The number of Key Stones and Mega Stones available is extremely limited, far fewer than the number of trainers who desire them.
As for obtaining a Mega Stone, Maki had never been too concerned. Worst case scenario, he could just go to his old man and say a few words.
Key Stones were even easier to acquire since they were universal. The real challenge was getting the right Mega Stone. Even if someone was lucky enough to stumble upon one, it was unlikely to match their Pokémon's compatibility.
That being said, even without a Mega Stone, Mawile's potential was far from lacking. After all, it possessed three highly practical Abilities:
Hyper Cutter, Intimidate, and Sheer Force.
In terms of value, Mawile with the Sheer Force Ability was undoubtedly the most coveted. The combination of Sheer Force and Life Orb was simple yet overwhelmingly powerful, making it a well-known strategy among trainers.
More importantly, Mawile had the prestigious Steel/Fairy typing, one of the strongest type combinations, rivaled only by a few like Steel/Flying, Steel/Dragon, and Water/Dragon.
Currently, the only known Steel/Fairy-type Pokémon, aside from the Legendary Zacian, were Mawile and Klefki. And Zacian was often jokingly referred to as a "mini Mawile."
Glancing at the documents Nurse Joy had handed over earlier, Maki carefully examined the information. Although this Mawile had come into his possession for free, if it was going to be part of his main team, its potential had to be evaluated. If it was too weak, it would likely just end up as eye candy.
Maki wasn't the type to abandon his Pokémon, but he also wouldn't waste time unnecessarily. Among all of Ash's rivals, besides Gary, the one he admired most was Paul. At the very least, their philosophies aligned in many ways.
And if we were to talk about true rivals, Paul was probably the only one worthy of the title. As for a certain someone Maki refused to name, he'd rather just remove the "rival" part and slap them into oblivion.
To his slight surprise, the League had been unexpectedly generous this time—the Mawile he received had the highly valuable Sheer Force Ability.
Its inherited moves were also incredibly practical: Power-Up Punch for boosting strength and Thunder Fang for type coverage.
Not every Pokémon could wield Power-Up Punch like Mega Kangaskhan with its infamous "Swords Dance Punch," but that didn't diminish the move's strength.
Gaining an Attack boost while dealing damage was incredibly useful, even if the base power was a bit low. Thankfully, Sheer Force didn't negate Power-Up Punch's added effect; otherwise, the move would have been rendered useless.
Overall, based on the information available, this Mawile was an excellent pick. However, a Pokémon's potential couldn't be judged solely by surface-level traits—it required further observation.
But for now, it had already met Maki's standards.
He gently patted Mawile's head, rousing her from her half-asleep state, then placed a Poké Ball in front of her.
"Would you like to be my partner?"
Although Mawile seemed to like him, that didn't necessarily mean she wanted to be his Pokémon. If she wasn't interested, Maki wouldn't force her.
But without hesitation, Mawile lightly tapped the button at the center of the Poké Ball with her forehead, willingly entering it.
There was no need for a capture sequence—after all, this was already her Poké Ball—but the ritual still mattered.
"Cotton!?"
Perched on Maki's head, Cottonee was completely dumbfounded. Everything had happened so quickly that she couldn't process it.
How did that position-stealing intruder suddenly become her teammate!?
Cottonee now found herself torn—should she continue fighting Mawile for her favorite spot? After all, her current spot was still quite comfortable.
Oh well, she decided to let the "new little sister" have her way for now.
Despite them being roughly the same age—Mawile might even be older—Cottonee had already assigned herself the role of "big sister."
With the Mawile situation resolved, Nurse Joy finally sighed in relief. The Pokémon Center was always busy, and she couldn't afford to spend all her time on this matter.
Regardless of how things had played out, Maki taking Mawile off her hands was the best outcome—one less problem for her to deal with.
"That settles it! Make sure you take good care of her!" she said with a smile before leaving.
"Looks like you've got a new companion now!"
Maki playfully bumped Mawile's Poké Ball against Cottonee's cotton-like fluff with a grin.
"Cotton!"
[Are you doing this on purpose!?]
Cottonee let out a disgruntled cry and turned her tiny face away. But despite her feigned annoyance, she couldn't help but steal glances at Mawile's Poké Ball.
So this is what it means to be tsundere?
Back in his room, Maki called out all three of his Pokémon—excluding Dragonite. Since Mawile was a Steel/Fairy type, she probably wouldn't be too popular with Dragonite. After all, Mawile could technically be considered a dragon slayer.
"Come on, from now on, you're all teammates! Get to know each other well!"
Cottonee had already known about Mawile joining the team, but Charmeleon had been asleep in its Poké Ball the entire time. When it was finally released and heard Maki's announcement, it was so startled that it jumped.
But as expected of the big brother figure, Charmeleon quickly accepted the news and welcomed Mawile to the team.
"Maw~"
Unlike how she behaved toward Maki, Mawile wasn't nearly as enthusiastic about Cottonee and Charmeleon. She clung timidly to Maki's leg, eyeing the two Pokémon with cautious curiosity.
However, she did remember Cottonee—the little troublemaker who had previously tried to take her spot in Maki's arms. Upon seeing her again, Mawile tightened her grip around Maki even more.
It was fortunate that Mawile in her normal form didn't have the Huge Power ability. Otherwise, Maki wasn't sure he could handle being squeezed so tightly.
Even though she didn't seem as excited about meeting Charmeleon and Cottonee, Mawile still let out a couple of quiet greetings.
Well… for Maki's sake.
If not for the fact that real-world Pokémon abilities weren't tied to their personalities, Maki would have started to suspect that his Mawile had the "Highly Reserved" Hidden Ability.
Then again, she certainly didn't seem very "reserved" when it came to him!
Since both Mawile and Cottonee were Fairy-types, part of the Pokéblocks Maki had originally prepared for Cottonee suited Mawile's taste as well. Until he could restock some new berries from the department store, she'd have to make do with those for now.
That meant Cottonee would have to share, but she seemed perfectly content lounging on top of Maki's head. The only time she protested—symbolically—was when he handed over one of her Pokéblocks to Mawile.
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