Lusamine had called Maki over with no other intention than to conduct a physical examination. She wanted to see if passing through an Ultra Wormhole had caused any changes to his body.
The answer was, of course, no. Maki was perfectly normal—if anything, too normal. The only issue was…
"President, we've detected a unique energy fluctuation from Mr. Maki's body. It appears somewhat similar to the energy emitted by the Ultra Wormholes," a researcher excitedly reported to Lusamine.
"A unique energy?" Lusamine turned her gaze toward him.
"Yes, and it also bears some resemblance to the Totem Pokémon's aura. Of course, it doesn't have the same special effects—just a distinct energy field," the young researcher elaborated.
Maki raised an eyebrow upon hearing that. So humans who pass through an Ultra Wormhole end up carrying an energy signature similar to the Totem Aura? That was something he hadn't known before.
Totem Pokémon were a phenomenon unique to the Alola region.
These Pokémon were significantly larger than their regular counterparts, and their Totem Aura enhanced their combat abilities. That was precisely why, when Maki had encountered that Arcanine in Kanto, he had instinctively associated it with a Totem Pokémon.
Apparently, the origin of the Totem Aura was already linked to Ultra Wormholes in some way. Thankfully, the energy on Maki's body had no such effects—if he actually started growing larger like a Totem Pokémon, he would have been miserable.
"But we still can't confirm whether this is a phenomenon exclusive to those who enter Ultra Wormholes. We need additional test subjects."
"Looks like we'll need to find… Looker?"
Even saying that name out loud felt awkward. What was that guy thinking when he picked it? Was he really that full of himself to go by a codename like 'Looker'?
"This is something you'll have to handle on your own. We can't intervene."
Maki, having completed the examination, stepped forward. Whether it was Looker or Anabel, Team Rocket wasn't in a position to make a move against them… Simply put, the price the Aether Foundation was willing to pay wasn't high enough for Team Rocket to take such a risk. After all, doing so would mean going up against both the Pokémon League and the International Police.
Right now, Team Rocket was in a period of strategic retreat—they couldn't afford a direct confrontation with the League.
Also… for some reason, Maki couldn't shake the feeling that someone was looking at him strangely.
It was the lead researcher, a man well past his prime, who kept staring at him. Maki couldn't help but wonder—did this guy have some kind of peculiar hobby?
After spending a little more time cooperating with the research, Maki finally left—along with Lusamine. He had some business with her.
Lilie followed as well, mainly because staying in Aether Paradise all the time was getting boring. Plus, Pokémon School was currently on break.
"Is there something else?"
Lusamine smiled as she looked at Maki, then cast a brief glance at Lilie, as if something was on her mind.
Maki, oblivious to this, got straight to the point. "I want some Z-Crystals."
"Z-Crystals?"
Z-Crystals were essential for using Z-Moves. Similar to Key Stones and Mega Stones, but with the key difference that a Trainer only needed to carry them to unleash a Z-Move with their Pokémon.
"Ahem. Of course, I'm not asking for them for free—I'll trade you this Mega Stone."
As he spoke, Maki pulled a Mega Stone from his pocket—though he had no idea which Pokémon it belonged to.
"A Mega Stone!?"
Lusamine was momentarily speechless.
Was this what they meant by 'the neighbor's prodigal child'? He could just casually pull out a Mega Stone like it was nothing. Even the Aether Foundation had only a handful of them.
"Maki… You just carry something like this around all the time?" Lilie was stunned by his sheer disregard for value.
"Not really, I just happened to pick it up by accident."
Lusamine: …
At least come up with a more believable lie.
"This is a Houndoomite."
After examining it for a moment, Lusamine identified it.
"That's right." Maki nodded along—even though he hadn't known what Pokémon it was for.
A Houndoomite was a mid-to-high-tier Mega Stone in terms of value. After all, Mega Houndoom not only gained a significant stat boost but also replaced its lackluster abilities with Solar Power—the same ability as Mega Charizard Y, making its offensive power skyrocket.
The value of a Mega Stone largely depended on the strength of the Pokémon it was associated with. Take Audino's Mega Evolution, for example—utterly useless in battle, good for nothing except taking hits.
"If it's a Houndoomite… its value is roughly equal to three standard Z-Crystals," Lusamine estimated. "I'm referring to the generic ones."
Z-Crystals were rare, but compared to Mega Stones, they were still more common. Plus, the Tapu guardians could produce them, albeit in very limited quantities.
While Z-Crystals could occasionally be damaged, such occurrences were rare.
Mega Stones, on the other hand, were finite—what existed now were simply those buried underground waiting to be unearthed. As Mega Evolution became more widely known, their value would only increase.
So, in most cases, trading a Mega Stone for Z-Crystals wasn't exactly a profitable exchange.
When Lusamine said "generic Z-Crystals," she was referring to Normalium Z, Firium Z, Waterium Z, and the like.
Non-generic Z-Crystals, however, were exclusive to certain Pokémon.
For example, the most well-known Pikashunium Z, which upgraded Thunderbolt into the more powerful 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt, or the Eevee-exclusive Extreme Evoboost, which dramatically raised all stats.
Because these exclusive Z-Crystals were rarer and significantly more powerful, they were valued much higher.
"That's too low—four."
Maki countered without hesitation.
"If it were a Salamencite or Metagrossite, maybe. But not for this." Lusamine shook her head. Being based in Alola meant the Aether Foundation had a relatively larger supply of Z-Crystals—but it wasn't like they were mass-produced!
"If it were a pseudo-legendary's Mega Stone, I wouldn't be trading it in the first place. Four." Maki scoffed.
"Three. That's final."
"…Fine. Three it is. I'll take a Normalium Z, a Firium Z, and a Darkinium Z."
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