âSheâs late.â Leigh was already at her patienceâs end with Simmons. Vonnegut could not help but agree with her but just sighed. They were going to be meeting with Simmons, who had just happened to capture a UB, in particular, the one entitled Xurkitree. Plus considering her âspecialtyâ of interstellar pokemon, she was the best consultant.
The doors to the briefing room opened to an underwhelming sight. A middle aged woman with dark complexion, with a contained hairdo that still was messy all over. The most striking item was a pair of glasses that could not hide the dark spots under her eyes. Around her waist were four pokeballs all strapped to her not-fanny pack, one of which would be the talking point today. The woman who looked not out of place at all was Simmons BÄrĆnÄ«.
âWhat kept you?â Leigh folded her arms and shot her a glare. âWe have been waiting for fifteen minutes.â
The woman waved her hands as if to pacify her colleagueâs concerns. âTake it easy. Jubjub just found a song they liked and wanted to dance to it.â
âJubjub?â Vonnegut finally voiced his own concern and confusion.
The young woman reached into her not-fanny pack and clicked the ball open. To both his colleagueâs shock the UB itself was as bizarre in person as the data they had been given showed...all quashed by one article of clothing on its neck(?). Closest to what could only be described as the bulb of the mon was a small bow tie. It was a clip on, but it seemed it was attached well enough to where it would not fall off.
âThis is Jubjub. They can generate a lot of electricity and has been charging my phone the last few days.â To demonstrate Simmons took a phone charger from her pocket and stuck the plug end into the alien. The latter did not even react.Her phone emitted a small sound, to signify it was charging. Suddenly music began to play from the phone, followed by the electric alien to dance while making some small unknown noises. âI have noticed that is generates massive amounts of electricity when happy that are more stable and consistent than if it is agitated or in pain.â
âGreat. Fantastic.â Vonnegut curtly replied. âWe need to cut to the chase. Simmons, we need your expertise to develop a means of stopping any inter dimensional invasion.â
âAh right. Well to be frank I donât think these Ultra Beasts are merely an inter-dimensional threat. I think this could be the most recent encounter with pokemon from a potential far away planet and they have discovered transportation before we could.â
All four of the Think Tank memberâs groaned. Simmonsâ tried and true theory: anything new, even the god-like pokemon, always came down to aliens. âDo you have any basis to this?â David was often the one who had to do most of the leg work to prove she was wrong. During the few times she was right he had to confirm it, which only fueled her alien hunter tendencies more.
âYes actually. In fact I have cross referenced a few reports from the Aether Incident, some other reported sightings, as well as my own testimony.â Reaching into her fanny pack, she pulled out a small tablet and pressed the screen to allow an image to appear projected via hologram. In there, stood a long, lanky humanoid pokemon. Its appearance looked feminine.
âThis mon for instance is known as Pheromosa. These pokemon tend to operate in swarms, and are the strongest combat wise out of all the ultra beasts reported. Most tend to operate in a hive mind of a leader.â Pressing another button on her tablet it switched over to an image of the same Ultra Beast but most of its body was black. âExcept these black ones are always independent agents, as they are able to operate independently of the swarm. They have also been seen giving some kind of orders to their white counterparts.â
David was at least impressed. Of course he would need his own combat data and his own tests, but this could yield fruit. âAnd these are the only two you have so far right?â
âI donât have the pheromosa. Darren Ida was the one who caught most of those. Granted he had suffered some injuries related to said capture. One took a bite out of his arm, but his arm is still intact. Just in a cast now.â All four think tank members would need to interview Darren Ida, despite how difficult it could be to work with him due to his cold and hostile demeanor.
âSo what is our new course?â Mercy chimed in, finally speaking up after being silent as to not have to talk to Simmons. âDo we reinstate project Quantum Leap?â
Vonnegut grumbled. It had been a long time since he mothballed that department since the last discovery of a variant of gothitelle that had crash landed in Sinnoh. The goal of operation Quantum Leap was research into pokemon with potential alien or dimensional origins. He had Simmons, but he had a lot on his plate now and out of everyone here, she was the most adept at leading it. For now.
âYes. Simmons we will leave that department to you. You will be given a budget and a number of resources to do as you see fit on the Ultra Beasts and everything that can be verified adjacent. Do not spend any money on any frivolous side projects.â The malamar knew that giving her complete control of this department would be a bad idea, so he would need to have someone oversee her.
âI have a demand.â Mercy sounded stern and forceful, which was surprising to the other think tank members. âYou are to not talk to any undead staff members on anything other than anything related to your project.â
âOh shit.â Leigh muttered under her breath. She knew exactly why Mercy had said that.
âIf it about my own research into echtoplasmic pokemon, Iâm sorry if I offended you or anyone in the support group you run. I just donât think it is healthy for any of them to cling onto false memories. Forcing memories of people who have died is amoral and not healthy. It will just lead to dissociative identity disorder for them. They need professional medical help.â Simmons did not sound mad, but she sounded just as stern.
As she said that Mercyâs eyes got wide and her fangs starting to become more pronounced, with a low snarl.
âAlright thatâs enough.â Leigh felt inclined to cut this off before it got uncomfortable. âSimmons get yourself in order so David and I can establish the basis for you to work with.â
âWorks for me. Iâll get started right away.â As quickly as she came in, the scientist put Jubjub back in their ball and left the room to somewhere not even she knew.