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The Illuminati was actually a splinter group from the Alliance...
This was the first time Roy had learned about this shocking revelation.
But when he thought about it, many things suddenly made sense.
It was precisely because the organization had emerged from within the Pokemon Alliance that the Illuminati could wield such tremendous power. Their shadow networks had penetrated into every country around the world, and despite countless attempts, they had never been completely destroyed.
This was because the Illuminati was fundamentally an organization where supporters of "human supremacy" from various Alliance nations had gathered together. They maintained deep connections with the Pokemon Alliance itself.
From the very beginning, they had established strong footholds in countries across the globe.
The reason why the Illuminati's influence in China remained relatively weak was simple: when the Alliance was first established, China's national power was still quite limited, and they hadn't considered it worthy of their attention.
No one had expected this eastern nation to rise so rapidly.
"What do you think about the Illuminati's true purpose?" President August asked, looking at Roy with a knowing smile.
Roy answered honestly: "Reviving humanity's glory... it sounds very reasonable on the surface, but it's actually just empty rhetoric. They're simply using the banner of justice to gain more power. Most importantly, they completely ignore humanity's actual needs and current situation."
President August nodded with satisfaction.
At that time, people on Earth treasured the hard-won peace and despised war.
In any conflict, it was always the common people who suffered the most.
Moreover, given humanity's technological and military capabilities at the time, wanting to reclaim their status as the dominant species was utterly insane.
If war had continued, humanity would have been the first to face extinction.
This disregard for reality was exactly why the "Renaissance" movement had been abandoned and eventually split apart.
"But things are different now," President August said, lowering his voice. "Over the past century, humanity has undergone earth-shattering changes. Whether in terms of technology or Trainer strength... there have been quite a few voices supporting the revivalist cause."
"This is also why the Illuminati has become increasingly bold in recent years. Many powerful factions have secretly begun supporting them."
Growing power often breeds desire and ambition.
Humanity, unaware of the approaching catastrophe, continued to fight among themselves for personal gain.
President August sighed deeply:
"Professor Colress left behind far too much technology and knowledge. At the time, we couldn't fully absorb it all, so we ended up splitting it among ourselves. We're not entirely sure what knowledge the Illuminati inherited.
"However, we've analyzed the Illuminati's recent activities and discovered their goals are very clear. Wherever there are mysterious realms connected to 'Legendary Pokemon,' they inevitably appear to infiltrate and steal related items, Pokemon, and information..."
"They possess extensive knowledge about Legendary Pokemon and their associated realms. What we can confirm is that the Illuminati inherited Professor Colress's research on 'Legendary Pokemon.'"
Roy thought about Little Nebula and the DNA Splicers. The existence of both confirmed the president's statement.
The Illuminati were following the trail of Legendary Pokemon...
Speaking of which, Professor Charles, the owner of that diary, had never been captured.
Most of the Illuminati members who were surrounded and eliminated at White Mountains were combat personnel. The researchers had been transferred out well in advance.
Combat members needed to transport large numbers of Pokemon, making it difficult for them to leave the country. Researchers, however, could move much more freely.
Considering their cautious approach of "not putting all eggs in one basket," Little Nebula and the Gene Splicer were definitely not everything they had obtained from the Alola Secret Realm.
The research teams that had been evacuated early likely had their own "prizes," but no one knew what those might be...
"I'm telling you this so you'll never underestimate the Illuminati. They're extremely mysterious, and no one knows what trump cards they're hiding," President August said seriously. "You're an indispensable force for humanity's new generation. I don't want to see a talent like you fall into the Illuminati's hands."
Roy raised his wine glass in a toast.
"I'll remember that. Thank you, Mr. President."
After his conversation with President August, Roy felt somewhat out of place at the dinner party.
Almost everyone who attended the banquet were local Trainers and business moguls from Los Angeles and across America. Their attitude toward him—the strongest genius from China—wasn't particularly friendly.
There were also researchers from around the world present.
They really had nothing to discuss with Roy, who they saw as merely a lucky competitor.
Envy and jealousy aside, the main issue was that there genuinely wasn't much to talk about. They worked in academic fields and couldn't find common ground with a Trainer.
Roy was perfectly content with this arrangement. He ate and drank his fill before the dinner concluded.
Escorted by two bodyguards assigned by the president, Roy returned to his hotel. He would be able to leave after receiving his prize the next day.
Roy used his Aura powers to carefully scan the room, ensuring there were no listening devices, cameras, or surveillance from Ghost-type or Psychic-type Pokemon.
While Aura wasn't particularly effective in battle, it was unmatched when it came to sensing abilities.
Roy's eyes flashed with blue light as he murmured: "Besides the two bodyguards, there are twelve... no, fourteen monitors in the surrounding area."
After obtaining the stolen research information, the American side had no real need to protect "Boone" so thoroughly. He wasn't that valuable to them anymore.
Such thankless protection was mainly intended to irritate China.
It was a classic case of harming others without benefiting themselves.
Did they really work this hard just to annoy people?
Roy shook his head. "I'll leave this to you, Mimikyu."
With monitors positioned all around, only Lucario, who could teleport, and Mimikyu, who could phase into the spirit world, could bypass the surveillance.
Even Lucario's teleportation, if used repeatedly, would create detectable energy signatures that might be discovered.
Only Mimikyu could move completely silently.
Mimikyu emerged from her Poke Ball. "Ka~ (Leave it to me.)"
As soon as she spoke, her form suddenly vanished, phasing into the spirit world.
The spirit world was a parallel dimension.
Its appearance, terrain, and size were identical to the real world. The only difference was the complete absence of living creatures.
It was utterly silent.
This was a realm meant only for Ghost-types.
After Mimikyu entered the spirit world, she found herself in a hotel identical to Roy's, except that Roy himself wasn't there.
She had memorized the route beforehand and knew exactly what to do.
Mimikyu began floating upward and flew toward New York.
Although it looked like "floating," her speed was anything but slow. She periodically released Ghost-type energy to accelerate herself.
The journey was quite boring. Mimikyu looked up at the sky above.
The sky was the biggest difference between the spirit world and the real world, aside from the lack of living beings.
Here, there was no day or night.
The sky reflected the Distortion World.
The Distortion World consisted of floating islands scattered throughout space. These islands contained upside-down trees, inverted waterfalls, reversed water surfaces, and even islands that hung upside down.
Every time she gazed at the sky, Mimikyu felt a sense of unease.
Not just her—all Ghost-type Pokemon experienced this feeling.
It seemed that within the reflected Distortion World dwelt the supreme being who ruled over all ghosts.
The flight from Los Angeles to New York normally took five hours.
For Mimikyu, it took only three hours to complete.
Following the intelligence she'd received, she flew toward the area where "Boone" was known to be active.
Upon arrival, she planned to spy on the real world from the spirit world to locate her target.
But the moment she entered the target's "activity zone"...
Dozens of Shadow Balls came hurtling toward her from every hidden corner at high speed!
Having practiced the endless Calm Mind technique, all of Roy's Pokemon possessed psychic power beyond their level, and Mimikyu was no exception.
She reacted instantly, extending two dark flame ghost claws and swatting away the incoming Shadow Balls.
BOOM——!
The terrifying Ghost-type energy exploded, and several surrounding buildings were blown apart and collapsed.
Traffic lights, cars on the street, shops, plaza fountains—everything was destroyed in an instant. Several city blocks were reduced to rubble in mere moments.
Such was the horrifying destructive power of Pokemon battles when they occurred not in stadiums, but in populated cities.
Mimikyu's disguise had already been damaged, though it had protected her from serious injury.
She controlled her ghost claws, waving away the smoke, and looked at the enemies who had ambushed her.
Banette, Dusknoir, Mismagius, Gengar, Drifblim, Sableye, Chandelure, Cofagrigus...
An army of Ghost-type Pokemon, roughly thirty in number, had surrounded her.
Every Ghost-type Pokemon radiated an aura no weaker than professional level.
"Kukuku——"
The lead Gengar let out a malicious laugh.
Surrounded by thirty Pokemon of equal strength—this was a desperate situation no matter how you looked at it.
"Ka~ (Who are you?)" Mimikyu asked cautiously.
Those who held the advantage often didn't mind showing off their superiority to their victims.
Gengar was no exception. It gestured for the other Ghost-types to hold back from swarming, then revealed the cruel truth to Mimikyu.
Their ambush here was no accident.
Instead, they had known Roy would send Mimikyu through the spirit world to carry out an assassination mission.
For Ghost-type Pokemon who excelled at stealth and assassination, the best countermeasure was the presence of fellow Ghosts.
Ghost-types, like Dragon-types, were attributes locked in civil war.
Ghost beat Ghost, Dragon beat Dragon.
The strongest dragon was often the most effective dragon slayer.
Similarly, the strongest Ghost was often the most effective spirit hunter.