A/N: My fanfic has an illustrated cover for each chapter, but since FFN doesn't allow inserting images nor does it accept links within the fanfic itself, please head over to my tumblr (carefreejules) if you'd like to see the covers!

Chapter 15 - Strings of Trust and Doubt

What's wrong, Maya? It's usually me who's sulking."

In the centre of the field of forget-me-nots, was a tree, standing tall and lush, with a wooden porch swing dangling from flowery vines. Maya was sat comfortably on Juliet's lap as they sat together on the porch swing, but the little girl was void of her usual contagious cheer. Her small hands were cradled on top of Juliet's palms before folding up into tight fists. She choked out a sob and she tried to fight the tears that began to pour on her lap.

"I…"

Juliet carefully shifted the girl around so she could cry into her chest, and gingerly stroked her hair as her wails rang louder throughout her dreamland.

"Let it out, Maya. It's OK to cry."

"B-But-!" Maya hiccuped. "I-I hate it…"

"I don't think anyone likes crying, but it's good to cry. You're letting out everything that you don't want to keep bottled up."

Maya sniffled. "W-When you couldn't breath because of that scary Pokemon, I couldn't breathe either. It...It reminded me of my illness." She clutched to the front of her Champion outfit. "And mommy and daddy weren't here to hug me…"

Juliet pulled Maya's head back gently to wipe her tears with her thumb. Thinking about it now, how long had Maya been with her? Maybe as long as Darkrai has? However long she was with her, no doubt she was missing her parents just as much. And, she knew it wouldn't be as simple as telling the little girl to move on so she could finally be with them. Maya was a strange one, but it was clear that she adored life, and wanted to keep clinging to it as long as she could.

Even if it meant another day without her parents.

"That was scary, but don't worry. I'm not your mom or dad, but I'll make sure nothing bad happens to me or you."

Maya looked up at her with tear-stained, but hopeful eyes. "Promise?"

"Promise."

The little girl finally smiled and snuggled further into Juliet's arms. "I wanna take a nap. Can you sing me that song you were humming before?"

"Even if I don't sing that well?"

"I like hearing your voice. Please?"

"Alright." Juliet hugged the little girl close and swayed her body, like gentle waves. She left a chaste kiss on Maya's forehead before quietly singing the song that her aunt used to sing to her whenever she woke up from a bad dream.

When daytime turns to night, and the moon shines bright
When you're tucked in tight, when everything's alright
Slip softly to that place, where secret thoughts run free
And, there come face to face, with who you want to be so

Swim across the ocean blue
Fly a rocket to the moon
You can change your life, or you can change the world
Take a chance, don;t be afraid
Life is yours to live
Take a chance, and then the best has yet to come…

Feeling the gentle rise and fall from Maya's slumbering form, Juliet never ceased the light rocking like a parent would for their precious child. It didn't exactly matter anymore but she couldn't help but wonder anyway - did her parents cradle her with fondness before? Before holding so many expectations for her future self, there must have been moments where that didn't matter to them. All they thought about was taking care and loving her. There was no way of knowing and she was undoubtedly too young to remember such times, but now more than ever did she want to protect those who were dear to her.

Even if it meant lying to some of them.

RING RING RING RING RING

It felt strange holding the brick-like excuse for a cell phone that her uncle had given to her ages ago as a back-up in case of an emergency. It was one of her uncle's own personal inventions that could only make calls, but he made it as a prototype for a device that could make calls from just about anywhere in the world without having to worry about signal issues or privacy. But, because it was a prototype, it took up a lot of battery depending on how far the calls were being made so it wasn't exactly convenient to carry around.

And with the call being from Hoenn, Juliet would have to charge it the moment the call ended. She wasn't going to take any chances of using her home phone for a highly confidential call such as this.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Juliet. It's been awhile!"

"It has! Sorry for calling you out of the blue, Anabel."

"That's alright. I figured it was something important for you to try to reach me so suddenly."

"Thanks for understanding. There's...some sketchy stuff happening in Galar that I wonder if you can look into - being part of the international police and all."

"Sketchy stuff? You'll have to elaborate since I can't take on missions for just any reason. We may know each other, but I can't guarantee I can do what you want me to."

"Don't worry, I understand. I was honestly hesitant about reaching out to begin with but I thought it was wise to at least get some advice."

"It sounds serious if you have to turn to me for advice. No need to hold back for my sake. What's going on?"

"Well…" Juliet swallowed anxiously. "Have you heard of Chairman Rose?"

"...Did something happen, Raihan?"

"Huh? What makes you say that, mate?"

"Your Rotom phone isn't flying around you like it usual is."

Raihan choked on his water and coughed it off before instinctively reaching into his pocket to pull out the aforementioned phone, only to mentally kick himself upon remembering that he didn't have anything in his pocket. Talk about old habits dieing hard. He nonchalantly rubbed the back of his neck with the same hand in an effort to look casual like he usually did and not keeping a dire secret about Chairman Rose's evil scheme from the Champion.

"I'm actually waiting for my new phone! You know me - I like to keep up with what's new and hot, you know?"

"Didn't you just get the model that you had?" Leon asked with a raised eyebrow.

Raihan waved off the comment. "I think I'll like this one better."

"That reminds me," Leon started. "You've been doing shoots with Raid Prism for the past few days, right? Has Juliet been OK?"

"Yeah, I have. There have been some issues with the filming so it's taking longer than usual. Juliet's been fine. Why?"

"She messaged me a couple days ago about wanting to talk and I messaged back but, I haven't gotten a response from her."

"Ahh, I guess she would have no way of telling you this but, her phone broke on the first day of the shoot so, I think she's waiting to get it replaced." Raihan replied smoothly, hoping that Leon wouldn't find it suspicious that both of their phones were out of commission. But, Leon was a lot sharper than he looked, and it came from a place of knowing his best friend and Juliet more than he let on.

Or maybe it came from the cumulative stress that only seemed to pile higher as the days go on, which made him second guess everything that was being done or said to him.

"Then, why didn't you tell me that when she told you? I can't imagine you being without a phone for a few days-"

"G-Good things come to those who wait! Besides, I can still check all of that at home on my computer. You make me sound like a social media addict."

"S-Sorry, I guess I'm feeling a bit anxious with the Champion Cup around the corner."

"You? Anxious? That's a first-"

"Cut me some slack, Raihan. Chairman Rose didn't tell me exactly what he was up to, but he did ask me a pretty serious question." Leon trailed off forebodingly.

Raihan sat up right on the work-out bench, alarm bells ringing in his ears. "What did he ask?"

"He asked me, 'Will you help me with a plan that could save Galar's future?'"?"

The Dragon Tamer gulped. "That's not ominous at all."

"But, I finally feel closer to knowing what Rose has planned and how. He's building up to something big. I can feel it."

Big was an understatement , Raihan thought to himself.

"Anyway, thinking about it too hard won't get me anywhere. I guess if Juliet doesn't have a phone right now, I should just see her in person-" Leon reached for his work-out bag and slung a towel around his sweat matted neck. Raihan shot up from the bench and blocked the entrance of the gym with his towering form.

"You're seriously going to see her without taking a shower first?!"

"I don't think she'll mind-"

"Come on, mate! Have some class! No one likes a man with B.O.!"

"I don't have time! She might have a shift at the Battle Cafe and I want to catch her before she has to work!" Leon pushed past Raihan and briskly walked out of the gym and started to jog the rest of the way to Juliet's flat. Once Leon was completely out of sight, Raihan let out a big sigh of relief. Acting wasn't his strong suit, especially towards his best friend, that pretending that nothing was wrong, started to eat away at him with anxiety. But, he had an important role to play and he wasn't going to make their efforts go down the drain.

"Alright. I've already managed to convince Milo, Nessa, Kabu, Bea, and Allister. But...with Bede as Opal's new successor, he's going to be hard to persuade especially since he was basically Rose's kid…"

He still had a long way to go.

"Hmmm...That does sound urgent. Even though you don't have physical evidence to back up what you saw, I can't imagine you doing something so reckless on a whim. Not to mention, if there have been documented incidents linked to what the Chairman is doing, then that's worth investigating on its own especially if civilian safety has been at risk. He's not above the law, and he can't just do things even if it's for a greater purpose."

"So...Does that mean you'll look into it?"

"I can't make any promises because I'll have to do more research and make a convincing case so the higher ups can officially send me to Galar, but I'll do everything I can, Juliet."

"Thank you, Anabel...I really appreciate it. I'm scared of what's to come but I trust you."

"I trust you too. If I had more power and authority, I would not hesitate to fly over right now."

"I know, Anabel. You're doing your job and you're just following protocol."

"Thank you for understanding, Juliet. I'll contact you immediately on what my orders are. For now, try to stay calm and go about your day to day so you don't draw suspicion."

"I'll try. Take care then, Anabel!"

"You too, Juliet."

Upon hanging up, she heard knocking coming from her front door, making her frantically throw on a sweater and pat down her bed head to make herself look somewhat presentable to whoever was at her door so early in the morning. Her eyes widened upon seeing Leon standing at her front door, still in his work-out attire, through the peephole. She probably should have expected to be confronted by him eventually from basically ignoring his texts that he probably sent to her old phone.

She opened her front door and shot him a small smile. "What can I help you with on this fine morning, good sir?"

Leon snorted. "Good day, madam. I was hoping we could have a quick chat over tea?"

Juliet rolled her eyes. "Tea time in a tank top? Not very tactful are you, Lee?"

"I just came back from working out with Raihan. You're not busy are you?"

"No, but I'll let you in on one condition."

"And that is?"

"Please take a shower."

"No rush, Champ, but are you almost done in there?" Juliet gently knocked on the door.

"Yeah, I'm just drying my hair right now."

"Need some help?"

"Actually..." Leon looked down at her comb that became a bit...abused by how many knots were in his hair. He laughed nervously. "I may have to buy you a new comb, J." He unlocked the door and allowed her in and she stared at her comb with a grimace.

"Arceus, Leon. Is your hair a Tangela or something? Gimme." She snatched the comb from his hand and pulled out as much of his hair as possible and tossed the pile into the trash. Juliet picked up the hair dryer with her free hand and began to carefully comb, dry, and untangle his hair. When was the last time he visited a barber?! He must spend at least an hour on his hair for it to look as beautiful as it did on a regular basis.

"Have you ever thought about cutting your hair? Not that it isn't nice as it is but you'd be saving a lot of combs and shampoo." She joked while combing through a particularly hard knot in his hair. Looking at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, his eyes were closed and his mouth hung open slightly. He must have been pretty relaxed because the small laugh that came out of him sounded breathless.

"Haven't had time, really. I do get it trimmed every now and then but this is the image that I have to uphold as Champion." Truth be told, he let it grow once he became Champion when he was 10 and at that tender age, he was pretty stubborn about appointments and deadlines so he refused any suggestions about going to a barber unless it's to trim his hair. He couldn't really imagine himself with short hair now that he was an adult.

"I guess it would be weird if you suddenly walked into a crowd full of roaring fans with half of your hair gone." She mused. His hair was mostly dry and she could finally get a feel of how soft it was. And it had more volume than her own. Perhaps she would volunteer herself as his personal hairdresser because she definitely didn't plan "dry and comb Leon's hair" in her schedule for the day. After a few more minutes, she pulled away and chucked her Leon-hair-abused comb into the trash.

"There. A moment of silence for my comb's sacrifice though."

"I said I'd buy you another one."

"You did and I'm holding you to it. Come, I made breakfast for you too." Once she put her hair dryer away, she motioned him to take a seat at the small dining table in the living area. She returned from the kitchen with two plates of toast, eggs, sausages, hash browns, and small bowls of fresh berries. This was only the second time he was having a meal at Juliet's place but, Leon almost felt like Raihan in that moment – he wanted to take out his Rotom phone to take a photo and post it, but he knew he'd get bombarded with messages on where he ate at or who cooked for him. He didn't really know where the impulse came from, but then again; he didn't have much cooking experience once he started living on his own and turned to granola bars and fruit in the morning, and then eating out for lunch and dinner.

Perhaps it was his way of showing gratitude towards a good, home-made meal since he basically moved out of his home in Postwick and therefore, didn't get to fully appreciate his mom's home-cooked meals when he did have them. Even with all the stresses that were looming over him, he treasured these seemingly mundane moments of rest.

"Thanks. You didn't have to, though."

"Don't say that. I bet you've been skipping meals because of the Champion Cup coming up."

"Well...Not outright skipping but sometimes I'd only eat an energy bar." Leon admitted with a dry chuckle.

"That's it?! That's not good for you especially if you work out!" Juliet gawked in surprise. She poured two cups of Pecha Berry tea and plopped herself on one of the stools that surrounded her little kitchen island. "Hope you don't mind Pecha Berry tea! I would have asked if you wanted coffee instead but I ran out-"

Leon followed suit and sat next to her. "That's alright. I'm technically not allowed to drink too much coffee anyway."

"Why?"

The Champion flashed her a wide grin that showed off his perfectly white teeth. "Can't have it staining my teeth. The Chairman will make sure I don't hear the end of it."

"Huh...On the plus side, you have great teeth. On the other hand, it must be a pain to have to watch out for that."

Leon took a big bite into his toast. "You get used to it after a while. Anyway, about a few days ago…"

"Right...I'm sorry about how I acted. Being bombarded by the media reminded me a lot of what I experienced back then…" Juliet nibbled on an Oran berry absentmindedly. "It didn't bother me that my team and Raihan weren't given credit for helping keep the city of Hammerlocke, safe. What did bother me, was the fact they did it to sell their version of the story."

"I'm sorry…"

She playfully shoved his shoulder. "I'm not blaming you for that, dummy. I'm the one who should be sorry for giving you the cold shoulder even though I knew it wasn't your fault. I just…" She gently blew over her hot cup of team and closed her eyes contemplatively. "I don't want to give the media any excuse to talk badly about you. You know how much they love to over-analyze and blow things out of proportion. I don't want to go down that lane but...they turn into leeches at any sign of an affair."

"A-Affair?" Leon choked on his tea and his face flushed a bright red.

She definitely regretted saying that. "It sounds outlandish, I know. But, if they're going to over-analyze the situation, we have to be just as on guard."

"...It sounds like you're speaking from experience - the affair part, I mean."

"No, nothing like that. I was 11 when I was Champion so they couldn't pull that crap even if they tried. But...it's one of those moments where once you've seen one side of things, you've basically seen them all or can have a pretty good idea of what the other sides entail. I don't want to let my guard down and neither should you."

It...it felt like Leon was talking to a completely different person. Sure, Juliet had her moments where she could switch from being playful and funny, to serious and retrospective, but...he had never seen her act so...cold and calculating.

Like, she was internally bracing herself for something.

Why else would she physically and verbally act so guarded?

"...Is everything OK?" He asked quietly. Juliet blinked and stared at him blankly, mid-bite. He noticed that she had switched back to her usual relaxed self. Ugh, sometimes she was unpredictable that he couldn't get a good read on her.

"I'm alright! Where did that come from?"

"Maybe I'm just imagining things but even with Raihan, you seem a bit...off."

She swallowed thickly from his light scrutiny. He was a lot more perceptive than she gave him credit for but she wasn't going to crumble under the pressure especially knowing she was doing it for his sake. It terrified her, thinking about how he'd react to the revelation and what he would do. She knew him well enough that if the situation was dangerous, he was more than willing to throw himself into the middle of it because he didn't want it to be someone else's problem.

Still...It felt so wrong to leave him in the dark when he cared about Galar from the bottom of his heart.

Juliet placed her hand on his shoulder and tried to smile reassuringly so he couldn't tell that she was lying. "I'm fine, Lee. Don't worry. Let's just say...I have some suspicions on what the Chairman has been up to."

Leon's eyes widened and he gripped the hand that was on his shoulder. "Did you find something?!"

"Not exactly. I noticed the other day that while some Pokemon were loading up boxes to be brought into the Power Plant, one of the boxes tipped over and out poured Wishing Pieces."

"Wishing Pieces…? What is Rose doing with them and why?"

"I don't know but, just be careful, OK?" She really should have worded that better, because it clearly sounded like she was giving him a warning for something dangerous rather than giving him a false sense of security.

"Be careful? Why are you warning me like Rose is doing something bad? Is there something you're not telling me?" Leon demanded, now gripping her shoulders a bit too tightly.

Shit. Shit. Shit. "I-I'm just warning you because of all the explosions that occurred from his experiments. It might happen again."

His eyes narrowed. "Are you sure? Because, if you saw something, I want you to tell me. You trust me, right…?"

Juliet's heart twisted painfully and it was getting increasingly harder to hold back from the truth. At the very least, she wanted to get Sonia's input to get a better grasp of what exactly they were up against. It wasn't enough to just tell him the truth of what she really saw - she wanted there to be a foundation for the truth, so it would be easier for him to accept and rationalize the gravity of it. Her words and memory only held so much strength and accountability that for someone like Leon, she trusted that he would believe her but there was more she had to do and he already had too much on his plate as it is.

She had to pick her words carefully - something that would make him understand that she knew more than she let on but that he would be told everything when the time was right.

"I do trust you, Leon, but I want to be absolutely sure I have evidence to back up what might be going on behind the scenes. The last thing I want, is to give you false information and have you stress yourself out over it. I promise to tell you everything I know once I have a better idea of the situation. Don't worry, I'm not doing this alone."

Leon's shoulders relaxed considerably and he released his grip on her shoulders. He really wanted to know. He had to know, but...he needed to realize that there were things that he couldn't do. The fact that she had to reassure him that she wasn't alone - that they weren't alone - it was telling that whatever Rose had planned was something that one person couldn't possibly handle on their own.

He had his own role to play, and Juliet had hers.

"...OK. Just...don't do anything reckless that will put yourself in danger. And when the time comes, I want you to tell me what role I will play in your plan."

Juliet couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Already volunteering yourself? Sounds like you've been playing that game I lent you."

"Well, you are someone who's good at analyzing situations and people from different angles - it's only right that you'd be the tactician." Leon added with an amused grin.

"Time to tip the scales-" She quoted with a snort.

"Speaking of scales, except not that kind - Charizard has something he wants to give to Tiki." Leon tossed out his Charizard in the living room, revealing his beloved ace with his arm fully healed and only a pale scar remained. Juliet's heart relaxed at the sight of his fiery companion, all healed up and as fierce as ever. And then her gaze dropped to the small box he held in his claws.

"Hey Charizard! I'm so glad you're all better now." She cooed, making the fire dragon hum happily in agreement and letting her cradle his snout. She stood back to give room for her Flygon to stretch her wings comfortably in the small, yet cozy space that was her flat. Upon noticing Charizard, Tiki made several happy cries especially from seeing him in a much better shape.

But, then suddenly, Charizard's mood completely shifted and his head was turned away bashfully as he fumbled with the small gift in his shaking claws. Leon stifled a snicker in his knuckles, which made his Pokemon huff at him annoyingly. Tiki tilted her head quizzically and nudged the present with her nose before pointing at herself. Charizard's cheeks were bright red when he thrust his arms out to present the gift out for her to take. The Flygon smiled brightly and gently took the present before opening the lid, and crying out eagerly.

"So, what did you get, Tiki?" Juliet wondered, peering over her Flygon's shoulder to peer into the box, which revealed a bright red silk ribbon that was lined in gold. She grinned knowingly. "A new ribbon for your antenna! It looks even prettier than the one you had before! Here, let me help you put it on!"

Juliet plucked the ribbon from the box and wrapped it around one of Tiki's antennae and carefully tied it into a lovely bow. "There we go! Do you like it?"

TIki responded by affectionately nuzzling her nose against Charizard's cheek in appreciation and cooing adoringly to the Pokemon. Juliet would do anything to know what her Pokemon was saying, but based on how Charizard returned Tiki's affections in the same manner, it didn't take a genius to understand what was going on between them. She shot Leon a glance, and it seemed like he came to the same conclusion based on his wide smile.

Rather than tease them though, she decided to give them a moment of peace and returned to her seat beside Leon. Still, she couldn't help but giggle to herself and nudged Leon's arm. "I'll let you know if Tiki lays an egg."

Leon spat out his tea.

Sonia nearly dropped her cute Yamper mug. "What?! Rose is planning on causing the Darkest Day?!"

"Shhhhhhh!" Vanquil hissed. "Do you want your neighbours and your grandma to hear?!"

"I'm afraid you're a bit too late for that." Professor Magnolia strolled in with her cane and cup of tea in hand.

"P-Professor, we-" Tessu stuttered.

"Calm down, everyone. I only heard the last bit based on Sonia's outburst, but please explain to me what happened. Slowly." Professor Magnolia requested sternly.

Mary took a deep breath. "...Juliet snuck into the Power Plant and was able to record footage of some scientists and the Chairman talk about a plan that would create an unlimited supply of energy to the Galar region. But, in order to do that, he's going to harness the power of a creature called Eternatus to bring about the Darkest Day."

Professor Magnolia closed her eyes and pursed her lips anxiously. "...It seems that my suspicions were correct."

"You knew, Gran?!" Sonia gasped.

"Not exactly. Remember about a week ago when a Dynamaxed Pokemon wreaked havoc in Hammerlocke? Before that, the Chairman had asked me about the relationship to the red light of Power Spots to the Dynamax Phenomenon. After all, the only way for Pokemon to Dynamax is to be directly in a Power Spot's presence. I was able to go into the Power Plant, but he refused to show me the main part of the Power Plant, which I assumed to be just a generator, despite how obsessed he was about Galar's energy supply. I knew he was experimenting, but I couldn't help him if he wasn't willing to show me what he was working on." The elderly Professor rubbed her tempers in stress. "To think he was holding Eternatus captive all this time for such an outlandish purpose."

"B-But, how in the world was he able to capture that thing?! It was huge from what we saw!" Tessu exclaimed.

"Do you perhaps still have that footage?" Professor Magnolia asked.

Vanquil shook his head. "No...The Chairman ended up finding out pretty quickly and threatened us if we told anyone what we saw."

"Why don't you call the police?! You're risking your lives by telling us-!" Sonia yelled alarmingly. Before Sonia could even dial the number, her grandma stuck her hand out and lowered her granddaughter's phone with a shake of her head.

"I'm afraid without any evidence, they won't do anything, especially if it involves Chairman Rose."

"But-!"

"I know what you're thinking, Sonia, but stay calm and think about it. Chairman Rose has more power than many of us realize, and his influence is undeniable. The people of this region think highly of him that without any concrete evidence, he can't be charged." Professor Magnolia explained with a deep frown.

"That's...That's so unfair…" Sonia muttered. It was unfair, but they didn't want to give up from not telling anyone who could believe them. Even if the chances were slim, it was better than doing absolutely nothing. They weren't going to give Rose the satisfaction of feeling like he was above everyone else.

"Even if the police can't help us, there's still things we can do - it's too early to give up!" Mary announced standing up from her seat. "That's what Juliet would have said if she were here."

"She's right. I can't in good conscience allow Rose to take advantage of another Pokemon's power to bring about a devastating event. Regardless of how powerful a Pokemon is, it's our job as Pokemon Professors to research unknown Pokemon, so we can protect it and the people around it so we can co-exist peacefully." Professor Magnolia turned to her granddaughter. "Sonia, there's a research paper that briefly mentions the existence of a meteorite that could be linked to the Dynamax phenomenon."

"There is?! How come I've never heard about it?!"

"The paper has been heavily scrutinized since traces of the power were found in residue from smaller rocks that burnt up in our atmosphere, but the meteorite in question is nowhere to be found so many scientists assume there is no meteorite to begin with."

Sonia narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "That sounds like a cover-up."

"Possibly. I'll leave that to you. As for you three - why don't you give Sonia a hand with finding what she needs? In the event that you three are being monitored to make sure you're on your best behaviour, it's safer for you to remain here for the time being. They have no reason to barge in and cause a ruckus in a Pokemon Lab. I'll make sure of it." Professor Magnolia offered with a reassuring grin. Tessu, Mary, and Vanquil let out a sigh of relief at the Professor's generosity.

"Thank you, Professor. We'll stay for the rest of the day but we don't want to draw any suspicions if we are being watched." Tessu replied.

"I understand, but know that you're safe here if you ever need a place to go. It's the least I can do after all that you've done for me in collecting Gigantamax Pokemon."

Anabel walked briskly through the halls of the International Police HQ, with her heels clicking behind her with purpose. She replayed all the different ways to bring up what Juliet had told her over and over in deciding which made the more convincing case. She had seen her fair share of kidnappings, crime rings, ransoms, and blackmail, but part of her wasn't all that surprised that a businessman with seemingly good intentions and a good track record could be up to something behind the scenes. It wasn't wise to assume, but there was no denying the behavioral patterns that came from people with incredible wealth and power.

Chairman Rose was no exception.

She had done some research into his early life and the start of his career, but she was mainly concerned with his earnings and tax returns. If he was conducting experiments, then that meant he was investing some sum of money into those endeavors, and how he was writing them off. Every year, he would invest a large sum of money towards some sort of energy project, which one wouldn't bat an eye at since renewable energy was on the rise across the world.

But, then, she discovered something in the data that made her raise both eyebrows.

A notably larger sum of money that wasn't accounted for from over 10 years ago.

At first, she wrote it off as a generous donation to a private charity that perhaps didn't want to be named since Chairman Rose would often donate to charities under the Macros Cosmos name, but that conclusion didn't sit right with her. She researched and researched articles about the company within the last 10 years to find any crumb of evidence that would indicate where the money went into, but there was nothing to be found.

But articles written by mainstream media were hardly enough.

She had to dig deeper.

And that's when it dawned on her - what was it like living in Galar for the last 10 years? If there was anything that the citizens of Galar were troubled by, there was a slight chance that local news outlets wouldn't bother covering them. On the surface, it seemed like there wasn't anything to be gained from menial complaints of rowdy neighbours and petty theft caused by mischievous Pokemon, but there was always going to be something.

A pattern of the same kind of complaints that covered up something bigger.

What she discovered made her eyes nearly pop out of their sockets from the revelation and she quickly compiled everything to be printed and shoved into a folder for presenting her case. And that's where Anabel was now. Folder tucked under her arms and standing outside of her boss' office. She took a few deep breaths and just as she was about the knock on the door,

"Chief! There you are!"

Anabel flinched in surprise and turned to address the familiar man in his signature long brown trench coat. "Looker. What can I help you with?"

Looker held up a black folder of his own that had the word 'CONFIDENTIAL' written on the front in bright red. Anabel internally cursed to herself. That meant they were being tasked with a new assignment and she had to put her promise to Juliet on hold until it was taken care of.

"Your boss was looking all over for you to give us our new assignment. Where were you?"

"I was doing some research in the archives. Did you already have a look at what our task is?"

"I took a quick look and we're being ordered to head out to Galar bright and early tomorrow."

Anabel blinked. "Did you say Galar?"

"That's right. It seems like there's been a case of rampaging Dynamax Pokemon within the last few weeks and based on how the higher ups are monitoring the situation, they felt like it was enough cause for concern based on the amount of complaints they're getting by civilians and law enforcement alike." Looker explained before handing Anabel the folder to sift through herself. Well, this was one hell of a coincidence, but Anabel would count her blessings for being able to go to Galar as she had hoped.

"What a coincidence. Earlier today, I had a phone call with an old friend of mine who told me the very same things that are happening within the region, and she even knows who's behind it all."

Looker's jaw dropped. "You're kidding! Does she have special connections to get a hold of such information?"

"It's nothing like that, but I'll tell you during our flight tomorrow. For now, come with me to my office and let's go over a timeline of our course of action the moment our plane lands. We don't have a second to waste."

"Understood, Chief!"

A/N: Hello! I just wanted to give a quick thank you for everyone who has favourited and commented on this fanfic so far! Replying to comments on this site is a little strange with it being sent as a PM rather than just a regular reply but please know that I do read your comments and I appreciate every single one of them!

This fanfic is more recently updated on AO3 (Archive of Our Own) so there's actually another chapter post after this one that's on AO3!

Once again, thanks everyone!