Shiro rubbed his temples lightly and decided to visit Twinleaf Town first.
He was not in any hurry anyway. He could take a walk around Lake Verity, rest in Twinleaf Town for a day, and wait for Mesprit to return at any time.
Of course, maybe he was simply overthinking things. Maybe it had nothing to do with him at all.
* * *
Inside the only restaurant in Twinleaf Town.
"You're talking about Lake Verity... Long ago, that place used to be a volcano. After the eruption, a massive depression formed. Water gradually filled it up and eventually became the Lake Verity of today."
"The legendary Pokémon known as Mesprit protects this place. Mesprit flies across the world, bringing joy and sorrow into people's lives..."
The still-beautiful middle-aged woman tightened her headscarf proudly as she explained.
Shiro patiently nodded from time to time while sipping the local sweet-and-sour berry juice.
'I heard it...'
A light voice suddenly drifted into his ears. It was Mesprit's murmur.
'It's the call of Lake Verity.'
'Wait a little longer. There's no rush,' Shiro replied silently in his heart.
Mesprit said nothing more. It merely flashed briefly through the center of his vision, seemingly agreeing.
Shiro raised a hand. "Another five cream puffs, and one Cheri Berry cake."
"Coming right up!" The woman clapped her hands lightly. As she passed the counter, she casually grabbed her apron and tied it while walking toward the kitchen.
Including the chef and cashier, the restaurant only had two workers in total. They were a local Twinleaf Town couple. The owner, Fritz, cooked in the back while the owner's wife, Beth, handled the front.
The restaurant had clearly been around for many years. The decorations were old and worn. Most of the furniture was wooden, and every chair carried deep old marks from years of use.
It was noon, right during lunchtime, yet there were only a handful of customers inside, and they all looked like travelers instead of locals.
Among the diners, the one who caught Shiro's attention the most was an old man.
He sat in the southern corner wearing a gray-brown linen outfit that looked extremely plain. But his face was square and resolute, and his sharp eyes looked capable of cutting through the tables and chairs before him.
The old man was also waiting for his food. He sat perfectly upright with both hands resting on his knees, without a single unnecessary movement.
If this were not the Pokémon world, Shiro would definitely think he was a retired soldier, maybe even some high-ranking officer.
But here...
'At the very least, he's a veteran Elite-level trainer!' Unown A's voice sounded at the perfect moment. 'Out of the five Poké Balls at his waist, four contain Elite-level Pokémon. The last one is a psychic type, but I can't see through it clearly.'
'A hunter?' Shiro grew suspicious.
'I tried listening to his thoughts,' Unown A continued. 'But there was nothing... This old man's mind is frighteningly quiet.'
Someone with no stray thoughts at all?
After hearing that, Shiro could not help glancing sideways at him. Coincidentally, the old man looked over as well.
Their eyes met briefly before both silently looked away at the same time.
"Can't confirm whether he's an enemy." Shiro frowned slightly.
Back at the Hunters Guild headquarters, although Hunter A's voice sounded like that of a calm middle-aged man, nobody had actually seen his true appearance. For all he knew, the guy could really be an old man.
While he was thinking, the owner's wife pushed through the curtain while carrying two plates in one hand.
"Here you go, young man. Your Cheri Berry cake. And Uncle Jan, here's your Oran Berry pie!"
The two plates were placed one after another in front of Shiro and the old man.
"The cream puffs will be ready soon. Please wait a moment..." After speaking, Beth hurried back into the kitchen to help.
Shiro casually glanced at the old man again.
All of the old man's attention was already focused on the Oran Berry pie before him. He skillfully used a dining knife to cut the pie into several small pieces.
His name was Jan...
Since Beth called him Uncle Jan, he was probably a local.
A retired Elite-level trainer living peacefully in Sinnoh's starting town actually sounded pretty normal.
'You're way too suspicious~'
Unown A's voice sounded muffled because its mouth was already stuffed full of Cheri Berry cake.
It had transformed into a Piplup. Half of its round white face was covered in cream and bright red berry crumbs.
Expressionless, Shiro picked up the dining knife and used the smooth side of the blade to look at his reflection before putting it back down.
Because the cake in front of him no longer needed cutting at all.
Another Piplup jumped onto the table.
"Piplup, piplup!"
Unown G talked less but ate faster. The two of them attacked the cake from both sides at the same time.
Before long, the Cheri Berry cake was reduced to nothing more than tiny crumbs and smears of cream.
"..."
The newly emerged Mesprit puffed up its cheeks and stared at Shiro with bright yellow eyes.
"Boss, another Cheri Berry cake!" Shiro raised his hand and called out.
"Okay!"
Beth stepped out from behind the curtain and glanced over. After confirming who ordered, she was about to turn back when she noticed another customer standing up.
"Boss, the bill..." The man in the brown trench coat took out his wallet and pulled out some bills.
Shiro subconsciously glanced over. The guy paying looked strangely familiar, but he could not remember where he had seen him before.
He should never have met him before, right?
As if sensing something, the man looked up and met Shiro's gaze. A strange smile appeared on his thick-browed face.
It was almost as if he were saying: 'Finally found you...'
'Hunter?' Shiro immediately tensed up, his hand already moving toward his Poké Ball.
But after paying, the man rummaged through his wallet again and walked directly over.
"Uh... You must be that... Um, here's my business card."
Shiro tightened his brows and reached out to take it.
On the simple white card, one large word was written: Looker.
Shiro looked up in shock just in time to see Looker proudly brushing back his spiky front hair.
Under the word "Looker" was his profession… International Police.
An old familiar face from Pokémon. A timeless supporting character, the protagonist's reliable helper, and an all-purpose tool man. In short, whenever this guy appeared, nothing good ever followed.
"This truly is fate guiding us!" Looker put away his wallet. "I actually ran into you right after finishing lunch, Gala... uh, Shiro."
Shiro also put the business card into his pocket before sweeping his gaze around the restaurant again.
Aside from the detective in front of him, only the old man Jan remained in the corner, along with a married couple eating lunch with their little daughter.
Looker naturally shifted his position and blocked Shiro's line of sight.
"Hey, don't ignore me! I'm here on official business!"
**
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