A slightly older man was pacing back and forth inside the room. The man had both of his hands behind his back and a nervous expression. The man was waiting for the phone call, and his entire focus was on the phone that was on the table.
Tring.. Tring.. Tring…
Katchak.
"Hello, what did the new lord say?"
"Dude, you are so mean. Can't you even ask how I'm doing right now?", asked another man on the phone.
"Ok, Greed. How are you this evening?"
"I am fine, thanks for asking."
"Now, please tell me what the young lord said?"
"I have some bad news for you. The young lord is very unhappy with your performance and is cancelling your request. You can never join our organization. So, sorry about that."
"Greed, my life is on the line here, and it is all because of the request of your organization, and now you don't want me? This is ridiculous. Axel will burn me alive."
"That is your problem, not mine. I have already told you about the decision of the young lord. Now, if you will excuse me.."
"Don't you fucking hang up the phone, GREED!!! You guys don't even care about my life? What the fuck is going on…. Greed? Greed? GREED!!!!"
The man looked as if he had aged 10 years in an instant.
"What the hell did I get myself into?", said the man to himself.
If Axel were to find out what he had done, he would not only die, but he would die the most gruesome death.
"No, I cannot stay here now. I will have to run away. That is the only thing that can save my life.", said the man to himself.
He immediately called someone to book a flight to an unknown destination.
"Father, where are you going?"
The man looked around and saw his young son coming towards him. His son must have heard all the things right now.
"I am going somewhere on a business trip. Tell your mother that I will be back in a couple of months.", said the man.
'I really must run. I don't want Oak coming to my home to kill me, thought the man.
###
Somewhere in the Hoenn region,
"We did tell Oak and Romeo that we will be actively handling the tide battle, but till now we have accomplished nothing. So, what is going on?", asked one of the older gentlemen to the rest of the people.
The place was darker with minimal lighting. There was a huge rectangular table in the center, and everyone was seated in some fancy chairs. All of these people looked very important as they were dressed lavishly.
"Your majesty, the announcement was made a couple of months ago, so the people would not be expecting anything from us right now. We are on the verge of planning, but our military strength is not so strong.
We must actively recruit ordinary people and give them a lot of benefits.", said one of the men.
"Is that the only thing that we can do? Unlike the Kanto region, we lack many resources to sponsor such a huge event. For decades, we have maintained a strong relationship with the league, and they have reciprocated in kind. So, our military strength is lacking a lot.", said another man.
The men began discussing and sharing their points. Finally, the leader of the meeting, the king of the Hoenn region, spoke.
"I know that our military strength is not so good. But we have money and resources. We have Devon Corporation backing us. What do you say, Joseph? Do you want to invest in the royal family?", asked the king.
At that time, the prime minister stood up and immediately said, "Your majesty, such a proposal must be discussed properly in detail before offering."
At that time, the king turned and gave the prime minister an icy look, saying, "Don't tell me how to run my own region and don't oppose me again."
The prime minister looked guilty. He knew that he had stepped out of bounds. It was a grave mistake to oppose the king in front of such a distinguished audience. But he had to say something. If Jospeh stone agreed to the deal, then Joseph would ask for something in return. He knew how crafty this man was. The man already had some sort of control in the Hoenn region, and he didn't want to give Joseph even more influence and power.
But the king also knew what he was doing. Unlike the house Bardin of the Kanto region, the house Blaze of the Hoenn region had an excellent relationship with the league. This was mainly due to Joseph Stone, as most of the transactions done by the league with Devon Corporation were at a good discount. So, the league also supported them.
This meant that the royal family didn't need to have strong military power to defend themselves, and that was what they did. They invested in business, infrastructure, technology, and many other things, but not in the military.
So, when the meeting between the kings of all the significant regions, Pokemon master and the leader of the league was completed, there were some changes that didn't work in the favor of house Blaze.
One of them was that the royal family would actively participate in the tide battle from now on. The league would also support them, but the royal family must handle the majority of the tide battle in the coming three years.
Unlike other powers, military powers take time. It might take more than a few decades to have a satisfactory military power for the house blaze to deal with the future tide battles. The kind didn't have that much time. He also knew that since the frequency of the tide battle was increasing day by day, the league would no longer be able to support them as it had before.
So, if he didn't get serious right now, he only had two options. One way to sell his position to house Bardin, the strongest royal family right now, or fight till death and see his region eaten alive by wild Pokemon.
So, if he had to share the profits or anything with Joseph Stone to keep his position and secure the safety of his region, he would do it.
"So, what do you say, Joseph?"
"Your majesty, what sort of contribution are you asking from me?", asked Joseph.
Each of his words was carefully trained, practiced, and crafted. He knew why the king had called this meeting. This was going to be the deal of his lifetime. He had already discussed this meeting with his juniors and advisors.
"You have the resources, from Poke balls to evolution stones, and type-enhancing items. You also have very well-trained soldiers. I want it all. I would like you to sponsor the resources, train my new soldiers, and also participate in the tide battles. I want you to be the shield of the Hoenn region.
Can you do it?"
"That is a big ask, Your Majesty. You are asking me to invest everything that my forefathers have built in saving the region. What do you want to give me in return?"
"What do you want?"
"Half of what you have. I want to be your partner. I have 50% of the taxes from the whole region. I would also like to receive a 20% discount on all the raw materials that my company purchases from you. Additionally, Devon Corporation will no longer pay any taxes. We will also make contributions to the region in other ways.
I also want to have a voice in the region's development. My voice will only be second to yours, and finally, I like the secret training technique of Blaziken."
The ask was quite big. All of the critical people in the meeting had their eyes raised. It took guts to ask those things of the king.
The prime minister's voice echoed in the meeting hall, "IMPOSSIBLE!! You are asking the next king of the region. Ask something else!!!"
But Joseph's eyes were not on the prime minister. His eyes were glued to the king's face. He wanted to know how the king would respond.
"Joseph, you are taking advantage of my situation. Everyone can tell this. Why don't you lower your requirement a bit? You are asking half of everything that I have and more.", said the king.
"I can lower the tax to 40% and the discount to 10%, but that is the best I can do. Your majesty, you must realize that you are asking me. You want me to fight the battle of the tides, prepare your soldiers, and take all the burn on your behalf. This tide battle will go on for quite some time, maybe even decades.
I cannot lower it more than that."
"The secret technique of Blaziken is the secret of my family. It had been with my family for many generations. I cannot give you that. Ask anything you want, but not that.", said the king.
"Your majesty, I respect you, so I will not waste your time negotiating for hours. I will get to the point. The only reason I am ready to take this deal is because of that secret technique. Money and resources are something that I have in abundance. I don't need to worry about that.
If you don't agree to my requirements, then I must tell you that my son is a good friend of Axel. Devon corporation can transfer its operations to the Kanto region!!!"
This was the nail in the coffin. While the king hated Joseph in many things, he knew that Joseph would not hesitate to make this decision if the situation in the Hoenn region didn't stabilize.
The king knew that he could not possibly win against those wild Pokemon without Joseph and Devon Corporation behind his back.
"Ok, I agree to all of your conditions."
"YOUR MAJESTY!!!", shouted the prime minister, but the king didn't even glance at him.
"I will agree to all of your conditions, but I have a condition of my own.", said the king.
"Please say, your majesty. Devon corporation and I will do anything to fulfill your request.", said Joseph.
"I want your son, Steven Stone, to participate in the tide battle actively. He cannot remain idle."
The king had played a dirty game on Joseph. Even though Joseph didn't show any affection to Steven in public, he loved his son. This was my son!!! The heir of Devon corporation!!!
If Steven were to participate in the tide battle actively, there was a big chance that he might die. This meant that Joseph had to take the job seriously and ensure that such a thing didn't happen.
This was what the king wanted, too. But putting his son on the line, if the man sitting next to him were not the king of the Hoenn region, that man would have already been killed countless times.
Joseph took a deep breath and said in a calm voice, "Your majesty, why are you bringing kids to the adult table. I don't want to put my son in danger. I promise that I will take this job seriously."
But the king didn't agree to it. Finally, Joseph said,
"Okay, I will agree to your conditions."
Steven didn't know that his fate had already been decided in a dark room filled with old men.
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A/N: There are more than 60+ advanced chapters in pa-treon along with two new side stories of the novel. If you are interested in reading more and getting ahead in the story, subscribe to my pa-treon channel.
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