"Are you really leaving already? We were hoping you could stay a little longer. We were all prepared to properly thank you."
Outside Dahara City, Baraz spoke sincerely to Lucas and the others.
"There are still a few things I need to take care of. If there's a chance in the future, I'll come back to visit," Lucas replied with a smile, politely declining.
Everything that needed to be done here was already settled. Although Dahara City could be said to have decent scenery, after looking around for a full day, all that remained beyond the city was nothing but endless desert. He had no interest in staying any longer.
"That's truly a pity," Baraz said helplessly when he saw that Lucas had already made up his mind.
He genuinely felt immense gratitude toward Lucas and his group. Now that Lysandre and the others had been taken away by the Kalos League, the League had indeed agreed to fund the reconstruction of Baraz and the others' village.
Although almost every region had its own evil organizations, that did not mean the Pokémon League itself was corrupt.
While the corrosion of power had indeed produced a few scoundrels among the League's upper ranks, overall, upright and kind people still made up the majority of the League.
"Hoopa, you need to behave and help Baraz and Meraz properly too, okay? You can't start fooling around just because you've regained your power."
As he spoke, Lucas took out a donut and handed it to Hoopa in front of him, smiling warmly.
"Hmph~ Hoopa wouldn't fool around!" Hoopa puffed up its cheeks in protest, clearly dissatisfied.
"If you didn't cause trouble all the time, my brother would've found a girlfriend ages ago. If you keep misbehaving, I'll let Lucas teach you a lesson next time."
Meraz rolled her eyes and spoke irritably to Hoopa.
Baraz's eyelid twitched slightly, and he awkwardly rubbed his nose.
"Well then, we're off. If anything comes up, contact me through the PokéNav or the Rotom Phone. And if you have time, feel free to come find me anytime."
Lucas chuckled softly, waved at the siblings, and walked toward White Dragon.
With Hoopa's spatial rings, distance itself was essentially meaningless, so while his words sounded polite, they were not empty courtesy.
As long as Baraz and Meraz wished, they could travel from Kalos to Indigo or any region at any time through Hoopa.
"Bye~ Have a safe trip."
"I'll come play with you sometime, Lucas."
"Ah~ Come visit often."
Lucas boarded White Dragon and waved to the three once more.
Accompanied by a resonant dragon's roar, Reshiram, Salamence and Galarian Moltres, spread their wings and took to the sky, flying off into the distance.
"I don't really know how to put it… it just feels kind of strange."
On Salamence's back, Archer looked back at the increasingly distant Dahara City, his expression oddly conflicted.
"Don't tell me you've fallen for Meraz?" Green asked curiously, seeing Archer like this.
"How is that possible?! I'm loyal to the boss to the end! I'm not interested in women at all!" Archer immediately bristled, retorting loudly and righteously.
Very loudly, in fact.
He, Archer, was a man who would dedicate his entire life to Team Rocket! How could he possibly develop an interest in women?
It was simply ridiculous!
Giovanni shook his head with a smile. This Archer really was something else.
"Alright, alright, we know you're loyal to Uncle Giovanni to the core. So, what exactly feels strange to you?" Green rolled her eyes. After all, he was one of Team Rocket's Four Generals—such high 'enlightenment' really was something.
"Well… how should I say it?" Archer knew Green was joking, but still frowned deeply, trying to pinpoint the issue.
Yet he found himself unable to articulate it.
"Is it because of that sincerity? The gratitude and trust the Baraz siblings showed us were genuine," Sabrina said calmly from atop Galarian Moltres.
"For someone like Archer, who used to live the way he did, this kind of feeling must be extremely rare."
Archer had long been known within Team Rocket as an elegant yet sinister and deeply calculating figure. Living in darkness for so long, he had been away from the 'sunlight' for far too many years.
"…" Archer froze for a moment, his brow furrowing even deeper. Though Sabrina was clearly taking a jab at him, he couldn't find a way to refute her.
Because after she said that, he realized she was right—what had unsettled him earlier was precisely the Baraz siblings' pure and unadulterated gratitude.
As a high-ranking executive of Team Rocket, what ordinary people should feel toward him was fear and dread.
This kind of sincere, impurity-free thanks was what made him feel so uncomfortable.
He was different from Giovanni and Sabrina, both of whom had once used Gym Leader identities as cover. Before being exposed, they were figures respected by the people of their cities.
"Maybe they're just foolish," Archer said after a moment of silence. "After all, we're the ones who brought the disaster to them in the first place."
"Many things in this world are like that. The truth is often far more cruel than the results people see. Concealing the truth can sometimes be another form of mercy for those involved."
Giovanni spoke with a faint smile. He didn't have particularly complex feelings about it, and his mood was especially good at the moment.
After all, the terminal illness that had plagued him had been cured by Xerneas, and his body was now even healthier than before.
"So, Archer, do you hate this feeling?" Lucas raised an eyebrow. It truly was Giovanni-like.
His words sounded reasonable, but in truth they were extremely cruel—deceiving and manipulating others, enjoying their heartfelt gratitude, then using twisted logic to justify one's own darkness.
Yet Lucas did not refute him. There was no need. After all, he himself was no saint—he was no better than Giovanni.
Moreover, this plan had been devised by him in the first place.
"I wouldn't say I hate it," Archer replied honestly after some thought.
"If you do 'good deeds' once in a while, you might start to like this feeling," Lucas joked.
"Once we're back in Indigo, we should rest properly. Oh right, Uncle, Blue will be challenging Diantha in a couple of days. Want to go watch in person?"
"Heh… Blue, huh? Then let's go take a look," Giovanni replied with a chuckle.
…
Lumiose Stadium.
This was the iconic landmark of Lumiose City, the most prosperous metropolis in the Kalos region. Every year, the Kalos League Conference was held here.
And today, Lumiose Stadium was packed to the brim, buzzing with excitement. Most of the spectators were Kalos natives.
Because today was the battle of Kalos's pride—the Champion Diantha!
Yes, a trainer from the World Championships was challenging Diantha!
"Blue Oak, the newly appointed Elite Four member of Indigo, right? I think he's ranked second among them. I wonder how strong he really is."
"How strong could he be? Just an arrogant kid who doesn't know his limits. He's only seventeen and already dares to challenge Champion Diantha."
"Well, you can't say that either. Anyone who can become one of Indigo's Elite Four probably isn't someone to underestimate."
"The former Indigo Elite Four being strong doesn't mean the current ones are. I've looked into the new Elite Four—they're all very young. Who knows how they even got their positions?"
"Hah, what a joke. Are you really linking age directly to strength? Have you all forgotten Lucas Blackthorn, who utterly crushed Iris who is young herself not too long ago?"
Before the battle even began, the forums were already ablaze with heated discussion.
Any match involving the Master Rank naturally drew enormous attention—this was nothing new.
After all, the Master Class Rank represented the eight strongest trainers in the world.
Its spotlight was self-evident.
And clearly, because N and the others had only taken their positions recently—and all five had been directly promoted by Chairman Loki, the general public found the new Indigo Elite Four unfamiliar and lacking in convincing battle records.
Public doubt was inevitable.
But some people thought differently.
In one corner of Lumiose Stadium—
"Senior brothers and sister, are you all really this free?" Iris twitched at the corner of her eye as she looked at the familiar figures in front of her, utterly speechless.
Steven, Wallace, Cynthia, Leon, Raihan…
What a lineup.
Although Iris had already been earmarked as Unova's Champion for next year, she wasn't officially one yet, so she could freely travel between regions.
But what was going on with these people?
Did Champions and Gym Leaders really have this much free time?
"Well~ things are pretty peaceful in Hoenn right now. Team Magma and Team Aqua have already been wiped out," Wallace said with a shrug, showing none of the gloom of someone who had just lost to Diantha.
"There are no evil organizations in Galar," Leon said solemnly.
"Team Galactic's leader was captured earlier this year—by Lucas," Cynthia added calmly, her stunning face betraying no emotion.
Iris: "..."
"After all, it's Blue's battle. It's worth watching in person. I wonder how much that kid has grown," Leon said, looking toward the Stadium as he stroked the small beard on his chin.
Back during the Vermilion City incident, they had already acknowledged the level and talent of Blue and Red—both were monsters.
"Speaking of which, Cynthia, isn't Caitlin your close friend?" Steven asked with interest, glancing at the elegant and refined Cynthia.
If he remembered correctly, after the Vermilion City incident, Cynthia had tried to use Caitlin's connection with Red to befriend him and lure him to Sinnoh.
In the end, not only did she fail to recruit Red, but her close friend Caitlin ended up joining the Indigo League instead…
"I'm very happy for her achievements today," Cynthia said with a gentle smile.
Although it was a pity that Caitlin had joined the Indigo League, seeing her close friend become one of Indigo's Elite Four filled Cynthia with genuine joy.
It proved that Caitlin had truly changed and grown.
"N, Red, Blue, Zinnia, Caitlin—you've all heard the news, right?" Steven changed the topic.
"Yes. Lance and the others were defeated by N's group in Vermilion City," Leon replied, his eyes flickering slightly.
The general public might not know about it, but as League upper management, they had received some information.
In the Vermilion City battle, the newly appointed Indigo Elite Four had defeated Lance and the former Elite Four!
That alone was enough to prove that N's group was in no way inferior to the old Indigo Elite Four—perhaps even stronger.
"Chairman Loki's decisiveness is truly impressive. Things are going to be lively for a long time," Wallace sighed in admiration.
Lance and the others' defection had dealt a heavy blow to Indigo, but Loki had decisively appointed the once-tainted N and Zinnia, and recruited Red, Blue, and Caitlin.
The Indigo League, which had nearly collapsed, was forcibly revitalized.
"So, how do you all see today's match?" Leon asked.
"Isn't it obvious? Blue's odds of winning are higher," Iris said dismissively.
Having fought alongside Blue before, she knew his strength well. Proud as she was, she admitted she probably wasn't his match.
By that logic, Diantha's chances weren't great either.
The others remained silent, because at that moment, Blue and Diantha had already entered the field.
"The challenge match will be a full six-on-six battle."
"The battlefield will be a standard Stadium."
"When one side's six Pokémon all lose their ability to battle, the other side wins."
"Now then—battle, begin!"
The referee raised the flag, announced the rules, and slowly retreated from the battlefield.
"Young people truly are formidable, but youth should not mean arrogance," Diantha said calmly, dressed as elegantly as ever in white, smiling faintly at the handsome boy opposite her.
Blue Oak.
Though her words sounded casual, there was seriousness in her eyes.
It was her first time meeting this boy, but the name "Blue Oak" was far from unfamiliar to her.
"Huh?"
Blue raised an eyebrow, casually tossing a Poké Ball in his hand, tilting his head slightly as he looked at Diantha.
"Champion big sister, I personally respect my seniors—but if someone starts pulling rank, that's something I can't accept."
A wild, unruly grin spread across Blue's face.
"I've always been someone who only looks at strength. If I weren't confident, I wouldn't be standing here at all."
"So, you believe you can defeat me, boy?" Diantha's gaze sharpened.
"That question…" Blue clenched the Poké Ball in his hand and threw it forcefully.
"Isn't the answer obvious?"
(End of Chapter)