Gladion was having a holiday as he sipped in juice while lazing around bed as he scrolled through Poketwitter.
His anonymous leak of Team Aqua's Indigo base locations—Vermilion's dockside warehouse, Cerulean's cave network, Fuchsia's smuggling hub—had exploded online, setting PokéTwitter ablaze with speculation, outrage, and memes.
'Giovanni's tearing his hair out, Aqua's scrambling, and I'm sipping juice. Ah, this is life.'Gladion thought, his smirk sly. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novel·fıre·net
Nyx, his Umbreon, curled nearby, purred telepathically, [You've poked the Horsea's nest, boss.] Gladion tossed her a Poké Puff. "Good. Let it burn."
PokéTwitter was a battlefield of hot takes and banter, the #AquaExposed hashtag trending worldwide.
The first tweet to catch Gladion's eye was from @PidgeyPost, a Kanto-based trainer with a knack for stirring drama:
"Wow, Team Aqua's got secret bases in Indigo?! Vermilion, Cerulean, Fuchsia—right under our noses! What's the League doing, napping with Snorlax? 😴 #AquaExposed #IndigoFails." The tweet had 12K likes and a flood of comments.
@GrowlitheGuard replied, "League's too busy polishing badges to notice. Pryce probably thinks Aqua's just a swim club. 🙄"
@EeveeFanatic chimed in, "Bet they're hiding Magikarp to flood Kanto. WAKE UP, LEAGUE!"
Gladion chuckled, his psychic senses buzzing. 'They're half-right. Pryce's been coasting.'
The thread devolved into memes—a Psyduck labeled "Indigo League" clutching its head, a Magikarp captioned "Team Aqua's secret weapon."
'Social media is as ruthless as ever.'Gladion thought, grinning.
Another tweet, from @SaffronScoop, amped the outrage: "Team Aqua in INDIGO? Cerulean's my hometown, and now I'm side-eying every cave. League's letting pirates run wild! 🏴☠️ #AquaExposed."
The chaos escalated when Lance, the Dragon-type Elite Four member, dropped a bombshell tweet from his verified @DragonLance account: "Team Aqua's bases in Indigo are a disgrace to our region. I've personally led raids on their Vermilion and Fuchsia outposts—both reduced to rubble. The League must act decisively. #AquaExposed #DragonRising."
The tweet, accompanied by a photo of Lance posing heroically atop his Dragonite, cape billowing, had 25K likes in an hour. @DratiniDreamer commented, "Lance is out here SLAYING! Champion material, anyone? 🐉"
@JohtoJolt added, "Pryce is shaking in his icy boots. Lance for Champion! #DragonRising." But @IceTypeIcon clapped back, "Pryce's Glalie would freeze Lance's dragons solid. Chill, fanboys."
Gladion's read the comments with amusement. 'Lance is milking this for clout. Smart. He is using this as an opportunity to make people see that Pryce is useless. The terrorists have invaded our home and we did not know about it. At the same time, he is also building his own reputation by telling people, he has dealt with these terrorists. He must be challenging Pryce soon.'
A snarky tweet from @PokePolitic poked at Lance's motives: "Lance busting Aqua bases? Noble, sure, but smells like a campaign stunt. He's gunning for Pryce's Champion throne. #AquaExposed #LanceForChamp."
Comments exploded. @KantoKrabby griped, "Lance just wants the spotlight. Bet his Dragonite's posing for PokéGram likes." @ClefableCzar shot back, "Nah, Lance is Kanto's hero! Pryce's too busy ice-skating to care."
Gladion smirked. 'They're eating it up. Lance knows how to play the crowd.'
Hours later, Lance tweeted again, upping the ante: "Enough is enough. Pryce's inaction has let Team Aqua fester in Indigo. Look at these bases! As an Elite Four member, I officially challenge Champion Pryce for the title. Time for a new era. #DragonRising #IndigoDeservesBetter."
The tweet, with a video of Lance's Salamence torching an Aqua warehouse, went viral, racking up 50K likes.
PokéTwitter erupted. @DragonFan69 screamed, "LET'S GOOOO! Lance vs. Pryce is gonna be LIT! 🐉🔥 #DragonRising."
@IceAceStan argued, "Pryce's Ice-types eat dragons for breakfast. Glalie's Sheer Cold says goodnight, Lance."
@TypeTactician added, "Dragon-types are cool, but Ice is their weakness. Pryce's got this."
@PidgeottoPal, ever the troll, commented, "Bet Lance's cape gets stuck in Salamence's tail mid-battle. 😂 #DragonFlop."
Gladion laughed aloud, Nyx purring, [Humans are so dramatic.]
"Huh, You sure you should be saying this, Miss drama queen?" Gladion said roling his eyes
The topic changed as @GengarGossip shifted focus to Gladion: "Anyone notice Gladion Vortex's necklace? Three Poké Balls—middle one's his alpha Tyranitar, Colossus. What's in the other two? 🤔 #MoonwoodMystery #AquaExposed."
The tweet sparked a frenzy. @BeldumBuddy speculated, "Gotta be a Metagross. Gladion won a Beldum at the League, remember? It's probably a beast now!"
@FlamethrowerFan replied, "Metagross makes sense, but what's the third? I'm betting Moltres. Kid's got legendary vibes."
@SkepticSnorlax scoffed, "Legendary? Don't be stupid. Moltres doesn't chill in necklaces. Probably just his strong Umbreon."
@EeveeEnthusiast argued, "Umbreon's too basic for Gladion. Maybe a Salamence—he's got Lance envy!"
@PokePundit countered, "Salamence? Nah, he's not that flashy. Bet it's a Ratata, something sneaky and brutal."
@TrollTogepi chimed in, "Y'all, it's a Ditto that turns into Pryce's beard. Ultimate flex. 😂"
Gladion snorted, 'There would be a lot more frenzy if it got out what Pokemon were there in my necklace.'
"Anyways, Since Team rocket would be busy, it's time to make up some money. It's good that I visited Orange Islands. I almost forgot about the Crystal Onix there. It would be sold for a very good price. I would just have to give it to dad to make sure that the Onix can't breed. If it can, Well I can start selling crystal Onixes too."
Galdion gave it a thought before deciding, 'It would be a perfect Pokemon to be sold in the first ever Vortex Auction in 6 months.'
'I might just invite Giovanni too. It would be so much fun to take his money.' Gladion chuckled at thought
---Author Notes------
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