"Take a guess?"
Take a guess? No way!
Steven's mind was starting to break. His thoughts were confused and messy. Damian had his father's phone. This was a scary fact.
"I have a friendly reminder. I am at the Devon Corporation right now, Steven."
Damian's voice was relaxed and lazy. He walked to the large window. He looked out at Rustboro City. The city wanted to mix nature and science. The plants and trees were very healthy and neat.
The whole city was under his feet. Damian was in a very good mood right now.
"President Stone is right here next to me."
"Damian! Stay calm. Do you know what you are doing right now?"
Steven stopped breathing for a moment. He tried his best to stay calm. He did not understand why Damian went to the Devon Corporation. He did not know why Damian had his father.
"I am very calm. I came here today to talk to President Stone about some old personal business."
Old personal business?
Steven was surprised. Did Damian have a problem with his father from the past? That did not seem right. Damian had never been to Hoenn before.
"No matter what it is, I hope you do not hurt my father," Steven said with a very serious voice.
"That has nothing to do with me. But I heard something. Did you and the others find people to fight me, Steven?"
Damian patted the chair. Joseph Stone was smart enough to stand up. Damian sat down without waiting. The President's chair at Devon was very soft and comfortable.
"..."
Steven looked very angry. Damian's words meant he already knew about the Hoenn League. He knew they invited other Champions.
This was not right. How did Damian know? Was there a spy? Or did Team Rocket get inside the League?
Steven's mind moved fast. Was it the Kanto League? Team Rocket just arrived in Hoenn. They should not have a spy in the local League yet.
"I did not expect this. Is the pressure too high for you, Steven? You actually took trainers from other regions."
Damian's voice sounded happy and easy. He did not feel any pressure at all.
"Damian, if you surrender now, I can ask the League to be kind to you." Steven spoke directly because Damian already knew.
"Oh?" The corners of Damian's mouth moved up into a small smirk.
"Do you think a few trainers can fight Team Rocket? Steven, you do not respect us enough."
Damian's voice sounded mean and mocking.
"Stop talking big, Damian! Do you really think you are invincible in this world?"
Wallace's angry voice came through the phone. It was clear that Wallace was standing next to Steven.
"If you are not scared, why are you using Uncle Joseph as a hostage?"
"So that is what you think? In that case, I will wait for everyone at the Devon Corporation. You should prepare yourselves. President Stone is in my hands now."
Damian let out a small chuckle and ended the call.
"What... what exactly do you want to do?"
Joseph Stone was very confused. He thought these three people wanted to cause trouble for him. Why was Steven involved now? And... Team Rocket?
Joseph Stone noticed the important name in Damian's words. Was Team Rocket an evil group from the Kanto region?
"Do not worry, President Stone. Zinnia spoke for you, so we will not hurt you," Damian said calmly.
"But you are a prisoner of Team Rocket now. You cannot just do nothing."
Damian thought for a moment. He had technically kidnapped the President of the Devon Corporation.
Joseph Stone: "..."
"Devon is a giant company. You can give some money to our group without any problem, right?"
"...No problem." Joseph Stone was silent for a second. This was the first time he met a robber who was so polite.
But if it was only money, it was nothing to him.
"Then please, President Stone, transfer the money to this account. About the amount..."
"Is 10 billion okay?"
"You are the President of Devon. You are very generous." Damian clicked his tongue.
"I know I cannot pay for my sins. This money is my personal gift to you, young lady. Please do not worry about that," Joseph Stone said with a sigh. He looked at Zinnia.
"Heh..." Zinnia laughed coldly. She felt nothing in her heart.
"I do not need those things, Joseph Stone. If you truly feel bad about my sister, give me the list of people from that project in the past."
"...I understand." Joseph Stone was silent for a long time. Finally, he nodded.
He made a phone call to transfer the money. Then, Joseph Stone took a folder from the bottom of his desk. Inside was the list of people for the "Rayquaza Capture Project" from years ago.
"If it is possible, I hope you leave now. When Steven and the others arrive, I will tell them you did nothing," Joseph Stone said in a low voice.
"I do not know how strong you are. But you are not strong enough to beat the Hoenn League."
"President Stone, you do not respect us enough. Instead of worrying about that, you should let your workers go home."
Damian sat with his legs crossed. He looked at data about Infinity Energy ($\infty \text{ Energy}$) with interest.
Infinity Energy ($\infty \text{ Energy}$) is a special energy. It comes from the life energy of Pokémon. People also call it "Bio-energy." This was the main technology Joseph Stone worked on.
The first use of life energy happened 3,000 years ago. In the Kalos region, AZ built the "Ultimate Weapon." It used the life energy of Pokémon.
What did AZ do with it? He brought his Floette back to life. It changed into the Eternal Flower. Because of the light from the weapon, AZ and the flower got eternal life. Later, AZ was full of hate. He used the Ultimate Weapon for war. He destroyed both sides of the fight.
Professor Sycamore of Kalos has a theory. He believes that when the weapon fired 3,000 years ago, the life energy of Xerneas or Yveltal spread in Kalos. This caused stones like Evolution Stones to turn into Mega Stones.
The "Rayquaza Capture Project" worked because of the "Infinity Energy" machine from Joseph Stone. The Devon Corporation used a machine called the "Flower." It looked and worked like the Ultimate Weapon. They trapped Rayquaza. This caused Aster to die in battle.
Rayquaza is very strong. Usually, it could break any human trap. But this trap was special. That is why the person after it died.
"If I give this to Dr. Fuji, he will get many ideas."
Damian thought to himself. He did not know if Professor Sycamore's theory was right. But if Mega Stones came from life energy, this data would help Dr. Fuji.
Was this Joseph Stone's personal property? Damian did not care. Joseph Stone was a prisoner now. Damian was already kind because he did not tie him up in a corner.
"I understand." Joseph Stone called his secretary. He said the whole company was on holiday. No one was allowed to work late.
The Pokémon League Building in Ever Grande City
"Damian, what exactly are you trying to do?"
Steven's heart felt very heavy. His father was in Damian's hands! Damian's father, Giovanni, was on Steven's side. But that did not feel the same.
Steven was in a hurry. He called Cynthia and the others for another meeting.
"Damian is here. He is in Rustboro City right now." Steven's first sentence made Cynthia, Giovanni, and the others stop.
"It might be a trap. But Damian has my father at the Devon Corporation building."
Steven's voice was serious and deep.
"Then why are we waiting? We should go there now to save him."
Nemona said her opinion immediately. They knew where the enemy was. There was no reason to wait.
"Damian... has he really become this bad?" Giovanni looked very sad.
"Steven, is the news true?" Cynthia asked. Her eyebrows moved together.
"It is true. Damian called me from my father's phone. He said himself that he is at the Devon Corporation."
"Why would he tell us where he is on purpose?" Nemona was shocked. That was strange.
"Yes. This is very suspicious. Damian is not a careless person. He is always smart and has a plan," Giovanni said quietly.
"I do not care about his plan. I cannot leave my father alone. So, I must go there now."
Steven's face was very serious.
Giovanni and the others did not say anything more. They understood Steven's feelings as a son. They came here to fight Team Rocket anyway. Now that Team Rocket appeared, they could not stay away because of a trap. That was impossible.
"But Chairman Rose said Leon is coming to Hoenn," Officer Jenny reminded them.
"There is no time. We are going to Rustboro City now. Officer Jenny, please move the people away from the Devon Corporation in Rustboro," Steven ordered.
They would be stronger with Leon. But Leon's plane would take many hours to reach Hoenn. Steven could not wait.
"I understand." Officer Jenny nodded. She started making calls immediately.
"Then, let us go."
Steven walked out of the room very quickly. He was in a hurry.
Finally, I get to fight Team Rocket!
Nemona followed him. She was excited. She wanted to fight the evil group Team Rocket!
"Damian! You are finished!"
Wallace was also in a very good mood. He imagined them defeating Damian and putting handcuffs on him. This made Wallace excited!
Leon would not arrive in time. But it did not matter! There were many Champions against three Team Rocket Champions. It would be an easy win.
They were sure they would win!