"Someone is watching you from the shadows." Charles Goodshow's voice faded from the Communicator, and May's fingers whitened around it.
She instinctively glanced toward the room next door. Lin Hao's snores were audible even through the door.
"Watching him?" May murmured under her breath. "Team Rocket just got beaten up. Who else could it be?"
The Communicator lit up again, this time on Lance's encrypted channel. "May." Lance kept his voice low.
"Champion Lance."
"Did you understand what the president meant?"
"Yes." May pressed her lips together. "At any cost."
"The final is tomorrow." Lance paused. "This is our last chance. If he wins the championship, he'll be in the spotlight before the entire world."
"So?" May asked.
"So you have to find a way tonight to get him to reveal what other Pokémon he has," Lance said gravely. "That Pikachu, Charizard, and Greninja are only a tiny fraction of his strength, aren't they?"
May fell silent, remembering Lin Hao wiping Pikachu's mouth, remembering how he had thrashed Team Rocket over half a packet of biscuits.
"May?"
"I understand." May closed her eyes. "I'll find a way." The call ended.
Meanwhile, somewhere beneath Kanto, in Team Rocket's temporary command center, Apollo knelt before Giovanni, his forehead covered in sweat.
"All six elite squads were wiped out?" Giovanni sat in his chair, his voice utterly flat.
"Yes." Apollo dared not look up.
"As I recall, I told you to keep him under covert surveillance." Giovanni swirled his wineglass. "Who told them to attack?"
Apollo's shoulders trembled. "I acted without authorization. Please punish me, boss."
Giovanni set down his glass, rose, and walked over to the holographic screen. It was playing footage of Lin Hao knocking out Metagross with a single punch.
"For tomorrow's final," Giovanni said, staring at the footage, "send the science division. Have them bring an energy collector."
"You mean..." Apollo raised his head.
"The energy fluctuations from his Pokémon are nothing like those of naturally raised Pokémon." Giovanni's eyes narrowed. "Those readings defy all reason. They're worth more than the Mewtwo Project."
Giovanni turned. "Notify Team Galactic."
Apollo froze. "Team Galactic? Boss, they..."
"Cyrus has already sent people to Kanto." Giovanni's lips curled. "Did you think the president meant us when he said someone was 'watching from the shadows'?" Apollo's gaze sharpened.
"Idiot." Giovanni swept out. "Team Galactic was never after some hard drive. They want Legendary Pokémon."
Back at the Indigo Plateau, at one in the morning, Lin Hao lay on a luxurious Simmons mattress, sound asleep.
Bang! Someone knocked on the door.
"Get lost." Lin Hao rolled over.
"It's me!" May's voice came from outside.
"All the more reason to get lost."
"Lin Hao! Open the door! I have something important to tell you!"
Lin Hao reluctantly dragged himself out of bed, threw on a jacket, and opened the door. May stood outside in her pajamas, looking troubled.
"What is it?" Lin Hao rubbed his eyes.
May steadied her breathing. "The League still hasn't announced your opponent for tomorrow's final."
"What does that have to do with me? It's all the same, whoever comes." Lin Hao turned to shut the door.
"Wait!" May caught the door with her hand. "I want to ask you something."
"Don't want to answer."
"Do you have any Pokémon besides Pikachu, Charizard, and Greninja?"
Lin Hao stopped and turned to look at May. His gaze made her feel guilty, and she looked away.
"No," Lin Hao said.
"You're lying."
"You asked, I answered, and now you don't believe me." Lin Hao yawned. "Then why bother asking?"
"I..." May opened her mouth. She recalled Charles Goodshow's orders: At any cost.
But looking at the sleepy man before her, she couldn't bring herself to say it. "I'm just worried about you." May's face flushed red.
"Thanks. No need." Lin Hao promptly shut the door.
May stood in the hallway with her forehead against the door. "What am I even doing..." she murmured.
Inside, Lin Hao leaned against the door, the drowsiness vanishing from his face.
In the system space, Mewtwo said, "Master, she's probing you."
I know, Lin Hao replied in his mind.
"Would you like me to erase her memories?" Mewtwo asked.
"No." Lin Hao lay back down on the bed. "She won't get anything out of me."
At two in the morning, cold moonlight bathed a forest path on the outskirts of the Indigo Plateau. A silent man in a red cap sat fishing by the lake.
A Pikachu lay beside him. Starlight shimmered on the lake's surface, and his fishing rod remained perfectly still.
Tap. Footsteps approached from behind, soft and stealthy. Red didn't even turn his head. His Pikachu pricked up its ears and let out a low, threatening crackle of electricity.
The footsteps stopped. "Mr. Red." A man in a gray-blue uniform emerged from the bushes, a stylized "G" emblazoned on his chest.
"You shouldn't be in Kanto," Red said in a steady voice.
"We're only here to watch the tournament," the Team Galactic member said with a smile. "Master Cyrus is very interested in tomorrow's final." Red tightened his grip on his fishing rod.
"Especially that young man named Lin Hao," the Team Galactic member continued. "The energy fluctuations coming from him are fascinating. Master Cyrus would like to know whether he possesses..."
Before he could finish, a dazzling bolt of lightning tore through the night sky. Red's Pikachu fired a warning Thunderbolt, snapping a large tree behind the Team Galactic member in two.
Crash! The tree toppled, and the Team Galactic member's expression changed sharply. "Mr. Red, what are you..."
"Leave." Red said only that one word.
The Team Galactic member's smile vanished, and he retreated into the darkness. Red reeled in his line and stood. He looked toward the brightly lit competitors' village in the distance, his gaze darkening.
At six in the morning, in the competitors' village dining hall, Lin Hao was up early for one reason alone: free breakfast ended at seven, and he wanted to grab the last batch of fried eggs.
"Pika!" Pikachu rode on Lin Hao's head, waving its little paws excitedly.
Carrying a plate piled high with fried eggs and bacon, Lin Hao headed toward his seat, then stopped short. Someone was already sitting in his usual corner.
"Red?" Lin Hao froze for a moment. Red looked up at him and gave a slight nod.
"What are you doing here?" Lin Hao walked over and sat down. "When did you get to the Indigo Plateau?"
"Three days ago," Red said.
"Here to watch the tournament?"
"Here to fish."
Lin Hao nearly spat out his fried egg. "You can fish at the Indigo Plateau?"
"There's a lake in the hills out back." Red took a photo from his pocket. It showed a palm-sized Magikarp.
"That's it?" Lin Hao gave it a disdainful glance. "That thing isn't even as thick as my finger."
Red remained silent for a few seconds, then put the photo away.
The two ate quietly for a while. Just as Lin Hao was stuffing his fifth fried egg into his mouth, Red suddenly set down his chopsticks.
"Lin Hao."
"Hmm?"
Red looked at him steadily. "Last night, someone who shouldn't have been in Kanto came to see me." Lin Hao stopped chewing.
"They asked about you." Red lowered his voice. "It wasn't Team Rocket."
Lin Hao set down his chopsticks. "Then who was it?"
Red was silent for a few seconds. "Team Galactic."
Lin Hao's expression didn't change, but Pikachu's ears pricked up on his shoulder. "What do they want?"
Red stared into Lin Hao's eyes and spoke each word distinctly. "They're looking for Legendary Pokémon. And they think you have one."
Before you continue