“Let us simply use the thing!” his partner exclaimed, gesturing with both hands – and to Abratwo’s frustration he found that he couldn't see any reason to argue. Always annoying when he sweeps a good idea out from under me… it is lucky it doesn't happen often.
[Fine. Mokusen,] the clone sent to Hypno's lesser counterpart, [Who holds the stone? The human, or I?]
A slightly wider grimace. “Technically either is possible, though I would suggest that the trainer hold it; less chance that…” The scientist trailed off, and Abratwo saw him visibly reconsider. Yes, with the manner that we battle Kiribo is as likely to be struck as I. Without further words the clone telekinetically lifted his hat, and reverently placed the Sync Stone atop his head before replacing the garment.
“Splendid! Now, let us combine our manly energies and burst forth into a new form!” With another gesture Kiribo whirled, his greatcoat flapping, and despite the fatigue from besting that other human across multiple minutes his motions were smooth. “Come, my partner! Let us attempt Mega Evolution – and then a Z-Move, and perhaps even a Sync Move!”
“You won't be able to do that,” Mokusen commented. “Not all in a row.”
“Bah! Prepare to have your preconceptions broken!”
It took a good while for Dabi to make his way over – long enough for Hoshi to realise his Pokémon had caught wind of the change in atmosphere, making any further attempt at group training next to useless. They were a bit aggrieved when I was ‘dueling’ Kiribo, but now they're just plain anxious. Not a good work environment – so he returned all but Guts.
The raticate was as keyed-up as the rest, but standing next to her trainer without the bustle of the other Pokémon was settling her down. She squeaked, and Hoshi stopped inspecting her fur to see that the Rocket Professor was finally done.
“Mutsu,” he called. “Your rat is ready?”
Ready? Hoshi's eyes found Casca’s, and he received an uncertain look. “We're actually going to try it?” I'd really rather not – you say it's fixed, but I'm gonna need a bit of actual proof before I risk sucking out all my… DNA. That probably wasn't exactly what the stones used as fuel, but he wasn't a biologist; the more technical aspects of it were solidly over his head.
“Indeed. Aiki! The Key Stone.”
For a moment the enforcer wanted to protest, but as Arlo – and James and Meowth – approached a whisper in his ear made him reconsider. “Have one of them use it first,” Casca hissed. “As a demonstration. If they refuse, it isn't safe.”
Good idea. And so when the junior executive reached into a different pocket and drew out a slightly more opaque, nearly metallic bead, Hoshi received it with a smile. The surface has a rainbow sheen. No helix..? A little one-handed finagling got both it and the slightly larger Raticatite into his palm, where they reflected the hallway’s scattered floodlights. Ah, it's there, just more subtle – straight grey, no second colour. “Is it finally time to get things moving along?” Arlo questioned, voice sour but still smug underneath, and Dabi replied with a grunt.
“Be patient; the safety lecture comes first. Now…” The scientist turned Hoshi's way again. “This is important, so don't interrupt. Mega Evolution may be a relatively well-understood phenomenon, but there are risks. Your Pokémon might become violent, or simply lose control of its strength – ideally we would make the first attempt in a wide-open area, but the current surroundings will have to do.
“To begin, press the Mega Stone to your monster’s forehead – no, not now! Let me finish – and hold the Key Stone tightly in your hand. Once you get a handle on the transformation you won't need direct skin contact, but it helps to begin.”
Huh, I just noticed – he's been wearing his own Key Stone this whole time. Dabi had his secured to a clasp attached to his tie, the reflective stone looking like no more than a fashion statement. I should've guessed he wouldn't be wearing normal jewellery; he's too much of a tightass for that.
“The Raticatite will, assuming your monster is of sufficient strength, cling to their body. Again, subsequent use will see direct contact become irrelevant, but it's essential to forming the bond the first time. When both stones are attached, you should feel a…” Like Arlo had earlier Dabi fished for a word, though unlike the former he was successful. “Divot, one could say, in your perception. A place that turns inward, and a new mental muscle to go with it. That is the connection point, where you will provide the bulk of the deoxyribonucleic energy necessary for Mega Evolution.”
He paused again, and after a moment Hoshi assumed he was done – and Dabi was. “With a Sync Stone, the bond is much more fluid,” James exposited, continuing the lecture. “But a Mega Stone is narrower, more rigid. This is a good thing for us, since it makes usage a snap-” A sharp crack from his fingers provided the requisite sound effect. “-But that rigidity makes it fragile. The wrong thought can break your link and cause a premature devolution – which is a problem, since you and your Pokémon will be fatigued afterwards.”
“Very tired,” Meowth chimed in. “Can't battle after. Accidentally stop, fight’s over – for that ‘mon and you, at least.”
Hoshi nodded, silently filing away the information that Meowth had either Mega Evolved himself, or maybe been on the human end of things using his clone… ness. Or he's just seen it and his language problems are making it seem otherwise. “Okay, that sounds relatively straightforward.” I suppose it would have to be, for people to have figured it out in the first place. “You said I need a radio signal?”
A sharp nod from the scientist. “I will provide that for this attempt. If your raticate goes berserk, I will simply cut the broadcast.”
“Are you ready to begin?” Arlo followed. “We all have other things to do today.”
Sure, sure, you fat-headed weasel. But first… Hoshi did his best to look uncertain – an expression that came easily, seeing as it was real. “Uh, do you think I can see it first? I've never actually seen Mega Evolution in person – and if Guts does go off the rails, I'd feel a lot safer with another Mega right there.” That's reasonable – real fucking reasonable. Can't argue with the minimum amount of safety, right?
Apparently Arlo didn't agree, because he only rolled his eyes – but Dabi, continuing to be less of an ass than Hoshi’s right hand would attest to, grunted with a tone that might possibly have been affirmative. “A not unwise precaution. Andre, come out.”
A lazy toss, a flash, and once again the enforcer was face-to-collar with his coworker’s massive machamp. It was just as superlatively muscular as every other time Hoshi has seen the thing, its four arms held loosely and its beaked face supported by a neck thicker around than the human’s waist. “Maa…” it groaned into the silence, already more animated than the other night. Arcus, did it get bigger..?
Probably just his nerves playing tricks on him – but then Dabi’s backpack opened, four mechanical tendrils sprouting like vines, and the plant simile wasn't at all lessened as their tips unfurled into what were probably very stylised radio dishes. Is that..? Why do they look like Arcean halos? They really did; remove the centre where an antenna jutted out, and they would be an exact match. Is Dabi religious? Ugh, I've had enough of myths and legends butting into my shit, I don't wanna think about Arcus being real too…
An electrical foosh, and then the machamp was definitely growing. Hoshi took an instinctive step back as Andre tensed, a low growl issuing from its – probably his, with the name – throat, and gained another solid foot of height… and that was far from the only change. The Pokémon’s trio of crests grew longer, curving back as his beak similarly elongated and the soft scales covering his skin grew rougher.
“Mega Evolutions are as varied as the normal variety,” Dabi narrated as his monster transformed. Light enveloped the machamp, seemingly coming from cracks in his thickening hide – but the spectacle wasn't quite enough to obscure what was happening, and Hoshi's eyes were wide open despite the intensity. “But a common theme is atavism, the resurfacing of ancestral features. Look upon the fruits of my mother's labours, the ancient form of an age long past!”
With a grunt – pain, but a satisfying pain – two additional arms erupted from the machamp’s sides. His beak, already the most reptilian feature of his body, now jutted forward and down to the savage point of a carnivore. His huge back hunched as his legs went from humanoid to clawed – and even if the scientist hadn't said anything, Hoshi would have definitely seen something dinosaur in the evolving Mega.
A second eruption of light, a roar, and then it was done. Arc. Fuck, that's… big. It was an understatement; while the ‘mon’s height had grown a bit its mass must have tripled at the very least. The enforcer could only stare as the Mega Machamp took a step that splintered the floor, his clawed feet digging into the wood as a full six arms flexed. They alone were the only semblance of the human form remaining – save for the thickness of the scales running across their skin, they were unchanged. Arc.
“Holy fuck,” Casca said from his side, and Hoshi couldn't have agreed more. Even Guts seemed cowed, the first time he'd seen her less than raring to go.
And Dabi, for his part, didn't seem to be dying any faster either. “Quite. Are you ready to begin, Mutsu?” The words passed through the enforcer's ears, but it took his brain a moment to acknowledge them – Andre was simply too awe-inspiring. It looks like a raptor – or an archeops. Like some kind of fossil Pokémon. The crests on top of the Mega Machamp’s head had even unfurled into lines of crimson feathers, increasing the avian factor substantially.
Then a cleared throat snapped him back to reality. Hoshi blinked, looked down to meet Guts’s eyes, and found that although his girl was still more than a little wary she was also determined. “Y-yeah,” he said, deciding to not begrudge himself a stutter given the circumstances.
“Good,” Dabi concluded with a nod. He was smiling, no doubt from Hoshi's reaction, and again the enforcer found there was no room in his head for irritation to bloom. “Well? Get to it; Aiki wasn't wrong, we have other things to be doing.”
And so, after taking thirty seconds to calm himself, Hoshi Mutsu found himself the centre of attention. The only people not turned his way were Kiribo and his alakazam, the rest of the gathered Rockets scattered against the walls in order to be as far away as possible from what might soon turn into an enraged Mega.
And I can't blame them either; I sure don't feel like I can do this. But after a second’s wavering he looked down at his Pokémon, and his stance hardened. No. If Dabi can do this, why can't I? He isn't better than me. And that smug Unovan butterball was watching too – he had to pull this off, if only out of spite. So Hoshi took a calming breath, and kneeled to press the Mega Stone to Guts’s forehead. “Let's give it our all. You ready girl?”
She chittered inquisitively as the stone made contact – and to her trainer’s surprise, the Raticatite sunk through her fur and skin before he could think to let up the pressure. It went halfway in – enough to go through her skull, what the fuck – before encountering resistance, and Hoshi, spooked but holding himself steady, let go and simply observed.
Guts didn't appear injured, at least; she only pawed at her forehead, giving another questioning squeak. It's fine. She isn't hurt – the stone is just… Interfacing with her, I guess.
Not at all what I pictured when Dabi used the word cling, but assholes will be assholes. He stood, and then took another deliberate breath as his fist curled tight around the tiny smooth bead of his Key Stone. For long seconds Hoshi searched for the ‘divot’ the scientist had mentioned, a fluttering panic gaining strength with the unfolding failure – everyone is watching, I must look like an idiot just standing here – before that same panic bid him to cheat.
So he started burning fuel, hoping to skim the answer off of Dabi’s brain – and apparently that was the answer, because the ephemeral ‘fuel line’ he pushed at to do psychic shit had suddenly gained a second outflow. Arcus fucking- that's not even real! That's a fucking metaphor I use to keep my powers from doing shit when I'm not paying attention!
…Whatever. Teeth clenched in both frustration and effort, he sent a trickle of psychic brainpower down the line – and Guts went rigid. “Steady, girl. This is a good thing.” His own voice sounded distant, like reality was far away, and the panic that had been killed began rising up again. Fuck, don't break up. Don't start hallucinating now you gigantic bitch, just- just don't.
But no amount of mental or physical effort seemed to help, and against his will Hoshi was growing. His stubby limbs itched as they lengthened, the dense muscle within remaining lithe even as it multiplied. His body, too, expanded, and he dropped to all fours as his spine arched. There was pain, but it wasn't the pain of injury – it was relief, the satisfying rasp of tooth against wood and stone, the sensation of sharp claws pulling a tangle of fur free. I… This is… His ribs and pelvis grew further apart as the vertebrae connecting them drew out, organs shifting slowly like clouds drifting across the sky. His fur lengthened to match his burgeoning size, growing darker and thicker and tougher. The bones of his paws did the same, each joint becoming more articulated and each claw sharper.
Guts..? Don't- don't lose it, I'm Hoshi, I'm an Arc-damned human being-
He was partially broken apart, Hoshi realised as he resisted the urge to sink into the ongoing Mega Evolution; it wasn't nearly as bad as the episode he'd been sent through from the ninjas’ poison – or the rerun he'd experienced just a few days ago under anesthetic – but his mind was once more fragmented into drifting points of light.
Partially fragmented, only a little – I need to- to pull myself together-!
Even as he thought it, sensations from Guts continued to flow in. Under the torrent of energy his snout and the jaws beneath were extending, his teeth growing out to fill the empty space. His incisors, especially, were pushing themselves out from his gums like a quartet of diglett surfacing from damp earth. Keep it together! Keep it-! His tail though, his tail was growing even faster, extending into thick coils of muscle that felt strong enough to hold his weight all on its own. Her weight. Guts’s weight.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Finally, slowly – or slow-seeming, at least – the trainer’s efforts bore fruit. The scattered stars came together, senses and thoughts realigning, and he was a man again; Hoshi opened his eyes into a squint against the light of his raticate’s nearly-complete transformation, his teeth grit in effort and his left hand clutching the Key Stone so hard its curve might be permanently imprinted into his palm.
His re-actualisation had an unintended effect though; it had stifled the flow of power between him and his Pokémon, and as he watched Guts’s evolution slowed – then actually began to regress. “No!”
“Control it, Mutsu!" Dabi cried. "Your mental state must be unwavering!”
Fuck off, I'm trying! And he was – he was trying really fucking hard to force energy into the connection without falling back into his raticate's brain. More- come on, more-! Why is this so much harder than starting it?! A mighty push, his face caught in a rictus snarl that matched the great rat’s own as her newly powerful body began failing – and whatever blockage that existed was blown past. Hoshi's breath was knocked from him as his tank, already low from facing Kiribo, completely bottomed out – and then the connection began burning through something else.
And yet again, that was apparently exactly what was needed. In a flash of light the Mega revolution completed, and Guts roared.
Like Andre, the transformation was extensive; where Guts had stood at only slightly over two feet tall as a raticate, even when upright, as a Mega she’d gained a third despite returning to a quadrupedal stance. If she went up on her hind legs… Seven feet? And that's not even counting the tail. She was easily as long horizontally as an arcanine, though she lacked that Pokémon’s mass. No, she was lithe, probably no more than tripling in weight despite her changes overshadowing the machamp’s – as Dabi had said, there was a return to a base form in play. Her body’s proportions were closer to a rattata, though not nearly exact; she retained the thicker, shorter neck of her evolved form, her head and body fused into a single piece, and her tail remained nude even as its tip had curled in to recapture a more juvenile look.
Her fur, too, followed suit; Guts was now black and grey, the pattern similar but not exactly like a rattata’s lavender and cream. The hairs looked longer, finger- rather than knuckle-length, and thicker as well. She looks almost like an Alolan raticate with that black. Has she gained a second type..?
The moment of final transition ended, and his newly Mega Evolved Pokémon shook herself and began preening, seemingly unconcerned with her changed shape. And why would she be? That's evolution for you…
Then a bombastic voice broke his narrow focus, forcing his senses back from the tunnel they'd become. “Well done, Enforcer!” James called. “And on the first try – very impressive! Do you feel you can hold it?”
Can I..? A moment’s concentration retrieved the answer with startling ease; yes, whatever it was he was burning with his psychic reserve guttered, it wasn't going fast at all. “I think so, sir. How're things on your end, girl?”
A chitter, larger in magnitude but unchanged in tone – and then Guts bounded forward, directly towards him. It might've been startling in a different circumstance – she was large, sharp and dark as any stalking predator he could name, and shockingly fast – but some signal, different from his inborn empathy but even clearer than that murky sense, told the trainer that his Pokémon meant no harm. So he only lifted his arms as she slid to a halt and began sniffing at his body, articulate claws that had left gouges in the floor pawing lightly at the concealed armour of his uniform.
“Yeah, I must seem a lot smaller now, huh?” Reciprocating the attention, his left hand went down to run through the fur of the Mega’s neck. It was slick, covered in waxy oil, and yet also even coarser than it looked; Hoshi stopped after only a second, afraid he'd cut himself on the stiff, deceptively sharp hairs. No sign of the Mega Stone… Did she absorb it entirely? Dabi didn't say anything about that…
A sudden clap once again stole his attention, but it wasn't James this time – no, the gesture was a touch too sarcastic. “Yes yes, we're all very impressed,” Arlo said, his tone a match; the mocking was subtle enough, the junior executive might not’ve even known it was audible at all. “This specimen is… well, it's certainly an improvement over the base form. Shall we put it through its paces, Executive Kidd?”
“Its paces?” James questioned as Casca, on the other side of him from the ruptured asshole of human proportion, frowned. “Hmm… Well, if Enforcer Mutsu is up for it, I see no reason we can't have a little battle!” The blue-haired Rocket turned Hoshi's way, beaming, and his hand raised to show off an expanding Rocket Ball. “How about it? Malamar's been on the clock keeping the good Doctor on-task; a little bout is sure to loosen him up!”
As a cloud of hidden frustration from Arlo managed to briefly overpower the ambiance of Kiribo and his alakazam – who's changed too, when did that..? – Hoshi briefly considered it. That weird squid? His mind briefly envisioned some terrible leviathan, with savage sucker-bearing tentacles and also fucking mind control, no way, fuck that. So he hurriedly shook his head. “Ah, that…”
“I think your own Pokémon might be a bit much for a test fight,” Arlo said, teeth clenched. And the next sentence came out even more begrudgingly. “Surely my monsters are… closer to…” Arc, he looks like he'll explode any second now. “The enforcer's level.”
Then Casca’s wary look reversed itself into a sunny smile, the transformation hidden from the Unovan’s sight by James’s body, and she slid a comment of her own in. “Oh, that sounds perfect! Mister Aiki is right sir; you, the professor, and Kiribo are way too strong for this. Executive… Aiki, was it..? Is really the only option.”
Arlo seethed, and James, either oblivious or in on it – I can't imagine he likes the blowhard any more than I do – let out a sigh. “Oh, I suppose you're right. There will be plenty of action soon anyhow…” Though he and Jessie apparently genuinely like Dabi and Hypno, so who even knows. “Executive, if you would?”
He may not have had a full understanding of why Casca wanted him to fight the foreign gangster – besides the obvious motives of kicking his tubby ass and, yeah, the prospect of battling James instead being genuinely intimidating – but he was happy to play along. So Hoshi smiled, Guts bearing her teeth alongside him, as Arlo stepped forward and tugged his goggles down. The executive was as sour as he was triumphant, though neither of those emotions stopped his fingers as they plucked a ball from his belt.
Like his attire, the motion was aesthetically mismatched; his slightly chubby fingers were more dextrous than their appearance alone would have suggested, but in comparison to the ace trainer he presented himself as Arlo was a fumbling amateur. Hah, this guy is a total poser. “We can take him,” Hoshi whispered to his starter, and her fur bristled as the atmosphere changed. “Even if he's got a Mega.”
But that confidence was tested as the junior executive released, revealing the smooth metallic form of the already-rare scyther’s evolution, scizor. And not just a normal scizor, either; the moment the thing hit the field it exuded a billowing aura of evil-looking purple, a cloak of near-liquid malice that sang with black and white and grey but no other colour at all.
“W-what the fuck? Is that Pokémon on fucking fire?!”
Arlo’s eyes widened beneath his goggles. “You can see it?”
Of course I can see it, it- this isn't my normal psychic shit! It really wasn't; Hoshi's third eye was showing him the ‘mon’s eagerness to tear him and Guts and everything else apart, yeah, but the flame-like aura was perfectly visible to his normal, physical eyeballs. “I can see it. This isn't a normal Pokémon, is it?”
The grimace twisting the Rocket Executive’s soft face deepened, his reply pushed through grit teeth. “With your eyes..? Just like that meddling trollop… but no matter! What you see before you is a Shadow Pokémon, an invincible weapon born of my genius! Equal to any Mega, or even a legend!”
“Original process adapted from a group in Orre,” Meowth undercut. “But impressive result, yes. More stable than Mega. Stronger?” He shrugged, the motion creasing his abjectly hideous suit. “Deba-ateable.”
As strong as a Mega Pokémon? Just normally? If that was true… Well, no matter; I was expecting a Mega anyway. The bloodlust densely packed into the monster's body was intimidating, but so was the sleek black-furred rodent on Hoshi's side of the field. She was already strong, but with her new bulk and longer limbs-
“Enough chatter!” Arlo snarled, interrupting his thought. “Scizor, Shadow Rush!”
Shadow-? The unfamiliar move bought the chubby Rocket a brief moment of surprise, as did the sudden eruption of evil energy. The scizor tensed and then charged, outpacing its aura as it lunged for Guts. Hoshi could only blink, eyes full of purple smoke – but her eyes were fine, and the connection between him and his ‘mon hadn't ended with her transformation’s success. “Scary Face into Crunch! Stay loose!” We're fighting a steel type, so Hyper Fang and Swift aren't gonna cut it. If she is normal-dark now that might plug the hole in our offense…
But it would make us vulnerable to bug moves too, so let's not slug it out just yet!
The rush of moving his body – her body, don't go under – to its limit was intoxicating, the feeling of strength and speed pushing far past what the raticate had been capable of mere minutes ago. It really was another evolution; Guts would never have been able to dodge the attack otherwise. But she did – for the most part, a vicious expression causing the scizor to balk as her mass shifted. The Shadow Rush – ghost like Shadow Ball? No, that wouldn't do anything, probably dark – ploughed into Guts’s hindquarters, spinning her around twice with a crash of pain that Hoshi felt as a phantom sensation. Shit, that hit hard. Does dark resist itself? Even if it doesn't that's still way too fucking strong.
Strong enough that by the time Guts had gathered herself from the glancing hit, the scizor was already winding up again. Shit, Hoshi repeated, his panic melding together with his monster's. “Block with Swift!”
“Ha! What's wrong Mutsu, finding yourself outmatched?”
Fuck you. A rain of falling stars left his raticate's mouth, striking her opponent full-on as it charged again – but as he'd predicted it did little. “Jump!”
That said, it did enough to make the metal bug close its eyes, allowing Guts to actually dodge. Her tail, coiled and powerful, acted as a third leg as she leapt right over the attack – and, responding to her trainer’s intent flowing in through their connection, she sent the limb back down in a devastating Tail Whip. Its end unfurled to its true length, catching the scizor’s leg and tripping it as she came down with startling grace. Yes! “Now! Crunch!”
Guts whirled, her long and slender body nonetheless producing a wave of air with the motion, bounded once, and bit. It wasn't the cleanest possible exchange – the steel type’s wings let it recover and block with one of its bulky clamp-arms – but the feeling of his teeth sinking in was sweet.
“Wing Attack!”
“Get it on its back! Tail Whip again!”
As his Pokémon was once again humbled by a mere Tail Whip of all things, the most mediocre of mediocre attacks, the go-to option of a baby monster, Arlo Aiki was forced to acknowledge that he had underestimated the Rocket Enforcer across from him. “Mutsu…” he growled under his breath as Scizor only barely escaped with sheer brawn and the aid of his powerful steel wings. I admit it – you have some paltry level of talent as a Pokémon Trainer. But that isn't enough to make you my opponent!
“From above! Shadow Rush!”
“Damnit- Swift! Don’t trade, dodge and follow up!”
The stars came out – and Arlo smiled. Caught you. “Bullet Punch!”
Mid-attack, the Mega Raticate was completely defenseless; Scizor swooped down, the powerful shadow move instantly discarded for a much swifter steel one, and his claw slammed into and past the rat’s face. “Yes! Follow up with Pounce!”
Mutsu’s face was stretched into a parody of rage as his monster attempted to gather itself after the addling hit. “Sucker Punch!” he cried, desperate, and while the elite scientist and trainer could have easily changed his order again in the face of such a premature move, he decided to let it lie. I've been keeping my eye on you, Mutsu – that attack you just named isn't one you’ve mastered!
And, exactly as he'd predicted, the Sucker Punch failed to live up to its name. Scizor stalked forward, his gait swinging back and forth to both confuse his prey and gauge the exact distance, and then with a smooth motion that easily matched the speed of the earlier Bullet Punch, he lunged. His extended claws clamped down with a force that would be lethal to most low-class Pokémon, though the raticate failed to be sheared into thirds – no, it held on long enough to bat about the Shadow ‘mon’s head with its curled pink tail, a bludgeoning that failed to lighten the latter’s grip even as it left subtle damage through the steel type’s armour.
Then the oversized rodent began to shrink, and Executive Kidd called it. “Ooh, lost hold of the evolution… which means Enforcer Mutsu's Pokémon is unable to continue! This lovely demonstration’s winner is Junior Executive Arlo Aiki!” As if there could be any doubt. No matter the airs set on their shoulders, a peasant remains a peasant. “Let's give a hand for both participants though – it was a spectacular first attempt!”
With a flash of red Mutsu, still with that same rancorous expression, returned the no-longer-Mega Pokémon. “Damnit,” he mouthed under his breath, and Arlo prepared the coup de grace. He stepped forward as his hands returned Scizor of their own accord, a smile of victory touching his lips.
The lesser Rocket saw his intent and the grimace, somehow, deepened further – but social convention forced him to extend his hand to meet the executive’s handshake. Meaning that Arlo was in prime position to cut the man as deeply as possible. “Do you think,” he whispered, audible only to the overgrown grunt, “You have anything to contribute? This loss was inevitable, Mutsu; you don't have the skill to play with the real high-rollers.” The man’s fingers were disgustingly warm despite their boniness, a feverish heat increasingly obvious where they curled against his own. Each twitch of them was like a firework, the obvious urge the barbarian had to crush his better’s hand proof positive that his jibe had landed. But of course, I anticipated such barbarity; with my right hand encircling your left, you have no recourse! Even down to the smallest detail, you've been destroyed by me, Arlo Aiki!
But then, things went off the rails. Rather than open his stupidly wide mouth and spew out his boorishness, proving to Kidd that his and Oakley's favour had been sadly misplaced, Hoshi Mutsu allowed his hand to go limp along with his grimace. “Good battle,” he said, and internally Arlo began to seethe. What? No, you were meant to explode!
I've done my research, you common filth! You should have all the self-control of a half-starved mankey! So why- why are you letting this go?! Mutsu's hand slipped from the genius's grip. How dare you! I- I've shown my superiority, you shouldn't be able to let this lie! You even went so far as to coerce Oakley into sending you after the white-haired witch that knocked you out of that meaningless tournament, that's how fragile your ego is!
You should be raging!
But it didn't happen. “That really was a strong Pokémon – we'll have to see about a rematch later. I'm sure Guts feels the same way, heh.”
Then the enforcer simply stepped past him.
Huh, I was expecting some kind of revenge. In fact, Hoshi was still bracing for something to happen; he couldn't say he knew Arlo Aiki well, but the chances of the Unovan being satisfied with a single victory felt slim. He's definitely got something cooking up.
Maybe the Mega Stone was sabotaged? Probably not, since I don't feel any more tired than after a day doing actual work work… But what else was there?
…Well, whatever. As he closed in on the trio of Casca, James, and Meowth – Dabi had moved off to watch Kiribo – he shook the paranoia away. No use dwelling on it when I don't have any information; I'll just have to brace for whatever's coming. “Alright, what's next?”
It was Meowth who answered. “One more Mega Stone,” he said, the lay of his head tilting Casca’s way. “When the Professor is done.”
“Huh,” she grunted. “Am I really getting one? I know you said I would, but…” A shrug. “Well, I guess I shouldn't try and change your minds, huh?”
“Indeed not!” James exclaimed as Hoshi slid into conversation range. “And not only because we've already had the Professor make the thing – speaking of, could you come over here?”
That had been clearly projected Dabi’s way, and yet the tiny man failed to turn – or even acknowledge his superior’s attention. Then Hoshi's eyes moved past him to what he was staring at, and the enforcer was instantly transfixed.
Woah. I didn't get a good look before, but that's… a lot of spoons.
