Mt. Chimney.
At the edge of the volcano crater, where gray heat and dust constantly rose into the air, a group of Team Magma members had gathered.
The sky was dark and gloomy. Looking around, the entire area was barren and gray. The ground was covered only with withered trees that were about to turn into dead wood, and there was not a trace of green anywhere. For countless miles down from Mt. Chimney, the dark red ground was rough and uneven.
Maxie leaned his head over the crater and was immediately hit in the face by the heat and dust.
After simply wiping his face, he turned expressionlessly to the side and asked, "Courtney, how is the research going?"
The petite Courtney took out a strange red crystal. She then took a tube from one of the nearby instruments and connected it to the crystal. After pressing the switch, a brilliant red energy gathered inside the crystal. A few moments later, the crystal began to float in midair.
Courtney was still holding onto the crystal. Inside her mind, countless changing scenes appeared like a slideshow.
There was an ancient ruin with a towering altar. In the center of the altar was a groove where a bright Red Orb had been placed.
Then the scene suddenly changed. The orb disappeared, leaving only the empty altar behind.
Courtney opened her eyes with confusion filling her expression. She could only report exactly what she had seen. "Boss, the direction indicated by the map still hasn't changed. It's still pointing toward that ruin. But the orb inside the ruin really has disappeared. Blaise already took people there to confirm it."
Maxie's face darkened and his thoughts became increasingly restless. He paced back and forth along the edge of the volcano before saying coldly, "Someone took the orb beforehand! Was it the League or that lying Lord of Sootopolitans?"
After asking himself the question, he muttered, "It must be the League!"
"We already received news that the League was searching for the orb before. Once they learned about something this important, how could they possibly let it remain outside and fall into someone else's hands?"
"Besides, Alden, the person researching the orb, is also a member of the League. Wouldn't it be much easier for them to work together and search for it?"
"Since the Lord of Sootopolitans left the location of his clan's territory and a way to contact him, there is absolutely no reason for him to do something like this. He has no need to do it either."
Standing before the volcano crater, Maxie gazed at the ashes continuously rising into the sky and said bitterly, "The League, the League!"
"Whose hands is the orb really in?"
"Drake! Was it you?"
* * *
"I really don't know!"
"I really have no idea why this happened!"
At the Hoenn headquarters in Ever Grande City, Drake's mustache trembled with anger as he shouted at the suspicious-looking Glacia in front of him, "Do I, Drake, look like the kind of person who would betray my own side, cause trouble, and secretly keep the spoils for myself? Huh?"
Glacia said nothing, but her expression had already made her answer clear.
Isn't that so?
Knock, knock, knock.
Shiro, who had just been brought over, knocked on the door of the meeting room. Although the door was already open, he had always been polite.
Glacia glanced toward the doorway and continued speaking on her own, "Who could blame us? The famous Dragon Elite Drake already knew about those Water-type Pokémon when they first started gathering, didn't he?"
"When those Pokémon had only just begun gathering, even the researchers stationed in Lilycove City to conduct daily surveys of the surrounding waters hadn't discovered them yet."
"Yet our Elite Drake already knew. He even accurately predicted that they would gather in large numbers around the outskirts of Lilycove City and then use Surf to flood the entire city."
"My goodness. So it turns out that Elite Drake is actually a powerful Psychic-type user. His strength is equal to that of a Legendary Pokémon, and he can even predict the future, right?"
After all the sarcasm and mockery, even Drake's thick skin could not stop his face from turning red with anger.
However, there was no way he would expose the whereabouts of his informant. Not even at the League headquarters and certainly not inside a meeting room.
Just like Team Rocket in Kanto, no one knew whether Hoenn's evil organizations had also planted spies inside the League. If they had, the information could easily be leaked.
Drake quickly adjusted his mood and chose to swallow his anger for the time being. After snorting, he turned around and pulled Shiro in through the doorway.
"Let me introduce you to these arrogant, short-sighted people. Otherwise, all they'll know how to do later is run their mouths… This is Shiro. He's the Galar Champion and he's not even twenty yet. He's also Hoenn's chief Pokémon Professor."
"Take a look at him, then look at yourselves..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Glacia's expression changed and her gaze became unfriendly.
She had always been proud of herself and considered herself one of the most outstanding people among her peers. That was indeed the case. Whether it was her former companions or even Sidney, who was one of Hoenn's newly appointed Elite Four members like her, none of them could compare with her.
Sometimes Glacia even found it difficult to understand why someone as useless as Sidney could be mentioned in the same breath as her.
Why could someone that useless become an Elite Four member?
There might be an answer to that question, but it was nowhere near as important as the problem in front of her now.
Drake was an elder, so she could let it go when he constantly mentioned the youngest Champion. After all, she had never met the person himself. How could a few videos and rumors prove anything?
But now, he had actually brought the person here and was mocking her right in front of him.
Glacia's mood immediately sank to the bottom. She was extremely unhappy.
However, Sidney, who had remained silent at the back, suddenly changed expression. He sensibly lowered his head and quietly reminded her, "Big Sis Glacia, he's really strong. Don't get worked up over this."
Glacia glared at him with obvious disdain.
"Hahahaha..." Drake looked completely relaxed. He picked up the communication device and glanced at it before leaning against the table with an unusually cheerful expression. He deliberately stirred things up further and said, "Not convinced? Angry? Then have a battle! If you're a trainer, then show me your strength by fighting him!"
Shiro raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected things to develop this way.
Wasn't there a problem in Lilycove City right now? Those wild Pokémon that had gathered there were about to create a tsunami and flood the city.
Instead of rushing over to deal with it, they actually had time for a Pokémon battle?
It was one thing for Glacia to be this brainless, but what was Drake doing?
"I think it might be better to hurry to Lilycove City first," Shiro said with a dry cough.
Drake laughed loudly. "Hahahaha, Lilycove City? Forget about it for now. Even if it gets flooded, won't it still be called Lilycove City? For a trainer, of course the battle is more important. We can worry about it after the fight!"
Glacia quickly tied her short golden hair behind her head with a purple ribbon. Her blue eyes narrowed slightly, and her somewhat elegant and delicate face showed an expression of disdain as she directly mocked him.
"What is there to worry about in Lilycove City? Maybe it's just a little show that Psychic Elite Drake arranged himself. Of course he's not in a hurry."
"Shiro, once you defeat me, you'll have the qualifications to give orders."
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