'What the hell?'
Hearing Jupiter's last words, Cyrus was completely dumbfounded.
He had originally thought the Masked Man was just being unreasonable. But now it seemed they weren't just unreasonable, this was outright a declaration of war.
Even though these underground organizations had long been aware of each other's existence, they had always maintained a tacit "well water doesn't mix with river water" attitude.
Each worked toward their own "dreams and ideals."
But what Cyrus hadn't expected was that the Masked Man from Johto, in order to travel through time, had actually set his sights on him.
How was that reasonable?
This was simply intolerable.
'If your own region doesn't have a time-traveling Legendary, that's one thing.'
'But the problem is, you do have one, and you're still here trying to steal mine?'
'And while stealing, you even beat up my subordinates?'
Cyrus took a deep breath, temporarily suppressing his fury, and said in a deep voice, "Are you sure that was the Masked Man's people? Could it have been the League's International Police faking an identity to make us fight among ourselves?"
["Impossible!"], Jupiter swore, ["I personally saw them kidnap the Berlitz heiress, and they were extremely skilled with Ice-type moves."]
["More importantly, I secretly saw the Masked Man's contact information flashing on their communicator..."]
"Stop!", Cyrus opened his speakerphone, pulled up the Masked Man's contact number from the underground forum, "Did you remember what his profile picture was?"
Jupiter said, ["It was a Lapras."]
"Damn!"
When he saw the profile match, Cyrus instantly slammed his fist on the table.
"Jupiter!"
["Here!"]
"Immediately contact Saturn and Charon. Stop everything we're doing now. Take your men and come with me to Johto. Since the Masked Man's faction doesn't play fair, then neither will we."
"We'll go straight to their home turf and take back everything we lost!"
Jupiter: "???"
'Wait, boss, you've lost it?'
'Going to Johto to fight the Masked Man?'
'That's suicide!'
Hearing Jupiter stay silent, Cyrus frowned, "What, you object to my orders?"
Jupiter blinked, and weakly said, ["Not an objection, just... a small suggestion..."]
["When I got beaten just now, the opponent had a Glastrier, and also two Pokémon that could Dynamax here in Sinnoh."]
["And that was just the Masked Man's number one subordinate, we don't even know how terrifying Pryce himself might be."]
["If it's not too urgent, I think maybe we could cooperate with them a bit."]
Cyrus: "???"
Completely stunned.
He knew the Masked Man's faction was outrageous, even able to face Legendaries head-on.
'But, since when did they really have Legendaries?'
'And Dynamax? You're seriously Dynamaxing in Sinnoh, brother, does that even make sense?'
'If you're gonna mess around, don't bring that crap to my house!'
Cyrus sat dumbfounded for a long while before sighing helplessly.
From Jupiter's description, fighting was clearly not an option. They could only think of another way.
"Since they're willing to talk to you, then talk. The controller and funds are already in their hands, we don't have much choice."
"But..."
At this, Cyrus's eyes suddenly lit up with a cold gleam.
"The Masked Man's people were too dishonorable. I want you to take revenge on them!"
["How?"], Jupiter's eyes brightened.
Cyrus sneered, "Very simple!"
"When capturing the Lake Trio, you have to show wisdom, emotion, and will. In short, you have to act like good people, like good people striving for their ideals."
"The Masked Man's faction wants to use the Galactic Bomb, right? We'll do the opposite."
"Pretend to cooperate with them, but secretly snatch Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf away."
"That way, it actually saves us a lot of trouble. With ease we'll control Dialga and Palkia."
"By then... with the power of five Legendaries, the Masked Man will learn the true meaning of cruelty."
Jupiter's eyes lit up, ["Brilliant, boss!"]
Hearing this plan, Jupiter was simply in awe.
'Aren't we villains?'
'So let's go move the Lake Trio with our sincerity!'
Everyone knows Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf represent wisdom, emotion, and will.
'Compared to the Masked Man's faction, who only know how to kill and capture, we'll definitely win them over easily, right?'
'And then... won't we be soaring?'
"Boss, I understand. I'll contact them right now, offer to help capture the Lake Trio, and when the key moment comes, we'll snatch them ourselves!"
Cyrus nodded, equally proud of his "genius" plan.
"Go ahead. I have faith in you."
———
"Rotom~ Rotom~ Rotom~"
The Rotomdex rang. Axel glanced at the name "Jupiter" on the screen and paused slightly.
'No way, brother, you a masochist?'
'I just beat you up, and now you're calling me yourself?'
Axel glanced down at Platinum, didn't bother hiding it, and waved at Rotom, "Rotom, pick it up."
"Rotom!"
Jupiter's image appeared in mid-air, looking at Axel with a slightly fawning expression.
["Sir, our boss Cyrus has already said, we're to fully support your plan."]
["The Galactic Bomb's detonator will remain in your hands. We'll keep making money."]
["Afterwards, we'll use science combined with the Lake Trio's power to create a Red Chain capable of controlling Dialga and Palkia."]
["You take Dialga, and all we ask is that Dialga and Palkia have a full battle against each other. How about it?"]
Axel blinked, quickly sorting out the key points.
1. They'd keep sending him money.
2. They'd help him find the Lake Trio.
3. Team Galactic would forge the Red Chain for him to control Dialga and Palkia.
As for "taking Dialga," Axel just ignored that part.
If he really captured that thing... Arceus would definitely come knocking to have a "serious talk."
After summarizing, Axel was stunned.
'Are these guys even villains anymore?'
'Boss Cyrus isn't some righteous Champion Lance's secret love child, is he?'
Axel felt that, as a Trainer raised under the red flag and thriving in the spring breeze, he had a duty to cooperate with Team Galactic's plan.
He quickly nodded, "Alright. Once you've raised enough money, just transfer it straight to my account. Then we'll go to the lakes together."
Jupiter froze, ["Don't we need to participate in the Galactic Bomb's research?"]
"No need!"
Axel casually crushed the detonator in his hand and tossed it into a trash heap nearby, then made up a story, "I've got the Berlitz family's support. Their detonators work better than yours anyway."
After hanging up, Axel poked the young lady beside him, who was struggling not to laugh.
"If you wanna laugh, just laugh. Don't hold it in so hard..."
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