Mewtwo took out a Master Ball.
That was right. It was the Master Ball developed by Silph Co.
Giovanni had given the Master Ball to Mewtwo so that when they encountered a top-tier Legendary later, Mewtwo could use its psychic power to forcibly restrain the Legendary, then use the Master Ball to capture it.
The margin for error was truly maxed out.
Only...
Having one Pokémon hold a Poké Ball to capture another Pokémon...
Giovanni, you absolute demon. That was way too diabolical.
"This is... the Master Ball the Boss mentioned?!"
Dr. Namba's face was full of disbelief.
"That's right. This is the Master Ball. With my abilities and this Master Ball, once we defeat Lugia, capturing it should pose no problem."
Mewtwo was proud, and it did indeed have the right to be proud.
With this two-pronged approach, Lugia would surely fall before them.
"If we have the Master Ball, then naturally there won't be a problem."
Dr. Namba breathed a sigh of relief.
Originally, he had still been thinking about what kind of high-tech device they could use to capture Lugia.
Now that the Master Ball had appeared, Dr. Namba felt that capturing Lugia would absolutely not be a problem.
Was he, Dr. Namba, finally about to personally lead Team Rocket in capturing a top-tier Legendary?
Just thinking about it made Dr. Namba feel excited.
"Heh heh heh..."
"?"
When Mewtwo heard Dr. Namba's laugh, it could not help but take a few steps back.
That laugh was way too cursed.
It sounded a little like one of those villains in a TV show who would not survive past two episodes.
The kind who got kicked to death by the protagonist.
"Ahem, I lost my composure. Mr. Colress, the two of us should carefully discuss the next plan. Lord Mewtwo, with the Master Ball here, please wait for our good news!"
Dr. Namba's tone was full of confidence.
"Very well. If there is no good news, then once I return, you will answer for it."
After Mewtwo finished speaking, it used Teleport to leave the Orange Islands.
...
...
"Pikachu is unable to battle. Since all of Ash's Pokémon are unable to battle, the winner is the Masked Royal from the Alola region!"
By afternoon, the Indigo League Conference semifinals began right on schedule.
Our Ash was facing the Masked Royal.
A Champion-level opponent.
Even though Ash had an obedient Charizard this time, a Gengar caught ahead of schedule, an Aerodactyl that did not fall asleep, an Annihilape that had received guidance, a hardworking Pidgeot, and Pikachu at full power, he still lost the match.
All that could be said was that there was honor even in defeat.
"Ahhh, Red, Blue, Gym Leader Grey! The Masked Royal is way too strong!"
After having his Pokémon treated, Ash arrived in the audience seats and wailed at the three of them.
"That Incineroar is so powerful! It was completely beyond what I could handle! Even Aerodactyl's Stone Edge got shattered by one slap!"
When Ash thought of the scene where Incineroar had smashed Aerodactyl back into the field like some random roadside object, he could not help wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
Too terrifying.
This was completely beyond the level he could deal with right now.
"It's fine. The Masked Royal really is very strong. Never mind you, even Elite Four Lorelei might not be his match."
Blue took the initiative to comfort Ash.
"Hey, hey, Blue, isn't it a little too much to put me down behind my back like that?"
Lorelei walked over gracefully.
"Yo, Elite Four Lorelei. Long time no see."
Speaking of which, the last time Grey had seen Lorelei was on the S.S. Anne.
In the blink of an eye, two and a half months had already passed.
Time really went by quickly.
"Long time no see, Gym Leader Grey. Congratulations on becoming the strongest Gym Leader in the Kanto and Johto regions. Reaching this point only three months after your debut is even more impressive than Blue back then."
Since Blue had just used her as a comparison, Lorelei naturally had to return the favor.
What she was talking about was not the Gym, but Grey's personal strength.
She remembered that Blue had taken a year to reach this point.
Grey had only needed three months.
She wondered when Grey would become a battle-legend tier Trainer.
Judging from the Pokémon he had with him, four more would probably be about enough.
"Hey, Lorelei, don't drag me into it when you say that."
"Heh, who told you to drag me in just now?"
"Blue, Miss Lorelei, don't fight."
Ash stepped in, trying to make the situation better and get the two of them to reconcile.
But...
"What? What did you call me? Miss?!"
Lorelei's head full of red hair nearly caught fire from anger. She turned around, stared fixedly at Ash, and asked word by word, "Ash, I'm actually not that much older than you. What do you think you should call me?"
"Uh, uh... M..."
Ash opened his mouth and had just spat out one syllable when Lorelei forced it back down with the move Leer.
Under Lorelei's pressure, he could only say, "Sister Lorelei!"
"Good, good. Very nice. You should call me sister."
Lorelei was delighted and rubbed Ash's head.
"Still pretending to be young at your age. I grew up watching your battles when I was a kid."
Blue complained.
"???"
Lorelei's head filled with question marks. She could only look at Gary, who was watching the show from the side, and asked again, "Gary, what should you call me?"
"Uh..."
Gary had originally only wanted to enjoy the drama.
Besides, he had been defeated by Green, who was under Grey, so he did not really dare to speak.
Just in case Blue ganked him.
But since Lorelei had taken the initiative to ask him, it would not be good if he did not answer.
Hmm...
Damn mouth, hurry up and respond!
Gary stayed silent for a long while before finally saying, "Hello, Sister Lorelei."
"That's right, that's right. Exactly. Blue, the public's eyes are sharp and clear. You mustn't lead them astray."
Lorelei was perfectly satisfied. After saying goodbye to everyone, she slowly left while humming a little tune.
"Tch. Still trying to act young at her age. Women are such a hassle."
Blue was a sigma male and did not care about romance.
However...
He was quite interested in other people's romance.
"Grey, how are things going with Sabrina and Caitlin? Tell me the situation so I can prepare a gift when the time comes."
Blue wiggled his eyebrows at Grey.
Even Red, who was beside them, turned his head over with a gossip-hungry expression.
There was nothing wrong with dating girls.
But Grey, someone who played with Fighting types, had connections with two Psychic girls.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
The scene was too beautiful to imagine.
Seeing how much Grey liked getting involved with psychics, Blue even wondered whether Grey was a masochist.
Besides, anyone with eyes could see what was going on between Grey, Sabrina, and Caitlin.
It had basically spread through their circle already. It was hard not to know.
"What else could it be? It's just like that."
Grey waved his hand.
"Still, things with Sabrina are progressing pretty quickly. As for Caitlin, she's actually more like a good friend."
"That makes sense. Caitlin should be serving as an Elite Four member in the Unova region right now. You don't get many chances to meet. At most, you can video call on your phones."
Thinking about Caitlin's situation, Blue reached out and patted Grey on the shoulder. He looked him up and down, then finally focused his gaze on Grey's waist.
"Being young sure is nice."
"Aren't you still pretty young too, Blue?"
Grey was slightly confused.
He and Blue were not that far apart in age.
"Ahem, it's different."
Blue waved his hand.
"Is that so? Then never mind."
Grey put on an expression that said, "I understand." After yawning, he prepared to get up and leave.
"Green, how are your preparations for tomorrow's battle? Maybe you'll be the champion tomorrow."
"? Why don't you lend me Reshiram so I can show you what a one-against-six sweep looks like on the spot?"
Green rolled her eyes at Grey in annoyance.
Preparations?
Didn't he see that Ash had just gotten swept one against six?!
That was one against six!
Her strength was about the same as Ash's.
Under these circumstances, no matter how much she prepared, she would only be going there to feed the other side a free win.
It would be useless effort.
At this point, Green felt she should just enjoy herself.
Enjoy the last good times.
Mm.
Once the Indigo League Conference was over, she would prepare for other conferences.
May there be no smurfs in the tournament.
"I'd like to lend it to you too. But Reshiram won't listen to Trainers other than its hero. Green, if you really have the ability, then let Reshiram feel your truth. At that point, never mind the Indigo League Conference, maybe you could immediately sweep through Victory Road several times back and forth."
Grey smiled and took out a Premier Ball. After tossing it lightly a few times, he placed it in front of Green.
"Here, this is Reshiram's Poké Ball. Want to try? This opportunity won't come again."
"Fine. If Reshiram runs off with me, don't cry, okay?"
"Come on, come on. Don't just talk big. Try it. Let me say this first, if you don't get acknowledged, I get to pinch your cheeks."
Grey made a cheek-pinching gesture with his other hand.
Green was so angry that both of her arms went stiff and her cheeks puffed up. Then she clasped her hands together and said to the Premier Ball, "Reshiram, how about coming with me to reveal everyone's truth?"
Reshiram was confused.
Reveal everyone's truth?
Your truth really is something else.
As expected, Reshiram ignored Green.
"Sigh, this top-tier Legendary can't understand my truth. It's really lacking."
Green covered her face with one hand and could not help saying that.
Reshiram and Grey were both speechless.
Kid, right now, you're still pretty far from godhood, but you're also getting pretty far from humanity.
"Forget it, Green. You should just enjoy these last good times."
Grey spoke earnestly.
It was as if he were watching Green walk toward the execution ground.
Green's face went blank.
"Hmph, I'm ignoring you. This girl is going off to have fun on her own."
Green turned around and strode away.
"Kids grow up and stop giving people peace of mind."
Grey shook his head.
Then he took out his phone and sent Caitlin a message.
Dojo Annihilape: In three or four days, I'll be setting off for the Hoenn region.
Grey was reporting his situation to Caitlin so that Caitlin would not spend all day overthinking things.
Sleeping Beauty: Okay! I'll be waiting for you in Unova. Love you, mwah.jpg
Dojo Annihilape: Yeah. Heart hands.jpg
The conversation was very short. The main point was that once the report was done, it ended.
...
...
Sinnoh region, League Headquarters.
To be honest, this half-month had been the most peaceful stretch of time Cynthia had experienced.
She had not heard any news about that menace from Kanto, Grey, from Caitlin's mouth for half a month. Cynthia felt very relieved.
Caitlin had matured. She also knew she could not be hopelessly love-struck anymore.
It was not that Cynthia thought the two of them could not be together.
But Caitlin had been too love-struck during that earlier period.
It was as if without Grey, her entire body wilted.
That was absolutely being love-struck.
Being love-struck was not advisable.
Once she had built her career and become more mature, then she could slowly date Grey.
Now Cynthia had gone a full half-month without hearing about that menace, Grey, and her whole body felt much more at ease.
If days like this could continue, that would be wonderful.
In that case, she could also work peacefully and handle documents.
Obviously, life was unpredictable, and when something reached an extreme, it reversed.
Her office phone suddenly rang with a familiar dramatic breakup ringtone.
A heartbreak song about night falling, tears dropping before anyone noticed, and loving someone only to be the one who got hurt filled the office.
Cynthia's eyes stiffened. She inwardly sensed danger.
This was the special ringtone she had set for Caitlin.
The lyrics alone made the situation obvious.
Caitlin, I just praised you!
You wouldn't be unable to withstand praise, would you?
Wait, no. Maybe she was calling to ask how to be a good Elite Four member.
After all, during these past few days, Caitlin had indeed asked her many questions about how to manage League affairs properly.
If that was the case, then there would be no problem at all.
"Whew. Relax. Relax."
Cynthia calmed her emotions, then answered the call.
On the other end of the phone, Caitlin's mood was obviously cheerful.
She was in a high-spirited state, as if some enormous good thing had happened.
"Caitlin, it should be nighttime over there, right? What good thing happened? You actually thought of calling me?"
Cynthia teased.
"That's right, it is something good! Cynthia, do you want to guess what the good news is?"
Caitlin wanted to share this good news with Cynthia.
But before clearly telling her, she wanted Cynthia to make a small guess first.
"Let me guess. Did you catch a Legendary Pokémon? Or has your control over your psychic power already reached the point of perfection?"
Cynthia could only guess those two possibilities.
"Neither."
"Then I can't guess it. Just tell me."
After Cynthia said that, Lucian, who had originally stopped outside the Champion's office, paused in his steps. His sixth sense told him something was wrong.
Then he pushed Aaron, who had been playing a handheld game nearby, over instead. At the same time, he placed the documents beside Aaron's feet and made his escape.
The disaster scene needed a new star.
Inside the office.
"What?! Caitlin, what did you say?!"
Cynthia's tone was agitated. She slammed her palm heavily onto the desk, so angry that she could barely process what Caitlin had said.
She could not believe Caitlin's words.
She even thought she had heard wrong.
"Grey took the initiative to report his schedule to me!"
Caitlin repeated what she had said earlier.
"..."
Cynthia wanted to cry.
She would never jinx herself again!
She had just praised Caitlin for not being hopelessly love-struck!
By Garchomp above, why did you play such a huge joke on me?!
"Hehe. Cynthia, you're happy for me too, right? I feel so motivated right now!"
Caitlin continued her offensive.
Cynthia clutched her heaving chest, the corner of her eye twitching.
That damned menace from Kanto!
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