"Getting bolder by the day,"
Lorelei said, the words slipping out from her fiery red lips.
She didn't seem bothered that Shiraki had only managed to gather this little information.
In fact, considering how few people they had, it was already impressive that they could investigate both the Seafoam Islands and the Seven Islands within just two or three days.
Bruno nodded as well. "Team Rocket's been acting up again these past few years. Their operations have gotten a bit too frequent."
From the League's upper management point of view, they didn't really care too much about how well Team Rocket was developing.
On one hand, among all the criminal syndicates, Team Rocket's actions weren't actually the most atrocious—not that they were forgivable, but at least there were worse.
On the other hand, letting Team Rocket unify the other dark organizations, and then wiping them all out in one go, wasn't a bad plan either.
That was how confident the League was in its own strength.
"Forget it. Articuno's situation is more important. Let's head in first."
Lorelei was furious but forced herself to calm down. The good news was that her fellow islanders on the Seven Islands were unharmed.
"We'll raid a few of their bases later," she said coldly, taking the backpack from Shiraki. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
For the Pokémon League, locating a few of Team Rocket's hidden bases wasn't difficult at all.
And as one of the Elite Four, Lorelei occasionally taking action on her own wasn't something the League would object to—in fact, they often encouraged it.
It's an old tradition: follow commands when it suits you, ignore them when it doesn't.
Taking initiative for once actually felt pretty good.
After all, cleaning up criminal organizations made for great public relations.
Bruno shook his head with a small grin. "Team Rocket sure picked the wrong person to mess with."
"Go talk to Lance later," he continued. "He's been tracking a few of their bases himself. Says he wants to follow the trail back to their HQ. Just don't go exposing our intel agents for nothing."
"Do I look that reckless to you? I've got my own sources too."
Lorelei shot back without hesitation.
"I just don't want you to lose your cool," Bruno said, shrugging.
Lorelei often seemed absentminded, slow to respond to things. He genuinely worried about her sometimes.
Having partnered with her in the Elite Four more than anyone else, Bruno knew her well.
"Like flowing water most of the time—but when the battle starts, she turns to solid ice."
That was the description everyone in the League agreed best fit Lorelei.
The two of them expertly strapped on their equipment and backpacks.
Lorelei slipped in several vials and sprays—medicines she'd prepared beforehand.
She'd already requested the finest healing supplies from the Joy family, just in case Articuno's injuries were serious.
"Oh, right," she added before stepping out. "When the other two arrive, stay outside and keep watch. Originally, I wanted to bring you along for some field experience, but that'll have to wait."
Turning to the fourteen young trainers who'd been ignored until now, she said.
"As for temporary team leader… Silas, that's you."
Bruno followed up immediately, handing Silas a responsibility he clearly didn't want.
Lorelei didn't object, which meant it was final.
Silas was dumbfounded.
Wait, what? He didn't want this job! Could he refuse?
Apparently not—the two Elite Four members didn't even give him a chance. The next second, they were gone from the room.
Shiraki also left shortly after; he was still busy with coordination work.
Everyone looked at one another.
Silas wanted to cry.
It wasn't fair—every other person here was a prodigy from a powerful family. None of them would easily take orders from anyone.
And now he was supposed to "lead" them?
"Not bad," said Soshu, clapping him hard on the back. "Never seen my uncle treat anyone this nicely."
Though Soshu was stronger overall, he didn't mind.
Silas's personality fit his own perfectly and frankly, he had no interest in playing team leader himself.
He was, however, very curious about how his uncle acted so differently toward Silas.
When he got lectured, Bruno wasn't half this gentle.
"My little brother's probably causing you trouble," said Seiichiro Sasaki politely, walking up to Silas and extending a hand. "Thanks for looking out for him."
That immediately broke the awkward silence between the guys.
The girls, meanwhile, were already chatting in their own corner.
Silas reflexively shook his hand—
"Ahh~!" Seiichiro yelped, wincing.
"Oh! Sorry, sorry!" Silas stammered, mortified.
He kicked Soshu, who was snickering beside him. "This guy tried to arm-wrestle me when we first met—I just reacted out of habit!"
Rubbing his reddened hand, Seiichiro smiled wryly. "No worries, no worries. You're ridiculously strong though. No wonder little Kojiro started working out a while back. Nearly gave our parents a heart attack."
His warm tone made people feel instantly at ease.
Silas laughed awkwardly. Hopefully, he wasn't the reason James got into trouble at home.
"Yeah, he ran away from home recently," Seiichiro continued calmly. "Honestly, I think it's great. He's chasing his dreams. I even helped cover for him."
That revelation stunned the others.
Hirokuni Silhp and Toshiya Yuto came over too.
As heirs of major League-backed corporations, their families were natural business rivals—but under League regulation, there was no real hostility between them.
Competition, sure. Sabotage, never.
"Wow, you're one heck of a big brother," Hiroki said.
"What can I say?" Seiichiro replied, dropping his polite façade. "If he's gonna be a Pokémon Trainer, he might as well suffer through it like I did!"
The two immediately started bickering, to no one's surprise.
"Don't mind them," Toshiya said to Silas with a smile. "They're always like that. Anyway, nice to finally meet you! Call me Jun. Sundae little devil is always talking about her handsome teacher—you've got quite the fan."
He was polite, friendly, and clearly well-mannered.
Though the nickname little devil made Silas keep his polite smile. Is it really okay for a brother to call his sister that?
Before long, the conversation among the group began to flow smoothly.
After all, they were all prodigies—there was plenty of common ground to talk about.
The earlier awkwardness was mostly because they had all heard of each other by name but had never met in person.
Their current talents had been forged by spending nearly all of their time focused on their Pokémon; outside of their own family circles, they hardly knew anyone else.
"Speaking of which, my grandfather praised you too. The ancient Pokémon fossils from Great Grampa Valley really helped our family out a lot."
Hirokuni leaned closer, lowering his voice in an obviously exaggerated whisper.
"I'll let you in on something—around this time next year, there's going to be some major news."
Everyone gave him an unimpressed look but didn't call him out.
So it's the fossil revival project again, they all thought. Rumors had already been circulating for a while and it wasn't like any of them were out of the loop.
"Oh? Really?" Yezo played along out of courtesy.
Being the least high-ranking one among them, he knew when to play the supportive straight man.
Satisfied, Hirokuni nodded.
"Since we all know each other, I'll tell you anyway—this time our family's technology isn't simple stuff."
"You all know how other people's revival systems work—low success rates, expensive machinery, and they need a full, intact fossil skeleton.
But our new method fixes all of that. With just a small amount of viable genetic material and a portable device small enough to fit in a Poké Ball Case, we can achieve almost a 90 percent success rate in reviving fossil Pokémon!"
He didn't mind revealing this in front of them. They'd be among the first to hear about it officially anyway.
And besides, just boasting about the advantages wouldn't leak any real technical secrets.
"So simple? Wouldn't that mean ancient Pokémon could make a full comeback?" Everyone was genuinely startled—was it really that powerful?
"Ahem—well, not quite," Hirokuni quickly corrected himself. "The gene compatibility checks are still complicated; we have to consider cellular activity and other factors."
"You really can't help showing off, huh? Wonder who you picked that up from," Yezo muttered.
The others gave him a deadpan stare—talk about zero self-awareness.
Meanwhile, Rumi Kaidō and Kimiya Yamashiro were chatting eagerly with Silas about Pokémon-breeding techniques.
Both came from families of scholars—one's grandfather was a Pokémon Breeder Master and the other a Professor, while their fathers had the reverse roles.
Their mothers were all high-ranking officials within the League.
Having grown up under such guidance, they understood exactly how valuable it was that Silas had passed the Level 6 Breeder Exam far ahead of schedule.
Naturally, they wanted to learn everything they could.
"Oh, my grandfather mentioned that too. He said the conical arrangement of the energy flow tends to disrupt part of the combined reaction."
All three took notes eagerly while they discussed.
It's one thing to be talented, but teaching is another matter—not everyone could instruct as effortlessly as Professor Oak.
Still, between the three of them, their knowledge seemed to mesh perfectly, creating a unique kind of synergy.
Sparks of inspiration flew as their ideas clashed and intertwined.
The boys were engrossed in conversation, while the girls on the other side were giggling like silver bells.
"Hey, do you think the rumors about Silas and Gym Leader Sabrina are true?" Ayako's eyes sparkled with gossip.
"I know! Professor Oak even mentioned it when talking to my mom! Apparently, the last time they 'borrowed' something, they both went to the Oak Research Lab!"
Yumeko Murasame looked positively delighted.
Her family's Murasame Botanical Gardens were located right behind Pallet Town, so even though they weren't actual residents, they had a close relationship with Professor Oak's laboratory.
"My distant cousin said something in our group chat too! Apparently even for a tiny mission, Sabrina came all the way just to help him!"
Riko Llame immediately nodded in agreement.
"Exactly! That was my sister Lynn—you know, when she visited our clan last time, she told my mom all about it!"
The only one looking totally lost was Joy Ayaka.
She shook her head. "Wait a sec—our family chat said he was with Lance instead."
The other three girls' eyes lit up even more, brimming with chaotic curiosity.
Meanwhile, deep in his technical discussion, Silas had absolutely no idea that in the opposite corner of the room, the girls were busy spreading the wildest rumors about him.
All he could say was that gossip spread faster than a roaring Incineroar.
At the same time—inside the perpetually bright yet sunless caves of the Seafoam Islands.
Bruno swung his fist, smashing apart a falling crystal of solid ice.
"Looks like it's pretty bad. The ambient temperature isn't even being maintained anymore."
He sighed as he looked around.
Those glowing ice crystals weren't just ordinary chunks of frozen energy—they were condensed Ice-type power.
Their condition reflected the state of the Pokémon that had produced them.
Lorelei frowned but didn't answer.
Before long, the two arrived at an enormous cavern entrance.
"Jynx!"
A voice that sounded almost like a woman's rang out.
A humanoid Pokémon appeared before them—dressed in a long red gown that hid its feet, purple-skinned, pink-lipped, dish-eyed, and crowned with long blonde hair.
It was the Ice- and Psychic-type Pokémon Jynx.
The Jynx looked at the intruders warily.
"Jynx, jynx!" it cried, trying to drive them away.
"It's me," Lorelei called softly. "How's Articuno doing?"
"Jynx jynx-lulu…"
The Jynx shook its head, still refusing to let them pass. Even though it recognized Lorelei, no humans or Pokémon were allowed to enter this area right now.
The fact that it hadn't attacked already was a sign of respect.
"Please, Jynx—let's talk."
After several attempts at persuasion failed, Lorelei sent out her own Jynx.
"Lulujynx!" "Jynx jynx!" "Jynx-lulu!" "Hi-kura!"
The two Jynx communicated in rapid tones, their psychic powers shimmering.
As one of them let out a sharp cry, the wild Jynx fell silent.
Lorelei and Bruno waited patiently. They knew this was how the exchange worked.
Then—a faint, weak bird cry echoed through the chamber.
Lorelei's face lit up.
That was Articuno's voice. It meant the legendary bird hadn't fallen into full cryogenic sleep—the worst-case scenario had been avoided.
The Jynx stepped aside, revealing a passage deeper into the cave.
"You stay here and guard the entrance," Lorelei told Bruno.
He nodded and sat cross-legged, closing his eyes.
The Jynx watched him closely, still wary.
Bruno paid it no mind, silently meditating.
As for Lorelei's safety, he wasn't worried.
If anything, he was more concerned for his friend Lance.
Judging by how trusting Articuno had become—allowing Lorelei to approach in such a state—it looked like the legendary bird had practically accepted her as its Trainer already.
If that continued, Lance's dream of reclaiming the Championship might really be over.
Bruno smirked, thinking, If Lance saw this, he'd be cursing his luck for sure.
....
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