"I think you should focus on dealing with what's in front of you first."
Facing the furious Isaac, the Third Councilor showed no concern at all, merely gesturing toward the window with his lips.
Just in time to see the protestors break through the defenses of the soldiers and storm into the Blue House with their Pokémon in tow.
Shockingly, among the protestors were several pseudo-Elite trainers—an utterly absurd sight.
Even in Drakoria, pseudo-Elite trainers held considerable status, capable of serving as vice-presidents of city-level Trainers Association.
But in Wyvernia, a pseudo-Elite trainer was already considered an exceptional powerhouse.
For such individuals to join a protest—and several of them at that—was undeniably suspicious.
"Have King and the others detain those pseudo-Elites," Isaac sneered.
The Blue House was where Wyvernia's President and councilors conducted official business, so its defenses naturally extended beyond just a few hundred soldiers—Elite-level trainers were undoubtedly present as well.
As soon as an Elite trainer stepped forward and forcefully subdued the pseudo-Elites in the protest, the entire crowd instantly froze in fear.
Compared to soldiers, firearms, or even pseudo-Elites, ordinary people might feel some fear and awe, but not overwhelmingly so.
But once an actual Elite appeared, the sense of reverence shot up instantly.
In any nation, an Elite trainer symbolized immense power.
For most professional trainers, becoming an Elite was their lifelong goal.
That deep-seated reverence for Elite trainers was ingrained in their very bones.
Thus, when King forcefully suppressed the pseudo-Elites among the protestors, not a single person in the crowd dared to speak up.
"President Isaac will give everyone an explanation. For now, please return home. The statements in that video were not made by President Isaac."
"This is all a scheme by Drakoria—they want to divide us!"
"President Isaac is currently doing everything in his power to deal with Drakoria's invading forces. We should not be causing him additional trouble at a time like this."
"Everyone, please go back. Tomorrow, President Isaac will hold a press conference to address this matter."
King's words began to sway the crowd. Moreover, with an Elite trainer present, breaching the Blue House was impossible.
So before long, the protestors began to slowly disperse.
Once the crowd had left, King turned to the three captured pseudo-Elites and demanded, "Who sent you? Was it Drakoria?"
None of them spoke.
"Do you think silence will save you?"
King sneered and then signaled to a subordinate beside him, who promptly sent out a Hypno.
Psychic-type Pokémon were experts when it came to searching through memories.
"Are you going to talk on your own, or should Hypno do it for you? You know the consequences if it acts," King said coldly.
"We don't know what you're talking about. We're just dissatisfied with what Isaac has done, that's all," one of the pseudo-Elites retorted.
"I gave you a chance. Too bad you didn't take it." King's expression turned icy.
Hypno stepped forward, the pendulum-like ring in its hand beginning to sway gently.
"Wait!"
King had no intention of stopping, but when he saw the Ninth and Tenth Councilors approaching, he had no choice but to halt Hypno.
The two councilors had been absent from Hanseong until now, and their hurried demeanor made it clear they had just rushed back.
"Councilors, I suspect these three are spies from Drakoria," King stated.
The Ninth Councilor scowled. "And if they're not? What if they really are just regular protestors? Using Hypno to search their memories will destroy their minds."
"They're pseudo-Elites. Ruining them could mean losing three potential future Elites."
'That almost sounds reasonable… but I don't buy it.'
If becoming an Elite was that easy, Elites wouldn't be so rare.
"And even if they really are spies, what good does confirming their identities do? You would be better off keeping them intact—they're still bargaining chips when it comes to negotiation with Drakoria."
That actually made more sense.
"Don't touch them for now. I'll speak with President Isaac," the Ninth Councilor said before heading to the conference room with the Tenth Councilor.
---
Meanwhile, at AS Corporation's headquarters, after a few Teleports from Metagross, Julian had already arrived at the front entrance.
Once Metagross pinpointed Pierce and the others' location, it Teleported again, and Julian suddenly appeared right in front of them.
"Oh, everyone's here?"
Julian raised a hand in greeting, then fixed his gaze on an unfamiliar middle-aged man in the room.
Bellsprout, surprised at Julian's sudden arrival, quickly stepped forward when he noticed Julian looking his way.
"I'm Bellsprout, an intelligence operative stationed in Wyvernia."
"Hello."
Julian nodded.
For these nameless heroes, he held deep respect in his heart.
They gave their entire lives for their country, and might never get to return. Even if they died, their identities could never be made public.
Of course, if it was a foreign spy hiding in his own country, he'd despise them to no end.
'One man's hero is another's enemy'—that's just how it worked.
"Welp, looks like the four of us came here for nothing," Ember said, spreading her hands in disappointment. She'd been hoping to tease Julian, but now the fun was ruined.
The four of them had come to rescue Julian, only to find that this guy had already escaped on his own—and was looking pretty smug about it too.
Instead of Julian, Rowan and Asher were far more curious about the object Lucario was carrying beside him.
"Is that meteorite some kind of treasure?" Rowan asked.
The thing really did look like it could be something valuable.
"Nope. I just picked it up on the way here—thought it looked cool, so I figured I'd take it home as a decoration," Julian lied through his teeth.
Seeing how obviously unwilling he was to explain—and how ridiculous his excuse was—only confirmed their suspicions: 'This thing is definitely a treasure.'
"Julian, finders keepers—but share it with us too!" Asher shamelessly declared.
"Get lost," Julian shot him a glare.
Pierce eyed the so-called "meteorite" and asked curiously, "You didn't pick that thing up from inside the military base, did you?"
"Of course not. I just found it on the way to meet up with you guys," Julian denied immediately.
This thing couldn't even be stored in his system space because Jirachi was sleeping inside it—otherwise, he wouldn't have Lucario carrying it around like this.
Honestly, it was a bit too conspicuous.
But there was no helping it—this thing was huge, and even Gengar's mouth couldn't fit it.
Gengar: 'Oh, so you did consider that? You…'
"Where exactly did you find it? Maybe I'll get lucky and find one too," Ember teased.
"Take a left at the next intersection ahead. There's a lamppost—check under it. Maybe there's another one," Julian said with a straight face.
Ember just rolled her eyes—she wasn't buying a single word of his nonsense.
*****
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