Twinleaf Town.
Daybreak was just beginning to brighten the sky.
Inside a small house, three top-tier League trainers sat around a white table in silence.
Spread across the table were the spoils of the battle: three metal boxes recovered from the scorched battlefield, five Poké Balls that had remained intact despite being buried deep underground during the explosion, and two talismans.
One was a Spell Tag and the other a Cleanse Tag. Both were Ghost-type items, which was why they had survived the blast. Almost everything else had been reduced to ashes.
"Ahem. I'm already an old man. These items don't really suit my Pokémon anyway." Jan was the first to speak, voluntarily withdrawing from the division of the loot.
Hearing that, Lance opened his mouth but couldn't bring himself to say anything. Because, honestly, he had mostly been a bystander throughout the battle. Not only had he been beaten badly, but his greatest contribution had been holding the enemy back. He had even needed his teammates to save him.
Whether it was defeating Hunter A or dealing with that Ditto, none of it had anything to do with him. Strictly speaking, he shouldn't have received any share of the spoils.
But Lance wasn't interested in anything else on the table. His eyes remained fixed on a single Poké Ball.
Inside that Ultra Ball was Hunter A's Garchomp.
The Champion-level Garchomp had reacted the moment the explosion began. Although it hadn't escaped the blast radius, it had managed to use Protect in time and even created a defensive wall of sand and rock around itself. Everything had still been blown to pieces, but it had barely managed to survive.
Even so, half its body had been charred black and it had suffered severe injuries. According to Jan's later assessment, the Garchomp had simply been lucky. There had been a large boulder behind it, along with more than a dozen wild Pokémon that had gathered nearby seeking protection. The boulder and those wild Pokémon had unknowingly become cushions that absorbed part of the blast.
The only survivor of the explosion had been this Garchomp.
"Then let Lance have the Garchomp," Shiro said as he pushed the Poké Ball toward him. "Being able to obtain all this was largely thanks to him keeping Hunter A from escaping."
He wasn't being stingy, nor did he need a dying Garchomp. Even if he kept it, he would probably just sell it later.
Looking at the Poké Ball before him, Lance trembled slightly. He was genuinely overwhelmed.
After hesitating for a moment, he accepted it.
A Champion-level Garchomp… he wasn't taking it back to train. For a dragon trainer, every part of a Champion-level dragon was an invaluable Dragon-type resource. Once its injuries healed, it could be brought back to the clan's territory and serve as both a breeding dragon and a resource dragon.
The elders of the clan would probably be delighted.
"Thank you." Lance spoke with complete sincerity.
Shiro didn't respond. He first put away the three metal boxes before placing the remaining four Poké Balls, the Cleanse Tag, and the Spell Tag in front of Jan and Lance.
His only interest was the three Unown.
Perhaps Lance didn't fully understand, but Jan certainly did.
The value of three Unown was on an entirely different level from the miscellaneous items on the table.
"Sigh..." Jan let out a sigh and pushed the talismans aside. From the four Poké Balls, he selected a Rock-type Cradily. "I've never raised a Rock Pokémon with a Grass typing before."
After speaking, he stored the Pokémon away.
Lance paused for a moment before realizing what was happening. After several seconds of hesitation, he reached out and took the lowest-level Pokémon among them, a Gym-level Kabutops.
The three sat in silence again before Shiro nodded slightly. "Then I'll take the rest."
Neither of them objected. After all, Shiro had contributed the most in this battle. It could be said that he alone had driven Hunter A away.
He collected the remaining Poké Balls along with the two talismans.
The Cleanse Tag increased a Pokémon's presence and intimidation. Lower-level Pokémon would become more fearful of the holder, while weaker wild Pokémon would also be more likely to avoid it.
The Spell Tag's effect was simple. It increased Ghost-type damage by twenty percent.
This talisman could be given to Gengar, while Gengar's current Wide Lens, which improved accuracy, could be passed on to Rhyperior.
After the loot had been distributed, Shiro finally spoke in a serious tone. "Now then, let's discuss the details of the Hunter A pursuit mission."
* * *
Half an hour later, Lance walked out of the house with a complicated expression.
As a genius of the Dragon Clan, he had always felt a certain hostility toward talented trainers of his own generation. To put it simply, he wanted to prove that he was the strongest among them.
As for Shiro, who excelled as both a trainer and a researcher, Lance had never liked him very much.
Now, although he still refused to admit defeat, he understood deep down that he simply couldn't compare to him.
Shiro had earned the recognition of a Legendary Pokémon.
And what about him?
The Dragon Power passed down through his family had yet to acknowledge him. The strongest Pokémon he had personally trained was only at the peak of Gym-level… was he destined to live forever in that man's shadow?
Walking along Twinleaf Town's dirt road, Lance looked up at the brightening morning sky and clenched his fists. His eyes gradually became firm.
He was the youngest Elite Four member in the Kanto League. He was the genius of the Dragon Clan. He was Lance the Dragon Master.
When he returned this time, he would break through to Elite-level and inherit the Dragon Power of his family.
Without another word, he released Dragonite and flew away.
He never noticed the black sedan arriving from Jubilife City.
The car stopped at the edge of Twinleaf Town, and an elderly woman with graying hair stepped out. Watching Dragonite disappear into the sky, she murmured, "Dragonite... that's the young Elite Four member from the League."
She tightened her brown scarf and hurried toward the town.
* * *
"Phew..."
Jan rubbed his head helplessly, feeling dizzy from the many instructions Shiro had given him.
It wasn't just the information about the Unown that needed to remain secret. Even the mutated Ditto was best left unmentioned. Although that Champion-level Ditto had already been reduced to ashes in the explosion, its existence still needed to be concealed.
"A drug that can multiply a Pokémon's strength several times over, even when it's on the verge of exhaustion, and then consume the Pokémon once the effect wears off... that's completely insane. If the League doesn't know about this drug, they'll definitely investigate it. If they do know about it, that's even more dangerous. In short, we don't know anything, and we didn't see anything."
That had been Shiro's conclusion.
The two of them walked out one after another.
Looker, who had been waiting outside for a long time, immediately ran over.
"No, seriously! What were you discussing in there? This whole incident..."
"Come with me."
Shiro beckoned to him, and the two walked to a secluded corner.
Looker rubbed his arms and looked at him suspiciously. "You're not planning to silence me to protect your secrets, are you?"
Shiro raised a finger and shook it.
A moment later...
"Shiro! Boss Shiro! Champions really are generous..."
Looker grinned from ear to ear. "I swear, I won't reveal a single word under any circumstances. After all, carrying out a Champion's orders is also serving the League, right? Hehehe."
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