It was a man, an old man, dressed in black. His reflection oozed mischief and impurity, Bianca felt his presence behind her, it sent shivers down her spine. He waited patiently for her, without moving, until she slowly turned around and finally faced him. The clear and concrete sight of the old man distressed her much more than his reflection, Bianca now had a full view of his old and wrinkled face and the wickedness that it purposefully exhibited, his gray and unwashed hair, and his dark and dusty robe which covered all of his body; everything about that man spoke of defeat and resentment.
It was Zinzolin, another one of the team plasma's seven sages. Except he, unlike Rood, had maintained his loyalty to the diabolical Ghetsis until the bitter end.
"Seems like nobody's home," Zinzolin said with his deeply resonant and raspy voice, which added gravity to his lugubrious exhibitionism.
Bianca stayed silent and stared at him, her eyes showcased her wariness. She slowly reached for her purse, a subtle gesture to which Zinzolin responded by grinning and showing his yellow teeth. He saw her as a small and defenseless mareep ready to become his prey; only a few other sights could make him happier. Bianca admitted to herself that she was afraid, but once she touched her pokeball inside her purse, she regained her confidence and called her musharna out.
The pastel colored psychic pokemon, with a round and rotund body covered by skin softer than the puffiest velvet, came out with a calm and soothing disposition; it did not make Bianca any more threatening to Zinzolin's eyes. His creepy smile got wider, he stuck his hand inside of his robe and grabbed a pokeball of his own. His equally wicked, firmly loyal weavile came out, immediately establishing a stark contrast with its opponent. Dark fur, sharp claws and fangs, a fierce face and a palpable desire to harm noticeable on the weavile's piercing stare. Weavile was everything that musharna wasn't. Zinzolin shouted at his weavile to use night slash, his deep voice and his unwell and overtly malevolent appearance took over. He had a putrid presence that demanded Bianca's attention and instigated her fear. She couldn't react.
Weavile was ecstatic to hear its trainer's voice, it ran towards musharna like a maniac with an insatiable thirst for blood. Weavile jumped just as it was close enough to musharna and released its strike, slashing its tender skin with hate. Musharna received the ruthless claw entirely, then it plummeted to the ground and fainted.
Dismayed, Bianca called her musharna back shook her head nervously, desperately trying to focus. She called out her chandelure, but Zinzolin wasted no time on introductions and ordered weavile to use night slash again, hoping to finish her second pokemon with the same efficacy as the first. The opportunistic weavile ran just as determined as before, and released its uninhibited attack the also fire-ghost type, slashing its ethereal body with claws engulfed in darkness, claws which left only pain and anguish on their path through the ghost's spectral entrails. Chandelure cried out from the damage and Bianca finally reacted, she shouted at her pokemon to use flamethrower. Still reeling from the previous attack, chandelure moved back as it charged an attack of its own, then unleashed a projectile of flames directly at weavile, who took the attack on its entirety and fainted on the spot. Fumes came out of its scorched body as it fell on the ground unconscious.
Drops of sweat appeared on Zinzolin's forehead while Bianca subtly celebrated with a deep sigh. Zinzolin called his defeated pokemon back, he clenched his teeth, hard. Then he called out his second pokemon, a cryogonal, who immediately went to meet chandelure. Two floating pokemon, fire against ice, Bianca's warmth against Zinzolin's coldness and disdain.
Both trainers cried their orders at the same time, he ordered his cryogonal to use blizzard, she ordered her chandelure to release another flamethrower. The ice pokemon attacked first, ferociously producing a giant burst of snow from within itself. Chandelure managed to avoid it altogether and in turn blasted another flamethrower directly at cryogonal. The fire reached the sentient hexagon made of ice, and it was consumed by fire all the way until it reached the ground, fainted. Bianca approached her chandelure to pet it, then she gave Zinzolin an unswerving stare.
"You think it's over, don't you?" Zinzolin asked as he directed a hateful stare at her, "you think you've won, you think you can move those little pale cheeks of yours and smile, because you're stronger than me?"
"It was already over Zinzolin, team plasma lost, just accept it, you are done," Bianca replied firmly,
"You're wrong!"
Zinzolin looked at his fainted cryogonal on the ground, it filled his eyes with rage.
"Who do you think you are?! You are nothing compared to me, we aren't done yet, by far!"
"You're right, we aren't done, you're going to tell me everything you know about Grimsley and what he is planning to do,"
"what the hell are you talking about?" Zinzolin asked, genuinely disconcerted,
"just stop playing games with me Zinzolin, this isn't a joke, lives are at stake,"
"yes they are..."
He reached into his pocket and produced a white plastic gun, with a small empty flask made of glass attached to it below the handle. He pointed it at his unconscious cryogonal and pushed a button on the side of the handle. Suddenly the flask started filling with a light blue liquid as blue aura emanated from the ice pokemon. Zinzolin then aimed the gun at chandelure and fired it, immediately freezing Bianca's pokemon whole, causing it to fall violently on the ground.
"And now it's your turn," he said as he aimed the gun at an absolutely horrified Bianca. Zinzolin put his hand on the trigger once more and smiled, showing most of his yellow teeth.