"How is the Darkest Day Pokemon holding up, Dr. Brezziana?"
The beautiful young female doctor gazed up from her research to kindly greet the chairman. "He seems to be going exceptionally well, Mr Rose."
Rose smiled as he lifted his hand to move a thick lock of dark brown hair that was covering his eyes. "The region of Galar is grateful for your hard work and your skills surrounding research science and Pokemon nursing."
Chairman Rose was an infamous man known by pretty much every person living in the Galar region. Being the official chairman of the Pokemon League and the president of a huge business corporation called Macro Cosmos, he was admired by many people, and for good reasons. Rose was the first leader to officially create Pokemon jobs, which allowed trainers to send their Pokemon into the workforce to gain experience and skills. As a result, Macro Cosmos birthed 14 subsidiary companies spanning widely across transport, cargo, media, television, construction and more.
Grace Brezziana was a compassionate young doctor descending from a lineage of women who studied Dynamax energy, spanning as far back since a historical time known as 'The Darkest Day' which had occurred over 3,000 years ago. Her family specialised in this field of research for almost a hundred generations, however none of them had ever witnessed the Darkest Day Pokemon in the flesh.
Everyone, except her.
The Pokemon remained in a deep slumber encased in a heavily secured pod located on the bottom floor of an energy plant underneath Hammerlocke Stadium. Draconic and alien-like in appearance, the towering creature was extremely long, his torso closely resembling a spinal column. Grace had also noticed a glowing pink core inside of him, which served as the Pokemon's energy source.
She was absolutely fascinated by the Pokemon that her family had been chasing to discover and research for over 3,000 years. However, Grace had a different motive. She didn't just want to conduct research on the Darkest Day Pokemon... In fact, she desired to become familiar with him. She wanted to understand and appreciate such a powerful creature. Maybe this Pokemon standing in front of her wasn't as destructive as Galar had made him out to be...
The Manectric that had been working a long-term contract with the energy plant cried happily and continued to generate electricity that allowed the plant's high security conductor to run efficiently. Grace loved working alongside Pokemon. As she lay her hand upon the pod that encased the Darkest Day Pokemon, she hoped that one day he might also consider joining her.
What had chairman Rose named the Pokemon again?
That's right... Eternatus.
The next day.
"Good morning Manectric!" Grace smiled as she entered the room, readjusting her bouncy light-brown curls and lab coat. "I went on a date last night after work. Sooo, before you ask or make fun of me, this is the reason why I'm all dressed up!"
"Ngaaahnug!" Manectric barked excitedly as he followed Grace towards her research desk.
"Hey!" Grace teased the electricity Pokemon, poking him softly with her pen. "The man offered to take me to the Captain's Table in Hulbury after I told him that I was highly allergic to fish. Clearly he's either a complete idiot or had other plans."
Manectric whimpered, as if to apologise about the disappointment.
"That's ok!" Grace smiled in return. "This is the exact reason why we have Pokemon!"
Grace possessed an incredible and unique gift that allowed her to interpret Pokemon language more than the average person could understand. The gift allowed her to form close relationships with many different species of Pokemon and even effectively train as a nurse to heal sick Pokemon. Many wild Pokemon in the Galar region knew about Grace because of her ability to communicate and help them. Stories spread throughout the regional Pokemon of Galar about her compassionate and caring nature towards them. She had even overheard a conversation from Leon the champion mentioning that the legendary Pokemon Zacian and Zamazenta had taken an interest in her for awhile, although she had never encountered either of them in the wild before.
Grace wondered... Had Eternatus known about her too?
"Ah, good morning Dr. Brezziana!" Rose casually entered the room while sipping a milky latte from his mug. He was slightly taken aback by her dolled-up appearance. "You look... Well... Hmm might I say very lavishing today."
Grace rolled her eyes. Ugh. She would never go there.
"Ok let's talk about what's important right now" Grace motioned the chairman towards her computer screen. "I have been utilising the wishing stars that you gathered to restore Eternatus's energy core and begin the process of awakening him from his deep slumber. It appears that I am receiving results quicker than expected."
"That's wonderful news!" Rose grinned, patting the young doctor on the shoulder. "It won't be long until we can harness the Dynamax power to secure an infinite supply of energy that will span across the entire region of Galar. You are performing an excellent service to every person and Pokemon for the future to come, Dr. Brezziana!"
"I really do hope so..." Grace sighed softly as she watched the chairman eagerly leave the room. Honestly, there was a deep part of her that just simply didn't trust him... Or maybe it was because the chairman was so impulsive... The Darkest Day Pokemon had remained in a deep slumber for many years, she didn't feel right about keeping him locked away to harness an energy supply for the future. Grace had spent her entire life helping wild Pokemon and healing their ailments so that they could run free again, not lock them away in a cage like this...
When Rose had hired Grace 6 months ago, the Dynamax Pokemon had been sickly and weak. Grace utilised her skills as both a scientist and Pokemon nurse to nurture him back to full health. Eternatus had an extremely atrocious reputation amongst the Galar region and many of Grace's close friends had even abandoned her after finding out about her passion to understand the Darkest Day Pokemon.
Grace set her alluring crystal blue eyes upon Eternatus for a short moment, and then back down towards her computer screen.
"Vital signs are looking well. The energy reaction within his core shows to be increasing in lengths and pulses by the minute. Hey Manectric, we should expect Eternatus to awake in approximately two weeks' time!"
"Ngaaahnug!" Manectric replied eagerly.
A loud and unexpected beep caused Grace to jump with fright.
"Wait... What's this?" A concerned look immediately crossed her face as her eyes darted across the computer screen. "There seems to be a severe infection rapidly spreading inside his body somewhere. Manectric, can you run a diagnostic test for me?"
The electricity Pokemon gladly obeyed the doctor's orders and jumped onto the laboratory chair to press a few buttons. Grace gradually walked closer to the energy pod that encased the Darkest Day Pokemon and was shocked when she had noticed a nasty black infection spreading through his left claw.
"Cut all power to the energy pod immediately!" Grace demanded. "I need to treat this infection right now or it could kill Eternatus!"
"Ngahnug!" Manectric was extremely hesitant and began to challenge the doctor.
Grace took off her lab coat and rushed over to a corner of the room, hastily pushing an encoded pattern to open a large safe. Pulling out a rare golden spray, she nodded towards Manectric to open the pod.
"I understand your concern Manectric. Yes, I am violating corporation rules but this Pokemon's life is at stake. I refuse to sit here and watch him die."
Manectric hmphed and reluctantly pressed a small red button that cut all electrical power and security to their level, releasing the door of the energy pod that held the towering Darkest Day Pokemon. Grace nervously stepped inside the pod, closing the door behind her as she slowly reached out to touch his body...
Eternatus felt dreadfully cold... The pink glow emanating from his energy core appeared to be diminishing rapidly...
"It's going to be ok." Grace placed her hand softly onto his chest. "Please hang in there, Eternatus."
As she sprayed the secret potion and rubbed her hand across his chest for comfort, Grace wondered if the Pokemon had understood her. She could have sworn that she had heard a soft sound of delight escape from his mouth.
As the infection began to disappear, Manectric barked with contentment to communicate that the Pokemon's vital signs and energy had returned to normal on the computer screen.
"Good job Manectric!" Grace cheered. "Now that the job is completed, I'll exit this pod. Please turn all electrical power and security back on immediately. We will proceed operations as normal. Do not speak of this incident to Rose or anybody else. Promise that you will keep what happened today a secret."
"Ngaaahnug!" Manectric nodded in agreement.
Suddenly as Grace was just about to exit the energy pod, she felt something cold and sharp brush softly against her back. She had forgotten that she'd taken off her lab coat earlier and was still wearing a revealing white lace outfit from her date the night before underneath. Oh no, this was embarrassing... The chairman couldn't see her like this...
A second interested touch instantly sent chills down her spine. Grace froze as a terrified expression crossed Manectric's face from outside the pod.
"Wait a second... Eternatus was in a deep slumber..."