When Mishiro heard Malva reveal his parents’ true identities, he was utterly dumbfounded.
Team Flare has been right beside me all this time?!
What shocked him even more was that, judging by her tone, even his gym’s ability to gain a solid foothold in Lumiose City had depended on Team Flare’s backing behind the scenes.
Prompted by Malva, he vaguely recalled certain details.
Roughly eight years ago, the Kalos Pokémon League reformed its gym system, introducing the annual audit mechanism seen today and establishing a new classification—tier-two gyms.
The system before then had been quite different.
“So you’re saying…”
“Exactly!”
Malva crossed her arms over her chest and cut in.
“Precisely because of that system reform, competing for a tier-two gym seat in a major city like Lumiose wasn’t easy.
Back then, the environment was chaotic, and some people even hired underground gang syndicates to attack rival gyms.”
She calmly recounted the past.
Back then, it was thanks to the funding provided by Team Flare and Malva’s clandestine maneuvers within the League that the White Gym pulled through the crisis, successfully securing official certification as a tier-two gym from the League.
In exchange, Mishiro’s parents signed an agreement, officially joining Team Flare and serving the organization ever since.
“…”
Mishiro fell silent.
He naturally held deep affection for his parents.
In his eighteen years with amnesia, he had never lacked their love and support.
Whatever choices he made, the two had always stood quietly behind him.
It was precisely because of this that, before recovering his memories, he had chosen to study Pokémon breeding.
But now…
Malva gently took a sip of her coffee, taking in his complex expression.
“Don’t think we’re doing anything bad.
Quite the contrary, we’re pursuing an ideal world that’s better, free of strife and plunder.
Once your parents understood it deeply, they genuinely aligned with Team Flare’s philosophy.”
“Then where are they now?”
“About that…
I’m sorry.”
Malva didn’t evade and gave the answer directly.
The situation was just as Mishiro had guessed before: it happened in the Pyrenees Mountains at the southernmost edge of the Kalos region.
His parents led a team executing Team Flare’s top-secret mission—capturing the Cocoon of Destruction sleeping deep within the mountain range.
However, the International Police suddenly intervened mid-mission.
The energy unleashed in the fierce clash between both sides’ Pokémon accidentally disturbed the legendary Pokémon of destruction sleeping inside the cocoon—Yveltal.
Under the shroud of its Dark Aura, every living thing within a hundred-mile radius was drained of life.
Yveltal, having forcibly used its power before fully awakening, fell into an even deeper slumber.
Upon learning of the accident, Team Flare immediately dispatched Malva with a second unit.
Though they witnessed the tragic scene, they successfully recovered the Cocoon of Destruction.
But those lost lives could never be brought back.
After the mission ended, she returned to Lumiose City, hoping to look after her comrades’ child as much as possible.
“The reason I’m telling you all this is based on the premise that you choose to inherit the gym.
If you’re completely unable to inherit your parents’ ideals, then at most I’ll provide minimal help when you’re at a dead end, and after that, we’ll have no further connection.”
Malva put down her coffee cup, her tone still very grave.
She had a genuine friendship with Mishiro’s parents, but she was first and foremost a loyal fanatic of Team Flare’s vision, with boundaries she would not cross.
Hearing all this, Mishiro fully understood.
“So your goal is…”
“Correct.” Malva nodded gently, a faint smile touching the corner of her lips.
“So, will you…”
“Don’t ask—if you’re asking, I’m in!
Honestly, I’ve been a Team Flare member for a long time.”
“??? New chapters come out on novelping.com first.
I wasn’t even done asking!”
“Well, it was going to be along those lines anyway.”
Mishiro agreed without hesitation, not even waiting for her to finish.
After all, free resources were free resources.
His gym was short on almost everything right now.
Since Team Flare was providing it, he’d just treat it as compensation.
As for his parents…
he couldn’t judge for now.
Though it was hard to accept calmly in his heart, he decided to bury it deep inside for now.
With his current strength, he couldn’t change anything anyway.
As a reincarnator who had recovered his memories, his mind was far more mature than his appearance.
He wouldn’t be easily swayed by emotions like when he had amnesia.
The immediate priority was to raise his strength, run the gym left by his parents, get through the current crisis, and then think about future matters.
Plus, he had just discovered something else.
The tags “Malva” and “Team Flare” actually both met the conditions to create [Legendary Archives].
However, due to lack of information, they couldn’t be created for now.
But he also knew that even if created, with his current strength, completing tasks of this caliber was impossible.
Seeing him agree so decisively, a flash of surprise crossed Malva’s face, followed by a bit more appreciation for the young man.
She nodded with satisfaction.
“Very well.
Leave the rest of the arrangements to me.
I’ll send someone specifically to liaise with you later.
However, your identity as a Gym Leader is somewhat special, so the organization won’t bother you frequently.
For now, you only need to do two things.”
Malva stood up, put her flame-red sunglasses back on, and continued: “Raise your strength and develop the gym.
The gym audit at the end of the year will also be my first assessment of your capability.
I hope you won’t disappoint me.”
“No problem.
So…”
Mishiro flashed a sly smile, rubbing his right thumb and forefinger together in a strongly suggestive gesture.
Seeing this gesture, Malva raised an eyebrow slightly.
For some reason, she felt like she had just led Team Flare straight into a massive pit.
Still, she nodded in agreement.
“Don’t worry, I’ll have it prepared for you.”
“Then it’s a deal!”
Watching Malva drive off, Mishiro stood at the coffee shop entrance and let out a soft sigh of relief.
To say he wasn’t nervous would be a lie.
She was a high-ranking executive of Team Flare after all.
Luckily, he had managed to bluff his way through.
As for Team Flare…
“Mm, the resources are really great.”
He quickly put these messy thoughts behind him and refocused on his main quest, then went to stores and pharmacies to buy a bunch of supplies before returning to the gym.
Squishy had woken up at some point.
It didn’t clearly remember what happened last night—completely forgetting about using Power Construct to summon Zygarde Cells—only remembering vividly that Mishiro had cooked for it.
“Kyuu~”
Perhaps because it had grown somewhat after using its power for the first time, Squishy’s cries were no longer broken like yesterday’s baby babble.
“Stop crying, just wait a sec.
I’m making you cream cake and hot milk, it’ll be ready right away.”
Mishiro was tormented by Squishy’s non-stop cries.
It had been so quiet and cute yesterday, but today it suddenly started.
That voice echoing directly in his brain via telepathy felt almost like brainwashing.
When he poured a whole carton of Moomoo Milk into the pot to heat up, Squishy jumped in without hesitation, swimming pleasantly in the warm milk, its face full of enjoyment.
“Phew…”
Having finally placated this little ancestor, Mishiro turned to treat Excadrill’s injuries.
He carefully bandaged its injured nose.
Excadrill kept its eyes half-closed, ready at any moment to pin someone to the ground with its drill, though the strange force that instantly defeated it last night left it with lingering fear.
“Alright, stop faking it.
I know you’re awake.”
Mishiro could directly view Pokémon status panels, so Excadrill’s every move was clear to him, including its hesitation to act due to fear of Squishy’s power.
“Gacha!”
Seeing its faked unconsciousness exposed, Excadrill snapped its eyes open and glared at Mishiro.
Then it forcefully swung its steel claws, stopping sharp claw-tips just a single centimeter in front of Mishiro’s eyes.
A slight lean forward, and those claws could easily pierce through.
“Gacha!” (Why didn’t you dodge!)
“Because I’m not afraid.”
“Gacha!” (Why aren’t you afraid!)
“I’m just not!”
Man and mole locked eyes in the air, as if completing a silent telepathic exchange.
A moment later, Excadrill slowly retracted its steel claws.
It had its own principles.
Though it still disliked the guy who ambushed it with a shovel, since he apologized and treated its injuries, it felt no need to pursue it further.
Seeing this “attending physician” status finally granted forgiveness, Mishiro inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he was a fan of Garchomp, he couldn’t help but like this Excadrill’s personality now.
Then, Mishiro’s face suddenly shifted into an intensely serious expression.
“So let me ask you, do you want to get stronger?”
“Gacha?!”
Excadrill visibly froze.
Did he even need to ask?
It came to Lumiose City precisely seeking stronger power, attracted by a mysterious aura.
It just wandered for a long time without finding the source, so it found a comfortable park to sleep—until some damned guy jabbed its nose with a shovel.
Observing its reaction, Mishiro nodded in satisfaction.
“In that case, I’ll provide you with the path to become stronger.
In return, you just need to become my Pokémon.”
Although he had already caught Excadrill with a Poké Ball, Poké Balls weren’t hypnosis brainwashing devices.
Pokémon weren’t brainless pets; they lived on this planet alongside humans, and some individuals possessed intelligence no lower than human.
“Gacha?”
Excadrill’s eyes filled with suspicion.
As a Pokémon that barged into the city from the wild, its perception of humans was more like seeing humans as another form of Pokémon, not understanding what a “Trainer” meant.
Mishiro naturally had confidence, stemming not only from his breeder knowledge, but mainly because he wanted to personally test the effect of the [Path of Cultivation] feature.
Unlocking this feature required a full 100 Legend Points—his entire remaining fortune.
At such a steep price, the effect shouldn’t be too bad.
Feeling Excadrill’s skeptical gaze, Mishiro suddenly clapped his hands, a relaxed smile returning to his face.
“Well, that’s that for now.
Let me serve lunch first!”