"Anyway, you've been requisitioned." Mr. Lance didn't bother with small talk with Natsuhiko, he went straight to pulling rank. "I'm a Senior Investigator, I have the authority to requisition all Intermediate and even Junior Investigators."
He even deliberately emphasized the word "Junior."
"I've got my own assignment too, you know."
"I'm a Senior Investigator."
"I'm at least a Dojo Leader."
"I'm a Senior Investigator."
"You seriously got nothing else to say, huh?"
"I'm a Senior Investigator."
Natsuhiko: "..."
He felt like Lance was essentially holding him hostage with that title.
What a sin.
He sighed again and said, "When did you get promoted?"
Lance immediately showed a triumphant smile. "Three days ago."
"With a friend like you, I'm really 'blessed for three lifetimes.'"
Natsuhiko shot him a glare, clearly annoyed.
"Get ready. If this mission goes smoothly, it might even Help with your own assignment."
Lance put away his joking attitude.
Natsuhiko's expression likewise turned serious.
"What kind of mission?"
"After several months of infiltration and investigation by the International Criminal Police, they've pinpointed a secret research base of the Plasma Team.
As long as we can confirm that the Plasma Team is indeed engaging in activities that violate Alliance regulations, harm the interests of the United Alliance, or even attempt to overthrow the entire Unova Region, the United Alliance will be able to officially classify the Plasma Team as an evil organization.
At that point, even if the Plasma Team keeps trying to preach their so-called doctrines under the banner of religion, the United Alliance will have more than enough grounds to crack down on them, or even launch a full-scale suppression."
The reason the Plasma Team could strut around so brazenly under the sun in the Unova Region was inseparable from the policies the United Alliance pushed in Unova.
In Natsuhiko's view, these policies were a bit lax, even unreasonable.
But if you take into account the resistance the Alliance faced when first entering the Unova Region, and then think of the soon-to-be-opened Alola Region, it becomes easier to understand.
Just like the current Alola Region, where organizations like the Ethereum Foundation are obstructing—or rather, seeking benefits for Alola's organizations and Trainers.
When the Alliance moved into the Unova Region, they must have made certain concessions as well.
And those concessions gave the Plasma Team an opening to exploit.
Now that the United Alliance has completely established itself in the Unova Region, it can start attempting reforms.
And the biggest obstacle is the Plasma Team.
So using the Plasma Team as the first target was an inevitable choice.
"What do you need me to do?" Natsuhiko couldn't help asking.
"This time the mission is mainly initiated by the International Criminal Police. We're just in support, so it's actually not a particularly difficult operation." Lance explained.
"Alright."
For Natsuhiko, all his valuables were basically on him, so he didn't need to prepare anything.
By the time they stepped out of the house, there was already a helicopter waiting outside.
As the hatch opened, a man with regular features and short dark-green hair ushered the two of them onto the aircraft.
Once the helicopter lifted off, the man finally introduced himself. "Hello, Mr. Natsuhiko, I'm Kalent, Special Crime Investigator, one of the planners of this operation."
Although the International Criminal Police and Investigators belong to two different departments,
in practice, the two divisions are more or less interconnected.
As far as Natsuhiko knew, his cheap mentor Agatha held some important position within the International Criminal Police Department.
"Nice to meet you."
Natsuhiko shook the hand the other man offered.
"Mr. Lance said that if we could get one particular person's Help on this mission, things would become much easier. I'd been wondering who that might be; I didn't expect it to turn out to be you, Mr. Natsuhiko." Kalent said with no small amount of pleasant surprise.
Natsuhiko looked over at Lance.
So that meant—
This mission hadn't actually specified him by name.
Lance had dragged him along?
Lance gazed out the window, looking for all the world like he wasn't listening to their conversation at all.
If not for his eyes occasionally flicking toward Natsuhiko, Natsuhiko might almost have believed it.
Now that he'd boarded this bandits' ship—no, this bandits' chopper—there was no getting off even if he wanted to.
Kalent was very professional. After exchanging a few brief pleasantries with Natsuhiko, he began outlining the main content of the mission.
The helicopter was very fast.
It was clearly a special Alliance aircraft.
Before long,
they arrived at a relatively remote and not very developed small town in the Unova Region.
Lu Town.
Lance and Natsuhiko followed Kalent to the center of the town, to a large research institute.
The tents of the International Criminal Police special operations unit had been set up in the open area inside the institute, which could, to some extent, avoid unnecessary attention.
The tent was filled with a large number of precision instruments.
Among them were not only some devices belonging to the International Criminal Police, but also equipment used in Pokémon research.
Inside several glass enclosures were a few Pokémon whose condition was clearly somewhat abnormal.
And a female Researcher in a white lab coat, with orange hair coiled up on her head, was frowning as she stared at some data displayed on the instruments, her expression grave as she wrote things down in a notebook.
Dr. Cypress!
On the other side,
stood a petite, frail-looking woman in a black suit, with long purple hair tied and hanging down to her waist, wearing a professional headset, seemingly arranging some operation.
The head of the Battlefront Territory, the Battle Tower Monarch, head of the International Criminal Police countermeasures headquarters, Police Chief Lira!
Kalent walked over to Lira's side and reported something to her.
Meanwhile, Natsuhiko walked over to Dr. Cypress.