Pokémon: Chronicles of Freedom

Cain and Lance obtained information about Lysandre from Augustine Sycamore.

The three of them spent the morning at the laboratory.

After lunch, Lance and Cain said their goodbyes.

Lance had to investigate more about the Lysandre Labs, but Cain declined his invitation to accompany him.

It was still an early phase of the investigation, and there weren't any important tasks. Letting Lance handle it for now was the best option.

If, in the future, the Lysandre Labs became a real threat, then he would consider helping.

Cain had his own goals, and working alone gave him greater freedom.

Moreover, even though Team Flare had not yet emerged, their ability to collaborate with Team Rocket was proof enough that they already had considerable power.

Acting carelessly could be dangerous.

Lance had probably already reached the Elite level. The last time they met, he was on the cusp of the Quasi-Elite level.

Lance said goodbye to Cain with a resigned expression.

Cain's first destination was Shalour City.

That place held valuable records about Mega Evolution. In fact, it was considered one of the key locations in the history of this phenomenon in the Kalos region.

The family of the Shalour City Gym Leader had maintained knowledge of Mega Evolution as a generational secret.

No one knew exactly since when, but at some point in history, they had discovered Mega Evolution and used it within their lineage.

Even the League was unaware of many details about it.

In fact, the family members themselves didn't even know that what they used was Mega Evolution. They just considered it a special ability.

But before leaving Lumiose City, Cain had another task.

He needed to visit someone.

Someone who might have the Blazikenite.

He remembered that the future Gym Leader of Lumiose City would be a boy fond of mechanics. His father, a highly talented trainer, owned a Blaziken capable of Mega Evolving.

The problem was that man's personality...

To put it kindly, he had a flair for the dramatic.

More directly, he was an eccentric who dressed in a cape and mask, calling himself "Blaziken Mask."

Since Mega Evolution was not yet a confirmed concept, he wasn't sure whether this man possessed the Blazikenite.

For now, he should be running an appliance shop in Lumiose City.

Looking for a small shop in such a big city could be complicated.

Luckily, he remembered it was near the Prism Tower.

He didn't need to check every shop one by one. He just had to go near those that sold appliances and use his system to detect Pokémon with strong energy waves.

He took off his League researcher uniform and put on sportswear before walking through the streets of Lumiose City.

His behavior didn't attract much attention from the passersby.

Fortunately, the search process was faster than expected. Near the Prism Tower, he found the shop he was looking for.

It was a store with a peculiar façade, and his system detected a high concentration of electrical energy inside.

Not only because of the appliances, but also because of an Electric-type Pokémon.

Cain took a deep breath and entered.

"Welcome. How can I help you?" A child's voice greeted him.

He looked down and saw a small boy sitting on the floor, playing with tools while disassembling an unknown appliance.

Or rather, he was completely taking it apart.

Cain smiled and asked, "Hi there, little one. Is your father home?"

Just as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man came out from the back room.

He had brown hair and eyes, wore yellow overalls, and had a clear look of someone involved in maintenance and repair.

When he saw Cain, he was momentarily surprised.

"Sorry to intrude," Cain said politely.

"You're Cain, right?" the man asked.

"Eh? Uh... yes." Cain blinked, surprised.

Did he know him?

"Ahahaha! I knew it was you! The semifinalist from the Sinnoh Tournament! I didn't expect to see you in my shop. Need help with something? Or maybe you've got an appliance that needs fixing?" the man said, laughing heartily.

"Wu!"

From behind the man, a yellow creature with a bright red orb on its head appeared.

An Ampharos!

The electrical energy his system had detected was coming from this Pokémon.

Pokémon: Ampharos (Blue)

Gender: Male

Level: 59

Type: Electric

Ability: Static

Held Item: None

Egg Moves: Body Slam, Iron Tail, Agility, Electric Terrain

Base Moves: Thunder Punch, Zap Cannon, Magnetic Flux, Ion Deluge, Dragon Pulse, Fire Punch, Tackle, Growl, Thunder Shock, Thunder Wave, Cotton Spore, Charge, Take Down, Electro Ball, Confuse Ray, Power Gem, Discharge, Cotton Guard, Signal Beam, Light Screen

Learned Moves: Electroweb, Snore, Focus Punch, Magnet Rise

TM Moves: Protect, Safeguard, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Volt Switch, Wild Charge

Seeing Ampharos confirmed for Cain that the man was who he was looking for.

Meyer.

A powerful trainer living undercover in Lumiose City.

His signature Pokémon was a Blaziken that should be Elite level in strength.

This Ampharos wasn't weak either. It was close to reaching Elite level.

Meyer noticed Cain looking at Ampharos and laughed.

"Oh! I almost forgot! I'm Meyer, the owner of this shop. And this is my great partner, Ampharos. That little guy on the floor is my son, Clemont. Isn't he handsome? He inherited my good looks!"

While speaking, he didn't miss a chance to praise himself.

Clemont sighed and kept focusing on his experiment, ignoring him.

Cain had considered several possibilities about the current Gym Leader of Lumiose City, but seeing Ampharos's power almost confirmed his suspicion.

If Meyer wasn't the Gym Leader, he had to be closely related.

Otherwise, there would be no way a kid like Clemont would become a Gym Leader in the future.

Unless he had an extremely powerful father.

"Mr. Meyer, I'm here because of this. I have a device that needs repair. Do you think you can help me?" Cain asked, pulling out a damaged gadget he had prepared in advance.

Meyer didn't even look at it before patting his chest with pride.

"Don't worry! There's no device in Lumiose City that I can't fix."

With that, he led Cain to his personal workshop.

The shelves were filled with electronic devices and tools. Cain squinted.

"By the way, Mr. Meyer, do you happen to have a portable device for Pokémon transfer here?" Cain asked suddenly.

(End of chapter)