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On the way to Lilycove City.
Since night had already fallen, Liam had no choice but to stop at a small town along the road. It was a town with a distinct Wild West, cowboy-like style—even the Pokémon Center was designed to look like a western saloon.
After registering for a room, Liam returned to rest. The next morning, before setting off, he first went to the transfer machine.
At present, Liam had 30 Stantler with him. For these Pokémon, he felt proper management was necessary.
First, he connected to Delia's Day Care. Since they hadn't spoken in a while, the two naturally had a lot to talk about, chatting sweetly for quite some time. Only at the end did Liam send over two selected Stantler and the Teddiursa to Delia.
Next, he contacted the Professor Oak's Laboratory.
Professor Oak greeted Liam warmly, asking after his well-being, and in the end, Liam also sent two Stantler to him.
Finally.. Liam connected to Team Rocket.
The remaining sixteen Stantler were all handed over to Giovanni in one go.
Stantler were fairly strong Pokémon and possessed the ability to create illusions—placed in Team Rocket's hands, they would certainly be useful.
Giovanni was very satisfied and accepted them without hesitation. Before ending the call, he informed Liam that Team Rocket had already dispatched assistance to Hoenn and that they had arrived—Liam just needed to specify a meeting point.
After thinking it over, Liam realized that heading alone to Team Aqua's headquarters would indeed be somewhat reckless. Having teammates would make things much easier—provided they were competent.
So, with a trial mindset, he told Giovanni to meet in Lilycove City and casually asked who had been sent.
Giovanni: "…Heh, it's a secret. You'll find out when you meet. I still have things to arrange, so I'll hang up now."
With that mysterious smile, Giovanni ended the call.
Looking at the dark screen, Liam recalled that smile—it almost felt like Giovanni was enjoying himself a little too much… was that just his imagination?
...….
After settling the Stantler issue, Liam continued his journey.
This town wasn't far from Lilycove City. After passing through a vast forest, Liam finally arrived—
At Lilycove City, the great port city by the sea!
Located on the easternmost edge of Hoenn's mainland, though further east lay other cities, most of them were built on islands.
After arriving, Liam first went to the Pokémon Center. Once registered, he left and headed toward the harbor, searching for traces of Team Aqua.
From his memory, Team Aqua's headquarters should be hidden in a concealed cave northeast of Lilycove. But in reality, locating it might not be so easy.
Walking along the shoreline at the edge of the city, Liam opened his navigation map and began searching.
Lilycove was quite large, and the map's search range was limited. With no better option, Liam could only move gradually in the general direction, searching bit by bit.
"Hm? Found it?"
After quite some time—by which point the sky had begun to darken—a structure labeled "Team Aqua Headquarters" finally appeared on the map.
Liam immediately quickened his pace. But when he reached the marked location—
There was nothing.
No cave. No structure.
Just an endless expanse of ocean.
"What's going on? The map says it's here… why can't I see anything? Could it be… underwater?"
Frowning, Liam released his Prinplup from its PokeBall. After giving a few instructions, Prinplup dove swiftly into the sea.
Meanwhile, Liam closed his eyes and focused.
The flow of energy within him shifted and suddenly, his vision turned deep blue.
This was Prinplup's perspective.
Through their connection, Liam linked Prinplup's sight to his own.
Prinplup dove rapidly downward, moving gracefully through the water like a blue streak.
"Hmph… just as I thought. Hidden pretty well. Let's take a look inside."
As Prinplup descended further, a cave-like structure gradually came into view beneath the sea. Liam gave a cold snort and directed Prinplup forward.
"Prinp~!"
Prinplup understood immediately, kicking its flippers and swimming into the cave, trailing bubbles behind.
Inside, it was dark. After passing through a short underwater passage, a faint light appeared ahead.
Approaching carefully, Prinplup (Liam) discovered what had once been a natural cave had been transformed into a metallic structure.
It resembled a small harbor, complete with metal stairs leading upward.
At this point, Liam was almost certain… This was Team Aqua's headquarters.
Prinplup surfaced slightly, and the first thing Liam saw was a massive Team Aqua emblem on the wall.
That confirmed it.
"Come back, Prinplup. Good work."
After returning to shore, Liam patted Prinplup's head and recalled it. He then turned and left, deciding to wait for Team Rocket's support before launching a full assault.
....
Two days passed.
During that time, Liam periodically monitored the base. But strangely, he didn't see any Team Aqua members coming or going.
There were definitely people inside—Prinplup (through Liam) had heard voices multiple times—but the sounds were too muffled and chaotic to make out clearly.
After waiting two days, Liam was starting to lose patience. As evening approached again, he made up his mind…. if Team Rocket's support didn't arrive soon, he would act alone.
But just as he reached that decision—
Beep beep beep beep—
A sharp sound came from the Vortex Mask in his pocket.
"Hm? Finally here? Hmph—hey! Who is this?! Where are you?! Are you coming or not?! If not, I'm going in myself!"
Liam put on the mask, clearly annoyed.
From the other side—
"…Yo. Been a while. Since when did your temper get so bad? What's wrong—can't even wait a bit for a girl? And a beauty at that~"
Liam: "…!!!"
The moment he heard that voice, his entire body froze.
That voice was far too familiar.
And… was that an echo? Like two voices overlapping?
Forget it—run first!
With that thought, Liam immediately turned to flee!
But.. at that very moment.. a graceful figure suddenly leapt down from the seawall behind him!
And—
"Hmph! Trying to run? Froslass, use Powder Snow!!"
"Fros!!"