Jubilife Police Department, Headquarters
Although Lance wanted to see Wayne immediately, considering it was already eleven o'clock at night, Lance and Cynthia agreed to meet up tomorrow and head to the Breeding Center.
Wayne was unaware of this.
He hadn't even watched the full battle between Steven and Diantha.
His uncle was also a man of action. After asking Wayne for his opinion, he began working on the design draft for his Key Stone accessory.
"From now on, I'll also be someone with a Key Stone."
"Even if there's no matching Mega Stone."
Both Metagross and Lucario on Wayne's team could Mega Evolve, but neither possessed a matching Mega Stone.
The only one he had was Diancite.
Mega Evolution was something Wayne genuinely enjoyed—or rather, his favorite battle mechanic.
As for obtaining Mega Stones?
Either get them from random item lottery tickets, or purchase them.
He didn't necessarily have to buy from Steven.
He could also obtain them by traveling to the Kalos region and finding Professor Sycamore, who specialized in Mega Evolution research.
However, that would require Wayne to have a certain level of influence.
"So, I still need to work hard."
Whether as a Breeder or a content creator, Wayne needed to increase his influence.
For Wayne, obtaining a Mega Stone wasn't urgent at the moment.
With Lucario entering the Master Level, he definitely possessed a certain degree of self-preservation capability.
Not all Pokemon belonging to a regional Elite Four member were Elite-level. There were also Master Level Pokemon.
Rounding up, it wasn't unreasonable to consider Lucario as an Elite Four member's Pokemon.
Returning to his room, the first thing Wayne saw was Shaymin sleeping in the crib.
Lucario sat beside it, gently rocking the crib like a grandfather.
Wayne glanced inside. It was lined with soft padding, a pillow, and a blanket.
Shaymin was sleeping soundly.
Because they planned to breed and hatch Pokemon at the Breeding Center, Fumie had ordered some cribs, but unexpectedly, they were being used by Shaymin first.
Wayne lowered his voice. "You really have the potential to be a father."
Not only Shaymin, but Arcanine and Drakloak had also fallen asleep long ago.
As for Metagross? It was always quiet.
(...)
Lucario was too disinterested to bother with him.
"Time to sleep. Good night."
(Good night.)
The night passed without incident.
Cafeteria
Although he had rushed to save Shaymin yesterday, it didn't significantly affect Wayne's daily routine.
"This is for you—eat."
This Shaymin was still a child, so Wayne prepared Moomoo Milk and Pokemon food for it.
"Shaymin~"
Wayne took the opportunity to pat Shaymin's head.
Shion, munching on her sandwich, squatted on the floor watching Shaymin eat breakfast, her eyes already sparkling like stars.
"Shaymin is really so cute!"
Although being watched, Shaymin didn't thrash about and focused on eating.
Shaymin could sense that Shion harbored no ill intentions.
Watching this scene, Claire sighed. "To be able to be so close to humans after being chased and injured by Pokemon Hunters—it's truly remarkable."
Alan wore a mysterious smile, like a know-it-all.
"You don't understand, do you? Although Shaymin was pursued by the hunters, it was also saved by Wayne."
Speaking of Wayne, both of them involuntarily looked at Wayne, who was eating a sandwich and scrolling on his phone.
Claire, uncharacteristically, didn't bicker with Alan. "It's strange. I feel like Wayne's demeanor has changed somewhat."
Alan nodded sagely. "So I wasn't the only one who felt that way."
"Grrr! Grrr!"
"See, Incineroar agrees too."
"Because Pokemon can sense human emotions, you know."
A clear male voice caught the attention of Alan, Claire... and everyone else eating breakfast.
Sensing the visitor's unusual aura, Alan stepped forward, shielding Shion, Claire, and Shaymin behind him while scrutinizing the newcomer.
"Who are you?"
The visitor was also observing Alan, because he sensed a vigorous power from him, similar to Bruno's.
"Lance?!!!"
Wayne's voice suddenly rose an octave.
Lance, having been recognized despite his disguise, went up another octave.
"You can recognize me even like this?!"
Lance's jaw dropped, and he nearly panicked. [How is that possible?! My disguise was so perfect!]
For this disguise, Lance had even abandoned his cape.
And Wayne could still recognize him?!
What sharp eyes!
As if realizing it belatedly, someone else's voice rose an octave.
"Lance?!!!"
It came from Alan.
Leon also wanted to shout, to demonstrate his awareness, but found he couldn't...
Cynthia, who had been disguised and followed closely behind, removed her sunglasses and couldn't help but smile. "Are you here for a high-note competition?"
Leon, who had just taken a breath and was about to try, deflated.
Lance suddenly ripped open his outer clothing, revealing his true Champion attire underneath—and even his cape!
"Hello everyone, I am Lance."
"..."
How did you hide your cape?!
Everyone couldn't help but glance at Cynthia, who was also disguised, as if waiting for her to perform a similar reveal.
Cynthia, being a composed Champion, firmly withstood their expectant gazes and threw out a Poke Ball.
"Garchomp!"
A fierce Garchomp—that counted as a reveal.
Lance, at a speed Wayne couldn't comprehend, flashed to his side. "How did you recognize me?"
Facing this question, Wayne remained silent for a long moment. "I just recognized you."
Wayne seriously suspected that Team Rocket, Team Magma, Ash, Officer Jenny... these people all suffered from severe face blindness, routinely failing to recognize Jessie, James, and Meowth in disguise.
In Wayne's opinion, weren't they all full of obvious flaws?
Especially Lance's disguise this time—his striking red hair wasn't even fully covered.
Lance stroked his chin, appearing thoughtful. "It seems my disguise skills still need improvement."
To this, Wayne nodded slightly. "Indeed, there's room for improvement."
"I was just being polite."
"I'm serious."
"Let's discuss it another day. You can give me suggestions for improvement. I'll need them for when I go undercover."
"No problem."
Everyone's gaze went back and forth between the two.
It wasn't until Cynthia lightly coughed that Lance realized what they were there for.
Lance stood up and extended his hand to Wayne.
"Although we've chatted a few times in the group, this is our first meeting, so I should formally introduce myself: I am Lance."
Wayne also stood up and shook Lance's hand. "Just call me Wayne."
Since Lance and Cynthia appeared together, it shouldn't be just a simple visit. Fumie quickly gestured for the others to give them space.
"You all chat—we'll head out first."
Cynthia said softly, "Thank you, Aunt Fumie."
Lance actually wanted to say it was no problem, but having a little quiet was beneficial too.
Lance got straight to the point.
"We came today because of Shaymin and the Pokemon Hunters. We wanted to understand the situation from you."