Chapter 64: Luxray

Maki's reasoning sounded absurd at first. Upon closer thought, it still seemed quite ridiculous.

However, Lance had enough self-awareness to reassess the situation. When he considered his own circumstances, it actually seemed... reasonable?

"So, you came here for a reason, right? Do you need my help?"

"Yes, thank you..."

Lance, who had somehow lost control of the conversation, explained to Maki about the situation involving the Gregor organization.

"This is probably just one of their smaller, more ordinary hideouts. The largest one is being handled by Elite Four Agatha and her team."

As a highly talented member of the Dragon Clan, there was no way the Pokémon League would assign him anything overly dangerous alone.

The underground level of this game arcade was one of Gregor's minor bases. Under normal circumstances, there was no significant risk, which was why Lance had been assigned to this mission.

Maki's arrival was a coincidence, but Lance didn't question it. After all, Maki's reasoning made enough sense.

Since there was little danger involved, Lance figured he might as well bring Maki along. Maki was, after all, an official League member. Reporting the mission as a joint effort would only be beneficial for him.

"The entrance to the underground should be in the employee break room in the back. Just follow me, and we'll rush in directly."

Lance spoke with absolute confidence.

"No strategy planning beforehand?"

"No need. The people here are just grunts. The elite members have already been reassigned by Gregor. There's barely anyone left."

"Alright then... Shall we go?"

"Let's move!"

Lance and Maki exchanged knowing smiles before heading toward their target, striding through the arcade as if they owned the place.

As soon as they stepped inside, a staff member hesitated for a moment before approaching them.

"Excuse me, may I help you...?"

Just as Lance had said, most of the personnel here were ordinary employees, busy at their respective stations. Apart from this particular worker, who was on break, no one else seemed to notice them.

"Drop the act. Open the door. We're on a tight schedule."

Of course, this person wasn't an employee at all—he was an undercover agent planted by the Pokémon League.

While Team Rocket was undoubtedly the best at these kinds of infiltration tactics, the League occasionally dabbled in them too.

"I was told only one person was coming..."

The agent muttered under his breath but moved quickly nonetheless. He walked over to a nearby shelf and, blocking Maki's view with his body, activated some kind of mechanism.

A moment later, a hidden door in the wall swung open.

"Quit staring and get moving!"

At the agent's urging, Lance quickly led Maki inside.

"We'll talk once we're in."

"Got it." Maki nodded.

As soon as the two of them had entered, the agent casually closed the hidden door behind them.

Since the arcade was quite noisy, and the mechanism itself operated quietly, no one outside noticed anything unusual.

The underground area wasn't very large, consisting of a single, straight corridor. About halfway down on the left side was a heavy metal door.

Maki glanced at Lance after seeing the door, silently signaling that he wasn't going to be able to handle this one.

"Don't worry. Leave it to me!"

Before making a move, Lance checked his communicator, seemingly confirming something.

Maki guessed he was verifying whether Agatha's team had begun their operation. If nothing had happened on their end yet, causing too much commotion here might blow their cover.

After looking at the device, however, Lance seemed even more certain. He reached for his Poké Ball—not the one containing Dratini, but another one.

His starter Pokémon—Charizard!

"Charizard, use Fire Punch to break down that door!"

Lance clenched his fist as he gave the command.

"Charmander, come on out too."

If they were only dealing with common grunts, even Charmander should be able to handle them. This would be a good opportunity for it to get some battle experience.

The moment Charizard emerged from its Poké Ball, it made no effort to hide its eagerness. It let out a powerful roar, a few embers escaping from its mouth before swirling around its clenched fist.

Boom!

The solid metal door provided no resistance at all. Under Charizard's flaming fist, it was instantly smashed apart, with portions near the impact point even beginning to melt.

After punching a hole through the door, Charizard grabbed the edges and, with one mighty pull, tore the entire thing off.

Maki raised an eyebrow. This Charizard was... quite aggressive.

Charmander, on the other hand, gazed at Charizard in admiration, as if wondering when it would be able to achieve such strength.

After briefly evaluating Charizard's strength, Maki concluded that it was already top-tier among Pokémon in the Great Ball level, even approaching Ultra Ball-tier.

Clearly, Lance still had a long way to go before becoming the Pokémon League Champion.

That didn't mean he was weak, though. Many Gym Leaders were only at the Ultra Ball level at best. Considering Lance's age, aside from Sabrina, not many trainers could claim a sure victory against him.

Even Sabrina's edge came from her own psychic powers. If she neglected proper Pokémon training, it was only a matter of time before Lance surpassed her.

"What's going on?!"

"Intruders!"

"Enemy attack?!"

Given Lance's method of opening doors, only an idiot wouldn't realize this was a hostile invasion.

"Charizard, take them out!"

Lance issued the command without hesitation, but before Charizard could act, a loud roar echoed through the room.

"Rooooar!"

"Damn it! Are they from the Pokémon League? How did they find us so quickly?"

A red flash lit up the room as a Pokémon appeared—a feline creature with a striking blue-and-black coat, resembling an adult lion.

Its face, hind legs, torso, and the back of its front legs were blue, while the rest of its body was covered in thick black fur. Its mane extended over its shoulders and tail, forming a star-shaped tip.

Its yellow eyes gleamed ominously, and its ears—round with yellow interiors—twitched in alertness.

Luxray!

"Damn it! Is it the League? Or Team Rocket? How did they find us so soon?"

From the shadows of the room, a middle-aged man in a black uniform stepped forward, his expression grim. The Luxray belonged to him.

"Maki, leave this guy to me. Can you handle the rest?"

As he spoke, Lance released his Dratini as well, clearly intending for it to assist Maki in battle.

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