventually land on the same bank the two have posted themselves on.

Belial chuckles at the blonde's reprimand. "Hey there! I didn't know they were sending back-up." He smirks, reaching over the left arm of his lawn chair to open a small ice bin and grab a can. He holds it up for the female to see, still holding his fishing rod in the other hand.

"Nice flying. Want a beer?"

But, suddenly, something yanks on his fishing rod so hard that the man gets dragged rather unceremoniously into the lake. The beer goes flying in the air as a result. But, surprisingly, the man doesn't let go of his fishing rod and is pulled underwater as something rages within.

Oh my god... is he going to drown?

---

📝author's note: LMAO

MISSION + ana fell

☉

Sweet success.

Belial could probably do to have one less proverbial feather in his proverbial cap, quite honestly. But, if Antoinette saw herself having a good time with him, then why not?

With an ever-present smile, he takes the offered business card— then chirps impressed as he inspects it, rotating it between two fingers. He figured she had some modicum of wealth based on her attire alone. But this spoke to something next level, as far as he knew.

"It's a date, beautiful. I'm ready for that main course as I'll ever be." He adds, tucking her card into his jacket pocket and patting it for good measure. 

Just then, the timer sounds. And, with seamless motions, he rises from his chair to take her hand and grace the surface of it with a gentle peck of his lips.

"Til then, Toni."

---

💕 TURN 4/4

SPEED DATE + Antoinette Spina

☉

A good question warranted a good response. Any silence between the inquiry and the answer was due solely to his newfound respect for Antoinette Spina . A shot-caller was just the kind of woman he liked.

"That's something you're better off finding out on your own," He says, leaning back into his seat with a confident grin as he gently swirls the glass of wine in his hand. "But I can promise you it's worth it. You might even have a little fun along the way..."

Truth be told, he was starting to think he'd lasso the moon down for her if it meant getting a taste.

---

💕 TURN 3/4

SPEED DATE + Antoinette Spina

☉

"Oh? You mean the body-double? He's alright, I guess." Belial smirks, casting a flippant hand backwards. Regardless, a MEGA-EVOLVED STEELIX was much more trouble than it was worth right now.

Casting a quick look towards the plume of smoke afar, the mercenary figured the evidence had been thoroughly burned away at this point. So he returns his Machoke, almost simultaneously summoning his Gliscor before offering the girl a short salute goodbye.

"Nice battle and all, but we never agreed on mega evolution, you naughty girl." He chastises, stepping backward as he nears the side of a small cliff. "Maybe some other time though, huh?"

Then, suddenly, he drops out of view... until his Gliscor shoots upward and into the sky, with the mysterious black-haired man riding it as a self-propelled glider.

➔ FIN

---

➼ Machoke is recalled; Belial flees on Gliscor
⚠ mission: make it double

MISSION + Amelia Livy

☉

With large and meaty hands, the Machoke stands his ground and seizes the Steelix's tail when it comes. Veins bulge and muscles flex as it uses its superhuman strength to twist the Steelix sideways into the flowing stream.

Like an ape wrangling a cobra, it tries to whip the snake-like body against the ground and force it into SUBMISSION. Though it sustains damage from doing so.

"That's the thing! I don't have the faintest clue!" Belial sneers in the meantime. "My name's Martín del Mar . Don't forget it." He winks. "Wanna know my sign next?"

---

➼ Machoke tries to force Steelix into SUBMISSION
⚠ mission: make it double

MISSION + Amelia Livy

☉