The Genius Scientist Who Crosses Over Twice

"Brother! Brother!!"

Seeing Lance fall, Little Clair was at a complete loss.

"Roar!"

Dragonite, needless to say, was furious—its master falling was like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

In the next second, Dragonite endured the pain in its neck with fury and whipped around to attack Victor.

"You see? You're so hasty." 

Victor said with a smile.

Almost instantaneously, Dragonite felt a chill rise from behind.

It turned its head again.

Beedrill's stingers magnified rapidly in its vision.

Thud!

Following the Doduo, the large beast fell down next.

"This is the power of science."

Victor adjusted his glasses as if pushing them up his nose.

"Brother! Brother! Wake up, please!" 

Little Clair rushed to Victor's side, shaking Lance and crying.

"Stop yelling, it's just a yawn." 

Victor remarked irritably.

She was supposed to be the future Gym Leader of Blackthorn City, known for her strength comparable to the Elite Four, yet she turned out to be such a crybaby in childhood.

"You, you..."

Little Clair was crying uncontrollably, unable to articulate her thoughts.

Then she saw Victor take out a syringe from his pocket.

"What... what are you going to do now?!"

As the syringe, reminiscent of a soda can, approached her brother, Little Clair panicked again.

"People with special powers are rare, especially those with the power of Viridian, I'm just curious."

"Stop crying, it's just a little blood draw. What's the big deal?"

Little Clair didn't know what to say.

Is that what you call "a little"?!

I could probably drink that much water in a day!

"Don't do anything reckless, little birds."

Noticing the expressions of Lance's flying Pokémon by his waist, Victor "reassured" them:

"If you try to forcibly break the Poké Ball, there's a good chance it will affect your master."

Upon hearing this, Lance's Pokémon immediately calmed down a bit.

Victor glanced over them again. 

There were two Dragonair, a Gyarados, a fossil Pokémon, and a Charizard.

What a collection of 'dragons,' even though half of them weren't actually dragons.

"Hmm, Dragonite is pretty rare too; let's take some from it."

After drawing the Doduo's blood, Victor turned his attention to Dragonite, taking a good handful of feathers with it.

"Such a great harvest! It's so refreshing, like putting on a clean pair of underwear on New Year's morning~"

Victor yawned widely, hoarding his spoils.

At that moment, he noticed the Dratini of Anders that was still unconscious.

"Oh right, Little Clair, let your brother take it in as well; after all, it's homeless now."

"Your brother would probably like it; after all, Dratini is also a 'dragon'~"

Saying this made Victor chuckle to himself.

But isn't that not wrong?

Aqua Jet belonged to Lance's Gyarados, Charizard, and fossil Pokémon, didn't they?

Though Dratini wasn't a Flying-Type.

"You, you..." 

Little Clair was at a loss for words.

As she watched Victor's figure move further away, she suddenly remembered something and shouted:

"Hey! What's your name?!"

Victor paused, blinked his eyes as he thought for a moment, then answered without turning back:

"Joker."

Then, with Umbreon, Beedrill, and carrying the unconscious Anders, he completely disappeared into the forest.

"Joker..."

Little Clair whispered the name to herself, then clenched her teeth, seething:

"Just wait for your arrest by the League!"

...

...

"Uh..."

Lance struggled to open his eyelids. 

What greeted him was... the ceiling of his room in the Dragon Clan.

Although he didn't visit often, he recognized it.

"Ugh..."

The next thing Lance saw were two worried Dragonairs.

And Dragonite, Gyarados, Charizard, and several of his other dragons also came over with worried expressions.

Lance jumped up from the bed with a start.

"What about that guy!?" 

Though he didn't say Victor's name, Dragonite and the others knew who their master was referring to.

They all looked hesitant, staring at the ground, remaining silent.

"Brother... Joker... has already left..."

At that moment, Little Clair walked in with a Seadra; seeing Lance's state, she felt a bit frightened.

"Joker? Is that that guy's name?"

Lance clutched the bedsheet tightly.

"Brother, that guy used underhanded tactics, you... you didn't really lose..."

Little Clair tried to save face for Lance as best as she could.

But little did she know, this would only prick at Lance's pride even more.

A loss is a loss. What excuses are there?!

Seeing Lance lost in silence, Little Clair knew she had misspoken.

In exasperation, she could only awkwardly change the topic.

"Father... Father said this matter should not be made public..."

"What do you mean?"

Lance's expression changed dramatically.

Not to publicize?

Doesn't that mean they won't report this incident to the League?

And they won't put a bounty on that masked kid?

That can't be right!

"Father said, if brother, you know, got put to sleep by a Team Rocket kid... Oh no, I mean knocked out, if this spreads, it will tarnish the reputation of the 'Dragon Clan'..."

In just a few words, Little Clair corrected herself several times. 

She was trying her best to avoid words like "lose, defeat," and "sleep" that might provoke her brother.

"What a joke!?"

If just moments ago Lance felt disappointed in himself.

Now he was disappointed in the entire Dragon Clan!

For such a trivial matter of pride, not to report it?

What a joke!?

Does he, Dragon Master Lance, really have no shame?!

"We're leaving!"

Lance didn't want to stay in this hypocritical place for even a second longer, returning all his Pokémon except Dragonite into their balls. He hopped onto his trusted partner's back, about to leave.

"Brother! Just rest a little longer..."

Before Little Clair could finish her sentence, Lance had already flown out of the window atop Dragonite, vanishing into the clouds.

And the direction he headed towards... was Indigo Plateau!

...

...

A few days later.

"We interrupt this program for an important news bulletin."

"Last Friday, on Route 45 in the Johto region, a malicious battle occurred, where the fugitive Anders was captured by a member of Team Rocket. According to the League's deductions, it is suspected that Anders had secret dealings with Team Rocket and was subsequently silenced."

"This Team Rocket operative calls himself [Joker], and he is now listed as a Class A wanted criminal by the League. His fighting style is extraordinarily cunning, having battled against Dragon Master Lance and successfully escaped."

"This is an image of Joker created based on Dragon Master Lance's description. We ask all viewers..."

At the seaside cottage.

Watching the TV broadcast that showed his masked visage and the anchor's description, Victor fell into a perplexed silence.

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