Only when standing directly before Lance could one truly feel just how drastically he had changed.
Lucas quietly observed his cousin standing before him who had risen to his feet and extended a hand, as though inviting him forward.
But in those shadowed eyes that could chill a person to their bones…
In that cold, lifeless aura devoid of even the faintest warmth…
He was nothing like the man he used to be.
The Lance of the past had been aloof, prideful, and indifferent.
But the Lance standing before him now radiated only one thing—
coldness, a glacial emptiness that seeped out from the depths of his very bones!
"You've really changed a lot, Lance."
After observing him for a long while, Lucas suddenly chuckled and lifted his cup of tea to take a slow sip.
Lance's cold brows furrowed slightly.
"So, tell me… what exactly are you trying to do now?"
Instead of answering, Lucas posed his own question.
He wanted to know what this new Lance was aiming for.
"To purge all sin… and all evil," Lance replied flatly.
"And what exactly counts as sin? What counts as evil?"
"Those who destroy nature. Those who harm Pokémon. Those who spurn the gifts of the world."
"Oh? That's quite a broad definition," Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"So you're walking this path after all."
Human industrialization inevitably harms the environment.
As for "harm to Pokémon," that wording was even more ambiguous.
Where exactly was the line drawn?
"The Pokémon League desires a beautiful world, and so they cling to benevolence. They even grant chances to the vermin crawling in the sewers," Lance said coldly, his dark gaze fixed on the distant sky.
"But filth-born maggots… remain maggots. Lucas, do you understand what I mean?"
"No matter how many chances they're given, hearts consumed by greed never change. They don't understand what 'respect' or 'love' truly mean."
"For creatures like that, the only correct action… is to wipe them out."
"If the world had no parasites, then in our eyes, there would only be beauty."
Lance possessed the Viridian Power, a power able to heal and feel the hearts of Pokémon.
He didn't deny that many trainers genuinely cherished their partners—
Leon, Steven, Red, Cynthia… so many were like that.
And Lucas himself—Lance had always treated Lucas differently, not just because they were family, but because he could feel it: Lucas's Pokémon truly trusted and cared for him.
Thus, Lance believed Lucas had simply taken a wrong path and was determined to drag him back into the light.
But aside from the truly kindhearted trainers, Lance saw far more of the opposite:
People who treated Pokémon as nothing but tools.
People who destroyed nature for profit.
People who conducted twisted experiments on living beings to satisfy their desires.
Lance could no longer tolerate such things.
"Cousin, have you ever thought about this—some people only stray temporarily. If given a chance, they might change and become good."
Lucas shook his head. He wasn't a saint, but even he felt Lance's ideology was going too far.
He wanted to execute everyone in a single sweep.
Take N, for example—before escaping Ghetsis's control, he had truly been a misguided force of evil, committing what, objectively, was terrorism under his idealistic delusions.
And yet afterward?
N was now gentler than ninety-nine percent of the trainers in the world.
Even Ash—yes, even Ash!
He, too, had once taken the wrong path.
In the classic film Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You, even Ash's heart had once been stained by darkness.
After Charmeleon and Pikachu lost to other trainers, Ash became obsessed with strength and resented them for being too weak.
But ultimately Ash awakened, and even risked his life, giving his body to a barrage of attacks to protect Pikachu.
Evil was evil—but Lance wanted to annihilate all of it in one stroke, leaving no chance for redemption.
Was that right?
Perhaps. Everyone had their own philosophy.
"I see farther than you do, Lucas. How many truly change? Truly repent?"
Lance's voice grew colder.
As Indigo's Champion, he had seen too much—far, far too much.
"Even if you give them chance after chance, they never cherish it. They simply commit evil again. Worse than before."
"That's humanity. Yes, some truly pure-hearted people exist… but how many, Lance?"
Lucas didn't deny Lance's arguments—but he had his own viewpoint.
"Given enough benefit, even an old man who lived a good life for decades can be tempted to commit wrongdoing. So tell me, is he good or evil?"
"Does one evil act erase a lifetime of kindness?
What do you think, Cousin?"
Lance frowned.
"Evil is evil, a sinner will always be a sinner. There is no turning back. Lucas… help me."
His expression darkened. In Lance's eyes, committing sin even once was unforgivable.
Lucas sighed—truly, Lance was already nearly beyond saving.
Especially since, to outsiders, Lance himself now looked like the villain.
"Lance, our ideals don't align," Lucas said softly.
"And believe me—you won't succeed."
Lucas's lips curved faintly.
"Lucas, that's not for you to decide."
Lance's face twisted with displeasure—after all, being told his goals were doomed from the start was not something he could stomach.
"There are too many people driven by selfish desire, Cousin. And people change. Even the kindhearted make mistakes."
"Human nature is the most complicated thing in this world."
"Good and evil both exist—and both are necessary. Together, they form society. They form the world. If you want to change it…"
"Where do you even start? Kill everyone?"
Lucas shrugged.
"So, you're saying those crawling vermins deserve to exist?" Lance's chest heaved in anger.
Though he restrained it, his voice dripped with fury.
A joke, he thought. Lucas's worldview was absurd.
Yet Lucas merely smiled.
"Whether you like it or not, that's reality."
Lance's expression twisted further. His hatred for evil had already morphed into obsession—into near madness.
"Heh… then just watch, Lucas. I'll show you."
"I will wipe out every last one of those maggots. Not a single one will remain!"
His deranged smile could frighten a child into silence. There was no point continuing the conversation.
To Lance, Lucas's reasoning was flawed, wrong.
He was determined—he would purge all evil, and once that filth was removed, only beauty would remain.
Their conversation ended on a sour note.
Lucas watched Lance's retreating figure, then quietly chuckled.
"As I thought… only through total failure will you finally awaken.
Well, that's who you are, after all."
Lighting another cigarette, Lucas sighed.
This outcome had been inevitable.
Lance was too arrogant, too stubborn—words would never sway him.
But it didn't matter.
Lance's plan was destined to fail.
When he finally collapsed under his own ideals, Lucas would be there to pull him back.
…
Cobalt Island
A tiny uninhabited island west of Cinnabar Island—one so small it didn't even appear on standard maps.
In its center lay a massive dormant volcano, encircled by seven towering stone pillars.
This was now the hideout of Lance and the former Indigo Elite Four.
Agatha had discovered it after poring through countless ancient texts—a natural "energy amplifier," far more potent than the crude machine the old Team Rocket had used.
In a cave, Agatha rested lazily with her Arbok, while Bruno continued his relentless training in the corner.
Lorelei sat at the cave entrance atop her Lapras, staring into the distance.
The once-mighty Indigo Elite Four now lived like primitive hermits in a cave.
Laughable? Perhaps.
But Lorelei felt no shame.
If this would help them achieve their dream, she didn't care in the slightest.
A shadow streaked through the night. Aerodactyl descended.
"Ah, Lance, how did it go?"
Lance leapt off its back.
Lorelei's face tightened—it was obvious from his expression alone.
"…You failed, didn't you?"
"It doesn't matter," Agatha rasped, stepping forward with her cane.
"So long as he doesn't interfere, that's enough."
She gazed at the enormous volcano across the cave entrance.
"Come, Lance. The seven badges have all been placed. Insert the final green one."
"And then… we will succeed."
She held up a jade-green badge—the one Giavanni once guarded as the Viridian Gym Leader.
After the battle of Saffron City, when the fused Legendary Birds were defeated by Red,
Agatha had taken all eight original gym badges from Team Rocket's ruins.
"With this final badge, we can summon the legendary bird Pokémon," Lorelei said, eyes glittering.
"With a legend at your command, Lance… no force in the League will be able to oppose us."
"Legendary power…" Lance murmured.
He held the badge, its emerald glow reflecting in his dark eyes.
He had lost to Giovanni.
But if not for Mewtwo, he would never have been defeated—he believed that wholeheartedly.
Now, he too was about to possess a legendary.
…
Far south of Kanto lay the Orange Archipelago, home to the long-held legend of Lugia.
On Shamouti Island, the people worshiped Lugia as the Guardian of the Sea.
Today, however, the sky was dark.
The ocean churned violently, the weather twisting unnaturally.
Deep beneath the sea, two pale, sleek figures stared nervously at a murky curtain of water.
Lugia.
"SCREEEE!!!"
An ear-splitting shriek suddenly tore through the ocean—twisted, malicious, and reverberating with unbearable hatred.
A crushing force blasted outward.
Even at the crushing depths of the sea, the shockwaves were so intense that both Lugia nearly lost control of their bodies.
And that was just… one scream.
"What a heavy aura of resentment… Chief…"
The larger Lugia steadied itself, its clear blue eyes trembling with worry as it stared toward the water curtain.
Within the distorted haze, a massive black silhouette flickered into view—
and two blood-red eyes glowed through the darkness.
Cold.
Evil.
Corrupted.
Then—
A vortex suddenly formed above the murky veil, twisting violently.
The whirlpool's pull was so immense that everything around was dragged into it.
Even Lugia struggled to fight against the force.
It lasted only moments before calming.
But—
"…Chief? Chief!!!"
The Lugia stared forward in shock.
The curtain of water was still there—but everything behind it…
was gone.
The mother Lugia froze, staring in disbelief.
Where—where was their chief?
A Pokémon that big—
Where had it gone?!
(End of Chapter)