Jian watched Aaron and his Pokémon disappear into the horizon, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"Must be nice to be young..."
His smile softened for a moment, but then he lifted his eyes toward the distant border, and worry slowly crept in.
"Brutus... I haven't heard from you in a while."
His voice dropped.
"You'd better not be in trouble."
Then he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"And you'd better come back soon. If you don't, my daughter's going to decide Aaron is her future husband."
After muttering that to himself, Jian called his subordinates over and began arranging the cleanup.
...
At the same time, inside a military aircraft, Talon sat in the cabin with two of his men.
Six Pokémon corpses lay secured inside.
Aotum's Cybernetic Pokémon.
Talon stared at the bodies, and excitement burned in his eyes. A moment later, he burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha..."
"This couldn't have worked out better."
He leaned forward slightly, gaze fixed on the corpses.
"Aaron did all the hard work for me."
"With these bodies, we can start reverse-engineering Corestone's cybernetic modification technology."
His smile widened.
"Aotum really thought I didn't know what he was doing?"
Talon's eyes turned cold.
"I've been watching him for a long time. The original plan was to wait until he perfected the Corestone Stim Serum, then take everything from him myself."
He laughed under his breath.
"I just didn't expect Aaron to show up and do half the job for me."
Then his expression twisted.
"Aaron..."
"Eighteen years old, and they already treat him like he stands above me."
His hand tightened around the armrest.
"Why him?"
"Why not me?"
Jealousy and anger flashed through his eyes.
One of the soldiers behind him spoke carefully.
"He destroyed the Donovan Group we were supporting in secret, and now he's handed us the perfect apology gift."
The soldier smiled faintly.
"Funny how things work out."
At the mention of the Donovan Group, Talon's eyes turned colder.
"Donovan was useless. Too arrogant, too careless. He was going to ruin himself sooner or later."
Before he could say more, his communicator began to ring.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
The two soldiers immediately stepped out of the cabin, leaving him alone.
Talon straightened his uniform before answering.
"Sir."
For a moment, the other end of the line was silent.
Then an older voice spoke.
"Talon. Did you obtain Corestone's research?"
"Yes, sir."
Talon's tone became respectful at once.
"I have the Corestone Stim Serum data and the bodies of their Cybernetic Pokémon. With these samples, it shouldn't take long for us to reproduce the technology."
His eyes burned with excitement.
"When that happens..."
"Can we finally wipe out Edward's faction?"
The older voice remained calm.
"No."
Talon's expression stiffened.
"We wait," the voice continued. "As long as the Guardians still exist, we can't move openly."
There was a pause.
"But soon. The old man won't hold on much longer."
Talon lowered his gaze, forcing down the hatred in his eyes.
"I understand."
"I'll organize both technologies and send everything to you as soon as possible."
"Good."
The call ended.
BEEP.
Talon sat in silence for a moment.
Then a cold smile appeared on his face.
"Edward... enjoy the time you have left."
...
Aaron had no idea that Hualis was already standing at the edge of both internal conflict and outside pressure.
But he had always believed one thing.
Strength came first.
In the face of overwhelming power, schemes, plots, and hidden factions were just noise.
Right now, he and his Pokémon had already set off again.
Under the setting sun, Aaron and Greninja sat on Charizard's back.
Mega Beedrill flew beside them like a black streak.
Not far away, Mega Gyarados soared through the sky on its Flame Clouds.
Snorlax sat on one of the clouds, eyes curved happily and mouth stretched in a wide grin as it enjoyed the feeling of flying for the first time.
Sceptile and Infernape were riding the Flame Clouds too. Both looked relaxed, letting the wind brush past them as the clouds carried them forward.
Infernape reached out and grabbed at one of the white clouds drifting nearby. Its fingers sank into the soft mist, and it grinned with open delight.
"Snooor..."
"Scep..."
Snorlax and Sceptile reached out as well, touching the clouds with curious smiles.
It was the first time all of them had flown together like this.
All thanks to Gyarados's Flame Clouds.
Aaron looked at their happy faces and smiled.
"Everyone... once we cross that mountain, we'll be at our destination."
He pointed ahead.
"That's the capital of Hualis."
"Crown City."
The Pokémon looked up.
Through the clouds, they could faintly make out a massive city rising from the land below.
Aaron's smile grew.
"Crown City... here I come."
"Hidden Dragon Tower, here I come."
He leaned forward slightly, eyes bright with anticipation.
"Hope you're ready for me."
...