Alex and Maria found a quiet place to talk but didn't start the discussion straight away.
Without a moment's hesitation, Alex pulled Gardevoir out of her Pokéball and said, "Can you watch out that no Ghost-type Pokémon is present, eavesdropping while hiding in a shadow?"
Although it was very, very unlikely for something like that to happen, Alex didn't want to take any risks if he can prevent it.
Maria, who saw that Alex had called out a Psychic-type Pokémon, realized his constant vigilance and understood the reason behind it.
She said with a solemn expression, "Well, now that we can talk, I wanted to ask you what you think about this meeting with the Boss."
"Hmm... Hard to say. I don't know any more than you that it's about a special position."
"Yes, I also heard that. As far as I know, at least Marco and Janine will also come. Although I don't know 100% for sure, it wouldn't make sense otherwise."
Alex looked curiously in the direction of Maria as he said, "And, why did you called me here to meet to talk about it today?"
Maria looked at Alex for a few seconds and said placidly, "Although we haven't known each other for long, I would like to say that we have built up at least a little bit of trust."
Alex interrupted Maria with a knowing smile, "You want us to work together on the test?"
"Not necessarily. I don't know what the test is about yet, but I think it would be good if we keep this option open beforehand."
She paused for a moment before saying, "I just recently became an Elite trainer and only have two Pokémon at LV 40. Although I'm not sure how strong you are, having seen your Gardevoir, who I assume is at LV 42, your Scizor and Crobat should also have a similar level. But even if you still have a bit of strength hidden, you are a good deal weaker than Marco and Janine."
Alex had to admit that he had underestimated Maria a bit. The fact that Maria was already on the Elite rank at her age is quite impressive.
She has the same talent as a weak Gym leader at this age which is really amazing. Maria shouldn't have a problem becoming a powerful Elite trainer after a few years and later, an Executive.
Alex, who knew how to separate his professional and personal life, showed a deadpan face when he said, "Why are you telling me that? Why are you choose to tell your opponent your strength, whether true or false?"
Maria, looking at Alex with a poker face, couldn't help but show a faint smile. She felt that Alex was looking a little handsome right now.
"Wait, I'll explain exactly why. At the Team Rocket Rookie tournament almost 4 months ago, both Marco and Janine were already Elite trainers. So I think it's fair to say that they both have a great level advantage over you."
"The reason I am telling you this is because I know that I can't win this test, but I can help you win this test."
Alex showed a slightly suspicious expression when he said, "This sounds too good to be true."
Maria showed a slight smirk that looked a bit creepy with her cold, sharp eyes. But to Alex, it looked very cute.
"We can talk more about what you can give me as a reward later. But I can tell you now that it won't be cheap."
Alex understood what Maria was going for and why she had brought the strength of other competitors beforehand.
'Smart,' thought Alex as he saw through Maria's tactics.
He gave a warm smile as he said, "Maria, of course, I would be very delighted to get your help. Don't worry, if we have the chance to work together, I'll come up with an appropriate reward for your help."
Maria looked at Alex for a few seconds with scrutinizing eyes. "Alex, the only reason why I came to you and not to the other two participants is that we already know each other a bit, and I trust you more than them."
After a short pause, she gave a threatening glare as she said, "But if you try to deceive me, I'll make you end up like the last person who tried that."
Alex didn't show a fearful expression but a curious one. "Oh... So, what did you do with the other person?"
Maria showed a playful expression when she said, "Hmm, Sure. I don't mind telling you."
"After I was kicked out of the orphanage, I tried to find a job and met this one disgusting man. Long story short, he tried to turn me into a prostitute. And he was almost successful because I was alone and weak at that time."
After she said that, her eyes started to glow with madness when she said, "But he picked the wrong person for this. When he tried to put a disgusting part in my mouth, I bit right through it and made sure that it will never work again. I just made him pay for what he tried to do with me. I thought he was going to kill me for it, but I overestimated this man."
"He screamed loudly and didn't move at first. Then started wailing and flailed around while covering the damaged part."
"I took advantage of this chance and jumped out the window and ran for my life. After hiding in the garbage, I escaped my late pursuits."
Alex, knowing that Maria was willing to tell him such a personal story, felt her trust in him.
He knew that Maria didn't want pity and if he guessed it right, she thinks this situation is nothing misfortunate. The strong eat the weak. And as the weak one, she defeated someone stronger than her, which made her very proud. Since she said this was the last person who tried that, this encounter might have motivated her to join Team Rocket.
Maria and Alex talked together for several hours about different personal experiences. This led them to understand the other person better.
Both had a kind of madness and cold character, but neither was really crazy or sadistic.
*****
[EN]: remember guys, CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!!
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It was an early morning filled with the chirping of many low-level Pidgey. Due to Alex's room not being on a higher floor, he could hear them even in the sleepy state. It was almost time for him to wake up. So he removed his laziness and woke up. As he sat on the bed for few seconds with his half-closed eyes, he first stretched his body to remove the rigidness left due to the night's sleep. After a big yawn, he got out of the bed.
The meeting with Maria yesterday had gone pretty well, and later he went out to eat lunch with Maria.
Although the two are not officially together yet, the conversation had a real impact on Alex and Maria's relationship, who exchanged relatively openly.
Alex told Maria a lot about his personal stuff. Though, the secrets such as how he earned his money or having a system were kept secret.
Especially how he earns his money; Alex would like to never tell anyone. And even if he trusts Maria completely, he would probably keep it hidden.
The secret with the system is not dangerous anyway because he cannot prove that he has a system. Of course, he does not want to let anyone know that either.
But if somebody finds out that he said that he has a system, he/she would probably first think that Alex has a problem with his head. Especially since the people in Pokémon don't know what exactly is a 'system'.
Alex went to the kitchen and, like every morning, started preparing breakfast for everyone.
He was a bit excited today because he will be meeting Giovanni today and get the chance to achieve a special position.*
...
3 hours later, a 20 years old Team Rocket member, who had an average, at best, face, made his way to Lisa's office.
Alex, who had entered the Team Rocket base with his new identity, was on his way with the excuse of having an appointment with Lisa (which Lisa had confirmed).
He knocked on Lisa's door and only opened it when she said, "Come in~."
Alex entered the office and saw that Maria was already there waiting. It looked as if both partners had a good talk and got along well.
Lisa showed a knowing look and said, "You know~, Alex. Your new face is really average. Isn't that a bit of a waste~?"
Alex, who knew that Lisa had naturally known about his new ID, responded with a smile, "It's good that it's so average. The fewer impressions I leave, the better."
Lisa smiled provocatively.
But then she said solemnly, "Okay, let's not keep Boss waiting any longer. Alakazam!"
Alakazam, who was standing next to Lisa, immediately teleported Maria and Alex.
Alex, Maria, and Alakazam disappeared from the office. After a few seconds, Alakazam reappeared in the office.
Alakazam looked in the direction of Lisa and said telepathically, "The boy has started to train his talent."
Lisa gave a curious look and asked, "Ohh~ Can you judge what talent he has?"
"Yes, it should be rank 3. But it's still at the beginning and doesn't have a lot of Psychic-energy in his body."
"Rank 3, hmm~ Rank 3 is good but also nothing special. By the way, why didn't you tell me at the first meeting?"
Alakazam gave a small smile when she said, "Before, he was a poor guy that you can overlook if you don't look for it directly. Now it's a little different."
Lisa showed a thoughtful expression and said, "From now on, test the potential of people who come in here every time, got it~?"
Alakazam just nodded in reply.
...
Alex and Maria were teleported into a beautifully decorated room at the same time.
Alakazam, who teleported with the two of them, had only stayed there for 5 seconds before teleporting away again.
Alex looked around the room and saw 3 different people standing in the room.
A short man with a Forretress next to him, a young girl with purple hair and a sharp look that can kill someone, and a young, handsome man with eyes that looked like a falcon.
Alex immediately looked at the info of the only Pokémon present in this room.
-------------------------------
Pokémon: Forretress
LV: 53
Type: Bug/Steel
Ability: Sturdy
Gender: Male
Potential: Gold
Moves:
- Protect, Tackle, Self-Destruct, Bug Bite, Take Down, Rapid Spin, Bide, Natural Gift, Spikes, Payback, Iron Defense, Gyro Ball, Double-Edge
- (Innate Talent) Explosion [M], (Innate Talent) Endure [E], (Innate Talent) Hyper Beam
- (TM) Earthquake, (TM) Toxic, (TM) Substitute
--------------------------------
Alex, who saw this information, couldn't help but suck in a long breath of surprise, looking at this little man as a crazy one. And he recognized this little man almost immediately, too.
That was Carr that Alex had seen in a Pokémon manga and is known for having Forretress almost exclusively and using it as a bomb.
'Who in their right mind only trains one move effectively?' thought Alex.
This is also the first time Alex saw such a powerful Pokémon that hasn't trained all of its Innate Talent moves at least to the Expert rank. That showed that this short man had used most of the training time with the [Explosion] and only trained [Endure] a bit to use it in a combo with it.
'Wait, how do you train the move Explosion? If it's how I am imagining it, it should be almost impossible to train this move on the Master rank. Carr must have a trick to train it easier,' thought Alex.
Carr didn't wait for a second and said with a professional smile, "Ok, now that everyone is here, let's go. Follow me, everyone."
Then he opened the door and led the group.
Alex walked next to Maria and looked at the other two participants.
He first looked at Janine, whom he recognized from the games. He knows that she will be a Gym leader in the future.
Janine also looked at Alex, who was still wearing his Ditto mask. But she showed no expression or emotions when she looked at him. For her, each of these people was an obstacle to overcome as quickly as possible. Though she was a bit confused why this 20-year-old nobody trainer was also a participant.
Alex, who saw this blank mask of a face, thought inwardly, 'This really is a look of an assassin. Though they call themselves ninja.'
Then he looked in the direction of Marco, who ignored him.
Marco did not appear in the games or manga, so Alex had no information regarding him. He had only heard that Marco's deceased father was a top member in Team Rocket, and that's all he knows.
After less than 1 minute, the group arrived in front of a large door. Carr, who had led them there, said goodbye with the words, "Ok, I have completed my task. I'll be going then."
_____________________
[EN]: * Giovanni fanboy spotted.
[AN]: Of course I am that, editor.
Giovanni is my favorite character along with Cynthia. Giovanni from manga and Cynthia from the game.
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