Chairman Rose rested against his desk chair with a sigh, having just finished looking through a tower of paperwork. He turned his chair around to look at the view of Wyndon from his office at Rose Tower. The city was shining beautifully with the night lights shining brightly, the ferris wheel gave many citizens a beautiful view of their homes, and the clock tower bell announced it was half-past seven. Though he could not see the civilians far below, he imagined all of them happily living their lives with the power to light their businesses and homes. Indeed, Marco Cosmos once again provided power for all of Galar with the resources they had for another day. The very thought put the chairman at ease after another long day running his company.

There was a knock on the door, and it opened to reveal Oleana on her phone with an intern carrying a steak, a bowl of rice, and a salad on a tray. Rose watched the two of them come in from the window's reflection and turned his chair around just as the intern placed the tray on his desk. Rose gave the intern a friendly smile to thank her before the intern bowed and left the office. He started cutting off a piece of the steak just as Oleana hung up.

"Your appointments tomorrow are scheduled, and tickets for the Championship Cup have begun selling," Oleana reported.

"Excellent. Everything downstairs went well today?" Rose asked.

"All issues have been resolved. There are no problems," Oleana answered.

"Is that so? Good to hear," the chairman said. "Have you made contact with Piers?"

"The seventh Gym Leader has not responded to our calls," Oleana said. "I've contacted the staff in Circhester Stadium to make sure all Gym Challengers who win their sixth badge receive transportation to Spikemuth."

"Good," Chairman Rose said. "Speaking of Gym Challengers, are any of them still battling for their 5th badge?"

"All remaining challengers have earned their 5th badge and are traveling to Circhester," Oleana said.

"How many are left apart from Ezria, Timothy, and Venarge?" Chairman Rose asked.

"Four," Oleana answered bluntly.

Chairman Rose looked up from his dinner and sighed. He put down his fork and knife and rested his elbows on his desk with his clasped hands raised to his mouth.

"Seven Gym Challengers left to compete for their last three badges. That's five less than last year," Rose said. "I hope enough of them will complete the challenge to make the tournament last about as long as it did last year."

"With all due respect, sir, I advise you not to worry about it," Oleana said. "We've had shortages of trainers completing the challenge before and have still delivered in giving people and Pokémon memorable Championship Cups. We should expect no less with who we still have. Besides, our operation in Hammerlocke should still focus our attention."

"Mmmmm. Yes, you're right, Oleana," Rose said. "I heard the quakes are dying down."

"Yes, sir. Eternatus has made no further attempt to escape," Oleana said. "We have preparations to reinforce the core and the hanger again immediately if it tries again."

The chairman smiled from ear to ear.

"Thank you, Oleana. I don't know what I would do without you," he said.

"It's my job," Oleana said bluntly.

"Even so, I'm grateful for everything you and everyone who worked to catch Eternatus to keep Galar's future safe," Rose said. "When we successfully extract its energy, I will personally thank all of you."

Oleana's calm demeanor weakened into a subtle look of concern as she said, "I fear I must remind you, Mr. Chairman, that we lost one of the researchers during Eternatus's capture."

Chairman Rose looked at Oleana, confused until his memory kicked in, and he hung his head with a sigh.

"That's right. The professor's friend," he said. "The one who discovered Eternatus's whereabouts."

"Yes, sir. Dr. Weaver, if I recall correctly," Oleana said.

"Yes, Dr. Lettie Weaver. Now I remember," Rose said. "Such a gifted woman. I wish she could be here when the plant is fully operational."

"I'm sure she would've been proud of the work everyone has done," Oleana said.

"That's not enough," Chairman Rose said, standing up from his seat. "I would have still forgotten such an important team member had you not brought up her passing. Dr. Weaver should be remembered by all who owe her for securing our future. We should have a framed picture hung on both the Energy Plant, and in Rose Tower where all will remember Dr. Weaver a thousand years from now."

Oleana stared blankly at the chairman for a moment before she nodded and said, "You're right, Mr. Chairman. We should honor Dr. Weaver's memory this way."

"Excellent. Do we have any pictures of her?" Chairman Rose asked.

Oleana scratched her chin in thought and said, "I think you should have a picture of yourself with the entire research team. You did ask me to take one before they left to hunt down Eternatus."

"Perfect," Rose said.

Rose sat back down, took out his phone, opened the gallery app, and scrolled down until he found a picture of himself with a dozen researchers in lab coats. He scanned the picture until he found a woman in her mid-forties with brown hair tied to a ponytail and pink eyes standing on the far left of the screen. The chairman smiled as he zoomed into the picture until half of Lettie Weaver could be seen and made a screenshot.

But before he exited the app, the chairman looked to the right of the screen, and his smile disappeared. Standing beside Lettie was Gwen holding Winnie. The chairman looked between the two women, puzzled until it hit him. He leaned to the back of his chair, looking at the picture in disbelief as he suddenly put together how he recognized Gwen.

"Mr. Chairman, is anything wrong?" Oleana asked.

Rose continued to look at his phone in silence until he stood up, walked around his desk, and handed his phone to Oleana. His loyal secretary looked carefully at the picture until the pieces came together in her mind. Her eyes widened, and she tightened her grip on Rose's phone to keep herself from showing rage.

"Timothy's companion, Gwen," Rose said, looking away from Oleana with a sullen look. "She said we haven't met, yet there she is next to her mother when I came to wish the team good luck."

"She lied to you!" Oleana hissed. "How could she dare to lie to you of all people?!"

"The real question is why did she lie," Rose said, turning to Oleana. "What could motivate her to claim she has never seen me before? You would think she would bring that up with Timothy and their other companion."

"Perhaps Ms. Weaver thought it inappropriate," Oleana said. "If memory serves correctly, we had the research team sign a document preventing them from speaking of your -"

Oleana's face softened, and she stopped squeezing the chairman's phone. Rose looked at her, confused, as she turned her head to him with a look of realization.

"I just remembered. Gwen and her mother were recommended to us by Professor Magnolia," Oleana said.

The chairman's eyes widened, and he looked away, scratching his chin in thought.

"Has your subordinate in Wedgehurst reported anything recently?" He asked.

"No, there have been no reports of any changes to Professor Magnolia's activities of late," Oleana answered. "Agent Porter hasn't seen her granddaughter at her house or her lab in some time, but apart from that, there's been no cause for concern."

"Hmmm. I wonder if Gwen is still in contact with her," Rose said. "If Professor Magnolia has expressed her opinion against our project, Gwen could be a liability in recruiting Timothy."

"Even if she's legally forbidden to talk about it?" Oleana asked.

"She may be forbidden, but if she finds out that we're planning to recruit Timothy or that he agrees to help us and is against it, she might find a way to secretly guide him away from being a part of our operation," Rose said. "I'm sure Timothy will still take our side with his desire to be there when people and Pokémon are in danger, but we can't take any chances of anyone interfering with my plan."

"So, what do you want to do?" Oleana asked.

The chairman thought about it and said, "Ezria is with them right now. Call her immediately and let her know what's going on. Then, contact the manager of Circhester Stadium and schedule Ezria and Timothy's battles back to back, with Ezria's going first. During Timothy's battle, have Gwen brought to Ezria for interrogation. If she gets enough information to ensure there's no problem, we will leave it be."

"And if she does not?" Oleana asked.

Chairman Rose hesitated and said, "I don't want to do something that would give Timothy and his other friend any idea that something wrong is going on. We may have to have a team follow them for the rest of their journey to ensure Gwen doesn't say a word at best. At worst, we'll have to think of more drastic measures that might compromise our aim to recruit Timothy and ruin Ezria's chance to be with him. I hate to do that to her, but she knows what's at stake."

"Understood. I'll contact Ezria right away," Oleana said.

She took out her phone and dialed Ezria's number. Rose decided to sit back down and continue his meal while he waited. He was halfway through when Oleana finished her phone call and dialed another number. When she finished her second call, Rose had finished his dinner and was wiping his face with a napkin.

"Ezria has been informed of the situation, and she said she's more than willing to interrogate Timothy's, as she lovingly put it, wretched companion," Oleana reported. "The manager of Circhester Stadium has been given his instructions and is compliant to carry them out."

Rose sighed and looked up at his loyal secretary with a grateful look.

"Thank you, Oleana. Once again, I'm grateful for all you do," he said.

"It's my job," Oleana said. "Will that be all, Mr. Chairman?"

"That will be all," Rose replied.

Oleana put away her phone, took the empty tray, and exited the office without another word. All alone again, the chairman leaned on the back of his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. He turned his chair to face the glass window, trying to imagine the citizens of Wyndon enjoying the power Marco Cosmos was providing again in hopes that it would soothe his nerves.

"Almost there," he said to himself. "Almost."