"Take a guess?"
Take a guess, my ass!
Steven was starting to lose it. His mind was a mess; Damian holding his father's phone was honestly terrifying.
"Friendly reminder, I'm at Devon Corporation right now, Steven‑sensei."
Damian's tone was lazy and unhurried as he walked over to the floor‑to‑ceiling window and looked out over Rustboro City. As a city that prided itself on blending nature and science, Rustboro's greenery was excellent.
The whole city lay at his feet. Damian was in a very good mood.
"Mr. Stone is right next to me."
"Damian! Calm down. Do you know what you're doing right now?"
Steven's breathing hitched, but he still did his best to stay calm.
He couldn't figure it out. Why had Damian gone to Devon Corporation? Why was he holding his father hostage?
"I'm perfectly calm. I came today mainly to talk to Mr. Stone about some unfinished business from the past."
Unfinished business from the past?
Steven froze. Damian had some old grudge with his father? That didn't make sense. Damian had never even been to Hoenn before, had he?
"Whatever it is, I hope you won't hurt my father, Damian." Steven's tone was very heavy.
"That part's not really up to me. What I have heard, though, is that you've gone and called in a few people to deal with me, Steven‑sensei."
Damian patted the chair. Joseph Stone, very tactful, stood up at once, and Damian sat down without hesitation.
As expected of Devon's president's chair—nice and soft.
Steven's face turned grim. If Damian was saying that, then he clearly already knew Hoenn League had invited other Champions in.
That wasn't right. How did Damian know? Was there a mole? Or had the League itself already been infiltrated by Team Rocket?
Steven's mind raced. Indigo League? Team Rocket had only just come to Hoenn; there was no way they'd already planted people inside Hoenn League itself.
"I really didn't expect it, Steven‑sensei. You guys under that much pressure? To the point you need to borrow Trainers from other regions' Leagues?"
Damian's voice was light and relaxed, like he didn't feel any pressure at all.
"Damian, if you're willing to surrender now, I can plead your case with the League."
Since Damian already knew, Steven decided to just come out and say it.
"Oh?" Damian's lips curled slightly. "You really think just dragging a few Trainers over here is enough to go up against Team Rocket? Steven‑sensei, you're seriously underestimating us."
Damian's tone was half amused, half mocking.
"Don't talk big, Damian. You really think you're untouchable?"
Wallace's angry voice cut in—obviously, Wallace was right there beside Steven.
"If you're so invincible, why are you holding Uncle Stone as a hostage?"
"Ha～ so that's what you all think? In that case, I'll be waiting for you at Devon Corporation. Make sure you come prepared—after all, Mr. Stone is in my hands right now."
Damian chuckled softly and hung up.
"What are you people… trying to do, exactly?"
Joseph Stone was completely lost. Weren't these three here to settle some score with him?
Why had this suddenly turned into something involving Steven? And—Team Rocket?
Joseph Stone had very sharply picked up on the key word in Damian's earlier line. Team Rocket—wasn't that the evil organization from Kanto?
"Don't panic, Mr. Stone. Since Zinnia spoke up, we're not going to hurt you."
Damian spoke at his leisure.
"But you are a captive of Team Rocket now. You can't just sit here doing nothing, can you?"
Damian thought it over. After all, he had just kidnapped the president of Devon Corporation.
Joseph Stone: "…"
"Devon Corporation is such a massive company. Chipping in a bit of funding for our organization shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"...No problem." Joseph Stone went silent for a second. This was the first time he'd ever seen someone this polite while robbing him.
But if it was just money, that really wasn't an issue for him.
"Then please transfer the money to this account, Mr. Stone. As for the amount—"
"Would ten billion do?"
"Pfft～ as expected of Mr. Stone. Very generous." Damian couldn't help letting out a snort.
"I know I can never atone for my sins. This money is my personal compensation to you, Miss. You can trust that much." Joseph Stone sighed as he looked at Zinnia.
"Heh—" Zinnia let out a cold laugh, utterly unmoved.
"I don't want any of that, Stone. If you really feel guilty about my sister, then give me the list of everyone involved in that incident back then."
"I understand."
Joseph Stone stayed silent for a long time before finally nodding.
After making the transfer over the phone, Joseph Stone pulled a file envelope out from the bottom drawer of his desk. Inside was the list of participants in the old "Rayquaza Capture Plan."
"If possible, I'd like you to leave now. When Steven and the others arrive, I'll tell them you never did anything." Joseph Stone said heavily.
"I don't know how strong you are, but I'm sure you're no match for Hoenn League."
"Mr. Stone, you're seriously underestimating us. Instead, you should be clearing the building out."
Damian crossed one leg over the other, flipping interestedly through a document on "energy."
"Infinity Energy"—a special energy converted from Pokémon's life force, also known as bio‑energy.
It also happened to be Joseph Stone's primary field of research.
The first use of life energy went back three thousand years. In ancient Kalos, AZ's "Ultimate Weapon" was powered by Pokémon's life force.
And what had AZ done with it? Revived a once‑dead Floette, which mutated into the Eternal Flower.
Because of the glow of the Ultimate Weapon, both AZ and the Eternal Flower gained immortality.
Later, out of hatred, AZ turned the Ultimate Weapon into a literal weapon and annihilated both sides of the war.
Worth noting: in the games, Kalos's Professor Augustine Sycamore believes that when the Ultimate Weapon fired three thousand years ago, the life energy of Xerneas (or Yveltal) spread across the entire Kalos Region, turning certain special stones—like Evolutionary stones—into Mega Stones.
And the reason the "Rayquaza Capture Plan" had succeeded back then was largely because of Joseph Stone's "Infinity Energy" device.
Devon Corporation had used a device whose shape and principle were similar to the Ultimate Weapon—a "flower"—to limit Rayquaza. That was what had led to Aster's death.
Otherwise, with Rayquaza's strength, even if that particular Rayquaza's individual power wasn't that high, it was still a member of the Rayquaza species. How could it possibly have failed to break through, letting its own Lorekeeper die in battle?
"Let's give this to Dr. Fuji. It should give him plenty of inspiration."
Damian mused to himself. He didn't know if Professor Augustine Sycamore's theory was right, but if the birth of Mega Stones really was tied to life energy, then this Infinity Energy data would be very helpful to Dr. Fuji.
As for this being Joseph Stone's personal intellectual property? Please. Joseph Stone himself was a prisoner right now—who cared about his ideas?
Damian not tying him up and tossing him in a corner was already an act of mercy.
"I understand."
Joseph Stone quietly called his secretary and told him to pass it down: full company vacation. No one was allowed to work overtime.
Ever Grande City, League building.
"Damian, what on earth are you trying to pull?"
Steven's mood was grim. His dad was in Damian's hands.
Sure, Damian's father was on their side—but how was that even remotely the same thing?
Anxious, Steven immediately called Cynthia and the others in for another meeting.
"Damian's shown up. He's in Rustboro City."
His first sentence made Cynthia, Giovanni, and the others all freeze.
"We can't be sure if it's a trap or not, but Damian has my father hostage inside the Devon Corporation building."
Steven's voice was low.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get over there and save him."
Nemona spoke up right away. Since they already had the enemy's location, there was no reason to hesitate.
"Damian's sunk this low already?" Giovanni's expression hardened.
"Champion Steven, you're sure about this?" Cynthia's brows drew together.
"I'm sure. Damian called me from my father's phone, and he said himself he's at Devon Corporation right now."
Steven answered grimly.
"Then why would he just hand us his location?" Nemona frowned. "That doesn't add up."
"Exactly. That's very suspicious. Damian's not the type to be careless. He's always been sharp and very deliberate." Giovanni's tone was deep.
"Whatever his plan is, I can't just leave my father. I have to go this time."
Steven's expression was resolute.
Giovanni and the others didn't argue. They could fully understand the urgency of a son in that position.
And at the end of the day, they'd come here to help deal with Team Rocket in the first place. Now that Team Rocket had appeared, were they really supposed to stay put because there might be some trap?
Impossible.
"But according to Chairman Rose, Champion Leon's already on his way to Hoenn too."
Jenny's commander chimed in.
"There's no time. We head to Rustboro City now. Officer Jenny, please handle the evacuation of civilians around Devon Corporation in Rustboro." Steven said heavily.
With Leon there, they'd certainly be stronger. But it would still take several hours for Leon's plane to reach Hoenn.
Steven couldn't wait that long.
"Understood." Jenny nodded and immediately started making calls.
"Then let's go."
Steven strode out of the conference room at a rapid pace, the urgency in his heart written all over him.
They were finally going to fight Team Rocket.
Nemona jumped up to follow, inwardly buzzing with excitement. They were going to fight the evil organization Team Rocket!
"Damian! You're so dead!"
Wallace was fired up too. Just picturing the scene of them beating Damian and slapping handcuffs on him made Wallace almost giddy.
Even if Champion Leon probably wouldn't make it in time, it didn't matter.
They had this many Champion‑tier fighters on their side, and Team Rocket only had three Champion‑tier executives.
They'd wipe the floor with them, right?
No way they could lose!
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