Chapter 1086: Developing A Spy

Chapter 1086: Developing A Spy Although Yuga had agreed to help investigate Lysandre, in reality, he didn't know much about Lysandre himself or Team Flare.

At this moment, what he needed was a breakthrough, and that breakthrough was Malva.

From his memories of his previous life, Yuga knew that while Malva was a member of Team Flare, Lysandre had kept certain things hidden from her. Her ideals didn't fully align with Lysandre's or Team Flare's, and at the very least, she didn't want to destroy the world.

Therefore, turning Malva against Lysandre was the quickest and most effective way to obtain valuable information.

When Malva received Yuga's call, she was very surprised. In her mind, Yuga was someone Lysandre had been trying to recruit, but her relationship with Yuga was limited. She couldn't understand why he wanted to meet her alone.

"Coumarine City? Okay, I understand. I'll be there as agreed." After hanging up the phone, Malva gripped the communicator tightly and fell into deep thought.

Recalling Yuga's specific reminder not to let Lysandre notice her movements, Malva furrowed her brow slightly. Was this Gym Leader guarding himself against Lysandre?

Thinking about her relationship with Lysandre, Malva drifted into her memories. When had she joined Team Flare?

It must have been more than ten years ago. At that time, Malva was only a teenager, not yet the formidable Fire-type Elite of the Kalos League, but merely a regular trainer with emerging talent.

She didn't come from a privileged background; her parents were just ordinary trainers among the countless in the League. However, she did benefit from their connections within the League. Combined with her own hard work, she performed exceptionally well in a few of the League's missions, gaining some recognition.

But as her position in the League rose, the help from her parents became less significant. For a young woman like her, trying to climb the ranks in the League was extremely difficult. Gradually, she began to see the hidden darkness within the League: misuse of power for personal gain, settling personal grudges under official pretenses, and so on.

As long as these issues didn't affect her directly, she could turn a blind eye, but when they finally did, Malva felt nothing but humiliation and helplessness.

Especially the incident that occurred during her time with the League's Special Operations Unit—it pushed her dissatisfaction with certain individuals in the League to its peak.

The League had its own military, and the Special Operations Unit was a particularly unique division within it. Unlike the Inspectorate and the Bureau of Investigation, two other lesser-known specialized departments, the Special Operations Unit was widely recognized by the public as the League's guardian force.

Before becoming an Elite Four member, Malva had spent some time in the Special Operations Unit. Back then, she was ambitious and strove to be the best in everything she did, unaware that she had unknowingly provoked the jealousy and resentment of others.

During a mission, Malva once again achieved outstanding results, earning a first-class merit. Based on her current position, once the accomplishment was reported, she was certain to get a promotion.

However, after the report was submitted, her reward never came. Later, she found out that her merit had been claimed by someone else. Another team member took the credit and received the reward—and it turned out that this team member's uncle was their commanding officer.

You can imagine how furious Malva was upon discovering the truth. She wanted to seek justice for herself, but all her appeals went unanswered, and she was subsequently suppressed.

Malva, now under pressure, was isolated within her team and only assigned insignificant, trivial tasks. Climbing the ranks became extremely difficult.

Without any strong connections within the unit, she had no chance of winning against those people and had no choice but to silently swallow her anger and humiliation.

At that time, it was Lysandre who helped her out of her predicament.

Lysandre approached her directly, saying that he could help her, but in return, she would need to work for him, even serving as his informant within the League.

At that moment, Malva had already lost hope in the League. Coupled with Lysandre's claim that he intended to change the current state of the League, the two quickly reached an agreement.

Later, Malva used Lysandre's connections to transfer out of the Special Operations Unit and thrived in other divisions.

Malva was already an exceptionally talented trainer, and with Lysandre's help, her path became much smoother.

Of course, during that time, she also did many things for Lysandre—some good, some bad.

Eventually, a major event shook the League. The president of the Unova League branch was ousted for framing Champion Alder. As a result, the Unova League underwent a massive purge, which affected other Leagues, including Kalos.

Just like that, before Malva had the chance to exact revenge on her former enemies, they were all removed from power and received their due punishment.

That feeling—it was rather stifling.

Although she didn't get her revenge, Malva's cooperation with Lysandre continued to this day. Yet Malva was always clear-minded. She knew that Lysandre had kept many things hidden from her, but after working together for so long, she chose not to ask too many questions.

After sitting and thinking for a long time, Malva eventually decided to secretly conceal her identity and, as promised, went to Coumarine City.

A day after Yuga called Malva, the two met in Coumarine City.

In a private room of a restaurant in the city center, Malva entered and removed her sunglasses. She glanced at Yuga, who was sitting upright, and said, "From what I know, Gym Leader Shimizu came to Kalos this time to exchange with Coumarine Gym. I'm not a Grass-type trainer, so I'm not sure why you invited me here."

"Come, sit down first." Yuga smiled, motioning for Malva to take a seat. He pointed at the table full of dishes and said, "I've already ordered. Although I don't know what you like to eat, these are the restaurant's signature dishes. You can't go wrong with trying them."

Malva hesitated as she pulled out a chair, picked up the chopsticks, and then put them back down. "Gym Leader Shimizu, say what you need to say. If you keep dragging this out, I won't have the time to entertain you." Sёarch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Ever since receiving Yuga's call, Malva had been feeling uneasy, and seeing Yuga now only intensified that feeling.

She knew that whatever this man wanted from her was surely related to Lysandre, but what exactly did he want?

Yuga smiled again but still didn't reveal his true purpose. Instead, he poured Malva a glass of wine. "Elite Four Malva, try this. They say the wine here is made from Bluk Berry from Nuvema Town in Unova region. The flavor is quite unique."

Malva took a deep breath, picked up the glass, and reluctantly took a small sip, then fixed her gaze on Yuga.

Sensing her growing impatience, Yuga knew it was time to get to the point. The psychological game had run its course. He finally said, "What are your thoughts on Lysandre?"

Malva's expression tightened as she asked, "What do you mean?"

Yuga steadied himself and replied, "I mean exactly what I said."

Malva stared at him intensely and said, "You came to Kalos because of Lysandre? You know very well that I'm aligned with him. Besides, didn't you accept favors from Lysandre and agree to work for him? Now you're planning to turn on him? Isn't that a bit dishonorable?"

"Why not take advantage of something that's freely given?" Yuga chuckled at her words. "Besides, are you really sure you're one of Lysandre's people?"

Malva hadn't expected this from Yuga, who usually seemed so upright, but now revealed a rogue side. "Like you said, who wouldn't take advantage of a free opportunity? Whether I'm with Lysandre or not doesn't matter. What's important is that he gives me what I want."

Hearing this, Yuga's expression suddenly turned serious. "What is it that you want, Elite Four Malva? Power? Wealth? Or fame? You surely don't lack any of those."

Malva was momentarily stunned. It was true—ever since becoming one of the Elite Four, she hadn't lacked any of those things. The original reason she collaborated with Lysandre was to change the League, but after the major purge over ten years ago, the corruption within the Kalos League had long been eradicated.

The only reason she continued to cooperate with Lysandre was out of habit. Honestly, she wasn't dissatisfied with her current situation.

Perhaps this is why Lysandre has never fully trusted me all these years, Malva thought to herself.

Seeing Malva remain silent, Yuga pressed further, "Do you know the real reason Lysandre founded Team Flare?"

Without hesitation, Malva replied, "Of course, to help more people in need."

Malva had always thought of Lysandre as an idealist. He wanted to turn the world into a utopia, free of persecution and poverty, but how could that ever be possible?

To achieve this goal, Malva knew that Lysandre had done some unsavory things—some of which she had been involved in. This was exactly what she admired about him. Even if it meant doing things against his conscience, even if it meant dirtying his hands with blood and grime, Lysandre was determined to push the world forward.

Malva couldn't match that kind of dedication. She admitted to herself that she was selfish and only thought of her own interests.

After hearing her response, Yuga said meaningfully, "Perhaps that was his original intention."

Malva was startled and asked, "What do you mean?"

Yuga paused before saying, "Lysandre has always been committed to creating a world that aligns with his vision. But that's too difficult—so difficult that he's become disillusioned. He now believes that the world can only be reborn through destruction."

"He's gone from being an idealist to an extremist," Yuga added after a brief pause.

"You're saying he wants to destroy the world?" Malva said in disbelief. "That's impossible. He doesn't have the means to do that."

Yuga replied, "Are you familiar with the story of AZ and the ultimate weapon?"

Malva, puzzled, asked, "The king AZ from Kalos's historical myth, and the ultimate weapon?"

Yuga nodded. "Exactly. Lysandre has already taken AZ. His goal is to use AZ to revive the ultimate weapon and use it to destroy the world, then recreate it as his ideal vision."

Malva's face changed. "But isn't AZ just a figure from legend? How could he possibly be real?"

At that moment, a small creature emerged from Yuga's clothes, curiously looking at Malva and making a cute sound.

"A shiny Floette?" Malva said in shock as she saw the little Floette climb out from Yuga's arms.

Yuga gestured to the Floette and said, "This is the Floette from the legend, the one that left AZ. With your discerning eyes, Elite Four Malva, I'm sure you can see that this Floette is no ordinary Pokémon."

"It really exists," Malva murmured, staring at the Floette in a daze. At this point, she had no choice but to believe Yuga's words. She could sense the extraordinary energy emanating from this Floette.

The idea that Lysandre harbored a plan to destroy the world—something so insane—was beyond anything Malva could have imagined.

After a long silence, Malva asked, "How do you know so much about Lysandre?"

Yuga only smiled without answering.

As the saying goes, "the more you say, the more mistakes you make." Yuga's restrained behavior indeed led Malva to stop asking further questions. To her, how Yuga knew all of this wasn't really important.

"What do you want me to do?" Malva finally asked. She wasn't dissatisfied with the world and didn't want to see it disappear.

"I want you to help me locate AZ, and if possible, find evidence of Lysandre's crimes." If Yuga hadn't already known that Malva didn't fully agree with Lysandre's ideology, he wouldn't have risked approaching her.

Malva hesitated for quite some time before she responded, "I'm not sure if what you've said is true yet, so I need time to investigate. If what I find matches what you've told me, I'll help you."

Yuga's face lit up with joy. "Of course, I'll wait for your answer."

"One more thing," Malva added, "I don't want you spreading word about my involvement with Lysandre."

"Agreed."

Yuga understood what Malva meant. If her collaboration with Lysandre were exposed, and Lysandre got caught, her position as one of the Elite Four would be over.

As long as Malva didn't have any intention of destroying the world, Yuga didn't mind turning a blind eye to some things.

"But aren't you afraid that if Lysandre gets caught, he'll expose you?" Yuga asked.

"As long as you don't reveal that I've helped you, he won't," Malva said confidently. "And besides, what you've told me isn't yet proven to be true. If it turns out you're lying, I won't help you investigate Lysandre. In fact, I'll tell him you've been investigating him."

It had to be said, that Malva was an expert at playing the double agent role.

Yuga smiled faintly. "Of course." Inside, he was mentally complaining: "This woman has no mercy when it comes to selling out her teammates!"

"Wait for my message."

Seeing that Yuga had finished saying what he needed to say, Malva turned and left, exuding an aura of cool detachment, totally different from her public persona.

Yuga glanced at the table, noticing the dishes had barely been touched. Left alone, he resigned himself to finishing them. After all, the food had cost him a lot—leaving it to waste wouldn't do!

When Yuga returned to Coumarine Gym, Ramos asked with concern, "How did it go?" Though he didn't know who Yuga had met with, he knew it was important.

"Now we wait," Yuga said, gazing through the giant tree's canopy at the clear blue sky.