Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom

"Register these groups as participants in the auction organized by Team Rocket. Even if it's not a serious matter, we must inform our superiors. Also, your task will be to closely monitor these families and companies," Cain spoke indifferently.

The researchers exchanged glances.

Did this mean they were going to act against these powerful families and companies?

Even if Cain wanted to, the League would surely oppose it. These families were fundamental pillars of the League, and Cain had no intention of doing anything to them. Simply put, since the League had assigned him the mission, it was only right to report everything he saw.

"Is there a direct communication device with headquarters here?" Cain asked.

Still surprised, the researchers reacted immediately.

"Yes, we have one!" exclaimed one of the mid-level researchers, and the others stepped aside, revealing a videophone with a button for direct linkage to the Investigators' central office.

Cain sat down and hesitated for a moment before dialing a different number instead of pressing the button.

He was calling a Chief-level Investigator from the Hoenn region League directly.

It didn't matter that the original order had come from Kanto; in the end, Cain answered to the Hoenn League.

The videophone connected, and on the screen appeared a woman with the characteristic face of the Joy family, but dressed in a Chief-level investigator's uniform.

She was Investigator Joy, the one who owned an Articuno.

The Joy family, known for their expertise in Pokémon medicine, also had members with talent in combat.

In Kanto, there was another Joy in a similar position, whose signature Pokémon was a Latias. In Hoenn, Investigator Joy had an Articuno.

This showed that, if a Joy decided to become a trainer, her family had the resources to push her to the top.

Cain had removed his disguise and appeared with his normal face—that of a regular trainer.

However, this face was no longer unknown among the League's high command.

The general public might not recognize him, but the high-ranking officials knew very well who Cain was: the discoverer of the Fairy type, and a Pokémon researcher in the process of being officially accredited thanks to Professor Oak.

"Joy..." Cain began to speak but stopped. He didn't know how to address her.

All the Joys were named Joy. How was he supposed to refer to this one in particular?

"Call me Yui. This call is from the Goldenrod City research base. Have you discovered something?" Her expression remained cold.

Cain didn't worry about her lack of expressiveness and replied, "Yes, I found something important."

Yui nodded without hesitation. "Hold on a moment."

She pressed several keys on her videophone and the screen split into multiple sections, each one showing a call in progress.

"Yui, is something wrong? It's unusual for you to call at this hour."

"Sister Yui!"

"Yui, what's the situation?"

Cain recognized the president of the Hoenn League, Juan, and another Joy who had called Yui "sister."

Some faces were familiar to him; others weren't. But all were high-ranking officials.

"Kanto asked us to send an investigator to infiltrate Team Rocket. We now have some information to share," Yui explained without changing her expression.

The others accepted the news without surprise. They seemed used to her tone.

"Cain, what did you find out?" asked Juan.

He knew Cain was on the mission but didn't expect results so quickly.

"I managed to infiltrate the Team Rocket auction and made contact with some of their high-ranking members. Here's what I found out," Cain reported.

The others fell silent, attentive.

"First, Team Rocket auctioned off a legendary Pokémon: Moltres. It was acquired by the Berlitz family of Sinnoh. Other families and corporations also participated, and I'll include their names in my report."

The high command nodded. They had heard rumors, but no confirmation.

"Second, in Kalos there's an organization called Lysandre Labs, which has established ties with Team Rocket and supplies them with a special type of combat suit. I suspect their relationship runs quite deep."

Any company capable of cooperating with Team Rocket had to be powerful.

"Third, Team Rocket has a secret base in Olivine City where they conduct biological research. We believe they are working with legendary-class Pokémon—and not ones on the same level as Moltres."

"That's all the information I've gathered. I'll send a detailed report soon."

Cain spoke calmly, paying no mind to the others' expressions.

"Cain, can you confirm this? Especially the last part." Juan's tone was serious.

A research base wasn't unusual, but if they were experimenting on legendary Pokémon, the situation became drastically different.

Cain nodded.

If Giovanni had decided to expose the base in exchange for reinforcing his position in the League, Cain would simply take advantage of the opportunity.

To Cain, both Team Rocket and the League were tools to be used to strengthen himself.

Giovanni had judged him well: he was someone driven by his own interests.

"Well done!" exclaimed Juan. "Did you all hear that, colleagues from Kanto?"

Some high-ranking officials from Kanto had doubted Cain, suspecting he was a Team Rocket spy.

Now, Juan was elated.

"They accused us of harboring a mole, and it turns out Cain exposed more information in one day than their investigators did in months!"

The Kanto executives could only smile in resignation.

Their intention when assigning Cain the mission had been to evaluate whether he was connected to Team Rocket.

Now, they'd received a slap of reality.

(End of Chapter)