Location: a certain hotel in Ever Grande City.
Characters: Terrance, James, Jessie, Meowth.
Terrance sat on the sofa to the left of the table, while James and the others sat on the sofa opposite him.
Looking at the box placed on the table, Terrance let out an "uh" and said in astonishment,
"Magtonium… fragments?"
In fact, before coming to visit, the Team Rocket trio had already rehearsed their lines and fabricated a tragic story about how they had worked tirelessly to search for Magtonium, only for an accident to occur when it was finally within reach.
In this story, James and the others had given it their all, braving dangers, exhausting every possible method, and investing a large sum of money. But in the end, because they were targeted by poachers, the Magtonium was destroyed and split into three pieces of stone…
"Well…"
James awkwardly pushed the box across the table toward Terrance.
Inside lay three stones. Judging from their shape and color, they bore a striking resemblance to the Magtonium Terrance had fabricated. But the one he had described was whole, while the one James and the others presented now was incomplete.
James and Meowth had spent a long time researching but were unable to recreate the Magtonium Terrance had described. However, if they broke down its functions and assigned them to multiple stones, that was something they could manage.
Even so, these Magtonium fragments were vastly inferior to the original Magtonium… they had practically become two entirely different things.
Unable to produce a complete Magtonium and realizing time was running out, James and Meowth reluctantly decided to hand in these fragments instead. These stones possessed functions similar to the Magtonium Terrance had described, though the functions were all scattered. Still, as long as these fragments existed, it would prove they had genuinely made an effort.
As the saying goes, even if there's no merit, there's still hard work. They believed Terrance would be moved by their dedication…
"What a pity, what a pity…"
Terrance picked up one of the three fragments from the box and spoke somewhat dumbfoundedly.
From the color and shape, it really did look like a fragment of Magtonium, but…
"Yeah, it's truly a pity… their functions are all dispersed… This fragment can automatically absorb sunlight, but the amount it absorbs is very small… and it can't store it either, it dissipates immediately…"
"This one contains a portion of light energy and can perfectly store it, but it has lost the ability to absorb light on its own and its other functions…"
"And this one can purify light energy and even allow light energy to fuse with other attribute energies without conflict, ahem… but it seems that because the stone shattered, once the light energy fuses with other attribute energies, there's no reaction at all…"
James spoke eagerly. Combined together, these stones were indeed the complete "Magtonium." But merging them was something even they were utterly incapable of doing.
The functions of these three stones could all be replaced by machines. After racking their brains, the trio had transferred the machines' functions onto the stones, but that was the limit of what they could achieve.
As for forming a system out of the three functions—creating a continuous cycle and making it operate—they had exhausted every effort and still failed to complete this complex task. They hadn't even succeeded with machines, much less in embedding it into the stones.
Automatically absorbing and storing solar energy, purifying light energy, and allowing light energy to fuse with other attribute energies to enhance destructive power—this was the full operational process of Magtonium. In a sense, Team Rocket had completed it, but… its practical value was pitifully insignificant.
"What a shame…" Terrance held one of the stones and spoke regretfully again, the corner of his eye twitching repeatedly.
That's right! What exactly had he been secretly expecting in the first place? Thinking about it now, Magtonium was fictional after all… The Z-Power system was the product of The Blinding One's crystallized power and the crystallized wisdom of Alola's living beings. If the Team Rocket trio could recreate it after just a few months of research, then The Blinding One and the living beings of Alola might as well jump into a river.
"About this… we truly apologize for failing to bring you a complete Magtonium. But we hope you can at least accept these fragments, only then will we feel a little better. We'll continue to look into information about Magtonium, Terrance…"
James, Jessie, and Meowth suddenly stood up and bowed deeply, their expressions incomparably sincere. If Terrance didn't know what they were scheming, he might really have been fooled.
"No need. I'm not in such urgent need of Magtonium anymore. You really don't have to keep searching," Terrance said with a helpless smile.
The trio had probably paid quite a price to produce these three fragments. Terrance truly felt embarrassed to keep making things difficult for them. Besides, he was about to challenge the Elite Four. Backed by the Pokémon Contest faction, he also wanted to see how Giovanni would arrange for the trio to approach him during this period.
"Uh…"
After Terrance finished speaking, James and the others exchanged glances.
Not needed anymore…
That was naturally a good thing, but they couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing.
"Let's drop the subject. It's about time for lunch. Why don't we go eat together? I also have a gift I'd like to give you. You've worked so hard for so long, and yet I suddenly don't need Magtonium anymore, I feel really bad about it," Terrance said with an awkward smile.
"No, no, no! Repaying a life-saving favor is the least we can do!" Meowth waved its hands repeatedly.
They didn't refuse the meal, however. After all, what better opportunity to build rapport than at the dining table?
After making preparations, Terrance reserved a lavish meal at a restaurant next to the hotel. At the same time, he presented them with a return gift.
An improved version of the Toxic secret technique!
Most of the trio's Pokémon were Poison-type. This Toxic secret technique could be extended into various poisons with different effects, giving it a very broad range of applications. With the trio's abilities, they should be able to make excellent use of it.
Terrance had considered it carefully. Even if Team Rocket obtained the Toxic secret technique, they still wouldn't be able to defeat Ash's Light Ball Pikachu. That way, it wouldn't disrupt the balance between them and Ash.
That said, although they still wouldn't be able to beat Ash, it would allow them to rapidly build up their foundation centered around Toxic. In that case, when major events driven by Ash's protagonist aura unfolded in the future, they would at least have a bit more power to protect themselves.
"Th-this…"
"Don't be so quick to refuse…"
Terrance and the Team Rocket trio exchanged polite back-and-forth courtesies. In the end, under Terrance's insistence, Team Rocket accepted the Toxic secret technique.
"Terrance not only accepted the three Magtonium fragments but even gave us a gift, meow. And the atmosphere during the conversation felt just like that of pretty good friends. Does this mean our first-stage mission was a success?" Meowth wondered silently as it picked up a fork and speared a piece of fish with it.
"Looks like our research on Magtonium wasn't a waste of effort. Terrance's favorability toward us has clearly increased…" Jessie calculated inwardly as well.
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