Putting on his League outfit once again, he summoned Slowking to use the move Teleport immediately, disappearing from the scene.
He appeared in an unknown forest.
Then, he summoned Flygon and flew in the direction of Lumiose City.
He had spent an entire day in the Team Flare base, mostly because he had spent a long time in their computer room.
After all, the System had copied all of their data and, at the same time, had installed a subsystem.
That data would be enough for the System to process for quite a while.
Upon arriving at the Pokémon Center in Lumiose City, Cain found Lance waiting for him there.
"Didn't you say it would take you two days? That was fast," Lance said with surprise upon seeing Cain.
"I didn't want to keep you waiting," Cain replied, smiling as he patted Lance on the shoulder.
Both of them submitted the reports for the missions they had previously accepted at the Pokémon Center.
Lance even requested that the difficulty level of the Parfum Palace protection mission be raised.
Although both of them were Advanced-level researchers, the opponent they had faced was an Elite-level trainer—something that normally only Chief-level researchers were expected to handle.
Therefore, the difficulty should be adjusted, and with that, the stored reward points would also increase.
Cain agreed gladly.
He had seen some items on the League's exchange list that were very useful to him.
Materials related to aura energy to repair Riolu's egg, and also several rare moves like Swords Dance and Hyper Beam.
These things were hard to find on the open market, but the League's internal storage had a good supply.
However, those items could only be exchanged with certain levels of authority.
"Well, that's all. Once we finish this last mission, it's time to head back," Lance said, closing his laptop with a long sigh and leaning back in his chair.
Cain did the same, reclining as well. "Honestly, we haven't had a moment's rest. In that case, we might as well move tonight. It'll be easier under the cover of darkness."
Their final mission was to investigate the Lysandre Labs.
They didn't need to conduct an in-depth investigation this time, but at the very least, they had to provide an assessment of the threat level for the League.
The League had near-complete knowledge of each region's underground organizations, and each one was given a danger rating.
Those rated highly were monitored first. Those with low ratings could be left for later.
"I've already investigated almost everything. I just have one small detail left. I couldn't get in before due to some obstacles, but with your help this time, it shouldn't be a problem," Lance said, standing up.
And he added, "Overall, the Labs don't seem to be conducting research outside acceptable parameters, though there is some connection to Team Rocket. That definitely needs to be taken seriously. Everything else depends on what we uncover tonight."
Cain shook his head with a resigned expression. "Alright, let's go."
According to the information Cain had obtained from the Team Flare computers, they did indeed have some Mega Stones they were using for research, but they weren't stored anywhere physically—they were under Lysandre's direct custody.
This was because Lysandre had discovered that the stones contained a type of energy still unknown.
And if that energy could be harnessed, it would have enormous potential.
It had become the core of his research.
So, even if they investigated the Lysandre Labs, Cain knew he wouldn't find the Mega Stones he was looking for.
In fact, the two Mega Stones he had obtained at the Tower of Mastery were still unidentified. He still didn't know which Pokémon they belonged to.
He preferred to save that mystery for when he returned to Hoenn and run the tests there.
Although his Pokémon could already Mega Evolve, for now, he couldn't reveal that card. It should be used only as a trump card.
...
Both of them changed into nighttime infiltration gear and snuck into the Lysandre Labs in secret.
It had to be said—Lance was quite skilled at infiltration, which proved this wasn't his first time doing something like this.
Thanks to both their abilities, they soon made it to the key areas.
From that point on, stealth alone wouldn't be enough. They would need to use more direct methods.
Lance summoned his Charizard, while Cain released Drapion.
Neither of them could use their main Pokémon, as they would be too easily identified.
Regardless of the League's internal opinions about Lysandre Labs, they still appeared to be a recognized civil laboratory under League approval.
If it got out that League members had illegally entered, it would damage their reputation.
And the Kalos League had not yet fully consolidated itself in the region.
As soon as they released their Pokémon, alarms sounded throughout the Laboratory.
Through the System, Cain detected the communicators' locations and confirmed that Lysandre was not present.
At that moment, Lysandre was at the Team Flare secret base, along with several executives and officers, watching the live transmission of Lance and Cain's raid on the Laboratory.
But while they were watching the event live, Cain was watching them as well.
It was like watching yourself on screen while pretending to know nothing.
A rather strange experience.
Through the System, Cain had silently accessed the surveillance cameras in the meeting room and was also recording the audio from the computer they were using.
It was a scene straight out of a spy movie.
Counterintelligence, to be precise.
"Sir Lysandre, is it really okay to let them invade the Labs like this?" asked Xerosic, in his characteristically effeminate voice.
"If we don't let them discover something, the League will never stop monitoring us. Showing them what they want to see now might save us a lot of trouble later," Lysandre replied calmly.
"I see," responded Xerosic.
Hearing this exchange, Cain realized that he and Lance would not face any serious resistance tonight.
At most, a symbolic obstacle or two.
Completing the mission and submitting a report would be enough.
And indeed, during the subsequent investigation, they encountered no major issues. Only a few staff members tried to block their path, but were quickly dealt with by Lance and Cain.
They reached the central computer room without trouble.
"Why was it so easy today?" Lance frowned as he reviewed the computer.
It seemed strange to him. Last time, he had been harshly repelled, even facing two Elite-level trainers and numerous subordinates, which had forced him to retreat.
Today, everything was unnaturally calm.
Lance, as an Advanced-level researcher, had completed dozens of missions. He had a gut instinct for these things.
Meanwhile, in the Team Flare meeting room...
"Don't let them suspect anything, Mable. It's your turn to act," said Lysandre, speaking into the microphone.
(End of chapter)