Cain briefly skimmed through the manual, which recorded in detail the entire raising process from a Riolu to a Lucario.
How to make Riolu grow faster and better during its initial phase, and how to develop its combat techniques once it evolved into Lucario.
Everything was there.
In truth, it shouldn't be called a manual, but rather a complete Encyclopedia of Lucario Training.
It even included detailed descriptions on how to properly perform Mega Evolution.
Cain didn't have time to analyze it thoroughly now, so he ordered the system to scan everything.
Maybe the book held the way to repair the Riolu egg he had.
After all, that egg was extremely valuable, and the potential of the Pokémon inside was also excellent. Only, for some unknown reason, the egg was damaged.
In fact, it was similar to the Larvitar egg he once had.
It couldn't hatch.
If this book contained the solution for that egg, Cain thought that alone would make it priceless.
The system quickly scanned the texts.
Once finished, everything was stored in the database.
After assigning this task to the system, Cain collapsed on the bed and fell asleep.
In recent days, his biological rhythm had become completely unbalanced, so he needed to reset it.
But just as Cain entered deep sleep, Shalour City descended into chaos.
Not just because of the Tower of Mastery.
Gurkinn, seeing the forest in flames, felt the situation slipping out of his control.
He immediately called the Shalour City Police.
And when he arrived at the scene as fast as he could, he found the forest completely destroyed, unable to identify what had truly happened.
He also found no trace of his son Koler. Not even of his Pokémon.
The signs of battle on the ground had been erased by the forest fire.
Vanished as if they had evaporated.
Not only the man in black—his own son had also disappeared.
Gurkinn had a terrible feeling.
From the moment Koler jumped out the window, something had felt off, though he ignored it.
Now that feeling wrapped around him entirely. And it grew stronger by the second.
His face turned grim.
He had come as fast as possible, hoping to find Koler fighting the enemy. But he never expected both to be gone.
If Koler were still alive, he wouldn't have vanished... unless...
He fell silent, not stepping into the now-charred forest.
He feared ruining the scene. Only Officer Jenny could gather any evidence.
Soon, Officer Jenny arrived with a group of Shalour City police officers.
Someone had already reported the fire on the outskirts of Shalour City, so she came right away.
Upon arrival, she saw Gurkinn standing there with a somber face, not having entered the scene.
"Mr. Gurkinn, what happened here? Who started the forest fire?" asked Officer Jenny.
Gurkinn slowly shook his head.
Gritting his teeth, he said, "Tonight, someone infiltrated the Tower of Mastery and stole something very important to my family. My son Koler went after him. The thief used a flying Pokémon. I arrived too late, and everything was already like this."
Officer Jenny was stunned for a moment. Then, she cautiously asked, "And your son...?"
But upon seeing Gurkinn's expression, she immediately understood.
"..." Gurkinn said no more, only shook his head again.
Even though his son hadn't inherited Lucario's Mega Evolution, he was still his son...
And now he might have to bury his own child, which shattered him inside.
But as long as no body appeared, there was still a sliver of hope.
That was the only thing keeping him standing.
"Leave this to us, Mr. Gurkinn. Please go back and wait for the results," said Officer Jenny empathetically, though she knew she had to carry out her duty.
Inspecting the scene was their responsibility. Gurkinn couldn't help by staying there.
Gurkinn left, disheartened. As the clan leader, he had many things to deal with after losing the family's most important items—and many people to calm down.
"Check Shalour City's security cameras. Look for suspicious individuals during this period. Also contact the staff in Geosenge Town to assist with the investigation," Officer Jenny ordered.
The son of the Shalour City Gym Leader was missing, and valuable items from his gym had been stolen. For the League, this wasn't a minor issue.
If mishandled, it could damage the League's reputation.
If someone could infiltrate a city's gym, what place was still safe?
If this became public, it would severely impact all of Shalour City.
The Kalos League, upon hearing the news, also treated the matter seriously.
They sent several Kalos League investigators to solve the case.
But one had to admit: Cain was extremely thorough when he ordered Blaziken to burn the entire forest. Officer Jenny couldn't find anything useful after searching for a long time.
Even from the forest's entry point, though she found traces of Koler, she found no tracks of the supposed man in black.
The only footprints were Koler's.
Cain had wrapped his feet in psychic power to leave no traces while running.
And with Koler's subsequent disappearance...
Officer Jenny's final conclusion was shocking: It had all been orchestrated by Koler himself, intending to steal the family treasure from the Tower of Mastery.
That would explain everything.
Koler was not the heir of the clan nor of Shalour City's gym.
So his motive could have been revenge, or a desire to become stronger.
The more Officer Jenny thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
It was a conspiracy!
But none of this had anything to do with Cain, who slept soundly.
He had no idea that his actions had led Officer Jenny to such a conclusion.
...
Cain slept until well past noon the next day.
Though he still wasn't fully rested, he got up.
If he slept more, he'd become nocturnal again. If he pushed himself a bit today, he could reset his rhythm.
Geosenge Town was a small village in the Kalos region, comparable to the old Leafy Town.
But within it lay one of Kalos's greatest secrets: The Ultimate Weapon!
The one in which Lysandre would place all his hopes, wishing it would destroy the Pokémon world and leave only a few "chosen ones" behind, to ease the burden of overpopulation.
(End of chapter)