Chapter Text
Mairin walked through the streets of Lumiose City, talking on her Rotom Phone with Alain. Since he was an Elite Four member (a dark type specialist, fitting for his emo aesthetic that he never grew out of), the responsible thing for him to do was leave after the incident to report back to the rest of the League. After all, this was the second crisis Kalos faced, but thankfully it was contained to the city only. Bonnie, Squishy, AZ’s Floette, the rest of Team MZ, and their random and unlikely group of new friends came through to save Lumiose. After that, everyone agreed that she was the one who should take care of her, since she and Bebe were the closest to her after AZ.
The Floette in question floated next to her head while Chespie walked next to her.
“How are you holding up?” Alain asked, concerned. He didn’t even try to hide the worry on his face. If Mairin said the word, she knew he would fly back to Lumiose, the League be damned.
“I’m fine,” Mairin said with a smile, but her voice had a hollowness to it. Alain frowned at her tone.
“Mairin… it’s okay to not be fine. I know you’re not,” he said gently. “It was only two days when you and all of your friends saved the city and…” Alain trailed off, leaving the words ‘AZ died’ as an unspoken ending to his sentence. It tugged at her heart seeing how much Alain cared about her emotional and mental wellbeing. Of course she knew this, but still. Besides, Mairin’s been withholding the fact that most of her body ached like hell and she had minor injuries that were still healing. Thank Arceus that Corbeau used his questionable funds to buy them all painkillers in bulk.
“Not all of them are my friends. I still don’t like Corbeau, Griselle, and Grisham,” Mairin protested half-heartedly. Honestly after that night, the three of them weren’t so bad. She fought rogue mega evolved pokemon alongside them to help Bonnie get to Squishy and as much as she hated to admit it, she made a good team with each of them. Grisham even pushed Mairin out of the way of a Hyper Beam a rogue mega evolved Aerodactyl fired toward her. Thankfully the worse they got were a few cuts and bruises, with Grisham’s being more severe than Mairin’s. That was on top of hurting his shoulder when he landed on it while cushioning Mairin’s fall - he did his best to make sure her body didn’t come in contact with the hard ground. The fact that he did that even though he absolutely hated Alain for his role in Lysandre’s defeat five years ago and knew that he was basically her big brother did mean something to her.
“Just because I have issues with them-”
“You mean absolutely despising each other?”
Alain rolled his eyes. “Fine, yes - despite us despising each other, it’s okay if you don’t.”
“Hey! I’m your best friend, we have to hate the same people!”
“I think this can be an exception.” Alain’s face turned solemn. “You can all relate to each other in a very specific way now. Whether you like it or not, you’re all bonded for life now. And honestly, you do have a very special ability of worming your way into people’s hearts. I wouldn’t be surprised if you got along with them now.”
Mairin brightened. “Awww, you do love me! Hey, stop rolling your eyes at me!” Chespie climbed on her shoulder after she said that.
“Chespin!” Chespie pointed at the screen. “Ches!’
“Hello to you too, Chespie,” Alain greeted with a faint smile. “Sorry Mairin, Chespie, I have to go. Diantha and the other Elite Four members are here now with Professor Sycamore. But call me if you need anything, okay? It doesn’t matter if I’m busy or not.” His dark blue eyes looked at her expectantly.
Mairin opened her mouth to ask him a question about the object that was currently burning a hole in her pocket, then she closed it. She didn’t want to open a whole can of Caterpie without being absolutely sure. “Okay. Bye big brother,” she teased at the end.
Alain couldn’t hide his pleasant expression at his nickname. “Bye, Mairin.”
“Chespin!” Chespie said goodbye, too.
Alain’s hologram vanished from her Rotom Phone and she put it away in her purse. It was still unbelievable that she knew the person who invented the Rotom Phone that everyone used now. Mairin hoped that Clemont was doing alright, wherever he was. Did Bonnie tell him what happened? Did she tell him all the details? Did he know that she was safe and had Squishy as one of her official partners now? Was he wondering if Bonnie and Mairin were taking care of the new Lumiose City gym since they agreed to cover for him?
Mairin didn’t even tell Alain all of the details. After all, it’s only been two days. Thankfully he didn’t push and maybe when he had time to come back to the city, she would try to broker some peace between him and the other former Team Flare associates. Speaking of former Team Flare members, Mairin finally arrived at her destination. Her shoulder length rust red hair with violet highlights blew with the wind as she looked up. The words ‘Pokemon Research Lab’ were in her line of sight. With a deep breath, Mairin walked through the door and straight to the elevator, only saying a quick hello to the receptionist.
Once she got to the third level, she heard exactly who she was looking for.
“THAT IMBICILE MAYOR!! ANOTHER WILD ZONE?! AROUND PRISM TOWER?!”
Chespie clung to Mairin’s shoulder while Floette flew closer to her. Mairin patted both of them comfortably and walked over. The turquoise haired scientist looked up and her eyes widened in surprise.
“Mairin? What are you doing here?” Mable asked, tilting her head. The two of them were on pretty decent terms, all things considered. Mairin wanted to try her hand at research tasks without Alain and Professor Sycamore to prove that she could do something on her own. Mable wanted to survey and research the wild zones in the city. They teamed up very reluctantly, since neither of them forgot that Mable tried to take down the helicopter Mairin was in with Serena and Sycamore years ago. Eventually, their relationship became very cordial and Mairin found herself caring about the older woman.
“I came here to ask you something.”
Mable blinked. “Huh, perfect timing. I actually had something I needed to ask you, too. You can go first.”
“It’s about Chespie.” Chespie jumped on Mable’s desk and crossed its arms.
“Ches!” Clearly, Chespie still held a grudge against the former Team Flare member. It was something the pokemon had in common with Alain - neither of them trusted anyone who was affiliated with Team Flare who still lived in Lumiose. After Grisham saved her life the other night, Chespie warmed up slightly to him. Slightly.
Mable eyed the small grass type pokemon warily. “What about Chespin?”
“I’m sure you remember Chespie’s coma,” Mairin began, observing her reaction. A suspicious look appeared on her face.
“Of course I do, we all knew about your little Chespin’s condition. Why are you bringing this up now? Did Alain finally convince you that I’m still not to be trusted?” Mable stood up and placed her hands on her desk to steady herself. “Or did coming close to dying somehow make you regret not getting revenge for what happened to Chespie all those years ago?” Mable asked, defensively. It was like the scientist put up a thick invisible wall that an Aggron couldn’t break through. She looked like Mairin had the power to strip her of her current position and send her back to jail for her crimes.
On top of that, Mable looked scared of something. It couldn’t have been Mairin, she was shorter than the woman and would never physically fight her or anyone. Well, if Lysandre ever came back to life somehow, Mairin absolutely would punch him. Ivor offered to teach her the basics, maybe she should take him up on the offer.
Mairin put her hands up. “Woah, I’m not here for a fight or anything! I’m not angry with you, I want to know something about Chespie’s health!”
Mable’s breathing calmed down. “Oh. What do you want to know?”
Her change in tone felt like whiplash. “I know Chespie absorbed energy from the experiments you and Team Flare did. Chespie was fine when everyone stopped the giant rock, but it never evolved. Professor Sycamore did theorize that the energy Chespie absorbed caused that, but I wanted to ask you since you know more.”
“Oh, Mairin…” Mable’s expression shifted into something softer, which looked foreign on the former villain. “I’m sorry. We only tested that energy on Zygarde and we weren’t able to run many tests on Chespin - Chespie - because Lysandre didn’t want you to suspect us of anything. But from what I know about our experiments, I believe Professor Sycamore was right. That energy was capable of exhausting and weakening pokemon. I think it stressed Chespie’s health to the point where evolution is no longer possible for it. ”
“Chespin ches ches,” Chespie looked downcasted. Mairin bent down so she was eye level with Chespie who was still on the desk.
“It’s okay, Chespie! I love you just the way you are, and I always will! We always knew that was the case, deep down, didn’t we?” That was the truth, they always knew it. From when Clemont’s Chespin evolved to when Bebe evolved into a Floette. And when Rita, Mairin’s Chikorita, evolved into Bayleef then Meganium, too. This only meant that Chespie was special, which was a fact Mairin has known since the day she got Chespie from the professor.
Chespie perked up and nodded. “Ches!”
Mairin giggled. “Besides, you’ll stay this cute forever! And that means you can always ride on my shoulders or my head!”
Chespie jumped on her shoulder. “Chespin!”
That confirms not only Professor Sycamore’s theory, but AZ’s as well. Before he died, AZ made a mega stone that Chespie could use. Vinnie mentioned in passing that AZ knew how to make mega stones, but Mairin never thought he would make one for her until she found a note and a box in her room at the hotel the day after he died. She still remembered what it said:
Dear Mairin,
I am so very sorry for everything that I’ve done in the past. It all led to Lumiose City in danger, with you and your friends to stop it.
I hoped that I would live long enough to make it to your 16th birthday so I could give you this in person, but I know my time is very near. This is a mega stone for Chespie, I call it a Chespinite. I suspect that Chespie’s biology changed the way Floette’s did, and it can no longer evolve like others of its species. However, Chespie should still mega evolve like Floette can. The bond between the two of you is strong, and I have no doubt that you will succeed at whatever you choose to do.
I will be forever grateful that I met you, Mairin. You and the rest of Team MZ have become like family to me. As stated in my will, I hope you will look after the hotel if you can, and look after Floette. She loves you very much, as do I.
Thank you for everything,
AZ
Mairin didn’t try to mega evolve Chespin yet, as they both wanted a third opinion. After all, she learned from Professor Sycamore that the more proof, the better. Now that Mable said her piece, Mairin pulled out the green stone that was connected to a short, simple cord . Chespie hopped back onto the desk and Mairin placed it around Chespie’s neck. Mable’s eyes widened.
“Is that a mega stone?”
Mairin silently touched the key stone that rested over her green shirt while keeping her eyes on Chespie. “Let’s do this, Chespie,” she said softly as a glow emitted from Chespie. Mairin and Mable both shielded their eyes until the glow left. Both of them gasped when they looked at Chespie.
Chespie’s spines became longer and even spikier, and its tail was much longer. The pokemon raised an arm in the air. “Chespin!”
“Chespie!” Mairin exclaimed, picking up Chespie and hugging it. “You did it, you mega evolved!”
“It- you-” Mable spluttered. It was funny seeing the short tempered genius at a loss for words. “Where, how?”
“AZ,” Mairin said softly. “He left it for me before he died. Apparently, he knew how to make mega stones and knew that Chespie was like Floette.”
“Unable to evolve on their own but had enough mega energy inside them to mega evolve,” Mable realized. “Did you tell Professor Sycamore and the others? This is a breakthrough!”
Mairin shook her head. “No, actually you’re the first person I told.” Mable’s eyes widened and her mouth was agape for a moment. The silence was almost uncomfortable so Mairin did what she did best - she broke it. “You said you had a question for me, too?”
Mable snapped out of her stupor. “Oh, yes I did - did you do something when you were at Lysandre’s Lab with Grisham and Griselle?” Mable’s tone shifted to an accusatory one, complete with a narrowing of her blue eyes that reminded her of Alain’s and Steven’s. At least she was back to the intense woman she was.
Right down to interrogating Mairin about something random.
“What?! No!” Mairin protested. “I did battle a bunch of wild pokemon who attacked me, though. Thanks for the warning.” Not to mention she caught an alpha Beldum to give to Steven for his birthday.
“How would I know that pokemon took over that lab? I can hardly step outside this lab because of that idiot mayor!” Mable exclaimed, waving her arms.
“I don’t know, maybe he had a good idea to limit your access outside,” Mairin said steely. She loved this lab, it belonged to Professor Sycamore. “There are worse places to be stuck in than this lab. Like Lysandre’s lab!”
Mable shook her head. “Big brother’s grumpiness certainly rubbed off on you.”
“I am not grumpy.” Mairin crossed her arms. It was amazing how she and Mable could be civil one moment and then argue the next. Alain and Mable were worse, though.
“Anyways, there’s something going on at Lysandre’s Lab,” Mable explained. “I’m getting strange readings from it and I need someone to investigate. Obviously if I go anywhere near that place, I’ll get arrested again.”
Mairin frowned. “How would they know if you went back there?”
“There’s eyes everywhere in this city.”
“Okay, then why not ask Grisham or Griselle or even Corbeau?” Mairin paced back and forth. Mable was going to ask her to go investigate, but Mairin didn’t know why. Doing research with her was one thing, but investigating the lab that belonged to the man who almost destroyed the world was on another level. Mairin was only willing to go to that lab in order to get Grisham to do his promotion match with her and Bonnie. The idea of going back down there made her stomach churn.
Her friends always called her brave, but when it came to that lab, she didn’t feel it.
“Corbeau would act too dignified to go to that lab when he really doesn’t want to see any negativity about Lysandre. Griselle is too hot-headed and might make things worse with whatever is going on at the lab. Grisham is injured - he hurt his shoulder pretty badly during the Prism Tower fiasco.” Mable listed off on her fingers.
Guilt filled Mairin - Grisham got hurt because he protected her. “Yeah, I know about his shoulder,” she said quietly. Suddenly, she flashed back to a little more than five years ago, when Alain pushed her out of the way of Rayquaza’s attack and hurt his shoulder in the process. What are the odds that something like that happened twice?
“You’re my best option, Mairin,” Mable admitted, sitting down and leaning against her chair with a sigh. “I wouldn’t ask you to do something like this so soon.” She leaned forward. “I know you care about this city. You risked your life trying to protect it. I need you to protect it one more time from whatever is in that lab.”
Mairin bent down and placed her hands on Mable’s desk so they were eye to eye. She knew Chespie was giving her the same look. “And what is in that lab, Mable?”
Mable’s expression was grim. “Many terrible experiments.”
The regret was clear in her eyes. This was a look of resignation from a woman who knew she committed too many evil deeds in the past yet still wanted to be on the path of redemption. Mairin had no reason to ever help Mable or work with her, let alone trust her. But there was something about the haunted look in her eyes when they first met after five years that pulled at Mairin’s soul. That’s why she gave her a chance.
And now, she still wanted to help Mable and help Lumiose City. “Alright, I’m in.”