Chapter 10

The Pokémon Centre was fairly quiet, with only three people presently within its walls. Nurse Joy stood behind the main service desk as per the norm, patiently waiting to see if anyone needed her help to heal their Pokémon on this pleasantly warm evening. All kinds of Trainers came through the Centre's double doors on a daily basis, but few were more eye-catching in terms of their odd appearance than the two trainers who had come in a short while ago.

Clad in blue and white armour of a decidedly futuristic design, they had presented a mere two Pokémon in need of healing. Said Pokémon had been contained in Pokéballs that perhaps complimented the unusual attire of their Trainers, for instead of the typical red and white design, the balls in question bore a checkered dark blue pattern separated by light blue lines, with four yellow fins positioned around each ball.

Now, while it most certainly wasn't unheard of for Trainers to customise their Pokémon's Pokéballs for the sake of some personal flair (ball seals came to mind, now that Nurse Joy thought of it), these almost cybernetic Pokéballs were certainly out there, and neither of the Pokémon they contained were native to the Sinnoh region. Joy recognised one of them as a Furfrou, thanks to one of her sisters having studied abroad, but the other was unlike anything she or her medical scanners had ever seen.

With a vague resemblance to a Beedrill - and a very vague resemblance at that - this draconic insect that had shown up on the scanner's monitor bore a distinct purple colouring, scythe-like wings that wouldn't have looked out of place on a Salamence, a striped abdomen and a long, metallic-looking stinger that seemed almost like a tube or a pipe. What had the elder Trainer called it in that polite yet curt tone of his? A Naganadel or something like that? It had seemed almost otherworldly.

Joy glanced to her right, where the purple-haired armoured Trainer now stood, browsing the shelf of books and magazines that the Veilstone City Pokémon Centre provided for its patrons. His eyes were hidden behind that metallic white visor built into his helmet, his mouth a thin line that looked as though it had never once worked itself into a smile. His cohort sat at a table nearby, having removed her helmet to reveal her braided orange hair and a pair of grey eyes. Unlike the older armoured Trainer, she looked quite happy as she sat there, brushing the coat of her Furfrou, which now stood tall and stoic in front of her. The ordinary pink brush looked almost out of place in the girl's gloved hand, said gloves having a very cybernetic appearance.

The purple-haired man turned away from the bookshelf and approached his younger cohort just as she recalled her Pokémon back into its curious blue Pokéball. The girl looked up at her older associate, her words carrying a sense of cheerful contentment as she spoke.

"I read in a beginner's guidebook about Pokémon care that Furfrou love to have their fur brushed," she stated brightly. "D'you think Naganadel would-?"

"I doubt it," the man said simply, cutting her off as he took a seat opposite her, lifting up the small briefcase he had been carrying and placing it on the table. Nurse Joy noticed that it bore the Team Galactic logo, and she immediately turned her eyes and ears away from the pair. Like many, she still didn't entirely trust Team Galactic, and would rather not get involved in any of what she could only hope were perfectly legal business exchanges. At the sight of the briefcase, the orange-haired girl's smile faded to be replaced by a look of apprehension and concern.

"Dulse, do you think we're doing the right thing?" she asked after a long moment, watching as her cohort, Dulse, opened the case to check on what was inside. "I mean, sure, I get that these documents could help our people with the information they provide, but giving up what we did in order to get them… Can we really trust someone like Miss Chrysalis to use that kind of technology - our technology - in a responsible way?"

Dulse initially said nothing as he closed the briefcase quietly. After a long moment of viewing his younger cohort's troubled visage, he sighed, and his visor slid up of its own accord to reveal his own grey eyes.

"Zossie, you must remember that our people are depending on us to bring them this research data," he said in a surprisingly gentle tone. "We cannot afford another incident where the Blinding One is concerned."

"But Miss Chrysalis-"

"She has her important matters to attend to and we have ours. If nothing else, she has served us better than Aether President Lusamine ever did, even with her equally coarse demeanour."

Zossie bit her lip and said nothing more. Dulse's visor lowered itself over his eyes once more. He then put a gloved hand to his chin, looking thoughtful.

"We still have approximately four hours before our suits are again fully primed to return us to Ultra Space, and we should proceed to higher ground to minimize technological interference. I have heard that the peak of Mt. Coronet has been used in the past for similar purposes, due to its natural magnetic energy. If we head out now, we should reach the mountaintop before sunrise. I believe the locals describe the view from atop the mountain as 'humbling'."

Zossie liked the sound of that. When exploring the various realms of Ultra Space, she always liked to take in the scenery of a bizarre new world, especially when that scenery was dotted with species of Pokémon she had never seen before, and yet…

"You go on ahead, Dulse," she told him, smiling her typical smile to show him that she was on board with the planned excursion. "I will catch up momentarily. Trust me."

Dulse frowned slightly, a little suspicious of what his cohort might be hoping to get up to behind his back. "Very well," he said in his usual curt tone as he got to his feet, picking up the briefcase. "I shall meet you at the edge of the city in ten minutes and not a second later," he stated. "Don't forget your helmet," he added, indicating at the futuristic headwear that rested on the floor beside Zossie's armoured left foot.

As Dulse left the building, Zossie tapped at the armour covering her right arm and what looked like a white rectangular card slid out of a concealed slot. The card had a faint blue circle in the centre. Zossie tapped it with her thumb and a cone-shaped beam of blue light began to shine out of it.

"Okay, Zossie, you can do this," she told herself. "Just be professional and to the point." She cleared her throat, straightened up in her seat and spoke clearly and with forced calm. "This message is intended for the leader of Team Galactic. I am Zossie of the Ultra Recon Squad. Recently, one of your employees, designated Chrysalis, has been in touch with us regarding certain research data, which she agreed to provide us with in exchange for a piece of advanced Ultra Recon Squad technology. My cohort and I initially believed this exchange to be mutually beneficial, but I am now starting to have my doubts."

Zossie glanced behind her to see if Nurse Joy was listening in on the recording she was making. Seeing that the nurse had temporarily left the room, she turned back to the card she held and continued.

"Earlier tonight, at precisely 1905 hours, Chrysalis, my aforementioned cohort and myself engaged in the aforementioned exchange in person, at which time we were confronted by a young woman whom Chrysalis referred to as Zinnia. After a verbal exchange that implied many things about Chrysalis and her motives, Chrysalis called upon the power of one of her Pokémon to subdue Zinnia effortlessly - a noteworthy feat, given that Zinnia had a much more fierce-looking Pokémon at her disposal."

Zossie took a deep breath and made her conclusive statement, her voice starting to grow a little shaky, but she forced the words out nonetheless.

"Based on the verbal exchange between Zinnia and Chrysalis, I believe that the Team Galactic documents Chrysalis gave us were stolen or otherwise obtained through unethical means. I also heard her muttering something about 'shifting the blame to that boy' as she walked away. My cohort, believing Zinnia to be a common thief and nothing more, used our technology to send her back to our base of operations, where she has most likely been incarcerated until further notice. I, however, believe there was some truth in her accusations about Chrysalis. Team Galactic Leader, if you should see this message, please ensure that Chrysalis does not do anything foolish with the technology we bestowed upon her. I feel that she is more of a danger to herself than others, but even so…"

Zossie let out a weary sigh.

"Thank you for your time. Ultra Recon Squad Zossie out." With that, Zossie switched off the hologram and glanced up just as a Team Galactic grunt walked into the Pokémon Centre right on cue. Not wasting a moment, Zossie bent down to pick up her helmet, placed it atop her head and proceeded towards the exit, twirling on the spot as she passed the grunt and carefully tucking the hologram card into his back pocket without his notice. Her work done, Zossie hurried out onto the streets of Veilstone City and jogged to catch up with Dulse.

The Galactic Grunt, on his part, had his Golbat healed by Nurse Joy, left the Pokémon Centre, circled around the streets as he thought about the project that was due at the office tomorrow, passed by the Veilstone Gym and it was here that the card fell out of his pocket without his notice.

A short while later, a certain Dark/Ice type Pokémon ventured outside the Gym to savour the night air, subsequently stepped on the card, and picked the object up in its clawed appendage to gaze at it with intrigued curiosity...