Right now Lusamine's hands and feet were ice-cold. Yes—she had a secret that could never see the light of day.
Ever since her husband, Professor Mohn, vanished during an Ultra Wormhole experiment, her pursuit of Ultra Beasts had grown more and more sick.
Sick to the point of outright distortion.
"Chairman Lusamine loves Pokémon so much"—that was common knowledge throughout Alola.
But in reality, as her personality grew ever more fanatical and twisted, her "love" for ordinary Pokémon twisted with it.
She wanted to collect every Pokémon she liked. And right here in this private manor, she'd used live cryogenic tech to preserve the ones she fancied, turning them into her personal collection pieces.
That was explicitly banned by the Pokémon League.
Freezing living Pokémon was considered deeply inhumane—but Lusamine had done it anyway.
That was why both Gladion and Lillie had wanted so badly to escape Aether Paradise, to get away from Lusamine.
Her mind really had warped, and it showed in every aspect of her life.
"Madam, you wouldn't want the Pokémon League to find out about that little secret… would you?"
Damian's grin widened as he watched the dead, lightless look in Lusamine's eyes.
At this stage, Lusamine hadn't been "corrected" yet. For her, using Lillie and Gladion to threaten her was actually less effective than using this secret.
If it ever got out that she froze living Pokémon as collectibles, Lusamine would be ruined in Alola overnight.
Everything she had now would be gone, and the Pokémon League would never let her off the hook.
For her, that was absolutely unacceptable. She hadn't even come close to fulfilling her "lifelong wish."
Lusamine stared daggers at Damian, her expression dark and ugly. She couldn't understand how he knew.
No one should've known. It was impossible.
No—figuring that out could wait.
She couldn't let him walk out of this manor. Absolutely not.
"Hydro Pump!"
A beautiful Milotic appeared at her side, mouth opening as pure water energy gathered.
Her eyes were now shrouded in shadow, her pale face clouded with malice. She could not let this man leave this house alive.
If he got out and exposed her, her life would be over.
Milotic's Hydro Pump roared straight at Damian himself.
"Tsk. Going straight for the Trainer, huh? Swift and ruthless. As expected of you, Lusamine."
Damian clicked his tongue. In her corrupted phase, Lusamine didn't just turn on her own family—she really was vicious.
After all, this was a woman who wouldn't even resist being taken over by Nihilego.
"She's just a little weak, is all."
Gliding out of Damian's shadow, Shiny Gengar floated forward, its chubby paws cupping together as a Shadow Ball flared between them and blasted out.
Boom!
Shadow Ball and Hydro Pump slammed into each other. Then, under Lusamine's suddenly constricted pupils, the Shadow Ball forced its way through the Hydro Pump and smashed straight into Milotic, detonating on impact.
Milotic shrieked as its whole body was blown backward, crashing to the floor. The pain was so intense it couldn't even get back up right away.
"Impossible…"
Seeing her main-roster Milotic almost one-shot, Lusamine went pale.
How could he be this strong?
"Kukui and the others asked you to keep tabs on me. They didn't mention my strength?"
Damian rolled a Poké Ball between his fingers, watching her with genuine interest.
Her expression turned stormy. Kukui hadn't said a word—only that Damian was an extremely dangerous Team Rocket operative.
Damn it. Couldn't you have just said "Champion-tier Trainer"?
"There's no point struggling in front of me. Why don't we sit down and talk about what happens next?"
Noticing her hand creeping toward her back, Damian narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone cooling.
"…"
Lusamine ground her teeth. The strong pressed, the weak got crushed. Right now, she was the one on the chopping block.
"What do you want?"
She forced herself to calm down and asked in a low voice.
"Aether Foundation will privately work for Team Rocket."
Damian didn't even hesitate.
"Absolutely not!!" Lusamine refused on the spot, glaring at him.
The Aether Foundation was her father's legacy—her life's work.
"Oh? You're still saying no?" Damian raised a brow.
"Lusamine, what exactly gives you the right to refuse me?"
"I can make sure you never get your hands on the Aether Foundation."
She knew she couldn't let herself be completely on the defensive. If she did, Damian really would be able to do whatever he wanted with her.
"You really do think highly of yourself. You think you're the only way I can take Aether Foundation?" Damian sneered.
"Gengar."
"Gen~gar."
Shiny Gengar floated up in front of Lusamine with a nasty grin, getting right up in her face.
She instinctively took a step back. Those awful eyes were beyond unnerving.
"Damian, without my cooperation, you'll never get what you want out of Aether Foundation. Whatever you're planning, it won't go smoothly." Her voice was sharp, but hollow underneath.
"You know, my Gengar's really good at Hypnosis." Damian tilted his head, smiling gently at her.
Her face changed immediately.
"Yeah, that Hypnosis. If it lands, you'll be my little puppet on strings. If I tell you to get on all fours, you'll get on all fours. If I tell you to lie down, you'll lie down."
His voice stayed almost soothing.
"Impossible. Gengar isn't a Psychic type. There's no way its Hypnosis could control a human mind like that!" she blurted.
"Sorry, but my Gengar can. Want to test it?"
His smile only deepened.
Of course it was a bluff. Just like Lusamine had said, to fully dominate a human mind with hypnosis, you needed a monstrously powerful Psychic-type Pokémon.
"…"
Her expression flickered wildly. She didn't dare gamble.
And at the same time, she realized—despairing—that she had nothing with which to fight back.
"Don't look like that."
Damian strolled up to her sagging figure, her aura completely deflated, and gently ran his fingers across her cheek.
Aether Foundation and Lusamine—both were in his pocket now.
Her eyes flashed with humiliation and anger but… what could she do?
"Your skin's really soft. You take good care of yourself." Damian had to give her that.
Lusamine's face remained a blank mask.
"Cheer up. Smile a little. It's not so bad, following me, is it?" Damian pressed a finger lightly against her lips, smiling.
She stayed silent. It felt like the sky was collapsing around her.
He noticed, of course—but he didn't care. She'd be screaming soon enough.
"Come on. Let me take a look."