"This interview segment is pretty good."
Damian watched the interviews video's consistent good reviews and couldn't help laughing.
"Dawn, it's basically all praising you as adorable."
"Mr. Damian, stop teasing me like that."
Dawn got shy again.
"This isn't teasing."
"Dawn really is super adorable."
"If I were a guy, I'd totally go after Dawn."
Alexa was there too.
She smiled and winked at Dawn.
Dawn's face turned red.
"Stop messing with Dawn."
"She's about to turn into an ostrich."
Damian chuckled.
"The column looks great."
"You can run it yourself from here."
"You can interview whoever you want—"
"but you need to ask them first."
Damian told Alexa.
Honestly, Alexa's interview skills were really solid.
It was the kind of vibe that just made people feel comfortable.
And her questions weren't especially sharp or nasty either—
yet they were exactly the things the audience cared about.
"Okay-okay~ Don't worry, boss!"
Alexa sounded full of drive.
She felt like her luck finally turned.
Not only did she sleep with the Team Rocket boss, Damian—
and now resources were just everywhere at her fingertips!
She actually wanted to interview the top-tier Admin the most, though.
Those top-tier Admins were basically overflowing with "topic" one after another, right?
For example—
N, the former boss of Team Plasma, Alola person, Alola Aether Foundation's big young master…
Caitlin, the former Battle Castle owner from a prestigious Sinnoh family…
And Zinnia, the Lorekeeper from the Draconid people…
But sadly, aside from Caitlin, the other top-tier Admins weren't in Kalos.
As for interviewing Caitlin…
Yeah.
Alexa didn't have the nerve.
After all, she could feel Caitlin didn't have much fondness for her right now.
Still, even without top-tier Admins—
there were tons of executives worth interviewing, weren't there?
Gladion.
Drayton.
And the former Team Skull boss, Guzma.
The former Team Aqua boss, Archie…
Most of the targets Alexa thought had good topics were in other regions.
Which meant—
Alexa was actually totally willing to go out and run it herself.
But with Damian in Kalos now, and tonight she had to occasionally stay up and sleep next to him—
no, sleep with Damian—
Alexa felt there was no need to rush too hard.
After all, Damian was seriously strong.
Last night, she'd almost gotten knocked out.
But still—
she thought it was totally worth it.
"Oh, boss."
Alexa remembered something.
"What is it?"
"About my merit points in the organization—"
"the Pokémon I can redeem with redeemed merit…"
"can I transfer those to someone else to raise?"
Alexa asked Damian carefully.
She wasn't much of a Trainer talent-wise.
If she had talent like that, she wouldn't be a reporter.
But once she joined Team Rocket—
those resources in the merit shop shouldn't be wasted, right?
"In theory, it's not allowed."
"Are you trying to redeem merit for your little sister, Viola?"
Damian raised a brow.
"Boss, you're really smart."
While Caitlin and Dawn weren't paying attention, Alexa winked at Damian with her left eye.
Sassy-girl acting cute.
And it was also genuinely adorable—
and somehow surprising.
"Ask Viola if she'd be interested in joining Team Rocket."
"That way, it's actually more convenient."
"In the future, you can transfer your merit to her."
"As for redeeming merit on her behalf…"
"the rules are the rules."
Damian thought for a moment, then said to Alexa.
"Okay, boss!"
"My little sister would be very happy to join the organization!"
Alexa instantly straightened up.
That sudden movement made her tightly held chest bounce a little—fully emphasized by the tight top she was wearing.
"So you've been waiting for me to set this up for your little sister, huh?"
Damian couldn't help laughing.
He already understood exactly what Alexa was doing—giving her little sister a chance to join the organization.
"After all, my little sister is a Kalos Gym Leader."
"And she's probably worried you might not take her in, boss."
"Not that big of a deal."
"Alright."
"Go get her to sign a contract—take it with you."
"You got it!"
"Boss, you're the man!"
Alexa was super happy.
She felt like this was also a chance for her little sister.
With resources, Viola could definitely grow more too.
Thinking of that, Alexa—
while Caitlin wasn't paying attention—
winked at Damian again.
"I want to come over at night."
"Call him Dad."
"Dad, I want to come over tonight."
"That's not what I meant."
Damian looked at Alexa.
click his tongue.
This woman really was too good at reading the room.
And she was obedient.
Truly good, really good.
...
Elsewhere,
in a barren desert with not a damn thing around.
Braviary swooped down from the sky.
Baraz landed.
He climbed into a hole.
And soon, a look of joy appeared in his eyes.
What he saw was a creepy-looking jug just standing there.
"Finally… I found it."
"Prison Bottle!"
Baraz let out a sigh of relief.
He was sure—this was the Prison Bottle.
This was the item his Great-grandfather used back then to seal Hoopa's power.
And with it—
Mischief Hoopa could restore its strength.
Baraz didn't hold back at all.
He stepped forward and grabbed the Prison Bottle immediately.
But the instant Baraz grabbed it…
on the top of the Prison Bottle, two spots of emptiness—like eyes—
lit up with two crimson points.
Baraz's silhouette froze instantly.
Two seconds later, Baraz, expressionless, took the Prison Bottle and returned to Braviary.
Arche Valley.
Everything was still calm and peaceful like always.
Meray and Mischief Hoopa were resting on the grass.
"So weird…"
"Why didn't Brother Brother get any news from behind?"
Meray was still puzzled.
Why was it that Baraz—who had been reporting its location earlier—
had suddenly gone silent afterward?
Then, suddenly—
a hawk cry came from the horizon.
"That's Brother Brother's Braviary!"
Meray's face lit up.
She immediately stood and looked toward the sky.
Braviary flapped down and landed.
Then Baraz, who had been riding on Braviary, climbed down too.
"Brother Brother!"
"You found the Prison Bottle?"
"That's amazing!"
"You… Brother Brother?"
Meray took two steps forward.
She was shocked beyond words seeing Baraz looking down as he walked over.
But as she spoke, Meray suddenly noticed something was wrong.
It was too quiet.
Why was Baraz showing zero reaction?
At that moment, Baraz suddenly lifted his head.
His vision locked onto Mischief Hoopa, who looked puzzled.
"Brother Brother?!"
Meray's pupils shrank.
She saw two crimson points.
The next instant, a burst of intense black energy surged out from the opened Prison Bottle.
It went crazy and poured into Mischief Hoopa's body.
The massive energy was like a mountain collapse and a tsunami.
Mischief Hoopa got blasted into the sky by that energy.
Like a spiraling tornado, centered on Mischief Hoopa—
its tiny body swallowed that terrifying energy whole.
No—
it wasn't so much "swallowing" as—
those energies were being forced into Mischief Hoopa's body.
The sky itself darkened under that black energy.
Meray stared in horror at what was happening.
The Prison Bottle was empty.
Baraz let out a muffled grunt.
His body went limp unconsciously.
But before he could fall over, he propped himself up with his arm.
"Brother Brother?!"
Meray heard the movement and ran over to support Baraz at once.
"Meray?"
"Why am I here…"
"Hoopa…"
Baraz supported his head.
He felt intense pain stabbing through his head.
But even through the pain, he still looked up at the abnormal scene in the sky.
"Brother Brother, you forgot?"
"You brought the Prison Bottle back."
"And you opened it."
Meray looked worried as she watched Baraz.
"I… I didn't."
Baraz's heart tightened.
Was it him?
But he hadn't touched the Prison Bottle long enough to have any memory of what happened after.
And just then—
the sky finally brightened again.
All the black energy had disappeared completely.
Standing there was a giant figure.
Its body size was extremely bulky and strong.
A humanoid-shaped giant.
Its massive braided hair was raised upright, wild and unrestrained.
And behind it—
there was a huge gray tail.
Hoopa Unbound!
Boom!
Hoopa Unbound slammed heavily onto the ground.
Under the sheer weight of that giant body—
the earth shook violently.
"Hoopa's power is back!"
A savage Telepathy echoed in everyone's ears.
It was nothing like the cute childish voice it had in its Confined form.
Hearing that, Meray smiled with relief.
Even if Baraz still had tons of questions—
he was still happy for Hoopa.
"Meray, Baraz…"
"I…"
But before Hoopa Unbound could even finish speaking, its face began to distort violently.
It looked like it was suffering some kind of unbearable pain.
Its towering giant body started to topple.
"Hoopa!"
Meray cried out in worry.
Bang—
Hoopa Unbound fell hard to the ground.
Its originally clear eyes gradually shimmered with a creepy red beam.
"Disappear!!"
A roar full of brutality exploded from Hoopa Unbound's mouth.
Hoopa Unbound that had fallen to the ground got back up again.
Its twisted, savage face looked like a demon god.
Meray and Baraz's pupils trembled violently.
Hoopa Unbound slowly lifted into the air.
In its eyes were flickering crimson light.
Its berserk resentment was dense enough to feel tangible.
"Disappear!!"
"Get rid of everything!"
Like a hellspawn, the roars tore through the sky.
Baraz pressed her lips together.
She hurriedly picked up the Prison Bottle and aimed it at Hoopa Unbound.
Hoopa Unbound's body stopped instantly.
Black energy flared up—
and got sucked into the Prison Bottle.
Not long after, Hoopa Unbound transformed back into Mischief Hoopa.
It dropped from the sky and fell.
Meray rushed over and caught Mischief Hoopa.
Baraz sealed the Prison Bottle.
Seeing the red beam lighting up at the bottle's mouth location, he immediately threw the Prison Bottle onto the ground.
He had already realized this Prison Bottle had a problem.
"Hoopa, are you okay?"
Seeing Mischief Hoopa in her arms looking so weakened, Meray's heart hurt.
"Meray…"
Mischief Hoopa struggled to open his eyes, looking at Meray.
"So dark…"
"Inside was so dark…"
"Hoopa… Hoopa was so scared…"
Mischief Hoopa spoke about what it had just gone through, in a weakened voice.
"It's okay. It's over now."
Meray held Mischief Hoopa tight.
"This Prison Bottle has a problem."
"Why did it turn out like this…"
Baraz also heard what Mischief Hoopa said.
He couldn't figure it out at all.
This was supposed to be Hoopa-sealed power.
How could it become so evil and messed up?
"What do we do now, Brother Brother?"
Meray was already at a complete loss.
She didn't even dare to get close to that Prison Bottle.
"Go get Damian."
"Ask him how to handle this thing."
Baraz thought it over and decided to ask Damian.
Damian had clearly way too much experience.
He was also strong.
Most importantly—
Baraz trusted Damian.
Damian was a man who had been looked upon by Arceus!
~~
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