Cyrus

"Salamence."

Reid called out softly.

The Salamence, soaring through the sky, heard its trainer's voice. In mid-descent, it executed an overly dramatic spin, almost throwing Paul off in the process, before landing steadily at the foot of the mountain on the city's outskirts.

As soon as they landed, Paul's face turned pale, and he stumbled after taking just a few steps.

Quick as a flash, Salamence swung its tail around, catching him before he could fall.

Before Paul could even thank it, he felt the pressure on the tail around him increase, squeezing him tighter and tighter. All the while, Salamence proudly looked to Reid, seemingly seeking praise for its "good deed," unaware of Paul's predicament.

It wasn't until Reid noticed that Paul was nearly suffocating that Salamence sheepishly retracted its tail.

"Sorry about that. This guy is a little too lively for its own good and doesn't know its own strength."

Paul nodded slightly at Reid's words, showing no real reaction or making any other movement.

This made Reid curious.

"What's wrong? This should be the place you mentioned earlier, right?"

"I have a question I'd like to ask you."

"There's no need to be formal. Go ahead, ask what you want."

Paul lifted his head, his gaze fixed directly on Reid.

"Why did you tell me those things? Or rather, why did you... help me?"

Paul couldn't understand why Reid, someone he'd never met before, would go out of his way to warn him like that. While Paul acknowledged the truth of Reid's words, he couldn't wrap his head around Reid's motivation, especially given Paul's own unsociable personality.

"So that's what you're thinking about. I thought it was something else," Reid said, recalling his Salamence after it pouted at being scolded for being too rough.

"It's simple. You have the potential to become a powerful trainer. I don't want to see you waste your valuable time on unnecessary things.

"After all, I'm the Sinnoh Champion. It's my responsibility to guide up-and-coming trainers like you.

"And if you don't believe me, then just keep working hard to grow stronger."

Paul looked a little confused by that last statement.

"Once you become a regional champion yourself, many things that don't make sense to you now will become clear in the future."

Watching Reid's figure gradually disappear into the distance, Paul stood there, muttering to himself in a barely audible voice, "Become... a regional champion..."

...

Veilstone City, Veilstone Galactic Building.

Once the base of Team Galactic, it was now the headquarters of the Galactic Corporation.

After wandering around the city for a while, Reid spent some time observing the Galactic Veilstone Building. Once he confirmed that the time was right, he stepped into the lobby and made his way to the Sinnoh League's investigation team's office.

As he walked, he took off his hat, which had been concealing his identity.

The two Officer Jennys and the Nurse Joy, who had been gossiping at the front desk, instantly fell silent when they recognized the face they had seen countless times on TV. Their faces turned bright red, and they stammered for a while, unable to form coherent sentences.

"Reid... Reid... Mr. Reid... We..."

"Relax. I space out during meetings all the time too. Besides, standing guard here every day must be pretty boring. I get it," Reid said, gesturing for them to sit back down. He then asked, "If I remember correctly, your rotation here lasts for four months. It's been less than three months since I last visited. Why have you changed shifts already?"

The Nurse Joy, the quickest to recover, responded first. "Miss Cynthia's new proposal was approved, so the rotation period has been shortened to two months."

"I see..."

Reid nodded. "Have you noticed anything unusual recently?"

"No."

"Everything has been normal."

"The three executives frequently go out on 'business trips,' and the other one spends most of his time holed up in the research lab. As for Cyrus, aside from occasionally attending important events, there hasn't been anything out of the ordinary.

"However, earlier today, after receiving a phone call, he left the building. But we received a tip-off that he quietly returned through the back entrance about an hour ago."

Reid gave the Nurse Joy, who had offered the detailed report, an approving look. Politely declining the Officer Jennys' offer to escort him, he made his way to the elevator.

Having been to the building countless times, both overtly and covertly, Reid was more familiar with it than he was with his own home.

As he stood alone in the elevator, feeling the slight weightlessness of its ascent, he couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Cyrus, who rarely left his office, had suddenly gone out today.

And not just out—he had openly left and then snuck back in afterward.

All after receiving a phone call.

It was obvious—he didn't want to see Reid.

Reid couldn't help but find it amusing. It seemed he'd forced the usually reclusive man to go out for a walk simply by announcing his visit.

"How adorable."

But in truth, meeting Cyrus today wasn't important. Reid's only objective was to retrieve the Galactic Bomb.

Ding!

The elevator chimed, and Reid smoothly passed through multiple layers of security, from ID checks to facial and retinal scans, before retrieving two neatly packaged Galactic Bombs from the lab.

Not long after Reid left, a short, hunchbacked man with thinning hair, wearing a lab coat and small round glasses, emerged from the back of the research lab.

It was Charon, one of Team Galactic's executives and their lead scientist.

"Heh heh heh..."

Staring at the now-empty room where Reid had just been, Charon let out a few eerie laughs before muttering to himself.

"Boss, if you'd just agreed earlier, I could have disabled his Pokéballs the moment he entered the lab. And once we had him, negotiating with the Sinnoh League would be a breeze..."

Pausing for a moment, Charon seemed to remember something.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I can't call you 'boss' anymore. I should be calling you... Chairman."

In his office, Cyrus ignored Charon's sarcastic remarks. Since childhood, he had become numb to both positive and negative emotions.

Except for that one person—the young man who had become Sinnoh's Champion at such a young age. Reid was the only one who could still stir intense emotions within him...

—emotions of pure frustration.

Not only had Reid forced him to disband the Galactic Team, but he'd also used Cyrus's own money to fund charitable projects, rendering years of careful planning meaningless.

For a brief moment, Cyrus had been tempted by Charon's plan.

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

He knew how terrifying Reid's strength was. Trying to disable Reid's Pokéballs was impossible; it would only backfire.

Cyrus understood all too well—Reid was just as eager to find a reason to eliminate him as he was to get rid of Reid.

Still, this current situation... wasn't so bad.

Cyrus stood up and walked to the window, looking down on Veilstone City from his high vantage point, his gaze growing more distant and hollow.

Maybe this really... ain't that bad?