The armored transport bound for Indigo Plateau traveled along a winding mountain road.
Ye Li sat in the farthest corner of the compartment, heavy energy-suppressing shackles flickering with faint electricity locked around his wrists and ankles.
The shackles were cold against his skin, as though constantly drawing the warmth from his body.
Outside the window lay rolling mountains and lush forests, the most magnificent natural scenery in the Kanto Region.
But in Ye Li's eyes, a gray pall hung over it all.
He knew he was being escorted to a legendary place.
The secret prison at Pokémon League headquarters.
A hell on earth built specifically to hold the world's most vicious criminals.
The transport finally stopped at an extremely well-concealed underground entrance on Indigo Plateau.
With a deafening roar, a thick alloy gate slowly rose, revealing a vast passage that led underground, its depths beyond sight.
Two expressionless Pokémon League special forces soldiers escorted Ye Li out of the vehicle, one on either side.
They passed through several checkpoints requiring multiple forms of identity verification before finally arriving outside a pure-white room.
The door slid open silently.
There was nothing inside. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of a special milky-white material without any visible seams.
Ye Li knew this material could completely block all energy fluctuations and information transmission.
Once he went inside, he would lose all contact with the world.
"Get in."
The soldier's voice held no emotion.
Ye Li did not resist. He walked inside in silence.
The door closed soundlessly behind him.
Absolute silence and pure white swallowed him whole.
Pokémon League headquarters, Champion Council Hall.
Beyond the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows stretched a magnificent sea of clouds.
Lance, the newly appointed Pokémon League Champion, stood before the windows, his signature long red hair