Pezhman Fārsi

**Pezhman Fārsi** (*pronounced: "Pesh-mahn", surname sometimes spelled "Farsi" or "Färsi"*) is the human version of Giovanni's Persian from the specieswapped Pokémon series, Mioo, Dorost Ast!.

Pezhman is the boss of Team Rocket and fairly involved with the infamous trio's progress, compared to Giovanni from the original series. He calls frequently and wishes a monthly report from all his employees.

His goal is to extract the full potential found in Pokémon and research/capture legendaries. He believes that only the rarest and strongest have the right to survive and collects Pokémon that match the criteria to either sell to other businesses for "better" specimen, or to train and breed for their scheduled purpose.

One of Pezhman's more controversial projects is creating human life and infusing it with Pokémon DNA.

He uses the miraculous powers they possess to benefit humanity in all sorts of ways. This may concern every day comfort, medical advances, but also military expansion. Because Pezhman covers all bases, he owns one of the biggest and most successful companies out there, though his practises receive no support from the common Pokémon lover. The sentiment that rules the company is one that argues Pokémon are tools, not living beings in need of comfort and love. His henchmen unapologetically steal from trainers who don't stand a chance against them, while more intimidating people are bargained with.

Team Rocket is seen as a criminal organisation in the public eye and Pezhman a mob boss, yet many inoffensive, legitimate businesses willingly buy from him. They keep their affiliation with Team Rocket a secret for obvious reasons. Unbeknownst to the people, Kanto's economy is dependant on Team Rocket and neighbouring areas are being taken over as well.

He made his first appearance at Tumblr on August 11, 2017.

## Backstory

> Pezhman was born in the late 50s and enjoyed a comfortable upbringing in Viridian City, Kanto. Both his maternal and paternal grandparents originate from Iran, but he nor his parents are involved with its culture or ever visited the country.
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>       Pezhman was mature for a child and couldn't stand being around other children -or people in general. He chose to have no friends and would often retreat inside his bedroom to do his homework or additional studying; a habit his mother tried to break by asking him to go outside and play at least once every few days.
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> One of these requests led to him getting targeted by criminals, who wanted to abduct him and extort his wealthy father for money. He managed to escape their grip, but was shot in the leg and tumbled down a cliff.
> A young, stray Meowth tried to help him, but as Pezhman disliked cats, the animal had to deal with his bad temper, again and again.
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> When he found Pezhman unconscious 2 days later, the kitten managed to drag him to the nearest medical station, but the doctor happened to be working together with the criminals and called them over. The Meowth followed the kidnappers' truck and Pezhman trusted his intentions enough to let him help out.
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> Since then, he kept the Meowth and called him "Mr. Giovanni". Thanks to meeting him, Pezhman grew to love cat Pokémon and started studying the mysterious Mew around the age of 18, not yet confirmed to be a real creature.
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> Around the same age, he met the son of one of his father's business partners, who he found to have alot in common with. Pezhman bonded with a person for the first time in his life, and after 2 years of friendship, they better understood their feelings and became romantic.
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> Nevertheless, as the both of them had a respective business they wished to set up, their relationship didn't last. Pezhman tried to make time for Stefan, but he himself was not treated as a priority and eventually casually discarded of. Pezhman did not want to feel overcome by his emotions and distracted himself by growing his company, allowing few moments of rest.
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> He made a name for himself and became the leader of Team Rocket, a criminal organization the authorities struggled to persecute. His growing wealth and following made him untouchable.
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> More than 20 years after starting his business, he met Mir Yusuf, a dubious man who proved to have a genuine talent, but ended up costing him millions over his obsession with chasing a child around the world.
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## Personality

Pezhman is meant to be Mir Yusuf's complete opposite -like the original Meowth is in contrast to Persian- and is successful, serious, charming, but also overly concerned with his image.

The one personality trait that slightly refers to his Pokémon counterpart is his unwillingness to please Mir and the joy he sometimes derives from it. For example, Mir Yusuf strives for a promotion he arguably doesn't deserve, though also wishes to pet Pezhman's Persian, which he's also denied.

Though Mir Yusuf and his team cause more trouble than they're worth, Pezhman is known to accept rare Pokémon that are of little practical use; and it's implied he cares for oddities as much he does power, explaining why the infamous Team Rocket trio aren't let go.

Traits Pezhman possesses that refer more to Persians as a species is his overall temperament and anti-socialness. Small matters can frustrate him, especially when he thinks it to affect his image. He's fired -and allegedly killed- staff over petty or disputable mistakes. Even so, Mir's an exception who disrespects him constantly and never received similar punishment for it.

As a child, Pezhman avoided people and saw no reason in making friends, human or Pokémon. As an adult, much has stayed the same, though he's taught himself to fake interest in others for the sake of his business. In short, Pezhman has extreme difficulty bonding with people and his charms make him a good faker.

He loves and owns only cat Pokémon, though has a preference for his Persian, "Mr. Giovanni", who saved him from child abduction in the past. He greatly disliked cats before this occurrence, though learned to share similarities with felines and started appreciating their cuteness.

## Appearance

Pezhman looks identical to Mir Yusuf's controversial gang leader from Iran and causes more confusion by sharing the same tone of voice and first name, with their last names being eerily similar as well. Mir thought they were the same person upon meeting him and the similarities make it hard for him to like Pezhman.

Mir has stated that the only things that help him differentiate the two is Pezhman's more pleasant body odour and the fact he speaks English.

He is tall, slightly tanned, has a muscular build, a birthmark on his forehead, red eyes, and sideburns resembling a Persian's whiskers. Unlike Mir Yusuf, it was not his intention to make himself look like a cat Pokémon and nobody acknowledges he does, except for Mir more than a year later.

His attire circulates, though he usually wears the same orange suit Giovanni did in the anime, mainly in comics that are insinuated to take place in the original show's first few seasons. He purposely follows a dress code that ensures his body is always fully covered up; and Pezhman never wears anything with short sleeves or pants legs.

Though he's in his late 40s, he's prematurely greyed. Giovanni once expressed his belief the blame to lie with stress by having to deal with demanding people all of the time. Though devoid of colour, his hair is plentiful, sleek, and feels silky. The two remaining black streaks are often combed back to each side.

## Notable relationships

### Mir Yusuf

Mir Yusuf is a Team Rocket employee and a face Pezhman sees frequently, seldom for good reasons.

He has no respect for his tendency to treat the  Charmeleon and Jigglypuff he assigned to him as human beings and finds most things he does a waste of resources. His linguistic talents are considered valuable enough to not fire him over his incompetence, though Pezhman keeps cutting his wage in half as punishment every time he's let down or angered.

Many Pokémon-oriented companies offer money for Mir Yusuf's contract, but Pezhman never responded to these bids or informed Mir of them. Since Mir's rare gift as a whisperer attracts intimidating characters, Pezhman keeps his name and face a secret as to protect him from ruthless criminals with less patience for his behaviour, and purposely sets them on the wrong track.

While he does alot for him behind the scenes, is the first person to show genuine interest in him, and is surprisingly tolerant of his disrespectful behaviour, none of this earns Pezhman any points in Mir Yusuf's eyes; who is more focused on the fact he looks like his his ex-boss. Nevertheless, Mir has made attempts to impress him and cut his hair to resemble a Meowth's head, hoping to get on the cat lover's good side and win an early promotion. Pezhman expressed embarrassment for it, but is more fond of Mir's feline fashion items than he dares to let on.

As the two men are complete opposites and not on especially good terms, there are many things Pezhman keeps to himself or doesn't even realize, like his ever-growing affection for Mir. Despite the sharp-tongued hostility on bad days and laughable annoyances on good ones, he grows accustomed to his antics and awaits them with a small hint of eagerness, while the rest of his days feel "lonely" and as per usual.

Because Pezhman doesn't care for human company, to have any kind of emotional dependency on someone makes him uneasy, and the fact it's the notorious Mir Yusuf moreso.

Though he sports a serious demeanour and finds it important for others to do so, Mir's moments of playfulness and odd logic kindle a sense of humor in him he did not know to possess. It's insinuated that Mir's repeated intrusion into his private and work life is what urged him to pay attention to who would otherwise be just one of his many employees. The way Pezhman's opinion changed after some forced contact is not unlike his initial meeting with Mr. Giovanni, and much of what Mir does is like a human translation of feline behaviour, which Pezhman picks up on as well.

It's not a secret inside the company that Mir Yusuf enjoys privileges that others have been fired or allegedly killed over, yet there's no suspicion or rumors going around about the depth of their relationship, since he's the most publicly yelled-at employee.

There've been two instances where Pezhman has sacrificed his life for him and the details of his feelings were made clear. With countless of factors working against him, like their significant age difference, the fact he's male, and as he learns later in time, the physical similarities he shares with an abuser Mir hasn't been able to forget, he tried to find solace in Mir's willingness to consider the circumstances in which the confession was made and treat it as the ramblings of a dying man.

After everything, Pezhman works hard to re-establish their prior relationship and not chase an unobtainable love interest, though ironically, it's Mir Yusuf who responds offended to it at times.

### Mr. Giovanni

"Mr. Giovanni" is Pezhman's pet Persian and considered to be his most prized possession. He's one of the very few characters in the series who brings him genuine joy, but also genuine sadness when met with a negative response.

Though Giovanni likes Pezhman and is looking out for him, his species is reportedly tough to deal with, and he occasionally loses his patience with his master's coddling. Still, he respects him as his friend, trainer, and the leader of Team Rocket.

## Trivia

* Pezhman's first name is of Persian origin and meant to sound close to the Pokémon he resembles, while his surname, "Fārsi", is an Arabic translation of the word "Persian".
* As Pezhman doesn't date and acts especially kind towards female clients, it's not public knowledge he's homosexual.
* Pezhman's "gentlemanly and mature behaviour" is a reference to the "the classy cat" title Persians have.
* Pezhman's voice sounds much like an American Alan Rickman;
	+ This voice was chosen as a slight reference to the low, nasally voice Meowth's gang leader had in the original series, even though every Persian that made an appearance throughout the series sounds completely different, including Giovanni's own Persian.
* Pezhman likes Shirley Bassey's music.
* Pezhman hates sugar and says it to feel like an attack on his teeth;
	+ He has tolerated sweets baked by Mir Yusuf.
* Pezhman has an abundance of body hair covering the entire front of his torso;
	+ Pezhman was shown in a comic to already have lengthy stubble on his face after an incomplete night of sleep, insinuating his hair grows fast;
	+ It's one reason why Pezhman dresses himself prudishly.
* Pezhman taught himself at least 50 languages in order to communicate with foreign customers;
	+ French is shown to be one of them;
	+ Ironically, Persian is not.
* Like Giovanni in the original series, Pezhman is the gym leader of Viridian City and originally took on this role to please his proud, righteous-minded parents;
	+ Having that said, his parents are unaware he's a mob boss.
	+ The gym was later used to test his company's best Pokémon against traveling trainers, hungry for a badge. These young novices rarely made it worth his time and Pezhman retired after the gym became more of a burden than an asset.