Every grand spectacle needs a strong opening, but what followed in Lune Town felt like a story that had simply stopped being written. After the explosions and the chaos of the initial clash, both sides settled into an unexpected and almost eerie quiet. It was as though they had agreed to pause without anyone saying a word.
The Security Officers had lost trust in the command center and were now working hard to reorganize themselves from the inside. The various squad leaders were sorting out who answered to whom, establishing a temporary chain of command that could actually function. Once that was done, Team Origin could expect a fierce and coordinated counterattack.
Team Origin, for their part, was doing something very similar. But with Robbin gone and Weasel, who had stepped in to issue temporary orders, nowhere near the front line, most of their squads were simply holding their positions and waiting to hear from above.
If Nova had to put a name to what was happening, he would have called it a Phoney War. Two sides fully armed and in position, watching each other across a quiet border, waiting for someone to move first.
Not that Nova had much time to think about history. He was currently occupied with something far more immediate.
"Arno, use Thunderbolt! Come on, put some effort into it! Did you even eat today? Stop going easy on her just because she looks fragile. Hit her again! If she still will not talk, turn it up!"
Arno the Nidoking was not enjoying this.
His trainer, who Nova had always assumed was a fairly reasonable person, had apparently developed some kind of new philosophy about information gathering. Arno cast a sideways look at the girl across from him, who was already barely conscious, eyes glazed, jaw slack. If he pushed any harder and his Poison Point activated at the wrong moment, things were going to get very complicated very quickly, and he was not sure Nova was prepared for that kind of outcome.
Nova, as it happened, could not take responsibility for that kind of outcome. But someone else in the room could.
Jenny had insisted that Nova's identity remain confidential, which meant only Pat and Sandra were permitted to take part in the interrogation. Both of them had met Nova before and could be trusted to keep quiet about who he was.
Nova was not entirely at ease around Sandra. The man had spent a noticeable amount of time staring at Nova's bag of valuables, and while Jenny's earlier words had clearly made an impression on him, Nova saw no reason to give temptation more opportunities than necessary. A large bag of money in front of someone who has already noticed it was not a combination that led anywhere good. Nova understood that people could be pushed into poor decisions by circumstance, and there was no virtue in setting up that situation deliberately.
So the only person with actual authority over how this interrogation was conducted was Pat. That suited Nova well enough, since Pat's primary role at the Forest City Police Department was exactly this kind of work.
Pat was not, on the surface, the sort of person you would expect to have strong opinions about interrogation technique. He carried himself with the steady, rule-following manner of someone who took his job seriously and did not cut corners. And yet.
"Your approach is too unfocused," Pat said quietly, standing just to the side and watching with a calm, almost clinical expression. "Have Arno lower the output but narrow the aim. The lower abdomen is far more effective. She will not be able to hold out against that for long."
Nova stared at him.
Arno had been giving Nova that look earlier. Nova was now giving it to Pat.
This man, who projected the calm reliability of a seasoned officer who had never once bent a rule in his life, had just described that with the tone of someone explaining a filing system. Nova decided he was not going to follow that particular piece of advice. The Sprigatito perched on his shoulder had already covered its eyes with both paws, and Nova felt a certain responsibility toward his younger Pokemon to keep this situation within reasonable limits.
He stepped forward and tried a different angle entirely.
"Look," he said, keeping his voice calm and straightforward. "I think we have both made our positions clear by now. We are going to get something out of this conversation. That is not changing. But if you give us something useful, we can make this a proper conversation rather than what it has been. That seems better for everyone, does it not?"
The girl looked up at him. "What do you want to know?"
"What is your role in Team Origin?"
"I do not know any Team Origin. I came out here for a desert off-road trip."
Nova shook his head.
She was not going to crack easily. Jenny had already tried the careful, measured approach before handing the situation over to Pat and Nova, and it had not produced anything. The girl had held to the same story through every variation of pressure and persuasion that had been tried so far. In other circumstances, Nova might have respected it.
The situation was pressing. Jenny could not spend more time on this herself. She had a counterattack to plan and squad leaders to coordinate with. Before she left, she had told Pat and Nova plainly that if there was no other way, they had her permission to use methods she would not normally sanction. She would not ask questions about the details afterward.
Two rounds of Thunderbolt had produced nothing except a very unhappy captive and a Nidoking with serious misgivings. Nova was running out of ideas.
Then something moved at his belt.
He looked down. Purrloin, who had been inside its Poke Ball the entire time, was scratching at the inside of the ball with increasing persistence. It clearly had something to say.
Nova released it. Purrloin landed lightly, gave Nova's finger a brief affectionate lick, and then let out two short meows. On Nova's shoulder, the Sprigatito immediately went rigid and pressed itself as flat against Nova as it could manage, eyes wide.
Pat's Kirlia translated through the telepathic link it shared with Nova.
Nova looked down at Purrloin with a carefully neutral expression. "You are telling me you have a way to get her to talk?"
Purrloin raised both small paws and brought them together in a slow, deliberate gesture, the kind that suggested absolute and total confidence.
Nova considered this for a moment. He had nothing better to offer, and Purrloin was not the type to bluff about something like this. He stepped aside and gave it a small nod.
Whatever Purrloin projected in that moment, it was enough. For the first time since the interrogation began, the girl's voice carried something that had not been there before.
"What are you... what are you going to do? Stay back. Do not come any closer."