Chapter 58: The Major Factions Make Their Move
[Ding! Stage Four playback complete.]
[Intermission: Twenty-four hours.]
[A new round of random questions will begin after the intermission.]
[All viewers, please prepare yourselves.]
[VIP Chat Group]
[Ash]: Another break! Every time there’s an intermission, my entire body feels uncomfortable!
[Gary]: Your body feels uncomfortable because you’ve been sitting too long. Go outside and run a few laps.
[Ash]: Why don’t you go run?!
[Gary]: Because I’m not uncomfortable.
[Mallow]: Come to think of it, after Raina defeated all eight Gyms, the League Conference should be next, right?
[Lana]: Before that, though, I think Raina might visit the Whirl Islands first.
[Lillie]: The Whirl Islands? Is that the place mentioned in the ancient book connected to Lugia?
[Mallow]: If Raina really finds Lugia before the League Conference... then her opponents at the tournament are going to have a terrible time.
[Lana]: Competing against her with Lugia and competing against her without Lugia would be two completely different levels of difficulty.
[Cynthia]: Speaking of that, I looked through some ancient records earlier. There’s actually another version of the legend concerning the People of the Sea God in the Sinnoh region.
[Diantha]: What version?
[Cynthia]: According to the Sinnoh version, the "People of the Sea God" didn’t refer only to Lapras herds. It also included certain humans who could communicate directly with Lugia.
[Professor Oak]: Humans capable of communicating directly with Lugia? That differs from the legend recorded in the Kanto region.
[Cynthia]: What does the Kanto version say?
[Professor Oak]: According to the Kanto version, Lugia stopped interacting directly with humans long ago. All communication was conducted through Lapras herds acting as intermediaries.
[Bill]: That’s right. While researching Lapras at the lighthouse, I found similar records describing Lapras as "messengers of the Sea God."
[Professor Sycamore]: If Raina is a human capable of communicating directly with Lugia, what would that imply?
[Cynthia]: It would mean that she isn’t merely the "guide of the People of the Sea God." but one of the "People of the Sea" herself.
[Professor Birch]: That’s an extremely bold conclusion...
[Professor Kukui]: But when we consider how Water-type Pokémon have willingly approached Raina ever since she was young, the theory isn’t entirely without evidence.
[Steven]: @Asher, Brother Asher, what do you think?
[Asher]: I’m thinking while lying down.
[Steven]: ...Be serious.
[Asher]: No, I genuinely don’t know.
[Wallace]: Steven, stop asking. When someone doesn’t want to tell you something, asking a hundred times is still useless.
...
Kanto region, Indigo Plateau.
Lance sat behind the desk in a League office. The light screen before him displayed the livestream’s intermission.
He stared at the screen while lightly tapping his fingers against the desk.
"Lance, you wanted to see me?"
Lorelei entered through the door with a document in her hand.
"Mm."
Lance turned toward her.
"I’d like to hear everyone’s opinion regarding Asher."
Lorelei nodded.
"What are you planning to do? Steven has already made contact with him, hasn’t he?"
"Steven isn’t a League investigator."
Lorelei remained silent for a moment.
"Are you planning to go personally?"
Lance rose and walked toward the window.
"There’s no need to rush. We certainly aren’t the only ones who want to contact Asher. For now, we should observe how the other factions act."
"Besides, the fact that Steven has already met him indicates that he isn’t deliberately avoiding the League entirely."
Lance paused.
"He simply can’t be bothered to deal with us."
"So you intend to wait?"
"Mm. We’ll wait until he’s willing to approach us himself."
Lance turned around.
"Cynthia must be investigating him as well. We might as well speak with her first and exchange information."
...
Kanto region, a certain secret base.
An enormous airship was docked deep within a mountain valley. The red letter R emblazoned across its hull gleamed coldly beneath the moonlight.
Inside the airship’s conference room, Giovanni sat at the head of a long table with a glass of red wine in his hand.
He continued staring at the light screen before him, but his face revealed no emotion, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
"Boss."
Archer entered through the door carrying a document.
"I investigated the information concerning that man named Asher."
Giovanni placed down his wineglass.
"Speak."
"We haven’t been able to locate any record of his movements."
Archer opened the document.
"The information we currently possess only confirms that he spent some time in Alola. We couldn’t uncover anything more specific."
"You couldn’t find anything?"
Giovanni’s gaze darkened slightly.
"Does that mean someone helped conceal him, or does he possess the ability to hide himself that thoroughly?"
"Most likely the latter," Archer replied. "Additionally, Hoenn Champion Steven has made contact with him. How should we proceed?"
"The Hoenn Champion..."
Giovanni lightly tapped his fingers against the table.
"Interesting."
"There’s something else."
Archer continued his report.
"Lance appears to have been communicating with the League’s intelligence department. He wanted to approach Asher directly, but the League leadership has temporarily restrained him."
"Their stated reason is that they are ’unable to determine how dangerous this individual might be.’"
"Then let them continue restraining him."
Giovanni stood and walked toward the window.
"For now, we’ll keep Asher under close observation."
"That livestream is clearly some kind of existence that surpasses our current understanding, and Asher appears to be the only person directly connected to it."
"Finding him means finding our point of entry."
Archer nodded before withdrawing from the room.
Outside the airship, thin clouds covered half the moon.
Giovanni gazed through the window and murmured to himself:
"Potions from a parallel world, ancient technology, and the secrets of this livestream..."
"If those things were to fall into my hands, then..."
He raised his wineglass and took a sip, the corners of his mouth curving upward slightly.
"There’s no hurry."
"We’ll take our time."
...
Kanto region, Pallet Town.
Ash held Pikachu in his arms and looked up at the night sky.
"Pikachu, Raina is about to participate in the League Conference too. Do you think she can win?"
Pikachu tilted its head and considered the question.
"Pika, pika?"
"Oh, right. Do you think we should find an opportunity to visit Misty at Cerulean Gym?"
Pikachu immediately prepared to discharge electricity.
"Pika-pi! Pikachu!"
After what you said in the chat, do you have a death wish going there now?
"I was joking! Just joking!"
Ash hurriedly waved his hands.
"By the way, Pikachu, who do you think would win if my Charizard fought Raina’s Golden Gyarados?"
Pikachu rubbed its chin with one paw and seriously considered the matchup.
"Pika."
Hard to say.
"Right?! I think it’s hard to say too!"
Ash’s eyes lit up.
"That means we need special training! Come on, let’s go to the backyard!"
"Pika?!"
Right now?! It’s already midnight!
"Special training doesn’t care what time it is!"
"Pika, pika, pika!"
...
Alola, the private island.
Steven had already arranged a plane with remarkable speed.
"Brother Asher, have you packed your luggage?"
"I don’t have much luggage."
Asher was still wearing the same gaudy vacation shirt.
"I only brought a few changes of clothes and several bottles of sunscreen."
"Then let’s go."
"Wait."
Asher turned around and stared at Steven with his golden eyes.
"There’s something we need to make clear first."
"Go ahead."
"Once we reach Hoenn, you’re not allowed to join forces with Wallace to trick me."
"Especially not one of those situations where the two of you coordinate your questions and play off each other."
Steven’s smile stiffened for a moment.
"How could that happen, Brother Asher? Do you truly believe I’m that kind of person?"
"You are."
"..."
Steven sighed.
"All right. I promise I won’t allow Wallace to ask you too many questions, and you’ll be free to refuse to answer anything. Will that satisfy you?"
Asher nodded before turning and walking toward the plane.
"Fine. I’ve been wanting to take a look at Meteor Falls anyway."