"So, I saw the match you and what's his name had," Mars said casually as she lounged in her apartment. "He seems to have made a few improvements..."
Jupiter chuckled at her friend's statement.
"First, his name is Barry. Second, yes... he's made a few adjustments since I battled him last. They're small, but significant," Jupiter replied with a wry grin.
"I can see that. The Luxio he has isn't too bad. That Houndoom however, was impressive. Threatening almost," Mars muttered.
"Especially since it's on the list of one's that can achieve Mega Evolution. Come to think of it... he's in possession of two Pokémon with that possibility," Jupiter stated with a slight frown.
"If he ever figures out where the stones we found are, he could easily get his hands on one. Not that I'm concerned or anything. From what I saw, the guy's a rookie," Mars snickered.
"Rookie or not, he does boast a strength that could be a threat later on. I plan to monitor that threat as much as I can. There are a lot of other promising trainers that could be a hindrance as well, so there's that..." Jupiter added with a shrug.
"I know, I was watching. In fact, I've seen a few that might make excellent candidates for new members. We could use some more power in our ranks to pick up some of the slack around here," Mars said with a giggle.
Jupiter nodded in agreement.
"Well, with the discovery of Mega Evolution, we could boost the firepower of the lower ranks. However, I don't exactly know how Cyrus would feel about that," Jupiter said flatly.
"That's a conversation for another day I suppose. Anyway, I need to get going. Saturn needs assistance with a certain matter, and he needs me there soon so... talk later?" said Mars with a slightly nervous chuckle.
"And what 'certain matter' would that be? Hmmm? Another one of your getaways perhaps?" Jupiter teased.
"H-Hey! that's supposed to be a secret!" Mars blurted.
"Relax Mars, your little rendezvous with Saturn are safe with me. I have no reason to blab about your little escapades in the night," Jupiter smirked.
"You're just jealous because you don't have a boyfriend!" Mars bit back, her face flushed as she did so.
Jupiter laughed at this remark.
"That's because having options is much more fun. Exploring is important you know?" Jupiter stated with a grin.
"Sh-Shut up! I-I don't need to hear that!" Mars fumed.
"Oh calm down. I'm just having a little fun. Don't get your panties in a twist," Jupiter said with a roll of her eyes. "At any rate, I need to go as well. If anything comes up, let me know as soon as possible..."
"Of course... talk to you later," Mars replied before hanging up and crossing her arms with a huff.
"Let me guess, she pushed your buttons again didn't she?" Saturn deduced as he caught the pouty expression on the redhead's face.
"When does she not do that? It's one of the things I've come to accept all these years," Mars sighed, rubbing her temples out of frustration.
Saturn simply shook his head and made his way to her side. Linking arms with her, he smiled.
"Shall we go? If we wait too long our seats will get taken," Saturn stated with a soft smile.
Mars's cheeks tinted pink at his statement, but nevertheless, she nodded and smiled in return before walking arm in arm with Saturn out the door of her apartment.
Jupiter hung up and slid her gear into her purse. Exiting the restroom, she meandered back to the lounge to find Gabe relaxing with his eyes trained on his gear screen with a pair of earphones in. Curious, she slipped up beside him and looked at the screen. Upon seeing what he was watching, she blinked.
He was watching Aura League on Pokéflix. Her lips twitched upwards into a smile as she moved to take a seat next to him. Crossing one leg over the other, she cleared her throat to get his attention.
"Is this how you strategize for matches? Watching Pokéflix while drinking cocoa?" Jupiter inquired, startling the blond.
"Sorry! I got bored waiting so I... found something to do in the meantime," Gabe replied with a nervous laugh.
Jupiter crossed her arms and shook her head.
"Had I known this was what you'd be doing I would have waited a bit longer. Oh well, I suppose it can't be helped," Jupiter shrugged. "So... what episode are you on anyway?"
"Just the second one... I've never watched this before so I got curious," Gabe admitted.
"Wait... you've never seen Aura League!? It's pretty much the biggest thing here in Sinnoh. It airs in Unova so we have to wait for episodes," Jupiter informed him.
"I-I see... it's that popular huh?" Gabe stammered, taken aback by her sudden enthusiasm.
"Not just Aura League, but the backstory of every member is ranked up there with it, the first one being Lucario Boy as well as his love interest Nyx, codename Banshee," Jupiter explained.
Lucario Boy? Sounds like the movie from Pokéstar Studios! Wait... is Jupiter a...
Jupiter paused as she caught him staring at her while she talked. A trickle of sweat slid down her face at the sudden realization that she'd been going on and on about her favorite show. Clearing her throat, she decomposed herself and quickly regained her composure.
"My apologies. I keep forgetting how worked up I get about this kind of thing," Jupiter laughed. "At any rate, when you get the opportunity... to back and watch Lucario Boy. It will help clear the air on a few things," Jupiter suggested.
Yeah... she's a fangirl alright. Only they get THAT animated when talking about their favorite shows.
"I'll do that. It sounds awesome!" Gabe replied, glancing down at the time to see how long it would be until their next match.
"Say... if you want, we have over an hour until the next match. We already went over our strategy for our next matchup, and I have all the episodes from Lucario Boy downloaded so..." Jupiter began, twirling a stray lock between her fingers.
"So you want me to watch them with you?" Gabe blinked.
"W-Well, not more than one. At least... not now anyway. We will need to keep an eye on the time. Episodes are half an hour each with the exception of the first one which is an hour long," Jupiter stated as she reached for her gear.
Oddly enough, it had a purple protective covering on it, something Gabe didn't know was a thing for gear. However, that wasn't what caught his attention. It was the image of a woman dressed in a black cloak with long black hair and two different colored eyes, gold for the left, silver for the right. Beside her was a Banette. The name "Banshee", was shown beside her.
"So that's Banshee? She looks badass," Gabe said as he observed the ethereal weapon she seemed to wield.
Two ghostly sets claws extended from her fingertips, each claw being at least a foot in length or more.
"Oh she is. She's a hardcore brawler as you can tell. I don't want to spoil anything... but let's just say Lucario Boy and Banshee don't exactly get off on the right foot. Banshee wasn't always a part of the Aura League," Jupiter added as she turned on Pokéflix and searched for her downloads.
"Sounds intense," Gabe blinked, putting away his gear as she pulled up the first episode.
"You have no idea. I will warn you though... some scenes here are pretty heavy," Jupiter said with a smirk.
Gabe waved her off.
"I'll be fine. From what I've seen of the series I started, it'll be pretty intense. I think I can handle it," Gabe replied casually.
"If you say so," Jupiter smirked, starting the first episode while holding her gear for him to see.
Aloha everyone! Sorry for the delayed update. This particular chapter had me stuck as I was trying to dive into the private life of some of the members of Team Galactic, particularly Jupiter, for obvious reasons. She's Gabe's teammate after all.
I always found that the anime left much to be desired when it came to the life of the villains other than Team Rocket. We got to learn that both Jesse and James were filthy rich and that Meowth used to not know how to talk like a human.
I love learning every backstory, and learning about Team Rocket was a real treat. It showed that they have a life outside their job. We don't get that with other villains of the series. So... this is my take on it. Also... yes, I ship Mars and Saturn... deal with it. It's a cute ship that deserves some attention. At any rate, I'll leave it here for now.
Ciao for now!