The next day.
Having received navigational messages from the Kalos League officials, the participating trainers who were still in Lumiose City gathered together, looking with equal confusion at Champion Diantha in the research lab.
"Miss Diantha, what happened?"
The first to ask was Hoenn Champion Steven.
After all, an Ultra Ball-tier tournament had just concluded. Logically, they wouldn't mobilize such a massive lineup unless something big had happened.
Steven glanced around, and his mouth immediately twitched.
Two Battle Legends, Elite Fours and Champions from multiple regions—
This lineup was more than enough to take on any random Legendary Pokemon. Could it be that the Kalos legend, the Y God (Yveltal), had actually awakened?
"Yes, something very terrifying might be about to happen in Kalos."
Diantha nodded, her expression serious.
"I wonder if any of you have heard of the Djinn of Rings, the Mythical Pokemon Hoopa?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the professor beside her suddenly had an epiphany.
"It's actually Hoopa?!"
"That makes sense. It's been a hundred years since the legend of the 'Punishment of Hoopa'; it's about time to purify it again, right?"
Seeing that everyone else in the room looked bewildered, Professor Oak proceeded to "briefly" introduce the legend of Hoopa.
Hmm—it took about 15 minutes.
"I see, that really is a terrifying fellow!"
After generally grasping the situation, everyone nodded in succession.
A single Legendary Pokemon wasn't actually that scary; even a Champion-level trainer could temporarily hold one off.
But what if that Mythical could "call for backup"?
Just imagine if all the Legendaries in the world gathered together and became humanity's enemies—
This absurd ability was something they had never even heard of.
"Yes, Hoopa is a very special Mythical Pokemon."
"So, at Mr. Aiden's suggestion, the Kalos League is seeking help from all of you."
"We can certainly help, but—"
Wallace, standing next to Steven, raised an eyebrow.
"Where is Teacher Azure? He seems to be the one among us who is best at dealing with Legendary Pokemon."
Since Aiden, who was clearly much more reliable, was here, maybe sending him out could even skip the battle entirely and he'd just persuade the Legendary Pokemon directly?
After hearing about his many exploits, Wallace was convinced that this kid Aiden definitely had a way; perhaps he had some special ability that only worked on Legendaries.
"He has already headed out first."
Cynthia, who had been silent on the side, suddenly stepped forward with a smile.
"If even he can't handle it—then we might all need to step in together."
"That's how it should be."
Mustard narrowed his eyes and nodded with a smile.
"When one side is in trouble, aid comes from all directions. A crisis in Kalos is something all regions of the League must face together."
"Besides—"
"An opportunity to battle against Legendary Pokemon doesn't come around very often!"
With Mustard saying this, Steven, Wallace, Lance, and even the Sinnoh "Three Moles" (the Elite Four trio) quickly became brimming with fighting spirit.
"Sister Cynthia, is there anything we can do?"
Aaron looked up at their majestic big sister figure.
"Of course."
Cynthia smiled and nodded.
"According to the plan Aiden formulated, if things go smoothly, he will restrict the target to a limited area within Lumiose City. The people there have already been evacuated in advance by the Rainbow Corporation, who came to assist."
As Cynthia spoke, Diantha beside her turned on a projector and marked out a general area on the bird's-eye view map of Lumiose City.
"We are temporarily designating these plazas as battle zones. There's no need to worry about causing severe damage to the city; just focus on intercepting the Legendary Pokemon that might appear at any moment."
"Therefore, we can head out in advance and prepare for a direct confrontation with the Mythicals."
"Form groups at each plaza. You don't need to defeat the Legendary Pokemon; just try to suppress them temporarily and wait for backup."
Inner ring of Lumiose City, near Magenta Plaza.
A trio disguised as ordinary passing tourists sat in front of a café.
James, with his blue hair, held up his pinky, took a sip of the aromatic coffee, and revealed an expression of deep emotion.
"I never thought there'd be a day when Team Rocket would actually cooperate with the officials—"
"Idiot, how many times do I have to tell you, we're the Rainbow Corporation now, meow!"
Meowth, sitting to his left, kicked him.
"James, keep your guard up!"
On the other side, Jessie, with her exaggerated makeup and a towering shock of magenta hair, put down her menu and reminded him with a frown.
"This is a special mission arranged directly by the Boss. If you mess it up, I won't forgive you."
"I know, I know—"
James nodded, looking helpless.
"But why is our mission just to sit here and drink coffee?"
"The other executives seem to have been assigned to evacuate the civilians, but we have absolutely nothing to do—"
"Even though we made a lot of money last time in the Unova region and in this tournament, our sales figures even shocked Domino."
"Idiot, don't think like that! The Boss and the Consultant must have their reasons for doing this, meow!"
Exasperated, Meowth jumped up on the spot and used Fury Swipes on James's face.
"Ouch!"
It didn't actually hurt much; it didn't even break the skin.
"I get the logic, I just feel like we should be able to do our part too."
James rubbed his red nose and spoke slowly.
"Hoo-pa!"
"Right? It feels so annoying to be the only ones left out of the action!"
James sighed.
"Ah-woo—, Hoo-pa Hoo-pa!"
"Yeah, you're right. Maybe this is part of the Boss's plan too!"
"..." x2
Jessie and Meowth suddenly fell silent. After a good while, they turned their heads and looked at each other.
[That little guy that suddenly appeared next to James and is flawlessly communicating with him... it doesn't seem to be a Pokemon he caught, right?]
[I've never seen it before. But I think the Consultant did say that if we just stayed here, we'd encounter a very special Pokemon.]
[That must be it!] x2
After their silent exchange, the human and the Meowth's eyes instantly sparkled with gold.
Their usefulness could finally be demonstrated!
"Now's the chance, James!"
"Grab it, meow!"
Jessie and Meowth pointed forward at the same time, leaving James, who was about to taste a pink macaron, completely baffled.
"What are you talking about? Grab what—"
He subconsciously turned his head, only to realize that a tiny, unfamiliar Pokemon with several yellow rings on its body had somehow appeared in front of him.
?!!
James jumped in fright and slid right off his seat.
"Hoo-pa~"
The suddenly appeared little guy wore a wicked smile, stuffed all the macarons on the table into its mouth one after another, and then provocatively stuck its tongue out at them, making a funny face.
"—You little jerk, I'll take you on, meow!"
Triggering its underlying food-protective code, Meowth was already burning with rage. He leapt up and launched a full-power Fury Swipes at the little guy.
"Hoopa~"
However, Hoopa simply casually took off one of the golden rings hanging on its horn and easily blocked all of its attacks.
Even though doing this might get it lectured by Ansha, but—
Hoopa was hungry, so it needed to get some food!
Little Hoopa puffed out its chest, put its hands on its hips, completely unjustified but acting incredibly confident.
But just as it was feeling joyful about completing another prank, in the blink of an eye, Hoopa suddenly noticed a somewhat familiar figure.
???
Uncle Aiden?
Oh no, I'm going to get lectured again!
In just an instant, the previously cheeky Little Hoopa immediately looked distressed, subconsciously wanting to activate its rings to escape.
Unfortunately, its speed was just a bit too slow.
"Little Hoopa, so you really are here~"
As if a fear carved into its DNA had triggered, upon hearing Aiden's voice, the Hoopa that was just about to escape instantly froze in place, its grip on the ring going limp.
"It's the Consultant, meow!!!"
When Aiden's voice came from behind, the Team Rocket trio, who had been helpless against Hoopa just moments ago, immediately found their backbone.
Especially James, who had slid to the ground. He did a kip-up to stand, walked over to Aiden, and revealed a smile of a successful scheme.
"Reporting to Consultant Aiden, we have successfully completed the mission to capture Hoopa!"
Aiden glanced at Hoopa on the other side, then looked at the somewhat dusty James, subconsciously raising an eyebrow.
Was that really "capturing"?
It feels more like you guys were the ones who got pranked—
But whatever.
"Beautifully done. I'll be sure to praise you well to Boss Giovanni!"
After brushing them off with a smile, Aiden walked past the trio, who immediately started wriggling with "That feels so wonderful!" written all over their faces, and approached Little Hoopa.
"Little Hoopa, do you know Ansha is looking for you?"
Aiden poked Hoopa's body, and it jolted as if electrocuted, then turned around with a mournful face.
"Hoopa knows—"
"But this matter is too dangerous, I can't bring her along."
"Is this about Unbound Hoopa?" Aiden pressed.
Hoopa paused, then nodded heavily.
"Because Hoopa messed up the coordinates, Ansha and I arrived in this current timeline."
"As a result, it seems we were discovered by that mean big Hoopa, causing my power to be temporarily sealed."
"So, we have to deal with that big Hoopa first—"
Mid-sentence, Little Hoopa suddenly remembered something and waved its hands frantically.
"Uncle Aiden, I really didn't do anything bad this time!!!"
'Sigh,' Aiden sighed inwardly.
'I'm only nineteen, so how did I end up being called "Uncle" by two little kids?'
'Besides, Hoopa's age is at least dozens of times mine!'
But at least one thing he roughly understood.
His future self must have punished Hoopa before, which was why it was so scared of him.
As expected of the kid from the future, the intel Ansha provided was indeed reliable.
Just as he was thinking this, a child's voice suddenly came from behind.
"I didn't lie to you, did I, Uncle Aiden?"
"As long as we can find you, Little Hoopa will become extra well-behaved!"
"That's why I asked Mommy to come find you~"
Ansha emerged from behind Aiden. Because she was so small, Hoopa hadn't noticed her at all.
"You—"
When it met the eyes of its good friend, who was squinting and smiling at it, Little Hoopa felt like it had been backstabbed.
Have you betrayed me too, Ansha?!
"Alright, stop overthinking. I know you don't have bad intentions."
"But right now, the more important thing is to think about how to deal with that bad Hoopa."
Aiden shook his head, feeling that this Little Hoopa was a bit different from what he had imagined.
Although it still loved pranks, but—
Why did it feel a bit cowardly? Was this still a Mythical Pokemon?
Or had his future self already given it severe psychological trauma?
The specifics, Aiden didn't know.
"Mhm! That bad Hoopa has already arrived in Lumiose City, I can feel it!"
Getting to the main point, Little Hoopa immediately rubbed its fists together, itching to rush over and blow it up.
But soon, calming down, it became dejected again.
Even though that guy was its evil side, after hundreds of years of separation, Little Hoopa didn't actually have much of a sense of connection to it.
It only knew that once the other party discovered its existence, it would immediately rush over and try to devour it.
It's definitely a bad guy!
Unfortunately, it seemed like it couldn't beat it!
So, for the past few days, it had been trying its best to hide its aura.
But paper can't wrap fire. Relying on their faint, lingering connection, Unbound Hoopa was still gradually making its way toward Lumiose City.
"I see."
Aiden nodded, then glanced at the café next to them.
So, that was why Little Hoopa specifically lingered near the Lysandre Café?
Was it planning to use Team Flare's power to stage a snipe-and-clam scenario?
No, it felt like it probably wasn't smart enough to think of that—
Don't tell me that in the future, even a guy like Lysandre gets whitewashed?
Aiden didn't overthink it and quickly turned his head to look at the Meowth trio, who had finally snapped out of their daze.
"Now, I'm going to assign you a new mission."
"Yes!"
Hearing the word "mission," the trio immediately stood at attention, waiting for Aiden's next words.
"Next, some... dangerous fellows might appear in Lumiose City."
"So, I'll leave you in charge of looking after this kid for me."
Aiden pointed at Ansha, who was grabbing the hem of his shirt. Jessie and Meowth immediately revealed a fond, aunt-like smile.
What a cute little kid—
"We guarantee the mission will be completed!" James nodded solemnly.
However, Ansha herself looked up at Aiden and Little Hoopa, her face showing worry.
"Uncle Aiden, what about you two?"
"We—"
Aiden pondered for a moment, then revealed a handsome smile.
"Your Uncle Aiden is, of course, going to go save the world."
Ansha blinked.
Sure enough, this was the one thing about Uncle Aiden that never changed.
He was like this five years ago, and five years later, he was still just as reliable.
Truly worthy of being a "Battle Legend"!
"Then I'll leave Little Hoopa in your hands, Uncle Aiden!"
Knowing she would only get in the way if she went, Ansha nodded and showed a cute smile.
"I'll make delicious donuts and wait for you guys to come back!"
"Then I'll definitely look forward to it~"
Aiden smiled, then turned around and threw a Pokeball.
After mounting Salamence, he turned to look at Little Hoopa, who had followed alongside him.
"Can you confirm the exact location of Unbound Hoopa?"
"Umm—I'll try!"
Little Hoopa closed its eyes, furrowing its brows tightly, seemingly trying its best to sense the other's aura.
A few seconds later, it suddenly opened its eyes and pointed in a direction.
"It's right there!"
Aiden narrowed his eyes and looked over.
It's actually the Prism Tower—
The central area of Lumiose City.
But Diantha's side should have already evacuated the civilians.
"Let's go!"
"Sala!!"
With that, the Salamence beneath Aiden violently flapped its wings and shot straight into the air from a standstill.
Hoopa followed closely behind, thinking to itself—
Evil big Hoopa! Uncle Aiden is coming to deal with you~
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