Domino sat awkwardly in her seat as she listened to Terry, Rosa and Hugh conversed with the Tuckers at the table while they ate.

"Thanks for having us over for lunch. It's been a long time since we've done this. I've really missed your pies!" Rosa chirped excitedly as she shoved a fork full of cherri berry pie in her mouth.

"We've missed having you youngins over. You two used to chase each other all over the ranch. It was so adorable to watch," Mrs. Tucker giggled.

"Those weren't always fun..."

"Is it because I used to push you into the mud, or the fact that I put hay in your sheets every once in a while?" Rosa snickered while Hugh's face dawned an annoyed expression.

"Hay in his sheets? What did you do, Hugh?" Domino asked, intrigued.

"Yes Hugh, whatever did you do?" Rosa added, grinning.

Hugh folded his arms and frowned.

"I took a sharpie to her face while she was napping..."

Domino snorted and the rest of the table burst into laughter as well.

"So Terry, who's your friend? I remember you telling me there would be an extra guest, but you didn't tell me she was such a charming young lady. Are you two dating?" Mrs. Tucker asked sweetly.

Domino almost choked as she put a fork full of pie in her mouth. Snatching up her water, she guzzler it down and sighed in relief.

"Oh dear, are you alright!?" asked Mrs. Tucker worriedly.

"I'm fine, sorry. Guess it went down the wrong pipe," Domino laughed nervously.

"I hate it when that happens. Makes it hard to enjoy the meal," Mr. Tucker inputted. "By the way Terry, where's Vince? wasn't he gonna come over?"

"He had some prior engagements with my sister. He said he'd come next time," Terry replied.

"I see. Well, at least we won't have to worry about him eating us out of house and home," Mr. Tucker laughed.

"Yeah, with his insatiable appetite, it's a wonder he hasn't done it yet," Rosa added.

As they all continued conversing, the sound of barking reached their ears, interrupting their merriment.

"Honey, can you go see what those Herdier are barking about?"

"I'm on it. It's probably just some Mareep that got loose again."

Mr. Tucker got up and walked to the front door and exited the house. As he stepped out onto the porch, his eyes darted to the fences where the Herdier were barking wildly and Mareep were scattering. Standing in the Mareep pen was a man clothed in a military style, gray and black outfit with a mask covering his mouth and nose. Stepping off the porch, Mr. Tucker hustled over to the man who was the source of the disturbance. As he did, he saw the man reach for a poké ball and toss it out, unleashing a Zangoose that immediately began attacking the Mareep.

"Hey!!" yelled Mr. Tucker as he broke into a sprint towards the intruder, all the while issuing commands to the two Herdier to attack.

"Oh? it appears we have company," the uniformed man stated, snapping to gain Zangoose's attention.

At the sound of Mr. Tucker's shouting, everyone inside rushed out the door to investigate what was going on. As soon as they all were outside, both Herdier were sent flying in opposing directions, one crashing through the fence and the other skidding along the ground. The perpetrator, Zangoose, snarled viciously as he stalked toward the one that was sent through the fence.

Mr. Tucker backed up as he saw the bloodlust in the Zangoose's eyes. The fur on his back bristled as he stalked towards the fallen canine who was struggling to get up. As Zangoose was about to pounce, he was hit by a burst of electricity and sent sliding back a few feet, steam rising from his fur. Looking up, he spotted Domino with her tulip aimed directly at him, the tip crackling with electricity as she prepped another blast.

Glancing over at Mr. Tucker, she said, "hey, unless you want to make your wife a widow, I suggest you grab your pooch and haul ass back to the house!"

Without a second thought, Mr. Tucker whipped out both Herdier spheres and returned them swiftly before taking off towards the porch. As he ran, Zangoose growled and darted after him only to be zapped in the back, eliciting a snarl of pain and annoyance from the Cat Ferret Pokémon.

"Sorry, but your primary concern is right here," Domino stated with a grin as she simultaneously threw her coat and shawl off her person to reveal the suit she was given.

"Attacking a Pokémon without one of your own... I'm not sure if you're brave or suicidal," the uniformed man said as he drew closer to the scene.

"Nah, I'm a whole different kind of stupid," Domino said with a cheeky grin, her eyes still locked onto Zangoose who was now coming towards her.

Flipping down her goggles, she turned them on and let out a long whistle as the reader lit up upon scanning Zangoose.

"Oh yeah, definitely a Shadow Pokémon I'm lookin' at here..."

At this revelation, the owner of the Zangoose went wide-eyed.

"How do you know what that is!?" he demanded.

"That's none of your damn business," Domino shot back as she activated the suit's combat enhancement systems while Zangoose charged her at a rapid pace. "This better work..."

Zangoose leaped high and lashed out at Domino, claws lit up with violet energy. Domino swiftly extended her tulip into its staff form while swinging it upwards to block the strike. Even though she planted her feet, the force of the strike sent her skidding back a considerable distance.

"So this is what you were working on all this time huh?" Hugh commented as he watched Domino regain her bearings.

Terry adjusted his glasses and folded his arms.

"I designed that suit to be as durable as possible, but I also modified it to enhance the natural strength of the wearer. It's tailored to her flexibility as well and it doubles her strength upon activation..."

"Any drawbacks?" Rosa inquired.

"There's always the chance that it could overheat. Excessive use can cause it to shut down if she's not careful. And if that happens, she'll just be wearing a really flexible suit of armor with no perks..."

"So she's screwed if she overdoes it. That's comforting..." Rosa replied nervously. "Also Hugh, isn't that a —"

"Team Plasma agent? yeah... I recognize that emblem anywhere. The only reason why I'm not currently kicking his ass is because I don't have the desire to be attacked by that Zangoose..." Hugh said flatly, doing his best to root himself in place and not tear off after the agent.

Zangoose snarled and sprinted towards Domino, claws crackling with intense energy as he closed in. Moments later, he was instantly upon her, swiping with his claws. Barely able to keep pace, Domino stumbled back as she defended with her staff, only to feel two hard strikes break through her defenses, knocking her down. Instinctively, Domino rolled to a stand to avoid the claws of the predator as they stabbed the ground.

Angry, Zangoose lunged only to be met with adversity as Domino swung her staff and connected with the side of Zangoose's face, the brutal force of the blow sending him bouncing along the ground about ten feet from her.

"You know... I had my doubts about the modifications my tulip received but... Damn!" Domino called out, a wicked grin spreading across her face as she stalked towards the steadily rising Zangoose.

Dammit! what the hell is going on? no one's supposed to know about this and yet... somehow... she does. How!? the man though as he gritted his teeth.

Closing in, Domino pointed the tulip at Zangoose as he whirled around, and fired, missing as Zangoose shot towards her at a fast pace.

"Oh sh—!"

Domino was sent flying, tumbling along the ground as she hit the dirt. Coming out of a roll, she lept aside as Zangoose slammed a claw into the ground where she was previously. Skidding to a stop, Domino launched a blast of electricity towards him. Batting it away, Zangoose closed in swiftly and slashed her across the abdomen, his claws grating against the thin layer of steel, sending Domino flat onto her back.

Diving on top of her, he swung at her with his claws, meeting resistance from her staff, locking them in a power struggle. While Domino's strength was enhanced, it wouldn't hold out against the sheer power of Zangoose's natural brute strength. Feeling her arms giving out, Domino leaned herself away from the claw that was pressing down on her staff, the claws barely missing stabbing her throat as they sank into the ground beside her.

Instinctively, Domino wrapped her legs around Zangoose and trapped him knowing that she wasn't going to get an opportunity like this again. Reaching down with her right hand, she grabbed one of the empty poké balls and enlarged it, activating the sensors on the Snag Machine the moment the ball met her hand, converting the ball into a Snag Ball. Struggling to keep hold on the thrashing Zangoose, she wasted no time and slammed him over the head with ball, causing it to open up and absorb him inside.

The ball hit the ground and began to twitch violently. Domino pulled herself to her feet, breathing heavily.

Please... stay in the damn ball. I'm far too exhausted to keep this up, she admitted mentally as she kept an eye on the ball with her staff at the ready.

Ten agonizing seconds later, the ball went still. Relief washed over her as she saw that it was no longer moving. Ignoring the fact that everything hurt, she turned around and faced the owner—former owner of the Zangoose, it was hers now, she gave him a wry grin before advancing towards him.

"So, it appears that I win, and you lose. Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either you tell me why you pulled this shit, or I use you as a punching bag to vent my frustrations on..."

"As fantastic as that sounds..." the agent said nervously while taking a step back, "I'm going to have to decline both those offers. Krokorok, use Sandstorm!"

Within moments of Krokorok being released, a heavy Sandstorm picked up, obscuring everyone's vision. Seconds later, the agent was gone without a trace. Domino picked up the Snag Ball and looked warily at it. A multitude of questions ran through her mind as she processed what had just happened. But the one that rang the loudest was...

What exactly do I do with this now?