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The next day, it was barely dawn when we see Brandon wandering around the forest surrounding the area where the tournament is held. He had made his way up after defeating Marshal of the Unova Elite Four, upholding his reputation of being one of the strongest Frontier Brains. It was no easy feat, especially since he did not plan on using his Golem trio in the first few rounds. When his Solrock was sent out against Marshal's Mienshao, he knew it would be a tough battle. And he was right. In the end though, it was a great match for him and he hoped to battle Marshal again someday.

Right now, he knew that he should be preparing for the second round. However, there was something else in his mind. Something more personal. As he observed his surroundings, he noted that the entire region had changed ever since he left. Then again, nothing remained the same after the war. Guilt found its way into his heart as he remembered how he could have returned to stop his home region from crumbling but he didn't. Instead, he stayed away like a coward and waited for someone else to fix the mess his brother made, all because he was afraid of Solaris.

He would never admit it out loud, but Solaris' psychopathic tendencies had terrified him and Darcy growing up. Despite being a close group of friends up until their university days, Solaris had a darker side to him that got them into trouble more than once. Thus, when he created Team Dawn and sent the region into darkness and chaos, Brandon could not help but wonder if there was anything he could have done to stop him instead of being afraid of his younger brother. There was a period he did not feel worthy of the Bravery symbol that he considered quitting the Battle Frontier. It took a lot of convincing from Scott and Darcy not to quit but even so, it took a longer time to rebuild his confidence as a Frontier Brain. Thankfully, this had happened before the Battle Frontier was still in its infant stages and before the other Frontier Brains joined so none of his coworkers knew about it and Scott never brought it up.

"Brandon!"

Brandon jerked out of his thoughts and forced himself to be composed as Darcy ran over to him with a warm smile.

"That was a great battle you had with Marshal. I'm sorry I could not watch it but Arata's battle was still on going at that time." She chatted, unaware of her friend being less attentive than usual.

"That's fine." Brandon managed a small smile. "I understand how important this tournament is to Arata. So it is natural that you would want to support him."

Darcy returned the smile. This was like old times. The two of them hanging out together when they could not stand Solaris' attitude and talked about random things that came to mind. But somehow, the conversation turned to Solaris' daughter.

"Have you spoken with Lara yet?"

Brandon stilled at the question. Darcy frowned and planted her hands on her hips. "Have you even met her yet?"

"She's been avoiding me, Darcy." Brandon pointed out irritatedly.

"But so have you."

Brandon had no argument for that. It was true that he had tried to avoid his niece as much as she avoided him.

"She's not Solaris." Darcy gently reminded him. "I know that Lara may not have the best start being an Admin for Team Dawn and his daughter in the beginning. But, she was willing to turn her back on him once she realized what he is doing is wrong. I admit I was skeptical of her initially but over time, she grew on me. Arata and the others trust her so I have no reason to doubt her."

"Maybe, but that does not mean that I want to get to know her this soon." He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "I'm thinking of paying a visit to brother dearest after the third round."

Darcy let out a sharp intake of breath. "You can't be serious."

"I am."

"But none of the Elite Four will allow it. They won't even let me or Lara see him."

"Red will if I bring it to him personally."

Darcy bit her lip in agitation. "But Brandon, what do you want to accomplish by seeing him?"

"I'm not sure."

"Alright guys, it's time for the second round and this time, I'm using Flygon and Lucario." Red announced at the pokemon gathered in the training grounds. Most of them groaned for they were hoping for a chance to battle soon but they good heartedly congratulated both pokemon.

"Thank you Red. We will not let you down." Lucario said determinately.

"I know you won't. For our battle…"

"Red, we have a visitor." Pikachu interrupted, pointing at the Alolan form Vulpix sitting off to the side with a piece of paper in its mouth.

"Hi there." Red greeted it curiously. "You look familiar."

The Vulpix dropped the paper in his hand. "Special delivery."

"Thanks?" Red flipped the paper open and once he read the contents, he raised an eyebrow. "She wants to see me?"

"Yup." Vulpix nodded. "My mistress hopes to see you soon. Bye bye."

"Who is it from?" Pikachu asked as soon as Vulpix left.

"It's from our missing Elite Four." Red said with a small smile and shake of his head. "Flygon, Lucario, do double battle training for today. I have something that I have to take care of. Come on Pikachu."

Pikachu hopped on his shoulder while the aforementioned pokemon began their training with Red's more experienced pokemon.

When Red arrived at Stadium 5's VIP box, he was not surprise to see Muraku and the other Kanto-Johto Elites watching the match attentively. As he slid into the seat beside his dark type elite, he raised an eyebrow at him. Red shrugged back and shifted his attention on the match.

On one side was Mia, Muraku's twin sister. She shared many of Muraku's facial features but her black hair was decorated in ice blue streaks. She was wearing a black tank top with a white shawl wrapped around her shoulders, black line pants and purple ballet flats.

Red recognized the Vulpix that gave him the note as well as an Alolan form Sandslash at Mia's side of the rocky field while a Manectric and Magnezone owned by Gym Leader Wattson.

"Wahaha, get ready because it'll be an electrifying battle!" Wattson guffawed.

"Oh, it just so happens I have a feeling that this will be a freezing battle instead." Mia's lips curled up into a thin smile.

"Gym Leader Wattson gets the first move. Begin!"

"Manectric, Double Team to surround them!"

Manectric growled and created copies of itself to surround Sandslash and Vulpix. Both Ice type pokemon tensed and jerked their head around to find the real one among the copies.

"Magnezone, now use Thunderbolt!"

Mia narrowed her eyes as Magnezone charged up and fired the Thunderbolt at her Pokemon. She willed them to endure it for she knew that they were strong.

Vulpix and Sandslash shook off the attack once it wore off and glared at Magnezon. However, Sandslash noticed something about its ally and dread filled its stomach. Mia stiffed her giggles. "Vulpix, your fur is messed up."

Hearing this, Vulpix's eyes became comically wide as it noticed that its usually neat and tidy fur was standing on its end due to the static.

"Vul~!" It cried out in horror. But once the horror died down, anger settled in. Flames danced in its eyes as it vowed revenge against Magnezon.

Mia let out a small sigh and shook her head in amusement. "Playtime's over. Vulpix, Hail, And then the both of you use Aurora Veil."

Vulpix's body became outlined in a bluish light as it howled at the sky. Clouds formed up in the sky and rained down hail on Magnezon and Manectric. While it did not affect Magnezon much, Manectric's copies were eliminated by the Hail and the real one was pelted by the ice stones. Sandslash extended out its arms glowing bluish as well but this time, an aura formed around it instead. The same happened to Vulpix as it used Aurora Veil as well.

"Stay strong Menectric." Wattson encouraged. "Use Flamethrower at them. And Magnezon use Zap Cannon!"

A stream of fire shot out of Manectric's mouth while Magnezon fired a white beam of light at them. Vulpix and Sandslash cried out in pain from the attacks.

"You can do this, stand up!" Mia called as Vulpix and Sandslash pushed themselves up slowly. While the moves were very effective, the damage was halved by Aurora Veil. Mia let out a breath of relief. "Pay them back. Sandslash, Metal Burst. And Vulpix, round around Magnezone and use Blizzard."

Sandslash immediately released a bright burst of energy at Manectric. Manectric howled in paid as it was sent flying into one of the boulders of the field.

Vulpix on the other hand regained its angry look and dashed around Magnezon. It tried to spin around to stop it with a Thunderbolt but Vulpix's anger not only made it stronger but faster as well. Before Magnezon could fire the Thunderbolt, it was met with a blast of strong wind with snow in the face, causing it to stagger. Seeing its comrade in trouble, Manectric shook off the pain of Metal Burst and jumped at Vulpix. It swiped its paw at Vulpix, sending it tumbling down. Sandslash quickly caught it with its claws and settled the ruffled and still angry pokemon down.

"Manectric, Magnezon, let's finish this up! Use Thunderbolt!"

Both Manectric and Magnezon began charging up with electricity. Mia slowly smirked and nodded unnoticeably. "Let's finish this. Sandslash, take the attack with Metal Claw."

Sandslash nodded back and jumped in front of the double Thunderbolt attack with its gleaming claws. As it ran towards Manectric, each claw absorbed the Thunderbolt attack and dug them into its side. The result is that Manectric could no longer remain standing and fainted.

"Manectric is unable to battle."

"Thanks a lot old friend. Rest well." Wattson muttered as he recalled Manectric. Magneton was hovering tiredly by now and it did not have the energy to attack Sandslash despite the proximity.

"Vulpix, do the honors with Ice Beam." Mia grinned coolly.

Vulpix's fiery eyes gleamed as it shot the Ice Beam at Magnezon, instantly freezing it. It crashed onto the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"Magnezon is unable to battle. Vulpix and Sandslash wins. Therefore, the winner of the match is Gym Leader Mia."

Mia let out a small huff as she recalled Sandslash and picked up Vulpix. "Don't worry, I'll groom your fur so that it'll shine beautifully again."

This calmed down the fox pokemon as it settled in its misstress' arms. Mia chuckled and after the customary post battle handshake with Wattson, she rushed back to her locker room where Red was waiting for her.

"That was a great battle back there. Wattson is no push over, especially his Manectric."

Mia flashed a brief smile and pulled out a brush from her bag. As she groomed Vulpix, she spoke, "I'm glad that you're here actually. It would have been unbearable for me to know that Muraku was the only Heiwa Elite watching my match."

"They would but they rather that you go to them first instead of avoiding them because they think that you want your privacy." Red explained as he sat down on the bench across from her.

Mia's lips turned down in an irritated frown. "I see."

"Anyway, care to explain why you asked me to meet you here?" Red asked. "Your note said that it was urgent."

Mia paused in her brushing, making Vulpix mildly irritated. But one look at her mistress's face told it that this was a serious discussion. It sighed in despair, knowing that it will need to wait until the discussion is over before it can get its fur neat and tidy again.

"It's about Forest, the former Pewter City Gym Leader." Mia said carefully.

Red instantly narrowed his eyes. "What? Does this have anything to do with Brock being the Pewter City Gym Leader again?"

"Yes." Mia nodded. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a newspaper clipping and gave it to him. "This is a news article from three years ago. It's about the drug usage scandal by the Pewter City Gym Leader Forest."

Red's frown grew deeper as he read the article. "I see. But there must be more if you wanted to talk to me about this."

"As far as what other League Officials know about this scandal, Forest was accused of using drugs on his pokemon to make them stronger. He was investigated and his pokemon were confirmed to have high levels of drugs in their bodies by the local Nurse Joy…and Brock who was a practicing doctor at that time."

Red stilled at the mention of that. "If it was only Nurse Joy, I might believe it. But if Brock was involved, does this mean that he had something to do with it?"

"Nothing is confirmed, but rumor has it that there were a lot of discrepancy in the investigation. But the only thing that was proven is the drug levels in the pokemon. In the end, Forest was stripped of his position as Gym Leader and was arrested. However, he somehow managed to escape. There was a search warrant for him in Kanto and Johto but no one has found him since then."

She paused to let Red process all this first before continuing. "A few months ago, I went to Ula'ula Island to look for an Ice Stone for Vulpix. And that's where I found Forest."

Red blinked in mild surprise and then cracked a smile. "Let me guess, Nanu was hiding him."

"Yup. Being a cop, you would think that he would turn in a wanted person instead of helping him. But that was not the case." Mia snorted with a roll of her eyes. "It took me a while to convince him and Forest to trust me due to the fact that I'm Pryce's apprentice but they finally came around when I revealed that I was the former Heiwa Ice type Elite Four…and that you are actually Ash."

"What!?" Red yelled angrily.

"I'm sorry I did that without asking your permission first but it was necessary especially since the information that Forest had about Brock was important." Mia said apologetically.

Although he was still mad at her for giving away his identity so easily, he was curious about the information that Forest gave her. "If the information you got is worth it, I'll forgive you for telling Forest my identity."

Mia flashed him a triumphant smirk. "I promise you that it will be. It turns out, Forest was framed by Brock. It turns out, Forest was gaining more fame and popularity than Brock or their father ever did during their time as Gym Leaders. So, a jealous Brock hid drugs in his pokemon's food which created the high level of drugs in their bodies. By the time Forest realized that something was wrong with his pokemon, it was too late. Brock had reported on him."

Red's lips quivered in anger. "Betraying a friend is one but for him to do this to his own brother?! That is insane!"

"I know. But there is more. Apparently, Nanu knew from the start that Forest was innocent which is why he is helping him. He thinks that Brock is still using drugs on his pokemon but on a more subtle level. To confirm this, I went to watch Brock's match last week. And he was right." Mia said quietly rubbing her arm. "There was one point in the battle, I saw it. His pokemon had that dark look and veins showing up on their skin…even though it was for a split second which I don't think anyone caught, but I saw it. And these were same signs of the pokemon Team Dawn used their Dark serum on them."

Red's entire face darkened and slammed his fist on bench. "How is this possible? I thought we rounded up all of Team Dawn's members!"

"I don't know. But this is worth looking into." Mia said slowly as she began brushing Vulpix again. "For now, I'll keep my distance from everyone else and continue my information search."

"Got it." Red nodded, drawing up his hood.

"Also," Mia paused hesitantly. "Brock's next match is against Lara in two days' time. You should get the other Heiwa Elites to watch the match as well to confirm my suspicions."

Red raised an eyebrow. It was well known in the whole Heiwa League of Mia and Lara's apparent dislike of each other. And yet, Mia did not seemed to have a lot of trouble talking about Lara like she did before.

"Are you over your dislike of Lara?" He asked curiously.

Mia let out a scoff at that. "I don't dislike her, I hate her. But, one thing Pryce taught me is to keep focused on the real goal ahead of me. So for now, I'm not going to dive back into my feelings towards Muraku and Lara for the duration of the tournament and the 'Brock Drug' situation. However, where this is all over, I won't guarantee that there will be any forgiveness or reconciliation for them."

"I understand." Red nodded and headed out of the locker room. "Thanks for going through the trouble to get all this information for me."

As soon as the door closed behind him, he let out a troubled sigh. With the tournament going on, the last thing they need is a scare of Team Dawn coming back. If they wanted to find out more about Brock's possible usage of Team Dawn's Dark serum, they will need to do this quietly and subtly. First thing's first is to find his Elites and Gym Leaders and convince them to watch Lara's match to confirm Mia's theory before creating a scare.