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Next came the closing ceremony of the Indigo League Tournament, but Liam was in no mood to stick around for it. Holding the championship trophy in his arms, he dashed down from the podium, his face brimming with excitement as he ran out of the main venue…
…and unintentionally brought along a whole swarm of journalists eager to break a big story.
The next day, on a minibus heading back to Pallet Town, Mr. Ketchum was driving. Also in the vehicle were Mrs. Ketchum, Aunt Fumiko, Liam, and Delia.
It was clear that Professor Oak had truly gone off for his special training to recover his strength, so he wasn't joining them on the return trip to Pallet Town.
If it had just been the five of them, Mr. Ketchum could've driven his personal car. However…
"What the heck are you two doing here too? Don't you have your own business to deal with?"
Liam looked behind him with a face full of annoyance at Lance and Bruno. His gaze then shifted to Lorelei, who had already cozied up beside Delia and was chatting away happily. Suddenly, he felt completely drained.
"Ahahaha! Well, we didn't really have anything else to do. Besides, we got invitations to challenge the Elite Four, right? I figured I'd go find a place to do some serious training! Power myself up a bit before the challenge! No idea where to go yet—just going wherever the wind takes me. So we hitched a ride. You don't mind, do you, Liam?"
Bruno spoke up with a big grin. Despite having been eliminated in the quarterfinals by Lance and feeling a bit down, he had clearly bounced back. His face was full of excitement as he laughed out loud at Liam.
Liam clicked his tongue and turned to Lance, who was sitting beside Bruno, and asked:
"What about you… Aren't you heading back to Johto?"
Lance, arms crossed and looking aloof as he stared out the window, turned slightly at Liam's question, glanced at him, and then looked away again, responding with a cold voice:
"Hmph. I'm going to find a place to train as well. I didn't win the tournament this time, so I'll earn myself an Elite Four position and bring that back as a consolation prize."
"Tsk tsk… Well, good luck with that. But just so you know—even if you both become an Elite Four, once I become Champion, I'll still outrank you! Hehehe. You'll still have to listen to me," Liam said with a smug grin, eyes twinkling with mischief.
"Hmph! Once I become an Elite Four, I'm challenging you immediately! Just wait for me to take that Champion title from you!"
Lance scoffed again, clearly displeased by Liam's words.
"Sure, sure. You'll definitely become an Elite Four. I believe in you. You'll make a great Flying-type Elite…"
Liam responded offhandedly.
"Pfft!! You bastard!! How many times do I have to tell you?! It's Dragon-type! DRAGON-TYPE, DAMN IT! If you say Flying-type again, I swear I'll fight you right here!!"
Lance exploded, veins bulging on his neck as he grabbed the back of Liam's seat. His eyes flared dangerously, filled with murderous intent.
"Okay, okay! Dragon-type! Got it, alright? Chill! With how worked up you're getting, I'm guessing your shot at becoming Elite Four is gonna be tough…"
Liam shrugged indifferently, his lips curling into a weird little smile.
"Why you—!"
Just as Lance was about to blow up again, he was interrupted.
"Enough!! If you two don't want to stay on this bus, get off right now!"
"Seriously! You're grown men bickering like toddlers—have some shame, will you?!"
The moment the angry scolding came, Liam straightened up immediately, sat quietly, and wore an innocent "not my fault" expression.
Lance looked over at the furious Delia and Lorelei, hesitated briefly, then huffed and sank back into his seat in silence.
Once the two troublemakers quieted down, Delia and Lorelei went right back to chatting and laughing with each other.
Liam glanced at Delia, who was now completely ignoring him, and let out a helpless sigh.
The minibus took most of the day to return to Pallet Town, and by the time they arrived, the sun was already setting.
Lorelei went home with Delia, while Bruno and Lance insisted on camping out in the wild instead of staying at Professor Oak's lab. They said their special training had already begun and every second had to be cherished.
As for Liam, he went alone to a familiar little grove.
"Come on out, everyone!"
Standing in the clearing within the grove, Liam pulled out all of his PokeBalls and released every single one of his Pokémon.
"Gaarrr!"
"Nido!"
"Syc!"
"Weavile!"
…
…
…
Including Larvitar, all of his Pokemon came out, taking up most of the clearing in an instant.
Liam had also carried Graveler and Venomoth before, but when he left Mt. Silver, he left behind the timid Graveler and the lazy Venomoth. Both were quite strong and would be useful reinforcements for Team Rocket.
"Don't wander too far. Just stay around here and keep an eye out. If someone comes, stop them for me."
Liam gave instructions to his Pokémon. Garchomp and the others nodded and scattered to keep watch. Even Larvitar followed along, strutting behind Garchomp like a little king, eyes glued to Garchomp's swaying tail as if it were a new toy. It extended its tiny claws and pounced with glowing eyes.
"Lar…Lar..."
Garchomp raised its tail and looked down at the little one clinging to it, helplessness written all over its face. Though it was already a troublemaker itself, today, it was finally experiencing the pain of babysitting another troublemaker.
"Hehe… Lulu, can you come out for a bit?"
Watching Garchomp's resigned expression, Liam chuckled and then turned to call out softly.
"Tada~! Magical Girl Lulu is here! You called for me, Liam?"
With a self-dubbed dramatic entrance, the tiny fairy-like Lulu emerged from within Liam's body, fluttering her transparent wings as she floated before him.
"Heh, the system told me yesterday that my shards can be fused now, right? You said the fusion would make quite a commotion, so I came here. With Garchomp and the others on watch, and this place surrounded by trees, it should be well hidden. Can we begin the fusion?"
Liam smiled and asked Lulu.
"Yep! This place should be good! Are you sure you want to start now?"
Lulu glanced around, then nodded at Liam.
"Yeah, I'm kinda looking forward to what'll happen when the shards fuse… But just to check—there won't be any danger, right?"
Liam scratched his chin and asked, a little uncertain.
"Don't worry! Something will happen after the fusion, but I promise it's all beneficial for you. There's nothing to be afraid of!"
Lulu crossed her arms and puffed out her chest confidently.
"Well, alright then! Let's do it—shard fusion!"
Since there was no danger, Liam had nothing to fear. He nodded, signaling her to start.
"Okay~! Fusion—commence!"
Lulu beamed as she raised her tiny hand, releasing a stream of ice-blue light into the air that flowed into Liam's body.
"Ugh!!"
Liam grunted as he felt a shock course through him. Then, he saw nine glowing shards shoot out from his body.
Eight of them were identical triangular shapes, only differing in color. The final shard was a thick circular piece with eight evenly spaced holes along its edge—clearly made to fit the eight triangles.