After capturing Carbink, Terrance returned to Geosenge Town.
However, at this moment, the atmosphere of Geosenge Town felt somewhat different from two days ago.
Just the day before yesterday Terrance had only just come to Geosenge Town to resupply. At that time, Geosenge Town was far from as bustling as it is now.
It was as if, within a single day, the population of Geosenge Town had doubled.
"Mr. Terrance?" A familiar voice called. Terrance looked over and it turned out to be Jessica, who seemed to carry an aura of bad luck with her.
"So you're still in Geosenge Town? I thought you'd already left… wait…. are you here for the Mega Stone too?" She spoke quickly, but Terrance still caught the key information.
"Mega Stone?" Terrance asked, puzzled.
"It's said that someone discovered traces of Key Stone and Mega Stone near Geosenge Town," Jessica quickly explained when she realized Terrance didn't know about it.
"Why would such news get out?" Terrance didn't understand. Even if someone had found Mega Stone, such a top-tier strategic resource would be something they'd be likely to keep to themselves; what benefit is there in letting the news leak and attract so many Trainers?
"I don't know. Most people have the same question, but everyone came here holding onto the slim hope that they might obtain a Mega Stone," Jessica said.
"I see. Even if the news is hard to verify, Mega Stones are too tempting, you can't miss even the slightest chance," Terrance thought to himself. Mega Stones were something he desired too; only a nouveau riche like Steven, who could casually hand out Mega Evolution items, wouldn't care.
"Thanks, see you later." After chatting a little longer, Terrance said his goodbyes, not intending to learn more from Jessica.
The appearance of the Mega Stone lingered in Terrance's mind; his intuition told him this wasn't simple, but he couldn't tell exactly what was wrong.
The Trainers who came because of the news probably shared the same doubt, but they couldn't resist the lure of the Mega Stone. After arriving at the Pokemon Center, Terrance handed Carbink's Poké Ball to Nurse Joy and asked her to help Carbink recover its strength.
"Mr. Terrance… you're Mr. Terrance, right?"
Some time after he sat down on the sofa to rest, Nurse Joy came over, returned his Carbink's Poké Ball to him, and asked.
Terrance, with a puzzled look, said, "I am."
"Someone inside wants to see you," Nurse Joy said.
Terrance nodded and stood up, following Nurse Joy into a special room. The layout of this room was different from the other accommodations for Trainers at the Pokémon Center. It looked unusual, more like a strategic command center than a living space.
Inside the room, Terrance saw two people; one was an acquaintance, but this acquaintance was dressed very differently from how Terrance remembered, and if he hadn't looked closely he might not have recognized him.
"Master Wikstrom," Terrance said.
The man before him was none other than Wikstrom, one of Kalos' Elite Four and a Steel-type master. Terrance had battled him at the Battle Chateau before, and using his Mega Gallade he had gained the upper hand and defeated Wikstrom's Aegislash.
"Haha, it really is you." Wikstrom laughed. "I didn't expect the Gym Leader from the Hoenn region to come to Kalos again. Aren't you afraid the Hoenn League will send Inspectors to evaluate your Gym's performance?"
"I've already made arrangements for that, of course." Terrance also laughed.
Beside Wikstrom sat a young man dressed in a white ceremonial robe. When he saw Terrance, he gave a slight smile as a greeting.
"Master Wikstrom, why are you here?" Terrance was already puzzled when Nurse Joy brought him, and seeing the Elite Four Wikstrom made him even more confused.
"More importantly, Terrance, were you also drawn here by the news of the Mega Stone?" Wikstrom asked.
Terrance shook his head and said, "Does this have something to do with that news?"
Wikstrom and the robed youth exchanged glances, then nodded. Wikstrom said to Terrance, "This news is most likely bait. The ones who spread it were probably the international poaching organization, Spade A."
"Spade A?" Terrance asked. "Are they international wanted criminals?"
"'Spade A' is a codename, referring to this poacher gang. They are ruthless criminals, whose main goal is stealing Pokémon from Trainers. This time, based on their previous crime patterns in other regions and intelligence from secret departments, the Kalos League received information in advance. With so many Trainers suddenly gathering in Geosenge Town because of the Mega Stone rumor, we can almost be certain it was released by them."
Elite Four Wikstrom said solemnly, "I am the leader of the Kalos League's special task force assigned to this mission."
Terrance understood and asked, "So the goal is to arrest the Spade A gang?"
"Although that is one of the objectives, the primary mission is to recover an airship. Spade A possesses an independent airship, which is an extremely dangerous threat and has long been a headache for the Pokémon League across different regions. Even though Spade A hasn't used the airship to do anything excessive so far, no one wants to leave such a dangerous weapon unchecked."
Terrance was stunned. "Why would a poacher gang have something like that?"
Wikstrom explained: "Of course, they didn't build it themselves. The Spade A gang originated from the largest underground organization in the Kanto Region, Team Rocket. They are all defectors from Team Rocket. The airship was stolen from one of Team Rocket's research facilities. That's why they are wanted not only by the law, but also hunted by Team Rocket itself."
After hearing this, Terrance nodded and said, "So you had Nurse Joy call me here because you want me to assist in this recovery operation?"
Wikstrom smiled. "This mission is being handled by me and the Elite Four candidate Blue. Blue is the most outstanding new-generation Trainer in Kalos. Along with us, the task force is composed of twenty-four highly experienced special Trainers. If Spade A dares to show themselves, there will be no escape for them."
"Nurse Joy used the Pokémon Center's backend system to pull up the Trainers registered in Geosenge Town, mainly to help us gather intelligence. But your presence here was quite unexpected. While we don't need you to carry out the mission with us, having a Top Trainer like you keeping watch in Geosenge Town will give us much greater peace of mind while we execute the operation."
"Of course, local security in Geosenge Town will be handled by Officer Jenny and the police force. The actual fighting should be concentrated in the mountains. All you need to do is remain here to prevent any unexpected disasters." After finishing his words, Wikstrom added, "If you stay in Geosenge Town, you may very well run into unforeseen incidents. Considering your strength, I'm notifying you in advance so you'll be ready. Don't hold back."
As his words fell, Terrance's Poké Ball shook. It was Carbink.
"Master Wikstrom, are you saying that a large-scale battle might break out in the mountains?"
"We can't rule out the possibility. But according to the original plan, Spade A shouldn't be able to stir up much trouble. The chances of a full-scale battle breaking out are less than five percent."
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