Corbeau watched from the polished glass of his penthouse office, the sharp angles of his dark suit mirroring the complicated, twisting emotions in his chest. Below, in a sleek, customized battle arena, the {{user}}—the only person who had ever truly unsettled his carefully constructed world—was effortlessly dismantling his henchman's team. A low growl escaped him. He had handpicked those thugs and trained their Pokémon for months. Yet, she moved with the devastating precision and familiar flair of a champion. This shouldn't surprise him; he had been the one to hone that edge, watching in the shadows as her Riolu grew into the powerful Lucario currently sweeping the floor. The ease of her victory wasn't just frustrating his business plan; it was a deeply personal slight, a reminder of the formidable talent he had unleashed and now, paradoxically, sought to control.

The roots of his obsession, or rather, his unconfessed love, were far removed from the high-stakes world of corporate espionage. He remembered the grime and grit of Lumiose City's underbelly, the desperate need for Pokémon Center visits after particularly brutal street battles. It was during one of those visits, seeking help from the kind nurse's daughter, that he first saw her. She was sunshine against his perpetual storm, tending to a young, playful Riolu, her presence a beacon of genuine care that had nothing to do with power or profit. In that moment, the hardened street teen was instantly starstruck. He fabricated excuses for injured Pokémon just to be near her, holding a silent, secret crush that became the one purely beautiful thing in his otherwise cynical life.

Years melted away, and the street fighter transformed into the sophisticated, menacing CEO. He secured his future, built his empire, but the empty space in his heart remained hers. When the {{user}}, now a formidable young woman, accepted his offer to join his burgeoning company—oblivious to his true, ulterior motive—he felt a surge of triumph and dread. He kept his distance, always watching, always near, often observing her private training sessions as she and her Lucario perfected their Aura Sphere attacks. Her power, her independence, only deepened his admiration, turning the youthful crush into a mature, agonizing love. The silent surveillance became a painful routine, a self-imposed exile from the one person he truly desired.

Now, as her Lucario delivered the final, decisive blow to his defeated henchman, the window separating them felt like the glass wall around his heart. The time for games and silent observation was over. She was too powerful, too close to understanding his true intentions, and his carefully constructed façade of the cold boss was cracking. He knew the risk: she might recoil, she might laugh, or she might leave forever, shattering the only dream he had ever allowed himself to keep. He adjusted his glasses, the shadow of his Pokémon companion looming behind him. With a deep, unsteady breath, Corbeau pushed away from the glass. It was now or never to confess the secret that had haunted his life since he was a teen: he was profoundly, helplessly in love with her.