Inside the Blackthorn Residence in Blackthorn City—
"So, Uncle… you really planned this out to a terrifying depth, didn't you?"
Lucas looked at Giovanni's faintly smiling face on the screen and chuckled softly as he shook his head.
The hot-headed and extreme Lance had never been compatible with the Pokémon League's ideology, and his long-standing conflict with the Indigo League's council members had been no secret.
A long time ago, Lucas had spoken with Giovanni: as long as evil organizations existed, Lance would eventually clash with the Pokémon League.
But after the destruction of Team Rocket's Kanto branch, Lucas thought that opportunity wouldn't come for a while.
He hadn't expected Giovanni to push things along.
Yes—during the Battle of the Lake of Rage, Giovanni had defeated Lance. Logically speaking, given Giovanni's ruthless personality, how could he possibly let Lance off so easily?
You had to remember: Lance despised him, the head of Team Rocket. In Lance's eyes, Giovanni was the very embodiment of Kanto's darkness.
Likewise, in Giovanni's eyes, Lance was an eyesore that had to go.
The Indigo Champion, the number-one ranked Trainer of the World—a man that was a massive obstruction to Team Rocket's goal.
And yet Giovanni had allowed Lance to walk away so easily.
"Lance is excessively proud. Give him a tiny push… then share the situation with those 'respectable' council members, and it would be impossible for him not to explode."
Giovanni's lips curved in a faint, mocking smile. That strange expression made him seem almost sinister.
Indeed—what meaning was there in simply killing or imprisoning Lance?
Hadn't Lance always wanted to eliminate Team Rocket—the so-called "evil organization" of the League?
Then Giovanni would drag Lance down into the abyss as well.
This man, once seen as the righteous protector of Kanto—the Champion of Indigo's Elite Four, the world's Number One Trainer.
Giovanni wanted him to become a figure that everyone feared and hated: an "evil" man, a mad man.
"You really are something else." Lucas sighed.
Lance was strong, but his human weaknesses were painfully obvious.
He was proud, arrogant, and after losing to Giovanni, his emotions were already unstable—his mentality had practically collapsed. And Giovanni had even informed the council of the truth behind the Lake of Rage incident. Those council members had always disliked Lance; of course, they would seize this chance to add fuel to the fire, rubbing salt deep into his wounds.
If Lance lost control and struck back, he would fall completely into the abyss.
"But, from here on, you need to be careful. Now that he's left the Pokémon League, Lance will definitely chase Team Rocket to the ends of the earth."
Lucas gave a warning.
He and Giovanni had once discussed this plan, but Giovanni abandoned it because a Lance freed from all League restrictions would be nothing short of a rabid hound.
With no rules to bind him, Lance could hunt Team Rocket operatives however he pleased.
That was why Giovanni originally rejected the idea.
"It's fine. I've already instructed Archer and Carr to tighten their activity range."
Giovanni remained calm. He had already prepared for this; otherwise Team Rocket would indeed be in trouble.
"Good then. Uncle, how are things on the Kalos side?"
"No leads yet, Archer has already dispatched additional personnel…"
After chatting a while longer, Lucas ended the video call and looked up at the quiet night sky.
If Lance abandoned the League, Lorelei would definitely leave with him, and Agatha who already had her own secret plans would naturally follow.
Which left Bruno… poor guy.
Bruno had always been under Agatha's thumb, unable to choose anything for himself.
So—
"Cousin~ what a tragic fate you've drawn."
Lucas sympathized for one second, then immediately brightened with a smile.
Ara ara~ this is actually pretty great.
The peaceful night passed quickly—well, peaceful for most people anyway.
But the Indigo Plateau… would not be peaceful at all.
"Lucas! Lucas!"
Early the next morning, Lucas was enjoying a relaxed breakfast when his father, Cassius burst into the room, completely losing the calm dignity expected of the Blackthorn clan head.
Green and Marnie blinked in confusion. This uncle was normally composed and unshakable. What could have happened?
"Calm down, Father. This really isn't like you. Aren't you afraid the servants will laugh if they see you like this?"
Lucas rolled his eyes and handed him a cup of morning tea.
"No, no—this time it's truly an earthquake!"
Cassius set the drink aside and spoke with solemn gravity.
This really was an earthquake!
When Cassius first received the news, his entire mind froze.
Soon after, Clair came in as well, her usually cold expression also tight with concern.
"What happened, Uncle?" Clair asked.
"Last night, the Indigo League held an emergency high-level meeting. The Lake of Rage incident was determined to have been caused by Lance."
Cassius exhaled, then explained the situation.
Green and Marnie exchanged looks. Surprising? Yes. But nothing earth-shattering.
Until—
"But now, the Indigo Elite Four under Lance's lead have all defected from the Pokémon League!"
The words struck like thunder, leaving Green and Marnie stunned.
The entire Elite Four… defected? Overnight?
"W-what…?" Green stared speechlessly, unable to even form a complete sentence.
"And… last night, at the Indigo League Headquarters meeting hall, Lance went on a massacre. Seventy percent of the council members were slaughtered."
"Other than Chairman Loki and the Joy and Officer Jenny regional heads, only two council members survived."
Cassius's voice was heavy as he delivered the world-shaking news.
Yes—Lance had gone on a killing spree at the Indigo Plateau. Entire hallways were filled with corpses and blood; the stench had reportedly been unbearable.
Blood stained the Indigo Plateau.
It was utterly insane.
"HOLY—!?"
Green finally snapped, blurting out her most heartfelt profanity.
Had Lance completely lost his mind?
Since the Pokémon League was established, major bloodshed was almost unheard of—and certainly not at this scale.
These were Indigo council members, people of authority and status—slaughtered nearly to extinction.
"Cousin Lance is actually that ruthless…"
Even Lucas was stunned, clicking his tongue in amazement. For him to go on a full massacre—Lance's mental collapse must have run very deep.
But…
Compared to what Special Manga Lance did, this was nothing. Only a dozen or so died here.
In the Special manga, Lance sought to "purify" the world—exterminating almost everyone except the few he considered "clean." And he acted on that plan.
He destroyed Vermilion City with just a single Dragonair. The number of casualties was uncountable.
"So now, won't the Indigo League become a global laughingstock? And they don't even have an Elite Four anymore…"
Green exclaimed once she recovered.
"That's the League's problem. What matters to us is Lance is a member of the Blackthorn clan…"
"And according to the clan's intelligence, Lance was the one leading the incident."
Cassius added grimly.
Green and Marnie froze again.
Yes—they knew the Blackthorn clan had nothing to do with this.
But outsiders absolutely would not know that.
"Chairman Loki isn't stupid. The nature of this incident is far too severe—he'll never allow the details to spread."
"Father, send a gift to Chairman Loki immediately. Make our clan's stance crystal clear."
Lucas remained calm. Loki was smart enough not to drag the Blackthorn clan down with Lance.
And he would absolutely do everything in his power to cover up the massacre—at least from the public. He might not fool the major families and foreign Leagues, but as long as he hid it from ordinary civilians, that was all that mattered.
Otherwise…
How could the people trust the League if their former guardian hero, Lance, had turned into a blood-soaked madman?
"I've already sent someone." Cassius nodded.
"As expected of Father. This disaster… is also a heavenly opportunity."
Lucas smiled elegantly.
"Opportunity? You mean the vacant Elite Four seats?" Cassius asked.
"Exactly."
"Send Clair? Or do you plan to take the position yourself?" Cassius asked.
The strongest of the Blackthorn clan were Lucas and Lance; next was Clair.
Lance was out of the picture.
Clair's brows tightened—she was confident, but becoming an Elite Four was no easy matter.
"No, Cousin Clair isn't strong enough yet. She should remain a Gym Leader for now."
Lucas said bluntly.
The previous Elite Four were universally acknowledged as the strongest set.
Any new Elite Four would inevitably be compared to them. If Clair took the position now… she'd be judged harshly.
Clair's expression darkened. It was the truth, but it still sounded unpleasant.
Meanwhile—
Across the world, every major family, clans and influential organization had received the internal report.
Shockwaves rippled across the globe.
There had been no warning—no reason—nothing.
Why? How?
The Indigo Elite Four had always been as great and stable and their strongest, Lance was even ranked the number 1 trainer in the Master Class Rankings—the strongest Trainer in the world.
How could he suddenly go berserk? And even more bizarre—why did the other three follow him?
"This is really…"
In the Galar League Headquarters, even Chairman Rose normally calm and logical fell silent in disbelief when he saw the report.
This was absurd.
"Chairman… could the Indigo council members have triggered something that crossed Lance's bottom line?"
Oleana asked, unable to suppress her shock.
After all, Lance killed only the council members. Loki and the Joy and Jenny regional heads had been spared.
"Who knows."
Rose shook his head, walking to the window to stare at the bustling city outside.
Too little information. There had to be a reason, but with the current intel, it was impossible to guess.
He had heard that Lance and the council members had long been at odds—but to this degree?
And also—
"Oleana, prepare a jet. I'm going to Indigo."
"Yes." She left to make arrangements.
"Indigo, huh~"
Rose muttered softly.
Indigo truly was a land that produced remarkable people.
In this generation alone, Lance, Lucas, Red, and Blue all were monsters of talent.
And even Giovanni, though a criminal, was undeniably a terrifying individual.
But at the same time… Indigo was also the region with the most trouble.
(End of Chapter)