Damian returned to the bottom of the Great Waterfall and entered the space behind the falling water. This was a wide, open area.
"Is it here?"
Damian looked around. There was nothing special about the place. It was just a bit dark and damp because it was located behind a waterfall all year round.
"That's right. It is down below."
Shadow Lugia's low telepathy came through.
Below?
Damian looked at the ground. After thinking for a moment, he released Shadow Mewtwo.
Shadow Mewtwo understood Damian's meaning. It moved its palms and then slammed a punch heavily onto the ground.
The ground shook violently. A crack in the earth was forced open.
A stone plate flashing with a faint, eerie black light was shaken out from underground. It floated slowly in the air.
"The Dread Plate!"
Looking at this black stone plate, the corners of Damian's mouth slowly curled up. He could not help but feel a bit excited.
This was a plate from the legendary beginning of the world's creation!
The overall appearance of the Dread Plate was that of a simple-looking square stone plate. It looked exactly like the one in the games. It was completely different from the diamond-shaped, glowing crystal version in the anime.
Seeing this Dread Plate, the purple flames in Shadow Mewtwo's eyes flickered constantly.
It could feel the extremely massive energy contained within this plate. That was an energy beyond imagination!
"Giratina, can I take it directly?"
Damian asked Giratina.
After all, Shadow Lugia had been affected by the Dread Plate. Damian was still a bit worried about whether he would also be affected by the terrifying Dark-type energy inside the plate.
"As long as you do not trigger its special reaction, there will be no influence. That Lugia likely had a special reason," Giratina replied indifferently.
A Plate is a special artifact, not something harmful.
While it was true that one could not absorb the energy of a Plate without restraint, otherwise one would only be consumed by the Plate's energy, merely touching it would not cause someone to be affected.
"That's good then."
Damian felt a bit more at ease after hearing this.
He took out a piece of burlap from his backpack, wrapped the Dread Plate in it, and happily put it into his bag.
At least until the next time he met Arceus, this Dread Plate belonged to him!
Very good! This was truly a super unexpected surprise.
Looking at Shadow Lugia's current state, the power of the Dread Plate was very terrifying. However, Damian believed that as long as one did not over-absorb the energy, nothing bad would happen.
Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Arceus to feel safe handing the Plates over to Damos.
"Alright, let's go out."
Having obtained the Dread Plate, Damian's mood was currently excellent.
He was already thinking about who should use the Dread Plate. The safest choice was certainly Shadow Mewtwo. After all, Shadow Lugia had a "stress" reaction to the Dread Plate.
Letting Shadow Mewtwo hold the Dread Plate would surely bring it many benefits.
Back on the surface of the sea, Giratina opened the gate to the Distortion World once more and left.
Damian used Poké Balls to recall Shadow Lugia and the others. He then rode Reshiram and flew back to the small island.
"Okay, it's perfectly resolved."
Damian said with a smile to Caitlin and Platinum.
"Wuoo?"
The little Lugia made a crying sound, asking Damian urgently about its father.
"Your father just regained consciousness. He needs to rest for a while. Be patient and wait," Damian said gently while stroking the little Lugia's head.
Actually, he had asked Shadow Lugia if it wanted to meet the little Lugia face-to-face. However, according to Shadow Lugia:
The change in its appearance was too big, and it wasn't psychologically prepared yet.
Damian felt that Shadow Lugia was being a bit melodramatic. The little Lugia was right here with Caitlin; the little Lugia and Caitlin were inseparable every day.
What was the point of escaping like this?
However, Shadow Lugia's attitude was very firm, so Damian let it be. Anyway, it would probably figure things out in a few days.
It was likely just unable to accept the change in its appearance in such a short time.
"Wuoo..."
The little Lugia felt bad upon hearing this and let its body slump.
"It's okay. It will be fine in a couple of days once it recovers," Damian comforted the little Lugia.
After handling Shadow Lugia's matters, Damian took Caitlin and Platinum back to Ecruteak City.
Yes, he continued to enjoy his "emperor treatment."
Night came once again. Tamao dressed up in her finest clothes. To further show off her charm, she even wore black stockings under her kimono.
It seemed like many modern men liked this. Mr. Damian would probably like it too, right?
Tonight, her eldest sister needed to rest well to make up for the "damage" from last night. Tonight was naturally her turn to perform!
With a shallow smile, Tamao arrived at the front of Damian's room, and then...
"Mm... D-Daddy... gently..."
Hearing the broken sounds coming from inside the room, Tamao's body instantly went stiff, as if struck by lightning.
Because she could recognize that voice...
It was the fourth sister, Koume!!
Koume!! How could you do this?!!
And you actually called... called Mr. Damian that? You are truly too shameless!!
Tamao was both embarrassed and angry. She paced back and forth in front of Damian's room in a rage. Dammit! This little girl was "stealing a snack" ahead of her!
But push the door and go in? Tamao wasn't that thick-skinned. She couldn't exactly say "I'm here to join in," could she?
In the end, Tamao could only let out a cold snort and leave with a flick of her sleeves.
You jerk! I'll remember this grudge!
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Damian enjoyed himself in Ecruteak City for those full three days.
How should he put it? Damian felt like he was about to sink into this "tender trap."
But this kind of life of enjoyment could not last too long. Otherwise, he felt his sharp edges would be worn smooth. The only thing Damian felt was a pity was that the three sisters were not yet open enough to be willing to challenge the Great Demon King Damian together.
But this kind of thing could be taken slowly. There was still plenty of time.
Bidding farewell to the five Ecruteak sisters, Damian finally left his loyal Ecruteak City. He went to the nearby Goldenrod City to take a plane.
That's right. He had rested long enough during this period. Next, he had to continue "going to work."
...
Lumiose City, Kalos Region.
Lumiose City was the center of the Kalos region. It was a metropolis that gathered the essence of technology and art. It was also known as the "City of Light."
According to statistics, not counting the crowds of Castelia City in Unova or Mesagoza in Paldea, Lumiose City was the most populous city in the world. it far surpassed Wyndon in Galar or Nimbasa City in Unova.
This gave one a small glimpse of its scale.
At the Lumiose City airport, Damian, Caitlin, and Platinum walked out.
"It's quite spectacular."
Damian took off his sunglasses. He looked at the Prism Tower in the distance, which symbolized the city, and gave a compliment.
"The most populous city in the world is indeed very beautiful," Platinum said as she curiously looked around. One had to say that as a world-renowned metropolis, the city view of Lumiose City was indeed very good.
"Let's go. Paul and the others are already waiting for us."
Damian took a look at his phone. Gladion, Paul, and the others had arrived in Lumiose City one step ahead of them.
This had become a tradition.
In a brand-new luxury building in the Central Plaza, Damian, Caitlin, and Platinum arrived.
"Lord Damian."
Gladion and Paul were already waiting at this moment.
"Not bad. This building looks very new." Damian looked at the new building and nodded with satisfaction.
"Yes. It is indeed newly built. I happened to make it in time, so I sent someone to buy it."
Gladion was part of the group that came to the Kalos region two days early. It could be considered a reconnaissance mission.
"Alright, let's go up."
The group went to the CEO's office on the top floor. Damian leaned back in the CEO's chair.
"Gladion, you should already understand the basic situation in Kalos, right?"
"Yes."
Gladion took out a folder of information.
"According to my investigation, Boss, there are currently no particularly large villain teams in the Kalos region. Most are small delinquent groups like the Lumiose Gang."
Gladion reported. This was the news he had gathered.
The so-called "Lumiose Gang" and other small delinquent groups were actually just groups similar to street thugs. they were not a serious threat at all.
"On the surface, that is indeed the case."
Damian gave a light laugh and wasn't too surprised. In reality, looking only at the surface, there were indeed no anti-social villain teams in the Kalos region.
And this news was definitely good news for the Kalos League.
Because the Kalos League's strength was actually not that great. Among so many regions, the Kalos League was only slightly better than the Unova League, which suffered from a gap between generations and a frustrated Champion.
Champion Diantha's strength was only average among the various Champions. The Elite Four were also at this level.
The fact that there were no villain teams made the Kalos League quite relieved. Although their Kalos wasn't strong, it wasn't as messy as other regions, right?
"However, one point is very concerning. According to some information Paul gathered while investigating Hunter groups, Team Flare has had contact with Hunter groups quite a few times."
Gladion specifically mentioned this point.
"Team Flare?" As soon as Platinum heard this name, she felt that this group wasn't very positive.
"Yes. Team Flare is the name of a group here in Kalos. Team Flare possesses advanced technology and has already penetrated various parts of Kalos, earning a massive amount of wealth."
Gladion nodded.
"I looked into this Team Flare. The founder of Team Flare is Lysandre. When he was young, he was a kind person with a lot of empathy. While traveling around Kalos with his Pokémon, he often reached out to help people suffering in various places."
"However, as of now, Team Flare's size is getting larger and larger, but Team Flare hasn't done any more good deeds like helping the weak for a long time. Many people say that after Lysandre's group grew big, they forgot their original intentions."
Gladion's evaluation of Lysandre was still somewhat positive. After all, the records clearly stated that the young Lysandre could definitely be called a great philanthropist.
"Huh?"
Platinum had some doubts about the "humanity" of those people who said Lysandre forgot his original intentions.
Platinum was a kind girl herself, but she also understood one thing: Lysandre had no obligation to help others forever.
"Don't doubt it. The current Team Flare is definitely not a good thing."
Damian gave a mocking laugh. Of course, he wasn't laughing at Lysandre or Team Flare.
He was laughing at that group of stupid yet shameless people.
To put it bluntly, the reason Lysandre became extremely insane was purely because he was driven mad by these people.
Team Flare was originally just a small research institute. Lysandre used to use the profits from the institute's research to help people. But that kind of good deed did not result in any return.
Of course, Lysandre never thought about getting a return in the first place. But what he didn't expect was that the people who accepted the aid he gave would only fight each other and demand even more handouts from Lysandre.
Lysandre fell into despair. He also understood one thing.
Such stupid, lazy lives would only devour the future until nothing was left. The world would only become ugly and unbearable.
And he wanted to build a more beautiful, better world!
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