"Epic-Scale Big Missions : Lumiose City "
"It finally came!! This is the one I've been waiting for!!"
Rosa instantly snapped back to life.
She was super hyped—like, totally out of control.
"This mission… looks like it's not something ordinary, huh."
Hilda stared at the mission title.
Last time there was a "big missions" title…
was Michina's great mountain.
And that mission's overall main goal was the Team Galactic boss, Cyrus.
But this time, the front even had those three words: "Epic-Scale."
And the mission location was Lumiose City?!
Because right now Damian was active in the Kalos Region—
so Hilda had also done some basic research.
Lumiose City was the center of the Kalos Region.
It was also one of the most populous cities in the world.
"So what if it's normal or not normal?! Whatever—I'm going in!"
Rosa jutted her chest out with full confidence.
No matter what evil objective there was—
it didn't matter!
"..."
Hilda glanced at Rosa with a look of utter speechlessness.
But honestly… it really wasn't a big problem.
Anyway, Mr. Damian would definitely be overseeing everything.
And to be fair, Hilda didn't think it would be that difficult.
After all, she and Rosa's main rosters—
they already had several Pokémon that had entered Champion-tier.
"But right now it's still just appointment signup."
"No one knows when it'll officially start."
...
"Waaah..."
That oppressed, miserable sound kept coming.
Inside the room, Diantha clamped her teeth shut so hard her face was completely distorted.
Whew—
Finally, it was over.
Diantha slumped down.
She had zero strength left to move at all.
"Drink some water."
Damian picked Diantha up and handed her the cup.
After a few sips of water, Diantha finally felt like she was alive again.
"You're not human."
Diantha let out a long breath and voiced her protest.
"You're just too weak."
"You should work out properly."
Damian shrugged, acting extremely relaxed.
"I already work out."
But Diantha still insisted Damian had something wrong.
Her body wasn't bad at all—
at least, it was normal for a person.
Still, she absolutely couldn't keep going!
Every time, Diantha felt like she was about to die.
"Yeah… that really is necessary."
Damian pulled Diantha into his arms.
Diantha didn't resist.
She leaned against Damian's chest and closed her eyes, ready to rest.
Smelling that unique "man" scent on Damian—
Diantha's mood still felt complicated.
"So what relationship are we even right now?"
That ideology couldn't help bubbling up in Diantha's mind.
But she couldn't figure it out.
Love?
It didn't feel like it.
At least, she couldn't feel any affection from Damian.
Just a business deal?
But it didn't feel like it was fully that either.
Diantha felt like she was being too dramatic.
"Oh."
"In a little while…"
"something pretty serious might happen in Lumiose City."
"My suggestion is…"
"you'd better be ready."
Damian thought for a moment, then reminded Diantha.
"What kind of thing?"
Diantha froze.
"Damian."
"You promised me Team Rocket wouldn't do anything to Kalos."
Damian—you already know how he talks—his expression went wrong on the spot.
"What are you thinking?"
"Do I look like the kind of person who can't keep his word?"
Damian raised a brow.
"..."
Diantha pinned Damian's not-so-honest palm down.
Silence.
Yeah.
She still didn't trust Damian's character.
"Even if I'm not exactly a good person…"
"if I promise something…"
"I won't go back on it."
Damian said lazily.
"Then who?"
Diantha frowned.
There had never been an evil organization in Kalos.
And the goal was even Lumiose City?
An organization that crazy—
then forget it.
"You don't seem to understand the situation in Kalos at all."
"That's not surprising."
Damian smiled.
Diantha kept thinking.
Among the forces in the Kalos Region…
there were potential threats…
"Don't overthink it."
"Even if you knew…"
"with your abilities…"
"you wouldn't be able to stop it."
"You might as well think about how to reduce the damage as much as possible next."
Damian said slowly.
"As for who it is…"
"they'll show themselves."
"You'll know soon."
"And you…"
Diantha tightened her lips.
She wanted Damian to help.
But she didn't know how to ask.
"Want me to help?"
Damian looked at Diantha with a half-smile.
"Mm…"
"That's fine."
"Of course it's fine, darling Diantha."
Damian cupped Diantha's face.
His smile gradually turned wicked.
"Our Team Rocket is a justice organization that longs for the light and the beautiful, right?"
"As long as your Kalos League is willing to put in a little something…"
"Team Rocket will be more than happy to step up."
"...Just say what you want."
Diantha was at a loss for words.
She wasn't questioning whether this was a lie.
With Damian's ability and identity…
it really wasn't necessary for him to talk like that.
And whether there truly would be a crisis that would sweep across all of Lumiose City—
the truth would speak for itself.
"I want the Kalos League to support my company's enterprise division…"
"within a short time."
"And I also want some money invested into it."
Damian spoke.
And, as always—
if the Kalos League could support it right now…
then he wanted it.
With official support from the Kalos League—
his company here in Kalos could grow at the fastest speed.
"If what you're saying is true…"
"I think the chairman will agree."
Diantha fell silent for a while.
If it really involved the whole Lumiose City…
then she felt the deal was still acceptable.
After all, Lumiose City was the Kalos economic center.
It housed too many people's homes.
If it got completely destroyed, the price would be huge.
Anyway, Team Rocket's growth in the Kalos Region was already taken as a given.
If they helped Team Rocket's enterprises too…
that wasn't something she couldn't accept.
As for money?
Sorry—League had never been short on that.
"You're so fast with it."
Damian sounded very satisfied.
"To celebrate our cooperation again…"
"should we do it one more time?"
"Are you even a person?!"
Diantha's face went a lot paler.
She seriously felt she might get "killed" by Damian one day.
No—
working out was urgent!
Time flew by.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
During those three days, Diantha kept worrying.
She only reported it to the Kalos chairman.
But after three days…
nothing happened.
Diantha even started doubting Damian's intel.
But Damian's side wasn't doing nothing.
"Damian~!!"
On a plaza, a girl wearing black tights sprinted toward the boy at full speed.
Damian had no choice.
He spread his arms and caught her.
Damn it!
Someone really did a full-speed ball-slam tackle!
And behind Rosa, Hilda slowly walked over, covering her forehead.
Lacey and the others were impressed by Rosa's boldness.
Drayton and the rest were just "oh~"ing like they were stirring trouble.
That's right.
The Unova side's "temporary staff"—
no, now she was a real official Team Rocket member.
They had already taken a plane and arrived in Kalos.
Caitlin, who came with Damian, had her temperature drop hard instead.
She stared at Rosa.
Serena looked curious and surprised.
How bold of a girl!
Dawn frowned slightly.
It looked like she wasn't too happy.
But she still quickly hid her mood.
Unova people!
They weren't polite—fine.
But they also weren't discreet.
And this was openly taking advantage of Mr. Damian, wasn't it?!
"Careful."
"Aren't you worried you'll fall?"
Damian said irritably.
"Aah—Damian's smell!"
Rosa clung tightly to Damian's waist.
Her head buried in his chest.
She took a deep breath.
"???"
Damian felt like Rosa was a bit off.
"Hehe—because I know Damian definitely won't let me get hurt, right?"
Rosa finally lifted her cute face.
Her smile was all flowers.
"That's not necessarily true."
Damian chuckled lightly.
He patted Rosa's shoulder.
Rosa was also well-behaved.
She backed away from Damian.
Her big eyes stared at Damian's profile without blinking.
My god—
the man I set my sights on is so good-looking!
Yeah.
Rosa didn't notice that.
Caitlin was watching her too.
Compared to other women without much of a threat—
Caitlin understood clearly.
Rosa's danger level was way higher than someone like Erika!!
This woman…
"Everyone."
"It's been a while."
"You're still looking full of energy."
Damian's vision swept across Drayton and the others.
"Alright."
"Prepare."
Drayton raised a hand right then.
All these Unova Trainers stood in perfect formation.
Drayton was leading them, very "Kieran" indeed.
"Boss, yes!"
Men and women, mixed together.
The synchronized voice rang out instantly.
It startled the surrounding bystanders.
What the—
Even Serena and Dawn got startled too.
Once they came back to themselves, Dawn's expression was hard to describe.
Serena, however, looked thoughtfully at this Unova group.
It was kind of interesting.
"Good."
"This surprise."
"I really like it."
Damian smiled.
Satisfied.
"Thanks for making the trip, everyone."
"I already arranged hotels for you."
"Go rest for a bit first."
"I'm really looking forward to how you'll handle your next actions."
Damian nodded with a smile.
"We definitely won't let the boss down."
Drayton still had that lazy look on him.
But honestly, his energy was still pretty high.
"Mm-hm."
"We'll wait a few days for the actions."
"After that, you'll be free to move around."
"This metropolis should be pretty interesting for you."
"Yes!"
Two Team Rocket members led this entire Unova Team Rocket group away.
"Damian, Damian…"
And Rosa didn't rush to leave.
She blinked those watery big eyes and opened her mouth toward Damian in a coquettish voice.
Caitlin's eyes had already started flaring with flickering blue glow.
That bun girl!
"It's nothing."
"What's up?"
"Hehe~! I learned a backflip recently!"
"Do you want to come to my room and look…? Mmph~!!"
"Sorry, Mr. Damian."
"Rosa started talking nonsense."
"You should get busy first."
"We'll head to the hotel."
Hilda was sweating buckets.
She covered Rosa's mouth and dragged her good sis away to say goodbye to Damian.
"Alright."
"Be careful on the way."
Damian said with a laugh.
After Hilda dragged Rosa a bit farther away, Rosa was extremely dissatisfied.
"Why are you doing that, Hilda?!"
"My dear aunt…"
"you're seriously trying to get yourself killed, aren't you?"
"A backflip?"
"Did you not notice, huh?"
"Miss Caitlin's look…"
"it's like a knife!"
Hilda lowered her voice and ground her teeth at Rosa.
She seriously suspected that if Damian wasn't there—
Caitlin would absolutely slice Rosa up and carve her into the side statue.
And as Rosa's sis…
she probably wouldn't escape either.
"Tsk!"
"So what?! I don't care…"
Rosa kept talking tough.
But it wasn't like she didn't have a reason.
She'd finally seen Damian again.
And she really couldn't resist.
"Fine, fine."
"I know you're not scared of her."
"But Miss Caitlin is too strong right now."
"We'll just have to lay low for a bit, okay?"
Hilda was truly stressed to the max.
"Temporary retreat."
"Temporary retreat is fine."
"Ugh!"
Rosa was unhappy, but she had no choice.
She really couldn't beat Caitlin right now.
"Was that Rosa just now?"
Serena seemed to be thinking about something.
She asked Dawn.
"Do you think she's… like that?"
Serena looked like she really liked Mr. Damian?
"Mm."
"The ones from Unova."
"Well…"
"they don't really have any sense of distance."
"Not very polite."
Dawn's impression of Rosa and the others wasn't that good.
These Unova people were rude—fine.
But they also formed their own little group.
Back then, if it wasn't for Paul—
she wouldn't even have gotten a sip of soup during Sinnoh Region's first crackdown on Team Galactic base.
Because back then, Dawn was still a "young lady" with pride and couldn't lower her face.
Not like now.
Now she was way more outgoing and bold.
"Oh…"
Serena understood Dawn's dislike toward Rosa and the others.
So she didn't keep asking.
But Serena also probably picked up on some other things.
She looked toward Mr. Damian.
Serena's eyes shimmered slightly too.
She didn't seem surprised.
After all, Mr. Damian really was the type that pulled attention.
But—if she remembered right—
didn't Mr. Damian have a girlfriend?
In the interviews, Mr. Damian himself said he did.
Nothing else happened over the next two days.
Until the morning of the third day.
"Everyone with holographic image communicators…"
"listen up."
The most popular holographic image communicators in Kalos—
right now, every single person who had one received Lysandre's holographic message.
In the hologram, Lysandre appeared.
His expression was calm and unreadable.
His tone was just as deep as ever.
The whole Kalos Region.
Everyone with a holographic communicator had received the same message.
After all, holographic image tech was originally invented and manufactured by Lysandre Research Laboratory.
So they could control it easily.
On the streets, Diantha frowned with her brows knit tight.
She kept thinking back to that conversation with Lysandre at Café Soleil.
At this moment, Diantha finally understood it—
Lysandre!
"Pay attention to what I'm about to say."
Lysandre slowly raised his hand.
"Team Flare will revive the Ultimate weapon!"
"We'll cleanse everything—every existence other than Team Flare."
"And that way, we'll reclaim a beautiful world."
Lysandre recited it without changing his expression.
And everyone who heard it—
was all staring with shock, eyes wide.
What the hell?!
Meanwhile, inside the villa, Damian just smiled.
It's starting!
~~
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