Dr. Zager

Art by Matori

**Dr. Gabriel Zager** is a supporting character in *The Angel of Reckoning*. He is Team Rocket's chief scientist, responsible for the creation of the many different types of technology they utilize. In the past, he was a member of Polaris who oversaw the creation of Azrael, but later left the cult in disgust over their actions.

## History

While the circumstances of Dr. Zager's joining Polaris are unclear, it is seen in *The Day an Angel Fell to Earth* that he commanded some level of respect in the cult. He and his assistant Barbara managed a team of scientists who carried out the Azrael Project, resulting in the birth of Azrael at the cost of the life of her mother Chimere. Zager and his team, distressed by Chimere's demise and disgusted by the cruel lengths Polaris went to in the aftermath, eventually split up. Unable to continue being a part of these actions, Zager escaped from Polaris.

At some point following this, Zager joined Team Rocket, eventually rising to a similar high rank in that organization. Having advised Giovanni and Stacia about the inner workings of Polaris to the best of his ability, he warned them of Polaris's ties to Team Plasma as the Razor Claw Squad conducted espionage in Unova to gather intelligence on the Meteonite. He subsequently went to Unova personally, working with Pierce to locate the Meteonite in the Desert Resort before summoning Giovanni to collect it in person. Zager's technological creations allowed Giovanni not only to take the Meteonite from the Relic Castle, but show it off to the elites of Unova and illustrate his threat to control the weather with it. When Team Plasma attacked and stole the Meteonite, he retreated from Unova with Pierce and Giovanni, but the laser cannon he invented allowed Jessie, James and Meowth to challenge Team Plasma in a bid to recover the Meteonite.

Following further events in Unova, Zager went into hiding to avoid arrest by the International Police as they cracked down on Team Rocket. He exiled himself to a laboratory in a remote wintry region of the Tohjo Continent, maintaining contact with the outside world only through Pierce and other Team Rocket agents. From there he continued to supply the few remaining Team Rocket agents with technology and assisted Giovanni and Stacia in supervising their operations. Among his creations during this time were the R-Pad, an advanced communication and control device, and the glider utilized by Pierce as part of Operation Atlas.

In the wake of Giovanni's apparent demise during Operation Atlas, Zager played a key role in preparing Team Rocket for their effort to strike back at Polaris. This mission, Operation Dreadnought, would see Team Rocket's remaining forces attack the Adenosine Base in an effort to steal Pokémon and data before blowing up the facility. He created an artificial intelligence based on Stacia, to which he gave the name Matori, to aid the agents in the mission. Later, he met with the others via video conference and mourned the death of Ariana Lalume, who was gravely wounded and sacrificed herself to ensure the successful destruction of the Adenosine Base. He also informed them that he was awaiting Pierce delivering a drive stolen by James's Klefki from Colress Antimony, which had potential to unlock encrypted data hacked from the Adenosine Base's mainframe by Ada.

Some time later, Zager finished decrypting the data. His work led him to discover something disturbing enough that he ordered Pierce to inform Giovanni that he had to meet with the Team Rocket boss in person. As Pierce left to make preparations for this, Zager mused on what he found: a Polaris notice that the "Laphicet Prophecy" would soon be fulfilled, indicating that Polaris was fulfilling their objectives despite Team Rocket's efforts to disrupt them.