Meanwhile, Azure was deep in conversation with Devon and Ren, crafting a new strategy. His Pokédex suddenly rang. Azure answered immediately.
"Ahem... hello?" Azure said.
The voice on the other end replied, "I've already arrived in front of the museum. When will you come?"
Ren, using telepathy, asked Azure, *Who is that?*
Azure responded telepathically, *He's my junior from Brighton Academy. His name is Ao.*
He returned to the phone call. "I'll be there in two hours."
Ao replied, "Alright then. I'll go meet Senior Diego first."
Azure's eyebrows rose. "Wait a minute. Diego is in this city? Where is he?"
Ao answered, "He's currently at Professor Miranda's laboratory."
Azure nodded to himself. "In that case, I'll send Allied there. He knows more about artifacts like that than anyone."
After the call ended, Ren said, "It's unusual for Brighton Academy students to come here. Did you invite them on a tour?"
Azure shook his head. "I only invited Ao. Not everyone. You know how far that academy is from here."
Devon smiled slightly. "If they're here, we might be able to relax a bit more now."
Azure then walked into the training room. He found Aron studying the simulation data.
"Hey, Aron. How's his progress? Has Xian learned how to use his new abilities yet?"
Aron glanced up. "Quite a lot of progress since earlier. From the data I've gathered, his new abilities are more efficient because they're focused on a single aspect from the start. Unlike before, where he could choose different branches."
Azure asked, "What's the effect?"
Aron explained, "This ability is more practical. More centralized. Cleaner. But also more specific."
Just then, Xian and Allied emerged from the simulation—Xian had lost again. He was sprawled on the floor, exhausted, while Allied, Gengar, and Scizor stood as fresh as ever.
Azure waited for them to exit, then spoke to Allied. "Ao just told me that Diego is currently at Miranda's laboratory."
Allied raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me—you want me to go meet him again. Like last time?"
Azure nodded. "Of course."
Scizor returned itself to its Poké Ball. Gengar then emerged through the floor beneath Allied, and Allied was pulled into his own shadow.
After Allied vanished, Aron asked, "Diego has great abilities, but he rarely gets involved in things like this. Are you sure about sending Allied?"
Azure's expression remained calm. "Trust me. Out of the six people here, the only ones who could possibly stand against Diego are me and him. Don't you remember that time he fled all the way to another timeline?"
Aron's face went blank. "Don't remind me of that incident again. I've already locked away that memory."
Meanwhile, Xian finally managed to stand up again. "Finally, I'm free!" he said joyfully. Then he muttered to himself, "Allied is insane. Making me fight him without a Pokémon... yep. But at least that's over."
Azure overheard and smirked. "Who said it was over?"
Xian's blood ran cold. He recognized that tone. He glanced nervously at Azure. "Are you insane too? I just got pummeled!"
Azure shrugged. "Alright then. I'll give you a rest."
Xian blinked in disbelief. Azure rarely relented like this. "Seriously?" Xian asked.
Azure nodded. "We've already gathered enough data. I don't see any harm in taking a break."
Without another word, Xian sprinted out of the simulation room and headed straight for the main area to grab some coffee.
Ren, watching Xian pour himself a cup, asked, "Senior, how was the training?"
Xian downed an entire glass of coffee in one gulp—then choked, pounding his chest.
"Smooth enough," he wheezed.
Ren tilted her head. "How are your new abilities?"
Xian caught his breath. "Pretty good, actually. I might even become more skilled in this area."
Devon, overhearing, asked, "To be honest, you've been using your cultivation abilities for years. Now they've suddenly transformed into something else. Don't you feel like all that training was wasted?"
Xian smiled—though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Don't worry. It's not that different."
He then turned and ran back toward the simulation room.
Ren watched him go. "He's lying. I'm sure he still feels the loss of his old abilities."
Devon agreed. "I think so too. There's no way he's not sad about losing years of training. Especially those secret clan techniques."
Ren glanced down the corridor toward the training room. "It's late. Too late... but maybe not *too* late."
---
Walking down the hallway, Xian wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
*Years of training... gone in a single day.*
He quickened his pace toward the simulation room, whispering to himself, "I don't care about the reasons or the man's goals. But I swear... I'll make him pay."
He stepped into the simulation room with renewed determination.