Pokemon: I Transmigrated Twice [51]

"Got him!"

The officers below lit up with excitement.

But Agatha, Lorelei, and the others in the Indigo League frowned subtly.

No way. Could it be that easy...?

The next second, the Dragonair that had ensnared "Joker" suddenly froze. With a soft pop, the "Joker" they had captured split open from the inside, deflating like a balloon.

It was a decoy!

And that wasn't the end of it.

From the ruptured dummy, a dense cloud of dark green powder began to spread. The Dragonair holding the fake Joker was instantly hit. Its eyelids drooped visibly, and within two seconds, its head lolled to the side—it had fallen into a deep sleep.

It was Sleep Powder!

The move had come so suddenly that even Lance's Dragonair couldn't react in time.

"Dragonite! Hurricane!" Lance shouted sharply, seeing the green powder spreading toward them.

Another Dragonair, flying nearby, also succumbed to the Sleep Powder, drifting unconscious toward the ground.

Dragonite flapped its small but powerful wings, generating a gale completely disproportionate to their size.

But Lance had overlooked one critical detail—there was still a whole crowd of spectators below!

The fierce Hurricane whipped up the Sleep Powder, scattering it just before it could reach Lance and his Pokémon. However, the entire street below was now blanketed in the drifting powder.

"Uh..."

In an instant, the thousands of onlookers gathered on the street began to falter. Like hearing a Jigglypuff's lullaby, their eyelids grew heavy, and one by one, they collapsed where they stood, fast asleep in the middle of the street.

Even Officer Jenny, who had been leading the police operation, noticed something was wrong as she searched for the missing Rihua. She tried to shake off the creeping drowsiness, but within moments, she too succumbed, leaning against a patrol car as she dozed off.

The cameramen from Cianwood City's news crew, who had rushed to the scene to capture the unfolding events, were no exception.

The last thing the city's residents saw on their TV screens was the camera tilting and falling, the broadcast freezing on an image of the sleeping crowd. And from above, descending slowly, was the figure of Dragon Master Lance, clutching the torn remains of the Joker decoy.

"JOKER… YOU BASTARD!!!"

Lance's furious roar echoed through the televisions of viewers across the Pokémon world.

Not long after, police sirens blared through the streets as reinforcements from Cianwood's police department arrived. But everyone knew it was already too late to capture Joker.

The live broadcast abruptly cut off.

"Blissey, use Heal Bell!"

Nurse Joy Saori arrived at the scene with her Blissey, whose Heal Bell began waking up the sleeping citizens affected by the Sleep Powder.

"What… just happened?"

"Right, there was powder falling from the sky, and then I just… passed out."

"Wasn't that Sleep Powder? My Butterfree uses it all the time to help me avoid doing chores at home. It works like magic!"

"Wait, wasn't the powder coming from Joker's body? Where is Joker? And… wait a second! That female thief is gone too!"

"That wasn't Joker! It was a dummy! We've all been tricked!"

"Uh… wasn't the Sleep Powder spread because of Lance's Dragonite's Hurricane…?"

The awakened citizens began murmuring amongst themselves. Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Goodshow, the League President, stepped forward to address the crowd,

"Alright, alright, everyone, let's disperse! Please don't gather in situations like this in the future; it's far too dangerous!"

Truth be told, Joker's stunt today had thoroughly shaken him.

Luckily, the fake body had only been filled with harmless Sleep Powder. If it had been Toxic Powder instead… the consequences would've been unimaginable.

"Phew… I nearly had a heart attack when I saw all that Sleep Powder falling," said Officer Jenny, who had also rushed over from the villa. She patted her chest in relief.

This was her second time witnessing Joker's cunning.

Unlike the brute-force tactics used by Team Rocket or other criminal groups, Joker's schemes made her feel utterly powerless. His strategies were simply too overwhelming.

Goodshow remained silent, turning to look at Lance, who had descended from the sky. In his hand, he held the empty, deflated Joker dummy.

Lance stood there with his head lowered, silent. No one dared to approach him.

After a long pause, Goodshow sighed deeply and spoke in a low voice,

"The Joker case… will be handed over to the International Police."

The International Police, a special division under the Pokémon League, was tasked with handling criminal organizations like Team Rocket and Cipher. Unlike the high-profile, military-like style of the League's official investigators, the International Police operated more like covert agents, working in the shadows.

Given the current situation, they were far better suited for the task than Lance.

"President?!"

Lance's expression twisted in disbelief as he looked at Goodshow. But the older man's rare stern expression silenced him, forcing Lance to swallow his words.

"You should return and take some time to rest."

Goodshow's tone was firm, unlike his usual amiable demeanor. In this moment, he exuded the authority of a strict father figure.

And indeed, he was one of the few people in the League—perhaps even the entire Pokémon world—who could keep Lance in line.

"…Understood."

After a long pause, Lance finally relented, uttering a single word before leaving with his Pokémon.

Goodshow watched him go, sighing inwardly.

Lance was still too young and inexperienced. He needed more tempering.

Facing someone as cunning as Joker, the young Dragon Master was bound to be outplayed.

Goodshow's decision wasn't made out of doubt in Lance's abilities—it was to protect him.

Though the League's official narrative claimed that Lance and Joker's first encounter ended with Joker fleeing, thus granting Lance the victory, Goodshow knew the truth.

In reality, Lance had lost both encounters.

And while losing in a straightforward battle was something Lance could accept and work to overcome, losing to Joker's schemes was far more frustrating.

Goodshow feared that further encounters might push Lance, the promising heir to Agatha's title, to his breaking point.

The next day, headlines dominated newspapers and news broadcasts across the Pokémon world.

["Dragon Master Lance Suffers Humiliating Defeat in the League's Biggest Scandal of the Week!"]