Project: Titans -- A Pokemon Story (OC x Piers)

Chapter 21

"Well, that went well," Meowsie noted, examining the newspaper with a giant sketch of my exposed face on the front lying open in front of her.

Not even a week had passed since the Hammerlocke Fiasco, and already the newspapers were on fire with Maddie's near-death experience. A story like rampaging Dynamax Pokemon running loose in a huge city was nearly impossible to keep quiet, but even so, I was surprised to find every news headline and TV screen filled with news reporters talking about me and making connections to my thievery in other towns and cities.

We were currently hiding in a makeshift base inside an abandoned building in Wyndon, where we had a few laptops and newspapers spread out all over the place. The Galarian Meowth from before along with a few steel Perrserker had come back, but this time I didn't care if they stayed or not; all things considered, I could use them to my advantage as guard dogs--er, cats, to defend the base.

"I should have just eliminated her when I had the chance," I growled, crushing a plastic water bottle under my shoe as I paced to and fro. "Well, if you did that, then people would start wondering who killed The Great Raihan's childhood bestie, and you'd be in an even worse pickle than before," Meowise pointed out, before hissing to get a Perrserker to back away from her perch on a crate. "This option might be better in the long run."

I just exhaled in response, still pacing. Meowsie was right; knowing Raihan, almost everyone all over the globe would hear about her death through the Dragon Gym Leader's cursed social media accounts, and it would raise suspicions if I was the only one left with her on the roof. And yet, even if I had managed to dodge Raihan's followers and their questions, I just didn't have the heart to end Maddie.

She was so sweet and bubbly (albeit a bit overbearing at times), and as much as I tried to tell my head that I only wanted her alive for free transportation, she was my friend. And friends don't hurt each other; at least, real ones don't, and she did seem to genuinely like me. And I genuinely liked her too, even if there was always the looming threat that she would drop me from a thousand feet in the air.

"What are we supposed to do now?!" I muttered angrily, mostly to myself. "We can't go back into the Gym Challenge; Espeon, Salazzle, Skrelp and you will be arrested in less than a second. And we can't just hunt for Wishing Stars in the wild; we're bound to get spotted by somebody and reported to the cops."

"Why not just attend a masquerade ball hosted by the Chairman to cleanse the feelings of unease in the region, and steal all the important people's Dynamax Bands while you're there?" Meowsie asked.

"Meowsie, I'm being serious," I sighed.
"So am I-"
"Would you stop it with the sarcasm already?! We need to find a way to get-"
"Gia, will you just shut up already and take a look at this!"

I walked over to where she had pulled out a laptop and was clacking away furiously. "Check it out! 'Chairman Rose cordially invites all participating Gym Challengers and League Staff to attend his masquerade ball tomorrow night at his summer home in Wyndon. Costumes will be provided as necessary.'"

I couldn't believe what I was reading on the screen. After such a catastrophic failure in Hammerlocke, an opportunity like this just falls into my lap?! "But don't you think it's a little suspicious that the Chairman would host a masquerade ball while a thief is running loose in Galar?" I asked after a second of consideration.

"Because," Meowsie replied, scanning the news article she had been reading for more info. "With people's spirits down and afraid, people won't look forward to the Gym Challenge, which will make people forfeit the Gym Challenge, which will be bad for the Chairman's income."
"How bad?"
"Try 24.7 million dollars a year," Meowsie gaped.

I whistled. "That's definitely a sizable chunk of change."
"And that's just half of the Chairman's annual salary," Meowsie replied. "The Gym Challenge money is what pays for his employees across the board; his Macro Cosmos workers, the other companies he runs, the League staff, the Gym Leaders, even the Champion! If he doesn't pay them, they'll get angry and rebel."

"And the last thing a leader needs is for his people to revolt against him in fear, which could happen easily any day now," I concluded. "Okay, maybe it isn't a trap. Still, though, we need to be very careful; even more so than we've been before. Meowsie, can you forge an invitation for me? I don't think this Challenge Band is going to be good enough for me to get inside."

"Already on it, Boss," Meowsie grinned, pulling up a sheet of paper and scribbling notes on it. "Salazzle, make sure Meowsie isn't disturbed while she's working. Skrelp, keep her hydrated and on task. Espeon, I want you to be my ears; go out into the city and listen for gossip about the ball. Meowsie can translate once you get back. Shelgon, you're her backup; if something happens, retreat and come back here." Both nodded and took off out of the base.

"What are you gonna do while we're working?" Meowsie asked, looking up from her hasty sketch of the fancy invite. "I'm going to see about a new hairstyle," I said, popping open my case of wigs.