"What did you say?!"
As soon as Baraz spoke those words, Karen couldn't hold back her anger. She stepped forward, radiating an aura as though she was ready to cut someone down, and shouted at him.
Baraz instinctively shivered.
Although he possessed the same special powers gifted by Arceus as his great-grandfather, who had once sealed and released Hoopa, their power levels were not remotely comparable. The difference between them was like that of an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and a single-tomoe Sharingan.
Faced with Karen, someone who had truly endured life-and-death battles, her shout alone was enough to startle him into staggering back, nearly falling over.
Will's expression didn't look much better.
He thought to himself. If Stephen wanted that gluttonous mythical beast, why go through all this trouble?
Why not just take it by force?
"Meray, what's going on? Everyone seems unhappy..."
Little Hoopa, frightened by the tense atmosphere, floated timidly behind Meray and asked in a soft voice.
"It's nothing, it's nothing..."
Meray held Hoopa in her arms, gently comforting it, while fiercely glaring at Baraz.
Are you kidding me? This is the hero who just saved the League, and you're talking nonsense?!
Realizing how inappropriate his earlier words had been, Baraz awkwardly said, "I'm sorry, Doctor, I..."
"No need to apologize to me," Stephen said calmly. "I'm only here to remind you."
After all, no one would willingly give up such a treasure as Hoopa. It was normal for Baraz to suspect ulterior motives after what was said.
But Stephen had already done his part in warning him—whether Baraz listened or not was his own business.
Some readers might wonder, Why doesn't Stephen just reveal the true identities of Lysandre and Malva to the siblings?
First, Stephen had no evidence. Keep in mind, that Lysandre was one of the most prominent billionaires in the Kalos region and the next chairman of the Pokémon League, while Malva was a member of the Elite Four and the top news anchor for the region's television network.
Accusing them of being criminals without evidence? Even with Stephen's current reputation, Officer Jenny might suspect that he had injured his brain during the recent battles.
Second, Stephen didn't see himself as some saint willing to forgive every wrongdoing, even if it involved avenging his parents. This whole mess wasn't his fault—it was caused by Hoopa's antics, which led to Lysandre discovering it. Stephen had already done his duty by warning them; anything beyond that wasn't his problem.
"Meray-chan, could you ask Hoopa to summon Xerneas here?" Stephen turned to Meray, who was holding Hoopa.
"Oh, sure," Meray nodded quickly. Baraz's earlier words had been too much, and she also wanted to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.
Noticing Meray's gaze, little Hoopa puffed up its slightly rounded belly, floated up, and removed one of the golden rings hanging from its right horn. It tossed the ring into the air.
"Hoopa, Hoopa~!"
Hoopa spun its hand like it was casting a spell. The tossed ring stopped in mid-air and began to expand, its center turning into a chaotic blue vortex.
"Could it really...?"
Malva swallowed nervously.
Lysandre also fixed his gaze on the center of the ring.
If it were truly possible to summon a legendary Pokemon at will, the implications would be terrifying.
"Come out!"
Suddenly, Hoopa called out.
In the next moment, something began emerging from the ring.
Was it coming?
The Eternal God?!
Thud!
What appeared before everyone's eyes was an unremarkable tree. Its branches split into two at the top, forming an "X" shape with its roots below.
The scene fell into silence.
Will pointed at the giant tree with a dramatic kung-fu pose and asked, "Stephen, is this... the Eternal God?"
Recovering quickly, Stephen explained:
"According to legend, after the Destruction Pokémon Yveltal wreaks havoc, the Eternal Pokémon Xerneas cleans up the aftermath. Xerneas shares its eternal life force with humans, Pokémon, and nature affected by Yveltal's destruction. After expending too much of its eternal energy, Xerneas transforms into a tree and falls into a deep slumber, waiting to recover its strength before awakening again..."
It must be said, that Xerneas has an incredibly good temperament.
For 3,000 years, it has been cleaning up Yveltal's mess. If it were someone with a shorter temper—or just a normal one—it would've figured out a way to eliminate Yveltal permanently by now.
Seriously, every time it wakes up, Yveltal causes more chaos. How annoying is that?!
"So, when will it wake up?" Karen asked, her eyes wide. "We only have three days before..."
Realizing there were outsiders present, she swallowed her words.
We only have three days before the Alola Friendship Tournament ends, and we have to face Pryce in a decisive battle. There's no time to wait for Xerneas to wake up!
"It's hard to say. It might wake up tomorrow, or it might stay asleep for three to five years," Stephen said as he pinched the bridge of his nose and dialed a number.
"Hello? Lusamine? Could you arrange for a large transport aircraft...?"
Hearing this, Lysandre was taken aback.
"Dr. Stephen, you're...?"
"Sorry, Mr. Lysandre, but my research requires Xerneas' assistance," Stephen explained after hanging up. "Could I temporarily take it back to Alola? Of course, once it wakes up and helps me with a small task, I'll send it back to Kalos immediately. Honestly, I can't keep Xerneas anyway—it's the guardian deity of Kalos."
Stephen was planning to have Xerneas help Karen and the others obtain some Mega Evolution Stones once it woke up. However, he felt that the odds of it waking up before the Alola Friendship Tournament ended were slim.
This isn't some drama—things don't just happen at the perfect moment.
But what if they did?
"In that case, there's no need to trouble President Lusamine. My company, Lysandre Labs, can provide a large transport aircraft to assist you," Lysandre said enthusiastically.
Stephen was a bit surprised.
Lysandre's goal was to use Xerneas and Yveltal as keys to activate the ultimate weapon, destroy excess humans and Pokémon, and create what he believed to be a perfect, eternal world.
He's okay with me taking Xerneas?
Stephen figured there were two possibilities.
One, Lysandre hadn't found the location of the ultimate weapon yet.
Two, Lysandre knew that once Xerneas woke up, it would inevitably return to Kalos. Like Zamazenta, as a regional guardian deity, Xerneas couldn't stay away from its territory for long.
So Lysandre probably wasn't worried about Stephen keeping Xerneas permanently.
"Then I'll trouble you, Mr. Lysandre," Stephen said without refusing or overthinking it.
"Please, just call me Lysandre. I'm not the chairman yet," Lysandre replied with a smile.
Before long, Lysandre arranged for a large transport aircraft capable of accommodating the giant tree.
As Stephen was preparing to leave, Meray summoned her courage, stepped forward, and bowed apologetically.
"Dr. Stephen, I'm sorry about my brother's rudeness earlier!"
"It's nothing. Honestly, if I were in your shoes, I'd probably think the same way."
Stephen waved his hand lightly, signaling Meray not to dwell on it.
As he passed by her shoulder, Stephen leaned close to the girl's ear and whispered, "Still, try to keep your distance from both Lysandre and Malva."
After speaking, Stephen boarded the plane with Karen and Will.
Meray, holding the small Hoopa in her arms, watched the plane ascend into the distant night sky. She softly repeated Stephen's words, "Keep my distance from them..."
Turning her gaze toward the two in question, she saw Malva chatting with her brother. Baraz's face was flushed as he enthusiastically recounted how their great-grandfather had sealed Hoopa a century ago, practically spilling every family secret to Malva.
Meray rolled her eyes dramatically.
I can keep my distance from Lysandre and Malva, but I don't think my brother can!
...
Day Three of the Alola Friendship Tournament.
By this stage, only the elite of the elite remained in the competition—a group of absolute champion-level trainers.
Lance, Cynthia, Wallace…
These emerging leaders of the Pokémon League's next generation were all among them.
In yesterday's match, Wallace narrowly defeated the reigning champion of the Hoenn League, Drake, a Dragon-type specialist.
It goes without saying that when Wallace returns to Hoenn in a few days, he'll leap from Gym Leader to Champion almost immediately.
Lance, too, achieved a narrow victory yesterday by defeating Agatha, the current champion of the Indigo League.
This was his way of proving to the world that, even after losing his ace Pokémon, he still had the strength to become the Indigo League's champion.
Oh, and there's also Diantha.
Although many people online doubted Diantha's qualifications as the next champion of the Kalos League—acknowledging that she hadn't quite reached the level of a true champion yet—it wasn't unprecedented. After all, the previous Kalos champion, Drasna, wasn't truly champion-level either, yet she held the position for years. So, people just turned a blind eye to it.
With the number of participants reduced to a very small pool, today was bound to feature battles between champion-level contenders.
In the morning, when today's matchups were announced, the cheers in the Manalo Stadium abruptly died down.
Leon vs. Diantha!
Lance vs. Cynthia!
Meanwhile, Alder and Wallace lucked out with favorable draws.
They were matched against trainers who had barely made it to this stage: Lucian of the Sinnoh Elite Four and Larry of the Paldea Elite Four.
The day's first match was Larry vs. Wallace.
It was said that Larry hadn't even wanted to attend the tournament but had been dragged here by Geeta.
"Let's just get this over with so I can go back to Paldea," Larry sighed deeply, adjusting the tie under his suit as he muttered to himself.
Originally, he thought he'd be eliminated in the first round, given the sheer number of strong opponents.
Surprisingly, he drew favorable matchups in the first two rounds and made it this far.
"Did you not get enough rest, Mr. Larry?" Wallace asked, concerned.
"You'll understand when you're my age," Aoki replied weakly before turning and walking to his side of the battle platform.
"Hey! Larry! Get serious!"
"You're Paldea's last hope! Show the world what Paldea's trainers are made of!"
"Wallace, don't hold back!"
The Paldean audience cheered enthusiastically for both competitors.
To be honest, Paldea's audience hadn't expected this.
Their delegation sent three representatives: Champion Geeta, the Elite Four's leader Hassel, and Larry.
No one anticipated that the weakest of the three, Larry, would be the last one standing.
The match ended with Wallace defeating Larry.
Before leaving, Larry remarked:
"Well, overtime's done, so I'll excuse myself first… However, since the tournament champion will challenge Dr. Stephen next, I've decided to stay and watch. After all, some sights are best appreciated by looking up at the soaring heights of true strength."
With that, Larry returned to the players' lounge to spectate.
...
"That guy's pretty interesting, isn't he, Stephen?"
In a corner of the VIP viewing box on the second floor, Nessa asked Stephen with a smile.
At that moment, Nessa was holding a Squirtle in her arms.
Stephen had specially asked Professor Oak to acquire it for her.
After all, Nessa planned to focus on Water-type Pokémon and practice aquatic martial arts in the future. A Blastoise seemed like a perfect fit.
"He seems like the exact opposite of Kabu," Bea commented.
Larry's lethargic demeanor reminded Bea of Kabu, the Galar League's Motostoke Gym Leader.
Unlike the perpetually lazy Larry, Kabu always seemed to be training diligently.
However, their strengths were worlds apart.
Larry was a strong Elite Four trainer, while Kabu barely qualified as a mid-tier Gym Leader.
"Life just isn't fair," Stephen shrugged.
It was like those top students in his past life who played all day yet still aced their exams, while others studied tirelessly just to keep up.
Reality could be brutally unfair.
Back on the stage, Larry and Wallace exited the stage.
"Lance!"
"Lance!"
"Cynthia!"
"Cynthia!"
The Manalo Stadium erupted with cheers for two of the most popular competitors in the tournament.
Elesa: "What incredible popularity… They haven't even entered the arena yet, and the crowd is already so fired up."
Shauntal: "Champion Leon, Lance, and Cynthia are probably the three most popular competitors in this tournament—of course, that's assuming we don't include Dr. Stephen in the rankings."
In front of the television, Brock's younger brother Forrest asked, "Big brother, who do you think will win?"
Although Forrest hadn't yet taken over Pewter City's Gym, he already had the keen eye of a top-tier Pokémon breeder.
Brock stroked his chin and replied, "If you had asked me this a month ago, I would've said Lance had the edge. But now… it's hard to say."
Losing his ace Pokémon had dealt a massive blow to Lance's strength.
"But speaking of which, Cynthia is beautiful!"
After his analysis, Brock's eyes turned into hearts, and his father, Flint, joined in.
This earned them both an earful from Brock's mother, Lola, who grabbed them by the ears, making them yelp in pain.
Brock's siblings sighed deeply, clearly accustomed to this sort of scene.
...
"The second match of the day is about to begin—Lance and Cynthia are entering the arena!"
In the commentary booth, Mary spoke into the microphone:
"Based on their performances in the first two rounds, Lance and Cynthia have already defeated the Indigo League's reigning champion, Agatha, and Sinnoh's Elite Four leader, Lucian. Once this tournament concludes, we can officially call them champions."
"According to an Alola official popularity poll, Cynthia and Lance rank just behind Champion Leon, in second and third place. By the way, Dr.—no, Champion Stephen wasn't included in the rankings."
"Both sides are now in position."
On the battlefield, Lance and Cynthia stood facing each other. However, Cynthia barely glanced at Lance, who was less than two meters away. Instead, she kept glancing repeatedly toward the second-floor stands.
After all, today Stephen had come to watch the match.
"What do you mean by this? Are you implying that fighting me doesn't require your full attention?"
Noticing Cynthia's distracted demeanor, Lance's expression darkened. He had already regained some honor by defeating champions like Geeta and Agatha in a row. But Cynthia's current attitude was rubbing him the wrong way.
Even if this was just a friendly match, how could she zone out during a battle with him, Lance? That was downright disrespectful!
"Huh?"
Cynthia snapped out of her trance as if a student caught dozing off in class when the teacher called on her. Jolting awake, she hurried to explain:
"Oh no, it's not like that, I… I was just…"
But halfway through her explanation, Cynthia's words got stuck in her throat.
She suddenly realized she couldn't explain it. After all, she couldn't exactly say, "I feel like something's off with Dr. Stephen." Could she?
The man had just saved the Pokémon League barely over a month ago, and now she was doubting him? That would be utterly ungrateful.
"Hmph!"
Seeing Cynthia unable to give a coherent response, Lance became even more convinced that she wasn't taking this battle seriously. With a cold snort, he flipped his cape dramatically and turned toward the command platform.
Cynthia rubbed her temples in frustration, hoping Lance wouldn't take this matter too much to heart.
Slap! Slap!
She lightly patted her cheeks with her hands and encouraged herself: "Stop overthinking! Focus! I need to take this match seriously and give it my all!"
After all, the entire world was watching. She couldn't afford to embarrass the Sinnoh region.
Returning to her command platform, Cynthia took a deep breath. Her uncovered right eye sharpened instantly, transforming her back into the fierce and commanding Valkyrie of Sinnoh everyone knew.
"Soar through the skies, Garchomp!"
To anyone unfamiliar with Pokémon, hearing Cynthia's impassioned shout might have made them think she was unleashing a Bankai from Bleach.
Whoosh—!
The Sinnoh fans in the audience leaped to their feet in excitement. Even spectators from other regions were in awe.
She was leading with her ace right off the bat.
But, it made sense. Compared to the more strategic 6v6 battles, 3v3 matches often benefited from overwhelming the opponent quickly. Not to mention, in friendly matches like this, the goal was to entertain the audience.
Seeing Cynthia start with her ace, Lance narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he tossed out a Poké Ball.
Emerging from the ball was a blue Gyarados, one that had been with him since it evolved from a Magikarp around the same time as his Dragonite joined his team.
Now that Dragonite had become... well, what it had become, this blue Gyarados had taken over as the ace of Lance's team.
Sigh, guess I've truly become the Flying-type master now. Even my aces aren't real dragons anymore.
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