Howard's defensive protests fell on deaf ears. Zev turned away, uninterested in hearing the other man's excuses. He chose instead to face a familiar phantom of the RKS machine: declan walsh himself. [break][break]

Zev had run through this scenario a number of times. The paths were the same regardless if Walsh won or lost; Fuchsia City still burned to the ground. Team Rocket still prevailed. [break][break]

Howard fled with alarming swiftness, his own protests dying on his lips. As the enemy Gliscor leaped at his retreating back, Zev reached out with his mind. Gravity seized the Pokémon and sent it careening into the floor, its body smashed into a pulp. [break][break]

Walsh's Nidoking emerged next, only to clash with the one Zev owned. But as much as he wanted to fight, Zev knew Howard's retreat through the main doors of the gym would trigger the rest of the scenario. [break][break]

TAGS – howard slayte[break]
NOTES – the rks simulation

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Alone, Zev stood within the yawning maw that Hoenn would soon come to call the Giant Chasm. The great stone of the earth reached skyward, closing around him like jagged teeth. Stars hung high above against a backdrop of night, cold and distant in their vigil, as unfeeling as the void they called home. [break][break]

Zev did not fear the jaws of the earth or the judgment of the stars. He knew the land for what it was: a barren rock, a speck of dust. A millennia ago, it was nothing more than clouds of detritus, the leavings of supernovas; in another millennia, it would be consumed. [break][break]

He knew the stars for what they were, too: food for an endless hunger, fuel for a boundless rage. And when their lights snuffed out, he did not need a telescope to know what happened. To know that his patron had reached another world and brought death. [break][break]

Ever since their encounter in Ultra Space months ago, Zev felt Necrozma through a bond that never weakened or wavered. The will of the Devourer of Suns was both bewilderingly alien and yet unmistakably clear. [break][break]

And it was this will that drove its vessel to the humid jungle of the Giant Chasm. Down there, something drew Necrozma's attention, compelling Zev to seek it out. Instead of searching with eyes and ears like a human, he sensed its signature of Infinity Energy, pulsing with power. If he focused, he could taste the sweet nectar of its life-giving promise on the air. [break][break]

He did not spend too long wandering the unexplored land before he found it. [break][break]

No, not it. Her. [break][break]

"Dr. Reyes." [break][break]

Zev tilted his head at her. The man Illeana might have recognized from a past night of drinking was no more. Black crystal covered his flesh, leaving only his head and neck visible. Even then, shards emerged in scattered clusters across his cheeks, jaw, and temple. A gaze as cold and unyielding as space itself pinned her from across the distance between them. [break][break]

"Or has Palkia given you another name?" he asked. In the undercurrent of his voice rang a discordant, harrowing note.

TAGS – illeana reyes[break]
NOTES – mission (repeat)

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"Perhaps there is something about them that attracts pieces of other worlds." [break][break]

Lulu's theory sparked a curiosity about the Minior that Zev hadn't possessed before. Up until that moment, he viewed them as Pokémon like any other. The one covered in black moss had been a unique anomaly, but one whose existence had not interested him once he confirmed Necrozma had no interest, either. [break][break]

But perhaps they did collect pieces of other worlds as they flew through space. Did that include Ultra Space? Did they witness and know things other beings knew nothing about, despite their fleeting lives? [break][break]

Could he use them against the DRK Triad? [break][break]

"Do you recall the symbol we showed you a few months ago?" Zev asked, expecting Lulu to remember. His skin itched at the memory. A few crystals bloomed across his skin, unbidden. [break][break]

"When we destroyed the Megalopolans' weapon, something flew from it. Multiple things. Unfortunately, they were too far away and too small for me to see them clearly." [break][break]

Sudden movement from his Gengar drew the man's attention. The ghost zipped toward a shiny wild Duosion that had appeared, startling it with HEX. Zev observed the scuffle but did not act at first, feeling suddenly displaced from the present moment. [break][break]

And then the sensation passed, and he tossed a Pokéball at the fallen Psychic-type.

TAGS – Lulu Flint[break]
NOTES – duo wild (psychic/ghost) | catching Duosion

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Zev stepped away from Bee and the set of strange footprints. Blue eyes scanned the surrounding environs with the sharpness and intensity of a predator stalking prey. [break][break]

"It must be," he said. "I haven't seen any tracks like that before, from any Pokémon. And judging by their size, it's big enough to deal serious damage to our research stations." [break][break]

Not that their defense mattered to Zev. All he cared about was capturing one of these new, hostile Pokémon for himself. [break][break]

Opening a Pokéball, he released his Genesect. It beeped at him in acknowledgement, then fell silent, waiting for orders. [break][break]

"Scan this area for any Pokémon that could match these tracks," Zev commanded it, gesturing to the footprints in the mud. "Return to me if you find anything." [break][break]

The Genesect beeped again before transforming into its flight mode and zipping off. [break][break]

TAGS – BARNABY FINCH[break]
NOTES – gc excursion c: monster hunter

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How strange, Zev thought, for the frigid and barren landscape of the Silent Icelands to give way to a tropical, lush jungle. While not his first trip into the Giant Chasm, it was his first opportunity to explore it. [break][break]

And he did so as a hunter stalking prey, for that was precisely why he'd come: to investigate sightings of new Pokémon. Like the recent swarm that were similar to the Swords of Justice, the ones in the reports were described as similar to the Legendary Dogs of Johto. [break][break]

If he could capture one, it would be a great addition to his arsenal. [break][break]

Zev knelt beside a line of tracks that looked unlike any Pokémon he'd encountered before. Unlike his wife, he wasn't a researcher or biologist, but he knew how to follow a trail. [break][break]

"These are fresh. Not more than a couple of hours old," he told his associate for the hunt, Beast Shred. [break][break]

The two hadn't worked together in a while—not since before the other man's promotion, an event that had surprised Zev. Upon reading reports from the resurfaced island and the battle against Kyurem, though, Zev had decided the promotion was well-earned. [break][break]

He stood, brushing off the dirt from his pants. "I can hear water from the direction the tracks are headed. There's probably a watering hole nearby." [break][break]

The black-haired man started off, following the tracks. Above, his Noctowl circled the area, searching. [break][break]

TAGS – Shred[break]
NOTES – gc excursion c: monster hunter

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Though Zev heard Oscar clearly, his sluggish, hunger-wracked brain almost didn't comprehend what the scientist had said. Zev stared at Oscar as the latter's unhinged laughter became comical. [break][break]

"What are you planning?" Zev asked, immediately suspicious. But Oscar was already retreating to a corner of the laboratory. [break][break]

Heaving a sigh, Zev pushed away from the table and collapsed straight into the arms of his Gengar. For once, Smoke looked troubled as he held his master aloft. [break][break]

Before the man could protest or struggle, the ghost carried him the rest of the way to where Oscar waited. [break][break]

Unbeknownst to all humans and Pokémon present, the blood sample under the microscope finished its war against the remaining Dynergy—and crystallized over. [break][break]

Where once a bright red liquid had collected on the slide, now only shards of black metal sat gleaming.

TAGS – oscar clayton[break]
NOTES – mission

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Zev had little interest in exploring the Giant Chasm and the vast cave network underneath it, collectively dubbed Area Zero. However, Team Rocket's research department needed the muscle provided by Beasts and grunts of similar skill. [break][break]

So when Neffatari Nzingha mentioned her interest in surveying the new landscape, he offered to go with her. [break][break]

When she stopped along the wall of one tunnel, he took the flashlight from her without objection. Standing over her, he pointed the beam of light at a chunk of Tera crystals that had captured her attention. [break][break]

Nearby, his Genesect stood as sentinel. [break][break]

"Nothing now," Zev replied, reaching out with his unnatural senses to pick up any useful signature. "Back on the battlefield, Kyurem's Infinity Energy was tremendous. I had a feeling that if I tried consuming it, devastating things would happen." [break][break]

"But right now, I don't sense anything like it. Palkia must have sent it away somewhere far. Either that, or the seal it used is very strong." [break][break]

Not for the first time, his thoughts wandered to the Spatial Pokémon. It had not appeared simply to provide assistance in Hoenn's defense, but to form a contract with a mortal. [break][break]

What powers did illeana reyes have now? What threat did she pose to Zev's—and therefore, Necrozma's—plans? He'd have to hunt her down soon and find out. [break][break]

TAGS – Neffatari Nzingha[break]
NOTES – area zero excursion a: explore

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TAGS – Alba Evovae[break]
NOTES – mission

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"Take your time catching your breath," Zev said as he moved away to pick through the debris. In comparison, he was barely winded. [break][break]

As he tossed a large piece of steel aside, his eye caught the glint of the depleted Z-crystal as Nenet snatched it up between her fingers. Dark and dull, it reminded him of the ones strewn across the streets of Lesser Megalopolis. [break][break]

Of the black shards that fell away from the shield of Zamazenta, and from Necrozma's own body. [break][break]

But he did not move to take the Z-crystal from Nenet. Instead, he nodded and recalled his Infernape into a Pokéball. "We can use your Celesteela to ride back to…" He paused. 'Earth' felt like the wrong word. "To the crater." [break][break]

Blue eyes lingered on the crystal in Nenet's hand, waiting to see what she would do with it. [break][break]

TAGS – Neffatari Nzingha[break]
NOTES – Ultra Crater #4

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Zev glanced sidelong at Theo. The underboss' praise meant nothing to him. In the battle against Kyurem, he'd acted based on his instincts and training as a soldier. He had few reasons to change that approach, and meaningless words from simple humans were not one of them. [break][break]

Still, Theo had reason to reinforce Zev's behavior. On a battlefield with multiple Avatars present, even one going off course posed a danger to the organization's plans. Such had happened with jayden cross even though, ultimately, Team Rocket had obtained a valuable resource. [break][break]

Any future pursuit of personal vengeance had to be well-planned. Unstoppable. [break][break]

"I don't believe in luck," was all Zev said, continuing forward through the crystal-studded area. His Iron Leaves loped ahead, its head swiveling in a stiff, robotic way to scan their surroundings.

TAGS – THEO BECKETT[break]
NOTES – mission

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