Pokemon: I Transmigrated Twice-Chapter 248: Pokemon: I Transmigrated Twice []

The next morning, Stephen learned from Lusamine that Lance had resigned.

Not just Stephen—every League chairman, champion, and gym leader in the upper echelons knew about it.

Goodshow, who had only just retired a day ago, went out of his way to remind everyone in the group chat to keep quiet about the matter for now.

Yesterday morning, the League suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Team Rocket. In the afternoon, the old chairman resigned. In the evening, if the Elite Four all left too, bombshell after bombshell would rock the entire organization. If word got out, who knows what chaos might ensue.

"Wait! It's only Lance who resigned, not all four members?"

As Stephen listened to Lusamine over breakfast, he suddenly realized something.

"Just Lance. Who said anything about all four?"

Lusamine looked equally puzzled.

Stephen blinked. This didn't match the original story at all. In the original, all four Indigo Elite Four members rebelled together.

"Could it be he snapped because of all the online hate?"

Will, scrolling through his phone, grinned mischievously.

After yesterday's failure, most people on the internet were blaming Lance. They thought that if he hadn't insisted on fighting Giovanni one-on-one, the League wouldn't have lost.

"No way, Champion Lance already lost to Giovanni twice. What's one more?"

Mary was surprised.

Karen pouted: "This time's different. Before, Lance could at least comfort himself that the Pokémon levels weren't in the same league. But this loss was entirely his fault."

Kyurem, the Dragon of Truth, was stronger than MEGA Dark Mewtwo. And yet, Lance still lost.

This time, Lance had no one to blame but himself.

Stephen sent Giovanni a message, telling him to be careful.

Now that Lance was free from League responsibilities, he could devote himself to getting revenge.

Giovanni was surprised, then quickly replied: "That guy quit? Tch~ What a sore loser. Oh well, now I don't have to worry about the League interfering when I mess with him."

Stephen found this response a little speechless. After all the humiliation Giovanni had put Lance through yesterday, it'd be strange if Lance just swallowed it.

"Oh, right, Stephen, shouldn't you go get Reshiram back?"

Giovanni messaged again.

This was one reason Giovanni didn't take Lance seriously.

By their previous agreement, after the battle, regardless of who won or lost, Kyurem would have to release Reshiram and return it to Stephen.

Even Giovanni had to fear a fully formed Kyurem.

But once Reshiram was separated, there was nothing to worry about.

Stephen replied: "I'll go once I finish my business."

No one knew where Lance went after he resigned.

But it didn't matter—Little Hoopa could sense Kyurem's aura and open a portal to find him anytime.

Stephen suddenly remembered Kyurem still had a grudge against Evil Hoopa.

Just as Stephen was about to have Little Hoopa check Kyurem's location, he received a message.

It was from Lance—"Come to Giant Chasm for Kyurem."

Stephen raised his eyebrows.

"Where is this..."

...

Ten minutes later, Joker looked at the bone-chilling canyon in surprise. Before he could react, a swarm of Cryogonal and Vanilluxe surrounded him, filling the skies overhead.

[You've got some nerve! I wasn't even looking for you, and you dare show up yourself!?]

Before Joker could even figure out where he was, the deep, booming voice of Kyurem echoed in his ears.

It was Kyurem!

Joker glanced around and asked: "Kyurem, where's your Trainer?"

[I have no Trainer. My deal with that human is over. I was just about to find you, but you came to me instead. Get that guy out here now!]

Kyurem was eager for battle.

"Calm down, can you first tell me what happened after yesterday's battle?"

Joker raised a hand, signaling the grumpy dragon to chill out.

Fortunately, Kyurem's temper was manageable. He took a deep breath and quickly explained.

It turned out Lance and Kyurem were never truly trainers and partners.

From the start, they made a deal—Lance would use the DNA Splicers to help Kyurem absorb Reshiram and Zekrom, and Kyurem would help Lance fight Giovanni.

Yesterday, Kyurem had already fulfilled his end of the bargain.

Their transaction was now over.

Whether they won or not wasn't part of the deal. At least Kyurem gave it his all.

Joker: ...

Well, that was probably a big reason for Lance's resignation.

Yesterday's battle was a close call for Giovanni—if they fought again, the outcome wasn't certain.

But with Kyurem gone, how could Lance fight Giovanni?

[Enough talk. Bring him out now!]

Kyurem was impatient.

Joker shrugged and summoned Evil Hoopa.

...

While Joker and Kyurem were battling in Giant Chasm, the outside world was abuzz.

After the battle in Opelucid City, the League's power structure had been reshuffled.

Cynthia's grandmother, Professor Carolina, took over as Sinnoh's new League Chairman after Cyrus' death.

Lusamine became the new Pokémon League Chairman, and the headquarters moved from Indigo Plateau to Alola.

Lance's resignation was a big deal, but thanks to Goodshow's request, the League was keeping it under wraps.

The Indigo Arena was destroyed again, so no competitions would be held for a couple of years.

Lance was never one for public appearances anyway, so keeping it quiet for a while shouldn't be an issue.

If it were someone like Leon who loved public events, the secret would have been out instantly.

That day, a memorial was held for Cyrus on Sinnoh's rebuilt Lily of the Valley Island.

Yes, a memorial.

To the people of Sinnoh, especially those on Lily of the Valley Island, Cyrus was still a hero who helped rebuild their homes.

And now, that hero had died young at only 27.

People from all over Sinnoh gathered on the island, dressed in black to mourn the former chairman.

Sinnoh League higher-ups, including the champion and Elite Four, wore black suits and laid white flowers in front of Cyrus' portrait.

After offering flowers, Flint muttered quietly: "Damn, a criminal who nearly destroyed the world is now a hero after his death. I want to tell everyone the truth."

"Don't. With the new chairman just taking over, exposing the truth would help no one. And Cyrus did lead the rebuilding of Lily of the Valley Island."

Lucian, standing beside him, reminded softly.

Whatever his motives, Cyrus did donate real money and effort to rebuild the island.

Cynthia's little sister, standing between her chairman-grandma and champion-sister, asked curiously: "Sis, are you really with Dr. Stephen?"

"Where did you hear that?"

Cynthia's eyes widened.

"If you aren't together, why did you leave Sinnoh as champion to be an Elite Four in faraway Alola? If you aren't together, why did he help Sinnoh deal with Cyrus? And if you aren't together, how do you explain this photo?"

Carolina fired off three questions in a row.

Cynthia could explain the first two, but the last one stumped her.

What photo?

After the memorial, Carolina took a newspaper from her assistant and handed it to her granddaughter.

On the front page was a photo from last month, showing Stephen princess-carrying Cynthia after saving her from Cyrus, one hand on her backside.

The Sinnoh Valkyrie's cheeks turned bright red.

Come to think of it, Stephen had been handsy ever since that day.

Noticing Cynthia's expression, Carolina became more certain her granddaughter and Stephen were together, and solemnly asked if, since Cynthia would be living in Alola, her children could become Sinnoh citizens.

Cynthia was so embarrassed she fled to Alola that very day.

...

Giant Chasm, Unova.

Thunder and blizzards raged through the region.

People in nearby Opelucid City and Undella Town stared in shock at the wild, disaster-like scene in the distance.

No way... There was chaos yesterday, and now again today?

In Opelucid City, Alder and the Unova League elites cleaning up after yesterday's battle were at a loss.

What now?

But as League elites, they had to protect the people.

Alder was about to call out his Braviary, but Unova Elite Four Caitlin spoke up first: "Mr. Alder, your Pokémon were badly hurt yesterday. Let me go."

Out of the Unova Elite Four, Caitlin had suffered the least losses.

Alder considered, then agreed: "Alright, but come back as soon as you understand what's going on."

Even at a glance, anyone could see this battle was way out of Caitlin's league.

...

Joker removed his mask, wiped the frost from his face, and looked down.

He was standing at the edge of the canyon, not by his power or a Pokémon's, but because Kyurem and Evil Hoopa's battle had carved a deep abyss in the valley.

Just now, Kyurem's Freeze attack had blasted a new chasm in the middle of Giant Chasm.

"Let's pull them out," Joker said.

He released Shadow Lugia.

The god of darkness spread its wings and used telekinesis to pull the two legendaries—Evil Hoopa and Kyurem—from the abyss up to the remaining flat ground.

"If you had a top-tier Trainer as a partner, even Evil Hoopa couldn't stop you," Joker sincerely admired.

In Joker's mind, aside from Arceus, there was probably no other legendary that could beat Kyurem in a one-on-one.

But unfortunately, Kyurem didn't have a Trainer who could bring out its full power.

Lance was strong, but still couldn't unlock Kyurem's true potential.

[Ugh...ugh...]

Kyurem groaned in pain.

Still dazed, Kyurem spat out some dark blood before meeting Joker's gaze.

"A draw, how about that?" Joker tried to comfort him.

[I don't need your pity!]

Kyurem snorted.

Joker: ...

Now it's acting all tsundere?

But it looked like Kyurem had calmed down.

"As agreed, I'm here to reclaim Reshiram."

Joker took out the DNA Splicers.

Kyurem didn't resist; this had been their deal.

He stabbed the spire-shaped DNA Splicers into Kyurem's side.

A dazzling light erupted.

...

From her perch on Metagross, Caitlin's expression shifted.

What was that light?

In less than ten seconds, the light faded. Sunlight broke through the clouds, illuminating the canyon.

After 2,500 years, Unova's three dragons were reunited at Giant Chasm.

[Hmm...]

Recently freed from Kyurem, Zekrom blinked and looked around.

[Where is this?]

The next second, Zekrom locked eyes with Kyurem's golden gaze and jumped back in fright, landing on his butt.

Compared to the startled Zekrom, Reshiram was much calmer. She looked at Joker with delighted eyes, smiling:

[I knew I could trust you, Stephen-sama.]

"Joker!? Why do you have the DNA Splicers!?"

Caitlin, atop her Metagross, cried out in shock.

"Hmm?"

Joker turned and saw the psychic flat-chested girl atop the Hoenn pseudo-legendary.

He'd been so focused on Kyurem, he hadn't noticed someone arriving.

He glanced at the DNA Splicers in his hand, thinking, "Trouble."

Everyone in the League knew the DNA Splicers should be with Stephen, but right now he was dressed as Joker...

But Stephen had no choice—he'd thought Lance would be here, so he'd come in disguise.

He couldn't exactly summon Evil Hoopa as Stephen, could he?

His brain whirred, and two seconds later, Joker grinned mischievously:

"Isn't it obvious? I stole it from him. We have the same face—easy enough."

That excuse might fool simple guys like Will or Bruno, but not Caitlin.

She only thought for two seconds before shouting, "Impossible! Dr. Stephen is always protected by his Bewear—how could anyone steal something as important as the DNA Splicers? Unless...!"

Her face changed drastically, clearly suspecting something terrible.

Joker rolled his eyes.

Too smart for her good. Sometimes it's better to be a little dumber.

"I'll report this to Mr. Alder and Miss Cynthia!"

Joker caught Caitlin mumbling to herself.

"Lugia."

Joker's eyes flashed as Caitlin turned to run. He signaled Shadow Lugia.

Shadow Lugia used telekinesis to drag Metagross and its trainer to Joker's feet.

"W-what are you doing? I—I'm warning you, don't try anything!"

Caitlin, raised in a sheltered world, panicked as Joker approached.

"I almost forgot, you've always admired Shirona," Joker grinned. "Caitlin, you know Shirona is one of my Elite Four now, right?"

Caitlin's face went pale, then filled with anger. "What are you planning to do to Miss Cynthia!?"

"Relax. The whole world knows about me and Shirona-chan now. If my real identity were exposed, she'd be very upset, don't you think?"

Hearing Joker's nickname for Cynthia, Caitlin was sure of her suspicion.

Shirona—that was Joker's nickname for Cynthia! freeweɓnovel.cѳm

Joker tossed his mask aside, put on black-rimmed glasses, and grinned ever more wickedly:

"And if my identity is exposed, who knows what I might do—maybe something to my darling in bed..."

"You!"

In a rage, Caitlin tried to slap Su Sheng.

But without even using a Pokémon, Stephen easily caught her wrist, smirking:

"Caitlin, you wouldn't want anything to happen to Cynthia, would you?"