Fortunately, perhaps because she had already been startled multiple times in a single day, Lilie recovered fairly quickly this time.
This time, Maki stood before her, holding up two Pokémon in each hand as an apology.
Whimsicott, however, looked unconvinced—it was a victim too!
"Maki, how do you know so much?"
Once she had fully recovered from the shock, Lilie finally voiced the question that had been nagging at her ever since they left Lusamine's office.
Maki didn't look much older than she was, yet he had been able to discuss topics with Lusamine that were completely beyond her understanding.
"Hmm… I just happen to know a bunch of random things," Maki replied casually, brushing it off.
The two then wandered around the conservation area for a while longer before eventually parting ways.
Back in his room, Maki had to admit—while the Aether Foundation might not be particularly formidable, they were definitely rich. His accommodations here were nearly on par with the ones he had in Team Rocket. Compared to the room he had been staying in on that lonely island just days ago, this was an absolute upgrade.
Poor Mohn, though. He had gone through all the trouble of helping Maki build that wooden house, only for Maki to disappear right after. Hopefully, Lusamine would be able to locate that little island soon.
The first thing Maki did upon returning to his room was conduct a thorough sweep for any surveillance devices. Having grown up in Team Rocket, this was a basic skill.
Fortunately, Lusamine hadn't resorted to such underhanded tactics.
After confirming that everything was in order, Maki retrieved his communication device and tapped it against the desk a couple of times in frustration. It was a Rocket-manufactured device, so why did it break so easily when their Poké Balls were known for their top-tier durability?
Without it, he had no way to contact Team Rocket from Alola. And contrary to Lusamine's speculation, while Team Rocket had indeed turned their gaze toward Alola, they had yet to take any action.
In other words, Maki was entirely on his own here.
What should I do…?
Maki mulled over his options. Would it be a good idea to hand the device over to the Aether Foundation for repairs?
After thinking it through, he realized that he had already deleted all the critical information on the device the moment it was damaged. The only messages left were trivial ones—mostly from Sabrina throwing little tantrums and being affectionate with him.
With that in mind, Maki walked out of his room and handed the device to a staff member, asking them to repair it. The response he received was that the repairs were complicated and would likely be finished by the next day.
Maki nodded—he could wait that long.
"So? Did you find any useful information?"
Lusamine watched the repair technicians from a distance, her curiosity piqued. They were holding Maki's communication device in their hands.
Though she trusted Maki to a certain extent, there was no way she would overlook a potential information source that had fallen right into her lap.
"Uh… You might want to see for yourself, ma'am."
The technician had a strange look on his face as he forwarded the extracted data to Lusamine. It was difficult for him to comment on it.
"Hmm? Is it something important?" Lusamine glanced at him in confusion before turning her attention to the data.
However, as she read through the messages line by line, her expression grew increasingly incredulous.
What is this nonsense?! You're using such a sophisticated device to flirt?!
She sighed, rubbing her temples.
Then, as if something had suddenly dawned on her, she snapped her head up and asked the technician beside her, "Has Lilie been with him all day today?"
The technician nodded solemnly. "Yes, Miss Lilie has spent a significant amount of time with him today."
Lusamine: …
Why does this feel like inviting a wolf into the house?
"Mr. Maki, your communication device has been repaired."
"Thank you very much."
Maki accepted the device from the staff member, though he couldn't shake the feeling that they were looking at him strangely.
He knew they had likely gone through the messages, but did that really warrant such an expression? Had they never seen people in a relationship before?
Lying back on his bed, Maki powered up the device. However, given how far Alola was from Kanto, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to establish a connection.
After confirming that everything was working properly, the first person he attempted to call was Giovanni. He wasn't worried about Lusamine tampering with the device—after all, Team Rocket's technology was practically alien in nature.
However, no matter how many times he tried to reach Giovanni, there was no answer. Maki frowned; Giovanni would never ignore his calls under normal circumstances.
So was the device still not fully repaired? Or was the distance too great?
Next, Maki tried calling Sabrina. This time, the call connected almost immediately.
...
Saffron City, Kanto.
"Move aside! I already told you—I'm here to challenge the Gym!"
Inside the Saffron City Gym, three people stood locked in a tense standoff. The one shouting was clearly the challenger, while the other two—a man and a woman dressed in the uniforms of Saffron Gym apprentices—exchanged helpless glances.
By the Gym's standard protocol, they shouldn't be stopping the challenger. However…
Ever since the apprentices had returned a few days ago, they had noticed that Sabrina had been in an exceptionally bad mood.
She had always been somewhat temperamental, but lately, she had been snapping at people left and right.
They were genuinely concerned that this challenger might be literally killed the moment he set foot inside the Gym.
Buddy, if you had come on any other day, we might've just given you a warning. Worst case scenario, you'd get telekinetically tossed around a bit.
But today? You really picked the worst possible time.
They exchanged uneasy glances, both wearing forced smiles as they tried to dissuade the challenger.
"You should come back another day," the male apprentice, Kade, said as politely as possible. "Our Gym Leader isn't in the best mood right now."
"Hah! What kind of excuse is that? She must be afraid of facing me! I'm destined to be the next Pokémon League Champion!"
Kade sighed, rubbing his temples.
Just another overconfident rookie who had no idea what he was walking into.
Saffron Gym had a notorious reputation as a graveyard for novice Trainers.
And right now? It might very well become a literal one.
"If you want to challenge Lady Sabrina, you'll have to get through me first."
Kade figured that maybe—just maybe—this challenger could still be saved before it was too late.
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