To Grimsley's question, Caleb just smiled faintly and said, "Congratulations, you guessed right. Too bad there's no prize."
Grimsley stood frozen in place, as if he hadn't even heard the reply.
Beside him, Marshal and Shauntal were so shocked, they nearly forgot to breathe.
Even Alder, Champion of the Unova League, now looked at Caleb with completely different eyes.
The already quiet conference room fell into an even deeper silence, the air thick with unspoken tension...
From Caleb's perspective, he could easily hear the heavy, rapid breathing of Grimsley and Marshal.
He raised an eyebrow and asked, "So… can we proceed now?"
Alder finally tore his gaze away. After a moment of deep thought, he asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
He knew Mewtwo was powerful, but could it really take on hundreds of carefully trained, elite-level Pokémon in succession?
As Champion, Alder had his responsibilities. He didn't want to drag this Kanto investigator into Unova's murky waters. The situation here ran too deep for a lone outsider to handle.
After a pause, Alder said gently, "What I mean is you don't have to get involved."
Youthful passion was admirable, but in this situation, no one could guarantee that Caleb's fire wouldn't be drowned by the flood of noble power.
If Mewtwo failed, Caleb would undoubtedly earn the lasting resentment of those clans.
'Honestly, I don't want to get mixed up in this mess either...' Caleb thought silently.
But his main quest was tied to this region, so he couldn't just walk away. In a way, he and the Unova League were already in the same boat.
Still, he had to play the part.
With a hero's resolve, Caleb declared firmly, "I think anyone in this situation would refuse to back down, right?"
Predictably, Alder was moved. He took a deep breath, reached out, and gave Caleb's shoulder a solemn, heavy pat, "Then we're counting on you!"
…
Caleb's plan was approved, and the meeting finally moved forward.
He laid out the general strategy, and Caitlin and Shauntal refined the details.
In the end, the six of them split into two teams: Alder, Shauntal, Grimsley, and Marshal would infiltrate Team Plasma's base.
Caleb and Caitlin would handle Unova's noble houses.
After the meeting, the atmosphere in Unova seemed unchanged, but beneath the surface, currents were already stirring.
No one knew that later that afternoon, in Opelucid Gym, a young man defeated Unova's entire Elite Four members and the Champion in a six-on-one battle, proving his strength.
…
Three days later, a young noble from Sinnoh landed at Castelia City Airport.
At the same time, a rumor began spreading through Unova's upper class:
"The young master of the Kudou family from Sinnoh, Kudou Shinichi, said all the noble families here are trash."
This statement instantly ignited the fury of Unova's young noble trainers. They scrambled to find this 'Shinichi', ready to teach him a lesson.
But before they could track him down, the so-called young master showed up himself. After defeating one opponent, he arrogantly shouted, "Is this it? Is this really the best Unova's got?"
Who could possibly tolerate that?
A wave of young nobles rose up in fury. The commotion grew so large it caught the attention of the clan heads themselves.
After some deliberation, the heads decided to turn this into an opportunity to host a Pokémon tournament to settle things.
…
At Castelia City's police station, Caleb nearly spat out the water he had just sipped when he heard the news.
He turned to Caitlin and asked, "Did I hear that right?"
"You did," Caitlin said, frowning as she studied his expression, "Wait… you look happy about this?"
"Shouldn't I be?" Caleb grinned, "They're gathering everyone in one place. I won't even need to chase them down."
Caitlin blinked, "Wait! You're not planning to make a move at the tournament, are you?"
"What's wrong with that?" Caleb asked, confused.
"Wait, wait!" Caitlin quickly recalled the details, "Seventeen noble houses are participating, that means you'd be facing all of them at once! Mewtwo is strong, sure, but even it can't handle that many enemies!"
Caleb finally understood her concern. He chuckled, saying, "I never said I'd follow the League's battle rules. It's simple, really. What if I just confiscate their Poké Balls and detain them, then, one by one, invite them all in for some 'tea'?"
Caitlin stared dumbfounded, "You mean… no, you can't! There'll be civilian spectators there!"
"That's easy," Caleb said nonchalantly, "Give me a Team Plasma uniform. That way, the League stays clean in the public eye."
Caitlin's mouth fell open. She pictured the scene, then her expression toward Caleb shifted instantly.
Caleb met her gaze innocently.
Caitlin bit her lip, hesitated, then finally asked, "Does Cynthia even know you're this devious?"
"You can't deny that there's no simpler or faster way than this," Caleb said reasonably, "And this avoids pointless battles and mass casualties."
"Is that so?" Caitlin murmured, dazed.
"It is," Caleb said firmly.
...
The Young Trainers' Tournament was officially set to take place in Castelia City.
As soon as the announcement dropped, the Castelia Stadium buzzed with frantic preparations.
As a major event for the younger generation of noble families, all the family heads would attend for appearances.
That was the exact opportunity that Caleb and Caitlin had been waiting for.
Before the tournament began, Caleb used his SL item (Rewind) to save a checkpoint. If something went wrong, he could reload and try again...
Meanwhile, Alder's team kept sending updates. Their undercover agents in Team Plasma had discovered that Plasma's ultimate target was Kyurem.
This Intel didn't surprise Caleb.
In 'Pokémon Black and White', Team Plasma's goal was to separate humans and Pokémon, so they alone could control Pokémon and dominate the powerless masses.
By 'Black 2 and White 2', Ghetsis's aim had shifted to seize control of Kyurem's mind and use it to conquer Unova.
Standing at the edge of the Castelia City stadium and watching staff rush around, Caleb murmured to himself, "Team Plasma, huh? Then… does this world have N?"