"Kieran, you can't keep doing this."
Carmine was frustrated with her younger brother.
"Since you've already joined the BB League, you naturally have to battle against other members."
Carmine tried to persuade Kieran.
"I'm sorry... Sis."
Kieran lowered his head. He was shy and did not dare to look at his sister.
"I'm not saying this so you'll apologize to me. You haven't done anything wrong to me."
Seeing Kieran act this way, Carmine's voice became mean without her meaning to.
But Kieran saw this and put his head even lower.
This made Carmine even angrier. She always knew her brother was too polite. He was even a bit cowardly.
So, Carmine always felt she had to be a good older sister. She felt she had to protect Kieran. She wanted him to rely on her.
However, she could not protect Kieran everywhere. Many times, Kieran had to work hard by himself.
But they were used to acting this way together. Carmine did not know how to make Kieran feel better.
"It looks like you two are having some trouble. Do you need help?"
A clear, gentle male voice spoke. It surprised the siblings, who were being silent.
"Who are you?"
Carmine frowned. She stood in front of Kieran to protect him. She watched Damian's group of three walk over slowly.
"You aren't students of this academy, are you?"
Carmine quickly decided this. She had never seen these three people at the school before.
Damian and the others looked very special. If she had seen them before, Carmine would remember them.
"That's right. We are tourists who came to visit. We just saw the two of you having a bit of an argument, so we decided to stop and talk."
Damian had a gentle smile. He had the kind of look that made people like him easily.
"No thanks. He is my brother. We were just having a normal conversation."
Carmine spoke coldly. She turned around to take Kieran away.
Kieran hid behind Carmine. He watched the group of Damian with curiosity and fear.
"I don't know if I should say this, but if you keep 'protecting' him like it's the natural thing to do, he'll never be able to get stronger on his own."
Damian spoke to Carmine. He did not really have bad feelings toward Kieran. In the story of "Scarlet and Violet," some people found Kieran annoying. But really, Kieran's problems were because of Carmine's strange behavior. To be honest, Kieran ended up that way because of Carmine.
She knew Kieran loved the Pokémon "Ogerpon" very much. But after she and the main character met Ogerpon, she told the protagonist to hide everything from Kieran.
Kieran was shy and had very sensitive feelings. He felt he was not as good as others. Because his own sister and the person he liked excluded him, he had a big personal crisis.
Later, Kieran took the mask. He asked them why they hid the truth and the facts. He was very angry. Carmine was his sister, but she did not see his pain. Instead, she just thought Kieran was being a difficult teenager.
It was truly hard to believe.
This made their relationship very bad. Kieran went into a very dark place.
In the end, Carmine was a good sister in some ways. But she was a total failure in other ways.
Kieran clearly wanted to be strong. But he was led by a strong sister since he was young. So, he usually relied on her. His heart was too sensitive and weak. When certain things happened, it was easy for him to act in an extreme way.
"What do you mean by that?"
Carmine stopped walking. She turned around and frowned at Damian.
"I can see that your brother relies on you a lot. For a boy, that really isn't a good thing."
Damian said with a smile.
Carmine looked at Kieran. Kieran looked back at Carmine and felt lost.
"Our business is none of your concern." However, Carmine was still being careful with these strangers. She gave Damian a wary look and then turned to leave.
Kieran bit his lip. He looked at Damian but did not know what to say.
"Kieran, right? I can see that you are actually very talented. Don't take your sister's words to heart."
Damian spoke to Kieran in a warm voice.
This support and kindness from a stranger made Kieran's golden eyes shine a little. He looked at Damian with thanks.
"You want to become strong, don't you? You surely want your sister to see you in a new light, right?" Damian looked at the boy and smiled.
"I..." Kieran was moved by those words. That was exactly what he was thinking.
He also wanted to be strong. He did not want to be protected by his sister all the time. He also wanted to be as strong as Drayton. (Note: Drayton is the champion of the BB League).
But he could not do it. For some reason, every time he had a battle, he felt a bit scared.
"Kieran, let's go!" Carmine's voice came from ahead.
Kieran was about to say something, but he became silent. He felt disappointed. He prepared to follow Carmine.
"I can understand you, Kieran. Believe me, you really have potential. Take this. If you make up your mind, come find me."
Damian threw a business card toward Kieran.
Kieran caught it. He wanted to speak, but he put the card in his pocket and walked toward Carmine.
Damian watched the siblings go away. The smile on his face grew wider.
"Tch. Damian, you sounded like someone trying to trick people into a bad deal just now. Do you really think that kid is that important?"
Zinnia spoke with surprise. She teased Damian.
"I always respect and support people with talent. Do you do the same, Zinnia?"
Damian laughed a little and shrugged.
"That's true. But I am Zinnia of the Draconids. Who was that kid just now?"
Zinnia agreed completely. However, she did not think that shy boy was as good as her.
After all, his sister said the boy was bad at battling.
"He just hasn't made up his mind yet, Zinnia. You need to know that there are some people in this world who have a lot of talent."
Damian put his hands in his pockets. He looked around slowly. He seemed to be looking for a target.
"They just need one special moment. With just one chance, they can show their great talent suddenly."
That was right. Kieran was a perfect example.
He had talent. He just needed to be determined and have a clear goal. If he had a strong spirit, he could become strong very fast.
"Oh? Really?" Zinnia was very surprised. Did he mean that boy had the potential to be a Champion?
"Just wait and see."
Damian did not explain more. The world is big and there are many Trainers. But how many Champion-level Trainers can reach the top?
"It's not even certain if that guy will contact you." Zinnia rolled her eyes.
"No, he will definitely contact me."
Damian gave a mysterious smile. He was very sure.
He had a strong sister and lived in a high-pressure place. He hated being a coward. So, Kieran would definitely contact him.
Kieran really wanted to be strong. He wanted to be better than his sister, Carmine. This was why Kieran liked the protagonist in the game so much when they first beat Carmine.
"Then why are you so sure he will join us? Damian, we are a dark organization." Zinnia was still curious.
"Zinnia, have you ever heard a certain saying?"
Damian smiled. He nodded to some pretty female students nearby who were looking at him. This made them gasp with surprise.
"Things aren't always black and white—there's a lot of gray in between."
"A dark organization? That is just what the Pokémon League calls us. But here in Unova, our Team Rocket is not a dark organization right now."
Damian said slowly. A boy like Kieran from Mossui Town would not know what Team Rocket was.
Even if he did know, it did not matter. Damian was sure he could convince a simple boy like Kieran.
Also, when a person has a weakness, they are easy to hurt. Because of Kieran's personality, he would be very easy to control.
"I should have expected that from you." Zinnia said and felt respect for him.
The world is not just black or white. It has many gray areas.
Even to her, those words felt meaningful.
N's Castle This was a castle for N. It was also the base for Team Plasma.
"How is it? N, is there any news?" Ghetsis asked N.
"I'm sorry, Father. We currently haven't found any trace of the man named Damian."
N shook his head. His eyes were still empty and dark. His voice was very calm and had no emotion.
"Damn it. He's hiding very well."
After N saved Ghetsis from the police station, Ghetsis told N to send people to find Damian.
This was because Alder refused to work with Team Plasma.
Ghetsis was angry at Alder for being an idiot. Team Rocket was a dangerous evil organization. The local powers in Unova should destroy Team Rocket first.
Ghetsis thought Alder had no brains. That was why Unova was becoming weaker than other regions.
However, the Unova League did not want to work together. Ghetsis would not keep asking. Ghetsis had pride.
Fine. Even without the help of the Unova League, Team Plasma could destroy Team Rocket alone!
They had his adopted son, N. The Dragon of Ideals, Zekrom, was following him!
That was right. His adopted son N could not be beaten!
"Please don't be in a hurry, Father. I think we will find them soon." N's voice was still very calm.
"Hm. How are things on Colress's side?" Ghetsis asked N again.
"Colress says that bringing back Genesect is going very well. Also, he brought back a special Shiny Pokémon. This one is much stronger than the others."
N answered quietly.
"Great! As long as we can bring back the Genesect Army, Team Rocket will be nothing to fear!"
"But Colress also said that the Genesects are very wild. So far, none of them are nice," N said.
"It doesn't matter. Colress has a way to control them."
Ghetsis trusted Colress very much. He had seen Colress's machines control wild Pokémon.
The ability of Colress was very great.
Control... huh?
N became silent. His eyes seemed to become even darker.
He always treated Pokémon as friends. He wanted all Pokémon to be happy.
That was why Zekrom liked him.
But the strange thing was that Team Plasma was controlling Pokémon.
"This is a necessary sacrifice for the success of our ideal world. N, you can understand that, right?"
Ghetsis saw this. His voice became a bit kinder as he tried to convince N.
"I understand, Father." N was silent. He believed in his father.
Smirk.
Ghetsis smiled kindly. But deep in his eyes, he hated N. If he did not need N, he would not pretend to like this monster.
That was right. In the eyes of Ghetsis, N was just a monster.
N was not a normal human. He had been abandoned as a child and raised among Pokémon. Because of this, N could sense and understand Pokémon's emotions.
Was that not a monster?
So, Ghetsis always hated N. But for his plans, he had to take N as his adopted son.
This was the only way he could use N for his goals.
Damian...
The eyes of Ghetsis were dark. He could not forget how Damian mocked and insulted him that day.
Just wait! Once we find you, we will make you pay!
Ghetsis gave a cold laugh. They had N with Zekrom. They had the Genesect Army.
Team Rocket was nothing compared to Team Plasma.
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