Jessie, James, and Meowth backed away as the atmosphere turned tense. Giovanni remained in place, observing the interaction with his usual stoicism. Optic couldn't help looking on in confusion, and perhaps in fear of the palpable tension building before him.

Laura had dropped to all fours, snarling at her creator, with her weapon system shifting underneath her fur coat. Her eyes turned a solid red as she analyzed the unflappable old man, pinpointing every possible weak point she could find for the most damage she could deliver in five seconds. She didn't have the right parts to go at top speed like in the past, but she could surely end this man's life before he could protest.

And yet, what irritated her wasn't even his brazen comment, but how calm he remained in front of her. Not a shred of fear at his own demise standing in front of him, or even a twitch of apprehension to retreat and live another day. He just stood there looking down on her.

Waltz finally broke the silence with a scoff. "I'm surprised someone found actual use for you. So, you were bought by these three?" He glanced at them, then back to Laura. "I suppose you're suitable for a portable coffeemaker, provided you aren't the one serving it."

Laura's gears and joints tightened with horrible screeching noises. Her claws dug into the floor, leaving jagged scratch marks, as heat billowed from her body. "You…!"

Meowth, unable to watch any longer, jumped between them and held his hands out. "Alright, cool it, both of you!"

"Pretty sure Laura's the one that needs to cool it," James noted, earning a jab to the side from Jessie. "Ow!"

Waltz narrowed his eyes. "Huh, so the rumors are true. There really is a talking Meowth in Team Rocket. How incredible. It seems Pokémon are capable of learning human speech."

Meowth glared at him. "Be impressed all you want, but I'm not going to stand by and let you insult my friend."

"Meowth," Laura growled. "Get out of my—"

"And you—" He turned on Laura, shocking her. "Either you cool down or you really will be sold for scrap metal." He nodded his head toward Giovanni, where Laura noted his sinking glare targeting her.

Laura growled quietly, then sighed. She stood up and retracted her claws. She deactivated her targeting system, but kept her glare on Waltz, who scoffed and turned his attention back onto the controls.

Optic approached the pair and whispered, "(Should I ask?)"

"Later," Meowth mumbled. He pulled Laura by the shoulder and grouped back up beside Jessie and James.

Deciding to get their attention off the matter, Jessie turned and asked, "So, Dr. Waltz, you've worked with Giovanni before?"

"Hired to, but yes," he answered. "He called in some favors I owed him. He helped fund my private research in exchange for my services. Can't say I enjoy working with these mangy creatures he seeks out so badly, but he knows how to shut people up with a paycheck."

Giovanni approached Waltz's side. "And your work has been a tremendous help to the Rocket Organization. A shame you haven't taken up my offer to become one of my leading scientists."

"I have my own projects to run. If I get caught working with you people, my career's basically over." He glared at Giovanni. "Especially with that little pet project of yours that went up in smoke last week. Tch, I had to put up with that arrogant rodent for nothing…"

Giovanni glared, but brushed off his comment and turned to the group. "Regardless, Waltz's help is needed to ensure Project: Perfect Storm goes off without any unforeseen circumstances. He and the Meowstic, Optic, will run the tests and gather the necessary intel while you three prepare the Pokémon we have lined up to test the prototypes we made for the PsychoWear."

"Prototypes?" James asked.

"We reversed-engineered the PsychoWear you sent us and made expendable models solely for these tests. The Pokémon we chosen have also been carefully selected for these tests."

"You still haven't told us how these tests will be performed," Jessie said. "Is there a training program installed in the field?"

"Not exactly," Waltz interjected, pulling a remote from his pocket. "Model XG-13, come here." He clicked a button.

Another door in the control room opened. The group turned and gasped as something walked out. Laura's ears stood on end as she glowered at it. Its footsteps clanked off the floor with clear weight, rattling the quartet. In the shadows, only two red eyes and red tube structures wrapped around the machine were seen, glowing like stars. It carried a steel girder atop its shoulder, which Laura could tell had power running through it.

Waltz straightened up and gestured to the machine. "Meet XG-13, the superior version of the Muscular Pokémon, Gurdurr."

The robotic Gurdurr stepped fully into the line and slammed its girder down, shaking the group. Its expression was neutral, firm, and…well, robotic. It was enough to make Laura drop down and hiss at it.

Waltz pushed his spectacles up. "It's quite simple, really. To test the limits of the PsychoWear and any faults it may have, I constructed XG-13 here specifically to destroy anything it's set to target. With the PsychoWear, the Pokémon's preservation instincts will be heightened dramatically. This is a test to see how well the PsychoWear reacts to different Pokémon and what areas need to be adjusted for the finished device and what creature we'll be ultimately attaching it to."

Jessie approached the robot and squinted at it. "But aren't you worried about it breaking in the middle of the tests?"

James laughed. "Yeah, you should've seen how many times we've had to replace Laura's parts—" He froze, feeling Laura's piercing glare boring a hole into the back of his head.

Waltz smirked. "Unlike that outdated model, you'll find that XG-13 is much more resilient and efficient. That's the reason I agreed to Giovanni's request. I needed something to test XG-13 out, to prove its superiority over these mangy creatures."

"You've said that like three times already," Meowth muttered.

"Though, what words can I say to prove my case? The simplest option is to conduct the tests as planned and let your eyes make the judgment." Waltz glanced at Giovanni. "That is, whenever you're ready, sir."

Giovanni nodded. "I have business to conduct, so I leave them in your hands, Waltz. Direct them to the holding chamber where they'll be working." He turned and exited the control room.

Waltz pushed his spectacles up and returned to the control panel. "Meowstic, take them to the holding chamber. Have them ready in a half hour."

"(Uh, my name's…)" Optic sighed and saluted. "(Aye, sir. Come along, everyone.)"

The group followed Optic out, but Laura lagged behind. She gripped the edge of the doorway and glared back at Waltz, digging her claws into the wall. She felt her targeting system boot up again. Her rocket-mounted shoulder started popping out against her volition, but retracted them once she remembered Meowth's warning.

She sighed, then begrudgingly followed her friends.


"Of all the—"

BANG!

"People in the world to run into—"

BANG!

"It just had to be—"

BANG!

"That. Freakin'. JERK!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Meowth watched helplessly as Laura struck into the wall repeatedly. He saw signs of glitching from her twitchy movements and the sparks shooting from her eyes. It was a miracle she was discharging blasts from her energy cannons and lighting the place on fire.

Jessie and James wanted to say something, but had their hands full trying to soothe the angry Tauros they were tasked with. Jessie grabbed it by the horns and yelled, "Calm down, you stupid cow!"

"Bull," James corrected.

"Whatever! Just get the darn PsychoWear on it!"

James murmured his protests, but went over to the bronze colored, mechanical vest sitting nearby. He pulled himself over the fenced area and shuffled carefully toward the Tauros. "Easy does it, Tauros. That's it. Uncle James isn't going to hurt—"

Tauros roared and stamped his hooves madly.

"AAHH!"

Meowth and Optic ignored James' cries for mercy and walked up to the other angry beast in the room. Laura slammed her hands against the wall, shaking from her glitching. Her eyes turned to static periodically, but glowed with a low red hum.

Meowth cautiously grabbed Laura's shoulder, relieved she wasn't too hot, and said, "Laura, are you—"

"—okay? Why would I be okay?!" Laura snapped, baring her teeth at the cat. "I thought I could start anew with that jerk out of my life, only to have him waltz back in and continue where he left off! I swear, if I had these weapon upgrades back then, I would've blasted him to smithereens a long time ago!"

"Laura—" Meowth tried to say.

"You have no idea what he put me through, how he made me feel! I was too scared and confused to figure anything out, but now I know exactly what I feel! Raw, uncontested fury and a strong desire to bash his skull into the shape of a bowl!"

Meowth yelped and stepped back. Optic tilted his head. "That's…rather dark."

Laura glared at Optic. "And what about you? I thought you said he was a good doctor. He didn't even address you by name, just some mangy creature."

Optic laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. "Did I say he was a good doctor? I said he's a master with machines. The good doctor bit was more a formality on my part."

"And you think he's…?"

Optic sighed and slumped forward. "Um…difficult."

Laura huffed. "Geez, I don't remember him being nearly that contempt."

Meowth's eyes widened. "Wait, you already knew about that?"

"Hmm? I never mentioned that Waltz hates Pokémon?"

"That…explains so much," Optic mumbled.

Meowth glared in confusion. "That would explain why he called his robot superior to a Gurdurr, but why does he hate Pokémon?"

Laura shrugged. "How should I know? He was more concerned reminding me I was a mistake. I swear, I don't understand what reason he had to keep me around if I was some glitchy piece of tech—" She flinched and staggered forward. "Agh!"

Optic rubbed his chin. "I am still curious about this glitch of yours. Peculiar, if I do say so myself."

Laura rolled her eyes and straightened up. "Yeah, well, you can look me over later." She leaned back against the wall and sighed. "Waltz claims my glitch is a flaw in my system. I was designed to be efficient and resourceful, but also emotionless. Just like how he builds all his robots. So, when I started understanding concepts like happiness and love, he saw a flaw in that. He viewed me as a tool, not a living creature."

Optic crossed his arms. "To be fair, you aren't a living creature." Meowth shot a glare at him. "What? I'm right. She may be upgradeable, but her emotions are still coding and data. Complex coding, absolutely, but she can be reprogrammed."

Meowth snarled. "Laura isn't like other rob—androids. She does have emotions."

"Humans aren't any different. Brainwashing is basically reeducating someone and changing who they are. It's just that it's far less effective the traditional way, sometimes even impossible. Robots, however, can have their systems completely wiped forever."

Laura frowned and looked down at the floor.

Optic noticed this, then sighed. "That said, to disregard your feelings would be wrong of me. I'm just stating the facts. I don't agree with Waltz's judgment of you, nor do I agree with his views of you as a mere tool, but you are just metal and coding."

Laura hugged herself and curled up.

Meowth grabbed Optic by the fur and pulled him in. "What are you getting off that Laura can't be a real person?"

Optic kept his curious stare as he said, "Most scientists centuries ago would scoff at the notion of this, but creatures like you and I have souls. The only reason Laura is still with you today, despite how many times she may have been torn to pieces, is because her memory can be backed up. I imagine there are parts of her life she forgot because the memory was corrupted in some way."

Laura clutched her fur and bared her teeth.

"The nature of what defines a living creature from an artificial one is a fascinating subject," Optic continued. "Take the development of the artificial Pokémon, Porygon. There were debates about whether or not it—"

Meowth shoved Optic aside. "Just shut up."

"I'm not saying Laura's feelings aren't valid. I'm merely stating the disadvantages she'll face. How long has it been since she was first built? A year? Two?" Optic tilted his head and added, "She will eventually suffer damage too great to simply backup. A living creature's brain is vulnerable to such irreversible damage, but Laura's disadvantages are numerous by comparison. She can be rebuilt and recovered, but would effectively be dead without her memory bank."

Meowth snarled. "But she—"

"Just drop it, Meowth." Meowth and Optic turned as Laura stood up, ears drooping down. "Jessie and James probably need help."

"Laura," Meowth whispered. He reached out to her, but she batted his had away. She shoved past them halfheartedly and lumbered over to the struggling humans as they tried to slip the mechanical vest onto Tauros.

Meowth glanced at Optic, huffed, and followed Laura. Optic crossed his arms and stared curiously at them. "A machine with a soul. Hmm…"


"Phew!" Jessie huffed, wiping her brow. "That took longer than I thought."

James, comparatively worse off, hung from the Tauros' pen panting heavily. "You…didn't do anything!"

"I was supervising," Jessie countered. "Besides, Laura made sure to restrain Tauros for you. My help would've been unnecessary."

Laura, leaning against the pen, rolled her eyes and looked down glumly. "Yeah, yeah, you're welcome." Meowth frowned, but stayed quiet.

Optic returned with a pokeball. "(I see everything's in order.)" He held the device up and returned Tauros into it. "(Dr. Waltz will be waiting for us. While he's managing the control room, you four will watch from the observation hall.)"

Meowth glared. "And what about you?"

"(Oh, you will see. The test will start in five minutes. Best be timely.)" Optic left the care station, leaving the Rocket group to themselves.

Meowth sighed, then turned to Jessie and James. "Optic says to head up to the observation hall so we can watch."

"What for, exactly?" Jessie asked.

James straightened up and cracked his aching back. "Perhaps to get a better idea of what these tests entail. If our goal is to theoretically pamper the Pokémon in our care to pummel that metal mimic of a mon, it'd be good to see these prototype PsychoWears in action."

Jessie sighed. "I suppose."

Laura grinned cruelly. "I get to watch Waltz's pathetic project get torn to shreds? Sounds like fun."

Meowth winced. He knew Laura as an abrasive android, but there was something truly sinister about the way she said it. For a machine, he never realized just how much venom she had.


The group headed up and returned to the hallway they entered through, where a set of chairs had risen from the floor for them to oversee the battlefield. They took their seats, though Meowth and Laura had to stand to get a better view. They saw Optic on the battlefield, running a quick check from the looks of it.

They watched Optic slip his headset on and click a button on the side. The metal spheres attached to his pack dispatched and hovered around the battlefield like drones. A plate on each of them slid open, revealing wide red lenses. One flew over to their window and focused on them.

Jessie leaned forward and tapped the window. "What is this?"

"Ah. I forgot to mention." The Rocket group recoiled as a voice came from the other side of the window, directly from the floating eye drone. "In addition to my research here, I've made quite a few noteworthy gadgets for reconnaissance purposes. These drones are tethered to a faint link with my Psychic, allowing me to effortlessly control them. They also relay information back to me, so I see everything they see."

Laura made a weak laugh. "I guess that's why they call you Optic."

"How are you speaking to us?" James asked.

"Text-to-speech. Or rather, thought-to-speech. I made sure the synthesized voice was something more inviting than the standard robotic tone." The lens zoomed in on them. "Are you ready to oversee the test?"

Jessie looked over to where the control room was, catching the faint appearance of Waltz through the tinted windows. "I suppose so. What are we expected to do after the test is complete?"

"After the test, you will treat the test subject's injuries so that we may continue over the course of the day. Tomorrow, we will carry on with the next test subject of the day. Then the next, the next, the next, and the next until we've compiled all the data we'll need."

Jessie glared. "Sounds…about right." She leaned back and crossed her arms.

"Any more questions?" Optic asked. When no one spoke up, he said, "Excellent. Please wait patiently, Waltz will begin at any moment." The drone floated away.

Laura scoffed and leaned back against her chair. "I hope that Tauros throws that junky piece of scrap metal through the control room and blows everything up."

James patted Laura's head. "Now, now, let's not get testy. I know you don't like Waltz, but we have to look good for the boss, especially if we want to know what he's up to."

"Still, of all the people he could've hired…" Laura grumbled. Meowth frowned and turned away. Jessie seemed to narrow her eyes at Laura, like she wanted to say something, but focused back on the battlefield as Optic's drones got into position.

Optic had returned to the control room and handed the pokeball to Waltz, who inserted it into a deposit chute. He pressed a few buttons and fired the pokeball into the battlefield, releasing a very angry Tauros who immediately rampaged around the battlefield, kicking and ramming his head into the walls.

One of the drones swooped by and retrieved the pokeball with a stasis beam and carried back to the control room through a partially open window. Once the window closed, Waltz pressed a button and opened a sliding door on his side of the battlefield.

The Tauros stopped his rampaging and turned around. He flared his nostrils and clicked his hoof against the floor as the robotic Gurdurr emerged onto the field, carrying its girder under its arm.

Meowth leaned against the window and glared. "I have to wonder. Did Waltzy ever mention what the purpose of that girder was?"

"Aside from being a heavy blunt instrument?" Jessie mumbled before shrugging. "Who's to say?"

"I hope Tauros bucks it through the control room and impales that old coot," Laura snarled. Meowth shifted away from Laura and kept his eyes on the battlefield.

They heard a speaker click on above their heads. "PsychoWear Analysis, Test 1. Collecting data on the device's effects on aggressive creatures. Now activating."

They looked down and watched the suit's core light up. The Tauros froze for a moment, then reared his head back and let out a deafening battle moo. They watched the bull's muscles tense and expand, trembling the ground with each clattering stomp. They saw the intense red glow of the bull's eyes, locking onto the robotic Gurdurr.

"That certainly brings back memories," James mumbled.

"Destroy that bucket of bolts, Tauros!" Laura cheered, slamming her fists against the glass.

"Laura, calm down!" Meowth cried, pulling her back onto the seat.

Optic's drones got into position around the battlefield. "All set, sir!"

"Good," Waltz's voice hummer over the speakers. "Test 1 starts…now!"

Tauros clicked his hooves on the floor, mooed, and charged the machine. The bull's muscles bulged and tensed, bursting with power each time they kicked off the floor to gain a bit more speed in his tackle. For the unprepared, Tauros soared like a missile.

The Gurdurr robot lifted its hands and caught Tauros by the horns. The force pushed the robot back, where it had to dig its heels down. Tauros didn't relent and pushed against his target stubbornly. He put everything into his hindlegs and started pushing Gurdurr toward the wall.

James cupped his chin in awe. "Amazing. It seems to be overpowering Waltz's machine."

Jessie glared. "I don't think we've seen everything yet."

Jessie's assertion hit true as the veins on the robot's arms started pumping. Its eyes flashed red as the arms, steam jettisoning from the ear canals. It dug its feet down and pushed back on the Tauros until they were equal in strength. Tauros huffed, feeling another surge of energy crackling through his body from the PsychoWear. He felt his strength rising, but the robot continued to match it.

Soon, the robot started pushing back at Tauros instead, and with increasing speed. What started as a slow trudge like pushing a farming plow through the fertile soil escalated into a full body charged equal to a locomotive going at top speed. With one hand grappled around the throat and the other pushing into the bull's underside, the robot rammed Tauros at full power into the opposing wall.

The shock pulsated through the closed off arena, rattling the windows and the observers' seats. James clamped down to the sides of his chair while Jessie braced herself against the window's ledge. Meowth tumbled out of his seat while Laura barely noticed, too transfixed on watching the test.

The Tauros struggled against the robot's grip before managing to get a clean headbutt off. XG-13 tilted backwards, giving Tauros enough wiggle room to ran it with full force. Tauros picked XG-13 up with his horns and threw it across the floor.

The robotic Gurdurr dug its fingers down and stopped itself. It resumed targeting Tauros, who broke into a windbreaking gallop. The air crackled around the bull, then an explosion of energy burst from around him. A purple field crackling in yellow sparks.

"That's Giga Impact!" James said.

Laura grinned. "Yes, yes! Destroy that quack's stupid robot!"

The robot raised its head and glared at the charging bull. It raised the girder clutched in one hand as energy pumped through the vein-like tubes in its arm. A purple energy crackled across the surface of the girder. Gripping the metal instrument like a bat, it swung into the charging bull and batted it across the head.

The Team Rocket quad gasped as the Tauros went sailing into the air and crashed down on the other side of the training room. They watched as the poor Pokémon convulsed and mooed in pain, purple sparks crackling off its body.

"Ingenious, wouldn't you agree?" They heard Waltz' voice project over the intercom. "Pokémon's physical limitations hold them back from their true power. Pain is an unfortunate fact of the body, and an exploitable weakness. My dear XG-13 uses a form of paralysis developed by me that delivers jolts to the body's pain receptors."

"What?!" Team Rocket gasped.

"Giovanni wanted me to push the limits of the PsychoWear. If these creatures want even half a chance of matching the strength of XG-13, they better hope the PsychoWear can nullify that pain real quick."

The Tauros, anger flaring up within, pushed himself onto his hooves and snarled at the robot. Fighting through the pain, he charged back at the robot with Giga Impact. However, the agonizing jolts crackling through his body slowed his charge.

"Finish it."

The robot set its girder down and reared its fist back. Energy pumped through its tubes and inflated the arm like it was increasing its muscle mass. Steam jettisoned from the shoulder. It locked its sensors onto the charging bull and cracked its fist into its head.

The Tauros froze, his Giga Impact failing, and stared at the robot blankly. Team Rocket pressed their faces against the observation window and watched in disbelief as the Tauros collapsed to the floor. The PsychoWear powered down, and his powered-up muscles went back to normal.

"Tch. What a disappointment. Lackies!" The team flinched under Waltz's tone. "Collect the creature and have it up in forty-five minutes."

Jessie and James shared a concerned look with each other before heading down to the training room. Meowth and Laura lagged behind, still stuck on the pitiful sight.

Meowth patted his android companion's shoulder. "Sorry, Laura."

She gritted her teeth and glared at the control room. She could feel Waltz's smug attitude bleeding through the glass. Her weapon system shifted beneath her fur, but she forced herself to disengage. She shoved past Meowth and followed after Jessie and James.

Meowth frowned as she left, then turned his attention back down at the training room. "This is a lot for her to take in."