Drake muttered to himself, this question circling endlessly in his mind.
The former would mean that someone high up in the League was playing a grand game of chess, attempting to use a rootless genius to break the existing balance of factions.
Such a move, while radical, was not impossible.
The latter, however, implied an even more terrifying situation.
Immediately after, the voice from the other end of the communicator continued.
"The follow-up to the Uninhabited Island Incident has some leads. The escape routes of those few individuals and the source of the damaged combat gear all point in the same direction."
"Speak," Drake's voice was heavy.
"Just as you suspected, it's Team Rockets."
The female voice's answer confirmed his worst suspicions.
"And it wasn't just any ordinary squad. Judging by the technology they used and their level of professionalism during the retreat, they are likely elites from within Team Rockets, perhaps even with the shadow of an Executive involved."
The air in the room seemed to grow a few degrees heavier.
Executive.
That group of madmen—every single one of them was a dangerous individual capable of handling things on their own.
"Keep investigating."
Drake's command was brief and powerful.
"Expose their secrets to me. Report any movement immediately."
"Understood."
The call ended, and Drake put away the communicator.
He looked out the window at the deep blue, almost black sea, feeling as if he were standing on the edge of a cliff with an abyss beneath his feet.
...
Meanwhile, in Lilycove City.
The bustling commercial street was surging with crowds. The cries of Wingulls mixed with the shouts of street vendors, filling the air with the unique vitality of a seaside city.
Ariel walked out of a men's clothing store, having changed out of his weathered old clothes.
He still chose an all-black outfit.
A black windbreaker, black cargo pants, and black tactical boots.
This wasn't due to any special preference, but simply because black was resistant to dirt and provided the best concealment in most environments.
For someone accustomed to walking in the shadows, this was the optimal solution.
The shop owner was an enthusiastic middle-aged woman who had just been praising him non-stop:
"Young man, with your build, you look good in anything! Really, this black outfit is cool! Just like a super agent out of the movies!"
Ariel merely twitched the corner of his mouth, paid the money, and turned to leave.
A super agent?
He was more like a ghost ready to vanish into the crowd at any moment.
He had only walked a few steps when the specialized pokédex in his pocket gave a very slight vibration.
He ducked into a deserted alley, leaned against a mottled wall, and only clicked on the message after confirming no one was around.
Sender: Yuki.
The content was very short, consisting only of a blurry image and a few words.
The image showed a colorful stone emitting a faint glow in a dark cave; the stone's surface seemed to have some sort of strange spiral pattern.
Text: Southern Isolated Island, suspected.
Ariel's breath hitched for a moment.
Others might not understand, but he recognized it at a glance.
A mega stone!
In this world, the concept of Mega Evolution was still in a state of chaos.
Whether it was the League or Team Rockets, they were all just fumbling through the theoretical research stage, trying to peel back that even more mysterious veil beyond a Pokémon's final evolutionary form.
Whoever could be the first to master the secrets of Mega Evolution, and whoever could find more mega stones and key stones, would gain an overwhelming advantage in the future power struggle.
A thought irrepressibly bubbled up from the depths of Ariel's heart: keep it all for himself.
If he could completely grasp this secret in his own hands, he would possess the capital to change the entire global landscape.
But this thought lasted for less than three seconds before he snuffed it out.
It wasn't realistic.
With his current strength, let alone keeping it for himself, just setting foot on that peril-filled Southern Isolated Island was a massive challenge.
Moreover, once the secret of Mega Evolution was exposed, he would immediately become a target for every faction and be crushed to dust.
He wasn't that naive.
Since he couldn't swallow it whole, he would use it to trade for the maximum benefit.
Handing this intelligence over to Team Rockets in exchange for status, resources, and their full support in his climb up the ranks—
That was the wisest choice.
He quickly deleted the message and then replied with a single word: Wait.
After doing all this, he put away the communicator and stepped back into the sunlight.
The current problem was how to get to the Southern Isolated Island.
That area of the sea was known as the "Trainer's Graveyard."
Unpredictable ocean currents, sudden storms, and the overlord-like pokémon lurking in the deep sea that even Quasi-Elite Four Level Trainers wouldn't dare provoke lightly, together formed a natural barrier.
Forcing one's way in was no different from suicide.
The only passage was the official route established by the League.
To ensure the absolute safety of this route, the League maintained a delicate symbiotic relationship with several overlords of that sea area year-round.
They provided vast amounts of food and rare resources in exchange for passage rights on the route.
It was a safe path paved with money and interests.
And the starting point of this route was right here in Lilycove City.
Ariel looked up, his gaze passing over the crowded masses toward the tallest skyscraper in the city center.
On a massive holographic projection screen, a line of gold-leafed characters was looping, dazzlingly bright, announcing the city's pride.
—Warmly celebrating the luxury cruise ship "wave breaker," setting sail today!
On the screen, a silver-white giant vessel was riding the waves. Its lines were smooth and elegant, full of a sense of technology and power, like a steel behemoth patrolling the sea.
Ariel's gaze fell upon the name "wave breaker," his eyes becoming focused.
This was the ticket he needed.
Without the slightest hesitation, he turned and walked toward the Lilycove City harbor.
The ticket hall was a sea of people, mostly wealthy tourists or merchants preparing to travel to other parts of Hoenn for business.
The air was thick with the scent of perfume, coffee, and money mixed together.
Ariel's all-black attire and cold, hard temperament seemed somewhat out of place here.
The people around him looked at him with a faint sense of scrutiny and distance.
He didn't care at all and walked straight to the ticket counter.
"The route to the Southern Isolated Island is currently not open to the public."
The service staff's voice came through.