Because Lance had personally overseen the case this time, everything progressed remarkably smoothly.
Wayne was very satisfied with how the aftermath of the Breeding Center's destruction had been handled. Balu paid full compensation, covered emotional distress and lost wages, and was going to prison besides.
Wayne didn't particularly care about a minor character like Balu. Their family had opened the Breeding Center to help Pokémon and trainers, not to make enemies—so there was no point in holding grudges.
What mattered more was Coronet Company itself.
Coronet Company was the leading breeding industry corporation in the Sinnoh region. Being enemies with Coronet Company was an entirely different matter—the scale of the two parties wasn't even remotely comparable.
In terms of connections and background, Wayne wasn't afraid of Coronet Company. His grandfather was a top-tier Breeder and Master-level chef. His uncle was a famous Pokémon fashion designer who had designed clothes for a kingdom's princess and maintained connections with Steven and Wallace.
Wayne could also leverage his relationships with Champions like Blue, Cynthia, and Lance to pressure Coronet Company if necessary.
But would Red, Blue, and Lance really hold grudges and pursue such relatively minor matters relentlessly? The answer was no—unless it involved Yellow, of course.
That approach would just be burning through connections unnecessarily, far less effective than improving his own capabilities. A great leader once said: "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." From a personal perspective, might makes right.
"I'll set a small goal for myself: surpass Coronet Company!" Wayne silently declared his ambition.
Most importantly, Wayne's family needed money right now. With the double compensation, they could recover most of their costs and even afford redecorating—a huge profit overall!
Purchasing the egg-hatching machines and various other equipment all required significant capital. Even though the League had given them a discounted price, all the money earned during this period had been invested.
"No investment, no return!" That's how Leon motivated himself.
Fortunately, the League had already proposed that Wayne's family breed two types of Pokémon suitable for novice Trainers: Piplup and Turtwig. These only needed to be raised by Wayne's family. As long as they met the League's qualification standards, they would be purchased.
After being acquired by the League, the Pokémon would be uniformly distributed to various research institutes and provided to new Trainers starting their journeys.
After Lance's call ended, Cynthia's call came through as well.
"I heard from Lance that the matter's been resolved," she said.
Wayne nodded, even though she couldn't see him. "Yes, it's all settled. The Breeding Center didn't suffer much actual loss, and we even received double compensation."
Cynthia couldn't help but smile. "Forgiveness isn't weakness. I support your decision."
Jesse's crimes were too numerous to count. In Cynthia's opinion, even the harshest punishment wouldn't be excessive for him. Balu, however, was only suspected of hiring someone to commit a crime—not murder. He'd only wanted to destroy the Breeding Center, so his offense wasn't capital.
Cynthia paused thoughtfully. "If you're short on funds... I can lend you some."
Wayne quickly refused. "No, no, it's mainly for purchasing equipment. We haven't reached the point of being financially strapped."
Cynthia nodded slightly. "Just let me know if you need anything. Are you free tomorrow?"
Is she asking me on a date? Wayne wondered.
"Yes, I'm free."
"I'll send Garchomp and my team over. Please help me take care of them."
Well, Wayne realized he'd completely overthought that.
"Wait, aren't you coming with them?" he asked.
Garchomp and Cynthia separated? Wayne genuinely couldn't imagine that scenario.
"Because of Jesse's case, I've realized that Sinnoh is far from as peaceful as I'd imagined," Cynthia explained. "I should fulfill my duties as Champion more actively."
Her voice was soft but carried unmistakable determination.
"But if Garchomp and the others aren't with you..." Wayne started to protest.
Cynthia smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry—I'm not acting alone. I have other Pokémon with me too."
After all, she was just cracking down on some underground criminal organizations, not facing off against Team Rocket or Team Galactic. She really wouldn't need Garchomp—her other recently trained Pokémon would be more than sufficient.
"Please be careful with everything," Wayne said earnestly.
Cynthia replied softly, "I will."
After ending the call with Cynthia, Wayne discovered that the group chat was still buzzing with activity. The situation between Wayne and Balu had already been discussed thoroughly, and Lance had explained the entire matter to everyone.
Yellow: "Wayne is so kind!"
Silver: "I think he's just excited about that double compensation."
Lt. Surge: "If it were me... I'd be excited about it too."
The Breeding Center incident had essentially concluded. Overall, most people expressed their support for Wayne's handling of the situation.
The chat group remained lively, mainly because Lance was still sharing stories via voice messages.
Lance recounted vividly, "Jesse didn't want to confess at first. During the interrogation, he even broke down crying and claimed he had a paralyzed daughter at home and was earning money to save her life."
Yellow: "Oh no... Then his daughter..."
Silver: "That's got to be fake, right?"
Lance sighed audibly.
"It's fake now... but it was real ten years ago."
Lance then shared a tragic story.
"Ten years ago, Jesse wasn't 'Jesse' yet. He was arrested for theft, and he cried and made the exact same claim as today. But the police officer who arrested him ten years ago didn't believe him, and eventually his paralyzed daughter... passed away. From that moment on, Jesse abandoned everything and embarked on a path of no return."
Yellow fell silent, not knowing what to say.
Red: "Ah... What a tragedy..."
Ethan: "I had no idea there was such a backstory."
Blue sighed deeply. "One wrong step leads to many wrong steps."
Lance continued, "After Jesse told me about this, I immediately took Dragonite to Jesse's old residence and learned the truth from his neighbors."
Despite his immense wealth, Jesse had continued living in the same basement apartment he'd once shared with his daughter.
"I confronted Jesse with what I'd discovered, telling him I'd already been to his house and learned about what happened ten years ago," Lance explained. "Jesse said I was the first person who, upon hearing his story, actually went to verify it personally. That's when he confessed everything."
Lance added helplessly, "He's not a good person... but he is indeed a devoted father."
Given the various crimes Jesse had committed, only capital punishment awaited him.
Yellow typed hesitantly: "What if... what if that police officer ten years ago had also investigated like Lance did..."
Blue: "Then none of this would have happened, and Jesse might never have gone down this dark path."
Lance hadn't mentioned this story during his earlier phone call with Wayne—he'd only just learned these details himself. But regardless of the circumstances, Jesse had no way back now.
Fortunately, at the very last moment, Jesse had experienced a sudden moment of clarity because of Lance's actions. At least before the end, he'd changed from a complete villain back into something resembling a human being.
Lance: "This is exactly why the overall quality of the investigator team still needs significant improvement."
Wayne: "👍 for you"
Red: "👍 for you"
Blue: "👍 for you"
Lance: "Please stop with the thumbs up. Does anyone actually want to become an investigator? I'll pay double salary!"
Red: "Um... I suddenly remembered I have training to do..."
Blue: "I still have a thesis to write. I'm out."
Silver: "Hey, the Day Care owner is calling me. Gotta go!"
Wayne: "I think I have a new order to fill. Gotta run, gotta run."
Lorelei: "A new Trainer wants to challenge me. Going offline, going offline."
Only Lance was left metaphorically standing in the wind, disheveled and alone.
"Hiring people is so difficult!" he muttered to himself.
"Maybe I should just quit this investigator job altogether!"