Edward stood before the gravestone, placing a bouquet of flowers in front of it.
His father and older brother also laid down flowers. After briefly exchanging a glance with Steven, Edward turned to leave.
It was the same every year.
After offering flowers, their father was always the last to leave. He would sit in front of the grave, drinking and muttering about trivial family matters. Edward and Steven had long since come to an unspoken understanding to leave that space for their father—giving him a quiet moment to speak freely to his loved one.
"Brother, how's the situation with Team Aqua going?" Edward asked as the two of them sat in the car, unable to suppress his curiosity.
Ever since Steven had left with the League to handle Team Aqua, Edward hadn't seen him for quite a while. But there hadn't been any news about Team Aqua being taken down. It was eerily quiet, as if nothing had ever happened.
"We found one of their bases, but the main force of Team Aqua had already disappeared. The League is still tracking them," Steven replied without hesitation. After all, Edward was his younger brother and the one who had discovered Team Aqua's operations in the first place—there was no point in keeping secrets from him.
Even though the League had ordered confidentiality, Steven wasn't going to bother with that when it came to Edward.
"I see..." Edward narrowed his eyes.
So, Team Aqua's main forces had indeed escaped. Although their base in Slateport had been destroyed, as long as their manpower remained intact, they could still stir up trouble.
Still, without a base to serve as logistical support, Edward figured Team Aqua likely no longer had the capacity to seize the Red and Blue Orbs from Mt. Pyre.
All in all, Hoenn had narrowly avoided the water-and-fire crisis that had unfolded in the game's storyline. The only unavoidable threat left on the horizon was the potential meteor strike in the future—the one that could only be stopped with Rayquaza's help.
But that was a problem Edward currently had no leads on. He didn't even know where Rayquaza was. And if he wanted to get Rayquaza to cooperate, he'd need a Mega Stone that allowed it to Mega Evolve.
So far, Edward hadn't found one.
"Oh right, there's one more thing," Steven said, as if something had just occurred to him. He looked at Edward and asked, "You've heard about your childhood friend Shizuka being active in Team Galactic now, right?"
A name was dropped, and a figure flashed through Edward's mind: a little girl with white hair who used to cling to his side like a shadow.
"Yeah." Edward nodded. He had heard about that a while ago. Still, it wasn't something he cared much about.
Although he and Shizuka had been childhood playmates, they only spent two or three years together before she moved away. And Edward, having the soul of a grown adult, naturally didn't harbor any inappropriate feelings for a little girl. All this time, he had only regarded Shizuka as a childhood friend—nothing more.
Still, when Shizuka was brought up, Edward's expression grew subtly complicated. He remembered how Zoroark also insisted on being called "Shizuka." Even now, the habit hadn't changed.
It left Edward feeling rather confused.
He had even begun to suspect—Was Zoroark once human?
He had already asked the old butler to contact archaeologists in the Sinnoh region to look into whether any ancient relics had been unearthed that could support such a theory about Zoroark's identity.
"Your childhood friend is now doing quite well in Team Galactic. She's frequently seen in public and is even hailed as their top-ranking executive," Steven said, carefully observing Edward's expression with a cryptic look in his eyes.
Steven cared deeply about his little brother. And the fact that Edward, now in his twenties, had never been in a relationship worried him.
He feared that Edward might still harbor feelings for that childhood friend. But the issue was—Shizuka was now a top official in an evil organization. There was no way someone like that could be a good match for his little brother.
"That's a fast track to death," Edward muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.
He didn't understand why Shizuka had joined Team Galactic after moving away. After she left, they hadn't had much contact at all.
Well… mainly because she rarely reached out. Edward had written a few letters, but they were never answered. He didn't have her phone number or any other means of contact. Naturally, the relationship faded over time.
"What do you think about her?" Steven asked, cautiously probing.
Edward was stunned for a second. What does this have to do with me? But he quickly caught on.
His brother… was worried that he might rekindle something with Shizuka?
Edward couldn't help but feel both amused and exasperated.
Sure, Shizuka was a beautiful girl—and yes, she had white hair, which definitely matched his taste—but Edward was a grown man. His feelings toward her had always been more like that of an older brother caring for a child. Romantic feelings were out of the question.
"Nothing, really. We did play together when we were kids, but that was ages ago. We haven't been in contact for years, so those feelings naturally faded," Edward replied, calm and collected.
If Shizuka had kept in touch, maybe he'd still have some hesitation. But after she moved away, they hadn't spoken at all. With over ten years of zero contact, there was nothing left of that childhood bond.
Steven let out a sigh of relief.
By rights, Team Galactic in Sinnoh shouldn't have had any ties to their Stone family in Hoenn. But fate had its quirks, and now the highest-ranking member of Team Galactic happened to be someone with a personal connection to Edward. Naturally, Steven had been worried that his brother might act impulsively and drag their entire family into a dark pit.
As the Champion, Steven saw things clearly.
The League could accept the Stone family's Devon Corporation becoming a leading enterprise across the regions, but it absolutely could not allow the Stone family's second son to be linked to a criminal organization.
That would be completely unacceptable.
Thankfully, Edward didn't have any such intentions.
"…Wait a second, bro. Why are you asking me this? Don't tell me—the League is planning to move against Team Galactic?" Edward suddenly realized something.
Steven, who usually only cared about stones, asking about Shizuka? That was way too suspicious.
Steven smiled and nodded.
He had already received an invitation. He would be heading to Sinnoh soon to participate in the operation to eliminate Team Galactic, deal a major blow to their morale, and send a warning to all other dark organizations.
To remind them just who really runs this world.
(End of Chapter)