"Sir, urgent report... someone is invading," said one of the surveillance operators.
However, his expression showed a hint of confusion at the word "invading."
From the intruder's appearance, it looked like he had forced his way in, but the way he opened each door made it seem like he had more authority than an executive. Even executives needed authentication to access each zone, and this guy was just passing through like nothing.
They looked at the images on the monitor.
The doors opened one after another without any resistance. At his side was a Gengar. Anyone who tried to approach him fell asleep before even getting close.
And he wasn't alone. A Mismagius followed close behind, curiously observing everything around her, as if she were exploring a new city.
Lysandre, upon seeing the scene of Cain advancing as if there were no obstacles, frowned and said, "Understood. I'll handle this myself."
With that, he walked out decisively.
He had already sent all of the base's executives on various missions. He hadn't expected anyone to dare infiltrate so directly.
There was no choice but for him to intervene personally.
With a few subordinates following, Lysandre headed toward the access point.
Cain, for his part, didn't overextend. After opening several doors and inevitably drawing attention, he stood still, waiting calmly.
Soon, several men and women dressed in reddish-orange uniforms surrounded him completely.
But none dared to approach.
The Gengar by his side was too intimidating. Any Pokémon that attempted to get near was swiftly taken down by Gengar.
Cain didn't make a single move, and thus, neither did they dare act on their own.
It wasn't long before Lysandre pushed through the crowd and stood before Cain.
Frowning at the intruder's appearance, he asked in a stern voice, "Who are you? What's your purpose in breaking into our secret base?"
Cain's face was covered by a layer of psychic energy, making it impossible to see his features.
"Sir Lysandre, the individual has some kind of special covering on his face — we can't verify his identity. It's highly probable that the energy masking his face is Psychic-type. The chances that this hooded figure is a psychic are about eighty percent," came a voice through the earpiece hidden in Lysandre's ear.
Upon hearing "psychic," Lysandre's frown deepened.
It wasn't the first time he had encountered a psychic, but someone who could completely obscure their identity like this? Very few. And those few always caused him problems.
Psychics were usually a very closed, tight-knit group. Offending one could lead to serious consequences.
But the man in front of him had already made it to the very heart of his base. He couldn't just let him go.
"Lysandre..." said Cain in a coarse, muffled voice.
Upon hearing his name, Lysandre showed no surprise. If the intruder had made it this far, it was only natural that he knew who to look for.
"I've come to propose an alliance," Cain continued after a brief pause.
Upon hearing that, Lysandre showed a flicker of surprise, but his expression quickly hardened again.
"This is how you come to propose an alliance? Doesn't seem like the best approach."
"Heh... I had no choice. To sit down and talk, one must first prove their worth. Otherwise, you probably wouldn't have even met with me," Cain replied with a faint smile.
Without a certain level of strength, it wouldn't have been so easy to face Lysandre directly. After all, Lance had been searching for him for quite a while with no success.
Of course, that was also because Lance was looking in the wrong place — the Lysandre Labs in Lumiose City. He didn't know that Lysandre had already moved his base deep into the mountains.
Cain's explanation made Lysandre pause in thought.
"If that's the case... let me see if you truly have the level required to negotiate with me," Lysandre replied, irritated, and without another word, drew a Poké Ball from his belt and tossed it.
"ROAR!"
A blaze of fire erupted along with a lion's roar. As the flames dissipated, the silhouette of a Pokémon became visible.
A Pyroar.
Judging by appearance, it was clearly male.
Pokémon: Pyroar (Dark Blue)
Gender: Male
Level: 64
Type: Fire + Normal
Ability: Rivalry
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Yawn, Snatch, Fire Spin, Flare Blitz
Base Moves: Hyper Beam, Tackle, Leer, Ember, Work Up, Headbutt, Noble Roar, Take Down, Fire Fang, Endeavor, Echoed Voice, Flamethrower, Crunch, Incinerate, Overheat
Learned Moves: Heat Wave, Hyper Voice, Iron Tail, Snore
TM Moves: Protect, Double Team, Fire Blast, Flame Charge, Payback, Giga Impact, Wild Charge, Substitute
Cain scanned the Pyroar's data using his integrated system.
The Dark Blue color quality actually surprised him a bit.
Not because it was too high — but because he had expected more. As someone with potential comparable to Diantha, the future Champion of Kalos, Lysandre should have had stronger Pokémon.
Then again, this probably wasn't his strongest Pokémon. Also, Team Flare hadn't fully mobilized yet. It was likely that Lysandre hadn't devoted all his resources to training.
A level 64 Pyroar, at the Intermediate Elite level, wasn't bad.
After all, Team Flare was still in its early stages, just transitioning from a lab to a full organization.
"Pyroar, Flamethrower!" ordered Lysandre without hesitation, launching the first strike as soon as the Pokémon appeared.
Seeing his movement, the nearby Team Flare members quickly scattered.
"Gengar. Shadow Ball," Cain calmly commanded.
"Kekeke!" Gengar laughed as two dark spheres formed in his hands and shot straight into the flames.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Two explosions rocked the interior of the base.
Everything nearby was swept by the impact. Team Flare members could barely stay on their feet.
Lysandre stood his ground, watching Cain, who remained still and unmoved.
After that single exchange, Lysandre didn't launch another attack. He could tell that Cain's Gengar was an Elite-level Pokémon.
And the Mismagius by his side — who didn't even flinch at the clash — was likely at that level too.
"Now... can we talk about the alliance?" Cain asked.
Lysandre narrowed his eyes. His mind was spinning.
If he wanted to achieve his "grand objective," having a little extra help wouldn't hurt.
Finally, he said, "I admit you have the strength to negotiate with me. But you broke into my secret base — shouldn't you give me an explanation?"
Hearing that, Cain knew that half of his goal had already been achieved.
But...
It still wasn't enough.
"Explanation? I didn't kill any of your people. That's my explanation," he replied without backing down.
(End of chapter)