Chapter Twenty-Six: The Giant Tree’s Speculation

“As for your friend claiming to have seen members of the Junsa clan involved…” The old tree hesitated for a moment as he spoke.

“Could it really be King Crossing?” Amu found it hard to believe. Although he didn’t know King Crossing personally, everything he’d learned in the four years since arriving in this world had led him to believe that King Crossing was a person of strong justice.

“No, no, that’s highly unlikely. In fact, it probably has nothing to do with the Junsa clan directly. Normally… among the Junsa who possess the power of Junsa, there shouldn’t be any truly wicked individuals.” The old tree shook his head repeatedly, clearly expressing his trust in Adu and the Junsa.

Still, Amu didn’t take that as any guarantee—after all, “truly wicked” people are exceedingly rare, which is as good as saying nothing at all.

“If we’re speaking of infiltration into the Junsa clan… I suspect it may have something to do with Team Flare.” The old tree mentioned the name of that organization from Kalos.

“Team Flare?” Amu was full of questions.

He knew of Team Flare, but… what connection could they possibly have with the Kanto region?

“Yes, Team Flare is not like Team Rocket—they’re a completely wanted and secretive organization. Not only are their operations covert, but they have spies everywhere, infiltrating every department of the Kalos League, including the Junsa. There have even been rumors that they’ve infiltrated other leagues as well.”

The old tree revealed the true focus of his suspicions.

He paused, then cautioned Amu, “You and your friend need not concern yourselves with this any further. I’ll report it to the League.”

He had squarely placed the blame on Team Flare.

Unlike Team Rocket, Team Flare was a truly secret organization, with agents even embedded within the League’s own departments.

More importantly, the identities of Team Flare’s leaders and high-ranking officers remained completely unknown.

Hearing this, Amu felt even more detached from the affair—like it had nothing to do with him.

Still, the matter of Team Flare could be shared with Conan later.

As for the old tree, he asked nothing about Amu’s friend, perhaps assuming it was Amu himself who was attacked, and seeing that he was unharmed, made nothing more of it.

He merely reminded Amu that, during his travels, he might want to visit Mount Moon in May or mid-June.

The old tree didn’t specify what was happening then, but Amu could guess—Mount Moon was said to be home to many Clefairy and a rich source of Moon Stones.

Previously, Amu had mentioned his proficiency with the Fairy type to the old tree, who was likely trying to guide him toward capturing a Clefairy.

In the end, the old tree also reviewed Amu’s recent “assignments.” Learning that Amu was still catching up on the basics, he was not angry; in fact, he asked many questions about the fundamentals and seemed quite satisfied.

After finishing his conversation with the old tree, and with dinner time not yet over, Amu made his way to the buffet, where he ran into Misty and Sonoko, who had just finished their meal.

“Huh? Why are you so unenthusiastic about food today?” Misty was puzzled by Amu’s absence.

“Professor Oak quizzed me on my studies,” Amu said, concealing the real reason for the call without actually lying.

But Conan, standing nearby, stared at him with dead, fish-like eyes, then suddenly shouted, “Ah! I can’t hold it anymore… Amu, can you take me to the bathroom?”

Amu: …

Can’t you come up with a better excuse?

“Conan…” Ran was about to scold him, saying that good children should go to the bathroom by themselves, but Amu interrupted, “It’s fine. I need to go too.”

“Then… I’ll leave it to you,” Ran said, a bit embarrassed.

Misty, however, shot Amu a slightly odd look—she knew him well enough to know he was the type who always went to the bathroom before leaving anywhere.

Once Conan had dragged Amu to a secluded corner outside the restroom and made sure no one was around, he anxiously whispered, “Did you tell your teacher about me?”

Clearly, Conan hadn’t realized that Amu had two teachers; previously, he’d mentioned Granny Racy, not Professor Oak, but his concern wasn’t entirely misplaced.

“Relax. I just said I had a friend who was attacked by a mysterious organization. I didn’t mention anything about you shrinking,” Amu replied lightly.

“That’s still no good! Do you even understand what I mean? Don’t you realize how dangerous this is—”

“Professor Oak is the cousin of Professor Okido. Besides… he mentioned a possibility,” Amu interrupted.

Upon hearing this, Conan immediately changed his tone, “What did he say?”

“He thinks it might be related to Team Flare—the secretive group from Kalos. The League has long suspected that they have agents in other regions, even among the Junsa,” Amu shared the important information.

Of course, Team Flare, unlike Team Rocket, was a mysterious organization in this world too.

In truth, telling Conan wouldn’t help much—whether you called them the “Black Organization” or “Team Flare,” it was just a name. If an organization was secretive enough, merely knowing its name didn’t do much good.

“Team Flare? So it really is them…” Conan rubbed his head thoughtfully.

It seemed he’d suspected Team Flare before—after all, their reputation as a “mysterious organization” was well-known.

Amu, however, wasn’t overly concerned—after all…

I’m not the one who’s been shrunk!

As for the internal power struggles within the League, Amu understood that this was hardly dark by comparison—even orphanages had their share of open and hidden battles, let alone leagues with tens or even hundreds of millions of members.

In fact, he felt that the machinations behind the scenes in the Pokémon world were relatively straightforward—otherwise, even he wouldn’t be able to grasp them.

After all, those who are too scheming rarely become powerful trainers; even “villains” have their own convictions, and those who act purely for profit rarely achieve true strength, at most becoming illegal Pokémon poachers.

Take the Suzuki Group, for example…

At heart, the Suzuki family had for generations maintained their legacy as Rock and Ground-type trainers, their hereditary talent for those types forming part of their foundation.

If they were to abandon Pokémon raising entirely and devote themselves solely to business intrigue, even the largest group would eventually be replaced.

As for Conan—or rather, Shinichi’s—predicament…

The best thing Amu could do was keep his distance!

After all, ever since Shinichi became Conan, his “trouble-attracting” ability had only increased…