» you're a goon. [laz]

The seductive aroma of nature surfed on the waves of the grassland’s cool breeze as the gangster plowed his way through an ocean of greenery that was dotted far and wide with red, yellow and blue colors. Like a fish out a water, Zetsumei Kōkuseki’s dark and grim appearance contradicted that of his surroundings, which made him reconsider for a moment why exactly he had stumbled out into the middle of nowhere.

But he hadn’t ventured into the unfamiliar Breshno Flatlands by accident or to sight-see; his vorpal eyes scanning the open expanse from left-to-right, Zetsumei was on a hunt… he just hadn’t determined who or what would be his target yet. Born and raised in the slums of Vega City and rarely ever caring to tread deeply into the territories that were claimed by the wilderness, this was a strange experience for him, and just as the dangers of the streets came to teach him, he remained conscious and prepared for anything crazy to happen.

Scouting in the distance ahead, the petite vulpine known as Luna the Zorua had zigged-and-zagged with her nose planted to the ground for the last ten minutes before she finally came to a stop, her towering ears perking up firmly, signaling that something had caught her attention. “Master Zetsumei!”, she called to him through a telepathic link once he was close enough, “I’ve found something! Right there… it appears to be a person and a Pokémon.”

His devious gaze locked onto the obscure figures across the field, Zetsumei ran a hand through his spiky, gel-infested hair once as he cracked a meddling smirk. “Heh, about time! Let’s see what they’re up to…” Zetsumei declared as he strolled toward the destination. The closer he got, the more curious he became; there was a dark-skinned male who appeared to be around his age, but more intriguingly, a Pokémon he had never seen before. Approaching slowly from the male’s flank, Zetsumei had just barely heard the male’s last statement and thought it was ironically humorous for someone like him to have arrived at such an interesting moment.

“Well, da’ answer to that question depends, you see…” Zetsumei spoke as he made himself known if either of them hadn’t already noticed. “You got da' pipsqueaks, and then you got da’ big guns…” Staring down the mysterious and grimace-faced Pokémon that stood next to the human, Luna remained on all fours, just a couple feet to the left of Zetsumei, and was ready for conflict, especially since she was no stranger to her master’s personality and… impulses.

“Why, you lookin’ to pick a fight, kid?” Zetsumei challenged, relaxed and nonchalant of whether this acquaintance and his Pokémon was out of his league or not. Somewhat teasing the nameless male, that didn’t mean he wasn’t serious about his question. His team was still overbearingly under-trained, so if that meant provoking every trainer and random Pokémon he crossed paths with in order to gauge their capabilities and determine where they stood, then so be it.

Etched throughout the nameless male's body as history's testimony of events that had passed, Zetsumei couldn't help but notice the scars and fresh wounds that the dark-skinned lad possessed, raising an piqued eyebrow, scrutinizing whether he had finally stumbled upon his first worthy opponent. He couldn't call it sympathy, but there was certainly something magnetic about crossing paths with those who were also riddled with the same disfigurements and remnants such as theirs.

And he wasn't blind to the Weavile's defensive glare, only caring to glance at the creature when it dared to interrupt it's presumed master to question Zetsumei's identity. For a couple seconds, he initially fantasized about punting the little cretin to the other side of the flatlands, but instead he simply chuckled, retaining eye contact with the male as he continued to rant. Meanwhile, Luna slowly crept forward a few inches in front of Zetsumei and halted, securing a position between the antagonistic creature and her trainer.

"Huh... is that right..." Zetsumei retorted, slightly annoyed that he had missed out on all the excitement of the Gala raid. While heavily drinking typically led to fun, the night prior he managed to drink himself into an unconsciousness that had completely stretched over the whole event. Consequently, it was just earlier this morning that he also received quite the lashing from one of his commanding officers for his absence.

Of course, he didn't care even a little bit; a minor setback wasn't going to slow him down, and from the looks of it, it appeared destiny meant to have left him a piece of the cake after all. "Well, that's an unfortunate story, kid, but instead of all this bitchin', what are you gonna do about it? Just gonna roll over and accept defeat? Heh, pathetic." Zetsumei goaded, still cheesing subtly with a devilish grin.

"You just hit da' jackpot though, buddy. You guessed it, I'm Team Crux. Name's Zetsumei Kōkuseki. Now, after all that, I'm willing to bet you're primed for some revenge, eh? So, here's you chance, kid. How about you start your warpath right here... with me?" The mobster impatiently waited after had thrown the bait, and as he was quite aware of how motivating anger could be, he hoped the little fishy would take it.

Luna’s relentless scowl intensified as the Weavile threatened her master, her fur pricking outwards like a porcupine in response. “Grrr… what’d you say?...” she growled as she flashed her two microscopic yet razor-sharp fangs. Beforehand, she was hesitant to combat the trainer and his Pokémon, but she couldn’t help that the Weavile’s insults managed to cut through her ability to remain chill like a hot knife.

“I don’t care how strong you are… I won’t let you lay a finger on my master!” Though she was originally somewhat afraid of challenging the duo, as time passed that fear slowly began to change into anger and the conviction to pounce on the enemy with every ounce of strength in her body. Zetsumei, on the other hand, maintained his overly-confident posture, not being able to understand the Weavile but still being proud to hear that Luna was prepared to throw up the gloves in a heartbeat.

However, it wasn’t until the trainer spoke and reiterated his Pokémon’s words that he finally understood and sympathized with Luna’s sudden temper. Silence filled the air for a moment as Zetsumei digested what he just heard and how to properly respond. Despite the fact that he could feel the sincerity in the male’s warning, instead he simply closed his eyes and nodded, a sturgeon-like expression plastered on his face.

“Listen here kid, you must take us for some kind of pansies if ya’ think we’re just gonna turn tail and book outta’ here, ‘specially after a comment like that!” Not once since his conception had Zetsumei ever ran away from a confrontation, because on the streets, he knew that displays of weakness meant a hard-knock life. Devoted to this ideology, he came to be the one who would instigate conflicts, single-minded to prove his fearlessness, even if he was vastly overestimating his chances of victory.

Without saying another word, he turned his back to them and calmly walked approximately fifteen meters away before stopping and returning his stance and eyesight back toward the opposing team, Luna eventually mimicking his exact movements once she was aware of what he was doing. “So, let’s see if that ugly-ass Pokémon of yours can back up all that big talk!” Zetsumei antagonized, which also served as the command for Luna to stand ready for battle.