Pokemon: I Transmigrated Twice-Chapter 237: Pokemon: I Transmigrated Twice []

When Wicke said this, Stephen was momentarily stunned. He didn't immediately realize who she meant by "girl."

It was only when Wicke asked, "Can you release her from the medical pod?" that Stephen remembered who it was.

The Lorekeeper—Aster!

"I'll head back for a bit."

Stephen immediately had Hoopa open a portal.

"Um..."

Green was about to speak.

"We'll talk later."

Stephen patted her on the head and quickly entered the portal.

Green pouted and left the meeting room.

...

Stephen returned to the underground research department of Aether Paradise, calling Karen and Will on the way.

While riding the elevator with Stephen, Will couldn't help but complain, "I almost forgot about her. How many years has she been asleep?"

Karen thought for a few seconds and replied, "Five... or was it six years? I thought she'd never wake up in this lifetime..."

Back then, Aster had controlled Rayquaza and caused chaos with the Hoenn League, which left a deep impression on her.

But more unforgettable than the sight of Aster, a mortal, commanding a legendary Pokémon, was the League's ruthlessness.

She wondered if Goodshow knew that Mr. Stone had killed someone during his actions.

Stephen didn't interject. For someone whose body was gravely injured, waking up after five or six years was already lucky.

He remembered someone in a past life—an F1 champion—who slept for ten years before waking up.

If his wife hadn't sold off their assets to pay for the expensive treatment, he might never have woken up.

Another reminder of the importance of finding a good partner.

Entering the medical room, Lusamine and Wicke were already there.

On the bed in front of them sat a girl wrapped in a bedsheet, about the same age as Stephen and the others.

She hung her head low, looking lost and confused.

As Stephen and his companions entered, she looked at them curiously, like a newborn child.

Lusamine explained, "There weren't any suitable clothes, so this is the best we could do for now."

Looking closely, they'd noticed Aster's body under the sheet was oddly mismatched.

Her right side was identical to that of a Dragon-type Pokémon.

Covered in dense, dark blue scales and ending in sharp claws.

It looked like the dragonified Dragon Slayers from Fairy Tail, or perhaps Nero from Devil May Cry.

This was because, when Stephen saved her, he had transplanted Dragon-type Pokémon organs into her.

"How is she doing?" Stephen asked.

"She's recovered. She's even stronger than when she was brought here. Physically, she's more like a Pokémon than a human. But..."

Here, Wicke sighed, "She's lost her memory."

Amnesia?

All three were taken aback.

"Do you remember where your hometown is?" Stephen squatted down, looking Aster in the eyes.

Aster shook her head in confusion.

Stephen pinched his brow.

This was a bit troublesome.

He knew Aster was from Meteor Village, but he didn't know its exact location.

"...For now, let's have her stay with us. Wicke, teach her some basic life skills."

Stephen decided.

Wicke was best at taking care of children.

After Lusamine's husband went missing, she focused all her energy on researching Ultra Wormholes, so Lillie and Gladion spent half their childhood with Wicke.

"Oh right, don't let the press spot her," Stephen reminded.

If the Hoenn League, especially Mr. Stone, found out, it would cause unnecessary trouble.

After all, in their eyes, Aster was supposed to be dead.

"Aster, your name is 'Aster.'"

Stephen gave her a friendly smile and held out his hand. "I'm Stephen. Nice to meet you."

Aster blinked and finally shook his hand with her dragon's right hand.

...

"Should we have her act as a Team Rocket member from now on?" Karen asked after leaving the lab.

She'd had the same thought as Stephen.

To the League, Aster was dead and shouldn't appear in public.

In this situation, the best way for her to live would be to wear a mask and, as the three of them did before, act as a Team Rocket member.

"No rush, let her get used to the world and her new body first..."

Buzz buzz buzz!

Before Stephen could finish, his phone vibrated again.

It was Sird calling.

"King, Cynthia found Cyrus."

Karen and Will, being nearby, could hear Sird's voice.

But both looked confused.

Nothing was surprising about Cynthia finding Syrus; she'd left Alola yesterday to look for him.

But... how did Sird know?

...

Sinnoh Region, Celestic Town.

Boom!

An explosion erupted outside the Celestic Ruins, the town's landmark.

Through the smoke, Cynthia and her Spiritomb rushed out.

On the other side, the smoke cleared to reveal Cyrus.

The Sinnoh League Chairman no longer looked amiable; his expression was cold as if he was a different person.

"Cyrus! You deceived the Sinnoh League! Even if I'm no longer Sinnoh Champion, as a Sinnoh native, it's my responsibility to stop you!"

Cynthia raised her left arm, pointing at Cyrus and shouting righteously, "Right here, right now! I'll defeat you!"

Cyrus didn't reply, instead looking around. After a few seconds, a slight smirk appeared on his face. "You came alone? Was it too urgent to gather more strength? Or do you want to avoid making a big scene, so the public doesn't find out who I am?"

After Giovanni's identity was exposed, the League lost its reputation.

At such a sensitive time, if the public also discovered the Sinnoh League Chairman was a traitor...

The League might as well all commit suicide.

"Shut up!"

Cynthia rarely lost her composure and ordered Spiritomb to attack.

"Go, Weavile."

Cyrus called out calmly.

A Weavile sprang from its Pokéball, blocking Spiritomb's attack with its claws.

Spiritomb unleashed a Dark Pulse, but Weavile dodged with a side step and struck with a claw.

Sucker Punch!

But it didn't do much damage to Spiritomb.

"A unique Dark/Ghost combination like Spiritomb has no weaknesses," Cyrus narrated as Weavile and Spiritomb fought.

"Will-O-Wisp!"

Cynthia commanded.

Spiritomb released a wave of flames in all directions.

But Cyrus continued, "In that case... I'll just have to use a level advantage."

Instantly, Weavile's right claw became coated in a layer of ice, charging at Spiritomb.

When they collided—

Weavile's ice claw sliced through Spiritomb's Will-O-Wisp as easily as a knife through paper, landing a vicious blow to Spiritomb's face!

"How can this be!?"

Cynthia's beautiful face filled with shock.

She looked again to see her defeated Spiritomb covered in a thin layer of ice.

"When a Pokémon is frozen, its special attack is lowered. You didn't notice when I did it? That just means you're not strong enough."

Cyrus had no interest in explaining his moves to Cynthia.

Cynthia gritted her teeth, recalled Spiritomb with her left hand, and sent out another Pokémon with her right.

"Go! Lucario!"

Her team's second-in-command, Lucario!

...

Meanwhile, outside Celestic Town.

Stephen walked through a portal, arriving in Cynthia's hometown.

With him was Sird.

As soon as they arrived, they heard the sounds of battle from the ruins.

Sird explained, "The Celestic Ruins document the Sinnoh Lake Guardians. The god of knowledge lives at Lake Acuity, the god of emotion at Lake Verity, and the god of willpower at Lake Valor."

"Whatever," Sird said. "By the way, Sird, how did you know Cynthia and Cyrus are fighting here?"

Sird didn't answer immediately, instead kneeling and bowing. "Please forgive me, my true identity is a member of Team Galactic."

Sird quickly explained her background to Stephen.

She was a spy Cyrus had placed in Team Rocket.

After finishing, Sird looked up to meet Stephen's gaze again.

"You don't seem surprised by this."

"Not really," Stephen said. "Cyrus infiltrated the League himself, so sending spies to other organizations isn't strange."

"But aren't you afraid telling me this is a betrayal of Team Galactic?"

Stephen sat on a rock, interested.

"Cyrus is indecisive and not a true leader," Sird said. "You, King, are the real master of this world."

After years in Team Rocket, Sird found Cyrus's dream of "destroying the imperfect world and creating a perfect new one" more and more ridiculous.

What nonsense.

Not even Giovanni could compare to Stephen.

"You just think Cyrus is boring, right?" Stephen said with a laugh.

It was clear Sird had no allegiance to Team Galactic.

But he didn't think she was especially loyal to Team Rocket either.

To Stephen, Sird's betrayal was simple—Team Rocket was more interesting than Team Galactic.

That's all.

Simple and real.

"Bullet Punch!"

At that moment, Cynthia's cold shout came from the ruins.

A striking sound followed.

Even without seeing, Stephen guessed Lucario had defeated Weavile.

But it wasn't over.

Not two seconds after Weavile fell, a Gyarados appeared with a furious roar.

It seemed villains loved using Gyarados and Tyranitar.

"King, Gyarados is Cyrus's ace. In my opinion, Cynthia's Pokémon can't compete with it," Sird said, giving up all of Cyrus's info.

"So what do you think we should do?"

Stephen asked with interest.

"I think you should wait until Cynthia's completely defeated before acting. That way, the suspension bridge effect will make her fully loyal to you," Sird suggested.

"No, I've already used that trick at the Indigo Plateau. She'll notice," Stephen said with a laugh.

"...Well, if you don't want to act, I'll handle it."

Sird had brought Stephen here intending to use Cyrus's defeat as her pledge of loyalty.

In the past, Cyrus was stronger than her, but now that she had Darkrai, she was confident.

Plus, with Stephen here, he wouldn't just stand by if she was in danger... right?

Stephen was about to reply when a dragon's roar erupted above Celestic Town.

Though it was almost summer, snowflakes began to fall, and within ten seconds, a blizzard raged.

"What's happening!?"

Townsfolk in T-shirts shivered, looking around in fright.

Cynthia's ace, Garchomp, also shook its shoulders uncomfortably.

"When did Gyarados use 'Hail'?" The troubled Cynthia instinctively suspected Cyrus.

But Cyrus was just as confused.

"It's coming now."

Stephen looked up at the dragon silhouette rapidly approaching in his eyes.

Sird asked, "A bit unexpected. What should we do?"

Stephen thought for a second and decided, "Just don't let Cynthia die."

He recalled Hoopa floating by his side and threw out a Master Ball.

A surge of evil energy instantly drew Cynthia and Cyrus's attention.

Evil Hoopa!

"Why is Team Rocket here!?"

Seeing the demon god, Cyrus couldn't keep his trademark poker face.

Cynthia glanced at the demon god and muttered, "Is he worried about me... or just here to join the fun..."

Before they could act, Stephen—now in Joker form—leaped onto Hoopa's severed arm and flew into the air to confront the descending dragon.

"It's here... This place is too small. Let's move elsewhere."

Joker shrugged helplessly.

The icy aura belonged to none other than Kyurem, who Stephen had met in Lumiose City six months ago.

No other legendary could create a blizzard so quickly.

Back when Evil Hoopa summoned a bunch of legendaries, only this grumpy old dragon swore revenge.

He wouldn't let Hoopa off after recovering.

So Joker wasn't surprised Kyurem showed up.

Evil Hoopa, at Joker's signal, flew away from Celestic Town.

[Die, you!]

The old, gruff voice roared telepathically.

A dazzling red-and-white light enveloped Kyurem, then faded after two seconds.

White Kyurem!

The next instant, White Kyurem chased after Evil Hoopa, tubes and tail glowing a terrifying red and white.

The air howled as countless snakelike white bolts shot toward Hoopa's back.

Right into Fusion Flare!

"Don't use that ability. Use your power, it should be fine, right?" Joker said.

"Who do you think I am!?"

Evil Hoopa snorted, raising another arm to throw out a gold ring, which instantly expanded to over a hundred meters, swallowing all the white flames.

At the same time, another gold ring appeared behind White Kyurem, striking it precisely.

"Such a broken ability," Joker sighed.

Even he, a master trainer, had to admit Hoopa's powers were overpowered.

[Petty tricks!]

The old voice roared again. Black Kyurem burst from the flames, its body crackling with thunder, firing a giant ball of lightning.

As a Fire/Dragon type, White Kyurem resisted fire attacks fourfold; even Fusion Flare barely hurt it.

"Take this chance and beat it fair and square, don't use your ability," Joker changed his orders. "Block it."

As he finished speaking, Black Kyurem charged.

Hoopa opened all six arms, letting Black Kyurem crash into its embrace.

Boom—!

The two beasts collided with a deafening roar.

Hoopa retracted its arms, sending Joker falling.

But before he could drop two meters, Shadow Lugia caught him.

"Foul Play."

As soon as Joker gave the order, Hoopa gathered terrifying evil energy in all six arms.

Foul Play—an attack that grows stronger the more powerful the opponent.

Black Kyurem, like a meteor, was slammed into the ground outside town, shaking the earth.

Hoopa's powers were broken, but its raw strength was also top-tier.

At least, for Hoopa.

"How's it going over there?"

Joker looked back at the ruins.

The already-destroyed ruins.

"What a powerful attack. I almost lost," Cyrus staggered out from Gyarados's protection.

Both Gyarados and its trainer were covered in wounds but still standing.

On the other hand, Cynthia's Garchomp was crawling, unable to move.

"Draco Meteor, like Hyper Beam, is powerful but leaves the user weak. You must use it at the perfect moment, or you'll lose all your advantage instantly," Cyrus sneered.

"Is it because I deceived the Sinnoh League? You're too angry, so angry you used such a risky move at the wrong time. That's why I say human hearts are imperfect."

Under Cynthia's wary, even fearful gaze, Akagi slowly raised his hand, mercilessly declaring, "Goodbye, former champion..."

"Wait! You can't kill her! She's Dr. Stephen's woman!"

At this moment, Sird stepped forward and shouted.