Unova Region, Nimbasa City, northern district Pokémon Center.
At this moment, Sato and the others were gathered in front of the video phone, communicating with Elite Four Drake.
"So you're saying this sudden match will determine whether the two leagues can cooperate peacefully?"
"You could put it that way. It's too late to send Trainers from Hoenn now, and your team is barely qualified. So get over here as soon as possible."
Drake spoke in an unquestionable tone, directly giving them a strict order.
"Understood. We'll head to Vertress City as quickly as we can," Phoebe responded immediately. As someone who had already become a League Investigator, she swiftly shifted into mission mode.
"Yeah. The road might not be smooth, stay safe." With that, Drake hung up the call, extremely direct.
Looking at the now black screen, the five exchanged glances. They could all see the helplessness, nervousness, unease, and subtle excitement in each other's eyes.
Just one day earlier, they had left Misty Forest and returned to Nimbasa City, planning to take the high-speed rail to another city. That was when Drake suddenly contacted them.
Although he didn't explicitly call for an early assembly, it was basically the same. This time, Drake directly conscripted them to participate in what he called a "friendly exhibition match."
As for the reason behind such a match… well, that had everything to do with Drake's current mission in the Unova Region.
Unova had its own Pokémon League, rooted in the same origins as those in Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh.
But due to the great distances between regions, communication and exchanges had dwindled over time. Each region had gradually become self-operating and self-governing.
Faced with this situation, the League headquarters could do nothing but let it be, content as long as these leagues nominally acknowledged the Kanto League as the headquarters.
It wasn't until the rapid development of technology and modern transportation that interregional interaction became possible again. The League headquarters then began efforts to "reclaim" territory.
In fact, Hoenn and Sinnoh had already established mutual agreements in recent years. Trade between regions had begun, and Trainers were starting to travel beyond their home regions.
Now, Drake had been sent by League HQ as the vanguard to initiate preliminary negotiations for mutual trade between regions.
Sato and the others never expected that they would somehow get caught up in a major event that could determine whether two regions would open relations.
Judging by the current situation, it was clear that Drake's negotiations weren't going well.
Otherwise, there would've been no reason to make them participate in this "exhibition match" proposed by the Unova League just to gain more leverage.
After all, this so-called match was restricted to elite Trainers under 18, and there weren't any suitable participants aboard Drake's ship.
It was clearly targeted, but also a legitimate and transparent tactic.
Letting the league's rising stars participate in the match ensured that win or lose, it wouldn't damage anyone's pride too much. It also minimized conflict, such methods had always existed, but Drake had clearly been caught off guard.
Of course, as for the idea that "you all will decide the final outcome of this incident," Sato scoffed at it.
The two sides would inevitably open relations. What really mattered was how the benefits would be divided afterward. If they could influence that, even just a little, then maybe it was worth it.
Still, this was an order from Drake, and all five of them were counting on him to get them home. They weren't in a position to refuse.
Once the call ended, the five of them immediately returned to their room to pack up. After checking out of the Pokémon Center, they set off the same day for Vertress City.
As the headquarters of the Unova League, Castelia City's high-speed rail naturally had a direct line to Vertress City.
But before the five even reached the high-speed rail station, a small incident occurred.
"We're being followed." Sato was the first to notice the obvious tail behind them. The person didn't seem the least bit concerned about being discovered.
"Is this what Elite Four Drake meant when he told us to be careful?" Ryoko was a bit nervous. Her hand, gripping the Poké Ball, began to sweat.
"If it's just this, then it's actually pretty simple," Phoebe said loudly enough for the other four to hear, then turned around without hesitation to confront the stalker.
"Hehehe, heard you're a bunch of country Trainers from Hoenn?" A burly, brown-haired youth sneered, clearly here to stir trouble.
"Unova League sure knows how to play dirty. If you want a fight, then fight. If you don't have the guts, stop acting like a tagalong!" Phoebe directly called him out, her words razor-sharp.
"Unova League? What's there to brag about, you bunch of hicks? I'm blocking your way, what are you gonna do about it? Hit me if you dare!" The brown-haired youth scowled and puffed out his chest, stepping right up to them.
By now, a crowd of bystanders had begun to gather around. The peanut gallery was in place.
Phoebe sneered and stopped Mark, who was eager to act.
The guy clearly wanted to cause a scene, baiting them into striking first. Once that happened, he'd definitely have backup hidden in the crowd ready to spring into action.
'Pathetic acting, cheap tactics.'
Thinking this, Phoebe stepped forward on her own, leaving less than ten centimeters between herself and the brown-haired youth.
"Get lost."
A crisp, cold snort rang out, stunning the onlookers. This little girl had guts.
Facing a tall and burly young man, she actually told him to scram.
Then… the brown-haired youth's pupils dilated. His body trembled as he stumbled back, his legs giving out as he collapsed to the ground, then quickly scrambled back up and bolted through the crowd.
What just happened? That six-foot-tall guy got chased off by a little girl? And all she said was "get lost"?
Phoebe let out a soft snort. Her special ability wasn't limited to communicating with Ghost-type Pokémon.
When it came to being scary, if Ghost-types were second, no other type dared claim first.
Just now, what the brown-haired youth saw wasn't a frail young girl… it was a vengeful spirit, a nightmare, a creature from hell!
Behind her, Sato also sensed a brief fluctuation of energy within Phoebe through his Dark Energy. It was extremely similar to Ghost-type energy.
"Let's go. Honestly, sending someone like that is just pathetic. So boring." Phoebe turned and said casually.
Everyone nodded in agreement. They also felt the Unova League's methods were a bit low-grade: friendly match, then openly provoking them? It all came off as petty.
The group continued toward the high-speed rail station. Sato brought up the rear, his gaze shifting slightly to the right, locking onto two spectators who had lingered to watch.
In an instant, Sato's eyes turned pitch black, and an invisible force surged straight into the two people's eyes.
"AHH!"
A sudden scream rang out, startling the surrounding crowd, who quickly backed away and muttered in shock… these youngsters these days, snapping in broad daylight like it's nothing.