Mastermind

Under Florges's Aromatherapy, Yuga, Malva, Nick, and Cynthia quickly returned to normal.

"This time we owe it to Mr. Shimizu," Nick said with a relieved expression.

Without Yuga here, their Larvitar would have been in grave danger.

Who could have anticipated that these despicable individuals would resort to using poison gas? If they had lost Larvitar, Nick couldn't imagine how he would face Mr. Lysandre.

Perhaps even his position as the owner of the Aurora Day Care would be at risk.

"This is what I should do. After all, I received Mr. Lysandre's payment, and a basic bodyguard should possess these skills," Yuga joked.

"Thank you!" Cynthia approached at this moment, expressing her gratitude to Yuga.

Yuga: "No need to thank me; let's check on the others situation."

After all, this was the territory of the Aurora Day Care. If something really went wrong here, not only would the Five Giants have trouble explaining to their guests, but Nick would also find it difficult to escape blame.

The Five Giants organized this auction to establish good relations with their guests, not to make enemies.

So Nick gathered his own staff to confiscate the unconscious Pokémon of Mohn, Annie, and others and keep watch over them. Then he went to other areas to check on the condition of other guests.

With Mohn, Annie, and Oakley dealt with, the small fry that Yuga and his group encountered afterward were no longer a concern.

However, due to the poison gas, many guests were affected.

Fortunately, with Florges's presence, there weren't any major issues. Aromatherapy was a large scale control skill that could treat many people at once, so while there were many poisoned guests, the treatment speed wasn't slow.

Furthermore, the gas used by Mohn and his group wasn't lethal; its effects were to render people weak and their consciousness blurry.

"Yuga! Yuga!"

While Yuga was helping Florges treat the poisoned guests, he suddenly heard someone calling his name and turned to see Robert and Wallace.

"Are you alright?"

Knowing that the black-clad individuals were targeting Larvitar, Robert hurried over, showing concern for Yuga.

Seeing Robert's genuine concern, Yuga felt touched. He knew that Robert was his best friend.

"I'm fine. How about you and Wallace? Many people were poisoned; are you both okay?"

Judging by Robert and Wallace's appearance, they didn't seem to be showing any symptoms of poisoning.

"We're fine. This little poison gas can't get to us," Robert said with relief now that he saw Yuga was unharmed.

After noticing the symptoms of poisoning, Robert and Wallace had their Milotic use Aqua Ring promptly, enveloping themselves to keep the poison gas out. This is how they managed to avoid being poisoned.

The subsequent handling of the situation was very simple, and Yuga didn't have much to do. He was mainly focused on protecting Nick alongside Malva.

The security system of the venue had been compromised, triggering a lockdown function. So, none of the intruding black-clad individuals managed to escape; they were all apprehended.

Their attempt to steal and run had backfired.

When the venue's doors were finally reopened, it was already nighttime outside.

People outside were unaware of what had happend inside the venue. The Pokémon Exchange Conference concluded successfully, and when Yuga returned to his booth, Kazuma and Shin had already left with the remaining Pokémon.

However, Yuga didn't return to the Aircraft with Hatsuki; instead, he was tasked with escorting Nick to Lysandre's location.

If they couldn't safely deliver Larvitar into Lysandre's hands, Yuga and Malva's mission wouldn't be considered complete.

As they were about to depart, Cynthia said something inexplicable to Yuga: "We'll meet again in the Verdanturf Town of Hoenn region."

Yuga was a bit bewildered at the time, feeling like Cynthia had taken an interest in him. Otherwise, why would she be in such a hurry to visit him?

But before he could inquire further, Cynthia had disappeared without a trace.

She was truly a strange woman.

Yuga and Malva escorted Nick all the way to the city center of Lumiose City, where they met with Lysandre at the headquarters of his Lysandre Labs.

After hearing Nick's report about the events at the venue, Lysandre expressed his gratitude to Yuga and Malva, saying, "Handing this matter to you two was the right decision. Thank you for your assistance."

From Lysandre's attitude toward both himself and Malva, Yuga speculated that Malva likely joined Lysandre's team for reasons similar to his own.

However, he believed that Malva probably wasn't an undercover agent and had earned more of Lysandre's trust, possibly knowing more about Team Flare's secrets.

Yuga: "To carry out entrusted tasks faithfully—that's what we should do."

Lysandre responded, "Alright, I'll have the payment delivered to your location tomorrow. You two must be tired today; I'll arrange for someone to take you back."

Clearly, Lysandre was very satisfied with Yuga's performance today.

Speaking of which, the batch of Pokémon Lysandre promised Yuga was worth around 20 million, and Yuga had been impressed by Lysandre's generosity at the time. Now, compared to the Larvitar that cost 200 million, it seemed like a small matter.

After Yuga and Malva left, Lysandre released the Larvitar.

"Not bad, indeed a remarkable Pokémon."

As an ambitious person, Lysandre had never given up on pursuing power. To change the world, one needed the corresponding strength.

After recalling Larvitar, Lysandre turned to Nick and asked, "From today's events, what do you think of Shimizu Yuga?"

Nick thought for a moment and replied, "It's hard to say, but he's truly a genius. He's not even twenty yet, and his strength can already rival to Malva. I even think he might become even stronger. If you really want to use him, you need to be more careful."

Although Yuga never considered himself a genius, in the eyes of outsiders, this hidden prodigy was indeed a true genius.

Lysandre fell silent for a moment, then said, "I understand," and the office fell quiet.

Sitting in the car on the way back, Yuga was still unaware that his overwhelming strength had already aroused Nick's suspicion. However, what their boss, Lysandre, was thinking remained a mystery.

Oh, right! Lysandre is a major antagonist. I helped him get the Larvitar like this; will it bring trouble to my undercover career in the future?

Yuga suddenly thought of this.

But the situation was already settled, and thinking too much wouldn't change anything.

On the other side of the Kalos region, in a luxurious room, a man received a phone call.

"Failed? I see."

After saying these words, the man hung up the communicator and angrily threw it aside.

"Useless! Can't even handle such a small task!"

If Edward were here, he would recognize this man as the one he once tried to curry favor with, the same man who leaked information about Yuga and the outstanding Florges as his targets.

If Hunter J were here, she would recognize him as the one who hired her to steal Florges from Yuga.

After tossing the communicator, the man's face instantly returned to normal, and he pushed open a concealed door in the room.

This hidden room was a collection room, brightly lit, and filled with various collectibles belonging to the man.

These collectibles were all rare Pokémon specimens, including Gardevoir, Gallade, Salamence, Charizard...

But all of these Pokémon were preserved specimens, appearing just like ordinary Pokémon but devoid of any life. Their faces frozen in expressions of their past lives, some showing pain, others anger...