Back in the safehouse, the adrenaline had bled away, leaving behind a deep weariness and the quiet hum of aftermath.
The meeting with the International Police had been brief. A team in sharp, dark blue uniforms had descended on the plains, efficiently extracting the buried Archer and his unconscious Tyranitar. Elias had handed over the paired Mega Stones without hesitation. The lead agent, a woman with steel-grey hair and eyes that missed nothing, had taken the stones, sealed them in a reinforced case, and looked at Elias with curiosity.
Now, in the relative safety of the safehouse, the weight of the day settled. Anne was at the small sink, splashing water on her face, trying to wash away the grime and the lingering memory of that destabilizing smile. Elias sat on the edge of a makeshift cot, staring at the three pokeballs lined up on the workbench in front of him.
He picked up Alpha Scraggy's ball, holding its warm, comforting weight in his palm.
"You okay?" Anne's voice was soft. She leaned against the wall, her arms crossed, watching him.
"I am… processing." Elias said, which was the most honest answer he could give. He looked at her. "You saved my life. More than once. Thank you."
Before Anne could respond, Elias's comm watch rang. The blue holographic projection bloomed in, casting Sarah's sharp features across Elias's tired face.
"Commander." Elias acknowledged, his voice regaining its habitual neutrality.
"Elias. Anne." Sarah's voice was crisp. "I've just received the report from Scrapyard City. Along with several... interesting news bulletins from the League."
She paused, leaning forward until her face filled the center of the holographic field.
"Handing over a Rocket Admin to the International Police was not what I expected you to do, Elias. We had retrieval teams on standby to take Archer into our own custody for interrogation." Sarah's expression remained stony for a long moment, then her eyes flickered with a rare, cold approval. "But Boss Martin praised your action. He wants you two back here for something... special. Go back to the Headquarters fast."
The holographic image flickered and died, leaving the safehouse in a heavy, sudden silence.
Anne let out a deep breath.
"Special, huh? When the Boss uses that word, it usually means we're getting a promotion."
Elias didn't respond immediately. Instead, he stood up, the movement stiff.
"We shouldn't keep him waiting," Elias said.
***
BREAKING – SCAPYARD CITY: INTERNATIONAL POLICE APPREHEND TEAM ROCKET ADMIN IN MASSIVE BUST.
League sources confirm Archer, a high-ranking Team Rocket Admin, was captured following a confrontation with local trainer. No casualties reported. The trainer involved is believed to be Elias, recent champion of the Metrolink City Novice Clash. League officials are hailing his actions as "heroic." Full statement pending.
Across the region... many have seen the news. It was all over, not only in Adele, but in other regions too.
A Team Rocket Admin finally got caught after many years of them living in the underworld, avoiding authorities.
Somewhere... dozens of monitors lined the walls, displaying maps, financial tickers, and encrypted communications. In the center, Giovanni sat behind a vast, empty desk, his fingers steepled.
On the central screen, a League news anchor spoke over footage of the rocky plains, a blurred figure that could be Elias, and the distant shape of International Police airships.
"...a stunning blow to the criminal syndicate's operations in the region..."
Giovanni's expression was carved from marble. Only his eyes showed a flicker of cold interest.
He tapped a single key on his console. A new file opened on a secondary screen—a dossier on "Elias (Metrolink Novice Clash Champion)". It was sparse. A photograph from the tournament, stats, the public record.
...
Ellen was walking across a sunny plain, the tall grass whispering around her knees. Her Rotom Dex floated beside her, chattering cheerfully about pokemon. Then, its screen flickered, overriding its programming with a priority news alert.
Ellen stopped, her bright smile freezing as the report played. She saw the name. Elias.
...
The bustling main street of Talroc City was a river of noise and motion. High on the side of a corporate building, a massive screen usually reserved for advertisements switched to the League News broadcast.
Faith, standing at a crosswalk, adjusted her glasses as the report began. She saw the name, saw the mention of the Novice Clash. Her lips, usually set in a calm line, twitched upwards into a small, knowing smile.
...
Myles stood at the very edge of a skyscraper's roof, the wind tugging at his white clothes. His gaze planted tot he east, towards the distant, invisible scar of the Malevolent Peak.
His green eye glowed softly. The wooden veins on the right side of his face seemed to pulse with a dull, inner light.
"I can feel it too... Faradity."
...
Shan was leaning against a tree, checking his Rotom Dex's map. The news alert blared, making him jump.
He stared, his heart thudding against his ribs. The face on the screen. The white hair. The impassive eyes. Elias. The grunt from the cave. The one he'd defeated.
A mix of confusion and disbelief crossed his face.
...
Rein sat on a rooftop edge, a half-eaten sandwich in one hand. A small, portable screen was propped against a vent beside him, tuned to the news. He watched the report with detached boredom, chewing slowly.
As the anchor praised "the courageous trainer Elias," Rein's chewing stopped. He stared at the screen, at the familiar face now being plastered across the region as a hero.
A slow, dark smirk spread across his face. He swallowed his bite.
"We'll meet again soon."
He took another bite, his eyes glinting with a mixture of bitter amusement and sharpened rivalry.
...
Champion Chamber, Pokemon League of Adele Region...
The chamber was a vast, silent hall of white marble and gold trim. Sunlight streamed through towering arched windows, illuminating the polished floor and the single, ornate throne at its head. On the throne, Caesar sat, a picture of relaxed, effortless power. One leg was crossed over the other, and he was idly scrolling through reports on a sleek, transparent tablet.
A soft chime echoed in the chamber. A secondary screen, reserved for priority news and League alerts, flickered to life on the wall to his right. Caesar didn't look up immediately, finishing a line of text.
Then the anchor's voice cut through the silence:
"...identified as Elias, the recent Novice Clash champion from Metrolink City..."
Caesar's head snapped up. His sharp, violet eyes, usually alight with confidence, went wide. The tablet slipped from his fingers, clattering against the floor with a sharp sound that echoed in the vast room.
He stared at the face on the screen as if seeing a ghost. His hands, which never trembled, clenched into fists on the arms of his throne.
***
The thirty-minute ride felt both instantaneous and interminable.
When the automated voice announced their arrival at Metrolink Subway, they disembarked with the flow of other passengers, two more tired faces in the crowd. They moved with purpose through the subway, bypassing the exits, heading deeper into the industrial district of the city, towards the abandoned warehouse which doesn't look like abandoned now. It's walls are new and polished. But they were not here for that. They were here for the freight elevator that will lead them down to the headquarters.
The freight elevator descended into the earth with a smooth hiss, leaving the world of sunlight and news cycles behind. When the doors slid open, they were greeted not by the usual chaos of the headquarters, but by the humming, high-tech vibrance of a war room in full gear.
Xycle grunts stood at attention as Elias and Anne walked through the corridors. The whispers followed them, a mixture of awe and suspicion. In one move, Elias had become the most famous face in the region, a "hero" protected by the very League they sought to dismantle.
They reached the central spire. The heavy blast doors opened to reveal Martin standing at the edge of the circular observation deck. Sarah was there too, her gaze scanning a series of rapid-fire data streams.
"You've set the world on fire, Elias." Martin said, his voice echoing. "The League is calling you a savior. Giovanni is likely re-evaluating his entire strategy. But I did not call for that."
He turned, and for the first time, his smile seemed to reach his eyes—though the cold, visionary light remained.
"You're here because I'm going to promote your rank."
Martin gestured towards the monitor, and the display shifted. Two profiles appeared: Elias's and Anne's. The text "Senior Grunt" flickered once before being overwritten by a deep, authoritative silver.
"Effective immediately... the rank of Elite Grunt is abolished. It is a title that no longer fits this organization. You are no longer mere workers in the dirt."
The icons on their profiles solidified into a new insignia—a stylized 'X' bracketed by bronze wings.
"From this moment, you and the other Elites are called Elite Operatives."
He paced towards them, his eyes tracking the way Elias stood perfectly still.
"The term 'grunt' is beneath us. We're not supposed to be called that in the first place. We're not Team Rocket. And perhaps... in the future, we will need a bridge between Operatives and the Commander tier. But for now, you represent the pinnacle of our field force."
Sarah stepped forward, holding a sleek, silver case. She opened it to reveal two updated comm-watches, their interfaces far more complex than the ones they currently wore.
"These have high-level clearance." Sarah noted, her voice as sharp as ever, though her eyes lingered on Elias. "They include long-range scanners, and built-in Pokedex."
Sarah snapped her fingers, and a sharp, electronic chirping echoed through the air. From the shadows behind her, two Rotom appeared, their plasma-blue bodies zipping through the air with mischievous energy.
Before Elias or Anne could blink, the Rotom dived. One slammed into Elias's new silver-trimmed comm-watch, and the other into Anne's. The devices sparked with a brief, vibrant discharge of electricity as the Rotom phased through the metal casing, merging with the internal circuitry.
The interfaces flickered, the once-static screens now displaying two expressive, glowing eyes that blinked back at them. The metal housing rearranged itself slightly, forming a sleek, ergonomic grip that felt alive against their wrists.
"These are Rotom-Comm Links." Sarah explained. "They will manage your Pokedex entries, and connect you to the headquarters in one command. You won't need to worry about being tracked due to frequency."
Martin walked closer, his expression shifting from pride to a somber, more personal focus. He tapped a glass panel on the main console, pulling up a satellite image of a trainer walking away from a Gym in a distant town. The figure was unmistakable: the wild hair, the arrogant stride, and a Magmortar trailing behind him. It was Rein.
"There is one more reason I've elevated your status today." Martin said, his voice dropping into a low, gravelly tone. "My son, Rein... he has gone rogue. He's abandoned his post, severed his link to our servers, and is currently carving a path through the Adele League."
Anne's eyes widened as she looked at the map.
"He's collecting Gym Badges? But Rein hates the League system."
"He hates everything." Elias said, his gaze on the image.
Martin turned back to Elias and Anne, his gaze sharpening.
"That is a problem for another day. Right now, the Pokemon League is looking for the Novice Clash Champion. And well... you need to look the part."
Sarah stepped forward, her eyes sweeping over Elias and Anne.
"You need a little makeover."
Sarah nodded to Martin, who gave a slight, approving tilt of his head. She then gestured for them to follow her towards a reinforced door set into the side of the room. With a swift motion, she slid her ID card through the reader.
The door hissed open, revealing a room that felt entirely disconnected from the cold, industrial aesthetic of the Xycle war room. It was brightly lit, the air smelling of high-end fabric and sharp citrus. Racks upon racks of specialized clothing lined the walls, and at the center of the room stood a woman with vibrant violet hair, holding a pair of silver scissors.
"This is Madam V." Sarah said, stepping aside. "She handles our aesthetics. V, these are our new Elite Operatives."
Madam V circled Elias first, tsk-tsking as she touched the frayed edge of his sleeve.
"The 'Novice Clash Champion' cannot be seen in rags, darling. We need something that screams 'meticulous power.' And that beautiful white hair of yours is too long."
She turned to Anne, who was eyeing a rack of sleek, midnight-blue combat vests.
"And for you, honey, we need something that gives you matching vibes with him. Just like a true power couple."