Steven's expression turned downright creepy. He was absolutely sure now—
The two people in the video really were Team Magma's boss Maxie and Team Aqua's boss Archie. But…
Who the hell was filming this??
Steven checked the poster's ID: cameraman Damian?
That Team Rocket Damian again?
Steven was very familiar with that handle; after all, Wallace's "artistic photos" had been posted by this exact account. He hadn't expected this guy to actually dare upload a video too. Was he really not afraid of Officer Jenny tracing him through the net?
"Wallace, take a look at this."
Steven forwarded the thread to Wallace.
"What is it?" Wallace opened it, confused.
Then—
"I told you Damian was an evil bastard! And now Archie and Maxie have fallen into his clutches too! Maxie's getting wrecked!"
Wallace was righteously indignant on behalf of poor Maxie, who was being beaten senseless by Archie in the video.
Of course, if Wallace could've toned down the delighted smile on his own face, that indignation would've looked a lot more convincing.
People's psychology really was weird. If you were the only one suffering, you'd be miserable.
But if someone else was suffering along with you, it suddenly felt a lot easier to bear.
That was exactly where Wallace was mentally right now. Sure, as Hoenn's Champion he'd been forced into "artistic photos"—
But weren't the bosses of evil Team Aqua and Team Magma even worse off?
Their brawl had been filmed and posted as a fight video!
"…"
Steven stared speechlessly at Wallace's beaming grin.
He actually wanted to say that while Damian definitely wasn't a good person, evil organizations infighting was hardly bad news for the League.
But Wallace didn't notice Steven's expression at all. He immediately scrolled down to the comments section—he couldn't wait to watch the drama.
Eating melon gossip was a basic human instinct that no Pokémon could resist; even their elegant Wallace was no exception.
"Team Magma and Team Aqua? Is that the Team Magma and Team Aqua I think it is?"
"All I can say is—serves them right! There's not a single decent one in those two orgs. They tried to jack a submarine in Slateport City before, remember?"
"This is sick! Peak hype! This is the victory of muscle! Lord Archie's body totally crushes that twig Maxie!"
"Hiss～ the guy in red's getting wrecked."
"Cameraman Damian again? Anybody know who this maniac is? Dude's insane—first he shoots Champion Wallace, now he's filming evil organization leaders?"
Wallace scrolled with great interest, though some comments bringing up his own artistic photos again did put a bit of a damper on his mood.
"Wallace, I didn't send you this video so you could just read the comments." Steven was very done.
"Huh?" Wallace blinked clear, puzzled eyes at him.
"Focus on Archie's clothes." Steven was having a hard time holding it together.
Wallace quickly scrolled back up to the video and watched more carefully this time.
"Black skintight uniform… and—there's an 'R' on the chest!"
Wallace's eyes sharpened instantly.
That was a Team Rocket uniform!!
Which meant Archie had already been absorbed by Team Rocket. And if Archie had been taken in, how could Team Aqua possibly have escaped?
"And it's only been this long. Archie's that useless?"
Wallace couldn't hold it in.
It wasn't that he liked Team Aqua—it was just that they were ridiculously pathetic.
Team Rocket had only just made landfall in Hoenn, and already Team Aqua's boss had been the first to surrender?
And not just surrender—he'd even "betrayed his own side" and helped Team Rocket take down Team Magma. What was that?
Team Rocket was an outside force. Archie and Maxie were both local evil organization leaders. Instead of joining up to push Team Rocket out, Archie had "defected" instead.
"Team Magma and Team Aqua were never going to amount to much. You actually expected them to hold off Team Rocket?"
Steven propped his chin on one hand, falling into thought.
From Hoenn League's perspective, Team Magma and Team Aqua had always been small‑time, but they did have some strength. Steven remembered Sidney had run into Archie before—yet even after a battle, Sidney hadn't been able to bring Archie down.
Which meant Archie had Elite Four–level strength at least.
Now Archie had joined Hoenn's Team Rocket. Judging from the video, Team Magma had probably been taken out by Team Rocket as well.
By "swallowing" Team Aqua and Team Magma, Hoenn's Team Rocket had undeniably grown a lot stronger.
"Wallace, loop in Officer Jenny and Drake and the others. Tell them to ramp up the manhunt—we have to locate Team Rocket's base and track down Damian and the rest of Team Rocket's executives as fast as possible."
Steven spoke to Wallace with grave seriousness.
Hoenn Team Rocket's growth rate was almost terrifying. They had to clamp down on it quickly.
"Got it."
Wallace immediately called the Jenny commander.
Steven couldn't help feeling a bit helpless.
He'd only been retired from the Hoenn Champion seat for a little over a year, and already Team Rocket had invaded the Hoenn Region.
And with Hoenn Team Rocket's current size, there was no way he could just ignore it. Wallace alone wouldn't be enough to hold them off.
But it was what it was.
For now: time to eat.
The next day.
Damian and Caitlin arrived at the Pokémon Contest venue to watch the event.
What Damian hadn't expected was that this Contest had actually invited Wallace and Steven as special guests—the two heavyweights of the Hoenn Region. (In truth, Wallace's craving to sit on a judge's panel had flared up again, and he'd dragged Steven with him.)
You could only call it a surprisingly lucky coincidence.
After just a few days apart, Damian immediately noticed: Wallace's mental state actually seemed surprisingly good.
And after the "artistic photos" incident, Wallace's popularity in Hoenn was now on a level no one else could touch.
Even Steven couldn't compare to Wallace in terms of raw popularity at the moment.
When Wallace and Steven appeared, the crowd's cheers were deafening.
"Champion Wallace! We love youuu!"
"I wanna marry you, Champion Wallace! I'm a guy, but I'd totally accept being your wife! Traps are justice!!"
"Champion Wallace, when are you dropping your second set of artistic photos?"
"Whoa!! I'm seeing Champion Wallace live in person! Aaaahhh! I'm so happy I could die!"
Fans screamed themselves hoarse. Wallace did his best to ignore the truly insane shouts and cling stubbornly to his elegant, noble persona.
The Lilycove Pokémon Contest officially began. A full Contest was split into two stages.
In the first stage, Coordinators brought out their Pokémon and used gorgeous moves to perform; the judges scored them.
Those with the highest scores moved on to the second stage—head‑to‑head battles between contestants, paired at random.
But these "battles" weren't pure battles. They also judged both sides on how gorgeous their performances were. If the two sides' strength was about equal, stylish offense and defense and standout showmanship could whittle down the opponent's "HP bar."
Of course, if there was a big power gap and you just took the opponent down outright, that was a straightforward win.
But when Damian saw one particular contestant, he figured there was really no suspense left in this Lilycove City Pokémon Contest.
Chestnut hair, a pure, sweet face, a pretty pink dress—May.
She was competing with a beautiful Altaria.
"Didn't think that girl would show up for this kind of event."
Caitlin had spotted May as well. Her Altaria had been trained to near perfection.
Honestly, Caitlin felt like May was a bit overqualified for this Contest. As long as May made it into the second stage, with her strength she'd just steamroll.
"Maybe she just felt like it." Damian smiled.
Overall, this Lilycove City Pokémon Contest had a pretty solid lineup of contestants.
From a spectator's perspective, Damian found it decent—there were some standout moments. But unsurprisingly, the ultimate winner was May.
Worth noting: once the Contest hit the second stage, most of May's opponents didn't last more than two or three moves before Altaria knocked them out.
Damian's verdict: a King rank accidentally queued into a Silver/Gold lobby—total stomp.
At the end, Wallace personally stepped up as the award presenter and handed May her prize.
"You and your Altaria performed with real elegance and excellence. I could see the firm bond and deep trust between you."
Wallace's smile was pure nobility. His measured, unhurried tone was elegant and dignified.
"Thank you so much, Champion Wallace. I'm actually a Trainer—I really like you! I'm a huge fan!"
May accepted the Ribbon, excitement and joy all over her face. She'd never imagined she'd get to meet Wallace this time.
"Oh? Is that so? I'm honored. In that case, I'm really looking forward to your performance at the Ever Grande Conference."
Every word and gesture from Wallace was flawless.
"Yes! I'm definitely going to win—and then I'll come challenge you!"
The girl showed a huge smile, her pretty eyes curling into crescents—adorable.
But there was steel in her words, a clear, ringing will and deep‑seated desire that genuinely moved people.
At the very least, Wallace was moved; he found himself briefly dazed by the girl's radiant smile and determined words.
"Hehe～ what a dazzling, brilliant smile. I'll be waiting for you at the Hoenn League."
Wallace chuckled softly. This was exactly the kind of junior he liked—elegant and shining.
Suddenly, he fully understood how it felt to be a Senior.
When you ran into a perfect junior who made you genuinely want to praise them from the bottom of your heart, you couldn't help but look forward to them—
Looking forward to the day they stood before you, challenged you, and even defeated you.
"Hehe～ actually, there's something else I wanted to ask you, Champion Wallace."
May's smile stayed pure as she spoke, then she stuck out her tongue a little, just a touch mischievous, and lowered her voice.
"Go ahead." Wallace smiled.
"About your photos… when are you releasing a second set? When I challenge the Hoenn League, could you put on the look from the first photo of the first set and take a photo with me in that outfit?"
May asked, shy and bashful.
"You were so pretty in that dress!! I really, really admire you!"
Wallace's smile froze on the spot.
"Ah… I'm not planning to do any more for now," Wallace replied stiffly.
"What a shame—"
No, it was not a shame at all!!!
If this hadn't been a livestream, Wallace's face would've gone so dark it'd blot out the sun.
But his professional discipline was top‑tier. He finished presenting May's award, offered a few stock lines as he glanced around the venue, then prepared to leave the stage.
Right then, though, Wallace's eyes suddenly sharpened.
Because he'd seen them.
He'd seen that handsome black‑haired boy sitting in the audience—and the ethereal girl in a white‑and‑pink long dress sitting beside him.
Wallace's expression changed instantly. He clenched his teeth, eyes locking onto that person.
The black‑haired boy noticed Wallace looking too. He smiled, clapped for him, and even moved his lips as if he were saying something.
The crowd was noisy; Wallace, of course, couldn't hear a thing.
But his eyesight was excellent—he could read that mouth shape clearly.
"Wallace‑sensei, we meet again."
Aaaaaaahhhh!!! You're the sensei, your whole family's the sensei, you bastard!!
Wallace's fair face flushed red with anger as he glared hard at the black‑haired boy.
No—don't get mad.
Damn bastard! He'd finally walked right into Wallace's hands.
Just you wait! His bro Steven was here too. Today, Wallace was absolutely going to make him pay for what he'd done that day!!
Wallace's gaze was razor‑sharp. With Steven around, he didn't have to worry about a thing.
He'd deal with that blonde girl himself, and Steven would take Damian. They'd nab them both!
The hunter had awoken.
Time to hunt.
They were going to win.
~~~
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