Poplar Town, an unremarkable little town in the Johto Region, even more rundown and impoverished than Shadownight Town used to be.
But early this morning, a deafening explosion startled more than half the townspeople awake.
People talked about it nonstop, yet no one truly went to investigate.
If the sky's falling, isn't that what the tall ones are for?
---◓---
And sure enough, the "tall ones" everyone had in mind -Sato and Lance- were now at the site of the explosion.
It was the northwestern coast of Poplar Town, where the shoreline met a dense forest, without even a stretch of beach in between.
Now, half the coastline had completely collapsed, and seawater had surged inland, forming a massive whirlpool.
Inside the whirlpool, there weren't many uprooted trees or mud. But there was a staggering amount of plastic, metal scraps, and all kinds of human-made debris.
"Bit of an environmental disaster," Lance said solemnly, seated on Dragonite's back.
Sato, riding Hydreigon, couldn't help glancing at him. Was that really the point?
Below them, along the remaining part of the coast, a group of captured Team Rocket members huddled in fear, staring at the enormous whirlpool.
This had been a major base, and it was completely wiped out by just Sato and Lance in a single night, reduced to rubble.
Only those small fry who had been captured early on survived.
As for the heads of the Rocket Hideout -Poison-Star Hunter Kakashi and Professor Sky- they had been swallowed by the sea along with the base.
The ocean, vast and merciless, calmly settled the swirling waters, easily erasing all traces.
Lance glanced back at the local Poplar Town security forces, who had just arrived at the scene, then pointed at the remaining Team Rocket survivors on the ground.
"These people are yours now."
Before they could respond, Sato and Lance were already airborne on Dragonite and Hydreigon. Their part was done. The rest… was up to that person.
Not long after Sato and Lance left, a group of mysterious individuals arrived at the scene.
They clearly had preassigned roles.
Some focused on photographing the collapsed coastline.
Others dived into the forest and water to capture Pokémon that hadn't yet fled the area.
A few remained still, accompanied by Porygon, sketching something on digital tablets.
Ten minutes later, the group had regrouped and silently vanished, leaving no trace behind.
One hour later…
A video showing a supposed private duel between two Elite Four members, which resulted in seawater backflow and severe ecological damage, was pushed through every possible platform to people across Johto who had internet access.
The main figures in this video were none other than Sato and Lance.
The footage was uncannily realistic, even the shaky visuals from the energy shockwaves of the battle were flawless.
In the somewhat unclear footage, the duel between Sato and Lance had reached its climax. Both had sent out one of their most well-known Pokémon, Zoroark and Gyarados.
One darted through the forest, the other surged through the ocean, each movement triggering towering waves.
Finally, the decisive clash occurred!
[Night Daze Sphere] vs. Hyper Beam!
A blinding white flash masked the final outcome, followed immediately by earth-shattering destruction, seawater surging backward, and a scene of utter devastation.
Within the video, countless Pokémon from the sea and forest were shown fleeing in panic, their faces full of terror.
There was even a close-up of a Furret that didn't manage to escape in time and was crushed under a massive tree.
It felt so real… like witnessing it firsthand.
Their reputations ruined, their pedestals shattered…
Yesterday, they were revered as regional guardian deities; today, they were framed as ruthless monsters who trampled the weak for their own desires.
Worse still, when fans tried to defend them, there were always fake supporters stirring the pot, each one worse than ten haters.
[Heh! So what if a few wild Pokémon got hurt? You don't even know how many lives my hubby's saved!]
[With such an epic battle… shouldn't everyone be studying it?]
[Obviously Sato started it. He always acts so arrogant, you can tell he's up to no good!]
[Hah! He totally baited Lance into this. Let's be real, some Elite Four only act this cocky because of their family backing~]
[👆 Exactly what the person above said!]
"..."
Not long after, countless bandwagon netizens -egged on by hidden agendas- flooded the comment sections with their opinions, demanding an explanation from Sato and Lance.
Some did question whether the video had been edited, but even after consulting numerous "top-tier video experts", not one could find any evidence of tampering.
It really seemed like some random passerby had accidentally witnessed a secret duel between two Elite Four, and somehow managed to shakily record the entire thing with a low-quality phone, right up to the final clash.
People wanted to question it…
Wanted to disprove it!
But no one could offer a reasonable explanation.
Any rebuttals came off as weak. And blind fanboy defense only sparked more outrage and doubt from the public.
With a grim expression, Sato rewound the video back to the start, watching it alongside Lance for the eighteenth time.
And yet, even after so many viewings -even as the supposed stars of the video- neither of them could spot a single flaw.
Everything in it… felt like something they had truly lived through.
Back at the Pokémon League Headquarters, President Goodshow was also stumped.
---◓---
"…Still no signs of editing?"
"President, we've found nothing! Could it be the two Elite Four really…"
Before the technician could finish, he was silenced by Goodshow's intense stare.
"…Keep looking."
"Y-YES, SIR!"
The technician staggered away, finally realizing that the old man who usually joked around with them… was in fact the one and only Supreme President of the Pokémon League.
---◓---
Another hour passed. Sato, Lance, and even the League itself had yet to give a clear official response.
Online discussions were snowballing out of control. Rumors that had no basis whatsoever, personal attacks, slander… everything was being hurled at the two of them.
In the past, fake news at least needed a picture. Now? A single sentence would spark countless reposts and debates.
There was so much gossip, people could barely keep up with it all.
---◓---
Both Sato and Lance had red eyes at this point. They'd rewatched the video again and again… and still came up with nothing.
They had assumed President Goodshow would handle it all. But even he had hit a wall.
'Stupid old man… utterly useless!'
Just when they were nearing despair… Sato's phone suddenly vibrated.
He grabbed it on instinct, eyes still locked on the screen. With just a glance out of the corner of his eye, he saw it was a call from Joseph.
For some reason… even before answering, Sato had this strange sense.
That Joseph… would definitely be able to fix this.
"Joseph. Go ahead."
[You still haven't figured it out? It's Illusion.]
Sato froze in place.
He suddenly realized…
The clown… was him all along!