After a night of thunder, torrential rain, and fierce storms, the next morning dawned bright and clear. The sun hung high in the sky, its warm rays spreading across the land.
Meanwhile, inside the Pokémon Center...
"Wow!! That's wonderful! Purrloin! You're all better already?"
"Meow~"
"Haha! That's fantastic!"
Little N's cheerful voice rang through the room early that morning.
"Hm? Is it morning already? Ahh... I slept really well."
Liam, who had fallen asleep in a chair, was awakened by Little N's excited shouting. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at the warm sunshine streaming through the window and stretched lazily.
"Purrloin~ Your injuries have only just healed, so you need plenty of nutrition. Come on, eat some more~"
At breakfast, Little N pushed a bowl of nutritious Pokémon food toward Purrloin, urging it on with a serious expression.
"Meow~"
Having lived in the wild all its life, Purrloin had rarely, if ever, eaten such carefully prepared Pokémon food. The moment it tasted it, it buried its face in the bowl and began eating enthusiastically.
By then, Liam had already finished his own breakfast. Seeing that Little N was so busy taking care of Purrloin that he had barely touched his own meal, Liam reached over and lightly tapped him on the head.
"You should hurry up and eat too. Kids who don't eat properly won't grow taller. If you keep skipping your meals, you'll end up as a little shrimp forever."
"Hmph! No way! I'm definitely going to grow up big and tall! I won't become a little shrimp!"
Although Little N argued back, he still picked up his spoon and quickly started eating his breakfast.
"Hehe, that's more like it. Alright, Little N, stay here and finish your meal. I'll be back in a little while."
Seeing Little N finally eating properly, Liam smiled, stood up, pointed toward the communication terminal in the corner, and walked over.
Reaching the communicator, Liam skillfully dialed Giovanni's number.
Beep...
"...Liam? How did you end up all the way in the Unova region?"
On the other end, Giovanni looked at the long-distance regional caller ID with obvious surprise.
"It's all because of that guy. I chased it the whole way, and before I knew it, I'd ended up in Unova."
Liam replied helplessly.
"I see. You've worked hard. So, how are things over there? Did you contact me because you've finally captured Mewtwo?"
Giovanni didn't dwell on Liam's location and instead got straight to the point.
"Uh... haha... I fought Mewtwo last night, but it still managed to escape in the end."
Thinking back to the previous night's battle, Liam could only smile bitterly.
"It escaped? Mewtwo actually managed to get away from you? Is it really that strong?"
Giovanni couldn't hide his surprise. He knew Liam's strength well (though he knew nothing about Deoxys or Rayquaza). If Mewtwo had escaped from Liam's hands, then it was even stronger than he'd imagined.
"It's ridiculously strong. The biggest problem is its speed—even Garchomp couldn't quite keep up with it. Oh, Giovanni, is Weavile with you now? Do you still need its help? If not, I'd like to have it come over and assist me."
Mentioning speed reminded Liam of Weavile. While Weavile wasn't quite as fast as Mewtwo, after boosting its Speed with moves, the gap shouldn't be too large. More importantly, as a Dark-type Pokémon, Weavile had a natural advantage over the Psychic-type Mewtwo.
"Oh, Weavile? As it happens, it's with Takeshi right now." Giovanni smiled. "Weavile's about to become a father. It and Takeshi's Weavile laid an Egg a few days ago. Aside from taking care of the Egg, it doesn't have anything else to do. If you need it, I'll have Takeshi send it over so I can transfer it to you."
On Liam's side...
"Oh! So Weavile really did end up with Empress after all? They've already got an Egg? Hahaha! That's wonderful!"
"Emp... Empress?" Giovanni looked completely puzzled.
"But Pokémon transfer systems haven't been introduced in Unova yet, so I don't think you can send it over for the time being."
Liam glanced around. There was only a communication terminal nearby, forcing him to sigh helplessly.
"Then... what should we do?"
Even Giovanni found himself at a loss.
"Uh, Giovanni, let's put that aside for now. There's actually another reason I contacted you today."
As he spoke, Liam reached into his bag and pulled out the shattered pieces of the tracker.
"Hm? Something else? ...Wait a second. Liam... what's that in your hand? Why does it look strangely familiar?"
Seeing the fragments through the screen, a bead of sweat appeared on Giovanni's forehead.
"Haha... Yeah, it does look familiar. It's the tracker. It got smashed during last night's fight with Mewtwo. If I hadn't dodged in time, it probably wouldn't have been just the tracker that broke. My whole body's still aching."
Liam shook his arm with a pained expression.
"...I see."
Giovanni lowered his head to think for a moment before speaking again.
"In that case, Liam, I'll send someone to Unova. They'll bring both Weavile and a replacement tracker to you."
"Uh... this time, tell me who you're sending first! I really don't want any more surprises."
Just thinking about Giovanni's previous "reinforcements" made Liam break out in a cold sweat.
"Hahaha! Look at you! If a girl as outstanding as Lorelei liked me, I'd be thrilled, but you're always trying to avoid her. I really don't understand you."
Giovanni gave Liam a thoroughly disdainful look before continuing.
"But don't worry. Lorelei has gone back to her hometown for training recently, so she doesn't have time to bother you. I'll simply send a trustworthy ordinary executive to deliver everything."
"Oh, right. I just checked the information. Unova has airports—actually, two of them. Where exactly are you now? I'll see which airport is closer, and I'll have my man fly there. You can meet him directly at the airport."
"Ahem... hehe... I'm still in Striaton City..."
Liam answered with an awkward smile after clearing his throat.
"Oh, Striaton City... let's see... Found it. Looks like both airports are about the same distance from you. Then I'll just pick one. Let's use the airport in Nacrene city."
"Liam, you should set out as soon as possible. Between preparing the tracker and the flight, it shouldn't take more than a week. But from where you are now, it's still quite a long journey to Nacrene city, so don't waste any time."
"Alright, understood. I'll leave shortly and try to get there as soon as possible."
"Good. Anything else?"
"No, that's everything."
"Very well. Contact me again if anything comes up."
Beep... Beep... Beep...