"Why were you on the route?" Emma asked, the detective scrutinizing my face.
The words echoed in my head as I stared blankly in her direction. They moved just past the fire, where a body lay covered in a tarp. Lyla's body.
"An alert was sent out yesterday afternoon saying to avoid leaving Lumiose City because Team Flux has been increasingly violent and aggressive toward Trainers," she stated. "So, why were you traveling out of Lumiose?"
"Th-that was m-m-m-me," Alex stuttered, his voice trembling almost as much as his hands. "I-I-I h-hired him through Syc-c-camore Labs to escort m-me back to th-th-th-the Fossil Lab."
"And you ignored the warning?"
"We didn't see it," I answered flatly, still staring at Lyla's body. I sat up, letting Tetsu lay on my thighs.
"How?"
"We bumped into Lyla as she was being chased down by a Dodrio for stealing an egg. Nautilus was able to Hypnotize it, so I gave the egg back and ran with Lyla and Alex on my shoulders. I didn't stop until nearly dusk. As Lyla was explaining her situation…"
I stopped, putting my face in my hands. "I knew Team Flux was probably going to hurt her, but I didn't expect the fucking League Agent to work with them and kill her." I tightened my hands into fists, my knuckles turning white. Tetsu and Nautilus nuzzled into me. Nova leaned in closer, her warmth soothing the grief and rage enough for me to look at the detective.
"What is the League going to do about that agent?"
She looked into my eyes for a few moments before answering. "The League won't deal with him. Interpol will. It's clear Flux has influence within the League, so anything that isn't reported directly to Calem or Professor Sycamore is likely to be intercepted and tampered."
"And Lyla?"
"I don't know," she answered. "But I'll find her family and get them the resources they may need."
"Her mother is somewhere in the forest," Alex spoke, the terror in his eyes replaced with simmering fury. "They killed her mom too, I think."
"I'll have my team check it out. In the meantime, I'm getting you two to Camphrier Town to rest. You look terrible."
"We feel worse," I said. The Espurr from earlier appeared out of nowhere, killing the fire and clearing the camp before teleporting us.
"I understand how terrible what you just experienced is," Emma shared, "so I know you probably don't want to hear this. But they will do this again if no one is strong enough to stop me. And between you and me, I think we all need to be careful about who we trust."
In less than the blink of an eye, Alex and I stood outside of the Camphrier Pokémon Center. Alex walked inside, leaving me with my thoughts.
"Get out the way, man."
Someone shoved me aside as they ran into the Center. Nautilus popped out of his ball and took his place atop my head, glaring at the teen's back. I closed my eyes, letting the familiar Psychic energy wash over me. My heart settled, my shoulders loosened, and each breath came a little more easily than the last. "Thank you, buddy."
We walked in together. Alex spotted me and walked over. "I got us our own rooms next to each other. After everything… I think I need to be alone for some time."
I nodded. "Knock if you need anything." Before he walked away, I added, "Please reach out if you need to talk. What happened was sickening, and it will fuck with your head if you don't have a way to process it."
"… I'll think about it."
He walked off, heading straight to our rooms on the fourth floor. I went to the canteen. I didn't feel hungry, but I hadn't eaten in at least a day. After ordering something for all of us, I grabbed my phone. I hadn't received any sort of alert, and I found out the current regional alert system only worked with newer models of Holo Casters, Rotom Phones, C-Gears, PokéGears, and Pokétchs.
'I need to get myself something newer.'
As we ate, I got a text.
[Unknown: Hey stranger its Nina :) I got ur number from Nurse Joy in Santalune]
[Nina: Wanna meet up for lunch if ur still in Lumiose??]
[Nina: I wanna talk about ur offer for advertising my new business!]
[Me: New business? That's great!]
[Me: I'm in Camphrier Town on a job for Sycamore Labs. Maybe when I'm done we can talk?]
[Nina: Bummer :( but sure. Text me when ur done]
[Me: Sounds good]
I stared at my phone before shaking my head in disgust.
'Lyla lost her life, and here I am, making plans with a friend.'
That's when I noticed all three of my Pokémon staring at me. Nautilus and Nova shared a look while Tetsu continued with her concerned eyes. "Yeah, I'm not okay, you guys," I said, "but we still have things to do."
My eyes hardened.
"If we don't want to end up dead, we still need to train and practice. We still need to get stronger. If not for us, then at least for the people that have been hurt or killed."
Nautilus nodded, his tentacles wobbling with the movement. Nova closed her eyes and took a deep breath, opening her eyes with confident energy. Tetsu rolled over and snuggled my arm. I smiled softly, rubbing the top of her face.
"Let's go into town before checking on Alex. I need to move around."
I recalled Nova and Tetsu and walked out of the Center, Nautilus nesting in my hair. We were near the Route 5 gate, a white stone wall forming a perimeter around town. It took almost half an hour to get to the town center. Most of the homes were simple and homogenous, and the people walked with wide smiles and relaxed gaits. The smell of fertilizer hung faintly in the air. It was almost picture-perfect. The peace filled my core, leaving me feeling weightless.
The dark blue castle to the north stood out like a Slugma on the beach. A wooden drawbridge was down, and many children ran along as they entered or left the castle's front garden. The moat surrounding the castle was full of jumping Magikarp, skating Surskit, and diving Cramorant.
The morning was nearly over, but the day's heat wasn't. I walked over the drawbridge, short sprays of water cooling my skin as Magikarp flew overhead. It felt nice.
A child, no older than seven years old, ran over as I approached the castle, stopping right at my feet and looking up before saying, "Mister! Mister! Do you have any cool Pokémon?"
I looked at him for a second before forcing a small smile. "I've got three cool Pokémon. They've saved me a lot." I let out Nova and Tetsu as Nautilus floated down and posed for the kid. The image of Nova's bloody body, Nautilus' beaten state, and Tetsu quivering in fear flashed in my eyes. My mind replayed the moment I woke up, Lyla's twisted face branding my brain. My vision narrowed and slowly turned black at the edges. My breaths turned shallow, and I felt my chest tighten to the point where it squeezed my heart. It hurt, a sharp, stabbing pain with each pump. I couldn't move or tear myself away from her lifeless gray eyes. A scream built up in my throat, but no noise escaped. I wanted to go away. I wanted to hide. I wanted to-
Tetsu bumped into me, and her concerned face replacing the images terrorizing my mind. A Metal Claw firmly grasped my arm, shaking it with just enough force to ground me.
"-so awesome! Do it again!"
I looked up to see Nova spit out a flurry of Embers, only for Nautilus to use his Psychic control and lead them in an upside-down vortex, creating a convex dome in the air with the Embers smashing into each other in dazzling explosions at the center. It was spectacular to see, and the kid loved it.
Soon, the two had a small crowd of children and Pokémon. Nova worked on controlling the power and temperature of the flames, eventually getting blue, yellow, orange, and red color shows with effects ranging from sparkles to captivating designs like stars and flowers. Nautilus, not to be outdone, focused on his intricate control of Psychic Energy by maneuvering several streams of fire, creating small animations with Nova's designs.
I stared in awe. We'd spent so much time focused on combat and survival that I completely forgot the other side of Pokémon training. Imagination, creativity, true move mastery. It was beautiful.
I spread out a small portion of my Berry collection, making sure everyone had at least two Berries to snack on. "Alright, snack break everyone!"
I sat down, a calmness settling within me as I handed out food. Looking at all the smiling faces and sounds of glee, tears fell out of my eyes. One for the joy we were able to create, and one for the grief of knowing some could never experience this again.