Chapter 1078: A Gift from Afar

As Diantha held up the arrest warrant, Lysandre remained calm. He looked at his friend across the room and asked, "May I know the charges against me?"

Diantha, with a complex expression, replied, "Don't you already know?"

Given the recent information from the Geosenge Town research institute, Lysandre understood why Diantha was here and knew the League wouldn't act against him without solid evidence.

He smiled slightly and said, "I didn't expect you to be the one coming after me."

Lysandre genuinely considered Diantha a friend. While he sought to create a new world to escape the current one's corruption, he admired certain individuals' noble qualities, Diantha being one of them.

If he could bring people into the new world, he would prefer to bring along people like Diantha over some Flare Team members. Such people have the worth to survive.

Some Flare Team members are genuinely evil, following him to fulfill their ambitions. He views them as tools, and if the new world is created, he wouldn't keep them.

But why was the Geosenge Town research institute exposed? Why, after being so cautious for years, was he suddenly being hunted by the League? Lysandre was puzzled.

"I didn't expect you to have such thoughts."

In Diantha's view, Lysandre was a person with ambitions, ideals, and compassion. His holographic imaging technology advanced the communications industry, benefiting countless people. He also donated large sums to charity and personally visited impoverished areas.

This was why she and Lysandre had become close friends. Yet, this Lysandre harbored thoughts of world destruction and acted on them.

"I'm just purifying this world," Lysandre said candidly, knowing Diantha wouldn't understand his perspective.

He then released Honchkrow and said, "I don't want to fight you, but I won't surrender quietly."

With that, Honchkrow used Dark Pulse, breaking the office window and carrying Lysandre outside. However, the building was surrounded by League personnel, and as soon as Lysandre emerged, he saw Ground-type Pokémons and officers on the ground and flying Pokémons in the air.

Seeing this, Diantha released Gardevoir and, with its help, followed Lysandre out of the window.

As Lysandre prepared for Honchkrow to take off, the surrounding officers attacked, forcing him to land on the rooftop.

Diantha and Gardevoir also landed on the rooftop. She advised Lysandre, "You can't escape. Stop struggling."

Lysandre responded, "How will I know if I don't try? We've known each other for so long without fighting. Let me test the strength of a Champion today."

With that, two more Pokémon appeared beside him: Pyroar and Gyarados.

After signaling others not to interfere, Diantha summoned Goodra and Tyrantrum.

"Honchkrow, Dark Pulse! Pyroar, Flamethrower! Gyarados, Aqua Tail!"

At Lysandre's command, Honchkrow, Pyroar, and Gyarados immediately launched their attacks on Diantha, showing no mercy.

Diantha directed, "Gardevoir, Goodra, Tyrantrum, defend!"

Goodra used Dragon Pulse to intercept Honchkrow's Dark Pulse, Gardevoir used Moonblast to block Pyroar's Flamethrower, and Tyrantrum used Iron Tail to stop Gyarados's Aqua Tail.

The six attacks collided, causing a massive explosion and creating a smoke screen. Before the smoke could clear, a shadow rushed out, heading straight for Gardevoir with sharp black wings.

Fortunately, Goodra reacted quickly, using its strong antennae to grab Honchkrow before it reached Gardevoir and threw it away. Honchkrow tumbled through the air before stabilizing.

As Goodra threw Honchkrow, Pyroar lunged forward and bit Goodra with Fire Fang. Goodra was forced to retreat.

Gardevoir quickly used Telekinesis to throw Pyroar away, colliding it with Gyarados nearby.

Gyarados, engaged in a standoff with Tyrantrum's Iron Tail, was knocked off balance by Pyroar's attack. Tyrantrum seized the chance and bit Gyarados's tail with Thunder Fang.

Tyrantrum's ability, Strong Jaws, boosts biting moves. With Electric-type moves' quadruple effectiveness, the attack severely injured Gyarados, whose cries echoed through Lumiose City's streets.

Seeing Gyarados in trouble, Lysandre took out a Mega Stone and shouted, "Gyarados, Mega Evolve!"

The rainbow-colored light connected the Mega Stone on Gyarados with the one in Lysandre's hand, causing Gyarados to undergo a dramatic transformation.

Mega Gyarados became even more fearsome, with its type changing from Water/Flying to Water/Dark, reducing Electric-type damage from quadruple to double.

As soon as the evolution ended, Mega Gyarados swung its tail at Tyrantrum, who was closest.

Mega Gyarados's power increased significantly after Mega Evolution, and Tyrantrum's heavy body was thrown toward the ground. Fortunately, Gardevoir used Telekinesis to catch it; otherwise, the fall from several stories would have been fatal.

As Gardevoir was lifting Tyrantrum, Honchkrow launched another sneak attack. With Goodra engaged with Pyroar, it couldn't assist in time, forcing Gardevoir to use Teleport.

However, due to the remaining Telekinesis on Tyrantrum, Gardevoir's Teleport was delayed, and Honchkrow's attack still hit.

Seeing Gardevoir injured while saving Tyrantrum, Tyrantrum used Rock Slide angrily to bombard Honchkrow with falling boulders. Honchkrow couldn't evade and was buried under the rubble.

Unlike Gyarados, Honchkrow was much weaker, and the Rock Slide's quadruple effectiveness crushed it, leaving it unable to move.

Seeing his Honchkrow defeated, Lysandre had to admit his strength was still lacking compared to Champion Diantha.

Meanwhile, Mega Gyarados attacked with Crunch, targeting Gardevoir. Gardevoir was alert enough to dodge with Teleport.

However, Teleport was very draining, and Gardevoir realized she couldn't keep dodging. She looked at Diantha, who nodded in understanding, then took out a necklace with a Mega Stone.

"Gardevoir, Mega Evolve!"

The multicolored light transformed Gardevoir into a true Mega Gardevoir, enhancing its Special Attack and Speed. Floating in mid-air, it unleashed a flurry of Magical Leaves, all accurately striking Mega Gyarados's fierce face.

Without its Flying type, Mega Gyarados became vulnerable to Grass-type moves. Hit by so many Magical Leaves, it roared in fury and swung its tail, using Aqua Tail to strike at Mega Gardevoir.

The massive blue tail slammed Mega Gardevoir from the sky to the ground, enveloping it in water mist.

As the mist cleared, Mega Gardevoir stood unharmed, protected by a green energy shield.

The shield slowly faded, and Mega Gardevoir raised its right hand, gathering green leaves around it, forming a tornado.

"Gardevoir!!!"

Mega Gardevoir let out a sharp cry, and it controlled the Leaf Tornado to fling at Mega Gyarados, instantly submerging it in a torrent of blade-like green leaves.

When the Leaf Tornado dissipated, Mega Gyarados was left unconscious.

With Mega Gyarados out of commission, the remaining Pyroar of Lysandre was defeated by the combined efforts of Mega Gardevoir and Goodra.

In terms of strength, Lysandre Pyroar was even stronger than Gyarados before its Mega Evolution. If it weren't for Goodra's exceptionally high special defense and Pyroar's weak special attack, which made it highly vulnerable to Goodra, it might have been able to hold its ground against a regular Pokémon.

Meanwhile, Kalos League successfully captured Lysandre, Yuga's assault on the Lysandre research facility beneath the Lumiose City café was nearing its end.

Indeed, while Kalos League was busy with Lysandre, Yuga led an assault on the Lysandre research facility.

After the events in Geosenge Town, Yuga handed over the follow-up work to the Elite Four Siebold and Mr. Ramos and quickly returned to Lumiose City.

During this assault on the Lysandre research facility, Clemont, the Gym Leader of Lumiose City, also participated, which interrupted his research on the Sunflora Generator.

The discovery of a Lysandre research facility underneath the café in Lumiose City shocked the higher-ups of the Kalos League. Lumiose City is a central hub in the Kalos region.

If it weren't for Malva, the "inside informant," providing crucial information, Yuga would have had a hard time locating the facility.

Speaking of Malva, she had proactively requested to leave the Kalos region to avoid the series of actions against Lysandre.

Yuga only learned of this when he returned to Lumiose City and met with Diantha. He had previously asked Malva to help monitor Emma, and now felt deceived.

However, Yuga wasn't one to burn bridges. Since Malva had provided valuable information, he chose not to disclose her connection to Lysandre.

Whether the Flame Team would betray her was no longer his concern.

But seeing Malva so confident, she didn't seem worried at all.

The assault on the Lysandre research facility went very smoothly because Yuga and his team's action was so sudden that the opposition was unprepared.

Although there were some high-level trainers in the facility, including two Elite Four level trainers, Yuga found them to be relatively easy opponents.

During the assault, an unexpected event occurred. When Yuga and his team broke into the facility, someone had already entered before them, and Yuga recognized this person.

The person was Looker.

He had sneaked into the research facility to find Emma. Fortunately, he had just arrived and had not yet drawn the attention of the Flame Team; otherwise, it could have alerted them prematurely.

Yuga did not inquire how Looker knew the facility's location. He left that to the Kalos League, including handling Emma.

Though Emma's actions as Essentia were due to hypnosis, how she would be dealt with would be determined by the League.

Emma left Looker because she felt uneasy about not being able to assist him despite his long-term care, so she sought a job within her abilities.

She was then deceived into the Lysandre research facility by Xerosic.

After the assault on the Lysandre research facility, Yuga found that they had only captured three of the five Flame Team scientists: Celosia, Xerosic, and Aliana. Bryony and Mable were missing.

The Kalos League immediately issued a manhunt for the missing scientists.

The following days were spent handling the aftermath. It was impossible to capture all the Flame Team members at once, as many lower-level operatives were still on the run.

As for Lysandre's fate, Yuga wasn't particularly concerned, as it wasn't his responsibility.

The day after the assault, AZ was brought from Geosenge Town to Lumiose City, where he would be handed over to the Kalos League along with EternalFloette.

Later, Yuga learned from Diantha that AZ had been recruited by the Kalos League and, along with EternalFloette, had joined the League. Kalos became the fifth region with a Master-level trainer, following Jotho, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova.

Yuga's initial intuition proved correct. In addition to Eternal Floette, AZ had a Golurk that had been with him for at least a thousand years. It was with this Golurk that AZ had been able to quell the conflict between Darkrai and Cresselia.

AZ's Master-level credentials were somewhat lacking because he had no Pokémon other than Golurk and Eternal Floette.

He was different from traditional trainers and didn't fully understand what being a trainer meant. The concept of a trainer did not exist in his era, and the strength of his Golurk was due to the accumulation of time.

If he had to train another Master-level Pokémon, he might not match any other Master-level trainer.

However, AZ had conditions for joining the Kalos League. He requested that Lysandre not be executed, as he was the only descendant of his brother.

The League agreed to AZ's request and sentenced Lysandre to life imprisonment.

After resolving the Lysandre issue, Yuga planned to address the request from Aegislash, which was his second purpose for coming to Kalos.

But before that, he received a gift sent from Alola.

(End of this chapter)