Zev lost sight of Noctowl as the Pokémon flew further ahead. On the ground, the assassin and accompanying grunt followed the trail of disturbed ground and trampled undergrowth. At one point, footprints appeared next to the tracks; their target had dismounted. [break][break]

Cassidy's question earned her a sidelong glance from Zev. "That's right." [break][break]

Ahead of them, he spotted a glint of red metal amidst fallen branches. As they neared, he saw it was a mountain bicycle, left on its side and purposefully hidden by foliage. The color and model matched the intel on Terrance Ormonde. [break][break]

"Your file said you specialize in poaching Pokémon. I take it you've never killed a person before," he said. It wasn't a question.

TAGS – cassidy[break]
NOTES – mission

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Zev let Himiko's snarky comment die on the air between them. More and more, he found himself unfazed by the petty emotions of simple mortals. [break][break]

"The important people are busy molding the battlefield to our organization's advantage," he said, his tone even and unfazed. "Contracts made with Legendary Pokémon, attacks on the Elite Four and Council, the death of kyle lopez." [break][break]

Both attacks from Himiko's Pokémon hit their marks. Nagandel countered with a SHADOW CLAW on the Salandit, while Ceruledge sliced at the Hisuian Zoroark with BITTER BLADE. [break][break]

"Maybe if you paid attention, you'd realize all the work that's going into the upcoming mobilization. If you want to branch out, you can help with it, too. There's plenty of preparation still left to do."

TAGS – Yamaguchi Himiko[break]
NOTES – mission

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"You'd be surprised," Zev said, one hand idly rising to brush dust from his lapel. "There are businesses on the black market for everything, even everyday clothes customized for combat." [break][break]

Certainly, he could dress in outfits that stood out less in crowds. But he liked suits. They reinforced the professionalism he liked to embody. In Kanto, both the high quality of his work and the suit were part of his reputation. [break][break]

"We have combat gear for field operations, though," the assassin reassured Yuan. "When we move to seize new territory, that's what our operatives will wear." [break][break]

The ones that had training, at any rate. Lower-ranking grunts, on the other hand, had to make do with whatever they owned.

TAGS – Yuan Wright[break]
NOTES – mission

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Zev nodded as he listened. "Good. We'll start off with establishing your baseline, then we'll move onto basic maneuvers," he said, leading Rhys to the clear space near the machines section of the fitness center. [break][break]

Zev explained what he wanted Rhys to do: as many push-ups as possible within one minute, then as many pull-ups as possible in the same amount of time, with a two-minute break in between. Afterward, Zev had Rhys run on a treadmill for five minutes to gauge the grunt's speed and endurance. Where machines could not record the grunt's numbers, Zev kept count in his head. [break][break]

When they finished the baseline test, he allowed Rhys to sit and drink water while he analyzed the report. "How did that feel? Was it easy or hard?" he asked.

TAGS – Rhys Collins[break]
NOTES – mission

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Zev's eyes narrowed—not at Cillian, but at the information he revealed. [break][break]

"A 'moonlit form' is how I'd describe what happened when Nenet and I encountered the Lunala in Ultra Crater a few weeks ago," Zev said, suspecting that Cillian had read the report. "As soon as it saw me, it became enraged, and then this light enveloped it." [break][break]

Idly, the Beast drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. [break][break]

"The Moltres with dark flames sounds like Bee's patron, but I've never heard of a Nihilego taking over someone's body," he mused. It wasn't that he doubted Cillian; stranger things had happened since Zev's arrival in Hoenn. [break][break]

"Was it a kind of Mega Evolution?" Yet even as the question left his mouth, he felt it was wrong. Lunala's transformation at Ultra Crater hadn't looked like any Mega Evolution he'd witnessed before.

TAGS – Cillian Quinn[break]
NOTES – social

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Zev shrugged a shoulder at Bryan's statement. "You might be an idiot, but that's not enough reason to kill someone of your caliber. And if the bosses want you alive, I don't give enough of a shit to ask why." [break][break]

Which was a shame. Bryan had once been one of the more tolerable of Zev's colleagues. The loss of his Avatarship had sullied him in Zev's eyes. Ultimately, Bryan had proven himself unworthy. [break][break]

But not weak. [break][break]

"What do you mean?" Zev asked, approaching Bryan. The other man no longer looked like he would flee at a moment's notice. Still, his Necrozma shard remained nearby, watching Bryan and his Audino carefully. Blue light shimmered along its wings.

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

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And just like that, Necrozma's attention turned elsewhere. Zev lingered in the reassurance of their psychic bond before refocusing on Cillian. A few crystals broke down, reverting back to skin. And when the Beast spoke again, the quality of his voice changed, seeming more man than monster. [break][break]

"Were you wondering about what happened during the blackout of Slateport?" he asked the underboss. Zev hadn't participated in the confrontation against Necrozma, but he'd lived through it. He'd read the reports. [break][break]

He glanced down at the shards of black gleaming along his wrist, as if noticing them for the first time. "Several Shadow Pokémon were made during that fight by Necrozma's hand," he remembered. [break][break]

Cyllora's words rang in his ears: "It's a child of the Blinding One." [break][break]

Raising his gaze to meet Cillian's once more, Zev said, "I read the report a while back, but I want to hear about what happened from your perspective." He folded his hands in his lap.

TAGS – Cillian Quinn[break]
NOTES – social

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Zev tucked away his observation of Fern into his mental filing cabinet. He took a seat with economy of movement, the tension in his body indicative of restless thoughts. As expected, the person across from him adopted an air of easy nonchalance. [break][break]

As with most Rockets, it was a mask, slipped into as easily as one might don an old shirt. [break][break]

Zev looked over at Tapu Koko, returning its suspicious glance with one of his own. "A child of the Blinding One," he mused aloud, before refocusing his gaze on Fern. "I'd be more surprised by the information if I hadn't already known Necrozma can create things. For example, the shard I call on at times." [break][break]

How ironic, that the Destroyer of Worlds could spawn living creatures. [break][break]

The Beast turned contemplative as he rubbed his chin with a hand. "But my shard and your patron clearly aren't the same. Tapu Koko clearly has a personality of its own. It makes me wonder how else they're different, and why."

TAGS – fern delaney[break]
NOTES – mission

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Unsurprising. Zev guessed that the other underbosses felt the same way, or at least Cillian Quinn did. Elisabeth Fiorelli probably did not care what happened to the League so long as her head remained above water. [break][break]

"Yet you sanction her actions? What do you think she'll be able to achieve, realistically?" Zev asked, his tone devoid of judgment or skepticism. "What results are you expecting?"

TAGS – THEO BECKETT[break]
NOTES – social

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Zev glanced over his shoulder at Howard and nodded. "Send them, then." [break][break]

He whistled a low note, summoning his Golurk from where it stood vigil. As the Ghost-type lumbered over to give both men a ride back to the Ultra Crater, the shard of Necrozma ripped open a wormhole and disappeared. Zev stared at the space it had occupied, plans formulating in his mind. [break][break]

Then he tossed his cigarette onto the barren moonsoil and stomped it out.

TAGS – howard slayte[break]
NOTES – mission (repeat)

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"Of course I won't," Zev said, eyeing her choices. [break][break]

A Hisuian Zoroark and a Salandit. Either one would make a formidable fighter, but if the former's frightened behavior was any indication, they had a long way to go. And as Himiko's Pokémon, they represented her. Their success was her success; their failure, her failure. [break][break]

Without sparing another second, Zev whistled a quick, sharp note. At once, both of his Pokémon lunged toward Himiko's. Ceruledge aimed a PSYCHO CUT at the Salandit, while Nihilego targeted the Zoroark with DRAGON PULSE. [break][break]

"You've been missing for a while. I haven't seen any mission reports with your name attached to them for a few weeks," Zev said. In Team Rocket, idle grunts were suspicious. "Why is that?"

TAGS – Yamaguchi Himiko[break]
NOTES – mission

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Somehow, Isaac managed to escape the cage of unnatural darkness. Zev recognized, even begrudgingly, the boy's courage. Terror had not gripped Isaac's heart in the way it did with so many others. That had saved his life—or at least delayed his end. [break][break]

With the powers Necrozma granted him, Zev saw through the preternatural gloom into the world beyond. The ashen trees, the ruined ground, and even the flames that lingered. [break][break]

But then, in the blink of an eye, everything vanished from sight. [break][break]

Suspicion unfurled within the Rocket Beast like creeping vines. Isaac had always been a trickster, performing ridiculous stunts to achieve his ends. What deception had he chosen now to save his hide? [break][break]

Slowly, Zev allowed the surrounding blackness to dissipate, though his crystalline tendrils continued to snake to and fro in a defensive pattern. He expected to see sunlight and a fire-eaten forest, but instead, a thick cloud of steam smothered the landscape, obscuring it from his sight. [break][break]

Clever, he thought, begrudgingly. [break][break]

Still, he was the hunter, never prey. Growing still and silent, Zev watched and listened for any sign of Isaac's presence. Assuming the boy had not run away, of course.

TAGS – Isaac Merlo[break]
NOTES – social | takes place after this thread

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The anger on Bee's face simmered for longer than expected. Zev watched the admin digest the information, guessing at the thoughts running through his head. Bee was intelligent and cunning; Zev had no doubt he was reaching the most logical conclusion. [break][break]

That Elisabeth Fiorelli had been sloppy. That she was as much of a liability as an asset. [break][break]

"She did. And when I confronted her about it later, she said she had underestimated Silph's obsession with her, and he'd had her followed. She didn't tell me more than that," Zev said. [break][break]

While he did not normally care if a Rocket's affiliation was known or not—he himself had given up his pretenses—it behooved the crime syndicate to have members among their ranks who could walk unnoticed through society. [break][break]

Zev did not know Bee's public identity, but he would not be surprised if it proved highly advantageous. [break][break]

"I figured you might want to take certain precautions."

TAGS – BARNABY FINCH[break]
NOTES – prismatic penitentiary dream world

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