Confetti rained down in a storm, catching the late afternoon sun. The weight of the trophy in his hands felt cool and smooth. He stood on the elevated champion's platform, a small smile plastered on his face that he couldn't quite get rid of.
A flashbulb popped. John Wellingham clapped a heavy hand on Elias's shoulder, leaning in for a photo-op with a wide grin.
"Marvelous show, my boy! You've got a real future in the spectacle!" John's voice was cheerful.
Then, he straightened up, addressing the crowd through his microphone:
"What a champion! What a finale! The future of Adele is bright! Now, if you'll all excuse our new victor, I'm sure he and his pokemon are exhausted!"
With a final, glittering wave, John guided Elias off the platform, a firm hand on his back steering him towards the private competitor's exit. The roar of the crowd began to fade, replaced by the silence of the stadium's corridors.
As they rounded a corner, away from the last of the cameras, John dropped his hand and fixed Elias with a look of sharp grin.
"Someone is waiting for you at the exit on east side." He made a subtle gesture with his chin towards a nondescript door marked 'MAINTENANCE'. "Change there. And there's a shortcut there too."
Without another word, John turned on his heel and strode away, his shoes clicking rhythmically on the floor.
Elias's brows furrowed in confusion, but he pushed through the maintenance door.
Inside the small, grey room, lit by a single bulb, his things were waiting. Folded neatly on a metal stool was his trench coat, and beside it is the featureless grey mask. More questions filled his mind, but no one is there to answer it.
So, instead, he pulled on the familiar weight of the coat, the shoulders settling easily. He held the mask for a moment, studying his own reflection in the dark lenses—the white hair, the eyes that were no longer completely blank, but held a new, unsettled depth.
Finally, he slid it on and the world narrowed in tinted grey.
The east side exit was a dim place. There's no one there at all except the black sedan parked on the side and the grunt standing beside it. As Elias approached, the grunt opened the rear door.
Elias ducked inside. The grunt closed the door, and went towards the driver seat.
Inside the sedan, Sarah was seating beside Elias. She was still wearing her slicked, black pantsuit, but her hair was now tied in a high bun. A serious expression plastered on her face.
"Drive." Sarah said sharply.
The car pulled away smoothly, leaving the stadium behind as it glided into the afternoon traffic of Metrolink City.
"How is it?" Sarah asked, her gaze falling on Elias. "Did you gain any insight on your goal? Did you understand them?"
Elias turned his head, the mask making the movement seem slower.
"Is John Wellingham one of us?" He asked, ignoring her questions entirely.
"Yes, he is." Sarah's composed expression didn't shatter. "But that's none of your concern. Answer my questions."
Elias watched the city blur past the tinted window—people laughing on corners, trainers celebrating with their pokemon outside cafes, a blur of joy—And there, he felt the ghost of his own smile.
"I feel different." He said. "During the final round… I finally managed to bring out emotions. I felt the bond between me and my pokemon. Their unwavering trust and the joy... I could still feel it right now."
"But that's not your goal, right?" Sarah asked, crossing her arms. "You said your goal is to understand everyone, not feel emotions."
Sarah's words hung in the air of the sedan. Elias watched a group of children chase a tumbling Pichu down the sidewalk, their shrieks of joy muffled by the glass.
"You're right." He said finally, the word soft but clear. "It's not my goal."
He turned from the window to face her, the grey lenses of his mask giving nothing away, but the set of his shoulders had changed. It was more softer than his usual posture.
"Anne said that smiling is a step to understanding. I didn't understand it at first, but as I progress in the tournament, I slowly realized what she meant by that."
The car slowed at a red light.
"To understand everyone, I need to understand emotions first." He flexed his hand, remembering the cool grip of the trophy. "I felt enjoyment in my fight against Faith. I felt surprise when Ellen confronted me. And I felt fear when Ellen asked me about who am I."
Sarah didn't respond immediately. The light changed, and the sedan accelerated, carrying them away from the bright, celebratory districts and into the older, more somber industrial quarters of the city.
"You've grown so much in the span of three weeks. I'm afraid you'll forget our goal sooner or later." A faint smile touched Sarah's lips. "But we're not tying you with us. If you want to leave, you can leave. That's the Boss words."
The sedan turned into a narrow alleyway, the shadows deepening as the buildings closed in. Sarah's admission hung between them, an open door Elias hadn't expected.
"I won't leave." Elias confirmed. "I don't have anywhere else to go. This is where I belong, and I will help Team Xycle achieve their goal. We will break the cycle."
Sarah studied him for a long moment, her dark eyes searching the lenses of his mask as if she could see the new resolve forming beneath. She gave a single, sharp nod.
"Good. Because the work starts now."
The sedan came to a silent stop before a rusted freight elevator door set beside an abandoned warehouse. The grunt driver got out and opened Sarah's door. She stepped out, and Elias followed.
The elevator descended with a shuddering groan, taking them deep below the city. When the gates rattled open, they revealed not the hideout Elias remembered from his initiation, but a scene of organized chaos.
"Welcome to Team Xycle's Headquarters." Sarah said, striding forward. Grunts glanced up, their eyes lingering on Elias's masked form with curiosity. "This is where Senior Grunts or above operates."
The underground space was vast. Dozens of men and women in variations of the black and white uniform moved with purpose between workstations cluttered with humming machines, stacks of archived files, and maps of the Adele region plastered on every wall.
She led him through the bustling room to a quieter one, where a familiar figure stood with his back to them, studying the map of Adele region in a large screen filled with luminous markers.
"Boss Martin. Elias is here." Sarah said, gently pushing Elias forward.
Martin didn't turn immediately. His gaze remained fixed on the map, where a single, stark red marker blinked over the Malevolent Peak.
Finally, he turned. His eyes still the same sharp gray, moved past Sarah and settled on the Elias.
"Take off the mask. There's no need for it here." Martin said, his voice devoid of mockery or praise.
Elias hesitated for a fraction of a second, then reached up. He pulled it away, the cool air of the headquarters touching his face. He felt strangely exposed, more so than he ever had in the stadium.
Martin's gaze was an appraisal. He saw the the new tension in his jaw, the eyes that were no longer empty but searching.
"Sarah reports you've made… progress. You've touched the edges of what you sought to understand."
"I have." Elias replied.
"Good. Keep up the excellent work." Martin turned back to the map. "As you've heard to Sarah, by winning the tournament, I'm going to raise your rank to a Senior Grunt. But you're not the only one."
He gestured with a nod towards the entrance they'd just come through.
At that moment, the heavy door hissed open again. Two figures stepped into the room, silhouetted against the brighter light of the main hall.
Anne walked in first. Her pink hair was now tied back in a braid, and she wore a sleek, tailored version of the black and white uniform, the lines sharper, the material finer. She glanced at Elias, her eyes lingering for a moment on his face before a cheerful smile formed on her face.
Right behind her, Rein entered. He wore a similar upgraded uniform, but his was unbuttoned at the collar, and his shoulders were set with a new confidence.
"Anne and Rein have also completed their mission." Martin said, his voice filling the quiet room. "Anne's analysis in Talroc City was an improvement in our intelligence network. Rein's performance, while initially reckless, saved many of our grunts from being exposed to the public."
He turned to face the three of them.
"Effective immediately, you are all promoted to the rank of Senior Grunt. You will all come with me to Maribell Town. Sarah debrief them on what we're going to do there."
Sarah stepped forward. She moved to a secondary screen mounted on the wall and with a tap of her fingers, the map of Adele zoomed in on a coastal town nestled between cliffs and a restless sea. Maribell Town glowed softly beneath the label.
"This is our objective. Maribell is the home of Bell Tower." She tapped the screen again, and a schematic of a tall, ancient-looking tower appeared beside the town map.
"The Bell Tower is not just a local landmark. It is filled with unique energy left by the legendary pokemon, Cresselia."
She zoomed in on the schematic, highlighting the spiraling interior.
"This makes the tower the most visited landmark in all of Adele. But we're not going there for sightseeing. We're going there because someone requested a meeting with our boss on top of the tower."
"Your mission, along with the other Senior Grunts, is to Infiltrate Maribell Town and prevent anyone from entering the Bell Tower until the Boss has concluded his business at the top."
Anne's cheerful smile had vanished, replaced by a look of intense focus. Rein cracked his knuckles, a fierce grin spreading across his face.
"But there's a secondary objective in this mission." Sarah looked at Martin, who gave a slight nod.
"Inside the Bell Tower, Senior Grunts will be stationed on every floor. They will hold the stairs, the landings. Their orders are to delay, to obstruct, to ensure no interruption reaches the top." She paused, her eyes locking onto each of them in turn. "The Gym Leader of that town is going to interfere for sure. He will try to stop us."
The air in the room seemed to grow thinner.
"The second objective is for you three. Stop the Gym Leader at all costs. You're the most capable out of all Senior Grunts."
Sarah waited for Martin's subtle nod before continuing.
"There is a... third factor. One we did not anticipate, but must now account for." She tapped the screen again, pulling up a grainy, satellite image of the Bell Tower's surrounding coastline. "Giovanni, the head of Team Rocket, has taken a personal interest in Adele. His motives are unknown, but his trajectory… aligns with Maribell."
A cold silence settled over the room. Rein's grin faltered. Anne's breath hitched almost imperceptibly.
"Giovanni himself?" Rein echoed, his voice subdued.
"It is a possibility we must treat as a probability." Martin cutted in, his voice cutting through the tension. "Team Rocket's interest in legendary pokemon is well-documented. Cresselia's residual energy may be the bait. Or he may be seeking an audience with me. Regardless, his presence would be catastrophic."
Sarah zoomed the map out once more, now highlighting potential approach vectors from the sea.
"If Team Rocket makes a move, it will likely be during the meeting." She turned back to the three of them, her gaze piercing. "Your primary objective remains, secure the tower and stop the Gym Leader. But you must now be prepared for a second, unplanned incursion. Team Rocket operatives are ruthless, organized, and will not hesitate to use lethal force. They do not share our… restraint."