The next day arrived.
Lilycove City Airport
"Remember to send me a message when you get back to Alola. Come visit me when you're free."
Damian fixed Lillie's collar. Then he touched her soft blonde hair and spoke in a kind voice. Lillie was going back to the Alola region. She had stayed in Hoenn for a long time. Lusamine wanted her to come home now. Perhaps Lusamine felt that something was a little different.
"Mm~"
Lillie answered obediently. She looked up. Her eyes looked at Damian with a lot of love. Lillie tried to be brave. She opened her mouth to say what was in her heart.
"Damian, I..."
But as she tried to speak, she realized she still could not say it. She felt very shy.
"What is it?" Damian looked at her because he was confused.
"No... it's nothing." Lillie's face became very red. She quickly looked down and spoke very quietly.
Lillie, oh Lillie! You need to be braver!
Lillie felt very sad inside. She wondered why she could not say just a few words.
An announcement rang out in the airport. It said the flight to Alola was leaving soon. It told passengers to go to the gate.
"Go on, don't be late," Damian said to Lillie with a smile.
"Okay~ Damian, look over there." Lillie suddenly pointed behind Damian.
Damian quickly turned around, but he did not see anything. When he turned back, he felt a soft touch on his lips. Damian raised his eyebrows. He looked at the red-faced Lillie with surprise.
Lillie had her hands behind her back. She looked down at the floor. She was very nervous and anxious inside.
"Lillie, you—" Damian started to speak.
"Th-that... Damian, I'm boarding now!"
Lillie ran toward the gate to get away. Her white skirt moved as she ran.
That Lillie.
Damian thought it was a bit funny. He watched her run to the gate. When she turned around, he smiled and waved at her. Lillie smiled immediately and waved her arm back.
Not far from them, Caitlin sat on a bench. She drank some coffee. But she did not like the coffee. It tasted a bit sour. Jirachi sat beside Caitlin. Its head moved as it slept. It did not know what had happened.
Back at the Villa
After Lillie left, Damian and Caitlin returned to their villa.
"Everything in Hoenn is basically on track now. I'll hand over the work in the next few days. Maxie and the others are enough to handle things," Damian said. He leaned back on the sofa. He looked at a world map in his hands.
Things in Hoenn were now stable. Also, Steven had to agree that Team Rocket was legal. Hoenn was now safe.
"Are we leaving Hoenn?" Zinnia was shocked.
"Yes. Hoenn is just one of our goals. We can't waste too much time here." Damian nodded. So far, they had only worked in Alola and Hoenn. They were still far from their final goal.
"Do you want to come with us? Or stay here and guard this place?" Damian asked Zinnia.
"Rayquaza is with you now. I have to follow you." Zinnia sat with her legs crossed. She still wanted Rayquaza. Since Rayquaza was with Damian for now, she had to follow him.
Caitlin gave Zinnia a small smile. She liked Zinnia quite a bit. Most importantly, Zinnia was a girl but she did not care about romance.
"Fine. Then let's head to Johto first."
Damian thought about it. He could finish the promise he made to Zinnia on the way.
"The Johto Pokemon Association... those culprits. I can't let them off easily."
Damian hit his knee gently. The people who organized the plan to catch Rayquaza were from the Johto Pokemon Association. Those people were very greedy. He had to stop them or there would be more trouble. It was the right time to remove them.
"Good!" The smile left Zinnia's face. Her eyes became sharp and cold. She was angry at those people from the Association.
The Departure of the Champions
A day later.
"Steven, are you sure you're okay? The doctor said you should rest for two more days." Wallace looked at Steven with worry.
"I'm fine. Resting at home is the same as resting here." Steven shook his head. "And Wallace, if you were willing to take over as Champion, I wouldn't have to be in such a hurry."
Steven spoke without any emotion. Wallace refused to be the Champion, so Steven had to go back to work quickly.
"Steven, I don't have that kind of ability. You know that."
Wallace looked very innocent. In the past, it would be okay. But now Team Rocket was in Hoenn. Did he have the power to be Champion? Steven was so busy that he went to the hospital. If Wallace took the job, he might end up in a worse place.
Steven rubbed his head. He felt he did not deserve to be the Hoenn Champion anymore. But who else in Hoenn could do the job? Only Wallace was strong enough.
Steven sighed and went to a hotel with Wallace. Leon and the others were there. Everyone ate a meal together. Then Leon's group said goodbye to Steven and Wallace. They had been away for a long time and needed to go home. Steven thanked them. He knew it was not their fault that Team Rocket was still there.
"Steven, what do you plan to do next?"
At the Lilycove airport, Leon and the others were waiting for their flights. Steven and Wallace came to say goodbye.
"I'll take it one step at a time. I don't have a plan yet."
Steven replied sadly. He did not know how to deal with Damian and Primal Kyogre.
"Right. If you need any more help, just contact me." Leon touched Steven's arm and smiled. He liked Steven and wanted to stay in touch. "When you're free, you and Wallace should come to Galar. I'll pick you up personally. Our Dynamaxing is quite interesting."
"Alright." Steven's mood became a bit better. He made a joke: "Just make sure you can find the airport when the time comes."
He gave a short laugh. "Ha..." Leon felt a bit shy. Everyone knew he had a bad sense of direction.
"Paldea too! Senior Steven, come to Paldea when you have time. Champion Geeta will definitely welcome you!" Nemona added.
"I'll definitely go if I have the chance." Steven smiled and nodded.
"You're also welcome in Sinnoh anytime, Champion Steven," Cynthia said in her kind way. Steven nodded. The result was not perfect, but he had made friends with great trainers.
"Kanto is the same. If you need help, contact me anytime." Giovanni shook Steven's hand and smiled.
"Thank you. By the way, Leader Giovanni, is Groudon okay?" Steven remembered Groudon and the Red Orb.
"I've communicated with it. We've reached a temporary agreement for now. You don't need to worry," Giovanni said. Groudon was calm now because Giovanni talked to it.
"That's good. You still need to be careful, Leader Giovanni. Groudon is very dangerous," Steven said. He thought about releasing Groudon, but he was afraid it would fight Kyogre again.
"I understand." Giovanni nodded.
Team Rocket's Final Meeting in Hoenn
At 5:30 PM, the leaders of Hoenn's Team Rocket met at a restaurant in Lilycove City.
Top Executives: Damian, Caitlin, Zinnia.
High Executives: Gladion, Maxie, Archie.
Executives: Courtney, Shelly, Matt
"The organization's development is going very smoothly. This is thanks to everyone's hard work. I'd like to propose a toast to you all." Damian stood up and smiled at everyone.
He laughed loudly. "Haha~ Master Damian, you're too kind!" Archie said. His face looked a bit scary when he laughed.
"Master Damian is the one who worked hard. You planned every detail of the organization's growth. We just followed orders. We don't dare take the credit," Maxie said. He did not look at Archie.
Archie thought Maxie was trying too hard to be nice. They did not fight because Damian was there, but they still did not like each other.
"I will be leaving the Hoenn region for a while. You two will lead Team Rocket together," Damian said after he had a drink with them.
"Are Lady Caitlin and Lady Zinnia leaving as well?" Maxie asked.
"Correct. All three of us will leave Hoenn temporarily." Damian nodded.
"Don't worry, Master Damian! You can leave it to us!" Archie said.
"Master Damian, if that's the case, we won't have any Champion-level combat power here. If Steven and Wallace come looking for trouble..." Maxie looked at Archie like he was not very smart. They were not strong enough to fight Wallace or the Elite Four.
"As long as you don't start trouble, the Hoenn League won't target Team Rocket for a while." Damian shook his head. Steven would keep his promise. He would let Team Rocket be as long as they were good.
"Master Damian, you're amazing!" Archie said. Maxie felt a bit annoyed.
"So, if you really have to fight, be discreet. Don't let anyone catch you." Damian warned them. "Maxie, you're in charge of the company projects. Archie, you lead the combat members. Clear out those hunter organizations; our territory doesn't need that trash."
"Understood!" "Leave it to me, Master Damian." Maxie and Archie both nodded.
"Good. I have high hopes for you. I hope to see your results when I return." Damian was happy. He let them compete as long as the organization was okay.
Leon Returns to Galar
Leon and the others returned to their own regions. In Wyndon, Leon went to see Chairman Rose.
"Welcome back, Leon. How was your trip to Hoenn?"
Chairman Rose sat in his chair and smiled. He greeted the Galar Champion with a nice voice.
"I learned a lot, Chairman Rose. This world is truly massive," Leon said. He felt that he used to be too new to things. This trip had shown him many new things.
"Oh?" Rose was interested. "It seems you gained a lot. Would you mind telling me about it?"
Rose told Leon to sit. Oleana brought them coffee.
"Of course, Chairman. You probably wouldn't believe how terrifying Team Rocket is," Leon said in a very serious way. "But before that, Chairman... do you know if our Galar region has any other legendary Pokémon besides my teacher's Urshifu?"
"Legendary Pokémon?" Rose acted surprised.
"Yes. The kind that are much stronger than Urshifu. The kind with power that can easily destroy a city." Leon nodded. He was afraid Galar had scary legendary Pokémon too.
"Are you interested in them?"
"Yes. To tell you the truth, on this trip to Hoenn, I truly saw how terrifying legendary Pokémon can be. Chairman, can you imagine? If that Primal Kyogre wanted to, it could drown an entire region with heavy rain."
Leon felt that power was like a huge disaster.
"The legendary Pokémon Kyogre from Hoenn, hmm?" Rose thought for a moment.
"Chairman. Does Galar have legendary Pokémon as strong as Kyogre?" Leon asked again. He hoped Rose knew something.
Rose was silent for a moment. Then he smiled.
"There are. Of course there are, Leon. In our Galar region, there are four legendary Pokémon like that!"
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