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Zev's hands stilled over the map. His thoughts immediately flashed to the knife kyle lopez had held with expert skill in his hand, a knife made of the same metal as the crystals in Zev's body. A metal that no one else had any right to possess.[break][break]

"You fought kyle lopez," the Beast said. It wasn't a question.[break][break]

A strange possessiveness reared its head within him then, not dissimilar to what he once felt for Caleb Harcourt. Zev glared up at Elisabeth, suddenly connecting dots.[break][break]

In their own fight, the Top Champion's exhibited behavior had been erratic, aggressive. It contradicted reports of Kyle's tendency to watch from the sidelines, to control the crowd, to intervene only when necessary.[break][break]

Instead, it had been as if some DOPPELGANGER had fought Zev in Kyle's place.[break][break]

"What did you do to him?" Zev asked, already anticipating the answer.

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TAGS – BARNABY FINCH[break]
NOTES[break]
– Zev is wearing combat gear + a mask to hide his identity[break]
– MP total: 30 (posts) + 10 (mist) = 40

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While Nomi's Sylveon defended them, Zev's Gengar joined her Unown-K in the offensive. He glowed with the light of infinity energy before striking the Heatran with Z-MOVE: NEVER-ENDING NIGHTMARE.[break][break]

Unfortunately, the combination of attacks was not enough to incapacitate the hostile Pokémon. Instead, it retaliated with FIRE SPIN. Two more appeared, one causing the cavern to tremble as it summoned EARTH POWER.[break][break]

"We need to retreat. Down the other path," Zev said, realizing they had no way forward in this direction. There was not enough room to MEGA EVOLVE, or they might have had a chance to break through the Heatran's attacks.[break][break]

He whistled, and Smoke pulled back. Without waiting for Nomi to agree, Zev started back down the way they came.

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"A Dark Stone," Zev answered. "I have copies of both artifacts in my digital compendium."[break][break]

He wasn't sure how to show Lulu while they were still in the simulation, but once they left, he could probably bring it up on a computer.[break][break]

The scenario around them faded, revealing a stark, empty chamber with a single door for the exit. The Light Stone in her hand crumbled away with their surroundings, stored in the simulation's database.

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The shock of Kyle's knife not shattering as it blocked Zev's attack was enough to leave Zev open for Kyle's kick. The Rocket Beast stumbled backward. Thankfully, he regained his balance before he could fall over, still too stunned to retaliate right away.[break][break]

Blue eyes stared at the knife with laser focus.[break][break]

The metal did not gleam in the light, instead appearing much like a void cut out of space. Its shape was practical, more of a hunting knife than one meant for combat. Yet Kyle wielded it expertly, as if he had been crafted specifically for his hand.[break][break]

"Where did you get that?" Zev demanded in a rough tone, the sound like stone against stone.[break][break]

He could only reach one conclusion: that Kyle had ventured into Lesser Megalopolis and collected shards from the ULTRA BEASTS there, using them to forge that knife. But was that even possible?[break][break]

Nearby, his Huntail cried out as she was crushed beneath the Metagross' weight. Twisting around, she retaliated with CLAMP. Hatterene assisted, ignoring the Mightyena for a moment to rain MYSTICAL FIRE upon the Iron Leg Pokémon.

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Zev had an excellent memory. If Jack had said he was dating Aurelie, Zev was sure he'd remember. Or perhaps it was one of those things that was better left un-remembered, and he'd purposefully discarded it as irrelevant.[break][break]

Considering how Jack disappeared for nearly a year amidst the DESTRUCTION OF GALAR, that might as well have been the case.[break][break]

"Your other girlfriend?" Zev echoed, more surprised than he thought he could possibly be. In fact, he was at a loss for words.[break][break]

It wasn't that he didn't understand sleeping around; on the contrary, he was quite familiar with that concept. Until Nenet, he hadn't considered himself beholden to monogamy simply because no other woman had captured his interest as much as she did.[break][break]

But Jack was talking about a relationship based on romantic interest—something Zev did not understand. And moreover, multiple women with romantic interest in him.[break][break]

"It's not a bad idea. Let me talk to Nenet first, though," Zev said mildly, navigating that social landmine with all the political maneuvering he knew to wield. "She's a fairly busy woman."

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Jack knew Nenet.[break][break]

Zev swore in his head, despite the grin that spread across his face.[break][break]

Of course a traveling blogger and photographer would have interest in the Mossdeep Space Center and its exhibits. And of course Nenet would be at the ULTRA SPACE one, considering her interest in it, one Zev recently began to share with her.[break][break]

"Oh yeah? I was at the exhibit not too long ago, too, when it first opened." That much was not a lie. "I know she's doing tours and interviews for it, but I never thought you'd run into her. Small world, huh?"[break][break]

But Jack did not stop there. He also mentioned Aurelie Lefevre and Xiura Balfaltin, both secretly members of Team Rocket. His familiarity with them was a good indication of just how much the crime syndicate had infiltrated the very fabric of everyday life in the region.[break][break]

However, Zev had to stop at the implication of the term 'double date'.[break][break]

"Wait, are you dating Aurelie?" He blinked, genuinely astounded. What did she see in a man like Jack?[break][break]

At least it was not odd for Zev to know her. He'd won the cooking competition she'd hosted, after all, and she made the knives his chefs used in Howling at the Moon's kitchen.[break][break]

Xiura, on the other hand, was someone to whom Zev had no obvious ties. "Who's Xiura? Is she one of your Pokémon? Or one of Aurelie's?"

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The pancakes were fluffy and warm, the fruit fresh, the syrup not too sweet. Zev tucked in with a grin, though he felt more satisfied than excited. He was lucky Nenet enjoyed cooking. Though he was just as good as she was, he derived no pleasure from the act; for him, what mattered were survival and pride in his skill.[break][break]

"Do you remember when we first met?" Nenet asked after taking a sip of her own coffee, full of milk and sugar. Their opposite taste in coffee never ceased to amuse him.[break][break]

Zev smirked at her. "I do. You had just arrived in Hoenn and were looking for a fun way to unwind from your long trip. If I recall correctly—which I do—you couldn't resist my charms."[break][break]

She chuckled, a soft sound that he loved to hear. Her eyes sparkled with amusement. "Is that how it went? If I recall, you're the one who couldn't resist me."[break][break]

He waved a hand dismissively. "Potato, potato."[break][break]

She rested her elbow on the table and her hand on her chin in a pensive posture. "Do you think things could have gone differently at all, between us? Could anything have changed between then and now?"[break][break]

Zev considered her question as he chewed. His keen eyes took in her expression, wondering if she was feeling any regret. But her face revealed no sign of such thoughts.[break][break]

"No, I don't think so. And I wouldn't want anything to change. When you were there for me after the BATTLE OF DEWFORD…" He paused, choosing his words carefully. "It meant a lot to me."[break][break]

Nenet's smile conveyed a deep pleasure. "I wouldn't want anything to change, either."

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Zev shook his head in false wonder at the battles Jack experienced on the island. That Charizard was Zev's own, of course, but only members of Team Rocket knew that. He kept a separate collection of Pokémon strictly for public appearances. The tactic helped him lower the chances of being recognized for his true identity while unmasked.[break][break]

"That's rough. I'm surprised you made it out in one piece." There was, perhaps, a little truth in that statement.[break][break]

The men continued their stroll through the night market, passing more food stalls and souvenir vendors. A MACHOP hustled between tables, bringing meals to waiting customers on plastic trays. Across the street, a group of men laughed uproariously as they played a game of cards.[break][break]

Jack's question drew Zev's attention away from the observation of his surroundings. "Oh, eh, yeah, that's still a thing. We've been dating for a while now. Her name's Nenet, and she works at the Mossdeep Space Center."[break][break]

Zev shared the information casually, as he imagined any normal person might. Little did he know Jack had already met Neffatari Nzingha and had even visited her at work.

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Nomi's explanation only confirmed what Zev had assumed when the Head Scientist mentioned Nenet's name: that they had met over a work-related matter. The inclusion of Ultra Deep Sea surprised him at first, but then he recalled Nenet mentioning "some university student" when she'd confessed venturing into that realm.[break][break]

So it had been Nomi, then.[break][break]

The pink-haired woman's ability to connect the dots was, perhaps, rivaled only by Zev's and Nenet's own. He had not expected her to jump to the conclusion that his contact at the Mossdeep Space Center was the same woman, but she was not wrong.[break][break]

Nor did he see any reason to deny it. "She is," he admitted. Then, because he anticipated Nomi's next question, he added, "She's my girlfriend."[break][break]

Which was incorrect, but Zev saw no reason to share the truth yet.[break][break]

As the air around them grew warmer, he and Nomi emerged from the tunnel into an underground chamber. It was not very large, and it branched off to other corridors leading elsewhere. The strangest thing about it, however, was the creature in the center.[break][break]

[break]

"What is that? Some kind of ULTRA BEAST?" Zev asked, frowning. He'd never seen one before, though in some ways, it reminded him of the Volcanion from the Mechanical Kingdom.[break][break]

Unfortunately, they had no time to observe the creature further. Uttering a roar, it summoned a LAVA PLUME at Zev, Nomi, and their Pokémon.

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