Chapter 288: A Visit to Zinnia's Headquarters
Zinnia: "Damn it… I was so close..."
If only she had been able to use Mega Evolution, she would have won for sure...
Across from her, Courtney blew a bubble and looked utterly pleased.
Back when she was still in Team Magma, Zinnia had infiltrated their ranks and thoroughly humiliated her. Now, she had finally turned the tables, and it felt immensely satisfying.
All the frustration she'd felt from being pressured by Asahi was now completely gone.
But seeing Courtney's glee only made Zinnia even more frustrated.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a Mega Stone for Camerupt. "Here... take it."
This was the bet they had agreed upon before the battle began.
If Courtney lost, she had to grant Zinnia a request.
If Zinnia lost, she had to hand over a Mega Stone.
Originally, Zinnia had hoped to team up with Courtney and turn the tables on Asahi. Instead, she had ended up losing a Mega Stone.
Feeling her now-flattened pocket, Zinnia couldn't help but reminisce about the days when it had been stuffed full of Mega Stones.
"This is all Asahi's fault..."
She muttered under her breath.
Asahi (suddenly appearing behind her): "What did I do? Losing a battle is my fault now?"
Zinnia jolted in surprise and turned to see Asahi standing behind her, holding an Eevee.
"I-I didn't say anything! You must have misheard... Uh, weren't we heading back to headquarters today? I've never seen it before..." She looked around anxiously, avoiding Asahi's gaze.
Her clumsy attempt to change the subject was painfully obvious.
Still, her words reminded Asahi—it was time to return to headquarters.
Hopefully, Indeedee had been taking care of Midori and Pryce, who were still locked up in the basement.
They shouldn't have starved to death... right?
---
Since Sabrina had to return to Saffron Gym to handle accumulated work and Gary planned to visit Professor Oak's lab, the group heading back consisted only of Asahi, Green, Zinnia, Courtney, and the three captives.
"This is our headquarters? Not that impressive..."
Zinnia's words were dismissive, but her wandering gaze betrayed her curiosity.
Unlike Zinnia, who was playing it cool, Courtney had a different focus.
As a former Team Magma executive, her first instinct was to assess the base's defensive capabilities.
She didn't pay much attention to the Pokémon around, but the security system at the front gate had caught her eye. If she wasn't mistaken, that was the latest generation of defense technology from Devon Corporation.
Expensive.
She recalled the time when they raided Kusunoki Shipyard for the Abyssal One. The shipyard had only been using last-generation security tech, and even that had cost them a great deal of effort to break through.
As she was making these observations, two Indeedees emerged from the manor—immediately drawing her attention.
These Indeedees looked quite formidable.
"Imdeedee~!"
The female Indeedee, who had come to greet them, beamed at Asahi.
Just as the male Indeedee was about to remind her to maintain proper etiquette in front of guests, a hand suddenly landed on its head.
"This your Indeedee, Asahi? It looks adorable~" Zinnia said as she stroked its horn, looking back at Asahi.
Watching this, Green hesitated to say something, while Asahi's expression turned amused.
At that moment, the Indeedee that had been sneakily petted snapped out of its initial shock. Its eyes glowed blue as it activated Psychic—
Boom!
Zinnia was sent flying, landing face-first on the lawn.
Only now did Asahi leisurely add, "...Forgot to mention, Indeedee really hates strangers touching its horn."
Indeedee could sense emotions through its horn, making it a highly sensitive area—one that was absolutely off-limits.
Seemingly to confirm Asahi's words, Indeedee took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the horn that Zinnia had touched.
Dazed from her fall, Zinnia finally managed to get back on her feet. "...You could've warned me earlier."
Asahi smiled slightly.
Where's the fun in that?
---
Led by Indeedee, they entered the manor.
The moment they stepped inside, Zinnia spotted a Dragonair curled around a massive, deep-red gemstone, seemingly asleep.
As a Dragon-type specialist, she was instantly captivated.
"What a beautiful Dragonair!"
She approached it, wanting to reach out and touch it. But recalling her experience with Indeedee, she hesitated and turned to Asahi.
Dragonair had a gentle nature. Surely, touching it wouldn't result in another psychic launch, right?
"It's fine..."
Hearing that, Zinnia relaxed and stroked Dragonair's head.
It was incredibly soft.
"So smooth~" She closed her eyes in bliss.
Sensing someone touching it, Dragonair opened its eyes and tensed up upon seeing Zinnia. But the moment it noticed Asahi nearby, it relaxed.
"Draaa~"
Without hesitation, Dragonair abandoned Zinnia and slithered toward Asahi, nuzzling its head against him.
It had missed him terribly after all this time.
Zinnia watched the affectionate exchange with envy. But soon, something else caught her attention.
"What's this...?"
She eyed the massive red gemstone that Dragonair had previously been coiled around.
Earlier, she had been too focused on Dragonair to notice. Now that she was looking directly at it, she realized the stone radiated an intense Dragon-type energy.
Asahi, gently patting Dragonair, noticed her curiosity.
"Oh, that? That's a Dragon's Core."
"Dragon's Core?" Zinnia frowned, trying to recall where she'd heard of it before.
It sounded familiar—something mentioned in ancient legends about mythical Pokémon...
"It's nothing special," Asahi said casually. "Just... the material Regigigas used to create Regidrago."
Regigigas… the material it used to make Regidrago...?
Even if she had dozed off during history lessons as a kid, Zinnia still knew exactly what those names meant.
That was the legendary titan said to have dragged continents across the land.
And Asahi had just casually given its creation material to Dragonair as a pillow.
She was utterly speechless.
Courtney, too, was a little shaken. But given that Asahi had tamed Rayquaza and single-handedly destroyed Team Magma, she supposed it wasn't that surprising.
"Alright, Green, why don't you show her around? Courtney, come with me to the basement."
Asahi motioned to Courtney.
....
To read an advance 180+ chapters before public release
And
Support me at [email protected]/NahinS77