"Ouch!!"
Thud!
Liam: "…"
With a miserable cry, a figure fell straight off Dragonite's back and plunged headfirst into the soft sand—half his body buried upright in the ground.
"Hmph. Let's see if you dare talk back to me again. Dragonite, pull him out."
"Roar~"
At the woman's command, Dragonite nodded and reached down with its claw, grabbing the man by the legs. With one firm tug—and a few vigorous shakes—it yanked him out of the ground.
Only then did Liam clearly see the man… a middle-aged gentleman of average height, dressed neatly in a suit.
"Cough—cough! Stop! I'm dying here!!"
Dangling in Dragonite's grip, the man's eyes spun as he shouted in distress.
"Alright, Dragonite, put him down."
"Roar~"
Seemingly satisfied that he'd learned his lesson, the woman gave another command. Dragonite promptly released him, dropping him back onto the ground.
Then—
"Young man down there, there's no need to be so wary. We're not your enemies."
As her voice rang out, Dragonite reached behind itself. Standing gracefully on its claw was a slender woman, who was gently lowered to the ground.
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
Liam could sense no hostility from the woman, but he didn't lower his guard. His voice remained cautious.
"Hahaha~ You're quite careful, aren't you? Joseph, stop playing dead on the ground and get up to explain."
The slender woman burst into laughter at Liam's reaction. Then she casually kicked the motionless man beside her with a hint of amusement.
At her words, the man slowly stood up, dusted off his clothes, and turned toward Liam with a polite smile.
"Hehe, we really aren't enemies. My employee reported that someone had entered this place. Based on his description, I knew it must be you. It's a pleasure to meet you, Champion from afar. Thank you for taking care of my son yesterday."
The suited man stepped forward and extended his hand courteously.
Liam: "…Your son?"
Liam glanced at the offered hand, shook it briefly, and then asked in confusion.
"Oh, how rude of me—I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Joseph Stone—Chairman of Devon Corporation, and the father of Steven Stone, whom you met yesterday. My son may have caused you some trouble—please forgive him."
The man withdrew his hand, smiling politely.
"…"
Liam was momentarily speechless. He hadn't expected to meet Steven's father here of all places.
"Joseph, you didn't tell him everything. Since you're being modest, I'll say it for you. This young Champion—aside from what he just told you—also has another identity."
The slender woman smirked slightly before dropping the bombshell—
"One of the Elite Four of the Hoenn Region!"
"An Elite Four member?!"
Liam was stunned once again. He hadn't expected this businessman-like man to actually be one of Hoenn's Elite Four.
"Hmph, Wilma, you're also one of the Elite Four—why only mention me? Champion, let me introduce her as well. This is Wilma. Like me, she's also one of Hoenn's Elite Four."
Joseph said with mild dissatisfaction.
Liam was surprised again… but this time, it wasn't her Elite Four status that shocked him.
"So you're Ms. Wilma—the one who teaches Pokémon ultimate moves. I didn't expect to meet you here. That means Steven's Frenzy Plant was taught by you as well, right?"
Liam turned to her, clearly intrigued.
"Oh? Not many people know that I teach ultimate moves. Young Champion—how did you find out? Who told you? That old man Mr. Moore?"
Wilma narrowed her eyes slightly, smiling faintly.
"Uh… well… hehe… I just happened to learn it by chance."
Liam awkwardly brushed it off.
"Hmph. That brat Steven learned his ultimate move from me, yes. Both he and his Sceptile have excellent talent. After just three days of teaching, they could barely use it. He's far more capable than his useless father."
Wilma couldn't go three sentences without taking a jab at Joseph.
Joseph, meanwhile, could only stand there and laugh awkwardly, not daring to argue back.
"…"
Watching the two, Liam couldn't shake the feeling that there was something… going on between them. But now clearly wasn't the time to gossip.
"Ahem… I didn't expect to run into two Elite Four members from Hoenn today—it's quite an honor. But now I'm even more curious—why are both of you here? Did something happen that requires two Elite Four members to guard this place?"
Liam glanced around before asking seriously.
"Uh…"
Joseph hesitated.
"What 'uh'? This matter is related to the Champion as well. There's no problem telling him."
Wilma immediately frowned and snapped at him.
"…Alright then."
Joseph sighed and began explaining.
"The reason Wilma and I are here actually comes down to two things. First—you should already know this, since you resolved the Mt. Chimney incident. The meteorite fragment used by Team Magma in that event was taken from Meteor Falls.
Although their plan failed, to be safe—and to prevent them from trying again—the Chairman ordered the two of us to guard this place temporarily."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"And second… The meteorite fragment Team Magma used was originally stolen from a group of mysterious people living in Meteor Falls.
Our other purpose here is to find them… and learn certain things from them."
Joseph spoke without holding anything back, completely earnest.
But the moment he finished… Wilma, who had been stunned the entire time, finally reacted.
"…You idiot! The second part is a confidential mission from the Chairman! How could you just blurt it out like that?!"
"Huh?! Didn't you say it was fine to tell the Champion?!"
Joseph shot back helplessly.
Wilma: "…"
Liam: "…"