"Oh? Really?"
Courtney raised an eyebrow, the amusement in her tone growing even stronger.
"Well then, congratulations to you.
Hopefully this time you'll actually show some real skill instead of ending up like last time, completely collapsing during the energy injection stage. That was honestly embarrassing beyond belief."
She paused briefly, as though suddenly remembering something, before letting out a soft laugh.
"Come to think of it, if you were willing to lower your head and ask me nicely, it's not like I couldn't help you.
What's the point of carrying that Jirachi crystal around all day? The 'Reverse Energy Activation Device' I developed was successfully calibrated ages ago. If I lent it to you, wouldn't your experiment be completed ahead of schedule?
After all, we came from the same village. If you begged me properly, maybe I'd soften up a little."
"I don't need it!"
Butler rejected her immediately, a stubborn light flashing through his eyes.
"My plan is the truly perfect one. The power of the Comet Energy Activation Device is far beyond anything your machine can compare to. Just wait. I'll prove it to everyone."
"Fine, fine, believe whatever you want."
Courtney clearly did not take Butler's words seriously at all. She waved her hand dismissively.
"So you contacted me just to brag about this? If there's nothing else, I'm logging off. Unlike you, I'm actually busy. I still have a mountain of experiments waiting for me."
"Wait!"
Butler hurriedly stopped her.
"I ran into 'Wallace Junior' in Forina.
Didn't the leader order us to keep an eye on his movements? He's not in Hoenn right now. He's here in the Forina where I'm holding my performances.
And… he's the person capable of awakening Jirachi."
The moment Butler said this, the playful laziness on Courtney's face instantly disappeared, replaced by complete seriousness.
"Wait there."
A virtual keyboard materialized beside her, and her fingers rapidly danced across the glowing interface.
Within mere seconds, another projection far more imposing and oppressive appeared, occupying the entire holographic screen.
It was a man seated upon a massive crimson throne.
He wore his bright red hair slicked backward in a flamboyant style and dressed in black-and-red robes. Across his chest was embroidered the image of an erupting volcano.
At that moment, he was casually playing with a red orb in his hand.
At the center of the orb was a golden Ω symbol, glowing faintly within the dim light.
The man slowly opened his eyes.
His gaze was deep and silent like a bottomless abyss.
Both Butler and Courtney immediately bowed respectfully, placing one hand across their chests as they spoke in unison:
"Leader!"
The red-haired man's gaze swept across the two of them, his voice low and authoritative.
"Courtney, instead of focusing on your research, you suddenly contacted me. What's the matter?
And you, Butler. Haven't you been busy fooling around with your Jirachi and that so-called Groudon recreation project? What now? Planning to give up?"
Butler immediately raised his head, excitement visible in his voice.
"No, Leader! My plan has no problems at all! I've already found the person capable of awakening Jirachi. Please give me a little more time. I will definitely succeed!"
The red-haired man let out a cold snort, helplessness visible within his expression.
"Hmph. Butler, you're still just as stubborn as ever. Fine, we'll leave your matter aside for now.
Why exactly did the two of you contact me? I already told everyone long ago. Unless it's something important, don't disturb me."
Courtney immediately stepped forward and reported:
"Leader, Butler encountered 'Wallace Junior' in Forina. He's currently outside Hoenn, and he also happens to be the person capable of awakening Jirachi."
The red-haired man's movements abruptly froze.
He suddenly rose from his throne, the shadow behind him stretching longer and making his presence even more oppressive.
"Interesting. Very interesting indeed. So it's connected to Jirachi again?"
The red-haired man turned toward Courtney and asked in a deep voice:
"Have Tabitha and Brodie returned to the base yet?"
"Tabitha already returned and was preparing to head to Unova for the mission you assigned earlier. Brodie is still outside gathering Fire-type energy materials and hasn't come back yet."
Courtney answered immediately.
"Tell them to stop everything they're doing."
The red-haired man gave the order in a tone that allowed no disobedience.
"Head to Forina immediately and rendezvous with Butler.
Courtney, hand your Reverse Energy Activation Device over to Tabitha and have him bring it to Butler."
"Yes, Leader."
Courtney respectfully bowed in response.
The red-haired man then shifted his gaze toward Butler.
"Butler, I never interfered with your childish little projects before. I let you mess around however you wanted.
But this time is different.
You must cooperate with Tabitha and Brodie.
This concerns the future of our entire clan!"
He paused briefly, a sharp light flashing through his eyes.
"You must bring back that Larvesta belonging to that 'Wallace Junior.'
It isn't easy to make him finally leave Hoenn. This is a rare opportunity.
As for Jirachi… once this is over, you can do whatever you want with it."
Under the harsh gaze of the red-haired man, Butler opened his mouth as though wanting to argue.
But in the end, he merely pressed his lips tightly together and lowered his head.
"…Understood, Leader."
The red-haired man waved his hand.
Both his projection and Courtney's disappeared instantly, plunging the interior of the RV back into darkness.
Only the faint light filtering through the windows illuminated Butler's tense side profile.
His fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned pale white.
"Childish little project…
How could the Reverse Energy Activation Device possibly compare to my Comet Energy Device…
I'll prove it. The machine I created is the truly strongest one!"
Meanwhile, the communication between the red-haired man and Courtney had not yet ended.
Looking at him, Courtney could not help asking:
"Leader, are we really just ignoring Jirachi? Isn't it supposed to be capable of granting any wish? If someone wished upon it, maybe it could directly awaken Groudon…"
The red-haired man laughed disdainfully.
"Grant wishes? You actually believe that nonsense?
Jirachi is nothing more than a Mythical Pokémon. Its so-called 'wish granting' is merely using psychic power to move things from one place to another. Completely worthless.
The truly important things are that Wallace Wannabe and his Volcarona.
You should know this already. Ever since our Volcanic clan ancestors found Groudon a hundred years ago and used this orb to stimulate its energy, causing it to enter a deep slumber and accumulate power, its body has continuously been changing.
So many years have passed. Even my own father has already died, yet Groudon still has not awakened.
The outside world has long forgotten about us Volcanic Descendants. All they know now is this so-called 'Team Magma.'"
Mad fanaticism flickered within the red-haired man's eyes as he continued:
"That Groudon phantom created by this Wallace Junior during the Contest performance looked astonishingly similar to the current Groudon undergoing transformation.
His Larvesta was captured at Mt. Chimney, Groudon's original habitat. Perhaps that Larvesta shares some kind of special connection with Groudon…
As long as the current Groudon awakens successfully, then when the time comes, who cares about Kyogre or Rayquaza? Neither of them will be worth fearing anymore!"
(End of Chapter)