Strongest Elite Four

Sunyshore City.

A young man, dressed in a suit and tie, with light purple long hair, wearing small glasses, and holding a book, walked down the street, taking in the sights of the sunny port city with a curious gaze.

Everywhere he looked, there were solar-powered pedestrian bridges and automated elevators, showing off the city's advanced technology.

"Quite a transformation compared to before…"

Looking at the city, which used to be a chaotic, dirty mess despite being a gateway to the Sinnoh League, Lucian couldn't help but express his admiration.

This was something he had always wanted to accomplish, but for various reasons, it had never materialized. Now, someone else had done it—perfectly.

The new Champion had arrived in this once chaotic Sunyshore City, first subduing all criminals with absolute strength, then recruiting local trainers like Flint and Volkner to help clean up the aftermath. Finally, the introduction of Galactic Corporation under Charon and relevant Sinnoh League agencies laid the foundation for a high-tech, mechanized metropolis that could compete with Jubilife City to be Sinnoh's largest city.

Lucian felt genuinely happy about this.

Even though the new Champion wasn't much of a reader, Lucian had great respect for him. After all, he was someone who got things done.

The previous Champion, Cynthia, was strong and beautiful, but often spent her time on "extracurricular activities," such as chasing after Sinnoh's mythology. As a result, many of the duties of the Champion would fall on him, the strongest of the Elite Four.

Lucian never imagined that after becoming an Elite Four member, he'd be pulling all-nighters to handle paperwork. He also never thought his psychic abilities would one day be used to speed up that paperwork. But, admittedly, using psychic powers to work faster was incredibly efficient.

After years of this high-efficiency work, Lucian finally felt the change when Cynthia was defeated and the new Champion, Reid, took over.

Whereas Cynthia would let paperwork pile up for ten days or more, under Reid, it only stacked up for a week—what an incredible improvement!

Lucian hadn't felt this relaxed in years, and even his dark circles had lightened.

That's why when Lucian received the message summoning him, he immediately put down his freshly opened book about ancient Sinnoh culture and rushed over.

Surely, if Reid had specifically called for him, it must be something related to psychic abilities.

With this in mind, Lucian paused in his walk as he admired the Sunyshore Tower in the distance. The structure resembled a giant "Sunflora," but its exterior was entirely made of solar panels. As he gazed at the tower, a glimmer of psychic light flickered in his eyes, refracted through his glasses into an eerie glow.

"So many familiar faces are here. It seems I'm the last to arrive…"

Lucian retracted his psychic energy and headed toward Sunyshore Tower.

…

Arriving at the top floor without any obstacles, Lucian opened the door to the innermost room. Inside, there were three people.

The current Sinnoh Elite Four member—Volkner.

The former Sinnoh Elite Four member—Aaron.

And lastly, seated between them, was the current Sinnoh League Champion—Reid.

Including himself, over half of Sinnoh's high-level battle power was now gathered here.

If you counted the two senior special investigators from the League and the high-ranking Interpol officer Lucian had seen at the elevator, it was clear something significant was going on.

"Is there something you need me to do?" Lucian asked directly.

Out of everyone in Sinnoh, if he had to pick someone he admired the most—excluding Cynthia—it would undoubtedly be Reid.

"There's something only you can do," Reid replied, then gestured to Volkner to explain the situation.

Reid leaned back in his chair, quietly observing Lucian.

Despite Lucian's somewhat delicate appearance and his eccentric style, when it came to work, he was diligent and reliable—a stark contrast to other psychics in different regions who tended to be a bit "volatile."

In fact, Lucian had a bit of a perfectionist streak. He wouldn't leave work unfinished, even if it meant staying late. On rare occasions when Reid offered to help, Lucian would look at him with such gratitude.

It was because of Lucian that Reid found the duties of Champion to be relatively manageable. If Lucian weren't part of the Elite Four, Reid would have likely asked him to be his secretary.

Lucian, unaware of Reid's thoughts, became serious as he listened to Volkner's explanation.

"The collective rampage of the Lake Guardians is no small matter," Lucian remarked gravely, "but if they've already been hypnotized, why do you need me to handle them? Is there something else you want me to do?"

Reid nodded, speaking calmly, "Neither I nor my Pokémon are particularly skilled in areas outside of combat, and that includes hypnotism. It's all very crude, honestly.

"That's why I want someone with real expertise to take another look. There might be something we missed.

"Just like how I've assigned the special investigators and Interpol to look into all the possible clues related to the situation at the lakes, I'm leaving this professional task to you."

With that, Reid took out two Master Balls and one GS Ball replica containing the Lake Guardians and placed them on the table near Lucian. The simple gesture conveyed an immense amount of trust.

After all, these weren't ordinary Pokémon. Inside the Poké Balls were Sinnoh's legendary Lake Guardians.

"I understand," Lucian said, taking a deep breath as he accepted the Poké Balls. He then asked Volkner for a quiet room in Sunyshore Tower and got to work immediately.

As Lucian left, closing the door behind him, Reid turned his attention to the one person who had remained silent throughout—Aaron.

"Alright, Aaron. Now that we're alone, tell me more about that previous matter in detail."