Damian went back to Caitlin's house.
"Zinnia, come to the house for a moment."
Damian thought for a moment. Then he called Zinnia on the phone. The Hoenn League asked people for a final battle. So, Damian had no reason to hide. This was also a good time to help Zinnia with her plan.
A battle needs a reason to start.
Time passed quickly. It was the next day.
At the Ever Grande City airport, Giovanni walked out. He was wearing a black designer suit.
"Hello, Mr. Giovanni." A young man in a suit walked to meet him.
"Hello."
"Champion Wallace told me to wait for you here. Please follow me."
Giovanni got into the car. He arrived at the Hoenn League building.
Giovanni smiled a little, but he kept it hidden. He did not expect to visit the League building of another area as a special guest.
A staff member took Giovanni upstairs. They arrived at the meeting room quickly.
The staff member knocked twice on the door. Then they opened the door and showed Giovanni to go inside.
Giovanni went into the meeting room. He looked around. Many people were already sitting there.
The two Hoenn Champions, Steven and Wallace, were there. The Elite Four and Officer Jenny were there too.
Giovanni looked at two women. One had long blonde hair and a black coat. She was the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia.
The other was a young girl. She had long black hair and a green streak in her hair. She had dark skin and looked happy and energetic. This was Nemona. She was a student who beat the Paldea League last year.
Giovanni looked at everyone. Everyone looked back at Giovanni.
Nemona was very curious. Steven and Cynthia felt strange. This man was Damian's father.
Wallace looked at him and studied him. He thought the man looked dark. Giovanni looked like a businessman, but he did not look like a good person at all.
"I am sorry. It seems I am late."
Giovanni spoke with a deep voice.
"That is okay. You have ten minutes before the meeting starts. Please sit down, Gym Leader Giovanni," Steven said. He smiled and showed Giovanni a seat.
Steven sat in the main seat. Last night, he and Wallace had a ceremony.
Wallace gave the Hoenn Champion title back to Steven.
They did not have a battle because it was not needed. The League knew Steven was strong. They just followed the rules. The news was posted this morning. People talked about it a lot.
Only Wallace's fans were upset. Other people were okay with the change.
The League did not care about the complaints.
Giovanni smiled and sat down.
"Now that Gym Leader Giovanni is here, let us talk about the main topic."
Steven looked around the room. He looked at the three people who came to help: Giovanni, Cynthia, and Nemona.
"First, I want to thank Champion Cynthia, Gym Leader Giovanni, and Nemona for coming to help. Thank you very much."
Steven thanked them. Cynthia and the others came in person to help. This was important.
"You are welcome, Champion Steven. We are all members of the League. We should help each other. We must stop the evil Team Rocket," Cynthia said. She was calm and logical.
"Champion Cynthia is right. We must destroy the evil Team Rocket! I have a responsibility. I should apologize to everyone."
Giovanni spoke with a low voice. He sounded very sad.
"My son, Damian, caused trouble for everyone. I am to blame."
Giovanni stood up and bowed to everyone.
"Gym Leader Giovanni, you do not need to do that," Steven said. He stood up quickly.
"We do not blame you for Damian's actions. You should not feel bad."
"Champion Steven is right. You did not want this to happen. You do not need to feel bad," Cynthia said. She nodded.
"Sigh. I will definitely beat Damian this time. If he does not learn, I will send him to prison myself."
Giovanni took a deep breath. His voice was heavy.
"I have never done anything wrong in my life. I have a clean conscience. I never thought I would be a bad father."
Steven and the others were silent. They did not have children, so they did not know his feelings. But Giovanni looked very sad. They felt a bit gloomy too.
Giovanni had always been a hard-working Gym Leader. But Damian joining Team Rocket was a bad thing for his name. Also, Damian was very powerful.
Wallace thought he might be wrong about Giovanni. He wondered if he was being unfair.
"As long as we can defeat Damian, I think we can talk him into being good again," Steven said. He tried to help Giovanni feel better.
Giovanni nodded and sat down.
"I asked you to come for one reason. We must stop the evil Team Rocket!"
Steven spoke in a serious voice. An image appeared on the screen. It showed the Team Rocket leaders.
Nemona was interested in the images. There were no evil groups in Paldea. She liked this group. It was strong enough to make Hoenn ask for help.
Nemona listened carefully to Steven.
"Champion Steven, do you know the location of the Team Rocket base?"
Cynthia asked a question.
"We do not know for sure, but we have clues."
Steven shook his head.
"We think Damian is in Lilycove City now. Officer Jenny has information. Damian, Caitlin, and Zinnia were seen in Lilycove City many times."
Steven spoke seriously. He and Wallace had seen Damian in Lilycove City before.
Cynthia looked worried. She did not like that they did not know the exact location.
But the Hoenn League was ready for a fight. If they found Team Rocket, they would act. They wanted to remove Team Rocket from Hoenn.
Rustboro City is a city that tries to mix nature and science. It manages many businesses in Hoenn. The Devon Corporation is in the center of the city. North of Rustboro City is Meteor Falls.
Damian and his group arrived in Rustboro City.
"We are near your home. Zinnia, will you visit? We can wait," Damian said and smiled.
"My job is not finished. I cannot go back yet," Zinnia said. She shook her head.
"Damian, we took Team Magma and Team Aqua. You caught Kyogre. What should I do now?"
Zinnia looked at Damian. Her original plan was gone.
"You can make the wish now."
"A wish might not work. I do not have a Rainbow Meteorite. Kyogre and Groudon are not fighting. The wish has a small chance to work," Zinnia said.
She had joined Team Magma to make Groudon and Kyogre fight. She wanted to summon Rayquaza.
"Do not worry. You will have a chance to find Rayquaza," Damian smiled. But it was not the right time yet.
Zinnia looked at him. Damian made it sound easy.
The three of them arrived at the Devon Corporation building.
"Hello. Who are you?"
The woman at the front desk asked. She smiled.
"Hello. We are looking for President Stone. Can you call him?" Damian asked and smiled.
"You want to see the President? Do you have an appointment?" the woman asked.
Joseph Stone was very rich. It was hard to see him.
"We do not have an appointment. But tell him an old friend from the Tower of Mastery in Johto is here to talk."
"Please wait a moment."
The woman was not sure. But the three people looked important. She chose to make the call. She wanted to trust her judgment.
The woman finished the call and looked at Damian.
"The President is waiting for you in his office."
"Thank you."
Damian smiled. They took the elevator to the top floor.
They arrived at the office. Damian looked around.
"In a few years, you made this company very big. President Stone, you are a great businessman."
Damian looked at the man with gray hair. He was wearing a purple suit.
Joseph Stone was very successful. Many businessmen liked him.
"You are too kind. Young people, who are you?"
Joseph Stone spoke with a deep voice. He looked at them.
"Us? President Stone, everyone must pay for their actions. You remember what happened before, right? The girl on Rayquaza."
Damian moved his head. He looked mean.
Zinnia looked at Joseph Stone with cold eyes.
"The girl from that time..."
"Aster was Zinnia's older sister, President Stone."
Joseph Stone's body became stiff. He looked at Zinnia. He felt guilty and shocked.
He knew about this.
"The girl from that time..."
"Aster was Zinnia's older sister, President Stone."
Joseph Stone sat back in his chair. He felt weak.
"I never forgot. I regret taking part in that event."
Joseph Stone spoke with a weak voice.
"The Pokémon Association asked me for help with the project to catch Rayquaza. I went to the Tower of Mastery."
"But when we started, I saw a girl on Rayquaza. It was too late to stop. I am very sorry. I apologize."
Joseph Stone apologized to Zinnia.
"Is an 'I'm sorry' enough?" Zinnia said. She looked at him with anger.
"You people are selfish. You do not know why my sister found Rayquaza. You do not know her duty!" Zinnia was very angry.
The People of the Meteor wanted to help Hoenn. But Aster died because of the people she wanted to save. It was very sad.
Joseph Stone smiled sadly.
"It already happened. I will accept any punishment."
Joseph Stone sighed. It was his fault. Zinnia lost her sister because of him.
Zinnia breathed heavily. Her eyes were red. She was very angry.
She wanted to use her Pokémon, but she stayed calm.
"I will not let you die easily, Joseph Stone," Zinnia said. She did not want to kill him because he was ready to accept his guilt.
Joseph Stone looked at Zinnia and sighed.
"Now, President Stone, please call your son, Steven."
Damian saw that Zinnia was quiet. He smiled and spoke to Joseph Stone.
"This does not involve Steven," Joseph Stone said. He was proud of Steven. He did not want Steven to be part of this.
He felt bad about the girl. He did not want Steven to be disappointed in him.
"Do not worry. It is not about this matter," Damian said.
Joseph Stone was silent. He called Steven.
The phone rang. Steven answered.
"Father, what is it?" Steven asked.
"Hello, hello. Steven. Are you surprised?"
Damian took the phone and spoke to Steven.
"Damian!!"
Steven was very shocked. He was angry.
This was his father's phone!
"Damian! How do you have my father's phone?"
"Take a guess?"