N truly had been deceived by Ghetsis. He respected Ghetsis as a foster father—but that, ultimately, was his own choice.
"Although, saying all this probably won't get through to you. Is this really all the people you brought?"
Lucas then shook his head, somewhat disappointed. N was someone with strong convictions; it was nearly impossible to shake his beliefs with just words.
Glancing around, Lucas saw that there were indeed quite a few people—around thirty at first glance.
From their auras, almost all of them seemed to be elite-level trainers. And this was just those who had shown themselves—who knew how many more were still lying in wait?
After all, Lucas's side only had four people. If they sent everyone out all at once, it could actually work against them.
"Just this many people? You won't be able to take us down."
"Hmph! What an arrogant brat!"
A cold, gloomy voice suddenly spoke up with intense displeasure. Lucas raised an eyebrow and turned toward the voice, only to see a middle-aged man dressed in luxurious clothes walking over.
Ghetsis.
"So, you're the brat who got the recognition of the White Dragon? You talk a big game for someone so young."
Ghetsis coldly stared at Lucas, his chilling expression making people uneasy.
"What do you mean, 'just this many people'? This guy really thinks nothing of Team Plasma!"
"My apologies," Lucas said, his smile widening into a smirk. He shrugged, looking helpless. "But I really get a headache looking at all these small fries. Is this all Team Plasma has to offer?"
At that, Ghetsis's gaze grew even colder.
"Colress, I'm giving you a chance—rejoin Team Plasma. You know I don't want things to get ugly between us."
But Ghetsis didn't confront Lucas directly at first—instead, he turned his attention to Colress.
After all, Colress was the key reason they came here today.
"Ghetsis, Team Plasma no longer has a future. Do you really think I'd stay in a declining organization?"
Colress pushed his glasses up and responded calmly. Arrogant as ever, he obviously didn't take Ghetsis's threats seriously.
"Then don't blame me later. Once we're back at HQ, we'll have a long... talk."
Ghetsis's eyes were now filled with cold malice. One of them had just called his team "bottom-feeders," and the other said they had "no future."
Unforgivable!
Did they really think he, Ghetsis, was some pushover?
"Capture them!"
He'd had enough. He only wanted to capture the two of them now and make them taste pain.
What, just because they had the White Dragon, they thought they could defy Team Plasma?
Ghetsis didn't know Colress's true strength—after all, Colress had never fought in front of him.
Sure, his subordinates had mentioned Colress was a capable trainer, but Ghetsis assumed he was no more than elite or maybe, at best, a pseudo-Champion.
A Champion?
What a joke.
A researcher holed up in a lab all day being Champion-level? Impossible.
"Liepard!"
"Scrafty!"
"Muk!"
As soon as Ghetsis gave the order, Team Plasma members summoned their Pokémon.
In an instant, dozens of Pokémon stared menacingly at the four of them.
Though they dared not attack yet out of fear for the White Dragon's power, everyone knew: the White Dragon's real opponent was the Black Dragon.
"This is getting ridiculous… am I destined to keep fighting evil organizations or something?"
Green grimaced, watching the army of Pokémon around her. The numbers were no joke. She felt a bit of dread.
And this time, Lucas had to fight N—so these grunts would be left for them to deal with.
Man, just recently she'd been fighting Team Rocket aboard the S.S. Anne, and now she had to battle Team Plasma.
Then again, as Lucas's current companion (captive?), she was now on the same side as him.
"These weaklings are yours to warm up with. Take these two Pokémon to use."
Lucas glanced at the Team Plasma members and tossed two Poké Balls to Green and Marnie.
Salamence and Arbok.
Great for helping them gain battle experience—plus, not much risk involved.
"If it gets dangerous, use this one."
Realizing the opposing numbers were overwhelming, he handed over two more Poké Balls—Tyranitar and Galarian Moltres.
"Totally got it! Leave these weaklings to us!"
Green's eyes lit up after getting her hands on his top-tier Pokémon. She beat her chest with confidence.
"We'll show them just how cruel the world can be!"
Someone giving her powerful Pokémon and permission to go wild? That was too good to be true!
If things went south, she'd just go full-on unstoppable mode. No need to worry about anything.
"You can count on me," Marnie added with a clear, steady look in her eyes. She never imagined she'd get to command a Champion-level Pokémon someday.
"Dr. Colress, I'll leave Ghetsis to you. I've got to go teach that so-called hero a lesson."
Lucas said with a chuckle, glancing toward Colress. He knew Colress had more than enough strength to handle Ghetsis—
Unless, of course, Ghetsis decided to unleash those four Genesects.
But even then—those control machines were made by Colress himself. Would Ghetsis really risk turning them against their creator?
"Leave it to me."
Colress nodded calmly. He wasn't fond of fighting, but in this situation, there was no choice.
"Reshiram."
Lucas called out.
Reshiram instantly understood. It raised its head and let out a thunderous cry, flames blazing from the jet-engine-like tail.
Fusion Flare!
A massive fireball formed in front of Reshiram, two flame serpents swirling around it.
The next moment, it shot forward toward the Black Dragon's position.
"Fusion Bolt."
N's gaze rippled as he gave Zekrom the order.
Zekrom let out a deep roar, its massive body lifting into the sky, electricity crackling violently across its frame.
Blue arcs of electricity formed a circular shield around Zekrom as it flew toward the fireball.
Boom!
Fire and lightning clashed in mid-air, unleashing a massive shockwave.
Zekrom emerged unscathed.
"As expected, they're evenly matched."
Lucas raised an eyebrow. There was never a question of which was stronger—Black or White Dragon.
They simply excelled in different styles: Reshiram specialized in special attacks; Zekrom in physical ones.
If left alone to fight, they could probably battle for eternity without a victor.
And just like that, the clash of dragons became the signal.
Team Plasma members all ordered their Pokémon to attack.
"They really don't play fair, huh?!"
Seeing waves of Flame Throwers, Air Slashes, Razor Leafs, and other ranged attacks rushing at them, Green's face turned pale.
So many enemies—was being outnumbered always this bad?
"Go! Wartortle! Nidoqueen! Salamence!"
Green quickly sent out her main team members, along with the Salamence that Lucas had loaned her.
Standing back-to-back with her, Marnie also instantly threw out her Poké Balls—there was no other choice. With this many opponents, if they didn't stick together, they were bound to get ganged up on.
As for Tyranitar and the Galarian Moltres, they were the trump cards—meant to be held back until the very last moment. Although the situation was currently extremely difficult, this kind of battle was also an extremely rare opportunity for training and tempering.
They would give it their all first. Only if their hard work proved useless would they go full power and start mowing enemies down like a one-woman army!
This round really was absolutely perfect!
-------------------------------------------
"Colress, are you really going to stand against me?"
Ghetsis stared at Colress with a cold and sinister gaze, his voice low and heavy, clearly revealing his current unrest.
He truly couldn't understand what kind of brainwashing that White Dragon brat had done to Colress.
Damn it, they had literally just spoken over the phone a moment ago, everything had been perfectly fine—
And now, the man had flipped sides in an instant!
What the hell—does that kid know some kind of black magic?
"If you come back with me now, I can still overlook what happened. Do you really think that brat can protect you?" Ghetsis growled coldly.
"Don't forget, Colress, you're still wanted by the Pokémon League!"
He really couldn't comprehend how someone as intelligent as Colress could make such an idiotic decision.
"I believe I've already answered that question," Colress said flatly as he adjusted his glasses. "And besides… surely you didn't think you had me cornered, did you—Mr. Ghetsis?"
With that, Colress pulled out a Poké Ball, a slight, mocking curve rising at the corners of his lips as he looked directly at Ghetsis.
Did he really think he could capture him so easily?
"Very well. I actually would like to see whether your strength is on par with your research abilities."
Seeing that Colress truly intended to fight him, Ghetsis let out an angry laugh.
A scientist wanted to battle him?
Had his intimidation really fallen so low in the eyes of others?
"Hydreigon!"
Without any hesitation, Ghetsis threw out his Poké Ball, and a Hydreigon with an aura of chilling menace appeared in front of him.
This was his strongest ace!
Yes, Ghetsis would make Colress understand what true power really meant!
"Personally, I'm not particularly fond of fighting," Colress said, glancing briefly at the Hydreigon, his brow slightly furrowed. There was no denying the Hydreigon's strength—it was indeed formidable.
With a sigh and a shake of his head, Colress gently tossed his own Poké Ball.
A massive steel-type Pokémon appeared in front of him—
It was none other than a Metagross!
Hydreigon vs. Metagross—a battle between pseudo-legendaries was about to begin.
And their Trainers, Colress and Ghetsis, were the future and current leaders of Team Plasma respectively.
Yes, this was a civil war between bosses—
A boss battle within the same evil organization...
"This guy…"
Feeling the overwhelming pressure radiating from the Metagross, Ghetsis's face grew darker.
It was actually this strong!?
The funniest part was, after all this time working with Colress, he had never once realized that the man was actually such a powerful Trainer!
-----------------------------------
"Come on then. Let me see what the dragon of ideals is capable of."
Lucas looked at N, the smile on his face tinged with a subtle, dangerous edge.
"If you want to change the world, you'll need power. I wonder if you and the Black Dragon can show me something worth watching."
(End of Chapter)