[Epic Large-Scale Mission: Lumiose City]
"It's finally here!! This is exactly what I've been waiting for!"
Rosa was suddenly full of energy, feeling extremely excited.
"This mission seems very unusual."
Hilda looked at the mission title. The last time a mission had the "Large-Scale Mission" tag was at Mt. Coronet.
Back then, the final target of the mission was Cyrus, the boss of Team Galactic. This time, the words "Epic Level" were added to the front.
And the mission location was actually Lumiose City?
Because Damian was currently active in the Kalos region, Hilda had done some simple research. Lumiose City was the center of Kalos and one of the most populated cities in the world.
"I don't care if it's unusual or not. It doesn't matter. This young lady will take care of it!"
Rosa puffed out her chest with great confidence. No matter what kind of target it was, it didn't matter!
"..."
Hilda looked at Rosa speechlessly, but she agreed that the problem wasn't huge.
Anyway, Damian would definitely be supervising the battle. To be honest, Hilda didn't think there would be many difficulties.
After all, several of her and Rosa's main Pokémon had already reached the Champion level.
"But right now it's only the sign-up phase. I don't know when it will officially start."
Lumiose City.
"Mmm..."
The sound of suppressed whimpers continued for a while. Inside the room, Diantha gritted her teeth hard, her expression twisting.
Phew—
It finally ended. Diantha finally collapsed, having no strength left to move at all.
"Drink some water."
Damian picked Diantha up and handed her a glass of water.
After taking a few sips, Diantha finally felt like she was coming back to life.
"You're simply not human."
Diantha let out a long breath and voiced her protest.
"It's because you're too weak. You really need to exercise more," Damian shrugged, looking very relaxed.
"I'm already working out."
But Diantha still insisted that there was something wrong with Damian. Her physical condition clearly wasn't bad; at least, it was at the level of a normal person.
But she couldn't keep up at all!
Every time, Diantha felt like she was going to die.
"It is indeed very necessary." Damian pulled Diantha into his arms.
Diantha did not resist. She leaned against Damian's chest and closed her eyes to rest for a bit.
Smelling the unique masculine scent on Damian, Diantha's mood was still a bit complicated.
What kind of relationship do we actually have?
This thought couldn't help but rise in Diantha's mind, but she really couldn't figure it out.
Feelings? There didn't seem to be any. At least, she didn't feel that Damian loved her.
Was it just a business relationship? But that didn't seem entirely right either.
Diantha felt like she was being a bit too dramatic.
"By the way, something very serious might happen in Lumiose City in a while. I suggest you get prepared," Damian thought for a moment and warned Diantha.
"What kind of thing?" Diantha was startled.
"Damian, you promised me that Team Rocket wouldn't do anything to Kalos."
"What are you thinking? Do I look like the kind of person who breaks his word?" Damian raised an eyebrow.
"..."
Diantha pressed down on Damian's restless hand and remained silent.
Yes, she had doubts about Damian's character.
"I might not be a 'good guy,' but I won't go back on what I've promised. You can rest easy about that," Damian said lazily.
"Then who is it?" Diantha frowned upon hearing this. There had never been any major villain teams in Kalos.
And the target was actually Lumiose City? She had never heard of a team so crazy.
"You seem to know nothing about the situation in your own Kalos region, but I guess that's not surprising," Damian smiled.
Diantha kept thinking. Forces with potential threats in the Kalos region...
"Don't think too hard. Even if you knew, you wouldn't be able to stop it with your ability. You should spend your time thinking about how to reduce the losses as much as possible," Damian said slowly.
"As for who it is, they will jump out on their own. You will know very soon."
"Then you..."
Diantha bit her lip. She wanted to ask Damian for help, but she didn't know how to bring it up.
"Want me to help?" Damian looked at Diantha with a half-smile.
"Yes..."
"I can do that. Of course I can, my dear Diantha."
Damian cupped Diantha's face, his smile gradually becoming wicked.
"Our Team Rocket is a proper team that longs for a bright and beautiful world. As long as your Kalos League is willing to give up a few small things, Team Rocket is very happy to step in."
"...Just say it directly."
Diantha was quite speechless. She didn't doubt whether this was a lie from Damian.
With Damian's ability and status, there was no need to tell such a lie. Whether there really would be a crisis affecting all of Lumiose City, the facts would speak for themselves.
"I want the Kalos League to support my company's branch offices for a short period. Also, I want some capital investment."
Damian spoke. It was the same logic as before: he wanted all the support the Kalos League could give him!
With official support from the Kalos League, his companies here in Kalos could improve at the fastest possible speed.
"If what you say is true, I think the President will agree."
Diantha thought for a while. If it really concerned the safety of all Lumiose City, Diantha felt this trade was acceptable.
After all, as the economic center of Kalos, Lumiose City was home to too many people. The cost of it being destroyed would be too high.
Since they had already accepted Team Rocket's development in the Kalos region, giving some support to Team Rocket's businesses was not impossible to accept.
As for money? Sorry, the League never lacked money.
"How straightforward," Damian was very satisfied.
"To celebrate our new partnership, let's go again?"
"Are you even human? I really can't do it anymore!"
Diantha's face turned quite pale. She felt that one day, she might actually be worked to death by Damian.
No, working out was now an urgent matter!
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these three days, Diantha had been very worried. She only reported this matter to the Kalos League President.
However, after three days, nothing had happened. Diantha was starting to doubt the accuracy of Damian's intelligence.
But Damian hadn't just been sitting around.
"Damian!!"
In a plaza, a girl with pigtails and black stockings ran quickly toward the young man.
Damian had to open his arms to catch her. Damn, someone is doing a "ball-charge" tackle!
Behind Rosa, Hilda walked over slowly and put her hand to her forehead.
Lacey and the others were shocked by Rosa's boldness, while Crispin and the others let out an "Ooh!" like they were cheering.
That's right. The "temporary workers" from Unova, no, they were official Team Rocket members now, had all arrived in Kalos by plane.
Caitlin, who had come with Damian, felt the temperature in her eyes drop instantly as she stared at Rosa.
Serena was curious and surprised. What a bold girl!
Platinum frowned slightly, appearing a bit displeased, though she quickly hid her emotions.
Unovans! Not only are they rude, but they also have no modesty. Isn't she openly taking advantage of Damian?
"Be careful. Aren't you afraid of falling?" Damian said crossly.
"Ah... the smell of Damian!"
Rosa hugged Damian's waist tightly and buried her head in his chest, taking a deep breath.
"???"
Damian felt like Rosa had some issues.
"Hehe~ Because I know Damian definitely won't let me get hurt." Rosa finally looked up, her face beaming like a flower.
"That's not for sure," Damian laughed softly.
He patted Rosa's shoulder, and Rosa was quite sensible. She stepped out of Damian's arms but kept her large eyes fixed on Damian's face.
Oh my god! The man I picked is so handsome!
Well, Rosa completely failed to notice that Caitlin was also looking at her.
Compared to other women who weren't much of a threat, Caitlin knew very well that Rosa's danger level was much higher than someone like Erika!!
This woman...
"Everyone, it's been a while. You still have a lot of energy."
Damian's gaze swept over Crispin and the others.
"Come on, get ready," Crispin waved his hand.
The group of trainers from Unova all stood in a neat line, led by Crispin and Kieran.
"Hello, Boss!"
The voices of the men and women rose in a perfectly synchronized shout.
It gave the nearby passersby a fright.
Whoa!
Serena and Platinum were also startled. After they snapped out of it, Platinum had a hard time describing her expression.
Serena, however, looked at this group of outsiders from Unova thoughtfully. This is interesting.
"Not bad. Very good. I like this surprise," Damian laughed and nodded with satisfaction.
"Thank you all for making the trip. I have already prepared the hotel for you. Go and get some rest first."
"I'm looking forward to your performance in the coming days."
Damian nodded with a smile.
"We definitely won't let the Boss down," Crispin still had that lazy expression, but he was actually feeling quite high-spirited.
"Mmh. The action will have to wait a few days. For now, you are free to do as you like. This big city should be very interesting for you."
"Yes, sir!"
Two Team Rocket members led the group of Unova Team Rocket members away.
"Damian, Damian, are you free tonight?"
Rosa was in no hurry to leave. She blinked her watery eyes and spoke to Damian in a sweet, sticky voice.
A flickering blue light was already glowing in Caitlin's eyes. This girl with the pigtails!!
"I don't have anything special to do. Why?"
"Hehe~ My Serperior learned how to do a backflip recently. Do you want to come to my room and see—Mmpfh!!"
"I'm so sorry, Damian. Rosa has started talking nonsense. Please carry on with your work, we'll head to the hotel first."
Hilda was sweating profusely as she covered Rosa's mouth. She dragged her best friend away and said goodbye to Damian.
"Alright, be careful on the way," Damian found it hilarious.
Once Hilda had dragged Rosa a little further away, Rosa was very dissatisfied.
"What are you doing, Hilda?!"
"My goodness, do you want to die right there? 'Serperior can do a backflip'? Did you not notice? Caitlin's eyes were like knives."
Hilda lowered her voice and hissed at Rosa through gritted teeth.
She seriously suspected that if Damian hadn't been there, Caitlin would have definitely plastered Rosa into a nearby statue.
And as Rosa's friend, she probably wouldn't have escaped either.
"Hmph! So what? I'm not..."
Rosa was still acting tough. It had been hard to see Damian again, and she really couldn't help herself.
"Fine, fine, I know you aren't afraid of her. But Caitlin is too strong right now. Let's just hold back for a bit, okay?" Hilda was truly worried sick.
"Just avoid her for now, okay?"
"Stupid!"
Rosa was very unhappy, but there was nothing she could do. After all, she really couldn't beat Caitlin right now.
"Who was that Rosa just now?" Serena seemed to be thinking about something as she asked Platinum.
Does she really like Damian?
"Mmh. She's from Unova. How should I put it? She doesn't have a sense of personal space. It's not very polite."
Platinum's opinion of Rosa and her group wasn't particularly good. Not only were these Unovans rude, but they also formed their own little group.
Back then, if it hadn't been for Paul, she probably wouldn't have even gotten a "taste of the soup" during the first operation to raid the Team Galactic base in Sinnoh.
Back then, Platinum still had the mindset of a rich young lady who couldn't lower her guard, unlike now, where she was much more outgoing and bold.
"Oh..."
Serena heard Platinum's dislike for Rosa and didn't ask any more questions.
But Serena also sensed something else and took a look at Damian.
Serena's eyes flickered slightly. It wasn't surprising, after all, Damian was indeed very attractive.
But if she remembered correctly, didn't Damian have a girlfriend? He said so himself during the interview.
Nothing happened for the next two days, until the morning of the third day.
"To everyone who owns a Holo Caster..."
Every Holo Caster in Kalos, the most popular communication device, received a 3D video mail from Lysandre at the same time.
In the hologram, Lysandre appeared. His steady face showed no emotion, and his tone was low as usual.
In the entire Kalos region, everyone who held a Holo Caster received this mail at this moment.
After all, the Holo Caster was a technology invented and manufactured by Lysandre Labs. They could easily control it.
On the street, Diantha's brow furrowed. She remembered her conversation with Lysandre at Café Soleil.
In that moment, Diantha understood. Lysandre!!
"Please listen carefully."
Lysandre slowly raised his hand.
"We, Team Flare, will revive the Ultimate Weapon! We will eliminate all existences other than Team Flare, and by doing so, we will bring back a beautiful world."
Lysandre spoke with a blank face.
And the people who heard Lysandre's words all stared with wide, shocked eyes.
What on earth is that?
Meanwhile, Damian, who was inside the villa, was smiling.
It was about to begin!