Tracking The Mysterious Person

Malva kept Yuga waiting for more than a week. During this time, Yuga quietly stayed at Coumarine Gym, and whenever he had free time, he exchanged experiences on Grass-type Pokémon breeding with Ramos.

Seeing Yuga remain at the gym for days without taking any action, Ramos grew quietly anxious for him. Several times, he wanted to say something but held back. He even directly told Yuga to ask for help if needed, but Yuga reassured him to relax, leaving Ramos with no choice but to wait patiently.

However, when it came to the breeding of Grass-type Pokémon, Ramos truly had exceptional skill. Yuga learned a lot from him, especially after seeing the solar power generator Ramos had developed using the Sunflora's ability to gather sunlight. Yuga was genuinely impressed.

Sunflora absorbed solar energy and then emitted a Solar Beam, which a special generator collected and converted into electricity. The amount of power generated this way far exceeded that of wind or thermal power.

According to Ramos, the green energy produced by his generators already supplied electricity to every household in Coumarine City.

These generators were both safe and environmentally friendly, and upon hearing this, Yuga immediately thought they would be perfect for Verdanturf Town, a town focused on eco-tourism.

Hoenn is a region with abundant sunlight and rainfall, making it ideal for Sunflora, a Pokémon that thrives in warm, humid environments, and Verdanturf Town has a similar climate.

If these generators could be introduced, Verdanturf Town would be able to achieve energy self-sufficiency.

With that in mind, Yuga immediately proposed to Ramos the idea of introducing Sunflora-powered generators to Verdanturf Town. However, Ramos seemed a bit troubled upon hearing this suggestion.

"There's no issue with providing you the generators, but making them is not easy. Due to technical limitations, we currently can't mass-produce them here in Coumarine," Ramos explained.

If it were possible to mass-produce these generators, Ramos would have promoted them a long time ago. Not only would this benefit the people of the League, but as the inventor, Ramos would also make a considerable profit.

Unfortunately…

Understanding Ramos' difficulty, Yuga fell silent for a moment before suddenly thinking of an idea. He then said to Ramos, "Ramos, how about I introduce someone to help you develop these Sunflora generators? He might be able to solve your technical problems."

"Oh? Who is it?" Ramos asked, surprised. "If there's really someone who can help solve this technical challenge, I'd be more than happy! Talent is scarce everywhere."

Yuga grinned and replied, "The person I'm talking about is none other than Clemont, the Gym Leader of Lumiose City."

Ramos' eyes lit up when he heard this. "You mean that famous genius inventor?"

Of course Ramos knew Clemont's name. Not only were they both Gym Leaders in Kalos, but Lumiose's Prism Tower was also incredibly well-known, and the tower was Clemont's signature invention.

Yuga nodded and confirmed, "That's him."

Excited, Ramos exclaimed, "If it's him, then he just might be able to solve the problem!"

The Prism Tower is also a power facility, supplying electricity to the entire Lumiose City and serving as a landmark.

Lumiose City is the central city of Kalos, comparable to Sootopolis City in Hoenn, but much larger than Coumarine City, both in scale and population.

For Clemont to have become the Gym Leader of Lumiose City at such a young age, it's a testament to his real talent.

"Why didn't I think of him earlier?" Ramos muttered to himself. Then he asked Yuga, "You know the Lumiose Gym Leader?"

Yuga replied, "I met him by chance, and we've become pretty good friends. That kid's an inventor fanatic. He's sure to be interested in something as intriguing as the Sunflora generator."

"Then I'll leave this matter to you," Ramos said, delighted.

Yuga immediately contacted Clemont, who was very happy to hear from him and was surprised to learn that Yuga was currently in Kalos.

After hearing Yuga's description of the Sunflora-powered generator, Clemont became very interested and, without hesitation, set off for Coumarine City.

Clemont moved quickly, and with the convenient transportation between Lumiose and Coumarine, he successfully arrived the next day. Without even catching up with Yuga, Clemont immediately dove into the work at the Coumarine power plant.

On the day Clemont arrived, Yuga received a call from Malva. She was silent for a long time on the phone before agreeing to help Yuga.

After over a week of secret investigation, Malva had indeed found something unusual within Team Flare, forcing her to believe Yuga's words.

However, she didn't plan to help Yuga directly. Instead, she told him over the phone to go to Lumiose City, where Lysandre's hidden laboratory was located.

Once Yuga arrived in Lumiose City, Malva would arrange for someone to meet him and assist in infiltrating Lysandre's lab.

Yuga's main objective was to extract AZ from Team Flare. While Malva didn't know AZ's location, she believed Lysandre's lab was the most suspicious place.

After receiving the call from Malva, Yuga hurriedly bid farewell to Ramos and headed for Lumiose City. Because this was a secret mission, he didn't even inform Clemont of his plans.

By evening, Yuga successfully arrived in Lumiose City. However, instead of immediately contacting Malva's informant, he decided to act the next day.

Just as he was about to find a place to stay for the night, he suddenly heard what sounded like a Pokémon's cry of pain coming from a dark alley. As he approached the alley, a Furfrou stumbled and collapsed at his feet.

In the alley, two people were in a standoff. One of them was a long-haired woman, clearly a trainer, and presumably the owner of the Furfrou. She stood there glaring angrily at the person opposite her and, in a fit of rage, grabbed three or four Poké Balls from her belt, clearly intending to launch a multi-Pokémon attack.

Her opponent was a masked figure wearing a helmet and a strange uniform. Judging by her shapely figure, it appeared this masked person was also female (probably).

As soon as the long-haired woman took out her Poké Balls, the masked woman extended her hand, and an unseen force pulled the Poké Balls right out of her grasp and into the masked woman's hand.

"My Poké Balls! Give them back!" the long-haired woman shouted in a panic.

Stealing someone's Pokémon? Witnessing this, Yuga immediately reached for his own Poké Balls to stop her.

But as soon as he pulled out his Poké Balls, the masked woman noticed and attempted the same trick on him. Fortunately, Yuga's Gengar emerged from the shadow space just in time and interrupted her with a Shadow Ball, preventing her from snatching Yuga's Poké Balls as well.

The Shadow Ball exploded at the masked woman's feet, but with a light jump, she easily dodged the blast. Yuga stood there, astonished, wondering, Is she Spider-Man?Her movements were so agile and smooth.

Upon seeing Gengar, the masked woman turned around and tried to flee. Yuga immediately commanded, "Gengar, grab her!"

But what happened next shocked Yuga even more. Gengar's Psychic had just begun to take hold when a strange current of air suddenly surged from the masked woman's uniform, forcefully repelling Gengar's Psychic energy.

Free from Gengar's hold, the masked woman leapt effortlessly onto the roof and began running along the rooftops with remarkable ease.

Is this seriously Spider-Man? Yuga thought in disbelief. How can a normal person leap onto a rooftop and run across the narrow ridges so freely?

Though these thoughts raced through Yuga's mind, he quickly commanded Gengar, "Gengar, chase her down!"

"Gengar!"

Without hesitation, Gengar grabbed Yuga and flew after the masked woman, but to Yuga's surprise, her running speed was faster than Gengar's flying. Despite their efforts, the gap between them widened, and Gengar was unable to catch up.

Yuga even began to wonder if the masked woman was actually human under that uniform and helmet. Could she be a humanoid Pokémon in disguise?

Before long, they had chased the masked woman out of the dark area, but suddenly, she disappeared from Yuga's sight.

Just as Yuga was about to continue searching the surroundings, he noticed Lysandre and Champion Diantha exiting a café across the street, laughing and chatting. He instinctively hid himself. He couldn't let Lysandre know he was in Lumiose City!

Though Yuga reacted quickly, Diantha caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye.

"What's wrong?" Lysandre asked, noticing Diantha's distraction.

Diantha shook her head. "It's nothing, just a moment of distraction."

Lysandre didn't dwell on it and smiled. "Work must be tiring. It seems being both a Champion and a superstar isn't easy."

Diantha didn't argue, simply agreeing, "It's not easy. But then again, no job in this world is."

Lysandre nodded in agreement. "True enough. You should rest well when you get home. I'll be counting on you for my press conference tomorrow."

Diantha smiled and reassured him, "Don't worry, I'll be there on time."

Afterward, the two parted ways.

After walking some distance, Diantha suddenly called out toward a corner, "Come out, Gym Leader Shimizu."

A few seconds later, Yuga emerged from the shadows.

"You're as sharp as ever, Miss Diantha."

Diantha looked at Yuga and asked, "Gym Leader Shimizu, are you here to investigate Lysandre?"

As the Champion of Kalos, Diantha was well aware that Lysandre was under secret investigation by the League. However, because she was Lysandre's friend, she had to avoid suspicion. The League not only kept her from participating in the investigation but also advised her to maintain normal interactions with Lysandre to avoid arousing his suspicion.

To be honest, Diantha still found it hard to believe that Lysandre intended to use the ultimate weapon to threaten the world.

In her experience, Lysandre had always been a good person who had helped countless others. His scientific achievements had benefited many people.

But the evidence against him was overwhelming, and she had no choice but to accept it.

"That's correct," Yuga replied.

Diantha, intrigued, asked, "Then why were you following me?"

Yuga responded with a question of his own, "You have a meeting with Lysandre tomorrow, don't you?"

Diantha nodded. "Yes, he's holding a press conference tomorrow to showcase his new holographic communicator, and I've been invited to attend. You must have just arrived in Lumiose City, otherwise, you would've already known."

She pointed to a nearby building, where an electronic billboard was playing an advertisement for the Holo Caster.

Not only that screen but several others on nearby buildings were displaying advertisements for Lysandre's Holo Caster. The spokesperson featured in the ad was none other than Malva, who was known as the "Star of the Holo Caster."

Lysandre's development of the Holo Caster was a significant technological breakthrough in communication, causing a huge stir. This latest update to the communicator was being heavily promoted.

Yuga shifted his gaze away from the billboard and said to Diantha, "I have a favor to ask of you, Miss Diantha."

Diantha raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead."

"During the press conference tomorrow, if Lysandre tries to leave early, could you stall him for me?"

Diantha considered asking Yuga what his plan was but decided against it. Instead, she simply replied, "Understood. I'll do my best."

Yuga sincerely thanked her, "Thank you very much."

At the same time, a middle-aged man in a gray trench coat hurried to the alley where Yuga had encountered the masked woman. An Espure was walking alongside him.

When the man arrived, the long-haired woman still hadn't left. She was crouching on the ground, holding her injured Furfrou and waiting for Yuga to return, hoping he would bring back her stolen Pokémon.

"Excuse me, miss, was there anyone else here besides you just now?" the man in the trench coat asked.

Upon hearing his voice, the long-haired woman angrily replied, "Some weirdo just appeared out of nowhere! Not only did she injure my Furfrou, but she also stole my Pokéballs. Waaaah…" As she spoke, she covered her face and began to sob.

The man frowned deeply at her words. Could it really be like that person said? Could the one who's been committing all these crimes lately—this 'Essentia'—really be Marielle? But why would Emma do such a thing?

Recently, a mysterious person had been showing up in Lumiose City, stealing other people's Pokémon. This person was exceptionally strong—not because their Pokémon were powerful, but because they themselves were incredibly skilled.

Witnesses described this person as wearing strange clothing and a masked helmet, never uttering a word.

This mysterious individual, dubbed "Essentia," appeared unpredictably, making it impossible to determine where or when they'd strike next, leaving the police helpless.

The man in the trench coat had been secretly investigating Essentia for some time. However, yesterday, he received a mysterious message. The message claimed that his missing assistant, Emma, was Essentia and that she would appear in this alley today.

Though he couldn't believe Emma would do such a thing, he came to check anyway. But it seemed he had arrived too late.

"Espurr."

At that moment, Espurr beside him gently tugged on the man's pant leg. The man looked down at it, puzzled.

"What is it, Espurr?"