Chapter no.177 The Legend of Lavender Tower

Ace Squad. A name that was associated with power, money and social stature in the pokémon world. As far as the administration was concerned, there were two levels of Ace trainers—Group A and Group B. Group A was the upper class, with each and every single member being a winner of the Indigo League at one point or another. The Group B consisted of trainers who had come up to the Top-4 in the League conferences, and multiple times at that. Usually, they were handpicked by the Elite Four, in hopes of polishing them into a gem, and also, to make sure that such talent didn't go waste, or worse, get incriminated into the malicious forces trying to creep up every now and then. However, there existed a special team—a mixture of Group A and Group B Aces, one that answered to Lance and only to Lance himself.
The Ryoto Brigade.
A team of exactly eighteen Ace trainers, each of them specialising in at least, a single type of pokémon, to cover all eighteen types of pokémon out there. The Ryoto Brigade, was created to aid the Champion alone in defending the security of Kanto and Johto regions.
A brigade that had been mercilessly slaughtered in less than ten seconds, by a not-quite-a-legendary pokémon known as Mewtwo.
A brigade that was now only limited to the stack of papers on his deck. Lance mused silently.
After the events of SS. Anne, Lance had created the next generation of the Ryoto Brigade almost overnight, ready to challenge the uprising threat that was Team Rocket. While it was true that Mewtwo alone had been able to defeat them without batting an eye, it also should be taken into account that the brigade (and Lance himself) were battling an entity they had no idea about. The next time it happened, he would ensure that Mewtwo got a taste of his own medicine.
He owed Charizard that much.
Strangely enough, Team Rocket hadn't behaved like he had expected. Executive Pierce had managed to get away, as had the other Executives. From the official report, it seemed like Executive Proton had been… exterminated on the cruise's deck, though not much was clear about the rest of them. A certain Executive Cassidy had lost her right arm, while battling Lorelei, but that was all he knew about it. It seemed, that with the intervention of the mythical Dragonite, Team Rocket had decided to step back and watch for a while before trying another attempt at taking over the League. Even Mewtwo… Lance thought with disdain, had yet to make another presence in public.
He sent another glance at the ring on his right hand, the tetrahedral stone on it glowing brightly, even though it might never be used, ever again, as far as Lance himself was concerned.
I will avenge you, my friend.
His thoughts turned towards the newest addition to his team. The Hydreigon. Mewtwo had, in a grand display of his magnanimity, Lance thought with a snarl, had gifted him the dark dragon as a replacement for his Charizard. Team Rocket's pokémon or not, the Hydreigon was damn powerful, though untrained, and was currently being trained by the rest of Lance's team, so that it could turn out to be a fitting battler in the future.
A proper addition to his team of dragons.
The phone on his desk rang loudly, as he held up the receiver, only to ask. "Have they arrived yet?"
"Yes, sir."
Lance paused for a moment. "Good. Please send them in."
He pushed his chair a little backward, trying to get himself a little more comfortable. He would need all of his patience to get through the meeting—a meeting on which a lot of things were depending on.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in." He replied, in a loud, clear tone.
The door opened as the two foremost researchers of Kanto region stepped in, as Lance himself stood up in acknowledgement. After all, in the current scheme of things, it was extremely vital that he had these two working alongside him, not against his machinations.
He stared squarely at the faces of the two men who now stood in front of him.
Samuel Oak, and Bill Montgomery.
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[ Birth Island - Shore ]
The two trainers were walking along the sea shore, enjoying the cool evening breeze as it kissed their faces. After the events all day, the idea of a nice evening walk had sounded like a good option.
"I was thinking of burying Raticate on the Lavender tower." Austin declared, kicking a sand on the path, as it fell into the water.
" Hmm .... Lavender tower , the tower that is filled with mysteries that can't be explained by anyone."
" Who created , lavender tower?" Austin curiously asked.
" That's the thing , no one knows. Some say it is the site where the people of old would sacrifice the blood of the young to calm the Spirits of the Void , some say the tower was created by Mew to seal the connection between the physical world and the astral world. Similarly there are hundreds of legends created about the origin of the Lavender tower."
"Right. Who knows, what it would turn out?" Cynthia rolled her eyes. "You know that there is a saying about Lavender tower that if you stay in there long enough, you will meet the spirit of the trainer who rules over the tower maybe it would just go for the kill."
"Nah, not so easy. My team would be there and you will also be there.I don't really fear anything will happen to me."
Cynthia smiled at his admission of his faith in her, but didn't comment.
"Besides, I'm thinking it is time that after we are done with your training, I'll start training them in some of the ways I thought of over the past week. About those weaknesses that need to be addressed." He continued. "Also I need to talk to Bill again, asking if he managed to do something about Charmeleon."
"Hmm?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you about that. I called up Bill Montgomery last night, about Charmeleon."
"And?"
"He said that he would file in appropriate documentation to register him as a special kind of shiny pokémon, at least as far as official reports go."
"Unofficially?"
Austin mumbled something under his breath.
"What was that?"
"He said that he'd drive some sense into Lance."
Cynthia chortled at that.
"Hey!"
Cynthia held her hands up in surrender. "Don't worry. It's not like every other trainer out there has a pokedex like yours that would start throwing out concerns for everybody to hear. Besides, you are an honorary associate of the Indigo League, remember?"
Austin nodded.
" Don't worry about Charmeleon.Lance is a little headstrong, I've heard, but he has his heart in the right place."
Austin raised an eyebrow.
"Um… I've heard that as well." She confessed. "From Steven."
Austin let out a breath. At least, he could trust the silver-haired former Champion, if no one else, as far as the Indigo league was concerned.
"Don't be so paranoid." She reached out for his hand. "Everything will work out for the best."
"If you say so." Austin muttered darkly.
The two continued walking, though for some reason, Cynthia hadn't left his hand.
"Austin?"
"Huh?"
"I… got a notification from the Elite." Cynthia spoke up softly. "I am required to report back soon."
That got a reaction from him. "How soon?"
"Maybe… tomorrow morning."
Austin stopped in his tracks. "But… but this is supposed to be your vacation, right?" He asked impulsively. "What about it? Why are they, you know-?"
"I know." Cynthia frowned a little. "I know I promised you that I'd be there to help you train-"
"Screw that." Austin retorted, much to her surprise. "I'm not talking about the training. I'm talking about you. This is supposed to be a vacation for you, right? Then why are they-?"
Cynthia tried but failed to suppress a smile on her lips. "Thanks Austin, but either way, this one day is worth a lot to me. I'll cherish it forever."
"Well…" Austin breathed. "That was the plan."
Cynthia chuckled lightly. "Either way, we cannot ignore the fact that it is your birthday."
Austin just shrugged. "Not a bloody big deal, really."
"It is for me." The Sinnoh girl countered softly. "And I did think a lot about what to give you as a gift. I wanted it to be special, something to remember me by, when you are off on your own journey." Cynthia said as she took a step forward.
"Well, I have your contact number. I guess we could call up and talk sometimes."
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[ 𝐎𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡 ]
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟎𝟎 𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭, 𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞-𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 – 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐝, 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐨𝐧, 𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞.
𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 "𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐝" 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞. 𝐅𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠.