"This feels like a second skin," Domino mused with a giggle of delight.

The suit fit her perfectly as far as she could tell. Moving in it was easy and though it was light, the material was durable and flexible as well. Adjusting the goggles on her head, she turned her attention back to the boys and grinned.

"So what are these for?" Domino asked, pointing to the goggles on her head.

"Those goggles are what we call an Aura Reader. The last one that was used only covered one eye. Vince and I decided to reinvent the design and make it flight friendly," Terry explained.

"And what do they do?" Domino inquired, pulling them over her eyes to turn them on.

Terry adjusted his specs and cleared his throat.

"They detect whether or not a Shadow Pokémon is in a trainer's possession. If there is one, it shows you a visual manifestation of the corrupt aura that they possess."

Domino nodded and pushed them back onto her head. Her eyes trailed down to the machine that was latched onto her left arm. Like the suit she wore, it was also light and durable, made from thin sheets of autotomized Aggron steel.

"So you explained this to me before, and I just want to make sure I understand it. This Snag Machine won't allow me to take anything that isn't a Shadow Pokémon, and it only activates if one is in the vicinity... right?" Domino asked, getting an affirmative nod in return from Terry.

"Is there a possibility of any being wild?"

"That's highly unlikely, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone decided to set one loose just to wreak havoc," inputted Vince while stroking his chin.

Domino mulled over all the information she'd been given and did her best to process the rapidly occurring events that were taking place. She, a former high-ranking Team Rocket agent, was now at ground Zero. All she had was her reputation, a new suit and a Pokémon she had no idea what to do with.

"OK, so to sum up everything you guys have told me over the past hour and a half... when I see one of these Shadow Pokémon, I battle, then snag it after my Pokémon knocks it around a bit. Arceus that feels weird to say..." Domino muttered.

"Well get used to it, because you're going to be catching a lot of them. And yes, that's pretty much the jist of it," Terry confirmed for her.

Domino rolled her eyes and gave Terry a wry grin.

"I'm aware of that. And now that you've given me the information I needed, there's one more thing I need to discuss. My tulip..."

"I was just getting to that. You asked me to take a look at it last night before bed. I had Diana run a diagnostic check on it. There were a few things that needed to be addressed along with an upgrade that was badly needed," Terry explained.

"Upgrade? what upgrade?" Domino asked hesitantly.

Terry smiled faintly and gestured to Vince, who tapped a button on the control panel attached to the wall by his work station. Rising up from beneath the platform that her suit was on, was a cylindrical container that opened to reveal her tulip. It looked almost brand new with the shiny new paint job it was given. She walked over to it and picked it up. The weight was the same, and everything about it felt normal, which pleased her. However, she wondered about the upgrades. And after some extensive questioning, Domino had it all explained to her, leaving her more than pleased with the results.

Domino twirled her extended tulip around like a baton before triggering its transformation into an electro-whip. A chuckle escaped her lips as she thought of the many uses this could have, one being an extension of herself should she find herself falling from somewhere high. Retracting it, she placed it on her hip opposite Snivy's ball.

"I love it. I was concerned at first, but I have no complaints about the upgrade," Domino giggled.

"We figured you wouldn't have a problem with it. After research your fighting style, we came to the conclusion that it suited you. Now all we have to do is teach you how to battle with Pokémon," Terry stated, reaching down and unclipping Trapinch's ball from his belt.

"Wait... we're doing this now? Don't I get a briefing on how it works!?" Domino asked frantically.

Terry looked back at her as he walked past her and smirked." You're used to giving orders aren't you?"

"Well... yes, but—"

"Same concept. Only there's one small hitch. Pokémon don't typically listen to those they don't like, be they their trainer or no... so your synergy with Snivy will be heavily dependent on the relationship between you two..."

Domino began to sweat nervously.

"So I actually have to get to know her huh? Sounds complicated," Domino frowned, following Terry out of his lab to the streets of Mistralton City, Vince following behind to watch.

Domino grew more nervous by the minute as she faced Terry. She had seen Pokémon battles plenty of times. But seeing and doing are two different things in this case. She began to regret agreeing to the terms that were set. With a sigh, she unhooked Snivy's ball and released her. Snivy gave a slight yawn as she came out, and then looked up at her trainer, that same quizzical expression she'd given Domino before, resting on the face. Domino jerked her head toward Trapinch.

Her eyes darted to the snapping jaws of the little Ground-type as it materialized onto the street in front of the house. The teeth glowed bright green as it prepped for the battle that was to begin. Sensing what Trapinch was up to, Snivy frowned and placed her hands on her hips.

"It's only complicated if you make it that way. That being said, you should take a look at what moves Snivy knows," Terry pointed out.

"And I do that... how?" Domino queried.

Terry, remembering how new she was to battling, took out his dex.

"Your Snivy's data is already registered in here. All you need to do is memorize what she knows and keep track of anything new she learns," Terry explained.

Domino nodded in understanding and took out her device and turned it on. Snivy's information was pulled up and the attacks that she knew were on display.

"OK, got it. Thanks."

"Good, because we start now. I'll give you the honor," Terry offered.

"How gentlemanly of you. Alright then, Snivy, use Energy Ball!" Domino commanded.

Snivy turned her head away and folded her arms. Domino blinked.

"Hey, I just gave you an order, now do it?!" Domino said through gritted teeth.

"Dig," was all Terry said in response while Domino tried to get Snivy to listen.

"Listen you, I'm trying to learn here and you being difficult isn't helping. Now quit being a snob and—ack!" Domino shrieked as Trapinch burst through the ground, teeth laced with verdant aura as he lunged at Snivy.

No fool, the Grass Snake Pokémon swiftly avoided the assault, lashing out with her vines as a countermeasure. This proved useless once Trapinch snapped down on the vines and swung her around like a helicopter propeller before slamming her on the ground.

"Hey! that is not what I asked you to do. I said Energy Ball!" Domino commanded.

Snivy payed her no mind as she got up and charged Trapinch. Terry sighed and said, "Sand Tomb!"

As Snivyy closed the distance, Trapinch powered up and whipped up a massive sand twister around Snivy which halted her freedom of movement. Snivy struggled and then opened her mouth to fire a green sphere of energy towards Trapinch that was countered by a Signal Beam that punched through it and slammed into Snivy.

"Oh now you wanna use it! Serves you right for not listening," Domino snapped.

"That's enough Trapinch," Terry called out, taking note that Snivy was struggling to get back up.

Domino looked away after returning Snivy. Embarrassed didn't begin to explain how she felt.

"Go ahead and say it. I did a terrible job," Domino grunted, crossing her arms in disgust as the battle ran through her mind.

"I'm not going to sugar-coat it. That was terrible. And I think you know why..."

Domino furrowed her brows and mumbled something unintelligible under her breath.

"Building a relationship with Snivy is key. Right now, the two of you don't have that," Terry said simply.

"Thank you Captain Obvious. Your observations are spot on," Domino grunted.

Terry rolled his eyes. "Look Domino. You may be used to barking orders and having underlings listen to you, but it's a completely different story when it comes to Pokémon battling. These aren't beings you can push around because you are higher ranked than they are. Snivy is your companion. She relies on you to nurture and protect her. But based on your first battle, you have a long way to go... "

Domino clenched her fists. Failure was something that she did not accept. All her life she had succeeded at just about everything she had done. It's what got her so high in the chain of command in Team Rocket. But now she had been handed a defeat, and she was going to have to force herself to accept it.

"in other words, what Terry is trying to say, is that you have to treat her with the same care that you would a baby Pokémon, because Snivy is a baby. You can't expect so much out of her from the start," Vince cut in.

Domino's face softened a bit at Vince's logic. Though it was a nice way to put it, she felt even more stupid than before.

"You may have lost this one battle, but you learned something from it. The only question now is, what do you plan to do with the knowledge you've obtained?" Terry asked her.

The Black Tulip thought for a moment before carefully forming a response.

"I want you to teach me how this works. I the synergy you and Trapinch have is obviously what we need. So tell me... where do I start?"