“Lulu it is, then,” it hadn’t actually occurred to Lex that they hadn’t really officially met until this moment. Of course, Lex knew who Lulu Flint was. The Rocket Head Scientist was well known throughout the organization. There was no reason Lulu should know who Lex was. Not only was she still new-ish, but she hadn’t really done much of note within Rocket. That was fine by her, Lex preferred flying under the radar. So an introduction was in order, “And you can call me Lex,” she said casually, preferring that to “Red”.

Lex shooed the grunt to follow Lulu into another portion of the lab. The room was more of an office than anything, “Thanks, Claude, you’re a doll,” she grinned as the grunt heaved the bag onto the desk with a loud thunk. She watched the grunt take his leave as she moved over to the bag, “Picked these up in Meteor Falls from a League excavation site,” he hand moved to unzip the top of it.

Lulu would be met the sight of nearly a dozen large meteorite fragments. Their plethora of colors caught the fluorescent light, sending sparkles across the ceiling of the office. Some were colorful like crystals while others still looked like rocks in the midst of being dissected to find the fragments within, “What do you think?” Lex didn’t know jack shit about this stuff, and she was ok with that.

Lulu Flint

This might be the best part of the job. Her lips curled into a smile at Lulu’s reaction to the revealed meteorite fragments. The Head Scientist’s delight was stimulating. Lex took a great pride in her work and always found herself aroused by the results. Perhaps it was just a subconscious reaction from years of delivering her prizes to Killian himself. It seemed she may just be conditioned to associate it with more than just a lust for money.

Lex extracted one of the pieces herself, running her fingers over the crystal’s rough exterior. Like any thief, she found herself mesmerized by shiny, interesting things that promised to be lucrative. Her gaze on the fragment reflected her desires until Lulu spoke. Her eyes turned towards the woman, “Yes, I think so too,” she agreed, replacing the fragment into the bag, “And it was easier than I expected. Is The League always so careless?” Now with a hefty chunk of fragments missing and their guard and his pokemon being slaughtered like lambs they would up the security on their little excavation. The slaughtering wasn’t part of her plan, she preferred to be discreet. It was her unwanted partner that made the bloody mess.

As new assistants entered the office, Lex followed Lulu out, “We’re . . . making progress,” she admitted, Lex wasn’t one to hide the truth. The thief wasn’t too proud to confess her flaws and praise her own strengths. With Cillian Quinn’s help it was progressing quicker than she could have hoped, “I’m still exploring its abilities and how to best incorporate them into my work,” it wasn’t the Gardevoir’s power she was after, it was the unique set of gifts it possessed, “And how are you?” she asked with mild concern in her voice. The newly appointed Avatar must have had much to learn and understand with her new powers.

Lulu Flint

Apparently, Lulu didn’t want to talk about it. That was fine, Lex could take a hint and she certainly wasn’t going to push her. Perhaps with time her curiosity would be satisfied. For now, they’d dwell on the shadow pokemon. So, she just nods in response to Lulu claiming to be “fine”.

Lex indeed was perceptive, Killian Decker taught her how to read people. Her brow peaked curiously. It was a strange thing to ask in regards to a Shadow Pokemon. Lex had been under the impression that getting along with a Shadow Pokemon was nearly impossible. Even if they were obedient, she wouldn’t consider that “getting along”. Her shoulders shrugged lightly as she crossed her arms over her chest, turning to face Lulu, “I wouldn’t say we get along,” she didn’t consider it that, “It’s an empty shell, a wraith of sorts,” Lex had extensive experience with ghost-types but she could at least bond with hers. Not being able to bond with the Gardevoir was difficult for her to get over, “It mostly just needs direction. Otherwise it’s a restless spirit searching for a purpose,” In a way, she guess she got lucky that it wasn’t a ruthless, violent machine. That was probably a challenge Lex wasn’t ready to handle.

“How about your Alakazam?” Lex asked, “How’s it going with it?”

Lulu Flint

It seemed Lex had misinterpreted her question. The small tug of a frown creased the corners of her lips at Lulu’s huff. Apparently Techy wasn’t great at communicating. It wasn’t the first time Lex misunderstood what she was saying. Regardless, that wasn’t important, “Fairly well then . . . It needs a task, or else it will be . . . destructive,” fortunately, that was something she learned early.

In all reality, Lex got lucky her Shadow Pokemon was so ‘tame’ . . . if that’s what you want to call it. There was no way in hell Lex could have handled one like the Alakazam. Lex’s head slowly shook as Lulu described her interactions with the beast, “Sounds like a fucking handful,” she groaned, pursing her lips, “I would certainly be out of my league,” it was a subtle compliment of her admiration of the scientist. If anyone could handle a pokemon like that, she believed Lulu could.

Lulu Flint

Everyone has a weakness. Most of the time it’s multiple. Lex learned the hard way that weaknesses couldn’t be ignored. As uncomfortable as it was, Lex embraced hers. It was a tactic she used to protect herself. As bitter as it may taste, she was always better off when she knew what could be used against her instead of feigning indifference. Unfortunately, lex was one with many weaknesses: Killian, conflict, battling, a pretty price on her head . . . just to name a few.

A sharp exhaled muffled a laugh that sparked a tight grin. She was Darkrai’s avatar, for Arceus’ sake, Lex didn’t believe Lulu was out of her league for a single second. Although she shouldn’t judge, Shadow Pokemon were extremely difficult, especially this Alakazam.

“Hm,” Lex smiled at the thought of her Gardevoir’s potential, “She’s interesting,” Lex began, “More of a ghost-type than anything, but still retains her psychic-type traits,” her shoulder shrugged lightly, “Barriers don’t seem to be an issue, she can INFILTRATE anything,” which was perfect in Lex’s line of work, “Her unique typing gives her a unique moveset. The most notable being Shadow Sneak,” her head shook lightly, “Never seen a Gardevoir do anything like that before,” Does she dare ask about the Alakazam or broach the topic of Lulu’s new gifts? It seemed the Head Scientist didn’t want to speak on the subject earlier.

Lulu Flint

Lex scoffed, a small smile at the corner of her lips. The Shadowfication process was something she didn’t understand, but thought about a lot lately now that she was experiencing, first hand, the results of such a process, “Yeah, probably cause they suck the life right outta them,” It was a half joke, half bitter realization she wasn’t sure she was comfortable with. Lex struggled with the idea of submitting a pokemon to such torture. She benefited from the cruelty of another, but would she have done it herself if she was given the opportunity? She didn’t know the answer to that question.

“Wow,” she sighed after Lulu finished her explanation of the Alakazam. Unfortunately, Lex wasn’t quite sure what to say. She had no advice to offer Lulu. Lex was several tiers below the Head Scientist in many ways. Anything she could offer Lulu would probably laugh at, dismissing it as common sense, “I have an Alakazam myself, smart fucker, I agree,” she shuddered at the thought of Sahir as a shadow pokemon. He was a handful as he was.

“Would you do it if you could?” Lex asked curiously, perhaps Lulu’s answer would make her accept the circumstances of her place in Rocket and need for more power that seemed to grow daily, “Shadowfy a pokemon, I mean,” If that’s what you called it.

Lulu Flint