Hoenn's desert was an odd phenomenon, a vast expanse of dryness despite the region's naturally tropical climate. Zev wondered how much of it had been caused by supernatural means: namely, the presence of the Power Spot at its heart, overflowing with Dynergy. [break][break]

He was not a man to dwell on such thoughts, however. His purpose on that day was not to contemplate the poison choking the land but to deal with the League, who would profit off it. Through a pair of binoculars, he watched the slow progression of a distant caravan, its vehicles laden with Wishing Stars and Dynite Ore procured from said Power Spot. [break][break]

Zev handed the binoculars to the Associate accompanying him on the sabotage mission. MAKI YUKIMURA had shown recent interest in joining S.P.E.C.T.R.A.; her advancement toward membership in the task force depended on her success that day. [break][break]

"I count three trucks with cargo and five Pokémon guarding them, all Ground- and Rock-types. What's your strategy for taking them down and acquiring the materials for ourselves?" he asked.

TAGS – MAKI YUKIMURA[break]
NOTES – mission

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Rainy's irritability and rudeness did not faze Zev. Many grunts acted this way, especially those without proper socialization or who were secretly rattled by fear. [break][break]

"That's another thing your file says: that you don't have a codename. Update it yourself if you want us to use it in the field," he said without missing a beat. Cold blue eyes followed Rainy's movements in the corner of the server room. [break][break]

"As long as everything goes to plan, you won't need to make many trips down here. I summoned you today to do whatever you need to set up your remote connection to these servers," Zev continued, glancing away as his Rotom emerged from a nearby rack. [break][break]

The small Ghost-type zipped over to Rainy out of curiosity, and to say hello. Its master, however, remained apart and aloof. [break][break]

"You will need to be able to access them from both Sootopolis and Mossdeep, and potentially Petalburg. Can you do that?" He did not reveal that he knew very little about servers himself. Rainy only needed to know what was being asked of him, and nothing else.

TAGS – rainy huynh[break]
NOTES – mission

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Zev detected the Urshifu's lack of training in an instant, but that did not mean he was safe to lower his defense. As the bear charged forward in an obvious front grapple, the Rocket Beast considered his options. [break][break]

One, he could continue keeping his distance, dancing out of the Pokémon's way. [break][break]

Or two, he could risk a last-second maneuver. [break][break]

He made his decision in a split-second. Ameena's Urshifu was nearly upon him, the beast's great head lower than Zev's hip. At the right moment, he lifted his knee, keeping his leg bent. His arms lowered ever so slightly to steady himself, and his other foot pressed deep into the sparring mat. [break][break]

The man rammed his knee into Urshifu's skull. He stumbled away, the joint smarting with pain but otherwise unbroken, as the bear toppled over. While the blow was not enough to knock the Pokémon unconscious, it was enough to disorient, perhaps even concuss. [break][break]

"Don't do that untrained," Zev said to Ameena as he put distance between himself and her Pokémon.

TAGS – ameena abadi[break]
NOTES – mission

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Zev nodded, as if Rhys' results were what he expected. "You need to start a strength training program, something that will complement hand-to-hand lessons," he explained, beckoning for the grunt to follow him. [break][break]

The Rocket Beast led the way to the back of the fitness center, where training mats were laid out over the space to form a large square. In the center, he stopped and turned to face Rhys, then fell into a fighting stance. Zev explained the finer details: feet set shoulder-width apart, hips pivoted with the dominant foot as the back foot, arms raised but shoulders relaxed. [break][break]

Then he had Rhys mimic him, taking a moment to correct the grunt's posture. When he was finally satisfied, Zev assumed the stance again across from Rhys. [break][break]

"Next is basic footwork. When you fight and you want to move forward, backward, left, or right, you always want to start with the leg closest to that direction. So step forward with your front leg first, while sliding up your back leg." He demonstrated this by darting forward a step. [break][break]

"And to go back, step back with your back leg first, while following it with your front leg." Another demonstration, this time in the opposite direction. Zev relaxed his stance and faced the younger man. [break][break]

"This is so our legs don't get crossed while we're moving, which could cause us to stumble and fall. That is the last thing we want. So go ahead, try it a few times in different directions."

TAGS – Rhys Collins[break]
NOTES – mission

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The door swung open, granting Zev entrance to an office long-unused. Many months had passed since the last person had occupied it, evidenced by the dusty emptiness that greeted him. He did not know if that person had been Killian Decker or Martín del Mar, nor did he care. [break][break]

The room was his, now. [break][break]

Crossing the space, the Rocket Beast—no, the God General—envisioned what he wished his domain to look like. Directly in the center of the chamber, he wanted a map of Hoenn. Not paper on a table, but a machine capable of holographic imagery. He wanted the ability to zoom in on different areas of the region, display topography in three dimensions, and run simulations of operations. [break][break]

Zev walked over to the desk at one end of the office. Cloth covered the furniture to protect it from dust. With great care, he removed the fabric to reveal an oaken monument to his new authority. Behind it, a leather chair awaited him. [break][break]

His gaze lingered on the desk. Already, he imagined the stack of paperwork next to his laptop. But instead of writing reports for the Admins and Underbosses, he would receive them from others. [break][break]

Field reports from reconnaissance teams and soldiers alike. Intel reports on the League's movements and new, interdimensional phenomena. Progress reports on projects both offensive and defensive in nature, such as the creation of war machines and the training of new recruits. [break][break]

He had a greater role in S.P.E.C.T.R.A. now, he mused. Fortunately, its current setup allowed all of Team Rocket's leadership to advance grunts through the program. That was good. Often, it was better to delegate than to shoulder a burden by oneself, especially as upper management. [break][break]

Fingertips trailed along the edge of the desk as Zev walked around to its other side. The angle afforded him a better look at the opposite end of the room, which was bare. A screen mounted on the wall could stream news from across the region. Otherwise, he decided that decorations would be sparse—just enough to convey the sentiment he wished to convey in his new role. [break][break]

A banner bearing Rocket's logo, to hang opposite the door, so it would be the first thing one sees upon entering. His military awards, few as they were. Newspaper clippings of the Kanto takeover, collected together and framed. An empty Howa Type 89 assault rifle, the standard issue of the Kanto Army, obtained on the black market. A small liquor cabinet. [break][break]

Grasping the back of the chair, Zev rolled it out from under the desk. He lowered himself onto the seat with an imperious air and rested his arms on the chair's. A sense of rightness filled him, as if nothing less than an inexorable destiny had enthroned him there. [break][break]

Beneath his shirt, metal dog tags hung heavy with fateful prophecy. Engraved onto their smooth surface was a memory. A promise. An omen. [break][break]

'King of the Day.'

TAGS – none[break]
NOTES – exhibit post

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Zev shrugged, too. "I've never given it a Mega Stone, nor do I have to use my Key Stone to activate that form," he explained, tapping a finger against his wristwatch where his Key Stone was embedded. [break][break]

Still, Bryan's mention of a "special" transformation planted an idea in the assassin's mind. After all, other augmentations existed—Dynamax and Terastallization, for example. Perhaps there was another that didn't have a name yet. [break][break]

"It's worth looking into, either way," Zev said, mentally shelving that topic for another day. Then he pinned Bryan with his unfeeling blue gaze. "Are you going to run away again, or are you going to come back with me to headquarters?"

TAGS – bryan delarosa[break]
NOTES – social | pre-Prismatic Penitentiary

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Zev snatched the key out of the air, just in time to dodge one of Genesect Prime's attacks. His fingers closed around the small metal object like a vise, he charged for the next lock. Like Hitoshi, Zev put all his knowledge and training to use, attempting to evade each of the war machine's swipes. [break][break]

He lunged for the lock and jammed his key into the hole with as much finesse as he could muster under such duress, hoping to hear a click as yet another part of the door unlocked. [break][break]

TAGS – oscar clayton Hitoshi Inoue[break]
NOTES – mission[break]
– Unlock + dodge attempt.

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Zev raised an eyebrow at Alba but made no comment on the younger man's attempt at stoicness. It was plain to see that Alba was completely wiped, physically. They would achieve little else from strength lessons that day. [break][break]

"In that case, come with me to the mats." [break][break]

Setting aside the paper, Zev led his pupil to the back of the fitness center where blue sparring mats were laid out in a wide square. When he reached the center, he turned to face Alba and fell into a fighting stance. [break][break]

"This is the basic fighting stance for Mixed Martial Arts, which encompasses disciplines like jiu jitsu, boxing, and muay Thai," he explained. [break][break]

"Feet should be hip-width apart, with your dominant foot in the back at an angle. Arms are raised to protect your face, but shoulders are relaxed and knees are slightly bent." [break][break]

Zev nodded at Alba. [break][break]

"Now you try it."

TAGS – Alba Evovae[break]
NOTES – mission

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The punch from a Pokémon was nothing like the punch from another human being, even one as experienced as Zev. He knew better than to assume weakness from the Urshifu, whose DYNAMIC PUNCH could shatter bones. [break][break]

So he dodged it, grabbing the bear's arm and pivoting his body to use the Urshifu's momentum against it. At six feet tall and 230 lbs. in weight, the Pokémon possessed a build similar to many of his opponents in the ring. A properly-executed maneuver would see the Urshifu thrown over Zev's shoulder and slammed hard against the mats. [break][break]

It all happened in the blink of an eye. The Rocket Beast danced back, light on the balls of his feet, arms raised defensively.

TAGS – ameena abadi[break]
NOTES – mission

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Taking the device from Mint, Zev examined the charts and graphs closely. Sure enough, the data all revealed the simple truth that his energy output, as the Avatar of Necrozma, exceeded other Avatars' by significant amounts. [break][break]

He glanced up at Mint when the other Beast mentioned obtaining another reading for Zev's laser beam. Though he had no qualms with testing the attack on the field, he hadn't yet obtained an energy source he could use mid-battle. [break][break]

"Fine," Zev said. He handed the tablet back to Mint, then released a Pokémon. His Seviper coiled up by the rock on which Mint sat, ready to assist her master. [break][break]

Zev turned his back on them both to face the desert and its darkened firmament. Crystals bloomed across his body, summoned by his will. They spread first across his entire right arm from fingertips to shoulder, then consumed the rest of him in shards of living metal. [break][break]

And as his right arm twisted into a cannon-like armature, even his bones and organs transformed to protect him from the enormous output of power. [break][break]

Brilliant white energy gathered in the claw at the end of Zev's cannon arm. He aimed it at the distant clouds, braced himself with a wide-legged stance, and gritted his teeth. [break][break]

When the accumulated energy reached its maximum limit, he fired. The blinding beam of light cleaved through the air in a straight line.

TAGS – mint frost[break]
NOTES – social

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Deep in the heart of the New Mauville power plant, Zev stood in the center of a large room. Surrounding him were racks of servers, arranged in tidy rows. His Rotom zipped out of one and into another, ensuring they were operating at maximum efficiency. [break][break]

Built in secrecy over the past few weeks, the server room had one purpose: to store backed up data stolen from the Mossdeep Space Center. [break][break]

The sound of approaching footsteps drew the Beast's attention to the door of the chamber. The grunt he'd summoned to help with the great endeavor, a programmer for said institution, had arrived. [break][break]

"Huynh," Zev said by way of greeting. His voice lacked any warmth or friendliness. "I didn't think you'd actually show up. Your file says you prefer remote meetings."

TAGS – rainy huynh[break]
NOTES – mission

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