Ever Grande City, League conference room.
Steven and the others had already returned, and of course, the mood was pretty heavy.
Naturally so—six Champion‑tier Trainers had mobilized at once, and the area around Rustboro City's Devon Corporation building had taken serious damage from the battle.
The only real relief was that Joseph Stone had been rescued, and there'd been no casualties.
"Alright, let's hear it. After this fight, any thoughts?"
Steven took a sip of coffee, rubbed his temples, and spoke.
Post‑battle review and reflection—any proper Trainer had to learn that. It was the only way to honestly gauge your own strength and better pinpoint your opponent's weaknesses.
Leon sat there a bit awkwardly. He'd shown up so late he hadn't even seen Team Rocket's shadow, so he really didn't have anything to add.
Wallace was even more awkward. Out of the six, he was the only one who'd been defeated and captured—and then used as a "tool" for Damian and the others to pull back.
Sure, even without him, Damian's group definitely would've gotten away anyway, but that didn't change the fact that he had ended up as the "tool."
"That Admin called Zinnia—she specializes in Dragon‑types. She called herself one of the Draconid people. Champion Steven, I think we can start investigating her identity from that angle."
Brandon was the first to speak, voice low and steady.
"Draconid people?"
Steven frowned slightly at that, instinctively glancing at his good friend Wallace.
Why?
Because Wallace seemed to have some inherited title of his own.
Wallace was the last "citizen of Sootopolis."
As a citizen of Sootopolis, Wallace protected the seal at Sky Pillar.
But looking at Wallace‑sensei's dazed yet "deep in thought" expression, Steven couldn't help feeling helpless.
Then another thought hit him: Draconid people—could they be tied to Meteor Falls?
"Most likely some hidden clan. Let's have the League help us dig into that."
Cynthia analyzed calmly.
"Draconid people"—even just the title sounded like a lineage that had been around for a long time.
"Yeah. I'll also ask a few friends of mine to quietly look into it. And that Zinnia's very strong. I'm not her match."
Brandon didn't try to save face. Strong was strong, weak was weak. He really wasn't as strong as Zinnia.
"Caitlin's really strong too. Her Psychic‑types are super tricky. I'm not confident I could beat her."
Once Brandon finished, Nemona also shared her impressions.
Wallace: ...
So this girl could go fifty‑fifty with Caitlin, but he couldn't beat Caitlin at all…
Cynthia's delicate features took on a strange look.
Had Caitlin's strength really jumped this fast?
Nemona was Paldea's newly minted Champion‑tier—and Wallace had also lost to Caitlin.
But before going to Alola, Caitlin had still only been Elite Four‑level.
Which meant that after joining Team Rocket, Caitlin's strength had exploded.
Was this really the path best suited for Caitlin?
That thought left Cynthia's mind a tangle of knots.
"As for Damian, I don't need to say much. Even facing me, Champion Cynthia, and Gym Leader Giovanni all at once, he still didn't really fall behind."
Steven's voice was very heavy.
Hearing that, Leon went rigid.
He hadn't seen the battle himself, but from the sound of it, weren't these Team Rocket Admins a little too strong?
"I think we should try getting into Mega Evolution too."
Giovanni reminded them in his deep, magnetic voice.
"Mega Evolution—Kalos already has a Professor who published a paper on it. It's a Mega Evolution that lets fully‑evolved Pokémon evolve again."
Steven had read that paper.
"But up until now, the reality of Mega Evolution had never been confirmed. I didn't expect Damian and the others to have mastered it already."
Steven was actually very interested in Mega Evolution. He'd always had a thing for rare stones in the first place.
"Exactly. We need to master Mega Evolution too. From what we saw with Damian's group, Mega Evolution boosts a Pokémon's strength massively." Giovanni kept it short and to the point.
"Agreed. Mega Evolution's power‑up is huge. If we want to beat Team Rocket, we're gonna need it."
Cynthia was fully on board.
She still couldn't forget how brutal Damian's Mega Tyranitar had been.
Did Mega Tyranitar have any especially fancy plays during the Rustboro battle?
Not really.
It was just purely strong—a kind of incomparable, raw stat beauty.
Relying solely on its powerful body and overwhelming might, it had brute‑forced its way through Metagross, Garchomp, and Nidoking.
That Tyranitar had obviously been absurdly strong to begin with, but Steven knew perfectly well that before Mega Evolution, there was no way it had been that ridiculous.
"I'll ask the chairman to help us search for Mega Stones, and get in touch with the Kalos experts while we're at it."
Steven nodded. With Cynthia and the others here to help, he could even use Mega Stones as thank‑you gifts in return.
He wasn't short on money. As long as it was a problem that could be solved with cash, it wasn't really a problem.
"Everyone's worked hard today. Please get some proper rest."
Steven said to the group. He was itching to start contacting Kalos.
Mega Evolution—once they had that, they could launch a new offensive on the organization.
"Champion Steven, don't forget to take care of yourself too. You're exhausted." Giovanni added a word of concern.
"That's right, Champion Steven. You should rest first. An evil organization this strong isn't going to be taken down in a short time." Cynthia agreed.
"Thanks. I get it."
Steven felt a little warmth in his chest at that.
But right then—
Jenny's commander received a message. Her expression shifted, her shock obvious.
"Champion Steven, could you step outside for a moment?"
...
Lilycove City.
"Feels like I still didn't do a great job."
Inside Caitlin's villa, Damian lay on the couch, mentally replayed the whole thing, then shook his head in helpless dissatisfaction.
He felt like this round of posing just hadn't been perfect. Maybe he should've waited until Armored Mewtwo had beaten Steven's trio all the way down to their knees before launching into his big declaration. The effect would've been way better.
But it was already over.
"Next time I can't use that 'power, belonging, dreams' spiel again. Gotta swap it out."
Damian kept thinking it over.
Now that he'd completely laid his "relationship" with Giovanni bare, he'd basically given a "justification" for why he'd suddenly joined Team Rocket and what his "original reasons" and ideology were.
Next, it was time to open the scale up. Otherwise, harping on how he'd lived in the shadow of "Son of Giovanni" would just feel petty and small.
Damian aspired to become this world's ultimate final boss.
Next time he clashed with the League, he'd have to show off his ambitions and ideology.
Something like "I will stand above the heavens," "I'll be the god of a new world."
Though "god" might be a little too chuuni…
"Lord Damian, there's news on the thing you asked me to look into before."
Courtney's soft, girlish voice sounded from within Damian's arms.
"Oh?" Damian snapped back to himself, his palm absent‑mindedly kneading the little breast.
"Nnn…"
A blush rose on Courtney's fair, pretty face. Her eyes turned sultry as she quickly pinned down Damian's wandering hand.
"Professor Lund from LaRousse City really did bring back a Meteorite from the great ice field four years ago and has been researching it ever since."
"And I found one of the personnel who'd been on‑site back then."
"He confirmed clearly that Rayquaza descended at the time—and he even took a photo."
As she spoke, Courtney pulled a photo out from her dress pocket and handed it to Damian.
"Look, Lord Damian. This is the on‑site guy I went to so much trouble to track down."
Courtney's voice was thick with pride, her whole posture that of an adorable girl begging to be praised.
"My Courtney's amazing."
Damian didn't hold back, leaning in to plant a kiss on Courtney's pale cheek as he took the photo and glanced at it.
The picture was a bit old and low‑res, but Damian still recognized it.
It was Rayquaza and Deoxys.
A slow grin spread across his face.
Now this was getting interesting.
"Heehee～"
Courtney tilted her head, a beautiful smile blossoming.
"Then, Lord Damian… could you reward me?"
Courtney wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in, lips brushing Damian's cheek, eyes smoldering.
They were so close now that Damian could literally see the almost invisible pores on her face.
"Little temptress. Didn't I just satisfy you last night?"
Damian couldn't help being impressed. This woman really was terrifying—she was relentless.
"I want it again tonight, Lord Damian～ I don't want to get out of bed tomorrow. Will you let me?"
Courtney giggled softly.
"Fine, fine!"
What hot‑blooded teenage boy could stand being teased like that? Did she not realize this was his prime?
Three hours later, Damian walked out of the room feeling utterly refreshed.
Little Courtney—nothing to it.
Beep beep～
Damian glanced at his phone and raised a brow.
"Hello, Lillie."
"Mr. Damian, are you busy?" Lillie's clear, pleasant voice came through the line.
"I told you, Lillie—if it's you, I'll pick up even if I'm busy."
Damian went downstairs to pour himself some tea, smiling as he answered.
"Heehee～ Mr. Damian, I told Mother I wanted to go visit big brother Gladion for a few days, and she said yes!"
Lillie's tone was bubbling with barely contained joy.
That's right—she was going to Hoenn to find her big brother.
"Is big brother Gladion with you, Mr. Damian?"
Lillie asked hopefully.
If Gladion wasn't in the same place as Mr. Damian, then she'd just go see him near the end of the trip. She believed big brother would understand.
"He is. Looks like I'll get to see adorable Lillie again. When are you coming over?"
Damian did kind of miss this cute blonde young lady. He smiled as he asked.
"I haven't bought a ticket yet." Lillie's cheeks flushed at that.
"Check if there's a flight to Hoenn—Lilycove City this afternoon. If there is, I'll pick you up at the airport and show you around for a few days."
"Okay!!"
Lillie agreed at once, her happiness clear as day. She'd be seeing Mr. Damian again soon.
"Mr. Damian, there is one. There's a flight that gets into Lilycove City tonight."
"Will there be enough time?"
"Yes!"
"Great. Book it. I'll pick you up at the airport."
"Mm‑hmm～"
Lillie was over the moon. After hanging up, she immediately bought the ticket.
"Lunala～"
Lunala leaned close to Lillie.
"We'll be seeing Mr. Damian again soon, Nebby."
Lillie gently stroked Lunala's cheek, heart full of joy as her eyes curved into happy crescents.
But the next second, that smile on her face dimmed a little.
I'm sorry, Selene—
~~~
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