Pokemon: With Title System

Chapter 314: Dialga, Palkia—You Don't Want That, Do You…?

Asahi humbly waved his hand. "It was a team effort."

"HQ has decided to reward you for your contributions. Looker is already on his way to deliver it—make sure to sign for it."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Haha, I'll keep it a surprise. But trust me, you'll find it very useful. That's all."

The call ended, leaving Asahi staring at his screen full of question marks.

"What's with all the secrecy…?"

Eevee nodded in agreement. "Vee!"

Riddles are the worst!

Just then, Asahi's phone buzzed.

Looker: [Asahi, I'm at your door.]

Already?!

…

Looker came and went like the wind.

He still had to lead the Sinnoh division in clearing out the remnants of Team Galactic, so he simply dropped off a box and left.

"What's inside?" Gary leaned in curiously.

"No idea. Let's open it and see…"

Asahi entered the passcode Looker provided.

With a soft mechanical whir, the box slowly opened.

Inside, most of the space was filled with protective foam. Nestled in the center was a single red stone tablet.

Gary's eyes widened. "Wait… is that…?"

Asahi picked up the tablet, feeling its familiar size and weight.

He hadn't expected that the 'surprise' from HQ would be this!

The Draco Plate—the reward he didn't choose before—had now fallen into his hands through an entirely different means.

But how did HQ even obtain this? Surely… they didn't pluck it off a certain fluffy alpaca, right?

Instinctively, Asahi glanced at his system.

Seeing no reaction, he sent a message to HQ, asking about the tablet's origin.

A few minutes later, he received a response.

Apparently, this tablet had been discovered in an ancient ruin by the Sinnoh division some time ago. However, after extensive research, they failed to figure out its purpose and simply tossed it into storage.

It was only after reading Asahi's report—where he mentioned using the Mind Plate—that HQ realized he could actually harness the power of these tablets. So, they decided to send it to him.

Reading the reply, Asahi rubbed his chin. "Am I actually… the chosen one?"

The words had barely left his mouth before Gary burst out laughing.

"The chosen one… HAH!"

Asahi narrowed his eyes.

Gary: "It's been three days since Asahi last punched me."

…

Regardless, getting another Plate was a huge win.

With the situation in Sinnoh settled and the airship provided by Hunter J now fully repaired, Asahi decided it was time to return to Kanto.

At the Departure Hall

"You're really not coming back to Kanto with us?" Asahi asked, surprised.

Platinum nodded firmly. "I want to challenge the Sinnoh Gyms and the Battle Frontier to become stronger… at least strong enough not to hold everyone back!"

Platinum had a strong sense of pride.

After witnessing the strength of everyone at the Kanto division, she realized how far behind she was. Determined to improve, she made the decision to stay in Sinnoh for training.

"But traveling alone…"

Even though Team Galactic was gone, Sinnoh wasn't completely free of criminals. Given Platinum's status as the heiress of the Berlitz family, she was practically a walking treasure chest in their eyes.

"No need to worry, Mr. Asahi!"

Platina smiled as Uxie appeared beside her, its eyes half-closed in its usual wise expression.

"I have Uxie and Empoleon to protect me!"

Seeing this, Asahi was reassured.

Though Uxie had been overwhelmed in the battle against Team Galactic and Hunter J, it was still a Legendary Pokémon. It would be enough.

…Speaking of which, in the Pokémon Adventures manga, the Lake Trio—Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf—were each connected to a specific protagonist: Platinum, Diamond, and Pearl…

Did that mean the other two were with Diamond and Pearl?

Asahi glanced at the two, who were happily listening to Ethan tell Johto jokes.

Shaking his head, he turned away.

"Alright then, see you in Kanto."

"See you in Kanto!"

With that, everyone boarded the airship.

As the engines roared to life, the ship eventually disappeared from Platinum's view.

"Empoleon, we have to do our best too!"

...

Back in Kanto

Just like when Asahi left, Kanto was still as peaceful as ever.

However, something was noticeably different about the Kanto Division's estate in Saffron City.

For starters, the estate had more than tripled in size.

Within the grounds, three brand-new buildings stood tall.

One had a sleek, futuristic design—it was the Data Center Asahi had planned before he left.

Another had a glass dome—it was a Botanical Garden.

The last one, a Multi-Purpose Training Facility.

But…

"They built this fast."

Asahi was sure he had only been gone for less than a month.

"We paid five times the usual rate and hired Silph Co.'s best team." Sabrina explained.

Silph Co. handled the designs, Machamp did the heavy lifting, and seasoned builders handled the finishing touches. The efficiency was off the charts.

"…Makes sense."

As the airship landed, a loud cheer erupted.

Then—whoosh!

An orange blur tackled Asahi, wrapping its arms tightly around him.

Asahi was completely stunned.

What the heck was happening now?

As Asahi looked at the Dragonite hugging him tightly, he could feel its Aura radiating through its body and saw the familiar glimmer in its eyes. A bad premonition suddenly arose in his heart.

He tentatively asked, "Dragonair?"

"Whoo~!"

Hearing Asahi recognize it, Dragonite squinted its eyes happily, hugging Asahi even tighter and rubbing its face against him affectionately.

Asahi's vision went black.

"Ee...vee—!"

Trapped between Dragonite and Asahi, Eevee was getting squished so hard that it struggled to breathe. It frantically wriggled, trying to escape, but Dragonite's soft belly completely engulfed it. No matter how much it struggled, it was all in vain.

...

Returning to the Kanto Branch this time, Asahi received quite a few "surprises."

As for whether those surprises were actually more like shocks...

Well, that was up for debate.

The pros and cons of Dragonair evolving into Dragonite were pretty obvious.

On the bright side, after evolving, Dragonite's strength had skyrocketed. Thanks to its constant exposure to the Dragon Crystal, it had even surpassed the gluttonous Salamence, becoming Asahi's second strongest Pokémon—second only to the Legendary Pokémon in his team.

Having stayed behind at the manor for so long, it now finally had the chance to step onto the battlefield.

As for the downside...

Looking at Dragonite's round, chubby body—completely different from its previously sleek and elegant form—

Asahi had to admit, while Dragonite was indeed adorable, in terms of pure cuteness, it still fell short of Dragonair.

[All in all, it's still a good thing.] Asahi thought as he patted Dragonite's head.

Dragonite happily squinted its eyes.

Finally, Eevee managed to squeeze its way out from between Asahi and Dragonite, collapsing onto Asahi's shoulder. Its ears drooped, its tongue lolled out, and it panted heavily.

It had almost suffocated just now.

After playing around with Dragonite for a bit, Asahi finally remembered his main task.

From the airship, he brought out Hunter J, Sird, and Cyrus.

"Welcome to your new home!" Asahi said with a smirk.

The expressions on the three of them varied.

Hunter J looked furious.

Cyrus seemed completely indifferent to everything, like an emotionless stone.

Only Sird managed to find amusement even in suffering. "So, Midori is locked up here too?"

Asahi was more than happy to answer a prisoner's question.

"Of course! I think you and her might have a lot to talk about..."

One was Team Rocket's most loyal secretary, the other was a former Rocket executive who had betrayed Giovanni.

Putting the two in the same cell? Now that was bound to be interesting.

As he thought about it, Asahi led them into the underground prison of the Kanto Branch.

Compared to before he left, the prison had undergone some expansion.

The moment Asahi entered, Cyrus and Archie immediately started shouting.

"Damn you, Asahi! Let us out!"

"Otherwise, once we escape, you're finished!"

What amused Asahi was that while the two of them were yelling, they kept sneaking glances at the old man in the middle cell, as if afraid of offending him.

Of course, Asahi chuckled but then his expression suddenly turned ice-cold.

"Shut up, you idiots... You should be thanking me. If I hadn't saved you, you would've been dead already—your bodies eroded by Groudon and Kyogre's power."

Hearing this, Cyrus and Archie were unconvinced and wanted to argue.

But then, the old man in the middle cell gave a light cough.

At that moment, the two loudmouths instantly fell silent, like noisy birds that had just been strangled.

Seeing this, Asahi couldn't help but take another look at the old man.

What exactly did he do to make these two behave so obediently...?

On the other side, Midori had also noticed Sird, dressed in a Team Galactic uniform.

"Traitor!" Midori spat coldly.

Saturn chuckled behind his hand. "That's right, I'm a traitor. But tell me, Miss Midori, what role are you playing, considering you were the one who leaked false intel?"

"You see, I've been lurking inside Team Rocket for years, but even I didn't cause as much damage as you did."

"One fake intelligence report, and you nearly destroyed the entire Johto branch of Team Rocket. Tsk tsk..."

Midori's face turned red with rage. "You...!"

That was a direct critical hit. Midori was left speechless.

Asahi's evaluation?

As expected of Sird!

But as much as he enjoyed watching the drama, he still had work to do.

Under his command, sirknight locked up Hunter J, while Sird and Midori were placed together.

As for Cyrus, he was put in a cell next to Archie.

After finishing all this, Asahi glanced at the now half-filled prison and left in satisfaction.

...

Once Asahi was gone, the quiet prison finally filled with conversation.

"Hey, Galactic guy, what did you do to end up here?" Archie asked Cyrus.

He had only heard about Team Galactic when he was in Hoenn, but he never paid much attention.

After all, his mind was solely focused on controlling Kyogre and drowning Hoenn in the ocean.

Cyrus didn't respond. He simply stared at the ceiling and the fluorescent lights above.

For some reason, he felt a rare sense of peace here.

Except for the two buzzing flies next to him.

As Archie and Maxie started bickering again over some trivial matter, Cyrus finally lost his patience.

"Shut up, or I'll kill you both."

Hearing this, Archie and Maxie froze.

Then, they burst into laughter.

"Idiot, do you think you're some kind of big shot? This is a prison!"

"Here, aside from Mr. Elder, we fear no one!"

Mr. Elder?

Hearing this unfamiliar name, Cyrus frowned slightly.

And at that moment, a voice came from the central cell.

"The 'Elder' they're talking about... that would be me."

"Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"

Cyrus: "..."

...

After returning to Kanto, Asahi's daily life returned to its usual routine:

Eating, sleeping, training Slowbro and Gary, and maintaining good relations with Dialga and Palkia.

On the manor's lawn—

Asahi stood face-to-face with Dialga and Palkia.

Meanwhile, Dialga and Palkia were exchanging thoughts via telepathy.

Dialga: "Do you think he feels... different from last time? His aura seems even stronger..."

Palkia: "I thought it was just me who noticed. So… it wasn't because Boss got his equipment stolen?"

Dialga: "Idiot! Do you think Boss is someone who can just get his equipment stolen?"

Palkia: "Who are you calling an idiot?! You're the one who said it first! Just wait till we see Boss again—I'm telling him what you said!"

Dialga: "Hmph. Not wasting my breath on a tattletale like you."

Palkia: "Who are you calling a tattletale?! You started it, and now you're blaming me?!"

Just as the tension between Dialga and Palkia escalated—

A new voice suddenly joined their telepathic link.

[GardevoirIsTheBest: What are you guys talking about? Include me too.]

[MostAdorableMew: Mew~!]

Dialga and Palkia simultaneously turned to Asahi, who had somehow released Mew and forcibly entered their private conversation.

Wait… had he overheard their chat just now?!

Seeing their nervous expressions, Asahi's lips curled into a bright smile.

"Didn't catch everything, but I got the gist of it..."

"I never expected the mighty Lords of Time and Space to act like this behind the scenes."

Dialga and Palkia's faces instantly turned red.

Seeing this, Asahi finally revealed his true intention.

"Dialga, Palkia... you wouldn't want your image to take a hit, would you?"

Dialga & Palkia: "!"