"Scrafty!"
Scrafty lowered its belly again and burst into loud laughter, revealing two rows of bright white teeth.
It's the smartest Scrafty there is! Way smarter than those stupid trainers!
There are five Pokémon on the battlefield and it's the only one at the Gym-level. It can't even fly! So why wouldn't it run to the stands and watch the fun? That's obviously the smartest choice!
What idiot would stay down there and fight to the death over some unimportant battle?
Seeing this, Drake covered his heaving chest. At the same time, Salamence, whose eyes had turned into dizzy circles, fell straight from the air and crashed beside him, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"The battle is over."
Shiro walked over at an unhurried pace and took out a Poké Ball to recall Corviknight, who had been about to land another blow.
"This, this, this..." Drake trembled with rage. "This battle doesn't count! It doesn't count! That bastard Sidney actually ran away in the middle of the battle! Damn it, I..."
Buzz!
At that moment, the communication device at Drake's waist began vibrating violently.
Still furious, he casually pulled it out and glanced at it before answering without bothering to avoid Shiro.
"Is this Mr. Drake?"
Shiro had excellent hearing. Even though Drake had not turned on the speaker, he could clearly hear the voice coming from the other end.
"Yes. If there's something, say it quickly," Drake answered bluntly.
"Mr. Drake, the number of wild Water-type Pokémon in Lilycove City..." The person on the other end sounded anxious and flustered. "It looks like they're about to cause a massive tsunami! But the residents of Lilycove City have only just started evacuating."
"They haven't really evacuated, have they?" Drake actually smiled. "Wouldn't an evacuation cause chaos? What you're doing should be finding a way to explain the situation to the residents and keep things under control. You're probably trying to muddle the whole thing through, with only those who are well-informed or have a sharp eye actually evacuating."
The person on the other end was speechless for a moment before pleading again, "Elite Drake, please. Lilycove City is in grave danger. You really need to come..."
"I'm not going!"
Drake's answer was firm and immediate.
"Then, then..." The person on the other end fell silent. Faced with such a clear refusal, he couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Unless you transfer the Pokémon Center and police station in Lilycove City to the League and let the League operate them directly. The Joy and Jenny families can't have the operating rights." Drake quickly made his demand. "Lilycove City's mayor, isn't this exactly the kind of thing you need to negotiate? Go do it."
The mayor of Lilycove City hurriedly replied, "But the Pokémon Center and police station were originally assigned to those two families by the main League. If they lose their operating rights, won't they have to leave Lilycove City?"
"Who said they have to leave Lilycove City?" Drake asked in confusion. "They can just work as employees. They can keep doing their jobs."
"How is that possible?" The mayor couldn't help saying.
"That's your problem," Drake shamelessly retorted. "I don't care."
The mayor of Lilycove City was clearly frustrated, but he remained silent. After a moment, he finally said, "I understand, Elite Drake."
"Hmph..."
Drake pressed the button to end the call. From the look of it, his mood had improved quite a bit.
Shiro looked at this Dragon-type Elite Four member, who seemed more like a gangster than anything else, with suspicion.
Earlier, Glacia had suggested that the wild Pokémon riot in Lilycove City might have been caused by Drake. Shiro had not really believed it… but now he was seventy or eighty percent convinced.
He knew Drake was an old scoundrel, but he had never expected him to be this shameless. He was even willing to disregard the hundreds of thousands of residents in Lilycove City just to use a wild Pokémon riot to seize power?
Shiro thought about it for a while, yet he still felt like something was missing.
Drake, however, just put one hand on his waist and complained, "Sigh, I originally thought Sidney had been a small-time gangster when he was at the bottom, so he'd be willing to throw himself into the work and get things done. Who would've thought he'd only talk big and never dare to act?"
"Damn it. I only found out after investigating him last time that Sidney's father is also a League-registered trainer. Sidney himself was just rebellious and liked fooling around. Damn, if I'd known this earlier, I never would've chosen him as an Elite Four member."
As he spoke, Drake sounded regretful.
However, replacing an Elite Four member was easy when there was a shortage of people. Once the position had been filled, getting someone out was much harder.
Unless Sidney chose to leave himself or did something that seriously violated League law and angered everyone, there was no way to remove him.
And that was far too difficult.
Buzz!
Just then, the communication device at Shiro's waist also rang.
Puzzled, he took it out and looked at the number. He did not recognize it at all, so he pressed the answer button.
"May I ask if this is Professor Shiro?" An old man's voice came from the other end.
"That's right."
"Haha, let me introduce myself. I'm Edmund Sterling, the current Chairman of Hoenn. May I ask if you have some time right now?"
"Yes."
Shiro's answer was brief. He had no idea why the Hoenn Chairman, whom he was not particularly familiar with, had called him.
Chairman Sterling asked calmly, "Professor Shiro, do you know about the current situation in Lilycove City?"
As soon as he heard that, Shiro understood the man's purpose.
Not far away, Drake's expression also changed. His physical condition was excellent and his hearing was just as good, so he had heard the entire conversation. He immediately waved his hands frantically, trying to get Shiro to refuse.
Sterling was already explaining the situation, namely the wild Water-type Pokémon riot, and soon got straight to the point. "Professor Shiro, on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of residents of Lilycove City, I sincerely ask you to come and help us resolve this crisis. Please save Lilycove City from the tsunami..."
"Unfortunately, our Hoenn Elite Drake and the other Elite Four members are all busy right now, so no one has the time."
"If you come, I'll explain this entire incident to all the residents of Lilycove City."
Shiro glanced at Drake, who was standing in front of him with a pleading expression. He simply asked Sterling, "Is that all?"
As a Professor, there was technically no reason for him to get involved in Lilycove City's problems in Hoenn. Even if he helped Lilycove City resolve the wild Pokémon riot, to put it bluntly, there was absolutely nothing in it for him.
Nor would having the Hoenn Chairman promote his name make any difference. His reputation was already great enough and his position was already high enough.
And as for Drake standing in front of him…
Shiro really wanted to see what kind of trick he was trying to pull.
After Shiro finished speaking, Sterling on the other end also fell silent. For a moment, he could not think of anything else he could offer.
As the Chairman of Hoenn, Sterling was already a famously stingy old man. Greed was simply part of who he was.
What else could he possibly promise?
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!