"Understood." Mable's voice came through Lysandre's earpiece.
Hearing Lysandre's words, Cain prepared himself.
To avoid raising suspicion from the League, Lysandre had thought things through in great detail.
"Weavile, Houndoom! Come out!" a female voice suddenly rang out from behind the door.
Lance's expression changed, many of his doubts now dispelled. He told Cain, "Cain, you handle the data download. I'll hold them off."
Cain nodded and took out the League investigator's exclusive data download device. He plugged it directly into the computer and began the operation.
Meanwhile, the battle had already begun outside.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The sounds of the fight echoed from outside.
They were putting on a pretty convincing show.
"Lance, I've got the data. Let's prepare to withdraw," Cain said through the earpiece.
"Got it!"
With that, Lance commanded Charizard and Aerodactyl to drive back the enemy. Then, he made his way to the room where Cain was securing the download device. In Cain's arms was a Ralts.
"Let's go!" said Lance, as he recalled Charizard and Aerodactyl into their Poké Balls.
The two disappeared using Ralts's Teleport.
Seeing them vanish, Mable didn't say much else. She adjusted her glasses and reported, "Mr. Lysandre, they've secured the data and retreated."
"Perfect."
Lysandre continued, "Clean up the lab, and tomorrow we'll hold a press conference. Make what happened today public—but don't say it was the League. Say it was a case of corporate espionage. At the same time, request protection from the League."
That way, for a while, the League would refrain from acting against the Lysandre Labs.
Once the League analyzed the data, they'd be even less inclined to act against him.
Among the data Cain downloaded today, some studies were certainly in a grey area. But how many organizations in the Pokémon world truly avoid grey research?
Once the League saw the results, it would be reassured—for a while.
That time would be the best opportunity for Team Flare to grow.
Thanks to Ralts's Teleport, Cain and Lance appeared at the Pokémon Center.
"Man, I have to say, Teleport is really useful. Looks like I need to find a chance to catch a Pokémon that can use it," Lance sighed.
The move Teleport truly made the League's research missions easier.
But not everyone could earn the trust of a Psychic-type Pokémon.
Especially those that could use Teleport—they were even more selective about their trainers.
However, with Lance's skills, catching a Psychic-type Pokémon capable of using Teleport shouldn't be difficult.
It didn't need to be a battle Pokémon—just being able to use Teleport was enough.
Still, it's worth mentioning: Psychic Pokémon had varying talents in spatial perception. So, the distance of Teleport depended on their abilities.
"I'm sure your family must have one. Just borrow one for now and you'll be fine," Cain joked with a smile.
But Lance didn't reply—he went silent.
"What's wrong?"
"If I could choose, I honestly wouldn't want to rely on my family," Lance said, sitting in a nearby chair.
Cain pressed his lips together in silence.
That's the classic rich-kid attitude, isn't it?
"I don't really want to depend on my family."
"I don't really want that much money, a billion is enough."
"I don't really want that much power, just enough to feel safe... say, eighty or a hundred bodyguards."
These people have never experienced the hardships of the lower classes. That's why they think it's no big deal, not realizing that for others, it's the dream of a lifetime.
"You know I lived in Viridian City, right? But the Drako family isn't there—they're in Blackthorn City, in Johto."
Lance continued, "The truth is, I don't have many ties with my family. It was only my uncle who found me and brought me back to the Drako family. They offered me some help, and since then, everything's gotten more complicated. The more help you accept from your family, the more you have to pay them back."
Cain said nothing. He just gave Lance another pat on the shoulder.
He knew a bit of Lance's story. But it was a done deal—nothing could be changed now.
If a family were willing to give me that kind of support, unlimited resources, even a pseudo-legendary Pokémon...
I'd take it too!
Give me a hundred families like that!
But that's something reserved for the lucky few. The rest can only dream.
"Take all the help you can get—you're already in too deep to pay it back," Cain said before turning and heading back to his room.
Lance looked at him with a bit of surprise.
He didn't quite understand what Cain meant.
In truth, even though Lance had grown up in Viridian City, he was still part of the Drako family. His standard of living had always been far above the average family—let alone the truly poor.
He always thought his childhood was just an average life.
Not knowing that a "normal" life was far harder than he imagined.
Just getting out of the mud at the very bottom of society required a lifetime of effort... and even then, it might not be enough.
Lance understood very little about the shadows that surrounded the lower classes.
He spent half an hour thinking in silence, reaching no conclusion, and eventually returned to his room.
The mission was complete. With the previous download device, the data was already being transmitted to the League. Once Lance completed his evaluation report, everything would be done.
What came next was in the hands of the League's upper brass.
...
The next day.
In the battlefield behind the Pokémon Center—
Two Pokémon were engaged in fierce combat.
But no one was around watching. Someone with high authority had reserved the entire area.
"Slowking, use Psychic one last time! All or nothing!"
"Dragonite, finish it with Dragon Tail!"
A Dragonite swooped down from the sky. The other Pokémon, a pink Slowking, though seemingly slow, had excellent move execution speed.
Boom!
Both attacks landed.
"Roooaaaar!"
Dragonite went flying backward, skidding along the ground before stopping. It roared, and you could see frost residue on its abdomen.
When the smoke cleared, in the center of the battlefield, Slowking was kneeling on one knee, breathing heavily and drenched in sweat. He was clearly at his limit.
"We're done here. Cain, your Slowking really surprised me—and your command skills too. If it weren't for Dragonite's significant power advantage, your tactics almost beat me," Lance said, smiling as he approached with his Dragonite.
That's right, the ones who had been battling were Cain and Lance.
(End of chapter)