After a round of swift maneuvering by Umbrella Pharmaceutical Company, public opinion quickly swung back in its favor, pulling the Z Foundation out of the media spotlight.
But Lucius knew better. Seizing control of Zygarde had crossed a major line with Team Flare, and they wouldn't take it lying down.
Sure enough, Team Flare struck back. Overnight, countless blogs and media outlets across Kalos exploded with one shocking headline:
"What Is the Connection Between Umbrella and the Infamous Team Rocket?"
When Lucius read the headline, he nearly burst out laughing. So you actually figured that out? he thought.
The article dug up a lot. It exposed how Ophelia, Umbrella's current CEO, had previously served as the secretary to the Vice President of Silph Co., which had long been a front for Team Rocket. It also confirmed that several top researchers at Umbrella had once worked directly for Rocket.
The article cited multiple examples: how Rocket's black-market operations never truly vanished, how many high-level personnel were never apprehended, and how Umbrella's mysterious funding sources and technical innovations were suspiciously similar to Rocket's past endeavors.
The conclusion? Team Rocket never disbanded. They simply rebranded, cleaned up their image, and reemerged as the "respectable" Umbrella Company.
To Lucius, the article was full of logical holes—deliberately ignoring Giovanni's public declarations, among other things. But for the average Kalosian, Team Rocket was just some sinister crime ring from another continent—an urban legend from Kanto or Johto.
It was like how some Japanese people only knew about the Italian Mafia from movies—scary but vague, a blurry picture of organized evil. And that ambiguity? That's exactly what Team Flare was exploiting: the power of implication.
Ironically, just as this story broke, a well-connected journalist investigating the Z Foundation discovered that Dolores, the Foundation's director, had once been a member of the Syndicate—a notorious Pokémon smuggling ring from Unova.
That revelation detonated like a bomb.
Suddenly, every headline was screaming the same thing: "Illegal Pokémon Trafficking Ring Infiltrates Kalos—Threatens Our Guardian Deities!"
And just like that, public outrage pivoted from Umbrella to the Z Foundation.
Lucius sighed. "So you leak my dirt? Fine. I'll leak yours."
He immediately contacted the League's administrative division and pushed through a formal notice: the Investigation Unit would open an official probe into the Z Foundation.
This announcement effectively meant the League was now stepping in—taking over and calming the storm. It was a message to the public: Don't panic. We'll investigate. We'll give you answers.
But Lucius had bigger plans.
He personally drafted an exposé titled:
"Shocking! The Man Who Tried to Annihilate Kalos with an Ancient Weapon—The Inventor's True Face Revealed."
Using his deep knowledge of the original timeline, Lucius detailed all of Lysandre's covert actions—those that hadn't come to light yet. He even wrote the article in Lysandre's voice, describing his twisted dream of creating "a more beautiful world."
Lucius understood how the media worked: When one scandal rises, another fades. So he engineered this shift in the public's gaze. Let the people of Kalos feast on this new drama. Let them fixate on Team Flare.
If they wanted to play dirty—fine. Let's hurt each other.
Maybe this world hadn't yet adapted to clickbait headlines, but thanks to Hive's media network, Lucius's article hit the front pages of every major news outlet across the globe.
And sure enough, while the public still awaited the League's findings on the Z Foundation, they eagerly devoured this new scandal. Especially in Kalos.
Compared to vague villains like Team Rocket or the Syndicate—foreign threats the public barely understood—Lysandre was local. Familiar. Real.
In no time, the front doors of Lysandre Labs were nearly trampled flat.
"Mr. Lysandre, what's your comment on the article?" shouted a reporter, shoving a mic at the red-haired man stepping out of the building.
"The piece describes your dream of creating a more beautiful world. That aligns perfectly with your known ideals—care to confirm it's true?" pressed a female journalist.
"Mr. Lysandre, is Team Flare really under your command?" another reporter asked, more aggressively. "The article says the Flare base near Geosenge Town was confirmed by League investigators. What do you think about the loss of your organization's assets?"
Lysandre said nothing. Surrounded by assistants and guards, he slipped into a luxury stretch limousine.
Inside, in the hushed privacy of the vehicle, a pink-haired woman swirled a glass of red wine.
"Looks like our opponent is far more cunning than we anticipated," she murmured.
Lysandre gave a solemn nod.
The article had revealed one critical detail: the existence of a hidden Team Flare base located northwest of Geosenge Town, Kalos.
Within hours, the International Police—already investigating Team Flare—launched a full-scale raid.
According to the report, the International Police had actually located the base. Fortunately for them, the agents didn't possess a valid search warrant and were lawfully blocked by personnel at the outer perimeter, unable to proceed deeper. During the delay while the warrant was being processed, Team Flare operatives managed to smuggle the base's most critical documents out through a hidden passageway.
Had they failed to do so, that single misstep would have dealt an irreparable blow to Team Flare.
Even so, the damage to Lysandre was substantial.
He exchanged a glance with Malva, both silently questioning how the opposing party could have known so many of their secrets.
Especially the article's detailed take on Lysandre's vision for a "more beautiful world"—it was somehow even more refined and coherent than what he had conceived so far.
But of course, that was to be expected. After all, Lucius knew of the version Lysandre would spend the next few years perfecting. While the core concept remained the same, the current Lysandre had not yet reached that level of clarity.
Ironically, the article's supposedly fanatical propositions seemed to illuminate the path forward for him.
"Malva, use your influence within the League to investigate the true background of this Umbrella Pharmaceutical Company," Lysandre said gravely.
He wasn't a fool—he didn't believe Umbrella was just another Rocket offshoot. Umbrella could seemingly produce officially sanctioned documents at will. With such airtight credentials, it couldn't possibly be a typical criminal syndicate. If they weren't part of the underworld, then the League was the most logical place to start digging.
Malva nodded in agreement, recognizing the validity of Lysandre's approach. Then she asked, "Have you figured out how you're going to respond to this 'more beautiful world' situation?"
Their greatest threat now was that the exposed base indirectly substantiated the article's other accusations against Lysandre. Public outrage would be inevitable.
"I'll hold a press conference and issue a formal statement," Lysandre said after a brief pause.
Malva exhaled in relief and nodded.
Having Lysandre publicly denounce the article's claims was the most critical step at the moment.
But therein lay the problem—Lysandre was a proud man. This vision was his dream. Malva feared he might be too prideful to disavow it publicly.
Yet just as Lysandre was being thrust into the eye of the storm, Lucius made his move once more—this time pushing the League to release the results of their investigation into the Z Foundation and Umbrella Pharmaceutical Company.
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