One Hundred Million Poké Coins!

"Damn it! Who's there?!"

Saturn thought he had been extremely careful.

They had the map.

Without the map, no one could've made it into the core chamber of the Solaceon Ruins!

Did the map get leaked?

As soon as the thought came, Saturn crushed it. Impossible.

That map was one of a kind!

"Commander Saturn, the shadow that just flashed past... I think it was a Pokémon."

Saturn frowned at his subordinate's report.

He didn't believe it was a wild Pokémon. Looked like Cyrus's suspicions were correct—someone powerful was meddling behind the scenes.

Buzz... buzz... buzz!

The walls of the Solaceon Ruins' core chamber began to hum.

Due to the activation of the cube-shaped triangle structure, the embedded Unown glyphs were awakening!

"Retreat for now!"

Saturn led his two subordinates out quickly.

While leaving, he immediately reported the situation back to Cyrus.

Meanwhile, Gengar and Ash had already left the ruins, cube in hand.

They didn't run or hide.

Instead, they were just casually standing right at the exit.

Saturn and his men came out only to find the young man calmly waiting for them… holding the exact same cube that had just been snatched!

Beside him stood a Gengar, grinning devilishly.

No explanation was needed—this Gengar was the one who had stolen the Spear Key.

"Name your price. Give me the Spear Key."

Saturn wasn't a brainless grunt.

That Gengar had managed to nab the Spear Key right under his nose without him even reacting. That alone told him this trainer was not someone he could afford to underestimate.

Ash casually tossed the Spear Key in his hand, then glanced at Saturn with a teasing grin.

"You're Saturn, right? Executive of the Sinnoh underground syndicate—Team Galactic. If your boss wants this cube… he'll have to cough up one hundred million Poké Coins."

!!!

Saturn's eyes narrowed.

This kid not only knew who he was—he even knew exactly who he worked for. But Saturn didn't recognize him at all. Who was he?

Still, as a Galactic Executive, Saturn had his pride. This was outright mockery. No matter how strong the opponent, he had to at least test the waters.

"Toxicroak!"

He sent out his Pokémon, and the two subordinates immediately followed suit.

But before they could even fully throw their Poké Balls…

Toxicroak collapsed on the spot.

Just like that.

Put down instantly—by Gengar's Hypnosis.

Ash clucked his tongue and sighed dramatically. "Huh. Seems like you guys don't really care about this cube after all. Guess I'll take my leave, then. Gengar—"

"Wait!!"

Saturn immediately sent another urgent report.

This time, it was clear—they'd run into a real threat.

A serious one.

Team Galactic Headquarters

At this very moment, Cyrus was visiting the Celestic Town Historical Research Center alongside Cynthia's grandmother, Professor Carolina.

Cyrus, outwardly, was the image of a respectable philanthropist.

But in truth, he was the secret leader of Team Galactic.

Feeling his emergency line buzz twice in quick succession, he found an excuse to temporarily leave Professor Carolina's side.

!!!

Failure?!

Reading Saturn's message, his expression darkened.

One move. Just one move—and Toxicroak was down. That level of strength…

Could it be her? Cynthia?

But she was with Carolina. It couldn't be her.

Cyrus clenched his fists.

This cube… was the key to locating the Spear Pillar Gate—the hidden resting place of the Red Chain!

Its importance was immeasurable.

Saturn was someone Cyrus trusted to handle sensitive missions.

And even he had failed?

One hundred million Poké Coins!

Cyrus was filthy rich, no doubt. But even for him, that was a colossal sum.

To put it into perspective—he had invested less than half that in maintaining his public image as a philanthropist over the past few years.

Was he really going to hand over one hundred million?

After half a minute of silent calculation, Cyrus finally made his decision:

Yes.

Get the cube first. No matter the cost.

Send it.

One hundred million Poké Coins.

This year, his grand plan was closer to success than ever before. He could not afford any wild variables at this stage.

And this mysterious trainer, the one who brought down Saturn's Toxicroak in one strike—was the biggest variable yet.

No need to provoke him unnecessarily… for now.

Back outside the ruins, Saturn received the confirmation.

He turned toward Ash and couldn't help but wonder—did this guy already know they would compromise?

The deal went through flawlessly.

The payment, of course, was cleverly split into hundreds of smaller transactions, all deposited into a digital account…

A system-generated account.

Ash, grinning like a mastermind, transferred it all directly into his system.

With one hundred million Poké Coins now at his disposal, he could finally start planning breakthroughs for Mewtwo, Latias, and Darkrai!

Watching Saturn take the Spear Key Cube and board his transport, Ash gave a low chuckle.

"Team Galactic, huh… We'll meet again soon. And next time? It won't be just a hundred million. Heh…"

Ash was starting to seriously admire himself.

[Shameless...]

He had every intention of eventually taking down Team Galactic for good.

And he already had a plan—he'd wait until Cyrus and all the core executives gathered at Mount Coronet.

That would be the perfect moment to expose them, with plenty of witnesses—Officer Jenny, Cynthia, and others.

But that future moment… wouldn't be suitable for a little side hustle.

Because once law enforcement and the League got involved, there'd be no more free money to extract from Cyrus.

And Cyrus? He was loaded.

He was obsessed with reshaping the world.

To do that, he needed the key to the Spear Pillar Gate.

And inside that gate—the legendary Red Chain.

Ash had already anticipated this.

So when he offered the "account" to Saturn, it was actually a system-generated virtual account.

Functionally identical to a real League account—but undetectable by official systems.

So even if Cyrus tried to report the scam later… no one would believe him.

Yep. Flawless.

Dusting off his hands, Ash recalled Gengar.

Then turned and headed back toward the forest.

Dawn and Anabel were still waiting for him, after all.

It had barely been half an hour.

"There you are, Ash! Where'd you go? Let's hurry—off to Solaceon Town! Aipom and I are totally going to win the Ribbon in the next Contest!"

"Pipikachu!"

Dawn and Piplup, as always, were full of confidence.

Ash smiled. He'd already shared some advice with Dawn—helping her realize that in Pokémon Contests, it's not just about flashy moves… the Pokémon itself is the heart of the performance.

In the original timeline, Dawn got eliminated in the first round of the Solaceon Contest.

But this time?

Let's see if things play out differently.

That afternoon at 2 PM, the trio casually made their way to the Solaceon Contest Hall.

The Contest would begin tomorrow.

Dawn signed up for the competition.

Ash, meanwhile, was already planning the next steps—

Preparing to take Mewtwo and the others to an entirely new level…

--------------

T/N:

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