Pokemon: I Transmigrated Twice

Credits: Waterwave

(Long Chapter)

"Hehe~"

 Karen responded with a cold laugh.

But this time, Stephen didn't reply.

 Because he knew very well that when a girl is angry, it's like when she's on her period—at that moment, even your breathing is wrong.

The awkward atmosphere lingered. No one could tell how much time had passed before Stephen suddenly spoke:

 "Will, if you're done picking the fruits, you can come in."

At the door, Will shivered but eventually mustered the courage to walk into the base.

"Where are the fruits?"

 Karen shot him a cold glance.

Wasn't this guy holding absolutely nothing?

Will was so embarrassed he could probably dig out a three-bedroom apartment with his toes.

I wasn't going to pick any fruits; I was just looking for an excuse to slip away.

But seriously, after all this time, why is it still so tense in here?

If I'd known, I would have come back two hours later.

"Uh, um... Stephen, do you think President Lusamine will meet us?"

 Will forced a change of topic.

But as soon as he said it, he regretted it.

This doesn't seem like the right time to bring up that name!

Will didn't even dare to glance at Karen's face. His expression was like Ishigami Yū from Kaguya-sama: Love is War meeting Kaguya Shinomiya herself.

Am I about to get killed?

"She will. Absolutely."

 Stephen's tone was full of confidence.

The "Technical Machine or TM," also known as the "Move Machine," was one of Stephen's most practical inventions to date. While it might not be his strongest creation, its utility was undeniable.

 Its bug-like effectiveness was comparable to that of Rare Candies.

 ...Actually, Rare Candies were probably even more overpowered.

The primary function of the TM was to save training time.

 In the future, when Ash's Pikachu learned Iron Tail or Charizard learned Steel Wing—both non-STAB moves—they had to spend a lot of time and effort. Fortunately, they succeeded.

 But some Pokémon with poor aptitude might not even manage to learn such moves.

With the TM, however, time could be greatly saved, and success was guaranteed.

 Its practicality was simply off the charts.

Stephen didn't believe Lusamine could resist something like this.

"Really? What kind of treasure is it?"

 Hearing Stephen's confident tone, Will's interest was piqued.

Even Karen, who had been wearing an upset expression, couldn't help but glance over.

 Judging by Stephen's words, this wasn't something like a diamond ring or a necklace.

Although the Aether Foundation couldn't compare to corporate giants like Silph Co. or Devon Corporation, Lusamine, as its leader, couldn't possibly be swayed by such trivial items.

Buzz, buzz!

Just as Stephen was about to explain, his phone suddenly rang.

["Hello~ Is this the young man with glasses? This is Kukui. Do you remember me? I was the one presenting the award to President Lusamine this morning!"]

From the phone came a man's somewhat urgent voice.

Stephen smiled slightly and gave a thumbs-up to the other two.

 Will: (ω`)

 Karen:

Karen, who had just started to smile, suddenly remembered she was supposed to be angry.

 She quickly pulled her expression back into a cold, aloof look and turned her face to the side.

However, from an angle where Stephen and Will couldn't see, Karen's annoyed expression had already returned to a faint smile.

Stephen and Kukui agreed to meet the next day at Aether Paradise.

...

Yet in just one day, words like "the boy with glasses," "Lusamine," and "confession" dominated the front pages of newspapers across various regions.

This was largely because there hadn't been any major events within the League recently, and neither Team Rocket nor Team Shadow—a couple of infamous criminal organizations—had made any moves.

With nothing serious to report, the media naturally turned their attention to juicy gossip. And, truth be told, people enjoyed reading it.

Manaro TV Channel:

["Lusamine, the president of the Aether Foundation, has won the Alola Woman of the Year award for the ninth consecutive time. However, this year's ceremony had a slight twist. A young boy boldly confessed his feelings to Madam Lusamine, once again highlighting her influence on teenagers. While the boy's chances of success seem slim, we wish to commend his courage."]

Flying Cloud Daily:

["Unova's top child model, Nancy held a press conference to clarify that despite similarities in their names, she is not the daughter of Driftveil Gym Leader Clay. Mr. Clay also confirmed that he does have a daughter, but it isn't Nancy."]

Galar Daily:

["Mr. Rose encouraged skilled trainers to visit Galar for tourism and announced that he would provide Dynamax Bands to trainers participating in the All-Star Tournament for free."]

Goldenrod TV Channel:

["After some investigation, we've confirmed that the brave boy who confessed his love is from Johto. While we applaud his courage, we don't think he'll succeed. That said, Madam Lusamine does have a daughter, so perhaps he could try his luck there."]

Saffron TV Channel:

["The Cerulean Gym Leader has recently expressed plans to retire but is still undecided about which of her three daughters will inherit the gym. Her youngest daughter is too young and is not being considered for the role."]

Stephen was speechless as he read these headlines during breakfast.

He hadn't expected people in the Pokémon world to be so gossipy.

"Let's go to the Aether Foundation," Stephen said as he stood up.

"Okay!" Will responded excitedly.

He always got pumped up when visiting new places.

However, Karen remained silent. Her mood had improved quite a bit, but seeing those news reports disgusted her all over again.

...

Meanwhile, in Celadon City in the Kanto region...

In the basement of a large gaming building, located inside one of Team Rocket's secret bases:

"BOSS, this is indeed a new type of evolution stone. My Gloom successfully evolved," reported a woman standing before Giovanni's desk. She was none other than Athena, one of Team Rocket's top executives.

Standing beside her was her newly evolved Pokémon, a Vileplume.

Originally, Gloom could evolve into Bellossom using a Sun Stone. However, Athena, being more adept with Poison-types, had refrained from evolving her Gloom until now.

To her delight, the evolution stone Giovanni had brought back allowed Gloom to evolve into Vileplume while retaining its Poison type, leaving Athena very pleased.

"Heh... This is just the most unimpressive of that kid's research," Giovanni said with a slight smile, taking a sip of his coffee.

Recalling the moment when Stephen demonstrated his powers of the Viridian Forest in front of him, Giovanni thought to himself that this evolution stone was probably the least significant of Stephen's findings.

"Giovanni-sama, this is today's newspaper from the Kalos region," said a secretary with purple bobbed hair, frameless glasses, and an office-lady uniform. She appeared to be about the same age as Lance.

"Hmm..."

Giovanni accepted the newspaper, curious why Matori had brought him something from Kalos—a region far removed from Team Rocket's sphere of influence.

Kalos news tended to focus on celebrity gossip, considering even its future League Champion was also a pop star.

Opening the newspaper, the bold headline immediately caught his attention:

["Glasses-Wearing Youth Confesses to Married President."]

Below the sensational headline was a photo of Stephen handing Lusamine a gift box, his black-rimmed glasses visible.

"Pffft—!"

Giovanni, in the middle of sipping his coffee, sprayed it all over the newspaper.

He stared at the now coffee-stained photo, stunned. Though he said nothing, his expression resembled a meme-worthy reaction image from Stephen's previous life.