Today's weather wasn't particularly good. The sky had remained overcast the entire morning, dark and heavy as if it might rain at any moment.
Along the coastline…
Lt. Surge stood in front of his Vermilion Gym, staring toward the distant line where sea met sky. His rough, rugged face now carried an air of steadiness and maturity—gone was the violent aggression that once seemed carved into his expression.
His defeat and capture during the battle in Saffron City had crushed his pride completely.
And the period he spent imprisoned afterward had changed him even further. Lt. Surge felt… tired—tired in a way that pushed him to finally stop resisting.
That was why he eventually accepted Chairman Loki's request. He quit Team Rocket, returned to Vermilion City, and resumed his position as the official Gym Leader.
But people… people are strange.
To turn a good man into a villain, all it takes is a change of mindset—a moment, a shift in perspective.
But for a villain to become a good man again?
That is painstakingly difficult.
Lt. Surge was not like Lucas. Lucas was overwhelmingly powerful and unrivaled in the present generation, so when he publicly announced he was leaving Team Rocket, everyone breathe a sigh of relief and immediately accepted it.
Perhaps they believed someone like Lucas would never use such a declaration as a joke. Perhaps they accepted it because they feared his strength.
After all… even if they didn't believe him, what could they possibly do?
No one had any means to deal with Lucas.
But Lt. Surge was different. Now that he was once again a Gym Leader, even if he genuinely wanted to live a quiet and honest life, the stains of his past were carved deeply into him.
And there would always be people unwilling to overlook his past sins.
People like… Lance Blackthorn.
Lance couldn't forgive him. He wouldn't even try to understand.
In Lance's eyes, evil is evil. A rat is a rat.
Even if one washes away the ashes and filth from its fur, the stench still clings.
"Sigh…"
Lt. Surge exhaled helplessly as he looked up at the gloomy sky.
When he received information that Lance might attack Vermilion City, he fell silent.
He more or less understood why Lance would suddenly target this city. Aside from him… what other reason could there be?
Although Lance had now betrayed the League, he was not a mindless butcher. He would not massacre a city for no reason.
But if you gave him a reason—
Then even the most prosperous city standing before him would not make him hesitate.
Lance's heart… had already fallen into darkness.
Obsession and extremism had taken root in his mind.
In normal circumstances, it might not be obvious.
But once given a justification—
His actions would inevitably appear twisted in the eyes of any ordinary person.
"SCREEEE!"
Right then, a sharp, sinister cry echoed from far above, reaching Lt. Surge's ears.
A massive black bird-like Pokémon was approaching Vermilion City from high altitude.
"He's here."
N stepped out of the Vermilion Gym, his expression serious as he looked toward the horizon. That cry—there was no way it belonged to anything ordinary.
Zekrom had already warned him:
A powerful and deeply ominous Pokémon was nearing the city.
"He really intends to attack Vermilion City?"
Zinnia's brows furrowed. Although they had received intel beforehand, the moment it actually began to happen still felt unbelievable.
Good grief… wasn't this too much?
Lance was once the guardian of Kanto and Johto—its Champion, no less!
And now he was going to attack a whole city alone…?
Even Team Rocket had never done something like that.
Just how insane could one man be?
Zinnia considered herself someone with nerves of steel. To awaken Rayquaza, she had even helped both Team Magma and Team Aqua awaken Groudon and Kyogre.
But even she admitted—
Lance's ruthlessness surpassed hers.
"The former Indigo Elite Four are nothing like the Elite Four from other regions," Caitlin murmured softly, her beautiful eyes flickering.
At this moment, she finally understood what Lucas meant back then.
"How's the evacuation going?" N asked Blue beside him.
"Miss Zero is doing her best. But at the moment, roughly twenty percent of the population still hasn't been evacuated. There simply wasn't enough time." (TN: Officer Jenny Zero)
Blue's tone was grim. It was currently 10 a.m.—they had only arrived in Vermilion last night.
Gathering manpower, coordinating logistics, and evacuating an entire city… all of it required time, far more than they had.
"I'm sorry. This is all because of me…" Lt. Surge lowered his head in guilt.
"No. This isn't your fault," N shook his head. But his frown deepened.
If the citizens weren't fully evacuated yet, then under no circumstances could Lance be allowed to enter the city.
"SCREEEEE!"
That twisted, malevolent screech pierced the air once more—this time much clearer.
A suffocating, overwhelming pressure suddenly fell upon them.
An ocean of killing intent and malice surged from above.
It was so thick, so dark, that even breathing felt difficult—
nauseating—
soul-freezing.
A legendary.
That was the only word that came to N's mind.
And indeed—
A massive black Pokémon slowly descended from the sky, landing on the sea before them.
Shadow Lugia.
And on its back stood Lance—arms crossed, looking down at N and the others with cold, emotionless eyes. His blood-red hair danced in the wind.
"Trash. No need for me to come find you. And…"
Lance's gaze slid to Lt. Surge, and his lips curled into a frigid grin. Then he turned toward N.
The Black Dragon Trainer.
"You're here too, Black Dragon Trainer."
There was a glint of icy hatred in Lance's eyes.
He remembered N very clearly.
Back then, to counter Lucas's White Dragon, Lance had traveled across Unova in search of the Black Dragon.
But Zekrom rejected him.
And because of that—his grudge toward N was deep.
Who was N back then?
The king of an evil organization.
Yet Zekrom chose him—an evil king rather than choose Lance?
Of course, this was partly because Lance had been late; by the time he sought the Black Dragon, Zekrom had already chosen N.
But still—Lance could not accept it.
"I heard you're the new Indigo Champion now, right? The League really is falling apart—they actually let a filthy rat like you become Champion."
"And that Rocket scum over there."
Lance let out a cold laugh, filled with contempt.
In truth, compared to Team Rocket, he didn't loathe other evil organizations nearly as much.
His hatred for Team Rocket stemmed from one thing—their genetic experiments. Their cruel, unforgivable experiments on innocent Pokémon.
As for Team Plasma as far as Lance knew—they never conducted such horrifying biological experiments.
Of course, evil is evil. He had no fondness for Team Plasma either.
"I know I once walked the wrong path," N said solemnly. "But I will not do so again."
"And more importantly… Lance, what exactly are you here to do today?"
Straightening, N met Lance's cold gaze head-on.
"What am I here to do? To clean up the trash, of course."
Lance's voice was icy.
That emotionless stare made N's heart sink.
"Lt. Surge has already repented. He is now a League-certified Gym Leader. Senior Lance—you cannot harm him."
Blue's brows knitted slightly. As expected, Lance's attitude confirmed everything—
And the situation was far more severe than expected.
That black Pokémon—was it a shiny Lugia?
Whether or not it was Lugia, its pressure was terrifying—almost comparable to the Necrozma that Lucas once summoned.
This was going to be very, very difficult.
"A pest is still a pest. Repented? What a joke."
Lance's cold tone was laced with disdain.
"If he truly wants to repent, then he should apologize to the Pokémon Team Rocket tormented."
"Dark Pulse."
Without warning—Lance attacked.
He had no interest in talking.
He came here today to eliminate Lt. Surge—and leave a "gift" for the League.
If the League insisted on reinstating scum from Team Rocket, then the League itself was rotten.
And Lance felt like laughing.
The Pokémon League has fallen to this extent?
"SCREEEE!"
Shadow Lugia shrieked, and a beam of black, corrosive energy shot forth.
Blue and the others tensed immediately, but the attack came too fast—far too sudden.
No one expected Lance to strike the instant he finished speaking.
"Zekrom!" N shouted.
BOOM!
A bolt of lightning crashed down from the heavens, meeting the Dark Pulse head-on. The collision whipped up violent winds and crashing waves.
The Black Dragon descended in front of N and the others, its solemn gaze fixed on Shadow Lugia.
"Zekrom… a familiar opponent indeed."
Lance looked at the dragon without emotion. From the moment Zekrom chose N, he no longer held any hope for it.
"So, you all insist on stopping me?"
His gaze shifted toward Red, Blue, and the others. The Pokémon they had summoned only made his expression grow colder.
Once, he held some fondness for Red and Blue as juniors—talented, passionate trainers who truly loved their Pokémon.
But now, they stood on the opposite side from him.
"If you intend to harm innocent people, then we cannot allow it," Red said bluntly.
"Innocent?" Lance's expression darkened instantly.
What a joke.
"He is Rocket scum!"
"That was in the past! He has already repented!" Red retorted without hesitation.
Why? Why couldn't Lance understand?
Yes, Lt. Surge had been part of an evil organization.
Yes, he had committed wrongs.
But he had turned back, chosen the right path—why must his past bind him forever?
"What a joke! Repented? Do you even know what he's done?"
Lance laughed in fury.
A simple 'I'm sorry, I want to start over'—
That was enough to erase everything?
Impossible.
Evil is evil.
No one can escape the consequences of their own choices.
Trash must be cleaned up.
"This is my last warning," Lance said coldly, shadows filling his eyes. "For the sake of you being my juniors, I'll give you one final chance. Step aside."
Red didn't speak.
He simply lifted his Key Stone.
That was his answer.
"Very well.
Then you can all die with him."
Lance's face twisted in fury.
"Shadow Lugia!"
"SCREEEEEE!"
Shadow Lugia screeched, spreading its wings wide.
SPLASH—
Massive waves churned violently.
Within moments, an enormous wall of seawater rose—
A tsunami, towering dozens of meters high.
Surf.
Under the dark sky, the tsunami connected sea and heavens into a single line—a sight that made one's heart stop from fear.
Lugia did not have a Water typing, but as a Pokémon born of the sea, it could command wind and storms—and held partial dominion over water.
And on open ocean, Shadow Lugia's power surged.
Such a terrifying Surf attack…
Before it, a human could feel nothing but despair and helplessness.
"Zekrom!"
Seeing that Lance ignored the civilians still inside Vermilion City and summoned such a catastrophic tsunami, N felt his blood run cold.
But right now, the priority was stopping that wave.
If it crashed down, everything along this coast would be washed away completely.
Red and the others immediately Mega-Evolved their partners, preparing to block it together.
"A pointless struggle."
Lance's cold gaze swept over them.
Did they truly think the seat of Champion was that easy to hold?
Meanwhile—
Not far away, atop a tall building—
Lucas stood on the rooftop, clicking his tongue as he watched.
"Cousin is still as decisive as ever. I love it, love it~"
A bright smile spread across Lucas's face.
If Loki hadn't informed him, he really might have missed this classic confrontation—
The showdown between the former and current Indigo Champions.
Mm.
Time to enjoy the show.
(End of Chapter)