In truth, telling Etorre about Mewtwo had been a foolish move.
If Etorre had questioned Luther further, demanding proof, asking how he knew, or doubting the story, it could've turned awkward fast.
The smarter choice would've been to say nothing. He could've offered a few vague, comforting words like, "You'll find her someday," a meaningless but harmless blessing that would leave everyone feeling good.
Maybe it was the kind people Luther and Mai had met over the past few days; maybe that warmth had rubbed off on him. Whatever the reason, he'd found himself wanting to give this confused young man some closure.
Give up?
If Etorre had truly given up, would his voice still tremble when he spoke of Mewtwo? Would there still be that flicker of longing in his eyes?
Luther knew that feeling all too well. After chasing something for so long with no results, you start to lie to yourself.
"I tried my best."
"Maybe it wasn't meant to be."
"Let's just call it a dream."
Etorre was smart. He didn't press. He just sat quietly, a faint sense of relief settling over his expression. Whether he truly believed Luther's words or not didn't matter. At least now he had an excuse to stop chasing something he'd never catch.
Finding Mewtwo was a fantasy. No one knew where she was. Her relationship with humans was… complicated. Even if someone got close, she'd likely sense it and disappear.
There was no point wasting one's life on a goal like that.
Besides, Etorre had potential. Luther had seen it during their battle. He had the strength to go far as a Pokémon Trainer. Sure, he'd lost time, but nothing compared to someone like Harold, who had truly gone off the rails.
After dinner, Luther took their dishes to the stream to wash. Mao followed with her own.
"Thank you," she said softly. "For helping him let go. I could tell you regretted saying it the moment the words left your mouth."
Luther wiped a bowl with a cloth. He didn't look up. He just sighed.
"I'm not someone who likes complications. I hate having to explain myself. So I didn't. I just… said what I said."
Mao brushed a strand of her light golden hair behind her ear and nodded.
"I know. If Etorre hadn't believed you, you wouldn't have argued. You'd just laugh it off, say you were joking."
Luther chuckled. "Having a girlfriend like you must be exhausting. Has anyone ever told you that even if you can read someone's mind, you're not supposed to say it out loud?"
"He's not great at looking after himself," Mao replied. "Back when he got it in his head to track down Mewtwo, he just ran off, chasing rumors, wandering aimlessly. I had no choice but to follow him. Otherwise, I'd always be worrying that someone would take advantage of him. He's... too naïve."
Luther thought that description fit Etorre perfectly. They both laughed at the truth of it.
After they finished with the dishes, Mao shook the water off her hands and asked suddenly, "Do you like girls who are hard to figure out?"
"Honestly?" Luther replied as he stood up. "I think it's fine if someone doesn't want to spend their whole life with another person. As long as I have my Pokémon with me... that's enough."
He turned to walk back toward camp.
"Sounds like you're making Mai out to be a little pitiful," Mao's voice called after him.
Luther froze.
"Boys might not notice, but girls are... perceptive," Mao continued gently. "She really likes you."
Mao watched his back quietly. "You must've realized it. Even if you haven't been together long, I can tell, you're not dense. A girl who sticks by your side, helps you with everything, listens closely when you speak, and even praises you when she's chatting with me…"
"You feel it, don't you?" She stepped up beside him, glancing sideways. "Unless you're just pretending not to."
Luther stood still for a moment, then let out a slow breath.
"Has anything dangerous ever happened while traveling with Etorre?" he asked. "I mean... truly life-threatening?"
Mao hadn't expected that. She tilted her head, thinking back.
"In Kalos," she said at last. "We ran into a Pokémon poaching ring. There were a lot of them... Etorre and I both got hurt trying to protect the Pokémon they'd captured. We only made it out because the International Police and the League showed up just in time."
"Did you ever think… that maybe you just got lucky?" Luther asked quietly. "That if one thing had gone wrong, one of you might not have made it?"
Mao went silent, her eyes fixed on Luther.
"I once faced the same kind of choice, a moment where I had to gamble. Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? That the only way out of a life-and-death crisis is to roll the dice and hope you live."
Luther's grip tightened around the utensils in his hands, producing a faint crack.
"You might say you'd be willing to die for Etorre, and I believe you. I can see it in your eyes. You love him deeply."
"But me?" Luther continued, his voice low. "I never want to face that kind of choice again. That's why, once, I asked both myself and Mai a question."
'How much strength does a person need... to hold on to their own happiness?'
"Back when I didn't have the power to protect myself, or the people close to me, I didn't dare let myself love anyone. Because when you love someone… the last thing you want is to see them get hurt."
Mao looked at him intently. She could sense the fire, something raw and burning, smoldering beneath Luther's calm exterior.
"Your enemies... are they that powerful?" She asked.
"They used to be," Luther replied coldly. "But one day soon… they'll be nothing."
"If you're ever in danger," Mao said gently, "you can reach out to any of us listed as Pokédex holders. All of us, Etorre, myself, even the others with prototype Pokédexes, we'd be willing to help. You know how tight-knit our group is."
Luther shook his head.
"No. No one can help me. You're all… too clean. If I'm going to get help, it won't come from people like you. It'll come from something more poisonous."
Mao blinked. She didn't quite understand.
Clean? Poisonous?
What did he mean by that?
But Luther said nothing more. He turned and walked off toward the campsite.
He wasn't planning to involve anyone, not Etorre, not Mao, not even other Pokédex holders, in what was coming. He didn't want help to destroy Evergreen and the filth that followed them.
He didn't want destruction. What he wanted… was judgment.
A kind of judgment the League's criminal system couldn't give.
Luther didn't believe that people who harbored that kind of twisted darkness would ever truly change. Prison wouldn't rehabilitate them. It would only scatter their madness like spores, spreading it into the cracks of the world.
And it was a beautiful world.
A world filled with Pokémon full of life. People with honest hearts. Landscapes that could still take your breath away.
And people who loved him.
Luther didn't think violence was always the answer. But when it came to this particular scum, there was no other way.
This world had never known the kind of violence he'd seen before. The kind that didn't just kill, it consumed, corrupted, and infected. People here still played at justice with kind smiles and clean hands, unaware of what true horror looked like.
So before that horror could take root and grow…
Luther would make sure it was burned away, completely.
(End of Chapter)
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