{T/N: This fic raked up 220 Stones this week. As thanks, here, have an extra chap...
Stones and Reviews please...}
....
When the white mist from the collision between the Water Twister and the Inferno Overdrive dissipated, both the Masked Man and Ho-Oh had disappeared from the gym.
The enemy had fled...
Caleb let out a sigh of relief. To be honest, if not for the opponent underestimating him, and if Entei hadn't been there, he might not have been a match for the Masked Man at all.
In fact, his original intention wasn't even to engage in battle with the Masked Man, it was to stall him so Lily could escape. As for himself, he could leave at any time using the Warp Beacon.
However, after this battle, he had gained a rough understanding of the Masked Man's strength.
In this fight, Lucario and Dragonite had suffered severe injuries.
Lucario had been hit by multiple Ice Beams and hailstones, leaving half its body frozen.
Dragonite was covered in burns, its smooth skin marred with scorch marks, its round face dirty and its expression weak and exhausted.
But when the chonky dragon saw Caleb looking at it, it still grinned and gave him a big smile.
Caleb's heart ached as he used his sleeve to wipe the dirt off its face.
Of the three, only Mimikyu had suffered fewer injuries. Its Disguise had been completely broken, and it leaned weakly against Caleb's shoulder, drained of energy.
Entei sat nearby, silently watching the scene with its dignified golden eyes.
While treating Dragonite's wounds, Caleb glanced at the Poké Ball containing Deino. It still hadn't woken up.
The little dragon seemed to be going through a growth spurt lately, sleeping for twelve hours a day.
'I'll have to start Deino's training plan soon,' Caleb thought to himself.
He had too few Pokémon capable of battle. He didn't even have a full team of six.
As he tended to his Pokémon, Officer Jenny, clad in her police uniform, stepped into the ruins of the Mahogany Gym.
"What happened here?" Officer Jenny asked, her pretty brows furrowing as she surveyed the wreckage.
"Uh..." Caleb thought seriously for a moment before replying, "What if I told you the gym battle got a little too intense? Would you believe me?"
Officer Jenny silently glanced around at the surroundings: 'Just how intense would a battle have to be to blow off the roof and collapse the walls...?'
She looked around and asked, "Where's Pryce, the gym leader?"
Caleb considered his words carefully before answering tactfully, "He might have... run away."
Officer Jenny: 'What kind of gym battle could possibly scare the gym leader into running away?'
Just then, Lily rushed in anxiously from outside. Without the Masked Man, the ordinary Team Rocket grunts were no match for her, so she had easily rescued Plusle and Minun.
When she returned, she had witnessed the final moments of the battle.
Caleb gave her an innocent look. And then, the two of them were invited to the police station.
Officer Jenny said sternly, "Until you explain yourselves clearly, you can't leave."
"Nii-san..." Lily looked exasperated.
Caleb wasn't too worried. Taking advantage of the moment when Officer Jenny stepped out to get water, he turned to the adult version of Lily and said, "So? Care to explain?"
Lily stiffened, then gave an awkward smile, "Can I... not?"
Caleb smiled, "No."
"I..." Lily opened her mouth but suddenly found herself at a loss for words.
She had imagined countless times what she would say when she finally saw Caleb again, but now that the moment had arrived, she was speechless.
"I thought you were dead..." Lily finally said, choosing her words carefully, "But my memories were messed up. Before I turned four, there was no trace of you in my mind. And when I searched my home and Oldale Town, I couldn't find any evidence that you had ever existed."
"...To prove it, I remembered what you once told me about Celebi, so I traveled to Johto and found a Celebi that was critically injured for some unknown reason... When I touched it, it used its last bit of strength to bring me to this era's Ilex Forest before falling into an eternal sleep."
Caleb listened quietly for a while before asking, "So, how did you end up with Team Rocket?"
Lily answered, "That's because when I arrived, Team Rocket members were everywhere. Their target seemed to be Celebi too, so they attacked me."
Caleb could guess what happened next. Faced with countless Team Rocket grunts, a little girl like Lily would have been no match for them. After being defeated, she would have been captured and, like Silver in the Manga, forced to work for Team Rocket to make up for their lack of manpower.
Lily seemed to read his thoughts and shook her head, "No, I defeated them..."
Those weaklings were no match for her. In the future, she was known as the 'Flower Queen'. Aside from being Champion, she was also the Grass-type Elite Four member of Hoenn.
Now Caleb was genuinely surprised. He couldn't understand, "Then why were you working for Team Rocket?"
Lily: "That's because afterward, I ran into Johto's three Elite Four members... Will, Karen, and Koga. I never expected Johto in this era to be so tragic. All three Elite Four members were part of Team Rocket..."
Lily couldn't help but mutter in frustration, "After losing to them, I met Pryce. Team Rocket was short on manpower at the time, and he used Plusle and Minun to threaten me. I had no choice. Those two little guys were the only proof that you had ever existed."
As she spoke, Lily looked helplessly at Caleb, "Nii-san, I really thought you were dead..."
Caleb: "..."
He thought for a moment before saying, "That was an accident. But I think you already know that I'm not actually your brother."
Hearing this, Lily fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly, "I never had parents when I was little. Back then, I often prayed to the gods, wishing for a real family... and then you came."
This was also why, when Caleb first met Lily, she had been dirty and her hair had been a mess. It was only later, under Caleb's care, that she gradually became clean and tidy.
Caleb remembered this too and laughed, "Uncle Morris really didn't know how to take care of people, huh!"
Lily smiled faintly in agreement, "Yeah, but..." She looked at Caleb seriously, "Nii-san, I'm really, really happy to see you again."
"Me too," Caleb said as he stood up, "But we should get going now."
Lily blinked, "Where to?"
Caleb pressed the call button on the table, "To get your revenge."
Officer Jenny walked in carrying a glass of water and looked at the two of them silently. She asked, "Ready to talk now?"
Caleb shook his head, saying, "Please lend me a phone."
It was time to call for backup...
~~~
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