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“Miss? We’re ready to see you now.”
Maeve leaped from her seat, desperate to finally move her body after spending so long planted in the lounge chair. When she had come to Quasartico’s offices, she hadn’t expected to be left waiting for so long. Though she had to admit, the air conditioned lobby of the building was a welcome change from the summer heat.
She gestured for her Larvitar to come follow her. It had chosen to pass the time by running laps around the spacious lobby.
‘Better to let her blow off some steam now…’ Maeve thought. If she left Larvitar cooped up inside her Pokeball for too long, she’d probably throw a tantrum once she was let out. The training they’d been doing recently meant that the resulting incident would probably cause some decent damage to the surroundings. She would have to grow cautious about letting Larvitar roam indoors soon.
The ground type let out a joyful shout as it began to trudge behind its trainer, the sound of her heavy footsteps echoing throughout the hall.
Maeve blew a dark coil of hair out of her face as she followed the receptionist deeper into the building. She nearly crashed headfirst into a group of trainers who were headed towards the exit. She couldn’t help but notice the silver bracelets clasped to each of their wrists, a distinctive stone set in its center. They looked new. ‘They were probably just given Key Stones’, she thought to herself.
Maeve glanced down at her own Larvitar, who’d nearly tripped up on her own feet but had managed to save herself from falling at the last moment, leaving scuff marks on the floor in the process. It’d likely be a while before any of her own team members would be ready for the power boost that was Mega Evolution, save maybe Skarmory. She fondly remembered the look of confidence on the face of her last opponent when she’d revealed the bug type to be her last Pokemon, only for it to morph into one of abject terror as he managed to brawl his way through both an Litleo and a Hawlucha, disadvantage be damned.
“And this is your stop! Second door to the right.” The receptionist pointed out with a smile before returning back downstairs to the lobby.
Maeve gave a tentative knock before pushing open the door. In front of her lay the conference room, a round table large enough to fit a couple people positioned directly in the center. Across from her sat an older man, arms folded across his chest. He wore a dark suit, accented by his teal shirt and gloves. His stern exterior was betrayed by the felt scrunchies he kept his hair tied up with, made in the likeness of a Buneary and Pancham. ‘They’re probably homemade, right?’ She thought to herself as she shyly entered the room.
“Thank you for making the time for our meeting. I must apologise for keeping you waiting, a situation sprung up that simply couldn’t wait. But that’s beside the point. Please, take a seat.” The man gave a warm smile and gestured for Maeve to sit. She hoisted up Larvitar into one of the chairs—damn that’s heavy—before seating herself next to the rock type.
“I believe introductions are in order. My name is Vinnie. I work as a secretary here at Quasartico, and report directly to the CEO Jett herself.”
Maeve's eyes couldn’t help but bulge at that realisation. They’d sent someone that high up the corporate ladder just to see her?
“Earlier today, you’d come to trade in a Mega Stone, one of the services Quasartico provides to trainers. Typically we would simply appraise the stone, then offer the trainer some items for their Pokemon, or another stone of equal rarity. The reason why I was notified is because the Mega Stone you hold doesn’t match anything we have on record. Which leaves me to wonder-“
Vinnie pulled down his glasses, revealing a pair of dark eyes that looked as though they’d pierce straight through Maeve.
“How exactly did you acquire this stone?”
“Well- um…” Maeve squeaked. Whether intentional or not, Vinnie was intimidating as hell. Even Larvitar, who would charge headfirst into whatever opponent was in front of her no matter how much bigger they were, looked as though she was trying to make herself small.
“The other day me and my Pokemon were heading to this one spot we like to train at. It’s pretty secluded, doesn’t see much foot traffic, perfect for dodging noise complaints about a noisy Larvitar.”
The ground type let out a proud scream at that comment.
“But when we showed up one morning, it looked like someone went ham with a wrecking ball all over the place. It must’ve been a serious battle that went down, or maybe some wild Pokemon? The floor was so damaged that I had to stop my Larvitar from eating all the rubble cause’ I was worried she’d bite into a pipe or something. Also I hear that the asphalt they use in cities isn’t great for Larvitar, something about digestion issues? But that’s beside the point!” Maeve stammered out the last part as Larvitar yelled at her, presumably to quit rambling and hurry up already.
“While Larvitar was sifting through the rubble she complained something chipping her teeth. I came over to check it out, and found this.” Maeve held up a small grey stone in her hand, a streak of purple running through its center. At a glance it looked identical to any dull marble, distinguished only by the ethereal way it seemed to glow when held up into the light.
“Very interesting…” Vinnie said, stroking his chin. “As I’m sure you know, the number of documented types of Mega Stones has shot up in the last few years. After the incident with Team Flare, new Mega Evolutions started appearing at a rate never seen before. It was assumed that they’d all been discovered by this point, although a handful of new species having slipped through the cracks is certainly plausible.”
Maeve’s heart began to race at the implications of what she’d just been told. Finding a Mega Stone had already been hitting the jackpot, but she now had an entirely undiscovered Mega at her disposal? She desperately hoped it would be one of her partners who could use the stone. She was yet to save up enough for a key ring, but having a strong Pokemon that none of her opponents had ever seen before would surely give her a boost in the ZA Royale!
“If you’re willing, we’d like to borrow the stone from you for a while. The process shouldn’t take too long. We simply need to run some analysis on the stone so as to add it to our database. After we do a bit of testing, Quasartico should be able to ascertain which species the stone corresponds to.”
“Oh, err… sure?” Maeve said. In all honesty she hadn’t expected for things to be moving along so quickly.
Vinnie took the Mega Stone and led Maeve out of the conference room to an elevator. She’d had to pick Larvitar up again to keep her from stomping around while the elevator was moving. She’d wouldn’t trade any of her Pokemon for the world, despite the hassle they caused, but she sometimes wished she’d known what she was getting into when she haphazardly caught the pseudo-legendary.
After an elevator ride that dragged on for far longer than it had any right to, they finally reached the lab where the stone could be analysed. Maeve had to reign in her excitement as Vinnie handed one of the scientists the stone, watching as a horde of white robes flocked around strange looking devices and equipment. The thrill began to wear off as the few minutes they’d spent in the lab turned into dozens, Maeve's curiosity slowly turning into impatience. Even Larvitar was getting fed up of waiting around doing nothing, which was never a good sign, most certainly not up this high in a building.
“It appears things are taking longer than I anticipated…” Vinnie murmured. “Tell me, what do you plan to do with the stone once we finish here?” He inquired.
“Well truth be told, I’d tried to just pawn it off at the Stone Emporium before I came here. The clerk tried to scam me though, the money he’d offered wouldn’t make a dent in helping me save up for the Mega Ring and stone I need for my Skarmory. I’m planning to tackle the Gym Challenge later this year, right? So I figured getting as strong as possible here in Lumiose before they open the Circuit in a few months would set me up for success. I’d heard somewhere that it’s usually the beginner trainers who are most likely to drop out early, so me and my team have been putting in as much work as we can before we’ve gotta hit the road. If I had time to practice Mega evolution, I’m sure we’d be able to get through the first few gyms no problem! Though I might have to try and catch whatever new species this Mega Stone corresponds to if I want that to happen anytime soon.”
“I see…” Vinnie said, stroking his chin once again. It was difficult to tell through the dark sunglasses he wore, but he seemed to be deep in thought. Now that she thought about it, wearing these sunglasses indoors was a bit of an odd choice, though they did match very well with the rest of his outfit.
“I think I see what must be done. If you would please follow me?” Vinnie abruptly stood up from the wall he had been leaning against and headed straight to the exit. Maeve silently prayed she wouldn’t be forced to use the elevator once again, but she had no such luck.
—————————————————
“So why are we out here?” Maeve looked around the battle court that had been set up outside the Quasartico office. It was empty aside from the two of them.
Maeve’s stomach dropped as she watched Vinnie move himself into position on the other side of the field.
“I would like to make a proposal to you Ms. Maeve.” He said, straightening his gloves. “Quasartico is currently in high demand of strong trainers to assist us with some internal affairs. I hope you don’t mind the fact that I looked over your trainer profile before our meeting, but you seem to have shown remarkable battling prowess during your Promotion Matches in the ZA Royale. As a result, Quasartico wants to provide you with a Mega Ring, alongside a position within the company to work on this project. This, of course, is provided you can pass an aptitude test, to showcase whether you meet the requirements to join the project.”
The fear in Maeve’s stomach immediately shifted to excitement. Not only were they giving her a Mega Ring, but also a job?! And the fact that Vinnie needed to test her battling skills first probably meant whatever they would have her working on involved a bunch of battling that’d help her team grow even stronger! She looked down as Larvitar let out an excited scream. All that pent up energy from sitting around would be put to good use here.
“We have a deal!” She said, smiling at Vinnie.
“Excellent! Now if you’ll just give me a moment…” he grabbed his phone from his pocket, fiddling around with it for a few moments before it let out a loud chirp and flew up as if to record the match.
“Zrrrt- This is a Quasartico Aptitude Test between Vinnie and Maeve. This will be a 3 on 3 battle with 2 switches permitted. You may begin in 3… 2… 1… Go!”
Before Vinnie’s Sharpedo could even hit the field, Larvitar had already launched a wave of Spikes to coat the battlefield. The fact that she enacted the command without protest showed just how excited she was, though she’d probably get irritated if she couldn’t start to hit something soon.
“Don’t let it get near you, keep it away with Rock Slide!”
“Dodge with Aqua Jet.” Vinnie calmly countered.
Although they’d been working on other moves, Maeve stuck to Rock Slide simply because of the experience Larvitar had with it. Unfortunately for her, no amount of experience could help if your opponent was able to simply rush past the move before it landed.
She watched as the Sharpedo manoeuvred around the boulders with ease, the distance between it and Larvitar closing by the second. If it was allowed to touch Larvitar, the fight would be over.
“Alright, time for a change of pace! Burrow down with Dig!”
Vinnie raised an eyebrow. There wasn’t much he could do but wait for Larvitar to resurface. Though the nature of the move meant that where it would appear was obvious.
“Sharpedo, prepare a Water Pulse-“
“Now, Rock Slide!”
The shark barely had time to whip its head up before the avalanche of boulders came raining down on it. Vinnie hadn’t expected for Larvitar to be able to target them from underground.
The ground type wasted no time with a follow up, rocketing itself out of the earth towards the already reeling shark. Maeve winced as she watched its scales get bashed by the spike on Larvitar’s head.
“You can recover from this! Night slash, then Aqua Jet!”
Maeve was promptly reminded of the sheer disadvantage she was working against. The Dark type energy Sharpedo wreathed its fins in allowed it to cut through Larvitar’s hide easier than it would’ve otherwise, and the following aqua jet sent her flying despite her weight. The only thing giving Larvitar a fighting chance here was its ability to use the terrain. If they’d been fighting near the water, Sharpedo would’ve already washed her off of the battlefield.
“You still good to go?” Maeve said, not bothering to mask the concern in her voice.
Larvitar grunted in affirmation. It had been a bad hit, but her ego wouldn’t let her lose so easily.
“Alright, how about we try some of that sand we’ve been working on?”
Larvitar stood still for a moment, eyes clenched in focus, before sand began to stream out of the vents sheathed on the sides of her body, pooling onto the ground around her. What came out couldn’t be considered a proper sandstorm yet, but instead contained a handful of jagged stones and spikes, almost invisible in the coarse sand.
“Now don’t let that Sharpedo get you!”
What followed for the next minute was an elaborate game of cat and mouse. Any time Sharpedo would get close, Larvitar would dive underground, coating more of the field in spikes and sand that would cling to Sharpedo’s body.
“Whittling my Sharpedo down… it’s an interesting strategy. Most trainers would’ve simply switched upon seeing the poor matchup, but you’ve chosen to conserve that resource.” Vinnie contemplated. “But enough is enough. Sharpedo, use Pursuit.”
Maeve watched in horror as Sharpedo raced down towards Larvitar, gripping one of her feet in its jaw before ripping her out of the hole she’d begun to burrow. There was nothing she could do but watch as Sharpedo gnashed against the rock type, its razor sharp teeth raking against her thick armour.
“Larvitar is unable to battle! Challenger Maeve, you have 10 seconds to send out your second Pokemon!”
Maeve winced as the Rotom phone loudly blared above her in an annoyingly high pitched tone. She had long since asked her own phone to use a less grating vocal setting. In general, the Rotom inside her phone was rather calm and level headed, a stark contrast to the antics her and her team tended to get up to.
“Your opponent is weak, bud! Kick up a Tailwind!”
Skarmory preened as soon as he left his Pokeball. He immediately thrust himself up into the air, a strong wind beginning to flow through the entire field. After a squawk of warning to Maeve, he began to grind the blades that made up his wings together, sending out a ringing that echoed across the battle court.
Maeve watched with satisfaction as the work Larvitar had put in finally started to pay off. The ground type was still pretty far off from the instantaneous sandstorms Tyranitar were known for, but she’d still been able to get far with her current capabilities, irritating Sharpedo to no end with the endless sand and spikes that were now covering the ground. But now that Skarmory had added a little breeze? The Skarmory happily watched down as its tailwind kicked up all the sand, spikes and rubble the battlefield was coated with, wearing Sharpedo down by the second. Skarmory could’ve left the Tailwind to run on its own, keeping up the pseudo sandstorm for a few minutes before it petered out, but he instead chose to take control of the air currents, circulating the strong winds around the shark, trapping it in the vortex.
“Break free with Surf!”
“The second you get eyes on that Sharpedo, skewer it!”
Maeve couldn’t help but hide the awe on her face as a burst of water appeared from inside the sandstorm. Gallons of water poured from nothing, dousing the entire field in dirtied liquid.
Her heart skipped a beat as she watched the impromptu sandstorm slowly thin away. It took her a moment to realise the water had turned the ground into thick mud, any debris that happened to blow near the ground getting stuck deep within it. The many holes Larvitar had dug before had made the field rough and broken up, creating the perfect surface to soak up all of the water instead of letting it drain away.
Skarmory made short work of the weakened Sharpedo, but it still hurt to see her well crafted strategy be dismantled so easily.
“Sharpedo is unable to battle! Secretary Vinnie, please send out your next Pokemon!”
Maeve's body tensed as she saw the form of a Houndoom appear on the field. Not the best matchup, but she could still work with this. She would have to use her ability to stay up in the sky to her advantage and-
“Houndoom, use Flamethrower!”
Maeve realised this was probably her first time seeing a Houndoom’s fire in person as she watched just how high its flames flew into the air. This wouldn’t be the easy fight she’d been hoping for.
“Use the tailwind to cover yourself! Move around and counter with Air Slash!”
Skarmory wasted no time, jetting himself across the field. He wreathed a handful of Metal Sounds into his movement, making sure to taunt the Houndoom as much as he could while he continued to fly laps above it.
Houndoom angled its head up into the air awkwardly, throwing flamethrower after flamethrower to no avail. Any time one of the volleys of fire managed to graze Skarmory, a gust of wind batted them back with ease. The steel type seemed untouchable, its control of the air unrivalled.
That was until Houndoom managed to land an impressive Fire Blast on the moving target.
The current from the Tailwind was supposed to help as extra shielding against weaker stray shots, but against a direct hit? It might as well have not been there.
“Forget the Tailwind! Fire off a quick Agility, and don’t stop moving!”
A strained squawk was all Maeve received in response. Using Agility had been the right play, without keeping Skarmory’s compound wings flexible, they would’ve begun to slowly fuse together thanks to the heat. He was still standing–or flying–but another direct hit would almost certainly put him out of the fight.
Skarmory narrowly barrelled out of the path of another Flamethrower as he continued slinging Air Slashes down at the ground. In another scenario where Houndoom had been given more time on the field to set up, perhaps it could’ve dodged the attacks more easily. But the currents that still streamed across the court gave Skarmory full control. He kept on landing slashes from unexpected angles until Houndoom knees finally began to buckle…
“Now Skarmory, finish it off with Metal Wing!”
The gap between the two closed in under a second, Skarmory’s full weight ready to rain down onto Houndoom…
“Sucker Punch, NOW!”
Maeve let out a little gasp as she saw Houndoom blur into the air with unnatural speed, sending the full force of its body into one of its wings. The two came crashing down as Skarmory screeched in pain.
It all happened so fast Maeve couldn’t even issue out a command.
In an instant Skarmory was pinned down onto the ground, embers already racing out of Houndoom’s mouth. Maeve could already hear the chime of Rotom preparing to announce her next switch. She shouldn’t have tried to get close when Skarmory was so weak. She could’ve just played it safe and-
An agonizing, grinding scream surged through the arena. It was enough to make even Vinnie lose his composure from his own side of the field. Maeve eyes snapped back to Skarmory, the wail so loud that even Houndoom seemed to have flinched for a second.
She watched in disbelief as steel talons sunk into the canine’s flesh. The pain was enough to cause Houndoom to bark in pain, a burst of the flames it had been gathering leaking out of its mouth.
With nothing but rage in his eyes, Skarmory lifted Houndoom up into the air, bent wings still glowing red from the heat. In one final act of spite, it lifted the two Pokemon up with as much strength as he could muster, wind currents coalescing in one last burst to send the heavy pile of Pokemon up just a few feet… before sending them both hurtling back down towards the earth, now with Skarmory’s metallic body on top of Houndoom’s fragile frame.
Maeve finally felt the Tailwind die out.
“Both Houndoom and Skarmory are unable to battle! Challengers, please send out your final Pokemon!”
Her jaw dropped to the floor. Skarmory had always been the more cocky fighter on her team, but being able to flip over the Houndoom, while being burned?
He’d be gloating about this moment for months.
Maeves hands drifted to her bag as she stowed away Skarmory’s Pokeball. She couldn’t keep her hands from trembling as she sent out her final team member onto the field. She no longer had any tricks with the terrain or weather to work with, it’d only be strength that would carry them on from here.
The court lit up in a flash of red. On Vinnie’s side a green, fluffy Pokemon emerged, its long white fur draping down on parts of its body. It let out a yawn, straightening its long neck before glancing back at its trainer. There was a gentleness exuded by the Pokemon, a strange sense of calm it maintained even going into battle that made Maeve all the more wary.
Mawile burst onto the field, eyes darting across the arena. An echoing, rumbling chuckle that seemed far too menacing to have come from such a small Pokemon left her two mouths as her eyes locked on Drampa, sizing it up.
In the wild, Mawile are known to lure in their prey, using their looks to make their enemies lower their guard before striking with the large mouth on the back of their heads. Despite her efforts, Maeve had been entirely unsuccessful in teaching her Mawile the ‘lure them in’ part of that strategy. In the past the fairy type often opted to neglect any form of strategy in lieu of simply hitting her opponent as hard as she could until she was knocked out. It took far too many lost battles for the Pokemon to realise that once she prepared herself before rushing into battle her odds of winning would increase dramatically.
“Rush in and hit it with Knock Off!” Maeve fired out. What went unsaid was the Iron Defence Mawile strengthened herself with before darting towards her opponent. The move had become such a crucial part of her battling style that she’d used it without a second thought.
The Pokemon blurred across the field with speed unnatural for its stout build, claws already wreathed in darkness. Flames began to gather in Drampa’s mouth, but Mawile pressed on, almost oblivious to the potential harm. She closed the gap with a Quick Attack, slamming her fist hard across the dragon’s neck.
Drampa let out a pained growl, unleashing the attack harmlessly into the air as it screamed. Mawile pressed the advantage, clamping her hardened jaws down onto one of Drampa’s arms.
Something shifted in the dragon’s eyes, the calm that had once radiated off of it washing away all at once. In a swift motion it leaped up into the air, ripping Mawile off of it, before crashing back down, baring the weight of its entire body down onto the Pokemon.
“Now Drampa, Icy Wind!” Vinnie’s voice rang out from across the arena.
A wave of cold began to seep out from Drampa’s mouth, charging up in intensity until the frost reached Mawile. Maeve didn’t even bother telling her to try and run away, because of how close Drampa was she wouldn’t have been able to escape the sweeping ice if she tried.
Vinnie was by all means a skilled trainer. Even more so than Maeve. So she couldn’t help but wonder why he had opted to use such a weak move, especially when he had the advantage against Mawile already. The ice wouldn’t be able to do much to Mawile’s thick skin, especially following the Iron Defense she’d used. Had he made a mistake? Forgotten Mawile’s typing?
Maeve’s eyes bulged as the cloud of frost dissipated, revealing her Mawile had been frozen into place. The steel type struggled against her iced shackles, but the cool mist that was still thick in the air would keep the ice from thawing for at least another minute or two.
Drampa let out a low growl, eyes thirsty for revenge. Orange flames began to dance around its mouth, but a snap of the fingers brought it back to attention.
“Don’t use fire yet, it’ll melt out the ice.” Vinnie commanded, his voice smooth and collected. “Attack it, then use your flamethrower once the ice begins to crack.”
Drampa immediately shot up into the sky, manipulating air currents with skill that would make Skarmory take notice. Even more impressive once you realised it wasn’t a flying type. Maeve winced as she watched the dragon plunge onto Mawile, the impact enough to dissipate the cloud of mist that surrounded the ice.
Drampa’s assault was relentless. It smashed against the ice, raked its claws against Mawile’s skin. At one point the impacts caused the chunk of ice imprisoning the Steel type to be uprooted from the ground, sending it skidding across the floor, only for Drampa to pounce on it once again.
What Drampa couldn’t notice was the distinct sheen of an Iron Defence, freshly renewed deep into the fight. While being frozen in the ice took away all of Mawile’s options for attack, she had chosen to protect herself through Iron Defence to endure the attacks. Even though she was immobile, the fairy wasn’t out of the fight just yet.
Maeve watched with bated breath, every hit widening another crack in the thick ice.
“That’s enough Drampa! You can use Flamethrower now!” Vinnie screamed. Yet the dragon didn’t listen. It was so fixated on pummelling Mawile into dust it couldn’t even hear its trainer anymore.
Finally the ice began to give way. Mawile had barely freed herself from the prison before she had to twist her body away to avoid another Body Slam from Drampa.
“You need to regain your strength! Use Draining Kiss!”
Melting crystals shattered as the fairy type whipped its body around, facing her larger head toward Drampa’s own. What came next was a rather unconventional take on Draining Kiss. Instead of the dainty peck that would steal the target’s vitality, Mawile simply bit down onto Drampa— this time its neck— and stole its energy that way. Typically an altered use of a move like this would be weaker than the original. Maeve had better attacks Mawile was more skilled with. By all means using such a move would be a poor decision. That of course, wasn’t accounting for Drampa’s weakness to the fairy type.
Mawile made sure to let go after a short moment so as to stop a repeat of last time. The damage had already been done, Drampa was reeling from the attack. The marks on its skin where Mawile’s teeth bit down were a discoloured purple, marking where the fairy move had drained the energy out of Drampa.
Shrill laughs escaped Mawile’s mouth in between gasps for air, the steel type watching as Drampa struggled to regain its composure. Both of the Pokemon were on their last legs now. Half of Drampa’s body was peppered with bite marks, and repeatedly strengthening her body with Iron Defense had only barely let Mawile survive Drampa’s onslaught.
The two Pokemon starred each other down, desperation in their eyes. Any mistake, any slight slip up and the battle would be lost.
It was Mawile who broke the stalemate. She charged forward once again, jagged teeth ready to pierce the dragon’s skin.
Drampa leapt up, putting itself out of range of the snapping jaws it faced on the ground. It didn’t expect for Mawile to follow it, leaping up into the air and grazing it with an Iron Head.
The scene played out in slow motion. A small burst of embers leapt out of the dragon’s battered maw, landing directly onto Mawile’s face. The flames weren’t strong enough to do real damage, but the burning gave just enough distraction, causing Mawile to gnash its jaws around aimlessly. Just enough time for Drampa to gather a real Flamethrower that sealed Mawile’s fate.
“Mawile is unable to battle! Secretary Vinnie has won the battle!”
—————————————————
Maeve felt numb. She only now felt her heart thumping in her chest. This had been one of her best battles to date and she had still lost. Were those tears she felt on her cheek? She felt stupid for crying over a battle, especially since Vinnie was so close by, but she couldn’t help herself. When he had challenged her to a battle she was scared the difference in skill between the two would’ve simply been too wide. But she came so close! Maybe she should’ve brought out the sandstorm last, or she could’ve-
“Bravo! That was quite the battle indeed!” Vinnie laughed. “You’ve no doubt proven yourself capable to be brought onboard for the project.”
Mauve’s head shot up. “What? But I lost…”
“What matters is not if you won or lost the battle. What I wanted to know was when you were faced with an opponent stronger than you, when you were in an unwinnable battle, would you seize up? Would you panic and make a mistake that would put you and your Pokemon in harm's way? Or would you be able to stay calm and think your way out of the situation? You might not’ve been able to best my team in raw strength, but the tactics you used allowed you to level the playing field and nearly even pull your way to a victory.”
Maeve chuckled. The irony of the fact that he was referring to her as calm while she had been a moment away from bursting into tears wasn’t lost on her.
“In regards to the Mega Stone, you should be contacted before the end of the week. The folks up in the lab say they’re working as hard as they can, but in all honesty? It’s doubtful they’ll finish up before the end of the day. Quasartico has access to your contact details through your entry into the ZA Royale, somebody will reach out to you in a few days. We’ll speak again during your first debriefing, once all the legal work is signed. Although…”
Vinnie’s face seemed to darken once again. It was impressive how his kindly demeanour could switch so quickly.
“I’ve been rather vague about the details of the project so far. While I am unable to go into detail just yet, you must know that the work you’re being assigned to will be dangerous.
Quasartico is in short supply of trainers strong enough to assist in this endeavour. But above all, everything that happens from here in must remain confidential. It’s these factors that’ve led to our… unorthodox recruiting methods. The job you’re being given isn’t something the average trainer could accomplish. I cannot guarantee the safety of you and your partners. Are you sure you wish to proceed?”
Maeve glanced down at the Pokeball in her hand. She could already imagine the indignation of her friends at being denied a chance to face a strong opponent.
She smiled, then stretched out her hand towards Vinnie.
“Without a doubt.”