The car came to a stop in front of the Infernape Restaurant on North Street in Jubilife City.
The Infernape Restaurant was a famous restaurant chain throughout Sinnoh, well known for its grilled meat and traditional Sinnoh cuisine. Branches could be found in nearly every city across the region.
The chain was divided into three tiers: Chimchar, Monferno, and Infernape. They were named after the three evolutionary stages of Sinnoh's Fire-type starter, and their décor, service, and menu all differed greatly. The Chimchar restaurants were ordinary family diners, while the Infernape restaurants ranked among the finest high-end restaurants in Sinnoh.
The Infernape Restaurant was luxuriously decorated. Its magnificent golden exterior reflected a dark crimson glow under the sunlight, making the entire building look as though it were surrounded by blazing flames.
Standing on the red carpet at the entrance, with greeters welcoming them from both sides, Rowan sighed with emotion. "The last time I came here was more than ten years ago, wasn't it?"
"It was after I earned my professor title. I treated you here," Carolina added.
Already familiar with the place, she walked inside and called over the manager.
The group was led upstairs into a private room, and as soon as they sat down, Rowan eagerly began ordering dishes.
Shiro felt his communicator vibrate in his pocket. Quietly, he took it out and checked the message.
[Hunter F: Lord W, do you have time right now? A lot of people have suddenly applied to join the guild over the past two days. There are even several notorious criminals wanted by the League.]
[Shiro: Give me an hour.]
[Hunter F: Please come as soon as possible. Lord A and B went somewhere on a mission and haven't returned. We need a powerful hunter to take charge of the situation.]
[Shiro: Allright.]
After replying, he put the communicator away and casually ordered a few dishes from the menu Cynthia handed him.
Meanwhile, Rowan and Carolina were chatting enthusiastically.
"To be exact, it was seventeen years ago. When I heard you had become a professor, I felt pressured. So I applied for my own professor certification during the next conference. Thankfully, I passed without any major problems."
As Carolina recalled the past, she still felt a lingering sense of relief.
"Haha." Rowan chuckled. "You were always too competitive. I still remember when you were a teaching assistant at Celadon University. You were incredibly strict..."
She smiled. "That's right. I couldn't let my students surpass me. Back then, I was researching ancient ruins. I practically forgot to eat and sleep. Then there was also the discovery at Lake Acuity..."
At that point, her expression suddenly changed, and she fell silent.
Rowan sighed with regret before comforting her. "It was Team Galactic back then. It wasn't your fault. Stop blaming yourself."
For a while, neither of them spoke. Shiro exchanged a glance with Cynthia. Seeing her shake her head to indicate she didn't know the full story either, he turned to the two professors.
"May I ask what exactly happened seventeen years ago at Lake Acuity? You mentioned Team Galactic was involved."
Silence lingered for another moment before Carolina let out a sigh. "The higher-ups in Sinnoh all knew about it at the time. I happened to be conducting research near Lake Acuity. My goal was to investigate the legendary Lake Guardian of Knowledge, Uxie. I actually saw the Pokémon with my own eyes."
As she spoke, traces of fear and unease appeared in her eyes.
Shiro focused intently, afraid of missing even a single word.
"Uxie... willingly left with Team Galactic."
Even after all these years, Carolina still found it unbelievable. One of Sinnoh's legendary Pokémon, the famous guardian representing knowledge, had actually chosen to leave with humans.
Shiro wasn't particularly surprised. He had long suspected that Uxie had been captured or controlled in some way.
"What happened afterward? Did Uxie never appear again?"
She gently shook her head and took a deep breath. "No. Team Galactic and Uxie arrived at Lake Verity. Then with Uxie's help, Mesprit was captured."
"Many of Sinnoh's senior officials knew about it. But when they tried to investigate, they encountered obstacle after obstacle. In the end, after Champion Jan retired, the matter was quietly buried."
"After all, those people weren't trying to destroy the world, nor had they caused widespread casualties in any city."
When she finished speaking, everyone fell into silent thought.
Carolina's face was filled with regret and a hint of resentment, while Rowan merely sighed and shook his head, not seeming particularly emotional. It was Cynthia's first time hearing this story, and she was still trying to process it.
Shiro also remained silent. His thoughts drifted back to the first time he had seen Mesprit. It had been imprisoned inside a psychic device deep beneath the Macro Cosmos headquarters.
Team Galactic was, after all, a long-established organization native to Sinnoh. What exactly had happened over the past decade that caused Mesprit to cross the ocean to Galar, only to end up being used by the company to control Psychic-type Pokémon?
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Rowan stood up and opened the door.
Several neatly dressed waiters entered, placing dish after dish onto the table. They began with locally grown vegetables, some of which came from Grass-type Pokémon. After that came an assortment of desserts, followed by several famous berry dishes.
Since Sinnoh had a thriving coastal fishing industry, many of the main dishes featured seafood. There was lightly flavored yet delicious Finneon, fresh Sharpedo dorsal fin, red-striped Basculin with its delicate texture, and a rich, nourishing soup made from Magikarp.
Once the waiters had finished serving and left the room, Rowan waved his hand. "Enough about all that. It doesn't have much to do with the present anyway. Today's meal is to celebrate Shiro becoming a professor. Let's eat first."
Everyone picked up their chopsticks.
After tasting the steamed Finneon, Carolina praised it repeatedly, and the unpleasant memories from earlier were temporarily pushed aside.
With three Pokémon Professors gathered around the table, the conversation naturally shifted toward research and the Academic Summit they had attended.
"You know, Carolina, back in our day, Ivy and Alden both had what it took to become professors." Rowan sighed as he stuffed a berry cream puff into his mouth. "It's a shame they were both eliminated."
"Ivy and Alden?" Carolina had never heard of either of them.
Shiro chimed in to clarify, "Researcher Ivy is from the Orange Islands and studies regional differences between Pokémon. Alden is from Hoenn. His main field is researching ancient ruins..."
Carolina's eyes lit up with interest. Alden's research was very similar to her own, as both specialized in ancient ruins.
"So he's a researcher from Hoenn? Is he studying Hoenn's legends? Has he made any discoveries?"
Rowan suddenly slapped his forehead. "That's right! When Birch called me earlier, he mentioned that Alden had made another breakthrough in his research..."
"A breakthrough?" Shiro immediately grew alert.
He remembered that this particular guy specialized in researching Groudon and Kyogre. He had also uncovered information regarding Primal Reversion and the two legendary orbs.
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