The man in red opened his mouth, then hesitated and shut it again. His fists clenched, then relaxed. His expression changed over and over.
Luther knew exactly what was going through his mind,
The man talked tough, but was afraid that Luther would really go all-out again. Judging by the strength of Luther's Pokémon, with their main team already knocked out, sending in any others would just be feeding them to the wolves, wasting Potions for nothing.
But if he didn't act tough, there was no way for him to save any of his pride. He'd be stuck, embarrassed, and clearly seen as weak. After several aborted attempts to speak, the red-clothed man could only glare furiously at Luther.
It was clear he was the leader of the trio. If he showed weakness here, he'd lose all authority in front of the other two, so he was bluffing hard, hoping Luther would get the message and give him an out.
Luther, meanwhile, was massaging Chansey.
'An out? From me?'
'Forget it. Leave if you want. I'm not doing you any favors.'
They stared each other down for a while, until Luther heard rustling nearby.
The noise from the earlier battle had definitely drawn attention from nearby campers. This was a massive campsite, and Trainers constantly wandered around observing other battles to absorb experience. Naturally, any sound of fighting would attract a crowd.
That rustling gave the trio a perfect excuse to back down.
"Let's get out of here. We can't win anyway…"
"Yeah. We'll just spread some rumors later, if we can't have it, no way he's keeping it peacefully."
The man in red breathed a sigh of relief, his expression finally relaxing.
"Since outsiders are here now, let's call it off," He said smoothly.
"As if you could've done anything if no one showed up," Mai muttered, hugging Chikorita.
"If you're that upset, feel free to come back. I don't care how many people are watching."
Kirlia, Chansey, and Marill stepped toward Exploud and the others again.
The red-clothed man's out was instantly dismantled. Swallowing his frustration, he returned his Pokémon to their Poké Balls. Just as he turned to leave, Luther's voice drifted over.
"Oh, and a word of warning, don't even think about spreading rumors that I found something insanely valuable in the lake."
Luther pulled his Pokédex from his pocket.
Seeing the Pokédex, the three treasure hunters looked as if something had jammed in their throats, they nearly choked on air.
"We're all prototype Pokédex holders. Which means we've got research labs backing us. Come to think of it… you three don't seem like real treasure hunters. The ones I've met from proper treasure hunting families don't jump straight to robbery when they come up short."
"RUN!"
The three of them bolted into the woods and vanished in seconds.
By the time other Pokémon Trainers arrived, Luther and Mai had already turned and left, leaving the newcomers scratching their heads, wondering what kind of battle could end that quickly.
Back at the camp, the Pokémon eagerly waved the jewelry in front of Mai and Luther, hoping they'd notice their efforts, but both of them were busy.
Mai was preparing dinner. After all that chaos, it was nearly evening. She didn't have time to chase after Eevee, who was running back and forth with a pearl necklace.
Luther was messaging Cynthia.
"Three guys who probably have a record? Why don't you just call Officer Jenny yourself? Why drag me into it?" Cynthia replied with a sleepy Blissey emoji.
"If you call, the Pokémon League will take it seriously. Saves me a favor. But if I call, you'll owe me two favors. Want to think that over again?"
A video call notification lit up on Luther's screen. Cynthia appeared, holding a comb and chewing on the ends of her light blonde hair.
"Explain to me, how exactly do I owe you a favor now?"
Luther patted Eevee's head, took the necklace off, and parted the pearls in the center, revealing a transparent bead with a deep blue swirl and a red-yellow leaf-like pattern inside.
Cynthia furrowed her brows tightly, then her expression shifted, from confusion, to surprise, then to excitement.
"This looks like…"
"Don't act uncertain, your face already gave you away. You're a Champion, try to act more reserved, would you? What are you doing leaning into the screen like that? The resolution's not gonna improve just because you're closer, and you're not gonna crawl through it either."
"This color… this design… it's most likely a Mega Evolution Stone for Garchomp. You've been around Diantha long enough, I don't need to explain Mega Evolution to you. I remember hearing back at Diantha's villa that you were having trouble finding the stone. Well, here you go, I found it for you."
"So just answer me, do you owe me this favor or not?"
"Describe those three guys to me, I'll take care of it immediately!"
No one could resist the temptation of a Mega Evolution Stone. These things were incredibly rare, with a very low chance of being unearthed. And according to Diantha, there were even defective ones; some couldn't handle the massive energy produced during resonance.
Thanks to the knowledge Diantha had force-fed Luther while he was recovering at her villa, Luther could tell with confidence: this one was a genuine, intact Mega Stone.
He didn't plan to catch a Gible or train a Garchomp himself, so it wasn't of much use to him. Giving it to Cynthia was the more practical move, especially since Cynthia had helped him out more than a few times before.
Besides, he didn't like leaving loose ends.
The reason he didn't directly take those three guys down earlier was because he was worried one might escape in the chaos, or worse, try something desperate and drag him down with them.
Since they already bore a grudge against him, prison really was the safest place for them.
Ever since the incident with Evergreen, Luther had grown to hate threats. Anything that made him feel unsafe was better off eliminated. Cutting weeds at the root was a good habit.
He hadn't gone all the way just now only because he had his own limits. The kind of punishment he'd used on Evergreen wasn't something he wanted to repeat on people like them.
Cynthia worked fast. Luther saw that she was already on another call with the Pokémon League, relaying the situation.
"They pissed you off that badly?" She asked.
"What do you mean? I just felt that their behavior and methods didn't line up with how a proper treasure hunter should act. I mean,have you ever seen a treasure hunter try to ambush a regular Pokémon Trainer?"
"True. Sure, they might fight over a newly discovered artifact or valuable item, but normally, they don't go around ambushing Trainers over it. The Pokémon League's laws are no joke. Depending on how it's handled, this could become a major offense. There's no need to throw your whole future away over a short-term prize, if you've been doing this long enough, you know you'll eventually find something better."
"Well, that just makes me even more certain those three had a criminal record. So… does this count as me making a major report? Does the Pokémon League give out rewards?"
"You're asking that when we haven't even caught them yet? Where are you? I'll come over now to take a look at that stone."
"Are you that eager?" Luther rubbed the back of his head.
"If I had a Gardevoir Mega Stone in my hand and told you I was giving it to you, I bet you'd be here even faster than me."
Well… yeah, fair point. Who could say no to something like that? It's just too good to pass up.
(End of Chapter)
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